May

25,
2018
FEDERALLY ADMINISTERED TRIBAL AREAS (FATA)
In May 2018, Pakistan’s National Assembly (Lower House) voted overwhelmingly for
merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province.
About:

 Location: FATA is a 27,000-sq-km strip of semi-

autonomous tribal land sandwiched between
Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province
and Afghanistan.
 Background: Historically, the area has witnessed
war and bloodshed, with the British initially using
the land to guard its colonial possessions against
Russian expansionism.
 Governance:
o In pre-Independence days, the area was
governed by British-appointed agents and
tribal elders. The British enacted the
Frontier Crimes Regulations, a set of
repressive and regressive laws that
continue to be in force.
o Pakistani courts and Parliament have limited jurisdiction in this area.
 Need of merger:
o FATA has long been a base for terrorist organisations including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
and al-Qaeda. It has been targeted by US drones hunting terrorists, and is among the
poorest areas in Pakistan.
o It is believed that merger with KPK would help in the region’s mainstreaming.

RANDEEP GULERIA COMMITTEE

In May 2018, the Fifteenth Finance Commission constituted a high level group consisting of
eminent experts from across the country in Health Sector.
About:

 Convenor: Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi will be its Convenor.
 Objective: To evaluate the existing regulatory framework in the Health sector for enabling
expansion of the health sector.

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UGC (ONLINE COURSES) REGULATIONS, 2018
In May 2018, University Grants Commission approved UGC (Online Courses) Regulations,
2018. These regulations will be made applicable from the academic session 2018-19.
About:

 Now, Higher Educational Institutions can offer certificate, diploma and degree programmes in full-
fledged online mode in line with their regular programmes.
 Areas covered:
o The Online Programmes will be offered in only those disciplines in which the educational
institute is already offering similar Programmes /Courses at graduation level in regular mode
(of classroom teaching) or in Open and Distance Learning mode.
o Online Programmes requiring Practical/ Laboratory Courses as a curricular requirement shall
not be permitted.
 Criteria: The Higher Educational Institutions will be eligible to offer Online Programmes if they
o have been in existence for at least five years;
o have a minimum National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) score of 3.26 on
the 4-point scale and
o are in the top-100 in overall category in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)
for at least two years in the previous three years.
o However, NAAC and NIRF conditions shall not be applicable to existing government Open
Universities till NAAC or similar accreditation system or NIRF are made available.
 Significance: This initiative is a big step towards attaining the targeted Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER)
of 30% by the year 2020.

NARI SHAKTI PURASKAR

In May 2018, Union Minister for Women and Child Development presented the Nari Shakti
Puraskar 2017 to the members of the INSV Tarini team.

Nari Shakti Puraskar:

 The Nari Shakti Puraskar is a series of India's national honours conferred on individual women for
their exceptional achievement.
 The award is given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.
 Instituted in 1991, the award is conferred by the President on the occasion of International
Women's Day, 8th March every year at New Delhi.
 Categories: The award is given in six categories, with each category named after eminent women
in Indian history. These are:

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o Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Award: named after Ahilya Bai Holkar, 18th-century ruler of Malwa
kingdom.
o Kannagi Award: named after Kannagi, a legendary Tamil woman.
o Mata Jijabai Award: named after Mata Jijabai, mother of Shivaji, who founded the Maratha
Empire in the 17th century.
o Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang Award: named after Rani Gaidinliu, a 20th-century Naga spiritual and
political leader.
o Rani Lakshmi Bai Award: named after Rani Lakshmi Bai, the Queen of Jhansi.
o Rani Rudramma Devi Award (for both men and women): named after Rudrama Devi, a
13th-century ruler of Deccan Plateau.
 The Nari Shakti Puraskar comprises Rs 1 lakh and a certificate.

Navika Sagar Parikrama:

 The crew of the Indian Navy Sailing Vessel 'Tarini' is a part of the Indian Navy’s project 'Navika
SagarParikrama', an all-women team circumnavigating the globe.
 The Six-member all-women team, led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi circumnavigated and
managed the whole operation in this first ever global journey.
 The crew used an indigenously built INSV Tarini, a 55-foot sailing vessel.
 The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, had conferred the Nari Shakti Puraskars on
International Women’s Day (March 8, 2018). As the INSV Tarini team was sailing then, the award
could not be presented to the team.

CLEAN AIR INDIA INITIATIVE

In May 2018, Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte, who was in India on a two-day
visit, launched the ‘Clean Air India Initiative’ in Delhi.
About:

 Players involved: The Clean Air India Initiative is a collaborative project between Get In The Ring, a
platform for start-ups, the government of the Netherlands, Start-up India, and INDUS Forum, an
online matchmaking platform of Indian and Dutch businesses.
 Objective: Curbing air pollution in Indian cities by promoting partnerships between Indian start-ups
and Dutch companies and build a network of entrepreneurs working on business solutions for
cleaner air.

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COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH (CSIR)
In May 2018, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) was awarded the Clarivate
Analytics India Innovation Award 2018 in the Government Research Organizations
Category.
About:

 It is the largest research and development organisation in India.

 Scope: The R&D activities of CSIR include aerospace engineering, structural engineering, life
sciences, metallurgy, chemicals, mining, food, petroleum, leather, and environmental science.
 Established in: 1942.
 Location: Delhi.
 Chairman: Prime Minister of India.
 Status: Autonomous body; Although it is mainly funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology,
it operates as an autonomous body through the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
 CSIR Laboratories: CSIR runs more than thirty-five laboratories. Some of the key laboratories which
are frequently in news are as follows:
CSIR laboratory Location
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Hyderabad
Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) Mysore
North East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST) Jorhat
National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) Goa
National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) Pune
National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) Bangalore
National Physical Laboratory (NPL) Delhi
Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) Palampur, HP
National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources New Delhi
(NISCAIR) It publishes the monthly magazine “Science Reporter”
 Key achivemenets:
o Developed India's first synthetic drug, methaqualone in 1950.
o Developed first Indian tractor Swaraj in 1967 completely based on indigenous know-how.
o Established first ever in the world 'Traditional Knowledge Digital Library' in collabration with
ministry of AYUSH.
o In 2009, completed the sequencing of the Human Genome.
o In 2011, successfully tested India's 1st indigenous civilian aircraft, NAL NM5 made in
association with National Aerospace Laboratories and Mahindra Aerospace.
 Dehradun Declaration for CSIR Labs – 2015: Key highlights of the declaration are as follows:

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o CSIR labs will develop Technologies for National missions like Swachh Bharat, Swasth
Bharat, Skill India, Smart Cities, Digital India, Namami Ganga.
o CSIR labs will devise ways to develop industry driven technologies.
o Each CSIR lab would develop at least one technology in strategic sector for India.
o All CSIR labs should make efforts to be self financing in next 2-3 years.

Clarivate Analytics India Innovation Award 2018?

 Every year, Clarivate Analytics – formerly the IP & Science division of Thomson Reuters -
recognizes the most innovative companies in India.
 Companies are recognized according to patent-related metrics for both:
o patent volume (patents published) as well as
o patent quality (grant success rate, extent of globalization, and citations).

SOFTWARE EXPORTS
In May 2018, the Union Commerce Minister released the strategy paper on India’s
Computer Software &ITeS and Electronics Export.
About:

 The staregy paper has been prepared by Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion
Council (ESC) for augmenting software exports to US$ 178 billion by 2022.
 Key highlights:
o Some Policy level changes required are resolving visa problems with the US, greater access
of professionals to European countries, early signing of Totalisation Agreement with the US,
setting up of incubation centres and language proficiency facilities in major IT hubs.
o The current business model for export of software and ITeS is relevant for outsourcing work.
For the emerging markets like Africa and Middle East, a different model, is required since
India mostly offers product solutions.

Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC)?

 ESC is India’s apex trade promotion organisation mandated to promote India’s exports of
Electronics, Telecom, ComputerSoftware and IT Enabled Services.
 It has a membership base of over 2000 manufacturers and exporters across the country.

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