Poshan Maah 2022

Every year, September is observed as Rashtriya Poshan Maah, or National Nutrition Month, throughout the nation.

Key themes of Poshan Maah 2022:

• The month's events will be focused on important issues including gender-sensitive, water conservation, and management, traditional food for women and children in tribal areas, and Mahila and Swasthya, Bachcha and Shiksha - Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi.
• Message Distribution: The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) is taking advantage of this opportunity to heavily promote vital messages to all target beneficiaries on healthy eating behaviours and practices.
• Building Convergences: The Ministry is also actively examining how to increase ASHA and Anganwadi Workers' participation in meetings of the Village Organization and to develop convergences with other line departments at the state level.
• It consists of a month's worth of events centred on pregnancy care, effective breastfeeding, anaemia, growth monitoring, girls' education, diet, the appropriate age for marriage, hygiene and sanitation, and healthy eating (food fortification).
• The exercises are based on the Jan Andolan Guidelines and the Center on Social and Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC).
• SBCC refers to the methodical application of communication strategies to advance modifications in knowledge, attitudes, norms, beliefs, and behaviours.
• One of Poshan Abhiyaan's tactics is the Jan Andolan.
• On the My Gov portal, a food, and nutrition quiz, as well as a meme contest, will be held.
• At the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, a special form of nutrition park has been developed where visitors can see nutrition-related instruction in addition to having fun.

Meaning of POSHAN Maah

• Through citizen participation, it encourages community mobilization to combat malnutrition among young children and women.
• Everyone's health and nourishment are being ensured by the project.

The National Nutrition Mission (Poshan Abhiyaan) (NNM)

• India's main program for the improvement of children's, pregnant women's, and breastfeeding mothers' nutritional outcomes were introduced in 2018.
• The Government of India's Ministry of Women and Child Development is in charge of implementation.
• Principal Elements: Community mobilisation and public participation are crucial elements of this project (Jan Andolan).
• Government Budgetary Support (50%) and IBRD (World Bank) or other multilateral development banks (50%) each contribute 50% of NNM's funding (MDB).
• The remainder of the government's fiscal support is split as follows: 60% for the Centre, 40% for the States/UTs, 90% for the NER and Himalayan States, and 100% for UTs without a legislature.
• NNM aims to cut back on stunting by 2% year, undernutrition by 2% annually, anaemia (in early children, women, and teenage females), and low birth weight by 2% annually.
• The mission would work to reduce stunting from 38.4% (NFHS-4) to 25% by 2022, even if the goal is to reduce stunting by at least 2% per year (Mission 25 by 2022).
• By activating Poshan Panchayats in villages and making the Gram Panchayat and the Sarpanch the centre of activity, the Ministry of Women & Child Development hopes to transform this Jan Andolan into a Jan Bhagidari.

App to Track POSHAN

• A Poshan Tracker app has been released by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Goal: To improve maternal and child undernutrition by strengthening the implementation constraints across all levels of the nutrition systems.
• It is constructed utilizing centralized data architecture that is compatible with other ministries' and programs’ digital technology platforms.

Also, Read - India Bangladesh Agreements

Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology

Image Source - Gktoday

Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology (WEST), a new I-STEM (Indian Science Technology and Engineering facilities Map) project, was just introduced.

Major Points

• Women's Empowerment: The WEST initiative will support women with STEM backgrounds and give them the tools they need to participate in the ecosystem of science, technology, and innovation.
• Offering a separate platform to women who are scientifically inclined: Through the WEST initiative, I-STEM will offer a separate platform to women who are scientifically inclined and wish to pursue careers as researchers, scientists, or technologists in cutting-edge fields of science and engineering.
• Skill Development: The WEST initiative's skill development programs will train women with expertise in science and technology to brush up on their skills and work "in the field" as lab technicians and maintenance engineers, filling critical gaps in the nation's R&D infrastructure.
• Opportunities: Women can join the WEST program and investigate ways to get involved in many fields while pursuing jobs in R&D at different levels, including those of technicians, technologists, scientists, and entrepreneurs.
• Opportunities include designing and manufacturing scientific apparatus as well as operating and maintaining it.
• Through the I-STEM platform, women can start their own businesses and work as consultants for the upkeep and operation of expensive equipment and devices.
• A Committed Team: The WEST initiative will be successfully implemented thanks to a committed group of women.
• Strong Network of Support: Women in S&T will have strong support networks thanks to the access to R&D facilities and R&D software platforms (COMSOL, MATLAB, LABVIEW, AUTOCAD) made possible through the I-STEM portal.

Relevance to WEST

• In order to address the historical underrepresentation of women in these disciplines, the skilled female labour force of the nation will be fully used.
• Bridging the Skill Gap: This would go a long way toward closing the "skills gap" and maximising the usage of equipment purchased with public funds.
• Women Returning to S&T Fields: This project will assist women who have taken a career hiatus in returning to S&T fields. The current assistance that I-STEM offers to female entrepreneurs starting S&T businesses will be improved as a result of the WEST initiative.
• Reducing the Gender Salary Gap: Women would benefit from equal opportunities not only in terms of the profession's gender wage gap but also in terms of their own financial security and well-being.

About Indian Science, Technology and Engineering facilities Map (I-STEM)

• A dynamic and interactive national platform called I-STEM is home to a number of scientific activities.
• The office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India, was the one that started it.
• It serves as the umbrella organisation for numerous initiatives encouraging R&D and technology innovation partnerships within and between universities and industries, particularly startups.
• I-STEM will give female researchers a place to discuss their findings, problems, and strategies for moving the nation forward through innovation, science, and technology.
• Additionally, through the I-STEM WhatsApp and Telegram platforms, a digital consortium called "Connect Quickly" for online conversation and immediate help has also been developed.

Way Forward

• Strategies aimed at educating and retaining women in engineering, scientific, and technology (WEST) disciplines must be supported given the significance of technology in future growth and innovation.
• It is vital that more women participate in I-STEM.
• By gathering input and putting plans in action to broaden the engagement of women in WEST and I-STEM, I-STEM needs to keep track of the impact of the program.

Also, Read - Poshan Maah 2022