General Awareness

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES - July 2019

Jul 2019

Sep 25, 2019

Agriculture Minister Tomar Launches App Based CHC Services

Farmers will now be able to hire farm machineries including tractors at an affordable price through an app based mobile application, the way people hire Ola and Uber taxis over mobiles.
The government launched multilingual app based service - CHC Farm Machinery for Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs). This service will facilitate local farmers the use of shared resources including tractors and other farm machineries at affordable prices.
Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, while launching the app, said that farmers will now have easy access to high value and technical agricultural equipments at their doorsteps.
Tomar also launched another app Krishi Kisan, which will provide farmers the information of best demonstration of high-yielding crops and seeds in their nearby area.
The app will also help in geo-tagging and geo-fencing of crop and give weather forecast message to farmers.

Sep 24, 2019

NRIs Can Now Apply For Aadhaar On Arrival Without 182-Day Wait

Non-resident Indians (NRIs) with valid Indian passport can apply for Aadhaar on arrival, without the 182-day waiting period, with the government issuing a notification in this regard.
Following the notification, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has also come out with a circular stating that "NRI after his arrival in India, shall be entitled to obtain Aadhaar number".
The modalities for application remain more or less unchanged. NRIs with Indian passport can now apply for biometric ID on arrival or by scheduling a prior appointment, thus doing away with the requirement for a mandatory 182-day waiting period.

Centre Increases Pension to Families Of Deceased Govt Employees

Centre has notified amendments to grant enhanced pension to families of government employees dying after serving less than seven years.
The amended pension rules will apply to families of all government employees, including those of Central Armed Police Forces personnel.
The amendments to the Rule 54 of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 will come into effect from October 1, 2019.
The families of government servants who died before completion of service of seven years within 10 years before October 1, 2019, will also be eligible for family pension at enhanced rates.

Government Launches 'UMMID' Initiative To Tackle Inherited Genetic Diseases Of New Born Babies

The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched UMMID (Unique Methods of Management and treatment of Inherited Disorders) initiative and inaugurated NIDAN (National Inherited Diseases Administration) Kendras, which is being supported by Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
Taking into account that congenital and hereditary genetic diseases are becoming a significant health burden in India, and realizing the need for adequate and effective genetic testing and counselling services. DBT has started the UMMID Initiative which is designed on the concept of 'Prevention is better than Cure'.

Centre Asks States to Link Vehicle Emission Test Data With Vahan Database

The Centre asked all states to ensure linking of emission test data of vehicles with Vahan database.
The Road Transport and Highways Ministry had earlier issued a notification for amendment in the rule 115 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 in June, 2018 for linkage of PUC certificate with Vahan database.

Sep 21, 2019

Civil aviation minister directs setting up mechanism to monitor airfare

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has ordered setting up a mechanism to regularly monitor airfares in the country.
The government currently does not have any intention to regularise the fares.
"I have ordered for setting up a mechanism in the Civil Aviation Ministry and the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) to monitor air fares on a regular basis. We will use this data (obtained) to discuss with them (airlines)," the minister told.

Sep 20, 2019

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana Reaches One Crore Beneficiaries

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), a flagship scheme of the Government for pregnant women and lactating mothers has achieved a significant milestone by crossing one crore beneficiaries.
The total amount disbursed to the beneficiaries under the scheme has crossed Rs. 4,000 crores.
Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Rajasthan are the top five States/UT in the country in implementation of PMMVY. Odisha and Telangana are yet to start implementation of the scheme.
The Women and Child Development Ministry has recently organized regional workshops with state officials in Guwahati, Jaipur, and Chandigarh to prepare roadmap for faster implementation of the scheme.
Implementation of the scheme is closely monitored by the central and state governments through PMMVY-CAS, a web based software application.
The application is interoperable with UIDAI and Public Financial Management System (PFMS) for authentication of unique beneficiaries and their Bank Accounts.

Sep 19, 2019

Cabinet approves payment of bonus to railway employees for 2018-19

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 18 September 2019 has approved the payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days wages to over 11.52 lakh eligible non-gazetted railway employees (excluding RPF/RPSF personnel) for the Financial Year (FY) 2018-19, for maintaining industrial peace and motivation of railwaymen.
This entails an expenditure of Rs 2024.40 crore to the exchequer.
This is the sixth consecutive year that the Government led by Narendra Modi has maintained a bonus of 78 days wages. It has never lowered it.

Union Minister Launches MIS Portal Under Accessible India Campaign

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot launched the Management Information System (MIS) portal for stakeholders of the Accessible India Campaign (AIC).
Fully accessible for 'divyangjans', the MIS has been developed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The MIS portal will bring all the nodal ministries, and states and Union Territories on a single platform for monitoring the progress being made against each target of AIC.

Cabinet Bans e-Cigarettes; An Ordinance Soon

The government banned production, import and sale of e-cigarettes and similar products, citing health risk to people, especially youth, and an ordinance will be brought in to make it an offence, entailing jail term up to three years as well as fine.
The decision, taken by the Union cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also hit the plans of foreign companies such as Juul Labs and Philip Morris International (PM.N) to enter the Indian market.

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