Contents
- PLI Scheme: Mobile phone and electronics manufacturing
- More States/UTs linked: One Nation One Ration Card
- Economical nonsurgical prevention of cataract
- Adaptive model for Critical resources in Pandemic
PLI SCHEME: MOBILE PHONE AND ELECTRONICS MANUFACTURING
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy
Why in news?
Union Minister for Electronics & IT, Communications said that the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) has been huge success in terms of the applications received from Global as well as Domestic Mobile Phone manufacturing companies and electronic components manufacturers.
Details
- Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI)for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing extends an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental sales (over base year) of goods under target segments that are manufactured in India to eligible companies.
- Under Mobile Phone (Domestic Companies) Segment, Indian companies have registered and are expected to expand their manufacturing operations in a significant manner and grow into national champion companies in mobile phone production.
- Industry has reposed its faith in India’s stellar progress as a world class manufacturing destination and this resonates strongly with self-reliant India (AtmaNirbhar Bharat).
Benefits
- Over the next 5 years, the Scheme is expected to lead to total production of about Rs. 11.5 lakh crores.
- The scheme is expected to promote exports significantly, as more than 60% of the total production in next 5 years will be contributed by exports.
- The scheme will generate approximately 3 lakh direct employment opportunities in next 5 years along with creation of additional indirect employment of nearly 3 times the direct employment.
- With the demand for electronics in India expected to grow manifold by 2025, PLI scheme and other initiatives to promote electronics manufacturing will help in making India a competitive destination for electronics manufacturing and give boost to AtmaNirbhar Bharat.
- Creation of domestic champion companies in electronics manufacturing under the Scheme will give fillip to vocal for local while aiming for global scale.
MORE STATES/UTS LINKED: ONE NATION ONE RATION CARD
Focus: GS-II Social Justice
Why in news?
- Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has reviewed the progress of One Nation One Ration Card plan and Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Nagaland and Uttarakhand are enabled to be integrated with the existing States/UTs for the National Portability.
- The One Nation One Ration Card is an ambitious plan and endeavour of DoFPD, to ensure the delivery of food security entitlements to all beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), irrespective of their physical location anywhere in the country, by implementing nation-wide portability of ration cards under the ongoing central sector scheme on ‘Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS)’ in association with all States/UTs.
Why do we need a ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ system?
- In the present system, a ration cardholder can buy foodgrains only from an FPS that has been assigned to her in the locality in which she lives.
- Suppose a beneficiary lives in the district of Basti in Uttar Pradesh and migrates to Mumbai for work. Currently, she is no longer able to purchase subsidised foodgrains from a PDS shop in her new locality in Mumbai.
- The Public Distribution System (PDS) system is marred with inefficiency leading to leakages in the system. To plug the leakages and make the system better, the government has started the reform process.
What is the one ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ system?
- Under the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ system, the beneficiary will be able to buy subsidised foodgrains from any FPS across the country.
- The new system, based on a technological solution, will identify a beneficiary through biometric authentication on electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices installed at the FPSs, and enable that person to purchase the quantity of foodgrains to which she is entitled under the NFSA.
How will the system of ration card portability work?
- Ration card portability is aimed at providing intra-state as well as inter-state portability of ration cards.
- While the Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS) portal provides the technological platform for the inter-state portability of ration cards, enabling a migrant worker to buy foodgrains from any FPS across the country, the other portal (annavitran.nic.in) hosts the data of distribution of foodgrains through E-PoS devices within a state.
- The Annavitran portal enables a migrant worker or his family to avail the benefits of PDS outside their district but within their state.
Since when has the One Nation, One Ration Card System been in the works?
- The one card scheme work started about two years back when the government launched a scheme called Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS) in April 2018.
- It used a technological solution involving the use of Aadhaar to identify beneficiaries.
- Under the scheme, the seeding of ration cards with Aadhaar is being done.
- Simultaneously, PoS machines are being installed at all FPSs across the country.
- Once 100 per cent of Aadhaar seeding and 100 per cent installation of PoS devices is achieved, the national portability of ration cards will become a reality.
- It will enable migrant workers to buy foodgrains from any FPS by using their existing/same ration card.
ECONOMICAL NONSURGICAL PREVENTION OF CATARACT
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology
Why in news?
A team of scientists has developed nanorods from the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) Aspirin, a popular medication used to reduce pain, fever, or inflammation and found it to be an effective non–invasive small molecule-based nanotherapeutics against cataract.
Details
- They have used the anti-aggregation ability of self-build aspirin nanorods as an effective non –invasive small molecule-based nanotherapeutics against cataract.
- Aspirin nanorods prevent the aggregation of crystallin protein and various peptides derived from its fragmentation, which play a crucial role in cataract formation.
- As with aging and under various conditions, the lens protein crystallin aggregates to form opaque structures in the eye lens, which impairs vision and cause cataract.
- The aspirin nanorods are produced using the process of molecular self-assembly, which is a low cost and high –yield technique to generate the aspirin nanorods as compared to the high cost and laborious physical methods generally used for the synthesis of nanoparticles.
- This easy to use and low-cost alternative nonsurgical treatment method will benefit patients in developing countries who cannot access expensive cataract treatments and surgeries.
Cataract
- Cataract a major form of blindness that occurs when the structure of crystallin proteins that make up the lens in our eyes deteriorates, causing damaged or disorganised proteins to aggregate and form a milky blue or brown layer, which ultimately affects lens transparency.
- Cataracts are most commonly due to aging but may also occur due to trauma or radiation exposure, be present from birth, or occur following eye surgery for other problems.
- Risk factors include diabetes, smoking tobacco, prolonged exposure to sunlight, and alcohol.
- Thus, prevention of the formation of these disorganised protein aggregates as well as their destruction in the early stage of disease progression is a major treatment strategy for cataracts, and materials that can carry out this task could make cataract prevention affordable and accessible.
ADAPTIVE MODEL FOR CRITICAL RESOURCES IN PANDEMIC
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology, Disaster Management
Why in news?
Scientists have developed a model to address this problem using an adaptive strategy and the early phase of COVID-19 as an example.
Introduction
- Healthcare in a country faces a catch-22 situation in the early stages of an epidemic – specific and accurate tests are required to trace and isolate the infected, and to scale up the novel tests, one needs to have estimates of the expected number of infections weeks to months in advance.
- And then, these numbers need to be used to predict healthcare inventory requirements in every district of the nation.
- Mathematical modeling and simulations are some of the key tools for understanding, planning and decision making in the time of COVID-19.
Details and Benefits
- The model can be utilized to estimate key aspects of medical inventory requirements, a calculation that is required to scale up both the testing capabilities and the critical care facilities, which are essential to reduce the mortality.
- It would be extremely relevant for COVID-19, as the disease character and the behavioral patterns of the people change and affect the efficacies of disease spread and management in a second-wave, requiring constant alertness on the part of the forecasters.
- The team demonstrated that, with their approach, there is a universality to the evolution of the disease across countries that can then be used to make reliable predictions.
