TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. G20: Tourism Working Group (TWG) Meeting 2. NAMASTE Scheme 3. One District One Product - District as Export Hub (ODOP - DEH) Initiative 4. ATD Best Awards, 2023 5. IEEE C-DOT Certified Telecom Expert Program (ICCTEP) 6. E-Gram Swaraj
1. G20: Tourism Working Group (TWG) Meeting
Syllabus – GS2, Global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Prelims – G20: TWG Meeting.
Context – The first Tourism Working Group Meeting (7 – 9 February) under India’s G20 presidency hosted by the Ministry of Tourism began at the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.
Details –
- The Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DoNER, Shri G.K Reddy delivered the keynote address at the first TWG meeting and said that the soul of India lives in its villages and thus by showcasing the villages, the country’s way of life, spiritual and cultural heritage, and natural beauty are being showcased.
- The tourism sector has the capacity to generate the maximum number of jobs with the least investment and therefore, can be a positive force for economic transformation, rural development and well-being.
- India has built extensive tourism infrastructure worth approximately USD $ 1 Billion dollars (Rs. 7,000 Crores) to improve the tourist experience.
- Indian villages are receiving global recognition for rural tourism, e.g Pochampally village in Telangana has been declared the best tourism village by United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
- GoI for the first time has come up with a draft of the National Strategy and Roadmap for the Development of Rural Tourism which is in alignment with ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
- Under India’s presidency, five priority areas in tourism have been identified-
- Green Tourism: Greening of the tourism sector for a sustainable, responsible and resilient tourism sector
- Digitalization: Harnessing the power of digitalization to promote competitiveness, inclusion and sustainability in the tourism sector
- Skills: Empowering youth with skills for jobs and entrepreneurship in the tourism sector
- Tourism MSMEs: Nurturing tourism MSMEs/Startups/private sector to unleash innovation and dynamism in the tourism sector
- Destination Management: Rethinking the strategic management of destinations towards a holistic approach that delivers on the SDGs
- Four meetings of the tourism track are being held under India’s G20 presidency and a ministerial level meeting. Also, the first Global Tourism Investors Summit (GITS) will be held in April/May 2023.
Syllabus – GS2, Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population
Prelims – NAMASTE Scheme.
Context – NAMASTE Scheme – to eradicate unsafe sewer and septic tank cleaning practices.
Details –
- The National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) scheme has been formulated by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
- It aims to achieve outcomes like zero fatalities in sanitation work in India; no sanitation worker comes in direct contact with human faecal matter and all sewer and septic tank sanitation workers have access to alternate livelihoods.
- The process of extending the Scheme to all the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the country has been initiated. The main features of the scheme to be implemented in all ULBs are:-
- Identification – of sewage and septic tank workers (SSW).
- Occupational Training and distribution of PPE Kits to SSWs.
- Assistance for Safety Devices to Sanitation Response Units (SRUs).
- Extending Health Insurance Scheme Benefits to identified SSWs and their families under the Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
- Livelihood Assistance: The Action Plan will promote mechanisation and enterprise development by providing funding support and subsidy (capital +interest) to the sanitation workers, to procure sanitation-related equipment.
- Massive campaigns would be undertaken jointly by the ULBs & NSKFDC (National Safai Karamchari Finance Development Corporation) to spread awareness about the interventions of NAMASTE.
3. One District One Product – District as Export Hub (ODOP – DEH) Initiative
Syllabus – GS2, Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors.
Prelims – ODOP-DEH Initiative.
Context – Under ODOP-DEH, products with export potential have been identified from all 765 districts of the country.
Details –
- One District One Product has been merged with “Districts as Export Hub Initiative” being run by the Department of Commerce (DoC) with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade as a major stakeholder.
- ODOP-DEH Initiative is an initiative which aims at fostering balanced regional development across all districts of the country. The idea is to select, brand and promote one product from each district of the country for enabling holistic socio-economic growth across all regions.
- ODOP-Districts as Export Hubs initiative is working with manufacturers/producers across districts along verticals like design, production, manufacturing, packaging, and market creation to boost sales both in the domestic as well as international market.
Know more about the One District One Product scheme in the linked article.
Syllabus – Miscellaneous
Prelims – ATD Best Awards 2023
Context – NTPC bags ATD Best Award 2023.
Details –
- NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation Limited), India’s largest power generating company has been awarded “ATD Best Awards 2023” for the 6th consecutive year.
- NTPC won this award for demonstrating enterprise success in talent development. NTPC has been successful in creating an ecosystem, which empowers its employees to enhance their skill sets.
- The Association for Talent Development (ATD), USA is the world’s largest association in the field of talent development and ATD’s BEST AWARD is the most coveted recognition in Learning and Development.
5. IEEE C-DOT Certified Telecom Expert Program (ICCTEP)
Syllabus – GS3, Science & Technology – Telecommunications.
Prelims – IEEE, C-DOT, ICCTEP
Context – C-DOT & IEEE collaborate to introduce ICCTEP.
Details –
- Shri K. Rajaraman, the Secretary of Telecom, GoI and Chairman of DCC (Digital Communications Commission) launched the IEEE C-DOT Certified Telecom Expert Program (ICCTEP).
- It is a collaboration between IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics) to bring learning in the areas of telecom.
- ICCTEP is a step in taking further the wide-ranging collaboration between IEEE and C-DOT.
- This program will provide a specially tailored certification program that aims at providing quality learning in diverse areas of Telecom.
- It focuses on skill building that would accelerate the participation of students, academia, technologists, start-ups and other stakeholders in developing globally competitive telecom technologies and solutions. The first program launched is “5G and beyond”.
About IEEE-
IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organisation dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional & educational activities.
About C-DOT-
Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) is the premier R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India. C-DOT has indigenously designed various cutting-edge telecom technologies including 4G/5G, Disaster Management, Cyber Security and Quantum Communications.
Syllabus – GS2, e-Governance.
Prelims – e-Gram Swaraj
Context – Important Initiative by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj – ‘ e-Gram Swaraj’.
Details –
- e-Gram Swaraj is a unified portal developed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for the effective monitoring and evaluation of works taken up by Gram Panchayats. It provides a single window for capturing Panchayat information with the complete profile of the Panchayat, details of Panchayat finances, asset details, activities taken up through the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP), etc.
- The Ministry has been continually taking initiatives for improving planning at the Gram Panchayat Level based on feedback received in preparation and implementation of the GPDP to make it more comprehensive, holistic and inclusive.
- People’s Plan Campaign 2022 – “Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas” was launched in September 2022 to prepare comprehensive District/Block/Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDP) with a special focus on themes of LSDGs (Localised Sustainable Development Goals) for the year 2023-24.
Read the previous PIB articles here.
February 8th, 2023, PIB:- Download PDF Here
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