23 November 2019: PIB Summary & Analysis

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November 23rd, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ‘Martyrdom Day’ of Guru Teg Bahadur
2. Two-Day Conference of Governors Commences
3. M K Das Appointed as Special Police Observer
4. Destination North East' festival inaugurated
5. Global Bio-India Summit, 2019
6. NSS report on Persons with Disabilities in India

‘Martyrdom Day’ of Guru Teg Bahadur

Context

The President of India greeted citizens on the eve of ‘Martyrdom Day’ of Guru Teg Bahadur.

About Guru Teg Bahadur

Click here to read about Guru Teg Bahadur

Two-Day Conference of Governors Commences

Context

• The two-day Conference of Governors and Lt. Governors commenced at Rashtrapati Bhavan with the inaugural address of the President of India.
• This is the 50th such Conference held in Rashtrapati Bhavan

Background

• The governor’s conference meets annually each meeting extending for two days.
• The president of India is the chairman
• Vice president and PM also attend and other central ministers are also invited depending on agenda
• The agenda of the conference consists of items suggested by central govt as well as those sent by individual governors
• The rationale lies in its being sources of information to the central government on matters concerning states.

Highlights of 50^th Conference of Governors

• The conference started with the inaugural address of President Ram Nath Kovind, followed by the address of PM Modi. Around 17 first time governors and Lt. Governors are participating in the event. It includes the governors of newly formed Ladakh and Kashmir regions as well.
• Prime Minister Modi insisted the Governors to work in health, education and tourism sector.
• President laid the importance of the roles of governors in the empowerment of tribals. With their constitutional powers, they can help improve their lives in terms of education, health, financial inclusion, etc.

M K Das Appointed as Special Police Observer

Context

Election Commission of India has appointed Sh Mrinal Kanti Das (IPS 1977 Retd) as Special Police Observer for the ensuing Elections to the State Legislative Assembly of Jharkhand.

Who are EC’s observers?

• Observers of the Election Commission of India (ECI) are appointed under the powers conferred on it by Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the plenary powers available to the Commission under the Constitution of India.
• They are the appointees of the Commission working under the superintendence, control and discipline of the Commission for the period from their appointment until the process of election is completed.
• The Representation of the People Act, 1951 was amended in August 1996 to add a new Section 20B.
• This provides statutory powers to the Observers to watch the conduct of elections and especially in respect of counting of votes.
• The appointment of an officer as an Observer and the intimation for the briefing meeting shall be communicated by the ECI through the nodal officer of the State and Central Government who shall coordinate with Election Commission for various issues including provision of the list of officers for appointment as observers.

Roles and duties

• The General and Police Observers are expected to assist the Commission in the conduct of free and fair polls.
• They also oversee the efficient and effective management of the electoral process at the field level.
• For all purposes, they act as the eyes and ears of the Commission during the period of the election and provide direct inputs to the Commission from the field as an interface with the election machinery the candidates, political parties, and electors to ensure that the Acts, rules, procedures, instructions and guidelines related to elections are strictly and impartially complied with by all concerned.

‘Destination North East’ festival inaugurated

Context

The Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Inaugurated 4-day North East festival in Varanasi.

About the festival

Click here to read about the event.

Global Bio-India Summit, 2019

Context

India’s first largest biotechnology stakeholders’ conglomerate, – the Global Bio-India (GBI) Summit, 2019 concluded.

Significance

• Biotech is identified as one of the key sectors in Make in India 2.0.
• The event is planned to bring in stakeholders of 30 countries together.
• It will include 200 exhibitors and 250 startups. The Central and state regulatory bodies also participated in the summit.
• Biotechnology is recognized as the sunrise sector- a key driver for contributing to India’s USD 5 Trillion economy target by 2025.

Key Objectives of the Summit

• To identify funding and collaboration opportunities for research and Development
• To attract major projects from international companies
• To discuss policy interventions and key trends across the sub sectors like bio-agriculture, bio-energy, bio-industrial, bio-manufacturing, bio-services, etc.
• To facilitate interactions of research institutions with industry

Outcome of the Summit

• The Summit provided an opportunity to showcase the potential of India’s biotech sector to the international community, identify, create opportunities and deliberate on the key challenges in the areas of Bio-pharma, Bio-Agri, Bio-Industrial, Bio-Energy and Bio-Services and allied sectors.

NSS report on Persons with Disabilities in India

Context

The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has conducted a Survey of Persons with Disabilities during July 2018 to December 2018.

Main Objective of Survey

• The main objective of the Survey of Persons with Disabilities conducted by NSO was to estimate indicators of:
• incidence and prevalence of disability,
• cause of disability,
• age at onset of disability,
• facilities available to the persons with disability,
• difficulties faced by persons with disability in accessing/using public building/public transport,
• arrangement of regular care giver,
• out of pocket expenses relating to disability, etc.

Prevalence and incidence of disability

• In India prevalence of disability (percentage of persons with disability in the population) was 2.2% with 2.3% in rural and 2.0% in urban areas.
• Prevalence of disability was higher among males than females. Among males, prevalence of disability was 2.4% while it was 1.9% among females.

What is Incidence of disability?

• Incidence of disability in the population, that is the number of persons with onset of disability (by birth or otherwise) during 365 days preceding the date of survey was 86 per 1,00,000 persons.

November 23rd, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

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