Human Resource Development

Government has reconstituted the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about ICHR)

What's the NEWS

• The Government has reconstituted the Council of Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), New Delhi for a period of three years w.e.f. the date of the first meeting of the re-constituted Council i.e. 07.01.2019 to 06.01.2022 and the composition of the Council is as follows:

i.            An eminent historian nominated by the Government of India who shall be Chairman of the  Council;

ii.            Eighteen historians nominated by the Government of India;

iii.            A Representative of the U.G.C;

iv.            Director-General of Archaeology;

v.            Director, National Archives;

vi.            Four persons to represent Government who shall be nominated by the Government of India and which shall include one representative each of the Ministry of Education, the Department of Culture and the Ministry of Finance; and Member Secretary.

Know! about ICHR

• The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, which had been established by an Administrative Order of the then Ministry of Education.
  

• The body, over many years, has provided financial assistance to the historians and direction to the research scholars in their multifarious topics of historical research through established historians and scholars of the country.
  

• ICHR disburses funds for carrying out research to Indian as well as foreign scholars on their applications for fellowships, grants, and symposia, made to the Indian Council of Historical Research or through the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
  

• The source of the funds at the disposal of the ICHR is grants-in-aid received from the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, grants-in-aid from various Indian states, private donations from individuals and other countries, and the proceeds of revenues from the sale of publications of the ICHR.

 

Government Schemes

PM to launch Swachh Shakti 2019 from Kurukshetra

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Swachh shakti) + Mains GS II government intervention and policies

What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi will visit Kurukshetra in Haryana to participate in Swachh Shakti 2019, a convention ofWomen Sarpanches and distributed the Swachh Shakti-2019 awards.

Know! about Swachh Shakti-2019 

• Swachh Shakti-2019is a national event whichaims to bring in to focus the leadership role played by rural women in Swachh Bharat Mission.
• Women Sarpanches and Panches from all over the country attending the event.
• Around 15,000 women are expected to participate in this year's Swachh Shakti event aimed at empowering the women.
  

• The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in association with the Govt. of Haryana is organizing the Swachh Shakti-2019.
  

• The event will showcase the achievements of Swachh Bharat and the recently conducted Swachh Sunder Shauchalay, (neat and clean toilet) - a unique and first of its kind in the world campaign.

Know! more about the programme

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Shakti program first in 2017 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
  

• 6000 women sarpanches from across the country had assembled in Gujarat on the occasion of International Women's Day under the banner of Swachh Shakti 2017. PM addressed and honoured them.
  

• The second Swachh Shakti event, Swachh Shakti-2018 was held at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. Now the third edition is being inaugurated from Kurukshetra.
  

• Swachh Shakti is an example of how at the grass root level, rural women champions are acting as a change agent to mobilize the community and lead from the front women taking initiatives for a Swachh Bharat.
  

• The movement is a part of ongoing activities under the aegis of the Swachh Bharat Mission, launched on October 2nd, 2014, by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi aimed at achieving a Clean and Open Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2nd October, 2019.

 

World Government Summit

What's the NEWS

• The seventh annual World Government Summit is being held in Dubai (UAE).

Know! all about the Summit

• The World Government Summit is a forum dedicated to shaping the future of governments.
• The Summit is being attended by 4,000 decision-makers from 140 countries including heads of state, ministers and business leaders.
  

• The World Government Summit is a global platform dedicated to shaping the future of governments worldwide.
  

• It sets the agenda each year for the next generation of governments, focusing on how they can harness innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity.
  

• Provides a unique platform to showcase and exchange best practices and smart solutions to the challenges that nations face.

Know! about the organisation

• The World Government Summit is a neutral, non-profit organization at the intersection of government and innovation.
  

• The World Government Summit functions as a knowledge exchange platform for leaders in the public and private sectors to convene and collaborate with world-renowned experts to create a positive impact for citizens worldwide.
  

• The Organisation comprises a wide network of leaders of the public and private sectors and inspires them to think collectively and creatively about disruptive intersections between government and innovation, with the ultimate goal of promoting development and prosperity

 

Culture

Cultural Heritage Youth Leadership Programme (CHYLP)

Relevance IN - Prelims( about CHYLP)

What's the NEWS

• The scheme for Cultural Heritage Youth Leadership Programme (CHYLP) envisaged enriching awareness of Indian culture and heritage amongst the youth in order to promote, understand and develop fondness for India's rich cultural heritage, with a view to develop appropriate leadership qualities amongst youth.

 Know! more about the programme

• The focus of the programme was to be on less privileged children residing in backward areas by interacting with them in vernacular languages for their better understanding.
• Intermittently programme was given to Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT), an autonomous organization working under the purview of Ministry of Culture.
• CCRT organized workshops for the scheme. However, to accelerate the process, Museum Division of this Ministry arranged visits of children of unprivileged section of society to museums so that these children may get an opportunity to gain the knowledge relating to the Indian History and Culture and Science

 

Agriculture

3 Day International Symposium on "Advances in Agro meteorology for managing climatic risks of farmers.

Relevance IN - Mains ( GS III - e-technology in the aid of farmer + environment conservation + GS II government policies and interventions)

What's the concern

• Risks and uncertainties in agricultural production system due to increasing climatic variability and weather extremes have become the prime cause of global food insecurity.

INAGMET-2019

• Considering the urgent need of sharing the agro meteorological knowledge among researchers, policy makers, industry and farmers to learn from each other, identify the technologies/practices and develop a roadmap for risk management, the Association of Agro meteorologists (AAM) has organized a 3 dayInternational Symposium on "Advances in Agro meteorology for Managing Climatic Risks of Farmers" (INAGMET-2019)
  

• The symposium is jointly organized with India Meteorological Department, Indian Centre of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Indian Agricultural Research Institute and Jawaharlal Nehru University.
  

• The symposium will bring together the global experience on the advances in weather and climate predictions, understanding the impacts of climate change and variability on agriculture and sharing and cataloguing the experiences of global meteorological and agricultural communities on effective interventions and promising technologies for adaptation and mitigation as well as identifying areas for future research and collaboration as per the requirements of farming community.
  

• INAGMET-2019 is expected to provide a platform for interactions among the professionals, scientists, policy makers and other social groups to share knowledge and experience on various aspects related to thrust areas of agro meteorology.

India and Norway launch initiative to combat Marine Pollution

Relevance IN - Mains (GS III environment conservation + GS II bilateral relations)

What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change signed a letter of Intent establishing the India-Norway Marine Pollution Initiative together

Know! more about the agreement

• In January, 2019, the Indian and Norwegian governments agreed to work more closely on oceans by signing a MoU and establishing the India-Norway Ocean Dialogue during the Norwegian Prime Minister's visit to India in January.
  

• A joint Task Force on Blue Economy with government officials, researchers and experts as well as private sector was established to develop sustainable solutions within strategic areas of the blue economy, such as maritime and marine sector in addition to energy sector.
  

• In partnership, Norway and India will share experiences and competence, and collaborate on efforts to develop clean and healthy oceans, sustainable use of ocean resources and growth in the blue economy.

 

State Specific

The Sarthi Sandesh Vahini

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Sarthi Sandesh vahini)

What's the NEWS

• The Uttar Pradesh state family welfare department has initiated the Sarthi Sandesh Vahini mission to spread awareness regarding family planning in urban and rural areas. These vehicles were flagged off by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Know! more about the programme

• The Sarthi Sandesh Vahini vehicles will provide family planning information to the viewers through various documentaries and films.
• The Uttar Pradesh government has also launched the new initiative to eradicate encephalitis.

Encephalitis

• Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed (swollen).
• Encephalitis can be life-threatening and requires urgent treatment in hospital.
• The very young and very old are most at risk of Encephalitis. The mission aims to spread awareness about the disease and provide medical assistance to the needy

 

Defence

Chinook military helicopters

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about chinook)

What's the NEWS

• American aerospace major Boeing announced the arrival of first batch of four Chinook military helicopters for the Indian Air Force at the Mundra port in Gujarat from there it will be ferried to Chandigarh, where they will be formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2019.

Chinook Helicopters

• Chinook is a multi-role, vertical-lift platform, which is used for transporting troops, artillery, equipment and fuel.
  

• Chinook would be deployed for humanitarian and disaster relief operations and in missions such as transportation of relief supplies and mass evacuation of refugees.
  

• The advanced multi-mission helicopter Chinook will provide the Indian armed forces with unmatched strategic airlift capability across the full spectrum of combat and humanitarian missions.
  

• India had placed a mega contract to Boeing for the procurement of 22 Apache helicopters and 15 Chinooks for the Indian Air Force in September 2015.

 

Prelims Practise Question

Consider the following statements regarding The Indian Council of Historical Research

1.     The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Human Resource Development

2.     The body, over many years, has provided financial assistance to the historians and direction to the research scholars

3.     ICHR disburses funds for carrying out research to Indian  scholars only on their applications for fellowships, grants, and symposia

4.     The source of the funds at the disposal of the ICHR is grants-in-aid received from the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development

 

Find the correct statement from the option given below

a.     1 and 3

b.     1 2 and 4

c.      2 and 4

d.     1 3 and 4

 

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