Using the digital payment infrastructure, around 39 crore poor people received financial assistance of Rs 34,800 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) as on 5th May,2020, announced by Union Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman on 26th March,2020 to protect them from the impact of the lockdown due to COVID 19.
As part of the PMGKP, the Government announced free food grains and cash payment to women and poor senior citizens and farmers. The swift implementation of the package is being continuously monitored by Central and State governments. Finance Ministry, the concerned Ministries, Cabinet Secretariat and PMO are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the relief measures reach the needy swiftly and in line with the intent of the lock down.
Fintech and digital technology have been employed for swift and efficient transfer to the beneficiary. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), i.e. transfer that ensures that the amount is directly credited into the account of the beneficiary, eliminates leakage and improves efficiency has been employed. This has also ensured credit to the beneficiary’s account without the need for the beneficiary to physically go to the branch.
The progress achieved so far, under various components of PMGKP is as follows:
Rs 16,394 crore front loaded towards payment of the first instalment of PM-KISAN to 8.19 crore beneficiaries.
Rs 10,025 crore credited to 20.05 crore (98.33%) women Jan Dhan account holders as first instalment. The number of women PMJDY accounts holders whose accounts have been debited by customer induced transaction is 8.72 crore (44%). Rs. 2,785 crore credited to 5.57 crore women Jan Dhan account holders with second instalment as on 5th May.
Rs 1405 crore disbursed to about 2.82 crore old age persons, widows and disabled persons. Benefits transferred to all 2.812 crore beneficiaries. 2.20 crore Building & Construction Workers received financial support amounting to Rs 3492.57 crore.
So far 67.65 Lakh MT of food grains have been lifted by 36 States/UTs for April. 30.16 LMT of foodgrains have been distributed, covering 60.33 crore beneficiaries by 36 States/UTs for April 2020. 6.19 LMT of food grains have been distributed, covering 12.39 crore beneficiaries by 22 States/UTs for May 2020.
2.42 LMT of Pulses have also been dispatched to various states/UTs. Pulses have been distributed so far to 5.21 crore household beneficiaries out of 19.4 crore such beneficiaries.
Total 5.09 crore Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) cylinders have been booked under this scheme so far and 4.82 crore PMUY free cylinders already delivered to beneficiaries.
9.6 Lakh members of Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has taken benefit of online withdrawal of non-refundable advance from EPFO account amounting to 2985 crore.
24% EPF contribution transferred to 44.97 Lakh employees account amounting to Rs 698 crore
Increased rate of MGNREGA has been notified w.e.f 01-04-2020 . In the current financial year, 5.97 Crore person’s man-days of work generated. Further, Rs 21,032 crore released to States to liquidate pending dues of both wage and material.
Insurance Scheme for Health workers in Government Hospitals and Health Care Centres has been operationalised by New India Assurance covering 22.12 Lakh health workers.
National Gallery of Modern Artwill organise the Virtual Tour titled “Gurudev – Journey of the Maestro through his visual vocabulary” from 7th May 2020 to commemorate the 159th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The NGMA takes pride in the 102 artworks created by versatile genius.
These artworks give a glimpse of his precious contributions to the visual language. This virtual tour presents the work of art from the prominent artworks of Rabindranath Tagore from reserve collection of NGMA and displayed in the themes of Portraits & Head study, The Human and Mesmerizing Nature according to his composition.
The National Gallery of Modern Art has a representative collection of his imagery.
Due to the threat posed by the NOVEL CORONA VIRUS (COVID-2019) which has been declared a PANDEMIC by the WHO and following the advice of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, the Museum and Library is closed for public access till further order.
Director General of NGMA Shri Adwaita Charan Gadanayak said, “It’s our endeavor to pay tribute to Rabindranath Tagore - a poet, novelist and painter best known for being the first Indian to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. I feel proud to present Tagore’s works and his complete literary journey through this virtual tour from their home.
At the end of this virtual journey visitors can play the quiz also. I take pride of the tireless effort our entire IT Cell headed by Shri S S Paul to conceive and conceptualize the idea of launching Virtual Tours and designed and developed the same amidst lock down period to facilitate our esteemed visitors with the prestigious collection of NGMA”.
This virtual tour presents his entire works of art from the prestigious collection of NGMA including a textual commentary of some of his major literary contribution. Visitors are invited to participate in a conversation (https://so-ham.in/gurudev-journey-of-the-maestro-through-his-visual-vocabulary/) on the country’s first cultural media portal https://so-ham.in launched in 2018 under the banner of NGMA. Visitors can also participate in ‘Play the Quiz’ at the end of the tour.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), popularly known as ‘Gurudev’, was born in an affluent Family. The maestro was fascinated by the worlds of literature, art, music and dance at an early age.
In 1913, he became the first Indian to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature for his novel 'Geetanjali'. He also wrote the National Anthems of India and Bangladesh. He left his imprint on art and played a role in transforming its practices and ushering into modernism.
Rabindranath Tagore was primarily known as a writer, poet, playwright, philosopher and aesthetician, music composer and choreographer, founder of a unique educational institution - Visva- Bharati and a painter. Tagore's emergence as a painter began in 1928 when he was 67 years old.
For him, it was as an extension to his poetic consciousness. Beginning with scratching and erasures on the pages of his manuscripts during the mid-20s of the 20th Century, he slowly moved to portraying independent images.
Between 1928 and 1940, Rabindranath painted more than 2000 images. He never gave any title to his paintings. Fed by memories and the subconscious, Rabindranath's art was spontaneous and dramatic. His images did not represent the phenomenal world but an interior reality.
His work of art were first exhibited in Paris in 1930 and then across Europe and America. Henceforth they gained international recognition. Rabindranath veered towards abstraction in his figuration. His works depict a great sense of fantasy, rhythm and vitality. A powerful imagination added an enigmatic strangeness and a sense of depth to his works. One is overwhelmed by the awe-inspiring figures of birds and humans and semi-abstract forms.
The energy of his works is counterbalanced by a cool precision and lyricism. Tagore celebrated creative freedom in his technique; he never hesitated to daub coloured ink on paper to give life to his subjects. His drawings and ink paintings are freely executed with brushes, rags, cotton-wool and even his fingers.
For Tagore, art was the bridge that connected the individual with the world. Being the modernist he was; Tagore completely belonged to the world of his time particularly in the realm of art. Expressionism in European art and the primitive art of ancient cultures inspired him. Fantasy, wild imagination and an innate feel for the absurd gave a distinctive character to his visual language. His works have been an inspiration to the artists in India as well as across the world.
Launch mission mode awareness campaigns on increasing use of bio and organic fertilisers and reducing chemical fertilisers: Shri Narendra Singh Tomar Posted On: 06 MAY 2020 7:09PM by PIB Delhi
The Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has called for making integrated soil nutrient management a farmers’ movement. Reviewing the progress of the Soil Health Programme here today, he directed running mission mode awareness campaigns on increasing use of bio and organic fertilisers and reducing chemical fertilisers strictly based on recommendations of Soil Health Card.
During 2020-21, the major focus of the programme would be on mass awareness programme for farmers in over 1 lakh villages covering all districts of the country. Shri Tomar advocated the setting up of village level Soil Testing Labs by youth having education in agriculture, Women Self Help Groups, FPOs etc. He said the SHC scheme will focus on enabling employment generation after appropriate skill development.
The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare will launch a comprehensive campaign on soil test based rational application of fertilisers and promotion of organic farming including Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Padhati (BPKP) for safe nutritious food in association with the Departments of Panchayat Raj, Rural Development and Drinking Water and Sanitation.
Under the SHC scheme Soil Health Cards are provided to all farmers at an interval of 2 years. Launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on February 19, 2015 at Suratgarh, Rajasthan, these cards provide information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendation on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.
Deterioration of soil chemical, physical and biological health is considered as one of the reasons for stagnation of agricultural productivity in India.
Soil Health Card provides two sets of fertilizer recommendations for six crops including recommendations of organic manures. Farmers can also get recommendations for additional crops on demand. They can also print the card as their own from SHC portal. SHC portal has farmers database of both the cycles and is available in 21 languages for the benefit of the farmers.
A 2017 study by the National Productivity Council (NPC) found that the SHC scheme has promoted sustainable farming and led to a decrease of use of chemical fertilizer application in the range of 8-10%. Besides, overall increase in the yield of crops to the tune of 5-6% was reported due to application of fertilizer and micro nutrients as per recommendations available in the Soil Health Cards.
Manufacture and sale of liquor are major sources of revenue for states. A ban on alcohol sales was a crucial part of the lockdown, but it deprived states of critical revenue.
How is excise duty levied and collected? Excise duty is an indirect tax levied by the government on goods manufactured within India, and compares with custom duty, which is levied on imported items. Excise duty refers to the tax amount included in the final selling price of an item.
As excise duty is a tax on the manufacture of goods, the goods do not have to be sold for the excise duty to be collected.
Who levies the excise duty on liquor? The excise duty on liquor is levied by the respective state governments in India. State excise duty on alcohol is the second or third largest contributor to the own tax revenue of states.
It accounts for 10-15% of the tax receipts for a majority of the states. Licences to sell alcohol, fines and confiscation of alcoholic products also add to the exchequer of states.
Does alcohol not come within the purview of GST? Alcohol is not within the purview of the goods and services tax (GST). Exempting alcohol from GST was a key request put forth by state governments when the tax reform was being implemented across the country.
Other major items that are beyond the ambit of GST are land, electricity and petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel.
What is their income from excise on liquor? The 29 states and Union territories collected a total of ₹1.76 trillion through excise duty on liquor in 2019-20. This is 16.5% higher than the collection in 2018-19.
The average monthly collection in 2019-20 was ₹15,000 crore, says the Reserve Bank of India; the pre-coronavirus projection for 2020-21 was even higher.
What are the other sources of revenue for the states? The states’ revenues comprise broadly two categories — Tax Revenue and Non-Tax Revenue.
Tax revenue: It is divided into two further categories: State’s Own Tax Revenue, and Share in Central Taxes.
Again, Own Tax Revenue comprises three principal sources: Taxes on Income (taxes on professions, trades, callings and employment). Taxes on Property and Capital Transactions (land revenue, stamps and registration fees, urban immovable property tax).
Taxes on Commoditiesand Services (sales tax, state sales tax/VAT, central sales tax, surcharge on sales tax, receipts of turnover tax, other receipts, state excise).
Non tax revenues: Collected by the governments for providing/facilitating any goods and service.
What is it? Darbar Move is a century-old practice in which the government functions for six months each in the two capitals of the State, Srinagar and Jammu.
The practice was reportedly started in the late 19th century by Ranbir Singh, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, who used to shift his capital between Srinagar in the summer and Jammu in the winter to escape extreme weather conditions in these places.
The government will function in Srinagar, the summer capital of the State, till late October and then move to Jammu, the winter capital, in the first week of November.
Hundreds of trucks are usually plied to carry furniture, office files, computers, and other records to the capital. Regional parties in Jammu and Kashmir advocated the continuation of the practice “to help in the emotional integration between two diverse linguistic and cultural regions of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Criticisms surrounding: The ‘Darbar Move’ results in wastage of tremendous amount of time, efforts and energy on inefficient and unnecessary activity.
It is taxing for security forces too. It nurtures inefficiency and leads to lack of governance.
The same negatively impacts justice dispensation and impedes judicial administration.
It also causes delay in justice dispensation as government records are not available to the pleaders in one region for six months at a time.
Valuable documents and resources of the Union Territory in the nature of important and sensitive government documents are put to tremendous risk in the process of their transportation as they are packed in trunks and carried in hired trucks over a distance of 300 km between Jammu and Srinagar and vice-versa twice a year.
What the High Court says? The High Court observed that if this practice was rationalised, the amount of money, resources and time which could be saved, could be utilised towards the welfare and development of the Union Territory, which has otherwise witnessed much turmoil.
It could be utilised for protection and propagation of culture and heritage of the communities. It could also be used for facilitating expenditure on the COVID-19 related issues.
The court also remarked that given the modern weather control mechanisms, the consideration of extremities of weather, which was the case, reason and basis for the Darbar Move, does not hold weight today.
Under this initiative, the accepted orders are delivered at the patients’ doorsteps.
About PMBJP: ‘Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana’ is a campaign launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. Of India, to provide quality medicines at affordable prices to the masses through special kendra’s known as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra.
Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) is the implementing agency of PMBJP. BPPI (Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings of India) has been established under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. of India, with the support of all the CPSUs.
SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME: Ensure access to quality medicines. Extend coverage of quality generic medicines so as to reduce the out of pocket expenditure on medicines and thereby redefine the unit cost of treatment per person.
Create awareness about generic medicines through education and publicity so that quality is not synonymous with only high price.
A public programme involving Government, PSUs, Private Sector, NGO, Societies, Co-operative Bodies and other Institutions. Create demand for generic medicines by improving access to better healthcare through low treatment cost and easy availability wherever needed in all therapeutic categories.
What is a generic medicine? There is no definition of generic or branded medicines under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945 made thereunder. However, generic medicines are generally those which contain same amount of same active ingredient(s) in same dosage form and are intended to be administered by the same route of administration as that of branded medicine.
The price of an unbranded generic version of a medicine is generally lower than the price of a corresponding branded medicine because in case of generic version, the pharmaceutical company does not have to spend money on promotion of its brand.
How are they regulated in India? Drugs manufactured in the country, irrespective of whether they are generic or branded, are required to comply with the same standards as prescribed in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945 made thereunder for their quality.
Many are now advocating for its early detection as a means to avoid a fatal illness called Covid pneumonia.
What is hypoxia? Hypoxia is a condition wherein there is not enough oxygen available to the blood and body tissues.
Hypoxia can either be generalised, affecting the whole body, or local, affecting a region of the body.
Normal arterial oxygen is approximately 75 to 100 millimetres of mercury (mm Hg), and normal pulse oximeter readings usually range from 95 to 100 per cent. Values under 90 per cent are considered low.
What is silent hypoxia? It is a form of oxygen deprivation that is harder to detect than regular hypoxia. Patients appear to be less in distress.
In many cases, Covid-19 patients with silent hypoxia did not exhibit symptoms such as shortness of breath or coughing until their oxygen fell to acutely low levels, at which point there was a risk of acute respiratory distress (ARDS) and organ failure.
What explains this phenomenon? The reason why people are left feeling breathless is not because of the fall in oxygen levels itself, but due to the rise in carbon dioxide levels that occur at the same time, when lungs are not able to expel this gas efficiently. This response does not appear to be kicking in in some Covid-19 patients
This happens because in patients with Covid pneumonia, the virus causes air sacs to fall, leading to a reduction in levels of oxygen. However, the lungs initially do not become stiff or heavy with fluid, and remain “compliant” — being able to expel carbon dioxide and avoiding its buildup. Thus, patients do
Key findings: Almost 33 million new displacements were recorded in 2019 — around 25 million were due to natural disasters and 8.5 million as consequence of conflict and violence.
There were 12 million new displacements of children in 2019: around 3.8 million of them caused by conflict and violence, and 8.2 million, due to disasters linked mostly to weather-related events.
Natural disasters resulted in more new displacements than conflict and violence. Almost 10 million new displacements in 2019 were recorded in East Asia and the Pacific (39 %) — and almost the same number in South Asia (9.5 million).
Coronavirus intensifying suffering: Camps or informal settlements are often overcrowded, and lack adequate hygiene and health services. Physical distancing is often not possible, creating conditions that are highly conducive to the spread of disease.
Risks internally displaced children face include child labour, child marriage, trafficking.
The largest number of internally displaced children due to conflict are found in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and sub-Saharan Africa. Internally displaced persons are concentrated in two regions — the Middle East and North Africa and West and Central Africa.
India and neighbours: More than five million people were internally displaced in India due to natural disasters, conflict and violence in 2019, constituting the highest number of new internal displacements in the world during the period followed by the Philippines, Bangladesh and China.
India, the Philippines, Bangladesh and China accounted for 69% of global disaster-induced displacements.
These were overwhelmingly caused by extreme conditions created by dangerous storms and floods.
What needs to be done to protect the children? Governments and humanitarian partners should work together to keep them safe, healthy, learning and protected.
Strategic investments are needed to address the child-specific drivers of displacement, in particular, violence, exploitation and abuse.
Better, timely and accessible data — disaggregated by age and gender — is also critical to delivering on this agenda. Internally displaced children and youth themselves must have a seat at the table.
It is an annual hunting festival observed by tribals of Jharkhand and the neighbouring Odisha and West Bengal. This year, for the first time in living memory, not a single animal was killed in event because of a complete lockdown across the state.
Russia will be launching its first Arktika-M satellite to monitor the Arctic climate and environment later this year.
Russia`s Arktika-M remote-sensing and emergency communications satellites will gather meteorological data in the polar regions of the Earth, which will allow to improve weather forecasts and will enable scientists to better study climate change.
Launched by Niti Aayog in association with Piramal Foundation.
Focussed on ensuring wellbeing of senior citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The campaign will reach over 2.9 million senior citizens in 25 Aspirational Districts across Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan & UP.
It focuses on behaviour change, access to services, early detection & tracking of COVID19 symptoms.
DGCA launches ‘GARUD’ portal to fast-track exemptions of coronavirus-related drone operations.
GARUD- Government Authorisation for Relief Using Drones.
The portal will help state-owned entities in seeking exemption from central government for coronavirus related drone operations.
This will also help in addressing the challenges posed by COVID-19 and will remain in force until further orders.
Indian Navy has launched Operation Samudra Setu – meaning Sea Bridge, as a part of national effort to repatriate Indian citizens from overseas.
Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa and Magar are presently enroute to Malè in Maldives to commence evacuation operations as part of Phase-1.
A total of one thousand persons are planned to be evacuated during the first trip.
Three photojournalists from Jammu & Kashmir have won Pulitzer Prize 2020 in feature photography.
These include Yasin Dar, Mukhtar Khan, and Channi Anand.
About the Prize: Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917 and has been awarded for the achievements in magazine, newspaper, online journalism, musical composition, and literature.
The award was established by the provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, he made his fortune as a newspaper publisher.
The award is administered by Columbia University.
Pulitzer prize is awarded yearly in 21 categories. Each winner receives a cash award and a certificate. A gold medal is awarded to the winner in Public Service Category.