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August 9th, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here
One Nation One Ration Card
Context:
In a major step towards achieving ‘One Nation One Ration Card’, Union Minister Shri Ram Vilas Paswan inaugurated inter-State portability in two clusters of adjoining States of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana and Gujarat & Maharashtra.
Key Points:
- This move will enable beneficiaries from either States’ cluster to avail the benefits accruing to them under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) from any of the two States.
- The Minister said that this marks the beginning of National level portability of Ration Cards in the country.
- It is envisaged that the inter-State portability shall be introduced in the 11 States having already implemented intra-State portability by 1st January 2020. The 11 states are: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura.
- All other states and UTs shall be integrated in a phased manner.
- This will enable nation-wide portability of ration card holders to receive subsidized food grains under NFSA from anywhere in India by 1st June 2020.
- The move is especially beneficial for migrant population of the country who move from one part of the country to another in search of employment, for marriage, etc.
- Installation of electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices at Fair Price Shops (FPSs) is the main enabler of portability of ration card holders, supported by the biometric/Aadhaar authentication.
- More than 4.1 lakh (77%) ePoS devices are already operational in various parts of the country.
- Also, more than 85% ration cards (at least one member) in the country have been seeded with the Aadhaar numbers of the beneficiaries.
Rotavirus vaccine to every child
Context:
The Health Ministry has drawn an ambitious plan under the 100-days agenda of the newly elected government, wherein it has been decided to provide Rotavirus vaccine to every child across all 36 states and UTs by September, 2019.
Key Points:
- The Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that the government has decided to provide Rotavirus vaccine to every child in 36 states and UTs.
- This is in accordance with the government’s commitment to end morbidity and mortality in children due to diarrhoea by 2022.
- Diarrhoea is one of the biggest killers in children and Rotavirus is one of the most common causes of severe diarrhoea in children less than 2 years of age.
- In India, every year 37 out of every 1000 children born are unable to celebrate their 5th birthday, and one of the major reasons for this is diarrheal deaths.
- Out of all the causes of diarrhoea, rotavirus is a leading cause of diarrhoea in children less than 5 years of age.
- It is estimated that rotavirus cause 8,72,000 hospitalizations; 32,70,000 outpatient visits and estimated 78,000 deaths annually in India.
- Rotavirus diarrhoea presents in similar manner like any other diarrhoea but can mainly be prevented through rotavirus vaccination.
Rotavirus Vaccine in India
- Rotavirus vaccine was introduced in 2016 in a phased manner.
- Starting with 4 states, it expanded to 11 states by 2018.
- Currently, it is available in 28 states.
International Electric Vehicle Conclave
Context:
Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Arjun Ram Meghwal, inaugurated the 3rd International Electric Vehicle (EV) Conclave at the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) in Manesar, Gurugram.
About the International Electric Vehicle (EV) Conclave:
- The EV Conclave is organized by ICAT in association with India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA).
- The first conclave was held in 2017.
Why Electric Vehicles?
- The government’s emphasis on electric mobility arises out of increasing pollution caused by fossil fuel-based internal combustion engines (ICE) and the rising energy import bill.
- EVs are set to dominate the market. As per a Bloomberg New Energy Finance report, by 2040, 57% of total vehicle sales and 30% of passenger vehicles will run on electricity.
Hurdles for EV manufacturers
- Poor penetration of charging stations.
- Inadequate power supply all over the country.
- The cost of EVs is highly dependent on lithium batteries. Unless these are locally manufactured, EVs will not appeal to consumers.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Nityanand Rai Chaired A High Level Meeting To Review The Current Flood Situation In The Country
Context:
Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka have got excess rain fall with extremely heavy down pour since the last two days. Gujarat, West Madhya Pradesh and East Rajasthan are also expected to receive heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours.
Key Points:
- 83 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been positioned in vulnerable areas of flood affected four states along with all necessary equipment.
- These teams are in addition to the 173 teams of army, navy, air force and coast guard.
- Authorities are keeping a close watch on the situation 24X7.
- So far, 82000 people have been evacuated and 2325 people have been rescued.
World Tribal Day
Context:
The Khadi and Village Industry Commission (KVIC) distributed 50 leather kits and 350 Bee-Boxes with live bee colonies in tribal-dominated village in Sirohi district of Rajasthan on World Tribal Day (9 August).
Key Points:
- KVIC announced on the occasion that it is launching a new programme ‘Leather Mission’ from the tribal-dominated village of Chandala.
- Under this new programme, KVIC will give Leather Kits to leather artisans from across India.
- It will not only increase their incomes but will also inspire the traditional leather artisans who had migrated to other jobs from their traditional skill to adopt this vocation again.
- Honey Mission has proved as a game-changer in the lives of tribals, farmers, SC/STs and unemployed youths.
- It has not only increased the income of the bee-keeping farmers, but has also increased the yield of the crops by up to 30 percent due to cross-pollination of the honey-bees.
About World Tribal Day
- Officially called The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
- Observed every year on 9th
- It is observed to protect the rights of the world’s indigenous peoples/tribals.
- It was first pronounced by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1994.
- The UN designated 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages.
- This was to create awareness about indigenous languages, thousands of which are on the verge of dying.
22nd National e-Governance Conference, 2019
Context:
The 22nd National e-Governance Conference (NCeG), 2019 was concluded in Shillong, Meghalaya.
Key Points:
- The conference was jointly organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), in association with Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India and the State Government of Meghalaya.
- The theme of this Conference was “Digital India: Success to Excellence”.
- NCeG 2019 provided a platform for the delegates, including senior government officers from across the country, industry stalwarts and researchers, to share best practices, latest technology developments and leveraging them for achieving effective governance and public service delivery.
- At the valedictory session, the ‘Shillong Declaration’ on e-Governance was adopted.
Shillong Declaration
The Conference resolved that Government of India and State Governments shall collaborate to:
- Improve the citizen’s experience with Government services by promoting timely implementation of India Enterprise Architecture (IndEA) and implementing a single sign-on for interoperability and integration among e-Government applications throughout the country.
- Consolidate the plethora of successful State level e-Governance projects and domain-based projects with a focus to replicate them as a common application software with configurable features.
- Ensure improvement in ease of living and ease of doing business by making a big shift in the role of government from Service Provider to Service Enabler, thus moving from development of applications to making available public digital platforms where multiple competitive applications can be developed.
- Take steps to further improve connectivity in North Eastern States by addressing the issues and challenges of telecommunications connectivity at grassroot level and formulate and implement a comprehensive telecom development plan.
- Take steps to enhance the activities of Electronics Sector Skill Council in North Eastern States and explore the possibility for opening an electronics skill center in Shillong.
- Promote use of e-Office and move towards less paper State Secretariats in the North-Eastern States and in the District level offices.
- Improve the quality of delivery of e-Services in the North East to fulfil the vision of improved citizen experience.
- Develop India as a global cloud hub and facilitate development of Government applications and databases on Cloud by default.
- Adopt emerging technologies for finding e-Governance solutions.
- Promote the Digital India Projects with focus on Smart Cities and Smart Villages through Startups and Smart Entrepreneurship.
Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production and Use-Based Index for the Month of June, 2019
Key Points:
- The Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2011-12 for the month of June 2019 stands at 130.2, which is 2.0 percent higher as compared to the level in the month of June 2018.
- The cumulative growth for the period April-June 2019 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at 3.6 percent.
- The industry group ‘Manufacture of basic metals’ has shown the highest positive growth of 17.7 percent followed by 16.5 percent in ‘Manufacture of food products’ and 10.3 percent in ‘manufacture of tobacco products’.
- The industry group ‘Manufacture of paper and paper products’ has shown the highest negative growth of (-) 19.9 percent followed by (-) 14.3 percent in ‘Manufacture of furniture’ and (-) 13.9 percent in ‘Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers’.
Related Links:
| National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 | FAME India Scheme |
| National Disaster Management Authority | NITI Aayog |
August 9th, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here
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