Current Affair 1:

Performance Grading Index

 

This year it is named as PGI 2.0. Why it is named 2.0? Read complete introduction.

In PGI 2.0, the nomenclature for PGI scores is classified into various grades:

The highest achievable Grade is called Daksh, which is for State/UT scoring more than 90% of the grade range. The lowest grade Akanshi-3 is for scores upto10% grade range.

Current Affair 2:

Lambani embroidery

 

News:

As part of the 3rd Culture Working Group Meeting of G20 in Hampi, under its ‘Culture Unites All’ campaign, Ministry of Culture has set a Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest Display of Lambani Items’.

Over 450 Lambani women artisans and cultural practitioners associated with Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra Kendra (SKKK) came together to create these items using GI-tagged Sandur Lambani embroidery having 1755 patchworks.  This Guinness World Record endeavour is aligned with the PM’s campaign of Mission ‘LiFe’ (Lifestyle for environment) and the CWG’s initiative for ‘Culture for LiFe’, an environmentally conscious lifestyle and a concerted action towards sustainability.

About Lambani:

Lambani embroidery is a vibrant and intricate form of textile embellishment characterized by colourful threads, mirror work, and a rich array of stitch patterns.

It is practised in several villages of Karnataka.

This rich embroidery tradition, predominantly upheld by the skilled women of the Lambani community, serves as a vital source of livelihood and sustenance, intertwining living practices with economic empowerment.

The promotion of this craft will not only preserve a living heritage practice of India but will also support the economic independence of women.

Lambani craft tradition involves skilfully stitching together small pieces of discarded fabric to create a beautiful fabric.

The embroidery traditions of the Lambanis are shared in terms of technique and aesthetics with textile traditions across Eastern Europe, West, and Central Asia.

About Sandur Kushal Kala Kendra (SKKK)

Sandur Kushal Kala Kendra (SKKK), registered as a Society in 1988, aims to revive traditional crafts and enhance the livelihoods of craftswomen by nurturing their skills, promoting their products, and thus ensuring a steady income. Presently, SKKK works with approximately 600 artisans and has nurtured twenty self-help groups. It has evolved over the years and gained recognition for the Lambani craft, both nationally and internationally.

Over the years, SKKK has gained national and international recognition for the Lambani craft, earning the prestigious UNESCO Seal of Excellence for Handicrafts in South Asia in 2004 and 2012. SKKK obtained the GI (Geographical Indication) tag for the craft ‘Sandur Lambani hand embroidery’ in the year 2008. 

 

Current Affair 3:

Revised guidelines skip focus on palliative care

 

News:

Palliative care is the branch of medicine focusing on improving the quality of life and preventing suffering among those with life-limiting illnesses.

Is there a palliative care programme?

The National Programme for Prevention & Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases & Stroke (NPCDCS), now the National Programme for Prevention & Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD), includes chronic diseases whose treatment contributes the most to health-related expenses. These diseases progress to a stage where, in an ideal scenario, palliative care should take over curative care.

Launched in 2010 to counter the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases in the country, the programme envisaged the provision of promotive, preventive, and curative care from the primary to tertiary institutes, thus providing health services delivery across the continuum of care.

The revised operational guidelines of NP-NCD were expected to strengthen the programme. However, it has not succeeded in addressing certain gaps in palliative care in India.

What are the gaps in the guidelines?

1. The revised NP-NCD operational guidelines, released in May 2023, mention palliative care in synonymy with cancer only. Cancer is just one of 20 common health conditions that require palliative care. This is a step back from the previous operational guideline (2013-2017), in which chronic and debilitating conditions also fell under the ambit of palliative care.
2. Since most patients who need palliative care are suffering from debilitating diseases, home-based care forms the ideal mode of healthcare delivery. There is no mention of home-based palliative care services.
3. Palliative care must be delivered at least at the health and wellness centre and sub-center level. If people have to come to the district hospital for palliative care, it is a failure of the health system.
4. The guidelines mention the linking of 11 programmes to promote the convergence of services focusing on the care of non-communicable diseases. One of these is the National Programme for Palliative Care (NPPC). NPPC was announced in 2012; however, the lack of a dedicated budget has prevented the implementation of the programme since its inception.

Current Affair 4:

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

 

News:

Iran has formally become a full member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The Islamic Republic of Iran becomes 9th member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Other 8 members:

Eight countries enjoy the status of the SCO full members: India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

About SCO:

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.

History of the SCO

Creation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was proclaimed on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

 

 

International Co-operations:

Cooperation with the United Nations

On 2 December 2004, the 59th plenary session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution А/RES/59/48 (agenda item 151) entitled "Observer status for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the General Assembly." The resolution provided the SCO with the right to participate in the sessions and work of the General Assembly as an observer.

Cooperation with ASEAN

A Memorandum of Understanding between the secretariats of the SCO and ASEAN was signed in Jakarta on 21 April 2005.

Cooperation with  ICRC

On 9 June 2017, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Secretariat and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the SCO Heads of State Council Meeting in Astana.

Now, news form recent summit:

The city of Varanasi has been nominated as the first-ever SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital during the period 2022-2023 at the 22nd Meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022.

Also, you should know:

1. Under India’s first-ever Chairmanship, the 23rd Summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State was held on 4 July 2023, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
2. The theme of the Summit is ‘Towards a SECURE SCO’. The SECURE acronym was coined by the Prime Minister at the 2018 SCO Summit and stands for Security; Economy and Trade; Connectivity; Unity; Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity; and Environment.

 

 

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