APPSC GROUP-3 PREPARATION PLAN

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SCHEMES

FOOD SECURITY OF INDIA

SMART CITIES

UNION BUDGET 2016-17

NATIONAL URBAN LIVELIHOODS MISSION

INDIAN POLITY - IMPORTANT FEATURES

RAILWAY BUDGET 2016-17 CHART

A.P. SOCIO ECONOMIC SURVEY 2015-16

ANDHRA PRADESH BUDGET 2016-17 SPEECH

  

UNION BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS 2016-17

Tax

• Infrastructure and agriculture cess to be levied.
• Excise duty raised from 10 to 15 per cent on tobacco products other than beedis
• 1 per cent service charge on purchase of luxury cars over Rs. 10 lakh and in-cash purchase of goods and services over Rs. 2 lakh.
• 0.5 per cent Krishi Kalyan Cess to be levied on all services.
• Pollution cess of 1 per cent on small petrol, LPG and CNG cars; 2.5 per cent on diesel cars of certain specifications; 4 per cent on higher-end models.
• Dividend in excess of Rs. 10 lakh per annum to be taxed at additional 10 per cent.
• SUVs, Luxury cars to be more expensive. 4% high capacity tax for SUVs.
• Companies with revenue less than Rs 5 crore to be taxed at 29% plus surcharge
• Limited tax compliance window from Jun 1 – Sep 30 for declaring undisclosed income at 45% incl. surcharge and penalties
• Excise 1 per cent imposed on articles of jewellery, excluding silver.

Social

• Rs. 38,500 crore for Mahtma Gandhi MGNREGA for 2016-17
• Swacch Bharat Abhiyan allocated Rs.9,500 crores.
• Hub to support SC/ST entrpreneurs
• Government is launching a new initiative to provide cooking gas to BPL families with state support.
• LPG connections to be provided under the name of women members of family: Rs 2000 crore allocated for 5 years for BPL families.
• 2.87 lakh crore grants to gram panchayats and municipalities – a quantum jump of 228%.
• 300 urban clusters to be set up under Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission
• Four schemes for animal welfare.

Education, Skills and Job Creation

• 62 new Navodaya Vidyalayas will be opened
• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to increasing focus on quality of education
• Regulatory architecture to be provided to ten public and ten private institutions to emerge as world-class Teaching and Research Institutions
• Higher Education Financing Agency to be set-up with initial capital base of ` 1000 Crores
• Digital Depository for School Leaving Certificates, College Degrees, Academic Awards and Mark sheets to be set-up.

Financial Sector Reforms

• A comprehensive Code on Resolution of Financial Firms to be introduced.
• Statutory basis for a Monetary Policy framework and a Monetary Policy Committee through the Finance Bill 2016.
• A Financial DataManagement Centre to be set up.
• RBI to facilitate retail participation in Government securities.
• New derivative products will be developed by SEBI in the Commodity Derivatives market.
• Amendments in the SARFAESI Act 2002 to enable the sponsor of an ARC to hold up to 100% stake in the ARC and permit non institutional investors to invest in Securitization Receipts.
• Comprehensive Central Legislation to be bought to deal with the menace ofillicit deposit taking schemes.
• Increasing members and benches of the Securities Appellate Tribunal.
• Allocation of ` 25,000 crore towards recapitalisation of Public Sector Banks.
• Target of amount sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana increased to ` 1,80,000 crore.
• General Insurance Companies owned by the Government to be listed in the stock exchanges.

Health

• 2.2 lakh renal patients added every year in India. Basic dialysis equipment gets some relief.
• A new health protection scheme for health cover upto 1 lakh per family.
• PM Jan Aushadhi Yojana to be strengthened, 300 generic drug store to be opened National Dialysis Service Prog with funds thru PPP mode to provide dialysis at all district hospitals.
• Senior citizens will get additional healthcare cover of Rs 30,000 under the new scheme

Energy

• Rs. 3000 crore earmarked for nuclear power generation
• Govt drawing comprehensive plan to be implemented in next 15-20 years for exploiting nuclear energy
• Govt to provide incentive for deepwater gas exploration
• Deepwater gas new disc to get calibrated market freedom, pre-determined ceiling price based on landed price of alternate fuels.

Agriculture

• Total allocation for agriculture and farmer welfare at Rs 35984 crores
• 28.5 lakh heactares of land wil be brought under irrigation.
• 5 lakh acres to be brought under organic farming over a three year period
• Rs 60,000 crore for recharging of ground water recharging as there is urgent need to focus on drought hit areas cluster development for water conservation.
• Dedicated irrigation fund in NABARD of Rs.20.000 cr
• Nominal premium and highest ever compensation in case of crop loss under the PM Fasal Bima Yojna.

Banking

• Banks get a big boost: Rs 25,000 crore towards recapitalisation of public sector banks. Jaitley says: Banking Board Bureau will be operationalised, we stand solidly behind public sector banks.
• Target of disbursement under MUDRA increased to 1,80,000 crore
• Process of transfer of government stake in IDBI Bank below 50% started
• General Insurance companies will be listed in the stock exchange
• Govt to increase ATMs, micro-ATMs in post offices in next three years

Investments and infrastructure

• Rs. 27,000 crore to be spent on roadways
• 65 eligible habitats to be connected via 2.23 lakh kms of road. Current construction pace is 100 kms/day
• Shops to be given option to remain open all seven days in a week across markets.
• Rs. 55,000 crore for roads and highways. Total allocation for road construction, including PMGSY, – Rs 97,000 crore
• India’s highest-ever production of motor vehicles was recorded in 2015
• Total outlay for infrastructure in Budget 2016 now stands at Rs. 2,21,246 crore
• 100 per cent FDI in marketing of food products produced and marketed in India
• Dept. of Disinvestment to be renamed as Dept. of Investment and Public Asset Management
• Govt will amend Motor Vehicle Act in passenger vehicle segment to allow innovation.
• MAT will be applicable for startups that qualify for 100 per cent tax exemption
• Direct tax proposals result in revenue loss of Rs.1060 crore, indirect tax proposals result in gain of Rs.20,670 crore
• New greenfield ports to be developed on east and west coasts
• Revival of undeserved airports. Centre to Partner with States to revive small airports for regional connectivity

Roadmap & Priorities

• ‘Transform India’ to have a significant impact on economy and lives of people.
• Focus on enhancing expenditure in priority areas of – farm and rural sector, social sector, infrastructure sector employment generation and recapitalisation of the banks.
• Continue with the ongoing reform programme and ensure passage of the Goods and Service Tax bill and Insolvency and Bankruptcy law.

Rural Sector

• Allocation for rural sector – ` 87,765 crore.
• 2.87 lakh crore will be given as Grant in Aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission
• Every block under drought and rural distress will be taken up as an intensive Block under the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Mission
• A sum of ` 38,500 crore allocated for MGNREGS.
• 300 Rurban Clusters will be developed under the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission
• A new Digital Literacy Mission Scheme for rural India to cover around 6 crore additional household within the next 3 years.
• National Land Record Modernisation Programme has been revamped.
• New scheme Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan proposed with allocation of ` 655 crore
• 100% village electrification by 1st May, 2018.
• District Level Committees under Chairmanship of senior most Lok Sabha MP from the district for monitoring and implementation of designated Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
• Priority allocation from Centrally Sponsored Schemes to be made to reward villages that have become free from open defecation.

Key Features of Budget 2016-2017

Oscar Awards 2016 Winners List

Best Picture : 'Spotlight'
Direction : 'The Revenant,' Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Actor : Leonardo DiCaprio, 'The Revenant'
Actress : Brie Larson, 'Room'
Supporting Actor : Mark Rylance, 'Bridge of Spies'
Supporting Actress : Alicia Vikander, 'The Danish Girl'
Adapted Screenplay : 'The Big Short,' Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
Original Screenplay : 'Spotlight,' Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
Cinematography : 'The Revenant,' Emmanuel Lubezki
Production Design : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson (set decoration)
Film Editing : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Margaret Sixel
Visual Effects : 'Ex Machina,' Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
Costume Design : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Jenny Beavan
Makeup : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin
Sound Editing : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Mark Mangini and David White
Sound Mixing : 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo
Score : 'The Hateful Eight,' Ennio Morricone
Song : 'Writing’s on the Wall,' from 'Spectre,' Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith
Foreign Language Film : 'Son of Saul' (Hungary)
Animated Feature: 'Inside Out'
Documentary Feature : 'Amy'
Animated Short : 'Bear Story'
Documentary Short : 'A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness'
Live Action Short : 'Stutterer' 

Dadasaheb Phalke Award Winners list till 2015

	Year	Winner	Occupation
	2015	Manoj Kumar	Actor and Director
	2014	Shashi Kapoor	Actor, Director and Producer
	2013	Gulzar	Poet, Lyricist and Director
	2012	Pran	Actor
	2011	Soumitra Chatterjee	Actor
	2010	K. Balachander	Director
	2009	D. Ramanaidu	Producer
	2008	VK Murthy	Cinematographer
	2007	Manna Dey	Singer
	2006	Tapan Sinha	Director
	2005	Shyam Benegal	Director
	2004	Adoor Gopalakrishnan	Director
	2003	Mrinal Sen	Director
	2002	Dev Anand	Actor, Director and Producer
	2001	Yash Chopra	Director and Producer
	2000	Asha Bhosle	Singer
	1999	Hrishikesh Mukherjee	Director
	1998	B.R. Chopra	Director and Producer
	1997	Pradeep	Lyricist
	1996	Sivaji Ganesan	Actor
	1995	Rajkumar	Actor
	1994	Dilip Kumar	Actor
	1993	Majrooh Sultanpuri	Lyricist
	1992	Bhupen Hazarika	Composer (Music Director)
	1991	Bhalji Pendharkar	Director, Producer and Writer
	1990	Akkineni Nageswara Rao	Actor
	1989	Lata Mangeshkar	Singer
	1988	Ashok Kumar	Actor
	1987	Raj Kapoor	Actor and Director
	1986	B. Nagi Reddy	Producer
	1985	V. Shantaram	Actor, Director and Producer
	1984	Satyajit Ray	Director
	1983	Durga Khote	Actress
	1982	L. V. Prasad	Actor, Director and Producer
	1981	Naushad Ali	Composer (Music Director)
	1980	Paidi Jairaj	Actor and Director
	1979	Sohrab Modi	Actor, Director and Producer
	1978	Rai Chand Boral	Composer and Director
	1977	Nitin Bose	Cinematographer, Director and Writer,
	1976	Kanan Devi	Actress
	1975	Dhirendranath Ganguly	Actor and Director
	1974	Bomireddi Narasimha Reddy	Director
	1973	Ruby Myers (Sulochana)	Actress
	1972	Pankaj Mullick	Composer (Music Director)
	1971	Prithviraj Kapoor	Actor (Posthumous)
	1970	B. N. Sircar	Producer
	1969	Devika Rani	Actress

INDIA ECONOMIC SURVEY 2015-16 PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. The Economic Survey, prepared by:
a) Arvind Subramanian
b) Arun jaitely
c) Jayant Sinha
d) All of these

Answer a) Arvind Subramanian. The Economic Survey, prepared by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian

2. It said the benefits were given to the well-off on small savings schemes and tax or subsidy policies on six commodities. Which one is not under those:
a) Aviation Fuel
b) Kerosene
c) Petrol
d) Gold

Answer c) Petrol

3. Economic Survey 2015-16 projects that the real GDP growth for the current financial year and for 2016-17 will be in the range of ………..
a) 7 – 8 %
b) 7.5 – 8 %
c) No Change
d) 7 – 7.5 %

Answer d) 7 – 7.5 %

4. The Economic Survey enumerated three downside risks. Which one is not among them
a) oil prices rise would increase the drag from consumption
b) options a) and c)
c) turmoil in global could worsen the outlook of exports.
d) Subsidy in LPG will hampered the Growth

Answer d) Subsidy in LPG will hampered the Growth.

5. CPI inflation seen around 4.5 to ……. in 2016/17
a) 5%
b) 6%
c) 7%
d) 6.5%

Answer a) 5%.

6. 2016 – 17 current account deficit seen around …….. of/in GDP
a) 1-2%
b) 1-1.5%
c) 1.5-2%
d) No change

Answer b) 1-1.5%.

7. Estimated capital requirement for banks likely around Rs …… trillion by 2018/19
a) 1.9
b) 2.2
c) 2.0
d) 1.8

Answer d) 1.8

8. To infuse capital in state-run banks what Government is planning to do?
a) To sell off Non Financial Companies
b) To reduce its shares from Banks
c) To sell Government Securities
d) All of the above

Answer a) To sell off Non Financial Companies.

9. The Ministry of Finance is an important ministry within the Government of India. It concerns itself with
a) taxation
b) financial legislation
c) financial institutions
d) All of the above

Answer d) All of the above.

10. Who was the first Finance Minister of India?
a) John Mathai
b) C.D. Deshmukh
c) Moraji Desai
d) Liaquat Ali Khan

Answer d) Liaquat Ali Khan widely known as Shaheed-e-Millat. He was one of the leading Founding Fathers of modern Pakistan, statesman, lawyer, and political theorist who became and served as the first Prime Minister of Pakistan; in addition, he was also the first Defence Minister of Pakistan, the first Finance Minister of  India, and the minister of Commonwealth and Kashmir Affairs from 1947 until his assassination in 1951.

Revision of Syllabus for Group-I, Group-II and Group-IV

INDIA ECONOMIC SURVEY 2015 HIGHLIGHTS

Services Sector remains the Key Driver of Economic Growth contributing almost 66.1% in 2015-16

The services sector in India has remained the most vibrant sector in terms of contribution to national and state incomes, trade flows, FDI inflows, and employment.  According to the Economic Survey 2015-16 tabled in Parliament, the services sector contributed almost 66.1% of its gross value added growth in 2015-16 becoming the important net foreign exchange earner and the most attractive sector for FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) inflows.  Despite the slow down in the post crisis period (2010-14) India showed the fastest service sector growth with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 8.6% followed by China at 8.4%. In 2014 India’s services sector growth at 10.3% was noticeably higher than China at 8.0%.  As per the ILO (International Labour Organisation) report on “Global Employment and Social Outlook : Trends 2015” job creation in the coming years will be mainly in the service sector.

FDI

In 2014, FDI in India at 34billion US$ increased by 22% over 2013.  There has been a significant growth in FDI inflows in 2014-15 and 2015-16(April – October) in general and in Services Sector in particular. In 2014-15, FDI inflows to the Services Sector grew by a whopping 70.4% to 16.4 billion US$.  This rising trend is continuing in the first seven months of 2015-16 with the FDI equity inflows in the services sector growing by 74.7% to 14.8 billion US$.  Significant FDI related liberalization has taken place in a number of sectors to ensure that India remains a increasingly attractive investment destination. 

India’s Services Trade

Services exports have been a dynamic element of India’s trade and globalization in recent years.  India’s services export grew from 16.8 billion US$ in 2001 to 155.6 billion US $ in 2014 which constitutes 7.5% of the GDP making the country the 8^th largest services exporter in the world.   The overall openness of the economy reflected by total trade including services as a percentage of GDP shows a higher degree of openness at 50% in 2014-15 compared to 38% in 2004-05.

India’s Services Import at 81.1 billion US$ grew by 3.3% in 2014-15 . The Government has taken policy initiatives to promote services exports which include the Service Export from India Scheme (SEIS) and organizing Global Exhibition on Services (GES).

Tourism

Tourism is a major engine of economic growth, and a generator of employment of diverse kinds.  According to Economic Survey India’s tourism growth which was 10.2% in terms of foreign Tourist Arrival (FTA) and 9.7% in terms of foreign exchange Earnings(FEE) in 2014 decelerated to 4.5% in terms of FTAs and fell by 2.8% in terms of FEEs in 2015.  The lower growth in FTAs and fall in FEEs in 2015 is due to negative or low growth in FTAs from high spending tourists originating  from European countries like France, Germany and UK.  However, domestic tourism continues to be an important contributor to the sector providing much needed resilience  In 2014 it grew by 12.9%. The top five states in domestic tourist visits in 2014 are Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. In 2014-15, Government has launched two schemes for thematic development of tourism, these are Swadesh Darshan and National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD).  To promote medical tourism, the Government has launched India’s Healthcare Portal and Advantage Health Care India.

Shipping & Port Services

Around 95% of India’s trade by volume and 68% in terms of value is transported by sea.  As per UNCTAD, India with 11.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units of container (TEUs) and a  world share of 1.7%, ranked ninth in 2014 among developing countries in terms of containership operations.  A vision for coastal shipping tourism and regional development has been prepared with a view to increasing the share of the coastal/inland water-ways transport mode from 7% to 10% by 2019-20.   The cargo traffic of India ports increased by 8.2% to 1052.21 million tonnes in 2014-15.  In India’s Maritime Agenda, the target for the year 2020 is 3130 million tonnes of port capacity with an investment of approximately Rs. 2,96,000/- crores.

IT-BPM Services

The IT-BPM sector has demonstrated flexibility and as per the Economic Survey is expected to touch an estimated share of 9.5% of GDP and more than 45% in total services export in 2015-16.  E-commerce is expected to grow at 21.4% in 2015-16 to reach 17 billion US$.  India home to a new breed of young start ups has clearly evolved to become the third largest base of technology start ups in the world.  Within one year the number of start ups have grown by 40% creating 80,000-85,000 jobs in 2015.   This emerging sector is set  to get up a fillip with the Startup India programme.

Research and Development Services

As per the CSO’s(Central Statistical Organization) new method there is no separate head for R&D, it is a part of the professional scientific & technical activities including R&D which grew at 3.8% and 25.5 respectively in 2013-14 and 2014-15.  According to the Survey, India’s R&D globalization and services market is set to almost double by 2020 to 38 billion US$.  

Consultancy Services

According to the Survey Consultancy Services is emerging as one of the fastest growing service segments in India.  Government has taken several initiatives like the Marketing Development Assistance and Market Access Initiative Scheme among others for capacity development of domestic consultants.

Real Estate and Housing

This sector constituted 8.0% of the India’s GVA (Gross Value Added) in 2014-15 and grew by 9.1%.  The sector has grown at a CAGR of 8.1% since 2011-12.  However, the construction sector has witnessed a slowdown in last few years due to weakening of both domestic and global growth.  The Government has announced plans to build six crore houses by the year 2022 under the Housing for All scheme.

Internal Trade

According to the Survey, Rs. 12,31,073 crore trade and repair services sector, with a 10.7% share in GVA, grew by 10.8% in 2014-15.     India’s retail market is expected to grow to 1.3 trillion US$ by 2020 making India the world’s fastest growing major developing market.  The E-commerce market in India is expected to reach 16 billion US$ by the end of 2015 on the back of growing internet population and increased online shoppers.

Media and Entertainment Services

According to the Economic Survey, the industry has recorded unprecedented growth over the last two decades making it one of the fastest growing industries in India. It is projected to grow at a CAGR of 13.9% to reach 1964 billion rupees by 2019.  Digital advertising and gaming, which grew by 44.5% and 22.4% respectively in 2014, are projected to drive the growth of this sector in the coming years.

Postal Services

India Posts is the largest Postal network in world.   Towards financial inclusion, the number of post office savings bank (POSB) accounts has increased from 30.86 crore to 33.97 crore and total deposits in POSB accounts and cash certificate to Rs. 6.53 lakhs crore in the last one year.  More than 80 lakh Sukanya Samridhi Yojna accounts have been opened.  The IT Modernization Project of the Department of Posts, with a total outlay of Rs. 4909 crore, involves computerization and networking of all the post offices.