Lecture 1

2018
Social News for IAS Prelims
Revision One Year Current affairs
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 SANITATION →
SWACHH SURVEKSHAN-2017
• Ministry of Urban Development
announced the results of the Swachh
Survekshan-2017.
• conducted in 434 cities and towns.
Agencies involved?
• commissioned by the Ministry of
Urban Development
• +conducted by Quality Council of
India.
Objective
• To capture the improvement in
sanitation
 SANITATION:
SWACHH SURVEKSHAN-2017
• scenario, primarily based on making
cities and towns Open Defecation Free
and improvement in processing of
municipal solid waste.
Rankings
• Top 5 Cleanest cities are: Indore,
Bhopal,Visakhapatnam, Surat and
Mysuru.
• Worst 5 cities and towns: Katihar
(Bihar),Hardoi (U.P), Bagaha (Bihar),
Bhusawal (Maharashtra), Gonda (U.P).
 Anuyatra
• initiative of the Social
Justice Department and the
Kerala Social Security
Mission, aimed at making
the State disabled-friendly.
• focuses on several
interventions from disability
prevention to self-reliant
rehabilitation.
 ICT 2025 VISION DOCUMENT OF EC
ECI has released ICT 2025 vision document.
• It contains the strategy of adopting ICT in conduct of
elections.
Components
• ICT 2025 Projects which capitalise on Digitalization, will
capture both Electoral Process and the conduct of elections.
four major components of the ICT 2025.
• Integrated Software application
• GIS, Analytic and Integrated Contact Centre IT infrastructure
including data center, IT security, disaster recovery
• Knowledge Management, Capacity building and
• social media engagement
 OPEN DEFECATION FREE STATES
• Under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin
(SBMG), rural Haryana and rural Uttarakhand →
declared themselves as the Open Defecation Free
(ODF) States of India
• Total Open Defecation Free (ODF) states
• Sikkim + Himachal Pradesh + Kerala +
Uttarakhand + Haryana
• ODF Status in India
• All cities and towns in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand
and Haryana became Open Defecation Free‘ as the Swacch Bharat Mission
(SBM) completed three years.
• Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh had already declared all cities and towns ODF.
• Chandigarh is the only UT to have become ODF under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
(Urban).
• ODF Rural - Rural Gujarat has been declared as ODF, marking the completion of
three years of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin).
• state joined the league of Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand and
Haryana, which were the first 5 states to be declared ODF rural states.
• SBM (Gramin) is implemented by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
and SBM (Urban) is implemented by Ministry of Urban development
 Darwaza Band
• new campaign titled 'Darwaza Band' to
promote toilet use + freedom from
open defecation across the country's
villages.
• campaign produced by the MDWS
under Swachh Bharat Mission and has
been supported by the World Bank
and is being rolled out countrywide
immediately after the launch.
• designed to encourage behaviour
change in men who have toilets but
are not using them.
 BHILAR
• Maharashtra Chief Minister
inaugurated India’s first ‘village of
books’ in the village of Bhilar
• Bhilar boasts collection of over
15,000 rare books and old magazines
in Marathi.
• aims to be the one-stop destination
for lovers of vernacular literature.
• located in Satara district of
Maharashtra in Sahyadri hills.
• major producing-hub of strawberries.
 Dr Ambedkar National Award
➢ Dr. Ambedkar National Award for Social
Understanding and up liftment of Weaker
Sections for the year 2011, 2012 and 2014
➢ function was organized by The Ambedkar
Foundation under Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment and award for
the year 2014
➢ was jointly presented to Shri Babu Lal
Nirmal of Rajasthan and to Amar Sewa
Sangam of Tamil Nadu.
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Life Time Achievement
Honour in Public Service
• to Pawan Kumar Chamling, Chief
Minister of Sikkim.
Background
• Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was the 11th
Vice-President of India and also served
as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan three
times.
 SELFIE WITH DAUGHTER
• President of India launched a mobile
Application ‘Selfie with Daughter’
About Selfie with Daughter→
• When launched? →‘Selfie with
Daughter’ campaign was started by
Shri Sunil Jaglan in June 2015 in
village Bibipur, Jind, Haryana.
Objective of the campaign→To
motivate society to feel proud to be
parents of a girl child which will result
in improving the child sex ratio.
 SMARTGRAM initiative
• SMARTGRAM initiative → five
villages of Haryana by the President.
• smart gram would have the required
basic physical and social
infrastructure with a layer of smart
information + communication
embedded in the infrastructure to
improve governance and delivery of
services, livelihood and economic
opportunities.
Lecture 2
2018
Social News for IAS Prelims
Revision One Year Current affairs
 Super Dads: New UNICEF Campaign
• campaign launched →'Super
Dads,‘
• By United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF)
• celebrates a father's essential
role in a child's early cognitive
development.
• Super Dads initiative is a part of
a larger campaign called
EarlyMomentsMatter, which
aims to bring awareness to the
significance of early childhood
experiences on a child's future.
• Sachin Tendulkar will join
other global celebrities
• Stars are not the only super
dads that will be featured.
• Moving stories of fathers
raising their children under
difficult circumstances will be
also posted alongside pictures
and videos of celebrity dads.
 India Top Remittance-receiving Country in 2016

• report recently released by UN IFAD (International

Fund for Agricultural Development) indicates that
India is the top remittance-receiving ($ 63 billion)
country surpassing China.
• Titled “Sending Money Home: Contributing to the
SDGs, one family at a time”,
• India Remittance Increased → 68.6 % (2007 and
2016),
• more than 17% higher than the world average of 51%.
 Child Marriages
• According to the recent research by Young Lives and
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
(NCPCR), Rajasthan has reported the highest
incidence of child marriages.
• Rajasthan also topped in the percentage (4.69%) of
boys marrying below the legal age of 21 years.
• report also highlighted that, No marriage below 10
years of age was reported across the country
 MEASUREMENT OF LIVEABILITY INDEX OF
CITIES TO BEGIN
• Ministry of Urban Development will launch measuring of Liveability
Index of cities based on indigenously evolved Index.
• To start with, Liveability Standards of 140 cities including 53 cities with
population of one million and above and Smart Cities will be assessed.
• Cities will be assessed on 15 core parameters relating to Governance,
social infrastructure pertaining to education, health and safety and
security, economic aspects and physical infrastructure like housing, open
spaces, land use, energy and water availability, solid waste
management, pollution etc.
• Cities will be ranked based on Liveability Index that would cover a total
of 79 aspects.
 India to Become Most Populous Country in the World by 2024

• According to UN forecast, India’s population could

surpass that of China’s around 2024,
• two years later than previously estimated, and is
projected to touch 1.5 billion in 2030.
• The World Population Prospects: The 2017
Revision, published by UN Department of
Economic and Social Affairs,
 UGC APP TO FIGHT RAGGING
• HRD Minsitry launched an Anti-Ragging Mobile App introduced
by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
• will help students register complaints against the menace of
ragging in the country.
• Previously, students were required to visit the website to
register a complaint against ragging.
• new app will work on android platform and will facilitate
students to register a complaint against ragging instantaneously.
Students can log in and register their complaints immediately.
• complaint will be sent to the concerned authorities for timely
action and the action will be initiated immediately.
IIT-Kharagpur signs MoU with Madhya Pradesh
for measuring happiness index
• IIT-KGP will develop index and analyse data collected by
state govt
• to assess the level of happiness and chalk out
recommendations that can be used to enhance happiness
• IIT-KGP will also develop an online screening and
assessment system in order to screen and identify suitable
volunteers from database of more than 30,000 people
who have offered to be part of the collaborative exercise.
 PAN-INDIA IMPLEMENTATION OF MATERNITY
BENEFIT PROGRAM
• Union Cabinet has given approval to Pan-India implementation
of Maternity Benefit Program.
• Program will provide compensation for the wage loss in terms
of cash incentives so that the women can take adequate rest
before and after delivery and not be deprived of proper
nutrition.
About the scheme: Background
• Govt. is committed to ensure that every woman gets adequate
support and health care during pregnancy and at the time of
delivery and + better health of mother & newborn.
 Objective of the Scheme
• To provide partial compensation for the wage loss in
terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take
adequate rest before and after delivery of the first
living child.
• cash incentives provided would lead to improved
health seeking behaviour amongst the Pregnant
Women and Lactating Mother (PW&LM) to reduce
the effects of under-nutrition namely stunting,
wasting and other related problems
 PAN-INDIA IMPLEMENTATION OF MATERNITY
BENEFIT PROGRAM
Target Group:
• All eligible Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM), excluding
the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who are in regular
employment with the Central Government or State Government or
Public Sector Undertakings or those who are in receipt of similar benefits
under any law for the time being.
• It has been decided to give the benefit of Rs. 5000/- to PW&LM in three
installments for the birth of the first live child by MWCD and the
remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity
Benefit under existing programmes after institutional delivery so that on
an average, a woman will get ₹ 6000/-.
• The conditional cash transfer scheme would be in DBT mode.
 READER TITLED “RAISING HAPPY CHILDREN AND PROVIDING SAFE CHILDHOODS”
RELEASED BY WCD MINISTRY

• Ministry of Women and Child Development has developed a reader titled “Raising Happy
Children and Providing Safe Childhoods”.
• It provides advisory guidelines to parents, teachers and community to protect children
from being involved in delinquent behaviour through early detection, counselling and
positive engagement.
• It draws upon basic principles laid down in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act 2015, which provides a strong formal framework for dealing with children in
conflict with the law throughout the criminal justice process.
• Young children experience their world through their relationships with parents, teachers,
peers and other caregivers. Therefore, there is a need to create a warm, loving and
nurturing environment where their physical, emotional and spiritual needs are recognized
and honoured by their family, school and community so as to allow them to reach their
full potential.
 ODISHA’S SUALGIRI, SWALGIRI COMMUNITIES NOTIFIED AS
SCHEDULED CASTES

• Odisha’s Sualgiri and Swalgiri communities have

been notified as Scheduled Castes following
President Pranab Mukherjee’s assent to a new
law.
• As per the modified list for Odisha, the
“Sabakhia, Sualgiri, Swalgiri” are notified
Scheduled Castes.
 INAUGURATION OF INTEGRATION OF ESANAD WITH CBSE’S ACADEMIC
REPOSITORY

• External Affairs Minister,

• +Electronics Information
Technology Minister
• + Human Resource Development
Minister
• jointly inaugurated the integration
of eSanad with CBSE’s academic
repository “Parinam Manjusha”.
• eSanad aimed →online
verification of the documents with
an objective to extend contactless,
cashless and paperless document
attestation/ apostille service to
applicants in India as well as
abroad.
• integration OF e-Sanad with Parinam Manjusha
will help the applicants avoid long travels and
precious resources of time and money for getting
their documents attested by the concerned
authorities in States.
• It also allows filing the application online.
• eSanad has been designed and developed by NIC
and will be implemented in phases
Lecture 3
2018
Social News for IAS Prelims
Revision One Year Current affairs
 UN Public Services Award
• most prestigious international
recognition of excellence in public
service.
• rewards creative achievements
• contributions of public service
institutions
• West Bengal govt. winners to receive
this Award for its initiative named
“Kanyashree” to combat child
marriage and ensure education to the
girl child in the state.
 'She Means Business' Programme In Odisha
• Odisha Government →launched 'She Means Business' programme of Facebook for
women entrepreneurs.
• Under the scheme 25,000 women entrepreneurs and self-help group (SHG)
members will be given training on digital marketing skills within next one year.
• programme has been launched by Facebook in 16 countries + India.
• designed to reach out to aspiring and established women entrepreneurs to help
them build and grow their business online.
• women entrepreneurs will learn basic nuances of digital marketing like how to
start your business on Facebook, how to make it real-time business, quick
response to queries and timely delivery, quality assurance and so on.
• Facebook will also make a database of entrepreneurs in the state and will monitor
their growth, turnover and profit after one year.
 SCHEMES FOR MINORITIES
• Ministry of Minority affairs has proposed for launch two schemes in 2017.
two schemes
• USTTAD Samman Samaroh: →Under this, artisans & craftsmen of the minorities
will be honored. It will be launched during Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya birth
centenary.
• Tehreek-e-Taleem:→ will be launched on the birth anniversary of former president
APJ Abdul kalam (on October 15, 2017) in 100 districts.
• will be an educational scheme to provide every needy person with resources and
facilities to pursue education.
 EDUCATION→VIDYA VEERTA
ABHIYAN
• Launched by: Ministry of Human Resource
Development.
• Objective→To revive the patriotic fervor in
our youth.
• Funding→ This will be built on
contributory funding by students and
teachers on voluntary basis.
under this campaign?
• Under this a wall of valour will be built in
colleges and universities across the country
• This wall will be 15X20 feet in size.
• It will depict the portraits of all the 21
Paramveer Chakra recipients.
 LOTUS HR Project
• project Local Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams
for Healthy Reuse (LOTUS HR)
• is an Indo Netherlands joint project funded by
Department of Biotechnology(DBT),
• Aim→aims to demonstrate a novel holistic
waste-water management approach, that will
produce clean water, while simultaneously
recovering nutrients and energy from the urban
waste water, thus converting drain into profitable
mines.
• Special attention will be paid to pathogen
removal and removing conventional and
emerging pollutants.
• project will develop an innovative pilot scale
plant, suitable to cope with Indian conditions in a
location specific manner.
 Educations
K. Kasturirangan Panel on National Education Policy
• blueprint for a new education policy.
• Kasturirangan committee has been mandated to make Indian education
contemporary, improve its quality, and internationalize it.
• could also provide a roadmap for the entry of foreign universities into
India.
S.R Subramanian Committee on New Education Policy
• T.S.R. Subramanian committee, entrusted with preparing a new
education policy for India
• submitted report to the government in May 2016 suggesting measures
that the country must take to improve the sector that caters to over 300
million students in the country.
 Vatsalya – MaatriAmritKosh’ Inaugurated

• Vatsalya - MaatriAmritKosh, a
National Human Milk Bank and
Lactation Counselling Centre was
inaugurated by the centre.
• centre would be the largest
public sector human milk bank
and lactation counselling centre
available in North India
• With this donor human milk
bank, all newborns in and
around Delhi will have access to
life saving human milk
regardless of the circumstances
 Vatsalya – MaatriAmritKosh’ Inaugurated

• established in collaboration with

• +Norwegian government,Oslo University and Norway India
Partnership Initiative (NIPI).
• this facility will protect, promote and support breastfeeding
• project will not only act as a dedicated centre to support
breastfeeding and improve infant survival
• but also act as the teaching, training and demonstration site
for other milk banks to be established under the Ministry Of
Health
 No-Detention Policy In School To Be Scrapped
From Next Academic Year
• government has decided to do away with the no-detention policy for students from
2018 academic session.
• representation from most of the States had highlighted that the standard of education
had deteriorated because of this policy. Following this, the Union government has
taken this decision.
No Detention Policy (NDP)
• Under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the no-detention policy was introduced.
• Section 16 of the RTE Act categorically lays down that ―No child admitted in a school
shall be held back in any class or expelled from the school till the completion of
elementary education.
• Under this policy, the students up to class VIII are automatically promoted to the next
class without being held back even if they do not get a passing grade.
 Push For e-Education With 4 Digital Initiatives
• President launched four digital initiatives to provide a push for e-education in India.
• initiatives are
• Swayam→ an indigenously designed massive open online course (MOOC) and will host
all the courses taught in classrooms from 9th class till post-graduation.
• Swayam Prabha→ Will provide high quality educational content through 32
Direct-to-Home channels with an aim to bring uniformity in standards of education.
• It will cover diverse disciplines of all levels of education in various languages. It will be
available to all and will be having new content of 4 hours to be telecasted 6 times a day.
• National Digital Library →an online library containing 6.5 million books,
• National Academic Depository (NAD) – for authenticating all certificates issued by
institutions.
• NAD will directly integrate with Boards/Universities, which issue Certificates that will
be verified, authenticated, accessed and retrieved in a digital depository for purpose of
employment, higher education, and loans.
Final lecture Free PDF
Social News for IAS Prelims
2018 Revision
One Year Current Affairs
 Sankalp Se Siddhi
• Sankalp Se Siddhi →New
India Movement 2017-22
• launched on the occasion
marking 75th anniversary
of Quit India Movement.
• It envisages India free of
Poverty, Corruption,
Terrorism, Communalism,
uncleanliness.
 MyFASTag and FASTag Partner
• FASTag is a device
that employs Radio
Frequency
Identification (RFID)
technology for
making toll
payments directly
from the prepaid
account linked to it.
• It is affixed on the
windscreen of the
vehicle and enables
to drive through toll
plazas.
 Navika Sagar Parikrama
• Indian-built INSV Tarini
• first ever Indian circum
navigation of the globe by an
all-women crew.
• Objective →to promote Ocean
Sailing activities in the Navy
while depicting India’s thrust for
‘Nari Shakti’.
• also aimed at promoting women
empowerment in the country.
 BILLIONABLES APP
• India's first all inclusive online
platform to discover accessible
places, products and services for
persons with disabilities, health
disorders, special needs and
elderly.
• Users can filter the search results
on the basis of features such as
step-free access, Braille and sign
language availability or
gluten-free food availability.
 SAMVAD
• SAMVAD is a Global Initiative on Conflict
Avoidance and Environment Consciousness.
• 2nd edition →Yangon, Myanmar.
• conference represents various religions and
traditions across the world
 National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination (2017-22)

• Ministry of Health →launched the National Strategic Plan for

Malaria Elimination (2017-22).
• Strategic Plan gives year wise elimination targets in various parts
of the country depending upon the endemicity of malaria in the
next 5 years.
• has set a target to eliminate malaria by 2027 which is three years
ahead of the deadline set by National Framework for Malaria
Elimination (NFME).
• To be declared malaria-free, a country has to report zero
incidence for at least three years. Silent Features Of The Plan
• It aims to achieve universal case detection and treatment
services in malaria endemic districts to ensure 100% diagnosis of
all suspected cases, and full treatment of all confirmed cases.
 Division of districts into categories –
• It divides the country into four categories, from 0 to 3.
✓ a) Category Zero, the first category, has 75 districts that have
not reported any case of malaria for the last three years.
✓ b) Category 1 has 448 districts, in which the Annual Parasite
Incidence (API or the number of positive slides for the parasite in
a year) is less than one per 1,000 population.
✓ c) In Category 2, which has 48 districts, the API is one and above,
but less than two per 1,000 population.
✓ d) Category 3 has 107 districts, reporting an API of two and
above per 1,000 population
 Conti….
• plan is to eliminate malaria (zero indigenous
cases) by 2022 in all Category
• remaining districts are to be brought under a
pre-elimination and elimination programme.
• NSP also aims to maintain a malaria-free
status for areas where transmission has been
interrupted.
Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata
• scheme launched by the Ministry of Textiles for handloom
weavers.
• Aims → to improve earnings of the handlooms weavers.
• helps to meet the needs of the handloom weavers for
assistance for looms and accessories on larger scale with an
objective to improve quality of fabric and productivity.
• Under this scheme, GoI assists the weaver by bearing 90%
of the cost of new looms so that they do not have to bear
the heavy financial burden.
 Vittiya Saksharata Abhiyan (VISAKA)
• Ministry of Human Resource Development had launched
the Vittiya Saksharata Abhiyan (VISAKA), meaning financial
literacy campaign.
• It is to actively engage the students of Higher Education
Institutions to encourage them to use a digitally enabled
cashless economic system for transfer of funds.
• Ministry of HRD also aims to make financial transactions
completely digital in all higher education institutions
 LPG Panchayat
• Launched by Petroleum Ministry
• Aim→ encouraging rural communities to turn to clean
fuel.
• first LPG Panchayat →Gandhinagar,
• which brings LPG users of a village and officials of fuel
companies together.
• created an interactive platform to discuss safe and
sustainable usage of LPG, its benefits and linkages
between using clean fuel and empowering women.
 Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana

• Scheme, also known as Saubhagya

• Aims →provide last mile electrical
connectivity to all rural and urban households.
• will provide subsidy on equipment like
transformers, meters and wires.
• Govt. target →24X7 power for all by 2019.
 BIOPHARMACEUTICALS MISSION
• Union Cabinet →approved the ‘Innovate in India empowering
biotech entrepreneurs and accelerating inclusive innovation’
mission.
Features
• program for development of bio pharmaceuticals through
industry-academia collaboration.
• Focus areas→
✓ program will focus on development of specific products such as
vaccines
✓ biotherapeutics,
✓ medical devices and diagnostics.
Implementing agency→
• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council
(BIRAC). It is a public sector undertaking of
Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
• Duration of mission→5 years.
• Funding→program investment Rs 1,500 crore
• 50 percent of the cost for the program will come from
World Bank loan.
BIOPHARMACEUTICALS MISSION
eVIN PROJECT OF HEALTH MINISTRY (PIB)
• eVIN Project of Health Ministry
becomes global best practice in
immunization( तर ा)
• eVIN (electronic vaccine
intelligence network)
• Representatives from
Philippines, Indonesia,
Bangladesh, Nepal and Thailand
are on a visit to India to study the
project.
• About eVIN Project:
• eVIN is an indigenously developed technology system in
India that digitizes vaccine stocks and monitors the
temperature of the cold chain through a smartphone
application.
• innovative eVIN is presently being implemented across 12
states in India.
• eVIN aims to support the Government of India’s Universal
Immunization Programme by providing real-time
information on vaccine stocks and flows, and storage
temperatures across all cold chain points in these states.
 eVIN
• technological innovation is implemented by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP).
• eVIN aims to strengthen the evidence base for improved policy-making
in vaccine delivery, procurement and planning for new antigens in India.
• eVIN provides an integrated solution to address widespread inequities in
vaccine coverage by supporting state governments in overcoming
constraints of infrastructure, monitoring and management information
systems and human resources, often resulting in overstocking and
stockouts of vaccines in storage centres.
• to facilitate evidence-based decision-making by making available online
real-time information on vaccine stocks and storage temperature
through the eVIN application software and temperature loggers;
 Mentor India Campaign
• NITI Aayog will launch the Mentor India Campaign to promote innovation and
entrepreneurship.
• It is a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders who can guide and mentor
students at more than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs, established across the country as a
part of the Atal Innovation Mission.
• aim is to maximize the impact of Atal Tinkering Labs, possibly the biggest disruption
in formal education globally.
• The idea is to engage leaders who will nurture and guide students in Atal Tinkering
Labs.
• Under the initiative, leaders are expected to dedicate 1 to 2 hours every week in
such labs, enabling students from class 6 to 12 to experience, learn and practice
future skills such as design and computational thinking.
• Mentors are expected to discuss with students the various problems our Indian
society is facing across multiple themes, and motivate students to develop solutions
to these community problems.
• Atal Tinkering Lab
• Atal Tinkering Labs are established across the country as a part of Atal Innovation
Mission. The goal is to have 2000 such labs by the end of 2017.
• Atal Tinkering Labs are dedicated works spaces where students from Class 6th to
Class 12th learn innovation skills and develop ideas that will go on to transform
India.
• The labs are powered to acquaint students with state-of-the-art equipment such as
3D printers, robotics & electronics development tools, Internet of things & sensors
etc.
• These labs are non-prescriptive by nature, and mentors are expected to be
enablers rather than instructors.
• The labs are designed to light the spark of creativity, going beyond regular
curriculum and text book learning. The labs will let students explore skills of future
such as design and computational thinking, adaptive learning and artificial
intelligence.
• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)
• AIM including Self-Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU) is Government of
India endeavour to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Its objective is to serve as a platform for promotion of world-class Innovation
Hubs, Grand Challenges, Start-up businesses and other self-employment
activities, particularly in technology driven areas.
• The Atal Innovation Mission shall have two core functions:
– Entrepreneurship promotion through Self-Employment and Talent
Utilization, wherein innovators would be supported and mentored to
become successful entrepreneurs.
– Innovation promotion: to provide a platform where innovative ideas are
generated
 Measles-Rubella (MR) Campaign
• Aiming to eliminate measles and curb instances of rubella by 2020,
• Health Ministry has rolled out the second phase of its measles-rubella (MR)
vaccination campaign in the country.
• round of vaccination will cover 8 states/UTs
✓ Andhra Pradesh,
✓ Chandigarh,
✓ Dadra & Nagar Haveli,
✓ Daman & Diu,
✓ Himachal Pradesh,
✓ Kerala,
✓ Telangana
✓ and Uttarakhand
• first phase of measles-rubella vaccination campaign was successfully completed in five
states, namely, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
• Key Highlights
• The vaccination campaign has been launched for the
age group of 9 months to less than 15 years.
• It aims to cover approximately 41 crore children and
is going to be the largest ever vaccination campaign
worldwide.
• The single vaccine will replace the currently given
two doses of measles vaccine at 9-12 months and
16-24 months of age.
• Universal Immunization Programme:
• UIP provide free of cost vaccines to all children across the country to protect them
against 11 life threatening diseases.
• These 11 diseases are Tuberculosis, Pertussis, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Hepatitis B,
Polio, Pneumonia and Meningitis due to Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib),
Measles, Rubella, Rotavirus diarrhoea and Japanese Encephalitis (JE). (Rubella, JE
and Rotavirus vaccine are given in select states and districts).
• Mission Indradhanush was launched in December 2014 with an aim to cover all
children who are partially vaccinated or unvaccinated. The Mission focuses on
interventions to rapidly increase full immunization coverage of children by
approximately 5% annually and to expand full immunization coverage from 65% in
2014 to at least 90% children in the next five years.
 National Deworming initiative
• Health Ministry is going to launch 2nd round of National
Deworming initiative to tackle Worm Infections in children
• National Deworming initiative aimed to protect children in the
ages of 1-19 years from intestinal worms (also known as
Helminths).
• Albendazole tablets will be given to all targeted children
through Anganwadi centres and schools (incl. Private schools).
• According to WHO, India has the highest burden of
Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) in the world.
• National Deworming Day is organised twice in a year and it is the
largest ever single-day public health campaign in the world.
 Leptospirosis
• Recent, Mumbai floods has
created ground for spreading of
Leptospirosis.
• Leptospirosis is a bacterial
infection in rodents and other
wild and domesticated species.
• It is a zoonotic disease (i.e)
spread from animals to humans
caused by bacteria of the genus
Leptospira.
• It is transmitted to humans by
exposure through water
contaminated by urine from
infected animals.
• The infection in man is contracted through skin abrasions
and the mucosa of the nose, mouth and eyes.
Human-to-human transmission is rare.
• In most of the cases, leptospirosis only causes mild flu-like
symptoms, such as headache, chills and muscle pain.
• However, in some cases the infection is more severe and
can cause life-threatening problems, including organ
failure and internal bleeding.
• Severe form of leptospirosis is known as Weil's disease.
 National Nutrition Week
• theme →"Optimal Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices: Better
Child Health".
• From 1st to 7th September, the country observed National
Nutrition Week.
• It is an annual nutrition event, initiated by Food and Nutrition
Board under Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• main objective to celebrate nutrition week is to raise awareness
on the importance of nutrition for health which has an impact on
development, productivity, economic growth and ultimately
National development.
 Swachhta Hi Seva Campaign
• ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ (Cleanliness is Service) campaign.
• It will run from September 15 to October 2, 2017.
• Aimed at highlighting the government’s flagship cleanliness initiative
‘Swachh Bharat Mission’.
• The campaign includes urging national teams of various sports including
cricket, hockey, football and badminton to adopt and clean up a slum.
• The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is coordinating the
initiative.
• It will include ‘sharamdaan’ or voluntary work and will focus on mass
mobilisation and reinforce ‘janandolan’ for sanitation to contribute to
Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a clean India.
• The campaign has made elaborate plans to reach out to poor and
marginalised and provide them with sustainable sanitation services.
 About Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA)
• It is a national campaign by the GOI, covering 4,041 statutory cities and towns, to clean the streets, roads
and infrastructure of the country.
• It was launched on 2nd October, 2014, the150th birth anniversary of Gandhi ji and seeks to create Clean
India by 2019.
• Objectives
• Elimination of open defecation.
• Conversion of unsanitary toilets to pour flush toilets (a type of pit latrine, usually connected to two pits).
• Eradication of manual scavenging.
• 100% collection and processing/disposal/ reuse/ recycling of municipal solid waste.
• A behavioral change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices.
• Generation of awareness among citizens about sanitation and its linkages with public health.
• Supporting urban local bodies in designing, executing and operating waste disposal systems.
• Facilitating private-sector participation in capital expenditure and operation and maintenance costs for
sanitary facilities.
 Diksha Portal For Teachers
• launched Diksha Portal “diksha.gov.in” – National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers.
• Aims to equip all teachers across the nation with advanced digital technology
• Key Highlights
• Diksha portal is built considering the whole life cycle of teacher beginning from the time
when they enroll in Teacher Education Institutes(TEIs) to the time they retire as
teachers.
• It is an initiative of HRD ministry for providing a digital platform to teacher to make
their lifestyle more digital. The HRD ministry has also set up a slogan “National Digital
Infrastructure for Our Teachers Our Heroes” for DIKSHA national teachers portal.
• Teacher can learn and train themselves for which assessment resources will be
available. The complete work and accomplishment of teachers in Teacher’s educational
institutes will be recorded from start to end point till their retirement.
• Through this portal the teachers can take quality content and the content can be shared
in multiple people and the infrastructure is multi channel, which means it can accessed
on various formats like PCs, mobile phones, tablets etc.
 Two New Contraceptives Launched
• Ministry of Health →launched two new contraceptives.
• 1-an injectable contraceptive MPA under the ‘Antara’ programme
• 2- contraceptive pill, ‘Chhaya’.
• The introduction of new contraceptives will expand the basket of choices for the
country’s population to meet their family planning needs.
• Highlights
• contraceptives are being launched under the government’s Mission Parivar Vikas, a
central family planning initiative.
• contraceptives are available for free in medical colleges and district hospitals.
• contraceptives are safe and highly effective, the ‘Antara’ injectable being effective
for three months and the ‘Chayya’ pill for one week, and will help meet the changing
needs of couples and help women plan and space their pregnancies.
• Mission Parivar Vikas
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched “Mission Parivar Vikas” in
146 high focus districts having the highest total fertility rates in the country.
• These 146 districts are in the seven high focus, high TFR states of Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Assam that
constitute 44% of the country’s population.
• The main objective of ‘Mission Parivas Vikas’ will be to accelerate access to high
quality family planning choices based on information, reliable services and supplies
within a rights-based framework.
• These 146 districts have been identified based on total fertility rate and service
delivery for immediate, special and accelerated efforts to reach the replacement
level fertility goals of 2.1 by 2025.
 About UGC
• UGC was set up in 1953 and became a statutory body through an Act of
Parliament in 1956.
• UGC seeks to promote responsible understanding between the
institutions, the Government, and the community at large.
• It mediates interests between institutions and administration. On the one
hand, the UGC safeguards the academic freedom and institutional
autonomy of the institutions, while on the other it ensures value for
money for the taxpayers.
• The three primary functions of UGC are
• Overseeing distribution of grants to universities and colleges in India.
• Providing scholarships/fellow to beneficiaries, and
• Monitoring conformity by universities and colleges to its regulations.
 Zero Hunger Programme
• Three districts
1. Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh,
2. Koraput in Odisha
3. Thane in Maharashtra - will initiate India's ambitious 'Zero Hunger' programme.
• launched through interventions in farm sector on October 16 (World Food Day).
• Zero Hunger program planned in these three district will focus on agriculture,
nutrition, and health in a symbolic manner.
• Though many more districts will eventually be covered under this dedicated
farm-based programme in sync with India's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
to end hunger by 2030,
• these three would act as a model of an integrated approach to deal with hunger
and malnutrition by adopting suitable agricultural\horticultural practices.
• Key Highlights
• Programme initiated by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in
association with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the M S
Swaminathan Research Foundation, and the Biotechnology Industry Research
Assistance Council (BIRAC).
• programme will ensure suitable methods of measuring the impact of intervention.
There will be intensive training programme in order to identify the nutritional
maladies in each district and the appropriate agricultural/horticultural and animal
husbandry remedies.
• concerned state governments will also be involved in the programme which
consists of organisations of farming system for nutrition, setting up genetic
gardens for biofortified plants/crops and initiation of a 'Zero Hunger' training.
 World Habitat Day
• World Habitat Day (WHD) is observed every year on the first Monday of October throughout the
world. This year it was observed on 2 October 2017.
• Theme for 2017 was "Housing Policies: Affordable Homes."
• purpose of World Habitat Day is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic
right of all to adequate shelter.
• It is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape
the future of our cities and towns.
• World Habitat Day was established in 1985 by the United Nations General Assembly, and was first
celebrated in 1986.
• Each year, World Habitat Day takes on a new theme to bring attention to UN-Habitat’s mandate to
promote sustainable development policies that ensure adequate shelter for all.
• This year’s World Habitat Day focuses on promoting all levels of government and all relevant
stakeholders to reflect on how to implement concrete initiatives to ensure adequate and
affordable housing in the context of the implementation of the New Urban Agenda at all levels, as
well as the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Campaign On 'Women For Women
Ministry of Women and Child Development, in an attempt to end Gender bias in women
against women, is undertaking an online campaign #IamThatWoman.
• Key Highlights
• Through the campaign, the Ministry seeks to highlight the various aspects of women
standing 'by' and 'for' women.
• Through this campaign, the Ministry aims to shed light on the enormous
contributions made by women for women. A mother-in-law can be her
daughter-in-law's best companion. A woman manager can easily empathise with her
female juniors and help her climb the ladder of success.
• Ministry of WCD has urged people to shun stereotypes associated with women
harming other women.
• Twitter and Facebook users have been encouraged to tag and share stories of
women helping women with a photograph and post online with the hashtag
#IamThatWoman.
 Paryatan Parv
• Ministry of Tourism hasstarted ‘Paryatan Parv’ a 20-day programme
• Aim of drawing attention on the benefits of tourism, showcasing the cultural
diversity of the country and reinforcing the principle of “Tourism for All”.
• programme is being organised by the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with
other Central Ministries, State Governments and stakeholders.
• Key Highlights
• The Paryatan Parv will have three main components:
– Dekho Apna Desh: To encourage Indians to visit their own country.It will include video,
photograph and blog competitions visited during event, stories of India through Travelers’
Eyes to promote travel to J&K and North Eastern States.
– Tourism for All: Tourism Events at sites across all States in the country. This will be mainly
people’s event.
– Tourism & Governance: Interactive Sessions & Workshops with Stakeholders on varied
themes – such as Skill Development in Tourism Sector, Innovation in Tourism etc. – will be
conducted.
 FDDI
• Footwear Design & Development Institute (FDDI) has been declared an ‗Institute of
National Importance‘ under Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
• INI is a status conferred to a premier public higher education institution in India by
an Act of Parliament.
• FDDI, after becoming an INI, has the autonomy to design its courses as per the
requirement of the industry and award its own degree.
• It can now independently develop and conduct courses leading to graduate and post
graduate degrees, doctoral and post-doctoral courses and research.
• All INIs receive special recognition and funding.
• All IITs, NITs, AIIMS‘, School of Planning and Architecture and Indian Institutes of
Science Education and Research are considered Institutes of National Importance.
 Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana
• Ministry of Communications has recently launched Sampoorna
Bima Gram Yojana to give rural people affordable life insurances
services.
• Under the scheme, at least one village (having a minimum of 100
households) will be identified in each districts and provide with a
minimum of one RPLI (Rural Postal Life Insurance) policy for each
households.
• Coverage of all households in the identified Sampoorna Bima
Gram village is the primary objective of this scheme.
• All villages under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana will be brought
under its ambit.
 Sohum
• An Innovative Newborn Hearing Screening Device In News
• government launched the indigenously developed newborn hearing screening device SOHUM.
• technology was developed by the School of International Biodesign (SIB) start-up Sohum
Innovation Labs India Pvt. Ltd.
• As of now, this technology is prohibitively expensive and inaccessible to many. Start-up Sohum
has made the technology appropriate for the resource constrained settings and aims to cater to
nearly 26 million babies born every year in India.
• Sohum is a low cost, innovative and Made in India device, which uses brainstem auditory
evoked response, the gold standard in auditory testing to check for hearing response in a
newborn.
• portable Sohum hearing screening device measures auditory brain waves via three electrodes
placed on the baby‘s head.
• When stimulated, they detect electrical responses generated by the brain‘s auditory system. If
there is no response, the child cannot hear.
• battery-operated device is non-invasive, which means babies do not need to be sedated.
• Another key advantages over other testing systems is its in-built algorithm, which is patented,
that filters out ambient noise from the test signal. This is important because health clinics can
be incredibly crowded and noisy.