Daily Current Capsules - 11^th October 2019

SUMAN scheme - Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan scheme launched

Relevance IN - Prelims (about SUMAN Scheme) + Mains ( GS II Social issues + Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.)
What's the NEWS

• Aiming zero preventable maternal and new born deaths in India, the central government launched the Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) scheme, under which pregnant women, mothers up to 6 months after delivery, and all sick new borns will be able to avail free healthcare benefits.

• The scheme will largely help in bringing down maternal and infant mortality rates in the country.
• Under the scheme, the beneficiaries visiting public health facilities are entitled to several free services.
• These include at least four ante natal check-ups that also includes one checkup during the 1^st trimester, at least one checkup under Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, Iron Folic Acid supplementation, Tetanus diptheria injection and other components of comprehensive ANC package and six home-based newborn care visits
• Under the scheme there will be zero expense access to identification and management of complications during and after the pregnancy.
• The government will also provide free transport from home to health institutions.
• Under the scheme, the pregnant women will have a zero expense delivery and C-section facility in case of complications at public health facilities
• The World Health Organization (WHO) defines quality of care for mothers and new borns as "the extent to which health care services provided to individuals and patient populations improve desired health outcomes.
• In order to achieve this, health care must be safe, effective, timely, efficiently integrated, equitable and people-centered.
• According to government, India's maternal mortality rate has declined from 254 per 1,00,000 live births in 2004-06 to 130 in 2014-16. Between 2001 and 2016, the infant mortality rate came down from 66 per 1,000 live births to 34.

Government Initiatives
Ganga Aamantran - a unique initiative to connect with Ganga's Stakeholders launched

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Ganga Aamantran) + Mains (GS II Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
What's the NEWS

• Namami Gange launches Ganga Aamantran - a unique social awareness initiative to connect with the people
• The ‘Ganga Aamantran Abhiyan' is a pioneering and historic exploratory open-water rafting and kayaking expedition on the Ganga River
• Starting at Devprayag and culminating at Ganga Sagar, the expedition will cover the entire stretch of over 2500 kms of the Ganga River.

• This is the first ever effort by National Mission for Clean Ganga to raft across the entire stretch of the river and also the longest ever social campaign undertaken through an adventure sporting activity to spread the message of River Rejuvenation and Water Conservation on a massive scale.
• The expedition will draw attention to the ecological challenges being faced by Ganga.
• The expedition will encompass the five Ganga basin states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal with stops at Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Sonepur and Kolkata.
• They will organise mass cleaning drives, interact with students of the village/city and will further the message of river conservation.
• Apart from the awareness campaign, the team from CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research will collect water samples from across diverse ranges of the river for the purpose of water testing, while members of the Wildlife Institute of India will undertake flora and fauna census for the year 2019.
• The expedition will be supported by all the stakeholders of Namami Gange including the MPs of the constituency along Ganga, members of Ganga Praharis, Ganga Vichar Manch among others.
• The expedition is aimed to reach millions of people on Ganga Basin and would be the largest social outreach through an adventure sporting event ever.

Bilateral Relations
Second India-France Ministerial level Annual Defence Dialogue

Relevance IN - Mains GS II (bilateral relations India - France)
What's the NEWS

• Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, recently visited France, where he participated in the Second India-France Ministerial level Annual Defence Dialogue with his French counterpart
• During the Annual Defence Dialogue held in Paris, the two Ministers comprehensively reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation, which is a key pillar of India-France Strategic Partnership.
• The two nations agreed to expand the scope and complexity of the existing regular bilateral joint exercises (SHAKTI, VARUNA and GARUDA).
• Recognising that India-France partnership in the Indian Ocean Region is crucial for preserving and promoting the common strategic and security interests, the two Ministers noted the continuing implementation of actions outlined in the "Joint Strategic Vision of India-France Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region" (March 2018).

• The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation.
• Equipped with a wide range of weapons, the Rafale is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions.
• The Rafale is referred to as an "omnirole" aircraft by Dassault.

Economic Development/ Farmer Welfare
India International Cooperatives Trade Fair

Relevance IN -Prelims (about India International Cooperatives Trade Fair) + Mains (GS II Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
What's the NEWS

• Aimed at achieving the goal of doubling farmers' income, first ever ‘India International Cooperatives Trade Fair' to be held from 11-13 October, 2019 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

• As 94% of total farmers in India are members of at least one cooperative institution, IICTF is aimed at furthering government's vision and goal of doubling farmers' income by promoting cooperative-to-cooperative trade within India & abroad and promoting exports of key agriculture commodities and products leading to enhanced rural and farm prosperity.
• IICTF also offers a huge opportunity for the industry and business houses from India and abroad to build alliances, business networking, product sourcing and above all, interacting with the primary producers of a wide range of products and service providers.
• More than 120 Indian cooperatives and 20 organizations from Centre / State / UTs and as many as 35 countries from six continents having purchased exhibition booths for participating in IICTF

• In line with Government's focus on programmes like Start-up India and Stand-up India aimed at young entrepreneurs with new and innovative ideas, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has formulated Yuva Sahakar ¬Cooperative Enterprise Support and Innovation Scheme 2019
• The Scheme has an annual outlay of 100 crores. The Scheme is liberal to cooperatives in the North Eastern Region, cooperatives registered and operating in Aspirational Districts as identified by NITI Aayog, cooperatives with 100 % women/SC/ST/ PwD members.
• SahakarBharati, the single largest organisation focusing to enlighten the masses about the benefit of cooperative movement also plans to showcase and launch ‘Simplydesi' brand at the inaugural of the Fair.

• The cooperative sector has a formidable role in increasing agriculture exports from the present US $ 30 billion+ to US$ 60 billion+ by 2022 as envisaged in the Agriculture Exports Policy 2018.
• IICTF is conceived as a major platform to promote exports of Indian cooperative produce and is packed with exhibitions
• IICTF covers exhibitors / sellers / buyers from India and abroad focussing on sectors such as agriculture and its allied sectors' complete value chains, cold chain, dairy, commodities, exports, technology, climate smart agriculture, processing, packaging, storage, machinery, brand promotion, marketing, cooperative banking, agri-tech and various other sectors.
• The Fair is expected to evolve a conducive environment for cooperative trade in the global arena, help in expansion and diversification of business, technology transfer, help lay international quality benchmark for cooperative products etc.
• Fair is also likely to result in sharing of best practices, collaborations and partnerships.
• In the Indian context, the Fair would help more cooperatives to foray into exports and bring to the fore the cooperative visibility and its strength as a viable business model.
• The Fair is jointly organised by NCDC in association with the Bangkok based international organization (NEDAC) and leading organizations in India (NAFED, APEDA, ITPO etc.) with the support of Ministries of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Commerce and Industry and External Affairs.
• Six State Governments/UTs, namely, Telangana, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Puducherry, Meghalaya and Goa are partners of IICTF.

Relevance IN - Prelims (about the informal meeting) + Mains (GS II Bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu is getting decked up for the second informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China's President Xi Jinping, on Friday and Saturday.

• After the success of first informal meeting between the two leaders in Wuhan in April 2018, this meet has raised the expectations of exploring new possibilities.
• Wuhan summit in 2018 opened the doors for high level engagements at an informal level, a format in which the two leaders can engage in discussions on varying subjects.

• The old seaport town of Mahabalipuram, now known as Mamallapuram, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the meeting between the two leaders can open the doors for exploring the historical and cultural connection between Mamallapuram and China.
• Mamallapuram, a major sea port, was used to establish trade links with South-East Asian countries, including China around 6^th century.
• According to historians, Chinese used to visit this place a long time ago for trade and pilgrimage.
• It is expected that the visit will make these ancient cultural connections strong and will help in increasing the people to people contact which has largely remained unexplored between two big Asian neighbours.
• Trade and tourism between Mamallapuram and China are expected to get a big fillip.

Know! the Historical significance of the venue.
The Pallavas
Narasimhavarman I -

• The name Mamallapuram derives from Mamallan, or "great warrior", a title by which the Pallava King Narasimhavarman I (630-668 AD) was known.
• It was during his reign that Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese Buddhist monk-traveller, visited the Pallava capital at Kanchipuram.

Narasimhavarman II

• Narasimhavarman II (c.700-728 AD), also known as Rajasimhan, built on the work of earlier Pallava kings to consolidate maritime mercantile links with southeast Asia.
• The Descent of the Ganga/Arjuna's Penance, a rock carving commissioned by Narasimhavarman I, with its depiction of the Bhagirathi flowing from the Himalayas, may serve as a reminder of the geography of India-China relations, and their shared resources.

The Cholas

• Tamil-Chinese links continued after the Pallavas, flourishing under the Cholas as the Coromandel coast became the entrepot between China and the Middle East.
• The links extended to a wider area beyond Mahabalipuram, through a layered history that has left a rich tapestry of society, culture, art and architecture, which is diverse and complex, and reaches up to modern times.
• By the time Islam arrived on south India's east coast in the 9^th century, Muslims had already started trading with China by maritime routes. The trading missions that the Cholas sent to the Song court included Muslims.
• In later centuries, the Coromandel coast retained its importance for trade between China and the west.

Economic Development
RBI gives final nod for formation of Kerala Bank
Relevance IN - Prelims (about kerala bank) + Mains (GS III economic development)
What's the NEWS

• The Kerala government's long pending dream of setting up its own bank, by merging district co-operative banks, is all set to become a reality with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) giving the final nod for the move.
• With its formation, the proposed "Kerala Bank" will be largest banking network in the state.
• The "Kerala Bank" would be formed amalgamating the district co-operative banks (DCBs) with Kerala State Co-operative Bank.
• According to government sources, 13 DCBs would be merged with the Kerala State Co-operative Bank for forming the proposed Kerala Bank.
• The government had claimed that the objective of the formation of the Kerala Bank was to strengthen the cooperative sector
  
  

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