{"id":54812,"date":"2019-11-21T21:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T15:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=54812"},"modified":"2020-02-27T13:02:36","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T07:32:36","slug":"9-pm-current-affairs-brief-november-21st-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-november-21st-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 November 21st, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1592570\"><strong>Cabinet\napproves establishment of the National Institute of Sowa Rigpa (NISR) at Leh<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the\nestablishment of the National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa in Leh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nthe institute:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The National Institute for\nSowa-Rigpa will be an autonomous National Institute under Ministry of AYUSH.<\/li><li>The objective of the institute is\nto bring a synergy between Traditional Wisdom of Sowa-Rigpa and modern science,\ntools and technology.<\/li><li>It will also undertake\ninterdisciplinary education and research programmes in Sowa-Rigpa in\ncollaboration with premier national and international Institutes and facilitate\nthe integration of different systems of medicine.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Significance\nof the institute:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The setting up of the National\nInstitute of Sowa-Rigpa would provide an impetus for the revival of Sowa-Rigpa\nin the Indian Sub-continent. <\/li><li>The Institute will also provide\nopportunities for students of Sowa-Rigpa not only in India but also from other\ncountries.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nSowa-rigpa:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Sowa-Rigpa is a Traditional\nMedical system of the Himalayan belt in India. <\/li><li>It has been popularly practiced in\nSikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling (West Bengal), Himachal Pradesh, Union\nTerritory of Ladakh and now all over India.<\/li><li>In 2015,Ministry of Ayush had also\nincluded Sowa Rigpa to the AYUSH system.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nAYUSH:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga\nand Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy.<\/li><li>These systems are based on\ntraditional medical philosophies and represent a way of healthy living with\nestablished concepts on prevention of diseases and promotion of health.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1592261\"><strong>Farmers Clubs\nProgramme<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Government has informed the Lok Sabha that there are around there are\n24321 active Farmers clubs existing in different States\/UTs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nFarmers clubs:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Farmers Clubs programme which\nwas earlier known as Vikas Volunteer Vahini(VVV) Programme was launched by\nNABARD in 1982.<\/li><li>The Programme was renamed as\nFarmers\u2019 Club Programme in 2005 by revisiting its earlier mission.<\/li><li>The major objective of the club is\nto promote development through credit, technology transfer, awareness and\ncapacity building of the farmers. <\/li><li>The clubs are organized by rural\nbranches of banks with the support and financial assistance of NABARD for the\nmutual benefit of the banks concerned and the village farming community\/rural\npeople.<\/li><li>All Institutional agencies such as\nCommercial Banks, Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks and all grassroot\nlevel organisations such as NGOs, PRIs, State Agricultural Universities among\nothers are eligible to form Farmers\u2019 Clubs.<\/li><li>The clubs are beneficial for banks\nas well as line departments of the State Government for convergence of the\nprogrammes \/ schemes sponsored \/ implemented by them.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nNABARD:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The National Bank for Agriculture\nand Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex development financial institution in\nIndia.NABARD was established in 1982 to implement the National Bank for\nAgriculture and Rural Development Act 1981.<\/li><li>NABARD was entrusted with matters\nconcerning policy,planning and operations in the field of credit for\nagriculture and other economic activities in rural areas in India.<\/li><li>Recently,the Reserve Bank had\ndivested its stake in National Housing Bank (NHB) and National Bank for\nAgriculture &amp; Rural Development (Nabard), by making them fully\ngovernment-owned.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/west-bank-what-change-in-us-policy-means-6127732\/\"><strong>Explained:What\nchange in US policy on Israeli settlements in West Bank means<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Recently,the United States has declared that it does not consider\nIsraeli settlements on the West Bank a violation of international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nWest Bank:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>West Bank is a landlocked\nterritory in West Asia.It also contains a significant section of the western\ndead sea.<\/li><li>It was captured by Jordan after\nthe Arab-Israeli War(1948) but Israel snatched it back during the Six-Day War\nof 1967 and has occupied it ever since.<\/li><li>At present,there are around 130\nformal Israeli settlements along with 26 lakh Palestinians at West Bank.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is\nthe stand on West Bank globally?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The United Nations General\nAssembly, the UN Security Council and the International Court of Justice have\nsaid that the West Bank settlements are violative of the Fourth Geneva\nConvention.<\/li><li>Under the Fourth Geneva\nConvention(1949), the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its\nown civilian population into the territory it occupies.<\/li><li>Under the Oslo Accords of the\n1990s,both Israel and the Palestinians agreed that the status of settlements\nwould be decided by negotiations. But the negotiations process has been all but\ndead for several years now.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What\nhas been the US stand earlier?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The US had considered the West\nBank settlements as illegitimate since 1978.<\/li><li>However in 2016,the US did not\nveto a resolution that called for an end to Israeli settlements.<\/li><li>Recently,the US had also moved its\nembassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and backed Israel\u2019s assertion that the city\nis its capital.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"386\" height=\"329\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Picture1-44.png?resize=386%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54841\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/article\/news-ani\/puducherry-29th-rcp-meeting-of-asia-pacific-customs-begins-119111900045_1.html\"><strong>Puducherry:\n29th RCP meeting of Asia Pacific Customs begins<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>India is hosting the World Customs Organization(WCO) Asia Pacific\nRegional Contact Points(RCP) conference in Puducherry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nthe conference:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The conference is being held for\nthe fourth time in India.Previously it was held in Jaipur and Cochin.<\/li><li>The conference discussed the key\nfocus areas of the Asia Pacific Region.It includes security, enforcement,\nfacilitation and capacity building.<\/li><li>The conference has also taken\nstock of the progress being made in carrying forward the programmes of WCO to\npromote,facilitate and secure the cross-border trade in the region and the\ncapacity building and technical assistance required to achieve this goal.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nWCO:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The World Customs\nOrganization(WCO) is an inter governmental organization headquartered in\nBrussels,Belgium.It was founded in 1952. <\/li><li>It administers the technical\naspects of WTO, agreements on customs valuation and rules of origin<\/li><li>WCO represents 182 Customs\nadministrations across the globe that collectively process approximately 98% of\nworld trade.<\/li><li>The WCO has divided its Membership\ninto six Regions.Each of the six Regions is represented by a regionally elected\nVice-Chairperson to the WCO Council.<\/li><li>WCO offers its members a range of\nConventions and other international instruments, as well as technical\nassistance and training services provided either directly by the Secretariat,\nor with its participation.<\/li><li>It has also been responsible for\nadministering the WTO\u2019s agreement on Customs Valuation which provide a system\nfor placing values on imported goods, and the Rules of Origin which are used to\ndetermine the origin of a given commodity.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Importance\nof Asia-Pacific region for India:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Asia Pacific accounts to 37%\nof the world\u2019s GDP.The region is important for India as it is trying to\nincrease its trade and investment in the region. <\/li><li>The development of North East\nRegion is also linked with India\u2019s interests in Asia Pacific.India is finding\nmarkets in the region for the export of goods from North East.<\/li><li>It is also essential for India to\nincrease its presence in the region as China has larger interests in the region\nespecially in the markets of the region.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1592433\"><strong>Mission Raftaar\nof Indian Railways<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Minister of Railways has informed the Lok Sabha about the Mission\nRaftaar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nMission Raftaar:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Mission Raftaar of Indian Railways\nwas announced in the Railway Budget 2016-17.&nbsp;\n<\/li><li>The mission envisages a target of\ndoubling of average speed of freight trains and increasing the average speed of\nall non-suburban passenger trains by 25 kmph in the next 5 years.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Significance\nof the mission:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The mission has helped the trains\nto reduce travel time for passengers, transit time for cargo, reduce\noperational cost, improve revenues and railway\u2019s market share.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other\nmissions of Indian Railways:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mission\n25 Tonne: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It aims to increase revenue of\nRailways by augmenting the carrying capacity.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mission\nZero Accident:<\/strong> It comprises of two sub missions<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Elimination of unmanned level crossings:<\/strong> The\ngoal is to eliminate all unmanned level crossings on Broad Gauge in the next\n3-4 years through innovative financing mechanisms.It will reduce deaths due to\naccidents and improve throughput of the network<\/li><li><strong>TCAS (Train Collision Avoidance System)<\/strong>: An\nindigenous technology has been developed to equip 100% of the High Density\nNetwork with TCAS in the next 3 years.This will prevent head on collisions and\nimprove throughput by increasing average sectional speeds.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mission\nPACE (Procurement and Consumption Efficiency)<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>This mission aims to improve our\nprocurement and consumption practices to improve the quality of goods and\nservices. <\/li><li>It will introduce a culture of\noptimum usage by adopting practices such as Vendor Managed Inventory, new\nprocedures for identification and disposal of scrap among others.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mission\nHundred: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>This mission will commission at\nleast a hundred sidings in the next 2 years. <\/li><li>The current siding\/ PFT policy\nwould be revised to elicit greater private participation. An online portal will\nbe operated for accepting and processing all new applications, alongwith\ndecentralization of powers.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mission\nbeyond book-keeping:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The mission will establish an\naccounting system where outcomes can be tracked to inputs. <\/li><li>This will transform IR as right\naccounting would determine right costing and hence right pricing and right\noutcomes.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mission\nCapacity Utilisation:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The mission proposes to prepare a\nblueprint for making full use of the huge new capacity that will be created\nthrough two Dedicated Freight Corridors between Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata\nscheduled to be commissioned by 2019.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/weo2019\/\"><strong>World Energy\nOutlook 2019 &#8211; International Energy Agency<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The International Energy Agency has released its report on World Energy\nOutlook,2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nWorld Energy Outlook:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The World Energy Outlook is a\nleading source of strategic insight on the future of energy and energy-related\nemissions, providing detailed scenarios that map out the consequences of\ndifferent energy policy and investment choices.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\ntakeaways from the outlook:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The agency says that at present\nthe energy demand in the world is growing at a rate of 2% per year.<\/li><li>The oil demand will slow down\nafter 2025 and the world will transit towards electric vehicles.However, the\noil demand for the next decade will keep increasing with 85% of the increase\ncoming from the US.<\/li><li>The outlook has projected that the\ninstalled solar power in the world will increase by 3,142 GW by\n2040.Currently,the world uses 495GW of installed solar power.<\/li><li>In African states,the gas and\nrenewable sources will power the future energy.However,the demand for coal in\nthese countries is still increasing.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nIEA:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The International Energy Agency\n(IEA) was founded in 1974.It is an autonomous intergovernmental organization\nestablished under the OECD framework.It is headquartered in Paris,France.<\/li><li>It works to ensure reliable,\naffordable and clean energy to its 30 member countries, 8 association countries\nand beyond.<\/li><li>It has four main areas of focus\nnamely (a)Energy security (b)Economic development (c)Environmental awareness\nand (d)Engagement worldwide.<\/li><li>India became an associate member\nof the International Energy Agency in 2017.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1592434\"><strong>Rashtriya Rail\nSanrakshan Kosh<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Minister of Railways has informed the Lok Sabha about the Rashtriya\nRail Sanrakshan kosh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nRashtriya Rail Sanrakshan kosh:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha\nRosh(RRSK) is a dedicated fund for critical safety-related works of the Indian\nRailways.<\/li><li>The fund was announced in the\nBudget 2017-18.The special safety fund has a corpus of more than Rs. 1 lakh\ncrore over a period of five years.<\/li><li>The Finance Ministry would\ncontribute Rs. 15,000 crore annually towards the fund while the Ministry of\nRailways would fund the balance Rs. 5,000 crore every year.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Significance\nof the fund:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The fund has helped Indian\nRailways to accomplish zero-accident mission by strengthening the safety\nmeasures on the rail network in a comprehensive way.<\/li><li>Under this fund,envisaged works\nlike track renewal and upgradation, bridge rehabilitation, elimination of\nlevel-crossings, construction of road over bridges\/road under bridges have been\nundertaken.<\/li><li>It has also been used for\nreplacement and improvement of signalling system, improvement and upgradation\nof rolling stock, replacement of electrical assets and human resource\ndevelopment.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/newsite\/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=194710\"><strong>Funds for North\nEast Special Infrastructure Development Scheme(NESIDS) <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Union Minister of State of North-Eastern Region has informed the Lok\nSabha about the funds for North East Special Infrastructure Development\nScheme(NESIDS) scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nNESIDS scheme:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>North East Special Infrastructure\nDevelopment Scheme(NESIDS) was approved by the Government of India as a Central\nSector Scheme in 2017.<\/li><li>The scheme aims to fill up the\ngaps in creation of infrastructure in specified sectors in North east till\nMarch,2020.<\/li><li>The scheme will cover the projects\nof (a)physical infrastructure relating to water supply, power and connectivity\nenhancing tourism and (b)Social infrastructure relating to primary and\nsecondary sectors of education and health.<\/li><li>The funds under the scheme will be\ndistributed among eight North Eastern States on the basis of well-defined\ncriteria on certain parameters such as area, population , Human Development\nIndex, road density among others.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1592429\"><strong>NuGen Mobility\nSummit 2019 in Manesar<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The NuGen Mobility Summit 2019 will be held Manesar, Gurugram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nNuGen Mobility summit:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Summit is being organized by\nThe International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) in association with\nSAENIS, SAE INDIA, SAE International, NATRiP, DIMTS, Department of Heavy\nIndustry, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, SIAM and ACMA.<\/li><li>The objective of the Summit is to\n(a)share new ideas (b)learnings (c)global experiences (d)innovations and\n(e)future technology trends for faster adoption,assimilation and development of\nadvanced automotive technologies for a smarter and greener future.<\/li><li>The summit will help in building a\nplatform for bringing together all stakeholders in the automotive industry to\nunderstand global advancements in technologies.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nICAT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The International Centre for\nAutomotive Technology(ICAT),Haryana, is a leading world-class automotive\ntesting,certification and R&amp;D service provider.<\/li><li>It works under the aegis of\nNational Automotive Testing and R&amp;D Infrastructure Project(NATRiP).<\/li><li>It is an important element of the\nautomotive sector with its world-class infrastructure and domain expertise\nproviding services in development, testing,validation and homologation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nNATRiP:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>National Automotive Testing and\nR&amp;D Infrastructure Project(NATRiP), is one of the significant initiatives\nin the automotive sector of India.<\/li><li>Under this project,Government of\nIndia, State Governments and Indian Automotive Industry have joined hands to\ncreate a state of the art Testing,Validation and R&amp;D infrastructure in the\nAutomotive sector of the country.<\/li><li>The Project aims at creating core\nglobal competencies in Automotive sector in India and facilitate seamless\nintegration of Indian Automotive industry with the world as also to position\nthe country prominently on the global automotive map.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/international\/donald-trump-administration-approves-sale-of-naval-guns-worth-1-billion-to-india\/article30029709.ece\"><strong>U.S. State\nDepartment approves $1 billion arms sale to India<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>UnitedStateshas approved sale of 13 MK 45 naval\nguns to India and related equipments worth an estimated cost of $1 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nMK 45 naval guns:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The MK 45 is manufactured by BAE\nSystems Land and Armaments at its facilities in Louisville,Kentucky in the US.<\/li><li>It is a naval artillery gun\ndesigned for use against surface warships, anti-aircraft and shore bombardment\nto support amphibious operations.<\/li><li>The gun features an automatic\nloader with a capacity of 20 rounds that can be fired under full automatic\ncontrol taking a little over a minute to exhaust those rounds at maximum fire\nrate.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Significance\nof the sale for India:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The proposed sale will improve India&#8217;s\ncapability to meet current and future threats from enemy weapon systems.<\/li><li>The MK-45 Gun System will provide\nthe capability to conduct anti-surface warfare and anti-air defense missions\nwhile enhancing interoperability with U.S. and other allied forces.<\/li><li>India will also use the enhanced\ncapability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland\ndefense.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1592415\"><strong>National Action\nPlan for Drug Demand Reduction<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment has informed the\nRajya Sabha about the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nNational Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>This Ministry of Social Justice\n&amp; Empowerment is implementing the National Action Plan for Drug Demand\nReduction (NAPDDR) for 2018-2025.<\/li><li>The plan aims to create awareness\nand educate people about the ill-effects of drug abuse on the individual,\nfamily, workplace and also the society at large in order to integrate them back\ninto society,<\/li><li>It seeks to employ a multi-pronged\nstrategy involving education, de-addiction and rehabilitation of affected\nindividuals and their families to address the issue.<\/li><li>The plan calls for coordination\nwith implementing agencies for controlling the sale of sedatives, painkillers\nand muscle relaxant drugs, holding awareness generation programmes and checking\nonline sale of drugs by stringent monitoring by the cyber cell.<\/li><li>It also calls for increasing\ncommunity participation and public cooperation in the reduction of demand by\ninvolving Panchayati Raj institutions, Urban Local Bodies among others to\ntackle the menace of drugs.<\/li><li>As a part of the plan, module for\nre-treatment, ongoing treatment and post-treatment of addicts of different\ncategories and age groups will be developed and database on substance use will\nbe maintained,<\/li><li>Further,a steering committee has\nbeen constituted under the chairmanship of the secretary, Social Justice\nMinistry and with representatives from several other Ministries to monitor the\nimplementation of the Action Plan.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nDrug menace in India:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>India is vulnerable to drug\ntrafficking and drug abuse due to its geographical location.<\/li><li>It lies in close proximity to the\nmajor opium producing regions of South West and South East Asia also known as\nthe \u2018Golden Crescent\u2019 and the \u2018Golden Triangle\u2019 respectively.<\/li><li>Further cannabis (ganja) also\ngrows unaided in many parts of the country.It has also been reported that it is\ncultivated in hilly terrains in some parts of the country.<\/li><li>In certain regions of the country,\ndrug abuse has already become a severe social-economic problem affecting the\nvulnerable age groups.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"675\" height=\"274\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Picture2-29.png?resize=675%2C274&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54842\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/singapore-to-get-access-to-use-indias-chandipur-missile-test-range\/article30031678.ece\"><strong>Singapore to\nget access to use India\u2019s Chandipur missile test range<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>India and Singapore\u2019s Defence minister has co-chaired the 4th\nSingapore-India Defence Ministers&#8217; Dialogue(DMD) in Singapore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\ntakeaways from the Dialogue:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>India has offered Singapore to use\nits Chandipur Integrated Test Range for launching and testing missiles and\nrockets. <\/li><li>Singapore has territorial\nlimitations due to its geographical location. Thus, India has already opened\nits military training facilities such as air force and artillery firing ranges\nto the Singapore armed forces.<\/li><li>The two countries have also agreed\nto explore cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence, geo-spatial\ndata sharing and cyber security.<\/li><li>They have also reviewed the inaugural\nedition of the Singapore India Thailand Maritime Exercise(SITMEX) in the\nAndaman Sea and agreed to conduct the exercise on a yearly basis.<\/li><li>They also agreed to reaffirm\nmutual commitment to explore deepening Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster\nRelief(HADR) cooperation in areas such as information sharing and capacity\nbuilding. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nSingapore-India Defence Ministers&#8217; Dialogue(DMD):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The DMD between India and\nSingapore had commenced in 2015 after both countries had signed the revised\nDefence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) to further strengthen the long-standing\nbilateral defence relationship. <\/li><li>Since then,the relationship has\ndeepened to include military cooperation across all three defence services of\nIndia and Singapore.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nIntegrated Test Range:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Integrated Test Range under\nthe Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) was set up in\nChandipur,Odisha.<\/li><li>The testing facility is located on\nthe Dr. Abdul Kalam Island.It provides launch facilities for performance\nevaluation of rockets, missiles and air-borne weapon system. <\/li><li>Several missiles such as the\nPrithvi, Agni, Brahmos and tactical weapons such as Akash and Nag have been\ntested from there.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nExercise SITMEX:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The exercise is a trilateral\nexercise involving the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), Royal Thailand\nNavy(RTN) and Indian Navy(IN).<\/li><li>The exercise is aimed at\nbolstering the maritime inter-relationships amongst India, Singapore and\nThailand and contribute significantly to enhancing the overall maritime\nsecurity in the region.<\/li><li>The exercise was held for the\nfirst time in 2019 at Port Blair,Andman and Nicobar.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cabinet approves establishment of the National Institute of Sowa Rigpa (NISR) at Leh News:Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the establishment of the National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa in Leh. Facts: About the institute: The National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa will be an autonomous National Institute under Ministry of AYUSH. The objective of the&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-november-21st-2019\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 November 21st, 2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":48116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-brief","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/9-PM-Brief.png?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":1700774462,"cached_date":1704910156},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}