WATGDPI Articles 3 - GKmojo

Article: Ayushman Bharat health scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Ayushman Bharat, world’s largest

government-funded healthcare scheme in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi.

With the roll out of the Centre’s flagship scheme which has been renamed as
PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), the Narendra Modi-led NDA government aims
to provide healthcare facilities to over 10 crore families covering urban and rural
poor.

The scheme become operational from September 25,2018 on the birth

anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay.

The ambitious scheme offers an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh, which will cover
10 crore poor families or almost 50 crore persons.
In his Independence Day speech, Modi had announced that while the scheme
would initially cover 10 crore poor families as per the socio-economic census of
2011, it will in the coming days also benefit the lower middle-class, middle-class
and upper-middle class by way of jobs in the medical sector as new hospitals
will open in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. The scheme can be a big game-changer
for Modi as it comes about half a year before the next Lok Sabha elections.

Below is a brief summary of the extent and importance of the scheme:

Who are the beneficiaries?

The scheme is targeted at poor, deprived rural families and identified

occupational categories of urban workers’ families. So, if we were to go by the
Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data, 8.03 crore families in rural
and 2.33 crore in urban areas will be entitled to be covered under these scheme,
i.e., it will cover around 50 crore people. To ensure that nobody is left out
(especially women, children and the elderly), there will be no cap on the family
size and age under the AB-NHPS. The scheme will be cashless and paperless
at public hospitals and empanelled private hospitals.

How much will it cost?

Ayushman Bharat may cost the exchequer around Rs 5,000 crore this year
because of the time taken to roll out the scheme. The scheme will cost Rs
10,000 crore when its rolled out across India next year. While this year there
are likely to be 8 crore beneficiaries, the target is to cover 10 crore by FY20.

In the first year, out of the total expenditure of Rs 5,000 crore, the central
government may bear the burden of around Rs 3,000 crore which will increase
to almost Rs 7,000 crore in FY20. The scheme aims to provide a benefit cover
of *Rs 5 lakh per family per year*. It will subsume the existing Rashtriya
Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), launched in 2008 by the UPA government.

Bullet points about above scheme for GDPI

1) It was launched by PM in Ranchi.

2) Biggest health care scheme in the world.

3) Insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year.

4) Rs. 5000 crore expense this year by government, next year it would be
Rs.10000 crore.

5) the scheme is targeted at poor & deprived families as per SECC 2011 data.

6) Scheme would cover 10 crore poor families or almost 50 crore persons.

7) the scheme become operational from September 25th, 2018.

Payment banks are the latest initiative from RBI with the primary motive to
promote digital, paperless and cashless banking in our nation.

Although the PM Jan Dhan Yojana has brought down the number of unbanked
individuals in the country, there are still millions who do not have bank accounts.
So payment banks will bring unbanked individuals into the formal financial
system.

Traditional banks can do everything payments banks can, but due to their
structures and business priorities they may be unable to cater to certain
segments and geographies. For instance, while it’s impossible for a bank to
open branches in every village across the country, payments banks can fill this
gap through the use of mobile phones.

What is a Payments Bank?

A payments bank is a new category of banks conceptualized by the Reserve

Bank of India, which operates at a smaller scale than an actual bank and doesn’t
involve any credit risk. It can carry out most banking operations but can’t
advance loans or issue credit cards. These banks operate digitally (on mobile
phones and other devices using Internet) rather than through physical
branches.

How do payments banks operate?

A payment bank is not a commercial bank but a registered public limited

company under the Companies Act, 2013 which has also obtained a license
under Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and a special permit by
RBI to operate as a payments bank.

Payments Banks cannot carry out lending activities like:

1. Advancing loans

2. Issuance of credit cards, etc.

A payment bank should fulfill the following conditions set by RBI:

1. The minimum capital investment to be Rs100 crore.

2. For the first five years, the stake of the promoter to be 40% minimum.

3. 25% of its branches must be in the unbanked rural area.

Things You Must Know About Payment Banks:

1. Payments banks can accept deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh per account from

individuals and small businesses, but do not have the mandate to extend loans.
2. Payment Banks offer a range of products such as savings and current
accounts, money transfer, direct benefit transfers, bill and utility payments, and
enterprise and merchant payments.

List of Some Payments Banks Operating in India:

1. Airtel Payments Bank (1st company to start this service)

2. India Post Payments Bank

3. Paytm Payments Bank

4. Fino Payment bank

5. Jio Payment bank

Article: Changing from BS-IV to BS-VI

When: The Supreme Court announced that India will transit from the Bharat
Stage (BS)-IV emission norms currently in place, to the BS-VI norms on Apr. 1,
2020.

No BS-IV vehicle shall be sold in the country from that date (only BS-VI
compliant ones). Oil companies too have to retail BS-VI compliant fuel.

What: Introduced in 2000, the Bharat norms are emission control standards
issued by the government. Based on European standards (Euro norms), there
are limits for the release of air pollutants—nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide,
hydrocarbons, particulate matter (PM), sulphur oxides—from equipment using
internal combustion engines, including vehicles.

The higher the stage, the stricter the norms.

The BS-IV norms have been enforced since April 2017. And in 2016, the Centre
had announced that skipping the BS-V norms altogether and adopting BS-VI
norms by 2020. The new norms also calls for better crash-test norms, addition
of airbags and anti-lock braking systems in most cars and bikes.
Why: India is home to the 10 most polluted cities of the world and vehicular
emission is a major contributor to the worsening air quality in cities. In October
2016, India signed the Paris Climate Agreement and is obligated to bring down
the carbon footprint by 33-55% (from 2005 levels) in the next 12 years.

With other developing countries such as China having already upgraded to the
equivalent of Euro V emission norms a while ago, India has been lagging
behind. Also, global carmakers are betting big on India as vehicle penetration
is still low here, which could result in big investment inflows.

How: While BS-IV compliant fuel has 50 parts per million (ppm) sulphur, BS-VI
stipulates a low 10 ppm. Besides, under BS-VI, PM emission for diesel cars and
nitrogen oxide levels are expected to be substantially lower than in BS-IV.

Also: The government is planning subsidies for scrapping old vehicles, thereby
helping owners of older and more polluting vehicles to upgrade to newer ones.
Expect less fuel-guzzling cars after the BS-VI as well.

But: The use of new technology means higher costs for auto manufacturers,
which will be passed on to you when you buy your new car. Expect a hike in
your fuel bill as well as oil refiners too will need higher capital outlays to produce
superior quality fuel.