Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
Why in News
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the launch of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), a central sector scheme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, at the national level for five years with a budget of Rs 1600 crore. Is.
Key point
• National Health Authority (NHA) will be the implementing agency of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
• Digital health solutions in the health ecosystem have proved to be highly beneficial over the years and Co-Win, Aarogya Setu and e-Sanjeevani have shown that technology can play an important role in enabling access to healthcare. However, there is a need to integrate such solutions for continuity of care and effective utilization of resources.
• Based on the Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the Government, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is building a simple online platform through provision of comprehensive data, information and infrastructure services and It is also ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health-related personal information by leveraging an open, interoperable and standards-based digital system.
• Under ABDM, citizens will be able to create their own Aura (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) number, which can be linked to their digital health records.
• It will enable the creation of detailed health records for individuals across different healthcare providers and improve clinical decision making by healthcare providers.
• The mission will improve equitable access to quality health care by encouraging the use of technologies such as telemedicine and enabling portability of health services at the national level.
• The pilot project of ABDM has been completed in six Union Territories of Ladakh, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep with successful demonstration of the technology platform developed by NHA.
• During the pilot project, a digital sandbox was created with over 774 participating solutions undergoing integration. As of 24 February 2022, 17,33,69,087 Ayushman Bharat health accounts have been created and 10,114 doctors and 17,319 health facilities have been registered in ABDM.
• ABDM will not only facilitate evidence-based decision making with regard to effective public health measures, but it will also promote innovation and create employment opportunities in the healthcare ecosystem.
GS PAPER II
Operation Ganga
Why in News
• India is continuously running ‘Operation Ganga’ campaign to evacuate its citizens from war-torn Ukraine. Efforts are being made to evacuate other citizens trapped there through various transit points located on the borders of neighboring countries.
Key point
• Although Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla says that India has safely evacuated about 2,000 of its people from Ukraine. About 1,000 of them have been brought home by chartered planes via Hungary and Romania.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting on the evening of 27 February 2022 to review the progress in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine.
• Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security in Delhi. In this meeting, he had said that the top priority of the government is the safety of Indian citizens.
• The evacuation operation named ‘Operation Ganga’ is being activated on a large scale from Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. Camps have been set up along the border with Ukraine in these countries.
GS PAPER II
United Nations Security Council
Why in News
• India has once again decided to remain neutral during the Ukraine war in the United Nations (UN). This is the second time in the last one week that India has been absent during voting along with China and the United Arab Emirates.
Key point
• The United Nations Security Council on the Ukraine crisis was re-convened to discuss Russia’s aggression.
• Voting was held on calling a special emergency session on the Ukraine crisis. However, India once again stayed away from voting. Apart from India, China and the United Arab Emirates also abstained from voting.
• Earlier the meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was held. In this a resolution strongly criticizing Russia was brought.
• Eleven countries voted in favor of that proposal while India, China and the UAE abstained from voting. Russia used the veto to block the proposal.
India’s opinion
• India’s Permanent Representative to the UN TS Tirumurti said during the discussion that cross-border conflicts and uncertain situations have affected the evacuation efforts of our citizens.
• It is a human need that must be considered. He said that India has decided to abstain from voting even today keeping in mind the prevailing circumstances.
• India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador TS Tirumurti, in a clarification of the February 28 vote, said that it is regrettable that the situation in Ukraine has worsened since the last meeting of the Council on the matter.
• India’s Permanent Representative Tirumurti underlined that there is no other option but to return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue.
• This is the first time since 1982 that the UNSC has decided to refer the matter to the UNGA for a special emergency session.
• At the UNSC, the US said that we will cast our vote on a resolution that will hold Russia accountable for its unforgivable actions and violations.
Five permanent members
• Significantly, along with five permanent members, 10 non-permanent members also attended the special session of the UNSC. The five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – could not exercise their veto.
Censure motion
• At the UNSC, a censure motion was brought by the Western countries against Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.
• Eleven countries supported this proposal, while three countries including India were absent from voting on this proposal.
• India has made it clear that it is deeply concerned about the devastation in Ukraine and regrets that the path of diplomacy was abandoned too early.
GS PAPER III
SWIFT PAYMENT SYSTEM
Why in News
• According to Ukrainian media, preparations are underway to separate Russia from the SWIFT payment system.
Key point
• Russia’s attacks on Ukraine have attracted widespread criticism. Russian military airstrikes have destroyed 74 military bases of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
• Many Western countries, including America, have imposed various sanctions on Russia after the attack on Ukraine.
• Russia may have to face economic crisis due to these sanctions. Meanwhile, there is a discussion going on to ban Russia from Swift.
• America has also blamed Russia for the death of ordinary people.
• Ukraine has among other demands to disconnect Russia from the SWIFT system.
What is Swift?
• SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) is a system acting as Gmail for Global Banking Services.
• It was established in the year 1973 to eliminate dependence on telex system.
• It was used to send text messages. SWIFT provides secure communication in the form of messages between more than 11,000 financial institutions and companies in more than 200 countries.
• More than 200 countries are connected to the SWIFT system. It is a messaging network. Some code is used by this, through which money transactions take place. SWIFT’s headquarter has been established at La Hulpe in Brussels, Belgium to run this system.
Importance:
• The importance of SWIFT can be understood from the fact that in 2012, when some Iranian banks were forced out of SWIFT, Iran’s oil exports fell by more than three million barrels a day.
• At the same time, when Russia was warned to get out of SWIFT in the year 2014, at that time the Finance Minister of Russia had warned of a fall in the country’s GDP. Thereafter no action was taken.
• If Russia is taken out of SWIFT, it will be almost impossible to transfer money in Russia domestically and abroad.
• Russia will not get foreign currency from this. Due to this, Russia’s companies and its economy will have a very bad effect.
• It is not that only Russia will suffer from this, but other countries will not be able to get resources from Russia like gas, oil and various metals.