Relevance IN -Prelims (about CHAMPIONS portal) + Mains (GS II Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability

What's the NEWS

• In a major initiative Union Ministry of MSME has launched CHAMPIONS portal www.Champions.gov.in, a Technology driven Control Room-Cum-Management Information System.
• The system utilising modern ICT tools is aimed at assisting Indian MSMEs march into big league as National and Global CHAMPIONS.

Know! about CHAMPIONS

• The CHAMPIONS stands here for Creation and Harmonious Application of Modern Processes for Increasing the Output and National Strength.
• The portal is basically for making the smaller units big by solving their grievances, encouraging, supporting, helping and handholding. It is a real one-stop-shop solution of MSME Ministry.
• An ICT based system would be set up to help the MSMEs in present difficult situation and also to handhold them to become national and international champions.
• It is a technology packed control room-cum-management information system. In addition to ICT tools including telephone, internet and video conference, the system is enabled by Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and Machine Learning.
• It is also fully integrated on real time basis with GOI's main grievances portal CPGRAMS and MSME Ministry's own other web based mechanisms.
• The entire ICT architecture is created in house with the help of NIC in no cost.

Know! about CPGRAMS

• The Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System, is an online web-enabled system over NICNET developed by NIC in association with the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) with an objective of speedy redress and effective monitoring of grievances by Ministries/Departments/Organizations of Government of India.
• This system besides providing a faster access offers the following facilities to citizens. CPGRAMS aims at capturing the real time work flow and interaction among all the participant users.

Prelims Factoids
PM CARES Fund v/s PM's National Relief Fund
Relevance IN - Prelims (about PM CARES and PMNRF - difference between both the funds )
Know! about PM CARES Fund

• The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) was created on 28 March 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
• The fund receives voluntary contributions from individuals and organisations and does not get any budgetary support.
• Donations have been made tax-exempt, and can be counted against a company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) obligations.
• It is also exempt from the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, and accepts foreign contributions
• The Prime Minister chairs the fund in his official capacity, and can nominate three eminent persons in relevant fields to the Board of Trustees.
• The Ministers of Defence, Home Affairs and Finance are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund.

Know! about Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF)

• The Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was set up in January 1948, originally to accept public contributions for the assistance of Partition refugees.
• It is now used to provide immediate relief to the families of those killed in natural calamities and the victims of major accidents and riots and support medical expenses for acid attack victims and others.
• Prime Minister has sole discretion for fund disbursal. A joint secretary in the PMO administers the fund on an honorary basis.
• The PMNRF provides annual donation and expenditure information without any detailed break-up. The PM CARES Fund's trust deed is not available for public scrutiny.

Human Resource Development
Bharosa
Relevance IN - Prelims (about Bharosa - aim and objective)
What's the NEWS

• To relieve the distress of student community during the troubled time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Union HRD Minister launched Central University of Odisha Helpline "Bharosa"

Know! more about Bharosa

• The helpline aims at providing Cognitive Emotional Rehabilitation Services to all University Students of Odisha
• The mental health concern of the students is of great importance and the Helpline launched by the Central University of Odisha is a great step towards that.

Government Measures (COVID-19)
Suraksha Store initiative

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Suraksha store initiative - role and objective)
What's the NEWS

• Aarogya Setu compliant Suraksha Store is a public private initiative to ensure a safe and secure environment for consumers and shop owners at Kirana Stores.
• The government plans to set up a chain of 20 lakh retail shops called 'Suraksha Stores' across India which will provide daily essentials to citizens while maintaining stringent safety norms.

Know! more about the Suraksha Store

• The Suraksha Stores initiative will convert the neighbourhood kirana stores into sanitised retail outlets selling daily essentials while adhering to safety norms such as social distancing and sanitisation to control the spread of the novel coronavirus
• The Department of Consumer Affairs has partnered with tech startups Safejob and Seekify to use technology to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at the local Kirana store level.
• The Suraksha Store initiative is designed for the health and safety of the citizens during and after the lockdown
• The primary objective of this project is to educate Kirana store owners across the country about the Covid-19 safety guidelines and protocols required to be followed while running their businesses.
• The protocols were decided by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and included norms around social distancing and hygiene at all retail outlets.
• The objective was to allow consumers to use the Aarogya Setu app to find a Suraksha Store near them and shop, companies mentioned.
• The 'Suraksha Store' will not only be for groceries but also consumer durables, apparel and salons.
• The government is planning to create Suraksha Store and Suraksha Circle to ensure hygiene and safety norms across the supply chain.
• FMCG companies will be asked to provide training and mobilise health kits (masks, gloves and sanitisers) to enable retail outlets to become Suraksha Stores

Suraksha Circle

• The Consumer Affairs Ministry is working on creating 'Suraksha Circle' where lead manufacturing plants will help their business partners and smaller factories in their vicinity in order to ensure a safe environment across the product supply chain.

Science and Technology
Defence Research Ultraviolet Sanitiser (DRUVS).

Relevance IN - Prelims (about DRUVS and NOTESCLEAN and about UVC)
What's the NEWS

• Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) premier lab, Research Centre Imarat (RCI) has developed a contactless UVC sanitisation cabinet called Defence Research Ultraviolet Sanitiser (DRUVS).

Know! about DRUVS

• It has been designed to sanitize mobile phones, iPads, laptops, currency notes, cheques, challans, passbooks, paper, envelopes, etc.
• DRUVS cabinet has a contactless operation which is very important to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
• The proximity sensor switches, clubbed with drawer opening and closing mechanism, makes its operation automatic and contactless.
• It provides 360-degree exposure of UVC to the objects placed inside the cabinet.
• Once the sanitisation is done, the system goes in sleep mode hence the operator would not have to wait or stand near the device.

NOTESCLEAN.

• The RCI has also developed an automated UVC currency sanitising device called NOTESCLEAN.
• It picks the notes one by one and makes them pass through a series of UVC lamps for complete disinfection.

Know! about UV and UVC

• Ultraviolet (UV) light is a component of the electromagnetic spectrum that falls in the region between visible light and X-Rays.
• This invisible radiation includes the wavelength range of 100 nm to 400 nm.

UV light can be further subdivided and categorized into four separate regions:
100 nm to 200 nm

• Far UV or vacuum UV (these wavelengths only propagate in a vacuum)

200 nm to 280 nm

• UVC - useful for disinfection and sensing

280 nm to 315 nm

• UVB - useful for curing, tanning and medical applications

315 nm to 400 nm

• UVA (or "near UV") - useful for printing, curing, lithography, sensing and medical applications

Know! about UVC

• Most natural UV light is generated by the sun with about ten percent of sunlight being UV and only about three to four percent penetrating the atmosphere to reach the ground.
• Of the UV radiation that reaches the earth, 95 percent is UVA and five percent is UVB.
• No measurable UVC from the sun reaches the earth's surface as it is completely absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere
• UVC has a short wavelength and it is used for disinfecting water, sterilizing surfaces

Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
e-NAM platform

Relevance IN - Prelims (about e- NAM platform - its objective and benefits) + Mains ( GS III e-technology in the aid of farmers)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare,launched integration of 177 new mandis with the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) to strengthen agriculture marketing and facilitate farmers to sell their harvested produce through the online portal.
• The total number of eNAM mandis across country is now 962.

Know! about e-NAM

• National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities with a vision to promote uniformity in agriculture marketing by streamlining of procedures across the integrated markets, removing information asymmetry between buyers and sellers and promoting real time price discovery based on actual demand and supply.
• National Agriculture Market (eNAM), a pan-India electronic trading portal with the objective of integrating the existing Mandis to "One Nation One Market" for agricultural commodities in India, was launched on 14th April 2016, by the Prime Minister
• Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency for implementing eNAM under the aegis of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
• The NAM portal provides a single window service for all APMC related information and services which includes commodity arrivals, quality & prices, provision to respond to trade offers and electronic payment settlement directly into farmers' accounts and helping them for better market access.

Prelims Factoids
National Technology Day 2020

Relevance IN - Prelims (about National technology day + about operation shakti and smiley buddha)
What's the NEWS

• The National Technology Day is celebrated on May 11. The day is observed to commemorate the achievements of the science fraternity.

Know! all about National Technology Day

• It was on this day in 1998 when India had its breakthrough moment in the field of technology by successfully carrying out nuclear tests at Pokhran.
• This year, on behalf of the Ministry of Science & Technology, Technology Development Board (TBD) has organised a conference to celebrate the day.
• The theme of the conference is ‘Rebooting the Economy through Science, Technology and Research Translations titled RESTART'.

Shakti-Pokhran 2 (Operation Shakti )

• The Pokhran-II tests were a series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in May 1998.
• It was the second instance of nuclear testing conducted by India; the first test, code-named Smiling Buddha, was conducted in May 1974.

Government Scheme
ATAL PENSION YOJANA (APY) - Completion of 5 years

Relevance IN - Prelims (all about APY) + Mains (GS III Economic development - financial inclusion)
What's the NEWS

• The flagship social security scheme of Government of India ‘Atal Pension Yojana' (APY) has completed five years of successful implementation.
• As per official data, over these five the total enrolment under the APY scheme stood at 2,23,54,028.

Know! about Atal Pension Yojana' (APY)

• Launched on 9th May 2015 with an objective of delivering old age income security particularly to the workers in the unorganised sector and Government providing guarantee of minimum pension after 60 years of age
• APY can be subscribed by any Indian citizen in the age group of 18-40 years having a bank account and its uniqueness is attributable to three distinctive benefits.
• First, it provides a minimum guaranteed pension ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 on attaining 60 years of age
• Secondly the amount of pension is guaranteed for lifetime to spouse on death of the subscriber
• Third, in the event of death of both the subscriber and the spouse, entire pension corpus is paid to the nominee.

Other highlights of APY

• APY is a government scheme administered by PFRDA through NPS architecture.
• Under APY, the Central Government would co-contribute 50 percent of the subscriber's contribution or Rs 1000 per annum (whichever is lower) to each eligible subscriber account, for a period of 5 years, i.e., from 2015-16 to 2019-20, who join the NPS before 31st December, 2015.

Know! about PFRDA

• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is the statutory Authority established by an enactment of the Parliament
• The objective of PFRDA is to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the National Pension System (NPS) and pension schemes to which this Act applies.
• NPS was initially notified for central government employees recruits wef 1stJan 2004 and subsequently adopted by almost all State Governments for its employees.
• NPS was extended to all Indian citizens (resident/non-resident/overseas) on a voluntary basis and to corporates for its employees.

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