PIB PHASE II - MAR 24 - PART II Flashcards
Registrations of Informal Micro Enterprises on Udyam Assist Platform cross 1.50 crore
Udyam Assist Platform was launched by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises on 11th January 2023 to facilitate registration of Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs) through generation of Udyam Assist Certificate
SIDBI is the implementing agency for the project. IMEs not having GSTN are allowed to register on Udyam Assist Platform. During the last 14 months, total registrations of IMEs on the Udyam Assist Platform have crossed the figure of 1.50 crore
CSIR-CSIO and ALIMCO Join Forces to Advance Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology for Divyangjan
the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-CSIO) and Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration in the design, development, and manufacturing of rehabilitation and assistive technology (AT).
Empowering Persons with Disabilities: DEPwD Signs Three Groundbreaking MoUs
first MoU → igned jointly with Inclusive Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Foundation (I-STEM), Dhananjay Sanjogta Foundation (operating under the brand name - Mission Accessibility), and National Association for the Blind, Delhi, aims to provide technical support and infrastructure to enhance the mobile application. Through the incorporation of AI technology, the platform will efficiently disseminate relevant and targeted information, thereby empowering Divyangjans nationwide.
second MoU → In a bid to ensure the availability of reliable and up-to-date information on various schemes offered by state and central governments, the second MoU was inked in collaboration with Vision Divyang Foundation, Rohini, Delhi. This partnership seeks to leverage AI tools and suitable technological platforms to offer guidance on the eligibility of PwDs for government schemes, thereby enhancing accessibility to essential services.
Third MOU → signed with the esteemed National Association for the Blind, Delhi, a leading organization dedicated to the welfare of persons with visual disabilities, aims to make approximately 10,000 pages of documents accessible to PwDs. These documents include government schemes, guidelines, CCPD orders, legal reliefs for PwDs, annual reports, and more.
Krishi Sakhi Training Programme
- a joint initiative of
joint initiative of Ministry of Agriculture and Famers Welfare and
Ministry of Rural Development
Purpose of Krishi Sakhi Training Programme
It is to certify 70,000 Krishi Sakhis as “Para-Extension Workers”
Till date close to 3500 Krishi Sakhis have already been trained and the program is being simultaneously implemented in 13 states
Krishi Sakhis play a pivotal role in implementing schemes like
National Mission of
Natural Farming (NMNF), Bio Resource Centres, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
(PMFBY), etc.
Certified Krishi Sakhis become para-extension workers, community resource
persons for creating awareness and building capacity of farmers
and also acts as a
link between farmers, KVKs, Agriculture and Allied Departments.
Central Fertilizer Quality Control and Training Institutes’ (CFQCTI’s) portal - inaugurated by
jointly inaugurated by the Ministry of Agriculture and
Farmers Welfare and Ministry of Rural Development in New Delhi.
Central Fertilizer Quality Control and Training Institutes’ (CFQCTI’s) portal - Purpose
fertilizer sample testing
Central Fertilizer Quality Control and Training Institutes’ (CFQCTI’s) portal - Key initiatives
Introduction of OTP/SMS Application - sample collection at
Ports and testing
• OTP for Sample Verification - authorized persons of the
Importer, verify by Fertilizer Inspector in Form-J (FCO,1985)
• Verification Process: can refuse to give otp if anomalies
• Automated Sample Allotment:
• Analysis Report Distribution: sent to the email-id of authorised person
Upcoming Phases:
• In second phase, the Portal can be updated for indigenously manufactured fertilizers sampling including live sampling at ports/dealer sale point etc.
Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has released the Final
Estimates of 2022-23 and First Advance Estimates of 2023-24 of Area and
Production of various Horticultural Crops:
Total Horticulture
in 2021-22
Area (in Million Ha) : 28.04
Production (in million tonne) : 347.18
2022-23 (final estimates)
Area (in Million Ha) : 28.44 (1.41 % increase)
Production (in million tonne) : 355.48 (2.39% increase)
2023-24 (first advance estimates)
Area (in Million Ha) : 28.77
Production (in million tonne) : 355.25
Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has released the Final
Estimates of 2022-23 and First Advance Estimates of 2023-24 of Area and
Production of various Horticultural Crops: In that fruit production
is estimated to be 110.21 Million Tonnes in 2022-23 (Final
Estimates)
- It is mainly due to increases in production of
Apple,
Banana,
Grapes,
Mango and
Watermelon
Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has released the Final
Estimates of 2022-23 and First Advance Estimates of 2023-24 of Area and
Production of various Horticultural Crops: In that VEGETABLES production
has increased from 209.14 Million Tonnes in 2021-22 to
212.55 Million Tonnes in 2022-23 (Final Estimates).
- This is mainly contributed by increase registered in all vegetables except Chillies
(Green), Onion, Radish, Tapioca and Tomato.
National Workshop on National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship
New Delhi.
• Presided by: Economic Adviser, Department of School Education & Literacy,
Ministry of Education
New features of the National Scholarship Portal from 2024-25 are added
• Aadhaar Payment Bridge being introduced.
• Features for registration and verification to be introduced during 2024-25.
• Bio-authentication of Heads of Institutes and Institute Nodal Officers.
National Means-cum Merit Scholarship launched on
2008
Time period of National Means-cum Merit Scholarship
FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26
Total Allocation of National Means-cum Merit Scholarship
Rs. 1827 Crore
Funding of NMMS
Central Sector Scheme.
• ‘National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme’ scholarships are awarded to
meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop
out at class VIII and encourage them to continue their education up to the
secondary stage
Under NMMS, One lakh fresh scholarships are awarded to selected students
from class IX every
year and their continuation/renewal in classes X to XII for students studying in
State Government, Government-aided and local body schools
Under NMMS, The awardees should get minimum of 60% marks in Class X for continuation of
scholarship (relaxable by 5% for SC/ST candidates) in next higher classes
For
continuing the scholarship in class X and XII, the awardees should get clear
promotion form class IX to class X and from class XI to class XII in the first
attempt
Eligibility criteria of NMMS
Parental income is not more than Rs. 3,50,000 per annum.
minimum of 55% marks or equivalent grade in the
Class VII examination to appear in the selection test for the award of a
scholarship (relaxable by 5% for SC/ST students).
Government,
Government-aided and local body school.
Students of NVS, KVS and residential schools are not entitled for the
scholarship
Disbursement amount, mode of NMMS
Rs. 12000 per annum
DBT thru PFMS mode
National Scholarship Portal (NSP) from 2018-19 - a one-stop
platform for scholarship schemes given to students.
National Mission for Mentoring (NMM)
NEP 2020 - Mentoring for teachers - through dedicated digital platform - Bluebook on NMM in 22 languages, Braille and audiobooks
National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST)
improving the teachers’ personal and professional development by providing them with an understanding of what is expected in terms of their performance and what needs to be done.
passionate teachers for all levels of students
22 scheduled languages, Braille and Audiobooks
52 Primers in Indian languages
transformational step for young learners, especially for Early
Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), providing them access to education in
their mother tongue/local language.
Launch of 200 DTH TV Channels
launched under PMeVidya initiative.
multi-mode access to education
quality eContents for free thru TV, radio
NCERT has made National Vidya Samiksha Kendra functional for facilitating
research and development and capacity building program
It has currently enabled visibility, insights, and actionability across 11 programs
- National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement
(NISHTHA)
- DIKSHA
- Energized Textbooks (ETBs)
- NIPUN Bharat initiative for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
- NCERT Quiz
- National Achievement Survey
- Performance Grading Index (PGI)
- Unified District Information System for Education Plus
- PM Poshan
- National Curriculum Framework (NCF)
Micro-Improvements program (recognition of best pedagogy practices) &
PRASHAST (A Disability Screening Checklist for Schools)
- PM SHRI.
National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA)
• Launch Year: 2018
• Targets: Comprehensive and integrated teacher training program designed to improve learning outcomes of students at the elementary level. Focuses on developing competencies across subject areas, along with social-emotional and foundational literacy and numeracy aspects.
DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing)
• Launch Year: 2017
• Targets: A national platform offering a variety of digital learning resources for teachers, students, and parents. Provides engaging e-learning content aligned with curriculums, aids teacher training, and facilitates online assessments.
Energized Textbooks (ETBs)
• Launch Year: Varies by state, early initiatives around 2015
• Targets: Integration of technologies like QR codes into textbooks. Linking these codes to online resources, videos, animations, and supplementary material to enhance learning experiences and make textbooks more interactive.
NIPUN Bharat (National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy)
• Launch Year: 2021
• Targets: Aims to ensure all children in the country achieve foundational literacy and numeracy skills by the end of Grade 3 (by 2026-27). Focuses on teacher capacity building, development of high-quality resources, and assessment.
National Curriculum Framework (NCF)
• Launch Year: The NCF has been revised periodically, with the latest iteration in 2022
• Targets: This is the overall guiding framework for the development of Indian school education, including syllabi, textbooks, and teaching practices. Its goal is to create a holistic, student-centered approach to education.
NCERT Quiz
• Launch Year: Varies, likely has been ongoing for an extended period.
• Targets: Quizzes developed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to assess student understanding of concepts across various subjects. These are likely used by teachers as formative assessment tools.
National Achievement Survey (NAS)
• Launch Year: Periodically conducted, the first cycle was in the 1990s.
• Targets: A large-scale assessment to gauge learning outcomes and competencies of students in classes 3, 5, 8, and 10. Measures the health of the education system and helps in identifying areas for improvement.
Performance Grading Index (PGI)
• Launch Year: 2019
• Targets: An index to evaluate, and subsequently improve, the performance of school education systems across States and UTs in India. Uses various indicators across governance, infrastructure, learning outcomes, and equity.
Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+)
• Launch Year: The original UDISE was established in the 1990s and UDISE+ is an enhanced version.
• Targets: A comprehensive data management system for school education. It collects detailed information on schools, teachers, enrollment, infrastructure, etc. This data is used for planning and policymaking in the education sector
PM Poshan (formerly Mid-Day Meal Scheme)
• Launch Year: 1995 (under the initial name). Re-named PM POSHAN Shakti Nirman in 2021.
• Targets: Provides cooked mid-day meals to children in government and government-aided schools. Aims to improve nutritional status, promote school attendance, and support the overall development of children.
Micro-Improvements program (recognition of best pedagogy practices) & PRASHAST (A Disability Screening Checklist for Schools)
• Targets: Focused on smaller initiatives – micro-improvements would likely highlight and reward creative teaching methods that boost success, and
second one aims for early identification of disabilities in school settings.
PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India)
• Launch Year: 2022
• Targets: To develop a network of exemplary, model schools across the country. These will emphasize modern infrastructure, a holistic learning environment aligned with the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and act as ‘lighthouse’ institutions for other schools.
Financial assistance, totalling to Rs 9000 crores, will be provided to States/UTs
for the physical upgradation of all 613 District Institutes of Education and
Training (DIETs).
It aims to develop them as DIET of Excellence in the country in a phased manner in the next five years
Upto Rs. 15 Crore per DIET will be provided under the Centrally Sponsored
Scheme of Samagra Shiksha for improving various infrastructural facilities.
National Urban Cooperative Finance and Development Corporation
Limited (NUCFDC)
inaugurated by Ministry of Cooperation
New Delhi
Certificate of Registration from RBI as NBFC
SRO for the sector
to raise 300 crore capital base
Umbrella organization for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs).
Bharat Pashudhan
digital database for livestock animals in the country.
‘Bharat Pashudhan’ utilizes a unique 12-digit Tag ID allocated to each livestock
animal
Developed under the National Digital Livestock Mission (NDLM).
Scheme Under Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Diarying
Under the Bharat Pasudhan, out of an estimated 30.5 crore bovines,
about 29.6 crore have
already been tagged and their details are available in the database.
‘Bharat Pashudhan’ will empower the farmers by providing
a traceability system
for the bovines and also help in disease monitoring and control.
1962 Farmers App
records all data and information present under the ‘Bharat
Pashudhan’ database
First Pey Jal Survekshan Awards to be conferred by President
launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in September 2022
and the field assessments were conducted from December 2022 -November 2023
Pey Jal Survekshan (PJS), as part of AMRUT 2.0 mission
aims to evaluate the
service level achievements in the
quality,
quantity, and
coverage of water supply, sewerage and
septage management;
the extent of reusing and recycling of
wastewater
and the conservation of water bodies within the city
First edition of Pey Jal Survekshan awards focuses on the provision of water-linked services
covers
all 485 AMRUT cities
PeyJal Survekshan has 3 components to capture the data
- Service Level Assessment
- Citizen Feedback Survey
- Direct Observation Including Lab Test of Water Sample
Under PeyJal Survekshan Cities will be graded
on a star rating scale, ranging from 5 stars to No stars.
AMRUT MITRA initiative Launched and its aims are
aims to actively involve women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the
urban water sector, designating women as key contributors and emphasizing their
role in household water management
SHG Women who are AMRUT Mitras will be
engaged in executing AMRUT 2.0 projects, focusing on
activities such as billing, collection, leak detection, plumbing works, water quality
sampling, and maintenance of infrastructure.
Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal launched a digital platform to facilitate farmers in getting loans against their produce stored in registered godowns and said it would help boost the farming community’s income and make agriculture an attractive proposition
digital gateway named ‘e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi’, which aims to facilitate farmers in obtaining post-harvest loans from banks against their stocks stored in the WDRA registered warehouses.
7% interest rate; Collateral free
5500 registered warehouses under WDRA and 1 lakh agri warehouses
Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)’s ‘Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP)’ for coordination among the stakeholders to curb misuse of telecom resources in cyber-crime and financial frauds
Chakshu facility on Sanchar Saathi portal, a pioneering initiative empowering citizens to proactively report suspected fraud communication.
(https://sancharsaathi.gov.in/),
Government has been persistently making efforts to check cyber-frauds under the secure India project, at three levels-National, Organisational and Individual.
Under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, the first state in the country to issue five crore Ayushman cards.
Uttar pradesh has become the first state
3716 hospitals,
92.48% settlement rate
average admission of patients per day under this scheme was 2,000, which has now increased to about 8,000 per day
Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and Easytrip Planners Limited (EMT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the travel and tourism sector.
signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)‘s SHG Didis for livelihoods opportunities in the travel and tourism sector
Who are ticket wali didis
SHG didis under MOU between MoRD and Easemytrip (EMT)
The eligibility criteria for selection of the ticket wali Didis
basic knowledge of reading & writing English / Hindi and knowledge of using a Computer & browsing the internet.
EMT will ensure that the profit earnings of the SHG members managing the ticket book enterprise (post training)
is of at least Rs. 10000.00 (Rs. Ten Thousand) per month each to become a Lakhpati during the pilot of 3 months
EMT will conduct the Pilot project across 10 Blocks in Districts identified by the MoRD
Patna,
Begusarai,
Vadodara,
Rajkot,
Surat,
Bhopal,
Ujjain,
Ayodhya and
Varanasi.
Ministry of Jal Shakti has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA)with Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore
Establishment of an International Centre of Excellence for Dams (ICED) under externally supported Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II and III
MoJS MoA with IISc Bangalore - valid for
ten years or till the duration of the DRIP Phase-II and III Scheme, whichever is earlier, from the date of signing this MoA.
ICED will act as a technological arm of the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) to provide
to provide specialized technical support in investigations, modelling, research and innovations, and technical support services for the Indian and overseas dam owners.
ICED under MoJS MoA IISc Bangalore will carry out research in two core areas
(i) Advanced construction and rehabilitation materials & Material testing for dams and
(ii) Comprehensive (multi-hazard) risk assessment of dams.
The MoJS under MoA with IISc Bangalore will provide grant of Rs. 118.05 Crore
for procurement of goods, machinery for establishment of new laboratories as well as strengthening of existing laboratories.
ICED, IISc Bangalore is the second International Centre in the area of Dam Safety
The first ICED has been institutionalized at IIT Roorkee upon signing of MoA in February 2023.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the world’s largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector.
Inauguration of a pilot project being carried out in 11 states by primary agricultural credit societies under this plan. • Government is looking to “set up a storage infrastructure of 700 lakh metric tons”.
Food Corporation of India currently has a storage capacity of 361.62 lakh tonnes and
state government agencies have capacities of another 400.74 lakh tonnes.
Union Budget 2023-24 flagged the initiation of the process of computerisation of 63,000 PACS
with an investment of Rs 2,516 crore
NABARD is extending financial support to PACS by refinancing them at highly subsidized rates of around 1 percent, after incorporating the benefits of 3% interest subvention under AIF scheme for projects
financial support to PACS
up to Rs. 2 Crore.
Pilot project of storage of grains - inplemented by
National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) with the support of NABARD, Food Corporation of India (FCI), Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), NABARD Consultancy Services (NABCONS), National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC),
“Sahakar-se-Samriddhi”
(Cooperation for Prosperity).
The Pilot Plan of grains storage is being implemented by utilizing the approved outlays of the following Government of India (GoI) schemes for creation/ modernization of infrastructure facilities at PACS level
• The MoAFW’s Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), and Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM).
• Two schemes of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries: PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME), and PM Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).
• Two schemes of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution: allocation of food grains under the National Food Security Act, and Procurement operations at Minimum Support Price
Wheat procurement target for 2024-25
range of 30-32 million tonnes for rabi marketing seasons
lower target has been fixed despite the Ministry of Agriculture hoping for a record production of 114-115 million tonnes in the 2023-24 crop year (JulyJune).
a rabi paddy procurement target
range of 9-10 million tonnes.
government has also set a procurement target of 6,00,000 tonnes for rabi coarse grains /millets (Shri Anna).
In the 2023-24 season - wheat procurement
26.2 million tonnes against target of 34.15 million tonnes
In 2022-23, wheat procurement was
only 18.8 million tonnes against the target of 44.4 million tonnes
NITI Aayog organised the ‘National Conference on Accelerating Sustainable Development Goals’ in partnership with
in partnership with the host Government of Rajasthan and technical partners UNDP and UN in India in Jaipur
Three knowledge portals, UNDP ‘SDG Knowledge hub’, ‘Food and Nutrition Security Analysis Dashboard’ of Government of Rajasthan, ‘SDG -2 (Zero Hunger) Dashboard’ of Government of Rajasthan were inaugurated