Defence/Prelims Factoids
Exercise Slinex

What's the NEWS

• The Ninth Edition of India - Sri Lanka Bilateral Maritime Exercise SLINEX (Sri Lanka-India Naval Exercise) is scheduled at Visakhapatnam from 07 Mar to 10 Mar 2022.
• The exercise is being conducted in two phases; the Harbour Phase at Visakhapatnam on 07-08 Mar 22 followed by the Sea Phase on 09-10 Mar 22 in the Bay of Bengal.
• The previous edition of SLINEX was conducted off Trincomalee in October 2020.
• SLINEX aims to enhance inter-operability, improve mutual understanding and exchange best practices and procedures for multi-faceted maritime operations between both navies.
• SLINEX exemplifies the deep maritime engagement between India and Sri Lanka and has grown in scope over the years to strengthen mutual cooperation, in consonance with India's policy of ‘Neighbourhood First' and Hon'ble PMs vision of ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)'.

• Defence Minister virtually inaugurated, the four-day Indo-Pacific Military Health Exchange (IPMHE) conference co-hosted by Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) and US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM).
• The theme of the conference is ‘Military Healthcare in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) World'.
• The conference aims to enhance cooperation and jointmanship in military medicine.
• It will cover many important topics including operational/combat medical care, tropical medicine, field surgery, field anaesthesia, aviation & marine medicine emergencies etc.
• The conference is attended by more than 600 Indian and foreign delegates from over 38 countries.
• A delegation of 20 members from the organising committee of the USINDOPACOM is in New Delhi to co-host the conference.
• The delegates and speakers will interact and share experiences over the four days on 110 topics.

• The Asia Pacific Military Health Exchange is an annual military medicine event which combines the features of three previous separately-executed medical, nursing, and leadership exchanges into a single event.
• Formerly known as Asia-Pacific Military Health Exchange. IPMHE has been held annually by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and a co-host nation since 2015.

• The Government has approved the continuation of the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY) and its components beyond 31.03.2021 for the Financial Years 2021-22 to 2025-26, with a total financial outlay of Rs.3,274.87 crore.
• The proposal for continuation of the SSSY was received from the Ministry of Home Affairs
• Freedom Fighters and their eligible dependents have been sanctioned the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension and presently, there are 23,566 beneficiaries across the country covered under the scheme

• Launched in 1972
• It grants pension to freedom fighters and their eligible dependents if the freedom fighter had already expired.
• It is considered a token of respect for the contribution of freedom fighters in the national freedom struggle.
• Various State wise pension schemes also exist for freedom fighter pensions.
• Forty movements/mutinies have been recognized for award of pension
• A list of forty movements/mutinies have been recognized for award of pension under the scheme- Kuka Namdhari Movement of 1871, Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919, Quit India movement of 1942, to name a few.
• The latest to be added to this list are Hyderabad Liberation Movement and Goa Liberation Movement.

• On the occasion of International Women's Day 2022, Union Minister for MSME launched a Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women -"SAMARTH"
• A Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women -"SAMARTH" being implemented by the Ministry to provide them an opportunity to be self-reliant and independent by undertaking self-employment opportunities.

• 20% Seats in free Skill Development Programs organized under skill development schemes of the Ministry will be allocated for Women. More than 7500 women will be benefitted.
• 20% of MSME Business Delegations sent to domestic & international exhibitions under the schemes for Marketing Assistance implemented by Ministry will be dedicated to women owned MSMEs.
• 20% Discount on annual processing fee on NSIC's Commercial Schemes
• Special Drive for registration of women-owned MSMEs under Udyam Registration
• Skill Development and Market Development Assistance to women
• More than 7500 women candidates from rural and sub- urban areas will be trained in the FY 2022-23.
• Thousands of women will be getting marketing opportunities to showcase their products in domestic and international exhibitions.

• To celebrate International Women's Day, Ministry of MSME organised an international conference - "Empowering Women Entrepreneurs" in association with National Small Industries Corporation and India SME Forum.
• Objective - to provide a platform to existing and aspiring Indian Women Entrepreneurs to gain from experiences and entrepreneurial journey of the most successful women entrepreneurs from different parts of the world

Prelims Factoids
Nari Shakti Puraskars
What's the NEWS

• The President of India conferred Nari Shakti Puruskar for the years 2020 and 2021
• In all, 28 awards (14 each for the year 2020 and 2021) will be presented to 29 individuals in recognition of their exceptional work in rendering distinguished services towards empowerment of women, especially vulnerable and marginalized women.
• ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar' is an initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development to acknowledge the exceptional contribution made by individuals and institutions, to celebrate women as game changers and catalyst of positive change in the society.

• A special Exhibition titled "Power, Patronage, and Piety - Celebrating Womanhood" is organised by the National Museum, New Delhi
• This exhibition focuses on examining the traditional notions of Power, Patronage, and Piety through the lens of feminity.
• The three constructs have often been associated with masculinity in the well-worn grooves of religious and historic discourses.
• Celebrating International Women's Day, this exhibition presents transcultural notions of Indian art and history representing ‘the female voice'.

• National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) - an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to develop a sustainable model for promoting entrepreneurship at the grass roots by initiating the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP).

• SVEP is a sub-component of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) of the Ministry of Rural Development.
• It aims to support entrepreneurs in rural areas to set-up enterprises at the village-level in non-agricultural sectors.
• The partnership will enable the rural community by helping them set up their trades and provide complete support till they are stabilized.
• This pragmatic intervention will provide knowledge, advisory and financial support to the public and will help create village-level community cadre.
• Under the partnership rural entrepreneurs will be able to access banking systems for receiving financial support for starting their enterprises, including support from MUDRA bank.
• Integrated ICT techniques and tools will also be provided for training and capacity building along with enterprise advisory services to augment the entrepreneurship ecosystem in India's villages.
• The beneficiaries of the project are from the Self-Help Group (SHG) ecosystem of DAY-NRLM and the scheme not only supports existing enterprises but new enterprises as well.

• On the eve of International Women's Day, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), in partnership with the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, launched a landmark campaign Kanya Shikhsa Pravesh Utsav to bring back out of school adolescentgirls in India to the formal education and/or skilling system

• The campaign has been launched with the objective of enhancing enrolment and retention of girls between 11-14 years of age in school.
• The initiative intends to build on the existing schemes and programmes like Schemes for Adolescent Girls (SAG),BetiBachaoBetiPadhao (BBBP) and National Education Policy (NEP) to work on a comprehensive system for out of school girls.
• The campaign will be rolled out under the umbrella of MoWCD's BBBP initiative by targeting more than 400,000 out of school adolescent girls as primary beneficiaries.

• Over 400 districts across all states will be funded under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme for outreach and awareness generation at grassroot level to sensitize communities and families to enrol adolescent girls in schools
• The funding from Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the Anganwadi workers (AWWs) will be further incentivised for counselling and referring out of school adolescent girls.
• The programme aims for a convergent approach between MoWCD and MoE with close partnership of international organisations.

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