POLITY AND GOVERNANCE                                                             

1. India on track to achieve MMR targets for SDG                                 

2. Inaugural conclave on “National Capital Region -2041”                       

3. Indian Railways launches three online applications                             

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS                                                          

1. Integrated Check Post at Kartarpur Corridor                                      

2. Kalapani an integral part:Nepal raises border dispute                         

ECONOMY                                                                                             

1. Steel Scrap Recycling Policy issued                                                  

2. 27th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (COCSSO)                                                                                    

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

India on track to achieve MMR targets for SDG

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

Context :

• Recently, Registrar General of India released Special Bulletin on MMR, says that Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India has declined by 8 points in one year.           

Key Highlights :

• India’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has seen a decline from 130 per 1 lakh live births in 2014-2016 to 122 per 1 lakh live births in 2015-2017.

• MMR has declined from 167 in 2011-2013 to 130 in 2014-2016 and to 122 in 2015-17 in India, according to the report.

• A decline of 8 points (6.2%) was observed during the period 2015-2017.

• In India, nearly 2,000 maternal deaths have been averted per year due to this decline in MMR.

State wise Progress :

• Kerala secures the first position in MMR reduction (from 46 to 42), followed by Maharashtra (from 61 to 55) and Tamil Nadu (from 66 to 63).

• Karnataka has shown the highest percentage decline in MMR.

• The decline has been most significant in EAG States from 188 to 175. Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, UP, Uttarakhand and Assam fall under EAG States group.
   

  • The independent MMR data of Jharkhand (76), Chhattisgarh (141) and Uttarakhand (89) has been released for the first time in the SRS 2015-2017 bulletin.

  • Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have shown an increase by 15 points each in MMR.

• So far, 11 states have achieved the National Health Policy target of MMR well ahead of 2020. The National Health Policy aims to reduce Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to 1/1000 live births.

Reason for declining MMR :

• Decline in MMR has been possible in view of the gains made in institutional deliveries and focused approach towards aspirational districts and inter-sectoral action to reach the most marginalised and vulnerable mothers.

• Focus on quality and coverage of health services through public health initiatives under the

  • National Health Mission such as LaQshya,

  • Poshan Abhiyan,

  • Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, J

  • anani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram,

  • Janani Suraksha Yojana and

  • Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana

have contributed to this decline.

Way Forward :

• In 2018, the WHO had lauded India’s progress in reducing the MMR, saying that the progress puts the country on track towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of an MMR below 70 by 2030.

• India must remain committed to ensuring that not a single mother or newborn dies due to a preventable cause and must move towards zero preventable maternal and newborn deaths through the recently launched Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan Initiative (SUMAN).

                                                                                                             Source :- The Hindu ; PIB

Inaugural conclave on “National Capital Region -2041”

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

Context :

• The inaugural conclave “NCR-2041” with the theme “Planning for Tomorrow’s Greatest Capital Region” will be held in the national capital.

• The Regional Plan-2041 for NCR will be among the key instruments to address various issues related to harmonious development of the largest metropolitan region of the world.

National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB)  :

• The National Capital Region (NCR) is a distinct federal setup having the National Capital Territory of Delhi as its core. It is a unique example of inter-state regional planning and development.

• The constituent areas of the National Capital Region are as under:

  • Entire National Capital Territory of Delhi.

  • Districts from Haryana sub-region.

  • Districts from Rajasthan sub-region.

  • Districts from Uttar Pradesh Sub-region.

• For the development of above, the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) was constituted by the Act of Parliament in 1985, as a statutory body under the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.

• The NCRPB is tasked to evolve harmonized policies for the control of land-uses and development of infrastructure in the region so as to avoid any haphazard development.

                                                                                                                                                           Source :- PIB

Indian Railways launches three online applications

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

Context :

• Indian Railways launched three applications for all-India rollout to strengthen the IT enablement of railways which will help ensure proper monitoring of projects being undertaken by Indian Railways and will boost the vision of Digital India.

Salient features of these three applications are:

• CRS Sanction Management System:

  • CRS Sanction is an important aspect in construction, maintenance and up-gradation of railway assets.

  • An online application for CRS Sanction Management has been developed in which all works pertaining to level crossings (closure, manning, shifting etc.) and minor bridges.

•  Rail-road crossing GAD approval system:

  • This project for online e-Governance platform was developed by Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to expedite preparation, processing & approval of General Agreement Drawings (GADs) related to construction of Road Over Bridges (ROB)/Road Under Bridges (RUB).

• TMS for construction:

  • This application has been developed for new assets being constructed by the construction/project organisation.

                                                                                                                               Source :- PIB

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Integrated Check Post at Kartarpur Corridor

GS PAPER  - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - India and its neighborhood- relations.

Context :

• The Prime Minister of India will inaugurate the Integrated Check Post at Kartarpur Corridor.

More in the news:

• India and Pakistan have signed an agreement to operationalise the Kartarpur corridor that will facilitate pilgrims from India to visit the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.

Key  highlights of the Agreement are:

• Indian pilgrims of all faiths and persons of Indian origin can use the corridor;

• The travel will be Visa Free;

• Pilgrims need to carry only a valid passport;

• Persons of Indian Origin need to carry OCI card along with the passport of their country;

• The Corridor is open from dawn to dusk. Pilgrims travelling in the morning will have to return on the same day;

• The Corridor will be operational throughout the year;

• Pilgrims will have a choice to visit as individuals or in groups, and also to travel on foot;

• India will send the list of pilgrims to Pakistan 10 days ahead of travel date. Confirmation will be sent to pilgrims 4 days before the travel date;

                                                                                                                                                                    Source :- PIB

Kalapani an integral part:Nepal raises border dispute

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - India and its neighborhood- relations.

Context :

• In the recently released political map of India, after the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, the Kalapani territory became the bone of contention between India and Nepal.

Issue :

• In the latest map, India included Kalapani into the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.

• Nepal government says that Kalapani is an integral part of the country and that talks are still on between New Delhi and Kathmandu over this “unresolved” area.

• Foreign secretaries of both countries have been assigned the responsibility to resolve the remaining border-related issues between India and Nepal.

Kalapani :

• Kalapani is located at an altitude of 3600m on the Kailash Manasarovar route.

• It borders Uttarakhand in India and Sudurpashchim Pradesh in Nepal.

  • The Kali River in the Kalapani region demarcates the border between India and Nepal.

• Since the Indo-China war of 1962, Kalapani is controlled by India’s Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

• Nepal claims that the river located towards the west of the territory is the main Kali river and thus it falls in its territory, India claims a ridgeline towards the east of the Kalapani territory and hence, includes it in the Indian Union.

Background :

• The Treaty of Sugauli signed by the Kingdom of Nepal and British India (after Anglo-Nepalese War) in 1816 located the Kali River as Nepal's western boundary with India.

• The discrepancy in locating the source of the river led to boundary disputes between India and Nepal, with each country producing maps supporting their own claims.

• The exact size of the Kalapani territory also varies in different sources.           

                                                                                                                                                        Source :- The Hindu

ECONOMY

Steel Scrap Recycling Policy issued

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context :

• Ministry of Steel has issued the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy.

Background :

• Steel Ministry’s endeavor is to develop a globally competitive steel industry by adopting state of the art environment friendly technologies.

• Ferrous Scrap being the primary raw material for electric arc furnace (EAF) and induction furnace (IF) based steel production, the policy envisages a framework to facilitate and promote establishment of metal scrapping centers in India. This will ensure scientific processing & recycling of ferrous scrap generated from various sources and a variety of products.

• The policy framework shall provide standard guidelines for collection, dismantling and shredding activities in an organized, safe and environmentally sound manner.

• Steel is a material most conducive for circular economy as it can be used, reused and recycled infinitely.

• While iron ore remains the primary source of steel making, used or re-used steel in the form of Scrap is the secondary raw material for the steel industry.

• Indian steel industry is characterized by the presence of a large number of small steel producers who utilize scrap with other inputs in EAF/IF for steel making.

National Steel Policy 2017:

• National Steel Policy 2017 (NSP-2017) aims to develop a globally competitive steel industry by creating 300 Million TPA Steel production capacity by 2030 with a contribution of 35-40% from EAF/IF route.

• The availability of raw materials at competitive rates is imperative for the growth of the steel industry and to achieve NSP-2017 target. Thus, the availability of right quality of scrap, in adequate quantity is one of the critical factors for the future growth for both EAF/IF sector & primary sector.

• Scrap based steel making technologies have been envisaged as one of the important options to reduce GHG emission intensity. This shall feature as an important initiative of the steel sector to minimize Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.

Objective of the POLICY :

The policy aims to achieve the following objectives –

• To promote circular economy in the steel sector.

• To promote a formal and scientific collection, dismantling and processing activities for end of life products that are sources of recyclable (ferrous, non- ferrous and other non-metallic) scraps which will lead to resource conservation and energy savings and setting up of an environmentally sound management system for handling ferrous scrap.

•   Processing and recycling of products in an organized, safe and environment friendly manner.

•  To evolve a responsive ecosystem by involving all stakeholders.

• To produce high quality ferrous scrap for quality steel production thus minimizing the dependency on imports.

• To decongest the Indian cities from ELVs and reuse of ferrous scrap.

• To create a mechanism for treating waste streams and residues produced from dismantling and shredding facilities in compliance to Hazardous & Other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 issued by MoEF & CC.

•  To promote 6Rs principles of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign and Remanufacture through scientific handling, processing and disposal of all types of recyclable scraps including non-ferrous scraps, through authorized centers / facility.

Significance :

• The availability of scrap is a major issue in India and in 2017 the deficit was to the tune of 7 million Tons. This was imported at the cost of more than Rs. 24,500 crores (approx.) in 2017-18.

• The gap between demand and supply is can be reduced in the future and the country may be self-sufficient by 2030.

• This is mainly because with the increase in consumption of steel in the recent past and ELVs, the generation of scrap is likely to be increased considerably.

• This scrap has to be channelized so that the same can be utilized for steel production in an environmentally friendly manner.

• The scrapping policy shall ensure that quality scrap is available for the steel industry.

                                                                                                                                                                       Source :- PIB

27th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (COCSSO)

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context :

• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is organizing 27th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (COCSSO) in Kolkata.

More in the newS:

• The Conference, a major national annual event, provides a platform for discussion and improved coordination between the Central and State Statistical agencies for enhancing the efficiency of the Indian Statistical System.

• The theme of this year’s Conference “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. It has been chosen for intensive and focused discussions aimed at filling the data gaps and improvement of timelines/quality in SDG monitoring.

National Indicator Framework (NIF):

• MoSPI, which is responsible for monitoring the progress of SDGs, has developed the National Indicator Framework (NIF) for monitoring country’s progress on SDGs.

• NIF has been developed in consultations with Central Ministries and State/UT Governments.

• MoSPI has also released the NIF Baseline Report 2015-16 setting the benchmark for measuring SDGs progress up to 2030.

                                                                                                                                                         Source :- PIB

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