PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 25-MAY-2018
Topic:
mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and
betterment of these vulnerable sections.
ALIMCO
Context: Department
of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD-Divyangjan Shashaktikaran
Vibhag), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) with Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India
(ALIMCO) for the Financial Year 2018-19. It covers major developments to be
achieved in this year for the Empowerment of Divyangjan of the country.
About ALIMCO:
§ ALIMCO is
a “Not For Profit” Central Public Sector Undertaking working under the
administrative control of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
§ For past
40 years, it has been relentlessly manufacturing various types of aids and
appliances on mass scale to meet the requirements of PwDs including
orthopedically, visual and hearing impaired etc.
§ Since its
inception, it has been serving on an average around two lakhs of disabled
population every year and has supplied 42 lakhs of aids & appliances
(approx.).
Need for their empowerment:
A country
can truly progress only when it is able to build an all-inclusive society, in
which equal opportunities are provided for the growth and development of
Persons with Disabilities so that they can lead productive, safe and dignified
life.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: ALIMCO.
§ For Mains:
Empowerment of Divyangjan- need and government initiatives in this regard.
Sources:
pib.
Topic: Issues
relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to
Health, Education, Human Resources, issues relating to poverty and hunger.
India’s 1st Sports University In Manipur
Context: The
Union Cabinet has approved an ordinance to set up the country’s first national
sports university in Manipur. A bill to set up the university in Imphal is
already pending in parliament. The ordinance will be on the lines of the bill
introduced in Lok Sabha in August, 2017.
Highlights of the Bill:
Establishment of the University: The
Bill establishes a National Sports University located in Manipur. It will
promote sports education in the areas of: (i) sports sciences, (ii) sports
technology, (iii) sports management, and (iv) sports coaching. It will
function as a national training centre for select sports disciplines. It may
also establish campuses and study centres in other parts of the country.
The University will be empowered to grant degrees, diplomas and certificates.
Objectives: The
key objectives of the University are: (i) research, development and
dissemination of knowledge in physical education and sports sciences, (ii)
strengthening physical education and sports training programmes, (iii)
generating knowledge capabilities, skills and competence at various levels, and
(iv) training talented athletes to help them to evolve into international level
athletes.
Authorities of the University: The
Bill provides for several authorities under the University. These
include: Court, Executive Council, Academic and Activity Council, Board of
Sports Studies etc.
Role the central government: The
central government will review and inspect the functioning of the University.
The Executive Council may take action based on the inspection report. If it
fails to take action to the satisfaction of the central government, it will
have to comply with the directions issued by the central government. Further,
the central government may annul any proceeding of the University which is not
in line with the Act.
Funding: The
University will be required to maintain a fund which will be credited with the
funds that it receives from the central government, state government, and fees
and money received from any other sources (grants and gifts). All funds
of the University will be invested as decided by the Board on the
recommendation of the Finance Committee.
Significance of the move:
Setting up
of National Sports University in Manipur will result in giving an opportunity
for youth of country in general and of North Eastern States in particular for
pursuing courses such as B.PEd, MPEd, Diploma / certificate courses in
coaching, physiotherapy, fitness, sports management, sports journalism, etc.
What’s important?
For
Prelims and Mains: Salient features of the Bill.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic: India
and its neighbourhood- relations.
Nepal: first country in South-East Asia
validated for eliminating trachoma
Context: The
World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Nepal for having eliminated
trachoma as a public health problem – a milestone, as the country becomes the
first in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to defeat the world’s leading infectious
cause of blindness.
Background:
Trachoma
was the second leading cause of preventable blindness in Nepal in the 1980s. In
2002, the Government of Nepal stepped up efforts to eliminate the disease with
the establishment of a national trachoma programme. From 2002 to 2005,
following the implementation of sustained control activities, the prevalence of
active (inflammatory) trachoma fell by 40%.
About Trachoma:
What is
it? Trachoma is a chronic infective disease of the eye and is the leading cause
of infective blindness globally. Trachoma is a disease of poor environmental
and personal hygiene and inadequate access to water and sanitation.
It affects
the conjunctiva under the eyelids. Repeated infections cause scarring leading
to in-turning of the eyelashes and eyelids. This further causes damage to the
cornea and blindness.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic: e-governance-
applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential.
PRAGATI
Context: The
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, recently chaired his twenty-sixth
interaction through PRAGATI – the ICT-based, multi-modal platform for
Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation.
The 25
PRAGATI meetings so far have seen a cumulative review of 227 projects with a
total investment of over Rs. 10 lakh crore. Resolution of Public Grievances has
also been reviewed across a range of sectors.
About PRAGATI:
What is
it?
PRAGATI is
a unique integrating and interactive platform. The platform is aimed at
addressing common man’s grievances, and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing
important programmes and projects of the Government of India as well as
projects flagged by State Governments.
Unique
features:
§ The
PRAGATI platform uniquely bundles three latest technologies: Digital data
management, video-conferencing and geo-spatial technology.
§ It also
offers a unique combination in the direction of cooperative federalism since it
brings on one stage the Secretaries of Government of India and the Chief
Secretaries of the States.
§ With this,
the Prime Minister is able to discuss the issues with the concerned Central and
State officials with full information and latest visuals of the ground level
situation. It is also an innovative project in e-governance and good
governance.
§ It is a
three-tier system (PMO, Union Government Secretaries, and Chief Secretaries of
the States).
§ Issues to
be flagged before the PM are picked up from the available database regarding
Public Grievances, on-going Programmes and pending Projects.
§ The system
will ride on, strengthen and re-engineer the data bases of the CPGRAMS for
grievances, Project Monitoring Group (PMG) and the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation. PRAGATI provides an interface and platform for all
these three aspects.
§ The system
has been designed in-house by the PMO team with the help of National
Informatics Center (NIC).
What’s important?
For
Prelims and Mains: Pragati and its unique features.
Sources:
pib.
Topic: India
and its neighbourhood- relations.
ASEAN India Film Festival
Context: India
is hosting the ASEAN India Film Festival. The Film Festival will be a platform
for people of the film industry of member countries to explore areas of
cooperation in the domain of “cinema and cultural cooperation.
Key facts:
§ The Film
Festival will be non-competitive. The tagline of the Festival is proposed to be
‘Friendship through Films’.
§ The
Directorate of Film Festivals is organising ASEAN India Film Festival in
collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (ASEAN Multilateral
Division) as part of the series of events to commemorate the 25 years of ASEAN
and India relations.
Aim of the Festival:
As a
vehicle of Cultural Exchange, the Directorate of Film Festival aims to provide
access to new trends in filmmaking by providing the platform for an exchange of
ideas, culture and experiences in the field of cinema.
Participants:
The ASEAN
film festival will have countries which have immense and colourful cultural
diversity but share common historical thread. This will be showcased through
screenings of films, alongside exchange of ideas, discussions between the film
personalities and interactive sessions with the audience.
About ASEAN:
The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental
organization comprising ten Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam)
which promotes Pan-Asianism and intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates
economic, political, security, military, educational and socio-cultural
integration amongst its members and other Asian countries, and globally.
§ Its
principal aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress, and
sociocultural evolution among its members, alongside the protection of regional
stability and the provision of a mechanism for member countries to resolve
differences peacefully.
§ ASEAN is
an official United Nations observer, as well as an active global partner. It
also maintains a global network of alliances, and is involved in numerous
international affairs. Communication by member states takes place in English.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: ASEAN India film festival, ASEAN.
§ For Mains:
Significance of cooperation among ASEAN members.
Sources:
pib.
Paper 3:
Topic: Infrastructure
and internal security related issues.
Universal Service Obligation Fund [USOF]
Context: The
Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the
“Universal Service Obligation Fund [USOF]” supported scheme to provide mobile
services at 4072 tower locations identified by MHA in inhabited uncovered areas
affected by Left Wing Extremism [LWE] of 96 districts in 10 States for Phase-ll
project.
Significance of this move:
§ This
network would be used by the security personnel deployed in LWE affected areas.
§ Project
will also provide the mobile services to help the residents in unconnected
inhabited villages which would improve the economic activities in the region.
§ It will
give impetus to the e-Governance activities in the backward and LWE affected
area with the availability of digital mobile connectivity.
What are LWE affected states?
Districts
which span 10 States — Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha,
Telangana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — are
described as those affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and constitute the
‘Red Corridor.’
The considerations on which the government
has examined the districts with LWE features are:
§ Their
violence profile.
§ An
assessment of the kind of logistical and other support provided to armed Maoist
cadres by their sympathisers and over ground workers.
§ The kind
of positive changes brought about by development work that these districts have
seen.
Universal Service Obligation Fund:
§ USOF,
established in 2002, provides effective subsidies to ensure telegraph services
are provided to everyone across India, especially in the rural and remote
areas. It is headed by the USOF Administrator who reports to the Secretary,
Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
§ Funds come
from the Universal Service Levy (USL) of 5% charged from all the telecom
operators on their Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) which are then deposited into
the Consolidated Fund of India, and require prior parliamentary approval to be
dispatched.
§ The USOF
works through a bidding process, where funds are given to the enterprise
quoting the lowest bid. However, the funds for NOFN were made an exception to
this process since BBNL was the sole party involved in the implementation
having being specifically created for it.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: USOF.
§ For Mains:
LWE affected states related issues.
Sources:
the hindu.
Facts for Prelims:
Man Booker Prize:
An English
translation of Olga Tokarczuk’s Polish novel Flights, which combines tales
about travel with explorations of the human body, has been named as the winner
of the prestigious Man Booker International Prize 2018.
About Man
Booker Prize:
Considered
one of the most celebrated literary awards in the British culture, the Man
Booker Prize for Fiction is awarded every year to the best original novel
written in English language and published in the UK. From 2018, it has opened
to Irish publishers as well. It started in 1969 and PH Newby was the first
winner of Booker Prize in 1969 for ‘Something to Answer For’.
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