Daily Current Capsules

14 September 2023

National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA)

• The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu inaugurated ‘National e-Vidhan Application’ (NeVA) and addressed the Gujarat Legislative Assembly at Gandhinagar
• The mission of e-Vidhan MMP (National e-Vidhan Application-NeVA) is to make all the States/UTs Legislatures paperless/ digitalized legislatures
• Streamlining all the processes for information exchange with the different State Government Departments
• It also aims to assist the Members of the States/UTs Legislatures to use the latest ICT tools for preparing themselves for participation in the legislative debates more effectively.

Know! about NeVA- Digitized functioning of the legislative assembly

• NeVA is a work-flow system deployed on NIC Cloud, MeghRaj which helps the Chair of the House to conduct the proceedings of the House smoothly, Hon’ble Members to carry out their duties in the House efficiently, and to conduct Legislative Business of the House in a Paperless manner.
• NeVA is a device-neutral and member-centric application created to equip them to handle diverse House Business smartly by putting entire information regarding member contact details, rules of procedure, list of business, notices, bulletins, bills, starred/unstarred questions, and answers, papers laid, committee reports, etc. in their handheld devices/ tablets and equip all Legislatures/ Departments to handle it efficiently.
• NeVA will completely eliminate the process of sending out a notice/request for the collection of data.
• The aim of the project is to bring all the legislatures of the country together, in one platform thereby creating a massive data depository without having the complexity of multiple applications.
• mNeVA is a user-friendly Mobile App of NeVA which is available on Android as well as on iOS.
• mNeVA has made information on the conduct of business in Legislatures accessible anytime, anywhere to everyone.

Source

https://ddnews.gov.in/national/president-india-inaugurates-national-e-vidhan-application-addresses-gujarat-legislative

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, has approved the extension of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for the release of 75 lakh LPG connections over three years from Financial Year 2023-24 to 2025-26.
• Provisioning of 75 lakh additional Ujjwala connections will take total number of PMUY beneficiaries to 10.35 crore.
• As per the existing modalities of Ujjawala 2.0, the first refill and stove will also be provided free of cost to Ujjwala beneficiaries.
• A targeted subsidy of Rs.200 per 14.2 kg LPG cylinder for upto 12 refills per year is being provided to PMUY consumers.
• The PMUY scheme has empowered women economically and socially.

Initiatives to expand LPG coverage

1. PAHAL (Pratyaksh Hastantarit Labh): Instead of providing LPG cylinders at subsidized price, those were sold at market price, and applicable subsidy was directly transferred to individual’s bank account electronically. This reduced “ghost” accounts and illegal use of household cylinders for commercial purposes, ensuring that only the intended beneficiaries receive the benefits.
2. GIVE IT UP: Instead of removing subsidies forcefully, people were encouraged to voluntarily surrender their subsidies. Through extensive promotion, millions of people willingly gave up the subsidies, which helped redirect the funds to those who genuinely needed assistance in acquiring LPG cylinders.
3. During Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020, free refill scheme under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana was implemented. Under this scheme, assistance of Rs. 9670.41 Crore was given to PMUY beneficiaries in support of 14.17 Crore LPG refills.
4. Per capita consumption of PMUY beneficiaries which was 3.01 in 2018-19 has increased to 3.71 in 2022-23. PMUY beneficiaries took more than 35 Cr LPG refills a year now (2022-23).

Source

https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/cabinet-approves-expansion-of-ujjwala-yojana/?comment=disable#:~:text=The%20Union%20Cabinet%2C%20chaired%20by,%2D24%20to%202025%2D26.

eCourts Project Phase III

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the eCourts Project Phase III as a Central Sector Scheme spanning four years (2023 onwards) with a financial outlay of Rs.7210 crore.
• As part of the National eGovernance Plan, the e-Courts Project has been under implementation since 2007 for ICT enablement of the Indian Judiciary Phase II of which has concluded in 2023.
• Phase III of the e-Courts Project in India is rooted in philosophy of “access and inclusion”.
• The e-Courts Phase-III aims to usher in a regime of maximum ease of justice by moving towards digital, online and paperless courts through digitization of the entire court records including legacy records, and by bringing in universalization of e-filing/ e-Payments through saturation of all court complexes with e-Sewa Kendras.
• It will put in place intelligent smart systems enabling data-based decision-making for judges and registries while scheduling or prioritizing cases.
• The main objective of the Phase-III is to create a unified technology platform for the judiciary, which will provide a seamless and paperless interface between the courts, the litigants, and other stakeholders.
• The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of eCourts Phase III is being implemented under the joint partnership of Department of Justice, Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India and eCommittee, Supreme Court of India, in a decentralized manner through the respective High Courts to develop a judicial system that would promote ease of justice by making the system more accessible, affordable, reliable, predictable, and transparent for all stakeholders.

The expected outcomes of the scheme are as follows:

• Citizens who do not have access to technology can access the judicial services from eSewa Kendras, thus bridging the digital divide.
• Digitization of court records lays the foundation for all other digital services in the project.
• Virtual participation in the court proceedings thus reducing costs associated with court proceedings
• Payment of court fees, fines and penalties from anywhere, anytime.
• Expansion of eFiling for reducing the time and effort required to file documents.
• Expansion of virtual courts beyond the adjudication of traffic violation cases,
• Emphasis on automated delivery of court summons by further expanding the NSTEP (National Serving and Tracking of Electronic Processes), hence drastically reducing the delays in trials.

Source

https://newsonair.gov.in/Main-News-Details.aspx?id=467677

MoU with the Republic of Armenia, Antigua & Barbuda, and the Republic of Sierra Leone to use INDIA STACK

• The Union Cabinet approves the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India Armenia, Antigua & Barbuda, and the Republic of Sierra Leone on Cooperation in the field of sharing successful Digital Solutions implemented at the Population Scale for Digital Transformation.
• The MoU intends to promote closer cooperation and exchange of experiences and digital technologies-based solutions (viz. INDIA STACK) in the implementation of digital transformational initiatives of both the country.
• MoU envisages improved collaboration leading to employment opportunities in the field of IT.
• The MoU shall come into effect from the date of signature of the Parties and shall remain in force for a period of 3 years.
• MeitY is collaborating with a number of countries and multilateral agencies for fostering bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the ICT domain.
• This is in consonance with the various initiatives taken by Government of India such as Digital India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Make in India etc. to transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
• Over the last few years, India has demonstrated its leadership in implementation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and has successfully provided delivery of services to public even during COVID pandemic.
• As a result, many countries have evinced interest in learning from India’s experiences and entering into MoUs with India for learning from India’s experiences.

India Stack Solutions are DPls

• India Stack Solutions are DPls developed & implemented by India at population scale to provide access & delivery of public services It aims to provide meaningful connectivity, promote digital inclusion, and enable seamless access to public services.
• These are built on open technologies, are interoperable and are designed to harness industry and community participation which foster innovation.

Know! about India Stack

• India Stack is a set of open APIs(application programming interface) that allows governments, businesses, startups and developers to utilise an unique digital Infrastructure to solve India’s hard problems towards presence-less, paperless, and cashless service delivery.

The following APIs are considered to be a core part of the India Stack.

• Aadhaar Authentication
• Aadhaar e-KYC
• eSign
• Digital Locker
• Unified Payment Interface (UPI)

Benefits of DPIs

• Citizens: Brings millions of Indians into the formal economy by reducing friction.
• Software ecosystem: Fosters innovation to build products for financial Inclusion, healthcare & educational services at scale.
• Government: Brings a paradigm shift in the way government services are delivered in a transparent, accountable and leakage-free model.

Pillars of Digital Public Infrastructure

1. Aadhaar

• identity
• digital identity system
• 2010
• Covers 1.3 billion people

2. Unified Payment Interface

• Payments
• Digital payment
• 2016
• Accounts for 73 percent of all non-cash retail payments

3. Digi Locker

• Data Management
• Using 12 digit aadhaar number, we can access online documents
• Digilocker is connected to tax documents, vaccine certificates etc
• Access crucial documents

Digital Transformation in India

• Hundreds of millions in India’s welfare system receive “direct benefit transfers” straight to their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts, which has slashed corruption. This system also helps disburse emergency funds, such as during the pandemic.
• The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a newish government-backed non-profit dedicated to helping e-commerce services work together. The idea is to help millions of small businesses connect to third-party payments and logistics providers.
• Sahamati, an NGO is setting up a platform to allow “account aggregators” to enable individuals to share financial information in a standardized format and this makes giving loans easier by Banks and NBFCs.
• Aadhaar is run by the government, whereas UPI is managed by a public-private venture, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• India is promoting its digital offer through its year-long leadership of the G20 and it is also trying to launch a multilateral funding body to push DPI globally.
• NPCI International, a subsidiary of the NPCI was set up in 2020 to deploy India’s payments systems abroad.

India’s DPI Ecosystem across the World

• The International Institute of Information Technology in Bangalore, launched the Modular Open Source Identity Platform (MOSIP) in 2018 to offer a publicly accessible version of Aadhaar-like technology to other countries.
• The Philippines was the first to sign up. 76 million of its 110 million people have been issued with digital IDs using MOSIP’s technology.
• Morocco conducted a trial of the technology in 2021 and has made it available to 7 million of its 36 million people.
• Other countries using or piloting MOSIP include Ethiopia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Togo.
• NPCI connected UPI with Singapore’s digital payments system, PayNow.
• NPCI connected with the United Arab Emirates’ system.

Source

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1956912

Study In India (SII) Portal

• The Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education in association with EDCIL organised a Study In India (SII)  workshop  at AICTE auditorium, New Delhi
• The objective was to familiarise all the stakeholders from various ministries/ Departments, FRROs, Indian Missions abroad, and Compliance Officers of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs)  about the functioning of the SII portal and their specific roles in running it.

Know! about SII portal

• The portal was jointly launched by the Union Education Minister and Union External Affairs in New Delhi on 3rd August  2023  as part of the Internationalisation of Higher Education efforts.
• Study in India is a flagship programme of Government of India re-establishing India as a global hub of education.
• The website-portal  acts as a single window system for registration, visa approvals, thereby simplifying the entire journey, enabling students to choose their desired courses, receive institute offer letters, and successfully pursue their academic dreams in India.

Know! about EdCIL (India) Limited

• It is a continuous profit-making and fast-growing Mini Ratna Category-1 CPSE under the Ministry of Education offering management and consultancy services in all areas of education both within India and overseas.
• Clients of EdCIL include most State and Central Govt. Departments including Ministry of Education, PSUs and autonomous bodies including IITs, IIMs, IIITs, Kendriya Vidyalaya and Navodaya Vidyalaya.
• EdCIL (India) Limited has successfully managed projects in countries with economic and political landscapes as diverse as their culture.
• EdCIL expertise holds special relevance for the education sectors globally with specific, tailor-made programs for the Afro-Asian countries.
• EdCIL undertakes end-to-end projects on a turnkey basis from concept to commissioning and ensures effective management of activities from identification of objectives through continuous monitoring leading to optimal fulfillment of targets within the stipulated time frame.

Source-

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1956932

TTPs (tactics, techniques and procedures)-based cybercrime investigation framework

• A new cybercrime investigation tool would soon be able to track cyberattacks targeting humans, like insurance fraud, online matrimonial fraud, and so on.
• The tool called TTPs (tactics, techniques, and procedures)-based cybercrime investigation framework can help in tracking and classifying cybercrimes identifying the chain of evidence required to solve the case, and in mapping evidences onto the framework to convict criminals.

Know! about TTPs

• In order to fill this gap, I-hub NTIHAC foundation (c3ihub) at IIT Kanpur with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), developed a methodology and tool for apprehending cybercriminals’ modes of operations in a crime execution lifecycle.
• It was developed with the help of literature study, case studies, framework building, incorporating pre-existing crime in the framework, evolving interactive framework navigator and mapping real cases onto the framework.
• The technology can create an approximate crime execution path and suggest crime path based on user derived set of keywords.
• It can also compare modus operandi (Mode of Operation) used in different crimes and manage user roles and track activity for crime paths.
• The TTPs-based investigation framework could be highly effective as it restricts the numbers of forms and methods the investigation can be conducted and primarily rely on criminals’ TTPs.

Source

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1956941

State Visit of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to India

Visit Takeaways

• India and Saudi Arabia agreed to work towards building undersea interlink between their electricity grids, renewable power, and green hydrogen capacities.
• The MoU, signed has the potential to change India’s status from a net buyer of Saudi oil and cooking gas (LPG) to an energy exporter with green power and hydrogen exports.
• Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India and the Saudi Ministry of Investment organized an India-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum 2023 (“The Forum”) in New Delhi
• The Forum witnessed the attendance of more than 500 companies from India and Saudi Arabia.
• This is the first such formal investment symposium between India and Saudi Arabia

In the first India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council meeting, both countries inked eight pacts to boost cooperation in a range of areas including digitisation and investment, among others.

• India and Saudi Arabia decided to expedite implementation of the USD 50 billion West Coast refinery project, and identified energy, defence, semiconductor and space as areas for intensified cooperation
• West Coast refinery project is a trilateral cooperation between ARAMCO, ADNOC and Indian companies
• The West Coast Refinery project is to come up in Maharashtra. The mega refinery-cum-petrochemicals complex project was first announced in 2015.
• India and Saudi Arabia also agreed to explore opportunities for cooperation in the area of payment systems including the acceptance of RuPAY card in Saudi Arabia for the benefit of the Indian community in general and more particularly the Hajj/Umrah pilgrims.
• Prime Minister Modi and the Saudi leader co-chaired the first meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council that was established in October 2019.
• More than 45 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were concluded between the two sides, in G2B and B2B formats.
• These MoUs are expected to further deepen the economic engagement between the two sides and are also likely to accelerate investment flows between the two sides.

Source –

https://mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/37081/State+visit+of+the+Crown+Prince+and+Prime+Minister+of+the+Kingdom+of+Saudi+Arabia+to+India#:~:text=Ministry%20of%20External%20Affairs%20Government%20of%20India&text=At%20the%20invitation%20of%20the,September%209%2D11%2C%202023.

Hindi Day

• Hindi Diwas is celebrated on September 14 every year to commemorate the adoption of Hindi as the official language of India.
• The day is a celebration of the rich and diverse culture of India, and it is a time to reflect on the importance of language in uniting people.
• Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India, with over 500 million speakers.
• It is also the official language of 14 Indian states and union territories.
• The date for Hindi Diwas was chosen because on this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted Hindi written in Devanagari script as one of the official languages of the Republic of India.

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