Defence
2^nd IEEE International Conference on Range Technology

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about IEEE) International Conference on Range Technology (ICORT-2021) -highlights + about ITR chandipur
What's the NEWS

• The 2^nd Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Range Technology (ICORT-2021) is being held virtually on August 05, 2021.
• The conference has been organised by Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur, a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Know! about ICORT 2021

• The objective of the conference is to offer a conducive platform for the brightest minds to interact, to exchange innovations, best practices, and emerging trends in Range technology, in particular, and pertinent engineering and science disciplines, in general.
• IEEE ICORT-2021 is exclusively conducted for the professionals of Test Ranges, associates, and scientists & researches working in similar fields around the globe.
• It is one platform, which comprehensively addresses all technical aspects of test range with its four tracks, viz., Electro Optics, Radar, Allied, and Telemetry.
• It provides opportunity for golden handshake between R&D, industry and academics which may lead to synergy in range technology and create a roadmap for future research and marketing.
• As a sequel to the first ICORT held in 2019, the second event is also technically co-sponsored by IEEE-Kolkata subsection with active support from IEEE Bhubaneswar subsection and IEEE Communication and Computer Societies Joint Chapter, Balasore.
• The ICORT held biennially was first organised by ITR in 2019.

Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur

• It is a prestigious DRDO laboratory, established in the year 1982 along the coast of Bay of Bengal.
• Since then, ITR has evolved into a world leader in test and evaluation of airborne weapon systems with its state-of- the-art infrastructure, best practices and committed experts.
• Currently, ITR is involved in Test and Evaluation of a wide variety of airborne weapon systems like guided missiles, rockets, UAVs and aircrafts.
• Over the past 35 years, ITR has carried out more than 1000 missions of national importance.
• Thus, ITR is, perhaps the most versatile and busiest range.

International Conference on Range Technology (ICORT)

• It is dedicated to all professionals of Test Ranges around the globe, associated partners, and researchers in related field, academics.
• The conference provides opportunity for interaction with various experts of world Test Ranges and a number of notable industries around the globe.

Prelims Factoids
First MK Bhan Fellowship-Young Researcher Fellowship Programme

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about MK Bhan Fellowship-Young Researcher Fellowship Programme (MKB-YRFP)
What's the NEWS

• The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, announced the results of the First MK Bhan Fellowship-Young Researcher Fellowship Programme (MKB-YRFP), which was instituted to honour eminent scientist and Former Secretary of the DBT.

Know! about MKB-YRFP

• The Department established the MK Bhan Fellowship-Young Researcher Fellowship Programme (MKB-YRFP) with an aim to encourage young bright researchers below 35 years of age to continue their research in the country after Ph.D. in any branch of Life Sciences/ Biotechnology/allied areas.
• The scheme offers an independent research grant for three years to the young Post-Doctoral Fellows to enable them to emerge as future leaders and take up cutting edge research focused on issues of national relevance.
• This Fellowship, entails a monthly emolument of Rs 75,000; along with a generous Research/Contingency grant to carry out cutting edge research. This fellowship is tenable DBT-Autonomous Institutes.
• This young research fellowship is a tribute to Dr MK Bhan, former Secretary, DBT, who constantly encouraged and mentored young future leaders

Information given by Union Ministers in Lok Sabha ( Parliament Proceedings)

National Centre of Sports Sciences and Research (NCSSR)

• The scheme of National Centre of Sports Sciences and Research (NCSSR) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports aims to support high level research, education and innovation with respect to high performance of elite athletes.

The scheme has two components:

• setting up of NCSSR centre
• providing support (funding) for setting up of Sports Sciences Departments and Sports Medicine Departments in selected Universities/Institutes and Medical Colleges respectively.

Know! about NCSSR

• The objectives of the scheme are implemented through Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the selected Universities/Institutes/Medical Colleges across the country
• Six Universities/Institutes and five Medical Colleges have been selected as on date for setting up of Sports Science Departments and Sports Medicine Departments under the NCSSR scheme throughout the country
• Besides the support given through the NCSSR scheme, this Ministry has adopted research-based selection criteria for elite athletes under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)
• Under the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), this Ministry provides block grants to SAI to meet the training needs of the athletes selected in the TOPS Core Group and Developmental Group.

Aims and objectives of NCSSR Scheme:

• Application of scientific principles to the promotion, maintenance and enhancement of sporting performance.
• Developing athletes to their maximum potential and to prolong their competitive sporting career.
• Dissemination of sports science information
• Testing and Certification of food supplements/Indigenous preparations.
• Application of Ayurvedic/Homeopathic Medicines in sporting performance.
• Management and rehabilitation of sports injuries

Rashtriya Mahila Kosh

• The Government had set up Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK).
• It was established in 1993 as a national level autonomous body for socio-economic empowerment of women, especially those in the rural and unorganized sector, by providing them concessional, collateral free micro-credit.
• The operating model followed by RMK has been of extending loans to Intermediary Micro-Finance Organizations (IMOs) which further onlend for entrepreneurial activities of women.
• In November, 2020, the Government has decided to close down RMK as it has lost its relevance and utility in the present scenario with substantial alternative credit facilities becoming available to women through various governmental initiatives and efforts such as Jan Dhan Yojana, PM Mudra Yojana etc and also to avoid duplicacy of efforts.

POCSO E-Box

• The Government of India has implemented the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 which is a comprehensive law that provides protection to children from the offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography.
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 enacted by Govt of India provides safeguards for children against sexual abuse.
• The Act was amended in 2019 to introduce more stringent punishment including death penalty for committing sexual crimes on children, with a view to deter the perpetrators & prevent such crimes against children.
• Section 44 (1) of POCSO Act, 2012 provides that National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) shall monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Act.

Smart Anganwadi Project

• Anganwadi Services under Umbrella ICDS Scheme is one of the ongoing flagship programmes of the Government of India for early childhood care and development.
• The beneficiaries under this scheme are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

Under Anganwadi Services, a package of six services, namely,

1. Supplementary Nutrition;
2. Pre-school Non-formal Education;
3. Nutrition & Health Education;
4. Immunization;
5. Health Check-up; and
6. Referral Services is being provided to all eligible beneficiaries.

• Three of the six services, viz., immunization, health check-up and referral services, are related to health and are provided by NRHM & Public Health Infrastructure.

Smart Anganwadi Project

• It is an initiative of Government of Kerala for improving the service delivered at Anganwadi Centre for overall physical and mental development of children.
• The State has finalized 6 types of plans and estimates for the construction of Anganwadi Buildings on the basis of availability of land.
• It provides space for class rooms, dining hall, kitchen, store room, creative zone, indoor and outdoor play area. The funds have been provided by the State Government and LSGD Institutions.
• The first Smart Anganwadi building in the State of Kerala is under construction in Thiruvananthapuram District under Thiruvananthapuram Urban II ICDS Project.

NATIONAL MARITIME HERITAGE COMPLEX (NMHC)

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) and Ministry of Culture (MoC) for ‘Cooperation in Development of National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal, Gujarat', on 16th June 2021.
• NMHC is proposed to be developed as a world class international tourist destination, the first of its kind in the country, comprising of maritime museum, light house museum, maritime theme parks, amusement parks centres, etc.
• It would showcase maritime heritage of the country from ancient to modern times by adopting an edutainment approach using the latest technology to spread awareness about India's maritime heritage.
• It is proposed to have a pavilion for each coastal State and Union Territory (UT) of India at NMHC to showcase the artefacts/maritime heritage of the specific States and Union Territories.
• Each coastal State and UT can present its vivid cultural identities including both tangible and intangible heritage at NMHC and represent India's cultural diversity at international level.

Sabki Yojna Sabka Vikas

• Under Article 243 G of Constitution, Panchayats have been mandated for preparation and implementation of plans for economic development and social justice.
• Thus, Panchayats have a significant role to play in the effective and efficient implementation of flagship schemes/programmes on subjects of national importance for transforming rural India.
• With this aim, People's Plan Campaign titled ‘Sabki Yojna Sabka Vikas', for inclusive and holistic preparation of Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) was launched from 2nd October, 2020 to 31st January, 2021 as was done during 2018 and 2019.
• In this endeavor, convergence was sought with all Departments relating to 29 devolved subjects listed in XIth Schedule of the Constitution.
• The objectives of ‘Sabki Yojna Sabka Vikas' broadly include strengthening of elected representatives and Self Help Groups, evidence based assessment of progress made in 2020-21 and proposals for 2021-22 in all 29 subjects of XI Schedule
• The campaign aimed to help Gram Panchayats (GPs) in preparation of convergent and holistic GPDP through identification of sectoral infrastructural gaps in respective areas.
• The approval of GPDP for the year 2021-22, well in advance, will provide GPs full year for implementation and effective monitoring of works.
• The States will, thus, be in full readiness for effectively utilising the resources available with them and other schematic interventions under GPDP during 2021-22.
• Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas is an effective strategy for ensuring the preparation of GPDP in a campaign mode by endeavouring to converge all resources available at Panchayat level related to 29 subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.
• As such no separate allocation has been earmarked for Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas to States/UTs including State of Haryana, Assam and Bihar.

National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) App

• It was launched by the Minister of Rural Development on May, 21 2021.
• This app is aimed at bringing more transparency and ensure proper monitoring of the schemes.
• The NMMS App permits taking real time attendance of workers at Mahatma Gandhi NREGA worksites along with geo-tagged photograph.
• The app helps in increasing citizen oversight of the programme.
• The National Mobile Monitoring App is applicable for the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers for all the States/ Union Territories.

Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana

• The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has launched the Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY) scheme on 01.04.2017 for providing physical aids and assisted-living devices for senior citizens belonging to BPL category and also to the senior citizens with monthly income not more than Rs. 15000/-.
• The RVY is implemented in all districts in the Country.

Use of Modern Technology for Crop Production Forecasting

• The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare is funding various projects for Crop Production Forecasting, which includes
• FASAL Scheme (Forecasting Agricultural output using Space
• Agro-meteorology and Land based observations) and
• CHAMAN (Coordinated Horticulture Assessment and Management using geo-informatics).

Know! about these Modern technologies used for forecasting crop production

• FASAL is used for crop production forecasting of field crops while CHAMAN is for horticulture crops.
• In both the projects, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has played a major role in developing methodologies.
• However, currently the programmes are being operationalized by Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC) of Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, with technology support from ISRO.
• Nine crops which are assessed under FASAL are Rice, Wheat, Tur, Rabi Pulses, Rapeseed & Mustard, Rabi Jowar, Cotton, Jute and Sugarcane.
• The seven crops which are being assessed under CHAMAN project are Potato, Onion, Tomato, Chilli, Mango, Banana and Citrus.
• The Government is using satellite based estimates for planning and decision making purposes with respect to storage, pricing and import/export.
• In addition to this satellite based indices are used for drought assessment and satellite data is also being used for various applications under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Crop Intensification in Rice fallow areas and horticulture expansion in North-eastern States.
• The KISAN project launched by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare carried out various pilot studies for evaluating the role of satellite technology in crop yield estimation.
• The satellite remote sensing is being used for various operational applications under PMFBY, such as Smart Sampling for Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs), Yield Dispute Resolution and Direct Yield Estimation

AIS-140 compliant vehicle trackers

• Usage of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NavIC system) has increased since its launch in 2012 in the sectors like transportation and personal mobility.
• NavIC civilian signals are free-to-air.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has mandated fitting NavIC-based AIS-140 compliant vehicle trackers in all the public and commercial vehicles.
• There is also an increase in the number of NavIC enabled smart mobile phone models in the Indian market.
• The authorised defense labs have realized NavIC enabled receiver modules for strategic applications.
• Google Maps is an application which uses location data from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
• Like any other GNSS, NavIC provides the location data to the map application like Google Maps.
• NavIC performance is on par with other non-Indian Global Positioning System and is a strong alternative to the non-Indian Global Positioning Systems within the coverage area.

National Industrial Corridor Programme (NICP)

• Government has approved development of 11 Industrial Corridors with 32 Projects to be developed in four phases in the country as part of National Industrial Corridor Programme (NICP) which are under various stages of conceptualization/development /implementation.

1. DMIC: Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor
2. CBIC: Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor
3. Extension of CBIC to Kochi via Coimbatore
4. AKIC: Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor
5. HNIC: Hyderabad Nagpur Industrial Corridor
6. HWIC: Hyderabad Warangal Industrial Corridor
7. HBIC: Hyderabad Bengaluru Industrial Corridor
8. BMIC: Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial Corridor
9. VCIC: Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor
10. OEC: Odisha Economic Corridor
11. DNIC: Delhi Nagpur Industrial Corridor

• The Objective of development of industrial corridors is to expand the industrial output, increasing employment opportunities, provide better living and social facilities for the new and growing workforce by way of providing plug n play infrastructure at the plot level for industries.
• The National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) under the DPIIT is the overarching institutional framework to implement the programme.

Education
Samagra Shiksha Scheme

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Samagra Shiksha Scheme) + Mains ( GS II Education)
What's the NEWS

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, has given its approval for continuation of the revised Samagra Shiksha Scheme for a period of five years i.e., from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a total financial outlay of Rs.2,94,283.04 crore which includes Central share of Rs.1,85,398.32 crore.
• The scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students and 5.7 million Teachers of Govt. and Aided schools (from pre-primary to senior secondary level).

The Samagra Shiksha scheme

• It is an integrated scheme for school education covering the entire gamut from pre-school to class XII.
• The scheme treats school education as a continuum and is in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4).
• The scheme not only provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act but has also been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education

The major interventions, across all levels of school education, proposed under the scheme are:

1. Universal Access including Infrastructure Development and Retention
2. Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
3. Gender and Equity
4. Inclusive Education
5. Quality and Innovation
6. Financial support for Teacher Salary
7. Digital initiatives
8. RTE Entitlements including uniforms, textbooks etc.
9. Support for ECCE
10. Vocational Education
11. Sports and Physical Education
12. Strengthening of Teacher Education and Training

Following new interventions have been incorporated in the revamped Samagra Shiksha based on the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020:

• all child centric interventions will be provided directly to the students through DBT mode on an IT based platform over a period of time.
• Convergence architecture with various Ministries/ developmental agencies of the Centre and State Governments.
• The expansion of vocational education will be done in convergence with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and other Ministries providing funding for Skills.
• The existing infrastructure of schools and ITIs and Polytechnics will be used to ensure optimum utilization of the facilities, not only for school going children but also for out of school children.
• Provision of training of Master Trainers for training of Anganwadi workers and In-service teacher training for ECCE teachers.
• NIPUN Bharat, a National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to ensure that every child achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing and numeracy at the end of grade III and not later than grade V has been launched under the scheme
• Specific training modules under NISHTHA by NCERT to train Secondary teachers and Primary teachers.
• Strengthening of infrastructure of schools from pre-primary to senior secondary, earlier pre-primary was excluded.
• Holistic Progress Card (HPC) introduced to measure 360 degree development
• Support for activities of PARAKH, a national assessment centre (Performance, Assessments, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development)
• A new component Appointment of Language Teacher has been added
• Child tracking provision included for students of Government and Government aided schools

Implementation Strategy and Targets:

• The Scheme is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme through a single State Implementation Society (SIS) at the State level.
• At the National level, there is a Governing Council/Body headed by the Minister of Education and a Project Approval Board (PAB) headed by Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy.
• The Governing Council/body will be empowered to modify financial and programmatic norms and approve the detailed guidelines for implementation within the overall Framework of the scheme.

Background:

• Union Budget, 2018-19 has announced that school education would be treated holistically and without segmentation from pre-primary to class XII.
• It is, in this context, that the Department launched the Integrated Scheme for School Education, Samagra Shiksha in 2018 by subsuming the erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE).

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