Wednesday, December 29, 2021
NITI Aayog’s Fourth Health Index released
On December 27, 2021, the NITI Aayog released its fourth Health Index.
Highlights
- The fourth round of Index took into account the period 2019-20 as reference year.
- NITI Aayog prepared this report in collaboration with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare as well as with the technical assistance from the World Bank.
Key findings
- According to NITI Aayog’s health index, Kerala has emerged as the top performer with respect to overall health performance among larger states. On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh has been ranked the last.
- However, Uttar Pradesh topped in terms of incremental performance since it registered the highest incremental change in reference year 2019-20 as compared to the base year 2018-19.
- Tamil Nadu emerged as second while Telangana emerged as the third best performers, on health parameters.
- Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have been ranked among top five.
- Bihar is the second and Madhya Pradesh is the third worst performers, on health parameters.
- In smaller states category, Mizoram became the best performer in overall performance and incremental performance.
- Among Union Territories, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir have been ranked among bottom UTs with respect to overall performance. However, they emerged as leading performer with respect to incremental performance.
- In terms of health performance, Kerala emerged as the best state, for the fourth time.
- Kerala and Tamil Nadu were top two performers with highest reference year (2019-20) index score, in terms of overall performance. However, they have been ranked twelfth and eighth in terms of incremental performance.
- Telangana secured the third place in terms of overall performance as well as incremental performance.
- Rajasthan was the worst performer, in terms of overall performance and incremental performance.
- Among smaller states, Mizoram & Tripura registered strong overall performance. They also showed improvements in incremental performance.
Current Affairs-December 29, 2021
INDIA
– Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually dedicates to the Nation 24 bridges & three roads built by BRO in four States & two Union Territories
– PM launches blockchain-based digital degrees at IIT Kanpur
– PM inaugurates 356 Km long Bina-Panki Multiproduct Pipeline Project; connects Bina refinery in MP to Panki in Kanpur
– PM inaugurates 9 kms completed section of Kanpur Metro Rail Project
– Union Home Minister Amit Shah chairs 3rd meeting of Apex Level Committee of Narco Coordination Center in New Delhi
– FCRA licence of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity not renewed following adverse inputs: Home Ministry
– The Hindu’s Shiv Sahay Singh wins prize at Ramnath Goenka award for his 2019 story “Death by Digital Exclusion”
– Vikram Misri, India’s former ambassador to China, appointed Deputy National Security Advisor
ECONOMY & CORPORATE
– RBI releases report on “Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2020-21”; gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) declined from 8.2% at end-March 2020 to 7.3% at end-March 2021
– DRDO hands over technology of extreme cold weather clothing system (ECWCS) to five Indian companies; designed to provide thermal insulation between +15° to -50° Celsius
– Supriya Lifescience makes strong market debut; lists at 55% premium over its issue price
WORLD
– Booker Prize-winning novelist Keri Hulme of New Zealand dies at 74
– Pakistan: National Security Committee (NSC) approves ‘citizen-centric’ National Security Policy
Maharashtra: What is ‘Public University Act, 2016 (Third Amendment) Bill’?
On December 28, 2021, the Maharashtra Legislative Council passed the “Maharashtra Public University Act, 2016 (Third Amendment) Bill”.
Highlights
The act is being opposed over its provision to include LGBTQIA community members on University Boards.
Key Provisions of the act
- The amended act comprises of a provision for “Board of Equal opportunity”.
- According to the act, A board of equal opportunity shall be constituted in each University. The board will be responsible for planning, monitoring, guiding and coordinating several development and welfare programs, regulations, policies and schemes for the welfare, development & social protection of students, non-teaching employees and teachers belonging to weaker section of the society, minorities, women and LGBTQIA.
- These provisions will be extended to “persons with disabilities for promoting and establishing values of freedom, equal opportunities, secularism, equality, dignity and social justice.
Why the act is being criticized?
This act is being criticized over following questions:
- How will one ascertain that a person is a LGBTQIA?
- Who will certify the person as LGBTQIA?
Equal Opportunity provisions in Indian Constitution
Article 16 of the Indian Constitution provides for Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment. Section 1 of the article talks about equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters related to appointment or employment to any office under the State. Section 2 of the articles provides that, no citizens shall be discriminated on grounds of religion, race, sex, caste, descent, place of birth and residence in respect of employment or office under State. Parliament is free to make law prescribing employment or appointment to an office under government, state or Union Territory or any local authority in accordance with section 2 of the article.
An opportunity for Digital India
Aditya Nath Jha writes: Made in India digital tools can help other emerging economies deal with economic, governance challenges.
India is pioneering the concept of digital public goods that enhance the ease, transparency and speed with which individuals, markets and governments interact with each other. Built on the foundation of Aadhaar and India Stack, modular applications, big and small, are transforming the way we make payments, withdraw our PF, get our passport and driving licence and check land records, to name just a few activities. Children have access to QR-coded textbooks across state boards and languages, the economically disadvantaged have access to the public distribution system and beneficiaries of government schemes have money transferred directly into their bank accounts.
There is an opportunity for India to embark on digital diplomacy — to take its made-in-India digital public goods to hundreds of emerging economies across the world. This could be a strategic and effective counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
To begin with, the code is highly reusable. The cost of setting up an open source-based high school online educational infrastructure, to supplement the physical infrastructure, for an entire country is less than laying two kilometres of high-quality road. The investments required for transporting digital public goods are minuscule in comparison and there is no chance of a debt trap.
Unlike physical infrastructure such as ports and roads, digital public goods have short gestation periods and immediate, and visible impact and benefits. Digital infrastructure plugs leaks. It eliminates ghost beneficiaries of government services, removes touts collecting rent, creates an audit trail, makes the individual-government-market interface transparent and provides efficiencies that help recoup the investments quickly. Processes get streamlined and wait times for any service come down dramatically. Issuances of passports, PAN cards and driving licences are such examples. Productivity goes up and services can be scaled quickly. Benefits can be rapidly extended to cover a much larger portion of the population.
Above all, the digital public goods infrastructure compounds while physical infrastructure depreciates. Compounding happens for three reasons. One, of course, is the growth of technology itself. Chips keep becoming faster, engines more powerful, and gene-editing technology keeps improving. The second reason is the network effect. As more and more people use the same technology, the number of “transactions” using that technology increase exponentially — be it Facebook posts or UPI transactions. And the third reason is the rapid creation of new layers of technology. For example, the hypertext protocol created the worldwide web. Then the browser was built on top of it, which made the worldwide web easier to navigate and more popular. Thousands of new layers were added to make it what it is today. To give an example, consider the surge in UPI-based payments in India. This kind of growth doesn’t happen with a few entitled and privileged people using UPI more and more; it happens with more and more people using UPI more and more. The use of Diksha, the school education platform built on the open-source platform Sunbird, has followed the same trajectory — today close to 500 million schoolchildren are using it. Taken together, compounding ensures that the digital divide gets bridged.
Emerging economies are characterised by gross inefficiencies in the delivery of government services and a consequent trust deficit. Digital public goods spread speed, transparency, ease and productivity across the individual-government-market ecosystem and enhance inclusivity, equity and development at scale. India’s digital diplomacy will be beneficial to and welcomed by, all emerging economies from Peru to Polynesia, from Uruguay to Uganda, and from Kenya to Kazakhstan.
It will entail a slight rejig in the composition of India’s consulates abroad, with technology experts getting incorporated into the structure. It will take made-in-India digital public goods across the world and boost India’s brand positioning as a leading technology player in the digital age. It will enable quick, visible and compounding benefits for India’s partner countries and earn India immense goodwill. And it will create a strong foothold for India globally to counter the extravagantly expensive, brick-and-mortar led Belt and Road Initiative of China.
Written by Aditya Nath Jha
Source: Indian Express, 29/12/21
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Quote of the Day December 16, 2021
“The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment.”
Doug Larson
“दुनिया ऐसे लोगों से अंटी पड़ी है जो असाधारण सुख की आस में संतोष को ताक पर रख देते हैं।”
डग लारसन
Current Affairs-December 16, 2021
INDIA
– ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ inscribed on ‘Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ by UNESCO
– 8th Indian Ocean Dialogue jointly hosted by External Affairs Ministry and Indian Council of World Affairs
– Columbia Journalism School alumni award for The Hindu Group chairperson Malini Parthasarathy
– Cabinet approves India-Poland treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters
ECONOMY & CORPORATE
– Centre approves incentive scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value (upto Rs. 2,000) BHIM-UPI transactions
– Cabinet approves implementation of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana for 2021-26
– Cabinet approves Programme for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem in India
– WTO panel asks India to withdraw subsidies in sugar dispute
– NTPC awards India’s first green hydrogen-based microgrid project at Simhadri (AP)
– Pilgrims to Kartarpur gurudwara in Pakistan can carry up to Rs 11,000, says RBI
– SBI, Indian Army renew MoU to offer benefits to army personnel, their families
– Assam’s Manohari Gold Tea sets record, auctioned for Rs 1 lakh per kg
– WhatsApp starts pilot to adopt 500 villages in India for access to digital payments
WORLD
– President Ram Nath Kovind holds delegation level talks with Bangladesh’s President Md Abdul Hamid in Dhaka; participates in 50th Victory Day celebrations of Bangladesh
– India, Iran and Uzbekistan hold meet on joint use of Iran’s Chabahar Port
– NASA-launched spacecraft ‘Parker Solar Probe’ enters Sun’s corona for first time in history
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