PIB Summary- 21th March, 2022 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Disaster Management Plan of Ministry of Panchayati Raj

Why in News?

The Disaster Management Plan of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj was recently released by the Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (DMP-MoPR).

About DMP-MoPR:

• Every Indian village would have a “Village Disaster Management Plan” and every Panchayat would have their own Disaster Management Plan under the Plan, which was designed with a bigger view of community-based planning starting from Village to District Panchayat level.
• The goal is to increase disaster resilience among Panchayats at the grassroots level and to provide a framework to connect disaster management measures in rural regions with those of the National Disaster Management Authority.
• It integrates numerous improvements in addition to complying with the Disaster Management Act of 2005, the National Disaster Management Policy of 2009, and the National Disaster Management Authority’s standards.

What will be covered under the Disaster Management Plan?

• Institutional arrangement for Disaster Management.
• Hazard Risk, Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis.
• Coherence of Disaster Risk Management across Resilient Development and Climate Change Action.
• Disaster Specific Preventive and Mitigation Measures-Responsibility Framework.
• Mainstreaming of Community Based Disaster Management Plan of Villages and Panchayats and so on.

Need for such a Plan

• Due to its unique geo-climatic and socio-economic characteristics, India has been exposed to several natural and man-made calamities to varying degrees.
• Earthquakes, floods, landslides, cyclones, tsunamis, urban floods, and droughts are examples of natural disasters.
• Nuclear, biological, and chemical disasters can all be caused by humans.
• Cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, and other natural disasters affect different sections of the country.

World Happiness Report 2022

Why in News?

The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network recently released the World Happiness Report 2022. The World Happiness Report is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

About World Happiness Report

• The World Happiness Report is released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations, ranking 149 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.
• The United Nations World Happiness Report was first published in 2012. Until then, happiness was not considered an objective of governance.
• Happiness has now emerged as a new measure of the quality of governance.
• The connection between law, governance and happiness has been gaining considerable attention over the years. This is because the report has shown time and again that countries with a higher GDP and higher per capita income are not necessarily the happiest.
• The rankings are based on polling (Gallup World Poll) which looks at six variables:
  (i) Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (Purchasing Power Parity).
  (ii) Social Support.
  (iii) Healthy life expectancy at birth.
  (iv) Freedom to make life choices.
  (v) Generosity.
  (vi) Perceptions of corruption.

Performance of the Countries

• For the sixth year in a row, Finland has been voted the world’s happiest country, followed by Denmark.
• Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania have seen the greatest increases in happiness.
• Afghanistan was voted as the unhappiest country, followed by Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Botswana, in that order.
• India’s Performance: India improved its position somewhat, moving up three ranks to 136 from 139 a year ago.