In a landmark decision with tremendous reform in higher defence management in the country, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved to create the post of Chief of Defence Staff in the rank of a four-star General with salary and perquisites equivalent to a Service Chief. The Chief of Defence Staff will also head the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), to be created within the Ministry of Defence and function as its Secretary.
The following areas will be dealt by the Department of Military Affairs headed by CDS: The Armed Forces of the Union, namely, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence comprising Army Headquarters, Naval Headquarters, Air Headquarters and Defence Staff Headquarters. The Territorial Army.
Works relating to the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Procurement exclusive to the Services except capital acquisitions, as per prevalent rules and procedures.
Apart from the above, the mandate of the Department of Military Affairs will include the following areas: Promoting jointness in procurement, training and staffing for the Services through joint planning and integration of their requirements. Facilitation of restructuring of Military Commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through establishment of joint/theatre commands.
Promoting use of indigenous equipment by the Services. The Chief of Defence Staff, apart from being the head of the Department of Military Affairs, will also be the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. He will act as the Principal Military Adviser to Raksha Mantri on all tri-Services matters. The three Chiefs will continue to advise RM on matters exclusively concerning their respective Services. CDS will not exercise any military command, including over the three Service Chiefs, so as to be able to provide impartial advice to the political leadership.
As the Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, CDS will perform the following functions: CDS will administer tri-services organisations. Tri-service agencies/organisations/commands related to Cyber and Space will be under the command of the CDS.
· CDS will be member of Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Raksha Mantri and Defence Planning Committee chaired by NSA. · Function as the Military Adviser to the Nuclear Command Authority. · Bring about jointness in operation, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance, etc of the three Services, within three years of the first CDS assuming office.
· Ensure optimal utilisation of infrastructure and rationalise it through jointness among the services. · Implement Five-Year Defence Capital Acquisition Plan (DCAP), and Two-Year roll-on Annual Acquisition Plans (AAP), as a follow up of Integrated Capability Development Plan (ICDP). · Assign inter-Services prioritisation to capital acquisition proposals based on the anticipated budget.
Bring about reforms in the functioning of three Services aimed at augmenting combat capabilities of the Armed Forces by reducing wasteful expenditure. It is expected that this reform in the Higher Defence Management would enable the Armed Forces to implement coordinated defence doctrines and procedures and go a long way in fostering jointmanship among the three Services. The country would be benefitted by coordinated action on greater jointmanship in training, logistics and operations as well as for prioritisation of procurements.
Background This follows the announcement made by the Prime Minister on 15th August 2019, in his address to the nation, inter alia, "India should not have a fragmented approach. Our entire military power will have to work in unison and move forward. All the three (Services) should move simultaneously at the same pace. There should be good coordination and it should be relevant to the hope and aspirations of our people. It should be in line with the changing war and security environment with the world. After formation of this post (CDS), all the three forces will get effective leadership at the top level."
The mandate of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) is sustainable and inclusive growth of rural India by increasing livelihoods opportunities, providing social safety and developing rural infrastructure. The five major rural development themes around which the current flagship Programmes of MoRD are centered are as follows:
i) Rural Housing (through Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin) ii) Rural Employment (through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) iii) Rural Connectivity (through Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) iv) Rural Livelihood (through Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission) v) Rural Skilling (through Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes)
Apart from the above, the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), Shyama Prasad Mukherjee RURBAN Mission (SPMRM) and Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) are other important Programmes of MoRD. The Department is implementing programmes based on the evidence based selection of poor households as per the deprivation criteria of Socio Economic Census (SECC, 2011) data. MoRD is committed towards creating livelihoods opportunities in farm and nonfarm sectors, improved road connectivity, forward and backward linkages for higher economic returns, greater visibility of women across the supply chain, housing for all in the rural areas with provision of lavatories and electricity and higher order federations of women for establishing rural micro enterprises which propels the economic growth of the rural India.
Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), launched on 25th December, 2000 for providing connectivity by way of a single all weather road to the eligible unconnected habitations as per core-network with a population of 500 persons in plain areas, and 250 persons & above in respect of special category states like NE, Sikkim, HP, J&K & Uttarakhand, desert areas, tribal & backward districts. The programme also provides for upgradation of the existing 'Through Routes' and ‘Major Rural Links’ (MRL).
Brief Details of the Initiatives of PMGSY: Government approved phase-III of PMGSY for consolidation of 1,25,000 Km Through Routes and Major Rural Links connecting habitations, inter-alia, to Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals. Programme guidelines issued and software developed. Training workshops organized for 13 States targeted for transition to PMGSY-III during 2019-20. It is expected to sanction 15,000 Km by March, 2020.
36,037 Km road length has been constructed and 5,952 habitations have been provided connectivity so far during current year. E-marg software for maintenance of roads has been developed and is being rolled out in all States.
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs)
Ministry of Rural Development is implementing two welfare schemes in the field of skill development for rural poor youth under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) as follows:- Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) which is a placement linked skill development program for wage employment. Skill development through Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs) enabling a trainee to take bank credit and start his/her own Micro-enterprise. Some such trainees may also seek regular salaried jobs.
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY): Currently DDU GKY is being implemented in 27 States and 3 Union Territories and with 641 training partners in 1624 active training centre across the country. Training is being imparted in 52 sectors covering 526 trades through 1414 ongoing projects as on date. During the current calendar year i.e 2019 (from 1.1.2019 to 20.12.2019), 2.29 lakhs candidates have been trained and 1.39 lakh candidates have been placed across the country.
Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs): Currently there are 585 functional RSETIs in the Country. At present, RSETIs offer training in 61 vocations classified under four major areas viz. agriculture, processing, product manufacture and general entrepreneurship development programme. During the current calendar year i.e 2019 (from 1.1.2019 to 20.12.2019), 262570 candidates have been trained and 143702 candidates have been settled across the country.
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) Launched in 2011, the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) aims at mobilizing about 9 crore rural poor households into Self Help Groups (SHGs) in a phased manner and provide them long-term support such that they diversify their livelihoods, improve their incomes and quality of life.
All “automatically included” households and all households with “at least one deprivation” as per the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data constitute the target group of DAY-NRLM. The list of the rural poor is also validated by Participatory Identification of the Poor (PIP) which is further vetted by the Gram Sabha.
The major components of the DAY-NRLM are: Promotion of sustainable institutions of the poor Ensuring access to financial services Promote diversified livelihoods opportunities for the poor, in farm and non- farm sectors. Promotion of skill development and access to jobs Promotion of social inclusion, social development and human development
The key achievements made under the Mission is furnished below: - Geographical Coverage: The Mission has covered 5894 blocks spread over 646 districts across 29 States and 5 UTs under the intensive strategy up to Oct’19.
Social Mobilization/Institution Building: More than 6.47 crore women have been mobilized into 58.7 lakh Self-Help Groups (SHGs) up to Oct’ 19. During the year 2019-20, up to October, 19; about 67.9 lakh women have been mobilized in to 6.55 lakh SHGs against the target of mobilizing 93.66 lakh women into 8.10 lakh SHGs.
Social Capital: Community driven approach is central to the Mission's implementation strategy. As on date, more than 2.50 lakh Community Resource Persons have been trained on multiple interventions. This includes more than 38,032 trained Krishi Sakhi and Pashu Sakhi who provide last mile livelihoods extension services.
Capitalization Support: During FY 2019-20, capitalization support of nearly Rs.743.1 crore have been provided to SHGs and its federations upto Oct, 19. Cumulatively, about Rs.8334.7 crore has been provided as capitalization support under the Mission.
SHG-Bank Linkage: More than Rs.2.59 lakh crore of bank credit has been accessed by the SHGs since 2013-14. As on date, outstanding bank loans are to the tune of Rs.88,345 crore against the target of Rs.100986 crore for FY 2019-20.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) The Ministry has been working towards enhancing water conservation in rural areas through various interventions under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS. In the last six months, two major programmes- Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) and 100 Days Programme-completion of Natural Resource Management (NRM) works were launched to augment the focus on taking up water related works. These programmes ensured time-bound mission-mode impetus on water conservation.
SECURE (Software for Estimate Calculation Using Rural Rates for Employment) SECURE has greatly benefitted in creating a transparent system for according administrative approval and technical sanction. Now, field functionaries can track, remove obstacles and speed up whole process of workflow. SECURE has been implemented 24 States and 3 UTs across 595 districts.
Key initiatives taken up during the Year 2019: To lay emphasis on water related works, special drive was taken up under Jal Shakti Abhiyan and 1,220 water stressed blocks were targeted for water conservation in a project mode from 1st July to 15th September, 2019 (Phase I) and 1st October to 30th November, 2019 (Phase II). An expenditure of Rs. 3,158.91 crore was incurred in completion of 3.12 lakh works.
A 100 Days programme for Completion of NRM Works was also taken up. A focused approach was followed for enhancing implementation of water related works across all the rural blocks from 5th July to 15th October, 2019. 12.47 lakh works were completed. The Ministry has initiated an integrated holistic planning of the Gram Panchayats based on watershed development using GIS approach. So far, plans for 12,365 GPs have been designed in a saturation mode for three-years planning.
Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G) In the context of Government’s priority for “Housing for All” by 2022, the erstwhile rural housing scheme has been restructured into Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G), which came into effect from 1st April, 2016.
PMAY-G aims to provide a pucca house with basic amenities to all houseless households and households living in kutcha and dilapidated house by 2022.The target number of houses to be constructed by the year 2021-22, to achieve the objective of “Housing for All” is 2.95 Crore which is proposed to be achieved in phases. In the first phase 1.00 crore houses were taken up for construction in 3 years i.e., 2016-17 to 2018-19 and in the second phase 1.95 crore houses would be taken up for construction in 3 years i.e., 2019-20 to 2021-22. PMAY-G enables construction of quality houses by the beneficiaries using local materials, designs and trained masons. For houses to become homes, adoption of a habitat approach through convergence is proposed.
Main features / initiatives under the scheme Unit assistance Rs.1,20,000 in plain areas and Rs.1,30,000 in hilly states/difficult areas/IAP districts. In addition to the unit assistance, the beneficiaries through convergence with Swachh Bharat Mission and MGNREGA would be provided the following :- Rs.12,000/- as assistance for construction of toilet Unskilled wages of 90 /95 person days for construction of house
III. Ensuring Transparency through Identification of beneficiaries Identification of beneficiaries based on housing deprivation parameters as per Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data after due verification by Gram Sabha. Out of a total of 4.04 crore households found to be eligible as per SECC 2011 data, 2.50 crore households have been found eligible for getting assistance under PMAY-G after due verification by Gram Sabha as on 17th December, 2019.
Use of comprehensive E and M- Governance solutions Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): Under PMAY-G, the assistance to beneficiaries is to be transferred electronically through the AwaasSoft-PFMS platform. This ensured seamless transfer of funds electronically into the Bank/Post Office account of each beneficiary through Fund Transfer Order (FTO). During the year 2019-20 (as on 17th December, 2019), a total of 9.01 lakh FTOs amounting to Rs.29,000.76 crore have been generated involving 79.78 lakh beneficiaries.
Evidence based monitoring of house construction using Mobile Application: Capturing and uploading geo-tagged, time stamped photographs of the house at various stages of construction has been made mandatory for sanction and release of assistance to the beneficiaries. The mobile application “Awaasapp” developed for capturing the different stages of construction of houses has reduced the time of verification. As on as on 17th December, 2019, 10.33 crore images have been captured and 5.32 crore images have been approved after due inspection.
IV. Real time convergence with other schemes Real time web link has been developed with NREGASoft to allow auto creation of a NREGA work against each PMAY-G house sanctioned. This ensures that a beneficiary is able to claim his/her entitlement of 90/95 days of paid unskilled labour for construction of PMAY-G house under convergence with MGNREGA
The guideline of the scheme of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) implemented by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas have been modified wherein beneficiary of PMAY-G is eligible for getting free LPG connection under the scheme. IN order to ensure real time convergence, the data of the beneficiaries of PMAY-G whose houses have been completed or nearing completion is being shared with Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas through web services so that all the beneficiaries of PMAY-G are provided free LPG connection.
Other initiatives Release of Social Audit Guidelines: The guidelines for Social Audit in PMAY-G have been prepared in consultation with National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR). The same were released on 13th November 2019 by Hon’ble Minister of State for Rural Development. The States/UTs have initiated the process of conducting social audit of the scheme in the Gram Panchayats as per the guidelines issued.
Release of Standard Operation Procedure (SoP) in respect of Unwilling Beneficiary of PMAY-G: The SoP had been prepared in consultation with all the States / UTs and have been issued by MoRD on 13.12.2019. The SoP covers almost all scenarios where the beneficiary is unable to construct his/her PMAY-G house due to reasons such as permanent migration, beneficiary not traceable, beneficiary residing in reserved forests, to name a few. The guidelines also detail out the actions to be taken by the State, District and Block agencies in such cases.
Celebration of Awaas Diwas: Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi released the Framework For Implementation (FFI) of PMAY-G and formally launched the scheme on 20th November, 2016 in Agra, U.P. Since then, every year, 20th November is celebrated as Awaas Diwas nation-wide. In present year also on 20th November, 2019, all the states/UTs celebrated Awaas Diwas or Awaas Saptah with zeal and enthusiasm wherein various activities were undertaken with active participation from the beneficiaries of PMAY-G. Some of the common activities include:
Sensitization of beneficiaries about PMAY-G viz. number of installments in which assistance is provided to beneficiary, availability of different housing designs available in that area, awareness about mason training program and availability of trained masons. Organizing interaction of PMAY-G beneficiaries with local banks to facilitate loan to beneficiaries of PMAY-G.
Organizing Bhoomi Pooja, Grehpravesh in presence of state dignitaries. Financial Reconciliation Module and Admin Module: Administrative Fund Management System i.e. Admin Module has been developed to track the flow of admin funds till end user level through AwaasSoft. This module also helps in tracking activity-wise flow of admin funds.
Further, to rectify discrepancies in the financial progress reports of AwaasSoft and to ensure accounting compliance, Financial Reconciliation Module has been developed. These modules were made mandatory to use with effect from 1st September 2019.
House Quality Review Application - Geo-tagged photographs of the PMAY-G houses at different stages of construction including completion are being captured in AwaasSoft. MoRD with the help of NIC has developed a “House quality review application” in AwaasSoft to review the quality of the houses using the captured geo-tagged photographs.
National Awards: Every year Ministry organizes National Awards ceremony towards the year-end wherein the Hon’ble Minister of Rural Development in presence of the other dignitaries of MoRD, awards trophies and certificates to the best performing States, Districts and Blocks for various MoRD schemes including PMAY-G. Also, individual awards and certificates are given to officials / functionaries from State, District, Block and Panchayat for their contribution towards the implementation of PMAY-G. This year also, National Awards Distribution function was held on 19th December, 2019 wherein Awards were presented to various categories in respect of PMAY-G.
Workshop with building materials manufacturers and suppliers’ association for ensuring Sustained availability of good quality construction materials- The enormous housing targets under PMAY-G demands a huge supply of construction materials which may lead to its scarcity, resulting in an increase in the cost of the materials and supply of degraded materials to meet the demand. The issue of sustained availability of good quality construction materials is being approached by the MoRD from both demand and supply side. With this background, a workshop was organized with building materials manufacturers and suppliers’ association to augment sustained availability of good quality construction materials under PMAY-G on 17th July 2019.
Updation of Permanent Wait List : Requests have been received from States / UTs with regard to inclusion of those households who though eligible for assistance under PMAY-G as per the parameters specified under SECC-2011, but have not been included in the list of eligible beneficiaries. Since a provision in this regard already exists in the Framework for Implementation of PMAY-G, Ministry of Rural Development has developed Mobile Application “Awaas+”, as well as a module in AwaasSoft to capture details of such beneficiaries. Last date for completion of this exercise was 7th March, 2019. Ministry has already constituted a Committee of Experts for analysis of the data captured using mobile application “Awaas+” so as to arrive at the most logical methodology to identify and including the most deserving households in the PWL for aiding under PMAY-G.
Mason Training One of the major initiatives of Minisry of Rural Development in the direction of improving the quality of PMAY-G houses and providing livelihood opportunities has been towards ensuring ‘Skill Development of Rural Masons’. This is being done through a formal mechanism of training, assessment and certification. Ministry of Rural has developed Rural Mason Qualification Pack (QP) in consultation with Construction Skill Development Council of India (CSDCI) and got it approved by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). As on 1st December, 2019, a total of 90,469 have been enrolled for mason training out of which 79,680 have been assessed and 54,990 have been certified under rural mason training programme
House Design Typologies Department of Rural Development in this direction in collaboration with UNDP and IIT, Delhi had taken up studies in 18 States viz., West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Manipur, Chattisgarh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Mizoram, and Rajasthan. The states have been divided into different housing zones which have been identified on the basis of local materials and technologies, vulnerability to disasters / hazards, livelihood aspects linked to housing designs and existing community skills. The housing zones identified in a State also took into consideration the prevailing socio-cultural practices. Different house design typologies that are suitable for different housing zones have been identified for the above States. A Compendium titled 'Pahal' comprising of 106 identified house design typologies has also been compiled by the MoRD. The compendium aims to provide government decision makers, engineers engaged in PMAY-G implementation, Panchayats, masons and potential beneficiary households with wider range of options related to designs, materials and technologies for implementation of PMAY-G.
House design typologies have also been developed by Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab & Tamil Nadu. States/ UTs are encouraged to adopt design typologies compiled in 'Pahal' and/ or developed by the States.
Demonstration houses based on house design typologies are constructed in the States of Tripura, Sikkim and Maharashtra. Regional Workshops on “Sharing of Best Practices”: Regional workshops for sharing of best practices were organized for Northern, Eastern, Western, North-Eastern and Southern States. The objective of the workshop was to
Inculcate and adopt best practices: During these workshops all the participant states share the best practices adopted by the States to improves scheme implementation. Address open issues and challenges: Officials from various divisons of MoRD and other related Central Government Departments like National Informatics Centre (NIC), Internal Finance Division (IFD), Public Finance Management System (PFMS), Construction Skill Development Council (CSDC), Chief Controller of Accounts (CCA) also accompanied during these workshops held at various locations across India. The purpose is to address issues raised by the participant States / UTs and try to solve maximum issues on the on the spot.
Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) Background: i. Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) is focused on comprehensive development of 300 clusters spread across 29 States and 6 Union Territories of the country. These clusters are identified in rural regions displaying potential for economic growth through presence of thematic livelihood activities, increasing population and non-farm employment. The Mission is being implemented with an aim to transform these clusters by focusing on developing skills, strengthening economic activities and provision of crucial basic infrastructure amenities in an equitable and time-bound manner. ‘Integrated Cluster Action Plans (ICAPs) comprising all these components are prepared for every cluster.
Achievements of Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) 9 Empowered Committee meetings were organized under the guidance of Joint Secretary (PP&M) 56 nos. of Integrated Cluster Action Plans (ICAPs) from 17 States and 2 UTs were presented before the EC and approved by the Ministry 113 DPRs from States/UTs have submitted to Ministry
1 Cluster have been submitted by 1 State and approved by the Ministry Rs. 197.91 crore has been released to States/UTs as 1st instalment of CGF Rs. 87.51.14 crore has been released to States as 2nd instalment of CGF Guidelines for Spatial Planning of Rurban Clusters have been finalized & a National Workshop was organized to brainstorm on this framework was organized on 24th February 2019.
An Experience sharing National workshop was organized with elected members in New Delhi in June to showcase the works being done under the mission. The meeting was attended by more than 275 participants which includes over 80 elected representatives from the States and Union Territories
Seven Cluster have initiated the process of draft spatial plan and have prepared a preliminary spatial plan. A workshop was conducted to review the Spatial plan prepared by five States and for finalization data design standards was held on 30th and 31st October 2019
RurbanSoft MIS Portal was developed to digitalize the monitoring of the scheme. States/UTs are pursued to enter the data related to approved Clusters, ICAPs, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) & Monthly Progress Reports (MPRs) online. As on 17th December 2019, 268 ICAPs, 283 Clusters and 82DPRs freezed in RurbanSoft PFMS integration with MIS portal for payment to vendors to simplify fund flow mechanism is being executed
Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), a pathbreaking initiative in rural development was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 11 October 2014 with the objective of creating ‘Adarsh Grams’ across the country. The scheme Guidelines for SAGY-I (2014-19) called upon the Hon’ble Members of Parliament to make one Gram Panchayat of their choice, a Model Village by 2016, and another two by 2019. From 2019, under SAGY-II (2014-19) each Member of Parliament during his/her tenure may develop five model villages (one per year) in his/her area till 2024. The Hon’ble MPs adopted 1733 Gram Panchayats under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana across the country as of 16 December 2019. These ‘Adarsh Grams’ serve as ‘nucleus of health, cleanliness, greenery and cordiality’ within the village community becoming schools of local development and governance, inspiring neighbouring Gram Panchayats.
Towards holistic development, the Gram Panchayats under the guidance of Hon’ble MPs, follow a structured process of environment creation, social mobilisation, resource mapping and participatory development planning. They prepare Village Development Plans (VDP) containing prioritised time-bound projects to achieve holistic progress of the village, through the convergence of resources. So far, total number of GPs identified by Hon’ble MPs is 1493 under SAGY-I and 240 under SAGY-II. VDPs have been prepared by 1330 Gram Panchayats containing 70,237 activities of which implementation of 43,615 (62%) activities have already been completed under SAGY-I.
National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) National social assistance programme (NSAP) is targeted at any such person who has little or no regular means of subsistence from his/her own source of income or financial support from family members or other sources, to be identified by States/UTs. With the objective of providing basic level of financial support, NSAP covers a total of 2.84 crore beneficiaries. Funds amounting to Rs. 3633.30 Crore (40%) havealso been released to the States/UT’s. At present NSAP includes five sub-schemes as its components – IGNOAPS, IGNWPS, IGNDPS, NFBS, Annuparna.
Achievement under NSAP scheme in 2019 As on 30.11.2019, An amount of Rs. 6000.00 Crore released to States/UTs for disbursement of benefit to all the eligible beneficiaries under schemes of NSAP. During the year 2019, 2.84 crore beneficiaries benefitted under the schemes of NSAP.
Total 13 Crore Digital Transactions reported by the States/UTs under the NSAP schemes. Data of all beneficiaries of NSAP schemes has been digitized over NSAP portal. Biometric Aadhaar authentication and Annual Life Certificate (Jivan -Praman) system, e-pramaan has been started.
Social Audit is a concept that has become popular and relevant in the context of good governance. It is an important tool to empower people and ensure their participation in implementation of a scheme. To conduct social audit, Guidelines and SoP are released. Pilot on Social Audit is successfully completed in 05 States and the same has been started in 10 States.
It has been conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).
Key findings: Mental disorders of various kinds are adversely affecting a large population of Indians, especially in South Indian States. One in every seven Indians were affected by mental disorders of varying severity in 2017.
Back in 2017, there were 19.73 crore people with mental disorders, which comprises of 14.3 per cent of the total population of the country. The proportional contribution of mental disorders to the total disease burden in India has almost doubled from 1990 to 2017. Prevalence of depressive disorders was highest in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and Telangana in the high Socio- demographic index (SDI) State group and Andhra Pradesh in the middle SDI State group.
Why depression and anxiety high in South India? The higher prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders in southern States could be related to the higher levels of modernisation and urbanisation in these States and to many other factors that are not yet well understood. The study found positive relationship between depression and suicide death rates at the State level, with suicide death rates also being higher in the southern States than in the northern ones.
What other mental health disorders? Other notable mental health disorders in South Indian States were schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, idiopathic developmental intellectual disability (IDID), conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorders, eating disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD).
North-South Divide: Interestingly, mental health issues that manifest among adults were generally higher in the more developed Southern Indian States than in less developed Northern Indian States. Prevalence of mental disorders with onset of predominantly in childhood and adolescence was generally higher in the less developed Northern States than in developed Southern States.
Lessons from the study: There is poor coverage of mental health services, lack of awareness, and the stigma attached to mental disorders in the Country. There is a need to invest heavily in mental health services to facilitate prevention where possible and to provide affordable treatment, care, and rehabilitation, as well as to attempt integration of mental and physical health services.
What’s the issue? According to a case brought by the country of Gambia at the United Nations’ International Court of Justice, the Myanmar military in August 2017 carried out a systematic, targeted campaign of terror, rape and murder against its Muslim population.
Background: UN investigators say as many as 10,000 Rohingya – a Muslim minority in this Buddhist-majority nation – were killed. Another 730,000 Rohingya fled the massacre for Bangladesh, joining 300,000 Rohingya who had previously fled oppression in Myanmar.
Who are the Rohingya? The Rohingya, who numbered around one million in Myanmar at the start of 2017, are one of the many ethnic minorities in the country. Rohingya Muslims represent the largest percentage of Muslims in Myanmar, with the majority living in Rakhine state.
They have their own language and culture and say they are descendants of Arab traders and other groups who have been in the region for generations. But the government of Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, denies the Rohingya citizenship and even excluded them from the 2014 census, refusing to recognise them as a people. It sees them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
What does the Myanmar government say? Despite mounting evidence and international pressure, Myanmar continues to deny it all. It says, it is just countering violent insurgent groups.
The FATF has kept Pakistan on the Grey List until February 2020. In October, it had warned that Pakistan would be put on the Black List if it did not comply with the remaining 22 points in a list of 27 questions.
Pakistan is required to show effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions against all UN designated terrorists like Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, Jaish-e-Muhammad founder Masood Azhar, and those acting for or on their behalf.
What is the issue and why is Pakistan under FATF’s scanner? FATF and its partners such as the Asia Pacific Group (APG) are reviewing Pakistan’s processes, systems, and weaknesses on the basis of a standard matrix for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime.
Pakistan has been under the FATF’s scanner since June 2018, when it was put on the Grey List for terror financing and money laundering risks, after an assessment of its financial system and law enforcement mechanisms.
The timeline: In June 2018, Pakistan gave a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and APG to strengthen its AML/CFT regime, and to address its strategic counter-terrorism financing-related deficiencies. Pakistan and the FATF then agreed on the monitoring of 27 indicators under a 10-point action plan, with specific deadlines. The understanding was that the successful implementation of the action plan, and its physical verification by the APG, would lead the FATF to move Pakistan out of the Grey List.
However, Islamabad managed to satisfy the global watchdog over just five of them. After an extension of the deadline for compliance, on December 6, Pakistan submitted a report to the FATF containing answers to the remaining 22 questions. In response, the FATF’s Joint Group has now sent 150 questions to Pakistan, asking for clarifications, updates, and actions taken against the madrassas.
What next for Pakistan? As of now, Pakistan must respond by January 8, 2020. And at the next FATF meeting in Beijing, Pakistan will have an opportunity to defend the points in the report. Pakistan will likely ask for another relaxation of the deadline to ensure compliance with the remaining 22 action plans. If Pakistan is actually moved out of the Grey List, it will be placed on the Black List with Iran and North Korea.
About FATF: What is it? The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7. It is a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in various areas. The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
Objectives: The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
What is blacklist and grey list? FATF maintains two different lists of countries: those that have deficiencies in their AML/CTF regimes, but they commit to an action plan to address these loopholes, and those that do not end up doing enough. The former is commonly known as grey list and latter as blacklist.
Implications: Once a country is blacklisted, FATF calls on other countries to apply enhanced due diligence and counter measures, increasing the cost of doing business with the country and in some cases severing it altogether. As of now there are only two countries in the blacklist — Iran and North Korea — and seven on the grey list, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria and Yemen. What is Dark Grey list?
According to FATF rules there is one essential stage between ‘Grey’ and ‘Black’ lists, referred to as ‘Dark Grey’. ‘Dark Grey’ means issuance of a strong warning, so that the country concerned gets one last chance to improve. ‘Dark Grey’ was the term used for warning upto 3rd Phase. Now it’s just called warning — that is the 4th phase.
Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG): FATF Asia-Pacific Group is one of the regional affiliates of the Financial Action Task Force.
The Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering works to ensure that all the countries adopt and implement the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards that are set out in the FATF’s 40 Recommendations and Eight Special Recommendations.
APG assists countries in implementing laws to deal with crime, assistance, punishment, investigations; provides guidance in setting proper reporting systems and helps in establishing financial intelligence units. At present, there are 41 members of APG. Of these, 11 countries are also the members of the head FATF – India, China, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand Singapore and the United States.
About QRSAM: It has been developed to replace the ‘Akash’ missile defence system, and has 360-degree coverage.
It uses solid fuel propellant and has a strike range of 25-30 km with capability of hitting multiple targets. It is capable of hitting the low flying objects.
Launched under the Environment Education Awareness and Training (EEAT), the National Green Corps (NGC) popularly known as “a programme of Ecoclubs” is a nationwide initiative of the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India (now Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change).
Objectives: To impart knowledge to school children, through hands-on experience, about their immediate environment, interactions within it and the problems therein. To develop requisite skills of observation, experimentation, survey, recording, analysis and reasoning for conserving the environment through various activities.
To inculcate the proper attitude towards the environment and its conservation through community interactions. To sensitize children to issues related to environment and development through field visits and demonstrations.
To promotelogical and independent thinking among children so that they are able to make the right choices in a spirit of scientific inquiry. To motivate and stimulate young minds by involving them in action projects related to environmental conservation.
Methodology: The scheme is being operated through Eco-clubs of 50-60 students having interest in environment related issues, formed in member schools. Eco clubs are supervised by a Teacher In-charge, who is selected from among the teachers of the member school.
There is District Implementation and Monitoring Committee to supervise, organise training for In-charge teachers, and monitor periodically the implementation of scheme at the District level. There is a State Steering Committee for guidance, direction and to oversee the implementation of the scheme.
The State Nodal Agency coordinates the implementation of the scheme in the State and organize related activities like training to Master Trainers. The National Steering Committee will give overall direction to the programme and ensure linkages at all levels.
What are detention centres? They are places designated to keep illegal migrants (people who have entered a country without necessary documents) once they are detected by the authorities till the time their nationality is confirmed and they are deported to the country of their origin.
Does India have detention centres? Yes, there are 6 detention centres in Assam. The combined capacity of these temporary centres is 1000, but the centres are overcrowded.
How were the detention centres set up in Assam? Detention centres were set up in Assam after the Union government authorized the state to do so under the provisions of Section 3(2)(e) of the Foreigners’ Act, 1946 and Para 11(2) of the Foreigners Order, 1948. A detailed manual on ‘model detention centres’ has been circulated to all the states.
As per the manual: States require no specific approval from the Centre to set up these centres. These centres should be setup outside the jail premises. Their numbers and size should be decided by the states keeping in view the actual number of foreigners to be housed as well as the progress in deportation proceedings.
Why are detention camps in focus now? The issue has come into focus amid talks of a nation-wide NRC, especially after the process in Assam identified a little over 19 lakh people without proper citizenship documents in the state.
They are conducted by the RBI by way of sale or purchase of government securities (g-secs) to adjust money supply conditions.
The central bank sells g-secs to suck out liquidity from the system and buys back g-secs to infuse liquidity into the system.
These operations are often conducted on a day-to-day basis in a manner that balances inflation while helping banks continue to lend. The RBI uses OMO along with other monetary policy tools such as repo rate, cash reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio to adjust the quantum and price of money in the system.
When the RBI wants to increase the money supply in the economy, it purchases the government securities from the market and it sells government securities to suck out liquidity from the system. RBI carries out the OMO through commercial banks and does not directly deal with the public.
Microdot technology involves spraying the body and parts of the vehicle or any other machine with microscopic dots, which give a unique identification. These microdot can be read physically with a microscope and identified with ultra violet light source.
The microdots and adhesive will become permanent fixtures/affixation which cannot be removed without damaging the asset, that is the vehicle itself. Benefits: Use of this technology will help check theft of vehicles and also use of fake spare parts.