29 October 2019: PIB Summary & Analysis

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October 29th, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

National Corporate Social Responsibility Awards

Context:

President of India presents National Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.

About the National Corporate Social Responsibility Awards:

• The President presented the National Corporate Social Responsibility Awards (NCSRA) in New Delhi.
• The NCSRA was instituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to recognize outstanding contribution in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
• This is for the first time that these awards have been given. They will be given annually on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti (October 2).
• The awards have been instituted to recognize CSR for inclusive growth and sustainable development. This award seeks to recognize the companies that have made a transformative impact on society.
• The awards are given in three categories:
  • Four awards for excellence in CSR, based on CSR spend
  • Five awards for CSR projects in Aspirational Districts
  • Eleven awards for CSR projects in National Priority Areas
• Three separate awards are for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
• In accordance with the Scheme of National CSR Awards, the following have been designated to make nominations under different categories as mentioned above:
  • Ministries/Departments of the Government of India
  • State & Union Territories (UT) Governments
  • Professional institutions: ICSI, ICAI, ICMAI
  • National Level Trade and Industry Chambers
• With the enactment of Companies Act, 2013 containing the CSR provision under Section 135, the mandate for CSR has now become a part of corporate governance.
• The CSR provisions in the Act came into force in 2014.
• The CSR activities, undertaken by the private and the public sector companies, are now expected to have strategic approach as opposed to mere charity, donations, etc. The CSR activities undertaken in project mode are envisaged to be structured, coordinated and monitored.

Strategic Partnership Council by India and Saudi Arabia

Context:

India and Saudi Arabia signed a Strategic Partnership Council Agreement.

Details:

• The Prime Minister is on a visit to Saudi Arabia.
• The signing of the agreement on the Strategic Partnership Council by India and Saudi Arabia would strengthen the already robust relations between the two countries.
• One of the most important outcomes of the visit is expected to be the establishment of a Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) between the two countries.
• India will become the fourth country with which the Kingdom has formed a strategic partnership, the others being the UK, France and China.
• The SPC will have two parallel tracks: Political, security, culture and society, headed by both countries’ foreign ministers; and economy and investment, headed by India’s commerce and industry minister and the Saudi energy minister.
• Energy security is one of the prime areas of India’s engagement with Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia supplies 18% of India’s crude oil requirements and 30% of its liquefied petroleum gas needs.

Future Investment Initiative Forum

Context:

Prime Minister gives keynote address at the Future Investment Initiative Forum in Riyadh.

About the Future Investment Initiative Forum:

• The forum is an international investment forum annually held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• It brings together decision makers, leading investors and global experts to explore future economic trends and opportunities, shed light on the future of industries, and discuss how investment can continue to drive overall global prosperity and development.
• It is hosted by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF). The PIF was founded for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of $320 billion.
• The Future Investment Initiative Forum was first held in 2017.

Shri Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde to be the next Chief Justice of India

Context:

The President has appointed Shri Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, Judge of the Supreme Court as the next Chief Justice of India.

Details:

Read more about the appointment of the CJI here.

National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB)

Context:

The National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB) Committee submitted the final NDHB report to the Union Health Minister.

Details:

• The NDHB will help in providing a common platform for the integration of existing applications in health domain and data which has existed in silos, either in public health facility, or, in private healthcare facility, in India.
• The objectives of NDHB are aligned to the National Health Policy 2017 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to the health sector.
• NDHB objectives:
  • To establish and manage the core digital health data and the infrastructure required for its seamless exchange.
  • To promote the adoption of open standards by all the actors in the National Digital Health Ecosystem (NDHE), for developing several digital health systems that span across the sector from wellness to disease management.
  • To create a system of Personal Health Records, based on international standards, which are easily accessible to the citizens and to the service providers, based on citizen-consent.
  • To follow the best principles of cooperative federalism while working with the States and UTs for fulfilling this vision.
  • To promote Health Data Analytics and Medical Research.
  • To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Governance at all levels.
  • To ensure quality of healthcare.
  • To leverage the Information Systems already existing in the health sector.
• The report also recommended the creation of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), which would be a government organisation on the lines of the UIDAI and the GSTN.
• The report is the result of the Committee’s recognition that there was a need to create a framework for the evolution of a National Digital Health Eco-system (NDHE).
• To read more about the National Health Policy 2017, click here.

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