15 October 2018: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

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National Security Strategy

Aim:

• At creating conditions to effectively pursue its development agenda while keeping the costs of security optimal and affordable.

Following components to be included:

• Maintaining a deterrent capability to safeguard National Interests.
• Ensuring security of national territory, maritime region, including our trade routes, air space and cyber space.
• Maintaining a secure internal environment to guard against threats to our unity and development.
• Strengthening and Expanding ‘‘Constructive Engagement’’ with Nations to promote regional and global peace as also international stability.

BBNL key for implementation of Bharat Net project

• BBNL has played a key role in leading the successful implementation of the Bharat Net project fordigitally connecting all 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country.

Objective:

• To facilitate the delivery of e-governance, e-health, e-education, e-banking and other services to citizens in every part of our country, on a non-discriminatory basis. We have completed approximately 50% of the project, and the remainder is targeted for completion by March 2019.

About Bharat Net:

• Phase I: The target of completing 1,00,000 GPs under phase-I of Bharat Net was achieved in December 2017.
• Phase ll: Bharat Net Phase-II is planned to connect the remaining 1,50,000 GPs, using an optimal mix of media, by 31 Mar, 2019.

Phase II is being implemented through three models – state-led model, CPSU model, and private sector model.

Youth Road Safety Learners Licence Programme

Context:

• The programme is a PPP initiative to be run incollaboration with Diageo India and the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), and attempts to bring a formal and structured training program for young, first-time drivers as they apply for learner’s license.
• Launching this first-of-its-kind training programme in the country, road safety is of prime importance for the Government as recent times have seen an alarming rise in road fatalities especially among the youth.
• Rash driving, drunken driving, lack of adequate safety measures like not wearing helmets are some of the major factors resulting in high road accidents.
• The government is committed to making its vision of safer roads and cities a reality. This programme will help the Government achieve its target of reducing road accidents by 50 percent by 2020.

Background: 

• IRTE has been successfully running its ‘Road to Safety’ initiative to provide capacity building training to traffic police officials and educate commercial drivers such as truckers and bus drivers and university students on the dangers of drunken driving. The programme has trained over 4624 traffic officials in road safety capacity-building, 6,000 commercial vehicle drivers and over 5,000 university students in more than 64 cities of 17 states.

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