GS- 2 Paper
Topic covered- Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Defence Acquisition Council
Context
To give a boost to indigenisation, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), accorded approval for procurement of indigenous Software Defined Radio (SDRTactical) and Next Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (Long Range) for the Indian Navy.
What is the Software Defined Radio (SDR Tactical)?
- The SDR is a complex and state of art communication system.
- It has been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO, BEL and Weapons Electronics System Engineering Establishment (WESEE).
- It would enable information sharing, collaboration and situational awareness through high-speed data and secure voice communication with anti-jamming capability.
- Software-defined radio (SDR) is a radio communication system where components that have been typically implemented in hardware (e.g. mixers, filters, amplifiers, modulators/demodulators, detectors, etc.) are instead implemented by means of software on a personal computer or embedded system.
What is the Next Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (Long Range)?
- Next Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (NGMMCB, LongRange) would be fitted with supersonic BrahMos surface-to-surface cruise missiles and would be deployed along the coast.
- The NGMMCB has been developed and manufactured in India by Indo-Russia Joint Venture Company, M/s BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.
Significance
- Both these indigenously developed equipment are of the latest generation and would give a fillip to the Make-in-India initiatives of the Government.
- Continuing its focus on ‘Ease of business’ in the defence acquisition, the DAC also approved amendments to the Defence Procurement Procedure 2016.
- The amendments are designed to simplify processes under the ‘Make’ category as well as ‘Offsets’.
About Defence Acquisition Council
Defence Acquistion Council was constituted for ‘Reforming the National Security System’ in Oct 2001.
An overarching structure, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) under the Defence Minister was constituted for overall guidance of the defence procurement planning process.
The composition of the DAC is as follows-
Chairman- Defence Minister
Members-
- Minister of State for Defence
- Chief of Army Staff
- Chief of Naval Staff
- Chief of Air Staff
- Defence Secretary
- Secretary Defence Production
- Chief of Integrated Staff Committees HQ IDS
- Director General (Acquisition)
- Member Secretary– Dy. Chief of Integrated Defence Staff
Objectives of DAC
The objective of the Defence Acquisition Council is to ensure expeditious procurement of the approved requirements of the Armed Forces in terms of capabilities sought and time frame prescribed by optimally utilizing the allocated budgetary resources.
Functions of DAC
The functions of the DAC include-
- In principle approval of 15 Years Long Terms Integrated Perspective Plan for Defence Forces
- Accord of Acceptance of Necessity to acquisition proposals;
- Categorization of the acquisition proposals relating to ‘Buy’, ‘Buy & Make’ and ‘Make’;
- Issues relating to Single vendor clearance;
- Decision regarding ‘offset’ provisions in respect of acquisition proposals above Rs. 300 crores;
- Decisions regarding Transfer of Technology under ‘Buy & Make’ category of acquisition proposals;
- Field Trial evaluation.
GS- 2 Paper
Topic covered- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Samagra Shiksha-Jal Suraksha
Context
Union HRD Minister to launch ‘Samagra Shiksha-Jal Suraksha’ Drive to create awareness about water conservation among all school students in the country.
About
- Union HRD Minister launched ‘Samagra Shiksha-Jal Suraksha’ drive to create awareness about Water Conservation among all school students in the country.
- Inspired by Prime Minister’s impetus to Jal Sanchay, Government of India has launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA).
- It is a time bound campaign with a mission mode approach.
- This concept of water conservation is essential for students so that they can understand the importance of water and how it is shaping their lives meaningfully, thereby enabling them to participate in water conservation activities in their day to day lives.
- The Department of School Education & Literacy, MHRD has launched the ‘Samagra Shiksha-Jal Suraksha’ drive
- It is to promote water conservation activities for School Students, so that they can become competent, conscientious and committed water citizens of our nation.
Major Objectives
- To educate students learn about conservation of water
- To sensitize Students about the impact of scarcity of water
- To empower Students to learn to protect the natural sources of water
- To help every Student to save at least one litre of water per day
- To encourage Students towards judicious use and minimum wastage of water at home and school level.
Target
- One Student – One Day – Save One Litre Water
- One Student – One Year – Save 365 Litres Water
- One Student – 10 Years – Save 3650 Litres Water
Jal Shakti Abhiyan
- The Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) is a time-bound, mission-mode water conservation campaign.
- The JSA aims at making water conservation a Jan Andolan through asset creation and extensive communication.
- Jal Shakti Abhiyan is a collaborative effort of various Ministries of the Government of India and State Governments, being coordinated by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
- Under the campaign, teams of officers from the central government will visit and work with district administration in water stressed blocks, to ensure five important water conservation interventions.
- These will be water conservation and rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks, reuse, bore well recharge structures, watershed development and intensive afforestation.
For Prelims-
Bharat Ratna Awards
Context
President of India Presented Bharat Ratna Awards.
Award in 2019
The Bharat Ratna Awards2019 has been given to-
- Shri Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumously),
- Dr Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika (posthumously),
- Shri Pranab Mukherjee.
About Bharat Ratna Award
- Bharat Ratna Award is the highest civilian award of the country.
- It is conferred for exceptional Service to the nation in various fields such as Science arts, literature and in recognition of public service of the highest order.
- The government of India expanded the conditions to comprise “any field of human endeavor” in 2011.
- Recently Government of India has altered guidelines for eligibility of persons from sports field for the Bharat Ratna.
- There is no written provision that Bharat Ratna should be awarded to Indian citizens only.
- The award can be granted posthumously.
- The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President.
- The number of yearly awards is constrained to a maximum of three in a specific year.
History of the Award
- The award was established by formal President of India Rajendra Prasad on 2nd January 1954.
- The concept of awarding this award posthumously was not there in the original statute declared in January 1954.
- Provision to award posthumously was finally added in January 1966 statute of this prestigious award.
- First Bharat Ratna was awarded to Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Sir C.V. Raman, and Chakravarti Rajagopalachari in 1954.
- The medallion for Bharat Ratna Award is cast in Bronze.
- The medallion is designed like the leaf of pipal tree with sunburst in the center and Bharat Ratna is engraved underneath it.
- On the backside, Indian emblem of India is embossed and Satyameva Jayate is inscribed in Devanagari script.
- The award does not carry any monetary endowment.
Army International Scout Masters Competition 2019
Context
Indian Army Team Stands First in Stage – 1 of Army International Scout Masters Competition 2019.
About
- The fifth edition of “Army Scout Masters Competition” is being held in India in Aug 2019.
- The competition will be held at Jaisalmer, a tourist city in the desert region of Rajasthan.
- The competition is designed to promote co-operation, collaboration and team spirit among the contestants and facilitate sharing of best practices, technology and hardware.
- The five stages of the competition will test the marksmanship, navigation skills, endurance and teamwork amongst the teams under an international panel of judges, experts and arbiters.
- The event will be conducted under Indian Army and will be organised by Indian Army’s ‘Konark Corps’.
- There are twenty-seven representatives from various countries. Besides India, namely Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and China will be participating.
Aim of the competition
- Enhance international Military to Military and technical co-operation between the States participating in the Scout Masters Competition.
- Promote prestige of Military service in general and Scouts in particular and assist proliferation of best practices in field training amongst the participant states.
- Develop competitiveness amongst scouts participating in the competition.
- Display combat capabilities and characteristic of modern type of weapons, military equipment and technical means of reconnaissance.
About International Army Games
- The International Army Games was started in 2015.
- Russia has been holding past four consecutive years International scout competitions. These were taking place at Koltsovo training ground in Novosibirsk Region.
- It is conducted under established format of competition amongst Scouts. About 30 countries participate in competition.
- India has been participating in Army Games since its inception.
- The participating army battle out in dozens of competitions spread over a fortnight (about two weeks) to prove which has best military in the world.
- Participant countries send in their troops in sports version of warfare on land, air, and sea. It includes tank biathlon and fighter planes maneuvering contest.
