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Veer Savarkar

Why In News?

The Prime Minister has paid tribute to freedom fighter Veer Savarkar on his Punya tithi.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar 

• Period: 28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966
• Cause of Death: Fasting (Sallekhana Prayopavesa)
• He was commonly known as Veer Savarkar (“brave” in his native Marathi language)
• He was an Indian independence activist, politician, lawyer and writer.

Nationalism and social reforms:

• Savarkar formed a youth organization known as Mitra Mela, this organization was put into place to bring in national and revolutionary ideas.
• He was against foreign goods and propagated the idea of Swadeshi. In 1905, he burnt all the foreign goods in a bonfire on Dussehra.
• He championed atheism and rationality and also disapproved orthodox Hindu belief. In fact, he even dismissed cow worship as superstitious.
• He also worked on abolishment of untouchability in Ratnagiri. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar also compared his work to Lord Buddha.
• In Pune, Savarkar founded the “Abhinav Bharat Society”.
• He was also involved in the Swadeshi movement and later joined Tilak’s Swaraj Party. His instigating patriotic speeches and activities incensed the British Government. As a result, the British Government withdrew his B.A. degree.
• He founded the Free India Society. The Society celebrated important dates on the Indian calendar including festivals, freedom movement landmarks, and was dedicated to furthering discussion about Indian freedom.
• He believed and advocated the use of arms to free India from the British and created a network of Indians in England, equipped with weapons.

Related Organisations and Work:

• Founded a secret society called Abhinav Bharat Society.
• Went to the United Kingdom and was involved with organizations such as India House and the Free India Society.
• Involved in the formation of Hindu Mahasabha.
• He was the president of Hindu Mahasabha from 1937 to 1943.
• Savarkar wrote a book titled ‘The History of the War of Indian Independence’ in which he wrote about the guerilla warfare tricks used in 1857 Sepoy Mutiny.
• He also wrote the book ‘Hindutva: who is hindu?’.

Abhinav Bharat Society (Young India Society)

• It was a secret society founded by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Damodar Savarkar in 1904.
• Initially founded at Nasik as Mitra Mela, the society was associated with several revolutionaries and political activists with branches in various parts of India and London.

Hindu Mahasabha

• It was a political party formed in 1933.
• It was founded by Veer Damodar Savarkar, Lala Lajpat Rai, Madan Mohan Malviya.
• The organisation was formed to protect the rights of the Hindu community, after the formation of the All India Muslim League in 1906 and the British India government’s creation of separate Muslim electorate under the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909.

Free India Society

• It was a political organization of Indian students in England, committed to obtaining the independence of India from British rule.
• Initially an intellectual group, it became a revolutionary outfit under its founding leader, Madam Bhikaji Cama.

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

Why in News?

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister has approved the national roll-out of Central Sector Scheme, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, with a budget of Rs.1,600 crore for five years.

About Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission:

• Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will help connect digital health solutions across the country.
• All Indians will get a digital health ID under this scheme.
• Every citizen’s health record will now be digitally secure.
• The health ID will be used as health account.
• Personal health records can be linked to this account and viewed with the help of a mobile application.
• Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will provide reliable data, leading to better treatment and savings for patients too.
• The National Health Authority (NHA) will be the implementing agency of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)

• Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) is the flagship scheme of the Union government as a part of the Indian government’s National Health Policy.
• AB-PMJAY provides a health cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh a family a year, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization, to India’s bottom 40% poor and vulnerable population.
• The programme was launched in September, 2018.
• AB-PMJAY is under the aegis of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• The PM Jan Arogya Yojana beneficiaries get an e-card that can be used to avail services at an empanelled hospital, public or private, anywhere in the country, with which they can walk into a hospital and obtain cashless treatment.
• The scheme has certain pre-conditions by which it picks who can avail of the health cover benefit. While in the rural areas the list is mostly categorized on lack of housing, meagre income and other deprivations, the urban list of PMJAY beneficiaries is drawn up on the basis of occupation.

Key Features of AB-PMJAY

• PM-JAY is a health assurance scheme that covers 10.74 crores households across India or approximately 50 crore Indians.
• It provides a cover of 5 lakh per family per year for medical treatment in empanelled hospitals, both public and private.
• It provides cashless and paperless service to its beneficiaries at the point of service, i.e., the hospital.
• E-cards are provided to the eligible beneficiaries based on the deprivation and occupational criteria of Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011).
• There is no restriction on family size, age or gender.
• All previous medical conditions are covered under the scheme.
• It covers 3 days of hospitalisation and 15 days of post hospitalisation, including diagnostic care and expenses on medicines.
• The scheme is portable and a beneficiary can avail medical treatment at any PM-JAY empanelled hospital outside their state and anywhere in the country.
• The Central government has decided to provide free testing and treatment of Coronavirus under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

Eastern Bridge-VI 2022

Why in News?

The Indo-Oman exercise, Eastern Bridge-VI (2022) was successfully conducted at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 21 to 25 February 2022.

About Eastern Bridge-VI 2022

• It is a  bilateral exercise of The Indian Air Force (IAF) and Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO)
• This would be the sixth edition of the exercise.
• Aim: To provide an opportunity to enhance operational capability and interoperability between the two Air Forces.
• Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) participated with Indian Air Force (lAF) in the exercise which was aimed at providing operational exposure and undertaking mutual exchange of best practices, towards enhancing operational capabilities of both the Air Forces.
• The exercise provided an opportunity for fruitful interaction between IAF and RAFO elements through mutual exchange of experience and operational knowledge.
• It also provided avenues of cultural exchanges between the personnel of both countries.