27 July 2020: PIB Summary & Analysis

July 27th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
2. Scheme for Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks
3. BIS Mobile App ‘BIS-Care’
4. Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet)
5. Mausam App
6. Smart India Hackathon (Software) – 2020

1. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)

Context:

82^nd Raising Day of CRPF.

About CRPF:

• The CRPF is one of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in India. The other forces under the CAPF are the ITBP, BSF, Assam Rifles, National Security Guard, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
  • Out of these, the CRPF is the largest.
• It is under the Ministry of Home Affairs and is for internal security.
• Established in 1939 as the Crown Representative Police, it is one of the oldest central paramilitary forces in the country.
• In 1949, it was renamed as the Central Reserve Police Force by an act of parliament.
• Its mission is to facilitate the government to maintain the rule of law, public order and internal security.
• It played a key role in the amalgamation of the princely states into the Indian Union.
• Functions of the CRPF:
  • Riot control/crowd control
  • Tackling left-wing extremism
  • Counterinsurgency operations
  • Protection of VIPs and vital installations
  • Fighting aggression during times of war
  • Preventing environmental degradation and protecting local flora and fauna
  • Rescue and relief operations during natural calamities
  • Taking part in United Nations peacekeeping missions

2. Scheme for Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks

Context:

Union Minister launched the scheme for the Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks.

Background:

• The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third-largest in the world in terms of volume and the 14^th largest in terms of value.
• India contributes 3.5% of the total medicines and drugs exported globally.
• However, India is still dependent on imports for bulk drugs.
  • Bulk drugs are critical basic raw materials that are used to produce the finished dosage formulations.
• The growth of the pharmaceutical sector is contingent upon the ability to ensure the uninterrupted supply of quality bulk drugs and the capacity to upscale their manufacturing during emergency situations.
• It is therefore highly desirable to achieve self-reliance in bulk drug manufacturing.
• This scheme is promoted with a view to bring down the manufacturing cost of bulk drugs and increase competitiveness in the industry.
• Bulk drugs are also called Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API).
  • China’s Hubei province is considered the hub of the API industry.
  • Around 70% of the Indian API imports come from China.

Objectives of the scheme:

The chief objective of the scheme is to reduce the cost of bulk drug manufacturing in the country and reduce dependence on imports for the same.

• To promote setting up of bulk drug parks in the country for providing easy access to world-class Common Infrastructure Facilities (CIF) to bulk drug units located in the park.
• To help industry meet the standards of the environment at a reduced cost through innovative methods of common waste management system.
• To exploit the benefits arising due to the optimization of resources and economies of scale.

About the scheme:

• The scheme envisages the creation of 3 bulk drug parks in the country.
• It is a central sector scheme with a total financial outlay of Rs.3000 Crore.
  • The grant-in-aid will be 90% of the project cost in the case of North-East and hilly States and 70% in the case of other States. Maximum grant-in-aid for one bulk drug park is limited to Rs.1000 crore.
• The duration of the scheme is from 2020 to 2025.
• The parks will have common facilities such as solvent recovery plant, distillation plant, power & steam units, common effluent treatment plant, etc.
• For implementing the scheme, the respective state government will set up a State Implementing Agency (SIA).
• The SIA will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Bulk Drug Park.

3. BIS Mobile App ‘BIS-Care’

Context:

Union Minister launched the Bureau of Indian Standard’s Mobile App ‘BIS-Care’ and three portals – the Standardization, Conformity Assessment and Training Portals of e-BIS on  www.manakonline.in for consumers.

Details:

• Consumers can check the authenticity of the ISI-marked and hallmarked products and lodge complaints using this App.
• With the App, users can access the complete Complaint Management System and perform the same tasks as the BIS website.
• The App is available in both Hindi and English.

Also read: BIS Ecomarks

4. Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet)

Context:

Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet) launched on the Foundation Day of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

About KRCNet:

• The Ministry of Earth Sciences aims to develop a world-class Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet) under Digital India.
• The traditional libraries of the Ministry system will be upgraded into a top-notch Knowledge Resource Centres (KRC).
• The KRCs will be connected with each other and integrated into the KRCNet portal. It will be a single point entry to the intellectual world of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
• Objectives of the KRCNet:
  • Establish a Total Quality Management (TQM) system by securing ISO certification for documenting MoES knowledge resources, its maintenance, easy retrieval and dissemination.
  • Collect, collate, analyze, index, store and disseminate the intellectual resources, products and project outputs available in the MoES headquarters and its institutes.
  • Develop and maintain an up-to-date meta-data of the print & digital resources available in the MoES headquarters and MoES institutes, including MoES services.
  • Provide 24X7 access to the subscribed knowledge contents through the KRCNet portal.
  • Application of information analytical tools & techniques like bibliometrics, scientometrics, big-data analytics, social media analytics, etc., for policy formulation, report preparation and information dissemination.
  • Periodically organize training workshops to popularize the usage of electronic journals, databases, digital products, data analytics, etc.

5. Mausam App

Context:

Ministry of Earth Sciences launches Mobile App “Mausam” for India Meteorological Department on its Foundation Day Celebrations.

Details:

• The Mausam App is designed to communicate the weather information and forecasts in a lucid manner without technical jargons.
• Users can access observed weather, forecasts, radar images and be proactively warned of impending weather events.
• Services offered under the App:
  • Current weather – Current temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction for 200 cities updated 8 times a day, information on sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset.
  • Nowcast – Three hourly warnings of localized weather phenomena and their intensity issued for about 800 stations, and districts of India.
  • City Forecast – Past 24 hours and 7-day forecast of weather conditions around 450 cities in India.
  • Warnings – Alerts issued twice a day for all districts for the next five days in colour code (Red, Orange and Yellow) to warn citizens of approaching dangerous weather.
  • Radar products – Latest station-wise radar products updated every 10 minutes.

27^th July is the foundation day of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). The MoES was formed in 2006 by a merger of the India Meteorological Department, the National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the Earth Risk Evaluation Centre and the Ministry of Ocean Development.

6. Smart India Hackathon (Software) – 2020

Context:

Grand Finale of 4^th edition of Smart India Hackathon (Software) – 2020 to be held from 1^st – 3^rd August 2020.

Read more about the Smart India Hackathon (Software) 2020 in PIB dated Sep 11, 2019, under the headline ‘Union HRD Minister launches several initiatives’.

Read previous PIB here.

July 27th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here