11 Apr 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. SCO Summit: Young Authors’ Conference
2. Central Bureau of Narcotics
3. Micro-insurance Schemes - PMJJBY & PMSBY

1. SCO Summit: Young Authors’ Conference

Syllabus – GS2, Regional and global groupings involving India or affecting India’s interests. 

Prelims – SCO Summit: Young Authors’ Conference

Context – Ministry of Education to organise Young Authors’ Conference (YAC) on the occasion of SCO Summit 2022-23.

Details –

• India will host the SCO Young Authors’ Conference (12-13th April 2023). 
• The Ministry of Education will organise the conference with the National Book Trust, India as the implementing agency.
• The conference’s overall theme is ‘Civilizational Dialogue Among the SCO Member Nations – Perspectives from Young Scholars,’ with subthemes of ‘Economy,’ ‘Religion,’ ‘Culture,’ ‘Literature,’ and ‘Science and Medicine.’
• The conference will offer a platform to explore the avenues of modern education, training and advanced training of youth, and wider involvement in entrepreneurial activities and innovative projects.
• During the ongoing ‘SCO Council of Heads of States’ Presidency of India, SCO aims at advancing the theme of ‘SECURE’ (Security, Economic cooperation, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Environment).

2. Central Bureau of Narcotics

Syllabus – GS2,  government policies and interventions.

Prelims – Central Bureau of Narcotics

Context – The Central Bureau of Narcotics launched its ‘Unified Portal’.

Details –

• The ‘Unified Portal’ launched by the Central Bureau of Narcotics will instil efficiency, transparency and accountability in department users with the twin objectives of catering to the need of the pharma and chemical industry for synergistic growth of drugs and pharma sector and boosting the economy
• The launch of the unified portal of the Central Bureau of Narcotics will prove as a stepping stone for the ease of doing business with narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances (NDPS) and controlled substances in the country with transparent and better compliance.
• The portal has been calibrated to have database integration and ingestion with other government services including Bharat Kosh, GST, PAN- NSDL validation, e-Sanchit, and UIDAI facilitating single point services for obtaining the licences from CBN.

Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN)

Central Bureau of Narcotics is a central government organisation dealing with the international trade of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, and Precursor Chemicals under the ambit of various United Nations conventions and the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985. 

• Narcotics Control Bureau is the drug law enforcement and intelligence agency of India responsible for fighting drug trafficking and the abuse of illegal substances. Know more about the Narcotics Control Bureau in the link.

3. Micro-insurance Schemes – PMJJBY & PMSBY

Syllabus – GS2, government policies and interventions. 

Prelims – PMJJBY & PMSBY

Context – Three-month-long campaign in the country to boost enrollment under PMJJBY & PMSBY.

Details –

• Vivek Joshi, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance chaired a video conference meeting with Chief secretaries/Senior Officials of the State/UTs to sensitise them about the features of Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and about the three-month long campaign to boost coverage of these micro-insurance schemes.
• The three-month-long campaign covers all the districts of the country and it started from 1st April till 30th July 2023.
• The two micro-insurance schemes aim to provide life and accidental insurance cover to citizens, particularly to the marginal sections of society.
  • PMJJBY provides insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh in case of death due to any reason.
  • PMSBY provides accidental insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh in case of death or full permanent disability and Rs 1 lakh in case of partial disability.

Also read – Difference between PMJJBY and PMSBY

Read the previous PIB articles here.

April 11th, 2023, PIB:- Download PDF Here