26 December 2019: PIB Summary & Analysis

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December 26th, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Vivekananda Rock Memorial
2. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)
3. Eat Right Mela
4. 5 verticals of Quality Mandate in Higher Educational Institutions
5. Nari Shakti Puraskar 2019

Vivekananda Rock Memorial

About the Vivekananda Rock Memorial:

• The Vivekananda Rock Memorial is situated offshore around 500 m east of the mainland of Vavathurai, Kanyakumari, in the southernmost tip of India.
• It is seated on one of the two adjacent rocks projecting out of the Lakshadweep Sea and comprises of two important structures, the ‘Shripada Mandapam’ and the ‘Vivekananda Mandapam’.
• The construction of the memorial took six years and was completed in 1970 in honour of the great Indian monk and reformer Swami Vivekananda.
• It is believed that after meditating for three days and three nights at the rock, Swami Vivekananda attained enlightenment and transformed himself from a simple monk to an enlightened being.
• Swami Vivekananda visited Kanyakumari in December 1892 days before his famous visit to Chicago to attend the ‘World Religious Conference’.

Context:

President of India is set to visit Vivekananda Rock Memorial.

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)

Context:

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs released a postage stamp to commemorate the distinguished service and glorious contribution by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in protecting the nation.

About the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI):

• The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was constituted in 1957 to function as an apex intelligence agency of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs to counter the menace of smuggling.
• Through the years, DRI has offered valuable intelligence inputs on myriad subjects inter alia ranging from FICN (Fake Indian Currency Note), narcotics, gold, arms & ammunition, wildlife, cultural heritage and commercial fraud.
• The DRI has also been designated as the lead agency for S-CORD, the national anti-smuggling coordination centre.
• It also works for combating commercial frauds related to international trade and evasion of customs duty.

Eat Right Mela

Context:

The Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare inaugurates the 2^nd Edition of the “Eat Right Mela”.

Details:

• The ‘Eat Right India’ movement was launched by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to usher in a ‘new food culture’ by nudging businesses and consumers to adopt safe, healthy and sustainable food practices and habits.
• As part of the Eat Right India movement, the ‘Eat Right Mela’ was conceived to engage, excite and enable citizens to eat right through an infotainment model.
• Eat Right Melas have been envisioned for massive outreach to build awareness on safe food and healthy diets through an interactive and informative model.
• It is being held in Delhi.
• In addition to showcasing street foods from all over the country, it consists of entertaining yet informative activities such as food quizzes, talks by dieticians and nutritionists, live cooking demonstrations by chefs, discussions by leading food experts and exhibits on healthy eating along with a host of cultural performances such as street theatre, dances and so on.
• The Mela was first held in 2018 in Delhi.

5 verticals of Quality Mandate in Higher Educational Institutions

Context:

Union HRD Minister launches 5 documents covering the 5 verticals of Quality Mandate in Higher Educational Institutions.

Details:

• These five documents cover evaluation reforms, eco-friendly and sustainable university campuses, human values & professional ethics, faculty induction and academic research integrity.
• To improve the quality in Higher Educational Institutions, University Grants Commission (UGC) has adopted the Higher Education Quality Improvement Programme Mandate.
• The minister mentioned SATAT – the Framework for Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Campus development in Higher Educational Institutions. This encourages universities to adopt policies to enhance the environmental quality of the campus.
• UGC has also developed a policy framework- “MulyaPravah – Guidelines for Inculcation of Human values and Professionals Ethics in Higher Educational Institutions”.
• The minister also mentioned about the Guidelines for Guru-Dakshta – A guide to Faculty Induction Programme (FIP) with its main objective to sensitise and motivate the faculty to adopt learner centred approaches, ICT integrated learning and new pedagogic approaches to teaching-learning, assessment tools in higher education.

Nari Shakti Puraskar 2019

Context:

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has invited applications for Nari Shakti Puraskar for the year 2019.

About the Nari Shakti Puraskar:

• The National Award is given annually to individuals, groups, institutions in recognition of their exceptional work towards the cause of women empowerment, especially for vulnerable and marginalized women.
• Nearly 40 Nari Shakti Puraskars will be given away on International Women’s Day observed on 8^th March 2020. The President gives away the awards.
• The award was formerly known as the Stree Shakti Puraskar. It was instituted in the year 1991.
• The award carries a cash prize of rupees one lakh and a citation.
• For the year 2012, the award was posthumously bestowed on the 2012 Delhi gang rape victim named ‘Nirbhaya’.

December 26th, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

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