National
The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission (NNMC) Bill, 2023
⇒ In a landmark move aimed at bringing transformative changes to the nursing education and practice landscape, the Parliament passed the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission (NNMC) Bill, 2023 during the Monsoon Session of Parliament in August 2023.
- The Act will replace the existing Indian Nursing Council with a modern regulatory structure, marking a significant legislative reform in the sector.
- The NNMC Act, 2023, will introduce several crucial provisions to elevate the standards of nursing education and services, enhance professional conduct, and ensure greater transparency and accountability.
The key highlights of the proposed Act are as follows:
- Establishment of National and State Commissions: Under the NNMC Act, a National Nursing and Midwifery Commission and Autonomous Boards at the National level will be established. Corresponding State Nursing and Midwifery Commissions will also be set up to regulate and maintain education and service standards, oversee professional conduct, and manage online and live Registers.
- Tenure and Accountability: One of the pivotal reforms introduced by the Act will be the provision of fixed tenures for members and the chairperson of the Commission, eliminating reappointment and preventing vested interests. This measure ensures transparency and accountability among regulators in the nursing education sector. The Act will also grant the government the authority to issue directions to the Commission in the interest of the public.
- Uniform Admission Process and Competence: The National Commission will implement a standardized admission process to ensure consistency across nursing education. Moreover, it will focus on maintaining the competence of nursing and midwifery professionals to ensure high-quality healthcare services.
- Embracing Innovation and Collaboration: The NNMC Act will encourage the use of cutting-edge technology and innovation in nursing education. The Commission will collaborate with industry and other institutions to foster synergy, excellence, and research in the nursing field.
- Development of Soft Skills and Specialized Courses: The Act will emphasize on the development of soft skills among registered professionals and recognizes specialized courses and certification programs in nursing and midwifery. This move aims to enhance the expertise of nursing professionals in various domains.
- Global Mobility and Expertise: The NNMC Act will seek to facilitate global mobility and employability of Indian nurses by inviting foreign experts and domain specialists to participate in the National Commission’s meetings. This international collaboration will contribute to enhancing the skills and expertise of Indian nurses.
- National Advisory Council and Coordination: The Act will provide for the formation of a National Advisory Council to ensure balanced representation from all states and Union Territories. This Council will offer advice on matters related to nursing education, services, training, and research. Additionally, joint sittings with relevant statutory bodies, including the National Medical Commission, Pharmacy Council of India, National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions, National Commission of Indian system of Medicine, and National Commission of Homeopathy, will promote a team-based approach to healthcare delivery.
» The Bill became an Act after the assent of the President on August 12, 2023, and is called the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Act, 2023.
- This is an Act to provide for regulation and maintenance of standards of education and services by nursing and midwifery professionals, assessment of institutions, maintenance of a National Register and State Registers and creation of a system to improve access, research and development and adoption of latest scientific advancement and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Digital portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) office
⇒ Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah launched the digital portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) office in Pune, Maharashtra on 06 August 2023.
Showing firm belief in the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sahkar se Samridhi”, the Ministry of Cooperation has taken several initiatives to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country. In this direction, the office of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies is being computerized to promote ease of doing business in the cooperative sector.
The main objectives of computerization of the Central Registrar’s Office are:
- Completely paperless application and processing
- Automatic compliance with Multi State Co-operative Societies Act (MSCS Act) and Rules through software
- Enhancing Ease of Doing Business
- Digital communication
- Transparent processing
- Improved Analytics and MIS (Management Information Systems)
Key Points:
- The new portal will also incorporate the recently passed amendments to the MSCS Act, 2002 and its rules.
- The portal will have processing of applications/service requests in a time bound manner through electronic work flow.
- It will also have provisions for OTP based user registration, validation checks for compliance with the MSCS Act and Rules, hearing through video conference, issue of registration certificate and electronic communication.
- This project of computerization will prove helpful in registration of new MSCS and will ease their functioning.
- There are more than 1550 Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) registered in the country.
- The office of the Central Registrar is responsible for administering the Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.
- The Central Registrar’s Office is being computerized to ease all the activities of multi-state cooperatives and to create a digital ecosystem, including registration of new multi-state cooperatives.
International
7th BRICS Industry Ministers’ meeting
⇒ Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal participated in the “7th BRICS Industry Ministers’ meeting” hosted virtually with South Africa as the Chair on 07 August 2023.
- Shri Goyal announced that India will be launching the BRICS Startup Forum in 2023 with the goal of facilitating collaboration and sharing best practices among startups, investors, incubators, and aspiring entrepreneurs.
The Industry Ministers of other BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa) also attended the meeting and the Joint Declaration was adopted.
Highlights:
- The Ministers re-emphasized on the need for digitalization, industrialization, innovation, inclusiveness, and investment among BRICS countries. They recognized the increasing importance of Industry 4.0 and other emerging technologies in promoting digital transformation of all economic sectors. Through the declaration, the BRICS members acknowledged the need for human resource development and exploring opportunities for cooperation on upskilling and reskilling programs.
- The Ministers reiterated their commitment to deepen industrial cooperation and expedite the recovery and growth of the Industrial Economy through jointly creating an open, fair, vibrant, resilient and non-discriminatory environment.
- The Ministers recognized the key role of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the importance of their integration and diversification into global industrial chains, supply chains and value chains. The Ministers also underlined the need for creating market opportunities within the BRICS countries for inclusive growth of projects owned/managed by women, youth and disadvantaged groups.
Sports
2023 World Archery Championships
⇒ The 2023 World Archery Championships was held from 31 July to 6 August 2023 in Berlin, Germany.
- The World Archery Championships 2023 in Berlin was the first Paris 2024 Olympic qualifier event for archers.
Performance of India:
- India topped in the medal table followed by Republic of Korea.
- The medal tally was India’s best haul at the world championships. India had never bagged a gold medal since the championships began in 1931.
- India finished the 2023 World Archery Championships with 4 medals including 3 golds and 1 bronze. All the medals were won by compound archers.
India’s medal winners at the World Archery Championships 2023:
Gold medal:
- Ojas Pravin Deotale – Men’s individual compound
- Aditi Gopichand Swami – Women’s individual compound
- Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur and Aditi Gopichand Swami – Women’s compound team
Bronze medal:
- Jyothi Surekha Vennam – Women’s individual compound
Key Points:
- 17-year-old Aditi Gopichand Swami secured the first individual world title for the country by winning Gold Medal at the Championships. She became the youngest across the globe to win the title.
- Ojas Pravin Deotale clinched Gold Medal in Men’s Individual event. He became the first Indian male archer to claim such a title at the World Archery Championships.
- Indian women’s compound team clinched India’s first-ever Gold medal at the World Archery Championship.