NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog Releases Report ‘Investment Opportunities in India's Healthcare Sector'

Relevance in - Prelims ( about the report highlights) + Mains ( GS II Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

What's the NEWS

• NITI Aayog released a report outlining the range of investment opportunities in various segments of India's healthcare sector, including hospitals, medical devices and equipment, health insurance, telemedicine, home healthcare and medical value travel.

Factors making India's healthcare industry a suitable place for investment

• India's healthcare industry has been growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of around 22% since 2016.
• At this rate, it is expected to reach USD 372 billion in 2022. Healthcare has become one of the largest sectors of the Indian economy, in terms of both revenue and employment.
• Several factors are driving the growth of the Indian healthcare sector, including an aging population, a growing middle class, the rising proportion of lifestyle diseases, an increased emphasis on public-private partnerships as well as accelerated adoption of digital technologies.
• The Covid-19 pandemic has not only presented challenges but also several opportunities for India to grow.
• All these factors, together make India's healthcare industry ripe for investment

Know! the report highlights

• The first section of the report provides an overview of India's healthcare sector, including insights about its employment generation potential, the prevailing business and investment climate as well as the overarching policy landscape.
• The second section highlights the key drivers of growth for the sector and the third elaborates upon the enabling policies and investment opportunities in seven key segments-hospitals and infrastructure, health insurance, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, medical devices, medical tourism, home healthcare as well as telemedicine and other technology-related health services.
• In the hospital segment, the expansion of private players to tier-2 and tier-3 locations, beyond metropolitan cities, offers an attractive investment opportunity.

Pharmaceuticals

• India can boost domestic manufacturing, supported by recent Government schemes with performance-linked incentives

Medical devices and equipment segment

• In the medical devices and equipment segment, expansion of diagnostic and pathology centres as well as miniaturized diagnostics have high potential for growth. Further, medical value travel, especially wellness tourism, has bright prospects, given India's inherent strengths in alternative systems of medicine.
• Technology advancements such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), wearables and other mobile technologies, along with Internet of Things, also offer numerous avenues for investment.

Science & Technology
Giga Mesh
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Astrome and Giga Mesh) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• Astrome, a women-led startup, has developed an innovative wireless product that gives fibre like bandwidth at fraction of cost of fibre to help telecom operators deliver reliable low-cost internet services to suburban and rural areas.
• The wireless product called Giga Mesh could enable telecom operators deploy quality, high-speed rural telecom infrastructure at 5 times lower cost.
• Rural connectivity customers and defence customers who have already signed up for pilots will soon witness the demonstration of this product by Astrome.

Benefits

• Reaching internet access to remote places in countries like India is difficult because laying fibre is too expensive.
• There is a need for wireless backhaul products that can deliver low cost, high data capacity, and wide reach.
• Currently available, wireless backhaul products either do not provide sufficient data speeds or the required range or are very expensive to deploy.

Know! all about the Women led innovation - Giga Mesh

• The deep tech startup incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and supported by DST-ABI Woman Startup Program of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India proved their millimeter-wave multi-beam technology in the lab in 2018, for which the company has been granted a patent in India and US.
• Since then, the technology has been converted to a powerful and scalable product called Giga Mesh, which can solve much of the last mile connectivity telecom needs of our country. The product has been proven on the field and also integrated with partner products for its upcoming commercialization.
• Astrome also received the ITU SME Award for the Most Promising Innovative Solution in Connectivity, a major recognition for this product from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
• They also got selected by a prestigious 5G accelerator program called Evo Nexus (sponsored by Qualcomm) which will help them launch their product in the global market.
• The Multi-beam E-band product, Giga Mesh, packs 6 Point-to-Point E-band radios in one, thereby distributing the cost of the device over multiple links and hence reduces capital expenditure.
• The radio provides long-range and multi-Gbps data throughput at each link. Features like automatic link alignment, dynamic power allocation between links, and remote link formation help operators achieve significant operating expenditure cost reduction.
• Astrome is currently conducting a field trial at Indian Institute of Science (university campus). In this field trial, the company has already achieved data streaming at multi-Gbps speeds across the campus.

Governance
Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM)
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about NINL and about DIPAM) + Mains ( GS II governance)
What's the NEWS

• The government has received multiple expressions of interest from bidders for privatisation of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd. (NINL)
• The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) had in January invited preliminary bids for the strategic sale of NINL.

Know! about NINL and disinvestment target of the government

• NINL is a joint venture of MMTC, NMDC, BHEL, MECON and two Odisha government-owned undertakings - OMC and IPICOL.
• In January last year, the Cabinet had approved strategic disinvestment of equity shareholding of MMTC (49.78%), NMDC (10.10%), MECON (0.68%), BHEL (0.68%), IPICOL (12%) and OMC (20.47%) in NINL.
• The process of privatisation of Air India, BPCL, Pawan Hans, BEML and Shipping Corp has also moved to the second stage after the government received multiple expressions of interest (EoI) for these CPSEs.
• For 2021-22, the government has set a disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore, over five times what it is aiming to raise in the current financial year.
• In the Revised Estimates, the target has been set at Rs 32,000 crore for the current fiscal.
• So far this fiscal, the government has netted ₹32,835 crore through minority stake sale in CPSEs and share buybacks.

Know! about DIPAM

• Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) deals with all matters relating to management of Central Government investments in equity including disinvestment of equity in Central Public Sector Undertakings.
• The Four major areas of its work relates to Strategic Disinvestment, Minority Stake Sales, Asset Monetisation and Capital Restructuring.
• It also deals with all matters relating to sale of Central Government equity through offer for sale or private placement or any other mode in the erstwhile Central Public Sector Undertakings.
• DIPAM is working as one of the Departments under the Ministry of Finance.

Prelims Factoids
Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS)
Relevance IN - Prelims (about DGMS)
What's the NEWS

• The Karnataka government has decided to allow resumption of operations in stone mining and crusher units
• The Mines and Geology Department issued a circular allowing stone mining in quarries
• For resuming the units, the owners of quarries and stone crushers have to give an undertaking to the authorities by stating they would abide by the rules and submit an NoC (no- objection certificate) from the Centre's Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) to use explosives within 90 days

Directorate General of Mines Safety(DGMS)

• It is the Regulatory Agency under the Ministry of labour and employment, Government of India in matters pertaining to occupational safety, health and welfare of persons employed in mines (Coal, Metalliferous and oil-mines).
• Under the Constitution of India, safety, welfare and health of workers employed in mines are the concern of the Central Government (Entry 55-Union List-Article 246). The objective is regulated by the Mines Act, 1952 and the Rules and Regulations framed there under.
• These are administered by the Directorate-General of Mines Safety (DGMS), under the Union Ministry of Labour & Employment.

• Apart from administering the Mines Act and the subordinate legislation there under, DGMS also administers a few other allied legislation, including the Indian Electricity Act.
• The organization has its headquarters at Dhanbad (Jharkhand) and is headed by Director-General of Mines Safety.

Education
Ānandam: The Center for Happiness in IIM Jammu

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Anandam: The Center for happiness)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of Education inaugurated "Ānandam: The Center for Happiness" virtually

Know! all about Anandam: The Center for happiness

• Incorporating happiness in the academic curriculum of students is a very crucial step towards empowering our nation.
• This step will take our education system to newer heights, similar to the times of ancient Indian universities like Nalanda and Takshashila.
• Anandam: The Center for happiness aligns with the National Education Policy 2020 that aims to transform India's education system by 2021.
• The center will help people overcome mental stress and help spread positivity and it will encourage and propagate holistic development for all the stakeholders at IIM Jammu
• The Center for Happiness acquires its name ‘Ānandam' from the Indian wisdom tradition where the pure consciousness is being as "anandam".
• "Ānandam" doesn't aim for only happiness but knowing the truth, doing good and enjoying the beauty around.
• The tagline for "Ānandam" further reinforces its ideology that it will work for the well-being of all.
• The tagline "SarvabhÅ«tahiteratāḥ" stands for being always engaged for the well-being of all.

Prelims Factoids
Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum (IEM)

Relevance in - Prelims ( about IEM)
What's the NEWS

• With a view to enhancing ease of doing business and transparency, the DPIIT has revamped its Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum (IEM) portal.
• The upgraded portal offers single IEM for one company to capture details of all its locations and sectors.
• Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum (IEM) portal.
• This Single form will facilitate filling of investment intentions (IEM-Part A) and reporting of commencement of production (IEM-Part B) in a seamless manner.
• Any amendments to the IEMs may also be done easily with respect to previously filed IEMs.
• This entire process avoids duplication in filling information.
• All approvals will be communicated on emails and SMS in purely paperless manner to applicants.
• Simultaneous information shall also send to concerned State Governments.
• The G2B portal can be accessed at http://services.dipp.gov.in for the purpose of submitting application and obtaining the IEM certificate.
• DPIIT operates the G2B Portal for receiving application of Industrial Entrepreneurs to file an Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum (IEM) under Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951.

IEM (Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum)

• Industrial undertakings exempted from the requirements of Industrial Licensing under I (D&R) Act, 1951 are required to file information relating to setting up of industries is known as IEM (Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum).

Defence
Indian and US Special Forces Conclude Joint Training Exercise

Relevance in - Prelims ( about VAJRA PRAHAR 2021)
What's the NEWS

• The 11^th edition of Indo-US Joint Special Forces Exercise VAJRA PRAHAR 2021 was conducted at Special Forces Training School located at Bakloh, HP in March 2021.

Know! more about the exercise

• The joint exercise by the Special Forces of both the countries is conducted alternatively between India and the United States to share the best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics as also to improve interoperability between the Special Forces of both nations.
• Bilateral military exercises and defence exchanges are an important facet of deepening bilateral defence cooperation between friendly countries.
• During such events, the armies of participating nations jointly train, plan and execute a series of operations for neutralisation of threats of varied nature with a common aim of countering threats of international terrorism through mutual training and jointness.

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