About:

• The Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS) is a national initiative by the National Health Authority (NHA) aimed at promoting the adoption of digital health practices in India.
• It was launched on January 1, 2023, under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) to create a robust digital health ecosystem and enhance the quality of care for patients.
• With this extension, the scheme will now remain in effect till June 30, 2025.

Key Features and Objectives:

• Eligibility: Health facilities (hospitals, diagnostic labs), digital solution companies, and other healthcare providers are eligible to participate in the scheme.
• Incentives are provided based on the number of digital health records created and linked to Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) numbers of patients.
• Healthcare institutions and digital solution entities can register for the scheme through the Health Facility Registry (HFR) and ABDM Sandbox, respectively.
• Transactions that qualify under the scheme include creating any ABHA-linked health record, such as teleconsultations, lab reports, prescriptions, etc.

Objectives and Impact:

• Promote digital health: The scheme aims to encourage healthcare providers to adopt digital health practices, enhancing patient care and reducing administrative burdens.
• Enhance quality of care: By digitizing health records, the scheme ensures evidence-based quality care and seamless access to patient records.
• Boost digital health transactions: The scheme aims to increase digital health transactions, which will help in creating a robust digital health ecosystem.

National Health Authority (NHA):

• It is the apex body responsible for implementing AB PM-JAY.
• It has been entrusted with the role of designing strategy, building technological infrastructure and implementing of “National Digital Health Mission '' to create a National Digital Health Eco-system.
• It is the successor of the National Health Agency, which has been functioning as a registered society since 2018.

Under the Cabinet decision for full functional autonomy, the National Health Agency was reconstituted as the National Health Authority in January 2019.

Q1: What is Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY)?

AB PM-JAY is the largest health assurance scheme in the world which aims at providing a health cover of ₹ 5,00,000 per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to over 10.74 crores poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) that form bottom 40% of the Indian population. The households included is based on the deprivation and occupational criteria of the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011) for rural and urban areas respectively. PM-JAY.

Source: Why the Centre has extended the Digital Health Incentive Scheme 

About Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary:

• Location: It is a protected area located in the state of Uttarakhand, India.
  • It is situated in the Kumaon region of the Himalayas, approximately 33 kilometres north of the Almora district, Uttarakhand.
  • The sanctuary covers an area of around 47 square kilometres.
• History:
  • Binsar was the erstwhile summer capital of the Chand Dynasty rulers, who ruled Kumaon from the 7th to 18th century AD. situated at the height of 2,420 m.
  • According to the local people Binsar was named after the Bineshwar Mahadev temple (A 16th century temple) dedicated to Lord Shiva.
• It is known for its rich biodiversity and stunning panoramic views of the Himalayan peaks such as Chaukhamba, Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot, Panchachuli and Kedarnath.
• Flora:
  • The sanctuary is covered by oak and rhododendron forests at higher altitudes and by chir pine forests at a lower height.
  • It has 25 types of trees, 24 types of bushes and seven varieties of grasses.
• Fauna:
  • It is host to more than 200 species of native and migratory birds and endangered species like Indian red fox, jackals, pine martens and porcupines.
  • It also houses leopards, ghorals, wild boars, kakars, monkeys and Himalayan black bears and several species of birds including the Himalayan monal, koklass pheasant and Himalayan griffon.

Q1: What are rhododendrons?

Rhododendrons are a diverse genus of about 1,000 species of woody flowering plants in the heath family (Ericaceae), notable for their attractive flowers and handsome foliage.They are native to the temperate regions of Asia, North America, and Europe, as well as to the tropical regions of southeast Asia and northern Australia.

Source: Fire in Uttarakhand’s Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary kills 4 forest dept staffers, 4 injured

About Improvised Explosive Device (IED):

• It is a type of unconventional explosive weapon that can take any form and be activated in a variety of ways.
• They are used by criminals, vandals, terrorists, suicide bombers and insurgents.
• Because they are improvised, IEDs can come in many forms, ranging from a small pipe bomb to a sophisticated device capable of causing massive damage and loss of life.
• The extent of damage caused by an IED depends on its size, construction, and placement, and whether it incorporates a high explosive or propellant.
• The term IED came into common usage during the Iraq War that began in 2003.
• Components of an IED:
  • All IEDs consist of an initiating mechanism: a detonator, an explosive charge and a casing or collection of projectiles (such as ball bearings or nails) that produces lethal fragments upon detonation.
• Materials used as explosives in IEDs:
  • In practice, IEDs can be made of many different kinds of objects and materials, including artillery or mortar rounds, aerial bombs, certain types of fertilizers, TNT and other explosives.
  • IEDs can also contain radiological, chemical or biological components to increase their lethal and psychological effects.

Q1: What is hydrogen peroxide?

It is a colourless liquid usually produced as aqueous solutions of various strengths, used principally for bleaching cotton and other textiles and wood pulp, in the manufacture of other chemicals, as a rocket propellant, and for cosmetic and medicinal purposes.

Source: Is Liquid IED a new challenge for the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir?

About:

• Planet Nine is a hypothetical planet in the outer region of our solar system.
• The concept was proposed to explain certain anomalies observed in the orbits of distant trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), particularly those with highly elliptical and clustered orbits.

Characteristics:

• Mass: Estimated to be about 5 to 10 times that of Earth.
• Orbit: Believed to have a highly elliptical orbit with a semi-major axis of about 400 to 800 AU (astronomical units).
  • One AU is the average distance between Earth and the Sun, roughly 93 million miles or 150 million kilometres.
• Orbital Period: Could range from 10,000 to 20,000 years.
• Distance: At its closest, it might be around 200 AU from the Sun, and at its farthest, about 1,200 AU.

The hunt for the solar system's potential ninth planet may soon be coming to a close. With the opening of the groundbreaking Vera C. Rubin Observatory in 2025, we may either finally find Planet Nine within the next few years — or rule out the idea for good.

Q1: What is a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)?

GSLV is a space launch vehicle designed, developed and operated by the ISRO to launch satellites and other space objects into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits (GTO).

Source: Planet Nine: Is the search for this elusive world nearly over?

About:

• The Mitigation Work Programme (MWP) is a process established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to help countries scale up their mitigation ambition and implementation to achieve the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement.

Objectives:

• Generate discussions: Foster innovative discussions among policymakers and stakeholders to overcome barriers to scaling up mitigation action.
• Inclusive participation: Ensure diverse participation to support national processes and practical domestic policymaking pathways.
• Explore opportunities: Identify cost-effective and scalable mitigation opportunities to help countries implement and enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
• Operationalization: Conduct annual global dialogues and investment-focused events from 2023-2026.
• Address equity and sustainable development: Focus on equity, sustainable development, and synergies with adaptation, considering regional approaches.

UNFCCC:

The UNFCCC, established in 1992 during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, aims to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations to prevent dangerous climate change, ensuring ecosystems adapt naturally and sustainable development is maintained.

Q1: What is the goal of Paris Agreement?

The primary goal of the Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with an aspirational target of limiting the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

Source: Bonn climate meet plagued with distractions & doublespeak, road to COP29 appears bumpy: CSE

About:

• AI tool “Divya Drishti” integrates face recognition with immutable physiological parameters such as gait and skeleton.
  • It was developed by Ingenious Research Solutions Pvt Ltd., a start-up established by a woman entrepreneur, Dr. Shivani Verma.
• This innovative solution marks a significant advancement in biometric authentication technology, offering enhanced accuracy and reliability in identifying individuals.
• This dual approach enhances identification accuracy, minimizing the risk of false positives or identity fraud and has versatile applications across diverse sectors including Defence, Law Enforcement, Corporate and Public Infrastructure.
• The AI tool has been developed under the technical guidance and mentoring of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR), a laboratory of DRDO based in Bangalore.

The Technology Development Fund(TDF):

• The TDF scheme is a flagship programme ofthe Ministry of Defence executed by DRDO under ‘Make in India’ initiative.
• It grants aid for defence and dual-use technology development.
• Objectives: To build Indian industries' capacity and capability for defence technology development, foster a culture of design and development, and create an R&D ecosystem.

It supports niche technology development, and prototype creation, and achieves 'Aatmanirbharta' in defence technology.

Q1: What is augmented reality (AR)?

Augmented reality (AR) is the integration of digital information with the user's environment in Real Time. Unlike virtual reality, which creates a totally artificial environment, AR users experience a real-world environment with generated perceptual information overlaid on top of it.

Source: DRDO Unveils the Power of AI

About:

• A digital firewall is a software-based network security device that monitors and filters network traffic based on predefined security rules.
• It is designed to prevent unauthorized access to a network by controlling incoming and outgoing traffic.
• Digital firewalls can be installed on individual devices, such as computers or servers, and are often used in conjunction with other security measures like antivirus software to provide comprehensive protection against cyber threats.
• Though in recent times they are associated with censorship by oppressive governments, firewalls were meant to be a security tool.
• Large firewalls like the Great Firewall of China, for example, are highly complex cybersecurity tools maintained at scale to prevent people from accessing large sections of the Internet.
  • That means nation-states can entirely stop citizens from accessing the most commonly used websites on the Internet, eg. social media.

Q1: What are Semiconductors?

These are materials that have electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. They are the foundation of modern electronics and power a vast array of technologies such as computers, smartphones, solar panels, and medical devices.

Source: Is Pakistan using a firewall to censor social media platforms?

About JIMEX- 2024:

• This is the eighth edition of JIMEX, since its inception in 2012.
• The exercise includes both harbour and sea phases.
  • The harbour phase will comprise professional, sports and social interactions.
• During the exercise, navies of both countries will jointly hone their war fighting skills at sea and enhance their interoperability.
• Indian Navy’s indigenous Stealth Frigate INS Shivalik is participating in the bilateral maritime exercise. Japan is being represented by the Guided Missile Destroyer JS Yugiri.
• It provides an opportunity to learn from each other’s best practices and facilitates operational interactions between India and Japan.
• The exercise also reaffirms their shared commitment towards maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Other Exercises between India and Japan:
  • Malabar: India and Japan with the United States and Australia participate in the naval war gaming exercise named Malabar.
  • SHINYUU Maitri (Air Force)
  • Dharma Guardian (Military Exercise)

Source: Japan-India maritime exercise commences at Yokosuka

About JIMEX- 2024:

• This is the eighth edition of JIMEX, since its inception in 2012.
• The exercise includes both harbour and sea phases.
  • The harbour phase will comprise professional, sports and social interactions.
• During the exercise, navies of both countries will jointly hone their war fighting skills at sea and enhance their interoperability.
• Indian Navy’s indigenous Stealth Frigate INS Shivalik is participating in the bilateral maritime exercise. Japan is being represented by the Guided Missile Destroyer JS Yugiri.
• It provides an opportunity to learn from each other’s best practices and facilitates operational interactions between India and Japan.
• The exercise also reaffirms their shared commitment towards maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Other Exercises between India and Japan:
  • Malabar: India and Japan with the United States and Australia participate in the naval war gaming exercise named Malabar.
  • SHINYUU Maitri (Air Force)
  • Dharma Guardian (Military Exercise)

Source: Japan-India maritime exercise commences at Yokosuka