Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package
“Pradhan Mantri Garib
Kalyan Package: Insurance Scheme for Health Workers fighting COVID-19” extended
for a further period of 180 days
The ‘Pradhan Mantri
Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP), insurance scheme for Health Care Workers Fighting
COVID-19’ has been extended for a further period of 180 days from 19th April,
2022.
Why is it in news?
It has been decided to
extend the policy so as to continue to provide the safety net to the dependents
of health workers who are deputed to take care of COVID-19 patients. A letter
dt. 19th April 2022 to this effect has been issued to the
Additional Chief Secretaries (Health)/Principal Secretaries (Health)/
Secretaries (Health) of all States/UTs for giving wide publicity amongst the
health workers in their respective States/UTs.
Highlights
·
The PMGKP was launched
on 30th March, 2020 to provide comprehensive personal accident
cover of Rs. 50 Lakh to 22.12 lakh health care providers including community
health workers and private health workers who may have been in direct contact
and care of COVID-19 patients and may be at risk of being impacted by this.
·
Further, on account of
the unprecedented situation, private hospital staff/retired/ volunteer/local
urban bodies/contract/daily wage/ad-hoc/outsourced staff requisitioned by
states/central hospitals/autonomous hospitals of central/states/UTs, AIIMS
& Institute of National Importance (INI)/hospitals of Central Ministries
specifically drafted for care of COVID-19 patients are also covered under the
PMGKP.
·
Since the launch of the
scheme, so far, 1905 claims of Health workers who died while being deployed for
Covid related duties have been settled.
Vice President visits birthplace of freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju
Vice President visits
birthplace of freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju
Interacts with Shri Alluri’s family members and residents of Pandrangi village
‘Youth must learn the spirit of sacrifice and unwavering commitment from our
freedom fighters’: VP
VP unveils the statues of freedom fighters Shri Rupakula Subrahmanyam and Smt.
Rupakula Visalakshi in Ramalayam Barlapeta
The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu today visited the
birthplace of noted freedom fighter and revolutionary, Shri Alluri Sitarama
Raju in Pandrangi village near Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
Why is it
in news?
Calling
it a memorable day in his life, Shri Naidu said that he was an ardent follower
of Shri Alluri since his student days. After garlanding a statue of Shri
Alluri, he met the family members of the freedom
fighter and interacted with the residents of the village.
Lauding
the brave sacrifices of Shri Alluri, Shri Naidu said that “he did not flinch when facing the might of the British empire. His
conviction, commitment, selfless dedication and sincerity were unshakeable as
he galvanised the tribals to fight against the injustices of the British.”
Highlights
· Writing in a Facebook post
later, Shri Naidu suggested that as India celebrates Aazadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, “we
must recollect the innumerable sacrifices of our freedom fighters and take
inspiration from their patriotic zeal”. He
reminded that these heroes fought “not merely for an abstract geographical
entity, but to free millions of people from an oppressive and unjust British
rule”.
· Shri Naidu called upon the
youth “to learn the spirit of sacrifice
and unwavering commitment from our freedom fighters. They must never compromise
on core values whatever be the exigency”. He urged the youth to visit the
birthplaces of such great national heroes and seek inspiration by reliving
their stories.
· The Vice President later
visited the village of Ramalayam Barlapeta and unveiled the busts of freedom
fighters Shri Rupakula Subrahmanyam and Smt. Rupakula Visalakshi. Interacting
with the residents of the village, Shri Naidu lauded the couple’s efforts in
the temple entry movement, Quit India movement and the Salt Satyagraha. Shri
Naidu said that their lives serve as an inspiration to the present generation and
urged that many such unsung heroes’ lives be retold and celebrated.
Diksha portal
PM visits the Vidya
Samiksha Kendra for Schools in Gandhinagar
Inspects various facets of the Kendra and interacts with stakeholders
An informal, spontaneous interaction with students and teachers
Asks more students to be connected with Dikhsha Portel
Asks for exploring attaching nutrition monitoring in the system
Emphasizes the importance of human touch and need for balance between real and
virtual
Calls for maintaining an atmosphere of healthy competition based on the new
system
Why is it in news?
The
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi visited the Vidya Samiksha Kendra a Command
and Control Centre for Schools in Gandhinagar today. The Prime Minister was
shown the monitoring activities, video walls and live demonstration of the
various facets of the Kendra was made to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister
was briefed by an audio visual presentation also. Chief Minister of Gujarat
Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel was among those present on the occasion.
Highlights
· The Prime Minister
interacted with the stakeholders. Ms Rajashri Patel head teacher from Ambaji
was the first person to interact. The Prime Minister inquired about the
interest of teachers in the new technologies. The Prime Minister also asked the
students about the use of Diksha Portal. The Prime Minister inquired about the
level of compliance load whether it has increased or it has made the situation
easier. He also said in a light-hearted manner that it is becoming difficult to
cheat. He also interacted with a class 7 student. The Prime Minister asked the
student to play and eat well. The Prime Minister went very conversational and
informal with the group. CRC coordinator from the same district also narrated
the change brought about by the new technology. He took the Prime Minister
through the process of monitoring and verification by the coordinator. The
Prime Minister also went deep into the possibilities of the new system by
asking about using the system for nutrition monitoring, whether it is viable
for teachers and what can be done to sensitize students and other stakeholder
about the balanced diet.
· Shri Modi narrated a
personal experience of his visit to Canada many years ago where he visited a
science museum and filled a chart for his diet at the kiosk. His vegetarian
diet made the machine say “are you a bird’!!
· The Prime Minister
continued and said that this must be kept in mind that while technology is
accessible and can open new vistas hitherto unknown, however, the Prime
Minister cautioned, that real world should not be ignored for the virtual
world.
· From Kutch, Rathore Kalpana
from SMC committee of the Primary School, the Prime Minister asked about the
benefit for the primary teachers. He was told that the new system is improving
compliance. Talking to class 8 student Pooja the Prime Minister recalled
an old issue that teachers from Mehsana could not teach in local Kutch dialect.
The Prime Minister was informed that situation has improved. The Prime Minister
in a light hearted manner asked about the support given to the weak students.
Head teacher of the school also informed how teachers used G Shala, Diksha app
etc during Corona period and how even nomadic communities were provided
education. The Prime Minister was also told that many students had necessary
devices for the new system. The Prime Minister showed his concern for less
emphasis on physical activities. He informed that sports in no longer
extra-curricular but is part of curriculum.
· Darshana Ben from Tapi
district elaborated on her experience and said how various parameters have
improved due to the new system. She also said that work load has been reduced.
She also informed most of students were registered on Diksha Portal. Tanvi, a
class 10 student said that she wanted to become doctor. The Prime Minister told
her that earlier science subjects were not available in the remote areas but
after intense campaign situation changed and now benefits are visible.
· The Prime Minister, said
that Gujarat always go for new methods and later entire country adopts them. He
was informed about the interest evinced by other states. The Prime Minister
also expressed concern that too much disconnect should not happen. He wanted
the coordinators of the project to keep the human element alive. He was told
about the ‘read along’ feature and whatsapp based remedy measures. The
Prime Minister also asked to maintain an atmosphere of healthy competition
based on the new system.
· The Kendra collects
over 500 crore data sets annually and analyzes them meaningfully using big data
analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, in order to enhance
overall learning outcomes for students. The Kendra helps track daily online
attendance of teachers and students, undertake centralized summative and
periodic assessments of learning outcome of students etc. Vidya Samiksha Kendra
has been deemed a global best practice by the World Bank, which has also
invited other countries to visit and learn about it.