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Monday, December 5

Editorial Round-Up (05.12.16)



FSSAI Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana, India Japan Agreements


FSSAI launches scheme to strengthen food testing infrastructure (PRS)

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has rolled out a scheme for strengthening of food testing infrastructure in the country. This is following the observations of the Bombay High Court regarding the urgent need to upgrade Food Testing Laboratories in India. The estimated cost of the scheme is Rs 482 crore.

Key features of the scheme include:

* Food testing labs: Under this scheme, 45 State Food Testing labs (at least one in each state/UT with a provision of two labs in larger states) and 14 Referral Food Testing labs will be upgraded to enable them to obtain accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). NABL is an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology.

* Mobile testing labs: 62 mobile testing labs will be established across all states/UTs. Currently, there are four mobile food testing labs in Punjab, Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which will serve as a model for these new mobile testing labs. Capacity building of the Food Testing labs is also an important component of this scheme.

* School Food and Hygiene Programme: A School Food and Hygiene Programme has been envisaged. Under the programme, basic Food Testing labs will be set up in 1,500 schools/colleges across the country to promote safe and wholesome food

Proposals from seven states/UTs, namely, Goa, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Punjab were considered for strengthening their food testing infrastructure. Two proposals, from Chandigarh (Punjab) and Calicut (Kerala), were approved in principle with the rest being advised to revise and resubmit their proposals.

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Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana launched for entrepreneurship education and training (PRS)

Issue: MSDE Announces Launch of Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana to Scale Up an Ecosystem of Entrepreneurship for Youngsters

GS Paper: III

Key features of the scheme are as follows:

Target group: The scheme will provide entrepreneurship education and training to over seven lakh students over five years through 3,050 institutes. It will also include easy access to information and mentor network, credit, incubators and accelerators and advocacy for the youth covered under the scheme.

Duration and cost: The scheme will span over five years (2016-17 to 2020-21) with a project cost of Rs 500 crore.

Institutes covered under the Scheme: The scheme includes 2,200 institutes of higher learning (colleges, universities, and premier institutes), 300 schools, 500 Industrial Training Institutes and 50 Entrepreneurship Development Centres, through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

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Important Agreements/MOUs exchanged during the visit of Prime Minister Modi's to Japan (PRS)

GS Paper: II; Topic: Foreign Affairs

Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy: The present Agreement provides for bilateral cooperation in the field of Nuclear Energy. This would provide for the development of nuclear power projects in India and thus strengthening of energy security of the country. The present agreement would open up the door for collaboration between Indian and Japanese industries in our Civil Nuclear programme.

Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on the Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Program: The above MOC envisages training 30,000 Indian youth in the Japanese styled manufacturing in the next 10 years. This would be achieved through the programmes of Japan-India Institute for Manufacturing (JIM) and the Japanese Endowed Courses (JEC) in select Engineering colleges. Japanese companies would be encouraged to set-up JIM by utilizing their CSR fund while JEC will be supported by Government of Japan through technical experts. Programmes under this MOC would contribute to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’.

MoU between National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development: This Memorandum would enable cooperation between the two organizations promoting investment in infrastructure projects in railways & transportation; port terminals; toll roads; airport terminals; urban development; logistics; and any supporting industries for these sectors. Further, this MOU would also enable the two sides to explore opportunities to set up a NIIF-JOIN joint fund.

MoC on Cooperation in Sports: The present MOC seeks to provide a framework for bilateral cooperation in the field of Sports ahead of the forthcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics & Paralympics. Under this MOC the two sides would seek to promote training of athletes; training of coaches; programmes for sports science and anti-doping; programmes for developing sports education, sports infrastructure and management; and exchange visits of sports leaders, administrators, professionals and experts. Specific cooperative mechanism will be pursued by respective sports agencies in their specified areas of activities, subsequent to signing of this MOC.

MOU between the State Government of Gujarat and Hyogo Prefectural Government, Japan: The present MOU seeks to promote mutual cooperation between Gujarat and Hyogo in the fields of academics, business, cultural cooperation, disaster management and environmental protection.



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