09 July 2024: PIB Summary for UPSC

09 July 2024 PIB
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. 12th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting between India & UAE
2. National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme
3. Indian scientists develop open-source tool to generate infrared star catalogue 
for Thirty Meter Telescope
4. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD)
FIP Magazine

1. 12th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting between India & UAE

Syllabus: GS-2, International Relations

Prelims: Joint Defence Cooperation Committee between India and the UAE

Mains: India – UAE relations

Context:

The 12th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting between India & UAE was held in Abu Dhabi to strengthen bilateral defence & security ties.

Details:

  • During the meeting, the two sides discussed a wide range of collaboration opportunities to strengthen the two countries’ defence and security cooperation. 
  • Detailed discussions were held in training, joint military exercises, defence industrial cooperation, subject matter expert exchange, R&D, etc.
  • Both sides deliberated on the regional security situation, including maritime security, and underscored the need to enhance collaboration to tackle the security challenges.
  • They both considered exchanging visits in different domains to benefit from each other’s experience and knowledge and the mutual exchange of training opportunities in niche areas.
  • The India-UAE JDCC was established in 2006. Since then,11 rounds have been held. 
  • The 12th meeting provided an opportunity to further augment India’s defence and security relations with the UAE, strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Read more on India – UAE relations in the linked article.

2. National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme

Syllabus: GS-2, Health, Government Schemes

Prelims: National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme

Mains: Tuberculosis in India

Context:

Dr Soumya Swaminathan has been appointed as the Principle Advisor at the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme.

National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (2017 – 25):

  • The NSP for TB elimination 2017–25 is a framework to guide the activities of all stakeholders including the national and state governments, development partners, civil society organizations, international agencies, research institutions, the private sector, and many others whose work is relevant to TB elimination in India. 
  • It provides goals and strategies for the country’s response to the disease during the period 2017 to 2025 and aims to direct the attention of all stakeholders on the most important interventions or activities to bring about significant changes in the incidence, prevalence and mortality of TB. 
  • Vision of the programme: TB-Free India with zero deaths, disease and poverty due to tuberculosis.
  • Goal of the programme: To achieve a rapid decline in the burden of TB, morbidity and mortality while working towards the elimination of TB in India by 2025.

Background:

  • The National Tuberculosis Programme of India (NTP) was initiated in 1962 and was originally designed for domiciliary treatment, using self-administered standard drug regimens. 
  • After a review of this programme, the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) was initiated in 1993 using the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course chemotherapy) strategy.
  • The programme has achieved several milestones related to the diagnosis and treatment services of TB since 2006. 

TB in India:

  • India continues to be the highest TB burden country in the world in terms of the absolute number of incidence cases each year. 
  • Mortality due to TB is the third leading cause of years of life lost (YLLs) lost, in the country. 
  • The estimated incidence (new TB cases per year) was 2.8 million cases in 2015 (217(CI: 112 to 355) per 100000 population).
  • India has the highest burden of Tuberculosis and multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in the world, disproportionately high even for India’s population. 
  • Recent evidence indicates that India’s TB burden may be reducing, but only very slowly.

3. Indian scientists develop open-source tool to generate infrared star catalogue for Thirty Meter Telescope

Syllabus: GS-3, Science and Technology

Prelims: Thirty Meter Telescope, Indian achievements in science and technology

Mains: Indian achievements in science and technology

Context:

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru have developed a new online tool to create a comprehensive star catalogue for the Adaptive Optics (AO) system of the upcoming Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).

Background:

  • Telescopes on the surface of the Earth face the challenge of atmospheric distortion, affecting the quality of captured images. 
  • This is particularly crucial for telescopes with high light-collection capacities, like the TMT, which are sensitive to upper atmospheric disturbances. 
  • To counteract these distortions, the TMT will use an Adaptive Optics System (AOS) that continuously senses and adjusts for atmospheric changes to produce high-quality images. 
  • To do this, an all-sky catalogue of near-infrared (NIR) stars is an essential requirement.

Current Development:

  • The researchers have developed an automated code that can be used as an online tool to create a catalogue of Near Infrared (NIR) stars.
  • The automated code can compute the expected near-infrared magnitudes of stellar sources identified in various optical sky surveys using their optical magnitudes.
  • This method shows great promise in generating the all-sky catalogue of NIR stars needed before TMT’s first run in the next decade.

India and the TMT:

  • India’s participation in the TMT collaboration involves three institutes: the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, and the Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital. 

Read more on the Thirty Meter Telescope in the linked article.

4. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD)

Syllabus: GS-2, Social Justice

Prelims/Mains: Programmes for the disabled community

Context:

DEPwD signed two significant MoUs towards empowering persons with disabilities.

Details:

  • The department signed the first MoU with the “Enable Me” Access Association (EMA) and the second with the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center (ISLRTC) and YUNIKEE.

MoU with the “Enable Me” Access Association (EMA):

  • This entails the launch of training programmes for panel accessibility auditors and engineers of the Central Public Works Department. 
  • The objectives of the agreement are:
    • To provide training on Universal Design using Indian accessibility standards and create integrated tools for disseminating knowledge of these standards
    • To provide joint training on Indian accessibility standards for various groups identified by DEPwD
    • To develop a software tool for accessibility education
    • To support the Accessible India Campaign 2.0 and assist DEPwD in highlighting and rectifying policies that undermine the RPwD Act, 2016 and other mandatory guidelines

MoU with the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center (ISLRTC) and YUNIKEE:

  • The main objective is to provide free and accessible skills to the deaf community and their youth. 
  • This skill training program will enable deaf youth to pursue their passions, earn a living through freelancing, and become self-reliant in terms of livelihood.

Read previous PIB articles here.

Related Links
Finance Commission of India Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK)
Food Corporation of India Tele-MANAS
Index of Industrial Production Agnipath Scheme

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