Union Government formed Committee to Expedite Namami Gange Programme
- The Union government formed a Committee to expedite the implementation of its ambitious Namami Gange programme under which it plans to free the Ganga river on February 8, 2017.
- The Secretaries of Ministries of Water Resources, Environment and Forest, and Drinking Water and Sanitation will be members of the panel, which will meet at least once every fortnight,
- More than two thousand 700 villages have 1 been declared as open-defecation free out of four thousand 291 marked villages along the main stem of the river.
Parliament Passed Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2017
- The Parliament patted a bill seeking to enable the centre and State government to specify industrial unit which will have to pay wopes only either through cheque or by transferring into bonk accounts no February 7, 2017.
- The Payment of Wage (Amendment) Bill 2017, which was passed by voice vote in Rajyi Sabha also enable the employers to pay wage to workers through cheque or by transferring into their bank account without their written authorization.
- The BUI replace the Payment of Wage (Amendment) Bill 2016 which was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 15, 2016 and repeal the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 promulgated on December 28, 2016.
Government Approved ‘Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan’
- The Union Cabinet approved ‘Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan’ (PMGDISHA) to make 6 crore rural household digitally literate on February 7, 2017.
- PMGDISHA is expected to be one of the largest digital literacy programmes in the world. Under the scheme, 25 lakh candidates will be trained in the FY 2016-17; 275 lakh in the FY 2017-18; and 300 lakh in the FY 2018-19. To ensure equitable geographical reach, each of the 250000 Gram Panchayats would be expected to register an average of 200-300 candidates.
- The implementation of the scheme would be earned out under the overall supervision of Ministry of Electronics and IT in active collaboration with States/UTs through their designated State Implementing Agencies, District e-Govemanee Society (DeGS), etc.
- As per the 71st NSSO Survey on Education 2014, only 6% of raa households have a computer. This highlights that more than 15 crore root households (@ 94% of 16.85 crore households) do not have computers and a significant number of these households are likely to be digitally illiterate.
Measles-rubella Vaccination Campaign Launched
- The Union Health Ministry launched Measles Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign in the country on February 5, 2017.
- The single vaccine will replace the currently given two doses of measles vaccine at 9-12 months and 16-24 months of age.
- The new single shot vaccine will be given to all children aged between 9 months and less than 15 years irrespective of their previous measles or rubella vaccination status or measles or rubella disease status.
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Expert Panel Constituted by AYUSH to Prepare a Yoga Protocol
- A 16-member Committee of experts constituted by Ministry of AYUSH to prepare a Yoga Protocol for Diabetes Control. The Committee is headed by Dr. HR Nagendra, Chancellor, S.-Vyasa University on February 4, 2017.
- A total of 49 proposals on Diabetes Mellitus under EMR Scheme of Ministry of AYUSH have been received to verify the efficacy of Yoga on Diabetes Mellitus from various government and non-government organisation.
- The Ministry of AYUSH through its three research organisations, namely, Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) and Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) and Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) has launched a programme to integrate Ayurveda, Homoeopathy and Unani with National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS).
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