Table of Contents
Mission SAGAR:
The government of India has launched Mission Sagar amid the Covid-19 pandemic to help Indian Ocean Region countries. The neighboring countries in the Southern Indian Ocean including Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles had requested India for assistance in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
- As part of the mission, INS Kesari would enter the Port of Male in the Republic of Maldives, to provide them 600 tons of food provisions.
- The deployment is in consonance with the PM’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region ‘SAGAR’.
- Amid Covid-19 pandemic mission, Sagar is being progressed in close coordination with Ministries of Defence and External Affairs.
- This mission will further strengthen India’s ties with its neighboring countries. Under the mission, the ship will deliver consignments of COVID related essential medicines to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles and about 600 tonnes of food items to the Maldives.
- Further, in the case of Mauritius, a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines is also being sent,” Ministry of External Affairs stated. “The consignments meant for Madagascar and Comoros also includes Hydroxychloroquine tablets, which have already been sent earlier to Mauritius, Maldives, and Seychelles.
Pranavayu programme:
The Bengaluru city corporation has launched Pranavayu programme to create awareness on the need to self examine the respiratory health for Bengaloreans.
- It is an attempt to help people with low oxygen levels in their blood to get themselves checked early before their ailments become fatal.
- Several deaths due to COVID-19 are reported due to Severe Acute Respiratory illness (SARI).
Shekatkar committee :
Union Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh recently approved the abolition of 9,304 posts in the military engineering services. The posts were abolished based on the recommendation of the Shekatar Committee.
The Shekatkar Committee was set up by former defence minister Manohar Parrikar and submitted its report in December 2016. The report, which is now the guiding principle for ongoing defence reforms, has never been made public because it covers operational aspects of the armed forces, and its disclosure is not in the interests of national security.
Shekatkar Committee was tasked with suggesting steps to enhance the combat capability of the armed forces.
Measures, as recommended by the Committee and taken up for implementation, include:
- Optimization of Signals Establishments to include Radio Monitoring Companies, Corps Air Support Signal Regiments, Air Formation Signal Regiments, Composite Signal Regiments and merger of Corps Operating and Engineering Signal Regiments.
- Restructuring of repair echelons in the Army to include Base Workshops, Advance Base Workshops and Static / Station Workshops in the field Army.
- Redeployment of Ordnance echelons to include Vehicle Depots, Ordnance Depots and Central Ordnance Depots apart from streamlining inventory control mechanisms.
- Better utilization of Supply and Transportation echelons and Animal Transport Units.
- Closure of Military Farms and Army Postal Establishments in peace locations.
- Enhancement in standards for recruitment of clerical staff and drivers in the Army.
- Improving the efficiency of the National Cadet Corps.
Inter-State Migrant Act, 1979:
The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, seeks to regulate the employment of inter-State migrants and their conditions of service.
- It is applicable to every establishment that employs five or more migrant workmen from other States; or if it had employed five or more such workmen on any day in the preceding 12 months.
- It is also applicable to contractors who employed a similar number of inter-State workmen.
- The Act would apply regardless of whether the five or more workmen were in addition to others employed in the establishment or by the contractors.
- The principal employer is prohibited from employing inter-State workmen without a certificate of registration from the relevant authority.
- It helps the government keep track of the number of workers employed and provides a legal basis for regulating their conditions of service.
- The wage rates, holidays, hours of work and other conditions of service of an inter-State migrant workman shall be the same as those extended to other workmen in the same establishment if the nature of their work is similar.
Sample Registration System (SRS):
The SRS is a demographic survey for providing reliable annual estimates of infant mortality rate, birth rate, death rate and other fertility and mortality indicators at the national and sub-national levels.
- It was initiated on a pilot basis by the Registrar General of India in a few states in 1964-65, it became fully operational during 1969-70.
- The field investigation consists of a continuous enumeration of births and deaths in selected sample units by resident part-time enumerators, generally Anganwadi workers & teachers, and an independent survey every six months by SRS supervisors