PIB Analysis for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Farmers Clubs
- Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019
- Steps to eliminate fraudulent banking practices
- Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh
- AyushmanBharat -PradhanMantri Jan ArogyaYojana
- Patent Prosecution Highway programme
- Sowa Rigpa
- Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 and accession to the Hong Kong International Convention
- International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019
- Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2019
- Toll Operate Transfer
- Satellites to Assess Pollution Status
- Saubhagya and Deendayal Upadhyay Scheme
- Central Road and Infrastructure Fund
- Steps taken to Promote Tourism in the Country
- Facts for Prelims
1 . Farmers Club
About Farmers Club
- Farmers’ Clubs (FCs) promoted by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) are grass root level informal fora organized by the rural branches of banks, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), etc.
- The programme is being implemented for the mutual benefit of the banks and the farmers.
- The major objective is to promote “Development through credit, technology transfer, awareness and capacity building” of the farmers.
- The clubs are beneficial for banks as well as line departments of the State Government for convergence of the programmes / schemes sponsored / implemented by them.
2 . Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019
Context : allianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has been passed by the Parliament after it was passed in Rajya Sabha today. The Bill was earlier passed in Lok Sabha on 2nd August 2019.
Details of the Bill
- It seeks to make apolitical the trust that runs Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial by removing the clause pertaining to the President of INC as a permanent member of the trust.
- The Bill also amends to include the Leader of Opposition recognised as such in the House of the People (Lok Sabha) or where there is no such Leader of Opposition, then the Leader of the single largest Opposition Party in that House as a member of the trust.
- The Bill also amends that a nominated trustee may be terminated before the expiry of the period of five years by the Central Government.
3 . Steps to eliminate fraudulent banking practices
Recent steps taken by the government
- Government has issued “Framework for timely detection, reporting, investigation etc. relating to large value bank frauds” to Public Sector Banks (PSBs) for systemic and comprehensive checking of legacy stock of their non-performing assets (NPAs), which provides, inter-alia, that—
- all accounts exceeding Rs. 50 crore, if classified as NPAs, be examined by banks from the angle of possible fraud, and a report placed before the bank’s Committee for Review of NPAs on the findings of this investigation;
- examination be initiated for wilful default immediately upon reporting fraud to RBI; and
- report on the borrower be sought from the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau in case an account turns NPA.
- Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 has been enacted to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts. The act provides for attachment of property of a fugitive economic offender, confiscation of such offender’s property and disentitlement of the offender from defending any civil claim.
- PSBs have been advised to obtain certified copy of the passport of the promoters/directors and other authorised signatories of companies availing loan facilities of more than Rs. 50 crore and, decide on publishing photographs of wilful defaulters, in terms of the instructions of RBI and as per their Board-approved policy and to strictly ensure rotational transfer of officials/employees. The heads of PSBs have also been empowered to issue requests for issue of Look Out Circulars.
- For enforcement of auditing standards and ensuring the quality of audits, Government has established the National Financial Reporting Authority as an independent regulator.
- Instructions/advisories have been issued by Government to PSBs to decide on publishing photographs of wilful defaulters, in terms of RBI’s instructions and as per their Board-approved policy, and to obtain certified copy of the passport of the promoters/directors and other authorised signatories of companies availing loan facilities of more than Rs. 50 crore.
- In order to bring transparency and accountability in the larger financial system, bank accounts of 3.38 lakh inoperative companies were frozen over the last two financial years.
4 . Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh
About Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh
- Jansankhya SthirthaKosh (JSK), an autonomous body under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, implemented the following schemes:
- Prerna Scheme (for delaying marriage, childbirth and spacing),
- Santushti Scheme (Public Private Partnership for sterilization services),and
- National Helpline (for information on family planning).
- The JSK has been discontinued on 08/02/2019 and various schemes for population control are being supported under National Health Mission;
STEPS BEING TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT TO CONTROL POPULATION GROWTH:
- Mission ParivarVikas- The Government has launched Mission Parivar Vikas for substantially increasing access to contraceptives and family planning services in146 high fertility districts with Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 3 and above in seven high focus states. These districts are from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam that itself constitutes 44% of the country’s population.
- New Contraceptive Choices- New contraceptives viz. Injectable contraceptive and Centchroman have been added to the existing basket of choices.
- A new method of IUCD insertion immediately after delivery i.e. post-partum IUCD (PPIUCD) has been introduced.
- Redesigned Contraceptive Packaging – The packaging for Condoms, OCPs and ECPs has now been improved and redesigned so as to increase the demand for these commodities.
- Compensation scheme for sterilization acceptors – Under the scheme MoHFW provides compensation for loss of wages to the beneficiary and also to the service provider (& team) for conducting sterilizations.
- Clinical Outreach Teams (COT) Scheme – The scheme has been launched in 146 Mission ParivarVikas districts for providing Family planning services through mobile teams from accredited organizationsin far-flung, underserved and geographically difficult areas.
- Scheme for Home delivery of contraceptives by ASHAs at doorstep of beneficiaries.
- Scheme for ASHAs to Ensure spacing in births.
- Scheme for provision of Pregnancy Testing Kits in the drug kits of ASHAs for use in communities.
- Family Planning Logistic Management and Information System (FP-LMIS): A dedicated software to ensure smooth forecasting, procurement and distribution of family planning commodities across all the levels of health facilities.
- National Family Planning Indemnity Scheme (NFPIS) under which clients are insured in the eventualities of death, complication and failure following sterilization.
- Ensuring quality of care in Family Planning services by establishing Quality Assurance Committees in all states and districts.
- Appointment of dedicated RMNCH+A counselorsat high case load facilities.
- Improved Demand generation activities through a 360 degree media campaign.
5 . Salient Features of Ayushman Bharat Scheme
Salient Features of Ayushman Bharat -PradhanMantri Jan ArogyaYojana
- Government of India has launched Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY) on 23.09.2018. PMJAY is a centrally sponsored scheme. It is entirely funded by Government and the funding is shared between Centre and State governments as per prevailing guidelines of Ministry of Finance.
- PMJAY provides health cover up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalization to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families (approx. 50 crore beneficiaries).
- PMJAY is an entitlement based scheme. This scheme covers poor and vulnerable families based on deprivation and occupational criteria as per SECC database.
- PMJAY provides cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at the point of service in any (both public and private) empanelled hospitals across India. In other words, a beneficiary from one State can avail benefits from an empanelled Hospital anywhere in the Country.
- Under PMAJY, the States are free to choose the modalities for implementation. They can implement the scheme through insurance company or directly through the Trust/ Society or mixed model.
- There is no restriction on family size, ensuring all members of designated families specifically girl child and senior citizens get coverage.
- A well-defined Complaint and Public Grievance Redressal Mechanism, has been put in place through which complaints/ grievances are registered, acknowledged, escalated for relevant action, resolved and monitored.
- PMJAY has created a robust IT system for implementation and role of real time transaction data.
- At National level, National Health Authority (NHA) has been set up as an attached office to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to manage the implementation of the scheme.
6 . Patent Prosecution Highway programme
Context : The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for adoption of Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme by the Indian Patent Office (IPO) under the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks, India (CGPDTM) with patent offices of various other interest countries or regions.
Details of the Programme
- The programme will initially commence between Japan Patent Office (JPO) and Indian Patent Office on pilot basis for a period of three years only.
- Under this Pilot programme, Indian Patent Office may receive patent applications n certain specified technical fields only, namely, Electrical, Electronics, Computer Science, Information Technology, Physics, Civil, Mechanical, Textiles, Automobiles and Metallurgy while JPO may receive applications in all fields of technology.
- Japanese inventors seeking patent protection in India will now be able to take the benefits of expedited examination in India under the pilot programme on PPH. Faster grant of patents in India will result in more inbound investments by companies and also introduction of newer technologies thereby giving fillip to make in India and increasing employment opportunities. It will also help Indian Startups in patenting in Japan.
PPH programme would lead to the following benefits for the Indian IP office:
- Reduction in time to dispose patent applications.
- Reduction in pendency of patent applications.
- Improvement in quality of search and examination of patent applications.
- An opportunity for Indian inventors including MSMEs and Start ups of India to get accelerated examination of their patent applications in Japan.
7 . National Institute of Sowa Rigpa (NISR)
Context : The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today approved the establishment of the National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa in Leh as an autonomous organization under the Ministry of AYUSH
About Sowa – Rigpa
- Sowa-Rigpa is a Traditional Medical system of the Himalayan belt in India.
- It has been popularly practiced in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling (West Bengal), Himachal Pradesh, Union Territory of Ladakh and now all over India.
About National Institute of Sowa Rigpa
- The setting up of the National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa would provide an impetus for the revival of Sowa-Rigpa in the Indian Sub-continent. The Institute will also provide opportunities for students of Sowa-Rigpa not only in India but also from other countries.
- The Institute will be an autonomous National Institute under Ministry of AYUSH with the mandate to undertake interdisciplinary education and research programmes in Sowa-Rigpa in collaboration with premier national and international Institutes and facilitate integration of different systems of medicine.
- The objective is to establish the National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa (NISR) as an apex Institute for Sowa-Rigpa with aim of bringing a valid and useful synergy between Traditional Wisdom of Sowa-Rigpa and modern science, tools and technology. It will help to promote interdisciplinary research & education of Sowa-Rigpa.
8 . Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 and accession to the Hong Kong International Convention
Context : The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for enactment of Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 and accession to the Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009.
Benefits
- The proposed Bill restricts and prohibits the use or installation of hazardous material, which applies irrespective of whether a ship is meant for recycling or not. For new ships, such restriction or prohibition on use of hazardous material will be immediate, that is, from the date the legislation comes into force, while existing ships shall have a period of five years for compliance. Restriction or prohibition on use of hazardous material would not be applied to warships and non-commercial ships operated by Government. Ships shall be surveyed and certified on the inventory of hazardous material used in ships.
- Under the Bill, ship recycling facilities are required to be authorized and ships shall be recycled only in such authorized ship recycling facilities.
- The Bill also provides that ships shall be recycled in accordance with a ship-specific recycling plan. Ships to be recycled in India shall be required to obtain a Ready for Recycling Certificate in accordance with the HKC
Salient features:
- The Government of India has decided to enact a Bill, namely Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019, to provide for the regulation of recycling of ships by setting certain international standards and laying down the statutory mechanism for enforcement of such standards.
- It has also been decided to accede to the Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009.
- When the Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 comes into force, its provisions will be implemented under the provisions of the Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 and rules and regulations framed there under.
Background
- India is the leader in the global ship recycling industry, with a share of over 30% of the market. As per UNCTAD report on Review of Maritime Transport, 2018, India had demolished 6323 tonnes in 2017, of known ship scrapping across the world.
- The ship-recycling industry is a labour-intensive sector, but it is susceptible to concerns on environmental safety.
9 . International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019
Context : The Union Cabinet approved for withdrawing of the International Financial Services Centres Authority, 2019 Bill which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 12th February, 2019 and pending in the Rajya Sabha and introducing the International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha in the ensuing session of the Parliament.
Benefits
- Currently the banking, capital markets and insurance sectors in IFSC are regulated by multiple regulators i.e. RBI, SEBI and IRDAI.
- The dynamic nature of business in the IFSCs necessitates a high degree of inter-regulatory coordination.
- It also requires clarifications and frequent amendments in the existing regulations governing financial activities in IFSCs.
- The development of financial services and products in IFSCs would require focused and dedicated regulatory interventions. Hence a need is felt for having a unified financial regulator for IFSCs in India to provide world class regulatory environment to financial market participants.
- Further, this would also be essential from an ease of doing business perspective. The unified authority would also provide the much needed impetus to further development of IFSC in India in-sync with the global best practices.
Background
- The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on February 6, 2019 had approved the proposal for establishment of a unified authority for regulating all financial services through the introduction of the International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill 2019 in the Parliament. Subsequently, the International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on February 12, 2019 by the then Hon’ble Minister of State (Finance).
10 . Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2019
Context : The Union Cabinet has given its approval for introduction of the Industrial Relations Code, 2019 in the Parliament.
Benefits
- Setting up of two-member tribunal (in place of one member) introducing a concept that some of the important cases will be adjudicated jointly and the rest by a single member resulting speedier disposal of cases.
- To impart flexibility to the exit provisions (relating to retrenchment etc.), for which, the threshold for prior approval of appropriate Government has been kept unchanged at 100 employees, but added a provision for changing ‘such number of employees’ through notification.
- The re-skilling fund, is to be utilised for crediting to workers in the manner to be prescribed.
- Definition of Fixed Term Employment and that it would not lead to any notice period and payment of compensation on retrenchment excluded.
- Vesting of powers with the government officers for adjudication of disputes involving penalty as fines thereby lessening the burden on tribunal.
Background
The draft code on Industrial Relations has been prepared after amalgamating, simplifying and rationalizing the relevant provisions of following three Central Labour Acts:
- The Trade Unions Act, 1926
- The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946
- The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
11 . Toll – Operate Transfer
Context : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval to the amendments proposed in the Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) Model by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
About the Amendments
- Public funded National Highway (NH) projects which are operational and have toll revenue generation history of one year after the Commercial Operations Date (COD) shall be monetized through the TOT Model. The monetization will be subject to approval of the Competent Authority in Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) / NHAI on a case to case basis.
- Around 75 operational NH projects have been identified for potential monetization using the TOT Model, and bundled into 10 separate bids to attract economics of scale for the private sector.
- The corpus generated from proceeds of such project monetization shall be utilized by the Government to meet its fund requirements regarding future development and O&M of highways in the country. The Model would facilitate efficient toll realization through private sector.
- This approval would ensure a wider set of assets for Monetization and providing a more attractive model for the investors. Further, the fund generated from such monetization shall be utilized for development/O&M of highways in the country, which would benefit highway users throughout the country.
Implementation Strategy and targets:
- The approved TOT Model authorized NHAI to monetize public funded NH projects, such as EPC/BOT (Annuity) projects, which are operational and have a proven toll collection history of at least two years.
- The approved TOT Model provides for a fixed 30-year concession period.
- The fund generated from proceeds of monetization are being utilized by the Government to meet its financing requirements regarding future development of NHs in the country, including their operation and maintenance.
- NHAI has already monetized one bundle of projects under TOT Model, generating a revenue of Rs. 9681.50crore for the government. However, the second bundle saw deviation in the market valuation of assets from NHAI’s valuation. NHAI has conducted several rounds of discussions with the private sector to reduce uncertainty in the Model. The approved amendments in the model will allow more efficient asset monetization through TOT Mode.
Background
The NHAI was authorized to monetize public funded NationalHighway projects through the TOT Model. The TOT Model allows NHAI to:
- Ensure efficient management of constructed and operational NH projects through proper Operation and Maintenance (O&M).
- Arrange for additional funds which are required for achievement of targets under Bharatmala Programme and other NH development works.
12 . Satellites to Assess Pollution Status
Satellites used
- ISRO has been carrying out monitoring of stubble burning since 2015. The products generated are comparable to the NASA products.
- The Imager payload on-board ISRO’s INSAT-3D & 3DR satellites is used to monitor Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), which is indicator of particles and smoke from biomass burning affecting visibility and increase of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration in the atmosphere.
- It is found that AOD, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations are higher over Indo-Gangetic Plain covering parts of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during October and November. High concentration of these pollutants is seen originating from parts of Punjab and Haryana during stubble burning.
- Climatological study of satellite based fire occurrences and associated pollutant parameters reveal that fire occurrences increased by 4% over Punjab and Haryana region during October- November between 2003 and 2017. The model based analysis suggests that there is a high probability of transportation of smoke aerosols from Punjab & Haryana, towards down-wind regions of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
- Using medium resolution Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite data, stubble burned area maps are generated at the end of stubble burning activity in Kharif season.
- ISRO has been carrying out monitoring of stubble burning since 2015. The products generated are comparable to the NASA products.
13 . Saubhagya, Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and Integrated Power Development Scheme
Saubhagya Scheme
Objective
- The objective of the ‘Saubhagya’ is to provide energy access to all by last mile connectivity and electricity connections to all remaining un-electrified households in rural as well as urban areas to achieve universal household electrification in the country.
Beneficiaries
- The beneficiaries for free electricity connections would be identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data. However, un-electrified households not covered under the SECC data would also be provided electricity connections under the scheme on payment of Rs. 500 which shall be recovered by DISCOMs in 10 instalments through electricity bill.
Features
- The electricity connection to households include release of electricity connections by drawing a service cable from the nearest electricity pole to the household premise, installation of energy meter, wiring for a single light point with LED bulb and a mobile charging point. In case the electricity pole is not available nearby from household for drawing service cable, the erection of additional pole along with conductor and associated accessories shall also be covered under the scheme.
- Poor households would be provided electricity connections free of cost. Other households would also be provided electricity connections under the scheme on payment of Rs.500 only which shall be recovered by the DISCOMs/Power Departments in ten instalments along with electricity bills.
Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and Integrated Power Development Scheme
- Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) envisage creation of basic electricity infrastructure in villages / habitations, strengthening & augmentation of existing infrastructure, metering of existing feeders / distribution transformers / consumers to improve quality and reliability of power supply in rural areas. Besides this, last mile connectivity and free electricity connections are also provided to BPL households only identified by the States as per their list.
- However, in villages which are electrified in past for a long period, many households do not have electricity connections for many reasons. Some of the really poor households do not have BPL cards but these households are not capable of paying applicable initial connection charges. There is also lack of awareness as to how to get connection or taking connection is not an easy task for illiterate people. There may not be electricity pole nearby and the cost of erection of additional pole, conductor is also chargeable from the households for obtaining a connection.
- Similarly in urban areas, Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) provides for creation of necessary infrastructure to provide electricity access but some households are not yet connected mainly on account of their economic condition as they are not capable of paying the initial connection charges.
- Therefore, Soubhagya has been launched to plug such gaps and comprehensively address the issues of entry barrier, last mile connectivity and release of electricity connections to all un-electrified households in rural and urban areas.
Benefits to the Citizen
- Electricity in households has brought new light in their lives. Electrification has direct positive impact on the quality of all aspects of daily life, especially to the women and children.
- With deeper penetration of electricity network, significant improvement is expected in delivery of other essential services like education, health, communication etc. and thereby more opportunities for economic activities leading to employment generation, increase in income and poverty alleviation
14 . Central Road and Infrastructure Fund
About Central Road Fund
- The CRF launched in 2000 is basically a cess imposed along with excise duty on petrol and diesel.
- Central Road Fund (CRF) was a major revenue for the government to finance ambitious road projects
- In 2018 budget, the government has created Central Road and Infrastructure Fund in place of the CRF and widened its use.
Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF)
- The budget 2018 has amended the Central Road Fund Act, 2000, and has renamed the Central Road Fund as Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF).
- Main purpose of the amendment is to use the proceeds of the road cess under CRIF to finance other infrastructure projects including waterways, some portion of the railway infrastructure and even social infrastructure including education institutions, medical colleges etc.
- According to the Finance Bill 2018, “The Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (will be) for development and maintenance of National Highways, railway projects, improvement of safety in railways, State and rural roads and other infrastructure…”
- The amendment prescribes that road cess is first credited to the Consolidated Fund of India and later, after adjusting for the cost of tax collection, should go to the CRIF.
- Share for each infrastructure areas and projects from the CRIF shall be finalised by a Committee, constituted by the Central government. The Committee will be headed by the Finance Minister.
15 . Steps taken to Promote Tourism in the Country
Steps taken to Promote Tourism
- Launched the Swadesh Darshan Scheme with a vision to develop theme based tourist circuits.
- Launched the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme for holistic development of identified pilgrimage destinations.
- Launched the Adopt a Heritage Project for development and maintenance of tourist amenities at heritage sites/monuments and other tourist sites.
- Development and promotion of ‘Niche Tourism’ products to attract tourist with specific interest and to ensure repeat visits for the unique products in which India has a comparative advantage.
- Launched 24×7 toll free Multi-Lingual Tourist Helpline.
- Promoting India as a holistic tourism destination including its various tourism sites and products through Incredible India 2.0 Campaign.
- Providing facility of e-Visa for 5 sub-categories i.e. e-Tourist visa, e-Business visa, e-Medical visa, e-Medical Attendant visa and e-Conference visa for nationals of 169 countries.
- Revamp of Incredible India Website having information on tourism sites/destinations in different States/Union Territory Administrations.
- Launch of the Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Programme on an online digital platform to provide basic, advanced and refresher courses for tourist facilitators.
- E-Visa has been further liberalized and the visa fee has been substantially reduced.
- New mountain peaks have been opened for Mountaineering/Trekking to give boost to adventure tourism in the country.
- Lowering of GST on hotels rooms with tariffs of ₹1,001 to ₹7,500/night to 12% and those above ₹7,501 to 18% to increase India’s competitiveness as a tourism destination.
16 . Facts for Prelims
Main Schemes to tackly Malnutrition among Children
- The Ministry of Women and Child Developmentis implementing several schemes and programmes like Anganwadi Services, Scheme for Adolescent Girls and Pradhan MantriMatruVandanaYojna under the Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services Scheme as direct targeted interventions to address the problem of malnutrition in the country.
- Government has also launched POSHAN Abhiyaan, which aims to prevent and reduce prevalence of stunting, underweight and anaemia among children (0-6 years) and reduction in prevalence of low birth weight in the country in a time bound manner.
TB Test
- There are various types of TB tests.
- When a skin test is positive, it is not always a cause of worry, as the person might only have infection and not have the disease.
- When a sputum microscopy or molecular test is positive, a diagnosis of TB is confirmed and although a cause for concern, the patient should be promptly started on Anti-TB treatment.
Panchtatva
- Agni, jal vaayu, prithvi and aakash are together called as Panchtatva