WELFARE SCHEMES AND SCHEMES IN INDIA

1. “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat”

• It is an innovative measure that will lead to an enhanced understanding and bonding between the States through the knowledge of the culture, traditions and practices of different States & UTs, for strengthening the unity and integrity of India.
• It will celebrate the cultural vibrancy of India while establishing a concrete mechanism to inculcate nationalism and cultural awareness among the fellow citizens of our nation.
• Ministry of Culture will extend full support to implement the dream
• During the RashtriyaEkta Divas address on 31st October, 2015 on the occasion of birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Prime Minister announced that the Government of India proposes to launch a new initiative called ‘EK Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’.
• All UT & States covered under the programme.
• According to the scheme, two states will undertake a unique partnership for one year which would be marked by cultural and student exchanges. 6 MoUs between two States each were also signed on the occasion of launch, under this initiative.

2. National SC/ST hub and the Zero Defect, Zero Effect (ZED) scheme

• An initiative of the Government of India targeted towards developing a supportive ecosystem towards SC/ST entrepreneurs.
• The National SC/ST Hub (NSSH) would provide professional support to the SC/ST enterprises thereby enabling them to effectively participate in public procurement process.
• The Hub would also work towards the development of new entrepreneurs to participate in procurement process leveraging on the ‘Stand up India’ programme. Selected entrepreneurs would be provided with support and mentoring by industry experts, CPSEs, and incubators.
• The Hub would operate out of the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) headquartered in Delhi, supported by a special cell created for this purpose
• It is to provide professional support to entrepreneurs from the SC/ST and also
• promote enterprise culture and entrepreneurship among them
• It will work towards strengthening market access/linkage, capacity building, monitoring, sharing industrybest practices and leveraging financial support schemes.
• It would also enable Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) to fulfill the procurement target set by the government. The Public Procurement Policy 2012 stipulates that 4 per cent of procurement done by Ministries, Departments and CPSEs would have to be from enterprises owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs.

ZED:

• ZED Scheme aims to rate and handhold all MSMEs to deliver top quality products using clean technology. It will have sector-specific parameters for each industry.
• Ten ZED cells which will implement the model have been launched. Quality Council of India (QCI) will play a very important role in implementation of the model. 
• Under the model, the manufacturing units will be assessed and awarded ratings of bronze, silver, gold, diamond and platinum. A ZED platinum rating means the manufacturer is of international standard and follows global best practices. The assessing depend on the industry chosen, and the various quality and environment assessing factors include process automation, process capability, design, safety and hygiene issues, waste management, defect rate and people management. The government will also rope various companies and chambers of commerce to popularise the model among vendors and dealers
• It was given for producing high quality manufacturing products with a minimal negative impact on environment.
• The scheme will also be cornerstone of the Central Government’s flagship Make in India programme, which is aimed at turning India into a global manufacturing hub, generating jobs, boosting growth and increase incomes

Quality council of India:

Quality Council of India (QCI) was set up in 1997 by Government of India jointly with Indian Industry as an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Department to establish and operate the National Accreditation Structure for conformity assessment bodies; providing accreditation in the field of education, health and quality promotion. Besides the role of putting in place the accreditation structure, it also promotes the adoption of quality standards relating to Quality Management Systems ,Food Safety Management Systems. and Product Certification and Inspection Bodies through the accreditation services provided by National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB). Indian industry is represented in QCI by three premier industry associations namely ASSOCHAM; CII; and FICCI

3. UDAN

• UdeDesh Ka AamNaagrik
• To develop the regional aviation market
• Applicable on flights which cover between 200 km and 800 km with no lower limit set for hilly, remote, island and security sensitive regions.
• The scheme seeks to reserve a minimum number of UDAN seats i.e. seats at subsidized rates and also cap the fare for short distance flights.
• The scheme UDAN envisages providing connectivity to un-served and under-served airports of the country through revival of existing air-strips and airports
• Air India Ltd’s Alliance Air subsidiary will be the first airline to take wing under the government’s subsidized Udan scheme. (Bhatinda in Punjab to Delhi )
• According to the Udan scheme, fares for half of the 70-seats will be capped at Rs2,500. Pricing for the rest will depend on how quickly the first 35 seats get booked. The remaining seats will be sold at small price increments. 
• The scheme would be in operation for a period of 10 years. 
• The selected airline operator would have to provide a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 40 UDAN Seats ( subsidized rates )on the UDAN Flights for operations through fixed wing aircraft and a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 13 Seats on the Flights for operations through helicopters. On each such route, the minimum frequency would be three and maximum of seven departures per week.
• The fare for a one hour journey of appx. 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for a 30 minute journey on a helicopter would now be capped at Rs. 2,500, with proportionate pricing for routes of different stage lengths / flight duration.
• The States have a key role under the scheme. The selection of airports where UDAN operations would start would be done in consultation with State Government and after confirmation of their concessions.

Financial Means:

• A financial stimulus in the form of concessions from Central and State governments and airport operators like tax concessions, exemptions from parking and landing charges etc.
• A Viability Gap Funding to the interested airlines to kick-off operations from such airports so that the passenger fares are kept affordable.

→ The VGF would be provided by a market based model. The operators would submit their proposals to the implementing agencies would then be offered for competitive bidding through a reverse bidding mechanism and the route would be awarded to the participant quoting the lowest VGF per Seat.

→ Such support would be withdrawn after a three year period, as by that time, the route is expected to become self-sustainable.

• A Regional Connectivity Fund would be created to meet the VGF requirements under the scheme. The RCF levy per departure will be applied to certain domestic flights along with 20% contribution from states. The partner State Governments (other than North Eastern States and Union Territories where contribution will be 10 %) would contribute a 20% share to this fund. For balanced regional growth, the allocations under the scheme would be equitably spread across the five geographical regions of the country viz. North, West, South, East and North-east. 

4.Urja Ganga:  the highly ambitious gas pipeline project in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

• Aims to provide piped cooking (PNG) gas to residents of the eastern region of the country and CNG gas for the vehicles.
• It will also help in revival of defunct fertilizer plants in Barauni in Bihar, Gorakhpur in UP, Sindri in Jharkhand and Durgapur in West Bengal by supplying gas
• Seven East India cities Varanasi, Jamshedpur, Patna, Ranchi, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack – will be the major beneficiary of this network development.
• It will also help in revival of defunct fertilizer plants in Barauni in Bihar, Gorakhpur in UP, Sindri in Jharkhand and Durgapur in West Bengal by supplying gas
• Under this project work on 2540-km long Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas pipeline project will begin and will be completed between 2018 and 2020.

5. DBT for Kerosene

• After the success of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in LPG/Cooking gas, the government is planning to launch DBT in Kerosene as well
• It has initiated the process by a pilot programme in 4 districts of Jharkhand

6. JSY: Janani Suraksha Yojana

A latest study conducted by researchers from NCAER says that JSY has helped in reducing the socioeconomic inequalities as well as it has led to an enhancement in the utilisation of health services among all groups especially among the poorer and underserved sections in the rural areas.

• The JSY was launched in 2005 as part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to improve maternal and neonatal health by promotion of institutional deliveries (childbirth in hospitals
• JSY is a 100 % centrally sponsored scheme and it integrates cash assistance with delivery and post-delivery care
• Under the JSY, eligible pregnant women(belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) households and ST category.) are entitled for cash assistance irrespective of the age of mother and number of children for giving birth in a government or accredited private health facility
• special focus on Low Performing States (LPS). 
• Part of NRHM
• Janani Suraksha Yojana was launched in April 2005 by modifying the National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS). The NMBS came into effect in August 1995 
• transferred from the Ministry of Rural Development to the Department of Health & Family Welfare during the year 2001-02.

It is implemented through ASHA, the accredited social health activist, acting as an effective link between the Government and the poor pregnant women under this scheme

7. Swachh Bharat Misssion: 2nd Anniversary

• Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh are the first states to have become
• open defecation free (ODF) in urban areas.

→ The State of Himachal Pradesh has been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF), making it the second State in the country after Sikkim to achieve the feat in rural areas It was launched on 2 October 2014 to make India clean and open defecation free by 2019, Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.
→ The programme is divided into two categories -- Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). 
→  The Ministry for Drinking Water and Sanitation is looking at the rural part of the scheme. 

• The Urban Development Ministry is implementing the programme in urban areas
• Budgetary provisions for the two sub-Missions will be provided separately in the demand for Grant of the Ministries of Drinking Water and Sanitation (for Gramin) and Ministry of Urban Development (for Urban).

8. Pradhan MantriGarib Kalyan Yojana

• Aim is to use black-money collected post-demonetization in welfare schemes for the poor
• The government wants to give people an opportunity to pay taxes with penalties and declare undisclosed income through the proposed Pradhan MantriGarib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).

• PMGKY will allow people to deposit previously untaxed money by paying 50% of the total amount: 30% as tax and 10% as penalty on the undisclosed income, as well as 33% of the taxed amount as cess.
• The declarant will also have to deposit 25% of undisclosed income in a deposit scheme to be notified by the RBI under the Pradhan MantriGarib Kalyan Deposit Scheme, 2016
• If the declarant refuses the option of using the government deposit scheme, 85% of the amount will be deducted as taxes and penalties.
• For money that is found in raids, taxes and penalties of nearly 90% of the amount will be levied, leaving just 10% with the owner.

Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 proposes to introduce a scheme named the 'Pradhan MantriGarib Kalyan Yojana, 2016'.

Demonetisation was earlier done in 1978 When the government demonetised Rs. 1000, Rs. 5000 and Rs. 10000 notes. 

• This was done under the High Denomination Bank Note (Demonitisation) Act, 1978
• The difference between 1978 and 2016 Demonitisation is that the currency in circulation (of the higher denomination) is higher in 2016 than was in 1978

9. Housing for All

• Under the scheme the Government proposes to provide an environmentally safe and secure pucca house to very rural household by 2022
• It is named as the Pradhan MantriAwaas Yojana (Gramin)- PMAY-G
• As per the Ministry of Housing, the project cost will be shared by both the central government and the state govt
• Delhi and Chandigarh are the two cities which will not be covered under the scheme
• In its first phase the target is to complete one crore houses by March 2019.
• Local materials will be used largely - along with a complete home with cooking space, electricity provision, LPG, toilet and bathing area, drinking water etc through convergence.
• The payment process- will be through IT/DBT mode with Aadhaar linked Bank accounts with consent, to ensure complete transparency and accountability.
• Skill training of Masons-There is a provision for orientation of beneficiaries. A 45 days on site hands-on skill training of Rural Masons helps poor households to move up the skilling ladder.

10. Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) for States/UTs

• Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry a 340 point reform agenda
• The DIPP, in partnership with World Bank has studied the extent to which states have implemented the BRAP.
• This study was recently released in its Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms 2015-16.
• Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have jointly topped the rankings.
• Major progress was made by states like Telangana, Haryana, and Uttarakhand
• The assessment, first of its kind, promoted both competitive and cooperative federalism among the States and Union Territories (UTs). The first wave of regulatory improvement measures further created a need to sustain the momentum of the regulatory reform.

The online portal aims to provide the following:

• Real time ranking and tracking of the States and UT’s based on the implementation of the recommendations
• Details of the good practices to learn and replicate from the experience
• Provide information on current policies and practices across the States and UT’s

11. National food security act (NFSA)

• The Centre notified that the entire country has now come under the umbrella of National Food Security Act with Kerala and Tamil Nadu joining the bandwagon.
• With this move, now 81.34 crore people will get wheat at Rs. 2/kg and rice at Rs. 3/kg
• NFSA: In 2013
• There are two types of beneficiaries under the PDS: AAY (Antyodya Anna Yojana, launched in 2000) and priority households. 
• Every AAY household is entitled to get 35 kg of food grains every month while priority households (BPL amilies) are entitled to get five kg per person of food grains every month

12. LEEP (Logistics Efficiency Enhancement Programme)

• Aims to enhance the freight transportation in India through improving cost, time, tracking and transferability of consignments through infrastructure, procedural and Information Technology (IT) interventions
• The programme has been undertaken under Bharat Pariyojana.

13. Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojana

• Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
• for entrepreneurship training and education
• scheme spans over five years (2016-17 to 2020-21) with a project cost of Rs. 499.94 crore
• scheme will also include easy access to information, mentor network, credit, incubator, accelerator and advocacy to create a pathway for the youth
• The institutes under the PM’s YUVA Yojana include 2200 Institutes of Higher Learning (colleges, universities, and premier institutes), 300 schools, 500 ITIs and 50 Entrepreneurship Development Centres, through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
• over 7 lakh students in 5 years through 3,050 institutes.

14. PRADHAN MANTRI SURAKSHIT MATRITVA ABHIYAN (PMSMA)

• By Ministry of Health & Family Welfare(MoHFW).
• Aims provide assured, comprehensive and quality antenatal care, free of cost, universally to all pregnant women 
• The check up will take place on ninth day of every month. Blood pressure, weight,
• sugar level, haemoglobin test, blood test, screening and some other tests are done for free under this scheme.
• All medical check up will be free of cost. Medical centres, hospitals, private clinics and government health centres will host these check ups
• Women who are in their three months to six month pregnancy will be eligible to take the scheme. It is for the women who are not from urban areas; semi urban and rural areas will be preferred
• envisages to improve the quality and coverage of Antenatal Care (ANC) including diagnostics and counseling services as part of the Reproductive Maternal Neonatal Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A) Strategy.
• Participation of the Private Practitoners:-The programme follows a systematic approach for engagement with private sector which includes motivating private practitioners to volunteer for the campaign developing strategies for generating awareness and appealing to the private sector to participate in the Abhiyan at government health facilities.
• Identification and follow up of high risk pregnancies. A sticker indicating the condition and risk factor of the pregnant women would be added onto MCP card for each visit:
• Green Sticker- for women with no risk factor detected
• Red Sticker – for women with high risk pregnancy

15. Saur Sujala Yojana

• From CHH
• Under the scheme, solar powered irrigation pumps of 3HP and 5HP capacity would be distributed to farmers by March 2019.
• The scheme targets areas where there is no reach of electricity.
• Around 51,000 farmers would be benefitted in the state with the launch of the scheme

Advantage:

• The installation of solar pumps is done in arid regions such as in Africa, India and South America
• Aiming at increasing local farmers productivity and as a consequence, improving their living conditions.
• It helps in saving Energy
• There is no fuel cost - as it uses available free sun light.
• It can be operated lifelong.
• It is highly reliable and durable
• It is easy to operate and maintain.

16.Kerala has become the third State to be declared Open Defecation Free(ODF)

17. Trade Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development (TREAD)” 

• By:Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)
• To promote women entrepreneurs
• economic empowerment of women through trade related training, information and counseling activities related to trades, products, services
• Under the scheme, there is a provision for Government of India grant up to 30% of the loan/ credit maximum up to Rs. 30.00 lakh as appraised by lending institutions/ banks.
• The lending institutions/ banks would finance loan assistance for a group of women through NGOs for undertaking non- farm activities
• Economic empowerment of women through trade related training, information and counseling activities related to trades, products, services, etc. 

18. NeHa: Setting up a National eHealth Authority for the promotion of eHealth standards by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

A regulatory body, tasked with overseeing the digitisation of health information,

19. Revenue Insurance Scheme for Plantation Crops (RIPS)

• By Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• improved form of the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) Scheme, 2003 which was closed in 2013.
• Launched for protecting growers of plantation crops from twin risks of yield loss due to pest attacks, adverse weather parameters etc. and income loss caused by fall indomestic and international prices

20.VAN JEEVAN

Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in collaboration with UNDP and National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) launched “Vanjeevan” the National Resource Centre (NRC) for Tribal Livelihood issues at Bhubaneswar.

• Scheme will identify problems related to livelihood issues, provide skill training and to facilitate entrepreneurship and employment among tribal people.
• NRC will serve as an apex central institution within Ministry of Tribal Affairs to act as research and technical hub for the socio-economic development of tribal communities.
• In first phase it will be launched in selected districts of six states having low HDI value of tribal people. These states are Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Telangana.
• In 2nd phase, programme will be implemented in Arunachal Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Meghalaya and Tripura
• The programme will focus on the identification of local resources, keeping in view the existing skill level. The programme will facilitate utilization of funds under various Government programmes for the above purpose. The National Resource Centre will serve as a platform for livelihood mapping, skill gap analysis and knowledge hub where consolidation of best livelihood and entrepreneurship models will be accessible for tribal entrepreneurship development.

21. GArv II App

• Power ministry launched GARV app to provide real time data about rural electrification in all (6 lakh) villages of the country.
• Earlier GARV app only provided data about rural electrification regarding 18,452 unelectrified villages while GARV II will provide real time data about all villages

22. ‘100 Million for 100 Million’ Campaign organized by the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

• The Campaign aims to mobilise 100 million youth for 100 million underprivileged children across the world, to end child labour, child slavery, violence against children and promote the right of every child to be safe, free, and educated, over the next 5 years.
• The campaign would use social media for the purpose of sensitising people, building awareness, petitioning, creating demands on governments and international community and asking corporates to ensure no child labour, child slave or trafficked youth is involved in their supply and production chains.

23. PM UJJVALA YOJANA (PMUY) has achieved the target of providing 1.5 crore of LPG connection in financial year 2015-16 in just 8 months.

• Under PMUY, national LPG coverage has been increased from 61% (in Jan 2016) to 70% (in December 2016)
• Top 5 states with highest number of connections are UP (46 lakh), WB (19 lakh), Bihar (17 lakh), MP (17 lakh), Rajasthan (14 lakh) constituting 75% of total connections till today.
• Hilly states like J&K, HP, Uttarakhand, all NE states have a coverage of less than national average
• PMUY scheme provides free LPG connections in the name of woman head of BPL household identified through Socio-Economic Caste Census Data.
• Financial assistance of Rs 1600 will be provided per connection by GoI.
• It is the first welfare scheme implemented by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• To be implemented over 3 year period (2016-19) overall providing 5 cr connections to BPL households.
• It will help in replacing the unclean cooking fuels mostly used in rural India with clean and more efficient LPG resulting in empowerment of women and protecting their health.

24.DeenDayalUpadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY)

• Flagship programme of power ministry to facilitate 24*7 power supply in rural area villages
• It was launched in 2015 in Patna.
• Earlier scheme for rural electrification called Rajiv Gandhi GrameenVidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) has been subsumed in this scheme
• reforms in the rural areas. It focuses on feeder separation (rural households & agricultural) and strengthening of sub-transmission & distribution infrastructure 

25.Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

• Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched on 25th December, 2000.
•  It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
•  PMGSY aims to provide all-weather road connectivity to all unconnected habitations in rural areas of the country.
• Recently the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEE) approved the Centrally  ponsored scheme named Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Affected Areas.
• The project will be launched under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).
• Ministry of Rural Development will be the sponsoring as well as the implementing Ministry of this project.
• The implementing period is of four years from 2016-17 to 2019-20
• The PMGSY guideline does not permit construction/upgradation of MDRs. However, keeping special circumstances of LWE areas in view, MDRs would be taken up under the scheme as a special dispensation. The National Highways and the State Highways would be excluded from this project. The roads to be constructed under the scheme have been identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs in close consultation with the State Governments and the security agencies, by following a process of extensive consultation.

26. Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana 

The Union Cabinet has approved closure of the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY) which was set up in 2012 to address the social security-related issues of the Emigration Check Required (ECR)-category workers going abroad for employment to ECR countries.

Why?

The subscription under the MGPSY was very low and no new subscription was received for more than a year. Closure of the scheme will, therefore, obviate the avoidable recurring administrative and record-keeping expenditure.

About the scheme:

Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana is a special social security scheme which includes Pension and Life Insurance, introduced by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for the overseas Indian workers in possession of Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports.

It is a voluntary scheme designed to help workers to meet their three financial needs: saving for retirement, saving for their return and resettlement, and providing free life insurance offering coverage for death from natural causes.

27.Swasthya Raksha Yojana

• By AYUSH ministry
• Why: To promote health and health education in rural villages
• launched on the lines of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan but with a focus on traditional healthcareservices.
• The programme will be held by giving special emphasis on the demographic information of the particular area where they will take place. The information will vary from region to region and the focus will be on the food habits, lifestyle, etc. of that particular region. Apart from that, knowledge will also be shared on the endemic diseases and the ways to prevent those. This will be done by the SwasthyaRakshan OPDs organized in each village on a weekly basis. Treatment will also be provided for various disease conditions.

28.Nai Roshni Scheme

• Leadership development programme launched by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in 2012-13.
• To empower and instill confidence among minority women, including their neighbours from other communities living in the same village/locality, by providing knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with Government systems, banks and other institutions at all level
• The scheme has been implemented through NGOs, civil societies and government institutions.
• The scheme also includes Educational Programmes, Health and Hygiene, Swacch Bharat, Financial Literacy, Life Skills, Legal Rights of Women, Digital Literacy, Advocacy for social and behavioural change.
• The scheme helps in fighting different social stigmas such as poverty
• It empowers the minority women to stand up for their rights.

29. SWACCH SWASTH SARVATRA

• WHO: Joint initiative between the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• The objective is to strengthen community health centres in 708 open defecation-free
• blocks across the country to enable them to achieve higher levels of cleanliness and hygiene.
• The objective of this programme is to build on and manifest the achievements of two different schemes
• Swacch Bharat Mission by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
• Kayakalp of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Under Kayakalp, one Primary Health Centre (PHCs) in each district is awarded for meeting quality standards including sanitation and hygiene. Under SBM, the Gram Panchayat in which the PHC which gets awarded under Kayakalp for that district will be noted, and special focus will be given to make it ODF at the earliest.

30.Mahila Police Volunteer Initiative

• Who: joint initiative between Ministry of Women & Child Development and Union Ministry of Home Affairs
• Why:to create a safe and enabling environment for women
• One Mahila Police Volunteer per Gram Panchayat is to be assigned under this scheme
• Haryana became the first state to adopt the Mahila Police Volunteer Initiative

31.'SaanjhiSaanjh'.

• National Newspaper dedicated to Senior Citizen
• By Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment 
• It will be a bilingual newspaper - Hindi and English
• It will be published by Harikrit which is an NGO for the elderly.
• It will carry important and useful news pertaining to elderly persons besides inspirational stories

32..Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS):

• Amendments to the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) in a bid to achieve net zero imports in the electronics sector by2020
• M-SIPS policy was launched in July 2012 for a three year period by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• Its primary objective was to encourage investments in Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) Sector and speed up the disbursement process.
• The policy encourages companies to produce domestically by providing them 20-25% subsidy on capital expenditure.
• The Government has increased fund allocation to this scheme in budget 2017-18.

33.Indira Gandhi MatritvaSahyog Yojana (IGMSY)

Prime minister announced that every pregnant woman would get Rs. 6000 for hospital stay, vaccination and nutrition

started by the UPA government in 2010.

• The scheme was started on a pilot basis in 53 districts.
• However, the National Food Security Act of 2013 made its universal coverage compulsory. Section 4(b) of the National Food Security Act states that every pregnant and lactating women is entitled to maternity benefits of not less than Rs. 6000
• IGMSY originally provided a benefit of Rs. 4000 which was increased to Rs. 6000 with National Food Security Act, 2013. This cash transfer scheme is applicable to pregnant and lactating women of age 19 and above for up to 2 living children.
• All pregnant women are eligible unless they have already received paid leave or maternity benefits from their employers in the private or government sector.

34.Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana

Scheme will be launched by the Life insurance

• Post demonetisation, banks slashed interest rates on fixed deposits, therefore the government has launched VPBY to safeguard the interests of the senior citizens.
• The scheme has been announced with a guaranteed interest rate of 8 percent for 10 years.
• The difference between the return generated by LIC and the guaranteed 8 percent interest would be compensated through the subsidy given to LIC.
• The scheme will be open for subscription for one year from the date of launch 
• The subscriber can opt for pension on a monthly, quarterly, half yearly and annual basis.
• Senior citizen can invest up to 7.5 lakhs.Insurance Corporation of India from 1 April 2017.

RashtriyaVayoshri Yojana”, a ‘Scheme for providing Physical Aids and Assisted-living Devices for Senior citizens belonging to BPL category’.

• It was  launched in District Nellore, Andhra Pradesh on 1st April, 2017. 
• Physical Aids and Assisted-living Devices for Senior citizens will be distributed in Camp mode and the Scheme will be implemented through the sole implementing agency, ‘Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO)’, (a PSU under M/o SJ&E), which will undertake one year free maintenance of the aids & assisted living devices. 
• The devices will help the Senior Citizens to overcome their age related physical impairment and to lead a dignified and productive life with minimal dependence on care givers or other members of the family. 
• The ambitious Scheme, first of its kind in the country is expected to benefit 5,20,000 Senior Citizens over a period of the 3 years

35.ShaGun' - a Web-portal for SarvaShikshaAbhiyan

• It has been prepared by World Bank in collaboration with Ministry of Human Resource Development.
• ShaGun’ aims to capture and showcase innovations and progress in elementary education sector of India by continuous monitoring of the flagship scheme - SarvaShikshaAbhiyan (SSA).

SarvaSikshaAbhiyan (SSA) SSA is an Indian Government programme aimed at the universalisation of elementary education "in a time bound manner", as mandated by the 86th Amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory education to children between the ages of 6 to 14 a fundamental right. • SSA has been operational since 2000-2001 to provide for a variety of interventions for universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in elementary education, and improving the quality of learning.  SSA interventions include inter alia, opening of new schools and alternate schooling facilities, construction of schools and additional classrooms, toilets and drinking water, provisioning for teachers, regular teacher in service training and academic resource support, free textbooks& uniforms and support for improving learning achievement levels / outcome.

 36.fertilizer sector: DBT

• Pilot projects to introduce Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in fertilizer sector have been taken up in 16 districts
• DBT scheme was started on 2013 to: 

→ Reform Government delivery system for simpler and faster flow of information/funds.
→ Ensure accurate targeting of the beneficiariesby preventing de-duplication and fraud.
→ DBT Mission was created in the Planning Commission to implement the DBT programmes.
→ In 2015 it was placed in Cabinet Secretariat underSecretary (Co-ordination & PG).
→ JAM i.e. Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile are the three enablers of DBT.

37.Rashtriya Rail SanrakshaKosh

• It will be created with a corpus of ` 1 lakh crores over a period of 5 years.
• Government will lay down clear cut guidelines and timeline for implementing various safety works to be funded from this Kosh.
• Unmanned level crossings on Broad Gauge lines will be eliminated by 2020

38.Cyber Swachchta Kendra–Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre

• Why: For analysis of malware and botnets that affect networks and systems.
• part of Digital India initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• centre will work in coordination with the internet service providers (ISPs) and Industry

39.Pradhan MantriGramin Digital SakshartaAbhiyan' (PMGDISHA)

• One of the largest digital literacy programmes in the world.
• To make 6 crore rural households digitally literate by March 2019.
• To ensure equitable geographical reach, each of the 250,000 Gram Panchayats would be expected to register an average of 200-300 candidates.
• The implementation of the Scheme would be carried out under the overall supervision of Ministry of Electronics and IT in active collaboration with States/UTs through their designated State Implementing Agencies, District e-Governance Society (DeGS), etc.
• The PMGDISHA being initiated under Digital India Programme would cover 6 crore households in rural areas to make them digitally literate.
• This would empower the citizens by providing them access to information, knowledge and skills for operating computers / digital access devices.

40.Mahila Shakti Kendra

Budget 2017-18 speech mentioned that Mahila Shakti Kendra will be set-up at village level in 14 lakh ICDS Anganwadi Centres.

• It will provide one stop convergent support services for empowering rural women with opportunities for skill development, employment, digital literacy, health and nutrition.
• It will increase access of essential services for women.

41. Kadiyan Srihari Committee

By MHRD

to look into the matter of girls’ education.

42.Project Tejaswini:

World Bank has signed an agreement with India to provide $63 million loan for Project Tejaswinitoempower adolescent girls and young women in state of Jharkhand.

• It aims to empower adolescent girls and young women (between 14-24 years) with basic life skills and further provide opportunity to complete their secondary education and acquire market driven skills. This program was approved by World Bank in 2016.
• Project will be implemented in 17 districts of Jharkhand and estimated 6.8 lakh adolescent girls and young women are expected to benefit from this programme.
• This is the first World Bank project in India that is solely focused on the welfare of adolescent girls and young women

43.HamariDharohar Scheme

central sector scheme launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in order 

• To preserve the rich heritage of minority communities under the overall concept of Indian culture
• The six minority communities notified under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 are to be covered. They are: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains.
• Two other schemes formulated for the benefit of minorities are: Padho Pradesh and Nayi Roshni.

44.‘Middle Income Group Scheme’

• To provide affordable legal services where fees would be charged as per the schedule attached to the scheme.
• Introduced by SC 
• will be administered through a society named ‘Supreme Court Middle Income Group (MIG) Legal Aid Society’ registered for this purpose. The Patron-in-Chief of the society is Chief Justice of India and the Attorney General is its ex-officio Vice President.
• Its beneficiaries will be litigants in the SC whose gross income is less than Rs. 60,000 per month or Rs. 7.5 lakh per annum

45. E-Laabh

To pay subsidies in cash like in LPG to the targetedbeneficiaries, the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development and Fisheries Dept. launched elaabh software

46.RashtriyaYuvaSashaktikaranKaryakaram (RYSK)

• By Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports 
• It has integrated 8 of its schemes under one umbrella scheme known as RashtriyaYuvaSashaktikaranKaryakaram (RYSK)
• The schemes that have been integrated under RYSK are as follows:

→ Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS)
→ National Youth Corps (NYC)
→ National Programme for Youth and Adolescent Development (NPYAD)
→ Youth Hostels (YH)
→ Assistance to Scoring and Guiding Organisations
→ National Discipline Scheme (NDS)
→ National Young Leaders Programme

• The scheme will benefit youth in the age group of 15-29 years as per the definition of “youth” in National Youth Policy, 2014.
• Two schemes under the ministry have been kept out of this umbrella scheme. They are National Service Scheme (NSS) and Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD).

47.“Grameen Khel Mahakumbh

Khelo India National Level Competitions under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports took place in January.The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is set to start off rural games as “Grameen Khel Mahakumbh” under Khelo India Scheme. 

Khelo India Scheme

It is a national programme which aims to develop grassroots level talent by providing them with a national level platform.

The GOI of India merged the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyanwith Khelo India in 2016. 

• Two other schemes that were brought under the umbrella of Khelo India are: Urban Sports InfrastructureScheme (USIS) and National Sports Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS)

48. India’s first floating elementary school, named Loktak Elementary Floating School

49.SAATHIYA’ Resource Kit and ‘SAATHIYA SALAH’ Mobile App for Adolescents

• One of the key interventions under the RashtriyaKishorSwasthyaKaryakram(RKSK) programme is introduction of the Peer Educators (Saathiyas) who act as a catalyst for generating demand for the adolescent health services and imparting age appropriate knowledge on key adolescent health issues to their peer groups.
• In order to equip the Saathiyas in doing so, the Health Ministry has launched the Saathiya Resource Kit (including ‘Saathiya Salah’ Mobile App) for adolescents
• In addition to the kit is the mobile app ‘Saathiya Salah’ (downloadable from Google playstore) which acts as a ready information source for the adolescents in case they are unable to interact with the Peer Educators.

RashtriyaKishorSwasthyaKaryakram (RKSK) The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched a  health programme for adolescents, in the age group of 10-19 years  in January 2014, which would target their nutrition, reproductive  health and substance abuse, among other issues. The key principle of this programme is adolescent participation  and leadership, equity and inclusion, gender equity and strategic  partnerships with other sectors and stakeholders. The programme envisions enabling all adolescents in India to realize  their full potential by making informed and responsible decisions related  to their health and well-being and by accessing the services and  support they need to do so. It introduces community-based interventions through peer educators  (Saathiyas), and is underpinned by collaborations with other ministries  and state governments. Objectives Reduce the prevalence of malnutrition among adolescent girls and boys Reduce the prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) among Improve nutrition

 49. BHIM &UPI

• Aadhaar-based payments app developed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI).
• can work even on basic phones as it supports USSD payments
• Payment can be done through scanning QR code.
• Unified Payments Interface (UPI)”.
• The UPI is for mobile based payment method that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application.
• It facilitates ‘virtual address’ as a single payment identifier for sending and collecting money.
• The single identifier will eliminate the need to exchange sensitive information such as bank account numbers during a financial transaction.

50. Mission Indradhanush

• Revamp PSB
• PJ Nayak Committee
• seven key reforms of appointments, board of bureau, capitalisation, de-stressing, empowerment, framework of accountability and governance reforms.
• It aims to clean up the balance sheets of PSBs to ensure banks remain solvent and fully comply with global capital adequacy norms, Basel-III.

51. Diamond Quadrilateral

• Project of the Indian railways to establish high speed rail network in India.
• This quadrilateral will connect the four metro cities in India, i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
• Similar to Golden Quadrilateral which is a roadway project which connects the four metros by Express Ways.
• The Golden Quadrilateral falls under National Highways Development Project.

52.Permanent Residency Status (PRS) to foreign investors

• PRS will be granted for a period of 10 years with multiple entry, which can be renewed for another 10 years.
•  In order to avail this scheme, the foreign investor will have to invest a minimum of 10 crores rupees within 18 months or 25 crores rupees within 36 months.
• Further, the foreign investment should result in generating employment to at least  20 resident Indians every financial year.
• For dwelling purpose, PRS holders will be allowed to purchase one residential property. Their spouse and dependents will be also allowed to undertake studies in India and take up employment in private sector.

Goods and Services Tax (GST)

GST is a unified taxation system which would end multiple taxation across the states and create a level playing field for businesses throughout the country, much like the developed nations. It is a multi-stage destination-based tax which will be collected at every stage, starting from procuring the raw material to selling the final product. The credit of taxes paid at the previous stage(s) will be available for set-off at the next stage of supply. Being destination or a consumption based, the GST will also end multiple taxes levied by Centre and the State Governments like Central Excise, Service Tax, VAT, Central Sales Tax, Octroi, Entry Tax, Luxury Tax and Entertainment Tax etc.  This will lower the overall tax burden on the consumer and will benefit the industry through better cash flows and working capital management. Currently, 17 State and Central levies are being applied on goods as they move from one State to the other.

BENEFITS

Different estimates peg the net advantage to the Gross Domestic Product, up to two percentage points.  The GST regime is also expected to result in better tax compliance, thereby increasing its revenue and narrowing the Budget deficit. All the imported goods will be charged Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) which is equivalent to the Central GST + State GST. This will bring equality with taxation on local products.

Mainly, there will be three types of taxes under the GST regime: Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), State (or Union Territory) Goods and Services Tax (SGST) and Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST). Tax levied by the Centre on intra-State supply of goods or services would be called the CGST and that to be levied by the States and Union Territories(UTs) would be called the SGST respectively. The IGST would be levied and collected by the Centre on inter-State supply of goods and services. Four supplementary legislations approving these taxes, namely the Central GST Bill, the Integrated GST Bill, The GST (Compensation to States) Bill, and the Union Territory GST Bill were passed by the Lok Sabha in May this year, making the realisation of 1^st July, 2017 deadline a reality.

All the matters related to the GST are dealt upon by the GST Council headed by the Union Finance Minister while all the State Finance Ministers are its Members. The GST Council also has a provision to adjudicate disputes arising out of its recommendation or implementation thereof.

TAX RATES

The GST Council has fixed four broad tax slabs under the new GST system - 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. On top of the highest slab, there is a cess on luxury and demerit goods to compensate the States for revenue loss in the first five years of GST implementation. Most of the goods and services have been listed under the four slabs, but a few like gold and rough diamonds have exclusive tax rates. Also, some items have been exempted from taxation. The essential items have been kept in the lowest tax bracket, whereas luxury goods and tobacco products will invite higher tax.

17-YEAR-LONG WAIT

Many countries in the world switched to a unified taxation system very early. France was the first country to do so in 1954 and many others followed, some by implementing GST and others by using a different form of Value Added Tax (VAT). In India, the discussion on GST started in the year 2000, in the NDA Government led by the former Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Finally, after 17 years of consensus building, 101^st Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament in 2016. The States had apprehension of reduction in their revenue and their desire to keep some lucrative goods out of the GST baskets like alcohol, petroleum and real estate among others.

IMPACT ON CONSUMERS

From agarbattis (incense sticks) to luxury cars - all these goods will be taxed under different slabs. Movie tickets costing less than Rs 100 have been kept in the 18% GST slab while those over Rs 100 will attract 28% tax under GST. Tobacco products have been kept under a higher tax bracket. Industries such as textiles and, gems and jewellery are subject to a GST rate of 5%

The Government has shown its strong determination and stuck to implementing the GST with effect from 1^st July, 2017. The road ahead would require a lot of resolve by the implementing agencies like the Goods and Services Network, states and the industry.    To sail through initial hiccups and successfully steer the ship of the economy, the Government needs to show the same determination and courage. A bold initiative like GST taken for the welfare of the country must lead to a grand success.