General Awareness

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES - August 2019

Aug 2019

Aug 19, 2019

EC Seeks Nod To Collect Voters' Aadhaar Info

The Election Commission has requested the government to give it statutory backing to collect Aadhaar numbers of existing and new voters, which will help it weed out duplicate entries in the electoral rolls.
In a letter to the law ministry, the commission proposed that provisions of the Representation of the People Act be amended to allow the EC to seek Aadhaar numbers of those applying to be voters and those already part of the voters' list.
In August 2015, a SC order on Aadhaar card had put brakes on EC's National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP) — under which the Unique Identification Authority of India Aadhaar numbers would be linked to electoral photo identity cards (EPIC) database to 'purify' electoral rolls.

Govt May Tweak PM's Scholarship Scheme

The human resource development (HRD) ministry is considering tweaking the norms related to the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF) to allow more institutions to be part of the prestigious research programme.
The fellowship is being offered to students with high academic scores opting for doctoral (PhD) programmes at Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), and the Bengaluru based Indian Institute of Science to carry out research in "cutting edge science and technology domains".
However, over a year after the scheme was launched, the number of students qualifying for these fellowships has remained below 500.
The sanctioned strength for these fellowships was 1,000 per year.

Aug 18, 2019

Govt Plans GPS Tracking To Prevent Rogue Drones

The civil aviation ministry is trying to figure out ways of ensuring that drones don't turn rogue and pose a security threat in areas deemed to be no-fly zones — a quandary that has impeded government efforts to make the operation of unmanned aircraft systems legal in India.
One possible solution is to have a GPS (global positioning system) trackers installed in all privately owned and operated drones that are registered for use.

Aug 17, 2019

Govt May Tweak Farm Insurance Scheme For Crops

The Modi government is considering major changes to its flagship farm insurance scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, including an entirely new model of agricultural insurance in the country and making the programme optional for farmers availing farm loans, as messy implementation and delayed payouts have stoked farmers' angst.
The government hopes that making the scheme voluntary will remove a major gripe of farmers with agricultural loans, for whom buying a crop-insurance plan is mandatory, and whose share of premium is automatically deducted from their sanctioned loan amounts, while compensation is often delayed.
The scheme is already voluntary for those farmers who don't avail loans.

Aug 16, 2019

3.3 Lakhs Cr Announced For Water Mission

PM Narendra Modi turned the focus on the country's precarious water situation in his Independence Day speech, announcing Rs.3.35 lakh crore for the government's ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission to conserve water resources and provide drinking water for all.
Urging people to conserve water, Modi said half the country's households still lacked access to drinking water, although previous governments too tried in their own ways to mitigate the water crisis.
Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the Har Ghar Jal programme aims to provide all rural households with piped drinking water.

Women Can Travel For Free On City Buses From Oct 29, 2019

Announcing the initiative as a "Raksha Bandhan gift for women", the Delhi CM said the free rides will be offered by buses run by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) as well as orange-coloured buses that are managed by private concessionaires.
Travel will be free for women in all DTC and cluster buses from October 29, 2019, which again is the day of Bhai Dooj.

Aug 15, 2019

Housing And Urban Affairs Ministry Launches Fifth Edition Of Swachh Survekshan 2020

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the fifth edition of Swachh Survekshan 2020 (SS 2020), an annual cleanliness survey. The survey will be conducted in January 2020.
Hardeep Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs also launched Swachh Survekshan 2020 tool-kit which has the detailed survey methodology and component indicators with scores to help cities to prepare themselves for the survey.
The Ministry also launched the Water PLUS Protocol which aims to provide a guideline for cities and towns to ensure that no untreated waste-water is released into the environment thereby enabling sustainability of the sanitation value chain.

Rajasthan Assembly Passes Honour Killing, Anti-Mob Lynching Bills

Rajasthan had witnessed a spurt in lynchings in 2017, beginning with dairy farmer Pehlu Khan in April 2017.
The Rajasthan Assembly passed Bills against mob lynching and honour killing, which make the, cognisable, non–bailable and non-compoundable offences with life imprisonment and fine up to Rs 5 lakh.
The bill to curb honour killing also has a provision of death penalty for the convict.
The Bills, including the Rajasthan Prohibition of Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances in the Name of Honour and Tradition Bill was tabled by Cabinet minister Shanti Dhariwal.

Bill To Amend The Motor Vehicles Act

Compensation of Rs 5 lakh for death and Rs 2.5 lakh for grievous injury in a motor vehicle accident case have been proposed by the government as it seeks to make the Motor Vehicles Act more stringent.
Govt proposes Rs 5 lakh compensation for death in motor vehicle accident case.
The government again introduced a bill to amend the Motor Vehicles Act that also provides for higher penalties for violations and protection of good Samaritans, among other provisions.

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