PIB – August 1 , 2019


GS-2 Paper

Topic covered- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

National Digital Health Blueprint

Context

The Health Ministry is organising a stakeholder consultation under the chairpersonship of Secretary (HFW) for seeking comments/suggestions on the National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB) report.

About

  • National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB) is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi vision to reach each individual of India with services at their doorstep under Digital India program.
  • There is a need to ensure convergence across these IT systems to monitor and provide health services in a robust and efficient manner.
  • Ministry of Health has accordingly initiated efforts in the direction of a comprehensive, nationwide integrated e-Health system under National Digital Health Blueprint
  • IT enabled schemes in health sector like Ayushman Bharat Yojana, Reproductive Child Healthcare, NIKSHAY etc. are benefitting the patients at right time with right service delivery.
  • The digital health interventions are accelerating this transformation and have a huge potential for supporting Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Vision

  • The vision of NDHB is to create a National Digital Health Eco-system.
  • Which can support Universal Health Coverage in an efficient, accessible, inclusive, affordable, timely and safe manner, through provision of a wide-range of data, information and infrastructure services.
  • It will be leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems, and ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health-related personal information.

Key recommendations

National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), is recommended to be established as a purely government organization.

It will have complete functional autonomy on the lines of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and Goods and Services Network GSTN.

Objectives

  • The Objectives of NDHB are aligned to the Vision of National Health Policy 2017 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to the health sector.
  • These are-
  • Establishing and managing the core digital health data and the infrastructure required for its seamless exchange.
  • Creating a system of Personal Health Records, as par international standards, and easily accessible to the citizens and to the service providers.
  • Promoting the adoption of open standards by all the actors in the National Digital Health Ecosystem (NDHE),
  • The principles of cooperative federalism while working with the States and Union Territories for the realization of the Vision will be followed.
  • Promoting Health Data Analytics and Medical Research.
  • Ensuring Quality of Healthcare.
  • Leveraging the Information Systems already existing in the health sector.

Kay features of the Blueprint

  • The Blueprint handles the requirements of Unique identification of Persons, Facilities, Diseases and Devices through 2 Building Blocks, namely, Personal Health Identifier (PHI), and Health Master Directories & Registries.
  • Aadhaar-based Identification/ Authentication and through other specified types of identifiers can be used for identication.
  • Access and delivery to be implemented by a combination of “India Health Portal”, Mobile (MyHealth App) and Call Centres and by other Social Media Platforms.
  • The Blueprint achieves the complex and mandatory requirements of maintaining the confidentiality, security, and privacy of health records.
  • The Blueprint emphasizes the ‘Mobile First’ principle for the majority of stakeholder-facing services.

Way Ahead

  • There is a need is to create an ecosystem which can integrate existing health information systems and can also show a clear path for upcoming programmes for ensuring interoperability of Electronic Health Record (EHR) or electronic medical record.
  • Government sought feedback and inputs from all stakeholders to make this “digital revolution” more inclusive and collaborative.
  • It will strengthen Digital India and accelerate efforts towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

GS- 2 Paper

Topic covered- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

KABIL

Context

KABIL Set up to Ensure Supply of Critical Minerals

About

  • A joint venture company namely Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) is to be set up with the participation of three Central Public Sector Enterprises.
  • Central Public Sector Enterprises included are-
  1. National Aluminium Company Ltd.(NALCO)
  2. Hindustan Copper Ltd.(HCL)
  3. Mineral Exploration Company Ltd. (MECL). The Minister of Coal
  • The equity participation between NALCO, HCL and MECL is in the ratio of 40:30:30

Objectives

  • Objective of constituting KABIL is to ensure a consistent supply of critical and strategic minerals to Indian domestic market.
  • While KABIL would ensure mineral security of the Nation, it would also help in realizing the overall objective of import substitution.

Function

  • The KABIL would carry out identification, acquisition, exploration, development, mining and processing of strategic minerals overseas for commercial use and meeting country’s requirement of these minerals.
  • The sourcing of these minerals or metals is to done by creating trading opportunities, G2G collaborations with the producing countries or strategic acquisitions or investments in the exploration and mining assets of these minerals in the source countries.

Significance

  • The new company will help in building partnerships with other mineral rich countries like Australia and those in Africa and South America, where Indian expertise in exploration and mineral processing will be mutually beneficial bringing about new economic opportunities.

GS- 1 Paper

Topics covered Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.

Commission to Examine Sub Categorization of other Backward Classes

Context

The Union Cabinet approved the extension of the term of the commission constituted under Article 340 of the constitution to examine the issue of Sub-categorization within other Backward Classes in the Central List by six months.

About

  • Constitution guarantee for equality before the law has been given by Article 14. It means un-equals cannot be treated equally.
  • Therefore, Measures are required to be taken for the upliftment of un-equals to bring them on par with the advanced classes.
  • With the intention to ensure social justice in an efficient manner, approval for creation of a Commission to examine the issue of sub-categorization of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was given by the Union government.
  • The decision to appoint the commission follows the Cabinet decision to examine the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among caste and communities included in the broad list of OBCs.

Terms of reference

  • The Government has constituted a Commission under article 340, on 2nd October, 2017, to examine the issues of the sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes with the following terms of reference:
  1. To examine the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among the castes or communities included in the broad category of Other Backward Classes with reference to such classes included in the Central List;
  2. To work out the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters in a scientific approach for sub-categorisation within such Other Backward Classes; and
  3. To take up the exercise of identifying the respective castes or communities or sub-castes or synonyms in the Central List of Other Backward Classes and classifying them into their respective sub-categories.

OBC reservations at present

  • Now, there is a single Central OBC list, with entries from each State.
  • People belonging to all of these castes can seek reservation from within the single 27% OBC reservation pie for Central government jobs and Central educational institutions.
  • Presently, ten states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Jammu, have sub-categorised OBCs.
  • They used varying criteria, including the ascribed status such as denotified, nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes, the religion of a community, caste status before conversion to Christianity or Islam, and perceived status socially or traditional occupation.
  • OBC reservation became a reality after the implementation of the Mandal Commission report, which categorised many castes as constituting backward classes and deserving of quotas.
  • New castes have been added to the list over the years.

Significance

  • The Government’s efforts are to achieve greater social justice and inclusion for all, and specifically members of the Other Backward Classes.
  • The Union government is seeking to ensure a more equitable distribution of reservation benefits by further differentiating caste groups coming under backward classes on the basis of their levels of social and economic backwardness.

 

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