ART AND CULTURE                                                                           

1. 'Destination North East' festival                                                         

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE                                                             

1. Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0                                        

2. Tackling the Problem of Malnutrition Among Children                         

3. Surrogacy Bill referred to Rajya Sabha panel                                     

4. Governor sets 8-point administrative agenda                                     

ECONOMY                                                                                            

1. Power generated from Waste Garbage/Material                                

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY                                                        

1. Commercial Exploitation of Space Research and Development         

ART AND CULTURE

'Destination North East' festival

GS PAPER - 01 ART AND CULTURE - Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Context :

• The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) will inaugurate the ‘Destination North East’ Festival in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

‘Destination North East’ Festival :

• The festival will be held in November 2019 for four days.

• The festival is being organised by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Government of India.

• The Previous editions of ‘Destination North East’ were held in Delhi and Chandigarh.

• Destination NE 2019 will provide live experience to the audience. All 8 NE states will be present at the event along with their handicrafts, handloom, organic products and cultural troupes.

• The idea of organising such events is to bring the rest of India closer to the North East and to have experience of the rich culture of the North East.

• During the festival, visitors will have live experiences of the artisans and artists from the NE states working on their looms and crafts, performing their songs and dances in the open stage during the day.

• Indigenous games will also be performed where visitors can also participate.

• Live kitchens with recipes from NE and Uttar Pradesh will be serving delicacies throughout the event.

• The Ganga and Brahmaputra basins offer striking similarities in terms of ancient culture, diverse handlooms and silk products, spiritual heritage and vibrant tourist hubs. Therefore, Varanasi was the natural choice for hosting the Destination North East 2019.

• Given the importance of NE with respect to organic products, food processing, tourism, water development, seminars will be held on these subjects with participation of experts in the respective fields.

                                                                                                                                                                       Source :- PIB

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0

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

Context :

• Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare have reviewed the preparedness within States for rollout of Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0.

Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0 :

• IMI was launched from Vadnagar in 2017 and immunization has been given a strong push in the Gram Swaraj Abhiyaan and Extended Gram Swaraj Abhiyaan.

• The IMI 2.0 aims to achieve targets of full immunization coverage in 272 districts in 27 States and shall be implemented in the block level (652 blocks) in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

• In October 2017, the PM Modi launched IMI, an ambitious plan to accelerate progress.

• It aimed to achieve 90% full immunization coverage with focus towards districts and urban areas with persistently low levels.

• IMI was built on MI, using additional strategies to reach populations at high risk, by involving sectors other than health.

• It was an effort to shift routine immunization into a Jan Andolan, or a “peoples’ movement”.

Key features :

• Immunization activity will be in four rounds over 7 working days excluding the RI days, Sundays and holidays.

• Enhanced immunization session with flexible timing, mobile session and mobilization by other departments.

• Enhanced focus on left-outs, dropouts, and resistant families and hard to reach areas.

• Focus on urban, underserved population and tribal areas.

• Inter-ministerial and inter-departmental coordination.

• Enhance political, administrative and financial commitment, through advocacy.

• IMI immunization drive, consisting of 4 rounds of immunization will be conducted in the selected districts and urban cities from Dec 2019 to March 2020.

                                                                                                                                                                 Source :- PIB

Tackling the Problem of Malnutrition Among Children

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

Context :

• The Government accords high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is implementing several schemes/programmes of different Ministries/Departments through States/UTs to address various aspects related to nutrition.

More in the news :

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing several schemes and programmes like Anganwadi Services, Scheme for Adolescent Girls and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana under the Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services Scheme as direct targeted interventions to address the problem of malnutrition in the country.

• The Government has also launched POSHAN Abhiyaan, which aims to prevent and reduce the prevalence of stunting, underweight and anaemia among children (0-6 years) and reduction in the prevalence of low birth weight in the country in a time-bound manner.

Anganwadi Services :

• They are under the Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme and aim to improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age-group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers and reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity and malnutrition.

• These services include supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition & health education, immunization, health check-up and referral services.

                                                                                                                                                                      Source :- PIB

Surrogacy Bill referred to Rajya Sabha panel

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Context :

• The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019, has been referred to a select committee of the Upper House, after several MPs raised concerns over several provisions of the legislation, including making it mandatory for a surrogate to be a close relative.

Background :

• In 2005, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issued guidelines to regulate surrogacy arrangements.

• The guidelines stated that the surrogate mother would be entitled to monetary compensation, the value of which would be decided by the couple and the surrogate mother. 

• The guidelines also specified that the surrogate mother cannot donate her own egg for the surrogacy and that she must relinquish all parental rights related to the surrogate child. 

• In 2009, the Law Commission of India recommended prohibiting commercial surrogacy, allowing altruistic surrogacy and enacting a law to regulate matters related to surrogacy.

• The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 was introduced in Lok Sabha on November 21, 2016.

  •  It was examined by the Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare which submitted its report on August 10, 2017. 

  • The Committee gave several recommendations with regard to:

    • commercial vs altruistic surrogacy,

    • implications of the surrogate being a close relative;

    • inclusion of provisions for gamete donation; and

    • regulation of abortion. 

  • However, the 2016 Bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. 

• The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha on July 15, 2019 to replace the 2016 Bill.

Issues to Consider :

• Definition of ‘infertility’ restricted to failure to conceive

  • The Bill defines infertility as the inability to conceive after five years of unprotected coitus or other medical condition preventing a couple from conception. 

  • This definition does not cover all cases in which a couple is unable to bear a child.

    • For example, there may be medical conditions where the woman may conceive but is unable to carry a child through the period of the pregnancy, i.e., the period of nine months following the conception.

    •  This includes cases where an intending mother may be able to conceive a child, but may have multiple miscarriages that result in her inability to bear a child.

    •  There are also other medical conditions like multiple fibroids in the uterus, hypertension, and diabetes that affect successful pregnancies.

    •  Such persons will not be covered under the definition of ‘infertility’ proposed in the Bill and therefore will not be eligible to undertake altruistic surrogacy.

•  ‘Any other condition or disease’ may be specified through regulations for undertaking surrogacy

  • The Bill specifies the purposes for which a surrogacy procedure may be undertaken. 

  • Surrogacy may be undertaken if: (i) it is for altruistic purposes; (ii) either member of the couple suffers from infertility; (iii) not for commercial purposes; and (iv) not for producing children for sale or prostitution. 

  • Further, the Bill allows the NSB to prescribe through regulations ‘any other condition or disease’ for which surrogacy may be allowed.

  •  It is unclear what is implied by ‘any other condition’ i.e., whether it relates to only a medical condition or would be of any other nature.  

•   Additional eligibility criteria for intending couples may be specified through regulations  :

  • The Bill allows the NSB to prescribe additional conditions that need to be fulfilled by the intending couple through regulations. 

  • The question is whether this is excessive delegation of legislative powers. 

  • It may be argued that all conditions that make persons eligible to commission a surrogacy should be specified in the parent law and not be delegated to regulations.

• Review and appeal procedure for surrogacy applications not specified  :

  •  The, the Bill does not specify a review or appeal procedure in case the surrogacy applications are rejected.

  • Note that other laws such as the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, and adoption related provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015 provide the procedure for review and appeal, in case such an application is rejected.

•   Issues related to the surrogate mother being a ‘close relative’ :

  • The Bill specifies various conditions that need to be fulfilled by a surrogate mother in order to be eligible for a surrogacy procedure. 

    • Upon fulfilling these conditions, the surrogate mother may obtain an eligibility certificate from the appropriate authority. 

    • One of the conditions to be proved is that the surrogate mother is a ‘close relative’ of the intending couple who commission the surrogacy. 

  • However, the Bill does not specify who will be a ‘close relative’.

•  Approval for termination of pregnancy from the appropriate authority :

  • Under the Bill, authorisation of the appropriate authority is mandatory for an abortion to be done during the period of surrogacy. 

  • The authorisation also has to comply with the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, which specifies the grounds for termination of pregnancy. 

  • However, the Bill does not specify the time period by which such authorisation for abortion has to be given.

•   Intending couple has no say in the consent to abort a surrogate child :

  • An abortion of the surrogate child requires the written consent of the surrogate mother and an authorisation by the appropriate authority. 

  • The Bill further states that no person may force the surrogate mother to abort the foetus. 

  • However, after the birth, the child is considered the biological child of the intending couple and they are responsible for bringing up the child. 

  • If a child being born out of surrogacy arrangement is at the risk of physical or mental abnormalities, under the Bill only the surrogate mother’s consent will be required to abort the child. 

  • The intending couple will have no role in this decision.

•  Storage of embryo or gamete for surrogacy not allowed  :

  • The Bill prohibits storage of embryos and gametes (unfertilised egg and sperm) for the purpose of surrogacy. 

  • This differs from the current ICMR guidelines (2005) which allow the storage of embryos for a period of five years.

  •  The prohibition on storage of egg or sperm may have adverse health implications for the intending mother.

                                                                                                                                                        Source :- The Hindu

Governor sets 8-point administrative agenda

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

Context :

• In the backdrop of President’s Rule being imposed in the state of Maharashtra, the Governor has set an eight-point agenda for the disposal of official business to ensure smooth functioning of the administration.

More in the news :

• The Chief Secretary issued the orders, listing out the priorities of the administration, including matters pertaining to the transfer of officials, delegation of the power of ministers, and legislative, administrative and financial subjects.

• The communiqué from the Governor was issued under the powers conferred on him by Article 166 of the Constitution and circulated under the subject: ‘Disposal of Official Business During President’s Rule’.

• Topping the priority list are matters routed through the Council of Ministers. All matters which are required to be put up to the Council of Ministers under Schedule II of the Rules of Business and all such cases where ministers had to obtain orders of the Chief Minister, would now be routed through the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra to the Governor.

• All transfers earlier being done by the Chief Minister will be done by the Governor.

• Among other issues, matters pertaining to law and order will also be decided by the Chief Secretary and cases settled by ministers will be decided by the Governor with help from the Chief Secretary.           

                                                                                                                                                                 Source :- The Hindu

ECONOMY

Power generated from Waste Garbage/Material

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

Context :

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is implementing the scheme “Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial and Agricultural Wastes/Residues”

  •  for promoting the setting up of waste-to-energy plants to recover energy in the form of Biogas or BioCNG or Power from Urban, Industrial and Agricultural Waste/Residues for meeting certain niche energy demands of urban, industrial and commercial sectors in the country.

Objective :

• To promote setting up of projects for recovery of energy in the form of Biogas/BioCNG/Enriched Biogas/Power from urban, industrial and agricultural wastes; and captive power and thermal use through gasification in industries.

• To promote Biomass Gasifier based power plants for producing electricity to meet the unmet demand of captive power and thermal needs of rice mills and other industries and villages for lighting, water pumping and micro-enterprises.

• To create conducive conditions and environment, with fiscal and financial regime, to develop, demonstrate and disseminate utilization of wastes and residues for recovery of energy.

More in the news :

• The scheme provides Central Financial Assistance in the form of back-ended subsidy to developers for setting up of such projects.

• So far 199 waste-to-energy projects for the generation of Biogas/BioCNG/Power based on Urban, industrial, agricultural waste and Municipal Solid Waste have been successfully established in the country.

                                                                                                                                Source :- PIB

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Commercial Exploitation of Space Research and Development

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - 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 :

• A new company by name, “New Space India Limited (NSIL)”, has been incorporated on 06th March 2019, as a wholly owned Government of India Undertaking / Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), under the administrative control of Department of Space (DOS) to commercially exploit the research and development work of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

NSIL Mandate:

• Small Satellite technology transfer to industry wherein NSIL will obtain license from DOS/ISRO and sub-license it to industries.

• Manufacture of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in collaboration with the private sector.

• Productionisation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) through the Indian Industry.

• Productionisation and marketing of space-based services, including launch and application.

• Transfer of technology developed by ISRO Centres and constituent institutions of DOS.

• Marketing of spin-off technologies and products, both in India and abroad.

• Any other subject which the Government of India deems fit.

More in the news :

• With the activity plan and the mandate set for NSIL, Indian industries are likely to see a major spur in their growth in the space sector.

• This initiative would further enable scaling up the manufacturing and production base in Indian industries towards meeting the growing needs of the Indian space programme and exploiting the opportunities available in the global space market.

• Through the sale of products related to small satellite, sub-system technology and the spin-off products in the domestic and global markets, foreign exchange revenue is expected to be generated.

                                                                                                                      Source :- PIB

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