Relevance IN - Prelims (about Exercise SAMPRITI)
What's the NEWS

• As part of the ongoing Indo-Bangladesh defence cooperation, a joint military training exercise SAMPRITI-IX is being conducted at UMROI, Meghalaya, India from 03 Feb to 16 Feb 2020.

Know! more about the exercise

• Exercise SAMPRITI is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh and will be the ninth edition of the exercise which is hosted alternately by both countries.
• During the joint military exercise SAMPRITI-IX a Command Post Exercise (CPX) and a Field Training Exercise (FTX) will be conducted

Infrastructure Development
Indian Railways implementing Automatic Identification and Data Collection (AIDC) of Rolling Stock (RFID Project)

Relevance IN - Prelims (about RFID Project) + Mains (GS III infrastructure development + awareness in the field of Science and technology)
Know! all about the RFID Project

• The RFID project has been taken up by the Indian railways which aims to automatically and accurately track and trace rolling stock as they move across the country with a special focus on improving their safety and reliability.
• For implementing this project over Indian Railways, the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS, the IT arm of the Indian Railways), GS1 India and the Indian Industry have come together in alignment creating a new segment in the AIDC (Automatic Identification and Data Collection) industry in India uniquely suited for the Indian Railways requirements.
• This project is being spearheaded by the Rolling Stock Department of the Indian Railways.
• GS1 India is deeply involved in ensuring the quality of the work and proper adoption of international standards.
• CRIS has been utilising the considerable expertise of GS1 in developing and validating solutions, based on GS1 Standards, for the Indian Railways.
• The project enables real time visibility of railway wagons through the National Rail Network using cutting edge technologies like RFID with GS1 global standards for unique & universal identification, in line with global best practices.
  
  

•  The Indian Railways has aggressive implementation plans for RFID.
• All Rolling Stock, roughly 3,50,000 vehicles, are expected to be tagged by 2021.
• Till now approximately 22,000 wagons and 1200 coaches have been fitted with RFID tags.
• Automating information capture about assemblies and components is a key element in the Indian Railways implementation of Industry 4.0.
  
  

Environment Conservation
TERI's World Sustainable Development Summit 2020 on ‘Energy Future Road Map'

Relevance IN - Prelims (about WSDS 2020 and about TERI) + Mains (GS III Environment conservation)
What's the NEWS

• Petroleum Minister addresses TERI's World Sustainable Development Summit 2020
• The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) is the annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
• WSDS 2020 Theme Towards 2030: Making the Decade Count

Know! more about WSDS

• It has in its journey of eighteen years (2001- 2019) become a focal point for global leaders and practitioners to congregate on a single platform to discuss and deliberate over climatic issues of universal importance.
• The Summit series has emerged as the premier international event on sustainability which focusses on the global future, but with an eye on the actions in the developing world which could bend our common future.
• The WSDS has continued the legacy of the erstwhile Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) which was initiated in 2001 with the aim of making ‘sustainable development' a globally shared goal.
• The Summit series has over the years brought together 47 heads of state and government, 13 Nobel laureates, ministers from 64 countries, 1700 business leaders, 1900+ speakers and over 13,000 delegates from across the world.

Know! about TERI

• The Energy and Resources Institute: is a not-for-profit, policy research organization - working in the fields of energy, environment, and sustainable development
• Established in 1974, it was formerly known as the Tata Energy Research Institute. As the scope of its activities widened, it was renamed The Energy and Resources Institute in 2003
• TERI has emerged as one of the world's pre-eminent think tanks and research institutions in the field of energy, climate change and sustainability.

Government Schemes
Uttar Pradesh's Chandauli district tops Niti's ranking in December
Relevance IN - Prelims (about aspiration districts and delta ranking) + 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

• Chandauli district in Uttar Pradesh has topped the list of aspirational districts ranked by the government think tank Niti Aayog in December.
• Belangir (Odisha) and YSR (Andhra Pradesh) have been placed at the second and third positions, respectively
• Sahibganj (Jharkhand) has been ranked at the fourth spot and Hailakandi(Assam) at the fifth place.

Know! more about delta ranking and aspirational districts

• The delta rankings took into account incremental progress made by over 112 aspirational districts across six developmental areas in December 2019.
• Health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure were the development areas that were taken into consideration for the ranking.
• Aspirational districts programme, launched in January 2018, aims to transform districts that have shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas and have emerged as pockets of under-development.
• The ranking of aspirational districts is done every month.

Social Issues
Composite Regional Center for Skill Development, Rehabilitation & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (CRC) inaugurated

Relevance IN - Prelims (about CRC and its objective) + Mains (GS II Social issues Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
What's the NEWS

• The Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot addressing the gathering at the inauguration of a Composite Regional Centre (CRC) for skill development, rehabilitation and empowerment of persons with disabilities, at Brookshabad, in Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar on January

Know! more about CRC

• The Ministry for Social Justice & Empowerment inaugurated the Composite Regional Center for Skill Development, Rehabilitation & Empowerment of Persons with disabilities
• All kinds of facilities (aids and appliances) will be made available for the divyangjan in the Center, beside providing education and skill development trainings to them with the objective to empower them and enable them to be economically self reliant and serve their parents.

Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016

• The Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016', which came into force in 2016, providing 5% reservation in Govt. and Govt. aided institutions of higher education for divyang to pursue higher education in all disciplines

Health Sector
Cabinet approves official amendments to National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill
Relevance IN - Prelims (about the amendments in the medicine bill) + Mains (GS II Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
What's the NEWS

• The union cabinet approved amendments to the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2019 (NCIM), which is pending in the Rajya Sabha.

Know! about the proposed amendments and how it will benefit

• The proposed legislation will ensure necessary regulatory reforms in the field of Indian System of Medicine education.
• It said the proposed regulatory structure will enable transparency and accountability for protecting the interest of the general public.
• The commission will promote the availability of affordable healthcare services in all parts of the country.
• It has been structured to streamline the functions related to academic standards, evaluation, assessment and accreditation of educational institutions pertaining to Indian System of Medicine
• The main objective of establishing NCIM is to promote equity by ensuring an adequate supply of quality medical professionals and enforce high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services in the Indian System of Medicine.

Social Justice
Union Cabinet approves amendments to Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill
Relevance IN - Prelims (facts related to the amendments to medical termination of pregnancy bill) + Mains (GS II Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resource + GS III Social justice)

What's the NEWS

• The Union Cabinet has approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which will amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
• The bill will be introduced in the upcoming budget session of the Parliament, which will begin on February 1, 2020.
• For Medical termination of pregnancy, permission will be needed, from two doctors and one of them must be a government doctor.
• The limit of termination of pregnancy has been increased from 20 weeks to 24 weeks.
• The Bill aim to expand women's access to safe and legal abortion services on therapeutic, eugenic, social and humanitarian grounds.

Know! more about the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment bill

• The bill proposes requirement for an opinion from one provider for termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks of gestation and introducing the requirement of opinion from two providers for termination of pregnancy up to 20-24 weeks of gestation.
• The amended bill proposes increasing the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women such as vulnerable women including survivors of rape, victims of incest and others such as differently-abled women and minors.
• Under the amendment bill, the upper gestation limit will not apply in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by the Medical Board.
• Further, the name and other details of the woman whose pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed except to a person authorised by the law.
• Recently several petitions were received by the Courts seeking permission for aborting pregnancies at a gestational age beyond the present permissible limit on grounds of foetal abnormalities or pregnancies due to sexual violence faced by women.
• The proposed increase in gestational age will ensure dignity, autonomy, confidentiality and justice for women who need to terminate pregnancy.
  
  

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