In the latest address of Mann ki Baat, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi talked about his deliberations with the Children University of Gandhinagar, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises on how to make new toys available to the children and how India could become a big hub of toy production. He noted that toys not only augment activity, they also give flight to our aspirations. Toys, not only entertain, they also build the mind and foster an intent too, he said.
Prime Minister recalled an anecdote about toys shared by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. He emphasized what Gurudev had said about toys - that the best toy is that which is incomplete, a toy that children together complete while playing. Gurudev used to say that toys should be such that they bring out the childhood of a child and also his or her creativity, he said.
Prime Minister noted that in the National Education Policy, a lot of attention has been given on the impact of toys on different aspects of children's lives. He said there are several skilled artisans who possess expertise in making good toys and some parts of the country like Channapatna in Ramnagaram in Karnataka, Kondaplli in Krishna in Andhra Pradesh, Thanjavur in Tami Nadu, Dhubari in Assam, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh are also developing as Toy clusters. He added that while Global Toy Industry is worth more than 7 lakh crore rupees, India currently has a very little share in it.
Posted On: 30 AUG 2020 3:16PM by PIB Delhi
In the latest address of Mann ki Baat, the Prime Minister noted that the month of September will be observed as Poshan Maah - Nutrition month. He said that nation and nutrition are very closely interrelated. He recalled the maxim - "Yatha Annam Tatha Mannam," which means that mental and intellectual development is directly related to the quality of our food intake. He said that nutrition and proper nourishment play a big role in helping children and students to attain their optimum potential and to show their mettle.He stressed that for children to be well nourished, the mother needs to receive proper nourishment. He added that nutrition merely does not only imply eating but getting essential nutrients like salts, vitamins etc.
Prime Minister noted the efforts made in the country during the past few years especially in villages where public participation in nutrition week and nutrition month is converting nutrition awareness into a mass movement. He added that schools have been integrated into this mass movement with efforts being made to ensure competitions for children to increase nutrition awareness.
Prime Minister said that in a class, just like there is a Class Monitor, there should be a Nutrition Monitor. Similarly, just like a Report card, a Nutrition Card should also be introduced. He informed that during the course of the Nutrition Month, a food and nutrition quiz as well as meme competition will be organized on the My Gov portal. He asked the listeners to participate in it.
Prime Minister informed that at the Statue of Unity, a unique kind of nutrition park has also been created where one can witness nutrition related education along with fun and frolic.
Emphasising that India is endowed with a lot of diversity in food and drink, Prime Minister said it is very important that according to the season of a particular region, a well-balanced & nutrient rich, diet plan should be drafted to include local food grains, fruits and the vegetables cultivated there. He informed that an ‘Agricultural Fund of India’ is being created that will have complete information about the crops that are grown in each district and their related nutritional value. Prime Minister asked the listeners to eat nutritious food and stay healthy during the nutrition month.
Why in News?
Over 10 individuals belonging the Great Andamanese tribe, a notified Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), with a population of just 56 individuals tested positive for COVID.
The island administration has since ramped up testing among the Onge, Little Andamanese and the Great Andamanese and the Jarawas.
About ‘Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)’:
PVTGs are more vulnerable among the tribal groups.
They have declining or stagnant population, low level of literacy, pre-agricultural level of technology and are economically backward.
They generally inhabit remote localities having poor infrastructure and administrative support.
Identification:
In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, who are less developed among the tribal groups.
In 1975, the Government of India initiated to identify the most vulnerable tribal groups as a separate category called PVTGs and declared 52 such groups, while in 1993 an additional 23 groups were added to the category, making it a total of 75 PVTGs, spread over 18 states and one Union Territory (A&N Islands) in the country (2011 census).
Among the 75 listed PVTG’s the highest number are found in Odisha (13), followed by Andhra Pradesh (12).
In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as PVTGs.
Scheme for development of PVTGs:
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs implements the Scheme of “Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)” exclusively for them.
Under the scheme, Conservation-cum-Development (CCD)/Annual Plans are to be prepared by each State/UT for their PVTGs based on their need assessment, which are then appraised and approved by the Project Appraisal Committee of the Ministry.
Priority is also assigned to PVTGs under the schemes of Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Tribal Sub-Scheme (TSS), Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution, Grants-in-aid to Voluntary Organisations working for the welfare of Schedule Tribes and Strengthening of Education among ST Girls in Low Literacy Districts.
The criteria followed for determination of PVTGs are as under:
A pre-agriculture level of technology.
A stagnant or declining population.
Extremely low literacy.
A subsistence level of economy.
Context:
The final list of Assam’s updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published on August 31 last year.
But a year since that date, the process hasn’t moved forward much.
The 19 lakh applicants (of the total 3.30 crore) who were left out of the list have not been able to file appeals as they are yet to get rejection slips needed to do so.
Reasons for the delay:
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis and the floods in between.
What are rejection slips?
The rejection slips are required for those left out of the NRC to file appeals in the foreigners’ tribunals (FTs), a quasi-judicial body that decides the fate of those declared suspected foreigners.
These slips will mention reasons for exclusion of an applicant’s name.
The state NRC office has to issue to rejection slips.
What is NRC?
The NRC is the list of Indian citizens and was prepared in 1951, following the census of 1951.
The process of NRC update was taken up in Assam as per a Supreme Court order in 2013.
In order to wean out cases of illegal migration from Bangladesh and other adjoining areas, NRC updation was carried out under The Citizenship Act, 1955, and according to rules framed in the Assam Accord.
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Context:
The first phase of the Census and the exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR), scheduled for this year but deferred due to the coronavirus outbreak, may be delayed by a year as there is no sign of slowdown of the pandemic.
What is National Population Register (NPR)?
It is a Register of usual residents of the country.
It is being prepared at the local (Village/sub-Town), sub-District, District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
It is mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR.
Objectives: To create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country.
Who is a usual resident?
A usual resident is defined for the purposes of NPR as a person who has resided in a local area for the past 6 months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next 6 months or more.
What is the controversy around it?
Comes in the backdrop of the NRC excluding lakhs of people in Assam.
It intends to collect a much larger amount of personal data on residents of India.
There is yet no clarity on the mechanism for protection of this vast amount of data.
Context:
The United Nations has released its first-ever guidelines on access to social justice for people with disabilities to make it easier for them to access justice systems around the world.
The guidelines outline a set of 10 principles and detail the steps for implementation.
The 10 principles are:
Principle 1 All persons with disabilities have legal capacity and, therefore, no one shall be denied access to justice on the basis of disability.
Principle 2 Facilities and services must be universally accessible to ensure equal access to justice without discrimination of persons with disabilities.
Principle 3 Persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, have the right to appropriate procedural accommodations.
Principle 4 Persons with disabilities have the right to access legal notices and information in a timely and accessible manner on an equal basis with others.
Principle 5 Persons with disabilities are entitled to all substantive and procedural safeguards recognized in international law on an equal basis with others, and States must provide the necessary accommodations to guarantee due process.
Principle 6 Persons with disabilities have the right to free or affordable legal assistance.
Principle 7 Persons with disabilities have the right to participate in the administration of justice on an equal basis with others.
Principle 8 Persons with disabilities have the rights to report complaints and initiate legal proceedings concerning human rights violations and crimes, have their complaints investigated and be afforded effective remedies.
Principle 9 Effective and robust monitoring mechanisms play a critical role in supporting access to justice for persons with disabilities.
Principle 10 All those working in the justice system must be provided with awareness-raising and training programmes addressing the rights of persons with disabilities, in particular in the context of access to justice.
How does the UN define a person with a disability?
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted in 2007 as the first major instrument of human rights in the 21st century.
It defines persons with disabilities as those “who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”.
What does discrimination on the basis of disability mean?
Discrimination on the basis of disability’ means any distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability which has the purpose or effect of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with others, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. It includes all forms of discrimination, including denial of reasonable accommodation.
How many people are disabled in India?
As per statistics maintained by the UN, in India 2.4 per cent of males are disabled and two per cent of females from all age groups are disabled.
Disabilities include psychological impairment, intellectual impairment, speaking, multiple impairments, hearing, seeing among others.
In comparison, the disability prevalence in the US is 12.9 per cent among females and 12.7 per cent among males. Disability prevalence in the UK is at 22.7 per cent among females and 18.7 per cent among males.
Why in News?
Completes six years of successful implementation.
The number of total PMJDY accounts stand at 40.35 crore.
Rural PMJDY accounts stand at 63.6 percent.
Women PMJDY accounts stand at 55.2 percent.
About PMJDY:
Announced on 15th August 2014, PMJDY is National Mission for Financial Inclusion to ensure access to financial services, namely, Banking/ Savings & Deposit Accounts, Remittance, Credit, Insurance, Pension in an affordable manner.
Objectives:
To ensure access of financial products & services at an affordable cost.
Use of technology to lower cost & widen reach.
Basic tenets of the scheme:
Banking the unbanked – Opening of basic savings bank deposit (BSBD) account with minimal paperwork, relaxed KYC, e-KYC, account opening in camp mode, zero balance & zero charges.
Securing the unsecured – Issuance of Indigenous Debit cards for cash withdrawals & payments at merchant locations, with free accident insurance coverage of Rs. 2 lakhs.
Funding the unfunded – Other financial products like micro-insurance, overdraft for consumption, micro-pension & micro-credit.
The scheme is Based upon the following 6 pillars:
Universal access to banking services – Branch and Banking Correspondents.
Basic savings bank accounts with overdraft facility (OD) of Rs. 10,000/- to every household.
Financial Literacy Program– Promoting savings, use of ATMs, getting ready for credit, availing insurance and pensions, using basic mobile phones for banking.
Creation of Credit Guarantee Fund – To provide banks some guarantee against defaults.
Insurance – Accident cover up to Rs. 1,00,000 and life cover of 30,000 on account opened between 15 Aug 2014 to 31 January 2015.
Pension scheme for Unorganized sector.
Extension of PMJDY with New features:
Focus shift from Every Household to Every Unbanked Adult.
RuPay Card Insurance – Free accidental insurance cover on RuPay cards increased from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakhs for PMJDY accounts opened after 28.8.2018.
Enhancement in overdraft facilities – OD limit doubled from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000; OD upto Rs 2,000 (without conditions). Increase in upper age limit for OD from 60 to 65 years.
Context:
First ever RORO service of South Western Railway from Nelamangla (near Bengaluru) to Bale (near Solapur) has been started.
This shall be the only privately operated RORO train services on Indian Railways.
What is RORO?
Roll On Roll Off (RORO) is a concept of carrying road vehicles loaded with various commodities, on open flat railway wagons.
RORO services are combination of best features of road and rail transports in the sense that they offer door to door service with minimal handling transported by fat and direct rail link.
Advantages of RO-RO:
Faster movement of goods and essentials, reducing Time taken by trucks to reach destinations due to traffic congestion in between cities.
Reduces congestion on the roads.
Saves precious fuel.
Reduces carbon footprint.
Relief to crew of truck as it avoids long distance driving.
No hassles of check posts/toll gates etc.
Seamless Inter-operability between roadways & railways-Inter-modal transport on existing track.
Ensuring uninterrupted supply of essential commodities.
InstaFact:
RO-RO train services were first introduced in Indian Railways on Konkan Railways in 1999, and are running successfully since then.
Context:
Foundation day of NPPA was recently observed.
About NPPA:
NPPA was set-up as an independent Regulator on 29th August, 1997 for pricing of drugs and to ensure availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices.
The regulator is an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
The functions of NPPA include fixation and revision of prices of Scheduled drugs under Drug (Price Control) Orders issued from time to time, as well as monitoring and enforcement of prices and ensuring availability and accessibility of all medicines and medical devices, including non scheduled drugs.
What is an ‘Armageddon’ in chess?
It’s similar to a Super Over in cricket or a penalty shootout in hockey or football.
In an Armageddon game White has more thinking time on the clock than Black but a draw on the board scores as a Black win. Normally White has five or six minutes and Black four or five for the entire game.
Black, considered at a disadvantage, is given a minute less to process the game and the handicap effectively puts the onus of a win on White.