Government Plan Programme Policies for UPSC Exam

:: One Rank One Pension (OROP) ::

The details are as follows:

1. The benefit will be given with effect from 1st July, 2014.

2. Pension will be re-fixed for pre 1.7.2014 pensioners retiring in the same rank and with the same length of service as the average of minimum and maximum pension drawn by the retirees in the year 2013. Those drawing pensions above the average will be protected.

3. The benefit would also be extended to family pensioners including war widows and disabled pensioners.

4. Personnel who opt to get discharged henceforth on their own request under Rule 13(3) 1(i)(b), 13(3) 1(iv) or Rule 16B of the Army Rule. 1954 or equivalent Navy or Air Force Rules will not be entitled to the benefits of OROP. It will be effective prospectively.

5. Arrears will be paid in four half-yearly instalments. However, all the family pensioners including those in receipt of Special/Liberalized family pension and Gallantry award winners shall be paid arrears in one instalment.

6. In future, the pension would be re-fixed every 5 year.

7. Constitution of Judicial Committee headed by Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, Retd. Chief Justice of Patna High Court on 14.12.2015 which will give its report in six months on the references made by the Government of India.

FMD (Foot and mouth disease) Mukta Bharat: Important Topics for UPSC Exams​

What is FMD?

• FMD or hoof-and-mouth is a viral infectious disease which may become fatal at times, and it affects domestic and wild bovin animals leading to high fever for approximately 2-6 days, followed by blisters inside the mouth and on the feet.

It’s Economic Impact?

• As per estimates of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), direct loss due to milk and meat is to the tune of RS. 20,000crore/annum.
• It can be much more if indirect losses due to reduced work capacity; abortions, subsequent infertility and sterility (that account for the reduced milk production subsequently) are taken into account.
• FMD is one of the most economically devastating contagious viral animal diseases affecting all susceptible cloven-footed animals.

How can it spread by?

• Infected animals through aerosols
• Close-contact animal-to-animal spread
• By contact with contaminated farming equipment, vehicles, clothing, or feed
• By infected Domestic and wild predators

Government Plan Programme Policies for UPSC Exam

:: Beti Bachao Beti Padhao ::

Government has recently launched Beti bachao Beti padhao yojana for survival, protection & education of the girl child. It aims to address the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) through a mass campaign across the country targeted at changing societal mindsets & creating awareness about the criticality of the issue. Haryana has the worst sex ratio among all states in the country standing at 879. Looking into this Government launched the scheme from panipat district of Haryana. The Scheme will have focussed intervention & multi-sectoral action in 100 districts with low Child Sex Ratio. It is a joint initiative of Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Human Resource Development. Focus points of the scheme are:

• 100 districts with low sex ratio will be selected and atleast one district in every state.
• In 100 critical districts, improve sex ratio by 10 points in a year.
• Prevention of gender based sex selective abortion by strengthening the PC & PNDT Act with stringent punishments for violations of the law.
• Appropriate initiatives which will encourage girls to express their views and to be heard and participate effectively.
• Reduce gender difference in under-5 child mortality by 4 points by 2017.
• Increase girls enrolment in secondary schools to 79% by 2017.
• Fifty new Kasturba Gandhi bal vidhyalay by 2015.
• Monitoring of this policy will be at three levels. At the central level monitoring would be done by secretary, MWCD by a task force. At state level monitoring task force will be headed by state secretary and finally at the district level monitoring will be done through district action plan.

Elephant Corridor: Important Topics for UPSC Exams​

What?

• Elephant corridor is a thin strip of land that allows elephants to move freely from one habitat patch to another.
• 88 elephant corridors have been identified by the wildlife trust of India under National elephant Corridor project.

Why is Elephant corridor necessary?

• To address the development vs. environment issue which causes habitat loss to animals.

• To reduce man-animal conflict: Expanding economic aspirations have given way to the conversion of many wetlands into urban centres, roads and railway projects, infrastructure for tourism. It has caused reduction of space available for animals to roam freely. It arises from man-animal conflict if space for roaming is not provided for them.

• These corridors/projects are win-win for both the people and the animal because farming produce in those get destroyed whenever a herd of animals passes from those areas.
• It can address the poaching issue because now the corridors can be technologically monitored.
• WLT(world land trust) and other foreign elephant conservation organisations are funding wildlife trust of India in some corridor formation.

Government Plan Programme Policies for UPSC Exam

:: START UP India ::

"Start up India Stand up India" initiative was announced by the Prime Minister in his address to the nation on 15th August, 2015. First startup fund was announced for it in the budget 2015. Start-up India plan provides lot of benefits to the startup's. Most important provisions of the new Startup India plan are given below:

• Single Window Clearance even with the help of a mobile application
• Refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs. 10,000 crore.
• The overall intent of the approval is to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to these under-served sectors of the population by facilitating bank loans repayable up to 7 years and between Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 100 lakh for Greenfield enterprises in the non farm sector set up by such SC, ST and Women borrowers.

• The loan under the scheme would be appropriately secured and backed by a credit guarantee through a credit guarantee scheme for which Department of Financial Services would be the settler and National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd. (NCGTC) would be the operating agency.

• patent registration fee would be reduced by 80 percent
• Modified and friendlier Bankruptcy Code to ensure 90-day exit window.
• Handholding support for borrowers both at the pre loan stage and during operations.
• Freedom from mystifying inspections for 3 years
• No capital gain tax would be charged for first three years.
• No income tax in profit need to be given for the period of three years.
• Innovation hub under Atal Innovation Mission
• Starting with 5 lakh schools to target 10 lakh children for innovation programme
• new schemes to provide IPR protection to start-ups and new firms.

Dahi Handi Festival: Important Topics for UPSC Exams​

What is it?

• It is one of the festive events and a team sport during the Hindu festival Gokulashtami.
• It is also known as Krishna Janmashtami in the rest of the country, and celebrates the birth of Krishna.
• It is popular in Maharashtra and nearby regions of India.
• The event involves making a human pyramid and breaking an earthen pot filled with milk, curd, butter, fruits and water which is hung at a convenient height, thus imitating the actions of child Krishna.

What are some problematic Issues in the event?

• As per the Journal of Postgraduate Medicine report of 2012 "There is a considerable risk of serious, life-threatening injuries inherent to human pyramid formation and descent in the Dahihandi festival"
  Traffic Congestion and excessive littering.
• Sound pollution.
• Height of the earthen pot (Matki) many a times causes tragic accidents and recently Supreme Court prescribed some guidelines for it. However, it was not followed in some places.
• Number of injuries due to such event is increasing due to rising competitions among groups to reach the top first.