1.Workshop to mark 20 years of Himalayan Chandra Telescope to highlight the science it produced
News: A workshop was held to mark 20 years of Himalayan Chandra Telescope.
Facts:
- Location: It is located at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO), Mt. Saraswati, Digpa-ratsa Ri, Hanle, Ladakh.
- Operation: It is remotely operated using a dedicated satellite communication link from the Centre for Research & Education in Science & Technology (CREST), Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore.
Additional Information:
Other Telescopes at IAO:
- Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen (GROWTH) India
- Imaging Cherenkov Telescope (MACE)
- Gamma-Ray Array Telescope (HAGAR)
2.Explained: What a Govt survey says about the health of India’s religious communities
News: The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released a report titled ‘Health in India’. The main objective of the report was to gather basic quantitative information on India’s health sector.
Facts:
- Definition of Ailment: Any deviation from a person’s state of physical and mental well-being. The ‘Proportion of Persons who Responded as Ailing’, in a 15-day period when they were approached by the surveyors, were registered as those suffering from ailments.
- Overall Health in India: Around 7.5% of Indians reported that they were suffering from ailments.
- Rural-Urban Difference: in rural India only 6.8% said that they were suffering from an ailment, this number in urban India was 9.1%.
- Ailment across Gender: Women remain more susceptible to suffering from ailments than men. In rural India 6.1% of males were sick, while 7.6% of rural women were sick. While 8.2% of urban males were sick, 10% urban females were sick.
- Health across religious communities: The Zoroastrian community is most susceptible to ailments- 31% reported to be sick at the time of the survey. On the other hand, only 7.2% Hindus reported to be sick- the lowest.
3.New science policy: institutes to be rated on support for women staff
News: The Department of Science and Technology is developing a framework to rate and rank science institutes depending on the proportion of women employed. It will be part of the New Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2020
Facts:
Women in Science: According to the Task Force on Women in Science, set up by the government in 2005,
- There has been a growth in enrolment of women at the university level, from 10.9% in 1950-51 to 39.4% in 2000-2001.
- There is huge regional differences with women representing over 50% enrolment in Goa, Kerala, Pondicherry and Punjab, and less than 35% in Bihar, Rajasthan, Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh.
Vigyan Jyoti:
- Nodal ministry: Ministry of Science & Technology (DST).
- Coverage: The programme covers girl students from grade 9 to 12.
- Aim: To create a level-playing field for the meritorious girls in high school to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in their higher education and become self-reliant.
GATI:
- GATI Stands for Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI).
- Aim: To develop a comprehensive Charter and a framework for assessing Gender Equality in STEM.
4.Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh unveils Defence Acquisition Procedure – 2020
News: The Defence Minister has unveiled the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) – 2020
Facts:
Key Features:
- Notify a List of Weapons/Platforms for Ban on Import: Relevant incorporation has been done in the DAP to ensure that NO equipment as mentioned in the list is procured ex import post timelines notified.
- New Category of Buy (Global – Manufacture in India): The new category incorporates ‘manufacture of either the entire/part of the equipment or spares/assemblies/sub-assemblies/Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility for the equipment, through its subsidiary in India.
- Revised Offset Guidelines: The Offset guidelines have been revised, wherein preference will be given to manufacture of complete defence products over components and various multipliers have been added to give incentivisation in discharge of Offsets.
- Project management unit: Setting up of a project management unit (PMU) has been mandated to support contract management. The PMU will facilitate obtaining advisory and consultancy support in specified areas to streamline the acquisition process.
- FDI in Defence Manufacturing: Provisions have been incorporated like a new category ‘Buy (Global – Manufacture in India)’, to encourage foreign companies to set up manufacturing through its subsidiary in India.
- Enhancement in Indigenous Content (IC)
| Category | DPP 2016 | DAP 2020 |
| Buy (Indian-IDDM) | Min 40% | Min 50% |
| Buy (Indian) | Min 40% | Indigenous design – Min 50% Otherwise – Min 60% |
| Buy & Make (Indian) | Min 50% of Make | Min 50% of Make |
| Buy (Global – Manufacture in India) | Min 50% of Buy plus Make | |
| Buy (Global) | Min 30% for Indian vendors |
Additional Information:
- DAP 2020 is the renamed iteration of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). The first DPP was promulgated in the year 2002.
- The DAP remains in place for a period of five years. The last DAP was issued in 2016.
