UPSC PIB Summary Analysis Jun26

President of India presents the National Awards for Outstanding Services in the field of Prevention of Alcoholism & Substance (drug) abuse

• The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, presented the National Awards for Outstanding Services in the field of Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drug) Abuse today (June 26, 2018) in New Delhi on the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
• The President said that our geographical location between Myanmar-Laos-Thailand’s ‘Golden Triangle’ and Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan’s ‘Golden Crescent’, makes the problem of Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking even more acute and complicated.
• Increase in drug trafficking and drug abuse in the border areas is also associated with issues of terrorism and political unrest. That is why there is a need to be more vigilant in Border States like Punjab and Manipur.
• He also said that misuse of illegal drugs is creating health challenges especially for the young generation and school going children. He stated that the problem of drug abuse can be solved by awareness, prevention, incentives, and support efforts.
• Parents, teachers, doctors, voluntary organizations should be associated in the medical and rehabilitation efforts.

PM interacts with business leaders in Mumbai

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today met and interacted with business leaders in Mumbai. 41 business leaders representing a wide spectrum of the Indian economy were present at the interaction. 
• The Prime Minister spoke of his recent discussions with startups and entrepreneurs. He said a positive mindset, and a “can do” spirit is now pervading the country. He urged the corporate sector to invest in a big way, especially in the agriculture sector.
• Emphasizing on the need to promote domestic manufacturing, he spoke of the need to boost production in areas such as medical devices, electronics and defence equipment. 

Constitution of Committee for Standardization and Indigenization in Metro Rail Systems

• Transport infrastructure is one of the most important factors for a country’s progress. With rapid Industrialization, Urbanization, Globalization and concentration of large population in urban centers, the cities and towns of the country are growing at a faster pace.  
• To keep this faster pace, for moving people, goods and services, metro rail projects are playing a crucial role not only as a transportation solution but as a means to transform cities.
• Today, 490 kms of metro lines are operational in 10 different cities in the country. More than 600 kms of metro rail projects are under construction in various cities. In the coming years there will be robust growth in metro rail sector. 
• In addition to metro rail network, Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) is also being introduced to decongest Delhi & NCR. The first phase of RRTS consists of 3 corridors, covering a total length of about 380 kms. This transit system will connect Delhi with Sonepat, Alwar and Meerut.
• However, there are numerous areas for which indigenous standards need to be formulated. These are layout of metro station, platforms, signage & displays, size of tunnels, fire protection systems, disaster management systems, environment friendly and waste management systems, standards for solar panels at stations etc.
• These indigenous standards will ensure that metro rail sub systems for all new metro projects conform to the prescribed standards thus incentivizing manufacturers to plan for long term investments in the country and set up manufacturing units. This will also bring down the cost of the metro rail constructions and operation.
• For this purpose, a committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Sh. E. Sreedharan for Standardization and Indigenization in Metro Rail. 
• The committee is expected to submit its report in 3 months. After 3 months, based on specific task of standardization, Dr. Sreedharan could co-opt the relevant expert members for the task for a specified period of time.

UN MSME Day to be celebrated on 27th June 2018

• The Ministry of Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), will organize a National  Conclave (UdyamSangam) on 27^th June 2018 on the occasion of UN MSME Day.
• The purpose of the Conclave is to encourage dialogue and partnership among various stakeholders of the MSME ecosystem and for promoting innovation and knowledge sharing on MSME related issues.
• President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, will inaugurate the Conclave in Vigyan Bhawan. On this occasion the Solar Charkha Mission of the Ministry will be launched by the President. The Mission will cover 50 clusters and every cluster will employ 400 to 2000 artisans.
• The Mission has been approved by the Government of India for which the MSME Ministry will disburse subsidy of Rs. 550 crores to the artisans.
• A Website of the Ministry will also be launched which will act as a bridge between the talent pool and those enterprises seeking trained man power. Nearly one lakh fifty thousand persons have received training in the 18 State-of-the-art Technology Centres of the MSME Ministry last year.

The UN General Assembly in its 74^th Plenary held on the 6^th April, 2017 declared 27^th June as Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, recognizing the importance of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in achieving sustainable development goals and in promoting innovation, creativity and sustainable work for all.

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