24 Sep 2021: PIB Summary & Analysis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. National Service Scheme Awards
2. Scheme for “Promotion of Medical Device Parks”
3. Blue Planet Prize for Sikkim power station
4. PLI Scheme for Auto Industry

1. National Service Scheme Awards

Context:

The President presented the National Service Scheme Awards 2019-20 in a virtual ceremony.

Know more about the National Service Scheme (NSS) in PIB dated Sept 24, 2019.

2. Scheme for “Promotion of Medical Device Parks”

Context:

Scheme for “Promotion of Medical Device Parks” notified.

About the scheme:

• The Department of Pharmaceuticals has notified the Scheme for “Promotion of Medical Device Parks” with the following objectives:
  • Easy access to standard testing and infrastructure facilities through creation of world class common infrastructure facilities for increased competitiveness which will result into significant reduction of the cost of production of medical devices leading to better availability and affordability of medical devices in the domestic market.
  • Reaping the benefits arising due to optimization of resources and economies of scale.
• The Medical Devices Parks to be developed under the scheme will provide common infrastructure facilities at one place thereby creating a robust ecosystem for medical device manufacturing in the country and also reducing the manufacturing cost significantly.
• The total financial outlay of the scheme is Rs. 400 crore and the tenure of the scheme is from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-2025.
• Financial assistance under the scheme:
  • The financial assistance to a selected Medical Device Park would be 70% of the project cost of common infrastructure facilities.
  • In case of North Eastern States and Hilly States, financial assistance would be 90% of the project cost.
  • Maximum assistance under the scheme for one Medical Device Park would be limited to Rs. 100 crores.

3. Blue Planet Prize for Sikkim power station

Context:

The Teesta-V Power Station located in Sikkim has been conferred with the prestigious Blue Planet Prize by International Hydropower Association (IHA), a London based non-profit membership association operating in 120 countries.

Details:

• The IHA Blue Planet Prize is awarded to hydropower projects that demonstrate excellence in sustainable development.
• The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP) is the leading international tool for measuring the sustainability of hydropower projects.
  • It offers a way to benchmark the performance of a hydropower project against a comprehensive range of environmental, social, technical and governance criteria. Assessments are based on objective evidence and the results are presented in a standardized report.
• The Teesta power station has been built, owned and being operated by NHPC (a government-owned hydropower company).
• The award had been conferred to Teesta-V Power Station based on its sustainability assessment undertaken by a team of accredited lead assessors of IHA in 2019 using the Operation Stage tool of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP) of IHA.

4. PLI Scheme for Auto Industry

Context:

Government Notifies PLI Scheme for Automobile & Auto components.

Know more about the PLI scheme for the auto industry in PIB dated Sept 15, 2021.

Read previous PIB here.

September 24th, 2021, PIB:- Download PDF Here