General Awareness

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES - January 2019

Jan 2019

Aug 27, 2019

Govt Reiterates Its Commitment To Provide Wi-Fi In All Villages Through GramNet

The government will provide Wi-Fi in all villages through GramNet with 10mbps to 100 mbps speed. Minister of State for Communications Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre said BharatNet also planned to provide 1 GBPS (equal to 1000 mbps) connectivity, which can be expanded up to 10 GBPS. The minister said this will be a real tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, who had dreamt of a self-reliant Indian village. The government-run Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) launched new products of C-DOT- XGSPON, C-Sat-Fi & CiSTB C-DOT.
C-Sat-Fi technology of C-DOT will empower Indian people, especially in rural and remote areas, as telephone and Wi-Fi facilities will be available in all corners of the country on any mobile phone.

The new technology will bring people in remote areas to the mainstream by connecting them through satellites, where fiber is difficult to be laid and internet is not available.

Aug 26, 2019

LS Secretariat Bans Use Of Plastics In Parliament Complex

The Lok Sabha Secretariat banned the use of non-reusable plastic water bottles and other plastic items within the Parliament complex.
All officers and staff of the Secretariat and other allied agencies working in the Parliament House Complex have been asked to comply with the directions.
They have also been advised to use environment friendly biodegradable bags and other material.

Rajya Sabha Passes NID Amendment Bill

The Rajya Sabha passed the National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which declares the four National Institutes of Design (NID) in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Haryana as institutions of national importance.
Currently, these institutes are registered as Societies under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and do not have the power to grant degrees or diplomas. On being declared institutions of national importance, they will be able to grant degrees and diplomas.
Moreover, this will help them become socially inclusive and address the needs of design in various sectors including agriculture, health care, and transportation.

Cabinet Approves Bill For Speedy Eviction Of Unauthorised Occupants

In a crackdown on unauthorised occupants of residential accommodations in public premises, the Union Cabinet has approved introduction of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019.
The amendments will facilitate smooth and speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from government residences and the vacant residences will be available for allotment to eligible persons on maturity of their turn in the waiting list. It will decrease the waiting time for availing the facility of residential accommodation.
The new Bill comes in place of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2017 and will be introduced in the coming session of the Parliament.
The Bill seeks amendments in Section 2, Section 3 and Section 7 of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.
The proposed amendments would enable an estate officer to apply summary proceedings for evicting unauthorised occupants from residential accommodations and to levy damage charges for accommodation held during the period of litigation.
Under the proposed Bill, the estate officer will not have to follow elaborate proceedings like serving notice, show cause and inquiry. Rather, he or she can initiate summary eviction proceedings.

Power Minister Shri RK Singh Approves Proposal To Declare Ocean Energy As Renewable Energy

In a decision that would give further boost to the ocean energy in India, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (IC) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri RK Singh approved a proposal to declare ocean energy as Renewable Energy.
Accordingly, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has clarified to all the stakeholders that energy produced using various forms of ocean energy such as tidal, wave, ocean thermal energy conversion etc. shall be considered as Renewable Energy and shall be eligible for meeting the non-solar Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).

Aug 25, 2019

NITI Aayog VC Discusses Rice Fortification Pilot Scheme

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar met Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in New Delhi and discussed the Rice Fortification Pilot Scheme.
During the meeting, it was decided that in order to ensure effective tackling the problem of Malnutrition, a road map will be charted out by the Department of Food and Public Distribution for taking the pilot scheme of Rice Fortification all over the country.
All-State Government departments and other stakeholders will be consulted to enhance cooperation by fostering the involvement of State Governments in the economic policy-making process.

MoEF Is To Relax Lease Rent For Wind Power Projects

The Union Environment Ministry has decided to do away with the mandatory charging of lease rent of Rs 30,000 per MW from wind power projects, a move aimed to boost the sector as well as bring it at par with the solar and hydroelectric power projects to attract investments.
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the move will boost the investment in wind power projects and will help in providing wind power at cheaper rate.
Currently, to establish wind power project over forest land, the existing procedure requires payment of mandatory charges for compensatory afforestation and Net Present value (NPV). In addition to mandatory charges, the wind power companies had to pay additional lease rent of 30,000 per MW.
The Government envisages to meet maximum energy requirement by tapping renewal energy resources and, to achieve the target of clean energy in a time bound manner, various policies and regulations are being constantly updated.
This additional cost is not mandatory for other renewal energy projects such as solar power and hydel-electric projects. Additional cost for generation of clean energy through wind power, in turn escalate the per unit cost of power at consumer level.
The government has set an ambitious target of having 175 GW of clean energy capacity by 2022, including 100 GW solar and 60 GW of wind energy.
Promotions of such projects also strengthen government's commitments towards international agreements, and one of the national commitments pledged in Paris in 2015 was to have 40 per cent of the power from renewable resources by 2030.

Aug 24, 2019

Rajasthan Ranks 1st In Free Medicine Scheme Implementation

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot's flagship free medicine scheme secured the top position in the country in the ranking issued by the National Health Mission (NHM). NHM mission director Manoj Jhalani has issued a letter to health department informing that the state is ranked 1st in 16 states of the country in implementation of free medicine scheme.
The NHM assessed the performance of the states on the basis of effective implementation of Drugs and Vaccine Distribution Management System (DVDMS), stock of essential drugs, value of drugs about to expire along with other such parameters, which are 10 in total. In the state, the scheme was launched on October 2, 2011.

'San-Sadhan' Hackathon Organized

The government calls for applications for its latest initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission, called the 'San-Sadhan' Hackathon, an initiative to ease lives of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) by making toilets smarter, more accessible, and easier to use.
In this hackathon, the government is looking for smart, scalable and innovative solutions for economical toilets for individual and community use in rural and urban contexts.
The initiative is being organized jointly by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and 91springboard.
The Hackathon invites researchers, start-ups, student innovators, technology enthusiasts, and industry experts to participate. This hackathon is a great opportunity to win exciting prizes and get handholding and mentoring support by ministry, industry experts and ecosystem enablers.

Textiles Minister Smriti Irani Launches SU.RE

Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani has launched a project which aims to move towards sustainable fashion that contributes to a clean environment.
Project SU.RE (sustainable resolution), which involves 16 leading retail fashion brands, reflects the thought of Mahatma Gandhi and is a step towards responsible and smart business
The SU.RE project by India's apparel industry aims for a sustainable pathway for the fashion industry.
The project was launched by the minister along with the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), United Nations in India and IMG Reliance, the organisers of Lakme Fashion Week.

Aug 23, 2019

Ministries Call Truce, Higher PF Rate To Stay

The Union government may soon notify the 8.65% interest rate that was offered in 2018-19 by the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) as differences over the rate between the labour ministry and the finance ministry have been sorted out.
The matter was resolved after labour minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar recently met finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and explained that the organisation is left with a sufficient surplus even after paying 8.65% interest rate to its 46 million subscribers.
CBT is chaired by the labour minister and has representation of central and state government officials, trade unions and industry bodies.
The EPF interest rate is determined by CBT, which is the apex decision-making body and the same is notified by the labour ministry after taking concurrence of the finance ministry.
In a meeting of CBT on February 19, 2019, the trustees decided on a rate of 8.65% for FY-19 but the finance ministry wanted EPFO to cut the rate by at least 10 basis points.
The government could not notify the rate because of the finance ministry's objection, which led to the delayed disbursal of interests in subscribers' accounts by almost five months.

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