SAHYO app to help area-specific strategies, decisions in COVID-19 outbreak
Context :
The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, developed mobile application SAHYO, an Integrated Geospatial Platform out of available geospatial datasets, standards-based services, and analytic tools. The mobile application and the website prepared and managed by the Survey of India (SoI)
SAHYO App :
- The SAHYO aims to help decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- It will aid devising area-specific strategies to handle the socio-economic impact in the recovery phase.
- The platform will strengthen the public health delivery system of the Central and State Governments.
- It will provide the necessary geospatial information support to citizens and agencies dealing with the challenges related to socio-economic distress, health, and livelihood challenges.
- SAHYO is also available as a web portal in https://indiamaps.gov.in/soiapp/
- The app has been customized to collect COVID-19 specific geospatial datasets through community engagement to augment the response activities by the Government of India to the pandemic.
- Information parameters required as per the strategy of the Government of India strategy and containment plan for large outbreaks have been incorporated in the SAHYOG application.
- This integrated geospatial platform will strengthen India’s health emergency management due to the COVID-19 outbreak and support the socio-economic recovery process through the seamless provision of spatial data, information, and linkage between human, medical, technological, infrastructural and natural resources.
source : the hindu
Undertrials Freed to Decongest Jails
Context :
According to the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), around 11,077 undertrials have been released from prisons nationwide as part of the mission to decongest jails following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Key Points :
- NALSA has been providing assistance to prisoners who are eligible to be released on parole or interim bail under the relaxed norms, through its panel of lawyers.
- The Supreme Court has ordered all States and Union Territories to set up high-level panels which would consider releasing all convicts who have been jailed for upto seven years on parole to decongest jails in an attempt to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.
- The Bench suggested that undertrials awaiting for offences entailing maximum sentence of seven years also be extended a similar benefit.
- Local legal services authorities are actively assisting the high-level panels for identifying undertrials who could be released on bail during the present scenario.
- Till now, responses received from 232 districts reflect that around 11,077 undertrials and 5,981 convicts have been released.
National Legal Services Authority :
- Statutory Body: It has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free legal services to the weaker sections of the society and to organize Lok Adalats (an alternative dispute redressal mechanism) for amicable settlement of disputes.
- Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 prescribes the criteria for giving legal services to the eligible persons.
- In line with Constitutional Provisions:
- Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides that State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disability.
- Articles 14 and 22(1) also make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before law and a legal system which promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity to all.
- Chairman: The Chief Justice of India is the Patron-in-Chief and the second senior most Judge of the Supreme Court of India is the Executive Chairman of the Authority.
- At State and District Level: State Legal Services Authority has been constituted to give effect to the policies and directions of the NALSA. In every District, the District Legal Services Authority has been constituted to implement legal services programmes in the district.
- It can be noted that the role played by NALSA and its networks is very much relevant to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal-16, which seeks to “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”.
MHA makes Spitting offence
Context :
The Government of India has announced Spitting in public act a punishable offence under the strict Disaster Management Act in its revised guidelines for lockdown issued to contain COVID-19. The announcement was made by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in its revised guidelines.
Highlights :
- The guidelines also mandated the wearing of face masks in public places.
- MHA has made spitting punishable with a fine under Section 51 (b) of the Disaster Management Act.
- Spitting in public has been already made an offence under municipal laws in various cities. This has been hardly taken seriously by the people in the country.
- Measures have been taken by the Municipal corporations of Delhi and several other states.
- Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand have already issued orders to ban tobacco products and spitting in public places amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- MHA imposed a strict ban on the sale of liquor, ‘gutka’, tobacco, etc. It strictly prohibited spitting in public places.
- The directives shall be implemented by district magistrates through fines and penal action given under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
- Anyone refusing to comply with the order of government orders under the Disaster Management Act will result in imprisonment up to one year or a fine, or both.
Colour coding to help manage COVID-19 pandemic
Context :
The government has decided to divide all districts across the country into hotspots, non-hotspots and green zones.
The health and family welfare ministry has identified 170 hotspot districts, 207 non-hotspot districts reporting cases and 359 green zone districts not reporting any cases across the country.
These numbers will increase or decrease based on fresh cases of novel coronavirus infection.
Why this classification was necessary? What are its implications?
This will help in managing the Covid-19 pandemic as well as partial opening up of economic activities during the extended period of the nationwide lockdown. This would help in management of hotspots and spread of pandemic.
How are the districts divided?
The health ministry used two criteria to classify the districts as hotspots — the absolute number of cases and the speed of growth in cases.
The technical definition followed to classify the districts is any district reporting more than six cases would be classified as hotspot district or red zone.
Any hotspot district with more than 15 cases would be treated as a district witnessing outbreak.
Which districts are under red zone?
Delhi and NCR, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Thane, Yavatmal, Sangli, Buldhana, Ahmednagar, and Latur in Maharashtra, and Chennai, Chengalpattu, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Erode, Dindigul, Karur, Madurai, Namakkal, Ranipet, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Theni in Tamil Nadu.
Demarcation of epicentre and containment zones:
A house with positive cases or a cluster with positive cases is marked as the epicentre of the containment zone. A radius of 0.5 km is taken and the area around it is cordoned off with only essential services available.
Also, a buffer zone is marked where people with severe and acute respiratory illnesses (SARI) are checked and monitored.
Containment zones are created to map the local transmission of the disease and prevent the contagion from spreading.
IMF reports that COVID-19 pandemic will bring Asia’s 2020 growth to halt for 1st time in 60 years
context :
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its report on the Asia-Pacific region stated that Asia’s economic growth in 2020 will grind to a halt for the first time in 60 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Report Highlights :
- The IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department directed the policymakers to offer targeted support to households and firms hardest-hit by travel bans, social distancing policies and other measures aimed at containing the pandemic.
- IMF forecasted a 7.6% expansion in Asian economic growth in 2021 on the assumption that containment policies succeed. It also said that the outlook is highly uncertain.
- It also stated that The impact of the coronavirus on the region will be severe, across the board, and unprecedented.
- It suggested that the Asian countries need to use all policy instruments in their toolkits.
- Asia is set to fare better than other regions that suffered economic contractions. The projection is expected to be worse than the 4.7% average growth rate throughout the global financial crisis.
International Monetary Fund (IMF):
Formed on: 27 December 1945
Headquarters: Washington, D.C., The US
Managing Director: Kristalina Georgieva
Chief Economist: Gita Gopinath
Membership: 189 countries
Official language: English
IMF promotes international monetary co-operation and facilitates international trade. It aims to foster sustainable economic growth, make resources available to members experiencing balance of payments difficulties.
source : the hindu