Civil Service Bytes

SWACHH BHARAT MISSION Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) on October 2, 2014, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The ambitious programme aims to make the streets, roads and infrastructure across the country clean by October 02, 2019, the 150 th  birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation. It is India’s biggest ever cleanliness drive. The relevance of the Swachh Bharat Mission Sanitation has emerged as a key issue since the 2011 Census highlighted e glaring data on lack of toilets in the country by stating that over 26 million people in India defecate in the open. Launched with an estimated cost of around Rs 62,009 crore, Swachh Bharat Mission aims to achieve the elimination of open defecation in the country. Among its other objectives are conversion of insanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, putting an end to the inhuman practice of manual scavenging and carrying out Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM). Involvem...

Horizontal Devolution Formula  –  Horizontal devolution means transfer of finance between states. The Commission added a new criterion of forest cover for devolution of Central taxes which has gone against the nine states. The panel has assigned 7.5 per cent weight to forest cover for inter-se determination of the shares of taxes to the states, while population carries 17.5 per cent weight, demographic change 10 percent, income distance 50 and area 15 per cent weight. With the addition of the new criterion, Uttar Pradesh is the biggest loser followed by Bihar. Meanwhile, 19 states stand to gain from the new arrangement. Arunachal Pradesh is the biggest gainer. Devolution to states:  It has recommended that devolution should be primary mode of funds transfers to states. States’ share in net proceeds from tax collections be 42% — a huge jump from 32% recommend by the 13th Finance Commission, and the largest change ever in the percentage of devolution. The higher ta...

Horizontal Devolution Formula  –  Horizontal devolution means transfer of finance between states. The Commission added a new criterion of forest cover for devolution of Central taxes which has gone against the nine states. The panel has assigned 7.5 per cent weight to forest cover for inter-se determination of the shares of taxes to the states, while population carries 17.5 per cent weight, demographic change 10 percent, income distance 50 and area 15 per cent weight. With the addition of the new criterion, Uttar Pradesh is the biggest loser followed by Bihar. Meanwhile, 19 states stand to gain from the new arrangement. Arunachal Pradesh is the biggest gainer. Devolution to states:  It has recommended that devolution should be primary mode of funds transfers to states. States’ share in net proceeds from tax collections be 42% — a huge jump from 32% recommend by the 13th Finance Commission, and the largest change ever in the percentage of devolution. The higher ta...

The term ‘Smart city’ conjures up visions of self-driving cars, touch-sensitive interfaces, and adaptive energy systems. What drives this vision is the possibility that ‘Big Data’ and the integration of ‘Information and Communication Technologies’ (ICTs) could transform urban governance, making urban infrastructure more responsive and effective in meeting the needs of citizens. The catch, however, is that your city can only be as smart as the data it has access to. The idea of Smart cities rests upon the notion of live and continuous data collection, but this only works if every single citizen is registered on the database. The problem in most developing country cities, or cities of the ‘Global South’, is incompleteness of data, and the poor quality of existing datasets. The National Census is the most complete household level dataset available in India, but this is collected every ten years, and given the rapid urban growth we are witnessing (17% between 2001 and 2011 according to ...

The Mandate of the Act and Achievements The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) completes ten years of implementation on 2nd February 2016. The achievements of a decade are a cause of national pride and celebration. Of the workers, the percentage of Scheduled Caste workers has consistently been about 20% and Scheduled Tribe workers has been about 17%. Of the total persondays, percentage worked by women has steadily increased much above the statutory minimum of 33%. Sustainable assets have been created linked to conservation of natural resources and overall development of Gram Panchayats. More than 65% of the works taken up under the programme are linked to agriculture and allied activities. Revival of the Programme The past year, 2015-16, has seen a revival of the programme.  44% of all wage payments are being made on time. More than 64% of total expenditure is on agriculture and allied activities, the highest in three years. 57% of all wo...

The government has modified the gold monetisation scheme (GMS) after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a master direction on the scheme on January 21. What is Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) with modified changes? 1.It replaces the existing Gold Deposit Scheme, 1999. 2.The deposits outstanding under the Gold Deposit Scheme will be allowed to run till maturity unless the depositors prematurely withdraw them. 3.Any Resident Indians can make deposits under the scheme. 4. The minimum deposit at any one time shall be raw gold  equivalent to 30 grams of gold. 5.There is no maximum limit for deposit under the scheme. (Amended :The quantity of gold collected under the scheme will be expressed up to three decimals of a gram) 6.The gold will be accepted at the Collection and Purity Testing Centres (CPTC) . (Amended:Gold depositors can also give their gold directly to the refiner rather than only through the Collection and Purity Testing Centres (CPTCs) 7.The d...

Children would be encouraged to visit soldiers on the borders to develop a better understanding and convey the nation’s gratitude for their services by ‘Seema Darshan’ programme for students for a period of five days starting from 22nd January 2016. What is ‘Seema Darshan’ programme? ‘Seema Darshan’ is a unique initiative in which school children are visiting the border areas of our country and present before our soldiers and troops an array of performances showcasing the tradition and culture of our country through traditional songs and dances. Who is organizing the programme? The Ministry of Human Resource Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Home affairs. Objective: To provide the students with a first-hand experience of the prevailing security environment in the border areas. To foster patriotism and nationalism among the students. To provide an opportunity for the children to experience the border environment. To...

The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 will come into force today. The Act has more stringent provisions for prevention of atrocities against SCs and STs. What does the The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment act, 2015  says? New offences added under the Bill include: (a) Garlanding with footwear, (b) Compelling to dispose or carry human or animal carcasses, or do manual scavenging, (c) Abusing SCs or STs by caste name in public, (d) Attempting to promote feelings of ill-will against SCs or STs or disrespecting any deceased person held in high esteem (e) Imposing or threatening a social or economic boycott.  The Act seeks to amend the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Forcing an SC or ST individual to vote or not vote for a particular candidate in a manner that is against the law is an offence under the Act....

The  National Food Security Act, 2013  (also  Right to Food Act ) is an Act of the Parliament of India which aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of India’s 1.2 billion people. It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System it also recognizes maternity entitlements. The total number of States/UTs now implementing the Act is 25.  By April.2016 it is likely to be implemented in all remaining States /UTs. Recent initiatives of the government in NFSA 2013 :  Digitisation of ration cards is one of the important components for making PDS leak proof, 97% cards across the country have been digitised, and soon 100 % will be digitised.  All the 36 States/UTs have online system for redressal of PDS grievances. Direct Cash Transfer of food subsidy to the beneficiaries started in Chandigarh and Puducherry in September this year. Procurement po...

The PM unveiled the historic Startup Action Plan.It was on the occasion of India’s 69th Independence Day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Startup India initiative. It is focused on to restrict role of States in policy domain and to get rid of “license raj” and hindrances like in land permissions, foreign investment proposal, environmental clearances. It was organized by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). A startup is an entity that is headquartered in India which was opened less than five years ago and have an annual turnover less than  ₹ 25 crore (US$3.7 million). Highlights of the action Plan: 1.Compliance regime based on self certification  : Startups shall be allowed to self-certify compliance with labour and environment laws . No inspection will be conducted for three years. In case of environment laws, startups under ‘white’ category would be able to self certify compliance. 2 .Startup India hub : Will...