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Annual Current Affairs Compilation
(AI based Learning Platform) (To the Point) Jan 2022 – Jan 2023
Index
AGRI-NUTRI GARDEN WEEK ....................................................... 4 RASHTRIYA GRAM SWARAJ ABHIYAN (RGSA) ............................ 21
SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE AAPDA PRABANDHAN PURASKAR .... 4 UDAN SCHEME SELECTED FOR PRIME MINISTER’S AWARD FOR
EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ................................. 21
NERCORM PHASE-III PROJECT..................................................... 4
DR. AMBEDKAR CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE (DACE) SCHEME ....... 22
IMMIGRATION VISA FOREIGNERS REGISTRATION TRACKING ...... 4
UJJWALA DIWAS. ...................................................................... 22
CELEBRATIONS OF THE 4TH JANAUSHADHI DIWAS 2022 ............ 5
GLUTEN-FREE MILLET PRODUCTS .............................................. 23
CONCLAVE ON ‘SOCIAL ENTERPRISES FOR GARBAGE FREE
CITIES’ ........................................................................................ 6 MPLAD SCHEME ........................................................................ 23
MODERNISATION PLAN-IV FOR CENTRAL ARMED POLICE FORCES MALVIYA MISSION .................................................................... 24
(CAPFS) SCHEME......................................................................... 6
DIGITAL INDIA BHASHINI........................................................... 24
GOVERNMENT REOPENS APPLICATION WINDOW FOR PLI
AAROHAN 4.0 ........................................................................... 25
SCHEME FOR WHITE GOODS....................................................... 7
JAL JEEVAN MISSION ................................................................. 25
DONATE-A-PENSION’ SCHEME .................................................... 7
PM CARES FOR CHILDREN SCHEME ........................................... 26
DALIT BANDHU SCHEME ............................................................. 8
PROJECT ‘IRASTE’ ...................................................................... 26
AAMA YOJNA ............................................................................. 9
GARIB KALYAN SAMMELAN ...................................................... 27
PM GATI SHAKTI PROJECT .......................................................... 9
PRIME MINISTER’S EMPLOYMENT GENERATION PROGRAMME
PEOPLE WILL GET LAND RECORDS IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE
(PMEGP) ................................................................................... 27
SOON ....................................................................................... 10
OPERATION MAHILA SURAKSHA ............................................... 28
WEATHER-BASED INDEX INSURANCE SCHEME .......................... 10
SHRESHTA ................................................................................. 28
MAKE-IN-NORTH-EAST INITIATIVE ............................................ 11
PUNEET SAGAR ABHIYAN’ ......................................................... 29
INTEGRATED BAMBOO PROJECT .............................................. 11
SAGARMALA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SCHEME .......................... 29
UJJWALA EFFECT ...................................................................... 12
NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AND
NAV BHARAT LITERACY PROGRAMME...................................... 12
RESPONSIBLE TRAVELLER CAMPAIGN ....................................... 29
E-GOPALA PORTAL ................................................................... 13
GUJARAT GAURAV ABHIYAN ..................................................... 30
ROOFTOP SOLAR PROGRAMME PHASE-II ................................. 13
AGNIPATH SCHEME................................................................... 30
PROJECT UNNATI UNDER MAHATMA GANDHI NREGA ............. 14
AGNEEPATH YOJANA ................................................................ 31
KISAN CREDIT CARD SCHEME ................................................... 14
IN-SERVICE TRAINING RECEIVED BY AGNIVEERS AS CREDITS FOR
FOUNDATIONAL LEARNING STUDY ........................................... 15 GRADUATION ........................................................................... 31
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS AND ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS PROGRAMME ................................... 31
START-UPS BY WOMEN (HER&NOW) ....................................... 15
MUKHYAMANTRI MATRUSHAKTI YOJANA ................................ 32
CHILD SEX RATIO ...................................................................... 16
GUARDIAN RING FOR YOGA ...................................................... 33
PRODUCTION OF BEES WAX ..................................................... 16
MINISTRY OF SHIPPING ANNOUNCES SIX ATTRACTIVE SERVICE
INTEGRATED POWER DEVELOPMENT SCHEME ......................... 16 OPPORTUNITIES FOR AGNIVEERS .............................................. 33
NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE PLAN.................................................. 17 NATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR PROMOTION OF UPSKILLING OF
NIRMAN WORKERS (NIPUN) ..................................................... 34
CATCH THE RAIN PROGRAMME ................................................ 17
PURPLE REVOLUTION ................................................................ 34
ATAL INNOVATION MISSION .................................................... 18
PRADHAN MANTRI AWAS YOJANA-URBAN ............................... 35
AVSAR SCHEME ........................................................................ 18
POLICY & PORTAL OF E-AUCTION FOR COMMERCIAL EARNING,
SAKSHAM CAZMPAIGN ............................................................ 19
NON-FARE REVENUE (NFR) CONTRACTS .................................... 36
PRADHAN MANTRI DAKSHTA AUR KUSHALTA SAMPANN
REVISED SWACHH CERTIFICATION PROTOCOLS TO SUSTAIN
HITGRAHI YOJANA.................................................................... 19
OPEN DEFECATION FREE STATUS ACROSS URBAN INDIA ........... 37
SVANIDHI SE SAMRIDDHI ......................................................... 20
ONE HEALTH PILOT ................................................................... 37
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UDYAMI BHARAT ..................................................................... 38 PROJECT CHEETAH .................................................................... 59

DAK KARMAYOGI ..................................................................... 39 MISSION AMRIT SAROVAR ........................................................ 59
COASTAL CLEAN SEAS CAMPAIGN ............................................ 40 GUIDELINES OF ‘SAKSHAM ANGANWADI AND POSHAN 2.0' ..... 60
GOAL PROGRAMME ................................................................. 40 NATIONAL AYUSH MISSION ...................................................... 60
11TH WORLD URBAN FORUM .................................................. 41 NAGAR VAN YOJANA ................................................................ 61
PM MITRA PARKS ..................................................................... 41 O-SMART SCHEME .................................................................... 61
PRADHAN MANTRI FORMALISATION OF MICRO FOOD NIPUN ....................................................................................... 62
PROCESSING ENTERPRISES (PMFME) SCHEME .......................... 42
MISSION VATSALYA SCHEME .................................................... 62
OPERATION “NARCOS” ............................................................. 42
OPERATION YATRI SURAKSHA................................................... 63
SWACHH SAGAR, SURAKSHIT SAGAR CAMPAIGN ..................... 43
VILLAGE ENGINEERS PROGRAMME ........................................... 63
ONE STOP CENTERS .................................................................. 43
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FOR 21ST CENTURY PROGRAMME ..... 64
STATE RANKING INDEX FOR NFSA ............................................ 44
HIM- DRONE-A-THON ............................................................... 64
SVANIDHI MAHOTSAV .............................................................. 44
PRADHAN MANTRI ADI ADARSH GRAM YOJNA ......................... 64
PM GATISHAKTI NATIONAL MASTER PLAN ............................... 45
PARVAZ MARKET LINKAGE SCHEME .......................................... 65
MISSION VATSALYA SCHEME .................................................... 46
UNION CABINET APPROVES EXTENSION OF PMAY-URBAN
PANDIT DEENDAYAL UPADHYAY NATIONAL WELFARE FOR 'HOUSING FOR ALL MISSION' UPTO 31ST DEC 2024 ................... 65
SPORTSPERSONS ...................................................................... 46
THE SMILE 75-INITIATIVE FOR THE REHABILITATION OF BEGGARS
RINL LAUNCHES ‘SAFETY IS MY RESPONSIBILITY’ CAMPAIGN.... 47 IN INDIA .................................................................................... 66
‘HAR GHAR TIRANGA’ CAMPAIGN ............................................ 47 NATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AWARENESS MISSION
(NIPAM) .................................................................................... 66
“NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR CIVIL SERVICE TRAINING
INSTITUTIONS” ......................................................................... 48 NAMASTE SCHEME ................................................................... 67
MISSION FOR INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF HORTICULTURE 48 DIGIYATRA INITIATIVE............................................................... 67
RASHTRIYA GOKUL MISSION .................................................... 49 ARTH GANGA ............................................................................ 68
GOAL PROGRAMME ................................................................. 49 GOA BECOMES FIRST STATE TO BE 'HAR GHAR JAL' CERTIFIED .. 68
TOYOTA TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM(T-TEP) INITIATIVE 50 'VEDH PROJECT’ ........................................................................ 69
BIG-NER ................................................................................... 51 GOVT MIGHT DANGLE $500MN SOPS TO DEVELOP ‘NICHE’
BATTERIES ................................................................................ 69
PRADHAN MANTRI GRAM SADAK YOJANA ............................... 52
POSHAN MAAH ......................................................................... 70
SVAMITVA SCHEME .................................................................. 52
CYBER SURAKSHIT BHARAT INITIATIVE ..................................... 70
NATIONAL CHILD LABOUR PROJECT (NCLP) SCHEME ................ 53
PM-SHRI YOJANA ...................................................................... 71
POTENTIAL & ROLE OF FISHERIES COOPERATIVES..................... 53
US STARTUP SETU - SUPPORTING ENTREPRENEURS IN
SWADESH DARSHAN SCHEME .................................................. 54
TRANSFORMATION AND UPSKILLING PROGRAMME ................. 72
A PROJECT FOR SATURATION OF 4G MOBILE SERVICES IN
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY
UNCOVERED VILLAGES ............................................................. 54
(WEST) ...................................................................................... 72
WORLD’S FIRST LOCOMOTION TRIALS OF THE DEEP-SEA MINING
PRADHAN MANTRI MATSYA SAMPADA YOJANA (PMMSY) ....... 73
SYSTEM IN THE CENTRAL INDIAN OCEAN.................................. 55
RAJASTHAN LAUNCHES 100-DAY JOB SCHEME FOR URBAN
NATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR DEVELOPING AND HARNESSING
AREAS ....................................................................................... 73
INNOVATIONS (NIDHI)- ENTREPRENEURS-IN-RESIDENCE (EIR)
PROGRAM ................................................................................ 56 RAMAKRISHNA MISSION’S ‘AWAKENING’ PROGRAMME .......... 74
TAMIL NADU GOVT ANNOUNCES BREAKFAST SCHEME FOR TAMIL NADU LAUNCHES BREAKFAST SCHEME FOR STUDENTS AT
STATE-RUN SCHOOLS ............................................................... 56 GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS ........................................................... 74
SAMUDRAYAAN MISSION ........................................................ 56 RS 75 CR RELEASED FOR HP SHIVA PROJECT .............................. 75
POWER SECTOR’S REVAMPED DISTRIBUTION SECTOR SCHEME 57 PM-PRANAM SCHEME .............................................................. 75
SCHOOL INNOVATION COUNCIL ............................................... 58 GUJARAT -SRESTHA-G PROJECT ................................................. 76
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BHARAT VIDYA ......................................................................... 76 COMMUNITY INNOVATOR FELLOWSHIP ................................... 92

OPERATION MEGH-CHAKRA ..................................................... 76 DHARAVI REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT........................................ 93
PRADHAN MANTRI GARIB KALYAN ANNA YOJANA ................... 77 TN CM STALIN LAUNCHES SCHEME TO UPLIFT SANITATION
STAFF ........................................................................................ 93
PM’S SCHEME FOR MENTORING YOUNG AUTHORS – YUVA 2.0 77
CENTRE STOPS MAULANA AZAD NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP FOR
SAMSAR (SAMAJIK SAROKAR) .................................................. 78
MINORITY STUDENTS ................................................................ 94
INDIA’S FIRST GREEN TECHNOLOGY INCUBATION FACILITY
PRADHAN MANTRI ADI ADARSH GRAM YOJNA ......................... 94
OPENED AT NIT SRINAGAR ....................................................... 79
PRADHAN MANTRI KAUSHAL KO KAAM KARYAKRAM (PMKKK) 95
SALT PROJECT ........................................................................... 79
ATAL INNOVATION MISSION AND UNDP INDIA LAUNCH 5TH
RYTHU BHAROSA KENDRAS ...................................................... 80
EDITION OF YOUTH CO:LAB....................................................... 95
ONE HEALTH JOINT ACTION PLAN ............................................ 80
UN RANKS ‘NAMAMI GANGE’ PROJECT AMONG WORLD’S TOP
WEST BENGAL’S LAKSHMIR BHANDAR SCHEME BAGS THE SKOCH 10 INITIATIVES .......................................................................... 96
AWARD .................................................................................... 81
RASHTRIYA GOKUL MISSION ..................................................... 96
HARIT AAYKAR ......................................................................... 81
SAMUDRAYAAN MISSION ......................................................... 97
DIGITAL RESURVEY OF LAND .................................................... 82
QR CODES FOR LPG CYLINDERS ................................................. 98
“NIVESHAK DIDI” ...................................................................... 83
CENTRE EXTENDS FREE FOODGRAINS UNDER NATIONAL FOOD
SCHEME FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT SECURITY ACT ........................................................................... 98
EXPENSES ................................................................................. 83
J&K LG MANOJ SINHA ANNOUNCES 3 NEW SCHEMES FOR J&K
BIO ENERGY PROGRAMME ....................................................... 84 UNION TERRITORY .................................................................... 99
GOOGLE LAUNCHES ‘FLOODHUB’, A PLATFORM TO FORECAST AMRIT BHARAT STATION SCHEME FOR INDIAN RAILWAYS ....... 99
FLOOD ...................................................................................... 84
SAIME INITIATIVE .................................................................... 100
JAGA MISSION .......................................................................... 85
ODISHA WINS WORLD HABITAT AWARDS 2023 FOR JAGA
MIDDLE EAST GREEN INITIATIVE ............................................... 85 MISSION ................................................................................. 101
SVAMITVA SCHEME .................................................................. 86 PURPLE FEST ........................................................................... 101
GOOGLE’S 1,000 LANGUAGE AI MODEL .................................... 86 PRADHAN MANTRI GARIB KALYAN ANN YOJANA (PMGKAY)... 101
NCW LAUNCHES DIGITAL SHAKTI 4.0 ........................................ 87 PM SVANIDHI SCHEME ............................................................ 102
PM LAUNCHES KARMAYOGI PRARAMBH MODULE ................... 88 “WOMANIYA” INITIATIVE ....................................................... 102
HAR GHAR GANGAJAL SCHEME ................................................ 88 NCERT NOTIFIES INDIA’S FIRST NATIONAL ASSESSMENT
REGULATOR ............................................................................ 103
“NAI CHETNA-PAHAL BADLAV KI”- A COMMUNITY-LED
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST GENDER-BASED ASPIRATIONAL BLOCK PROGRAMME ...................................... 103
DISCRIMINATION ..................................................................... 89
U-WIN PLATFORM .................................................................. 104
NIROGI HARYANA SCHEME....................................................... 90
PEPSICO FOUNDATION AND CARE LAUNCHES ‘SHE FEEDS THE
HORTICULTURE CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME ........... 91 WORLD’ PROGRAMME IN INDIA ............................................. 104
DIGIYATRA FACILITIES STARTS AT THE DELHI, VARANASI AND ATAL PENSION YOJANA CROSSES LANDMARK 5 CRORE
BANGALORE AIRPORT .............................................................. 92 ENROLMENTS ......................................................................... 105
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Agri-Nutri Garden Week
In News
The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) has observed the Agri-Nutri
Garden week.
About the Agri-Nutri garden week:

 This is an awareness campaign to set up the Agri-Nutri gardens in rural households.
 It is in line with a mission to fulfill the nutritional needs of rural people along with income generation.
 This initiative will ensure strengthening of the rural economy and mitigate the issue of malnutrition that is
prevalent in rural areas.
Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar
In News
Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (in the Institutional category) and Professor Vinod Sharma (in the
Individual category) have been selected for Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar, 2022.
Details
 Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar has been instituted by GOI, to recognize and honour the
invaluable contribution by individuals and organizations in India in the field of disaster management.
 The award is announced every year on 23rd January, on account of the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose.
 The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 51 lakh and a certificate in case of an institution and Rs. 5 lakh and a
certificate in case of an individual.
NERCORM Phase-III Project
In News
Recently a carpenter from Manipur who had endured a lot of suffering was chosen as a carpentry beneficiary and
received financial support of Rs. 18000/- under the NERCORM Phase-III Project.
About NERCORM
 NERCORMP is a livelihood and rural development project aimed to transform the lives of the poor and
marginalized tribal families in North East(NE) India.
 NERCORMP is a joint developmental initiative of the North Eastern Council (NEC), Ministry of Development
of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
 The project is being implemented in four states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya,
running under the North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Society (NERCRMS).
Immigration Visa Foreigners Registration Tracking
In news
The Government has approved the continuation of the Immigration Visa Foreigners Registration Tracking (IVFRT)
Scheme beyond March 31, 2021 for a period of five years from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026
Aim
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It aims to provide a secure and integrated service delivery framework that facilitates legitimate travelers while
strengthening national security, through this scheme.
Details
 The continuation of the scheme shows the Modi Government’s commitment to the core objective of IVFRT,
which is modernization and up-gradation of Immigration and Visa services.
 The project has a global outreach and seeks to interlink and optimize functions relating to immigration, visa
issuance, registration of foreigners and tracking of their movements in India.
 After the commencement of IVFRT, the number of Visa and OCI cards issued increased from 44.43 lakh in
2014 to 64.59 lakh in 2019 at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.7 per cent.
 Average visa processing time of 15 to 30 days (during pre-IVFRT period) has been reduced to a maximum of
72 hours in e-visas, with 95 per cent of e-visas issued within 24 hours.
IVFRT scheme?
 The Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration & Tracking (IVFRT) scheme is administered by the ministry of
home affairs.
 IVFRT scheme seeks to interlink and optimise functions relating to immigration, visa issuance, registration of
foreigners and tracking of their movements in India.
 The ministry aims to provide a secure and integrated service delivery framework that facilitates legitimate
travellers while strengthening national security, through this scheme.
 It is a multi-ministry project which brings together a number of immigration, visa and registration tasks onto
one IT platform, for greater control and efficiency.
Celebrations of the 4th Janaushadhi Diwas 2022
In news
The 4th Janaushadhi Diwas 2022 celebrations commenced on 1 Jan 2022
Theme:
“Jan Aushadhi-Jan Upyogi”
Objective
To raise awareness about the benefits of Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana and the usages of generic medicines.
About Jan aushadhi scheme

 ‘Jan Aushadhi Scheme’ was launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals &
Fertilizers, Government of India in November 2008.
 Till May 2014, only 80 ‘Jan Aushadhi Stores’ were in operation in selected States.
 The Government revamped the ‘Jan Aushadhi Scheme’ in September 2015 as ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi
Yojana’ (PMJAY).
 To give further impetus to the scheme, it was again renamed as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi
Pariyojana (PMBJP).
 Till 31st January 2022, 8675 PMBJP Kendras are functional across the country.
The Objectives of PMBJP

 To make available quality medicines, consumables and surgical items at affordable prices for all and reduce
out of pocket expenditure of consumers/patients.
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 To popularize generic medicines among the masses and dispel the prevalent notion that low priced generic
medicines are of inferior quality or are less effective.
 To ensure easy availability of the menstrual health services (Janaushadhi ‘Suvidha’ sanitary napkins) to all
women across India.
 Generate employment by engaging individual entrepreneurs in the opening of PMBJP Kendras.
Conclave on ‘Social Enterprises for Garbage Free Cities’
In news
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), is
organizing a National conclave on ‘Social Enterprises for Garbage Free Cities: Encouraging Women Entrepreneurs
in Waste management.
Details
 This event will serve as a platform for peer learning for States and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) on various
centralised and decentralized waste management practices, as part of the Mission’s capacity building
initiatives.
 The event will also witness the release of the “National Capacity Building Framework for Garbage Free Cities”
under SBM-Urban 2.0, which will help build capabilities of relevant stakeholders to strengthen the urban
sanitation sector in the country.
About The Mission

 On 1st October, the Prime Minister launched the Swachh Bharat Mission – U 2.0 with the overall vision of
creating “Garbage Free Cities”.
 The Mission is being implemented under the overarching principles of “waste from wealth”, and “circular
economy” for maximising resource recovery.
 In the process, the Mission is focusing on creating an enabling eco-system for opening up of entrepreneurial
opportunities in the sanitation sector through social enterprise development, especially among the
economically weaker sections of society, and including women empowerment.
 Recently, a Swachhata Startup Challenge has been launched by the Mission, in partnership with
Government of France.
Solutions across various themes

 Social inclusion,
 Zero dump (solid waste management),
 Plastic waste management,
 Transparency through digital enablement.
Modernisation Plan-IV for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) Scheme
In News
The Government has approved the scheme - Modernisation Plan-IV for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in
continuation of the scheme “Modernisation Plan-III for CAPFs. The Modernisation Plan-IV will run from 01.02.2022
to 31.03.2026.
Details
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 Modernisation Plan-IV for CAPFs with a total financial outlay of Rs.1,523 crore is to be implemented by the
Ministry of Home Affairs.
 It will equip the CAPFs with modern state-of-the-art weapons and equipment as per their operational
requirement, keeping in view their deployment pattern in different theatres. Besides, upgraded IT solutions
will also be provided to CAPFs.
 Implementation of the scheme will equip CAPFs to improve the overall operational efficiency/preparedness
which will positively impact the internal security scenario in the country.
 This would bolster the Government’s ability to address the challenges being faced on the International
Border/LoC/LAC as well as in the different theatres, such as areas affected by Left Wing Extremism, Union
Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and insurgency affected North Eastern States.
Government reopens application window for PLI Scheme for White Goods
In News
The Union Cabinet had given approval for the PLI Scheme for White Goods for manufacture of components and sub-
assemblies of Air Conditioners (ACs) and LED Lights to bring manufacturing at the center stage and emphasize its
significance in driving India’s growth and creating jobs.
Details
 The Scheme is to be implemented over a seven-year period, from FY 2021-22 to FY 2028-29 and has an
outlay of Rs. 6,238 crore.
 In order to boost domestic manufacturing and cut down on import bills, the union government in March
2020 introduced a PLI scheme that aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products
manufactured in domestic units.
 Apart from inviting foreign companies to set shop in India, the scheme also aims to encourage local
companies to set up or expand existing manufacturing units.
 The Scheme has also been approved for sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, IT hardware including
laptops, mobile phones & telecom equipment, white goods, chemical cells, food processing, etc.
Donate-a-Pension’ scheme
In News
In a bid to create and contribute to the pension of the support staff, the Union Labour and Employment
Minister rolled out the 'Donate-a-Pension' program under Pradhan Mantri Shram.
Details
 Under the initiative, people can donate the premium contribution of their immediate support staff like
domestic workers, drivers, helpers etc.
 It is an initiative under (PM-SYM) pension scheme where citizens can donate the premium contribution of
their immediate support staff such as domestic workers, drivers, helpers etc.”
Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM)

 The PM-SYM is a 50:50 voluntary and contributory pension scheme in which the beneficiary makes a
stipulated age-specific contribution and the Central Government matches it.
 For example, if a person joins the system at the age of 29, he must give Rs 100 per month until he reaches
the age of 60, at which point the Central Government would contribute an equal amount of Rs 100.
 The subscriber will get the assured monthly pension of Rs 3000/- with benefit of family pension, as the case
may be.
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Eligibility under the scheme

 The beneficiary of the scheme can be any worker of the unorganised sector mostly engaged as home-based
workers, street vendors, mid-day meal workers, head loaders, brick kiln workers, cobblers, rag pickers,
domestic workers, washer men, rickshaw pullers, landless labourers, own account workers, agricultural
workers, construction workers, beedi workers, handloom workers, leather workers, audio- visual workers
and similar other occupations.
 According to the Labour Ministry, any worker whose monthly income is Rs 15,000/per month or less and
belong to the entry age group of 18-40 years are eligible for the scheme.
Dalit Bandhu Scheme
In News
 Dalit Bandhu is the Telangana government’s flagship programme.
 It is a welfare scheme for empowering Dalit families of the state and enabling entrepreneurship among them
through a Rs 10 lakh direct benefit transfer per family.
About Scheme
 Dalit Bandhu is the latest flagship programme of the Telangana government.
 It is envisioned as a welfare scheme for empowering Dalit families and enable entrepreneurship among them
through a direct benefit transfer of Rs 10 lakh per family.
 This is, once implemented on the ground, going to be the biggest cash transfer scheme in the country.
 An initial outlay of Rs 1,200 crore was sanctioned.
 First implemented on pilot basis in Huzurabad Assembly constituency.
 Officials were asked to visit Dalit colonies and interact with Dalit families to find out their views and opinions
before preparing guidelines for the scheme.
 The financial assistance given by the government through Dalit Bandhu is free.
 This is not a loan. There is no need to repay it.
 There is no chance of any middlemen in this. Eligible beneficiaries will get the assistance in their bank
accounts.
Dalit entrepreneurship
 To promote Dalit entrepreneurship, the government has decided to start a system of reservation for Dalits in
sectors where the government issues licences.
 The government will provide reservations for Dalits in issuing licenses for wine shops, medical shops,
fertiliser shops, rice mills, etc.
 A beneficiary can choose from a wide range of choices such as buying a power tiller, harvester, paddy
planting machines, auto trolleys, tractors, etc for their farms to setting up a poultry farm, dairy farm, oil mill,
grinding mill, steel, cement and bricks business, furniture shops, cloth emporiums, mobile phone shops or
even Tiffen centres and hotels.
 Apart from monetary assistance, the government plans to create a corpus called the Dalit Security Fund
permanently to support the beneficiary in the event of any adversities.
 This fund will be managed by the district collector concerned, along with a committee of beneficiaries.
 A minimum amount will be deposited by the beneficiary towards this fund.
 The beneficiary would be issued an identity card with an electronic chip, which will help the government
monitor the progress of the scheme.
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Aama Yojna
In News
 Sikkim CM Prem Singh Tamang announced that the state government will implement the 'Aama Yojna' for
non-working mothers and Bahini scheme for girl students.
 The Sikkim government will give Rs 20,000 each to all non-working mothers and free sanitary napkins to all
girl students of class 9 and above in the state.
Aama Yojana Scheme

 Under the 'Aama Yojna' scheme all non-working mothers in the state will receive Rs 20,000 each annually in
their bank accounts, Tamang said, adding that only those whose names are in the electoral roll of the state
will get the money.
 He said the scheme will be implemented from this year and all the required formalities for the efficient
implementation of the scheme was under process.
 A sum of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked in the budget for the scheme and hoped that it will inculcate the
habit of saving among non-working mothers.
Bahini Scheme
 In the 'Bahini' scheme the state government will provide free sanitary napkins to girl students studying in
class 9 and above.
 Over 18,000 girl students study in class 9 and above in the state.
 The state government also plans to establish sanitary napkin vending machines in schools and also increase
awareness and sensitisation programmes about menstrual health and hygiene.
PM Gati Shakti project
In News
 Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) informed that it has undertaken multiple projects aligning with the
PM’s initiative of ‘Gati Shakti.’ during a media briefing in Mumbai.
 The briefing highlighted the progress and the outcome of these developmental projects in line with PM Gati
Shakti- National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity.
 Aligned with the PM Gati Shakti – National Master Plan, JNPA has undertaken various projects like Coastal
Berth, JNPA SEZ, Centralized Parking Plaza, Fourth Container Terminal, Road Widening, Dry Port at Wardha &
Jalna, Berthing facility for ROPAX/RORO, Common Railyard, Additional Liquid Cargo Jetty etc.
 These projects will further boost the EXIM trade and bolster the nation’s economy.
PM-Gati Shakti
 It aims to reduce logistics costs, develop world-class infrastructure to make EXIM efficient, and benefit
citizens by saving cost and time and fastening the pace of development in the country.
 It will play a major role in the integrated economic growth of the country. It is based on seven engines of
growth - roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways, and logistics.
About JNPT
 Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) at Navi Mumbai is one of the premier container handling ports in
India. Commissioned on 26th May 1989, in less than three decades of its operations, JNPA has transformed
from a bulk-cargo terminal to become the premier container port in the country.
 Currently JNPA operates five container terminals: The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT), the
Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT), the Gateway Terminals India Pvt. Ltd. (GTIPL), Nhava
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Sheva International Gateway Terminal (NSIGT) and the newly commissioned Bharat Mumbai Container
Terminals Private Limited (BMCTPL).
 The Port also has a Shallow Water Berth for general cargo and another Liquid Cargo Terminal which is
managed by BPCL-IOCL consortium and newly constructed coastal berth.
People will get land records in their own language soon
In News
Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj announced that soon, people in the country will be able to
get their land records in their own language.
Details
 He said that the Department of Land Resources, MoRD will plan to roll out the multilingual software from
April 2022.
 After that, the land records will be available in 22 languages.
 The Minister was speaking after releasing an e-book on Land Governance Reforms announced in Budget
titled "Empowering Citizens-Powering India.
 The Multilingual Land Records will facilitate access of information for the prospective individuals in his
regional and mother languages.
About NGDRS
 NGDRS software was developed indigenously.
 The NGDRS software costs around 4 crores to the government but the use of this software resulted in
increasing land revenue by the State Governments.
 The Minister said that State NGDRS is being implemented in 13 States which will be benefitted to 22 crore
people.
 Till now, 30.9 lakh documents registered through the system from which revenue of more than 16 thousand
crores has been received.
About Unique Land Parcel Identification Number

 A Unique Land Identification Number (ULPIN) to each land parcel is being assigned to land Parcels to prevent
fraudulent and Benami property transactions.
 Further Digitization of Land Records will empower citizens and India for Atmanirbhar Bharat- the vision of
Prime Minister.
 Moreover, the updated land records will reduce the time for payment of compensation and provide
rehabilitation and resettlement benefit for land acquisition considerably.
 With the rollout of ULPIN (Unique Land Parcel Identification Number) in the country, No one can take away
the rights of the poor.
 Linking ULPIN with PAN, Aadhar, land records, Courts and banking system, will get rid of corruption and
fraud in land matters.
 So far, ULPIN is rolled out in 14 States.
Weather-Based Index Insurance Scheme
In News
The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying is implementing a flagship
scheme namely Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) with a highest ever investment of Rs. 20,050crore
for a period of 5 years with effect from 2020-21 to 2024- 25 in all the States/Union Territories.
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About PMMSY
 PMMSY inter-alia provides livelihood and nutritional support for socio-economically backward active
traditional fisher’s families during the fishing ban/lean period under which Governmental financial assistance
of Rs. 3000/- per annum is provided to each enrolled beneficiary along with beneficiary contribution of Rs.
1500/- annually.
 Further, such accumulated amount of Rs. 4500/- is disbursed to each enrolled beneficiary by the respective
State/UT at the rate of Rs. 1500/- per month during the fishing ban/lean period for three months annually.
 PMMSY also provides support for insurance to fishers and insurance premium subvention for fishing vessels
under its Centrally Sponsored scheme component.
Insurance coverage for fishers includes

 Rs.5,00,000/- against accidental death or permanent total disability,
 Rs.2,50,000/- for permanent partial disability
 insurance coverage for hospitalization expenses in the event of accident for a sum of Rs. 25,000/-
Make-In-North-East Initiative
In News
This programme has been initiated as a follow-up to the government’s Make in India programme.
About the Initiative

 The ‘Make in Northeast’ approach will not only generate revenue and livelihood opportunities in the region,
but it can also reinforce the Government of India’s “Act East” policy.
 Under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), a dedicated Northeast Desk has
been set up within Invest India, which supports the North East States in their outreach activities to the
investors as well as in facilitating and handholding select companies.
 The desk is working closely with One District One Product (ODOP), StartUP and other sector desks of Invest
India for their initiatives in the region.
Integrated Bamboo Project
In News
With the objective to redefine the Bamboo Mission, the integrated bamboo project has been launched at
Tamenglong in Manipur and it is funded by the North Eastern Council (NEC) which operates under the Ministry of
Doner.
About the Bamboo Project:

 The project will be implemented by the North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC) which
is a designated Bamboo Technical Support Group under the National Bamboo Mission.
 This project intends to promote bamboo technology and up-gradation.
 This project facilitates the industrialisation of bamboo and cane setting up networks that can be augmented
as bamboo clusters resulting in employment generation in rural areas.
Significance of Bamboo
 Bamboo is considered to be a versatile crop with multiple uses.
 It can be used as a food, a substitute of wood, biofuel, incense sticks, construction material and also for
handicrafts and paper.
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 India is the second-largest cultivator of bamboo with 136 species and 23 genera spread over millions of
hectares.
 Despite having a considerable bamboo resource India’s commercial share in terms of bamboo is a mere 4%
globally.
Ujjwala Effect
In News
 Greater penetration and usage of LPG as a cooking fuel is estimated to have prevented at least 1.5 lakh
pollution-related premature deaths in the year 2019 alone, according to the first independent impact
assessment of the government’s flagship Ujjwala programme.
 The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) also helped in avoiding at least 1.8 million tonnes of PM2.5
emissions that year, this assessment has found.
Findings of the report

 It avoided at least 8 million tonnes of PM2.5 emissions in 2019 (13% reduction in air pollution deaths).
 It had shown a vast improvement not just in prevalence of respiratory diseases but also in general health
conditions in villages with high coverage of Ujjwala connections.
 The survey had found 50 per cent improvement in general health conditions in villages of Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar with high coverage of Ujjwala connections.
 Three States have become kerosene free. These include- Haryana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.
 Union Territories that have become kerosene-freeare the Union Territories of Delhi, Chandigarh, Daman &
Diu, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Andaman & Nicobar Island and Puducherry.
About PMUY
 Launched in May 2016.
 Aim: To provide LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to poor households and reduce health risk
associated with burning biomass.
 Key features: A deposit-free LPG connection is given to eligible with financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per
connection by the Centre.
NAV BHARAT LITERACY PROGRAMME
In News
The Union of India has approved a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, namely, “New India Literacy Programme (NILP).
About NILP
 Aim- to support the States and Union Territories in promoting literacy among non-literates in the age group
of 15 and above, across the country covering 5 crore non-literates during the implementation period from
2022-23 to 2026-27.
 The scheme has been approved with a financial outlay of Rs.1037.90 crore including Central share of
Rs.700.00 crore and State share of Rs.337.90 crore.
 The scheme has five components namely, Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, Critical Life Skills, Vocational
Skills Development, Basic Education and Continuing Education.
Features
 involvement of school students, pre-service students of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), school teachers,
Anganwadi and ASHA workers, NYKS, NSS, NCC volunteers,
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 school to be unit for implementation of the scheme

 use of ICT and online implementation of the scheme through ‘Online Teaching Learning and Assessment
System’ (OTLAS)
 material and resources through digital modes, viz, TV, radio, cell phone-based free/open-source
Apps/portals, etc.
 Assessment tests to be conducted in schools by State/UTs and evaluation of learners by NIOS/SIOS;
assessment on demand through OTLAS and generation of e-certificates,
 Sample achievement survey and
 Online MIS.
E-GOPALA PORTAL
In News
Recognising the need of a digital platform to help dairy farmers for managing their animals, the Department has
developed an android and web-based application called “e- GOAPLA”.
About Portal
 Hon’ble Prime Minister inaugurated the e-GOPALA App in September 2020 for direct use by the farmers.
 This application is available in 12 languages viz. Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Odiya, Kannada, Malayalam,
Punjabi, Telugu, Bengali, Tamil, Assamese and English.
 It helps farmers to formulate balanced ration for dairy animals using locally available feed ingredients
optimising the feed costs while increasing productivity and reproductive efficacy.
 It helps farmers in management of nearly 29 common ailments of dairy animals e.g. mastitis, indigestion,
diarrhoea etc. using Ethno-Veterinary Medicine (EVM).
 This section also contains videos in various languages on disease management protocols through Ethno-
Veterinary Medicine.
 Provides digital platform for buying/selling of dairy animals, information on source of quality semen doses
available for various breeds of cattle and buffaloes and contact details for availability of IVF embryos and
sex-sorted semen.
 Provides real-time information on breeding, nutrition and health of their animals from INAPH.
 It provides timely alerts on due date for vaccination, pregnancy diagnosis, calving etc. as well as information
about various schemes on dairying and animal husbandry.
 Farmers can also directly connect to call centre for their queries on animal health, nutrition and breeding
though this App.
 Under Rashtriya Gokul Mission Government of India has been promoting is use of sex sorted semen for
production of female calves with 90% accuracy. The extensive use of sex sorted semen will limit stray cattle
population in the country.
Rooftop Solar Programme Phase-II
In News
 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing Rooftop Solar Programme Phase-II for which
the guidelines were issued in August 2019.
 Under this Programme 4000 MW rooftop solar (RTS) capacity addition is targeted in residential sector
through Central Financial Assistance (CFA).
Future of education
About programme
 The Programme is demand driven and capacities are allocated based on demand received from Distribution
Utilities and other state implementing agencies.
 CFA up to 40% of the benchmark cost is provided for RTS projects up to 3 kW capacity and up to 20% for RTS
system capacity beyond 3 kW and up to 10 kW for individual households.
 For Group Housing Societies/Residential Welfare Associations (GHS/RWA), CFA is limited to 20% for RTS
plants for supply of power to common facilities maximum 500 kW capacity.
 In addition, incentives up to 10% of cost of rooftop solar is provided to Distribution Utilities depending upon
achievements in capacity addition above baseline.
Project UNNATI under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA
In News
Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh will be Felicitating 75 trained candidates of
Project UNNATI under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA.
About UNNATI
 Project 'UNNATI', as a skilling project intends to upgrade the skill base of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA
beneficiaries, and thereby improving their livelihoods, so that they can move from the current partial
employment to full-time employment and hence reduce their dependence on Mahatma Gandhi NREGS.
 This project is improving the livelihoods of the neediest Mahatma Gandhi NREGA beneficiaries by providing a
skill, either for self-employment or wage employment.
 As of now, a total number of 18,166 candidates have been trained under Project UNNATI.
 This project is meant for providing training for one adult member (of age 18-45 years old) of a household
who has completed 100 days of work under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA in the previous financial year from the
year of commencement of the project.
Kisan Credit Card Scheme
In News
 A meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare was held
recently.
 The Committee discussed various aspects of the Kisan Credit Card Scheme for improvement and better
implementation.
About the Scheme

 Kisan Credit Card was introduced in 1998 to provide short term loans to farmers to purchase agriculture
inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc.
 Presently, KCC loans are available to farmers engaged in crop husbandry, Animal Husbandry and other allied
activities for both the short term and long term.
 The maximum limit for a short term agriculture loan is up to 1 year and for a long term loan normally 5 years.
Banks at their discretion may extend the tenure.
 The government of India is implementing an Interest Subvention Scheme for short term crop loans through
KCC, under which, short term loans up to Rs. 3 lakhs are given to the farmers at concessional rate of 7% and
additional 3% Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI) makes the effective rate of interest at 4%.
Future of education
Foundational Learning Study
In News
Ministry of Education will be conducting a ‘foundational learning study’ in order to draw a first-hand understanding
of the learning levels of the students at the foundational learning stage (at the end of Grade 3).
About the Study

 The study is first of its kind in the world as it aims to set-up benchmarks for reading with comprehension in
22 Indian languages.
 The Foundational Learning Study will be conducted by the NCERT in all States and UTs over a window of four
days.
 Approximately, 10000 schools and 1 lakh students are expected to participate in this study.
 The Foundational Learning study will enable to establish benchmarks in reading with comprehension in
different Indian languages for children at Grade 3 level.
 It will assess the ability to read age-appropriate known as well as unknown text at a certain pace, accurately,
and with comprehension and also the foundational numeracy skills and form a baseline for the NIPUN Bharat
Goals.
Objectives
 To conduct a large-scale assessment of the foundational learning of grade 3 students to establish a baseline
for the NIPUN Bharat mission
 To establish reading proficiency benchmarks for fluency with comprehension for each of the languages being
assessed under the study
 To provide the data for SDG 4.1.1. (Covering aspects of foundational literacy and numeracy).
Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women (Her&Now)
In News
In a major step to end the gender-based barriers that pose significant obstacles to women entrepreneurs across
India, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, today announced their collaboration with the Indo-German
Development Cooperation Project.
About the project

 Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women (Her&Now)’ commissioned by
the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and jointly implemented
by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Ministry for Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, to help women play a greater role in the
economy as entrepreneurs.
 The partnership between AIM and Her&Now will impart the ‘WINcubate Training Programme’ to the AIM
Incubators and Innovation Centres and equip them in adopting a gender-focused approach.
 It will help the participants to design and implement women centric incubation programmes.
 The WINcubate Training Programme has been developed by Her&Now together with the Indian NGO Dhriiti
– the Courage Within and is based on best practices of women entrepreneurship support programmes
implemented in the country since 2019.
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Child Sex Ratio
In News
Child Sex Ratio (Census by Registrar General of India) is a decadal process.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

 Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme aims to address declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of
empowerment of girls and women over a life cycle continuum.
 The primary objectives of the scheme are, to prevent gender biased sex selective elimination, to ensure
survival and protection of the girl child and to ensure education and participation of the girl child.
 BBBP scheme is being implemented as per schematic norms only.
 The implementation of the Scheme is monitored by the task force under BBBP at District, State and National
level.
Production of Bees Wax
In News
A National Conclave on “Production of Bees Wax” was organized by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB),
Gujarat in collaboration with the National Bee Board (NBB), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on
30th March, 2022.
Details
 The conclave was supported by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.
(NAFED) & Tribal Co-Operative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED).
 The objective of this National Conclave is to create awareness about the production of other high-value
beekeeping products viz. Bees Wax, Bee pollen, Royal Jelly, Propolis, bee venom, etc.
 Through the implementation of the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM), Government of India
has taken so many initiatives to strengthen the beekeeping industry in the country.
 Under NBHM, thrust is being given to setting up infrastructural facilities for collection, processing, trading,
testing and branding of honey and other beehive products.
About NBHM
The main objective of NBHM is to promote holistic growth of beekeeping industry for income & employment
generation for farm and non-farm households, to enhance agriculture/ horticulture production, developing
infrastructural facilities, including setting up of Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre (IBDC)s/CoE, honey
testing labs, bee disease diagnostic labs, custom hiring centres, Api-therapy centres, nucleus stock, bee breeders,
etc. and empowerment of women through beekeeping.
Integrated Power Development Scheme
In News
Government of India launched the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) in December, 2014 under which
Distribution Infrastructure projects for strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution networks in urban areas
metering of distribution transformers / feeders / consumers in the urban areas were executed.
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Features of the Scheme

 Under IPDS, Central funding is being provided for strengthening of sub- transmission & distribution networks
in the urban areas and metering of distribution transformers/feeders/consumers for reduction of Aggregate
Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses.
 Funds have also been sanctioned under IPDS for underground (UG) cabling and Aerial Bunched (AB) cables
and metering, which help in reducing AT&C losses.
 Under IPDS, System Strengthening and Distribution (ST&D) projects covering 547 Circles in 33 States/UTs
were taken up.
National Perspective Plan
In News
 Under the National Perspective Plan (NPP), the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified
30 links (16 under Peninsular Component & 14 under Himalayan Component) for preparation of Feasibility
Reports.
 Out of these, Ken-Betwa Link Project, Par-Tapi-Narmada Link Project, Damanganga-Pinjal Link Project and
Godavari (Inchampalli barrage)-Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link project have been declared as priority link
projects by the Government of India.
Ken-Betwa Project
 Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) is the first interlinking of rivers (ILR) project under the NPP which is under
implementation.
 The Govt. of India has approved the implementation of KBLP with an estimated cost of Rs 44,605 Cr (year
2020-21 price level) with central support of Rs 39,317 Cr through a Special Purpose Vehicle viz; Ken Betwa
Link Project Authority (KBLPA)
Benefits of NPP
The implementation of the link projects under National Perspective Plan (NPP) is expected to give benefit of 25
million ha of irrigation from surface water and 10 million ha by increased use of ground water, raising the ultimate
irrigation potential from 140 million ha to 175 million ha, apart from generation of 34 million KW of power and other
benefits of flood control, navigation, augmentation of water supply, fisheries, salinity control, pollution control and
employment generation etc.
Catch the Rain Programme
In News
 Catch the Rain (JSA:CTR) campaign involves inter-sectoral convergence of all development programmes of
the Central as well as State Government.
 Funds under different schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Repair, Renovation &
Restoration, Watershed Development Component, Per Drop More Crop under Pradhan Mantri Krishi
Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) etc. are leveraged for the implementation of JSA:CTR.
About the programme

 AIM- to take water conservation at grass-root level through people's participation.
 It is intended to nudge all stakeholders to create rainwater harvesting structures suitable to the climatic
conditions and subsoil strata, to ensure proper storage of rainwater.
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 A financial grant of Rs. 2.00 lakh is allocated by Ministry of Jal Shakti to every district to meet part of the
expenditure in Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping of water bodies and preparation of scientific
plans.
 CTR was implemented in all districts (Urban and Rural) of the country with five focused interventions-
 rainwater harvesting & water conservation
 enumerating, geo-tagging & making inventory of all water bodies; preparation of scientific plans for water
conservation
 Setting up Jal Shakti Kendras in all districts
 intensive afforestation and
 awareness generation.
Atal Innovation Mission
In News
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved continuation of Atal Innovation
Mission (AIM), till March 2023.
About AIM
 The Mission has been set up under the NITI Aayog, in accordance with the Hon'ble Finance Minister's
declaration in the 2015 Budget Speech.
 The total budgeted expenditure of Rs.2000+ crore.
 The AIM has focused on both infrastructure creation and institution building. As evident from these
examples, the AIM has worked on integrating innovation ecosystem both nationally and globally.
 The AIM has created bilateral relations with various international agencies for building synergistic
collaboration on innovation and entrepreneurship such as the AIM – SIRIUS Student Innovation exchange
program with Russia, AIM – ICDK (Innovation Centre Denmark) Water Challenge with Denmark, and IACE
(India Australian Circular Economy Hackathon) with Australia.
Objectives-
To create and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country via interventions at
school, university, research institutions, MSME and industry levels.
Intended Targets under AIM

 Establishing 10000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs),
 Establishing 101 Atal Incubation Centers (AICs),
 Establishing 50 Atal Community Innovation Centers (ACICs) and
 Supporting 200 startups via the Atal New India Challenges.
AVSAR Scheme
In News
In the line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of encouraging the talent of women, artisans and
craftsmen and providing them with the right opportunities, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken an
initiative to allocate space to Self Help Groups (SHGs) at its airports for selling or showcasing the self-made products
of their region.
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AVSAR scheme
 Under Airport as Venue for skilled artisans Of The Region (AVSAR) which is an initiative of AAI, an
opportunity to help the indigent to mobilize their households into functionally effective self-earned groups
for self-reliance and self-dependence, has been provided.
 Under this scheme, an area of 100-200 square feet has been earmarked at each AAI-operated airport.
 The space is being allotted to the self-help groups, turn on turn basis, for a duration of 15 days.
 Few outlets have already been commissioned at Chennai, Agartala, Dehradun, Kushinagar, Udaipur and
Amritsar Airport wherein SHGs operated by local women, are showcasing and marketing their homemade
local products like puffed rice, packaged papad, pickles, bamboo-based ladies bag/bottle/lamp sets, local
artifacts, traditional craft, natural dyes, embroidery and indigenous weaves with contemporary design to the
air travellers
Objective
 Self-help Groups are India’s most powerful channels for empowering small and rural communities to move
from subsistence to sustainability. The government is constantly creating an atmosphere to strengthen the
SHGs’.
 Many such groups are excellent producers, creators of local arts and crafts, useful and quality products with
demand from the consumers and they need opportunity and space to showcase their products.
 The initiative to strengthen SHGs by allotting space at AAI Airports will provide huge visibility to these small
groups and will prepare them to promote/market their products to the wider spectrum, reaching out to the
larger population.
Saksham Cazmpaign
In News
‘Saksham’, an annual people-centric mega campaign of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), under
the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, was launched by Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural
Gas and Chairman-PCRA.
About the Campaign

 It is a flagship public awareness campaign to spread the message of Fuel Conservation and Energy Efficiency
and help in building a cleaner and greener India and also reduce its reliance on crude oil imports.
 He flagged-off the publicity vans of PCRA, the fuel conservation messages on wheels, equipped with audio,
video and print displays to attract and spread the conservation awareness especially amongst the rural
masses.
 During the event, Energy Efficiency Index for LPG Plants was formally launched and a booklet on this was
released.
Pradhan Mantri Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi Yojana
In News
 The youth, owing to their educational backwardness, are finding difficulties to obtain employment with good
compensation after undergoing short-term skilling courses.
 In this background, the government has highlighted the need for and significance of this scheme.
Future of education
PM- DAKSH
 PM-DAKSH (Pradhan Mantri Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi) Yojana is a National Action Plan for
skilling of marginalized persons covering SCs, OBCs, EBCs, DNTs, Sanitation workers including waste pickers.
 The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment from the year 2020-
21.
 Under the scheme, eligible target groups are being provided skill development training programmes on up-
skilling/reskilling, short term training programme, long term training programme and entrepreneurship
development program (EDP).
Key Features of the Scheme:

 Training free of cost for the trainees, 100% grants by Government.
 Stipend of Rs.1,000/- to Rs.1,500/- per month per trainee for trainees having 80% and above attendance in
short term and long term training.
 Wage compensation @ Rs.3000/- per trainee (Rs.2500/- as per PM-DAKSH and Rs.500/- as per Common
Cost Norms for trainees having 80% and above attendance in Reskilling/Up-skilling.
 Trained candidates will be provided certification after successful completion of training and assessment.
 Trained candidates will be provided placement after assessment and certification.
SVANidhi se Samriddhi
In News
Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) today launched ‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’
program in additional 126 cities across 14 States/ UTs.
PMSVANIDHI programme
 SVANidhi se Samriddhi’, an additional program of PMSVANidhi was launched on 4th January 2021 in 125
cities in Phase 1, covering approximately 35 Lakh Street vendors and their families.
 MoHUA has been implementing Prime Minister Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), a Central
Sector Scheme since 1st June 2020.
 The scheme aims to provide an affordable working capital loan to Street Vendors and has successfully
crossed the 30 Lakh mark.
 Aim- to not only extend loans to street vendors, but also aims for their holistic development and economic
upliftment.
 Keeping this in mind, ‘‘SVANidhi se Samriddhi’ program was started to provide social security benefits to
street vendors for their holistic development and socio-economic upliftment.
Benefits
 The program was successful in providing social security benefits to the street vendor families and thereby
protecting them from any risks and vulnerabilities of life and livelihoods.
 The program has two-fold achievements: one, a central database of Street vendors and their families is
created on various socio-economic indicators.
 Second, a first of its kind inter-ministerial convergence platform is established between various Central
Ministries to extend safety net of welfare schemes to street vendor households.
Future of education
Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA)
In News
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved
continuation of revamped Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) for
implementation.
About RGSA
 The total financial outlay of the scheme is Rs.5911 crore with the Central Share of Rs.3700 crore and that of
State Share of Rs.2211 crore.
 The approved scheme of RGSA will help more than 2.78 lakh Rural Local Bodies including Traditional Bodies
across the country to develop governance capabilities to deliver on SDGs through inclusive local governance
with focus on optimum utilisation of available resources.
 As Panchayats have representation of Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes and women, and are institutions
closest to the grassroots, strengthening Panchayats will promote equity and inclusiveness, along with Social
Justice and economic development of the community.
 Panchayats will progressively be strengthened through incentivisation on the basis of nationally important
criteria to recognise roles of Panchayats in attainment of SDGs and to inculcate spirit of healthy competition.
UDAN scheme selected for Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration
In News
Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) flagship Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (UdeDeshkaAamNagrik) has been
selected for Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2020 under the category “Innovation
(General) – Central”.
About Award
 Government of India has initiated this award to acknowledge, recognize and reward extraordinary and
innovative work done by Districts and Organizations of State/Government.
 This scheme emphasises on Good Governance, Qualitative achievements, and last mile connectivity rather
than only on achievement of quantitative targets.
 The award consists of a trophy, scroll and an incentive of Rs 10 lakhs.
UDAN Scheme
 Launched in 2016,
 AIM- to fulfil the aspirations of the common man by following the vision of UdeDeshkaAamNagrik, with an
enhanced aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in tier II and III cities.
 In a short span of 5 years, today 415 UDAN routes connect 66 underserved/unserved airports, including
heliports and water aerodromes, and over 92 lakh people have benefited from it.
 More than 1 lakh 79 thousand flights have flown under this scheme.
 UDAN scheme has immensely benefitted several sectors pan-India including Hilly States, North-Eastern
region, and Islands.
Benefits
 UDAN has a positive impact on the economy of the country and has witnessed an excellent response from
industry stakeholders especially airlines operators and state governments.
 The scheme also led to development of new Green Field Airports such as Pakyong near Gangtok in Sikkim,
Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.
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 The scheme also led to 5% incremental growth in domestic passenger share of non-metro airports.
Dr. Ambedkar Centres of Excellence (DACE) Scheme
In News
Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment and Chairman of Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (DAF) Dr. Virendra
Kumar will launch the Dr. Ambedkar Centres of Excellence (DACE) SchemePan India from Banaras Hindu University,
Varanasi.

 Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (DAF), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India, is starting Dr.
Ambedkar Centres of Excellence (DACE) in 31 Central Universities across the country.
 The DACEs are being set up to provide high qualityfree coaching facilitiesto the Scheduled Caste students
forthe Civil Services examinations, conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
 Under the DACEScheme, a total of 100 seats will be sanctioned for coaching per centre.
 Of the total sanctioned seats for coaching, 33% seats will preferably be given to the eligible female
candidates of Scheduled Castes.
 If eligible female candidatesare not available in sufficient numbers for the coaching, the concerned
University will allocate the vacant seats to the male/transgender candidates (SC Candidates only).
Funds
 Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (DAF) shall fund the entire expenditure incurred on the establishment of Dr.
Ambedkar Centre for Excellence. Rs. 75,000/- per annum / per student will be provided to the University for
100 students.
 Total amount of Rs. 75.00 lakh per year would be provided to the University for running the Scheme.
Dr. Ambedkar Chairs

 AIM- to provide advanced Centres of learning in the premier universities and educational institutes, where
academicians, scholars and students would enrich and advance studies and research to understand, assess,
disseminate and implement the ideas and thoughts of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
 To conduct research and higher studies vis-à-vis the socio-economic and cultural life as well as the biological
aspects of the marginalized/oppressed groups or backward classes or weaker sections of the society.
 To conduct advanced research and teaching on the present and past of the deprived sections of Indian
society to provide justice and empower them.
 The DAF has revised the amount of grant-in-aid to Dr. Ambedkar Chairs from the present Rs. 35.00 Lakh to
Rs. 75.00 Lakh.
 To facilitate the establishment of the Chairs, a one-time grant of Rs. 10.00 lakh is released to each Chair at
the time of the ‘Initial Establishment’ of each Chair.
Ujjwala Diwas.
In News
To celebrate the achievements of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG)
has decided to celebrate 1st May 2022 as Ujjwala Diwas.
Future of education
PMUY
 Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) is a major step towards social inclusion by providing Free LPG
connection to every BPL household.
 The scheme was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 1st May 2016 at Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.
 Oil marketing companies will organise more than 5000 LPG panchayats on the occasion of Ujjwala diwas on
1st may 2022, where apart from experience sharing, aimed at safe and sustained usage of LPG, all out efforts
will be made to maximise customer enrolment.
Features
 The scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households.
 Along with a deposit-free LPG connection, Ujjwala 2.0 will provide the first refill and a hotplate free of cost
to the beneficiaries.
Gluten-free millet products
In News
The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) launched a variety of millet
products for all age groups at affordable prices ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 15 at the AAHAR food fair, which is Asia’s
biggest B2B international food and hospitality fair.
AAhar
 The 36th edition of AAHAR was jointly organized by APEDA and the India Trade Promotion Organization
(ITPO) at Pragati Maidan.
 Theme- To promote GI products for export.
 AAHAR is a part of the series of export promotion initiatives taken by APEDA, which works under the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to showcase agricultural and processed food products to the global
players in the food and beverages industry.
 Apart from AAHAR, APEDA also organizes national events like Organic World Congress, BioFach India, etc to
promote agri-exports.
Millets in Minutes
 APEDA also launched a variety of “Millet in Minutes” products under the category of Ready-to-Eat (RTE) such
as Upma, Pongal, Khichadi, Noodles, Biryani, etc, which is a breakthrough in the food sector as it’s the first
RTE millet product in the market to cater fast-paced world at their convenience in a healthy way.
 All the RTE products are vacuum processed without any additives, fillers and preservatives. Nutrition value is
retained as original with a shelf-life of 12 months in ambient temperature.
MPLAD Scheme
In News
 Recently, the Ministry of Finance has revised the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme
(MPLADS) rules, where the interest that the fund accrues will be deposited in the Consolidated Fund of India.
 So far, the interest accrued on the fund used to be added to the MPLADS account and could be used for the
development projects.
About MPLADS
 It is a Central Sector Scheme which was announced in December 1993.
Future of education
 Objective: To enable MPs to recommend works of developmental nature with emphasis on the creation of
durable community assets in the areas of drinking water, primary education, public health, sanitation and
roads, etc. primarily in their Constituencies.
 Each year, MPs receive Rs. 5 crore in two instalments of Rs. 2.5 crore each. Funds under MPLADS are non-
lapsable.
 Lok Sabha MPs have to recommend the district authorities projects in their Lok Sabha constituencies, while
Rajya Sabha MPs have to spend it in the state that has elected them to the House.
Consolidated fund of India

 All revenues received by the Government by way of taxes like Income Tax, Central Excise, Customs and other
receipts flowing to the Government in connection with the conduct of Government business i.e. Non-Tax
Revenues are credited into the Consolidated Fund constituted under Article 266 (1) of the Constitution of
India.
 Similarly, all loans raised by the Government by issue of Public notifications, treasury bills (internal debt) and
loans obtained from foreign governments and international institutions (external debt) are credited into this
fund.
 All expenditure of the government is incurred from this fund and no amount can be withdrawn from the
Fund without authorization from the Parliament.
Malviya Mission
In News
Minister Pradhan pitched in with an idea of a “Malviya Mission” to develop enabling ecosystem across the country
for teacher education/faculty development.
Malviya Mission
 To set up nation-wide ecosystem for faculty development, the Education Minister said that a multi-
dimensional approach to upskill faculty aligned with the challenges of the 21st century India must be
adopted.
 Mentioning the focus of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 on teacher education. Mr Pradhan called for a
multidisciplinary approach towards teacher education with focus on Indian values, languages, knowledge,
ethos, and traditions.
 The Education Minister launched a textbook on 'Introduction to Indian Knowledge Systems: Concepts and
Applications".
 The book primarily is for the engineering students, but it will address the requirement in other university
systems (Liberal Arts, Medicine, Science and Management).
Digital India BHASHINI
In News
MeitY holds Brainstorming with Researchers & Startups to shape strategy for Digital India BHASHINI - India’s AI led
language translation platform.
Digital India Bhashini

 A Bhashini Platform will make Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) resources
available to MSMEs, Startups and Individual Innovators in the public domain.
 This mission aims to empower Indian citizens by connecting them to the Digital Initiatives of the country in
their own language thereby leading to digital inclusion.
Future of education
 The Bhashini platform is interoperable and will catalyze the entire Digital Ecosystem.
 It is a giant step to realize the goal of Digital Government.
 Mission will create and nurture an ecosystem involving Central/State government agencies and start-ups,
working together to develop and deploy innovative products and services in Indian languages.
 Mission Digital India Bhashini also aims to increase the content in Indian languages on the Internet
substantially in the domains of public interest, particularly, governance-and-policy, science & technology,
etc. , thus will encourage citizens to use the Internet in their own language.
Aarohan 4.0
In News
Two days meet of senior functionaries of Postal Department and India Post payments Bank (IPPB), AAROHAN 4.0 in
Shimla.
Aarohan 4.0
 Aim- To discuss and deliberate ways to further deepen Financial Inclusion drive in the country and to provide
banking solutions to every citizen of India.
 Postal Department along with IPPB is working on the vision of Prime Minister’ Digital India initiative to
promote the digital payments and bring digital banking services to every nook and corner of the country in a
customer friendly manner.
 IPPB leverages upon the world's largest postal network of Department of Posts to offer inter operable
banking services at door step benefiting senior citizens, farmers, migrant labourers and women amongst
others.
About IPPB
 It has been established under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication with 100% equity owned
by Government of India.
 IPPB was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on September 1, 2018.
 The bank has been set up with the vision to build the most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the
common man in India.
 The fundamental mandate of IPPB is to remove barriers for the unbanked and under-banked and reach the
last mile leveraging a network comprising 160,000 post offices (145,000 in rural areas) and 400,000 postal
employees.
Jal Jeevan Mission
In News
 Keeping in line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision to provide every rural home with safe
drinking water, the country has achieved the milestone of 50% rural households having access to tap water
connections.
 Goa, Telangana, A&N Islands, D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu, Puducherry and Haryana have already achieved
100% household connections. Punjab, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar have coverage of more than 90%
and are progressing fast towards attaining the status of ‘Har Ghar Jal’.
AIM
- To empower the Panchayati Raj Institutions and communities by engaging them in water supply schemes from the
very beginning.
Future of education
Har Ghar Jal

Har Ghar Jal’ is a flagship programme of the Union Government, implemented by Jal Jeevan Mission under the
Ministry of Jal Shakti, in partnership with States/ UTs to ensure tap water connection in every rural household by
2024.
Significance
 At the time of launch Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019, only 3.23 Crore households i.e. 17% of the rural population
had access to drinking water through taps.
 The burden of arrangement of water for daily household needs mostly fell on women and young girls.
 There is sufficient evidence to suggest that school attendance among girls was significantly lower in
summers when due to increased requirements for water, multiple trips were needed.
 After the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission and improvement in access to tap water connection within their
premises, considerable improvement in this regard has been noticed.
 Under JJM, support is provided to Panchayats by the State Government through Implementing Support
Agencies (ISAs) in community engagement, building capacity of the Pani Samitis, and taking up O&M
activities.
PM CARES for Children Scheme
In News
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will release benefits under the PM CARES for Children Scheme on 30 May 2022 at
10:30 AM via video conferencing.
PM Cares Scheme
 It was launched by the Prime Minister on 29 May 2021 to support children who have lost both the parents or
legal guardian or adoptive parents or surviving parent to Covid-19 pandemic, during the period from 11
March 2020 to 28 February 2022.
 The objective of the Scheme is to ensure comprehensive care and protection of children in a sustained
manner by providing them boarding and lodging, empowering them through education and scholarships,
equipping them for self-sufficient existence with financial support of Rs. 10 lakh on attaining 23 years of age
and ensuring their wellbeing through health insurance. A portal named pmcaresforchildren.in was launched
to register the children.
 The portal is a single window system which facilitates approval process and all other assistance for children.
Project ‘iRASTE’
In News
 Union Minister for Road Transport, Nitin Gadkari launched ‘iRASTE’, an Artificial Intelligence-powered
project.
 The project aims to help reduce road accidents, understand the factors responsible for these events and
come up with solutions to mitigate them.
 iRASTE stands for Intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering.
Features
 The project has been launched on a pilot basis in Nagpur, Maharashtra with the aim of reducing accidents
by 50 per cent in the city.
 The project is launched jointly by the Centre, Intel, INAI, IIIT-Hyderabad, CSIR-CRRI (Central Road Research
Institute), Mahindra & Mahindra and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC).
Future of education
 The main focus of the project will focus on vehicle safety, mobility analysis and road infrastructure safety to
move towards a ‘Vision Zero’ accident scenario.
Garib Kalyan Sammelan
In News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the ‘Garib Kalyan Sammelan’ in Shimla, marking the completion of
eight years of his government, and will directly interact with the beneficiaries of different schemes.
Garib Kalyan Sammelan

 This novel public programme marking completion of eight years of the government led by the Prime
Minister, is being organized across the country at State Capitals, District Headquarters and Krishi Vigyan
Kendras.
 The Sammelan conceptualizes elected public representatives across the country directly interacting with the
public in an endeavour to get feedback about the various welfare programmes being run by the
government.
 The freewheeling interaction being organised across the country is aimed at getting free and frank feedback
from the public, understanding the impact of welfare schemes in people’s lives and exploring convergence
and saturation with regard to different government programmes.
Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)
In News
The PMEGP has been approved for continuation over the 15th Finance Commission Cycle for five years from 2021-22
to 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs.13554.42 Crore.
PMEGP
 Ministry of MSME, Government of India is implementing Prime Minister’s Employment Generation
Programme (PMEGP), to facilitate generation of employment opportunities for unemployed youth across the
country by assisting setting up of micro-enterprises in non-farm sector.
 KVIC is national level nodal agency.
 At State/District level State office of KVIC, State KVIBs and DICs are the implementing agencies.
 Coir Board is the implementing Agency for the Coir Units.
 Since its inception in 2008-09, about 7.8 lakh micro enterprises have been assisted with a subsidy of Rs
19,995 Crore generating estimated sustainable employment for 64 lakh persons.
 About 80% of the units assisted are in rural areas and about 50% units are owned by SC, ST and women
categories.
Modifications in the scheme

 Increasing the maximum project cost from existing Rs.25 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh for manufacturing units and
from existing Rs.10 lakh to Rs.20 lakh for service units.
 Modify definition of village industry and Rural Area for PMEGP. Areas falling under Panchayti Raj institutions
to be accounted under rural area, where as areas under Municipality to be treated as urban area.
 All Implementing Agencies are allowed to receive and process applications in all areas irrespective of the
rural or urban category.
 PMEGP applicants under aspirational districts and transgender will be treated as Special category applicants
and entitled for higher subsidy.
Future of education
Major impact:
Scheme will create sustainable estimated employment opportunities for about 40 lakh persons in five financial years.
Operation Mahila Suraksha
In News
Women security a pan India drive "Operation Mahila Suraksha" was launched from 3rd to 31st May 2022.
About operation
 With an objective of providing enhanced safety and security to lady passengers travelling by trains for their
entire journey a pan India initiative "Meri Saheli" is operational.
 During this drive, RPF has arrested more than 7000 persons who were traveling unauthorizedly in the
coaches reserved for women. RPF also rescued 150 girls/women from becoming the victims of human
trafficking.
 To educate the rail users regarding their safety and Dos & Don'ts during their journey, 5742 awareness
campaigns were organized.
SHRESHTA
In News
The Scheme for Residential Education for Students in Targeted Areas (SHRESHTA) has been formulated with the
objective to provide quality education and opportunities for even the poorest Scheduled Caste students, as per the
Constitutional mandate.
Why this scheme was launched?

 The students from the Scheduled Caste communities, for long been subjects to inequality, were kept out of
quality education and a situation that perpetuates the disadvantages carried forward for generations of lack
of adequate education.
 The Governmental efforts to spread educational facilities without discrimination have worked well in
achieving near universal access.
 However, the objective of providing access to quality education that provides a level playing field is still far
from reality.
 The scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas (SHRESHTA) has been
conceived to provide access to high quality residential education to the meritorious poor students from
Scheduled Caste communities, whose parental annual income is up to Rs. 2.5 Lakh per annum, at free of cost
from class 9th to class 12th.
Features of the scheme

 Under this, each year a specified number of meritorious SC students (Approx 3000) in States / UTs are
selected through a transparent mechanism of a National Entrance Test for SHRESHTA (NETS), conducted by
the National Testing Agency ( NTA ) .
 Selected students are admitted in the Best Private Residential Schools, affiliated by CBSE, in classes 9th and
11th for completion of education till 12th standard.
 Selected Students under the scheme are offered the best private residential schools across the country to
pursue their academic further, as per their choice through e - Counseling process by NIC and NTA.
Future of education
Puneet Sagar Abhiyan’
In News
NCC has launched the latest phase of its nationwide flagship campaign ‘Puneet Sagar Abhiyan’ on 30 May 2022 and it
will continue till 5th June 2022, the World Environment Day.
About Abhiyan
 Puneet Sagar Abhiyan was launched by NCC to clean Sea Shores/Beaches and other water bodies including
rivers & lakes, of plastic & other waste and increase awareness amongst the local population about
importance of keeping the beaches and river fronts clean.
 The purpose of the Abhiyan is to educate locals and sensitise them about ‘Swachh Bharat’.
 The campaign has continued unabated with full fervour since its launch in December 2021.
 Drawing, poster making, essay writing, poetry, article writing, debate, etc are also being conducted at
various locations during the campaign.
Sagarmala Young Professional Scheme
In News
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has formulated scheme to engage talented, forward-thinking and
dynamic young professionals in various divisions of the Ministry.
About the scheme

 This scheme focuses on active on-the-ground learning for young professionals.
 The professionals will have the opportunity to learn about the functioning of the government as well as
developmental policy concerns.
 Professionals will be required to deliver high-quality inputs in areas such as infrastructure, data analysis,
project management, start-up, innovation, skill development, digital transformation and the environment,
among others, in order to meet Ministry’s needs.
 The scheme will foster active involvement of young people in decision-making.
 This will further contribute to social wellness at an individual level, by boosting self-esteem and a sense of
empowerment, and bring about crucial benefits for societies such as an enhanced awareness for common
concerns and a joint resolve to identify solutions that work in the long term.
National Strategy for Sustainable Tourism and Responsible Traveller campaign
In News
Ministry of Tourism, in partnership with United Environment Program (UNEP) and Responsible Tourism Society of
India (RTSOI) organized National Summit on Developing Sustainable & Responsible Tourist Destinations recently.
About the Campaign

 The Strategy document has identified the strategic pillars for development of sustainable tourism like
Promoting Environmental Sustainability, Protecting Biodiversity, Promoting Economic Sustainability,
Promoting Socio-Cultural Sustainability, Scheme for Certification of Sustainable Tourism, IEC and Capacity
Building and Governance.
 India will increase its capacity of non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW and meet 50 per cent of its energy
requirements through renewable energy by 2030.
Future of education
 The idea of Swadesh Darshan 2.0 is to undertake holistic development with the vision to develop Sustainable
and Responsible Tourist Destinations.
 The Scheme will encourage adoption of principles of sustainable tourism including environmental, socio-
cultural and economic sustainability.
Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan
In News
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi Prime Minister participated in a programme 'Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan’
recently.
Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan

 He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development initiatives during ‘Gujarat Gaurav
Abhiyan’ at Khudvel, a tribal region in Navsari.
 This includes the inauguration of 7 projects, foundation stone laying for 12 projects and Bhumi Pujan for 14
projects.
 These projects will help in improving the water supply in the region, along with boosting connectivity and
enhancing the ease of living.
Agnipath scheme
In News
Defence minister Rajnath Singh and chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force announced a significant reform on how
soldiers across the three services will be recruited under the new Agnipath scheme which will come into effect
immediately. Soldiers recruited under the scheme will be called Agniveers.
About the Scheme

 The scheme is called AGNIPATH and the youth selected under this scheme will be known as Agniveers.
 AGNIPATH allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the Armed Forces for a period of four years.
 The AGNIPATH scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the Armed Forces.
 It will provide an opportunity to the youth who may be keen to don the uniform by attracting young talent
from the society who are more in tune with contemporary technological trends and plough back skilled,
disciplined and motivated manpower into the society.
 As for the Armed Forces, it will enhance the youthful profile of the Armed Forces and provide a fresh lease of
‘Josh’ and ‘Jazba’ whilst at the same time bring about a transformational shift towards a more tech savvy
Armed Forces – which is indeed the need of the hour.
 It is envisaged that average age profile of Indian Armed forces would come down by about 4-5 years by
implementation of this scheme.
 This is a major defence policy reform introduced by the Government to usher in a new era in the Human
Resource policy of the three Services.
Benefits
 Agniveers will be given an attractive customised monthly package along with Risk and Hardship allowances
as applicable in the three services.
 On completion of the engagement period of four years, Agniveers will be paid one time ‘SevaNidhi’ package
which shall comprise their contribution including accrued interest thereon.
Future of education
Agneepath Yojana
In News
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah has thanked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for
announcing 'Agneepath Yojana' to give a bright future to the youth of the country and an opportunity to serve the
nation by joining the Armed Forces.
Agneepath Yojana
 It is a revolutionary initiative.
 In this, youth of 17 and a half years to 21 years will serve the country by joining the Armed Forces for 4 years
through a transparent process.
 On completion of the service period, they will receive a tax free service fund package of Rs.11.71 lakh, which
will also make them financially empowered.
 It is a wonderful opportunity for the youth to make a golden tomorrow for themselves and the country.
 This visionary decision will make India's youth self-reliant by empowering them with discipline, skills, fitness
and making them financially strong, will lay the foundation of self-reliant India in the true sense.
In-service training received by Agniveers as credits for graduation
In News
In order to enhance the future career prospects of our Agniveers, and equip them for various job roles in the civilian
sector, the Ministry of Education is to launch a special, three year skill based bachelor degree programme for serving
defence personnel that will recognize the skill training received by them during their tenure in the defence
establishments.
Details
 Under this programme that has been designed by IGNOU and will also be executed by them, 50 % of the
credits required for a graduate degree will come from the skill training - both technical and non-technical -
received by the Agniveer.
 The remaining 50 % will come from a basket of courses that cover a wide variety of subjects like languages,
Economics, History, Political Science, Public Administration, Sociology, Mathematics, Education, Commerce,
Tourism, Vocational Studies, Agriculture and Jyotish, as also Ability Enhancement Courses on Environmental
Studies and Communication Skills in English.
 This programme is aligned with UGC norms and with the National Credit Framework / National Skill
Qualification Framework (NSQF) as mandated under the National Education Policy 2020.
 It also has provision for multiple exit points – Undergraduate Certificate on successful completion of the first
year courses, Undergraduate Diploma on successful completion of the first and second year courses, and
Degree on completion of all the courses in three year time frame.
Aspirational Districts Programme
In News
Aspirational Districts Should be ‘Inspirational Districts’ of India, Programme Should be Extended to Block & City
Levels: PM
Aspirational District Programme

 Launched by the Hon’ble PM in January 2018, the Aspirational Districts programme aims to quickly and
effectively transform 112 most under-developed districts across the country.
Future of education
 The broad contours of the programme are Convergence (of Central & State Schemes), Collaboration (of
Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors), and Competition among districts through
monthly delta ranking; all driven by a mass movement.
 This program focuses on the strength of each district, identifying low-hanging fruits for immediate
improvement and measuring progress by ranking districts on a monthly basis.
 The ranking is based on the incremental progress made across 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under 5
broad socio-economic themes - Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial
Inclusion & Skill Development and Infrastructure.
 The delta-ranking of Aspirational Districts and the performance of all districts is available on the Champions
of Change Dashboard.
Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana
In News
 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi recently participated in Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan at Vadodara.
 He also launched two flagship programmes of the Gujarat government under its Integrated Child
Development Services, Poshan Abhiyan, which will be focused on rolling out additional nutrition to pregnant
women and lactating mothers.
Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana

 The Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana, which will cover 7 lakh women, is Gujarat government’s first scheme
aimed at dealing with dietary deficiency within the first 1,000 days of the conception of a child (from
pregnancy to 2 years), considered the crucial first window to check malnutrition.
 The scheme will entail distribution of 2 kg chickpeas, 1 kg toor daal and 1 litre fortified ground nut oil.
 The entire scheme will be electronically monitored. Packets will have bar codes which will be scanned and
the scheme is OTP based.
 This means the beneficiary will receive OTPs confirming that they have received these packages, so that we
know that the intended beneficiary is actually receiving the ration.
Poshan Sudha Yojana

 Under the scheme hot cooked meals will be provided to tribal women once a day at Anganwadi centres.
 The pilot has been carried out in 10 districts in the state and is now being extended to all 14 tribal-
dominated districts.
 Pregnant women and lactating mothers registered at Anganwadi are provided a full nutritious meal.
 In addition, iron and calcium tablets as well as education on health and nutrition are also offered.
NFHS-5 Report
 89% children across the country in the 6-23 month age group do not receive minimum acceptable diet.
 A child needs at least 4 out of 7 food groups indicated by the WHO everyday to have a minimum acceptable
diet.
 Gujarat features at the bottom of the pile in NFHS 5, along with Uttar Pradesh, with the lowest adequate
diets for children between 6-23 months at 5.9% each.
Future of education
GUARDIAN RING FOR YOGA
In News
A unique and innovative programme, ‘The Guardian Ring’ has been envisaged for this year’s International Yoga Day,
2022.
The Guardian Ring

 The programme celebrates the movement of the Sun, underlining the concept of ‘One Sun, One Earth’.
 From East to West, people from all countries would welcome the Sun with Yoga, celebrating the Indian
tradition of Surya Namaskar or sun-salutation.
 This one-of-a-kind programme is being telecast live exclusively on DD India, the international channel of
India’s Public Broadcaster Prasar Bharati.
 The mammoth programme involved collaboration with Ministry of Ayush and Ministry of External Affairs,
apart from coordination with individual Missions and Embassies.
 The historic programme will further take India’s message of ‘Vasudaiva Kutumbakam’ and showcase the
unification power of India’s Yoga tradition.
Ministry of Shipping announces Six attractive service opportunities for Agniveers
In News
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) announced SIX attractive service avenues for smooth
transition of Agniveers in various roles of the Merchant navy, post their stint with the Indian Navy.
About the Scheme

 It will enable Agniveers to acquire necessary training, with rich naval experience and professional
certification to join the remunerative merchant navy across the world.
 These schemes for Agniveers include transition from Ratings in Indian Navy to Certified Ratings in Merchant
Navy, transition from Electrical Ratings in Indian Navy to Certified Electro Technical Ratings in Merchant
Navy.
 The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decides to reserve 10% vacancies for recruitment in CAPFs and Assam
Rifles for Agniveers, completing four years under the Agnipath Scheme.
 In order to provide global exposure via merchant navy, the MoPSW will work with the Indian Navy to train &
equip the Agniveers & facilitate to take up alternate career in the merchant post four years stint with the
Navy.
 The MHA also decides to give 3 years age relaxation beyond the prescribed upper age limit to Agniveers for
recruitment in CAPFs & Assam Rifles.
Agnipath Scheme
A transformative move to modernize India’s armed forces - will create opportunities for the youth of the nation to
serve the country and, at the same time, earn rich professional experience and training enabling them to seize
opportunities.
Future of education
National Initiative for Promotion of Upskilling of Nirman workers (NIPUN)
In News
Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India,
launched an innovative project for skill training of construction workers called ‘NIPUN’ i.e. National Initiative for
Promoting Upskilling of Nirman workers.
About NIPUN
 The project NIPUN is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under its flagship
scheme of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) to train over 1
lakh construction workers, through fresh skilling and upskilling programmes and provides them with work
opportunities in foreign countries also.
 This initiative will enable Nirman workers to be more proficient and skilled while making them adopt future
trends in the construction industry by increasing their capabilities and diversifying their skill sets
 The NIPUN Project will enable the construction workers to seek better job opportunities, increase their
wages and even pursue overseas placements - an indication of a new eco-system.
 The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the nodal agency under the Ministry of Skill
Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India, will be the Implementation Partner for the
project NIPUN.
About DAY- NULM

DAY-NULM is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, being implemented since 2014-15, with the aim to reduce poverty and
vulnerability of urban poor households in the country by enabling them to access self-employment and skilled wage
employment opportunities, resulting in an appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis.
Other Features
 NSDC will be responsible for the overall execution of training, monitoring and candidate tracking.
 It will provide trainees with ‘Kaushal Bima’, a three-year accidental insurance with coverage of INR 2 lakhs,
digital skills such as cashless transactions and the BHIM app, orientation about entrepreneurship, and EPF
and BOCW facilities.
 The project implementation is divided into three parts - training through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
at construction sites, training through Fresh Skilling by Plumbing and Infrastructure SSC and International
Placement through industries/ builders/ contractors.
Need of such Scheme

 The construction industry is poised to become the largest employer by 2022 and needs 45 million additional
skilled workers over the next 10 years.
 To fulfil this mission, the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) and the Confederation of
Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) have joined Project NIPUN as industry partners and
will identify training job roles of aspirational value in the construction sector in collaboration with the SSC.
Purple Revolution
In News
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Dr Jitendra Singh said that “Purple Revolution”
has shifted focus to Agri-tech StartUps.
Future of education
Purple Revolution
 First-time farmers were given free lavender saplings and those who have cultivated lavender before were
charged Rs. 5-6 per sapling.
 AIM - Tosupport domestic aromatic crop based agro economyby moving from imported aromatic oils to
homegrown varieties.
 Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu (IIIM
Jammu), the two bodies are mainly responsible for making purple revolution under the Aroma Mission a
success.
Significance
 Due to high monetary returns, farmers in hilly areas of Jammu and Kashmir are switching from traditional
farming to aroma crops like lavender in a big way.
 He added that aroma crops are both drought and pest resistant, and CSIR is providing all kind of technical
support for promoting this Agri Start-up boon in the UT.
 The Minister informed that CSIR is also planning to introduce the aroma crops in other hilly States with
similar climatic conditions like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and in North-Eastern States.
 CSIR provided free quality planting material and end-to-end technology package on cultivation, processing,
value addition and marketing of the Lavender crop to the farmers.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban
In News
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) organised a virtual event to celebrate 7 years of Pradhan Mantri
Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), which was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 25th June
2015.
PMAY-U
 It is a flagship Mission of Government of India being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs (MoHUA).
 It was launched on 25th June 2015 and addresses urban housing shortage among the EWS/LIG and MIG
categories including the slum dwellers by ensuring a pucca house to all eligible urban households by the year
2022, when Nation completes 75 years of its Independence.
 PMAY(U) adopts a demand driven approach wherein the Housing shortage is decided based on demand
assessment by States/Union Territories.
 With a total investment of ₹ 8.31 Lakh Crore PMAY-U has so far sanctioned 122.69 lakh, out of which more
than 1 crore houses have been grounded and over 61 lakh houses have been completed and delivered to the
beneficiaries.
Affordable Rental Housing Complexes

 MoHUA has also launched Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs), a sub-scheme under PMAY-U for
urban migrants/poor.
 Under Model 1, a total of 5,478 existing government-funded vacant houses have been converted into ARHCs
in Chandigarh, Gujarat (Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Surat), Rajasthan (Chittorgarh) and in Jammu.
Future of education
Policy & Portal of e-auction for Commercial earning, Non-Fare Revenue (NFR) contracts
In News
Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw launched e-auction for Commercial earning, Non-Fare Revenue (NFR) contracts in Rail
Bhavan.
About Policy
 This policy is in line with the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister to change the experience of common man by
the use of technology.
 With this new policy, tedious process of tendering would get simplified. Also, it would give opportunities for
youth to join the e-auction process.
 This policy enhances ease of living, promotes transparency and adds to Digital India initiatives in Railways.
E-Auction
 Bidder located anywhere in India need to self register once for participating in auctions of any field unit of
Indian Railways through the portal.
 Remotely bid can be placed for management rights of an asset after depositing earnest money (EMD)
electronically.
 Successful bidder would be able to receive acceptance online and through e-mail in very short span of time.
 There is no financial turnover requirement for annual contracts upto Rs. 40 lacs.
Features
 The Auction will be conducted online through ‘E-Auction Leasing’ module of IREPS: www.ireps.gov.in
 Policy for e-Auction and Standard Conditions of Auction issued by Railway Board:
 Earlier system of physical registration of contractors Division-wise has been done away with
 Only financial criteria – based on self-declaration of past turnovers by contractors
 Financial turnover criteria rationalized and standardized – No turnover requirement upto Rs. 40 lacs annual
contract estimates
 One time online self-registration of contractors
 No geographical restrictions for participation in any auction of any Division
 All assets will be fed in the system for better monitoring and ensuring issuing contracts in advance – reduce
asset idling
 Auction catalogues with all details of the assets will be published online on IREPS portal, minimum 15 days in
advance
Benefits
 Online mode makes potential bidders from distant location across country to participate in the bidding
process.
 Online payment to Railways post award of contract. Till now provision of daily manual payment in parcel
leasing contract is there, which is a tedious process. Now it is made online.
 Better Monitoring: After mapping, portal prompts when an earning contract of a particular asset is nearing
completion and compels to start fresh auction, thus making idle time of the asset minimal.
 Standardization of eligibility conditions pan-India.
Future of education
Revised Swachh Certification Protocols to sustain Open Defecation Free Status across Urban
India
In News
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), has
launched the Revised Swachh Certification Protocols for ODF, ODF+, ODF++, and Water+ certifications.
Certification Protocols
 No untreated used water or faecal sludge is discharged into the environment and all used water (including
sewerage and septage, grey water and black water) is safely contained, transported, and treated, along with
maximum reuse of treated used water, in all cities with less than 1 lakh population.
 To sustain open defecation free status in all statutory towns.
 It contains provisions to encourage cities to have robust infrastructure with reliable Operation
&Maintenance (O&M) mechanisms to achieve the goal of clean urban India.
Key interventions against each certification are:

 ODF - Robust monitoring mechanism ensured by increasing the number of survey sample size and location
types.
 ODF+ - Focus on functionality of CT/PT and innovative O&M business model for their sustainability in long
run.
 ODF++ - Emphasis on mechanized cleaning of septic tanks and sewers. Safe collection & treatment of used
water as well as safe management of faecal sludge.
 Water+ - The focus is on collection, transportation, treatment, and reuse of both used water and faecal
sludge to prevent environmental pollution.
Significance
 The Revised Swachh Certification Protocols is more functionality-oriented and has been simplified for
officials and citizens to understand it better.
 The purpose of the protocol is not only to improve rankings of cities but to motivate cities to achieve the
spirit of the Mission.”
SBM 2.0
 Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, launched by the Prime Minister on 1st October 2022 with the overall
vision of creating ‘Garbage Free Cities’, has introduced Used Water Management as a newly funded
component for towns with less than 1 lakh population.
 This showcases the Mission’s commitments to improving the overall Used Water Management ecosystem in
Urban India by ensuring that no un-treated used water is discharged into water bodies (as per the Water+
Protocol).
 Under the Mission, maximum reuse of treated used water is a key area focus along with eradication of
hazardous entry into sewers and septic tanks through mechanization of their cleaning operations.
One Health Pilot
In News
Government will launch 'One Health' Pilot programme on June 28, in Bengaluru.
Future of education
About Programme
 Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal husbandry and Dairying,
Government of India has taken an initiative to bring stakeholders from animal, human and environment
health on a common platform to address the challenges through One-Health approach.
 DAHD in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and The Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) as implementation partner is implementing the One-Health Framework undertaking project in
the states of Karnataka and Uttarakhand.
 DAHD would develop a national One Health roadmap based on the learnings of this initiative which in turn
would help to prevent the future zoonotic disease outbreaks, equipped with better response mechanism and
management while incorporating global best practices.
 Capacity building plan for Karnataka and One Health brochure (Kannada) will be unveiled during the event.
Benefits
 Human health cannot be viewed in isolation and it is dependent on the environment it lives which includes
animals too. The One Health project helps in realizing the interdependencies that animal and environmental
health have on human life.
 It will develop a national One Health roadmap based on the learnings of the pilot project implementation.
 This will be useful in preventing zoonotic disease outbreaks in the future and facilitate a better response
mechanism.
 The pilot project will institutionalize better management, and development of a targeted surveillance plan,
integrate a network of laboratories, develop and implement communication strategy across sectors
 It will also integrate data with the digital architecture of the National Digital Livestock Mission.
 Furthermore, it will also help in building a strong social infrastructure that supports the health of the people
and the planet.
Udyami Bharat
In News
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will participate in the ‘Udyami Bharat’ programme at Vigyan Bhawan in New
Delhi.
Udyami Bharat
 'Udyami Bharat’ is reflective of the continuous commitment of the government, right from day one, to work
towards empowerment of MSMEs.
 Government has launched several initiatives from time to time like MUDRA Yojana, Emergency Credit Line
Guarantee Scheme, Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) etc. to provide
necessary and timely support to the MSME sector, which has helped benefit crores of people across the
country.
RAMP Scheme
 Prime Minister will launch the ‘Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance’ (RAMP) scheme, with an
outlay of around Rs 6000 crore.
 It aims to scale up the implementation capacity and coverage of MSMEs in the States, with impact
enhancement of existing MSME schemes.
 It will complement the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan by fostering innovation, encouraging ideation,
incubating new business and entrepreneurship by developing quality standards, improving practices and
processes, enhancing market access, deploying technological tools and Industry 4.0 to make MSMEs
competitive and self-reliant.
Future of education
CBFTE
 Prime Minister will launch the ‘Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters’ (CBFTE) scheme, which aims
to encourage MSMEs to offer products and services of international standards for the global market.
 This will enhance the participation of Indian MSMEs in the global value chain and help them realise their
export potential.
New features of PMEGP

 Increase in the maximum project cost to Rs 50 lakhs (from Rs 25 lakhs) for manufacturing sector and Rs 20
lakhs (from Rs 10 lakhs) in the service sector and inclusion of applicants from Aspirational districts &
Transgenders in the Special Category applicants for availing higher subsidies.
 Also, handholding support is being provided to applicants/entrepreneurs through engagement of banking,
technical & marketing experts.
MSME Hackathon
 Hackathon is aimed at promoting and supporting the untapped creativity of individuals, promoting adoption
of latest technologies and innovation among MSMEs.
 The selected incubatee ideas will be provided funding support of up to Rs. 15 lakhs per approved idea.
Dak Karmayogi
In News
‘Dak Karmayogi’, an e-learning portal of the Department of Posts was launched by Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister
of Communications, Railways, Electronics & IT.
Dak Karmayogi
 This portal has been developed ‘In-House’ under vision of ‘Mission Karmayogi’, which was conceptualized by
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with a view to bring efficiency in actions of all the employees of
Government of India and transforming efficiency of bureaucracy with ‘Minimum Government’ and
‘Maximum Governance’.
 ‘Dak Karmayogi’ portal will enhance the competencies of about 4 lakh Gramin Dak Sevaks & Departmental
employees by enabling the trainees to access the uniform standardized training content online or in blended
campus mode to enable them to effectively deliver a number of G2C services for enhanced customer
satisfaction.
 On successful completion of final summative assessment, a system generated course completion certificate
will be sent on trainee’s registered email ID automatically.
 With the launch of this portal, Departmental employees and Gramin Dak Sevaks will be able to avail training
‘Any-time, Any-where’ and upgrade their Attitude, Skill and Knowledge (ASK), as per their convenience.
 The portal is expected to go a long way in being an enabler in providing better services by upgrading
employees and Gramin Dak Sevaks.
Meghdoot Awards
 To recognise the good performance of employees of Department of Posts and motivate them to maintain or
improve their good work, Meghdoot Awards were also conferred in eight different categories.
 Meghdoot Award was introduced in the year 1984.
 This is the highest award of Department of Posts at National level for overall performance and excellence.
 This award is conferred in eight categories. Awardees are conferred with medallion, certificate and cash
award of Rs. 21,000/-.
Future of education
Coastal Clean Seas Campaign
In News
India today assured the world community that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi it is committed to protect at
least 30 % of "our" lands, waters and oceans, and thus adhere to its commitment of 30X30 by 2030.
One Planet Summit

India joined the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, which was initiated at the “One Planet Summit” in
Paris in January 2021, which aims to promote an international agreement to protect at least 30% of the world's land
and ocean by 2030.
Clean Sea Campaign

 UN Environment (UNEP) launched Clean Seas in February 2017, with the aim of engaging governments, the
general public and the private sector in the fight against marine plastic pollution.
 Over the next five years, we will address the root-cause of marine litter by targeting the production and
consumption of non-recoverable and single-use plastic.
 To do this effectively, we need citizens to be aware, engaged and active in addressing the problem in their
daily lives and beyond.
 India has proposed to establish Sustainable Coastal and Ocean Research Institute (SCORI) to meet the needs
and aspirations of the Pacific Island Countries (PIC).
GOAL Programme
In News
Shri Arjun Munda, Minister of Tribal Affairs launched the second phase of the Going Online As Leaders (GOAL)
program. The programme is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Meta (FaceBook).
GOAL Programme
 GOAL 2.0 initiative aims to digitally upskill 10 lakh youth by on promoting entrepreneurship amongst tribal
communities of the country and opening up opportunities for them using digital technology.
 The first phase of GOAL included inspiring, connecting and upskilling tribal youth from across the country
and some of whom have now created businesses that are scaling nationally.
 The programme is aimed at empowering youth and women from tribal and indigenous communities to
harness the full potential of digital platforms and enhancing their leadership skills for driving community
development.
 Along with digital inclusion the program aims to actively contribute to the economy by continuing to support
the most vulnerable communities in tribal districts with a focus on tribal youth and on businesses led by
tribal women in rural areas.
 The program will focus on three core areas - Digital Literacy, Life Skills and Leadership and Entrepreneurship.
 The program intends to upskill and empower 5,000 tribal youths in the current phase to harness the full
potential of digital platforms and tools to learn new ways of doing business, explore and connect with
domestic and international markets.
Future of education
11th World Urban Forum
In News
The Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Shri Hardeep S. Puri has said that India is the second-largest
urban system in the world and 11% of the total global urban population lives in Indian cities.
WUF11
 The theme of WUF11, Transforming Our Cities for a Better Urban Future, will highlight a state of informed
preparedness that provides us with the opportunity to anticipate change, correct the course of action if
necessary, and become more knowledgeable on the different possibilities that the future of cities offers.
 WUF11 will provide greater insights and clarity on the future of cities based on existing trends, challenges
and opportunities, as well as disruptive conditions, including the valuable lessons that cities have learned
from the ongoing pandemic, and suggest ways cities can be better prepared to address future pandemics
and a wide range of other shocks.
 The UN estimates that around 416 million people will be added to our urban population between 2018 and
2050.
 Indian cities contribute almost 70% to the national GDP while accounting for 44% of greenhouse gas
emissions.
Measures taken to address the needs of urban areas

 Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) provides basic civic amenities such as
water supply, parks and street lights.
 India’s Smart Cities Mission has tremendously enhanced the quality of life in 100 Smart cities through citizen-
centric initiatives.
 Shri Puri said that the PM Street Vendor’s Self-reliance Fund was a unique experiment where collateral-free
working capital loans were provided to street vendors that sustained this most vulnerable section during the
pandemic.
PM Mitra Parks
In News
PLI Scheme and PM Mitra Parks will help Indian textile sector achieve the desired scale and size while also emerging
as a strong competitor in the global market: Smt. Jardosh
PM Mitra Parks
 A park will be developed by a Special Purpose Vehicle which will be owned by the Central and State
Government and in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode.
 Each Park will have an incubation centre, common processing house and a common effluent treatment plant
and other textile related facilities such as design centres and testing centres.
 The Master Developer will not only develop the Industrial Park but also maintain it during the concession
period.
Funding
 The centre will provide development capital support for the development of common infrastructure of Rs
500 crore for each greenfield MITRA park and upto Rs 200 crore for each brownfield park.
 Greenfield describes a completely new project that has to be executed from scratch, while a brownfield
project is one that has been worked on by others.
Future of education
Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme
In News
 The centrally sponsored Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME)
Scheme was launched on 29th June, 2020 by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of
India under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
 The scheme has completed two years and a journey that started with the zest to empower the unorganized
Micro Enterprises continues to fulfill the aim of formalising the food processing sector and celebrating their
tremendous support towards the economy, has borne good results for the sector.
PMFME scheme
 The PMFME Scheme is currently being implemented in 35 States and Union Territories.
 Under the scheme, the submission process for the applicants to apply for the credit-linked subsidy is done
through the online portal (www.pmfme.mofpi.gov.in).
 The digital GIS One District One Product (ODOP) map of India has been developed to provide details of
ODOPs of all the States and UTs.
 The digital map also has indicators for Tribal, SC, ST, aspirational districts and Incubation Centers approved
under the PMFME Scheme. It will enable stakeholders to make concerted efforts for its value chain
development.
 75 Incubation Centers have been approved under the scheme.
 The Ministry in collaboration with the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and
Management, Thanjavur (NIFTEM-T) has also developed an online portal for submission of Incubation Center
proposals and a digital map for the facilitation of details of Incubation Centers across the country.
 The PMFME Scheme also envisages financial support of Rs. 40,000 for working capital and purchase of small
tools for each member of the Self Help Group (SHG) engaged in food processing activities.
Operation “NARCOS”
In News
In order to bring attention to the menace of NDPS, a month long pan India drive against smuggling of narcotics
through rail, was launched under code name Operation “NARCOS” in the month of June-2022.
Operation NARCOS
 Railway Protection Force as one of the law enforcing agency has gained prominence in recent times. RPF has
been empowered to conduct search, seizure and arrest under NDPS Act since April 2019 and has been
actively participating in the efforts of Government to restrict this illegal trade.
 Under this operation RPF has performed excellently against the carriers/transporters of Narcotics product
through Indian Railways.
 RPF intensified its checks in trains and in identified black spots across the country in coordination with NCB
and other LEA’s to target drug peddlers involved in this illegal trade.
Achievements
RPF has recovered various narcotics products including designer products valued Rs.7,40,77,126/- and within its
own domain arrested 165 persons who were carrying NDPS and handed them over to the concerned Law
Enforcement Agencies for onward legal action.
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Effects on Youth
 Narcotics not only destroys the health of youth, they also damage the economy and the well being of the
nation.
 Drug addiction has far reaching implications as it affects both the body and the mental health of the person.
Why Operation was launched?

 Indian Railways plays a leading role in transportation of passengers and goods and has the widest network in
India, that is why long-distance trains are often used by offenders to smuggle the NDPS into different states
disguising drug carriers as common passengers.
 Thus, it becomes very challenging for the security agencies to stop this flow and prevent railways from
becoming a conduit of illegal transportation of NDPS.
Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar campaign
In News
This year on 17th September 2022, the Government of India along with other voluntary organizations, and the local
society will run a cleanliness campaign "Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar" along India’s entire coastline.
About Campaign
 This campaign will include Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate
Change (MoEFCC), Indian Coast Guard, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) along with other
social organizations and educational institutions.
 This campaign will see massive public participation both physically and virtually, mainly to make awareness
about reducing the marine litter, minimal use of plastics, segregation at source and waste management.
 It will be the first-of-its-kind and longest running coastal cleanup campaign in the world with highest number
of people participating in it.
 The participation of common man will convey the message of “Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar” for the
prosperity of not only coastal areas but also other parts of the country.
 A mobile app “Eco Mitram” has been launched to spread awareness about the campaign and also for the
common people for voluntary registration for the beach cleaning activity on the 17thSeptember 2022.
 Through this campaign, a mass behavioural change among the masses is intended by raising awareness
about how plastic usage is destroying our marine life.
 A 75 days long campaign will be launched from 03rd July 2022 to raise awareness about “Swachh Sagar,
Surakshit Sagar” culminating on "International Coastal Cleanup Day" on 17thSeptember 2022.
 Globally, "International Coastal Clean Up Day" is celebrated on the third Saturday of September, every year.
 India's coastline of more than 7,500 km reflects our vast ocean resources. Most importantly, the Indian
Ocean is the only ocean named after a country, that is, India.
One Stop Centers
In News
The Zonal Meeting on ‘8 Years’ Achievements – Impact on Women and Children’ was inaugurated in the Telangana
by the Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smt Smriti Irani.
OSC
 Launched in 2015, the One Stop Centers scheme extends help to women facing gender-based violence in
terms of medical aid, legal assistance, psychological counseling and temporary shelter.
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 One stop centre is a centrally sponsored scheme of Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), for
addressing the problem of violence against women.
 It is a subscheme of umbrella scheme for National Mission for Empowerment of Women including Indira
Gandhi Mattritav Sahyaog Yojana.
 One stop centre, will be established across the country to provide integrated support and assistance under
one roof to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces.
 Funding: The scheme is funded through Nirbhaya Fund and the central government provides 100% financial
assistance to the state governments /Union Territories administrations.
State Ranking Index for NFSA
In News
Odisha has been adjudged the top ranked State followed by Uttar Pradesh at the 2nd spot and Andhra Pradesh at
third amongst the General Category States in ‘State Ranking Index for NFSA’.
Major Highlights
 Among the Special Category states/UTs, Tripura stood first followed by Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim
respectively.
 Further, among the 3 UTs where Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)- Cash is operational, Dadra and Nagar Haveli &
Daman and Diu is the top ranked UT.
About Ranking of NFSA

 Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce and Industry, Shri
Piyush Goyal released the 1st edition of ‘State Ranking Index for NFSA’ during the conference of Food
Ministers of States/UTs on ‘Food Nutrition and Security in India’ organized by Department of Food and Public
Distribution.
 This “State ranking Index for NFSA” attempts to document the status and progress of implementation of
NFSA and various reform initiatives across the country, post consultation with states.
 It highlights the reforms undertaken by States and UTs and create a cross-learning environment and scale-up
reform measures by all states and union territories.
 The present Index is largely focused on NFSA Distribution and will include procurement, PMGKAY
Distribution in future.
 The Index for ranking the states and UTs is built on three key pillars which covers the end-to-end
implementation of NFSA through TPDS.
 These pillars are: i) NFSA— Coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act, ii) Delivery platform, and iii)
Nutrition initiatives.
NFSA
The National Food Security Act (NFSA) was enacted on July 5, 2013 and in order to celebrate the day, the conference
was organized to deliberate and discuss nutritional security, food security, best practices followed in Public
Distribution System, crop diversification, reforms in PDS and storage sector.
SVANidhi Mahotsav
In News
The Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs had launched SVANidhi Mahotsav – a cultural festival for celebrating the
success of PM SVANidhi Scheme and SVANidhi Mahotsav website recently.
Future of education
SVANidhi Mahotsav
 MoHUA is organising ‘SVANidhi Mahotsav’ – a cultural festival for celebrating the success of PM SVANidhi
Scheme and the beneficiary street vendors & their families, from 09 July to 31 July, 2022 in 75 cities across
33 States/UTs of the country.
 SVANidhi Mahotsav is a festival for celebrating and recognizing beneficiary street vendor’s growth story and
their contribution towards Indian economy.
 The festival aims to celebrate 75 years of India’s independence with these nano-entrepreneurs, honoring
their journey under PM SVANidhi scheme for demonstrating credit discipline, digital behavior and displaying
their astute business acumen.
PM SVANIDHI Scheme
 The scheme was launched on June 1, 2020 to facilitate working capital loans to the street vendors to help
them restart their businesses which were adversely impacted due to the lockdowns imposed during COVID-
19 pandemic.
 He further said that this scheme is the first comprehensive effort for financial inclusion of the street vendors.
 Prior to this Scheme, street vendors were dependent on the informal credit channels paying high rates of
interest.
 36.6 lakh loans have been sanctioned and 33.2 lakh loans have been disbursed.
 The amount disbursed so far is ₹3,592 Cr and about 12 lakh street vendors have repaid their first loan.
Features
 The scheme facilitates collateral free working capital loan upto ₹10,000, of 1year tenure, with enhanced loan
of ₹20,000 and ₹50,000 in the second and third term respectively, on repayment of earlier loans, to enable
business expansion.
 The Scheme incentivizes adoption of digital transactions by way of cashback of upto ₹ 100 per month which
in turn would build their credit profile facilitating future loans from the Lending Institutions
 The Scheme incentivises the repayment by way of 7% interest subsidy
 The structuring of the product was done in such a way that if a Street Vendors repays the loan EMIs
promptly and conducts the required number of digital transactions, the interest subsidy and the cashback
availed would make the loan interest free.
PM GatiShakti National Master Plan
In News
The Prime Minister launched PM GatiShakti-National Master Plan (NMP) for infrastructure development in October,
2021.
PM Gati Shakti Plan

 Objective- To bring different Ministries/ Utilities & infrastructure planning under a single unified vision,
across all sectors such as Highways, Railways, Aviation, Gas, Power transmission, Renewable Energy etc. Such
an unprecedented initiative outlines the vision for infrastructure development across the country including
“Power” in general and “Transmission” in particular, which strengthens the energy life-line of the country.
 The PM GatiShakti NMP portal provides "One-click Comprehensive view” to steer and simplify the planning
& implementation process by reduction of time and cost of implementation in Power transmission projects.
 It would also aid in improving logistics efficiency through single digital platform & multi-modal portal.
 The portal will ultimately aid in solving problems of development of infrastructures in the country by building
secure, sustainable, scalable and collaborative approach towards infrastructure planning for seamless
connectivity to economic zones.
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 Entire “existing” Inter State Transmission System ( ISTS) lines have been mapped on the portal spanning
across length and breadth of the country.
Mission Vatsalya Scheme
In News
The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme “Mission Vatsalya”
erstwhile Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme, since 2009-10 for the welfare and rehabilitation of children.
Objective-
 To secure a healthy and happy childhood for each and every child in India, ensure opportunities to enable
them to discover their full potential and assist them in flourishing in all respects, in a sustained manner,
foster a sensitive, supportive and synchronized ecosystem for development of children, assist States/UTs in
delivering the mandate of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 and achieve the SDG goals.
 Mission Vatsalya promotes family-based non-institutional care of children in difficult circumstances based
on the principle of institutionalization of children as a measure of last resort.
 Mission includes- Improve functioning of statutory bodies; Strengthen service delivery structures; Upscale
institutional care/services; Encourage non-institutional community-based care; emergency outreach
services; Training and capacity building.
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare for Sportspersons
In News
Union Minister for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur launched revised schemes of Cash
Awards, National Welfare and Pension to sportspersons, Web Portal for Schemes of Department of Sports (dbtyas-
sports.gov.in) and National Sports Development Fund website (nsdf.yas.gov.in) in New Delhi.
Features
 Earlier the proposals were received through Sports Federations/SAI, which used to take considerable time
for submission of the proposals.
 Sometimes it used to take more than 1-2 years to approve the proposal.
 To ensure timely submission and subsequent approval of cash award, applicant now needs to apply online
for cash award scheme within six months from the last date of closing of the particular event.
 To implement the above features in these schemes, the Department of Sports has developed web portal
dbtyas-sports.gov.in to facilitate sportspersons in applying to seek benefits under the above schemes of
Department of Sports.
About Portal
 The online portal will facilitate real time tracking of applications by the sportspersons and authentication
through One Time Password (OTP) sent on their registered mobile number.
 Physical submission of applications by the applicants to the Ministry would now be no longer required.
 The portal has also been integrated with DBT-MIS which will enable transfer of funds to the sportspersons
directly into their bank accounts to fulfil the objectives of DBT Mission of the Government of India.
 The portal will not only help the Department in quick disposal of all applications in time bound manner but
will also be used to generate different types of required reports and data management of the sportspersons.
 The online portal would be further upgraded from time to time to suit the requirement of the sportspersons
and the prevalent scenarios.
Future of education
 The department has also developed a dedicated interactive website nsdf.yas.gov.in for ‘National Sports
Development Fund’ (NSDF).
 This Fund is based on CSR contributions from Central & State Governments, PSUs, private companies, and
individuals etc. for promotion and development of sports in the country.
 This dedicated website will provide easy and transparent access not only to the sportspersons but also to the
CSR contributors.
 This website will help us in making NSDF a great success for the development of sports in the country.
RINL Launches ‘Safety Is My Responsibility’ Campaign
In News
As part of the continuous initiatives being taken by RINL-Visakhapatnam Steel Plant to inculcate a culture of Safety
among all the stakeholders including Employees and Contract Workmen, RINL has launched a campaign with the
motto ‘Safety Is My Responsibility’ as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Celebrations.
Details
 RINL launched the campaign by pasting stickers of ‘Safety is my Responsibility’ on the helmet of the youngest
employee of RINL, Mr. K Rajababu, Field Assistant, SMS-1 Dept.
 RINL will be counseling employees and contract workmen alike on the importance of Safety and how it can
be implemented as a value.
 This campaign is part of the many initiatives taken by RINL, like implementation of Online Monitoring and
tracking systems for Safety Belts, conducting of online training programs and examinations for all employees
on the ‘Safety Guidelines for Steel Sector’ issued by Ministry of Steel and plant wide Housekeeping activities.
‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign
In News
Central Government is all set to launch a nationwide campaign “Har Ghar Tiranga”, marking the 75th Independence
Day.
About Campaign
 The Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign was launched to encourage Indians worldwide to fly the National flag.
 This campaign will serve as a symbol of citizen’s dedication to nation-building and personal connection to the
flag, in light of 75th years of In Independence.
 Its main goal is to inculcate a sense of patriotism in hearts of citizens and raise awareness on the national
flag.
 Under this campaign, citizens will be encouraged to raise the national flag at their residences.
 This initiative was launched as a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, by the nodal Ministry of Culture.
Flag code of India

 It provides guidelines on usage, exhibition and hoisting of National Flag.
 The Flag Code of India was operationalised on January 26, 2002. It regulates the display of Flag by Public,
Private and Government Institutions.
 It formulates and compiles all laws, practices, customs, and guidelines to do so.
 In 2021, the 2002 code was revised. As per revised norms, Indian flag can now be made using machine and
polyester fabric.
 National Flag can now be made using cotton, polyester, silk, Khadi and wool.
Future of education
 The Flag Code of India, 2002 provides no restriction on display of National Flag by members of private
organisations, general public, or educational institutions, if it is being displayed with dignity and honour.
“National Standards for Civil Service Training Institutions”
In News
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; had launched the “National Standards for Civil
Service Training Institutions” at Capacity Building Commission (CBC) headquarters, New Delhi.
About NSCSTI
 India became the first country in the world to come out with a unique model to create standards for civil
service training institutions at national level and expressed hope that soon India will be a global model in this
regard.
 He inaugurated the web-portal and approach paper for the National standards.
 The National Standards for Civil Service Training Institutions (NSCSTI) is developed by CBC to create a
baseline for Central Training Institutes on their current capacity, for elevating their quality and capacity of
training delivery and to harmonise standards for training.
 It will also set aspirations for training institutions to strive towards excellence.
 The country is having standards and accreditation in higher education, healthcare and environment, but for
the first time it became applicable for training institutions also.
 NSCSTI will act as a tool to drive standardising and harmonisation.
 A one-stop platform has been developed for streamlining the accreditation process for our training
institutions and this will highlight best practices and enable cross-sharing and collaborative learning among
CTIs.
Mission Karamyogi
 Aim- at building a future-ready civil service with the right attitude, skills and knowledge, aligned to the vision
of New India.
 The transition from Rules Based to Roles Based Human Resource (HR) Management – The focus is to allocate
jobs to the civil servants based on their competencies.
 On-Site Learning to complement Off-Site Learning – It is a training given to the civil servants on-site.
 An ecosystem of shared training infrastructure – Civil servants to adapt to an ecosystem of shared learning
materials, institutions and personnel.
 Framework of Roles, Activities and Competencies (FRACs) approach – All civil services positions to be
calibrated under this approach. Also based on this approach, all learning content will be created and
delivered to every single government entity.
 Behavioural, Functional and Domain Competencies – Civil Servants to build their competencies in their self-
driven and mandated learning paths.
Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture
In News
MIDH is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented from 2014-15 for holistic development of horticulture in the
country, covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut,
cashewand cocoa.
Future of education

 The Scheme is implemented through State Governments, where the subsidy is shared between the Central
Government and State Governments in the ratio of 60:40 in all the states other than North Eastern and
Himalayan states, where the pattern of assistance is shared in the ratio of 90:10.
 Financial assistance is given for -
 Setting up of nurseries, tissue culture units for production of quality seed and planting material.
 Area expansion i.e. Establishment of new orchards and gardens for fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
 Rejuvenation of unproductive, old, and senile orchards.
 Protected cultivation, i.e. poly-house, green-house, etc, to improve the productivity & grow off season high
value vegetables and flowers.
 Organic farming and certification.
Rashtriya Gokul Mission
In News
The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying has been implementing Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) with the
aim of development and conservation of indigenous bovine breeds, genetic upgradation of bovine population and
enhancement of milk production and productivity of bovines thereby making dairying more remunerative to the
farmers.
Major Objectives
 To enhance productivity of bovines and increasing milk production in a sustainable manner using advance
technologies
 To propagate use of high genetic merit bulls for breeding purposes.
 To enhance Artificial insemination coverage through strengthening of breeding network and delivery of
Artificial insemination services at farmers doorstep
 To promote indigenous cattle & buffalo rearing and conservation in a scientific and holistic manner.
 In order to deliver breeding inputs at farmers doorstep so far 29,218 Multi-purpose Artificial Insemination
Technicians in Rural Areas (MAITRIs) have been inducted.
 16 Gokul Grams and 2 National Kamdhenu Breeding Centre have been established for development and
conservation of Indigenous breeds in scientific and holistic manner.
GOAL Programme
In News
GOAL (Going Online as Leaders) is a joint initiative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Meta (formerly Facebook), which
aims at digital empowerment of tribal youth and women through concept of mentor and mentee.
GOAL(2.0)
 The first phase of the GOAL programme was launched as a pilot project in May 2020 and it was completed by
Dec 2021.
 The mentees in the first-phase were provided with 40+ hours of training across three course pillars: (1)
Communication & Life Skills; (2) Enabling Digital Presence, and (3) Leadership & Entrepreneurship.
 The programme is fully funded by Meta (Facebook India).
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GOAL 2.0
 The second phase of the GOAL Programme (GOAL 2.0) was launched on 28thJune, 2022 with an aim to
digitally upskill tribal youth by promoting entrepreneurship and opening up opportunities for them using
digital technology.
 The program aims to upskill and digitally enable tribal youth via Facebook live sessions and Meta Business
Coach, a digital learning tool.
 There will be special focus on more than 10 lakh members of 50000 Vandhan Self Help Groups.
 They will be digitally trained with regard to market demand, packaging, branding and marketing of their
products.
 The GOAL 2 will enable maximum participation and percolation of benefits of the training within the tribal
youth with provision of Chatbot, need based on line sessions from Industry experts in different fields as per
requirements from the mentees.
 The programme is fully funded by Meta (Facebook India) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs has not incurred any
expenditure or provided any funds for implementation of the program.
 The project is being implemented by ERNET, which is an autonomous organization under MeiTY through STC
funds available with MeITY and 10% funding is being done by NESTS.
PMKVY 3.0
 Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is implementing its flagship scheme Pradhan
Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).
 Under PMKVY 3.0, focus has also been given for skilling on digital technology and Industry 4.0. Sector Skill
Councils (SSCs) have also created job roles on new and emerging digital technologies and industry 4.0 skills
like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT).
 MSDE has budget of Rs. 203 cr under Schedule Tribe Component (STC) for various programs related to skill
development of tribals during 2022-23.
eSkill India portal

 National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of the MSDE has initiated online skilling
through eSkill India portal.
 The platform offers learning opportunities on emerging technologies like cybersecurity, blockchain, artificial
intelligence and machine learning, predictive modelling, statistical business analytics, cloud and Internet of
Things along with professional skills like design thinking, project management and digital marketing.
Toyota Technical Education Program(T-TEP) initiative
In News
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with Toyota Kirloskar Motor [TKM] and Automotive Skill Development Council (ASDC) to train 18,000 students
in three years.

 Focus on rural areas, making them more employable through the company’s unique training initiative
— Toyota Technical Education Program (T-TEP).
 Students will be trained across five automotive job roles such as General Technician, Body and Paint
Technician, Service Advisor, Sales consultants and Call Center Staff.
 Aimed at generating talented and technically skilled professionals for the automobile industry, T-TEP is
strongly aligned with Skill India Mission and so far, been associated with 56 ITI/Polytechnic colleges covering
21 states.
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 Currently more than 10,000 students have been trained and 70% of the students are working in various
automobile companies.
 T-TEP has become a benchmark in imparting automotive training and providing immense benefits to the
automotive service industry and society at large.
 By partnering with TKM and ASDC, NSDC will not only be able to build a highly skilled technical workforce,
with greater career prospects in the automotive service industry, but also enable youngsters earn a decent
livelihood by providing them with employment opportunities.
 As a part of this initiative, ASDC will identify the institute as per the requirements and Toyota will support
the institute with latest curriculum covering automobile fundamentals, safety, Toyota values and basic soft
skills.
 In addition, the company will provide e-learning content, engines, transmissions, practice kits and train the
institute’s faculty through Train The Trainer approach.
BIG-NER
In News
Dr Jitendra Singh launches Special Biotech Ignition Grant call for North East Region (BIG-NER); announces financial
support of Rs 50 Lakhs each to 25 start-ups and entrepreneurs from North East Region to develop biotech solutions.
Bioeconomy Report
 India’s Bioeconomy has reached over 80 billion US Dollars in 2021 recording 14.1% growth over $70.2 billion
in 2020.
 Noting the rapid growth in the sector, the Minister said, Bioeconomy is likely to touch 150 billion dollars by
2025 and over 300 billion dollars by 2030.
BIG-NER
 The Minister launched the special Biotech Ignition Grant call for North East Region (BIG-NER) and announced
financial support of up to Rs 50 Lakhs each to 25 startups and entrepreneurs from North East Region to
develop biotech solutions.
 BIRAC/ DBT has established a strong network of 74 specialized bio-incubation centres in 21 states/ UTs
including 7 bio-incubators in the north east region – an emerging cluster.
 India is among the top 3 in South Asia and top 12 destinations for biotechnology in the world, with
approximately 3% share in the global Biotechnology industry.
 Moreover, India has 2nd highest number of USFDA approved manufacturing plants outside the US.
Bioeconomy
 BioPharma companies supported by Department of Biotechnology and BIRAC with risk-funding of about $71
Mn for development and manufacturing of Covid vaccines.
 BioPharma Industry in 2021 tripled their R&D spending to nearly $1 billion from $360 million in 2020.
Industry also augmented the manufacturing capacity by 3 times from 1300 Mn dose in 2020 to 4500 Mn
doses in 2021.
 This in turn, enabled administration of about 4 Mn doses of Covid vaccine per day in 2021.
 The overall impact on Bioeconomy from Covid vaccines was registered as $8.7 billion as per the India
Bioeconomy report 2022.
Future of education
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
In News
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-I (PMGSY-I) was launched as a one-time special intervention to provide rural
connectivity, by way of a single all-weather road, to the eligible unconnected habitations of designated population
size.
Technologies under PMGSY

 PMGSY-II was launched for upgradation of selected Through Routes and Major Rural Links (MRLs) with a
target to upgrade 50,000 Km in various states and Union Territories.
 In 2016, Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas (RCPLWEA) for
construction/upgradation of strategically important roads was launched as a separate vertical under
PMGSY.
 PMGSY-III launched in 2019 mainly focuses on the consolidation of 125000 Km existing through routes and
Major Rural Links that connect habitations, inter-alia, to Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher
Secondary Schools and Hospitals.
 Use of new/green technologies is one such intervention which has resulted not only in savings of carbon
footprint but also in savings of fuel.
 In order to promote cost-effective and fast construction technologies in the construction of rural roads,
using New materials/Waste materials/Locally available materials, NRIDA has issued ‘Guidelines on
Technology Initiatives’.
 This initiative has helped introduce more than 40 technologies including waste plastics, cold mix technology,
cell filled concrete, stabilization using cement and lime, nano technology and Full Depth Reclamation
(FDR).
 Under PMGSY III, GeoSadak application has been developed, which is an Online Geospatial Transaction
System that enables the States to upload, generate report and edit GIS data online.
SVAMITVA Scheme
In News
The Central Sector Scheme, SVAMITVA, aims to provide the ‘Record of Rights’ to village household owners
possessing houses in inhabited areas, called Abadi in some States, with legal ownership rights (Property cards/Title
deeds).
About SVAMITVA Scheme

 The scheme aims to cover 6.62 lakh villages in the country from Financial Year 2020-21 to Financial Year
2024-25.
 It is being implemented with the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Survey of India (SoI),
State Revenue Department, State Panchayati Raj Department and National Informatics Centre.
 Under the scheme, the land parcels in rural inhabited area of all the villages are surveyed using drone
technology.
Fund Allocation
 Under the scheme, funds to Survey of India are provided for two components – Large Scale Mapping (LSM)
using drones and establishment of Continuous Operating Reference Station (CORS).
 Funds on limited scale are also provided directly to States for Information, Education, Communication (IEC)
and setting up of State Project Monitoring Unit (SPMU).
Future of education
 Under SVAMITVA scheme funds are provided to SoI and States/UTs on the basis of number of villages to be
covered during a period of time.
National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme
In News
No data has been obtained for child labour under the NCLP scheme in the country.
NCLP Scheme
 Children in the age group of 9-14 years, are enrolled in the NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are
provided with bridge education, vocational training, stipend, mid-day meal, health care, etc. before being
mainstreamed into the formal education system.
 “Child labour” is defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity,
and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
 Last year, a study by UNDP and Coca-cola company said that there is still ambiguity in the definition of child
labour.
Provision related to Child Labour

 Provisions of Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016: employment of children
below the age of 14 years in any commercial enterprise is illegal. However, it allows child labour in “family or
family enterprises”.
 Article 23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour.
 Article 24: No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed in work in any factory or mine or
engaged in any other hazardous employment.
 Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015: It includes the working child in the category of
children in need of care and protection, without any limitation of age or type of occupation.
 Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour (PENCIL) Portal 2017: for effective implementation of
the NCLP scheme
 International commitment: India has ratified the International Labour Organizations Convention (ILO) no 138
(minimum age for employment) and Convention no 182(worst forms of child labour).
Potential & Role of Fisheries Cooperatives
In News
 The Department of Fisheries (DoF), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal husbandry & Dairying, organized a webinar
on “Potential & Role of Fisheries Cooperatives” recently.
 This webinar was intended to open a forum to initiate a dialogue about the crucial role of fisheries
cooperatives in bringing out prosperity in the lives of fish farmers, leading towards holistic sectoral
development.
PMMSY
 Under the scheme, the government envisages a vital role for Fish Farmers Producers Organization (FFPOs) to
boost growth and competitiveness in the fisheries sector.
 While the Government encourages the States/UTs to mobilize members and come forward with proposals of
establishing fisheries cooperatives, it is important to create a handholding mechanism and build capacity of
the member fish farmers/fishers from the inception of any cooperative or FFPO.
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 This scheme aims to facilitate the development of viable and sustainable fish farming income generation
model that would bring out socio-economic development and wellbeing of fishing communities in a holistic
manner.
 The Department of Fisheries so far has made a head start for setting up 90+ FFPOs worth Rs. 47.80 Crores
with the help of NCDC and National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB).
Swadesh Darshan Scheme
In News
Ministry of Tourism (MOT) revamps Swadesh Darshan Scheme

 Develop sustainable and responsible tourism
 Development of benchmark and standards
 Promote domestic tourism mainly in tier-II and tier-III cities
 State government will designate implementing agencies for the projects (earlier ministry of tourism used to
do that)
 100% centrally funded
About Scheme
 Tourism Ministry launched the Swadesh Darshan Scheme in 2014 to develop theme-based tourist circuits in
the country using 100% central funds and CSR funding.
 Funding of individual projects will vary from state to state and will be finalised on the basis of detailed
project reports prepared by PMC (Programme Management Consultant).
 Status of the Tourism sector: India’s Tourism is ranked in 10th position (World Travel and Tourism Council’s
report in 2019 in terms of contribution to GDP). It contributed 6.8% to India’s GDP and 8% of the total
employment created.
 India has 40 sites listed under World Heritage List (32 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed site)
 India recently came up with Draft National Tourism Policy focusing on Green, and digital tourism. Its main
points were-
 Industry status of the tourism sector
 focus on green, digital, destination management, skilling and tourism-related support to MSMEs
A project for saturation of 4G mobile services in uncovered villages
In News
The Union Cabinet approved a project for saturation of 4G mobile services in uncovered villages across the country
at a total cost of Rs. 26,316 Cr.
Provisions of the project

 The project will provide 4G mobile services in 24,680 uncovered villages in remote and difficult areas.
 The project has a provision to include 20% additional villages on account of rehabilitation, new-settlements,
withdrawal of services by existing operators etc.
 In addition, 6,279 villages having only 2G/3G connectivity shall be upgraded to 4G.
 The project will be executed by BSNL using Atmanirbhar Bharat’s 4G technology stack and will be funded
through Universal Service Obligation Fund.
 The project cost of Rs. 26,316 Cr includes capex and 5year opex.
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 BSNL is already in process of deployment of Atmanirbhar 4G technology stack, which will be deployed in this
project as well.
Significance
 The project is a significant step towards the vision of the Government to provide mobile connectivity in rural
areas.
 This project will promote delivery of various e-governance services, banking services, tele-medicine, tele-
education etc. through mobile broadband and generate employment in rural areas.
What is the need?

 Digital inclusion and connectivity for all is an integral part of ‘antyodaya’ vision of the Government.
 Last year Government approved a project for providing 4G mobile services in 7,287 uncovered villages in 44
aspirational districts across 5 states.
 In his Independence Day address in 2021, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave a call for saturation of
government schemes.
World’s first locomotion trials of the Deep-Sea Mining System in the Central Indian Ocean
In News
 Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Dr Jitendra Singh presented National
Science Awards and lauded India's "Deep Sea" initiatives.
 He also complimented the scientists for conducting world’s first locomotion trials of the Deep-Sea Mining
System in the Central Indian Ocean at depth of 5270 meters.
Fully Automated Coastal observation System

 Dr Jitendra Singh launched a first-of-its-kind and state-of-art fully automated buoy-based coastal observation
and water quality nowcasting system for the Indian Ocean developed by Indian National Centre for Ocean
Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad.
 The system includes high-end sensors onboard an automated buoy integrated to a coastal observatory
located in Kochi.
 The system will benefit various stakeholders, including coastal dwellers, fisherfolk, maritime industry,
researchers and agencies dealing with pollution, tourism, fisheries, and the coastal environment.
 It will provide real-time data of 19 water quality-related measurements such as temperature, salinity,
dissolved oxygen, turbidity, etc., which will help generate accurate nowcasts about coastal water quality,
improve indices of coastal ecosystems’ health, and calibrate and validate sensors onboard satellites such as
Oceansat-III.
 INCOIS will provide this data free of cost to the public through a dedicated website. Another such
observatory in Vishakhapatnam is imminent.
Deep Ocean Mission

 The focus of the mission will be on deep-sea mining, ocean climate change advisory services, underwater
vehicles and underwater robotics related technologies.
 The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) will be the nodal Ministry implementing this multi-institutional
mission.
 A manned submersible will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6,000 metres in the ocean with
a suite of scientific sensors and tools. An Integrated Mining System will be developed for mining polymetallic
nodules at those depths in the central Indian Ocean.
 Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services.
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 Development of a component for searching deep sea flora and fauna, including microbes, and studying ways
to sustainably utilise them.
 It will also have a component to explore and identify potential sources of hydrothermal minerals that are
sources of precious metals formed from the earth’s crust along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges.
National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI)- Entrepreneurs-in-

Residence (EIR) program
In News
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Dr Jitendra Singh said, 604 aspiring
entrepreneurs or startups have been supported so far under National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing
Innovations (NIDHI)- Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) program.
NIDHI- EIR Program

 The main objective of NIDHI EIR program is to encourage graduating students to take entrepreneurship
instead of seeking jobs.
 The selected NIDHI-EIR support recipient (aspiring entrepreneurs/startups) is eligible for grant up to
Rs.30,000/- per month for a period of 12 months.
 This fellowship is extendable up to 18 months in case of deserving candidates.
 Entrepreneurs-in- Residence (EIR) is the program introduced under the umbrella of National Initiative for
Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) by Department of Science & Technology (DST) in the
financial year 2016-17.
 This program aims to inspire and provide support to S&T qualified persons who aspire to be an entrepreneur
and has an innovative idea.
 The NIDHI EIR program is positioned as a pre-incubation program to generate new pipeline of entrepreneurs
or startups.
Tamil Nadu govt announces breakfast scheme for state-run schools
In News
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M K Stalin, announced that the state government is all set to roll out a breakfast
scheme for state-run school children of Classes 1 to 5.
Breakfast Scheme
 The Tamil Nadu government will implement the ‘Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme’ at 1,545 government
primary schools to benefit 1.14 lakh children in classes 1 to 5.
 This is claimed to be the first of its kind initiative in India to ensure nutrition.
 The scheme will be implemented this current fiscal year at a cost of ₹33.56 crore.
 Breakfast consisting of a meal with sambar and vegetables will be provided to children in all working schools.
 Every student is to be provided 150-500 gram breakfast with sambar with vegetables.
 On two days, the breakfast will be made of millets.
Samudrayaan Mission
In News
Samudrayaan Mission is aimed to develop a self propelled manned submersible to carry 3 human beings to a water
depth of 6000 meters in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools for deep ocean exploration.
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Features of the Mission

 It is India’s first unique manned ocean mission that aims to send men into the deep sea in a submersible
vehicle for deep-ocean exploration and mining of rare minerals.
 It will send three persons in a manned submersible vehicle MATSYA 6000 to a depth of 6000 metres into the
sea for deep underwater studies.
 Submarines go only about 200 metres.
 It is a part of the Rs 6000-crores Deep Ocean Mission.
 The projected timeline is five years for the period 2020-2021 to 2025-2026.
Deep Ocean Mission

 It was approved in June 2021 by the (MoES). It aims to explore the deep ocean for resources, develop deep-
sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources, and support the Blue Economy Initiatives of the
Indian Government.
 The cost of the Mission has been estimated at Rs. 4,077 crore over a five-year period and will be
implemented in phases.
NIOT
National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, an autonomous institute under MoES, has developed
6000m depth rated Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and various other underwater instruments such as
Autonomous Coring System (ACS), Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and Deep Sea Mining System (DSM) for
the exploration of deep sea.
Power Sector’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme
In News
 In a historic initiative, PM to launch Power Sector’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme on 30th July.
 He will dedicate and lay the foundation stone of various green energy projects of NTPC. He will also launch
the National Solar rooftop portal.
About the scheme

 Aim- at improving the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of the DISCOMs and Power
Departments.
 With an outlay of over Rs. 3 lakh crore over a period of five years from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26, the scheme
aims to provide financial assistance to DISCOMs for modernization and strengthening of distribution
infrastructure, focussing on improvement of the reliability and quality of supply to end consumers.
 It also aims to reduce the AT&C (Aggregate Technical and Commercial) losses to pan-India levels of 12-15%
and ACS-ARR (Average Cost of Supply - Average Revenue Realized) gap to zero by 2024-25 by improving the
operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of all state-sector DISCOMs and Power Departments.
Other Initiatives
 He will dedicate and lay the foundation stone of various green energy projects of NTPC worth over Rs 5200
crore.
 He will inaugurate the 100 MW Ramagundam Floating Solar Project in Telangana and the 92 MW
Kayamkulam Floating Solar Project in Kerala.
 He will lay the foundation stone of 735 MW Nokh Solar Project in Rajasthan, Green Hydrogen Mobility
Project in Leh and Kawas Green Hydrogen Blending with Natural Gas project in Gujarat.
 The Ramagundam project is India’s largest floating solar PV project with 4.5 lakh ‘Made in India’ solar PV
modules.
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 Kayamkulam project is the second largest floating solar PV project consisting of 3 lakh ‘Made in India’ solar
PV panels floating on water.
 The 735 MW Solar PV Project at Nokh, in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan is India’s largest Domestic Content
Requirement based Solar project with 1000 MWp at a single location, deploying high-wattage bifacial PV
Modules with tracker system.
 The Green Hydrogen Mobility Project at Leh, Ladakh is a pilot project and aims for five Fuel Cell Buses to be
run in and around Leh.
 This pilot project would be the first deployment of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles for public use in India.
 The Green Hydrogen Blending Pilot Project at NTPC Kawas Township will be India’s first Green Hydrogen
Blending Project helping in reducing the usage of natural gas.
 He will also launch national solar rooftop portal, which will enable online tracking of the process of
installation of rooftop solar plants, starting from registering the applications to release of subsidy in
residential consumers’ bank accounts after installation and inspection of the plant.
School Innovation Council
In News
School Innovation Council (SIC), an initiative taken by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC) was launched
on 1 July 2022 and has been introduced to all schools of all the states including Rajasthan.
About the Council

• It is a council of teachers, students, and experts from industry and academia to conduct round the year
activities for students and teachers on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, monitored through the SIC portal of
the MIC, to record the influence at the ground level.
• SIC will enable mindset change, awareness, and training on Ideation, Innovation and Entrepreneurship,
design thinking, Intellectual Property Rights, start-up finance, and HR among teachers and students.
• It will also enable the ranking system for schools on the level of innovation-oriented activities.
SIC Portal
• To implement the SIC council in all schools across the nation, SIC portal has been developed where schools
can register themselves.
• All registered schools are encouraged to perform innovation-related activities as per the SIC Calendar
Activities that includes Leadership talk, motivation sessions, webinars, sessions, awareness, boot camps
inviting innovative ideas from the student, developing the prototype, and national level exhibition of the
best prototypes etc.
School Innovation Ambassador Training program

• In order to strengthen the mentoring capacity of teachers for cultivating and handholding innovative and
ingenious ideas from students, the School Innovation Ambassador Training program (SIATP) was launched
through online Mode.
• Under SIATP, teachers undergo 72 hours of training, and those who qualify all the five modules i.e.
• Design Thinking & Innovation;
• Idea generation & Idea hand-holding;
• Finance/Sales/HR;
• Intellectual Property Rights(IPR);
• Entrepreneurship and Prototype/ Product Development; with a minimum 50% as passing marks are
recognized as “Innovation Ambassadors” which makes them competent to nurture the young school
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students on Ideation, IPR, product development, design thinking, problem-solving, critical thinking and skills
of entrepreneurship.
Project Cheetah
In News
Indian Oil signed an MoU with National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for transcontinental relocation of
‘Cheetah’ in its historical range in India.
Project Cheetah
• Indian Oil will be contributing Rs.50.22 crore in 4 years for the project components viz. Cheetah Introduction,
its Habitat Management & Protection, Eco Development, Staff Training and Veterinary Healthcare.
• Indian Oil is the first corporate which has come forward to support the “Project Cheetah” under CSR, as the
project has not only national importance but is also essential for balancing the ecosystem.
• Under this project, a source population of 8-10 Cheetahs will be flown in from Namibia and South Africa and
will be introduced at Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh.
• It is a national project involving National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Govt. of India and the State
Govt. of Madhya Pradesh.
• It is noteworthy that the subspecies of Cheetah which got extinct in India was Asiatic Cheetah (Acinonyx
jubatus venaticus) and the subspecies being introduced back in the country is African Cheetah (Acinonyx
jubatus jubatus).
• Research has shown that genes of these two subspecies are the same.
• The Cheetah introduction project in Kuno National Park involves creating a 500-hectare predator proof
enclosure for a ‘soft release’ of the feline.
• The first batch of Cheetah would be soft released in the enclosure with GPS / GSM or GPS / Satellite
transmitters.
Cheetah
• Cheetah has a very special significance for the national conservation ethic and ethos.
• Understanding this, Indian Oil is aiding the cause of bringing the Cheetah back to India, which would have
equally important conservation ramifications.
• Cheetah restoration will be part of a prototype for restoration of original cheetah habitats and their
biodiversity, helping to stem the degradation and rapid loss of biodiversity.
• This project is in sync with Indian Oil's strong environmental conscience and aligns with the company's focus
on conserving India's natural habitat and heritage.
• It may be noted that Indian Oil adopted Indian Single Horned Rhino as its mascot last year and, since then,
has been at the forefront of India's Rhino conservation endeavors.
About NTCA
• NTCA is the nodal agency authorized by MoEF&CC for funding, supervision and hand holding.
• Indian Oil will contribute its CSR funds to NTCA, which shall co-ordinate with the State Govt. of Madhya
Pradesh and other agencies involved in the project.
Mission Amrit Sarovar
In News
The Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched on National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April 2022 as a part of celebration
of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav with an objective to conserve water for future.
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Features of the mission

• The Mission is aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country.
• All the States including States of Assam and Rajasthan are covered under the Mission.
• The Mission works through the States and Districts, through refocusing of various schemes such as Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, XV Finance Commission Grants, Pradhan Mantri
Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) sub schemes such as Watershed Development Component, Har Khet Ko
Pani besides States’ own schemes.
• The Mission encourages mobilisation of citizen and non-govt resources for supplementing these efforts.
Guidelines of ‘Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0'
In News
Ministry of Women and Child Development has issued Operational Guidelines regarding implementation of
‘Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0'.
Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0

• The scheme has been approved by the Government of India for implementation during the 15th Finance
Commission period 202l-22 to 2025-26.
• Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme.
• It seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating
mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery and by creation of a convergent eco-
system to develop and promote practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity.
The objectives of Poshan 2.0 are as follows:

• To contribute to human capital development of the country;
• Address challenges of malnutrition;
• Promote nutrition awareness and good eating habits for sustainable health and wellbeing; and
• Address nutrition related deficiencies through key strategies.
Poshan 2.0
Poshan 2.0 shall focus on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, Treatment Protocols for
SAM/MAM and Wellness through AYUSH practices to reduce wasting and under-weight prevalence besides stunting
and anemia, supported by the ‘Poshan Tracker’, a new, robust ICT centralised data system which is being linked with
the RCH Portal (Anmol) of MoHFW.
National Ayush Mission
In News
Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the National AYUSH Mission, the total budget of 3119.46 crores has been
allocated/ released as a central share to States/UTs since the inception of the scheme and they have reported an
expenditure of Rs. 2290.20 crores.
Strategy of GOI
• The government of India has adopted a strategy of Co-location of AYUSH facilities at Primary Health Centers
(PHCs), Community Health Centers (CHCs) and District Hospitals (DHs), thus enabling the choice the patients
for different systems of medicines under a single window.
• The engagement of AYUSH doctors/ paramedics and their training is supported by the Ministry of Health &
Family Welfare under National Health Mission (NHM), while the support for AYUSH infrastructure,
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equipment/ furniture and medicines are provided by the Ministry of Ayush under National AYUSH Mission
(NAM)as shared responsibilities
• AYUSH educational institutions come under the purview of respective State/UT Governments.
• However, under NAM, as per the proposals received from State Governments through State Annual Action
Plans (SAAPs), they have been supported for setting up 9 new AYUSH Educational Institutions since the
scheme’s inception.
National Ayush Mission

• Launched in September 2014 by the Department of AYUSH under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
during the 12th Plan for implementation through States/UTs.
• Now, it is implemented by the Ministry of Ayush.
• The scheme involves expansion of the AYUSH sector to promote holistic health of Indians.
• The Mission addresses the gaps in health services through supporting the efforts of State/UT Governments
for providing AYUSH health services/education in the country, particularly in vulnerable and far-flung areas.
Nagar Van Yojana
In News
On the occasion of World Environment Day, the government announced implementation of the Nagar van scheme
to develop 200 Urban Forests across the country in next five years with a renewed focus on people’s participation
and collaboration between Forest Department, Municipal bodies, NGOs, Corporates and local citizens.
About the Yojana

• Aim- To create 400 Urban Forest and 200 Nagar Vatikas in at least 20 hectares of land in the urban areas in
the next five years (2020-2025) (on existing forest land or any other vacant land by Urban local bodies)
• Launched in 2020
• Van will be maintained by State Government
• Funding: CAMPA Fund (under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act 2016)
• Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change
• Warje Urban Forest in Pune (Maharashtra)will be considered a role model for the Scheme.
O-SMART Scheme
In News
Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has taken many initiatives to harness the potential of Ocean resources.
O-SMART
• The Ocean Services, Modelling, Applications, Resources and Technology (O-SMART) Scheme was approved
by the Union Cabinet in August 2018 and is implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• It aims at stepping up ocean research and setting up early warning weather systems.
• It addresses ocean development activities such as services, technology, resources, observations and science
and provides necessary scientific and technological background required for implementation of various
aspects of Blue Economy.
Other Initiatives
• Government of India signed a 15 year contract with International Seabed Authority (ISA) for exploration of
polymetallic nodules from Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) in 2002.
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• Extensive survey and other developmental activities have been carried out in 75000 sq km area retained by
India in CIOB.
• MoES has undertaken exploration and other developmental activities related to polymetallic sulphides
under a 15 years contract signed in 2016 with International Seabed Authority (ISA) for exploration of
polymetallic sulphides in the allotted area of 10,000 sq km along Central Indian Ridge (CIR) & Southwest
Indian Ridge (SWIR) region of the Indian Ocean.
• National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) under MoES has developed, demonstrated and operated
unmanned remotely operated systems to harness ocean resources. Centre for Marine Living Resources and
Ecology (CMLRE) of MoES explored the deep-sea living resources under Marine Living Resources Programme
(MLRP).
NIPUN
In News
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched on June 20, 2022 an innovative project – NIPUN (National
Initiative for Promotion of Upskilling of Nirman workers), as part of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban
Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM).
NIPUN
• NIPUN, inter-alia, includes on-site Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) of construction workers, and fresh skill
training in job oriented courses in the construction and related sectors.
• This project aims to skill train over one lakh construction workers in the National Skills Qualifications
Framework (NSQF) aligned courses, through a network of industry partners in construction sector and the
related Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) i.e. Construction Skill Development Council of India (CSDCI), Water
Management & Plumbing Skill Council (WMPSC) and Infrastructure and Equipment Sector skill Council (IESC).
• National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has been engaged as the implementation agency.
• The project, which is of 1 year duration, is estimated to cost ₹ 93 crore.
Mission Vatsalya Scheme
In News
Mission Vatsalya Scheme is a roadmap to achieve development and child protection priorities aligned with the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• It lays emphasis on child rights, advocacy and awareness along with strengthening of the juvenile justice care
and protection system with the motto to 'leave no child behind'.
• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 provisions and the Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 form the basic framework for implementation of the Mission.
• Funds under the Mission Vatsalya Scheme are released according to the requirements and demands made
by the States/UTs.
• The Scheme is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State Governments and UT
Administrations to support the States and UTs in universalizing access and improving quality of services
across the country.
• The fund sharing pattern is in the ratio of 60:40 between Centre and State & Union Territories with
Legislature respectively.
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• Mission Vatsalya scheme supports the children through Non-Institutional Care under Private Aided
Sponsorship wherein interested sponsors (individuals/ institutions/ company/ banks/ industrial units/ trusts
etc.) can provide assistance to children in difficult circumstances.
• The District Magistrates take measures to encourage individuals or Public/ Private Sector Organisations to
sponsor a child or a group of children or an Institution.
Operation Yatri Suraksha
In News
With the aim of improving the security of passengers travelling by Indian Railways, RPF has launched a Pan-India
Operation under the code name “Operation Yatri Suraksha”.
About operation
• As part of this initiative, several steps are being taken to provide foolproof security to passengers i.e. Train
Escorting, visible presence on stations, Surveillance through CCTV, Surveillance on active criminals, collection
of intelligence about the criminals and action thereupon, identifying black spots and crime prone
trains/sections and enhancing security thereat among others to formulate an actionable strategy to reduce
crime against passengers.
• Regular coordination is being made with all the stake holders and joint action is planned to improve
passenger security regularly.
Significance
• During the drive, 365 suspects were nabbed by RPF personnel and were handed over to the concerned GRPs
for legal action based on which 322 cases of Passenger Crime i.e. theft of Passenger Belongings, Drugging,
Robbery, Chain Snatching etc. were detected.
• Stolen property of passengers worth more than Rs. 1 Crore was recovered either from the possession of
these criminals or in course of investigation of these offences.
Village Engineers programme
In News
Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar held discussions
with Members of Parliament and Ministers from Gujarat on creating targeted skilling opportunities for the tribal
youth in their local areas to reduce the pull for migration.
About the programme

• The programme which is consistent with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Self Reliance or
AtmaNirbharta aims to ensure inclusive development for all communities.
• Recently, the village engineer programme was launched from Madhya Pradesh to train the tribal youth by
providing them a basket of skills together.
• The first batch of village engineers have also been conferred recognition in form of certification.
• Under the programme, the tribal youth will get multiple skill training so that they can participate in the
economic activities in their respective districts.
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Experiential Learning for 21st Century Programme
In News
• Experiential Learning for 21st Century Programme was recently launched for Eklavya Model Residential
School (EMRS) Principals and Teachers, in virtual mode.
• It was launched by CBSE, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and ESTS in association with TATA trusts, TISS and MGIS.
Experiential Learning Programme

• It is as an online programme for teachers and principals, in which they are trained adapt classroom learning
to real life experiences.
• Program was offered to all the selected teachers and principals, free of cost, from November 2021 till April
2022.
• Selected teachers were trained as “Teacher Leaders”, in a bid to adopt Experiential Learning Pedagogy across
EMRS teaching fraternity in a phased manner.
• It is an 8-week program and covers 4 modules, which are supported with virtual webinars. During the
webinars, teachers’ understandings are discussed and they are assisted along the course learnings.
• Webinars also provide further orientation on pedagogy, to focus on project mapping and lesson planning.
Eklavya Model Residential School

Eklavya Model Residential School were started in 1997-98, to provide quality education to ST children across remote
areas so that, they can profit from the opportunities in high and professional educational courses and get employed
in different sectors.
HIM- DRONE-A-THON
In News
The Indian Army in collaboration with the Drone Federation of India has launched the ‘Him Drone-a-thon’
programme recently.
About the programme

• This initiative in line with Atmanirbharta in defence manufacturing is aimed to catalyse and provide focused
opportunities to the Indian drone ecosystem to develop path-breaking drone capabilities for meeting
requirements of frontline troops.
• The Indian Army’s support to the indigenous drone ecosystem is based on the principle that ‘good available
indigenously’ is better than the ‘best available globally’.
• The ‘Him Drone-a-thon’ programme is pan India sustained connect between all stake holders including
industry, academia, software developers and drone product manufacturers.
• It will be conducted in stages with quantifiable parameters (like altitude, weight, range, endurance etc) being
progressively enhanced based on demonstrated capabilities.
Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojna
In News
Government has modified the earlier scheme of ‘Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA to TSS) with
nomenclature ‘Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojna (PMAAGY)’, for implementation during 2021-22 to 2025-26.
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PMAAGY
• Aim- at mitigating gaps and providing basic infrastructure in villages with significant tribal population in
convergence with funds available under different schemes in Central Scheduled Tribe Component.
• It is envisaged to cover 36,428 villages having at least 50% ST population and 500 STs across States / UTs
with notified STs during the period.
• The main objective of this scheme is to achieve integrated socio-economic development of selected villages
through convergence approach.
It includes the following components-

 Preparing Village Development Plan based on the needs, potential, and aspirations;
 Maximizing the coverage of individual / family benefit schemes of the Central / State Governments;
 Improving the infrastructure in vital sectors like health, education, connectivity and livelihood;
PARVAZ Market Linkage Scheme
In News
Government of Jammu & Kashmir launched the “PARVAZ Market Linkage Scheme” recently.
About the scheme

• The PARVAZ scheme was launched with the aim of creating market linkage support for shipment of
Agriculture & Horticulture perishables from Jammu and Kashmir.
• Under the scheme, government will provide a subsidy of 25% on freight charges, in a bid to carry perishable
fruits through Air Cargo. Subsidy will be provided to farmers through Direct Benefit Transfer mode.
• Scheme is being implemented by Jammu & Kashmir Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing
Corporation (JKHPMC).
• JKHPMC is spreading awareness among farmers regarding the significance of PARVAZ scheme so that they
could benefit from it.
Importance
• Government has made the documentation work related to scheme simple and easy. Farmers will get the
subsidy on time, under the scheme.
• This scheme seeks to benefit the farmers in doubling their income.
• Thus, it will ensure economic and social welfare of the farmers.
• They will receive the price of their produce directly in bank account and no intermediary will get involved.
Union Cabinet approves extension of PMAY-Urban 'Housing for All Mission' upto 31st Dec
2024
In News
Union Cabinet has approved continuation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) - Housing for All Mission
up to 31st December 2024.
PMAY
• Launched in 2015, the original deadline for the scheme aimed at providing affordable housing with
incentives was March 2022.
• It was launched with the aim to achieve housing for all by 2022.
• According to data on the PMAY site, a total of 12.26 million houses have been sanctioned so far, out of which
61.77 lakh houses have been completed.
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• In December 2021, the cabinet approved the extension of the rural housing scheme, PMAY-Gramin (Rural)
till March 2024.
• The Urban scheme is being implemented through four verticals:
• Beneficiary-Led Construction (BLC)
• Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP)
• In-situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR)
• Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS).
• While the Center provides financial assistance, state governments and union territories implement the
scheme including the selection of beneficiaries.
The SMILE 75-Initiative For The Rehabilitation Of Beggars In India
In News
The union minister for social justice and empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar launched the “SMILE-75 Initiative” to
mark 75 years of Independence, in which municipal corporations will focus on identifying and rehabilitating persons
engaged in begging across India including Delhi, Tirupati, Guwahati, Patna, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Agra etc.
SMILE-75
• SMILE (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise Scheme) is aimed at making
cities/towns and municipal areas begging-free and comprehensive rehabilitation of the persons engaged in
the act of begging.
• Under the initiative, seventy-five (75) Municipal Corporations in collaboration with NGOs and other
stakeholders will cover several comprehensive welfare measures for persons who are engaged in the act of
begging.
• Rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, awareness, education, skill development,
economic linkages and convergence with other Government welfare programmes etc.
Beggars In India
• According to the Census 2011 total number of beggars in India is over 4 lakhs.
• West Bengal tops the chart followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
• Though there is no central law on begging, some states have adopted the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act,
1959, which penalises beggary.
National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM)
In News
National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM) has achieved target of imparting Intellectual Property (IP)
awareness and basic training to 1 million students on 31st July 2022, ahead of the deadline which was 15 August
2022.
About NIPAM
• It is aimed at imparting IP awareness and basic training for students (class 8 to 12) to inculcate the spirit of
creativity and innovations. It was launched in 2021 as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”.
• Intellectual property rights (IPR) are the rights given to persons over the creations of their minds: inventions,
literary and artistic works, and symbols, names and images used in commerce.
• Nodal Agency: Intellectual Property Office (under Ministry of Commerce and Industry)
• National IPR Policy (adopted in 2016): It gave an institutional mechanism for the implementation of IPR.
CIPAM (cell for IPR promotion and management) is the implementation agency for National IPR Policy.
Future of education
NAMASTE Scheme
In News
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ&E) is now preparing to undertake a nationwide survey to
enumerate all people engaged in hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, an activity that has led to at least
351 deaths since 2017.
NAMASTE Scheme
• Ministry officials said that the enumeration exercise, soon to be conducted across 500 AMRUT (Atal Mission
for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) cities, is part of the Union government’s National Action Plan
for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE)
• which will streamline the process of rehabilitating sanitation workers and eventually merge with and replace
the Self-Employment Scheme for the Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS), which was started in
2007.
• The idea is to also link these sanitation workers to the Swachhta Udyami Yojana, through which the workers
will be able to own sanitation machines themselves and the government will ensure that at the municipality
level, the work keeps coming in,” said a senior government official.
• Manual scavenging is a term used mostly for “manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise
handling, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or an open drain or sewer or a septic tank or a pit”.
Objectives
• It is a joint venture between-
• The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Zero fatalities in sanitation work in India.
• No sanitation workers come in direct contact with human faecal matter.
• All Sewer and Septic tank sanitation workers have access to alternative livelihoods.
DigiYatra initiative
In News
The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), run by GMR, announced the soft launch of the Centre’s DigiYatra initiative,
rolling out the beta version of its app for Android platforms.
About Digi Yatra

• The ‘DigiYatra’ is a Biometric Enabled Seamless Travel experience (BEST) based on Facial Recognition
Technology.
• It aims to provide a paperless and seamless travel experience to the passengers. “DigiYatra is a unique
initiative of the Government of India, coordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• DigiYatra envisages that travellers pass through various checkpoints at the airport through paperless and
contactless processing, using facial features to establish their identity, which would be linked to the boarding
pass.
• The DigiYatra Foundation will be the custodian of the passenger ID validation process. It will also define the
criteria for compliance and guidelines for the local airport systems.
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Arth Ganga
In News
Jal Shakti Ministry unveiled a new initiative under Arth Ganga (under Namami Gange Programme)
Arth Ganga
• ‘Arth Ganga’ implies a sustainable development model with a focus on economic activities related to Ganga
• Aim- To promote economic activities along the Ganga River bank
• As part of this process, farmers will be encouraged to engage in sustainable agriculture practices, including
zero budget farming, planting of fruit trees and building plant nurseries on the banks of Ganga.
• Above practices, along with creation of infrastructure for water sports and development of campsites,
cycling and walking tracks etc., would help to tap the ‘hybrid’ tourism potential of the river basin area- for
purposes of religious as well as adventure tourism.
• The income generated from encouraging ecotourism and Ganga wildlife conservation and cruise tourism etc.
would help to generate sustainable income streams for cleaning of Ganga.
About Namami Gange Programme

• It was launched in 2014 with twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and
rejuvenation of the National River Ganga. (Under Ministry of Jal Shakti and supported by World Bank)
• National Ganga Council (headed by the PM) is a decision-making body. Implementation is done by the
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and its state counterpart organizations i.e., State Program
Management Groups (SPMGs).
• Funding: centrally-funded, non-lapsable corpus.
• Main Pillars of NGP: Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure, River-Surface Cleaning, Afforestation, Industrial
Effluent Monitoring, River-Front Development, Bio-Diversity, Public Awareness, Ganga Gram.
Ganga River
• The Ganges is the longest river (2525 Km) and also the largest river in India followed by Godavari (1465 km).
• States covered: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
• Ganga is the third largest river in the world by discharge.
• The mouth of River Ganga forms the world’s largest delta, known as Sunderbans, and was declared a World
Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
Goa becomes first state to be 'Har Ghar Jal' certified
In News
Goa became 1st state to be certified with ‘Har Ghar Jal’ in the country.
Har Ghar jal

• It aims to encourage the state to ensure tap water connection to every household by 2024
• Under Jal Jeevan Mission (Ministry of Jal Shakti)
• Above 52% of the rural households are now connected with tap water (in 2019 it was only 17%)
• The people from all the villages have declared their village as Har Ghar Jal through a resolution passed by
Gram Sabha, certifying that all households in the villages have access to safe drinking water through taps.
• Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) or paani Samiti has been constituted in all the 378 villages
of Goa and 96 villages of D&NH and D&D.
• It is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and repair of water supply infrastructure developed under
‘Har Ghar Jal’ programme.
Future of education
About JJM
• Jal Jeevan Mission, a central government initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, aims to ensure access of
piped water for every household in India.
• Jal Jeevan Mission, is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household
tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.
• The programme will also implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as
recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, rain water harvesting.
'Vedh Project’
In News
As part of a pilot project, the Ashramshalas, residential schools covered under the Tribal Development Project Office,
in Nandurbar taluka in Maharashtra, have been experimenting with a unique way to learn.
Vedh Project
• As part of a pilot project, Ashramshalas, residential schools under the Tribal Development Project Office, are
experimenting with a unique way of learning in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar taluka.
• Here, teachers are facilitators who, rather than a fixed pattern of facing the class and conducting lessons, set
challenges for students and, in the form of group activities, develop their own innovative ways of learning
their curriculum.
• The pilot, called the ‘Vedh Project’, is based on the new concept of heutagogy, a student-centred
instructional strategy.
• Launched last year for Class 5 students in all 60 residential schools in the tribal district, educators say the
project has helped bridge the gap in learning outcomes after the pandemic kept children out of school for
two years.
• The Tribal Development Project Office in Nandurbar has now decided to expand the project to cover classes
2 to 7.
Need of the project

• Along with the pandemic, general procrastination had contributed to poor Foundational Literacy and
Numeracy (FLN) among students.
• 5th graders did not know how to solve division sums, or read complete sentences, which are part of the
expected learning outcomes at that level.
Govt might dangle $500mn sops to develop ‘niche’ batteries
In News
The government plans to offer production-linked sops worth around $500 million to develop ‘niche’ batteries to
achieve climate goals and cut reliance on fossil fuel imports.
PLI Scheme
• A new PLI is coming on niche advanced chemistry cell, unlike other PLI schemes where the focus is on
manufacturing, this scheme is likely to provide sops for research and development of newer chemistries,
along with production.
• The search for new technologies and battery chemistry comes against the backdrop of an acute shortage of
lithium in India.
• Under the PLI scheme for advanced chemistry cell battery storage, the cash subsidy has been capped at 20%
of the effective price (net of GST) or the effective sales turnover.
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• Lithium iron phosphate, nickel manganese cobalt, and lithium titanium oxide batteries, which come under
the category of lithium-ion batteries, are among the most commercially viable batteries.
Historical Background
• Production Linked Incentive or PLI scheme is a scheme that aims to give companies incentives on
incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units.
• The scheme invites foreign companies to set up units in India, however, it also aims to encourage local
companies to set up or expand existing manufacturing units and also to generate more employment and cut
down the country’s reliance on imports from other countries.
• It was launched in April 2020, for the Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing sector, but later towards the end
of 2020 was introduced for 10 other sectors.
• This scheme was introduced in line with India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign.
Poshan Maah
In News
Ministry of Women and Child Development is celebrating 5th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2022 from 1st to 30th
September 2022.
Poshan Maah
 This year, with the main focus on “Mahila aur Swasthya” and “Bacha aur Shiksha”, Poshan Maah is to be
started as Poshan Panchayat.
 Pregnant and lactating women, children below six years of age and adolescent girls will be given special
attention in this month-long Poshan Maah. Along with this, they will be made aware about the importance
of nutrition through sensitization campaigns, outreach programs, and camps.
 Awareness activities will be conducted at the Panchayat level by the concerned District Panchayati Raj
Officers, CDPOs, local officials.
 This time a national level toy manufacturing workshop will also be organized to promote the use of
indigenous and local toys for teaching children in Anganwadi centers.
 Under this program, the importance of rainwater harvesting will be emphasized among women at
Anganwadi centers as well as information related to traditional food items for healthy mother and child in
tribal areas will be provided.
Poshan Abhiyan
 POSHAN Abhiyaan is the flagship programme of government of India to improve nutritional outcomes for
pregnant women, lactating mother, children and adolescent Girls.
 This mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of International Women’s Day
on March 8, 2018.
 POSHAN stands for “Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition” Abhiyaan.
 This mission was announced in Budget 2021-2022.
 POSHAN Abhiyaan divert the attention of country towards the problem of malnutrition and address it in a
mission-mode.
Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative
In News
 Cyber Surakshit Bharat is first public-private partnership of its kind.
Future of education
 It will leverage the expertise of the IT industry in cybersecurity.
Features of the Initiative

 Objective- Spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief
Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
 It was launched in association with National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and industry partners.
 It will leverage the expertise of the IT industry in cybersecurity. The founding partners include leading IT
companies such as Microsoft, Intel, WIPRO, Redhat and Dimension Data.
 Its knowledge partners include Cert-In, NIC, NASSCOM and FIDO Alliance and premier consultancy firms
Deloitte and EY.
Operations-
 It will be operated on three principles of awareness, education and enablement.
 It will include an awareness program on importance of cybersecurity.
 It will also include a series of workshops on the best practices and enablement of the officials with
cybersecurity health tool kits to manage and mitigate cyber threats.
Training programmes
 It will conduct series of training programmes across country in the next six months.
 It will be attended by CISOs and technical officials from central government, state governments and UTs,
PSBs, PSUs and defence forces, defence PSUs and technical arms of Air Force, Army and Navy.
PM-SHRI Yojana
In News
On the occasion of Teacher's Day, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has announced development and
upgradation of 14,500 schools cross India under the Pradhan Mantri Schools For Rising India (PM-SHRI) Yojana.
PM-SHRI(PM ScHools for Rising India)Yojana

 The PM-SHRI schools will have a modern, transformational and holistic method of imparting education.
 The PM-SHRI schools will further benefit lakhs of students across India in the spirit of NEP.
 The PM-SHRI schools will have a modern, transformational and holistic method of imparting education.
 Emphasis will be on a discovery oriented, learning centric way of teaching.
 Focus will also be on modern infra including latest technology, smart classrooms, sports and more.
Features
 Pedagogy adopted in these schools will be more experiential, holistic, integrated, play/toy-based
(particularly, in the foundational years) inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented, learner-centred, discussion-
based, flexible and enjoyable.
 Focus will be on achieving proficiency in learning outcomes of every child in every grade.
 Assessment at all levels will be based on conceptual understanding and application of knowledge to real life
situations and will be competency-based.
 These schools will be equipped with modern infrastructure including labs, smart classrooms, libraries, sports
equipment, art room etc. which is inclusive and accessible.
 These schools shall also be developed as green schools with water conservation, waste recycling, energy-
efficient infrastructure and integration of organic lifestyle in curriculum.
 They will provide leadership in their respective regions in providing high-quality education in an equitable,
inclusive and joyful school environment that takes care of the diverse background, multilingual needs, and
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different academic abilities of children and makes them active participants in their own learning process as
per the vision of NEP 2020.
US Startup SETU - Supporting Entrepreneurs in Transformation and Upskilling programme
In News
The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal launched the US Startup SETU - Supporting Entrepreneurs
in Transformation and Upskilling programme in the Bay Area of San Francisco.
About the Programme

The initiative would connect start-ups in India to US-based investors and start-up ecosystem leaders with
mentorship and assistance in various areas including funding, market access and commercialization.
SETU and MAARG

 SETU is designed to break the geographical barriers between mentors based in US that are willing to invest in
entrepreneurship and sunrise startups in India.
 The interaction will be supported through the mentorship portal under the Startup India initiative MAARG,
or the Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth program, which is a single-stop solution
finder for startups in India.
 The portal has been developed with the idea to be accessible from every corner of the country to connect
with a mentor.
 A mentor will offer human intelligence in guiding the startups. It may be noted that till date, more than 200
mentors have been successfully onboarded on MAARG across the globe.
 The core functions of MAARG are to improve ease of access, use Artificial Intelligence for Matchmaking,
schedule meetings virtually, host masterclasses, provide a custom dashboard for relevant information,
analytics, features, etc., host cohort-based programs that will allow startup ecosystem enablers to be
become a part of the program and enable outcome driven activities.
Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology (WEST)
In News
A new I-STEM (Indian Science Technology and Engineering facilities Map) initiative called “Women in Engineering,
Science, and Technology (WEST)” was launched by Dr. Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of the Principal
Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India.
About WEST Initiative

 The WEST programme will cater to women with a STEM background and empower them to contribute to the
science, technology, and innovation ecosystem.
 WEST is a new I-STEM (mapping of Indian Science Technology and Engineering) using a web portal for
research sharing and promoting collaborations in R&D.
 I-STEM comes to under PM-STIAC Mission (allows scientific cross-sectoral collaboration and development).
 Through the WEST initiative, I-STEM shall provide a separate platform to scientifically inclined women
researchers, scientists, and technologists for pursuing research in basic or applied sciences in frontier areas
of science and engineering.
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I-STEM
 I-STEM is a national web portal for sharing research equipment/facilities and is the umbrella under which
many programmes for promoting collaborations in R&D and technological innovation among and between
academia and industry, especially startups, are underway.
 I-STEM shall provide a platform/forum for women researchers to deliberate on achievements, issues, and
exchange ideas on taking the country forward through advances in science, technology, and innovation.
 In addition, a digital consortium “Connect Quickly” for online discussion and immediate support has also
been established through the I-STEM WhatsApp and Telegram platforms.
Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)
In News
Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) accomplishes its successful second anniversary.
PMMSY
 PMMSY is a flagship scheme for focused and sustainable development of the fisheries sector in the country
as a part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
 It aims to- Adopt ‘Cluster or Area-based Approaches’ and create fisheries clusters through backward and
forward linkages.
 Focus especially on employment generation activities such as seaweed and ornamental fish cultivation.
 Address critical gaps in fish production and productivity, quality, technology, post-harvest infrastructure and
management, modernisation and strengthening of the value chain, traceability, establishing a robust
fisheries management framework and fishers’ welfare.
 Consolidate the achievements of the blue revolution and bring new interventions such as fishing vessel
insurance, support for new/up-gradation of fishing vessels/boats, integrated aqua parks, e-
trading/marketing, etc.
 In this scheme, Aquaculture promotion will be undertaken especially in the saline and alkaline areas of
Northern India.
Targets
 Enhance fish production by an additional 70 lakh tonne and increase fisheries export earnings to Rs.1,00,000
crore by 2024-25.
 Double the incomes of fishers and fish farmers.
 Reduce post-harvest losses from 20-25% to about 10%.
 Generate an additional 55 lakhs direct and indirect gainful employment opportunities in the fisheries sector
and allied activities.
Rajasthan launches 100-day job scheme for urban areas
In News
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot launched the ‘Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Scheme’ to provide 100 days
of employment in a year to families residing in urban areas.
About the scheme

 The Scheme is open for people in the 18-60 age group. While unskilled labour will be provided a wage ₹259
per day, skilled workers will be given ₹283 each day and mates will be given ₹271 per day.
Future of education
 Objective: Providing economic support to the poor and needy families living in the cities through work to be
provided on demand for 100 days a year.
 Eligibility: Age group of 18 to 60 years residing within the limits of urban local bodies are eligible.
 Income limit: There is no income limit, though the poor and destitute people will be given preference.
 Categories of tasks- Environment protection
 Water conservation
 Heritage conservation
 Removal of encroachments and illegal boards etc
Ramakrishna Mission’s ‘Awakening’ Programme
In News
Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan launched
Ramakrishna Mission’s ‘Awakening’ Programme for students of classes I to V.
About the programme

 Ramakrishna Mission has a legacy of imparting applied education. At a time when we are implementing NEP
2020, it must also lay emphasis on creating such value-based educational programmes for 9th to 12th in
addition to creating programmes for classes I to VIII.
 He said that this unique initiative is a step towards ensuring holistic personality development of a child
aligned with the philosophy of NEP 2020.
 NEP 2020 with focus on a teacher-led holistic education system for students is a step in that direction.
Tamil Nadu launches breakfast scheme for students at government schools
In News
Tamil Nadu’s midday meals scheme, conceptualised by the Justice Party in 1920 under the British regime and
enhanced by successive state governments post-Independence, took on a new dimension recently with the launch of
a programme to provide free breakfasts for government school students from Class 1 to Class 5.
About the scheme

 Aim: Encourage children to continue to come to school and help prevent dropouts at the primary level.
 The government has targeted providing schoolchildren with an average of 293 calories and an average
protein input of 9.85 gm (nine point eight five) per day.
 Under the scheme, children in government schools from Class I to Class V will get nutritious breakfast
provided in their schools every morning.
Importance
 Multiple studies across the globe indicate that eating breakfast regularly confers positive outcomes on
students, affecting their ability to focus, learn and retain information positively.
 School performance improves, as do behaviour and cognition, but a regular breakfast also takes care of diet
quality, micronutrient sufficiency, anaemia and height and weight issues in children, and is even believed to
sculpt BMI scores for the future.
 The scheme will take care of hunger, the calorific, energy and micronutrient requirements of the children,
with a diet rich in local preparations and vegetables, it also has to provide adequate attention to taste and
quality parameters.
Future of education
Rs 75 cr released for HP SHIVA project
In News
Asian Development Bank has released an instalment of Rs 75 crore for Himachal Pradesh Sub-Tropical Horticulture,
Irrigation and Value Addition project (HP SHIVA).
About HP-SHIVA
 The project aims at giving a boost to the plantation of sub-tropical fruits like orange, litchi, pomegranate and
guava in lower regions and making the state the fruit bowl of the country.
 Rs 75 crore has been given as Project Readiness Financing. The amount will be used on the pilot project
going on in four districts, namely Bilaspur, Kangra, Mandi and Hamirpur.
 The main project will begin from 2023 and will continue until 2028-29.
 The Horticulture Department has formed 17 clusters covering an area of 170 hectare for ultra high density
plantation of selected fruits in these four districts.
 The other activities, to be undertaken with the Rs 75 crore loan, include providing irrigation schemes and
fencing the clusters to save them from animals.
 The main project, which will ensue after the completion of the pilot project, will cover seven districts and
many more hectares of land.
 Under this project, those areas have been given priority where horticulture is not practised or people have
given up farming because of wild animals.
PM-PRANAM scheme
In News
The Centre is introducing the PM-PRANAM scheme to encourage states to cut down on the use of fertilisers and
promote healthy alternatives.

 The Centre will introduce its Pradhan Mantri-Promotion of Alternate Nutrients for Agriculture
Management Yojana (PM-PRANAM) to encourage states to cut down on their use of fertilisers.
 The government under the proposed scheme will reduce the subsidy on chemical fertilisers which is
expected to increase to Rs 2.25 lakh crore in 2022-2023 – a 39 per cent hike compared to the previous year’s
Rs 1.62 lakh crore.
 The Centre will make the determination by comparing a state’s use of chemical fertilisers in a given year to
its average usage in the past three years.
 The scheme would be financed by the ‘savings of existing fertiliser subsidy’ and that 50 per cent savings
would be passed on to states that save money and that 70 per cent of the grant under the scheme would be
used to create assets related to using alternate fertilisers and their production at village, block and district
levels.
 The rest 30 per cent grant would be used to aid farmers, panchayats, farmer producer organisations and self-
help groups involved in reducing fertiliser use and generating awareness,.
 Under the scheme, the states with lesser utilisation of chemical fertilisers in a particular year as compared to
the average quantity in the last three years would be incentivised.
Why this scheme?

 Because of the 21 per cent increase in the need for four fertilisers.
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 The use of Urea, Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP), Muriate of potash (MOP), and Nitrogen, Phosphorus and
Potassium) NPK), has increased from 528.86 lakh metric tonnes in 2017-18 to 640.27 lakh metric tonnes
(LMT) in 2021-22.
 The Centre is thus intending to introduce this scheme to promote the balanced use of fertilisers or
alternative fertilisers.
Gujarat -SRESTHA-G project
In News
The World Bank has approved 350 million dollars aid for the Systems Reform Endeavors for Transformed Health
Achievement in Gujarat -SRESTHA-G project.
About Srestha- G Project

 This project will be costing USD 500 million and the World Bank is providing USD 350 million to support this
project and the rest will be borne by the state government.
 The funding be provided by International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), with a maturity
of 18 years, including a grace period of 5.5 years.
 This project aims on transforming key health delivery systems in Gujarat. This programme will also be
focusing on the key areas of improving equity, quality, and inclusiveness of primary healthcare services for all
adolescent girls in the state.
 It will also focus on the disease surveillance systems’ capacity. The project will also be aiming to increase the
state’s quality of psychiatric and non-communicable disease services, and the quality of nutrition services for
children and mothers.
 Special focus will also be given towards boosting health and nutritional status of adolescent girls and boys,
especially in 14 districts where more than 70 per cent of adolescent girls suffer from anemia.
Bharat Vidya
In News
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will launch Bharat Vidya, an online learning platform for Oriental and
South Asian studies.
Bharat Vidya
 The Bharat Vidya is designed and developed by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI).
 Bharat Vidya is a first-of-its-kind online platform, which will offer both free and paid courses covering various
aspects of Indology about art, architecture, philosophy, language, and science.
 The Bharat Vidya will have six courses at the beginning including Veda Vidya, Bharatiya Darshanshastra,
Sanskrit learning, 18 Parvas of Mahabharata, Fundamentals of Archaeology, and Kalidasa and Bhasha.
 BORI will collaborate with Indian and Foreign universities for awarding credits for its courses.
Operation Megh-Chakra
In News
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched a major operation code named “Operation Megh-Chakra” against
circulation and sharing of child sexual abuse material online, conducting raids at around 56 locations in 20 states and
union territories.
Future of education
Operation Megh Chakra

 This operation was launched after the CBI received intelligence from Interpol’s Singapore special unit based
on the information received from authorities in New Zealand.
 The CBI has filed two cases accusing that large number of Indian nationals of being involved in online
circulation, downloading and transmission of CSAM using cloud-based storage.
 The searches were conducted in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and others.
 The raids witnessed the seizure of electronic devices, like mobile phones and laptops, that belonged to
suspects.
 Through these raids, a large quantity of child pornography material was found.
 Cases were filed against the suspects under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the
Information Technology Act, for allegedly being part of the syndicate involved in uploading, circulation,
selling and viewing of CSAM through various social media platforms and online groups.
 Apart from Indian nationals, suspects also included individuals from countries like Pakistan, Canada, US, UK,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia etc.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
In News
PM-GKAY scheme has been extended for 3 more months until the end of December 2022. This scheme was
scheduled to end on September 30.
Details
 Phase VII entails an estimated subsidy of Rs 44,762 crore.
 The total outgo of food grains is estimated to be 122 MT.
 Around 80 crore people are expected to benefit from this.
 The PMGKAY scheme will cost the government an additional Rs 80,000 crore till the end of the month,
putting the government’s estimated expenditure at Rs 2.5 lakh crore for this financial year.
 The government has spent around Rs 3.45 Lakh crore in the sixth phase of the PM-GKAY.
 The total expenditure of this scheme is expected to reach Rs 3.91 lakh crore.
 It has been implemented over 25 months since 2020.
About PMGKAY
 In March 2020, during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the central government had announced
the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) welfare scheme.
 Initially, the scheme was planned for a period of 3 months but since then, it has been extended several
times.
 This scheme looked to provide every individual covered under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA)
with an additional 5 kg of grains (rice or wheat) free of cost, along with the 5 kg of subsidized food grain that
is already being provided through the country’s Public Distribution System (PDS).
PM’s Scheme for Mentoring Young Authors – YUVA 2.0
In News
The Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education, launched YUVA 2.0 - Prime Minister’s Scheme for
Mentoring Young Authors.
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YUVA 2.0
 An Author Mentorship programme to train young and budding authors (below 30 years of age) in order to
promote reading, writing and book culture in the country, and project India and Indian writings globally.
 The launch of YUVA 2.0 (Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors) is in tune with the Prime Minister’s vision
to encourage the youth to understand and appreciate India's democracy.
 YUVA 2.0 is a part of India@75 Project (Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav) to bring to the fore the perspectives of
the young generation of writers on the THEME : ‘Democracy (institutions, events, people, constitutional
values – past, present, future)’ in an innovative and creative manner.
 This scheme will thus help to develop a stream of writers who can write on a spectrum of subjects to
promote Indian heritage, culture and knowledge system.
 The National Book Trust, India, under the Ministry of Education as the Implementing Agency will
ensure phase-wise execution of the Scheme under well-defined stages of mentorship.
 The books prepared under this scheme will be published by National Book Trust, India, and will also be
translated into other Indian languages ensuring the exchange of culture and literature, thereby
promoting 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'.
Significance
 The scheme will help to develop a stream of writers who can write on various facets of Democracy in India
encompassing the past, present and future.
 Besides, it will also provide a window to the aspiring youth to articulate themselves and present a
comprehensive outlook of Indian Democratic values at domestic as well as international platforms.
 This scheme has been conceptualized on the premise that the 21st century India needs to groom a
generation of young authors to create ambassadors of Indian literature.
SAMSAR (SAMAJIK SAROKAR)
In News
RPF undertook many focused operations namely Operation “SEWA”, Operation “Dignity”, Operation “Nanhe
Fariste”, Mission “Jeewan Raksha” and Operation “Matrishakti” during the month of September 2022.
Operation Sewa
 With a view to provide safe and comfortable journey, RPF personnel assist the elderly citizens, women,
physically disabled and provide amenities like wheelchairs, stretchers, medical help, ambulances, Infant food
etc. under operation “SEWA”.
 During the month of September 2022, approximately 9000 such passengers in need of help were assisted
during their train journey.
Operation Dignity
 RPF has played an important role in rescuing persons lost or having run away from their homes or
disoriented due to certain reason or distressed and in need of care and protection.
 They are vulnerable for getting exploited or trafficked and are under the risk of serious bodily harm, if not
secured in time.
 The force personnel worked selflessly to provide timely intervention under code name “Operation
Dignity” and secured 427 adults (223 Men + 204 Women) during the month of September 2022.
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Operation Nanhe Fariste

 RPF personnel under the code name “Operation Nanhe Fariste” undertake the noble cause of identifying
and rescuing children lost/runaway/separated from their family due to various reasons and in need of care &
protection.
 During the month of September 2022, 1119 children were rescued.
Jeevan Raksha
 RPF personnel go beyond the call of duty risking their own lives to save other lives.
 There are incidents wherein passengers trying to board/de-board a moving train, slip and fall with the risk of
coming under the wheels of running train.
 In other instances, the individuals with suicidal tendency come in front of running train with intention to end
their lives.
 RPF personnel lookout for such cases and intervene in the nick of time to save precious lives.
 Under mission “Jeevan Raksha” RPF personnel saved 115 (72 Male + 43 Female) during September 2022,
running the grave risk to their own lives.
Matrishakti
 RPF personnel, especially lady RPF personnel, go out of the way to help pregnant women passengers,
experiencing labor pain during their train journey under “Operation Matrishakti”.
 During the month of Sep-2022, they provided assistance to 32 such women passengers and were
instrumental in bringing their infants to this beautiful world.
India’s first Green Technology incubation facility opened at NIT Srinagar
In News
At the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar, a technology company incubator centred on green technology
(Green Technology incubation facility) called the “Greenovator Incubation Foundation” will soon open.
Green Incubation Centre

 All of the money required to establish the Green Technology incubation facility centre will be provided by
the Department of Science and Technology. Startups will have access to the co-working space, which
includes conference spaces, a prototype lab, and other amenities.
 In addition to office space, financial support in the form of seed money would be provided on an individual
basis with equity in accordance with DST criteria.
 Saad Parvez, the center’s CEO, described the forthcoming centre as the first of its type in the area and
claimed that it would foster ideas that would lead to entrepreneurship and self-employment.
 Saad Parvez continued by saying that this will be India’s first green technology incubation centre. Aside from
the softer aspects of GreenTech that fit with the theme of the valley, the proposed incubator would address
some of the issues that have the potential to alter the socioeconomic standing of the valley and produce
innovations that could be applied to other markets, increasing the likelihood of interstate trade and
commerce.
SALT Project
In News
World Bank has provided the loan to Support Andhra’s Learning Transformation (SALT) project.
Future of education
About project
 The project aims to transform the state’s school education system by focusing on improving foundational
learning, professional development of teachers, early childhood education etc.
 The SALT Project is the first project in the school education sector to be funded by the World Bank without
any precondition.
 Approximately ₹53,000 crores has been spent on school education in the last three years.
 In the academic year 2022-2023, more than 40,31,239 children were studying in government schools.
 The lack of facilities or the adoption of English medium in government schools is not at all the reason for the
number of children decreasing according to Mr. Rajasekhar.
Rythu Bharosa Kendras
In News
An Ethiopian delegation led by the Agricultural Minister Dr Meles Mekonen Yimer visited Rythu Bharosa Kendras
(RBKs) to understand their gain their operational know-how.
About RBKs
 Rythu Bharosa Kendras are first-of-its-kind seeds-to-sales, single-window service centres set up by the state
government of Andhra Pradesh.
 These multi-functional kiosks with digital Aadhar authentication equipment act as a one-stop solution for all
requirements and grievances of farmers in the state.
 These centres sell pre-tested quality seeds, certified fertilizers and livestock feed.
 They also provide farm equipment and enable farmers to sell their produce at the prevailing minimum
support price (MSP) via supporting systems of e-cropping, geo-tagging and CM App.
 They provide services like soil testing and consultancy regarding what crops to sow and quality and type of
fertilizer to be used.
 This has helped farmers change their cropping patterns and increase profits. RBKs are responsible for the
elimination of unproductive seeds and uncertified and dangerous fertilizers from the market. This has
minimized crop damage and failures significantly.
 Manned by agriculture and horticulture officials, Rythu Bharosa Kendras are used to promote interactions
between farmers, agriculture extension officers and agriculture scientists at the grassroot levels.
 The RBKs were recently nominated for UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Champion Awards (CCA),
which recognizes contributions of governments in boosting food security.
One Health Joint Action Plan
In News
The ‘Quadripartite’ — comprising the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organziation (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal
Health — unveiled the five-year One Health Joint Action Plan.
One Health
 One Health is an approach calling for “the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally,
nationally, and globally, to attain optimal health for people, animals and our environment”, as defined by the
One Health Initiative Task Force.
 The Joint Plan of Action will create a framework and integrate systems and capacity to collectively better
prevent, predict, detect and respond to health threats.
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Plan of Action
 Enhance capacities to strengthen the health system
 Reduce risk from zoonotic epidemics and pandemics
 Control and eliminate zoonotic, neglected tropical and vector-borne diseases
 Assess, manage and communicate effectively food safety risks
 Curb Antimicrobial Resistance (termed as ‘silent pandemic’)
 Environment and health Policies must be integrated into One Health
Measures
 Mainstream health into climate change and biodiversity agendas and fund health programs within the
UNFCCC.
 Integrate health impact assessment in all development project appraisals
 Assess and quantify the health co-benefits of proposed environmental investments (e.g. REDD+)
 Increase application of existing climate and health forecasting tools and early warning systems for human
and animal health (such as those promoted by the WMO-WHO joint office).
West Bengal’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme bags the SKOCH Award
In News
The West Bengal government’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme has bagged the SKOCH award in the women and child
development category.
About Scheme
 he West Bengal government had launched the scheme in August 2021 to provide financial support to a
woman head of a family in the age group of 25-60 years.
 Under the scheme, Rs 500 is given every month to women in the general caste category and around Rs 1,000
per month to women in the SC and ST categories. The state government spends around Rs 11,000 crore
every year to fund the scheme, sources in the government said.
 Among the districts of Bengal who are under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, North 24 Parganas has the
highest number of beneficiaries, followed by South 24 Parganas, North Dinajpur and Hooghly.
 Every month the state government pays around 1090 crores for this welfare scheme. The state government
is giving a window between November 1-30th for those who have still not applied for the Lakshmir Bhandar
scheme. They can do so through the Duare Sarkar camps to start from November 1.
SKOCH Award
Instituted in 2003, the SKOCH Award is given for good governance, inclusive growth, excellence in technology and
applications, change management, corporate leadership, corporate governance, citizen services delivery, capacity
building and empowerment among others.
HARIT Aaykar
In News
 The Income Tax Department has launched the HARIT Aaykar (Hariyali Achievement Resolution by Income
Tax) initiative.
 Under this initiative, the Department resolves to increase the green cover by planting trees and creating
micro-forests in and around Income Tax Department's buildings and other public areas.
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 Launched by: Central Board of Direct taxes
 Objectives: to increase the green cover by planting trees and creating micro-forests in and around Income
Tax Department’s buildings and other public areas.
 Further, the Department would continue to welcome dignitaries at events and programmes organized by it,
with potted plants or a single stalk of a flower.
 The first of such micro-forests has been inaugurated near the Attari border in Punjab.
Micro -Forests
 It is a small, planted forest that maximises tree density and biodiversity.
 Achieving this goal requires planting a wide variety of plants in a fairly dense manner so that the plot of land
has different layers of a forest such as shrubs and canopies and not just trees.
 Plants typically require anywhere between eight to nine months of care before reaching a point where the
micro forest becomes self-sustaining.
Digital resurvey of land
In News
On the occasion of the 66th foundation day of Kerala, the state government kicked off a digital resurvey to ensure
speedy delivery of land-related services to people.
Digital resurvey
 The proceedings of the resurvey of land was launched by the Kerala Government in 1966. However, it was
never completed because of the lack of modern technology and limitations of traditional systems.
 Therefore, the state government of Kerala launched the digital land resurvey project Ente Bhoomi (my land)
to identify and provide plots to over three lakh landless families.
 It was launched as part of the state government’s policy of “land for all, records for all land and all services
smart”.
 The resurvey will be completed in four years. Of the 1,666 villages in Kerala, 1,550 will undergo digital
resurvey.
 The estimated cost of this project is Rs 858.42 crore. Of this, Rs 438.44 crore is allocated from Rebuild Kerala
Initiative.
 The nodal agency for the resurvey project’s implementation is Department of Survey and Land Records.
 It will deploy 4,700 personnel to conduct the digital resurvey.
 Modern equipment like Real Time Kinematic (RTK) Rover and Robotic Total Station for this survey.
Ente Bhoomi Project

 The resurvey will help strengthen land records and make the collection of data for agricultural statistics more
effective.
 Revenue and registration departments will be able to provide land-related services in a timely manner via a
single-window online system.
 It will help the government maintain up-to-date land records so that resurvey is not required anymore.
 A comprehensive Geographical Information System (GIS) database can be set up to be used by the
government departments.
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“Niveshak Didi”
In News
"Niveshak Didi" programme launched in order to promote financial literacy "By the women, for the women,"
launched by India Post Payments Bank.
About Programme
 The Niveshak Didi programme launched under the direction of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the
IPPB in conjunction with the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) launched it.
 The discussion addressed a wide range of subjects, including banking and financial products, the value of
utilising the mainstream financial services provided by regulated businesses, protection against various
forms of investment hazards, and methods of preventing fraud.
 ‘Niveshak Didi’ initiative is based on the ideology of women for women as rural area women feel more
comfortable to share their queries with a female itself.
IPPB
 It was founded under the Department of Posts of the Ministry of Communication, and the Government of
India owns all of the equity.
 The bank was founded with the goal of creating India’s most approachable, inexpensive, and reliable bank
for the average person.
Scheme for Financial Support for Project Development Expenses
In News
The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India, notifies Scheme for Financial
Support for Project Development Expenses of PPP Projects – India Infrastructure Project Development Fund Scheme
(IIPDF Scheme).
About IIPDF Scheme

 The India Infrastructure Project Development Fund Scheme (IIPDF) was launched by the Department of
Economic Affairs (DEA).
 This central sector scheme extends financial aid required for the development expenses of Public Private
Partnership (PPP) projects.
 It provides funding for project sponsoring authorities (both in the central and state governments) to access
services provided by Transaction Advisors (TAs) and consultants involved in the development of the PPP
projects.
 This will help effectively implement bankable viable PPP projects that seek to modernize infrastructure in
India.
 The total corpus of the India Infrastructure Project Development Fund is 150 crore for three years.
 The new scheme is an addition to the currently operational Scheme for Financial Support to PPPs in
Infrastructure (VGF Scheme), which was notified in December 2020.
About VGF Scheme

 The Scheme for Financial Support to Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Infrastructure Viability Gap Funding
(VGF) was launched by the Department of Economic Affairs in 2006 to provide funding for PPP infrastructure
projects that are economically justified but not commercially viable because of large capital requirements.
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 The Viable Gap Funding (VGF) of 40 per cent of the Total Project Cost (TPC) is provided by the Indian
Government and the sponsoring authority in the form of capital grant at the construction stage of the
project.
Bio Energy Programme
In News
The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy recently said it will continue National Bio Energy Programme till 2025-26
with a budget outlay of Rs 858 crore for the first phase.
National Bio Energy Programme

 The National Bioenergy Programme aims to promote bioenergy usage and create an investor-friendly
ecosystem based on the circular economy. Bioenergy is derived from once-living organic materials called
biomass that are used for producing transportation fuels, heat, electricity and other such products.
 The National Bioenergy Programme will be implemented in 2 phases.
 The first phase of the programme was approved by the Indian Government with a total budget of Rs.858
crore.
 The programme will have three sub-schemes. They are:
o Waste to Energy Programme
o Biomass Programme
o Biogas Programme
 Waste to Energy Programme (Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial and Agricultural Wastes
/Residues) aims to use wastes produced by industrial, domestic and agricultural sectors to generate energy.
To achieve this goal, the sub-scheme will help set up large biogas, bio-CNG and power plants. This does not
include municipal solid waste to power projects.
 Biomass Programme (Scheme to Support Manufacturing of Briquettes & Pellets and Promotion of Biomass
(non-bagasse) based cogeneration in Industries) will help set up pellets and briquettes that are used for
generating power and also non-bagasse-based power generation projects.
 Biogas Programme will support family members to set up small and medium size biogas plants in rural
regions.
Bio Energy in India

 India is capable of generating over 750 million metric tonnes of biomass each year, creating a huge potential
for the generation of bioenergy.
 The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has been promoting bioenergy in India since the 1980s to make
use of the surplus biomass, cattle dung, industrial and urban biowaste that are generated within the country.
Google launches ‘FloodHub’, a platform to forecast flood
In News
Google, an American technology giant, has launched a platform that displays flood forecasts, namely ‘FloodHub’.
About FoodHub
 Google launched its flood forecasting services to safeguard people against disasters and natural calamities in
2018. Google states that the company has used an AI technique called transfer learning to make it work in
areas where there is less data available.
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 Google states that the company has used an AI technique called transfer learning to make it work in areas
where there is less data available.
 The search engine has also integrated its Lens image recognition feature into many of its other features. It
includes Google Chrome and Photos.
Jaga Mission
In News
The Odisha Government and TATA Steel Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to implement
the Jaga Mission across 5 municipal corporations in the state.
About Mission
 The state government of Odisha launched the Jaga Mission in 2017.
 Also known as the Odisha Liveable Habitat Mission, it is the world’s largest slum titling and upgradation
initiative.
 It is implemented based on the “The Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Act, 2017”.
 It is a unique land titling project under which land rights will be provided to eligible slum residents.
 It also includes upgradation of physical infrastructure in slums like roads, drains, streetlights, sanitation and
clean water supply It aims to transform slum areas into liveable habitats called “Adarsh Colonies”.
 The MoU signed by the Odisha government and Tata Steel Foundation enables the implementation of Jaga
mission across 5 municipal corporations – Sambalpur, Rourkela, Berhampur, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
 As part of this agreement, Tata Steel Foundation will be collaborating with the state government’s Housing
and Urban Development Department to transform slums into liveable habitats by providing civic
infrastructure and services that are on par with the developed areas of the municipal corporations.
Features
 Upgradation of slums by addressing primary inequalities prevailing in the urban region to integrate informal
settlements to the mainstream city.
 Create fourth tier of governance by strengthening Slum Development Associations (SDAs) and empowering
them to make decisions and implementing infrastructure upgradation.
 Creating situations to curb and reduce the growth of slums in urban areas in the future by increasing access
to land, basic services, housing and other amenities required for urban life.
Middle East Green Initiative
In News
Saudi Arabia recently committed 2.5 billion USD to the Middle East Green Initiative.
About MGI
 The Middle East Green Initiative is a first-of-its-kind regional alliance that was launched by the Saudi Arabia’s
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2021 to curb greenhouse gas emissions from the Middle East. It has
a clearly defined strategy for regional climate action, ensuring a coordinated and localized response to
climate change that is affecting the region.
 It aims to reduce carbon emissions in the region by more than 60 per cent – more than 670 million tons of
carbon equivalent. This plan includes increasing green cover by planting over 50 billion trees across the
Middle East and restoring 200 million hectares of degraded land. It also seeks to increase the green land and
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marine reserves to 30 per cent of the total national area. The initiative will reduce the global carbon levels by
2.5 per cent.
About MGI Summit

The MGI Summit is a regional dialogue on climate that brings together countries from Middle East and North Africa.
The inaugural edition of the summit was hosted by Saudi Arabia in 2021.
SVAMITVA Scheme
In News
Recently, the Report of the Expert Committee on SVAMITVA Scheme was released during the National Conference
on SVAMITVA Scheme and Rural Planning in Madhya Pradesh.
Recommendations of report
 The Expert Committee was formed in 2022 consisting of domain experts from Land Governance, Banking,
Survey of India, National Informatics Centre (NIC) -Geographic information system (GIS), State Revenue and
Panchayati Raj Departments, Industry and premier Planning and Architecture Institutes.
 To create systems that promote transparency in the implementation of the scheme.
 Promote the adoption of record of rights for availing bank loan.
 Develop linkages between different departments for informed decision-making related to property tax
assessment and collection.
 Wider adoption of SVAMITVA data-sets by government and private agencies as per new geospatial
guidelines.
 Adoption of RADPFI (Rural Area Development Plan Formulation and Implementation) Guidelines and
SVAMTIVA data for accurate village level-planning
 Increasing capacity at State, District and Block level for GIS skill sets, among others.
SVAMITVA Scheme
 SVAMITVA stands for Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas.
 It is a center sector scheme which was launched nationally on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day on
24th April 2021.
 Nodal Ministry- Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR)
 Survey of India is a Technology Implementation Agency.
 Aim- To provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India.
 To provide the ‘record of rights’ to village household owners in rural areas and issue Property Cards.
 The demarcation of rural areas would be done using Drone Surveying Technology.
Google’s 1,000 language AI model
In News
The tech giant Google is currently developing an AI model that supports 1,000 most spoken languages of the world.
About Google’s 1,000 Language AI Model

 Google’s 1,000 language AI Model was announced at the AI event that was organized in November 2022.
 To investigate the potential of this massive project, Google is currently working on an AI language model that
can support some 400 languages.
 This model is said to be the “largest language coverage” among existing speech models.
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 AI language models aims to minimise the dependence on human labour for fields such as translation,
customer service or computation.
 They automate manual processes and generate new insights based on the existing data.
 The deep learning processes of these AI models are used for instantly decoding foreign languages by making
use of massive volumes of user data and content on their servers.
Other AI Models
 OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research firm, developed GPT-3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3) set
of models named Davinci, Curie, Babbage, and Ada to generate natural text responses and perform tasks
such as classification, simple summaries, address correction, answering questions etc.
 Meta is developing an AI-based language translation. The company claims that its open-source M2M-100
model is said to be the first multilingual translation model that does not rely on English as the default
language when it translates directly between 100 languages.
 The Facebook-parent company is also focusing on AI-based translation for not just text but also oral
languages like Hokkien. Google is also currently collecting data for languages that are widely spoken but do
not have online presence.
NCW launches Digital Shakti 4.0
In News
The National Commission for Women (NCW) launched the fourth phase of Digital Shakti Campaign, a pan-India
project on digitally empowering and skilling women and girls in the cyberspace recently.
Digital Shakti Campaign

 The Digital Shakti Campaign is a national-level campaign that was launched in 2018 to digitally empower and
skill women and girls to ensure their safety in cyberspace.
 Through this initiative, over 3 lakh women across India have been made aware of cyber safety measures,
reporting and redressal mechanisms, data privacy and technology usage.
 The third phase of this initiative was launched in March last year. It was launched in Leh by the National
Commission for Women (NCW).
 In this phase, a Resource Center was developed to provide information about available avenues for reporting
in case a woman becomes a victim of a cyber crime.
 The Digital Shakti 4.0 aims to make women digitally skilled and aware to stand up against illegal or
inappropriate activities occuring in the cyberspace.
 It was launched by the NCW in collaboration with the CyberPeace Foundation and Meta.
Reason for launching

 Over the past decade, there has been a surge in the number of cybercrimes in India.
 A majority of these crimes targeted women. Some of the reasons behind this are prevalence of huge gender
inequality and the lack of digital literacy.
 Also, most of the women who are victims of cybercrimes do not file complains due to the absence of support
from family or law enforcement and the lack of awareness.
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PM Launches Karmayogi Prarambh Module
In News
Prime Minister Narender Modi launched the Karmayogi Prarambh Module for all who are appointed under Rojgar
Mela.
About Module
 The Karmayogi Prarambh module is an initiative under the Mission Karmayogi.
 It is an online orientation course for the new recruits of various government departments.
 It will help new government employees to understand the code of conduct required to adapt to the new
role.
 Ethics in the workplace, integrity, human resource policies and other benefits, allowances, etc., are some of
the topics focused on by the module.
 The objective of this online orientation programme is to keep the essence of civil service within the people of
the country.
Karamyogi Mission
 National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB) was launched on September 20, 2020, to
reform Indian bureaucracy at the individual, institutional and process levels for enhance public service
delivery.
 It aims to upgrade the post-recruitment training mechanism of government officers and employees at all
levels.
 This initiative is governed by Prime Minister’s Human Resource Council, which includes chief ministers, union
cabinet ministers and experts.
Har Ghar Gangajal scheme
In News
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today launched the Har Ghar Gangajal project in Rajgir.
About the scheme

 Under the Har Ghar Gangajal scheme, the surplus water from the Ganga river will be collected during the
monsoon season to be treated, stored and piped to Rajgir, Gaya, and Bodhgaya – the regions that have long
relied on tankers from nearby districts for drinking water source during the dry season.
 It will be launched as part of the state government’s Jal, Jeevan, Hariyali scheme.
 The first phase of the project will be implemented with an outlay of Rs.4,000 crore.
 Under this phase, large pumps will lift Ganga water from Hathidah, close to Mokama, to supply water for to
some 7.5 lakh homes in Rajgir, Bodhgaya, and Gaya.
 The collected water will initially be stored in reservoirs in Rajgir and Gaya, which will then be channeled to
three treatment-and-purification plants.
 The project will make use of existing, renovated and new water connections to reach every beneficiary
household.
 The second phase of the project, which is expected to be launched in 2023, will be provide the Ganga water
to Nawada.
 Under this scheme, every individual beneficiary will receive 135 litres (two large buckets) of Ganga water
every day to be used for drinking and domestic purposes.
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Significance
 Rajgir is a rocky and water-deficit region. Unplanned and indiscriminate use of groundwater has depleted the
subterranean reservoirs and lowered the water table and affected the quality of the water in Gaya and
Rajgir.
 A large portion of urban water supply continues to be delivered through tube wells.
 This has resulted in water tables depleting between 2 and 4 meters between 2014-15 and 2020-21.
 District administrations of these regions have been arranging water tankers to supply drinking water in the
town areas during summer seasons.
 The Har Ghar Gangajal project aims to address this challenge.
Benefits
 Heavy silting of the riverbed, especially in Mokama, Hathidah, Barh, and Lakhisarai, and the release of water
from dams upstream in Nepal has resulted in flooding even if the monsoon rainfall in Bihar is not
exceptionally heavy.
 Har Ghar Gangajal scheme, while providing water sources for dry regions, will help alleviate distress caused
by annual flooding of the Ganga River banks.
 The scheme would be implemented only during the four months of the monsoon seasons, when the Ganga
river has surplus water.
 This ensures that the diversion of water does not lead to depletion of the river, disturb its natural flow and
potential changes in its course.
“Nai Chetna-Pahal Badlav Ki”- A Community-led National Campaign Against Gender-Based

Discrimination
In News
Recently, the Ministry of Urban Development launches the “Nai Chetna-Pahal Badlav Ki”- A Community-led National
Campaign Against Gender-Based Discrimination.
About the campaign

 It is a four-week campaign, aiming at equipping women to recognise and prevent violence and making them
aware of their rights.
 Activities will be centred on the theme of ‘Gender equality and gender-based violence.’
 This will be an annual campaign focussing on specific gender issues each year. The focus area of the
campaign this year is gender-based violence.
 This campaign will be implemented by all states in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations (CSO)
partners, and actively executed by all levels including the states, districts and blocks, engaging the
community institutions along with the extended community.
Significance
The campaign will bring together all line departments and stakeholders to create a concerted effort in
acknowledging, identifying and addressing the issues of violence.
About NRLM
 It is known as “Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM)”.
 It is a centrally sponsored programme, launched by the Ministry of Rural Development in June 2011.
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 The government accepted the recommendation of the Prof. Radhakrishna Committee and restructured “The
Swarnjayanti Gram SwarozgarYojana (SGSY)” into “National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)” in FY 2010-
11.
 To reduce poverty by enabling the poor households to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage
employment opportunities, resulting in appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis,
through building strong grassroots institutions for the poor.
Causes of Gender based violence

 Discriminatory social, cultural or religious laws, norms and practices that marginalize women and girls and
fail to respect their rights.
 Gender stereotypes are often used to justify violence against women. Cultural norms often dictate that men
are aggressive, controlling, and dominant, while women are docile, subservient, and rely on men as
providers. These norms can foster a culture of outright abuse.
 Lack of access to justice institutions and mechanisms, resulting in a culture of impunity for violence and
abuse.
 Lack of adequate and affordable legal advice and representation.
 Lack of adequate victim/survivor and witness protection mechanisms.
 Threat or fear of stigma, isolation and social exclusion and exposure to further violence at the hands of the
perpetrator, the community or the authorities, including arrest, detention, ill-treatment and punishment.
Measures needed
 Gender Based Violence (GBV) can be eliminated through collective efforts of society, government and
individuals.
 Training healthcare providers to recognize and respond to gender-based violence is one of the most
important ways of identifying and assisting victims.
 The media is a key conduit for making GBV visible, advertising solutions, informing policy-makers and
educating the public about legal rights and how to recognize and address GBV.
 School systems are instrumental to stopping GBV before it starts. Regular curricula, sexuality education,
school counseling programs and school health services can all convey the message that violence is wrong
and can be prevented.
Nirogi Haryana scheme
In News
The Nirogi Haryana scheme was launched recently in Haryana recently.
About the scheme

 The Nirogi Haryana Project was launched to provide comprehensive free health check-ups and required
medical treatment to beneficiary families.
 The initial phase of this scheme was launched in District Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula. It will gradually be
enrolled in other dispensaries, health and wellness centres in the remote rural areas of the Panchkula
district.
 As many as 51 health facilities in Panchkula district have been allocated to enlisted beneficiaries.
 1,82,354 individuals from 42,000 families in Panchkula enlisted under the Antyodaya Yojana are eligible for
this scheme.
 The beneficiaries of this scheme are divided into six categories based on age – 0 to 6 months, 6 to 59
months, 6 to 18 years, 18 to 40 years, 40 to 60 years and above 80 years.
 Each of these categories are provided different coloured OPD card, with eight pages each.
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 The enlisted beneficiaries are provided an ‘amantran patra’ by the ANM or ASHA workers to visit their
healthcare facilities on the specified date.
 The health check-ups under this scheme includes a complete general physical examination, including
physical measurements, height, weight, pulse, BP, dental, and eye examination.
Significance
 The comprehensive health check-up provided by the Nirogi Haryana scheme will help in the early detection
of diseases like diabetes, cancer, blood pressure, malnutrition among children etc.
 It will help check the disease burden in the state.
 The entire data obtained while implementing this scheme will be stored online to assess the disease burden
and health management.
Horticulture Cluster Development Programme
In News
Recently, a meeting was held by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for the Horticulture Cluster
Development Programme (CDP).
About the programme

 It is a central sector programme aimed at growing and developing identified horticulture clusters to make
them globally competitive.
 Horticulture cluster is a regional/geographical concentration of targeted horticulture crops.
 It is implemented by the National Horticulture Board (NHB) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’
Welfare.
 The states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand etc. will
also be included in the list of 55 clusters, identified with their focus/main crops.
 Earlier, in pilot phase, it was implemented in 12 clusters covering 11 States/UTs.
Objectives
 The CDP aims to improve exports of targeted crops by about 20% and create cluster-specific brands to
enhance the competitiveness of cluster crops.
 To address all major issues related to the Indian horticulture sector including pre-production, production,
post-harvest management, logistics, marketing and branding.
 To leverage geographical specialisation and promote integrated and market-led development of horticulture
clusters.
 To converge with other initiatives of the Government such as the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.
 A lot of investment will also come in the horticulture sector through CDP.
Status of Horticulture in India

 India is the second-largest producer of horticulture crops globally.
 India is a leader in producing fruits like Mango, Banana, Pomegranate, Sapota, Acid Lime and Aonla.
 In 2021-22, Uttar Pradesh followed by Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal were the top states in horticulture
production.
 West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were the top States in vegetable production.
 Maharashtra followed by Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were the top states in fruit production.
 The area under horticulture crops increased to 27.74 million hectares in 2021-22, and produced around
341.63 million tonnes.
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DigiYatra facilities starts at the Delhi, Varanasi and Bangalore airport
In News
The Central government on December 1 launched its facial recognition system DigiYatra at Delhi, Bangalore and
Varanasi airports, which will allow domestic passengers to seamlessly travel without an identification card.
Digiyatra
 DigiYatra is based on facial recognition technology and will make the boarding process faster and seamless.
Passengers will have to register on the DigiYatra app through their respective Aadhaar cards to avail the
service.
 The initiative will automate the entry and verification of passengers at all airports checkpoints and will use
facial features to establish a traveller’s identity and link it to their respective boarding passes.
 This will result in shorter wait times in lines, quicker processing times, and simpler procedures for the
passengers.
Implementation
 The project is being implemented by the DigiYatra Foundation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
 DigiYatra Foundation is a joint-venture company whose shareholders are the Airports Authority of India and
Bengaluru Airport, Delhi Airport, Hyderabad Airport, Mumbai Airport and Cochin International Airport.
Significance
 Facial recognition technology is beneficial as it makes flying more convenient and reduces congestion at
airports.
 The facial recognition system at various airports across the globe, including Dubai, Singapore, Atlanta and
Narita (Japan), have helped bring in efficiency.
 Result in lower cost operations.
 Digitize current manual processes and to bring better efficiencies.
 Enhance security standards and improve current system performance.
Community Innovator Fellowship
In News
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog recently announced the launch of applications for Community Innovator
Fellowship (CIF), an initiative of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog in collaboration with UNDP India to facilitate
knowledge building and provide infrastructure support to aspiring community innovators essential for their
entrepreneurship journey.
About CIF
 Its aim is to facilitate knowledge building and provide infrastructure support to aspiring community
innovators and help them in their entrepreneurial journey.
 This is a one-year-long fellowship program that will provide assistance for innovators involved in solving
challenges faced by communities.
 Any community innovators between the age of 18 to 35 can apply for this program irrespective of their
socio-economic background. The community innovator must have a bachelor’s, diploma, or degree in any
field from a government-recognized institution.
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 This initiative seeks to provide conducive environment that promotes knowledge, mentorship, community
immersion and inclusion through infrastructure and funding support.
 Under this initiative, the fellows will work on their concept while staying at an Atal Community Innovation
Center (ACIC) and learning about the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, developing their entrepreneurial
abilities, and developing life skills.
 The community innovator fellows go through 5 phases under this initiative. The content and curriculum for
the five phases are curated on the Digital Learning Platform – an online learning platform having an array of
world-class courses focusing on different thematic areas.
About AIM
 The Atal Innovation Mission is the flagship program launched by the Indian government in 2016.
 The mission aims for holistic approach to creating a problem-solving environment in the schools there,
providing them with an ecosystem of startups and entrepreneurship in the universities' research institutions
and various MSME sectors
Dharavi redevelopment project
In News
The Bombay High Court recently asked the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Authority to place on record if the
Mahim Nature Park will be included in the slum redevelopment project
Dharavi Redevelopment Project

 Dharavi Redevelopment Project is the makeover of Mumbai’s slum cluster, Dharavi.
 The project was initially mooted in 2004, but never got off the ground due to various reasons.
 Recently, the Adani Group won the bid for this project.
 It entails resettling 68,000 people, including slum dwellers and those with commercial establishments.
 The rehabilitation construction cost is estimated at 23,000 crore.
 A special purpose vehicle (SPV) is to be formed, with Adani as the lead partner.
 Adani will hold 80% equity in the SPV while the state government will hold 20%.
 The SPV will construct free housing for eligible slum residents, with amenities and infrastructure such as
water and power supply, sewage disposal, piped gas, etc.
About Dharavi
 Dharavi is the biggest slum cluster of Asia that lies on prime property right in the middle of Mumbai.
 It is spread over 300 hectares, of which the state government has notified 240 hectares for the project.
 It was founded in 1882 at the time of British Raj.
 During the 18th century, unplanned localities started to grow when the process of urbanization of Mumbai
was going on.
 Apart from the currently estimated 56,000 families, it houses tens of thousands of small commercial
establishments, ranging from pottery to leather work.
TN CM Stalin launches scheme to uplift sanitation staff
In News
The Sanitation Workers’ Development Scheme was launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to ensure the
welfare of conservancy workers in the southern state.
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About the Scheme

 A mobile application was launched for the identification and census collection of sanitation workers.
 A survey will be conducted to identify sanitation workers and the collected data will be uploaded into the
application.
 The first phase of this scheme will be implemented in five urban local bodies in the state. It will later be
expanded to other local bodies.
 The scheme would benefit 18,859 permanent sanitation workers and 34,442 temporary contract employees
working in urban local bodies.
 It will also cover informal workers involved in conservancy operations in the private sector.
 The local bodies will be implementing this scheme with the assistance from Ahmedabad-based Urban
Management Centre.
Significance
The 2003 Supreme Court Judgement mandated the local authorities and other agencies to use modern technology
for cleaning and the government enacted Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation
Act, 2013 to ban manual scavenging.
Centre Stops Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students
In News
The Centre has decided to discontinue the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF), a scholarship for Minority
students, stating that it overlaps with other similar scholarships.
About the fellowship

 The fellowship was launched under the UPA regime.
 It was formulated and funded by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
 It was launched as part of measures to implement the recommendations of the Sachar Committee, which
studied the socio-economic and education condition of Muslims in India.
 The scheme was open to Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Christian & Jain students pursuing higher studies.
 The degrees included regular and full-time M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees in Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences
and Engineering & Technology.
Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojna
In News
Ministry of Tribal Affairs has revamped the existing Scheme of ‘Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA
to TSS) with nomenclature ‘Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojna (PMAAGY)’, for implementation during 2021-22
to 2025-26.
PMAAGY
 It supplements the efforts of State Governments for development and welfare of tribal people by extending
Special Central Assistance as an additive to the State Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP).
 It aims at mitigating gaps and providing basic infrastructure in villages with significant tribal population in
convergence with funds available under different schemes in Central Scheduled Tribe Component.
 The Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme with 100% grant from government of India.
 The main objective of this scheme is to achieve integrated socio-economic development of selected villages
through convergence approach.
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 It includes preparing Village Development Plan based on the needs, potential, and aspirations.
 The scheme envisions to mitigate gaps prominently in 8 sectors of development viz. Road connectivity
(Internal and Intervillage /block), Telecom connectivity (Mobile /internet), School, Anganwadi Centres,
Health Sub-Centre, Drinking water facility, Drainage and solid waste management.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Ko Kaam Karyakram (PMKKK)
In News
The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Ko Kaam Karyakram (PMKKK) has now been named as Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka
Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) Scheme.
About PM VIKAS
 PM VIKAS aims to improve livelihoods of the minorities, particularly the artisan communities, using the
components of skill development, education, women leadership & entrepreneurship.
 These components compliment each other in the ultimate objective of the scheme to increase the incomes
of the beneficiaries and provide support by facilitating credit and market linkages.
 The integrated scheme converges five erstwhile schemes of the Ministry viz. Seekho aur Kamao, USTTAD,
Hamari Dharohar, Nai Roshni and Nai Manzil. The scheme has been approved by the Cabinet for the period
of 15th Finance Commission.
Objectives
 To build capacity of minority and artisan communities through targeted interventions by providing skill
training support in need-based courses and ensuring employment/livelihood opportunities for them.
 To preserve and promote the cultural heritage of traditional art and craft forms including propagation of
literature/ documents/ manuscripts.
 To provide formal education and certification up to 8th, 10th, and 12th through open schooling to school
dropouts of families of minority and artisan communities.
 To empower women from families of minority and artisan communities and instill confidence amongst them
by providing leadership, and entrepreneurship support.
 To improve employability of and generate better livelihood opportunities for minorities and artisan
communities through market and credit linkages and bring them to mainstream.
Atal Innovation Mission and UNDP India launch 5th edition of Youth Co:Lab
In News
The 5th edition of Youth Co:Lab, Asia Pacific’s largest youth innovation movement was jointly launched by Atal
Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and UNDP India.
Youth Co:Lab
 Youth Co:Lab is an initiative launched in 2019 by UNDP India in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission,
NITI Aayog and aims to establish a common agenda for Asia-Pacific countries to invest in and empower
youth to accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through leadership, social
innovation, and entrepreneurship.
 The Youth Co:Lab initiative, till date, has been implemented in 28 countries and territories, reaching over
200,000 participants, benefitting more than 11,000 young social entrepreneurs and supporting over 1,240
social enterprises.
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 Youth Co:Lab aims to establish a common agenda for Asia-Pacific countries to invest in and empower youth
to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs through leadership, social innovation and entrepreneurship.
 The 5 focus thematic areas for Youth Colab 2022-23 are:
 Digital and Financial Literacy for Youth
 Gender Equality and Women Economic Empowerment
 Developing FinTech Solutions focused on Biodiversity Conservation
 Promoting Biodiversity-friendly Lifestyles through Technological Solutions in Finance
 Accelerating Circular Economy through Upcycling Innovations
 Behavioural Nudges for LiFE (Lifestyle For Environment)
About Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)-

 AIM is the Government of India’s endeavor to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
 Its objective is to serve as a platform for the promotion of world-class innovation hubs, grand challenges,
start-up businesses, and other self-employment activities, particularly in technology-driven areas.
UN Ranks ‘Namami Gange’ Project Among World’s top 10 Initiatives
In News
The United Nations has recognised the Namami Gange initiative to rejuvenate India’s sacred River Ganga as one of
the top 10 World Restoration Flagships to revive the natural world.
Namami gange Programme

 It is a flagship initiative of the Union Government and was implemented by NMCG
 It is an integrated mission for pollution abatement as well as improvement in ecology and flow of Ganga and
its tributaries.
 Objectives: Conservation and rejuvenation of Ganga.
 Main Pillars: Treating sewerage infrastructure, achieving biodiversity, developing riverfronts, cleaning river
surfaces, enabling afforestation, monitoring industrial effluents and increasing awareness among the public.
 It is being operated under the Ministry of Water Resources, Department of River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation and Ministry of Jal Shakti.
About National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

 It is the empowered nodal agency for implementation of Namami Gange program nationwide.
 NMCG releases funds to State Governments /State Missions for Executing Agencies.
Rashtriya Gokul Mission
In News
Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying has said that the Government will provide
employment to more than 50 lakh farmers, directly and indirectly.
About the Mission

 ‘Rashtriya Gokul Mission’ was launched in 2014 to conserve and develop indigenous bovine breeds, under
the National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development (NPBBD).
 Under Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) there is a scheme to provide subsidy on cow/buffalo/pig/chicken/goat
breeding farms and silage making units of which 50% subsidy will be given by the Government of India. Also,
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3% interest subvention on the loan amount can also be taken under the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure
Development Fund (AHIDF) scheme.
Objectives
 Development and conservation of indigenous breeds.
 Undertake breed improvement programme for indigenous cattle breeds so as to improve the genetic
makeup and increase the stock.
 Enhance milk production and productivity.
 Upgrade nondescript cattle using elite indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Deoni, Tharparkar, Red
Sindhi.
 Distribute disease free high genetic merit bulls for natural service.
Gokul Grams
 RGM envisages the establishment of integrated cattle development centers, ‘Gokul Grams’ to develop
indigenous breeds including up to 40% nondescript breeds (belonging or appearing to belong to no particular
class or kind) with objectives to:
 Promote indigenous cattle rearing and conservation in a scientific manner.
 Propagate high genetic merit bulls of indigenous breeds.
 Optimize modern Farm Management practices and promote Common Resource Management.
 Utilize animal waste in an economical way i.e., Cow Dung, Cow Urine.
 Recently, funds have been released for setting up of 16 Gokul Grams.
Samudrayaan Mission
In News
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Dr Jitendra Singh said that Samudrayaan
mission is aimed at sending three personnel to 6000-metre depth in a vehicle called ‘MATSYA 6000’ for the
exploration of deep sea resources like minerals.
About the mission

 It is aimed to develop a self-propelled manned submersible to carry three human beings to a water depth of
6,000 meters in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools for deep ocean exploration.
 It has an endurance of 12 hours of operational period and 96 hours in case of emergency.
 ‘MATSYA 6000’ vehicle is being designed and developed by National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT),
Chennai under Ministry of Earth Sciences.
 It has an endurance of 12 hours under normal operation and 96 hours in case of emergency for human
safety.
 It is India’s first unique manned ocean mission and is a part of the Rs 6000-crores Deep Ocean Mission.
 Apart from the scientific research and technological empowerment as the benefits, this mission has
immediate spin-offs in the form of underwater engineering innovations in asset inspection, tourism and
promotion of ocean literacy.
Deep Ocean Mission

 It was approved in June 2021 by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. It aims to explore the deep ocean for
resources, develop deep-sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources, and support the Blue
Economy Initiatives of the Indian Government.
 The cost of the Mission has been estimated at Rs. 4,077 crores over a five-year period and will be
implemented in phases.
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QR Codes for LPG Cylinders
In News
A pilot study for QR code tagging of cylinders has been undertaken by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) at Madanpur
Khadar Bottling Plant, Delhi.
Working of QR Code
 It will be launched by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) to help prevent gas theft from LPG gas
cylinders, solve issues of adulteration, unfair practices, pilferage, tracking, tracing and ensure better
inventory management of the cylinders.
 QR Code will be posted on existing cylinders and welded on new ones.
 QR code can be read by a digital device
 It is likely to work in the same way as the Aadhar card.
 The LPG customers will be able to access information about the purchased cylinder such as where it was
bottled, who is the dealer, when it was manufactured, refiling, safety tests, locating stolen cylinders, among
other details.
QR Code
 A QR code consists of black square and dots.
 They store information in both vertical and horizontal axes, which allows them to hold significantly more
data.
Centre extends free foodgrains under National Food Security Act
In News
Union Cabinet has approved providing free foodgrains under the National Food Security Act till December 2023.
NFSA
 Around 81.35 crore beneficiaries who earlier used to procure foodgrains at subsidised rates will now get the
foodgrains free of cost.
 The Centre would bear the entire cost amounting to around 2 lakh crore rupees per year.
 The NFSA assigns joint responsibilities to the federal and state governments.
 The NFSA mandates the centre with the responsibility of allocating and transporting food grains to
designated depots in the states and UTs.
 The centre must provide central assistance to states/UTs for the distribution of food grains from authorized
FCI go downs to the doorsteps of Fair Price Shops.
 States and union territories are responsible for identifying eligible households, issuing ration cards,
distributing foodgrain entitlements through fair price shops, licensing and monitoring Fair Price Shop (FPS)
dealers, establishing an effective grievance redress mechanism, and strengthening the Targeted Public
Distribution System (TPDS).
Objective
To provide for food and nutritional security in the human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate
quantities of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity.
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Coverage
 The Act provides coverage for nearly 2/3rd of the country’s total population, based on Census 2011
population estimates.
 75% of rural and 50% of urban population is entitled to receive highly subsidized food grains under two
categories i.e Antyodaya Anna Yojana(AAY) households and Priority Households (PHH).
 The Act entitles 35 kg of food grains as per Antyodaya Anna Yojana Households per month, whereas 5kg of
food grains per Priority Households per person.
 The eldest woman of the beneficiary household (18 years or above) is considered ‘Head of Family’ for the
purpose of issuing ration cards.
J&K LG Manoj Sinha announces 3 New Schemes for J&K Union Territory
In News
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha today announced three New Schemes- Holistic Development of
Agriculture & Allied Sectors, Aspirational Towns, and Aspirational Panchayat for J&K Union Territory.
About the Schemes

 Over the next five years, these projects would transform the agriculture economy of J&K putting it on a new
trajectory of growth with doubling the output of the sectors and making them sustainable and commercially
viable. Lt. Governor said, this will herald a new phase of farmer prosperity and rural livelihood security in
J&K.
 The agricultural output which stands at Rs 37,600 crore shall increase by over Rs 28,142 crore to reach more
than Rs 65,700 crore per year, with a resultant increment in sectoral growth rate to 11 per cent.
 The interventions shall create employment opportunities for over 2.8 lakh youths and establish around
19,000 enterprises.
 On the Aspirational Panchayat Development Programme, Jammu and Kashmir is going to select the most
backward 285 panchayats — one panchayat in each block — for their holistic development.
Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for Indian Railways
In News
 The Ministry of Railways, as part of its station redevelopment drive, has formulated a new scheme to
modernise over 1,000 small stations over the coming years.
 Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long term
vision.
Amrit Bharat Scheme

 The scheme aims at preparation of Master Plans of the Railway stations and implementation of the Master
Plan in phases to enhance the facilities including and beyond the Minimum Essential Amenities (MEA) and
aiming for creation of Roof Plazas and city centres at the station in long run.
 The scheme shall aim to meet the needs of the stakeholders, station usage studies as far as possible based
on availability of funds and inter-se priority.
 The scheme shall cater for introduction of new amenities as well as upgradation and replacement of existing
amenities.
 This scheme will also cover the stations where detailed techno-economic feasibility studies have been
conducted or are being conducted but the work for construction of Roof Plazas has not been taken up yet,
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ensuring the phasing of Master Plan being suitably implemented and relocation of structures and utilities
being given more emphasis in the phasing plans.
 Key features of these proposed stations include provisions for roof top plazas, longer platforms, ballastless
tracks, and 5G connectivity.
 The scheme aims to relocate redundant/old buildings in a cost efficient manner so that space is released for
higher priority passenger related activities and future development may be carried out smoothly.
SAIME Initiative
In News
 In an effort to restore the unique ecosystem of the Sundarbans, the SAIME initiative has shrimp cultivators
tending to mangroves around their farms as well.
 A new initiative of sustainable shrimp cultivation provides hope for mangrove restoration in Sundarbans.
About the initiative

 Under the initiative, Sustainable Aquaculture In Mangrove Ecosystem (SAIME), farmers have taken up
cultivation of shrimp at 20 hectares at Chaital in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas, and 10 hectares at
Madhabpur in adjoining South 24 Parganas.
 Started in 2019, the community-based initiative of sustainable shrimp cultivation is being conceived by
NGOs- Nature Environment and Wildlife Society (NEWS) and Global Nature Fund (GNF), Naturland,
Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS).
 The mangrove ecosystem is integrated with shrimp cultivation, but when fisheries were expanded inwards,
the mangrove ecosystem was excluded.
 Fishing, particularly shrimp cultivation, is one of the key occupations of the people of Sundarbans, which is a
complex network of rivers and low-lying islands that face a tide surge twice a day.
Significance
 Fishing, particularly shrimp cultivation, is one of the key occupations of the people of Sundarbans, which is a
complex network of rivers and low-lying islands that face a tide surge twice a day.
 Shrimp cultivation is practised in about 15,000 to 20,000 hectares of the unique ecosystem in India.
 The Sundarbans forest is about 10,000 sq. km across India and Bangladesh, of which 40% lies in India.
 There are 42 shrimp farmers engaged in the pilot project and a majority of them say that they have had
higher incomes compared to previous years.
 They are also cultivating indigenous varieties of shrimps such as black tiger shrimp (P. monodon) and giant
freshwater prawn (M. rosenbergii ).
Sunderbans Delta
 The Sundarbans hosts the largest mangrove forests in the world, lying on the delta of the Ganges,
Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal. Sundarbans is the natural abode of many groups of
animals and a large number of species are known to feed, breed, and take shelter in this ecosystem.
 It is home to many rare and globally threatened wildlife species such as the estuarine crocodile, water
monitor lizard, Gangetic dolphin and olive ridley turtle.
 40% of Sundarbans lies in India and the rest in Bangladesh. Sundarbans was designated a UNESCO World
Heritage site in 1987 (India) and 1997 (Bangladesh).
 Sundarbans Wetland, India was recognised as the ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar
Convention in January 2019.
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Odisha wins World Habitat Awards 2023 for Jaga Mission
In News
Odisha won the UN-Habitat’s World Habitat Awards 2023 for Jaga Mission, a 5T initiative of the state.
Jaga Mission
 Jaga mission is the world’s largest land titling and slum upgrading program which aims at empowering the
lives of slum dwellers.
 Under the inspiring leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Government of Odisha has set itself the
ambitious target of becoming the first slum-free state in India and is leading the Jaga Mission programme to
upgrade all of the state’s 2,919 slums.
 In the last 05 years of the initiative, 1,75,000 families have been granted land tenure security.
 100% households in 2,724 slums have been provided with pipe water connections, 707 slums transformed
fully into Liveable Habitats, 100% households in 666 slums have individual toilets, and 8 cities have become
slum-free.
 Earlier in 2019, Odisha’s Jaga mission had received World Habitat Awards for its success in providing land
tenure security to the slum dwellers.
Purple Fest
In News
India's first-of-its-kind inclusivity, 'Purple Fest: Celebrating Diversity' began in a glorious ceremony in Goa recently.
About Festival
 The festival aims to showcase how we can come together to create a welcoming and inclusive world for
everyone.
 It is first of its kind inclusive festival in India that embraces, expresses and celebrates persons with
disabilities.
Aimed at furthering the spirit of inclusion, the Purple Fest will feature a variety of exciting live performances,
sporting events, grand exhibitions, immersive experience zones, accessible movie screenings, & discussions
on vital subjects like inclusive education, tourism, employment, & independent living.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY)
In News
The Cabinet led by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had approved new integrated food security scheme
for providing free foodgrains to Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY) & Primary Household (PHH) beneficiaries, to be rolled out
from 1st January 2023.
About PMGKAY
 Implementation of the new scheme has started from 1st January 2023, benefitting more than 80 crore poor
and poorest of poor people.
 Free foodgrains will be provided under PMGKAY for the year 2023 to all PHH and AAY beneficiaries, as per
entitlement under NFSA.
 The integrated scheme will strengthen the provisions of NFSA, 2013 in terms of accessibility, affordability
and availability of foodgrains for the poor.
Future of education
 PMGKAY will subsume the two subsidy schemes of Department of Food & Public Distribution (a) Food
Subsidy to FCI (b) Food Subsidy for decentralized procurement states dealing with procurement, allocation
and delivery of free foodgrains to the states under NFSA.
PM SVANidhi Scheme
In News
In the past two years, PM SVANidhi has disbursed more than 40.07 lakh loans worth Rs. 4,606.36 crore to 45.32 lakh
beneficiaries across two tranches.
PM SVANidhi Scheme
 The scheme is a Central Sector Scheme.
 It is fully funded by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
 It aims to focus on enhanced collateral free affordable loan corpus, increased adoption of digital transactions
and holistic socio-economic development of the Street Vendors and their families.
 The scheme will help formalize the street vendors with above objectives and will open up new opportunities
to this sector to move up the economic ladder.
 The Scheme is available for beneficiaries belonging to only those States/UTs which have notified Rules and
Scheme under Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
 To facilitate working capital loan up to 10,000 at subsidized rate of interest.
“Womaniya” initiative
In News
A function was held to commemorate the success of “Womaniya on Government eMarketplace (GeM)” recently at
Constitution Club in New Delhi.

 Launched in 2019, the “Womaniya” initiative has sought to encourage the participation of
women entrepreneurs and self-help groups (SHG) from the informal sector on the GeM portal and facilitate
the sale of their products directly to various Government buyers, sans intermediaries.
 Presently, 1.44 lakh+ Udyam-verified women micro, small enterprises (MSE) known as “Womaniya” are
registered as sellers and service-providers on the GeM portal.
 The objective of “Womaniya” is to develop women entrepreneurship on the margins of society who face
challenges in accessing public procurement markets, and work towards achieving gender inclusive economic
growth of under-served seller groups such as such as women-owned and led MSEs, tribal entrepreneurs,
Divyangjan, Startups, SHGs, artisan and weavers.
 “Womaniya” neatly aligns with the Government’s initiative to set aside a target of three percent (%) in
public procurement for women-owned and led MSEs.
 The “Womaniya” initiative seeks to address the triple challenge of “access to markets”, “access to finance”
and “access to value-addition” faced by women entrepreneurs and strives to align the untapped
entrepreneurial energy of last-mile producers and service-providers in India with local Government buyers.
Future of education
NCERT notifies India’s first national assessment regulator
In News
The National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) has notified India’s first national assessment
regulator, PARAKH, which will work on setting norms, standards and guidelines for student assessment and
evaluation for all recognised school boards in the country.
About PARAKH
 PARAKH has been launched as a part of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
 It has envisaged a standard-setting body to advise school boards regarding the new assessment patterns and
the latest research and promote collaboration between them.
 PARAKH will work in three major assessment areas including large-scale assessments, school-based
assessments, and examination reforms.
 It will work on bringing an equivalence in the recognized school boards in India in terms of the academic
standards among learners.
 PARAKH will closely work with the state directorates of education, state, education boards, and international
organizations, working in the area of assessment and evaluation.
 PARAKH will also be responsible for conducting large-scale assessments, including the National Achievement
Survey (NAS).
 The next NAS in 2024 will be conducted by PARAKH.
 It will also guide the State Achievement Survey (SAS), and monitor achievement of learning outcomes in the
country.
Aspirational Block Programme
In News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched the government’s Aspirational Block Programme (ABP), which is
aimed at improving performance of blocks lagging on various development parameters.
About ABP
 The ABP was launched during the 2nd National Conference of Chief Secretaries.
 This new programme is aimed at improving performance of blocks lagging on various development
parameters.
 This will enable holistic development in those areas that require added assistance.
 The programme will cover 500 districts across 31 states and Union Territories initially.
 Over half of these blocks are in 6 states—Uttar Pradesh (68 blocks), Bihar (61), Madhya Pradesh (42),
Jharkhand (34), Odisha (29) and West Bengal (29).
 The Aspirational Blocks Programme is on the lines of the Aspirational District Programme that was launched
in 2018 and covers 112 districts across the country.
Aspirational District Programme

 It was launched in 2018 and aims to transform districts that have shown relatively lesser progress in key
social areas.
 3C Strategy: The broad contours of the programme
 Convergence (of Central & State Schemes)
 Collaboration (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors)
 Competition (among districts driven by a Mass Movement)
Future of education
 The ranking is based on the incremental progress made across 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under 5
broad socio-economic themes
 Health & Nutrition (30%)
 Education (30%)
 Agriculture & Water Resources (20%)
 Financial Inclusion & Skill Development (10%)
 Infrastructure (10%)
U-WIN Platform
In News
The government has now replicated the Co-WIN platform to establish an electronic registry for routine vaccinations.
U-WIN Platform
 It is a replica of Co-WIN.
 Co-Win has been the backbone of India in administering COVID vaccine to the citizens.
 The platform allows users to register for vaccination slots. It holds every detail about the user being
vaccinated.
 It also has information about the next vaccination due.
 GoI launched the U – WIN platform based on the huge success of the Co–Win platform.
Features
 The platform will be used to register and vaccinate each pregnant woman, record her delivery outcome,
register each newborn delivery, administer birth doses, and record all subsequent vaccination events.
 Beneficiaries would be able to schedule vaccination appointments in advance.
 Additionally, it will permit mobility.
 It will also hold information about antigen coverage. The antigen is a foreign substance to the human body.
 All states and districts will be able to access a common database to track and vaccinate beneficiaries.
About UIP
 It was first introduced in 1985, and in 1992 it was integrated into the Child Survival and Safe Motherhood
Program.
 It became a part of the National Reproductive and Child Health Programme in 1997.
 The Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) has always been a crucial component of the National Rural
Health Mission since its inception in 2005.
PepsiCo Foundation and CARE launches ‘She Feeds the World’ programme in India
In News
PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo and CARE, have launched ‘She Feeds the World’ program in
India to strengthen the role of small-scale women producers through sustainable training and economic support.
About the programme

 The program, which will be implemented in the Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts of West Bengal, aims to
reach out to more than 48,000 women, men and children and indirectly benefit 1,50,000 individuals.
 ‘She Feeds the World’ will drive impact for women farmers and their families across the three dimensions of
a sustainable food system including economic, social and environmental.
Future of education
 At the economic level, it will build capacity for small-scale farmers to improve their cultivation practices,
increase yield, and diversify livelihood options to generate more sustainable income.
 Socially, the project will promote more equitable access to knowledge, resources and inclusive markets for
vulnerable farmers.
 The project is a key pillar of the company’s pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) commitment to spreading regenerative
agricultural practices and improving the livelihoods of more than 2,50,000 people in agricultural supply chain
and communities by 2030.
Objectives
 To increase crop yield
 To increase the income of women belonging to BPL families
 To provide access to a healthy and balanced diet
 The program will strive hard to reduce gender inequality in agriculture sector
 To help agricultural families in the country get a stable income
 Provide training to women on sustainable agriculture
Women Farmer Economic Empowerment Program

 In 2019, PepsiCo and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the ‘Women Farmer
Economic Empowerment Program’ to support women in agriculture and help build a more sustainable food
system.
 Under this initiative, PepsiCo has trained close to 1,500 women farmers in West Bengal on potato agronomy
and other skills.
 It is expected that the program will impact more than 3,00,000 women through direct and community
engagement.
 The company currently works with close to 27,000 farmers across nine States, including 18,500 farmers in
West Bengal.
 It procures close to six lakh tonnes of potatoes from farmers for manufacturing snacks.
Atal Pension Yojana crosses landmark 5 crore Enrolments
In News
 Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has recently crossed the landmark of 5 crore enrolments.
 The scheme has done very well in the calendar year 2022 by enrolling more than 1.25 crore new subscribers
in comparison to 92 lakh new subscriber’s enrolment in the calendar year 2021.
Atal Pension Yojana

 APY, the flagship social security scheme of the Government of India was launched on 9th May 2015, with the
objective to provide old age income security to all Citizens of India, particularly to the people working in the
unorganised sectors.
 Under the scheme, a subscriber would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of ₹1000 to ₹5000 per month
from the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions, which itself would vary based on the age of
joining the APY.
 The same pension would be paid to the spouse of the subscriber after the demise of the subscriber and on
the demise of both the subscriber and spouse, the pension wealth as accumulated till age 60 of the
subscriber would be returned back to the nominee.
 This scheme is open to all Indian-citizen who are between 18 and 40 years and have savings bank accounts in
a bank or post-office.
Future of education
 From 1st of October, 2022 any income tax payer is not permitted to open new APY account.
Current Scenario
 The Government of India sets yearly targets for the banks under the Atal Pension Yojana.
 In 2022, 29 banks achieved the target.
 This includes SBI, Indian Bank, and other Public sector banks.
 UP, Bihar, WB, MP, Jharkhand, Assam, and Tripura achieved the set targets.

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To the P int

SCHEMES & POLICIES

400+ JAN. 2022 - JAN. 2023

An initiative By Pradeep Kumar (SOCIOLOGY EXPERT)

91222 34717 www.learnfinite.com info@learnfinite.com

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We express our gratitude to all our team members Sachin Yogi

Our Methodology for this Magazine Editorial Team

Disclaimer Designing Team

Score 35+ Mark’s in

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UDYAMI BHARAT ..................................................................... 38 PROJECT CHEETAH .................................................................... 59

BHARAT VIDYA ......................................................................... 76 COMMUNITY INNOVATOR FELLOWSHIP ................................... 92

SVAMITVA SCHEME .................................................................. 86 PURPLE FEST ........................................................................... 101

PM LAUNCHES KARMAYOGI PRARAMBH MODULE ................... 88 “WOMANIYA” INITIATIVE ....................................................... 102

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