Report on New Economic Initiative

The current governing party of India i.e. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had
introduced many economic initiatives since 2014. Each new program addresses
specific electoral campaign promises, and is followed by a promotional
wherein catchy slogans highlight fundamental aims. The effectiveness of these
programs, some barely few months old, cannot be fully assessed until they
mature over the next several years.
Last week we had a discussion with our professor over these economic
initiatives and we ended up dividing teams to gain more knowledge about
these initiatives. Each group had to gather information about one economic
initiative and then make a power point presentation to present in front of the
whole class to provide information to other students. My team got “Stand up
India” as our topic. The lecture in which these presentations were given was so
much fun to attend. I gathered a lot of new information regarding these
initiatives.
Made in India, Skill India, PM Jan Dhan Yojna, stand up India and Atal pension
Yojna are the government’s top priority economic projects. Given below is a
brief overview of these initiatives: -
1) Made in India: - The initiative was formally introduced on September 25,
2014 by Mr Modi at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, in the presence of
business giants from India. Make in India is a major national programme
of the Government of India designed to facilitate investment, foster
innovation, enhance skill development, protect intellectual property and
build best in class manufacturing infrastructure in the country. The
primary objective of this initiative is to attract investments from across
the globe and strengthen India’s manufacturing sector. It is being led by
the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT),
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The Make in
India programme is very important for the economic growth of India as
it aims at utilising the existing Indian talent base, creating additional
employment opportunities and empowering secondary and tertiary
sector. The programme also aims at improving India’s rank on the Ease
 of Doing Business index by eliminating the unnecessary laws and
regulations, making bureaucratic processes easier, making the
government more transparent, responsive and accountable.
2) Skill India: - Skill India is an initiative launched by the government in
2015 to train over 40 million Indians in different industry related jobs.
The vision is to create an empowered workforce by 2022 with the help
of various schemes and training. The main objective of Skill India
programme is to provide adequate training in market relevant skills to
over 40 million people till 2022. It also aims to create opportunities for
the development of talent within the country and improve the overall
scope and space for underdeveloped sectors. It does so with assistance
from the national skill development corporation or NSDC. The skill India
programme has numerous benefits for instance with proper skill
development the youth of India can access better paying jobs and
experience a higher standard of living. Lastly with trained Indians
entering the workforce better results can be achieved at a quicker pace,
which has the potential to boost the country’s economic growth.
3) PM Jan Dhan Yojna: - The scheme was launched in August 2014, and
according to the Ministry of Finance, over 4 crore banks accounts have
been opened till September 2014. Under the PMJDY scheme, some of
the financial services that are offered to individuals are pension,
insurance, and banking. The Indian Government launched the Pradhan
Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in order to provide financial services
and products to individuals who do not have access to a bank account.
A) No minimum balance to be maintained
B) As per bank’s saving’s account interest rate
C) Transfer of money is simple
D)Overdraft facility available
4) Stand Up India: - Stand Up India Scheme facilitate bank loans between 10
lakh and 1 crore to at least one scheduled caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe,
borrower and at least one women per bank branch for setting up a greenfield
enterprise. This enterprise may be in manufacturing, services or the trading
sector. In case of non-individual enterprises at least 51% of the shareholding
and controlling stake should be held by either an SC/ST or Woman
entrepreneur. There are various benefits of the Stand-Up India Scheme that
can assist an entrepreneur set up their own venture with ease.
5) Atal Pension Yojna: - APY aims to help these workers save money for their
old age while they are working and guarantees returns post retirement. The
scheme also promises a co-contribution by Central Government of 50 per cent
of the total prescribed contribution by a worker, up to Rs. 1000 per annum, but
only to those who joined APY before 31.12.2015. APY is a periodic
contribution-based pension plan and promises a fixed monthly pension of Rs
1000/ Rs 2000/ Rs 3000/ Rs 4000 or Rs 5000. Your monthly contribution
depends upon the fixed amount of monthly pension you want and the age
when you start Contributions. Therefore, even if you join APY at 40 years of
age you need to pay premium for a minimum of 20 years to avail the pension.
So, this was brief of all the information I gathered from all the presentations
my classmates presented. This activity turned to be very fun and informative.
We were able to gather so many information about these initiatives and how
they are beneficial for our country.