06 Jun 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. IIIDEM
2. India - Suriname Relations
3. 2,000 PACs to open PM Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras by year-end
4. Green Action Plan 2023-24
5. Indian Navy to Commemorate 130th Anniversary of Gandhiji’s Satyagraha

1. IIIDEM

Syllabus – GS2, Constitutional Bodies – ECI

Prelims – IIDEM – Training and capacity building arm of the ECI.

Context – IIIDEM (India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management) to design training content and training methods for election officials using the latest AI tools for self-learning.

Details –

• Shri Rajiv Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners, Shri Arun Goel and Shri Anup Chandra Pandey inaugurated the hostel block at India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), Dwarka.
• CEC emphasised the need to design training content and training methods for election officials using the latest technology.

About IIIDEM

• IIIDEM was established in 2011 as a training and capacity-building arm of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The institute trains, prepares and equips election officials and other stakeholders for the delivery of free, fair, credible and error-free elections.
• IIIDEM also organises training programs for Election Management Bodies (EMB) the world over. It has conducted over 122 programs wherein participants from 117 countries got benefitted.
• India as the lead for Cohort on Election Integrity, IIIDEM in association with the ITEC division, MEA has conducted four thematic training programs for officials from EMBs worldwide.
• IIIDEM in association with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has started a Master’s Program in ‘International Electoral Management and Practices’ (MIEMP) in an online mode.
  • The program aims to enhance the capacity of election officials engaged in the organisation and management of elections in various parts of the globe in various countries.
  • The first batch consists of 25 working professionals nominated and sponsored by the ECI, including 5 international participants from EMBs of the Maldives, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

2. India – Suriname Relations

Syllabus – GS2, Bilateral Relations.

Prelims – India-Suriname Relations.

Context – The President of India Smt Droupadi Murmu met her Surinamese counterpart and discussed ways to deepen the bilateral partnership.

Details –

• Smt Droupadi Murmu met with her Surinamese counterpart Chandrikapersad Santokhi and discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in several areas including defence, IT, agriculture and capacity building. Smt Murmu is on a three-day visit to Suriname.
• The President of India witnessed a cultural festival on the occasion of the commemoration of 150 years of the arrival of Indians in Suriname. It was on 5th June 1873 that the first group of Indians reached the shores of Suriname, on board the ship Lalla Rookh. The first ship carrying 452 Indian labourers arrived in Suriname’s capital Paramaribo on June 5, 1873. Most of the labourers hailed from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• The President of India paid homage at the Baba and Mai monument, a symbolic representation of the first Indian man and woman, who first set foot in Suriname. She also paid her respects at the Mama Sranan monument which represents Mama Sranan, the Mother Suriname holding her five children, the five ethnicities that inhabit Suriname with care and affection.
• President Murmu was conferred with the highest civilian honour of Suriname, ‘Grand Order of the Chain of the Yellow Star’ by the President of Suriname.
• In January 2023, India organised the Voice of South Summit in which 125 countries from the Global South participated and Suriname was also a part of this initiative. The summit was organised to provide a greater voice to the issues of interest of developing nations and the Global South.

3. 2,000 PACs to open PM Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras by year-end

Syllabus – GS2, Government Policies and Interventions.

Prelims – PACS, PM Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras.

Context – PACS to open PM Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras.

Details – 

• GoI has decided to allow 2000 Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) to open Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country. 2000 PACS across the country will be identified to open PM Jan Aushadhi Kendras – 1000 will be opened by August and the remaining 1000 by December 2023.
• This decision will increase the income of PACS, create employment opportunities and will also make medicines available at affordable prices to the people, particularly those living in rural areas.
• At present, there are over 9400 PM Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country which provide 1800 types of medicines and 285 other medical devices. Medicines at these kendras are available at 50% to 90% lesser rates in comparison to branded medicines.
• The incentive amount for Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra is Rs.5 lakh (15% of monthly purchase or a maximum of Rs.15,000 per month). One time additional incentive of Rs. 2 lahks as reimbursement for IT and infra expenditure in special categories and areas are also provided.

4. Green Action Plan 2023-24

Syllabus – GS3, Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Prelims – Green Action Plan 2023-24.

Context – CAQM sets a target of 35.8 million saplings in Delhi-NCR.

Details –

• The Commission for Air Quality Management’s (CAQM) Green Action Plan for the year 2023-24 has fixed the annual greening and plantation target at 35.8 million for Delhi and National Capital Region. An additional 6.1 million plants are expected to be added in the entire region by central agencies such as CRPF, Railways and NCRTC.
• Greening is one of the major steps for reducing air pollution and the Commission has been laying special emphasis on large-scale greening/dense plantation/urban foresting initiatives including the Miyawaki Technique across the entire NCR.
  • Miyawaki Technique — a Japanese method which involves planting two to four trees per square metre. Such dense plantations, or Miyawaki forests, grow in two to three years and are self-sustaining. They also help lower temperatures, reduce air and noise pollution, attract local birds and insects, and create carbon sinks.
• NCR achieves 105.36% of the original targets set for the plantation drive for the year 2022-23.
• Educational institutions including schools, colleges and research institutions in NCR have also been involved in the current year to undertake dense plantations in their surroundings.

5. Indian Navy to Commemorate 130th Anniversary of Gandhiji’s Satyagraha

Syllabus – GS3, Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate; GS1, Freedom Struggle

Prelims – Gandhiji’s Satyagraha

Context – 130th anniversary of Gandhiji’s Satyagraha

Details –

• A frontline warship, INS Trishul of the Indian Navy is on a visit to Durban (6th-9th June 2023)  to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the June 7, 1893 incident at South Africa’s Pietermaritzburg railway station when Mahatma Gandhi was evicted from a train that led to his fight against racial oppression.
• INS Trishul’s visit to Durban is in continuation with the Indian Navy’s celebration of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahostav’ by commemorating key moments that shaped India’s Independence struggle.
• It also marks 30 years of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between India and South Africa.

Read the previous PIB articles here.

June 6th, 2023, PIB:- Download PDF Here