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PM Gati Shakti

Why in News?

Government of India has constituted a 20-member Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS), which will be a monitoring mechanism for the development and implementation of the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP).

The Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) shall have the following terms of reference:

• Review and monitor implementation of the Plan to ascertain the logistics efficiency accruing thereof;
• Adopt framework and norms for undertaking any amendments in the Plan;
• Coordinate for any changes in the projects already included in the Plan, within the prescribed framework and norms;
• To set out a procedure and a definitive timeframe for synchronisation of various activities for construction of roads, rail, etc. along with all utility services in an area-based approach for development of infrastructure on pilot basis;
• Align various initiatives on development of a common integrated portal which serves the needs of all stakeholders;
• Issue appropriate directions for achieving the objectives and for compliance to guiding principles of the PM GatiShakti NMP and in addressing demand side requirements of concerned Ministries.
• The EGoS will also look at the interventions required to meet the demand side, in efficiently transporting bulk goods based on the requirements of various Ministries like Steel, Coal, Fertilizer etc.

About PM Gati Shakti:

• It will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State Governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, UDAN etc.
• Economic Zones like textile clusters, pharmaceutical clusters, defence corridors, electronic parks, industrial corridors, fishing clusters, agri zones will be covered to improve connectivity & make Indian businesses more competitive.
• It will also leverage technology extensively including spatial planning tools with ISRO imagery
• developed by BiSAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics).
• The multi-modal connectivity will provide integrated and seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services from one mode of transport to another.
• It will facilitate the last mile connectivity of infrastructure and also reduce travel time for people.
• PM GatiShakti will provide the public and business community information regarding the upcoming connectivity projects, other business hubs, industrial areas and surrounding environment.
• This will enable the investors to plan their businesses at suitable locations leading to enhanced synergies.
• It will create multiple employment opportunities and give a boost to the economy.
• It will improve the global competitiveness of local products by cutting down the logistics costs and improving the supply chains, and also ensure proper linkages for local industry & consumers.

PM GatiShakti is based on six pillars:

• Comprehensiveness: It will include all the existing and planned initiatives of various Ministries and Departments with one centralized portal. Each and every Department will now have visibility of each other’s activities providing critical data while planning & execution of projects in a comprehensive manner.
• Prioritization: Through this, different Departments will be able to prioritize their projects through cross–sectoral interactions.
• Optimization: The National Master Plan will assist different ministries in planning for projects after identification of critical gaps. For the transportation of the goods from one place to another, the plan will help in selecting the most optimum route in terms of time and cost.
• Synchronization: Individual Ministries and Departments often work in silos. There is lack of coordination in planning and implementation of the project resulting in delays. PM GatiShakti will help in synchronizing the activities of each department, as well as of different layers of governance, in a holistic manner by ensuring coordination of work between them.
• Analytical: The plan will provide the entire data at one place with GIS based spatial planning and analytical tools having 200+ layers, enabling better visibility to the executing agency.
• Dynamic: All Ministries and Departments will now be able to visualize, review and monitor the progress of cross-sectoral projects, through the GIS platform, as the satellite imagery will give on-ground progress periodically and progress of the projects will be updated on a regular basis on the portal. It will help in identifying the vital interventions for enhancing and updating the master plan.

Protocol To Prevent Human Trafficking: SCO

Why in News?

Recently, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in its 19th meet (of Prosecutors General) held in New Delhi, adopted a protocol to strengthen cooperation in preventing and combating growing menace of human trafficking, especially women and children.

Key Points

• Calls for continuation of exchange of national legislation to combat the menace of trafficking in persons.
• Seeks to provide protection and assistance to victims of trafficking within their competence.
• Calls for developing cooperation between the educational organisations of the SCO member states in the field of advanced training of prosecutors, whose competence include combating trafficking in persons especially, women and children.

About Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO):-

• It is a permanent intergovernmental international organization.
• It’s creation was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.
• It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter was signed during the St. Petersburg SCO Heads of State meeting in June 2002, and entered into force on 19 September 2003.
• The SCO’s official languages are Russian and Chinese.
• Its membership was expanded to include India and Pakistan in 2017.
• The SCO also has four observer states i.e. Afghanistan, Iran, Belarus and Mongolia,  which may be inducted at a later date.
• Headquarters:  Beijing, China.
• The current chair of SCO is Tajikistan.

Sagar Nidhi

Why in News?

Recently, the Union Minister of Earth Sciences visited the Indian Subcontinent’s Pioneer Ocean Research Vessel (ORV) Ship SagarNidhi.

About:

• It was commissioned in 2008 for the country’s marine research programme.
• It is the third research vessel after Sagar Purvi and SagarPaschimi.
• The vessel is capable of carrying out geo-scientific, meteorological and oceanographic research, and is designed with blue-water capability with ranges of up to 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) for voyages lasting up to 45 days.
• A blue-water capability refers to an oceangoing fleet able to operate on the high seas far from its nation’s home ports.
• It is the first Indian flagged research ship that reached the 66°S latitude [Antarctic waters], facing 11 storms and 73 nm/hr wind speed, witnessing nature’s harshest conditions.
• MoES has, at present 6 ships, SagarNidhi, SagarManjusha, SagarKanya, SagarSampada, Sagar Tara & SagarAnveshika, which are used for many ocean studies and applications including ocean observations.