9 PM Current Affairs Brief – November 18th, 2019

SAANS aims to reduce child mortality due to Pneumonia

News:Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW) has launched SAANS campaign to reduce child mortality due to pneumonia.

Facts:

About SAANS campaign:

• SAANS stands for Social Awareness and Action to Neutralise Pneumonia Successfully.
• The campaign aims to create mass awareness about the most effective solutions for pneumonia prevention like breastfeeding, age appropriate complementary feeding, immunization and good quality air.

Objectives of SAANS:

• To reduce child mortality due to pneumonia
• To mobilise people to protect children from pneumonia
• To train health personnel and other stakeholders to provide prioritised treatment to control the disease.

Mandate of campaign:Under the campaign, a child suffering from pneumonia can be treated with:

• Pre-referral dose of antibiotic amoxicillin by Accredited Social Health Activist(ASHA) workers
• Health and wellness centres will use Pulse Oximeter (a device to monitor oxygen saturation) to identify low oxygen levels in the blood of a child, and if required,treat him by the use of oxygen cylinders.

Additional information:

About Pneumonia:

• Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may be filled with fluid or pus causing cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing.
• A variety of organisms including bacteria, viruses and fungi can cause pneumonia.
• The World Health Organisation (WHO) identifies pneumonia is the single largest cause of death in children worldwide.
• As per Health Management Information System (HMIS) data,a digital initiative by National Health Mission- Under-five mortality rate in India is 37 per 1000 live births of which 5.3 deaths are caused due to pneumonia.
• Hence,the government aims to achieve a target of reducing pneumonia deaths among children to less than three per 1,000 live births by 2025.
• In 2014,Government of India had also launched ‘Integrated Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea(IAPPD)’ to undertake collaborative efforts towards prevention of diarrhoea and Pneumonia related under-five deaths.

India for higher indigenous content in Ka-226 choppers

News:India wants higher indigenous content in the Kamov-226T light utility choppers which are to be jointly built in India with Russia.

Facts:

About the Deal:

• India and Russia had signed the deal for 200 Kamov KA-226T light utility helicopters during Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Russia in 2015.
• Under the deal,Russia will supply 60 Kamov KA-226T light utility helicopters in a fly-away condition.
• The rest will be assembled in India jointly with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) under ‘Make in India’ programme to promote domestic manufacturing.

About Kamov-226:

• Kamov 226 is a small, twin engine Russian utility helicopter.It is manufactured by Russian Helicopters.It will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak choppers.
• The helicopter has a maximum takeoff weight of 3.6 tons.It can carry up to one ton payload.It has a maximum speed of 220 Km/hr.
• Kamov 226 is capable of working in extreme and difficult weather conditions.This includes hot climate, marine areas and high mountains.
• The machine has excellent maneuverability, handling and easy maintenance.

Union Home minister inaugurates the National Tribal Festival ‘Aadi Mahotsav’

News:Union Minister for Home Affairs has inaugurated the National Tribal Festival ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ in New Delhi.

Facts:

About Aadi Mahotsav:

• Aadi Mahotsav is a National Tribal Festival.It is a joint initiative of Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India(TRIFED).
• The objective of the festival is to celebrate, cherish and promote the spirit of tribal craft, culture, cuisine and commerce.
• The theme of this year’s festival is “A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft, Culture and Commerce”.
• For the first time, the Aadi Mahotsav is showcasing a wide range of products from the tribal artisans from Leh in Ladakh.

Significance of the festival:

• This platform is helping the tribal artisans, their handicrafts, culture, traditions and food to showcase them in front of the world.
• The platform not only proves to be a vital source of employment to lakhs of tribals but also gives them recognition and instills a sense of pride and worthiness in them.
• The festival is also an effort to take tribal commerce to the next level of digital and electronic transactions.

Additional information:

About TRIFED:

• Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) was established in 1987.It functions under the administrative control of Ministry of Tribal affairs.
• The objective of TRIFED is socio-economic development of tribal people in the country by way of marketing development of the tribal products.It acts as a facilitator and service provider.

Initial draft industrial policy targets $1 trillion gross value addition in manufacturing by 2025

News:The The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) has released the initial draft industrial policy.

Facts:

Background:

• This will be the third industrial policy after the first in 1956 and the second in 1991.
• The new industrial policy will replace the industrial policy of 1991 which was prepared in the backdrop of the balance of payment crisis.
• The policy was prepared with an aim to (a)create jobs for the next two decades (b)promote foreign technology transfer and (c)attract $100 billion foreign investment annually.

Key features of the draft policy:

• The policy targets $1 trillion gross value addition in the manufacturing sector by 2025.
• The policy envisages setting up business enterprises which are globally competitive and can create gainful employment and sustainable livelihoods.
• It also involves creating industry that is equipped with innovation, technology, financially viable and environment friendly and whose benefits are shared by all sections of the society.
• The policy has also proposed a detailed implementation mechanism of the policy under which it has suggested setting up of a national industrial competitiveness council and a steering committee.
• The policy would also work in tandem with the Skill India Mission to improve the employability of future workforce and with the foreign trade policy to enhance India’s share in global merchandise exports.
• It would also enable harmonious implementation of macro fiscal and monetary policies and ensure that incentive regime for industry is competitive.
• Further, it will work to revive investments into industry and manufacturing with a balanced focus on both quantity and quality of investments.

Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde takes oath as next CJI

News:Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde has taken oath as the 47th Chief Justice of India (CJI) by the President.

Facts:

About Chief Justice of India:

• The chief justice of India(CJI) is the head of the judiciary of India and the Supreme Court of India.The CJI also heads their administrative functions.
• As head of the supreme court,the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law.
• On the administrative side,the chief justice carries out the following functions (a)maintenance of the roster (b)appointment of court officials and (c)general and miscellaneous matters relating to the supervision and functioning of the Supreme Court.

Constitution on the appointment of CJI:

• The Constitution of India does not have any provision for criteria and procedure for appointing the CJI.
• Article 124(1) of the Indian Constitution says there shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India.
• The closest mention is in Article 126 which deals with the appointment of an acting CJI.In the absence of a constitutional provision,the procedure relies on custom and convention.

What is the convention?

• When the incumbent CJI retires (all Supreme Court judges retire at the age of 65), the senior most judge in the SC becomes the CJI.
• But Seniority is not defined by age but by the number of years an individual has been serving as a judge of the apec court.
• However this convention has been broken twice.In 1973,Justice A. N. Ray was appointed superseding 3 senior judges.
• Also,in 1975 Justice Mirza Hameedullah Beg was appointed as the CJI superseding Justice Hans Raj Khanna.

Procedure for appointing CJI:The procedure to appoint the next CJI is laid out in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) between the government and the judiciary:

• The procedure is initiated by the Law Minister seeking recommendation of the outgoing CJI at the appropriate time which is near to the date of retirement of the incumbent CJI.
• The CJI sends his recommendation to the Law Ministry and in the case of any qualms,the CJI can consult the collegium regarding the fitness of a SC judge to be elevated to the post.
• After receiving recommendations from the CJI,the law minister forwards it to the Prime Minister who then advises the President on the same.
• The President administers the oath of office to the new CJI.

National Agrochemicals Congress concludes with recommendations for safe and judicious pesticide use in the country

News:Recently, the National Agro Chemical Congress was conducted at Indian Agricultural Research Institute(IARI),New Delhi.

Facts:

What are Agro-chemicals?

• Agro chemicals are the generic name given to chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides use in agricultural to facilitate plant growth and protection.

About National Agro Chemical Congress:

• The Congress is being conducted by Society of Pesticide Science India, Division of Agricultural Chemicals,ICAR-IARI.
• The theme of the congress was “Country’s Status on various fronts of Agro chemicals”.
• This was the first ever National Agrochemicals Congress and this will now be conducted once every three years.
• The aim of the congress was to highlight the role played by chemical pesticides in pest management.It also emphasized on target specific and environment friendly products.

Key takeaways from the congress:The congress has recommended various measures to improve efficient use of pesticides which are:

• To label the pesticides indicating their mode of action
• To rethink on restrictive banning of pesticides.
• Government has to bring in a policy regarding data protection of imported pesticides
• Policy for the introduction of safe nano-formulations and empowerment of farmers through training and extension.

Additional information:

About IARI:

• The Indian Agricultural Research Institute(IARI) commonly known as the Pusa Institute is India’s national Institute for agricultural research, education and extension.
• The name Pusa Institute is derived from the fact that the institute was originally located in Pusa, Bihar as the Imperial Institute of Agricultural Research in 1911.It was then relocated to Delhi in 1936.
• The institute is financed and administered by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR).

About ICAR:

• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare , Government of India.
• The Council is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country.