Tamil Nadu Health System Reform Program

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

 Context :

• The central government, Tamil Nadu and the World Bank have signed a $287 million loan agreement for the state's Health System Reform Programme.

Tamil Nadu Health system Reform programme :

• The programme supports interventions to strengthen institutional and state capacity to achieve results.

• The programme will promote population-based screening, treatment and follow-up for NCDs, and improve monitoring and evaluation.

• Patients will be equipped with knowledge and skills to self-manage their conditions. Lab services and health provider capacity will also be strengthened to address mental health.

• To tackle road injuries, the programme will improve in- hospital care, strengthen protocols, strengthen the 24×7 trauma care services and establish a trauma registry.

• This Programme focuses on results instead of inputs through a Programme-for-Results (PforR) lending instrument. This will provide a much greater focus on outputs and outcomes through better alignment of expenditures and incentives with results.

Aim :

• The Program aims to improve the quality of health care, reduce the burden of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs), and fill equity gaps in reproductive and child health services in the State of Tamil Nadu.

• Another key aim of this Program is to reduce the equity gaps in reproductive and child health.

The progremme will support the state government to  :

• To develop clinical protocols and guidelines;

• Achieve national accreditation for primary, secondary, and tertiary-level health facilities in the public sector;

• strengthen physicians, nurses and paramedics through continuous medical education;

• strengthen the feedback loop between citizens and the state by making quality and other data accessible to the public.

NITI Aayog Health Index :

• Tamil Nadu ranks third among all Indian States in the NITI Aayog Health Index which is reflected in vastly improved health outcomes.

• The State’s maternal mortality rate has declined from 90 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2005 to 62 deaths in 2015-16 while infant mortality has declined from 30 deaths per 1000 live births to 20 in the same period.          

                                                                                                                             Source :- PIB

Indian Navy SAILS towards pursuance of environmental goals of country

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

Context :

• Clean and Green Navy – Indian Navy pledges 1.5 % of its “Works” budget towards Renewable Energy generation

• Indian Navy Environment Conservation Roadmap (INECR) – Indian Navy has formulated specific plans covering the entire gamut of operations, maintenance, administration and infrastructure/ community living.

Indian Navy Environment Conservation Roadmap (INECR) :

• The Roadmap envisions ‘Reduction in Energy Consumption’ and ‘Diversification of Energy Supply’ as the Key Result Areas.

• While the existing military, diplomatic, constabulary and benign roles envisioned in the Indian Navy’s Maritime Doctrine define the objectives of its operations, the Green Initiatives Programme of the Indian Navy has added a new dimension i.e. social responsibility to it.

• Under the INECR, numerous policies aimed at reduction of energy consumption and environment sustenance have been formulated and disseminated to all ships, as well as shore establishments.

• Solar photovoltaic (PV) projects has been one of the focus areas of the IN since the inception of the INECR.

• Solar projects consisting of both Rooftop and Land based solar panels are under execution at various shore establishments of the Navy under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).

• Similarly, pilot projects utilizing wind or a mix of both solar and wind (hybrid) are also being taken up progressively which will not only reduce carbon footprint but also help achieve self-sustenance in energy security.

• Indian Navy has also focused attention towards addressing the menace of Air Pollution by way of various environmental remediation measures for mitigating it such as sapling plantation, arboriculture and horticulture, anti-plastic drive, effluent treatment plants etc

• Towards reduction in the energy consumption of all our bases and ships, focused attention has been paid towards use of renewable energy sources and institution of various energy conservation measures such as use of occupancy sensors, battery operated vehicles, solar street lights, LED lights, audit of yards, SCADA based electric metering

• Water Conservation at various Naval stations has been achieved through incorporation of drip irrigation technique, rain water harvesting, re-use of RO water and SCADA based water distribution system

• Segregated Waste Collection Centre (SWCC) was inaugurated with the support from Defence Wives Welfare Association (DWWA) at Port Blair, which incorporated modern methods of waste collection and management system.

• Biogas Plant, Compost Pits, Vermi-culture, Paper Recycling Machine and Composter machine are some steps taken in Waste Management domain.

• Awareness drives and programmes by means of coastal cleanship, lectures etc are organized regularly to enhance participation and ensure better outreach amongst communities and contribute to the “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”.

• Emphasis is also being accorded to ensure that pollution is kept minimal in harbours and seas.

                                                                                                                                                                  Source :- PIB

Swachh Survekshan 2020

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

Context :

• Swachh Survekshan 2020 League was launched by Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Swachh Survekshan League 2020 (SS League 2020)  :

• The Swachh Survekshan League will be a quarterly cleanliness assessment of Indian cities and towns.

• It will be integrated with Swachh Survekshan 2020, the 5th edition of Swachh Survekshan survey of urban India, which will be conducted between January and February 2020.

Objective : 

• The Swachh Survekshan League has been launched with the aim of sustaining the on-ground performance of cities along with continuous monitoring of service level performance in cleanliness.

SS League 2020 Framework :

• The SS League 2020 will be conducted in 3 quarters April- June, July – September and October- December 2019.

• It will have a weightage of 2000 marks for each quarter, which will be evaluated on the basis of monthly updation of SBM-U online MIS by cities along with citizen’s validation on the 12 service level progress indicators through outbound calls. These two parameters will determine the quarterly ranking of cities.

• The ranks will be assigned in two categories:

  • Cities with population of one lakh and above

  • Cities with population of less than 1 lakh

Significance :

• The high performance of the Indian cities in Swachh Survekshan League 2020 will be crucial, as it will impact their ranking in Swachh Survekshan 2020, as 25 percent weightage of the quarterly assessment will be included in the annual survey in January 2020.

                                                                                                                               Source :- PIB

In relief for Kiran Bedi, SC restrains Puducherry govt.

GS PAPER - 02 POLITY - Parliament and State Legislatures - structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

 Context :

• The Supreme Court has directed the Puducherry government not to implement decisions having financial implications which could be taken during the Cabinet meetings.

More about the news:

• This direction comes after Centre and Puducherry Lieutenant Governor (LG) filed a plea seeking to maintain the status quo that existed before the Madras High Court order.

• Recently,Madras High Court had ruled that LG does not have the powers to interfere or act independently in the day-to-day affairs of the elected government.

• In matters of finance,administration and service matters,the High Court had said that LG could only act on the advice of the council of ministers.

• The Madras High Court order had effectively dismissed a clarification issued by the Home Ministry in 2017 which had said that the lieutenant governor has powers to act independently and is not bound by the council of ministers.

                                                                                                                                                         Source :- The Hindu

Operation Blue Star: Sikh body demands apology

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - Challenges to internal security

Context :

• The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has demanded an apology from the Government of India for the execution of Operation Blue Star on the eve of its 35th anniversary.

Operation Blue Star :

• The 1984 Operation Blue Star was the biggest internal security mission ever undertaken by the Indian Army.

• Operation Blue Star was Indira Gandhi’s solution to the haywire going law and order situation in Punjab.

• Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, ordered the military operation to remove Sikh militants who were accumulating weapons in the Harmandir Sahib Complex (Golden Temple).

• Operation Blue Star was carried out between June 1 and June 8, 1984, in Amritsar.

• Operation Blue Star took birth after the rise of Khalistan movement in India. The Khalistan movement was a political Sikh nationalist movement which aimed at creating an independent state for Sikhs inside the current North-Western Republic of India.

• Even though the Khalistan movement started in the early 1940s and 1950s, it gained popularity between 1970s and 1980s.

• Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83 and the number of civilian deaths at 492, though independent estimates ran much higher.

• The government faced a lot of backlash in 1984 as they had barred media from entering Punjab altogether.

                                                                                                                           Source :- The Hindu

Global growth to slow in 2019, says World Bank

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - growth, development and employment.

Context :

• The World Bank has released its Global Economic Prospects report, 2019.

Key Highlights :  

• The report has forecasted that the World economy will expand 2.6% in 2019 compared with a projection of 2.9% it made in January, 2019.

• Growth in emerging market and developing economies is expected to stabilize next year as some countries move past periods of financial strain, but economic momentum remains weak.

• Emerging and developing economy growth is constrained by sluggish investment, and risks are tilted to the downside. These risks include rising trade barriers, renewed financial stress, and sharper-than-expected slowdowns in several major economies

• The report has warned that the world’s poorest countries will face the most daunting challenges due to entrenched poverty, fragility and geographic isolation.

India’s Stand :    

• The World Bank has projected that India will grow at 7.5% in the next three years supported by robust investment and private consumption.

• The report said that Private consumption and investment will benefit from strengthening credit growth amid more accommodative monetary policy with inflation having fallen below the Reserve Bank of India’s target.

• The World Bank has said that India will continue to retain the position of being the fastest growing emerging economy.And by 2021,its growth rate is projected to be 1.5% more than China’s 6%.

                                                                                                                                                       Source :- The Hindu

RBI study moots boost to acceptance infra for digital payment

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential;

Context :

• The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has released a report titled “Benchmarking India’s Payments Systems”.

• The report provides a comparative position of the payments ecosystem in India relative to comparable payments systems and usage trends in other major economies.

Key Findings of the Report :

• The study found that India has a strong regulatory system and robust large value and retail payment systems, which have contributed to the rapid growth in the volume of transactions in these payment systems.

• The report, however, notes that India is required to take further efforts to bring down the volume of paper-clearing and increase acceptance infrastructure to enhance digital payments.

• While the report acknowledged that the growth in the volume of payment systems transactions had been strong and steady, the relatively high level of cash in circulation offered scope for a higher level of digitisation of payments.

• There is an increase in Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, including mobile terminals, which, however, may not be enough to cater to the large population.

• The report observed low digital payment of utility bills, despite the existence of the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), an integrated interoperable bill payment system which started live operations from October 2017.

• The report also said digital communications infrastructure in the form of a robust mobile network is growing strongly, though broadband infrastructure “lags behind.”

• The report highlighted that the last few years since demonetisation have witnessed a sea change in the payments landscape, with large growth in digital payments.

• The report also said that the level of credit card penetration in India was low when compared to advanced countries, where it was a preferred option for making payments.

                                                                                                                                                    Source :- The Hindu

Former President Pratibha Patil awarded Mexico’s highest civilian honour for foreigners

GS PAPER - 03  AWARD AND HONORS

Context :

• Former President of India Pratibha Patil has been conferred with the “Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca”(Order of the Aztec Eagle).

• She was awarded for her contribution in strengthening the humanitarian relations between India and Mexico.

Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca”(Order of the Aztec Eagle) :

• It is the highest civilian award of Mexico given to foreigners.

• The award was created in 1993 by the then President of Mexico, Abelardo L. Rodriguez.It is given to prominent heads of state or government, ambassadors after they have served in Mexico.

• Pratibha Patil is the first Indian woman and second Indian after Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan to receive such an award.

• Earlier Dr. Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth II (2nd) and Bill Gates were also honoured with this award.

                                                                                                                    Source :- Indian Express​

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