IASbaba PIB Weekly : Press Information Bureau – 4th

March to 11th March, 2018

iasbaba.com/2018/03/iasbaba-pib-weekly-press-information-bureau-4th-march-11th-march-2018

March 12, 2018

IASbaba Press Information Bureau 4th March to 11th

March, 2018
ARCHIVES

GS-2

Launch of National Nutrition Mission

(Topic:

Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation.
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States
and the performance of these schemes

Aimed at: 10 crore beneficiaries, mainly children up to the age of 6 years, pregnant and
lactating women, and adolescent girls.

Target: To reduce stunting, under-nutrition, and low birth weight by 2 percent per annum,
and anaemia by 3 percent annually

Half of the amount required for the scheme is proposed to come from the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other multilateral
development agencies.
It would be executed with the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) as
the nodal ministry along with Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare which is in-charge of immunisation.
The mission aims to bring down the stunting percentage as per the National Family
Health Survey-4 (2014-15) from 38.4 percent to 25 percent by 2022.
ICT would be used for real-time monitoring of the services provided by anganwadi
workers, ASHA workers (accredited social health activists) and auxiliary nurse
midwives.

Must read: Link 1

1/7
Launch of Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)
(Topic:

Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues
arising out of their design and implementation.
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States
and the performance of these schemes

By: NITI Aayog

Aimed at: Building an ecosystem for women across India to realize their entrepreneurial
aspirations, scale-up innovative initiatives and chalk-out sustainable, long-term strategies
for their businesses.

Three pillars on which WEP is built:

Ichha Shakti (motivating aspiring entrepreneurs to start their enterprise)

Gyaan Shakti (providing knowledge and ecosystem support to women entrepreneurs
to help them foster entrepreneurship)
Karma Shakti (providing hands-on support to entrepreneurs in setting-up and scaling
up businesses).

“Make in India” Action Plan

(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and
issues arising out of their design and implementation)

Under the “Make in India” action plan, 21 key sectors have been identified for specific
actions under:

Policy initiatives
Fiscal incentives
Infrastructure creation
Ease of doing business
Innovation and R&D
Skill development

Key sectors have been opened up for FDI: defence manufacturing, food processing,
telecom, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, civil aviation, space, private security agencies,
railways, insurance and pensions and medical devices.

Key Points:

In 2016-17, FDI inflow stood at a record of USD 60 billion, highest ever recorded for a
fiscal year ever.
According to IMF World Economic Outlook (April2017) and UN World Economic
Situation Prospects 2017, India is the fastest growing major economy in the world
and is projected to remain so in year 2018.

2/7
Draft Indian National Strategy for Standardization
(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and
issues arising out of their design and implementation)

The Strategy considers the current state of development across sectors, the existing quality
infrastructure and the policy directions in relation to domestic economic developments and
trade in goods and services.

Key Objectives of Draft INSS

Positioning standards as a key driver of all economic activities relating to goods and
services
Developing a comprehensive ecosystem in India for standards development taking
into account the diversity of interests and expertise available
Using standards as enhancer of competitiveness of Indian goods and services in
domestic and international markets
Providing level playing field to domestic industry
Adopting best practices in standardization, conformity assessment and technical
regulations and creating an integrated infrastructure, roadmaps and institutions for
their effective management
Playing an active role and taking leadership positions in apex international forums in
the related areas
Creating response mechanisms to global developments on standards, technical
regulations and conformity assessment practices that impact market access of Indian
goods and services
Aligning the Strategy with other national policies related to trade & industry,
consumers and environment

Cabinet Approves:

Signing of Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between India and France:
The Agreement represents a major milestone in enhancing people-to -people contacts,
fostering mobility of students, academics, researchers and skilled professionals and
strengthening cooperation on issues related to irregular migration and human trafficking
between the two sides.

Signing of an Agreement between India and France to facilitate “Mutual Recognition

of Academic Qualifications”:

To facilitate Mutual Recognition of educational qualifications and periods of study

undertaken by students in duly approved, recognized and/or accredited educational
Institutions within the two countries
The agreement will be instrumental in encouraging mobility of students from both the
countries by facilitating possibilities for them to continue their studies in the other
country and would also promote excellence in higher education through innovative
partnerships/collaborations and research activities which will be leading to the
improvement of the quality of education in India.

3/7
Agreement between India and France to prevent illicit consumption and reduction of
illicit traffic in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Chemical Precursors
and related offences: Aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation between the two countries
in the prevention of the said offences through exchange of information, expertise and
capacity building.

MoU between India and Hellenic on Renewable Energy Cooperation: Both sides aim to
establish the basis for a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage and promote
technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable issues on the basis of mutual benefit
equality and reciprocity.

Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018 for introduction in the

Parliament:

It is a part of the efforts of the Government to encourage institutional arbitration for

settlement of disputes and make India a centre of robust Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR) mechanism.

Benefit: Will facilitate achieving the goal of improving institutional arbitration by establishing
an independent body to lay down standards, make arbitration process more party friendly,
cost effective and ensure timely disposal of arbitration cases.

Background:

To give a boost to institutional, arbitration vis-a-vis ad hoc arbitration and to remove some
practical difficulties in applicability of the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act,
2015, a High Level Committee (HLC) under the Chairmanship of Justice B. H. Srikrishna,
Retired Judge, Supreme Court of India, was constituted by the Central Government. The
HLC was given the mandate –

To examine the effectiveness of existing arbitration mechanism by studying the

functioning and performance of Arbitral Institutions in India;
To devise a road map to promote institutionalized arbitration mechanisms in India;
To evolve an effective and efficient arbitration eco-system for commercial dispute
resolution and submit a Report on suggested reforms in the statute.

Memorandum of Cooperation between India and France in the field of environment:

Will enable establishment and promotion of closer and long-term cooperation between the
countries in the field of environment protection and management of natural resources on
the basis of equity, reciprocity and mutual benefits, taking into account the applicable laws
and legal provisions in each country.

India – Vietnam Relations

(Topic: India and its neighbourhood- relations)

President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: H.E. Mr. Tran Dai Quang

Fathers of the Nation, Vietnam: President Ho Chi Minh

4/7
Defence & Security – an important and effective pillar of the Comprehensive Strategic
Partnership

Stronger cooperation between their armed forces and enhanced cooperation in areas
of cyber security, combating terrorism and violent extremism in all their forms and
manifestations, transnational crimes, human and drug trafficking, maritime security,
climate change and food security.
Reaffirmed their commitment to an open, free, secure, stable, peaceful and
accessible cyber space under the auspices of the United Nations and called for
greater cooperation and effective implementation of the agreements signed between
the two sides on cyber security
Both sides agreed to expedite the implementation of the US$100 million Line of
Credit for building of high-speed patrol boats for the Viet Nam Border Guards and
urged for early signing of a framework agreement on the US$ 500 million Line of
Credit for defence industry

Economic Relations – Need to enhance strong trade and economic engagement

To explore new trade and investment opportunities in identified priority areas of

cooperation: hydrocarbons, power generation, renewable energy, energy,
conservation, infrastructure, textiles, footwear, pharmaceuticals, machine tools,
agriculture and agro-products, tourism, chemicals, ICT and other service sector
industries
To intensify cooperation to increase productivity, quantum and content of science and
technology in agricultural products

Energy Cooperation –

Welcomed Indian oil and gas companies to avail of opportunities in the midstream
and downstream sectors in Viet Nam, to expand their oil and gas exploration and
exploitation activities on land and in the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) of Vietnam

Culture, Education & People-to-People Exchanges

To intensify cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism and people-to-people

exchange, widen and deepen cultural and historical ties by cooperating further in the
areas of archaeology, conservation and museums to revive and reconnect the
civilizational and historic cultural heritage between the two countries

Connectivity

The Indian side urged Viet Nam to utilise various initiatives of India for CLMV
countries, including the US$1 billion line of credit for physical and digital connectivity
projects. The two sides agreed to explore the possibility of extending the India-
Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway further to Viet Nam through Cambodia and Lao
PDR.
The two sides stressed the importance of the early signing of an ASEAN-India
Maritime Transport Cooperation Agreement. They sought acceleration of the

5/7
 establishment of direct shipping routes between the sea ports of India and Viet Nam.

Regional Cooperation

Underscoring the significance of sub-regional frameworks in strengthening bilateral

cooperation and complementing regional cooperation through ASEAN frameworks,
they agreed to optimally develop and utilise existing sub-regional frameworks,
especially the Mekong-Ganga Economic Corridor.
The Vietnamese side reiterated its consistent support for permanent membership of
India in a reformed Security Council.
The two sides re-affirmed their determination and efforts to further cooperate in
maintaining peace, stability and development in the Indo – Pacific region as well as in
the world at large. They also reiterated the importance of, and the need for complete
compliance with international law, notably the United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), including the implementation of international legal
obligations in good faith, the maintenance of freedom of navigation and over-flight in
the South China Sea, full respect for diplomatic and legal processes, peaceful
settlement of disputes without resorting to the threat or use of force, and in
accordance with international law. In this regard, both sides support the full and
effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the
South China Sea (DOC) and look forward to an early conclusion of an effective and
substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Please Note –

Thousands of educational institutions of all Minority communities including Madrasas have

been included in the mainstream education system by connecting them with 3Ts –

Teacher
Tiffin
Toilet

Key Statistics:

School dropout rate among Muslim girls down from 70% to about 40%
UNICEF has stated that 25 million child marriages were prevented worldwide in the
last decade with South Asia witnessing the largest decline largely due to progress in
India. It was stated that in the current trend, 27 per cent of girls get married before
they turn 18 years—steep decline from 47 per cent a decade ago.

Quotes by:

PM of India – Shri Narendra Modi

On your journey towards success: “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life, think of
it, dream of it, live on that idea, let the brain, muscles, nerve, every part of your body be full
of that idea and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”

6/7
Education: “Your education should be an education of the heart and the spirit, and of the
spirit as much of the brain; it should be a living connection between yourselves and your
past as well as the modern world!”

Former President Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam: “If a country is to be corruption free and
become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members
who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.”

The architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: “I measure the progress
of community by the degree of the progress which women have achieved”.

7/7