06 December 2019: PIB Summary & Analysis

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December 6th, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Mahaparinirvan Diwas
2. Ekal School Abhiyan
3. Damage to crops in Maharashtra due to unseasonal rains
4. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR)
5. National Mission on Micro Irrigation
6. Soil Health Card Scheme
7. PM-KISAN Yojana
8. UDAN Scheme
9. Development of Special Economic Zones
10. Draft National Logistic Policy
11. National Food Security Act
12. Funds for Anaemia Control
13. Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY)
14. Maternity Entitlements Under NFSA
15. Ayushman Bharat Yojana
16. 4th India Water Impact Summit
17. Heat Wave
18. Children in Conflict with Law
19. Sexual Cases under POCSO
20. Bharatiya POSHAN Krishi Kosh
21. Food fortification
22. National Commission for Women
23. Production of fish, eggs and milk in the country

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Mahaparinirvan Diwas

What’s in News?

• 64th Mahaparinirvan Diwas of Bharat Ratna Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was observed.
• Three days after completing his final manuscript ‘The Buddha and His Dhamma’, Ambedkar died in his sleep on 6 December 1956 at his home in Delhi.
• The 6th of December is observed as Dr. Ambedkar Mahaparinirvan Diwas.

Read more about Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Click here

Ekal School Abhiyan

• Ekal Vidyalaya is a Movement involved in integrated & holistic development of rural & tribal India and Nepal.
• The main activity undertaken in this movement is to run one-teacher schools (known as Ekal Vidyalayas) all over India, in the remotest rural & tribal villages to take the education to every child.

Note:

It is observed that, schemes like scholarship for scheduled tribe’s children, Eklavya Model residential school, Poshan Abhhiyan, Mission Indradhanush, and school holidays on the occasion of tribal festivals etc have helped not only in checking the school dropout rates but also promoted the holistic development of children.

Damage to crops in Maharashtra due to unseasonal rains

What’s in News?

State Government of Maharashtra has reported that total area of crop damage (more than 33%) due to unseasonal rainfall in the month of October-November, 2019.

Disaster management:

• Primary responsibility for disaster management rests with the State Government.
• Central Government extends all possible logistics and financial support to the States to supplement their efforts to meet the situation effectively.
• The State Government undertakes assessment of damages and provide financial relief in the wake of natural disasters including floods, from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) already placed at their disposal.
• Additional financial assistance is extended from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as per the laid down procedure, which includes an assessment based on the visit of an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT).

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR)

• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana was approved to be continued as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) for 2017-18 to 2019-2020.
• RKVY-RAFTAAR is currently in operation with major focus on pre & post-harvest infrastructure, besides promoting agri-entrepreneurship and innovations.

Read more about RKVY-RAFTAAR.

National Mission on Micro Irrigation

• Mission on Micro Irrigation, a centrally sponsored scheme on micro irrigation (MI) was launched in 2006 for promoting water-use efficiency by adopting drip and sprinkler irrigation.
• In June 2010, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the implementation of the existing Micro Irrigation Scheme (MIS) as the National Mission on Micro Irrigation (NMMI).

An Impact evaluation study was conducted in 2014 by Global Agri System   and conclusions reached were that due the operation of the scheme

1. Irrigation cost reduced by 20% to 50% with average of 32.3%.
2. Electricity consumption reduced by about 31%.
3. Average productivity of fruits and vegetables increased by about 42.3 % and 52.8%.
4. Overall income enhancement of farmers was in the range of 20% to 68% with an average of 48.5%.

Soil Health Card Scheme

• A dedicated scheme on “Soil Health Card” was launched by the Government of India to take care of Soil Health, in a uniform manner and to evaluate the soil fertility across the country, in cooperation with state governments.
• Soil Health Card contains the status of soils with respect to 12 parameters, namely – N, P, K (Macro-nutrients), S (Secondary-nutrients), Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, B (Micro-nutrients) and pH, EC, OC (Physical Parameters).
• It also provides crop wise fertiliser recommendations.
• Soil Health Card helps farmers to improve productivity by maintaining soil health.
• SHC also promotes the judicious use of the fertilisers thus reducing the cost of cultivation.

The Government is implementing Soil Health Management and Soil Health Card Scheme to improve soil health and fertility.  Under these schemes financial assistance are provided to State Governments and not farmers directly.

PM-KISAN Yojana

• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme aims to supplement the financial needs of the farmers in procuring various inputs to ensure proper crop health and appropriate yields, commensurate with the anticipated farm income.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme.
• Under this programme, landholding farmer families, having cultivable land up to 2 hectares, will be provided direct income support at the rate of Rs. 6,000 per year.
• This income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers, in three equal installments of Rs. 2,000 each.
• The scheme is believed to have immediate impact on reducing hunger, rural poverty and increasing investments in agricultural inputs.
• As in November 2019, around 7.6 crore farmers in the country have been granted benefit under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana’.

UDAN Scheme

What’s in News?

With focus on connectivity of North eastern region, UDAN 4.0 scheme, under the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has invited bids for 6 underserved and 24 unserved airports/airstrips in the North-East states of India.

Read more about UDAN – Regional connectivity scheme.

Development of Special Economic Zones

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are geographically delineated ‘enclaves’ in which regulations and practices related to business and trade differ from the rest of the country and therefore all the units therein enjoy special privileges.

The tax exemptions and other incentives allowed to SEZs are in built into the SEZs Act, 2005. Main fiscal concessions and duty benefits allowed to SEZ developers and units are as follows:

1. Exemption from Central Sales Tax, Exemption from Service Tax and Exemption from State sales tax. These have now subsumed into GST and supplies to SEZs are zero rated under IGST Act, 2017.
2. Exemption from Income Tax for 15 years as per Income Tax Act.
3. Duty free import/domestic procurement of goods.
4. Exemption from State sales tax and other levies as extended by the respective State Governments.

Draft National Logistic Policy

What’s in News?

The draft National Logistics Policy has been prepared in consultation with the Ministries of Railways, Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Civil Aviation. The vision of the proposed policy is to drive economic growth and business competitiveness of the country through an integrated, seamless, efficient, reliable, green, sustainable and cost effective logistics network leveraging the best in technology, processes and skilled manpower.

• India’s logistics sector is highly de-fragmented and the aim is to reduce the logistics cost from the present 14% of GDP to less than 10% by 2022.

In order to simplify documentation for exports and imports through digitization, Department of Revenue, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) have taken several initiatives like:

1. SWIFT (Single Window Interface For Trade).
2. Adoption of Digital Signature.
3. 24×7 Customs Clearance – for ‘facilitated’ Bills of Entry and factory stuffed containers and goods exported under free Shipping Bills at select ports.
4. Import Data Processing and Management System (IDPMS) – jointly launched with RBI to facilitate efficient data processing for payment of imports and effective monitoring
5. E-Sanchit: it is the system introduced by the Government of India for Import Cargo to reduce physical interface between Customs and clearing agents (presently carrying bunch of documents in person) and significantly reduce import clearance time by uploading digitally signed documents.
6. Two new IT  Modules ICEDASH i.e (Ease of doing business monitoring dashboard) and ATITHI app for electronic filing by passengers for baggage
7. PCS 1X which is a platform for port related processes developed by Indian Ports Association.

National Food Security Act

• The Government of India enacted National Food Security Act (NFSA) which came into force w.e.f. July, 2013.
• NFSA provides for coverage of upto 75% of the rural population and upto 50% of the urban population for receiving foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), thus covering about two-thirds of the population of the country for receiving foodgrains @ Rs 1/2/3 per kg for nutri-cereals/wheat/rice respectively.
• Identification of beneficiaries under the Act is under two categories-
  • Households covered under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)
  • Priority Households (PHH), within the coverage determined for the State/UT.
• At present, the Act is being implemented in all the States/UTs covering about 80 crore persons to get highly subsidized foodgrains.
• The Government of India makes additional allocation of foodgrains for natural calamities based on the request of State/UT Govt.
• As per the extant norms, in case of natural calamities, the allocation of foodgrains for 3 months of demand can be made to the States/UTs on the basis of the request received so that the relief measures are not affected.
• The implementation of NFSA through the Public Distribution System (PDS) is a joint responsibility of the Central and State Governments/UT Administrations, and the State Governments/UT Administrations are responsible for the identification of beneficiaries under the NFSA.
• The scheme of End-to-End Computerization of the PDS has ensured rightful targeting of the beneficiaries all over the country. Further, Government of India has issued advisories to all States/UTs to identify and cover the weakest sections of the society under PDS and launch special drives to issue ration cards to them.
• Advisories have been issued to all State/UTs that no beneficiary/household shall be deleted from the list of eligible beneficiaries/households only on the grounds of not possessing Aadhaar and shall also not be denied subsidized foodgrains or cash transfer of food subsidy under NFSA due to non-availability of Aadhaar or failure of biometric authentication.

Funds for Anaemia Control

• As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) – IV (20015-16), 54.2% women (15-49 years) and 59.5% children (6-59 months) in rural area of the country are anaemic.
• The most common cause of anaemia is iron deficiency, caused by inadequate dietary iron intake or absorption, increased needs for iron during pregnancy or growth periods, and increased iron losses as a result of menstruation and helminth (intestinal worms) infestation.
• Other important causes of anaemia include hemoglobinopathies such as Sickle Cell anemia, Thalassaemia etc, Malaria and Flurosis.

“Anaemia” has been covered in 24^th November 2019 Comprehensive News Analysis. Click here to read.

Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) 

PMSSY is a programme aimed at correcting the imbalances in the availability of affordable healthcare facilities in the different parts of the country in general, and augmenting facilities for quality medical education in the under-served States in particular.

PMSSY has been covered in 29^th November 2019 PIB Summary and Analysis. Click here to read.

Maternity Entitlements Under NFSA

• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is applicable to all the entitled beneficiaries including, those in informal and unorganized sectors.
• Under, PMMVY payment of maternity benefits of 5,000/- in beneficiary’s bank account is provided in three instalments at the stage of early registration of pregnancy, after six months of pregnancy with at least one antenatal check-up and registration of child birth & first cycle of immunisation of the child.
• The eligible beneficiary receives the remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman gets Rs. 6000/-.
• The maternity benefits under PMMVY are available to the eligible beneficiaries for first living child of family.

Note:

The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) provides that subject to such schemes as may be framed by the Central Government, every Pregnant Women & Lactating Mother (PW&LM), except those who are in regular employment with the Central Government or State Government or Public Sector Undertaking or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being in force, shall be entitled to maternity benefit of not less than rupees six thousand, in such instalments as may be prescribed by the Central Government.

PMMVY has been covered in 22^nd November 2019 PIB Summary and Analysis. Click here to read.

Ayushman Bharat Yojana

Ayushman Bharat Yojana is a centrally sponsored scheme launched in 2018, under the Ayushman Bharat Mission of MoHFW in India. The scheme aims at making interventions in primary, secondary and tertiary care systems, covering both preventive and promotive health, to address healthcare holistically.

Read more about Ayushman Bharat.

Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) has been covered in 22 November 2019 PIB Summary and Analysis. Click here to read.

4^th India Water Impact Summit

• The 4^th India Water Impact Summit is organised with a focus on integrated management of water resources in rural and urban areas.
• At the summit, the experts from various fields discuss the biggest problems associated with water.
• Theme for 2019: Financing of High Impact projects in the water sector

Ganga Aamantran Abhiyan:

• ‘Ganga Aamantran Abhiyan’ was a massive river rafting expedition launched from Devprayag.
• The expedition covered around 2,500 KM length of the Ganga during its 34-day journey till Ganga Sagar in West Bengal.

Heat Wave

What’s in News?

The two-day National Workshop on Preparedness, Mitigation and Management of Heat wave concluded in Bengaluru with all stakeholders resolving to work towards reducing the adverse effects of Heat Wave in 2020. The workshop was organised by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka.

• This was the fourth annual workshop in a series that NDMA has been conducting since 2017 to build a momentum ahead of the start of the Heat Wave season.
• These workshops facilitate States to prepare and implement their Heat Action Plans.
• In fact, with the combined efforts of all stakeholders, the number of heat-related deaths in the country has significantly come down in the recent years.

Read more about Heat Wave.

Children in Conflict with Law

• As per Section 2 (13) of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act), “child in conflict with law” means a child who is alleged or found to have committed an offence and who has not completed eighteen years of age on the date of commission of such offence”.
• Section 53 of the Act prescribes various rehabilitation and reintegration services to be provided in institutions for children. These include: basic requirements such as food and shelter; appropriate education including supplementary education; skill development, recreational facilities, mental health interventions, etc.
• Under Section 8 and 30 of the Act, the Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee are required to conduct at least one inspection visit every month  and every fortnight respectively of residential facilities for children in conflict with law and recommend action for improvement in quality of services to the District Child Protection Unit and the State Government.
• Further the State Governments have to appoint Inspection Committees, to assess the basic facilities and infrastructure of the Institution to ascertain whether the Institution is maintaining their standards as prescribed
• The primary responsibility of implementation of the Act lies with the State Governments/ UT Administrations concerned.
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development is also implementing a centrally sponsored Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme (erstwhile Integrated Child Protection Scheme) for supporting the children in difficult circumstances.
• The primary responsibility of implementation of the scheme lies with the State Governments/UT Administrations.
• Under the provisions of the CPS, Central Government is providing financial assistance to the States/UTs for undertaking a situational analysis of children in difficult circumstances.
• Under the scheme institutional care to Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) and Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) is provided in Child Care Institutions (CCIs) as a rehabilitative measure.

Sexual Cases under POCSO

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 has adequate provisions ensuring speedy trial under the Act.

• Section 28 of the POCSO Act 2012 provides for establishment of Special Courts for the purpose of providing speedy trial.
• Further, Section 35 of the POCSO Act provides that the evidence of the child shall be recorded within a period of thirty days of the Special Court taking cognizance of the offence and reasons for delay, if any, shall be recorded by the Special Court.
• Further, Section 35 also lays down that the Special Court shall complete the trial, as far as possible, within a period of one year from the date of taking cognizance of the offence.

However, Police and Public Order are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibilities to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens including children, rest primarily with the respective State Governments and UT Administration.

Steps taken to ensure speedy dispensation of justice:

• In furtherance to The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018, the Government has finalized a scheme in for setting up of total of 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) across the country for expeditious trial and disposal of pending cases pertaining to rape and POCSO Act, 2012, in a time-bound manner under Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 was enacted for effective deterrence against sexual offences.
• Further, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of a girl below age of 12 years. The Act also inter-alia mandates completion of investigation and trials within 2 months each.
• A “National Database on Sexual Offenders” has been launched to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement agencies.
• An online analytic tool for police called “Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences” has been launched to monitor and track time-bound investigation on sexual assault cases in accordance with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018.
• In order to improve investigation, steps have been taken to strengthen DNA analysis units in Central and State Forensic Science Laboratories. This includes setting up of a State-of-the-Art DNA Analysis Unit in Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh.
• Guidelines have been notified for collection of forensic evidence in sexual assault cases and the standard composition in a Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit.
• A scheme namely Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) has been approved under which an online cybercrime reporting portal to enable public to report complaints pertaining to child pornography/ child sexual abuse material, rape/gang rape imageries or sexually explicit content.

Bharatiya POSHAN Krishi Kosh

What’s in News?

Ministry of Women and Child Development along with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has announced the Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh (BPKK).

• Bhartiya Poshan Krishi Kosh” project has two components – Development of a Food Atlas and Documentation of promising practices for Jan-Andolan for POSHAN Abhiyaan.
• The Agro-Food Atlas is to act as a repository of diverse crops across 127 agro-climatic zones of the country having three parts- crops currently being grown, agro-ecological conditions (soil, organic carbon content, ground water availability etc) and guidance on how a greater diversity of crops could be encouraged in a particular district or block to promote dietary diversity and nutrition.
• The project includes diverse data sources like National Sample Survey, Agri-Census, Soil Health Cards, ISRO’s Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-Radio meter.
• The project also documents social, behavioural and cultural practices that promote and reinforce healthy dietary behaviours.
• A Technical Support Unit has been set-up under NITI Aayog which undertakes/conducts/ facilitates regular monitoring and evaluation of the National Nutrition Mission to assess the impact of the programme.
• A National Council on India’s Nutritional Challenges under the Chairmanship of Vice-Chairman NITI Aayog has been constituted to provide policy direction, review and effective coordination and convergence between Ministries which have a sectoral responsibility for the challenge of nutrition.
• Ministry of WCD is addressing the issue of malnutrition through various schemes including POSHAN Abhiyaan. Under POSHAN Abhiyaan, Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy leading to Jan Andolan, to educate the people on nutritional aspects, are among various components to generate awareness and public participation.

Food fortification

• The addition of micronutrients to food, i.e., food fortification is one of the strategies to address micronutrient deficiencies in addition to dietary diversification and micronutrient supplementation.
• In order to reduce the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, emphasis is given to strategies through the Schemes/programmes implemented by the various departments/ministries, which include iron and folic acid supplementation, calcium supplementation, Vitamin-A supplementation, mandatory use of iodized salt and nutrition education to promote the use of healthy balanced diets through dietary diversification.
• Ministry of Women and Child Development has advised all the States/UTs to ensure use of relevant fortified food articles (wherever supplied) in the administration of the Supplementary Nutrition Programme.
• Further, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) has notified Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2018, which specifies standards for fortification of staple foods such as wheat, rice, maida (with Iron, Folic Acid and Vitamin B 12), Salt (with Iron and Iodine), and Oil and Milk (with Vitamin A and Vitamin D).
• These standards specify minimum and maximum levels of micronutrients which can be added to these staples.
• The levels of addition of micronutrients have been kept such as to provide 30%-50% of Recommended Daily Allowance of micronutrients.
• FSSAI has set up Food Fortification Resource Centre (FFRC) as a resource and support centre, which provides requisite support in the form providing awareness material, list of pre-mix suppliers and technical support to States/Industry, etc.  FFRC is a part of many technical groups both at the State level and CII-Nutrition Committee to ensure support to the State and the Food Industry.

National Commission for Women

The National Commission for Women was set up in 1992 under the National Commission Act, 1990. This body was established to review the constitutional and legal safeguards for women.

Read more about National Commission for Women.

Production of fish, eggs and milk in the country

• The fish and milk production have been increasing with an average annual growth rate of 6.86 % and 6.41 % respectively, during the last five years.
• These increases are primarily due to several initiatives/policies taken up by the Government of India Viz. implementation of various Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS)/ Central Sector Scheme (CS).
• Furthermore, the Union Government has also created a separate Ministry for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying with two separate Departments namely
  1. Department of Fisheries and
  2. Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, which provides focused attention for the overall development of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying sectors, including enhancement of production and productivity, improving the livelihood of the marginal farmers who are associated in these sectors of the country.
• India is self-sufficient in the production of fish and milk to fulfil the demand, as India is the second largest fish producing county in the world, as well as first position in world with regards to milk production.
• However, fish and milk production in India have been increasing steadily.

December 6th, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

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