Weekly PIB Analysis | PIB News Analysis 1st to 10th April' 2022

Table of Contents

Capacity Building for Service Providers Scheme (CBSP)

Context: In order to provide skill training to the tourism service providers, the Ministry of Tourism has implemented the Capacity Building for Service Providers Scheme.
The need for the scheme:

The tourism industry includes a large segment of workers who belong to both organised and unorganised sectors.
The Food Craft Institutes and the Institute of Hotel Management are engaged in training people for the hospitality industry which mainly cater to the organised sector like hotels and restaurants.
On the other hand, there is a group of people associated with small hotels, dhabas, ticketing/travel agencies and these groups also come in contact with the tourists.
The necessity of upgrading the skills of unorganised tourism service providers was recognised and this led to the formulation of the CBSP scheme.

Who are the service providers?

Individuals engaged in providing services to a tourist are considered the service providers in the tourism sector in accordance with the CBSP scheme.
These individuals include persons working in hotels, restaurants, eating joints like cooks, servers, waiters, helpers, front office staff, food kiosks, dhaba staff.
Persons engaged in handling tourists for example immigration staff, airport staff, centre and state tourism departments, security staff, police departments, guides, monuments staff, and people engaged in ecotourism are also included under the category of service providers.

Major Objectives of the Scheme:

To train and upgrade the workers at every stratum associated with the tourism sector.
Capitalise on the vast tourism potential of the country.
Provide professional expertise to the local population along with the creation of employment opportunities in the tourism sector in both rural and urban areas.

Training programmes under the scheme:

Skill Development in general for fresh candidates.
Specialised skill development programmes including language courses for fresh as well as existing service providers.
Training of teachers, administrators and planners.
Basic skill up-gradation for existing service providers.
Training of trainers programmes.
Awareness of tourism benefits/knowledge in rural areas.

Minimum age of the trainees: 18 years or above

Administrative cost of the training programmes:

The cost of training for the implementing agencies shall be met by the Ministry of Tourism to the extent of 5% of the total estimated sanctioned training cost for training confined to one city and 10% of the cost for training involved in more than one city.

Who are the implementing agencies?

The CBSP scheme will be implemented by the Ministry of Tourism, India Tourism Offices, Institutes of Hotel Management and Food Craft Institutes and institutes that are approved by the AICTE, entities in the private sector engaged in providing training in the hospitality and tourism sector.

Ugadi

Context: The Prime Minister expressed his warm greetings on the occasion of Ugadi.

Ugadi: Facts of Essence

Ugadi is also known as Yugadi and is celebrated on the first day of the beginning of the year.
It is celebrated in states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana.
In accordance with Hindu mythology, it is believed that Lord Brahma started creation of the universe on the day of Ugadi.
It’s a nine day festival that celebrates nine forms of goddess Durga as Chaitra Navratri.
The 12th century mathematician Bhaskaracharya identified Ugadi as the beginning of a new year, new month and a new day.
geographically , it is identified as the onset of spring and the milder weather after the harsh cold of the winter.
The Yugadi derives from the word ‘Yuga’ which means period and ‘ Adi’ means the commencement of something.

Connectivity With The Central Asian Countries

Context

The President of India while addressing a meeting in Turkmenistan said that connectivity with the Central Asian countries remains a key priority for India,

The need for strengthening connectivity with Central Asian countries

India’s emergence as one of the major economies and the advancement in India’s technological capabilities has provided opportunities for collaboration with the developing nations of Central Asia.
Revival of historical ties with the Central Asian countries has become one of the focus areas of Indian foreign policy in recent times as they are a part of India’s ‘extended neighbourhood’.
India and Central Asian countries share common perspectives and similar approaches and also India has strategic relations with many Central Asian countries.
India and the Central Asian countries face common challenges like terrorism, extremism, radicalization, drug trafficking, etc.

Initiatives by India to strengthen connectivity with Central Asian countries

India is a member of key groupings that include Central Asian countries such as the International North-South Transport Corridor, and the Ashgabat Agreement.
India has undertaken steps to operationalize the Chabahar port in Iran which can provide secure, viable and unhindered access to the Central Asian countries.
Enhancing connectivity is one of the major pillars of India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy.
India has reiterated that it is ready to collaborate, invest and build connectivity in the region.

Familial Forestry

Context: This article talks about the concept of Familial Forestry and the Land for Life Award.

Land for Life Award:

Land for Life is an award programme of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which is conferred every two years.
The Land for Life Award aims to provide global recognition to individuals and organizations whose work and initiatives have made a significant contribution to sustainable development through sustainable land management (SLM).
Land for Life Award 2021 was conferred to the Familial Forestry of Rajasthan, India, by UNCCD.

Familial Forestry

Familial Forestry means caring for the tree as a family member so that the tree becomes a part of the family’s consciousness.
This green or eco socialization brings environmental sensitivity and empowerment.

Familial Forestry of Rajasthan

Familial Forestry of Rajasthan, India is a unique concept that relates a tree with a family, making it a green “family member”.
This movement involved more than a million families from more than 15,000 villages in desert-prone northwest Rajasthan.

53 airports are included under Krishi Udan Scheme

Context: Recently, 53 airports were included under Krishi Udan Scheme.

About Krishi Udan Scheme:

Krishi Udan Scheme was launched in 2020 on international and national routes to assist farmers in transporting agricultural products so that it improves their value realization.
Primarily the scheme was focusing on 25 airports of North-Eastern Region, Hilly and Tribal region.
Recently, 53 new airports have been added under the Scheme, facilitating and incentivizing the movement of Agri-produce by air transportation.

Training in Emirates Job and Skills (TEJAS)

Context: Recently, the union minister launched the TEJAS programme in Dubai.
Training in Emirates Job and Skills (TEJAS):

The Training for Emirates Jobs And Skills (TEJAS) is an initiative under the Skill India International Project.
The initiative under the Skill India International Project aims at training Indians so that they can get employed overseas.
This programme has the objective of skilling, providing certification, and employment of Indians overseas.
Aims and Objectives:
- To skill the Indian population overseas.
- To create a pathway between UAE and India so that the Indian workforce can get equipped for the various skills and market requirements in the UAE.
The TEJAS Scheme is also applicable to returnee workers.

India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Exercise

Context: The 9th edition of the India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Exercise called ‘Khanjar’ has been concluded at Bakloh (Himachal Pradesh).

About the Exercise:

The exercise involves special forces contingents from India and Kyrgyzstan exchanging their expertise and best practices of tactics, techniques and procedures to counter existing and emerging security threats.
Combat shooting, sniping, survival in mountains, hostage rescue drills and unarmed combat were practised extensively.
This exercise has contributed to further strengthening of the India-Kyrgyzstan relationship that has fostered over years of mutual respect for strategic autonomy, democratic values and zero tolerance for terrorism.
Last but not the least, this exercise exemplifies the growing defence ties between the two countries.

Nai Roshni Scheme

Nai Roshni-a Leadership Development Programme for Minority Women is a Central Sector Scheme for women belonging to minority communities in the age group of 18 to 65 years.
It was started in 2012-13.
The objective of the scheme is to empower and instil confidence among minority women, including their neighbours from other communities living in the same village/locality, by providing knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with Government systems, banks and other institutions at all levels.
It is run with the help of NGOs, Civil societies and Government Institutions all over the country.
It includes various training modules like Leadership of women, Educational Programmes, Health and Hygiene, Swachch Bharat, Financial Literacy, Life Skills, Legal Rights of Women, Digital Literacy and Advocacy for Social and behavioral change.

Pariksha Parv

Context

The Pariksha Parv 4.0. Will be celebrated from 11 April to 31 May, 2022.

Pariksha Parv

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) organises the Pariksha Parv, taking inspiration from the Prime Minister’s “Pariksha Pe Charcha” programme.
The NCPCR has been celebrating exams with its campaign ‘Pariksha Parv’ since 2019 to make examinations a joyful activity.
Aim: to change the outlook of students towards exams and overcome their stress and anxiety before exam results.
Pariksha Parv 4.0 is an endeavor for providing a platform for students, parents and teachers to share their thoughts.
Pariksha Parv 4.0 will also help students get guidance and important tips from the experts.
SAMVEDNA, which is a toll-free tele-counseling service by trained counselors of NCPCR for COVID related stress, will now be extended for students to cope up with exam related stress and anxiety.

Scientific convention on World Homoeopathy Day

Context: To mark the onset of the World Homoeopathy day which is celebrated on every 10th of April, a two-day scientific convention has been inaugurated

Theme of the World Homoeopathy Day 2022:

Homoeopathy: People’s Choice for Wellness

Why is this day celebrated?

World Homoeopathy Day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann who was the founder of Homoeopathy.

Role of the Scientific Convention:

The scientific convention will review the progress made in the field of homoeopathy and will also offer a guiding roadmap for future strategies to further the development of homoeopathic medicines.
The convention will engage with the stakeholders to meet the standards in clinical research informatics, data standards in clinical research, policy issues, educational standards and instructional resources.
In order to meet such standards, there is a need for a changing paradigm in global health-care delivery and research through technology interventions. This forms an integral part of the objectives of the convention.

AVSAR

Context: The Airports Authority of India has stepped ahead with an initiative to encourage local women, artisans and craftsmen by introducing the AVSAR (Airport as Venue for the Skilled Artisans of the Region) scheme.
Provisions of the AVSAR scheme:

Under this scheme, artisans and craftsmen will be allowed space at the airports for selling or presenting their self-made products.
The scheme will look forward to creating an opportunity for the vulnerable sections to become self-reliant and self-dependent.
The provision of the scheme offers 100-200 square feet of area to be allocated for the beneficiaries.
The space is allotted to the self-help groups for a duration of 15 days on a turn-on-turn basis.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organization.

The creation of SCO was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China).
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter was signed during the St.Petersburg SCO Heads of State meeting in June 2002, and entered into force on 19 September 2003.
It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.
The SCO’s official languages are Russian and Chinese.

Founding members of SCO were-

The Republic of Kazakhstan,
The People’s Republic of China,
The Kyrgyz Republic,
The Russian Federation,
The Republic of Tajikistan,
The Republic of Uzbekistan.

Background:

Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five, Prior to the creation of SCO in 2001.
Shanghai Five (1996) emerged from a series of border demarcation and demilitarization talks which the four former Soviet republics held with China to ensure stability along the borders.
Uzbekistan joined the organisation in 2001, following this the Shanghai Five was renamed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
India and Pakistan became members in 2017.

Member Countries:
Now, SCO is comprised of Eight Member countries. Namely-