Abhimanu

Weekly current affairs Series

Week: II, February 2018

Abhimanu’s IAS Study Group

Chandigarh

NATIONAL ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

Health Sector and Budget 2018-19

Being a developing economy, there is not enough fiscal space to increase the expenditure on critical social infrastructure like education and health in India.

As per the Economic Survey, the government has consistently prioritised strengthening the educational and health profile of the people despite limited resources in hand.

With the commitment to accord utmost priority to the social sector, the Survey said expenditure on social services as a percentage of GSDP has increased to 6.9 per cent in 2016 -17 from 6 per cent in 2014-15.

The government is focussing on improving health for all; as per the Survey the government has approved setting up of National Nutrition Mission (NNM) commencing this fiscal. The NNM, as an apex body, will monitor, supervise, fix targets and guide the nutrition related interventions across ministries.

It said the programme will strive to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight babies. It will create synergy; ensure better monitoring, issue alerts for timely action to achieve the targeted goals.

Aayushman Bharat Programme in the Union Budget 2018

Under the programme, a new flagship National Health Protection Scheme, providing a health insurance cover of 5 lakh a family per annum; The scheme will cover 10 crore vulnerable families, with approximately 50 crore beneficiaries.

The scheme would be the “world’s largest healthcare programme”.

It has announced the creation of health and wellness centres, which will “bring healthcare closer to home”. These centres, 1.5 lakh in number, will provide free essential drugs and diagnostic services. A sum of Rs. 1200 crore had been allocated for this.

Child and maternal malnutrition in India

Despite making strides in improving life expectancy at birth, the Economic Survey noted, child and maternal malnutrition remained a challenge causing health loss in the country.

However, the disease burden — such as diarrhoea, lower respiratory infections, and other common infections manifested due to malnutrition — has dropped in the country.

Life expectancy at birth has improved by around 10 years between 1990 and 2015. The government meanwhile in the current financial year has widened the scope of several existing programmes apart from initiating new ones to improve all round development of women and children.

Some of the schemes include Integrated Child Development Services, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, National Nutrition Mission and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

The other key health risks faced by citizens include air pollution, dietary risks, high blood pressure and diabetes, the Survey noted. In addition, “limited affordability and access to quality medical services are among the major challenges contributing to delayed or inappropriate responses to disease control and patient management”.

The government has, however, taken various steps to regulate prices of drugs and diagnostics such as supporting states through National Free Diagnostic Service Initiative and National Free Drug Initiative under the National Health Mission.

Family Planning in Budget 2018-19

The family planning (FP) component receives merely 4% of the total budget available under the National Health Mission's Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Flexi pool.

Analysis of data from the Financial Management Report (FMR) shows that in the financial year 2016-17, only 60.7% of the funds available for family planning were spent.

Further examination also shows the skewed allocations for FP, despite policy decisions to promote spacing methods and improve the quality of care.

This is evident from the fact that 64% of the 2016-17 FP budget was allocated to terminal and limiting methods of contraception, while just 3.7% was allocated for spacing. Even more worrying, 40% of the allocations for spacing methods were not utilised in 2016-17.

Findings of Demographic and Health Survey data included in the latest Economic Survey highlight women's lack of agency in making decisions related to sexual and reproductive health. Nearly 47% women do not use any contraception, and of those who do, less than a third use female-controlled reversible contraception.

Since few women use reversible methods of contraception, they have little control over when they start having children, but only seem to have control over when they stop having children. More allocations on behaviour change communication will improve women's agency in exercising their choice.

The government needs to provide adequate funding to improve the quality of services and boost demand for family planning through better awareness and access. The Population Foundation of India calls on the government to match its commitments with adequate budgetary allocations and effective spending.

Education and Budget 2018-19

Government aims to assist and provide opportunity to every Indian to realize his/her full potential capable of achieving his/her economic and social dreams.

Government is devising a district- wise strategy for improving quality of education. Government wants to treat education holistically without segmentation from pre- nursery to Class 12.

Improvement in quality of teachers

Integrated B.Ed. programme to be initiated for teachers, to improve quality of teachers.

More than 13 lakh untrained teachers to get trained (under amended RTE Act).

Technology will be used to upgrade the skills of teachers through the recently launched digital portal ‘‘DIKSHA’’.

Role of Technology in Education

Technology will be the biggest driver in improving the quality of education.

Government has proposed to increase the digital intensity in education and move gradually from ‘‘black board’’ to ‘‘digital board’’.

Technology will be used to upgrade the skills of teachers through the recently launched digital portal ‘‘DIKSHA’’.

Quality Education to Tribal children

The Government is committed to provide the best quality education to the tribal children in their own environment.

By 2022, every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal people to have ‘Ekalavya’ school.

Ekalavya schools will be on par with Navodaya Vidyalayas and will have special facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and skill development.

Investments in Research and related Infrastructure

RISE (Revitalizing Infrastructure in School Education) - Scheme for revitalizing school infrastructure, with an allocation of 1 lakh crore over four years.

Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) to be suitably structured for funding this initiative

Setting up of Institutes of Eminence and Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs)

Government has taken major initiative of setting up Institutes of Eminence.

There has been tremendous response to this initiative by institutions both in public and private sectors.

Government proposes to set up two new full-fledged Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs).

Additionally, 18 new SPAs would be established in the IITs and NITs as autonomous Schools.

Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme

1000 Students pursuing Btech per year will be provided facilities to do PhD in IITs and IISC Bangalore with handsome fellowships.

It is expected that these bright young fellows would voluntarily commit few hours every week for teaching in higher educational institutions.

Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) and Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)

Encouraging budding young innovators with Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) – ATLs are innovation play work spaces for students between class VI to XII.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM): 2441 schools selected by AIM to establish ATLs and 700 + teachers trained.

Social Security and Budget 2018-19

Government is implementing a comprehensive social security and protection programme to reach every household of old, widows, orphaned children, divyaang and deprived as per the Socio-Economic Caste Census.

National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)

Allocation on National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) this year has been kept at Rs 9975 crore.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Beema Yojana (PMJJBY) - life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh on payment of a premium of only Rs 330/- per annum and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana - personal accident cover of Rs 2 lakh on payment of a premium of only Rs 12 per annum – has benefitted 5.22 crore families and 13 crore 25 lakh persons respectively.

Now, all 16 crore accounts under PM Jan Dhan Yojana will be included under micro insurance and pension schemes.

Government’s estimated schematic budgetary expenditure on health, education and social protection for 2018-19 is Rs 1.38 lakh crore against estimated expenditure of Rs 1.22 lakh crore in BE 2017-18.

About National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)

NSAP stands for National Social Assistance Programme. NSAP was launched on 15th August, 1995.

The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) represents a significant step towards the fulfilment of the Directive Principles in Article 41 and 42 of the Constitution recognizing the concurrent responsibility of the Central and the State Governments in the matter. In particular, Article 41 of the Constitution of India directs the State to provide public assistance to its citizens in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want within the limit of its economic capacity and development.

Objective of NSAP

National Social Assistance Programme is a social security and welfare programme to provide support to aged persons, widows, disabled persons and bereaved families on death of primary bread winner, belonging to below poverty line households.

About Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) or National Mission for Financial Inclusion was launched on 28 August 2014 to ensure affordable access to financial services viz. Bank accounts, remittance, credit, insurance and pension.

This scheme was launched to provide basic banking accounts to 7.5 crore unbanked people with RuPay debit card and overdraft facility (after six months).

Thus the scheme provided:

A bank account with no minimum balance; and interests on deposits

Debit cards

Accidental Insurance Cover of Rs. 1 Lakh; life cover of Rs.30000/- payable on death of beneficiary

Overdraft facility up to Rs.5000/- on satisfactory operation of 6 months

Easy transfer of money across India

Transfer of benefits under DBT in these accounts.

Access to pension and insurance products

Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) and Employment and Budget

2018-19

Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) are a major engine of growth and employment in the country.

1. Energizing Small Businesses for New India

Rs 3794 crore to MSME Sector for giving credit support, capital and interest subsidy and innovations

Target to lend Rs 3 lakh crores under MUDRA Yojana in 2018-19. NBFCs - very powerful vehicle for delivering loans under MUDRA.

Allocated Rs 200 crores to support small and cottage industries manufacturing perfumes, essential oils and other associated products (because our ecology supports cultivation of highly specialized medicinal and aromatic plants)

2. Tax deductions

Corporate tax rate reduced to 25% for companies which reported a turnover up to 250 crores in the FY 2016-17.

Reduction will benefit macro, small and medium enterprises which account for 99% of companies filing their tax returns.

3. Defence Production Policy 2018 to promote MSMEs

An industry friendly Defence Production Policy 2018 proposed to promote domestic production by public sector, private sector and MSMEs

4. Skill development and employment opportunities

National Apprenticeship Scheme with stipend support to give training to 50 lakh youth by 2020

Introducing system of fixed term employment for apparel and footwear sector

Setting up of model aspirational skill centres in every district of the country under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra.

Proposed outlay of Rs 7148 crore for the textile sector in 2018-19 to boost employment

Government will contribute 12% of the wages as EPF in all sectors for the next 3 years.

Environment and Budget 2018-19

Air pollution

Special scheme will be introduced to support governments of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi NCT to address air pollution and to subsidize machinery for management of crop residue.

Namami Gange programme

Cleaning the Ganga is work of national importance.

A total of 187 projects have been sanctioned under the Namami Gange programme for infrastructure development, river surface cleaning, rural sanitation and other interventions at a cost of Rs 16,713 crore.

47 projects have been completed and remaining projects are at various stages of execution.

All 4465 Ganga Grams – villages on the bank of river - have been declared open defecation free.

Infrastructure and Budget 2018-19

Our country needs massive investments estimated to be in excess of Rs 50 lakh crore in infrastructure to increase growth of GDP – to connect and integrate the nation with a network of roads, airports, railways, ports and inland waterways and to provide good quality services to our people.

Prime Minister personally reviews the targets and achievements in infrastructure sectors on a regular basis, through online monitoring system called PRAGATI.

Projects worth 9.46 lakh crore have been facilitated and fast tracked, using PRAGATI alone.

URBANIZATION

Smart Cities Mission and the AMRUT

Cities under Smart Cities Mission have started implementing various projects like Smart Command and Control Centre, Smart Roads, Solar Rooftops, Intelligent Transport Systems, Smart Parks.

To preserve and revitalize soul of the heritage cities in India - National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) has been taken up in a major way.

AMRUT programme focuses on providing water supply to all households in 500 cities.

India Infrastructure Finance Corporation Limited (IIFCL) to help finance major infrastructure projects, including investments in educational and health infrastructure.

TOURISM

Government proposes to develop ten prominent tourist sites into Iconic Tourism destinations.

Tourist amenities at 100 Adarsh monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India will be upgraded to enhance visitor experience.

RAILWAYS

Strengthening Railway network and capacity

1. Capex for year 2018-19 pegged at Rs 1, 48,528 crore.

2. 12,000 wagons, 5160 coaches and approx. 700 locomotives to be produced during 2018-19.

3. To redevelop 600 major railway stations.

4. Escalators for all stations with more than 25000 footfalls.

5. WiFi and CCTVs to be provided in all railway stations and trains.

Railways development on track

Allocation of adequate funds under Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh *“Safety First” Policy+ – During the current fiscal year, over 3600kms of track targeted for renewal.

First set of modern train-sets with state-of-the-art amenities and features will be commissioned during 2018-19.

Addition of 90 kms of double line tracks at a cost of over Rs 11,000 crore in Mumbai’s transport system.

150kms of additional suburban network planned at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore.

Work on Eastern and Western dedicated Freight Corridors is in full swing.

Foundation for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, India’s first high speed rail project was laid on September 14, 2017.

ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

Ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana has been approved for providing seamless connectivity of interior and backward areas and borders of the country.

NHAI will consider organizing its road assets into Special Purpose Vehicles and use innovative monetizing structures like Toll, Operate and Transfer (TOT) and Infrastructure Investment Funds (InvITs).

AIRWAYS

Regional connectivity scheme of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) – to connect 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads across the country.

Airport Authority of India (AAI) has 124 airports. Government proposes to expand airport capacity more than five times under a new initiative – NABH Nirman.

DEFENCE SECTOR

To secure India’s defences, government plans to develop infrastructure and connectivity in border areas. (Rohtang tunnel has been completed to provide all weather connectivity to the Ladakh region.)

Government proposes to take up Construction of Zozila Pass tunnel and tunnel under construction of Sela Pass.

NATIONAL POLITY

India’s first ever Highway Capacity Manual released

The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has released India’s first ever Highway Capacity Manual to guide road engineers and policy makers about road expansion. The manual is known as Indo-HCM. It was released by Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi.

Background

The manual has been developed by CSIR–CRRI on basis of an extensive, country-wide study of traffic characteristics on different categories of roads like single, two, multi-lane urban roads, inter-urban highways and expressways and associated intersections on these roads.

The study involved seven academic institutions including IITs Mumbai, Roorkee, and Guwahati, School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi), Indian Institute of Engineering and Science and Technology (Shibpur), Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Institute of Technology (Surat) and Anna University (Chennai).

Indo-HCM

The manual lays down guidelines for when and how to expand or manage different types of roads and their intersections and level of services to be put in place. It is designed to be useful tool for guiding road engineers and policy makers in country.

Analysis

It has been developed based on the unique nature and diversity of traffic on Indian roads. The manual will help in the scientific planning and expansion of road infrastructure in country. This is first time that manual has been developed in India. Other countries like USA, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan have developed their own Highway Capacity Manuals long time back.

World’s First Hyperloop

The Virgin Group has signed an “intent agreement” with Maharashtra to build a hyperloop transportation system between Mumbai and Pune, which aims to reduce the travel time between the two mega cities to 20 minutes from the three hours at present. The first hyperloop route will link central Pune with the megapolis as well as the Navi Mumbai international airport.

What is the Hyperloop?

Hyperloop is the name given to a proposed ground-transport system that could potentially travel faster than a commercial airliner and at a fraction of the price.

The concept is for a system that would carry passengers and freight on board a vehicle travelling at up to 760mph. These fantastically high speeds would be made possible by two key differences to modern trains.

The vehicle would be raised above the track, using either magnetic levitation or a cushion of pressurized air, removing resistance as the wheels turned. Secondly, the vehicle would travel inside a tube where most of the air had been pumped out, massively reducing the speed lost to friction.

Analysis:

Conventional means of transportation (road, water, air, and rail) tend to be some mix of expensive, slow, and environmentally harmful. Road travel is particularly problematic, given carbon emissions and the fluctuating price of oil. As the environmental dangers of energy consumption continue to worsen, mass transit will be crucial in the years to come.

Rail travel is relatively energy efficient and offers the most environmentally friendly option, but is too slow and expensive to be massively adopted. At distances less than 900 miles, supersonic travel is unfeasible, as most of the journey would be spent ascending and descending (the slowest parts of a flight.) Given these issues, the Hyperloop aims to make a cost-effective, high speed transportation system for use at moderate distances.

The Hyperloop tubes would have solar panels installed on the roof, allowing for a clean and self-powering system.

There are of course some drawbacks in this system. Most notably, moving through a tube at such high speeds precludes large turns or changes in elevation. As a result, the system is optimal for straightforward trips across relatively level terrain.

Constructing a tube hundreds of kilometers long would be an engineering marvel in of itself. However, introducing a tube hundreds of kilometers long that operates at a near perfect vacuum which can support the force of capsule weighing thousands of kilograms as it travels hundreds of kilometers an hour is nothing short of sci-fi fantasy.

Small scale experiments reveal the fundamentals of the idea are sound. Although, in the real world, there are too many factors that cannot be accounted for with a small scale design. In the real world, there are tens of thousands of kilograms of atmospheric pressure which threatens to crush any vacuum chamber.

There is also the problem with thermal expansion which threatens to buckle any large structure without proper thermal expansion capabilities. The Hyperloop would also be stupendously expensive. There are many unavoidable problems facing the Hyperloop that threaten the structural integrity, and every human life on board. The problems can be addressed, but at a great cost.

Cauvery water dispute verdict

The Supreme Court cut Tamil Nadu’s quota of Cauvery water by 14.75 tmcft and increased Karnataka’s share to meet Bengaluru’s drinking water needs.

Tamil Nadu will get 404.25 tmcft, which will be 14.75 tmcft less than what was allotted by the tribunal in 2007.

The 2007 tribunal award of 30 tmcft to Kerala and 7 tmcft water to Puducherry will remain unchanged, said the Supreme Court in its verdict.

Background

Historically, Tamil Nadu used about 602 TMC of the total yield of the Cauvery river. As a result, only about 138 TMC was available for Karnataka until the turn of the 20th century.

In 1924, Tamil Nadu built the Mettur dam, and the two states signed an agreement effective for 50 years.

The pact allowed Tamil Nadu to expand its agricultural area by 11 lakh acres from the existing 16 lakh acres. Karnataka was authorised to increase its irrigation area from 3 lakh acres to 10 lakh acres.

In 1974, when the accord lapsed, Karnataka claimed that the agreement restricted its ability to develop farming activities along the Cauvery basin.

To make up lost ground, it started building reservoirs. This led to a dispute between the two states.

How did the dispute grow?

On the insistence of Tamil Nadu, the CWDT was formed in 1990 by the Union government. The Tribunal passed its order on February 5, 2007. Of the 740 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water available for utilisation, 419 TMC was awarded to Tamil Nadu, 270 TMC to Karnataka, 30 TMC to Kerala and seven TMC to Puducherry. The remaining 14 TMC was reserved for environmental protection.

The order also stated that Karnataka must release 192 TMC of water in normal monsoon years (June to May) at the rate of 10 TMC in June, 34 TMC in July, 50 TMC in August, 40 TMC in September, 22 TMC in October, 15 TMC in November, 8 TMC in December, 3 TMC in January and 2.5 TMC each month from February to May to Biligundlu water station in Tamil Nadu.

In 1990-91, when the monsoon rainfall in southern Karnataka was 35 per cent below normal, a violent demonstration rocked the state, killing 18 people, who were protesting against an interim order of the CWDT to release water to Tamil Nadu.

INTETRNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India, Oman sign 8 MoUs including in defence, health and tourism sectors

India and Oman have signed eight Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) in different areas including defence, health and tourism. The MoUs were inked during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden visit to Oman.

They were signed after delegation-level talks between PM Modi and Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said in Muscat. They held wide-ranging discussions on measures to strengthen co-operation in trade and investment, energy, defence, security, food security and regional issues. Oman was last leg PM Modi’s visit to three west Asian countries viz. Palestine, UAE and Oman

List of Agreements/MoUs signed

Agreement on Legal and Judicial Cooperation in Civil and Commercial matter

Agreement on mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, special, service and official passports

MoU on Cooperation in the field of health

MoU on Cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space

MoU on Cooperation between Foreign Service Institute, Ministry of External Affairs, India and Oman Diplomatic Institute

MoU on Academic and Scholarly cooperation sectors between National Defence College Sultanate of Oman and the Institute for Defence Studies and the Analyses

MoU in the field of Tourism cooperation between India and Oman

Annexure to the MoU on Military Cooperation

Analysis:

Oman is a strategic partner for India in the Gulf. It accords a high priority to its ties with India. Both countries across Arabian Sea are linked by geography, history and culture. They enjoy warm and cordial relations and have had trade and people-to-people ties for several millennia

Expatriate community: Oman is home to a large Indian expatriate community. India is major destination for Omani students pursuing higher studies and also medical tourists. Trade: It is India’s important trading partner. In 2010, bilateral trade between India and Oman was $4.5 billion. Oman was second largest

destination of India’s non-oil exports and its fourth largest source for imports. Indian and Omani firms have undertaken joint ventures in wide range of sectors including fertilisers, pharmaceuticals, energy and engineering.

Defence co-operation: Oman is first Gulf nation to have formalised defence relations with India. Both countries conducted joint military exercises in 2006 and subsequently signed defence agreement. Indian Navy has berthing rights in Oman, and has been utilising Oman’s ports as bases for conducting anti-piracy operations in Gulf of Aden.

6th World Government Summit held in Dubai

The sixth edition of World Government Summit (WGS) 2018 was held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from February 11 to 13, 2018. India was guest country at this year’s event and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had delivered the inaugural speech on day one.

About World Government Summit (WGS)

WGS is global platform dedicated to shaping future of government worldwide. It brings together leaders in government for global dialogue about governmental process and policies with focus on issues of futurism, technology and innovation etc.

The first WGS was held in Dubai in 2013 and since then it is held annually.

The Summit sets agenda for next generation of governments with focus on how they can harness innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity.

It functions as thought leadership platform and networking hub for policymakers, experts, and pioneers in human development.

The Summit is considered as gateway to future as it functions as stage for analysis of future trends, issues, and opportunities facing humanity.

It is also serves an arena to showcase innovations, best practice, and smart solutions to inspire creativity to tackle these future challenges.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Science and Technology for brighter future- Budget 2018-19

In budget it was proposed a set of measures to aimed to improve internet access in India and grow the digital economy.

Among them is the setting up of a national programme to deploy high-speed internet access to villages and created an indigenous test bed for 5G technology.

Bharat Net: The completion of Phase 1 of Bharat Net is a big step in digital India’s journey and it will now scale it up by providing 5 lakh Wi-Fi hotspots in rural areas to provide easy internet access to 5 crore Indians. For this, the government has allocated Rs 10,000 crore under telecom infrastructure.

The government will work towards connecting another 150,000 villages under Bharat Net initiative. Note that Bharat Net was rebranded from its initial name National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) in April 2016.

5G mobile internet: The department of telecommunications (DoT) will explore the development of 5G internet technology in India and for this it will set up a test bed at IIT Chennai. The plan for setting up a 5G test bed at

IIT Madras was first announced in December 2017 and it is expected to be operational within the next six months.

Digital India: It was announced the allocation of Rs 3073 crores for the Digital India program. The government plans to invest in research, training and skilling in robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data analysis, quantum communication and internet of things. Department of Science & Technology will launch a Mission on Cyber-Physical Systems to support the establishment of centres of excellence.

Budget allocation for Department of Science and Technology during last 5 years was Rs.19764 cr, which is a whopping 90% increase over the preceding 5 years (2009-10 to 2013-14). Similarly, there was an increase of 65% for Department of Biotechnology; almost 43% increase for Council of Scientific and Industrial Research; and 26% increase for Ministry of Earth Sciences during the last 5 years. The upward trend continued for budget allocation for 2018-19.

During 2018-19 itself, 15 new Biotechnology Incubators and 15-20 new Technology Business Incubators will be established to incubate start-ups. Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) alone would support 3000 additional start-ups next year.

Analysis

Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences cover a very large canvas of R&D from deep oceans to mysteries of universe. The range personnel in these Ministries/ Departments encompasses grassroots innovators to top class of scientists. Their activities impact right from a farmer in a remote corner of the country to sophisticated industries such as aerospace.

To cater to such a large audience, it is necessary that adequate investments are made in scientific research, innovation and technology development. Present Government has consciously provided higher allocations for Science, Technology and Innovation promotion.

During the last 3-4 years our activities of Ministries of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences have been realigned and now there is a judicious mix of fundamental science and application science. This year’s budget announcement on Mission for Cyber-Physical-Systems is one such example of application science. Mission projects on Super- computing; Aroma; Sickle cell anemia; and Biopharma are some illustrative examples of application and solution science initiatives. The list of such initiatives is very large.

Innovation and start-up activities have received a big support during this period. Business incubation facilities have almost been doubled.

CSIR, amongst 100 top organisations in the world, spearheads the industry relevant research. The R&D efforts of CSIR are aligned to the needs of the domestic industry and the social needs of the nation. They cater to the initiatives such as Make in India; Swachch Bharat; Clean Ganga; Swastha Bharat; Smart Cities; Smart Villages; Clean, efficient, affordable and renewable energy technology solutions; and Innovate in India etc. in a significant way.

Any S&T intervention which facilitates farmers and farming activities to improve crop productivity makes a huge impact on rural economy. Agro meteorological advisories to farmers is one such mechanism which benefits them in their day to day farming operations. During 2018-19, these advisories will reach 50 million farmers from the present 24 million. ‘Biotech Kisan’ is another such initiative which is assisting farmers in 15 agro-climatic zones. Similarly, thousands of farmers are getting benefitted under Aroma Mission for cultivation of aromatic plants.

Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay Vigyan Gram Sankul Pariyojana for integrated development of cluster of villages in Uttarakhand through S&T interventions utilising local resources and local skills to provide opportunities of better livelihood at the local level is another example of a project targeted to benefit the common man.

Development of clean energy options and providing water related solutions and demonstration and deployment of other successful technology solutions will be pursued vigorously during the next financial year.

The way the present Government has made investments in Science and Technology endeavours and the new thrust given to several new initiatives which directly benefit the common man by the Ministry of S&T and Earth Sciences would translate such measures into prosperity and general welfare of the masses.

QUICK FACTS

World Government Summit 2018 held in: Dubai

World Radio Day is observed on : 13 February

India’s first online radio station : Radio Umang

Jnanpith Award is conferred to: Krishna Sobti

In EIU Democracy Index, Rank of India is: 42