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February, 2015
GO PREP
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DBS is micro processor controlled and an advanced version of Air Brake system. It
is essential for high speeds of 160kmph plus. It is superior in terms of reduced braking
distance, higher wheel life due to reduced frequency of wheel turning, and reduced
maintenance, less braking noise and higher efficiency due to simple brake rigging. The
main characteristics of DBS are 02 discs mounted on each axle as shown in picture
below:
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When the passenger pulls the alarm chain shown above located near the seat it
causes the pressure in the brake pipe to fall down giving an indication to the driver
and stopping the train. A valve on the coach called the PEASD (passenger emergency
alarm signal device) operates and the sound of the escaping air can be heard from
thecoach. Also a light near the door glows and indicates the location of the affected
coach.
What does an unscheduled stoppage of a train by ACP mean to the
public?
Have you ever wondered why trains are often delayed? Analysis shows that ACP
contributes to 4% of the punctuality loss cases on Indian Railways. Imagine the social
costs of the time delays to about 1500 passengers in a train when one pulls the chain
for a valid or often illegitimate reason. Apart from this time loss, calculations show
that for an extra stoppage of a 24 coach train travelling at 110 Kmph, the locomotive
consumes an additional amount of approximately 130 litres of diesel fuel. This
amounts to a loss of 8500 rupees as well as the increase in avoidable atmospheric
pollution. As responsible citizens we should abstain from using ACP and should
sensitize others not to do the same. The penalty for unauthorized use of the alarm
chain is Rs.1000 and/or imprisonment up to three months.
Apart from this we need to realize that the train requires about one kilometer to
stop due to its sheer momentum. It is for this reason that in spite of the driver being
vigilant there are accidents on unmanned level crossings when trespassers break the
rules and expect the train to stop immediately on seeing them.
As responsible citizens and enlightened green passengers we should refrain from
using the ACP unless there is a dire emergency. It may be worthwhile to contact the
railway staff on the train to solve the problem at hand.
very similar to those found in pigs in North America. Further on, it has been found
that this new virus has gene segments from the swine, avian and human flu virus
genes. The scientists calls this a quadruple reassortant virus and hence this new
(novel) virus is christened influenza-A (H1N1) virus.
Swine Flu / Pig Flu
Is an infection caused by any one of several types of swine
influenza viruses that is endemic in pigs. As of 2009, the known strains
include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2,
H2N1, H3N1, H3N2, andH2N3.Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig
populations worldwide. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common
and does not always lead to human flu, often resulting only in the production
of antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human flu, it is
called zoonotic swine flu. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk
of swine flu infection.
History
Swine influenza was first thought to be a disease related to human flu during
the 1918 flu pandemic, when pigs became ill at the same time as humans. For the
following 60 years, swine influenza strains were almost exclusively H1N1. Then,
between 1997 and 2002, new strains of three different subtypes and five different
genotypes emerged. The H1N1 form of swine flu is one of the descendants of the strain
that caused the 1918 flu pandemic. After persisting in pigs, the descendants of the 1918
virus have also circulated in humans through the 20th century, contributing to the
normal seasonal epidemics of influenza. However, direct transmission from pigs to
humans is rare.
Transmission
Influenza is quite common in pigs; the main route of transmission is through
direct contact between infected and uninfected animals. These close contacts are
particularly common during animal transport, Intensive farming. Transmission may
also occur through wild animals, such as wild boar.
People who work with poultry and swine, especially those with intense
exposures, are at increased risk of zoonotic infection with influenza virus endemic in
these animals, and constitute a population of human hosts in
which zoonosis and reassortment can co-occur. Other professions at particular risk of
infection are veterinarians and meat processing workers, although the risk of infection
for both of these groups is lower than that of farm worker.
Signs and symptoms
In pigs, influenza infection produces fever, lethargy, sneezing, coughing, difficulty
breathing and decreased appetite Although mortality is usually low (around 1
4%), the virus can produce weight loss and poor growth, causing economic loss to
farmers.
Direct transmission of a swine flu virus from pigs to humans is occasionally
possible (zoonotic swine flu). In humans the symptoms of "swine flu" H1N1 virus are
similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general. Symptoms
include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Because
these symptoms are not specific to swine flu, a differential diagnosis of probable swine
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flu requires not only symptoms, but also a high likelihood of swine flu due to the
person's recent history. A diagnosis of confirmed swine flu requires laboratory testing
of a respiratory sample (a simple nose and throat swab).
The most common cause of death is respiratory failure. Other causes of death
are pneumonia (leading to sepsis), high fever (leading to neurological
problems), dehydration (from excessive vomiting and diarrhea), electrolyte
imbalance and kidney failure. Fatalities are more likely in young children and the
elderly.
Diagnosis
The CDC recommends real time PCR as the method of choice for diagnosing
H1N1. The oral or nasal fluid collection and RNA virus preserving filter paper card is
commercially available. This method allows a specific diagnosis of novel influenza
(H1N1) as opposed to seasonal influenza
Spread of infection
Prevention of swine influenza has three components: prevention in swine,
prevention of transmission to humans, and prevention of its spread among humans.
Methods of preventing the spread of influenza among swine include facility
management, herd management, and vaccination. Facility management includes
using disinfectants and ambient temperature to control viruses in the environment.
They are unlikely to survive outside living cells for more than two weeks, except in cold
(but above freezing) conditions, and are readily inactivated by disinfectants. The virus
survives in healthy carrier pigs for up to three months, and can be recovered from them
between outbreaks.
In humans
Prevention
How to keep away from getting the flu? First and most important is follow
simple steps as cough etiquettes (covering mouth & nose with handkerchief or tissue
paper while coughing), stay at least an arms length from persons coughing or
sneezing, avoid gathering and wash your hands frequently. Try to stay in good general
health. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of
fluids and eat nutritious food. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you
cough or sneeze; throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. Wash hands often with
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soap and water, especially after cough or sneeze; avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth
and try to avoid close contact with people having respiratory illness.
If one gets sick with influenza, one must stay at home, away from work or school
and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
Treatment
If one is having any respiratory distress, one should report to a nearby
hospital. If a person becomes sick with swine flu, antiviral drugs can make the illness
milder and make the patient feel better faster. They may also prevent serious flu
complications. For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started soon after getting
sick (within two days of symptoms). Beside antiviral, supportive care at home or in a
hospital focuses on controlling fevers, relieving pain and maintaining fluid balance, as
well as identifying and treating any secondary infections or other medical problems.
Use of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza) for the treatment and/or
prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses is recommended. However, the
majority of people infected with the virus make a full recovery without requiring
medical attention or antiviral drugs.
Present Outbreak in India
It is noted that that during the period 1 Jan 2015-10 February 2015, the total
number of H1N1 cases is 5157 and number of deaths is 407. Largely the cases are from
Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and
Telangana whereas largely the deaths due to H1N1 are in Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Telangana. Now even cases have been reported from
West Bengal. The status of H1N1 influenza being monitored daily by the union M/O
Health & Family Welfare.
Various health institutions treating H1N1 cases are being advised for
vaccination against H1N1 influenza for the concerned health workers in the hospitals
in contact with H1N1 patients. This will be in addition to the proper personal protective
measures being followed at the hospitals. Guidelines are being drafted for vaccination
of healthcare workers and these will be shared with the states for dissemination to all
health institutions.
The Government of India has already placed an order for enhancing stock of
diagnostic kits to be supplied to the lab network under Integrated Disease Surveillance
Programme (IDSP) being used for testing H1N1 influenza. To enhance the level of
preparedness, additional 60,000 Oseltamivir medicines and 10,000 N-95 masks are
being procured. In addition, NCDC has floated a tender for additional 10,000
diagnostic kits. In case of need, labs under ICMR have been identified across the
country to provide additional testing facilities. In order to prevent panic and
inconvenience to people, and to encourage only those cases requiring H1N1 testing are
actually taken up for testing, it was decided that the communication strategy should
create awareness among the general public regarding this aspect.
Homeopathy for Swine Flu
At the instance of the Department of AYUSH, the Central Council for Research
in Homoeopathy (CCRH) had convened a meeting of a Group of Experts in
Homoeopathy, who has recommended that the homoeopathic medicine Arsenicum
album could be taken as prophylactic medicine against flu like illnesses. It has
recommended Arsenicum album 30, one dose (4pills of size 30 by adults and 2 pills by
children) daily, on empty stomach, for 3 days. The dose should be repeated after one
month by following the same schedule in case flu like conditions prevails in the area.
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The annual presentation of the Union Budget mapping out in exhaustive details the
income and expenditure of the Central Government for the fiscal year beginning on
April 1 and how it proposes to spend and the ways and means to find the funds for
spending will all be revealed on February 28, the last day of this month. This is a
practice India inherited from colonial era though the earlier one of the Finance
Minister presenting the budget sharply at five in the evening had been dispensed with.
Instead, it is now presented sharply at 11 in the morning, doing away with other
businesses of the House including the question hour to exclusively devote the
proceedings for the budget and its presentation in the Lok Sabha. This year the Union
Finance Minister Mr.Arun Jaitley will present his first full budget for the fiscal year
2015-16 on a Saturday, even as the maiden one he laid in Parliament in July last was
only for eight month period. Much is expected of the full-fledged budget of the NDA
government to take forward a raft of initiatives it had announced on the economic
front ever since it was voted to power overwhelmingly in the May 2014 elections for a
five year term under the leadership of Mr. Narendra Modi who subsequently became
the Prime Minister of the country.
It would not be out of place to demystify the book-balancing exercise billed
as budget in governance parlance. Under Article 112 of the Constitution, a statement
of estimated receipts and expenditure, commonly called the Budget Statement ought
to be placed in Parliament every financial year that runs from April 1 to March 31.
Along with the budget statement that includes the the estimates of expenditure from
the Consolidated Fund of India that are required to be voted by the lower House (Lok
Sabha) are presented in the form of Demands for Grants of the various departments
and ministries of the Government. Each demand normally contains the total
provisions for a required service i.e., provisions on account of revenue expenditure,
capital expenditure, grants to States and Union Territories, and also loans and
advances pertaining to that service. Estimates expenditure included in the Demands
for grants are for gross amounts.
Estimates of revenue receipts embedded in the annual financial statement are
further elaborated and analyzed in the Revenue Budget document. Revenue receipts
of the Centre comprise net tax revenue and non-tax revenue. Tax revenue includes
corporation tax, taxes on income other than corporation tax and other taxes that
constitute the direct taxes. In the indirect taxes are included customs (import) duty,
union excise duties, services tax and other taxes. Non-tax revenue includes interest
receipts, dividend of public sector undertakings, other non-tax revenue and receipts of
Union Territories. Capital receipts cover recoveries of loans and advances, debt
receipts encompassing market loans, short-term borrowings, external assistance (net),
securities issued against Small Savings, State Provident Fund and other receipts, while
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economy would gain the requisite momentum to ensure that the economic revival
predicted for the last quarter of the current fiscal did take place. The RBI too came out
with a surprising 25 basis point cut in interest rate in mid-January 2015 to help
industry and trade overcome their working expenses woes. The governments import
cost of crude would come down by a massive 50 to 60 billion dollars which would help
cut its exorbitant fuel subsidies substantially. Already, the government has
decontrolled the prices of petrol and diesel so that as the global price of crude
oil plunges, the pump price of these fuels would also go down to make customers
spend their saved money on other consumption expenditure. The government had
also wisely jacked up excise duty on fuel to mop up more than Rs 20,000 crore this
fiscal. This coupled with rationalization of food subsidies by limiting procurement of
cereals and other expenditure containment measures put in recent months meant that
the next budget will have ample headroom to manage and kick-start development
programmes particularly the ones like Make in India for driving manufacturing,
infrastructure spend and other employment-generation productive activities across
the economy. The country can afford to lower import taxes on production inputs and
intermediates that are indispensable to rev up manufacturing growth, leveraging duly
the savings through the steep fall in the prices of global crude prices. The time for
using budget instrument to respond to the underlying potential growth impulses in
the domestic economy is seldom ripe than in the present time of low crude prices,
lower inflation and the lowest current account deficit. All eyes are naturally on the
General Budget to be unveiled on February 28, 2015 in Parliament as to how far it will
translate the congenial circumstances into helping push the economy into higher
trajectory of growth, economists contend with gusto.
India has changed dramatically over the past 65 years in terms of demography with
the population increasing to 121 crores. With increasing levels of development, literacy
and communication, the aspirations of the people have soared, necessitating changes
and innovations in governance systems. Even the economy has undergone a paradigm
shift with Agricultures share showing dramatic drop, from more than 50% to less than
15% of GDP and the private sector emerging as a vibrant and dynamic force with a
global scale and reach. Even the central governments Twelfth Five Year Plan size of
Rs 43 lakh crore, is huge compared to the First Five Year Plan size of Rs 2,400 crore.
Moreover in the last few decades, States have evolved from being mere followers of the
Centre, to being the actual drivers of national development. Hence the nations
progress lies in the progress of States.
This changing reality and growing mismatch has been recognized for years now;
with experts, including many from within the erstwhile Planning Commission,
recommending appropriate changes letting go of old practices and beliefs whose
relevance had been lost, and adopting new ones based on the past experiences of India
as well as other nations. Even the former Prime Minister and noted economist, Dr.
Manmohan Singh - in his farewell address to the Commission in April 2014 - also
urged reflection on "what the role of the Planning Commission needs to be in this new
world. What additional roles should the Planning Commission play and what
capacities does it need to build to ensure that it continues to be relevant to the growth
process?
Hence it was time that priorities, strategies and structures dating back to 1950
when the Planning Commission was set up, were to be revisited. As a result the
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Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi in the first Governing Council meeting
called upon all Chief Ministers to work with the Centre to forge a model of cooperative
federalism, whereby the Centre and the States TEAM INDIA - can come together to
resolve differences, and chart a common course to progress and prosperity. Noting
that India cannot advance without all its states advancing in tandem, the Prime
Minister said the idea was to bring up all states together in the spirit of Sabka Saath,
Sabka Vikas. He added that he envisioned different states competing with each other
in promoting governance initiatives, in a spirit of "cooperative, competitive
federalism." He urged all Chief Ministers to focus on the cycle of investment, growth,
job creation and prosperity.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the Centre wants to empower the
states with finances, with technology and knowledge so that they are able to plan better
and execute even better. He said that for federalism to work well, states must also
fulfill their role in promoting the shared national objectives. He said that the critical
element for cooperative federalism to flourish is that states commit to the path they
choose within the context of the shared national objectives and then deliver on that
commitment.
To conclude, adoption of new ideas, techniques, institutions, processes does
not occur naturally but results from hard work, trial and error. The adoption of
innovations involves altering human behavior, and the acceptance of change. There is
a natural resistance to change for several reasons, but change is inherent to
development and a structured change through cooperative, competitive federalism can
dismiss all resistance and usher in a New Vibrant India.
that treating children for wormswhich affect an estimated 600 million school-aged
children worldwideimproves school attendance, health, and long-run productivity.
Oral de-worming drugs are extremely effective at killing most varieties of worms with
a single dose, at negligible cost.
So, de-worming treatment is not only highly effective and inexpensive, it is easy to
administer through public schools and brings benefits to children years after
treatment. With hundreds of millions of children still at risk of worm infection
worldwide, providing free school-based de-worming treatment is an easy policy win
for health, education, and development.
Government Initiatives
School Health program under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), provides
for De-worming as per national guidelines on bi-annually supervised schedule. In the
state of Bihar worlds largest school-based de-worming initiative was taken up earlier
and also the Delhi government had conducted such campaigns. According to WHO
estimates, nearly 24 crore children in the age group of 1-14 years are at risk of intestinal
parasitic worm infestation.
The new De-worming Initiative of the Health Ministry aims to de-worm all preschool and school-age children (enrolled and non-enrolled) between the ages of 1-19
years. In the first phase about 14 crore children across eleven States/UT of Assam,
Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Tripura will be covered; while nearly 10
crore will be targeted in the second phase. In the first phase staring from the National
De-worming Day on 10th February 2015, Albendazole tablets will be given to all
targeted children; half tablet to 1-2 years children and one full tablet for 2-19 years.
The children who are left out will be covered by a mop-up round to be carried out till
14th February 2015.
Union Health Minister has emphasized the need to target intestinal parasitic worms
among the children to achieve status of being Worm-free in India, after getting the
Polio-free status,. He has appealed to all MPs, MLAs, and local public representatives
in addition to school teachers, ASHAs and Anganwadi workers for converging and
supporting the Government in its mission to achieve Worm Free India.
This initiative needs to be coupled with improved sanitation, hygiene, and
availability of safe drinking water for reducing worm load with active partnership and
participation of the other ministries such as M/o Women and Child Development,
M/O Human Resources Development, M/o Panchayati Raj and M/o Water and
Sanitation. The deworming initiative is expected to help in achieving the aim of
Swachh Bharat as envisioned by the Prime Minister.
This small, time tested initiative can have multiplier effect on various sectors like
health, education, development at negligible cost.
Walk the Talk- the Prime Ministers way to make India Vibrant,
Participatory Democracy From Independence Day to Republic
Day, India cruises ahead
It was in August 2014, the Prime Minister laid out his vision to involve and
integrate every Citizen in the process of Nation Building through Participatory
Development by announcing three schemes, theSwacch Bharat Mission, National
Digital Literacy Mission and the PMs Jan Dhan Yojana, which can rejuvenate
the socio-economic and political mindset and landscape of this country. While the
Swacch Bharat Mission can have a multiplier effect of not only usher in a Clean India
but can build a robust India which has an educated, healthy, happy population,
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Community congregation, and for Solid and Liquid Waste Management activities.
Community action and generation of peer pressure are the key.
An offshoot of Swachh Bharat Mission is the Swachh
Vidyalaya programme propagating Clean India: Clean Schools, concept. A key
feature of the campaign is to ensure that every school in India has a set of functioning
and well maintained water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and activities that
promote conditions within the school and the practices of children that help to prevent
water, hygiene and sanitation related diseases. The provision of water, sanitation and
hygiene facilities in school secures a healthy school environment and protects children
from illness. Children who are healthy and well-nourished can fully participate in
school and encourage healthy behavior in future generations of adults. It enables every
child become an agent of change for improving water, sanitation and hygiene practices
in their families and within their community. Girls are particularly vulnerable to
dropping out of school, partly because many are reluctant to continue their education
when toilets and washing facilities are not private, not safe or simply not available.
When schools have appropriate, gender-separated facilities, an obstacle to attendance
is removed.
Sanitation is the basis of a healthy and civilized living. It has been accepted as
one of the components of human development. Absence of sanitation facilities lead to
water-borne diseases. Those who use dry latrines and those who are engaged in the
demeaning occupation of manually removing human excreta are exposed to
innumerable health risks. The scavengers, also referred to by the more dignified term
sanitary workers, come from the lower strata of society and the Swachh Bharat
Mission will go a long way in creating a situation whereby this age old
inhuman/demeaning practice is eliminated and those involved are respectfully
rehabilitated. A move at integrating a category of society into mainstream India. Other
benefits of this simple but revolutionary move are reduction in the expenditure of
prevention and cure of diseases, utilization of the savings on other developmental
activities, generation of employment in highly unorganized sanitary industry, tourism
sector, etc. It will provide new impetus to Indian economy and respect in the eyes of
foreign visitors.
While this initiative of the Prime Minister has been widely appreciated both
inside and outside the country with the World Bank likely to extend its support with a
massive financial assistance, some casual comments have been made by few perhaps
due to some compulsions. Of course earlier governments did initiate many
schemes/programs to improve sanitation and hygiene. But its the present
Government which has accorded top priority with the Prime Minister himself setting
example by taking the broom to show his keenness to make India clean and
prosperous. In doing so he has taught the Dignity of Labor, Self Reliance and
People Participation which appeared to have clouded the Indian conscience in
recent years. After all demonstrating helps by way of Trickledown effect. Following
Prime Ministers footsteps, these days we can see many persons proudly cleaning their
habitats or participating in cleanliness drives in public spaces. So finally India has
come off age since Mahatma Gandhi who espoused the importance of Cleanliness.
To quote him, Sanitation is more important than independence, I will
not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.
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The Ordinary
empowerment!!
Extraordinaire...an
incredible
story
of
Women must be put in a position to solve their problems in their own way. No
one can or ought to do this for them. Our Indian women are capable of doing it as
any in the world.
Swami Vivekananda
On 6 February 2013, IFAD held a panel
discussion on "Scaling up from the perspective
of our partners" at IFAD headquarters in
Rome. This
event
brought
together
representatives from India, Argentina and Sao
Tome who shared their respective models of
scaling up. One of the most impressive
presentations was of Ratnamma (President of
a federation of 10000 women in Orvakkal
Mandal of Kurnool District in Andhra
Pradesh).
Not long ago, Ratnammas life was a case of discrimination, injustice, insults and
poverty. Born into a poor untouchable family, she had to feed her five children with
the meager income she could earn by fetching firewood from the nearby hillocks. Since
her husband was a bonded-laborer, tied to a rich farmer for the debt owed by his father
and grandfather, his contribution to the livelihood of the family was nil. Ratnamma
had to work from dawn to dusk, fetching the firewood to sell to the villagers in weekly
fair. Though she would get Rs. 20 for a stack of firewood, this was hardly adequate to
get a decent meal to her and the children. Her husband, who was working for the
landlord to clear the debt, rarely he would show up at home. She had no answer when
the kids asked about the absence of their father in the house. The loneliness used to
haunt
her
and
she
endured
all
this
in
silence.
Having four daughters was seen as curse among the relatives who always talked ill of
her.It was this humiliation that hurt me more rather than the poverty I was in, was
her refrain.None of the children was in school. In those days my eldest daughter was
12 year old. She used to work in the cotton farms. She would go in morning and return
in the evening. She often fell sick because of the chemical fumes she inhaled in the
cotton farm, Ratnamma recalls. The evil of untouchability was rampant in the village.
Poor were barred from passing through the village with footwear. This was the plight
of all the people from the poor families. But the entry of volunteers of South Asia
Poverty Alleviation Programraised the hopes for a change. Ratnamma was spotted by
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the group which encouraged her to join the Self-help Groups (SHGs). But the big
question before Ratnamma was - what she could do in a thrift group when her entire
earning was not enough to have square meals a day. Encouraged by the volunteers, she
finally decided to join an SHG.
The SHGs conducted four meetings in a month in which the members discussed the
day-to-day problems of their families and try to find solutions together. In one of the
meetings, Ratnammas struggle becamethe topic for discussion and it was decided that
freeing of her husband from the slavery would help her family immensely. The Group
decided to give her a loan enough to repay the debt of the landlord and free her
husband. The freedom of her husband heralded a new phase in her life. Both husband
and wife joined hands to earn more money, the income level rose and gradually
Groups loan was also cleared with their thrift amount.The coming together of these
women also led to a realization that banishing the bonded labor and child-labor from
the village would pave the way for the welfare of the Girl child. So, a school was set up
by the SHG federation for those children who worked in farms and Ratnammas eldest
daughter was the first to get enrolled as a student. The hamlet reverberated with the
recital of alphabet of first generation students from the unlettered families.
Ratnamma recalls I was married off at a tender age of 13. Had I not joined the
Group that enlightened me, my daughter also would have fallen victim to the age-old
practice of child-marriage. It took great courage for Ratnamma to resist the pressure
from the members of caste and relatives who opposed the enrollment of her eldest
daughter in the school. She was a pioneer in promoting girl child education in that
village. Latter on fifty poor families in that village followed her and send their children
to the child labour camp. Change is never welcomed with open arms. You need to
summon a lot of courage to face the resistance. My experience has proven that
resistance could be won over as a collective. First everybody was hesitant to join the
Group. Once I took the lead, many had followed me. I began as member of the group
then became leader of the village organization also worked as the president of the
federation. Sometimes the fact that I had taken as much as Rs 9.5 lakh from the Group
reminds the long road I travelled. Now I am owner of a two-acre farm and cozy house.
My husband is land-owning farmer. Nobody would have thought that three daughters
of a poor once-untouchable woman have completed general nursing and the fourth is
in an undergraduate and my son is doing B.Tech. My daughters are working in the
hospitals as general nurses.
My joy knew no bound when my eldest daughter had given me nice saree as a gift
from the first salary she received as staff nurse. You know, what I got from the second
daughter- a sparkling gold chain while third daughter presented beautiful anklets,
says Ratnamma.This is not the story of one Ratnamma but many
Ratnammaswho have come out of poverty by becoming members of SHGs
for a period of more than 5 years.
For most of these rural poor women, the SHGs have now become effective vehicles
of transformation. It helps them galvanize their energies for productive purposes,
increases their social &political visibility. Through SHGs, poor women are able to
reclaim their space for self-help, mutual cooperation and collective action for social
and economic development.
SHGs: effective vehicles of transformation
Throughout the country, SHGs have created significant impact on the empowerment
status of women, both at the individual as well as the community level. The
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especially women.
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY) - Skill Development for Inclusive Growth
According to Census 2011, India has 55 million potential workers between the ages
of 15 and 35 years in rural areas. At the same time, the world is expected to face a
shortage of 57 million workers by 2020. This presents a historic opportunity for India
to transform its demographic surplus into a demographic dividend. The Ministry of
Rural Development implements DDU-GKY to drive this national agenda for inclusive
growth, by developing skills and productive capacity of the rural youth from poor
families.
There are several challenges preventing Indias rural poor from competing in the
modern market, such as the lack of formal education and marketable skills. DDU-GKY
bridges this gap by funding training projects benchmarked to global standards, with
an emphasis on placement, retention, career progression and foreign placement.
Features of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana
Regional Focus
Greater emphasis on projects for poor rural youth in Jammu and Kashmir
(HIMAYAT),
the North-East region and 27 Left-Wing Extremist (LWE) districts (ROSHINI)
Standards-led Delivery
All program activities are subject to Standard Operating Procedures that are not
open to interpretation by local inspectors. All inspections are supported by geotagged, time stamped videos/photographs
Implementation Model
DDU-GKY follows a 3-tier implementation model. The DDU-GKY National Unit at
MoRD functions as the policy-making, technical support and facilitation agency. The
DDU-GKY State Missions provide implementation support; and the Project
Implementing Agencies (PIAs) implement the programme through skilling and
placement projects.
Project Funding Support
DDU-GKY provides funding support for placement linked skilling projects that
address the market demand with funding support ranging from Rs. 25,696 to over Rs.
1 lakh per person, depending on the duration of the project and whether the project is
residential or non-residential. DDU-GKY funds projects with training duration from
576 hours (3 months) to 2304 hours (12 months).
Funding components include support for training costs, boarding and lodging
(residential programmes), transportation costs, post-placement support costs, career
progression and retention support costs.
In funding projects,
priority is given to PIAs
offering:
Foreign Placement
Captive Employment: Those
PIAs or organizations that take up
skill training to meet internal
ongoing HR needs
Industry
Internships:
Support for internships with cofunding from industry
Champion Employers: PIAs
who can assure skill training and
placement for a minimum of
10,000 DDU-GKY trainees in a
span of 2 years
Educational Institution of
High Repute: Institutes with a
minimum National Assessment
and
Accreditation
Council
(NAAC) grading of 3.5 or
Community Colleges with University Grants Commission (UGC)/ All India Council for
Technical Education (AICTE) funding willing to take up DDU-GKY projects
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Training Requirements
DDU-GKY funds a variety of skill training programs covering over 250
trades across a range of sectors such as Retail, Hospitality , Health, Construction,
Automotive, Leather, Electrical, Plumbing, Gems and Jewelry, to name a few. The
only mandate is that skill training should be demand based and lead to placement of
at least 75% of the trainees.
The trade specific skills are required to follow the curriculum and norms prescribed
by specified national agencies: the National Council for Vocational Training and Sector
Skills Councils.
In addition to the trade specific skills, training must be provided in employability
and soft skills, functional English and functional Informational technology literacy so
that the training can build cross cutting essential skills.
Training Quality Assurance
Through the National Policy on Skill Development, 2009, India recognized the need
for the development of a national qualification framework that would transcend both
general education and vocational education and training. Accordingly, GOI has
notified the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) in order to develop
nationally standardized, and internationally comparable qualification mechanism for
skill training programs which can also provide for interoperability with the
mainstream education system.
In line with NSQF, DDU-GKY mandates independent third party assessment and
certification by assessment bodies empanelled by the NCVT or SSCs.
Scale and Impact
DDU-GKY is applicable to the entire country. The scheme is being implemented
currently in 33States/UTs across 610 districts partnering currently with over 202 PIAs
covering more than 250 trades across 50+ sectors. So far, from the year 2004-05 till
30th November 2014, a total of 10.94 lakh candidates have been trained and a total of
8.51 lakh candidates have been given placement.
Even though I couldnt complete my education, I have been able to create my own
identity because of DDU-GKY.
Now everyone knows me by my name.
Seema Bharti
Textile Expert,
Orient Craft Limited, Faridabad
Seemas commitment has made her a textile expert today and is known by one and all in
her company. She is looked at with respect despite not having been able to complete her
education.
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Realizing the need for empowerment, both social and economic, of PwDs, the
Department has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to take forward and step up the
Rehabilitation and Development related issues for PwDs.
Education of PwDs is one of the recent initiatives undertaken - Literacy and
higher education level of PwDs is very low. Several schemes have been approved for
enabling Students with Disabilities to acquire education and further their
employability potential.
New schemes
Pre-Matric Scholarship and Post-Matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities
(SwD) was launched. Under the Pre-Matric Scholarship, 46,000 students studying in
class IX and X will be awarded scholarship every year (@ Rs.10000/- per SwD p.a.).
Under the Post-Matric Scholarship 16,650 disabled students studying in class XI, XII
onwards will be provided scholarship annually (@Rs.15000/- per SwD p.a.).
National Overseas Scholarship Scheme for SwDs at a total outlay of
Rs.10.00 crores benefitting 60 students per annum @ Rs.13.00 lakh per annum to
enable SwD to pursue higher education at the level of Masters Degree or Ph.D abroad
has been implemented from the current financial year 2014-15. Applications have been
invited.
Under the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for Students with disabilities,
applications have been invited for the year 2014-15. Selection is being done by
University Grants Commission. UGC is in the process of selecting 300 candidates for
the fellowship.
Flagship scheme of the Department
Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) and ADIP, the Department has
introduced a centralized on-line application system developed by NIC on the website
www.ngograntsje.gov.in in the month of July 2014.
The revised ADIP Scheme has been operationalised. The salient features of the
schemes are- Enhancement of cost ceiling; revised from Rs.6000/- to Rs.10000/- for
single disability and from Rs.8000/- to Rs.12000/- for SwDs; Enhancement of income
eligibility ceiling for 100% concession from Rs.6500/- per month to Rs, 15000/- per
month and for a 50% concession from Rs.15000/- to Rs.20000/- per month.
Under the Scheme of Assistance to Disabled persons for purchase / fitting of aids
& appliances (ADIP), the Department has introduced a centralized on-line application
system developed by NIC on the website www.ngograntsje.gov.in in the month of July
2014. Revised ADIP Scheme contains a provision to provide Cochlear Implant to 500
children per year, with a ceiling of Rs. 6.00 lakh per unit to be borne by
the Government. The Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment has announced the
commencement of First Cochlear Implant by AYJNIHH, Mumbai on International
Day for the Persons with Disability on 3rd December 2014.
The Department in collaboration with TIFAC, an autonomous body of the Dept of
Science & Technology, has launched a dedicated web portal for meeting the accessible
needs relating to aids & appliances for persons with disabilities. The web portal was
launched by the President of India on International Day for the Persons with Disability
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on 3rd December 2014. Swavlamban Composite camps 200 Composite 'ABILITYSWAWLAMBAN'. Camps are being organized all over the Country.
The first batch of "motorized tricycles" has been distributed to 20 beneficiaries on
25.09.2014 at Shajapur, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
The Prime Minister of India and the Union Minister of SJ&E felicitated the winners
of Blind Cricket World Cup and announced a cash Award of Rs. two Lakhs to each
player of the winning Team representing India.
The Ministry is establishing Centres for Disabilities Sports to develop and
encourage disabled sports persons.
A new Scheme on Awareness Generations and Publicity has been launched in the
current financial year 2014-15 for creating enabling environment for social inclusion
of the PwDs in all fields of life by promoting awareness, encouraging volunteer action,
financially supporting national/international events and accomplishments, etc. for the
realization of the aspirations of PwDs.
Future Plans and New Initiatives on Good Governance:
"Accessible India campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan)" is proposed to be launched
for the empowerment of persons with disabilities through universal accessibility for
creating an enabling environment for the PwDs to live an independent life with dignity
and equal opportunity.
In order to facilitate PwDs, process of equipping them with Universal ID has
been initiated and the detailed project report (DPR) has been prepared. These will be
smart cards containing information regarding the disabilities etc. and will be valid
across the country.
A Job portal for the PwDs for facilitating employment of PwDs is being developed
for the sector through National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation
(NHFDC). This will aggregate various jobs availability for PwDs in Government/PSUs
and private sector and facilitate placement and employment of unemployed, skilled
and semi-skilled PwDs.
A toll-free Help Desk/Help Centre is being developed by the Department through
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) for dissemination of information relating to
PwDs, tracking and handling of grievances, facilitating the aspirations and needs of
PwDs such as skilling/ employment, etc.
The Department in collaboration with Ministry of Skill and Entrepreneurship
Development and National Skill Development Council (NSDC) is preparing a
comprehensive Strategy and Action Plan for upscaling the skilling needs of the PwDs
and their placement/employment with active involvement of various stakeholders and
different Departments mandated with skilling and employment generation.
An exclusive National Level Mega Fair for exhibition and sale of various
products/goods being manufactured by PwDs and their organizations from all over
the country will be organized in Delhi to provide enhanced exposure and market
linkage/access for their products.
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The
Department
is
formulating a scheme of
Scholarship for Top Class
Education for Students with
Disabilities
for
Post
Graduate Degree/Diploma in
specified premier Institutions
of Excellence in India
Scheme
for
Free
Coaching for Students with
Disabilities
for
competitive Examinations in
Government Jobs or for
Admission in Professional
and Technical Courses is also being formulated.
First ever National Para games are scheduled to be organized in New Delhi
in association with the Paralympic Committee of India, in the month of March 2015.
Skill development for 15000 PwDs has been targeted under vocational training
to be conducted by NHFDC and National Institutes.
A new interactive, informative and disability friendly dedicated website of the
Department is being developed and will be launched in the current financial year.
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644 District Consumer Dispute Redress Fora (District Forum) with territorial
jurisdiction over the district and pecuniary jurisdiction up to Rs.20.00 lakhs.
The DCA operates a Price Monitoring Cell (PMC) tasked with monitoring prices
of select essential commodities. This monitoring is done in respect of both retail and
wholesale prices on a daily basis. The Cell monitors the prices of 22 essential
commodities, which include cereals, pulses, vegetables, edible oils, sugar, milk etc.
collected from 64 reporting centres across the country through the Civil Supplies
Departments of States/UTs.
The DCA attaches the highest priority to prompt and effective redress of
consumer grievances. The Cooperation Division of the DCA oversees the Consumer
Grievances Redress Cell (CGRC). The CGRC seeks to initiate proactive action to
redress consumer grievances. In doing so, the DCA partners with Consumer Online
Research (CORE), a voluntary consumer organisation with expertise in this field.
Complaints so received through on-line and hard copies are addressed promptly.
The Department of Pension & Pensioners' Welfare was set up in 1985 as part of
the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions to formulate policy and
coordination of matters relating to retirement benefits of Central Government
employees. The total number of pensioners as on 31.3.2014 is more than 55 lakhs which
is more than the employees under GOI. Few recent initiatives by the Department for
the welfare of the pensioners are as follows:
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pensioner Association conducted Eye camp in remote areas of Tamil Nadu like
Muduvarputti, Pudukottai etc along with Aravind Eye care team where 178 and 126
persons were screened respectively.
Some of our pensioners who were interested in the field of teaching have been tied
up with Teach for India, a project of Teach to lead which
is a not-for-profit
organization whose mission is to create a movement of leaders who will work to
eliminate educational inequity in the country. The pensioners share their experience
with these school kids of Municipal Schools thereby adding value to their life.
Our pensioners in Chennai were exposed to the SANKALP initiative in the meeting
held on 25th July, 2014 in Chennai. The pensioners were also told about Pratham an
innovative learning organization created to improve the quality of education in India.
As one of the largest non-governmental organizations in the country, Pratham focuses
on high-qualtiy, low-cost, and replicable interventions to address gaps in the
education system. 3 of our pensioners in Chennai got involved in the activities of
Pratham and were involved as Master Trainers in theAnnual Status of Education
Report (ASER) Survey.
Global Dreams, an NGO engaged in literacy drive in the city of Lucknow has
developed a toolkit to engage masses in making illiterate people literate very quickly
in a month or two with just fifteen minutes session per day. Thus within 30 to 40
sessions of 15 minutes, a learner is made capable of reading a newspaper, write and
sign his name. So far, 118 pensioners stationed in Lucknow have registered themselves
for the literacy drive launched by Global Dreams.
Bhavishya
Online Pension Sanction and Payment Tracking System: Its the age of digitization .Realizing that a retiring employee is at a vulnerable stage,
Department of P&PW has introduced an online Pension Sanction and Payment
Tracking System called BHAVISHYA for the Civil retirees. Through the software all
actions required to be taken before sanction of Pension and its payment can be
monitored by the employee as well as the Heads of offices, Accounts office and the
Pension authorization office.
Actions for timely payment of retirement dues and issue of Pension Payment Order
(PPO) start one year before the date of retirement of the employee. There are a number
of intervening stages and through this system an employee can pinpoint the delays at
each stage thus enabling timely interventions. The pension forms have also been
provided online and can be submitted online too. The new system will also capture
personal information, service data and contact details like mobile number and e-mail
etc. The retiring employees will be kept informed of the progress of pension sanction
process through SMS/E-mail.
For retired employees the system shall display the date of credit of monthly pension
by the pension disbursing bank. The system has been started as a pilot in 25
Ministries/Departments.
Government
of
India
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C-DOT has also designed and developed Indias first indigenous Terabit Router.
Honble Minister of Communications & IT, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated CDOT Terabit Router along with GPON based Fiber-to-the-Desk solution (FTTD)
during a TSDSI function held at C-DOT Campus on 14th October 2014.
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C-DOT not only developed technologies but also helped create an eco-system for
large scale telecom equipment manufacturing in the country. C-DOT Innovation and
R&D Model is tightly linked with Transfer of Technology (TOT) & Manufacturing. The
aim of technology transfer is to bring about growth by multiplication of production
units with similar technologies, and diversifying the product-range, thereby achieving
economies of scale and economies of scope. The Transfer of Technology (TOT)
philosophy of C-DOT aims a high rate of success in the technology transfer process. It
aims at educating the recipients of technology not only on the infrastructural
requirements and requisite know-how for production, but also at providing the
licensed manufacturers with vital details about the sources for the capital equipment
and components.
With its dedicated and enthusiastic teams, C-DOT is committed to creating new
waves and driving broadband penetration across the country, especially in rural areas,
to promote inclusive development and bridge the digital divide. Some of C-DOTs
latest developments are summarized in the following paragraph.
Next Generation Networks (NGN) is a popular name given to an all IP (Internet
Protocol) packet data network which can carry voice, data and video traffic, in contrast
to present day networks which need different layers to carry different types of traffic.
Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) is an industry standard system that can be
used to provide triple play (voice, video and data) through Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH)
services. GPON enables large amounts of data (2.5Gbps downstream and 1.25 Gbps
upstream) to consumer through optical fibre, which makes it a virtually future proof
broad-band solution to take the benefits of e-education, e-governance, e-medicine etc.
to rural India. Broadband Wireless Terminal (BBWT) is a lightweight low power
consuming wireless device suited to indoor or all weather outdoor use. Network
Management System (NMS) is the nerve centre of a telecom network. C-DOT NMS
solution is being used for management of different type of networks. C-DOT is also
developing the NMS for National Optical Fiber Network (NoFN) of BBNL. GyanSetu
is an internet based real-time ICT system designed by C-DOT primarily to provide
various e-services to the under privileged rural population of India. Such systems are
envisaged to be deployed in Gram panchayat as a carrier of information and knowledge
along with the traditional other government e-services. This common infrastructure
will serve the entire village population and can be accessed easily due to its simplified
design. GyanSetu was inaugurated by Honble Minister of Communications & IT on
the occasion of Good Governance Day.
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With Digital India & NTP 2012s accent on indigenous R&D and manufacturing, CDOT is poised to play a greater role in revitalizing Indian telecom manufacturing and
services sector by providing cutting edge technologies and products. With keen R&D
effort, C-DOT technologies offer advantages in terms of appropriateness for Indian
environment, Innovation & related local manufacturing.
for feeder separation will be launched to augment power supply to the rural areas and
for strengthening sub-transmission and distribution systems".
After inter-ministerial consultations, feedback from States and other
stakeholder, Government of India launched "Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti
Yojana" (DDUGJY) with the objectives; (a) To separate agriculture and nonagriculture feeders to facilitate Discoms in the judicious rostering of supply to
agricultural & non- agricultural consumers (b) Strengthening and augmentation of
sub-transmission & distribution infrastructure including metering in rural areas and
(c) Rural electrification including micro-grid and off-grid distribution network. The
scheme is an improvement over the previous programmes as it provides cafeteria
approach to the States in prioritising their needs rather than a straight jacketed
approach of 'one size fits all'. The scheme covers all villages, habitations &
hamlets/dhanis and with special dispensation for hilly/special category States.
Under the scheme, Govt. of India is providing financial support in the form of
grant maximum up to 75% of total project cost (90%, in case of special category States)
to the Discoms for implementation of the scheme. All Discoms including Private Sector
Discoms are eligible for availing financial support under the scheme. The scheme
particularly targets incapacities of distribution network by decreasing Aggregate
Technical and Commercial losses including theft with emphasis on energy accounting
through 100% metering at all levels. The scheme will be implemented within five years
during the 12th and 13th Plans in cooperation with the Discoms and the State
Governments. Implementation framework along with operational guidelines for
implementation of the scheme have been released and Discoms of the States are in the
process of formulation of projects.
Effective and efficient implementation of scheme will lead to viable and reliable
electricity services resulting in increased productivity in agriculture & labour,
improvement in delivery of health & education, access to communications (radio,
telephone, television, mobile), improved lighting after sunset, facilitating use of time
and energy saving in mills, motors & pumps, increasing public safety through outdoor
lighting. Household electrification also increases the likely hood that women would
study and earn income. The scheme after its implementation should be able to achieve
100% household electrification fulfilling the goal of 24x7 accessibility, availability,
reliability, quality and affordable power by 2019.
Digital India
Government of India has approved the Digital India programme with the vision to
transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Digital
India is an umbrella programme that covers multiple Government Ministries and
Departments. It weaves together a large number of ideas and thoughts into a single,
comprehensive vision so that each of them can be implemented as part of a larger goal.
Each individual element stands on its own, but is also part of the entire Government.
Digital India is implemented by the entire Government and being coordinated by the
Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY).
The vision of Digital India is centred on three key areas, viz., (i) Infrastructure as a
Utility to Every Citizen (ii) Governance and Services on Demand and (iii) Digital
Empowerment of Citizens. Digital India aims to provide the much needed thrust to
the following nine pillars of growth areas as summarised below:
Broadband Highways
This covers three sub components, namely Broadband for All Rural, Broadband for
All Urban and National Information Infrastructure.
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Under Broadband for All Rural, 250 thousand village Panchayats would be
covered by December, 2016. DoT will be the nodal Department and the project cost
is estimated to be approximately Rs. 32,000 Cr.
Under Broadband for All Urban, Virtual Network Operators would be leveraged
for service delivery and communication infrastructure in new urban development
and buildings would be mandated.
National Information Infrastructure would integrate the networks like
SWAN, NKN and NOFN along with cloud enabled National and State Data Centres.
It will also have provision for horizontal connectivity to 100, 50, 20 and 5
government offices/ service outlets at state, district, block and panchayat levels
respectively. DeitY will be the nodal department and the project cost is estimated to
be around Rs 15,686 Cr for implementation in 2 years and maintenance & support
for 5 years.
Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity
The initiative is to focus on network penetration and fill the gaps in connectivity in
the country.
All together 42,300 uncovered villages will be covered for providing universal
mobile connectivity in the country.
DoT will be the nodal department and project cost will be around Rs 16,000 Cr
during FY 2014-18.
Public Internet Access Programme
The two sub components of Public Internet Access Programme are Common Service
Centres and Post Offices as multi-service centres.
Common Service Centres would be strengthened and its number would be
increased from approximately 135,000 operational at present to 250,000 i.e. one
CSC in each Gram Panchayat. CSCs would be made viable, multi-functional endpoints for delivery of government and business services. DeitY would be the nodal
department to implement the scheme.
A total of 150,000 Post Offices are proposed to be converted into multi service
centres. Department of Posts would be the nodal department to implement this
scheme.
e-Governance Reforming Government through Technology
Government Business Process Re-engineering using IT to improve transactions is
the most critical for transformation across government and therefore needs to be
implemented by all ministries/ departments.
The guiding principles for reforming government through technology are:
a. Form simplification and field reduction Forms should be made simple and
user friendly and only minimum and necessary information should be collected.
b.
Online applications, tracking of their status and interface between
departments should be provided.
c. Use of online repositories e.g. school certificates, voter ID cards, etc. should
be mandated so that citizens are not required to submit these documents in
physical form.
d. Integration of services and platforms, e.g. UIDAI, Payment Gateway, Mobile
Platform, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) etc. should be mandated to
facilitate integrated and interoperable service delivery to citizens and
businesses.
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medium to exchange ideas/ suggestions with Government. It will facilitate 2waycommunication between citizens and government.
Online messaging to citizens on special occasions/programs would be facilitated
through emails and SMSes.
The above would largely utilise existing infrastructure and would need limited
additional resources.
IT for Jobs
1 Cr students from smaller towns & villages will be trained for IT sector jobs over 5
years. DeitY would be the nodal department for this scheme.
BPOs would be set up in every north-eastern state to facilitate ICT enabled growth
in these states. DeitY would be the nodal department for this scheme.
3 lakh service delivery agents would be trained as part of skill development to run
viable businesses delivering IT services. DeitY would be the nodal department for
this scheme.
5 lakh rural workforce would be trained by the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to
cater to their own needs. Department of Telecom (DoT) would be the nodal
department for this scheme.
Early Harvest Programmes
IT Platform for Messages
A Mass Messaging Application has been developed by DeitY that will cover
elected representatives and all Government employees. 1.36 Cr mobiles and 22
Lakh emails are part of the database.
Government Greetings to be e-Greetings
Basket of e-Greetings templates have been made available. Crowd sourcing
of
e-Greetings through MyGov platform has been ensured. E-Greetings portal
has been made live on 14th August 2014.
Biometric attendance
It will cover all Central Govt. Offices in Delhi and is already operational in DeitY
and has been initiated in the Department of Urban Development. On-boarding has
also started in other departments.
Wi-Fi in All Universities
All universities on the National Knowledge Network (NKN) shall be covered
under this scheme. Ministry of HRD is the nodal ministry for implementing this
scheme.
Secure Email within Government
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(b) While Indian states and district governments have come up with innovative
solutions and have implemented best practices in public service delivery and
public administration, including through the use of ICT and e-governance,
these experiences have not been documented in a systematic manner. As a
result, states dont benefit and learn from such experiences of other states.
(c)
(ii)
Currently, there are hardly any analytical studies that attempt to highlight
factors responsible for poor service delivery that impinge on development and
social indicators for the marginalized people. Similarly, there is no
documentation or analysis as to why some best practices that were rewarded or
recognized a few years back have disappeared, or have degenerated without
making any permanent impact on administrative productivity.
The Project conceives the following strategies for addressing the above
mentioned challenges / gaps described in the Project document:
(iii)
(iv)
www.goprep.in
(v)
(vi)
A Case Study Workshop was also organised from 21st to 23rd August, 2014
followed by concluding session on 31st October & 1st November, 2014. The
objective of the Workshop on Case Studies was to build capacity in developing
/ teaching case studies and develop case studies of international standard on
some of the award winning best practices in India, to facilitate its replication.
An eminent expert in Public Policy and Government at Georgetown University,
Prof. R. Kent Weaver, had been engaged for this purpose. Five cases have been
developed in the Case Study Workshop.
(vii)
Public Grievances
The front end of PG portal for lodging grievances by citizen has been improved
by providing more options to the petitioner who can now upfront select whether it is
public or pensioners grievances. Grievances relating to subject matter handled by
Directorate of Public Grievances can be directly lodged to them by the petitioner on
the pgportal. The petitioner in case he or she is not aware of the authority to whom it
should be forwarded can now select NOT KNOWN (earlier it was in dropdown)
upfront and by default it would come to DARPG.
e-Office Mission Mode Project
(i)
INTRODUCTION
2013-14. Master e-Governance Training Plan (MeTP) intends to build the capacity of
central government employees for implementing e-Governance projects. Major
proficiency tracks covered are Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), Project
Management, Change Management, etc. Training of Group-1(SO/Asst and equiv),
Group-2(US/DS/Director and equiv) and Group-3(JS and equiv) levels are being
conducted by National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT)
and NIC.
Digitization of records has been undertaken on priority and more than 700
files have been digitized in DARPG.
DARPG has already implemented e-Office programme. The Department has
switched over to e-Leave, e-GPF application, File Tracking System(FTS) and
Knowledge Management System(KMS).
determination tests adds to the declining child sex ratio, further facilitated by easy
availability of Pre-conception sex selection facilities inspite of strict rules against such
tests.
Female Foeticide
The practice of aborting female foetus has become more rampant with the
availability of modern diagnostic tools for sex determination of the unborn. With the
social biases favouring the male child on the presumptions of economic advantages
and labelling the girl child as more of a liability, the sex ratio in the country has been
skewed. The process of elimination continues even after birth in various forms of
discrimination in matters of health, nutritional and educational needs of the girl child.
This shows that womens disempowerment begins even before birth. On the contrary,
empowerment of women leads to all-round progress and emancipation from absurd
beliefs and unscientific practices in the society.
The Lancet, a medical journal published a report pertaining to the prevalence
of sex selective abortions in rich and educated Indian families in 2011. According to
the report which is based on review of data of three rounds of the nationally
representative surveys (National Family Health Survey 1, 2&3) carried out during
the years 1990 to 2005, it was found that the conditional sex ratio for second-order
births when the firstborn was a girl child, fell from 906 per 1000 boys in 1990 to 836
in 2005. But there was no significant decline in the sex ratio for second-order births if
the firstborn was a boy child, or for firstborns.
Government Initiatives
The Government is implementing a comprehensive legislation; the Pre-conception
and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 for
prohibition of sex selection before or after conception, regulation of Pre-natal
Diagnostic Techniques and prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading
to female foeticide.
Government has adopted a multi-pronged strategy devising schemes, programmes
and awareness generation/advocacy measures to build a positive environment for the
girl child through gender sensitive policies, provisions and legislation.
The measures include the following:47
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The Prime Minister has urged the Chief Ministers of all States to provide
personal leadership to reverse the declining trend in Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and
address the neglect of the girl child through focus on education and empowerment.
Religious leaders, women achievers etc. are also being involved in the
campaign against skewed child sex ratio and discrimination of the girl child.
Girls Education
Offering girls basic education is one sure way of giving them much greater
power of enabling them to make genuine choices over the kinds of lives they wish to
lead. This is not a luxury. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
establish it as a basic human right. The fact that women might have the chance of a
healthier and happier life should be reason enough for promoting girls'
education.
Moreover, there
are also important benefits for society as a whole. An educated woman has the skills,
information and self-confidence that she needs to be a better parent, worker and
citizen. An educated woman is, for example, likely to marry at a later age and have
fewer children. Cross-country studies show that an extra year of schooling for girls
reduces fertility rates by 5 to 10 per cent. And the children of an educated mother are
more likely to survive. In India, for example, the infant mortality rate of babies whose
mothers have received primary education is half that of children whose mothers are
illiterate. An educated woman will also be more productive at work -- and better paid.
Indeed, the dividend for educational investment is often higher for women than men.
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Studies from a number of countries suggest that an extra year of schooling will increase
a woman's future earnings by about 15 per cent, compared with 11 per cent for a man.
But how to improve girls' access to education? Experiences in a number of
countries show the importance of:
Low-cost and flexible timetables -- Basic education should be free or cost very
little.
Schools close to home, with women teachers -- Many parents worry about
girls travelling long distances on their own. Many parents also prefer to have
daughters taught by women.
background and be in the local language. They should also avoid reproducing
gender stereotypes.
Girl Child in India
Even though discrimination towards girls is rampant across caste and class,
girls belonging to socially and economically lower categories as well as girls with
disabilities face multiple discrimination on terms of identity. The Right to Education
Act, 2009 has improved enrolment of children aged 6-14 in elementary schools across
the country. The retention rate of girls at primary level has shown a slight
improvement 75.94% in 2011-12 and the transition rate of girls at upper primary level
has improved from 74.15% in 2003-04 to 87.32% in 2010-11, but there are 35 districts
that continue to show a high gender gap. Thus, despite overall encouraging trends,
inequities continue in educational provision of girls in the country.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme
Realizing the urgent need to put these problems on high priority and focus, the
present
Government
has
introduced
the
Beti
Bachao,
Beti
Padhao
(BBBP) scheme for survival, protection & education of the girl child. It aims to
address the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) through a mass campaign across
the country targeted at changing societal mindsets & creating awareness about the
criticality of the issue. The scheme aims at making girls independent both socially as
also financially through education. This approach of the Government can facilitate in
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for pilot schemes to safeguard the safety of women on public road transport. The Prime
Minister also launched the Sukanya Samriddhi Account for the benefit of the girl
child.
Significance of this Government initiative is very clear when the Prime Minister
Shri. Narendra Modi urged all countrymen in his now famous MAN KI BAAT, on the
need to draw inspiration from families and persons like US President Barack Obama
who have only girl children, to bring up their daughters with pride and give them due
respect. To save the girl child, to educate the girl child, this is our social duty, cultural
duty, and humanitarian responsibility; we should honour it, has said the Prime
Minister. Describing the desire to indulge in female foeticide as a "mental
illness" Shri Modi has also warned that if this discrimination does not end it could
cause a "terrible crisis" soon because of lack of women in the country. Prime Minister
also reminded the medical fraternity that medical profession is for the purpose of
saving lives, and not for killing daughters.
To conclude, gender respect should be taught at the school level more so from the
home level by the parents. Also we need to address the associated problems in bringing
up the girl child, her marriage expenses and discrimination in the society. If these are
addressed properly there is no issue which will discriminate the girl from the boy in
the society. We need not campaign door to door about the girl child and her safety.
After all we live in a country where a state like Kerala extends the best of status to its
girls.
Education has unrivalled power to reduce extreme poverty and boost wider
development goals. Investing in education, especially for girls, alleviates extreme
poverty through securing substantial benefits for health and productivity, as well as
democratic participation and women's empowerment. Not only is investing in girls'
education a moral obligation, but it is also essential if the country wants to break free
of its high child and maternal mortality rates and find true prosperity in the future."
Chittaranjan National Cancer Research Centre on Expansion mode to meet increasing
clinical load Cancer not beyond us is the tagline of World Cancer Day, 2015
Worldwide cancer statistics are estimated at 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2
million cancer related deaths in 2012. It is estimated that there would be a substantive
increase to 19.3 million new cancer cases per year by 2025, due to growth and aging of
the global population. More than half of all cancers (56.8%) and cancer deaths (64.9%)
in 2012 occurred in less developed regions of the world, and these proportions have
been indicated to increase further by 2025.
Cancer is a disease where myth can bring an end to a life. Under such circumstances
when India along with many other nations of the world is on the verge of a disastrous
cancer epidemic, cancer awareness and prevention should be the prime focus. In view
of this, the world cancer day which is observed annually on 4th February is an initiative
to raise awareness against cancer and to encourage efforts in prevention, detection and
treatment. United Nations in the year 2011 had adopted a World Cancer Declaration
which included an important issue to dispel damaging myths and misconceptions
about the disease. Last year i.e. in 2014, the focus was on dispelling damaging myths
and misconceptions about cancer under the tagline DEBUNK THE MYTHS. In 2015,
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a year has passed and the tagline has changed. This year the World Cancer Day has a
contemporary stand point, which is Not beyond us.
The World Cancer Day 2015 is expected to undertake positive and proactive
approach to the fight against cancer. The theme of this year will highlight that the
solutions for cancer do exist and they are not beyond our reach: they are very much
accessible for all. This years campaign intends to explore how to implement known
areas of cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and care, and in turn, open up
to the exciting avenues that will leave an impact on the global cancer burden for the
betterment of the society. This day is marked with hope and opportunities to raise
awareness. The cumulative effort of an individual, a community and governmental
would help to harness and mobilise these solutions and catalyse positive change. Thus
though a dreadful disease, it is not beyond our scope. Together we stand and it will be
easy to curb and fight the disease. Therefore, Cancer is not beyond us. This year
emphasis has been put on four key areas, these are adopting healthy lifestyle,
advocating early detection, imparting treatment for all, thereby maximising quality of
life.
Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI) has a glorified history as renowned
personalities like Matatma Gandhi, Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, Deshbandhu
Chittaranjan Das and Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy had been associated with this Institute.
The eminent gynaecological oncologist, Dr Subodh Chanda Mitra, the founder
Director of this institute laid the foundation stone of Chittaranjan Cancer Hospital
(CCH) as a centre for cancer treatment with the help and support of Dr B, C. Roy. Dr
Mitra felt that there should be a specialized hospital in this city for the treatment of
malignant diseases and to carry out fundamental research on cancer. The institute was
formally inaugurated by Nobel laureate Prof. Madame J Curie on 12 th January, 1950
and named after Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das. In order to pursue fundamental
research on Chittaranjan National Cancer Research Centre (CNCRC) emerged in 1957.
Later on the amalgamation of the two separate entities CCH and CNCRC took place in
1987 emerging as CNCI with the prime objective of serving as a premiere Regional
Cancer Centre for Eastern region of India. Presently CNCI is an autonomous
organisation under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India. This one
and only Regional Cancer Centre cater to people from different states of India as well
as neighbouring countries for the last sixty years. The institute is funded by
Government of India and Government of West Bengal in fixed proportion. CNCI has
another chapter at Chandannagar, which is for the treatment of patients in adjoining
area; this is Ruplal Nandy Memorial Cancer Research Centre (RNMCRC).
CNCI today is a centre for excellence so far as medical treatment and research
activities are concerned. The hospital is fully dedicated for the treatment of the cancer
patients. Patients who are below the poverty line get free treatment from the hospital,
more than 500 patients get the benefit free treatment of whom a large number get
support to obtain chemotherapeutic drugs from the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN)
Scheme, Govt of India.
Cancer affects children as well. A paediatric oncology ward is going to be functional
soon for special attention and care of the child patients. The preventive oncology
division has imparted special efforts in prevention and palliative care of the patients.
A new Day care unit was opened on 6th March, 2009 for the benefit of the cancer
patients requiring chemotherapy treatment, blood transfusion and small procures. For
the benefit of patients and their companions who hail from remote and faraway places
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from the hospital, a Night Shelter and toilet complex with drinking water facility has
become operational.
The research wing of CNCI has qualified and highly skilled scientists who own their
fame in their respective field of cancer research. Scientists are focussing mainly
towards understanding the molecular mechanisms in the development of cancer,
identification of molecular markers, targeted therapy, prevention of cancer,
epidemiology, anticancer drug development and immune regulation. Recently need
for a new area has been felt, which is a bridge between basic and clinical research; this
area has come up with the hope that in future bench to bed side research will be
carried out at CNCI. With this aim in view the department of Translational Research
was established. This department is equipped with modern, highly sophisticated
gadgets with the hope to perform best quality research work. Clinical trials under
various National and International collaborations have been undertaken at CNCI.
On an average there are around 50 publications from CNCI in peer reviewed
national and international journals. Some of the research activities have been patented
by IPR. Every year a good number of summer students from various Universities and
colleges from India are being trained by the eminent scientists of the research wing.
Good quality PhD work is carried out at CNCI. DNB course has been successfully
launched at CNCI hospital and well qualified doctors have been enrolled for the same.
It is a great honour that the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has selected CNCI
to conduct the MRCS Part III examination for two consecutive years.
Since the existing CNCI has no adequate facilities to cater the need of ever
increasing number of patients, need for expansion of hospital and research was felt.
CNCI has already initiated the process of building a 500 bedded multi-disciplinary
sophisticated cancer therapeutic facility over 10 acres of land at New Town, Rajarhat,
Kolkata. The land has already been acquired. Boundary walls have been constructed
and soil testing has been done. Final DPR prepared by HSCC (I) Ltd. has been
submitted with MOH & FW, Govt of India for final approval.
With a vision of a steady progress in the field of basic and clinical cancer research
and targeted therapy, CNCI hospital and research is envisaged to work hand in hand
for a better tomorrow where the ill-fated cancer patients can combat the disease with
the most effective and modernised treatments.
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