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Daily PIB/ 04 June
General Studies- III
Topic- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
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SDG India Index 2020–21
Context:
The third edition of the SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020–21 was released by NITI Aayog.
What is SDG India Index?
The Index for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) evaluates progress of states and union territories on social, economic and environmental parameters.
- First time, it was launched in 2018.
- The index comprehensively documenting and ranking the progress made by States and Union Territories towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ranking:
The SDG India Index computes goal-wise scores on the 16 SDGs for each State and Union Territory.
- Overall State and UT scores are generated from goal-wise scores to measure aggregate performance of the sub-national unit based on its performance across the 16 SDGs.
- These scores range between 0–100, and if a State/UT achieves a score of 100, it signifies it has achieved the 2030 targets.
- The higher the score of a State/UT, the greater the distance to target achieved.
States and Union Territories are classified as below based on their SDG India Index score:
- Aspirant: 0–49
- Performer: 50–64
- Front-Runner: 65–99
- Achiever: 100
SDG India Index 2020–21:
The SDG India Index 2020–21 is more robust than the previous editions on account of wider coverage of targets and indicators with greater alignment with the NIF.
- It is developed in collaboration with the United Nations in India, and tracks progress of all States and UTs on 115 indicators that are aligned to MoSPI’s National Indicator Framework (NIF).
- These 115 indicators were selected after multiple consultations with Union Ministries.
- The 115 indicators incorporate16 out of 17 SDGs, with a qualitative assessment on Goal 17, and cover 70 SDG targets.
Weightage:
SDG India Index 2020–21 gives greater weightage to social equality indicators such as the percentage of women and SC/ST representatives in State legislatures and the panchayati raj institutions, and the levels of crime against SC/ST communities.
Overall Results and Findings:
- India saw significant improvement in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to clean energy, urban development and health in 2020.
- However, there has been a major decline in the areas of industry, innovation and infrastructure as well as decent work and economic growth.
- Kerala retained its position at the top of the rankings in the third edition of the index, with a score of 75.
- It was followed by Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh, both scoring 72.
- At the other end of the scale, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Assam were the worst performing States.
However, all States showed some improvement from last year’s scores, with Mizoram and Haryana seeing the biggest gains.
Significance:
The SDGs that do deal directly with wages and industrial growth better reflect the fact that India’s economy has taken a beating over the last year.
- In March, a UN assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the SDGs said the region India is part of may see rising inequality due to the pandemic.
- The NITI Aayog Index shows some improvement in the SDG on inequality, but a look at the indicators used to assess this goal shows that the think tank has changed the goalposts.
General Studies- II
Topic-Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
PMGKAY
Context:
55 crore beneficiaries in May and about 2.6 crore beneficiaries in June received the free food grains under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY).
About PMGKAY
During the ongoing crisis owing to Covid-19 Pandemic, Union Government announced Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) providing free food grains to the affected population.
- Its nodal Ministry is the Ministry of Finance.
- It was initially announced for a three month period (April, May and June 2020), covering 80 crore ration cardholders. Later it was extended till November 2020.
- However in April 2021, the government had announced its decision to restart the scheme as PMGKAY-III.
The salient features of the scheme are:
- 80 crore individuals, i.e, roughly two-thirds of India’s population would be covered under this scheme.
- Insurance cover of Rs 50 Lakh per health worker fighting COVID-19 to be provided under Insurance Scheme.
- 80 crore poor people will to get 5 kg wheat or rice and 1 kg of preferred pulses for free every month for the next three months.
- 20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders to get Rs 500 per month for next three months.
- Increase in MNREGA wage to Rs 202 a day from Rs 182 to benefit 13.62 crore families.
- Government to front-load Rs 2,000 paid to farmers in first week of April under existing PM Kisan Yojana to benefit 8.7 crore farmers.
Expenditure:
Government of India will bear all expenditure of over Rs. 26,000 crore on account of food subsidy and Central assistance to states/UTs on account of intra-state transportation etc.
Challenge:
- A key issue is that the beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act are based on the last census (2011).
- The number of food-insecure people has increased since then and they remain uncovered.
General Studies- III
Topic-Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness Campaign (KAPILA)
Context:
So far, total 46,556 users have been registered for KAPILA: Education Ministry
What is it?
The Government has launched a campaign namely Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness Campaign (KAPILA) for Intellectual Property Literacy and creating patent awareness on 15th October, 2020.
- It was marked as the ‘National Innovation Day’ and the 89th birth anniversary of former President and Scientist, Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
- Under this campaign, students pursuing education in higher educational institutions will get information about the correct system of application to patent inventions and will be made aware of their rights.
Objectives:
- The objectives of the scheme include creating awareness regarding Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
- It will be enabling of IP protection of inventions originating from faculty and students of HEIs, development of Credit Course on IPR, training program on IPR for faculty and students of HEIs and sensitization and development of vibrant IP filing system.
Highlights:
- The Institution Innovation Council (IIC) was established by the Ministry of Education in 2018 and IICs have been established in about 1700 higher educational institutions.
- The aim is to establish IICs in 5000 higher educational institutions under IIC 3.0.
- Recognition of international standards of copyright protection and incentives for intellectual property have helped India jump eight places in 2019 to 36th position on the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index, the highest gain for any country this year.
Need for:
For India to become a $5 trillion economy, it is critical to have more awareness of protecting intellectual property.
Way forward:
India has been aggressively pursuing excellence in the area of IP and trademark. Research students and scientists of India engaged in research and development must apply to preserve and safeguard their inventions.
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Hisaab Ki Kitaab
Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs launches Investor Education & Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA)’s 6 modules of short films titled “Hisab Ki Kitaab”.
- “Hisaab ki kitab” is a series of 6 short films, developed by CSC eGov as a part of their training tool.
- There are 6 short films/ modules of 5 minutes duration each.
- The various modules highlights the importance of budget, saving, importance of Insurance schemes, various social security schemes of the government etc.
Validity period of Teachers Eligibility Test (TET)
Government has decided to extend the validity period of Teachers Eligibility Test qualifying certificate from 7 years to lifetime with retrospective effect from 2011.
- The respective State Govts. /UTs will take necessary action to revalidate/issue fresh TET certificates to those candidates whose period of 7 years has already elapsed.
Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) is one of the essential qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in schools.
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