P.I.B : NEWS (15-5-2016 to 21-5-2016)

1.“VESAK SAMMAN PRASHASTI PATRA-2016” AWARDS PRESENTED TO BUDDHIST SCHOLARS FOR PROMOTION AND DISSEMINATION OF BUDDHIST STUDIES 

INTERNATIONAL BUDDHA POORNIMA DIWAS 2016 CELEBRATION 

·        ‘International Buddha Poornima Diwas 2016’ was celebrated here today to commemorate the Thrice Blessed Day of Buddha’s Birth, Sambodhiprapti and Mahaparinirvana falling on the auspicious full moon day of the month of Vaishakh.

·        UN recognizes the importance of this day. The UN Day of Vesak Celebration is internationally a cultural and humanistic festival of the United Nations International Organizing Committee.

·        The established process of this celebration commenced in year 2000.

·        Buddha Purnima or Vesak is regarded as the thrice-sacred day that celebrates three momentous events in the history of human kind, regardless of the country or Buddhist tradition to which we belong, namely Buddha’sbirth, sambodhiprapti and mahaparinirvana.

·        India is the land of the origin of Buddha dharma, and home to three of the four holiest Buddhist sites, namely Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar, and numerous others connected with Buddha’s life and thereafter.

·        Buddha was born as Prince Siddhartha in Lumbini in present day Nepal.

·        He attained sambodhiprapti in Bodhgaya in Bihar, and mahaparinirvana in Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh.

2.Dr. Mahesh Sharma inaugurates exhibition ‘frontier Gandhi and the Indian Freedom Movement’ to commemorate 125th birth anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan .

·        Addressing on the occasion, Dr. Mahesh Sharma said that Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was a great person who was devoted to the Freedom of India and Hindu-Muslim unity.

·        It is a great moment that today his family members are present here in this function. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Gandhi ji were complementary to each other and we will keep his memories alive for the decades to come.

·        He said that Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s 125th birth anniversary calls for a special exploration of his life of sacrifice, commitment and achievement.

·        His life and message are an inspiration for India and humanity at large. He stood for the finest in the Pathan character as seen in his intense passion for freedom, implicit faith in God, indomitable courage, boldness and fearlessness.

·        Dr. Sharma said that Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was a staunch nationalist and a pluralist to the core.

·        He never accepted the two nation theory and strongly opposed the partition of India. He advocated the unity among the Hindus and Muslims as one nation.

·        The Minister said Badshah Khan was of the opinion that when various constitutional formulas failed against the Partition Plan and a Referendum was recommended in the Frontier provinces to decide whether it should join the latter or the former, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was stunned at this decision. He said, "Mahatmaji, you have thrown us to the wolves”.

·        The Minister said that Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, popularly known as Badshah Khan or the Frontier Gandhi, was among those truly distinguished leaders, who led the people in an epic struggle against British imperialism.

·        He was a deeply religious man, committed social reformer, passionate advocator of Pashto language, believer in the unity of India and above all a staunch Gandhian. He was awarded Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award in 1987.

·        He opined said that Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, being a socio-religious reformer to the core, realized that the lack of proper education let the Pakhtuns go astray. He wanted to unite all the tribes of Pakhtuns, educate them and reform the Pakhtun society, and eventually he succeeded in his goal to a great extent.

 3.Three rail connectivity projects awarded under Sagarmala 

·        Three rail connectivity projects under the Ministry of Shipping’s flagship programe ‘Sagarmala’, worth Rs 38.71 crores have been awarded by Indian Port Rail Company Limited (IPRCL).

·        These projects will help to increase connectivity and efficiency of ports. The port wise details of the connectivity projects are:

1)      Visakhapatanam Port Trust:

       

2)      Visakhapatanam Port Trust: 

3)      Chennai Port Trust: 

IPCRL is also working towards executing 18 more port connectivity projects. All these projects will help in better port connectivity and quick evacuation of cargo.

4.Indigenously developed fecal incontinence management system ‘Qora’ launched 

·        The indigenously developed fecal incontinence management system ‘Qora’ was launched by Minister of State for Science & Technology Shri Y.S.Chowdary in New Delhi on Thursday, 19th May, 2016. 

·        Aimed to train the next generation of medical technology innovators in India to develop innovative and affordable medical devices to augment unmet clinical needs of India, an innovative medical device has been developed under Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology supported Bio design Programme by M/s. Consure Medical, NewDelhi. 

·        Fecal incontinence (FI) is a medical condition marked by inability to control one’s bowel movements, causing stool (feces) to leak unexpectedly from the rectum.

·        It affects nearly 100 million bed ridden patients worldwide. Furthermore, about 50% of the psychiatric ward patients have FI due to long-term neurological diseases.

·        Absorbent pads and fecal drainage catheters are the only available solutions for this condition a need for a better solution was felt by the team. 

·        M/s. Consure Medical has been founded in 2012 by Mr. Nishith Chasmawala and Mr. Amit Sharma, the inventors of the technology. This Company has developed this novel technology ‘Fecal Incontinence Management System-Qora’ to address the clinical and economical implications of fecal incontinence by expanding indications for use, reducing skill level required to use a device, and introducing a new level of care for patients outside the ICU.

·        The Consure Medical has developed the QoraTM Stool Management Kit, the world’s first FDA 510(k) approved indwelling fecal drainage device for the management of fecal incontinence that can be used across a continuum of care facilities from ICUs to nursing homes. In select markets like India, caretakers of bedridden patients at home can use the device.

5.RGI releases Census 2011 data on Households by religion, Sex of head of household and household size. 

Table HH-7 on Households by religion, sex  of head of household and household size reveals the percentage of households to total households in main six religious communities as follows:-

Religious Communities	Total no. of households             (in million)	Percentage to Total households
1	2	3
Total Households	248.8	100.0
Hindu	202.4	81.3
Muslim	31.2	12.5
Christian	6.3	2.5
Sikh	4.1	1.7
Buddhist	1.9	0.7
Jain	0.9	0.4

   As ‘religion not stated’ and ‘Others’ are not included, so total will not tally.

·        The highest percentage of female headed households is noticed in Christian Community (17.4%) followed by Buddhist (15.9%).

·        The lowest percentage of female headed households is in Jain community (11.5%).

·        As observed from the graph below, the average households size is higher in male headed households as compared to female headed households in all the religious communities.

Sex wise variation is highest among Hindu community (Male headed HH size 4.9, Female headed HH size 3.8) and the least variation is seen among Sikh community (Male headed HH size 5.1, Female headed HH size 4.6).

6.Health Minister launches ‘Kayakalp Fortnight’ to be observed across the country in Central Government hospitals 

·        “To implement the vision and philosophy behind Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan launched by the Hon. Prime Minister, the Health Ministry launched the Kayakalp initiative last year to set protocols for hygiene and sanitation at government health facilities.

·        The initiative towards total “Swacchta” in public health facilities is aimed towards building confidence of the users in public health facilities, provide quality service and encourage team work”.

·        the initiative will encourage every public health facility in the country to work towards standards of excellence to help the facilities stay clean and hygienic. 

·        The Union Health Minister was speaking at the launch of the ‘Kayakalp Fortnight’ which shall be observed throughout the country in various central government hospitals from 20th May, 2016 to 3rd June, 2016 with a view to intensifying the Kayakalp initiatives under the Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan.

·        Shri Nadda launched the Kayakalp Fortnight at AIIMS, New Delhi today. Shri Nadda stated that as part of the various activities to be taken up during the fortnight, senior officers of the Ministry will be inspecting various Central Hospitals in the country to take stock of the existing status and to intensify the Swachhta drive. The States have been requested to take up similar campaigns in their respective States. 

7. Indian Navy Ships from Kochi deployed for Assistance in Sri-Lanka 

·        Two Indian Navy warships, INS Sutlej and INS Sunayna, have been deployed to Sri-Lanka on 20 May 16 to provide assistance consequent to the calamity caused due to the cyclone “Roanu”.

·        The ships sailed from Kochi with 30-40 tons of relief material which includes inflatable rafts, fresh water, medical supplies, clothing and other provisions necessary for disaster relief operations and are scheduled to reach Colombo harbour on 21 May 16 during the morning hours.

·        A Chetak helicopter has also been embarked for the deployment.

8. Cyclonic Storm ‘ROANU’ Over West Central Bay of Bengal 

                       The cyclonic storm ‘ROANU’ over west central Bay of Bengal remained practically stationary and lay centred at 1130 hrs IST of today, the 19^th May, 2016 .

9. WCD Minister Smt Maneka Gandhi releases Draft National Policy for Women, 2016 for consultation 

·        Union WCD Minister Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi released the draft National Policy for Women, 2016 today for stakeholder comments and consultations.

·        Releasing the draft policy at a press conference in New Delhi, the Minister stated that the Policy is being revised after 15 years and is expeceted to guide Government action on Women’s issues over the next 15-20 years.

·        The Minister stated that several things have changed since the last Policy of 2001 especially women's attitude towards themselves and their expectations from life.

·        She stated that in view of this the new draft Policy shifts the focus from entitlements to rights and from empowerment to creating an enabling environment.

·        She has requested for widespread comments on the draft policy so that the final policy document can be a true reflection of the voice of all women. 

The Salient features of the policy are as follows:

Background:

·        Nearly a decade and half has passed since the National Policy for Empowerment of Women, 2001 was formulated.

·        The discourse on women’s empowerment has been gradually evolving over the last few decades, wherein paradigm shifts have occurred –from seeing women as mere recipients of welfare benefits to mainstreaming gender concerns and engaging them in the development process of the country.

·        These changes have brought forth fresh opportunities and possibilities for women’s empowerment while at the same time presenting new and emerging challenges which along with persisting socio-economic problems continue to hinder gender equality and holistic empowerment of women.

·        The policy aims to create sustainable socio-economic, political empowerment of women to claim their rights and entitlements, control over resources and formulation of strategic choices in realisation of the principles of gender equality and justice. 

PRIORITY AREAS

       I.Health including food security and nutrition: 

·        Focus on recognizing women’s reproductive rights, shift of family planning focus also to males, addressing health issues in a life cycle continuum  such as psychological and general well-being,  health care challenges related to nutrition/ hygiene  of adolescents, geriatric health care, expansion of health insurance schemes and addressing the intergenerational cycle of under-nutrition

    II.Education: 

·        Improve access to pre-primary education, enrolment and retention of adolescent girls, implement innovative transportation models for better schooling outcomes, advocate gender champions and address disparities with regard to ICTs.

 III.Economy: 

·        Raising visibility, engendering macro-economic policies and trade agreements, generate gender-disaggregated land ownership database, skill  development and training for women, entrepreneurial development, review of labour laws and policies, equal employment opportunities with appropriate benefits related to maternity and child care services, address technological needs of women.

 IV.Governance and Decision Making: 

·        Increasing women’s participation in the political arena, administration, civil services and corporate boardrooms,

III. Violence Against Women:  

·        Address all forms of violence against women through a life cycle approach, Legislations affecting /relating to women will be reviewed/harmonized to enhance effectiveness, Improve Child Sex Ratio (CSR), strict implementation of advisories, guidelines, Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) and protocols, prevention of trafficking at source, transit and destination areas for effective monitoring of the networks.

IV. Enabling Environment: 

·        Gender perspective in housing and infrastructure, ensuring safe drinking water and sanitation, gender parity in the mass media & sports, concerted efforts towards strengthening social security and support services for all women especially the vulnerable, marginalized, migrant and single women.

V. Environment and Climate Change:  

·        addressing gender concerns during distress migration and displacement in times of natural calamities due to climate change and environmental degradation. Promotion of environmental friendly, renewable, non–conventional energy, green energy sources for women in rural households.

·        The policy also describes emerging issues such as making cyber spaces safe place for women, redistribution of gender roles, for reducing unpaid care work, review of   personal and customary laws in accordance with the Constitutional provisions, Review of criminalization of marital rape within the framework women’s human rights etc. relevant in the developmental paradigms.

Operational strategies

Create an enabling environment through continued and additional initiatives:

1. Enabling safety and security of women  :

·        with initiatives such as One Stop Centres, Women Helpline, Mahila Police Volunteers, Reservation of women in police force, creating immediate response mechanism through panic buttons in mobiles, public and private transport, surveillance mechanisms in public places.

2.Creating eco-systems to encourage entrepreneurship amongst women:

·        through platforms like Mahila E-Haat, dedicated theme based exhibitions, focussed skill training, mentoring through Women Entrepreneurship Council, availability of easy & affordable credit and financial inclusion.

3.Training and capacity building of all stakeholders :

·        including youth through Gender Champion initiative, frontline workers, women sarpanches and all officials dealing with policy and delivery systems impacting women.

4.Facilitating women in workplace :

·        through gender friendly work place, flexi timings, increased maternity leave, provision of child care / creches at workplace, life cycle health care facilities.

           

      10. Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates “Purbashree stall” at Dilli Haat 

·        The North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation Ltd (NEHHDC) has set up the Purbashree stall to give further boost to the development and promotion of North East handicrafts and handlooms products.

·        While inaugurating the stall, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that for the first time, the stall has been set up on permanent basis which is devoted exclusively to North east.

·        The stalls showcasing northeast were earlier put up on temporary basis, he added.

·        He said that these stalls will not only showcase the North Eastern culture and ethnicity, but will also help in generating the revenue. The Minister said that the permanent stalls in Dilli Haat is a significant milestone. 

·        The setting up of North east stalls will help showcase the talent of north east and will help in the promotion of start-ups, he added.

   11. Shri Nitin Gadkari Launches INFRACON, ePACE and up-Scaled INAM PRO: Calls Upon All Stakeholders to Use International Best Practises in Road Building 

·        ePACE (Projects Appraisal & Continuing Enhancements) is an online integrated Management  Information System that brings projects from all wings of the  Ministry under a common platform.

·        ensuring  their effective and real time tracking. 

·        More than 2000 projects being executed by multiple agencies are currently listed on the portal and it is possible to get any information about their real time status, fund utilization etc.

·        The portal can be freely accessed by anybody, and information regarding projects in any particular state can be found at the click of a button.

·        INFRACON is the National Portal for Infrastructure Consultancy Firms and Key Personnel.

·        This portal acts as a kind of bridge between consultancy firms working in the road engineering and construction sector and domain experts and key personnel who are deployed both for project preparation and supervision.  

·        The portal hosts the credentials of consultancy firms and key personnel and has linkages to Aadhar and Digi-locker for data validation and purity.

·        INAM PRO has been developed as a web-based application (www.inampro.nic.in) for Infrastructure and Material Providers.

·        It is a kind of a web based market place that brings together the material providers and the prospective buyers on a common platform. 

·        Ex :The platform was launched in March 2015 to facilitate contractors and cement buyers engaged in executing central/state funded roads and highways and bridge construction projects to place cement orders online with the registered cement companies offering cement at competitive rates in the vicinity of project execution locations. Cement companies are facilitated to update their offered stocks and the prices on the portal.