The PIB segment consists of articles taken from the PIB website of the Government of India, which gives the latest schemes and news from the GOI. This is important for UPSC current affairs.
July 21st, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here
13th Global Healthcare Summit 2019
Context:
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 13th Global Healthcare Summit organized by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), in Hyderabad.
Details:
- The VP called for paying increasing attention to Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in rural areas, since nearly 86 percent of all the medical visits in India are made by people living in rural areas with a majority required to travel long distances.
- He also expressed his concern over the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which accounted for 61.08 percent of all deaths in the country in 2016.
- He also talked about bridging the gap between the required and present number of medical practitioners in India by opening more medical colleges and increasing the number of seats in the graduation and post-graduation levels.
About the Global Healthcare Summit:
- The summit brings together healthcare experts, academicians, technology experts, and people from the industry and the government to discuss, brainstorm and share advancements and opportunities in modern healthcare.
- The 13th Edition is being held from 21st to 24th July in Hyderabad.
- There would be over 100 speakers and about 500 delegates attending.
- The theme for 2019 is: “Opportunities in Modern Healthcare for Young minds and Businesses”.
- There would be exhibitions, presentations and awards given.
Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS)
Context:
In the recently concluded 2019 general elections, the Election Commission of India used Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) for service voters.
About Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS):
- Persons working in Central Forces under Arms Act and Government officials deployed in Embassies outside the country are classified as Service Voters.
- Such service voters are provisioned for online enrolment.
- On the introduction of the ETPBS, there has been a record turnout of service voters. 18,02,646 were enrolled as Service Electors in 2019. This is a high of 60.14% as recorded by the E-postal ballot.
- The number of service voters included those from the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs (Central Armed Police Forces), Ministry of External Affairs and the State Police.
- ETPBS is developed by Election Commission of India with the help of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
- This system enables the entitled service voters to cast their vote using an electronically received postal ballot from anywhere outside their constituency. The voters who make such a choice will be entitled for Postal Ballot delivered through Electronic Media for a particular election.
- It enables the voters to cast their vote on an electronically received postal ballot from their preferred location, which is outside their originally assigned voting constituency.
- This system addresses the issue of time constraint for dispatch of postal ballot.
Who are eligible to avail of ETPBS?
- Service Voters, other than those who opt for proxy voting (Classified Service Voters)
- The wife of a Service Voter who ordinarily resides with him
- Overseas Voters
Advantages of ETPBS:
- It can be availed by service voters from anywhere outside their constituency.
- It is easy and efficient.
- It facilitates the creation of service voter electoral roll data.
- It has two-layered security and is a secure system.
- OTP is required to download encrypted Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot file.
- Secrecy is maintained and no duplicate of casted ETPB is possible due to QR code.
- PIN is required to decrypt, print and deliver ETPB.
DefExpo India- 2020
Context:
The 11th edition of the DefExpo India- 2020 is going to be held in Lucknow from 5th to 8th February 2020.
Details:
- The expo offers an excellent opportunity for the Indian defence industry to showcase its capabilities and promote its export potential.
- The theme of the 2020 edition is “India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub”. The focus would be on ‘Digital Transformation of Defence’.
- The expo is intended to facilitate B2B and G2G interactions and meetings. Many MoUs are also generally signed.
- The DefExpo is a biennial event (held every 2 years).
- The expo is intended to give a boost to the ‘Make in India’ programme of the GOI.
- Two Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs) are planned in India, one in Uttar Pradesh and the other in Tamil Nadu.
Related Links:
| Election Commission of India | Election Commission of India – Powers |
| UPSC 2020 | UPSC Exam Pattern |
June 21st, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here
Read previous ‘Best of PIB’ here.
Multiple Choice Question
Consider the following statements
- Electronically transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) is developed by Election Commission of India with the help of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), for the use of the Service Voters. It is a fully secured system, having two layers of security. Secrecy is maintained through the use of OTP and PIN and no duplication of casted Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot (ETPB) is possible due to the unique QR Code.
- Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is the premier R&D organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for carrying out R&D in IT, Electronics and associated areas.
- The current electronic voting machines in India are the M3 version with VVPAT capability, the older versions being M1 and M2.
- The use of EVMs and electronic voting was developed and tested by the state-owned Electronics Corporation of India and Bharat Electronics in the 1990s. They were introduced in Indian elections between 1998 and 2001, in a phased manner.
Choose the correct answer from the below-given options
A) None of the above statements are true.
B) Only statements 2, 3 and 4 are true.
C) Only statements 1 and 3 are true.
D) All the above statements are true
Answer: D
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