PIB Summary- 18th July, 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Mission Vatsalya Scheme

Why in News?
Mission Vatsalya, launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, ensures children’s safety and security in India.

About  Mission Vatsalya Scheme

• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme .
• “Mission Vatsalya” erstwhile Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme, since 2009-10 for the welfare and rehabilitation of children. 
• Mission Vatsalya is a roadmap to achieve development and child protection priorities aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• It lays emphasis on child rights, advocacy and awareness along with strengthening of the juvenile justice care and protection system with the motto to ‘leave no child behind’.
• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 provisions and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 form the basic framework for implementation of the Mission.

Vision and Mission of the Scheme

• To secure a healthy & happy childhood for each and every child in India, ensure opportunities to enable them to discover their full potential and assist them in flourishing in all respects, in a sustained manner.
• Mission Vatsalya promotes family based non-institutional care of children in difficult circumstances based on the principle of institutionalization of children as a measure of last resort.

The Mission aims to

• Support and sustain Children in difficult circumstances;
• Develop context-based solutions for holistic development of children from varied backgrounds;
• Provide scope for encouraging innovative solutions;
• Cement convergent action.

Key objectives of Mission Vatsalya

• Prioritisation of children in the scheme of Administration keeping Centrality of the Child during all the activities and actions taken under the Mission.
• Best interest of the Child while designing or delivering projects and programmes and to take affirmative action to ensure right to grow in happy family environment with strong social safety net to support families.
• Ensuring Children’s right to Survival, Development, Protection and Participation.
• To establish essential services and strengthen emergency outreach, noninstitutional care within the family and community, and institutional care counselling and support services at the national, regional, state and district levels.
• To ensure appropriate inter-sector response at all levels, coordinate and network with all allied systems to promote convergent efforts for seamless service delivery to children.
• To strengthen child protection at family and community level, equip families and communities to identify risks and vulnerabilities affecting children, create and promote preventive measures to protect children from situations of vulnerability, risk and abuse.
• Encourage private sector partnerships and interventions to support children within the framework of law.
• Raise public awareness, educate public about child rights, vulnerabilities and measures for protection sponsored by government and engage community at all levels as stakeholder in ensuring the best interest of children.
• To build capacities of duty holders & service providers at all levels.
• Monitor progress on objective parameters against well-defined Outputs and Outcomes
• Participation of Panchayats and Municipal Local Bodies at the village level and at the ward and the urban cluster level within the urban municipal ward, for sustained assessment of the issues deserving attention, implementation of appropriate interventions, regular monitoring to develop a robust social safety net for children.

Coal Gasification

Why in News?
The Ministry of Coal is considering a Comprehensive Scheme to promote Coal Gasification, aiming to achieve 100 Million Tonne (MT) coal Gasification by FY 2030.

Key Points of the Coal Gasification Scheme

• The scheme aims to promote coal gasification as a sustainable and innovative solution.
• It encourages the participation of government PSUs and the private sector in coal gasification projects.

Selection Process

• Entities for the coal/lignite gasification scheme will be chosen through a competitive and transparent bidding process.
• Eligible government PSUs and private sector entities will receive budgetary support to undertake coal gasification projects.

Benefits

• The initiative capitalizes on natural resources and demonstrates the financial and technical feasibility of coal gasification.
• It fosters innovation, investment, and sustainable development in the coal gasification sector.
• Coal gasification has the potential to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to global commitments for a greener future.

Coal Gasification

• Coal is partially oxidized with air, oxygen, steam, or carbon dioxide to produce a fuel gas.
• This gas, called syngas, serves as an alternative to natural gas and can be used for energy production.

Syngas Composition and Uses

• Syngas primarily consists of methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and water vapor (H2O).
• Syngas can be used to produce a wide range of products, including fertilizers, fuels, solvents, and synthetic materials.

Applications

• Steel companies can reduce costs by using syngas from coal gasification plants instead of expensive imported coking coal in their manufacturing process.
• It is commonly used for electricity generation and in the production of chemical feedstocks.
• The hydrogen derived from coal gasification has various applications, such as ammonia production and supporting a hydrogen economy.

Efficiency

• The coal gasification process involves converting a high-quality energy source (coal) into a lower-quality state (gas) and requires significant energy input.
• As a result, the efficiency of the conversion process is relatively low.