Government Schemes & Policies

Panel to Review MGNREGA

Context: Recently a government panel, appointed to examine the contours of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), has recommended a complete overhaul of the scheme to link employment generation efforts with asset creation, largely concentrated in 2,500 water-deficient and 1,000 poverty-ridden blocks of the total 7,245 blocks.

About the Panel

The head of the panel was former rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha.
The panel's mandate was
- to study the factors behind the demand for MGNREGA work,
- inter-state variations and the composition of work.
- to recommend restructuring the demand-based programme MGNREGA.

Recommendations of the Panel

Link the rural employment scheme with asset creation in the poorest blocks of India.
70% of the MGNREGA funds should be channelised in about 49% of the blocks, including 2,500 water-deficient blocks and 1,000 poverty-ridden blocks.
The remaining 30% of the MGNREGA funds, as per the committee's recommendation, be earmarked for the rest of the state.
The "one size fits all" approach of the programme to be changed to a more targeted approach.
Employment generation under the scheme should be linked to creating assets to replenish water bodies in these 3,500 blocks.

The Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) fellowships programme

Context: Recently the Government of India has launched a new fellowship programme to connect the Indian STEMM diaspora with Indian academic and R&D institutions for collaborative research work leading to sharing of knowledge, wisdom, and best practices in the frontier areas of science & technology.

About The Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV)

The Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) fellowships programme is to be implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
Ministry of Science and Technology would be award to outstanding scientists/technologists of Indian origin (NRI/OCI/PIO) who are engaged in research activities in their respective countries.
The fellowship programme launched as a step to further those efforts by shaping and implementing the VAIBHAV programme, envisages collaboration between scientists of the Indian Diaspora with Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), Universities, and/ or public funded Scientific Institutions.
The VAIBHAV Fellow would identify an Indian Institution for collaboration and may spend up to two months in a year for a maximum of 3 years.
The fellowship would include a fellowship grant (INR 4,00,000 per month), international and domestic travel, accommodation and contingencies.
The VAIBHAV fellows are expected to collaborate with their Indian counterparts and help initiate research activities in the host institution in the cutting-edge areas of Science and Technology.
The 75 selected fellows would be invited to work in 18 identified knowledge verticals including
- Health
- Pharma
- Electronics
- Agriculture
- Quantum technology
- Energy
- Computer sciences and
- Material sciences amongst others.

Pradhan Mantri Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PM-PVTG) Development Mission and HDI for PVTG

Context: The Union government is now looking to design a survey that can gauge the Human Development Index (HDI) specifically for about 28 lakh people of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) living in over 22,000 villages across the country.

About Pradhan Mantri Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PM-PVTG) Development Mission

In the Budget of 2023-24, a ₹15,000-crore expenditure outlay (to be spent in three years) for the Pradhan Mantri Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PM-PVTG) Development Mission was announced for the development of PVTG.
The programme envisions connecting all 22,544 PVTG villages to basic government services like communications, electricity, public education, healthcare, water supply, and connectivity.
HDI for PVTG is a part of the Pradhan Mantri Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PM-PVTG) Development Mission
HDI for PVTG aimed at:

o To see how their purchasing capacity is increasing

o How their economic activities are changing and

o Whether and what government services and facilities are reaching them.

o To collect information about the changes in the lives of PVTG and document it simply, make a database from it at the village level.

o To quantify how government policies are changing their lives.

Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (“SANKALP”)

Context: Recently Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) certifies 98 Trainers trained in the cluster-based Training of Trainers project under the SANKALP programme.

About SANKALP

Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (“SANKALP”) is a Ministry of Skill Development programme with loan assistance from the World Bank.
It aims to improve short-term skill training qualitatively and quantitatively through strengthening institutions, bringing in better market connectivity and including marginalised sections of society.
SANKALP was launched on 19th January 2018 and has a tenure till March 2023.
The outcomes in the project are measured through the Results Framework, and Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) agreed between MSDE and World Bank.
SANKALP has three key result areas namely

(i) Institutional Strengthening at Central, State and District levels;

(ii) Quality Assurance of skill development programmes; and

(iii) Inclusion of marginalised population in skill development programmes."

Interventions under SANKALP are categorised as follows:

RESULT AREA 1: INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING
RESULT AREA 2: ENHANCING MARKET RELEVANCE AND QUALITY
RESULT AREA 3: INCLUSION AND ACCESS OF MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES
PROJECTS ACROSS MULTIPLE RESULT AREAS

Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIS)

Each DLI is supplemented with a verification protocol against which achievements.

DLI 1: Trainees who have successfully completed the NSQF-aligned, short-term Skill Development (SD) programs, and been certified.
DLI 2: Percentage of graduates who are wage-employed or self-employed within six months of completing short-term SD programs.
DLI 3: NSQF-aligned QPs translated into the model curriculum, trainers’ guide, and teaching-learning resource packs.
DLI 4: Number of trainers and assessors trained/retrained.
DLI 5: Improved performance of states on institutional strengthening, market relevance of SD programs, and access to and completion of training by marginalised populations.
DLI 6: Increase in the percentage of women participating in SD programs.
DLI 7: Improved Gram Panchayat (GP) service delivery for linking unemployed youth to local markets.
DLI 8: Strengthened District Skill Committee's (DSC) capacity to implement short-term skill programs.

Poshan Abhiyaan

Context: Over 57,000 migrant workers have enrolled in the One Nation, One Anganwadi program, allowing them to access government benefits for children under six and pregnant/lactating women even if they relocate.

About Poshan Abhiyan:

Launched in 2018 with the objective of improving the nutritional status of Children under 6 years, Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women, and Lactating Mothers through a time-bound approach.
Implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme by States/UTs.
Addresses malnutrition issues nationwide through various components such as ICT Application, Convergence, Community Mobilization, Behavioural Change & Jan Andolan, Capacity Building, Incentives and Awards, and Innovations.
Poshan Vatikas or Nutri-gardens are being established across the country to facilitate affordable and convenient access to fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants, and herbs, promoting the right kind of nourishment.

Amrit Generation campaign

Context: Recently Meta and the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), launched the Amrit Generation campaign.

About the Amrit Generation campaign

It is an initiative to empower and engage the youth of India by encouraging them to express their aspirations and dreams for the future.
The Amrit Generation campaign invites young people from across the country to showcase their creativity and share their aspirations by creating Reels on Instagram and Facebook, Participants are encouraged to explore their ambitions and what they aspire to become when they grow up, fostering a sense of community and inspiring others in the process.
To participate in the Amrit Generation campaign, the participants simply need to create a reel on Instagram or Facebook showcasing their aspirations using the hashtag (#) Amrit Generation (duration of the reel needs to be specified).
The campaign begins on 8th June 2023, Further details, including eligibility criteria and submission guidelines, can be found on the Facebook GPA Page and social media handles of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.
Fifty entries from the campaign will be selected and invited to New Delhi for a unique opportunity to interact with senior policymakers and industry leaders, providing valuable insights into their respective fields and offering guidance on how to achieve their dreams.
The selected young Indians will also get an opportunity to visit the Meta office in Gurugram and learn from industry leaders and creators on leveraging the potential of a creator economy.

About Meta

Meta builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses.
When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect.
Apps like Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp further empowered billions around the world.
Now, Meta is moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology.

Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) to open Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country

Context: The Government of India recently decided to allow 2000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) to open Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country. 1000 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras will be opened by August and 1000 by December, this year.

About Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS)

The Primary Agricultural Cooperative credit societies (PACS) constitute the lowest tier of the three-tier Short-term cooperative credit (STCC) in the country.

Importance of PACS

PACS account for 41 % (3.01 Cr. farmers) of the KCC loans given by all entities in the Country and 95 % of these KCC loans (2.95 Cr. farmers) through PACS are to the Small and Marginal farmers.

About Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras

These are the outlets where anyone can buy generic medicine at very low prices.
The Scheme is implemented by a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, viz., Pharma & Medical Bureau of India (PMBI).
The product basket of PMBJP comprises 1800 drugs and 285 surgical items.

Obejctives of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras

Ensure access to quality medicines for all sections of the population especially the poor and the deprived ones.
Create awareness about generic medicines through education and publicity to counter the perception that quality is synonymous with high prices only.
Generate employment by engaging individual entrepreneurs in the opening of PMBJP Kendra.

Mo Ghara (My Home)

Context: Recently Odisha government announced a new initiative, Mo Ghara (My Home) – a credit-linked housing scheme for the rural poor in the state with an aim to convert all kutcha houses into pucca ones.

Benefits of the Scheme

Under the Mo Ghara scheme, a beneficiary can avail housing loan of up to Rs 3 lakh that can be repaid in 10 years in easy instalments excluding one year moratorium period.
The state government will release capital subsidy to the loan account of the beneficiaries on completion of the house.
There will be four slabs of the loan amount. The rates of the subsidy will be Rs 30,000 for a Rs 1 lakh loan, Rs 45,000 for a Rs 1.5 lakh loan, and Rs 60,000 for a loan amount of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh.
The subsidy will be Rs 10,000 more across slabs for those belonging to the SC/ST category and for the differently abled

Special features of the scheme

Banks have been asked not to charge any processing fee from beneficiaries.
The government has also waived registration fees and stamp duties required during the mortgage of the title deed to further reduce the financial burden for the beneficiaries.

Who is eligible?

A family staying in a kutcha house or one pucca room with a concrete roof is eligible to get the loan under the Mo Ghara scheme.
Families that have not availed of any government housing assistance or have availed assistance of below Rs 70,000 in the past with a monthly income below Rs 25,000 will also be eligible under the scheme.

Who can’t be a beneficiary?

Families having four-wheelers or any member in government service or irrigated land of five acres or more will not be eligible for the loan.

New Doctor Registration Rules

Context: Recently National Medical Commission (NMC) notified new regulations on the licensing and registration of doctors, which have come in for much criticism from the medical community.

What are the new rules?

Under the new regulation, all registered doctors have to register afresh through a portal of the NMC’s Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB), which is responsible for maintaining the IMR, now renamed National Medical Register (NMR).

Why are the new regulations important?

India does not know exactly how many practising doctors it has. Every year, Parliament is told that ‘x’ numbers are registered in the Indian Medical Registry ( IMR ), but about 20% might have migrated, retired, stopped the practice, never practised, or died.
Under the new regulation, all registered doctors have to register afresh through a portal of the NMC’s Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB), which is responsible for maintaining the IMR, now renamed National Medical Register (NMR).
They will be issued a unique registration number, and the licence will be valid for five years.
With this, India could have an exact count of its practising doctors since anyone not renewing will automatically not be counted as practising in India.

Why are doctors objecting to the new registration process?

Many doctors are registered through the state medical councils. The NMC Act does not give the commission the power to issue a licence for practice. This is done by the state councils.
NMC only maintains the IMR, which is a collection of all state registries. So, doctors are asking why they should re-register through the Central portal.
All registered doctors have been asked to renew their registration within three months. Assuming that only 80% of the 13 lakh-plus doctors registered in the IMR are currently practising in India, over 10. 4 lakh doctors will need to reregister within 90 days from May 10 – an average of about 12,000 registrations per day.
Doctors say they have been put together without enough consultation, so they contain contradictory sections, and provisions that lack clarity, and some of the regulations might be difficult or impossible to implement.

What’s the advantage of registration through a Central portal?

Doctors registering every five years and specifying the state/ states in which they practise will enable better manpower planning by the Centre and the state governments.
Also, the new format asks doctors to give their place of work (name of hospital/institute). This could provide an estimate of doctors in the public and private sectors.
At present, multiple registrations in different state registers make it difficult to enforce disciplinary actions against doctors.
A doctor whose registration is suspended by one state council can continue to practise using the registration number and entry in another registry.
Unique registration numbers are also expected to tackle the menace of fake doctors or those with unrecognised degrees.
People could look up the qualifications of any doctor on the NMC website.
The NMC Act stipulates real-time synchronisation of the national and state registers, which means no waiting for state councils to share/ update the state registries to update the NMR.

What’s the problem with registration through state councils?

State medical councils are set up through state legislation. Hence, their mandate varies between states.
Not all state councils stipulate renewal of registration, and where they do, many doctors do not comply, arguing that the erstwhile Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act, did not mandate such renewal. Hence, medical registries are often not updated.
The IMC Act required the state councils to supply copies of their state registers to the Central Council after April 1 of each year. These were combined to form the IMR.
However, with the state councils having different rules regarding updating the registry, and with one doctor registered in many state registries with different registration numbers, the IMR was plagued with discrepancies.
Even today, many state councils do not share updated registries on time.

Does NMC have the power to grant or revoke a licence?

The NMC Act repeatedly states a medical graduate can be registered “in the state register or the national register, as the case may be”.
But many states mandate registration with their state council for permission to practise.
Interestingly, even in the NMC Act, the list of the commission’s functions does not include granting of a licence to practise, while state councils are defined as being “for regulating the practice and registration of practitioners of medicine in that state or Union Territory”.
Doctors argue that there is no bar on their practising in a state where they are registered even if they are not registered in the NMR.

Will doctors be barred from practising in multiple states?

There’s confusion on this because different sections of the regulations seem to contradict each other.
Under the procedure for seeking a licence to practise medicine, the regulations state: “eligible person may opt any state/states to practise medicine”. This seems to imply that a doctor may register to practise in more than one state.
But their regulations also state that the licence will have a unique identification number that “shall be suffixed with a code of the state/UT concerned”. Here the reference is to a single state or UT.
The section on the transfer of licence again implies a doctor may practise in only one state at a time.
This has worried doctors who practise in more than one state. For instance, many registered in Chandigarh practise in Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab, and those registered in Delhi might practise in Noida (UP) and/or Gurgaon (Haryana).
During calamities or for short stints doctors might practise in another state and registering each time would be inconvenient.

Why are doctors asking NMC to redraft the regulations after consultations with state medical councils?

Many of the regulations suggested by NMC run counter to what is mandated in the state council Acts.
States have different operational protocols.

Will NMC ensure that all state council laws are harmonised with its new regulations?

Doctors point out that the details of the process for renewal of registration were not spelt out in the draft regulations put out in May 2022 seeking comments from the public.

Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH)

Context: Recently, The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH), hosted the inaugural National-level workshop in New Delhi. The primary focus of the workshop was to address school assessments, examination practices, and the standardization of educational boards nationwide.

What is Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH)?

It is a National Assessment Centre(country's first national assessment regulator), which has been set up as an organisation under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
It has been launched as part of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020.
Educational Testing Service (ETS) which conducts key tests such as TOEFL and GRE, has been chosen by the National Council for Education Research (NCERT) for setting up the regulatory platform.
The mandate of PARAKH is to work on bringing the 60 school Boards across States and Union Territories on a common platform.
It will work on three major assessment areas: large-scale assessment like the National Achievement Survey, school-based assessments and thirdly capacity building.

Significance

It aims to set up assessment guidelines for all boards to help remove disparities in scores of students enrolled with different state boards.
There is Diversity in school education in India due to geographic differences and multiple languages. It would bring in the "uniformity" in assessment across the 60 boards in 36 States and Union Territories. This involves harmonising curriculum standards, grading systems, and evaluation methods to bolster the credibility and recognition of certificates and grades obtained across different boards
The benchmark assessment framework will seek to put an end to the emphasis on rote learning, as envisaged by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It will encourage and assist school boards to shift their assessment patterns towards meeting the skill requirements of the 21st century.
It will help tackle the problem of students of some state boards being at a disadvantage during college admissions as compared to their peers in CBSE schools. It will develop and implement “technical standards for the design, conduct, analysis and reporting” of tests at all levels of school education.
It will eventually become the national single-window source for all assessment related information and expertise, with a mandate to support learning assessment in all forms, both nationally and where applicable, internationally.
It will act as a common platform for the interaction of all concerned stakeholders in order to develop a holistic approach that ensures a fair assessment system which promotes equity in performance and equivalence in the assessment of students.

District Good Governance Index

Context: Recently the Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Shri Amit Shah virtually released India’s First “District Good Governance Index”, prepared by DARPG in collaboration with the Government of Jammu & Kashmir.

About District Good Governance Index

It measures the diversity of governance model in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
It is inspired by National Good Governance Index, which started in 2021.

Components of Index and their performance

In the Agriculture and Allied Sector – Universal coverage has been achieved in the Kisan Credit Card scheme, Soil Health Card Scheme and Animal Vaccination. Most Districts of Jammu & Kashmir witnessed the growth of Food Grain Production, Horticulture produce, Milk and Meat production, poultry production, and agriculture credit.
Commerce and Industry Sector – improvement is seen in GST registration, MSME units registered online, Credit to Handicrafts and Credit for Self-Employment. There is a 109 per cent increase in credit to handicrafts in the 2019-2021 period.
Human Resources Development Sector – The percentage of Schools with Drinking Water, Separate Toilets and Electricity Facilities have shown an increase as also the percentage of schools with access to computers and the number of children served mid-day meals. In 10 districts 100 percent skill training has been imparted to registered students.
Public Health Sector – Full Immunization represents a significant success story, the percentage of PHC/ Sub-Centers converted to Health & Wellness Centers, and the proportion of Anganwadis with their own buildings have shown improvements.
Public Infrastructure and Utilities Sector – Housing for all scheme indicates more than 50 per cent of sanctioned houses being grounded in 12 districts, Ganderbal and Srinagar achieving 100 per cent access to safe drinking water, 18 districts achieving 100 per cent access to sanitation facilities, improvements in households electrified and construction of all-weather roads.
Social Welfare and Development Sector – 80 per cent of Aadhar seeding of ration cards represents a major milestone.
Financial Inclusion Sector – Financial inclusion under Jan Dhan Yojana has achieved universal coverage, and financial support under self-employment schemes has also registered double-digit growth.
Judicial and Public Safety Sector – disposal of court cases has gone up significantly.
Citizen-Centric Governance Sector – tremendous momentum in government offices converted to e-Office, almost 100 per cent progress in grievance redressal and significant increases in government services provided online.