SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: Various major schemes by Government for Energy Conservation

June 2, 2011

Major Schemes for Energy Conservation include following: 1. Bachat Lamp Yojana promotes energy efficient and high quality CFLs as replacement for incandescent bulbs in households by leveraging Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) benefits. So far 2.08 crores CFLs have been distributed at the rate of an incandescent bulb. The scheme has been registered as a Programme of Activities (PoA) with the CDM Executive Board on 29.4.2010 under UNFCCC. This will enable the other states to join the umbrella project (PoA) without registration with CDM Executive Board which is time consuming. 2. Standards & Labeling Scheme targets high energy end use equipments and appliances to lay down minimum energy performance standards. . Labeling of air-conditioners, refrigerators, tubular fluorescent lamps (TFLs) and distribution transformers were made mandatory on 7.1.2010. Six other appliances have been covered under the voluntary programme (Geysers, Motors, Pump sets, Colour TV, LPG Stoves, Ceiling Fans). 3. Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) / Existing Buildings - ECBC sets minimum energy performance standards for new commercial buildings having a connected load of 100 kW. These codes define norms of energy requirement per square meter of area and takes into consideration the climatic regions of the country where the building is located. State Governments have the flexibility to modify the ECBC based on local and regional requirements. Energy efficiency measures in existing buildings are also being carried out through retrofitting. 45 ECBC expert architects have been empanelled. Investment grade audits have been initiated in 35 Central Government buildings and in 400 buildings in the states. 89 Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) have been empanelled and accredited. The star rating programme for office buildings, BPOs and shopping malls have been launched. 136 buildings have been found eligible for awarding the BEE star label. 4. Agricultural and Municipal DSM targets replacement of inefficient pumpsets, street lighting, etc. The pilot activities under the scheme have been initiated in five states viz. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. The pilot scheme in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh will be initiated in the second phase. 5. Operationalising EC Act by Strengthening Institutional Capacity of State Designated Agencies (SDAs). The scheme seeks to build institutional capacity of the SDAs to enable them to perform their regulatory, enforcement and facilitative functions in the respective states. Action Plans for 31 States / UTs are under implementation. The study on potential savings in the states has been completed. The results of the study indicates that the total consumption assessed in all States is 501003 MU of electricity. There is a deficit of 73093 MU and the total energy saving potential is 75364.08 MU. This is about 15 % of the total consumption. If this can be tapped it will take care of the deficit. 6. Energy Efficiency Improvement in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) aims at stimulating energy efficiency measures in 25 high energy consuming small and medium enterprise clusters. Activities under the scheme have been initiated. The Energy Conservation Act was enacted in 2001 with the professed goal of reducing energy intensity of Indian Economy. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) was set up as a nodal statutory body on 1st March, 2002 at the central level to facilitate the implementation of the EC Act. The Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) lays emphasis on energy conservation and efficiency, particularly through Demand Side Measures (DSM) and estimates 15% saving of energy is possible by such interventions. BEE is targeting: House hold lighting, Commercial Buildings, Standards & Labeling of appliances, Demand Side Management in Agriculture / Municipalities, SMEs and Large Industries, and Capacity Building of SDAs.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: SWARNJAYANTI GRAM SWAROZGAR YOJANA

June 2, 2011

The Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) is a major self employment scheme launched in April, 1999 after restructuring and combining the IRDP with allied programmes i.e. TRYSEM, DWCRA, SITRA, GKY, MWS. It has been designed as a holistic self employment scheme aimed at providing sustainable income to rural BPL families through income generating assets / economic activities so as to bring them out of the poverty line. It is a process oriented scheme involving processes like organization of the rural poor (BPL) into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) through social mobilization, capacity building & training, provision of revolving fund, making available credit and subsidy, technology, infrastructure & marketing. Each process has a bearing on the successive process. The SGSY is trying to achieve social mobilization through formation of member owned, member controlled and member managed institutions of the poor in the form of Self Help Groups (SHGs). Salient Features SGSY aims at bringing the assisted poor families (swarozgaries) above poverty line by providing them income generating assets through a mix of bank credit and government subsidy. The objective is achieved through organizing rural poor into Self - Help Groups (SHGs) at the grassroots level through the process of social mobilization. The process of social mobilization is followed by capacity building and training of rural poor. The scheme is being implemented in the States through the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) and funds are transferred by Ministry of Rural Development directly to the DRDAs with active involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions(PRIs). Funds are allocated to the States on the basis of inter se poverty ratios fixed by the Planning Commission and further to the districts on the basis of their Below Poverty Line (BPL) population. Selection key economic activities are based on available natural resources, occupational skills of the people and available markets. Cluster approach for taking up economic activities is emphasized. Emphasis is on provision of credit to the rural poor. Subsidy is just an enabling element and is linked to credit from banks. Thrust is on empowerment of the vulnerable sections of the society, i.e. 50% for SC/STs, 40% for women, 15% for minorities and 3% for disabled persons. Funds shared between Centre and State, except for north eastern states, on 75:25 basis. The ratio of sharing of funds between Centre and north eastern states including Sikkim is 90:10. NGOs can be involved for assisting in the formation of SHGs and their handholding for which the NGOs can be paid a remuneration of up to Rs. 10,000 per SHG in separate instalments. The SHGs are taken through a grading process whereby they are graded as Grade I and Grade II based on certain criteria. Financial assistance is provided to both SHGs and individuals under the scheme though more focus is on the groups than the individuals. The beneficiaries are provided training and capacity building inputs to familiarize them with the basics of group dynamics and skill training is provided to make their micro enterprises sustainable and more productive.

Revolving Fund assistance is provided to the SHGs for augmenting their group corpus and the banks are expected to give a cash credit limit to the SHGs equal to four times their group corpus. Subsidy under the SGSY is given at the uniform rate of at 30% of the project cost, subject to a maximum of Rs.7500. In respect of SC/STs and disabled however, these will be 50% and Rs.10,000/ respectively. For Groups of Swarozgaris (SHGs), the subsidy would be at 50% of the cost of the scheme or per capita subsidy of Rs.10,000/- or Rs.1.25 lakh, whichever is less. There will be no monetary limit on subsidy for irrigation projects. Subsidy is back ended. The SGSY seeks to promote multiple credits rather than a one time credit injection. 20 percent of the allocation at the district level has been earmarked for meeting expenditure critical gaps in infrastructure creation required supporting the livelihood activities of the rural poor. Provision is also made for taking care of all aspects of marketing including marketing intelligence, backward and forward linkages and creation of marketing infrastructure. 15% outlay under SGSY is set apart for Special Projects to field test and validate alternative strategies for livelihood opportunities and enhancement of livelihood support for rural poor. Each Special Project is expected to execute a time-bound programme for bringing a specific number of BPL families above the poverty line through a projectised approach with the funding requirement to be shared between centre and state, except for north eastern states, in the ratio of 75:25. The ratio of sharing of funds between Centre and north eastern states including Sikkim is 90:10.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: SOCIO ECONOMIC MCQs

June 2, 2011

1.The President of India appoints the Chairman and Members of the National Human Rights Commission on whose recommendations? (A)Prime Minister of India (B)Speaker of Lok Sabha (C)Home Minister (D)Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha (E)All of the Above Ans. (E) All of the Above 2.In which year India ratified International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ? (A)1966 (B)1968 (C)1976 (D)1978 (E)1979 Ans. (E) 1979 3.In which of the following cities is located the technology center of Unique Identification Authority of India? (A)Delhi (B)Hyderabad (C)Ranchi (D)Hyderabad (E)Bangalore Ans. (E) Bangalore 4.The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) links 37 constituent laboratories with diverse research portfolios as varied as drug discovery to oceanography. Recently we read in the newspapers that CSIRs latest imitative is launching of an Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) Programme. What is the main purpose of Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) Programme? (A)To make India a hub of drug research and development (B)To bring the scientists of the world under one roof (C)To bring down the costs of the new drugs and make them affordable to all (D)To make India self reliant in Drug production (E)All of above Ans. (C) To bring down the costs of the new drugs and make them affordable to all 5.On the recommendation of which of the following committees the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has been releasing money of the Centers share of recapitalization assistance to the primary agriculture credit societies (PACS) in various states to introduce cooperative reforms ? (A)N R Narayanmurthy Committee (B)Prof A. Vaidyanathan Committee (C)K Madhav Das Committee (D)R Gandhi Committee (E)None of them Ans. (B)Prof A. Vaidyanathan Committee 6.Express Remit is the brand name of a remittance facility by which of the following banks? (A)State Bank of India (B)Punjab National Bank (C)Bank of Baroda (D)ICICI Bank (E)HDFC Bank Ans. (A) State Bank of India 7.Which among the following is the most important source region of NRI remittances to India ? (A)North America (B)Europe (C)Middle East (D)Asia Pacific (E)South America Ans. (A) North America 8.As per the guidelines issued by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in February 2009, any company with more than what fraction of foreign equity should be considered as a foreign company? (A)51% (B)59% (C)61% (D)71% (E)75% Ans. (A) 51% 9.To achieve 100% financial Inclusion in India, Reserve Bank of India had had issued a circular in July 2009 permitting cash withdrawals of up to Rs 1,000 per day from PoS (Point of sale) terminals at merchant establishments. Recently which of the following bank has become first Bank of India to offer this facility? (A)State Bank of India (B)Punjab National Bank (C)Bank of India (D)Union Bank of India (E)UCO Bank Ans. (D) Union Bank of India 10.Which among the following sector of Indian Economy is maximum dependent on economic developments in advanced nations? (A)Manufacturing Sector (B)Agricultural Sector (C)Mining Sector (D)Textile Sector (E)Services Sector Ans. (E) Services Sector 11.Many a times we read in the newspapers that Government of India is promoting private investment in the country through PPP mode that is Public private partnership. What is the target of the private sector investment in the country by 2012 ? (A)$ 150 Billion (B)$ 200 Billion (C)$ 300 Billion (D)$ 400 Billion (E)None of them Ans. (B) $ 200 Billion 12.Which among the following country has been consistently on the top slot for last four years and this year too in the latest version of World Banks annual report Doing Business 2010? (A)Sweden (B)New Zea Land (C)Singapore (D)China (E)South Korea Ans. (C) Singapore 13.What is Doing Business 2010 rank of India? (A)129 (B)131 (C)132 (D)133 (E)135

Ans. (D) 133, last year it was 132 and it has gone down by 1 14.As per the World Bank Report, which among the following in India is comparatively easy for outsiders planning to do business here? (A)Dealing with Construction Permits (B)Registering Property (C)Getting Credit (D)Enforcing Contracts (E)Employing Workers Ans. (C) Getting Credit 15.Which among the following cities ranks first in ease of doing business in India? (A)Gurgaon (B)Chandigarh (C)Hyderabad (D)Ludhiana (E)Bangalore Ans. (D) Ludhiana 16.For the first time in India, in which of the following Budgets basic reforms in the international financial and trading system was stressed in India? (A)1969 (B)1975 (C)1983 (D)1991 (E)1992 Ans. (C) 1983 17.The recently presented Economic Survey says Indias unpardonably large bureaucratic costs are like a valuable resource buried under the ground, waiting to be excavated and used . The unpardonably large bureaucratic costs refer here to which of the following? (A)Cost incurred in recruitment and training of bureaucrats (B)Costs incurred in getting a project cleared in government offices as bribes (C)Hidden Costs due to unwanted delay in projects approval (D)Low efficiency of the bureaucracy of the country due to political instability (E)All of the above Ans. (C) Hidden Costs due to unwanted delay in projects approval 18.Bring out the incorrect statement regarding Indias textile sector: (A)Indias textile and clothing sector currently employs 35 million people (B)After agriculture it is second largest provider of employment (C)Textile sector has a tendency to shrink as the GDP and Economy grows (D)Textile sector is a major absorber of low-skilled labor (E)All of above are correct statements Ans. (C) statement C is incorrect. This natural tendency has been seen in agriculture sector and not in textile sector 19.Year 2009-10 was a time of inflationary concerns for our country witnessing unusual double digit inflation. In the history of Independent India, which among the following decades had shown 3 consecutive years of double-digit, food price inflation? (A)1970s (B)1980s (C)1990s (D)2000s (E)1960s Ans. (A) 1970s. 1972-73-74 20.Who among the following is the chairman of the Technology Advisory Group which has the mandate to fix the framework for large and transformational IT projects of the government? (A)Kaushik Basu (B)C Rangrajan (C)Nandan Nilkeni (D)Ashowk Chawla (E)None of them Ans. (C) Nandan Nilkeni 21.The following options A to E are news headlines related to Union Budget 2010 , taken from some financial newspapers. Among them bring out the one that deals with Transfer Payments ? (A)Government projects Rs. 248664 crore for Interest payments (B)Government projects Rs. 301331 as corporation tax in 2010-11 (C)Government will spend Rs. 60000 Crore on Defense in 2010-11 (D)The Subsidy has been Reduced from Rs. 131025 crore to 116224 crore in Union Budget 2010 (E)The government pitches for Rs. 40000 crore for Disinvestment Ans. (D) The Subsidy has been Reduced from Rs. 131025 crore to 116224 crore in Union Budget 2010 22.In which of the following example the marginal productivity is close to zero? (A)7 people working in a bank branch and 3 more join them after a massive recruitment drive of the bank (B)7 people from a family working in a farm and 3 more join to them because they lost their jobs due to poor markets (C)7 teachers teaching in a school and 3 more join them to teach 3 different subjects to a class of 100 students (D)7 people are recruited by a company in unreserved category and 3 more recruited one of them was a physically disabled person (E)None of them Ans. (B) Option B is an example of Hidden Unemployment 23.As we all know that economic liberalization began in true sense in July 1991 in India. Which among the following was the first step of the government while taking the country towards Economic Liberalization? (A)Substantial changes in industrial license policy were made (B)The Rupee was made convertible (C)Procedural formalities for Foreign direct Investment were removed (D)The government significantly reduced the taxes (E)The Government launched a highly focused Foreign Trade Policy Ans. (A) Substantial changes in industrial license policy were made 24.Who among the following is not a member of National Development Council? (A)The Prime

Minister of India (B)The President of India (C)The members of Planning Commission (D)The Chief Minister of states (E)All of above are members Ans. (B) The President of India 25.Bhoodan Yojna which was a measure of gifting land by the rich landlords to the poor laborers was initiated by whom among the following? (A)Acharya Narendra Dev (B)Acharya Vinoba Bhave (C)Raj Naraina (D)Medha patkar (E)Swami Sundaranand Ans. (B) Acharya Vinoba Bhave 26.As per 2001 census, which among the following states had lowest density of population per sq. kms? (A)Mizoram (B)Sikkim (C)Nagaland (D)Manipur (E)Arunachal Pradesh Ans. (E) Arunachal Pradesh 27.In a condition of monopoly, the monopolist has a control over the price he charges for his product. In which of the following conditions he will be able to maximize his profits? (A)Lowering the prices if the demand curve is elastic (B)Lowering the price, if the demand curve is inelastic (C)Raising the price, if the demand curve is elastic (D)In all of above situation (E)in none of the above situations Ans. (A) Lowering the prices if the demand curve is elastic 28.A competitive firm maximizes its profit when _______? (A)MR=AR (B)MR=MC (C)MC=AC (D)MC=AR (E)None of the above Ans. (B) MR=MC 29.Rs. 10000 are realized after selling 100 units and Rs. 14000 are realized after selling 120 Units. In this example, Rs. 200 is ________? (A)Price per unit (B)marginal cost (C)marginal profit (D)marginal revenue (E)maximum profit Ans (D) Marginal Revenue 30.Who among the following is Indias current Minister of State (Expenditure & Financial Services)? (A)S S Palanimanickam (B)Namo Narain Meena (C)Dinsha J. Patel (D)Jitin Prasada (E)None of them Ans. (B) Namo Narian Meena 31.What is the current limit for collateral free loansto micro and small enterprises (MSEs) sector in India? (A)Rs. 5 Lakh (B)Rs. 10 Lakh (C)Rs. 15 Lakh (D)Rs. 8 Lakh (E)None of them Ans. (A) Rs. 5 Lakh 32.As we read in the newspapers that Reserve bank of India is introducing Base rate System which shall be the new reference rate for determining lending rates for banks. The Base Rate System would bring in more transparency to loan pricing for customers. On which date is being introduced in India? (A)April 1, 2010 (B)June 1, 2010 (C)July 1, 2010 (D)January 1, 2011 (E)April 1, 2011 Ans. (C) July 1, 2010 33.Recently RBI has released on its website, the report of the Committee on Comprehensive Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies. Who among the following is the chairman of this committee? (A)Dr. K.P. Krishnan (B)Subir Gokarn (C)Ashok Chawla (D)Shri Vipin Malik (E)Dr A.Vasudevan Ans. (A) Dr. K. P. Krishnan 34.On-line Electric Vehicle,(OELV) is world s first commercial wireless electric vehicle. It was launched on March 9, 2010 in which of the following countries? (A)Japan (B)United States (C)South Korea (D)China (E)India Ans. (C) South Korea 35.With traded over 161 million contracts in 2009 , MCX has in February 2010 became words ______largest commodity Exchange? (A)Second (B)Third (C)Fourth (D)Fifth (E)Sixth Ans. (E) Sixth 36.Recently we read in the newspapers that attorney generals of seven states of United States are investigating over the charges over worlds largest seed producer that it has abused its market power to lock out competitors and raise prices. Which of the following companies is this worlds largest seed producer? (A)Asgrow (B)McKenzie Seeds (C)Burpee Seeds (D)Monsanto (E)Unwins Seeds Ans. (D) Monsanto 37.Recently Bt varieties Bollgard-I and Bollgard-II were amid news as the reports in various news papers say that Bollgard-I has been phased out in many countries and Bolgard-II are preferred. These verities are of ________? (A)Bt Cotton (B)Bt Brinjal (C)Bt Tomato (D)Bt Potato (E)None of them Ans. (A) Bt Cotton 38.Which among the following is the largest importer of Indian marine products as we read in the newspapers that it has decided to adopt the 20 per cent sampling method on Indian marine Products, especially shrimp, from April 2010 which shall lead to difficulty in exports? (A)China (B)Japan (C)United States (D)European Union (E)Australia

Ans. (D) European Union 39.Which among the following organizations holds the largest stake in Indias top depository, National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL)? (A)National Stock Exchange (B)IDBI Bank (C)Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) (D)Bombay Stock Exchange (E)None of them Ans. (B) IDBI Bank 40.What is Amfis related to in India? (A)Banking (B)Mutual Funds (C)Marketing & Finance (D)Power Industry (E)Information Technology Ans. (B)Mutual Funds Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfis)

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: SCHEMES /PROGRAMMES / POLICIES

June 2, 2011

Swavalamban scheme It is a pension scheme for workers in the unorganised sector who do not have access to the social security net. Under the scheme subscribers would get Rs.1,000 from the government each year for a subscription amount of Rs.12,000 per year New Pension System (NP)S account. The scheme will remain valid for this financial year and for the next three consecutive fiscals. A subscriber can enter the scheme at the age of 18 years and will be eligible for pension after turning 60. On turning 60, the pensioner can withdraw 60 per cent of his contribution, while the balance will be given as a monthly annuity by the LIC. The LIC has been appointed one of the many aggregators who will collect subscription amounts from subscribers. The Scheme shall be managed by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and Government will release its contribution to PFRDA for crediting the same to the NPS accounts of eligible subscribers. Launch Date:26 September( 78th birthday of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) National water policy and climate change Spurred by the need to look at climate change impact on water resources, the Centre is formulating a revised National Water Policy in consultation with the States and other stakeholders to ensure basinlevel management strategies. This would deal with variability in rainfall and river flows due to climate change. Integrated Children Protection Scheme The Government of India, Ministry of Women & Child Development has formulated a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) with the objective to provide a safe and secure environment to the children in the country who are in need of care and protection as well as children in conflict with law. The intervention includes, inter-alia, financial support for setting up and / or maintenance of Homes for children in need of care and protection and those in conflict with law, setting up of child protection structure state child protection society, capacity building, advocacy etc. Specific Objectives: To institutionalize essential services and strengthen structures. To enhance capacities at all levels. To create database and knowledge base for child protection services. To strengthen child protection at family and community level. To ensure appropriate inter-sectoral response at all levels. To raise public awareness. Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra To be developed at a cost of Rs. 25 lakhs, The Panchayat Ghars have been envisaged as the mini secretariat. It will have services of seven computer operators to update the records. Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra will act as the village knowledge resource centre and help in ensuring that the benefits of development reach out to the needy and the poor in rural areas. It would be a forum for the village people to interact and exchange their experiences and would provide logistic support and record keeping facility. It shall be a single window for providing the information on the MGNREGS and will also help in efficient implementation of MGNREGA at Panchayat and Block level and in providing space for greater and more transparent interaction with the local people. Funding: The source of funding for the construction of Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendras will come from BRGF, MGNREGA and other relevant schemes. Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission One of the eight National Missions outlined in National Action Plan on Climate Change, the

Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) specifically focuses on solar energy and its role in minimizing future emissions. The Government has launched JNNSM in January, 2010 with a target of 20,000 MW grid solar power (based on solar thermal power generating systems and solar photovoltaic (SPV) technologies), 2000 MW of off-grid capacity by 2022 (i.e. 22000 MW by 2022). The Mission will be implemented in three phases. The first phase will be of three years (upto March, 2013, target-1,100 MW grid connected+200 MW off- grid=1300 MW), the second till March 2017 and the third phase will continue till March, 2022. National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education has been set up at IIT-Bombay. Pradhanmantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) The Government has launched a new scheme called Pradhanmantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) for the integrated development of scheduled castes dominated villages in the country. There are about 44,000 villages in which the population of scheduled castes is above 50 per cent. The new scheme PMAGY will be launched on a pilot basis in 1000 such villages. Under this Scheme, each village would be able to avail gap funding of Rs.10 lakh over and above the allocations under Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation Schemes. On successful implementation of the pilot phase, the PMAGY would be extended in coming years. Status: PMAGY was launched at Village 18 BB, Block Padampur, District Sriganganagar, Rajasthan. The pilot scheme has been taken up for implementation in five States of which four are Bihar, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu (225 villages in each state) and Assam (100 villages) Fifth state U.P. is yet to respond to the government's invitation. [note: PMAGY is speculated as a replica of U.P.'s Ambedkar Village scheme] National Commission on Human Resource for Health (NCHRH) NCHRH is the proposed council aimed at ensuring propriety, increasing efficiency, and providing greater synergy among health professionals and improving the quality of health infrastructure in India. Status: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has asked the Ministries of Human Resource Development and Health and Family Welfare to identify linkages between the two proposed regulatory bodies National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) and the National Commission on Human Resource for Health (NCHRH) being promoted by them respectively to speed up the process of setting up the two authorities. PURA The Government has approved the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) Scheme on 21st January 2010 for implementation on a pilot basis during 11th Five Year Plan. The scheme aims at holistic and accelerated development of compact areas around a potential growth centre in a Gram Panchayat (s) through Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework for providing livelihood opportunities and urban amenities to improve the quality of life in rural areas. The Ministry of Rural Development had initially implemented the PURA scheme from 2004-05 to 2006-07 on a pilot basis. However, only seven pilot projects were implemented for drawing an experience for preparing a restructuring scheme in future. One pilot project each was implemented in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh during the initial pilot phase of PURA scheme. Background: PURA is a brainchild of former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. PURA mission based on the principle of connectivity physical, electronic, knowledge and economic. Physical connectivity is envisaged as circular roads connecting a group of villages. Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls [RGSEAG](SABLA) Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls [RGSEAG] SABLA is a scheme

proposed by the Ministry for women and child development for Adolescent Girls of 11 18 Years, whereby the Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) and Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) would be merged with content enrichment. The scheme is proposed to be implemented using the platform of Integrated Child Development Services Scheme. It's a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to be implemented through the State Governments/UTs with 100% financial assistance from the Central Government for all inputs, except supplementary nutrition for which Government of India and States would share on 50: 50 basis. The scheme aims at empowering adolescent girls (AGs) of 11-18 years with focus on out-ofschool girls by improvement in their nutritional and health status and upgrading various skills like home skills, life skills and vocational skills. The scheme also aims at equipping the girls on family welfare, health hygiene etc. Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) Objective: The objectives of the scheme are to improve the health and nutrition status of pregnant, lactating women and infants. Eligibility: All pregnant and lactating women except Govt and PSU employees. The beneficiaries would be pregnant women of 19 years of age and above for first two live births (benefit for still births will be as per the norms of scheme). Benefits: Each pregnant and lactating woman will receive a total cash incentive of ` 4000/- in three installments between the period from the second trimester of pregnancy to the child attaining the age of 6 months. Fund Sharing: The Scheme will be centrally sponsored with 100% assistance from the Centre. Ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development Implementation: On pilot basis in selected 52 districts during the remaining period of XI Five Year Plan at a total cost of Rs.1000 crore. There will be Steering and Monitoring Committees at all levels to oversee implementation and monitor the progress. An IGMSY Cell within the Ministry of Women and Child Development will also be set up Inception: approved by CECA in Oct 2010. National Initiative on Climate resilient agriculture The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the implementation of a new plan scheme National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture to address climate change impact on agriculture and allied sectors. Objective: The main objective of the Scheme is to assess the impact of climate change on agriculture and allied sectors in the country and evolve cost effective adaptation and mitigation strategies. The components of the scheme are: 1. Detailed vulnerability assessment of agro-climate regions and production systems, and the relative vulnerability of different crops, livestock and fishery sectors. 2. Initiate strategic research on adaptation and mitigation at seven major research institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on natural resources, major food crops, livestock, marine and freshwater fisheries. 3. Demonstrate available climate resilient practices on farmers' fields in 100 most vulnerable districts of the country. 4. Strengthen research infrastructure to state of the art and capacity building of scientists for undertaking long term research on climate change adaptation.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: Sanchar Shakti

June 2, 2011

Sanchar Shakti envisages bringing together the combined efforts and contributions of Department of Telecommunication (DoT), Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), mobile and Mobile Value Added Service Providers, Telecom Equipment Manufacturers and their partner NGOs to use ICT to empower rural women. NABARD and U.N Women have also been involved in the development of this scheme. The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, while launching "Sanchar Shakti" said, real development cannot take root if it bypasses women, who represent the very pivot around which social change takes shape. As we make progress on gender mainstreaming, more and more women will become full partners in many activities of the nation and society. She said, rural women will become both users and enablers of ICT service with the launch of this scheme. Under the scheme Mobile Value Added Services are being designed to provide a variety of useful information to women about health, social issues, and government schemes, as also livelihood related inputs and training over their mobile phones, she added. It is intended that while the targeted group will benefit through improved skills and livelihoods, the overall rural community will get access to facilities such as locally available mobile repair and solar mobile charging centres. Sanchar Scheme The Sanchar Shakti scheme includes four categories of projects aimed at rural womens SHGs: 1. Provision of subsidized mobile VAS subscription to SHGs with a service validity/warranty of at least one year 2. Setting up of SHG run mobile repair centers in rural areas 3. Setting up of SHG run modem repair centers in rural areas 4. Setting up of SHG run solar based mobile/CDMA FWT charging centers in rural areas Under the mobile VAS project category, seven pilot projects will be initiated in the different parts of India. The projects are aimed at the facilitating womens SHGs access to ICT enabled services and creation of employment opportunities in the area of ICT enabling services. About 15,000 SHG members are expected to benefit from these initial mobile VAS pilot projects. The details of Lead Executing Agency and location of the mobile VAS Pilot Projects are as follows: 1. Tata Tele Services Limited--Uttar Pradesh 2. Sasken Communication Technologies Limited--Tamil Nadu and Kerala 3. Reuters Market Light--Maharashtra 4. Reuters Market Light--Uttarakhand 5. Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Private Limited--Tamil Nadu 6. Videocon Telecommunications Limited--Tamil Nadu and Puducherry 7. Vodafone Essar South Limited--Andhra Pradesh The mobile VAS projects would focus on providing the women SHG members with a bundle of informational inputs which are pertinent to their livelihood/entrepreneurial activities and lifestyles. This would comprise information related to markets and financial products, skill enhancement, health, social issues and Government schemes. The mode of delivery would include short messaging service (SMS) and interactive voice response systems (IVRS). The content and its delivery will be specially customized for the SHG members keeping in mind aspects of socio-

cultural background, literacy, language and gender sensitivity. Training and facilitation and monitoring and evaluation would form an integral part of the projects which shall be completed by Jun-July 2012. The current Scheme should also serve the purpose of increasing tele-density, as well as broad band connectivity in rural areas, enabling the rural populace to join the cyber community and in this way, bridge the digital divide. With the creation of ICT-skills sets, in rural areas, over a period of time, these areas can become centers for the consumption and production of various ICT goods and services, including hubs for processing outsourced work. The learning from these Pilot Projects would play a crucial role in framing of future strategies for the empowerment of rural women through ICT. It is envisaged that the success of this scheme would encourage Government and private agencies to use ICT enabled services to reach out to rural women as target beneficiaries of empowerment initiatives and as a potential market segment respectively. What is USOF? The Universal Service Obligation Fund of India came into being with retrospective effect from April 01, 2002 with the passing of the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act 2003, in December 2003. The Fund which is headed by the Administrator, USOF has a mandate of providing access to Telegraph (Telecommunications) Services to people in rural and remote areas at reasonable and affordable prices. The Fund has already rolled out a large number of schemes aimed at promoting public and individual access to telephony and broadband services in rural India. These include schemes for Village Public Telephones (VPTs), Rural Community Phones (RCPs), Rural Household phones (RDELs), Mobile Infrastructure and Services, Wire Line Broadband, Intra-district OFC Networks etc. In recognition of the requirements of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB), USOF has also undertaken gender specific initiatives; like preferential allocation of broadband connections to womens SHGs has been incorporated in the USOF Wire Line Broadband Scheme. A special scheme for provisions of broadband enabled Rural Public Service Terminals to SHGs has been incorporated in the Funds activities. These terminals will enable SHGs to provide banking, financial services and other broadband enabled Value Added Services (VAS) to the rural population.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: SABLA : RAJIV GANDHI SCHEME FOR EMPOWERMENT OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS (RGSEAG )
June 2, 2011

The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, in the year 2000, came up with a scheme called Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY), which was implemented using the infrastructure of the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS). The objective of this scheme was to improve the nutrition and health status of girls in the agegroup of 11 to 18 years, to equip them to improve and upgrade their homebased and vocational skills, and to promote their overall development, including awareness about their health, personal hygiene, nutrition and family welfare and management. Thereafter, the Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) was initiated as a pilot project in the year 2002-03 in 51 identified districts across the country to address the problem of under nutrition among AGs(Adolescent Girls). Under this programme, 6 kg of free food grain per beneficiary per month was given to undernourished AGs. Though both these schemes have influenced the lives of AGs to an extent, but have not shown the desired impact. Moreover, the extent of financial assistance and coverage under them has been limited and they both had similar interventions and catered to more or less similar target groups. Therefore, a new comprehensive scheme, called Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls or SABLA, merging the erstwhile KSY and NPAG schemes has been formulated to address the multi dimensional problems of AGs. SABLA will be implemented initially in 200 districts selected across the country, using the platform of ICDS. In these districts, RGSEAG will replace KSY and NPAG. In rest of the districts, KSY would continue as before. OBJECTIVES OF THIS SCHEME: The objectives of the scheme are to: enable self development and empowerment of AGs(Adolescent Girls); improve their nutrition and health status; spread awareness among them about health, hygiene, nutrition, Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH), and family and child care; upgrade their home based skills, life skills and vocational skills; mainstream out of school AGs into formal/non formal education; and inform and guide them about existing public services, such as PHC, CHC, Post Office, Bank, Police Station, etc. FOR WHOM THIS SCHEME IS FOR? The scheme aims at covering AGs in the age group of 11 to 18 years under all ICDS projects in selected 200 districts across India on pilot. Keeping in view the need of different ages and in order to give ageappropriate attention for certain components of ARSH and family matters, the target group may be subdivided into two categories, viz., 11-14 and 15-18 years. Interventions on health and personal hygiene, etc. would have to be planned accordingly. The scheme focuses on all out-of-school AGs, who would assemble at the Anganwadi Centre (AWC) as per timetable and frequency to be decided by the State Governments /UTs concerned. The others, i.e., school-going girls, would meet at the AWC at least twice a month, and more frequently (once a week) during

vacations/holidays. Here they will receive life skills education, nutrition and health education, awareness about socio-legal issues, etc. This will provide an opportunity for mixed group interaction between school-going and out-of-school girls, motivating the latter to also join school and help the school going to receive the life skills. MODALITIES OF THE SCHEME Formation of Kishori Samooh Kishori Samooh (KS) will be a group of average 15 to 25 AGs from the village/area of the AWC and will be formed at the AWC level. In case there are less than 15 AGs, Kishori Samooh can still be formed. Kishori Samooh will not be formed if there are less than 7 AGs in the area of the AWC in which case, the benefits of the Scheme may be given to these AGs without nominating sakhi and saheli. The AGs will select three leaders of their choice for a year from within the KS. In this selection, they may be guided by the AWW and, wherever possible, a school teacher from the village. Selection may be based on age, education level, maturity, willingness of the girl and her acceptability within the group. These girls will be called Sakhi (one girl) and Saheli(two girls), which in English mean friend. As far as possible, the Sakhi and Sahelis may be selected from among the out of school girls. One of these girls will be Sakhi, i.e., peer monitor. Each of the three selected girl will have a term of four months as Sakhi, on rotation basis, while the remaining two will function as Sahelis assisting Sakhi. Thus, each Kishori Samooh will be headed by Sakhi, assisted by two Sahelis. Sakhi and Sahelis will serve the group for a period of one year, after which a fresh selection would be made. Names of Sakhi and Sahelis may be displayed on the wall of AWC and, if possible, on the school wall. The concept of Sakhi and Saheli is meant to serve several purposes: development of leadership abilities, team spirit, motivation to be the next Sakhi and Saheli, understanding democracy at a very fundamental level, and providing information and guidance to peers. The identified girls, i.e., Sakhi and Sahelis, will be imparted training as per prescribed module at the project or sector level to serve as peer monitors for KS. Sakhi and Sahelis are to participate in regular activities of AWC, like providing pre school education and supplementary nutrition, growth monitoring, etc. They may also accompany the AWW for home visits, which will serve as training ground for future. State Governments /UTs may decide to give a certificate to Sakhi and Sahelis upon completion of their term of work. This will motivate the AGs to take on a leadership role. Kishori Diwas Kishori Diwas will be a special health day, celebrated once in three months on a fixed day, as decided by the State Governments /UTs. On this day, the AWWs with the help of health functionaries, including Medical Officer, Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) and Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), will mobilize AGs and their families, especially mothers, to assemble at the AWC. For better coordination, the State Governments /UTs may choose to combine Kishori Diwas with the corresponding months Village Health and Nutrition Day (VHND). However, care should be taken that .the overall aim of the Kishori Diwas is not lost and that it is not overshadowed by the VHND. State Governments / UTs must ensure coordination and convergence with respective Health Departments so that Health personnel specially the Medical Officers are present on Kishori Diwas. On Kishori Diwas, AGs and their families will be able to interact freely with ICDS and health personnel to obtain basic services and information. The ICDS and health functionaries will be responsible for educating AGs and their families about the preventive and promotive aspects of nutrition and healthcare, for encouraging them to adopt

healthy behaviour as well as seeking healthcare from proper healthcare facilities. Village Health and Sanitation Committees (VHSCs), comprising ASHA, AWW, ANM and PRI representatives, should be involved in organizing the event. Adequate publicity of Kishori Diwas should be ensured to maximise participation. On Kishori Diwas, the following services are to be provided: 1. General health check up, including recording of height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI) for all AGs, by the Medical Officer / ANM 2. Filling up of Kishori Cards for every AG, marking major milestones 3. Referral to specialized healthcare facilities, as required specially for conditions like malnutrition (BMI < 18.5), menstrual problems, frequent headaches, prolonged acne, worm infestation, etc. 4. Organising of special health camps 5. Providing nutrition and health education 6. Demonstration of preparing nutritious recipes(FNB may be involved for these) 7. Holding counselling / behaviour change communication (BCC) sessions with AGs and their families for promoting good practices 8. Imparting information, education and communication (IEC) to community, parents, siblings etc. 9. Mobile Health Units (where existing) may be utilised. Kishori Card A card for each AG to be called Kishori Card, will be maintained at the AWC. This will contain information regarding the weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI) , Iron Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation, referrals and services received under Sabla. The card will also contain important milestones in the girls life like joining school, leaving school, marriage, etc. which will be marked as and when they are achieved. AWW will help the girls in maintenance of Kishori Cards. Sakhi and Sahelis will assist the AGs in filling up the Kishori Cards, after which the AWW will countersign it. Timetable for Implementation Activities may be planned for AGs for two hours per day for three days in a week at the AWC, or at any other place where alternative arrangements may be made. AGs must be provided non nutrition services for a minimum of 5-6 hours per week. The timings and days would be decided by the State Government /UT concerned, keeping the following in view: (a) The timings for providing services under ICDS Scheme, so that its implementation is not adversely impacted. Time coordination may be done between the ICDS and Sabla Scheme in such a manner that the timings for activities for AGs may not overlap with or impinge upon ICDS timings. (b) Availability of AWW/AWH and resource persons on these days (c) Convenience of AGs for coming to the sessions (d) Suitability of the location where the sessions are to be held, if other than AWC For conducting sessions on different issues, a day-wise timetable must be drawn for AWCs by the CDPO in consultation with Supervisor and AWW. The venue, days and themes for sessions as fixed must be made known to the AGs so that they are made aware about it. The interventions

may be divided into two groups of 1114 and 1518, with agespecific inputs. These sessions will be conducted by resource persons, who could be drawn from among NGOs, CBOs, SHGs, field trainers, local artisans, etc. The sessions would be facilitated by the CDPO and the Supervisor and aided by AWW/ASHA/ANM. Field units of Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) may also be involved. Sakhi and Saheli would assist in organization of groups for these sessions. Mixed group interactions for school-going and out-of-school AGs would be held twice a month when schools are working, and more frequently during school vacations (once a week, i.e 4 times a month). Timings and days for these interactions may be decided by the State Governments /UTs concerned taking into consideration various factors relating to the availability of school-going AGs, like school timings, examinations, etc. Stories, games, group discussions, etc. could be carried out as activities during the sessions. School teachers may be called to address AGs on these days to inspire and motivate out-of-school girls so that they willingly enrol in school. This, along with the activities and interactions with schoolgoing AGs, would provide plentiful motivation to the out-of-school AGs to join mainstream education, like their peers. It would help school-going AGs understand about public services, life skills, etc. Location ICDS infrastructure will be used for implementation of SABLA. AWC will be the focal point for delivery of services under the scheme. Where infrastructure and facilities like appropriate space, toilet, drinking water, etc at the AWC are not adequate, the scheme may be implemented using alternate arrangements like at the school building, panchayat building, community building, etc., with space earmarked for the purpose. In case of non-availability or non-suitability of the AWC, a mapping exercise to identify a suitable location for holding sessions for AGs may be carried out by the ICDS Supervisor. For this, the DPO / CDPO may take support from panchayat members. The infrastructure and facilities must include adequate space for conducting activities of the group, functional toilets, drinking water, etc. Services under the Scheme There are two major components under the Scheme - Nutrition Component and Non Nutrition Component as under: i) Nutrition Component: 1114 years AGs : Out of school girls 14 18 years AGs : All girls ii) Non Nutrition Component For Out of school AGs : a)1118 years Nutrition provision, IFA supplementation, Health checkup and Referral services, Nutrition & Health Education (NHE),

 Counseling/Guidance on family welfare, ARSH, child care practices, Life Skill Education and accessing public services b)1618Years Vocational training under National Skill Development Program (NSDP) For school going AGs of 1118 years, the services at ii) a) will be provided twice a month in school days and four times a month in vacations.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)

June 2, 2011

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) is a scheme sponsored by both centre and state governments. The main aim in introduction of this scheme is for achieving 4% annual growth in the agriculture sector during the XI Plan period, by ensuring a holistic development of Agriculture and allied sectors. The beneficiaries of this scheme include Individual, Family, Community, Women, Children. The scheme applies to all the States and Union Territories and is valid from 01-08-2007 to 06-08-2012. The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) is to be implemented in the coming fiscal year (2011-12) with a budget of Rs. 7860 crore and nine sub-schemes. There is a quantum jump in funds from Rs. 6775 crore in 2010-11 and the scope of the scheme is expanded. Sharing the progress of implementation of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana with the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, Agriculture Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar informed that the mega programme for agricultural rejuvenation will continue to allow full authority and flexibility to the States even after its expansion. The RKVY will now have nine sub-schemes. Three of the sub-schemes were introduced in 2010-11 and will be continue this year too. The sub-schemes are as follows: 1. Extending Green Revolution to the Eastern Region of the Country. This sub-scheme gets an allocation of Rs. 400 crore and targets improvement in the rice based cropping systems of Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. 2. Integrated Development of 60,000 Pulses Villages in Rainfed Areas. This sub-scheme aims at attaining self-sufficiency in production of pulses within the next three years. An amount of Rs.300 crores has been proposed to promote 60,000 pulses villages in rainfed areas for increasing crop productivity and strengthening market linkages. 3. Promotion of Oil Palm. It seeks to achieve a major breakthrough, special attention will be paid to oil palm as it is one of the most efficient oil crops. Accordingly, an amount of Rs. 300 crores has been provided to bring 60,000 hectares under oil palm plantation, by integrating the farmers with the markets. 4. Initiative on Vegetable Clusters. Growing demand for vegetables will be met by a robust increase in the productivity and market linkage. For this purpose, an efficient supply chain will be established, to make quality vegetables available at competitive prices. An amount of Rs.300 crores has been provided for this. 5. Nutri-cereals. To promote balanced nutrition, higher production of bajra, jowar, ragi and other millets will be promoted. Additionally, projects will be taken up to upgrade their processing technologies and create awareness regarding their health benefits. This initiative would provide market linked production support to ten lakh millet farmers in the arid and semi-arid regions of the country. The programme would be taken up in 1000 compact blocks covering about 25,000 villages. Outlay for this programme is Rs. 300 crores. 6. National Mission for Protein Supplements. This Mission is being launched with an allocation of Rs.300 crores to take up activities to promote animal based protein production through livestock development, dairy farming, piggery, goat rearing and fisheries in selected blocks. 7. Accelerated Fodder Development Programme. To accelerate the production of fodder

through intensive promotion of technologies to ensure its availability throughout the year, Rs. 300 crores have been provided for Accelerated Fodder Development Programme. It will benefit farmers in 25,000 villages. 8. Rainfed Area Development Programme. This programme aims at improving productivity of crops in rainfed areas. 9. Saffron Mission. This programme aims at revival of saffron cultivation in Jammu & Kashmir. It gets an allocation of Rs. 105 crores during 2011-12.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: PRADHAN MANTRI GRAM SADAK YOJANA (PMGSY)

June 2, 2011

The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched on 25th December, 2000 as a fully funded Centrally Sponsored Scheme. The primary objective of the PMGSY is to provide allweather road connectivity to all eligible unconnected habitations in the rural areas having population of 500 persons and above. In respect of Hill States (North-East, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand), Desert Areas (as identified in the Desert Development Programme) and Tribal (Schedule V) areas, habitations of population of 250 persons and above were considered eligible for providing all weather connectivity. It was estimated that about 1.68 lakh were eligible for coverage under the programme. It has been reported by State Governments that 31,804 eligible habitations have been connected under their own schemes or not feasible. Thus net eligible habitations required to be covered under the program are 1.36 lakh. The programme also provides for the upgradation of the existing Through Routes and important Link Routes to prescribed standards to ensure full farm-to-market connectivity. Bharat Nirman The President of India, in his address to Parliament on 25th February, 2005, announced a major business plan for rebuilding rural India called Bharat Nirman. Rural Roads have been identified as one of the six components of Bharat Nirman and a goal to provide connectivity to all the habitations of population of 1000 or more in the plain areas and of 500 or more in hilly or tribal areas in a time bound manner by 2012. The systematic upgradation of the existing rural road networks is also an integral part of the rural road component of the Bharat Nirman. Based on ground verification by States, 54,648 habitations were targeted to be connected under Bharat Nirman with a length of 1,46,185 km. It is also targeted to upgrade/renew 1,94,130 km roads in the rural areas. Programme Objectives The primary objective of the PMGSY is to provide Connectivity, by way of an All-weather Road (with necessary culverts and cross-drainage structures, which is operable throughout the year), to the eligible unconnected Habitations in the rural areas, in such a way that all Unconnected Habitations with a population of 1000 persons and above are covered in three years (2000-2003) and all Unconnected Habitations with a population of 500 persons and above by the end of the Tenth Plan Period (2007). In respect of the Hill States (North-East, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttaranchal) and the Desert Areas (as identified in the Desert Development Programme) as well as the Tribal (Schedule V) areas, the objective would be to connect Habitations with a population of 250 persons and above. The PMGSY will permit the Upgradation (to prescribed standards) of the existing roads in those Districts where all the eligible Habitations of the designated population size have been provided all-weather road connectivity. However, it must be noted that Upgradation is not central to the Programme and cannot exceed 20% of the States allocation as long as eligible Unconnected Habitations in the State still exist. In Upgradation works, priority should be given to Through Routes of the Rural Core Network, which carry more traffic. Guiding Principles of PMGSY and Definitions The spirit and the objective of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected Habitations. A habitation which was earlier provided all-weather connectivity would not be eligible even if the present condition of the road is bad. The unit for this Programme is a Habitation and not a Revenue village or a Panchayat. A Habitation is a cluster of population, living in an area, the location of which does not change over time. Desam, Dhanis, Tolas, Majras, Hamlets etc. are commonly used terminology to describe the Habitations. An Unconnected Habitation is one with a population of designated size located at a distance of at least 500 metres or more (1.5 km of path distance in case of Hills) from an Allweather road or a connected Habitation. The population, as recorded in the Census 2001, shall be the basis for determining the population size of the Habitation. The population of all Habitations within a radius of 500 metres (1.5 km. of path distance in case of Hills) may be clubbed together for the purpose of determining the

population size. This cluster approach would enable provision of connectivity to a larger number of Habitations, particularly in the Hill / mountainous areas. The eligible Unconnected Habitations are to be connected to nearby Habitations already connected by an All-weather road or to another existing All-weather road so that services (educational, health, marketing facilities etc.), which are not available in the unconnected Habitation, become available to the residents. A Core Network is that minimal Network of roads (routes)that is essential to provide Basic access to essential social and economic services to all eligible habitations in the selected areas through at least a single allweather road connectivity. A Core Network comprises of Through Routes and Link Routes. Through routes are the ones which collect traffic from several link roads or a long chain of Habitations and lead it to Marketing centres either directly or through the higher category roads i.e., the District Roads or the State or National Highway. Link Routes are the roads connecting a single Habitation or a group of Habitations to Through Routes or District Roads leading to Market Centres. Link routes generally have dead ends terminating on a Habitation, while Through Routes arise from the confluence of two or more Link Routes and emerge on to a major Road or to a Market Centre. It should be ensured that each road work that is taken up under the PMGSY is part of the Core Network. While keeping the objective of Connectivity in view, preference should be given to those roads which also incidentally serve other Habitations. In other words, without compromising the basic objective (covering 1000+ Habitations first and 500+ Habitations next and 250+ Habitations where eligible, last), preference should be given to those roads which serve a larger population. For this purpose, while Habitations within a distance of 500 metres from the road is considered as connected in case of plain areas, this distance should be 1.5 km (of path length) in respect of Hills. The PMGSY shall cover only the rural areas. Urban roads are excluded from the purview of this Programme. Even in the rural areas, PMGSY covers only the Rural Roads i.e., Roads that were formerly classified as Other District Roads (ODR) and Village Roads (VR). Other District Roads (ODR) are roads serving rural areas of production and providing them with outlet to market centres, taluka (tehsil) headquarters, Block headquarters or other main roads. Village Roads (VR) are roads connecting villages / Habitation or groups of Habitation with each other and to the nearest road of a higher category. Major District Roads, State Highways and National Highways cannot be covered under the PMGSY, even if they happen to be in rural areas. This applies to New Connectivity roads as well as Upgradation works. The PMGSY envisages only single road Connectivity to be provided. If a Habitation is already connected by way of an All-weather road, then no new work can be taken up under the PMGSY for that habitation. Provision of connectivity to unconnected Habitations would be termed as New Connectivity. Since the purpose of PMGSY inter alia is to provide farm to market access, new connectivity may involve new construction where the link to the habitation is missing and additionally, if required, upgradation where an intermediate link in its present condition cannot function as an all-weather road. Upgradation, when permitted would typically involve building the base and surface courses of an existing road to desired technical specifications and / or improving the geometrics of the road, as required in accordance with traffic condition. The primary focus of the PMGSY is to provide All-weather road connectivity to the eligible unconnected Habitations. An Allweather road is one which is negotiable in all seasons of the year. This implies that the road-bed is drained effectively (by adequate cross-drainage structures such as culverts, minor bridges and causeways), but this does not necessarily imply that it should be paved or surfaced or black-topped. Interruptions to traffic as per permitted frequency and duration may be allowed. There may be roads which are Fair-weather roads. In other words, they are fordable only during the dry season, because of lack of Cross Drainage (CD) works. Conversion of such roads to Allweather roads through provision of CD works would be treated as upgradation. It must be noted that on all the road works of the PMGSY, provision of necessary CD works is considered an essential element PMGSY does not permit repairs to Black-topped or Cement Roads, even if the surface condition is bad. The Rural Roads constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana will be in accordance with the provision of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) as given in the Rural Roads Manual. In case of Hill Roads, for matters not covered by the Rural Roads Manual, provisions of Hills Roads Manual may apply.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: National Mission on Education Through Information and Communication Technology(NME-ICT)
June 2, 2011

The National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been envisaged as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to leverage the potential of ICT, in teaching and learning process for the benefit of all the learners in Higher Education Institutions in any time any where mode. This is expected to be a major intervention in enhancing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher Education by 5 percentage points during the 11th Five Year Plan period. Main Objectives The objectives of the National Mission on Education through ICT shall include: building connectivity and knowledge network among and within institutions of higher learning in the country with a view of achieving critical mass of researchers in any given field; spreading digital literacy for teacher empowerment; development of knowledge modules having the right content to take care of the aspirations of academic community and to address to the personalized needs of the learners; standardization and quality assurance of e-contents to make them world class; research in the field of pedagogy for development of efficient learning modules for disparate groups of learners; making available of e-knowledge contents, free of cost to Indians; experimentation and field trial in the area of performance optimization of low cost access devices for use of ICT in education; providing support for the creation of Virtual Technological University; identification and nurturing of talent; certification of competencies of the human resources acquired either through formal or nonformal means and the evolution of a legal framework for it; and developing and maintaining the database with the profiles of our human resources. Components The Mission has two major components: 1. providing connectivity, along with provision for access devices, to institutions and learners; 2. content generation. It aims to extend computer infrastructure and connectivity to over 18000 colleges in the country including each of the departments of nearly 400 universities/deemed universities and institutions of national importance as a part of its motto to provide connectivity upto last mile. Therefore, the Mission, in addition to utilize the connectivity network of BSNL/MTNL and other providers, shall explore the possibility to provide connectivity utilizing Very Small Apperture Terminal (VSAT), Very Personal Network (VPN) and EduSat channels. It seeks to bridge the digital divide, i.e., the gap in the skills to use computing devices for the purpose of teaching and learning among urban and rural teachers/learners in Higher Education domain and empower those, who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and

have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy so that they can make best use of ICT for teaching and learning. The Mission would create high quality e-content for the target groups. National Programme of Technology enhanced Learning (NPTEL) Phase II and III will be part of the content generation activity. The peer group assisted content development would utilise the wikipaedia type of collaborative platform under the supervision of a content advisory committee responsible for vetting the content. Interactivity and problem solving approach would be addressed through Talk to a Teacher component, where the availability of teachers to take the questions of learners shall be ensured appropriately. Mission also envisage, on line, for promoting research with the objective to develop new and innovative ICT tools for further facilitation of teaching and learning process. It plans to focus on appropriate pedagogy for e-learning, providing facility of performing experiments through virtual laboratories, on-line testing and certification, utilization of available Education Satellite (EduSAT) and Direct to Home (DTH) platforms, training and empowerment of teachers to effectively use the new method of teaching learning etc. Central Government would bear 75% of the connectivity charges for 5 years even for institutions not belonging to it. Renowned institutions would anchor various activities in their areas of excellence. The Mission would seek to enhance the standards of education, in Government as well as in private colleges. Enlistment of support and cooperation of States/Union Territories, Institutions and individual experts would be an integral part of the Mission. One of the mandate of the Mission is to generate a data base of the human resources in different fields/disciplines and also to predict the availability and demand of the human resources in different disciplines. It shall also develop certain testing modules to test and certify the skills of the human resources acquired through various formal and non-formal means. The Mission also seeks to give further impetus to NPTEL (being implemented by IITs and IISc. It would also promote open source culture and provide platform for sharing of ideas, techniques and pooling of knowledge resources. While about 100 premier institutions are being provided 1 Gbps connectivity under National Knowledge Network initially and the number is slated to go up in future, under this Mission, without any duplication, 20000 other institutions of higher learning and nearly 10000 University Departments will be provided connectivity as per their requirement, beginning with a minimum of 5 Mbps for each one of them, through satellites and terrestrial means. Vocational education would be strengthened through ICT and class room teaching would be supplemented under the Mission. Under the Mission, quality enhancement of teaching through digital empowerment of teachers would bridge the digital divide and there would be on-line availability of experts and teachers to remove doubts of students. Budget Allocation An amount of Rs.4612 crore has been allocated by the Planning Commission during the 11th Five Year Plan for the National Mission on Education through ICT. There is a budget provision of Rs.502 crore during the current financial year 2008-09. Administrative structure and functioning The Mission have a three tier committee system to monitor and guide its functioning. The National Apex Committee of the Mission is chaired by Honble Minister of Human Resource Development,

and decides on all policy issues and prescribes guidelines for the functioning of the two sets of Committees namely Empowered Committee of Experts (also known as Project Approval Board) and Core Committees of Domain Experts. It has a Mission Director, who heads the Mission Secretariat and also acts as the Secretary to the National Apex Committee and Project Approval Board. The proposals submitted to the Mission by various agencies/individuals/institutions undertake activities which come under the domain of the Mission are scrutinized by the concerned Core Committee of Domain Experts. This Committee makes its recommendations to Project Approval Board for consideration and decision on sanctioning the projects. The monitoring of the overall progress of the approved project activities is to be done through various peer reviews and concurrent evaluation.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: MGNREGA completes 5 years

June 2, 2011

The nation today witnessed successful completion of five years of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Addressing a large gathering at Vigyan Bhawan on this occasion in New Delhi today, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh called upon the states to strengthen the Gram Sabhas for rural empowerment. He said the Ministry of Rural Development and Ministry of Panchayati Raj has jointly chalked out a plan to strengthen the Panchayats. Technical Units will be set up in Gram Panchayats and to improve the managerial efficiency every unit will have a Panchayat Development officer and one Junior Engineer. Focus would be on Left Wing Extremism(LWE) affected districts and the districts where more than Rs.100 crore have been spent under MGNREGA. Recent steps taken by the Government to address the concerns of MGNREGA workers: Wages under MGNREGA have been hiked by 17-30% this year. The transparency and accountability in payment of wages would be ensured by the help of modern ICT enabled techniques like Biometric hand held devices. The above initiatives are to improve the delivery mechanism of the Act so as to extend the employment benefits to the genuine persons. Achievements under MGNREGA: So far under this programme a total of 880 crore person days work has been generated of which 52% beneficiaries are from SC/ST while 47% beneficiaries are women. Efforts are being made to chalk out Micro-Plans at rural level by involving the local people. These plans will decide the category and place of works to be done under MGNREGA besides involving rural masses in the implementation, monitoring and social auditing. The UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi while expressing her happiness on the overall performance of MGNREGA said this is also the time to learn from the experience and to prepare for the challenges ahead. She termed the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA as a life line of the rural people which has not only been a source of empowerment for them but also a means of social security. She said half of the job holders are women and the increased wages under this Act has helped in checking the distress migration of labours. Lauding the creation of Green Jobs under MGNREGA, the UPA Chairperson said that water harvesting and ground water recharge works are not only a short term employment but capable of ensuring permanent employment opportunities. Expressing concerns over reported instances of misappropriations in wage payment she said remedial steps should be taken in this regard. Mrs. Gandhi laid emphasis on strengthening the social auditing and said the cooperation of SHGs and NGOs should be taken. to increase the land productivity. In his inaugural address at the MGNREGA Sammelan -2011 ,the Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh said we will have to strengthen the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the days to come and the Panchayats should be made accountable to the Gram Sabhas in each and every respect. He said that MGNREGA has been the scheme of Aam admi and it has transformed the rural India. The Minister underlined the need to ensure transparency and accountability so that the benefit of the scheme reaches out to the needy and the poor in rural areas in time. Mr. Deshmukh lamented the shortcomings in the implementation and said it is high time we address the issue on priority while strengthening the Gram Sabhas. Under MGNREGA in the financial year 2010-11, upto December, 4.10 crore households have been provided employment and 145 crore persondays have been generated. The average wage earned

has risen from Rs 65 per person day in 2006 to Rs 100 by 2011. To further give fillip to income of the MGNREGA workers wage rates have been revised. The notification has linked MGNREGA wage rates to CPI-AL with a corresponding annual increase. The notified wage rates have led to enhancement of wage rates by 17-30%. Another important attraction of the Sammelan today was demonstration of demonstration of BioMetric based ICT enabled MGNREGA process to ensure transparency and accountability in payment of wages to the right person in time was also done . During the Sammelan, Report to People on Mahatma Gandhi NREGA showcasing the performance under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA over the past five years was also released along with the Rozgar Sutra highlighting the provisions, rights and entitlements under the act.In addition three booklets, namely Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act MGNREGA, Guide Book for Gram Panchayats in Hindi and English and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act MGNREGA for Laborours were also released. Ten District Programme Coordinators one each from the States of Manipur, Sikkim, Karnataka, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil nadu and Twelve Gram Panchayats from seven states were awarded for their exemplary performance under the Scheme of Awards for Best Performing Gram Panchayats for the year 2009-10. These include Khairwahi (Dondi Block) and Machandur (Durg Block) from Durg District of Chhattisgarh; Kalauna (Dadwali Block) from Sirsa Disstrict of Haryana; Nedumkandam (Nedumkandam Block) from Idduki and Kottukal (Athiyannoor Block) from Thiruvanthapuram districts of Kerala; Pandurna (Mukhed Block) from Nanded district of Maharashtra; Pampura (Asind Block) from district Bhilwara and Badwas Choti (Kushalgarh Block) from Banswara district of Rajasthan; Chuba Phong (Namathang Block) from South Sikkim district of Sikkim and Dhamna (Mauranipur Block) and Dhamna Khurd (Chirgaon Block) from district Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. Later in the day Voices from the field an interactive session was organized wherein the workers who have completed 100 days of work under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA and the Sarpanchs from the rural areas shared their experiences along with District Project Co-ordinators. The District Programme Coordinators and their district teams, bank and post office functionaries and civil society organizations would be felicitated for their exemplary work. Over 1200 participants from the country took part in the deliberations. These include among others the State Rural Development Ministers, the Deputy Chairperson and Members of Planning Commission, Members of Central Employment Guarantee Council, awardees of excellence in NREGA administration, awardees of Rozgar Jagrookta Puraskar Scheme, awardees of financial inclusion for Banks and Post Offices, representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions, District Program Co-ordinators and his team members, Senior State Government Officials from the Rural Development Ministry, Heads of Financial institutions including Post Offices, Banks and Insurance Companies. It is expected that the deliberations on the five years of completion of MGNREGA would go a long way towards the march of the nation towards inclusive growth and development .

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: list of Various schemes for the welfare of physically and mentally handicapped persons
June 2, 2011

Various schemes and programmes that are being implemented by the Government for the welfare of physically and mentally handicapped persons in the country are given below: 1. Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS): Under the Scheme, funds for the welfare of persons with disabilities are provided to the non governmental organizations for projects like special schools for disabled, Vocational Training Centres, Half Way Homes, Community Based Rehabilitation Centres, Early Intervention Centres for Disabled and Rehabilitation of Leprosy Cured Persons etc. 2. Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP): Under the scheme, aids/appliances are distributed to the needy persons with disabilities. 3. National Institutions (NIs): The Ministry supports seven autonomous National Institutes which provide rehabilitation services and with the overall objective of providing rehabilitation services for different types of disabilities. 4. The National Handicapped Finance and development Corporation (NHFDC) provides concessional credit to persons with disabilities for setting up income generating activities for self employment. 5. Scheme for implementation of Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (SIPDA): Under this scheme, assistance is provided to the State Governments, Institutions, Organizations under Central or State Governments for various activities relating to implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 particularly for creating barrier free environment supporting District Disability Rehabilitation Centres, Composite Regional Centres etc. 6. Scheme of incentives to Employees in the Private Sector for providing employment to persons with disabilities: Under this Scheme, launched in April, 2008, the government of India reimburse the employers' contribution for Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees State Insurance (ESI) for initial three years in respect of persons with disabilities employed in the private sectors on or after 1.4.2008, with a monthly salary upto Rs. 25,000/-.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: Government to implement Various schemes to enrich the skills in Farmers
June 2, 2011

The Government is formulating various Schemes with training and capacity building of farmers as one of the components. One such attempt is the Scheme ATMA, started under Support to State Extension Programme for Extension Reforms', which provides support for organizing trainings to farmers at National, State and District level. The scheme also provides for setting up of Farm Schools where progressive farmers with the help of subject matter experts provide trainings to other farmers at six critical stages of the crop cycle. At least, 50% beneficiaries under ATMA Scheme have to be small and marginal farmers. What is ATMA? Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is a society of key stakeholders involved in agriculture activities for sustainable agricultural development in the district. ATMA is mainly intended to: decentralize decision-making to the district level through the creation of Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA). increase farmer input programme planning and recourse allocation, especially, at the block level, and to increase accountability to stakeholders. increase programme coordination and integration, so that the programme thrusts such as Farming System Innovations (FSIs), Farmers Organization (FOs), Technology Gaps (TG) and Natural Resource Management (NRM) can be more effectively and efficiently implemented. Besides this, skill development of farmers, including small and marginal farmers, under Schemes are as follows: 1. National Food Security Mission (NFSM): Trainings of farmers are organized through Farmer Field Schools (FFS). 2. National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility: Trainings on balanced use of fertilizers are being provided. 3. Watershed Development Programmes: Under National Watershed Development Project for Rain-fed Areas (NWDPRA), Soil Conservation in the Catchments of River Valley Project and Flood Prone Rivers (RVP & FPR) and Water-shed Development Project in Shifting Cultivation Areas (WDPSCA), trainings on agricultural production, in-situ moisture conservation, on farm water management, water use efficiency etc. are provided to the farmers. 4. Farm Mechanization Training and Testing Institutes (FMTTI): Training is imparted on operation, maintenance and repair of small tools/ equipments. 5. Integrated Development of Tree Borne Oilseeds Scheme: Farmers training is organized for quality seed collection, nursery raising, plantation and production of Tree Borne Oilseeds (TBOs). 6. Strengthening of Infrastructure Facilitates for Production and Distribution of Quality Seed: Training programmes are organized for farmers on fields to upgrade the quality of farmersaved seeds in association with Seed Village Programme. 7. National Horticulture Mission (NHM) and Horticulture Mission for North Eastern Hills (HMNEs): Need based trainings are provided to small and marginal farmers.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: Government has been under taking Various programs to address the concern of Urban-Rural Disparity
June 2, 2011

To address the problem of urban-rural disparity in the country the Government of India has been implementing various programs such as Special Area Programs, Flagship Programs, Bharat Nirman Programs and Centrally Sponsored Schemes. The Ministry of Rural Development implements schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the objective to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) to provide self employment to the members of the rural poor families in the country. SGSY has been restructured as National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) to implement it in a Mission mode in a phased manner for targeted and time bound delivery of results. Besides, the Ministry is also implementing others schemes viz, Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Drinking Water Supply (DWS), Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) and Watershed Development Programs with the objective of developing rural infrastructure and basic amenities for improving living conditions of the rural masses. These schemes are primarily designed to provide employment to the rural poor in their villages besides creating rural infrastructure so that urban-rural disparity in the country could be reduced. Concurrent Evaluation Studies have been conducted from time to time by the Ministry to assess the effectiveness and impact of rural development programs. The findings of these studies revealed that by and large the target groups of the programs have been satisfied with the implementation of these programs in rural areas.The Ministry of Rural Development has laid special emphasis on monitoring and evaluation of its programs being implemented in rural areas all over the country. The Ministry has put in place a system of monitoring implementation of the programs and utilization of funds through Periodical Progress Reports, Performance Review Committee, Area Officers Scheme, Vigilance and Monitoring Committee at the State/District Level, and National Level Monitors. Executive instructions have been issued by the Ministry for conducting social audit of the schemes.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: Governments Plan, Programme & Policies

June 2, 2011

(1) Prerna:- The janasankhya sthirata kosh (national population stabilization fund) has to promote & under take activities aimed at achieving population stabilization at a level consistent with the needs of sustainable economic growth. Social development and environment protection by 2070 Prerna is responsible for parenthood strategy. It is monetary incentive strategy aimed at pushing up the age of marriage of girls and delay the birth of the first child. (2) National Rural Health Mission:-Launched in April 2005 the mission seeks to provide universal access to equitable, affordable and quality health care which is accountable and at the same time responsible to the needs of the people. It also aims to achieve the goals set out under the national policy and the millennium development goals during the mission period. (3) Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna:-Launched by ministry of labour & employment, govt of India to provide health insurance coverage for BPL families. Beneficiaries are entitled to hospitalization coverage up to Rs 30,000 for most of the disease that require hospitalization. (4) National Food Security Mission:-Sponsored scheme launched in august 2007. Objective is to increased production and productivity of wheat, rice and pulses. (5) 15 Point Programme:-In Oct 2009 govt decided to include 3 more schemes in the Prime ministers new 15 point programme for the welfare of minorities. Those are: National rural drinking water programme. Urban infrastructure developed scheme for small and medium town. Urban infrastructure and governance scheme. (6) Bharat Nirman Yojna:- It is a time bound business plan for action in rural infrastructure .Under Bharat nirman , action was proposed in the areas of:Irrigation. Rural housing. Rural water supply. Rural electrification. Rural telecommunication connectivity. (7) National Mission On Education:-It is a mission in which education is provide through information and communication technology. SAKSHAT one stop education portal was launched on Oct 30, 2006 by the president of India. Head of National knowledge commission:- Sam Pitroda. (8) Right To Education Act 2009:- Article 21-(A), as inserted by the constitution (86th Amendment Act) 2002, provides for free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years as a fundamental rights. Consequently the parliament has enacted this in April

2009. Salient features:- (a) Free and compulsory education 6 to 14 age group. (b) Will apply to all India except J&K. (c) Provide for 25% reservation for economically disadvantaged communities in admission in private school. (d) A child who completes elementary education (up to class 8) shall be awarded a certificate. (9) Female Literacy:- It is a scheme to provide education & related facilities to ST Students launched by ministry of tribal affairs in December 11, 2009. (10) Anil Kakodkar Committee on reforms in IITS:- it will suggest reforms to make these elite institutions a global brand. (11) Yashpal Committee Report:- It was set up in 2008 for higher education and research. It has suggested the scrapping of all higher education regulatory /monitoring bodies and creation of a super regulation. It also recommended that the deemed university status be abandoned and that all deserving universities be either converted into full fledged universities or scrapped. (12) National Rural Livelihood Mission:- Ministry of rural development and panchyati raj proposed to restructure the existing swarnjayanti gram swarojgar yojana into rural livelihood mission to have a focused approach to rural poverty eradication in a time bound manner. Objective is to reduce poverty among rural BPL by promoting diversified and gainful self employment and wage employment opportunities which would lead to an appreciable increase in sustainable basis. (13) NREGA Renamed After Mahatma Gandhi:- On Oct 2, 2009 Government has changed the name of National Rural Employment guarantee Act to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment guarantee Act. (14) Chandra Sheker Panel:- on the recomandation of a committee headed by cabinet secretary K.M Chander shaker. Centre had increased the pension for retired service man. (15) Rajiv Awas Yojna:- Ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation had launched the housing project called the Rajiv awas yojna for slum dwellers and the urban poor. Aimed at making India slum free in the next five years.

Integrated Low Cost Sanitation (ILCS) Scheme

The Integrated Low Cost Sanitation Scheme basically aims at conversion of individual dry latrine into pour flush ones thereby liberating manual scavengers from the age old, obnoxious practice of manually carrying night soil. The ILCS Scheme was initially started in 1980-81 through the Ministry of Home Affairs and later through Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The scheme was transferred in 1989-90 to Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation and from 2003-04 onwards to Ministry of UEPA/HUPA. The scheme has helped in constructing/converting over 28 lakh latrines to liberate over 60952 scavengers so far. To make the Scheme more attractive and implementable the Guidelines have been revised with effect from 17th January 2008. At the time of revision of guidelines of the scheme the State of Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Uttar Pradesh together showed six lakh dry latrines. Later the State of Assam, Nagaland and Jammu Kashmir have declared that they have no dry latrines in their States. These figures changed during the implementation, after the house to house survey of all municipal areas for identification. Presently, the State of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have reported existence of dry latrine and funds have eventually been sought to eliminate these.

Presently, only states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar have to declare themselves dry latrine free. The revised ILCS Scheme envisages conversion of all existing dry latrines within a period of three years (2007-2010). In the video conference held on September 28, 2010, with the representatives of States of Bihar, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, these states have assured that the conversion task will be completed by 31st December 2010 and they would be able to declare themselves dry latrine free.

SOCIO ECONOMY AT A GLANCE: Bharat Nirman: Rural drinking water

June 2, 2011

Backgrounder Ensuring the availability of potable drinking water in rural areas has been a major challenge. Keeping this in mind Rural drinking water has been one of the six components of Bharat Nirman, a major initiative by the Government of India to build rural infrastructure since 2005. Phase I of Bharat Nirman was implemented in the period 2005-06 to 2008-09 while the Phase II is being implemented from 2009-10 to 2011-12. Status of Rural Drinking Water : During Bharat Nirman Phase I period, 55,067 un-covered and about 3.31 lakh slipped-back habitations were to be covered with provisions of drinking water facilities.Water quality problems in 2.17 lakh quality-affected habitations was to be addressed. While prioritizing the water quality problem, arsenic and fluoride affected habitations have been accorded priority followed by iron, salinity, nitrate and other contaminants. Measures undertaken: In order to ensure that habitations once provided with drinking water supply infrastructure do not slip back and face drinking water problem, sustainability of drinking water sources and systems has been accorded high priority. To achieve drinking water security at village/ habitation level, conjunctive use of water i.e. judicious use of rainwater, surface water and ground water is promoted. In order to enable the rural community to shoulder responsibility in management, operation and maintenance of water supply systems at village level, decentralized, demand-driven, communitymanaged approach has been adopted. To further strengthen community participation in the drinking water sector the National Rural Drinking Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance program was launched in February, 2006 under which 5 persons in each Gram Panchayat are to be trained to carry out regular surveillance of drinking water sources for which 100% financial assistance including water testing kits, are provided. Physical Progress: i) Uncovered habitations: Against 55,067 un-covered habitations to be covered during the Bharat Nirman period, 54,440 habitations have been covered during Phase-I. During 2009-10, 377 habitations out of the 586 targetted habitations were covered . In 2010-11, 183 habitations have been reported as covered upto 31.12.2010 against the target of 376 habitations. The strategy adopted under the National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) is to cover all uncovered habitations to ensure that the rural population gets at least 40 lpcd (and additional 30 lpcd for cattle in DDP areas) of potable water from sources lying within the village or nearby. ii) Quality-affected habitations: More than 85% of the sources in rural drinking water supply schemes are ground-water based. Under the NRDWP, chemical contaminants which are sought to be tackled are excess arsenic, fluoride, iron, salinity and nitrate. Except for nitrate, all others occur naturally. Nitrate occurs in drinking water due to leaching of chemical fertilizers and sewerage. The strategy of the Department is to prioritize addressing the problems of arsenic and fluoride in drinking water through alternative surface water sources. The treatment technologies that are available for removal of excess arsenic and fluoride are still not foolproof in respect of reject management and operation & maintenance

issues. Though a target of 2.17 lakh quality affected habitations was identified at the beginning of Bharat Nirman, the States submitted an action plan for covering only 1,95,813 such habitations. Arsenic & Fluoride : As on 1.04.2006, there were 7,067 habitations reported to be afflicted with arsenic and 29,070 habitations with fluoride contamination. Priority has been given to address the problems in these habitations. However, that due to expansion of testing, more areas are getting identified as having problems of quality. Iron : At the beginning of Bharat Nirman period there were 1,04,437 rural habitations affected with excess iron in drinking water sources. The focus is to tackle excess iron problem through aeration based technology or low-cost terra-cotta based filtration technique. States such as Karnataka and Orissa have already taken up the challenge of tackling this contamination through low-cost terracotta based filtration technology. Salinity : In respect of salinity, 12,425 habitations were having a problem at the beginning of Bharat Nirman period. Although there are a number of technologies like distillation, ion-exchange, reversible osmosis , electro-dialysis etc., these being expensive solutions the focus of the Department is to tackle this problem through dilution of groundwater through artificial recharge of groundwater. Nitrate : The strategy adopted to tackle excess nitrate in the drinking water is by improving the sanitary conditions. At the beginning of Bharat Nirman period, 19,387 habitations were afflicted with excess nitrate. As reported by the States, 3,10,698 quality affected habitations were addressed by sanctioned projects and of these 50,168 habitations have been fully covered with completed projects to provide safe water supply during Phase-I. Status of Quality Affected Habitations : As on 1.4.2009 at the beginning of Bharat Nirman phase-II states reported that 1,79,999 quality affected habitations were remaining to be covered. Of these during 2009-10,32,734 and during 2010-11 upto 31.12.2010, 10,783 habitations have been reported as covered. Thus, in all during Bharat Nirman phase-I and II, 93,685 quality affected habitations have been fully covered with completed schemes. The goal of the Department is to cover all remaining water quality affected habitations with safe drinking water by the end of Phase-II (2009-12). Financial Progress: For the rural water supply, component of Bharat Nirman, it was envisaged that Rs.25,300 crores would be required as Central share during 4 years. Accordingly in 2005-06, Rs. 4,098 crores and in 2006-07 Rs. 4,560 crores were utilized. In the 11thPlan period, in 2007-08 , Rs.6,442.76 crores, in 2008-09 ,Rs. 7,298.79 crores and in 2009-10 , Rs. 7,989.72 crores have been utilized. Out of the total budget of Rs 9000 crore for rural drinking water in 2010-11 , amount worth Rs 6692.92 crore was utilized upto 31.12.2010. It is expected that with the focus on reaching out to households, involvement of community and adopting technologies that are people friendly the objective of ensuring access to potable drinking water in rural areas under the National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) can be achieved.