1. Consider the following statements regarding the National AYUSH Mission.
1. The basic objective of NAM is to promote AYUSH medical systems through cost effective AYUSH services, strengthening of educational systems, facilitate the enforcement of quality control.
2. In order to strengthen the AYUSH infrastructure both attached Central and State levels, financial assistance for setting up of the Programme Management Units (PMU’s) will be provided.
3. The union cabinet has approved the continuation of NAM till March 2020.
4. It envisages flexibility of implementation of the programmes which will lead to substantial participation of the State Governments/UT.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) All of the above
Answer-d
Explanation-
National AYUSH Mission
Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India has launched National AYUSH Mission (NAM) during 12th Plan for im¬plementing through States/UTs.
The basic objective of NAM is to promote AYUSH medical systems through cost effective AYUSH services, strengthening of educational systems, facilitate the enforcement of quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani & Homoeopathy (ASU &H) drugs and sustainable availability of ASU & H raw-materials.
It envisages flexibility of implementation of the programmes which will lead to substantial participation of the State Governments/UT.
The NAM contemplates establishment of a National Mission as well as corresponding Missions in the State level. NAM is likely to improve significantly the Department’s outreach in terms of planning, supervision and monitoring of the schemes.
Vision
1. To provide cost effective and equitable AYUSH health care throughout the country by improving access to the services.
2. To revitalize and strengthen the AYUSH systems making them as prominent medical streams in addressing the health care of the society.
3. To improve educational institutions capable of imparting quality AYUSH education
4. To promote the adoption of Quality standards of AYUSH drugs and making available the sustained supply of AYUSH raw-materials.
Objectives
1. To provide cost effective AYUSH Services, with a universal access through upgrading AYUSH Hospitals and Dispensaries, co-location of AYUSH facilities at Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs) and District Hospitals (DHs).
2. To strengthen institutional capacity at the state level through upgrading AYUSH educational institutions, State Govt. ASU&H Pharmacies, Drug Testing Laboratories and ASU & H enforcement mechanism.
3. Support cultivation of medicinal plants by adopting Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) so as to provide sustained supply of quality raw-materials and support certification mechanism for quality standards, Good Agricultural/Collection/Storage Practices.
4. Support setting up of clusters through convergence of cultivation, warehousing, value addition and marketing and development of infrastructure for entrepreneurs.
Components of the Mission
Mandatory Components
• AYUSH Services
• AYUSH Educational Institutions
• Quality Control of ASU &H Drugs
• Medicinal Plants
Flexible Components
1. Out of the total State envelop available, 20% funds will be earmarked for flexible funds which can be spent on any of the items given below with the stipulation that not more than 5% of the envelop is spent on any of the components:
o AYUSH Wellness Centres including Yoga & Naturopathy
o Tele-medicine
o Sports Medicine through AYUSH
o Innovations in AYUSH including Public Private Partnership
o Interest subsidy component for Private AYUSH educational Institutions
o Reimbursement of Testing charges
o IEC activities
o Research & Development in areas related to Medicinal Plants
o Voluntary certification scheme: Project based.
o Market Promotion, Market intelligence & buy back interventions
o Crop Insurance for Medicinal Plants
2. The financial assistance from Government of India shall be supplementary in the form of contractual engagements, infrastructure development, Capacity Building and supply of medicines to be provided from Department of AYUSH. This will ensure better implementation of the programme through effective co-ordination and monitoring. States shall ensure to make available all the regular manpower posts filled in the existing facilities. The procurement of medicines will be made by the States/UTs as per the existing guidelines of the scheme.
Supporting Facilities under Mission
1. In order to strengthen the AYUSH infrastructure both attached Central and State levels, financial assistance for setting up of the Programme Management Units (PMU’s) will be provided. The PMU will consist of management and technical professionals both at Central and State level and will be essentially on contract or through service provider.
2. The PMU staff will be engaged from the open market on contractual basis or outsourcing and the expenditure on their salary will be met out of admissible administrative and managerial cost for the mission period. This PMU will provide the technical support to the implementation of National AYUSH Mission in the State through its pool of skilled professionals like MBA, CA, Accounts and technical Specialist etc. All appointments would be contractual and Central Government’s liability will be limited only to the extent of Central share admissible for administrative and management costs on salary head for the mission period.
3. In addition to the Manpower cost for PMU, the States/UTs can avail the financial assistance for such administrative costs like office expenditure, travelling expenditure, contingency, Annual Maintenance Cost (AMC) of infrastructure including equipment’s, computer, software for HMIS, Training and Capacity Building for concerned personnel under each component, audit, monitoring & evaluation, project preparation consultancy and additional manpower for AYUSH Hospitals and Dispensaries. A total 4% of the net funds available for the State is earmarked for State/UTs administrative costs under the Mission.
Resource Allocation Framework
1. For AYUSH Services, Educational Institutions and Quality Control of ASU&H Drugs:- For special Category states (NE States and three hilly States of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir) Grant-in-aid component will be 90% from Govt. of India and remaining 10% is proposed to be the State contribution towards all components under the scheme. For other States/UTs the sharing pattern will be 75%:25%.
2. For Medicinal Plants: This component will be financed 100% by Central Government in North Eastern State and hilly State of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir where as in other states it will be shared in the ratio of 90:10 between Centre and States.
3. The Resource Pool to the States from the Government of India under the Mission shall be determined on the basis of following:
o Population with 70% weightage and 2 as multiplying factor for EAG States, Island UTs and Hilly States.
o Backwardness determined on the basis of proxy indicator of per capita income will have 15% weightage and
o Performance to be determined on inverse proportion of percentage of UCs due and pending as on 31st March of previous financial year will have 15% weightage.
4. Components of National AYUSH Mission will have certain core activities that are essential and other activities that are optional. For core/essential items 80% of the Resource pool allocated to the States can be used. For optional items, the remaining 20% of Resource pool allocated to the States can be used in a flexible manner, with the restriction that this 20% of Resource Pool can be spent on any of the items allowed with constraints that not more than 5% of the envelop is spent on any of the components:
5. The amount of release against the Central share will be as follows:- Entitled Central Share – (Unspent balance of the Grant-in Aid released in previous years + interest accrued).
Action Plan
• Indication of tentative State allocation by Department of AYUSH, Government of India – 31st, December
• Budget Provision by the State Government along with matching State Share – 31st March
• Preparation of State Annual Action Plan by Executive Committee of the State AYUSH Society – 30th April
• The receipt of State Annual Action Plan in the Department of AYUSH, Government of India – 1st week of May
Monitoring and Evaluation
• Dedicated MIS monitoring and evaluation cell would be established at Centre/ State level. It is therefore proposed to have a Health Management Information System (HMIS) Cell at National level with three HMIS Managers and one HMIS Manager at State level.
• The concurrent evaluation of the AYUSH Mission shall be carried out to know the implementation progress and bottlenecks and scope for improvement. Third party evaluation will also carried out after two years of Mission implementation.
Expected Outcome
• Improvement in AYUSH education through enhanced number of AYUSH Educational Institutions upgraded.
• Better access to AYUSH services through increased number of AYUSH Hospital and Dispensaries coverage, availability of drugs and manpower.
• Sustained availability of quality raw-materials for AYUSH Systems of Medicine.
• Improved availability of quality ASU & drugs through increase in the number of quality Pharmacies and Drug Laboratories and enforcement mechanism of ASU & drugs.
https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=113941
2. Consider the following statements regarding the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Platform.
1. It is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
2. Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency for implementing eNAM under the aegis of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer-c
Explanation-
National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)
Union Budget 2014-15 and Union Budget 2015-16 had suggested the creation of a National Agricultural Market (NAM) as a priority issue.
On 2 July 2015, Union Cabinet unveiled its plan to go ahead with the project amidst the constitutional constrains.
The Central Government is provided the software free of cost to the states and in addition a grant of up to Rs. 30 lakhs per mandi will be given as a onetime measure for related equipment and infrastructure requirements.
National Agriculture Market (eNAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) is the lead agency for implementing eNAM under the aegis of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
VISION
To promote uniformity in agriculture marketing by streamlining of procedures across the integrated markets, removing information asymmetry between buyers and sellers and promoting real time price discovery based on actual demand and supply.
MISSION
Integration of APMCs across the country through a common online market platform to facilitate pan-India trade in agriculture commodities, providing better price discovery through transparent auction process based on quality of produce along with timely online payment.
3. Consider the following statements regarding the Educational Development in British India.
1. Warren Hastings set up the Calcutta Madrasa in 1871 for the study and learning of Persian and Arabic.
2. In 1791 the efforts of Jonathan Duncan, a Sanskrit College was opened at Benares for the cultivation of laws, literature and religion of the Hindus.
3. It was the hidden policy of the British East India Company to promote oriental languages because of administrative needs of the Company required Indians well-versed in the classic and vernacular languages.
4. The Government passed a Resolution on Indian Educational Policy in 1904, popularly known as Lord Curzon’s Educational Policy.
5. Education became the direct responsibility of the Indian ministers by the Government of India Act of 1919.
6. The Report of the Hartog Committee more or less shaped the educational policy of British Government during the last decades of its existence in India.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) All of the above
(b) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 only
(c) 1, 3, 4 and 5 only
(d) 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 only
Answer-d
Explanation-
Educational Policies in British India
The East India Company became a ruling power in Bengal in 1765. Following the example of the contemporary English Government, the Court of Directors refused to take on itself the responsibility for the education of the people of India and decided to leave education to private effort. However, the Indian officers of the East India Company urged the Court of Directors to do something for the oriental learning.
Warren Hastings, himself an intellectual, set up the Calcutta Madrasa in 1781 for the study and learning of Persian and Arabic.
In 1791 the efforts of Jonathan Duncan, the British resident at Benares, bore fruit and a Sanskrit College was opened at Benares for the cultivation of laws, literature and religion of the Hindus.
1813 Act & the Education
1. Charles Grant and William Wilberforce, who was missionary activists, compelled the East India Company to give up its non-invention policy and make way for spreading education through English in order to teach western literature and preach Christianity.
Hence, the British Parliament added a clause in 1813 charter that Governor-General-in-Council less than one lakh for education and allowed the Christian Missionaries to spread their religious ideas in India.
2. Act had its own importance because it was first instance that British East India Company acknowledged for the promotion of education in India.
3. With the efforts of R.R.M Roy, the Calcutta College was established for imparting Western education. Also three Sanskrit colleges were set up at Calcutta.
General Committee of Public Instruction, 1823
1. This committee was formed to look after the development of education in India which was dominated by Orientalists who were the great supporter of Oriental learning rather than the Anglican. Hence, they created paramount of pressure on the British India Company to promote Western Education. As a result, spread of education in India got discursive between Orientalist-Anglicist and Macaulay’s resolution come across with clear picture of British education system.
Lord Macaulay’s Education Policy, 1835
1. This policy was an attempt to create that system of education which educates only upper strata of society through English.
2. English become court language and Persian was abolished as court language.
3. Printings of English books were made free and available at very low price.
4. English education gets more fund as compare to oriental learning.
5. In 1849, JED Bethune founded Bethune School.
6. Agriculture Institute was established at Pusa (Bihar)
7. Engineering Institute was established at Roorkee.
Wood’s Dispatch, 1854
1. It is considered as the “Magna Carta of English Education in India” and contained comprehensive plan for spreading education in India.
2. It states the responsibility of State for the spread of education to the masses.
3. It recommended the hierarchy education level- At bottom, vernacular primary school; at district, Anglo-vernacular High Schools and affiliated college, and affiliated universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras Presidency.
4. Recommended English as a medium of instruction for higher studies and vernacular at school level
The Indian Education Commission or Hunter Commission (1882)
1. It was formed to evaluate the achievements of Wood Dispatch of 1854 under W.W Hunter in 1882.
2. It underlined the state’s role in the extension and improvement of primary education and secondary education.
3. It underlined the transfer of control to district and municipal boards.
4. It recommended two division of secondary education- Literary up to university; Vocational for commercial career.
Sadler Commission
1. It was formed to study on the problems Calcutta University and their recommendations were applicable to other universities also.
2. Their observations were as follows:
I. 12-year school course
II. 3-years degree after the intermediate stage
III. Centralised functioning of universities, unitary residential-teaching autonomous body.
IV. Recommended extended facilities for applied scientific and technological education, teacher’s training and female education.
https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/102629/11/11_chapter%203.pdf
4. Consider the following statements regarding the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) Vaccine.
1. It is the only available vaccine to fight the Tuberculosis (TB) disease, with duration of protection of at least ten years with some residual vaccine effectiveness up to 20–25 years.
2. It contains live bacteria that have been attenuated, so that they stimulate the immune system but do not cause disease in healthy people.
3. It also prevents leprosy, a skin-neurological disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer-d
Explanation-
BCG Tuberculosis Vaccine
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major causes of death worldwide, claiming million lives particularly among communities which already face socioeconomic challenges.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), the etiological agent of TB, is transmitted via respiratory droplets by patients who are already infected.
In 90 percent of infected persons, the bacterium is contained by the host immune response as a latent TB infection (LTBI).
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the only available vaccine to fight the disease, with duration of protection of at least ten years with some residual vaccine effectiveness up to 20–25 years; however, the vaccine only prevents acute forms of childhood TB, and not reactivation of LTBI (the main source for adult pulmonary disease and transmission of MTB).
WHO recommends universal vaccination with a single birth dose of BCG in settings where TB is highly endemic or where there is high risk of exposure to TB.
There is evidence that BCG also prevents leprosy, a skin-neurological disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae.
BCG vaccine is also effective against other mycobacterial infections, such as Buruli ulcer disease.
All the BCG vaccines currently in use derive from the original strain of BCG produced by Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin in 1924 at the Pasteur Institute.
The BCG vaccine contains live bacteria that have been weakened (attenuated), so that they stimulate the immune system but do not cause disease in healthy people. However the vaccine should not be given to people who are clinically immunosuppressed (either due to drug treatment or underlying illness). This is because the vaccine strain could replicate too much and cause a serious infection. This includes babies whose mothers have had immunosuppressive treatment while they were pregnant or breastfeeding.
BCG vaccination should only be considered for children who have a negative tuberculin skin test and who are continually exposed.
BCG vaccination of health care workers should be considered on an individual basis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5777639/
5. Consider the following statements regarding the State of State Finances-2019-20 Report.
1. In 2019-20, states are expected to spend 64% more than the central government.
2. GST compensation cess collections may not be sufficient to meet states’ requirement.
3. 15th Finance Commission’s recommendations will impact states’ revenue during 2020-26.
4. Revenue shortfall will lead to lower spending by states and higher cut in capital outlay.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 4 only
(d) All of the above
Answer-d
Explanation-
State of State Finances-2019-20 Report
https://www.prsindia.org/sites/default/files/parliament_or_policy_pdfs/State%20of%20State%20Finances%202019-20.pdf