PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 17-MAY-2018
Topic: Issues
related to health.
Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana
(PMSSY)
Context: The
Union Cabinet has approved setting up of a new All India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) in Deoghar, Jharkhand under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya
Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
Significance:
The
setting up of new AIIMS at Deoghar will serve the dual purpose of providing
super speciality health care to the population while also helping to create a
large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region to be available
for primary and secondary-level institutions/facilities being created under the
National Health Mission (NHM).
About PMSSY:
The
Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) was announced in 2003 with
objectives of correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/
reliable tertiary healthcare services and also to augment facilities for
quality medical education in the country.
§ It is a
central sector scheme.
§ The scheme
has two components: Setting up of new AIIMS and upgradation of government
medical colleges.
Significance of the scheme:
Setting up
of new AIIMS would not only transform health education and training but also
address the shortfall of health care professionals in the region. Construction
of new AIIMS is fully funded by the Central Government. The Operations &
Maintenance expenses on new AIIMS are also fully borne by the Central
Government.
Employment Generation:
§ Setting up
new AIIMS in various states will lead to employment generation for nearly 3000
people in various faculty & non-faculty posts in each of the AIIMS.
Further, indirect employment generation will take place due to facilities &
services like shopping centre, canteens, etc. coming in the vicinity of new
AIIMS.
§ The
upgradation programme is carried out in selected Government Medical Colleges
(GMCs) by agencies appointed by the Government of India under the direct
supervision of the Central Government. Post-Graduate seats and additional
faculty posts as per norms will be created and filled up in these GMCs by the
respective State/UT Governments.
§ The
construction activity involved for creation of the physical infrastructure for
the various new AIIMS and Government Medical Colleges’ upgradation projects
being undertaken under the scheme is also expected to generate substantial
employment in the construction phase as well.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: PMSSY.
§ For Mains:
Significance of the scheme and the need for universal access to healthcare
facilities in the country.
Sources:
pib.
Topic: Issues
related to health.
National Institute of Mental Health
Rehabilitation at Bhopal
Context: The
Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of National Institute of Mental
Health Rehabilitation (NIMHR) at Bhopal.
About NIMHR:
§ NIMHR will
be the first of its kind in the country in the area of mental health
rehabilitation. It will serve as an institution of excellence to develop
capacity building in the area of mental health rehabilitation and also help the
Government to develop models for effective rehabilitation of persons with
mental illness.
§ NIMHR has
been established as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 under
the aegis of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.
§ The main
objectives of the NIMHR are to provide rehabilitation services to the persons
with mental illness, capacity development in the area of mental health
rehabilitation, policy framing and advanced research in mental health
rehabilitation.
§ The
Institute will conduct 12 courses to offer diploma, certificate, graduate, post
graduate, M.Phil degrees in the area of mental health rehabilitation.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: NIMHR.
§ For Mains:
Mental health- concerns, challenges and solutions.
Sources:
pib.
Topic:
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and
issues arising out of their design and implementation.
National Policy on Biofuels – 2018
Context: The
Union Cabinet has approved National Policy on Biofuels – 2018.
Salient Features:
Categorization: The
Policy categorises biofuels as “Basic Biofuels” viz. First Generation (1G)
bioethanol & biodiesel and “Advanced Biofuels” – Second Generation (2G)
ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to drop-in fuels, Third Generation (3G)
biofuels, bio-CNG etc. to enable extension of appropriate financial and fiscal
incentives under each category.
Scope of raw materials: The
Policy expands the scope of raw material for ethanol production by allowing use
of Sugarcane Juice, Sugar containing materials like Sugar Beet, Sweet Sorghum,
Starch containing materials like Corn, Cassava, Damaged food grains like wheat,
broken rice, Rotten Potatoes, unfit for human consumption for ethanol
production.
Protection to farmers: Farmers
are at a risk of not getting appropriate price for their produce during the
surplus production phase. Taking this into account, the Policy allows use of
surplus food grains for production of ethanol for blending with petrol with the
approval of National Biofuel Coordination Committee.
Viability gap funding: With
a thrust on Advanced Biofuels, the Policy indicates a viability gap funding
scheme for 2G ethanol Bio refineries of Rs.5000 crore in 6 years in addition to
additional tax incentives, higher purchase price as compared to 1G biofuels.
Boost to biodiesel production: The
Policy encourages setting up of supply chain mechanisms for biodiesel
production from non-edible oilseeds, Used Cooking Oil, short gestation crops.
Expected benefits:
Import dependency: The
policy aims at reducing import dependency.
Cleaner environment: By
reducing crop burning & conversion of agricultural residues/wastes to
biofuels there will be further reduction in Green House Gas emissions.
Health benefits: Prolonged
reuse of Cooking Oil for preparing food, particularly in deep-frying is a
potential health hazard and can lead to many diseases. Used Cooking Oil is a
potential feedstock for biodiesel and its use for making biodiesel will prevent
diversion of used cooking oil in the food industry.
Employment Generation: One
100klpd 2G bio refinery can contribute 1200 jobs in Plant Operations, Village
Level Entrepreneurs and Supply Chain Management.
Additional Income to Farmers: By
adopting 2G technologies, agricultural residues/waste which otherwise are burnt
by the farmers can be converted to ethanol and can fetch a price for these
waste if a market is developed for the same.
Significance of Biofuels:
Globally,
biofuels have caught the attention in last decade and it is imperative to keep
up with the pace of developments in the field of biofuels. Biofuels in India
are of strategic importance as it augers well with the ongoing initiatives of
the Government such as Make in India, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Skill Development
and offers great opportunity to integrate with the ambitious targets of
doubling of Farmers Income, Import Reduction, Employment Generation, Waste to
Wealth Creation.
Classification of Biofuels:
§ 1st
generation biofuels are also called conventional biofuels. They are made from
things like sugar, starch, or vegetable oil. Note that these are all food
products. Any biofuel made from a feedstock that can also be consumed as a
human food is considered a first generation biofuel.
§ 2nd
generation biofuels are produced from sustainable feedstock. The sustainability
of a feedstock is defined by its availability, its impact on greenhouse gas
emissions, its impact on land use, and by its potential to threaten the food
supply. No second generation biofuel is also a food crop, though certain food
products can become second generation fuels when they are no longer useful for
consumption. Second generation biofuels are often called “advanced biofuels.”
§ 3rd
generation biofuels are biofuel derived from algae. These biofuels are given
their own separate class because of their unique production mechanism and their
potential to mitigate most of the drawbacks of 1st and 2nd generation biofuels.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: Sustainable biofuels, Mission Innovation and Biofuture platform.
§ For Mains:
Biofuels- significance, challenges and solutions.
Sources:
pib.
Paper 3:
Topic: Issues
related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices.
Micro-irrigation fund
Context: The
government on Wednesday approved a dedicated Rs5,000 crore fund to bring more
land area under micro-irrigation as part of its objective to boost agriculture
production and farmer’s income.
About the Micro Irrigation Fund:
§ ‘Micro
Irrigation Fund’ (MIF) has been setup with NABARD under Pradhan Mantri Krishi
Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). An allocation of Rs2,000 crore has been made for this
fiscal while Rs3,000 crore has been earmarked for the 2019-20 fiscal. NABARD
will extend the loan to state governments during this period.
§ NABARD
will provide this amount to states on concessional rate of interest. Borrowings
from NABARD shall be paid back in seven years including the grace period of two
years.
§ The
lending rate under MIF has been proposed at 3% lower than the cost of raising
the fund by NABARD. This cost would be met from the ongoing scheme of
PMKSY-PDMC (per drop more crop component) by amending the existing guidelines.
Beneficiaries:
§ The dedicated
fund would supplement the efforts of PMKSY programme and help bring about 10
lakh hectares under micro-irrigation.
§ The fund
will facilitate States to mobilise resources for their initiatives, including
additional (top up subsidy) in implementation of PMKSY-PDMC to achieve the
annual target of about 2 million hectares per year during the remaining period
of 14th Finance Commission.
§ The states
might access this fund for innovative integrated projects, including projects
in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode and also for incentivizing micro
irrigation.
§ Farmers
Producers Organization (FPO)/Cooperatives/State Level Agencies can also access
the funds with state government guarantee or equivalent collateral. Farmers
Co-operatives may access this fund for innovative cluster based community
irrigation projects.
PMKSY:
PMKSY is
an umbrella scheme incorporating ongoing schemes of the Ministry like Mega Food
Parks, Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, Food Safety and
Quality Assurance Infrastructure, etc. and also new schemes like Infrastructure
for Agro-processing Clusters, Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages,
Creation / Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
Infrastructure.
Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)
Context: Cabinet
has approved development of Trunk Infrastructure Components for Integrated
Multi Modal Logistics Hub known as “Freight Village” at Nangal Chaudhary in
Haryana under Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project. The Freight Village
will be connected through Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) at Dabla.
What is a freight village?
A ‘Freight
Village’ is a specialised industrial estate which attracts companies that
require logistics services and can cluster to improve their competitiveness.
This will allow relocation of retailers, warehouse operators and logistics
service providers supplying the regional FMCG market. Due to its proximity to
the main city, it will serve as a distribution centre and as a point of
transfer between long distance transport by truck, rail and waterway and short
distance distribution with delivery vans. ‘Freight Village’ includes an
inter-modal terminal, which facilitates integration between different modes of
transport.
About DMIC:
What is
it? Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is a mega infra-structure project of USD
90 billion with the financial & technical aids from Japan, covering an
overall length of 1483 KMs between the political capital and the business
capital of India, i.e. Delhi and Mumbai. A MoU in this regard was signed in
2006.
Components:
The project would include six mega investment regions of 200 square kilometres
each and will run through six states Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh, Southern
Haryana, Eastern Rajasthan, Eastern Gujarat, and Western Maharashtra. However,
the Project Influence Region of DMIC includes parts of Madhya Pradesh too.
Aim: The
project aims to develop an environmentally sustainable, long lasting and
technological advanced infrastructure utilizing cutting age Japanese
technologies and to create world class manufacturing and investment
destinations in this region.
Western Corridor:
§ In October
2006, the Indian Government established a dedicated body, the Dedicated Freight
Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL), to carry out the project.
§ The
western DFC will separate freight and passenger traffic to increase the speed
of freight movement. It will be used to transport fertilisers, food grains,
salt, coal, iron & steel and cement.
§ The
project will eventually be linked to the Eastern DFC to form four hubs known as
India’s Golden Quadrilateral including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
§ The
Western Dedicated Freight Corridor covers a distance of 1504 km of double line
electric track from JNPT to Dadri via
Vadodara-Ahmedabad-Palanpur-Phulera-Rewari.
§ The
Western Corridor passes through 5 states- Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: DMIC, freight village and DFC.
§ For Mains:
Need for infrastructure development.
Sources:
pib.
Topic: IPR
related issues.
Intellectual Property mascot – IP Nani
Context: The
government has launched the Intellectual Property (IP) mascot – IP Nani.
About IP Nani:
§ Mascot IP
Nani is a tech-savvy grandmother who helps the government and enforcement
agencies in combating IP crimes with the help of her grandson “Chhotu” aka
Aditya.
§ The IP
mascot will spread awareness about the importance of Intellectual Property
Rights (IPRs) among people, especially children, in an interesting manner.
§ This
character is also in line with the World Intellectual Property Organization’s
(WIPO) campaign for the World IP Day which celebrates the brilliance,
ingenuity, curiosity and courage of the women who are driving change in our
world and shaping our common future.
About WIPO:
§ The World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the 17 specialized agencies
of the United Nations.
§ It was
created in 1967 “to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of
intellectual property throughout the world.”
§ It has
currently 188 member states, administers 26 international treaties, and is
headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
§ Non-members
are the states of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru,
Palau, Solomon Islands, South Sudan and Timor-Leste. Palestine has observer
status.
§ India is a
member of WIPO and party to several treaties administered by WIPO.
What’s important?
For
Prelims: IP Nani and WIPO.
Sources:
pib.
Topic: IP
related issues.
Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM)
Context: The
Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) recently organized a conference
on successful completion of two years of the National Intellectual Property
Rights (IPR) Policy adopted by the Government of India in May 2016.
About the IPR Policy:
§ The National
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy, which was approved by the Union
Cabinet in May 2016, is a significant move forward to encourage creativity and
stimulate innovation in the country.
§ Outreach
and Promotion is the first and foremost objective of the National IPR Policy
and is critical to shaping an IP environment that is conducive to fostering
creativity & innovation in the country.
Highlights of the new IPR policy:
§ The new
policy seeks to encourage innovation and improve access to healthcare, food
security and environmental protection.
§ The Policy
will allow compulsory licensing with restrictions in case of a public health
emergency such as epidemics and it is compliant with the World Trade
Organization’s guidelines.
§ The policy
seeks to put in place a legal framework that will encourage the IPR regime and
reduce the time taken by the government to approve a trademark to a month by
2017. Currently, the process takes more than a year.
§ The policy
makes the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) the nodal agency
for regulating IP rights in the country.
§ The Policy
states “India shall remain committed to the (World Trade Organisation’s) Doha
Declaration on Trade Related IPR Agreement (TRIPS) and Public Health.”
§ It also
says “India will continue to utilise the legislative space and flexibilities
available in international treaties and the TRIPS Agreement.” These
flexibilities include the sovereign right of countries to use provisions such
as Section 3(d) and CLs for ensuring the availability of essential and
life-saving drugs at affordable prices.
§ To ensure
strong and effective IPR laws, the Policy states India will engage
constructively in the negotiation of international treaties and agreements in
consultation with stakeholders.
About CIPAM:
Cell for
IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) has been created as a professional body
under the aegis of DIPP to take forward the implementation of the National IPR
Policy that was approved by the Government in May 2016, with the slogan –
“Creative India; Innovative India”.
Functions:
CIPAM is working towards creating public awareness about IPRs in the country,
promoting the filing of IPRs through facilitation, providing inventors with a
platform to commercialize their IP assets and coordinating the implementation
of the National IPR Policy in collaboration with Government
Ministries/Departments and other stakeholders.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: CIPAM and the new IPR policy.
§ For Mains:
IPR Policy related issues.
Sources:
pib.
Topic: Security
agencies and management in border areas.
Network For Spectrum (NFS) project
Context: The
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for enhancement of
budget by Rs.11,330 crore for the Network For Spectrum (NFS) project.
About the Network For Spectrum (NFS) Project:
§ Network
For Spectrum (NFS) project is for laying of alternate communication network for
Defence Services.
§ The
project is being implemented by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
§ The
project will also have forward linkages to other related industries such as
telecom equipment manufacturing and other telecommunication related services.
§ The NFS
project will boost the communication capabilities of the Defence Forces in a
major way leading to enhanced national operational preparedness.
§ The
project is crucial since the armed forces will migrate all their communication
needs to this optic-fibre network and free more bandwidth for commercial
telephony services.
Sources:
pib.
Facts for Prelims:
Mangaluru narrow-mouthed frog:
Context:
It is the newest frog discovered from Karnataka.
Key facts:
§ It is
christened Microhyla kodial after the city of Mangaluru (called kodial in the
Konkani language).
§ The
Mangaluru narrow-mouthed frog is found only in a small industrial space in
Mangaluru.
§ Physical
features: The greyish-brown frog is just 2 cm long. It has a thick olive-green
band on its head, less-prominent dark green bands on the rest of its body.
§ The
Mangaluru narrow-mouthed frog is the 42nd species belonging to the genus
Microhyla recorded from south Asia. More than 650 microhylids – or frogs
belonging to the family Microhylidae – are found across the world’s tropics.
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