SCHEMES UNDER MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

Sarva  Shiksha  Abhiyan  (SSA) SSA  - 

It  is  aimed  at  the  universalisation  of  elementary  education  as  mandated  by  the  86th  Amendment  to  the Constitution  of  India  which  made  free  and  compulsory  education  to  children  between  the  ages  of  6  to  14  as  a fundamental  right.

 Initiatives  and Sub-Programmes  under Sarva  Shiksha  Abhiyan  (SSA)

 Shagun  Portal  -  It  has  two  components  i.e  Repository  of  best  practices  to  learn  from  success  stories  & Online Monitoring  of the SSA  implemented  by States  and  UTs

 Padhe  Bharat  Badhe  Bharat  -  To  improve  the  reading  and  writing  skills  of  children  in  classes  I  and  II, along  with  their mathematics skills.

Rashtriya  Avishkar  Abhiyan  (RAA)  -  It  aims  to  motivate  and  engage  children  of  the  age  group  of  6-18 years,  in  Science,  Mathematics  and  Technology  by  Institutions  of    Higher  Education  like  IIT's,  IISER's  and NIT's.

Vidyanjali  -  To  enhance  community  and  private  sector  involvement  in  Government  run  elementary  schools across the country.

Rashtriya  Madhyamik  Shiksha Abhiyan  (RMSA)  

 It  is a  centrally sponsored scheme  with  the objective to  enhance  access to  secondary education.

 Initiatives  under RMSA

1.  Shaala  Siddhi  -  It  is  a  web  portal  developed  by  the  National  University  of  Educational  Planning  and Administration  (NUEPA)  to  enable  schools  to  evaluate  their  performance  in  7  key  domains  under  the prescribed  framework.

 2.  Shaala  Darpan  -  It  is  an  e-Governance  platform  that  covers  all  the  KendriyaVidyalayas,  to  improve  quality of learning,  efficiency  of school  administration,  governance of schools & service  delivery.

3.  e-PATHSHALA  -  It  is  a  joint  initiative  of  Ministry  of  Human  Resource  Development  (MHRD)  and  National Council  of  Educational  Research  and  Training  (NCERT)  to  disseminate  all  educational  e-resources  including textbooks,  audio,  video and  non-print  materials.

 4.  Kala utsav  -  To  promote  Arts (Music,  Theatre,  Dance,  Visual  Arts and  Crafts)  in  education in  secondary  stage of the education to  bring  art  in an inclusive  environment.

 5.  SeemaDarshan  -It  is  an  intiative  by  HRD  in  collaboration  with  Ministry  of  Defence  and  Ministry  of  Home Affairs  for  the  students  of  KendriyaVidyalayas  and  NavodayaVidyalayas  to  provide  an  opportunity  for  the children to  experience the  border environment and  to  foster patriotism among  the  students.

Shaala  Sarathi

 It is a  portal  launched  by the Ministry of HRD.
  It is  a  State-NGO-CSR  Portal  to  aid  the  collaboration  among  the  stakeholders  in  sharing  innovative  practices in various schools.

 Shaala  Siddhi  is  a  comprehensive  school  evaluation  system  focused  on  well-defined  quality  based parameters that  facilitates Schools to  make  professional  judgments  for improvement.

All School  Monitoring  Individual  Tracing  Analysis  (ASMITA)

 It is launched  under ShalaAsmitaYojana  (SAY).
SAY  aims  to  track  the  educational  journey  of  school  students  from  Class  I  to  Class  XII  across  the  15  lakhs private and  government  schools in the country.

 ASMITA  will  be  an  online  database  which  will  carry  information  of  student  attendance  and  enrolment, learning  outcomes,  mid-day meal  service and  infrastructural  facilities among  others.  Students  will  be  tracked  through  their  Aadhaar  numbers  and  incase  those  not  having  unique  number  will  be provided

Tithi bhojan

  It is a  community  participatory model followed  by the  Gujarat  government  in the  mid-day  meal  programme.
 Food is voluntarily served  among school  children  by  Villagers.

 Swachh Vidyalaya Initiative

 It  is  a  collaborative  effort  of  Central  Government,  State  and  UT  in  partnership  with  PSU's  and  Private Corporate to  provide funding  to  built  functional  toilets  in every school.

 Awards under this  initative

1. SwachhVidyalayaPuraskar  -  To  Government  schools  for  showing  excellence  in  Sanitation  and hygiene  practice.

2.  SwachhtamVidyalaya  and  HaritVidyalaya  -  TokendriyaVidyalayas  at  regional  level  which  shows excellence in clean and  green environment.

 Global  Initiative  Of  Academic Networks  (GIAN)

It  is  an  initiative  aimed  at  tapping  the  talent  pool  of  scientist  and  entrepreneurs  internationally  by collaborating  Indian  institutes of Higher  Education in  India with  Foreign  academics.

It  is  to  augment  the  country's  existing  academic  resources,  accelerate  the  pace  of  quality  reform  and  elevate the scientific  and  technological  capacity to  global  excellence.

Rashtriya  Uchchatar  Shiksha  Abhiyan  (RUSA)

It is  a  centrally  sponsored  scheme  aiming  to  provide  strategic  funding  to  higher  educational  institutions  and improve  the  overall  quality  of  existing  state  institutions  by  ensuring  that  all  institutions  conform  to  prescribed norms and  standard.
  Its target achievement  is to  raise the gross  enrolment  ratio  to  32% by  the  end of 2017.

 BHUVAN - RUSA PORTAL - The National Remote  Sensing  Centre  (NRSC)  of  ISRO  has  developed  a  mobile application  for  uploading  geo-tagged  photographs  and  associated  details  captured  by  the  educational institutions in this  portal  as  part  of the  implementation  of RUSA.

SWAYAM
 Study  Webs  of  Active  Learning  For  Young  Aspiring  Minds  is  an  indigenous  IT  platform  for  hosting the Massive Open Online  Courses (MOOCs).

It  targets  those  students  who  could  not  complete  their  studies  and  professionals  who  wish  to  upgrade  their knowledge.
 Professors  of  centrally  funded  institutions  like  IITs,  IIMs,  central  universities  will  offer  online  courses  to citizens of  India through  this platform.

 However,  it  would  not  run  courses  such  as  engineering,  medicine,  dental,  pharmacy,  nursing,  architecture, and  physiotherapy.

 Swayam Prabha

  The  Swayam  Prabha  is  a  group  of  32  DTH  channels  devoted  to  telecasting  of  high-quality  educational programmes on 24X7  basis  using  the GSAT-15 satellite.

The  channels  cover  higher  education,  school  education  and  assist  the  students  (class  11th  &  12th)  prepare  for competitive  exams.
  The contents  are  provided  by IITs,  UGC,  IGNOU,  NCERT  and  NIOS.


 Information  and  Library  Network  (INFLIBNET),  an  autonomous  Inter-University  Centre  (IUC)  of  UGC maintains  the  web  portal.

INFLIBNET is  involved  in  creating  infrastructure for  sharing  of  library  and  information resources and  services among Academic  and  Research  Institutions.
 It allows students  to  choose  the time of their convenience for  learning.

 It widens  the  scope  of  SWAYAM,  an  online  education  platform  which  covers  teachers  training,  graduate  and post  graduate courses.

 Under  Swayam  Prabha,  the  government  had  one  DTH  channel  in  English  and  Hindi  of  the  32  channels  for telecasting  educational  programmes dedicated  to  teacher training.

 Vittiya  Saksharata  Abhiyan  (VISAKA)

It is a  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.

Ishan  Uday  and Ishan  Vikas

Scholarships for undergraduates from northeast.

 Under the  scheme  ten  thousand  fresh  scholarships  are  to  be  provided  for  general  degree  course,  technical  and professional  courses  including  medical  and  para-medical  courses  and  will  be  given  through  Direct  Benefit Transfer  (DBT) to  the  beneficiary  student

 IshanVikas - Select students  from northeast  to  be taken to  IITs,  NITs  etc.  for  internships/ exposure

 Unnat  Bharat
It aimed at   providing  rural  India  with  professional  resource support  from institutes of higher education

  Connecting  institutions  of  higher  education,  including  IITs,  NITs  and  Indian  Institutes  of  Science  Education  & Research  (IISERs)  etc.  with  local  communities  to  address  the  development  challenges  through  appropriate technologies. 

Ek Bharat  Shrestha  Bharat

It was announced  on the occasion of the 140th  birth  anniversary of Sardar  Vallabhbhai  Patel. 

  It  aims  to  actively  enhance  interaction  between  people  of  diverse  cultures  living  in  different  States  and  UTs, with  the objective of  promoting  greater  mutual  understanding  amongst  them.

 As  per  the  programme,  each  year,  every  State/UT  would  be  paired  with  another  State/UT  in  India  for reciprocal  interaction  between the  people.

 Through  this  innovative  measure,  the  knowledge  of  the  culture,  traditions  and  practices  of  different  States  & UTs  will  lead  to  an  enhanced  understanding  and  bonding  between  the  States,  thereby  strengthening the unity  and  integrity of  India.

Bharat  Shrestha  Bharat

It was announced  on the occasion of the 140th  birth  anniversary of Sardar  Vallabhbhai  Patel. 

  It  aims  to  actively  enhance  interaction  between  people  of  diverse  cultures  living  in  different  States  and  UTs, with  the objective of  promoting  greater  mutual  understanding  amongst  them.

  As  per  the  programme,  each  year,  every  State/UT  would  be  paired  with  another  State/UT  in  India  for reciprocal  interaction  between the  people.

Through  this  innovative  measure,  the  knowledge  of  the  culture,  traditions  and  practices  of  different  States  & UTs  will  lead  to  an  enhanced  understanding  and  bonding  between  the  States,  thereby  strengthening the unity  and  integrity of  India. 

Rashtriya  Ekta  Shivir

Rashtriya  Ekta  Shivir  (National  Integration  Camp)  was  organized  recently  as  part  of  Ek  Bharat  Shreshth Bharat  by Kendriya  Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS).

  The  most  unique  feature  of  this  camp  is  that  the  students  from  one  state  of  the  country  represent  the  cultural diversity of another  state of the country.

  It represents  the socio-economic  aspects along  with  the  art  and  culture of various states.

 Shodhganga

 It is  the  repository  developed  to  contain  an  electronic  copy  of  all  M.Phil/Ph.D  thesis  to  make  it  accessible  to  all institutions.

 The  task  of  setting-up  of  this  repository  is  assigned  to  Information  and  Library  Network  (INFLIBNET),  an inter-university centre of  the University  Grants Commission (UGC). 

 It also  provides  access  to  Indian  theses  and  dissertations  in  open  access  to  world-wide  academic  community and  making  visibility of  Indian research  to  other  countries.

Traditional  Knowledge  Digital  Library (TKDL)

  TKDL  is  an  Indian  initiative  to  prevent  exploitation  and  to  protect  Indian  traditional  knowledge  from wrongful  patents  mainly  at  International  Patent  Offices.

TKDL  contains  Indian  traditional  medicine  knowledge  in  a  digitized  format  and  is  available  in  five international  languages (English,  French,  zGerman,  Spanish  and  Japanese
Indian  traditional  medicine  knowledge  in  TKDL  pertains  to  traditional  books  related  to  Ayurveda,  Unani  and Siddha.

  CSIR is  the  implementing  agency  for  TKDL.  Funds  under  the  scheme  are  provided  only  to  CSIR  and  no  funds have  been allocated  to  any  state.

Vishwajeet Scheme

 Vishwajeet scheme aimed to  help top  IITs to  get  top  league in  global  rankings.

 It  had  the  provision  of  funding  to  top  seven  IITs  over  a  period  of  five  years  to  upgrade  infrastructure,  hire foreign faculty and  collaborate with  foreign  institutions.

 Recently,  the scheme  was scrapped  by Union Finance  Minsitry.

 However,  Union  HRD  ministry  has  introduced  ―Higher  Education  Finance  Agency  (HEFA)‖  to  provide support  to  universities for creating  the research  infrastructure.


Operation  Digital  board

The  Central  Advisory  Board  of  Education  (CABE),  an  advisory  body  under  Ministry  of  HRD  recently  passed  a resolution to  take steps towards Operation Digital  Board.

 The idea of Operation Digital  Board  is aimed at  providing  better digital  education in all  schools.

  These  steps  will  be  on  the  lines  of  Operation  Blackboard  of  1987,  which  was  started  with  the  purpose  of providing  minimum  basic  facilities to  all  primary  schools.

This will  offer new opportunities and  ways  of teaching  and  learning  in schools.

Initiatives  to push  e-education

 National Digital  Library  – It  is  an e-library containing  6.5  million  books.

 National Academic Depository  –  It  is for authenticating  all  certificates issued  by academic  institutions.

 These  initiatives  are  expected  to  increase  the  Gross  Enrolment  Ratio  in  the  higher  education  from  24 (201516) to  30 by  2020.

Technical  Education  Quality  Improvement Programme  (TEQIP) 

 TEQIP  is  a  central  sector  scheme  commenced  in  2003  with  World  Bank  assistance  to  improve  the infrastructure and  educational  standards in the  technical  institutions.
  It is  a  long  term  programme  being  implemented  in  3  phase.  Currently  it  is  in  third  phase  of  implementation stage.

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Cooperative Federalism: 

Significance: The current government believes in promoting competitive cooperative federalism without discriminating between states on the basis of the party in power. P.M. of India said he would work shoulder-to-shoulder in each state’s march towards progress. The Centre would move ahead with the pledge that the fate of  the country would change only by adopting the path of progress

Evolution of Cooperative Federalism: The concept of cooperative federalism gained currency during the 1930’s in the United States of America. In a strict sense, it would appear that the word cooperative is redundant as it is the basic postulate in political theory of federalism that two or more sovereigns surrender part of their sovereignty to work together for common good. Cooperative federalism envisages that national and state agencies undertake government functions jointly rather than exclusively. The nation and states would share power without power being concentrated at any government level or in any agency. The advantage of this system is that distribution of responsibilities gives people and groups access to many avenues of influence which may otherwise be inaccessible. With the advent of multi-party system and coalition governments — since the States and the Centre are no longer ruled by the same party, giving rise to considerable tension between the States and Centre — the idea of cooperative federalism has become crucial.

Conflicts under Cooperative Federalism: 

• Formation of New States:  The views of the State Legislative Assembly have no binding effect on the Parliament’s decision to form a new State.  there are no established principles which determine when the boundary of a State needs to be altered, or what considerations can legitimately trigger the process of formation of new States. As a result, short-term political gains for the political party at the Centre may dictate the process of formation of States. Example: Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2013 was  rejected by the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly but Parliament went ahead with formation of  State of Telangana.
• Governance of Delhi: The high-decibel altercation between the Chief Minister of Delhi and its Lieutenant Governor over the power to appoint bureaucrats masks a fundamental question about the right authority to control the governance of Delhi. Article 239AA represented a new compromise with an elected Legislature having powers over all, save a few State List subjects. Ultimate authority however remained with Government of India which could override the Delhi Government on any subject.
• Backward Area Development: Under the 2015-16 Union Budget, the Backward Region Grants Fund Programme was discontinued and subsumed into the total expenditure of States. Hence, State Governments now have the primary responsibility of identifying backward areas and allocating funds for reform in these areas. However, evidence so far from the administration of backward areas has shown that State Governments have been unable to ascertain the criteria for backwardness with sufficient clarity. Further, political factors have meant that they have also been slow to bring development required in such areas.
• Weakened Inter State Bodies: The Inter State Council has had little impact on Centre-State relations in all its years of existence, and it has not been reconstituted regularly. Since the present government had abolished Planning Commission and constituted Niti Aayog , there are concerns whether he duties of both the bodies overlap or not in its mandate. Additionally, NITI Aayog has been authorised to set up regional councils — this is similar to the role currently played by the Zonal Councils.  Such artificial separation imposes undue burden on the exchequer, results in proliferation of councils that
  lack an integrated and authoritative approach, and makes intergovernmental consultation processes cumbersome.
• Conflicts in Governor’s role: Governors appointed by previous Central Governments are removed from office for not being ‘in sync’ with the political ideology of the current Central Government before their terms end. Numerous such premature removals, with no assignment of cause or opportunity to be heard, have shattered the security of the tenure of the office and lowered the prestige of the institution, making it impossible for Governors to function impartially and remain apolitical. This has struck at the heart of the federal character of our Constitution.

Solutions to the existing conflicts: 

• Changes to Article 3: Two elements in current process require change. First, the constitutional scheme needs to be reworked to ensure that Parliament takes a greater measure of consideration of the views of the State Legislative Assemblies. Second, Parliament needs to adhere to certain principles while voting upon a reorganisation Bill. To establish such principles, a body in the nature of a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) can be formulated under the Constitution.
• Redesigning Delhi governance: As recommended by the Sitaramayya Committee, Delhi must have a responsible government. This necessarily entails a government that is constitutionally equipped to serve the needs of its people. Second, for such government to be responsible to its people, the principle of subsidiarity must apply equally to Delhi as it does to all other States. This implies that the municipal corporations and other local bodies in Delhi, with enumerated exceptions, must be answerable first and foremost to the Delhi Government and not the GOI.
• Developing Backward Regions:  A provision may be added under Part XXI of the Constitution by means of a constitutional amendment that lays down guidelines and systematises the process of development for any backward area in any State.
• Strengthen Inter State Bodies:  Strengthen the intergovernmental organisations by granting  formality and accountability  by constitutional or statutory status, and establishing procedures for consideration and implementation of its recommendations. A policy document should demarcate the role of the existing intergovernmental organisations.
• Strengthen Governor Role: This interpretation of the doctrine of pleasure is resonant of the doctrine applicable in a feudal setup, where the power of removal of servants of the Crown was absolute and unfettered. Article 156 requires amendment to insert limitations on the doctrine of pleasure. This would protect the Governor’s tenure from unjustified removals. An attempt to restore the functionality of the office of the Governor through a sanctified constitutional amendment will empower the Governor to fulfil his constitutional role without the need to pander to the Central Government’s ideology and without the threat of removal.

Conclusion: Cooperative federalism demands that the responsibility for managing them also be shifted where it rightfully belongs that is at the State and local levels. For a long time federalists have been demanding that the Centre cut down or totally wind up some of the ministries that deal with subjects in the State List.  Political will and vision is needed to break the stranglehold of New Delhi’s Bhavan’s in areas where the States should be empowered. However, the existing and largely underutilised Interstate Council, created under Article 263 and mandated to deal with coordination between State raises the question of what the new vision of cooperative federalism entails, beyond coordination.

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Ease of Doing Business and challenges for it in india

What is Ease of doing business Index?

Ease of doing business Index has been developed by the World Bank and a nation’s ranking is determined based on 10 sub-indices, given as follows:

• Time taken to start a business
• Dealing with construction permits
• Getting a power connection
• Registering a property
• Getting credit sanctioned
• Protecting investors
• Paying taxes
• Trading across borders
• Enforcing contracts
• Filing for insolvency or forcing bankruptcy

In India, World Bank calculates the Index based on the data from Delhi and Mumbai. This is one of the criticisms faced as the index doesn’t take into account the whole country.

Ease of doing business is key to achieve objectives of initiatives such as Make in India which will boost the manufacturing sector. In the recently released World Bank report, India has climbed 30 spots to reach the 100th position in Ease of doing business Index 2018 from 130th position in 2017. India has seen improvement of rankings in – protecting rights of minority investors, getting credit and resolving insolvency, enforcing contracts and dealing with construction permits.

Though the Central and State Governments have tried to improve the ease of doing business by several initiatives like Goods and Services Tax, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and striving towards cutting red tape, challenges still remain. In this article, we try to understand the challenges faced for ease of doing business in India and also the prospects.

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Challenges for Ease of doing business in India

• It takes approximately a month to start a business in India while the OECD average is 12 days. Though some states like Telangana have eased up the procedures for starting a business, this is yet to be achieved on a pan India basis.
• The procedures to secure permits are rather cumbersome and involve permissions to be sought from various departments.
• The implementation efficiency of Insolvency and Bankruptcy code is yet to be proven.
• Though India has been a modest improvement in enforcing contracts, it now takes longer time than it did 15 years ago. The absence of effective means for enforcing contracts impedes growth and development and is a disincentive for the private sector.
• When the domestic market is sluggish, it is important that foreign trade is boosted. But India in the current year rankings slipped three positions in foreign trade or trading across borders from 143 to 146.
• India’s largest urban agglomerations, Mumbai and Delhi cannot host the kind of large factories to generate adequate employment. The procedural reforms have not yet reached the hinterland.
• There’s been a significant improvement in paying taxes, but India ranks 119 on this index. For the Ease of doing business index 2018, GST has not been taken into consideration.
• Legislative roadblocks still exist for Land Acquisition.
• On his visit, the Prime Minister of Singapore has cited land acquisition, over-regulation, and legal hassles as bottlenecks for ease of doing business in India.  This signals the hurdles faced by investors in working with India.
• A plan for the industrial park in Gujarat with Singapore has been abandoned due to issues of land acquisition.
• Difficulty in cutting the red tape erodes the trust of investors and impedes the prospects of small businesses.
• Lack of coordination among different government ministries and departments, Central and State governments.

Prospects and Way forward

• India has significant room for improvisation in almost all the sub-indices.
• India fares among the best in access to credit in the South Asian region. Access to credit should be assured for small businesses and rural entrepreneurs through penetration of formal banking channels into rural areas.
• Effective implementation of reforms like GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy code is needed. The limit of 180 days prescribed in Insolvency and Bankruptcy code should be pertained to.
• Governments should be proactive in obtaining regular feedback about the implementation and initiating the changes accordingly.
• States can work towards providing a robust online system for registering property.
• Digitising land records, improving titling and streamlining procedures for transfer of property should be taken up.
• Foreign trade needs to be boosted by cutting red tape and reducing transaction costs.
• A fair judicial and executive system need to be in place to achieve the confidence of domestic and foreign investors.
• Fast track commercial courts, paper-less courts need to be set up to speed up the judicial processes.
• Reforms should not be restricted to Mumbai and Delhi but should be implemented in the hinterland as well.
• Create awareness about the reforms and procedures of institutional arbitration.
• Labour compliances need to be eased.
• Bureaucracy needs to be well trained and should try to come out of its popular mindset of being lax and indifferent.
• In the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism, all the states should initiate the best and proven practices for ease of doing business.
• The government’s assessment of states for implementation of “Business Reforms Action Plan” is a step in the right direction and helps to reinforce the idea of competitive federalism.

Conclusion

A high ranking in one year is not the end in itself. To reach the target of “top 50” in the rankings, India needs to be more vigilant in its approach. It needs to demonstrate not only the regulatory, governance and economic reforms to investors but also political and macroeconomic stability, law and order maintenance and quality physical infrastructure. At the same time, reforms should not be restricted to Mumbai and Delhi as this would improve the ranking on Ease of Doing Business Index but doesn’t account for the actual ground picture of the whole country. To address this issue, State wise ranking of implementation of “Business Reforms Action Plan” needs to be continued. Not restricting to cooperative federalism, cooperative sub federalism also needs to be explored by bringing local bodies on board and encouraging their cooperation with Central and State governments.

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India admitted as the 43rd member of the Australia Group

Introduction:

India was recently admitted as the 43rd member of the Australia Group, an informal bloc of countries that keeps a tight control over exports of substances used in the making of chemical weapons.

With its admission into the Australia Group, India is now part of three of the four key export control groups in the world.

Australia Group is the third multilateral export control group – after the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and Wassenaar Arrangement – that India has become a member of.

India joined the MTCR in June 2016, followed by the Wassenaar Arrangement in December 2017.

The only export control group that India is not a part of is the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which controls the export of sensitive nuclear technologies and equipment, with the aim of preventing nuclear weapons’ proliferation.

Basics: The four key export control groups:

MTCR, NSG, Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement – are the four nuclear regimes – aim to restrict the proliferation of items that could lead to the spread of, among others, weapons of mass destruction and chemical and biological weapons.

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR):

• It is a multilateral, consensus – based grouping of 35 member countries (includes India, China is not a member of this regime) who are voluntarily committed to the non-proliferation of missiles capable of carrying chemical, biological and nuclear weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
• It controls the export of the technologies and materials involved in ballistic missile systems and unmanned aerial vehicles particularly capable of carrying nuclear warheads of above 500kg payload for more than 300 km.
• This is a non–treaty association of member countries with certain guidelines about the information sharing, national control laws and export policies for missile systems and a rule-based regulation mechanism to limit the transfer of such critical technologies of these missile systems.
• India had joined MTCR as a full member and also agreed to join the Hague Code of conduct made it bolster its position as a responsible nuclear state and strengthen its case for the membership of other multilateral export control regimes like Nuclear Suppliers Group, Australia Group, and Wassenaar arrangement.

Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG):

• Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment, and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
• 48-nation group that frames and implements agreed rules for exporting nuclear equipment, with a view to controlling the spread of nuclear weapons. It is not a formal organization, and its guidelines are not binding. Decisions, including on membership, are made by consensus.
• India is not a member of NSG.

Australia Group (AG):

• It is an informal bloc of countries that keeps a tight control over exports of substances used in the making of chemical weapons.
• It was established in 1985.
• It has now has 43 members. China, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea are not its members.

Wassenaar Arrangement (WG):

• The Wassenaar Arrangement (not to be confused with the Wassenaar Agreement), (full name: The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies) is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) with 41 participating states.
• The Wassenaar Arrangement was established to contribute to regional and international security and stability by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilizing accumulations.
• Participating States seek, through their national policies, to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which undermine these goals, and are not diverted to support such capabilities.

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT):

• 1968 treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of disarmament. It identifies “nuclear weapons states” as those that tested devices before January 1, 1967, which means India could never be one and thus it refused to sign it.

Conclusion:

With its admission into the AG, India has demonstrated the will to implement rigorous controls of high standards in international trade, and its capacity to adapt its national regulatory system to meet the necessities of its expanding economy

The inclusion will help to raise India’s stature in the field of non-proliferation, though it is not signatory to Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and help in acquiring critical technologies.

It is also expected to strengthen India’s bid to enter 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

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All about super computer and India's Pratyush

Why it was in news?
India unveiled Pratyush, it's fastest supercomputer yet 

Source :The hindu 
www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-unveils-pratyush-its-fastest-supercomputer-yet/article22398732.ece
Fourth fastest dedicated supercomputer in the world 

1. India unveiled Pratyush, an array of computers that will be used for weather and climate research
2. Pratyush is the fourth fastest supercomputer in the world dedicated to weather and climate research and follows machines in Japan, USA and the United Kingdom
3. It will also move an Indian supercomputer from the 300s to the 30s in the Top500 list, a respected international tracker of the world’s fastest supercomputers

Pratyush’s prowess

1. Pratyush is an array of computers that can deliver a peak power of 6.8petaflops
2. One petaflop is a million billion floating point operations per second and is a reflection of the computing capacity of a system

Better monsoon forecast

1. A key function of the machine’s computing power would be monsoon forecasting using a dynamical model
2. This requires simulating the weather for a given month — say March — and letting a custom-built model calculate how the actual weather will play out over June, July, August and September
3. With the new system, it would be possible to map regions in India at a resolution of 3 km and the globe at 12 km

What is super computer 

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A supercomputer 

 is a type of computer which is used to focus the applications that requires large mathematical and difficult calculations at front line of processing capacity is known as Super computer.
It is fastest computer as compared to ordinary computer because supercomputers involve solving advanced scientific problems. Supercomputers supported by high powered graphics workstations, which are extremely valuable resources for a wide range of scientific investigations. Fastest possible performance of such computers made them invaluable in for all types of scientific researches.

Types of super computers


There are two types of supercomputer exist. 
One type has several extremely complex and expensive processors that carry out computations serially, one at a time and the second type has thousands of simple, inexpensive processors connected in parallel to perform the billions of task per seconds.

Applications of Supercomputers:

Due to high speed processing ability of Super computers, there are several applications of such computers which are used in scientific and research woks such as weather forecasting, graphics animation, nuclear research, petroleum research, molecular modeling and crypt analysis etc.
Today, Super computers are widely used in physics, precisely includes physical phenomena such as climate change, energy, environment, weapons, analysis of data such as national security intelligence, behavior of molecules in life sciences, protein folding, genome sequencing and also applicable on different kinds of medical industry.

Two major applications of supercomputers are Missile trajectory simulation and Gypsy moth growth population simulation.

Pros and Cons of Supercomputers:
There are many advantages of super computers which are really important for our daily life but at the same time where these computers have great advantages some disadvantages are also present.

Pros of Supercomputers:
1. They can replace experimentation in the cases where experiments are hazardous, expensive or even impossible to perform or with the help of instruments.
2. Help to design engineered products such as automotives, aerospace, nano-technology, and also new material designs by using up to 10,000 atoms.
3. They are used to calculate and show the conditions, temperature, speed, voltages etc like we might be see in a power plant, traffic control office etc.
4. Their use is of strategic importance to national security and defense, as well as for research and development in many areas of science and engineering.
Cons of Supercomputers:
1. The construction of Supercomputers is an incredibly expensive task because user is charged according to no. of processors.
2. They are not portable and are very specialized.



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List of Govt. Schemes for Women

The central government and state governments have come up with several schemes for the empowerment and welfare of women in India. The central government is running about 147 schemes for women in the country which cater to the different needs of women in the society. These includes schemes for women of all age groups, from all societies or social & economic classes

Other than central govt.’s 147 welfare schemes for women empowerment, the state governments are also running about 195 schemes (combined) in their respective state. The schemes are mainly being run to empower women in every field including education, healthcare, self-employment, and others.

The prime goals of all the central and state government schemes for women is to provide them protection, better health facilities, enough education to make them employable and to make them financially strong. Here we bring you the list of all those major schemes being run by all state governments and central government in the country.

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List of Govt. Schemes for Women

Below is the complete state wise list of all major women empowerment schemes in India.

One Stop Centre for women in distress (One Stop Sakhi Center)	View Details
Mahila Shakti Kendra (Mahila Shakti Kendra scheme)	View Details
Maternity benefit (Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY))	View Details
Women’s Helpline (Universalization of Women Helpline Scheme)	View Details
Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)	View Details
Women’s education – Mahila Samakhya Yojana (Mahila Samakhya Programme)	View Details
Financial incentive for wards of ex-servicemen undergoing cadet training at NDA	View Details
Health messages for women (Kilkari messages)	View Details
Information on Health and Nutrition	View Details
Facing trouble with pregnancy	View Details
Benefits for mother & child (Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK))	View Details
Maternity Leave (Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2017)	View Details
Financial assistance for vocational training of widows of ex-servicemen	View Details
National Health Portal – Authentic information on all kinds of diseases, conditions and services	View Details
Financial Inclusion of girls – National (Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana)	View Details
Loans for women safai karamcharis (Mahila Adhikarita Yojana)	View Details
Scholarships for Girls in Rural Areas	View Details
Grant-in-aid Scheme for the welfare of women labour	View Details
Working Women’s Hostel	View Details
Free legal aid	View Details
Provisions for women under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) (National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA))	View Details
Provisions for women under Integrated Scheme for Agricultural Marketing (ISAM)	View Details
Agricultural mechanization for women farmers (Agricultural mechanisation)	View Details
Protection for women farmers Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme (Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme)	View Details
Protection for women farmers under Modified National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) (Modified National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (MNAIS))	View Details
Promoting women under the National Mission on Oilseeds & Oil Palm (NMOOP) (National Mission on Oilseeds & Oil Palm (NMOOP))	View Details
Provisions for women under National Food Security Mission (National Food Security Mission)	View Details
Benefits for women under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH))	View Details
Reaching women farmers through mass media (Mass Media Scheme)	View Details
Provisions for women farmers in ATMA scheme (Agriculture Technology Management Agency Scheme)	View Details
Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood Improvement	View Details
Affordable rural housing for women (Prime Minister Awaas Yojana (PMAY) )	View Details
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)	View Details
War Memorial Hostels for children (War Memorial Hostels (WMHs))	View Details
Financial assistance to orphaned children of ex-servicemen	View Details
Financial assistance for education of children/widows of Ex-servicemen	View Details
Additional compensation for survivors of Acid Attack (Victim Compensation Scheme)	View Details
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission	View Details
Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana	View Details
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)	View Details
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)	View Details
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)	View Details
National Family Benefit Scheme for assistance in case of death of breadwinner (National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS))	View Details
Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS)	View Details
Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS)	View Details
Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS)	View Details
Technology Development and Utilization Programme for Women (TDUPW)	View Details
Pragati scholarship for girl students (All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE))	View Details
Provisions for women at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)	View Details
Swami Vivekananda Single Girl Child Scholarship for Research in Social Sciences	View Details
Post Doctoral Fellowship for Women	View Details
Capacity building of women managers in higher education	View Details
Women’s Studies in Universities and Colleges	View Details
Women’s Hostels for Colleges	View Details
Post Graduate Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child	View Details
Relaxation in M.Phil/Ph.D programme for women	View Details
Day care centres in Universities and Colleges	View Details
Scholarship for college and university students	View Details
Training in hospitality sector	View Details
Job training – Hunar Se Rozgar Tak	View Details
NRI marriages	View Details
Manage your money	View Details
Sexual Harassment at the Workplace	View Details
Reporting Violence	View Details
Facing trouble in marriage	View Details
Tips for your job search	View Details
Forms of Violence Against Women	View Details
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao	View Details
Vidyalakshmi Portal for Education Loans (National Vidyalakshmi Portal)	View Details
Free health services for mothers – Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan)	View Details
Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs)	View Details
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao	View Details
Child Helpline – 1098	View Details
Financial Inclusion of girls – Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana)	View Details
Leadership development for women from Minorities (Nai Roshni)	View Details
Legal literacy for women	View Details
Loans for small businesses – MUDRA yojana (Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojna (PMMY))	View Details
LPG Connectios for women – Ujjwala (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana)	View Details
Promoting Women SHGs through National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)	View Details
Maternity benefit – Janani Suraksha Yojana (Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) )	View Details
Panic Button	View Details
Out of school Adolescent Girls – Kishori Shakti Yojana (Kishori Shakti Yojna)	View Details
Promoting entrepreneurship – Stand Up India Scheme (Stand Up India Scheme)	View Details
Toilets for women under Swachh Bharat Mission (Swachh Bharat Mission)	View Details
33% reservation in Panchayats (73rd Constitutional Amendment Act)	View Details
Skill Training of Rural Youth on Farm and Non-Farm Activities (Skill Training of Rural Youth)	View Details
Shelters for Urban Homeless (SUH)	View Details
Affordable housing (PMAY – Common Service Centers)	View Details
Services for women passengers in Indian Railways	View Details
Science & Technology for women	View Details
Trafficking – Ujjawala scheme for victims of trafficking (Ujjawala)	View Details
Science & Engineering Research Board Women Excellence Award	View Details
Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development (TREAD)	View Details
Scholarships (National Scholarship Portal)	View Details
Scholarship for women ST students	View Details
The National Livestock Mission (NLM)	View Details
Scheme for out of school Adolescent Girls (Sabla)	View Details
Strengthening Education among ST Girls in Low Literacy Districts	View Details
Safety of women in Panchayats	View Details
Residential schools for tribal girls	View Details
Vocational/skill training – Employment through Skill Training and Placement	View Details
Vocational/skill training – Support to Training and Employment Programme (STEP) for Women (STEP Scheme)	View Details
Want to report violence? – Mahila Police Volunteer	View Details
Provisions for women employees of the Indian Railways	View Details
Women in National Cadet Corps	View Details
Promoting women farmers through National Food Security Mission	View Details
Promoting women farmers (Mahila Kisan Sashatikaran Pariyojana (MKSP))	View Details
Promoting sustainable agricultural practices among women farmers (National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA))	View Details
Promoting re-entry of women scientists (Women Scientists Scheme)	View Details
Promoting mechanisation among women farmers (Sub-Mission on Agricultural mechanisation)	View Details
Promoting horticulture among women farmers (Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH))	View Details
Forum for Women in Public Sector (WIPS Scheme)	View Details
Combating Adolescent Anaemia (Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) Programme)	View Details
Menstrual Hygiene (Scheme for Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene)	View Details
National Health Portal	View Details
Online market platform -Mahila E-haat (Mahila E-Haat)	View Details
National Gender Resource Centre for Agriculture (NGRCA Scheme)	View Details
Resources for women farmers (M-kisan and National Farmer’s Portal)	View Details
National Young Leader Programme	View Details
National Women Bioscientist Award	View Details
National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development (NPBBD)	View Details
National award for Women’s Development through Application of Science and Technology	View Details
CSR contribution for women’s issues (Companies Act, 2013)	View Details
Model Residential Schools for ST students (Ekalavya Model Residential School (EMRS) Scheme)	View Details
Micro-credit – Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK)	View Details
Menstrual hygiene framework	View Details
Women in corporate boards (Companies Act, 2013 )	View Details
Loan for ST women (Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana)	View Details
Legal/financial assistance to Indian women deserted/divorced by their NRI spouses	View Details
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) Promoting Women SHGs through National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM))	View Details
Housing finance (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana)	View Details
Hostels for ST girl students	View Details
Home for women in difficult circumstances  (Swadhar Greh)	View Details
Grant-in-aid for welfare of women labour	View Details
Girls hostels	View Details
Gender sensitization in schools & colleges (Gender Champions)	View Details
Family planning (Family Planning Programme)	View Details
Credit & Subsidy – Self Employment Programme (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihood Mission)	View Details
Creche for children of working mothers (Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme (RGNCS))	View Details
Career advancement for women scientists (Biotechnology Career Advancement and Re-orientation Programme (BIOCARE))	View Details
Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries (Neel Kranti Mission)	View Details
Biotechnology based programme for women	View Details
Precautions to take in cases of Indian women married to PIOs and NRIs	View Details
33% reservation in police force	View Details
Adolescent Health (Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK))	View Details
Adolescence Education Programme (Adolescence Education Programme (AEP))	View Details
Capacity Building of Women in Panchayats (Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) Scheme)	View Details

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