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in

MONTHLYMAGAZINE

FEBRUARY2017
 PradhanMantriAwasYojana(PMAY)

Thisisschemeunderhousingforallby2022and
inthisbudgetgovernmenthavetargettobuild
puccahousespeciallyinruralarea.

TheUnionCabinetchairedbythePrimeMinister
Shri Narendra Modi has given expost facto
approvaltotheproposalsfor

1. Extension of tenure of loans under the Credit

LinkedSubsidyScheme(CLSS)(ii)Introductionof
anewCreditLinkedSubsidySchemeforMIGfor
targetingtheMIGcategory.

2. Forrationalizing/introducingtheprocessingfees
payabletothePLIsfortheloanssanctionedunder
theseschemes.
 SWAYAMPlatformwillbelaunchedto

leverageInformationTechnology

theGovernmentproposestoleverageinformation
technologyandlaunchSWAYAMPlatformwithat
least350onlinecourses.

InhisBudgetSpeech,theFinanceMinistersaid
this will enable students to virtually attend the
courses taught by the best faculty; access high
quality reading resources, participate in
discussionforums;taketestsandearnacademic
grades.

AccesstoSWAYAMwouldbewidenedbylinkage
withDTHchannels,dedicatedtoeducation.

Combinedrailwaybudget
The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate
Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting the
GeneralBudget201718,inParliamenttoday,said
 thatthisBudgetistheFirstcombinedBudgetof
IndependentIndiathatincludestheRailways.
TheFinanceMinisterShriJaitleyinhisBudget
Speechsaidthat,theRailwayswillfocusonfour
majorareas,namely,passengersafety,capitaland
development works, cleanliness and finance and
accountingreforms.
Forpassengersafety,aRashtriyaRailSanraksha
Kosh willbecreatedwithacorpusofRs.1lakh
crores over a period of 5 years, to be funded by
seedcapitalfromtheGovernment,Railwaysown
revenuesandothersources.
Talking about the proposed steps for
modernization and upgradation of identified
corridors.
EmphasizingtheGovernmentsfocusonSwachh
Rail,theFinanceMinisterinformedthataseries
of steps are proposed to be taken to enhance
 cleanlinessinRailways,ofwhich,anSMSbased
Clean My Coach Service has already been
started.
Followingstepalsowillbetaken
1. Endtoendintegratedtransportsolutionsforselect
commodities to transport perishable goods,
especiallyagriculturalproducts.
2. Competitiveticketbookingfacilitytothepublicat
large.
3. As part of accounting reforms,accrual based
financial statements will be rolledout by March
2019.

DARPGSEVAtoaddressissuesrelatedto

publicgrievancesandadministrativereforms

The Department of Administrative Reforms and

Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of
 Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has
starteditsTwitter.TheTwitterSevawillenable
theDARPGtoreachouttothecommonpublicand
various stakeholders for facilitating redress of
grievancesandotherissuesofimportancerelating
tothedepartment.
The missionof DARPG isto fosterexcellencein
governanceandpursuitofadministrativereforms
throughimprovementsinGovernmentpoliciesas
well as processes, promoting citizencentric
governancewithemphasisongrievanceredressal.
InnovationsineGovernanceareanothermission
oftheDepartmentapartfromdocumentationand
disseminationofbestpractices.

Oncology
Centre of Integrative Oncology would be
inaugurated at National Institute of Cancer
 PreventionandResearch(NICPR)byMinistryof
AYUSH.
The main objective of the Centre is to build
collaborations in the areas of cancer prevention,
researchandcare.TheCentrewouldalsooffer5
postdoctoral and 5 Senior Research Fellowships
each year to deserving candidates to facilitate
quality research in the country in the area of
cancerresearch.Thefellowshipprogramwouldbe
launchedattheinauguration.

FacilitiesforLaunchingSatellites

IndianSpaceResearchOrganisation(ISRO)has
alltherequisitefacilitiesforlaunchingsatellites
usingIndianlaunchvehiclesatitslaunchcomplex
locatedatSatishDhawanSpaceCentre,
Sriharikota.
 Thesefacilitiescompriseof

(i) twooperationalsatellitelaunchpads,

(ii) FillingControlCentre(FCC)forpropellant
fillingoperationsand

(iii) MissionControlCentre(MCC)&Launch
ControlCentre(LCC)forcoordinatingand
conductingthelaunchoperationsduringthe
countdownphasetilltheinjectionofthe
satelliteintoorbit.

The various activities carried out towards the

developmentoftheSemicryogenicengineinclude
(i) Indigenousrealisationof35materialsand22
coatingprocesses
(ii) Qualificationofindigenousbearingsforturbo
pumps
(iii) Fabrication of the first hardware for three
engine subsystems including low pressure
 turbo pumps and one high pressure turbo
pumpthroughindustry
(iv) Designvalidationofthelowpressureturbo
pumpsthroughcoldflowtrials.

HelptoFarmersbyIndianMeteorological

Department(IMD)

TheAgrometeorologicalAdvisoryServices(AAS)
under the Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva (GKMS) is
operated to prepare biweekly weather based AAS
bulletins for wider dissemination to the farmers at
district scale through multimedia channels and also
throughSMSsoastoplanfarmoperationsaccordingly.
As per the recent National Council of Applied
Economic Research (NCAER) report, farming
communityofthecountryisusingtheGKMSservice
productsforcriticalfarmoperationsviz.
i)Managementofsowing(Delayedonsetofrains);
 ii)Changingcropvariety(Delayinrainfall);
iii) Spraying Pesticides for disease control
(occurrenceofrainfall);
iv)ManagingIrrigation(HeavyrainfallForecast).

WorldWetlandsDaybeingcelebratedatBhoj

Wetlands,Bhopal

ThemeofWorldWetlandsDayfor2017Wetlands
fordisasterriskreduction

WorldWetlandsDayiscelebratedonFebruary2
eachyeartomarktheDaytheConventionon
WetlandswasadoptedintheIranianCityof
Ramsarin1971.IndiaisapartytotheConvention
since1982andcommittedtotheRamsarapproach
ofwiseuseofwetlands.
 Continuedfunctioningofwetlandshasacquireda
newmeaningintheageofincreasingwaterand
foodsecurity.

Wetlandsarethelifesupportforarangeofplant
and animal life and as wetlands degrade, the
existenceoftheselifeformswouldbeunderstress.

Atthesametime,itisforthesecurityofhuman
wellbeing, that wetland conservation acquires
prominence.

Wetlandssupporthumanwellbeinginanumber
ofways.Askidneysoflandscape,wetlandsreceive
flowsofwaterandwastefromupstreamsources.
They help stabilize water supplies, cleanse
polluted waters, protect shorelines and recharge
groundwateraquifers.
Theextensivefoodchainandbiologicaldiversity
inwetlandsmakethembiologicalsupermarkets.
 Wetlands have special attributes as cultural
heritageofhumanity,andhavedeepconnections
withourbeliefsandpractices.
Theyareanimportantpartofournaturalwealth
and liquid assets.Despite their tremendous
value,wetlandsarealsooneofthemostrapidly
degradingecosystems.
The theme of World Wetlands Day for 2017 is
WetlandsforDisasterRiskReduction.Thistheme
hasbeenselectedtoraiseawarenessonthevital
rolesofhealthywetlandsinreducingtheimpacts
ofextremeeventsoncommunitiesandinhelping
tobuildresilience.
Wetlands are our natural buffers against
increasing risk of floods, droughts and tropical
cyclones.
Wetlandscanactassponges,storingpeakrainfall
andreleasingwatergraduallyduringleanseason.
 IndianOceanTsunamiof2004andPhailinof2013
underline the role coastal wetlands as estuaries
andmangrovescanplayinbufferingcommunities
fromimpactsofthesecyclonesandwavesurges.

PRAGATIExercise

PRAGATIaimsatProActiveGovernanceand
Timelyimplementation.Themeetingprovidesa
robustplatformforclearunderstandingofthe
bottlenecksandissuesinvolvedinsuch
projects/programmeandforevolvingmeasuresfor
takingthemahead.

Throughsuchreviewmeetings,variousprojects,
publicgrievances,andprogrammesandschemes
arediscussedindetailandmeasuresforfast
trackingthesameareevolvedandimplemented.
 Programspecificmonitoringisbeingdonenot
statespecificmonitoring

TribalHealthCareProject

*TheTribalHealthCareResearchProgram(THCRP)
wasstartedbytheCentralCouncilforResearchin
AyurvedicSciences(CCRAS),anautonomous
organizationunderCentralGovernmentin1982.
*Theprojectinvolvesstudiesofthelivingconditionof
tribalpeopleincludinghealthTraditionsThe
objectivesoftheprojectareasunder:

(i)Providehealthcarefacilitytotribalpopulation;

(ii)Promotehealthylivingamongtribes;and

(iii)Collectanddocumentthefolkclaimsandlocal
healthtraditionstoenableresearchetc.
 DRDOProjects

DefenceResearchandDevelopmentOrganisation
(DRDO),anR&DWingofMinistryofDefence,is
primarily involved in design and development of
strategic,complexandsecuritysensitivesystems
in the fields of armaments, missiles, unmanned
aerialvehicles,radars,electronicwarfaresystems,
sonars,combatvehicles,combataircraft,sensors,
etc for the Armed Forces as per their specific
QualitativeRequirements.
Project
NationalOpenAirRange
QuickReactionSurfaceTo
AirMissile(QRSAM)
AIPsystemonP75
submarinesand
developmentofdeliverable
loxsystem
SubmarinePeriscope
TechnologyDevelopmentof
EngineFuelControl
System(EFCS)

IndigenousTechnologiesDevelopedbyDRDO

LightCombatAircraft(LCA)Tejas

LongRangeSurfacetoAirMissile(LRSAM)

SurfacetoSurfaceMissileSystem

ElectronicWarfareSystemShakti

HullMountedSonarNewGeneration

VarunastraTorpedo
CommandersThermalImagingSightforT90

NBCProtectionSystemforBMP2/2K

LowLevelLightWeightRadarMkII

MultiMissionMaritimeAircraft

AkashWeaponSystem

7TonHeavyDropSystem

ElectroOpticalFireControlSystemforNavalShips

MareechAntiTorpedoDecoySystem

AbhaySonar
NearFieldAcousticCharacterizationSystem
(NACS)
AdvancedIndigenousDistressSonarSystem
(AIDSS)forSubmarines.

BARAKMissileSystem

LongRangeSurfacetoAirMissile(LRSAM)and
MediumRangeSurfacetoAirMissile(MRSAM)
arejointlydevelopedbyDefenceResearchand
DevelopmentOrganisation(DRDO),IndiaandM/s
IsraelAerospaceIndustry(IAI).
 UseofBitcoins

PromotionofDigitaleconomyisinintegralpartof
Governmentsstrategytocleanthesystemand
weedoutcorruptionandblackmoney.

TheearlierinitiativesoftheGovernmentto
promotefinancialinclusionandtheJanDhan
AadhaarMobile(JAM)trinitywereimportantpre
curser.

However,RBIhascautionedtheusers,holders
andtradersofVirtualCurrencies(VCs),including
Bitcoinsaboutthepotentialfinancial,operational,
legalcustomerprotectionandsecurityrelated
risksthattheyareexposingthemselvesto.

Thecreation,tradingorusageofVCsincluding
Bitcoins,asamediumforpaymenthavenotbeen
authorisedbytheReserveBankofIndia.
 BHIM

TheBHIMAppwaslaunchedon30thDecember
2016.SalientfeaturesofBHIMAppareasbelow:

i.Instantmoneytransferatalltimes.

ii.Directtransferfromonebankaccountto
another.

iii.ScanandpayoptionbyscanningQRcodeto
makepayment)

iv.GenerationandsharingofpersonalisedQR
code
 PradhanMantriSwasthyaSurakshaYojana

TheprimaryobjectiveofPMSSYistocorrectthe
region imbalances in availability of
affordable/reliabletertiarylevelhealthcareinthe
countryingeneral,and,toaugmentfacilitiesfor
quality medical education in underserved or
backwardStates,inparticular.
In addition to setting up of AIIMS,PMSSY also
envisaged upgradation of several existing
Government Medical Colleges/Institutions in
differentstatesinthecountry.

JananiSurakshaYojana(JSY)hasledto

incresedutilisationofHealthServicesamong

allgroups
A study has been conducted by University of
Maryland and National Council for Applied
 Economic Research to assess whether the JSY
scheme has been successful in addressing
disparities in providing maternal healthcare
services to the marginalized and poorer
communities,byutilizingthedatafromtheIndia
HumanDevelopmentSurvey1
ThefindingsofthestudyestablishthatJSYhas
led to increased utilization of health services
amongallgroupsbutespeciallyamongthepoorer
and underserved sections in the rural areas
therebyreducingthedisparitiesinmaternalcare.
Theresultsofthestudyindicatethatduringthe
twoIHDSrounds,institutional deliveriesalmost
doubled
Theresultsofthestudyalsoindicatethatthegap
in access to healthcare between the marginalized
groupofwomenandthosewhoarefinanciallybetter
offhasdeclinedsincetheadventoftheJSYprogram.
 JSY scheme has been implemented in all the
States and UTs including Madhya Pradesh. JSY
guidelineshavebeenissuedtoalltheStatesandUTs
includingMadhyaPradeshandthesameareinpublic
domainattheMinistryswebsite.

BIMSTECMeet

TheBayofBengalInitiativeforMultiSectoral
TechnicalandEconomicCooperation(BIMSTEC)
isaregionalorganization

comprisingsevenMemberStatesnamely
Bangladesh,Bhutan,India,Nepal,SriLanka,
MyanmarandThailand.

TheregionalgroupactsasabridgebetweenSouth
andSouthEastAsiaandrepresentsa
reinforcementofrelationsamongthesecountries.
 Theobjectiveofbuildingsuchanalliancewasto
harnesssharedandacceleratedgrowththrough
mutualcooperationindifferentareasofcommon
interestsbyutilizingregionalresourcesand
geographicaladvantages.

Unlikemanyotherregionalgroupings,BIMSTEC
isasectordrivencooperativeorganization.

Starting with six sectorsincluding trade,

technology, energy, transport, tourism and
fisheriesBIMSTECwascreatedwithobjectivesto
createanenablingenvironmentforrapideconomic
development through identification and
implementationofspecificcooperationprojectsin
thesectors.
 India Successfully Test Fires Exo

AtmosphericInterceptorMissile

India now joins a select group of nations

having suchan effective Ballistic Missile
DefenceSystem.

Exoatmosphereinterceptormisileissystem
inwhichtargetmisilecanbedestroyedinsky

Thismissileusedintargetingothermissile
fromrivalcountrytowardindia

Thenationisproudofthisaccomplishment
made by DRDO. This is a significant
milestone in boosting Indias defence
capabilities and will provide enhanced
security against incoming ballistic missile
threats.
 InnovatetobringdowncostofPower

Shri Goyal, in his address, spoke on
importance of sustainability, improving
efficiency in cost effective manner.The
Minister also released an ecompendium
havingextractsofpaperstobepresentedin
the conference along with learnings from
'nearmisstrips'fromNTPCexperience.

Shri Goyal presented Business Excellence
AwardstothetopperformingNTPCStations
Talcher Thermal, Rihand, Korba,
Ramagundam and Vindhyachal.First ever
generating unit of NTPC commenced
generation at the flagship Singrauli power
station,onthesamedayin1982.
 BudgetforScience&Technology

The Minister for Science & Technology and
Earth Science Dr. Harsh Vardhan has
expressedhappinessforincreasedallocations
forvariousdepartmentsrelatingtoScience&
Technology.

ComplimentingtheFinanceMinisterShriArun
Jaitley on presenting a progressive looking
UnionBudget,hesaidthatincreasedallocations
for science & technology are in line with the
thinking of the Government to put science and
technologytouseforthewelfareofthepeople.

DepartmentofScience&Technology(DST):
1.
InitiativesforAdvancedManufacturing
Technology,
2.
WasteManagementTechnology,
3.
Bio Medical Devices and Science and
HeritageResearchInitiative,
4.
Programme on Electric Mobility to be
initiated in collaboration with DHI,
Technology Development Programme
with RDSO and MHRD for Indian
Railways,
5.
CollaborativeandNationalProgramme
on Smart Grid and Energy Storage,
VirtualCentersonUltraSuperCritical
TechnologyforCleanCoal,
6.
ContinuingsupporttotheProgrammes
on Building Energy Efficiency, Thrust
on R & D on Solar Equipment and
Characterization Labs for Solar
EquipmentsandCells.
 Department of Scientific & Industrial

Research(DSIR):

1.
SupporttoIndividualInnovators,Technology
Developers and Demonstration Projects of
IndustryandSupporttoCommonResearch
and Technology Development Hubs for
MSMEsbyDSIR.
2.
Support to National Lab
Programme/Projects,FastTrackTranslation
Projects, S&T Intervention for Common
People, Inter Ministerial/Agency Projects,
New Millenium Technology Leadership
Initiative, International S&T collaboration,
Technology Incubation Center,Technology
Park, building up of a Technology
DevelopmentFundbyCSIR.

DepartmentofBiotechnology(DBT

(i)HarnessingtheBlueEconomyproposed
astheInstituteofOceanBiology;

(ii) Accelerating Discovery Research for Bio

PharmaProductDevelopment
(iv)
Biotech KISAN for improved
interventionsforagriculture;
(v)
StartUpInnovationEcoSystem;
(vi)
CleanEnergy;
(vii)
CollaborationwithCoalitionforEpidemic
PreparednessandInnovation(CEPI).
 PanditDeendayalUpadhyayUnnatKrishi

ShikshaScheme

The Union Minister of Agriculture and
Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh
said that all courses upto Agricultural
Graduatearebeinglinkedwithemployment
andarebeingmadeprofessionoriented.

This will be a big help for the students in
earningtheirlivelihood.

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Unnat Krishi
Shiksha Scheme was launched in the year
2016topromoteagriculturaleducationunder
which 100 centres are being opened with a
fundofRs.5.35crore.
 PSLVC37 Successfully Launches 104

SatellitesinaSingleFlight

Initsthirtyninthflight(PSLVC37),ISRO's
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully
launched the 714 kg Cartosat2 Series
Satellite along with 103 copassenger
satellitesfromSatishDhawanSpaceCentre
SHAR,Sriharikota.

This is the thirty eighth consecutively

successfulmissionofPSLV.Thetotalweight
of all the 104 satellites carried onboard
PSLVC37was1378kg.

all the 104 satellites successfully separated

from the PSLV fourth stage in a
predetermined sequence beginning with
 Cartosat2seriessatellite,followedbyINS1
andINS2.

The imagery from the Cartosat2 series

satellitewillbeusefulfor
1.
cartographicapplications,urbanandrural
applications,
2.
coastallanduseandregulation,
3.
utility management like road network
monitoring,waterdistribution,creationof
landusemaps,
4.
changedetectiontobringoutgeographical
and manmade features and various other
Land Information System (LIS) and
Geographical Information System (GIS)
applications.
 5.
The data sets could be used for urban
planning of 500 cities under the Amrut
Planning Scheme. The government
initiativeof 100smartcity programmein
which these data sets could be used for
master plan preparation and detailed
geospatialdatapreparationforruralroads
andinfrastructuredevelopment.

The remaining 101 copassenger satellites

carried were international customer
satellites from USA (96), The Netherlands
(1), Switzerland (1), Israel (1), Kazakhstan
(1)andUAE(1).

This mission involved many technical

challengeslikerealisingthelaunchofalarge
numberofsatellitesduringasinglemission
 within the time frame sought by the
customersfromabroad.

Scienceexpress

Science Express is an innovative mobile

scienceexhibitionmountedona16coachAC
train which has been custombuilt for
Department of Science & Technology (DST)
byIndianRailways.

This unique mobile exhibition was first

launched in October 2007 by DST. Since
then,ithasmadeeighttoursofthecountry,
travellingabout1,42,000kmandexhibiting
at455locations.

Climate Change is an important

environmental issue, with many shortterm
andlongtermimpacts.
 From shifting weather patterns that
threatenfoodproduction,torisingsealevels
that increase the risk of catastrophic
flooding,

the impacts of climate change are not just

global in scope and unprecedented in scale
but they also more severely affect the poor
andmarginalizedpeople.

However, there is very little understanding

aboutclimatechangeanditsimpacts.

The stateoftheart exhibition on board the

SECAS aims to create awareness among
varioussectionsofsocietyastohowclimate
changecanbecombatedthroughmitigation
andadaptation.
 The Paris Agreement entered into force on
November 4, 2016. The Paris Agreements
central aim is to strengthen the global
responsetothethreatofclimatechangeand
tostrengthentheabilityofcountriestodeal
withtheimpactsofclimatechange.

Thebroadthemescoveredineachexhibition
ofthecoachesare:
Coach 1: Understanding Climate Change

Insights in the climate as a system, the

greenhouse gas effect and the underlying
reasons for climate change with key message
thatthecurrentchangeintheclimateisdueto
humanactivities.
Coach 2: Impact of Climate Change How

temperaturerise,monsoonvariations,sealevel
 rise are predicted to affectvital sectors like
water,agriculture,forestsandbiodiversity,and
humanhealthandwaystoreducethese.
Coach3&4:AdaptationConceptsofadaptation

andexamplesfromdaytodaylife,adaptation
strategies and stories from field. Adaptation
options in urban and rural contexts and the
adaptationactionsIndiaistaking.
Coach5&6:MitigationConceptanddefinition

withexamples,emphasisonrestoringbalance,
enhancing sinks and reducing emission
through Renewable Energy (RE)
technologies.Variousprogrammesimplemented
by India and low carbon strategies
andambitiousgoaltoincreaseREfootprint.
Coach7:InternationalNegotiationsforClimate

Change Introduction to UNFCCC, IPCC and

internationally agreed action &targets.
Explainingconceptofequityandcommonbut
differential responsibility, Kyoto protocol &
other key outcomes of major COP, Paris
Agreement,etc.
Coach8: PositiveActionsWhatcanonedoat

school,onroads,athomeandinofficesandfocus
on concept of lifestyle choices with the key
message Increase your Handprint. Decrease
yourFootprint.
Coach 9&10: Exhibition put up by the

Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt of

India, covering themes like Biotechnology for
bioresources and nature conservationwith
 emphasisonTigerConservationandChemical
EcologyandIndiasresearchanddevelopment
initiativesinfieldofBiotechnology.
Coach 11: Exhibition put up by the National

Innovation Foundation (NIF) showcasing select

innovations, demonstrating the ingenuity of
commonpeopleandaninnovativeprojectwhich
usesaugmentedrealitytechniques.Exhibitionon
themes like Innovations in S&T, Science
Education, DST Scholarships & Schemes,
Technologiesforruraldevelopment,etc.
Coach 12: A Kids Zone has been set up for

childrenfromStd.4andbelowtoparticipatein
funfilled activities, games and puzzles in
science,mathematicsandenvironment.
Coach 13: The Joy of Science (JOS) Handson

Lab in this coach is a space where students

from Std. 510 can perform experiments and
activities to understand concepts in
environment, science and mathematics in an
interestingmanner.Atrainingfacilityis also
setupfororientationofteachershere.
Solarpanelshavebeeninstalledontherooftopof
Science Express coaches 1113, as a
collaborative effort of DST and CEL, for
harnessingsolarenergy.
 GovernmenttoComeupWithitsownStudyto

AssessImpactofPollutiononHumanHealth:

EnvironmentMinister

TheGovernmentistocomeupwithitsownstudy
withtheMinistryofHealth&FamilyWelfareto
assess the trends and impact of pollution on
human health. Minister of State (Independent
Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change, the Government is taking all necessary
stepstomitigateairpollution.

TheGovernmentiscloselymonitoringthetrendof
various air pollutants across the country under
theNationalAirQualityMonitoringProgramme.
The Monitoring network comprises manual
stationsspreadover300citiesin29Statesand6
Unionterritories.
 Apart from manual stations, there are 54
Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring
Stations that cover 33 cities in 12 states. The
monitoringnetworkisbeingexpandedtocoverall
metrocitiesandcapitaltowns.

Theresultofthemonitoringshowsthat,whilethe
levels of Particulate Matters have a fluctuating
trend, the value of SO2 is generally within
permissible limits, while the value of NO2 is
fluctuating and slightly above the permissible
limits.

The value of Particulate Matter is the main

concernandtheGovernmenthasbeentakingall
necessarymeasurestomitigatethisproblemina
systematicmanner.
 MakingDigitalPaymentsaMassMovementin

India

It has been 58 days since the launch of NITI

Aayogstwoincentiveschemes

1. LuckyGrahakYojanaand

2. Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana to promote digital

payments and the public response has been
quiteencouraging.

The initiative to make Digital Payments a mass

movementinIndiathroughthetwoschemeshas
madeheadwayacrossthecountrywithmoreand
morepeopleadoptingdigitaltransactions.

Thewinnershavetheirownstoriestotellitallas
to how the switch over to digital payments has
been le and how it has made the life easier for
them.
 NITI Aayog launched two schemes on December
25, 2016 Lucky GrahakYojna (LGY) for
consumers and DigiDhanVyaparYojna (DVY) for
merchantstoincentivizethemandpromotedigital
payments.
ThetwoschemesshallremainopentillApril14,
2017.Thereare15,000dailywinnersqualifyingfor
totalprizemoneyofRs.1.5crore.
Customers and merchants using RuPay Card,
BHIM/UPI(BharatInterfaceforMoney/Unified
Payments Interface), USSD based *99# service
andAadhaarEnabledPaymentService(AePS)are
eligible for wining daily and weekly lucky draw
prizes.
 Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power

Projects

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs,

chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra
Modi,todayapprovedtheenhancementofcapacity
from20,000MWto40,000MWoftheSchemefor
DevelopmentofSolarParksandUltraMegaSolar
PowerProjects.

Theenhancedcapacitywouldensuresettingupof
atleast50solarparkseachwithacapacityof500
MWandaboveinvariouspartsofthecountry.

Smaller parks in Himalayan and other hilly

Stateswherecontiguouslandmaybedifficultto
acquireinviewofthedifficultterrain,willalsobe
consideredunderthescheme.Thecapacityofthe
solar park scheme has been enhanced after
 consideringthedemandforadditionalsolarparks
fromtheStates.

It would also contribute to long term energy

security of the country and promote ecologically
sustainable growth by reduction in carbon
emissions and carbon footprint, as well as
generate large direct & indirect employment
opportunities in solar and allied industries like
glass,metals,heavyindustrialequipmentetc.The
solar parks will also provide productive use of
abundant uncultivable lands which in turn
facilitatedevelopmentofthesurroundingareas.

All the States and UTs are eligible for benefits

under the scheme. The State Government will
first nominate the Solar Power Park
Developer(SPPD)andalsoidentifythelandforthe
proposedsolarpark
 Homeopathy

InIndia,homoeopathicmedicinesareregulatedby
Drugs & Cosmetics Act & Rules. All
pharmaceutical industries are legally bound to
comply with this rule, which, in turn, assures
safetyandqualityofhomoeopathicmedicines.

Further, these industries adhere to Good

Manufacturing Practices (GMP) that further
assure accredited production, packaging and
distribution.Inthatsense,Indiahasarelatively
wellestablished regulatory framework for
Homoeopathy.

However, the implementation of these Acts and

Rulesaresometimeschallengingattheendofthe
pharmaceuticalindustries,anddespitetheirbest
efforts to comply, some practical challenges
remainthatcomeintheirway.
 Homoeopathyisoneofthemostfollowedmedical
systemsinIndiaanditsstrengthliesinthefact
thatitsmedicinesaregentle,safeaswellascost
effective.

Intheeraofgrowingadversedrugreactionsand
autoimmune and lifestylerelated illnesses,
Homeopathyhasacrucialroletoplayinthewell
beingofmankind.

The use of homoeopathy is steadily growing in

India and as per an analysis by Ministry of
AYUSH.

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