 Falling INR

Indian Economy  High Fiscal deficit

Status:  High External debt
 Sub-7% rate of growth.  High Inflation
 Savings and investment has declined.  Portfolio outflows
 Current rate of inflation at 1.5% well below target  Negative Real rates
of 4%.  Slowdown steepest in manufacturing, mining due
 India’s per capita energy consumption is almost to demo.
one-third the global average.
 macroeconomic expansion Some of the favourable factors of current economy
 FDI has increased  Inflation has been moderate, and touched a low of
 India’s tax-to-GDP ratio is just 16.6% as compared 1.5% recently.
to emerging market economy average of 21% and  Both trade and fiscal deficits are moderate and
OECD average of 34%. manageable. So they don’t eat up investible
 The agricultural sector grew 2.3 percent resources or precious foreign exchange.
 The civil aviation sector saw passenger traffic  The interest rate has been cut repeatedly over the
soaring by 15.6%, past year and a half.
 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking  The inward rush of dollars is at a peak, both in
placed India at a lowly 130 out of 150 financial markets (stocks and bonds) and as direct
 The overall Budget objective being to “Transform, investment.
Energise and Clean”  The stock market index is at an all-time high.
 22% of people lie BPL.  Oil prices have been stable and comfortably low.
 FOREX Reserve - $402 b (Sept 2017)  Finally, the monsoon has been normal.
 Cash to GDP – 9% (12% before demone)
Slowdown steepest in manufacturing,
Challenges of Indian Economy: The manufacturing growth at 1.2% is the lowest in the
 Banking sector is saddled with rising non- past five years. It’s the lowest since we switched to a
performing assets. new methodology (based on Gross Value Added).
 Poor infrastructure
Reasons:
 Jobless growth
 Uncertainty related to the GST rollout on 1 July,
 Poor agricultural sector growth
which came about after demonetization, saw
 Manufacturing sector is still lagging behind as
manufacturers cutting production and consequent
shown by IIP data.
inventory deaccumulation.
 Automation is another emerging challenge for
 Bank credit shrank by 1.8%, i.e. negative growth.
which our economy hasn’t been geared with.
 Inequality in India.
Significance of a scheme
 Will result in creation of modern infrastructure.
Slowdown in the April-June quarter
 Provide better prices to farmers and is a big step
CSO showed the economy grew 5.7% in April-June. Loss
towards doubling of farmers’ income.
of 1% growth rate means a lot. In nominal terms, one  Will create huge employment opportunities
percentage less of growth translates into a loss of ₹1.5 especially in the rural areas.
lakh crore of national income. It also signifies millions Keywords
of jobs not created.  Macroeconomic Prudence
Reason:  Achieving global integration
 Low export base  Job opportunities
 High CAD  Cross subsidization
 Rising NPAs  Spill Over effect
 Human Capital India is doing fairly well on the growth front: the overall
 Hinterland Development economy is growing at 7.1%, while the services sector,
 Sunrise Industries which accounts for over 53% of the gross value added,
is clocking 9% growth, the highest in the world in the
Way Ahead: services sector among major economies, according to
 A multipronged approach with attention to all the Economic Survey. The trouble is, this is not
sectors of the economy with adequate thrust on
translating into an adequate number of jobs.
rural development, agriculture, infrastructure,
Employment Elasticity (% of Jobs per % of growth) – 0.4
skill development, manufacturing and
(pre – 1991) now around – 0.02%.
employment generation.
 Faster resolution of the twin balance sheets is
critical to rekindling private investment. Universal Basic Income:
 Accelerating the pace of agricultural reforms The primary objective is to enable every citizen to have
 Targeted capital expenditure a certain minimum income. Universal imply will be
 Improving ease of doing business and the multiple provided to everyone irrespective of whatever their
infrastructure initiatives, particularly in roads and current income is.
power. Three important question – (i) universal or restricted
 Stressed sectors like telecom and power need (ii) what the level of minimum income is and how this
speedier resolution. is to be determined (iii) the financing mechanism for
 Employment generation and/or
implementing such a scheme.
underemployment reduction should be the most
The leakages in the subsidy system - the poor get very
important policy objective.
little of what is spent in their name.
 Exports rather than the domestic market is to be
Support in the form of goods and services or as cash?
the engine of industrial growth.
 There should be a shift from small enterprises to Cash gives the discretion to beneficiaries to spend it
large companies as the main vehicle of export any way they like. On the other hand, the provision of
growth. services or goods directly to beneficiaries may be
 There should be a parallel shift in focus towards directed to achieve certain objectives in terms of
expanding the formal and organized sectors of the nutrition or health or education. In India, income
economy. support should be thought as a supplement to services
 Export zones should be seen as hubs for already provided even though a hard look at some of
employment rather than just investment. the provisions is absolutely essential.
 Proper implementation of big-ticket reforms like Universal or restricted?
GST and the bankruptcy code.
The attempt must be to think in terms of reducing the
 The government should also aggressively pursue
number of beneficiaries using easily definable criteria.
disinvestment and privatization, which will help
It is true that a universal scheme is easy to implement.
augment resources.
Feasibility is the critical question. There is also the
consideration of fairness. But strict targeting will run
Focus Area
 New India by 2022, into complex problems of identification.
 Doubling Farmer’s Incomes by 2022 What should be the minimum increase?
 Creating Cities of Tomorrow, Whether the scheme should be universal or restricted
 Taking Forward Make in India, depends on the level of basic income that is proposed
 Reforming Financial sector and to be provided.
 Building World- Class Infrastructure. More than 60% of the total poor lies between 75% of
the poverty line and the poverty line. Therefore, what
The reality of jobless growth is needed is a supplement to fill the poverty gap. One
alternative would be to determine the required income contributes 4 per cent to the country’s GDP.
supplement from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural  India, however, stands at the cross roads in
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). exports, facing stiff competition from China,
How to finance the scheme? Bangladesh, EU, Hongkong, Vietnam, Indonesia,
By phasing out some revenue expenditure and the USA and Cambodia.
Reforms:
increasing the tax base.
 100 per cent FDI in textile sector
Challenges:
 Amended Technology Upgradation Fund
 Phasing out food related subsidy as it can have
Scheme(ATUFS)
negative impact on food security.
 Technology Mission on Technical Textiles (TMTT)
 Withdrawal of government support from public
 Establishment of Focus Incubation Centres,
goods and necessities like health, education is not
Market Development Assistance, Mega Cluster
justifiable as weaker section have different needs
Development Schemes.
which cannot be met by transferring money.
 VASTRA, an all-encompassing trade fair and
 It might raise wages due to the decline in the
conference on Textiles and Apparel, presents a
supply of casual laborers.
fusion of the finest and the latest in textile
 The other big challenge relates to co-ordination
products – from fibre to fashion, services and
between state and central governments.
technology by Rajasthan State government.
Way ahead:
 Powertex India
UBI alone is not sufficient for the overall upliftment of
 Integrated Scheme for Powerloom Sector
poor. Two distinct sets of reforms are needed: Development (ISPSD)
 Broad-based economic reforms that would
strengthen entrepreneurship, remove barriers to
Issue of cess being subsumed by GST
job creation, and increase the returns to human
GST subsumed several central & state cesses levies
capital investments by the poor.
under it. Environment cesses subsumed- Water Cess,
 Specific reforms to allow the poor to gain better
education and health. Clean Energy Cess and Swachh Bharat Cess.
To conclude, introducing the UBI is unrealistic. In fact, Issue
 Loss to state pollution control boards: Cess was
the concept of a basic income must be turned
the second most important source of revenue for
essentially into a supplemental income.
State pollution control boards after consent fees.
Even if the loss is made good through budgetary
Recent Changes in FDI policy
allocation, its routing will play a critical role. The
 Competent authority: The document has spelt out
channelling of money through State budgets will
“competent authority” for FDI approvals,
make the boards even more vulnerable to the
delegating powers to mainly administrative
discretion of State governments, which have a
departments in the absence of the Foreign
dismal track record of empowering the pollution
Investment Promotion Board.
watchdogs.
 Computation: The document has formally clarified
 Abolition of Swachh Bharat Cess.
that restriction of 25% on sales of one vendor
 Abolition of cess levied on coal: Touted as a tax on
through an e-commerce marketplace will be
carbon, it met almost 50 per cent of the budget of
computed on a financial year basis.
the ministry of new and renewable energy for
2016-17.
Textile Sector Way Ahead
 Indian textile industry is also the second largest  The Budget 2018-19 should adequately
employer after agriculture generating compensate ministries for the loss of revenue.
employment to over 45 million Indian people  It is time for a Green Tax Council, at par with the
directly and over 60 million people indirectly. It GST Council, to design and implement
 environmental fiscal reform in India. has merely 30 days to put together all the relevant
information and call for a meeting of the financial
Banking creditors. And further a resolution plan is created
Public Credit Registry (PCR) which must be approved by at least 75% of the
RBI is considering the creation of PCR. The PCR will be financial creditors.
an extensive database of credit information for India Flaws:
that is accessible to all stakeholders.  The Code gives extra emphasis on the
unquestionable word of the creditors. Neither
Need: In the absent of a PCR, the ‘good’ borrowers are
does the corporate debtor have an opportunity to
disadvantaged in not being able to distinguish
put forth his/her case nor is there any scope of
themselves from the rest in opaque credit markets;
discretion provided to the adjudicating authority
they could potentially be subjected to a rent being itself.
extracted from their existing lenders who enjoy an  No opportunity to the corporate debtor to make a
information monopoly over them. representation at various stages in the case which
Benefits of having a PCR: is against PNJ.
 A PCR can potentially help banks in credit  The Code does not provide for the qualification of
assessment and pricing of credit as well as in the interim and of the final insolvency resolution
making risk-based, dynamic and counter-cyclical professionals.
provisioning.  It allows for any person to access the information
 The PCR can also help the RBI in understanding if memorandum put together by the insolvency
transmission of monetary policy is working, and if professional without restricting competitors or
not, where are the bottlenecks. imposing any confidentiality obligations.
 Further, it can help supervisors, regulators and  The Code prohibits withdrawal of the application
banks in early intervention and effective once the same has been admitted. This means
restructuring of stressed bank credits. that there is no scope whatsoever for settlement.
 A PCR will also help banks and regulators as credit
information is a ‘public good’ and its utility is to Non-Performing Assets
the credit market at large and to society in general. NPA are credits or loans giving by banks on which
principle and interest payment is due over 90 days of
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 time as specified by RBI. NPA’s have turned out to be
It aims to overhaul laws relating to reorganisation and the biggest hurdle in banks development in India. India
insolvency resolution of corporate persons, is gripped with serious NPA problem of worth 11 lakh
partnership firms, and individuals; attempts to ease crore.
the process of recovery of money by operational and Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Financial Stability Report
financial creditors in a timely manner; and places the released in June warned that the banking system’s
onus on professionals to put forth resolution plans gross bad loan ratio could rise to as high as 10.2% of
within 180 days. the total loan book by March 2018 from 9.6% in March
Process: 2017.
 A notice of dispute to be issued followed by a Sectors contributing maximum and reasons for lack of
response period of 10 days for the corporate
revenue generation from these sectors are:
debtor failing which the creditor is entitled to file
 Corporate sector: During Boom time they
an insolvency application before the NCLT.
borrowed considerably, then global recession
 Within 14 days from filling application must be
couldn’t achieve revenue. To continue operation,
admitted.
they borrowed again but still no return on
 After this, the existing management of the
investments.
company loses complete control and all powers
 Power sector: Selling at very low rate at 2.4/kwh
vest with an interim resolution professional, who
 far below break-even rate of 4/kwh. Also most of  Skill India – skilling of 40 Cr by 2022.
the time shortage of coal, inefficient machinery  Every year 1-1.5 Cr people entering the workforce.
and servicing problem.  Only 2.3% has undergone any skill training.
 Telecoms: Interest coverage ratio has decreased  Automation threatens 69% of the jobs in India,
due to entry of new players which fiercely while it’s 77% in China, according to a World Bank
increased competition and results in price war. research. By 2021, 4 out of 10 jobs would be lost
 Mining: Environmental clearance hurdles and to automation globally and 1 out 4would be from
licensing issues. India.
 Other sectors like Metals, textiles, chemicals,  Only 5% of Indian workforce has any skill and only
engineering etc. are not able to produce enough 2% have any formal skill completion certificate.
revenue due to lack of investment in  Over the next 10 years, some 130 million young
modernization and stand up to competition from people will join the labour force across India.
foreign entrants.
Way out: Challenges
 RBI’s three mechanism: ARC, Strategic Debt  informal, unorganized and seasonal workers
restructuring, S4A (Strategic structuring of  high levels of under employment
Stressed Assets.  skill shortages
 5/25: This scheme offers wide window for revival.  rigid labour laws
 Indradhanush Program  Emergence of contract labour.
 Asset Quality Review (AQR): resolution of problem
requires loss recognition. Reforms
 The Public Sector Asset Rehabilitation Agency  Start-up India – Startup Hub, Startup IP protection
(PARA): To buy bad loans from banks and let banks Scheme, Startup Village Entrepreneurship
perform their core work. Programme (SVEP)
 Corporate Debt Restructuring Mechanism  Electropreneur Park
 Others like stop of ever greening of loans, 4R’s etc.  Deen Dayal Upadhyay Swaniyojan Yojana (DUSY)
 Insolvency and bankruptcy code for easy exit - to promote rural entrepreneurship under Start-
mechanism to tackle CHAKRAVYUH challenge. Up India campaign
 P.J. Nayak committee recommendations such as  short term skill training through Pradhan Mantri
BBB. Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and long term
 SARFAESI Act. training through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)
 Model Skill Centers are being set up in every
Social Enterprises district of the country under Pradhan Mantri
They are defined as enterprises that operate like a Kaushal Kendra Scheme.
business, produce goods and services for the market,  Indian Institute of Skills established in Kanpur
managing the operations but redirecting the surpluses  Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana: It has
in pursuit of social and environmental goals. They can been designed to incentivise employers for
generation of new employment, in which
be operated by a non-profit organization or by a for-
Government of India will be paying the 8.33% EPS
profit company, having its primary objective as ‘social
(Employee Provident Scheme) contribution of the
purpose’ at the top and ‘commercial purpose’ at the
employer for the new employment.
bottom.
 Indian Society for Training and Development
(ISTD) is planning to form a national registry of
Employment, Job Creation & Skill Development skilled people to help upgrade the large number of
 Unemployment rate – 3.5% unskilled population in the country.
 It is estimated that the demographic dividend is  The ‘YUVA’ initiative by Delhi Police under PMKVY
expected to last for 25 years. to reduce crime.
 Model Shops & Establishment Bill, 2016 – boost  ShramSuvidha portal was launched to do away
employment especially for women with all employer codes being issued by separate
 Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for labour enforcement agencies such as ESIC, EPFO,
Livelihood Promotion programme (SANKALP) to CLC(C) and DGMS etc and by replacing them with
provide market relevant training. new LIN (Labour Identification Number).
 National Career Service (NCS) Project: The NCS  Ministry of Labour & Employment have taken
Portal brings together job seekers, employers and several reform initiatives, both legislative reforms
other stakeholders on a common platform by as well as Governance reforms through use of
providing a variety of employment-related technology, to reduce the complexity in
services like job matching, career counselling and compliance and bringing transparency and
information on skill development courses, accountability leading to better enforcement of
apprenticeships, etc. the Labour Laws.
 NRLM & NULM - for skills in employment.
 Some Schemes- PMYY, Skill India Programme, The law ministry has given its concurrence to the
PMKVY (RPL, Skill Certification Scheme), Indian draft Fugitive Economic Offenders bill that will give
Institute of Skill, National Apprenticeship powers to the government to confiscate property of
Promotion Scheme, Skill Banks (for UP, Bihar
economic offenders and defaulters who flee India,
migrant)
albeit with a new provision.
 Global Collaboration- Germany, Singapore.
 Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY) is launched Agriculture
with an aim to provide training and certify Indians
Dimensions to agricultural policy
who are seeking overseas employment.
 Ecological security
 Indian Enterprise Development Service (IEDS) - It
 Food security
will help in strengthening the organization and also
 Livelihood security
help in fulfilling the vision of “Start up India”, “Stand
up India” and “Make in India” by promoting
Facts:
indigenous industries.
 68% people live in rural India.
Labour Reforms  Average Farm size in the country = 1.12 ha
 Average land holding = 0.59 ha
 Constitution provison: Art – 23 (forced labor), 24
 Marginal Farmers (<1ha) - 70%
(Child labour), 42 (just and humane environment
 Small Farmers (1-2 ha) – 15%
& maternity relief), 43A (workers participation in
 Small and Marginal farmers together hold – 45%
management of industry).
of land.
 Introduction: Labour force has the capability to
 Large Farmers (10+ ha) - <1% hold 30% of the land
define the growth and development of any
 Farmers Income: Aquaculture, animal husbandry,
country. It plays the most important role in any
trade
economic activity. It is in this context that the
 SDG: Goal 2: promote sustainable agriculture.
labour welfare poses major challenge for the
 Biggest exporter of rice, the biggest producer of
policy makers in any country in terms of creating
milk, second-largest producer of fruits and
decent work environment and ensuring well-being
vegetables.
and prosperity of its labour force.
 MSP vs Central issue price - MSP is the price at
Issue in Labour Market:
which central government procures the food
 Sharp divide between organised and
grains from farmers. CIP is the price at which
unorganised sector.
government makes these food grains available to
 Sharp divide even between urban and rural
states. The states fix retail price to be charged at
unorganized sector.
fair price shops.
 Participation and role of women labour force.
Root causes of agrarian crisis:  Finance
 Fragmentation of land – Due to demographic  Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
pressure  Price Stabilization Fund
 Shortage of money - Landless or marginal farmers  Structural Reforms
lack the resources to either buy or lease more land  Revision of APMC and e-NAM -> Better price
or invest in farm infrastructure—irrigation, power, realization.
farm machinery, etc.—to compensate for the  Infrastructure
scarcity of land.  Prime Minister Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
 Post- harvest losses (PMKSY)
 Weather: The large majority of small farmers are  Soil Health Card
dependent on the rains.  Dairy development
 Depleting of water table levels.  ARYA (Attracting and Retaining Youth in
 Rising input cost. Agriculture) and AGRI-UDDAN
 Price variations: Farmers are usually at the mercy  ICAR has formulated National Agriculture Higher
of traders. The better the crop the lower would be Education Project.
the price.  FarmerZone by DoBT - It is a collective open-
 MSP: small farmers usually do not benefit from source data platform for smart agriculture which
the government assured MSPs. It mainly benefits will use biological research and data to improve
the large traders who sell grain to the government. the lives of small and marginal farmers.
 Failure of APMCs  NITI Aayog - Agricultural marketing, farmer
 Green Revolution lead to regional disparity. friendly reforms index
 RESOURCESAT-2A will be useful in crop area and
Reforms: production estimation, drought monitoring, soil
 Address the price risks in agriculture and allied mapping, cropping system analysis and farm
sectors, marketing infrastructure along the entire advisories generation.
value chain needs to be built and strengthened.
 To address production risks, the share of irrigated Challenges of Indian Agriculture
area should be expanded by increasing the Ecological
coverage of water saving irrigation systems like  Conservation of our basic agricultural assets such
micro irrigation systems. as land, water, and biodiversity.
 To increase productivity of crops, standards should  Making agriculture sustainable.
be set and enforced for better quality, pest and  Increasing productivity in perpetuity without
disease resistant seeds. ecological harm.
 Trade and domestic policy changes should be  In Punjab, and in other Green Revolution States,
announced well before sowing and should stay till the water table has gone down and become saline.
arrivals and procurement is over.  The growing population pressure
 To enhance women’s involvement in the dairy Economical
projects, funds should be earmarked through  Need to devise ways to lower the cost of
appropriate mechanisms. production and reduce the risks involved in
 Providing timely and affordable formal and agriculture such as pests, pathogens, and weeds.
institutional credit to the small and marginal  The expected return in agriculture is adverse to
farmers is the key to inclusive growth. farmers.
 Regime based on timely interventions needs to be  Raise the current MSP.
adopted.
 Reforming tenancy laws. Drawbacks of loan waivers:
 it covers only a tiny fraction of farmers
Steps Taken:  It will reduce aggregate demands by 0.7% of GDP
 (Eco Survey 2) premiums
 Only short term relief and meagre chance of  Improvement in implementation of Minimum
bringing farmers out of the vicious cycle of Support Price (MSP). Arrangements for MSP
indebtedness. need to be put in place for crops other than
 Loan waiving excludes agricultural labourers who paddy and wheat. Also, millets and other
are even weaker than cultivators in bearing the nutritious cereals should be permanently
consequences of economic distress. included in the PDS. MSP should be at least
 it severely erodes the credit culture and hence 50% more than the weighted average cost of
may lead to NPA. production.
 the scheme is prone to serious exclusion and 4. Land Reforms
inclusion errors, as evidenced by the Comptroller  Distributing ceiling surplus land and waste
and Auditor General’s (CAG) findings land.
Way Ahead
 Proper identification Measures to address the crisis of farmer’s suicides
 Enhance non- farm income  Provide affordable health insurance and revitalize
 Improved technology, expansion of irrigation primary healthcare centres. The NRHM should be
coverage, and crop diversification extended to suicide hotspot locations on priority
 Dedicated institutional credit mechanism. basis.
 Promote allied sectors.  Set up State level Farmers’ Commission with
 Dedicated financial institution representation of farmers for ensuring dynamic
 Changing cropping pattern. government response to farmers’ problems.
 Protect post-harvest lost through storage  Provide for a Social Security net with provision for
infrastructure development. old age support and health insurance.
 Promote aquifer recharge and rain water
Recommendation of M.S Swaminathan’s Report: conservation.
1. Irrigation:  Ensure availability of quality seed and other inputs
 Enable farmers to have sustained and at affordable costs and at the right time and place.
equitable access to water.  Need swift action on import duties to protect
 Increase water supply through rainwater farmers from international price.
harvesting and recharge of the aquifer.  Public awareness campaigns to make people
(“Million Wells Recharge” programme) identify early signs of suicidal behavior.
2. Agricultural Productivity
 Substantial increase in public investment in
Recommendations of Committee on Doubling of
agriculture related infrastructure particularly
Farmers’ Income:
in irrigation, drainage, land development,
water conservation, research development To achieve this we need to grow at 10% for next 5-6
and road connectivity. years.
 A national network of advanced soil testing The report pertains to three areas —
laboratories with facilities for detection of  productivity gains,
micronutrient deficiencies.  reduction in cost of cultivation, and
3. Credit and Insurance  Remunerative prices.
 Expand the outreach of the formal credit Strategic framework has four concerns —
system to reach the really poor and needy.  sustainable agro-production,
 Issue Kisan Credit Cards to women farmers,  monetisation of farmers’ produce,
with joint pattas as collateral  re-strengthening extension services, and
 Expand crop insurance cover to cover the  Recognising agriculture as an enterprise.
entire country and all crops, with reduced
Possible drivers of income growth for farmers practices here.
 Reduce the cost through subsided mechanization.
(the allocation for During the current year 2017- Addressing the challenges of Climate Change on
18, the allocation for Sub-Mission on Agricultural Indian agriculture
Mechanisation (SMAM) has been increased more  Providing timely information on monsoon
than two times). condition to rural families and the methods of
 Better price realisation for farmers through mitigating the effects of drought, and maximizing
competitive markets, value chains and improved the benefits of good growing conditions whenever
linkage between field and fork. the season is normal.
 Better target of subsidy.  Animal husbandry camps could be set up to make
 Incentivize the use of fertilizer (Soil Health card), arrangements for saving cattle and other farm
pesticide and better quality of seeds. animals because usually animals tend to be
 Reduce vulnerability by promoting farmer neglected during such crises.
insurance.  Should start breeding varieties characterised by
 Measures to deal with natural hazards. high per day productivity than just per crop
 Marketing reforms – NAM and APMC reform. productivity.
 Diversification of farm activities towards high-
value crops and enterprises. National-level data Soil Health Card Scheme:
reveals that shifting to high-value crops can more It is a scheme to provide every farmer a Soil Health
than quadruple income from the same piece of
Card in a Mission mode. It is a scheme under which the
land.
Central Government provides assistance to State
 Capital investment in Irrigation.
Governments for setting up Soil Testing Laboratories
 Technology up gradation in the aid of farmer.
for issuing Soil Health Cards to farmers.
 Another important source is the shift of cultivators
from farming to non-farm occupations. State Governments have adopted innovative practices
 Invest in Alternate source of farmers’ income. like involvement of agricultural students, NGOs and
 Contract farming. private sector in soil testing, determining average soil
 Promote Food processing industry. health of villages, etc., to issue Soil Health Cards.
 NITI Aayog has recommended promotion of agro- The scheme assumes importance as the imbalanced
forestry in doubling of farmers’ income. application of fertilisers have caused deficiency of
primary nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and
Coping adverse effects of environmental degradation potassium), secondary nutrients (such as sulphur), and
and loss of biodiversity micronutrients (boron, zinc, copper etc.) in most parts
 Integrated pest management of country.
 Integrated nutrient supply Reform measures proposed:
 Scientific water management  Standardization within sampling grid, and across
 mandatory rainwater harvesting different soil testing labs to ensure quality in the
 Introduction of fodder and grain legumes as reports.
rotation crops to be adopted by wheat farmers in  Soil health cards should be printed in the local
States like Punjab to ensure sustainability of dialect of the area.
farming.  Soil testing should eventually be possible through
 Soil health managers should be appointed to hand-held devices. Officials were encouraged to
monitor and ameliorate the soil conditions in explore the possibility of involving start-ups and
degraded zones and rectify defects like salinity, entrepreneurs in this exercise.
alkalinity, water logging.
 The idea of more crops per drop has been
Issues with MSP:
implemented well in Israel. We should adopt those
 For food grains like rice and wheat, government
 procurement at the MSP is supposed to protect  The Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty
the farmer. But it mainly benefits the large traders programme in Andhra Pradesh.
who sell grain to the government.
 Small farmers typically do not have enough Analysis of PMFBY
marketable surplus to justify the cost of The sums insured under previous schemes namely-
transporting the crop to government corporations National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS),
in the towns.
modified NAIS, and Weather Based Crop Insurance
 Also the government has fixed minimum support
Scheme (WBCIS) were too low, as premiums were kept
prices (MSP) for just wheat and rice, not for other
low and so the compensation was too meagre. So,
crops.
governments often used the National Disaster Relief
 In the case of other crops, APMCs, which were
supposed to protect the farmer, have had the Funds to address the situation. Unfortunately, it was
opposite effect. Farmers have to sell their produce not based on any robust scientific system and had its
through auctions in regulated markets controlled own loopholes.
by cartels of licensed traders, whose licenses give The PMFBY raised the sums insured to realistic levels,
them oligopolistic market power. basically to cover the cost of cultivation of farmers. The
premiums were heavily subsidised by the Centre and
Cooperative farming: the states in equal proportions, with farmers paying
Increasing land scarcity and the marginalization of only 2 per cent of the premium for kharif and 1.5
farmers cannot be easily reversed. But cooperative percent for rabi (for horticulture crops it was 5 per
farming can help contain the adverse consequences of cent). Farmers found the PMFBY attractive.
such marginalization.  It was 47 per cent higher in terms of number of
farmers, and 38 per cent higher in terms of area,
There are several variants of cooperation ranging from over NAIS and MNAIS schemes of kharif of 2015, a
collective action in accessing credit, acquiring inputs drought year.
and marketing to production cooperatives that also  There has been delay in notification or payment of
premiums or crop cutting data which has led to
include land pooling; labour pooling; joint investment,
delay in payment of the compensation.
joint water management and joint production.
 There is hardly any use of modern technology in
assessing crop damages as envisaged.
The advantages of aggregating small farms into larger,
voluntary, cooperatives include:
The PMFBY has moved in the right direction and made
 Greater capacity to undertake lumpy investment
substantial progress in terms of coverage, but failed in
in irrigation and farm machinery.
quick dispensation of claims to farmers. The primary
 More efficient farming practices.
reason behind this failure is the lethargy and casual
 Greater bargaining power and better terms in the
purchase or leasing of land, access to credit, attitude of state agencies. If the PMFBY has to
purchase of inputs and the sale of produce. succeed, farmers must have a bigger stake in its
functioning. There is an urgent need to link the
The cooperative approach also has its problems, such insurance database with Core Banking Solution (CBS)
as internal conflict, free riding, etc., but farming so that when premium is deducted from a farmer’s
communities have also found institutional solutions to bank account, the bank sends him a message
these problems. informing about the premium, sum insured and name
of insurance company. While loanee farmers get
Successful cooperatives in past: mandatorily enrolled in the scheme, they are not
 The Amul milk cooperative in Gujarat. aware about it. Non-loanee farmers are usually tenant
 The Kudumbashree programme in Kerala. farmers or share croppers who also pay huge lease
rents and do not have access to institutional credit and offers the opportunity to access a larger national
they are ignored in this books. market for secondary trading.
 Bulk buyers, processors, exporters etc. benefit
Issue with ICAR from being able to participate directly in trading at
The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) the local mandi / market level through the NAM
platform, thereby reducing their intermediation
mandate is agriculture education, research and farm
costs.
extension. It contributed during the most challenging
Need For e-NAM
years of food scarcity.
 Fragmentation of state into multiple market areas.
 Far from being an autonomous body, ICAR has
 Poor quality of infrastructure and low use of
become an extension of the Ministry of
technology.
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
 Poor price realization by the farmer.
 ICAR has historically evolved with a strong bias in
 In addition, the farmer has to face obstacles in
favour of crop sciences at the cost of animal
form of multiple tax levies and licenses and weak
husbandry.
logistics and infrastructure in India.
 At ICAR, recruitments are manipulated, inbreeding
and nepotism are rampant.
Agricultural Future Markets in India
 Salary structures based on government promotion
A farmer is highly vulnerable to price fluctuations.
rules of time-bound promotion do not recognise
research output and talent is ignored. Likewise, purchasers of agricultural commodities for
 Most farmhands are women, but women are not use as inputs in production must make judgments on
even recruited in equal numbers. their availability and cost at different points of time
 Research is routinely stolen from ICAR institutes during the year. To guard against price volatility and
by private companies. Thus, IPR registrations and uncertainty in availability, sellers and buyers often
internal resource generation like that in the enter into forward contracts. These contracts specify
developed world universities is improbable. the quantity, quality and price of the commodity they
Way ahead: would deliver for sale or acquire for purchase at a pre-
 ICAR should be transformed into a truly decided date in the future.
autonomous body reporting directly to the prime Significance of Future Markets:
minister like the
 The agri-futures market is one way to ensure that
 Atomic Energy Commission.
farmers’ planting and selling decisions are
 Its functions should be restricted to farm research,
forward-looking, and not based on past prices.
education and oversight of non-ICAR agriculture
 The futures prices are readily available for the
institutes.
farmers and if the price available in the futures
 Farm extension services should be completely
market is not profitable to the farmer, he can change
delegated to the state governments.
his cropping plan at the beginning of production
itself.
National Agricultural Market  Commodity exchanges assist the producers and
NAM is an online platform with a physical market or consumers in a fair price discovery and enable them
mandi at the backend. NAM is not a parallel marketing to hedge their price risk.
structure but rather an instrument to create a national  The quality and delivery standards imposed by the
network of physical mandis which can be accessed exchanges in their products act as benchmarks and
online. increase quality consciousness among farmers.
Advantages: Issue with agri-future market in India
 For the farmers, NAM promises more options for  They are often disrupted by sudden bans or
sale. suspensions by the government as many policy-
 For the local trader in the mandi / market, NAM makers have a deep mistrust in the functioning of
 these markets. 3. All laws provided heritable rights to the tenants.
 Very few farmers or farmer producer organizations Eviction is possible only if tenants violates the
(FPOs) trade on futures, which in turn reinforces conditions of the agreement or if the landowner wants
the mistrust of policymakers. the land back for self-cultivation.
Way Ahead: 4. Redistribution of land led to Land consolidation.
 No abrupt suspensions of commodities.
 Focus on choice of commodities, which are not
Food Security
very sensitive from the food security point of view.
Food security includes nutritional security and food
affordability.
Shanta Kumar Committee report:
SDGs aim to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030.
High level committee to study the core issues of FCI
India is home to 25% of world’s hungry population.
and make suitable recommendations to restructure FCI
An estimated 43% of children under 5 years are
to improve its operational efficiency and financial
malnourished
management
Food Security & Constitution
 FCI should transfer all procurement operations
 no explicit provision to right to food
atleast to states who have considerable
 Article 21
experience and infrastructure.
 article 47
 Encourage and speed the Negotiable Warehouse
Determinants of food security: Availability,
Receipt System (NWRS) under which farmers can
park their produce in registered warehouses and Accessibility, Absorption.
even get upto 80% advance from banks @ MSP. History
 Prioritise pulses and oilseeds and their MSP  GoI launched PDS during 1960s which relied
should be taken seriously and implemented mainly on procurement of food grains by FCI and
uniformly across the country. their distributions through Fair Price Shops.
 The coverage of NFSA should be brought down  By 1970s, PDS had evolved into a universal
from 67% population to 40%. scheme.
 In 1990s, Targeted PDS to improve access to food
Land Reforms: grains to people in hilly and inaccessible areas and
to target the poor.
Article 39 – redistribution of resource.
 Mid-Day Meal Scheme in 1995 Antyodaya Ann
80% of the famers are small & marginalized.
Yojana in 2000.
SECC - 30% of rural HHs are landless and derive income
 Government notified National Food Security Act
from manual, casual labour.
2013 to provide food and nutritional security to its
Land reforms refers to a wide variety of specific people as a legal right.
programmes and measures to bring about more
effective control and use of land for the benefit of the National Food Security Act 2013
community as a whole. The main objective of the land  From welfare based approach to rights based
reforms programme is to do away with the existing approach.
inequalities in the system of landholding and to  The act legally entitles upto 75% of the rural
increase the agricultural productivity. population and 50% of urban population to
The reforms can be majorly grouped into four receive subsidized food grain under TPDS.
categories:  Nutritional support to pregnant women and
1. All states passed the laws to abolish intermediaries, lactating mothers and children upto 14 years of
with varying provisions for resumption for self- age.
 status of head of household to the eldest woman
cultivation.
of the household
2. Ceiling laws were established.
Challenges implementing act Challenges
 Dominant presence of government in all basic  of good planting material like seeds and
aspect of marketing- procurement, storage, technologies
transport and distribution.  lack of suitable post-harvest technologies and
 Inefficient FCI. value addition facilities at the grass root level
 Price volatility.  Lack of regulated markets and multiplicity of
 Centralized procurement model. intermediaries in marketing makes the price
higher in the consumer end lower in the
Challenges to food security production end.
 Increase in urbanization  Improper knowledge about the climate and
 Global climate change irrigation facilities makes the production to
 Declining and degrading land resources. fluctuate.
 Diversion of agricultural land. Way Ahead
 Biodiversity of plants and livestock is under threat.  Provision of quality planting material to the
 Rate of extinction is alarming as only four crops growers
provide about 60% of global food, causing decline  Expansion of fruits and vegetables processing
in genetic diversity among cultivated species. industry with backward linkages with farmers can
help in value addition and waste reduction.
Way Ahead  The financial interventions of the government like
 Support to farmers and empowers to adopt price stabilisation fund will eliminate the
climate smart agricultural practices. unexpected shocks in the market.
 Development of new varieties of crops which are  Drought prone and climate resilient plants must
tolerant to climatic stresses. be developed and supplied to the farmers so that
 Integrated farming models to promote mixed it will help to overcome the climate change and
cropping. give good yields.
 Use of new technology like GM to increase  The private sectors must be encouraged to set up
productivity. more cold chain storages and post-harvest
 Mechanisation of agriculture and food production facilities on modern scientific lines to eliminate
systems. distress sales.
 Insurance against weather risks
Horticulture  Hortinet - To harness the potential of mobile
technology, APEDA has developed a mobile app-
Cultivation of horticultural crops plays a vital role in
Hortinet- to allow farmers to apply on-line to
the prosperity of a nation and is directly linked with
facilitate their farm registration, tracking the
the health and happiness of the people
status of application & approvals by State
Government and Lab sampling by authorized
Importance/ benefits Laboratories.
 high export value
 high yield per unit area
 high returns per unit area Livestock
 efficient utilization of wasteland  Livestock sector contributes 4.11% GDP and 25.6%
 provision of raw materials for allied industries of total Agriculture GDP.
 stabilization of women’s empowerment by
providing employment opportunities through fruit Animal Husbandry
and vegetable processing Animal husbandry is an art of breeding and rearing
 Generate a lot of employement
animals for the benefit of human society. Animal
husbandry primarily applies to cattle or dairy cows,  Advanced breeding Technology: including
buffalo, chicken, goats, pigs, horses and sheep. Assisted Reproductive Technique to improve
India is enriched with one of the largest diversity of availability of disease free female bovines;
animal wealth in world. Livestock supports 25% of  CCEA has approved setting up of ‘Dairy
gross value added in agriculture sector. Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund
(DIDF).
Animal Husbandry in India
 Mixed Livestock Farming - animals are used for
Poultry
tillage and providing manure to agriculture. In
return, the animals get crop residues as feed, It is one of the fastest growing segment of agriculture
care and shelter. in India. India is 3rd largest egg producer in world.
 Migratory Livestock Farming - the natural Strengths
resources in form of pastures and grass are used  rationalised price of breeder and commercial
to feed animals but due to declining of natural stock
grasslands and limited monsoon, this method is  feed manufacturing mills have increased
slowly declining.  better breeding of birds leading to better stock
 Organized Livestock Farming performance
Opportunities
Economics aspect of Animal Husbandry  government policies related to investments in
 Poverty and livestock management - Provides poultry and related industries are favourable
self-employment to millions.  increase in income generation in rural poor and
 Women Empowerment - women-led activity. marginal farmers
 Food security - important contribution to food  cosumer awareness and acceptability as good
security and poverty reduction for many low- source of protein
income rural families.  indian eggs are cheapest in world
 Environmental impact – leading to cause of Challenges
species extinction due to clearing of forest,  poor export infrastructure
converting land to grow feed crops and for  competition from international players on
animal grazing, predators and ‘competition’ of opening up duty free imports, lifting of trade
species are frequently targeted and hunted barriers
because of perceived threat to livestock profits.  occurence of diseases in meat
 Natural resource degradation  increased propoganda and demonstrations by of
 Climate change – produces GHGs. animal rights by animal activists many countries
 Human health risks - Animal health services have protecting their industries from foreign
been widely ignored in the world and has led to competition
institutional flaws which leads to poor delivery of
Food Processing
animal health services.
 Sunrise industry
Way Ahead
 Food processing industry is one of the largest
 e-pashuhaat portal was recently launched to
industries in India and ranks 5th in terms of
connect farmers and breeders of bovine animals.
production, consumption and exports. In 2015-16,
 Pashudhan Sanjivani : an Animal Wellness
the food processing industry constituted 1.6% of
Programme India’s GDP, 9% of Manufacturing GDP.
 Currently only 3% is processed in comparison to
40% in countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.
 It will be a force multiplier in creating large-scale  India will become 4th largest aviation industry by
employment, enhancing farm incomes and 2020.
combating agro-wastages.  RBI has proposed to set up Wholesale and Long-
 Schemes – Major Food Park – Hub & Spoke Model; Term Finance (WLTF) banks. It will be a
Sampada, 100% FDI. combination of term-lending institution and an
 Complementary to Make in India investment bank to overcome Twin Balanced
sheet problem.
Mega Food Park  Cabinet cleared a proposal recently to enable
The scheme of developing Mega Food Parks State government entities to directly access
introduced under 12th FYP follows Hub and spoke funding from international bilateral financing
model of developing food processing industry. agencies.

The Hub and spoke model is a system of collection by

which several local centres are connected to a single Transport
head centre like the spokes of a wheel connected to
Possible benefits of High Speed Rail project:
its centre. The hub and spoke model of being followed
 Boost to Make in India - Construction activity will
for the mega food parks includes the following centres
boost allied industries such as steel, cement and
– Collection Centres (CCs), Primary processing Centres infrastructure
(PPCs), Central Processing Centres (CPCs).  Economic growth - New production bases and
s townships will eventually expand along the
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) MAHSR.
SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and  New temporary and permanent jobs
Development of Agro-Processing Clusters)  Reduction in carbon footprint:
The objective of PMKSY is to supplement agriculture,  Ushering in technology
modernize processing and decrease Agri-Waste.  Professional capacity building - Managing a
project of this complexity and scale will be a great
Infrastructure learning experience for the Indian agencies
 Connectivity is the cornerstone for regional involved
economic cooperation and integration and has the
potential to unlock and integrate value chains
Energy
across trade, transport, ICT, people, energy and
technology. The government has set itself a target of 100 GW of
 Ports – Blue Economy, Sagarmala, Major Port Bill. solar power by 2022, of which 60 GW is to come from
 Inland Waterway: India has a vast network of utilities and 40 GW from rooftop solar installations.
about 14,500 km of navigable and potentially While the 60 GW target seems achievable, the
navigable inland waterways which include rivers, country is lagging behind on the target set for rooftop
lakes and canals. However, share of waterways in solar.
India’s transport mix stands abysmally low at Nuclear Energy – 22 operational project with 6780
0.6%, while that of US is 8.5 %, China at 8.7%,
MWe (2% of installed capacity)
Bangladesh 32%. India has 14500km of navigable
Thermal – 69% in which coal accounts for 61%.
waterways in India.
Hydro (renewable) – 14.0%
 India having a long coastline of 7500 km and
Renewable Source – 15%
abundance of rivers, Port development can boost
economic growth and integrate the economy. India imports 80% of crude and 40% of Natural Gas.
There are 13 major ports and more than 150 small
ports. 90% of trade by volume & 70% by value
occurs through port Blue Revolution
 India is bestowed with varied potential resources contribution towards GDP.
in form of Rivers and canals, Floodplain lakes,  9.6% contribution to India’s GDP and is 3rd largest
Ponds and tanks and Reservoirs and brackish forex earner.
water.  Principle – Vasudeva Kutumbhkam, Athiti Devo
 Second largest producer of Fish – India. Important Bhava.
as this is a source of protein.  Plans- Cultural contact is being forged by the
 Fresh water – 60%; Marine – 40%. government through plans like ‘Namaste India’
 Fisheries has contributed 0.91% to GDP and 5.23% and ‘Bonjour India’. Project Mousam and
to agricultural GDP. Incredible India 2.0 campaign launched recently
 The overall strategy would be based on seven would help boost tourism in the country.
pillars, namely sustainable development,  Tourism planning and development would not be
socioeconomic upliftment of fishers, principle of possible without roads, airports, harbours,
subsidiarity, partnership, inter-generational electricity, sewage and potable water.
equity, gender justice and precautionary  Forms of Tourism:
approach.  Medical Tourism
 Women SHGs would be promoted in the women  Adventure Tourism
dominated post-harvest sector of fisheries.  Wildlife Tourism
 Culture Tourism
B. Meenakumari report on Fisheries  Eco Tourism
 Buffer zone between coastal and deep sea ->
 Pilgrimage Tourism
allow for non-exploitative fishes
 Indian Infrastructure And Tourism
 Big vessel on deep sea which packages and  Transport Infrastructure
export fishes.  Social Infrastructure – rooms, physical
structure for exhibitions, events and services
Neel Kranti Mission (Blue Revolution) that attracts visitors.
 Fully tap inland and marine sector fish potential  Environmental Infrastructure
and triple production by 2020.  Collaborative Infrastructure - which is the
 Transform into modern industry with focus on network of regional, state and national
new technologies. tourism organizations that market
destinations and distribute tourism products
 Double the income of fishers and fish
 Negative impact of tourism on environment.
farmersfocus on increasing productivity and
 Schemes: Swadesh Darshan, “Southern Sojourn”
marketing.
and “Southern Jewels”
 Triple export earnings by 2020
 Budget 2017-18 establish five special tourism
 Blue revolution provides convergence with
zones.
Sagarmala project, MGNREGA, Rashtriya Krishi
 Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual
Vikas Yojana, National Rural Livelihoods Mission
Augmentation Drive (PRASAD)
 e-TV
Other Policy/ Schemes
 A special Visa category – Medical and medical
 National Policy on Marine Fisheries, 2017.
attendant visa.
 Pilot Project on Ornamental Fisheries.

Draft National Tourism Policy

Tourism  Vision of developing and positioning India as a
‘Must Experience and Must Revisit’ destination.
 India’s rank has improved in the WEF’s Travel and
Policy is based on paradigm of “responsible and
Tourism and Competitive Index. As per WTTC our
sustainable tourism”
travel and tourism sector ranks 7th in terms of
 Evolve a framework of government led, privately
 driven and community centred tourism approach. ICADR (International Centre for Alternate Dispute
 It envisage National Tourism Advisory Board and Resolution) working under the aegis of the
National Tourism Authority to execute policy Ministry of Law and Justice as an Institution of
matter. national importance and takeover of the
 Includes aspects of Swagat (welcome), Soochna Institution by a statute.
(Information), Suvidha (Facilitation), Suraksha  recommended for creation of the post of an
(Security), Sahyog (Cooperation), Samrachana ‘International Law Adviser’ (ILA) who shall advise
(Infrastructure Development) and Safai the Government and coordinate dispute
(Cleanliness). resolution strategy for the Government in disputes
arising out of its international law obligations,
particularly disputes arising out of BITs.
Medical Tourism  The committee recommends the creation of an
Today, Indian healthcare is perceived to be at par with inter-ministerial committee (IMC) for dispute
global standards. But the most important factor that management. Issue - The Legal and Treaties (L&T)
division of the External Affairs Ministry is
drives medical tourism to India is its low cost
mandated to offer legal advice to the government
advantage.
on all international law matters including BIT
Main Challenges of Medical Tourism:
arbitrations and creating this new office will
 Sub-optimal utilization of tourism sector.
amount to duplicity.
 High Tax on hotels and aviation lead to people
 In resolving BIT disputes, the committee has made
going abroad for holidays.
some useful interventions such as mentioning the
 Focus still on mystical charm but country has lot
possibility of establishing a BIT appellate
more to offer.
mechanism and a multilateral investment court.
 No strong government support or initiatives to
Issue – The committee is silent on the issue on the
promote medical tourism.
complex procedure mentioned in the Indian
 Low coordination between various players in the
Model BIT.
industry like airline operators, hotels and hospitals
 Customer perception as an Unhygienic country
Geographical Indication
 Lack of uniform pricing policies across hospitals.
A GI, is a sign used on products that have a specific
 Middle men with little or no Knowledge and
geographical origin and possess qualities or a
training to manage patient are playing havoc.
 Lack of information dissemination & language reputation that are due to that origin. Darjeeling
barrier. tea became the first GI tagged product in India.
 Large scale security risk.
Why GI should be protected in India?
Justice B.N. Srikrishna committee on bilateral  India is a rich storehouse of goods with reputation
investment treaty (BIT) for quality which can be presented to their
 Setting up an Autonomous Body, styled the geographical origin or place of manufacture
Arbitration Promotion Council of India (APCI),  Need to protect Indian Treasures.
having representatives from all stakeholders for  Promotes Brand building.
grading arbitral institutions in India.  The economic potential of these goods is
 Creation of a specialist Arbitration Bench to deal enormous.
with such Commercial disputes, in the domain of  To prevent GI goods becoming generic.
the Courts.  GI can boost rural development.
 The Committee are also of the opinion that the The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration
National Litigation Policy (NLP) must promote and Protection) Act, 1999 (GI Act) is a sui generis Act
arbitration in Government Contracts. of the Parliament of India for protection of
 The Committee has preferred for declaring the
geographical indications in India. Under this
act, Goods under Agricultural, Natural, Goods of
Handicrafts, Industry, Manufactured goods, Food
Stuffs categories can be registered.
Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) has
launched a social media campaign to promote
Geographical Indications (GIs) with the hashtag
#LetsTalkIP. The initiative, designed to make more
people aware about the importance of Intellectual
property rights.

Drug Related Issue

Healthcare in India is generally financed from out-of-
pocket expenses (up to 80%). 70% of health spending
on outpatient treatment is devoted primarily to
purchasing medicines.
Legislative Measure:
 Indian Patents Act (IPA), 1970 – Compulsory
Licensing and Ever greening of Patents
 Essential Commodities Act, 1955:
Executive Measures
 Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), 2013: As per
this, the National Pharmaceutical pricing authority
(NPPA) has been given the mandate to control and
fix the maximum retail prices of around 348
scheduled/listed bulk drugs and their
formulations under National List of Essential
Medicines.
 Price regulation of Non-Scheduled Drugs:
 Low Tax
 Free Medicine
 Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana (PMJAY): It
envisages opening of dedicated outlets Pradhan
Mantri Jan AushadhiKendras (PMJAK) where high
quality generic medicines are sold at low prices.
 'Pharma Vision 2020' and is keen to provide
support to it through various means like
pharmaceutical parks, medical devices parks,
pharmaceutical clusters etc.