Some important current events (By Arun joshi,Sri-Krishna Institute,9888933043)

1. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (National Health Insurance Scheme)

According to a report released in February 2010 by Independent Commission on Development and Health in India, about 250 million Indians who live just above the poverty line slip back into poverty if they face just one health crisis. India’s hospitalization costs have sky-rocketed in urban areas by 126% and in rural areas by 78% between 1995 and 2004.India in the first use of its technology prowess have under taken such a massive national social security programme.

In 26 months RSBY has enrolled more than 60 million people in 22 states by next year that should double to 100 million. This scheme accepts five people per family where they can access nearly 5000 public and private hospitals across India produce the RSBY card and get healthcare. The procedure is simple with production of ration card, the thump prints are scanned, photos are taken and family is covered up to Rs 30,000 under the programme. It costs Rs4500 crore a year to fund RSBY a drop in the Rs 1.36 lakh crore that India will spend on social –security schemes in 2010-11.The states are actively taking part as the centre takes 75% of the premium which is roughly Rs 450 per person per year.

It is India’s first social –security scheme that embraces a profit motive involving 20 insurance companies, private and public hospitals, state governments and the centre each acting as a check on the other. More than 15 countries have studied RSBY. The World Bank is bringing it to global attention as the largest use of smart cards to provide the poor with nationwide health insurance. RSBY cards are issued within two hours of the first fingerprint. The issuing team has laptops, web cameras, fingerprint readers, smart-card printers and a generator to a void electricity cuts. In most states cards are issued on BPL lists made in 2002.

There are some problems like quality of care, availability of hospitals in backward states like Orissa or Jharkhand, managing the huge database and complex backend and first and foremost Indian tendency to cheat. Still in spite of all this ,RSBY is proving to be a boon for millions who can now access health care facilities.

2. National Social Audit findings on Child labor in India

Campaign Against child labor and campaign against child trafficking, conducted a national audit on the status of child labor in India. The audit covered 12 states and found that the number of children rescued in the last three years was a fraction of the number employed in the unorganized sector.

The latest census suggest that 1.86 lakh children below the age of 14 are engaged as child domestic workers while the figure for those working in the dhabas, restaurants and hotels is about 70,934.

According to data collected through audit only 5,096 children were rescued from 10 states. There is hardly any implementation of law and availability of resources so there is little done for the rescue and rehabilitation of these children.

The audit also found that survey and information on children employed in domestic work was difficult to be gathered.

3. Cost of Urbanization in India

According to a new report published by consulting firm Mckinsey, India will need to spend an additional $ 2 trillion or almost one and half times its entire GDP over next 20 years to provide basic services to its urban population. The report projects an urban population of 590 million by 2030, 40% of the country’s total projected population. India currently has an annual capital expenditure of $17 per capita on urban infrastructure. The transport and affordable housing will be the two sectors needing most of the capital. The report says that government would be required to directly construct 60% of the affordable housing stock while 40% can be subsidized from the market. The report proposes that 76% of the over $ 1 trillion operating expenditure for new infrastructure be raised through user charges while 36% of the capital and operating expenditure today is covered by user charges.

In tier I and II cities the 80-85% of expenditure can be covered by their internal revenues including property tax. The report calls for tripling of the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission Fund. The states like Gujarat,Maharashtra,Karnataka and Punjab will join Tamil Nadu in being more urban by 2030.

In 20 years India will have 68 million –plus cities,13 four million plus cities and 6 megacities of over 10 million. Cities will account for nearly 70% of India’s GDP as against 58% in 2008 assuming an average annual GDP growth rate of 7.4% over the next two decades. According to the report it is more cost –effective to provide basic services in densely rather than sparsely populated cities and high –end services like airports are cheaper to run in Tier I cities than in Tier III cities.

4. Amendments to bring gender balance in adoption laws in India

In India the women will now be given the same rights as men to guardianship and adoption of children irrespective of marital status. A proposed amendment to existing laws to make this effective will become reality this year.

According to the Guardians and Wards Act of 1890 which applies to Christians, Muslims, Parsis and Jews if a couple adopts a child, the father is a natural guardian. The proposed amendment to the 120 year old Act allows the mother to also be appointed guardian. The Personal Laws (amendment) Bill 2010 was accepted unanimously by the parliamentary standing committee on law and justice to amend the existing laws.

The Bill provides for the mother to be appointed guardian along with the father so courts do not appoint anyone else in case the father ceases to exist. The mother will be responsible even as a trustee of the property in case the minor child inherits his or her share of the property.

The second amendment proposed in the Hindu Adoption Maintenance Act 1956 aims to remove hurdles in the way of a married woman to adopt and also give a child up for adoption merely on the basis of her marital status. In the present laws unmarried and divorced women as well as widows are allowed to adopt but not the women separated from their husbands or engaged in lengthy divorce battles. This amendment will allow a woman in the process of getting a divorce also to adopt.

5.TAGUP

TAGUP or Technology Advisory Group for Unique Projects is a government of India advisory group to look into technology part of 5 large financial sector projects. It is headed by UIDAI chairman ,Nandan Nilekani. This body was created in June 2010.
The committee will make recommendations on the roadmap to roll out the five financial projects are
§ Tax information network (TIN)
§ National Pension Scheme (NPS)
§ National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA)
§ Expenditure Information Network (EIN)
§ Goods and Service Tax (GST).
The deadline for its report is November 2010.

The members of the committe include
§ C. B. Bhave - SEBI chairman
§ R. Chandrasekhar - IT Secretary
§ Nachiket Mor - President ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth
§ Dhirendra Swarup - former chairman PFRDA
§ S. S. Khan - former Member (CBDT)
§ P. R. V. Ramanan - former Member (CBEC)

6. Unique Identification Authority of India

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is an agency of the Government of India responsible for implementing the envisioned Multipurpose National Identity Card or Unique Identification card (UID Card) project in India. It was established in February 2009, and will own and operate the Unique Identification Number database. The authority will aim at providing a unique number to all Indians, but not smart cards. The authority would provide a database of residents containing very simple data in biometrics. Annual budget of Rs. 3000 crore has been assigned.
The agency is headed by a chairman, holds a cabinet rank. The UIDAI is part of the Planning Commission of India. Nandan Nilekani, a former co-chairman of Infosys Technologies, was appointed as the first Chairman of the authority in June 2009. Ram Sewak Sharma, an IAS Officer of Jharkhand Government cadre has been appointed as the Director General and Mission Director of the Authority. He is known for his best effort in e-Governance project for Jharkhand State and working as an IT secretary he received a number of awards for best Information Technology Trends State in India.

The Mission

The role that the Authority envisions is to issue a unique identification number (UIDAI) that can be verified and authenticated in an online, cost-effective manner, which is robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fake identities.

The Timelines

The first UIDAI numbers will be issued over the next 12-18 months counted from August 2009. The first number would be issued between August 2010 to February 2011. Over five years, the Authority plans to issue 600 million UIDs. The numbers will be issued through various 'registrar' agencies across the country.

Regional Offices’ Organizational Structure

Each of the Regional Offices is headed by a Deputy Director General (DDG). The support structure below comprises 4 ADGs, 3 Deputy Directors, 3 Section Officers, 1 Senior Accounts Officer and 1 Accountant and personal staff.UIDAI has headquarters in Delhi and a technology centre in Bangalore. It also has 6 regional offices in Chandigarh, Delhi, Lucknow, Ranchi, Guwahati, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

UIDAI Biometrics Centre of Competence (UBCC)

The UIDAI Biometrics Centre of Competence (UBCC) is being set up as a part of the organization needed to deliver on the mandate of issuing Unique IDs to all residents of India.

Name

UID project is known as AADHAAR meaning 'support' or 'foundation'.

Launch

UIDAI launched AADHAAR program in the tribal village, Tembhli, in Nandurbar, Maharashtra on 29th September, 2010. The program was inaugurated by Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh along with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The first resident to receive an AADHAAR was Rajana Sonawane of Tembhli village.

7. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2010 Was Awarded to Robert G. Edwards for IVF Fertilization

Robert Edwards has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for the development of human in vitro fertilization (IVF) therapy. His achievements have made it possible to treat infertility, a medical condition afflicting a large proportion of humanity including more than 10% of all couples worldwide. He is from Britain.

About Nobel prize in Physiology: Alfred Nobel had an active interest in medical research. Through Karolinska Institutet he came into contact with Swedish physiologist Jöns Johansson around 1890. Johansson worked in Nobel’s laboratory in Sèvran, France for a time that year. Physiology or medicine was the third prize area Nobel mentioned in his will.
In 1901, Emil von Behring was awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on serum therapy, particularly for its use in the treatment of diphtheria. The Medicine Prize has subsequently highlighted a number of important discoveries including penicillin, genetic engineering and blood-typing.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute.