Empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions

The national level plan for improving the functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) is chalked out in the Roadmap for Panchayati Raj (2011-2017). The Roadmap logically delineates the issues and specific action plans within the larger governance framework for creating an effective Panchayati Raj structure. It highlights key aspects for empowerment, enablement and accountability of the PRIs for better governance and faster development, includes devolution of functions, funds and functionaries as envisaged in the Constitution, Capacity Building of the Panchayats and Functionaries, decentralized planning, effective implementation of Panchayats (Extention to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), empowered elected village councils in the Sixth Scheduled Areas and changes in the constitutional and legal framework. This national Roadmap is enabled and assisted by the Government by the provision of funds under several schemes, the most important of which are

• The Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) provides untied grants to the Panchayats in the backward regions in order to reduce development deficits of the country, with the requirement that the District Plans for utilization of the grant be prepared by the involvement of the Gram Sabhas.

• The Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana (RGSY) which aims at capacity building and training of the elected representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions as well as the Functionaries.

The Central Government also provides funds to the State Governments under the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) to redress regional imbalances in development of backward districts in the country. The strategy aims at promoting the performance and capacity of Panchayats, in planning, decision, making, implementation and monitoring. In addition to the BRGF, the following schemes for empowerment of Panchayats are being implemented:

• Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana: Funds are released to States for training and capacity building of Panchayati Raj Institutions in districts uncovered by the BRGF.

• Rural Business Hubs: This Scheme aims to assist the Panchayats to empower rural labour productivity by providing forward backward linkages with technical assistance in Public-Private-Partnership.

• Panchayat Manila`Evam Yuva Shakti Abhiyan:. It aims to enable women and youth Panchayat leaders to come together to articulate their problems as women Panchayat Leaders. 

• E-Panchayat: For computerizing the databases, accounts and other functions of the Gram Panchayats for accountability and transparency.

• Panchayat Empowerment & Accountability Incentive Scheme: To recognize and incentivize the efforts of Panchayats with respect to transparency, accountability and efficiency and of States with respect to devolution of funds, functions and functionaries to Panchayats.

Zonal Councils

The idea of creation of Zonal Councils was mooted by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1956 when during the course of debate on the report of the States Re-organisation Commission, he suggested that the States proposed to be reorganised may be grouped into four or five zones having an Advisory Council 'to develop the habit of cooperative working” among these States.  This suggestion was made by Pandit Nehru at a time when linguistic hostilities and bitterness as a result of re-organisation of the States on linguistic pattern were threatening the very fabric of our nation. As an antidote to this situation, it was suggested that a high level advisory forum should be set up to minimise the impact of these hostilities and to create healthy inter-State and Centre-State environment with a view to solving inter-State problems and fostering balanced socio economic development of the respective zones.

COMPOSITION OF ZONAL COUNCILS

In the light of the vision of Pandit Nehru, five Zonal Councils were set up vide Part-III of the States Re-organisation Act, 1956. The present composition of each of these Zonal Councils is as under:

    The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh;
    The Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh;
    The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim and West Bengal;
    The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli; and
    The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The North Eastern States i.e. (i) Assam (ii) Arunachal Pradesh (iii) Manipur (iv) Tripura (v) Mizoram (vi) Meghalaya and (vii) Nagaland are not included in the Zonal Councils and their special problems are looked after by the North Eastern Council, set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972. The State of Sikkim has also been included in the North Eastern Council vide North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act, 2002 notified on 23rd December, 2002. Consequently, action for exclusion of Sikkim as member of Eastern Zonal Council has been initiated by Ministry of Home Affairs.

COMMITTIEES OF ZONAL COUNCILS

Each Zonal Council has set up a Standing Committee consisting of Chief Secretaries of the member States of their respective Zonal Councils. These Standing Committees meet from time to time to resolve the issues or to do necessary ground work for further meetings of the Zonal Councils. Senior Officers of the Planning Commission and other Central Ministries are also associated with the meetings depending upon necessity. :

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF ZONAL COUNCILS

(i)   Chairman
       The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils.
(ii)   Vice Chairman
        The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each holding  office for a period of one year at a time.
(iii)   Members
        Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories included in the zone.
(iv)   Advisers
        One person nominated by the Planning Commission for each of the Zonal Councils, Chief Secretaries and another officer/Development Commissioner nominated by each of the States included in the Zone;

Union Ministers are also invited to participate in the meetings of Zonal Councils depending upon necessity.
.

ROLE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE ZONAL COUNCILS

The Zonal Councils provide an excellent forum where irritants between Centre and States and amongst States can be resolved through free and frank discussions and consultations. Being advisory bodies, there is full scope for free and frank exchange of views in their meetings. Though there are a large number of other fora like the National Development Council, Inter State Council, Governor’s/Chief Minister’s Conferences and other periodical high level conferences held under the auspices of the Union Government, the Zonal Councils are different, both in content and character. They are regional fora of cooperative endeavour for States linked with each other economically, politically and culturally. Being compact high level bodies, specially meant for looking after the interests of respective zones, they are capable of focusing attention on specific issues taking into account regional factors, while keeping the national perspective in view.

The main objectives of setting up of Zonal Councils are as under :

    Bringing out national integration;
    Arresting the growth of acute State consciousness, regionalism, linguism and particularistic tendencies;
    Enabling the Centre and the States to co-operate and exchange ideas and experiences; and
    Establishing a climate of co-operation amongst the States for successful and speedy execution of development projects.

FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNCILS

Each Zonal Council is an advisory body and may discuss any matter in which some or all of the States represented in that Council, or the Union and one or more of the States represented in that Council, have a common interest and advise the Central Government and the Government of each State concerned as to the action to be taken on any such matter.

In particular, a Zonal Council may discuss, and make recommendations with regard to,--

    any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning;
    any matter concerning border disputes, linguistic minorities or inter-State transport; and
    any matter connected with, or arising out of, the re-organisation of the States under the States Reorganisation Act.

MEETINGS OF ZONAL COUNCILS

As per Section 17(1) of States Re-organisation Act, each Zonal Council shall meet at such time as the Chairman of the Council may appoint in this behalf. Since their inception in 1957, the Zonal Councils have met 106 times. The last meetings of the Zonal Councils were held as under:


Name of the Council      Place of  meeting      Date of the meeting

 1.Eastern Zonal Council      Ranchi      30.05.2005

 2.Western Zonal Council      Panaji          20.09.2006

 3.Northern Zonal Council      Shimla      25.10.2005

 4.Southern Zonal Council      Hyderabad      12.02.2007

 5.Central Zonal Council      Bhopal      24.05.2005

Deliberations at Zonal Councils have led to important initiatives in regard to Internal Security, Coastal Security, Mega City Policing, Sharing of information on crime and criminals by the concerned states, Jail Reforms, Communal Harmony and the resolution of the socio-economic problems like trafficking in women and children, National Disaster Management and strengthening the preparedness for disaster management, implementation of Right to information Act, Implementation of National Employment Guarantee Bill, Coastal Secretary and Good Governance etc.

SECRETARIAT OF ZONAL COUNCILS

The Secretariat of the Zonal Councils has also been created by the statue itself. Section 19 of the States Re-organisation Act deals with the staff of Zonal Councils whereas Section 20 deals with office of the Council and its administrative expenses.

(i) Office of Zonal Councils:

As per Section 20(1) of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 the office of Zonal Council for each zone shall be located at such place within the zone as may be determined by the Council. However, since 1963, a single Secretariat looking after the affairs of all Zonal Councils is functioning from New Delhi. The Secretariat is located 9/11, Jamnagar House, New Delhi and functioning under administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Zonal Councils Secretariat explores centre-State, inter-State and zonal issues which are to be deliberated by the Councils or the Standing Committees. The Secretariat also follows up on the recommendations of the Councils/Standing Committees, if necessary drawing the attention of the Chairman and other Central Ministers/Chief Ministers.

(ii) Organisational set up of Zonal Council Secretariat

According to Section 19 (1) of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, each Zonal Council shall have a secretarial staff consisting of a Secretary, a Joint Secretary and such other officers as the Chairman may consider necessary to appoint

The Chief Secretaries of the States represented in such Zonal Councils act as the Secretary of the respective Council by rotation, holding office for a period of one year at a time.

The Joint Secretary of Zonal Councils is as a Director Level officer from All India Services or Central Secretariat Services.

Government to Introduce New Welfare Schemes for Seafarers

The Government is considering to introduce the following measures for the welfare of the seafarers:

(i) The Monthly Ex-gratia Monitory Assistance (MEMA) Scheme operated by the Seamen`s Welfare Fund Society (SWFS) is proposed to be reinforced.

(ii) Introduction of a contributory Annuity Scheme for the seafarers.

The proposed welfare schemes for the seafarers have been discussed with the stakeholders in the meetings of the National Welfare Board of Seafarers (NWBS) and are being finalized.

National Rural Livelihoods Mission

Odisha has become the first state in the country to launch National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in its bid to bring down rural poverty by promoting diversified and gainful self-employment to the rural poor. NRLM will replace the Swarnajayanti Gram Swrojgar Yojana (SGSY) aimed at poverty reduction. The main weaknesses of the SGSY were uneven spread in the formation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), high attrition rate in the SHGs, lack of adequate access to banking facilities, lack of capacity building and training and inadequate risk mitigation. NRLM would provide greater focus and momentum for poverty reduction to achieve the various Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

In the first phase, NRLM has been launched in 38 backward poverty stricken blocks of 10 districts where the World Bank-funded Targeted Rural Initiatives for Poverty Termination and Infrastructure (TRIPTI) is being implemented. Though objectives of NRLM and TRIPTI are almost same, the former is now restructured to target the poorest of the poor who have been uncovered yet. In the second phase of the project, Schedule Areas, including four blocks from 11 districts covered under Western Orissa Rural Livelihoods Project (WORLP), JEEVIKA and The Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihood Programme (OTELP) and five Left Wing Extremists- affected districts such as Gajapati, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Sambalpur and Deogarh will be covered. By the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan, all 30 districts would have come under NRLM. The programme is expected to adopt a multipronged strategy to reduce poverty by enabling the poor households to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities. This programme is designed in a way to be implemented by a dedicated support structure starting from bottom to top. Cluster-level forum and gram panchayat level forum will be constituted and through them, various activities for livelihood generation will be created, so that wastage of funds can be stopped and maximum dividend of the project is made available to the needy section of the society

India plans to launch National Monsoon Mission

The Government of India is planning to launch a National Monsoon Mission to provide accurate rain forecast and other weather inputs to farmers.
Speaking at the annual function of his Ministry, Earth Sciences Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said that agro-Met services will have greater importance in the coming years.
The Ministry has plans to establish the National Monsoon Mission to address these challenging issues relating to the monsoon rainfall in India, he added.
They not only provide fairly accurate monsoon forecasts but also issue weather related agro advisories to farmers so that the kisan (farmer) can plan his farming and increase the productivity of his soil, Deshmukh said.
"India's total demand for food grain is projected to touch 280 million tonnes by the year 2020-21. For this, improved monsoon rainfall predictions and associated enhancements to the agro-advisory services have been identified as priority activities," he added, reports IANS.

Employment Schemes of India

Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)

 

• Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) has been created by merging two schemes, Prime Minister's Rojgar Yojana (PMRY) and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP), which were in operation till 31.03.2008.
• It is a credit linked subsidy programme being implemented by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
• It aims at generating self-employment opportunities through establishment of micro enterprises by organizing traditional artisans and unemployed youth.
• The scheme will be implemented by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) at the national level and by KVIC directorates, Khadi and Village Industries Board and Districts Industries Centres at the state level.
• The Government subsidy under the scheme will be distributed to the beneficiaries/entrepreuners through identified banks by KVIC.
• Individuals above 18 years of age, Self Help groups, Institutions registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860, Production Co-oerative Societies and Charitable Trusts are eligible for subsidy to set up projects under PMEGP.

Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY)

 

Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) started on 01.04.1999 is a major on going programme for self employment for the rural poor. The programme was developed after reviewing and restructuring the erstwhile Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and allied programmes namely

• Training Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM)
• Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA)
• Supply of Toolkits in Rural Areas (SITRA)
• Ganga Kalyan Yojana (GKY)
• Millions Wells Scheme.

The other programmes are no more in operation with the launching of SGSY. The basic objective of the SGSY is to bring the assisted poor families above the poverty line by providing them income-generating assets through a mix of bank credit and governmental subsidy. The SGSY is being implemented by the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) with the active involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions, the Banks, the Line Departments and the Non-Government Organisations. The programme is financed on 75 : 25 cost sharing basis between the Centre and the States. The SGSY aims to cover all aspects of rural employment, the chiefly the following

• Social mobilisation i.e. organisation of the poor into Self Help Groups (SHGs)
• Activity Cluster, Planning and Selection i.e identifying and selecting a key activity in terms of its economic viability in an area.
• Financial Assistance in the form of credit and subsidy in which credit is a major component.
• Training of Swarozgaris through well-designed training courses.
• Infrastructure Development
• Marketing and Technology Support
  
   
  Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
   
  The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, notified in 200 districts in the first phase on Feb 2, 2006 was renamed Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on 02 Oct 2009. 130 districts were notified in 2007 and with the notification of the remaining districts on 01 April 2008, the entire country has been covered. Exception is given to district with a hundred percent urban population. The Act seeks to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year.
  Salient Features:
• Adult members of a rural household willing to do unskilled manual work are eligible to seek employment under the act.
• Employment is to be given within 15 days of application for work, otherwise daily unemployment allowance has to paid by the respective State.
• Wages are to be paid according to Minimum Wages Act 1948 for agricultural labourers in the State unless otherwise notified by the centre
• Equal wages are to be paid to both men and women.
• At least one-third beneficiaries are to be women.
• No conractors and machinery is allowed.

The MGNERGA is a paradigm shift from previous wage employment programmes, the significant aspects which are given below:

• It provides a statutory guarantee of wage employment.
• It provides a rights-based framework for wage employment.
• The Act provides incentive to the State Govt for providing employment as 90% of the cost is borne by the Centre and at the same time discentive in the form of Unemployment Allowance falls on the State Govt which fails to provide employment within the stipulated time of 15 days of applying for work.

Transparency safeguards are provided in the form of

• Job cards in the custody of workers which monitor entitlements.
• Issue of dated receipts on application for work
• Citizen Information Boards at worksites.
• Vigilance Monitoring Committees.
   

  Hunar se Rozgaar Scheme

   

  Hunar Se Rozgaar Tak is an employment scheme launched by the Tourism Ministry, Govt. of India in 2009 for youth in the 18 - 25 years age group and who are at least 8th pass. These are training programmes to create employable skills in hospitality sector under the Capacity Building Scheme of Ministry of Tourism. Initially the programme was to be conducted by 25 Institutes of Hotel Management and Food Craft Institutes sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism. Subsequently the programme has been allowed to be conducted by certain starred hotels. The programmes is intended to offer short but quality training courses covering i) Food & Beverage Service and ii) Food Production. The programme will target the youth of weaker sections of societies who are interested in joining the hospitality industry and are in need to acquire skills facilitating employment.
  
  

  Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana

   

  The Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojana (SJSRY) originally launched in Dec 1997 is a unified Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched a fresh in lieu of the erstwhile Urban Poverty Alleviation Programmes viz., Nehru Rojgar Yojana (NRY), Prime Minister's Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Programme (PMIUPEP) and Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP).
  The SJSRY has been comprehensively revamped with effect from 01.04.2009. The SJSRY has three key objectives namely:
  

  1. Addressing urban poverty alleviation through gainful employment to the urban unemployed or underemployed poor.
  2. Supporting skill development and training to enable the urban poor have access to employment opportunities provided by the market or undertake self-employment
  3. Empowering the community to tackle the issues of urban poverty through suitable selfmanaged community structures and capacity building programmes.

  The scheme is proposed to be implemented through Urban Local Bodies and community structures.
  The revamped SJSRY has five major components, namely
  

  1. Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP)
  2. Urban Women Self-help Programme (UWSP)
  3. Skill Training for Employment Promotion amongst Urban Poor (STEP-UP)
  4. Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP)
  5. Urban Community Development Network (UCDN)

  
  

  SWALAMBAN

   

  Swalamban Scheme has been launched on 26.09.2010 to encourage the workers of unorganized sector to voluntarily save for their retirement and to lower the cost of operations of the New Pension System (NPS) for such subscribers.
  It was announced in the Union Budget 2010-11. It is a co-contributory pension scheme in which the Government of India (GOI) will contribute a sum of Rs. 1,000 to each eligible NPS subscriber who contributes a minimum of Rs. 1,000 and maximum Rs. 12,000 per annum under the Swavalamban Scheme.
  The GoI contribution has been announced for the current year and the next three years i.e. upto the year 2013-14. The target of the Government is to cover around 10 lakh subscribers each during the 4 years of the Scheme, totaling to around 40 lakh subscribers.
  Workers of unorganized sector from any part of the country can join this Scheme. Implementation of the scheme has been entrusted to the Interim Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
  
  SABLA SCHEME
  

   

  SABLA scheme is the name for Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls [RGSEAG].
  It merges the Nutrition Programme for Adolscent Girls (NPAG) and Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY).
  An amount of Rs. 1000 crore has been allocated in budget of 2010-11.
  The scheme focuses on improving the nutritional and health status and upgrading various skills like home skills, life skills and vocational skills of adolscent girls of age 11 t 18 years.
  It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to be implemented through the State Governments/UTs with 100% financial assistance from the Central Government for all inputs, except supplementary nutrition for which Government of India and States would share on 50: 50 basis.
  The scheme is proposed to be implemented using the platform of Integrated Child Development Services Scheme and delivered through Anganwadi centres.
  

  
  

  National Rural Livelihoods Mission

   

  National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), a new initiative under the Ministry of Rural Development to bring the poorest of the poor above the poverty line by ensuring viable livelihood opportunities to them was launched in Jun 2011 by the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
  

  The core belief of NRLM

  The NRLM is based on the core belief that the poor have innate capabilities and a strong desire to come out of poverty. This intrinsic capability of the poor is unleashed only when they are organized into institutions which are truly owned by them, provided sufficient capacity building and handholding support.
  

  Background of NRLM

  The Integrated Rural Development Programme was launched in 1980 by the Government of India to help the people below poverty line. In 1999 the programme was transformed to Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY). This programme followed the strategy of generating self employment through organizing poor into Self Help Groups (SHGs). In the last 10 years about 250 lakh rural BPL households have been organized and brought under the SHG network. It may also be noted that 450 lakh households still need to be organized into SHGs and the existing SHGs covering 250 lakhs also need further strengthening and greater financial support. Considering the enormity of the task, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India (GoI) set up a committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. R. Radhakrishna (Committee on Credit Related Issues under SGSY), which submitted its recommendations in the year 2009. The Ministry after widespread consultations accepted the major recommendation of the Radhakrishna Committee for restructuring the SGSY as National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). The Ministry’ proposal was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 24.6.10.
  

  Purpose of the Mission

  The basic purpose of National Rural Livelihoods Mission is to put in place a dedicated and sensitive support structure from the national level to the sub-district level which will focus on the poor, build and sustain their organizations at different levels. This will provide the poor a platform for collective action based on self help and mutual cooperation and they become a strong demand system, build linkages with mainstream institutions, including banks, and Government departments to address the various dimensions of poverty.
  

  The Mission

  The Mission aims to ensure that at least one member from each identified rural poor household, preferably a woman, is brought under the Self Help Group (SHG) network in a time bound manner. NRLM would reach out, mobilize and support 7 Crore BPL households across 600 districts, 6000 blocks, 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats, in 6 lakh villages across the country into their self-managed Self Help Groups (SHGs) and their federal institutions and livelihoods collectives. It would support them financially and institutionally in all their efforts to get them out of poverty. The poor would be helped to achieve increased access to their rights, entitlements and public services, diversified risk and better social indicators of empowerment.
  

  Coverage of Weaker Sections of Society

  NRLM has been mandated to ensure adequate coverage of vulnerable sections of the society such that 50% of the beneficiaries are SC/STs, 15% are minorities and 3% are persons with disability, while keeping in view the ultimate target of 100% coverage of BPL families. A unique feature of the new initiative is that it would be led by the poor themselves. NRLM would utilize the services of Community Resource Persons (CRPs) who are women who have themselves come out of poverty through being a part of the Self Help Group. They will spread the concept of NRLM from one village to another and from one district to another making NRLM a people’s movement.
  NRLM will focus on women as we believe that the best way of reaching out to the whole family is through the woman. There will be a special focus on vulnerable sections: scheduled tribes, scheduled castes, minorities, women headed families, etc. The second focus of NRLM would be rural youth of the country who are unemployed. They will be supported through placement linked skill development projects through which their skills will be upgraded through short term training courses in sectors which have high demand for services.
  
  

National e-Governance Plan

Over the years, a large number of initiatives have been undertaken by various State Governments and Central Ministries to usher in an era of e-Government. Sustained efforts have been made at multiple levels to improve the delivery of public services and simplify the process of accessing them.
e-Governance in India has steadily evolved from computerization of Government Departments to initiatives that encapsulate the finer points of Governance, such as citizen centricity, service orientation and transparency. Lessons from previous e-Governance initiatives have played an important role in shaping the progressive e-Governance strategy of the country. Due cognizance has been taken of the notion that to speed up e-Governance implementation across the various arms of Government at National, State, and Local levels, a programme approach needs to be adopted, guided by common vision and strategy. This approach has the potential of enabling huge savings in costs through sharing of core and support infrastructure, enabling interoperability through standards, and of presenting a seamless view of Government to citizens.
The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), takes a holistic view of e-Governance initiatives across the country, integrating them into a collective vision, a shared cause. Around this idea, a massive countrywide infrastructure reaching down to the remotest of villages is evolving, and large-scale digitization of records is taking place to enable easy, reliable access over the internet. The ultimate objective is to bring public services closer home to citizens, as articulated in the Vision Statement of NeGP.
The Government approved the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), comprising of 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) and 8 components, on May 18, 2006. The Government has accorded approval to the vision, approach, strategy, key components, implementation methodology, and management structure for NeGP. However, the approval of NeGP does not constitute financial approval(s) for all the Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) and components under it. The existing or ongoing projects in the MMP category, being implemented by various Central Ministries, States, and State Departments would be suitably augmented and enhanced to align with the objectives of NeGP.

INDIAN GOVT. SCHEMES/POLICIES

Swavalamban scheme
· It is a pension scheme for workers in the unorganised sector who do not have access to the social security net.
· Under the scheme subscribers would get Rs.1,000 from the government each year for a subscription amount of Rs.12,000 per year New Pension System (NP)S account.
· The scheme will remain valid for this financial year and for the next three consecutive fiscals.
· A subscriber can enter the scheme at the age of 18 years and will be eligible for pension after turning 60.
· On turning 60, the pensioner can withdraw 60 per cent of his contribution, while the balance will be given as a monthly annuity by the LIC.
· The LIC has been appointed one of the many aggregators who will collect subscription amounts from subscribers.
· The Scheme shall be managed by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and Government will release its contribution to PFRDA for crediting the same to the NPS accounts of eligible subscribers.
· Launch Date:26 September( 78th birthday of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh)

National water policy and climate change
Spurred by the need to look at climate change impact on water resources, the Centre is formulating a
revised National Water Policy in consultation with the States and other stakeholders to ensure basinlevel
management strategies. This would deal with variability in rainfall and river flows due to climate
change.

Integrated Children Protection Scheme
The Government of India, Ministry of Women & Child Development has formulated a new Centrally
Sponsored Scheme – “Integrated Child Protection Scheme” (ICPS) with the objective to provide a safe
and secure environment to the children in the country who are in need of care and protection as well as children in conflict with law. The intervention includes, inter-alia, financial support for setting up and / or maintenance of Homes for children in need of care and protection and those in conflict with law, setting up of child protection structure – state child protection society, capacity building, advocacy etc.
Specific Objectives:
· To institutionalize essential services and strengthen structures.
· To enhance capacities at all levels.
· To create database and knowledge base for child protection services.
· To strengthen child protection at family and community level.
· To ensure appropriate inter-sectoral response at all levels.
· To raise public awareness.

Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra
· To be developed at a cost of Rs. 25 lakhs, The Panchayat Ghars have been envisaged as the mini secretariat.
· It will have services of seven computer operators to update the records.
· Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra will act as the village knowledge resource centre and help in ensuring that the benefits of development reach out to the needy and the poor in rural areas. It would be a forum for the village people to interact and exchange their experiences and would provide logistic support and record keeping facility.
· It shall be a single window for providing the information on the MGNREGS and will also help in efficient implementation of MGNREGA at Panchayat and Block level and in providing space for greater and more transparent interaction with the local people.
Funding: The source of funding for the construction of Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendras will
come from BRGF, MGNREGA and other relevant schemes.

Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
· One of the eight National Missions outlined in National Action Plan on Climate Change, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) specifically focuses on solar energy and its role in minimizing future emissions.
· The Government has launched JNNSM in January, 2010 with a target of 20,000 MW grid solar power (based on solar thermal power generating systems and solar photovoltaic (SPV) technologies), 2000 MW of off-grid capacity by 2022 (i.e. 22000 MW by 2022).
· The Mission will be implemented in three phases. The first phase will be of three years (upto March, 2013, target-1,100 MW grid connected+200 MW off- grid=1300 MW), the second till March 2017 and the third phase will continue till March, 2022.
· National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education has been set up at IIT-Bombay.

Pradhanmantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY)
· The Government has launched a new scheme called Pradhanmantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) for the integrated development of scheduled castes dominated villages in the country.
· There are about 44,000 villages in which the population of scheduled castes is above 50 per cent.
· The new scheme PMAGY will be launched on a pilot basis in 1000 such villages.
· Under this Scheme, each village would be able to avail gap funding of Rs.10 lakh over and above the allocations under Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation Schemes. On successful implementation of the pilot phase, the PMAGY would be extended in coming years.

Status:
PMAGY was launched at Village 18 BB, Block Padampur, District Sriganganagar, Rajasthan.
· The pilot scheme has been taken up for implementation in five States of which four are Bihar, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu (225 villages in each state) and Assam (100 villages)
· Fifth state U.P. is yet to respond to the government's invitation.
· [note: PMAGY is speculated as a replica of U.P.'s Ambedkar Village scheme]

National Commission on Human Resource for Health (NCHRH)
NCHRH is the proposed council aimed at ensuring propriety, increasing efficiency, and providing greater
synergy among health professionals and improving the quality of health infrastructure in India.
Status:
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has asked the Ministries of Human Resource Development and Health and Family Welfare to identify linkages between the two proposed regulatory bodies — National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) and the National Commission on Human Resource for Health (NCHRH) — being promoted by them respectively to speed up the process of setting up the two authorities.

PURA
· The Government has approved the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) Scheme on 21st January 2010 for implementation on a pilot basis during 11th Five Year Plan.
· The scheme aims at holistic and accelerated development of compact areas around a potential growth centre in a Gram Panchayat (s) through Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework for providing livelihood opportunities and urban amenities to improve the quality of life in rural areas.
· The Ministry of Rural Development had initially implemented the PURA scheme from 2004-05 to 2006-07 on a pilot basis.
· However, only seven pilot projects were implemented for drawing an experience for preparing a restructuring scheme in future. One pilot project each was implemented in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh during the initial pilot phase of PURA scheme.
Background:
· PURA is a brainchild of former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
· PURA mission based on the principle of connectivity — physical, electronic, knowledge and economic.
· Physical connectivity is envisaged as circular roads connecting a group of villages.

Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls [RGSEAG](SABLA)
· Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls [RGSEAG] –SABLA is a scheme proposed by the Ministry for women and child development for Adolescent Girls of 11 – 18 Years, whereby the Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) and Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) would be merged with content enrichment. The scheme is proposed to be implemented using the platform of Integrated Child Development Services Scheme. 
· It's a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to be implemented through the State Governments/UTs with 100% financial assistance from the Central Government for all inputs, except supplementary nutrition for which Government of India and States would share on 50: 50 basis.
· The scheme aims at empowering adolescent girls (AGs) of 11-18 years with focus on out-ofschool girls by improvement in their nutritional and health status and upgrading various skills like home skills, life skills and vocational skills. The scheme also aims at equipping the girls on family welfare, health hygiene etc.

Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY)
Objective: The objectives of the scheme are to improve the health and nutrition status of pregnant, lactating women and infants.
Eligibility: 
All pregnant and lactating women except Govt and PSU employees. The beneficiaries would be pregnant women of 19 years of age and above for first two live births (benefit for still births will be as per the norms of scheme).

Benefits:

Each pregnant and lactating woman will receive a total cash incentive of ` 4000/- in three installments between the period from the second trimester of pregnancy to the child attaining the age of 6 months.
Fund Sharing:
The Scheme will be centrally sponsored with 100% assistance from the Centre.
Ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development
Implementation:
· On pilot basis in selected 52 districts during the remaining period of XI Five Year Plan at a total cost of  Rs.1000 crore.
· There will be Steering and Monitoring Committees at all levels to oversee implementation and monitor the progress.
· An IGMSY Cell within the Ministry of Women and Child Development will also be set up
Inception: approved by CECA in Oct 2010.

National Initiative on Climate resilient agriculture
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the implementation of a new plan scheme
‘National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture’ to address climate change impact on agriculture and allied sectors.
Objective: 
The main objective of the Scheme is to assess the impact of climate change on agriculture
and allied sectors in the country and evolve cost effective adaptation and mitigation strategies.
The components of the scheme are:
1. Detailed vulnerability assessment of agro-climate regions and production systems, and the relative vulnerability of different crops, livestock and fishery sectors.
2. Initiate strategic research on adaptation and mitigation at seven major research institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on natural resources, major food crops, livestock, marine and freshwater fisheries.
3. Demonstrate available climate resilient practices on farmers' fields in 100 most vulnerable districts of the country.
4. Strengthen research infrastructure to state of the art and capacity building of scientists for
undertaking long term research on climate change adaptation.

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT AGRICULTURAL SCHEMES

• National Bio-Science awards for career development
• Agricultural Census
• Jute Technology Mission
• Technology Mission on Cotton (Mini Mission  III & IV)
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
• National Project for Cattle and Buffalo Breeding (NPCBB)
• Schemes of Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries
• Livestock Insurance Scheme
• Assistance to States for Feed and Fodder Development
• Scheme on Development of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Scheme on Development of Marine Fisheries, Infrastructure and Post harvest Operations
• National Scheme on Welfare of Fishermen
• Scheme on Fisheries Training and Extension
• Scheme on Strengthening of Database and Information Networking for the Fisheries Sector
• Horticulture Promotion Service
• Market Information Services for Horticulture Crops
• Technology Development and Transfer for Promotion of Horticulture
• Development of Commercial Horticulture through Production and Post-Harvest Management
• Schemes by National Horticulture Board (NHB)
• Dairy/Poultry Venture Capital Fund
• Scheme on Livestock Health
• Small Farmer's Agri-Business Consortium
• National Project for Cattle and Buffalo Breeding (NPCBB)
• Centrally Sponsored Fodder Development Scheme
• Integrated Sample Survey Scheme for Estimation of Major Livestock Products
• National Programme for Prevention of Animal Diseases
• Central Cattle Breeding Farms
• Central Minikit Testing Programme on Fodder Crops
• Central Poultry Development Organisation
• Central Herd Registration Scheme
• Strengthening infrastructure for quality & clean milk production
• Assistance to Cooperatives
• Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Fisheries Training And Extension
• Financing Purchase of Land for Agricultural Purposes
• National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS)
• Minikit Programme for Rice, Wheat & Coarse Cereals
• Gramin Bhandaran Yojna
• Development/Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardization
• Strengthening Infrastructure for Quality & Clean Milk Production
• Livestock Health and Disease Control
• National Horticulture Mission
• National Bamboo Mission
• Central Sector Scheme of Soil Conservation Training Centre, Damodar Valley
• Central Assistance to State Plan Scheme on Watershed Development
• Poppy Insurance
• Seb Bima Yojana (Apple Insurance)
• Draksha Bima (Grape Insurance)
• Pulp wood Tree Insurance
• Rubber Plantation Insurance
• Capacity Building to enhance Competitiveness of Indian Agriculture and Registration of Organic Produ
• Promotion of Integrated Pest Management
• Promotion and Strengthening of Agricultural Mechanization through Training, Testing & Demonstration
• Livestock Insurance Scheme

Integrated Low Cost Sanitation (ILCS) Scheme

The “Integrated Low Cost Sanitation” Scheme basically aims at conversion of individual dry latrine into pour flush ones thereby liberating manual scavengers from the age old, obnoxious practice of manually carrying night soil.

The ILCS Scheme was initially started in 1980-81 through the Ministry of Home Affairs and later through Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The scheme was transferred in 1989-90 to Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation and from 2003-04 onwards to Ministry of UEPA/HUPA. The scheme has helped in constructing/converting over 28 lakh latrines to liberate over 60952 scavengers so far.

To make the Scheme more attractive and implementable the Guidelines have been revised with effect from 17^th January 2008.

At the time of revision of guidelines of the scheme the State of Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Uttar Pradesh together showed six lakh dry latrines. Later the State of Assam, Nagaland and Jammu Kashmir have declared that they have no dry latrines in their States. These figures changed during the implementation, after the house to house survey of all municipal areas for identification. Presently, the State of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have reported existence of dry latrine and funds have eventually been sought to eliminate these.

Presently, only states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar have to declare themselves dry latrine free. The revised ILCS Scheme envisages conversion of all existing dry latrines within a period of three years (2007-2010). In the video conference held on September 28, 2010, with the representatives of States of Bihar, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, these states have assured that the conversion task will be completed by 31^st December 2010 and they would be able to declare themselves dry latrine free.

Government's Plan, Programme & Policies

(1) Prerna:- The ‘janasankhya sthirata kosh (national population stabilization fund) has to promote & under take activities aimed at achieving population stabilization at a level consistent with the needs of sustainable economic growth. Social development and environment protection by 2070

Prerna is responsible for parenthood strategy. It is monetary incentive strategy aimed at pushing up the age of marriage of girls and delay the birth of the first child.

(2) National Rural Health Mission:-Launched in April 2005 the mission seeks to provide universal access to equitable, affordable and quality health care which is accountable and at the same time responsible to the needs of the people.

• It also aims to achieve the goals set out under the national policy and the millennium development goals during the mission period.

(3) Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna:-Launched by ministry of labour & employment, govt of India to provide health insurance coverage for BPL families.

• Beneficiaries are entitled to hospitalization coverage up to Rs 30,000 for most of the disease that require hospitalization.

(4) National Food Security Mission:-Sponsored scheme launched in august 2007.

• Objective is to increased production and productivity of wheat, rice and pulses.

(5) 15 Point Programme:-In Oct 2009 govt decided to include 3 more schemes in the Prime minister’s new 15 point programme for the welfare of minorities.

Those are: -

• National rural drinking water programme.
• Urban infrastructure developed scheme for small and medium town.
• Urban infrastructure and governance scheme.

(6) Bharat Nirman Yojna:- It is a time bound business plan for action in rural infrastructure .Under Bharat nirman , action was proposed in the areas of:-

• Irrigation.
• Rural housing.
• Rural water supply.
• Rural electrification.
• Rural telecommunication connectivity.

(7) National Mission On Education:-It is a mission in which education is provide through information and communication technology. “SAKSHAT” one stop education portal was launched on Oct 30, 2006 by the president of India.

• Head of National knowledge commission:- Sam Pitroda.

(8) Right To Education Act 2009:- Article 21-(A), as inserted by the constitution (86th Amendment Act) 2002, provides for free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years as a fundamental rights. Consequently the parliament has enacted this in April 2009.

Salient features:-

(a) Free and compulsory education 6 to 14 age group.
(b) Will apply to all India except J&K.
(c) Provide for 25% reservation for economically disadvantaged communities in admission in private school.
(d) A child who completes elementary education (up to class 8) shall be awarded a certificate.

(9) Female Literacy:- It is a scheme to provide education & related facilities to ST Students launched by ministry of tribal affairs in December 11, 2009.

(10) Anil Kakodkar Committee on reforms in IITS:- it will suggest reforms to make these elite institutions a global brand.

(11) Yashpal Committee Report:- It was set up in 2008 for higher education and research.

• It has suggested the scrapping of all higher education regulatory /monitoring bodies and creation of a super regulation.
• It also recommended that the deemed university status be abandoned and that all deserving universities be either converted into full fledged universities or scrapped.

(12) National Rural Livelihood Mission:- Ministry of rural development and panchyati raj proposed to restructure the existing swarnjayanti gram swarojgar yojana into rural livelihood mission to have a focused approach to rural poverty eradication in a time bound manner.

• Objective is to reduce poverty among rural BPL by promoting diversified and gainful self employment and wage employment opportunities which would lead to an appreciable increase in sustainable basis.

(13) NREGA Renamed After Mahatma Gandhi:- On Oct 2, 2009 Government has changed the name of National Rural Employment guarantee Act to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment guarantee Act.

(14) Chandra Sheker Panel:- on the recomandation of a committee headed by cabinet secretary K.M Chander shaker. Centre had increased the pension for retired service man.

(15) Rajiv Awas Yojna:- Ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation had launched the housing project called the Rajiv awas yojna for slum dwellers and the urban poor.

• Aimed at making India slum free in the next five years.

Policies and Schemes

Agriculture	Rural employment
National Mission on Micro Irrigation (NMMI) Compendium of Agriculture related schemes National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) National Policy for Farmers 2007 National Food Security Mission National Horticulture Mission A Hand Book on National Programme for Organic Production Crisis Management plan - Drought Artificial Recharge through Dugwells Coffee Debt Relief Package Agricultural legislations in India National Crisis Management Plan - Drought (2011) Rural Godown Scheme (RGS) or Gramin Bhandaran Yojana Schemes of Government of India Providing Assistance for Seeds	Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) Programme for promotion of Village Industry Cluster -Rural Industry Service Centre (RISC)for Khadi and Village industry Agri Clinics and Agri Business Centres Scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA) Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana Minimum rate of wages
Animal husbandry
Livestock Insurance Scheme Fodder and Feed Development Scheme Scheme for development of small ruminants and rabbits

Important Bills

1. Central Information Commission:-
• Central information commission is constituted by the central government through a gazette
notification.
• The commission includes one chief information and not more than 10 information commission.
• All are appointed by the president.
• Oath of office is administered by the president of India according to the form set out in the first
schedule.
• Central information commission and state information commission have power of civil court.
2. Election Commission celebrates diamond jubilee:-
• The president of India recently inaugurated the diamond jubilee celebration of the election
commission of India.
• The commission was set up on Jan 25, 1950. While the rest of the constitution came into force
on Jan 26, 1950.
• Article 324 that created the commission was one of those exceptional provisions given effect as
early as on Nov 26, 1949.
• Until Oct 1989 there was just one chief election commission. In 1991 a law providing for the
appointment of two election commissioners. This law was amended and renamed in 1993.
• The election commission enjoys complete autonomy and is insulated from any kind of
executive interference.
• It also functions as a quasi-judicial body in matters of electoral disputes and other matters
involving the conduct of elections.
• However the decisions of the body are liable for independent judicial reviews by courts acting
on electoral petitions.
Principal functions of Election Commission of India:-
• Demarcation of consistencies
• Preparation of electoral rolls
• Recognition of political parties and allotment of symbols
• Scrutiny of nomination papers
• Conduct of polls
• Scrutiny of election expenses of candidates.
• The national health bill – 2009
• It seeks to provide health , health equity and justice for all Indians
3. National Health Bill- 2009
It seeks to provide health, health equity and justice for all Indians.
Its Important Features are:-
• Right to heath care:- the bill seeks to legalize the right to health care along with other issues
associated with health rights.
• Emergency care:- no individual should be denied emergency treatment because of his inability
to pay fees or due to the requirement for police clearance.
• Patient complaints:- bill seeks to make it mandatory for the hospitals to address patient
complaints on 24x7 basis.
• Name of doctor involved in treatment:- every patient has the right to know the name of
doctor/ nurse involved in his treatment.
4. National Arrears Grid:-
• Union law minister had announced that the national arrears grid and the special purpose vehicle
would implement the action plan to bring down the arrears of cases pending in various courts.
• The action plans should focus on human resource development, infrastructure development and
procedural reforms.
• It is decided that special judges to deal with all pending criminal cases where the term of
sentences was less than 3 years.
• It favored creation of a national pool of judicial officers from retired judges to enable persons
from the pool to be appointed as high court judges.
5. Gram Nyayalayas:-
• The Gram Nyayalayas act 2008 had been enacted to provide for the establishment of the gram
nyayalayas at the grass root level for the purpose of providing access to justice to the citizens at
their door steps.
Salient features:-
• It is aimed at providing inexpensive justice to people in rural areas at their door steps.
• It will have its court of judicial magistrate of the first class and its presiding officers
( Nyayadhikri) shall be appointed by the state government in consultation with the High Court.
• The Gram Nyayalaya shall be established for every panchyats at intermediate level in a district
or where there is no panchayat at intermediate level in any state for a group of contiguous
panchayats.
• Gram nyayalaya shall be a mobile court and shall exercise the powers of both criminal and civil
courts.
• Officiating nyaydhikari will go to villages work there and dispose of the cases.
6. Law commission:-
• It is a non- statutory body.
• Constituted by the government from time to time originally constituted in 1955 and it is
reconstituted every three years.
7. Judges ( inquiry) bill , 2006:-
• The judges ( inquiry ) bill 2006 established a national judicial council ( NJC) to conduct
Inquiries into allegations of incapacity or misbehavior by high court and Supreme Court judges.
• The proposed NJC would consist of the chief justice of India, two Supreme Court judges and
two high court chief justices to investigate high court judge (It has been change again in the new
draft).
• The chief justice of India and four Supreme Court judges to investigate Supreme Court judges.
• The NJC shall investigate complaints submitted by any persons, or upon receiving a references
from parliament based on a motion moved by 50 Rajya Sabha or 100 Lok Sabha m.p.
• If the allegations are proven, the NJC may impose minor measures or recommended the removal of judges. Removal of judges shall be through impeachment by parliament.
8. Biotechnology Regulating Authority of India (BRAI) bill:-
• This Bill would bring about wide ranging changes in the process of regulating research,
transport, import, manufacture and use of G.M product in the country.
Controversy regarding the Bill:-
• According to section 81 of the bill the act will have an overriding effect over other state – level
acts. Activists allege that this ignores the constitutional powers of states over agriculture and
health
• This bill has no provisions for public participation, which is a violation of article 23.2 of the
Cartagena Protocol on bio- safety to which India is a signatory.
• The bill also states that whoever without any evidence or scientific record misleads the public
about the safety of organism and products shall be punished with imprisonment for a term
which shall not be less than six months. But which may extend to one year and with fine which
may extend to two lakh rupees or with both.
• The bill serves to over ride state specific concerns by making the proposed authority solely
responsible for releasing and controlling genetically modified organisms (GMOs) through out
the country and envisages only an advisory role for state.
9. The prohibitions of unfair practices in technical, medical
educations institutions and universities bill:-
• It is drafted by the Human Resource development ministry to provide for a central law to curb
malpractices.
• However in the T.M.A pai , case supreme court held that establishment of private unaided
educational institutions was in the exercise of fundamental rights to occupations under article 19
(1) (g) of the constitution.
10. Communal violence bill:-
• It is communal violence (prevention, control and rehabilitation) bill.
• The bill empowers the centre to intervene to tackle communal violence without the concurrence
of the state government , if it is believe that state is not doing enough to control the violence.
• The bill also empowers the centre to declare any area in any state communally disturbed, if it is
convinced that the state government is not following its directions to control or to check
communal violence.
• The bill gives the central government exclusive power to constitute a unified command to deal
with communal violence.

Human Development Report 2010

The 2010 HD Report by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), titled “The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development” celebrates the contributions of the human development approach, which is as relevant as ever to making sense of our changing world and finding ways to improve people’s well-being. The Report is also about how the human development approach can adjust to meet the challenges of the new millennium.

India is ranked 119 out of 169 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) of the UNDP’s 2010 Human Development Report. This marks an improvement of just one rank between 2005 and 2010 though the report, a special 20th anniversary edition, places India among top 10 performers globally in terms of HDI measured on income growth. The category is led by China. India comes 10th after Botswana, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Mauritius.

China has improved eight notches (from 2005 to 2010) to secure the 89th position. In South Asia, Nepal has gained five places to reach the 138th rank. Maldives has risen four places to 107; Sri Lanka at 91 too has pipped India in the rankings though Pakistan has lost two ranks to fall to 125, while Bangladesh is up one at 129.

Though high on GDP growth, India reports severe inequalities (the report for the first time measures inequalities, gender gaps and multidimensional poverty as markers of human development) while several low-income nations have posted huge profits by investing in education and health. Nepal is the only South Asian country, which despite low income, stands as the third best performer in the top 10 movers the report highlights.

While the Congress-led UPA Government can take heart from the fact that India’s HDI value has increased from 0.320 in 1980 to 0.519 in 2010, higher than South Asia’s average of 0.516, India still lags behind among medium HD nations. South Asia, particularly India, post shocking percentage losses in HDI values if inequalities are counted.

South Asia loses 33 per cent of its HDI value if health, education and income disparities are factored in. This is the second largest loss after sub-Saharan Africa’s. India fares particularly poorly here, losing 30 per cent overall on the inequality-adjusted HDI. This loss includes 31.3 per cent loss on inequality-adjusted life expectancy index; 40.6 per cent loss on education but only 14.6 per cent loss in income-adjusted HDI index.

The best HDI ranker in the world, Norway, loses just 6.6 per cent to inequality while China loses 23 per cent and Bangladesh 29.4 per cent.

On all major markers of human development, India’s neighbours Bangladesh and Pakistan beat it. India’s life expectancy at birth is among the lowest, 64.4 years as against China’s 73.5; Bangladesh’s 66.9, Pakistan’s 67.2 and Nepal’s 67.5. In mean years of schooling too, India lags behind recording 4.4 years while China has 7.5; Pakistan 4.9 and Bangladesh 4.8. On female labour force participation too, Bangladesh with 61 per cent is much ahead of India, which has just 31 per cent.

The 2010 report uses several new methodologies; hence its indicators are not comparable to those in the earlier reports.

Human development is about sustaining positive outcomes steadily over time and combating processes that impoverish people or underpin oppression and structural injustice. Plural principles such as equity, sustainability and respect for human rights are the key.

Human development is also the expansion of people’s freedoms to live long, healthy and creative lives; to advance other goals they have reason to value; and to engage actively in shaping development equitably and sustainably on a shared planet. People are both the beneficiaries and the drivers of human development, as individuals and in groups. This reaffirmation underlines the core of human development—its themes of sustainability, equity and empowerment and its inherent flexibility. Because gains might be fragile and vulnerable to reversal and because future generations must be treated justly, special efforts are needed to ensure that human development endures—that it is sustainable.

A major contribution of 2010 HDR is the systematic assessment of trends in key components of human development over the past 40 years. This retrospective assessment, an important objective for the 20th anniversary, is the most comprehensive analysis of the HDR to date and yields important new insights.

In some basic respects the world is a much better place today than it was in 1990—or in 1970. Over the past 20 years many people around the world have experienced dramatic improvements in key aspects of their lives. Overall, they are healthier, more educated and wealthier and have more power to appoint and hold their leaders accountable than ever before.

The world’s average HDI has increased 18 percent since 1990 (and 41 percent since 1970), reflecting large aggregate improvements in life expectancy, school enrolment, literacy and income. But there has also been considerable variability in experience and much volatility, themes to which we return below.

Almost all countries have benefited from this progress. Of 135 countries in our sample for 1970–2010, with 92 percent of the world’s people, only 3—the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe—have a lower HDI today than in 1970.

Overall, poor countries are catching up with rich countries in the HDI. This convergence paints a far more optimistic picture than a perspective limited to trends in income, where divergence has continued. But not all countries have seen rapid progress, and the variations are striking. Those experiencing the slowest progress are countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, struck by the HIV epidemic, and countries in the former Soviet Union, suffering increased adult mortality.

The top HDI movers (countries that have made the greatest progress in improving the HDI) include well known income “growth miracles” such as China, Indonesia and South Korea. But they include others—such as Nepal, Oman and Tunisia—where progress in the non-income dimensions of human development has been equally remarkable. It is striking that the top 10 list contains several countries not typically described as top performers. And Ethiopia comes in 11th, with three other Sub-Saharan African countries (Botswana, Beninand Burkina Faso) in the top 25.

Not all countries have progressed rapidly, and the variation is striking. Over the past 40 years a quarter of developing countries saw their HDI increase less than 20 percent, another quarter, more than 65 percent. These differences partly reflect different starting points—less developed countries have on average faster progress in health and education than more developed ones do. But half the variation in HDI performance is unexplained by initial HDI, and countries with similar starting points experience remarkably different evolutions, suggesting that country factors such as policies, institutions and geography are important.

Health advances have been large but are slowing. The slowdown in aggregate progress is due largely to dramatic reversals in 19 countries. In nine of them—six in Sub-Saharan Africa and three in the former Soviet Union—life expectancy has fallen below 1970 levels. The causes of these declines are the HIV epidemic and increased adult mortality in transition countries.

Progress in education has been substantial and widespread, reflecting not only improvements in the quantity of schooling but also in the equity of access to education for girls and boys. To a large extent this progress reflects greater State involvement, which is often characterized more by getting children into school than by imparting a high-quality education.

Progress in income varies much more. However, despite aggregate progress, there is no convergence in income—in contrast to health and education—because on average rich countries have grown faster than poor ones over the past 40 years. The divide between developed and developing countries persists: a small subset of countries has remained at the top of the world income distribution, and only a handful of countries that started out poor have joined that high-income group.

Understanding the Patterns and Drivers of Human Development
One of the most surprising results of human development research in recent years is the lack of a significant correlation between economic growth and improvements in health and education. Research shows that this relationship is particularly weak at low and medium levels of the HDI. This is traceable to changes in how people become healthier and more educated. The correlation in levels today, which contrasts with the absence of correlation in changes over time, is a snapshot that reflects historical patterns, as countries that became rich were the only ones able to pay for costly advances in health and education. But technological improvements and changes in societal structures allow even poorer countries today to realize significant gains.

The unprecedented flows of ideas across countries in recent times—ranging from health-saving technologies to political ideals and to productive practices—have been transformative. Many innovations have allowed countries to improve health and education at very low cost—which explains why the association between the income and non-income dimensions of human development has weakened over time.

Income and growth remain vital. Income growth can indicate that opportunities for decent work are expanding—though this is not always so—and economic contractions and associated job losses are bad news for people around the world. Income is also the source of the taxes and other revenues that governments need in order to provide services and undertake redistributive programs. Thus, increasing income on a broad basis remains an important policy priority.

One important aspect is how relationships between markets and States are organized. Governments have addressed, in a range of ways, the tension between the need for markets to generate income and dynamism and the need to deal with market failures. Markets may be necessary for sustained economic dynamism, but they do not automatically bring progress in other dimensions of human development. Development that overly favours rapid economic growth is rarely sustainable. In other words, a market economy is necessary, but not enough.

Regulation, however, requires a capable State as well as political commitment, and State capability is often in short supply. Some developing country governments have tried to mimic the actions of a modern developed State without having the resources or the capacity to do so. For example, import substitution regimes in many Latin American countries floundered when countries tried to develop a targeted industrial policy. In contrast, an important lesson of the East Asian successes was that a capable, focused State can help drive development and the growth of markets. What is possible and appropriate is context specific.

Beyond the State, civil society actors have demonstrated the potential to curb the excesses of both the market and the State, though governments seeking to control dissent can restrict civil society activity.

The dynamics can be virtuous when countries transition to both inclusive market institutions and inclusive political institutions. But this is difficult and rare. Oligarchic capitalism tends to spell its own demise, either because it stifles the productive engines of innovation—as in the failed import substitution regimes of Latin America and the Caribbean—or because material progress increases people’s aspirations and challenges the narrow elite’s grip on power, as in Brazil, Indonesia and South Korea since the 1990s.

Human development is not only about health, education and income. Even when countries progress in the HDI, they do not necessarily excel in the broader dimensions. It is possible to have a high HDI and be unsustainable, undemocratic and unequal just as it is possible to have a low HDI and be relatively sustainable, democratic and equal. These patterns pose important challenges for how we think about human development, its measurement and the policies to improve outcomes and processes over time.

Trends conducive to empowerment include the vast increases in literacy and educational attainment in many parts of the world that have strengthened people’s ability to make informed choices and hold governments accountable. The scope for empowerment and its expression have broadened, through both technology and institutions. In particular, the proliferation of mobile telephony and satellite television and increased access to the Internet has vastly increased the availability of information and the ability to voice opinions.

The share of formal democracies has increased from less than a third of countries in 1970 to half in the mid-1990s and to three-fifths in 2008. Many hybrid forms of political organization have emerged. While real change and healthy political functioning have varied, and many formal democracies are flawed and fragile, policy-making is much better informed by the views and concerns of citizens. Local democratic processes are deepening. Political struggles have led to substantial change in many countries, greatly expanding the representation of traditionally marginalized people, including women, the poor, indigenous groups, refugees and sexual minorities.

Recent years have also exposed the fragility of some of the achievement—perhaps best illustrated by the biggest financial crisis in several decades, which caused 34 million people to lose their jobs and 64 million more people to fall below the $1.25 a day income poverty threshold. The risk of a “double-dip” recession remains, and a full recovery could take years.

But perhaps the greatest challenge to maintaining progress in human development comes from the un-sustainability of production and consumption patterns. For human development to become truly sustainable, the close link between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions needs to be severed. Some developed countries have begun to alleviate the worst effects through recycling and investment in public transport and infrastructure. But most developing countries are hampered by the high costs and low availability of clean energy.

New measures for an evolving reality
Over the years the HDR has introduced new measures to evaluate progress in reducing poverty and empowering women. But lack of reliable data has been a major constraint. This year HDR has introduced three new indices to capture important aspects of the distribution of well-being for inequality, gender equity and poverty. They reflect advances in methods and better data availability.

Adjusting the Human Development Index for inequality. Reflecting inequality in each dimension of the HDI addresses an objective first stated in the 1990 HDR. 2010 report introduces the Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI), a measure of the level of human development of people in a society that accounts for inequality. Under perfect equality the HDI and the IHDI are equal. When there is inequality in the distribution of health, education and income, the HDI of an average person in a society is less than the aggregate HDI; the lower the IHDI (and the greater the difference between it and the HDI), the greater the inequality.

A new measure of gender inequality. The disadvantages facing women and girls are a major source of inequality. All too often, women and girls are discriminated against in health, education and the labour market—with negative repercussions for their freedoms. A new measure of these inequalities, built on the same framework as the HDI and the IHDI—to better expose differences in the distribution of achievements between women and men—has been introduced. The Gender Inequality Index shows that gender inequality varies tremendously across countries—the losses in achievement due to gender inequality (not directly comparable to total inequality losses because different variables are used) range from 17 percent to 85 percent. The Netherlands tops the list of the most gender-equal countries, followed by Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland.

Countries with unequal distribution of human development also experience high inequality between women and men, and countries with high gender inequality also experience unequal distribution of human development. Among the countries doing very badly on both fronts are Central African Republic, Haiti and Mozambique.

A multidimensional measure of poverty. Like development, poverty is multidimensional—but this is traditionally ignored by headline figures. 2010 report introduces the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which complements money-based measures by considering multiple deprivations and their overlap. The index identifies deprivations across the same three dimensions as the HDI and shows the number of people who are poor (suffering a given number of deprivations) and the number of deprivations with which poor households typically contend. It can be de-constructed by region, ethnicity and other groupings as well as by dimension, making it an apt tool for policy-makers.

About 1.75 billion people in the 104 countries covered by the MPI—a third of their population—live in multidimensional poverty—that is, with at least 30 percent of the indicators reflecting acute deprivation in health, education and standard of living. This exceeds the estimated 1.44 billion people in those countries who live on $1.25 a day or less (though it is below the share who live on $2 or less). The patterns of deprivation also differ from those of income poverty in important ways: in many countries—including Ethiopia and Guatemala— the number of people who are multi-dimensionally poor is higher. However, in about a fourth of the countries for which both estimates are available—including China, Tanzania and Uzbekistan—rates of income poverty are higher.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest incidence of multi-dimensional poverty. The level ranges from a low of 3 percent in South Africa to a massive 93 percent in Niger; the average share of deprivations ranges from about 45 percent (in Gabon, Lesotho and Swaziland) to 69 percent (in Niger). Yet half the world’s multi-dimensionally poor live in South Asia (844 million people), and more than a quarter live in Africa (458 million).

The impacts of the HDR have illustrated that policy thinking can be informed and stimulated by deeper exploration into key dimensions of human development. An important element of this tradition is a rich agenda of research and analysis. This Report suggests ways to move this agenda forward through better data and trend analysis. But much is left to do.

Three priorities are: improving data and analysis to inform debates, providing an alternative to conventional approaches to studying development, and increasing our understanding of inequality, empowerment, vulnerability and sustainability.

The economics of growth and its relationship with development, in particular, require radical rethinking. A vast theoretical and empirical literature almost uniformly equates economic growth with development. Its models typically assume that people care only about consumption; its empirical applications concentrate almost exclusively on the effect of policies and institutions on economic growth.

The central contention of the human development approach, by contrast, is that well-being is about much more than money: it is about the possibilities that people have to fulfil the life plans they have reason to choose and pursue. Thus, our call for a new economics—an economics of human development—in which the objective is to further human well-being and in which growth and other policies are evaluated and pursued vigorously insofar as they advance human development in the short and long term.

Indigenous Peoples and Inequality in Human Development
An estimated 300 million indigenous peoples from more than 5,000 groups live in more than 70 countries. Some two-thirds reside in China.1 Indigenous peoples often face structural disadvantages and have worse human development outcomes in key respects. For example, recent Mexican government analyses show that while extreme multidimensional poverty is 10.5 percent nationally, it exceeds 39 percent among indigenous Mexicans.

When the Human Development Index (HDI) is calculated for aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, there is a consistent gap of 6–18 percent. Indigenous peoples in these countries have lower life expectancy, poorer education outcomes and smaller incomes. In India 92 percent of people of Scheduled Tribes live in rural areas, 47 percent of them in poverty. In Chhattisgarh, with a sizeable share of Scheduled Tribes, the State-wide literacy rate is 64 percent—but that of tribal peoples is only 22 percent.

Some evidence suggests that a schooling gap between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples remains. In China, India and Lao PDR geography, climate and discrimination based on ethnicity make it difficult to deliver basic infrastructure to remote areas, where many indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities live.

Work in Latin America and the Caribbean exploring access to land and this aspect of discrimination shows that a focus on broad-based economic growth can benefit indigenous peoples but is unlikely to be enough to close the gap. More targeted strategies are needed, as proposed by indigenous peoples and as informed by their views and priorities.

Three Success Stories in Advancing the Human Development Index
Some countries have succeeded in achieving high human development following different pathways.

Nepal—major public policy push. That Nepal is one of the fastest movers in the Human Development Index (HDI) since 1970 is perhaps surprising in light of the country’s difficult circumstances and record of conflict. Nepal’s impressive progress in health and education can be traced to major public policy efforts. Free primary education for all children was legislated in 1971 and extended to secondary education in 2007. Gross enrolment rates soared, as did literacy later on. Remarkable reductions in infant mortality reflect more general successes in health following the extension of primary healthcare through community participation, local mobilization of resources and decentralization. The gap between Nepal’s life expectancy and the world average has narrowed by 87 percent over the past 40 years. By contrast, economic growth was modest, and the lack of jobs led many Nepalese to seek opportunities abroad.

Nepal is still a poor country, with enormous scope to improve human development. It ranks 138th of 169 countries in the HDI. Large disparities in school attendance and the quality of education persist, particularly between urban and rural areas and across ethnic groups. Major health challenges remain, related to communicable diseases and malnutrition.

Oman—converting oil to health and education. Oman has had the fastest progress in the HDI. Abundant oil and gas were discovered in the late 1960s, so our data capture the evolution from a very poor to a very rich country, showing a quadrupling of gross enrolment and literacy rates and a 27-year increase in life expectancy.

But even in Oman economic growth is not the whole story. Although first in HDI progress, it ranks 26th in economic growth since 1970, when it had three primary schools and one vocational institute. Its initiatives to convert oil wealth into education included expanding access and adopting policies to match skills to labour market needs. Health services also improved: from 1970 to 2000 government spending on health rose almost six-fold—much faster than GDP.

Tunisia—education a policy focus. Tunisia’s success extends to all three dimensions of the HDI, with education a major policy focus. School enrolment has risen substantially, particularly after the country legislated 10 years of compulsory education in 1991. There has also been some progress in gender equity: about 6 of 10 university students are women. But large inequalities persist, as Tunisia’s modest (56th of 138 countries) ranking on our new Gender Inequality Index demonstrates.

Rapid decline in fertility and high vaccination rates for measles and tuberculosis have yielded successes in health, as has eradication of polio, cholera, diphtheria and malaria. Annual per capita income growth has been around 3 percent over the past 40 years, linked to fiscal and monetary prudence and investment in transport and communication infrastructure.

India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) of 2005, the world’s largest public works programme ever, provides basic social security for rural workers: a universal and legally enforceable right to 100 days of employment per rural household on local public works at minimum wage. Labourers who are not given work within 15 days of asking for it are entitled to unemployment benefits.

The act has other noteworthy features:

• Encouraging women’s participation. A third of employment generated is to be set aside for women and provided within 5 kilometres of their village; child care facilities (if required) must be provided at the work-site.
• Decentralizing planning and implementation. At least half of allocated funds are to be spent by elected local councils; village assemblies are to select and prioritize projects.
• Creating rural assets. People are to be employed to create public assets (such as roads and check-dams) as well as assets on private lands (such as land improvement and wells).
• Imposing strict norms for transparency and accountability. All documents are to be publicly available, with proactive disclosure of essential documents (such as attendance records), and periodic audits are to be carried out by village representatives. In fiscal year 2009/2010 India spent almost $10 billion (approximately 1 percent of GDP) on the programme, and 53 million households participated.

On average, each participating household worked for 54 days. Disadvantaged groups joined in large numbers; a majority of workers were members of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, and more than half were women.

Payments of minimum wages and improved work conditions at NREGA work-sites have created pressure for similar improvements in the private labour market, benefiting all rural workers. Distress migration to urban areas has slowed. And for many rural women programme earnings are an important source of economic independence. As Haski, a tribal woman from Rajasthan, said when asked who decided how programme wages should be spent: “Main ghar ki mukhiya hoon” (I am the head of the household).

Refining the Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) remains an aggregate measure of progress in three dimensions—health, education and income. But in 2010 report the indicators used to measure progress in education and income have been modified, and the way they are aggregated has been changed.

In the knowledge dimension mean years of schooling replaces literacy, and gross enrolment is recast as expected years of schooling—the years of schooling that a child can expect to receive given current enrolment rates. Mean years of schooling is estimated more frequently for more countries and can discriminate better among countries, while expected years of schooling is consistent with the reframing of this dimension in terms of years. Ideally, measures of the knowledge dimension would go beyond estimating quantity to assessing quality, as several National and Regional Human Development Reports (HDRs) have done.

To measure the standard of living, gross national income (GNI) per capita replaces gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. In a globalized world differences are often large between the income of a country’s residents and its domestic production. Some of the income residents earn is sent abroad, some residents receive international remittances and some countries receive sizeable aid flows. For example, because of large remittances from abroad, GNI in the Philippines greatly exceeds GDP, and because of international aid, Timor-Leste’s GNI is many times domestic output.

A key change was to shift to a geometric mean (which measures the typical value of a set of numbers): thus in 2010 the HDI is the geometric mean of the three dimension indices. Poor performance in any dimension is now directly reflected in the HDI, and there is no longer perfect substitutability across dimensions. This method captures how well rounded a country’s performance is across the three dimensions. As a basis for comparisons of achievement, this method is also more respectful of the intrinsic differences in the dimensions than a simple average is. It recognizes that health, education and income are all important, but also that it is hard to compare these different dimensions of well-being and that we should not let changes in any of them go unnoticed.

Income is instrumental to human development but higher incomes have a declining contribution to human development. And the maximum values in each dimension have been shifted to the observed maximum, rather than a predefined cut-off beyond which achievements are ignored.