November 2024

Defence

EXERCISE VAYU SHAKTI-2019

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the exercise)

What’s the NEWS

· Fighter jets and helicopters hit targets during day and night. It was for the first time, the Advanced Light Helicopter and the Akash were deployed in a military exercise

· A mega exercise, EXERCISE VAYU SHAKTI-2019 involving 140 fighter jets and attack helicopters, in a repower demonstration was held close to the border with Pakistan at Pokhran in Rajasthan.

EXERCISE VAYU SHAKTI-2019

· In the Vayu Shakti exercise, the IAF showcased firepower capability of indigenously-developed platforms like Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and efficacy of Akash surface-to-air missile and Astra air-to-air missile.

· The IAF also deployed the upgraded MiG-29 fighter jet in an air-to-ground role during the exercise. A total of 137 aircraft including Sukhoi-30s, Mirage 2000s, Jaguars, Mig-21 Bison, Mig-27, Mig-29, IL78, Hercules and AN-32 aircraft participated

· For the First time, the ALH and the Akash were deployed in a military exercise.

Vayu Shakti and Gagan Shakti

· Vayu Shakti and Gagan Shakti are two important exercises held by Indian Airforce.

· Exercise Vayu Shakti demonstrtaes the IAF’s ability to strike targets on the ground such as enemy convoys and tanks, radar stations, railway yards and military headquarters.

· The other important dimension of air power, air-to-air combat is out into display at another exercise of IAF called Gagan Shakti.

Social Issues

Women and Child Development

Three important initiatives on women’s safety conceptualized by the WCD Ministry launched

Relevance IN – Prelims( about these initiatives) + Mains (GS II Social issues, government policies and interventions

What’s the NEWS

· The Ministry of Women and Child Development has conceptualized several initiatives to promote safety of women in their living spaces, working spaces and the public spaces.

· Three of these important initiatives will be launched jointly by the Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh and WCD Minister, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi in New Delhi .

Know! about these initiatives

Panic Button

The idea of having a panic button was conceptualized in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and state governments were asked to put in place a dedicated Emergency Response Centre through which the entire system will be operated.

· The emergency message coming out of the above modes, will trigger a response from the emergency response centre through a team of trained personnel who can handle emergency requests of various kinds and get the necessary relief services launched.

· For Women and children, 112 India App provides a special SHOUT feature which alerts registered volunteers in the vicinity of victim for immediate assistance.

· The emergency response system was soft launched in Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland recently and is being launched in 14 more states on 19.02.2019.

SCIM portal under Safe City Project

· In order to provide safety for women in public spaces, the Government has identified eight cities for implementation of Safe City project.

The 8 major cities which have been chosen are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai. Detailed projects for this have been prepared jointly by the municipal bodies and the local police authorities.

The projects include creation on ground assets & resources and mindset safety of women. Some of the key features of the safe city project include:

Identification of sensitive hot spots in each city,
Installation of CCTV surveillance covering the entire hot spot.
Automated number plate reading machines to be deployed in extremely sensitive areas.
Intensive patrolling in vulnerable areas beyond the identified hot spots.
Improving street lighting and public toilet facilities for women.
Others like setting up women help desks in police stations, augmentation of women support centres etc.

Safe City Implementation Monitoring (SCIM)

All the above measures would be coordinated through an Integrated Smart Control Room in the city.

· An online Safe City Implementation Monitoring (SCIM) portal has been developed by MHA which will also be launched

· SCIM will facilitate online tracking of deployment of assets and infrastructure created under the Safe City projects.

· SCIM facilitates an evidence based online monitoring system. SCIM also creates a digital repository of assets, infrastructure and social outreach programs, as well as best practices achieved in each City.

DNA Analysis Facilities in States

In view of the complaints of delay in cases of sexual assault investigations, it was proposed that dedicated DNA analysis facilities should be created in the forensic science laboratories on a mission mode.

· Timely testing of DNA samples from the crime scene is the quickest process of obtaining forensic evidence in cases of sexual assault on women.

· In the initial phase, dedicated DNA analysis facilities have been sanctioned for the forensic science laboratories located at Chennai, Madurai, Agra, Lucknow, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Know! more initiatives taken by the ministry

A separate women safety division in the Home Ministry

The One Stop Centre Scheme, funded through the Nirbhaya Fund, is being implemented by the WCD Ministry and 314 centres have started working across the country.

Women Helpline has been made operational in 31 states/ UTs and assistance has been provided to over 25 lakh women.

· Fast track special courts for cases of sexual assaults are also being established in collaboration with Ministry of Law

India Pharma 2019 & India Medical Device 2019 Inaugurated

Relevance IN – Prelims( about India Pharma 2019) + Mains (issues relating to development and management of social sector relating to health

What’s the NEWS

· The 4^th edition of India’s biggest Global Conference on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices has been inaugurated

· The event is being organized by Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, along with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

· The theme of ‘India Pharma 2019’ is ‘Enabling Quality Affordable Healthcare & that of ‘India Medical Device 2019’ is ‘Accelerating Growth to Achieve Universal Healthcare’.

Know! more about the conference

· This conference is an endeavour of this Government to provide affordable, quality healthcare to citizens of the country and also to encourage ‘Make in India’ while promoting the growth and development of Indian Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industry.

Drug regulators participating in the conference include those from over 30 countries including Russia, Kenya, UK, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia & Uzbekistan participated in the event.

Besides this, the event also saw participation of drug regulators from 15 states across India. Senior Government officials from Government of India and State Government and Industry stalwarts from Pharmaceutical & Medical Device sector also graced the event.

'International Vision Zero Conference’

Relevance IN – Prelims( about Vision Zero conference) + Mains (GS II Social issues, government policies and interventions, development process and the development industry

What’s the NEWS

· The three days Conference on the VISION ZERO and its relevance to Occupational Safety and Health has been inaugurated

· The Conference has been organized by Directorate General Factory Advice and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI), Ministry of Labour and Employment, German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV), Germany in association with Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and International Social Security Association - Manufacturing, Construction and Mining.

Know! more about the conference

· The concept of ‘Vision Zero’ is fast gaining international acceptance and is expected to leverage the efforts of the Government of India to raise the occupational safety and health standards in the country so as to improve the occupational safety and health situation.

· The concept of Vision Zero is based on four fundamental principles viz. life is non-negotiable, humans are fallible, tolerable limits are defined by human physical resistance, and people are entitled to safe transport and safe workplaces.

· The Vision is based on principles of Controlling Risks, Ensuring Safety and Health in Machines, Equipment and Workplaces and Skill Upgradation of Workforce.

The conference provides a forum for promoting safety and health at work by exchanging knowledge, practices and experience.

Infrastructure Development

PCS1X Maritimee-Commerce Portal

Regional Maritime Safety Conference

Relevance IN – Prelims( about PCS1X) + Mains (GS III infrastructure development + economic developments

What’s the NEWS

· The ministry of shipping has launched PCS1x at the Regional Maritime Safety Conference

Know! about PCS1x

· PCS1x is an upgraded version of the e-commerce portal Port Community System(PCS).

It has been developed in record time by the Indian Ports Association, based on feedback from stakeholders using PCS.

PCS has played a vital role in enhancing ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the maritime sector by facilitating a transparent and paperless system for electronic submission of trade document, resulting in faster turnaround time and dwell time.

Digitization in EXIM trade, of which PCS is a part, has played a major role in improving India’s world ranking in ‘Ease of Doing Business’ .

· In World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index India’s position stood at 100 in 2017, registering an improvement of 30 points over 2016.

· It subsequently rose to 77^thrank the following year. This is primarily due the ranking in Trading Across Border parameter which improved to 80 from 146 last year.

· PCS Ix is a new generation system with a user-friendly interface that brings together various stakeholders of the maritime sector, and facilitates Government-to-Business, Business –to-Government and Business-to-Business transactions within the required legal framework.

· PCS enables trade to have an improved communication with the customs as they have also embarked on an Application Programming Interface (API) based architecture, thereby enabling real time interaction.

· It provides Single Window platform for maritime industry and authorities, a user-friendly mobile application for stakeholders, event based notification and alerts

Prelims Practise Question

Consider the following statements

1. Exercise Gagan Shakti demonstrates the IAF’s ability to strike targets on the ground and the other important dimension of air power, air-to-air combat is out into display at another exercise of IAF called Vayu Shakti.

2. PCS Ix is a new generation system with a user-friendly interface that brings together various stakeholders of the maritime sector, and facilitates Government-to-Business, Business –to-Government and Business-to-Business transactions within the required legal framework.

Find the correct statement from the option given below

a. 1 only

b. 2 only

c. Both

d. None

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