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  • ICDS Programme

     

    Centre seeks to revamp the ICDS scheme in urban areas. For this NITI Aayog will develop draft policy, which will be circulated to the Ministries for consultations.

    Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

    • The ICDS is a government programme in India which provides food, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.
    • The scheme was launched in 1975, discontinued in 1978 by the government of Morarji Desai, and then relaunched by the Tenth Five Year Plan.
    • Tenth FYP also linked ICDS to Anganwadi centres established mainly in rural areas and staffed with frontline workers.
    • The ICDS provide for anganwadis or day-care centres which deliver a package of six services including:
    1. Immunization
    2. Supplementary nutrition
    3. Health checkup
    4. Referral services
    5. Pre-school education(Non-Formal)
    6. Nutrition and Health information

    Implementation

    • For nutritional purposes ICDS provides 500 kilocalories (with 12-15 grams of protein) every day to every child below 6 years of age.
    • For adolescent girls it is up to 500 kilo calories with up to 25 grams of protein every day.
    • The services of Immunisation, Health Check-up and Referral Services delivered through Public Health Infrastructure under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

    Revamp for Urban Areas

    • Health and ICDS models that work in rural areas may not work in urban areas because of higher population density, transportation challenges and migration.
    • Children in urban areas were overweight and obese as indicated by subscapular skinfold thickness (SSFT) for their age.
    • The first-ever pan-India survey on the nutrition status of children, highlighted that malnutrition among children in urban India.
    • It found a higher prevalence of obesity because of relative prosperity and lifestyle patterns, along with iron and Vitamin D deficiency.
    • According to government data from 2018, of the 14 lakh anganwadis across the country there are only 1.38 lakh anganwadis in urban areas.

  • De-criminalization of Politics

     

    The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a proposition made by the Election Commission (EC) to ask political parties to not give a ticket to those with criminal antecedents.

    Cleansing of Political Parties

    • The judgment had urged Parliament to bring a “strong law” to cleanse political parties of leaders facing trial for serious crimes.
    • The ruling concluded that rapid criminalisation of politics cannot be arrested by merely disqualifying tainted legislators but should begin by “cleansing” the political parties.
    • The court had suggested that Parliament frame a law that makes it obligatory for political parties to remove leaders charged with “heinous and grievous” crimes like rape, murder and kidnapping, only to a name a few, and refuse ticket to offenders in both parliamentary and Assembly polls.
    • It had also issued guidelines, including that both the candidate and the political party should declare the criminal antecedents of the former in widely-circulated newspapers.

    Why such move?

    • 46% of Members of Parliament have criminal records.
    • A move to steer politics away from the denizens of the criminal world would definitely serve national and public interest.
    • The EC had tried several measures to curb criminalisation of politics but failed.

  • NavIC navigation system

     

    Qualcomm Technologies has released chipsets, supporting India’s own GPS system ‘Navigation with Indian Constellation’ (NavIC).

    New androids to be equipped with NavIC

    • The Qualcomm chipsets now supports up to 7 satellite constellations at the same time, including the use of all of NavIC’s operating satellites.
    • These enhancements will enable select mobile, automotive and IoT platforms to better serve key industries and technology ecosystems in the region.
    • It will help improve user experience for location-based applications especially in dense urban environments where geolocation accuracy tends to degrade, said the company earlier.

    About NavIC

    • The name NavIC was given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after successful launch of the seventh navigation satellite, in April, 2016.
    • To date, ISRO has built a total of nine satellites in the IRNSS series, of which eight are currently in orbit.
    • The constellation is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1,500 km from its boundary, which is its primary service area.
    • It is designed to provide two types of services – Standard Positioning Service (SPS), which is provided to all users and Restricted Service (RS), which is an encrypted service provided only to the authorised users.
    • The system is expected to provide a position accuracy of better than 20 m in the primary service area.

    For more readings about NAVIC, navigate to the page:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/navic-navigation-in-indian-constellation/

  • Species in news: Natrialba Swarupiae

    • Scientists at the National Centre for Microbial Resource — National Centre for Cell Science (NCMR-NCCS) in Pune have reported a new archaeon (a kind of microorganism), which they discovered in Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan.
    • The new archaeon has been named Natrialba swarupiae, after Dr Renu Swarup, secretary, Department of Biotechnology, for her initiative in supporting microbial diversity studies in the country.

    Archaea

    • Archaea (singular archaeon) are a primitive group of microorganisms that thrive in extreme habitats such as hot springs, cold deserts and hypersaline lakes.
    • These slow-growing organisms are also present in the human gut, and have a potential relationship with human health.
    • They are known for producing antimicrobial molecules, and for anti-oxidant activity with applications in eco-friendly waste-water treatment.
    • Archaea are extremely difficult to culture due to challenges in providing natural conditions in a laboratory setting.
    • As archaea are relatively poorly studied, very little is known about how archaea behave in the human body.
    • The organism has potential gene clusters that helps maintain the metabolism of the archaea to survive in extreme harsh conditions.

    Search and discovery

    • Sambhar Lake has been poorly studied for microbial ecology studies.
    • With a salt production of 0.2 million tonnes per annum, it is also a hypersaline ecosystem which provides an opportunity for microbial ecologists to understand organisms that thrive in such concentrations.

  • [pib] Establishment of Chairs named after eminent Women in Universities

     

    On the occasion of National Girl Child Day, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has set up 10 Chairs in different fields with an aim to carry out research activities to encourage women.

    Chairs named after eminent Women

    • The initiative is called “the Establishment of Chairs in the Universities in the name of eminent women administrators, artists, scientists and social reformers”.
    • It is being launched with the assistance of University Grants Commission (UGC).
    • The main objective is to inspire women to pursue higher education and to achieve excellence in their area of work.
    • The financial implications of the proposal is Rs. 50 lakh per Chair per year and the total expenditure for establishing ten Chairs will be approximately Rs. Rs. 5 crore per annum.
    • The Chairs are to be established for a period of 5 years initially as per the guidelines.

    The chairs proposed by UGC and approved by the Ministry are as under:

    S. No. Subject Proposed name of chair
    1. Administration Devi Ahilyabai Holkar
    2. Literature Mahadevi Varma
    3. Freedom Fighter (North East) Rani Gaidinliu
    4. Medicine & Health Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi
    5. Performing Art Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi
    6. Forest/Wildlife Conservation Amrita Devi (Beniwal)
    7. Mathematics Lilavati
    8. Science Kamala Sohonie
    9. Poetry & Mysticism Lal Ded
    10. Educational Reforms Hansa Mehta

     Functions of these chairs

    • Academic functions of the Chairs will be to engage in research and, in turn, contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the area of the study, strengthen the role of university/academics in public policy making etc.
    • The University will review the progress of the Chair annually and submit a final report on the activities and outcome of the Chair to the UGC after five years.
    • However, the UGC may undertake the exercise of reviewing the Chair for its continuance, at any stage.

  • [Burning Issue] Bru– Reang Repatriation Agreement

    • The Ministry of Home Affairs has presided over the signing of an agreement between Union Government, Governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru-Reang representatives to end the 23-year old Bru-Reang refugee crisis.
    • 37,000 people of the Bru (or Reang) community were forced to flee their homes to neighbouring Tripura due to severe ethnic clashes in Mizoram.

    Bru Community: Refugees at home

    • The Bru or Reang is a community indigenous to Northeast India, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram, and Assam.
    • In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).
    • Over two decades ago, they were targeted by the Mizo groups who demanded that the Bru be excluded from electoral rolls in the state.
    • In October 1997, following ethnic clashes, nearly 37,000 Bru fled Mizoram’s Mamit, Kolasib, and Lunglei districts to Tripura, where they were sheltered in relief camps.
    • Since then, over 5,000 have returned to Mizoram in nine phases of repatriation, while 32,000 people from 5,400 families still live in six relief camps in North Tripura.

    Miseries of the Bru

    • Under a relief package announced by the Centre, a daily ration of 600 gm rice was provided to every adult Bru migrant and 300 g to every minor. Some salt was also given to each family.
    • Every adult received a daily cash dole of Rs 5; every minor Rs 2.50.
    • Meagre allocations were made from time to time for essentials such as soap, slippers, and mosquito nets.
    • Most migrants sold a part of their rice and used the money to buy supplies, including medicines.
    • They depended on the wild for vegetables, and some of them have been practising slash-and-burn (jhum) cultivation in the forests.
    • They live in makeshift bamboo thatched huts, without permanent power supply and safe drinking water, with no access to proper healthcare services or schools.

    How did the agreement come about?

    • In June 2018, Bru leaders signed an agreement in Delhi with the Centre and the two-state governments, providing for repatriation to Mizoram.
    • Most residents of the camps, however, rejected the “insufficient” terms of the agreement.
    • The camp residents said the package did not guarantee their safety in Mizoram, and that they feared a repeat of the violence that had forced them to flee.
    • On November 16, 2019, Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, scion of Tripura’s erstwhile royal family, wrote to Home Minister seeking the resettlement of the Bru in the state.

    Highlights of the Quadripartite Agreement

    • All Bru tribals currently living in temporary relief camps in Tripura will be settled in the state if they want to stay on.
    • The Bru who returned to Mizoram in the eight phases of repatriation since 2009, cannot come back to Tripura.
    • Each resettled family will get 03 acre (1.5 ganda) of land for building a home, Rs 1.5 lakh as housing assistance, and Rs 4 lakh as a one-time cash benefit for sustenance.
    • They will also receive a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000, and free rations for two years from the date of resettlement.
    • All cash assistance will be through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), and the state government will expedite the opening of bank accounts and the issuance of Aadhaar, permanent residence certificates, ST certificates, and voter identity cards to the beneficiaries.

    Where will they be resettled?

    • Revenue experts reckon 162 acres required for the rehabilitation.
    • The move will require khash or government land, but since Tripura is a small state (only 10,491 sq km) the state authorities would explore the possibility of diverting forest lands.
    • Diverting forest land for human settlements will, however, need clearance from the MoEFCC which is likely to take at least three months.

    When will the resettlement take place?

    • Physical verification to identify beneficiaries will be carried out within 15 days of the signing of the deal.
    • The land for resettlement will be identified within 60 days, and the land for allotment will be identified within 150 days.
    • The beneficiaries will get housing assistance, but the state government will build their homes and hand over possession.
    • They will be moved to resettlement locations in four clusters, paving the way for the closure of the temporary camps within 180 days of the signing of the agreement.
    • All dwelling houses will be constructed and payments completed within 270 days.

    Issues With The Agreement

    • The agreement to settle some 35,000 Bru tribal people in Tripura and not in Mizoram from where they were displaced, could encourage the creation of ethnocentric States in the northeast, rights activists have said.
    • Activists argue that the  “solution” has the potential of creating conflicts between the Brus and indigenous communities of Tripura, but addresses the insecurities of a tribe that survived and fled violence.
    • The northeast has had a history of ethnic conflicts — not only between the “indigenous” and “settlers” but inter-tribe too — and issues could also arise within smaller sub-groups within the same tribe.
    • Decision could also throw up questions of citizenship, specifically in Assam where a process is on to define who is indigenous and who is not.
    • Assam-based activists said the move on the Brus legitimises the settlement of foreigners under Citizenship (Amendment) Act too, creating conflicts with the indigenous people as well as communities that settled earlier.

    Conclusion

    • Despite the issues flagged by various stakeholders in the region, the agreement has provided the Brus with a solution.
    • Various Mizo organizations have reassured they have welcomed those who came back.
    • According to these organizations, they have no issues with those identified by the government as Mizoram inhabitants even if they return now in spite of the Tripura rehabilitation offer.
    • The Brus cannot live in transit camps forever.

     

    References

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/agreement-to-end-the-bru-reang-refugee-crisis/

    https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/understanding-the-bru-refugees-settlement-mizoram-tripura-6224956/

    https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/tripura/bru-migrants-mizoram-tripura-home-ministry-package-6220039/

  • 25th January 2020 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 348]

  • [op-ed of the day] Lady Gaganaut

    Context

    The first gaganaut-Vyomamitra- to head for space in an Indian craft will not be human, but humanoid.

    What Vyomamitra would do on spaceflight?

    • Test the technological environment: Vyomamitra unveiled by ISRO will fly two missions to test the technological environment which human gaganauts will inhabit on India’s first demonstration of human spaceflight in 2022.
      • She will test the systems and instruments that they would use.
      • Vyomamitra cannot test the cabin ecosystem,  as she would not be able to breathe the air.
      • Other functions: Vyomamitra is perfectly capable of issuing commands, activating switches and, obviously, communicating with earth.
    • Give company to human travellers: Her prototype has already chatted with people at the Isro event where she was introduced to the public, and future iterations will be able to give company to human travellers at the loneliest frontier.

    A shift from sending animals to humanoids

    • Performing roles previously performed by animals: Vyomamitra will be executing the pioneering role which has traditionally been given to animals – testing systems for survivability.
      • Fruit flies and monkeys were the first beings to lift off, riding V2 rockets with devices monitoring their vital signs.
    • Why using humanoid is more useful: Using a humanoid robot is more useful because it can be used to replicate the behavioural and operational responses of a human.
      • Indeed, robots need not remain pioneers testing survivability, or assistants to the human crew, but are expected to crew missions that are too prolonged or too dangerous for a human pilot.

    Opportunities and the future of AI-powered humanoid

    • Russian robot in space: As India prepared for human flight, in August 2019, the Russian space agency Roscosmos sent up the anthropomorphic robot Skybot F-850 to dock with the International Space Station.
      • The mission has been halted because of technical issues.
      • Goals beyond survivability testing: If the nation which pioneered human spaceflight with Yuri Gagarin’s mission in 1961 is sending humanoid robots into space, survivability testing is not the only legitimate goal of missions powered by artificial intelligence and robotics.
    • Opportunity to develop new technologies: Humanoid in space also provide opportunities to test and develop these technologies under circumstances that do not prevail on earth.
      • The inputs, goals and skills learned are different and while AI on earth specifically focuses on creating systems which do not think like humans,
    • Human-like AI system need of industry: The space industry would value systems that are human-like, to stand in for crew.

    Conclusion

    Vyomamitra represents the very first iteration of AI in space, and later generations could prove to be as essential for spaceflight as cryogenic engines.

     

     

  • Lets ensure you get an interview call this year

    Lets ensure you get an interview call this year

    Dear Students,

    The mains results have been announced and we congratulate all those who have advanced to the next level. At the same time, this is also a moment of sadness for those who worked so hard and weren’t able to make it. If you have gotten this far, then you have it in you to make it. Don’t let anybody tell you that you cannot clear the exam – not even yourself.

    Folks, the level of the competition is immense. It is nothing like how it used to be 3-4 years back. Students with really good writing skills are now appearing for the exams. We are seeing such innovative answers from first-timers that it amazes us. This has raised the general level of competition and hence your preparation needs to be at a whole new level.

    We understand what it feels like to get this close to clearing the exam but eventually not making it. For many, this feeling would be worse than the feeling of not clearing prelims. Don’t be shattered by failures, don’t let them slow you down. Team Civilsdaily will ensure that your LBSNAA dream is fulfilled.

    Get in touch and stop wasting time – https://bit.ly/30NhVz8

  • 24th January 2020 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 347]

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