Rashtriya Poshan Maah, developing hand rolled Agarbatti to make India Aatm- Nirbhar, G20 Member Countries Reaffirm Commitment, Moon rusting along the poles- Images sent by Chandrayaan-1, Kesavananda Bharati
Rashtriya Poshan Maah- the month of September 2020
- The 3rd Rashtriya Poshan Maah is being celebrated during the month of September 2020.
- Every year the Poshan Maah is celebrated under POSHAN Abhiyaan (PM’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment), which was launched in 2018.
- Ministry of Women and Child Development, being the nodal Ministry for POSHAN Abhiyaan, is celebrating the Poshan Maah in convergence with partner Ministries and departments, at National, States/UTs, Districts, and grass root level.
- The objective of the Poshan Maah is to encourage Jan Bhagidaari, in order to create a Jan Andolan, for addressing malnutrition amongst young children, and women and to ensure health and nutrition for everyone.
- The importance of Nutrition in our lives helping children and students to attain their optimum potential.
- the efforts made during the past few years especially in villages where public participation in nutrition week & nutrition month (Poshan Maah) is converting nutrition awareness into a mass movement.
- Identification of Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) Children and their management and plantation of Poshan Vaatikas– Nutri gardens, will be undertaken as focus activities during Poshan Maah, along with awareness generation regarding importance of early breast feeding, Need for good nutrition during first 1000 days of life, measures for reducing Anaemia in young women and children etc.
- Department of School Education, Ministry of Education has asked States to conduct Nutrition e-quiz and Meme making competition amongst students.
- Ministry of Panchayati Raj is planning to conduct special Committee meetings in every gram Panchayat during the month.
- Ministry of Rural Development has advised States to promote Nutri-gardens with the support of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA.
- Ministry of Ayush has offered to support building a healthy lifestyle by adopting Yoga and holistic nutrition.
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also extended its cooperation for all the activities in the best possible manner.
- The theme for this year 2020 is complementary feeding.
- The Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition or POSHAN Abhiyaan or National Nutrition Mission, is Government of India’s flagship programme to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
- Launched by the Prime Minister on the occasion of the International Women’s Day on 8 March, 2018 from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.
Artisans developing hand rolled Agarbatti to make India Aatm- Nirbhar
- Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) expanded the reach and support to Artisans involved in Agarbatti making and to the Agarbatti Industry by issuing new guidelines on 4th September, 2020.
The four main pillars of the new program are-
- Continuously supporting the artisans through training, raw material, marketing and financial support
- Working on all aspects of this product, like innovation in the fragrance & packaging, use of new / alternate raw materials like re-usable flowers, coir pith etc., supply of bamboo sticks by closely working with Ministry of Agriculture etc. A ‘Center of Excellence’ for this purpose is being set up in FFDC (Flavour and Fragrance Development Center) Kannauj
- Setting up 10 clusters with proper marketing linkages under SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries) scheme of the Ministry of MSME at a total cost of about Rs. 50 Crs, to benefit about 5000 artisans for their sustainable employment and enhanced earnings
- Strengthen the machine manufacturing capability to achieve self-sufficiency in the country and develop various other products by setting up ‘Centre of Excellence’ with IITs/NITs etc. at a cost of Rs. 2.20 crore.
Under the expanded program announced on 4th September
- 400 Automatic Agarbatti making machines as against 200 earlier, and additional 500 Pedal operated Machines will be given to ‘Self Help Groups (SHGs)’ and individuals through 20 pilot projects, across the country with proper marketing and raw material supply tie ups.
- The program will immediately benefit about 1500 artisans, in providing sustainable employment with increased earnings. Artisans developing hand rolled Agarbatti and ‘Migrant workers’ will be given preference as part of the program.
- Now, to make India Aatm- Nirbhar in this sector, the total size of the program, has been increased to more than Rs 55 Cr, which will include immediate support to about 1500 artisans of about Rs 3.45 Cr, development of two centers of Excellence costing at Rs 2.20 Cr at IITs/NITs and at FFDC Kannauj and setting up of 10 new SFURTI clusters at a cost of about Rs 50 Crs, benefitting about 5000 additional artisans.
- Earlier the size of the program was of Rs 2.66 Crs covering about 500 artisans.
- The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), one of the statutory organisations, under the M/o MSME, will implement the program and will handhold the artisans & SHGs with proper backward & forward linkages and needful support.
- These projects, will give boost to the Agarbatti industry and help in further building indigenous capability in all areas of Agarbatti manufacturing with increased exports, and enhanced employment opportunities to the Artisans and entrepreneurs.
Ensuring Education Continuity and Safety for all by G20 Member Countries Reaffirm Commitment
- The G20 Ministers of Education virtual meeting held on September 5, 2020, to affirm the central role of education in enabling all people to realize the opportunities of the 21st century.
- The three identified areas of this meeting is Education Continuity in Times of Crises, Early Childhood Education and Internationalization in Education.
- India’s commitment for these themes is reflected in the new National Education Policy 2020 that seeks to bring in transformational changes in the education landscape of the country.
- India will continue the efforts it has taken to reform and transform its education system and mitigate the challenge posed by the Covid 19 pandemic.
- On the importance of Early Childhood Education (ECE) the communique emphasizes the importance of improving the accessibility and affordability of quality ECE for all children, especially those in vulnerable groups.
- It also stresses on the need to raise family and community awareness of the vital role of quality ECE that is delivered in accordance with children’s developmental needs at each stage.
- The communique expresses the resolve to encourage internationalisation in education by sharing of best practices in education and the adaptation of such practices at the local, national, and international levels, as appropriate.
- It also supports advancing the discussion on internationalisation at the K-12 level.
- The communique emphasises the impact of internationalisation practices in a country in broadening students’ intercultural and global competencies and in providing equal learning opportunities and experiences for all.
- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is hosting G-20 Leaders Summit in 2020.
- The G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union (EU).
- We will submit this Communique to the G20 Leaders 2020 Summit and will continue our cooperation towards Italy’s G20 Presidency in 2021 and thereafter.
Moon rusting along the poles- Images sent by Chandrayaan-1
- Chandrayaan-1, Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) maiden mission to the Moon, has sent images which show that the Moon may be rusting along the poles.
- The surface of the Moon is known to have iron-rich rocks and it was not known for the presence of water and oxygen.
- These two elements needed to interact with iron to create rust but surprisingly without presence of water and oxygen rusting along the poles.
- Scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) say that this could be because the Earth’s own atmosphere is lending a helping hand which, in other words, means that the Earth’s atmosphere could be protecting the Moon as well.
- Thus, the Chandrayaan-1 Moon data indicates that the Moon’s poles are home to water, this is what the scientists are trying to decipher.
- Meanwhile, the launch of Chandrayaan-3 may now take place somewhere in early 2021.
- Chandrayaan-3 will be a mission repeat of Chandrayaan-2 and will include a Lander and Rover similar to that of Chandrayaan-2, but will not have an orbiter.
- Also the preparations are going on for India’s first ever Human Space Mission Gaganyaan.
- Constraints due to Covid pandemic led to some disruptions in the plan for Gaganyaan but efforts are going on to stick to the timeline of around 2022.
About Chandrayaan-1:
- Chandrayaan-1, India’s first mission to Moon, was launched successfully on October 22, 2008 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.
- The spacecraft was orbiting around the Moon at a height of 100 km from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the Moon.
- The spacecraft carried 11 scientific instruments built in India, USA, UK, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria.
Kesavananda Bharati and his contributions towards community service
- Shri Kesavananda Bharati (9 December 1940 – 6 September 2020) was an Indian Hindu monk who served as the Shankaracharya (head) of Edneer Mutt, a Hindu monastery in Kasaragod district, Kerala, India from 1961 until his death.
- He was the petitioner in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, a landmark case that helped establish the basic structure doctrine of the Indian Constitution which guarantees that the fundamental or ‘basic structure’ of the Indian Constitution can not be altered by parliamentary amendment.
- Kesavananda was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India that established the basic structure doctrine of the constitution.
- The doctrine provides safeguards for the basic structure of the Indian Constitution from parliamentary amendments.
- In April 2013, The Hindu, on Kesvananda‘s 40th anniversary, noted that the case saved Indian democracy.
- He was a follower of the Smartha Bhagawatha tradition of Advaitha Pantha.
- Kesavananda Bharati was a Carnatic and Hindusthani vocalist, and master of Yakshagana, an Indian art and theater form.
- He was a patron of education, Kannada culture and arts, including Yakshagana, music and dramas.
- He supported the use of the Kannada language in the border district of Kasaragod.
- Under his guidance, the mutt had instituted a Kannada-medium school, an English-medium school, junior college, and a Sanskrit Veda Patashala (English: Vedic School.
