GS Paper 1 - Social Issues - labour and Migrant issues
Labour Minister flags off Field Work of All India Survey on Migrant Workers and the AQEES
Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment flagged off the field work of the two surveys, All India Surveys on Migrant workers and the All-India Quarterly Establishment based Employment Survey (AQEES).
Key points-
- Who will conduct the Survey?
- Labour Bureau, an attached office under the Ministry of Labour & Employment.
- For the first time The field investigators of these two surveys will be equipped with the latest technology Tablet PCs with software applications for field data collection. This will be a path breaking integration of IT technology in the field work of a household survey at the national level.
The Objectives of AQEES:
- Collecting employment data on the quarterly basis. It is designed to be Establishment based Employment Survey which would provide on a quarterly basis the employment estimates for establishments employing 10 or more workers and for the establishments recruiting 9 or less workers.
The Objectives of Migrant Worker Survey:
- Migrant Worker Survey is the first focused survey on studying the socio economic and working conditions of migrant workers, it will also assess the impact of COVID19 on migrant workers in India.
The Objectives of All-India Survey on Domestic Workers :
- The survey will be instrumental in estimating the number of domestic workers in the country for the first time ever. Some additional specific objectives are to collect data on incidence and characteristics of households with domestic workers and the average number of domestic workers engaged by different types of households.
The Objectives of All-India Survey on Employment generated in Transport Sector:
- Estimates for employment generated in the transportation sector in the country will be generated using this survey.
The Objectives of All-India Survey of Employment Generated by Professionals:
- The survey will help in the estimation of employment generated by professions such as lawyers, medical professionals, cost accountants and chartered accountants.
The 5 Surveys are:
- All India Surveys on Domestic workers,
- All India Survey on Employment generated by professionals
- All India Survey on Employment generated in transport sector.
- All India Surveys on Migrant workers
- All-India Quarterly Establishment based Employment Survey (AQEES).
Significance-
- The results of both these surveys will generate highly useful data for effective policy making in the field of labour and employment. This will address a major data gap in the biggest segment of the Indian labour market.
- With the launch of these surveys, the Bureau will cover lakhs of households over the span of next few months to gather valuable data on migrant workers.
- The Bureau will also cover various establishments under the AQEES to gather data on employment situation and change in employment situation.
- These surveys will provide crucial data for policy formulation in the field of labour and employment which will prove highly useful in providing government crucial data on migrant workers and the employment situation in formal and informal enterprises.
- It is predicted that by using the latest technology, the survey completion time is likely to be reduced by at least 30 - 40%.
- The quality results are ensured as investigators and supervisors under these surveys are provided with regular intensive trainings for the successful completion of the field work.
- It is highly expected that Bureau which is a premier labour statistics organisation in the country, will live upto the expectations and produce high quality results under all these All India Surveys.
Paper 2 - International Relation - Indian Ocean Region
India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement to be entered into force.
Why in News?
India and Mauritius signed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) on 22 February 2021. The CECPA is the first trade Agreement signed by India with a country in Africa. Both sides have completed their internal legal procedures and the India-Mauritius CECPA will enter into force on Thursday, 01 April 2021.
Key Points
- The Agreement is a limited agreement, which will cover:
- Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin, Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, Movement of Natural Persons, Telecom, Financial services, Customs Procedures and Cooperation in other Areas.
Objective: The India-Mauritius CECPA provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two countries.
- The CECPA between India and Mauritius covers 310 export items for India, including:
- food stuff and beverages (80 lines), agricultural products (25 lines), textile and textile articles (27 lines), base metals and articles thereof (32lines), electricals and electronic item (13 lines), plastics and chemicals (20 lines), wood and articles thereof (15 lines), and others.
- Mauritius will benefit from preferential market access into India for its 615 products, including
- frozen fish, speciality sugar, biscuits, fresh fruits, juices, mineral water, beer, alcoholic drinks, soaps, bags, medical and surgical equipment, and apparel.
- As regards trade in services, Indian service providers will have access to around 115 subsectors from the 11 broad service sectors such as:
- professional services, computer related services, research & development, other business services, telecommunication, construction, distribution, education, environmental, financial, tourism & travel related, recreational, yoga, audio-visual services, and transport services.
- India has offered around 95 sub-sectors from the 11 broad services sectors, including:
- professional services, R&D, other business services, telecommunication, financial, distribution, higher education, environmental, health, tourism and travel related services, recreational services and transport services.
Significance-
- The India-Mauritius CECPA is the first trade agreement signed by India with a country in Africa that aims to provide an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between both the countries.
- It is a limited agreement and will cover Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin, Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, etc
- . Under this both countries have agreed to reduce or eliminate the duties on the products and give relaxation in the norms to promote the services trade.
- India will be benefitted from this agreement as more than 300 domestic goods from agriculture, textiles, electronics and other sectors will get market access at concessional customs duties in Mauritius.
- Indian service providers will have access to around 115 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors, such as professional services, computer related services, research & development, other business services, etc.
GS Paper 3 - Science and Tech.
’AIM-PRIME': Atal Innovation Mission- Program for Researchers on Innovations, Market-Readiness & Entrepreneurship
Why in NEWS?
In a major push towards deep technology and driving the country to become a digitally transformed nation, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog launched AIM-PRIME (Program for Researchers on Innovations, Market-Readiness & Entrepreneurship), an initiative to promote and support science-based deep-tech startups & ventures across India.
Partner groups:
- AIM has joined hands with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to launch this nationwide program which will be implemented by Venture Centre - a non-profit technology business incubator.
Some Key Points:
- AIM has been at the forefront of promoting innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the nation under its various programs.
- Through the AIM-PRIME program in partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Venture Center, we plan to enable translation of science-based deep tech research to innovation that enables market ready entrepreneurship drawing from national and global best practices.
- The AIM-PRIME program is specifically tailored for the rapid scaling up of deep-tech science ventures in India, providing not just the necessary intellect and support but also the exposure they rightly deserve.
- The first division of the program is open to technology developers like those are early-stage deep tech start-ups, and scientists/ engineers/ clinicians with strong science-based deep tech business ideas.
- The program is also open to CEOs and Senior incubation managers of AIM Funded Atal Incubation Centres that are supporting deep tech entrepreneurs.
- The hallmark of the AIM-PRIME program shall be hands-on practical insights and mentoring from experts and mentors who have been nurturing science-based deep-tech startups in global innovation hotspots as well as in India.
Benefits of the program
- Aimed at addressing specific issues through training and guidance over a period of 12 months.
- Candidates selected for the program will get access to in-depth learning via a comprehensive lecture series, live team projects, exercises, and project-specific mentoring.
- They will also have access to a deep tech startup playbook, curated video library, and plenty of peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
Significance
- AIM-PRIME is a major leap to advance deep tech startup ecosystem in India. This initiative will support startups and provides specialized services for the purpose of transition of research to industry.
What is Deep Technology?
What is AIM?Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog is Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country and was setup in 2016. AIM has taken a holistic approach to ensure creation of a problem-solving innovative mindset in schools and creating an ecosystem of entrepreneurship in universities, research institutions, private and MSME sector. All the initiatives of AIM are currently monitored and managed systematically using real-time MIS systems and dynamic dashboards. AIM is also currently having its programs reviewed by third party agencies for ensuring continuous improvements. Initiatives of AIM:Atal Tinkering Labs - at school level Atal Incubation Centres - "An ecosystem of Startups and Entrepreneurs” Atal Community Innovation Centres - serving Unserved and Under-Served regions of India Atal New India Challenges - Product and Service Innovations with National Impact ARISE ANIC challenges - to stimulate startup/ MSME industry innovation Mentor of Change (Mentorship and Partnerships - with Public, Private sector, NGOs, Academia, Institutions) |
Sources: PIB, https://www.startupbusiness.it/, aim.gov.in
GS Paper 3 - Infrastructure - Tourism Infrastructure
Cruise Service starts between Surat and Diu
Why in News?
Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways flagged off the Cruise service from Hazira Port of Surat to Diu.
Key Points
- Presently, there are 450 cruise calls at the Indian Ports.
- There has been a steady growth in the number of tourists traveling by Cruise Services. The number of tourists in 2019-20 was 4.5 lakhs.
- 6 International cruise terminals are being planned on both the West Coast- Mumbai, Goa, Kochi and East Coast- Visakhapattanam, Kolkata, Chennai of India.
- Development of ferry, RoRo and ROPAX services between South Gujarat and Saurashtra region of Gujarat is also planned by the ministry.
- In November,2020, ‘Hazira-Ghogha’ RoPAX service was inaugurated and within four months, One lakh passengers and thousands of vehicles utilised the ferry service to save journey time and the cost to travel from Hazira (Surat) to Ghogha (Bhavanagar).
- The success of the ferry service has opened the gates for many more routes of water transportation in Gujarat and all over India.
Challenge
A major challenge to the growth of Shipping in our country is that shipbuilding industry is lack of proper professional education and research & development facilities in the country. The growth of Indian Register of Shipping has not been as it should have been and it is yet to receive the status of a full member of IACS.
Significance-
- Water transportation is the new future of transportation with state-of-the-art ferry terminals and modern facilities in the cruise services and Indian coastline has a huge potential for the cruise tourism industry therefore the development of cruise tourism is the prime focus of the Government of India.
- Cruise Tourism is one of the fastest growing components of the leisure industry worldwide, and can be a major growth driver for the Indian economy by generating huge employment opportunities.
- It will boost shipping in our country which will give demand to Indian shipbuilding industry. Further this will contribute in mass job creation.
What is RoRo and RoPAX
Roll-on/roll-off ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle, such as a self-propelled modular transporter.
ROPAX: The acronym ROPAX (roll-on/roll-off passenger) describes a RORO vessel built for freight vehicle transport along with passenger accommodation. Technically this encompasses all ferries with both a roll-on/roll-off car deck and passenger-carrying capacities, but in practice, ships with facilities for more than 500 passengers are often referred to as cruise ferries.
Sources: PIB
GS Paper 3 - Science & Tech - Space Science
National workshop to discuss long standing scientific problems in observational astronomy
Why In news?
- Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) is organising a workshop titled ‘Astrophysical jets and observational facilities: National perspective’ to be organised between April 5 to April 9, 2021.
- It is expected that approximately 200 scientists and young researchers from over more than 30 institutes all over India to deliberate on jets/jetted outflow from various classes of objects, including stars to big galaxies.
- This workshop is being organized as a part of the Golden Jubilee Commemoration Year of the Department of Science and Technology (1971-2021) and also one of the first national events to celebrate the 75 years of Independence--'Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’
Astrophysical jets
-
- They are largely known as outflows of ionized matter and are observationally seen as an extended beam of emission among a variety of sources, both Galactic and extra-galactic.
Future Plans-
- Since, in India, a sizable fraction of astronomers work towards astrophysical sources like Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs), Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs), Supernovae, X-ray binaries and so on and make use of a range of multi-wavelength observational facilities, in the near future, ARIES, along with other leading institutions in the country, plans to develop a new generation of large observational facilities to address frontiers of the subject during the coming decades using both indigenous efforts and through international collaborations.
Significance-
- This will brainstorm on how the community could contribute to address these long-standing scientific problems by using existing and upcoming Indian observational facilities. The progress made so far and the proposed path ahead to strengthen the Indian community at large.
- This will encourage knowledge sharing
Source- PIB, https://www.aries.res.in/
GS Paper 3 - Science and Tech
New clue about how particles self-assemble can pave the way for understanding dynamics in living cells
Why in News?
Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research Bangalore, and the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, tuned the nature of the chiral activity of millimetre-sized rice-shaped grains with the help of 3D printing.
Significance of the Research-
- Whether such chiral activity can introduce stereoselective interactions (It is process of building blocks at molecular level) between particles is still unknown to scientists. By investigating the role of chiral activity, a group of scientists have for the first time shown that objects can self-recognize even when their shape is not chiral.
- Further, they report spontaneous dimerization into two types of dimers- ‘movers’ and ‘spinners’. A dimerization is an addition reaction in which two molecules of the same compound react with each other to give the adduct.
- Chiral active matter is ubiquitous (found everywhere) in nature, and numerous biological systems possess some degree of chiral activity.
- The present study could thus pave the way towards understanding dynamics in living cells and there assemblies.
- However, in biological systems, precisely tuning chiral activity is very difficult and how precisely it affects the emergent dynamics is not clear.
- This is the first experimental study to uncover that even when objects are not chiral in shape, chirality inactivity alone can bring about selectivity and recognition between the interacting particles.
- Chirality-mediated selective interactions are of utmost importance in asymmetric catalysis, supramolecular polymerization, medicinal drug designing, and separation where self-recognition, sorting, and discrimination of molecules are required.
- This work published in the journal ‘Science Advances’ recently opens new pathways to self-assemble matter by imparting the constituents with chiral activity.
Sources: PIB
GS Paper 3 - Science & Tech, Space Science and Sun
Novel technique for tracking solar eruptions that disrupt space weather to be used in India’s first solar mission
Why in news?
- Scientists have developed a new technique to track the huge bubbles of gas threaded with magnetic field lines that are ejected from the Sun, disrupting space weather and causing geomagnetic storms, satellite failures, and power outages.
Explanation
- Ejections from the Sun are called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and cause various disturbances of the space environment, therefore, forecasting their arrival time is very important.
- However, forecasting accuracy is hindered by limited CME observations in interplanetary space.
- Software named Computer Aided CME Tracking Software (CACTus) based on a computer vision algorithm was so far used to detect and characterise such eruptions automatically in the outer corona where these eruptions cease to show accelerations and propagate with a nearly constant speed.
- However, this algorithm could not be applied to the inner corona observations due to the vast acceleration experienced by these eruptions.
- This severely limited the capability to track the eruptions as CMEs accelerate in the lower corona.
- Moreover, with the advancement in space technology, there has been a tremendous increase in the amount of data obtained from spacecraft.
- To identify and track the solar eruptions in huge number of images can become tedious if done manually.
- Research from Aryabhatta Research Institute of observational sciences (ARIES), Nainital, along with their collaborators from Royal Observatory of Belgium, have led to the development of an algorithm, CMEs Identification in Inner Solar Corona (CIISCO) to detect and track the accelerating solar eruption in the lower corona.
- CIISCO has been successfully tested on several eruptions observed by space observatories, including Solar Dynamics Observatory and Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory, PROBA2/SWAP launched by NASA and ESA, respectively.
- The research was published in the Solar Physics journal.
Significance of Research
- Accurate forecasting of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) will help in preventing damage to our satellites and other space missions.
- The parameters determined by CIISCO are useful to characterise CMEs in the lower corona, a region where the properties of such eruptions are less known.
- An implementation of CIISCO on the large volume of data available from space observatories will be helpful to improve our understanding of eruptions in the inner corona.
- As India’s first solar mission, Aditya-L1, will be observing this region of the solar corona, implementation of CIISCO on the Aditya-L1 data will provide new insight into the CME properties in this less explored region.
ARIES
- It is an acronym of Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences.
- It is Situated in Nainital and is one of the leading research Institutes which specializes in observational Astronomy & Astrophysics and Atmospheric Sciences. The main research interests of Astronomy & Astrophysics division are in solar, planetary, stellar, galactic and extra-galactic astronomy including stellar variabilities, X-ray binaries, star clusters, nearby galaxies, quasars, and inherently transient events like supernovae and highly energetic gamma ray bursts.
- ARIES has made unique contribution from time to time.
- To quote examples from the past the first successful Indian optical observations of the afterglow of gamma-ray burst was carried out from ARIES on January 23, 1999, a few micro-lensing events and quasar variability, new ring systems around Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune were also discovered.
GS Paper 3 - Agriculture - Food Processing Industry Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry
Why in News?
The Union Cabinet has approved the Central Sector Scheme - "Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI)" to support creation of global food manufacturing champions commensurate with India's natural resource endowment and support Indian brands of food products in the international markets with an outlay of Rs. 10900 crore.
Objectives of the Scheme:
- To support food manufacturing entities with stipulated minimum Sales and willing to make minimum stipulated investment for expansion of processing capacity and Branding abroad to incentivise emergence of strong Indian brands.
- Support creation of global food manufacturing champions.
- Strengthen select Indian brand of food products for global visibility and wider acceptance in the international markets.
- Increase employment opportunities of off-farm jobs.
- Ensuring remunerative prices of farm produce and higher income to farmers.
Salient features:
- The first component relates to incentivising manufacturing of four major food product segments viz. Ready to Cook/ Ready to Eat (RTC/ RTE) foods, Processed Fruits & Vegetables, Marine Products, Mozzarella Cheese.
- Innovative/ Organic products of SMEs including Free Range -Eggs, Poultry Meat, Egg Products in these segments are also covered under above component.
- The selected applicant will be required to undertake investment, as quoted in their application in Plant & Machinery in the first two years i.e. in 2021-22 & 2022-23.
- Investment made in 2020-21 also to be counted for meeting the mandated investment.
- The conditions of stipulated Minimum Sales and mandated investment will not be applicable for entities selected for making innovative/ organic products.
- The second component relates to support for branding and marketing abroad to incentivise emergence of strong Indian brands.
- For promotion of Indian Brand abroad, the scheme envisages grant to the applicant entities for - in store branding, shelf space renting and marketing.
- Scheme will be implemented over a six year period from 2021-22 to 2026-27.
Background:
- The food processing sector in India encompasses manufacturing enterprises in all the segments from micro to large industries.
- India is having competitive advantage in terms of resource endowment, large domestic market and scope for promoting value added products.
- Achieving full potential of this sector would require Indian companies to improve their competitive strength vis-a-vis their global counterpart in term of scale of output, productivity, value addition and their linkages with the global value chain.
- The Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry has been formulated based on the Production Linked incentive scheme of NITl Aayog under "AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan for Enhancing India's Manufacturing Capabilities and Enhancing Exports".
Implementation strategy and targets:
- The scheme will be rolled out on All India basis.
- The scheme shall be implemented through a Project Management Agency (PMA) under the aegis of The Ministry of Food Processing Industries .
- The PMA would be responsible for appraisal of applications/ proposals, verification of eligibility for support, scrutiny of claims eligible for disbursement of incentive.
- The incentive under the scheme would be paid for six years ending 2026-27. The incentive payable for a particular year will be due for payment in the following year. The duration of the scheme will be six years i.e. 2021-22 to 2026-27.
- The scheme is "fund-limited", i.e. cost shall be restricted to the approved amount. The maximum incentive payable to each beneficiary shall be fixed in advance at the time of approval of that beneficiary. Regardless of achievement/ performance, this maximum shall not be exceeded.
- The implementation of the scheme would facilitate expansion of processing capacity to generate processed food output of Rs 33,494 crore and create employment for nearly 2.5 lakh persons by the year 2026-27.
Convergence Framework
- Under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) implemented by MoFPI, small and medium food processing enterprises are supported in terms of strengthening of supply chain infrastructure, expansion of processing capacities, augmenting availability of industrial plots, facilitating skill development, R&D, provision of testing facilities etc.
- A number of schemes implemented by other Ministries/ Departments viz Departments of Agriculture Co-operation & Farmers' Welfare, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Fisheries, Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Commerce etc have direct or indirect bearing on the growth of food processing sector.
- The Applicants covered under the proposed scheme will be permitted for availing services, wherever feasible, under other schemes. Towards that end, it has been envisaged that coverage under the PLI Scheme will not affect eligibility under any other scheme and vice versa.
Significance
- The implementation of the scheme would generate employment for nearly 2.5 lakh persons and will facilitate expansion of processing capacity to generate processed food output of Rs 33,494 crore, thereby not only benefitting the country in terms of revenue generation but also helping in providing employment in the country.
GS Paper 1 - Social Issue - Drinking Water and Sanitation
GS Paper 3 - Environment - Clean Drinking Water
GS Paper 3 - Science & Tech - Use of technology in Inclusive Growth
Sensor-based IoT devices to monitor rural drinking water supply systems deployed by Jal Jeevan Mission
Why in News?
To monitor the rural drinking water supply systems in villages, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has decided to take the digital route to use sensor-based IoT devices to effectively monitor the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in more than six lakh villages.
Key Points
- The pilots also demonstrated a first-of-its-kind comprehensive (source to tap) remote monitoring and control system in a completely off-grid (using solar and battery only) rural environment in Sirohi district, Rajasthan.
- A key feature of these pilots has been the use of frugal yet sturdy sensors, which makes the solution scalable and sustainable.
- Team developed a robust solution at a fraction of the water infrastructure costs (<10-15% of total scheme capex) without compromising on quality or functionality. These costs are expected to reduce further at scale.
- More importantly, majority of the vendors, including manufacturers, are Indian players, thereby giving a boost to Government’s AatmaNirbhar Bharat programme.
Advantages of IOT based remote monitoring
- This technology provides near real-time information without any manual intervention by using sensors.
- This would not only allow effective monitoring and management on-ground, but also enable real-time visibility to State water supply/ PHED officials, and citizens.
- The pilots have led to several outcomes as it has helped identify distribution issues – such as outages, leakages, low pressure, etc. and led to resolution across sites.
- It recently alerted both officials and community regarding fast depleting groundwater levels, that led the villagers to build a source strengthening structure to recharge their bore well.
- Other benefits observed include efficient and responsible use of water by community and reduced cost of operations through data-enabled leak detection, predictive maintenance, and automation.
Sensor Technology
- Several types of sensors have been deployed including flow meters, ground water level sensors, chlorine analyzers, pressure sensors, pump controller etc. to measure all the relevant aspects of water service delivery – quantity, duration, quality, pressure, and sustainability – in addition to providing operational efficiencies.
- The cloud and analytics powered IoT Platform is integrated with a GIS (Geographical Information System) providing a robust decision support system.
- Villages have a small TV screen installed with a visual dashboard in local language, that helps the Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC)/ PaniSamiti to take corrective actions. Earlier, water disinfection process was not carried out regularly in some of these villages.
- VWSC (PaniSamiti) sees a visual indicator on their village IoT screen telling when to disinfect water based on residual chlorine levels.
Challenges faced
- Customizing IoT for rural India is critical considering the Wi-Fi broadband and cellular connectivity.
- Most locations in rural water network lack easy access to grid for powering such IoT devices, which is in an urban setting.
What can be done?
- It requires using a combination of technologies such as RF and cellular for communications, and using solar or battery-based powering mechanisms for difficult to access locations.
- Further, optimizing data transmission rates can play an important role in enhancing battery life and keeping operating costs low.
The way forward
- Several States, including Gujarat, Bihar, Haryana, and Arunachal Pradesh, have already rolled out tenders for IoT-based remote monitoring systems ranging from 500 villages to several districts.
- Further, States like Sikkim, Manipur, Goa, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand have started the process to roll-out this technology.
Significance
- A great vision to ensure the regular tap water to every home, the real-time measurement and monitoring of rural drinking water supply schemes, with enormous gains in terms of operational efficiencies, cost reduction, grievance redressal, etc. will play a major role in converting this vision into reality.
- Moreso, the technology involved such as IOT which connects things to internet will help India fulfilling its aim to be more advanced in technological sector by combining Indian households to technology.
- The data collected will drive improvement in service delivery and instill transparency for precious natural asset such as water. Thus, making a strong social and economic case for deployment of such a system.
- Implementation of such innovative technology can directly boost several Union Government initiatives, including Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Digital India, Smart Village and also benefit the Smart Cities projects with an enhanced IoT ecosystem in the country; in addition to being the gamechanger for the drinking water supply sector.
- Drinking water supply systems in Indian villages face multiple challenges of drying up of groundwater source, pump failures, irregular and inadequate water supply, etc. These challenges invariably aggravate socio-economic disparities, like women transporting water, often on foot over several kilometers; several water-borne diseases, which could easily be avoided; also, economic – wage loss and expenditure on medical care. This system will if put in place will effectively monitor and manage rural water supply.
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)
Union Government's flagship programme, which is implemented in partnership with States/ UTs to provide tap water connection to every rural household by 2024 envisions creating a Digital Wall and Remote Command & Control Centre for monitoring and managing supply of prescribed quality water in adequate quantity (55 Liters Per Capita per Day - LPCD) every day through household tap connections across all rural villages.
Sources: PIB