General Studies And Current Affairs

✍️‘Vision 2035: Public Health Surveillance in India’:

NITI Aayog has released a white paper: Vision 2035: Public Health Surveillance in India with the vision:

To make India’s public health surveillance system more responsive and predictive to enhance preparedness for action at all levels.
Citizen-friendly public health surveillance system will ensure individual privacy and confidentiality, enabled with a client feedback mechanism.
Improved data-sharing mechanism between Centre and states for better disease detection, prevention, and control.
India aims to provide regional and global leadership in managing events that constitute a public health emergency of international Concern.

✍️The building blocks for this vision are:

An interdependent federated system of governance between the Centre and states, a new data-sharing mechanism that involves the use of new analytics, health informatics, and data science including innovative ways of disseminating ‘information for action’.

International Booker Prize

✍2020 Booker prize has gone to Scottish Writer 👉Douglas Stuart for his 1st novel
👉Shuggie Bain
✍Booker prize awarded for Best book in English Translation

Swachh Survekshan 2020 report:

✍️Swachh Survekshan 2020 report was recently released by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.

✍️Swachh Survekshan 2020 covered 4,242 cities, 62 cantonment boards and 92 Ganga towns. This survey was carried out in 28 days.

✍️This year the Ministry has released rankings based on the categorisation of cities on population, instead of releasing overall rankings.

Performance of various cities:

👉Indore was ranked the cleanest city in the overall category this year followed by Surat and Navi Mumbai.

👉Chhattisgarh is the cleanest state in the category of states with more than 100 urban local bodies (ULBs).

👉Jharkhand is the cleanest state in the category of state with less than 100 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

👉Ahmedabad is India’s the cleanest Mega city

✍️What is Swachh Survekshan?

Launched by PM Modi in 2016.

It is meant to monitor the performance of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which was launched on October 2, 2014, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

It was also aimed at inculcating a spirit of healthy competition among cities towards becoming India’s cleanest cities.

✍️Who conducts the survey?

The Quality Council of India (QCI) is in charge of evaluating the performance of the participating cities. This is an autonomous accreditation body which was set up by the Government of India in 1997 for quality assurance in all fields, including governance.

SPORTS AWARDS 2020

Selection Committee headed by Justice ( Retd .) Mukundakam Sharma (former Judge of Supreme Court of India) and other members comprising of eminent sportspersons, persons having experience in sports journalism and sports administration, etc.

Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny, the Government has decided to confer awards upon the following sportspersons, coaches and entities under various categories:

👉Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years. (199108-- 92)

👉Dronacharya Award goes to the coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events. (1985)

👉Arjuna Award is given for consistent outstanding performance for four years. (1961)

👉Dhyan Chand Award is for life time contribution to sports development. (2002)

👉The Tenzing Award Norgay National Adventure is given to recognise the spirit of adventure among the people of the country.

👉Overall top performing university in interuniversity tournaments is given Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy.

👉Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar is given to the corporate entities (both in private and public sector) and individuals who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development.

Skyroot Aerospace tests upper stage rocket engine “Raman”

👉Skyroot Aerospace, a Spacetech startup has successfully test fired an upper stage rocket engine “Raman”.
👉With this, Skyroot Aerospace has become the first Indian private firm to exhibit the potential to build a homegrown rocket engine.
👉“Raman” is a 3-D printed rocket engine which has been named after Nobel laureate CV Raman.

👉The first rocket that is to be launched in lower earth orbit weighs around 250-700 kgs. It is expected to be launched by 2021.

Skyroot Aerospace

👉The rocket was developed by the Skyroot firm that is headquartered at Hyderabad.
👉The firm is backed by Cure Fit founders Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori.
👉The Skyroot Aerospace was founded by former scientists of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization).

The firm demonstrated the first 100% 3D printed bi-propellant liquid rocket engine injector. This rocket had its overall mass reduced by 50% and total number of components and lead time reduced by 80%.

Private Sector in ISRO

👉In June 2020, GoI introduced a major reform in space sector by opening doors to private sectors. This will allow the space research organization to focus more on development activities, exploration, new technologies, exploration mission and also human space flight programmes.

👉A new Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) was created to provide level playing field for the private companies to use Indian space infrastructure.

NATIONAL DIGITAL HEALTH MISSION

On August 15, 2020, PM Modi launched the National Digital Health Mission during his address at the 74th Independence Day celebrations.

✍️Highlights

👉Under the mission, every Indian is to get a Health ID card. The ID card will contain all relevant information about the person’s past medical condition, treatment and diagnosis. The mission is completely technology based.

👉The mission aims to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of health care in India. It is to operate under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana or Ayushman Bharat.

✍️Features

👉The citizens holding the cards shall allow one-time access to the doctors and health care providers during their visit to the hospitals

👉The permission to access confidential medical data is to be provided for every visit by the patient himself. By this, the privacy of the patient is maintained. The control of access to the digital records is completely in the hands of the patient. The doctors can access the medical record every time only at the will of the patients.

👉The Mission allows patients to access health services remotely. It also features Tele-consultation and E-Pharmacies.

✍️About the Health ID card

👉The details of the prescription is to be logged in the health ID card provided under the scheme.
👉It will also contain results of tests conducted, reports, advised medication, etc. The ID is to hold information about every single test conducted, diagnosis, treatment and medicines.

✍️Ayushman Bharat

The programme was launched in 2018 to address health issues at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. There are two main components of the scheme. They are Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana that was called the National Health Protection Scheme earlier and Health and Wellness Centres.

It is the largest Government funded health care programme in the world. It is also called Modicare.

The Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean is a vast sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south, and Asia to the east.

The Mediterranean Sea connects:

👉To the Atlantic Oceanby the Strait of Gibraltar (known in Homer‘s writings as the “Pillars of Hercules“) in the west

👉To the Sea of Marmaraand the Black Sea, by the Straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosporus respectively, in the east

👉The 163 km (101 mi) long artificial Suez Canalin the southeast connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

Clause 6 of the Assam Accord

In February, a government-appointed committee had submitted its recommendations for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, a key provision that has been contentious for decades. The government made the report public recently.

👉Background:

The committee was set up by the Home Ministry in 2019.

Headed by retired High Court judge Biplab Kumar Sarma.

Its brief was to define the “Assamese people” and suggest measures for the safeguard of their rights.

👉What does Clause 6 say?

Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which was signed in 1985 after the Assam Agitation of 1979-85, envisages that appropriate “constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards should be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the people of Assam.”

This Clause was inserted to safeguard the socio-political rights and culture of the “indigenous people of Assam”.

👉What is Assam Accord?

It was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement in New Delhi on 15 August 1985.

For recognition as citizens, the Accord sets March 24, 1971 as the cutoff.

👉Key recommendations made by the committee:

The committee has proposed that the following be considered Assamese people for the purpose of Clause 6:

All citizens of India who are part of:

1) Assamese community, residing in the Territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; or

2) Any indigenous tribal community of Assam residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; or

3) Any other indigenous community of Assam residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; or

3) All other citizens of India residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; and

Descendants of the above categories.

👉Implications and impacts of these recommendations:

Clause 6 is meant to give the Assamese people certain safeguards, which would not be available to migrants between 1951 and 1971.

If the recommendation is accepted, those who migrated between 1951 and 1971 would be Indian citizens under the Assam Accord and NRC, but they would not be eligible for safeguards meant for “Assamese people”.

👉What are these safeguards?

✍️80 to 100% reservation in the parliamentary seats of Assam, Assembly seats and local body seats be reserved for the “Assamese people”.

✍️80 to 100% of Group C and D level posts (in Assam) in central government/semi-central government/central PSUs/private sector

✍️80 to 100% of jobs under Government of Assam and state government undertakings; and 70 to 100% of vacancies arising in private partnerships

✍️Land rights, with restrictions imposed on transferring land by any means to persons other than “Assamese people”.

✍️Several other recommendations deal with language, and cultural and social rights.

34th District of Assam

Pradeep Kumar Joshi appointed as UPSC chairman:

Context:

👉Educationist Professor Pradeep Kumar Joshi has been appointed as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

Joshi is currently a member in the Commission.
He will succeed Arvind Saxena.

👉Who appoints chairman and other members?

👉Article-316– Appointment and term of office of members:

The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission shall be appointed, in the case of the Union Commission or a Joint Commission, by the President, and in the case of a State Commission, by the Governor of the State.

Term:

A member of a Public Service Commission shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains, in the case of the Union Commission, the age of sixty-five years, and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission, the age of sixty-two years, whichever is earlier.

👉Reappointment:

A person who holds office as a member of a Public Service Commission shall, on the expiration of his term of office, be ineligible for reappointment to that office.

But, a member other than the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission, or as the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission, but not for any other employment either under the Government of India or under the Government of a State. Also, the Chairman of a State Public Service Commission shall be eligible for appointment as the Chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission.

👉Article-317- Removal and suspension of a member of a Public Service Commission:

Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission shall only be removed from his office by order of the President on the ground of misbehaviour after the Supreme Court, on reference being made to it by the President, has, on inquiry held in accordance with the procedure prescribed in that behalf under article 145, reported that the Chairman or such other member, as the case may be, ought on any such ground to be removed.

Besides, President may by order remove from office the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission if the Chairman or such other member, as the case may be,—

is adjudged an insolvent;
or
engages during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his office;
or
is, in the opinion of the President, unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or body.

👉Guilty of Misbehaviour:

If the Chairman or any other member of a Public Service Commission is or becomes in any way concerned or interested in any contract or agreement made by or on behalf of the Government of India or the Government of a State or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising therefrom otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company, he shall, for the purposes of clause (1), be deemed to be guilty of Misbehaviour.