China and Pakistan's strategy on Afghanistan

• China and Pakistan said they would more closely cooperate and work together in Afghanistan amid the changing situation in the country, as their Foreign Ministers proposed building the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into “a hub of regional connectivity”.
• Meeting in the Chinese city of Chengdu at the third strategic dialogue, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi outlined a five-point joint plan on working in Afghanistan.
• Mr. Wang described the current situation as arriving “at an important juncture” as he criticised “the hasty U.S. withdrawal of troops” for having “neither fulfilled the purpose of fighting terrorism nor brought peace to Afghanistan but created a new security black hole,”.
• He said “both China and Pakistan are most directly affected by the situation in Afghanistan” as its neighbours and it was “necessary for both sides to strengthen cooperation to cope with the change”, which he described as one of the focuses of the dialogue.
• Mr. Wang outlined “joint actions” in five areas, starting with “the immediate priority of avoiding the expansion of war and preventing Afghanistan from falling into a full-scale civil war.” The second focus would be to promote the intra-Afghan negotiations between Kabul and the Taliban and establish “a broad and inclusive political structure”.
• He said the third joint action would be “to resolutely combat terrorist forces”. Mr. Wang only named the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which China has blamed for attacks in its western Xinjiang region, underlining China’s concern that instability in Afghanistan could spill over into Xinjiang.
• There do, however, appear to be stark differences in how both countries appear to view the terror issue and the role of other outfits in Afghanistan. Earlier this month, Mr. Wang said in a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Mohammed Haneef Atmar in Dushanbe that the “Taliban should stand clear of any and all terrorist forces.” At the same summit on connectivity, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani publicly slammed Pakistan for failing to take actions to stop foreign terrorists from entering the country amid “an influx of over 10,000 jihadi fighters”.
• The fourth joint action would be to “promote cooperation among Afghanistan’s neighbours” and “explore the construction of a platform for cooperation among them”. Both would also more closely work on international fora on the Afghan issue, Mr. Wang said.

Terror attack in Pakistan

• Both sides, in a “joint press release” issued after the talks that were put out by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “reaffirmed their commitment to facilitate and support ‘Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process” and “their support for the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan”.
• Both also “vehemently condemned” the recent terrorist attack in Pakistan in which nine Chinese engineers working on the Dasu hydropower plant were killed, along with four Pakistani nationals. Both sides “expressed their firm resolve to expose the culprits and their reprehensible designs through the ongoing joint investigation, give exemplary punishment to the perpetrators, ensure comprehensive safety and security of the Chinese projects, nationals and institutions, and prevent recurrence of such incidents”, the statement said.
• The joint release also carried the now customary reference to Kashmir, saying the Pakistani side “briefed the Chinese side on the deteriorating situation in Jammu & Kashmir” while China “reiterated” its stand that it “opposes any unilateral actions that complicate the situation”, a position it has repeated in the wake of India’s 2019 reorganisation.
• The Chinese side “reiterated its firm support to Pakistan in safeguarding its territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence” and “striving for a better external security environment,” the joint release said, adding that both sides had agreed to push forward the CPEC “with the aim to continuously unleash the great potential of CPEC to make it a hub of regional connectivity.”

On CPEC

• China’s Foreign Ministry said in May both countries had been in communication with Afghanistan over extending the corridor. “Afghanistan has imported and exported related goods through the Gwadar Port and Karachi Port. China, Pakistan and Afghanistan are discussing issues related to extending roads and expressways in Pakistan to Afghanistan,” spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, adding that “the CPEC is an economic initiative that is not aimed at third parties, and has nothing to do with territorial sovereignty disputes… and won’t affect our principled position on the Kashmir issue.”
• India has opposed the CPEC, which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, although China has pushed ahead with projects and stepped up its investments in PoK.

PM CARES for Children scheme

• Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched the web-based portal pmcares for children.in to facilitate submission of applications, identification of children eligible to receive support under the 'PM CARES for Children' scheme and processing of applications for securing benefits for them.
• 'PM CARES for Children scheme was announced by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi for supporting children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardians or adoptive parents due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The scheme aims to ensure comprehensive care and protection of children who have lost their parents to the COVID pandemic, in a sustained manner.
• It enables their well-being through health insurance, empowers them through education and equips them for self-sufficient existence with the financial support of Rs. 10 lakh, upon reaching 23 years of age.

Eligibility:

• All children who have lost
• Both parents or
• Surviving parent or
• legal guardian/adoptive parents due to COVID 19 pandemic, starting from 11.03.2020 till the end of the pandemic, shall be entitled to benefits under this scheme.

Process:

• The District Magistrate to conduct a drive for identification of these children, with the assistance of Police, DCPU, Childline & Civil society Organisations.
• Gram Panchayats, Anganwadi & ASHA network may be sensitized to report such children to the CWC.
• Sufficient publicity about the identification drive may be made in a local language, to inform the general public in this regard and to encourage them to produce such children before CWC or report their whereabouts through Childline (1098) or DCPU.
• Children who have lost both their parents to COVID, requiring support under the scheme, may be produced before CWC by Childline (1098), District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) or any other agency or individual, within 24 hours of noticing the Child, excluding journey time.
• The application form for seeking support under the scheme may be filled up by the child or caregiver or any other agency producing the child before CWC
• CWC with the help of DCPU shall gather the facts regarding the Child who has lost both parents, including details of deceased parents, home address, school, contact details, credentials and annual income of extended family members, relatives or kith and kin. CWC shall verify the cause of death of the parents by way of their death certificate or by field enquiry. The information may be uploaded by the CWC on PM CARES for children portal, while submitting it for DM's consideration.
• CWC may upload details of all children produced or reported to them by other agencies on the portal.
• After ascertaining the facts of each case, CWC may make its recommendations to the DM regarding the child,
• In case the CWC does not recommend a particular child, reasons should be recorded in the given space, for DM to take a view.
• The principle of 'First in First out' may be followed while processing the applications.
• DM may accept the recommendations of CWC or seek a review through CWC or DCPU. DM may make an independent assessment about every child recommended or not recommended by the CWC. The DM may be assisted by the Child Protection staff, Police, Childline or any other agency deemed fit for the purpose.
• After satisfying herself, DM may confirm the eligibility of the Child on the portal for the scheme. The decision taken by DM regarding the eligibility of a child under the scheme shall be final.

I-STEM Web Portal: Phase II

• The Indian Science Technology and Engineering facilities Map (I-STEM), the national web portal for sharing R&D facilities was formally launched in January 2020.
• I-STEM (www.istem.gov.in) is an initiative of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt. of India (PSA, GOI) under the aegis of the Prime Minister Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) mission.
• I-STEM project has been accorded extension for five years, until 2026 and enters its second phase with added features.
• The goal of I-STEM is

1. To strengthen the R&D ecosystem of the country by connecting researchers with resources, in part by promoting technologies and scientific equipment development indigenously, and
2. Providing necessary supplies and support to researchers by enabling them access to existing publicly funded R&D facilities in the country through the I-STEM web portal.

• In the first phase, the portal is listed with more than 20,000 pieces of equipment from 1050 institutions across the country and has more than 20,000 Indian researchers.
• I-STEM portal facilitates researchers to access slots for the use of equipment, as well as to share the details of the outcomes, such as patents, publications and technologies.
• Under Phase II, the portal will host indigenous technology products listed through a digital catalogue.
• The portal will also provide a platform for the various City Knowledge and Innovation Clusters supported by the Office of PSA to enhance the effective use of R&D infrastructure through leveraging collaboration and partnership built on a shared STI ecosystem.
• It will also host and provide access to selected R&D software required to undertake research projects by students and scientists.
• The I-STEM portal in its new phase will be designed as a dynamic digital platform that will provide a boost to research and innovation, especially for 2-tier and 3-tier cities and also for the emerging start-up ecosystem.