07 May 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Aspirational Districts Programme
2. Swasthya Chintan Shivir
3. National Education Policy 2020

1. Aspirational Districts Programme

Syllabus: GS II, Governance, Government policies and interventions

Prelims: Aspirational Districts Programme

Mains: Evaluating the effectiveness of the Aspirational Districts Programme in the betterment of districts identified under the programme. 

Context: The progress made under the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) has been assessed and reviewed. 

Exploring further:

• The Aspirational Districts Programme started with the primary aim of localising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for the progress of the nation. 
• This scheme was launched to improve the under-developed districts across the country. 
• For this purpose, 112 districts have been identified across the country with a specific focus on transformation in terms of health, education and agriculture. 
• The programme emphasises financial inclusion through initiatives such as the PM Jan Dhan Yojana. 
• It is an initiative that offers several avenues for Convergence (of Centre and State schemes), Collaboration (of Central, state-level Prabhari Officers & District Collectors) and Competition among districts through monthly delta ranking, driven by a mass movement. 
• The progressive work under ADP was exemplified through the Sitamarhi district of Bihar which is one of the 13 Aspirational districts in the State. 
• Based on the results determined by the indicators, the aspirational districts are ranked. 
  • These indicators are referred to as Key Performance Indicators under five broad socio-economic themes:
    • Health & Nutrition
    • Education
    • Agriculture and Water Resources
    • Financial inclusion and skills development
    • Infrastructure
• The delta ranking of the aspirational districts and their performance are updated on the Champions of Change dashboard. 

Read more about Aspirational District Programme in the linked article.

2. Swasthya Chintan Shivir

Syllabus: GS II, Social Justice, Issues relating to health

Prelims: About Swasthya Chintan Shivir

Mains: Implications of digitising the health sector in India. 

Context: The 14th Conference of the Central Council of Health & Family Welfare, with the name of Swasthya Chintan Shivir, was organised at Kevadia in Gujarat. 

Delving Deeper:

• The government has expressed its active interest in nurturing a digital revolution in the health sector. 
• It was highlighted during the conference that a TB Patient/Village Adoption scheme will be launched to address the issues of patients suffering from Tuberculosis ensuring their well-being. 
• Teleconsultations are going to offer a sustainable way forward for the health systems in the country. 
• The spirit of cooperative federalism has been recognised for the establishment of an effective, efficient and inclusive healthcare system.
• Last-mile delivery of healthcare services will be a major priority.
• The digital revolution in the health sector is going to take active form under the vision of the Ayushman Bharat National Digital Mission that intends to work towards the creation of Ayushman Bharat ID for the holistic delivery of services. 

3. National Education Policy 2020

Syllabus: GS II, Social Justice, Issues relating to education

Prelims: NEP 2020

Mains: Critical Analysis of the National Education Policy 2020. 

Context: A high-level meeting has been chaired by the Prime Minister to review the progress in the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020. 

Major objectives:

The key objective of the policy is to ensure an education system that is:

• Accessible
• Equitable 
• Inclusive 
• Quality driven 

Important Highlights:

• It has been suggested that a hybrid system of learning that involves both online and offline modes, should be developed to avoid overexposure to technology. 
• There has been discussion to engage the science labs of secondary schools with farmers for the purpose of soil testing. 
• The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) is being formulated under the guidance of the National Steering Committee. 
• Multiple Entry Exit in higher education has become a reality with nearly 400 Higher Educational Institutions registered in the Academic Bank of Credit. 
• Students will be allowed to pursue two academic programmes simultaneously as per UGC guidelines. 
• A major boost has been given to online learning with Higher Education Institutions being allowed to run full-fledged online courses and the permissible limit of online content being raised to 40%. 
• Multilinguality has been promoted to remove language barriers in academic attainment. 

Understand the details of  NEP 2020 in the linked article.

Read previous PIB here.

May 7th, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here