PIB Summary- 27th September, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Indo-US Health Dialogue 2021

Context: Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission held.

Details

• The 4th Indo-US Health Dialogue is being hosted by India.
• The two-day Dialogue will be leveraged as a platform to deliberate upon multiple ongoing collaborations in the health sector between the two countries.
• The issues planned for deliberations in this round also encompass areas of concern pertaining to strengthening of epidemiological research and surveillance, vaccine development, One Health, zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, health systems and health policies, etc.

Convergence between DAY-NULM and PMFME

Context: Launch of convergence between DAY-NULM and PMFME to support Micro Food Processing Units of Urban SHGs.

Details

• The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs is implementing a flagship Scheme named DAY-NULM, which has mobilised over 61 lakh urban poor women into SHGs and their federations. Out of these, approximately 32,000 SHGs have been identified by States/UTs to be involved in Food Processing activities.
• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) launched the PMFME scheme as a part of “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” to enhance the competitiveness of individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment & promote formalization of this sector.
• Both the Schemes have been converged to benefit members from these Self-Help Groups.

White shipping information exchange between India and Oman Navies

Context: MoU for white shipping information exchange between the navies of India and Oman signed.

Details

• The signing of the MoU between the Royal Navy of Oman and the Indian Navy would facilitate information exchange on merchant shipping traffic, through IFC-IOR, India and MSC, Oman and contribute to enhanced maritime safety and security in the region.

Definition of White Shipping Agreement

The white shipping information refers to the exchange of prior information on the movement and identity of commercial non-military merchant vessels. Recently, India and the U.S had signed the White Shipping Agreement (WSA) as it establishes an information network protocol that allows the navies of both countries to exchange information about ships in their oceanic territories. Ships would be classified into white (commercial ships), grey (military vessels), and black (illegal vessels).

Why is the White Shipping Agreement important?

As the entire world is connected through the stretches of oceans, it becomes very important to understand that there can be a threat to the security as there can be any sort of possible movement from one location to another. This also gives information regarding the maritime traffic.
Information regarding the identity of the vessels is very important to tackle any potential threat from sea routes. This particularly helps in the development of a proper regional maritime domain awareness.
This will also help in the identification of those vessels which can be illegal as this provides us with the prior information about the destination of the vessel, the route which has been planned for it, etc.

How can White Shipping Agreement benefit India?

White Shipping agreement enables India and the countries it has signed the agreement with to establish an information network protocol that allows the navies of both countries to exchange information about ships in their oceanic territories. Ships would be colour coded based on their use This enables better response against threats, quicker decisions and authorisation of different vessels.
The reason why India is entering into agreements with other nations is without a doubt to secure its interests in the Indian Ocean region and beyond, especially in light of the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The dispute has led the non-claimants such as India and the United States wanting the South China Sea to remain as international waters, with the United States conducting “freedom of navigation” operations in close proximity of the Chinese islands to challenge Beijing’s territorial claims.

• Important context related to White Shipping Agreement – 
  The Indian Navy has got the go-ahead to have white shipping agreements with 36 countries, out of which 22 have been signed and 17 operationalised.
• For the implementation of the White Shipping agreement, India and France agreed on the appointment of a French liaison officer at the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurgaon.
• They signed an Implementing Arrangement for the establishment of a framework for the realisation of a joint maritime domain awareness mission. This is to keep an eye on Chinese assertive moves in the Indian Ocean region.

Akash Prime Missile

Context: Successful Maiden Flight Test of Akash Prime Missile.

Details

• A new version of the Akash Missile – ‘Akash Prime’ has been successfully flight-tested from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha.

Akash Prime

• The Akash Prime is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed by the DRDO and produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
• In comparison to the existing Akash System, Akash Prime is equipped with an indigenous active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker for improved accuracy.
• It also displays more reliable performance under low-temperature environments at higher altitudes.
• The Akash SAM was developed to replace the Russian 2K12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful) missile system, currently in service.
• The Akash SAM, like the Russian 2K12 Kub, utilizes an integrated ramjet-rocket propulsion system, which, after initial rocket motor burnout, provides sustained thrust for the missile throughout its flight until interception.
• The missiles, developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) can be fired from a tank or a wheeled truck.

PM launched 35 Crop Varieties with Special Traits

Context: PM launched 35 crop varieties with special traits to address climate change, malnutrition.

Details

• The crop varieties have been developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to address the twin challenges of climate change and malnutrition.
• According to the PMO, 35 crop varieties with special traits like climate resilience and higher nutrient content have been developed in 2021.
• These include a drought-tolerant variety of chickpea, wilt and sterility mosaic resistant pigeonpea, early maturing variety of soybean, disease-resistant varieties of rice and biofortified varieties of wheat, pearl millet, maize and chickpea, quinoa, buckwheat, winged bean and faba bean.
• These special traits crop varieties also include those that address the anti-nutritional factors found in some crops that adversely affect human and animal health.

Note:- The Prime Minister also distributed the Green Campus Awards. These awards were initiated to motivate the State and Central Agricultural Universities to develop or adopt such practices that will render their campuses more green and clean, and motivate students to get involved in ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’, ‘Waste to Wealth Mission’ and community connect as per the National Education Policy-2020.

Swachh Survekshan 2022 Launched

Context: The seventh edition of the Swachh Survekshan was launched.

Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2021 on 9th September 2021. Swachh Survekshan Urban 2021 is yet to be launched by the Ministry of Housing Affairs.
Swachh Survekshan is a report released by the Government of India as a part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A Swachh Survekshan report is released after a thorough survey to monitor the performance of each state in terms of sanitisation. 

Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2021 

Also known as Rural Cleanliness Survey, Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2021 has been launched under Swachh Bharat Mission Phase-II. Earlier, it was launched in 2018 and 2019. Its prime objective is to focus on the acceleration of ODF plus interventions and results in the country.

• Under Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2021, 17475 villages in 698 Districts across the country will be covered.
• 87250 public spaces would be surveyed and around 1,74,750 Households would be interviewed for their feedback on Swachh Bharat Mission related issues.
• Districts would be ranked based on different parameters. The element-wise allotment of weights is:
  • Direct Observation of sanitation at public places – 30%
  • Citizen’s Feedback, including feedback from common citizens, key influencers at the village level and from citizens online using a mobile App – 35%
  • Service Level Progress on sanitation-related parameters – 35%

About the Swachh Survekshan Report

• Discussed below are a few important facts regarding the Swachh Survekshan Report:
• The report of Swachh Survekshan Urban is released by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA); Grameen (Rural) is released by Jal Shakti Ministry.
• It is one of the world’s largest sanitation surveys.
• The Swachh Survekshan Grameen reports have earlier been released in 2018 and 2019 while Swachh Survekshan Urban report was started in 2016. 
• The announcement for the 6th edition of Swachh Survekshan Report 2021 was made in July 2020 where a new performance category was launched ‘Prerak DAUUR Samman’
• The survey is carried out in over 4000 cities of India and the criteria and weightage for various components of sanitation-related aspects used for the Survey are:
  • Strategy for Open Defecation Free town and Integrated Solid Waste Management
  • Education, Information, and Behavior Change Communication activity
  • Door to door Collection, Sweeping, Collection and Transportation
  • Treating and Disposal of Solid Waste
  • Public and Community Toilet Facility
  • Individual Toilets
• The major categories in which the Swachh Survekshan Report is released include:
  • Cities with a population less than 1 lakh
  • Cities with a population between 1 lakh and 10 lakh
  • Cities with a population above 10 lakh
• This survey is 100% paperless and complete digitalised

About the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

Given below is information about the Swachh Bharat Mission in brief:

• The campaign was launched by PM Narendra Modi on 2nd October 2014 to honour Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a Clean country
• The key objective of the mission is to spread awareness about sanitisation and cleanliness
• Increase construction of toilets, conduct awareness drives, make school children aware of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

Swachh Survekshan Report 2020

Discussed below is the information as per the Swachh Survekshan Report 2020:

• In the category for a population with less than 1 lakh, Karad was named the cleanest city. It was followed by Sasvad and Lonavala
• Ambikapur was announced the cleanest city in the category for the population between 1 to 10 lakhs. Gaya was ranked at the bottom in this list
• In the category of cities with a population above 10 lakhs, Indore ranked first and Patna was at the bottom of the list
• Among the 46 Ganga towns, Varanasi was declared the cleanest
• Among Cantonments, Jalandhar was named the cleanest city
• Ahmedabad was announced the cleanest Megacity in India
• New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) was named the cleanest capital city
• Nagar Nigam Ludhiana, Punjab was named the Best Big City in Innovation and Best Practices
• Municipal Corporation Rajkot, Gujarat was named the Best Self Sustainable Big City