Coir Udyami Yojana The Coir Udyami Yojana is a credit linked subsidy scheme in the coir sector. The pattern of financial assistance under the scheme is 40% of the project cost as Government of India subsidy, 55% as loan from Bank and 5% beneficiary contribution. The Scheme covers any type of coir project with project cost upto Rs.10 lakhs plus working capital, which shall not exceed 25% of the project cost. However the working capital shall not be considered for subsidy. The loan under the Scheme is without collateral/third party guarantee. It is open to individuals, companies, Self Help Groups, Non Governmental Organizations, Institutions registered under Societies Registration Act 1860, Production Co-operative Societies, Joint Liability Groups and Charitable Trust. The Coir Udyami Yojana does not provide skill up-gradation. But the entrepreneurs under CUY can participate in exhibitions etc. by forming Marketing Consortia for which an amount of Rs.10 Crores is earma...
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“Operation Smile-II” to start from 1st January, 2016 throughout the country The Government of India has requested the States/UTs to start “Operation Smile-II” from 1st January, 2016 to 31st January, 2016 to be rolled out throughout the country as a follow up of the earlier campaign to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children. In this regard, the Union Home Secretary, Shri Rajiv Mehrishi has written a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories for whole hearted participation in ‘Operation Smile-II’ in their respective State/UT. Earlier all States/UTs were advised to take up a one month campaign titled ‘Operation Smile’ in the month of January, 2015 to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children. Similarly, another dedicated campaign titled ‘Operation Muskaan’ was launched in the month of July, 2015 throughout the country. The States have so far reported that 9146 children under Operation ‘Smile’ and 19742 children under Operation “Muskaan” were re...
Govt Appoints Justice L Narasimha Reddy to Head Judicial Committee on OROP The Central Government has appointed Justice L Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court to head the Judicial Committee which will look into the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for the Ex-Servicemen. The Terms of Reference for the Committee shall be to examine and make recommendations on references received from the Central Government on the following matters:- • Measures for the removal of anomalies that may arise in the implementation of the OROP as notified by the Government on 07 November 2015. • Measures for the removal of anomalies that may arise out of inter-services issues of the three forces due to implementation of OROP order as notified by the Government on 07 November 2015. •Implications on Service matters. •Any other matter referred by the Central Government on implementation of the OROP or related issues. In making its recommendations, the Co...
Promotion of Agro Rural Industries The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises has launched a new scheme namely; ASPIRE (A Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship) on 18.3.2015 to accelerate entrepreneurship and to promote start-ups for innovation and entrepreneurship in agro-industry. Under ASPIRE, 80 Livelihood Business Incubation (LBI) centres are to be set up in which a total of 104000 incubates will be trained and 30 (10 new & 20 existing) Technology Business Incubation (TBI) centres will be supported and setup. A Fund of Funds has been created under SIDBI for start-ups and Rs.60 crore released for operational zing the fund.
AGRICULTURE DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT (AgDSM ) In Energy Sector and Power sector, Agricultural Demand-side Management (AgDSM) consists of those activities, methodologies, awareness, policy and technologies that influence consumer (farmers) behavior and Changes their (farmers) consumption patterns. The objective of the AgDSM programme is to reduce peak demand, shift the time during which electricity is consumed to off-peak hours and to reduce the total quantum of consumption. The AgDSM proposition is very simple i.e. replacement of inefficient agricultural pump sets with BEE star rated and high efficiency pump sets to reduce the amount of electricity needed to pump water in agriculture sector. By doing so, electricity usage can be reduced. If the savings from the reduction in electricity usage can be sustained and the total cost of the electricity saved exceeds the total installed cost of the pump sets over its useful life, there will be a net economic gain. The ...
Fact Sheet on Agriculture Demand Side Management (AgDSM) Agriculture sector is one of the most important sector of Indian economy. Agriculture plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development of India. There are about 20 million pump sets presently energized in India and annual addition of 0.25 to 0.5 million pump sets are realized in this sector. Agriculture sector consumes 20-22% of total electricity consumption. Managing agricultural load is increasingly becoming a challenge for electricity utility in India. Subsidized tariff generate a perception of zero marginal cost of electricity use and consequently, efficiency in consumption is disregarded. Upgrading of existing pumping systems presents an immediate need and an unprecedented opportunity. Implementation of this program is crucial as energy bills for agricultural pump sets are being paid by Govt. in the form of subsidy. Low or free electricity coupled with high...
Background of 4th International Tourism Mart, Gangtok, 14th–16th October, 2015 BACKGROUNDER The North Eastern region of India comprising the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, is endowed with diverse tourist attractions and products. The varied topography of the region, its flora and fauna, the ethnic communities with their rich heritage of ancient traditions and lifestyles, festivals, arts and crafts, make it a holiday destination waiting to be explored. With the objective of showcasing the largely untapped tourism potential of North Eastern region in domestic and international key markets, Ministry of Tourism in association with the North Eastern States organizes International Tourism Mart (ITM) in different North Eastern States on rotation basis. Considering the contiguous features of West Bengal with the north east, the State has been included in the Mart. The numbers of Foreign Tourist Visits ...
Fact Sheet on Grid Connected Solar Rooftop Systems Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India is implementing a ‘Grid Connected Rooftop and Small Solar Power Plants Programme’ to promote grid connected solar rooftop systems in the country. During 12 th Five Year Plan a target of 300 MWp with financial outlay of 600 crore was set by the Ministry. Government of India has now revised the target for installation of 40 GWp grid connected solar rooftop systems by 2022 in the country. Ø So far, 360 MWp solar rooftop systems have been sanctioned of which 50 MWp have been sanctioned under the ‘Grid Connected Rooftop and Small Solar Power Plants Programme’ and 310 MWp under 5 nos. projects under National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF). So far, about 100 MWp aggregate capacity has been installed in the country. These systems have been installed in residential, industrial, commercial and institutional sectors. Solar rooftop p...
Khawalailung village: A Mizo ‘role model’ of Peace and Development Feature - Nirendra Dev * Good Samaritan initiatives from the governments especially in the context of North East India are often not publicized well in the national media. Generally, the debate ends up either about violence in the north east or about certain ‘Developmental and Peace’ initiatives undertaken by the government departments and official agencies from time to time. But many good things keep happening. Mizoram has left behind the troubled days of insurgency way back in 1986. Mizos are known for their hard working qualities and pragmatism in undertaking developmental works and education. In fact, it would not be erroneous to say that to the natives of Mizoram, ‘development and peace’ are not mere philosophical or ideological concepts. These are no mere wishful thinking too. Leaving bad old days of insurg...
Policy for Tackling Major Diseases The Department of Health and Family Welfare is implementing various National programmes on All India basis in relation to a number of diseases including Communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, dengue, chickengunya, lymphatic filariasis, Japanese Encephalitis, leishmaniasis, leprosy, HIV-AIDS and non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardio vascular diseases, stroke, deafness, blindness, mental illness, etc. The Government also implements a National Programme for universal immunization against many vaccine preventable diseases. The activities up to the district level under the disease control programmes are being implemented under the National Health Mission (NHM) which also provides funds for strengthening health systems and infrastructure in the States. An Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) is also implemented with the objective of early detection and response to various disease outbreaks. Fo...
Launching of E-Hospital Service The e-hospital service has been launched on 1st July, 2015 with the following objectives:- 1) To avail OPD appointment services, 2) To integrate payment gateway for online payments, and 3) To facilitate patients in viewing their lab reports and check blood availability status in hospitals. Presently, this service have been made available in various Hospitals which include All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi; Sports Injury Centre, New Delhi; National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru, etc. Online registration service has also been started in Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Hospitals from November, 2015. However, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is establishing National Medical College Network (NMCN) wherein 41 Government medical colleges are being networked in the first phase riding over National Knowledge Network (NKN) with the purpose of...
Development Projects by China In a statement laid on the table of the house the minister of external affairs Shrimati Sushma Swaraj said that Government is aware that China continues to undertake large scale development projects including construction of highways, railways and high speed rail corridors in Chinese Provinces which are bordering India. China is involved in the construction of or assistance to infrastructure projects in our neighborhood including in Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. These infrastructure projects include power projects, IT projects, housing projects, nuclear energy projects, and construction of highways, motorways, railways, sea and air ports, export processing zones and economic corridors. Government has seen media reports that China plans to extend its rail link to Nepal which might involve building a tunnel under Mount Everest. Full financial and technical details of the proposal have not come to the attent...
Indo-Nepal Ties In a statement laid on the table of the house the minister of external affairs Shrimati Sushma Swaraj said that our unique, centuries-old civilizational ties with Nepal, based on shared geography, history, culture, language and religion and characterized by close political relations, wide-ranging economic cooperation and deep-rooted people-to-people friendship, have been rejuvenated since May 2014 with sustained interaction at the highest political level, including Hon’ble Prime Minister’s two visits to Nepal in 2014. On 11 October 2015, Hon’ble Prime Minister called Prime Minister Shri K.P. Oli following his election and conveyed his hearty congratulations. Hon’ble External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj met the then Foreign Minister Shri Mahendra Bahadur Pandey in New York on 30 September 2015. She hosted the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shri Kamal Thapa on 18 October 2015. Disaffected sections of the Nepalese population have been...
MADAD In pursuance of “good governance” initiatives, the Ministry of External Affairs has launched an online Consular Grievances Monitoring System, named MADAD, on 21 February 2015, to extend a helping hand to Indians abroad requiring consular assistance. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) work together to address complaints received through MADAD. All our Missions and Posts abroad and the MEA’s Branch Secretariats in Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Kolkata, have been linked to this portal for consular grievance tracking and follow-up. The MADAD online portal represents a qualitative improvement over existing procedures for handling of consular grievances, through online forwarding, filing, tracking and escalation until their eventual resolution. It allows direct registration of the grievances by the members of the public and effective tracking of the entire grievance handling process all the way until the redre...
Hindi as Official Language in UN The Government has been actively taking necessary measures for the introduction of Hindi as one of the Official Languages of the UN. A High level Committee under the Chairmanship of the External Affairs Minister was constituted on 26 February, 2003 followed by a sub-Committee under the Chairmanship of the Minister of State for External Affairs in August, 2003 to look into the matter and take necessary measures. Keeping in view this objective, the 8th World Hindi Conference was organized in New York on 13 July 2007 and its inaugural session was held at the UN Headquarters, which was attended by the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon (10 World Hindi Conferences have been held till date all over the world; 10th World Hindi Conference was organised from 10 to 12 Sep 2015 in Bhopal). One of the recommendations of the session on “Hindi in Foreign Policy” (Videsh Neeti Mein Hindi) at the 10th World Hindi Conference was also that Hindi shoul...
Rate of Industrial Growth The rate of industrial growth, measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased by 4.0 per cent during April-September, 2015-16 as compared to the growth of 2.9 per cent during the same period of previous year i.e. 2014-15. All the three industrial sectors viz. mining, manufacturing and electricity have registered positive growth during April-September in the current year. The Government has taken a number of measures including administrative and regulatory, to accelerate the growth of industrial sector. For creation of conducive business environment, the Government is constantly simplifying and rationalizing the processes and the procedures for boosting investor sentiment, simplifying the policy and procedures for encouraging Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and correcting the inverted duty structure. Some of the recent initiatives also include pruning the list of industries that can be considered as defence industries req...
MoU for Atomic Energy India has signed Nuclear agreements/Memorandum Of Understanding/Joint Declarations with USA, France, Russia, Namibia, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Argentine Republic, United Kingdom, Republic of Kazakhstan, Canada, Sri Lanka and Australia. Out of these the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) signed with Russia is for construction of nuclear power plant at Kudankulam (KKNPP 1 - 4), the Pre-Engineering Agreement (PEA) signed with M/s AREVA, France is for assessment of licenseability of the Evolutional Pressurised Reactor (EPR) project proposed to be set up in Jaitapur and Preliminary Contract for Technical Feasibility Study for AP 1000 reactors signed with Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC), USA is for the proposed Site at Mithivirdi Site in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.
Launch of Astrosat The Astrosat is the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Astrosat was launched successfully onboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C30 on 28th September 2015 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The objectives of the mission are to study the stars and galaxies in Ultraviolet, optical and X-ray wavelength bands to enhance our understanding of the universe. The sanctioned cost of Astrosat is Rs 177.85 crores and the cost incurred upto end March 2015 is Rs 172.68 crores (provisional).
Indian Space Programme The primary objective of the Indian Space Programme/Mission is to achieve self-reliance in Space Technology and to execute programmes/missions for the socio-economic development of the country The programmes/ missions drawn up and proposed by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the socio-economic development of the country include (i) Earth Observation programme for natural resources inventory and management (like agriculture, land and water resources, fisheries), near real time disaster management support, weather forecasting, smart governance; (ii) Satellite Communication programmes for telecommunication, television broadcasting, Direct-to-Home services, search and rescue, tele-education, telemedicine and (iii) Satellite Navigation programme for location based services. To enable these, ISRO has embarked on the following programmes: ...