Press Information Bureau (PIB) IAS UPSC – 25th to 30th November, 2019

ARCHIVES

GS-2

70th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution by the Constituent Assembly

(Topic: Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions & basic structure)

November 26, 2019 – The day 26th November is celebrated every year as Constitution Day (also known as ‘Samvidhan Divas’).

President: Dr Rajendra Prasad

Chairman of the Drafting Committee: Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, who is rightly known as the architect of the Constitution.

15 women members of the Constituent Assembly: Included Sarojini Naidu, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Hansaben Jivraj Mehta, Sucheta Kripalani and G. Durgabai, who spoke of equal rights for one and all, when women in many parts of the world were denied basic rights.

Quotes and Speeches

• In his speech before the Constitution was adopted, Dr Rajendra Prasad rightly noted that the successful working of democratic institutions requires willingness to respect the views of others, and capacity for compromise and accommodation. He said, [quote] “Many things which cannot be written in a Constitution are done by conventions. Let me hope that we shall show those capacities and develop those conventions.” [Unquote] Seventy years later, we have reasons to believe that the nation has lived up to his hopes to a fair degree.
• The Constitution itself calls for making justice accessible to all. Consider the Preamble, which is the ‘seed text’ of the whole document. Why did ‘We, the People of India’, solemnly resolve to constitute India into a republic”? Obviously this pledge seeks, “To secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE—Social, Economical and Political”. Like any religious scripture, this grand statement or “Mahavakya” of the constitution aims to secure liberty, equality and fraternity along with justice.
• “While it is absolutely necessary to defend the Fundamental Rights relating to life, liberty, equality and freedom of expression etc., it is time that we, as citizens, take our duties towards the nation seriously. Entitlements come with duties and responsibilities as well. He further said that a proper environment for enjoying rights will be created if every citizen performs her duties. “Let us perform our duty to make India mighty”, Vice President of India and Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu appealed to the citizens.
• To spread awareness among the citizens about their Fundamental Duties, the Vice President suggested a three point action plan including introduction of Fundamental Duties at an appropriate level in the curriculum, displaying the duties at all the educational institutions, offices and public spaces across the country and reaching out to the youth through appropriate campaigns.    

Samagra Shiksha - an Integrated Scheme for school education

(Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education)

An overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education

Subsumes the three erstwhile Schemes of 

1. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
2. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)
3. Teacher Education (TE)

Samagra Shiksha focuses on – Improvement in quality of education by providing support for different interventions like 

• In-service training of teachers and school heads,
• Conduct of achievement surveys at state and national level
• Composite school grant to every school for providing a conducive learning environment, grants for library, sports and physical activities
• Support for Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, ICT and digital initiatives
• School Leadership development programme
• Remedial teaching for academically weaker students
• Support for Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat, etc.

Scheme of Vocationalisation of School Education

The scheme of  Vocationalisation of School Education covers 55 job roles in 19 sectors i.e. Agriculture, Apparel Made ups & Home Furnishing,  Automotive, Banking Finance and Insurance Services, Beauty and Wellness, Construction, Electronics & Hardware, Healthcare, Information Technology / Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITeS), Media & Entertainment, Multi Skilling, Physical Education & Sports, Plumber, Power, Retail, Security, Telecom, Tourism & Hospitality, Transportation Logistics & Warehousing.

WCD Ministry and NITI AAYOG Examining Measures to Strengthen ICDS

AYUSH Ministry & WHO 

(Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health)

Meetings on:

1. Developing Standardized Terminologies
2. Benchmarks documents of Practice for Traditional Medicine

WHO is developing Benchmarks Document for Practice of Ayurveda, Panchakarma & Unani and International Terminologies Documents in Ayurveda, Siddha & Unani as part of its global strategy to strengthen the quality, safety and effectiveness of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM).  Development of this benchmarks document is included in the Project Collaboration Agreement (PCA) signed between World Health Organization (WHO) and Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India on Cooperation in the field of Traditional and Complementary Medicine under WHO strategy on T&CM covering the period 2014-2023.

The practice benchmark documents are expected to

• Serve as international benchmarks for qualified practice of Ayurveda, and Unani
• They will frame the safety requirements for practicing Ayurveda, Panchakarma, and Unani and provide qualifying criteria for practitioners of Ayurveda and Unani among addressing other details and nuances of medical practice. 
• Serve as reference to national authorities to establish/strengthen regulatory standards and ensure practice of Ayurveda, Panchakarma, and Unani, and assure patient safety.
• Provide: list of terms in the respective systems, their definitions (short or explanatory descriptions as required) including contextual meanings of the terms, classical usage/ of the terms with references to the definitions, suggested English terms, synonyms, and even define exclusions to the meanings of the term in medical context.  
• The documents shall cover terms related to basic principles, fundamental theories, human structure and function, diagnosis, pathologies, patterns, and body constitutions, pharmacognosy, pharmacology, preparation of food and medicines, therapeutics, and preventive and health promotion interventions, and miscellaneous terms in the respective medical systems.

ADB, India sign $451 Million Loan to strengthen Power Connectivity in Tamil Nadu

(Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $451 million loan to strengthen power connectivity between the southern and northern parts of the Chennai–Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC), which is part of the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC), in Tamil Nadu. ADB is the lead partner of the Government of India for developing ECEC.

• The project will help Government of Tamil Nadu meet the increasing demand for power supply from industry and commercial enterprises in the State through transfer of power from new generation facilities, including renewable energy, in the southern CKIC to the industrial hubs in the state’s northern region
• The project will provide an impetus to the industrial development of CKIC, which ADB has been assisting through strategic planning and investments in infrastructure while facilitating industrial investments. They are expected to enhance industrial competitiveness while creating well paid jobs to support the state’s rapid economic transformation.

Cabinet Approves

India's Approach to UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Spain: COP 25 is an important conference as countries prepare to move from pre-2020 period under Kyoto Protocol to post-2020 period under Paris Agreement. India's approach will be guided by principles and provisions of UNFCCC and Paris Agreement particularly the principles of Equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capability (CBDR-RC). India has been ambitious in its actions and has emphasized that Developed countries should take lead in undertaking ambitious actions and fulfil their climate finance commitments of mobilizing USD 100 billion per annum by 2020 and progressively and substantially scale up their financial support to inform Parties for future action through NDCs. India will further stress upon need for fulfilling pre-2020 commitments by developed countries and that pre-2020 implementation gaps should not present an additional burden to developing countries in the post-2020 period.

Agreement on establishment of Strategic Partnership Council between India and Saudi Arabia: 

• The proposal aims to benefit the citizens with improved economic and commercial linkages with Saudi Arabia irrespective of any gender, class or income bias.
• This Agreement with Saudi Arabia will open new avenues of partnership in strategic areas like defence, security counter-terrorism, energy security and renewable energy.

MoU signed between India and Myanmar on bilateral cooperation for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons:

• To strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries and to increase bilateral cooperation on the issues of prevention, rescue, recovery and repatriation related to human trafficking.
• To strengthen cooperation to prevent all forms of human trafficking and to protect and assist the victims of trafficking
• Ensure speedy investigation and prosecution of traffickers and organized crime syndicates in either country.
• To strengthen immigration and border controls cooperation and implementation of strategies with relevant Ministries and Organizations to prevent trafficking in persons.
• Setting up Working Groups/ Task Force to make efforts to prevent human trafficking
• Develop and share database on traffickers and victims of trafficking in a safe and confidential manner and exchange information through designated focal points of India and Myanmar
• Capacity building programmes for the agencies concerned of both countries.
• Formulation and adoption of Standard Operating Procedures for Rescue, Recovery, Repatriation and Integration of the victims of trafficking.

MoUs signed between India and Saudi Arabia in the field of combating illicit trafficking and smuggling of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Chemical Precursors: 

• The MoU shall facilitate and enhance the cooperation between the two countries in combating illicit trafficking and smuggling of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and chemical precursors, as defined by the United Nations international Drug Control Conventions.
• Under the MoU, there is a provision for the exchange of relevant information as well as methods, identities and suspicious activities of producers, smugglers and traffickers of narcotic drugs, details of trafficking of NDPS and Precursors Chemicals on requisitions and financial details of the traffickers arrested on drug related charges.
• Under the MoU, there is also a provision for notification of the details of the arrested citizen of the other Party for committing the crime of illicit trafficking or smuggling of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and chemical precursors and consular access to the arrested person.
• The MoU also provides for exchange of chemical reports/analysis of narcotic drug, psychotropic substances and chemical precures seized within the territory of either party or data/information about illegal laboratories of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and chemical precures and their technical specifications.

Agreement and Protocol between India and Chile for the avoidance of double taxation:

• The DTAA will facilitate elimination of double taxation. Clear allocation of taxing rights between Contracting States through the Agreement will provide tax certainty to investors & businesses of both countries while augmenting the flow of investment through fixing of tax rates in source State on interest, royalties and fees for technical services. 
• The Agreement and Protocol implements minimum standards and other recommendations of G-20 OECD Base Erosion Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project. Inclusion of Preamble Text, a Principal Purpose Test, a general anti-abuse provision in the Agreement along with a Simplified Limitation of Benefits Clause as per BEPS Project will result in curbing of tax planning strategies which exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules.

GS-3

Protection of Endangered Species

(Topic: Conservation)

Census of major flagship species

• Undertaken at the State-level by the respective State/Union Territory Governments periodically. 
• However census of tiger and elephant is undertaken at the national level once every four and five years respectively. 
• As per the report of the latest census carried out by the state and central government, the population of endangered species especially lions, rhinos, tigers, and elephants has increased in country.

The Ministry

1. Providing financial assistance to State /UT Governments for the recovery programme of  critically endangered species under the component- Recovery programme for saving of critically endangered species and habitats of the Centrally sponsored scheme ‘Development of Wildlife Habitats’. Presently 21 critically endangered species have been identified under this programme.
2. The Ministry has formulated the 3rd ‘National Wildlife Action Plan’ for a period of 2017 to 2031 to save wild animals in the country. The Plan focuses landscape approach in conservation of all wildlife irrespective of where they occur. It also gives special emphasis to recovery of threatened species of wildlife while conserving their habitats which includes terrestrial, inland aquatic, coastal and marine ecosystems.

Measures taken by the Government to control illegal killing and poaching of wild animals are:

• The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 provides for punishment for violation of its provisions. The Act also provides for forfeiture of any equipment, vehicle or weapon that is used for committing wildlife offence(s).
• Law enforcement authorities in the States maintain strict vigil against poaching of wild animals.
• Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has been set up to gather intelligence about poaching and unlawful trade in wild animals and animal articles and to achieve inter-state and trans-boundary coordination in enforcement of wildlife laws.
• The State/Union Territory Governments have been requested to strengthen the field formations and intensify patrolling in and around Protected Areas.
• Protected Areas, viz., National Parks, Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves covering important wildlife habitats have been created all over the country under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to conserve wild animals and their habitats.
• Financial assistance is provided to the State/Union Territory Governments under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’, ‘Project Tiger’ and ‘Project Elephant’, for providing better protection to wildlife and improvement of habitat.

India’s Efforts to Combat Global Climate Change

(Topic: Environmental pollution and degradation, Climate Change)

Reports from various sources including Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change namely Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, Special Report on Climate Change and Land, and Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, highlight the challenges faced due to climate change arising mainly from historical emissions of greenhouse gases by developed countries.

Climate change is a global phenomenon and requires the cooperation of all nations based on the principles of ‘Equity’ and ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities’. 

India is a Party to the 

1. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
2. Kyoto Protocol (KP)
3. Paris Agreement (PA): Has mechanisms like global stock-take and ratcheting up action every 5 years to address climate change and avoid adverse consequences.

For addressing the challenge of climate change, India adheres to the paramountcy of the UNFCCC processes. It has proactively contributed to multilateral efforts to combat climate change and continues to do so while undertaking its own independent, enhanced initiatives in climate mitigation and adaptation besides meeting all its commitments under the UNFCCC, its KP and PA. Independent studies rate India’s efforts highly and compliant with the requirements under PA.

Prelims oriented News:

World AIDS Day: 1st December, 2019

Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure: Will serve as a platform to generate and exchange knowledge on different aspects of climate and disaster resilient infrastructure

Leadership Group for Industry Transition: Launched jointly by India and Sweden, which will provide a platform for government and the private sector in different countries to work together on accelerating low carbon growth and cooperation in the area of technology innovation.

Global Competitiveness Index: By World Economic Forum

India’s ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index has fallen by 10 ranks partly as a consequence of a relatively small decline in score but more significantly due to faster improvements of several countries earlier ranked close to India. However, India ranked high on innovation (35th), financial sector (40th), and macro-economic stability (43rd).  On innovation, India was well ahead of most emerging economies and on par with several advanced economies.

To improve India’s position in the Global Competitiveness Index:

• Reduction of corporate tax rate from 30 percent to 22 percent to encourage investment in the economy
• Extension of PM Kisan, an income support scheme, to all farmers for boosting rural consumption
• Merger of 10 public sector banks into 4 entities for strengthening their balance sheets and increasing lending
• Setting up of a Realty Fund worth Rs. 25,000 crore for financing stalled housing projects
• Introducing the scheme for Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP) for promoting exports. 
• Besides, the Reserve Bank of India has cut the repo rate by 135 basis points between February and October, 2019 for reducing the lending rates of Banks with a view to encouraging investment in the economy.

National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme

• Children in the age group of 9-14 years are withdrawn from work and put into NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, mid-day meal, stipend, health care etc. before being mainstreamed into formal education system.  
• The children in the age group of 5-8 years are directly linked to the formal education system through a close coordination with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. 
• Further, to ensure the effective enforcement of the provisions of the Child Labour Act and smooth implementation of NCLP Scheme, a dedicated online portal named PENCiL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) is developed in order to make the NCLP successful through better monitoring and implementation ensuring the timely disposal of work with transparency.
• Under this Scheme, funds are provided directly to the District Project Societies who in turn engage and allocate the funds to NGOs/Voluntary Agencies/Civil Societies Organisation etc. for running of Special Training Centres. 

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)

Implemented by MSDE provides short term training to the youth across the country including farmers and women in rural areas. There are three kinds of training routes under the scheme: 

1. Short term Training for fresh skilling of school / college drop outs and unemployed youth
2. Recognition of Prior Learning to recognize the existing skills - Only provides orientation to the already skilled workforce, and does not mandate placements.
3. Special Projects to address skilling requirements of groups which are underrepresented or require special initiatives and efforts

Scheme is being implemented in the country in both rural and urban areas across 37 sectors including Agriculture sector. The Government has also – 

• Developed a National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) as a competency based framework to be adopted by all skill development programmes
• Established Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) as industry led bodies to develop National Occupational Standards
• Focusses on apprenticeship training and laying down of common norms for standardization of inputs and outcomes.

Successful launch of PSLV-C47 carrying indigenous Cartosat-3 satellite: 

• India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its forty ninth flight (PSLV-C47), successfully launched Cartosat-3 along with 13 Nanosatellites of USA from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota
• The advanced Cartosat-3 will augment our high resolution imaging capability. The mission life of the Cartosat-3 is 5 years. Cartosat-3 will address the increased user’s demands for large scale urban planning, rural resource and infrastructure development, coastal land use and land cover, etc.

Measures for augmenting nuclear power capacity

1. Accord of administrative approval and financial sanction of - ten (10) indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode & two (02) units of Light Water Reactors (LWRs) to be set up in cooperation with Russian Federation.
2. Creation of Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) in the context of Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act 2010.
3. Amendment of the Atomic Energy Act to enable Joint Ventures of Public Sector Companies to set up nuclear power projects.
4. Entering into enabling agreements with foreign countries for nuclear power cooperation.

Lok Sabha passes the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019

• The Bill says that family members of a former Prime Minister who reside with him at his allotted accommodation will get security cover of the SPG only for five years, from the date he/she ceases to hold the office of Prime Minister.
• There is a perception in the country that the amendment in SPG Act is only for the purpose to remove the SPG security cover for the Gandhi family. Contrary to this, the change of the security cover has been done only on the basis of yearly security threat perception review by the government. Such a security review has been a part of the original act. The security cover of the Gandhi family has not been reduced or taken away, rather it has just been changed from SPG cover to Z Plus security cover by the CRPF, along with ASL and ambulance, across the country. The level of the security cover has been maintained and not even one security personnel has been reduced.
• Based on the recommendations of the Birbal Nath committee report, SPG came into existence in 1985. The SPG Act was enacted in 1988 to provide for the constitution and regulation of the SPG as an armed force to provide proximate security to the Prime Minister and his/her immediate family members. Amendments to the Act were effected in 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2003 and a further amendment is being brought to revert back to the original spirit of the Act.
• The main aim of bringing this amendment is to make SPG more efficient. This would ensure that no omission happens in carrying out its core mandate, as the security of the Prime Minister, as Head of the Government, is of paramount importance for Government, governance and national security. The Bill says that when the proximate security is withdrawn from a former Prime Minister, such proximate security shall also stand withdrawn from members of his or her immediate family.

Lok Sabha passes the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019

• Bill has been brought to provide for merger of union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, in view of the policy of the Government to have "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance".  This would bring about administrative convenience, speedy development and effective implementation of central and state government schemes.
• Having two separate constitutional and administrative entities in both the Union territories leads to lot of duplicity, inefficiency and wasteful expenditure. Further, this also causes unnecessary financial burden on the Government. Besides these, there are various challenges for cadre management and career progression of employees. Availability of more officers and infrastructure would help in more efficient implementation of flagship schemes of the government
• The Bill, inter alia, provides for better delivery of services to the citizens of both Union territories by improving efficiency and reduction in paper work; reduction in administrative expenditure; bringing uniformity in policies and schemes; better monitoring of schemes and projects; and, better management of cadres of various employees.

Introduction of The Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2019

• The Bill aims to consolidate and amend the laws relating to trade unions, conditions of employment in industrial establishment or undertaking, investigation and settlement of industrial disputes.
• The draft code on Industrial Relations has been prepared after amalgamating, simplifying and rationalizing the relevant provisions of following three Central Labour Acts viz: The Trade Unions Act, 1926, The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

SHE-BOX: Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India has developed an online complaint management system titled Sexual Harassment electronic–Box (SHe-Box) for registering complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace by women, including government and private employees. Once a complaint is submitted to the SHe-Box portal, it directly reaches to the concerned authority having jurisdiction to take action in the matter.

Monitoring Mechanism under Poshan Abhiyan

• NITI Aayogis closely monitoring the status of implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan. Further, there is a National Nutrition Resource Centre (NNRC) at National level and State Nutrition Resource Centre (SNRC) at State level to closely monitor the implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan.
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through which ICDS-Common Application Software, a mobile based Application,which is a job-aid to Anganwadi Worker,has been developed and deployed.
• Regular reviews and meetings are conducted at National and State/UT level to monitor the progress of implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan.  Field level checks are carried out by the Ministry andState Governments.National Council under the Chairmanship of Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog and the Executive Committee also monitor the progress of POSHAN Abhiyaan regularly.
• ICDS-Common Application Software captures data on weight and height of children, opening of Anganwadi Centres, distribution of Take Home Ration, attendance of children for pre-school education at Anganwadi Centres. This data/information is then made available for monitoring on web-based ICDS-CAS dashboard to the supervisory staff at Block, District, State and National level.

G.I. Tagged Products

So far, 65 handloom products and 6 product logos are registered under GI Act.