PIB Summary- 29th January, 2022 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Lala Lajpat Rai Ji

Why in News?

The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Lala Lajpat Rai on his Jayanti. 

About Lala Lajpat Rai Ji

• Lajpat Rai was an Indian independence activist and played a pivotal role in the Indian Independence movement.
• He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari.
• Born in 1865 in Moga district, Punjab to a middle-class family.
• He was a lawyer by profession and was influenced by Swami Dayananda Saraswati and joined the Arya Samaj in Lahore.
• He believed that the ideals of Indian-culture combined with nationalism will lead to the establishment of a secular state.
• Along with Bipin Chandra Pal and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, he formed the Lal-Bal-Pal trio of extremist leaders.
• He was also involved with the Hindu Mahasabha and fought against untouchability.

About Contributions of Lala Lajpat Rai Ji

• He joined the Indian National Congress (INC) and participated in many political agitations in Punjab.
• For his political agitation, he was deported to Burma without trial in 1907 but returned after a few months because of lack of evidence.
• He was opposed to the partition of Bengal.
• He founded the Home Rule League of America in 1917 in New York.
• In the USA, he worked to get moral support for the Indian independence movement from the international community.
• He was also elected President of the All India Trade Union Congress.
• He supported the non-cooperation movement of Gandhi at the Nagpur session of the Congress in 1920.
• He protested against the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that followed.
• He was the editor of the Arya Gazette, which he had founded.
• He founded the Servants of People Society in 1921.
• He co-founded the Punjab National Bank in 1894.
• He was elected deputy leader of the Central Legislative Assembly in 1926.
• In 1928, he moved a resolution in the assembly refusing cooperation with the Simon Commission since the Commission had no Indian members.
• He was leading a silent protest against the Simon Commission in Lahore when he was brutally lathi-charged by Superintendent of Police, James Scott.
• Lala Lajpat Rai Ji died of injuries sustained a few weeks later.
• Bhagat Singh Ji and a few other revolutionaries vowed to take revenge for Rai Ji’s death and plotted to kill Scott.
• But he shot and killed John Saunders, an Assistant Superintendent of Police in a case of mistaken identity.

India-Israel agree to further enhance cooperation in the agricultural sector

Why in News?

Israeli Ambassador to India Shri Naor Gilon called on the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare at Krishi Bhawan. Welcoming the Ambassador, Shri Tomar congratulated him on taking over as the Ambassador of Israel to India.

Key Points:

• Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare expressed happiness on the completion of 30 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel.
• The Minister expressed satisfaction at the functioning of 29 Centers of Excellence in 12 States which are producing more than 25 million vegetable plants, over 387 thousand quality fruit plants and can train more than 1.2 lakh farmers per year.
• Union Minister informed that it has been decided to convert 150 villages around the Centers of Excellence into Villages of Excellence with technical assistance from Israel, out of which 75 villages are being taken up in the first year to commemorate the 75th year of India’s independence.
• The Ambassador of Israel Shri Gilon expressed satisfaction over the functioning of the Centers of Excellence, stating that these CoEs are a great example of cooperation between the two countries.
• The Ambassador appreciated the working of ICAR institutes and showed interest in further collaboration with ICAR and making available the latest technologies available with Israel.
• He proposed the certification of CoEs to further enhance the standards and quality of services being provided to the farmers.

History of India–Israel relations

• India and the State of Israel have an extensive economic, military, and strategic relationship.
• India’s position on the establishment of the State of Israel was affected by many factors, including India’s own partition on religious lines, and India’s relationship with other nations.
• Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi believed the Jews had a good case and a prior claim for Israel, but opposed the creation of Israel on religious or mandated terms. Gandhi believed that the Arabs were the rightful occupants of Palestine, and was of the view that the Jews should return to their countries of origin.
• Albert Einstein wrote a four-page letter to Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947, to persuade India to support the setting up of a Jewish state. (Einstein’s request was not accepted).
• India voted against the Partitioning of Palestine plan of 1947 and voted against Israel’s admission to the United Nations in 1949.
• It was only in 1950, that India officially recognised the State of Israel.

Bilateral Cooperation on defence between India and Israel

• The strategic cooperation between the two countries began during the Sino-India War of 1962 and improved when Israel supplied M-58 160-mm mortar ammunition to India in the war against Pakistan in 1965.
• Israel was also one of the few countries that chose not to condemn India’s Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998.
• India is the largest buyer of Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest supplier of military equipment to India after Russia.
• Israel has been among the top four arms suppliers to India for almost two decades now, notching military sales worth around USD 1 billion every year.
• The Indian armed forces have inducted a wide array of Israeli weapon systems over the years, which range from Phalcon AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) and Heron, Searcher-II and Harop drones to Barak anti-missile defence systems and Spyder quick-reaction anti-aircraft missile systems.
• Military and strategic ties between the two nations extend to intelligence-sharing on terrorist groups and joint military training.

Mission Karmayogi

Why in News?

Union Minister for M/o Food Processing Industries, released Vision Document of Capacity Building Plan of Ministry of Food Processing Industries under Mission Karmayogi.

Details:

• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries is the first amongst all Ministries and Departments to develop and implement Capacity Building Plan under Mission Karmayogi.
• The Vision Document of Capacity Building Plan (CBP) of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has been developed with the support of Capacity Building Commission.
• Objective: To enable employees to be more creative, proactive, professional, technology-enabled, efficient, accountable and citizen centric by providing them training in domain areas relating to Food Processing Sector.
• Nearly 150 employees of the Ministry will be given training to build and strengthen behavioral, functional and domain competencies.

About Mission Karmayogi – National Program for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB)

• The NPCSCB will use scale & state of the art infrastructure to augment the capacity of Civil Servants to improve the Human Resource management practices in the Government.
• Mission Karmayogi aims to prepare the Indian Civil Servant for the future by making him more creative, constructive, imaginative, innovative, proactive, professional, progressive, energetic, enabling, transparent and technology-enabled.
• A Public Human Resources Council comprising of select Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, eminent public HR practitioners, thinkers, global thought leaders and Public Service functionaries under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble Prime Minister will serve as the apex body for providing strategic direction to the task of Civil Services Reform and capacity building.

The Framework of NPCSCB

• Prime Minister’s Public Human Resources (HR) Council
• Capacity Building Commission
• Special Purpose Vehicle for owning and operating the digital assets and the technological platform for online training
• Coordination Unit headed by the Cabinet Secretary

Salient Features

• NPCSCB has been carefully designed to lay the foundations for capacity building for Civil Servants so that they remain entrenched in Indian Culture and sensibilities and remain connected, with their roots, while they learn from the best institutions and practices across the world.
• The Programme will be delivered by setting up an Integrated Government Online Training – iGOT Karmayogi Platform.
• It is also proposed to set up a Capacity Building Commission, with a view to ensure a uniform approach in managing and regulating the capacity building ecosystem on collaborative and co-sharing basis.

Core Guiding Principles

• Supporting Transition from ‘Rules based’ to ‘Roles based’ HR Management.
• To calibrate all Civil Service positions to a Framework of Roles, Activities and Competencies (FRACs).
• To emphasize on ‘on-site learning’ to complement the ‘off-site’ learning.
• To create an ecosystem of shared training infrastructure including that of learning materials, institutions and personnel.

iGOT – Karmayogi

• iGOT-Karmayogi platform brings the scale and state-of-the-art infrastructure to augment the capacities of over two crore officials in India.
• The platform is expected to evolve into a vibrant and world-class market place for content where carefully curated and vetted digital e-learning material will be made available.
• Besides capacity building, service matters like confirmation after probation period, deployment, work assignment and notification of vacancies etc., would eventually be integrated with the proposed competency framework.

Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Textiles

Why in News?

Ministry of Textiles has  extended the timeline for submission of applications under the PLI Scheme for Textiles till 14.02.2022.

Significance of Textile Sector in India

• The Textile Sector accounts for 7% of India’s manufacturing output, 2% of GDP, 12% of exports and employs directly and indirectly about 10 crore people.
• Owing to the abundant supply of raw material and labour, India is the largest producer of cotton (accounting for 25% of the global output) and second-largest producer of textiles and garments and man-made fibres (polyester and viscose).
• The availability of a strong domestic market in India is a major reason that increases the importance of the sector.

About the PLIS Scheme for textiles sectors

• The Union Cabinet has cleared an outlay of Rs. 10,683 crore on a production linked incentive scheme in the man-made fibre apparel, fabrics, and technical textiles sectors, and it could help draw new investment of more than Rs. 19,000 crore.
• In order to boost domestic manufacturing and cut down on import bills, the union government in March 2020 introduced a PLI scheme that aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units.
• Apart from inviting foreign companies to set shop in India, the scheme also aims to encourage local companies to set up or expand existing manufacturing units.
• The Scheme has also been approved for sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, IT hardware including laptops, mobile phones & telecom equipment, white goods, chemical cells, food processing, etc.
• Aims to promote the production of high value Man-Made Fibre (MMF) fabrics, garments and technical textiles.
• Incentives worth Rs 10,683 crore will be provided on production to the sector over a span for 5 years.
• Incentives to eligible producers in two phases:
  (i) First: Any person or company willing to invest a minimum of Rs 300 crore in plant, machinery, equipment and civil works (excluding land and administrative building cost) to produce products of MMF fabrics, garments and products of technical textiles will be eligible to participate.
  (ii) Second: Investors willing to spend a minimum of Rs 100 crore under the same conditions (as in the case of the first phase) shall be eligible to apply.

Expected Benefits

• The scheme could aid in the creation of 7.5 lakh direct jobs. The textile sector is an employment intensive sector and the investment in the textile sector would have a multiplier effect on the Indian economy especially in job creation.
• Two-thirds of India’s textile exports now are cotton-based whereas 66-70% of world trade in textiles and apparel is MMF-based and technical textiles. The PLI incentives aim to boost investment in new capacities in man-made fibre (MMF) apparel, MMF fabrics, and 10 segments or products of technical textiles.
• India’s focus on the manufacture of textiles in the MMF sector is expected to help boost its ability to compete globally in the textiles market.
• Given that priority would be given for investment in aspirational districts, tier-three, tier-four towns and rural areas, the new scheme would promote balanced regional development.
• The textiles industry predominantly employs women, therefore, the scheme will empower women and increase their participation in the formal economy.
• In addition, priority will be given for investment in Aspirational Districts, Tier 3, Tier 4 towns, and rural areas and due to this priority, Industry will be incentivized to move to backward areas. This scheme will positively impact especially States like Gujarat, UP, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, AP, Telangana, Odisha etc.

NIPER Portal

Why in News?

Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers launched NIPER Research Portal. 

About NIPER Portal:

• National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) Research Portal has been created with the aim to disseminate the information about all the NIPERs and their research activities, patents filed and Publication information at one place so that a industry and other stakeholders know about them.
• The purpose of this portal is to authenticate availability of the research work that is ongoing.
• It will help other researchers and especially the industry to get in touch with the relevant organization so that they can work together and make the research more purposeful and meaningful.
• The research portal will try to bring together research institutions spread across different departments within government and also these institutions with industries.
• The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers also requested all relevant research institutions like the Department of Biotechnology, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of AYUSH, ICMR etc., and even DRDO, where a lot of pharmaceuticals sector-related research takes place to join this portal.