Government

Schemes
2019

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 Central Schemes

Yarn Bank Scheme :

The Union Ministry of Textiles has launched a Yarn Bank Scheme as one of the components of
PowerTex India scheme with an aim to avoid fluctuation in yarn price. Note: Under the scheme, an
interest-free corpus fund up to Rs.2.00 crore would be provided to the Special Purpose Vehicle
(SPV)/Consortium formed by power loom waivers. PowerTex India is a comprehensive scheme for
power loom sector development

National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

The Union Government was an initial budget of Rs. 300 crores for the first two years -- National
Clean Air Programme (NCAP). Note: The NCAP will be a mid-term, five-year action plan with 2019 as
the first year. The Centre stepped up its efforts to combat air pollution by launching a five year
action plan with a tentative target of 20-30% reduction in concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 by
2024, with 2017 as the base year. The approach for NCAP includes collaborative, multi-scale and
cross sectoral coordination between the relevant central ministries, state governments and local
bodies.

Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana(PTDY)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a ‘Yojana’ under which a group of Indian diaspora will be
taken on a government-sponsored tour of religious places in India twice a year -- Pravasi Teerth
Darshan Yojana’. Note: Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated the Centers of Excellence at Deen
Dayal Hastkala Sankul in Varanasi. He also released two books – 'Kashi: The Universe of Crafts and
Textiles' and 'Indian Textiles: History, Splendour, Grandeur'.

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)

The Union government has announced a financial support package for farmers “Pradhan Mantri
Kisan Samman Nidhi"(PM-KISAN), includes direct cash transfer of Rs 6,000 per year in three
instalments. The scheme will apply to only farmers with less than two hectares of land holding.
 PM KISAN Yojana was launched in the Interim Budget 2019-2020 with an objective to
augment the income of the Small and Marginal farmers
 The scheme took effect from December 01, 2018 to transfer benefits to the eligible
beneficiaries.
 The aim of the scheme is to support the financial needs of the farmers to ensure proper crop
health and appropriate yields, commensurate with the anticipated farm income.
 With the help of this scheme, the government is planning to benefit 12 crore small and
marginal farmers with a budget outlay of 75000 crores.
 Farmer families with total cultivable holding up to 2 hectares will be provided with Rs. 6000
per annum to be given in three equal instalments. These instalments will be released on a
quarterly basis.
 The first instalment to eligible beneficiaries shall be for the period from 01.12.2018 to
31.03.2019.

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  The income of Rs. 2,000 for four months will be directly credited to the bank accounts of
eligible farmers in three instalments.

Exclusion

 Former and present holders of constitutional posts.

 Former and present Ministers, MLA or MPs
 All serving or retired officers and employees of Central/ State Government Ministries
 All superannuated/retired pensioners whose monthly pension is Rs.10,000/-or more
 All Persons who paid Income Tax in last assessment year.
 Professionals like Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, CA, and Architects.

Rashtriya Gokul Mission

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is implementing the scheme of Rashtriya Gokul
Mission to conserve and develop indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner. The scheme
comprises of two components namely National Programme for Bovine Breeding (NPBB) and National
Mission on Bovine Productivity (NMBP).

Objectives of the Mission:

 Development and conservation of indigenous breeds.
 Undertaking breed improvement programmes for indigenous cattle breeds so as to improve
the genetic makeup and increase the stock.
 Enhancing milk production and productivity.
 Upgrading nondescript cattle using elite indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Deoni,
Tharparkar, Red Sindhi.
 Distributing disease free high genetic merit bulls for natural service.

Initiatives under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission

 Establishment of integrated cattle development centres ‘Gokul Grams’ to develop
indigenous breeds.
 Awards for encouraging farmers and breeder societies to rear Indigenous breeds of Bovines.
Gopal Ratna award for farmers maintaining the best herd of Indigenous Breed and practising
best management practices. Kamdhenu award for best managed Indigenous Herd by
Institutions/Trusts/ NGOs/ Gaushalas or best-managed Breeders’ Societies.
 National Kamdhenu Breeding Centres are being established as Centres of Excellence to
develop and conserve Indigenous Breeds in a holistic and scientific manner.
 An e-market portal “E-Pashu Haat”- Nakul Prajnan Bazaar for connecting breeders and
farmers, an authentic market for quality- disease-free bovine germplasm in the form of i)
semen; ii) embryos; iii) calves; iv) heifers and v) adult bovines with different
agencies/stakeholders.
 Pashu Sanjivni Programme encompassing the provision of Animal Health cards (‘Nakul
Swasthya Patra’) along with UID identification and uploading data on National Data Base.
 Advanced Reproductive Technology: Including Assisted Reproductive Technique- In-vitro
Fertilization (IVF)/ Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer (MOET) and sex-sorted semen
technique to improve the availability of disease-free female bovines.

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  National Bovine Genomic Center for Indigenous Breeds (NBGC-IB) for selection of breeding
bulls of high genetic merit at a young age using highly precise gene-based technology.

Rashtriya Gokul Mission aims to enhance the productivity of the indigenous breeds of India
through professional farm management and superior nutrition.

India Size project

The Textile Minister Smriti Irani has launched the India Size project (first-of-its-kind project in the
history of the country) in Mumbai. Note: The objective of the India Size to arrive at a standard Indian
Size for the ready-to-wear clothing industry. India size project will benefit manufacturers, consumers
and generate data which will help tap into the potential of the sector. The Minister also launched a
Study of Apparel Consumption in India, study report will release by July 2019.

Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PM SYM)

Government of India has introduced a pension scheme for unorganized workers namely Pradhan
Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) to ensure old age protection for Unorganized Workers.

The unorganized workers mostly engaged as home based workers, street vendors, mid-day meal
workers, head loaders, brick kiln workers, cobblers, rag pickers, domestic workers, washer men,
rickshaw pullers, landless labourers, own account workers, agricultural workers, construction
workers, beedi workers, handloom workers, leather workers, audio- visual workers and similar other
occupations whose monthly income is Rs 15,000/ per month or less and belong to the entry age
group of 18-40 years. They should not be covered under New Pension Scheme (NPS), Employees’
State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) scheme or Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO).
Further, he/she should not be an income taxpayer.

2. Features of PM-SYM: It is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme, under which the
subscriber would receive the following benefits :
(i) Minimum Assured Pension: Each subscriber under the PM-SYM, shall receive minimum assured
pension of Rs 3000/- per month after attaining the age of 60 years.
(ii) Family Pension: During the receipt of pension, if the subscriber dies, the spouse of the
beneficiary shall be entitled to receive 50% of the pension received by the beneficiary as family
pension. Family pension is applicable only to spouse.
(iii) If a beneficiary has given regular contribution and died due to any cause (before age of 60
years), his/her spouse will be entitled to join and continue the scheme subsequently by payment of
regular contribution or exit the scheme as per provisions of exit and withdrawal.

PM Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan (PM - KUSUM) Yojana

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the launch of ‘KUSUM Yojana’ to
provide financial and water security to farmers. The Central Government will provide a total financial
support of Rs 34,422 crore for the scheme.

Objectives of KUSUM Yojana:

 To promote decentralized solar power generation

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  To provide additional means of income to the farmers through selling surplus power to
DISCOM (Power distribution companies)
 To conserve water
 For utilization of degraded land
 To enhance water security for farmers through reliable solar power production of total
capacity 25.75GW by 2022.

Components of KUSUM Yojana:

 Establishment of 10000MW of grid-connected solar and other renewable energy power
plants of capacity 500KW to 2MW.
 Setting up of 17.50lakh solar agricultural pumps of capacity up to 7.5HP
 Solarisation of 10 lakh grid-connected agriculture pumps of capacity up to 7.5HP.

Important Facts:
 A model Power Purchase Agreement has been made between Renewable Power Generator
(RPG) and DISCOM for a duration of 25 years.
 Renewable Energy Power Plants will be primarily implemented on barren and uncultivable
land.
 Eligible Renewable Power generators will be needed to provide an Earnest money deposit of
Rs.1lakh/MW and a Performance Bank guarantee of Rs.5lakh/MW to DISCOM.
 The selected Renewable Power Generators should commission the Solar power plants within
9 months from the date of issue of letter of award.
 For the installation of Stand-along solar pumps, farmers will get a subsidy of 30% from the
state Government.
 A Procurement based Incentive (PBI) of 40paise/kWh or Rs.6.6lakh/MW/Year will be given to
DISCOM by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for buying solar and other renewable
energy under this scheme.

Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills(SHrEYAS)

The Union minister Prakash Javadekar has launched ‘Scheme for Higher Education Youth in
Apprenticeship and Skills’ (SHREYAS) to provide apprenticeship opportunities to fresh graduates of
2019. Note: The scheme aims to cover 50 lakh students by 2022. Courses will be available to the
students from Academic year April-May 2019.The SHREYAS Scheme is a programme basket
comprising the initiatives of three central ministries (the HRD, Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment).

“SHREYAS is a programme conceived for students in degree courses, primarily non-technical, with a
view to introducing employable skills into their learning, promote apprenticeship as integral to
education and also amalgamate employment facilitating efforts of the Government into the
education system so that clear pathways towards employment opportunities are available to
students during and after their graduation”

SHREYAS is a programme basket comprising the initiatives of three Central Ministries,

 Ministry of Human Resource Development-National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme
(NAPS)
 Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship- Introduction of BA/BSc/B.Com
(Professional) courses in higher educational institutions.
 Ministry of Labour & Employment- National Career Service

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Objective:
 To improve the employability of students by introducing employment relevance into the
learning process of the higher education system
 To forge a close functional link between education and industry/service sectors on a
sustainable basis
 To provide skills which are in demand, to the students in a dynamic manner
 To establish an 'earn while you learn' system into higher education
 To help the business/industry in securing good quality manpower
 To link student community with employment facilitating efforts of the Government.

Benefits & Operation

 Under the NAPS scheme, Central Government shares 25% of the stipend per month subject
to a maximum of Rs.1500 p.m. during the period of the apprenticeship. Apart from that, an
amount up to Rs.7500 will be met towards basic training cost, where needed.
 The primary scheme will be operated in conjunction with National Apprenticeship
Promotion Scheme (NAPS) which provides for placing of apprentices up to 10% of the total
workforce in every business/industry.
 The scheme will be implemented by the Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) , initially the Banking
Finance Insurance Services (BFSI), Retail, Health care, Telecom, Logistics, Media,
Management services, ITeS and Apparel.
 More sectors would be added over time with emerging apprenticeship demand and
curriculum adjustments.

Scheme Modalities
 The Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) have identified more than 100 areas where they would be
able to find apprenticeship opportunities.
 They along with the colleges concerned (with the help of their placement cells), would
identify the industries where the apprenticeships would be provided.
 Higher Educational Institutions can log-into the SHREYAS portal and express their interest in
the skill areas, along with the expected number of students who are expected to opt for it.
 This demand would be scrutinised by the SSC concerned, who would confirm on the portal,
the positions available.
 Based on this confirmation, the HEI would upload the names of the students on the SHREYAS
portal.
 The NAPS would thereupon generate the Contract between the industry and the student.
 After this, the monthly stipend would be paid by the industry, and 25% of this would be
reimbursed by NAPS portal subject to a maximum of Rs.1,500 per month.
 The SSC would monitor the progress and would conduct the examination at the end of the
apprenticeship period and would give the certificate to the successful candidates.
 These certificates are valid throughout India for seeking employment.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan

The scheme is aimed at making water conservation and promotion of irrigation efficiency a mass
movement through asset creation and communication campaigns. Over 250 officers, including

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Additional and Joint Secretaries, have been appointed as in-charge of water-stressed districts in the
country to plan ways to conserve the natural resource. They have been appointed as Central
Prabhari Officers of 255 water-stressed districts for coordinating the Jal Shakti Abhiyan. These teams
will visit identified blocks & districts and coordinate the implementation of various water harvesting
and conservation measures.

Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy’ (STRIDE)

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved a ‘Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for
India’s Developing Economy’ (STRIDE) to boost research culture in India. Note: The scheme will
strengthen research culture and innovation in colleges & Universities. It will provide support to
research projects that are socially relevant, locally need-based, nationally important and globally
significant. An Advisory Committee has been set up by the UGC under the chairmanship of Prof
Bhushan Patwardhan to oversee the entire scheme. STRIDE will support research capacity building
as well as basic, applied and transformational action research that can contribute to national
priorities with a focus on inclusive human development. It will also support creation, development
and integration of new ideas, concepts and practices for the public good and strengthening civil
society.

National Pension Scheme for Traders and Self Employed Persons

 It is a pension scheme for Vyaparis i.e. shopkeepers/retail traders and self-employed

persons. The pension scheme will provide an amount Rs 3000 to the beneficiaries after they
attain the age of 60 years. It is a voluntary and contributory scheme, in which the
government and the beneficiary will make an equal contribution. It means the government
will give 50% of the monthly contribution and the beneficiary will give 50% of the monthly
contribution.
 The pension of Rs 3000 can be received after 60 years of age by making a monthly
contribution of Rs 55 to Rs 200 depending on the age of Beneficiary. It means the monthly
contribution depends upon the age of shopkeeper/retailer at the time of entry in the
scheme. For example, a beneficiary is required to contribute as little as Rs.100/- per month
at a median entry age of 29 years.
 If any beneficiary dies, then his/her spouse will be entitled to receive 50% of the pension as
family pension.
 Shopkeepers, retail traders and self-employed persons who have an annual turnover not
exceeding Rs 1.5 crore are only eligible for the scheme.
 The shopkeepers, retail traders should be in the age group of 18-40 years.
 The beneficiary should not be an income taxpayer and should be not a member of
EPFO/ESIC/NPS (Govt.)/PM-SYM.

Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan Yojana

It is a voluntary and contributory based pension scheme for small traders, merchants and
shopkeepers which aims to provide them a monthly minimum assured pension of Rs.3000 after
attaining the age of 60 years.

 Budget allocation for the scheme for the financial year 2019-20 is Rs.750 crore has been
embarked by the Government for this scheme in the Union Budget 2019-20.

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  Laghu Vyaparis who fall under the following categories:
1. Self- employed small merchants and traders
2. Shop owners and retail traders
3. Rice mill and oil mill owners
4. Real estate brokers
5. Workshop owners
6. Commission agents
 Laghu vyaparis whose turn over does not exceed 1.5crores and has saving bank account in
his name and Aadhaar number.
 His/her age should be between 18-40 years.
 He/she must not be covered under the National Pension Scheme by the Central Government
or Employees’ State Insurance Corporation Scheme.
 Whatever amount will be contributed by the beneficiary, Central Government will also
contribute the equal amount as a subsidy to his/her pension account every month.
 Each eligible beneficiary will receive an assured pension of Rs.3000 per month after attaining
the age of 60 years.
 In case the subscriber of the scheme dies, his spouse will be entitled to receive 50% of the
monthly amount.

Jal Jeevan Mission

Jal Jeevan Mission was announced by PM Narendra Modi on Independence Day in order to provide
piped water to households. As per NITI Aayog report, 600 million people in India are facing utmost
Scarcity of water and 21 cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai will run out of
groundwater by 2020, affecting 100 million people. It will converge with respective central and state
government schemes in order to achieve its objective.
 The scheme aims to provide drinking water connections to all homes by 2024.
 It will also be the nation-wide movement like Swachh Bharat Mission.
 The government would spend more than Rs. 3.5 lakh crore in the next five years.
 The mission will be based on conservation efforts like point recharge, desilting of minor
irrigation tanks, source sustainability and use of grey water for agriculture.
 Due to insufficient rainfall groundwater is depleting at a faster pace. Also the groundwater
recharge is only 300 billion cubic meters (BCM) while the groundwater withdrawn is 450
BCM. Thus it becomes necessary to have such scheme in order to get potable water.
 Under the first phase of this mission, water ministry has initiated measures to conserve
water in 256 districts.
 PM Modi also aims to solve the two problems faced by Indian Women i.e. lack of water and
lack of toilets by this scheme. He further said that the scheme will directly impact everyone.

Nal se Jal Scheme

 As promised in BJP’s vision document in run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ‘Nal se
Jal’ scheme to provide piped drinking water to every household will be a component of
government’s Jal Jivan Mission.
 The ministry will roll out government’s ambitious plans to provide piped water connections
to every household in India by 2024.

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  It will also address international and inter-states water disputes and the Namami Gange
project which is the flagship initiative to clean the River Ganga, its tributaries and sub-
tributaries.
 The Jal Ministry’s priority will be to provide clean drinking water to everyone.

PM Kisan Maan-Dhan Yojana (PM KMDY)

The PM Kisan Maan-Dhan Yojana(PM KMDY) is a pension cover for all small and marginal
farmers(SMFs) in the country, Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has rolled out the
registration of it, envisaged with an aim to improve the life of farmers. It is a voluntary and
contributory scheme. PM Narendra Modi to launch the scheme in Ranchi on 12th September 2019.
The PM KMDY scheme shall impact the lives of 5cr farmers by providing a minimum pension per
month. The scheme has an outlay of Rs 10,774 cr for the next three years. LIC shall be the Pension
Fund Manager and responsible for pension payout.
 The age of farmers must be 18years to 40 years and
 Owns cultivable land maximum of 2 hectares.
 Spouse of a farmer is also eligible to get a separate pension of making separate
contributions to the fund.
 The farmers will have to contribute of Rs.55 to Rs.200, on the basis of age of entry, in the
Pension Fund till they reach 60years of age.
 They may also choose an option to pay their contribution on quarterly, 4-monthly or half-
yearly basis.
 The contribution of the farmer and the Central government will be equal in the fund.
 This scheme provides an option to allow their (beneficiary) contribution debited from PM-
KISAN scheme directly.
 Rs3000/month will be provided to them on attaining the age of 60years.
 If the farmer dies before the retirement date, the spouse may continue in the scheme by
paying the remaining contributions to the remaining age of the deceased farmer.
 Total contribution with interest will be paid to the nominee, in the absence of a spouse.
 If both the farmer and the spouse die, then the accumulated amount will be credited back to
the fund.
 If the spouse does not want to continue, then the total contribution made by the farmer
along with interest will be paid to the spouse.
 If a farmer dies after retirement, the spouse will get 50% of the pension
 After a minimum of 5 years of regular contributions, the beneficiary can leave the scheme.
 Their entire contribution will be returned by implementing agency with an interest
equivalent to prevailing saving bank rates.
 There is no late fee would be charged until 1month from first unpaid contribution.

Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion(SANKALP)

Programme (Approved in 2019)

In 2017 Budget, by then Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley made clear of the government’s plans to
launch SANKALP (Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion programme)
at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore.

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Important Points

 Quality education will energize Indian youth.

 Allocation of resources will be done on the basis of Annual Learning Outcomes.
 Emphasis will be given to education related to science.
 Innovation fund for secondary education will be allocated to boost local innovation including
ICT enabled transformation.
 Focus will be laid mainly on areas which are educationally backward.
 UGC reform will be taken up.
 Framework will be revised for outcome-based accreditation.
 SWAYAM to online courses will be available to all with Direct to Home channel.
 National Testing Agency will be created serving as an autonomous body.
 Administration will also be monitored under AICTE.
 PMKK (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras) are to be extended to different areas.
 5 Special Tourism zones will be set up.
 Industry Cluster Approach will be adopted.
 Rs 3,016 crore was allocated to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. In
his budget, MR Jaitley mentioned that 5 lakh people will be provided mason training in the
next 5 years. HE ALSO announced setting up 100 India International Skills Centres which
would offer advanced training including courses in foreign languages.
 Mr Jaitley also announced that Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKK) will be extended to
600 districts all over India. The vocational training centres are being promoted in 60+
districts as of now.
 He mentioned that under the next phase of Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value
Enhancement (STRIVE), the government will be spending Rs 2,200 crore.

Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) – (Approved in 2019)

Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) is a new World Bank funded project
that has been approved by Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) in November 2016 for a total cost
of Rs. 2200 crore (US $ 318 million). The project falls under the Programme for Results (P4R) based
category of World Bank that ensures outcome based funding. The project aims at creating
awareness through industry clusters/ geographical chambers that would address the challenge of
involvement of micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). The Project would also aim at
integrating and enhancing delivery quality of ITIs. In order to ensure achievement of outcome these
ITI would be competitively selected for upgradation under the scheme.

National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA)

The NISHTHA is a capacity building programme for "Improving Quality of School Education through
Integrated Teacher Training". It aims to build competencies among all the teachers and school
principals at the elementary stage. The functionaries (at the state, district, block, cluster level) shall
be trained in an integrated manner on learning outcomes, school based assessment, learner –
centered pedagogy, new initiatives in education, addressing diverse needs of children through
multiple pedagogies, etc. This will be organized by constituting National Resource Groups (NRGs)
and State Resource Groups (SRGs) at the National and the State level who will be training 42 lakhs
teachers subsequently. A robust portal/Management Information System (MIS) for delivery of the
training, monitoring and support mechanism will also be infused with this capacity building initiative.

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The main expected outcomes from NISHTHA are:

1. Improvement in learning outcomes of the students.

2. Creation of an enabling and enriching inclusive classroom environment
3. Teachers become alert and responsive to the social, emotional and psychological needs of
students as first level counselors.
4. Teachers are trained to use Art as pedagogy leading to increased creativity and innovation
among students.
5. Teachers are trained to develop and strengthen personal-social qualities of students for their
holistic development.
6. Creation of healthy and safe school environment.
7. Integration of ICT in teaching learning and assessment.
8. Developing stress free School Based Assessment focused on development of learning
competencies.
9. Teachers adopt Activity Based Learning and move away from rote learning to competency-
based learning.
10. Teachers and School heads become aware of new initiatives in school education.
11. Transformation of the Heads of Schools into providing academic and administrative
leadership for the schools for fostering new initiatives.

National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT)

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has announced a new National Educational
Alliance for Technology (NEAT) to use technology for better learning outcomes in Higher Education.

 The scheme aims to use Artificial Intelligence to make learning more personalized and
customized as per the requirements of the learner.
 MHRD aims to recognize the development of technologies in Adaptive Learning and bring
them under a common platform so that learners can access it easily.
 It proposes to create a National Alliance with such technology developing EdTech Companies
through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
 MHRD would act as a facilitator to ensure that the Adaptive Learning Solutions are freely
available to a large number of economically backward students.
 Under the scheme, a National NEAT platform would be created to provide one-stop access
to Adaptive Learning Solutions.
 EdTech companies would be responsible for developing solutions and manage the
registration of learners through the NEAT portal.
 NEAT is aimed at taking the concept of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) platform a
step ahead.
 All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) would be the implementing agency for the
NEAT programme.
 It would help to certify maximum students with highly marketable skills and would also
improve the employability of students.

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AICTE’s Margadarshan and Margdarshak Scheme

The Margadarshan:

Under this scheme, institutions having good accreditation record / highly performing institutions are
supposed to mentor relatively newer 10 – 12 potential institutions.
Best practices in teaching learning process followed in mentor institute are diffused to mentee
institutions.
These institutions are also provided funding upto Rs.50 lakhs (Rupees Fifty Lakhs Only) per
institution over a period of three years in instalments for carrying out various activities like trainings,
workshops, conferences and travel.

Margdarshak:

Under this scheme, mentor teachers or Margdarshaks who are either serving or superannuated but
willing and motivated with good knowledge of accreditation and who can devote adequate time to
make required visits to these Institutions are identified.
These Margdarshaks will regularly visit to the mentee institutions, stay on their campus and guide
them for their improvement in quality so that institutions are able to get accreditation by NBA.

Selection of Mentee Institutes:

In the 1st phase, institutes having student enrolment of 70% or more and willing to get mentoring
through AICTE’s Margadarshaks but are not yet accredited are provided Margadarshaks. Remaining
institutes can be covered in the subsequent phases. Willingness of mentee institutes is taken.
However, response giving willingness to be a Mentee institute has been received from 400 institutes
only to date.

Criteria for Margadarshaks are:

 Must be a Ph.D.
 Should be from Technical Education (Engg.) Domain
 Min experience 20 years; Not less than 5 years in academics And
 Designation not less than Professor if from AICTE approved institution Or
 Not less than Associate Professor if from IIT/NIT And
 Minimum 10 Research Publications Or
 Minimum 05 Ph.D. Guidance Or
 Minimum 2 Patents Or
 Minimum 2 Books written And
 Member NBA visit team / NAAC visit team Or
 Participated in accreditation of his/her own department at least for 2 cycles
 Persons from industry with passion for education & who are NBA/NAAC team members
 Applicants should have time to visit institutes

Scheme for Translational and Advanced Research in Science (STARS)

 The STARS stands for Scheme for Translational and Advanced Research in Science to fund
Science projects.

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  Union Human Resource Minister Prakash Javadekar launched the STARS scheme on National
Science Day observed on 28th February 2019
 The Ministry has allocated Rs.250 crores for the implementation of the scheme.
 Under the scheme 500 science projects will be funded whose selection will be made based
on competition.
 Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bangalore will be the coordinator of the scheme.
 Those who are interested to get their projects funded by STAR need to send in their
applications for a competition.
 The applications released in the first week of April 2019.
 The selection of the benefiting projects will be done on the basis of competitions.

Operation Digital Board

The he Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has launched Operation Digital Board
(ODB) to leverage technology in order to boost quality education in the country.

ODB aims to have digital and interactive boards in every classroom, which is on the lines of
Operation Blackboard which was started in 1987 to supply the bare minimum crucial facilities to all
primary schools in the country.

Features

 The digital board will be introduced all over the country in government and government
aided schools from class 9th onwards as well as in higher education institutions, from the
coming session of 2019 itself.
 University Grants Commission (UGC) will be the implementing agency for ODB in Higher
Education Institutions (HEIs). It will be implemented as a Central scheme, as a loan from
Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA).
 At school level, Digital / SMART board will be provided in all Government and Government –
aided schools by the Central Government in collaboration with the State and UTs.
 It aims at converting a classroom into a digital classroom.
 Ensure availability of e-resources at any time and at any place to students.
 Help in provisioning of personalised adaptive learning as well as Intelligent Tutoring by
exploiting emerging technologies like Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence & Data
Analytics.

Benefits

 It will help in improving the quality of learning by providing adequate content of high quality
which can be taken to every classroom.
 Such technology enabled learning can also inspire teachers across the country to raise their
own standards of teaching.
 Apart from this, other initiatives like e-Pathshala, DIKSHA, National Repository of Open
Educational Resources (NROER), National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning
(NPTEL), e-PG Pathshala, SWAYAM and SWAYAM-Prabha DTH Channels etc. have also
provided adequate content of high quality which can be taken to every classroom, and
thereby facilitating blended learning and flip class learning.

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Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF)

The Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) scheme is aimed at attracting the talent pool of
the country to doctoral (Ph.D.) programmes of Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institutes of
Science Education & Research (IISERs), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Central Universities
(which are among the top 100 National Institutional Ranking Framework, NIRF ranked universities)
for carrying out research in cutting edge science and technology domains, with focus on national
priorities.
Under the PMRF scheme for PMRF December 2019, students who have completed, or are pursuing,
the final year of four year undergraduate or five years integrated M.Tech or five year integrated
M.Sc. or five year undergraduate-postgraduate dual degree programmes or two year M.Sc.
programmes in Science and Technology streams from IIEST/IISc/IITs/NITs/IISERs and centrally
funded IIITs or any other Institute / University recognized in India, are eligible for admission to full
time Ph.D. programme in the IISc, IISERs, IITs and a select group of Central Universities provided they
fulfil prescribed eligibility criteria and finally get selected after shortlisting/written test/interview.
For each hosting institute (IISc, IISERs, IITs and a select group of
Central Universities) the PhD admissions under the PMRF scheme will be supernumerary.

Applicants who fulfil the eligibility criteria, and are finally selected through a selection process, will
be offered admission to PhD programme in one of IISc/IISERs/IITs and Central Universities (which are
among the top 100 National Institutional Ranking Framework, NIRF ranked universities) with a
fellowship of Rs.70,000/- per month for the first two years, Rs.75,000/- per month for the 3rd year,
and Rs.80,000/- per month in the 4th and 5th year. Apart from this, a research grant of Rs.2.00 lakh
per year will be provided to each of the Fellows for a period of 5 years to cover their academic
contingency expenses and for foreign/national travel expenses.

There will be a rigorous review of the performance of Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship holders
and continuation of the next year fellowship shall be contingent upon successful review.

Pradhan Mantri (Jaiv Indhan- Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran) (JI-VAN) Yojana:

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi
has approved the "Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan- Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran)
Yojana" on 28th February 2019 for providing financial support to Integrated Bioethanol Projects
using lignocellulosic biomass and other renewable feedstock.

Objective
 The scheme focuses to incentivise 2G Ethanol sector and support this nascent industry by
creating a suitable ecosystem for setting up commercial projects and increasing Research &
Development in this area.
 Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol) produced from cellulose (the stringy fiber of a
plant) rather than from the plant's seeds or fruit. It is a biofuel produced from grasses,
wood, algae, or other plants.
 Cellulosic ethanol is a type of biofuel produced from lignocellulose, a structural material that
comprises much of the mass of plants.

Aims and Targets

 Reducing import dependence by way of substituting fossil fuels with Biofuels
 Achieving the GHG emissions reduction targets through progressive blending/ substitution
of fossil fuels.

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  Addressing environment concerns
 Improving farmer income
 Creating rural & urban employment opportunities
 Contributing to Swachh Bharat Mission

Financial Implications
1959.50 crore (2018-19 to 2023-24)
 Rs.1800, 12 Commercial projects
 Rs.150 crore , 10 demonstration Projects
 Rs.9.50 crore, Centre for High Technology (CHT)

Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price (DEEP)

 It is portal for medium term (1-5 years) purchase of power
 It will provide a common e-bidding platform with e-reverse auction facility to facilitate
nation-wide power procurement through a wider network so as to bring uniformity and
transparency in the process of power procurement.

NIRVIK

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has introduced a new Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS)
called NIRVIK.

 The Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) under the ministry has introduced the
scheme with the aim to ease the lending process and enhance loan availability for exporters.
 The scheme will ensure guaranteed insurance cover up to 90% of the principal and interest
including the pre and post-shipment loss.
 The present coverage is provided up to 60% of the loss by the current Export Credit
Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC).
 The initiative would make the ECGC more exporter friendly and also make Indian exports
more competitive.
 ECGC facilitate exports from India and is a premier export credit agency of the Government
of India, headquartered at Mumbai and is in establishment since 1957.

Sabka Vishwas(Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme

The Objective of the Scheme:

 The Union Budget,2019 proposed The Sabka Vishwas(Legacy Dispute Resolution)

Scheme,2019 and introduced to resolve all disputes relating to the erstwhile service tax and
central excise acts, which are now subsumed under GST, as well as 26 other indirect tax
enactments.
 This scheme will provide a certain relief including penalty, interest or any other proceedings
including prosecution to taxpayers who wish to close their pending dispute.
 The Scheme aims to resolve nearly 1.5 lakh cases involving an amount of Rs. 3.75 lakh crore
pending before Commissioner(Appeals), CESTAT, High Courts and the Supreme Court. It is
notified by the CBIC to come into force on the 1st September 2019 and will be operational
until the 31st December 2019.

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Types of Dispute covered under the scheme:

 A show causes notice or appeals arising out of a show-cause notice pending as on the 30th
June 2019.
 An enquiry, investigation or audit where the amount is quantified on or before the 30th June
2019.
 An amount in arrears.
 A voluntary disclosure.
 Certain cases excluded under this scheme:
 Declaration related to excisable goods set forth in the Fourth Schedule(chapter 24 and 27) to
the Central Excise Act,1944(tobacco and specified petroleum products).
 Cases related to the taxpayer has been convicted under the Central Excise Act,1994 or the
Finance Act,1944.
 Cases involving erroneous refunds.
 Cases pending before the Settlement Commission.

Voluntary disclosure under this scheme:

1. Not eligible for any tax relief, but the relief available for interest and penalty.
2. No verification by a designated committee.
3. Within one year, if found to be false, appropriate proceedings shall be initiated.

Benefits of this scheme:

1. A taxpayer can pay the outstanding tax amounts due and be free from any other
consequences under the law.
2. Taxpayers will get substantial relief in the form of full waivers of interest, penalties and fines.
3. There will be a complete amnesty from prosecution proceedings.
4. In cases of voluntary disclosure, the declarant will have to pay the full amount of disclosed
duty.

Relief provided:
This scheme provides for a substantial relief margin on all Duty demands, ranging from 40% to 70%
of the demand, except in the case of voluntary disclosure. The relief will be applicable as follows:

For cases under investigation or audit, the same relief will also be available, however, the amount
should have been quantified and communicated to the concerned party, or admitted by him in a
statement, on or before the 30th June 2019.

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Process to verify the declaration:
It will be a clear understanding by a flow chart.

After issuance of discharge certificate:

1. Not be liable to pay any further duty, interest, or penalty with respect to the matter and the
time period covered.
2. Not be liable to be prosecuted under the Indirect Tax enactment.
3. Shall not be reopened in any other proceeding under the Indirect Tax enactment.
4. If false declaration is made involuntary disclosure, proceedings under the applicable laws
will be started within a time-limit of one year.

Unique Methods of Management and treatment of Inherited Disorders (UMMID)

 India has launched UMMID (Unique Methods of Management and Treatment of Inherited
Disorders) initiative to tackle inherited genetic diseases of new-born babies.
 The programme will be implemented through government hospitals to regularise the use of
cutting-edge scientific technology and molecular medicine to achieve Universal Health
Coverage for all.

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  The initiative is designed on the concept of ‘Prevention is better than Cure’.
 In India’s urban areas, congenital malformations and genetic disorders are the third most
common cause of mortality after prematurity & low birth weight issues and infections in
new-borns.
 A very large population and high birth rate, and consanguineous marriage favoured in many
communities are some of the important reasons for the high prevalence of genetic disorders
in India.

Objective
• Speaking on the occasion Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that this new initiative aims at creating
awareness about genetic disorders and establish molecular diagnostics in hospitals so that the
benefits of developments in medical genetics could reach patients.
• Under this scheme 75 new medical colleges will be opened in the country by 2022.
• About 115 districts have been identified in the rural areas where these centers will be started
soon.
• These centers will provide counselling, prenatal testing/diagnosis and management in government
hospitals of the country.
• Harsh Vardhan started the operation of five 'diagnosis centres' in Delhi, Jodhpur, Hyderabad and
Kolkata for the treatment and research of diseases based on congenital disorders. In Delhi, these
centres have been started at the Lady Hardinge Medical College and the Medical and Research
Institute located at the Air Force Center.

Methodology
In NIDAN centres, potential patients or parents of such disorders will be identified and counselled by
the experts before the birth of the children. Counselling sessions after the birth of the child will also
be provided if required. NIDAN centres will create awareness to normalize the life of children
suffering from disorders.

Atal Bhoojal Yojana

The Government of India is going to launch a Water Conservation scheme known as Atal Bhoojal
Yojana.

The main objectives of the scheme are

 To recharge groundwater and create sufficient water storage for agricultural purposes.
 The revival of surface water bodies so that the groundwater level can be increased.
 The Atal Bhujal Yojana will be launched in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh covering 78 districts, 193 blocks and more
than 8,300-gram panchayats.

Funding for the project:

 Total expenditure for the scheme is Rs. 6,000 cr. The fund of 6000 cr will be raised by the
Ministry of Finance and the World Bank.
 Half of the total cost of this central scheme will be supported by the World Bank as the loan
while the remaining half (Rs 3,000 crore) will be funded by the government.

Present status of the scheme:

The cabinet committee has set a fund of Rs.6,000 crore for this scheme but yet to get the approval
from the Ministry of Finance. The government of India has not announced any official date for the
launch of this scheme.

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Why the scheme is required?
 The last assessment report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) shows that 1,034 of
6584 assessed blocks in the country are over-exploited (usually referred to as ‘dark zones’).
 It means in 1,034 blocks in India annual groundwater consumption is more than the annual
groundwater recharge.
 Besides, 934 blocks fall in different stages of criticality due to depletion without a recharge.
 According to the report of the Central Ground Water Board, the overexploited units are
mostly concentrated in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
 The CGWB report shows that Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi are worst among them.

Benefits of the scheme:

 By the implementation of this scheme, groundwater will recharge consequently increasing
the level of groundwater
 This scheme will also revive the water bodies like rivers so that the level of groundwater can
be increased especially in the rural areas.

New India@75 Strategy by Niti Aayog

NITI Aayog unveiled comprehensive strategy for New India @ 75 which defines clear objectives for
2022-23. It is a detailed document which discusses forty-one crucial areas, that recognizes the
progress already made, identifies binding constraints, and suggests the way forward for achieving
the clearly stated objectives. The strategy will encourage discussion and debate and will invite
feedback for further refining policy approach. Over 800 stakeholders from within the government –
central, state and district levels and about 550 external experts were consulted during the
preparation of this document. The forty-one chapters in the document disaggregated under four
sections: Drivers, Infrastructure, Inclusion and Governance.

First Section on Drivers

It focuses on the engines of economic performance with chapters on growth and employment,
doubling of farmers’ incomes, upgrading the science & technology and innovation eco-system, and
promoting sunrise sectors like fintech and tourism.

Key Recommendations:
 Accelerate the economy to achieve GDP growth rate of about 8% on average during 2018-23
which will increase the economy’s size in real terms from USD 2.7trillion in 2017-18 to nearly
USD 4 trillion by 2022-23 and will also increase the investment rate as measured by gross
fixed capital formation (GFCF) from present 29% to 36% of GDP by 2022.
 In agriculture, shift the emphasis to converting farmers to ‘agripreneurs’ by expanding e-
National Agriculture Markets and replacing the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee
(APMC) Act with the Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Act.
 Give a strong push to ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)’ which reduces cost, improve
land quality and increase farmers’ incomes.
 To ensure maximum employment creation, the complete codification of labour laws and
massive effort must be made to upscale and expand apprenticeships.
 A mission should be launched named “Explore in India” by revamping minerals exploration
and licensing policy.

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Second Section on Infrastructure
It deals with the physical foundations of growth which are crucial in enhancing the competitiveness
of Indian business ensuring the citizens’ ease of living.

Key Recommendations:
 Expedite the establishment of the Rail Development Authority (RDA) which will advise and
make informed decisions on an integrated, transparent and dynamic pricing mechanism for
the railways.
 The share of freight transported by coastal shipping and inland waterways should be
doubled. Initial viability gap funding (VGP) will be provided until the infrastructure is fully
developed.
 An IT-enabled platform should be developed for integrating different modes of transport
and promoting multi-modal and digitized mobility.
 With the completion of the Bharat Net programme in 2019, all 2.5 lakh gram panchayats will
be digitally connected which aims to deliver all government services at the state, district,
and gram panchayat level digitally by 2022-23.

Third Section on Inclusion

It deals with the urgent task of investing in the capabilities of all of India’s citizens. The three themes
in this section revolve around the dimensions of health, education and mainstreaming of
traditionally marginalized sections of the population.

Key Recommendations:
 Successful implementation of the Ayushman Bharat programme (ABHP) including the
establishment of 150,000 health and wellness centres across the country and rolling out the
Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan (PM-JAY).
 A focal point should be created for public health at the central level with state counterparts.
 The quality of the school education system and skills should be upgraded, including the
creation of a new innovation ecosystem at the ground level by establishing at least 10,000
Atal Tinkering Labs by 2020.
 A huge push should be given to affordable housing in urban areas to improve workers’ living
conditions and ensure equity while providing a strong impetus to economic growth.
 Conceptualizing an electronic national educational registry for tracking each child’s learning
outcomes.

Fourth Section on Governance

It delves deep into how the governance structures can be streamlined and processes can be
optimized to achieve better developmental outcomes.

Key Recommendations:
 Implement the recommendations of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC)
as a prelude to appointing a successor for designing reforms in the changing context of
emerging technologies and the growing complexity of the economy.
 Setting up a new autonomous body named the Arbitration Council of India to grade arbitral
institutions and accredit arbitrators to make the arbitration process cost-effective and
speedy, and to pre-empt the need for court intervention.
 The issue of backlog of pending cases should be addressed by shifting part of the workload
out of regular court system.

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 Expanding the scope of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) to cover initiatives for landfills, plastic
waste and municipal waste and generating wealth from waste.

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 State Schemes

Gangajal Project (Agra)

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has launched a series of development projects worth Rs. 2900
Crores for Agra city. Note: The Prime Minister dedicated to the nation ‘Gangajal project’ which will
provide Agra with better and more assured water supply. Gangajal project aims to bring 140 cusecs
of Ganga water to Agra. Prime Minister laid the foundation Stone of Integrated Command and
Control Centre for Agra Smart City. In this project CCTVs will be installed throughout Agra City for
monitoring and surveillance for the purpose of safety and security.

Krishi Krishak Bondhu (West Bengal)

The West Bengal Govt. has announced two Initiatives for farmers Krishi Krishak Bondhu. Note: The
first of the two initiatives will provide Rs 2 lakh to the family of a deceased farmer. Under the second
initiative, farmers would get Rs 2,500 twice a year for growing a single crop on one acre of land.

One Family One Job(Sikkim)

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling has launched a scheme in Gangtok-- One Family One
Job. Note: Sikkim has become the first state in the country to carry out such a programme for the
people entitling them to state government employee benefits. Under this Scheme, every family one
government job has been allotted. New recruits were taken for Group C and Group D posts in 12
departments.

Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana (Madhya Pradesh)

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has launched the Rs 50,000-crore farm debt-waiver
scheme named—‘Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana’. Note: It would benefit 55 lakh small and marginal
farmers. About 70% people of Madhya Pradesh are associated with agriculture and allied sectors.
Farmers who have registered themselves to pay GST and are paying income tax, cannot avail
benefits under this scheme.

Objective
 To encourage and support the Farming in the Madhya Pradesh
 To help the Farmers to come out of their debt.
 To Waive the Interest on the Bank Loans of the Farmers.

Key Facts
 The state government of Madhya Pradesh has launched new scheme named Madhya
Pradesh Krishi Rin Samadhan Yojana which will benefit around 17.78 Lakh Farmers.
 This Scheme will waive the Interest on the Bank Loans of the Farmers.
 Hence, all those farmers who are not able to pay the Loans taken from the banks by 30th
June 2017 will get advantage under this MP Krishi Rin Samadhan Yojana 2018-2019.
 Accordingly, this Yojana, the State Government will allocate the Funds and for this, the MP
State Government is going to spend Rs.2, 600 Crores.

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  In this scheme, The MP State Cabinet has made composition for all the Farmers So, that
Farmers can pay their Loans in 2 instalments. The Farmers can pay the first instalment by
15th June 2018 and that should be 50% of the Loan Amount.
 Obviously, this scheme is going to cover 80% of the Debt Amount and the remaining 20%
amount will be bear by the Banks.
 All the Farmers of the MP who are failed to deposit their Loans by 30th June 2017 are going
to get the Debt Relief.

Jiban Sampark (Odisha)

The Odisha Government has announced “Jiban Sampark” project for the welfare of the Particularly
Vulnerable Tribal Groups at the annual Adivasi Mela2019. Note: The Jiban Sampark Project
undertaken in association with UNICEF to generate awareness among Particularly Vulnerable Tribal
Groups (PVTG) in Odisha. The focus areas of Jiban Sampark Project are skill development,
empowering communities, cooperation and innovation among the groups.

Annadata Sukhibhava scheme (Andhra Pradesh)

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has announced Annadata Sukhibhava scheme
for farmers. Note: Under Annadata Sukhibhava scheme 2019, an amount of Rs 9,000 will be given to
the farmers having land less than 5 acres. This will be in addition to the Rs 6,000 announced by the
Central government. Farmers having land more than 5 acres, will be given Rs 10,000.

Smart Village Campaign(Punjab)

Punjab government has approved a rural development scheme ‘Smart Village Campaign’ to
supplement the ongoing works to build village infrastructure and provide essential amenities. Note:
The scheme would be financed with funds (Rs 384.40 crore) from the 14th Financial Commission and
MGNREGA works. The objective of the ‘Smart Village Campaign’ to improving the condition of rural
areas by supplementing the ongoing government schemes for building infrastructure and providing
essential amenities

Mukhyamantri Vridhajan Pension Yojana (MVPY) – Bihar

Bihar government has announced a universal old age pension scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Vridhajan
Pension Yojana (MVPY)’ for all people above 60 years of age. Note: Currently old age pension
scheme is applicable to only the BPL category. All will be eligible for RS. 400 monthly Pension
irrespective of caste, religion or community. The Scheme will come into force from the 1st of April
2019.The Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also announced a pension of Rs. 6,000 for journalists above 60
years of age.

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Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation [KALIA Chhatra Bruti] -
(Odisha)

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched KALIA Chhatra Bruti scholarship for the children
of farmers in the state. Note: The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance for
technical and professional education to farmers’ children. The scholarship will be sent directly to the
bank accounts of students via. DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer).

Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana(Madhya Pradesh)

The Madhya Pradesh Government has launched ‘Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’. Note: The
State Government’s flagship scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’ to urban youths (21-
30 years) from economically weaker sections. Under the scheme, Rs 4,000 stipend per month will be
given for 100 days of employment every year. Only those youths, whose family’s annual income is
less than Rs 2 lakh are eligible for the scheme.

Mukhyamantri Parivar Samman Nidhi (Haryana)

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has launched ‘Mukhyamantri Parivar Samman Nidhi’
scheme in Chandigarh. Note: Farmers of the state who cultivate on land with areas up to 5 acres and
the families with an income of less than Rs. 15,000 per month. The scheme would provide a sum of
Rs. 6,000 yearly, each family must nominate a member who will be provided with this amount. The
scheme involves two categories of beneficiaries-in the age group of (18 to 40 years) and (40 to 60
years).

Jalamrutha Scheme (Karnataka)

Karnataka state Government has initiated the ‘Jalamrutha’ initiative which is a water conservation
scheme. Note: The objective of the initiative to create awareness among the people of the state
about the invaluable nature of water and the need to conserve it at any cost. The state of Karnataka
has announced the year 2019 as ‘Jalavarsha (year of water)’.

Notun Disha (Tripura)

Tripura State Government has announced ‘Notun Disha’ for assessing the academic level of students
in classes IIIVIII and then improving their current level. Note: Training will be provided by NGOs and
educational institutions to 800 teachers. The duration of the project is 1 month. Rs. 28 crores have
been allocated to the project.

Mukhyamantri Anchal Amrit Yojana (Uttarakhand)

Uttarakhand CM has launched free milk scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Anchal Amrit Yojana’ for anganwadi
children of the states. Note: Under the Amrit Yojana, 2.5 lakh children (at 20,000 Anganwadi
kendras) will be given 100 ml milk twice a week for free in the state. Flavoured, sweet, skimmed milk
powder will be made available to the 20,000 Anganwadi Kendra across the state.

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Yuvashree Arpan (West Bengal)

The West Bengal Government has announced to grant 1 lakh to graduates of the state’s 214
polytechnics and Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), to set up small businesses.

‘Aapki Beti’ (Rajasthan)

The Rajasthan government has increased the annual financial assistance under the ‘Aapki Beti’
scheme. Note: ‘Aapki Beti’ scheme provides annual financial assistance to the schoolgirl (class 1 to 8)
in the state living under Below Poverty Line (BPL) and whose mother or father or both have died. As
per the revised scheme, girls will get an amount of Rs 2,100 instead of Rs 1,100. Similarly, for girls (in
class 9 to 12), financial aid has been increased to Rs 2,500 from Rs 1,500. The State Government has
also increased the ex-gratia payment (from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh) to the next of kin of polling
personnel who got killed on election duty.

Yuva Sambal Yojana (Rajasthan)

The state government has implemented the scheme from February this year after rechristening the
earlier Akshat Yojana. To be eligible for the scheme, applicants should be natives of Rajasthan.
Under the scheme, male applicants will get Rs 3,000 per month whereas women and differently-
abled will get Rs 3,500 per month. The amount will be given for two years or until they get
employed.

Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (Telangana)

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao dedicated one of the largest multi-stage and
multipurpose lift irrigation schemes -- Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.
Note: The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) worth Rs 80,000 crore, touted as the world's
largest multi-stage multi-purpose scheme. The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project envisages
irrigation over 37 lakh acres of new and existing ayacut in 21 districts of the State.

Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB) – West Bengal

State Government has announced a crop insurance scheme ‘Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB)’ in
collaboration with the Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC) for the 2019 kharif season. The
scheme ‘BSB’ is applicable for farmers in 15 districts - Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Purba Bardhaman,
Paschim Bardhaman, Purba Medinipur, Malda, Hooghly, Nadia, Murshidabad, Cooch Behar,
Birbhum, Purulia, Dakshin Dinajpur, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. The crops that will
come under insurance are aman paddy, aus paddy, jute and maize

Mukhya Mantri Krishi Aashirwad Yojana (Jharkhand)

“Mukhya Mantri Krishi Aashirwad Yojana” was officially launched by the Vice president M. Venkaiah
Naidu in Ranchi, Jharkhand in August 2019 .

 The scheme was first announced on 21st December 2018 for doubling farmer’s income in
the upcoming 4 years (2022) and is officially launched on 10th August 2019.

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  The objective of MMKAY is to serve to improve the financial situation of farmers and
provides them with investment support for the Kharif season to double their income by
2022.
 Under the scheme, Rs 5000 Per Acre/year (maximum up to 5 Acres) would be given to
Jharkhand’s state farmers for their Kharif crops.
 This Financial fund will be given for the following purpose- Purchase of Fertilizers, Hiring of
Farm Equipment, Purchase of Seed, Labour and land preparation and Any other Agriculture
related work.
 The beneficiaries would get financial assistance through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
mode.

Vahli Dikri Yojana (Gujarat)

On August 3, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani launched the ‘Vhali Dikri Yojna’ in Rajkot for the
welfare of girl child. It is a statewide cash incentive scheme for every girl child born in Gujarat, with a
view to raising the female birthrate at par with male to achieve gender equality. According to
scheme, the State Government will pay Rs. 4,000 to every girl child at the time of admission to
Standard 4th, Rs. 6,000 at the time of taking admission to Standard IX, Rs. 1-lakh at the time of
taking admission for higher education at the age of 18 and another Rs. 1-lakh at the time of
marriage. Approx, Rs.133-crore has been allocated for this scheme.

Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation(KALIA) Scheme - Odisha

To boost cultivation and associated activities by providing payments to small farmers, cultivators and
landless agricultural labourers.

Key Facts
 Under this scheme, the eligible households will get an amount of Rs. 10,000 for the
cultivation.
 A small farmer who owns 2.5 acres to 5 acres of land and marginal farmer who owns less
than 2.5 acres of land are eligible for this scheme.
 The eligible family will get Rs 5,000 each in the Kharif and Rabi seasons, for five cropping
seasons between 2018-19 and 2021-22.
 This scheme targets 10 lakh landless households. Also under this scheme, Government will
support the households with a unit cost of Rs 12,500 for various activities like mushroom
cultivation, goat rearing, poultry farming and fishery.
 The other benefits for the eligible households are:
1. Rs 2 lakhs life insurance cover
2. Personal accident coverage of the same amount.
3. Crop loans up to Rs 50,000 which are interest-free.

Other Facts
 For this scheme, the sharecroppers and cultivators who own little or no land will get the
direct benefit because the scheme is not linked to the amount of land owned.
 Also, there is some limitation like dairy production has deliberately been kept out of the
scheme because keeping a cow is too expensive.
 Poultry farming, fishery, mushroom cultivation, and beekeeping are also covered under the
scheme.

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Additional News
 The Government decided to include 32.34 lakh small farmers/marginal farmers/actual
cultivators in the Kalia scheme during 2019-20, apart from the previously allocated families.
 Government has allocated an additional Rs 3,234 crore for covering more farmers under this
scheme, which was previously Rs 10,000 cr.

Ama Ghare LED Scheme - Odisha

To reduce the burden of electricity bills of the poor households and to provide quality energy to
every household.

Key Feature
 Under this scheme, about 95 lakh families will get four 9-watt LED bulbs for free of cost.
 The eligibility criteria to avail this scheme are:
1. The beneficiaries must register under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the
State Food Security Scheme (SFSC).
2. Also, they have to produce biometric authentication.
 The LED bulbs will be distributed through camps and Public Distribution Shop (PDS) outlets.
 The distribution of LED bulbs will begin at the PEETHA (Peoples Empowerment – Enabling
Transparency and Accountability of Odisha Initiatives) camps.
 Total of 3.8 crores LED bulbs are required for the purpose.

Scheme Ama Ghare LED Scheme

Launched by Mr Naveen Patnaik
Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Ltd
Implemented by
(OPTCL)
Launched date 11th January 2019
Total Cost of the project Rs 125 Crore
Total beneficiary 95 lakhs
Total distribution of LED
3.80 cr
bulbs

Garbage Cafe scheme (Chhattisgarh)

India’s first garbage café has been launched by the Municipal Corporation of Ambikapur
(Chhattisgarh). Note: The Municipal Corporation of Ambikapur has launched a ‘Garbage Cafe
scheme’ (India’s first garbage cafe) at Ambikapur city in Chhattisgarh. Under this scheme, A person
fetching a kilo of plastic waste to the garbage cafe will be assured of a full meal. Those collecting at
least 500 grams will benefit from a substantial breakfast.

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