The Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) are released on 12th of every month (or previous working day if 12th is a holiday) with a six weeks lag and compiled with data received from source agencies, who in turn receive the data from the producing factories/ establishments.

2. In view of the preventive measures and announcement of nation-wide lockdown by the Government to contain spread of COVID-19 pandemic, majority of the industrial sector establishments were not operating from the end of March, 2020 onwards.

This has had an impact on the items being produced by the establishments during the period of lockdown and the subsequent periods of conditional relaxations in restrictions. The Index for the month of May 2020 stands at 88.4 as compared to 53.6 for April 2020, indicating a graded pickup in industrial activity in the economy.

3. The number of units responding has improved in May 2020 as compared to the earlier months of lockdown. The weighted response rate at time of QE of April 2020 was 87 percent which is now revised upwards to 91 percent at first revision.

4. For the month of May 2020, the Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2011-12 stands at 88.4. The Indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors for the month of May 2020 stand at 87.0, 82.4 and 149.6 respectively (Statement I). The Quick Estimates will undergo revision in subsequent releases as per the revision policy of IIP.

5. As per Use-based classification, the indices stand at 105.5 for Primary Goods, 37.1 for Capital Goods, 77.6 for Intermediate Goods and 84.1 for Infrastructure/ Construction Goods (Statement III) for the month of May 2020. Further, the indices for Consumer durables and Consumer non-durables stand at 42.2 and 132.3 respectively for the month of May 2020.

6. Statements giving Quick Estimates of the Index of Industrial Production for the month of May 2020 at Sectoral, 2-digit level of National Industrial Classification (NIC-2008) and by Use-based classification are given at Statements I, II and III respectively.

As mentioned in the Press Release for the IIP for April, 2020, it may not be appropriate to compare the IIP for May 2020 with those of months preceding the COVID 2019 pandemic.

7. Along with the Quick Estimates of IIP for the month of May 2020, the indices for April 2020 have undergone the first revision and those for February 2020 have undergone the final revision in the light of the updated data received from the source agencies.

The Quick Estimates for May 2020 have been compiled at a weighted response rate of 86 percent, the first revision for April 2020 at a weighted response rate of 91 percent and the final revision for February, 2020 at a weighted response rate of 92 percent.

The portal will map details of workers based on regions and local industry demands

Database of labour migrants in Indian states and overseas citizens, who returned to India under the Vande Bharat Mission and filled SWADES Skill Card, has been integrated with the ASEEM portal

Candidate data coming to Skill India Portal from various state and central skilling schemes will be integrated including PMKVY, Fee-based Programs, National Urban Livelihoods Mission, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana and Seekho aur Kamao Posted On: 10 JUL 2020 4:36PM by PIB Delhi

In an endeavour to improve the information flow and bridge the demand-supply gap in the skilled workforce market, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) today launched ‘Aatamanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM)’ portal to help skilled people find sustainable livelihood opportunities.

Apart from recruiting a skilled workforce that spurs business competitiveness and economic growth, the Artificial Intelligence-based platform has been envisioned to strengthen their career pathways by handholding them through their journeys to attain industry-relevant skills and explore emerging job opportunities especially in the post COVID era.

Envisaging the rapidly changing nature of work and how it impacts the workforce is crucial in restructuring the skilling ecosystem with the new normal settling post-pandemic. Besides identifying major skills gap in the sectors ​and providing review of global best practices, ASEEM will provide employers a platform to assess the availability of skilled workforce and formulate their hiring plans.

Aatamanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM) refers to all the data, trends and analytics which describe the workforce market and map demand of skilled workforce to supply. It will provide real-time granular information by identifying relevant skilling requirements and employment prospects.

Announcing the launch of the ASEEM portal, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Hon’ble Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, said “Driven by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Aatamanirbhar Bharat’ and his assertion of ‘India as a talent powerhouse’ at the India Global Week 2020 Summit,, the ASEEM portal has been envisioned to give a huge impetus to our persistent efforts to bridge the demand-supply gap for skilled workforce across sectors, bringing limitless and infinite opportunities for the nation’s youth.

The initiative aims to accelerate India’s journey towards recovery by mapping skilled workforce and connecting them with relevant livelihood opportunities in their local communities especially in the post COVID era. With the increasing use of technology and e-management systems which assist in bringing in processes and intelligent tools to drive demand driven and outcome-based skill development programs, this platform will ensure we bring in close convergence and coordination across various schemes and programs operating in the skill ecosystem.

This will also ensure that we monitor any sort of duplication of data and further re-engineer the vocational training landscape in the country ensuring a skilling, up-skilling and re-skilling in a more organised set up.”

Highlighting how ASEEM will bridge the demand supply gap in the skilled workforce market, Shri AM Naik, Chairman, NSDC and Group Chairman, Larsen & Toubro Limited said, “Migrant labour has been severely impacted by the socio-economic fallout of the COVID pandemic. In the current context, NSDC has taken up the responsibility of mapping the dispersed migrant population around the country and providing them the means to re-build their livelihood by matching their skill-sets to available employment opportunities.

The launch of ASEEM is the first step on that journey. I am confident that the real-time information ASEEM provides to both employer and employee will add value to the labour ecosystem and contribute to building the trust among the workforce, which is essential for the recovery of the economy.”

ASEEM https://smis.nsdcindia.org/, also available as an APP, is developed and managed by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in collaboration with Bengaluru-based company Betterplace, specialising in blue collar employee management.. ASEEM portal aims at supporting decision and policymaking via trends and analytics generated by the system for programmatic purposes.

ASEEM shall help in providing real-time data analytics to NSDC and its Sector Skill Councils about the demand and supply patterns including - industry requirements, skill gap analysis, demand per district/ state/cluster​​, key workforce suppliers, key consumers​, migration patterns​ and multiple potential career prospects for candidates.​ The portal consists of three IT based interfaces -

Employer Portal – Employer onboarding, Demand Aggregation, candidate selection ​ Dashboard – Reports, Trends, analytics, and highlight gaps ​ Candidate Application – Create & Track candidate profile, share job suggestion ​ ASEEM will be used as a match-making engine to map skilled workers with the jobs available.

The portal and App will have provision for registration and data upload for workers across job roles, sectors and geographies. The skilled workforce can register their profiles on the app and can search for employment opportunities in their neighbourhood. Through ASEEM, employers, agencies and job aggregators looking for skilled workforce in specific sectors will also have the required details at their fingertips. It will also enable policymakers take more objective view of various sectors.

The Smart Cities Mission opened the registration for India Cycles4Change Challenge on 10th July, 2020. The challenge was launched on 25th June, 2020 by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Housing and Urban Affairs. The event was marked by description of the Challenge brief and launch of the online portal for submission of application for participating cities. The event was attended by over 450 participants, including CEOs of Smart Cities, Commissioners, city officials, civil society organizations, experts, and citizens.

The Challenge aims to help cities connect with their citizens as well as experts to develop a unified vision to promote cycling. Cities are encouraged to collaborate with CSOs, experts, and volunteers as they develop and implement their plans. Citizen collaboration will also be a key metric in the evaluation of proposals submitted by the cities. To assist the cities in this aspect, the online portal also features a registration form for CSOs, urban designers, planners, students and other citizens who wish to collaborate with their cities.

Cities can access the Challenge Brief and register for the India Cycles4Change Challenge on the portal at https://smartnet.niua.org/indiacyclechallenge/. The portal also offers further details on the Challenge and a registration form for citizens, experts, and CSOs to express their interest in collaborating with the city for the project.

Applications open for cities The Challenge is open to all cities under the Smart Cities Mission, capital cities of States/UTs, and all cities with a population of more than 5 lakh population. The Challenge will run in two stages. All eligible cities can register and submit their applications on the portal from 10th until 21st July.

The Challenge will run in two stages. Stage One will run until October where cities will focus on piloting quick interventions to promote cycling and developing a scale-up strategy. In October 2020, 11 cities will be shortlisted and will receive Rs. 1 Crore award and guidance from national and international experts to further scale-up the initiatives in Stage Two, which will be held until May 2021.

The vision of the India Cycles4Change Challenge The need for personalized forms of transport is expected to increase as a response to COVID-19. A recent survey by the ITDP India Programme shows that cycling would increase by 50-65% as cities come out of lockdown. Cities around the world are leveraging the opportunity to expand their cycling networks and public bicycle-sharing systems.

As per ITDP, increasing cycling can help cities in a green economic recovery. Investments in cycling infrastructure have economic benefits of up to 5.5 times the initial investment. Cycling for short distances can result in an annual benefit of INR 1.8 trillion to the Indian economy.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar holds meeting with States through Video Conferencing; deliberates upon recent initiatives by the Government to boost rural economy

New operational guidelines for formation and promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations released

Shri Tomar assures of all necessary support to the States for agriculture infrastructure development, promotion of FPOs and credit facilities to farmers through KCC Posted On: 10 JUL 2020 7:11PM by PIB Delhi

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar held a meeting with States through Video Conferencing today to deliberate upon the recent initiatives taken by the Government to boost rural economy. The meeting was attended by Ministers of State for Agriculture, Shri Parshottam Rupala and Shri Kailash Chaudhary, Agriculture Ministers of almost all the States and senior officers of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare.

On the occasion, the Union Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Minister released a booklet on new operational guidelines for formation and promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). The key implementation issues were discussed during interaction with the States.

Addressing the video conference, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar thanked Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for allocating Rs 20 lakh crore package for ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan’, under which Rs 1 lakh crore financing facility has been allocated for establishment of Agriculture Infrastructure Projects at farm-gate & aggregation points (Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies, Farmers Producer Organizations, Agriculture entrepreneurs, Start-ups, etc.).

He said that this fund will be utilized for creating post-harvest infrastructure to avoid wastage of crop produce, which is about 15-20% of total yield at present. He emphasized upon the need to utilize the agriculture infrastructure fund to mobilize a medium-long debt financing facility for investment in viable projects relating to post-harvest management.

The Minister further emphasized that Kisan Credit Card (KCC) saturation drive was initiated by the Government and target of issuing 2.5 crore KCCs by the end of year is set under the ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ campaign. Referring to the PM-Kisan Yojana and Kisan Credit Cards (KCC), he said that out of around 14.5 crore operational farm landholdings, data on around 10.5 crore has been collected so far under PM-Kisan. There are about 6.67 crore active KCC accounts presently. After the KCC saturation drive was started in February 2020, about 95 lakh applications have been received out of which 75 lakh applications have been sanctioned.

The Minister further stated that total 10,000 FPOs are to be formed till 2023-24 and support to each FPO is to be continued for 5 years. The cost of proposed scheme is Rs. 6,866 crores. He assured that all the necessary help/support would be rendered to the States to accelerate agriculture infrastructure development, promotion of FPOs and extending credit facilities to the farmers through KCC.

The State Agriculture Ministers expressed their happiness that the KCC facilities have now been extended to the farmers practicing Animal Husbandry and Fisheries. The State Agriculture Ministers further appreciated the initiatives of Government of India and assured to render their support to the Centre in their efforts towards strengthening agriculture infrastructure in the States, creation of FPOs and widening the coverage of KCC to enhance farmers’ income and boost rural economy.

Presentations by Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare were made on Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, KCC Saturation Drive and New FPO Policy.

Company earned record net profit During Financial Year 2019-20 Posted On: 10 JUL 2020 3:04PM by PIB Delhi Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) a PSU under the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has turned out encouraging performance on the production and marketing front during first three months of 2020-21.

The company is planning to improve the top and bottom lines by fertilizer trading. So far company has placed purchase orders for import of 3 shipments of fertilizers. Out of this two shipment has already arrived. In this one shipment is of 27500 MT of MOP and the other one is of 27500 MT of Complex Fertilizer. The third shipment is of MOP .which is expected to arrive in August.

The Company is planning to restart Caprolactam operations during the financial year 2020-2021 after completing major maintenance activities and installing online effluent monitoring facilities. Trial run of the plants has been completed.

During the Financial Year 2019-20, FACT touched new height in net profit, production of its prime product Factamfos , Ammonium Sulphate and sale of Fertilizers. Highlights of the year :-

Turnover : CY Rs 2770 Cr, PY Rs 1955 Cr.

Profit: CY Rs 976 Cr PY Rs 163 Cr.

Factamfos (NP 20:20:0:13) production of 8.45 Lakh MT is an all time high record, surpassing the previous best of 8.38 Lakh MT during 2000-01.

Ammonium Sulphate production of 2.21 lakh MT is the highest in 19 years period. Factamfos sale of 8.35 Lakh MT is also the highest in last 19 years period as also

Ammonium Sulphate sale of 2.36 Lakh MT. All time high City Compost sale (13103 MT) for the year (previous best 9370MT)

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Giriraj Singh emphasises on sustainable harnessing of fish resources through technology and best farming practices; highlights the importance of quality seed, feed, species diversification and marketing infrastructure

“Fish Cryobanks” to be set up in different parts of the country Posted On: 10 JUL 2020 8:24PM by PIB Delhi On the occasion of National Fish Farmers Day, a webinar was hosted today by the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in association with the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB).

The occasion was graced by Shri Giriraj Singh, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri P. C. Sarangi, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Dr. Rajeev Ranjan, Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Government of India and senior officers from the Department of Fisheries.

National Fish Farmers Day is celebrated on 10th July every year in remembrance of scientists Dr. K. H. Alikunhi and Dr. H.L. Chaudhury who successfully demonstrated the technology of induced breeding (Hypophysation) in Indian Major Carps on 10th July, 1957 at the erstwhile ‘Pond Culture Division’ of CIFRI at Cuttack, Odisha (presently Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, CIFA, Bhubaneswar). The event aims to draw attention to changing the way the country manages fisheries resources to ensure sustainable stocks and healthy ecosystems.

Every year, the event is celebrated by felicitating outstanding fish farmers, aquapreneurs& fisher folks in recognition of their accomplishments in the field and their contribution in the growth of the fisheries sector in the country. Fishermen and fish farmers across the nation participate in the event apart from officials, scientists, professionals, entrepreneurs and stakeholders.

Interacting through video conference with fishermen, officials, scientists, entrepreneurs at different locations in different parts of the country,Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Giriraj Singh observed that in order to consolidate the achievements of Blue Revolution and pave the way from NeeliKranti to ArthKranti, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and to realise his vision of doubling the farmer’s income, the “Pradhan MantriMatsyaSampadaYojana” (PMMSY) has been launched with highest ever investment of Rs. 20,050 crore during next five years.

This scheme will address the critical gaps in fish production and productivity, quality, technology, post-harvest infrastructure and management, modernisation and strengthening of value chain, traceability, establishing a robust fisheries management framework and fishermen’s welfare.

The Minister also emphasised the sustainable harnessing of fisheries resources through technology infusion and bestfarming practices while highlighting the importance of quality seed, feed, species diversification, entrepreneurial models and marketing infrastructure with backward and forward linkages.

Shri Giriraj Singh said that providing ‘Quality Seed’ of fish is very important in enhancing production and productivity in the country. He announced on the occasion of ‘National Fish Farmers Day’ that NFDB in collaboration with the NBFGR will take up the work to establish “Fish Cryobanks” in different parts of the country, which will facilitate all time availability of ‘fish sperms’ of desired species to fish farmers. This would be the first time in the world when “Fish Cryobank” will be established, which can bring a revolutionary change in the fisheries sector in the country for enhancing fish production and productivity and thereby increasing prosperity among the fish farmers.

Dr.Kuldeep K. Lal, Director, NBFGR informed that the “Cryomilt” technology developed by the NBFGR in support with NFDB may be helpful in establishment of “Fish Cryobanks”, which will provide good quality of fish sperms in hatcheries at any time. Dr Rajeev Ranjan, Union Secretary of Fisheries while delivering his welcome address highlighted the ambitious targets under PMMSY and the importance of active cooperation of States/UTs and other stakeholders including private sector in achieving the same.

Senior officials of Department of Fisheries, Government of India and Dr. C. Suvarna, Chief Executive, NFDB along with team also participated in the event. Officials from State Fisheries Departments, Directors & Scientists from ICAR institutes, entrepreneurs, and about 150 progressive fish farmers from Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, etc. participated in the webinar and shared their experiences during the interaction.

Bamboo to propel the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in the North Eastern Region by imbibing “Vocal for Local” mantra:Dr. Jitendra Singh Posted On: 10 JUL 2020 5:36PM by PIB Delhi

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, DrJitendra Singh today said that Bamboo sector will be one of the important components of India’s Post-COVID economy.

Addressing a webinar with various clusters of Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) and persons associated with Bamboo Trade, he said that Bamboo will propel the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in the North Eastern Region and isgoing to be an important vehicle of trade for India and the sub-continent.

The Minister said that Bamboo is not only vital to North East India's Post- COVID economy but it will also herald a new momentum for Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s clarion call of “Vocal for Local”.

Dr.Jitendra Singh gave the mantra of “Create, Curate and Coordinate” for the Bamboo sector for its full exploitation, branding, packaging and marketing in India and abroad.

Underlining the unexpected potentials of this sector and being neglected for the last 70 years, he said that the Present Government has the capacity and the will to unlock its potential to the highest level as 40 percent of all Bamboo resources lie in North-Eastern Region in the country. He lamented that despite India being the 2nd largest producer of Bamboo and Cane in the world, it’s share is only 5 percent in global trade.

The Minister said that the sensitivity with which the Modi government views the importance for the promotion of Bamboo is evident from the fact that it has amended the century old Forest Act by taking home grown bamboo out of the purview of the Forest Act, in order to enhance livelihood opportunities through bamboo.

The Ministry of Culture had taken up the project of reprinting of 108 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur under the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM). Now, the first set of five volumes of Mongolian Kanjur have been released.

What is Mongolian Kanjur? In the Mongolian language ‘Kanjur’ means ‘Concise Orders’- the words of Lord Buddha in particular.

It is held in high esteem by Mongolian Buddhists and they worship the Kanjur at temples and recite the lines of Kanjur in daily life as a sacred ritual.

The Mongolian Kanjur has been translated from Tibetan. The language of the Kanjur is Classical Mongolian.

Historical connection between India and Mongolia: Historical interaction between India and Mongolia goes back centuries.

Buddhism was carried to Mongolia by Indian cultural and religious ambassadors during the early Christian era. As a result, today, Buddhists form the single largest religious denomination in Mongolia.

India established formal diplomatic relations with Mongolia in 1955.

About the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM): NMM was launched in February 2003 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

It has the mandate of documenting, conserving and disseminating the knowledge preserved in manuscripts.

Background: India possesses an estimate of ten million manuscripts, probably the largest collection in the world. These cover a variety of themes, textures and aesthetics, scripts, languages, calligraphies, illuminations and illustrations.

Context: A February 2020 Supreme Court judgement on Criminalisation in politics may have far-reaching consequences for Indian democracy. It will first be implemented in the coming Bihar elections in October 2020.

What was the case all about? The judgment was passed in a contempt of court case filed against the Chief Election Commissioner of India.

The petition claimed the ECI had failed to take any steps to ensure the implementation of a 2018 judgment of the bench, which had made it mandatory for political parties to declare and publish all criminal cases pending against their candidates.

The petitioners argued that parties were “circumventing” the 2018 judgment by publishing the details of their candidates’ criminal background in “obscure and limited circulation newspapers” and “making the webpages on their websites difficult to access”.

The judgment: The court had asked the particle parties to state “The reasons for such selection, as also as to why other individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates.” If a political party fails to comply, it would be in contempt of this court’s orders/

Directions issued by the Court: It is mandatory for all political parties to publish all details regarding pending criminal cases against their chosen candidates, not only in local newspapers, but also on party websites and social media handles.

Along with the details of pending cases, the parties will also have to publish “the reasons for such selection, as also as to why other individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates”.

The “reasons” given for selection of the candidates have to be “with reference to the qualifications, achievements and merit of the candidate concerned, and not mere ‘winnability’ at the polls”.

What does the RPA say on this? Currently, under the Representation of Peoples (RP) Act, lawmakers cannot contest elections only after their conviction in a criminal case. Section 8 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951 disqualifies a person convicted with a sentence of two years or more from contesting elections. But those under trial continued to be eligible to contest elections.

Main reasons for Criminalization: Corruption Vote bank. Lack of governance.

What is the way out? Political parties should themselves refuse tickets to the tainted. The RP Act should be amended to debar persons against whom cases of a heinous nature are pending from contesting elections.

Fast-track courtsshould decide the cases of tainted legislators quickly. Bring greater transparency in campaign financing. The Election Commission of India (ECI) should have the power to audit the financial accounts of political parties.

Need for reforms: In 2004, 24% of the members of Parliament had criminal cases against them. In 2009, that went up to 30%. In 2014, it went up to 34%. In 2019, as many as 43% of MPs had criminal cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that measles and rubella have been eradicated from Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

This makes them the first two countries in WHO South-East Asia Region to achieve measles and rubella elimination ahead of the 2023 target.

When is a country declared so? A country is verified as having eliminated measles and rubella when there is no evidence of endemic transmission of the measles and rubella viruses for over three years in the presence of a well performing surveillance system.

Maldives reported last endemic case of measles in 2009 and of rubella in October 2015, while Sri Lanka reported last endemic case of measles in May 2016 and of rubella in March 2017.

Background: Member countries of WHO South-East Asia Region had in September last year set 2023 as target for elimination of measles and rubella, revising the goal of the flagship programme that since 2014 had focused on measles elimination and rubella control. Bhutan, North Korea and East Timor were also declared to be measles-free.

The need for elimination: Eliminating measles will prevent 500,000 deaths a year in the region, while eliminating rubella/ CRS would avert about 55,000 cases of rubella and promote health and wellbeing of pregnant women and infants.

About Measles: What is It? Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. Spread: Measles is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons.

Initial symptoms, which usually appear 10–12 days after infection, include high fever, a runny nose, bloodshot eyes, and tiny white spots on the inside of the mouth. Several days later, a rash develops, starting on the face and upper neck and gradually spreading downwards.

Vulnerability: Severe measles is more likely among poorly nourished young children, especially those with insufficient vitamin A, or whose immune systems have been weakened by HIV/AIDS or other diseases.

The most serious complications includeblindness, encephalitis (an infection that causes brain swelling), severe diarrhoea and related dehydration, and severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia.

Prevention: Routine measles vaccination for children, combined with mass immunization campaigns in countries with low routine coverage, are key public health strategies to reduce global measles deaths.

Preventive efforts:Under the Global Vaccine Action Plan, measles and rubella are targeted for elimination in five WHO Regions by 2020. WHO is the lead technical agency responsible for coordination of immunization and surveillance activities supporting all countries to achieve this goal.

Rubella: It is generally a mild infection, but has serious consequences if infection occurs in pregnant women, causing congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), which is a cause of public health concern. CRS is characterized by congenital anomalies in the foetus and newborns affecting the eyes (glaucoma, cataract), ears (hearing loss), brain (microcephaly, mental retardation) and heart defects, causing a huge socio-economic burden on the families in particular and society in general.

On July 6, when the number of novel coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S. reached over 2.8 million and nearly 0.13 million, respectively, the U.S. officially notified the United Nations of its intention to withdraw membership from the World Health Organization.

This comes after President Donald Trump announced on May 29 his decision to halt fundingand pull out of the global health body.

Why this decision? Trump said the body had “called it wrong” on COVID-19 and that it was very “China centric” in its approach, suggesting that the WHO had gone along with Beijing’s efforts months ago to under-represent the severity of the outbreak.

Implications: The capricious decision to withdraw from WHO will have dire consequences for global public health.

The departure of the U.S. will be a significant blow to the WHO in terms of loss of technical expertise and an annual funding of about $450 million. The WHO now will have to suspend the country’s voting rights and deny access to its services, as per Article 7 of its Constitution.

About WHO: WHO came into existence on 7 April, 1948 – a date which is now celebrated every year as World Health Day.

The organisation has more than 7,000 people working in 150 country offices, six regional offices and at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

How WHO is governed? The World Health Assembly (delegations from all members countries) determines the policies of the organisation. The executive board is composed of members technically qualified in health, and gives effect to the decisions and policies of the health assembly. Its core function is to direct and coordinate international health work through collaboration.

How is the WHO funded? There are four kinds of contributions that make up funding for the WHO.These are: Assessed contributions are the dues countries pay in order to be a member of the Organization. The amount each Member State must pay is calculated relative to the country’s wealth and population.

Voluntary contributions come from Member States (in addition to their assessed contribution) or from other partners. They can range from flexible to highly earmarked.

Core voluntary contributions allow less well-funded activities to benefit from a better flow of resources and ease implementation bottlenecks that arise when immediate financing is lacking.

Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Contributions were started in 2011 to improve and strengthen the sharing of influenza viruses with human pandemic potential, and to increase the access of developing countries to vaccines and other pandemic related supplies.

Largest contributions: The United States is currently the WHO’s biggest contributor, making up 14.67 per cent of total funding by providing $553.1 million.

The US is followed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation forming 9.76 per cent or $367.7 million.

The third biggest contributor is the GAVI Vaccine Alliance at 8.39 per cent, with the UK (7.79 per cent) and Germany (5.68 per cent) coming fourth and fifth respectively.

The four next biggest donors are international bodies: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (5.09 per cent), World Bank (3.42 per cent), Rotary International (3.3 per cent), and the European Commission (3.3 per cent). India makes up 0.48 per cent of total contributions, and China 0.21 per cent.

Why in News? India to shortly take a call on Australia’s inclusion in Malabar.

Why Australia should be included in the group? Australia’s inclusion would be seen as a possible first step towards the militarisation of the Quad coalition, something Beijing has opposed in the past.

Besides, even Japan and the U.S. have been keen on Canberra’s inclusion for sometime now and have been pushing India to consider it.

Procedure to be followed: Once the government takes a decision to include Australia, as per procedure, the other partner nations — Japan and the U.S. — have to be informed to secure their consent, after which a formal invitation would be extended to Australia.

About Malabar exercise: Malabar began as a bilateral naval exercise between India and the U.S. in 1992, and was expanded into a trilateral format with the inclusion of Japan in 2015. It has been delayed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is Quad grouping? The quadrilateral formation includes Japan, India, United States and Australia. All four nations find a common ground of being the democratic nations and common interests of unhindered maritime trade and security.

The idea was first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. However, the idea couldn’t move ahead with Australia pulling out of it.

Significance of the grouping: Quad is an opportunity for like-minded countries to share notes and collaborate on projects of mutual interest. Members share a vision of an open and free Indo-Pacific.

It is one of the many avenues for interaction among India, Australia, Japan and the US and should not be seen in an exclusive context.

Inaugurated recently by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is Asia’s largest 750 MW solar power project.

It is located at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh. The Solar Park was developed by the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL), a Joint Venture Company of Madhya Pradesh UrjaVikas Nigam Limited (MPUVN), and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a Central Public Sector Undertaking.

Significance: The Rewa Project has been acknowledged in India and abroad for its robust project structuring and innovations.

Its payment security mechanism for reducing risks to power developers has been recommended as a model to other States by MNRE. It has also received World Bank Group President’s Award for innovation and excellence and was included in the book “A Book of Innovation: New Beginnings” released by Prime Minister.

The project is also the first renewable energy project to supply to an institutional customer outside the State,e. Delhi Metro, which will get 24% of energy from the project with remaining 76% being supplied to the State DISCOMs of Madhya Pradesh.

The Project also exemplifies India’s commitment to attain the target of 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by the year 2022, including 100 GW of Solar installed capacity.

It is also known as Char Piya. It is an island in Bangladesh.

It is located in the Bay of Bengal. The island was formed with Himalayan silt in 2006. It spans 40 km².

Why in News? Rohingya refugees on this island will not be allowed to leave unless they agree to return home, Bangladesh authorities said recently.

It is a one-time settlement scheme introduced by Haryana government for the recovery of long-pending dues on account of External Development Charges (EDC)and Infrastructural Development Charges (IDC).

The scheme is modeled on the central scheme of ‘Vivad se Vishwas-2020’.