Schemes

Department/
Scheme Features
Ministry
IRRIGATION/ AGRICULTURE
The Soil Health Card is a printed report that will be given
to farmers once in three years for each of his/her land
holding. It will contain crucial information on macro
nutrients in the soil, secondary nutrients, micro nutrients,
and physical parameters. The card will be accompanied
by an advisory on the corrective measures that a farmer
Soil Health should take to improve soil health and obtain a better
Card Scheme yield. The Central Government provides assistance
to State Governments for setting up Soil Testing
Laboratories for issuing Soil Health Cards to
farmers. The state governments will prepare yearly
action plan on the issue and the cost will be shared in the
ratio of 75:25 between the Centre and states

Provide convergence to existing schemes of water

management, thus bringing efficiency to the use of
water
* Providng soil health cards to identify suitablity of soil
for production capability of soil
* Identify best nearby water resources to the area
* Interlinking of rivers
* Satellite imagery and 3D photography could be used to
guide villages to best possible sources of irrigation
* Decentralised state-level planning and execution, in
order to allow States to draw up a District Irrigation Plan
(DIP) and a State Irrigation Plan (SIP)
Plans will integrate three components namely,
Agriculture
water sources, distribution network and
(State
water use application of the district. All
PM Krishi Agriculture
structures created under the schemes will be
Sinchai Yojana Departments
geotagged
to be nodal
The state agriculture department would be the
agencies)
nodal agency for implementation of PMKSY
projects
A state will become eligible to access PMKSY
funds only if it has prepared the district
irrigation plans and state irrigation plans
and sustained an increasing expenditure
trend in irrigation sector in state plan

PMKSY funds would be given to states as 75%

grant by the central government and the remaining
25% share is to be borne by the state government. For
northeastern region and hilly states, the funding
pattern would be 90:10

Paramparagat
Promote organic farming
Krishi Vikas
Yojna

Aimed at irrigating the field of every farmer and

PM Gram
improving water use efficiently to provide Per Drop
Sinchai Yojana
More Crop

Ministry of Gives loan assistance to the States to help them

Accelerated Water complete some of the incomplete major/medium
Irrigation Resources irrigation projects which are at an advanced stage of
completion
Benefit
Programme

State Plan
Scheme of Seeks to achieve 4% annual growth in agriculture
additional
central Was initially launched to incentivize the states that
Rashtriya assistance; increase their investment in Agriculture
Krishi Vikas Department of
Yojana Agriculture A state is eligible for funding under the RKVY if it
and maintains or increases the percentage of its expenditure
Cooperation, on Agriculture and its Allied Sectors with respect to the
Ministry of total State Plan Expenditure yoy
Agriculture
Central Sector Scheme, with a corpus of Rs.500 crores, to
Department of support market interventions for price control of
Agriculture perishable agri-horticultural commodities
Price
and
Stabilization
Cooperation, States will set up a revolving fund to which the Centre
Fund
Ministry of and State will contribute equally. The ratio of Centre-
Agriculture State contribution to the State-level corpus in respect of
northeast States will, however, be 75:25
To fasten payment of crop insurance claims to farmers,
the Centre has launched a pilot programme Kisan, which
will use satellite and drone-based imaging and other
geospatial technology to get timely and accurate data on
crop yields

Currently, the crop insurance claim is calculated on the

Kisan
basis of crop cutting experiments. However, there has
always been a problem in getting timely and accurate
data, due to which payment of claims to farmers were
getting delayed and the government is concerned over
the delays in settlements. To address this issue Kisan
programme is being launched on pilot basis

GIRL CHILD WELFARE

Aims to promote early registration of pregnancy and

institutional delivery
Will hold panchayats responsible for child marriages
Each panchayat will have to display gudda-guddi
boards
Conjoined with Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme (see
below)
A 100 critical low CSR districts in all States and UTs
have been identified for focused and convergent action
Beti Bachao,
by the Ministries
Beti Padhao WCD (nodal)
The Ministry of WCD is the nodal Ministry for this
Scheme
initiative and will carry out training to stakeholders,
community mobilization and sensitization. It will also
embark upon a range of advocacy measures and
activities, not limited to the 100 low CSR districts but
all across the country
All forms of media and social media platforms would be
used for this
The key to the success of the initiatives would lie with
the communities, States, Panchayats and the local self-
Government
Sukanya Part of the Small deposit scheme for girl child
Samriddhi Beti Bachao Aims to ensure equitable share to a girl child in
Scheme Beti Padhao resources and savings of a family
campaign Sukanya Samridhi Account can be opened at any time
 from the birth of a girl child till she attains the age of
10 years, with a minimum deposit of Rs 1000. A
maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh can be deposited during the
financial year
The deposit will fetch an interest rate of 9.1 per cent
and provide income tax rebate
The account will remain operative for 21 years from the
date of opening of the account or marriage of the girl
child after attaining 18 years of age. The provision of
not allowing withdrawal from the account till the
age of 18 has been kept to prevent early
marriage of girls
To meet the requirement of higher education expenses,
partial withdrawal of 50 per cent of the balance would
be allowed after the girl child has attended 18 years of
age
An initiative under the BBBP scheme (Ministry of Women
Digitial Gudda Under BBBP and Child Development), that will show disaggregated
Guddi Board scheme statistics for gender-wise births in various districts
(introduced in Maharashtra)
FINANCIAL INCLUSION
3 Pillars:
Universal access to banking facilities
Financial Literacy Programme
Providing Basic Banking Accounts with
overdraft facility of Rs.5000 after six
months and RuPay Debit card with inbuilt
accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh
Department of
Account holders is entitled to Rs. 1 lakh accidental
Financial
PM Jan Dhan death cover and Rs. 30,000 life insurance cover
Services,
Yojana
Ministry of
Finance Connectivity is very important as the money is
transferred from the government on online basis. Poor
internet connectivity and cumbersome process are
acting as impediments. There are about 50,000 villages
in the country which do not have internet connectivity
or have poor connectivity

Only 58.7% of households have access to banking

services
Offered / administered through LIC or other Life
Insurance companies willing to offer the product on
similar terms on the choice of the Bank / RRB /
Offered / Cooperative Bank concerned
administered
PMJJBY through LIC or Annual life insurance of Rs. 2 lakh would be available on
other Life the payment of premium of Rs. 330 per annum by the
Insurance subscribers
companies
PMJJBY will be made available to people in the age group
of 18 to 50 years having a bank account from where the
premium would be collected through auto-debit
Offered / administered through Public Sector General
Insurance Companies (PSGICs) or other General
Offered /
Insurance companies willing to offer the product on
administered
similar terms on the choice of the Bank / RRB /
through Public
Cooperative Bank concerned
Sector
PMSBY
General
Risk coverage will be Rs. 2 lakh for accidental death and
Insurance
full disability and Rs. 1 lakh for partial disability
Companies
(PSGICs)
Available to people in the age group 18 to 70 years with
a bank account (auto debit)
Atal Pension Focus on the unorganised sector and provide subscribers
 a fixed minimum pension of Rs. 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000
or Rs. 5000 per month starting at the age of 60 years,
depending on the contribution option exercised on
Yojana entering at an age between 18 and 40 years

Period of contribution by any subscriber under

APY would be 20 years or more
HEALTH
Get rid of intestinal worms (large multicellular organisms,
National Health and
which when mature can generally be seen with the
Deworming Family Welfare
naked eye. They are also known as Helminths).
Mission (HFW)
Albendazole tablets given as part of scheme
National
Pharmaceutica
l Pricing
Authority
A web enabled system for redressal of consumers
Pharma Jan (NPPA) under
grievances relating to pricing and availability of
Samadhan Department of
medicines
Scheme Pharmaceutic
als, Ministry
of Chemicals
and
Fertilizers
Less priced, but good quality, unbranded generic
medicines will be made available through Jan Aushadhi
stores which inherently are less priced but are of same
and equivalent quality, efficacy and safety as compared
to branded generic medicines

State Government to provide space in Government

Hospital premises for the running of the outlets (JAS)
Department of Government hospitals, NGOs, Charitable Organisations
Pharmaceutica and public societies like Red Cross Society, Rogi Kalyan
Jan Aushadhi ls, Ministry Samiti typically constituted for the purpose can be
Scheme of Chemicals operating agencies for the JAS
and
Fertilizers The operating agency for JAS is nominated on the basis
of the recommendations of the State government.
Operational expenditure is met from trade margins
admissible for the medicines

The Jan Aushadhi Programme is accordingly a self

sustaining business model not dependent on
government subsidies or assistance. It is run on the
principle of Not for Profits but with Minimal Profits
Will focus on unvaccinated and partially vaccinated
Ministry of children below the age of two years
Mission
Health and
Indradhanush
Family Welfare Provides immunization against 7 life-threatening
diseases: diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio,
tuberculosis, measles, and Hepatitis B
RSBY Ministry of Cashless insurance for hospitalisation in public as well as
Health and private hospitals
family
welfare (earlie Modi government has decided to ban private
r used to be insurers from RSBY now; only public sector
underMinistry insurers will be allowed under the scheme
of Labour and
Employment) Every BPL family holding a yellow ration card pays Rs. 30
registration fee to get abiometric-enabled smart
card containing their fingerprints and photographs.This
enables them to receive inpatient medical care of up
to Rs. 30,000 per family per year in any of the
empanelled hospitals. Pre-existing illnesses are covered
from day one, for head of household, spouse and up to
three dependent children or parents
RSBY was launched by the Ministry of Labour and
Employment, Government of India to provide health
insurance coverage for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

Despite high enrolment in RSBY, catastrophic health

expenditures (when medical expenses push a family into
poverty), hospitalization expenditure and the percentage
of total household outgo on out-of-pocket (OOP)
expenses - medicines and other consumables that are
not reimbursed by insurance - have steadily increased,
for both in-patients and outpatients, over the last two
decades. These findings indicate that RSBY and other
state run insurance programmes have failed to provide
financial risk protection
A major design flaw in RSBY and other such state
health insurance programmes is their narrow
focus on secondary and tertiary care
hospitalization
The study also says that RSBY was being used
mostly by those who already had better access
(to healthcare services) and the most
marginalized sections were being excluded
further

In theory, difference between RSBY and older schemes:

Empowering the beneficiary RSBY provides the
participating BPL household with freedom of
choice between public and private hospitals and
makes him a potential client worth attracting on
account of the significant revenues that hospitals
stand to earn through the scheme.
Business Model for all Stakeholders The scheme
has been designed as a business model for a
social sector scheme with incentives built for
each stakeholder.
Hospitals A hospital has the incentive to
provide treatment to large number of
beneficiaries as it is paid per beneficiary treated.
Intermediaries The inclusion of intermediaries
such as NGOs and MFIs which have a greater
stake in assisting BPL households.
Information Technology (IT) Intensive For the
first time IT applications are being used for social
sector scheme on such a large scale. Every
beneficiary family is issued a biometric enabled
smart card containing their fingerprints and
photographs. All the hospitals empanelled under
RSBY are IT enabled and connected to the server
at the district level. This will ensure a smooth
data flow regarding service utilization
periodically.
Safe and foolproof The use of biometric enabled
smart card and a key management system
makes this scheme safe and foolproof. The key
management system of RSBY ensures that the
card reaches the correct beneficiary and there
remains accountability in terms of issuance of
the smart card and its usage. The biometric
enabled smart card ensures that only the real
beneficiary can use the smart card.
Portability The key feature of RSBY is that a
beneficiary who has been enrolled in a particular
district will be able to use his/ her smart card in
any RSBY empanelled hospital across India. This
makes the scheme truly unique and beneficial to
 the poor families that migrate from one place to
the other. Cards can also be split for migrant
workers to carry a share of the coverage with
them separately.
Cash less and Paperless transactions A
beneficiary of RSBY gets cashless benefit in any
of the empanelled hospitals. He/ she only needs
to carry his/ her smart card and provide

Rajasthan has started a mothers milk bank called Jeevan

Jeevan Dhara Rajasthan
Dhara
Florence Ministry of
Given to outstanding nursing personnel employed by
Nightingale Health and
centre, states, and UTs
Awards Family Welfare
The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has instated
Ministry of the Kayakalp Awards under the Swachh Bharat
Kayakalp
Health and Abhiyaan. Focuses on promoting cleanliness in public
Awards
Family Welfare health facilities

A sub-mission of National Health Mission (NHM). The

National scheme will be implemented by the Ministries of Urban
Urban Health Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation,
Mission Human Resource Development and Women & Child
(NUHM) Development (NO HEALTH MINISTRY)

DM of Nadia district in South Bengal was recently

Sabar
West Bengal lauded by the UN with the UN Public Service Award for
Sauchagar
(Nadia district) completely eradicating open defecation, under the
(Toilets for All)
programme Sabar Sauchagar (Toilets for All)
Provides for financial assistance to patients, living below
Rashtriya Ministry of poverty line who is suffering from major life threatening
Arogya Nidhi Health & diseases, to receive medical treatment at any of the
(RAN) Family Welfare super specialty hospitals/institutes or other Govt.
hospitals
E-GOVERNANCE
Ministry of
Women and
Child
Developmen
t+ Government of India initiative to exchange information
Department of on missing and found children; citizens can report lost
Khoya-Paya Electronics and found children
web portal and
Information Different from pre-existing Track Child system of MHA,
Technology which can only be used by police
(DeitY),
Ministry of
Communicatio
n
CCTNS- Crime National e- Aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system
and Criminal Gov Plan for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing
Tracking at the Police Station level through adoption of principles
Network and of e-Governance, and creation of a nationwide networked
Systems infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled state-of-the-art
tracking system around investigation of crime and
detection of criminals.

It is a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the National e-

Governance Plan of Govt. of India.

It will not only automate Police functions at Police station

and higher levels but will also create facilities and
mechanism to provide public services like registration of
online complaints, ascertaining the status of case
registered at the police station, verification of persons
 etc.
Department of With the integration of the 11 services on eBiz portal, a
Industrial business user can avail all these 11 services 24*7 online
Policy and end-to-end i.e., online submission of forms, attachments,
Promotion payments, tracking of status and also obtain the
e-biz (DIPP), license/permit from eBiz portal.
Ministry of The eBiz platform enables a transformational shift in the
Commerce & Governments service delivery approach from being
Industry (und department-centric to customer-centric as a single
er NeGP) window portal
E-samiksha Online scrutiny of various proposals related to railways
PRAGATI-
ProActive
An ICT-based, multi-modal platform for interaction
Governance
between state and central governments (PMO,
and Timely
Union Government Secretaries, Chief Secretaries
Implementati
on
It is Unlike predecessor National E-Governance Plan (NEGP),
coordinated Digital India initiative looks much beyond public service
by DeitY delivery system. It places equal stress on digital
(Ministry of infrastructure, governance and service delivery
Digital India Communicati and digital empowerment of citizens. Without such
Scheme on), comprehensive plan NEGP had very little relevance in
implemented rural and backward areas
by the entire
government It is an Umbrella Programme covering many
departments
An Augmented Reality application to highlight the
Department of
Sakaar achievements of Department of Space during one year in
Space
office
A secure dedicated personal electronic space for storing
the documents of resident Indian citizens. The storage
space (maximum 1GB) is linked to theAadhar number of
Ministry of
DigiLocker the user. The space can be utilized for storing personal
Communicatio
Scheme documents like University certificates, PAN cards, voter id
ns and IT
cards, etc., and the URI's of the e-documents issued by
various issuer departments. There is also an associated
facility for e-signing documents
A free-SMS service by Union Government to provide
Union
Nowcast alerts on extreme weather conditions to registered
Government
families
Aimed at providing necessary hardware and software
applications to enable courts to deliver e-services to
citizens, and to enable the judiciary to better monitor
and manage the functioning of courts

In Phase I of the project more than 13,000 District and

Subordinate courts have been computerised and case
information linked to the respective District court
eCourts
websites
Mission Mode
Project
These courts are now providing online eServices such as
cause lists, case status and judgments, to litigants and
public through the eCourts portal

Litigants and lawyers are also provided services through

Judicial Service Centre at the court complexes

Phase 2 has now got the nod

Pashu Poshan is a mobile app launched by the
National Dairy Development Board that will
National Dairy
recommend a balanced diet for cows and buffaloes to
Pashu Poshan Development
boost dairy farmers incomes by raising milk yields and
Board
cutting feed cost
 Reduce compliance cost for small taxpayers; trying to
eliminate the need for assesses whose IT returns have
e-Sahyog
been selected for scrutiny from appearing in front of IT
office physically
INFRASTRUCTURE
In January 2005, the Government decided to constitute a
National Investment Fund (NIF) into which the
realization from sale of minority shareholding of
the Government in profitable CPSEs would be
National channelized
Investment
Fund Income from the fund is used in investment in
various social projects, capital investment in some
selected profitable and revivable enterprises. This
is based upon the idea that disinvestment does not affect
the social objectives of the government
In a significant departure from JNNRUM, the Centre will
not appraise individual projects
AMRUT adopts a project approach to ensure basic
infrastructure services relating to water supply,
sewerage, storm-water drains, transportation and
development of green spaces and parks with special
provision for meeting the needs of children
Under this mission, 10% of the budget allocation will
be given to states and union territories as
incentive based on the achievement of reforms
during the previous year
Will be implemented in 500 locations with a
population of one lakh and above
States get the flexibility of designing schemes based on
the needs of identified cities and in their execution and
monitoring
States will only submit state annual action Plans to the
centre for broad concurrence based on which funds will
be released
Ministry of Central assistance will be to the extent of 50% of
AMRUT project cost for cities and towns with a
Urban
Development population of up to 10 lakhsand one-third of the
project cost for those with a population of above
10 lakhs
Under the mission, states will transfer funds to
urban local bodies within 7 days of transfer by
central government and no diversion of funds to be
made failing which penal interest would be charged
besides taking other adverse action by the centre

Under the JNNURM, the State governments had

established Reform and Performance Management Cells
(RPMCs). RPMC was a body of experts to guide
municipal bodies in urban planning. Their main job was
to conduct research, understand shortcomings of cities
and help mayors and commissioners in planning and
raise funds from private investors. The Urban
Development Ministry has asked the States to
terminate their research and capacity-building
measures under JNNURM, citing not enough work and
wasteful expenditure

123
agreement Refers to the Indo-US nuclear deal
Deendayal Ministry of Aim: to augment power supply to the rural
Upadhyaya Power areas and to strengthen sub-transmission and
Gram Jyoti distribution systems
Yojana To separate agriculture and non agriculture
 feeders facilitating judicious rostering of supply
to agricultural and non-agricultural consumers in
rural areas
The scheme would help in improvement in hours
of power supply in rural areas
Flexibility to States for choosing best options to
meet the demand of housing in their states
The scheme will be implemented as a Centrally
Sponsored Scheme except the credit linked subsidy
component, which will be implemented as a Central
Sector Scheme
Affordable housing in partnership with Public & Private
sectors
Housing for
CCS Subsidy for beneficiary-led individual house
All by 2022
construction or enhancement
Central grant of Rs. one lakh per house, on an
average, will be available under the slum rehabilitation
programme
Technology Sub-Mission (environment, disaster
management)
Ownership of houses will be in the name of woman or
jointly with husband
Co-development of short-range surface-to-air missile by
Maitri project DRDO
DRDO, in collaboration with France
Provide broadband connectivity to over two lakh
Gram panchayats. Connectivity gap between
Gram Panchayats and Blocks will be filled
Bharat
Broadband The project provides internet access using existing
Network optical fiber and extending it to the Gram panchayats
Limited
National (BBNL): The project was intended to enable the government of
Optical Fibre special India to provide e-services and e-applications
Network purpose nationally
(NOFN) vehicle
created as All the Service Providers like Telecom Service Providers
a PSU for (TSPs), ISPs, Cable TV operators etc. will be given non-
execution discriminatory access to the National Optic Fibre Network
and can launch various services in rural areas. Various
categories of applications like e-health, e-education and
e-governance etc. can also be provided by these
operators
National
Sagarmala
Apex
Committee Port-led development: develop a string of ports
(NSAC)envisa around Indias coast, Supporting and enabling Port-led
Sagarmala ged; will be Development through appropriate policy and institutional
scheme chaired by interventions
Minister of
Shipping + Efficient Evacuation to and from hinterland
CMs and CSs
of relevant
states
Under this, the Government of India has proposed to
establish cross-cultural linkages and to revive historic
Project Ministry of
maritime cultural and economic ties with 39 Indian
Mausam Culture
Ocean countries. Primarily, this is a cultural
connections initiative
National India has just developed a National Offshore Wind
Offshore Energy Policy. While alleviating the need for land
Wind Energy acquisition, the cost of the offshore wind energy plants is
Policy nonetheless likely to be double that of on-ground similar
projects. However, given Indias push towards renewable
 energy, this is a good step. Plant Load Factor for offshore
plants will also be greater
Swiss Challenge Method in Infrastructure: Swiss
challenge method is a process of giving contracts. Any
person with credentials can submit a development
Swiss proposal to the government. That proposal will be made
Challenge online and a second person can give suggestions to
Method improve and beat that proposal.It is a method where
third parties make offers (challenges) for a project within
a designated period to avoid exaggerated project costs

MISCELLANEOUS
HRIDAY
(National Wants to promote an integrated, inclusive, and
Heritage City Ministry of sustainable development of heritage sites
Development Urban
and Development Rs. 500 crore would be provided to 12 cities selected in
Augmentation the first phase
Yojana)
Scholarships for undergraduates from northeast;
Ishan Uday instituted after Bezbaruah committee
recommendations
Select students from northeast to be taken to IITs, NITs
Ishan Vikas
etc. For internships/ exposure
A Telangana government policy where the government
Right to employees will have to pay fines if they cant grant
Telangana
Clearance clearances to industrial units within a specified
timeframe
Scheme for LED bulb distribution under the Domestic
Efficient Lighting Programme in Delhi. LED bulbs
Prakash Path have 50 times more life expectancy than ordinary bulbs,
and 8-10 times more than CFLs, and thus provide both
energy and cost savings in the medium term
New sections 153C and 509A in IPC

The proposed Section153-C makes acts causing or

likely to cause fear or feeling of insecurity among the
northeastern community punishable with up to five
years imprisonment
The proposed Section 509-A provides up to three
years imprisonment for words, gesture or act intended
to insult a member of anyrace
Bezbaruah
MHA
Committee
The Delhi Government will also be providing
compensation and monetary assistance to the NE
people under Delhi Victim Compensation Scheme 2011

Delhi police will recruit 20 police personnel, (10 male

10 female) each from North East States; Police
exchange programme

North East Special Unit at New Delhi

Ministry of Aims to provide knowledge, tools, and techniques to
Nai Roshni
Minority minorities for interacting with government systems,
Scheme
Affairs banks, and other institutions
Development Ministry of Ministry of Tribal Affairs has revised the Central
of Particularly Tribal Affairs Sector Scheme known as Development of
Vulnerable Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
Tribal Groups The Ministry will provide 100% financial
(PVTGs) assistance through State Governments for
activities including housing, land distribution and
land development, agricultural development,
animal husbandry, construction of link roads,
installation of non-conventional sources of
 energy or other innovative activity
The financial assistance will be for the
comprehensive socio-economic development of
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
Under the Scheme, priority is accorded for their
protection and improvement in terms of the
social indicators like livelihood, health, nutrition
and education, so as to decrease their
vulnerability

Central Sector Scheme in the Annual Plan of

Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Aims at overall development of tribal people
with an outcome-based approach, which would
ensure that all the intended benefits goods and
services to the tribal people through various
Vanbandhu Ministry of
programmes/schemes of Central and State
Kalyan Yojna Tribal Affairs
Governments covered under the respective
Tribal Sub-Plans actually reach them by way of
appropriate convergence
Through VKY, it is envisaged to develop the
backward blocks in the Schedule V States as
model Blocks with visible infrastructural
facilities to further the mission development
Ministry of
PAHAL Pratyaksha Hastantarit Labh- give up your LPG subsidy
Petroleum and
(DBTL) voluntarily
Natural Gas
Technology A reimbursement of 5% on the interest charged by the
Ministry of
Upgradation lending agency on a project of technology upgradation in
Textiles
Fund Scheme conformity with the Scheme
Pilgrimage
The Union Ministry of Tourism would initiate steps to
Rejuvenation
include Sabarimala in the national pilgrim tourism circuit
and
by bringing it under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and
Spirituality Ministry of
Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD)
Augmentation Tourism
scheme(its just funny; no need to see more about the
Drive
scheme in detail)
(PRASAD)
scheme
State Governments would identify clusters
(geographically contiguous Gram Panchayats with a
population of about 25000 to 50000 in plain and coastal
Shyama
areas and a population of 5000 to 15000 in desert, hilly
Prasad
or tribal areas). The scheme will function with 14
Mukherji
mandatory components to ensure an optimum level of
Rurban
development of a cluster, which include skill
Mission:
development training linked to economic activities,
digital literacy, fully equipped mobile health unit and
inter-village road connectivity
Pradhan Meant to provide for the welfare of areas and people
Mantri affected by mining related operations, using the
Khanij funds generated by District Mineral Foundations
Kshetra (DMFs):
Kalyan High priority areas like drinking water supply,
Yojana (PMK health care, sanitation, education, skill
KKY) development, women and child care, welfare of
aged and disabled people, skill development and
environment conservation will get at least 60 %
share of the funds
Rest of the funds will be spent on making roads,
bridges, railways, waterways projects, irrigation
and alternative energy sources
DMF sidenote:In case of all mining leases
executed before the Amendment Act, miners will
have to contribute an amount equal to 30% of
the royalty payable by them to the DMFs. For
 mining leases granted after the Act, the rate of
contribution would be 10% of the royalty payable
Kerala, under its Integrated Dairy Development Project,
has recently introduced a scheme to
produce hydroponic green fodder.Hydroponics
means the technique of growing plants without soil or
solid growing medium, but using water or nutrient-rich
solution only, for a short duration. Given increasing
pressure on agricultural land, and spiralling prices of
cattle feed, this might be helpful to some extent
LABOUR/ SKILLS
Gujarat launched a pilot scheme for providing a
smartcard with a unique identification number to every
worker in the unorganized sector
U-WIN
(Unorganized It is meant to be a pilot for a national level scheme
Workers
Identification Proposal is to provide health insurance, pension, and
Number) disability assistance to all workers

Launched under the Unorganized Workers Social

Security Act, 2008
National Skill
* Skill training would be done based on the National Skill
Development
Qualification Framework (NSQF) and industry led
Corporation
standards
(NSDC);
Pradhanmantr
Ministry of
i Kaushal * Monetary reward is given to trainees on assessment
Skill
Vikas Yojana and certification by third party assessment bodies
Development
and
* Focus on improved curricula, better pedagogy and
Entrepreneurs
better trained instructors
hip
It will be an Innovation Promotion Platform involving
ATAL academics, entrepreneurs and researchers and
Innovation draw upon national and international experiences to
Mission foster a culture of innovation, R&D and scientific
research in India. The platform will also promote a
network of world-class innovation hubs
It will be a Techno-Financial, Incubation and Facilitation
Self-
Programme to support all aspects of start up
Employment
businesses, and other self-employment activities,
& Talent NITI Aayog
particularly in technology-driven areas. An amount of
Utilisation
Rs.1000 crore is being set up initially in NITI Aayog
(SETU)

Ensure implementation, coordination and

Ministry of convergence of skilling activities across Central
Skill Ministries/Departments and State Governments
National Skill
Development The National Skill Development Agency (NSDA),
Development
and the National Skill Development Corporation
Mission
Entrepreneurs (NSDC) and the Directorate of Training will
hip (MSDE) function under the overall guidance of the
Mission

National Indias first integrated National Policy for Skill

Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015:
Development Bridging existing skill gaps, promoting industry
and engagement, operationalising a quality
Entrepreneurs assurance framework, leverage technology and
hip 2015 promoting greater opportunities for
apprenticeship training
Equity is also a focus of the Policy, which targets
skilling opportunities for socially/geographically
marginalised and disadvantaged groups
Skill development and entrepreneurship
 programmes for women are a specific focus
In the entrepreneurship domain, the Policy
seeks to educate and equip potential
entrepreneurs, both within and outside the
formal education system
It also seeks to connect entrepreneurs to
mentors, incubators and credit markets,
foster innovation and entrepreneurial culture,
improve ease of doing business and promote a
focus on social entrepreneurship
Skilling India Challenges:
The launch of the skill india mission assumes
significance as India currently faces a severe
shortage of well-trained, skilled workers. It is
estimated that only 2.3% of the workforce in
India has undergone formal skill training as
compared to 68% in the UK, 75% in Germany,
52% in USA, 80% in Japan and 96% in South
Korea. Large sections of the educated workforce
have little or no job skills, making them largely
unemployable
Among people aged 15 and above only 2.4% had
technical degrees, diplomas or certificates in
fields like medicine, engineering or agriculture
More than 54% of the countrys population is
below the age of 25 allowing it with an
opportunity to provide a skilled workforce to fill
the expected shortfall in the ageing developed
world

1. Smart Cities-key benefits and challenges

The core infrastructure elements in the Smart City context have been identified as
adequate water supply, assured electricity supply, sanitation including solid waste
management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, affordable housing,
especially for the poor.Robust IT connectivity and digitization, good governance,
especially e-governance and citizen participation, sustainable environment, safety
and security of citizens and health and education are also core infrastructure
elements.

Aside from central government funding, States/UTs and Urban Local Bodies have to
make an equal matching contribution. Additional funding can be mobilized from the
private sector/ international donors on a case by case basis

2. Totalization agreements are a means of protecting the benefit rights of workers

who divide their working career between two or more countries. They also help to
eliminate situations in which workers or employers are required to pay Social
Security taxes to two countries on the same earnings (India-USA are talking about
this, but hasnt happened yet)

3. Central government schemes for social security for unorganized sector:

http://www.insightsonindia.com/2015/01/05/8-in-india-though-unorganized-workers-
make-up-the-bulk-of-working-population-they-are-kept-out-of-many-of-government-
benefits-in-this-light-examine-what-measures-have-been-taken-by-the-governments/

4. State Disaster Relief Fund: The state executive committee headed by the Chief
Secretary is authorized to decide on all matters relating to the financing of the relief
expenditure from the SDRF

5. Gram Nyayalayas: since 2009, set up at the Panchyat level; allowed to try both
civil and criminal cases

6. PM relief fund- relies solely on private donations, doesnt get any budgetary
support, has not been constituted by the Parliament
7. The Cabinet recently approved a proposal to pool or average out prices of domestic
natural gas and imported LNG used by fertilizer plants

8. Only about 65% of Indias population is immunized

9. On what date is the Beating Retreat ceremony traditionally held?

The Beating Retreat ceremony officially denotes the end of Republic Day festivities. It
is conducted on the evening of 29 January, the third day after the Republic Day. It is
performed by the bands of the three wings of the military, the Indian Army, Indian
Navy and Indian Air Force

10. What is the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement?

An international treaty of the WTO. It was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
Under the SPS agreement, the WTO sets constraints on member-states policies
relating to food safety (bacterial contaminants, pesticides, inspection and labelling)
as well as animal and plant health (phytosanitation) with respect to imported pests
and diseases
Gives the WTO the power to override a countrys use of the precautionary
principle a principle which allows them to act on the side of caution if there is no
scientific certainty about potential threats to human health and the environment
Under SPS rules, the burden of proof is on countries to demonstrate
scientifically that something is dangerous before it can be regulated

11. Operation Raahat

The 2015 military intervention in Yemen began in March, 2015 when the Royal
Saudi Air Force led a coalition of Arab states in attacking Shiite Houthi rebels.
This was preceded by weeks of turmoil during which Houthi guerrillas toppled
the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and took over the
large parts of the country
Yemen is lurching closer to civil war as the Houthi militants who rule its capital try
to consolidate their control over the rest of the country and challenge the
embattled president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi
Turning into a proxy war between Iran (supporting the Shia Houthis) and Saudi
Arabia (supporting the Sunni government)

12. Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu (in that order) lead the country in filing
patent applications

13. ICICI Digital village- Akodara in Gujarat

14. Draft National Health Policy 2015- Key Features

Aims to achieve universal health coverage by advocating health as a
fundamental right, whose denial will be justiciable
Aims to increase expenditure on health from the current 1% of GDP to 2.5%
over the next 5 years
Problems: Currently, national programmes provide coverage only with respect to
certain interventions such as maternal ailments, which account for less than 10% of
all mortalities. Over 75% of communicable diseases are outside their purview and
only a limited number of non-communicable diseases are covered
Even if ratified by the parliament, since health is a state subject, adoption by the
different states will be voluntary. Thus, adoption might not be uniform across
the country, and that sort of defeats the purpose
Read:http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/a-misguided-approach-
115010601238_1.html

15. Health Sector (including family planning, National Health Policy 2015, National
Health Assurance Mission, National Tuberculosis Programme, Routine Immunization
Programme)
(See: http://www.insightsonindia.com/2015/01/03/6-critically-discuss-the-need-for-
making-the-right-to-health-a-fundamental-right-in-india/)
Public spending on health in India is 1% of GDP; total spending is 4% of GDP
16. DM of Nadia district in South Bengal was recently lauded by the UN with the UN
Public Service Award for completely eradicating open defecation, under the
programme Sabar Sauchagar (Toilets for All)

17. FATCA Act, USA: India recently signed an agreement to become a party to this.
Banks from both countries will be obliged to share information about bank accounts
of the other countrys citizens (India also joined the MCCA, but thats a consortium of
50-odd countrie, doing broadly the same thing)

18. Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan proposed by Kalam has been operationalized by

MHRD. Aims to encourage schoolchildren to learn beyond the classroom

19. PACESetter Fund: Indo-US collaborative effort to provide clean energy to the
underserved; will provide grants to companies that sell small-scale clean energy
systems to individuals and communities without access to the grid

20. RIMES: Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System is an international

institution managed by 12 member states, chaired by India right now

21. Ottapallam in Kerala will have the countrys first ever Defence industrial park soon

22. Manipur Regulation of Visitors, Tenants and Migrant Workers Bill, 2015 has
been withdrawn; was passed by the State Legislature, aimed to check influx of
immigrants by introduction of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Manipur that will
regulate the entry of non-domicile citizens into restricted regions,like in
some other northeastern states

23. Command Exit Promotion policy- gives preferential treatment to officers who
have served in infantry and artillery, by allocating them an unfairly large number of
promotion vacancies at the commanding officer rank of colonel

24. DoTs Net neutrality panels report

Recommended that apps offering domestic calling be brought under the
regulatory framework prescribed for telecom operators, but those providing
messaging and international calling services over the Internet be kept free from
licensing requirements
It suggests that controversial plans such as Airtel Zero be allowed with
prior clearance from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, but
opposes platforms such as Internet.org of Facebook(because its not run by
a service provider, but by a content provider)
Airtel Zero and Internet.org are similar as they offer customers a specific set of
services or applications that are free to use without paying data charges. But on
Internet.org, the committee says it is of the firm opinion that content and
application providers cannot be permitted to act as gatekeepers and use network
operations to extract value, even if it is for an ostensible public purpose
The report says over-the-top applications, which use the Internet to deliver
services, enhance consumer welfare and increase productivity. Therefore, such
services should be actively encouraged and any impediments in expansion and
growth of OTT application services (such as e-commerce, radio taxis and YouTube)
should be removed
Against the move, telecom operators called for a level-playing field to run a
viable business and demanded that same rule apply for same services, even
VoIP
There are no laws enforcing net neutrality in India. Although TRAI
guidelines for the Unified Access Service license promote net neutrality, it does
not enforce it. The Information Technology Act 2000 also does not prohibit
companies from throttling their service in accordance with their business interests

25. In accordance with the New Domestic Natural Gas Pricing Guidelines, 2014,
issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the price of natural gas is to
be revised every six months on the basis of a weighted average of rates in
countries such as the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Russia, all gas-surplus economies

26. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Aadhaar Card may be used to avail
*some* government schemes including employment guarantee, pension and
 bank accounts. Previously, as per the courts order, the card could have been
used only voluntarily for availing subsidies under the public distribution system
and purchasing kerosene and cooking gas. This ruling is being seen as a relief to
the government which has been trying to persuade the Supreme Court to extend
Aadhaars uses after a slew of blows to the unique identity or UID programme
following privacy petitions

Institutions (Ministries and Departments)

Agency Ministry Features

Director is appointed by (PM + LoP + CJI)(Lokpal and
Lokayuktas Act, 2013)

The central government may extend to any area

(except Union Territories) the powers and jurisdiction of
the CBI for investigation, subject to the consent of
the government of the concerned state; however,
High Courts and the Supreme Court have the
jurisdiction to order a CBI investigation into an offense
DoPT (Ministry of
alleged to have been committed in a state without the
Personnel, Public
CBI state's consent
Grievances and
Pensions)
Police is a state subject, so usually CBI deals with high-
level crime, central government officers, etc.Normally,
cases assigned to the CBI are sensitive and of national
importance. It is standard practice for state police
departments to register cases under its jurisdiction; if
necessary, the central government may transfer a case
to the CBI

CBI is exempt from RTI provisions

IB is used to garner intelligence from within India
and also execute counter-intelligence and counter-
terrorism tasks. The Bureau comprises employees from
law enforcement agencies, mostly from the Indian
IB Police Service (IPS) or the Indian Revenue Service (IRS)
and the military

The IB was trained by the Soviet KGB from the 1950s

on wards until the collapse of the Soviet Union
Deals exclusively with the work relating to the
collection and study of information on smuggling
activities and the deployment of all anti-smuggling
Central Board of resources at the all India level
Excise and
Directorate
Customs; Anti-dumping duty is levied on distrustfully low-
of Revenue
Department of priced imports, so as to protect the domestic
Intelligence
Revenue, Ministry manufacturers. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
of Finance (DRI) issued a show-cause cum demand notice to
telecom major Vodafone and its two subsidiaries for
evading this anti-dumping duty of around Rs. 330
crores
FSSAI Ministry of Health Created for laying down science-based standards for
& Family Welfare articles of food and to regulate their manufacture,
storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure
availability of safe and wholesome food for human
consumption

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

(FSSAI) has been established under Food Safety and
Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts &
orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in
various Ministries and Depart
 FSSAI has put up draft guidelines on its website
intended to monitor the consumption of junk food by
school children.Under the draft guidelines, junk food
high in fat, salt or sugar will not be sold within 50
metres of a schools premises. FSSAI in under Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare, and was created for
laying down science based standards for articles of
food and to regulate their manufacture, storage,
distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of
safe and wholesome food for human consumption
AICTE is the statutory body and a national-level council
for technical education

Responsible for proper planning and coordinated

development of the technical
education and management education system in India

The AICTE accredits postgraduate and graduate

Department of
programs under specific categories at Indian
Higher
institutions as per its charter
AICTE Education, Ministry
of Human Resource
All the Engineering, MBA and Pharmacy colleges are
Development
affiliated with the All India Council for Technical
Education

"as per provisions of the AICTE Act and University

Grants Commission (UGC) Act, the council has no
authority which empowers it to issue or enforce any
sanctions on colleges affiliated with the universities as
its role is to provide guidance and recommendations
Grants recognition to universities, and disburses funds
to such recognized universities

Main difference between UGC and AICTE is that the

latter deals only with technical education

UGC, it is the apex body that approves universities

in the country. UGC provide funds for affiliated
universities and colleges, and also conducts exams,
known as NET, for appointing teachers in colleges

UGCs prime function is to look into the financial needs

of universities. It then allocates and disburses grants to
these universities. Other academic functions come only
UGC
after these functions

On the other hand, the AICTE act gives priority to

undertaking surveys in various fields of technical
education at all levels. Fund allocation and
disbursement comes second to this

In its 25 April 2013 judgment the Honorable Supreme

Court said "as per provisions of the AICTE Act
and University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, the
council has no authority which empowers it to issue or
enforce any sanctions on colleges affiliated with the
universities as its role is to provide guidance and
recommendations
Department of
ED Revenue, Ministry Administers FEMA and PMLA
of Finance
Survey of Survey of India is the authority which sanctions
India names to a mountain which fall under the Indian
Territory. Generally, the team which conquers a virgin
peak is granted the honour to name it. Till today, many
 teams that have conquered new peaks have named
them after their favourite gods, local deities and
villages. Recently, Mount Nalini was named after
mountaineer Nalini Sengupta
Ministry of Water
Central Resources, River
Water Development, and
Commission Ganga
Rejuvenation
Combat terrorist activities with a view to protect States
NSG MHA
against internal disturbances
Chairman (an ex-CJI) + 8 members (a present or ex
judge of SC, a present or ex CJ of an HC, 4 ex-officio
members who are chairpersons of National Commission
(of minorities, SC, ST, Women), 2 with experience in
human rights)
Appointed by 7:PM + Home Minister + Leaders of
Opposition in LS and RS + Lok Sabha speaker +
Deputy Chairman of RS
Formed as per the Paris Principles, which provide
that such an institution should provide a broad
mandate, representative composition, wide
accessibility, effectiveness
National
Human Successes
Rights Succeeded in persuading the central government to
Commission sign the UN Convention against Torture
Number of complaints received has been rising over the
years, showing greater awareness

Failures
However, about 60% of the cases come from just 4
states, indicating that not many people know about
the charter of the commission
Number of pending cases has also been rising sharply
The commission is completely dependent on the
government for manpower and finances
Cannot investigate any actions of the armed forces
Cannot enforce its own findings
Can inquire into violation of human rights only in
respect of subjects mentioned in the State List
(List-II) and the Concurrent List (List-III)
Composition (3): Chairperson (retired HC CJ) and two
members (retired or serving HC judge, or 7 year-
District Judges + Eminent person)
Appointed by the Governor on the recommendations of
(4: CM + Assembly Speaker + State Home Minister +
LoP)
The chairperson and members hold office for a term of
State
five years or until they attain the age of 70
Human
Autonomous years, whichever is earlier
Rights
Commission After their tenure, the chairperson and members are
not eligible for further employment under a state
government or the Central government
Although the chairperson and members of a State
Human Rights Commission are appointed by the
governor, they can be removed only by the
President (and not by the governor)
The President can remove them on the same grounds
and in the same manner as he can remove the
chairperson or a member of the National Human
Rights Commission
NCBC Ministry of Social Chairman (ex- or current judge of SC) +
Justice and one social scientist +
 2 persons with special knowledge of backward classes
+
Empowerment
one member secretary, who has been an officer of
central government in the rank of a secretary to the
Government of India
SETU- Self
Employment
NITI Aayog
and Talent
Utilization
Not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code
of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by
principles of natural justice

Dedicated jurisdiction in environmental matters shall

provide speedy environmental justice and help reduce
the burden of litigation in the higher courts

Sanctioned strength: 10 expert members and 10

judicial members although the act allows for up to 20 of
each

Chairman: administrative head; also serves as a

judicial member. Must be a serving or retired Chief
NGT Justice of a High Court or a judge of the Supreme
Court of India

Every bench of the tribunal must consist of at least one

expert member and one judicial member

Members are chosen by a selection committee

(headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of
India)- not by GoI

Judicial members chosen from applicants who are

serving or retired judges of High Courts
Expert members are chosen from applicants who are
either serving or retired bureaucrats, or have a
doctorate in a related field
NPPA-
National
Ministry of Enforces Drug Pricing Control Order; administers Jan
Pharma
Chemicals Aushadhi Scheme
Pricing
Authority
Department of
NSS Youth Affairs and Promote social service in school students
Sports
Department of
CBDT Revenue, Ministry
of Finance
CIC DoPT CIC was set up under the RTI Act of 2005

Aims to provide redressal mechanism for the citizens

who have not been able to submit information requests
to a Central/ State Public Information Officer due to
such a person not being appointed, or refusing to
accept the query

Includes one Chief Information Commissioner and

up to 10 Information Commissioners, all
appointed by the President

The nomination committee includes PM, LoP in Lok

Sabha, and one Union Cabinet Minister nominated
by the President (so essentially the PM has two votes)
 (for states, CM, LoP in Vidhan Sabha, plus one Cabinet
Minister appointed by CM)

Removal is by President, after an SC enquiry

5 year terms, no reappointment, retirement at 65

MPs/ MLAs cannot be CICs
Set up to address government corruption
Is a statutory body
Composed of one CVC plus two Vigilance
Commissioners

Appointments are made by 3: the PM, A cabinet

minister nominated by the PM, and the Leader of
Opposition in Lok Sabha

Removal is by President, after an SC enquiry

Autonomous body, free of control from any executive

authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity
under the Central Government of India

Weaknesses:
Its jurisdiction extends only over officers of All India
Services, and not over the judiciary and the
executive
It is not an investigative body itself, but
recommends investigation by CBI, Departmental
Chief Vigilance Officers etc.
CVC is only an advisory body. Central
Government Departments are free to either accept
CVC DoPT or reject CVC's advice in corruption cases
CVC does not have adequate resources compared
with number of complaints that it receives. It is a
very small set up with a sanctioned staff strength of
299, and it is supposed to check corruption in more
than 1500 central government departments and
ministries
CVC cannot direct CBI to initiate inquiries
against any officer of the level of Joint
Secretary and above on its own. Such
permission has to be obtained from the concerned
department
CVC does not have powers to register criminal case.
It deals only with vigilance or disciplinary cases
CVC has supervisory powers over CBI. However,
CVC does not have the power to call for any file
from CBI or to direct CBI to investigate any case in a
particular manner
Appointments to CVC are indirectly under the
control of Government of India, though the
leader of the Opposition (in Lok Sabha) is a member
of the Committee to select CVC and VCs. But the
Committee considers candidates put up before it.
These candidates are decided by the Government
The President of India (based on a recommendation
from incumbent Govt of India) appoints the Chief
Election Commissioner. Conventionally, senior-most
CEC Election Commissioner is appointed as CEC(no
collegium like for CIC/ CVC)

Removal is only by impeachment-like action

SEBI Securities include debt, equity, and derivatives such as
forwards, futures, options, stocks etc.
SEBI regulates the securities market in India
 It is now a statutory body
Composition: Chairman (nominated by Union
government), 2 officers from Finance Ministry, 1 from
RBI, 5 other members nominated by Union
government
It performs all 3 functions (quasi), legislative (drafts
regulations), executive (investigates and enforces
rules), and judicial (passes rulings), in matters related
to securities
To appeal its rulings, there exists a Securities
Appellate Tribunal; second appeal lies directly to
the SC (important- Rajan recently said that we
dont want an appellate raj)
Forward
Markets Chief regulator of commodities forwards markets in
Commission India; allows commodity exchange in 22 exchanges
(FMC) across India, of which 6 are national
It is now going to be merged with SEBI, since
commodity trading has increasingly become a
financial trading activity
Commodity markets need to be regulated as trading in
commodities leads to speculation, which can lead to
spiraling food price inflation
It allows futures trading in 23 Fibres and Manufacturers,
15 spices, 44 edible oils, 6 pulses, 4 energy products,
single vegetable, 20 metal futures, 33 others Futures
The efforts to check harmful/ illegal commodities
futures trading are likely to get a major boost
with SEBI being given the jurisdiction to
regulate commodity markets as well following
FMC merger, as SEBI already enjoys greater powers
including those to conduct search and seizure,
impose penalties, order arrests and take other strict
actions against wrongdoers
Merger promotes better coordination, and is in line with
FSLRC recommendation
Could lead to better trust, and hence entry of strong
institutional investors in the commodities space
The merger of SEBI and FMC means that all organised
financial trading, government bonds, and
commodities futures will be under the SEBIs
jurisdiction. This leaves the RBI with an odd
collection of elements: corporate bonds with
maturity below one year, credit derivatives, and
currencies and their derivatives. It would have
been much cleaner to do the full thing, instead
of settling for such an awkward compromise
FMCs merger with SEBI is aimed at streamlining the
regulations and curb wild speculations in the
commodities market, while facilitating further growth
there. The commodities market has been known to be
more prone to speculative activities compared to the
better-regulated stock market. Besides, the high-profile
NSEL scam has rocked this market in the recent past
and the subsequent regulatory and government
interventions in this case eventually led to the
government announcing FMCs merger with SEBI
 SEBI and FMC were recently merged. With commodities
derivatives regulation under its fold, the Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has notified 12
commodity bourses and associations as stock
exchanges and has also created seven departments for
effectively regulating this market.
To fulfil its additional responsibility of regulating
the commodity derivatives market, Sebi has
created additional seven departments like legal
affairs, surveillance investigations and
enforcement divisions.
It has also created departments for commodity
derivatives market regulation, market
intermediaries regulation and supervision and
economic policy and analysis
ASI Ministry of Culture
Pravasi Ministry of
Bharatiya Overseas Affairs of
Samman India
MHA proposed setting up IUCAWsin 20% of the
districts of each State on a 50:50 cost sharing basis
with the states.
IUCAW
(Investigativ
Objectives:
e Units on
MHA Augment the investigative machinery of the States in
Crimes
against relation to the heinous crimes against women
Women) Improve the gender ratio in State Police forces
The states will have full flexibility on whether to
create new posts or to designate from the existing
strength.
Ministry of Earth
IMD
Sciences
NDRF MHA The only dedicated disaster response force in the world
Tackle climate change
National This fund will assist national and state level activities to
Adaptation MoEF meet the cost of adaptation measures in areas that are
Fund particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate
change
ICAR- Indian
Council for
Agricultural
Research
Censorship and classification body

It assigns certifications to films, television shows,

television ads, and publications for exhibition, sale
or hire in India

The Board consist of non-official members and a

Chairperson (all of whom are appointed by Central
Ministry of Government)
CBFC Information and
Broadcasting Grants 4 kinds of certificates to films:
U unrestricted exhibition
UA- unrestricted exhibition, with a word of
caution to parents that some content might not
be appropriate for children below 12 years of
age
A- adults only
S- restricted to special class of persons
Public High powered body constituted by Government of India
Enterprise through a resolution in 1987
Selection
Board It is entrusted with the selection and placement of
 chairman, managing director or chairman-cum-
managing director and functional director in Central
public sector enterprises, among others
It is a federal agency established by the Indian
Government to combat terror in India. It acts as the
Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency.
The agency is empowered to deal with terror related
crimes across states without special permission
from the states.NIA has concurrent jurisdiction which
National empowers the Centre to probe terror attacks in any
Investigatio part of the country, covering offences, including
n Agency challenge to the countrys sovereignty and integrity,
(NIA) bomb blasts, hijacking of aircraft and ships, and attacks
on nuclear installations.Other than offenses of
terrorism, it also deals with counterfeit currency,
human trafficking, narcotics or drugs, organised crime
(extortion mobs and gangs), plane hijacking and
violations of atomic energy act and weapons of mass
destruction act.

1. See Statutory bodies under notes for a few additional commissions

2. ICDS- six functions, ministry etc.
3. NITI Aayog v/s Planning Commission (revise key roles of planning commission, and
how NITI is different; also, structure and composition)

1. Recently released Census data show that Indias Muslim population is growing
slower than it had in the previous decades, and its growth rate has slowed more
sharply than that of the Hindu population.Muslim population still grows at a faster
rate than the Hindu population, but the gap between the two growth rates is
narrowing fast. Assam remains the State with the largest Muslim population as a
proportion (34.22%)

2. Sania Mirzas Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award has hit a legal roadblock. The sports
ministrys decision to confer the prestigious national award to the worlds leading
tennis doubles star has been challenged by Paralympian H.N Girisha in the
Karnataka High Court. Allegation is that Girishas name was overlooked in favour of
Sania, considering the points system being implemented by the central
government. Going by the ministrys performance-based points system
introduced to pick the award winner, Girisha is the top contender with 90 points,
while Sania does not figure anywhere near the top.Sania has won Grand Slam titles
but according to the ministry notification, only performances at the Olympics,
Paralympics, Asiad, Commonwealth Games and World Championships from 2011
will be considered

3. UP and Tamil Nadu has got the maximum number of smart cities (13 and 12).
These cities and towns were nominated by respective States and Union Territories
at the end of first stage of City Challenge competition in which all the urban local
bodies in each State and UT were evaluated based on their financial and
institutional capacities and past track record

4. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued a
new set of guidelines: all insurers from the life, non-life and health segments
operating for 10+ years should have at least five per cent of their total policies
from the social sector)unorganised sector, informal sector, and economically
vulnerable or backward classes both in rural and urban areas)

5. After a huge public outcry, the union government (DeITY) has withdrawn the
controversial draft encryption policy that proposed to make it mandatory for
every citizen to save all digital communications, including emails and chats, for a
period of 90 days

6. National Health Profile 2015:

Every government hospital serves an estimated 61,000 people in India, with one
bed for every 1833 people
Every government allopathic doctor serves a population of over 11,000 people
 The Centres share of total public expenditure on health has fallen over the last two
years, and India spends less of its GDP on health than some of the worlds poorest
countries
Out-of-pocket private expenditure on health has risen steadily over the years, with
the cost of medicines, followed by that of hospitalisation accounting for the largest
share of the household expenditure
Non-communicable diseases are on the rise with cardiovascular diseases according
for a quarter of deaths from non-communicable diseases and cancer accounting for
six per cent (health facilities usually target communicable diseases)

7. Green Highways Policy:

Under the policy, bushes and trees will be grown along all the highways in a phased
manner
The purpose of this policy is to promote the greening of highway corridors with the
participation of the local community, including local contractors and the local
Forest Department. The latent objective was to generate employment

8. The government has unveiled an indigenous ranking framework for higher

educational institutions that it believes will give Indian institutions a competitive
platform free of any international bias
The framework will evaluate institutions on five parameters- teaching, learning and
resources (TLR), research, professional practice and collaborative performance
(RPC), graduation outcome (GO), outreach and inclusivity (OI), perception (PR) of
end users
International ranking agencies only consider research work done in English, the
body of work in regional languages is not considered.
Social inclusion or the reservation system is often not considered by international
ranking agencies.

9. To deal with ongoing drought, the Maharashtra government has imposed a

drought tax on petrol and diesel, VAT on liquor, cigarettes and beverages, and
surcharge on VAT for gold and diamond jewelleries

10. TRAI has stood by its proposal of a sunset date for making GPS mandatory in
all handsets, which can help find out exact location of the caller in an emergency.
It says feature phones are slowly being replaced, with users shifting to
smartphones, and introducing a GPS chip in handsets should not be very costly
once it is mandated

11. The Union cabinet recently gave its nod for the formation of Indian Skill
Development Service (ISDS). The cadre will be selected through the Union
Public Service Commission (UPSC) and have the same ranks and profile as other
Group A services such as the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Audit and Accounts
Service and Indian Railway Service

12. Green India Mission: It is one of the eight Missions outlined under National Action
Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

It acknowledges the influence forests have on environmental amelioration through climate

change mitigation, food security, water security, biodiversity conservation and
livelihood security of forest-dependent communities

It hinges on decentralized participatory approach involving grass root

level organizations and community in planning, decision making, implementation and
monitoring. It espouses the landscape approach (which entails viewing and
managing multiple land uses in an integrated manner, considering both the natural
environment and the human systems that depend on it)

13. Cyberdome is a hi-tech centre for cybersecurity being set up by the Kerala Police.
As many as 500 ethical hackers and cybersecurity experts would be involved in
the project. It would also host an Anti-Cyber Terror Cell and a cybersecurity training
unit.It would be equipped with an automated crime intelligence-gathering unit and
a unit for anti-piracy on the Internet.It would work on prevention of hacking and
defacement of websites and child pornography, and be overseen by IPS officers
with tech competence
14. The finance ministry has imposed anti-dumping duties on imported Chinese parts
used in commercial vehicles for a period of five years and some other products
imported from various other countries

15. The government is thinking about creating a new All-India Service, for supporting
innovation

16. Sedition Law- Section 124A of the IPC- has been in the news recently
multiple times

17. Housing for All:

Proposes to build 2 crore houses across the nation by 2022; components:
Slum rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers with participation of private developers using
land as a resource
Promotion of affordable housing for weaker section through credit linked subsidy
Affordable housing in partnership with Public & Private sectors
Subsidy for beneficiary-led individual house construction or enhancement
The scheme prescribes certain mandatory reforms for easing up the urban land
market for housing, to make adequate urban land available for affordable housing
A Technology Sub-mission under the Mission would be set up to facilitate adoption
of modern, innovative and green technologies and building material for faster and
quality construction of houses
In the spirit of cooperative federalism, the Mission will provide flexibility to States
for choosing best options to meet the demand of housing in their states

18. Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) is a project
initiated in June 2009 which aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated
system for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing at the Police
Station level. CCTNS is a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the National e-
Governance Plan of Govt. of India. It will not only automate Police functions at
Police station and higher levels but will also create facilities and mechanism to
provide public services like registration of online complaints, ascertaining the
status of case registered at the police station, verification of persons etc. This
would lead to development of a national database of crimes and criminals and will
lead to a Central citizen portal having linkages with State level citizen portals that
will provide a number of citizen friendly services like Police Verification for various
purposes including passport verification, reporting a crime including cyber-crime
and online tracking of the case progress etc.

19. Centrally Sponsored Scheme- funded by centre but implemented by

states. Central Sector Schemes- funded and implemented by centre.

20. The union government has launched the Technology Acquisition and
Development Fund (TADF) under the National Manufacturing Policy. The
Scheme facilitates acquisition of clean & green technologies by MSME units across
sectors. Under the scheme financial support will be provided in acquiring of
technology/Patent from across the Globe based on applications received from
MSMEs.

21. The Supreme Court has stayed the Delhi High Court order allowing women, serving
as short service commission officers, to get permanent commission in the Indian
Navy. While the Army and Air Force allow permanent commission for
women, the Navy has limited women officers only to short service
commission of 14 years.

22. A governor of a state in India holds office for a period of five years, but it is subject
to termination earlier if he resigns, or is dismissed by the President. There is no
provision of impeachment.

23. The Delhi Assembly recently passed the Delhi (Right of Citizen to Time Bound
Delivery of Services) Amendment Bill. The amendments seek to rectify the
current Act which has put the entire onus of getting compensation, fixing the
responsibility for delayed services on the citizen. This legislation will automatically
 deduct salaries of government officials in case there is a delay in delivering
government services by them.

24. Prime Minister Modi recently launched International Solar Alliance (ISA) in Paris
on the sidelines of the climate change summit. This initiative highlights Indias
leadership in clean energy. Among the tasks that the Alliance would pursue are,
cooperation in training, building institutions, regulatory issues, common standards,
and investment including joint ventures.

25. President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the contentious Labour Laws
Bill of Gujarat. The Gujarat government passed the Bill to relax labour laws to
give an impetus to industrialization in the State.

1. Article 25 asks for 'Free propagation and profession of religion'. Thus, some people
interpret that a Uniform Civil Code will run counter to the sentiment of Article 25.
However, Article 14 says equality of laws => contradiction
2. Article 124, 217: President should appoint SC judges, HC judges after consultation
with such judges of SC/ HC as he may deem appropriate; CJI's advice has to be
taken

3. SC has ruled that NJAC is unconstitutional, because it impinges on 'independence of

judiciary' and 'separation of powers', both of which are 'basic features' of the
constitution, by encouraging the 'spoils system'
4. Puncchi commission report
5. Antrix- Devas showdown
6. Capital punishment

7. Section 124A: Sedition- requires 'incitement to violence'

8. Despite two crucial laws to deal with crimes against Dalits the Protection of Civil
Rights Act, 1955, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989 the high incidence of violence against them is disturbing

9. If castration is added as a form of punishment as it may deter foreign courts from

allowing the extradition of offenders to face trial in India

10. The object of revisiting the collegium should be single-minded: to remove

patronage from the system, and to ensure that judges are appointed according to
rational and objective criteria, and nothing else Re-envisioning the collegium:
http://m.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/njac-judgment-will-be-tested-only-when-there-
is-reform/article7806584.ece

11. In 1993, in a case commonly referred to as the Second Judges Case, the Supreme
Court, sitting as a nine-judge bench, interpreted the word consultation, used in
Articles 124 and 217, to mean concurrence. In making appointments to the higher
judiciary, the Court held, the executive was bound by the advise of the CJI who
acted in concert with a group that also comprised his two (later four) senior-most
colleagues, a body that we today call the collegium.

Whichever way one wants to look at this collegium whether with contempt or
with reverence whats indubitable is that the Constitution speaks of no such
body. Articles 124 and 217, unlike some of our fundamental rights, are not couched
in abstract terms that require an interpretive exercise. This anointed collegium,
therefore, was nothing but a pure creation of the Second Judges Case

12. Kesavananda v/s state of Kerala case introduced notion of basic structure
13. Civil aviation policy
14. Compensatory Afforestation Bill - the Hindu, Oct 01, 4th editorial
15. Section 84a of it act, national encryption policy, need for right to privacy
16. Maharashtra sedition circular