03 December 2019: PIB Summary & Analysis

Read the daily PIB update and stay up-to-date on current affairs for the UPSC exam.

December 3rd, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. POSHAN Anthem
2. ROTAVAC5D
3. International Day of Persons with Disabilities
4. “Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System” (PPRTMS)
5. Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP)
6. Commerce & Industry Minister to Inaugurate National Public Procurement 
7. Exercise Surya Kiran – XIV
8. S&P credit rating of India
9. Company Law Committee recommends decriminalisation of compoundable offences under Companies Act
10. India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre
11. Ratna Status to CPSEs
12. National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR)

POSHAN Anthem

Context:

The Vice President launched the POSHAN Anthem to spread the message of Nutrition Mission.

Details:

• The anthem also intends to enhance investments in training and capacity building of Anganwadi workers.
• The anthem would also play a key role in spreading the message of the POSHAN Abhiyan.

For more on POSHAN Abhiyan, click here.

ROTAVAC5D^®

Context:

VP launched the new rotavirus vaccine – ROTAVAC5D^®.

Details:

• ROTAVAC5D® was designed and developed by Bharat Biotech.
• The vaccine would be a great help in tackling the spread of Rotavirus that causes nearly 8,72,000 hospitalizations, over 32 lakh outpatient visits and an estimated 78 thousand deaths annually in India.

About Rotavirus:

• Rotavirus is a virus that is the most widespread reason for severe vomiting and diarrhoea in infants and young children.
• A genus of double-stranded RNA virus in the Reoviridae family, it has affected virtually every child in the world at least on one occasion before the child attains five years of age.
• In the case of the rotavirus, the affected person develops immunity with every infection, so that subsequent infections are always less in severity.
• Adults are hardly ever affected by the virus.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Context:

PM sends a message on the occasion.

About the International Day of Persons with Disabilities:

• 3^rd December is observed as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities every year.
• This annual observance was initiated by the UN in 1992.
• It aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.
• 2019 Theme: Promoting the participation of persons with disabilities and their leadership: taking action on the 2030 Development Agenda.

“Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System” (PPRTMS)

Context:

Election Commission of India to implement “Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System” (PPRTMS).

Details:

• PPRTMS will be implemented from January 2020.
• Accordingly, the “Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System” (PPRTMS) will be implemented through an online portal, to facilitate tracking of the status of the application by applicants.
• The salient feature in the Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System is that the applicant (who is applying for party registration from 1st January 2020 onwards) will be able to track the progress of his / her application and will get the status update through SMS and email.

Registration of political parties:

• The Registration of Political Parties is governed by the provisions of section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
• A party seeking registration under the said section with the Commission has to submit an application to the Commission within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation in the prescribed format.

Read more about the Election Commission of India.

Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP)

Context:

Assistance to Female Farmers.

About the scheme:

• The Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development is implementing Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) to empower women in agriculture by making systematic investments to enhance their participation and productivity, as also to create and sustain their agriculture-based livelihoods.
• The project aims at improving the capacities of women in agriculture to access the resources of other institutions and schemes with a convergence framework.

The Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare is also providing additional support and assistance to female farmers, over and above the male farmers under various Schemes namely Agri-Clinic & Agri-Business Centre (ACABC), Integrated Schemes of Agricultural Marketing (ISAM), Sub-Mission of Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) and National Food Security Mission (NFSM).

Commerce & Industry Minister to Inaugurate National Public Procurement Conclave

Context:

The 3^rd edition of National Public Procurement Conclave (NPPC) is being organised by Government e-Marketplace (GeM) in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in December 2019 in New Delhi.

Details:

• The conclave will provide an opportunity for industry, academia and Government organizations to interact and also serve as a platform for sellers on GeM to showcase their products and services.
• The key features of the conclave are panel discussions on the role of MSMEs, Startups and women in public procurement.
• A special session on services on GeM – hospitality, travel and accommodation bookings is also scheduled during the two-day event.
• A Live GeM “clinic” to resolve queries on the spot and facilitate Registration of Buyer and Sellers on GeM will be set up at the Conclave.
• Award and recognition to the top buyers and sellers on GeM will be announced during the Conclave.

About GeM:

• GeM is a complete online marketplace that allows all sellers to register themselves and transact on the platform.
• All verifications are done through online integration.
• GeM promotes inclusiveness and ease of doing business with the Government.
• It is a transparent online marketplace that not only speeds up public procurement but also ensures substantial savings for the Government.

Exercise Surya Kiran – XIV

Context:

The 14^th edition of the bilateral annual military exercise SURYA KIRAN-XIV between Indian and Nepal Army commenced in Nepal.

About the exercise:

• The aim of this exercise is to conduct a battalion-level combined training between Indian Army and Nepal Army with a scope to enhance interoperability at a military level in jungle warfare, counter-terrorist operations in mountainous terrain, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief operations, medical and environmental conservation including aviation aspects.
• As part of the exercise, important lectures, demonstrations and drills related to counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in jungle and mountainous terrain will be conducted.
• Both the Armies will also share their valuable experiences in countering such situations and also refine drills and procedures for joint operations wherever the need arises.
• The 13^th edition was held in Uttarakhand in 2018.

S&P credit rating of India

Context:

S&P has in its report reaffirmed the Sovereign Credit Rating of India at BBB- with outlook stable.

Details:

• In the report summary, it was stated:
  • India’s economy continues to achieve impressive long-term growth rates despite a recent deceleration. It is believed that the economic slowdown is cyclical rather than structural.
  • They expect the economy to continue to outperform its peers on the back of rising domestic demand and strong demographics.
• They have maintained a stable outlook on the basis of their expectation that over the next two years the growth will remain strong and India will maintain its sound net external position and fiscal deficit will remain elevated but broadly in line with their forecast.

Company Law Committee recommends decriminalisation of compoundable offences under Companies Act

Context:

The Company Law Committee, constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has proposed amendments in the Companies Act, 2013 for further decriminalising the offences under the Act and to facilitate ease of doing business and ease of living.

Details:

• The main recommendations of the Committee with regard to the decriminalization of compoundable offences are as under:
  • Re-categorising 23 offences out of the 66 remaining compoundable offences under the Act, to be dealt with in the in-house adjudication framework wherein these defaults would be subject to a penalty levied by an adjudicating officer.
  • Omitting, altogether, 7 compoundable offences; limiting punishment for 11 compoundable offences to only fine by removing the provision for imprisonment and recommending that 5 offences be dealt under alternative frameworks;
  • Reducing the quantum of penalties in respect of certain provisions, which were shifted to the in-house adjudication framework through the recently passed Companies (Amendment) Act, 2019;
  • Retention of status-quo in case of the non-compoundable offences.

India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre

Context:

India and Sweden sign Memorandum for India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre.

Details:

• The India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre in collaboration between the Swedish Trade Commissioner’s Office, AIIMS Delhi and AIIMS Jodhpur aims to develop an ecosystem of open innovation that start-ups and the healthcare delivery stakeholders can use to collaborate and address current and future challenges in the healthcare sector.
• It will operate on well-defined challenges and services for stakeholders to build capabilities and methodologies and, help socialize and scale up innovative solutions across the country’s healthcare delivery network.
• A holistic view of innovation shall be taken which shall include technology, data, protocols and processes, skill development and business models.
• The key components of this Centre to drive innovation are innovation challenges, incubation, mentorship, live Centre of excellence, skilling, global reach, conferences, digital showroom, white papers and support to access capital sources.
• This initiative will be in alignment to the Government of India’s Skill India and Start-up India, as well as the priorities agreed between India and Sweden for bi-lateral cooperation.
• The Innovation Centre’s objectives and strategic direction will be owned and driven by a pre-defined governance structure manned by representatives from all three collaborators.
• The Centre will run for an initial period of three years. Its impact will be assessed periodically to enable potential expansion at the end of the initial period of 3 years.

Ratna Status to CPSEs

The criteria laid down by the Government for grant of Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna status to Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) is given below:

Criteria for grant of Maharatna status to CPSEs:

• Having Navratna status
• Listed on Indian stock exchange with minimum prescribed public shareholding under SEBI regulations
• An average annual turnover of more than Rs. 25,000 crore during the last 3 years
• An average annual net worth of more than Rs. 15,000 crore during the last 3 years
• An average annual net profit after tax of more than Rs. 5,000 crore during the last 3 years
• Should have significant global presence/international operations.

Criteria for grant of Navratna status to CPSEs:

The CPSEs which are Miniratna I, Schedule ‘A’ and have obtained ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ MOU rating in three of the last five years and having composite score of 60 or above in following six selected performance indicators are eligible to be considered for grant of Navratna status.

1. Net Profit to Net worth: 25
2. Manpower Cost to total Cost of Production or Cost of Services: 15
3. PBDIT to Capital employed: 15
4. PBIT to Turnover: 15
5. Earning Per Share: 10
6. Inter Sectoral Performance: 20

Criteria for grant of Miniratna status to CPSEs:

Miniratna Category-I status: – The CPSEs which have made profit in the last three years continuously, pre-tax profit is Rs.30 crores or more in at least one of the three years and have a positive net worth are eligible to be considered for grant of Miniratna-I status.

Miniratna Category-II status: – The CPSEs which have made profit for the last three years continuously and have a positive net worth are eligible to be considered for grant of Miniratna-II status.

National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR)

Context:

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated and is implementing a National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) for 2018-2025.

Details:

• The Plan aims at the reduction of adverse consequences of drug abuse through a multi-pronged strategy.
• The activities under the NAPDDR include, among others, awareness generation programmes in schools/colleges/Universities, workshops/seminars/ with parents, community-based peer led interactions intervention programmes for vulnerable adolescent and youth in the community, provisioning of treatment facilities and capacity building of service providers.
• The Ministry also implements a “Central Sector Scheme of Assistance for Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drug) Abuse” under which financial assistance is provided to eligible Non-Governmental Organizations based on the recommendations of State Governments/UT Administrations for running Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts to provide composite/integrated services for the rehabilitation of addicts including adolescents.

December 3rd, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

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