Indian Equity Market Relatively Resilient Compared to Other Major Emerging Market Economies

The Economic Survey 2015-16 presented  in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley states that despite volatility in global financial markets, the Indian equity market has been relatively resiliant during this period compared to the other major emerging market economies. The market has rebounded time and time again, and it is hoped that as the global financial market settle down, India can become the leading investment destination owing to its robust macroeconomic fundamentals. Banking sector gross credit deployment has been sluggish duirng the financial year. Increasing levels of gross Non Performing Assets (NPA) have reduced the banking sector’s capacity to lend. Sluggish growth and increasing indebtedness in some sectors of the economy have impacted the assets quality of banks and this is a cause of concern. Financial inclusion is proceeding apace under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana while the Atal Pension Yojana is extending the reach of the New Pension Scheme. 

The Economic Survey 2015-16 states that the agreement on monetary policy frameswork signed between the Government and the Reserve Bank of India in February 2015 shape the monetary policy stance in 2015-16. Liquidity conditions were generally tight during the first quarter of 2015-16, mainly due to slow government spending in the beginning of the year. In the second quarter, liquidity conditions eased significantly but in the third quarter again the liquidity conditions tightened mainly due to festive season currency demand. The RBI anchored its policy rate to achieve the domestic inflation targets consistant with growth. The value of rupee also remained comparatively stable during this period. Average borrowings by banks have increased significantly in the immediate aftermath of US fed rate hike, resulting in appreciation of the rupee. However, subsequent to easing of liquidity conditions, the rupee started depreciating. 

Economic Survey 2015-16 states that during the current financial year, year on year growth in gross bank credit outstanding has remained around 10%. The sluggish growth can be attributed to incomplete transmission of the monitory policy, unwillingness of banks to lend credit on account of rising NPAs, and more attractive interest rates for borrowers in the bond markets. The year on year growth in time deposits fell to 10.6% in December 2016. This is because household saving are channelized to other areas like gold and real estate. The slowdown in time deposits has been slowing the growth of bank credit as time deposits remain the most important and cheaper source of banks funding. 

The credit off take by the industry sector for the bank has been slowing. The deployment of gross bank credit to industry grew at 5.3% year on year in December 2015. Gross bank credit to the services sector grew at sub 7% in May – November 2015 though it increased to 9.2% in December 2015. The agriculture sector too saw a downturn from November 2014. Only the personal loans segment, which benefited from the repo rate cut, has been showing accelerating growth from January 2015. The analysis of non food credit shows that consumption expenditure has been the key driver for the economy during the current financial year. The Economic Survey expresses concern that the share of industry has come down significantly. The decline reflects the muted markets sentiments leading to slowdown in private investment demand and industrial growth, poor earnings growth of the corporate sector, and risk aversion on the part of the banks. 

On the performance of the Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs), the Survey says that the slowdown in growth in the balance sheets of banks witnessed since 2011-12 continued in 2015-16. The moderation in growth of assets of SCBs can mainly be attributed to tepid growth in loans and advances. Growth in investments also slowed down marginally. The survey recommends that given the deterioration in asset quality and gradual implementation of Basel III, banks will have to improve their capital positions to meet unforeseen losses in future. The estimated capital requirement is likely to be about Rs 1,80,000 crore by 2018-19. Of this total requirement, the government of India proposes to make Rs 70,000 crore available out of budgetary allocations during the current and succeeding years. 

Economic Survey 2015-16 states that the asset quality of SCBs has come under stress during the recent times. Gross NPAs of SCBs as a proportion of gross advances increased to 5.1% from 4.6% between March and September 2015. Mining, Iron and Steel, textiles, infrastructure and aviation sectors contributed 53% of the total stressed advances. 

Economic Survey 2015-16 mentions that the number of new basic saving bank deposit accounts rose considerably during the year on account of the government’s initiative under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna. The number of such account increased to 44.1 crore for the period ending September 2015 and total number of banking outlets went up to 5.67 lakhs. 

In 2015-16 (April-December), resource mobilization through the public and right issues has surged rapidly as compared to the last financial year. During this period, 71 companies raised Rs 51,311 crore from the capital market compared to Rs 11,581 crore during the corresponding period of 2014-15. Resources mobilized by Mutual Funds also increased substantially to Rs 1,61,696 crore from Rs 87,942 crore mobilized during the same period of the previous year. During 2015-16 so far, the Indian Securities Market has remained subdued. The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex declined by 8.5% (Up to January 5, 2016) over March 2015, mainly on account of turmoil in Global Equity Markets. 

The net investment by Foreign Institutional Investors/FPIs in the Indian market has been Rs 63,663 crore in 2015 as compared to Rs 2,56,213 crore in 2014. 

The total insurance premium generated by the insurance sector increased from Rs. 3,94,235 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 4,15,252 crore in 2014-15. During the period, Life Insurance premium registered a growth of 4.4% whereas the General Insurance business grew by 9%. Till December 2015, a total of 112.82 lakh members/subscribers have been enrolled under the National Pension Scheme. Three schemes – Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jivan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), and the Atal Pension Yojana(APY), - were launched in 2015 in the insurance and pension sectors for creating a universal social security system for all Indians, especially for the poor and the underpreviledged.

Spreading Jam across India’s Economy

The Economic Survey 2015-16 presented in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley emphasizes that JAM Trinity –Jan dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile- can help government to implement large-scale, technology-enabled and real-time Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs) to improve economic lives of India’s poor. First variety of JAM- PAHAL scheme of transferring LPG subsidies via DBT -has reduced leakages by 24 per cent. Economic Survey suggests that while deciding where next to spread JAM, policymakers should consider the challenges of beneficiary identification, distributor opposition and beneficiary financial inclusion. Spreading JAM to other areas will reduce leakages and provide more fiscal space to the Government.

JAM Components:

Economic Survey divides JAM into three components-

1.      Identification or First-Mile:  Identification of beneficiaries by government

2.      Transfer or Middle-Mile: Transfer of fund to beneficiaries by government

3.      Access or Last-Mile: Access of fund by beneficiaries

                                                                            

Identification:

First-mile deals with identification of beneficiary. This layer has issues of ghost and duplicate names due to administrative and political discretion and use of pre-Aadhaar database.  It is easier to implement the JAM for universal scheme than targeted one as identification will be easier. Identification of household-individual connection is important to note here as some schemes target at household level like JDY and some at individual level like Aadhaar. Aadhaar can help in better identification of the beneficiaries.

Transfer:

Middle-mile deals with the challenges of payment where government transfer benefits to the banks. But lack of bank accounts and its information with government put hindrances in the middle-layer connectivity. Main issue in this layer is of within-government coordination and dealing with supply chain interest groups.  Jan Dhan can help beneficiaries to have bank accounts.

Access:

Last-mile layer faces issues of lesser Bank penetration, mostly in rural areas. It deals with actual transfer of money from Bank to Beneficiary accounts. It also deals with issues of exclusion of genuine beneficiaries. Mobile can inform about benefits and also allow easier fund transfer.

Where next to spread JAM?

Economic Survey argues that policymakers should decide where to apply JAM based on two considerations of-

1.      Amount of leakages and,  

2.      Control of the central government.

If amount of the leakages in a given scheme/area is huge then it can be next target for introduction of JAM as subsidies with higher leakages will have larger returns from introducing JAM. Similarly control of central government will reduce administrative challenges of co-ordination and political challenges of opposition by interest groups.

Based on these two criteria- leakages and central government control-Survey suggests fertilizer subsidies and within-government transfers as two most promising areas for introduction of the JAM.

                          

JAM Preparedness Index:

Further economic survey has formulated JAM-Preparedness Indices for Urban and Rural areas in each state. It uses Aadhaar penetration, basic bank account penetration and Banking Correspondents (BC) density as indicators for the indices. It has also prepared Biometrically Authenticated Physical Update or BAPU-Preparedness Index, using Aadhaar penetration and Point of Sale machines as indicators, for each state and has compared Rural-JAM Preparedness Index with BAPU-Preparedness Index. It has found that many states are having higher scores in BAPU-Preparedness Index as compared to Rural JAM-Preparedness Index. Thus it suggests use of BAPU as short-term solution to reduce the leakages in these states, till states are well prepared for introduction of the JAM.

Conclusion:

Introduction of DBT in LPG and MGNREGS have proved that use of JAM can considerably reduce leakages, reduce idle funds, lower corruption and improve ease of doing business with the government. Despite huge improvements in financial inclusion due to Jan Dhan, JAM Preparedness indicators suggest that there is still long way to go. Center can invest in last-mile financial inclusion via further improving BC networks and promoting the spread of the mobile money.  In the meantime models like BAPU can be used as an alternative to reduce the leakages.

2015 - Landmark Year for India in Climate Change Initiatives

Economic Survey 2015-16 tabled in Parliament  by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley states that the year 2015 has been a landmark year for India in terms of climate change initiatives both nationally and internationally. At the International level, India played a crucial role in the climate change talks and agreement under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate (UNFCCC) in Paris in December 2015, and the launch of International Solar Alliance. India also submitted its ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) to the UNFCCC on 2nd October 2015. The Economic Survey which was tabled today in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley has listed down, along with these achievements, the various other contributions and initiatives taken by India in dealing with climate change and promoting sustainable development. 

Economic Survey 2015-16 further states that India has played an important role in the 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) under the UNFCCC and adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015. The Paris Agreement sets a roadmap for all nations in the world to take actions against climate change in the post-2020 period. Also, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi played a leading role at COP 21 in the launch of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), and also volunteered to host its Secretariat. ISA will provide a special platform for mutual cooperation among 121 solar-resource-rich countries in the world. 

Economic Survey highlights that as on 4 January 2016, with 1593 out of 7685 projects registered under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of UNFCCC, India has the second highest number of projects registered under CDM which further shows its commitment to fighting climate change. 

Economic Survey notes that in the domestic front, India has continued to take ambitious targets in its actions against climate change. As a part of its contributions to global climate change mitigation efforts, India announced its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) which including other efforts has set itself an ambitious target of reducing its emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35 percent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels, and of achieving 40 percent cumulative electric installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030. 

Apart from the National Action on Climate Change (NAPCC), a new mission on Climate Change and Health is currently under formulation and a National Expert Group on Climate Change and Health has been constituted. The Economic Survey also talks about the National Mission on Coastal Areas (NMCA) for integrated coastal resource management and the proposed waste-to energy mission which are the other major components of India’s domestic actions against climate change.

Economic Survey also talks about the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) which has been established with a budget provision of Rs 350 crore for the year 2015-16 and 2016-17, and the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) which is supported by the cess on coal. The Survey notes that India is one of the few countries around the world to have a carbon tax in the form of a cess on coal. 

Economic Survey 2015-16 further points out the progress on the renewable energy front in India by highlighting the ambitious targets of achieving 40 percent cumulative electric capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030. Underlining India’s commitment to clean energy the first Renewable Energy Global Investment Meet and Expo (RE-INVEST) was organized in Feb 2015 to provide a platform for the global investment community to connect with stakeholders in India. 

Another ambitious program of the government is the Development of Solar cities Program under which 56 solar cities projects have been approved. The Economic Survey further lists the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy 2015 to help in offshore wind energy development, as yet another major renewable energy policy.

Labour Force participation Rate higher in Rural Areas than Urban Areas, significantly lower for females than males

The Economic Survey (2015-16) states that the proportion of economically active population (15-59 years) has increased from 57.7 per cent to 63.3 per cent during 1991 to 2013, as per Sample Registration System (SRS) data for 2013.

 As per the Economic Survey, the employment growth in the organized sector (Public and Private combined) increased by 2% in 2012 over 2011, while it increased by only 1% in 2011 over 2010. The annual growth rate of employment for the private sector was 4.5 % in 2012 over 2011 whereas the public sector registered a marginal growth of 0.4 % in the same year.

The Fourth Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey conducted by the Labour Bureau during the period January 2014 to July 2014 has shown that the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is 52.5 % for all persons. However, the LFPR for rural areas stands at 54.7% which is much greater than that for rural areas i.e. 47.2 %. The LFPR for women is significantly lower than that for males in both rural and urban areas. As per the Survey, the Unemployment Rate is 4.7 % in rural areas and 5.5% in urban areas. The total unemployment rate reported is 4.9% as per the Labour Bureau Survey. These figures are much higher than the all India unemployment rates of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO, 2012-11) which reported unemployment rate of 2.3% for rural areas, 3.8% for Urban Areas and 2.7% for India as a whole.

The Government has taken several measures including Labour reforms to improve the employment situation in the country as well as employment conditions for women. Some of the recent Labour reforms include the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act 2015, National Career Services Portal, Shram Suvidha Portal and Universal Account Number Facility.

The National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 aims to ensure ‘Skilling on a large Scale at a Speed with high Standards and promote a culture of innovation based entrepreneurship to ensure sustainable livelihoods’. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) proposes to cover 24 lakh Indian youth with meaningful, industry relevant, Skill Based Training under which 5.32 lakh persons have already been enrolled. Of this number, 4.38 lakh have successfully completed training throughout India.

In addition, the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), a placement-linked skill development scheme for rural youth who are poor, as a skilling component of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) has also been launched. During 2015-16, against a target of skilling 1.78 lakhs candidates under the DDU-GKY, a total of 1.75 lakh have already been trained and 0.60 lakh placed till November 2015.

With a view to increasing the scope of employability among differently-abled persons, the Government has launched a National Action Plan (NAP) for skill training. The plan has target of skilling 5 lakh differently-abled persons in next three years. Plans are also on the anvil to extend the NAP with an online skill-training platform with a target of 5 lakh every year.

Under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, about 3.63 crore households have been provided employment of 134.96 crore person days during the Current Financial Year (as on 01.01.2016). Of this, 76.81 crore person days or 57% were availed of by women.

The Survey has expressed concern at the reported low rates of workforce participation for females. The level of financial inclusion of women in terms of number of women with bank accounts still remains low in India. However, it is noteworthy that there are women achievers in the financial sector, with leading nationalized banks and financial institutions headed by women, says the Economic Survey.

 The Time Use Survey (TUS) being conducted in select states on a pilot basis has revealed the hidden contribution of women to the economy in the form of unpaid work. PUS is proposed to be extended to all states to design gender sensitive policies for employment and to make women’s work visible, says the Survey.

APPSC proposed and existing syllabus

Group I Syllabus       

 Group II Syllabus
        
 Group IV Syllabus

RAILWAY BUDGET 2016-17 HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights of the Railway Budget 2016 :

● Minister sees operating ratio of 92 percent in FY17 as against 90 percent in current year
● Rs 8,720 cr saving in 2015-16 budget in fuel cost like power
● The railways have ramped up capital expenditure to remove the huge backlog and provide for future needs; rate of capital expenditure has increased
● Investment proposed in 2016-17 at Rs 1.21 lakh crore, higher from Rs 1 lakh crore last year.
● Proposes to commission 2,800 km of new tracks in next year
● Outlay for railway electrification increased by 50 percent; 2,000 km route to be electrified next fiscal
● 2000 km rail route to be electrified in 2016-17
● Railways to get Rs 40,000 cr budgetary support from the government
● Railways to increase lower berth quota for senior citizens by 50 percent
● Ajmer, Amritsar, Gaya, Mathura, Nanded, Nashik, Puri, Tirupati, Varanasi, Nagapattinam and other pilgrim stations to be beautified
● Two elevated suburban railway corridors - Churchgate-Virar and CST-Panvel to be constructed in Mumbai; Ring railway covering 21 stations to be revived with state participation.
● India's first railway auto hub in Chennai to be inaugurated soon
● Logistics and warehouse parks to be created on PPP mode
● Station development and re-development, monetisation of land to raise rail revenue from non-freight sources
● Rs 30,000 crore is the loss on subsidising passenger fares, says Railway Minister
● Railways to shift to completely paperless contract system in 2016-17, says minister
● Bar-coded tickets to be introduced at select stations on pilot basis
● E-booking of tickets on concessional passes for journalists introduced
● Cleaning of coach on demand to be introduced; Disabled enabled toilet in 11 Class-A stations this year
● 33 percent reservation to women in reserved quota in Railways will be introduced
● Children menu to be introduced on pilot basis on trains
● North-South, East-West dedicated freight corridor proposed in Railway Budget for 2016-17
● Three direct services - fully air-conditioned Humsafer to travel at 130-km per hour
● Bar-coded tickets to be introduced at select stations on pilot basis
● Overnight double-decker train Uday Express to be introduced on busiest routes, carrying capacity to be 40 percent more
● Propose to start cancellation through 139. Bar-coded tickets will be issued on a pilot basis. This is aimed at reining in the menace of ticket less travel and also making travel hassle-free.
● 400 railway stations to be equipped with wifi, 100 this year
● 124 MPs have committed to contribute from MPLADS for passenger amenities. 

RAILWAY BUDGET 2016-17

NSSO STATISTICS

Battles and Wars in India

Battle of Hydaspes—In 326 B.C. when Alexander, the great had to turn back from Hydaspes (Beas) when his troops refused to march into India against the Nanda Empire.

Battle of Kalinga—It was fought in 361 B.C. between Ashoka, the great and the king of Kalinga. The war resulted in considerable loss of life and brought misery and suffering to the people. Its impression on Ashoka was so great that he not only turned a Buddhist, but renounced war and violence.

1st Battle of Tarain (1191 A.D.)—Prithvi Raj defeated Mohd. Gauri.

2nd Battle of Tarain (1192 A.D.)—Mohd. Gauri defeated Prithvi Raj and paved the way for Muslim rule in India.

First Battle of Panipat (1526)—Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi. This laid the foundation of Mughal rule in India.

Second Battle of Panipat (1556)—Akbar defeated Hemu. It ended the Afgan Rule and the way was cleared for Mughal rule.

Battle of Talikota (1565)—The united alliance of Bijapur, Bidar, Ahmednagar and Golkunda under Hussain Nizam Shah defeated Ram Raja of Vijaynagar. It sealed the fate of the Hindu Kingdom of Vijaynagar.

Battle of Haldighati (1576)—Akbar defeated Rana Pratap. The latter had to take refuge in remote fortresses.

Battle of Plassey (1757)—The British under Lord Clive defeated Sirajuddaulah. It laid foundation of the British Rule in India.

Third Battle of Panipat (1761)—Ahmed Shah Abdali defeated the Marahattas. The Marahatta power suffered an irreparable loss.

Battle of Buxer (1764)—The British under Sir Hector Munro defeated the Muslim army under three Mohammadan leaders : Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-daulha and Shah Alam II. The battle made the British Supreme in India.

The First Sikh War (1845)—The Sikh Army crossed Sutlej in 1845 at which the East India Company declared war. British occupied Lahore and forced the Sikhs to accept humiliating terms of peace.

The Second Sikh War (1849)—A drawn battle was fought between the English and the Sikhs at Chelianwala in which the English appeared to have suffered heavy losses.

Indo-Pak War (1965)—An indecisive war between India and Pakistan. It led to ‘Taskent Pact’ between the two countries.

Indo-Pak War (1971)—Indian forces in joint command with Bangladesh Army accepted the surrender of the Pak Army in Bangladesh. War in the western sector came to an end as a result of cease-fire on Dec. 17. Bangladesh was liberated.

Kargil War (1999)—Indian forces scored grand victory over Pakistani army and Pak supported mercenaries in a conflict in the Kargil sector of Jammu & Kashmir. The operation was named ‘Operation Vijaya.’ The Indian forces cleared Kargil of all Pakistani elements.

Sagarmala Programme

TSPSC HMWS & SB ASSISTANT (FINANCE & ACCOUNTS) GENERAL STUDIES PAPER

READY FOR APPSC NEW SYLLABUS

SCHEMES & PROGRAMMES IN INDIA

MCQs About Schemes & Programes in India

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SCHEMES

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

PADMA AWARDS 2016

President Pranab Mukherjee has announced the names of Recipients of this year’s Padma awards. He approved conferment of 112 Padma Awards. Following is the list of the recipients—

Padma Vibhushan Awardees 2016
1. Ms. Yamini Krishnamurthi – Art- Classical dance (Delhi)
2. Shri Rajinikanth – Art-Cinema (Tamil Nadu)
3. Smt. Girija Devi – Art-Classical Vocal (West Bengal)
4. Shri Ramoji Rao – Literature and Education Journalism (Andhra Pradesh) 
5. Dr. Viswanathan Shanta – Medicine- Oncology (Tamil Nadu)
6. Shri Shri Ravi Shankar – Others-Spiritualism (Karnataka)
7. Shri Jagmohan – Public Affairs (Delhi)
8. Dr.Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre – Science and Engineering (Karnataka)
9. Shri Avinash Dixit (Foreigner) – Literature and Education (USA)
10. Late Shri Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous) – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra) 

Padma Bhushan Awardees 2016
11. Shri Anupam Kher – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
12. Shri Udit Narayan Jha – Art-Playback Singing (Maharashtra)
13. Shri Ram V. Sutar – Art-Sculpture (Uttar Pradesh)
14. Shri Heisnam Kanhailal – Art-Theatre (Manipur)
15. Shri Vinod Rai – Civil Service (Kerala)
16. Dr. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad – Literature and Education (Andhra Pradesh)
17. Prof. N. S. Ramanuja Tatacharya – Literature and Education (Maharashtra )
18. Dr. Barjinder Singh Hamdard – Literature and Education - Journalism (Punjab)
19. Prof. D. Nageshwar Reddy – Medicine-Gastroenterology (Telangana)
20. Swami Tejomayananda – Other-Spiritualism (Maharashtra)
21. Shri Hafeez Contractor – Others-Architecture (Maharashtra)
22. Shri Ravindra Chandra Bhargava – Public Affairs (Uttar Pradesh)
23. Dr.Venkata Rama Rao Alla – Science and Engineering (Andhra Pradesh)
24. Ms. Saina Nehwal – Sports-Badminton (Telangana)
25. Ms. Sania Mirza – Sports-Tennis (Telangana)
26. Ms. Indu Jain – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
27. Late Swami Dayanand Sarawasati (Posthumous) – Others-Spiritualism (Uttarakhand)
28. Shri Robert Blackwill (Foreigner) – Public Affairs (USA)
29. Shri Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO) – Trade and Industry (Ireland)

Padma Shri Awardees 2016
30. Smt. Prathibha Prahlad – Art- Classical Dance (Delhi)
31. Shri Bhikhudan Gadhvi – Art- Folk Music (Gujarat)
32. Shri Sribhas Chandra Supakar – Art- Textile Designing (Uttar Pradesh)
33. Shri Ajay Devgn – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
34. Ms. Priyanka Chopra – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
35. Pt. Tulsidas Borkar – Art-Classical Music (Goa)
36. Dr. Soma Ghosh – Art-Classical Vocal (Uttar Pradesh)
37. Shri Nila Madhab Panda – Art-Film Direction and Production (Delhi)
38. Shri S.S. Rajamouli – Art-Film Direction and Production (Karnataka)
39. Shri Madhur Bhandarkar – Art-Film Direction and Production (Maharashtra)
40. Prof. M. Venkatesh Kumar – Art-Folk Artist (Karnataka)
41. Ms. Gulabi Sapera – Art-Folk Dance (Rajasthan)
42. Smt. Mamta Chandrakar – Art-Folk Music (Chhattisgarh)
43. Ms. Malini Awasthi – Art-Folk Music (Uttar Pradesh)
44. Shri Jai Prakash Lekhiwal – Art-Miniature Painting (Delhi)
45. Shri K. Laxma Goud – Art-Painting (Telangana)
46. Shri Bhalchandra Dattatray Mondhe – Art-Photography (Madhya Pradesh) 
47. Shri Naresh Chander Lal – Art-Theatre and Cinema (Andaman and Nicobar)
48. Shri Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah – Literature and Education (Assam)
49. Shri Prahlad Chandra Tasa – Literature and Education (Assam)
50. Dr.Ravindra Nagar – Literature and Education (Delhi)
51. Shri Dahyabhai Shastri – Literature and Education (Gujarat)
52. Dr.Santeshivara Bhyrappa – Literature and Education (Karnataka)
53. Shri Haldar Nag – Literature and Education (Odisha)
54. Shri Kameshwaram Brahma – Literature and Education - Journalism (Assam)
55. Prof. Pushpesh Pant – Literature and Education Journalism (Delhi)
56. Shri Jawaharlal Kaul – Literature and Education Journalism (Jammu and Kashmir)
57. Shri Ashok Malik – Literature andEducation (Delhi)
58. Dr.Mannam Gopi Chand – Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery (Telangana)
59. Prof. Ravi Kant – Medicine-Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
60. Prof. Ram Harsh Singh – Medicine- Ayurveda (Uttar Pradesh)
61. Prof. Shiv Narain Kureel – Medicine- Paediatric Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
62. Dr.Sabya Sachi Sarkar – Medicine –Radiology (Uttar Pradesh)
63. Dr. Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale – Medicine-Cardiac Surgery (Andhra Pradesh)
64. Prof. T.K. Lahiri – Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
65. Dr. Praveen Chandra – Medicine-Cardiology (Delhi)
66. Prof. (Dr) Daljeet Singh Gambhir – Medicine-Cardiology (Uttar Pradesh)
67. Dr.Chandrasekar Shesadri Thoguluva – Medicine Gastroenterology (Tamil Nadu)
68. Dr. (Mrs.) Anil Kumari Malhotra – Medicine-Homeopathy (Delhi)
69. Prof. M.V. Padma Srivastava – Medicine-Neurology (Delhi)
70. Dr. Sudhir V. Shah – Medicine-Neurology (Gujarat)
71. Dr. M. M. Joshi – Medicine-Ophthalmology (Karnataka)
72. Prof. (Dr) John Ebnezar – Medicine-Orthopaedic Surgery (Karnataka)
73. Dr. Nayudamma Yarlagadda – Medicine-Paediatric Surgery (Andhra Pradesh)
74. Shri Simon Oraon – Other Environment Conservation (Jharkhand)
75. Shri Imitiaz Qureshi – Other-Culinary (Delhi)
76. Shri Piyush Pandey – Others-Advertising and Communication (Maharashtra)
77. Shri Subhash Palekar – Others-Farming (Maharashtra)
78. Shri Ravinder Kumar Sinha – Others-Wildlife Conservation (Bihar)
79. Dr. H.R. Nagendra – Others-Yoga (Karnataka)
80. Shri M. C. Mehta – Public Affairs (Delhi)
81. Shri M. N. Krishna Mani – Public Affairs (Delhi)
82. Shri Ujjwal Nikam – Public Affairs (Maharashtra)
83. Shri Tokheho Sema – Public Affairs (Nagaland)
84. Dr. Satish Kumar – Science and Engineering (Delhi)
85. Dr.Mylswamy Annadurai – Science and Engineering (Karnataka)
86. Prof. Dipankar Chatterji – Science and Engineering (Karnataka)
87. Prof.(Dr.) Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav – Science and Engineering (Maharashtra) 
88. Smt. (Prof.) Veena Tandon – Science and Engineering (Meghalaya)
89. Shri Onkar Nath Srivastava – Science and Engineering Uttar Pradesh
90. Ms. Sunita Krishnan – Social Work (Andhra Pradesh)
91. Shri Ajoy Kumar Dutta – Social Work (Assam)
92. Shri M. Pandit Dasa – Social Work (Karnataka)
93. Shri P. P. Gopinathan Nair – Social Work (Kerala)
94. Smt. Madeleine Herman de Blic – Social Work (Puducherry)
95. Shri Srinivasan Damal Kandalai – Social work (Tamil Nadu)
96. Shri Sudhakar Olwe – Social Work (Maharashtra)
97. Dr. T.V. Narayana – Social Work (Telangana)
98. Shri Arunachalam Murugantham – Social Work (Tamil Nadu)
99. Ms. Deepika Kumari – Sports-Archery (Jharkhand)
100. Shri Sushil Doshi – Sports-commentary (Madhya Pradesh)
101. Shri Mahesh Sharma – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
102. Shri Saurabh Srivastava – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
103. Sh Dilip Sanghvi – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra)
104. Dr. Keki Hormusji Gharda – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra)
105. Late Shri Prakash Chand Surana (Posthumous) – Art -Classical Music (Rajasthan)
106. Late Shri Saeed Jaffrey (NRI/PIO/Posthumous) – Art-Cinema (UK)
107. Shri Michael Postel (Foreigner) – Art-Archaeology (France)
108. Shri Salman Amin Sal Khan (NRI/PIO) – Literature and Education (USA)
109. Smt. Hui Lan Zhang (Foreigner) – Others-Yoga (China) 
110. Shri Predrag K. Nikic (Foreigner) Others-Yoga (Serbia) 
111. Dr.Sundar Aditya Menon (NRI/PIO) Social Work (UAE)
112. Shri Ajaypal Singh Banga (NRI/PIO) Trade and Industry (USA)

SCHEMES & PROGRAMMES

1. Digital India

Digital India Program was launched in August 2014 to change the face of India digitally and electronically.  This would in turn pave way for a digitally empowered nation and economy.  As per this campaign, all offices and departments of Government of India would be digitally connected to each other and to the target population, thereby making the government mechanism smoother and malpractices-free.  This would also ensure effective governance in the country.  Digital India Program would reduce paperwork to a significant level.  The program which started in 2014 would complete by 2019.

2. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana

On his first speech of Independence Day in year 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the famous Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which ensures a bank account for every Indian.  In this mass drive, more than 15 million saving accounts were opened across the length and breadth of the country with almost all public sector banks participating in it.  It was the first ever financial inclusion program launched in the country and has seen success so far.  More than Rs 1,500 has been deposited in banks so far by the account holders.

3. Swachh Bharat

This type of campaign was not really new to India, however the name and intent may be new.  Previous governments have already worked on similar campaigns like Nirmal Bharat Program.  However, nothing has been achieved significantly so far and thus the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan comes with a new hope to clean the country’s mess.

The campaign was launched in 2014 with almost every big and small personality of the country taking to the streets and taking part in it.  In fact, the cleanliness drive has more to do with self publicity, whether it is the Prime Minister himself, or other ministers, or film stars or the general public. All have taken pictures of cleaning their locality and posted it on their social media account to ensure that people see that they are involved with a noble cause.  The evaluation of the campaign has to be seen in a longer run.

4. Make in India

This was more of a slogan than a campaign coined by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure self sufficiency in the field of mass production.  The vision has been to attract global investors to invest in domestic market and thus create India a manufacturing hub for the entire world.

Make in India would also ensure that there are sufficient job opportunities for the national youth who are struggling to get a decent job in order to compete with their international counterparts.  The Make in India campaign is being run and administered by the Central Government and the government has identified a total of 25 different sectors on which it would focus.

5. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

Inclusive governance is one of the core visions of Shri Narendra Modi.  As per Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, each MP would take out some part of their funds for the development of their constituencies.  Physical and institutional infrastructures are some of the way through which the villages of the country can reach up to their empowerment, as a whole.

The Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana ensures the same.  The campaign which started in year 2014 is said to be successfully concluding by year 2019.  The guidelines for rural development under the scheme have already been issued by the honorable prime minister in October 2014.

6. Atal Pension Yojana

Low cost benefits have been the core guiding principles of the Narendra Modi lead Central Government in almost all the schemes they are launching.  Atal Pension Yojana too is one such scheme, which ensures old age pension to those who are not covered under any other pension or social security scheme.

This way, those people who have been working in unorganized sectors and enjoying no pension scheme would be covered and can ensure a healthy and comfortable old age.

7. Awas Yojana (PMAY)

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is primarily a welfare housing scheme launched by the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  With PMAY, the intention is to provide housing to all by year 2022.  In order to make the scheme a success and reality, a total of around 2 crore houses would be constructed across the length and breadth of the country by year 2022.

The houses would be distributed to the needy sections of society and a subsidy on loan would be provided by the central government, thereby making housing an affordable thing for the economically weaker people of the country.  Special preference would be given to senior citizens, women and SC/ST in allotment of these houses.

8. Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)

The PMJJBY is a term life insurance policy that goes a long way in ensuring a safe financial future for the policy holder and comes with lowest cost on a yearly basis.

Anyone who is within the age group of 18 years to 50 years can get enrolled for PMJJBY, provided they have a functional saving bank account.  Within the scheme, the policy holder would have to pay as a premium is Rs 330 per year and they would be covered with a life insurance of Rs 2 lakhs.

9. Suraksha Bima Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana targets social security through insuring accidental deaths and partial or permanent disabilities.  A large number of population in India live in rural areas and these people do not have access to insurance schemes.  PMSBY is an initiative to cater to such a population so that they can enjoy the insurance benefits at minimum contributions.

In order to get PMSBY scheme for anyone in India, the subscriber is required to just pay Rs 12 per year and enjoy a carefree insured life of up to Rs 2 lakhs insurance cover.  One of the best things about these social security schemes is that they require an insignificant level of paperwork and this leverage has been provided considering the fact that a large number of people living in rural areas do not have all the validation documents available with them.

10. Krishi Sinchai Yojana

India is primarily an agricultural country and irrigation defines the success of agriculture.  This is why it is important for any agricultural economy to have a proper irrigation channel throughout the country.  Prime Minister Modi has identified this need and thus started this new scheme.

As per the scheme details, just 45 per cent of the farm lands in India are accessible to the irrigation channels with remaining 55 per cent depending on traditional methods of irrigation.  This is a huge opportunity and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana would ensure that adequate infrastructural arrangements are made so that maximum fields in the country are connected to the irrigation system properly.

11. Kaushal Vikas Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana would facilitate necessary arrangements so that the younger lot of workforce in India is provided with world class training as far as technical expertise is concerned.  The skills training would be in line with latest technologies coupled with personality development and management skills that would ensure that our youth compete well with their international counterparts.

12. MUDRA Bank Yojana

This is yet another aggressive scheme launched by the Narendra Modi government.  MUDRA stands for Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd., which was initiated to bring into the general public into the normal banking system.  Facilities and benefits like credits, loans, and insurance are not reachable to many in India, especially to those living in rural and far flung areas.

MUDRA bank is not exactly a bank but a banking regulator which would regulate the micro finance to the rural and needy population.

13. Garib Kalyan Yojana

Under this scheme, the government would run several micro campaigns to ensure that that the welfare needs of the poor population are met and taken care of.  It would conduct workshops to meet its agendas.

14. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is one of the most promising and relevant schemes launched by the Narendra Modi Government.  SSY lays special emphasis on financial empowerment of the girl child.  Through this scheme, the parents of any girl child below 10 years can open a saving account for their daughters and operate it till they attain an age of 21 years.

After that time, they can withdraw the money and use it for her marriage or higher education.  The scheme offers a high rate of return, even much higher than PPF and the depositor gets complete tax exemption for whatever amount invested under 80C of income tax.  Ever since the scheme has been launched, lakhs or parents have already got an account opened for their daughters and enjoying the benefits. Read more about this yojana.

15. DigiLocker Scheme

Just like you have a locker to secure your valuable belongings, Digilocker is a facility through which you can secure and keep your valuable documents secure.  Now, when everything has turned out to be digital, online documents are required in order to submit forms and other activities.

Digilocker is a space provided by Government of India where you can upload all your important documents in digital format and use them whenever you have to furnish it anywhere to government authorities.  This drive has paved way for paperless environment and would also curtain the possibilities of corruption to the significant level.

16. Ebasta Scheme

eBasta Scheme is very much similar to the concept of DigiLockers.  eBasta provides an online learning space for the students in the form of digital books.  With this service, students would no more have to go and buy their books from the book shops and neither would publishers need to worry about pirated versions or supply channel flaws.

The content and curriculum of the students can be decided by the school and its teachers and students will have to just login and download their study material, which they can use for learning at their computers and tablets.  This kind of initiative would initiate the era of interactive learning in India.

17. One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme: 

Under the OROP scheme the government said it would revise pension every five years where the veterans protested and demanded that it should be revised every two years.

The government announced that OROP will be implemented from July 1, 2014 and the base year would be 2013 but the ex-servicemen objected and said it should nbe implemented from April 1, 2014 instead of July 1. The veterans even demanded that every person in the army should be a benefiaciary under the OROP scheme. The estimated cost to implement OROP will be between Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore.

18. Pradhan Mantri Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana

This programme was launched by PM Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 in Panipat, Haryana. It is a very significant programme and campaign because of country’s poor record on women related indicators such as child sex ratio, female infanticide, female foeticide and female education etc; especially alarming is the data for child sex ratio i.e. the sex ratio of children 0 to 6 years. The census data of the year 2011 shows child sex ratio at 918 which is lesser than the previous census (2001) data of 927. Thus, child sex ratio (0-6 years) is showing a declining trend which is not a very healthy sign for social development of India. Therefore, ‘Beti Bacha Beti Padhao’ campaign is one of the most important programmes being initiated by the new Government.

19. Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana:

Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) has been launched in September 2015 for the welfare of tribals and other affected persons in mining areas. Under this scheme, the mining companies will need to contribute 10 to 30% of royalty for welfare of people directly or indirectly affected by mining.

This scheme is a follow up to Prime Minister’s promise of Rs. 6000 Crore for the development of tribals in mining affected areas in his Independence Day speech. However, the proposal to establish the District Mineral Foundations had come in November 2014 from Union Government side. The idea was to levy additional royalty and then use that fund on welfare of the people / infra development in mining affected areas. For this purpose, on January 12, 2015, President Pranab Mukherjee had signed an ordinance to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR Act), 1957. This was followed by parliamentary approval to amendment of MMDR Acr 1957 on 26 March 2015. On August 18, 2015; Odisha became the first state in India to issue rules for the District Mineral Foundation.

20. Integrated Power Development Scheme:
Integrated Power Development (IPDS) scheme launched by Modi Government is basically a new avatar of Restructured Accelerated Power Development Programme of UPA. This scheme focuses on improvement of T&D networks across India. It promises help in reduction of AT&C losses, establishment of IT enabled energy accounting / auditing system, improvement in billed energy based on metered consumption and improvement in collection efficiency.

The scheme has been launched with an outlay of Rs. 44,011 crore for 12th and 13th plans. All discoms including private discoms and state power departments are eligible to get financial assistance under it. The discoms can prioritize what fraction of their infrastructure work is to be strengthened and can apply for assistance with their detailed project reports. The projects supported under this scheme need to be completed within 24 months. Like R-APDP, Power Finance Corporation is nodal agency for this scheme. The grant portion of this scheme is 60% for normal  states and 85% for special category states. They can also get 15% additional grant if they do the work within prescribed milestones viz. timely completion of the scheme, reduction in AT&C losses as per trajectory. The discoms need to enter into tripartite agreement with PFC and State Government to be enable to get all support.

21. Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP):

DELP programme has been launched in several states (Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi) to replace the regular bulbs and CFL lights with LED lights. The programme is being implemented by  Discoms in association with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). LED lights are given at lower than market price in this scheme.

22. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana:

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi  approved the New Crop Insurance Scheme,‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’ to boost the agricultural sector.

The theme of the Scheme is One Nation – One Scheme. In this, all shortcomings and weaknesses of all previous schemes were removed and incorporated with the best features of all schemes.