PIB 24th February

Contents:

1. Health of Children and Pregnant Women
2. Institutions of Eminence (IoE)
3. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission
4. Har Kaam Desh Ke Naam

HEALTH OF CHILDREN AND PREGNANT WOMEN

Why in news?

Union Health Minister launched a three-day Special community outreach programme on Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI 2.0) on 24th February 2020.

Details

• The missions targets to achieve 90% immunization coverage by 2022
• It Aims to ensure that not even one child is deprived of a vaccine against vaccine preventable diseases
• With IMI 2.0, India has the opportunity to achieve further reductions in deaths among children under five years of age.
• As part of routine Universal Immunisation Program (UIP), we have a basket of Vaccines to help achieve the mission.

Vaccination coverage

• Currently India is providing vaccines against 12 vaccines preventable diseases:
• Nationally against 10 diseases
  1. Diphtheria
  2. Pertussis
  3. Tetanus
  4. Polio
  5. Measles
  6. Rubella
  7. severe form of Childhood Tuberculosis
  8. Rotavirus diarrhea
  9. Hepatitis B
  10. Meningitis & Pneumonia caused by Hemophilus Influenza type Band

• And Sub-nationally against two diseases
  1. Pneumococcal Pneumonia
  2. Japanese Encephalitis

of which Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine is in the process of expansion while JE vaccine is provided only in the endemic districts.

INSTITUTIONS OF EMINENCE (IoE)

Performance of Public and Private institutions which were considered to be given the status of Institutions of Eminence on the advice of UGC and the Empowered Expert Committee under the leadership of N. Gopalaswamy were reviewed.

More about institutions of eminence

Objectives

• Excellence and Innovation: To provide for higher education leading to excellence and innovations in such branches of knowledge as may be deemed fit at post-graduate, graduate and research degree levels.
• Specialization: To engage in areas of specialization to make distinctive contributions to the objectives of the university education system.
• Global Rating: To aim to be rated internationally for its teaching and research as a top hundred Institution in the world over time.
• Quality teaching and Research: To provide for high quality teaching and research and for the advancement of knowledge and its dissemination

Criteria

• Global/National Ranking: Only those institutions which have appeared in any of the global/national ranks shall be recommended for the IoE status.
• Public institutions are assessed on the basis of QS-2020 world rankings, in case of a tie QS- 2019 rankings are used.
• Private institutions are assessed on the basis of their ranking in the QS India or National Institution Ranking Framework (NIRF), the NIRF ranking being used as a tie-breaker.
• Any institution that did not appear in any rankings (QS-2019, QS-2020 and NIRF) is excluded completely from the list of IOE tag.
• Greenfield Proposals: Only after exhausting the above criterion, if any slot remains vacant, consideration shall be given to yet to be established (Greenfield) proposals.
• The term greenfield project generally refers to the initiation of a project without the need to consider any prior work.
• The Greenfield Institutions would get 3 year period to establish and operationalise the institution, and thereafter, EEC will consider giving IoE status to such institutions.
• Satya Bharti Foundation (telecom major Airtel’s philanthropic arm) became the second greenfield institution to be given IoE status, after Reliance’s Jio Institute.

Benefits

• Autonomy: Institutes with IOE tag will be given greater autonomy and freedom to decide fees, course durations and governance structures.
• Grant: The public institutions under IOE tag will receive a government grant of ₹1,000 crore, while the private institutions will not get any funding under the scheme.

SHYAMA PRASAD MUKHERJEE RURBAN MISSION

• Undertaken by the Union Ministry of Rural Development, the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission (SPMRM) focuses on cluster-based integrated development through Spatial Planning.

• The Mission leads to convergence of the schemes of Union Government and the State Governments which leads to overall development of the region in a planned and organized manner.

• The Mission provides good employment opportunities, basic as well as urban facilities to rural India such as waste management, smart classrooms, piped water supply, Roads, Agro processing and value addition to primary produce etc., and therefore is critical for holistic development.

Background

• Shyama Mukherji Rurban Mission was launched on February 21, 2016.
• The mission aims at stimulating local economic development and create well planned Rurban Regions.
• The mission aims to develop 300 Rurban clusters. The Niti Aayog has proposed that these clusters are to be extended to 1000 in 3 years.
• The Mission plans to develop Rurban clusters contiguously with the Gram Panchayats with a population of 25,000 to 50,000 in plains and 5,000 to 15,000 in desert and hilly areas.

• A Rurban cluster comprises of geographically contiguous villages with a population of around 25000 to 50000 in plain and coastal areas and a population of around 5000 to 15000 in desert, hilly or tribal areas.
• As far as possible, the clusters of village will be in a single block/tehsil for administrative convenience.
• The mission outlines 14 desirable components linked to developing skills and local entrepreneurship, economic activities and providing necessary infrastructural facilities.

HAR KAAM DESH KA NAAM

• Rivers in India have always been considered sacred and the Ganga river in particular, is the identity and lifeline of India.
• Pilgrim sites and urban centers have developed along the river.
• These centers have drawn sustenance from the river and have been thriving over time.
• Ghats and Crematoria are part of the lifestyle of people and pilgrimages to visit the holy river Ganga play a vital role in strengthening the People-River Connect.
• It’s a scheme to promote Corporates to joins Ganga Rejuvenation effort in a big way