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(The Gist of Kurukshetra) ROLE OF NGOS AND PRIVATE SECTOR IN SKILLING-November-2017

ROLE OF NGOS AND PRIVATE SECTOR IN SKILLING

The half a billion strong and growing labour force of our country is poised to play a decisive role in the global skilling ecosystem. According to Economic Survey, though 63 percent of the population is economically active (15-59 years), only two percent of the country’s total population makes up its skilled workforce. In the coming years, 11-13 million people will aspire for employment opportunities each year. Sadly, for this large number of people, the employability continues to be a major concern. Young population is a boon if they are properly employed, otherwise they may become a liability. For enjoying the fruits of demographic dividend, it is important to raise investment in human capital to promote the productivity of the
population.

Programmes of the Government

For about last three decades, the Government has been endeavoring at creation of self employment by providing credit is subsidized form in programmes such as IRDP (Integrated Rural
Development Programme), SJSRY (Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana), SGSY (Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana), NRLM (National Rural Livelihoods Mission) etc. MGNREGA (Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) is also one of the programme which ensures employment of rural people for minimum 100 days. However, people residing in rural sector society are insufficiently equipped to absorb credit and to start their own enterprise, because of their lack of business skills, illiteracy, their inability to take risks of business skills, illiteracy, their inability to take risks and absence of motivation. Upgrading their skills and making them employable in the newly emerging industries and trades in the need of the hour.

NGOs

Non-Governmental Organisations are voluntary, autonomous, non-profit units set up to address various problems and disadvantages in society. In the past, the NGOs have helped government’s agenda of development. Five Year Plans attached due importance to the role of NGOs in the development of rural sector. The NGOs are flexible in their response to local needs. NGOs have volunteered to work in less explored rural areas, where government agencies live limited access.

Their achievements in encouraging participation, boosting up democratic institutions and enhancing access to skill development services have been tremendous. The government has formed different institutions to provide fund to NGOs like Cooperatives, Khadi and Village Industries Board, National Wasteland Development Board, Central Social Welfare
Board, and CAPAET (Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology). NGOs plan and implement skill developmental plans and help in mobilizing the local resources for implementation of the plant. For integrated development of the rural areas, they generate awareness and prepare training modules for vocational training to the candidates. They also equip them with skills which could form a bridge between education and employability.

Cooperate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility is also referred to as “corporate citizenship”. It may imply incurring short-term costs that many not be financially beneficial to the company, but instead promote positive social and environmental change. They endeavour to mobilize, train, make people employable and create entrepreneurs in rural areas with objective to get the right
job to the right person. Under this, skills are created and individuals trained so that they get the right employment. Unaware of the available opportunities, most of the young people in the rural areas lack aspirations. Here, the CSR steps in to align their training program with the industry. It is a great tool for industries to make a potential impact.

CSR has been able to reach many rural areas enabling the youngsters to get an opportunity of skill development. Poor accessibility, problems of migration and need to mobilize the youth are some of the challenges faced by the CSR. It should be our efforts to kindle aspiration among the youth for acquiring a skill, as against a degree, because skilling and the role it play in people’s life has now assumed as social dimension.

Social Workers

Social work is a profession to empower people to develop their skills and to use the available resources to resolve problems. Social workers are the agents of social change. They build capacity of rural folks by providing suitable skills and making the community sustain on its own. Rural India is the nerve centre of known traditional skills such as carpet weeping, leather industry, brassware, silk, glasswork, wooden carving, madhubani painting, embroidery etc. It is the ingenuity of the social workers to identify these skills and make suitable arrangements to extend trainings in these renowned works of art and craft.

This improves livelihood of the people, which in turn ameliorates the economic status of the country. Many times, people in rural areas are not conversant about the newly introduced programmes of government. It is where the social workers make their presence felt by bridging the knowledge gap between government programmes and unemployed youth of the
rural sector. With the help of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, social workers try to set up training institutes for the benefit of rural people and ensure equality across all training programs. Their objective is the enhancement of skill and training relevant to be current industrial requirements. Pradhan Mantri YOUVA Scheme aims at providing one-line entrepreneurship education to students across the country with the help of institutions of higher learning, schools, it is and entrepreneurship development centers, both government and
private.

PM’s Focus on Skill Development

Skill development has been given priority by our Prime Minister with the hope that Skill India Programme will provide huge human resources not only in India, but also internationally. Government programmes are now planning to focus on improving the quality of the skill development training which is getting affected because of poor capacity of trainers. Different industries have indicated that there exists a wide disconnect between the demand and supply of skilled resources. To overcome these gaps, National Skills Policy 2015 has made it mandatory for all the courses to follow the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF). Apart from that, Training of Trainers program has been introduced so that quality is ensured
in the delivery of vocational courses. To ensure that trained candidates get the right job at the right place, trained candidates should be given orientation course. These steps forward would help in meeting the target of skilling 500 million people by 2022.

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(The Gist of Kurukshetra)

NATIONAL POLICY ON SKILL DEVELOPMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP – 2015: AN OVERVIEW

-November-2017

NATIONAL POLICY ON SKILL DEVELOPMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP – 2015: AN OVERVIEW

The National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2015 is a renewed version of the earlier National Policy on Skill Development that was announced by the Ministry of Labour & Employment in 2009. The first National Skill Policy envisioned the launched of a National Skill Development Initiative with the clause that the policy would be subject to review after five years to align the policy framework in that it covers skill development of the youth for wage employment, entrepreneurship and also knowledge’s Recognition of Prior Learning. The need for a National Skill Policy arises from the fact that India is home to almost one-fifth of world’s youth population. The share of youth in the age group 15-34 percent in 2011 which is projected to be 31.8 percent in 2030, i.e. about 490 million. The onus therefore lies on the country to empower its youth to achieve its livelihood so that India is able to convert its demographic surplus into economic prosperity of the nation.

Objective of the Policy

In keeping with the challenge of skilling a mammoth labour force, the Policy aims at skilling with scale & speed while retaining the quality of skilling so that it is sustainable. The policy objective include: (i) to make vocational training inspirational among the youth (ii) to ensure the vertical and horizontal pathways for seamless integration of skill training with formal education. (iii) to improve employability of youth through skilling (iv) to increase the capacity and quality of training infrastructure and trainers (v) to address the manpower industry linkage by aligning  supply of skilled workers with sect oral requirements of industry (vi) to establish and IT based information system for aggregating demand and supply of skilled
workforce which can help in matching and connecting supply with demand (vii) to raise the standards in the skilling space to international levels.

The National policy on skill development & Entrepreneurship proposes to bring about inclusivity by bridging the gender, social and sectoral divide by ensuring that the skilling needs of socially and disadvantaged and marginalized groups (like SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, differently able persons etc.) are appropriately taken care of. On the entrepreneurial front, the policy addresses to foster innovation-driven and social entrepreneurship to address the needs of  the population at the bottom of the pyramid and broaden the base of entrepreneurial
supply by meeting specific needs of both socially and geographically disadvantaged sections of the society.

The Policy also advises setting up net it is in unserved blocks to expand the outreach of skilling programmes. To improve the quality as well as to bring about uniformity in the skill training
delivered across the skill space, the policy advocates that all formal and vocational education including skill training will have to align themselves with the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) by December 2018.

Policy in Implementation

At present, there are more than 40 skill development schemes implemented by 22 different Central Ministries catering to basic and sector specific skill sets. In 2015- 16, 104.16 lakh persons underwent skill training through these schemes. Under the Pradhan mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill development & Entrepreneurship, a total of 30.67 lakh candidates were trained or were u n d e r g o i n g t r a i n i n g a s o n 6 th July 2017. A total of 2.9 lakh candidates have received placement under PMKBY.

The policy also mentions of setting up Kaushal Vardhan Kendras at Panchayat level by the State Governments to impart skill training by the State Governments to impart skill training in local employment/ livelihood opportunities for school dropouts, adolescent girls, housewives and rural youth. Apart from this, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is also imparting skill training across the country including rural areas through Private Training Partners.

Way Forward

The top down approach to skill development must be relooked at. The State Governments must be given the leverage to have their own State specific action plans that can be implemented through Central funds. With the advent of automation, robotics and cloud computing, job profiles keep changing frequently, hence re-skilling and up-skilling needs to be given greater weight age in the overall skill programme as majority of the workforce is in the prime age group. NSQF compliance must be speeded up to facilitate the large proportion
of the workforce in the unorganized sector to get Recognition of Prior Learning and upgrade their skills. Industry compliance in updating ITI curriculum, in up scaling technical knowhow for apprenticeship training, in making available the shop floor for apprentice training must be strengthened and extended to cover even the service sector apart from manufacturing. Entrepreneurship needs to be made inspirational over wage/salary employment through advocacy, market and credit linkage and ease of doing business.

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(Download) UPSC IAS Mains 2013 : Public Administration Paper - II

Subject : Public Administration

Paper : II

Files Type : PDF

Paper- II

:: Section - A ::

Q. 1. Attempt the following in about 150 words each:

(a) “The Charter Act of 1853 marked the beginning of parliamentary system in India.” Explain.
(b) “Civil services neutrality is founded on the application of the principles of Rule of Law”. Comment.
(c) “The second generation reforms in the Panchayati Raj institutions have changed Panchayats from the agency of development at local level into a political institution.” Discuss.
(d) “Finance Commission in India performs the job of statics aggregation.” Comment
(e) “Planning enables comprehensive and scientific understanding of problems.” Examine the statements in the context of planning methodology.

Q. 2.

(a) “Bureaucratic agencies, characterized by established procedures, specialization, leadership, clear objective, are not ideal to handle disaster management.” Examine with reference to the need for administrative flexibility in managing disaster. (in about 250 words)
(b) “The liberal-democratic ideology of the West influenced the shaping of value premises of the India Constitution.” Discuss. (In about 250 words)
(c) “Autonomy to public sector understating is a myth.” Analysis in the context of the use of government expenditure by politicians who control government at different levels. (In about 150 words).

Q. 3.

(a) “Laws are enacted without involving the police in the conception stage, with the result implementation of these laws leaves much to be desired.” Examine the role of police in protection of children. (In about 250 words)
(b) “Central Secretariat is the nodal agency for administering the Union subjects and establishing coordination among the various activities of the government.” Discuss. (In about 250 words)
(c) Is there a need to dispense with the office of the Governor? Examine the context of coalition governments. (In about 150 words) 10

Q. 4.

(a) “There is a tendency of centralism in Indian federalism, but it is not because of its institutional framework but because of its socialist goals and centrally devised plan development.” Explain the statement in the context of Union-State relationship. (In about 250 words) 20

(b) “Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Panchayat’s functions enhances efficiency, transparency and accountability and also induces mass ICT culture.” Examine. (In about 250 words) 20

(c) “Judicial review of administrative tribunal’s decisions defeats the very objective of establishing tribunals.” Comment with reference to Central Administrative Tribunal. (In about 150 words)

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:: Section - B ::

Q. 5. Attempt the following is not more than 150 words each: 50

(a) “Public Administration today tends to be less public quantitative terms, but more responsive to public needs than before in qualitative terms.” Examine with reference to citizen-centric administration.
(b) “Performance budgeting failed because it was applied to sectors/programmes where quantitative evaluation was not feasible.” Examine the principles underlying performance budgeting techniques.
(c) “The design of the Indian Polices was to subjugate the Indian People in the aftermath of 1857.” Aalyse in the context of the Indian Police Act of 1861.
(d) “Reducing the size (geographical area) of the district will provide relief to the overburdened and overworked collector.” Comment.
(e) “The concept of social audit is more comprehensive than that of traditional audit.” Comment.

Q. 6.

(a) “Gandhian model of decentralization is similar to the process of reinventing governance. “ Analyze in the context of good governance. (In about 250 words) 20
(b) “According is the essence of producing promptly and clearly the facts relating to financial condition and operations that are required as a basis of management.” Substantiate the statement in the context of accounting methods and techniques in government. (In about 250 words) 20
(c) Explain the important recommendation of V.T. Krishnamachary Committee (1962) on Indian and State Administrative Services and problems of District Administration. (In about 150 words) 10

Q. 7.

(a) “The 73rd Amendment, it is felt, may accentuate fiscal indiscipline by establishing between State and Local Governments a system of transfers similar to the one in the place between the Central and State Governments.” (World Bank) Comment. (In about 250 words) 20
(b) “Municipal Administration in India faces both structural and operational challenges.” Examine in the context of post-74th Amendment Act. (In about 250 words) 10
(c) “Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have contributed to a change in the role of rural women in development — from symbolic participation to empowerment.” Discuss. (In about 150 words) 10

Q.8.

(a) “There is both criminalization of politics and politicization of criminals in India.” Examine and identify the challenges they cause for law and order administration. (In about 250 words)20
(b) “The basic ethical problem for an administrator is to determine how he/she values.” Comment with reference to corruption in administration. (In about 250 words). 20
(c) Justify the constructional provision to treat certain expenditure as charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India. (In about 150 words)

(GIST OF YOJANA) MAHATMA GANDHI’S CLARION CALL “DO OR DIE” -November-2017

MAHATMA GANDHI’S CLARION CALL “DO OR DIE”

Hon’ble Prime Minister in his recent ‘Mann-ki-baat’ on July 20, 2017 referred to the importance of the month of August as the “Month of Revolution”. He said “We have been hearing this as a natural fact right from our childhood and the reason is, the Non-Cooperation Movement was launched on the 1st of August 1920; the Quit India Movement, which is also known as ‘AgastKranti’ began on the 9th of August 1942; and on August 15,1947 India became independent.

In a way, there are many events in the month of August that are closely associated with the history of our freedom movement. This year, we are to observing the 75th Anniversary of the Quit India Movement. But very few people know the fact that the slogan, ‘Quit India’ was coined by Dr. Yusuf mehar Ali. Our young generation must know what had happened on the 9th of August 1942.

Gandhiji challenged the British Rulers in India in 1942 with the powerful and historic slogans ‘Quit India’s to the British Raj and ‘Do or Die’ to the people of India. This historic call came from Mahatma Gandhi on the 8th of August 1942 in Bombay.

In the Midst of Violence

The World War II was the started in 1939. Linlithgwo, the then Viceroy, without consulting the elected provincial Governments in India, declared India at war with Germany on September 3, 1939. The Congress objected to it very strongly.

The government turned a blind eye. The Viceroy lLinlithgow could only offer to form a ‘Consulative Committee’ for advisory function. The dissatisfied Congress tendered its resignation on October 22, 1939.

Quit India

Mahatma Gandhi in his speech delivered on August 7, 1042, a day before Quit India Movement started, showed the way to the British ‘Quit India’. Quit India Movement was the final call to end the British Raj in India Through this speech he waged a non-violent war against the British. But he was very cautious in his approach. While introducing the resolution, Gandhiji said, “Before you discuss the resolution, let me place before you one or two things. I want you to understand two thing very clearly and consider them from the same point of view from which I am placing them before you. Here are people who ask me whether I am the same man that I was in 1920 or whether there has been any change in me. You are right in asking that question. I may tell you than I am the same man today that I was in 1920. The only difference is that I am much stronger in certain things now than I was in 1920.

Mahatma Gandhi invited the people to join the movement. He said, “My democracy means every man is his own master. I have read sufficient history and I did not see such an experiment on so large a scale for the establishment of democracy by non-violence. Once you understand these things you will forget the difference between the Hindus and the Muslims.”

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Subject: Public Administration

Exam Date: 9th October 2012

(GIST OF YOJANA) GREEN TECHNOLOGIES IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING -November-2017

GREEN TECHNOLOGIES IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Increasing population along with the paid urbanization has led to a significant shortfall of housing in the country. The housing shortage for 2012-17 is estimated to be 18.78 million units in the urban areas and 43.90 million units in the rural areas (Goyal, 2014; NBO, 2012). The residents in Lower Income Group (LIG), and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) are facing more than 95 percent of the urban housing shortage. Similarly, below poverty line (BPL) resident are facing more than 90 percent of the rural housing shortage. Hence, affordable housing has been of the paramount importance to the policy makers of the country (NHB, 2015).

Over the past decades, India has adopted multiple policies at the central, state and Urban Local Bodies (ULB) levels to deliver affordable housing to LIG, EWS, and BPL residents (Sarkar, Dhavalikar, Agrawal, & Morris, 2016). More recently, Government of India (GOI) proposed several ambitious schemes to address the housing shortage in the country. They include Housing for all (Urban) by 2022 Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuventiion and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), and Smart Cities (Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Government of India, 2015; NHB, 2015,

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) offered capital subsidy incentives for purchase and installation of solar water heating and solar lighting equipment in house.

Study Material for IAS (UPSC) Pre 2018

Subject: Public Administration

Exam Date: 9th October 2012

Paper: II

File Size: 581 KB

File Type:  PDF

Paper- II

:: Section ‘A’ ::

Q. 1. Attempt each of the following in about 150 words each: — 12 × 5 = 60

(a) “The Mughal Administrative System was military rule by nature and a form of centralized despotism.” Analyse.
(b) ‘Judges should not govern the country. They can lay down a law, not interfere with governance.’ Discuss.
(c) Critically examine the variables in the composition and functioning of Cabinet Committees.
(d) “Memorandum of Understanding’ scheme between the Government and Public enterprises has forced public undertakings to improve their overall performance.” Do you agee with this statement?
(e) To what extent has the 74the Constitutional Amendment Act created a ‘federation within a federation’ in India?

Q. 2.

(a) “The success and prestige enjoyed by a Chief Secretary, to a large, upon his equations with the varied sets of people and institutions that form the work environment.” Critically evaluate the statement and its relevance to the role of Chief Secretary in the discharge of his function. 30
(b) In the exercise of his/her functions, the President of India is a mere ‘Convenient working hypothesis’. Do you agree with this view? Justify your reasoning with illustrations. 30

Q. 3.

(a) ‘Parliamentary Departmental Committees have played their role effectively in analyzing the demands for grants.’ Evaluate. 20
(b) (i) Explain the emerging ambiguity in respect of the developmental role of District Collector in the wake of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act. 10
(ii) Justify ‘indicative’ planning in the context of LPG. 10
(c) ‘Parliament is an independent institution, not to be seen as an extension of government or of a party.’ Elaborate. 20

Q. 4.

(a) ‘The authority of the Governor in the discretionary field is not unrestrained. If it is misused … the President can check him/her and if necessary, he may even remover the Governor.’ Examine this statement critically in the context of the Office of the Governor. 25
(b) Discuss the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission in respect of the National Development Council for improving Centre-State planning relations.
(c) ‘The Arthashastra is a book of political realism.’ Elaborate. 15

:: Section ‘B’ ::

5. Attempt each of the following in about 150 words each:— 12 × 5 = 60
(a) ‘Bureaucrats should not play politics, but understand how politics works.’ Comment.
(b) ‘Good governance is closely aligned with effective democratic governance.’ Discuss
(c) ‘Corruption is more of an environmental than an administrative problem.’ Discuss.
(d) ‘Questions represent a powerful technique of parliamentary control over expenditure.’ Explain.
(e) ‘Panchayati Raj Institutions are still affected by State control and domination by bureaucracy.’ Do you agree?

Q. 6.

(a) Local self-government in India is the interplay of several factors — historical, ideological, and administrative. Critically examine these factors. 30
(b) ‘Efforts made towards administrative reforms so far have been lacking in congruence between strategy, structure and substance.’ Discuss with illustrations. 30

Q. 7.

(a) Indian administration is yet to fully appreciate and adopt the benefits of Information Technology. Elucidate. 15
(b) What is an output-based performance budgeting system? Analyse this system in the context of India. 15
(c) NGOs demand greater autonomy from the State and are now ‘new actors’ in development. How effective are they as instruments of decentralization and debureaucratisation? Critically evaluate. 30

Q. 8.

(a) Compare and contrast the Padmanabhaiah, Riberio and Mallinath Committee Reports. 25
(b) “Even though law and order administration is a State subject in the Indian Constitution, it is paradoxical that the para-military and other kinds of security forces under the Union Government have grown in recent years.” Critically analyse the statement. 20
(c) How does New Localism impact Centre-State-Local relations in the era of LPG? 15

(GIST OF YOJANA) LARR – SOME HIGHLIGHTS -November-2017

LARR – SOME HIGHLIGHTS

• The Land Acquisition bill has been renamed as the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2013. The new act replaces a nearly 120-year-old law enacted during British rule in 1984. It lays emphasis on Rehabilitation & Resettlement
• The new act concerns only such cases where the land will be acquired by Central or State Authorities for any public purpose.
• It calls for taking the consent of 80 percent of land owners for acquiring land for private projects and of 70 percent land owners for publicprivate projects.
• It also tries to lay down a transparent process for land acquisition for industrialization, development of essential infrastructural facilities and urbanization by giving adequate financial compensation to the affected people.

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(GIST OF YOJANA)  LAND ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT  -November-2017

LAND ACQUISITION, REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT

(GIST OF YOJANA) AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN URBAN AREAS -November-2017

AFFORDABLE  HOUSING IN URBAN AREAS

Cities are engines of economic growth and innovation. Urban Indians now form about one-third of the population – and they produce more than three-fifths of the country’s GDP. Housing is an important sector for the Indian economy as it has inter-linkages with nearly 269 other industries. The development of the housing sector has a direct impact on employment generation, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and consumption pattern in the economy.

Housing has been placed at the center of the New Urban Agenda of Habitat III, 2016. Sustainable and disaster resilient housing have been recognized as an important lever in meeting the commitments towards the Sendai Framework (2015) and Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2016). Goal 11 of Sustainable Development Goals aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. India too has acknowledged the importance of housing in improving the socio-economic conditions of the people and accordingly launched the Mission of Housing for all by 2022.

Housing Scenario and Challenges

According to the Technical Group on Urban Housing Shortage, 2012-17 (TG-12) constituted by erstwhile the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, there is a shortage of 18.78 million housing units. Of these, the economically weaker section (EWS) alone accounts for 10.55 million units or 56.2 per cent of the total shortage. The low income group (LIG) require 7.41 million housing units or 39.4 percent whereas middle and above income group have a deficit of 0.82 million or 4.4 percent.

Ten states together contribute to 76 percent of the urban housing shortage. These states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat (TG 12, 2012)

While TG 12 report highlights a housing deficit of 18.78 million, 11.07 million houses were vacant in 2011 in urban India as per the Census of India. This brings to the forefront a mismatch in demand and supply in the housing market. Also, the housing surplus is in higher income groups while 95 percent of the deficit is in the EWS and LIG categories. Further, projections indicate that India’s urban population which registered and annual growth rate of 2.76 in 2011 is estimated to grow to 814 million people by the year 2050.

High land prices force the poor to live in slums and squatter settlements or to occupy the lands in the periphery of the city. This results in the haphazard and unplanned development. Scarcity of developed and encumbrance-free land, increased cost of constriction, lack of private sector participation, absence of viable rental market, inaccessibility to home loans by poor are some of the challenges which need to be addressed for development of the affordable housing market.

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(The Gist of Kurukshetra) RURAL HEALTH: IT INITIATIVES-October-2017

RURAL HEALTH: IT INITIATIVES

National Health Portal (NHP)

• Functioning as citizen portal for health related information in different languages (currently six languages).
• Voice portal, providing information through a toll-free number 1800-180-1104 and;
• Mobile App launched.

Online Registration System (ORS)

• Framework to like hospitals for online registration, payment of fees, appointment, online diagnostic reports etc.
• Around 7 lakh appointments transacted.
• Around 71 Hospitals on board.
• AIMS (New Delhi, Jodhpur, Bihar, Rishikesh, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Bhopal).
• RML Hospital
• Safdarjung Hospital

Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN)

• Indigenously developed technology system that provides real-time information on vaccine stocks and f lows, and storage temperatures across all cold chain points through a smart phone application.
• Through maintenance of the right temperature, it helps to ensure the quality and efficacy of the vaccines.
• Implemented across 12 states.

“Mra Aspataal’ (My Hospital) Application

• Collects information on patients’ level of satisfaction through SMS, Outbound Dialing (OBD), Web Portal, and Mobile Application.
• Contacts the patient to collect information on their level of satisfaction.
• Under Phase I, around 141 hospitals covered. Mobile Academy
• Launched : 2016
• Free audio training course to improve the knowledge base and communication skills of ASHAs.
• More than 75,000 ASHAs have started the

Mobile Academy course.

• Approximately 84 percent have completed the course.
• States: Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.

NIKSHAY

• Tracks individuals for treatment-adherence of TB.
• Missed call facility with Toll Free No: 1800- 11-6666 started to reach TB patients for counseling and treatment support.
• Implemented across all states.
• More than 70 lakh patients been notified till date

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(The Gist of Kurukshetra) SMART VILLAGES: A WAY FORWARD-October-2017

SMART VILLAGES: A WAY FORWARD

Swami Vivekananda, the young monk who had wandered through the length and breadth of India had observed. “Let new India arise out of peasants’ cottage, grasping the plough, out of
huts, cobbler and sweeper.” Such is the power of Bharat that has been the foundation to the emerging India of today.

Villages from the building blocks of our country. Agriculture, considered to be the principal source of income in the villages, contributes to around 17 percent of Indian GDP, which is much higher than the world average of 6.1 percent. However, a trend to migrate from village to city has steadily increased over the past couple of years, leading to the question of how the reverse migration can be done.

Smart India

With improved quality of life comes the need of better living. While urban India has leapfrogged into an age of digitization, embracing the concept of “Smart City”, the need to convert villages into “Smart Villages” was also felt. The first step in his direction was taken in September, 2015. In a bid to transform rural areas to economically, socially and physically sustainable spaces, the Shyama Prasad Mukherji RurbanMission was launched by the Union Government.

Shayama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM)

The Mission aims at development of rural growth clusters which have latent potential for growth, in all States and UTs, which would trigger overall development in the region. These clusters would be developed by provisioning of economic activities, developing skills & local entrepreneurship and providing infrastructure amenities. The Rurban Mission will thus, developa cluster of Smart Villages.

Challenges

India is a vast country with a lot of challenges. The components needed to make smart villages are definitely well-designed. However, the challenges lies in implementing the programmes effectively. It needs to be kept in mind that only if other socio-economic indicators are good and the basic needs of the village are already met, then can a smart village future can only be build on top a physical one.

The preparedness of the villages needs to be taken into account for any programme to be implemented. It needs to be checked that each village has a primary school for the children where there is separate toilets for both male and female children. The basic sense of hygiene needs to be imparted to the children through the schools. Mid-day meal provided to the children should be enough to supplement their nourishment. For secondary and higher secondary education, it may not be possible to have higher secondary schools in each village. As the Government wants to upgrade the education facility, it needs to be ensured that at most, five villages within a radius of 10 kms gets a higher secondary school and a Degree College.

Way Forward

New regarding achievement of the individual components often are highlighted.
• Akodara village in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat has been declared as India’s first digital village.
• Dhassai village in Thane district of Maharashtra has become India’s first cashless village.
• Karang, a small lake island in Manipur, has become the country’s first cashless island.
• Sikkim was the first state in India to be declared open defecation free followed by Himachal Pradesh.
• Pandri village in Purulia district of West Bengal became the first solar village in the country.

Many such example can be sited when it is observed that a particular village or a particular district has achieved a critical milestone. All such achievements are indeed launch able and can be sued to replicate in other parts of the country.

But only when such a village with all such facilities can be developed, it would be termed as a Smart Village. A holistic approach is needed to develop such a village. Involvement of the Panchayat to implement the Government programmes successfully along with community participation is of utmost necessity to develop the village.

But only when such a village with all such facilities can be developed, it would be termed as a Smart Village. A holistic approach is needed to develop such a village. Involvement of the Panchayat to implement the Government programmes successfully along with community participation is of utmost necessity to develop the village.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “The true Indian civilisation is in the village …. Take the village people and slum-dwellers in your hand and jive them the benefit of your knowledge, skill, insight constrictive work and patriotic spirit…”. Then only can a Smart Village develop and sustain.

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(The Gist of Kurukshetra) REVOLUTIONIZING INDIAN AGRICULTURE: USE OF ICT-October-2017

REVOLUTIONIZING INDIAN AGRICULTURE: USE OF ICT

The future of rural India is full of promise. By 2025 it is forecasted that 55 percent of India’s rural population will have access to the internet. The average villager living in rural India already has a basic awareness of the wonders of the world wide web and is willing to explore the internet satisfy his queries about the world and issues which impact his livelihood. It is reported that in 2016, 234 million internet users in India were local language users. This number is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18 percent. The National Policy for Farmers emphasizes the use of information and Communication technology (ICT) at village level for reaching out to the farmer with the correct advisories and requisite information.

Nepal e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGP-A): NeGP-A is proposed to be implemented across the country and aims at offering Government to Citizen/Farmer (G2C or G2F), Government to Business (G2B) and Government to Government (G2B) agriculture services in an integrated manner through the Central Agriculture Portal (CAP) and State Agriculture Portals (SAPs). Objectives
• Bringing farmer centricity and service orientation to the programs.
• Enhancing reach and impact of extension services.
• Improving access of farmers to information & services throughout crop-cycle.
• Building upon, enhancing and integratingthe existing ICT initiatives of Centre, and states.
• Enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of programs through process redesign.
• More effective management of scheme of DAC.
• Promoting a common framework across states.

Information on Agriculture and Marketing Channels

India’s farmers live in rural areas and agriculture & allied activities still constitute the largest share of India’s employment. It is estimated that 72 percent farmers do not have access to reliable sources of information and this prevents them from accessing credit realizing high crop productivity. Around 94 percent of farmers in India depend upon ‘fellow farmers’ as the preferred source of information, followed by 10 percent on agri retailers, 4 percent of TV/Radio and only 3 percent on agri-extension officers information provided by extension services are perceived to be unreliable or less actionable due to lack of accuracy. This is a bottleneck for adoption of modern agri-practices, hence crop yields in India are still just 30 percent to 60 percent of the best sustainable crop yields achievable in the farms of developed as well as other developing countries.

Digital India envisions empowering citizens with e-access to government and related livelihood services. The project has 3 core components – digital infrastructure, digital services and digital literacy. Mobile phone is the preferred delivery medium under Digital India with focus on mGovernance and mServices. Out of the 7 components covered under mServices, mAgriculture and mGramBazar directly impact agriculture extension.

And end-to-end ICT led agric platform has been created:

• Pan-India, telco and handset neutral agri information services delivered through sms, voice and mobile app;
• 10,000+ information sources managed by team of 300+ on-ground market reporters and state/national level agri experts with PhDs and public/private sector agri industry experience;
• Dedicated agri call center with 90+ team members speaking 9 languages;
• Custom designed CRM and ERP solutions for Indian farmers;
• Agri e-commerce platform with agri produce aggregation and demand/supply matching capability; supported by technologically enabled on-ground agri marketing team.

National Agriculture Market (NAM)

It is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. The NAM Portal provides a single window services for all APMC related information and services. This includes commodity arrivals & prices, buy & sell trade offers, provision to respond to trade offers, among other services. While material flow (agriculture produce) continue to happen through mandis, an online market reduces transaction costs and information asymmetry.

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