30 Sep 2021: PIB Summary & Analysis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. VAYO NAMAN Programme
2. 'Senior care Ageing Growth Engine' (SAGE) project
3. NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center (CIC)
4. Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO)
5. Directorate of Ordnance
6. Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
7. People's Plan Campaign 2021 and Vibrant Gram Sabha Dashboard
8. DigiSaksham

1. VAYO NAMAN Programme

Context:

VAYO NAMAN programme organised on the occasion of International Day of Older Persons (Oct 1).

About the VAYO NAMAN Programme:

• On the occasion the Vayoshreshtra Samman awards are distributed.
• An Elderly Helpline number 14567 was launched by the Vice President.
• The VP also launched the Senior Able Citizens Reemployment in Dignity (SACRED) & Senior Care Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE) Portals on this occasion.

SACRED Portal:

• It is an IT portal to bring the employment seeker senior citizens and employment providers on one platform will be developed and maintained by an agency identified through a transparent process.
• An individual senior citizen will get oneself registered on the portal with his relevant education, past experience, skills and the areas of interest. The person will also select keywords regarding expected tasks, which will enable the job providers find them automatically. Details can also be updated by the senior citizens.
• Job providers (individuals/companies) will also register themselves on the portal.
• The web portal will be developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

2. ‘Senior care Ageing Growth Engine’ (SAGE) project

Context:

Based on the recommendations of an Expert Group on Silver Economy, the government has decided to bring out a scheme to promote private enterprises that bring out innovation in products and processes for the benefit of the elders, named SAGE.

About SAGE:

• Objectives of SAGE: to focus on addressing the needs of India’s fast rising elderly population, to select, support and create a “one-stop access” of elderly care products and services, to encourage the selected “startups” based on the innovative products and services address the services from health, housing, care centres, technology access linked to needs ranging from finances, food and wealth management to legal guidance.
• The portal will provide a transparent mechanism for selecting the start-ups.
• SAGE project aims to identify, evaluate, verify, aggregate, and deliver products, solutions, services which can be directly provided to the stakeholders, giving them wide choice to select the products, solutions and services that would suit their requirements and help in improving their quality of life.
• Selected start-ups will get equity support in the form of funding.

3. NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center (CIC)

Context:

NITI Aayog, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Intel have come together to establish a new experience studio at the NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center (CIC).

Details:

• Located in NITI Aayog’s New Delhi premises, the studio will be a hub for collaboration and experimentation to enable problem solving and innovation between government stakeholders, startups, enterprises, and industry domain experts.
• The studio will help showcase the potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR), blockchain, and robotics to accelerate their application in public sector use cases.
• The studio will encourage open innovation and serve as a hub for government, healthcare, education, and non-profit startups from India to showcase their solutions.
• It will also provide startups with an option to access necessary support to enhance and scale their solutions.

About NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies CIC:

• The CIC was established in October 2020 as part of the AWS Cloud Innovation Centers Global Program.
• It works on addressing societal challenges around areas like agriculture and healthcare through digital innovation.
• The NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center is the first AWS CIC in India, and the first such centre that has been set up at a national level.
• It has such centres across countries like Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, South Korea, and the US, including one in partnership with the University of British Columbia.
• The AWS CIC Global Program provides an opportunity for government agencies, non-profit entities, and educational institutions, to collaborate on pressing challenges, apply design thinking methodology, test new ideas, and access technology expertise from AWS.

4. Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO)

Context:

A study has revealed that the IAO in Hanle is one of the promising observatory sites globally because of its clearer nights, minimal light pollution, background aerosol concentration, extremely dry atmospheric condition, and no interruption by the monsoons.

Who conducted the study?

• Scientists from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore and the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in Nainital.

About the Indian Astronomical Observatory:

• The Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO), located in Hanle near Leh in Ladakh, has one of the world’s highest located sites for optical, infrared and gamma-ray telescopes.
• It is operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore.
• It is currently the ninth highest optical telescope in the world, situated at an elevation of 4,500 meters (14,764 ft).
• The IAO stands on Mt. Saraswati, Digpa-ratsa Ri, Hanle in south-eastern Ladakh.
• It was established in 2001.
• The telescope installed at the observatory is a 2-m optical infrared telescope.
• It is remotely operated from CREST, Hosakote, using dedicated satellite links.
• IAO also hosts several site monitoring instruments such as seeing monitor, extinction monitor, all sky camera, Automated Weather Station, etc.

5. Directorate of Ordnance

Context:

E.R. Sheikh assumed charge as first Director General of the Ordnance Directorate (Co-ordination and Services).

About the Directorate of Ordnance:

• It is the successor organization of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
• The Defence Ministry has issued an order for the dissolution of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) with effect from October 1 upon which its assets, employees and management would be transferred to seven newly constituted Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).
• The establishment of the OFB was accepted by the British in 1775.
• Accordingly, with effect from October 1, the management, control, operations and maintenance of the 41 production units and identified non-production units under OFB would be transferred to seven government companies — Munitions India Limited, Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited, Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited, Troop Comforts Limited, Yantra India Limited, India Optel Limited, and Gliders India Limited.
• The government has also decided to transfer the management, control, operations and maintenance of certain identified non-production units of OFB and identified surplus land at 16 production units of OFB to the Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) under the DDP.

Know more about the OFB in CNA dated June 17, 2021.

6. Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)

Context:

India extends support for protecting the Antarctic environment and for designating East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

Details:

• This is the first time India is considering co-sponsoring an MPA proposal at the CCAMLR and getting aligned with countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Korea, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA, which are also proactively considering supporting the MPA proposals.

About CCAMLR:

• CCAMLR is an international treaty to manage Antarctic fisheries to preserve species diversity and stability of the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem.
• CCAMLR came into force in April 1982.
• India has been a permanent member of the CCAMLR since 1986. Work pertaining to the CCAMLR is coordinated in India by the Ministry of Earth Sciences through its attached office, the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) in Kochi, Kerala.
• Its members include 25 countries and the European Union.

What is an MPA?

• An MPA is a marine protected area that provides protection for all or part of its natural resources.
• Certain activities within an MPA are limited or prohibited to meet specific conservation, habitat protection, ecosystem monitoring, or fisheries management objectives.
• Since 2009, CCAMLR members have developed proposals for MPAs for various regions of the Southern Ocean. CCAMLR’s scientific committee examines these proposals. After CCAMLR members agree upon them, elaborate conservation measures are set out by CCAMLR.

7. People’s Plan Campaign 2021 and Vibrant Gram Sabha Dashboard

Context:

Union Minister launched People’s Plan Campaign 2021 and Vibrant Gram Sabha Dashboard.

People’s Plan Campaign:

• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj said that People’s Plan Campaign is being rolled-out in all the States from 2nd October 2021.
• During the campaign, structured Gram Sabha meetings will be held for preparing Panchayat Development Plans for the next financial year 2022–2023.
• The campaign is being undertaken on a large scale, given the number of Gram Panchayats in the country.
• Special efforts have been made to ensure maximum participation of vulnerable sections of society like SC/ST/Women, etc.
• The Panchayat Development Plan aims to strengthen the role of elected representatives of Panchayats and SHG Women under DAY-NRLM in effective Gram Sabha.

Image source: PIB

• The Vibrant Gram Sabha Dashboard will also help in increasing maximum participation through the meeting of Gram Sabha, Standing Committee meeting of Gram Panchayat, meeting of elected Panchayat public representatives throughout the year.

8. DigiSaksham

Context:

The Minister for Labour and Employment launched DigiSaksham.

About DigiSaksham:

• It is a digital skills programme to enhance the employability of youth by imparting digital skills that are required in an increasingly technology driven era.
• It is a joint initiative of the Labour Ministry with Microsoft India to enhance the employability of youth.
• It is an extension of the Government’s ongoing programs to support the youth from rural and semi-urban areas.
• Through DigiSaksham initiative, free of cost training in digital skills including basic skills as well as advance computing, will be provided to more than 3 lakh youths in the first year.
• The Jobseekers can access the training through National Career Service (NCS) Portal (www.ncs.gov.in).
• The initiative gives priority to the job-seekers of semi urban areas belonging to disadvantaged communities, including those who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19 pandemic.
• Under the DigiSaksham initiative, there will be basically three types of training viz. Digital Skills – Self paced learning, VILT mode training (Virtual Instructor led) and ILT mode training (Instructor led).
  • The ILT training which is in person training would be conducted at the Model Career Centres (MCCs) and National Career Service Centres (NCSC) for SCs/STs across the country.
• Through this initiative, nearly one crore active jobseekers registered on National Career Service (NCS) Portal will be able to access training in areas like Java Script, Data Visualisation, Advance Excel, Power Bi, HTML, Programming languages, software development fundamentals, Introduction to coding, etc, equipping them with the skills required in a digital economy.
• DigiSaksham will be implemented in the field by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India (AKRSP-I).

Read previous PIB here.

September 30th, 2021, PIB:- Download PDF Here