GENERAL INFORMATION

Why in News -:  The President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the “ International Buddhist Conclave (IBC), 2018”  in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 23 rd  August, 2018. Implementation Agency-:  The Conclave is being organized by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the State Governments of Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh from 23 rd  – 26 th  August, 2018 at New Delhi and Ajanta (Maharashtra), followed by site visits to Rajgir, Nalanda and Bodhgaya (Bihar) and Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh). During the inaugural session of the Conclave, the Ministry will launch its website  landofbuddha.in  and a new film showcasing the Buddhist sites in the country Objective -:   India has a rich ancient Buddhist Heritage with several important sites associated with the life of Lord Buddha.  The Indian Buddhist Heritage is of great interest to the followers of Buddhism the world over.  The aim of the Conclave i...

Introduction -:  SWAYAM is a programme initiated by Government of India and designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality. Objective -:   The objective of this effort is to take the best teaching learning resources to all, including the most disadvantaged. SWAYAM seeks to bridge the digital divide for students who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy. Who has Developed it -:  SWAYAM platform is indigenously developed by   Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)   and   All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)   with the help of Microsoft and would be ultimately capable of hosting 2000 courses and 80000 hours of learning: covering school, under-graduate, post-graduate, engineering, law and other professional courses. How it is being done -: This is done through an indig...

  Why in News -:  In the wake of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision for creating digital museums at stations using QR code, Ministry of Railway has made “digital screens” operational at 22 stations on this Independence Day (15.08.2018) as an innovative low cost solution to  spread awareness among public about the opulent heritage of Indian Railways. Objective of this Project  -:   Being initiated on a pilot basis, the project aims at showcasing the legacy of Indian Railways through one to two minute-long movie clips on digital LED screens at the entrance gate of railway stations and also at different comfort areas.  The short films will showcase heritage buildings, locomotives and much more to make people aware of the rich heritage of Indian Railways.  For now, the digital  screens  have been set up at New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Howrah, Sealdah, Jaipur ,  Agra  Cantonment, Coimbatore, Lucknow, Varanasi and other railwa...

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 Vision Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is inspired by the vision of transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India. Mission The Mission of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is to enable higher educational institutions to work with the people of rural India in identifying development challenges and evolving appropriate solutions for accelerating sustainable growth.  It also aims to create a virtuous cycle between society and an inclusive academic system by providing knowledge and practices for emerging professions and to upgrade the capabilities of both the public and the private sectors in responding to the development needs of rural India. Goals To build an understanding of the development agenda within institutes of Higher Education and an institutional capacity and training relevant to national needs, especially those of rural India. To re-emphasize the need fo...

Why in News -:  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the release of pulses to States/UTs at discounted rate to be utilized for various Welfare Schemes from the stock of pulses procured under Price Support Schemes (PSS). Impact: The decision will enable the States/UTs to use pulses in various Welfare Schemes like PDS, Mid-Day Meal Scheme etc. besides making available the warehouses, which may be required in coming Kharif season for storage of commodities procured under Price Support Scheme. Details: Under this approved Scheme, the States/UT Governments are offered to lift 34.88 lakh MT of Tur, Chana, Masoor, Moong and Urad at discount of Rs.15 per Kg over the prevailing wholesale market price of the sourcing state on First come first serve basis.  The State/UTs Governments utilize these pulses in their various Welfare Schemes/Programmes like Mid-Day Meal, Public Distribution System, Integrated Ch...

Why in News -:   The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given the approval for  raising of four (4) additional battalions of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to strengthen the India's disaster response set up at an estimated cost of Rs 637 crore. Details: The objective of raising four additional battalions is to reduce the response time keeping in view the vast geographic area of the country. These four battalions will initially be raised as two battalions in Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and one battalion each in Border Security Force (BSF) and Assam Rifles (ARs). Later these four battalions will be converted into NDRF battalions. Based on the vulnerability profile, these four battalions will be placed in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi National Capital Region. Background: NDRF is a specialized force, which has been created in the year 2006 for the purpose of specialist respo...

About -:  Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana ( PMSBY) was launched on 9 th  May, 2015 with a view to enhance the level of insurance penetration in the country and to provide insurance cover to common people especially poor and the Under-privileged Sections of the society.  Effect -:  The enrolments under PMSBY have gradually increased since its launch. As on 31 st  July 2018, 13.74 crore people have been covered under PMSBY across the country. Government Steps -:  i)  The Government as well as the Public Sector Insurance Companies and Banks had organized massive campaign through media to create awareness amongst large sections of population and also carried outreach efforts to facilitate access to the schemes. ii) Regular advertisements about PMSBY are being carried-out in the newspapers, TV and radio. iii) An exclusive website  www.jansuraksha.gov.in , which hosts all relevant material / information including forms, rules, frequen...

What is it -: Government e- Marketplace (GeM) is an online platform for government users which was launched on 9th August, 2016. As an initiative to improve transparency in procurement , Government has set up Government e- Marketplace as a 100% Government owned company registered under the Companies Act, 2013 for providing online platform for procurement of common use goods and services by government organizations. Features -:  It leverages technology to enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement.  It provides the tools of e-bidding, reverse e-auction and demand aggregation to facilitate the government users, achieve the best value of their money.  It is paperless, cashless and contactless platform giving end to end solution. All the State Governments are utilising the services offered by Government e-Marketplace.

India today should aspire to be a knowledge and innovation driven economy for employment generation and prosperity, and IITs and industries should join hands to solve the national challenges .  Why in News -:  122 New Research Project proposals at a cost of Rs 112 Crore selected for funding under IMPRINT-2 : HRD Minister PrakashJavadekar The Philosophy -:  Since time immemorial, necessity and aspiration has always driven mankind to discover, invent or innovate through individual or collective effort. The history of human civilization is replete with examples of how mankind has derived inspiration and learned from nature to overcome various challenges and meet the basic necessities of food-shelter-survival during the stone-age to begin with, and gradually progressed by leaps and bounds to reach the modern age of security and amenities over many centuries and millennia.  In the modern era, innovative technological developments that originate from ...

 About the Scheme -:  Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing Hostels for Working Women Scheme since 1972-73.  Objective -:  The Scheme aims at providing safe and affordable accommodation to working women. Features -:  These hostels have Day care facility for the children of inmates too.  As per the norms of the Scheme, financial assistance is provided to the eligible implementing organizations such as State Government agencies and Civil Society Organizations through concerned State Government.  There is also a provision of   one-time non-recurring grant @ Rs. 7500/- per inmate for purchase of furniture and furnishings. Cost Sharing -:  The cost sharing ratio amongst the Central Government, States/ UTs (other than NE and Himalayan States) and Implementing Agencies is 60:15:25 for construction of building for Working Women Hostel/ running hostel in rented premises.  For NE and Himalayan Sta...

What is it ???  The Padma Awards, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, are amongst the highest civilian awards of the country.   Instituted in 1954 , these Awards are announced on the occasion of the Republic Day every year.  The award seeks to recognize ‘work of distinction’ and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements/service in all fields/disciplines, such as, Art, Literature and Education, Sports, Medicine, Social Work, Science and Engineering, Public Affairs, Civil Service, Trade and Industry etc. All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these Awards.  Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service;  ‘ Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘ Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field.

  Introduction -:  Vidya Lakshmi Portal was launched by the Government on August 15, 2015 t o ensure that students can avail loans easily through single window system of banks for education loans.  Banks follow Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) guidelines in this regard which stipulates that education loan applications have to be disposed off, in the normal course, within a period of 15 to 30 days. Features -:  Vidya Lakshmi is a first of its kind portal for students seeking education loan . This Portal has been developed under the guidance of Ministry of Finance , MHRD , IBA . Students can view, apply, and track the educational loan applications to bank anytime, anywhere by accessing the portal .  It provides single window electronics platform for Educational Loan . Why do we need it -:  India is the one of the youngest nations in the world with more than 54 % of the total  population below the age of 25 years. I...