CONTENTS
- E-SANJEEVANI
- GOA MARITIME SYMPOSIUM (GMS) – 2021
- BRICS
E-SANJEEVANI
Focus: GS III- Health
Why in news?
In a span of one year eSanjeevani, the flagship National Telemedicine Service of MoHFW has served more than 50 lakh (more than half a crore) patients.
What is E-Sanjeevani?
- Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched two variants of eSanjeevani namely – doctor to doctor (eSanjeevani AB-HWC) in the hub and spoke model and patient to doctor (eSanjeevani OPD).
- E-Sanjeevani OPD (out-patient department) is a telemedicine variant for the public to seek health services remotely; it was rolled out on 13th of April 2020 during the first lockdown in the country.
- e-Sanjeevani OPD is a Govt of India flagship telemedicine platform developed by the Centre for Development of Advance Computing (C-DAC), Mohali under the aegis of MoHFW, Govt of India.
- It provides free consultations to any Indian citizen.
- However, with covid cases surging, the demand for doctors is up while the supply has reduced due to doctors being pulled out for covid ward duties.
- It enables virtual meetings between the patients and doctors & specialists from geographically dispersed locations, through video conferencing that occurs in real-time.
- At the end of these remote consultations, eSanjeevani generates electronic prescriptions which can be used for sourcing medicines.
- Andhra Pradesh was the first state to roll out eSanjeevani AB-HWC services in November 2019.
Benefits of telemedicine
- Transportation: Patients can avoid spending gas money or wasting time in traffic with video consultations.
- No missing work: Today, individuals can schedule a consultation during a work break or even after work hours.
- Childcare/Eldercare Challenges: Those who struggle to find care options can use telemedicine solutions.
GOA MARITIME SYMPOSIUM (GMS) – 2021
Focus: GS III- Defence
Why in news?
Towards fostering friendly relations with its maritime neighbours, Indian Navy hosted ‘GMS-21’ under the aegis of Naval War College, Goa on 11 and 12 May 21.
Key points:
- Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event for the first time was hosted in virtual mode, with online participation of Naval representatives from 13 Indian Ocean Littoral countries, which included India, Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
- THEME: “Maritime Security and Emerging Non-Traditional Threats: A Case for Proactive Role for IOR Navies,” with emphasis on capacity building amongst the IOR Navies to tackle emerging common maritime threats.
- The symposium will play a constructive role in bringing together the stakeholders who have a role in evolving strategies, policies and implementation mechanisms on the issues of common interest in maritime domain.
- In addition to presenting cooperative strategies for enhancing interoperability among partner maritime agencies, the event provided a forum for articulation of views on the crucial maritime issues, followed by theme based discussions.
BRICS
Focus: GS II- International Groupings
Why in news?
Ist BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting amongst BRICS Countries.
Key points:
- India has assumed BRICS Presidency this year.
- The prime agenda for the discussions were Promoting Social Security Agreements amongst BRICS Nations, Formalization of labour markets, Participation of women in labour force and Gig and platform workers – Role in labour market.
- Apart from representatives of member nations i.e Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the representatives of International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Social Security Agency (ISSA) also made valuable interventions and suggestions on the agenda issues.
About BRICS
- BRICS is an informal group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (joined in 2010).
- The BRICS leaders’ summit is convened annually.
- BRICS does not exist in form of organization, but it is an annual summit between the supreme leaders of five nations.
- The Chairmanship of the forum is rotated annually among the members, in accordance with the acronym B-R-I-C-S.
- Together, BRICS accounts for about 42% of the world’s population and about 23% of the global GDP (Gross Domestic Product), and 17% of the world trade, making it a critical economic engine.
- The five nations account for 50 per cent of the world economic growth, 27% of the world area and 13.24% of World Bank voting power.
- Pitted as a counterweight to G7, the combine of developed economies, BRICS represents the world’s top emerging economies and claims to serve as a bridge between the developed and developing world.
