2 days ago
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare reported that so far 6954 villages have been identified by the States/UTs in which against the target of 26.83 lakh samples, 20.18 lakh samples have been collected, 14.65 lakh samples have been analyzed and 13.54 lakh cards have been distributed to farmers. The Soil health card scheme completes 5 years on 19 February 2019.
Soil health card scheme:
♦ Soil health card scheme was launched by PM Modi on 19 February 2015.
♦ The scheme aims to assess the nutrient status of every farm holding in the country.
♦ So far, a total of Rs.751.42 crore has been released under the scheme.
♦ The scheme aims to issue soil health cards to farmers every 2 years so as to provide a basis to address nutritional deficiencies in fertilization practices.
♦ Soil testing is developed to promote soil test based on nutrient management.
♦ The scheme will assist State Governments to issue soil health cards to all farmers in the country.
♦ Soil health will lead to Sustainable Farming.
♦ Soil health card provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendation on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.
9 days ago
Uttar Pradesh state government is to introduce an internship scheme for students of class 10th and 12th and those pursuing graduation. The announcement was made by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on 9 February at a job fair organized by the Department of Labour and Employment Exchange at Gorakhpur University
Internship scheme:
♦ Under the scheme, the students will be linked to various technical institutes and industries.
♦ The students who do an internship for 6 months and 1 year will be given Rs.2,500 as honorarium every month, out of which Rs.1,500 will be given by the central government and Rs.1,000 by the state government.
♦ After the completion of the internship, the government will help the youth in getting jobs.
♦ An HR cell will be created for this purpose.
♦ The state government announced that 20% of girls will be compulsorily recruited in the police department in the state so that they can contribute towards the state's security.
♦ Also, the UP government is taking various measures to open an ITI and skill development centre in each tehsil. The centre will give a platform to the youth for their skills.
12 days ago
Government has approved proposals for Atal Bhujal Yojana for sustainable management of groundwater resources with community participation in water-stressed blocks of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The announcement was made by the Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti & Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Rattan Lal Kataria.
Atal Bhujal Yojana:
♦ Atal Bhujal Yojana is a groundwater management scheme of the Central government.
♦ It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 December 2019.
♦ Government allocated Rs.6000 crore for the Scheme.
♦ The scheme will be implemented from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
♦ The financial assistance is provided by the World Bank with a sharing pattern of 50:50 between the Indian Government and the World Bank.
♦ There are two components under the scheme namely:
1) Institutional Strengthening & Capacity Building component with an outlay of Rs.1400 crore
2) Incentive component with an outlay of Rs.4600 crore
13 days ago
The Karnataka State government has launched the Janasevaka scheme in a few municipal corporation wards on 4 February. The scheme was earlier implemented in Dasarahalli area on a pilot basis. It will be extended to Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli and Rajajinagar areas.
Janasevaka scheme:
♦ Janasevaka scheme was launched by Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
♦ The scheme will ensure home delivery of various services like ration cards, health cards, and senior citizen identity.
♦ The scheme will pertain to 53 services and involve 11 departments. The programme aims to avail the benefits of government schemes at the doorstep.
♦ The scheme aims to make the lives of the citizens of Karnataka easy by launching this scheme.
♦ It will ensure the on-time delivery of government services to citizens by practising innovative and efficient management systems through capacity.
♦ The scheme will benefit the senior citizens in the state.
♦ Under the scheme, one volunteer will be allocated for each ward. These volunteers have been outsourced.
♦ A toll-free helpline was set up for the scheme. It will work from 8 am to 8 pm.
♦ Under the scheme, Rs.115 will be charged to provide the home delivery services.
♦ The Karnataka government has decided to seek information under the RTI Act easy by making it online. People can now apply from home by paying the fee online. This will make the process hassle-free.
13 days ago
The government is to introduce a new programme which will allow the NGOs to take care of senior citizens, who are living alone, in their homes. The announcement was made by the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot on 5 February 2020. The new law is different from the Maintenance and Welfare of Senior Citizens (MWPSC) Act, 2007 and Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY) which has the provision for taking care of all senior citizens.
A New Scheme for Senior Citizens:
♦ As per the 2011 census, there are about 10.38 crore senior citizens in the country.
♦ The new law will ensure the senior citizens who are living alone will be taken care of in a better way.
♦ Daycare centres will be set up for these purposes under the law.
♦ These centres will have a canteen, libraries, and other facilities.
Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY):
Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana was launched in March 2017. Under the scheme, Rs.7,000 will be provided to each person. So far, 1,24,142 senior citizens have been covered under the scheme. The government aims to reach out to 5.20 lakh beneficiaries under the scheme.
14 days ago
The Karnataka government on 4th February propelled the Janasevaka scheme in a couple of metropolitan organization wards to guarantee home conveyance of different administrations like proportion cards, senior resident personality, and wellbeing cards.
The plan, which was propelled by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, will relate to 53 administrations, including 11 divisions.
Janasevaka
Janasevaka, under the Sakala Plan, is a program to profit the advantages of government plans at the doorstep, especially for the assistance of Senior Residents. Chief Minister referenced that the goal is to make the lives of the residents of Karnataka simple by propelling this plan. Sakala intends to guarantee in-time conveyance of taxpayer driven organizations to residents by rehearsing inventive and proficient administration frameworks through limit working in government and enabling residents to practice their entitlement to support.
On the off chance that the plan functions admirably, it will be executed across Bengaluru in all the 27 get together fragments, Kumar stated, including that based the analysis in Bengaluru, it will stretch out to Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Hubballi-Dharwad.
Under the plan, there will be one volunteer in each ward. These volunteers have been re-appropriated.
Cost Free Help Line
A cost-free helpline planned to set up for this plan, which will work from 8 am to 8 pm. An entirety of Rs 115 charged to give the home delivery administrations. Notwithstanding it, the Karnataka government has likewise chosen to look for data under the RTI Act simple by making it on the web. Individuals can apply from home by paying the charge on the web. This will make the procedure bother free, as mentioned by the Chief Minister.
23 days ago
Maharashtra government launched the "Shiv Bhojan" scheme on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day on 26 January 2020. It has been launched on a pilot basis.
Aim:
Shiv Bhojan scheme aims to provide a meal to the poor for just Rs.10.
Shiv Bhojan scheme:
♦ Under the Shiv Bhojan scheme, the thalis or lunch plates will be available to people at designated centres and canteens during a stipulated time in all the districts.
♦ District Guardian Minister Aslam Shaikh inaugurated the Shiv Bhojan Thali canteen at the civic-run Nair Hospital in Mumbai.
♦ Another centre was inaugurated by Tourism Minister and Mumbai suburban district Guardian Minister Aaditya Thackeray at the Collector's office in Bandra.
♦ Under the scheme, at least one canteen has been started at district the headquarters the state on a pilot basis.
27 days ago
India joined the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Reskilling Revolution on 22 January which is being held in Davos, Switzerland. The 50th WEF Annual Meeting is being held from 21-24 January 2020.
Aim:
The Reskilling Revolution scheme aims to train workers from technological change and help economies by providing new skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
WEF's Reskilling Revolution:
♦ The scheme will act as a public-private platform to generate new employment opportunities.
♦ The initiative plans to provide one billion people with better education, skills, and jobs by 2030.
♦ WEF released a report titled Jobs of Tomorrow: Mapping Opportunity in the New Economy.
♦ LinkedIn will act as a data partner for the Reskilling Revolution scheme.
WEF:
The World Economic Forum (WEF) was founded in 1971. It is located in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland. WEF aims to improve the state of the world by engaging business, academic, political, and other leaders of society to shape regional, global, and industry agendas. WEF hosts an annual meeting in the month of January in Davos.
The founding governments of WEF include India, Brazil, France, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the UAE, and the US. The Business partners include Salesforce, PwC, Infosys, The Adecco Group., ManpowerGroup, LinkedIn, and Coursera Inc.
28 days ago
Uttar Pradesh state Government has launched Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana. The scheme was launched after the cabinet meeting which was held on 21 January 2020. The announcement was made by the UP Power Minister Shrikant Sharma. The government also announced that it is to implement Mukhyamantri Paryatan Samvardhan Yojana.
Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana:
♦ The scheme will provide financial assistance of Rs.5 lakh to the family of farmers who die or become handicapped while working in fields.
♦ The scheme also includes Bataidars for the first time.
♦ The scheme will cover farmers and their family members in the age group of 18-70 years.
♦ The scheme was implemented on 14 September 2019 in the state.
Mukhyamantri Paryatan Samvardhan Yojana:
♦ The scheme aims to boost tourism in the state.
♦ Under the scheme, one tourist point will be developed with a fund of Rs.50 lakh in each and every assembly segment of the state.
Note: Bataidars are people who work in the field of other persons and share the crop after it is harvested.
29 days ago
The One Nation, One Ration Card scheme will be implemented by 1 June 2020 in India. The announcement was made by the Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on 20 January. Earlier, the scheme was announced to be launched by 30 June 2020.
One Nation, One Ration Card scheme:
♦ Under the scheme, the beneficiaries can avail of the benefits across the country using the same ration card.
♦ The scheme allows the portability of food security benefits across India, that is, poor migrant workers can buy subsidized rice and wheat from any ration shop in the country.
♦ This will overcome the issue when one person moe from one place to the other across India. When a person migrates, it takes around 2-3 months to get a ration card. A person's identity will be ensured on the basis of Aadhaar authentication and validated data.
♦ On 1 January 2020, the facility was started in 12 states in India.
♦ Under this facility, the beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) of these states can get their share of rations in any of the 12 states in which they are residing.
30 days ago
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal released a guarantee card on 19 January 2020. The card promises free bus rides for students and deployment of mohalla marshals for women's security.
Guarantee card:
♦ The 10 guarantees of the Kejriwal card will continue the scheme for free electricity up to 200 units and free health facilities.
♦ The scheme also includes the planting of two crore saplings in the national capital over the next five years.
♦ The state government has also launched a comprehensive manifesto in 7-10 days.
♦ The guarantee card approves more than 11,000 buses and to increase the length of the Delhi Metro network to over 500 km.
35 days ago
Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles, Smriti Irani launched 3 welfare Schemes namely the Yashaswini Scheme for Women entrepreneurship, Swasthya Sahayak Project and breast cancer screening initiative for women in Goa in the presence of Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and State Health Minister Vishwajit Rane.
Yashaswini scheme:
Under the Yashaswini scheme, women self-help groups (SHGs) will be given interest-free loans of up to Rs.5 lakh for business. Also, Adarsha Satari Mahila Mandal Guleli -Sattari, Phoenix Women's Wing Self-Help Group, Umang Self-Help Group, Salcete, Valpoi -Sattari were also given loans under the scheme. It aims to support women entrepreneurs in the state.
Swasthya Sahayak scheme:
Under the Swasthya Sahayak scheme, primary healthcare workers and Anganwadi workers will be given a diagnostic kit. It will help them to conduct basic diagnostic tests at people's doorstep so that every individual will be given basic health care.
The diagnostic kit was developed by the Public Health Foundation of India, in association with Procter and Gamble to manufacture and supply the kits using corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund.
Breast cancer screening initiative:
Under the breast cancer screening initiative, the Anganwadi and healthcare workers will screen women for breast cancer using handheld devices. The initiative aims to reach out to the women in rural parts of the state. It is expected that the delivery of health services will become more accessible and affordable. Using this device, 20,000 women will be screened for breast cancer.
39 days ago
The Andhra Pradesh State government launched the Amma Vodi scheme. It was launched by the Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on 9 January 2020. Amma Vodi can be translated as 'mother's lap' in Telugu. The scheme will be implemented on 26 January 2020.
Aim:
Amma Vodi scheme aims to support low-income families in educating their children.
Amma Vodi scheme:
♦ Under the scheme, mothers and guardians of school-going children from lower-income groups will receive financial assistance of Rs.15,000 annually.
♦ The scheme will be available to ration cardholders, who fall under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and clear a few more criteria related to their economic status.
♦ The state government has allocated a budget of around Rs.6,455 crore for 2019-20 under the scheme. The fund nearly 20% of the total education budget of Rs.32,618 crore of the state.
♦ The state government has also taken funds from other departments to support the scheme.
♦ It has released the final list of all the beneficiaries of the scheme.
♦ The applicants who have registered for this scheme can check the Jaganna Amma Vodi eligibility list now on the official website of the AP government.
40 days ago
The Forest Advisory Committee approved a Green Credit Scheme that will allow the forest to be traded as a commodity.
Green Credit Scheme:
♦ Under the Green Credit Scheme, the Forest Department is allowed to outsource to non-government/private agencies.
♦ The scheme is in line with the Green India Mission that aims to achieve its target of 2.523 billion tonnes of carbon by 2020-30. It involves adding 30 million hectares in addition to an existing forest.
♦ Green Credit Scheme allows agencies they could be private companies, village forest communities to identify land and begin growing plantations.
♦ If they met the forest department criteria, after three years, they will be eligible to consider compensatory forest land. Industry need forest land could then approach the agency and pay it for parcels of such forested land, and this will be transferred to the Forest Department and be recorded as forest land.
♦ The scheme will encourage plantation by individuals outside the traditional forest area and help in meeting international commitments, such as sustainable development goals (SDGs) and nationally determined contributions.
40 days ago
Kerala State Government launched a wage subsidy scheme for the first five years for new ventures getting registered from 1 April 2020. The scheme was unveiled by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on 9 January 2020 at the Global Investor Summit ASCEND 2020.
Provisions:
♦ The initiative will enhance the ease of doing business in the state
♦ It is expected to subsidize a part of the wage commitment of newly-set up industries for the first five years.
♦ Only Units that provide Employees' State Insurance (ESI) and Provident Fund (PF) benefits to workers will benefit under the scheme.
♦ Women employees will get at least Rs.2,000 more than their men counterparts under the proposed scheme.
♦ It is expected the over 37 lakh people will benefit under the scheme.
43 days ago
Andhra Pradesh state government launched the Dr. YSR Aarogyasri scheme. It was inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at Eluru in West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. This is the second welfare scheme that the government has launched in 2020
Aim:
The scheme aims to provide free medical treatment to the poor. The services will be extended to each district from April 2020 onwards.
Dr. YSR Aarogyasri scheme:
♦ YSR Aarogyasri scheme will benefit people having an annual income of up to Rs.5 lakh and the eligible people will be given Aarogyasri cards.
♦ The scheme benefits the people whose treatment amount crosses Rs.1,000.
♦ Under the scheme, the government will distribute 1.42 crores cards with QR codes across the state.
♦ Free treatment will be given to cancer patients from February 2020 onwards.
♦ The scheme provides one Asha worker for every 350 houses. 150 super-specialty hospitals located in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai will also be included in the Aarogyasri network.
♦ The patients will be provided financial aid of Rs.225 per day, to a maximum of Rs.5000 per month, during the recovery or resting period after the operation.
♦ Around 510 medicines will be made available in government hospitals.
♦ Medicines with the World Health Organization (WHO) standards will be distributed from April 2020.
♦ The state government has also announced that it is to provide pensions ranging from Rs.3,000 to Rs.10,000 to patients depending upon their disease
♦ The salaries of the sanitation employees in hospitals will be increased from Rs.8,000 to Rs.16,000.
♦ Nearly 1056 ambulances will be made available by March and vacant posts of doctors and nurses will be filled by the end of May.
43 days ago
Kolkata Police has started the third edition of the Sukanya project on 6 January 2020. The project aims to provide girls studying in schools and colleges in the city with self-defence training.
Sukanya project:
♦ The third batch of the project started at 100 city-based schools and colleges situated in Kolkata Police jurisdiction.
♦ Girl students from classes VIII, IX, XI and girls studying in the first year at educational institutions will be trained under the project.
♦ Sukanya project was initiated by the Kolkata Police's Community Policing Wing with an aim to provide self-defence training to girl students of city-based schools, colleges, and universities.
♦ The project is funded by Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department of the West Bengal state government.
44 days ago
Government's flagship programme Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) and LED Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP), marked its fifth anniversary on 5 January 2020. The schemes are being implemented and monitored by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Power Ministry.
UJALA:
UJALA initiative was launched on 5 January 2015 by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Under the scheme around 36.13 crore LED bulbs have been distributed across India. This has resulted in an estimated energy savings of 46.92 billion kilowatt-hour (kWh) per year. This measure avoided peak demand of 9,394 MW, and estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction of 38 million tonnes CO2 annually.
SLNP:
Over 1.03 crore smart LED streetlights have been installed under the SLNP programme so far. It enables an estimated energy savings of 6.97 billion kWh per year with an avoided peak demand of 1,161 MW and an estimated GHG emission reduction of 4.80 MT CO2 annually. The scheme has also helped in generating approximately 13,000 jobs to support the Central government's Make in India initiative.
46 days ago
Around 171 already de-empanelled and the list of hospitals imposed penalty by the central government. More than INR 4.5 crore levied on hospitals indulging in malpractices.
Hospitals Scheme
The cover provided under PM-JAY is ₹5 lakh per family and not ₹5 lakh per e-card. There are individual packages, especially abuse-prone packages, which are reserved for government hospitals by the state authorities.The private hospitals were performing these government reserved procedures and blocking/submitting the same under a different package name or as an unspecified package. In Chhattisgarh, such cases were detected initially in May 2019, and the cards disabled. In Madhya Pradesh, cases were detected in August 2019 and shared with the state disabled the cards, and the concerned hospital issued show-cause notice. The cases in Punjab were detected in Oct 2019 and shared with the state, which disabled the cards.
Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission
Ayushman Bharat is National Health Protection Scheme, which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage up to 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored schemes - Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).
50 days ago
Indian Railways introduced a new Passenger Information System at Anakapalle Railway Station of the Vijayawada Division in South Central Railway. The Passenger Information system comprises of a Board that provides the Coach Composition position of a train. The main objective of this application is to provide better features and an easy guide to the passengers and thereby providing satisfactory user experience.
Passenger Information System
The Passenger Information System provided at Anakapalle Station, modern technology adopted by which the estimated arrival of the trains at the station is taken based on the real-time location of the passengers. The system provides an electronic display of information about the passengers expected at the station in the next two hours in a Trilingual form.The system includes a facility for the operator to modify the data instantly in case of any emergencies. The cost of the equipment is Rs 10 lakhs consists of the supply, installation, commissioning, and onsite warranty of 3 years. They consist of 3 to 5 lines used for displaying information of upcoming trains at the station. The station can identify the trains reaching the station in the next two hours from the display and gets information about Arrival/Departure time of particular train number/name, expected time of arrival, location of his coach from engine based on Up direction or Down direction. This system provides crucial information to passenger about the direction of the train.
Technology - Passenger Information System
The Passenger can identify the train direction, train engine location, coach position easily as the entire train composition. The Coach numbers of the train from the engine, general, sleeper, AC, and other coaches displayed according to the placement of particular coaches. This information is displayed after the announcement and before the arrival of the train. The introduction of the new Passenger Information System, the performance of these boards found to be good, and passengers have the new facility provided to them. The technology for the benefit of the passengers and advised them to continually monitor its performance so that the same can be extended to some more stations.
51 days ago
Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh announced to give an annual pension of Rs 6,000 per year to Muslim women who have been given triple talaq by their husbands. The state government should look more into the education of children and their problem of housing, which will be better than giving Rs 500 as pension to triple talaq victims. The government's initiative is good, but the amount is meager. It will be difficult to meet the basic needs with Rs 6,000 annual pension. Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018.
Parliament of India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional made it punishable act from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018.The use and status of triple talaq in India has been a subject of controversy and debate
53 days ago
Digit Insurance awarded the General Insurance Company of the Year 2019 in Singapore by Asia Insurance Review Award named the Fastest Growing General Insurance Company in the world with a 1% market share (Q2 FY2019-20) fortified their product portfolio with the launch of retail Health Insurance product Digit Health Care Plus. The uniqueness of this launch is that the benefits in this health insurance product customized for different age groups and their health needs, along with the help & approval of an Ex-AIIMS Director. The Digital Work collaborated with 15-year old kids sought their help to simplify the health insurance documents so that the coverages and exclusions are explained in simple terms without jargons and is easy to read and comprehend.
Health Insurance
Health Insurance offered as a one size fits all cover with standard products. This look at the health needs of different age groups and customizing the benefits accordingly, almost like a DIY Health Insurance wherein people can choose the coverages that make sense to them. To help us further in this relevance check, we also roped in doctors, including an Ex All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director.
54 days ago
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched the state government's Abhinandan scheme during a programme held at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati.
Abhinandan scheme
This scheme emphasis on one-time subsidy against education loans availed by the students for an amount of Rs 50,000 each to 1,546 students. Abhinandan scheme extend cooperation to students in pursuing higher education and to fulfil the dreams. The students to work towards putting Assam in the list of front-ranking states of the country with their hard work, knowledge and their service to society. Their academic activities seriously to shine in today's competitive world. The united efforts to develop a positive and healthy environment in the society. The Numaligarh Refinery Limited from 3 MMT to 9 MMT opened new opportunities for the youth in Assam and urged the youth to avail the benefits through improving their skills. The students who did not apply under this scheme can avail the benefit of the government subsidy by applying now.
55 days ago
Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra approved the farm loan waiver scheme announced a subsidized meal scheme for the poor. The state cabinet approved the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme under which crop arrears pending till September 30, 2019, will be waived. The cabinet gave its approval to launch the Shiv Bhojan programme, Chief Minister's Office(CMO), short-term crop loan up to Rs 2 lakh taken by farmers between April 1, 2015-March 31, 2019, and short-term restructured crop loan arrears up to September 30, 2019, will be waived under the scheme.
The government seek information from banks on accounts where crop loan and restructured crop loans.
Shiv Bhojan scheme
The Shiv Bhojan scheme incur an expenditure of Rs 6.4 crore for starting a pilot project that will run for three months. The canteen will be started at district headquarters. The canteen will serve 500 thalis (plates), the statement.
Shiv Bhojan thali available at Rs 10 each consist of two chapatis, one vegetable, rice and dal.The scheme will be extended to other parts of the state. The customer will have to pay just Rs 10 per thali, the actual cost of the food will be Rs 50 each in urban centres and Rs 35 in rural areas. The balance amount will be given as grant to the district collectorate.
These canteens will function at places where poor persons work or live like markets, district hospitals, bus stations, railway stations, and government offices. A high-powered committee headed by the chief secretary will monitor the implementation of the scheme. To make the scheme a success, cross-subsidy and public-private partnerships will be considered by the panel.The Sena-led government had announced a loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh for farmers with the cut off date of September 30, 2019. The new scheme comes over two years. The 34,000-crore loan waiver announced by the then BJP-Sena government in June 2017. The chief minister promised the scheme will require minimum documentation and will be hassle-free. The waiver will need to approach their bank only with the Aadhaar card. Members of Parliament, legislators, and government employees will not receive the benefit of loan waiver, Patil had said, adding the scheme will cover farmers who cultivate fruit trees and sugarcane as well as conventional crops.
55 days ago
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the world’s longest mountain tunnel and launched a groundwater conservation mission after Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on the latter’s 95th birth anniversary.
Atal tunnel
Atal tunnel, an underground passage of strategic importance beneath Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh cuts the road distance between Leh in the Union territory of Ladakh and Himachal’s Manali by 46 hours and reduces travel time between Leh and Manali by five hours. It will increase the country’s all-weather access to Leh, Ladakh, Kargil and other remote parts of Jammu Kashmir.
Construction
The decision to construct a strategic tunnel below Rohtang Pass was taken on June 3, 2000. The 8.8-km-long tunnel is the world’s longest, and located above an altitude of 3,000 meters took over 19 years to complete. The tunnel will facilitate the quicker movement of material and manpower across destinations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Atal Bhujal Yojana will be known by its shorthand Atal Jal, which Modi announced, is a centrally sponsored project to improve groundwater levels in seven critically water-depleted states. These are Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The Atal Jal Yojana is an important step in the direction of fulfilling the Jal Jeevan mission of water for all by 2024. The government has identified 1,592 blocks in 256 districts that face a menacing water shortage.
The Atal Bhujal Yojana approved by the Cabinet on the outlay of 6,000 crores to be implemented over a period of five years (2020-21 to 2024-25). The total outlay, 50% in the form of a World Bank loan by the Centre. The remaining 50% shall be through Central Assistance from budgetary support. The World Bank’s loan component and Central Assistance shall be passed on to States as Grants.
62 days ago
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot inaugurated the first Janta clinic at Valmiki Basti in Malviya Nagar, Jaipur on 18 December 2019. The chief minister had announced Janta clinics during the state budget.
Janta clinic:
♦ Janta clinic will provide free primary health care to poor people living in city slums.
♦ In the first phase, 12 Janta clinics are to be opened where people will get free medicines as well as free medical examination in some cases.
♦ The move is to make healthcare facilities accessible to everyone in the state.
♦ If the Janta Clinics run successfully for a period of three months, the state government will tie-up with the private companies who have funds to spare under Corporate social responsibility (CSR).
♦ The state government will also launch Nirogi Rajasthan to support the Janta clinic service.
62 days ago
Odisha state government unveiled the "Jalsathi" programme. It was launched by the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He also distributed water quality testing kits and point of sale (POS) machines to the women volunteers "Jalasathis".
Aim:
The Jalsathi programme aims to ensure the supply of safe drinking water to all households in the state.
Jalsathi programme:
♦ The Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO) and women federations in Bhubaneswar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the Jalsathi programme.
♦ It is expected that the inclusion of woman volunteers from Mission Shakti for piped water supply will boost the state's economic empowerment.
♦ The Jalasathis will act as links between consumers and WATCO or the Public Health Engineering Organisation (PHEO).
♦ Jalasathis will be responsible to test water quality, facilitate new water connections, regularise connections, reassessment of demands, meter reading, bill delivery, bill generation, collection of water charges and facilitating complaints redressal.
62 days ago
Centre to begin Phase III of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). It was launched by the Union Minister of Rural Development, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar.
Phase III- PMGSY:
♦ The Phase-III of PMGSY is aimed to consolidate 1,25,000 Kms through routes and major Rural links that connect habitations to Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals.
♦ The estimated cost of the project is Rs.80,250 crores. Of the total cost, the Central government will share Rs.53,800 crores for the period 2019-20 to 2024-25.
♦ The funding pattern for the PMGSY-III will be 60:40 between Centre and the States, except North Eastern and Himalayan States.
♦ For NE and Himalayan States that are applicable for Central sponsored schemes, the share will be 90:10.
♦ All the States have been directed to monitor and ensure effective implementation of Phase III of the scheme.
♦ The government reported that a total of 1,53,491 rural road works have been completed under the PMGSY Scheme. It provides a connection to 97.27% of the eligible and feasible habitations and adding up a road length of 6,07,900 Kms across India. Of the 6,07,900 Kms road, a length of 36,063 Kms was constructed using green technologies in which a major portion included Waste plastic and cold mix technology.
PMGSY:
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched on 25 December 2000 by the Government of India. The main objective of the scheme is to provide All-Weather road connectivity to the eligible unconnected habitations in rural areas of the country. The State Governments took a survey to identify Core Network under the PMGSY programme. It reported that about 1.67 lakh unconnected Habitations are eligible for coverage under the programme. It involves the construction of about 3.71 lakh km of roads for New Connectivity and 3.68 lakh km under the implementation process.
63 days ago
The Centre has decided to extend the mission period of the flagship initiative Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) by two more years. The government was unable to meet the set targets for urban renewal in 500 cities.
AMRUT:
♦ AMRUT was launched on 25 June 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The initiative will complete its mission period in March 2020.
♦ The initiative aimed to provide 139 lakh water connections by March 2020, 145 lakh sewer connections, stormwater drainage projects, parks, and green spaces and LED streetlights.
♦ It allocated a total outlay of Rs.77,640 crore, including central assistance of Rs.35,990 crore.
♦ The Ministry of housing and urban affairs reported that over the last five years, only 2,316 projects worth Rs.7,195 crore, which is 9.2% of the total outlay, have been completed.
♦ Currently, 2,962 projects worth Rs.64,541 crore were awarded and the work is in progress.
♦ From June 2015 to December 2019, only about 46% of water connections and 28.3% of sewer connection targets.
♦ The Ministry of housing and urban affairs has now decided to extend the mission by two more years till March 2022.
63 days ago
The government has launched the National Broadband Mission on 17 December. It was launched by the Union Minister for Communications Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad.
The mission aims to provide broadband access to all villages by 2022.
Aim:
The mission aims to provide universal and equitable access to broadband services in India, especially in rural and remote areas.
National Broadband Mission:
♦ The mission aims to provide broadband access to all villages by 2022.
♦ The mission includes laying of incremental 30 lakhs route km of Optical Fiber Cable (OFC).
♦ It also plan to increase the tower density from 0.42 to 1.0 tower per thousand of the population by 2024.
♦ It will develop innovative implementation models for Right of Way (RoW)
♦ It will work with States/UTs to implement policies to expand the digital infrastructure including for RoW approvals required for laying of Fiber-optic cable.
♦ The mission plans to develop a Broadband Readiness Index (BRI) in order to measure the availability of digital communications infrastructure and a conducive policy ecosystem within a State/UT.
♦ Under the mission, a digital fiber map of the Digital Communications network and infrastructure, including Optical Fiber Cables and Towers, across India will be created.
♦ The Mission has acquired investment from the stakeholders of $100 billion including Rs.70,000 crore from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
64 days ago
The Kerala state government launched two social welfare schemes to honour differently-abled people and NSS, NCC and Student Police Cadet (SPC) units working for their care and welfare. The schemes are Vijayamritham and Sahachari.
Vijayamritham scheme:
♦ The Vijayamritham scheme was introduced to provide financial assistance for differently-abled people who fought the odds and scored high marks in degree, PG and professional courses.
♦ Differently-abled students of government or government-approved educational institutions, and students of parallel colleges and distance education programmes, are eligible under the scheme.
Eligibility:
♦ Such students should have passed degree, PG or professional courses in the first chance. For degree courses, the candidate should have scored at least 60%, for arts subjects, and 80%, for science subjects. For PG and professional courses, the students should have scored at least 60% marks.
♦ A total of 15 persons will be selected from each district.
♦ Students who have passed degree courses with the above criteria will be given cash awards of Rs.8,000. For those who have passed PG or professional courses will be given Rs.10,000.
Sahachari Scheme:
♦ The scheme aims to honour groups that assist people, with over 40% disability, in their studies and other tasks.
♦ National Service Scheme (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC), and Student Police Cadet (SPC) units that assist the differently-abled students in their studies at their respective educational institutions are considered for the award.
♦ It will conduct various programmes such as medical camps for their welfare.
♦ Under the scheme, three best NSS, NCC or SPC units will be selected for the award with each being given a cash award of Rs.10,000 each besides certificates and plaques.
♦ The Department of Social Justice of the State government has earmarked an amount of Rs.40,000 for each district.
74 days ago
The First Pashu Kisan credit cards in India were distributed to 101 animal farmers in Bhiwani, Haryana on 6 December at the Animal Farmers Credit Card Scheme launching ceremony. The State government has set a target to issue 10 lakh Pashu Kisan Credit cards by March 2021. The State aims to double the income of farmers in the state.
First Pashu Kisan credit cards:
♦ Using the cards, one can buy cow-buffalo and other animals.
♦ TVs, mobile phones and fridges can also be purchased
♦ Under the Scheme, banks will give Rs.40783 for a cow and Rs.60249 for a buffalo.
♦ The credit amount for goat and sheep each is Rs.4063.
♦ The credit amount for pig under the scheme is Rs.16337 per pig.
♦ For Hens, it is to give Rs.720 per layer and Rs.161 per broiler hen.
75 days ago
The Odisha government is to merge the State's Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (Kalia) scheme with the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) yojana due to financial constraint.
KALIA Scheme:
♦ KALIA Chhatravritti scheme was launched by the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in December 2018.
♦ Under the scheme farmers, mostly small and marginal cultivators will get Rs.10,000 in two installments for two crops in a year. The landless agricultural farmers eligible to get Rs.12,000 per annum for three years.
PM-Kisan scheme:
♦ Under the PM-Kisan scheme, the central government is providing annually Rs.6,000 in three equal installments to about 14 crore farmers.
New guidelines:
Of the announced annual financial assistance of Rs.10,000, the state government will give Rs.4,000 to farmers while the rest will be provided from the Centre's scheme. Landless farmers will get Rs.12,000 per year under the Kalia scheme.
77 days ago
The government launched the fourth phase of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) to stimulate air connectivity in an affordable way. Ministry of Civil Aviation has invited bids for the 4th round of Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN. The scheme was launched by the Ministry of civil aviation (MoCA). The scheme is a part of the government's vision to operationalize over 100 airports in smaller towns and cities over the next five years.
Aim:
The scheme focuses to introduce connectivity to priority areas like North East India, UT Jammu and Kashmir, UT Ladakh, hilly states in other parts of the country, and islands.
Regional Connectivity Scheme:
♦ The scheme was launched in 2017.
♦ The Regional Connectivity Scheme is also known as UDAN or Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik.
♦ The airlines compete to win subsidies to operate flights that link small airports with bigger airports in the country.
♦ In the fourth phase, the operation of the helicopter and seaplane would be allowed
♦ It also promotes short-haul routes in the fourth phase of the scheme.
♦ In this phase, the government will develop airports and operationalize the routes that were auctioned during the previous phase of the RCS scheme
♦ Under the RCS Scheme, currently, only 232 routes across 43 cities and towns of the 688 routes have been connected with 137 small cities.
82 days ago
The Government has set up the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) at NITI Aayog. It encourages the schools to provide exposure to science and technology to students so that they can be acquainted with futuristic technology platforms. It was announced by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'.
Aim:
The main objective of establishing AIM is to create scientific character and innovative thoughts among the young minds of the country.
AIM-Atal Tinkering Laboratories:
♦ AIM is to establish Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) across the country for students between grade 6th to 12th
♦ The lab will be equipped with the latest emerging technologies such as electronics, Internet of things (IoT), 3D printing, Robotics, etc.
♦ In schools, AIM will facilitate to set up a network of ATL in India.
♦ ATL:
ATL initiative aims to Cultivate 1 Million children in India as Neoteric Innovators. It aims to foster creativity, curiosity, and imagination in young minds and inculcate skills including computational thinking, design mind-set, adaptive learning, rapid calculations, physical computing, measurements, etc.
Implementation:
So far, ATL has selected 8878 schools and 4680 schools have been given the ATL grant in aid for the establishment of ATL. The government has announced a total of Rs. 1000 crores for AIM up to the financial year 2019-20. There is no direct allocation of funds by AIM at a state and district level. The funds will be directly allocated by AIM to the beneficiaries and administered centrally.
83 days ago
The government of India approved the construction of nearly 3.31 lakh more houses under Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana (Urban) at the 49th Meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) under PMAY(U). The move comes after the implementation of a total number of 96.5 lakh houses under Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana (Urban).
Proposed houses:
♦ The approval includes six lighthouses projects (LHPs) for construction of 6,368 units across six states.
♦ The states include 1,144 in Gujarat, 1,008 in Jharkhand, 1,024 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,152 in Tamil Nadu, 1,000 in Tripura and 1,040 in Uttar Pradesh.
♦ The committee approved the 606 proposals from the six participating states for the construction of 3,31,075 houses. The overall investment estimated for the construction process is Rs.15,125 crore, involving central assistance of Rs.5,092 crore
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY):
PMAY is an initiative by the Government of India. The scheme was launched in June 2015. Under the scheme, affordable housing will be provided to the urban poor with a target of building 20 million affordable houses by 31 March 2022.
It has two components:
♦ Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) (PMAY-U) for the urban poor
♦ Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) (PMAY-G/PMAY-R) for the rural poor
The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has sanctioned more than 96.50 lakh houses under PMAY(U) against the validated demand of 1.12 crore houses, so far.
89 days ago
Andhra Pradesh State government launched YSR Matsyakara Bharosa on 21 November. The scheme will extend the benefits of the scheme to fishermen who have already benefited from Rythu Bharosa, Vahana Mitra and pension schemes.
YSR Matsyakara Bharosa:
♦ Under the YSR Matsyakara Bharosa scheme, the financial assistance to fishermen operating mechanized, motorized and non-motorised fishing nets will be enhanced to Rs.10,000. Earlier Rs.4,000 was provided for the annual fishing ban period between April 15 and June 14.
♦ The scheme includes Komanapalli in Mummidivaram of East Godavari district.
♦ The beneficiaries will get an increased diesel subsidy of Rs.9 per litre. Earlier, the subsidy was Rs.6.03 per litre.
♦ It is expected that a total of 1,32,332 families would benefit from this scheme.
♦ The ex gratia given to families of fishermen who died while hunting has also been enhanced from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.10 lakh. This is applicable only to the fishermen in the 18 to 60 age group.
89 days ago
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal released the new Land Policy 2019. It was prepared by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department. Chief Minister also released the Hand Book of Circulars, Volume-V. It contains the Government Circulars, Office Memorandum, etc. from 1 May 2007 to 30 August 2019.
Assam Land Policy 2019:
♦ The Land Policy 2019 was approved by Cabinet on 21 October 2019.
♦ It was prepared by the department after 30 years. It was last prepared in the year 1989.
♦ The state government has put a lot of effort into preparing the Land Policy to safeguard the interest of the indigenous people.
♦ The Land Policy would remove complications regarding land allotments and settlements.
♦ The Revenue and Disaster Management Department has been recommended to make the Hand Book available to all levels of officials of the department.
89 days ago
The Assam Cabinet approved the Rs.800 crore per year under the Arundhati scheme. The scheme will come to effect from 1 January 2020. The announcement was made by Assam Finance minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Arundhati scheme:
♦ The State aims to reduce child marriage and strengthen women empowerment.
♦ The scheme also aims to have a society which is full of educated boys and girls.
♦ Under the scheme, every bride in the state will get Rs.30,000 from the state government to purchase gold.
♦ The scheme will provide one tola (10gm) of gold to the bride if a marriage is solemnized and registered.
♦ To avail the benefit from the scheme, the minimum age should be 18 years for the bride and 21 years for the bridegroom and should have a matriculate (Class 10 pass). The minimum educational qualification to avail the scheme was initially relaxed for the tea garden and Adivasi tribes.
♦ Also, to avail the scheme, the bride and her guardians (father, mother) annual income should be maximum Rs.5 lakh.
♦ The benefit under the scheme can be availed upon formal registration of the marriages under the Special Marriage (Assam) Rules, 1954 and will reach the beneficiaries right in time for the social marriage.
♦ The scheme will be confined in first marriage only.
Note: A survey says that in Assam an average of 3 lakh marriages take place every year. Out of these marriages in Assam, only 50,000-55,000 marriages are being registered.
93 days ago
The Uttarakhand State government started the Virtual Classroom Project, an online method of teaching, on 16 November. It was launched by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. He also inaugurated the first studio in Dehradun. The project was launched under the Information and Communication Technology scheme of Samagra Sikshar Abhiyan in Uttarakhand.
Virtual Classroom Project:
♦ The project is expected to around 1.90 lakh students from classes 6-12.
♦ The initial phase will cover 150 schools. It will then be expanded to 500 schools within a month.
♦ The project will help to interact with students from different schools from remote areas using the technology.
♦ Under the project, teachers sitting in specials studios in Dehradun will teach students to live.
♦ The virtual classrooms use the Satellite Interactive Technology (SIT) and Receive only Terminal (ROT) technologies for two-way seamless interactivity.
♦ Using these technologies will be used for teaching different subjects by experts and teachers from the four central studios constructed in Dehradun.
Samagra Sikshar Abhiyan:
The scheme was proposed in the 2018-2019 Union budget, to treat school education holistically without segmentation from pre-nursery to Class 12. The scheme aims to improve the effectiveness of schools measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes.
It contains three sub-schemes, namely:
♦ Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
♦ Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)
♦ Teacher Education (TE)
94 days ago
National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) was launched in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It was inaugurated by Commissioner Secretary, School Education Department, Sarita Chauhan.
Participants:
Around 300 teachers, Key Resource Persons (KRPs) and Chief Education Officers, District Institute for Education and Training (DIET) Principals and Educational Administrators participated in the event.
NISHTHA:
♦ NISHTHA is a National Mission that aims to improve learning outcomes at Elementary level through integrated Teacher Training.
♦ It is a pioneering scheme being launched across the country, with a total of 86000 Elementary teachers of Government Schools being trained in J&K under the programme.
♦ It aims to build the capacities of 42 lakh participants covering all teachers and Heads of Schools at the elementary level in all Government Schools across the country, faculty members of SIEs/SCERTs, DIETs, etc.
95 days ago
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced Mukhyamantri Septic Tank Safai Yojana on 15 November.
Aim:
The scheme aimed to help the people living in unauthorized colonies where sewer lines are yet to be laid. People in such areas depend on manual scavengers for cleaning the tanks, which is an illegal act. Under the scheme, the Delhi government will clean the septic tanks for free.
Mukhyamantri Septic Tank Safai Yojana:
♦ Nearly 45 lakh citizens in the authorized and unauthorized colonies of Delhi do not have sewer pipelines and depend on septic tanks. The process of installing sewage pipelines across all the unauthorized colonies is going on. Also, it is important to ensure the cleanliness of the septic tanks through safe means.
♦ The scheme will help to collect waste from the septic tanks of the illegal colonies. It will ensure the safe disposal of waste in sewage treatment plants and the safety of people.
♦ Under the scheme, trained staff with all the safety equipment will be used for the work of septic tank cleaning.
95 days ago
Ministry of Women and Child Development is to announce the Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh (BPKK) on 18 November 2019 in New Delhi. The announcement will be made by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD) and Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani, in a function. It will be Co-chaired by Mr. Bill Gates.
Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh:
♦ It aims to reduce malnutrition through a multi-sectoral results-based framework.
♦ It aims to address malnutrition and reinforce healthy dietary behaviours both at the individual and community level, including the variation in such practices across India.
♦ It will create the first-ever database that links relevant agro-food system data at the district to map the diversity of native crop varieties that will be more cost-effective and sustainable over the long run.
Food Atlas:
Ministry of WCD has requested Harvard Chan School of Public Health through India Research Center and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to document and develop a food atlas on regional agro-food systems. It will mobilize the diverse sectors of society.
The project team will select 12 high focus states which are representative of the economic, cultural, geographical, social, and structural diversities of India. It will identify a local partner organization that has relevant work experience in Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) and nutrition for developing the food atlas.
96 days ago
The Assam State Government has allocated Rs.30 crore for the development of Assam's Pathsala town. The allocated funds will be spent on construction of a flyover, roads and other schemes. The announcement was made by State PWD Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while laying the foundation stone of the Tihu-Dumni road at Kenduguri.
Pathsala scheme:
♦ Under the scheme, the state plans to develop roads in order to improve infrastructure in the State.
♦ Under the new initiative, a slew of developmental activities will be carried out in Pathsala.
♦ The State Government has already released Rs.20 crore for repairing of Pahumora dyke.
96 days ago
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy launched Mana Badi Nadu Nedu, which means our school then and now, programme on the occasion of the National Children's day on 14 November 2019. The programme was launched at PVR Boys High School, Andhra Pradesh.
Aim:
The Mana Badi Nadu Nedu program aims to reform Telugu people to compete with the world. The State aims to develop by educating the people of the State. The state government is expecting that education can eradicate poverty.
Mana Badi Nadu Nedu:
♦ Under the initiative, the state government will provide Rs.12,000 crores for infrastructure development in schools.
♦ The programme will provide all the facilities like drinking water, toilets, tube lights, furniture, labs in schools.
♦ The initiative will introduce English Medium in all government schools from 1 to 6 classes, and Telugu will be a compulsory subject.
♦ Parents committees will be constituted in all schools.
♦ The state government will provide bridge courses, and teachers will be provided with the training.
♦ From the next academic year, the students up to Class 6 in government schools will be taught only in English. Gradually, Grades above six will also be converted into English medium institutions.
105 days ago
Andhra Pradesh state government is to introduce English medium from standard first to standard eight in government schools from the next academic year. It was announced by the Andhra Pradesh School Education Department. The move aims to revive the English Language Teaching Centers and District English Centers (DECs) and relocate them to District Institutes for Education and Training (DIETs).
Implementation:
♦ As per the announcement, all government, MPP, and Zilla Parishad schools and all classes will be converted into English medium. It will be implemented for I to VIII standards from the academic year 2020-21 and for IX and X standards from the academic year 2021-22.
♦ The State government has empowered the Commissioner of School Education, Andhra Pradesh, to open parallel English Medium sections in existing high schools for classes VI to X.
♦ The Commissioner of School Education will also take measures to implement Telugu or Urdu as a compulsory subject depending on the current medium of instruction in the schools.
♦ Teachers will be trained and equipped to teach in English, and new teachers will be recruited based on tests for their proficiency in English.
105 days ago
Centre is planning to adopt several measures to tackle Stubble burning incidents. ICAR’s Creams Laboratory recorded a reduction of 12.01% in incidents of Stubble burning compared to the year 2018 as of 4 November 2019.
Report details:
♦ Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab have recorded a reduction of 48.2%, 11.7%, and 8.7%, respectively, as of 4 November 2019.
♦ A total of 31,402 burning incidents were detected in the three states between 1 October 2019 and 3 November 2019, among which 25366 in Punjab, 4414 in Haryana, and 1622 in Uttar Pradesh.
Government's measure:
Committee:
In 2017, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) set up a committee under Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research, and Education (DARE) regard to the pollution caused in Delhi NCR due to stubble burning in States surrounding. After the survey and analysis, the committee recommended adopting mechanized crop residue management.
Scheme implementation:
As per the recommendations by the committee, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has formulated a "Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in the State of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh & NCT of Delhi" Scheme which was included in the 2018-19 Budget.
Benefits of the scheme:
Under the scheme, the Central government allocated Rs.1151.80 crores for the period from 2018-19 to 2019-20. The scheme aims to combat air pollution. It also subsidizes machinery that is required for in-situ management of crop residue in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and NCT of Delhi. The scheme will provide financial assistance of 50% of the cost to the farmers who purchase the in-situ crop residue management machines on an individual ownership basis.
Also, during the year 2018-19, the Central government released funds of Rs.273.80 crores to Punjab, Rs.192.06 crores to Haryana, and Rs.105.29 crores to Uttar Pradesh.
110 days ago
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced financial assistance to all childcare institutions in the State. Under the announcement, the district Redcross Societies will be given an amount of Rs.10 lakh each for this purpose.
For the additional requirements in the districts like Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundergarh, Ganjam, Balasore, and Sambalpur, an additional amount of Rs.10 lakh will be given to these districts. The amount will be given from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) and other sources.
Mr.Patnaik also directed the Secretary, District Collectors, and other senior officers to visit local childcare institutions under the 5-T initiatives of the State government.
5-T initiatives:
The Odisha government follows the 5-T initiative for the welfare of the people. 5T stands for Technology, Transparency, Teamwork, Transformation, and Time. The initiative aimed at making governance people-centric.
113 days ago
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the free-ride scheme for women on Delhi public buses might be extended to senior citizens and all students.
Free-ride scheme:
♦ The scheme aims to help in women empowerment by bridging the gender gap that exists in society. This will help the girls and women who had to drop out of schools and colleges because of high transportation costs. They can now take buses to good schools and colleges which are away from their homes.
♦ Women taking Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses issued pink tickets of the face value of Rs.10 by conductors under the scheme. The government will reimburse transporters based on the number of such tickets issued.
♦ Delhi has also approved a grant of Rs.150 crore for the implementation of the scheme in metro trains.
117 days ago
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the Mukhya Mantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana in Uttar Pradesh on 25 October. He launched by transferring the amount to the account of beneficiaries. He also launched the Kanya Sumangala web portal and gave away certificates and symbolic cheques to some beneficiaries.
Aim:
Mukhya Mantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana aims to empower the girl child. The scheme of state government will help in achieving the goals set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mukhya Mantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana:
♦ Under the scheme, cash amount of Rs.15,000 will be provided to every family in which a girl child takes birth.
♦ The state government will direct transfer funds in the account of the registered girls in a phased manner when a girl child will complete various achievements, like vaccination, admission in class 1, 5, and 9, graduation.
