A Civil Services Exam Preparation Initiatuve by IIT,IIM alumni & Ex IAS Officers

Government Welfare Schemes

Prelims 2018 and Mains 2018

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Welfare Schemes

Empowerment of Women

NARI (National Repository of Information for Women)

. Ministry – Ministry of Women and Child Development

. Purpose – It is in the direction of empowerment and welfare of women and children.

. The portal will provide easy access to information on government schemes and initiatives for women.

. It will provide information to women on issues affecting their lives. There are tips on good nutrition, suggestions for health check-ups, information on major diseases, tips for job search and interview, investment and savings advice, information on crimes and against women and reporting procedures, contacts of legal aid cells, simplified adoption procedures and much more.

. It will endow women with the power of information to build their life skills and facilitates them in taking full advantage of the services provided by the Government for them.

. E-Samvad portal- Launched by Ministry of Women and Child Development. In this portal NGOs and civil society can provide their feedback, suggestions, put up grievances, share best practices etc. This will help in formulation of effective policies and measures for welfare of women and children.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme

. Ministry – It is a joint initiative of Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Human Resource Development

. Purpose – Survival, protection & education of the girl child. It aims to address the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) through a mass campaign across the country targeted at changing societal mindsets & creating awareness about the criticality of the issue. The Scheme will have focussed intervention & multi-sectoral action in 100 districts with low Child Sex Ratio.

. Objective – www.jigyasaias.com www.facebook.com/jigyasaias 9650294824

- Prevention of gender biased sex selective elimination

- Ensuring survival & protection of the girl child

- Ensuring education and participation of the girl child

. Schemes launched to encourage Beti Bachao Beti Padhao -

- To encourage the participation of girls at elementary level, the (SSA) provides for the opening of schools in the neighborhood to make access easier for girls, the appointment of additional teachers including women teachers, free textbooks, free uniforms, separate toilets for girls, teachers’ sensitization programmes to promote girls participation, gender-sensitive teaching learning materials including textbooks.

- Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas as residential upper primary schools for girls belonging to SC/ST/Minority Communities, BPL families and girls in difficult circumstances.

- Under the Rashtriya Madyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) interventions to promote girls participation in secondary schools include opening of new schools, strengthening of existing schools, appointment of teachers, construction of residential quarters for teachers in remote/hilly areas, hostel facilities for girls, teacher sensitization programmes, separate toilet blocks for girls, stipend for girls with disability and vocationalization of secondary education which provides for choice of courses by the girls in such a manner that gender stereotyping is avoided.

- In addition, the National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education (NSIGSE), exemption from paying tuition fee in Kendriya Vidyalayas, and 33% reservation for girls in Navodaya Vidyalayas, are also being implemented.

National Nutrition Mission

. Ministry – Ministry of Women and Child Development Malnutrition is not a direct cause of death but contributes to mortality . Objective – It aims to improve the nutritional and morbidity by reducing resistance indicators of children and pregnant women and to infections. There are a number of causes of death of children such as lactating mothers. prematurity, low birth weight, pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases, . The Mission aims non-communicable diseases, birth asphyxia & birth trauma. www.jigyasaias.com www.facebook.com/jigyasaias 9650294824

- to prevent and reduce prevalence of stunting among children (0-6 years) in the country by 6%,

- under-nutrition (underweight) prevalence among children (0-6 years) by 6%,

- prevalence of anaemia among children (6-59 m) by 9%,

- prevalence of anaemia among women (15-49 years) by 9% and

- reduction in prevalence of low birth weight by 6%.

One Stop Centre Scheme

. Ministry – Ministry of Women and Child Development

. Objective – It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for setting up One Stop Centres (OSC), to be funded from the Nirbhaya Fund. These Centres will be established across the country to provide integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces in a phased manner.

Ujjawala

. Ministry – Ministry of Women and Child Development

. Objective – It is a comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of Trafficking and Rescue, Rehabilitation, Re-integration and Repatriation of Victims of Trafficking for Commercial Sexual Exploitation.

. Features –

- These rehabilitative centers are given financial support for providing shelter and basic amenities such as food, clothing, medical care, legal aid; education in the case the victims are children, as well as for undertaking vocational training and income generation activities to provide the victims with alternate livelihood option.

- The Government receives performance reports from the State Government/Union Territory Administration from time to time and after considering the reports, further grants are released to the Implementing Agencies. Further, each sanctioned project is reviewed after three years of implementation.

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Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)

. Ministry – Ministry of Women and Child Development

. Objectives -

- providing partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child; and

- the cash incentives provided would lead to improved health seeking behaviour amongst the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM).

. The maternity benefits under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) are available to all Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers (PW&LM) except those in regular employment with the Central Government or State Government or Public Sector Undertaking or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being in force, for first living child of the family as normally, the first pregnancy of a woman exposes her to new kind of challenges and stress factors.

. Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra scheme, promote community participation through involvement of Student Volunteers for empowerment of rural women.

. National Creche Scheme to provide day care facilities to children of age group of 6 months to 6 years of working women who are employed.

. Rastriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) to provide micro-credit to poor women for various livelihood support and income generating activities at concessional terms in a client-friendly procedure to bring about their socio-economic development.

. Swadhar Greh to provide relief and rehabilitation to destitute women and women in distress.

Sukanya Samridhi Yojana

. Features

- It is a small deposit scheme Sukanya Samridhi Yojana for girl child under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) campaign.

- The scheme will ensure equitable share to a girl child in resources and savings of a family in which she is generally discriminated against a male child. www.jigyasaias.com www.facebook.com/jigyasaias 9650294824

- It will enable parents to open bank accounts of girls who are under 10 years of age.

. Who is eligible under this scheme?

- Gender: Girl child only

- Citizenship: Child should be Indian citizen

- Age limit: On the date of opening the account, the child’s age should 10 years or younger.

. Who can Invest:

- Parent, or Legal Guardian of the eligible Girl child.

. Investment limit: - In 1 year, minimum Rs 1000/- needs to be invested, thereafter in multiples of 100/-

- Maximum of Rs 1, 50,000/- can be invested.

- Deposits can be made in lump-sum or spread out manner.

- No limit on number of deposits either in a month or in a financial year.

. Mode of Deposit/Investment: - Cash, Cheque or Demand draft, currently no online payment method is available. . Operation of the account: - The account will be opened and operated by the guardian of a girl child till the girl child, in whose name the account has been opened, attains the age of 10 years.

- On attaining age of 10 years, the girl child may herself operate the account.

. Tenure of the Scheme: - Deposit needs to made until 14 years from opening of account.

- Deposit under scheme will mature 21 year after opening of the account.

. Withdrawal under the scheme: - No Premature Withdrawal is permitted.

- However, maximum up to 50% of deposit amount can be withdrawn for marriage or higher education of girl child, once she reaches 18 years of age.

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. Termination of the Scheme: - Scheme Tenure is 21 years from date of opening, or when the marriage of the girl child happens; whichever happens earlier.

- Account will compulsorily have to be closed after marriage of the girl child.

. Rate of Interest under the Scheme: - For this year (F.Y 2016-17) interest rate has remain unchanged at 9.2%p.a, yearly compounded.

- Every year GOI will announce the ROI applicable for that financial year.

. Account Limit: - A guardian can open only one account in the name of one girl child.

- A gaurdian is allowed to open maximum two accounts in the name of two different Girl children.

- One guardian can open maximum 3 accounts, only in case he/she has 3 girl child in 1st birth or twin girl child in 2nd birth.

. Penalty under the Scheme:

- If minimum Rs 1000/- is not deposited in a financial year, account will become discontinued and can be revived with a penalty of Rs 50/- per year with minimum amount required for deposit for that year.

. Where can I open account under this Scheme: - As per government documentation, account under this scheme can be opened in any public sector bank, or post office.

- Once opened the account can be transferred to any city in India, wherever the girl child resides.

. Interest Income: - Interest income is tax free and will accumulate in the SSA itself.

Social Security for Senior Citizens

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Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana(PMVVY)

. Ministry – Ministry of Finance

. Objective – To provide social security during old age and to protect elderly persons aged 60 and above against a future fall in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions.

. It will enable old age income security for senior citizens through provision of assured pension/return linked to the subscription amount based on government guarantee to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

. The scheme provides an assured return of 8% per annum for 10 years. The differential return, i.e. the difference between return generated by LIC and the assured return of 8% per annum would be borne by as subsidy on an annual basis.

. The scheme is exempted from Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Social Security Schemes

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yozana ( For Accidental Death Insurance)

. Ministry – Ministry of Finance

. Eligibility – Available to people in age group 18 to 70 years with bank account.

. Premium – Rs.12 per annum.

. Payment Mode – The premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account. This is the only mode available.

. Risk Coverage – For accidental death and full disability - Rs.2 Lakh and for partial disability – Rs.1 Lakh.

. Eligibility – Any person having a bank account and number linked to the bank account can give a simple form to the bank every year before 1st of June in order to join the scheme. Name of nominee to be given in the form.

. Terms of Risk Coverage – A person has to opt for the scheme every year. He can also prefer to give a long-term option of continuing in which case his account will be auto-debited every year by the bank. www.jigyasaias.com www.facebook.com/jigyasaias 9650294824

. Who will implement this Scheme? 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.

. Government 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. This will be decided separately during the year.

- Common Publicity Expenditure will be borne by the Government.

Atal Pension Yojana

. Ministry – Ministry of Finance

. Benefit of APY – Fixed pension for the subscribers ranging between Rs. 1000 to Rs. 5000, if he joins and contributes between the age of 18 years and 40 years. The contribution levels would vary and would be low if subscriber joins early and increase if he joins late.

. Eligibility for APY – (APY) is open to all bank account holders who are not members of any statutory social security scheme.

. Age of joining and contribution period – The minimum age of joining APY is 18 years and maximum age is 40 years. Therefore, minimum period of contribution by the subscriber under APY would be 20 years or more.

. Focus of APY – Mainly targeted at unorganised sector workers.

. Enrolment and Subscriber Payment – All bank account holders under the eligible category may join APY with auto-debit facility to accounts, leading to reduction in contribution collection charges.

. Enrolment agencies – All Points of Presence (Service Providers) and Aggregators under Swavalamban Scheme would enrol subscribers through architecture of .

. Operational Framework of APY – It is Government of India Scheme, which is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. The Institutional Architecture of NPS would be utilised to enrol subscribers under APY.

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. Funding of APY – Government would provide

- fixed pension guarantee for the subscribers;

- would co-contribute 50% of the subscriber contribution or Rs. 1000 per annum, whichever is lower, to eligible subscribers; and

- would also reimburse the promotional and development activities including incentive to the contribution collection agencies to encourage people to join the APY.

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (For Life Insurance Cover)

. Ministry – Ministry of Finance

. Eligibility – Available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 and having a bank account. People who join the scheme before completing 50 years can, however, continue to have the risk of life cover up to the age of 55 years subject to payment of premium.

. Premium – Rs.330 per annum. It will be auto-debited in one instalment.

. Payment Mode – Thepayment of premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account.

. Risk Coverage – Rs.2 Lakh in case of death for any reason.

. Terms of Risk Coverage – A person has to opt for the scheme every year. He can also prefer to give a long-term option of continuing, in which case his account will be auto-debited every year by the bank.

. Who will implement this Scheme? The scheme will be offered by Life Insurance Corporation and all other life insurers who are willing to join the scheme and tie-up with banks for this purpose.

. Government Contribution:

- Various other Ministries can co-contribute premium for various categories of their beneficiaries out of their budget or out of Public Welfare Fund created in this budget out of unclaimed money. This will be decided separately during the year.

- Common Publicity Expenditure will be borne by Government.

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Universal Health Coverage Laqshya – Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative

. Ministry – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

. Objective – It is to reduce preventable maternal and new-born mortality, morbidity and stillbirths associated with the care around delivery in Labour room and Maternity Operation Theatres and ensure respectful maternity care.

. This initiative will be implemented in Government Medical Colleges (MCs) besides District Hospitals (DHs), and high delivery load Sub- District Hospitals (SDHs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs). The initiative plans to conduct quality certification of labour rooms and also incentivize facilities achieving the targets outlined.

Ayushman Bharat –

Ministry – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

The General Budget 2018-19 stated that this was aimed at making path breaking interventions to address health holistically, in primary, secondary and tertiary care systems, covering both prevention and health promotion. Two initiatives as a part of Ayushman Bharat has been announced.

The initiatives are described below -

. Health and Wellness Centre

The National Health Policy, 2017 has envisioned Health and Wellness Centres as the foundation of India’s health system. Under this 1.5 lakh centres will bring health care system closer to the homes of people. These centres will provide comprehensive health care, including for non- communicable diseases and maternal and child health services. These centres will also provide free essential drugs and diagnostic services. The Budget has allocated Rs.1200 crore for this flagship programme. Contribution of private sector through CSR and philanthropic institutions in adopting these centres is also envisaged.

. National Health Protection Mission

Objective – It will increase access to quality health and medication. In addition, the unmet needs of the population which remained hidden due to lack of financial resources will be

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catered to. This will lead to timely treatments, improvements in health outcomes, patient satisfaction, improvement in productivity and efficiency, job creation thus leading to improvement in quality of life.

Features -

- The scheme has the benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year. The target beneficiaries of the proposed scheme will be more than 10 crore families belonging to poor and vulnerable population based on SECC database.

- AB-NHPM will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored schemes –Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).

- Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country.

- AB-NHPM will be an entitlement based scheme with entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database. The different categories in rural area include families having only one room with kucha walls and kucharoof; families having no adult member between age 16 to 59; female headed households with no adult male member between age 16 to 59; disabled member and no able bodied adult member in the family; SC/ST households; and landless households deriving major part of their income from manual casual labour, also, automatically included families in rural areas having any one of the following: households without shelter, destitute, living on alms, manual scavenger families, primitive tribal groups, legally released bonded labour..

- At the national level to manage, an Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Agency (AB-NHPMA) would be put in place.

- States/ UTs would be advised to implement the scheme by a dedicated entity called State Health Agency (SHA). They can either use an existing Trust/ Society/ Not for Profit Company/ State Nodal Agency (SNA) or set up a new entity to implement the scheme. States/ UTs can decide to implement the scheme through an insurance company or directly through the Trust/ Society or use an integrated model.

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Indradhanush

. Ministry – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

. Objective – The Mission Indradhanush, depicting seven colours of the rainbow, aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against seven vaccine preventable diseases which include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, , tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.

. Intensified Mission Indradhanush

It has been launched on 8th October 2017 to increase the full immunization coverage to 90% by December 2018. Inter-sectoral convergence along with intensive planning and monitoring are the salient features of this mission.

Social Security Scheme for Farmers

The Government is implementing a number of schemes to help the farmers in increasing their productivity by reducing cost of cultivation, achieving higher yield per unit and by realizing remunerative prices.

Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme

. Ministry – Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

. Objective – The scheme is tailor-made to issue ‘Soil card’ to farmers which will carry crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilizers required for the individual farms. This is aimed to help farmers to improve productivity through judicious use of inputs. The balanced use of fertiliser will also enhance productivity and ensure higher returns to the farmers.

- In the first stage these tests will reveal the status of the farmer’s soil with respect to macro nutrients like N, P and K, micro nutrients and show the presence of pH value.

. How will these soil health cards help to improve the soil fertility?

Using this basic information the farmer can progress to the second stage of how to improve his soil fertility by using specific dosage required realizing the optimal yields. These cards will contain the advisory based on the status of the soil nutrient on the farmers land. It will also

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suggest what kind of soil management he needs to undertake to stop the soil deterioration and improve the soil fertility.

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY)

The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) is being implemented to expand cultivated area with assured irrigation, reduce wastage of water and improve water use efficiency.

. Ministry – Ministry of Agriculture and Family’s welfare

. Objectives and Features -

- Achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level (preparation of district level and, if required, sub district level water use plans).

- Enhance the physical access of water on the farm and expand cultivable area under assured irrigation (Har Khet Ko Pani).

- Integration of water source, distribution and its efficient use, to make best use of water through appropriate technologies and practices.

- Improve on - farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage and increase availability both in duration and extent.

- Enhance the adoption of precision - irrigation and other water saving technologies (More Crop Per Drop).

- Enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water conservation practices.

- Ensure the integrated development of rainfed areas using the watershed approach towards soil and water conservation, regeneration of ground water, arresting runoff, providing livelihood options and other NRM activities.

- Promote extension activities relating to water harvesting, water management and crop alignment for farmers and grass root level field functionaries.

- Explore the feasibility of reusing treated municipal waste water for peri-urban agriculture

Farmer friendly initiatives

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. A new scheme has been introduced to issue a Soil Health Card to every farmer. Soil Health Management in the country is being promoted through setting up of soil and fertilizer testing laboratories. . A new scheme for promoting organic farming "Pramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana" has been launched to promote organic farming. . A dedicated Kisan Channel has been started by Doordarshan to address various issues concerning farmers. . Government is also encouraging formation of Farmer Producer organizations. . Assistance to farmers, as input subsidy, has been increased by 50 percent in case of natural calamities. . Norms have been relaxed to provide assistance from previous norm of crop loss of more than 50 percent to 33 percent to farmers afflicted by natural calamities. . Minimum Support Price (MSP) for various Kharif crops has been increased. Bonus of Rs.200 per quintal has been announced for pulses. Area coverage under pulses has increased over the last year. . Neem Coated Urea is being promoted to regulate urea use, enhance its availability to the crop and reduce cost of fertilizers application. The entire quantity of domestically manufactured urea is now neem coated.

Universal Household Electrification

“Saubhagya” – Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana

. Ministry – Ministry of Power

. Objective – The objective of Saubhagya is to achieve universal household electrification by providing last mile connectivity to all household in rural and urban areas by March 2019.

. The beneficiaries for free electricity connections would be identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data. However, un-electrified households not covered under the SECC data would also be provided electricity connections under the scheme on payment of Rs. 500 which shall be recovered by DISCOMs in 10 instalments through electricity bill.

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. The Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) will remain the nodal agency for the operationalisation of the scheme throughout the country.

UDAY (Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana)

. Ministry – Ministry of Power

. Objectives – UDAY provides for the financial turnaround and revival of Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs), and importantly also ensures a sustainable permanent solution to the problem. It is a path breaking reform for realizing the vision of affordable and accessible 24x7 Power for All.

. The scheme envisages:

- Financial Turnaround

- Operational improvement

- Reduction of cost of generation of power

- Development of Renewable Energy

- Energy efficiency & conservation

. Salient Features of the Scheme

For Financial Turnaround

- States will take over 75% of the DISCOM debt as on Sept 30, 2015 - 50% in FY 2015-16 and 25% in FY 2016-17.

- States to issue non-SLR including SDL bonds, to take over debt and transfer the proceeds to DISCOMs in a mix of grant, loan, equity.

- Maturity period of bonds - 10-15 years.

- Moratorium period – up to 5 years.

- Rate - G-sec plus 0.5% spread plus 0.25% spread for non-SLR.

- Borrowing not to be included for calculating fiscal deficit of the State.

Achieving Financial Turnaround www.jigyasaias.com www.facebook.com/jigyasaias 9650294824

- Balance 25% of debt to remain with the DISCOMs in the following manner:

- Issued as State-backed DISCOM bonds; or

- Re-priced by Banks/FIs at interest rate not more than bank base rate + 0.10%

- States to take over future losses of DISCOMs as per trajectory in a graded manner.

- [0% of loss of 14-15 & 15-16; 5% of 16-17; 10% of 17-18; 25% of 18-19 & 50% of 2019-20]

- Balance losses to be financed through State bonds or DISCOM bonds backed by State Govt guarantee, to the extent of loss trajectory finalised with MoP.

Deendayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY)

. Ministry – Ministry of Power

. Objective – The DDUGJY is one of the flagship programmes of the Ministry of Power and will facilitate 24x7 supply of power.

. Major Components of the Scheme are -

- The DDUGJY Scheme approved by the Union Government draws its inspiration from the similar pioneering scheme implemented by the Government of Gujarat.

- This scheme will enable to initiate much Components awaited reforms in the rural areas. It focuses • feeder separation; on feeder separation (rural households & • strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution network; agricultural) and strengthening of sub- • Metering at all levels (input points, transmission & distribution infrastructure feeders and distribution transformers); including metering at all levels in rural areas. • Micro grid and off grid distribution - This will help in providing round the clock network & Rural electrification- already sanctioned projects under power to rural households and adequate RGGVY to be completed. power to agricultural consumers .The earlier

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scheme for rural electrification viz. Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) has been subsumed in the new scheme as its rural electrification component.

Urban Reforms Schemes

AMRUT

Swadesh Housing Darshan For All

Urban Reforms

Smart PRASAD Cities Mission

HRIDAY

Three mega urban schemes viz., , Atal Ministry of Urban Development and Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation Ministry of Housing and urban poverty (AMRUT) and Housing for All in urban area setting in alleviation merged and formed motion the process of urban transformation to enable Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs. better living and drive economic growth.

Smart Cities Mission

. Ministry – Ministry of housing and Urban Affairs

. Objective – To promote establishment of cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of 'Smart' Solutions. The Smart Cities Mission is meant to set examples that can be replicated both within and outside the Smart City, catalysing the creation of similar Smart Cities in various regions and parts of the country.

. Smart Cities Mission Strategy www.jigyasaias.com www.facebook.com/jigyasaias 9650294824

- Pan-city initiative in which at least one Smart Solution is applied city-wide

- Develop areas step-by-step – three models of area-based developments

1. Retrofitting,

2. Redevelopment,

3. Greenfield

. Coverage and Duration

The Mission will cover 100 cities and its duration will be five years (FY2015-16 to FY2019-20). The Mission may be continued thereafter in the light of an evaluation to be done by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and incorporating the learning’s into the Mission.

The distribution of Smart Cities will be reviewed after two years of the implementation of the Mission. Based on an assessment of the performance of States/ULBs in the Challenge, some re- allocation of the remaining potential Smart Cities among States may be required to be done by the Ministry of Urban Development.

. Financing of Smart Cities

The Smart City Mission will be operated as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) and the Central Government proposes to give financial support to the Mission to the extent of Rs. 48,000 crores over five years i.e. on an average Rs. 100 crore per city per year.

This is the first time, a MoUD programme is using the 'Challenge' or competition method to select cities for funding and using a strategy of area-based development.

Smart City Action Plans will be implemented by Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) to be created for each city and state governments will ensure steady stream of resources for SPVs.

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

. Ministry – Ministry of housing and Urban Affairs

. Objective

- ensure that every household has access to a tap with assured supply of water and a sewerage connection; www.jigyasaias.com www.facebook.com/jigyasaias 9650294824

- increase the amenity value of cities by developing greenery and well maintained open spaces (e.g. parks); and

- reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorized transport (e.g. walking and cycling).

AMRUT makes States equal partners in planning and implementation of projects, thus actualizing the spirit of cooperative federalism.

. Coverage

This Mission will be implemented in 500 cities and towns each with a population of one lakh and above, some cities situated on stems of main rivers, a few capital cities and important cities located in hilly areas, islands and tourist areas.

. Financial Assistance

Central assistance will be to the extent of 50 percent of project cost for cities and towns with a population of up to 10 lakh and one-third of the project cost for those with a population of above 10 lakh. Central assistance will be released in three instalments in the ratio of 20:40:40 based on achievement of milestones indicated in State Annual Action Plans.

The architecture of the Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT is guided by the twin objectives of meeting the challenges of growing urbanization in the country in a sustainable manner as well as ensuring the benefits of urban development to the poor through increased access to urban spaces and enhanced employment opportunities.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Housing for All by 2022

. Ministry – Ministry of housing and Urban Affairs

. Objective

The Mission will be implemented during 2015-2022 and will provide central assistance to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and other implementing agencies through States/UTs for:

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- In-situ Rehabilitation of existing slum dwellers using land as a resource through private participation Over 6.8 lakhs houses - Credit Linked Subsidy to be constructed

- Affordable Housing in Partnership

- Subsidy for Beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancement. 2 cr houses to be constructed by 2022 Credit linked subsidy component will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme while other three components will be implemented as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS). 95% beneficiaries . Financial Assistance would be from Economically weaker Central grant of Rs. one lakh per house, on an average, will sections be available under the slum rehabilitation programme. A State Government would have flexibility in deploying this slum rehabilitation grant to any slum rehabilitation project taken for development using land as a resource for providing houses to slum dwellers.

The scheme will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme except the credit linked subsidy component, which will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme.

. Allocation

Houses constructed under the mission would be allotted in the name of the female head of the households or in the joint name of the male head of the household and his wife.

Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana – HRIDAY

. Ministry – Launched by Ministry of Housing And Urban Affairs

. Objective – It aims to preserve and revitalise soul of the heritage city to reflect the city’s unique character by encouraging aesthetically appealing, accessible, informative & secured environment.

. Implementation – With duration of 27 months (completing in March 2017) and a total outlay of INR 500 Crores which is to be entirely funded by the Centre, the Scheme is being implemented www.jigyasaias.com www.facebook.com/jigyasaias 9650294824

in 12 identified Cities namely, Amaravati(Andhra Pradesh); Gaya (); Dwarka (Gujarat), Badami(Karnataka); Puri (Odisha), Amritsar (Punjab); Ajmer(Rajasthan); Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu); Vellankani(Tamil Nadu); Warangal (Telangana); Varanasi (); and Mathura (Uttar Pradesh). The scheme is implemented in a mission mode.

. Features

The Scheme supports development of core heritage infrastructure projects which shall include revitalization of urban infrastructure for areas around heritage assets identified / approved by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and State Governments.

These initiatives shall include development of water supply, sanitation, drainage, waste management, approach roads, footpaths, street lights, tourist conveniences, electricity wiring, landscaping and such citizen services.

National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD)

. Ministry – Ministry of Tourism

. Objective - The scheme aims to promote pilgrimage centres by adopting a holistic approach to infrastructure development through the entire stakeholder chain.

. Areas of Implementation – Twelve cities namely Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Gaya (Bihar), Dwaraka (Gujarat), Amritsar(Punjab), Ajmer(Rajasthan), Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu), Vellankani (Tamil Nadu), Puri (Odisha), Varanasi (Uttar Prasesh), Mathura(Uttar Pradesh), Kedarnath (Uttarakhand) and Kamakhya (Assam) have been identified for development under Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) by the Ministry of Tourism.

PRASAD was formally launched as a part of Swadesh Darshan.

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Swadesh Darshan

. Ministry – Ministry of Toursim

. Objective

- To position tourism as a major engine of economic growth and job creation;

- Develop circuits having tourist potential in a planned and prioritized manner;

- Promote cultural and heritage value of the country to generate livelihoods in the identified regions;

- Enhancing the tourist attractiveness in a sustainable manner by developing world class infrastructure in the circuit /destinations;

- Follow community based development and pro-poor tourism approach;

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- Creating awareness among the local communities about the importance of tourism for them in terms of increased sources of income, improved living standards and overall development of the area.

- To create employment through active involvement of local communities; Harness tourism potential for its effects in employment generation and economic development.

- To make full use of the potential and advantages in terms of available infrastructure, national culture and characteristic strong points of each and every region throughout the country by development of theme based circuits.

- Development of tourist facilitation services to enhance visitor experience/satisfaction.

. Financial Assistance

Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to State Governments/Union Territory Administrations, for various tourism projects subject to availability of funds, liquidation of pending utilization certificates and adherence to the scheme guidelines.

. Areas of Implementation

Under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, thirteen thematic circuits have been identified, for development namely: North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit.

Swadesh Darshan being a central sector scheme will be implemented under overall control of Mission Director.

Economic Empowerment Skill Development

Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD)

. Ministry – Ministry of Minority Affairs

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. The scheme “Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD) was launched in May, 2015 and following activities have been taken up to assist the artisans:

- “Shilp Utsav” component of the scheme has been implemented through ”National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) to provide support to minority craftsmen/ artisans for marketing their products.

- The Ministry has also engaged Knowledge Partners viz. National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and National Institute of Design (NID) to work in various clusters for design intervention; product range development; packaging; exhibitions, fashion shows and publicity; tying up with e-marketing portals to enhance sales; and brand building.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yozana

. Ministry – Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

. Objective – This will be the flagship scheme for skill training of youth to be implemented by the new Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

. Features –

- The scheme to benefit about 10 million youths. Skill training would be done based on the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and industry led standards.

- Under the scheme, a monetary reward is given to trainees on assessment and certification by third party assessment bodies. The average monetary reward would be around Rs.8000 per trainee.

- Skill training under the new scheme will primarily be focused on a first time entrants to the labour market and primarily target Class 10 and Class 12 drop outs.

Nai – Manzil

. Ministry – Ministry of Minority Affairs . Eligibility Criteria - Must belong to minority community

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- They must fall within the age group of 17 to 35 years of age

- All the candidates should fall under Below Poverty Line

. Objectives –

The scheme aims to benefit the minority youths in the age group of 17 to 35 years who are school-dropouts or educated in the community education institutions like Madarsas, by providing them an integrated input of formal education (up till Class VIII or X) and skill training along with certification, with a view of enabling them to seek better employment in the organized sector and equipping them with better lives.

. Additional Features – - Minimum 30% seats are earmarked for minority girls.

- It includes a Non-residential programme of 9-12 months duration involving a Basic Bridge Programme (For Class VIII or Class X) for their education, along with training in trade based skills for sustained livelihood/gainful employment.

- The scheme covers the entire country.

National Career Service

. Ministry – Ministry of Labour and Employment

. Objective – The Government is implementing the National Career Service (NCS) Project for transformation of the National Employment Service to provide a variety of employment related services like job matching, career counseling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, etc. which are offered through the Employment Exchanges. These services are available online on the National Career Service Portal (www.ncs.gov.in) and supported by Call Centre/Helpdesk.

. The NCS services are accessible from multiple delivery channels like NCS Portal, Employment Exchanges including Model Career Centres, Common Service Centre etc. The NCS portal provides for registration of employers, job seekers, placement organisations and training providers to offer employment related services online.

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Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yozana

. Ministry – Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

. Aim – Under this scheme, the government aims to provide LPG connections to BPL households in the country. The scheme is aimed at replacing the unclean cooking fuels mostly used in the rural India with the clean and more efficient LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas).

. Objectives – Ujjwala Yojana is aimed at providing 5 Crore LPG connections in the name of women in BPL (Below Poverty Line) households across the country. The government has set a target of 5 Crore LPG connections to be distributed to the BPL households across the country under the scheme.

. Features –

- Empowering women and protecting their health.

- Reducing the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel.

- Reducing the number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuel.

- Preventing young children from significant number of acute respiratory illnesses caused due to indoor air pollution by burning the fossil fuel.

. Eligibility for PM Ujjwala Yojana

- The identification of eligible BPL families will be made on the basis of SECC-2011 data.

- The applicant’s name should be in the list of SECC-2011 data.

- The applicant should be a woman above the age of 18 years.

- The women applicant should belong to BPL (Below Poverty Line).

- The women applicant should have a saving bank account in any nationalized bank across the country.

- The applicant’s household should not already own a LPG connection in anyone’s name.

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Ausadhi Kendra

. Ministry – Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers

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. Objevtive – Jan Aushadhi Scheme to make available quality generic medicines at affordable prices to all.

. The Government has launched ‘Jan Aushadhi Scheme’ to make available quality generic medicines at affordable prices to all, especially the poor, throughout the country, through outlets known as Jan Aushadhi Stores (JASs).

. Under the Jan Aushadhi Scheme, the State Governments are required to provide space in Government Hospital premises or any other suitable locations for the running of the Jan Aushadhi Stores (JAS). Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) is to provide one-time assistance of Rs.2.50 lakhs as furnishing and establishment costs, start up cost for setting up a Jan Aushadhi Outlet.

. Any NGO/Charitable Society/Institution/Self Help Group with experience of minimum 3 years of successful operation in welfare activities, can also open the Jan Aushadhi store outside the hospital premises. A margin of 16% on the sale price is built in the MRP of each drug.

Stand-Up India . Ministry – Ministry of Finance

. Objective – The “Stand up India Scheme” is being launched now to promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Caste/Schedule Tribe and Women for loans in the range of Rs. 10 Lakhs to Rs. 100 Lakhs. The Scheme is expected to benefit large number of such entrepreneurs, as it is intended to facilitate at least two such projects per bank branch (Scheduled Commercial Bank) on an average one for each category of entrepreneur.

. The broad features of the scheme are as under -

- Composite loan between Rs. 10 lakh and upto Rs.100 lakh, inclusive of working capital component for setting up any new enterprise.

- Debit Card (RuPay) for drawal of working capital.

- Credit history of borrower to be developed.

- Refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs.10,000 crore.

- Creation of a corpus of Rs. 5,000 crore for credit guarantee through NCGTC. www.jigyasaias.com www.facebook.com/jigyasaias 9650294824

- Handholding support for borrowers with The Scheme facilitates bank loans comprehensive support for pre loan training between Rs.10 lakh and Rs.1 crore to needs, facilitating loan, factoring, marketing at least one Scheduled Caste/ etc. Scheduled Tribe borrower and at - Web Portal for online registration and support least one Woman borrower per bank services. branch for setting up greenfield - This enterprise may be in manufacturing, enterprises trading, services or services or the trading sector. manufacturing sector.

- The scheme which is being implemented through all Scheduled Commercial Banks is to benefit at least 2.5 lakh borrowers. The scheme is operational and the loan is being extended through Scheduled Commercial Banks across the country.

- Stand Up India scheme caters to promoting entrepreneurship amongst women, SC & ST category i.e those sections of the population facing significant hurdles due to lack of advice/mentorship as well as inadequate and delayed credit.

- The scheme intends to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to these underserved sectors of the population in starting greenfield enterprises. It caters to both ready and trainee borrowers.

- To extend collateral free coverage, Government of India has set up the Credit Guarantee Fund for Stand Up India (CGFSI).

- Apart from providing credit facility, Stand Up India Scheme also envisages extending hand- holding support to the potential borrowers. It provides for convergence with Central/State Government schemes.

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yozana

. Ministry – Ministry of Finance

. Objective – The objective of this scheme to launch a Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank to support the entrepreneurs of the Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribes and Other Backward classes.

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. MUDRA Bank will act as a regulator for ‘Micro-Finance Institutions’ (MFIs) involved in manufacturing, trading and service activities to promote their growth. The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana will be the main support system for the bank and will be the part of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

. The MUDRA bank was proposed in Budget 2015-16 by Union Government with an initial corpus of 20,000 crore rupees. Apart from this, 3,000 crore rupees also has been earmarked as credit guarantee corpus.

. The envisaged roles for MUDRA Bank include -

- Formulate policy guidelines for micro-enterprise financing business and registration of MFI entities.

- Undertake rating and accreditation of MFI entities.

- Develop standardized set of guidelines in order to govern last-mile lending to micro enterprises.

- Promote appropriate technology solutions for the last mile.

- Formulate and operate a credit guarantee schemes in order to provide guarantees to loans and portfolios that are extended to micro enterprises.

- Support promotional and development activities in the sector and create a good architecture for last-mile credit delivery.

. MUDRA Bank will provide financing on 3 stages- Shishu, Kishore and Tarun.

- Shishu is first stage in which loan cover upto Rs 50,000 will be given to a business entity at start of business.

- Kishore is second stage in which loan cover ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh will be given.

- Tarun is the third stage in which loan cover up to Rs. 10 lakh will be given.

Start-Up India

. Ministry – Ministry of Commerce and Industry

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. Objective – is a flagship initiative launched by the Government of India to build a strong eco-system for nurturing innovation and startups in the country which will drive economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities. The Government through this initiative aims to empower startups to grow through innovation and design.

Startup Definition (As defined by DIPP)

Startup means an entity, incorporated or registered in India :

- Upto a period of seven years from the date of incorporation/registration or upto ten years in case of Startups in Biotechnology sector

- As a private limited company or registered as a partnership firm or a limited liability partnership

- With an annual turnover not exceeding Rs. 25 crore for any of the financial years since incorporation/registration

- Working towards innovation, development or improvement of products or processes or services, or if it is a scalable business model with a high potential of employment generation or wealth creation

- Provided that an entity formed by splitting up or reconstruction of an existing business shall not be considered a ‘Startup’.

An entity shall cease to be a Startup:

- On completion of seven years from the date of its incorporation/registration, ten years in case of Startups in Biotechnology sector, or

- If its turnover for any previous year exceeds Rs. 25 crore

. The salient features of Startup India are as follows:

Simplification and Handholding

- Simple Compliance Regime for startups based on Self-certification

- Launch of Mobile app and Portal for compliance and information exchange

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- Startup India Hub to handhold startups during various phases of their development

- Legal support and fast-tracking patent examination at reduced costs

- Relaxed norms of public procurement for startups

- Faster exit for startups

Funding support and Incentives

- Providing funding support through a Fund of Funds with a corpus of Rupees 10,000 crore

- Credit guarantee fund for startups

- Tax exemption on capital gains invested in Fund of Funds

- Tax exemption to startups for 3 years

Industry-Academia Partnership and Incubation

- Organizing Startup Fests to showcase innovations and providing collaboration platforms

- Launch of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) with Self –Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU) Program of NITI Aayog

- Harnessing private sector expertise for setting up incubators

- Setting up of 7 new research parks modeled on the Research Park at IIT Madras

- Launching of innovation focused programs for students.

- Annual Incubator Grand Challenge to promote good practices among incubators.

Credit Guarantee Fund

- The initiative provides for creating a credit guarantee fund for startups through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with a Corpus of Rs.500 crore per year for the next four years.

- With this Action Plan the Government intends to accelerate spreading of the startup movement:

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- From digital/technology sector to a wide array of sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, social sector, healthcare, education, etc.; and

- From existing tier 1 cities to tier 2 and tier 3 cities including semi-urban and rural areas.

. The eligible Startups will be enjoying various Incentives and Exemptions

- Easy availability of Seed Funding

- Income Tax Exemptions for 3 years

- 80% Patent fee will be refunded

- Labour & Environment laws exemptions. No Inspection from PF, ESIC & Environment departments for 3 years.

- Capital Gain Tax exemption for investment in eligible Startup

- Exposure to best startup mentorship

- Easy Exit from the Startup within 90 days

Gold Monetisation and Sovereign Bond Scheme

The two gold schemes are launched to realize the twin objective of monetizing India’s massive private holdings of the metal and discouraging its imports.

. Background

India has spent $280 billion in gold imports in the last 10 years - more than the inflow from foreign institutional investors in both equity and debt in the same period. Annual investment demand for gold is estimated at 300 tonnes a year and holdings of gold are estimated at 20,000 tonnes, most of which are privately held lying idle in bank lockers and vaults.

. Objective

This is a step towards making gold an integral part of the larger financial system and a fungible asset class in its own right.

Provisions

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. Gold monetization scheme

- The deposits can be short term (1-3 years), medium term (5-7 years) and long term (12-15 years).

- While the interest rates on short-term deposits will be decided by banks and will be denominated in grams of gold, the interest rate on medium- and long-term deposits will be decided by the government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India from time to time and will be payable in rupees.

- This is not a black money immunity scheme and normal taxation laws would be applicable. Hence, there is no relaxation in know- your customer guidelines to ensure that these schemes do not turn into avenues of converting unaccounted wealth into white money.

- They can redeem the short-term deposits along with the interest, either in cash or in gold. However, for medium- and long-term deposits, redemption will be only in cash and based on the market price of gold prevalent on the day of redemption.

- Medium and long-term deposits can be used to replenish RBI’s gold reserves, auctioning, making coins and lending to jewelers. Short-term deposits will only be used for making coins and lending to jewelers.

. Sovereign gold bond Scheme

- The government will create a gold reserve fund to bear risks arising out of variations in gold prices.

- The bonds are to be issued by RBI on behalf of the finance ministry.

- The annual cap for such bonds will be restricted to 500g per person per year and the interest rate would be subject to revision.

- The bonds will be issued in denominations of 5g, 10g, 50g and 100g of gold and other denominations, with a minimum tenor of five-seven years.

- Since the bond will be a part of the sovereign borrowing, these would need to be within the fiscal deficit target from the current fiscal itself.

. Benefits

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- This move will not only ease pressure on the country’s trade balance as India’s imports are dominated by crude oil and gold—but also convert gold into a productive asset.

- The gold monetization scheme will drive orderly recycling and enhance transparency, benefiting millions of households and the macro economy, as it has the potential to translate gold savings into economic investments.

- Allowing gold bonds as collateral for loans along with tax sops such as making the interest on gold bonds tax- free, exempting them from capital gains tax and providing indexation benefits to long-term capital gains on transfer of the bond, make gold bonds a relatively attractive proposition.

- Sovereign gold bond Scheme will allow savers to sell or trade bonds easily on commodity exchanges and key features, such as the ability to use them as collateral for loans and capital gains tax treatment similar to gold.

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Important Notes Ekalavya Model Residential School

This is on par with Navodaya Vidyalayas to provide the best quality education to the tribal children in their own environment by 2022 in every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons with special facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and skill development.

GOBAR-DHAN Scheme

In an effort to make the villages open defecation free and improving the lives of villagers, the Finance Minister in budget speech of 2018-2019 announced the launch of Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBAR-DHAN). This will manage and convert cattle dung and solid waste in farms to compost, bio-gas and bio-CNG.

Fellowship Scheme

This scheme is for B.Tech Students 1,000 top B.Tech students in the country pursuing a PhD will be awarded opportunities for fellowships in Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISCs). They will also be rewarded with handsome fellowship amounts.

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