Contents
- Nominations for the Gandhi Peace Prize 2020
- Atal Pension Yojana (APY) Completes 5 years
- Indo-Bangladesh “Virtual Conference” by ASSOCHAM
- 177 new mandis integrated with the e-NAM
- KVIC Potters using innovative methods
- BiPAP Non-Invasive Ventilator “SwasthVayu”
NOMINATIONS FOR THE GANDHI PEACE PRIZE 2020
Focus: GS-I Art and Culture, Prelims
Why in news?
The Ministry of Culture invites nominations for awarding Gandhi Peace Prize and for the year 2020, last date for receiving the nominations been extended.
Gandhi Peace Prize
- The International Gandhi Peace Prize, named after Mahatma Gandhi, is awarded annually by the Government of India.
- Government of India launched the International Gandhi Peace Prize in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
- This award is given to individuals and institutions for their contributions towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods.
The jury that decides the awardee each year consists of:
- The Prime Minister of India,
- The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha,
- The Chief Justice of India,
- Speaker of the Lok Sabha
- One other eminent person.
- If it is considered that none of the proposals merit recognition, the jury is free to withhold the award for that year; the award was withheld in the years from 2006 to 2012 inclusive.
- Julius K Nyerere, former Tanzanian President, was the first recipient of the award in 1995.
Gandhi Peace Prize Winners to know about
| Year | Recipient | Decription |
| 1998 | Ramakrishna Mission | Founded by Swami Vivekananda for promoting social welfare, tolerance, and non-violence among disadvantaged groups. |
| 1999 | Baba Amte | Social worker, known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of poor people suffering from leprosy. |
| 2000 | Nelson Mandela | South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. |
| 2001 | John Hume | Northern Irish Politician and major figure in the Northern Ireland peace process. |
| 2005 | Desmond Tutu | South African cleric and social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. |
| 2014 | ISRO | Space agency of the Indian Govt. Objective is to advance space technology and deliver the applications of it. |
| 2016 | Sulabh International | A social service organization that works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education. |
| 2016 | Akshaya Patra Foundation | A non-profit organisation in India that runs school lunch programme across India. |
| 2017 | Ekal Abhiyan Trust | Contribution in providing Education for Rural and Tribal Children in remote areas pan India, Rural Empowerment, Gender and Social Equality. |
| 2018 | Yōhei Sasakawa | Contribution in Leprosy Eradication in India and across the world. |
ATAL PENSION YOJANA (APY) COMPLETES 5 YEARS
Focus: GS-II Social Justice, Prelims
Why in news?
The flagship social security scheme of Government of India ‘Atal Pension Yojana’ (APY) has completed five years of successful implementation.
Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
- APY was launched on 9th May 2015 with an objective of delivering old age income security, particularly to the workers in the unorganised sector.
- APY envisages Government providing guarantee of minimum pension after 60 years of age.
- The scheme even after garnering 2.23 crores workers under the ambit of pension, still remains unequivocally relevant for addressing the challenges of rapidly increasing aging population of India.
- The scheme has been implemented comprehensively across the country covering all states and Union Territories with male to female subscription ratio of 57:43.
- APY can be subscribed by Any Indian citizen in the age group of 18-40 years having a bank account and its uniqueness is attributable to three distinctive benefits.
- It provides a minimum guaranteed pension ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 on attaining 60 years of age.
- The amount of pension is guaranteed for lifetime to spouse on death of the subscriber and lastly, in the event of death of both the subscriber and the spouse, entire pension corpus is paid to the nominee.
Future of APY
Going forward there is still the humongous task of increasing the pension coverage, as only five per cent of the eligible population has been covered under APY till date.
About PFRDA and NPS
- Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is the Statutory Body established by the PFRDA Act, 2014.
- PFRDA was established to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the National Pension System (NPS) and pension schemes to which this Act applies.
- National Pension System is a defined contributory pension introduced by Government of India.
- NPS was extended to all Indian citizens (resident/non-resident/overseas) on a voluntary basis and to corporates for its employees on 29 October 2015 with the Reserve Bank of India allowing Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to subscribe to NPS.
| Q. Regarding ‘Atal Pension Yojana’, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1) It is a minimum guaranteed pension scheme mainly targeted at unorganized sector workers. 2) Only one member of a family can join the scheme. 3) Same amount of pension is guaranteed for the spouse for life after subscriber’s death. Select the correct answer using the code given below. (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 Solution: C Justification: Statement 1: The Yojana mainly addresses the longevity risks among the workers in unorganised sector and encourages them to voluntarily save for their retirement. So, 1 is correct. Statement 2: Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is open to all bank account holders who are not members of any statutory social security scheme. So, 2 is wrong. Statement 3: As per the Ministry of Finance, “The spouse of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the same pension amount as that of the subscriber until the death of the spouse. After the death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the nominee of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the pension wealth, as accumulated till age of 60 years of the subscribe”. So, clearly 3 is correct. |
INDO-BANGLADESH “VIRTUAL CONFERENCE” BY ASSOCHAM
Focus: GS-II International Relations, Prelims
Why in news?
Indo-Bangladesh “Virtual Conference” was organised by ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India).
Highlights of what was discussed
- In the last six years, the North Eastern Region has raised the capacity to engage with other parts of India as well as the countries across the eastern borders, at different levels.
- The Indo-Bangladesh treaty for exchange of enclaves had cleared the decks for ease of business, ease of movement and ease of commuting.
- It is far easier to do business with Bangladesh than with many other countries in reference to the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries.
- North Eastern Region has a critical role to play to boost trade and business between the two countries.
- Bamboo from the North East is going to be an important vehicle of trade.
- Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) called upon the trade and business organisations like ASSOCHAM to come forward and facilitate PPP (Public Private Participation) model for promotion of new industries and business units with mutual benefit.
ASSOCHAM
- The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) is one of the apex trade associations of India.
- ASSOCHAM was established in 1920 by promoter chambers, representing all regions of India.
- The goal of this organisation is to promote both domestic and international trade, and reduce trade barriers while fostering conducive environment for the growth of trade and industry of India.
- ASSOCHAM members represent the following sectors: Trade (national and international), Industry (domestic and international) and Professionals (E.g.: CAs, CMAs, Lawyers, Consultants)
- The body contributed significantly by playing a catalytic role in shaping up the trade, commerce and industrial environment of the country.
- Currently, the industry body has over 100 national councils covering the economic activities in India.
177 NEW MANDIS INTEGRATED WITH THE E-NAM
Focus: GS-III Agriculture, Prelims
Why in news?
The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launched integration of 177 new mandis with the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) on 11th May.
This will strengthen agriculture marketing and facilitate farmers to sell their harvested produce through the online portal.
e-NAM
- e-NAM was an innovative initiative in agricultural marketing to enhance farmers accessibility digitally to multiple number of markets & buyers and to bring transparency in trade transactions with the intent to improve price discovery mechanism, quality commensurate price realization and also to develop the concept of One Nation One Market for agriculture produce.
- Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency forimplementing eNAM under the aegis of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
- e-NAM networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities with a vision to promote uniformity in agriculture marketing by streamlining of procedures across the integrated markets, removing information asymmetry between buyers and sellers and promoting real time price discovery based on actual demand and supply.
- This online platform will prove to be a giant leap in reforming the agriculture market in India.
- Farmers are free to register on e-NAM portal and they are uploading their produce for sale online to the traders across all e-NAM mandis and traders can bid for the lots available for sale on e-NAM from any location.
- We have more than 1.66 crore farmers and 1.28 Lakh traders registered on e-NAM platform.
Benefits of e-NAM
- e-NAM would help traders to find and arrange timely movement of produces from mandi to various other locations.
- With this interface, Traders would be able to access more than 7.76 lakh trucks through eNAM Platform.
- This intervention brings immense benefits to our farmers in augmenting their incomes by enabling them to realize competitive & remunerative prices in a transparent manner without incurring additional costs.
- Quality assaying testing facilities is being provided in e-NAM mandis which helps famers in getting prices commensurate with quality of their produce.
- Electronic weighing scales have been provided to accurately weigh the commodities of farmers after bidding on e-NAM platform to bring transparency in weighing, Payment to farmers by traders now can be done through mobile phone using BHIM payment facility.
KVIC POTTERS USING INNOVATIVE METHODS
Focus: GS-III Industry and Infrastructure, Prelims
Why in news?
KVIC potters in a Rajasthan village are drawing attention with a unique campaign of printing messages like, “Use Mask”, “Stay Home, Stay Safe” etc., on every earthen pot, pitcher to spread awareness
Read All about KVIC here: https://www.legacyias.com/kvic-comes-to-the-rescue-of-cocoon-farmers/
BIPAP NON-INVASIVE VENTILATOR “SWASTHVAYU”
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology, Prelims
Why in news?
CSIR – National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) has developed a Non-Invasive BiPAP Ventilator called “SwasthVayu” in a record time of 36 days to treat COVID-19 patients.
Details
- BiPAP Non-Invasive ventilator “SwasthVayu” comes with HEPA filter (Highly Efficient Particulate Air Filter) and provision to connect Oxygen concentrator or Enrichment unit externally along with other unique features the help to alleviate the fear of unavailability of ventilators.
- The major advantage of this machine is that it is simple to use without any specialized nursing, cost effective, compact and configured with majority of indigenous components.
- This is ideal for treating COVID -19 patients in Wards, Make shift Hospitals, dispensaries and home.
