Prelim Bits 21-12-2018

International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean)

Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has recently inaugurated ITCOocean at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad.
The General Conference of UNESCO approved the offer of Government of India to establish ITCOocean as a UNESCO Category 2 Centre in 2017.
It will provide training to scientists/ researchers/government officers/disaster managers/decision makers in the areas of ocean science and management.
The mission of the centre is to

Assist the member states of Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO in developing oceanographic scientific base,
Provide expertise and experience of INCOIS to South Asian and African states bordering the Indian Ocean and the small island nations in the Pacific
Developing new methods of capacity building for the countries on the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR)

Intergovernmental Oceanographic commission

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) was established by a resolution adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO.
It assists governments to address their individual and collective ocean and coastal management needs, through the sharing of knowledge, information and technology.
Beginning with the International Indian Ocean Expedition in 1960, it has coordinated and promoted program and activities in ocean observations, ocean science, and reduction of marine hazards.
IOC also coordinates and fosters the establishment of regional intergovernmental coordinating tsunami warning and mitigation systems in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, in the North East Atlantic, Mediterranean and Caribbean seas.
Its headquarters is in Paris, France.
General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), Tara Expeditions, Océanopolis Brest are some of its partners.
There are 149 members of which India is also a member.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram

The scheme is earlier known as Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP).
It is an area development programme implemented in identified Minority Concentration Areas (MCAs) of the country for the remaining period of 14th Finance Commission.
The objective of the scheme is to bring the identified MCAs at par with the national average by providing infrastructure related to education, skill, health etc.
MCAs are relatively backward areas having substantial population of minority communities.
They are identified as per Census, 2011 data related to backwardness indicators and population of all notified minority communities as a whole residing in the area.
Under MsDP, Clusters of Villages are to be identified in consultation with the State Govt./UT administration concerned.
MsDP has been restructured as PMJVK to include Minority concentration Blocks, Minority Concentration Towns and Minority Concentration Districts Headquarters.

Small Satellite Launch Vehicle

ISRO has completed the design of baby rocket “Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)”.
SSLV can place a 500 kg payload at a height of 500 km in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
It has three solid motor stages with a lift off mass of 120 tonnes.
It is shorter in length than the PSLV and GSLV.
It can accommodate multiple satellites like the PSLV and GSLV, albeit smaller ones.
Unlike the PSLV and GSLV, the SSLV can be assembled both vertically and horizontally.

SDG India Index

The SDG India Index: Baseline Report 2018 is going to be released by NITI Aayog.
NITI Aayog is the nodal agency to oversee the implementation of SDGs in the country.
In exercise of its role, it prepared the Index and baseline report.
It is to measure progress of States / UTs in achieving Sustainable Development Goals through a single measurable Index.
The first baseline report for 2018 was prepared with the support of Global Green Growth Institute and UN in India.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which came into being in September 2015, are in the 3rd year of global implementation.

Integrated Government Online Training Programme (iGOT)

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions has recently launched iGOT to augment existing training mechanism for civil servants with online based module.
This will make training inputs available to government servant on site and on flexitime basis.
The initiative aims at “Competent Civil Services for Good Governance”.
It would be a platform to bring together the numerous Government and other training institutions for providing a single point of access to the repository of training resources

Source: PIB, The Hindu