GENERAL STUDIES PAPER 2
Topic: Welfare Issues
CARA launches monthly “Jan Sampark” Program to facilitate adoption
Context:
- The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) of the Ministry of Women & Child Development hasstarted a monthly “Jan Sampark” program to enable the public to have inter action with its officials and staff for seeking information related to Adoption as well as flagging their concerns.
Keypoints:
- Details pertaining to Immediate Placement and Special Needs Adoption Module of Child Adoption Resource Information & Guidance System (CARINGS) as well as the newly launched Grievance/Query portal were shared with all the stakeholders.
- The event will now be a regular feature every month apart from the quarterly Facebook live chat by CEO CARA.
Topic: International Relations
Cabinet approves Agreement on “Cooperation in the field of Information, Communication and Media” between India and Ethiopia
Context:
- The Union Cabinet has given its approval to sign the Agreement between India and Ethiopia on “”Cooperation in the field of Information, Communication and Media”.
Objective:
- To harness the growing power of Information, Communication and Media for information dissemination and enhancing outreach between the two countries for inclusive development.
Keypoints:
- Enhance people to people contact through exchange programmes.
- Provide an opportunity for both the nations to share best practices and new innovations in the field of Information, Communication & Media.
- The Agreement will encourage cooperation between mass media tools such as radio, print media, TV, social media etc. to provide more opportunities to the people of both the nations and create public accountability.
- The Agreement, through an institutional framework will facilitate exchange of delegations, personnel between the two nations, providing them opportunities to learn from each other’s best practices, bringing in equity and inclusiveness.
Cabinet approves MoU between India and Belarus in the oil and gas sector
Context:
- The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Belarus in the oil and gas sector.
Keypoints:
- The MoU will promote bilateral relationship between India and Belarus and it is envisaged to enhance the economic and commercial cooperation between the two sides in oil and natural gas sector.
- Both sides will work towards establishing cooperation in the areas of upstream and downstream activities, capacity building, technology transfer, enhanced oil recovery and development of mature fields in India.
India Japan Cooperation in Rail Safety
Context:
- Mission of Safety experts from Japan comprised of representatives of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and railway operators etc visited for a meet in India.
Objective:
- The MoC envisages cooperation in Rail Safety on area such as maintenance of Track (welding, rail inspection, track circuit etc.) and rolling stock maintenance.
Keypoints:
- This Mission visited Indian Railway’s (IR) coach/wagon/loco maintenance facilities. The Mission also observed rail welding and track maintenance practices followed by IR.
- Japanese Railway experts to India to assess incidents of rail breakage and suggest measures to improve safety in train operations.
- Japanese Railways is one of the oldest Rail system in the world. Japan is the pioneer in the High Speed Rail ‘Shinkansen’. Japanese Railways has an impeccable record with Safety.
GENERAL STUDIES PAPER 3
Topic: Infrastructure and Development
Linkage of rivers will help farmers to grow more crops and contribute in progress of the country: Vice President
Context:
- Linkage of rivers will help the farmers to grow more crops and raise their earnings and contribute in the progress of the country as a result of increased irrigation facilities.
Keypoints:
- Gujarat Government has given concrete shape to the concept of river linkage and has linked Narmada and Sabarmati rivers.
- The main sources of the progress of Gujarat are: Agriculture and Industry.
- Work for everyone and water for every farm is very important and this was a beautiful dream of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay.
Topic: Security
Cabinet approves umbrella scheme of Modernisation of Police Forces
Context:
- The Union Cabinet has given its approval for implementation of umbrella scheme of “Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF)” for years 2017-18 to 2019-20.
Salient Features:
- Special provision has been made under the Scheme for internal security, law and order, women security, availability of modern weapons, mobility of police forces, logistics support, hiring of helicopters, upgradation of police wireless, National Satellite Network, CCTNS project, E-prison project etc.
- Under the umbrella scheme, central budget outlay of Rs.10,132 crore has been earmarked for internal security related expenditure for Jammu & Kashmir, North Eastern States and left wing extremism affected States.
- Scheme of Special Central Assistance (SCA) for 35 worst LWE affected districts has been introduced with an outlay of Rs.3,000 crore to tackle the issue of underdevelopment in these district.
- An outlay of Rs.100 crore has been earmarked in the North Eastern States for police infrastructure upgradation, training institutes, investigation facilities etc.
- Implementation of this scheme would bolster the Government’s ability to address challenges faced in different theatres such as areas affected by LWE, Jammu and Kashmir and North East effectively and undertake development interventions which will catalyze in improving the quality of life in these areas and help combat these challenges effectively at the same time.
- New initiatives are being introduced to provide assistance to States for upgradation of police infrastructure, forensic science laboratories, institutions and the equipment available with them to plug critical gaps in the criminal justice system.
- Police Stations will be integrated to set up a national data base of crime and criminals’ records. It will be linked with other pillars of criminal justice system such as ‘prisons, forensic science laboratories and prosecution offices.
- The umbrella scheme also provides for setting up of a State-of Art forensic science laboratory in Amravati, Andhra Pradesh and upgradation of Sardar Patel Global Centre for Security, Counter Terrorism and Anti Insurgency in Jaipur and Gujarat Forensic Science University in Gandhi Nagar.
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