EDITORIALS & ARTICLES
26th December 2020
Electronic-Human Resource Management System (e-HRMS)
Recently, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions has released the progress report of Electronic-Human Resource Management System (e-HRMS).
- The Expenditure Management Commission (EMC) has recommended to put in place a Human Resource Management System (HRMS) across all offices of the Government of India.
- The DoPT was tasked to expeditiously roll-out e-Service Book in respect of all the central government employees in a time bound manner with the support of NIC and involvement of Cadre Controlling authorities.
What is e-HRMS?
- The DoPT (Department of Personnel and Training) has introduced the e-HRMS to facilitate a digital working environment, and streamline Human Resource services for Government employees.
- The National Informatics Centre (NIC) is the technical partner of DoPT for designing, development and implementation of e-HRMS.
- The e-HRMS will provide analytics to the Senior Administration in Policy formulation and implementation.
- The e-HRMS can be adopted by State Governments and other Government Units providing a single window access for hiring-to-retiring of Government employees.
Significance of e-HRMS
- Automated Clearances: Automated clearances when implemented will save resources in terms of time money and efforts both on part of administration and employee.
- Retirements: The e-HRMS can eliminate employees’ time spent to fill up various forms (such as NOC, No Dues Certificate, etc.) from various offices/sections, resulting in ease of living for Government employees post-retirement.
- Learning and learning record management: Integration with iGOT Karmayogi (Online Training Portal for employees) will enable digitization of learning records of officials.
Key Highlights of Progress of e-HRMS
- The report stated that the application of Artificial Intelligence tools will greatly help in policy making and in handling of matters related to personnel.
- Through e-HRMS, Government employees are accessing their service related information and it has digitized HR processes in the Government of India.
- The employees will be able to not only see all their details such as service book, leave, GPF, Salary etc., but also apply for different kind of claims/reimbursements, loan/advances, leave, LTC advances, Tour etc. on a single platform.
Mission Karmayogi-National Program for Civil Services Capacity Building
- It is a new capacity-building scheme for civil servants aimed at upgrading the post-recruitment training mechanism of the officers and employees at all levels.
- It will be delivered by setting up a digital platform called iGOTKarmayogi.
- The iGOT platform will act as a launchpad for the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB), which will enable a comprehensive reform of the capacity building apparatus at the individual, institutional and process levels.
- NPCSCB will be governed by the Prime Minister’s Human Resource Council, which will also include state Chief Ministers, Union Cabinet ministers and experts.
- A wholly-owned Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be set up under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 to govern the iGOT-Karmayogi platform.
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- The SPV will be a “not-for-profit” company and will own and manage iGOT-Karmayogi platform.
- A sum of Rs 510.86 crore will be spent over a period of 5 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 in order to cover 46 lakh central employees.
E-Sampada Web Portal
Recently, the Union Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs has launched the ‘E-Sampada web portal’.
- The new Web Portal and Mobile App have been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).
- The new application provides a single-window for all these services including an allotment for over one lakh government residential accommodations, office space allotment to government organisations in 45 office complexes in 28 cities etc.
- E-Sampada equips users with much specialised features like the personalised dashboard, service usage archive and real-time status on licence fees/dues.
- The portal provides online facility to users across India to lodge complaints, submit documents and appear for the virtual hearing.
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- It will reduce administrative cost and will save time and resources by reducing visits to Directorate of Estate.
Significance of E-Sampada Portal
- It is a significant step towards promotion of e-governance to boost transparency and accountability in providing various Estate Services like allotment, retention, regularisation, no dues certificate etc.
- The E-Sampada is developed to simplify processes and bring uniformity in the system across India.
- It will promote ease of living for Government of India officers / Departments as all services can be availed online on a single window with live tracking of applications.
- The automated processes will minimize human intervention and will lead to greater transparency.
Mission Sagar
Recently, the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kiltan has arrived at Vietnam's Nha Rong Port, Ho Chi Minh City as part of the Mission Sagar III.
- India and Vietnam signed seven agreements in areas ranging from defence to petrochemicals.
- The India-Vietnam summit unveiled a joint vision for enhanced security cooperation to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific.
- The developments came against the backdrop of concerns in both countries about China’s aggressive actions.
- The Prime Minister has described Vietnam as an important pillar of India’s Act East policy and an important ally of our Indo-Pacific vision.
Mission Sagar
- The Mission Sagar was launched in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of SAGAR or security and growth for all in the region.
- The mission reiterates India’s position as a dependable partner and the Indian Navy as the preferred security partner and first responder
- Under Mission Sagar III, 15 tonnes of humanitarian relief supplies for people affected by floods in central Vietnam as part of New Delhi’s efforts to assist countries in the region amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
INS Kiltan
- It is an indigenously-built anti-submarine warfare stealth corvette.
- It is the third of the four Kamorta-class corvettes being built under Project 28.
- It is designed by Directorate of Naval Design and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata.
- It is India’s first major warship to have a superstructure of carbon fibre composite material resulting in improved stealth features, lower top weight and maintenance costs.
Shaheen Exercise
Recently, Pakistan has welcomed combat pilots and military aircraft from China as they arrived for Shaheen-IX Exercise in Pakistan.
Shaheen Exercise
- It is joint air force drill between Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).
- The exercise offers opportunity to further enhance interoperability of both the air forces, thereby fortifying brotherly relations between the two countries.
- The air drills, also known as Xiongying (or Eagle), is the ninth in the series of joint air exercises, conducted each year in both countries on an alternate basis.
Ammonia Gas Leak
Recently, two persons died and several took ill in a major ammonia gas leakage at the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) unit at Prayagraj.
Ammonia
- The tri-hydroid of nitrogen (NH3) i.e. ammonia, is a building block for ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) that is used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertiliser.
- It is a colorless gas with a distinct odor composed of nitrogen and hydrogen atoms.
- Ammonia is stored for industrial use in liquid form under high pressure or in gaseous form at low temperature.
- Ammonia, which is highly soluble in water, is found in soil, air and water.
- It is naturally present in the body and secreted by the kidneys to neutralise excess acid.
How Ammonia affects a Human Body?
- Ammonia interacts immediately upon contact with moisture present in the skin, eyes, oral cavity and respiratory tract to form ammonium hydroxide.
- Ammonium hydroxide is very caustic and disrupts the cell membrane lipids, ultimately leading to cellular destruction.
- Ammonia gas is toxic and affects the lungs with a possibility of causing chemical pneumonitis i.e. inflammation of the lung caused by aspirating or inhaling irritants.
Uses of Ammonia
- Ammonia is critical in the manufacturing of fertilizers.
- It is one of the largest-volume synthetic chemicals produced in the world.
- More than 80 per cent of ammonia made is consumed in the manufacturing of fertilizer, and most of the remainder goes into the production of formaldehyde.
New Whale Song
Recently, the researchers have analysed recordings from three locations in the western Indian Ocean and described a new whale song.
- The researchers suggested the existence of a population of new whale that was previously unknown.
- Whales use songs to communicate and socialize which can be characterised as clicks, whistles and pulsed calls or a composition of moans, snores, chirps and cries.
- According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), whales use clicks to navigate and identify their surroundings as the sound bounces off objects, helping whales determine their shapes.
Can humans hear whale songs?
- The whale songs are typically below 4 kHz in frequency (human hearing range is between 20 Hz to 20 kHz).
- Some blue and fin whale songs are so low in their frequency that parts may be inaudible to human ears.
- The researchers suggested that whale songs can last between 6-35 minutes, and some individual whales have been found to sing for 22 hours.
Baleen Whale
- All baleen whales have baleen instead of teeth which they use to collect shrimp-like krill, plankton and small fish from the sea.
- Baleen whales feed low on the food chain, primarily eating zooplankton and small fishes, which they encounter in large swarms or schools.
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