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1. Cabinet approves Atal Bhujal Yojana

• The Union Cabinet approved the Atal Bhujal Yojana, a scheme for sustainable management of groundwater resources.

About Atal Bhujal Yojana

• The objective of the scheme is to recharge groundwater and create sufficient water storage for agricultural purposes. • It will give emphasis to recharging groundwater sources and ensure efficient use of water by involving people at the local level. • The scheme will cover 8,350 villages of , , , , , and .

Funding

• The funding pattern is 50:50 between Government of and the World Bank.

Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance (Important Scheme)

Source- PIB

2. National Population Register

• The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to conduct Census 2021 and update the National Population Register (NPR). • While the Census will be conducted in 2021, the NPR update will take place from April to September 2020 in all the States/UTs except Assam. • In the last NPR done in 2010, the data was collected on the 15 points and it did not include ‘date and place of birth of parents’ and last place of residence.

About National Population Register

• The NPR is a register of usual residents of the country. • It is mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR. It includes both Indian citizens as well as a foreign citizen. • The objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country.

Background

• The first National Population Register was prepared in 2010 and updating this data was done during 2015 by conducting door to door survey. • The next update of the NPR will take place in the year 2020 from April to September with the House listing phase of the Census 2021.

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• It is being prepared at the local (Village/sub-Town), sub-District, District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.

What is the usual resident?

• According to the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, a usual resident is a person who has resided in a local area for the past 6 months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next 6 months or more.

The uniqueness about Census 2021

• It is for the first time, the Census 2021 will use the Mobile App for data collection. • It will also provide a facility to the public for self-enumeration.

What is the difference between NPR and NRC?

• The NPR is different from the National Register of Citizens which excludes the foreign citizens. • According to the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, notified on December 10, 2003, a Population Register is ‘the register containing details of persons usually residing in a village or rural area or town or ward or demarcated area (demarcated by the Registrar General of Citizen Registration) within a ward in a town or urban area. • Whereas, the ‘National Register of Indian Citizens’ is a register containing details of Indian Citizens living in India and outside India.

What is the link between NPR and NRC?

• According to the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, notified on December 10, 2003, The Central Government may, by an order issued in this regard, decide a date by which the Population Register shall be prepared by collecting information relating to all persons who are usually residing within the jurisdiction of Local Registrar. • The Local Register of Indian citizens shall contain details of persons after due verification made from the Population Register.

Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance

Source- Indian Express

3. Cabinet grants Ex-post facto approval to amend the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations

• The Union Cabinet has granted its ex-post facto approval to amend the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations (BEFR), 1873.

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• "The cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval to the Adaptation of Laws (Amendment) Order, 2019 issued by the President of India under clause (2) of Article 372 of the Constitution to amend the BEFR. • The notification will extend BEFR to the state of Manipur to give its indigenous people protection from the provisions of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 and make necessary changes in the said regulation.

About the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019)

• It grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and came to India on or before December 31, 2014.

About Inner Line Permit system

• It is a document that allows an Indian citizen to visit or stay in a state that is protected under the ILP system. • The system is in force previously in three Northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram — and now it also included Manipur. • Under this, no Indian citizen can visit any of these states unless he or she does not belong to that state, nor can he or she overstay beyond the period specified in the ILP.

The CAB connection

• The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill aims to make it easier for non-Muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to obtain Indian citizenship. • If it is implemented with provisions for excluding from its ambit the states under the ILP regime, it means that beneficiaries under CAB will become Indian citizens but will not be able to settle in these three states. • As a matter of fact, the same restriction applies to the existing Indian citizens.

Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance

Source- Business Standard

4. Year-End Review of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)

• Under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), new micro-enterprises have been set up, the MSME Ministry said in its year-end review for 2019. • The government said it envisions micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to contribute USD 2 trillion to the country's target of becoming USD 5 trillion economy by 2024.

Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP):

• PMEGP is a major credit-linked subsidy programme being implemented by the Ministry of MSME since 2008-09.

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• The Scheme is aimed at generating self-employment opportunities through establishment of micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector by helping traditional artisans and unemployed youth in rural as well as urban areas.

SFURTI Clusters:

• 51 SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries) Clusters approved earlier are completed and are functional.

Solar Charkha Clusters:

• The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind launched the Solar Charkha Mission on 27th June 2018. • The Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of Solar Charkha Clusters have been approved by the Scheme Steering Committee during the current financial year 2019-20.

Credit Link Capital Subsidy Re-Launched:

• The Government approved for continuation of Credit Linked Capital Subsidy component under Credit Linked Capital Subsidy-Technology Upgradation Scheme (CLCS-TUS) in February 2019.

Technology Centre Systems Programme (TCSP):

• Ministry of MSME is implementing Technology Centre Systems Programme (TCSP) at an estimated cost of Rs. 2200 crore, including World Bank Loan assistance of USD 200 million, to establish 15 new Tool Rooms and Technology Development Centres (TCs) and upgrade the existing 18 TCs across the country. • Four Technology Centres at Bhiwadi, Bhopal, Puddi and Tinsukia are ready for commissioning.

Khadi gets separate unique HS code, export to get a boost

• Khadi has got unique HS code issued by the central government on 4thNov’19 to categorize its products in export. It will make the export of Khadi, exclusively categorized from the general league of textile products.

Launching of Sale of Khadi Rumal made by militancy affected women of J&K:

• Union Minister for MSME launched the sale of Khadi Rumal made by militancy affected women of J&K on 17th December 2019. • The sale of Khadi Rumal will instil confidence and enable women all over Jammu & Kashmir to live an independent and respectful life.

Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics

Source- The Hindu

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5. Tunnel under Rohtang pass to be renamed after

• The Union Cabinet has approved the renaming of the strategic tunnel under Rohtang Pass after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. • The renaming of the tunnel will take place in the late Vajpayee's 95th birth anniversary.

About the Tunnel

• It is a strategically important tunnel which will provide all-weather connectivity to remote border areas of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh which otherwise remained cut off from the rest of the country for about six months during winters. • It is the 8.8-kilometre-long tunnel is the world's longest tunnel above an altitude of 3,000 metres. • It will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh. • It is a 10.5-metre wide single tube bi-lane tunnel with a fireproof emergency egress tunnel built into the main tunnel itself.

About Rohtang Pass

• It is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around 51 km from Manali. • It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India

Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography

Source- The Hindu

6. Chief of Defence Staff

• The Union Cabinet has approved to create the post of Chief of Defence Staff in the rank of a four-star General with salary and perquisites equivalent to a Service Chief. • The Chief of Defence Staff will also head the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), to be created within the Ministry of Defence and function as its Secretary.

As the Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, CDS will perform the following functions:

• CDS will administer tri-services organisations. Tri-service agencies/organisations/commands related to Cyber and Space will be under the command of the CDS. • CDS will be a member of Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Raksha Mantri and Defence Planning Committee chaired by NSA. • Function as the Military Adviser to the Nuclear Command Authority. • Bring about jointness in operation, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance, etc of the three Services, within three years of the first CDS assuming office.

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• Ensure optimal utilisation of infrastructure and rationalise it through jointness among the services. • Implement a Five-Year Defence Capital Acquisition Plan (DCAP), and Two-Year roll-on Annual Acquisition Plans (AAP), as a follow up of Integrated Capability Development Plan (ICDP). • Assign inter-Services prioritisation to capital acquisition proposals based on the anticipated budget. • Bring about reforms in the functioning of three Services aimed at augmenting combat capabilities of the Armed Forces by reducing wasteful expenditure.

Background

• The proposal for a CDS has been there for two decades which was first made by the K. Subrahmanyam committee appointed after the Kargil conflict of 1999 to recommend higher military reforms. • However, lack of consensus and apprehensions among services meant it never moved forward. • In 2012, the Naresh Chandra Committee recommended the appointment of a Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) as a midway to allay apprehensions over the CDS. • The CDS is also one of the 99 recommendations made by the Lt General D.B. Shekatkar (retd) Committee which submitted its report in December 2016 which had 34 recommendations pertaining to the tri-services.

Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence

Source- The Hindu

7. Cabinet approves promulgation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019

• The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to promulgate an Ordinance and to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. • The Amendment will remove certain ambiguities in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and ensure smooth implementation of the Code. proposed Amendments:

• the liability of a corporate debtor for an offence committed prior to the commencement of the corporate insolvency resolution process shall cease. • the corporate debtor shall not be prosecuted for such an offence from the date the resolution plan has been approved by the Adjudicating Authority • if the resolution plan results in the change in the management or control of the corporate debtor to a person who was not: o A promoter or in the management or control of the corporate debtor or a related party of such a person; or o A person with regard to whom the relevant investigating authority has, on the basis of material in its possession.

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• In addition, it provides immunity from any action against the property (such as attachment, seizure, or confiscation) of the corporate debtor in relation to such offences. • Such immunity will be granted if the resolution plan approved by the NCLT results in the change of promoters or management of the corporate debtor. • However, any person in charge of the corporate debtor, or associated with it, will continue to be held liable for such offences.

Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics Times

Source- The Hindu

8. NITI Aayog to Launch SDG India Index & Dashboard 2019–20

• NITI Aayog will launch the second edition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index.

About SDG Index

• The SDG index documents the progress made by India’s States and Union Territories towards implementing the 2030 SDG targets. • The SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019–20 have been developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the United Nations in India, and the Global Green Growth Institute. • NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing the adoption and monitoring of SDGs in the country, at the national and sub-national level.

How does it work?

• The SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019 tracks the progress of and ranks all States and UTs on 100 indicators drawn from MoSPI’s National Indicator Framework, comprising 306 indicators. • It indicates where the country and its States and UTs currently are on SDG implementation, and charts the distance to be travelled to reach the SDG targets. • The Index covers 16 out of 17 SDGs and a qualitative assessment on Goal 17. This marks an improvement over the 2018 Index, which covered only 13 goals.

Note:

• The SDG India Index, whose first edition was launched in December 2018. • It was the first tool developed by any large country to monitor the progress towards achieving SDGs at the sub-national level.

Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance

Source- The Hindu

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