09 December 2018: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

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

 INDRA NAVY 2018

Context: The 10th edition of exercise INDRA NAVY will be conducted at Visakhapatnam.

About:

• INDRA is a navy exercise between Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) and Indian navy.
• The primary aim of the exercise is to increase inter-operability amongst the two navies, develop common understanding and procedures for maritime security operations.
• Initiated in 2003, INDRA NAVY exercise has matured over the years with increase in scope, complexity and level of participation.
• Exercise INDRA NAVY-18 would help to further strengthen mutual confidence and inter-operability and also enable sharing of best practices between both the navies
• The exercise will be yet another milestone in strengthening maritime security cooperation between the two navies and will serve to reinforce the long-standing bond of friendship between the countries.

Ex Aviaindra 2018: Ex AVIAINDRA, a service-specific exercise between Indian Air Force and Russian Federation Aerospace Force (RFSAF), is planned at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 10-21 Dec 2018.

1st International Conference on Sustainable Water Management

Context: The first International Conference under the aegis of National Hydrology Project, Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation is being organised by Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) during 10-11 December, 2018 at Indian School of Business (ISB), Mohali on the theme ‘Sustainable Water Management’.

The aim of the Conference is to-

• foster the participation of and dialogue between various stakeholders, including governments, the scientific and academic communities, so as to promote sustainable policies for water management
• create awareness of water-related problems, motivate commitment at the highest level for their solution and thus promote better management of water resources at local, regional, national and international levels.

Khelo India Youth Games

Context: Khelo India Youth Games to be held in Pune known as the city of students.

Khelo India Programme

• It will be a Central Sector Scheme (Scheme implemented by the Central Government machinery and 100% funding by the union government).
• It is a Pan India Sports Scholarship scheme covering the 1000 most deserving and talented athletes across the sports discipline, every year.
• Selected athletes will be entitled to a scholarship amount of Five Lakh Rupees for eight consecutive years.
• It is an unprecedented scheme, a first-ever plan to be implemented for creating a long-term development pathway for athletes.
• To enable the sportsman to pursue both studies and sports, the program aims at identifying and promoting 20 Universities in the country as centres of sporting distinction.
• For sports promotion, latest user-friendly technology would be used. Ex: Geographic Information System (GIS) for locating the sports infrastructure, a user-friendly website for indigenous sports, a National Sports Talent Search Portal and information dissemination for the purpose of sports training through mobile apps.
• To ensure maximum entries for organized sports competitions, the programme encourages the school and colleges to organize programmes of high standards.
• Forming an active population with a healthy lifestyle is also the focus of this programme. For this purpose, a National Physical Fitness Drive is planned where children falling in the age bracket 10-18 years will be checked for physical fitness. Further, activities to support their physical fitness will be planned.
• The aim is to impact the whole of sports ecosystem inclusive of sports economy, competition structure, talent identification, coaching and infrastructure.
• The programme plans to engage youth living in deprived and disturbed areas into sporting activities so that they will be mainstreamed into the process of nation-building and weaned away from disruptive activities.

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