POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

International Girl Child Day: Mamta Banerjee to set up Kanyashree University, college

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes

Context :

Aiming to empower girls, the West Bengal government has taken the initiative to set up a Kanyashree University in Nadia district and Kanyashree colleges across the state.

Kanyashree Scheme :

The Kanyashree scheme was started by the West Bengal government to empower girls in 2013.
In 2017,the Kanyashree scheme won the United Nations for Public Service award for its Kanyashree scheme.

Objective :

The main objective of the scheme is to ensure that girls study in schools and delay their marriages until the age of 18 years.
To empower girls from school to university level so that they can become independent women.
To improve the status and well-being of girls, particularly those from socio- economically disadvantaged families through conditional cash transfers.

Key Features :

The scheme has two cash transfer components
- An annual incentive of Rs 750 is given to girls in the age group 13 to 18 years old and studying in Class 8 for every year till they continue their education–provided they are unmarried at the time.
- One-time grant of Rs 25,000 is also given to girls once they attain the age of 18 years, provided they are engaged in an academic or occupational pursuit and unmarried.

Source :- Indian Express

Government launches SUMAN scheme, assures free medicines for pregnant women

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context :

Union Minister for Health along with several State Health Ministers launched Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) initiative for Zero Preventable Maternal and Newborn Deaths.

SUMAN Scheme :

It aims to provide dignified and quality health care at no cost to every woman and newborn visiting a public health facility.
Under the scheme, the beneficiaries visiting public health facilities are entitled to several free services.
- These include at least four antenatal check-ups that also includes one checkup during the 1st trimester, at least one checkup under Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, Iron Folic Acid supplementation, Tetanus diphtheria injection.

Eligibility :

All pregnant women, newborns and mothers up to 6 months of delivery will be able to avail several free health care services

Key Features :

The scheme will enable zero expense access to the identification and management of complications during and after the pregnancy.
The government will also provide free transport to pregnant women from home to the health facility and drop back after discharge (minimum 48 hrs).
The pregnant women will be able to avail a zero expense delivery and C-section facility in case of complications at public health facilities.
The scheme will ensure that there is zero-tolerance for denial of services to such patients.

Significance :

The scheme aims to bring down the maternal and infant mortality rates in the nation and to stop all preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
The scheme provides a positive and stress-free birth experience to the mother and newborn.

Maternal mortality rate:

Maternal mortality refers to the number of maternal deaths which occur due to pregnancy or as a result of a complication of the same.
Maternal mortality rate(MMR) is taken as the number of recorded maternal deaths, for every 1 lakh live births.
According to the government,India’s maternal mortality rate has declined from 254 per 1,00,000 live births in 2004-06 to 130 in 2014-16.

Infant mortality rate:

Infant mortality rate(IMR) is the number of deaths per 1,000 live births of children under one year of age.
Between 2001 and 2016, the infant mortality rate has also come down from 66 per 1,000 live births to 34.

Source :- PIB

Kayakalp awards

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes

Context :

Union Health Minister gave away Kayakalp awards to public and private health facilities for high standards of sanitation and hygiene.

Kayakalp :

The Kayakalp Award was instituted as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2015 as a national initiative to recognize and felicitate public health facilities that demonstrate high levels of cleanliness, hygiene and infection control measures on promoting cleanliness in public spaces.

Objective :

To promote cleanliness, hygiene and Infection Control Practices in public Health Care Facilities.
To incentivize and recognize such public healthcare facilities that show exemplary performance in adhering to standard protocols of cleanliness and infection control.
To inculcate a culture of ongoing assessment and peer review of performance related to hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation.
To create and share sustainable practices related to improved cleanliness in public health facilities linked to positive health outcomes.

Source :- PIB

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

India, Comoros ink six agreements during Vice President Naidu's visit

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

Seeking to expand bilateral relations in various fields, India and Comoros signed six MoUs

Comoros :

The Comoros is an island country in the Indian Ocean
Located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel off the eastern coast of Africa between northeastern Mozambique, the French region of Mayotte, and northwestern Madagascar.
Comoros is a founding member of the International Solar Alliance.
It is a member of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)
- INCOIS of the Ministry of Earth Sciences inaugurated the Ocean Forecasting System for Indian Ocean countries
It is also a member of the Arab League and the OIC.

Source :- PIB

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

Change status of emperor penguins to ‘vulnerable’: Study

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

A new study published in the journal Biological Conservation has recommended that the status of the emperor penguin, in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), should be changed to ‘vulnerable’.

Emperor Penguin :

The Emperor Penguin is the largest of all living penguin species. It is the only one that breeds during the Antarctic winter.
It is also the only known bird to never breed on dry land, preferring to raise chicks on frozen sea instead.
It is listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List.
The species is threatened by the effects of projected climate change, primarily through ongoing and future decreases in sea ice concentration and thickness.

IUCN Red List :

The IUCN Red List (also known as Red List of Threatened Species, Red Data Book) was founded in 1964.
It uses a set of criteria to scientifically assess the extinction risk of species and sub species of animals and plants.
Aim: The Red List aims to draw attention to the threatened state of the biodiversity and provide information to help formulate actions for biodiversity conservation.
Categories: IUCN Red List classifies species into 9 categories. Among the categories, Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable species are considered to be threatened with extinction.
- Extinct: The last individual has died.
- Extinct in the Wild: known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.
- Critically Endangered: Faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
- Endangered: Faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild
- Vulnerable: Faces a high risk of extinction in the wild
- Near Threatened: Likely to be in the threatened category in near future
- Least Concern: They are widespread and abundant
- Data Deficient: inadequate information for assessing the risk of extinction
- Not Evaluated

Source :- Down To Earth

Annual Ganges river dolphin census has begun.

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

The annual Ganges river dolphin census has begun.

Tandem Boat survey Method:

The method has been developed by the renowned river and marine ecologist Gill Braulik.
Under this method, the officials use two inflated boats which move in tandem to count the dolphins.
After collating the data, statistical tools are employed to arrive at the final count.

Gangetic Dolphin :

The Ganges River dolphin, or susu, inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.
The Gangetic river dolphin is one of the four freshwater dolphin species in the world.
- The other three are found in the Yangtze river in China, the Indus river in Pakistan and the Amazon river in South America.
In India, Dolphins are protected species as per the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The government has also declared Gangetic Dolphin as the national aquatic animal.
Gangetic dolphin is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List.
The Gangetic river dolphin is India's national aquatic animal but frequently falls prey to poachers.

Source :- The Hindu

Mobile App, “mHariyali” Launched

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has launched the Mobile App, “mHariyali” Launched for ‘Environment Protection in Government Colonies’ Website

mHariyali :

The app is aimed to encourage Public engagement in planting trees and other such Green drives.
People can now upload information/photos of any plantation done by them, which is linked to the app and will be displayed on the official website www.epgc.gov.in.
The App provides for automatic geo-tagging of plants.
This app will also enable nodal officers to periodically monitor the plantation.

Source :- PIB

SECURITY

India – Bangladesh Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) commenced

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - India and its neighborhood- relations; Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate

Context :

The second edition of Indian Navy(IN) –Bangladesh Navy(BN) Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) commenced in Northern Bay of Bengal

IN-BN CORPAT :

It is aimed at upgrading to a bilateral exercise with the navies engaging in seamanship evolutions, flying exercises with integral helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft at sea.
The exercises entailing the development of mutual communication and sharing of best practices would also be undertaken, adding a new dimension to the Indo – Bangladesh maritime relations.
With a common territorial boundary of over 4000 km and a maritime boundary, navies of both the counties aim to practice and hone their mutual cooperation whilst patrolling near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) during the current edition of CORPAT.

Background :

CORPAT is an Indian Navy tactical procedure on behalf of Indian “Wannabe” diplomatic ambitions rather than a Multi National Treaty.
CORPAT has been carried out with Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Thailand.
It is a naval procedure that India carries out with any other country that is willing in an attempt at showing the flag as a diplomatic maneuver.

12th OCTOBER 2019 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

International Girl Child Day: Mamta Banerjee to set up Kanyashree University, college

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes

Context :

Aiming to empower girls, the West Bengal government has taken the initiative to set up a Kanyashree University in Nadia district and Kanyashree colleges across the state.

Kanyashree Scheme :

The Kanyashree scheme was started by the West Bengal government to empower girls in 2013.

In 2017,the Kanyashree scheme won the United Nations for Public Service award for its Kanyashree scheme.

Objective :

The main objective of the scheme is to ensure that girls study in schools and delay their marriages until the age of 18 years.

To empower girls from school to university level so that they can become independent women.

To improve the status and well-being of girls, particularly those from socio- economically disadvantaged families through conditional cash transfers.

Key Features :

The scheme has two cash transfer components

An annual incentive of Rs 750 is given to girls in the age group 13 to 18 years old and studying in Class 8 for every year till they continue their education–provided they are unmarried at the time.

One-time grant of Rs 25,000 is also given to girls once they attain the age of 18 years, provided they are engaged in an academic or occupational pursuit and unmarried.

Source :- Indian Express

Government launches SUMAN scheme, assures free medicines for pregnant women

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context :

Union Minister for Health along with several State Health Ministers launched Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) initiative for Zero Preventable Maternal and Newborn Deaths.

SUMAN Scheme :

It aims to provide dignified and quality health care at no cost to every woman and newborn visiting a public health facility.

Under the scheme, the beneficiaries visiting public health facilities are entitled to several free services.

These include at least four antenatal check-ups that also includes one checkup during the 1st trimester, at least one checkup under Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, Iron Folic Acid supplementation, Tetanus diphtheria injection.

Eligibility :

All pregnant women, newborns and mothers up to 6 months of delivery will be able to avail several free health care services

Key Features :

The scheme will enable zero expense access to the identification and management of complications during and after the pregnancy.

The government will also provide free transport to pregnant women from home to the health facility and drop back after discharge (minimum 48 hrs).

The pregnant women will be able to avail a zero expense delivery and C-section facility in case of complications at public health facilities.

The scheme will ensure that there is zero-tolerance for denial of services to such patients.

Significance :

The scheme aims to bring down the maternal and infant mortality rates in the nation and to stop all preventable maternal and newborn deaths.

The scheme provides a positive and stress-free birth experience to the mother and newborn.

Maternal mortality rate:

Maternal mortality refers to the number of maternal deaths which occur due to pregnancy or as a result of a complication of the same.

Maternal mortality rate(MMR) is taken as the number of recorded maternal deaths, for every 1 lakh live births.

According to the government,India’s maternal mortality rate has declined from 254 per 1,00,000 live births in 2004-06 to 130 in 2014-16.

Infant mortality rate:

Infant mortality rate(IMR) is the number of deaths per 1,000 live births of children under one year of age.

Between 2001 and 2016, the infant mortality rate has also come down from 66 per 1,000 live births to 34.

Source :- PIB

Kayakalp awards

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes

Context :

Union Health Minister gave away Kayakalp awards to public and private health facilities for high standards of sanitation and hygiene.

Kayakalp :

The Kayakalp Award was instituted as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2015 as a national initiative to recognize and felicitate public health facilities that demonstrate high levels of cleanliness, hygiene and infection control measures on promoting cleanliness in public spaces.

Objective :

To promote cleanliness, hygiene and Infection Control Practices in public Health Care Facilities.

To incentivize and recognize such public healthcare facilities that show exemplary performance in adhering to standard protocols of cleanliness and infection control.

To inculcate a culture of ongoing assessment and peer review of performance related to hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation.

To create and share sustainable practices related to improved cleanliness in public health facilities linked to positive health outcomes.

Source :- PIB

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

India, Comoros ink six agreements during Vice President Naidu's visit

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

Seeking to expand bilateral relations in various fields, India and Comoros signed six MoUs

More in the news:

Comoros conferred the highest civilian honour of ‘the order of the Green Crescent’ on the Vice President.

6 MoUs were signed in the fields of:

Defence cooperation

Health and medicine

Arts and culture

Tele-education (e-Vidya Bharati)

Tele-medicine (e-Arogya Bharati)

MoUs on exemption of Visa for Diplomatic and Official Passport holders for short visits and protocol on foreign office consultation were also signed.

Comoros :

The Comoros is an island country in the Indian Ocean

Located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel off the eastern coast of Africa between northeastern Mozambique, the French region of Mayotte, and northwestern Madagascar.

Comoros is a founding member of the International Solar Alliance.

It is a member of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)

INCOIS of the Ministry of Earth Sciences inaugurated the Ocean Forecasting System for Indian Ocean countries

It is also a member of the Arab League and the OIC.

Source :- PIB

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

Change status of emperor penguins to ‘vulnerable’: Study

12^th OCTOBER 2019 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS