Pib Yojana Kuru Feb 2020 Compilation

Academy for Civil Services Pvt. Ltd.
PIB-YOJANA
Powered by: KURUKSHETRA
COMPILATION
FEBRUARY 2020
FREE BOOKS, NOTES & VIDEOS FOR CIVILSERVICES
EBOOKS & UPSC PRELIMS USPC MAINS VIDEO FOR DAILY

MAGZINES MATERIALS MATERIALS CIVILSERVICES NEWSAPERS
SECUREIAS UPSC PRELIMS UPSC MAINS DELHI CIVILSERVICES

TESTSERIES TESTSERIES STUDENTS BOOKS
OPTIONAL SUBJECTS BOOKS, STATE PCS, SSC, BANKING

TEST SERIES, VIDEOS & NOTES BOOKS, TESTS VIDEOS & NOTES
1.GEOGRAPHY 1.UPPSC 2.SSC 3.MPSC
2.HISTORY 4.IBPS 5.RAS & RPSC
3.MATHEMATICS ENGINEERING BOOKS & MATERIAL
4. SOCIOLOGY 1. IES 2. GATE 3. IFoS
5.PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 4. COMPUTER SCIENCE
6. POLITICAL SCIENCE 5. MECHINICAL ENGINEERING
7. ECONOMICS OTHER TELEGRAM CHANNELS
8 PHYSICS 1 GOVERNMENT JOBS
9 COMMERCE ACCOUNTANCY 2 LEARN YOGA & MEDITATION
10 ANTHROPOLOGY 3 LEARN ENGLISH
11 LAW 4 BEST DELAS & OFFERS
12 PHILOSOPHY 5 IAS HINDI BOOKS
13 CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTANCY 6 PDFs FOR ALL EXAMS
14 MEDICAL SCIENCE 7. WORLD DIGITAL LIBIRARY
1.CHENNAI STUDENTS 2.BANGLORE STUDENTS 3. CURRENT AFFAIRS
CONTACT FOR ADVERTISEMENT IN ABOVE CHANNLES
ADMIN1: ADMIN2:
INDEX
General Studies II
1. Retail Fuel Policy
2. Bodo Agreement
3. Global Hunger Index
4. Buddhist Studies and Culture
5. Soil Health Card.
6. ―Arth-Ganga‖project.
7. Draft Arbitration Council of India (ACI) Rules
General Studies III

1. National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications
2. Macro-economic Framework Statement (MFS)
3. Promotion of Bio-fertilizers
4. PradhanMantriFasalBimaYojana (PMFBY)
5. Traditional Farming
6. Linking Farmers with Markets.
7. Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species.
Short Liners
a. Government Schemes/Initiatives
b. India In/Out
c. Miscellaneous
One Liners
Yojana Compilation
Kurukshetra Compilation
Practice Questions
pg. 1
https://t.me/pdf4exams www.pdf4exams.in
GENERAL STUDIES II
Retail Fuel Policy
Why in News
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural (MoPNG) Gas has revised the guidelines for authorization to market transportation
fuels which have been published in the Gazette of India. The revised guidelines would promote ease of doing business
and boost private players to invest in retail sector.
Background
Government had last month relaxed norms for setting up petrol pumps, allowing non-oil companies to retail fuel in
the world's fastest-growing market. Prior to this change, to obtain a fuel retailing licence in India, a company needed
to invest Rs 2,000 crore in either hydrocarbon exploration and production, refining, pipelines or LNG terminals.
Resolution
a. The resolution applies for marketing of only Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel for ―Bulk‖ and ―Retail‖ business.
b. An entity desirous of seeking authorisation for either retail or bulk must have a minimum net worth of Rs. 250
crore at the time of making application. In case authorization is required for both retail and bulk, minimum net
worth will be Rs.500 crore.
c. Separate applications to be made for retail and Bulk business.
d. An entity is required to deposit prescribed Bank Guarantee amount as a security at the time of grant of
authorization in addition to application fee.
e. For retail authorisation, an entity have to set up at least 100 retail outlets, out of which 5 % should be in the
notified remote areas within 5 years of the grant of authorization.
f. The applicant will have to state in the application the source of supply of products, tankage and other
infrastructure with capacity, means of transportation of products and year-wise number of petrol pumps
proposed.
In addition to conventional fuels, the authorized entities are required to install facilities for marketing at least one new
generation alternate fuels like Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), biofuels, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), electric vehicle
charging points etc. at their proposed retail outlets (RO) within three years of operationalization of the said outlet
subject to the entity complying with various other statutory guidelines.
Way Forward
The new fuel retail policy will facilitate entry of global giants such as Total SA of France, Saudi Arabian Oil Co., BP Plc
of the U.K. and Trafigura's downstream arm Puma Energy.
Bodo Agreement
Why in News
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has recently visited Kokrajhar in Assam to participate in the celebrations of the
signing of the Bodo Agreement.
Background
The tri-partite agreement was signed between Government of India, Government of Assam and Bodo representatives,
in New Delhi to end the over 50-year old Bodo crisis. With this agreement, over 1500 armed cadres will abjure
violence and join the mainstream.
 A Special Development Package Rs.1500 crores over three years will be given by the Union Government to
undertake specific projects for the development of Bodo areas.
 Assam‘s territorial integrity is assured with this agreement, as every single Bodo group has come on board.
Objective
a. To increase the scope and powers of the BTC and to streamline it‘s functioning.
b. Resolve issues related to Bodo people residing outside Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD).
c. Promote and protect Bodo's social, cultural, linguistic and ethnic identities.
d. Providing legislative protection for the land rights of tribal.
e. Ensure quick development of tribal areas and rehabilitate members of NDFB factions.
pg. 2
Google it: pdf4exams
Way Forward
After the agreement, the NDFB factions will leave the path of violence, surrender their weapons and disband their
armed organizations within a month of signing the deal.The Union Government and the Government of Assam will
take necessary measures to rehabilitate over 1500 cadres of NDFB (P), NDFB (RD) and NDFB (S), as per the laid down
policy of the government.
 The current agreement proposes to set up a commission under Section 14 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution
of India, which will recommend the inclusion or exclusion of tribal population residing in villages adjoining BTAD
areas.
 The Government of Assam will establish a Bodo-Kachari Welfare Council as per existing procedure.
 The Assam government will also notify Bodo language as an associate official language in the state and will set up
a separate directorate for Bodo medium schools.
 The present settlement has proposal to give more legislative, executive, administrative and financial powers to
BTC.
Global Hunger Index

Why in News
India‘s ranking in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2019 brought out by Concern World Wide is 102 among 117
evaluated countries.
 India‘s ranking in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2018 was 103.
 As per GHI Report 2019 of Concern World Wide, the composite GHI scores of India have improved from 38.8 in
2000 to 30.3 in 2019.
The Government of India accords high priority to the issue of hunger and has been providing food-grains at highly
subsidized prices to the targeted population through State Governments/Union Territory Administrations under
National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS).
About GHI
Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool that measures and tracks hunger globally, by region, and by country. It is
calculated annually, and its results appear in a report issued in October each year. It was Created in 2006.
 GHI was initially published by the US based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Germany
based Welthungerhilfe.
 In 2007, the Irish NGO Concern Worldwide also became a co-publisher.
 In 2018, IFPRI stepped aside from its involvement in the project and the GHI became a joint project of
Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide.
Welthungerhilfe is a not-for-profit group and Concern Worldwide works towards improving lives of poor people.
2019 Global Hunger Index report presents a multidimensional measure of national, regional, and global hunger by
assigning a numerical score based on several aspects of hunger.
 It then ranks countries by GHI score and compares current scores with past results.
 After declining since 2000, hunger at the global level lies on the cusp between moderate and serious, according to
the 2019 report. Many individual countries have also achieved reductions in hunger since 2000, but in some
countries hunger persists or has even worsened.
 Zero is the best score and a reading above 100 is the worst. The latter signifies that a country's undernourishment,
child wasting, child stunting, and child mortality levels are at the highest level.
Highlights
a. The 2019 GHI scores of South Asia and Africa south of the Sahara, at 29.3 and 28.4, respectively, reflect serious
levels of hunger that are dramatically higher than in any other region of the world.
b. South Asia‘s high GHI score of 29.3 is driven by its high rates of child undernutrition: rates of child stunting and
child wasting there are the highest levels of any region in the report.
c. While the prevalence of undernourishment in Africa South of the Sahara consistently declined from 1999–2001 to
2013–2015, it has since reversed course and begun to rise.
d. Hunger is low or moderate in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Latin America and
the Caribbean, East and Southeast Asia, and the Near East and North Africa.
e. As per the report, around 124 million people suffer acute hunger in the world
pg. 3
India and GHI

1. In the 2019 Global Hunger
Index, India ranks 102nd out of
117 qualifying countries. With a
score of 30.3, India is among
the 45 countries that have
"serious levels of hunger".
Buddhist Studies and Culture

Introduction
To promote research on Buddhist Studies and Buddhist Culture in India, the Ministry of Culture currently operates
four Autonomous Buddhist educational Institutions namely
a. Nava NalandaMahavihara, Nalanda, Bihar
b. Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), Sarnath, Varanasi
c. Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS), Leh, Ladakh and
d. CentralInstitute of Himalayan Culture Studies (CIHCS), Dahung, Arunachal Pradesh.
The mandate of these educational Institutions is to

 Provide education in Buddhist philosophies, Culture & Art
 To promote research in different aspects of Buddhism
 Preserve ancient Buddhist manuscripts, digitize ancient Buddhist text preserved in the languages of Pali, Sanskrit,
Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese and other Asian languages through the system of a modern university.
pg. 4
Government Initiatives
Ministry of Culture
The following Schemes are being implemented by the Ministry for propagation and scientific development of Buddhist
Culture and tradition as also for preservation of cultural heritage of Himalayas.
a. Scheme of Financial Assistance for the Development of Buddhist/Tibetan Culture and Art
b. Scheme of Financial Assistance for the Preservation & Development of Cultural Heritage of the Himalayas
It has signed Cultural Exchange Programmes (CEPs) with a number of countries which include countries having
Buddhist population viz. China, Japan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Thailand etc.
With a view to build international cultural relations with other Buddhist nations, the Buddhist institutes under the
Ministry have various alumni exchange programmes, faculty exchange programmes, collaborative research projects
and Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with various international Institutes located in USA, Australia, Russia,
Korea, Mongolia etc.
Ministry of Tourism
It undertakes various promotional activities on an ongoing basis in the international markets including those with a
Buddhist population.
 These promotions are undertaken with the objective of showcasing the various tourist destinations and products
of the country including the Buddhist sites.
It Organizes an International Buddhist Conclave biennially. Participants in the conclave include eminent Buddhist
scholars, opinion makers, tour operators and media personalities from overseas.
Various projects for Buddhist sites are being undertaken under the scheme of SwadeshDarshan, PRASHAD and
Assistance to Central Agencies, provides Central Financial Assistance to State Governments/Union Territories/
Central Agencies etc. for development of infrastructure and facilities at thematic tourist circuits in the country.
Recent Promotions of Buddhism

 An International Buddhist Conference was organized in 2017 at Nava NalandaMahavihara Campus, Nalanda on
the theme ―Nalanda Tradition: Buddhist response to world crisis‖.
 In observance of the triple Blessed Day of Lord Buddha‘s Birth, enlightened awakening and Mahaparinirvana,
Vesak Buddha PurnimaDiwas is being celebrated.
 Buddhist Mahotasava was celebrated in Combodia in 2017.
 Nava NalandaMahavihara organizes Nalanda Dialogueevery year in which versed scholars from abroad including
India participate and exchange their views on the various issues in Buddhist prospective.
 A dedicated website has been launched by Ministry of Tourism on important Buddhist sites in India i.e.
indiathelandofbuddha.in. The website aims to promote and showcase the rich Buddhist heritage in India.
 Under the Regional Connectivity Scheme Udan, 346 tourism routes have been incorporated by the Ministry of
Civil Aviation wherein important Buddhist destinations such as Kushinagar, Varanasi and Gaya have been
included.
Soil Health Card

Why in News
Soil Health Card Day was recently observed on 19 th February. It commemorates the day Soil Health Card Scheme was
launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on February 19, 2015 at Suratgarh, Rajasthan.
 Coincidentally, the International Year of Soils was celebrated the same year.
Background
Indian soils are working with negative nutrient balance to the tune of 12-14 million tons per year and the negative
balance is likely to increase in future even after using the full potential of fertilizer industry. The Nutrient deficiency in
India is in the order of: 95, 94, 48, 25, 41, 20, 14, 8 and 6% for N, P, K, S, Zn, B, Fe, Mn and Cu respectively.
 The limiting nutrients do not allow the full expression of other nutrients, lower the fertilizer response and crop
productivity.
pg. 5
About The Scheme

Government under the component of Soil Health Management of National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
(NMSA) is promoting soil test based balanced and integrated nutrient management in the country through
 Setting up/strengthening of soil testing laboratories
 Establishment of bio-fertilizer and compost unit
 Use of micronutrients
 Trainings and demonstrations on balanced use of fertilizers etc.
Objective of Soil Health Card Scheme

The objectives of the Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme are to issue soil health cards to farmers every two years so as to
provide a basis to address nutritional deficiencies in fertilization practices.
 Soil testing is developed to promote soil test based on nutrient management.
 Soil testing reduces cultivation cost by application of right quantity of fertilizer.
 It ensures additional income to farmers by increase in yields and it also promotes sustainable farming.
The scheme has been introduced to assist State Governments to issue SHCs to all farmers in the country. SHC
provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendation on appropriate dosage of
nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.
Farmer Centric Provisions

Soil Health Card provides two sets of fertilizer recommendations for six crops including recommendations of organic
manures. Farmers can also get recommendations for additional crops on demand.
 They can also print the card as their own from SHC portal.
 SHC portal has farmers database of both the cycles and is available in 21 languages for the benefit of the farmers.
Other Initiatives
 Government is also implementing the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme and promoting customized and
fortified fertilizers for balanced use of fertilizers.
 In order to overcome the deficiency of micronutrients in soil and to encourage their application along with
primary nutrients, additional subsidy on Boron and Zinc has also been provided. So far, 21 fertilizers have been
brought under the NBS scheme.
Impact
A 2017 study by the National Productivity Council (NPC) found that the SHC scheme has promoted sustainable
farming and led to a decrease of use of chemical fertilizer application in the range of 8-10%. Besides, overall increase
in the yield of crops to the tune of 5-6% was reported due to application of fertilizer and micro nutrients as per
recommendations available in the Soil Health Cards.
Way Forward
Soil is a vital resource for achieving food, nutritional, environmental and livelihood security and thereby managing soil
resource and conserving this vital natural resource base for future generations without any deterioration is the major
challenge in 21st century.
Deterioration of soil chemical, physical and biological health is considered as one of the reasons for stagnation of
agricultural productivity in India. Improving fertilizer/nutrient use efficiency is important rather than applying more
fertilizer in Indian agriculture.
More than half of India‘s 1.27 billion population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. Hence, declining
productivity of soil should be a matter of grave concern for all especially the fact that 86% of these farmers are
marginal and small category.
“Arth-Ganga” project
Why in News
In first ever meeting on National Ganga Council at Kanpur special focus has been given on National Waterways, while
the Arth Ganga project will help boost the economy.
Background
Almost half of the Indian population lives around Ganges River belt in which about 1/5th of all India‘s freight
originates and 1/3rd terminates in the states around Ganges Belt.
pg. 6
 The previous initiatives by the Ministry of Shipping has bought substantial growth in cargo from 30,00,000 MT to
70,00,000 MT, and Vessels in-flow from 300 to 700.
 Further to it the introduction of small jetties in the 1400km stretch of NW-1 from Banaras to Haldia turned out
beneficial for the farmers, traders & general public and improves ‗Ease of living‘ and ease of Doing Busines‘.
About the Project

1. Ministry of Shipping will develop a freight village in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and an Industrial Cluster-cum-
Logistics Park in Sahibganj (Jharkhand) with an objective of creating synergy with Inland Waterways at the cost of
Rs. 200 crores. This will create enormous direct and indirect employment, giving an economical boost in this
particular area.
2. National Waterway-1 will act as the main conduit of connection with Nepal in a trilateral manner, that is from
Varanasi to Nautanwa (280 km), Kaughat to Raxaul (204 km) and Sahibganj to Biratnagar (233 km).
Arth-Ganga Project
Way Forward
Inland Waterways is one of the most important pillars of ―Arth-Ganga‖project, which will result into inclusive growth
and play a key role in generation of enormous employment opportunities in the National Waterways stretch.
Draft Arbitration Council of India (ACI) Rules

Why in News
To give a boost to institutional, arbitration vis-a-vis ad hoc arbitration and to remove some practical difficulties in
applicability of the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015, the Government has recently amended the
Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2019.
Background
The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, was amended by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015
in order to make arbitration process user friendly, cost effective and ensure speedy disposal and neutrality of
arbitrators.
Highlights
a. As per section 43C of the Act, ACI will be will be headed by a Chairperson, who has been a Judge of the Supreme
Court or a Chief Justice or Judge of a High Court or an eminent person, having special knowledge and experience
in the conduct or administration of arbitration, to be appointed by the Central Government in consultation with
the Chief Justice of India.
b. It will also have two Full-time Members from amongst eminent arbitration practitioners and academicians.
c. In addition, one representative of a recognized body of commerce and industry shall be nominated on rotational
basis as a Part-time Member.
pg. 7
d. The Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice; Secretary, Department of Expenditure,
Ministry of Finance and Chief Executive Officer, ACI will be ex-officio Members.
Regarding Arbitration, NDIAC has also been in news

NDIAC
New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC), Act 2019 was enacted with a view to provide for the
establishment and incorporation of the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre for the purpose of
 Creating an independent and autonomous regime for institutionalised arbitration.
 To make it a hub for institutional arbitration.
 To declare the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre to be an institution of national importance.
Members and Appointment

a. NDIAC will be headed by a Chairperson, who has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or a Judge of a High Court or
an eminent person, having special knowledge and experience in the conduct or administration of arbitration, law
or management, to be appointed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
b. It will also have two Full-time or Part-time Members from amongst eminent persons having substantial
knowledge and experience in institutional arbitration, both domestic and international.
c. In addition, one representative of a recognized body of commerce and industry shall be nominated on rotational
basis as a Part-time Member.
The Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law & Justice; Financial Adviser nominated by Department of
Expenditure, Ministry of Finance and Chief Executive Officer, NDIAC will be ex-officio Members.
GENERAL STUDIES III

National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications
Why in News
The government in its budget 2020 has announced a National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications
(NM-QTA) with a total budget outlay of Rs 8000 Crore for a period of five years to be implemented by the Department
of Science & Technology (DST).
About Quantum Technology

Quantum Technology is based on the principles of quantum theory, which explains the nature of energy and matter on
the atomic and subatomic level. It concerns the control and manipulation of quantum systems, with the goal of
achieving information processing beyond the limits of the classical world.
 Quantum principles will be used for engineering solutions to extremely complex problems in computing,
communications, sensing, chemistry, cryptography, imaging and mechanics.
 Quantum field has not yet matured for commercialization, due to the extreme scientific challenges involved.
Quantum Computing
Quantum computers store and process information using quantum two level systems (quantum bits or qubits) which
unlike classical bits, can be prepared in superposition states.
 This key ability makes quantum computers extremely powerful compared to conventional computers when solving
certain kinds of problems like finding prime factors of large numbers and searching large databases.
 The prime factorization quantum algorithm has important implications for security as it can be used to break RSA
encryption, a popular method for secure communication.
 Indian physicists and engineers are preparing for a deep dive into the quantum world that holds the secrets for
developing exciting technologies for computing, communication, cryptography and many more.
About the Mission

The areas of focus for the Mission will be in fundamental science, translation, technology development, human and
infrastructural resource generation, innovation and start-ups to address issues concerning national priorities.
 The range of quantum technologies is expected to be one of the major technology disruptions that will change
entire paradigm of computation, communication and encryption.
pg. 8
Benefits
 Implementation of the mission would help develop and bring quantum computers, secured communications
through fibre and free space, quantum encryption and crypt-analysis and associated technologies within reach in
the country and help address India specific national and regional issues.
 The mission will help prepare next generation skilled manpower, boost translational research and also encourage
entrepreneurship and start-up ecosystem development.
 By promoting advanced research in quantum science and technology, technology development and higher
education in science, technology and engineering disciplines India can be brought at par with other advanced
countries and can derive several direct and indirect benefits.
 The Mission will be able address the ever increasing technological requirements of the society, and take into
account the international technology trends and road maps of leading countries for development of next
generation technologies.
Conclusion
Quantum technologies are rapidly developing globally with a huge disruptive potential. The next generation
transformative technologies that will receive a push under this mission include quantum computers and computing,
quantum communication, quantum key distribution, encryption, crypt analysis, quantum devices, quantum sensing,
quantum materials, quantum clock and so on.The range of quantum technologies is expected to be one of the major
technology disruptions that will change entire paradigm of computation, communication and encryption.
Macro-economic Framework Statement (MFS)

What is MFS?
The Macro-economic Framework Statement is a statement presented to the Parliament at the time of Union Budget
under Section 3(5) of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 and the rules made thereunder and
contains an assessment of the growth prospects of the economy with specific underlying assumptions.
 This includes an assessment regarding the GDP growth rate, fiscal balance of the central government and the
external sector balance of the economy.
 Monetary management and financial intermediation, banking sector, agriculture and industry are also covered by
the statement.
The FRBM Act instructs the government to make an assessment of growth prospects for the economy with regards to
specific underlying assumptions.
Highlights of the Macro-economic framework Statement 2020-21

Despite a temporary moderation in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2019-20 owing to global headwinds
and challenges in the domestic financial sector, the fundamentals of the Indian economy remain strong and GDP
growth is expected to rebound from the first quarter of 2020-21.
 The government has revised the fiscal roadmap in the near term and limited the fiscal deficit to 3.8% of the GDP in
RE 2019-20 and 3.5% in 2020-21.
 Consumer price inflation has remained within the targeted limits set by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of
the RBI and the government is expected to return to the glide path of fiscal consolidation in the medium term.
 Global confidence in the Indian economy improved as reflected in growing inflows of net FDI and an all-time high
accumulation of foreign exchange reserves of US$ 457.5 billion as in December, 2019.
 India moving up by 14 positions to 63rd rank in World Bank's Ease of Doing Business 2020 Report, has
contributed among others to this increased global confidence.
 To improve the physical quality of life, the Government has also announced the National Infrastructure Pipeline
(NIP) of projects worth Rs. 102 lakh crores, which would commence in phases from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
 Describing the strategic priorities for the ensuing year, the MFS states that the main focus of the Government on
expenditure side will be to enhance creation of capital assets, with water conservation and sanitation to be the
focus sectors.
 On the receipt side, resource mobilization will be sought through sale of strategic assets, the document adds.
pg. 9
Issues
MFS notes that the major challenges for the economy arise from the external front, mainly due to geo-political
tensions in the Middle East and rising crude oil prices due to supply disruption which may in turn decelerate growth
and increase inflation. Challenges cited on the domestic front are revival of investments and savings.
Way forward
According to the MFS, positive prospects for the economy are continuation of structural reforms that will revive
growth and expected normalization of credit flow as investment picks up induced by a cut in the corporate tax rate and
anticipated transmission of repo rate cuts earlier implemented by the MPC.
Global economic growth is expected to pick up in 2020 which could also support India's growth.
In view of a positive outlook on economic rebound, the MFS predicts the nominal growth of the economy at 10% in FY
2020-21.
Bio-fertilizers
Why in News
Recently a conference was held with states and other stakeholders to discuss the issues related to bio-fertilisers like
increase in production, maintaining quality standards and promoting their use by farmers.
 Based on the recommendations, steps for technical trainings to the staff on testing protocols and quality
parameters; streamlining of testing protocols; revamping the quality testing labs; ensuring supply of quality bio-
fertiliser mother strains from ICAR institutions for production of bio-fertilisers etc. have been initiated.
What are Bio-Fertilizers?

A bio-fertilizer is a substance which contains living microorganisms which, when applied to seeds, plant surfaces, or
soil, colonize the rhizosphere or the interior of the plant and promotes growth by increasing the supply or availability
of primary nutrients to the host plant.
 It add nutrients through the natural processes of nitrogen fixation, solubilizing phosphorus, and stimulating plant
growth through the synthesis of growth-promoting substances.
 The microorganisms in bio-fertilizers restore the soil's natural nutrient cycle and build soil organic matter.
Azolla-Anabena andRhizobium are some important groups of bio-fertilizers.
Steps/Initiatives taken
Important steps have been already taken in order to promote bio-fertilizers among farmers. Those include
a. Regular trainings, front line demonstrations are conducted by National Centre for Organic Farming
(NCOF) and Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) to educate farmers on bio-fertilizers.
b. Government has been providing financial assistance of Rs.31,000/ha/3 years and Rs.7500/ha/3 years for organic
conversion, organic inputs, including bio-fertilisers under ParamparagatKrishiVikasYojana and Mission
Organic Value Chain development North East Region (MOVCDNER) respectively.
c. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under ―Network project on Soil Biodiversity- Bio-fertilizers
project‖ has developed improved and efficient strains of bio-fertilizers specific to different crops and soil types.
d. Government under Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme (CISS) of Soil Health Management Scheme (SHM)
of National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is providing assistance for Setting up of State of art
liquid/ carrier based Bio-fertilizer/ Bio-pesticide units of 200 Ton Per Annum (TPA) capacity.
e. 100% assistance is provided to State Govt. / Govt. Agencies upto a maximum limit of Rs.160.00 lakh/ unit.
Similarly, for individuals/ private agencies assistance upto 25% of cost limited to Rs.40 lakh/unit as capital
investment is provided through NABARD.
Conclusion
Bio-fertilizers can improve yields by 10-25% in most of the cases when used along with chemical fertilizers. Liquid bio-
fertilizers technology with higher shelf-life has also been developed.Through the use of bio-fertilizers, healthy plants
can be grown, while enhancing the sustainability and the health of the soil.
pg. 10
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
About the Scheme
Based on the experience of past crop insurance schemes and with a view to include more risks under crop insurance,
making it more affordable to the farmers etc., PradhanMantriFasalBimaYojana (PMFBY) has been introduced for
implementation from Kharif 2016 season.
 The Scheme will cover all Food & Oilseeds crops and Annual Commercial/Horticultural Crops for which past yield
data is available and for which requisite number of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) will be conducted being a
part of the General Crop Estimation Survey (GCES).
Objectives
a. To provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified
crop as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases.
b. To stabilise the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
c. To encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
d. To ensure flow of credit to the agriculture sector.
Implementation
The Scheme shall be implemented through a multi-agency framework by selected insurance companies under the
overall guidance & control of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Ministry of
Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India (GOI) and the concerned State in co-ordination with
various other agencies.
The existing State Level Co-ordination Committee on Crop Insurance (SLCCCI), Sub-Committee to SLCCCI, District
Level Monitoring Committee (DLMC) shall be responsible for proper management of the Scheme.
The Scheme shall be implemented on an ‗Area Approach basis‘. The unit of insurance shall be Village/Village
Panchayat level for major crops and for other crops it may be a unit of size above the level of Village/Village
Panchayat.
Features
 PMFBY will provide a comprehensive insurance cover against failure of the crop thus helping in stabilising the
income of the farmers and encourage them for adoption of innovative practices. ·
 The scheme is compulsory for loanee farmer obtaining Crop Loan /KCC account for notified crops. However
voluntary for other/non loanee farmers who have insurable interest in the insured crop(s).
 The Maximum Premium payable by the farmers will be
2% for all Kharif Food & Oilseeds crops
1.5% for Rabi Food & Oilseeds crops
5% for annual Commercial/Horticultural crops
a. The difference between premium and the rate of Insurance charges payable by farmers shall be shared equally by
the Centre and State.
 The seasonality discipline shall be same for loanee and non-loanee farmers.
 There will be a provision of on account claims in case of adverse seasonal conditions during crop season viz.
floods, prolonged dry spells, severe drought, and unseasonal rains.
 On account payment up to 25% of likely claims will be provided, if the expected yield during the season is likely to
be less than 50% of normal yield.
Data-Base
As per Census 2011, conducted by the Registrar General of India, the total number of agricultural workers in the country has
increased from 234.1 mn in 2001 to 263.1 mn in 2011.
 Number of Cultivators has decreased from 127.3 mn to 118.8 mn.
 Number of Agricultural Labourers has grown from 106.8 mn to 144.3 mn.
Reason:
a. Better employment opportunities in industry and services compared to low income in agriculture.
b. Increasing urbanization coupled with migration of agricultural labour from rural to urban areas.
The food-grain production ,however, has continued its upward trend and during 2018-19 also the production is estimated at
284.95 million Tonnes (As Per Fourth Advance Estimate, 2018-19).
pg. 11
Traditional Farming
Why in News
Government has been encouraging the farmers for traditional /organic farming in the country through the Scheme of
Parampragat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
 Enough flexibility is given to States to adopt any model of traditional/organic farming including Zero Budget
Natural Farming (ZBNF) depending on farmers‘ choice.
 Assistance of Rs 50000/ ha/3 year is provided for organic inputs, certification, labelling, packing, transportation
and marketing of organic produce under ParamparagatKrishiVikasYojana (PKVY).
About Traditional Farming

Traditional Farming can be defined as a primitive style of farming that involves the intensive use of indigenous
knowledge, traditional tools, natural resources, organic fertilizer and cultural beliefs of the farmers. It has certain
characteristics:
a. Extensive farming with indigenous knowledge and tools
b. Indigenous tools like axe, hoe, and stick
c. Method: Slash & Burn, and Shifting Cultivation
d. Cattle raisin helps to create fallow land
e. Absence of accountability and responsibility to the Environment
f. Lacked by surplus production
Environmental Aspect
1. Depletion of Nutrients
The primitive style of framing like slash and burn decreases the organic matter from the soil and within the short
period of time the nutrient content of the soil taken up by the crops. This makes the farmers to move to another place
for farming.
2. Deforestation
It is the process of the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land for the conversion of forestland to farms,
ranches, or urban use.
 The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests.
 The slash & burn, and shifting cultivation required massive cutting down of the forest which leads to the situation
of deforestation.
3. Soil Erosion
It is a process of the removal of topsoil by the natural physical forces of water and wind or through forces associated
with farming activities such as tillage.
 The roots of the plant and trees firmly hold the soil, but the deforestation exposed the soil to get eroded by the
weathering forces like rain, wind and storms which causes the loss of top fertile soil.
Steps Taken/Initiative
Organic farming of niche crops of North East Region for exports is also being supported under Mission Organic Value
Chain Development (MOVCDNER), where in Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) are supported for organic inputs,
post-harvest management practices including infrastructure creation, marketing in a value chain mode.
 ICAR has developed Integrated Organic Farming System models and identified suitable crop species/ varieties for
traditional/ organic farming.
Government is disseminating information for the traditional farming by organizing training and awareness
campaign/workshop and educating the farmers about traditional/ organic farming practices.
Linking Farmers with Markets

Introduction As per the Seventh Schedule of
Doubling the income of Farmers has been one of the main vision of Constitution of India, land
Government. To achieve this goal, it is very important that the interconnectivity comes under the purview of
between Market and Agriculture stays very close. Linking agriculture with the State Governments and,
market has been a big challenge and several steps have been taken in order to therefore, it is for the State
establish a sustainable link between Market and agricultural produce and Governments to make efforts to
By-products. increase cultivable land.
pg. 12
 Introducing future contracts in Agriculture is one more intervention in this field. In a futures contract, the farmer
can deliver the crop directly on the exchange platform, subject to payment of market levies charged by the
respective States.
Background
Agricultural marketing is a state subject and wholesale agricultural marketing is undertaken by the network of 6946
regulated wholesale markets, set up under the provision of respective State Agricultural Produce Market Committee
(APMC) Act.
Objectives
 Price discovery and price risk management are the major objectives of futures markets.
 Futures contracts are standardized, exchange traded contracts for buying/selling a standardized quantity of a
particular commodity at a pre-decided price on a future date.
 Farmers and growers can benefit through the price signals emanating from futures markets even if they may not
directly participate in the futures market.
o A farmer can determine the kind of crop which he would prefer to sow and plan his cultivation in advance, by
taking advantage of the advance information of the future price trends of alternate crops, and probable supply and
demand of various commodities in future.
o They can also simultaneously enter into the futures contract of the planted crop at the prevailing futures price
thereby locking-in the price at which they can sell the underlying commodity at a specific point of time in future.
Steps/Initiatives taken
a. The Agricultural Produce Government has taken various measures to retain farmers in agriculture and
and Livestock Marketing improve returns to farmers by
(Promotion & Facilitation)
Act, 2017 1. Enhancing institutional credit to farmers
 Provide better marketing 2. Promotion of scientific warehousing infrastructure for increasing shelf life
facilities to the farmers. of agricultural produce.
3. Improved access to irrigation through PradhanMantri Krishi Sinchayee
 The provisions therein provide Yojana (PMKSY)
for alternative marketing 4.Provision of Price Stabilization Fund(PSF) to mitigate price volatility in
channels other than APMCs to agricultural produce
farmers in marketing their 5. Scheme for Soil Health Cards
produce at competitive & 6. Setting up of Agri-tech Infrastructure Fund for making farming
remunerative prices. competitive and profitable
7. Developing commercial organic farming in North East Region, etc.
b. The State/ UT Agricultural
Produce & Livestock
Contract Farming and Services (Promotion & Facilitation) Actto Optimise the use of scarce resources
and mitigate the uncertainty in price and marketing.
 It covers the entire value and supply chain from pre-production to post harvest marketing including services
contract for the agricultural produce and livestock.
c. National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) scheme: It is an online virtual trading platform to provide farmers
with opportunity for transparent price discovery for remunerative prices for their produce through competitive
online bidding system.
d. Market Research and Information Network (MRIN) Scheme
 Covering 3356 wholesale mandies across the country linked to Agmarknet portal, wherein Agricultural Produce
Market Committees (APMCs) markets are reporting data on mandi arrivals and prices of their traded agricultural
commodities on daily basis.
 The farmers have free access to the Agmarknet portal for getting market price information easily.
e. PradhanMantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan‟ (PM-AASHA)
 Ensure remunerative prices to farmers for their produce
 Under PM-AASHA, the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Ministry of
Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, implements the Price Support Scheme (PSS) for
procurement of pulses, oilseeds and copra.
 For oilseeds, DAC&FW also implements the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) and Private Procurement
Stockist Scheme (PPSS).
pg. 13
The Government is also providing marketing facilities to famers under the schemes of
ParamparagatKrishiVikasYojana (PKVY) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North
Eastern Region (MOVCDNER).
Way forward
As per the Fifteenth Report on “The Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010” of the
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, futures markets
also lead to reduction in the amplitude of seasonal price variations and help the farmer realize somewhat better price
at the time of harvest or to postpone the sale of his produce, in part or in full, thereby moderating market arrivals as
well as the ability of the trader to monopolise price setting.
In India milk production is growing by 6.4% during the last 5 years and has increased from 146.3 million MT in
2014-15 to 187.7 million MT in 2018-19.
 About 54% of milk produced is marketable surplus and remaining 46% is retained in villages for local
consumption.
 Only 36% of the surplus is handled by organised sectors. Through different interventions various
interventions during last 2 years milk procurement has grown by about 9% in Cooperative sector.
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species

Why in News
Thirteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species has recently taken place in Gandhinagar
in the presence of senior government officials, environment advocates, activists, researchers and biodiversity leaders
from as many as 130 countries.
 The Conference kicks off ‗―Super Year for Environment‖, which will include a UN Summit in September and
culminate in the UN Biodiversity Conference at the end of 2020, when a new global biodiversity strategy for the
next decade will be adopted - the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
India has assumed COP Presidency for the next three years with a focus on Collaborative Approach to tackle
Biodiversity Issues.
 CMS COP13 was the largest ever in the history of the Convention
About the body

Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention, is an international agreement that aims to conserve
migratory species within their migratory ranges.
 The Agreement was signed in Bonn, in 1979 under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme
and is concerned with conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale.
 As of September 2019, there were 129 Member States to the Convention. The depositary is the government of the
Federal Republic of Germany.
Fundamental principles
The Parties:
(a) Should promote, cooperate in and support research relating to migratory species;
(b) Shall endeavour to provide immediate protection for migratory species.
(c) Shall endeavour to conclude AGREEMENTS covering the conservation and management of migratory species
Convention on Migratory Species is the only multilateral treaty dedicated to addressing the needs of migratory species
and their habitats on a global scale.
Background
Migratory species of wild animals move from one habitat to another during different times of the year, due to various
factors such as food, sunlight, temperature, climate, etc.
 The movement between habitats can sometimes exceed thousands of kilometres/miles for some migratory birds
and mammals.
A migratory route will typically have nesting sites, breeding sites and availability of preferred food and requires the
availability of suitable habitat before and after each migration.
pg. 14
India‟s Role
India has four biodiversity hotspots – Eastern Himalayas, Western Ghats, Indo Myanmar landscape and Andaman
and Nicobar Islands and home to as many as 500 species of migratory birds from across the globe. Several among
them are snow leopard, Amur falcons, bar headed Geese, black necked cranes, marine turtles, dugongs, humpbacked
whales, etc.
As the COP President in the next three years, India will look at conserving the Central Asian Flyway. To achieve this,
India has prepared a National Action Plan. India is keen to facilitate action plans of other countries in this regard and
aims at taking conservation to a new paradigm with active cooperation from all.
 India shall also look at strengthening cooperation with ASEAN countries for Indo-Pacific activities and
conservation of marine biodiversity.
 India has launched the Marine Turtle Policy and Marine Standing Policy to address pollution caused by micro-
plastics in the marine ecosystem.
 Other areas that will be under focus include transboundary cooperation, establishment of eco-development
committees etc.
Highlights of COP 13
1. 10 new species were added to CMS Appendices at COP13. Seven species were added to Appendix I, which provides
the strictest protection: the Asian Elephant, Jaguar, Great Indian Bustard, Bengal Florican, Little Bustard,
Antipodean Albatross and the Oceanic White-tip Shark.
2. Urial, Smooth Hammerhead Shark and the Tope Shark were listed for protection under Appendix II, which covers
migratory species that have an unfavourable conservation status and would benefit from enhanced international
cooperation and conservation actions.
3. COP13 also adopted the Gandhinagar Declaration, which will send a message to the first negotiating session of the
Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework convening in Rome.
4. The first ever report on the Status of Migratory Species, presented to CMS COP13, shows that despite some success
stories, the populations of most migratory species covered by CMS are declining.
5. Under the Champion Programme, Germany, India, Italy, Monaco, Norway, the European Commission, and
the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi were acknowledged for their generous contributions to CMS initiatives.
6. Ethiopia joined the CMS Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in
Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MOU). Ethiopia is a strategically important country for the conservation of migratory
birds of prey given its location across the East African flyway, a significant migration route for millions of birds of
prey.
Conclusion
Migratory birds, mammals and aquatic species are increasingly in danger on their migration routes and countries need
to work together to protect them. For India, caring about these species is part of our ethos to protect all animals and
natural life on earth.
SHORT LINERS
„Ease of Living‟ - central Tenet of Union Budget 2020-21
This budget, with the Central Tenet of Ease of Living for all citizens, is woven around three prominent themes:
 Aspirational India in which all sections of the society seek better standards of living, with access to health,
education and better jobs. Its components are Agriculture Irrigation and Rural development; Wellness, Water &
Sanitation; and Education & Skills.
 Economic Development for all, indicated in the Prime Minister‘s exhortation of ―SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas,
SabkaVishwas‖. This would entail pervasive economic reforms and yielding more space for the private sector to
ensure higher productivity and greater efficiency. Three components of which are Industry, Commerce and
Investment; Infrastructure; and the New Economy.
 A Caring Society, based on Antyodaya, which is both humane and compassionate. Three components of which
are Women & Child, Social Welfare; Culture and Tourism and Environment & Climate Change.
These three broad themes are held together by a corruption free policy-driven good governance and a clean and sound
financial sector. The government aims to:
pg. 15
 Achieve seamless delivery of services through Digital governance
 Improve physical quality of life through National Infrastructure Pipeline
 Mitigate Risks through Disaster Resilience
 Boost Social security through Pension and Insurance penetration.
National Technical Textiles Mission

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs has announced a proposal to set up a National Technical Textiles
Mission with a four-year implementation period from 2020-21 to 2023-24 at an estimated outlay of Rs. 1480 crore to
position India as a global leader in Technical Textiles.
 Technical textiles: These are material and products manufactured primarily for their technical properties and
functional requirements rather than for aesthetic characteristics.
 The scope of use of technical textiles encompasses a wide range of applications such as agro-textiles, medical
textiles, geo-textiles, protection-textiles, industrial-textiles, sports-textiles and many other usages.
 Use of technical textiles have benefits of increased productivity in agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture fields,
better protection of military, para-military, police and security forces, stronger and sturdier transportation
infrastructure for highways, railways, ports and airports and in improving hygiene and healthcare of general
public.
In India, technical textiles hold immense growth opportunities both for the industry as well as across various
applications. Domestic market size of the technical textiles is expected to cross Rs 2 lakh crores by the year 2020-21.
„Vivad Se Vishwas‟ Scheme

The Union Budget has proposed ‗Vivad Se Vishwas‘ Scheme (No dispute but trust) which aims at reducing litigations
in the direct taxes payments.
 Under the scheme, a taxpayer would be required to pay only the amount of the disputed taxes and will get
complete waiver of interest and penalty provided he pays by 31st March, 2020.
 Those who avail this scheme after 31st March, 2020 will have to pay some additional amount.
 The scheme will remain open till 30th June, 2020.
The Finance Minister said that there are 4,83,000 direct tax cases pending in various appellate forums i.e.
Commissioner (Appeals), ITATs, High Courts and the Supreme Court.
Faceless appeals: To impart greater efficiency, transparency and accountability to the assessment process, a new
faceless assessment scheme has already been introduced.
Instant PAN through Aadhaar

Taxpayer‟s Charter: With the objective of enhancing the efficiency of the delivery system of the Income Tax
Department, the Union Budget proposed to amend the provisions of the Income-tax Act to mandate the Central Board
of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to adopt a Taxpayers‘ Charter.
Charity institutions: In order to ease the process of claiming deduction for donation to charitable institution, the
Union Budget proposed to pre-fill the donee‘s information in taxpayer‘s return on the basis of information of
donations furnished by the donee.
 To facilitate the registration of the new charity institution a unique registration number (URN) shall be issued to
all new and existing charity institutions.
Losses of merged banks In order to ensure that the amalgamated entities are able to take the benefit of
unabsorbed losses and depreciation of the amalgamated entities, Necessary amendments in the provisions of the
Income-tax Act will be made.
NIRVIK Scheme
To achieve higher export credit disbursement, a new scheme NIRVIK is being launched which provides for high
insurance cover, reduction in premium for small exporters and simplified procedures for claim, settlement. The
Scheme is being prepared by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
 Under the Scheme, also called the Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS), the insurance guarantee could cover
up to 90% of the principal and interest.
 Commerce and Industry Ministry has also proposed to subsidise the premium under the Scheme that has to be
paid by exporters of certain key sectors.
pg. 16
 Gems, jewellery and diamond (GJD) sector borrowers with limit of more than Rs. 80 crore will have a higher
premium rate under the NIRVIK Scheme as compared to non-GJD sector borrowers of this category due to the
higher loss ratio.
Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) cover will also provide additional comfort to banks as the credit rating of
the borrower is enhanced to AA rated account.Enhanced cover will ensure that Foreign and Rupee export credit
interest rates will be below 4%and 8% respectively for exporters.
 Under ECIS, insurance cover percentage has also been enhanced to 90% from the present average of 60% for the
both principal and interest.
 Export Credit Corporation currently provides credit guarantee of up to 60 percent loss.
SATHI Initiative
Department of Science & Technology has launched a unique scheme called ―Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help
Institutes (SATHI)‖ to address the need for building shared, professionally managed and strong Science and
Technology infrastructure in the country which is readily accessible to academia, start-ups, manufacturing, industry
and R&D labs.
 It is planned to set up five SATHI Centres every year for the next four years.
 SATHI will address the problems of accessibility, maintenance, redundancy and duplication of expensive
equipment in our Institutions, while reaching out to the less endowed organizations in need, e.g., industry,
MSMEs, startups and State Universities.
 Besides SATHI initiative, support to 100 top-performing departments in universities and IITs etc will be provided
this year with an investment of Rs. 500 crores for augmentation of their research facilities to global benchmarks.
This will empower our Scientific Community to gain global leadership in select frontier areas of Science.
Santusht
‗Santusht‘ - Implementation Monitoring Cell (IMC) has been constituted in the Office of Minister of State
(Independent Charge) for Labour and Employment.
 The objective of ‗Santusht‘ is to promote transparency, accountability, effective delivery of public services and
implementation of policies, schemes of Ministry of Labour and Employment at grassroot level through constant
monitoring.
Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI)

Government has decided that Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) emission standards fuels will be implemented across the
country w.e.f. 01.04.2020 and supply of BS-VI fuels in National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi has been started
w.e.f. 01.04.2018.
 Government has also started supply of BS-VI auto fuels in 20 Districts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh & Haryana.
 To meet the incremental demand of petrol and diesel, refineries have capacity expansion/upgradation plan
including for supply of BS-VI quality petrol and diesel.
Government has also notified the National Policy on Biofuels-2018 on 8.6.2018. The goal of the Policy is to enable
availability of bio fuels to increase blending.
 An indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel is proposed by
2030.
The goal is to be achieved by reinforcing ongoing ethanol/biodiesel supplies through increasing domestic production,
setting up Second Generation bio refineries, development of new feedstock for biofuels, creating suitable environment
for biofuels and its integration with the main fuels etc.
Kisan Rail
The budget proposes that ―To build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, inclusive of milk, meat
and fish, the Indian Railways will set up a ―Kisan Rail‖- through PPP arrangements. There shall be refrigerated
coaches in Express and Freight trains as well.‖
 New design of Refrigerated Parcel Vans (VPR, carrying capacity of 17 tonnes) for transportation of highly
perishable parcel traffic was developed, and procured through Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala. At present, Indian
Railway has a fleet of nine (09) Refrigerated Parcel Vans available.
 These Refrigerated Parcel Vans are booked on round-trip basis, and are charged at 1.5 times the freight of normal
VP as per category of train.
pg. 17
Nikshay Poshan Yojana
It has been implemented from 01st April 2018, wherein 500 rupees per month is being provided to All TB patients
towards nutritional support for the duration of their treatment.
 750 rupees is being provided to all TB patients in tribal notified blocks towards travel supporting.
INDIA IN/OUT
SAMPRITI-IX
Ninth edition of Indo-Bangladesh Joint Military Exercise ―SAMPRITI-IX‖ commenced at Umroi, Meghalaya.
SAMPRITI series of bilateral exercise is one of the major bilateral defence cooperation initiatives between India and
Bangladesh Army.
AJEYA WARRIOR-2020
The fifth edition of Exercise AJEYA WARRIOR-2020 between India and United Kingdom Army was recently held at
Salisbury Plains, United Kingdom. The aim of exercise is to conduct training of troops in counter insurgency and
counter terrorist operations in both Urban and Semi Urban areas.
APEDA in A&N
An awareness programme was organized by Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
(APEDA), Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Government of India along with the Directorate of Industries of the
Andaman & Nicobar Islands (A&N Islands) in Port Blair to examine ways to promote the exports of agri products and
implementation of the Agri Export Policy in the Islands.
 APEDA has facilitated in developing the draft state Agri Export action plan.
 Union Territory of A&N Islands has designated department of agriculture as the State nodal agency and deputed
Joint Director Department of Agriculture as nodal officer for implementation of the Agri Export Policy in a
focused manner.
The A&N Islands have the advantage of being on the sea route to the South East Asian Nations and can directly export
the agri products from the islands to these countries.
Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery

Quality Control Order for Mandatory Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery and Gold Artefacts Order, 2020 dated 15-1-2020
has been notified in the Gazette of India vide S.O. No. 205(E) dated 15-01-20 making hallmarking of Gold jewellery
and artefacts mandatory in the country w.e.f. 15-1-2021 giving a year‘s time for its implementation.
 Only three grades namely 14, 18 and 22 carats for gold jewellery and artefacts, as prescribed in Indian Standard IS:
1417: 2016 can be hallmarked.
 Around 900 Hallmarking and Assaying (A & H) centres throughout India have been recognized by BIS so far.
Conduct of Election Rules

Recently ECI has provided postal ballot facilities for PwD and electors of above 80 years and electors belonging to
essential services in an amendment of Conduct of Election Rules.
 The term 'wife' is also replaced by 'spouse' in the RP Act 1951 to facilitate electoral registration to the spouse of
women service officials in the category of service voter.
KALA KUMBH
With an objective to promote Geographical Indication (GI) crafts and heritage of India the Ministry of Textiles is
organising Kala Kumbh - Handicrafts Thematic Exhibition in various parts of the country.
 In Bengaluru exhibition, GI crafts like Mysore rosewood inlay, Channapatnalacquerware, Dharwadkasuti
embroidery, Kolhapur chappal, Bidriware, Molakalmurhand block printing, Ananthapur leather puppet,
Thrissurscrewpine, Vishakapatnamlacquerware, Sandurlambani embroidery, Jodhpur terracota, Jaipur
handprinted textile, bronze casting, Medinipur mat weaving, Birbhum artistic leather and Khurdah palm leaf
engraving are being displayed.
 In Mumbai exhibition GI crafts like Chittoorkalamkari painting, Thrissurscrewpine crafts, Pokharan terracotta
crafts, Kutch embroidery & crochet crafts, Pinglapatachitra, Birbhumkantha embroidery,
pg. 18
Jajpurphotachitrapainting, MadhubaniMithila painting, Kolhapur chappal, PalgharWorli painting, Kondagaon
wrought iron craft, Agate stone crafts and Krishna handblock printing are being displayed.
GI tag is used on handicrafts which correspond to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or
country). As on August 2019, 178 GI handicraft products were registered from all over India.
Gulfood 2020
Gulfood is the world's largest annual food & beverage trade exhibition. The event attracts food and beverage industries
and professionals to Dubai from all over the world. The event aims at promoting the foods and beverage industries.
 Union Minister Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the India pavilion put together with the assistance of
APEDA at Gulfood 2020.
India is the largest participant in Gulfood with almost 300 companies and India's food exports to UAE stand at almost
1.8 billion dollars.
World Drug Report

As per UN's World Drug Report over 5% of the global population between 15-64 years of age is addicted to narcotics
and use of illicit drugs.
 The rate of addiction is showing a fast increase i.e. a 30% rise in the last 10 years.
 Around $ 400 billion of yearly illicit drug trade is happening globally.
World Drug Report is a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime annual publication that analyzes market trends,
compiling detailed statistics on drug markets. Using data, it helps draw conclusions about drugs as an issue needing
intervention by government agencies around the world.
 It is published annually by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
 The first report was published in 1997, the same year the agency was established.
Bimstec disaster management exercise -2020

2nd BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise on flood rescue was recently held at the Ramachandi Beach, Puri
(Odisha). Delegates & rescue teams of five member nations namely- India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka & Myanmar,
of BIMSTEC group participated in this exercise
MoUs and Agreements

Country Field
Norway 1. Ministry for Earth Sciences, India and Norway‘s Ministry for Climate and Environment
have opened the India-Norway Task Force on Blue Economy for Sustainable
Development.
2. The two countries also commenced a new collaboration on Integrated Ocean
Management & Research.
Sweden 1. Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSMEs ShriNitinGadkari visited
E-highway Test-bed Demonstration site in Sweden.
2. 3rd High Level Global Conference on Road Safety for Achieving Global Goals 2030‖ is
being held in Stockholm.
Sri Lanka 1. Indian Navy‘s Sandhayak class Hydrographic Survey Ship has been deployed to Sri
Lanka based on a mutual agreement to carry out Joint Hydrographic Survey off the
South West Coast of Sri Lanka.
2. Avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes
on income.
Iceland Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Iceland in the field of
Fisheries.
pg. 19
MISCELLANEOUS
Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP)
An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is an employee benefit plan that gives workers ownership interest in the
company. During their formative years, Start-ups generally use Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) to attract and
retain highly talented employees.
 ESOP is a significant component of compensation for these employees.
 Currently, ESOPs are taxable as perquisites at the time of exercise.
 This leads to cash-flow problem for the employees who do not sell the shares immediately and continue to hold the
same for the long-term.
In order to give a boost to the start-up ecosystem, the Union Budget has proposed to ease the burden of taxation on
the employees by deferring the tax payment on ESOPs by five years or till they leave the company or when they sell
their shares, whichever is earlier.
Classical Swine Fever (CSF)

CSF is one of the most important diseases of pigs causing high mortality with annual loss of approx. Rs.4.299 billion.
 A CSF vaccine (Weybridge strain, UK) is being used in India since 1964 for controlling the disease.The vaccine is
produced by sacrificing large numbers of rabbits for each batch.
 IVRI has further developed a new CSF Cell Culture Vaccine by attenuating an indigenous virulent CSF virus in cell
culture.
 The vaccine virus has very high titre and lakhs of doses can be produced very easily in cell culture and country‘s
requirement can be easily fulfilled using this new vaccine.
The vaccine would be the best choice for use in the CSF Control Programme (CSF-CP) already launched by DAHD
(CSF-CP).
ERONET
It is a web portal launched by the Election Commission of India through which citizens can now not only register for
their voter-ID cards online but also choose to change the state in which they want to enrol as a voter without going
through unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles. Persons can apply online throughout the entire year at any time through
this portal.
 For poll officials, meanwhile, this portal will help them deal with inaccuracies in voter-related information, besides
preventing the proliferation of duplicate cards.
 This will allow officials to discern whether the person they are enrolling in the voters‘ list is a first-timer or
someone who has registered multiple times across India.
 It automates the process of electoral roll management starting from elector registration, field verification of
electors, decision support system for Electoral registration officers and for providing extensive integrated value-
added services.
It provides bedrock of electoral roll in providing various web services to Conduct of Elections applications of Election
Commission of India.
CHC- Farm Machinery

Government has developed and launched Multi lingual Mobile App ―CHC- Farm Machinery‖ which helps the farmers
for getting rented farm machinery and implements through Custom Hiring Service Centers (CHC) in their area.
ONE LINERS
1. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by CSIR-CFTRI with APEDA to set up a Liaison Office in
Guwahati, Assam to provide technical support to the food industries in the North East region.
 It will benefit the farmers, producers and entrepreneurs.
It is expected that the liaison office of CSIR-CFTRI will strengthen the food processing sector in the North East and
will have multiplying effect on the export of traditional and processed food products from the region.
pg. 20
2. Central Food Technological Research Institute, CSIR−CFTRI, Mysuru, (a constituent laboratory of
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi) is a pioneering Institute working in the area of Food
Science and Technology and Human Resource Development started during 1950.
3. Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves the proposed combination between Yum Restaurants
(India) Private Limited (YRIPL) and Devyani International Limited (DIL) involving acquisition of certain equity
shareholding and sale of certain KFC restaurants.
 YRIPL is a private limited company incorporated in India and is a part of Yum! Brands Inc,-a USA based entity. It
is stated that in India YRIPL runs restaurants under three Brands i.e. KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.
 DIL is a public company incorporated in India.
4. Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) implements Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme,
Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGTMSE) and 2% Interest Subvention Scheme to support Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises.
5. Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is the authority to grant authorization to the entities
for the development of City Gas Distribution (CGD) network in Geographical Areas (GAs) as per PNGRB Act,
2006.
6. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is implementing a flagship scheme PMKVY. PMKVY
was launched as a pilot in 2015.
 PMKVY (2016-20) is implemented with an objective to provide skilling to one crore people across the country in
four years i.e. 2016-2020.
 Owing to successful implementation of pilot phase of PMKVY 2015-16, the Union Cabinet approved the
continuation of PMKVY scheme upto 2020.
7. A National Farmer‟s Welfare Programme Implementation Society has been registered to operate certain
Central Sector Schemes related to farmers‘ welfare.
8. Election Commission of India has been awarded ‗Silver‘ for Excellence in Government Process re-engineering
for digital transformation for the year 2019-20.
 The award seeks to recognize the projects that involved analysis and re-design of workflow and which resulted
in improvement in outcomes related to efficiency, effectiveness of process, cost, quality, service delivery or a
combination of these.
9. World Bank-supported AtalBhujalYojana (ABHY) – National Groundwater Management Improvement

Programme will be implemented in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh and cover 78 districts.
 Government of India and the World Bank have signed a $450 million loan agreement to support the national
programme.
10. First Organic Food exhibition was recently organized in Delhi.
11. After the successful run of the Tejas Express trains operating on the Lucknow-Delhi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai
routes, Indian Railways is going to start operation of the third corporate passenger train - KashiMahakal Express
connecting religious places of the state of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
12. Union Cabinethas given its in principle approval for capital infusion for three Public Sector General Insurance
Companies, namely, Oriental Insurance Company Limited (OICL), National Insurance Company Limited (NICL)
and United India Insurance Company Limited (UIICL).
 Cabinet has allowed immediate release of Rs. 2500 Crore in the light of the critical financial position and
breach of regulatory solvency requirements of 3 PSGICs viz. OICL, NICL and UIICL.
13. KendriyaVidyalaya‘s Student Harsh Pandit has run from Jabalpur and covered approximately 900 KMs in 18 days
to reach New Delhi with a message of Pollution & Plastic Free India and Water Conservation. His name is likely to
be recommended for the Guinness Book of World Record and Limca Book of Record.
pg. 21
14. In order to further increase digital collection of user fee via FASTag at NH fee plazas, National Highways Authority
of India (NHAI) has decided to waive off the FASTag cost of Rs.100/- for NHAI FASTag between 15th and 29th
February, 2020.
 Road users can visit any authorised physical point-of-sale locations with a valid Registration Certificate (RC)
of the vehicle and get a NHAI FASTag free of cost.
 NHAI FASTag may be purchased from all NH fee plazas, RTOs, Common Service Centres, transport hubs,
petrol pumps, etc.
15. Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves formation of a joint venture between Mahindra & Mahindra
and Ford Motor and the transfer of the automotive business of Ford India to the joint venture.
16. Under PMMY (MUDRA), loans are extended to eligible borrowers for manufacturing, processing, trading, services
and activities allied to agriculture, which help in creating income generating activities and employment.
17. Government of India has decided to rename National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM),
Faridabad as Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM).
 NIFM, Faridabad, was set up in 1993 as a registered society under Department of Expenditure, Ministry of
Finance, Government of India, with the mandate to train officers of various Finance and Accounts Services
recruited by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) through the Civil Services Examination as also
officers of Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICoAS).
 Union Finance Minister is the President of the NIFM Society.
18. As per Census conducted by Registrar General of India, the trend in sex ratio has improved to 943
in 2011 from 926 in 1991.
DATA BASE
The population of India is expected to exceed that of China around 2027as per World Population Prospects
2019 Report. As per Census 2011, the country‘s Decadal Growth Rate was 17.7%.
1. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined from 2.9 in 2005 to 2.2 in 2017.
2. Wanted Fertility Rate has declined from 1.9 in NFHS III to 1.8 in NFHS IV.
3. Crude Birth Rate (CBR) has declined from 23.8 to 20.2 from 2005 to 2017.
4. Teenage Birth Rate has halved from 16% (NFHS III) to 8% (NFHS IV).
99.5 percent currently married men and women have knowledge about any modern method of contraception
(NFHS IV).
19. As per World Steel Association data, India became the second largest steel producer of crude steel after China in
2018 and 2019, by replacing Japan. The five leading crude steel producers in the world during 2018 and 2019 are:-
China India Japan USA South Korea.
 Steel being a deregulated sector, the Government does not set any annual targets for steel production.
Decision on quantity of steel production is taken by individual companies based on commercial considerations
and market requirements.
20. Indian Railways have signed Memorandum of Understanding with RailTel on 10.01.2020 for implementation of
Phase-II of e-office programme in 34 Divisions, covering approximately 39000 users by end of June 2020.
21. A GPS bases Fog PASS Device is being provided to loco pilots in fog affected areas which enables loco pilots to
know the exact distance of the approaching landmarks like signals, level crossing gates etc. It serves as an aid for
the crew during foggy weather though audio visual alarm, whenever any landmark comes within the Geo-fence
range.
22. Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), under Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
Government of India, in association with the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), is organizing the
22nd edition of India International Seafood Show (IISS) 2020 in Kochi.
 ―Blue Revolution- Beyond Production to Value Addition‖ is the theme for this year‘s show.
pg. 22
23. ADB has approved USD 631 million (in loans and grants) for Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC). This
nearly 800-kilometer corridor links India with the ASEAN and East Asian Economies that form the bedrock of
global manufacturing economy.
24. Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation, a pioneering organisation established in 1951 in the field of leprosy in
India, has instituted the award titled ―International Gandhi Award‖ in 1986. The Award is open to medical,
paramedical or non-medical and social workers in leprosy field.
KURUKSHETRA COMPILATION
1. Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
2. Skill Development
3. Women Entrepreneurs : Opportunities and Challenges
4. Vocational Education in India
5. Skill Development and Healthcare
Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Introduction
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has been responsible for all skill development efforts
across the country. The Ministry laid special emphasis in 2019 on convergence, increasing scale, meeting aspirations
of the youth and improving the quality of skilling. This has led to enhanced skilling opportunities and the creation of a
trained workforce in the country, besides inculcating the entrepreneurial spirit among the public at large.
Background
About 54 percent of our population is under the age of 35 and close to 15 million enter the workforce every year. The
only way enough jobs can be created for such a huge number consistently is by creating an environment for
entrepreneurship and innovations, which encourages young people to aspire to become job-creators and employers.
Our country presently faces a dual challenge of paucity of highly trained workforce, as well as non-employability of
large sections of the conventionally educated youth, who possess little or no job skills.
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is directed towards innovate problem-solving initiatives which can be turned into commercially
viable ventures hence entrepreneurs add value to the society by simplifying the lives of people and creating new jobs in
the process.
The growth and prosperity of all economies remain highly dependent on entrepreneurial activity.The ideal
entrepreneurial environment has five pillars:
 Access to funding
 Entrepreneurial culture
 Supportive regulatory and tax regimes
 Educational systems that support entrepreneurial mind-sets
 Coordinated approach that links the public and voluntary sectors.
One of the prime factors which hinder entrepreneurship is the multitude of compliance to be made with respect to
government regulations and laws. This problem can be solved by providing some relaxation in compliance for newly
established start-ups.
Government of India has also announced the National policy for skill development and entrepreneurship which
focuses on towards promoting entrepreneurship.
pg. 23
Skill Development for Youth
In 2012, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) launched Centrally Sponsored Scheme of
Vocationalisation of secondary and Higher Secondary Education (CSSVSHSE) targeting both the school drop-outs and
those pursuing higher education post school.
NSDC in collaboration with Delhi Police has undertaken project YUVA (YuvaUdyamitaVikasAbhiyan), under PMKVY.
 Delhi Police has identified around 3,000 deprived youth in the capital region for imparting skill training in various
trades.
 NSDC, through its training partners, is operating skill development training centres in the police stations across
the capital city with the aim to train youth between the age group of 16 to 25 years.
 Along with skill training, development of soft skills, vocational skills, basic computer knowledge, spoken English
are focused upon to enhance livelihood opportunities.
Skill Development for Women

Regular vocational training programmes for women are being conducted through an institutional network of 16
central institutes—one National Vocational Training Institute for Women in Noida & 15 Regional Vocational Training
Institutes for Women
 Ujjawala scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and re-integration of victims of trafficking
of commercial sexual exploitation, is a case in point. This scheme intends to provide rehabilitation services, both
immediate and long-term to the victims of human trafficking.
Other Important initiatives

 National Skill Development Mission formulated in 2014, gave a fillip to the skill development and
entrepreneurship efforts in the country.
 Skill India Portal has converged skilling data from various Central Ministries, State Government, Private
Training Providers and Corporates on a single platform.
o This has enabled data-driven decision making by policymakers and removed information asymmetry in the
skilling ecosystem.
 National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS): Much needed reforms have been introduced to
apprenticeship training. Government introduced comprehensive reforms in Apprenticeship Act, 1961.MSDE is
working closely with Central Public Service Units for their support, particularly in bolstering the National
Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS).
 KaushalacharyaAwards:To recognize and celebrate the contributions of the trainers and gurus towards Skill
India, we also organized the first-ever Kaushalacharya Awards to felicitate trainers from different sectors for their
exceptional contribution towards creating a future-ready skilled workforce.
 Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE): MSDE introduced STRIVE in 2016
which is a World Bank funded project aimed at creating awareness through industry clusters and geographical
chambers that would address the challenge of involvement of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
(MSMEs).
o The project also aimed at integrating and enhancing delivery quality of Industrial Training Institutes (IITs),
constituted under the Directorate General of Employment & Training (DGT).
 Skill Certification Scheme: The objective of this Skill Certification Scheme is to bring about a shift from the
unorganized sector to an organized economy by formally recognizing the existing skills of the youth in our nation
through a process of assessment and certification programme.
o This will also entail a module on up-gradation of skillsets making them more efficient in their work leading to
a better livelihood and bringing respect to their work.
o It is an effort to formalize the organized sector of the industry to create a sustainable work ecosystem.
 Initiatives in J&K: To bring the union territory of J&K under skill training, officials of MSDE and the State Skill
Development Mission (JKSSDM) met to discuss steps to ensure 100 percent coverage of all eligible beneficiaries
from the region and the way forward.
o National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) Jammu has been made operational and trainers are further
being trained to impart skill training under National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
 India Skills 2020 :MSDE and National Skill Development Corporation(NSDC) has launched India‘s biennial
competition. It will provide a platform for skilled and talented Indian youth to showcase their abilities at regional
and national level competitions.
pg. 24
2020 Winners of India Skills will get a chance to represent the country at the World Skills International Competition
to be held in China in 2021.
o World Skills International Kazan was held in 2019 and the 22 winners of India Skills 2018 and their experts
had represented the country with their outstanding performance at this global platform also known as the
Olympics of skills.
o India was ranked 13th among 63 countries that participated in the competition, making it the best finish for the
country in the coveted skill championship.
Way Forward
Comprehensive reforms have come into play to build awareness around skilling and we are witnessing a mind shift
towards vocational training. The roadmap to making India the ‗Skill Capital of the World‘ is fast becoming fruition
reality. We have pledged to provide constant support to the youth of our nation who are joining the movement for
building a ―Kushal Bharat, Kaushal Bharat‖.
Skill Development
Introduction
Skill development, especially in a country like India with its large young population assumes greater importance to
effectively reap the demographic dividend. Skill development leads to improved productivity, employment, self-
employment, economic growth and consequently poverty reduction. With majority of population living in rural areas,
the need for sustained skilling, up-skilling and re-skilling is very much the need of the hour and assumes great
importance for rural India.
What is required?
Vocational Courses: They have low acceptability due to several reasons including lack of well-defined career
progression and low awareness among the stakeholders. It is perceived as a preferred option for those who have not
succeeded in the formal education system or have opted out of it.
 Efforts to sensitize all the stakeholders are required in making skilling and vocational education aspirational.
For example, in the recently concluded ‗World-Skill‘ competition at Kazan, India‘s performance has improved
substantially.
Re-skilling and Up-skilling: Along with fresh skilling, India requires a sustainable re-skilling and up-skilling
ecosystem, which besides making the workforce present and future ready, would also address the concerns of women
who for several reasons including family commitments, take a break from work and then want to re-join.
 The skilling ecosystem also needs to address the requirements of persons retiring early and those seeking career
progressions.
Online Skilling: Online Skilling, in a technologically-driven environment, appears to be a viable, cost effective
solution that would enable a person to select a trade of his/her choice, with flexible time and pace of learning and not
be bound by courses offered by training centres in his/her vicinity should be encouraged.
 This would increase the span of both horizontal as well as vertical reach of youth to skill courses.
 In rural areas where personal internet connectivity may not be fully established, an integrated On-Premises
Training Module can be used at the existing Skill Centres, Common Service Centres (CSCs) or other E-kiosks.
Private Sector Participation: Private sector and industry participation should be leveraged in strengthening the
skilling ecosystem. Enhanced industry linkages could lead to more employment opportunities for skilled candidates as
they would be industry ready.
Linking Skill to Entrepreneurship, Apprenticeship: In order to ensure employability, employment,

entrepreneurship and self-employment amongst skilled youth, the skilling curriculum should include
entrepreneurship and know-how to start one‘s own enterprise.
 Necessary credit support along with market linkages also needs to be provided.
 The need to strengthen and popularize apprenticeships in India is immense and immediate as it is one of the best
ways of on-the-job skilling and increasing the employability of a person manifold.
pg. 25
 There is also a need to have a single integrated portal wherein Important Schemes
all data of job seekers as well as job givers is available and
regularly updated which will go a long way in augmenting 1. Pradhan Mantri Kaushgal Vikas
matchmaking and placement of trained youth. Yojana (PMKVY) :Under this scheme,
the trainees are offered a financial
Skilling for Future Jobs :Many emerging technologies such as reward and a government certification on
Artificial Intelligence(AI), Machine Learning(ML), Robotic, 3D successful completion of training and
Printing, Internet of Things (IoT) and Block chain are shaping assessment. The scheme is implemented
innovations in business models and processes. through NSDC.
 Thus, there is an imperative need to introduce new skill  The scheme is applicable to any
courses and trainings, including re-skilling and up-skilling, to candidate of Indian nationality.
prepare Indian youth and workers for these emerging job roles
2. Apprenticeship Training Scheme
and to be future ready both for domestic and international (ATS) :There are five categories of
opportunities. apprentices namely—trade apprentice,
graduate, technician, technician
Skilling for Global Markets (vocational), and optional trade
India should leverage its demographic dividend by skilling labour apprentice. Monthly stipend is paid to
force for global markets which would support the vision of making candidates by the employer.
India the ‗Skill Capital‘ of the world. 3. Craftsmen Training Scheme:
Training courses under Craftsmen
 Skilling for global markets can be facilitated by setting up Training Scheme are being offered
specialized market research cells which would conduct through a network of 15,042 government
demand-supply gap analysis in major employing sectors in and private Industrial Training Institutes
different economies, thereby identifying opportunities for the (IITs) located all over the country.
Indian labour force and also the skill sets required to equip 4. Skill Development Initiative
them for these opportunities. (SDIs):It aims to provide vocational
 The use of our diplomatic missions abroad should also be training (courses based on Modular
strengthened for necessary market information and connecting Employable Skills) to develop skill
with the governments and companies in need trained manpower for the industry since May
workforce situated there and also for projecting future 2007 through a network of Vocational
requirements. Training Provides (VTPs) located across
 To train youth with skills specific to international market the country. The scheme provides
demands, specialized skills hubs could be set up which would vocational training to school dropouts,
impart training as per technical and non-technical skill existing workers, ITI graduates, etc. to
requirements. improve their employability by optimally
utilizing the infrastructure available in
Way Forward government, private institutions and the
India has made huge progress in the field of skilling, but keeping in industry.
mind its huge potential and large number of people to be skilled, 5. Scheme for Higher Education
sustained and innovative efforts in right earnest involving all Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills
stakeholders is the need of the hour. For India to become the skill (SHREYAS): It aims to forge a close
capital of the world, skilling of rural India assumes great functional link between academia and
importance as it would also enhance employability, employment industry on a sustainable basis, and
and entrepreneurial activity in rural areas, where majority of the enhance the employability of the Indian
population still resides. youth through ‗on the job work
exposure‘.
Women Entrepreneurs: Opportunities and Challenges

Background
In 6th economic census, we will find that 13.76 percent of MSME‘s are women-owned. The World Bank Enterprise
Survey Data, an internationally comparative data set, suggests that 10.7 percent of MSME‘s have female participation
in ownership.
In India, there are urban/rural differences in rates of women‘s entrepreneurship, with more women‘s enterprises
based in rural areas (22.24 percent of all rural enterprises), compared to urban areas (18.42 percent of all urban
pg. 26
enterprises) according to Ministry of MSME Annual Report. Women‘s enterprises are also mainly micro sized of
proprietary and majority are informal.
The largest share in the number of establishments under women entrepreneurs are clustered in the southern states of
India. In terms of female owned proprietary establishments, out of top ten states, six states are from North East India.
Why do we need More Women Entrepreneurs?

India needs more women entrepreneurs because of the following reasons:
1) Economic Growth: Women can start a new business that caters to a different market or niche that their male
counterparts. Enabling women benefits future generations because women tend spend more time on their
children‘s education and health, which in turn boots productivity.
2) Narrowing gender gap: Women entrepreneurs inspire other women to start business leading to job creation
for women, which ultimately helps in bridging the gender gap in workforce. Narrowing the gender gap in
employment will increase global income.
3) Company culture and safety at workplace: Creating and preserving a strong positive company culture is a
pre-requisite for the growth and long term success of any company. Studies show that a women-led company tend
to have better company culture, have values and transparency. Women have struggled with how to maintain a
work-life balance. It is seen that women-led organizations are more sensitive to safety issues.
Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs

Exposure is necessary for our women entrepreneurs to other sectors as well so that they can cross barriers and open
their minds towards different business ideas apart from the sectors traditionally believed to be for women.
 The handloom, handicraft and fashion are a vast industry and is also growing at a great peace with different
innovate creations.
 The wide-ranging arena starts with pre-nursery education, k-12 schools, supplementary education, extra-
curricular activities, competitive exam preparation, colleges, vocational training institutes, creation of a common
platform to connect teachers & students, platform for teachers, content sharing platform, discussion portals
exclusively for teachers or students, content sharing portal, portal for searching school or pre-schools, game-based
learning, E-commerce for school accessories, communication channels between schools and parents, ERP, CRM
for simplifying internal admin process of schools etc.
 The Indian wellness market to be harnessed with significant scope for penetration, especially in areas like
nutrition, rejuvenation, fitness, opening of beauty salon, gym, spa, hygiene products, beauty clinic businesses,
beauty professionals, hair stylists, makeup artists, yoga and fitness professionals, nail technicians & spa therapists.
 Another vibrant activity and a multi-billion industry in India is the Tourism Industry. The Indian Tourism &
Hospitality Industry is 34th (among 140 economies across the world in 2019) as per ranking in Travel & Tourism
Competitive Index (TTCI) released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Challenges
 The size and scale of a women-led enterprise is often micro, many may not be highly educated and access to
market is often one of the major challenge.
 The schemes need more clarity and focus.
 The support rendered with policies and schemes spread across different departments and domains, often make it
difficult for women to access them. Many policies and schemes tend to focus on only one aspect of the problem
faced by women.
 In spite of various initiatives by the government, women entrepreneurs have limited access to bank loans; most
women entrepreneurs first and foremost rely on self-finance.
 In the context where majority of women lack networks, market intelligence and the knowhow to start and expand
their business, market access can be a key ingredient in propelling growth.
Conclusion
Women being the vital gender of the overall population have great capacity and potential to be the contributors in the
overall economic development of any nation. Programmes and policies need to be customized to not just encourage
entrepreneurship but also implement strategies which can help support entrepreneurial culture among youth. Media
has the potential to play the most vital role in entrepreneurial development by creating and highlighting all such
platforms which inspire women and men to grow entrepreneurship culture in society.
pg. 27
Empowering women is a pre-requisite for creating a good nation. When women are empowered, a society with
stability is assured. Empowerment of women is essential as their thoughts and value systems lead to the development
of a good family, good society and ultimately a good nation.
Technology Intervention
1. Student Start-up NIDHI Award
Student Start-up NIDHI (National Initiative of Development and Harnessing Innovation) award aims to take
forward student innovations in New Generation Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre (NewGEn
IEDC) to commercialization stage and accelerate the journey of idea to prototype by providing initial funding
assistance.
(NSTEDB), DST has taken this initiative of helping start-ups with initial / ignition funding. It aims to financially
support maximum 20 student start-ups each year with Rs.10 lakh each.
NewGen IEDC aims to inculcate the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst the young S&T students
and encourage and support start-up creation through guidance and mentorship. Objectives of NewGen IEDC are to
channelize the knowledge and the energy of youth towards becoming active partners in the economic development
process and to catalyse and promote growth of knowledge-based and innovation-driven enterprises and promote
employment opportunities amongst youth, especially students.
2. Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN)
The programme is aimed at providing opportunities to women scientists who had a break in their career primarily
due to family responsibilities.
It is aimed to provide opportunities to women scientists and technologists for pursuing research in basic or applied
sciences in frontier areas of science and engineering, focused on S&T solutions of challenges/issues at the
grassroots level for social benefit and create opportunity for self-employment and also a sustainable career for the
women scientists.
The scheme provides one year internship in the domain of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) which includes
theory as well as hands-on training in law firms.
3. Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research-AWSAR
AWSAR is an initiative that aims to disseminate Indian research stories among the masses in an easy to understand
and interesting format. It has been initiated by the National Council of Science and Technology Communication
(NCSTC), to encourage, empower and endow popular science writing among young PhD scholars and post-doctoral
fellows during the course of their higher studies and research pursuits.
Vocational Education in India

Introduction
Vocational education refers to education programmes that are designed to prepare individuals for specific
occupations. It imparts niche skills along with a set of specific competencies in defined areas of work in the economy,
through the integration of a complex of knowledge, attitudes and practical experience.
In India, formal vocational education is offered in schools at the secondary and higher secondary levels, where
vocational training is provided through higher education institutes which offer degree/diploma programmes.
Background
1. 1964 Kothari Commission Report, which noted that multiple jobs can be performed by well-trained higher
secondary students and don‘t require university degrees. The report suggested two distinctive streams at the
higher secondary state—one that prepares students for further/tertiary education in universities, and another,
preparing them for a variety of vocations.
2. New Education Policy of 1986 envisaged the introduction of as systematic, well planned and rigorously
implemented programme for vocational education to enhance employability, reduce the mismatch between
demand and supply of skilled workforce, and provide an alternative for those pursuing tertiary education.
3. Vocational education and training was one of the core thrust areas identified in the XIth Five Year Plan. In fact,
the XIIth Five Year Plan estimated that less than 5 percent of the Indian workforce aged 19-24 received formal
vocational education in comparison to 52 percent in United States of America, 70 percent in Britain, 75 percent in
Germany, 80 percent in Japan and an impressive 96 percent in South Korea.
pg. 28
Challenges in the School Education Sector
 A critical challenge plaguing the school education sector is the high dropout rate, especially at the secondary stage
of school education. Students tend to drop out of school to enter the labour market or as they perceive low returns
from education.
 NITI Aayog‘sSchool Education Quality Index (SEQI) provides a detailed state-wise analysis of the
percentage of schools covered by vocational education. Only six states and UTs—Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Goa, as well as Andaman & Nicobar Islands offered vocational education in more
than 10 percent of their schools in the Reference year (2016-17).
 Despite progress in these states and UTs, the coverage of vocational education still remains less than 5 percent in
almost 75 percent of the country.
 The vocational education sector faces issues such as low industry linkages, inadequate numbers of trained
teachers, etc.
Current Policy Framework

The Department of School Education Literacy at the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is in-charge
of developing and formulating national policies on vocational education at the school level.
Samagra Shiksha Scheme: The Government is implementing the centrally sponsored scheme of Vocationalisation
of School Education to integrate vocational education with general academic education.
The major aim of the scheme is to prepare educated, employable and competitive human resources for various sectors
of the economy.
 The scheme covers students across both secondary and higher secondary stages in government managed schools.
 The PanditSunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), a constituent unit of the
Nation Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is the nodal agency for curriculum and course
development.
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) offers vocational education at both the secondary and higher
secondary stages. National Institute of Open Schooling, since 2016, also offers over 100 vocational courses via Open
and Distance Learning (ODL) mode.
The Road Ahead

MHRD is currently in the process of creating a National Vocational Education Qualifications Framework (NVEQF).
The framework would establish common principles and guidelines, aligned to global standards, for a nationally
recognized qualification system covering schools, vocational education institutes and institutes of higher education
with qualifications ranging from secondary to doctorate level.
The Draft National Education Policy (NEP), 2019 aims to integrate vocational education in all schools and provide
access to vocational education to at least 50 percent of the learners by 2025.
 It envisions that all students must receive vocational education in at least one vocation during their secondary and
higher secondary education. For this to pan out in reality, multiple factors need to be considered.
In order to successfully boost access to vocational education, there needs to be a massive expansion in the resource
pool required to deliver such an education.
Skill Development and Healthcare

Introduction
There is a definitive and very important role of skill development in health service delivery, which contributes to
improved health outcomes, women empowerment, job creation, economic development and growth.
Considering the existing shortage of health workforce and need for skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling, urgent
mechanisms need to be established.
Background
In a report released by NSDC in the year 2015, the health workforce requirements for India was estimated to be
around 7.4 million (74 lakh) by the year 2022, against an estimated available workforce of 3.6 million (36lakh) in
2013.
The National Health Profile 2018 of India reported availability of 5.8 million(58 lakh) health workers and huge
number of doctors. This meant a combined density of doctors, nurses and midwives in India is around 30/10,000
pg. 29
people, which is far below the threshold of 44.5/10,000 required to achieve Sustainable Development Goal-3 (SDG3),
as determined in the 2016 WHO Global strategy for Human Resource of Health: Workforce 2030.
In early 2017, the Government of India committed the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through the new National
Health Policy (NHP).
 The NHP 2017 has recognized the challenges of shortage & inequitable distribution of health workforce, and
proposed increasing the availability and augmentation of skilled health human resource as one of the key
strategies to advance UHC in the country.
Human Resources and Skill Development are interlinked

Skill development in various forms (skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling) is key for any sector, more so for service
predominant sectors such as health. There has been another emerging opportunity and initiative to add to skilled
health workforce. India has intensified to increase access to health services through the Ayushman Bharat
Programmes with two components: setting up of 150,000Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) by December, 2022
and PradhanMantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PM-JAY).
Discussion
The benefits of skill development in health are likely to be maximum for rural, underserved, marginalized populations.
It will help in improving their health outcomes and address inequities. However, equitable and sufficient availability of
health workforce cannot be expected to be achieved by ‗overflow of the production capacity‘ and hoping them to be
available to serve in rural and underserved areas.
Skill development in health sector has some benefits such as

 Enabling access to healthcare for marginalized sections of the community, which is central to the process.
 It also improves the formal employment particularly for women and youth.
 It has been estimated that every Dollar (or Rupee) invested on health, it gives 9 to 10 times economic return.
India‘s public health expenditure was 1.2 percent of the GDP in 2016-17.
Globally the United Nations High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth (ComHEEG)
highlighted that investment in the health workforce can have a significant payback across multiple Sustainable
Development Goals, including SDG 1 (poverty elimination), SDG 3(good health and well-being), SDG 4 (quality
education), SDG 5 (gender quality) and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth).
 ComHEEG has projected global shortfall of 18 million health workers by 2030.
 It has also pinpointed key policy areas that have significant potential for the health workforce to achieve high
economic return of investment and generate multiplier effects in the labour market. These include health, social
protection, socialcohesion, health security, among others that can provide opportunities to increase women‘s
participation in the labour market and reduce youth unemployment or underemployment.
Conclusion
There is a definitive and very important role of skill development in health service delivery, which contributes to
improved health outcomes, women empowerment, job creation and economic development and growth. Considering
the existing shortage of health workforce and need for skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling, urgent mechanisms need to
be established by increasing funding to improve availability of skilled health workforce in India. This will contribute to
India‘s progress towards Universal Health Coverage, accelerate economic growth and create employment.
Co-operation beyond the boundaries

1. Both India and Japan are working together to implement Japan‘s Technical Intern Training Programme
(TITP).
 It is an on-the-job training scheme that provides for internship opportunities over 3-5 years for foreign
nationals in Japan, with NSDC as the nodal implementing agency.
2. India has also signed for technical collaboration with countries such as the UK, Australia and the UAE for
benchmarking and mutual recognition of standards.
3. To increase the mobility of blue and white-collar Indian workers, government-to-government and B2B
partnerships are also being sought and developed for few markets such as Western Europe, Canada, Australia
and East Asia.
pg. 30
YOJANA COMPILATION
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence can be described as a system‘s ability to learn and interpret external data via
software/algorithms or machines/devices for problem solving by performing specific role and tasks currently executed
by humans.
The term AI has been used interchangeably with other closely related terms such as expert systems, decision-support
system, knowledge-based systems, machine learning, natural language processing, neural networks, pattern
recognition, recommender systems and tax mining.
Background
The origin of the term AI can be traced back to early 1950s, relatively recent advancement in information technology
(such as big data, improved computing, storage capacity and super-fast speed of data processing machines) and
robotics has enabled AI to gain significant momentum in terms of its development, application and use within public
and private sector organizations.
The recent developments in AI offer the potential for significant opportunities for industry, governments and society,
but there are many challenges and subsequent risks as AI-based systems are adopted for an ever increasing range of
tasks and duties.
Opportunities and Applications

The ability of AI to overcome some of the computationally intensive, intellectual and perhaps creative limitations of
humans opens up new application domains within manufacturing, law, medicine, healthcare, education, government,
agriculture, marketing, sales, finance, operations and supply chain management, public service delivery and cyber
security.
Education sector: AI can be deployed to improve teacher effectiveness and student engagement by offering
capabilities such as intelligent game-based learning environments, tutoring systems and intelligent narrative
technologies. AI can impact education in three ways.
 Firstly, AI-enabled hyper-personalization helps in developing student-specific learning profile and in developing
customized learning environments based on ability, preferred mode of learning and experience.
 Secondly, the use of smart assistants (Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple Siri, and Microsoft Cortana) and
associated technologies offer significant potential to help students. Universities are already using voice assistants
to help answer common questions about campus, student schedules and courses.
 Thirdly, AI systems can assist educators with secondary tasks such as grading activities, providing personalized
responses to students, handling routine and repetitive paperwork and dealing with logistics-related matters.
AI-based analytics can help with academic research within various disciplines and potentially transform library
processes and staffing requirements with aim to provide a richer user experience.
AI can help in achieving good health and well-being goals within rural and remote areas in developing countries where
access to medical care is limited.
 AI –based systems can be utilized for conducting remote diagnosis supporting doctors to help improve health
service delivery.
AI-based systems can also help achieve the ―Zero Hunger‖ (SDG 2) by assisting in resource allocation for predicting
adverse environmental conditions, diagnose crop diseases and identify pets in timely manner to mitigate the risk of
catastrophic agricultural events.
 Similarly, AI-based systems can be used to predict energy and utility demand to help in achieving SDGs such as
―Clean water, sanitation‖ and ―Affordable clean energy‖.
Application of AI in India
AI could be a valuable assistive tool for doctors in helping reduce their workload and assisting in diagnosis. AI-assisted
diagnostics can provide access to quality healthcare for people in remote areas.
Within the education sector, India has about 50% less teachers per thousand students when compared to developed
countries.
pg. 31
 But there is a silver lining in all this: India
Issues with AI
has 1.18 billion mobile phone users with Ethics
600 million internet users and 374 million Defining Ethics for machines has proven to be problematic and difficult
smartphone users. It has one of the to make it computable. To tackle this, we need to deal with ethics purely
from an AI perspective. There are two dimensions of ethics in AI:
cheapest data rates in the world a. Privacy and data protection
($0.24/GB) and an average date speed of 6 b. Human and environmental values.
Mbps. These factors open up huge
potential for adoption of AI technology in Privacy and Data Protection: Since Users‘ sensitive and highly
granular data is likely to be stored and shared across the AI network (for
India. example, a person‘s location for the day based on face recognition and
ANIL: The Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency CCTV feeds, food habits, shopping preference, movies, music etc.) ,
has partnered with Ann University to launch a privacy and Data Protection are of utmost importance.
Tamil smart assistant called ―Anil‖.
Human and Environmental Values: An AI system has to conform to
 This NLP-based smart assistant provides a human values such as respect, dignity, compassion, equity etc.
step-by-step guide to people in helping
them apply online for scores of critical Transparency and Audit
In the future, many of the AI-based systems could be interacting with
government services. humans in fields such as finance, education, healthcare, transportation
 The agency has recently launched an AI- and elderly care. The technology providers must explain the decision-
based agricultural pest and disease making process to the user so that the AI system doesn‘t remain a black
identification system and made it available box.
 There exists a legal need to explain the decision taken by such
to over half a million farmer families systems in case of litigation.
through a mobile app.  These AI systems must provide an audit trail of decisions made not
 The farmer clicks an image of diseased only to meet the legal needs but also for us to learn and make
crop or a pest and the system process the improvements over past decisions.
image through an AI algorithm to identify Digital Divide and Data Deficit
the pest or disease and sends a message to There is a real danger of societies being left behind. Countries and
the farmer advising the remedial measure. governments having good quality granular data are likely to derive
maximum benefit out of this disruption. Countries where the data is of
poor quality or of poor granularity would be left behind in harnessing the
Issues with AI power of AI to improve lives of its citizens adversely affecting low-
There exists a number of challenges and resource communities.
limitations of successfully implementing and
Fairness and Equity
utilizing AI in both public and private sector
AI can disrupt social order and hierarchy by creating new social
organizations. paradigms, which could damage the social fabric exposing people lower
in the bargaining hierarchy with a real threat of exploitation and unfair
Lack of explain ability: Generally AI treatment.
 This could lead to commoditization of human labour and chip away
operates effectively as a black-box-based
human dignity.
system that does not transparently provide the  An AI system designed with equity as a priority would ensure that no
reasoning behind a particular decision, one gets left behind in this world.
classification or forecast made by the systems.
Another key need for autonomous systems is fairness. They must not
This is major limitation of this technology as it
exhibit any gender or racial bias and they must be designed to stay away
has direct impact on transparency, hence trust from ‗social profiling‘ (especially in law enforcement, fraud questioning
and confidence of using decisions made. the neutrality of AI systems used by police to identify crime-prone
individuals has brought this issue out in shape focus.
Lack of contextual awareness and Accountability and Legal Issues
inability to learn – AI –based systems are Once machines are equipped with AI and take autonomous decisions, the
good at performing with given parameters and question of accountability becomes very hard to answer, more so when
rules. However, they still have major the algorithms are unknown to the designer.
limitations in terms of making decisions where Misuse Protection: Autonomous AI systems must be designed for
context plays a critical role. Unlike human, AI- misuse protection. It cannot be an afterthought.
based systems cannot learn from their
environment. This limits the application of AI to specific types of domains.
Lack of standardization – AI-based systems that may have utilized different types of technologies/techniques are
increasingly being embedded in variety of products and service (for example, smart assistants, modules for enterprise
products).
pg. 32
Job losses- Increasing automation will lead to significant job losses particularly at operational and lower skill levels
for repetitive tasks. This critical consequenceof AI use will continue to impact all sectors and countries across the
world but particularly developing economics where employment opportunities are already limited. This emphasizes
the need for strategic management of AI transition requiring organizations to carefully consider a number of major
challenges.
Lack of competency and need for re-skilling and up-skilling workers- A large number of organizations still
lack in-house competency to successfully develop and implement AI –based systems.In such a scenario, organizations
utilize specialized consultancy firms which can be very resource intensive. But this restricts organizations having
limited resources in using such systems.
Lack of trust and resistance to change- Due to above mentioned issues and negative media coverage on lthe
consequences of AI, people are generally apprehensive about its implementation. This poses of major challenge on
how to establish trust among workers and stakeholders in the management of resistance to change in adopting AI
systems.
Conclusion
AI as a technology holds tremendous potential for a country like India, which is data rich and has the requisite
technological capability to create AI solutions for many of its problems. States like Tamil Nadu have already started
deploying AI systems at scale for addressing some of the key challenges in health, education and agriculture sectors.
Public roll-out of AI systems needs to address issues of ethics, transparency, audit fairness, equity, accountability and
misuse prevention.
An effective public policy framework for AI along with a practical scorecard would be needed to make this AI
revolution work towards an equitable prosperity.
Innovation in Higher Education Educational Institutions

The Indian culture places high emphasis on learning since time immemorial. Premier higher educational institutes in
India have always been a gateway to a secure and prosperous life for many. Earlier, the students produced by the
premier institutes made a bee-line to destinations in the west in order to broaden their horizons. However, over the
last decade a cultural change has begun in these institutes.
 These have been transforming themselves to produce the next generation of leaders who are willing to take-up
entrepreneurship, foregoing assured income; thereby creating multiple jobs for the society. At the root of this
transformation is the culture of innovation.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under the aegis of NitiAayog is promoting the formation of Atal Tinkering Labs
(ATL) in schools to promote this maker space culture.
 At IIT Madras (IITM), an after-class activity called the Centre for Innovation (CFI) transformed the students from
passive listeners to active learners.
 Recently, the CFI team ‖Aavishkar‖ became the only Asian team to qualify and was placed within the top 25 in the
hyperloop competition held at SpaceX.
These innovation centres also fosters team spirit and the ability to work beyond classroom lectures. It prepares the
students to take collective ownership of outcomes and work on multi-generational products.
Similarly, the higher educational institutes such as the IITs are also gradually transforming themselves in to research
and development powerhouses catering to the needs of the country.
Issues
The innovation ecosystem can be divided in to four buckets
1. Ideate
2. Pre-incubate
3. Incubate
4. Support
Among these, the incubation and support eco-system are highly instrumental.
The challenge for our higher educational institutions is to enable routine transformation of these intellectually
stimulated individuals to deep tech entrepreneurs and innovators solving social problems. It is often very hard to take
pg. 33
a step back from a narrowly defined academic problem definition to identify broad opportunities where the research or
technology developed might meet a market need.
Role of Pre-incubation
Pre-incubation can serve as a soft launch for the fleeting entrepreneurial ventures, where the solutions waiting for
problems can explore the market for potential customers and the elusive product-market fit. It can also expose the
learners to a disciplined approach to customer discovery and venture creation.
 At IIT Madras, Nirmaan is the pre-incubator, where ideas mature towards incubation. It helps committed terms
validate their ideas, approach to market leading to the establishment of a start-up company.
It also helps in developing entrepreneurial mindset among the aspirants.
Way Forward
Institutes of higher education, such as the IITs, are adapting to the evolving trend of rapid experimentation and
development of technology for the society where it is embedded in. Our institutions will have to imbibe the spirit of
entrepreneurial thinking, which includes rapid adaptation to the societal need, developing and scaling in resource
constrained environments and serving as focal points or nodes of innovation and entrepreneurship, to reach our
national goal of a $5 trillion economy.
Chronology of Educational Services for Blind

1887- Miss Annie Sharp, an Anglican was instrumental in launching a facility in Amritsar fort the blind in the year
1887. It imparted basic training in bead work, reed work and reading of religious scripture.
1944- Lt. Col. Sir Clutha Mackenzie played a major role in writing the Government of India report in blindness;
1947- A unit for visually impaired was established in the Ministry of Education;
1951- India adopted the uniform Braille codes for various Indian languages;
1952- First-ever Braille printing plant of India was established in Dehradun;
1954- Braille appliances manufacturing unit was set up;
1959- Government set up its first school for Blind Children in Dehradun;
1960- Four Regional Centres for the teachers of blind were set up;
1974- India launched the integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC);
1981- Observances of International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP);
1983-92- The UN Decade for the Disabled, and
2016- Rights of persons with Disabilities (RPD) Act enacted.
Quality Education for Weaker Section and Disadvantage Groups

Background
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, entitles every child of age 6 to 14 years to a
right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till completion of elementary education.
 Section 8(c) of the RTE Act, 2009 provides that the appropriate government would ensure that the child belonging
to weaker section and belonging to disadvantaged group are not discriminated against and prevented from pursing
and completing elementary education on any grounds.
 Further, Section 12(1)(c) of RTE Act, 2009 provides that all specified category schools and unaided schools shall
admit at least 25% children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged group in the neighbourhood in class I
and provide free and compulsory elementary education till its completion.
Steps Taken to Ensure Education of Children with Disability

a. Samagra Shihksha: It is a programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to Class XII,
aiming to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education.
 It envisages the ‗school‘ as a continuum from pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary
levels.
 Bridging gender and social category gaps at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of the
scheme.
 Entitlements include free uniforms, text books, special training of out-of-school children etc., provision for
inclusive education of Children with Special Needs (CWSN) and vocational education among others.
pg. 34
b. The „Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat‟ (PBBB) is sub-programme of erstwhile SarvaShikshaAbhiyan (SSA) which
is continued under the new integrated scheme SamagraShikshato ensure quality at the foundational years of
schooling.
 The objectives of the programme are to promote early reading and writing with comprehension skills in children,
and also basic numeracy skills.
c. The NavodayaVidyalaya Scheme provides for opening of one JNV in each district of the country to bring out
the best of rural talent.
d. Promoting Vocational Educational in Backward Regions: The government has recognized to the
requirement for spreading vocational education throughout the country including backward regions.
Key Initiatives
NISHTHA:A National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level through an Integrated Teacher
Training Programme called NISHTHA – National Initiative for School Heads‘ and Teachers‘ Holistic Advancement
was launched.
 This integrated programme aims to build the capacities of around 42 lakh teachers and heads of schools, faculty
members of SCERTs and DIETs Block Resource Coordinators and Cluster Resource Coordinators.
DHRUV: The PradhanMantri Innovative Learning Program (DHRUV) was launched to identify and encourage
talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge. This will act as a platform to explore the talent of outshining
and meritorious students and help them achieve excellence in their specific areas of interest may it be science,
performing arts, creative writing, etc.
Shagun: One of world‘s largest Integrated Online Junction for – School Education ‗Shagun‘ is an over-arching
initiative to improve school education system by creating a junction for all online portals and websites relating to
various activities of the Department of School Education and Literacy in the Government of India and all States and
Union Territories.
 Common people can directly give their feedback about schools which will further increase the public participation
and will ensure accountability and transparency.
Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+):To ensure quality, credibility and timely
availability of information from all the schools in the country, the revamped UDISE+ has been launched.
 The GIS based mapping portal gives information about location of more than 15 lakh schools in the country along
with some salient highlights.
Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) 2.0: DIKSHA Portal was launched in 2017 for
providing digital platform to teachers giving them an opportunity to learn and train themselves and connect with
teacher community.
Operation Digital Board (ODB):The aim is to provide by March, 2023, two smart classrooms for every Secondary
Senior Secondary schools in 1,01,967 Government
Key Reforms in Higher Education
Five-Year vision plan „Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme‟(EQUIP)

The Department of Higher Education of MHRD has released a five-year vision plan named ‗Education Quality
Upgradation and Inclusion Programme‘ (EQUIP).This report sets out to deliver further on principles of access,
inclusion, quality, excellence and enhancing employability in Higher Education.
 EQUIP is a vision plan aiming at ushering transformation in India‘s higher education system by implementing
strategic interventions in the sector over five years (2019-2024). EQUIP has been it has been prepared based on
reports of 10 expert group constituted to deliberate upon important aspects of Higher Education.
Institution of Eminence (IoE)

Ten institutions in public sector and 10 institutions in private sector have to be declared as IoE. Public Sector
institutions are IISc Bangalore, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur University of Hyderabad, Banaras
Hindu University, University of Delhi, JadavpurUniversity and Anna University.
pg. 35
 Each public institute (IoE) will be eligible to receive Rs.1000 crore during next 5 years. Private institutions are
BITS Pilani, MAHE Karnataka, Jio Institute, Amrita Vishwavidyapeetham, Tamil Nadu, Vellore Institute of
Technology, Tamil Nadu, JamiaHamdard, New Delhi, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Odisha,
O.P.Jindal Global University,Haryana, Bharti Institute, SatyaBharti Foundation, Mohila and Shiv Nadar
University, Uttar Pradesh.
SWAYAM 2.0 and SWAYAM PRABHA- DTH Educational Channels

SWAYAM 2.0 is initiated with enhanced features and facilities to offer online degree programmes through SWAYAM
by top ranking universities. Whereas SWAYAM PRABHAis a project to telecast high-quality educational programmes
through 32 DTH channels on 24x7 basis to reach out to student/learners of India with wide reach and minimal cost.
 It aims to support those students who do not have good learning options like lack of teacher or internet etc. It also
aims to provide dedicated channels ‗IITPAL‘ to assist the students of XI and XII standards aspiring to join premier
educational institutions in the country.
Some less familiar schemes

Deeksharambh : It is a guide to Student Induction Programme.
Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India‟s Developing Economy (STRIDE): Launched for
promoting quality research by faculty and creation of new knowledge.
PARAMARSH- A scheme to mentor institutions which are seeking National Assessment and Accreditation
Council (NAAC) accreditation.
Cyber security: Issue and Challenges

Introduction
Social media has empowered people and connected them. But, at the same time, they have also provided platforms for
some decidedly unhealthy and destructive behaviour. For security and safe use of digital resources, digital literacy has
become a must. It empowers us with the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate,
create and communicate information require in both cognitive and technical skills. There are many problems like
bullying, cyber-crime, copyright issues, security threat and social unawareness among others.
Digitally literate individuals find meaning in digital information and make use of it; they exhibit the characteristics of
cultural and social understanding, collaboration, the ability to find and select information, effective communication,
E-safety, functional skills, creativity and critical thinking.
Therefore, to avoid and prevent threats in digital world, digital literacy is essential, which helps in creating awareness
in digital space.
Important Terms related to Digital Literacy and Cyber Threats

Bots
Bots and fake followers are a big concern in the social media environment. Bot programs target specific hash tags and
work by auto-commenting and auto-liking in order to attract followers who are mostly other fake bot accounts.
 There are automated systems which can on their own get engaged with other users without any active presence.
More than half of the Twitter followers of many public figures around the world were found to be fake.
 In this age of misinformation, bots possess the power to hijack a conversation, troll someone, promote propaganda
and even cause security issues.
Terrorist Attacks
Whenever there is any terror attach, as a response to the horrific events, people share images and videos of the
devastating attack on social media. Social media thus spread the horror far and wide and unknowingly amplify the
chaps that the terrorists intend to spread.
 Extremists use the social media to make an impact. They even use it to recruit, propagate and to connect.
 Misinformation, the rapid spread of false information through social media is among the emerging risks identified
in Global Risks Report.
 Fake news and rumours spread like wildfire in the social media and it is also increasingly used for militancy.
Remedy: Social media sites have now initiated reporting procedures that allow users to flag any kind of content that
supports terrorism which can be then removed.
pg. 36
 Also, the social networking sites today are Protection against Cyber Attacks
playing an important role in counter-terrorism As the channels and networks for data sharing continue to
operations. evolve and grow, so do the risks. For securing information
 Few enforcement authorities make good use of on the social networking sites, following guidelines can be
the social media by keeping people informed followed:
regularly. For example, Assam State Police 1. Limit the amount of information that you disclose on
opened a cell to monitor social media and keep a the social networking sites;
track of the spread of the spread of rumours. 2. Do not establish friendship with strangers;
3. Do not believe online information blindly as it can be
Cyber Security Challenges misleading;
 Some new threats have also come up like 4. Learn how to use privacy settings on your social profiles
organized cybercrime, trading, smishing properly;
(phishing with SMS), hacktivism (hacker with 5. Beware of third-party applications. Avoid applications
activism) etc. that seem suspicious, and make sure to modify your
 Another type of attack that is rising recently is settings to limit the amount of information which the
distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. applications can access;
Here the intruder is not interested in actually 6. Secure you system, because unsecured network can lead
stealing your information but in bombarding to loss of your personal data;
your server with unnecessary traffic thereby 7. Use antivirus software to secure your computers and
crashing it. Huge servers like video streaming electronic devices;
apps and majority of banks are under this type of 8. Use strong passwords to protect your account and
attack. Any device that can connect to the personal information. Change your passwords
internet can be breached. If an individual by
frequently;
mistake clicks on a link that contains malware or
9. Do not set the same password for all social accounts,
accidentally discloses sensitive information,
because if one site‘s password is compromised, all other
their accounts get exposed to hackers,
accounts will be exposed to others;
cybercriminals and identity thieves.
10. Choose suitable authentication scheme to that no one
can access the details. Two-factor and multi-factor
 Mobile Technologies: Accelerometer,
authentication should be in place. In two-factor
microphone, camera, location, contacts,
authentication along with username and password,
gyroscope (for orientation), heart rate,
another form of identification, often a security code in
proximity, light, temperature, pressure,
the form of a ‗Captcha‘, is used. In multi-factor
barometer(for altitude) are some of the
authentication, more than one form of authentication to
information that are collected from your phone
verify an identity is used. Some examples are facial
through these apps.
recognition, iris recognition, voice ID and finger
o A popular third-party app recently disclosed a
scanning.
data breach that compromised all of its 4.7
million users‘ email addresses and phone numbers.
o This data can be used to execute large-scale phishing attacks meant to compromise a company‘s network and
systems.
 Internet of Things (IoTs) is another such challenge posed by the new technology whereby every objective use is
equipped with the capabilities to identify, locate, sense its surroundings, compute and communicate.
 Ransomware: This ransom demanding malware is a virus which gets into your computer, either when you
download an attachment containing the virus or when you visit any such website and click on a link. Once it gets
into your computer, it starts to encrypt all your files thereby rendering them useless.
o The only way to unlock your files is to get a secret key from the hacker by paying a ransom. And this ransom is
usually demanded through bit coin which keeps the payee anonymous. There has been a 600% increase in
ransomware virus since 2016.
Humans are the weakest link in cyber security chain. Amateurs hack systems but professionals hack people. It is way
easier to con people using social engineering techniques and make them reveal information rather than using tools
and technology. The weakest link happens to be our password with which social accounts, mail accounts and millions
of bank accounts have been hacked.
pg. 37
Conclusion
Digital literacy is a broader concept that consists of developing new skills and knowledge which provides awareness
and advanced level thinking skills. It is extremely essential to be digitally literate for appropriate utilization of digital
information resources.
Therefore, it is the responsibility of each can of use to understand and help others to understand and use the
cyberspace sensibly and responsibly. This will definitely ensure that the netizens are not only techno-savvy and
socially existent but also digitally safe.
PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR UPSC CSE MAINS

1. Describe different steps taken by the Government to popularise and conserve Buddhist Culture.
How do you justify these steps from the perspective of secularism? Critically analyse.
pg. 38
2. Write a short note on Bonn Convention? What are Migratory species? Highlight some of the
major concerns regarding the conservation of these migratory species.
pg. 39
3. Recently Government of India has launched Arth Ganga Project. Critically examine the Project
and it's probable impact on Indian economy and environment.
pg. 40
4. What do you understand by Traditional Farming? Critically examine different aspects of
Traditional Farming in India's context.
pg. 41
5. What do you understand by Artificial Intelligence? Make a brief assessment of some issues that
may arise due to the usage of Artificial intelligence in decision making.
pg. 42
FREE BOOKS, NOTES & VIDEOS FOR CIVILSERVICES
EBOOKS & UPSC PRELIMS USPC MAINS VIDEO FOR DAILY

MAGZINES MATERIALS MATERIALS CIVILSERVICES NEWSAPERS
SECUREIAS UPSC PRELIMS UPSC MAINS DELHI CIVILSERVICES

TESTSERIES TESTSERIES STUDENTS BOOKS
OPTIONAL SUBJECTS BOOKS, STATE PCS, SSC, BANKING

TEST SERIES, VIDEOS & NOTES BOOKS, TESTS VIDEOS & NOTES
1.GEOGRAPHY 1.UPPSC 2.SSC 3.MPSC
2.HISTORY 4.IBPS 5.RAS & RPSC
3.MATHEMATICS ENGINEERING BOOKS & MATERIAL
4. SOCIOLOGY 1. IES 2. GATE 3. IFoS
5.PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 4. COMPUTER SCIENCE
6. POLITICAL SCIENCE 5. MECHINICAL ENGINEERING
7. ECONOMICS OTHER TELEGRAM CHANNELS
8 PHYSICS 1 GOVERNMENT JOBS
9 COMMERCE ACCOUNTANCY 2 LEARN YOGA & MEDITATION
10 ANTHROPOLOGY 3 LEARN ENGLISH
11 LAW 4 BEST DELAS & OFFERS
12 PHILOSOPHY 5 IAS HINDI BOOKS
13 CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTANCY 6 PDFs FOR ALL EXAMS
14 MEDICAL SCIENCE 7. WORLD DIGITAL LIBIRARY
1.CHENNAI STUDENTS 2.BANGLORE STUDENTS 3. CURRENT AFFAIRS
CONTACT FOR ADVERTISEMENT IN ABOVE CHANNLES
ADMIN1: ADMIN2:
6. "Social media has empowered people and connected them. But, at the same time, they have also
provided platforms for some decidedly unhealthy and destructive behaviour."-Elucidate.
pg. 43

Pib Yojana Kuru Feb 2020 Compilation

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Pib Yojana Kuru Feb 2020 Compilation

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Academy for Civil Services Pvt. Ltd.

EBOOKS & UPSC PRELIMS USPC MAINS VIDEO FOR DAILY

SECUREIAS UPSC PRELIMS UPSC MAINS DELHI CIVILSERVICES

OPTIONAL SUBJECTS BOOKS, STATE PCS, SSC, BANKING

General Studies III

Global Hunger Index

India and GHI

Buddhist Studies and Culture

The mandate of these educational Institutions is to

Recent Promotions of Buddhism

Soil Health Card

About The Scheme

Objective of Soil Health Card Scheme

Farmer Centric Provisions

About the Project

Draft Arbitration Council of India (ACI) Rules

Regarding Arbitration, NDIAC has also been in news

Members and Appointment

GENERAL STUDIES III

About Quantum Technology

About the Mission

Macro-economic Framework Statement (MFS)

Highlights of the Macro-economic framework Statement 2020-21

What are Bio-Fertilizers?

About Traditional Farming

Linking Farmers with Markets

Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species

About the body

National Technical Textiles Mission

„Vivad Se Vishwas‟ Scheme

Instant PAN through Aadhaar

Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI)

Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery

Conduct of Election Rules

World Drug Report

Bimstec disaster management exercise -2020

MoUs and Agreements

Classical Swine Fever (CSF)

CHC- Farm Machinery

9. World Bank-supported AtalBhujalYojana (ABHY) – National Groundwater Management Improvement

10. First Organic Food exhibition was recently organized in Delhi.

Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Skill Development for Women

Other Important initiatives

Linking Skill to Entrepreneurship, Apprenticeship: In order to ensure employability, employment,

Women Entrepreneurs: Opportunities and Challenges

Why do we need More Women Entrepreneurs?

Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs

Vocational Education in India

Current Policy Framework

The Road Ahead

Skill Development and Healthcare

Human Resources and Skill Development are interlinked

Skill development in health sector has some benefits such as

Co-operation beyond the boundaries

Opportunities and Applications

Innovation in Higher Education Educational Institutions

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Chronology of Educational Services for Blind

Quality Education for Weaker Section and Disadvantage Groups

Steps Taken to Ensure Education of Children with Disability

Key Reforms in Higher Education

Five-Year vision plan „Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme‟(EQUIP)