Monthly Government

Current Affairs MonthlySchemes

Capsule I
Capsule|February 2021
September 2020

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 Government Schemes |April 2021

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES CURRENT AFFAIRS

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana
 The Government of India recently announced that it will provide five kilograms of free food
grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana till June 2021.
 Free food grains are being provided to those covered under the National Food Security Act,
2013. This is to continue till June 2021.
 The extension of the scheme is to cost an additional Rs 26,000 crores. The Government of
India has announced that it will bear all the expenditure.
 Also, the central assistance is to be provided to states and union territories on account of
intrastate transportation.
Insurance Scheme for Health Workers under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana
 The Government of India is to extend the insurance scheme for health workers under the
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana for another 1 year.
 The current COVID Warrior Insurance Scheme that was launched by the Government of
India in 2020 was to end by March 24, 2021. Thus, the GoI is extending the scheme.
 The GoI had provided one-month window to invite final claims under the scheme till April 24,
2021.
 However, now the scheme has been extended for one year after increasing concerns against
the closure of the scheme.
Startup India Seed Fund Scheme
 The Union Minister for Commerce and Industry recently launched the ‘Start-Up India Seed
Fund’ scheme.
 The scheme aims to provide financial support to the startups for their prototype
development, proof of concept, product trials, market entry.
 The scheme will provide Rs 945 crores in the next four years to the startups.
 It is expected to support more than 3,600 startups through three hundred incubators.
Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme
 The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy recently released the first
tranche of Rs 672 crores under the Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme for the year 2021-22.
 This reimbursed the fees for 10.88 lakh students. So far, a total of Rs 4, 879 crores have been
disbursed under the Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme.
 The main objective of the Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme is to provide scholarships to
all the students who are not able to pay their fees because of their financial burden.
 The scheme mainly focuses on students seeking higher education. It aims to provide fee

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reimbursement to more than 14 lakh students of the state.

National Internet Exchange of India Initiatives
 The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology recently launched 3 new initiatives
of the National Internet Exchange of India.
 They were NIXI Academy, IP Guru, and NIXI-IP-INDEX.
 The res. in, gov. in, ac. in are operated by ERNET, National Internet Exchange of India, and
Ministry of Defence.
The health sector included in the ECLGS scheme
 The Ministry of Finance recently expanded the scope of the Emergency Credit Line
Guarantee Scheme to Rs 3 lakh crores.
 It aims to provide relief to stressed companies in the country.
 This mainly includes business enterprises in the tourism, hospitality, travel, and sporting
sector.
 The validity of all the three ECLGS, that is, ECLGS 1.0, ECLGS 2.0, and ECLGS 3.0 have been
extended till June 2021.
Distribution of SVAMITVA E-Property Cards
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the distribution of E-Property Cards under the
Svamitva Scheme. 4.09 lakh property cards were distributed.
 The cards were distributed on the sidelines of the National Panchayati Raj Day celebrations.
 The Svamitva Scheme was launched in 2020 on National Panchayati Raj day.
 Svamitva is basically ‘Survey of Villages & Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village
Areas’.
Large Area Certification (LAC) Scheme of PGS-India- A&N gets certification
 The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare recently announced that around 14,491
hectares of land in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been certified as organic.
 This is the first large contiguous territory to be certified under a government scheme.
 Under the scheme, each village is considered as one cluster or group.
 The farmers have to adhere to the standard requirements without the need to undergo a
conversion period to get certified. This was launched under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas
Yojana.
Gender Samvaad Event
 The Ministry of Rural Development recently launched the Gender Samvaad Event.
 It is a joint initiative between DAY-NRLM and IWWAGE. The main objective of the Gender
Samvaad event was to create awareness of gender-related interventions under the DAY-
NRLM.
 The main objective of the Gender Samvaad event was to create awareness of gender-

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related interventions under the DAY-NRLM.

 DAY-NRLM is Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission. IWWAGE is
Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy.
PLI Scheme: Critical Bulk Drugs approved
 The Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers recently approved sixteen applicants under the
Production Linked Incentive scheme.
 The approvals will promote domestic manufacturing of drug intermediates and Active
Pharmaceutical Ingredients in the country.
 The approved applicants will set up pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in the country.
They will invest around Rs 348 crores in establishing these units.
 These plants are expected to create employment for more than 3,042 people. The operation
of these plants is expected to commence in April 2023.
ITCN Programme
 The National Institute of Urban Affairs recently launched the Infant Toddler and Caregiver
friendly Neighbourhoods Training and Capacity Building Programme.
 The Institute is partnered by Bernard van Leer Foundation in implementing the programme.
 The ITCN programme is designed to build capacities of young professionals and city officials
to develop young children and family-friendly neighbourhoods in the country.
 The training is to be delivered through the National Urban Learning Platform. The platform
operates under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Poshan Gyan: Digital Repository on Nutrition Information
 NITI Aayog recently launched Poshan Gyan along with the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation and the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change, Ashoka University.
 Poshan Gyan is a National Digital Repository on health and nutrition.
 Poshan Gyan is basically an online resource for any person working in the nutrition sector.
 It is also accessible for any person seeking information to improve nutritional outcomes.
Aahaar Kranti: Mission launched by Health Minister
 The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan recently launched
“Mission Aahaar Kranti”.
 The mission aims to spread the message of the importance of a nutritionally balanced diet.
 It will also promote the importance of accessibility to local fruits and vegetables.
 India produces two times the amount of calories it consumes. Still, several people are
malnourished in the country.
GoI to launch National Programme on Artificial Intelligence
 The Government of India is to launch National Programme on Artificial Intelligence.
 Under the programme, high-value data sets in Public Sector Units are to be identified.

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 These data will then be put under an Artificial Intelligence control framework.
 The framework will provide access to the appropriate units. This is being done to increase
the safety of the data and its accessibility.
Mask Abhiyan of Odisha
 The Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik recently launched a fourteen-day “Mask
Abhiyan” initiative to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
 The main objective of the initiative is to turn the use of mask into a habit. This will play a
huge role in controlling the current resurgence of COVID-19.
 Also, the Odisha State Government has increased the fines for violators from Rs 1000 to Rs
2000.
 The Odisha Government had also made amendments to the COVID-19 regulations under
the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
Atal Innovation Mission: CSIR Adopts 295 Atal Tinkering Labs
 The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research recently adopted 295 Atal Tinkering Labs
established under Atal Innovation Mission.
 This will help young innovators associated with the Atal Tinkering Labs to learn from the
best scientists in the country.
 It will pave way for them to become living inspirations for their schools and local
communities.
 CSIR and Atal Innovation Mission will conduct series of webinars for the students.
What is KVIC’s RE-HAB Project?
 The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari recently announced that
the project of Khadi and Village Industries (KVIC) called RE-HAB has become a huge
success.
 Thus, it is to be implemented in other states as well. This includes Odisha, West Bengal,
Jharkhand, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
 Project RE-HAB is Reducing Elephant Human Attacks using Bees. It was launched at four
spots in the Nagarhole National Park of Karnataka.
 The project aims to prevent elephant human conflicts without creating harm to either of
them.
Jal Jeevan Mission: State-Wise Planning Exercise started for 2021–22
 The Ministry of Jal Shakti recently announced that it is to roll out an annual planning
exercise with the States and Union Territories.
 The exercise is to be conducted by a committee chaired by the Secretary of the Department
of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
 The Committee is to do rigorous scrutiny of the proposed Annual Action Plan for the year

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2021-22 prepared by the States and the Union Territories. The plan will then be finalised.
 The Government of India has allocated Rs 50,000 crores to the Jal Jeevan Mission for the
financial year 2021-22.
Anamaya: Tribal Health Collaborative
 The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister recently launched the Tribal Health
Collaborative called “Anamaya”.
 It was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the
Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
 The collaborative will set up the National Council on Tribal Health and a Tribal Health Cell
to monitor the health care needs in tribal areas.
 Child mortality halved among the tribal population in 26 years. It was 90 in 1988 and has
reduced to 44 in 2014.
Union Cabinet: PLI Scheme for Air Conditioners and LED Lights approved
 The Union Cabinet recently approved the Production Linked Scheme for White Goods such
as Air conditioners and LED lights.
 The main objective of the scheme is to make manufacturing in India globally competitive.
 This is to be achieved by creating economies of scale, removing sectoral disabilities and
ensuring efficiencies.
 The scheme will make India an integral part of the global supply chain.
G-sec acquisition programme – G-SAP 1.0
 The Reserve Bank of India recently announced a Government Security Acquisition
Programme, GSAP 1.0. Under the programme, the central bank will purchase government
bonds worth Rs 1 trillion (or one lakh crores of rupees).
 The first purchase of Rs 25,000 crore is to be made on April 15, 2021.
 The GSAP 1.0 will provide more comfort to the bond market. As the borrowing of the
Government increased this year, RBI has to ensure there is no disruption in the Indian
market.
 In the fiscal year 2021, the Reserve Bank of India purchased Rs 3.13 trillion worth of bonds
from the secondary market. However, it was carried out in an ad hoc manner.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana: 1.12 crore employment generated
 The Ministry of Finance recently announced that nearly Rs 15 lakh crores have been
sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY).
 More than 28 crores 68 lakh loans have been sanctioned since the launch of Pradhan Mantri
MUDRA Yojana.
 51% of the total loans provided under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana were provided to
SC, ST and OBC borrowers.

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 The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana has helped to generate 1 crore 12 lakh net additional
employment between 2015 and 2018. Of this, women accounted for 62%.
India sets new record in ethanol blend with petrol
 In the first four months of ethanol supply year 2020-21, India has reached more than 7.2%.
 This is the first time India has reached this level. This puts the country right on its course of
achieving the target of 10% blending by 2022.
 If oil marketing companies lift the ethanol they had contracted for, then by November 2021,
India shall reach an average blending of 8%. So far, the best ethanol blend with petrol in
India was 5.2%.
 In states of Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana,
Uttarakhand, Delhi, Daman and Diu, Himachal Pradesh, 9.5% to 10% ethanol is being
blended with petrol.
Digital India: India leads in Digital Payments
 The UK based payments system company ACI recently released a report on digital
payments.
 According to the report, India has the highest number of real-time online transactions in
2020.
 The Digital payment market of India is led by Paytm, PhonePe, BharatPe, Pine Labs, etc.
 The UPI (Unified Payment Interface) transaction increased by 18.7% in March 2021 as
compared to February 2021. In February 2021, the UPI transaction was Rs 4.25 lakh crores
and in March 2021, it was Rs 5.05 lakh crores.
Small Savings Schemes: West Bengal becomes the highest contributor
 The National Savings Institute operating under the Ministry of Finance recently announced
that West Bengal is the top contributor to the Small Savings Scheme in the country.
 The state contributes 15% of the total corpus. It has so far collected Rs 90,000 crores under
the Small Savings Scheme.
 West Bengal was followed by Uttar Pradesh with a contribution of 15.09%. The state of
Uttar Pradesh has collected Rs 69,660 crores.
 Maharashtra was ranked third. The state of Maharashtra contributed 10.57%, which is Rs
63,026 crores.
PM SVANidhi Scheme: 1.6% loans from the private sector
 The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs recently announced that over twenty lakh street
vendors have been provided loans under the PM SVANidhi scheme till March 29, 2021.
 Of this, eighteen lakh loans were provided by the Public Sector Banks.
 On the other hand, the private sector banks have provided only 32,534 loans. Bottom line,
the private sector banks have provided only 1.6% of loans under the PM SVANidhi scheme.

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 Under the scheme, the vendors are provided with an initial capital of Rs 10,000. The vendor
availing of the loan facility will get an interest subsidy of 7%.
PLI Scheme for Food Processing Industry: Key Facts
 The Union Cabinet has approved a production-linked incentive scheme for the food
processing industry with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore.
 The scheme was announced by the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution, Piyush Goyal.
 The scheme is a fitting tribute to farmers and it will be helpful in generating employment for
2.5 lakh people.
 The scheme would also lead to additional exports of Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 35,000 crore.
What are New Rates on PPF, Small Savings Schemes?
 The Union Cabinet has approved a production-linked incentive scheme for the food
processing industry with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore.
 The scheme was announced by the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution, Piyush Goyal.
 The scheme is a fitting tribute to farmers and it will be helpful in generating employment for
2.5 lakh people.
 The scheme would also lead to additional exports of Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 35,000 crore.

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