ARTICLES TO BE DISCUSS

• SAMVAD INITIATIVE
• CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL
• AL MOHED AL HINDI EXERCISE
• VAN DHAN PRODUCER COMPANIES
• CAVE LION
• VIRGINITY TEST
• ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Deepak Yadav Education

Deepak Yadav Education

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POLITY & GOVERNANCE

SAMVAD INITIATIVE
 • Why in News

• Recently, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has

launched the 2nd phase of the SAMVAD programme. The second
phase was launched on the completion of one year of programme.

• The programme is aimed at mental health outreach for children who

are abandoned and orphaned, child survivors of trafficking, or in
conflict with law.

• Earlier, the government had announced a special

“PM-CARES for Children” scheme for all those orphaned due to
Covid-19.
• Stands for: Support, Advocacy & Mental health interventions for
children in Vulnerable circumstances and Distress (SAMVAD).

• Funded By: The initiative is funded by the Ministry of Women and

Child Development.

• Implementing Body: It is led by the National Institute of Mental

Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS).

• The NIMHANS is the apex centre of mental health and

neuroscience education. It operates autonomously under the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
 • Purpose:
• It is a national initiative and integrated resource that works in
child protection, mental health and psychosocial care of children in
difficult circumstances.

• It encompasses a specialized training curriculum on childhood trauma,

interventions for children in conflict with the law, forensics in child and
adolescent psychiatry and mental health.

• Education and mental health support to children with special needs,

protection and care in the context of adoption.

• The initiative is providing coping mechanisms for children in distress

by training close to 1 lakh stakeholders comprising Child Protection
Functionaries, tele-counsellors, educators, law professionals among
others.
 • Mental Health
About:
• According to the WHO, mental health is ‘a state of well-being in which the
individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal
stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a
contribution to his or her community.’
• Like Physical health, Mental health is also important at every stage of life,
from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
 • Scenario in India:

• A report published in The Lancet Psychiatry in February 2020

indicates that in 2017, there were 197.3 million people with
mental disorders in India.

• The top mental illnesses were depressive disorder (45.7 million)

and anxiety disorder (44.9 million).

• The contribution of mental disorders to the total

disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in India increased from
2.5% in 1990 to 4.7% in 2017.
 Steps Taken by the Government:

National Mental Health Program (NMHP):

To address the huge burden of mental disorders and shortage of
qualified professionals in the field of mental health, the government
has been implementing the National Mental Health Program (NMHP)
since 1982.

Mental HealthCare Act 2017:

It guarantees every affected person access to mental healthcare and
treatment from services run or funded by the government.
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES

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 CONGRESSIONAL GOLD
MEDAL
 • Why in News
• Recently, a resolution has been reintroduced in the US House of
Representatives to posthumously award the Congressional Gold
Medal to Mahatma Gandhi for his contributions made through his
methods of non-violence.
• If given the award, Mahatma Gandhi would become the first Indian
to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, which is the highest
civilian award in the US.
 • About the Award:
The US Congress (legislature) has commissioned gold medals as its
highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished
achievements and contributions.

• The first recipients of the medal were participants of the American

Revolution (1775-83), the War of 1812 and the Mexican
War (1846-48).

• The scope was broadened to include actors, authors, entertainers,

musicians, explorers, athletes, humanitarians and foreign
recipients among pioneers in some other fields.
• It has been awarded to the 1980 US summer Olympics team,
Robert F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela and George Washington
among many others.

• Most recently, the medal was awarded to the US Capitol

Police and those who protected the US Capitol on 6th January
2021, the day of the siege.
 • Non-Violence:
The principle of non-violence — also known as non-violent resistance
— rejects the use of physical violence in order to achieve social or
political change.

• From Mahatma Gandhi: The essence of non-violent technique is

that it seeks to liquidate antagonisms but not the antagonists.

• Nonviolent action is a technique by which people who reject passivity

and submission, and who see struggle as essential, can wage their
conflict without violence.
 • There are three main categories of non-violence
action:

• Protest and persuasion, including marches and vigils,

• Non-cooperation,

• Non-violent intervention, such as blockades and occupation.

• 2nd October is the International Day of Non-Violence, which is

observed on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
 • Gandhian Strategy of Non-Violence:

Gandhi took the religious principle of ahimsa (doing no

harm) common to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism and turned it into a
non-violent tool for mass action.

• Gandhi called it "satyagraha" which means 'truth force.'

• In this doctrine, the aim of any non-violent conflict was to convert

the opponent; to win over his mind and his heart and persuade him.

• He used it to fight not only colonial rule but social evils such as
racial discrimination and untouchability as well.
 • In South Africa (1893-1915), he had successfully fought the racist
regime with a novel method of mass agitation, which he called
satyagraha.

• Mahatma Gandhi’s first civil disobedience movement in India was in

support of the indigo cultivators in Champaran, Bihar in 1917.

• In 1919, he decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha against the

proposed Rowlatt Act (1919).

• During the Non-cooperation movement (1920-22), there was a massive

upsurge of enthusiasm for Gandhi and his methods, with Indians from all
political spectrum and religions joining the movement.

• Other examples include Salt Satyagraha (1930) and

 INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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 AL –MOHED AL HINDI
EXERCISE
 • Why in News
• Recently, India and Saudi Arabia started their first-ever Naval joint
exercise called the Al-Mohed Al-Hindi Exercise.
• The decision on this Bilateral exercise was taken in the Riyadh Summit
held in 2019.
 • About:

• Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kochi is participating in the exercise. The

exercise comprises several coastal and sea-based
exercises between the two navies.

• INS Kochi is the second ship of Kolkata-class stealth guided-

missile destroyers, which was built by the Indian Navy under the
code name Project 15A.

• This ship is termed as a ‘Network of Networks’ since it is

equipped with sophisticated digital networks, an array of state-of-
art weapons and sensors that can neutralise any maritime threat.
 • Aim:

• To carry out tactical manoeuvres, search and rescue operations,

and an electronic warfare drill to enhance interoperability.

• Significance:

• It reflects the growing defense ties between the two countries in

the midst of rapidly changing developments in the Gulf region.

• It will enhance bilateral cooperation and security in the

Indian ocean Region
GS -II

Govt. Policies & Intervention

VAN DHAN PRODUCER COMAPNIES
 • Why in News

• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has planned to set up 200 ‘Van Dhan’
producer companies in all the 27 states in the next five years with
priority to the Aspirational Districts under the Van Dhan programme.

• Aspirational Districts are those districts in India that are affected by

poor socio-economic indicators. The Transformation of Aspirational
Districts’ Programme (TADP) is being anchored by the NITI
Aayog at the central level.
 • Van Dhan Programme:

About: It is a market-linked tribal entrepreneurship development

program for forming clusters of tribal Self Help Groups (SHGs) and
strengthening them into Tribal Producer Companies.

• The initiative targets livelihood generation for tribals by harnessing

the wealth of forest i.e. Van Dhan.

• Launch: The scheme was launched in 2018 as Pradhan Manti Van

Dhan Yojana (PMVDY).

• Implementation: It is being implemented by the Tribal Cooperative

Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED).
 • Aims:
• To tap into traditional knowledge & skill sets of tribals by adding
technology & IT to upgrade it at each stage and to convert the tribal
wisdom into a viable economic activity.

• To promote and leverage the collective strength of tribals to achieve

a viable scale to take on the predatory market forces in the areas
where these are still prevalent.

• Proposition is to set-up tribal community-owned Minor Forest

Produce (MFP)-centric multi-purpose Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in
predominantly tribal districts.
• Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED):

TRIFED is a national-level apex organization functioning under the administrative

control of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

• TRIFED aims to empower tribal people with knowledge, tools and pool of
information so that they can undertake their operations in a more systematic and
scientific manner.

• It organises Tribal Artisan Melas (TAMs) to identify new artisans and new products at
the sourcing level in States/Districts/Villages for expanding the tribal producers base.

• It is also involved in
Minor Forest Produce (MFP) Through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and
TRIFOOD Schemes.

• TRIFED is also expanding the Skills Development and Micro entrepreneurship

programme, together with the Tribal Livelihoods program.
ENVIRONMENT
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CAVE LION
 • Why in News
• Recently, scientists have found two nearly perfectly preserved cave
lion cubs which lived 28,000 years ago, nicknamed Boris and Sparta.
• They were found in Siberia's permafrost, Russia. The cubs were
found 15 metres apart but are not only from different litters but were
also born thousands of years apart.
 • Behaviour & Traits:

• The Cave Lions were major predators, hunting ice age deer, bison,
and other animals. These lions also were ambush predators, laying
in wait and erupting out of the brush to tackle their prey with
impressive speed, agility, and strength.

• Measuring 3 meters long and weighing 340 kilos, this was the
largest cat species of all time.

• However, like all cats, the Cave Lion could only chase prey over a
short distance.

• Despite their size, strength, and relatively long legs, Cave Lions were
not designed for long-distance chases.
 • Significance of Finding:

• Similar finds in Russia’s vast Siberian region have turned up with

increasing regularity. Climate change is warming the Arctic at a faster
pace than the rest of the world and has thawed the ground in some
areas long locked in permafrost.
SHORT
NEWS
 • VIRGINITY TESTS

• The Indonesian army has scrapped the long-standing practice of

virginity tests for women cadets.
 • About:

• The use of virginity tests by Indonesian security forces was first

exposed by Human Rights Watch in 2014. According to its
investigation, virginity tests have been imposed on thousands of
female applicants since 1965, despite the National Police principles
that recruitment must be both “nondiscriminatory” and “humane.”

• Virginity testing–also known as hymen, “two-finger” or vaginal

examination–is an inspection of the female genitalia to ascertain
whether a woman or girl has engaged in vaginal intercourse.
• A group of United Nations agencies, in a joint statement issued in 2018,
called for scrapping of tests meant to assess the virginity of a girl or a
woman, describing the practice as a form of gender-based violence and a
human rights violation with no scientific basis.

• There is no known examination that can prove a person’s history of

vaginal intercourse. The practice can cause both immediate and long-
term consequences that may be harmful to the physical and
psychological well-being of a woman subjected to it.
 • ELECTRIC VEHICLES
• NITI Aayog has released a handbook to guide state governments
and local bodies to frame policies and norms towards setting up
charging networks for electric vehicles.
• “The Handbook for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
Implementation” has been jointly developed by NITI Aayog,
Ministry of Power, Department of Science and Technology, Bureau of
Energy Efficiency, and World Resources Institute India.

• The Handbook provides a systematic and a holistic approach for

adoptions by implementing authorities and other stakeholders
involved in planning, authorisation and execution of electric vehicles
charging infrastructure.

• The objective is to enhance charging infrastructure and facilitate a

rapid transition to electric mobility in the country.
Thank You
SHORT
NEWS
SOCIAL
ISSUES
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POLITY & GOVERNANCE

GS -I
HISTORY
ECONOMY
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AGRICULTURE
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 INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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SPORTS
NEWS
ENVIRONMENT
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HEALTH
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Govt. Policies & Intervention

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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