Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO,NITI Aayog and ShriRamesh Chand,Member NITI Aayog inaugurated the“Online Performance Dashboard “Empowering Tribals, Transforming India”developed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA)on 10th August, 2020. The launch was made during the meeting taken by NITI Aayog to review the progress of CSS / CS Schemes of MoTA in the light of national development agenda, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), strategy for New India and other policy initiatives. It may be mentioned that the SDGswere adopted in September, 2015 as a part of the resolution, 'Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'. At the Central Government level, NITI Aayog has been assigned the role of overseeing the implementation of 17 SDGs in the country. In the meeting, officers of MoTA led by Shri. Deepak Khandekarmade presentation on various e-Initiatives undertaken by it duringlast one year.
Shri Amitabh Kant congratulated the Ministry on digitalization of various schemes and their integration with Performance Dashboard “Empowering Tribals-Transforming India”. Sh. Ramesh Chand, Member NITI Aayog also complimented Ministry for its efforts in achieving Output-Outcome goals framed by NITI Aayog.
Performance Dashboard is an interactive and dynamic online platform that showcases updated & real-time details of 11 schemes / initiatives of the Ministry for achieving these SDGs. The Dashboard captures performance of 5 Scholarship Schemes of Ministry wherein every year about 30 lakh underprivileged ST beneficiaries reap benefit to the tune of INR 2500 crores. NITI Aayog was briefed that Ministry has recently got 66th SKOCH Gold Award for “Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes” under the guidance of DBT Mission. While carrying out national evaluation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes focused on social inclusion, as a part of its mandate for NITI Aayog,KPMG has recognized the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Portal of Ministry of Tribal Affairs as a best practice in e-governance which has brought about greater transparency, accountability and radical improvement in service delivery to Scheduled Tribe students. Dynamic Dashboard captures details of tribal students from one State to different States and to different countries.
The Dashboard also displays the details of functional schools under Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) scheme, schools under construction and district wise details of students in various EMRS schools. Ministry also provides funds to various NGOs working in area of Education and Health. The Dashboard maps district wise NGO details, funds given to NGO and beneficiaries’ details. For all schemes and initiatives, information uptoDistrict level in respect of each scheme has been compiled. In respect of Centrally Sponsored Scheme like Post Matric and Pre Matric Scholarship, the data is shared by States. Ministry of Tribal Affairs also monitors STC (Schedule Tribe Component), wherein 41 Ministries spend a fixed percentage of their budget for welfare and development of Scheduled Tribes. In 2019-20, budget of Rs 51,000 crore was allocated by 41 Ministries in more than 275 schemes. The performance of all these Ministries can be seen on various parameters in the Dashboard. The links to various e-initiatives of the Ministry are also given in the Dashboard. The Dashboard is part of Digital India Initiative to work towards empowering Scheduled Tribes and will bring efficiency and transparency in the system. The joint initiative of the Ministry with Facebook under Going Online as Leaders (GOAL) program and Sickle Cell Support Corner can also be viewed.The Dashboard has been developed by Centre of Excellence of Data Analytics (CEDA), organization under National Informatics Centre (NIC) with domain name (http://dashboard.tribal.gov.in).
The next webinar titled "Jallianwala Bagh: A turning point in the freedom struggle" will be held tomorrow Posted On: 13 AUG 2020 7:57PM by PIB Delhi As India gears up to celebrate its 74th Independence Day celebrations, the Ministry of Tourisms Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series presented a webinar titled Lesser known stories of Indias struggle against the British on 12th August 2020.
The 47th in the series of Dekho Apna Desh webinars, the “Lesser known stories of Indias struggle against the British was presented by Ms. Akila Raman and Ms. Nayantara Nayar. They both represent a company called Storytrails, an organisation that designs story-based walking tours, audio tours, local experiences and learning programmes for children and adults. Their stories showcase the history, culture and the way of life in India. On this webinar, their presenters took us through the lesser known stories of Indias struggle against the British. Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series is an effort to showcase India’s rich diversity under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
1) Sivaganga- Velu Nachiar This story is set in Sivaganga, during the rule of Muthu Vaduganatha Peria Odaya Thevar. He was married to the princess of Ramanathapuram, Velu Nachiar. King Muthu came into conflict with his neighbour, the powerful king of Arcot. At that time, the British power too was rising in South India, and the British had a strong alley in the Nawab of Arcot. In 1772, the British attacked Sivaganga, intending to capture it for the Nawab. Muthu sent out emissaries to negotiate with them. It seemed though the British agreed to talk with them, so the Sivaganga forces relaxed their guard. The British forces swept in and massacred all of them, including King Muthu.
The crux of the story was the heroic battle waged by Velu Nachiar. She was determined to avenge her husbands death. She had the support of the Marudu Brothers, fierce warlords who stood by her, along with a band of loyalists. Velu Nachiar was protected by Udaiyal, the leader of her bodyguards. The British captured her and tortured her to get her to reveal the whereabouts of Velu Nachiar. Udaiyal did not give in, and was killed. The brave Velu raised one more battalion of women and named it Udaiyal Regiment. It was commanded by the fiercely loyal Kuyili. Velu Nachiar met Haidar Ali, the king of Mysore, and convinced him to help her. Haider Ali sent 5,000 men to help Velu Nachiar to get back Sivaganga.
But, by now, Sivaganga had been handed over to the British, and they had fortified the place. Kuyili smuggled some female guerillas in, and while they held the British at bay, she entered the ammunition store, and set it on fire. She died in the process. Velu Nachiar became Queen of Sivaganga and ruled for ten years. Sivaganga remained under the rule of her family until the merger of princely states happened in 1947. The Government of India has released a stamp in her honour in 2008.
2) Mumbai- Benjamin Horniman The Horniman Circle Gardens is a large park in South Mumbai, situated in the busy Fort district of Mumbai. It got its name in honour of Benjamin Horniman, the British editor of a newspaper called The Bombay Chronicle. The Bombay Chronicle was begun by Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. As its editor, Horniman spoke up against colonialism. He used the Bombay Chronicle to speak about Indian nationalist causes.
Then in 1919, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre happened in Amritsar. The British knew that there would be a terrible backlash over the incident. They immediately clamped down on the press. Horniman defied the censorship. He smuggled a first-hand report of the massacre out of Punjab and published it. He continued publishing follow ups to the story and got the British really worried. They deported Horniman to England. Horniman smuggled reports and photos of British atrocities with him and broke the same stories to an equally shocked British public. All this forced the British to confront many of the harsher truths of colonial rule. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was brought before the Parliament and condemned by several British politicians. Horniman continued to protest against the cruelties of the British rule in India in all his writings from England. In 1926, he exploited a loophole in his deportation order and returned to India to continue his work.
Even today, in the Horniman Circle, one can see a red building that is the office of the Bombay Samachar, a newspaper printed in Gujarati. It is the oldest functioning newspaper in all of Asia. It was started in 1822 and is still running after nearly 200 years, today as the Mumbai Samachar. That building was also the birthplace of the Bombay Chronicle and the place where Horniman worked from. Horniman died in 1948, soon after Indian independence. Thats when this circle where the Bombay Chronicle functioned from, was renamed Horniman Circle - in honour of an Englishman who showed Indians the power of a free press.
3) Institutions to Control India The British East India Company was a private Company ruling over parts of the Indian Subcontinent. The East India Company was a private limited company, reporting to a board of directors in London. Gradually, as their landholdings in India increased, they found it more and difficult to rule in India. So they introduced some British institutions to manage and control India, including the Judiciary, the Railways, the Army and English education.
A) Judiciary- The British found the Indian legal system very difficult to use. So they just imported their own law into India, and even set up three courts, one each in the presidencies of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. These courts functioned as the Supreme Courts of those presidencies. One can still see the three beautiful court buildings in the three cities.
These courts declared that everyone was equal under the law. But an Indian judge could never sit in judgement over a European. Lord Ripon, a Governor General of India, tried to set this right with the Ilbert Bill, but it wasnt really successful. The Ilbert bill left the Indians disillusioned and awoke them to the injustice that was being meted out to them. It became one more rallying point for the Indian independence struggle.
b) Railways- The Royapuram station in Chennai is the oldest existing railway station in the whole of India. So why did the British gift the railway system to the Indians? Because they were here for trade and they needed to move their goods quickly and efficiently. Another reason was to move their troops fast for security. By the 1850s, the British had laid out railway lines connecting their big ports to the interiors. But the Indian railway system had some unintended consequences.
Those old Indian trains had carriages reserved for the white man. The other carriages were for ALL Indians - every social class and caste, bunched up together in one compartment, without giving any leeway for class and caste distinctions. This was very difficult for the Indians to accept. The idea that all people were equal was a new concept for most Indians. But a ride on a train quickly taught them this. It was on the railways that Indians started thinking of themselves as fellow Indians.
Funnily enough, the idea of equality under the law started in the second class railway carriages and rose up as a surge of nationalism. Ironically, the system which the British designed to hold on to India eventually made them lose it.
c) Armed Forces- Did you know that the Madras regiment is the oldest regiment of the Indian Army? It was formed by Major Stringer Laurence, who gathered a willing bunch of Indians and made them into a fighting force. The army grew and was a great protection to the British. But there were some places where the army turned against their British masters The Vellore mutiny and the 1857 revolt come to mind. It was after the 1857 revolt that India was taken over by the British crown. This period, lasting 90 years, is today called the British Raj. The army too was taken over. But it was not demobilised. It was too precious an instrument of control to be abandoned. And it showed in the fact that more than 2 million Indians fought for the British in the 2 World Wars, and very honourably at that.
D) English Education in British India- The British found it very difficult to govern a country the size of India. So they decided to educate the Indians and use them. They settled on using English as the medium of instruction. They also set up universities in Madras, Calcutta and Bombay all of which are still standing.
In time, there was a whole new generation of Indians speaking English, and quite well too. They took up government jobs in offices, banks, army, railways -everywhere. They quickly realised that Indians were being exploited. Alll the prominent freedom fighters not only spoke clear English, and some of them were actually trained in England: Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah, Bose, and many more. And so it was the education system that the British established in India, that unexpectedly rebounded on them.
4) Madurai- Masi street The image of a frail-looking Mahatma Gandhi in his khadi attire is an iconic one. He even went to England to meet King George V, wearing his Dhoti, shawl and chappals. Gandhi was actually making a statement with his clothes, a statement about economic conditions in India. India was always famous for her cotton cloth. When the British came here, they too took back lots of cotton with them. Gradually, they began taking raw cotton from here, weaving it in England, and selling the finished cloth in India, for a high profit. This meant the spinners and weavers were left jobless in India. Gradually, the entire well-established cotton weaving industry ground down to almost nothing.
In 1921, Gandhi was on a visit to Madurai in Tamil Nadu. He was shocked by the poverty he saw on the streets. Many people were so poor that they only had a length of cloth around their waists, and little else. Gandhi was horrified. He decided that he would only wear what the poorest in the nation wore. The next morning, on the 22st of September, 1921, Gandhi emerged from his room in Madurai, clad in a short dhoti, sandals on his feet, and a shawl. And from then on, these clothes became his fashion statement and his identity, until his death.
Gandhi urged Indians to use a spinning wheel - the charkha - to spin their own yarn and to make khadi cloth with it. People of all classes across the country, took to this enthusiastically. With this act, Gandhi took the freedom movement out of the hands of the educated elite and handed it over to the masses. From then on, the hand spun cotton called khadi became the uniform of the freedom fighters and a symbol of the freedom movement.
The house where Gandhi adopted his new attire still stands in Madurai. Today, the ground floor is a Khadi Kraft store. There is a small museum on the first floor with a stone tablet marking this historic moment.
An Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) for the Indian Coast Guard was launched and re-christened as Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Sarthak’ by Ms. Veena Ajay Kumar, wife of Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar today. The launching ceremony at Goa Shipyard Limited, GSL, Yard 1236, was conducted through video conferencing from Coast Guard headquarters at New Delhi, while adhering to GoI protocol on global pandemic COVID-19. Defence Secretary, Dr Ajay Kumar; Director General Indian Coast Guard Shri K Natarajan; Chairman & Managing Director, M/s GSL and senior officials of MoD were present.
OPV Sarthak is the 4th in the series of five OPVs. It has been designed & built indigenously by M/s Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) in line with the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Make in India’. The Ship is fitted with state-of-the-art Navigation and Communication equipment, sensor and machinery. The 105 Metre ship displaces approximately 2350 tons and is propelled by two 9100 KW diesel engines designed to attain a maximum speed of 26 knots, with an endurance of 6000 Nautical Miles. The sustenance and reach, coupled with the latest equipment and system, provides her the capability to perform the role of a command platform and undertake tasks to fulfill the Coast Guard charter. The ship is designed to embark and carry a twin-engine helicopter, four high speed boats and one inflatable boat for swift boarding and Search & Rescue operations. The ship is also capable of carrying limited pollution response equipment to undertake oil spill pollution response at sea.
Commending the Indian Coast Guard and M/s GSL for this initiative of launching through digital means, Dr Ajay Kumar said that it was reassuring to witness the growing strength of Indian Coast Guard, and capabilities of Indian Shipbuilding industry, a strong supporting pillar for production and maintenance of ships of Indian Maritime Forces. He also commended the professionalism of Goa Shipyard in meeting the timelines of the contract despite the pandemic COVID-19.
Speaking on the occasion, DG ICG Shri K Natarajan, said that today’s launching marks an important milestone for any ship since she touches the water for the first time, the place where she belongs through her entire service life. He also brought out that the mere presence of Indian Coast Guard unit at sea serves dual objectives of “Deterrence” and “Reassurance”. It deters people with ill-intent and at the same time reassures maritime community, who look up to Indian Coast Guard as “Saviours at sea”, as they are aware that Indian Coast Guard will swiftly respond to any distress call or life-threatening situation at sea. He conveyed his appreciation to CMD, GSL and Coast Guard Refit and Production Superintendent (Goa) and their teams for their dedicated efforts which culminated in launching of this majestic ship.
Indian Coast Guard has been a pioneer in inducting indigenous assets which has enabled it to remain operationally available throughout the year. The ship launched today, has about 70% indigenous content, thus providing the necessary fillip to the Indian shipbuilding industry and a giant leap towards achieving ‘Atmanirbar Bharat’.
The ship will be deployed extensively for EEZ surveillance, Coastal Security and other duties as enshrined in the Coast Guard charter of duties, to safeguard the maritime interests of the Nation. In addition to the 05 OPV project, 52 ships are at various stages of construction at different Indian Shipyards and 16 Advanced Light Helicopters are under production at M/s HAL, Bengaluru, which will provide the added strength to the surveillance capabilities of Indian Coast Guard to deal with the dynamic maritime challenges.
True to its motto “Vayam Rakshamah” meaning “We Protect”, Indian Coast Guard has to its credit of saving about 9730 lives at sea, 12500 lives as part of assistance rendered to Civil authorities and undertook 400 Medical evacuations. Indian Coast Guard saves one life every second day at sea. The deterrence created by the Indian Coast Guard is not limited to the Indian waters, but collaboration with friendly littoral states as per provisions of bilateral cooperation agreements resulted in successful apprehension and seizure of drugs in Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The real time information sharing, close coordination and understanding between ICG and other International agencies has been the key success of these operations.
A Price Monitoring and Resource Unit (PMRU) has been set up in Karnataka under the aegis of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India.
PMRU will function at the State level under the direct supervision of the State Drug Controller for increasing outreach of NPPA. PMRUs are societies registered under the Societies Registration Act having its own Memorandum of Association/ Bye laws. The Board of Governors of PMRU includes the representatives from Central Government and State Government concerned and other stakeholders.
NPPA, under its Central Sector Scheme named Consumer Awareness, Publicity and Price Monitoring (CAPPM), has already set up of PMRUs in 12 States/ UTs, including Kerala, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram and Jammu & Kashmir. NPPA has plans to set up PMRUs in all the 36 States/ UTs. The expenses of PMRUs, both recurring and non-recurring are borne by NPPA under the Scheme.
Till now National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is headquartered at Delhi only and with the setting up of PMRUs in States/ UTs, NPPA shall have outreach at State Level as well.
The primary function of PMRUs is to assist NPPA in monitoring of prices of drugs, ensuring availability of drugs and raising consumer awareness. They act as collaborating partners of NPPA with information gathering mechanism at the grass-roots level. They will render necessary technical assistance to both the NPPA and the respective State Drug Controllers of States/ Union Territories.
NPPA has been working in tandem with State Governments during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure seamless availability of life saving essential medicines including HCQ, paracetamol, vaccines, insulin and medicines under COVID protocol. Working together with State Governments, NPPA has strived to ensure that there is no shortage of drugs throughout the country. The PMRUs are expected to strengthen drug security and affordability at regional levels.
Organic e-commerce platform being strengthened for directly linking farmers with retail and bulk buyers Organic Food for Health and Nutrition #Atma Nirbhar Krishi Posted On: 13 AUG 2020 4:03PM by PIB Delhi
The growth story of organic farming is unfolding with increasing demand not only in India but also globally. In a world battered by the COVID pandemic, the demand for healthy and safe food is already showing an upward trend and hence this is an opportune moment to be captured for a win-win situation for our farmers, consumers and the environment.
India ranks first in number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming. Sikkim became the first State in the world to become fully organic and other States including Tripura and Uttarakhand have set similar targets. North East India has traditionally been organic and the consumption of chemicals is far less than rest of the country. Similarly the tribal and island territories are being nurtured to continue their organic story.
With the aim of assisting farmers to adopt organic farming and improve remunerations due to premium prices, two dedicated programs namely Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD) and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) were launched in 2015 to encourage chemical free farming. With the simultaneous thrust given by the Agri-export Policy 2018, India can emerge as a major player in global organic markets. The major organic exports from India have been flax seeds, sesame, soybean, tea, medicinal plants, rice and pulses, which were instrumental in driving an increase of nearly 50% in organic exports in 2018-19, touching Rs 5151 crore. Modest commencement of exports from Assam, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland to UK, USA, Swaziland and Italy have proved the potential by increasing volumes and expanding to new destinations as the demand for health foods increases.
Certification is an important element of organic produce to instill customer confidence. Both PKVY and MOVCD are promoting certification under Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) and National Program for Organic Production (NPOP) respectively targeting domestic and exports markets. The Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017 are based on the standards of NPOP and PGS. The consumer should look for the logos of FSSAI, Jaivik Bharat / PGS Organic India on the produce to establish the organic authenticity of the produce. PGS Green is given to chemical free produce under transition to ‘organic’ which takes 3 years.
About 40,000 clusters are being assisted under PKVY covering an area of about 7 lakh ha. MOVCD has brought in its fold 160 FPOs cultivating about 80,000 ha. For these clusters to become sustainable, it is important that henceforth market led production starts in a contract farming mode, so that there is a ready market for the produce and industry also gets the desired quality and quantity when required. This is being pursued in right earnest with bulk buyers including the phtyo extracts industries. The commodities with highest potential include ginger, turmeric, black rice, spices, nutri cereals, pineapples, medicinal plants, buckwheat, bamboo shoots, etc. Supplies have started from NER including for Mother Dairy from Meghalaya, Revanta Foods and Big Basket from Manipur. Number of instances of farmer groups setting up markets in RWAs and selling directly is increasingly becoming common especially in Maharashtra and Karnataka where fresh organic produce is lapped up by the urbanites and farmers get a better bargain with no intermediaries. The presence of aggregators is imperative to bring about economies of scale for the small and marginal farmers. Hence the concept of market led One district - One product is being encouraged, as also development of more clusters in the vicinity of bigger towns where the appetite for organics will be much more.
When the pandemic struck India, access to quality food was as high on priority for the country as much as health. Advisories to States on supporting direct marketing in order to decongest mandis led to number of States issuing orders and amending legislations, thereby opening up market options to farmers. Working within the constraints posed due to disruption in logistics, access to regular markets, decrease in demand, number of States and clusters innovated and converted this crisis into an opportunity. The Green Caravan of Kohima created market linkages from all villages of Nagaland to urban areas for vegetables, handicrafts and handlooms (www.instamojo.com). There was online sale of fruits and vegetables by FPOs in Maharashtra and doorstep delivery in specially designed electric vans in Punjab. Manipur Organic Agency (MoMA) mobilised all the 15 FPCs of MOVCD to collect produce and transport to two organic wholesale centers at Sanjenthong and Chingmeriong in Imphal for onward delivery to consumers.
The organic e-commerce platform www.jaivikkheti.in is being strengthened for directly linking farmers with retail as well as bulk buyers. Infusion of digital technology in a much bigger way has been a major takeaway during the pandemic period and is a welcome norm here to stay, saving in expenses on travel, logistics, etc while not compromising in any way on the quality of information sharing. In fact, video conferencing and webinars makes possible outreach with many more in the field, with minimum disruption in their works too and which was not possible in physical meetings. The NER States also participated in a webinar on Integrated Organic Farming models developed by ICAR, for increasing productivity, integrated nutrient and pest management and hence increase in farmers’ income. Video conferences are being held to understand the issues being faced by companies and strengthen the conversations with States and Regional Councils responsible for handholding clusters and in the process new partnerships are being forged for direct procurement from the farmers/farmer groups.
Natural farming is not a new concept in India, with farmers having tilled their land without the use of chemicals - largely relying on organic residues, cow dung, composts, etc since time immemorial. The philosophy underlying organic farming of integration of the elements – soil, water, microbes and ‘waste’ products, forestry and agriculture is the correct recipe for sustainable use of natural resources, which are coming under severe stress due to ever increasing requirement of food and feedstock for agri based industry. This is also in sync with the Sustainable Development Goal 2 targeting ‘end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’.
Tax system aims to be Seamless, Painless, Faceless : PM Says the number of taxpayers is significantly low with only 1.5 Crore paying taxes in a country of 130 Crore people
Prime Minister urges people to introspect and come forward to pay Income taxes due on them to build an AtmaNirbharBharat With the launch of the Tax Charter, taxpayer is assured of fair, courteous and rational behavior : PM Faceless appeal will be available across the country from 25th September i.e. Deen Dayal Upadhyay's Birth Anniversary : PM
“Banking the Unbanked, Securing the Unsecured, Funding the Unfunded and Honoring the Honest” - Focus of the Government : PM Emphasis is on making every law and policy People Centric and Public Friendly rather than Power Centric : PM Posted On: 13 AUG 2020 1:59PM by PIB Delhi
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched a platform for “Transparent Taxation - Honouring the Honest” today through video conferencing. Speaking on the occasion he said that the process of Structural Reforms in the country has reached new heights today. The Prime Minister said the platform of “Transparent Taxation - Honouring the Honest, has been launched to meet the requirements of the 21st century taxation system. He elaborated that the platform has major reforms like Faceless Assessment, Faceless Appeal and Taxpayers Charter.
He said that Faceless Assessment and Taxpayers Charter have come into force from today while the facility of faceless appeal will be available for citizens across the country from 25th September i.e. Deen Dayal Upadhyay's birth anniversary. The new platform apart from being faceless is also aimed at boosting the confidence of the taxpayer and making him/her fearless.
The PM said that the focus of the Government in the last six years has been “Banking the Unbanked, Securing the Unsecured and Funding the Unfunded” and that the platform of “Honouring the Honest” is in the similar direction. The Prime Minister praised the role of honest taxpayers in nation building and said that making the lives of such taxpayers easy is the responsibility of the government. “When the life of an honest taxpayer of the country becomes easy, he moves forward and develops, then the country also develops and leaps forward,” PM added.
The Prime Minister said the new facilities launched today are a part of the Government’s resolve to provide maximum governance with minimum government. He said that every rule, law and policy are made with an emphasis of them being people centric, public friendly rather than power centric. He said that the use of the new governance model is yielding good results.
The Prime Minister said that an atmosphere is being created where primacy is being given to duty to execute all works. This is the result not because of force and fear of punishment but because of an understanding of the holistic approach that is being adopted. He said the reforms being launched by the Government are not in piecemeal but those aimed at delivering results with holistic perspective.
The Prime Minister said the country’s tax structure needed fundamental reforms as the earlier tax structure was developed from the one created during pre-independent times. Even the several changes made during the post-independent times did not alter its fundamental character, he said. The Prime Minister said that the complexity of the earlier system made it difficult to conform.
He said that simplified laws and procedures make it easy to comply. One such example is the GST, he said, which replaced dozens of taxes. The Prime Minister said that the latest laws reduced the legal burden in the tax system where now the limit of filing cases in the High Court has been fixed at up to 1 crore rupees and up to 2 crores for filing in the Supreme Court. Initiatives like the 'Vivaad Se Vishwas' Scheme pave the way for most of the cases to be settled out of court.
Prime Minister said that the tax slabs have also been rationalised as a part of the ongoing reforms where there is zero tax upto an income of 5 lakh rupees, while the tax rate has reduced in the remaining slabs too. He said India is one of the countries with lowest Corporate Tax in the World.
The PM said the ongoing reforms aim at making the tax system Seamless, Painless, Faceless. He said the Seamless system works to resolve the problems of a taxpayer instead of entangling him further. By being Painless he said, everything from technology to rules should be simple. Referring to the Faceless system he said there is no need for a direct contact between the Taxpayer and the Income Tax Officer in all matters of scrutiny, notice, survey or assessment.
Referring to the launch of Taxpayers Charter, the Prime Minister said that it is a significant step where the taxpayer is now assured of fair, courteous and rational behavior. He said the charter takes care of maintaining the dignity and sensitivity of the taxpayer and that is based on a trust factor and that the assessee cannot be merely doubted without a basis.
Referring to the reduction of the scrutiny of the cases by at least four times in the last six years from 0.94% in 2012-13 to 0.26% in 2018-19, Prime Minister said this itself is a reflection of the trust that the Government is laying on the returnees. He said in the last 6 years, India has seen a new model of governance evolving in tax administration. Amidst all these efforts, he said the number of people filing income tax returns has increased by about 2.5 crores in the last 6-7 years.
The Prime Minister however said that it can also not be denied that only 1.5 Crore people pay the taxes in a country of 130 crores. Shri Modi urged people to introspect themselves and come forward to pay the taxes due.
Context: The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry recently said over 5 lakh applications had been received under the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme for street vendors since it started on July 2 and 1 lakh loans had been sanctioned already.
Implementing agency: Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs signed MoU with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in order to engage SIDBI as the Implementation Agency for the scheme.
SIDBI will manage the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).
Overview of the scheme: It is a special micro-credit facility plan to provide affordable loan of up to ₹10,000 to more than 50 lakh street vendors, who had their businesses operational on or before 24 March 2020.
The the scheme is valid until March 2022. Small Industries Development Bank of India is the technical partner for implementation of this scheme. It will manage the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises.
Loans under the scheme: Under the scheme, vendors can avail working capital loan of up to ₹10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments within one year. On timely/early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy of 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) on six-months basis. There will be no penalty on early repayment of loan.
Eligibility: The scheme is applicable to vendors, hawkers, thelewalas, rehriwalas, theliphadwalas in different areas/contexts who supply goods and services. Street vendors belonging to the surrounding peri-urban/rural areas are also included.
Need for: The lockdown has affected the lives and livelihoods of many especially daily wagers including street vendors who businesses were affected due to the restrictions.
Street vendors usually work with a small capital base taken on very high interest rates from informal sources. Further, they might have consumed their savings and high cost capital during the lockdown. Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide affordable credit for working capital through formal banking channel to street vendors to help them resume the business.
Context: Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare virtually launched the Krishi Megh (National Agricultural Research & Education System -Cloud Infrastructure and Services).
What is it? Krishi Megh is the data recovery centre of ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research).
Details: Krishi Megh has been set up under the National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP). The data recovery centre has been set up at National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM), Hyderabad.
Significance and benefits of Krishi Megh: Built to mitigate the risk, enhance the quality, availability and accessibility of e-governance, research, extension and education in the field of agriculture in India.
Krishi Megh is equipped with the latest artificial intelligence and deep learning software for building and deploying of deep learning-based applications through image analysis, disease identification in livestock, etc. It enables the farmers, researchers, students and policymakers to be more equipped with the updated and latest information regarding agriculture and research.
National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP): The project is funded by both the government of India and the World Bank. The overall objective of the project is to provide more relevant and high-quality education to the agricultural university students that is in tune with the New Education Policy – 2020.
Why in News? Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) releases the Report of the Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting.
Key recommendations: A new reporting framework called the ‘Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)’ has been recommended to better reflect the intent and scope of reporting on non-financial parameters. The BRSR would be integrated with the MCA 21 portal.
The information captured through BRSR filings should be used to develop a Business Responsibility-Sustainability Index for companies. The top 1000 listed companies are to undertake this reporting mandatorily. The reporting requirement may be extended by MCA to unlisted companies above specified thresholds of turnover and/or paid-up capital.
What is Business Responsibility Reporting? It is a disclosure of adoption of responsible business practices by a listed company to all its stakeholders. Business Responsibility Reporting is applicable to all types of companies including manufacturing, services etc.
Evolution of Business Responsibility Reporting in India: Corporate Voluntary Guidelines in 2009; Endorsement of United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights by India in 2011; MCA issued ‘National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economical Responsibilities of Business’ which encourages reporting on environment, social and governance issues in 2011;
SEBI mandates top 100 listed companies by market capitalization to file Business Responsibility Reports (BRR) based on NVGs in 2012; SEBI extends BRR reporting to top 500 companies by market capitalization in 2015; National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC) released in 2019.
Why we need Business Responsibility Reporting? At a time and age when enterprises are increasingly seen as critical components of the social system, they are accountable not merely to their shareholders from a revenue and profitability perspective but also to the larger society which is also its stakeholder. This is important considering the fact that these companies have accessed funds from the public, have an element of public interest involved, and are obligated to make exhaustive disclosures on a regular basis.
Context: To speed up testing as well as improve the accuracy of testing for coronavirus (COVID-19) positive cases, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is working on developing “mega labs”.
In these labs, large machines, called Next Generation Sequencing machines (NGS), which are also used for sequencing human genomes, will be repurposed to sequence 1,500-3,000 viral genomes at a go for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus.
Significance and benefits of these mega labs: These genome sequencing machines can substantially detect the possible presence of the virus even in several instances where the traditional RT-PCR(reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests miss out on them.
RT-PCR test identifies the SARS-CoV-2 virus by exploring only specific sections of the virus whereas the genome method can read a bigger chunk of virus genome and thereby provide more certainty that the virus in question is indeed the particular coronavirus of interest.
It can also trace the evolutionary history of the virus and track mutations more reliably. The NGS does not need primers and probes, and only needs custom reagents.
What is Genome Sequencing? It is figuring out the order of DNA nucleotides, or bases, in a genome—the order of Adenine, Cytosine, Guanines, and Thymine that make up an organism’s DNA.
Context: The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has put calls for proposals to the One Sun, One World, One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative on hold till further notice.
About the initiative: OSOWOG initiative was proposed by India to set up a framework for facilitating global cooperation which aims at building a global ecosystem of interconnected renewable energy resources that can be easily shared.
Details of the initiative: Parent Body: The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). Objective: To build global consensus about sharing solar resources among more than 140 countries of West Asia and South-East Asia.
The vision is ‘The Sun Never Sets’ and is a constant at some geographical location, globally, at any given point of time. This grid shall be interconnected with the African power pools also at the later stage. It has been taken up under the technical assistance program of the World Bank.
Potential and benefits of the initiative: India would generate 40% of power from non-fossil fuels by 2030 and has called for connecting solar energy supply across borders giving the mantra of ‘One World One Sun One Grid’.
The proposed integration would lead to reduced project costs, higher efficiencies and increased asset utilization for all the participating entities. This plan will require only incremental investment because it will not require a parallel grid infrastructure due to working with existing grids.
It will help all the participating entities in attracting investments in renewable energy sources as well as utilizing skills, technology and finances. Resulting economic benefits would positively impact poverty alleviation and support in mitigating water, sanitation, food and other socio-economic challenges. It will allow national renewable energy management centers in India to grow as regional and global management centers.
Context: Two legal instruments that have enabled tiger recoveries in India are: The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980, which reinforced Project Tiger.
How was this achieved? The political leadership and field efforts behind this recovery had to overcome very difficult social challenges: slow growth of the economy.
excessive reliance on forest exploitation for livelihoods and government revenues. dire poverty, and protein dependency on wild meat that drove massive local hunting.
These challenges were overcome and tiger recoveries occurred, but only sporadically in a few reserves. What has changed? What are the current challenges?
Around 2000, things began to change. There was a decline in political commitment to conservation. There was gradual transition of the field-oriented Forest Department to one whose primary aspiration was to be like the multitasking Indian Administrative Service. There was also unnecessary and massive borrowings from the Global Environment Facility-World Bank combine to create new models for tiger recovery.
There was also the upsurge of emancipatory political movements for the release of wildlife habitats for cultivation and exploitation by loosely defined “forest-dwellers”- This populist movement led to the implementation of the Forest Rights Act of 2006. The tiger extinction in Sariska Reservecaused a public outcry in 2005, leading to the appointment of a Tiger Task Force (TTF) by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. However, it created a tiger management model that benefited the forest bureaucracy more than it did the tigers.
International cooperation to protect tiger: Global Tiger forum is the only intergovernmental international body established with members from willing countries to embark on a global campaign to protect the tiger. It is focused on saving the remaining five subspecies of tigers distributed over 13 tiger range countries of the world.
In India: National Tiger conservation authority (NTCA) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and climate change.
It was established in 2005 following the recommendations of the Tiger task force. It was constituted under enabling provisions of the wildlife (protection) act 1972, as amended in 2006.
Need of the hour: The role of the forest bureaucracy should be once again restricted to wildlife law enforcement. Merging Project Tiger with other Central schemes for wildlife conservation would be a good first step.
Government monopoly over domains of tiger conservation such as tiger research, monitoring, nature education, tourism and possibly even conflict mitigation should be erased. The vast reservoir of talent and energy in society should be drawn in to engage with these diverse domains, by involving private enterprises, local communities, NGOs and scientific institutions.
Context: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has compiled the best practices of human-elephant conflict management in India.
These include: Retaining elephants in their natural habitats by creating water sources and management of forest fires. Elephant Proof trenches in Tamil Nadu. Hanging fences and rubble walls in Karnataka. Use of chili smoke in north Bengal and playing the sound of bees or carnivores in Assam.
An elephant corridor initiative where 25.37 acres of private land was purchased at Edayarahalli-Doddasampige in Karnataka as part of conservation efforts. Use of technology: Individual identification, monitoring of elephants in south Bengal and sending SMS alerts to warn of elephant presence.
Need for these management strategies: Over 500 humans are killed in encounters with elephants annually, and crops and property worth millions are also damaged. Many elephants are also killed in retaliation due to conflict.
Insta Facts: Asian elephants are listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Indian Elephant has also been listed in the Appendix I of the Convention of the Migratory species in the recently concluded Conference of Parties of CMS 13 at Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat in February 2020.
Elephant is the Natural Heritage Animal of India. India has the largest number of wild Asian Elephants, estimated at 29,964 according to the 2017 census by Project Elephant. The figure amounts to about 60% of the species’ global population.
The Maharashtra government has cleared a speed boat ambulance service between Gateway of India in Mumbai and Mandwa jetty in Raigad district.
World Elephant Day 2020: Observed every year on August 12.
The first World Elephant Day was observed on August 12, 2012. This day was conceived by the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand and Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark in 2011.
It is an Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Arunachal Pradesh.
Located between two IBAs, Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary to the east and Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary to the west. The Reserve Forest forms part of the Eastern Himalayas Endemic Bird Area.
Why in News? A study based on satellite data has flagged a high rate of deforestation in this area which is also a major hornbill habitat in Arunachal Pradesh.
Papum RF is a nesting habitat of three species of the large, colourful fruit-eating hornbills: Great, Wreathed and Oriental Pied.