20 July 2019: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

The PIB segment consists of articles taken from the PIB website of the Government of India, which gives the latest schemes and news from the GOI. This is important for UPSC current affairs.

July 20th, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here

Don’t breach standards of ethical journalism, Vice President cautions media

Context:

The Vice-President, while paying tribute to late Shri Gora Sastri at his centenary celebrations, in Hyderabad urged the Fourth Estate (press and news media) to be a beacon light of uprightness and objectivity.

Details:

• He cautioned the media against breaching the standards of ethical and independent journalism
• It was emphasised that the difference of views and opinions must always be tempered with and expression must be found through dispassionate discourse.
• He underscored the importance of independence and fearless journalism, which is seen more in its absence today.
• The Vice President expressed his concern over the degeneration of values in various fields, including journalism and emphasized that news should not be mixed with views. He advised journalists to leave the final judgment to readers and not to give judgments themselves.

Press does not only give expression to public opinion but also has the ability to modify and mould the opinion of billions according to circumstances. Hence, Journalists have the responsibility to lay emphasis on being credible and trustworthy.

No compromise will be tolerated on Air Safety: Minister for Civil Aviation

Context:

Speaking at the International conference cum awards on  civil aviation and cargo, the Minister of State(I/c)  for Civil Aviation, Housing & Urban Development said that the Ministry would not tolerate any compromise on Air Safety and standards. The event organised by ASSOCHAM.

Details:

• It was highlighted that the growth of air cargo is critical for industries where shipments are highly time-sensitive, for example, e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, electronics, agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, animal husbandry and marine exports, and high-value goods, including gems and jewellery and fashion garments.
• In conformance with the objectives of the holistic National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016, a number of initiatives and measures were taken up to sustain the growth impetus in air cargo, efficiency improvement and promotion of ease of doing business across the air cargo value chain.
• The first National Air Cargo Policy’s (NACP) outline was released at the Global Aviation Summit in January 2019.
• It aims to achieve fundamental re-engineering of the whole-of-the-value-chains for domestic and export-import air freight for reaching the target of handling 10 million tonnes by 2026-27.

National Civil Aviation Policy:

• A comprehensive National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) was announced in 2016, covering 22 areas of the Civil Aviation sector.
• It was framed to boost regional air connectivity, establish an integrated ecosystem to promote tourism and generate employment.

National Air Cargo Policy’s (NACP):

• The National Air Cargo Policy unveiled at the Global Aviation Summit 2019, seeks to make India among the top five air freight markets by 2025, besides creating air transport shipment hubs at all major airports over the next six years.
• The policy aims at encouraging code sharing/inter-line agreements between foreign and Indian carriers.
• The policy seeks to establish agreements between national carriers/ freighters and integrators to improve domestic connectivity as well as encourage the establishment of agreements between national and international carriers/freighters and other airline operators to provide access to key global cargo hubs.
• It also aims to promote the development of a last mile/first mile connectivity program at international/regional gateways.
• As part of the security strategy under the policy, the strategy will address security related to the physical cargo, people handling the cargo, data and information related to shipments within and across all chains of custody transfers.
• To increase process transparency while decreasing shipment delays, costs and dwell time, a fully automated paperless trade environment with minimum face-to-face interactions will be implemented
• The policy assured that The GST and other economic legislation would be reviewed by the appropriate government agencies to ensure effective measures are in place to support the national air cargo development strategies.

ASSOCHAM:

• The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India(ASSOCHAM) is one of the apex trade associations of India.
• It was established in 1921 by promoter chambers, representing all regions of India.
• The Association’s head office is located in New Delhi
• The goal of this organisation is to promote both domestic and international trade, and reduce trade barriers while fostering conducive environment for the growth of trade and industry of India.
• ASSOCHAM is authorised by the Government of India to issue Certificates of Origin, certify commercial invoices, and recommend business visa.

Functions of ASSOCHAM:

• The organisation represents the interests of trade and commerce in India, and acts as an interface between issues and initiatives.
• The association has a special role in promoting international trade, and often hosts international trade delegates to India, along with sending delegations of Indian business groups to foreign locations.
• It also interacts with international counterpart organisations to promote bilateral economic issues.

8 more routes start operations under UDAN

Context:

Giving further fillip to Regional Connectivity, 8 more routes became functional Under Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik- UDAN of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Details:

With the addition of these 8 new routes, total UDAN routes Operational as on date have increased to 194 routes.

UDAN Scheme:

UDAN is a regional connectivity scheme. The full form of UDAN is ‘Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik’. The scheme aims to develop smaller regional airports to allow common citizens easier access to aviation services. The following are the stated objectives of the regional connectivity scheme:

• Operalisation and development of 425 underserved or unserved airports in the country
• Boost inclusive economic development by providing faster connectivity
• Development of air transport infrastructure in remote areas aiding job growth

Raksha Mantri Inaugurates Ujh and Basantar Bridges in J&K

Context:

Raksha Mantri inaugurated the One kilometre long Ujh bridge in Kathua district, 617.40 Metre long Basantarbridge in Samba district of Jammu & Kashmir today and dedicated these to the nation.

Details:

• One Km long Ujh bridge is the longest bridge constructed by BRO.
• These bridges will provide smooth connectivity and are vital for the Army for deployment on border areas.
• These bridges will be a big relief for the local people of border villages of Kathua and Samba sector as road connectivity used to get disrupted during Monsoon.

Border Roads Organisation:

• The Border Roads Organisation develops and maintains road networks in India’s border areas and friendly neighboring countries.
• Currently, the organisation maintains operations in twenty-one states, one UT (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), and neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
• The Border Roads Organisation works under the Ministry of Defence.

Two Skill Centre of Excellence (CoE)s to be set up in Uttar Pradesh with joint collaboration between State and Central Government

Context:

In a strategic meeting between Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Shri Yogi Adityanath, Honourable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a joint decision was made to set-uptwo Skill Centre of Excellence (CoEs) – one in Greater Noida for Plumbing and one in Varanasi for the Services Sector.

Details:

• The two centres will be international state-of-the-art infrastructure which will be created under joint collaboration between the State and the Centre, where the State will provide the land for setting up the two buildings.
• The infrastructure and training delivery will be supported by the respective Sector Skill Councils and the industry partners to make it relevant to market demand and trends.
• The two ministers discussed effective measures to improve the skilling initiatives of the MSDE in the State by scaling up the State Component under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).
• Uttar Pradesh is considered been one of the more successful States when it comes to ‘Skill India Mission’ with more than 11 lakh candidates trained under PMKVY, till date.
• More than 75 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKK) have been established and are operational in Uttar Pradesh.
• The State is also seeing increasing participation from the industry with organisations like PowerGrid, Simon India Limited, NTPC, IOCL, Balrampur Chini Mills, Hero Motocorp Pvt. Ltd.
• Skill India has also support Ayushman Bharat’s Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY)in the Stateby enabling an MoU between National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and National Health Agency (NHA); with the objective of training 20,000 Arogya Mitras under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
• Uttar Pradesh is also sending two contestants from the State as part of the 48 member India contingent who will be representing the country in WorldSkills International Competition in Kazan in Russia 2019.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana:

• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana is a unique initiative by the Government of India that aims to offer Indian youth meaningful, industry relevant, skill based training.
• Launched in 2015, it is a flagship program of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) implements it with the help of training partners.
• It aims to mobilize youth to take up skill training with the aim of increasing productivity and aligning the training and certification to the needs of the country.
• Under this scheme, the trainees will be offered a financial reward and a government certification on successful completion of training and assessment, which will help them in securing a job for a better future.

July 20th, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here