PIB Analysis : 19th February

PIB Analysis for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. New company under Department of Space
2. Agreement on Proposed Participation of India in PISA
3. National Rural Economic Transformation Project under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) 
4. Swadesh Darshan Scheme
5. Constitution of Development and Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities
6. Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan 
7. SWAYATT
8. Nyaya Bandhu

1 . New Company under Department of Space

Context : The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to the Setting up of a new company under Department of Space (DoS), to commercially exploit the research and development work carried out by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Centers and constituent units of DOS.

Salient features

The following areas/avenues provide opportunities for commercial exploitation of ISRO programmes:

1. Small satellite technology transfer to industry, wherein the new company shall take license from DoS/ISRO and sub-license to industries;
2. Manufacture of small satellite launch vehicle (SLV) in collaboration with the Private Sector;
3. Productionisation of Polar SLV through industry;
4. Productionisation and marketing of Space-based products and services, including launch and applications;
5. Transfer of Technology developed by ISRO Centers and constituent units of DoS;
6. Marketing of some spin-off technologies and products, both in India and abroad; and
7. Any other subject which Government of India deems fit

2 . Agreement on Proposed Participation of India in PISA

Context : The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval to the Agreement between India and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for participating in the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA), which will be conducted by the OECD in 2021. The Agreement was signed on 28th January 2019.

Benefits

• Learnings from participation in PISA will help to introduce competency-based examination reforms in the school system and help move away from rote learning.The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) will be part of the process and activities leading to the actual test.

Salient features

• PISA is a competency-based assessment which unlike content-based assessment, measures the extent to which students have acquired key competencies that are essential for full participation in modern societies.
• It would lead to recognition and acceptability of Indian students and prepare them for the global economy in the 21st century.
• The CBSE and the NCERT will be part of the process and activities leading to the actual test. Schools run by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and schools in the Union Territory of Chandigarh will participate.
• More than 80 countries, including 44 middle-income countries including Brazil, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam have participated in PISA

3 . National Rural Economic Transformation Project under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) 

Context : The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Implementation of an Externally Aided Project namely “National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP) under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) through loan assistance (IBRD Credit) from World Bank.

Benefits

• The technical assistance provided by NRETP and the higher level interventions facilitated by the project will enhance the livelihoods promotion and access to finance and scale-up initiatives on digital finance and livelihood interventions.

Salient features

• DAY-NRLM lays special emphasis on targeting the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable communities and their financial inclusion. 
• Innovative projects will be undertaken under NRETP to pilot alternate channels of financial inclusion, creating value chains around rural products, introduce innovative models in livelihoods promotion and access to finance and scale-up initiatives on digital finance and livelihoods interventions.
• DAY-NRLM provides for mutually beneficial working relationship and formal platforms for consultations between Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Community Based Organizations(CBOs).
• NRLM has also developed activity map to facilitate convergence in different areas of interventions where NRLM institutions and PRIs could work together which has been disseminated to all state Rural Livelihood Missions.

4 . Swadesh Darshan Scheme

Context : The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals:

• Continuation of the Swadesh Darshan Scheme during 14th Finance Commission period and beyond;
• Rs. 2055.96 crores for 60 on-going projects completing in December 2019; and
• Rs. 324.09 crores for 6 projects for which substantial funds have been released and projects to be completed in September 2020.

Details

• Swadesh Darshan Scheme – Integrated Development of theme based tourist circuits is the flagship scheme of Ministry of Tourism for development of tourism infrastructure in the country.
• Under Swadesh Darshan Scheme Ministry of Tourism is developing critical tourism infrastructure in the country in a sustainable and inclusive manner to make India into a world class tourist destination.
• The focus under the scheme is to develop public facilities like last mile connectivity, Tourist reception Centers, Way side Amenities, Solid Waste Management, Illumination, Landscaping, parking etc. where Private Sector is not willing to invest.

Objectives

• Position tourism as a major engine of economic growth and job creation;
• Develop circuits having tourist potential in a planned and prioritized manner;
• Promote cultural and heritage value of the country to generate livelihoods in the identified regions;
• Enhance the tourist attractiveness in a sustainable manner by developing world class infrastructure in the circuit/destinations;
• Follow community based development and pro-poor tourism approach;
• Create awareness among the local communities about the importance of tourism for them in terms of increased sources of income, improved living standards and overall development of the area.
• Create employment through active involvement of local communities;
• Harness tourism potential for its effects in employment generation and economic development.
• Make full use of the potential and advantages in terms of available infrastructure, national culture and characteristic strong points of each and every region throughout the country by development of theme based circuits.

5 . Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan

Context : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved launch of Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan with the objective of providing financial and water security to farmers.

The proposed scheme consists of three components

• Component-A: 10,000 MW of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power Plants.
• Component-B: Installation of 17.50 lakh standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps.
• Component-C: Solarisation of 10 Lakh Grid-connected Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps.

Component – A

• Under Component A, Renewable power plants of capacity 500 KW to 2 MW will be setup by individual farmers/ cooperatives/panchayats /farmer producer organisations (FPO) on their barren or cultivable lands. The power generated will be purchased by the DISCOMs at Feed in tariffs determined by respective SERC. The scheme will open a stable and continuous source of income to the rural land owners. Performance Based Incentives @ Rs. 0.40 per unit for five years to be provided to DISCOMs.

Component B

• Under Component B, individual farmers will be supported to install standalone solar pumps of capacity up to 7.5 HP. Solar PV capacity in kW equal to the pump capacity in HP is allowed under the scheme.

Component C

• Under Component C of the scheme, individual farmers will be supported to solarise pumps of capacity up to 7.5 HP. Solar PV capacity up to two times of pump capacity in kW is allowed under the scheme. The farmer will be able to use the generated energy to meet the irrigation needs and the excess available energy will be sold to DISCOM. This will help to create an avenue for extra income to the farmers, and for the States to meet their RPO targets.

Other Details

• All three components combined, the scheme aims to add a solar capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022. The total central financial support provided under the scheme would be Rs. 34,422 crore.
  
• The Component-A and Component-C will be implemented on pilot mode for 1000 MW capacity and one lakh grid connected agriculture pumps respectively and thereafter, will be scale-up on success of pilot run. Component-B will be implemented in full-fledged manner. 
• For both Component-B and Component-C, central financial assistance (CFA) of 30% of the benchmark cost or the tender cost, whichever is lower, will be provided. The State Government will give a subsidy of 30%; and the remaining 40% will be provided by the farmer. Bank finance may be made available for meeting 30% of the cost. The remaining 10% will be provided by the farmer. Higher CFA of 50% will be provided for North Eastern States, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Lakshadweep and A&N Islands.

Benefits

• The Scheme will have substantial environmental impact in terms of savings of CO2 emissions. All three components of the Scheme combined together are likely to result in saving of about 27 million tonnes of CO2 emission per annum. Further, Component-B of the Scheme on standalone solar pumps may result in saving of 1.2 billion liters of diesel per annum and associated savings in the foreign exchange due to reduction of import of crude oil.
• The scheme has direct employment potential. Besides increasing self-employment the proposal is likely to generate employment opportunity equivalent to 6.31 lakh job years for skilled and unskilled workers.  

6 . SWAYATT and GeM Startup Runway

Context : Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, launched SWAYATT in New Delhi today. 

About the Initiative

• SWAYATT is an initiative to promote Start-ups, Women and Youth Advantage Through Transactions on Government e Marketplace (GeM).
• SWAYATT would seek to promote inclusiveness by catapulting various categories of sellers and service providers, take proactive steps to facilitate the training and registrations of such specific category of manufacturers and sellers, develop women entrepreneurship and encourage participation of MSME sector and Start-ups in public procurement.
• This will bring together the key stakeholders within the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem to Government e-Marketplace the national procurement portal.
• Approximately 1,516 Start-ups are presently registered on GeM with 12,915 products to offer and have received more than 5,000 orders till date.

GeM Start up Runway

• GeM Start-up Runway-an initiative of GeM in association with Start -up India to facilitate Start-ups registered with Start -up India to access the public procurement market and sell innovative products and services to government buyers.
• GeM Start-up Runway seeks to align certified Start-ups with Government procurement orders and contracts, to enable Start-ups in scaling operations from ideation to growth stage in minimal time, and spur hyper-local job-creation and wealth-generation and for achieving socially-inclusive economic growth.
• GeM Start-up Runway seeks to support technology development, spur research and innovation by ensuring a conducive policy environment for industrial diversification and value addition to commodities, and aligns with Government’s philosophy to turn Job-seekers into job-creators.
• GeM Start-up Runway will address goals and objectives under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

About Government e Marketplace

• Government e Marketplace, an online market place for procurement of common use goods and services by government ministries, departments and CPSEs was setup in 2016 and has 801,956 products and 5,197 services, with 199,654 registered sellers, service providers and 33,536 government buyers.  Since inception, GeM has processed 1,386,030 orders worth Rs. 19,214 crore in gross merchandise value.

7 . Tele Law & Nyaya Bandhu

Context : Benefit from towards fulfilling the Constitutional commitment under Article 39A for providing Access to Justice to all and aiming to realize the government mandate of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Nyaya, Department of Justice (DoJ) has successfully endeavored to spearhead its two key programmes namely Tele –Law:  Mainstreaming Legal Aid through Common Service Centers and Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono Legal Services), through leveraging with different technology based channels to boost legal advice and aid in the country.

Tele Law

• Department of Justice has partnered with NALSA and CSC e-Governance Service India Limited for mainstreaming legal aid to the marginalised communities through Common Services Center (CSC).
• Tele-Law means the use of communications and information technology for the delivery of legal information and advice. This e-interaction between lawyers and people would be through the video-conferencing infrastructure available at the CSCs.
• The concept of Tele-Law is to facilitate delivery of legal advice through a panel of lawyers stationed at the state Legal Services Authorities (SALSA) and CSC. The project initiates to connect citizens with lawyers through video conferencing facilities by the Para-Legal Volunteers stationed at identified 1800 panchayat.

Nyaya Bandhu

• Pro Bono Legal services programme was launched by Sh. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Minister for Law & Justice in April 2017.
• An initiative of the Department of Justice, the programme is aimed at fulfilling the Department’s critical mandate of enhancing “access to justice” for marginalised sections of the society and the State’s constitutional obligation of providing “free legal aid” for all.
• The programme seeks to put in place an institutional structure which will promote pro bono culture in India.
• The term pro bono, short for “pro bono publico”, is a Latin term which means “for the public good”. In practice, the term is used specifically in context of the legal profession- referring to the practice of giving voluntary legal advice to individuals and organisations that are unable to afford legal advice and/or cannot access legal aid. Those in genuine need of legal help are, thus, represented by lawyers for free or at a minimal cost – presenting them with an opportunity to meaningfully address their legal problems.
• On one hand, the programme would facilitate delivery of quality legal assistance to the marginalised communities, on the other hand it would ensure that lawyers who volunteer their valuable time and service, towards this public service, are duly recognized for their contribution.
• Based on the premise of using technology to enhance access to justice for all, the Nyaya Bandhu app will allow marginalised individuals (referred to as “Applicants”), seeking quality legal advice and counsel, to connect via a mobile application with “Advocates” who have volunteered their time and services on this platform.