12 June 2020: PIB Summary & Analysis

June 12th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs)
2. IFLOWS-Mumbai
3. Quality Council of India
4. Sahakar Mitra: Scheme on Internship Programme
5. World Day against Child Labour

1. National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs)

• Government of India has declared NIPER as an ‘Institute of National Importance’.
• It is an autonomous body set up under the aegis of Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
• The Institute is conceived to provide leadership in pharmaceutical sciences and related areas not only within the country, but also to the countries in South East Asia, South Asia and Africa.
• NIPER is a member of Association of Indian Universities and Association of Commonwealth Universities.

Vision

• “To become a globally recognized brand in the areas of education and research in pharmaceutical sciences for the benefit of people of India and other countries and the growth of the pharmaceutical industry.”

Thrust Areas of Research

The following thrust areas have been identified for research at the Institute:

• Tuberculosis
• Malaria
• Diabetes
• Leishmaniasis
• Immunomodulation

2. IFLOWS-Mumbai

• It is an Integrated Flood Warning System
• It is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)
• The warning system will be able to relay alerts of possible flood-prone areas anywhere between six to 72 hours in advance.
  • The system can provide all information regarding possible flood-prone areas, likely height the floodwater could attain, location-wise problem areas across all 24 wards and calculate the vulnerability and risk of elements exposed to flood.
• Mumbai is only the second city in the country after Chennai to get this system.
• Similar systems are being developed for Bengaluru and Kolkata.

How will it work?

• The primary source for the system is the amount of rainfall, but with Mumbai being a coastal city, the system also factors in tidal waves and storm tides for its flood assessments.
• The system has provisions to capture the urban drainage within the city and predict the areas of flooding. The system comprises seven modules- Data Assimilation, Flood, Inundation, Vulnerability, Risk, Dissemination Module and Decision Support System.
• The system incorporates weather models from the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), India Meteorological Department (IMD), field data from the rain gauge network of 165 stations set up by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), BMC and IMD.

Why was this system needed in Mumbai?

• Mumbai has been experiencing floods with increased periodicity.
• The flood in 2017 had brought the city to a standstill. In 2019, post-monsoon and unseasonal rainfall as late as October, two tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea had caught authorities off guard and left a trail of destruction.
• In 2005 the city received a rainfall of 94 cm, a 100 year high in a span of 24 hours, which had paralyzed the city completely.
• Urban flooding is common in the city from June to September, resulting in the crippling of traffic, railways and airlines.
• As a preparedness for floods before they occur, the system will help in warning the citizens so that they can be prepared in advance for flooding conditions.

How will it be beneficial for Mumbai?

• Based on the amount of rain recorded, time, location, topography and forecast, the system is designed to generate flood warnings for specific geographical areas of the city. All this information will then be routed to authorities.
• The early warning forecast would include alerts on rainfall information, tide levels, storm surge for low-lying areas anticipated to be affected, thereby minimizing the damage from cyclones and heavy rain events in Mumbai by evacuating people to safe areas.
• The system, initially only to be accessed by the civic body will enable them to issue alerts for citizens who can then avoid such zones.
• It will be very useful, especially if people need to be evacuated from low-lying areas as the system would be able to forecast 12 hours in advance that a particular spot may get flooded.

Context

• Maharashtra’s Chief Minister and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology launched an Integrated Flood Warning System called ‘IFLOWS-Mumbai’

3. Quality Council of India

• Quality Council of India (QCI) was set up jointly by the Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations i.e. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), to establish and operate national accreditation structure and promote quality through National Quality Campaign.
• QCI is registered as a non-profit society with its own Memorandum of Association. QCI is governed by a Council of 38 members with equal representations of government, industry and consumers.
• Chairman of QCI is appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the industry to the government.
• The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, is the nodal ministry for QCI.

Context

• Shri Piyush Goyal reviews the Quality Council of India

4. Sahakar Mitra: Scheme on Internship Programme

• It is an initiative by National Cooperative Development Corporation.
• Sahakar Mitra scheme will help cooperative institutions access new and innovative ideas of young professionals
• It will provide the young professionals with an opportunity for practical exposure and learning from the working of NCDC and cooperatives as a paid intern.
• Sahakar Mitra would also provide an opportunity to professionals from academic institutions to develop leadership and entrepreneurial roles through cooperatives as Farmers Producers Organizations (FPO).
  • Under the scheme, professional graduates in disciplines such as Agriculture and allied areas, IT etc. will be eligible for an internship.
  • Professionals who are pursuing or have completed their MBA degrees in Agri-business, Cooperation, Finance, International Trade, Forestry, Rural Development, Project Management etc. will also be eligible.

Significance

• Sahakar Mitra scheme is expected to assist cooperative institutions access new and innovative ideas of young professionals while the interns gain experience of working in the field giving the confidence to be self-reliant.
• It is expected to be a win-win situation both for cooperatives as well as for the young professionals.

5. World Day against Child Labour

• The World Day against Child Labour, held every year on June 12, is intended to foster the worldwide movement against child labour in any of its forms.
• It was first launched in 2002 to raise awareness and prevent child labour.
• The ILO, the United Nations body that works on global labour-related issues, launched the World Day against Child Labour to bring attention and join efforts to fight against child labour.
• This day brings together governments, local authorities, civil society and international, workers and employers organizations to point out the child labour problem and define the guidelines to help child labourers.
• The theme of World Day against Child Labour 2020 is ‘Covid-19: Protect Children from Child Labour, now more than ever!’

Covid-19 and Child labour

• As countries around the world, including India, face a recession and witness massive job losses and crippling of the informal sector, families will get more and more desperate to bring money home.
• In such situations, it is likely that the children of the household will be forced into work as families would no longer be able to provide for them.
• Children, then, are at a greater risk of getting trapped in bonded labour.
• Unemployment, the closure of schools for extended periods and the return of many labourers to their villages will emerge as the biggest reason behind the anticipated increase in child labour in India.
• Additionally, school closures have also affected more than 33 crore students, according to UNESCO in India, many of whom were dependent on mid-day meals being served in their school for at least one meal a day.

June 12th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

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