1. GeM reaches all-time high of over Rs 15,000 crore for Financial Year 2021-22
Tags: National Economy/Finance
The purchase orders by the Defence Ministry through the Government e-Market (GeM) portal have reached an all-time high of Rs 15,047.98 crore for the financial year 2021-22.
This is a jump of over 250 per cent as compared to the previous financial year.
Government e-Market (GeM) portal
GeM is an acronym for One Stop Government e-Market Place hosted by DGS&D where common user goods and services can be procured.
GeM is a dynamic, self-sustaining and user-friendly portal for procurement by government officials.
Public procurement is a very important part of government activity and reform of public procurement is one of the top priorities of the present government.
The Government e-Marketplace originated in January 2016 based on the recommendations of two Groups of Secretaries.
Apart from reforms in DGS&D, they recommended setting up of a dedicated e-market for various goods and services bought or sold by the Government/PSUs.
Subsequently, the Finance Minister in his budget speech for the financial year 2016-17 announced the setting up of a technology driven platform to facilitate procurement of goods and services by various ministries and agencies of the government.
DGS&D with technical support from the National e-Governance Division (Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology) has developed a GeM portal for procurement of both products and services.
The portal was launched on 9 August 2016 by the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
2. Union Cabinet approves upgradation of communication to 4G in Naxalite areas
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The Union Cabinet approved the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) project to upgrade 2G mobile services to 4G at security locations in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism.
This will enable better internet and data services in these LWE affected areas.
The project envisages upgradation of 2,542 mobile towers to provide 4G services in LWE areas at a cost of Rs 2,426 crore in 10 states including Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Maharashtra.
All the sites will be upgraded by BSNL at a cost of Rs 2,426 crores.
The Union Cabinet also approved the Revised Cost Estimate on "Setting up of India Post Payments Bank".
The facility of India Post Payments Bank will be available in all 1.56 lakh branches of post offices, for which an additional Rs 820 crore will be spent.
This proposal is in line with the goal of providing mobile connectivity in rural areas and facilitating the delivery of various e-governance services, banking services, tele-medicine, tele-education etc. through mobile broadband in these areas.
The Cabinet also gave its approval for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between India and Chile for cooperation in the field of disabilities.
3. Rajasthan becomes first State to get L-root server
Tags: Science and Technology State News
Rajasthan has become the first State in the country to get the L-root server, which will enable the State government to provide its flagship digital services and enforce e-governance with seamless internet connectivity.
The new facility will strengthen internet infrastructure and help improve security and resilience of internet-based operations.
The server, installed at the Bhamashah State Data Centre, has been installed by the government in association with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
After its installation, even if there is a problem in internet connectivity due to any technical fault or natural calamity in the whole of Asia or India, it will continue to run without any interruption in Rajasthan.
Along with this, high speed internet connectivity will also be ensured.
The state government in the State is delivering digital services to the people through e-Mitra, Jan Aadhaar Yojana, Jan Kalyan portal, Jansuchna portal and various mobile phone apps.
There are at present three J-root servers in New Delhi, Mumbai and Gorakhpur and two L-root servers in Mumbai and Kolkata.
The L-root server in Rajasthan is the first one deployed at the State level.
4. Cabinet approves continuation of RGSA from 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2026
Tags: National Government Schemes
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs 13 April 2022 has approved continuation of revamped Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) for implementation during the period from 01.04.2022 to 31.03.2026 (co-terminus with XV Finance Commission period) to develop governance capabilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).
The total financial outlay of the scheme is Rs.5911 crore with the Central Share of Rs.3700 crore and that of State Share of Rs.2211 crore.
Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA):
Gram Swaraj Abhiyan was launched on 1st April, 2018. Targets villages where Dalit and tribal people are predominant.
Its goal is to increase social harmony, promote awareness about government programs being run for the poor and make them aware of these schemes. It contains the following provisions:
The extension of this scheme is to all the states and union territories of the country.
Both the central and state components have been included in the scheme.
The share of the Center and the State in the State Governments will be in the ratio of 60:40 respectively.
The Centre-State funding ratio will be 90:10 in the North Eastern and Hill States. The central share will be 10 per cent for all union territories.
5. Uttar Pradesh adjudged the best state in the 3rd National Water Awards
Tags: Awards
President Ram Nath Kovind felicitated the winners of the 3rd National Water Awards in New Delhi.
57 awards were presented annually to States, Organizations, and Individuals in 11 different categories.
During the event, President also launched the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign 2022” which will continue to be implemented this year till 30th of November.
The National Water Award was launched by the Jal Shakti Ministry in 2018
National Water Awards are constituted to recognise and motivate individuals and organizations doing exemplary work in the field of water resources management in attaining the government’s vision of a ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’.
List of Winners-
Best State - Uttar Pradesh, followed by Rajasthan and Tami Nadu.
Best District
North Zone - Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh
South Zone - Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
West Zone - Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Eastern Zone - East Champaran, Bihar
North East Zone - Goalpara, Assam
About Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain 2022
In 2022, some new features have been added-
Spring shed development
Protection of water catchment areas
Gender mainstreaming in the water sector. (Gender mainstreaming will promote the role of women in water governance/conservation & management.)
State Governments will set up Jal Shakti Kendras in each district which will offer a one-stop solution to all water-related problems/ issues and draw district water conservation plan.
All the Sarpanchs will administer the Jal Shapath to the people in the village
Local Community people will act as “water warriors” by actively participating in water conservation work.
District Magistrate and Gram Sarpanchs will play the role of “Marg Darshak” for motivating every individual toward water conservation to ensure that the desire of “Jan Shakti for Jal Shakti” is fulfilled.
6. NITI Aayog and FAO launches a Book : Indian Agriculture towards 2030
Tags: National News
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar released a book titled “Indian Agriculture towards 2030: Pathways for Enhancing Farmers’ Income, Nutritional Security and Sustainable Food and Farm Systems”.
The book is published by Springer
The book captures the outcomes of a national dialogue by NITI Aayog and the Ministries of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare; on Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, which was facilitated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
Indian Agriculture towards 2030 covers the following themes:
Transforming Indian Agriculture
Structural Reforms and Governance
Dietary Diversity, Nutrition and Food Safety
Managing Climate Risks in Agriculture
Science, Technology and Innovation
Symbiosis of Water and Agricultural Transformation in India
Pests, Pandemics, Preparedness and Biosecurity
Transformative Agroecology-Based Alternatives for a Sustainable and Biodiverse Future
The book includes a Foreword by the Hon’ble Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu.
7. Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurates Tech Conclave 2022
Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Rajeev Chandrashekhar inaugurated the 3rd edition of ‘NIC Tech Conclave 2022’,at New Delhi on 3 March 2022.
The tech conclave is being organized by the National Informatics Centre(NIC) on 3rd and 4th March 2022 with focus on emerging technologies applicable especially in e-Governance.
The Theme for Tech Conclave this year is “Next Gen Technologies for Digital Government”.
8. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar visit to Germany and France
Tags: International News
Foreign Minister S. Jaishanker was on a week-long trip to Germany and France from 18 to 23 February 2022.
Visit to Germany
He visited Germany to participate in the 58th Munich Security Conference 2022.
The Munich Security conference was held in Munich city of Germany from 18-20 February 2022.
“Turning the Tide. Unlearning Helplessness” is the conference motto.
Visit to France
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was on a visit to France from 20-23 February 2022.
He held bilateral talks with the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs., Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian.
India and France foreign ministers adopted the “ India-France Roadmap on the Blue Economy and Ocean Governance” declaration which aims to enhance partnership in the field of blue economy, by way of institutional, economic ,infrastructural and scientific cooperation .
Munich Security Conference
The Munich Security Conference has been held in the German city of Munich since 1963. It is held in the month of February and discusses matters of International security and world politics.
9. Jammu & Kashmir the first Union Territory in the country to have District Good Governance Index
Tags: State News
The Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Shri Amit Shah virtually released India’s First “District Good Governance Index” for 20 Districts of UT of Jammu and Kashmir, prepared by the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) in collaboration with the Government of Jammu & Kashmir, in the presence of the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Shri Manoj Sinha at Convention Centre Jammu.
- This is in pursuance of the announcements made in the “Behtar e-Hukumat – Kashmir Aelamia” resolution adopted on July 2, 2021, in the Regional Conference on Replication of Good Governance Practices held at Srinagar.
- The National Good Governance Index 2021 indicated that Jammu and Kashmir had registered an increase of 3.7 percent in Good Governance Indicators over the 2019 to 2021 period with noticeable improvements in Commerce and Industry, Agriculture, and Allied Sectors, Public Infrastructure & Utilities, Judiciary, and Public Safety Sectors.
- The District Good Governance Index has helped identify the impact of various governance interventions at the district level and provide a futuristic roadmap for improving district-level governance with targeted interventions.
The Sectors covered are-
- Agriculture and Allied Sector – Universal coverage has been achieved in the Kisan Credit Card scheme, Soil Health Card Scheme, and Animal Vaccination.
- Commerce and Industry Sector – There is a 109 percent increase in credit to handicrafts in the 2019-2021 period.
- Human Resources Development Sector – In almost 10 districts 100 percent of skill training have been imparted to registered students.
- Public Health Sector – Full Immunization represents a significant success story,
- Public Infrastructure and Utilities Sector – Ganderbal and Srinagar achieved 100 percent access to safe drinking water, 18 districts achieved 100 percent access to sanitation facilities.
- Social Welfare and Development Sector – 80 percent Aadhar seeding of ration cards represents a major milestone.
- Financial Inclusion Sector – Financial inclusion under Jan Dhan Yojana has achieved universal coverage.
- Judicial and Public Safety Sector- Disposal of court cases has gone up significantly.
- Citizen-Centric Governance Sector – Almost 100 percent progress in grievance redressal.
Highlights-
- The Jammu district has topped the composite ranking, followed by Doda and Samba districts of the Jammu Division.
- Srinagar district has come at the fifth position
- There is very marginal difference among the 20 districts in their composite score, showing all-round development in the UT
- Jammu district ranked best on the ‘Commerce and Industry sector, while Srinagar district ranked best on the ‘Public Infrastructure and Utilities’ sector.
- Kishtwar topped in ‘Agriculture and Allied Sector’, Pulwama topped in ‘Human Resource Development', Reasi topped in ‘Public Health’, Ramban topped in ‘Social Welfare and Development’, and Ganderbal topped in the ‘Financial Inclusion’ sector.
10. PEACE ELUDES YEMEN
Tags:
An Arab country marked by war, large-scale destruction and perennial hunger, Yemen is once again in the spotlight following an attack on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by the Houthi group which led to a retaliatory attack on its bases in Yemen by the coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia. The seven year old civil war in the country has turned into a proxy war between the Iranian backed Shia Houthi rebels who overthrew the Yemeni government and the Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi led government backed by an international alliance led by Sunni Saudi Arabia.The involvement of other combatants, including an al-Qaeda affiliate and the self-declared Islamic State, as well as the emergence of rival factions within groups, has complicated the picture in a strategically important country which sits on a strait linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden , through which much of the world’s oil shipments pass.
- The conflict has killed some 233,000 people, including 131,000 from indirect causes such as lack of food, health services and infrastructure and displaced more than one million people and given rise to cholera outbreaks, medicine shortages, and threats of famine. The United Nations calls the humanitarian crisis in Yemen “the worst in the world”.
How did the War started in Yemen
Yemen is one of the poorest Arab countries in the world which has been torn apart by a bloody civil war since 2014. Yemen's war began in September 2014, when the Houthis seized Yemeni capital Sanaa and began a march south to try to seize the entire country. Beginning in March 2015, a coalition of Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia launched a campaign of economic isolation and air strikes against the Houthi insurgents, with U.S. logistical and intelligence support. They wanted to stop and defeat the Houthi insurgency which they accused of being supported by Iran.
Why is Yemen at war
Situated along the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen had been split in the Cold War between a Soviet backed Marxist People Democratic Republic of Yemen or South Yemen and North Yemen or Yemen Arab Republic backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia.
The two nations became a unified Yemen in 1990 after the demise of the Soviet Union and Ali Abdullah Saleh, a military officer who had ruled North Yemen since 1978, assumed leadership of the new country. However the Southern Yemeni felt that they were not given an adequate share of power by the Saleh’s North Yemen elite. The attempt to secede from Yemen in 1994 was brutally crushed by the Saleh government. However after the overthrow of the Saleh government the southern movement has again been revived.
Power struggle in Yemen
Abdullah Saleh ran an autocratic and brutal regime in Yemen. The Saleh regime was caught in the popular Arab Spring protest which swept through Arab countries in early 2010. It started from Tunisia and overthrew Arab dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen .
Popular protests broke out against the Saleh regime in Yemen in 2011. Under domestic and international pressure Saleh resigned. Under a deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council and United States saleh agreed to hand over power to his deputy, Vice -President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
However Saleh never gave up his ambition to be the ruler of Yemen again. The security forces of Yemen were divided and a section of the security forces were still loyal to Saleh and against the Hadi government.
Hadi's government struggled and Saleh, seeing a second chance to regain power, had his forces side with the same Houthis he had battled as president as they swept into the capital in 2014. Saleh ultimately switched sides again to back Hadi but his luck had run out — the Houthis killed him in 2017.
Immediate cause for crisis and weakening of the Hadi Government
Yemen is one of the poorest Arab countries and it is facing an economic crisis. To tide over the economic crisis, the Hadi government approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan . The IMF put tough conditions for loans including raising fuel prices and cutting subsidies. The Hadi government cut fuel subsidies and increased the gas prices. This led to a widespread protest in the country. It weakened the Hadi government and provided an opportunity to the Houthis to expand their base outside their traditional areas of Saada Province. It led an organized mass protest against the fuel hike, demanding a roll back of price hike and change in the government. The Houthi captured the capital Saana in 2015 and Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia.
Who are the Houthis
The Houthis are a large clan originating from Yemen’s northwestern Saada province. They practice the Zaydi form of Shiism. Zaydis make up around 35 percent of Yemen’s population. A Zaydi imamate ruled Yemen for 1,000 years, before being overthrown in 1962. Since then, the Zaydis – stripped of their political power – have struggled to restore their authority and influence in Yemen. In the 1980s, the Houthi clan began a movement to revive Zaydi traditions.
The Houthis’ ideology is centered around the teachings of their founder, the late Husayn al-Houthi, who advocated the domination of the country by the sayyids. They constitute a minority group, whose core members claim to be descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (aka sayyids).
Their rise should be seen in light of the systematic social and religious discrimination of the sayyids (i.e., Muhammad’s descendants) since 1970 by the government in Sanaa as well as the appalling governance and corruption of the regime of the late dictator Ali Abdullah Salih, the country’s president from 1978 until 2011. On the one hand, the Houthis seek to make the sayyids the dominant political group and a member of their own family the supreme ruler, thus guaranteeing that they will never be marginalized and persecuted again.
Since 2011, the Houthi movement has expanded beyond its Zaydi roots and become a wider movement opposed to President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. The insurgents have also begun referring to themselves as Ansarullah, or “Party of God.”
Role of Iran and Saudi Arabia
Houthis are Shia muslims and Iranians considers themselves a natural leader of Shias in the world as it has the largest Shia muslim population in the world. Iranian officials have supported the Houthis’ cause “Iran supports the rightful struggles of Ansarullah in Yemen and considers this movement as part of the successful Islamic Awakening movements,” Ali Akbar Velyati, senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in October 2014.
Iran has been accused by the United States, Saudi Arabia of providing arms and ammunition to the Houthi rebels. Iran has denied this but there is considerable evidence that points to heavy Iranian involvement in the Yemen Conflict.
Saudi Arabia believes that Houthi’s are a proxy of Iran and they feared that through Houthis, Iran would come close to its southern border.
Saudi Arabia decided in March 2015 to enter the Yemeni civil war by leading a military coalition against the Houthis with the aim of reinstating the internationally recognized Yemeni government. Saudi troops have been deployed along the borders and in some Yemeni provinces but it has relied mostly on airstrikes against Houthi-held areas. Saudi Arabia has also provided a base in exile for Hadi and logistical support for the ground fighting in northern Yemen.
Despite overwhelming military superiority, the Saudis along with their Yemeni allies have been unable to defeat the Houthis, who now control much of north Yemen and rule over two thirds of the population.
Role of Other Powers
UAE
The United Arab Emirates deployed some ground troops and suffered casualties in the war before largely ending its military presence on the ground in 2019. It holds sway via tens of thousands of Yemenis, mostly from the southern provinces, that it armed and trained.
Western Countries
The United States, Britain, France and other Western countries actively backed the alliance with weapons, logistics and intelligence throughout the war until late 2020. U.S. President Joe Biden halted U.S. support to the war and made ending it a priority of his foreign policy amid an uproar over civilian casualties by the coalition's bombings.
Other countries in the coalition have been less closely involved, though Sudan has put some troops on the ground.
Houthis are not the only group which are active in Yemen. There are Southern sepratist movement supported by UAE, Al-AQaeda and its sympathizers who are trying to exploit the civil war in Yemen.
Seperatist in South Yemen
After gaining Independence from Britain in 1967, South Yemen became a communist country. It was reunified with North Yemen in 1990 after the collapse of the communist government in South Yemen.
However the Southern Yemeni felt that they were not given an adequate share of power by the Saleh’s North Yemen elite. The attempt to secede from Yemen in 1994 was brutally crushed by the Saleh government. However after the overthrow of the Saleh government the southern movement has again been revived.
The sepratist has set up a Southern Sepratist Council Led by Abu Dhabi-based general Aidaroos al-Zubaidi,The separatists captured the southern ports of Mukalla from al Qaeda and Aden from the Houthis in 2015. They have more than 50,000 fighters, armed and trained by the UAE. The sepratist are fighting against the Houthis and are allied with the Hadi government but it wants independence.
AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA
Militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the local affiliate of the rival Islamic State group (IS) have also taken advantage of the instability, carrying out deadly attacks and occasionally seizing territory from the government in the south.
The Islamic State marked its 2015 entrance into Yemen with suicide attacks on two Zaydi mosques in Sanaa, which killed close to 140 worshippers. Though the group has claimed other high-profile attacks, including the assassination of Aden’s governor in late 2015, its following lags behind that of AQAP. The United Nations estimates that the Islamic State has hundreds of fighters in Yemen, while AQAP has around seven thousand.
Peace Efforts in Yemen
Effort has been made to find a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Yemen. The United Nations passed a resolution no 2216. UN Security Council Resolution 2216 officially recognizes Hadi as the country's president. It also calls for the Houthis to return Sanaa, which they captured in 2014, and demands the Houthis stop using Yemen as a base to attack neighboring countries.
The Houthis who have always been excluded from power in the Yemeni power structure have never accepted the UN demand. They believe that if they give up their military gains they will again be sidelined in Yemen. To increase their bargaining power, Houthis have stepped up their attack on the last government stronghold of the Marib in the north and the capital of the oil rich province. The Houthis' already control the capital Sana'a and the Northern part of the country. If Marib falls then they will also control the oil resources of Yemen.
The Hadi government is very weak and is not in a position to militarily defeat the Houthi without extensive support from Saudi Arabia.
Yemen is unfortunately caught in a regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. They are supporting the factions in Yemen. Unless and until there is an understanding between the two countries a peace remains elusive to the country. The Joe Biden administration in the United States has indicated its willingness to bring peace in the region. The Biden adminstration has reversed the Trump administration decision to designate Houthi as a terrorist organisation. The US policy towards Iran and an understanding between Saudi Arabia and Iran will hold key to the peace in Yemen.
