Miscellaneous
Second Edition of Maritime India Summit

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Maritime India Summit 2021 - objective) + Mains ( GS II government policies and interventions)
What's the NEWS

• Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is organizing ‘Maritime India Summit 2021' on a virtual platform www.maritimeindiasummit.in, from 2^nd March to 4^th March 2021, to promote both international and domestic investment in the Ports and Maritime Sector.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the summit on 2nd March 2021

Maritime India Summit 2021

• The objective of the Summit is to propel India to the forefront of the Global Maritime Sector.
• Signing of MoUs with various entities has already started.
• Mumbai Port Trust has signed MoUs worth Rs. 7400 Crore so far.
• It is expected that Rs. 20,000 Crore worth MoUs will be signed as part of this Summit
• MIS 2021 will provide a unique platform where various stakeholders in the maritime sectors such as Policy Planners, Senior Government Officials, Domestic and International Investors, Sector Experts, Shipping Line Owners, Representatives of Major Ports from across the world as well as the Governments of Maritime States in India will participate..
• The summit will have ministerial level participation from Afghanistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Iran and Armenia and will feature discussions on Development of Port Infrastructure and Boosting Business through Trade, Promotion & Regional connectivity.
• There will be special sessions which will focus on each coastal state. Eight States/UTs - Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep have already partnered for the MIS-2021.
• The proposed Summit will also host forums for interaction and collaboration with the Indian and International Ports, Shipping and Maritime Companies, Investors, and other stakeholders.
• The MIS-2021 will celebrate Chabahar day on 04^th March 2021. Chabahar is Iran's closest and best access point to the Indian Ocean.

• It was also informed that The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry has been engaged as industry partner and Ernst & Young has been engaged as knowledge partner of the Summit.

Cabinet Decisions
Cabinet approves Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Pharmaceuticals

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Production Linked Incentive) + Mains (GS II government policies and interventions)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, has approved Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Pharmaceuticals over a period of Financial Year 2020-21 to 2028-29.

Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme (benefits)

• The Scheme will benefit domestic manufacturers, help in creating employment and is expected to contribute to the availability of wider range of affordable medicines for consumers.
• The scheme is expected to promote the production of high value products in the country and increase the value addition in exports.
• Total incremental sales of Rs.2,94,000 crore and total incremental exports of Rs.1,96,000 crore are estimated during six years from 2022-23 to 2027-28.
• The scheme is expected to generate employment for both skilled and un-skilled personnel, estimated at 20,000 direct and 80,000 indirect jobs as a result of growth in the sector.
• It is expected to promote innovation for development of complex and high-tech products including products of emerging therapies and in-vitro Diagnostic Devices as also self-reliance in important drugs.
• It is also expected to improve accessibility and affordability of medical products including orphan drugs to the Indian population.
• The Scheme is also expected to bring in investment of Rs.15,000 crore in the pharmaceutical sector.
• The scheme will be part of the umbrella scheme for the Development of Pharmaceutical Industry.
• The objective of the scheme is to enhance India's manufacturing capabilities by increasing investment and production in the sector and contributing to product diversification to high value goods in the pharmaceutical sector.
• One of the further objectives of the scheme is to create global champions out of India who have the potential to grow in size and scale using cutting edge technology and thereby penetrate the global value chains.
• The scheme also aims to create global champions from India that have the potential to grow in size and scale using cutting edge technology and thereby penetrate global value chains.
• The Cabinet also approved the PLI Scheme for IT hardware such as laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs and servers.
• The scheme, under which an incentive will be given on net incremental sales of goods manufactured in India for four years, will benefit five ‘major global players' and ten domestic ‘champions' in IT hardware, the government said.
• The duration of the scheme will be from FY 2020-21 to FY 2028-29. This will include the period for processing of applications (FY 2020-21), optional gestation period of one year (FY 2021-22), incentive for 6 years and FY 2028-29 for disbursal of incentive for sales of FY 2027-28.

Indian pharmaceutical industry

• Indian pharmaceutical industry is 3rd largest in the world by volume and is worth USD 40 billion in terms of value.
• The country contributes 3.5% of total drugs and medicines exported globally. India exports pharmaceuticals to more than 200 countries and territories including highly regulated markets such as USA, UK, European Union, Canada etc.
• India has a complete ecosystem for the development and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals with companies having state of the art facilities and highly skilled/technical manpower.
• The country also has a number of renowned pharmaceutical educational and research institutes and a robust support of allied industries.
• At present, low value generic drugs account for the major component of Indian exports, while a large proportion of the domestic demand for patented drugs is met through imports.
• This is because the Indian Pharmaceutical sector lacks in high value production along with the necessary pharma R&D.
• In order to incentivize the global and domestic players to enhance investment and production in diversified product categories, a well-designed and suitably targeted intervention is required to incentivise specific high value goods such as bio-pharmaceuticals, complex generic drugs, patented drugs or drugs nearing patent expiry and cell based or gene therapy products etc.

Governance
36^th PRAGATI Meeting

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about PRAGATI) + Mains ( GS II Governance - transparency and accountability)
What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today chaired the 36th PRAGATI meeting.
• In the meeting, ten agenda items were taken up for review including eight projects, grievance relating to one scheme and one programme.
• Among the eight projects, three were from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, two from Ministry of Railways, one each from Ministry of Power, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Ministry of Home Affairs.
• These eight projects, with a cumulative cost of about Rs.44,545 crore, pertained to 12 states viz., West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Mizoram, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Meghalaya.
• In the previous 35 PRAGATI interactions, 290 projects having a total cost of about Rs.13.60 lakh crore, along with 51 programmes / schemes and grievances pertaining to 17 different sectors have been reviewed.

Know! all about PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation)

• It is aimed at starting a culture of Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation.
• It is also a robust system for bringing e-transparency and e-accountability with real-time presence and exchange among the key stakeholders.
• The platform was launched on March 25, 2015.
• It is a multi-purpose and multi-modal platform that is aimed at addressing common man's grievances, and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing important programmes and projects of the Government of India as well as projects flagged by State Governments.
• The PRAGATI platform uniquely bundles three latest technologies:

Digital data management, video-conferencing and geo-spatial technology.

• It also offers a unique combination in the direction of cooperative federalism since it brings on one stage the Secretaries of Government of India and the Chief Secretaries of the States.
• With this, the Prime Minister is able to discuss the issues with the concerned Central and State officials with full information and latest visuals of the ground level situation.
• It is a three-tier system (PMO, Union Government Secretaries, and Chief Secretaries of the States)
• Prime Minister will hold a monthly programme where he will interact with the Government of India Secretaries, and Chief Secretaries through Video-conferencing enabled by data and geo-informatics visuals;
• Issues to be flagged before the PM are picked up from the available database regarding Public Grievances, on-going Programmes and pending Projects.

Infrastructure Development
City Innovation Exchange (CiX) Launched

Relevance IN - Prelims (about City Innovation Exchange (CiX)
What's the NEWS

• The platform will be a significant addition to the growing innovation ecosystem of India and focuses on fostering innovative practices in cities. CiX, through an ‘open innovation' process, engages with innovators to design-test-deliver on solutions to pressing urban challenges.
• This initiative will make cities more self-reliant and enabled to meet the needs of and provide services to their citizens.
• Designed on the philosophy of ‘everyone is an innovator', the platform will bring together Citizen Organisations-Academia- Businesses- Government to co-create for the future of Urban India in a transparent and sustainable manner.
• The Smart Cities Mission will partner and effectively collaborate with Startup India, Atal Innovation Mission, AGNIi and other initiatives in the Indian Innovation ecosystem.

City Innovation Exchange (CiX)

• The City Innovation Exchange (CiX) will connect cities to innovators across the national ecosystem to design innovative solutions for their pressing challenges.
• The platform will ease the discovery, design& validation of solutions through a robust, transparent and user centric process that will reduce barriers for innovators and cities to discover fitting solutions.
• Built on the concept of ‘open innovation', the platform will help in the flow of ideas ‘outside in and inside out', enhancing the skills and capacity required to deliver smart urban governance.
• Through interaction with the Academia andBusinesses/Startups, the platform will benefit cities in the transfer of ideas from ‘labs' to real environment.
• Similarly, by helping urban governments interact with citizens, the platform will ensure adoption of tested solutions that will be impactful and sustainable.
• The platform in due time will help our cities in adopting solutions that will enhance the quality of life for its residents and significantly improve the Ease of Doing Business.
• The Platform has more than 400 start-ups, 100 smart cities, more than 150 challenges statements and over 215 solutions at the time of launch.

Prelims Factoids
Swachh Iconic Places
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G)
What's the. NEWS

• Taking forward the vision of transforming iconic heritage, spiritual and cultural places in the country as ‘Swachh Tourist Destinations' under Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti has announced the selection of the following Twelve (12) iconic sites under Phase IV of SIP.
• Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra
• Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh
• Kumbhalgarh Fort, Rajasthan
• Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan
• Ramdevra, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
• Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Telangana
• Sun Temple, Konark, Odisha
• Rock Garden, Chandigarh
• Dal Lake, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir
• Banke Bihari Temple, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
• Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
• Kalighat Temple, West Bengal

Know! more about SIP initiative

• The initiative aims at enhancing the experience of both domestic and foreign visitors by improving the sanitation and cleanliness standards at and around the sites.
• The objective of SIP is to achieve a distinctly higher level of Sanitation/Cleanliness at these places, especially on the peripheries and in approach areas.
• This project is being coordinated by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti in association with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and the concerned State/UT governments.

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