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THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 22 MARCH 2019 (Back on track: On India-Maldives ties (The Hindu))

Back on track: On India-Maldives ties (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: International Relations
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: India-Maldives ties

Context

  •  India and the Maldives appeared to return to the old days of strategic bonhomie when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met her counterpart Abdulla Shahid in Male during a brief visit this week.
  •  It is the first full-fledged bilateral visit at the political level from India to the Maldives after the new government assumed office in the wake of the historic election last September.
  •  President Ibrahim Solih assumed charge after a multi-party, pro-democracy coalition led by his Maldivian Democratic Party was swept to power.
  •  Mr. Solih’s inauguration, which was marked by the attendance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was assumed to be a potential inflection point in the trajectory of bilateral ties with India.

Embrace of China

  •  The previous five years witnessed Male’s disconcerting drift, under the aegis of the Abdulla Yameen government, into what many Maldivians felt was the stifling embrace of China.
  •  Chinese financing for infrastructure and construction projects poured in even as the functioning of the political Opposition and the judiciary was harshly curtailed.
  •  All of this flux appeared to have been washed away on September 23, 2018 when the Maldivian electorate voted resoundingly for the coalition that backed Mr. Solih for President.

Opportunity for both countries

  •  There is indeed an opportunity for reset on numerous policies, and some of that has already happened.
  •  In December, when Mr. Solih visited India, a $1.4 billion financial assistance package for the Maldives was announced.
  •  The proximity of the Indian general election may have precluded any major policy announcements from New Delhi.
  •  The two countries have agreed to exempt holders of diplomatic and official passports from visa requirements, inked an MoU on Indian grant-in-aid for “high-impact community development projects”, and other agreements on energy efficiency and renewable energy, areas critical to the agenda of Mr. Solih.
  •  At a broader level, the archipelago and the larger Indian Ocean region could expect more collaborative approaches on regional maritime security issues, including counterterrorism and trans-national crimes.

Way forward

  •  However, Male is still grappling with the legacy of the Yameen administration’s headlong plunge into the orbit of Beijing.
  •  The massive debts the Maldives incurred, by some estimates to the tune of $3 billion, linked to infrastructure investments need to be unwound.
  •  The multiparty alliance must hold firm despite immense political pressures that arise from varying visions for governance.
  •  Some tensions already seem to be bubbling to the top: on February 25, Mohamed Nasheed, former President and important coalition-builder in the MDP, tweeted about the country’s Supreme Court “meddling in elections again”.
  •  For genuine peace and bilateral harmony to take root in the region, building a shared vision for the future of the Maldives is the immediate task at hand.

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THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 21 MARCH 2019 (In Ayushman Bharat, primary and secondary healthcare complement each other (Indian Express))

In Ayushman Bharat, primary and secondary healthcare complement each other (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2: Governance
Prelims level: Ayushman Bharat
Mains level: Ayushman Bharat implementation and impacts

Context

  •  Ayushman Bharat promotes secondary and tertiary care at the cost of primary care.
  •  The Perception of all health needs in India relate only to primary care and there is no need to expand support for tertiary care.
  •  The Perception of Ayushman Bharat is taking away resources from primary care and benefiting big private hospitals.
  •  Even if we do our best to promote good health, there will still be a critical need for tertiary care and secondary care.

Non-communicable diseases

  •  The diseases related to old age will increase even among the poor strong primary healthcare system requires an equally strong secondary and tertiary healthcare system.
  •  Secondary and tertiary care in the country is largely provided by private sector  inaccessible to the poor Ayushman Bharat has changed that.
  •  Ayushman Bharat has two legs.
  •  The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), covers more than 50 crore people in the country the poorest against serious illnesses.
  •  To strengthen primary healthcare upgrade more than 1.5 lakh health facilities to health and wellness Centres (HWC).
  •  The resources spent on the PMJAY component of Ayushman Bharat are still a very small proportion of the entire health budget.
  •  A major portion of the health budget is spent on primary care and secondary care, almost entirely focused on public sector supply of the healthcare services.
  •  The 2017 Health Policy is increasing the health sector allocation to 2.5 per cent of the GDP for decades, hovered at around 1 per cent of the GDP.

High level political commitment for the health sector

  •  If this trend continues, we should be able to provide much needed tertiary care for the poor without compromising the support for primary healthcare.
  •  States have freedom to choose the implementation model; in fact, most states, including all the large ones (UP, Bihar, MP, AP) have decided to use a trust model where the government directly purchases healthcare services from the hospitals without using any insurance company.
  •  Of the states that are using the insurance model most have resorted to public sector insurance companies.

Conclusion

  •  Finally, the scheme has a “claw-back” clause in its model contract, which limits the margin of the insurance companies to only 15 per cent they will have to return the government any extra margin.
  •  This margin includes administrative expenses and therefore the potential profit is much less than 15 per cent, while the loss for the company could be quite high.
  •  The scheme’s design ensures that private sector hospitals do not unduly receive a large proportion of financial resources. The payment for services is based on fixed package rate for each procedure, which is largely based on the marginal cost.
  •  The scheme also has strong features for preventing, mitigating and deterring fraud and abuse.

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THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 21 MARCH 2019 (Trade liberalisation, but on our terms (The Hindu))

Trade liberalisation, but on our terms (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: TRQ
Mains level: TRQ highlights and benefits

Context

  •  Tariff rate quotas (TRQs) can work as deal-makers in global trade talks by balancing the interests of local producers and consumers.

What is a TRQ?

  •  A TRQ is a mechanism that allows a set quantity of specific products to be imported at a low or zero rate of duty.
  •  TRQs are established under trade agreements between countries.
  •  The “TRQ commitment” does not apply any limits on the quantity per se of import of a product.
  •  Instead, it applies a higher rate of duty for that specific product once imports up to the “TRQ commitment” have been reached.
  •  So essentially, a TRQ is a two-tiered tariff instrument.
  •  Imports entering within the quota portion of a TRQ are subject to a lower tariff rate called the tariff quota rate.
  •  The later imports face a much higher tariff rate, which is normally the MFN (Most Favoured Nation) tariff.
  •  [MFN tariffs are what countries promise to impose uniformly on imports from other members of the WTO.]

Need

  •  India has a whopping $104-billion trade deficit with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) grouping.
  •  This was 64% of India’s total trade deficit of 2017-18.
  •  Consequently, there is a debate on opening up a significant portion of the market.
  •  Several other trade agreements are also in various stages of negotiations.
  •  In this context, the introduction of Tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) can be a more relevant transitional tool.
  •  This may provide a degree of safeguard to the future demand growth in a rapidly expanding market.

Prevalent is TRQ use

  •  The use of TRQ as an instrument is globally quite prevalent.
  •  Tariff quotas are used on a wide range of products but most are in the agriculture sector.
  •  Cereals, meat, fruit and vegetables, and dairy products are the most common, and sugar is also protected in most producing countries.
  •  It is estimated that as many as 1,200 TRQs are operated each year by WTO members including EU, Japan, Canada and the US.
  •  This ensures that limited volumes of sensitive products can enter their market at a low tariff.
  •  However, the tariff outside the TRQ quantity is kept high to offer a degree of protection to the domestic producers.
  •  E.g. the US cotton tariff quota protects US cotton growers while allowing textiles manufactures to import some cheaper cotton also

TRQs benefit countries

  •  TRQs protect domestic producers from having to face competition from large quantities of imports.
  •  They also allow consumers and producers in the importing country to enjoy a benefit of lower priced products.
  •  TRQs are used as sweeteners to help reach a consensus in trade negotiations. E.g. EU-Japan bilateral deal was finalised with a TRQ for cheeses
  •  On the other hand, TRQs help overcome traditional domestic opposition to trade deals.

Way forward

  •  If India is to induce investments in manufacturing, it need not have to commit entirely to a zero tariff regime.
  •  A quantity-linked tariff elimination as that in TRQ could be considered in the long run.
  •  But the TRQ administration system must not impair or nullify the market access commitments negotiated.
  •  It should be transparent, minimising transactional costs for traders.
  •  Historically, the quotas are allocated through a slew of processes including auction, first-come, first-served, licence and finally, import by trading entities.

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THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 21 MARCH 2019 (On the learning curve: transforming education outcomes in India (The Hindu))

On the learning curve: transforming education outcomes in India (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Governance
Prelims level: Education Ranking system
Mains level: Discuss the highlights of the system

Context

  •  Improvement in learning outcomes is an immediate goal for India to fulfil its aspirations of playing a greater role in the global economy.
  •  It is crucial that the states adopt a systemic approach to transforming education outcomes, drawing lessons from the successful models.

Significant is the education department

  •  The education department certainly has the largest share of employees in the State governments in India.
  •  Besides frontline service providers (teachers), there are a number of other officials and administrators.
  •  They form an important part of the overall educational set-up.
  •  So having proper educational reform policies in place is essential to effectively utilise this human resource to achieve higher learning outcomes.

Major challenges

  •  Education transformation programmes by the States are often not designed in a way to be agreed upon by all key actors.
  •  Any effort at education reforms must ensure that the incentives of all stakeholders are aligned throughout the system to ensure their participation.
  •  A successful example of implementing such an all encompassing road map can be seen in Haryana.

About the Haryana's model

  •  Haryana has created a race among its administrative blocks to be declared as ‘Saksham’ (Hindi for abled/skilled).
  •  This means that they should have 80% or more students who are grade level competent i.e. the appropriate level of competence for a particular grade.
  •  Under this campaign, officials take up remedial programmes, teacher training and internal assessments.
  •  Consequently, if they are confident that their block has achieved the 80% target, state officials nominate their block for the ‘Saksham Ghoshna’.
  •  This self-nomination is then followed by rigorous rounds of third party assessments to check their claims.
  •  If a block is found to be ‘Saksham’, the block officials are recognised and honoured by the State administration.
  •  Further, when all blocks in a district are declared as ‘Saksham’, the entire district is also accorded the ‘Saksham’ status.
  •  According to the latest third party assessment, 94 blocks out of a total of 119 in Haryana have been declared ‘Saksham’.
  •  The overall grade competence has been assessed at 80%, a giant leap from 40% in 2014.
  •  Given these early successes, many other States are also embarking on such programmes.

Implication highlights

  •  Inducing competition among administrative units helps encourage the key stakeholders to work in tandem to achieve the intended outcomes.
  •  Competition also makes abstract goals such as ‘learning outcomes’ more real by defining exact ‘actionable’ metrics of improvement.
  •  Further, with encouragement from above, such campaigns lead to a shift in the mindset of a State’s education administrators.
  •  Otherwise, generally, there is lack of motivation to believe and work towards the achievement of high learning outcomes.
  •  So political commitment to improve the education quality along with proper review and monitoring mechanisms can spur meaningful activity in States.

NITI Aayog's approach in this regard

  •  Since its inception, the NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) insists on competitive federalism.
  •  Competitive federalism puts pressure on policymakers across States to perform better on pre-defined goals and metrics.
  •  SEQI - To translate the above into education, NITI Aayog has now developed the State-level ‘School Education Quality Index’ (SEQI).
  •  The index gives scores to States based on their educational performance and puts this data out in the public domain.
  •  SEQI uses 3 data sources, including the National Achievement Survey.
  •  It comes out with 33 indicators to measure education outcomes, of which the largest weightage (48%) is given to learning outcomes.

It adopts a two-fold ranking system

  •  To an overall performance score recognises well-performing States
  •  To a delta ranking that measures the level of improvement made by States from their base year.
  •  In effect, the NITI’s Aayog’s State ranking encourages competition among States and thus motivates other States to consistently improve.

ADP

  •  The NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Districts programme (ADP), launched in early 2018, also draws from the model of competition.
  •  Here, under-served districts across the country compete with each other in order to achieve targets in 5 crucial sectors.
  •  These include education, which has among a weightage of 30%.
  •  These districts are monitored on a real-time basis and ranked on the basis of their progress.
  •  The follow-up for each indicator is handled by the respective Ministry, while NITI Aayog handles the data compilation and dissemination.
  •  Significantly, there is a constant focus on recognising and disseminating best practices of select districts to other States.
  •  This acts as a reward for well-performing local administrations.
  •  This strategy has already shown success with districts that were ranked low in baseline surveys showing remarkable progress in subsequent rounds of assessment.
  •  These include Virudhunagar (TN), Nuapada (Odisha), Gumla (Jharkhand), Siddharthnagar (UP), Vizianagaram (Andhra Pradesh).

Conclusion

  •  Evidently, the right incentive structures for stakeholders lead to administrative efficiency, thereby improving the quality of service delivery.
  •  States therefore need to induce competition and encourage all key actors in education to improve the learning levels.
  •  This systemic approach can go a long way in transforming education in India.

The case of the missing election in J and K (Indian Express)

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THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 21 MARCH 2019 (The case of the missing election in J and K (Indian Express))

The case of the missing election in J and K (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2: Polity
Prelims level: Article 324(2)
Mains level: Election procedure

Context

  •  On December 28, 2018, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh confidently told the Lok Sabha that the government was prepared for an election in Jammu and Kashmir any time.
  •  As Home Minister he knew the security situation in the State.
  •  He explicitly added that if the Election Commission decided to hold the elections, the Home Ministry would provide the security requisite for the conduct of a free and fair poll.

Background

  •  From December 20, President’s rule was imposed in the State with dubious constitutional validity.
  •  When the Rajya Sabha debated its ratification on January 3, Mr. Singh repeated his assurance in these unqualified terms: “We are willing to provide whatever security force Election Commission wants for holding elections there.”
  •  Responding to Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s question on why elections were not held after the BJP pulled out of the State government, Mr. Singh said, “If the Election Commission wants, our government will have no objection.”

Implication of assurances

  •  The implication of both assurances in identically explicit terms to each House of Parliament on separate occasions was clear.
  •  Mr. Singh was cognisant of the security situation and was confident that a simultaneous poll was possible. But on March 10, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora announced that while Assembly polls will be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim, they would not be held likewise in Jammu and Kashmir.
  •  He asserted, ahead of the reactions in Kashmir, that “the Election Commission will not capitulate to anyone”.
  •  The feeble reasons he gave, despite the Home Minister’s assurances, confirm the impression of a ‘fixed matter’.
  •  He argued, “The Election Commission recently visited Jammu and Kashmir, met political parties and government officials.
  •  Due to constraints in the number of security forces and recent violent incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, there will be no Assembly elections in the State.”
  •  There are three obvious flaws in this laboured defence. The Union Home Minister is better informed of the political and security situation in Jammu and Kashmir than the Election Commission can be after its brief visit.
  •  He has inputs from the Central and State intelligence besides other sources.
  •  He was surely well aware of the “constraints in the number of security forces” when he repeatedly offered his categorical assurances.
  •  And when was Kashmir free from “violent incidents” ever since 1996, when elections began to be held after the outbreak of militancy there in 1989?

Suggestions and amendments

  •  In 1974, a Committee on Electoral Reforms, appointed by Jayaprakash Narayan, suggested that the members of the Election Commission should be appointed by the President on the advice of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (or a Member of Parliament elected by the Opposition) in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India.
  •  In May 1990, an All-Party Committee on Electoral Reforms recommended consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition.
  •  This was modified in the Constitution (70th Amendment) Bill which the then Union Law Minister, Dinesh Goswami, who had chaired the Committee, moved in the Rajya Sabha on May 30, 1990.
  •  Article 324(2) was to be amended to enjoin consultation with the presiding officers of both Houses of Parliament and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
  •  The Chief Justice of India was dropped from this panel.
  •  In appointing the other Election Commissioners, the Chief Election Commissioner was also to be consulted.
  •  The Bill lapsed on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Consultation with the two political figures who preside over the House of Parliament is surely a far weaker check than one with the Chief Justice of India.

Instances of partisanship

  •  On October 23, 2018, the Supreme Court referred to a five-judge Bench a PIL seeking a collegium-like system for the selection of the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners.
  •  It was opposed by Attorney General K.K. Venugopal contending that persons of unblemished virtue had held the post of Chief Election Commissioner.
  •  Successive Chief Election Commissioners have been criticised for partisanship. S.P. Sen Verma’s report on the Fifth General Elections in India 1971-72 contains blatantly political remarks reflective of a clear bias in favour of the Congress.
  •  The CPI(M) held him responsible for rigging the elections to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
  •  Jayaprakash Narayan thought of appointing a non-official inquiry committee. S.L. Shakdher was rightly criticised for delaying by-elections arbitrarily.
  •  R.K. Trivedi was criticised for adopting double standards in holding elections in Assam despite the clear certainty that a free and fair poll was simply not possible in the State.

Conclusion

  •  On Kashmir he rejected the State government’s views on the dates for spurious reasons.
  •  Who held those rigged polls in Jammu and Kashmir but the Chief Election Commissioner?
  •  T.N. Seshan changed the trend. He and his successors like J.M. Lyngdoh won public confidence.
  •  Mr. Arora’s appointment as Chief Election Commissioner raised eyebrows.
  •  Recently, laws setting up institutions like the Lokpal invariably prescribe a wide consultative mechanism.
  •  The time has come to fill the lacuna which Dr. Ambedkar himself pointed out. It brooks no delay.

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THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 21 MARCH 2019 (Dollar-rupee swap, a useful tool (The Hindu))

Dollar-rupee swap, a useful tool (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: dollar-rupee swap
Mains level: Economic issue and impacts

Context

  •  The Reserve Bank of India’s decision last week to resort to a dollar-rupee swap, instead of the traditional open-market purchase of bonds, to infuse liquidity into the economy marks a significant shift in the central bank’s liquidity management policy.
  •  Under the three-year currency swap scheme, which is scheduled to open on Tuesday next week, the RBI will purchase $5 billion from banks in exchange for rupees.

Role of Central Bank

  •  The central bank will infuse as much as 35,000 crore into the system in one shot at a time when liquidity generally tends to be squeezed.
  •  For the banks, it is a way to earn some interest out of the forex reserves lying idle in their kitty.
  •  Apart from injecting fresh liquidity into the economy, the move will have implications for the currency market even as it helps shore up the RBI’s dollar reserves.
  •  Bond yields rose on the day following the announcement of the swap scheme last week, reflecting the prevailing opinion among traders that the RBI may gradually reduce its dependence on the regular bond purchase scheme to manage liquidity within the economy.
  •  While traditional open market operations distort the bond market, the new forex swap scheme will introduce new distortions in the currency market.
  •  The rupee’s recent rally against the dollar has been halted by the RBI’s decision to infuse rupees and suck out dollars through the swap scheme.
  •  Even so, it is worth noting that the rupee has appreciated significantly in value terms against the dollar since the low reached in October as foreign investors have begun to pour money into the Indian economy.

Effect of the dollar-rupee swap

  •  Overall, the dollar-rupee swap is a useful addition to the RBI’s policy toolkit as it offers the central bank a chance to directly influence both the value of the rupee and the amount of liquidity in the economy at the same time using a single tool.
  •  In the aftermath of the liquidity crisis in the non-banking financial sector, it can be an effective way to lower private borrowing costs as well.
  •  The coming elections, which can lead to an increase in cash withdrawals from banks, may have also played a role in the RBI’s larger decision to boost liquidity in the system.

Conclusion

  •  The way banks respond after receiving fresh liquidity from the RBI, however, will determine the success of the new liquidity scheme to a large extent.
  •  Businesses could benefit from the greater availability of liquidity, but only if banks aggressively pass on the benefit of lower rates to their borrowers.
  •  If banks choose to deposit the fresh RBI money in safe government securities at low yields, as they have done in the past, the de facto cap on the government’s borrowing costs will remain intact.
  •  But if banks manage to find alternative ways to deploy their money, the RBI’s new liquidity scheme could end up raising borrowing costs for the government, punishing it for fiscal indiscretion.

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Gist of The Hindu: March 2019

Gist of The Hindu: March 2019

SBM to evaluate solid waste management in rural India

  • The Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBMG) of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, held a National Workshop on Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM).The workshop was attended by District Collectors, CEOs, CDOs, Executive Engineers and other officers, from across the country.
  • Shri Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, reiterated the SBMG's continued commitment to SLWM and shared an overview of the various ongoing initiatives of the Ministry.
  • He said that the Mission is on track to deliver an Open Defecation Free (ODF)
    India well before the set deadline of October 2019 and is focusing increasing  on sustaining the ODF outcomes and ODFplus activities including SLWM.
  • The workshop emphasized the importance of Fecal Sludge Management (FSM) for rural census towns and large dense villages and Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resource–dhan (GOBAR-DHAN) in rural areas. It also covered Plastic Waste Management, Grey Water Management and featured case studies from across the country.
  • The experts on FSM shared various technological and operational models, specific to different geographic terrains and climatic conditions. Innovative Solid Waste Management initiatives from across the country were shared by the States. This included transforming waste into construction bricks and fuel during the harsh winters in Leh district in Jammu and Kashmir.
  • Kerala showcased the “Green Protocol” being implemented in Thiruvananthapuram district using the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) to minimize waste generation. Rajgarh district from Madhya Pradesh presented the experience of successfully implementing the GOBAR-DHAN project.

Centre hooked by opposition for nonpublishing of NSSO report on unemployment

  • The government’s think tank NITI Aayog on Thursday debunked claims of a news report that unemployment in 2017-18 was at a 45-year high. The NITI Aayog said the report of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), cited as the source for the report,  was in fact a draft and not approved by the government.
  • A report in the Business Standard on Thursday, which cited the NSSO’s periodic labour force survey that is yet to be released said the unemployment rate was 6.1% in 2017-18. The only year of comparable data when the unemployment rate was higher was in 1972-73. It was at 2.2% in 2011-12.
  • The NSSO report is a matter of much controversy, with the two external members of the National Statistical Commission citing the delay in its release as a major reason for their resignations on Monday.
  • The data reportedly showed that joblessness was higher in urban India (7.8%) than in rural India (5.3%). Within this, it stood at 17.4% for rural males and 13.6% for rural females. In urban India, joblessness was at 18.7% among males and a huge 27.2% among females.
  • The government’s decision to discontinue the NSSO’s five year surveys, failure to regularly release Labour Bureau data and delay in releasing the NSSO’s periodic labour force survey had led to an atmosphere of uncertainty and confusion.
  • Instead, the government kept citing job numbers based on EPFO’s payroll data and the Mudra loans, which are not helpful,the report said.

RBI allows banks to exit PCA framework

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to allow three public sector banks — Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and Oriental Bank of Commerce to exit the PCA framework following capital infusion by the government and a decline in net nonperforming asset ratio.
  • The RBI, which conducted a review following a demand made by government to lift the restrictions in order to boost credit growth, said, “it was noted that a few banks are not in breach of the PCA (Prompt Corrective Action) parameters as per their published results for the quarter ending December 2018, except for return on assets (RoA).”
  • Bank of India had made significant higher provisioning during the third quarter which saw net NPA ratio declining to 5.87% from 10.29% a year ago. Similarly, Bank of Maharashtra brought down its net NPA ratio to 5.91% from 12.17%. Both the banks reported heavy losses in the third quarter.
  • OBC, which had made Rs. 145 crore net profit in the third quarter, reported net NPA ratio of 7.15% at the end of the OctoberDecember quarter.
  • RBI justified its action by saying “though the net NPA ratio was 7.15%, as per the published results of third quarter, the government has since infused sufficient  capital and bank has brought the net NPA ratio to less than 6%.
  • Hence, it has been decided to remove the restrictions placed on Oriental Bank of Commerce under PCA framework subject to certain conditions and close monitoring,” the RBI said.

Health sector demands tax breaks from centre in interim budget

  • The healthcare sector wants the government’s interim Budget to include tax measures to help the middle class better mitigate health risks.
  • “Ayushman Bharat for the financially weaker section took centre stage in healthcare last year; however, the middle class is still at risk!,” said Suneeta Reddy, managing director, Apollo Hospitals Group.
  • An enhancement in the medical allowance for salaried employees in line with inflation and a separate deduction in respect of preventive health checks would be desirable,’’ she said, speaking about the sector’s expectations from the Budget.
  • “We look forward to zero-rating of GST for the sector, or for normalisation of the GST rates for services consumed by the healthcare service providers at 5%,’’ Ms. Reddy added.
  • “We expect a reduction in the cost of medical equipment that will help in increasing the outreach of telemedicine and home healthcare facilities,” said Ashutosh Tiwari, director and chairman, Vinoba Bhave Research Institute.
  • The last year had been a challenging one for India’s private healthcare providers, with multiple headwinds impacting growth and profitability. The overall sector had become less attractive for investments, the absence of which had hindered growth significantly, asserted Arindam Haldar, CEO, SRL Diagnostics.
  • However, given that more than two-thirds of the sector was driven by private operators, the government had to increase its willingness to partner with the private sector players, according to Mr.Haldar.

India asks Pakistan not to interfere in internal affairs

  • India today asked Pakistan not to interfere in India’s internal affairs. Reacting to the telephonic conversation between Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, the behaviour of Pakistani Foreign Minister is condemnable.
  • Mr Kumar said, it is high time for Pakistan to take action against terrorism, but unfortunately, the neighbouring country is doing nothing.
  • Asked about recent developments in Afghanistan regarding the reconciliation process, the spokesperson said, India is following the developments closely.
  • He said India wants peace and stability in that country. He said peace and reconciliation process in that country should be Afghan-controlled, Afghan-led and Afghan-owned.
  • After summoning the Pakistan High Commissioner on Wednesday, India has registered its protest with the British government about an upcoming meet on Kashmir at the British Parliament, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
  • India has raised the issue of “anti-India” groups within the U.K. often in the past few months. In August, the British government turned down an Indian request to cancel a pro-Khalistan rally in London.

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Current Public Administration Magazine (MARCH 2019)


Sample Material of Current Public Administration Magazine


1. Accountability and Control

State Financing of Poll Funding

In just 28 days since the announcement of the general election, the Election Commission (EC) has seized cash, drugs, alcohol, precious metals and other items worth Rs 1,800 crore. Compare this to the legal upper limit of expenditure per candidate — Rs 70 lakh. Simple arithmetic would show that the seized amount can fully finance up to five candidates from each of the 543 constituencies. The amount seized is just the tip of the iceberg. The expenditure in any election is estimated to be several times the legal upper limit.

Fiscal constraints on electioneering give rise to the problem of unaccounted money. There have been a few solutions. However, all of them are premised on an adverse relationship between accountability and transparency. Alternately, state funding of the recognised political parties and outlawing of corporate funding could be instrumental in making the electoral process fairer and more participatory.

In 1962, the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee moved a Private Member’s Bill to prevent electoral donations by corporates. It was argued that since all shareholders need not subscribe to the political endorsement by a corporate, it was immoral to allow donations against their consent. Vajpayee had propositioned that such funding would only serve corporate interests. While all political parties welcomed the bill, the then ruling party did not vote in its favour. Never again was such a bill introduced.

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2. Indian Government and Politics

Article 35A

When the minions of the BJP promise abolition of Article 370 or Article 35A, especially prior to the elections, it is not to be taken seriously. In fact, the response, if any, should be to dare them to do it. Indeed, I had done so in 2014 in response to a rant by Jitendra Singh, a minister in the PMO, when he spoke out of turn (‘Dare them to do it!’, Kashmir Life, June 2, 2014). It has been almost five years since and Article 370 and 35A stand where they are even as Singh is sitting in the same chair!

But when an erudite political leader with the genteel and gravitas of Arun Jaitley goes public on it, it needs to be taken very seriously. In a blog, Jaitley has said that “Article 35 A was “surreptitiously” included in the Indian Constitution, terming it as a “historical blunder” committed by Jawaharlal Nehru.

One cannot pick a bone with Jaitley on his calling it a “historical blunder”. That is an opinion based not only on an ideology but a certain understanding of Indian history and a vision for Indian polity. But, the same cannot be said about besmirching Article 35A as a deceitful entry in the Constitution of India. Besides political, it has serious constitutional implications. It also makes the Constitution of India appear as if it were contaminated.

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3. Welfare Administration

Making Sense of NYAY

Guaranteed minimum income is a powerful idea that has already made some headway in various countries. Some European countries, for instance, guarantee a minimum income to their citizens. This requires extensive data collection as well as an effective cadre of welfare officers and social workers tasked with enquiring into the circumstances of people who claim to need income support.

It would be nice if India could achieve something similar, but the obstacles are daunting. Starting with the financial burden, a recent brief of the World Inequality Lab by Nitin Bharti and Lucas Chancel presents some useful figures. The authors essentially estimate the “minimum-income gap”, that is, the gap between minimum income and actual income summed over all households with actual income below the minimum. With a minimum income of Rs 72,000 per year, the gap turns out to be 1.3 per cent of GDP. This information is helpful, but it does not tell us much about what it would cost to guarantee a minimum income of Rs 72,000 per year to everyone. All it says is that if this could be done through perfectly targeted and costless top-up transfers, it would cost 1.3 per cent of GDP.

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4. Administrative Law

Police Reforms

Our newspapers, until recently, were full of BJP’s tagline “Namumkin Ab Mumkin Hai”. There is no doubt that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a number of initiatives in diverse fields, which would raise the standard of living of the common man and transform India into a cleaner, healthier and resurgent nation. Swachch Bharat is gradually becoming a reality. Ayushman Bharat aims to provide healthcare benefit to about 50 crore people. Electricity would appear to have reached every corner of the country. Ujjwala and Sukanya Yojana would go a long way in improving the plight of women, and so on. Different departments came out with their lists of achievements. Even if we make allowance for an element of exaggeration, these initiatives have been laudable and the progress impressive.

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5. Current Topic

The Politics of Information

An article in this publication, ‘The learning state: How information becomes insight’ (IE, March 18), written by two economists, has made some important points about “information”, but it is their perspective on “insight” that needs to be challenged.

Designing, using and evaluating information systems is all about perception and perspective. Information systems that might strengthen socio-economic transformation, is contingent on the active participation of people. Digital tools have proliferated over the last decade leaving millions out of the ambit of meaningful participation. For instance, an MGNREGA worker is the primary producer of information but she has no stake in its presentation and access. This raises pertinent questions about transparency of what and for whom. The citizen has been made transparent to the State and the market instead of the other way around — Aadhaar is a powerful example of this. Rural workers and pensioners have been coerced to migrate to the Aadhaar platform without their explicit consent.

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(GIST OF YOJANA) Transforming Connectivity: Indian Railways on the Go [FEBRUARY-2019]


(GIST OF YOJANA) Transforming Connectivity: Indian Railways on the Go

[FEBRUARY-2019]


Transforming Connectivity: Indian Railways on the Go

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: Railways
Mains level: Infrastructure, roads, ports, railways

Introduction

  •  Indian Railways, the third largest railway network in the world, has, in the past few years, undergone transformational changes to expand its reach to every' comer of the country at a remarkable speed, and to provide passenger and freight services with safety and punctuality.
  •  The railways maintain a gigantic network of 63,000 kms and run 22,000 trains to transport 1.50 million passengers daily. This requires keeping infrastructure such as track, bridges, signalling and telecommunications in fit condition.
  •  The Government under the Prime Minister's leadership enhanced investment in the railways, and gave it a big push so that it maintains existing services, and meets their ever growing demand. The allocation for Railways has increased to Rs 5.30 lakh crores in the past five years.
  •  The Railways are now connecting India at a faster pace with a 59 percent increase in the average speed of commissioning new lines from 4.1 km (2009-14) per day to 6.53 kms per day (2014-18). The annual capital expenditure during the first four years of the Government saw a quantum leap and was more than double that of the 2009-14 average.
  •  Transformation is on from Kanyakumari in the South to the North East region. Doubling of tracks and electrification projects, which provide much relief to a system under stress, have been launched in the Kanyakumari-Nagercoil-Thiruvanantha puram section covering 349 kms at a cost of Rs.3618 crores.

Connecting the Seven Sisters

  •  In the North East, rail connectivity has come to all the Seven Sister States of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
  •  Jiribam, the first railway station in Manipur was connected by broad gauge line.

Capacity Augmentation

  •  Capacity augmentation was essential on the Indian Railways, and the railways launched two Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFCs) projects, Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors (EDFC and WDFC), for the purpose.
  •  The two projects have progressed full speed since 2014, culminating in successful trial of freight trains over Phulera-Atari section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) and Khurja-Bhadan section of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) in August and November 2018, respectively.

Speeding up Electrification

  •  Electrification will reduce the use of imported fossil fuels thereby improving energy security to the nation. Consumption of high speed diesel oil will be reduced by about 2.83 billion litres per annum and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
  •  This will also reduce environmental impact of Railways. Hundred percent electrification will provide seamless train operation by eliminating detention of trains due to change in traction from diesel to electric and vice versa.
  •  It will help Railways in enhancing line capacity due to higher speed and higher haulage capacity of electric locomotives.
  •  There will be improved signalling systems, which will lead to enhanced safety in train operations.
  •  To achieve the ambitious target electrification of balance routes, strategic policy decisions have been taken, like base of executing agencies have been broadened and projects covering 1735 RKM have already been  entrusted to PSUs i.e. IRCON, RITES and PGCIL.

Ensuring Safety

  •  To ensure connectivity with safety, the railways created the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK), a dedicated fund for safety projects during 2017- 18, with a corpus of Rsl lakh crores over a period of five years, specially for clearing the backlog of critical safety related works.
  •  This includes track renewals and safety, strengthening of bridges, elimination of unmanned level crossings, upgradation of maintenance facilities, signaling improvement and complete switchover to shock-resistant LHB coaches with greater safely features, along with retro fitment of ICF coaches.

UPSC Pre General Studies Study Material

Offering Better Services

  •  To make the railways smart, for punctuality, instead of the station master recording the time, data loggers have been put at interchange points which would be computer generated
  •  The step has already improved punctuality to 73-74 per cent.
  •  Indian Railways is working on putting a GPS device on every locomotive so that every train can be tracked on mobile phones knowing exactly where they are. Railways is reviewing to engage itself with artificial intelligence. The Railways believe that there is a lot which can be done with data being put to use with predictive maintenance, better monitoring and utilization of assets and better passenger service. Indian Railways has also planned to make 6,000 railway stations Wi-Fi enabled.
  •  Railways is improving passenger services including a complete makeover of stations by installing modem facilities including escalators, lifts, free wifi etc. while instilling local art and culture in the design.

Way forward

  •  To make rail transportation attractive to its customers, various initiatives were taken in 2017-18 which includes tariff rationalisation, classification of new commodities, expansion of freight basket through containerisation, new delivery models like RO-RO services, Long Term Tariff Contract policy with key customers, Station to Station rate, Double Stack Dwarf Container (DSDC), customer friendly rationalization of weighment policy, Electronic Registration for Demand of Wagons (e-RD) etc.
  •  Decision has been taken to transport empty containers and empty flat wagons for private container rakes at a discount of 25 per cent.
  •  The move is likely to give a thrust to movement of empty containers by rail towards ports to return as loaded, thus profiting Indian Railway with higher container share.

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(GIST OF YOJANA) Bharatmala Pariyojana: The Biggest Revolution in Indian Highways [FEBRUARY-2019]


(GIST OF YOJANA) Bharatmala Pariyojana: The Biggest Revolution in Indian Highways

[FEBRUARY-2019]


Bharatmala Pariyojana: The Biggest Revolution in Indian Highways

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: Bharatmala
Mains level: Infrastructure, roads, ports, railways

Introduction

  •  The first major policy push to widen the NHs was made in 1998 during Atal Bihari Vajpayee government by launching the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP), which had two major components of 5,846 kilometers of Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) connecting the four metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and 7,142 kilometers’ network connecting Srinagar to Kanyakumari and Silchar to Porbandar.
  •  These networks are known as North-South and East-West corridors.
  •  The second big revolutionary decision to upgrade NHs was taken in October 2017 when the Central government approved the phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana covering 24,800 kilometers with an estimated expenditure of Rs 3.85 lakh crore.
  •  The government has set March 2022 target for National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for completion of the programme.
  •  The massive highway development programme has many firsts to its credit; starting from preparation of the plan to identifying the highway stretches and the new approach of building roads on new alignment.
  •  The Road Transport and Highways Ministry has termed as “crow flight” alignments.
  •  One of the main reasons behind the decision to go for a massive revamp of country’s NH network was that the NHDP rolled out in 1998 had reached a certain level of maturity. It was essential to redefine road development and have a macro approach while planning expansion of the national highways network.

The Process

  •  The government undertook a detailed study of the goods (cargo) movement between the high-density corridors scientifically after identifying the Origin-Destination.
  •  Since one of the main aims of the programme was to improve cargo traffic flow, a considered strategy was formulated to develop new' Economic Corridors.
  •  Improved logistics movement has a force multiplier effect on the economy.
  •  The Origin-Destination study also considered the integration of economic corridors with the ongoing projects under NHDP.
  •  This study brought out interesting facts of how different stretches of  some corridors have infrastructure asymmetry.

UPSC Pre General Studies Study Material

Components

  •  Economic Corridors: The origin-destination study which was commissioned with the aim of improving logistics efficiency identified 44 new Economic Corridors. Some of these are Mumbai-Agra, Mumbai-Kolkata, Chennai-Madurai, Bilaspur-Delhi, Pune-Vijayawada, Indore-Jaipur and Amritsar-Jamnagar. The Economic Corridors are expected to carry 25 percent of freight in the coming years. As per the plan, these corridors along with national corridors (GQ and North South and East West).
  •  Inter Corridor und Feeder Routes: The origin destination study also identified a network of shorter existing inter corridor routes connecting two existing corridors and feeder routes to the corridor network. These roads are expected to carry around 20 percent of freight. The effectiveness of the corridors routes can be improved by development of the feeder routes.
  •  Improvement in Efficiency of National Corridors: Currently, the Nils including the GQ and North South and East West corridor carry nearly 35 per cent of India's freight. All these stretches will be declared National Corridors. These stretches have shown high growth in traffic volumes by virtue of being the lifeline of India’s highway network. The average traffic in the six national corridors is more than 30,000 passenger car units (PCU). Under the Bharatmala programme, all these stretches will be widened to 6-8 lanes. In the past few years, these National Corridors have also developed choke points impacting logistics efficiency.
  •  Development of Border and International Connectivity Roads: Around 3,300 kilometers of border roads have been identified to be built and widened along the international border for their strategic importance. Around 2,000 kilometers of roads are required for connecting India’s major highway corridor to international trade points to facilitate EXIM trade with Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
  •  Development of Coastal and Port Connectivity Roads: Under Bharatmala programme, about 2,100 kilometers of coastal roads have been identified to be built along the coast. These roads would boost both tourism and industrial development of the coastal region. These will also improve connectivity to ports to facilitate EXIM trade. A major focus will be to improve linkage to state government owned and private ports.
  •  Development of Greenfield Expressways: Bharatmala programme also envisages building expressways close to the National and Economic Corridors where traffic has breached the 50,000 PCUs and there are multiple choke points. About 1,900 km of these stretches have been identified for development of greenfield expressways. One such mega project connecting Delhi with Mumbai has started taking shape. Expressways have limited entry and exit points and there is no traffic signal or toll plaza on the main carriageway, which ensures seamless and faster traffic movement.

Benefits:

  •  Bharatmala Pariyojana once implemented will enable improvement in efficiency of freight and passenger movement on NHs. The network, as identified under the Bharatmala network, will cater to 80 per cent of the inter-district freight movement in the country.
  •  Moreover, the network will connect 550 districts in the country accounting for nearly 90 per cent of the nation’s GDR Moreover, standardized wayside amenities on the corridors will come up, which will improve convenience of passenger movement significantly.
  •  The development of economic corridors and the associated inter corridor and feeder routes will enable improvement in average speeds of vehicles by about 20-25 per cent. Initiatives of building access controlled expressways with features of “closed tolling” system will further improve the average speeds on highways.
  •  Improvement in average speed of the freight vehicles will, in turn, have three major benefits.
  •  Improved vehicle utilization resulting in faster breakeven and hence lower freight cost per tonne per kilometer.
  •  Improvement in fuel efficiency of the vehicles due to lower idling lime, resulting in lower freight cost and faster and reliable freight transit, leading to a reduction in average inventory carried in freight.
  •  The network once developed will enable a reduction of 5-6 per cent in the overall supply chain costs in the economy, the government has estimated.

 

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(GIST OF YOJANA) Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation-Recent Milestones [FEBRUARY-2019]


(GIST OF YOJANA) Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation-Recent Milestones

[FEBRUARY-2019]


Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation-Recent Milestones

Mains Paper 3: Environment
Prelims level: National Mission for Clean Ganga
Mains level: Cleanliness and Conservation

Introduction

  •  Under Namami Gange programme, a total of 254 projects worth Rs.24,672 crore have been sanctioned for various activities such as sewage infrastructure, ghats and crematoria development, river front development, river surface cleaning, institutional development, biodiversity conservation, afforestation, rural sanitation, and public participation.
  •  For River from Development, works at 145 ghats and 53 crematoria are in progress and expected to be completed by March 2019.
  •  On rural sanitation front, all 4465 villages on the bank of river Ganga have been made Open Defecation Free (ODF) and 10,83,688 Individual Household Toilets have been constructed by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS). NMCG has released Rs. 829.0 crore to MoDS for this.
  •  Total 6 no. of projects on biodiversity conservation and restoration of aquatic biodiversity of river Ganga including Dolphin, Gharial, Otter, water birds and fish & fisheries have been taken up, out of which 2 projects have been completed.
  •  Rs. 190.3 crores has been sanctioned to the State Forest Departments of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West-Bengal for the year 2018-19, as a part of the afforestation program in the Ganga basin.
  •  During the financial year 2018-19 (till 30.1 1.2018), National Mission for Clean Ganga has released Rs. 1532.59 crore to the states, Central Public Sector Undertakings for the implementation of the programme, including expenditure incurred for establishment.

Dam Projects:

  •  Shahpur Kandi Dam Project: An agreement was reached between Punjab and J&K states under the aegis of MoWR, RD&GR at New Delhi on 8th September, 2018 to resume works of Shahpur Kandi Dam project in Punjab on river Ravi.
  •  This project had been declared as a National Project. The Union Cabinet on 6th December, 2018 has approved the proposal of this Ministry for extending a Central Assistance of Rs. 485.38 crore (for irrigation component) for implementation of this project. The project would be completed by June 2022.
  •  This project will help in creation of additional irrigation potential of 5000 ha in Punjab State and 32173 ha in J and K State and also efficient management of 1.18 Lac hectare area under UBDC system in Punjab. Consequently, this project would help minimising some of the water of the River Ravi which at present is going waste through the Madhopur Headworks downstream.

Lakhwar Project:

  •  A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 28ih August 2018 between Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shipping and Road Transport and Highways and Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh for the construction of Rs. 3966.51 crore Lakhwar Multi-Purpose project in the Upper Yamuna Basin.
  •  The Lakhwar project envisages construction of a 204 m high concrete dam across river Yamuna near Lohari village in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand with a live storage capacity of 330.66 MCM.
  •  This storage will provide irrigation for 33,780 hectares land and availability of 78.83 MCM water for domestic, drinking und industrial use in the six basin states. The project will also generate 300 MW of power.
  •  The project is to be executed by M/s Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVL). Completion of balance works of North Koel Reservoir Project, Bihar and Jharkhand:
  •  The Ministry of Water Resources, RD & GR has taken up the work on completion of balance works of North Koel Reservoir Project, Bihar and Jharkhand which was halted in 1993.
  •  The Union Cabinet in August 2017 has approved the proposal at an estimated cost of Rs 1622.27crore during three financial years from the start of the project.
  •  The project aims to provide additional irrigation to 39,801 hectares of land annually in the drought prone areas of Aurangabad & Gaya districts of Bihar, Paloma and Garl Va districts of Jharkhand.

UPSC Pre General Studies Study Material

Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Programme (DRIP):

  •  In the year 2018-19 Dam Break Analysis were conducted on 38 Dams for preparation of Inundation maps. DHARMA, a web based dam inventory management software has been completed.

Interlinking of Rivers (ILRs):

  •  DPRs of four intra-stale link projects viz., Burhi Gandak-Noon-Baya-Ganga link and Kosi-Mechi link of Bihar Slate, Ponnaiyar Palar link of Tamil Nadu and Wainganga.
  •  (Gosikhurd)-Nalganga(Purna/Tapi) link project of Maharashtra have been completed and sent to respective States.
  •  Preparation of DPRs of Damanganga (Ekdarc)-Godavari and Daman ganga( Vagh/Val)- Bailarina Godavari (Kadva Dev) link projects of Maharashtra are under progress.

Proposal for Diversion of Godavari waters upto Cauvery basin:

As per the Planning of the Peninsular Component of the National Perspective Plan (NPP) about 20,796 MCM of water from Mahanadi and Godavari rivers is to be transferred through the nine link system namely

  •  Mahanadi - Godavari link
  •  Inchampalli - Nagarjuna Sagar link
  •  Inchampalli - Pulichintala link
  •  Polavaram Vijayawada link (implemented by Government of
  •  Cauvery- Vaigai - Gundar link to Krishna, Pennar, Cauvery, Vaigai and Gundar basins.

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(GIST OF YOJANA) Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) [FEBRUARY-2019]


(GIST OF YOJANA) Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

[FEBRUARY-2019]


Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: AMRUT
Mains level: Infrastructure, roads, ports, railways

Introduction

  •  The Government of India launched the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) with the aim of providing basic civic amenities like water supply, sewerage, urban transport, parks as to improve the quality of life for all especially the poor and the disadvantaged.
  •  The focus of the Mission is on infrastructure creation that has a direct link to provision of belter services to the citizens.

The purpose of “AMRUT” mission

  •  ensure that every household has access to a tap with assured supply of water and a sewerage connection;
  •  increase the amenity value of cities by developing greenery and well maintained open spaces e.g. parks and;
  •  reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorized transport e.g. walking and cycling.
  •  The Mission aimed to cover 500 cities that include all cities and towns with a population of over one lakh with notified Municipalities.
  •  Total outlay for AMRUT is Rs. 50,000 crores for five years from FY 2015-16 to FY 2019-20 and the Mission is being operated as a Central Sponsored Scheme.
  •  The project fund is divided among States/UTs in an equitable formula in which 50:50 weightage is being given to the urban population of each State/UT and number of statutory towns.
    Mission Components
  •  The components of the AMRUT consist of capacity building, reform implementation, water supply, sewerage and septage management, storm water drainage, urban transport and development of green spaces and parks.
  •  During the process of planning, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) strive to include some smart features in the physical infrastructure components. The details of the Mission components are given below:

Water Supply:

  •  Water supply systems including augmentation of existing water supply, water treatment plants and universal metering,
  •  Rehabilitation of old water supply systems, including treatment plants.
  •  Rejuvenation of water bodies specifically for drinking water supply and recharging of groundwater.
  •  Special water supply arrangement for difficult areas, hill and coastal cities, including those having water quality problems (e.g. arsenic, fluoride)

UPSC Pre General Studies Study Material

Sewerage

  •  Decentralised, networked underground sewerage systems, including augmentation of existing sewerage systems and sewage treatment plants,
  •  Rehabilitation of old sewerage system and treatment plants.
  •  Recycling of water for beneficial purposes and reuse of wastewater.

Septage

  • Faecal Sludge Management- cleaning, transportation and treatment in a cost effective manner.
  • Mechanical and Biological cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and recovery of operational cost in full.

Storm Water Drainage

  •  Construction and improvement of drains and storm water drains in order to reduce and eliminate flooding.

Urban Transport

  •  Ferry vessels for inland waterways (excluding port/bay infrastructure) and buses,
  •  Footpaths/ walkways, sidewalks, foot over-bridges and facilities for non-motorised transport (e.g. bicycles).

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(The Gist of Kurukshetra) BOOSTING AGRICULTURE THROUGH AGRI-BUSINESS [FEBRUARY-2019]


(The Gist of Kurukshetra) BOOSTING AGRICULTURE THROUGH AGRI-BUSINESS

[FEBRUARY-2019]


BOOSTING AGRICULTURE THROUGH AGRI-BUSINESS

It has been noticed over a period of time, share of processing , distribution and trade is going up. In other words, with the increase in backward and forward linkages, the distinction between agriculture and agro-industry is getting disappeared and the word supply chain, which includes transformation of raw material and components
into finished products and marketed and then delivered to consumers. In a nutshell, agribusiness sector involves four different sub-sectors. These are:

I. Agricultural inputs;
II. Agricultural production;
III. Agro processing, and
IV. Marketing and Trade

Government efforts to Promote Agri-business

  1. Eco-friendly preparation of absorbent cotton for medical & hygiene products, which are Antimicrobial and provide UV protection.
  2. Water repellency Nano- finishing Technologies for Cotton Textiles.
  3. Cotton rich blends for functional textile applications.
  4. Innovative Finishing processes for garments & home textiles: Mosquito repellent, pesticide protection cloths & denim.
  5. Software module for non-metameric color matching In textiles.
  6. Central Institute for Research Technology (CIRCOT) Calibration Cotton for global outreach.

Sustainable business model for cotton at village level:

  1. Quality based trading.
  2. Supply chain logistics (custom hiring) for chipped cotton stalk supply.
  3. Value addition to cotton biomass.
  4. CIRCOT minicard for sliver preparation.

A. Microbial Degossypolisation of cottonseed meal for poultry, fish & piggery sectors.
B. Enhancing farmers and other stakeholders income by Cotton value chain through startup & entrepreneurship development.
C. Cotton Trading based on Quality Parameters for better price & remuneration to Farmers.

In addition to above, the Government has launched an umbrella scheme Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan' (PMAASHA). Under PM-AASHA, the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, implements the Price Support Scheme (PSS) for procurement of pulses, oilseeds and copra. For oilseeds, DAC&FW also Implements the Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (POPS).

Giving a major boost for the farmers income, the Government has approved the increase in the MSPs for all Rabi crops for 2018-19 at a level of at least 150 per cent of the cost of production. Further, under PM-AASHA, procurement for paddy, wheat and coarse grains at MSP are done 1:7, Department of Food .& Public Distribution (DFPD) through Food Corporation of India (FCI). Government is providing financial assistance to APMCs for upgrading their infrastructure and improving their forward and backward linkages through various schemes such as Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) etc.

Conclusion

It Is clear from above that Government has initiated a number of measures not only to augment the income of farmers, but also to put agriculture on a sound footing in the country. Farmers and other stakeholders involved in agri-business activities need to be made aware about these initiatives. Further, effective convergence between and among various programmes may also be operationalised in a time bound manner. Among others, two important programmes are Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme and National Rural Livelihood Mission so that efforts of different programmes are optimized. For this, proper leadership at grassroots level with adequate trained manpower is required. Here, extension is the cornerstone of the success of agribusiness.

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(The Gist of Kurukshetra) MICRO-IRRIGATION FOR AGRICULTURAL GROWTH [FEBRUARY-2019]


(The Gist of Kurukshetra) MICRO-IRRIGATION FOR AGRICULTURAL GROWTH

[FEBRUARY-2019]


MICRO-IRRIGATION FOR AGRICULTURAL GROWTH

Introduction

  •  Micro-irrigation is considered as a prudent Irrigation technology promoted nationally and Internationally to achieve higher cropping Intensity and irrigation Intensity through more focused application of water to crops. Different types of systems are drip irrigation, sprinkler Irrigation, micro-sprinkler, porous pipe system, rain gun etc., where drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation dominate among all these systems.
  •  The major crops cultivated under drip irrigation are sugarcane, banana, cotton, lemon, grapes, oranges, mangoes and wide variety of vegetables. Sprinkler irrigation is mainly used for groundnut, wheat, millet, sorghum, mustard etc.

Benefits of Micro Irrigation

  • Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), launched by Government of India in the year 2015, considered micro irrigation as its integral part due to enhanced water productivity and water use efficiency through its proximity and focused water application. As per the survey conducted for Government of India by IAI et al (2016), across 13 states consists of 5892 beneficiaries of National Mission on Micro Irrigation (NMMI), the following advantages are listed as compared to traditional surface flooding method.
  •  Increase in water use efficiency: Micro irrigation helps in significant reduction of water conveyance losses, runoff, evaporation losses, and seepage & deep  percolation losses. This ensures higher water use efficiency up to 50-90%.
  •  Energy Efficiency: Micro irrigation requires minimum pressure and low flow rate only. Hence, this ensures energy consumption saving up to 30.5%. Even small wells and tanks can also be used as a source of water. Since this system requires very low pressure, off-grid farmers can use solar pumps or diesel pumps.
  • Fertilizer Use Efficiency: Proper mixing of fertilizers and water, control of optimum dosage and direct application of fertilizers to the root zone result in the saving in fertilizer consumption up to 28.5%.
  •  Productivity increase: The crop yield (quantity and quality) is increased and the enhancement of productivity is estimated for fruits I crops up to 42.4 % and for vegetables up to 52.7%. This ensures good economic return for the better yields.
  •  Irrigation cost saving: This technology reduces the overall cost of irrigation due to decrease in labour requirement for irrigation, weeding and fertilizer application. Irrigation cost saving is up to
    31.9%.
  •  New crop introduction: Farmers can judiciously add more new crops due to improved water scenario and it was estimated that as many as 30.4% farmers have done it. Some of the farmers have tried intercropping and crop rotation also.
  •  Increase in farmers' income: The average income of all beneficiaries in all 13 districts was found to be increased up to
    42%. More focussed and judicious use of water and nutrients result in good quality produce and increase in farmers' income. Moreover, the reduction in spacing between the plants can accommodate more number of plants

Technology Promotion

  •  Micro-irrigation is suitably applied to irrigated agriculture of water scarce regions of developing countries. Government has initiated micro irrigation in the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007). Since then, keen initiatives are being taken by Central Government, State Governments, some NGOs and some business firms to promote and propagate this new technology.
  •  Micro-irrigation has been given special importance in Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) with the aim of extending irrigation cover ('Har Khet Ko Pani') and improving water use efficiency ('Per Drop More Crop') to improve various water development and management activities.
  • Effective Implementation of Technology Some reports state that micro irrigation programme implementation is facing some problems. Harsha (2017) reveals that it may be due to the following reasons,
  •  Energy crisis due to power outages and unscheduled interruptions across rural and urban India. This problem may be solved by integrated drip irrigation with solar panel system which is considered as the best option for off-grid farmers. In one of the banana fields in Gujarat, it was estimated that the pressure requirement was only 1-1.5 kgIcm2 for in line dripper. A solar pump system in this field consists of 12 solar panels each of capacity 250 Watt, can operate a pump of 3 Horse Power (HP) capacity,
  •  Expensive micro irrigation: Most of the adopters are wealthier farmers and poor farmers cannot afford it. This problem is resolved by inventing low cost systems by different agencies. International Development Enterprises (IDE), an NGO is actively working in Maharashtra and Gujarat innovate low cost micro irrigation systems and create awareness among poor farmers.

There are two types of micro irrigation systems:

I. Low cost micro irrigation technologies and

II. Commercialised state-of-the-art micro irrigation systems.

III. Declining landholdings and farm Income. IV. Per Drop More Crop" Fallacy: This explains whether the real water saving happens through reduction in evapo-transpiration or not. There are additional benefits of optimum irrigation frequency. Proper irrigation frequency and fertilizer dosage can be adjusted at different stages of plant growth.

Disadvantages

  •  The major disadvantage of solar panel enabled micro irrigation system is that farmers have to schedule irrigation during sunshine hours only, which otherwise they would be using the time for other productive works.
  •  However, this problem may be solved by constructing large storage tanks and connecting with the system. On the other hand, some of the grid connected farmers are getting electricity alternatively one week during day time and the following week during night time.

Conclusion

  •  Total water demand from agriculture sector is around 80%, any effort for saving irrigation water will contribute to water use efficiency.
  •  There are many benefits of micro irrigation which can be listed as increase in water use efficiency, optimum dosage of fertilizer and proper mixing, reduction in the cost of cultivation, reduce drudgery, conserve water resources etc.
  •  Increase in the quantity and quality of crop yield is another notable benefit. Proper mixing and the direct application of fertilizers to the root zone results in the saving in fertilizer consumption

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

(The Gist of Kurukshetra) INSTITUTIONAL CREDIT FOR AGRICULTURE [FEBRUARY-2019]


(The Gist of Kurukshetra) INSTITUTIONAL CREDIT FOR AGRICULTURE

[FEBRUARY-2019]


INSTITUTIONAL CREDIT FOR AGRICULTURE

Introduction

  •  Agriculture including crop husbandry, animal husbandry (dairy, poultry, etc.), fisheries, forestry, agro processing, etc., provide the underpinning for our food and livelihood security. Agriculture provides significant support for economic growth and social transformation in the country.
  •  The total food-grain production in India has Production of major agricultural crops witnessed a phenomenal increase, especially over the last decade. It has increased from 234.50 million tonnes in
    2008-09 to a record 284.83 million tonnes in 2017-18.
  •  Production of commercial crops like Oilseeds, Cotton, Jute and Sugarcane and horticulture crops like Tomato, Onion and Potato also witnessed steady growth, during the same period.

Investments in Agriculture

  •  Besides production, such investments also helps In increasing agricultural incomes, mitigating poverty and enhancing food security. In 2014-15, the  private Gross Capital Formation in Agriculture [GCFA] accounted for 83% share, while that of public GCFA was 15%. Further, a push in public GCFA was seen to induce higher private GCFA.

Role of institutional credit in private GCFA

  •  As per AIDIS 2012-13, nearly 86% of the farm capital investment in India is undertaken with institutional/non-institutional sources of funds. While the farmers' dependence on borrowings for investment is more than 50% across all States, it is relatively higher and in excess of 90% in developed States like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Further, at the all-India level, the share of such borrowings from institutional sources is estimated to be around 63%.

Flow of Institutional Credit for Agriculture

  •  India had adopted the multi-agency approach to purvey rural credit, since nationalization in the late 1960s. A large number of formal agencies like the Co-operative Banks, Commercial Banks and the Regional Rural Banks were actively involved in providing bank credit for agriculture and its allied activities. Even Non-Banking Financial Institutions [NBFCs], Micro Finance Institutions [MFIs] and Self Help Groups [SHGsl were also
  •  In the subsequent annual budgets, GOI set targets for institutional credit to agriculture to ensure flow of adequate bank funds to this sector. Since then, all banks, put together, have been consistently surpassing the targets set by GOI in so far as credit flow to agricultural sector is concerned.
  •  Further analysis of the agricultural credit flow based on tenure of loans [short-term availed mainly for crop cultivation, a.k.a. Crop Loans; and medium/long term mainly for investment activities in agriculture] reveals an interesting picture.
  •  The decreasing trend observed in share of MT/LT agricultural loans till 2012-13 has seen a welcome reversal and its share has steadily gone up to a high of 35.60% in
    2017-18. This is encouraging, especially from the point of view of private capital investments in agriculture and allied activities like farm mechanization, minor irrigation structures including pump-sets, land development works, orchards, farm ponds and other water harvesting structures, animal husbandry, fisheries, etc.

How the different agencies contributed to agricultural credit flow?

  •  Amongst the agencies, RRBs exhibited the highest CAGR, while the Co-operative Banks reported CAGR of nearly 10%.On analyzing inter-se share, it is seen that Commercial Banks have consistently agricultural loan accounts financed by Banks. On this count also, there has been a steady and appreciable growth, across agencies, except Co-operative Banks.

Coverage of Small and Marginal Farmers

  •  Providing timely and affordable credit to this resource-constrained group is the key to attaining inclusive growth. The good news is that the share of small and marginal farmers in loan accounts as well as credit flow have improved, of late. Small and Marginal Farmers accounted for about 72% of agricultural loan accounts and 50% of the agricultural credit flow in 2016-17, up from 63% and 44% earlier. Loan amount per account has also seen improvement, across all categories of farm holdings. It means that there has been both widening (more people getting credit) and deepening (same people getting more credit) of institutional credit flow for agriculture, in recent years.

Way Forward

  •  Over the last so many years, key indicators like agricultural land use, area under cultivation and production of various crops, production and use of agricultural inputs, all have shown an impressive growth, contributing to increase in production of food grains and flow of institutional credit.
  •  Our Gross Cropped Area (GCA) which was only 138 mha in the early 1950s (meaning only about 15 mha were double cropped then), steadily increased to about 185 mha by 1991, and has reached around 198 mha in the last few years.
     

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(The Gist of Kurukshetra) NEW PROCUREMENT POLICY FOR ENHANCING FARMERS' INCOME [FEBRUARY-2019]


(The Gist of Kurukshetra) NEW PROCUREMENT POLICY FOR ENHANCING FARMERS' INCOME

[FEBRUARY-2019]


NEW PROCUREMENT POLICY FOR ENHANCING FARMERS' INCOME

Introduction

  •  It is an annual exercise that the commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices announces the minimum support prices of two dozen of crops, prior to their sowing, but only four are being procured by the Government, at those announced prices.
  •  Wheat and paddy are procured by Food Corporation of India along with the State Agencies to maintain the buffer food stocks at the central level. The cotton is procured by Cotton Corporation of India and Sugarcane by the Sugar Mills of the State.
  •  The Green Revolution was largely dependent on the assured marketing, that proved a big gladiator to enhance the area and production of wheat and paddy, the staple crops of the country. The total production of food grains that was only 82.02 million tonnes in 1960-61 thrived to 129.59 million tonnes in 1980-81 and further rose to 271.96 million tonnes in 2016-17 that includes 163.29 million tonnes of Paddy and 96.64 million tonnes of wheat. The production of paddy was only 51.87 million tonnes and wheat was just 11.00 million tonnes in 1960-61.
  •  The new high yielding varieties of wheat and paddy were developed by the research  Institutes and Agricultural Universities. As Paddy and wheat, both require adequate quantity of water for irrigation, so the area under those crops escalated much higher in Punjab, Haryana and U.P. which had abundant water and particularly the groundwater on which, 60 percent of the irrigation was dependent. The farmers of those states diverted towards the cropping pattern of wheat and paddy. The Punjab and Haryana saw the staggering results in the output of these crops that is why these two states had been contributing about 80 percent in the total food stocks of the country.
  •  Pulses and oilseeds are the high valued crops those could be helpful to enhance the income of the farmers, but as shown by data concerned with these crops where the area under pulses had increased marginally.
  •  Since the inception of the minimum support price policy in Agriculture, when the minimum support price (MSP) of both the pulses and oilseeds were enhanced significantly, the area and output must have increased accordingly. The new crop procurement policy announced by the Central Government looks as a most prudent policy that would mitigate the uncertainty as well as the fear of volatile and unfavourable prices of those crops.

Key highlights of the new procurement policy

  •  In this new Procurement Policy, the government has envisaged the three alternatives. In first, the additional crops would be procured by the Central Government with partnership of the concerned State Government.
  • In second case, the seller of those crops would be paid the balance of M.S.P. and the market price by the government, but the farmers would have to register themselves with the regulated market of the area.
  •  In the third option, the private traders can procure those products but those traders would have to pay the minimum support prices as announced by the Central Government. While analysing the probable impact of these three options the first one looks as the most prudent and appropriate to enhance the confidence of the farmers because the Government either Central or State, would be responsible to pay the announced minimum support price.
  •  The sugarcane output of 30 million tonnes that is much higher than the required sugarcane for the demand of sugar of the country that is estimated to be 25 million tonnes. The area under paddy can be diverted for high value crops without impacting the food stocks of the country.
  •  India is a country of small farmers, the large number of holdings belongs to marginal and small farmers below 2 hectares, those are 85.01 percent of the total holdings and holdings below 4 hectares are 95.05 percent of the total. Any agricultural policy must address the problems of this large number of farmers where the assured marketing is a significant imperative. As these farmers are to eke out their living by their farm income, they can't adopt the crops those are involving even an iota of risk. That is why all such farmers are opting for the wheat and paddy for their assured marketing at the announced prices.
  •  There are certain other high value crops which are being used for medicines and for other necessities. The fruits and vegetables are also in the list of high value crops, but those are affected by the big volatility in their prices.
  •  It has been observed that a few agro-processing units are operating for value addition of agricultural products but  availability of raw material is an issue. Such impediments can be removed by encouraging the contract farming between agro-processing unit and the farmers with the prudent and suitable legal framework In the state. The rules to obtain the material from the farmers and the disposal of their product to the processing units must be justified, safeguarding the interest of the farmers as well the processors for the smooth functioning of Agro Processing Industry.
  •  It is never desirable that the nation may waste its precious sources. The sources must be utilized to the maximum for the welfare and uplift of the farmers and the general public. The contract farming, a sort of assured procurement could be the best option. The new procurement policy with the objective of assured marketing must boost the area under high value crops.

Farm Size

  •  The farm size is the most important factor of production, but area cannot be enhanced rather the size of the holdings would further deplete by division of land among family members.
  •  The yield of the crop is already at its saturation point particularly those of the principal crops, because of the application of the Jaw of diminishing marginal returns. But yield of high value crops can be enhanced being the new crops.

Conclusion

  •  Even the new varieties of those crops can be evolved. The efforts of the government in this direction is yielding positive results.
  •  While analysing the overall situation of cropping pattern in the country, it can be concluded that state procurement of some other high value crops must have its favourable impact in the enhancement of the income of the farmers particularly the small farmers, those are below 5 acres but precautions to mitigate the challenges must be adopted, while implementing this new procurement policy.
  •  The main among them is that the cropping pattern may not get drifted towards the high value crops, jeopardizing the food crops and food stocks of the country.

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(GIST OF YOJANA) National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) [FEBRUARY-2019]


(GIST OF YOJANA) National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)

[FEBRUARY-2019]


National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: HRIDAY
Mains level: Infrastructure, roads, ports, railways

Introduction

  •  The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, launched the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme on January
    21, 2015, with a focus on holistic development of heritage cities.
  •  The main objective of HRIDAY is to preserve character of the soul of heritage city and facilitate inclusive heritage linked urban development by exploring various avenues including involving private sector.

Objectives

  •  Planning, development and implementation of heritage sensitive infrastructure.
  •  Service delivery and infrastructure provisioning in historic city core areas.
  •  Preserve and revitalize heritage wherein tourists can connect directly with city’s unique character.
  •  Develop and document a heritage asset inventory of cities- natural, cultural, living and built heritage as a basis for urban planning, growth and service provision and delivery.
  •  Implementation and enhancement of basic services delivery with focus on sanitation services like public conveniences, toilets, water taps, street lights with use of latest technologies in improving tourist facilities/ amenities

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  •  Local capacity enhancement for inclusive heritage-based industry.
  •  Create effective linkages between tourism and cultural facilities and also the conservation of natural and built heritage.
  •  Urban heritage adaptive rehabilitation and maintenance, including appropriate technologies for historic buildings retrofitting.
  •  Establish and manage effective public private partnership for adaptive urban rehabilitation.
  •  Development and promotion of core tangible economic activities to enhance avenues of livelihoods amongst stakeholders.
  •  This would also include necessary skill development amongst them including making public spaces accessible and developing cultural spaces.
  •  Making cities informative with use of modem 1CT tools and making cities secure with modem surveillance and security apparatus like CCTV etc.
  •  Increase accessibility i.e. physical access (roads as well as universal design) and intellectual access (i.e. digital heritage and GIS mapping of historical locations/ tourist maps and routes).
  •  The scheme is implemented in 1 2 identified Cities namely, Ajmer, Amaravati, Amritsar, Badami, Dwarka, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi, Velankanni and Warangal.

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(GIST OF YOJANA) National Waterways: Integrated Transport Network [FEBRUARY-2019]


(GIST OF YOJANA) National Waterways: Integrated Transport Network

[FEBRUARY-2019]


National Waterways: Integrated Transport Network

Mains Paper 3: Economy
Prelims level: National Waterways
Mains level: Infrastructure, roads, ports, railways

Introduction

  •  The Government of India is aggressively pushing for the development of inland waterway routes as part of an integrated transport network strategy.
  •  106 new national waterways were announced under the National Waterways Act, 2016.
  • With the five existing National Waterways (NW), the addition of the new ones lakes the total number to 111 in the country. Out of the newly announced waterways, development work is in full swing on eight of them.
  •  The Union Finance Minister, in his Budget Speech for 2014-1 5, delivered on July 10, 2014, had announced Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) on National Waterway- 1 (NW- 1 ) to enable commercial navigation on Varanasi Haldia stretch of river Ganga.
  •  Jal Marg Vikas Project (National Waterway-1, River Ganga) On NW-I, Jal Marg Vikas Project(JMVP) is being implemented for capacity augmentation on Haldia-Varanasi stretch for a distance of 1 ,390 km, with technical and financial assistance from the World Bank.
  •  NW-I, along with the proposed Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor and NH-2, constitute the Eastern Transport Corridor of India connecting the National Capital Region (NCR) win, the eastern and North-eastern states and will function as a link to Bangladesh
  • Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and other cast and Southeast Asian countries through the Kolkata Port and Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.

Vessel Design

  •  In August, 2018, IWAI made public 13 standardised state-of-the-art ship designs suitable for large barge haulage on river Ganga (National Waterway-1).
  •  This marked attaining of a critical milestone in the growth of the country’s Inland Water Transport (IWT) sector as it will help overcome the unique navigation challenges river Ganga throws up due to its complex river morphology, hydraulics, acute bends, shifting channels, meanders and currents.
  •  It will serve as an enabler for the domestic shipbuilding industry working on inland vessels and open huge possibilities for cargo and passenger movement on National Waterway- 1.
  •  The specially designed vessels will navigate on low drafts with high carrying capacity which are at the same time, environment friendly.
  •  These vessels will sail even in depths of about two metres carrying about 350 cars on a five deck car carrier.
  •  Some of the designs would enable movement of bulk cargo carriers with capacity of 2500 tonnes at three metres depth, thereby removing almost 150 truckloads of pressure from the road or one foil rail rake with the plying of just one such vessel.
  •  The new designs for various categories of dry and liquid bulk earner, Ro-Ro vessels, car carrier, container carrier, LNG carrier, Tug Barge flotilla (Table 1) have been made by M/s DST, Germany which specialises in low draft and high carrying capacity vessels.
  •  The model testing of these designs were done at Duisburg, Germany.
  •  The new designs will obviate the dependence of Indian shipbuilders on foreign ship designs for IWT and prove to be a boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government.

IWAI at Social Congregations:

 Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has been working hard towards facilitating safe passenger movements at Kumbh-Mela, 2019.

Benefits of Inland Water Transport:

  •  IWT provides supplementary mode of transport which is cost effective, fuel efficient and environment friendly.
  •  Low emissions – CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases emission per tonne km of cargo transportation is 15g by IWT, 28g by Rail and 64g by Road transport.
  •  Low energy consumption - 1 HP can carry 4000 kg load in Water, 500 kg by Rail and 150 kg on Road.
  •  Low fuel cost - 1 litre fuel can move 105 tonne-km by IWT, 85 tonne-km by Rail and 24 tonne-km of freight by Road.
  •  IWT can provide optimal modal mix by integrating river transport with other modes thereby reducing total logistics cost.
  •  It eases congestion on Road and Rail networks.
  •  IWT requires very little land acquisition as compared to Road and Rail modes.
  •  Caters to the needs of the relatively underdeveloped hinterland.

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Business Opportunities

  •  The development works being undertaken by IWAI provide business opportunities to players involved in waterways in the fields of:
  •  Cargo Movement
  •  Dredging Works
  •  Construction, Operation and

Maintenance of Terminals

  •  Barge Construction and Operations
  •  Navigation Aid
  •  Hydrographic Surveys
  •  Manpower Supply for Vessels and Terminals. Training of Vessel Crews
  •  Stevedoring and Forwarding
  •  Cruise Operations
  •  Consultancy Services for Techno-Economic Feasibility, Environmental and Social Impact and Market Analysis Studies, Preparation of DPRs.
  •  Project Management Consultancy
  •  Construction Supervision
  •  Proof Checking of Design
  •  Model Studies

National Waterway-2

  •  River Brahmaputra from Bangladesh Border to Sadiya (891 km) was  declared as National Waterway -2 in 1988.
  •  The waterway is being developed and operationalized with fairway, navigational aids, terminals with mechanized handling facilities for cargo vessels.

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(The Gist of Kurukshetra) DOUBLING FARMERS' INCOME BY 2022 [FEBRUARY-2019]


(The Gist of Kurukshetra) DOUBLING FARMERS' INCOME BY 2022

[FEBRUARY-2019]


DOUBLING FARMERS' INCOME BY 2022

  •  "Farmers’ Welfare" is the primary goal of this government's agricultural policy. For its implementation, increasing employment in agricultural sector and enhancing the income of farmers are the important factors.
  •  To achieve this, the government is trying to increase productivity, reduce cost, and prioritize crops with high value, reduce risks and make agriculture sustainable. In order to achieve this, the budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector has been raised by 74% and the SDRF allocation has been almost doubled.
  •  Corpus funds have been created like Rs 5000 crore micro irrigation fund, Rs 10,081 crore for Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund, Rs 7550
    Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF), Rs 2,450 crore for development of animal husbandry infrastructure and Rs 2,000 crore for the development of Rural Agricultural Market Infrastructure.
  •  For the first time, Soil Health Card is being provided to farmers on the basis of a national standard. e-NAM has been on minimum premium. Soil Health Cardand Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana has been started for organic farming, 'Har Medh Par Ped' for sustainable agriculture, Per Drop More Crop' with special emphasis on micro irrigation and restructured National Bamboo Mission.
  •  In the last 4 years, agricultural credit flow has increased by 57% to Rs 11 lakh crore and interest subsidy has also been increased by one and halftimes to Rs 15,000 crore. To increase the income of the farmers, 546 FPO has been constituted by the SFAC besides State Governments and FPOs of NABARD during the tenure of present Government. For landless farmers, the Joint Liability Group has been increased from 6.72 lakh to 27.49 lakh. There has been an unprecedented increase of upto 15 times in purchase by the government through PSS, PSF and MIS schemes.
  •  There has been 95% increase in export value of marine products, 84% rice, 77% fresh fruits, 43% fresh vegetables and 38% spices.
  •  Farmers' interests have also been protected by imposing import duty on oilseeds and pulses through quantitative restrictions. The new APLM Act, Land Leasing Act and the Contract Farming and Services Act have been issued to states for implementation.
  •  795 new crops with bio- fortification and resilient to climate change properties have been released to the farmers thereby enabling increase in productivity and enhancing the income of farmers.
  •  Besides, schemes like "Farmer First", "Mera Gaon, Mera Gaurav" and "ARYA"  have been started for better coordination and interaction between agricultural scientists and farmers.
  •  Besides crops, special attention has been paid to horticulture crops and agricultural related activities. For the promotion of indigenous breeds in the Indian climate, special emphasis is being given to Rashtriya Gokul Mission, sex-sorted semen, and the development of dairy infrastructure.
  •  Through the Blue Revolution, importance is being given to various dimensions of inland and maritime fisheries and also on the development of fisheries infrastructure. Simultaneously, beekeeping has been developed as additional source of income of farmers through Integrated Beekeeping Development Centers.
  •  There was record foodgrain production of 284.83 million tonnes, record horticulture production of 306.82 million tonnes, pulses production increased by 40% to 25.23 million tonnes.
  •  The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Is Implementing the 7-point strategy developed under the leadership of the Prime Minister and also recommended by Dr. Swaminathan, like Per Drop More Crop, provision of nutrients according to the soil quality of each farm, large investments in warehouses and cold chains to prevent post-harvest losses, promotion of value addition through food processing, e-NAM, introduction of crop Insurance scheme at lower costs to mitigate the risk, and promotion of allied activities such as dairy-animal husbandry, poultry, beekeeping, Har Medh Per Ped, horticulture, and fisheries.
  •  For agricultural processing, tomato, onion and potato clusters will be set up under the TOP scheme. New agri-start ups and agri-entrepreneurs are being encouraged. Necessary steps are being taken for creation of infrastructure of 22,000 rural haats.
  •  Setting up of cold chains and warehouses will be expedited. Focus on price and demand forecasting will enable farmers to choose which crop to sow in order to maximize benefit.

Study Material for UPSC General Studies Pre Cum Mains

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