30 December 2022
| Content Bonda Tribe Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project RVM Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) |
| GS 1 |
Bonda Tribe
Bonda tribes are one of the 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) found in Odisha.
Origin:
Bonda tribes are members of a group of Austro-Asiatic tribes.
They are believed to be part of the first wave of migration out of Africa about 60,000 years ago.
They are the first forest settlers in India.
Culture: The Bondas have retained their identity and culture despite external interventions over the years.
Occupation: They are primarily forest dwellers. They perform hunting and foraging for food in the wild.
Matriarchal society: The women prefer to marry men who are younger by at least 5-10 years. This is done because the men can earn for them when they grow old.
Dressing style: Women are semi-clad and wear various types of rings and necklaces around their bodies. The men on the other hand carry lethal bows and arrows.
Language: They continue to speak in their language, Remo. It comes under the Austro-Asiatic language belonging to the Mundari group.
Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project
Context-Kalasa-Banduri drinking water project gets Centre’s nod
- The project is undertaken by the Government of Karnataka to improve drinking water supply to the three districts of Belagavi, Dharwad, and Gadag.
- It was planned in 1989; Goa raised an objection to it.
- It involves building across Kalasa and Banduri, two tributaries of the Mahadayi river to divert water to the Malaprabha, a tributary of Krishna River.
- Malaprabha river supplies the drinking water to Dharwad, Belgaum, and Gadag districts.
About Mahadayi Water Dispute
- The Mahadayi river basin drains an area of 2032 square kilometres of which 375 square km lies in Karnataka, 77 sq km in Maharashtra and the remaining in Goa.
- It originates in the Belagavi district of Karnataka, briefly passes through Maharashtra and flows through Goa (where its known as Mandovi), and drains to the Arabian Sea.
- Since the eighties, Karnataka has been was contemplating linking of Mahadayi with Malaprabha river, a tributary of Krishna.
- In 2002, Karnataka gave the idea a shape in the form of the Kalasa-Bhanduri project.
- Goa strongly opposed it as Mahadayi is one of the two rivers the State is dependent on and thus Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal was set up in 2010.
| GS 2 |
RVM
Remote voting for migrant workers: What is the plan EC has outlined
In 2011, there were 45.36 crore migrants in the country. Many are unable to vote because they are unable to travel back to their home constituencies on the day of polling. Here is how the Election Commission plans to help them.
A technological solution was proposed which relies on the creation of a robust electoral roll and identification mechanisms (to stop duplicate voting), and allow voters to vote remotely, in a safe and controlled environment.
The RVM was developed with the assistance of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL). It is based on the currently used EVM system.
The RVMs are “stand alone, non-networked systems,” effectively providing the voter the same experience as currently used EVMs. They will be set up in remote locations outside the state under similar conditions as current polling booths.
The unique feature of RVMs is that a single Remote Ballot Unit (RBU) will be able to cater to multiple constituencies (as many as 72) by using a “dynamic ballot display board” instead of the usual printed paper ballot sheet on EVMs. The Ballot Unit Overlay Display (BUOD) will show the requisite candidates based on the constituency number read on the voter’s Constituency card. A barcode scanning system will be used to read these cards.
The voting process will be as follows: after verifying a voter’s identity, their constituency card will be read with a public display showing the constituency details and candidates. This will also be displayed privately, on the BUOD in the RVM’s RBU. The voter will then vote and each vote will be stored constituency-wise in the control unit of the voting machine.
The system has issues, some of which the EC has itself acknowledged.
First, migrants are not a uniform and defined class, with fluid identities, locations and situations. In context of the transience of migration in India, the problem for the EC is to create an inclusive definition of migrants which at the same time does not open the system up to misuse. Are all migrant voters eligible? What is the duration that a migrant has to stay outside home to qualify? The EC’s statement says that resolving this issue will “require wider consultations with various legal and political stakeholders.”
Second, in the context of increasing questions being asked about technology-based voting, how do RVMs enter the conversation? As various countries reject EVMs for paper-based ballots, does this move have the potential to raise further questions on the sanctity of the electoral process itself? While the EC claims that RVMs are as secure as currently used EVMs, more technological components are bound to raise further questions.
Third, how does remote voting affect elections and campaigning? In a playing field which is far from level, remote voting can theoretically provide an added edge to bigger parties and richer candidates who can campaign across the constituency and beyond.
| GS 3 |
Hospital Management Information System (HMIS)
The National Health Authority (NHA) is releasing the beta version of a lightweight, robust, and ABDM-compliant Hospital Management Information System (HMIS). This HMIS solution is envisioned to provide a digital platform for healthcare providers, particularly focusing on private clinics and small health facilities.
NHA is the nodal agency for implementing Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) which aims to develop the backbone for the digital health infrastructure in India. In line with this vision, it is leveraging the strengths of the CoWIN module to develop a new HMIS solution. This will accelerate the digitization of small clinics and improve the discoverability of healthcare providers in India.
The beta version of this HMIS offers the following features:
- ABDM compliant – Allows doctors to generate and fetch ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) for their patients.
- Facility Management – Allows doctors to manage their calendar, appointments, and patient details in a single window
- Digital Services – Allows doctors to view previous health records and prescriptions for registered patients and take video consultations
- E-prescription Services – Generate and share digital standardized prescriptions using a range of parameters with options to modify/customize the prescription layout