Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Aspirational Districts Programme
Mains level: Success of the ADP
In an independent appraisal report released today, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India has lauded the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) as a very successful model of local area development.
Aspirational Districts Programme
- Launched in January 2018, the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ initiative aims to remove this heterogeneity through a mass movement to quickly and effectively transform these districts.
- The broad contours of the programme are Convergence (of Central & State Schemes), Collaboration (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors), and Competition among districts driven by a spirit of mass Movement.
- With States as the main drivers, this program will focus on the strength of each district, identify low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress, and rank districts.
Selection of districts
- A total of 117 Aspirational districts have been identified by NITI Aayog based upon composite indicators.
- These include Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development and Basic Infrastructure which have an impact on Human Development Index.
Weightage has been accorded to these districts as below:
- Health & Nutrition (30%)
- Education (30%)
- Agriculture & Water Resources (20%)
- Financial Inclusion & Skill Development (10%)
- Basic Infrastructure (10%)
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bell of Faith’ scheme
Mains level: Old age security
The ‘Bell of Faith’ scheme will now be implemented for senior citizens staying alone in villages. Scheme to cover 250 houses in city in the first phase.
What is the ‘Bell of Faith’ scheme all about?
- It is a safety project conceived under Kerala’s Community Policing Scheme.
- It will help elderly citizens attract the attention of their neighbours using a loud, remote-controlled alarm in emergencies.
- It has been under implementation in Kerala since 2018.
- A welfare fund of ₹3.5 crore sanctioned by the State government would be used for the initiative that gives preference to those staying alone in their houses.
- In the first phase, around 250 houses selected by the local Janamaithri scheme coordinators will be covered under the scheme
Significance of the Project:
- It sets an example for community participation to ensure the well-being and safety of the elderly.
- It can be of great support for the aged during the COVID-19 pandemic as many live in fear for their health.
- The electronic bells, installed free of cost with wireless control mechanism, will help senior citizens in quickly seeking the support of neighbours during emergencies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Midday Meal Scheme
Mains level: Food and nutrition security measures
The Centre has decided to give about ₹100 each to children studying in Class 1 to Class 8 in government schools, who are beneficiaries of the Mid Day Meal scheme.
Mid Day Meal Scheme
- The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal programme in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.
- It is a wholesome freshly-cooked lunch served to children in government and government-aided schools in India.
- The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government-aided, local body and alternate innovative education centres, Madarsa and Maqtabs.
- Serving 120,000,000 children in over 1,265,000 schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, it is the largest of its kind in the world.
- The programme has undergone many changes since its launch in 1995. The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013.
The scheme aims to:
- avoid classroom hunger
- increase school enrolment
- increase school attendance
- improve socialization among castes
- address malnutrition
- empower women through employment
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.An objective of the National Food Security Mission is to increase the production of certain crops through area expansion and productivity enhancement in a sustainable manner in the identified districts of the country. What are those crops?
(a) Rice and wheat only
(b) Rice, wheat, and pulses only
(c) Rice, wheat, pulses, and oilseeds only
(d) Rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, and vegetables
What is the new move?
- The money, ₹1200 crore in total, will be given to 11.8 crore children through direct benefit transfer as a one-time payment.
- The money comes from the cooking cost component of the scheme, it said.
- This decision will help safeguard the nutritional levels of children and aid in protecting their immunity during challenging pandemic times.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NPS
Mains level: Various pension schemes in India
The National Pension System (NPS) will no longer compel investors to convert 40% of their accumulated retirement corpus into an annuity.
An annuity is a long-term investment that is issued by an insurance company and is designed to help protect you from the risk of outliving your income. Through annuitisation, your purchase payments (what you contribute) are converted into periodic payments that can last for life.
Why such a move?
- Poor yields on annuities and high inflation are translating into negative returns.
- Since annuities are taxable, deducting the tax and factoring in inflation means annuities are yielding negative returns.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Who among the following can join the National Pension System (NPS)?
(a) Resident Indian citizens only
(b) Persons of age from 21 to 55 only
(c) All-State Government employees joining the services after the date of notification by the respective State Governments
(d) All Central Governments Employees including those of Armed Forces joining the services on or after 1st April 2004
National Pension Scheme (NPS)
- NPS is a government-sponsored pension scheme. It was launched in January 2004 for government employees.
- It was extended to all citizens of Indian on a voluntary basis from May 2009 and to corporates in December 2011 and to Non-Resident Indians in October 2015.
- PFRDA is the statutory authority established by an enactment of the Parliament, to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the NPS and pension schemes to which this Act applies.
- The scheme allows subscribers to contribute regularly in a pension account during their working life.
- On retirement, subscribers can withdraw a part of the corpus in a lump sum and use the remaining corpus to buy an annuity to secure a regular income after retirement.
Who can join NPS?
- Any Indian citizen between 18 and 60 years can join NPS.
- The only condition is that the person must comply with know your customer (KYC) norms.
- An NRI can join NPS. However, the account will be closed if there is a change in the citizenship status of the NRI.
- Now, any Indian citizen, resident or non-resident and OCIs are eligible to join NPS till the age of 65 years.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Shaphari Scheme
Mains level: Not Much
Commerce Ministry wants to build confidence in quality, antibiotic-free shrimp products from India for the global market.
Shaphari Scheme
- The Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA) has developed a certification scheme for aquaculture products called ‘Shaphari’, a Sanksrit word that means the superior quality of fishery products suitable for human consumption.
- The Shaphari scheme is based on the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s technical guidelines on aquaculture certification.
- It will have two components — certifying hatcheries for the quality of their seeds and, separately, approving shrimp farms that adopt the requisite good practices.
- The certification of hatcheries will help farmers easily identify good quality seed producers.
- Those who successfully clear multiple audits of their operations shall be granted a certificate for a period of two years.
- The entire certification process will be online to minimize human errors and ensure higher credibility and transparency.
Bolstering confidence in India’s Shrimp production
- To bolster confidence in India’s frozen shrimp produce, the country’s biggest seafood export item, the Centre has kicked off a new scheme called ‘Shaphari’ to certify hatcheries and farms that adopt good aquaculture practices.
- Frozen shrimp is India’s largest exported seafood item.
- But a combination of factors had hurt export volumes in recent months, including container shortages and incidents of seafood consignments being rejected because of food safety concerns.
- Some recent consignments sourced from Indian shrimp farms being rejected due to the presence of antibiotic residue and this is a matter of concern for exporters.
- The National Residue Control Programme for food safety issues in farm produce and pre-harvest testing system is already in place.
- But this certification was proposed as a market-based tool for hatcheries to adopt good aquaculture practices and help produce quality antibiotic-free shrimp products to assure global consumers.
Frozen shrimp export potential
- Frozen shrimp is India’s largest exported seafood item. It constituted 50.58% in quantity and 73.2% in terms of total U.S. dollar earnings from the sector during 2019-20.
- India exported frozen shrimp worth almost $5 billion in 2019-20, with the U.S. and China its the biggest buyers.
- Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are India’s major shrimp producing States, and around 95% of the cultured shrimp produce is exported.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ECLGS 3.0
Mains level: Paper 3-ECLGS 3.0
The Government has extended the scope of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) through introduction of ECLGS 3.0 to cover business enterprises in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Leisure & Sporting sectors.
ECGL Scheme
- Under the Scheme, 100% guarantee coverage to be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs. 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested MUDRA borrowers.
- The credit will be provided in the form of a Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) facility.
- The Scheme would be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL Facility during the period from the date of announcement of the Scheme to 31.10.2020.
Aims and objectives
- The Scheme aims at mitigating the economic distress faced by MSMEs by providing them additional funding in the form of a fully guaranteed emergency credit line.
- The main objective is to provide an incentive to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), i.e., Banks, Financial Institutions (FIs) and NBFCs to increase access to, and enable the availability of additional funding facility to MSME borrowers.
- It aims to provide a 100 per cent guarantee for any losses suffered by them due to non-repayment of the GECL funding by borrowers.
Salient features
- The entire funding provided under GECL shall be provided with a 100% credit guarantee by NCGTC to MLIs under ECLGS.
- Tenor of the loan under Scheme shall be four years with a moratorium period of one year on the principal amount.
- No Guarantee Fee shall be charged by NCGTC from the Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) under the Scheme.
- Interest rates under the Scheme shall be capped at 9.25% for banks and FIs, and at 14% for NBFCs.
ECLGS 3.0
- It would involve extension of credit of upto 40% of total credit outstanding across all lending institutions.
- The tenor of loans granted under ECLGS 3.0 shall be 6 years including moratorium period of 2 years.
- Further, the validity of ECLGS i.e. ECLGS 1.0, ECLGS 2.0 & ECLGS 3.0 have been extended upto 30.06.2021 or till guarantees for an amount of Rs. 3 lakh crore are issued.
- The revised operational guidelines in this regard shall be issued by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC).
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: RODTEP Scheme
Mains level: Not Much
The notification of benefit rates payable to exporters under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RODTEP) scheme is expected to take more time as it is facing ‘teething issues’.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Among the following, which one is the largest exporter of rice in the world in the last five years? (CSP 2019)
(a) China
(b) India
(c) Myanmar
(d) Vietnam
RODTEP Scheme
- RoDTEP is a scheme for Exporters to make Indian products cost-competitive and create a level playing field for them in the Global Market.
- It has replaced the current Merchandise Exports from India Scheme, which is not in compliance with WTO norms and rules.
- The new RoDTEP Scheme is a fully WTO compliant scheme.
- It will reimburse all the taxes/duties/levies being charged at the Central/State/Local level which are not currently refunded under any of the existing schemes but are incurred at the manufacturing and distribution process.
Why need such a scheme?
- The scheme was announced last year as a replacement for the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS), which was not found not to be compliant with the rules of the World Trade Organisation.
- Following a complaint by the US, a dispute settlement panel had ruled against India’s use of MEIS as it had found the duty credit scrips awarded under the scheme to be inconsistent with WTO norms.
Back2Basics: Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)
- MEIS was launched with an objective to enhance the export of notified goods manufactured in a country.
- This scheme came into effect on 1 April 2015 through the Foreign Trade Policy and will be in existence till 2020.
- MEIS intended to incentivize exports of goods manufactured in India or produced in India.
- The incentives were for goods widely exported from India, industries producing or manufacturing such goods with a view to making Indian exports competitive.
- The MEIS covered almost 5000 goods notified for the purpose of the scheme.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SAAMAR campaign
Mains level: Various facets of hunger and malnutrition in India
The Jharkhand government has announced the launch of the SAAMAR campaign to tackle malnutrition in the state.
We can expect an MCQ like:
Q.SAAMAR campaign sometimes seen in news is related to:
() Bovine health
() Mother and Child Health
() Non-communicable diseases
() None of these
SAAMAR
- SAAMAR is an acronym for Strategic Action for Alleviation of Malnutrition and Anemia Reduction.
- The campaign aims to identify anaemic women and malnourished children and converge various departments to effectively deal with the problem in a state where malnutrition has been a major problem.
- Every second child in the state is stunted and underweight and every third child is affected by stunting and every 10th child is affected by severe wasting and around 70% of children are anaemic NFHS-4 data.
Features of the scheme
- Although existing schemes are there, seeing the current situation, the intervention was required with a ‘different approach to reduce malnutrition.
- SAAMAR has been launched with a 1000 days target, under which annual surveys will be conducted to track the progress.
- It talks of convergence of various departments such as the Rural Development Department and Food and Civil Supplies and engagement with school management committees, gram sabhas among others and making them aware of nutritional behaviour.
- Most importantly, the campaign, as per the note, also tries to target Primarily Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
Outlined strategy under the scheme
- To tackle severe acute malnutrition children, every Anganwadi Centres will be engaged to identify these children and subsequently will be treated at the Malnutrition Treatment Centres.
- In the same process, the anaemic women will also be listed and will be referred to health centres in serious cases.
- All of these will be done by measuring Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) of women and children through MUAC tapes and Edema levels.
- Angawadi’s Sahayia and Sevika will take them to the nearest Health Centre where they will be checked again and then registered on the portal of State Nutrition Mission.
Why need such a scheme?
- The state government runs various schemes under Child Development Schemes, National Nutrition Mission among others to deal with the situation, but it is not enough.
- Dealing with malnutrition in the state monitoring has been an important concern due to the lack of doctors or health care workers.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PM-KISAN
Mains level: Cash support schemes for farmers
The PM-Kisan scheme, launched with an aim to ensure a life of dignity and prosperity for farmers has completed two years of successful implementation.
PM-KISAN
- Under this programme, vulnerable landholding farmer families, having cultivable land upto 2 hectares, will be provided direct income support at the rate of Rs. 6,000 per year.
- This income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers, in three equal instalments of Rs. 2,000 each.
- This programme will be entirely funded by the Government of India.
Note: Aadhaar was made optional for availing the first instalment (December 2018 – March 2019). But now it is mandatory.
Exclusion categories
The following categories of beneficiaries of higher economic status shall not be eligible for benefit under the scheme.
- All Institutional Landholders
- Farmer families in which one or more of its members belong to the following categories
- Former and present holders of constitutional posts
- Former and present Ministers/ MP/MLAs/Mayors /Chairpersons of District Panchayats
- All serving or retired officers and employees of Central/ State Government Ministries (Excluding Multi Tasking Staff /Class IV/Group D employees)
- All superannuated/retired pensioners whose monthly pension is ₹10,000/-or more (Excluding Multi Tasking Staff / Class IV/Group D employees) of the above category
- All Persons who paid Income Tax in the last assessment year
- Professionals like Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, Chartered Accountants, and Architects registered with Professional bodies and carrying out the profession by undertaking practices.
Do you know?
West Bengal is yet to implement the PM-KISAN scheme while the farmers have completed their registrations!
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PLI scheme and various sectors
Mains level: Make in India promotions
The Union Cabinet has approved the production-linked incentive scheme for the telecom sector with an outlay of ₹12,195 crores over five years.
Why such a scheme?
- The scheme aims to make India a global hub for manufacturing telecom equipment.
- The sector is expected to lead to an incremental production of about ₹2.4 lakh crore, with exports of about ₹2 lakh crore over five years and bring in investments of more than ₹3,000 crores.
PLI Scheme
- The PLI scheme aims to boost domestic manufacturing and cut down on imports by providing cash incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in the country.
- Besides inviting foreign companies to set shop in India, the scheme aims to encourage local companies to set up or expand, existing manufacturing units.
UPSC can directly as the sectors included in the PLI scheme. Earlier it was only meant for Electronics manufacturing (particularly mobile phones).
Benefits for MSMEs
- For inclusion of MSMEs in the scheme, the minimum investment threshold has been kept at ₹10 crores, while for others it is ₹100 crore.
- For MSMEs, a 1% higher incentive is also proposed in the first three years.
Employment generation
- The scheme was also likely to generate 40,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities and generate tax revenue of ₹17,000 crores from telecom equipment manufacturing.
Which equipments?
- The telecom manufacturing would include core transmission equipment, 4G/5G Radio Access Network and wireless equipment, access and Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), IoT access devices, other wireless equipment.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Creche scheme
Mains level: Maternity benefits act
The Union Minister of Women and Child Development have given information about the National Creche Scheme to the Lok Sabha.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017?
- Pregnant women are entitled to three months pre-delivery and three months post-delivery paid leave.
- Enterprises with creches must allow the mother a minimum of six crèche visits daily.
- Women with two children get reduced entitlements.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
National Creche Scheme
- The Ministry of WCD implements the NCS for the children of working mothers as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme through States/ UTs with effect from 01.01.2017.
- It aims to provide daycare facilities to children (age group of 6 months to 6 years) of working mothers.
The Scheme provides an integrated package of the following services:
- Daycare facilities including sleeping facilities.
- Early stimulation for children below 3 years and pre-school education for 3 to 6 years old children
- Supplementary nutrition (to be locally sourced)
- Growth monitoring
- Health check-up and immunization
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Air pollution
Mains level: Alternatives solutions for stubble burning
The Scheme on ‘Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi’ has been extended for the year 2021-22.
We can cite the example of this scheme for crop residue management as an effective solution against stubble burning.
Management of Crop Residues
- In pursuance this, a central sector scheme (100% funded by centre) was launched in 2018 Budget to support the efforts of the governments of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and the NCT of Delhi to address air pollution.
- It aimed to subsidize the machinery required for in-situ management of crop residue.
Various objectives of the scheme:
- Protecting the environment from air pollution and preventing loss of nutrients and soil micro-organisms caused by burning of crop residue;
- Promoting in-situ management of crop residue by retention and incorporation into the soil through the use of appropriate mechanization inputs and
- Creating awareness among stakeholders for effective utilization and management of crop residue
Outcomes of the scheme
- The residue burning events in 2020 in Punjab, Haryana and UP together have reduced by -30% as compared to 2016.
- In Punjab the reduction is -22.7%, Haryana – 63.8% and UP – 52.01%.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: HSS scheme
Mains level: Textile sector of India
The Ministry of Textiles introduced the technology up-gradation scheme called Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata (HSS) Yojana.
Much recently, in the budget, the Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA) Scheme was launched.
HSS Yojana
- This scheme is introduced as an up-gradation scheme under National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP) and Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS) in 2015-16.
- It aims to provide upgraded looms/accessories to handloom weavers to improve the quality of the fabric and enhance productivity.
- Under the scheme, the Union Govt bears 90% of the cost of looms/accessories.
- It is designed for all the weavers, including SC/ST/OBC and women.
- The performance of this scheme will be evaluated by independent third-party agencies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Seed Funding
Mains level: Startup promotions in India
Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) has been approved for the period of next four years starting from 2021-22.
Seed Fund Scheme
- The scheme aims to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization.
- 945 Crore corpus will be divided over the next 4 years for providing seed funding to eligible startups through eligible incubators across India.
- The scheme is expected to support about 3600 startups.
Q.Discuss various inherent non-policy challenges to Start-ups in India.(150W)
What is Seed Funding?
- Seed funding or seed-stage funding is a very early investment which aims at helping a business grow and generating its own capital.
- Also referred to as seed money or seed capital, investors often get an equity stake in exchange for the capital invested.
- The investors can themselves be the founders and use their savings as seed money for their new company — also known as bootstrapping.
Why Seed Funding matters?
- It is a fact that starting a new business and lifting it up off the ground is a huge ask for most entrepreneurs and it only gets tougher with capital constraints.
- Seed funding helps get things started before the business earns any revenue.
- It is an effective solution for startups and growing businesses as it provides the much-needed early monetary support.
- It can cover everything from infrastructure costs, marketing and development costs as well as the cost of initial hiring. Investment is the fuel of any business and seed funding is the first drop of this fuel.
- As seed money becomes much-needed cash reserve or working capital, not having it is one of the main reasons for failure.
Various options for Seed Funding
- Crowdfunding
- Corporate seed funds
- Incubators Accelerators
- Angel investors
- Personal Savings
- VC Funding
- Angel Funds or Angel Networks
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PMMVY
Mains level: Maternity healthcare
The government’s maternity benefit scheme, or Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, has crossed 1.75 crores, eligible women, till the financial year 2020, the Centre informed Parliament.
PMMVY
- The PMMVY is a maternity benefit program introduced in 2017 and is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of age or above for the first live birth.
- It provides partial wage compensation to women for wage-loss during childbirth and childcare and to provide conditions for safe delivery and good nutrition and feeding practices.
- Under the scheme, pregnant women and lactating mothers receive ₹5,000 on the birth of their first child in three instalments, after fulfilling certain conditionalities.
- In 2013, the scheme was brought under the National Food Security Act, 2013 to implement the provision of cash maternity benefit stated in the Act.
- The direct benefit cash transfer is to help expectant mothers meet enhanced nutritional requirements as well as to partially compensate them for wage loss during their pregnancy.
Eligibility Conditions and Conditionalities
The first transfer (at pregnancy trimester) of ₹1,000 requires the mother to:
- Register pregnancy at the Anganwadi Centre (AWC) whenever she comes to know about her conception
- Attend at least one prenatal care session and taking Iron-folic acid tablets and TT1 (tetanus toxoid injection), and
- Attend at least one counselling session at the AWC or healthcare centre.
The second transfer (six months of conception) of ₹2,000 requires the mother to:
- Attend at least one prenatal care session and TT2
The third transfer (three and a half months after delivery) of ₹2,000 requires the mother to:
- Register the birth
- Immunize the child with OPV and BCG at birth, at six weeks and at 10 weeks
- Attend at least two growth monitoring sessions within three months of delivery
Additionally, the scheme requires the mother to:
- Exclusively breastfeed for six months and introduce complementary feeding as certified by the mother
- Immunize the child with OPV and DPT
- Attend at least two counselling sessions on growth monitoring and infant and child nutrition and feeding between the third and sixth months after delivery
Before judging this factual information, take this PYQ form 2019:
Q.Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017?
- Pregnant women are entitled to three months pre-delivery and three months post-delivery paid leave.
- Enterprises with creches must allow the mother a minimum of six crèche visits daily.
- Women with two children get reduced entitlements.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Jal Jeevan Mission
Mains level: Drinking water scarcity in Urban India
The urban water supply mission under the Jal Jeevan Mission announced in the Budget would include rejuvenation of water bodies as well as 20% of supply from reused water.
Access to safe drinking water has been a grave problem for India, especially in rural areas where lack of usable water has resulted in decades-old sanitation and health problems.
Jal Jeevan Mission
- Jal Jeevan Mission, a central government initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, aims to ensure access of piped water for every household in India.
- The mission’s goal is to provide to all households in rural India safe and adequate water through individual household tap connections by 2024.
- The Har Ghar Nal Se Jal programme was announced by FM in Budget 2019-20 speech.
- This programme forms a crucial part of the Jal Jeevan Mission.
- The programme aims to implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as recharge and reuse through greywater management, water conservation, and rainwater harvesting.
Urban component of the mission
- The mission is meant to create a people’s movement for water, making it everyone’s priority.
- There are an estimated gap of 2.68 crore urban household tap connections that the Mission would seek to bridge in all 4,378 statutory towns.
- The Mission would also aim to bridge the gap of 2.64 crore sewer connections in the 500 cities under the existing Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
- The mission would include rejuvenation of water bodies to boost the sustainable freshwater supply and the creation of green spaces.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MITRA scheme
Mains level: Textile sector of India
The Finance Minister has proposed setting up of a scheme of Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA) Scheme in her budget speech.
Do not get confused over Sahakar Mitra Scheme and this one.
MITRA Scheme
- MITRA aims to enable the textile industry to become globally competitive, attract large investments, and boost employment generation and exports.
- It will create world-class infrastructure with plug and play facilities to enable create global champions in exports.
- It will be launched in addition to the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI).
- It will give our domestic manufacturers a level-playing field in the international textiles market & pave the way for India to become a global champion of textiles exports across all segments”.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ayushman Bharat
Mains level: Universal health coverage
Union Home Minister has rolled out the ‘Ayushman CAPF’ scheme, extending the benefit of the central health insurance programme to the personnel of all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in the country.
Who are the CAPFs?
- The CAPFs refers to uniform nomenclature of five security forces in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Their role is to defend the national interest mainly against the internal threats.
- They are the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)
Ayushman CAPF
- Under this scheme, around 28 lakh personnel of CAPF, Assam Rifles and National Security Guard (NSG) and their families will be covered by ‘Ayushman Bharat: PM Jan Arogya Yojana’ (AB PM-JAY).
- For the CAPF, the existing health coverage was not comprehensive as compared to other military forces.
Do you know?
The goal of universal health coverage (UHC) as stated in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs no. 3) is one of the most significant commitments to equitable quality healthcare for all.
About Ayushman Bharat
- PM-JAY aims to provide free access to healthcare for 40% of people in the country.
- It is a centrally sponsored scheme and is jointly funded by both the union government and the states.
- It was launched in September 2018 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- The ministry has later established the National Health Authority as an organization to administer the program.
Key features:
- Providing health coverage for 10 crores households or 50 crores Indians.
- It provides a cover of 5 lakh per family per year for medical treatment in empanelled hospitals, both public and private.
- Offering cashless payment and paperless recordkeeping through the hospital or doctor’s office.
- Using criteria from the Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011 to determine eligibility for benefits.
- There is no restriction on family size, age or gender.
- All previous medical conditions are covered under the scheme.
- It covers 3 days of pre-hospitalization and 15 days of post-hospitalization, including diagnostic care and expenses on medicines.
- The scheme is portable and a beneficiary can avail medical treatment at any PM-JAY empanelled hospital outside their state and anywhere in the country.
Note these features. They cannot be memorized all of sudden but can be recognized if a tricky MCQ comes in the prelims.
Must read:
[Burning Issue] Ayushmaan Bharat
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PMKVY
Mains level: Skill Development
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has launched Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 3.0.
Note the differences between all three versions of PMKVY.
PMKVY 3.0
- PMKVY 3.0 envisages training of eight lakh candidates over the scheme period of 2020-2021.
- This phase three will focus on new-age and COVID-related skills.
- The 729 PM Kaushal Kendras (PMKKs), empanelled non-PMKK training centres and more than 200 industrial training institutes under Skill India will be rolling out under it.
- On the basis of the learning gained from PMKVY 1.0 and PMKVY 2.0, the MSDE has improved the newer version of the scheme to match the current policy doctrine and energize the skilling ecosystem.
Implementation
- PMKVY 3.0 will be implemented in a more decentralized structure with greater responsibilities and support from States/UTs and Districts.
- District Skill Committees (DSCs), under the guidance of State Skill Development Missions (SSDM), shall play a key role in addressing the skill gap and assessing demand at the district level.
- The new scheme will be more trainee- and learner-centric addressing the ambitions of aspirational Bharat.
- PMKVY 2.0 broadened the skill development with the inclusion of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and focus on training.
- With the advent of PMKVY 3.0, the focus is on bridging the demand-supply gap by promoting skill development in areas of new-age and Industry 4.0 job roles.
Back2Basics: PMKVY 1.0
- PMKVY is a skill development initiative scheme of the Government of India for recognition and standardization of skills launched on16 July 2015;.
- The aim of the scheme is to encourage aptitude towards employable skills and to increase the working efficiency of probable and existing daily wage earners, by giving monetary awards and rewards and by providing quality training to them.
- For this qualification plans and quality, plans have been developed by various Sector Skill Councils (SSC) created with the participation of Industries.
- National Skill Development Council (NSDC) has been made coordinating and driving agency for the same.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PMFBY
Mains level: Success of PMFBY
The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has completed 5 Years of successful operations.
It has become vital these days to remember and recognize every detail of government schemes.
What is PMFBY?
- 5 years ago, on 13th January 2016, the GoI took a historic step towards strengthening risk coverage of crops for farmers of India and approved the flagship crop insurance scheme – the PMFBY.
- The scheme was conceived as a milestone initiative to provide a comprehensive risk solution at the lowest uniform premium across the country for farmers.
- Premium cost over and above the farmer share is equally subsidized by States and GoI.
- However, GoI shares 90% of the premium subsidy for the North Eastern States to promote the uptake in the region.
- The average sum insured per hectare has increased from ₹15,100 during the pre-PMFBY Schemes to ₹40,700 under PMFBY.
Coverage of Risks and Exclusions:
Following stages of the crop and risks leading to crop loss are covered under the scheme.
- Prevented Sowing/ Planting Risk: The insured area is prevented from sowing/ planting due to deficit rainfall or adverse seasonal conditions
- Standing Crop (Sowing to Harvesting): Comprehensive risk insurance is provided to cover yield losses due to non-preventable risks, viz. Drought, Dry spells, Flood, Inundation, Pests and Diseases, Landslides, Natural Fire and Lightening, Storm, Hailstorm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane and Tornado.
- Post-Harvest Losses: Coverage is available only up to a maximum period of two weeks from harvesting for those crops which are allowed to dry in cut and spread condition in the field after harvesting against specific perils of a cyclone and cyclonic rains and unseasonal rains.
- Localized Calamities: Loss/ damage resulting from the occurrence of identified localized risks of hailstorm, landslide, and Inundation affecting isolated farms in the notified area.
Try this question from CSP 2020:
Q.Under the Kisan Credit Card Scheme, short-term credit support is given to farmers for which of the following purposes? (CSP 2020)
- Working capital for maintenance of farm assets
- Purchase of combine harvesters, tractors and mini trucks
- Consumption requirements of farm households
- Construction of family house and setting up of village cold storage facility
- Construction of family house and setting up of village cold storage facility
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1,2 and 5 only
(b) 1,3 and 4 only
(c) 2,3,4 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Progress till date
- The Scheme covers over 5.5 crore farmer applications year on year.
- Till date, claims worth Rs 90,000 crores have already been paid out under the Scheme.
- Aadhar seeding has helped in speedy claim settlement directly into the farmer accounts.
- Even during COVID lockdown period, nearly 70 lakh farmers benefitted and claims worth Rs. 8741.30 crores were transferred to the beneficiaries.
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