21 November 2019: PIB Summary & Analysis

Read the daily PIB update and stay up-to-date on current affairs for the UPSC exam.

November 21st, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Comptroller And Auditor General Of India (CAG)
2. Nuclear Power Plants for Electricity Generation
3. Commercial Exploitation of Space Research and Development
4. ‘Destination North East’ Festival
5. Patent Prosecution Highway
6. India-Finland Joint Commission
7. Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0
8. Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial and Agricultural Wastes/Residues
9. Protection of Local Weavers
10. Tackling the Problem of Malnutrition Among Children

Comptroller And Auditor General Of India (CAG)

About CAG:

Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the apex authority responsible for external and internal audits of the expenses of the National and state governments. It is popularly known as the CAG of India.

For more on the CAG, click here.

Context:

The Prime Minister addressed Conclave of Accountants General and Deputy Accountants General. Speaking on the occasion, the PM said that the time bound and outcome based system of working is developing in the country and CAG has a great role in that.

Nuclear Power Plants for Electricity Generation

Context:

Details about nuclear power plants in India for electricity generation were provided in the Rajya Sabha.

Details:

• The present installed nuclear power capacity in the country comprises of 22 reactors with a total capacity of 6780 MW.
• Of these, one reactor, RAPS-1 (100 MW) is under extended shutdown for techno-economic assessment.
• Nuclear power plants contribute about 3% of the total electricity generated in the country.
• The electrical energy requirement of the country for the year 2018-19 is 1274595 MUs whereas the projected energy requirement for the year 2021-22 is 1566023 MUs. The percentage increase in energy requirement for the country till 2021-2022 w.r.t. the energy requirement of 2018-19 is 86%.
• Nuclear power plants are being established along with electricity-generating plants of other technologies to meet the electricity requirements of the country.
• Currently, there are five nuclear power plants under construction.

Read more about the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant at the linked article.

Commercial Exploitation of Space Research and Development

Context:

A new company by name, “New Space India Limited (NSIL)”, has been incorporated in March 2019, as a wholly-owned Government of India Undertaking/Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), under the administrative control of the Department of Space (DOS) to commercially exploit the research and development work of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

NSIL Mandate:

• Small Satellite technology transfer to industry wherein NSIL will obtain license from DOS/ISRO and sub-license it to industries.
• Manufacture of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in collaboration with the private sector.
• Productionisation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) through the Indian Industry.
• Productionisation and marketing of space-based services, including launch and application.
• Transfer of technology developed by ISRO Centres and constituent institutions of DOS.
• Marketing of spin-off technologies and products, both in India and abroad.
• Any other subject which the Government of India deems fit.

Other Details:

• With the activity plan and the mandate set for NSIL, Indian industries are likely to see a major spur in their growth in the space sector.
• This initiative would further enable scaling up the manufacturing and production base in Indian industries towards meeting the growing needs of the Indian space programme and exploiting the opportunities available in the global space market.
• Through the sale of products related to small satellite, sub-system technology and the spin-off products in the domestic and global markets, foreign exchange revenue is expected to be generated.

‘Destination North East’ Festival

Context:

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) will inaugurate the ‘Destination North East’ Festival in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

About the festival:

• The festival will be held in November 2019 for four days.
• The festival is being organised by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Government of India.
• The Previous editions of ‘Destination North East’ were held in Delhi and Chandigarh.
• Destination NE 2019 will provide live experience to the audience. All 8 NE states will be present at the event along with their handicrafts, handloom, organic products and cultural troupes.
• The idea of organising such events is to bring the rest of India closer to the North East and to have experience of the rich culture of the North East.
• During the festival, visitors will have live experiences of the artisans and artists from the NE states working on their looms and crafts, performing their songs and dances in the open stage during the day.
• Indigenous games will also be performed where visitors can also participate.
• Live kitchens with recipes from NE and Uttar Pradesh will be serving delicacies throughout the event.
• The Ganga and Brahmaputra basins offer striking similarities in terms of ancient culture, diverse handlooms and silk products, spiritual heritage and vibrant tourist hubs. Therefore, Varanasi was the natural choice for hosting the Destination North East 2019.
• Given the importance of NE with respect to organic products, food processing, tourism, water development, seminars will be held on these subjects with participation of experts in the respective fields.

Patent Prosecution Highway

Context:

The Union Cabinet approved a proposal for Bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Programme between the Indian Patent Office under the Controller General of Patents, Design and Trade Marks (CGPDTM), Government of India with Patent Offices of other interested countries/regions.

About the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Programme:

• The programme will initially commence between the Japan Patent Office and the Indian Patent Office on a pilot basis for a period of three years.
  • Under this pilot programme, the Indian Patent Office may receive patent applications in certain specified technical fields only, like electrical, electronics, computer science, information technology, physics, civil, mechanical, textiles, automobiles and metallurgy.
  • The Japan Patent Office may receive applications in all fields of technology.
• The PPH programme is a set of initiatives for providing accelerated patent prosecution procedures by sharing information between some patent offices.
• Benefits of PPH:
  • Reduction in disposal time and pendency of patent applications.
  • Consistency in the quality of granted patents.
  • Provides an opportunity for Indian inventors including MSMEs and Start-ups to get accelerated examination of their patent applications in Japan (initially, and later other countries).
  • Faster grant of patents in India will result in more inbound investments by companies and also the introduction of newer technologies thereby giving a fillip to Make in India and increasing employment opportunities.

India-Finland Joint Commission

Context:

19th Session of the India-Finland Joint Commission concludes.

About the India-Finland Joint Commission:

• The India-Finland Joint Commission was set up in 1974.
• The Agenda for the 19^th Joint Commission Session was:
  • WTO issues
  • India – EU BTIA
  • Bilateral trade and investment relations
  • Trade barrier issues and measures to promote trade
  • Cooperation in the sectors of power, petroleum and gas, new and renewable energy, environment, cleantech, science, technology and innovations, education and skill development, and labour mobility, digitalization including ICT, transportation
  • Cooperation in the textiles sector
  • Cultural cooperation
  • Tourism cooperation
• The Joint Commission is a forum for strengthening economic relations between India and Finland.
• The 20^th session will be held in Helsinki in 2021.

India – Finland Relations:

• This year marks the 70^th anniversary of India – Finland diplomatic relations.
• Both India and Finland cooperate on a wide array of issues and as a member of the European Union (EU), Finland regards India as a strategic partner for balanced and comprehensive trade relations.
• Bilateral trade between India and Finland totalled USD 1.247 billion in 2014-15 and USD 1.284 billion in 2016-17.
• In 2016 Finnish companies have invested USD 419 million between April 2000 and July 2017.
• Approximately 100 Finnish companies have operations in India and about 30 Indian companies mainly in the software and consultancy sector are active in Finland.
• Main export items from India: Electronic goods, mineral fuels and mineral oils, readymade garments, cotton including accessories, pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals, articles of iron and steel, machinery and instrument, coffee, rubber, iron and steel, organic chemicals and nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances and parts thereof.
• Major imports of India from Finland: Electrical machinery and equipment, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, paper and paper board, iron and steel, pulp of wood or of other fibrous cellulosic material, pulp and waste paper, vehicles and transport equipment, etc.

Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0

About the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0:

• The Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) was launched in 2017 aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality by reaching out to each and every child under two years of age and all the pregnant women who are left uncovered under the routine immunization programme.
• The IMI 2.0 aims to achieve targets of full immunization coverage in 272 districts in 27 States.
• IMI 2.0 will be rolled out in December 2019.
• The salient features of IMI 2.0 are:
  • Immunization activity will be in four rounds over 7 working days excluding the RI days, Sundays and holidays.
  • Enhanced immunization session with flexible timing, mobile session and mobilization by other departments.
  • Enhanced focus on left-outs, dropouts, and resistant families and hard to reach areas.
  • Focus on urban, underserved population and tribal areas.
  • Inter-ministerial and inter-departmental coordination.
  • Enhance political, administrative and financial commitment, through advocacy.
  • Intensified Mission Indradhanush immunization drive, consisting of 4 rounds of immunization will be conducted in the selected districts and urban cities in Dec 2019 – March 2020.

Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial and Agricultural Wastes/Residues

Context:

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is implementing the scheme “Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial and Agricultural Wastes/Residues” for promoting the setting up of waste-to-energy plants to recover energy in the form of Biogas or BioCNG or Power from Urban, Industrial and Agricultural Waste/Residues for meeting certain niche energy demands of urban, industrial and commercial sectors in the country.

Objectives of the scheme:

• To promote setting up of projects for recovery of energy in the form of Biogas/BioCNG/Enriched Biogas/Power from urban, industrial and agricultural wastes; and captive power and thermal use through gasification in industries.
• To promote Biomass Gasifier based power plants for producing electricity to meet the unmet demand of captive power and thermal needs of rice mills and other industries and villages for lighting, water pumping and micro-enterprises.
• To create conducive conditions and environment, with fiscal and financial regime, to develop, demonstrate and disseminate utilization of wastes and residues for recovery of energy.

Other details:

• The scheme provides Central Financial Assistance in the form of back-ended subsidy to developers for setting up of such projects.
• So far 199 waste-to-energy projects for the generation of Biogas/BioCNG/Power based on Urban, industrial, agricultural waste and Municipal Solid Waste have been successfully established in the country.

Protection of Local Weavers

The Government is implementing the following schemes to support handloom weavers across the country and to protect them from private players in India, abroad and duplicate products from outside the State:

• National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP)
• Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS)
• Handloom Weavers’ Comprehensive Welfare Scheme (HWCWS)
• Yarn Supply Scheme (YSS)

For more on all the above schemes, check PIB dated 12 July, 2019.

Tackling the Problem of Malnutrition Among Children

Context:

The Government accords high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is implementing several schemes/programmes of different Ministries/Departments through States/UTs to address various aspects related to nutrition.

Details:

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing several schemes and programmes like Anganwadi Services, Scheme for Adolescent Girls and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana under the Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services Scheme as direct targeted interventions to address the problem of malnutrition in the country.
• The Government has also launched POSHAN Abhiyaan, which aims to prevent and reduce the prevalence of stunting, underweight and anaemia among children (0-6 years) and reduction in the prevalence of low birth weight in the country in a time-bound manner.
• Anganwadi Services:
  • They are under the Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme and aim to improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age-group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers and reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity and malnutrition.
  • These services include supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition & health education, immunization, health check-up and referral services.

Related Links:

November 21st, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

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