How Much We Still Don’t Know About The Ocean

The Earth is literally covered in water: It makes up over 70% of our surface, and without it our planet would be inhospitable. When it comes to our Earth’s oceans, the vast majority of their expanse remains unchartered and unexplored. In fact, we have more comprehensive maps of the moon’s surface than of the bottom of our ocean floors. While the ocean floor seems distant and irrelevant at times, the fact of the matter is that our ocean floors are home to a whole host of mysteries. not to mention thousands of volcanoes and shifting tectonic plates. By learning about the bottom of the ocean, scientists may one day be able to understand and adequately prepare for earthquakes and tsunamis that are caused by movement along the oceanic floor.

Despite covering 72 percent of Earth and supplying more than 70 percent of the world’s oxygen, there’s still a lot we don’t know about our planet’s life support system.

Here’s a brief guide to our exploration of the ocean:

e-Waste: Fastest Growing Sector Within The Global Waste Industry

“Electronic waste” may be defined as discarded computers, office electronic equipment, entertainment device electronics, mobile phones, television sets and refrigerators. This definition includes used electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling, or disposal.”- Wikipedia

e-Waste Composition

Electronic appliances are composed of hundreds of different materials that can be both toxic but also of high value. While bulk materials such as iron, aluminium, plastics and glass account for over 80 weight %, valuable and toxic materials are found in smaller quantities but are still of high importance. The material composition of different appliances is often similar, but the percentage of different components can vary a lot.

Gold, silver, copper, platinum etc. are valuable substances which turn recycling of e-waste into a lucrative business opportunity. On the other hand, the recycling of hazardous substances, e.g. carcinogens such as lead and arsenic is critical and poses serious health risks and environment dangers of not properly handled.

e-Waste Market

E-waste represents one of the fastest-growing sectors by volume within the global waste industry. According to a new analysis by Frost & Sullivan titled “Global Opportunities in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Recycling Services Market”,  the global WEEE recycling services market was estimated at $1,424.6 million in 2011. This is further expected to grow to $1,869.3 million in 2017 with a strong CAGR of 4 percent.

The global economic slowdown affected the WEEE recycling market in as much as the prices of steel and plastics, for example, went on a steady decline, as did tonnages of e-waste in the market, states an analysis by Frost & Sullivan.

Here’s an insightful infographic to help you understand e-Waste:

Parkinson’s Disease: Infographic

Parkinson’s disease  is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. It is is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and the most common movement disorder. It is characterized by progressive loss of muscle control, which leads to trembling of the limbs and head while at rest, stiffness, slowness, and impaired balance. As symptoms worsen, it may become difficult to walk, talk, and complete simple tasks.

What causes Parkinson’s disease?

A substance called dopamine acts as a messenger between two brain areas – the substantia nigra and the corpus striatum – to produce smooth, controlled movements. Most of the movement-related symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are caused by a lack of dopamine due to the loss of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra. When the amount of dopamine is too low, communication between the substantia nigra and corpus striatum becomes ineffective, and movement becomes impaired; the greater the loss of dopamine, the worse the movement-related symptoms. Other cells in the brain also degenerate to some degree and may contribute to non-movement related symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Have a look at the infographic:

Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram

About 56,000 women in India die every year due to pregnancy related complications. Similarly, every year more than 13 lacs infants die within 1 year of the birth and out of these approximately 9 lacs i.e. 2/3rd of the infant deaths take place within the first four weeks of life. Out of these, approximately 7 lacs i.e. 75 per cent of the deaths take place within a week of the birth and a majority of these occur in the first two days after birth.

In order to reduce the maternal and infant mortality, Reproductive and Child Health Programme under the National Rural health Mission (NRHM) is being implemented to promote institutional deliveries so that skilled attendance at birth is available and women and new born can be saved from pregnancy related deaths.

Several initiatives have been launched by the Ministry of health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) including Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) a key intervention that has resulted in phenomenal growth in institutional deliveries. More than one crore women are benefitting from the scheme annually and the outlay for JSY has exceeded 1600 crores per year.

In view of the difficulty being faced by the pregnant women and parents of sick new- born along-with high out of pocket expenses incurred by them on delivery and treatment of sick- new-born, Ministry of health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has taken a major initiative to evolve a consensus on the part of all States to provide completely free and cashless services to pregnant women including normal deliveries and caesarean operations and sick new born(up to 30 days after birth) in Government health institutions in both rural & urban areas.

Government of India has launched Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) on 1st June, 2011.

The following are the Free Entitlements for pregnant women

• Free and cashless delivery
• Free C-Section
• Free drugs and consumables
• Free diagnostics
• Free diet during stay in the health institutions
• Free provision of blood
• Exemption from user charges
• Free transport from home to health institutions
• Free transport between facilities in case of referral
• Free drop back from Institutions to home after 48hrs stay
• The following are the Free Entitlements for Sick newborns till 30 days after birth:
• Free treatment
• Free drugs and consumables
• Free diagnostics
• Free provision of blood
• Exemption from user charges
• Free Transport from Home to Health Institutions
• Free Transport between facilities in case of referral
• Free drop Back from Institutions to home

States were requested to ask for the requisite budgetary support under the NRHM in their project implementation plans (PIPs). More than Rs 1437 crores have been allocated to the States for the year 2011-12 for providing the free entitlements under JSSK and Rs 2107 crores allocated in 2012-13.

The initiative entitles all pregnant women delivering in public health institutions to absolutely free and no expense delivery, including caesarean section.

The entitlements include free drugs and consumables, free diet up to 3 days during normal delivery and up to 7 days for C-section, free diagnostics, and free blood wherever required. This initiative also provides for free transport from home to institution, between facilities in case of a referral and drop back home. Similar entitlements have been put in place for all sick newborns accessing public health institutions for treatment till 30 days after birth.

The scheme aims to eliminate out of pocket expenses incurred by the pregnant women and sick new borns while accessing services at Government health facilities.

The scheme is estimated to benefit more than 12 million pregnant women who access Government health facilities for their delivery. Moreover it will motivate those who still choose to deliver at their homes to opt for institutional deliveries.

All the States and UTs have initiated implementation of the scheme.

National Water Policy 2012

Water is a natural resource, fundamental to life, livelihood, food security and sustainable development. It is also a scarce resource. India has more than 17 per cent of the world’s population, but has only 4 per cent of world’s renewable water resources with 2.6% of world’s land area. There are further limits on utilizable quantities of water owing to uneven distribution over time and space. In addition, there are challenges of frequent floods and droughts in one or the other part of the country. With a growing population and rising needs of a fast developing nation as well as the given indications of the impact of climate change, availability of utilizable water will be under further strain in future with the possibility of deepening water conflicts among different user groups. Low consciousness about the scarcity of water and its life sustaining and economic value results in its mismanagement, wastage, and inefficient use, as also pollution and reduction of flows below minimum ecological needs. In addition, there are inequities in distribution and lack of a unified perspective in planning, management and use of water resources.

The Ministry of Water Resources has evolved the Draft National Water Policy (2012) to meet the present challenges in the water sector. The National Water Board comprising Chief Secretaries of all the States and Secretaries of related Union Ministries considered the draft National Water Policy (2012) at its Meeting held on 7th June, 2012. The National Water Resources Council on December 28, 2012 approved the policy with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying legal structures on water were inadequate and calling for judicious use of the resource.

The objective of the National Water Policy is to take cognizance of the existing situation, to propose a framework for creation of a system of laws and institutions and for a plan of action with a unified national perspective.

Salient Features

• Emphasis on the need for a national water framework law, comprehensive legislation for optimum development of inter-State rivers and river valleys, amendment of Irrigation Acts, Indian Easements Act, 1882, etc
• Water, after meeting the pre-emptive needs for safe drinking water and sanitation, achieving food security, supporting poor people dependent on agriculture for their livelihood and high priority allocation for minimum eco-system needs, be treated as economic good so as to promote its conservation and efficient use
• Ecological needs of the river should be determined recognizing that river flows are characterized by low or no flows, small floods (freshets), large floods and flow variability and should accommodate development needs. A portion of river flows should be kept aside to meet ecological needs ensuring that the proportional low and high flow releases correspond in time closely to the natural flow regime.
• Adaptation strategies in view of climate change for designing and management of water resources structures and review of acceptability criteria has been emphasized
• A system to evolve benchmarks for water uses for different purposes, i.e., water footprints, and water auditing be developed to ensure efficient use of water. Project financing has been suggested as a tool to incentivize efficient & economic use of water
• Setting up of Water Regulatory Authority has been recommended. Incentivization of recycle and re-use has been recommended
• Water Users Associations should be given statutory powers to collect and retain a portion of water charges, manage the volumetric quantum of water allotted to them and maintain the distribution system in their jurisdiction
• Removal of large disparity in stipulations for water supply in urban areas and in rural areas has been recommended
• Water resources projects and services should be managed with community participation. Wherever the State Governments or local governing bodies so decide, the private sector can be encouraged to become a service provider in public private partnership model to meet agreed terms of service delivery, including penalties for failure

Adequate grants to the States to update technology, design practices, planning and management practices, preparation of annual water balances and accounts for the site and basin, preparation of hydrologic balances for water systems, and benchmarking and performance evaluation.

National Telecom Policy

The Government had approved the National Telecom Policy -2012 (NTP – 2012) on May 31, 2012. The policy envisions providing secure, reliable, affordable and high quality converged telecommunication services anytime, anywhere for an accelerated inclusive socio-economic development. The main thrust of the Policy is on the multiplier effect and transformational impact of such services on the overall economy. The thrust areas of NTP – 2012 are:

Vision

To provide secure, reliable, affordable and high quality converge telecommunication services anytime, anywhere for an accelerated inclusive socio-economic development.

Mission

• To develop a robust and secure state-of-the-art telecommunication network providing seamless coverage with special focus on rural and remote areas for bridging the digital divide and thereby facilitate socio-economic development
• To create an inclusive knowledge society through proliferation of affordable and high quality broadband services across the nation
• To reposition the mobile device as an instrument of socio-economic empowerment of citizens
• To make India a global hub for telecom equipment manufacturing and a centre for converged communication services
• To promote Research and Development, Design in cutting edge ICTE technologies, products and services for meeting the infrastructure needs of domestic and global markets with focus on security and green technologies
• To promote development of new standards to meet national requirements, generation of IPRs and participation in international standardization bodies to contribute in formation of global standards, thereby making India a leading nation in the area of telecom standardization
• To attract investment, both domestic and foreign
• To promote creation of jobs through all of the above

Objectives

• Provide secure, affordable and high quality telecommunication services to all citizens
• Increase rural teledensity from the current level of around 39 to 70 by the year 2017 and 100 by the year 2020
• Provide affordable and reliable broadband-on-demand by the year 2015 and to achieve 175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020 at minimum 2 Mbps download speed and making available higher speeds of at least 100 Mbps on demand
• Provide high speed and high quality broadband access to all village panchayats through a combination of technologies by the year 2014 and progressively to all villages and habitations by 2020
• Promote innovation, indigenous R&D and manufacturing to serve domestic and global markets, by increasing skills and competencies
• Create a corpus to promote indigenous R&D, IPR creation, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, commercialisation and deployment of state-of-the-art telecom products and services during the 12th five year plan period
• Promote the ecosystem for design, Research and Development, IPR creation, testing, standardization and manufacturing i.e. complete value chain for domestic production of telecommunication equipment to meet Indian telecom sector demand to the extent of 60% and 80% with a minimum value addition of 45% and 65% by the year 2017 and 2020 respectively
• Provide preference to domestically manufactured telecommunication products, in procurement of those telecommunication products which have security implications for the country and in Government procurement for its own use, consistent with our World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments
• Develop and establish standards to meet national requirements, generate IPRs, and participate in international standardization bodies to contribute in formulation of global standards, thereby making India a leading nation in the area of international telecom standardization. This will be supported by establishing appropriate linkages with industry, R&D institutions, academia, telecom service providers and users
• Simplify the licensing framework to further extend converged high quality services across the nation including rural and remote areas. This will not cover content regulation
• Strive to create One Nation – One License across services and service areas
• Achieve One Nation – Full Mobile Number Portability and work towards One Nation-Free Roaming
• Reposition the mobile phone from a mere communication device to an instrument of empowerment that combines communication with proof of identity, fully secure financial and other transaction capability, multi-lingual services and a whole range of other capabilities that ride on them and transcend the literacy barrier
• Encourage development of mobile phones based on open platform standards
• Deliver high quality seamless voice, data, multimedia and broadcasting services on converged networks for enhanced service delivery to provide superior experience to users
• Put in place a simplified Merger & Acquisition regime in telecom service sector while ensuring adequate competition
• Ensure adequate availability of spectrum and its allocation in a transparent manner through market related processes. Make available additional 300 MHz spectrum for IMT services by the year 2017 and another 200 MHz by 2020
• Achieve substantial transition to new Internet Protocol (IPv 6) in the country in a phased and time bound manner by 2020 and encourage an ecosystem for provision of a significantly large bouquet of services on IP platform.

National Policy On Information Technology (NPIT), 2011

The Policy aims to leverage Information & Communication Technology (ICT) to address the country’s economic and developmental challenges. The policy is rooted in the conviction that ICT has the power to transform the lives of people.

ICT and Electronics are contributing significantly to the Indian economy, society and governance. IT is a key driver of the knowledge based global economy. The right policies and investment in infrastructure can strengthen and enhance India’s position as a global IT power-house.

Vision

To strengthen and enhance India’s position as the Global IT hub and to use IT as an engine for rapid, inclusive and sustainable growth in the national economy

Mission

• To consolidate India’s position as the global IT & ITES hub and leverage IT to contribute significantly to GDP and employment
• To create a sustainable ecosystem for R&D and Innovation to emerge as a global leader in the conception, design and development of new products, services, processes and business models
• To leverage ICT for enhanced competitiveness and productivity of key economic and strategic sectors
• To provide ubiquitous affordable access to information and public services for enhancing efficiency, transparency, accountability and reliability
• To be the leading resource base for IT and ITES manpower for domestic and global markets
• To ensure a secure cyber space to facilitate trust and enable sustained growth of ICT
• To transform India into a Knowledge and Service Society

Objectives

• To increase revenues of IT and ITES Industry from 88 Billion USD at present to 300 Billion USD by 2020 and expand exports from 59 Billion USD at present to 200 Billion USD by 2020
• To gain significant global market share in Cloud Based technologies and Services and Mobile based Value added services
• To promote innovation and R&D in cutting edge technologies and development of applications and solutions in areas like localization, location based services, mobile value added services, Cloud Computing, Social Media and Utility models
• To encourage adoption of ICTs in key economic and strategic sectors to improve their competitiveness and productivity
• To provide fiscal benefits to SMEs and Startups in the key industrial sectors for adoption of IT in value creation
• To create a pool of 10 million additional skilled manpower in ICT
• To make at least one individual in every household e-literate
• To provide for mandatory delivery of and affordable access to all public services in electronic mode
• To enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency, reliability and decentralization in Government and in particular, in delivery of public services
• To leverage ICT for key Social Sector initiatives like Education, Health, Rural Development and Financial Services to promote equity and quality
• To make India global hub for development of language technologies, to encourage and facilitate development of content accessible in all Indian languages and thereby help bridge the digital divide
• To enable access of content and ICT applications by differently-abled people to foster inclusive development
• To leverage ICT for expanding the workforce and enabling life-long learning
• To strengthen the Regulatory and Security Framework for ensuring a Secure Cyberspace ecosystem

Cyber Security Policy 2013

Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Communications and IT released the National Cyber Security Policy, 2013, on July 2. The cyber security policy is an evolving task and it caters to the whole spectrum of ICT users and providers including home users and small, medium and large enterprises and Government & non-Government entities. It serves as an umbrella framework for defining and guiding the actions related to security of cyberspace. it also enables the individual sectors and organisations in designing appropriate cyber security policies to suit their needs. The policy provides an overview of what it takes to efectively protect information, information systems & networks and also gives an insight into the Government’s approach and strategy for protection of cyber space in the country. It also outlines some pointers to enable collaborative working of all key players in public & private to safeguard country’s information and information systems. This policy, therefore, aims to create a cyber security framework, which leads to specific actions and programmes to enhance the security posture of country’s cyber space.

Vision

To build a secure and resilient cyberspace for citizens, businesses and Government

Mission

To protect information and information infrastructure in cyberspace, build capabilities to prevent and respond to cyber threats, reduce vulnerabilities and minimize damage from cyber incidents through a combination of institutional structures, people, processes, technology and cooperation

Objectives And Strategy

• To create a secure cyber ecosystem in the country
• To create an assurance framework for design of security policies and for promotion and enabling actions for compliance to global security standards and best practices by way of conformity assessment (product, process, technology & people)
• To strengthen the regulatory framework for ensuring a Secure Cyberspace ecosystem
• To enhance and create National and Sectoral level 24 x7 mechanism for obtaining strategic information regarding threats to ICT infrastructure
• To enhance the protection and resilience of Nation’s critical information infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) and mandating security practices related to the design, acquisition, development, use and operation of information resources
• To create a workforce of 500,000 professionals skilled in cyber security in the next 5 years through capacity building, skill development and training

National Health Policy

A National Health Policy was last formulated in 1983, and since then there have been marked changes in the determinant factors relating to the health sector. Some of the policy initiatives outlined in the NHP-1983 have yielded results, while, in several other areas, the outcome has not been as expected. The policy gave a general exposition of the policies which required recommendation in the circumstances then prevailing in the health sector.

NHP-1983, in a spirit of optimistic empathy for the health needs of the people, particularly the poor and underprivileged, had hoped to provide ‘Health for All by the year 2000 AD’, through the universal provision of comprehensive primary health care services. In retrospect, it is observed that the financial resources and public health administrative capacity which it was possible to marshal, was far short of that necessary to achieve such an ambitious and holistic goal.

Against this backdrop, NHP-2002 was approved by the Government which is hoped to consistent with the realistic expectations about financial resources, and about the likely increase in Public Health administrative capacity.

Objectives

The main objective of this policy is to achieve an acceptable standard of good health amongst the general population of the country. The approach would be to increase access to the decentralized public health system by establishing new infrastructure in deficient areas, and by upgrading the infrastructure in the existing institutions.

Overriding importance would be given to ensuring a more equitable access to health services across the social and geographical expanse of the country. Emphasis will be given to increasing the aggregate public health investment through a substantially increased contribution by the Central Government. It is expected that this initiative will strengthen the capacity of the public health administration at the State level to render effective service delivery.

The contribution of the private sector in providing health services would be much enhanced, particularly for the population group which can afford to pay for services. Primacy will be given to preventive and first-line curative initiatives at the primary health level through increased sectoral share of allocation. Emphasis will be laid on rational use of drugs within the allopathic system.

Increased access to tried and tested systems of traditional medicine will be ensured. Within these broad objectives, NHP-2002 seeks to achieve the time-bound goals mentioned below.

Goals to be Achieved By 2000-2015 

• Eradicate Polio and Yaws: 2005
• Eliminate Leprosy: 2005
• Eliminate Kala Azar: 2010
• Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis: 2015
• Achieve Zero level growth of HIV/AIDS: 2007
• Reduce Mortality by 50% on account of TB, Malaria and Other Vector and Water Borne diseases: 2010
• Reduce Prevalence of Blindness to 0.5%: 2010
• Reduce IMR to 30/1000 And MMR to 100/Lakh: 2010
• Increase utilization of public health facilities from current Level of <20 to >75%: 2010
• Establish an integrated system of surveillance, National Health Accounts and Health Statistics: 2005
• Increase health expenditure by Government as a % of GDP from the existing 0.9 % to 2.0%: 2010
• Increase share of Central grants to Constitute at least 25% of total health spending: 2010
• Increase State Sector Health spending from 5.5% to 7% of the budget: 2005
• Further increase to 8% : 2010

Policy Prescriptions

• Taking into account the gap in health care facilities, it is planned, under the policy to increase health sector expenditure to 6 per cent of GDP, with 2 per cent of GDP being contributed as public health investment, by the year 2010
• NHP-2002 sets out an increased allocation of 55 per cent of the total public health investment for the primary health sector; the secondary and tertiary health sectors being targeted for 35 per cent and 10 per cent respectively
• This policy envisages a key role for the Central Government in designing national programmes with the active participation of the State Governments
• NHP-2002 envisages the gradual convergence of all health programmes under a single field administration. Vertical programmes for control of major diseases like TB, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, as also the RCH and Universal Immunization Programmes, would need to be continued till moderate levels of prevalence are reached
• The Policy envisages kick-starting the revival of the Primary Health System by providing some essential drugs under Central Government funding through the decentralised health system
• It is expected that the provisioning of essential drugs at the public health service centres will create a demand for other professional services from the local population, which, in turn, will boost the general revival of activities in these service centres
• This policy envisages that, in the context of the availability and spread of allopathic graduates in their jurisdiction, State Governments would consider the need for expanding the pool of medical practitioners to include a cadre of licentiates of medical practice, as also practitioners of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy
• Simple services/procedures can be provided by such practitioners even outside their disciplines, as part of the basic primary health services in under-served areas
• NHP-2002 lays great emphasis upon the implementation of public health programmes through local self-government institutions
• In order to ameliorate the problems being faced on account of the uneven spread of medical and dental colleges in various parts of the country, this policy envisages the setting up of a Medical Grants Commission for funding new Government Medical and Dental Colleges in different parts of the country
• This Policy emphasizes the need for basing treatment regimens, in both the public and private domain, on a limited number of essential drugs of a generic nature. This is a prerequisite for cost-effective public health care
• The National Programme for Universal Immunization against Preventable Diseases requires to be assured of an uninterrupted supply of vaccines at an affordable price
• NHP-2002 envisages the setting up of an organised urban primary health care structure. Since the physical features of urban settings are different from those in rural areas, the policy envisages the adoption of appropriate population norms for the urban public health infrastructure
• NHP – 2002 envisages a network of decentralised mental health services for ameliorating the more common categories of disorders
• This Policy envisages an increase in Government-funded health research to a level of 1 per cent of the total health spending by 2005; and thereafter, up to 2 percent by 2010.

Science, Technology And Innovation Policy 2013

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, unveiled the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) 2013 by presenting its first copy to the President of India Shri Pranab Mukerjee at the inaugural session of the Centenary session of the Indian Science Congress at Kolkatta on January 3.

The STI Policy seeks to send a signal to the Indian scientific community, both in the private and public domain, that science, technology and innovation should focus on faster, sustainable and inclusive development of the people.

The policy seeks to focus on both STI for people and people for STI. It aims to bring all the benefits of Science, Technology & Innovation to the national development and sustainable and more inclusive growth. It seeks the right sizing of the gross expenditure on research and development by encouraging and incentivizing private sector participation in R & D, technology and innovation activities.

The policy also seeks to trigger an ecosystem for innovative abilities to flourish by leveraging partnerships among diverse stakeholders and by encouraging and facilitating enterprises to invest in innovations.

It also seeks to bring in mechanisms for achieving gender parity in STI activities and gaining global competitiveness in select technological areas through international cooperation and alliances. The policy goal is to accelerate the pace of discovery, diffusion and delivery of science led solutions for serving the aspirational goals of India for faster, sustainable and inclusive growth.

A Strong and viable Science, Research and Innovation system for High Technology led path for India (SRISHTI) are the goal for the STI policy.

Key Features

• Promoting the spread of scientific temper amongst all sections of society
• Enhancing skills for applications of science among the young from all social sectors
• Making careers in science, research and innovation attractive enough for talented and bright minds
• Establishing world class infrastructure for R&D for gaining global leadership in some select frontier areas of science
• Positioning India among the top five global scientific powers by 2020(by increasing the share of global scientific publications from 3.5% to over 7% and quadrupling the number of papers in top 1% journals from the current levels)
• Linking contributions of Science Research and innovation system with the inclusive economic   growth agenda and combining  priorities   of excellence and relevance
• Creating an environment for enhanced private sector participation in R &D
• Enabling conversion of R & D output with societal and commercial applications by replicating hitherto successful models, as well as establishing of new PPP structures
• Seeking S&T based high risk innovation through new mechanisms
• Fostering resource optimised cost-effective innovation across size and technology domains
• Triggering   in the   mindset & value systems to recognise respect and reward performances which create wealth from S&T derived knowledge
• Creating a robust national innovation system

Aspirations Of The Policy

The main aspirational elements of the STI policy are:

• Raising Gross Expenditure in Research and Development (GERD) to 2% from the present 1% of the GDP in this decade by encouraging enhanced private sector contribution,
• Increasing the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of R&D personnel in India by at least 66% of the present strength in 5 years,
•  Increasing accessibility, availability and affordability of innovations, especially for women, differently-abled and disadvantaged sections of society.

Mechanisms

Wide ranging mechanisms are envisaged to be deployed to realise the policy aspirations, a few of these are:

• Promoting the spread of scientific temper amongst all sections of society,
• Enhancing skill for applications of science among the young from all social strata,
• Making careers in science, research and innovation attractive enough for talented and bright minds,
• Empowering women through appropriate STI inputs and investments,
• Facilitating private sector investment in R&D centres in India and overseas,
• Promoting establishment of large R&D facilities in PPP mode with provisions for benefits sharing,
• Permitting multi stakeholders participation in the Indian R&D system,
• Treating R&D in the private sector at par with public institutions for availing public funds,
• Bench marking of R&D funding mechanisms and patterns globally,
• Aligning Venture Capital and Inclusion Innovation Fund systems,
• Sharing of IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights) between inventors and investors,
• Modifying IPR policy to provide for marching rights for social good when supported by public funds and for co-sharing IPRs generated under PPP,
• Providing incentives for commercialization of innovations with focus on green manufacturing,
• Closing gaps in the translation of new findings at the grassroots and the commercial space,
• Forging strategic partnerships and alliances with other nations through both bilateral and multilateral cooperation in science, technology and innovation,
• Triggering ecosystem changes in attitudes, mindset, values and governance systems of publicly funded institutions engaged in STI activities to recognize, respect and reward performances which create wealth from S&T derived knowledge.

Policy Implementation

Implementation of the proposals contained in the Policy will necessitate consultations with different government departments/ministries and agencies besides consultations with overarching, science and engineering academies industry and business associations etc .

Accordingly, Department of Science and Technology (DST) will establish a Policy Implementation Group to expeditiously operationalise the proposals within the next two years.

Backdrop

Prime Minister, Shrimati Indira Gandhi had announced the Technology Policy Statement (TPS) at the Science Congress in January 1983. It focused on the need to attain technological competence and self-reliance.

Several of the statements of TPS were implemented. Subsequently, a Science and Technology Policy (STP) was announced in 2003, seeking to bring science and technology (S&T) together. It basically called for integrating programmes of socio-economic sectors with the national R&D system and the creation of a national innovation system.

The world has changed vastly since then in all spheres of human activity. New paradigms of innovation have emerged, arising, among others, out of the pervasive intrusion of internet and globalization. Even then systems that foster innovation have become country and context specific. India has declared 2010-20 as the “Decade of Innovation.”India’s demographics have changed significantly too. The youthful populations have high expectations and aspirations of the nation. The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) 2013 approved by the Union Cabinet is in furtherance of this declaration and aims to bring perspectives to bear on Science & Technology led innovations in the changing context.

Top 8 World's Deadliest Snakes

Everyone Knows that Snakes are one of the Most Dangerous Creatures of the World .  Snakes are so poisonous That snake bites can even lead to the Death of the Person .  Here are The World's Top 8 Deadliest snakes  >>>>

8. Barba Amarilla :
Barba Amarilla Is a Venomous Viper species found between South Mexico and North South America . Sometimes these snakes are often Referred to as "ULTIMATE PIT VIPERS" . Barba Amarilla is one of the World's deadliest snakes . These snakes are found mainly near Human Habitation . Since they are found  near Human Habitats , They are considered more dangerous to Humans than any other organism
Some of the common Names of Bara Amarilla are  :
Terciopelo , Fer-De-Lance , Equis Etc . These snakes have Broad , Flatten heads Which are set apart from rest of their body .  These snakes have more scales .  These Snakes may weigh upto 6 kg(13 lbs) and are often 1.2 to 1.8 meter in length . 
7. BoomSlang  :
Boomslang is a large Venomous snake and is among the World's deadliest snakes . It is also known as Tree snake .The average adult Boomslang is 100-160 cm in total length but some exceeds 183 cm (6 feet) . Eyes of these snakes are exceptionally large and they have egg shaped head .Males are light green with black but females may be brown . Boomslang are only found in Sub Saharan Africa .The Boomslang hunts by extending the forward part of its body motionless from a tree . Their diet includes CHAMELEON and other ARBOREAL LIZARDS AND FROGS and occasionally  SMALL MAMMALS , BIRDS AND EGGS From NESTING BIRDS . These Snakes Deliver their Venom by chewing on their Victim until the Victim Succumbs To the Toxins .

6. Eastern Tiger Snake
The Eastern Tiger Snake is an elapid from South Eastern Australia . Its is one of the most Deadliest snakes of the world and is highly poisonous . It can reach upto 6.5 feet in length . They feed on frogs , mice , birds , lizards etc . As it prepares to strike , It flattens its head and neck in a manner similar to Asian and African Cobras . The eastern Tiger Snake is Light Brown to Greyish in colour and sometimes even olive in colour . Its underparts are cream to yellow in colour .

5. Saw Scaled Viper

Saw Scaled Viper is one of the Venomous Viper found in Dry Region of Africa , The middle east , Pakistan , India and Sri lanka . They Are characterized by a stout body with a pear shaped head that is distinct from the neck  , Rough and strongly keeled scales and a short thin tail. Adults Range in length from 1 to 3 feet . These snakes includes various shades of brown , grey or orange .

4. Branded Krait
The branded krait is a species of venomous snakes found in Indian Subcontinent and in south eastern Asia . It is a one of the deadliest snakes of the world with a maximum length upto 2.1 metre . The Branded Krait occur in a variety of Habitats including forests , agricultural and coastal areas . It is often encountered close to water bodies . It feeds on other vertebrates including rodents , lizards and other snakes . Though it is highly venomous , it does not have an aggressive Temperament during day . During night , it becomes more active and dangerous  The branded Krait is easily identified by the alternating black and yellow bands , which are of equal thickness and extend onto the ventral surface . 

3. King Cobra
The king Cobra is the longest Venomous snake of the world with a length upto 5.6 - 5.7 metre . King Cobras are located throughout Southeast Asia . They can be found in parts of India , China , Malaysia and Indonesia . Their Habitats include Dense forests , and bamboo thickets , usually near swamps , rivers and streams . A large portion of King Corbra's Diet consist of Other snakes . They also feed on rodents or lizards . Its bite delivers a Tremendous amount of paralysis - Inducing Neuro toxins  . The snake's Venom is so strong and voluminous that it can kill an elephant in just a few hours . Death also results in atleast 50-60 percent of untreated human cases.

2. Coastal Taipan
The Coastal Taipan is found in northern and eastern Australia . It lives in open forests , dry closed forests , coastal heaths and grassy beach dunes . These snakes can be light olive to dark Russet brown in colour but sometimes can be dark grey or black . Their eye is reddish in colour . The belly is cream and usually marked with orange or pink flecks . These snakes can grow upto 2.9 metre in lenght . These species are active during day and also in early evening during hot weather . This is a dangerous venomous species with strongly neurotoxic venom . Many human deaths have resulted by bites from these species. Its bites are lethal in more than 80 percent of the untreated cases.

1. Inland Taipan
Is is also known is fierce snake. It can reach upto the length of 3.5 metre . The upper surface of the snake can vary from dark brown to light straw colour. This Snake Ranks top in the world's deadliest snakes .These snakes delivers a veritable witch's brew of toxins . The venom consists of taipoxin that paralyze muscles , inhibit breathing and damages muscles.  This snake inhabits the black soil plains where Queensland , South Australia and the Northern Territory Borders converge . These snakes feed on Rodents , small mammals etc . Rats are their most favourite food .The popularity of these snakes depend on the availability of their favourite pray. 

Facts About Animals

HI FRIENDS ! GENERAL KNOWLEDGE IS THAT PART OF OUR LIVES THAT IS NEEDS TO BE  ENHANCED EVERYDAY TO BECOME AN INTELLIGENT PERSON . A GOOD GENERAL KNOWLEDGE ALSO HELPS IN PASSING MANY EXAMINATIONS.IN FACT WE HAVE A QUALIFY A TEST OF GK IN MOST OF THE COMPETEIONS.
TODAY I AM POSTING SOME GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS BASED ON ANIMALS :

• The bird that cannot move its eye but can turn its neck to look back - Owl
• The number of quilts that a porcupine - 30,000
• The animal that washes its food before eating - Raccoon
• The mammal that lays egg - Echidna
• The technique for making wild bird for recognition - Ringing
• The word dianosaur comes from two greek words which mean - Terrible lizard
• The sound made by falcon is called - Chant
• The only wildlife santuary in india that has four big cats , tigers,leopards,snow leopards and clouded leopards is at -                       Ranthmbore                                                                                                                         
• The venomous snake that grows upto 180cm in length and has the longest fangs -  gabon viper
• Butterflies and honey bees suck nectar with the help of - Proboscis
• The minimum temperature in which arctic fox can survive - -50 F

      

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• This is the smallest member of the whale family - Dwarf sperm
• The amount of life which a walrus spends in water - Two third
• The other name of wild beast is - Gnu
• The smallest monkey in the world - Pygmy marmoset
• The characteristic difference between whale and porpoise - Elongated snout
• The marine animal most adapted to land - Polar bear
• The only shark harmless to humans - Hammer head shard