Civilsdaily

Author: Explains

  • Blue Revolution: 3000 crore scheme for fisheries sector

    Subjects: ,
    • An umbrella scheme for integrated development and management of fisheries
    • Approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
    • It is Central Sector Scheme on Blue Revolution
    • Will be implemented at an outlay of Rs. 3000 crore for a period of five years in all the states including North East States and Union Territories

    Key facts:

    • The scheme will cover will cover multi-dimensional activities for development and management of inland fisheries, aquaculture and marine fisheries
    • All activities under ambit of it would be undertaken by the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) towards realizing Blue Revolution
    • The scheme aims at development and management of fisheries and aquaculture sector to ensure a sustained annual growth rate of 6-8%
    • It focuses mainly on increasing productivity and production from aquaculture and fisheries resources both inland and marine keeping in view the overall sustainability, bio-security and environmental concerns

    Components of Scheme:

    1. National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) and its activities
    2. Development of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture
    3. Development of Marine Fisheries, Post-Harvest Operations and Infrastructure
    4. Strengthening of database and Geographical Information System (GIS) of the Sector
    5. Institutional Arrangement for Sector
    6. Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) and other need-based Interventions

    Convergence:

    • It provides for suitable convergence and linkages with the Sagarmala Project of the Ministry of Shipping, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), MGNREGA, National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) etc.
    • It also encourages increasing entrepreneurship development, private investment, Public Private Partnership (PPP) and better leveraging of institutional finance for Fisheries Sector
    Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image: Source

  • FAME India – Hybrid and Electric vehicles scheme

    Subjects: , ,
    • Union Government on 1 April 2015 launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) – India Scheme
    • The scheme was launched as part of the National Mission for Electric Mobility to boost eco-friendly vehicles sales in the country

    Key facts:

    • Objective: To support the hybrid or electric vehicles market development and its manufacturing eco-system in the country in order to achieve self-sustenance in stipulated period
    • The overall scheme is proposed to be implemented over a period next 6 years i.e. till 2020
    • It envisages providing Rs 795 crore support till 2020 for the manufacturing and sale of electric and hybrid vehicles
    • It also seeks to provide demand incentives to electric and hybrid vehicles from two-wheeler to buses
    • Implementation: It will be implemented in phases
    • The Phase-1 will be implemented over a two year period in FY15-16 and FY16-17
    • Based on the outcome and experience from the Phase-1, it will be reviewed for implementation after 31 March 2017
    • Then appropriate fund will be allocated for future.
    • Four focus areas: Technology development, Pilot Projects, Demand Creation and Charging Infrastructure.
      In the first two years Rs 260 crore and Rs 535 crore will be spent on the focus areas
    • The Department of Heavy Industries under the aegis of Union Ministry of Heavy Industries will be will be nodal department for the scheme
    Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image: Linkedin

  • Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN)

    Subjects:
    • Launched by: Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD)
    • Aim: To boost the quality of higher education in India

    Key facts:

    • Aims at improving the quality of higher education in the country through international collaboration
    • Facilitate participation of high quality international academicians for delivering short-term courses and programs in Indian institutions
    • Initially 500 international faculties will be engaged in conducting courses and later in subsequent years 1000 faculties would be engaged under GIAN throughout India
    • Under this scheme, academicians will cover 13 disciplines and 352 courses to be taught in 68 national institutions
    • These courses will vary in duration from one to three weeks depending on the subject and will be free for students of the host institution and available for nominal fees for others
    • These courses will be webcasted live for students across the country through web portal designed by IIT Kharagpur
    Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image: Source

  • Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS)

    Subjects:

    Key facts:

    • It is an innovative project of Ministry of Home Affairs but yet to take off
    • Aim: To connect all police station in country to a centralised database of crimes, criminals
    • Goal: To facilitate collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, transfer and sharing of data between police stations and state HQs and central police organisations
    • Will make interstate investigations easy and speedy for officials
    • Aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing at the Police Station level
    • This will be done through adoption of principles of e-Governance, and creation of a nationwide networked infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled state-of-the-art tracking system around “investigation of crime and detection of criminals
    • CCTNS is a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the National e-Governance Plan of Govt of India
    • It will not only automate Police functions at Police station and higher levels but will also create facilities and mechanism to provide public services like registration of online complaints, ascertaining the status of case registered at the police station, verification of persons etc.
    • The Project will interconnect about 15000 Police Stations and additional 5000 offices of supervisory police officers across the country and digitize data related to FIR registration, investigation and charge sheets in all Police Stations
    • This would lead to development of a national database of crimes and criminals
    • The Full implementation of the Project with all the new components would lead to a Central citizen portal having linkages with State level citizen portals that will provide a number of citizen friendly services like Police Verification for various purposes including passport verification, reporting a crime including cyber-crime and online tracking of the case progress etc.
    • The project will enable National level crime analytics to be published at increased frequency, which will help the policy makers as well as lawmakers in taking appropriate and timely action
    • It will also enable Pan-India criminal/accused name search in the regional language for improved inter-state tracking of criminal movement

    Extension of CCTNS:

    • The CCEA has given its approval to the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for a major revamp of the CCTNS Project
    • It has decided to implement Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS) by integrating CCTNS with E-Courts
    • This will ensure quick data transfer among different pillars of criminal justice system, which will not only enhance transparency but also reduce processing time
    • Police-Citizen interface will undergo a major shift with the implementation of this project, as a number of services will be enabled through citizen portal

    Target:

    The Government has decided to fast track the implementation and complete the implementation of the CCTNS project by March 2017 including implementation of ICJS

    Published with inputs from Swapnil | Source: railnews

  • School Nursery Yojana

    Subjects: ,

     

    Key facts:

    • Aim: To bring school students closer to nature by involving them in raising of saplings in school nurseries
    • Objective: To create an everlasting bond between the young school students and plants, trees
    • It also seeks to provide an opportunity to the students to learn about nature
    • It will develop an organic linkage and positive emotions for the environment among the school students and in turn keep the schools and the neighbourhood green

    Activities:

    • Schools will distribute saplings to students to plant in their homes and surroundings through School Nursery
    • The school nursery will be in small space of a minimum of 100 sq meters in premises of school which will provide essential facilities for raising saplings
    • In this nursery students will prepare beds for raising saplings and use it for other nursery-related activities such as preparing mixture of soil, good earth and manure and storage of seeds
    • Other activities: The schools also take up other activities like composting, rain water harvesting and water recycling
    • Thus, the scheme will seek to inculcate best environmental awareness practices in young minds
    Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image: Source

  • Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY)

    Subjects: ,
    • The scheme is meant to provide for the welfare of people and areas affected by mining related operations
    • The funds collected by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) will be utilised for this purpose

    Key facts:

    • Aim: Mitigate the adverse impacts due to mining operation on the health and environment. It also seeks to ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods for the affected people in mining areas
    • Objective: To implement various welfare and developmental projects in mining affected areas by complementing the existing ongoing schemes of State and Central Government
    • To mitigate and minimize the adverse impacts during and after mining on the health, environment and socio-economics of people in mining districts
    • To ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods to people in areas affected by mining
    • DMF spending: 60% of the DMF funds will be spent on high priority areas including health care, education, drinking water supply, sanitation and skill development of the affected people
    • Rest of the funds will be spent on infrastructure developmental projects such as making roads, railways, bridges, waterways projects, irrigation and alternative energy sources

    About District Mineral Foundations (DMFs):

    • The Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015 has mandated setting up of DMFs in all districts in the country affected by mining related operations
    • Union government also has notified the rates of contribution payable by miners to the DMFs along with launching PMKKKY
    • In case of mining leases granted before 12th January 2015 (on this date Amendment Act came into force) miners have to contribute 30% of the royalty payable by them to DMFs
    • While, in case of mining leases executed after 12th January 2015, miners have to contribute 10% of the royalty
    Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image: Indian Express

  • Quick catch up on the Namami Gange Program

    Subjects: ,
    • Union Cabinet approved the flagship Namami Gange Program
    • The program integrates the efforts to clean and protect the River Ganga in a comprehensive manner by involving differed States and grassroots level institutions

    Key facts:

    • It has a budgetary outlay of 20000 crore rupees for 2015-20
    • It will be implemented National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) with the help of State Program Management Groups (SPMGs)

    Implementation mechanism:

    In order to improve implementation of the program, a three-tier mechanism has been proposed for project monitoring

    1. National level: High level task force chaired by Cabinet Secretary and assisted by NMCG
    2. State level: State level committee chaired by Chief Secretary and assisted by SPMG
    3. District level: District level committee chaired by the District Magistrate

    Focus areas:

    • Pollution abatement interventions by interception, diversion and treatment of wastewater flowing through the open drains through bio-remediation
    • Use of innovative technologies for sewage treatment plants (STPs) and effluent treatment plant (ETPs)
    • Rehabilitation and augmentation of existing STPs and immediate short term measures for arresting pollution at exit points on river front to prevent inflow of sewage etc.

    Funding:

    • Union government will provide 100% funding for various projects under this program
    • For this Union Government will adopt Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) approach for pollution hotspots

    Enforcement:

    In an attempt to bolster enforcement of this program and to check pollution and protect the river, Union government will establish a Territorial Army unit named 4-battalion Ganga Eco-Task Force

     

    For latest updates, follow this story: Mission Clean Ganga

    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme

    Subjects: ,
    • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved introduction of Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) for technology upgradation of the textiles industry <Who chairs CCEA? Who are its members? What are its functions? Answer in comments>
    • The ATUFS replaces existing Revised Restructured Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (RR-TUFS) to give a boost to textile sector under Make in India campaign

     

    ATUFS targets:

    • Employment generation (including women) and global export by encouraging garment and apparel industry <very labour intensive sector>
    • Promote Technical Textiles which is a sunrise sector for export and employment creation <can you tell us about technical textiles in comments>
    • Improvement in quality and productivity by promoting conversion of existing looms to better technology looms
    • Encourage better quality in textile processing industry and keep check on import of fabrics by the garment sector

    Two broad categories of ATUFS:

    1. Apparel, Garment and Technical Textiles sectors would be provided on capital investment with fifteen per cent subsidy. However, it will be subject to a ceiling of Rs. 30 crore for entrepreneurs over a period of five years
    2. Remaining sub-sectors of textile sectors would be provided subsidy at a rate of 10 percent. However, it would be subject to a ceiling of Rs.20 crore

    Advantages:

    • 12,671 crore is for committed liabilities under the ongoing RR-TUFS scheme and Rs. 5,151 crore is for new cases under ATUFS
    • The amended scheme would give a boost to ‘Make in India’ in the textiles sector
    • It is expected to attract investment to the tune of one lakh crore rupees, and create over 30 lakh jobs
    • All cases pending with the Office of Textile Commissioner which are complete in all respects, shall be provided assistance under the ongoing scheme and the new scheme will be given prospective effect
    • Office of Textile Commissioner (TXC) is being reorganised & its offices shall be set up in each state
    • Officers of the TXC shall be closely associated with entrepreneurs for setting up the industry, including processing proposals under the new scheme, verifying assets created jointly with the bankers and maintaining close liaison with the State Government agencies

    About TUFS:

    • TUFS was introduced by the Union Government in 1999
    • Aim was to facilitate new technology for making the Indian textile industry globally competitive and to reduce the capital cost for the textile industry
    • The scheme was earlier amended for continuation during the 12th Five Year Plan into Revised Restructured Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme
    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Rashtriya Gokul Mission

    Subjects: ,

    Potential to enhance the productivity of the indigenous breeds of India through professional farm management and superior nutrition is immense. For this it is essential to promote conservation and development of indigenous breeds.

    The “Rashtriya Gokul Mission” aims to conserve and develop indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner
    It is a focussed project under National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development, with an outlay of Rs 500 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan

     

    Importance & need for conservation of indigenous breeds:

    • During 2012-2013, about 45 million cattle were ‘in milk’ and contributed around 59 million tonnes of milk
    • Cattle not only contribute substantially to milk production but are also used as draught animals, for agricultural operations and transport in rural areas
    • Most of the agricultural operations by small farmers are performed by bullocks
    • They also provide cow dung (organic manure), cow urine (medicinal value)
      Indigenous cattle are categorized as Zebu and are suited for draught power because of the presence of a hump
    • Indigenous cattle are well known for their quality of heat tolerance and ability to withstand extreme climatic conditions
    • Studies indicate that temperature rise due to global warming will negatively impact milk production
    • The annual loss in milk production of cattle and buffaloes due to thermal stress in 2020 will be about 3.2 million tonnes of milk costing more than Rs 5000 Crore at current price rate
    • The decline in milk production and reproductive efficiency will be highest in crossbred cattle followed by buffaloes. Indigenous Breeds will be least affected by climate change as they are more hardy and robust
    • Some of the indigenous breeds have enormous potential to become high yielding commercial milch animals under optimal farm management
    • The pre-requisites for the development of a breed are- a) the presence of a minimum base population and b) a wide selection differential for economic traits
    • The indigenous dairy breeds with potential for development as commercially viable milch cattle in a shorter time frame are- Sahiwal in Punjab; Rathi and Tharparkar in Rajasthan; and Gir and Kankrej in Gujarat
    • If these breeds are selectively crossed with bulls selected through sibling and progeny testing, the offsprings would be commercially viable. In this manner the entire population of the breed can be upgraded in a few generations

    Objectives:

    • To undertake breed improvement program for indigenous cattle breeds so as to improve genetic makeup and increase the stock
    • To enhance milk production and productivity of indigenous bovines
    • To upgrade nondescript cattle using elite indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Tharparkar, Red Sindhi <What is a non-descript cattle? Answer in comments>
    • To distribute disease free high genetic merit bulls of indigenous breeds for natural service

    Implementation:

    • State Implementing Agency (SIA)- Livestock Development Boards (LDB)
      State Gauseva Ayogs- Mandated to sponsor proposals to the SIAs and monitor implementation of the sponsored proposal
    • Participating Agencies- All Agencies having a role in indigenous cattle development. Ex- ICAR, universities, Colleges, NGOs and Gaushalas with best germplasm

    Components:

    • Establishment of village level Integrated Indigenous Cattle Centres viz Gokul Gram
    • Strengthening of bull mother farms to conserve high genetic merit Indigenous Breeds
    • Establishment of Field Performance Recording (FPR) in the breeding tract.
      Assistance to Institutions/lnstitutes which are repositories of best germplasm
    • Implementation of Pedigree Selection Programme for the Indigenous Breeds with large population
    • Establishing Gopalan Sangh- Breeder’s Societies
    • Distribution of disease free high genetic merit bulls for natural service.
      Incentive to farmers maintaining elite animals of indigenous breeds
    • Heifer rearing programme
    • Award to Farmers (Gopal Ratna) and Breeders” Societies (Kamadhenu)
      Organization of Milk Yield Competitions for indigenous breeds
    • Organization of Training Programme for technical and non technical

    Gokul Gram:

    • These are Indigenous Cattle Centres and will act as Centres for development of Indigenous Breeds
    • They’ll be established- a) in native breeding tracts and b) near metropolitan cities for housing the urban cattle
    • A dependable source for supply of high genetic breeding stock to the farmers in the breeding tract
    • Self sustaining and will generate economic resources from sale of milk, organic manure, vermi-composting, urine distillates, and production of electricity from bio gas for in house consumption and sale of animal products
    • Also function as state of the art in situ training centre for Farmers, Breeders
    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Akhilesh Ranjan Committee on Taxation of E-Commerce

    Subjects: ,
    • A Committee on Taxation of e-commerce constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to examine the business models for e-commerce submitted its report on 21 March 2016
    • The Report of the Committee was received by the Government of India and taken into consideration in the preparation of Finance Bill, 2016
    • The Report provides the view of the Committee on issues related to taxation of e-commerce and recent international developments in this area
    • The Committee included officers of the CBDT, representatives from the industry, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and tax experts
    • The 8 member committee was headed by Akhilesh Ranjan, Joint Secretary (FT&TR-I), C8DT, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance

     

    Recommendations:

    • Equalization Levy may be imposed on payments to non-residents for specified services by a separate chapter in the Finance Act, 2016
    • The Equalization Levy should be chargeable on any sum that is received by a non resident from a resident in India or a permanent establishment in India as a consideration for the specified digital services
    • The rate of Equalization Levy may be between 6 to 8 % of the gross sum received
    • Equalization Levy should not be charged unless the consideration received for specified services in a year from a person in India is more than one lakh rupees
    • Equalization Levy should also not be charged on payments received by a permanent establishment of a non-resident in India, which are attributable to that permanent establishment and taxable under Income-tax Act, 1961
    • Every person that has received any sum chargeable to Equalization levy, would be required to pay the Equalization Levy chargeable on that sum to the union government
    • Every person that has received any sum chargeable to Equalization levy, would be required to file a return of Sum chargeable to Equalization Levy as prescribed, if such total sum received by that person in a year exceeds ten crore rupees
    • Any income arising from a transaction on which Equalization Levy has been paid should be exempted from income-tax, by necessary amendment in Section 10 of the Income-tax Act, 1961
    • The definition of business connection in section 9 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 may be expanded to include the concept of significant economic presence
    • Work on exploring the possibility of deduction of Equalization Levy by the payment gateways should be initiated immediately
    • The implementation and impact of Equalization Levy may be monitored on a regular basis

    What is Equalisation Levy?

    • To avoid some of the difficulties arising from creating new profit attribution rules for purposes of a nexus based on significant economic presence, an equalisation levy could be considered as an alternative way to address the broader direct tax challenges of the digital economy
    • This approach has been used by some countries in order to ensure equal treatment of foreign and domestic suppliers
    • An equalisation levy could be structured in a variety of ways depending on its ultimate policy objective
    • In general, an equalisation levy would be intended to serve as a way to tax a non-resident enterprise’s significant economic presence in a country
    • In order to provide clarity, certainty and equity to all stakeholders, and to avoid undue burden on small and medium-sized businesses, the equalisation levy would be applied only in cases where it is determined that a non-resident enterprise has a significant economic presence
    Follow the story for updates- e-Commerce: The New Boom

     

  • Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana

    Subjects:

    It is a scheme for upliftment of urban and rural poor through enhancement of livelihood opportunities through skill development and other means

    Why the scheme?

    • To provide Skill training to the poor in cities and villages. This would make them eligible for employment and will help in poverty alleviation
    • By 2020, developed nations will have shortage of ~57 million workers & foreign companies will have to outsource work elsewhere
    • Companies require cheap but skilled labour force (India will have ~47 million new workers by 2020)
    • Every year, 12 million Indians join workforce but out of them only 10% are skilled compared to 70% in and 50% in China
    • Therefore, success of Make in India, will depend on success of this scheme
    • Also, under the current urban poverty alleviation programmes, only 790 cities and towns are covered
    • The government has decided to extend these measures to all the 4,041 statutory cities and towns, there by covering almost the entire urban population

    Rural component

    Official name: Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

    Under: Ministry of Rural Development

    Earlier schemes:

    • Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) was renamed as National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) which was in turn converted to Aajivika
    • Aajivika has a sub-component of skill development which is now named as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

    Eligibility: 15 years and above (in Aajivika, it was 18)

    Target: Train 10 Lakh rural youth by 2017

    Others:

    • Government will setup training centres in rural areas
    • Training syllabus will be designed on international standards, so that rural youth can work in the foreign companies coming to India under Make in India
    • Special attention to physically disabled persons

    Urban component

    Official name: Deen Dayal Upadhyay Antyodaya Yojana (DAY)

    Under: Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA)

    Eligibility: Urban poor

    Target: Train 5 Lakh people every year

    6 Components:

    1. Setup City Livelihood Centres with Rs. 10 lakh grant
    2. Give training to each urban poor via these centres. Government will spent Rs.15k-18k on training each of them
    3. Form Urban Self Help Groups (SHG) and give Bank linkage and Rs.10,000 to each group
    4. Setup Vendor markets and give skill training to vendors as well
    5. Construction of permanent shelters for urban homeless & other essential services
    6. Help the poor to setup enterprises & give them loan at 7% interest rate

    Tie up with NSDC

    • MoHUPA signed an MoU with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
    • NSDC will give training to poor, according to market needs, via its training centres
    • It will also help in identification of beneficiaries besides certification of training programmes through Sector Skill Councils (SSCs)

    SSCs– These are industry led bodies and they define standards and syllabus for different training program in given industrial sector

    • NSDC will identify beneficiaries and design their training program with help of above SSCs
    • Thus, NSDC-MoHUPA tie up will help in speedy and result oriented implementation of Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana

     

    For updates, follow- The Mammoth Task Of Skilling India

    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY)

    Subjects: ,

     

    • Aim: To ensure electrification of all the un-electrified villages by 2017 in mission mode Answer in comments.>
    • The Scheme draws its inspiration from the similar pioneering scheme implemented by the Government of Gujarat
    • It will enable to initiate much awaited reforms in the rural areas
    • It focuses on feeder separation (rural households & agricultural) and strengthening of sub-transmission & distribution infrastructure including metering at all levels in rural areas Answer in comments.>
    • The scheme will replace the existing Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY)
    • Scheme has an outlay of Rs 76000 Cr for implementation

    Why DDUGJY?

    • The rural agricultural and non-agricultural consumers of the country are generally serviced through the local distribution network which is unreliable
    • Many rural areas of the country face insufficient electricity supply, consequently the distribution utilities are forced to resort to load shedding
    • This affects the power supply to both agricultural and non-agricultural consumers
    • The demand of power in rural areas is increasing day by day due to changing consumer base, improving living standards for which augmentation of rural infrastructure needs to be regularly undertaken
    • To improve the commercial viability of power distribution, there is need for metering of all categories of the consumers

    Objectives:

    • To provide electrification to all villages
    • Feeder separation to ensure sufficient power to farmers and regular supply to other consumers
    • Improvement of Sub-transmission and distribution network to improve the quality and reliability of the supply
    • Metering to reduce the losses

    Benefits:

    • All villages and households shall be electrified
    • Increase in agriculture yield
    • Business of Small and household enterprises shall grow resulting into new avenues for employment
    • Improvement in Health, Education, Banking (ATM) services
    • Improvement in accessibility to radio, telephone, television, internet and mobile etc
    • Betterment in social security due to availability of electricity
    • Accessibility of electricity to schools, panchayats, hospitals and police stations etc
    • Rural areas shall get increased opportunities for comprehensive development
    • Key enabler in Digital India programme

    Progress:

    • Govt has achieved its annual target of electrifying 7000 villages during this (2015-16) fiscal year under DDUGJY (according to recently published data) Answer in comments>
    • However, these figures have been contested and critcised for being unrealistic
    • An analysis by The Hindu- The govt has electrified 20% of the villages that were without power at the start of this financial year (2015-16)

    Follow the story for updates- Policy Wise: India’s Power Sector

    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)

    PMKSY envisages amalgamation of ongoing schemes:

    1. Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR RD & GR)
    2. Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) of Department of Land Resources (DoLR)
    3. On Farm Water Management (OFWM) of Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC)

    Ministries involved:

    1. Ministry of Rural Development- Mainly undertake rain water conservation, construction of farm pond, water harvesting structures, small check dams and contour bunding etc.
    2. MoWR RD & GR- Undertake various measures for creation of assured irrigation source, construction of diversion canals, field channels, water diversion/lift irrigation, including development of water distribution systems
    3. Ministry of Agriculture- Promote efficient water conveyance and precision water application devices like drips, sprinklers, pivots, rain-guns in the farm “(Jal Sinchan)”, construction of micro-irrigation structures to supplement source creation activities, extension activities for promotion of scientific moisture conservation and agronomic measures

    Objectives:

    • Achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level
    • Har Khet ko pani- Expand cultivable area under assured irrigation
    • More crop per drop- Improve on-farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage of water & enhance the adoption of precision-irrigation and other water saving technologies
    • Enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water conservation practices by exploring the feasibility of reusing treated municipal based water for peri-urban agriculture
    • Attract greater private investment in precision irrigation system.

    Features:

    #1. Financial outlay- Rs. 50,000 crore over a period of five years (2015-16 to 2019-20)

    #2. Bringing under a common platform- all the concerned Agencies engaged in creation/ use/ recycling/ potential recycling of water

    This will ensure that a comprehensive and holistic view of the entire “water cycle” is taken into account and proper water budgeting is done for all sectors namely, household, agriculture and industries

    #3. Decentralized State level planning and execution structure

    • This will allow states to draw up a District Irrigation Plan (DIP) and a State Irrigation Plan (SIP)
    • DIP will have holistic developmental perspective of the district, outlining medium to long term developmental plans
    • DIP will integrate three components namely, water sources, distribution network and water use application
    • These will be prepared at two levels- the block and the district

    #4. Geotagging- All structures created under the schemes will be geotagged

    Implementing Committees:

    #1. National Steering Committee (NSC):

    • It will supervise and monitor the programme at the national level
    • This is an Inter-Ministerial committee under the Chairmanship of the Prime
    • Minister with Union Ministers of all concerned Ministries

    #2. National Executive Committee (NEC):

    • It will oversee programme implementation, allocation of resources, inter-ministerial coordination, monitoring and performance assessment, addressing administrative issues etc.
    • To be constituted under the Chairmanship of the Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog

    #3. State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC):

    • It will administer the scheme at the state level
    • It will be Chaired by the Chief Secretary of the respective States
    • It will have all authority to sanction the project and also monitor the progress of the scheme

    #4. District Level Implementation Committee: At the district level; for ensuring last mile coordination at the field level

    Now it’s time to solve some IAS prelims questions

    1. Consider the following statements: (IAS 2015)1. The Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme was launched during 1996-97 to provide loan assistance to poor farmers.
      2. The Command Area Development Programme was launched in 1974-75 for the development of water-use efficiency.
      Which of the statements given above is/are correct?(a) 1 only
      (b) 2 only
      (c) Both 1 and 2
      (d) Neither 1 nor 2
    2. consider following pairs:
      Programme/ Project Ministry
      1. Drought-Prone Area Programme of Agriculture
      2. Desert Development Programme of Environment and Forests
      3. National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas of Rural Development

       

      Which of the above pairs are correctly matched? (IAS 2014)

      1. 1 and 2 only
      2. 3 only
      3. 1, 2 and 3
      4. None
    3. What are the benefits of implementing the ‘Integrated Watershed Development Programme’? (IAS 2014)
      1. Prevention of soil runoff
      2. Linking the country’s perennial rivers with seasonal rivers
      3. Rainwater harvesting and recharge of ground water table
      4. Regeneration of natural vegetation

      Select the correct answer using the code given below.

      1. 1 and 2 only
      2. 2, 3 and 4 only
      3. 1, 3 and 4 only
      4. 1, 2, 3 and 4
    4. With reference to micro-irrigation, which of the following statements is/are correct? (IAS 2011)
      1. Fertilizer/nutrient loss can be reduced
      2. It is the only means of irrigation in dry land farming.
      3. In some areas of farming, receding of ground water table can be checked.

      Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

      (a.) 1 only (b.) 2 and 3 only (c.) 1 and 3 only (d.) 1, 2 and 3

    Suggested Readings-

    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • From Jan Dhan to Jan Suraksha: A Journey towards Financial Inclusion and Security

    Subjects:

     

    The budget 2015-16 had announced 3 Social Security Schemes:
    #1. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha BimaYojna (PMSBY)
    #2. Pradhan MantriJeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)
    #3. Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

    Why the schemes?

    • India faces the biggest challenge of providing banking facilities and insurance coverage to all
    • Having access to institutional finance has so far remained a far cry to a vast chunk of rural population
    • As of May 2015, only 20% of India’s population has any kind of insurance and only 11% has any kind of pension scheme
    • Insurance is a way of managing risks & give necessary protections in case of financial loss
    • When one has an insurance policy, certain rights and protections are derived out of it to the person and his family
    • There is a dire need for providing social security at a very nominal cost to the millions and economic empowerment of the poor <what is social security? Why is it lacking in our country? Answer in comments.>
    • PMJDY is a major step to bring people across the country closer to institutionalized finance, and save them from the clutches of informal financiers
    • However, most of the PMJDY accounts had zero balance initially. The government aims to reduce the number of such zero balance accounts by using these schemes <what is the proportion of zero balance account now? Answer in comments.>

    PMSBY & PMJJBY:

     

     

    • Implementation: The scheme will be offered by all Public Sector General Insurance Companies and all other insurers who are willing to join the scheme and tie-up with banks for this purpose
    • Govt Contribution: Various Ministries can co-contribute premium for various categories of their beneficiaries from their budget or from Public Welfare Fund created in this budget from unclaimed money
    • Auto-debit: The premium amount will be auto debited from subscriber’s bank account
    • The schemes will be linked to the bank accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana scheme

    Criticisms of PMSBY:

    • Private banks have complained that the Govt should focus on upper middle class instead of the poorer section
    • Western scholars have argued that financial inclusion is a myth and serving such large number of people would only increase the burden and work-load of public sector

    Criticisms of PMJJBY:

    • The banks have complained that revenue received will be very low
    • Some bankers have claimed that amount they are receiving is not sufficient to cover the service costs
    • Insurers have also pointed out that no health certificate or information of pre-existing disease is required for joining

    Atal Pension Yojana

    • It focuses on the unorganized sector where nearly 400 million employees representing more than 80% of all employees are engaged <what is unorganized sector? differentiate b/w informal and unorganized? Answer in comments.>
    • The aim is to make sure that needy people could get fixed amount when they get old
    • It is the improved version of Swavalamban scheme, launched in 2010-11, which has been found lacking in clarity with regard to pension benefits at the age after 60

    Features:

    • All citizen of India aged between 18-40 years are eligible
    • A guaranteed minimum monthly pension will be provided to the subscribers varying from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 5000 per month
    • The pension amount depends on contribution by subscriber
    • Government of India will guarantee the minimum benefit of pension
    • Most interesting part of the scheme is that the government will contribute 50% of the contribution made by the subscriber or Rs. 1000 whichever is lower
    • However, contribution by the govt is available for only those who are not income tax payers and are not covered by any Statutory Social Security Schemes
    • Bank account holder of Any Bank account is eligible

    Suraksha Bandhan drive- Spreading the social security message

    • Aim: To take forward the Govt’s objective of creating a universal social security system in the country, targeted especially at the poor and the under-privileged
    • Participating Banks supported by the participating Insurance Companies are carrying out local outreach, awareness building and enrolment facilitation under the drive
    • Public service organizations supported by peoples representatives are participating in these efforts through various outreach activities such as enrolment drives, camps etc. in large numbers during this period
    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakram

    Subjects:

    Why labour reforms?

    • Multiplicity of labour laws and the difficulty in their compliance has always been cited as an impediment to the industrial development
    • The World Bank annual report for year 2014 on Indian Labour Laws- The Indian states with flexible labour laws and easier compliance mechanism have fared better in terms of Industrial development than those where labour laws are rigid and the compliance is difficult as well
    • Ease of compliance has also been found to be important for the growth of organized sector
    • It is needed to amend the labour laws and make them flexible for the present circumstances
    • It is also important to ensure that the compliance is made easy as this will encourage the development of manufacturing industry particularly MSME sector in the country

    #1. Shram Suvidha Portal

    Aim: To create a conducive environment for industrial development Features:

    • Unique labour identification number (LIN) will be allotted to Units to facilitate online registration
    • Filing of self-certified and simplified Single Online Return by the industry Mandatory uploading of inspection Reports within 72 hours by the Labour inspectors
    • Timely redressal of grievances will be ensured with the help of the portal

    Advantage:

    • Ease in compliance of provisions related to labour
    • A step forward in promoting the ease of doing business
    • The complete database will add to the informed policy process

    #2. Labour Inspection

    Aim: To bring in transparency in labour inspection So far, the units for inspection were selected locally without any objective criteria Features:

    • Serious matters are to be covered under the mandatory inspection list
    • A computerized list of inspections will be generated randomly based on pre-determined objective criteria
    • Complaints based inspections will also be determined centrally after examination based on data and evidence
    • There will be provision of Emergency List for inspection of serious cases in specific circumstances

    Advantage: A transparent Inspection Scheme will provide a check on the arbitrariness in compliance mechanism

    #3. Universal Account Number (UAN)

    • Under the scheme, complete information for approximately 4 crore subscribers of EPF has been centrally compiled and digitized & a UAN has been allotted to all
    • The UAN is being seeded with Bank account and Aadhar Card and other KYC details for financial inclusion of vulnerable section of society
    • Camps are being organized to facilitate opening of bank account and Aadhar card for those subscribers who have no bank account or Aadhar card

    Advantage: This will ensure portability of the Social Security Benefits to the labour of organised sector across the jobs and geographic areas

    #4. Recognition of Brand Ambassadors of ITIs

    Need:

    • The Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the country are the backbone of the vocational training system, only source of supply of skilled manpower to manufacturing industry
    • There are 11,500 ITIs having about 16 lakh seats. But this is grossly inadequate for supplying skilled manpower to Indian industry
    • Only 10% of the workforce has got formal or informal technical training. Only one fourth of this is formally trained
    • Whereas in South Korea, Japan, Germany, the percentage of workforce having received skills training is 96, 80 and 75 respectively
    • Therefore we need to rapidly expand certificate level vocational training if we have to succeed in our mission of ‘Make in India’
    • Also, blue collar work is not respected and regarded in the society

    Features:

    • Over 60 years of existence ITIs have given excellent technician, mechanics, entrepreneurs and professional leaders & manufacturing sector is reservoir of this success
    • They have brought name and fame in the country and abroad It is proposed to compile these success stories and publish in print and electronic form
    • These success stories shall be used for motivating youngsters and their parents
    • Such successful ITI graduates will be showcased as National Brand Ambassadors of Vocational Training

    Advantages:

    • It will serve as communicator and catalyst, taking the message of ITI vocational training to every section of society
    • Improve the brand image as well as social acceptance of the vocational training

    #5. All India Skill Competition

    Aim: To foster the healthy spirit of competitiveness among the trainee Craftsmen/ Apprentices Competitions:

    • All India Skill Competition for Craftsmen among trainees admitted under Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS)
    • All India Competition for Apprentices among trainees admitted under Apprenticeship Training Scheme (ATS)

    #6. Apprenticeship Protsahan Yojna

    The Apprentices Act 1961 was enacted for regulating the Apprenticeship Training Scheme in the industry for imparting on-the-job training to apprentices Need:

    • Presently, there are only 2.82 lakh apprentices undergoing training against 4.9 lakh seats
    • Present framework tightly regulates the number of apprentices trade-wise, and is not attractive to youth because of low rate of stipend
    • Also, the industry is averse to participate because the scheme is not viable for the small industries
    • There are a large number of establishments including MSMEs where training facilities are available but could not be utilized so far

    Aim: To revamp the apprenticeship Scheme in India with the vision of increasing apprenticeship seats to more than 20 lakhs in next few years Components:

    • Making the legal framework friendly to both, industry and youth
    • Enhancing the rate of stipend and indexing it to minimum wages of semi-skilled workers
    • Support manufacturing units mainly and other establishments by reimbursing 50% of the stipend paid to apprentices during first two years of their training
    • Basic training component (mainly class room training part) of the curricula is being restructured on scientific principles to make it more effective, and MSMEs will be supported financially by govt

    Advantage:

    • Apprenticeship Scheme has huge potential for training the large number of young person’s to make them employable
    • Similar schemes have been highly successful in countries like Germany, China and Japan where the number of apprentices are stated to be 30, 20 & 10 million respectively
    • If properly revamped, it could also significantly contribute to ‘Make in India’ Mission

    Let’s end this article with a nice summary from The Hindu

      Follow this story for updates on labour reforms- Labour reforms in India Suggested readings:

     

    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Housing for All by 2022

    Subjects:

     

    • PM Modi- ‘By the time the Nation completes 75 years of its Independence, every family will have a pucca house with water connection, toilet facilities, 24×7 electricity supply and access’
    • To achieve this objective, Govt has launched a comprehensive mission ‘Housing for All by 2022’
    • The programme is launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA)

    Features

    • It will be implemented during 2015-2022
    • Will provide central assistance to implementing agencies through States and UTs for providing houses to all eligible families/beneficiaries by 2022
    • Will be implemented as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) except for the component of credit linked subsidy which will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme <what’s the difference b/w centrally sponsored and central sector schemes? Answer in comments>
    • Mission with all its component has become effective from 17 June, 2015 and will be implemented upto 31 March, 2022
    • All 4041 statutory towns as per Census 2011 with focus on 500 Class I cities would be covered in three phases: Answer in comments>
    1. Phase I (April 2015 – March 2017) to cover 100 Cities selected from States/ UTs as per their willingness
    2. Phase II (April 2017 – March 2019) to cover additional 200 Cities
    3. Phase III (April 2019 – March 2022) to cover all other remaining Cities

    Ministry, however, will have flexibility regarding inclusion of additional cities in earlier phases in case there is a resource backed demand from States/ UTs

    • The mission will support construction of houses upto 30 square meter carpet area with basic civic infrastructure
    • The minimum size of houses constructed under the mission under each component should conform to the standards provided in National Building Code (NBC)
    • The houses should be designed and constructed to meet the requirements of structural safety against earthquake, flood, cyclone, landslides etc. conforming to the National Building Code and other relevant Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) codes
    • The houses should be in the name of the female head of the household or in the joint name of the male head of the household and his wife, and only in cases when there is no adult female member in the family, the house can be in the name of male member of the household
    • Implementing Agencies should encourage formation of associations of beneficiaries under the scheme like Resident Welfare Association etc. to take care of maintenance of houses being built under the mission

    Components

    The Mission will be implemented through four verticals giving option to beneficiaries, ULBs and State Governments

     

    Beneficiaries

    • The mission seeks to address the housing requirement of urban poor including slum dwellers

    What is a slum? It is defined as a compact area of at least 300 people or about 60-70 households of poorly built congested tenements in unhygienic environment usually with inadequate infrastructure and lacking in proper sanitary and drinking water facilities

    • Beneficiaries include Economically weaker section (EWS) and low-income groups (LIGs)

    The annual income cap is up to Rs 3 lakh for EWS and Rs 3-6 lakh for LIG. EWS category of beneficiaries is eligible for assistance in all four verticals of the Missions whereas LIG category is eligible under only Credit linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) component of the Mission

    • A beneficiary family will comprise husband, wife, unmarried sons and/ or unmarried daughters
    • The beneficiary family should not own a pucca house either in his/ her name or in the name of any member of his/ her family in any part of India to be eligible to receive central assistance under the mission
    • The total housing shortage envisaged to be addressed through the new mission is 20 million Answer in comments>

     

    Follow this story for updates on housing scheme- India’s urbanisation agenda

     

    Published with inputs from Swapnil

     

  • Important Judgements of the Supreme Court in 2015 | Part 6

     

    #11. Obscene language cannot be allowed against historically respected personalities

    Devidas vs. State of Maharashtra

    Summary:

    The Apex Court in a significant judgment rendered held that in the name of artistic freedom or critical thinking or generating the idea of creativity, a poet or a writer cannot put into the voice or image of a “historically respected personality” like Mahatma Gandhi, such language, which may be obscene.

    Background:

    • A Bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant was considering the appeal preferred by a bank employee
    • He was alleged for publishing a “vulgar and obscene” poem- ‘Gandhi Mala Bhetala Hota’ (‘I Met Gandhi’) using the name of Mahatma Gandhi in an in-house magazine of the Bank of Maharashtra Employees Union in 1994

    SC observations:

    • The freedom of speech and expression “has to be given a broad canvas, but it has to have inherent limitations which are permissible within the constitutional parameters
    • The Supreme Court refused to express any opinion on whether freedom of speech included the freedom to offend
    • In determining ‘obscenity’ under Section 292 IPC, the test evolved by the Apex Court is the ‘contemporary community standards test’

    The counter view:

    • The poem does not use obscene words and it does not come within the ambit and sweep of Section 292 IPC
    • The poet has expressed himself as he has a right to express his own thoughts in words
    • The poem actually expresses the prevalent situation in certain arenas and the agony and anguish expressed by the poet through Gandhi and thus, the poem is surrealistic presentation

    Section 292, IPC:

    • An object is deemed to be obscene if- It is lascivious or appeals to the pruri­ent interest or if its effect tends to deprave and corrupt person
    • Objects covered- A book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure or any other object

    You may like to read the critical analysis of the judgement here.

    #12. Appointment of Archakas to be made in accordance with Agamas

     

    Adi Saiva Sivachariyargal Nala Sanga vs. Government of Tamil Nadu

    The Constitutional legitimacy, naturally, must supersede all religious beliefs or practices: Supreme Court

    Summary:

    The Supreme Court of India, in, has held that appointments of Archakas in temples will have to be made in accordance with the Agamas, subject to their due identification as well as their conformity with the Constitutional mandates and principles. Apex Court bench comprising of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and N.V. Ramana made this observation while disposing of a batch of Writ petitions filed against Tamil Nadu Government order regarding appointment of Archakas in temple.

    SC observations:

    • The exclusion of some and inclusion of a particular segment or denomination for appointment as Archakas would not violate Article 14 so long such inclusion/ exclusion is not based on the criteria of caste, birth or any other constitutionally unacceptable parameter
    • If the appointment as Archakas is not on the basis of caste or class, the sanctity of Article 17 or any other provision of Part III of the Constitution or even the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 will not be violated
    • If any prescription with regard to appointment of Archakas is made by the Agamas, Section 28 of the Tamil Nadu Act mandates the Trustee to conduct the temple affairs in accordance with such custom or usage
    • The requirement of Constitutional conformity is inbuilt and if a custom is outside the protective umbrella of Articles 25 and 26, the law would certainly take its own course
    • The constitutional legitimacy, naturally, must supersede all religious beliefs or practices
    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana: Funding the unfunded

    Subjects: ,

     

     

    Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) is a flagship scheme of Government of India to enable a small enterprise come into the formal financial system and get affordable credit to run his/ her business.

    • Who? Any Indian Citizen who has a business plan for a non-farm sector income generating activity
    • Credit need? Less than Rs 10 lakh
    • Possible Creditors? Banks, MFI, or NBFC

    Types of Loans provided

    Under the aegis of Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, MUDRA has already created the following products / schemes.

    • Shishu : covering loans upto 50,000/-
    • Kishor : covering loans above 50,000/- and upto 5 lakh
    • Tarun : covering loans above 5 lakh and upto 10 lakh

    Note that there is no subsidy for the loan given under PMMY. However, if the loan proposal is linked some Government scheme, wherein the Government is providing capital subsidy, it will be eligible under PMMY also.

     

    What is MUDRA Bank and what is its role in the MUDRA Yojna?

    • MUDRA Bank = Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank
    • The Rs 20,000 crore MUDRA Bank aims to provide refinancing to small and medium enterprises, particularly those from SC & ST
    • The idea is to refinance micro-finance institutions through Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana
    • This bank would be responsible for regulating and refinancing all MFIs which are in the business of lending to MSME

    Are there any concerns regarding the structure or establishment of MUDRA bank?

    • The bank will be financially challenged since inception, if it is funded through non-budgetary support
    • The funds for the bank would be sourced from shortfall in the achievements of the priority sector lending (PSL) targets
    • Currently, the shortfall in the PSL targets of the domestic scheduled commercial banks are deposited in Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) and for foreign banks in Small Enterprises Development Fund
    • The fact of the matter is that banks have been surpassing the targets in all years, since 2002, except for the last three years
    • The shortfall lies only in agricultural loans, but it would be unfair to divert the target for agriculture from RIDF to micro units

    What are some of the positive points which go in favour of such a scheme?

    • Informal sector accounts for 90% of our non-agricultural workforce, 50% of the GDP & 40% of the non-farm GDP
    • Analysts point that the Indian GDP can be raised by almost 15% if the informal sector data is incorporated in the GDP series
    • The MUDRA bank aims to boost loans and cut borrowing costs for the cash-starved domestic small businesses

    But has a direct intervention from government (to facilitate loans) worked in past?

    What are some of the prominent concerns in this area?

    • There is always a case for direct government intervention to solve any one of our many chronic problems, to justify the need for MUDRA bank
    • The govt. is trying to ensure equity through determined government action that previously drove the govt. to nationalise banks and bring priority sector lending
    • However, such ‘directed credit’ has not worked successfully in the past
    • The govt. control over banks had led to large-scale corruption and repeated recapitalisation through taxpayers’ money
    • MUDRA bank has been over-burdened with many conflicting objectives and too-many roles, viz. a lender, consultant, regulator, think tank and an agent of social change

  • Everything that you need to know about Mission Indradhanush

    Subjects:

     

    Mission Indradhanush was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India on December 25, 2014.

    Objective

    1. Aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against 7 vaccine preventable diseases
    2. The diseases are – diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B

    How is the government going about the implementation?

    1. Implementation will be done in phases in a “catch up” mode – the aim is to cover all the children who have been left out or missed out for immunization
    2. Technically supported by WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and other donor partners
    3. Phase 1 targets 201 districts | Phase 2 targets 352 districts
    4. The first round of the first phase started from 7 April 2015-World Health Day
    5. What’s interesting about the Phase 1 districts? These 201 high focus districts in the country have nearly 50% of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children!
    6. Out of the 201 districts, 82 districts are in just four states of UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan

    What are the 4 pillars of strategy for Mission Indradhanush?

    #1. Meticulous planning of campaigns/sessions at all levels

    • Within the districts, the Mission will focus on the 400,000 high risk settlements identified by the polio eradication programme
    • 400,000 high risk settlements include urban slums, construction sites, brick kilns, nomadic sites and hard-to-reach areas
    • Such a planning needs a timely revision of micro plans in all blocks and urban areas in each district to ensure availability of sufficient vaccinators & vaccines

    #2. Effective communication and social mobilization efforts

    • Generate awareness and demand for immunization services through need-based communication strategies and social mobilization activities
    • Use of mass media, mid media, interpersonal communication (IPC), school and youth networks and corporates

    #3. Intensive training of the health officials and frontline workers

    • Capacity building has been the core of any social sector scheme and this just reinforces the point #1

    #4. Establish accountability framework through task forces

    • Strengthening the district task forces for immunization in all districts
    • Ensuring the use of concurrent session monitoring data to plug the gaps in implementation on a real time basis
    • Collaboration with other Ministries, ongoing programmes and international partners to promote a coordinated and synergistic approach

    For current updates, follow our story on – Mission Indradhanush – 100% health immunization coverage by 2020

  • Dedicated Freight Corridors | The Future of railways

    Subjects: ,

    Freight operations on the Indian Railways are set to witness a paradigm shift with the stage-wise completion of its two dedicated freight corridors, the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) and the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), over the next four years, beginning 2017-18.

    Why DFCs?

    #1. Congestion:

    Indian Railways plans to handle higher freight volumes without- increase in infrastructure, increased axle load, reduction of turn-round time, reduced unit cost of transportation, rationalization of tariffs

    Example- Golden Quadrilateral Freight Corridor (GQFC)

    What is GQFC?

    • It links 4 metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and its two diagonals- Delhi-Chennai & Howrah-Mumbai
    • It has a total route length of 10,122 km

    The problem with GQFC:

    • It carries more than 55% of revenue earning freight traffic of Indian Railways
    • The existing routes of Howrah-Delhi and Mumbai-Delhi are highly saturated
    • The line capacity utilization is around 115% to 150%

    #2. Single tracks:

    As mentioned in the recent rail budget- We run fast passenger trains, slow trains, goods trains all on the same track. Hence trains like Rajdhani which can achieve speeds upto 130kmph run at average 70kmph. Also goods trains have to wait to let passenger train pass and this causes also supply delays.

    #3. Chronic under-investment in the railways:

    This had led to congestion and over-utilization, along with sub-optimal freight and passenger traffic and fewer financial resources. The 12th Plan points out the urgency of investments as- If consistent growth of 7-10% per annum is to be achieved over the next 20 years, there is a pressing need for unprecedented capacity expansion of the railways for both freight and passenger traffic in a manner that has not taken place since Independence.

    #4. The surging power needs requiring heavy coal movement, booming infrastructure construction and growing international trade

    #5. Carbon emission reduction may help India claim carbon credits

    #6. Railway’s falling share of goods traffic:

    According to 12th Plan- The Indian railways transports only 36% of the total goods traffic in the country, compared to the 48% in the US and 47% in China. Whereas, nearly 57% of the total goods are transported by road in India, as compared to 22% in China and 37% in the US.

    Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL)

     

    • It is a Special Purpose Vehicle established by the Ministry of Railways in 2006
    • Aim: To undertake planning & development, mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the DFCs
    • It has been registered as a company under the Companies Act 1956

    The Corridors

    #1. Sanctioned (and under construction)

    • Western DFC: From Dadri, UP to Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai- 1,468 km
    • Eastern DFC: From Ludhiana, Punjab to Dankuni, West Bengal- 1,760 km

    #2. Planned (but not yet started)

    • East-West DFC- connecting Kolkata and Mumbai- 2,000 km
    • North-South DFC- connecting Delhi and Chennai- 2,173 km
    • East Coast DFC- connecting Kharagpur with Vijayawada- 1,100 km
    • South-West DFC- connecting Chennai and Goa- 890 km

    #3. Proposed (neither sanctioned nor planned)

    Bangalore-Chennai DFC- This DFC goes through Bangalore-Chennai Industrial Corridor promoted by Japan & India

    Advantages

    • Railways’ freight operations will see a fundamental change by operationalisation of these corridors
    • It will help the railways regain its market share of freight transport
    • Provide an efficient, reliable, safe and cheaper system of goods movement
    • Provide relief to the railways’ heavily congested GQFC along the western and eastern rail routes
    • Facilitate fresh industrial activity and multi-modal value-addition services hubs along the corridors
    • Reduction in unit cost of transportation, smaller organization and management cost, higher efficiency and lower energy consumption
    • WDFC  will mainly  benefit  export-import  container   traffic, besides petroleum,  oils and  lubricants,  imported fertilizers and coal, foodgrains, cement, salt, and iron and steel
    • EDFC will benefit traffic of coal for power plants in the northern region from coalfields in Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal as also finished steel, foodgrains and cement

    Progress

    Remember, we have to be diplomatic while citing the progress. So here it goes…

    • The major achievements for the two sanctioned projects is the completion of negotiation for EDFC-3 Project and loan amount of US$ 650 million sanctioned by World Bank
    • 86% of the 10548 hectares land required has been acquired and most environmental clearances have been obtained
    • DFCCIL has implemented one of the best rehabilitation and resettlement packages for the people affected by the projects
    • Compensation as per the new land acquisition Act has been started with effect from 1st January, 2015
    • By mid-2016, most contracts for the Rs 81,459 crore projects are planned to be awarded

    Here’s a question for you– Differentiate between Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), Golden Quadrilateral Freight Corridor (GQFC) & Diamond Quarilateral (DQ) projects.

    Suggested readings:

    Published with inputs from Swapnil