01 and 02 Mar 2016 (Budget Highlight , Schemes and Sector, Snapshot of Major Schemes)

Budget Highlights:-

Note :- Only few data are important , but it is essential to go through  all the provisions at lease once.

INTRODUCTION:-

1. Growth of Economy accelerated to 7.6% in 2015-16.
2. India hailed as a ‘bright spot’ amidst a slowing global economy by IMF.
3. Robust growth achieved despite very unfavourable global conditions and two consecutive years shortfall in monsoon by 13%
4. Foreign exchange reserves touched highest ever level of about 350 billion US dollars.
5. Despite increased devolution to States by 55% as a result of the 14th Finance Commission award, plan expenditure increased at RE stage in 2015-16 – in contrast to earlier years.

CHALLENGES IN 2016-17:-

1. Risks of further global slowdown and turbulence.
2. Additional fiscal burden due to 7th Central Pay Commission recommendations and OROP.

Sector Wise

AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS’ WELFARE:-

1. Allocation for Agriculture and Farmers’ welfare is 35,984 crore
2. ‘Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana’ to be implemented in mission mode. 28.5 lakh hectares will be brought under irrigation
3. Implementation of 89 irrigation projects under AIBP, which are languishing for a long time, will be fast tracked
4. A dedicated Long Term Irrigation Fund will be created in NABARD with an initial corpus of about 20,000 crore
5. 5 lakh farm ponds and dug wells in rain fed areas and 10 lakh compost pits for production of organic manure will be taken up under MGNREGA
6. Soil Health Card scheme will cover all 14 crore farm holdings by March 2017
7. Promote organic farming through ‘Parmparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana’ and ‘Organic Value Chain Development in North East Region’
8. Unified Agricultural Marketing ePlatform to provide a common eMarket platform for wholesale markets
9. Allocation under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana increased to 19,000 crore. Will connect remaining 65,000 eligible habitations by 2019
10. To reduce the burden of loan repayment on farmers, a provision of   15,000 crore has been made in the BE 2016-17 towards interest subvention
11. Allocation under Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana ` 5,500 crore.
12. Four dairying projects – ‘Pashudhan Sanjivani’, ‘Nakul Swasthya Patra’, ‘E-Pashudhan Haat’ and National Genomic Centre for indigenous breeds

RURAL SECTOR:-

1. Allocation for rural sector – ` 87,765 crore.
2. 2.87 lakh crore will be given as Grant in Aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission
3. Every block under drought and rural distress will be taken up as an intensive Block under the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Mission
4. 300 Rurban Clusters will be developed under the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission
5. 100% village electrification by 1st May, 2018
6. District Level Committees under Chairmanship of senior most Lok Sabha MP from the district for monitoring and implementation of designated Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored  Schemes.
7. Priority allocation from Centrally Sponsored Schemes to be made to reward villages that have become free from open defecation
8. A new Digital Literacy Mission Scheme for rural India to cover around 6 crore additional household within the next 3 years.
9. National Land Record Modernisation Programme has been revamped.
10. New scheme Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan proposed

SOCIAL SECTOR INCLUDING HEALTH CARE:-

1. Allocation for social sector including education and health care – `1,51,581 crore.
2. New health protection scheme will provide health cover up to ` One lakh per family. For senior citizens an additional top-up package up to ` 30,000 will be provided.
3. 3,000 Stores under Prime Minister’s Jan Aushadhi Yojana will be opened during 2016-17.
4. National Dialysis Services Programme’ to be started under National Health Mission through PPP mode
5. “Stand Up India Scheme” to facilitate at least two projects per bank branch. This will benefit at least 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs
6. National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Hub to be set up in partnership with industry associations
7. Allocation of ` 100 crore each for celebrating the Birth Centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay and the 350th Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.

EDUCATION, SKILLS AND JOB CREATION:-

1. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to increasing focus on quality of education
2. Regulatory architecture to be provided to ten public and ten private institutions to emerge as world-class Teaching and Research Institutions
3. Higher Education Financing Agency to be set-up with initial capital base of ` 1000 Crores
4. Digital Depository for School Leaving Certificates, College Degrees, Academic Awards and Mark sheets to be set-up

SKILL DEVELOPMENT:-

1. 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes to be set-up.
2. National Board for Skill Development Certification to be setup in partnership with the industry and academia
3. Entrepreneurship Education and Training through Massive Open Online Courses

JOB CREATION :-

1. 100 Model Career Centres to operational by the end of 2016-17 under National Career Service
2. Model Shops and Establishments Bill to be circulated to States

INFRASTRUCTURE AND INVESTMENT:-

1. India’s highest ever kilometres of new highways were awarded in 2015
2. To approve nearly 10,000 kms of National Highways in 2016-17.
3. Total outlay for infrastructure – ` 2,21,246 crore.
4. Amendments to be made in Motor Vehicles Act to open up the road transport sector in the passenger segment
5. Action plan for revival of unserved and underserved airports to be drawn up in partnership with State Governments.
6. To provide calibrated marketing freedom in order to incentivise gas production from deep-water, ultra deep-water and high pressure-high temperature areas
7. Comprehensive plan, spanning next 15 to 20 years, to augment the investment in nuclear power generation to be drawn up.
8. Steps to re-vitalise PPPs:
   1. Public Utility (Resolution of Disputes) Bill will be introduced
   2. Guidelines for renegotiation of PPP Concession Agreements will be issued
   3. New credit rating system for infrastructure projects to be  introduced
9. Reforms in FDI policy in the areas of Insurance and Pension, Asset Reconstruction Companies, Stock Exchanges
10. 100% FDI to be allowed through FIPB route in marketing of food products produced and manufactured in India.
11. A new policy for management of Government investment in Public Sector Enterprises, including disinvestment and strategic sale approved.

FINANCIAL SECTOR REFORMS:-

1. A comprehensive Code on Resolution of Financial Firms to be introduced
2. Statutory basis for a Monetary Policy framework and a Monetary Policy Committee through the Finance Bill 2016.
3. A Financial Data Management Centre to be set up.
4. RBI to facilitate retail participation in Government securities
5. New derivative products will be developed by SEBI in the Commodity Derivatives market
6. Amendments in the SARFAESI Act 2002 to enable the sponsor of an ARC to hold up to 100% stake in the ARC and permit non institutional investors to invest in Securitization Receipts
7. Comprehensive Central Legislation to be bought to deal with the  menace of illicit deposit taking schemes.
8. Increasing members and benches of the Securities Appellate Tribunal.
9. Allocation of ` 25,000 crore towards recapitalisation of Public Sector Banks.
10. Target of amount sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana increased to ` 1,80,000 crore
11. General Insurance Companies owned by the Government to be listed in the stock exchanges.

GOVERNANCE AND EASE OF DOING BUSINESS:-

1. A Task Force has been constituted for rationalisation of human resources in various Ministries
2. Comprehensive review and rationalisation of Autonomous Bodies.
3. Bill for Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and  Services by using the Aadhar framework to be introduced.
4. Introduce DBT on pilot basis for fertilizer
5. Automation facilities will be provided in 3 lakh fair price shops by March 2017.
6. Amendments in Companies Act to improve enabling environment for start-ups
7. Price Stabilisation Fund with a corpus of ` 900 crore to help maintain stable prices of Pulses
8. “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” programme will be launched to link States and Districts in an annual programme that connects people through exchanges in areas of language, trade, culture,  travel and tourism

FISCAL DISCIPLINE:-

1. Fiscal deficit in RE 2015-16 and BE 2016-17 retained at 3.9% and 3.5%.
2. Revenue Deficit target from 2.8% to 2.5% in RE 2015-16
3. Total expenditure projected at ` 19.78 lakh crore
4. Plan expenditure pegged at ` 5.50 lakh crore under Plan, increase of 15.3%
5. Non-Plan expenditure kept at ` 14.28 lakh crores
6. Special emphasis to sectors such as agriculture, irrigation, social sector including health, women and child development, welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, minorities,  infrastructure.
7. Plan / Non-Plan classification to be done away with from 2017-18
8. Every new scheme sanctioned will have a sunset date and outcome review.
9. Rationalised and restructured more than 1500 Central Plan Schemes into about 300 Central Sector and 30 Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
10. Committee to review the implementation of the FRBM Act

RELIEF TO SMALL TAX PAYERS:-

1. Raise the ceiling of tax rebate under section 87A from `2000 to `5000 to lessen tax burden on individuals with income upto `5 laks
2. Increase the limit of deduction of rent paid under section 80GG from `24000 per annum to `60000, to provide relief to those who live in rented houses

BOOST EMPLOYMENT AND GROWTH :-

1. Phasing out deduction under Income Tax:-
   1. Accelerated depreciation wherever provided in IT Act will be limited to maximum 40% from 1.4.2017
   2. Benefit of deductions for Research would be limited to 150% from 1.4.2017 and 100% from 1.4.2020
   3. Benefit of section 10AA to new SEZ units will be available to those units which commence activity before 31.3.2020.
2. Corporate Tax rate proposals:
   1. New manufacturing companies incorporated on or after 1.3.2016 to be given an option to be taxed at 25% + surcharge and cess provided they do not claim profit linked or investment  linked deductions and do not avail of investment allowance and accelerated depreciation
   2. Lower the corporate tax rate for the next financial year for relatively small enterprises i.e companies with turnover not exceeding ` 5 crore (in the financial year ending March 2015), to 29% plus surcharge and cess
   3. 100% deduction of profits for 3 out of 5 years for startups setup during April, 2016 to March, 2019. MAT will apply in such cases.
   4. 10% rate of tax on income from worldwide exploitation of patents developed and registered in India by a resident
   5. Non-banking financial companies shall be eligible for deduction to the extent of 5% of its income in respect of provision for bad and doubtful debts
   6. Commitment to implement General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) from 1.4.2017.
   7. Exemption of service tax on services provided under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushalya Yojana and services provided by Assessing Bodies empanelled by Ministry of Skill  Development &  Entrepreneurship.
   8. Basic custom and excise duty on refrigerated containers reduced to 5% and 6%.

MAKE IN INDIA:-

1. Changes in customs and excise duty rates on certain inputs to reduce costs and improve competitiveness of domestic industry in sectors like Information technology hardware, capital goods,  defence production, textiles, mineral fuels & mineral oils, chemicals & petrochemicals, paper, paperboard & newsprint, Maintenance repair and overhauling [MRO] of aircrafts and ship repair.

MOVING TOWARDS A PENSIONED SOCIETY:-

1. Withdrawal up to 40% of the corpus at the time of retirement to be tax exempt in the case of National Pension Scheme (NPS). Annuity fund which goes to legal heir will not be taxable
2. In case of superannuation funds and recognized provident funds, including EPF, the same norm of 40% of corpus to be tax free will apply in respect of corpus created out of contributions  made on or from 1.4.2016.

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING:-

1. 100% deduction for profits to an undertaking in housing project for flats upto 30 sq. metres in four metro cities and 60 sq. metres in other cities, approved during June 2016 to March 2019  and completed in three years. MAT to apply.
2. Deduction for additional interest of `50,000 per annum for loans up to `35 lakh sanctioned in 2016-17 for first time home buyers, where house cost does not exceed ` 50 lakh
3. Distribution made out of income of SPV to the REITs and INVITs having specified shareholding will not be subjected to Dividend Distribution Tax, in respect of dividend distributed after the specified date.
4. Exemption from service tax on construction of affordable houses up to 60 square metres under any scheme of the Central or State Government including PPP Schemes

RESOURCE MOBILIZATION FOR AGRICULTURE, RURAL ECONOMY AND CLEAN ENVIRONMENT :-

1. Additional tax at the rate of 10% of gross amount of dividend will be payable by the recipients receiving dividend in excess of ` 10 lakh per annum.
2. Surcharge to be raised from 12% to 15% on persons, other than companies, firms and cooperative societies having income above ` 1 crore.
3. Tax to be deducted at source at the rate of 1 % on purchase of luxury cars exceeding value of ` ten lakh and purchase of goods and services in cash exceeding ` two lakh
4. Krishi Kalyan Cess, @ 0.5% on all taxable services, w.e.f. 1 June 2016. Proceeds would be exclusively used for financing initiatives for improvement of agriculture and welfare of farmers.   Input tax credit of this cess will be available for payment of this cess.
5. Infrastructure cess, of 1% on small petrol, LPG, CNG cars, 2.5% on diesel cars of certain capacity and 4% on other higher engine capacity vehicles and SUVs. No credit of this cess will be  available nor credit of any other tax or duty be utilized for paying this cess.
6. ‘Clean Energy Cess’ levied on coal, lignite and peat renamed to ‘Clean Environment Cess’ and rate increased from `200 per tonne to `400 per tonne.
7. Excise duties on various tobacco products other than beedi raised by about 10 to 15%.

TECHNOLOGY FOR ACCOUNTABILITY :-

1. Expansion in the scope of e-assessments to all assessees in 7 mega cities in the coming years
2. Interest at the rate of 9% p.a against normal rate of 6% p.a for delay in giving effect to Appellate order beyond ninety days.
3. ‘e-Sahyog’ to be expanded to reduce compliance cost, especially for  small taxpayers

Sectors and the important schemes :-

EMPLOYMENT GENERATION:-

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme :-
  
  • for providing a legal guarantee of 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. All the districts covering rural areas have been brought under NREGA with effect from 01.04.2008.
• National Livelihood Mission (Rural & Urban)
  • for reducing poverty by enabling the poor Rural and Urban households to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities. It would ensure adequate  coverage of vulnerable sections of the society including SCs/STs, women, minorities and persons with disabilities.
  • Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme &  Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

HOUSING:-

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural and Urban) – for providing assistance to rural and urban BPL households for construction of houses and upgradation of kutcha houses. 60% of the total allocation is for construction of houses for BPL families of SCs/STs

RURAL DEVELOPMENT:-

• Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana:-for providing connectivity to eligible unconnected rural habitations through good all-weather roads. The systematic  upgradation of existing rural roads is also  an essential component of the scheme.
• Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation:-National Rural Drinking Water Programme for supplementing the States in their effort to provide safe drinking water to all rural habitations.
  
• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for rural sanitation

IRRIGATION

• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana – Development of Micro irrigation (per drop more crop),Integration Watershed Development Programme,Accelerated irrigation benefit and flood management programme).
  

AGRICULTURE

• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana ,
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
• Krishi Unnati Yojana.
  

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, DAIRYING AND FISHERIES:-

• White Revolution (Rashtriya Pashudhan Vikas Yojna).
• Blue Revolution (including inland and marine fisharies).

ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS:-

• Green India Mission: National Afforestation Programme

CONSUMER AFFAIRS:-

• Price Stabilization Fund
• Consumer Protection

SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY:-

• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
• National Programme of Mid Day Meals in Schools
• Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan

HIGHER EDUCATION :-

• Rashtriya Uchchtar Shiksha Abhiyan.

WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT:-

• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
• Nirbhaya Schemes
• Integrated Child Protection Scheme
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Campaign

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:-

• Digital India Programme and telecommunication and Electronic Industries (Umbrella Programme)

HEALTH:-

• National Health Mission.
• Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
• Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Yojana

AYUSH:-

• National Health Mission (AYUSH System)

INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING:-

• People’s Empowerment through Development Communication
• opening up of four new Regional Centers of IIMC in J&K, Kerala, Maharastra, and Mizoram States

URBAN DEVELOPMENT:-

• Smart Cities & Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
• National Heritage Cities Programme
• Swacch Bharat Mission (Urban).

ROADS & HIGHWAYS:-

• National Highways (Original Works).
• Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North East Region

POWER:-

• Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana
• Integrated Power Development Scheme.

TOURISM:-

• PRASAD,
• Swadesh Darshan

DISABILITY AFFAIRS:-

• Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan

TRIBAL AFFAIRS:-

• Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana

MINORITY AFFAIRS:-

• Nai Manzil’ (Education and Livelihood Programme).

SPORTS:-

• Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Abhiyan
• Khelo India’.

RASHTRIYA KALA SANSKRITI VIKAS:-

• Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana.

FINANCE:-

• Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana
• India Aspiration Fund.
• Aam Admi BIma Yojana
• Atal Pension Yojana

WATER RESOURCES RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION :-

• Namami Gange for cleaning of the Holy Ganga
• National River Conservation Plan

RENEWABLE ENERGY:-

• Solar Energy Programme
• Wind Energy Programme

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme :-

• National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (or, NREGA No 42) was later renamed as the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act” (or, MGNREGA), is an Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the ‘right to work’. It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work
• The MGNREGA was initiated with the objective of “enhancing livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year, to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.Another aim of MGNREGA is to create durable assets (such as roads, canals, ponds, wells). Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid. If work is not provided within 15 days of applying, applicants are entitled to an unemployment allowance. Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal entitlement.
• MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by gram panchayats (GPs). The involvement of contractors is banned. Labour-intensive tasks like creating infrastructure for water harvesting, drought relief and flood control are preferred
• Apart from providing economic security and creating rural assets, NREGA can help in protecting the environment, empowering rural women, reducing rural-urban migration and fostering social equity, among others
• The law provides many safeguards to promote its effective management and implementation. The act explicitly mentions the principles and agencies for implementation, list of allowed works, financing pattern, monitoring and evaluation, and most importantly the detailed measures to ensure transparency and accountability
• The Act aims to follow the Directive Principles of State Policy enunciated in Part IV of the Constitution of India. The law by providing a ‘right to work’ is consistent with Article 41 that directs the State to secure to all citizens the right to work
• The statute also seeks to protect the environment through rural works which is consistent with Article 48A that directs the State to protect the environment
• In accordance with the Article 21 of the Constitution of India that guarantees the right to life with dignity to every citizen of India, this act imparts dignity to the rural people through an assurance of livelihood security.
• The Fundamental Right enshrined in Article 16 of the Constitution of India guarantees equality of opportunity in matters of public employment and prevents the State from discriminating against anyone in matters of employment on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, place of residence or any of them.
• NREGA also follows Article 46 that requires the State to promote the interests of and work for the economic uplift of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and protect them from discrimination and exploitation
• Article 40 mandates the State to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of  self-government.Conferring the primary responsibility of implementation on Gram Panchayats, the Act adheres to this constitutional principle. Also the process of decentralization initiated by 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India that granted a constitutional status to the Panchayats[40] is further reinforced by the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA that endowed these rural self-government institutions with authority to implement the law.

Issues with programs:-

• Comprehensive survey by the CAG documents lapses in implementation of the act.The main problems identified in the audit included: a fall in the level of employment, low rates of completion of works (only 30 per cent of planned works had been completed), poor planning (in one-third of Gram Panchayats, the planning process mandated by the act had not been followed), lack of public awareness partly due to poor information,education and communication IEC) by the state governments, shortage of staff (e.g., Gram Rozgar Sewaks had not been appointed in some states) and so on.
• Notwithstanding the statutory requirement of notification, yet five states had not even notified the eight-years-old scheme. The comprehensive assessment of the performance of the law by the constitutional auditor revealed serious lapses arising mainly due to lack of public awareness, mismanagement and institutional incapacity. The CAG also suggested some corrective measures.
• Further, the CAG audit reports discrepancies in the maintenance of prescribed basic records in up to half of the gram panchayats (GPs) which inhibits the critical evaluation of the NREGA outcomes. The unreliability of Management Information System (MIS), due to significant disparity between the data in the MIS and the actual official documents, is also reported.
• A major criticism of NREGA is that it is making agriculture less profitable. Landholders often oppose it on these grounds. The big farmer’s point of view can be summed up as follows: landless labourers are lazy and they don’t want to work on farms as they can get money without doing anything at NREGA worksites; farmers may have to sell their land, thereby laying foundation for the corporate farming.
• The workers points of view can be summed up as: labourers do not get more than Rs. 80 in the private agricultural labour market, there is no farm work for several months; few old age people who are jobless for at least 8 months a year; when farm work is available they go there first; farmers employ only young and strong persons to work in their farms and reject the others and hence many go jobless most of the time
• NREGA has been criticised for the leakages and corrupt implementation. It has been alleged that individuals have received benefits and work payments for work that they have not done, or have done only on paper, or are not poor.In 2014-15, only 28% of the payments were made on time to workers. Following the allegations of corruption in the scheme, NDA government ordered a re-evaluation of the scheme in 2015.

National  Rural Livelihood Mission :-

National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) is a poverty alleviation project implemented by Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. This scheme is focused on promoting self-employment and organization of rural poor.

• The basic idea behind this programme is to organize the poor into SHG (Self Help Groups) groups and make them capable for self-employment. In 1999 after restructuring Integrated Rural Development Programme(IRDP), Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) launched Swarnajayanti Grameen Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) to focus on promoting self-employment among rural poor.
• SGSY is now remodeled to form NRLM thereby plugging the shortfalls of SGSY programme.This scheme was launched in 2011 with a budget of $ 5.1 billion and is one of the flagship programmes of Ministry of Rural Development. This is one of the world’s largest initiatives to improve the livelihood of poor. This programme is supported by World Bank with a credit of $1 Billion
• The basic idea behind MSGS scheme was to form SHG groups and help them to start some entrepreneurial activities.ref name

Issues:-

• NRLM plans to generate livelihood and provision of other rural services through SHG groups. But making it mandatory to be a part of SHG for access to various services may exclude some people from this system.
• Not everyone in rural area may be a member of SHG group and not everyone would like to be a member of such group. Some people may like to form other aggregation mechanism or would like to start up new livelihood individually. So if the government make it mandatory to be part of SHG as a means to access various service, the process will get corrupted and exploitative.
• For example, in Tamil Nadu a new group of money lenders (Micro Finance agents) have been formed who act as the intermediary between SHG groups and banks. Through the nexus between banks and micro finance agents, banks try to achieve their targets for financial inclusion, loan payment etc. These agents receive commission from the SHG groups. In order to achieve the targets the banks have given loans arbitrarily to the SHG groups via micro finance agents. These kinds of loans are not used in creation of income generating activity and so there will be default in loan repayment. After this the poor SHG members will be targeted by banks for loan repayment. So it is important to check the misuse of this scheme at the ground level.
• There are lot of cases were SHG have been disintegrated or taken over by elites among the poor. The highhandedness of elites in the group should be checked otherwise the poor will be alienated. So it will be better that NRLM focus on household as primary target of the programme.
• Rural economy is very diverse, many segments are there within the rural low income group and also across broader rural economy. So it is important that a range of services are provided to different group as per their need and necessity. For this the scheme should be very flexible even at the village level.
• The design of NRLM looks far too academic and as top down approach. This is the main reason for the failure of earlier projects like IRDP and SGSY.
• In Andhra Pradesh (Indira Kranti Pathaam) and Kerala (Kudumbashree) the experiment with mass SHG programme has shown positive results, the same need not happen in other states. In these two states the programmes were led and supported by brilliant and committed officers and they had long tenure in that organisation/position. The same cannot be expected in all states

Atal Pension Yojana:-

• Atal Pension Yojana is a government-backed pension scheme in India targeted at the unorganised sector.
• As of May 2015, only 11% of India’s population has any kind of pension scheme, this scheme aims to increase the number
• In Atal Pension Yojana, for every contribution made to the pension fund, The Central Government would also co-contribute 50% of the total contribution or ₹1,000 (US$15) per annum, whichever is lower, to each eligible subscriber account, for a period of 5 years.
• The minimum age of joining APY is 18 years and maximum age is 40 years. The age of exit and start of pension would be 60 years. Therefore, minimum period of contribution by the subscriber under APY would be 20 years or more.
• Aadhaar would be the primary KYC document for identification of beneficiaries, spouse and nominees to avoid pension rights and entitlement related disputes in the long-term.
• The subscribers are required to opt for a monthly pension from Rs. 1000 – Rs. 5000 and ensure payment of stipulated monthly contribution regularly. The subscribers can opt to decrease or increase pension amount during the course of accumulation phase, as per the available monthly pension amounts. However, the switching option shall be provided once in year during the month of April.

Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana :-

• Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Hindi: बेटी बचाओ, बेटी पढ़ाओ, Save girl child, educate girl child) is a Government of India scheme that aims to generate awareness and improving the efficiency of welfare services meant for women.Objective being –  1.Prevent gender biased sex selective elimination 2.Ensure survival & protection of the girl child 3.Ensure education of the girl child
• According to census data, the child sex Ratio (0-6 years) in India was 927 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001, which dropped drastically to 918  girls for every 1,000 boys in 2011. A 2012 UNICEF report has ranked India 41st among 195 countries.
• The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme has been introduced in October, 2014 to address the issue declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR). This is being implemented through a national campaign and focussed multi sectoral action in 100 selected districts low in CSR, covering all States and UTs. This is a joint initiative of Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Human Resource Development
• The hashtag #SelfieWithDaughter was promoted on social media in June 2015, which started when the sarpanch of the village Bibipur in Haryana took a selfie with his daughter and posted on Facebook on 19 June 2015.The hashtag garnered worldwide fame.

Strategy:-

• Implement a sustained Social Mobilization and Communication Campaign to create equal value for the girl child & promote her education.
• Place the issue of decline in CSR/SRB in public discourse, improvement of which would be a indicator for good governance.
• Focus on Gender Critical Districts and Cities low on CSR for intensive & integrated action.
• Mobilize & Train Panchayati Raj Institutions/Urban local bodies/ Grassroot workers as catalysts for social change, in partnership with local community/women’s/youth groups.
• Ensure service delivery structures/schemes & programmes are sufficiently responsive to issues of gender and children’s rights.
• Enable Inter-sectoral and inter-institutional convergence at District/Block/Grassroot levels.

Housing for All  by 2022:-

• The Project is aimed for urban areas with following components/options to States/Union Territories and cities:-

  1. Slum rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers with participation of private developers using land as a resource;
  2. Promotion of affordable housing for weaker section through credit linked subsidy;
  3. Affordable housing in partnership with Public & Private sectors and
  4. Subsidy for beneficiary-led individual house construction or enhancement.
• The government has identified 305 cities and towns have been identified in 9 states for beginning construction of houses for urban poor.
• The central government aims to provide housing to all its citizens by the year 2022. As per our estimate, the vision entails development of about 11 crore housing units, including the current shortage of about 6 crore units. The housing need is almost equally distributed in urban and rural areas in the range of 5 to 6 crore units, and primarily consists of affordable houses

Challenges:-

• Slow urban development but high urban population growth :-
  • 30 per cent of the population occupies only 2.3 per cent of India’s geographical area
  • India is witnessing high urban population growth
• Rigid urban planning process:-
  • Unplanned growth of urban regions
  • Master planning lacks integration of spatial planning
• Lengthy and complex approval:-
  • Currently, 30 to 40 approvals are required which generally takes about two to three years
  • According to the World Bank, ‘Doing business 2013’ report, India has one of the most cumbersome and lengthy processes
• Lack of adequate funding sources:-
  • Limited funding channels for developers (especially from banks)
  • Overdependence on households’ savings
  • Limited foreign funding sources
• High cost of development
  • Consistent inflation of key input costs
  • Several indirect taxes such as Stamp Duty, VAT, etc. adds up in housing cost
  • It is estimated that these taxes account for about 30 to 35 per cent of the total housing cost.
• Restrictive development norms
  • The limited urban land is utilised inappropriately
  • Resulted in horizontal development of housing (except in few cities).
• Cost overrun and project delays
  • Shortage of trained workforce, inefficent cost management, scope creep, etc. affect the financial sustainability of housing projects
  • Inadequate planning, and inadequate usage of technology tends to results in project delays.
  • 25 per cent of ongoing housing projects are delayed across India

Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana:-

• National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) was launched on 21 January 2015 with the aim of bringing together urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation in an inclusive manner to preserve the heritage character of each Heritage City.
• The Scheme shall support development of core heritage infrastructure projects including revitalization of linked urban infrastructure for heritage assets such as monuments, Ghats, temples etc. along with reviving certain intangible assets. These initiatives shall include development of sanitation facilities, roads, public transportation & parking, citizen services, information kiosks etc
• The Scheme is set to be implemented in 12 identified Cities namely, Ajmer, Amaravati,(Andhra Pradesh), Amritsar, Badami, Dwarka, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi, Velankanni and Warangal.

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana:-

• Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana is a government-backed Life insurance scheme in India .As of May 2015, only 20% of India’s population has any kind of insurance, this scheme aims to increase the number.
• Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana is available to people between 18 and 50 years of age with bank accounts. It has an annual premium of ₹330 (US$4.90) excluding service tax, which is above 14% of the premium. The amount will be automatically debited from the account. In case of death due to any cause, the payment to the nominee will be ₹2 lakh

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana :-

• Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana  (PMJDY) is National Mission for Financial Inclusion to ensure access to financial services, namely Banking Savings & Deposit Accounts, Remittance, Credit, Insurance, Pension in an affordable manner. This financial inclusion campaign was launched by the Prime Minister  on 28 August 2014
• Run by Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, on the inauguration day, 1.5 Crore (15 million) bank accounts were opened under this scheme.
• Guinness World Records Recognises the Achievements made under PMJDY, Guinness World Records Certificate says “The most bank accounts opened in 1 week as a part of financial inclusion campaign is 18,096,130 and was achieved by Banks in India from 23 to 29 August 2014”. By 10 February 2016, over 20 crore (200 million) bank accounts were opened and ₹323.78 billion (US$4.8 billion) were deposited under the scheme.
• Under the scheme:
  1. Account holders will be provided zero-balance bank account with RuPay debit card, in addition to accidental insurance cover of ₹1 lakh (US$1,500) (to be given by ‘HDFC Ergo’).
  2. Those who open accounts by 26 January 2015 over and above the ₹1 lakh (US$1,500) accident claim will also be given life insurance cover of ₹30,000 (US$440) (to be given by LIC).
  3. After Six months of opening of the bank account, holders can avail ₹5,000 (US$74) overdraft from the bank.
  4. With the introduction of new technology introduced by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a person can transfer funds, check balance through a normal phone which was earlier limited only to smart phones so far.
  5. Mobile banking for the poor would be available through National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP) for which all banks and mobile companies have come together

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana :-

• Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana under the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank is a new institution being set up by Government of India for development and refinancing activities relating to micro units.  The purpose of MUDRA is to provide funding to the non corporate small business sector.Loans worth about Rs 1 lakh crore have been sanctioned to small entrepreneurs under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today, emphasising that the government wants youth to be job creators and not job seekers
• Under the scheme, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana three categories of interventions has been named which includes
  1. Shishu :- Loan up to ₹50,000 (US$740)
  2. Kishore :- Loan ranging from ₹50,000 (US$740) to ₹5 lakh (US$7,400)
  3. Tarun :- Loan above ₹5 lakh (US$7,400) and below ₹10 lakh (US$15,000)

  These three categories will signify the growth, development and funding needs of the beneficiaries as well as it will assure the loan amount to be allotted by Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana:-

• The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana or PMGSY is a nationwide plan in India to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages

• The goal was to provide roads to all villages

  1. with a population of 1000 persons and above by 2003
  2. with a population of 500 persons and above by 2007
  3. in hill states, tribal and desert area villages with a population of 500 persons and above by 2003
  4. in hill states, tribal and desert area villages with a population of 250 persons and above by 2007

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana:-

• Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is a government-backed accident insurance scheme in India.As of May 2015, only 20% of India’s population has any kind of insurance, this scheme aims to increase the number
• Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is available to people between 18 and 70 years of age with bank accounts. It has an annual premium of ₹12 (18¢ US) excluding service tax, which is about 14% of the premium.
• The amount will be automatically debited from the account. In case of accidental death or full disability, the payment to the nominee will be ₹2 lakh (US$2,900) and in case of partial Permanent disability ₹1 lakh (US$1,500). Full disability has been defined as loss of use in both eyes, hands or feet. Partial Permanent disability has been defined as loss of use in one eye, hand or foot.

Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana :-

• Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) is a rural development programme broadly focusing upon the development in the villages which includes social development, cultural development and spread motivation among the people on social mobilization of the village community.
• The distinct feature of this Yojana is that it is (a) demand driven (b) inspired by society (c) based on people’s participation.
• Key objectives of the Yojana include:
  1. The development of model villages, called Adarsh Grams, through the implementation of existing schemes, and certain new initiatives to be designed for the local context, which may vary from village to village.
  2. Creating models of local development which can be replicated in other villages.
• Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana was initiated to bring the member of parliament of all the political parties under the same umbrella while taking the responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in villages and turn them into model villages
•  Under this scheme, each member of parliament needs to choose one village each from the constituency that they represent, except their own village or their in-laws village and fix parameters and make it a model village by 2016.
• No new funds are allocated to this Yojana and funds may be raised through :
  1. Funds from existing schemes, such as the Indira Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and Backward Regions Grant Fund, etc.,
  2. The Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS),
  3. The gram panchayat’s own revenue,
  4. Central and State Finance Commission Grants, and
  5. Corporate Social Responsibility funds.

Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana:-

• Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) is an initiative launched by the Government of India to provide sustainable income to poorest poor people living in rural & urban areas of the country. The scheme was launched on April 1, 1999.
• The SGSY aims at providing self-employment to villagers through the establishment of self-help groups. Activity clusters are established based on the aptitude and skill of the people which are nurtured to their maximum potential. Funds are provided by NGOs, banks and financial institutions
• The SHGs created may have a varying number of members based on the terrain and physical abilities of the members. It goes through three stages of creation:
  • Group formation
  • Capital formation through the revolving fund and skill development and
  • Taking up of economic activity for skill generation.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana:-

• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana or DAY is a Government of India scheme for the helping the poor by providing skill training.
•  It replace Aajevika. The targets is training 0.5 million people in urban area per annum from 2016 and in rural area it is training 1 million people by 2017. Further, in urban areas services like SHG promotion, training centres, vendors markets, permanent shelters for homeless will be provided for. The aim of scheme is skill development of both rural and urban India as per requisite international standards

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana :-

• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana  (DDUGJY) is a Government of India scheme designed to provide continuous power supply to rural India
• The DDUGJY scheme will enable to initiate much awaited reforms in the rural areas. It focuses on feeder separation (rural households & agricultural) and strengthening of sub-transmission & distribution infrastructure including metering at all levels in rural areas. This will help in providing round the clock power to rural households and adequate power to agricultural consumers .The earlier scheme for rural electrification viz. Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) has been subsumed in the new scheme as its rural electrification component.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana:-

• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana or DDU-GKY is a Government of India youth employment scheme.It aims to target youth, under the age group of 15–35 years.

 Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation:-

• Its focuse is on the urban renewal projects is to establish infrastructure that could ensure adequate robust sewerage networks and water supply for urban transformation. Rajasthan was the first state in the country to submit State Annual Action Plan under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
• The scheme Housing for All by 2022 and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) were launched on the same day. The scheme is dependent with public private partnership model(PPP) model. If required, various other schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission, Housing for All 2022, along with the local state schemes like that related to water supply and sewerage and other infrastructure related schemes can be linked to AMRUT

Smart Cities Mission:-

• Smart Cities Mission is an urban renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India with a mission to develop 100 cities all over the country making them citizen friendly and sustainable.
• The Union Ministry of Urban Development is responsible for implementing the mission in collaboration with the state governments of the respective cities.
• Smart cities are projected to be equipped with basic infrastructure and will offer a good quality of life through smart solutions. Assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, robust IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation along with safety of its citizens are some of the likely attributes of these smart cities.

National Rural Health Mission:-

• The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is an initiative undertaken by the government of India to address the health needs of under-served rural areas.
• The thrust of the mission is on establishing a fully functional, community owned, decentralized health delivery system with inter-sectoral convergence at all levels, to ensure simultaneous action on a wide range of determinants of health such as water, sanitation, education, nutrition, social and gender equality. Institutional integration within the fragmented health sector was expected to provide a focus on outcomes, measured against Indian Public Health Standards for all health facilities.
• Some of the major initiatives under National Health Mission (NHM) are as follows:

  • Accredited Social Health Activists:-Community Health volunteers called Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) have been engaged under the mission for establishing a link between the community and the health system. ASHA is the first port of call for any health related demands of deprived sections of the population, especially women and children, who find it difficult to access health services in rural areas. ASHA Programme is expanding across States and has particularly been successful in bringing people back to Public Health System and has increased the utilization of outpatient services, diagnostic facilities, institutional deliveries and inpatient care.

  • Rogi Kalyan Samiti (Patient Welfare Committee) / Hospital Management Society:-The Rogi Kalyan Samiti (Patient Welfare Committee) / Hospital Management Society is a management structure that acts as a group of trustees for the hospitals to manage the affairs of the hospital. Financial assistance is provided to these Committees through untied fund to undertake activities for patient welfare

  • Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) :-JSY aims to reduce maternal mortality among pregnant women by encouraging them to deliver in government health facilities. Under the scheme cash assistance is provided to eligible pregnant women for giving birth in a government health facility. Large scale demand side financing under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) has brought poor households to public sector health facilities on a scale never witnessed before.

  • National Mobile Medical Units (NMMUs):- Many un-served areas have been covered through National Mobile Medical Units (NMMUs)

  • Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK):-A Child Health Screening and Early Intervention Services has been launched in February 2013 to screen diseases specific to childhood, developmental delays, disabilities, birth defects and deficiencies. The initiative will cover about 27 crore children between 0–18 years of age and also provide free treatment including surgery for health problems diagnosed under this initiative.

  • National Ambulance Services:-Free ambulance services are provided in every nook and corner of the country connected with a toll free number and reaches within 30 minutes of the call.

  • Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) :- As part of recent initiatives and further moving in the direction of universal healthcare, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakarm (JSSK) was introduced to provide free to and fro transport, free drugs, free diagnostic, free blood, free diet to pregnant women who come for delivery in public health institutions and sick infants up to one year.

  • Free Drugs and Free Diagnostic Service:-A new initiative is launched under the National Health Mission to provide Free Drugs Service and Free Diagnostic Service with a motive to lower the out of pocket expenditure on health.

  • District Hospital and Knowledge Center (DHKC):-As a new initiative District Hospitals are being strengthened to provide Multi-specialty health care including dialysis care, intensive cardiac care, cancer treatment, mental illness, emergency medical and trauma care etc. These hospitals would act as the knowledge support for clinical care in facilities below it through a tele-medicine center located in the district headquarters and also developed as centers for training of paramedics and nurses.

  • National Iron+ Initiative:-The National Iron+ Initiative is an attempt to look at Iron Deficiency Anaemia in which beneficiaries will receive iron and folic acid supplementation irrespective of their Iron/Hb status. This initiative will bring together existing programmes (IFA supplementation for: pregnant and lactating women and; children in the age group of 6–60 months) and introduce new age groups.

Bharatmala:-

• Bharatmala is a name given to ambitious road and highways project.
• The project will start from Gujarat and Rajasthan, move to Punjab and then cover the entire string of Himalayan states – Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand – and then portions of borders of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alongside Terai, and move to Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and right up to the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur and Mizoram.

Sagar Mala :-

• Sagar Mala project is a strategic and customer-oriented initiative of the Government of India to modernize India’s Ports so that port-led development can be augmented and coastlines can be developed to contribute in India’s growth. It looks towards “transforming the existing Ports into modern world class Ports and integrate the development of the Ports, the Industrial clusters and hinterland and efficient evacuation systems through road, rail, inland and coastal waterways resulting in Ports becoming the drivers of economic activity in coastal areas
• The project includes modernization of our ports and islands, setting up of coastal economic zones, new major ports and fish harbors

Setu Bharatam:-

• Setu Bharatam was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 4 March 2016 at a budget of ₹102 billion (US$1.5 billion), with an aims to make all national highways free of railway crossings by 2019

Digital India:-

• Digital India is an initiative by the Government of India to ensure that Government services are made available to citizens electronically by improving online infrastructure and by increasing Internet connectivity. It was launched on 1 July 2015.The initiative includes plans to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks. Digital India has three core components. These include.
      The creation of digital infrastructure
      Delivering services digitally
      Digital literacy

• Pillars

  The Government of India hopes to achieve growth on multiple fronts with the Digital India Programme. Specifically, the government aims to target nine ‘Pillars of Digital India’ that they identify as being:

  1. Broadband Highways
  2. Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity
  3. Public Internet Access Programme
  4. e-Governance – Reforming Government through Technology
  5. eKranti – Electronic delivery of services
  6. Information for All
  7. Electronics Manufacturing
  8. IT for Jobs
  9. Early Harvest Programmes

• Services

  • DigiLocker:-Digital Locker facility will help citizens to digitally store their important documents like PAN card, passport, mark sheets and degree certificates. Digital Locker will provide secure access to Government issued documents. It uses authenticity services provided by Aadhaar. It is aimed at eliminating the use of physical documents and enables sharing of verified electronic documents across government agencies

Make in India:-

• Make in India is an initiative of the Government of India to encourage multi-national, as well as domestic, companies to manufacture their products in India
• Make in India focuses on the following 25 sectors of the economy:
  • Automobiles
  • Automobile Components
  • Aviation
  • Biotechnology
  • Chemicals
  • Construction
  • Defence manufacturing
  • Electrical Machinery
  • Electronic systems
  • Food Processing
  • Information Technology and Business process management
  • Leather
  • Media and Entertainment
  • Mining
  • Oil and Gas
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Ports and Shipping
  • Railways
  • Renewable Energy
  • Roads and Highways
  • Space
  • Textiles and Garments
  • Thermal Power
  • Tourism and Hospitality
  • Wellness
• 100% FDI is permitted in all the above sectors, except for space (74%), defence (49%) and news media (26%).

Startup India:-

• Startup India campaign is based on an action plan aimed at promoting bank financing for start-up ventures to boost entrepreneurship and encourage start ups with jobs creation.

• Key points

  • Single Window Clearance even with the help of a mobile application
  • 10,000 crore fund of funds
  • 80% reduction in patent registration fee
  • Modified and more friendly Bankruptcy Code to ensure 90-day exit window
  • Freedom from mystifying inspections for 3 years
  • Freedom from Capital Gain Tax for 3 years
  • Freedom from tax in profits for 3 years
  • Eliminating red tape
  • Self-certification compliance
  • Innovation hub under Atal Innovation Mission
  • Starting with 5 lakh schools to target 10 lakh children for innovation programme
  • new schemes to provide IPR protection to start-ups and new firms
  • encourage entrepreneurship.
  • Stand India across the world as a start-up hub.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan:-

• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Hindi: स्वच्छ भारत अभियान, English: Clean India Mission and abbreviated as SBA or SBM for “Swachh Bharat Mission”) is a national campaign by the Government of India, covering 4,041 statutory cities and towns, to clean the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country
• Latest list of clean cities of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan:-

1 Mysuru

2 Chandigarh

3 Tiruchirapalli

4 New Delhi Municipal Council

5 Visakhapatnam

6 Surat

7 Rajkot

8 Gangtok

9 Pimprichindwad

10 Greater Mumbai