Social Issues
Ministry of Tribal Affairs Virtually Launches "Shramshakti" Digital Data Solution for Migrant Workers

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about ShramShakti + Dedicated migration cell) + Mains ( GS II Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States +good governance)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs virtually through Video Conference launched "ShramShakti", a National Migration Support Portal at a programme held at Panjim, Goa
• It would effectively help in the smooth formulation of state and national level programs for migrant workers.
• He also launched a tribal migration cell, a tribal museum at Goa and "ShramSaathi", a training manual for migrant workers.
• The Chief Minister of Goa also launched dedicated Migration cell in Goa to facilitate and support migrants who come from different States to Goa.

Know! about these recent launches and their benefits

• The lack of real time data of migrants was the biggest challenge for state and national governments in formulating effective strategies and policy decisions for welfare of migrant workers at both source and destination states.

Shram Shakti

• The tribal migration repository, Shram Shakti would be able to successful able to address the data gap and empower migrant workers who generally migrate in search of employment and income generation.
• It would also help the government for linking the migrant population with existing Welfare Scheme- under Atam Nirbhar Bharat.
• The various data that will be recorded via Shram Shakti include demographic profile, livelihood options, skill mapping and migration pattern.
• The tribal training module- ShramSaathi, to ensure that the process of livelihood migration is safe and productive.
• Tribal migrant workers often have low awareness about their rights and entitlements and ways to access services and social security in source and destination areas
• After training via this module, tribal migrant workers will be able to demand and access services, rights and entitlements related to livelihood and social security at their village before migration, as well after migration at destination towns and cities.

Dedicated migration cell

• The Chief Minister of Goa, informed that Goa is going to be first destination state of India to set up dedicated migration cell to address diverse issues of migrant workers.
• The cell would address multiple needs of migrants - legal support, skill development, job linkages, access to public services health, insurance, financial inclusion,

Shramshakti Digital Data Solution

• In a move that would effectively help in the smooth formulation of State and National level programs for migrant workers, the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) is launching ShramShakti, a National Migration Support Portaland Shram-Saathi, a training manual for migrant workers
• To facilitate and support approximately 4 lacs migrants who come from different States to Goa, Chief Minister of Goa will also launch dedicated Migration cell in Goa.
• MoTA has also sanctioned Tribal research Institute, Tribal Museum, VanDhanKendras and Tribal LokUtsav in Goa.

Prelims Factoids
Rapid Assessment System (RAS)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Rapid Assessment System (RAS))
What's the NEWS

• Under the Covid Vaccination drive, the Government of India is using ‘Rapid Assessment System (RAS)', a platform developed by Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) for taking feedback from those who get vaccinated.
• This initiative to utilize RAS platform is aimed at improving the vaccination experience for citizens, while ensuring that all norms are being followed during the vaccination process at all vaccination centres.
• This feedback system will help the Government to make the vaccination process more citizen-friendly. RAS platform has already sent out around 6.2 lakh SMSes to all those who have been vaccinated in a short span of 4 days.
• The following process has been put in place to collect feedback on vaccination experience.
• Registered mobile numbers and names of those vaccinated on a day are sent to RAS system by Co-WIN platform at midnight.
• RAS system prepares a unique URL for feedback questions and sends personalized SMSs to all beneficiary of that day.
• SMS contains the name of the person, dose (first/ second), and a unique URL. The sender ID used for SMS is "GOVRAS".

About Rapid Assessment System (RAS):

• National e-Governance Division, Ministry of Electronics & IT, developed Rapid Assessment System (RAS) for online instant feedback for e-services (online as well as offline through counters) delivered by the Government of India and State Governments.
• The main objective of RAS is to continuously assess the quality of eServices, through feedback, under each e-Governance project and realign processes to achieve targeted benefits.
• RAS interface prompts the citizens to provide feedback about the quality of service immediately after the citizen avails an eService of the Government.
• The analytic features of RAS help integrated departments in system improvement and better delivery of services.

Defence
Successful Flight Test of Smart Anti Airfield Weapon

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW))
What's the NEWS

• DRDO successfully conducted captive and release trial of indigenously developed Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from Hawk-I of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) off the Odisha coast on 21 January 2021.

Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW)

• The smart weapon was successfully test fired from Indian Hawk-Mk132 of HAL. This was the 9th successful mission of SAAW conducted by DRDO till now.
• It was a text book launch, which met all mission objectives. The telemetry and tracking systems installed at Interim Test Range (ITR), Balasore captured all the mission events.
• SAAW is indigenously designed and developed by DRDO's Research Centre Imarat (RCI) Hyderabad.
• This is 125 Kg class smart weapon, capable of engaging ground enemy airfield assets such as radars, bunkers, taxi tracks, and runways etc. up to a range of 100 kms.
• The high precision guided bomb is light weight as compared to weapon system of the same class.
• The weapon was earlier successfully test fired from Jaguar aircraft.

National Issues
National Dialogue on "Indian Agriculture Towards 2030
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about National Dialogue on "Indian Agriculture Towards 2030 - objective) + Mains ( GS III farmers welfare)
What's the NEWS

• National Dialogue on "Indian Agriculture Towards 2030: Pathways for Enhancing Farmers' Income, Nutritional Security and Sustainable Food Systems" organised jointly by NITI Aayog, Government of India's Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, all of whom are at the helm of policy-making on agriculture.
• The three-day dialogue to envision a roadmap for Indian Agriculture towards 2030 will see participation from agricultural experts, farmers, scientists, academics and civil society members.
• The delegates will examine the problems and challenges faced by Indian agriculture and will make suitable recommendations on how to overcome them and move forward.

INDIAN AGRICULTURE TOWARDS 2030

• It transformed India from a food-deficit nation to a food-surplus, export-oriented country.
• The national dialogue aims to complement efforts of the NITI Aayog and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (MoA&FW) in designing a post-Green Revolution future for the country.
• The NITI Aayog, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (MoA&FW) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) initiated a national dialogue in the country in 2019 for facilitating the transformation of India's agriculture.
• The development of its design was an iterative process amongst NITI Aayog, officials of MoA&FW and FAO staff.
• A steering committee was formed with a dozen domain experts in the field of food and agriculture, representing a wide range of agricultural and allied sectors expertise. FAO functions as the working secretariat.
• The committee is chaired by Prof Ramesh Chand, renowned agricultural economist and Member, NITI Aayog.
• The committee has held six meetings through which its members agreed on the priority themes for the dialogue and through which preparations for the national conference were also undertaken.
• Papers have been commissioned to select authors on different thematic areas, which are listed below.
• These will form the basis of discussion. In the spirit of dialogue, new insights and ideas will be exchanged. The first round of the dialogue process will be held as virtual sessions from 19-22 January 2021.
• The second round of brainstorming will be held in mid-2021 to consolidate ideas and recommendations into ways forward for the next decade.

Government Schemes
PM releases financial assistance to over 6 lakh beneficiaries in UP under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin) + Mains ( GS II government policies and interventions)
What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister, released financial assistance to over 6 lakh beneficiaries in UP under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin

• Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana, previously Indira Awaas Yojana, is a social welfare programme, created by the Indian Government, to provide housing for the rural poor in India. A similar scheme for urban poor was launched in 2015 as Housing for All by 2022.
• The Mission provides Central Assistance to the implementing agencies through States/Union Territories (UTs) and Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs) for providing houses to all eligible families/ beneficiaries against the validated demand for houses for about 1.12 cr.
• As per PMAY(U) guidelines, the size of a house for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) could be upto 30 sq. mt. carpet area, however States/UTs have the flexibility to enhance the size of houses in consultation and approval of the Ministry.
• In continuation to this Government's efforts towards empowerment of women from EWS and LIG unlike earlier schemes, PMAY (U) has made a mandatory provision for the female head of the family to be the owner or co-owner of the house under this Mission.
• The scheme would be implemented in rural areas throughout India except Delhi and Chandigarh. The cost of houses would be shared between Centre and States.
• Objective -To provide pucca house to all who are houseless and living in dilapidated houses in rural areas by 2022.
• Under PMAY, the cost of unit assistance is to be shared between Central and State Governments in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 for North Eastern and hilly states.
• The unit assistance given to beneficiaries under the programme is Rs 1,20,000 in plain areas and to Rs 1,30,000 in hilly states/difficult areas /Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Selected Tribal and Backward Districts.
• Presently the NE States, States of HP, J&K and Uttarakhand and all 82 LWE districts are identified as difficult and hilly areas. The unit size is 25 sq.m including a dedicated area for hygienic cooking.
• The beneficiary is entitled to 90 days of unskilled labour from MGNREGA.
• The beneficiary would be facilitated to avail loan of up to Rs.70,000/- for construction of the house which is optional.
• Funds will be transferred electronically directly to the account of the beneficiary.
• These houses are equipped with facilities such as toilet, LPG connection, electricity connection, and drinking water [convergence with other schemes e.g. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan toilets, Ujjwala Yojana LPG gas connection, Saubhagya Yojana electricity connection, etc.
• The construction of the houses is the sole responsibility of the beneficiary and engagement of contractors is strictly prohibited.
• Sanitary latrine and smokeless chullah are required to be constructed along with each IAY house for which additional financial assistance is provided from "Total Sanitation Campaign" and "Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana" ( Which is now subsumed by Deen Dayal Upadhaya Gram Jyoti Yojana ) respectively.
• This scheme, operating since 1985, provides subsidies and cash-assistance to people in villages to construct their houses, themselves.

Food Processing Industries
First Ever Virtual Expo 2021 for R&D in Processed Food Sector Inaugurated

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the First Virtual Expo 2021- highlights) + Mains ( GS III food processing industries)
What's the NEWS

• MoFPI inaugurated the First Virtual Expo 2021 for R&D in processed food sector.
• Ministry of Food Processing Industries is organizing Virtual Expo 2021 for R&D in processed food sector from 20^th to 22^nd January 2021 for showcasing the outcomes of R&D Projects supported by the Ministry of premier Food Technology Institutions of India.
• The Ministry has also launched the R&D portal which will be available to all stakeholders.
• Research undertaken by institutions across the country will be available on this portal.
• About 200 research projects are available on the portal.
• This R&D portal launch will help in developing product and process technology, better packaging, value addition in food processing sector.

Know! about the expo highlights

• This expo is being organised under guidance of Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Rural Development, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Panchayati Raj.
• MoFPI has been supporting R&D efforts in the sector not only through NIFTEM and IIFPT but also through institutions under ICAR and CSIR systems and agricultural universities.
• The Virtual Expo will showcase innovation and R&D in food processing sector by premier Food Technology Institutions of India such as NIFTE, IIFPT, CFTRI, ICAR, IITs.
• The key focus areas would be showcasing R&D projects consisting of categories like Novel Food Products, Innovations in Food Engineering, Food Safety & Quality Evaluations, Food Packaging Solutions & Food Industry Waste Utilization. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is the Event Partner for this Expo.
• The Expo is an interactive platform designed to maximize networking efforts through Webinars, B2B meetings, one-to-one chats, informative maternal like-e-brochures, visiting cards or other documents showcased digitally through virtual booth.

Prelims Factoids
Joynagar moa
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Joynagar Moa and GI-tag)
What's the NEWS

• Joynagar Moa, a GI-tagged winter delicacy of West Bengal, was exported abroad for the first time in over a century.
• Authorities said if the export to Bahrain is successful, more consignments would follow.

Joynagar Moa

• This is for the first time Joynagar Moa is being exported since it was introduced in 1904.
• It is a seasonal Bengali sweetmeat delicacy prepared from date palm jaggery and Kanakchur khoi.
• The delicacy obtained the GI tag in 2014 and only around 25 manufacturers from Joynagar block in South 24 Parganas district, around 50km south of Kolkata, are authorised to prepare the product.
• GI tag signifies a product has a specific geographical origin and enjoys a reputation because of it.
• Kanakchur Khoi (fried aromatic paddy), nolen gur (molasses), ghee, khoya kheer, cardamom, raisins, and cashew nuts, among others, are used to prepare the delicacy.

Geographical Indications

• A geographical indication or GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
• Geographical Indications are part of the intellectual property rights that comes under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
• In India, Geographical Indications registration is administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act of 1999. Geographical indications are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks, handicrafts, and industrial products.

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