General Studies-III
Topic- Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
EChO Network
Context
EChO Network launched to train educators and students in interdisciplinary manner.
About
- EChO Network is a national program to provide a template for cross-disciplinary leadership in India.
- It focused on increasing research, knowledge, and awareness of Indian ecology and the environment.
Objective
The Network aims to identify gaps in knowledge regarding selected topics in human and environmental ecosystems and then train postdoctoral leaders in research and outreach on these topics.
Why it is needed?
- India faces unprecedented threats to its human environmental and ecosystems, solving which requires a confluence of India’s strong technological expertise and knowledge of the natural world itself.
- EChO Network would develop a national network to catalyse a new generation of Indians
- Those can synthesize interdisciplinary concepts and tackle real-world problems in medicine, agriculture, ecology, and technology.
- EChO Network establishes a new platform to change how science is embedded in our modern society.
- It is a unique network anywhere in the world.
What it will do?
- The network will have interactive sessions with citizens, industry, academia, and the government.
- The Network will identify gaps in knowledge regarding selected topics in human and environmental ecosystems.
- The program will then train postdoctoral leaders in research and outreach on these topics.
- While also incorporating current public and private efforts into a national network.
- It would establish nation-wide awareness in these issues through public discourse and education for citizens, industry, and government with information exchange at all educational levels.
- Over time EChO Network intends to create an international distributed institute.
- The Institute will comprise of individuals housed within industry, government, private, and academic sectors, combining their expertise and resources collectively to tackle large scale problems.
General Studies- II
Topic- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR)
Context
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated and is implementing a National Policy to Tackle Drug Abuse.
About
The Government has formulated and is implementing a National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) for 2018-2025.
Aim
The Plan aims at reduction of adverse consequences of drug abuse through a multi-pronged strategy.
It will employ a multi-pronged strategy involving education, de-addiction and rehabilitation of affected individuals and their families to address the issue.
Key features of NAPDDR
- It will focus on preventive education, awareness generation, counselling, treatment and rehabilitation of drug-dependent people.
- Provide training and focus on capacity-building of service providers through the collaborative efforts of the Centre, state and NGOs.
- Coordination with implementing agencies for controlling the sale of sedatives, painkillers and muscle relaxant drugs.
- Holding awareness generation programmes and checking online sale of drugs by stringent monitoring by the cyber cell are proposed under the Action Plan.
- The Action Plan calls for persuading principals, directors, vice chancellors of educational institutions to ensure that no drugs are sold within/nearby the campus.
How will it work?
The activities under the NAPDDR, inter-alia, include:
- Awareness generation programmes in schools/colleges/Universities, workshops/seminars/ with parents.
- Community based peer led interactions intervention programmes for vulnerable adolescent and youth in the community.
- Provisioning of treatment facilities.
- Capacity building of service providers.
Why it is needed?
- Drug trafficking and abuse also pose serious threat to our societies.
- India is located between two largest Opium producing regions of the world.
- The most common drugs of abuse are ‘ganja’, ‘hashish’, ‘opium’ and ‘heroin’.
- The abuse of pharmaceutical preparations like ‘buprenorphine’, codeine based cough syrups and painkillers like ‘proxivon’ has also assumed serious proportions.
- In certain regions of the country, drug abuse has already become a severe social-economic problem affecting the vulnerable age groups.
- Estimates suggest that there are 40 lakh drug addicts in the country.
For Prelims
INDIAN PHARMACOPOEIA (IP)
Highlights
- The Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) has been recognised formally by the Ministry of Public Health of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
- It will also be used based on the requirement as reputable pharmacopoeia in the laboratory of medicines and health products quality.
- Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) is an officially recognized book of standards as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules 1945 thereunder.
- The IP specifies the standards of drugs manufactured and marketed in India in terms of their identity, purity and strength.
OPERATION ‘DOLPHIN’S NOSE’
Highlights
- Operation Dolphin’s Nose’ was conducted by the Andhra Pradesh State, Naval and Central intelligence agencies.
- It was a joint operation to crackdown on Espionage racket.
- The importance of the Eastern Naval Command (HQ at Vishakapatnam, AP) has grown with the presence of the Ship Building Centre, which builds the Arihant-class nuclear submarines.
- The NAOB and the Arihant Project are listed under the “top-secret” strategic weapons projects and are directly under the control of the Prime Minister’s Office.
