Table of Contents
Contents:-
⢠AAJEEVIKA GRAMEEN EXPRESS
YOJNA
⢠PENCIL Portal
⢠Jigyasa
⢠Push e education
⢠National biopharma mission
⢠Vajra scheme
⢠Test and treat policy for HIV
AAJEEVIKA GRAMEEN EXPRESS YOJNA
Ministry of Rural Development
⢠The government of India has launched Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY), to provide an alternative source of livelihood to members of Self Help Groups (SHGs).
⢠This scheme has been launched under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission(DAY-NRLM).
⢠The main objective of AGEY is to provide an alternative source of livelihood to members of SHGs under DAY- NRLM by facilitating them to operate public transport services in backward rural areas.
⢠This will provide safe, affordable and community- monitored rural transport services like e-rickshaws, three and four wheeler motorised transport vehicles to connect remote villages with key services and amenities including access to markets, education and health for the overall economic development of the area.
⢠The sub-scheme will be implemented in 250 blocks in the country on a pilot basis for a period of three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20.
PENCIL Portal
⢠The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launched the Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour (PENCIL) Portal at the National Conference on Child Labour organised by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India
⢠The PENCIL is an electronic platform that aims at involving Centre, State, District, Governments, civil society and the general public in achieving the target of child labour free society. Shri Rajnath Singh also launched the Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the enforcement of legal framework against child labour. The SOP is aimed at creating a ready reckoner for trainers, practitioners and monitoring agencies to ensure complete prohibition of child labour and protection of adolescents from hazardous labour ultimately leading to Child Labour Free India.
⢠It encompasses various components- Child Tracking System, Complaint Corner, State
Government, National Child Labour Project and Convergence. Each district will nominate
District Nodal Officers (DNOs) who will receive the complaints. Within 48 hours of receiving
complaints, DNOs will check genuineness of complaint and take rescue measures in
coordination with police, if complaint is genuine. So far, 7 states have appointed DNOs.
âJIGYASAâ – Student-Scientist connect
programme launched
⢠Ministry of Science & Technology
⢠Jigyasa, a student- scientist connect programme was officially launched in the national capital
today. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has joined hands with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to implement this programme. The focus is on connecting school students and scientists so as to extend studentâs classroom learning with that of a very well planned research laboratory based learning.
⢠The JIGYASA programme is expected to inculcate the culture of inquisitiveness and scientific
temper on the minds of children and school teachers. The programme will connect 1151 Kendriya Vidyalayas with 38 National Laboratories of CSIR and will target 100,000 students and 1000 teachers every year.
⢠Under this programme, the CSIR would launch a talent hunt among the visiting students
for furthering the cause of scientific development.
Pushing e education
⢠President Pranab Mukherjee on the occasion of Guru Purnima launched four major digital
initiatives in to push e-education. They are Swayam, Swayam Prabha, National Academic Depository and National Digital Library. All these digital initatives are operational under Union Ministry of Human Resource and development.
⢠Swayam: It an indigenously designed massive open online course (MOOC), It will host all the courses, taught in classrooms from 9th class till post-graduation and can be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time. It aims to bridge the digital divide for students in e-
education.
⢠Swayam Prabha: It will provide high quality educational contents, developed by experts, through 32 DTH (direct to home) Television Channels with an aiaim to bring uniformity in standards of education. It will cover diverse disciplines of all levels of education in various
languages. It will be avai. lable to all and will be having new content of 4 hours to be telecasted 6 times a day.
⢠National Academic Depository: It is a digital depository of academic awards for authenticating
all certificates issued by institutions. NAD will directly integrate with Boards/Universities which
issue Certificates which will be verified, authenticated, accessed and retrieved in a digital
depository for purpose of employment, higher education, and loans.
⢠National Digital Library: It is a large online library containing 6.5 million books. It provides free
access to many books in English and the Indian languages.
National Biopharma Mission
⢠The National Biopharma Mission has been launched by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology
⢠This is an Industry-Academia mission to accelerate biopharmaceutical development in India
⢠Accelerating Discovery Research to Early Development for Biopharmaceuticals â âInnovate in India (i3)â Empowering biotech entrepreneurs & accelerating inclusive innovation will be implemented at a total cost of Rs. 1500 crore for a period of five years and 50% of the grant will be arranged through the World Bank loan.
Objectives of the Mission:
⢠The following are the objectives of the Mission:
⢠i. Development of products from leads that are at advanced stages in the product development lifecycle and relevant to the public health.
⢠ii. Strengthening and establishing shared infrastructure facilities for both product discovery
validation and manufacturing.
⢠iii. Developing human capital by providing specific training to address the critical skills gaps in
researchers, nascent biotech companies across the product development value chain, including in business plan development and market penetration.
⢠iv. Creating and enhancing technology transfer and intellectual property management capacities and capabilities in public and private sector.
Visiting Advanced Joint Research
Faculty (VAJRA)
⢠Department of Science and Technology has launched VAJRA (Visiting Advanced Joint
Research) Faculty scheme that enables NRIs and overseas scientific community to
participate and contribute to research and development in India.
⢠The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a Statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology will implement the Scheme. Under this scheme, foreign researchers abroad of Indian origin or otherwise can collaborate with faculties in public funded Indian institutions. The researchers would receive endowments at par with those in their own countries. They would be given USD 15,000 in the first month of residency and USD 10,000, for the remaining months.
⢠The scheme would promote broad areas of research like energy, health, advance material among others.
⢠The VAJRA faculty can reside in India for a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 3 months a year.
Test and Treat Policy for HIV Patients
⢠Ministry of Health and Family Welfare ⢠The Government has launched the âTest and
Treat Policy for HIV patientsâ in April 2017. As per this policy all people living with HIV
(PLHIV) are to be treated with Antiretro Viral Therapy regardless of CD4 count, clinical
stage, age or population. The National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS and STI 2017-24
has been approved in June 2017.
⢠The details of the strategies under National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS and STI 2017-24 are as follows:
⢠(i) Accelerating HIV prevention in key population and âat risk groupâ.
⢠(ii) Expanding quality assured HIV testing with universal access to comprehensive HIV care.
⢠(iii) Elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and syphilis .
⢠(iv) Addressing the critical enablers in HIV programming
⢠(v) Restructuring the strategic information system to be efficient and patient-centric.