The scheme design should incentive use of end-to-end digital transactions by the street vendors: PM
The scheme should not be just seen from the perspective of extending loans but as part of an outreach to the street vendors for their holistic development and economic upliftment: PM Posted On: 25 JUL 2020 6:10PM by PIB Delhi
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi reviewed the implementation of PM-SVANidhi Scheme of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs earlier today.
It was informed over 2.6 lakh applications have been received, over 64,000 have been sanctioned and over 5,500 have been disbursed. He expressed satisfaction on use of end-to-end IT solution through a web-portal and mobile App for administration of the Scheme to ensure transparency, accountability and speed.
While noting that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is working on a complete IT solution including mobile application for seamless implementation of the scheme, Prime Minister said that the scheme design should incentive use of end-to-end digital transactions by the street vendors. This should cover the entire gamut of their business – from procurement of raw material to collection of sale proceeds. Appropriate incentives and trainings should be conducted for this purpose. Use of digital payments would also help build a credit profile for the street vendor helping them in future financial needs.
Prime Minister said that the scheme should not be just seen from the perspective for extending loans to street vendors. It should also be seen as a part of an outreach to the street vendors for their holistic development and economic upliftment. One step in this direction would be by capturing their entire socio-economic details to facilitate necessary policy interventions.
Such data could also be used by different Ministries of Government of India to benefit them under various Schemes for which they are eligible, on priority. These include housing under PMAY-U, cooking gas under Ujjawala, electricity under Saubhagya, health under Ayushman Bharat, skilling under DAY-NULM, Bank account under Jan Dhan etc.
Background Government of India has launched PM SVANidhi Scheme to facilitate collateral free working capital loan upto Rs.10,000/- of one-year tenure, to approximately, 50 lakh street vendors, to resume their businesses. Incentives in the form of interest subsidy (@ 7% per annum) and cash back (upto Rs.1,200/- per annum) are being provided to promote good repayment behaviour and digital transactions respectively. The interest subsidy effectively works out to 30 % of the entire interest burden for a loan of Rs. 10,000 @ 24 % annual interest.
Therefore, in effect the vendor does not pay any interest, rather gets a subsidy on the loan amount if he repays in time and uses digital transactions for all receipts and payments. The scheme entails enhanced next tranche of loan on early or timely repayment. Loan processing has begun since July 02, 2020 through an IT platform “PM SVANidhi” with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), which is the implementing agency for the scheme administration.
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri D.V Sadananda Gowda has said that NDA Government is making all efforts for ease of doing business in fertilizer sector so that it can be made Atmanirbhar in true sense and farmer community cab be served better.
Elaborating Various initiatives taken by the government in this direction Shri Gowda said the Department of Fertilizers has rolled out a More Farmer Friendly DBT 2.0 Version in July 2019 to improvise the existing DBT system and make it more user friendly. DBT 2.0 Version has three components namely, DBT Dashboard, PoS 3.0 Software and Desktop PoS version.
DBT Dashboards provide accurate real time information about the position of supply / availability / requirement of various fertilizers. It can be accessed by any general public at https://urvarak.nic.in
PoS 3.0 Software captures sale to different categories of buyers, generate sale receipts in multiple languages and provide soil health recommendations to the farmers to promote the balanced use of fertilizers. Desktop PoS Version is an alternative or added facility to PoS devices which is more robust and secure.
DBT in Fertilizers received 2 (two) awards namely, “SKOCH Gold Award for Governance’’ on 25.9.2019 and “Governance Now” Digital Transformation Award on 6th November 2019.
Highlighting the efforts made by government to ease the supply network for fertilizersin the countryShri Gowda stated thatcoastal shipping as an additional mode of transportation has been promoted. For this the policy for reimbursement of freight subsidy for distribution of subsidized fertilizers through coastal shipping or / and inland waterways was announced on 17.6.2019 and 18.9.2019. During 2019-20, 1.14 LMT of fertilizers have been moved through coastal shipping.
Referring to cost fixation rules for urea units union minister said that with the approval of CCEA his Department vide notification dated 30th March, 2020 removed the ambiguities in the Modified NPS-III. This will facilitate smooth implementation of Modified NPS-III which will result in grant of Additional Fixed Cost of Rs.350/MT to 30 Urea units and grant of special compensation of Rs. 150/MT to Urea units which are more than 30 years old and converted to gas which will incentivize these units to remain viable for sustained production. It will also facilitate continued operations of the urea units resulting in sustained and regular supply of Urea to the farmers.
Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju and Haryana Chief Minister Shri Manohar Lal Khattar announce the KIY Games
The Games to be held at Panchkula in Haryana Posted On: 25 JUL 2020 8:17PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju and Haryana Chief Minister Shri Manohar Lal Khattar announced Haryana as the host state for the fourth edition of Khelo India Youth Games today, which is currently scheduled to take place after Tokyo Olympics.
Context: President of India has appointed Anandiben Patel, Governor of Uttar Pradesh to discharge the functions of the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, in addition to her own duties.
Governors of States in India: A governor is a nominal head of a state, unlike the Chief Minister who is the real head of a state in India.
According to 7th Constitutional Amendment Act 1956, the same person can be the Governor of two or more states. Appointment: The governors and lieutenant-governors are appointed by the president.
Removal: The term of governor’s office is normally 5 years but it can be terminated earlier by: Dismissal by the president (usually on the advice of the prime minister of the country), at whose pleasure the governor holds office or Resignation by the governor. Thus, the term is subject to pleasure of the president.
There is no provision of impeachment, as it happens for the president.
Some discretionary powers are as follows: Can dissolve the legislative assembly if the chief minister advices him to do following a vote of no confidence. Following which, it is up to the Governor what he/ she would like to do.
Can recommend the president about the failure of the constitutional machinery in the state. Can reserve a bill passed by the state legislature for president’s assent.
Can appoint anybody as chief minister If there is no political party with a clear-cut majority in the assembly. Determines the amount payable by the Government of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to an autonomous Tribal District Council as royalty accruing from licenses for mineral exploration.
Can seek information from the chief minister with regard to the administrative and legislative matters of the state. Can refuse to sign to an ordinary bill passed by the state legislature.
Problem with constitutional design: The governor is merely appointed by the president on the advice of the Central government.
Unlike the president, a governor does not have a fixed term. He/she holds office at the pleasure of the ruling party in the centre.
Both the manner of the appointment and the uncertainty of tenure conspire to make the incumbent an object of the Central government in politically charged circumstances.
Context: 1.10 crore houses completed under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin.
About PMAY- G: Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development. The erstwhile rural housing scheme Indira Awaas yojana (IAY) has been restructured into Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana –Gramin (PMAY-G) from 01.04.2016.
PMAY-G aims at providing a pucca house, with basic amenities, to all houseless householder and those households living in kutcha and dilapidated house, by 2022.
Target: Construction of 2.95 crore houses with all basic amenities by the year 2022.
Cost sharing: The cost of unit assistance in this scheme is shared between Central and State Governments in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90: 10 for North Eastern and Himalayan States.
The scheme envisages training of Rural Masons with the objective of improving workmanship and quality of construction of houses while at the same time, increasing availability of skilled masons and enhancing employability of such masons.
Selection of beneficiaries: Based on housing deprivation parameters of Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011, subject to 13 point exclusion criteria, followed by Gram Sabha verification.
Context: The porcine industry in Assam suffered major losses during the COVID-19 lockdown, which was followed by an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) that has killed more than 17,000 pigs in Assam and over 4,500 in Arunachal Pradesh.
The current outbreak of ASF in India is the first time that the disease has been reported in the country.
Affected countries: As per the latest update issued by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the current outbreak of ASF has affected China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Republic of Korea and Indonesia among others.
About African Swine Fever (ASF): ASF is a highly contagious and fatal animal disease that infects domestic and wild pigs, typically resulting in an acute form of hemorrhagic fever.
It was first detected in Africa in the 1920s.
The mortality is close to 100 per cent, and since the fever has no cure, the only way to stop it spreading is by culling the animals.
ASF is not a threat to human beings since it only spreads from animals to other animals.
According to the FAO, “its extremely high potential for transboundary spread has placed all the countries in the region in danger and has raised the spectre of ASF once more escaping from Africa. It is a disease of growing strategic importance for global food security and household income”.
Context: The Reserve Bank of India has agreed to a $400 million currency swap facility for Sri Lanka till November 2022.
What is this Currency Swap Arrangement (CSA)? An arrangement between two friendly countries to involve in trading in their own local currencies.
As per the arrangements, both countries pay for import and export trade at the pre-determined rates of exchange, without bringing in third country currency like the US Dollar.
In such arrangements no third country currency is involved, thereby eliminating the need to worry about exchange variations.
Significance of the agreement: Improves the confidence in the Indian market. Enables the agreed amount of capital being available to India.
Bring down the cost of capital for Indian entities while accessing the foreign capital market. Aids in bringing greater stability to foreign exchange and capital markets in India.
Context: On July 22, China launched its Mars mission. Known as Tianwen-1, the mission name is loosely translated to “questions to Heaven.”
Key points you should know: China’s first Mars probe is called Tianwen-1 (formerly Huoxing 1). The spacecraft consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover. Launched on a Long March 5 rocket from Xichang, China. Landing site: Somewhere in Utopia Planitia, a vast plain in Mars’ northern latitudes and the same place NASA’s Viking 2 mission landed in the 1970s.
Tianwen-1 will reach the Red Planet’s orbit in February 2021. The rover will land on Mars in May.
If the mission is successful, China will become the third country to achieve a Mars landing after the USSR and the United States.
There are five core science objectives: Create a geological map of Mars. Explore the characteristics of the Martian soil and potentially locate water-ice deposits.
Analyze the surface material composition. Investigate the Martian atmosphere and climate at the surface. Understand the electromagnetic and gravitational fields of the planet.
Insta Facts: This is a busy week for Mars missions, with the UAE having launched HOPE mission on 19th July and NASA to launch its own rover on July 30- ‘Perseverance’.
This is a period that offers a window for such launches, with the alignment of Earth and Mars allowing a short journey.
Context: Recently India Ideas Summit has been concluded with the theme ‘Building a Better Future’.
Organized by the US India Business Council (USIBC). It is a platform to convene scholars, practitioners, diplomats and think tanks for high-level dialogue on key issues related to India. 2020 marks the 45th anniversary of USIBC.
USIBC was formed in 1975 as a business advocacy organization to enlighten and encourage the private sectors of both India and the United States to enhance investment flows.
Established in 1920 under the Indian Red Cross Society Act and incorporated under Parliament Act XV of 1920.
It is a voluntary humanitarian organization having a network of over 1100 branches throughout the country, providing relief in times of disasters/emergencies and promotes health & care of the vulnerable people and communities.
It is a leading member of the largest independent humanitarian organization in the world, the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement. Honourable President of India is the President and Hon’ble Union Health Minister is the Chairman of the Society.
The Chairman and 6 members are nominated by the President. The remaining 12 are elected by the state and union territory branches through an electoral college.