This page contains "13Th July 2018" current affairs analysis from different newspapers and magazines like The hindu, Indian express, PIB and Yojna.
Quality and relevance are two key features considered while writing the content, all the topics are based on the pattern of previously asked questions in exams like UPSC CSE, IAS, State PCS, SSC, Banks PO and likewise competitive exams.
Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission
Why in news ?
The government has approved the launch of a new Centrally Sponsored Ayushman Bharat -National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) under Ayushman Bharat Mission anchored in the MoHFW.
Salient Features
1) The scheme will have a defined benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year, to cover almost all secondary care and most of tertiary care procedures.
2) Pre and post Hospitalization expenses and transport allowance per hospitalization is also covered under the scheme.
3) A beneficiary, covered under the scheme can take cashless benefits from any public and empanelled private hospital across the country.
4) The scheme will be an entitlement based scheme with entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database. For urban areas, 11 defined occupational categories are entitled under the scheme.
5) States will be free to choose the modalities for implementation. They can implement through insurance company or directly through Trust/ Society or a mixed model.
6) The scheme also proposes "Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Council" (AB-NHPMC) at apex level Chaired by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, to fooster coordination between center and states.
7) The scheme also proposes to have an "Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Governing Board (AB-NHPMGB)" which will be jointly chaired by Secretary (HFW) and Member (Health), NITI Aayog.
8) The scheme also proposes to establish an "Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission Agency (AB-NHPMA)" to manage the AB-NHPM at the operational level in the form of a Society. AB-NHPMA will be headed by a full time CEO of the level of Secretary/ Additional Secretary to the Government of India.
9) States needs to choose from existing "Trust / Society / Not for Profit Company/ State Nodal Agency" or create a new one to act as "State Health Agency (SHA)" to implement the scheme.
Net neutrality - New telecom policy
New telecom policy
The government has approved the principle of net neutrality to make Internet open and free in India. Recommendation made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), 8 months back are approved by the The Telecom Commission (TC), the highest decision-making body in the Department of Telecom.
Some critical services like autonomous vehicles, digital healthcare services or disaster management etc are kept outside the purview of these norms and a separate committee has been set up under the Department of Telecom (DoT) to examine what these critical services will be.
What is meaning of Net neutrality
Under "Net neutrality" a telecom and Internet service providers have to treat all data on the Internet equally; that means the provider will not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, site, platform, or application. Blocking, slowing down or granting preferential speeds to any content is also not permitted to ISPs.
Under an "open Internet" schema, the full resources of the Internet and means to operate on it should be easily accessible to all individuals, companies, and organisations.
Network neutrality requires all Internet service providers (ISPs) to provide the same level of data access and speed to all traffic, and that traffic to one service or website cannot be blocked or degraded.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
Central rural employment guarantee scheme was started in 2006 to provide livelihood security in rural areas by guaranteeing at least 100 days of minimum wage employment, mostly in construction of durable assets such as roads, canals and ponds.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), previously known as "National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005" is an Indian labour law aimed to provide social security and the "right to work".
Under the act a minimum of 100 days of unskilled manual work in a financial year to every is guaranteed to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
The act was proposed by P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1991 and is the largest and most ambitious social security and public works programme in the world. The World Bank hailed the act by referring it to "stellar example of rural development" in its World Development Report 2014.
Another aim of MGNREGA is to create durable assets like roads, canals, ponds and wells. Under the act employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant's residence, and minimum wages are to be paid.
Unemployment allowance is also paid to applicant if work in not provided in 15 days, making employment under MGNREGA a legal entitlement. MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by gram panchayats (GPs). while the involvement of contractors is banned.
MGNREGA is useful in many areas including: economic security to rural population, creating durable assets, environment protection, women empowerment in rural areas, reducing rural urban migration and fostering social equity.
The act is in line with "Article 41" of Indian Constitution under "Directive principal of state policy", that directs the State to secure to all citizens the right to work.
There are around 12 crore job cards holders under the scheme where about one in two jobs created under the scheme is for women and about 40 per cent for SC/ST. Payments under the scheme are mostly by way of direct transfer into beneficiary accounts that made people to open 10 crore new bank or post office accounts.
MGNREGA has given rural households an opportunity to earn minimum income, yer there are administrative glitches like: Panchayat Samitis don't meet for months resulting in work sanctioning getting delayed.
Genetically modified (GM) crops in India
What is a Genetically modified (GM) crop ?
Genetically modified crops (GMCs, GM crops, or biotech crops) are plants used in agriculture whose DNA has been modified using genetic engineering methods, to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species.
Most GM crops are developed to achieve one or more of traits like: resistance to certain pests, diseases, or environmental conditions, reduction of spoilage, or resistance to chemical treatments, or improving the nutrient profile of the crop.
Genetically modified (GM) crops also have few disadvantages including, environmental impacts, food safety, accessible to farmers in developing countries and concerns related to intellectual property laws.
Genetically modified (GM) crop in India
India holds 5th largest area under Genetically modified crop, while United States have highest area under transgenic crops.
India's entire GM crop area is under a single crop - "cotton". Genetically modified cotton incorporate genes from the Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt soil bacterium coding for resistance against heliothis bollworm insect pests.
Apart from the already commercialised Bt/insect-resistant cotton, glyphosate-tolerant cotton and biotech hybrid mustard are also regulatory consideration in India. Their commercial release has, however, been stuck due to opposition from environmental activists.
Despite disliking of government and green NGOs an indication of demand for GM technology among Indian farmers.