Monthly Government Schemes Capsule

February 2020

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 Monthly Government Schemes Capsule
February 2020

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES
MONTHLY CAPSULES
FEBRUARY 2020
EEESL of GoI completes one successful year in making India Energy Efficient
• The EESL (Energy Efficiency Services Limited) recently celebrated its 10 years of successful operation.
• The Company adopted the policy of making India Energy Efficiency a year back.
• It has successfully completed its one year of energy efficiency policy.
In the last one year, the company has installed more than 10 lakh smart meters all over India under the
Smart Meter National Programme.
Minister reviews progress of meeting of Institute of Eminence
• On February 24, 2020, the Union Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal chaired a high-level meeting to review the
progress of Institutes of Eminence.
• The Institutes of Eminence shall invite professors and foreign faculties in order to deepen the interface
between the institutes in the country and other recognized institutes.
• The Institute of Eminence are to be given open access to research journals.
• The institutes shall adopt model villages under the Unnat Bharat Scheme.

GoI launches “SPICe+” to improve Ease of Doing Business in the country

• On February 24, 2020, the Government of India launched SPICe+, a web form that integrates 10 services of
various ministries and departments.
• This will help boost Ease of Doing Business in India. It was launched by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
• India ranked 63rd in Ease of Doing Business ranking published by World Bank.
• The Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company Electronically Plus provides 10 services thereby saving
time, cost for starting a business in India.
PM Kisan Mobile App launched to succeed “Doubling Farmer Income by 2022”
• The successful completion of one year of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi is being celebrated on
February 24, 2020.
• In order to commemorate its success, PM Kisan Mobile app was launched by the Minister of Agriculture and
Farmer Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar.
• The application helps farmers to learn about their payment status, their eligibility towards a scheme and
several other information.
The application will help the government to reach farmers easily.
PM-Kisan Scheme completes one year
• On February 24, 2020, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana completed one year of its
implementation.
• The scheme was launched to increase the income of farmers. It aims to help farmers by providing them
income support of Rs 6,000 per year.
• The scheme was launched by PM Modi on February 24, 2019 at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.
• It is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare.
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 Monthly Government Schemes Capsule
February 2020

Fourth Anniversary of Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission celebrated

• The Fourth Anniversary of Shyama Mukherji Rurban Mission is being celebrated all over India on February
21, 2020.
• It was launched on February 21, 2016.
• The mission aims at stimulating local economic development and create well planned Urban Regions.
• The mission aims to develop 300 Rurban clusters. The Niti Aayog has proposed that these clusters are to be
extended to 1000 in 3 years.
Union Cabinet approves Revamping of PM Fasal Bima Yojana and RWBCIS schemes to address challenges
• On February 19, 2020, the Union Cabinet approved revamping of challenges in insurance schemes such as
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme
(RWBCIS).
• The following changes are to be undertaken in the crop insurance schemes. The time period for an
insurance company to work under the scheme is to be extended to 3 years.
• The Central subsidy has been limited to 30% for irrigated areas and 25% for irrigated areas.
• With these steps, farmers will be able to cover and manage risks of agriculture production.

Cabinet approves Phase II of Swachh Bharat Mission

• On February 19, 2020, the Union Cabinet approved the phase II of Swachh Bharat Mission.
• The phase II of the mission will focus on Open Defecation Free Plus.
• The budget allocated for phase II of the mission is Rs 52,497 crores. The mission in this phase is to converge
with Jal Jeevan Mission and MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act).
• Apart from the focus maintaining the status of Open Defecation Free, the mission also aims to provide rural
employment.
GoI to launch “TILHAN Mission” to make India Self Reliant in oil seed Production
• On February 19, 2020, the Agricultural Minister Narendra Singh Tomar announced that the Government of
India is to launch “TILHAN MISSION” to boost the oil seed production.
• The announcement was made at an occasion of Soil Health Card Day.
• Soil Health Card Day was celebrated all over India on February 19, 2020.
• The Government of India is to increase oil seed production in order to make the country self-reliant in oil
seed production.
Soil Health Card Day
• In order to commemorate the launch of Soil Health Card Scheme, the GoI is marking Soil Health Card Day on
February 19, 2020.
• The Soil Health Card Scheme was launched by PM Modi on February 19, 2015.
• TThe Scheme was launched in 2015 to evaluate soil fertility. It was introduced to issue soil health cards
every two years.
The aim of the scheme is to promote soil tests in order to promote nutrient management.
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana: 4th National Conference held in Udaipur
• On February 17, 2020, the fourth National Conference of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was held in
Udaipur, Rajasthan.
• The Conference was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

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February 2020

• The Conference was attended by more than 140 members. It included members from NABARD (National
Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development), RBI (Reserve Bank of India), insurance companies, etc.
• Currently, the scheme has three active participants namely the state government, banking sector and and
the insurance sector.
• According to the experts at the conference, for the scheme to achieve success, active participation of all the
three stakeholders is essential.
Atal Bhujal Yojana: GoI and World Bank signed loan agreement of 450 million USD
• On February 17, 2020, the World Bank and the Government of India signed a loan agreement to support
the national programme that aims on strengthening ground water institutions and also arrest the depletion
of ground water resources.
• The project supported by the World Bank called the “National Ground Water Management Improvement
Programme” is to be implemented in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana.
• The programme is to cover 78 districts. The districts were selected based on degree of groundwater
depletion, degradation and exploitation of groundwater, institutional readiness in implementing initiatives
related to management of groundwater.
• The states were selected as they span hard rock aquifers that are present in peninsular India and alluvial
aquifers that are found in Indo-Gangetic Plain.
GoI approves two AIIMS institutes and 9 medical colleges for Jammu and Kashmir
• Since the Abrogation of Article 370, the GoI has been keenly focussing on improving the infrastructure in
the Kashmir region.
• The AIIMS proposal was approved by the Union Government under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha
Yojana.
• The cost of the project estimated is Rs 1,661 crores. The project is to be completed by 2022.
• The AIIMS will also hold nursing college. Above all, the building is to be constructed as a green building.

Ayushman Bharat: School Health Ambassador initiative launched

• On February 12, 2020, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare introduced School Health Ambassador
initiative.
• Under the initiative, two teachers in every school are to be made as Health and Wellness ambassadors.
• The initiative is to be linked with other initiatives such as Eat Right Campaign, Fit India Movement and
Poshan Abhiyan.
• 11 themes have been identified for the initiative. It includes growing up healthy, interpersonal
relationships, emotional well-being, values and responsible citizenship, nutrition, health, gender equality,
promotion of healthy lifestyles, HIV prevention, safety and security against violence and promotion of safe
use of internet.
The 2 ambassadors appointed under the scheme will work on the above themes. They will focus on health
promotion and prevention components.
Best Performing Smart Cities paired up with least performing to work as SISTER CITIES
• The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has paired up 20 best performing smart cities with least
performing cities.They will work as “sister cities”.
• he best performing cities include Tiruppur, Nagpur, Bhopal, Ranchi, Kanpur, Surat, Indore, Vellore,
Vishakhapatnam, Varanasi, Vellore, Nashik, Vadodar Pune, Kota, Davangere, Dehradun, Udaipur, Amaravati
and Agra.
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February 2020

• The sister cities under the programme will sign MoUs. For instance, Ranchi has been paired with Pune, and
Shimla with Dharmsala and so on. The pairin The pairing has been done based on culture and region.
• The programme to join a least performing city with the best performing city has been named 20-20
formula.
Atal Innovation Mission joins with several ministries to stimulate innovation in India
• On February 5, 2020, the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) joined hands with several ministries such as MSME,
agriculture, food processing and also with NITI Aayog to stimulate innovation in India.
• The mission aimed to showcase government funded innovations.
• In order to achieve its objective, AIM began its first demo session with the Ministry of Food Processing and
Ministry of Agriculture.
The event was held at Atal Incubation Centre. More than 30 government supported technologies of
agriculture and food processing were exhibited on the occasion.
National Productivity Council study: Fertilizer use reduced by 10% with the use of soil cards
• The study conducted by the National Productivity Council has reported that the use of soil cards has
reduced the fertilizer use by 10% in the country.
• The study also reported that productivity has increased by 5-6% due to soil cards.
• This is mainly because the soil card scheme aims at addressing the issue of declining soil nutrients.
The Soil Health Card Scheme was launched by the Modi Government in 2014-15 in order to address the
issue of declining soil nutrients.
PMMVY awards: Madhya Pradesh wins; Manipur won among NE states
• On February 3, 2020, the Ministry of Women and Child Development awarded Pradhan Mantri Matru
Vandhana Yojana (PMMVY) awards to states and Union Territories and Districts.
• The award function was organized to promote competitive federalism among the states.
• The Awards were presented under three categories namely best performance since inception,
Under this, in the category of more than 1 crore population, Madhya Pradesh bagged the award followed
by Andhra Pradesh and Haryana at second and third second and third positions respectively.
SFURTI Scheme update given in the Parliament-Rs 2.3 crores budget allocated
• The Ministry of MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) on February 3, 2020, provided an update on
the SFURTI scheme being implemented.
• A total amount of Rs 2.3 crores has been sanctioned for the scheme in the budget 2020.
• To build market intelligence, advanced processes, traditional skills and cluster based regenerated traditional
industries.
The clusters will focus on silk, handicrafts, cane products and bamboo in the year 2020-21.

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