Kurukshetra - yojana.gov.inyojana.gov.in/September2019.pdf · 4 Kurukshetra September 2019 Editorial The government is taking various initiatives to accelerate growth in rural India

The Monthly Journal

MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENTVol. 67 No. 11 Pages 56

September 2019

Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra seeks to carry the message of Rural Development to all people. It serves as a forum for free, frank and serious discussion on the problems of Rural Development with special focus on Rural Uplift.The views expressed by the authors in the articles are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government or the organisations they work for.The readers are requested to verify the claims in the advertisements regarding career guidance books/institutions. Kurukshetra does not own responsibility. Maps used are for illustration & study purpose and may not strictly conform to the official map. Final Editing rights will vest with Kurukshetra Team.

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CONTENT

Addressing Rural Poverty: Livelihood DevelopmentandDiversification AmarjeetSinha 5

SocialSecuritySchemesfor SocialDevelopment Dr. Tanu Kathuria 9

RuralHealth:Evolution&WayForward Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya 14

EmpoweringFarmersThrough InitiativesinAgriculture SameeraSaurabh 19

FinancialInclusion:MajorInitiatives Dr.ManjulaWadhwa 23

MakingElectricitySustainableand AvailabletoAll SiddharthaP.Saikia 30

CleanandRenewableEnergyInitiatives NimishKapoor 34

WomenEmpowerment:ANewParadigm Dr.NandiniSahay 39

SkillingIndiaThroughGovernment Initiatives NimishKumar 44

EnsuringChildren'sHealthandNutrition Dr.JyotiSharma 47

Swachhta Success Story CapacityStrengtheningInitiativefor 2.5LakhPanchayatsLaunched 53

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Kurukshetra September 20194

Editorial

The government is taking various initiatives to accelerate growth in rural India therebycatalysingthegrowthofIndianeconomy.About70percentofIndiaresidesinitsvillages.Undoubtedly,thegrowthoftheruralsectoriscentraltotheoveralldevelopmentofthe

country.

The Government has been investing in vital areas such as energy, electricity, health,womenempowerment,financialinclusion,skilldevelopment,agriculturalinitiativesandseveralsocialsecurityschemestobuildastrongfoundationforthesustainablegrowthofIndia’sruralsector.TheGovernmentinitsUnionBudget2019–20hasdeclared“HealthyIndia:AyushmanBharat,well-nourishedwomenandchildren”asoneofthe10componentsof‘VisionforIndiainthedecadeahead’.TheNationalHealthMission2017isamajorhealthreformintroducedby the Government to accelerate the improvement of health conditions in India. Womenempowermentandgenderequalityarefundamentaltoachievesustainableprogress.Toachievewomenempowerment,thepresentgovernmenthasinitiatedcomprehensiveprogrammestosafeguardeducationalrights,healthrights,socialsecurityrights,economicsecurity,andsafetytoamelioratethestatusofIndianwomen.

TheGovernment is introducing reforms, creating necessary infrastructure and systemsthrough innovation and enhancement for the betterment of the masses. This includesnecessitieslikeelectricity,cleanenergy,agriculturetechnologyamongotherareasoftheruralsector.

As agriculture is the main source of India’s national income and pivotal for ruraldevelopment,theGovernmentis leavingnostoneunturnedtoimprovetheconditionofthefarming community. The country witnessed record foodgrain production in 2017–18 due tokeyGovernmentinitiativeslikePradhanMantriKrishiSichaiYojana,SoilHealthCards,NeemCoatedUrea, credit facilities for farmers, e-NAMandvariousother schemes to support thefarmersofthecountry.

TheotherareasoffocusoftheGovernmentareprovidingcleanenergyandelectricitytoallcornersofthecountry.TheGovernment’s flagshipprogrammePradhanMantriSahajBijliHarGhar Yojana or Saubhagya in addition to other programmes and digital initiatives havemadeelectricityaccessibletoallpartsofthenation.TheGovernmentisimplementingavarietyofschemessothatmaximumcleanenergycanbeutilized in thecountryanduninterruptedpowersupplycanbeensuredinremoteareas.

Rural development is incomplete without the overall development of rural youth. Toprovide the rural population with the opportunities to also be job creators instead of jobseekers, the present Government has launched the Skill India Mission, wherein youth aretrainedinjob-orientedskills,whichnotonlyfacilitatetheminobtainingjobsinindustriesbutalsohelptheminbecomingentrepreneurs.Ruraldevelopmentisfundamentaltothecountry’sprogress.Thenation'sintegratedgrowthneedstobuildaNewIndia,wherethebenefitstheeconomypercolatetothelastmile.

Kurukshetra September 2019 5

Addressing rurAl Poverty:livelihood develoPment And diversificAtion

Amarjeet Sinha

Income and employment through Livelihood Development and diversification is clearly the way forward. The last 4 years have seen a considerable stepping up of financial resources for improving rural infrastructure, diversifying livelihoods, reducing poverty, and thereby improving the well-being of poor households in terms of allocation for Programmes of Department of Rural Development.

As the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) bring out clearly, poverty is multi-dimensionalandthereforerequiresarange

of interventions. The figure below illustrativelybringsout thechallengesof creatingpoverty-freeRural Clusters. Non-farm livelihoods andmultiplelivelihoods are required tomake a difference. Asrecentdatapointsout,halfofmanufacturingandone-third of the services sector is already partof the Rural Economy. Income and employmentthroughLivelihoodDevelopmentanddiversificationisclearlythewayforward.

of funds for addressing Rural Poverty during thisperiod:l ThesharingpatternunderProgrammesfornon

Himalayan States became 60:40, and 90:10 inHimalayanStates.UnderPradhanMantriAwaasYojana- Gramin (PMAY-G), instead of a 75:25sharing earlier, it became 60:40 leveraging atotalofRs.45,000crorein3yearsasStateshare,against aGovernmentof India provisionof Rs.81,975 crore. Likewise, from December 2015,States started contributing 40% of Pradhan

Thelast4yearshaveseenaconsiderablestepping up of financial resources for improvingrural infrastructure, diversifying livelihoods,reducingpoverty,andtherebyimprovingthewell-beingofpoorhouseholdsintermsofallocationforProgrammesofDepartmentofRuralDevelopment.The actual expenditure of Department of RuralDevelopment from 2012-13 to 2017- 18 and theBudgetEstimates(BEs)fortheyear2018-19showninTableIillustratethepointsverywell.

Annual expenditure in 2017-18 ismore thandoubleofwhatitwasin2012-13.Onehasalsotobear inmindthattherewere4additionalsources

Poverty Free Rural Clusters

Table I – Actual Expenditure of Department of Rural Development

Year Expenditure in Rural Develop- ment Schemes

(amount in Rs. crore)2012-13 50,1622013-14 58,6302014-15 67,2632015-16 77,3212016-17 95,0992017-18(RE) 1,05,448*2018-19 1,12,403.92**

*Revisedestimatesfortheyear2017-18.**BudgetEstimatesfortheyear2018-19.Source:MinistryofRuralDevelopment.


MantriGramSadakYojana(PMGSY)funds.ThisleveragedanadditionalRs.8000toRs.9000croreofStateshareeachyearwhichwerenotavailableearlierwithPMGSY.AsimilarincreasehappenedinProgrammesthatwerebroughton60:40 share from the earlier 75:25, like NSAP,DAY-NRLM,etc.

l From2017-18,under theHousingProgramme,additional resources were mobilized throughExtra Budgetary Resources (EBRs) aswell. Atotal of Rs. 21,975 crore of Extra BudgetaryFundshavebeenmobilized/arebeingmobilizedin 2017 to 2019 period for PMAY-Gramin. Rs.7329.43 crore has already been disbursedthroughEBR.

l The transfer of funds under the 14th FinanceCommission awards has also registered asignificantincreasecomparedtotheallocationsearlier under the 13th Finance Commission. ItcanbeseeninTableII.

Table II – Release under 14th Finance Commission

Year Total Release (Rs. in crore)2015-16 21510.462016-17 33870.522017-18 32423.72

l The fourth important factor to note is the

leveraging of Bank Loans byWomen Self HelpGroups(SHGs)duringthisperiod.AtotalofRs.1.64 lakh crore have been mobilized as BankLoanbyWomenSelfHelpGroups in the last5years.TheBankLoanoutstandinghasmorethandoubled from Rs. 31865 crore in 2013-14 to Rs.69733crorein2017-18underDAY-NRLM.

Besides the specific resource provision forRural Poverty Programmes, the thrust on SwachhBharatMission(SBM),increaseintheallocations

ofMinistryofAgricultureandotherInfrastructureand Livelihood Programmes for the poor, thetotal transfer of financial resources to Rural Indiahas been very significant. A large proportion ofthe same goes into improvement in Incomes andEmployment.

The Department of Rural Development hasfocused on Development and Diversification ofLivelihoods of the poor households during thisperiod. The Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC)2011 released in July 2015 provided an EvidenceBasedCriteria forSelectionofBeneficiariesundervariousGovernmentProgrammes.TheapplicationofdeprivationcriteriaofSECCtotheProvisionforLPGGasconnectionunderUjjwala,freehouseholdelectricityconnectionunderSaubhagya,selectionofbeneficiariesunderPMAY-G,andnowselectionunderAayushman Bharat forNational Health Protectionhave ensured that the benefits of developmentreach themostdeprivedonapriority.TheuseofSECC in finalization of Labour Budgets to StatesunderMahatmaGandhiNationalRuralEmploymentGuarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and insistencein enrolment of allwomen fromhouseholdswithdeprivation under SHGs of Deendayal AntyodayaYojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) has also ensured that poor regions withlargernumberofpoorhouseholdsreceivepriorityinProgrammesofRuralPoverty.TableIIIhighlightsthekindsofdeprivation.

All Programmes of Rural Developmentwere aligned to Livelihood Development andDiversification. Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmploymentGuaranteeScheme(MGNREGS)focusedondurableassetsandWaterConservation,andalso provided for livelihood generating individualbenefits like farm ponds, dug wells, goat shed,poultry shed, housing support, and support for

Table III – Deprivation under SECC 2011

Particular Deprived HouseholdsOnlyzeroroomoroneroomwithkutchawallsandkutcharoof(D1) 2,37,31,674Noadultmemberbetween16to59(D2) 65,15,205Femaleheadedhouseholdswithnoadultmalememberbetweenage16to59(D3) 68,96,014Disabledmemberandnoablebodiedadultmember(D4) 7,16,045SC/SThouseholds(D5) 3,85,82,225Noliterateadultabove25years(D6) 4,21,47,568Landlesshouseholdsasmanualcasuallabour(D7) 5,37,01,383Another 16 lakh households are automatically included as the poorest of the poor households


dairyshed.ThelivelihoodlinkagesinconvergencewithsubsidyProgrammesforanimalresourcesandforagriculture contribute to improved incomes inthe Agriculture and Allied Sectors. The increasein production of fruits and vegetables and thesignificant growth through animal resources overthe last 4 years have been on account of thislarger thrust on Rural Livelihood Development and Diversification. To illustrate some of the salientlivelihoodgeneratingandIncomeandEmploymentsupporting initiatives over the last 3 years are asfollows:

(i) 143lakhhectaresoflandprovidedbenefitofWaterConservationworks.

(ii) Nearly15lakhfarmpondsand4lakhwellsfor irrigationbesidesavery largenumberofWater Conservation Community Structurescameupduringthisperiod.

(iii) Over 6222 Custom Hiring Centres managedbyWomen SelfHelpGroups fully functionalduring this period.

(iv) 11000 Bank Sakhis and 773 Bank MitrastrainedasBankingCorrespondents(BCs)fromamongSHGWomen.

(v) 33lakhwomenfarmerssupportedundernon-chemicalbasedagroecologicalinterventions.

(vi) 86000 Producer Groups and126 AgriProducerCompaniesestablished.

(vii) 449 vehicles under Aajeevika GrameenExpress Yojana (AGEY) for Rural Transportplyingonroadswithwomendrivers.

(viii) Over9lakhSolarLampsassembledbynearly4000 Women Self Help Group Membersin remote regions of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,Jharkhand,Rajasthan,etc.

(ix) Over 6000 Barefoot Technicians trained andcertified.

(x) 3.54 lakh candidates successfully placedfor wage employment under Deen DayalUpadhyaya Grameen Kaushalaya Yojana(DDU-GKY) and 12.65 lakh candidatessettledforself-employmentunderRuralSelfEmploymentTrainingInstitutes(RSETIs)inthelast 4 years.

(xi) 10949 Rural Masons trained and certifiedunder the Housing Programme.

NationalInstituteofPublicFinanceandPolicy

(NIPFP) was requested to assess the impact ofPradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana- Gramin (PMAY-G)on Income and Employment. The Report foundthat “By using information about the completedandunderconstructionhousessince2016-17thatis made available through AwaasSoft and by theMoRD, we estimate that the scheme could havegeneratedabout52.47croreperson-days.Ofthis,nearly20.85croreperson-daysareforskilledlabourandtheremaining31.62croreperson-daysarefortheunskilledlabourforceinbothyears”.

ForRuralInfrastructure,thePMGSYhasbeen a flagship Programme and during the last 4years1.69lakhkmsofroadswereconstructed.Theaverage road length constructed annually since2011-12maybeseeninTableIV.

Table IV – Total Road Length Constructed Per Day under PMGSY

Year AverageRoadLengthConstructedperdayunderPMGSY(inkm)

2011-12 852012-13 662013-14 692014-15 1002015-16 1002016-17 1302017-18 134

AsignificantsteppingupofroadconstructionProgrammehasalsogenerateddirectandindirectemployment.Onanaverageone-fourthofthetotalcost of construction of rural roads contributes toemployment of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilledwageearners.Clearlythesehavealsocontributedto Incomes and Employment during this period.TheCentralGovernmentannual allocation wasincreasedtoRs.19000croreoverthelast3years.This isabletoleverageRs.8000croretoRs.9000croreasStateshare.Overthelast3years,thismeansthatnearlyRs.70,000croretoRs.80,000crorewasavailableonly for road construction.25%creatingdirect employment is naturally a larger numberwithconsequencesforincomeandemploymentinrural areas.

MahatmaGandhiNationalRuralEmploymentGuarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has been amajorsourceofstrengtheninglivelihoodsecuritywithfulltransparencyduringthisperiod.

lThe Central Government’s commitment to


ensure effective implementation of MGNREGSisreflectedbythecontinuousincreaseinBudgetallocation.TotalBudgetAllocationinFY2017-18wasRs.55,167crorewhichwashighestsinceinception.

Year BudgetAllocation(Rs.incrore)2014-15 330002015-16 373462016-17 482202017-18 55167

l FundUtilization:The fundutilization (includingCentralandStateshare)hasalsoseenasignificantincrease in comparison to previous financialyears.ThetotalexpenditureinFY2017-18isabout Rs. 64,288 crore (Provisional) which is highesteversinceinception.

l The person-days generated under MGNREGSinthelast3yearshasbeenintherangeof235croreeveryyear.Thisishigherthanmostyearsbefore, indicating how the thrust on durableassetsandIndividualBeneficiarySchemes(IBSs)hasgeneratedasteadydemandforMGNREGS.Thefiguresbelowaffirm thehighdemand forLivelihoods security through durable assets ofMGNREGS.

Year Person-Days of work generated (Rs. in crore)

2014-15 166.212015-16 235.142016-17 235.62017-18 234.3

The expansion of theNational Food SecurityAct(NFSA)withaprovisionofriceatRs.3perkgandwheatatRs.2perkghasfacilitatedfoodsecurityinpoorhouseholds. The increases in theConsumerPriceIndexforAgriculturalLabourhasbeenmodeston account of the low food price inflation duringthisperiodasfooditemscomprisethelargestchunkofthebasketofgoodsandservicesforcalculatingtheConsumer Price Index forAgricultural Labour.The subsidies on Rice andWheat, and the readyavailabilityofcheapfoodgrainstopoorhouseholdsneedtobefactoredinwhilelookingatwageratesforAgriculturalLabour.Evenwithnominalincreasesinrealwage,thepurchasingpowergoesupasmajorexpenditure items like rice andwheat areheavilysubsidizedwitheffectiveavailability.

Rural poverty is truly multi-dimensional andthere is a need to address it simultaneously for

greater impact.Theeffortsoverthelastfewyearshavebeentowardsconvergenceofruralinitiativestomakearealdifferencetothewell-beingofpoorhouseholds. These interventionshave targetedboththepovertyofhouseholdsandthepovertyof geographies. The factors contributing to thesearelistedbelow:Poverty of Householdsl Lackofeducationandskillsl Under-nutritionandill-healthl Lackofemploymentopportunitiesl Assetlessnessl Lackofsafehousingl Limitedaccesstopublicservicesl Clutches of middlemen/corruption/

moneylenderl AbsenceofSocialCapital-collectivesofwomen/

youth/poorhouseholdsPoverty of Geographiesl Lowpriceforproduce-distressl Violence/crimel Unirrigated agri/vagariesofmonsoonl Lackofbasicinfra-roads,electricity,internetl Lackofaccesstomarketsandjobsl Lackofnon-farmopportunities

It is evident from thedata and interventionslisted above that higher financial resources havebeenmade available for addressing rural povertyover the last few years alongwith amuchhigherscaleofleverageofbankloansforwomenSelf-HelpGroups.Thesehavebeencontributingtobothriseinincomesandemploymentthroughdiversificationanddevelopmentoflivelihoods.Afewillustrativeexamples of such diversification have been listedabove.Overall thechallenges to ruralpovertyarebeing effectively addressed through the range ofinterventions outlined above. Evaluation studiesby the Institute of Rural Management Anand(IRMA) have also confirmed increase in incomes,productiveassets,andenterprisesinvillageswhereWomen Self-Help Groups are active under DAY-NRLM. Similarly, Studies of Water ConservationworksunderMGNREGAbytheInstituteofEconomicGrowthconfirmedincreaseinincome,productivity,acreage, and the water table. Such increases areboundtogenerateemploymentonalargescale.

(The author is Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Government of India.Email : [email protected])


Dr. Tanu Kathuria

The delivery of social services at affordable costs to the economically weaker and the low income segments of society is the key and the only solution to the core problem. True to this, GoI has taken several initiatives on the social sector front, all of which are potentially game-changers in the realm of social sector policy canvas. An actionable policy armed with inclusive growth is the need of the hour and the present government is successfully executing several schemes and programmes on this premise.

SocialSecurity isbothaconceptaswellasasystem. It represents basically a system ofprotectionof individualswhoareinneedof

such protection by the State as an agent of thesociety.Suchprotectionisrelevantincontingenciessuch as retirement, resignation, retrenchment,death,disablementwhicharebeyondthecontroloftheindividualmembersoftheSociety.Stateasanagentofthesocietyhasanimportantmandatetoharmonisesuchdifferencesthroughaprotectivecovertothepoor,theweak,thedeprivedandthedisadvantaged.

The concept of social security is nowgenerally understood as protection provided bythe society to its members through a series ofpublicmeasuresagainst theeconomicandsocialdistressthatotherwiseiscausedbythestoppageor substantial reduction of earnings resultingfrom sickness, maternity, employment injury,

occupational diseases, unemployment, invalidity,old age and death.

“Social Security” has been recognised as aninstrumentforsocialtransformationandprogressandmustbepreserved,supportedanddevelopedas such. Furthermore, social security organisedonafirmandsoundbasiswillpromoteprogress,sinceoncemenandwomenbenefitfromincreasedsecurity and are free from anxiety, will becomemoreproductive.

SocialSecurityisincreasinglyseenasanintegralpartofthedevelopmentprocess.Ithelpstocreatea more positive attitude not just to a structuralandtechnologicalchangebutalsothechallengeofglobalisationandto itspotentialbenefits intermsofgreaterefficiencyandhigherproductivity.

Social security has come to be linked tojob benefits, tying it to one’s status as aworker

sociAl security schemes for sociAl develoPment


in the formal or the informal economy when,fundamentally, it originates from the notion ofensuringeveryoneprotectionagainstvulnerabilityand deprivation.

Over the last five years,we havewitnesseda fundamental shift in the narrative of socialsecurityforthemarginalized.Thefocushasmovedfromthepoliticsofwelfarismandentitlementtoamoreparticipatorymodelofempowerment.Byallmeans,theGovernmentofIndia(GoI)iseffectivelyexploring multiple facets of empowerment forthesociallydeprivedsectionsofthesociety.Thisarticle outlines certain observations about thesteps taken by the present regime to actualizethepristineobjectiveofsocialjusticeandholisticdevelopmentofthelastmaninthevillage,whichis reflective of the eternal commitment to theprinciples of Antyodaya. The annual financialstatementsofthegovernmentsincethelastthreeyearshavereaffirmeditscommitmenttostrengthenthe rural economy and indigenous infrastructurethatliesatthecoreofourvillages.Itisindicativeofthecommitment reiteratedby thePrimeMinisteronmorethanoneoccasion.Sincetheinceptionofthecurrentgovernment,hehasmadehisintentionsclearthatthecoreagendaofthegovernmentwillremain,“welfare of the marginalized”.

Social securitymay refer to social insurance,where people receive benefits or services inrecognition of contributions to an insuranceprogramme. These services typically includeprovision for retirement pensions, disabilityinsurance, survivor benefits and unemploymentinsurance. The delivery of Social services ataffordable costs to the economically weaker andthelowincomesegmentsofsocietyisthekeyandtheonlysolutiontothecoreproblem.Truetothis,GoIhastakenseveralinitiativesonthesocialsectorfront, all of which are potentially game-changersin the realm of social sector policy canvas. Anactionable policy armed with inclusive growth istheneedofthehourandthepresentgovernmentis successfully executing several schemes andprogrammes on this premise.

The key initiatives undertaken by theGovernment for social and economic security areenumeratedbelow:-

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY),is financial inclusion programme of Government

of Indiawhich is applicable to20 to65yearsagegroup, that aims to expand and make affordableaccesstofinancialservicessuchasbankaccounts,remittances, credit, insurance and pensions. ThePrimeMinisterofIndiahadannouncedthisschemeonhisfirstIndependenceDayspeechon15August2014.SloganoftheSchemeis“MeraKhata,BhagyaVidhatha (meaning “My account brings me goodfortune”).

This scheme aims to bring banking servicestolargeruralareas.Underthisscheme,15millionbankaccountswereopenedoninaugurationday.By27June2018,over318millionbankaccountswereopened and over Rs. 792 billion were depositedunderthescheme.

According to the analysis of various studies,“Beyondenablingaccountownershipand theuseof financial services, the PMJDY also facilitatedfinancial inclusion for a variety of demographics.Whiletheprogrammehasmadesignificantheadwaytowardsgenuinefinancialinclusion,itisclearthatimproving policy communication, widening anddeepening progress in low-income states, andironingoutthekinks inthebank-agentmodelwillbe crucial if these hard-fought gains are to provesustainable.”Atleast300millionnewfamilieshavegot Jan Dhan accounts in which almost Rs. 650billionhavebeendeposited,PrimeMinistersaidon28August2017,ontheeveofthirdanniversaryoftheschemeaimedatfinancialinclusion.

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana isa government-backed Life insurance scheme inIndia.AsofMay2015,only20percentof India’spopulationhasanykindof insurance,thisschemeaimstoincreasethenumber.PradhanMantriJeevanJyotiBimaYojanaisavailabletopeoplebetween18and50yearsofagewithbankaccounts. Ithasanannual premium of Rs. 330 The GST is exemptedon PradhanMantri Jeevan JyotiBima Yojana. Theamount will be automatically debited from theaccount. In case of death due to any cause, thepaymenttothenomineewillbeRs.2 lakhs.AsofMay2018,5.33crorepeoplehavealreadyenrolledforthisscheme.60,422claimshavebeendisbursedagainst63,767claimsreceived.

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) is aflagshipschemeofGovernmentofIndiato“fundtheunfunded”bybringingsuchenterprisestothe


formal financial systemandextendingaffordablecredit to them. It enables a small borrower toborrow fromall Public SectorBanks suchasPSUBanks, Regional Rural Banks and CooperativeBanks, Private Sector Banks, Foreign Banks,MicroFinanceInstitutions(MFI)andNonBankingFinance Companies (NBFC) for loans upto Rs. 10lakh for non-farm income generating activities.The schemewas launched on 8thApril, 2015 bythePrimeMinister.

Any Indian citizenwhohas a business planforanon-farmsectorincomegeneratingactivitysuch as manufacturing, processing, trading orservicesectorandwhosecreditneedislessthanRs.10 lakhcanapproacheitheraBank,MFI,orNBFC for availing of Micro Units Development& Refinance Agency Ltd. (MUDRA) loans underPradhanMantriMudraYojana(PMMY).

Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana(PMVVY) is a Pension Schemeannouncedby theGovernment of India exclusively for the seniorcitizensaged60yearsandabovewhichisavailablefrom4thMay,2017to31stMarch,2020.Schemeprovides an assured return of 8 per cent p.a.payablemonthly(equivalentto8.30percentp.a.effective) for 10 years. Pension is payable at theendofeachperiod,during thepolicy termof10years,asperthefrequencyofmonthly/quarterly/half-yearly/yearlyaschosenbythepensioneratthetimeofpurchase.Onsurvivalofthepensionertotheendofthepolicytermof10years,Purchasepricealongwithfinalpensioninstallmentshallbepayable.

Loan upto 75 per cent of Purchase Priceshall be allowed after 3 policy years (to meetthe liquidity needs). The scheme also allows forpremature exit for the treatment of any critical/terminalillnessofselforspouse.Ondeathofthepensionerduringthepolicytermof10years,thePurchasePriceshallbepaidtothebeneficiary.

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is agovernment-backed accident insurance schemein India.PradhanMantriSurakshaBimaYojana isavailable to people between 18 and 70 years ofagewithbankaccounts.Ithasanannualpremiumof Rs. 12. The amount will be automaticallydebitedfromtheaccount.Theaccidentinsurance

schemewill haveone year cover from june 1 to May 31 and would be offered through banksand administered through public sector generalinsurancecompanies.

In caseof accidental deathor full disability,the payment to the nominee will be Rs. 2lakh(US$2,900)andincaseofpartialPermanentdisabilityRs.1lakh(US$1,400).Fulldisabilityhasbeendefinedaslossofuseinbotheyes,handsorfeet.PartialPermanentdisabilityhasbeendefinedaslossofuseinoneeye,handorfoot.

This scheme will be linked to the bankaccounts opened under PMJDY scheme. Mostof these account had zero balance initially. Thegovernment aims to reduce the number of suchzero balance accounts by using this and relatedschemes.

AtalPensionYojana(orAPY,previouslyknownas SwavalambanYojana) is a government-backedpension scheme in India, primarily targeted attheunorganizedsector.only20percentofIndia’spopulationhadanykindofpensionschemeandtheAPYschemeaimsto increase thenumber.Underthisscheme,allsubscribingworkersbelowtheageof40areeligibleforpensionuptoRs.5,000permonthonattainmentof60yearsofage.

In order to incentivize people to enroll inthis scheme and widen its reach, the governmentannounced that it would co-contribute 50 per centof the total contribution or Rs. 1,000 per annum,whicheverislower,toeacheligiblesubscriberaccount,foraperiodof5years.TheminimumeligibleageforapersonjoiningAPYis18yearsandthemaximumis40 years. An enrolled person would start receivingpensiononattainingtheageof60years.Therefore,aminimumperiodofcontributionbythesubscriberunderAPYwouldbe20yearsormore.


Stand-UpIndiaschemeaimstofacilitatebankloans between 10 lakh and 1 crore to at leastoneScheduledCaste(SC)orScheduledTribe(ST)borrower and at least onewoman borrower perbankbranchforsettingupagreenfieldenterprise.Thisenterprisemaybeinmanufacturing,servicesor the trading sector. In case of non-individualenterprisesatleast51percentoftheshareholdingandcontrollingstakeshouldbeheldbyeitheranSC/ST or Woman entrepreneur. Size of the loancan be as big as the composite loan of 75 percentoftheprojectcostinclusiveoftermloanandworkingcapital.Andtheloancanberepayablein7yearswithamaximummoratoriumperiodof18months.

Swachhta Udyami Yojana: As an integral part of‘SwachhBharatAbhiyan’launchedbythePrimeMinister on 2nd October, 2014, the NationalSafai Karamcharis Finance & DevelopmentCorporation(NSFDC)has launchedanewScheme‘Swachhta Udyami Yojana’ for financing viablecommunity toilet projects and sanitation relatedvehiclestocollectgarbage.

Green Business Scheme: The schemehas been started by NSFDC, with the aimof promoting green businesses to supportsustainable livelihoods of Scheduled Castes andSafaiKaramcharis.Financialassistancewouldbeprovidedforthoseeconomicactivitiesthatcouldaddress the challenges of climate change, e.g.,E-rickshaw, solar pumps and other instrumentsworkingonsolarenergyetc.

Sanitary Mart Scheme.Launchedin2014-15,underthescheme,loansareprovidedtouptoRs.15LakhstoSafaiKaramcharisforconstructionoftoilets/bio-degradabletoilets.

Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for the Scheduled Castes: The objective of theSchemeistopromoteentrepreneurshipamongstthescheduledcastesandtofacilitateconcessionalfinancestothem.AbudgetofRs.200croreshasbeen allocated to IFCI Limited to facilitate thescheme.

Economists Amartya Sen and Jean Drezedistinguish two aspects of social security-“protection” and “promotion”.While the formerdenotesprotectionagainstafallinlivingstandards

andlivingconditionsthroughillhealth,accidents,the later focuses on enhanced living conditions,helping everyone overcome persistent capabilitydeprivation.

AcloselookatIndia’slastfewdecades’recordinprovidingsocialsecurityshowsthatwhileonlyafractionofcitizensenjoyany“protection”atall,thesearebeingfurthererodedwiththepatternofeconomicgrowth.Butatpresent,thedifferentschemes launchedby the governmentevidentlygiveusmanyreasonstocheer.Inaddition,manychecksandprovisionshavealsobeenadoptedtocollecttheevidencesthattheschemeisreachingitsintendedbeneficiaries.

These schemes clearly highlight that thepresent government is committed to the causeof up-liftment ofweaker sections of the society.Because general social security schemes basedoncompulsoryinsurancedidnotcomeintobeinguntil the last twodecadesof the19thcentury, ithas often been argued that social security in itsmodernformhasbeenaresponsetomanyissueshinderingdevelopmentofthenation.Theamountsofbenefitsaccruingtodifferent(1)socialgroups,(2)incomegroupsand(3)occupationgroupshavebeenhuge.Theschemeshavesetthefoundationforanupcominggrowthgraphinallrespects.

References

Dolgoff, R., & Feldstein, D. (2012).Understanding socialwelfare:A search for socialjustice.PearsonHigherEd.

Bay,A.H.,&Pedersen,A.W.(2006).Thelimitsofsocialsolidarity:Basicincome,immigrationandthelegitimacyoftheuniversalwelfarestate.ActaSociologica,49(4),419-436

Jha, R. (2014). Welfare schemes and socialprotection in India. International Journal ofSociologyandSocialPolicy,34(3/4),214-231.

Esping-Andersen, G. (Ed.). (1996). Welfarestatesintransition:Nationaladaptationsinglobaleconomies.Sage.

NationalPortalofIndiaatindia.gov.in

(The author is Economic Officer with NITI Aayog, Govt. of India. Email: [email protected])



rurAl heAlth: evolution & WAy forWArd

Rural health in India has made progress in terms of services and infrastructure in last seven decades. The situation has rapidly improved in last two decades, with period of 2002–2017, arguably being the first major health systems reforms since India’s Independence. The period of 2017–19 has the potential to become the second wave of health reforms in India. This is only possible with ‘more, better, faster & sustained’ approach to rural health, which means more initiatives are implemented; activities and policies are executed in better ways than earlier, initiatives are added and accelerated, with innovations and all these efforts are sustained over time.

Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya

HealthcaresysteminIndiahasalonghistorywith many reference points startingwith Ayurveda, around 2500–3000 BC,

to the Sir Joseph Bhore Committee Report of1946 AD. Since independence in 1947, India hasmade major strides on many fronts in healthsector. Amajor emphasis on strengthening ruralhealth infrastructure startedwith setting up thefirst few Primary Health Centres in Najafgarh(Delhi), Poonamalle (Tamil Nadu) and Singur(West Bengal), under Community Developmentprogramme(CDP)inmid1950s.Overtheseyears,theclearfocusremainedonruralIndia.TheNRHMwasclearlyaprogrammetooperationalisesomeproposals ofNHP2002.Buildingon thepolicy&programmematic initiatives, in the years which

followed, India achieved remarkable success onmanyfronts(SeeTable1).Whiletheseinitiativesneed to be commended and celebrated, Indianeeds tobeequally awareof existing challengesand explore solutions to make the country ahealthy nation. This article summarizes the keyfeaturesandsuccessinhealthsectorfrom2002–17, including more recent developments (2017–2019)andproposesafewactionableapproachesto accelerate India’s journey towards universalhealth coverage by 2030 (as also envisaged inNHP 2017 and most recently reiterated in theGovernmentof India’sUnionBudget 2019–20asoneof10componentsof ‘Visionfor India’ inthedecadeaheadas“HealthyIndia:AyushmanBharat,well-nourishedwomenandchildren”.


Annex

Table 1: Key health sector related developments and achievements in India (2002-17)

2002: NationalHealthPolicy(NHP-2002)2002-03 UniversalHealthInsuranceScheme(UHIS)2005: NationalRuralHealthMission(NRHM)2008 RashtriyaSwathyaBimaYojana(RSBY);2008 Jan Aushadhi Yojana (relaunched as PradhanMantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) in

20162008-17 Statespecificsocialhealthinsuranceschemesforspecifictargetpopulations2010 ReportofHighLevelExpertGroup(HLEG)onUniversalHealthCoverage(UHC)2011 IndiareportedlastcaseofWildPolioVirus2012 IntensivediscoursesonoperationalisationofUniversalHealthCoverage(UHC)inIndiastarted2013 India is declared polio non-endemic country; National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), with this

NRHMrenamedasNationalHealthMission(NHM)2014 South East Asia region ofWHO is declared polio free;Mission Indradhanush to increase routine

immunisation coverage launched; National Mental Health Policy (NMHP) released; High Prioritydistricts(HPDs)forinterventionsunderNRHMinIndiastarted.

2015 Indiavalidatedmaternalandneonataltetanuselimination;CountrybecomesYawsfreeaswell2015-16 Taskforceoncomprehensiveprimaryhealthcare(PHC)inIndia2017 NationalHealthPolicy(NHP-2017);NationalMentalHealthcareAct;Reportonstatespecificburden

ofdiseaseinIndia

Second wave of Health Sector Reforms (2017 onwards)

The years 2017-19 seems to have manysimilaritieswithwhathadhappenedinhealthsectorbetween year 2002-05, all with an acceleratedpace. Though themajordevelopment in 2017wasthe releaseofnew (and the third)NationalHealthPolicy (NHP 2017) of India, there have beenmanyotherdevelopmentsanddiscoursesatbothnationaland state level for health sector since then (SeeTable2).These initiativeshavegivenamomentumtopublicdiscourseonhealth.Theexpertsinpublichealth policy suggest that it takes a few years, aconventionally accepted cycle of 12-15 years ofsustained initiatives to get improved outcomes inhealthsector.Therefore,thehealthinitiativesstartedin2017–19needtobesustained,fornextfewyears,to pave a path for the secondwave of healthcarereformsinIndia.

Two-third of India’s population lives in ruralareas. Health of rural population is vital for theoverall health and development of nation. Theperiod of reforms between 2002–17 created amuch-needed foundation, which contributed to a

reductionintheburdenofcommunicablediseases,decline in the infant andmaternal deaths and thebetterment of rural healthcare infrastructure. TheNRHMcreatedafoundationforstrengtheninghealthsystemsinIndianstates.Thesedevelopmentsqualifytheperiodof2002–17asthefirstwaveofreforminhealthsectorofIndia.Duringthisperiod,attentionwasgivenoncommunitisationofhealthservicesandthemechanisms such as Village Health, SanitationandNutritionCommittees(VHSNC)andRogiKalyanSamiti (RKS) for community participation in healthwerecreated.Theseprocesseswereinstitutionalizedthrough mechanisms such as Advisory Group onCommunityActions(AGCA),andCommunityActionsfor Health (CAH). The untied fund for rural healthfacilitiesgavethemuch-desiredfinancialflexibilitiesat local level and created an environment foradditional reforms in Public Finance Management(PFM).

FourteenyearsafterthestartofNRHMin2005,rural Indiahas a vast networkofAccredited SocialHealthActivists (ASHA)whoarehelping ruralpoorin accessing public health system. The ‘new trinityof AAA’ of ASHA, Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM)and AnganwadiWorker (AAA) is working in better


Table 2: Key health sector related developments and proposals in India (2017-19)

A. National level initiatives

2017 NationalHealthPolicy;

MentalHealthcareAct(of2017);

HIV/AIDSAct(2017);

NationalNutritionStrategy

Sustainable Actions for Transforming Humancapital(SATH)initiativeforHealth&EducationsectorbyNITIAayog

2018 Ayushman Bharat programme (ABP) withcomponentsof(a)Health&WellnessCentres(HWC)&(b)PradhanMantriJanArogyaYojana(PMJAY);

Mid-LevelHealthcareProviders(MLHP)underHWCs;

Aspirational District programme (ADP) forprioritisationofsocialsectorinterventions

POSHANAbhiyan/NationalNutritionMission;

FirststateHealthIndexforIndiareleased

NITI Aayog Strategic plan for new India (2018-22)

ReportofTaskforceonTribalhealthinIndia

2019 NationalMedicalCommission(NMC)Act;

Community Health providers (CHP) withprescriptionrightsunderNMCAct;

SecondStateHealthIndexofIndiareleased

B. Key State specific initiatives:

2017 UniversalHealthCoverage(UHC)pilotinTamilNadu;

FamilyHealthCentres(FHC)inKerala;

KarnatakaPublicHealthPolicy

2018 UttarPradeshStateHealthpolicy(Draft);

Launch of Basthi Dawakhana, CommunityClinicsinTelangana

2019 KeralaStateHealthpolicy

Discourse on the Right to health in Indianstatesi.e.Rajasthan,ChhattisgarhandMadhyaPradesh

Formulation of health systems reform/transitioncommitteeinAndhraPradesh.

C. Key features in recent policy & strategy documents with potential impact on rural health

NationalHealthPolicy2017

ProposalthatGovt.wouldbesoleproviderofPrimaryhealthcareservices

Provision and attention on specialpopulationssuchasTribalhealth

Increasinggovernmentspendingonhealthto2.5percentofGrossDomesticProduct(from1.15percentin2014-15)by2025.

Two-third or more government spendingonhealthforprimaryhealthcare

State governments to increase spendingfrom 5 per cent to 8 per cent of statebudget

NITIAayogstrategicplanfornewIndia(2018-22)Fourkeythematicareasforhealthsector

universalhealthcoverage,

comprehensiveprimaryhealthcare,

humanresourcesforhealth;and

publichealthcareandmanagement.

Specificinitiativesfornutrition,Gender,socialdeterminantsofhealth.

coordinationthanearlierandhascreatedaplatformathabitation/villagelevel,todeliverhealth,nutritionandothersocialanddevelopmentservices.

Alongside,newhealth initiativesunderNRHM(later on National Health Mission or NHM since2013)broughtattentiononspecificpopulationandcontributedtoimprovedhealthoutcomes.InitiativessuchasRashtriyaShishuSurakshaKaryakram(RSSK),RashtriyaBalSurakshaKaryakram(RBSK),RashtriyaKishor Suraksha Karyakram (RKSK), and Kayakalp,Mera Asptal & Indian Public Health Standards (forquality improvement), ensured that attention is

beinggiven tonewborns,adolescentaswell asonimproving quality of health services at all levels.These initiatives clearly contributed to improvedpopulationcoverage.

Theotherkeyhighlightsarerenewedattentionon select social determinants of health throughSwachch Bharat Mission (since 2014); provisionof cleaner cooking options by offering free LiquidPetroleum Gas (LPG); connection for poor womenunderUjjwalaschemeandfocusonIntegratedChildDevelopment Services (ICDS) scheme, POSHANAbhiyanandnutrition.These initiativesmighthave


additional impact on health outcomeswith recentfocuson‘HarGharNalseJal’byyear2024undertheNationalRuralDrinkingWaterMission(NRDWM).

The differential approach to Governmentserviceprovision (or tackling inequities) hasbeenafeatureinIndia,forawhile.Earlier itwasunderEmpowered Action Group (EAG) umbrella, whichunder NRHM was classified as high priority andnon-high priority states. In the last few years,this seems to have evolved further to next levelwhereprioritisation isnowbeingdoneatdistrictslevel forvarious initiativesundertheHighPriorityDistricts (HPDs) for health sector since 2014 andthenAspirationalDistrict programme(ADP)since2018forallsocialsectorinterventions.Inaddition,thereisattentiononhealthinterventionstoincludepopulations such as tribal groups, occupationalhealth, people living with disabilities (PwDs) andpoorandothermarginalisedsections,tolistafew.Theaddressingof inequities is thekeyconcept inUniversalHealthCoverage (UHC) and taking Indiaintherightdirection.

The Way ForwardA lot of progress in rural health in India has

beenachieved,yet,thereisalongwaytogo.Thereisafeltneedforbuildingontheongoinginitiatives,startingafewnewandbringingconvergence.Indiaclearly needs ‘more, better, faster and sustained’initiatives for improving health. This should, interalia, be supplemented by innovation for healthsector.ThereareafewrecentexamplessuchasinAndhra Pradesh, the provision of kidney servicesat PHC level resulted in three-fold increase inutilisationof services for renaldiseasesatdistricthospital. InFamilyHealthCentres(FHC)ofKerala,electedbodiesandrepresentativesinruralsettingsaretaking largerresponsibilityforhealthservices.Thesearea fewexamplesof innovationemergingfromacross thecountry,whichneed tobe scaledup. There is immense potential of digital healthtechnology in ensuring access to health servicesin rural areas. Here are a few suggestions foraccelerated transformational changes in ruralhealth in India.

l Recruit and Post Community Health Providers (CHP) in Rural Areas:UnderHealthandWellnessCentre initiative,theGovernmentof Indiahasappointed Mid-Level Healthcare Providers(MLHP) at rural health facilities.Many Indian

states are using this opportunity effectivelyand innovatively to increasehuman resourcesat rural health facilities. A complementaryand potentially transformational step in thisdirection is inclusion of Community HealthProviders (CHP) under National MedicalCommission (NMC) Act. These CHPswill havesomeprescriptionrightsandthereisaplantorecruit250,000to350,000CHPsforruralareasintheyearsahead.Manycountrieshavesimilarprovisions and have succeeded in improvinghealth outcomes through community-levelhealthcareproviderswithselectiveprescriptionrights. In India, the difficulty of assuringavailability of doctors for government healthfacilities has been a perennial challenge; theCHP could be an opportunity for rural India,for changing health services from doctor-centrictoateam-basedapproach,whereamixof healthcareproviders is decided, as per theservices required at that level. The proposalof CHP under NMC Act has the potential totransform service delivery. CHP could be aspowerful and impactful an idea in the secondwaveofreform,asASHAshavebeentoNRHM.

lEstablish Toll-Free Call number for Both Curative and Diagnostic Services: Another ongoing discourse has been linking the populationto a healthcare facility under Health andWellness Centres (HWCs) and comprehensiveprimary healthcare with both assuring healthservices provisions and expecting the changein behaviour of people who would start usingtheseservices.Whilethis isan idealapproach,itwill taketimebefore itbecomesa reality. Inthis area, possibility of exploring a call centre-basedapproachofconnectingpeopletodoctorfor non-emergency health situations shouldbe explored. A dedicated toll-free call centrenumber of health needs of population can beestablished.Population shouldbemadeawareabout this number as well as contact detailsof appropriate providers regarding whom tocontact when they need health services. Thiswouldbebeforepeoplevisitthehealthfacility.The trained health workforce can run thesefacilities and as per the need, the call can bedirected to qualified doctors for appropriateadvice.Throughthisphoneline,thecallerwouldbe informed about the ASHA, ANM, nearest


primary health centres, of doctor and otherservices. The opportunity, for non-emergencycalls, can also be used to deliver preventiveand promotive advices. In addition to curativehealth services, the preventive and promotionrelated health messages such as vaccinationcanbeproactivelydeliveredoverthephoneaswell (nottoreplaceexistingapproachesbuttosupplement)throughdedicatedcentres.

lMake Rural Health Facilities Ready for Disasters and Emergency Situation: Therecentexperienceoffloods, cyclonesandothernatural calamitieshas created an urgent need for making healthfacilities disaster and natural calamity resilient.While the impact of these natural disasters isunavoidable,itcanbemitigatedandreducedbysufficientplanning.Thesearethesituationswhenpeople earnestly and most frequently wouldneed health services. Therefore, these shouldbedesigned tobeprepared for suchsituations.This is an action which needs to be taken andcoordinated at national level as well as by allstatesbeitKeralaorBihar.

lStart Many Small non-Health Initiatives for Bigger Health Impacts: There are many small,health and non-health initiatives, with possibleimpactonruralhealthservicesandoutcomesinIndia. An example is better access to electricityat ruralhealth facilitiesand improvedaccess tomotorable roads in rural habitation that wouldcontributeto improvedaccessandutilisationofhealth services in India. Second, it is time ruralareasmovebeyondtraditionalfocusofprovisionofPHC servicesonly.A sub-district levelunit atthelevelofblockortehsilneedstobemadeself-sufficient inprovisionofprimaryandsecondarylevelservicesaswellasinpreventive,promotiveand population health services. Third, theelected representativesneed tobeaccountableandengaged indeliveryofhealth serviceswithmore specific engagement in public healthservices. The accountability can be enhancedthroughcommunity-basedmonitoring(asunderCommunityActionsforHealthinNHM)aswellasthroughsocialauditsinhealth.

l‘Grand Convergence’ of Public Service Delivery in Rural India:ExploretheideaofGovernmentservicedeliveryhubsatPanchayatlevel,where

all basic services i.e. banking, healthcare, postoffice, schools, Anganwadi centres, nutritioncentresandothersocialwelfareservicescanbelocatedinsinglecompound,identified&ownedbyPanchayats.ThePanchayatcanacceptagreedresponsibilitiesfortheseservicesandwouldbeactiveparticipantsandnotpassiveusers. Suchprovisionofservicescouldbesupplementedbycommonresidentialcompoundsforstaffpostedatthesefacilities,whichcanalsobelinkedwithassuredpooledconveyancefortransportofstaffpostedatthesefacilities.Thiscanalsoresultinimproved multi-direction accountability andtacklesomeofthechallenges.

Conclusion:

Rural health in India has made progress in terms of services and infrastructure in the lastsevendecades.Thesituationhasrapidlyimprovedin last two decades, with period of 2002-2017,arguably being the period of first major healthsystems reforms since India’s Independence. Theperiod of 2017–19 hasmany similaritieswith theperiod of 2002–05 and has potential to becomethesecondwaveofhealthreformsinIndia.Thisisonlypossiblewith‘more,better,faster&sustained’approach to rural health, which means moreinitiativesare implemented;activitiesandpoliciesareexecutedinbetterwaysthanearlier,initiativesareaddedandaccelerated,withinnovationsandalltheseeffortsaresustainedovertime. A lotmoreis needed for rural health agenda in India. It isproposed(a)torapidlyrecruitandpostCommunityHealthProviders (CHPs); (b)establishtoll-freecallnumber forbothcurativeanddiagnostic services;(c) make rural health facilities ready for disasterand emergency situations; (d) start many smallnon-health initiatives for big health impact; and(e) ‘Grand convergence’ of public service deliveryinruralIndia.Thisiswhatwouldmakeruralhealthoutcomes better and contribute in achievingcommitments of universal Health Coverage and SustainableDevelopment Goals in India.

(The author is Senior Public Health Specialist & National Professional Officer with the World Health Organisation, based at New Delhi, with advanced trainings in public health and economics.Email: [email protected] ; [email protected])


emPoWering fArmers through initiAtives in Agriculture

“The discovery of agriculture was the first big step toward a civilized life,” says Arthur Keith, a Scottish anatomist, and anthropologist.The Development Paradigm of Government of India has put unprecedented focus on agriculture. Numerous initiatives to improve productivity, safeguard farmers and augment their incomes and improve their overall well-being have been taken.

Sameera Saurabh

The newGovernment,atitsveryfirstCabinetmeeting, had announced a Rs. 10,000 crorepension scheme for 5 crore farmers. Under

thePradhanMantriKisanPensionYojana,smallandmarginalfarmerswillgetaminimumfixedpensionofRs.3,000permonthonattainingtheageof60years.Thisisavoluntaryandcontributorypensionschemeforsmallandmarginalfarmersacrossthecountry, with the entry age of 18-40 years. TheCentral Government will match the contributionfromthesubscribers.

The Government has announced the PM-KISAN scheme under which it is offering Rs.6,000to14.5crorefarmers inayear. Duringthe last five years, for providing affordableloans to farmers, the amount of interestsubvention has been doubled and the crop loanto farmers increased to Rs. 11.68 lakh crore. A2 per cent interest subventionwas introducedfor farmers engaged in fisheries and animalhusbandry, with loans to be availed via Kisan CreditCard.Thosewhorepaytheloantimelywill

beeligibletogetanadditional3percentinterestsubvention.

PradhanMantri Krishi Sichai Yojana: As halfof the area under cultivation in the country israinfed, there isneed toexpand theareahavingaccesstowater.Agricultureconsumes60percentof available water resources.With about 47 percent of agricultural land area under irrigation,schemes like Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojna(PMKSY) have made a great effort to bring inmore area under irrigated agriculture. In 2017,approximately1484croreshavebeensanctionedunder PMKSY scheme, aiming to cover 39 lakhhectare(ha)ofland.Thistrendneedstocontinue.The micro irrigation scheme under the PMKSYhas added 6 lakh ha in the current year againsta target of 11 lakh ha. The scheme is beneficialforsmallandmarginalfarmersandingeographieswherewater sourcesareavailable.However, theneed for strong water management techniqueshasbecomemoreimportant.


Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana wasstartedtoaddressthechallengesoftheAcceleratedIrrigation Benefits programme (AIBP) and lookat water needs of agriculture in a holistic way.Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana is in placeto ensure ‘more crop per drop’ which will cover28.5lakhhectareareaunderirrigation.Rs.50,000crore is earmarked for ensuring that every farmgetswater.Rs.5,000crorefundformicro-irrigationhasbeenmadeavailablewhile therehasbeenanencouragement for farmers to install solarpumpsforirrigation.

At present, about 14 per cent of grossvalue added in agriculture is invested in thesector. This includes 78.1 per cent investmentsby farmers and 19.4 per cent by public sector.The private sector constitutes less than 2.5 percent share in total investments in agriculture.In order to transform agriculture, corporateinvestments must be increased substantially. TheUnion Budget 2019 details that total allocationsfor agriculture and allied sector in the Budget have been increased to Rs. 1,51,500 crore, from Rs86,600crore(Revised Budget Estimate)in2019. This does not include fertiliser subsidywhich hasbeen raised by 14 per cent to Rs. 80,000 crore.Thereis6-50percentincreaseincoreandcentralschemes for crops, livestock and fishery and forprice intervention and MSP operations for cropsotherthanwheatandpaddy.

Increasing Production : Soil Health CardToensure that the farmer reapsgoodyields,

focus on strengthening sowing-related activitiesis imperative. The Government has taken various stepsinthisregard.Consideringthatthehealthofthesoilplaysafundamentalroleinagriculture,theGovernment has dispatched more than 13 croreSoil Health Cards from 2015 to 2018. Soil HealthCards carry crop-specific recommendations fornutrients and fertilizers to help farmers improvetheirproductivity.

neem Coated Urea: NeemCoatedUrea(NCU)is a fertilizer and an agriculture scheme initiatedby the Government of India to boost the growthofwheat and paddy,andcurbtheblackmarketeeringandhoardingofurea.ureawhichiscoatedwithneemtreeseedoiliscalledneem-coatedurea.InJanuary2015, the ureamanufacturersweremandated bythe Government to increase their neem coated

ureaproduction from35per cent to75per cent.GovernmentofIndiahasmadeuseofneem-coatedurea mandatory. It increases the efficiency of 10per cent nitrogen usage compared to uncoatedureatherebysaving10percenturea.Governmentis also working to increase Urea production as ithas revived the defunct fertilizer plants and alsoset up new plants. Since the Government has implemented100percentneemcoatingofUrea,ithasresultedinimprovingthesoilquality.ThereisaspecialarrangementofRs.10,000croretoclearfertilizersubsidy.

Credit for FarmersTheGovernmenthastakenimportantpolicy

initiativestoaddresstheissueoffarmcreditandsave farmers frombeing exploited at thehandsofinformalcreditsourcessuchasmoneylenders.PradhanMantriFasalBimaYojana isthebiggestrisk cover and safety net provided by thegovernment. Under the interest subventionscheme,short-termcroploansupto3lakhwiththe interest rateof7per centperannumup tooneyearhasbeenmadeavailable.

Marketing the Farmers Produce(e-nAM)The Government’s policy follows the next

logicalstepaftersupportingthefarmeratsowingtime,whichistohelpfarmerstogetrightpricefortheirproduce.InJuly2018,Government approved thehistoricMSPhikeforKharifcropsto1.5timesthecost,whichwillprovidefarmersaprofitmarginof50percentoverthecostofproduction.

National Agriculture Market scheme knownas e-NAM has integrated 585markets across 16Statesand2Unionterritories.Morethan164.53lakh tonnes of farm commodities have beentransacted on e-NAM and more than 87 lakhfarmers have been registered. Thus, it is cuttingdown the middlemen in agriculture trading tofacilitatefarmergethisdue.

22,000 Rural Haats will turn into GraminAgriculture Market which will benefit 86 per centsmall farmers. Large investment in warehousingandcoldchainstopreventpost-harvestcroplossesandvalueadditionthroughfoodprocessingarealsogivingthefarmerstheessentialedgeonthemarket.Toaddressthepricevolatilityofperishableitemsliketomato, potato and onion ‘Operation Greens’ hasbeenputinplace.


Operation GreenThefluctuatingprices

for key crops such astomato, potato and onion(TOP) has resulted in theGovernment announcingRs.500croresforinitiatingOperation Green. It aimsto stabilise the demand-supply situation forthese crops and promoteinitiatives to controldisparity. The situationrequires fundamentalchanges beginning fromcrop variety selection (table variety v/sprocessing varieties),procurement mechanism, post-harvest handlingand storage, processing of produce, marketdevelopment, logistics services and distributionHowever, itremainstobeseenhowitwill impactan average farmer. Take the example of tomato,Indiaproducesaround19milliontonnesoftomatoevery year. Leading producing States like Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh which contributeto around 30 per cent of the total production ofIndiashould innovateonimplementationofthesesolutions. Another important aspect which needsto be considered is the development of largescale infrastructure to support the mass storageandmovementofperishable items.Currently, thecoldchainnetworkneedstobemoreaggregated.Technology innovation for implementing low costanddurablemultimodalsolutionsisoneofthekeychallengeshere.

Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) A dedicated MIF created with NABARD has

been approvedwith an initial corpus of Rs. 5000crore(Rs.2000crorefor2018-19&Rs.3000crorefor 2019-20) for encouraging public and privateinvestmentsinMicroirrigation.Themainobjectiveof the fund is to facilitate theStates inmobilizingthe resources for expanding coverage of MicroIrrigation.

MIF would not only facilitate States inincentivizingandmobilizingresourcesforachievingthe target envisaged underPMKSY-PDMC,butalsoinbringingadditionalcoveragethroughspecialand

innovative initiatives by State Governments. AnAdvisory Committee has been set up to providepolicy direction and ensure effective planning,coordinationandmonitoringoftheMicroIrrigationFund.

Agriculture Contingency Plan Central Research Institute for Dryland

Agriculture(CRIDA),ICARhasprepareddistrictlevelAgricultureContingencyPlansincollaborationwithState Agricultural universities using a standardtemplatetotacklethemonsoonsituationsleadingto drought and floods, extreme events (heatwaves, cold waves, frost, hailstorms, cyclone)affecting crops, livestock and fisheries (includinghorticulture).

Total614districtagriculturecontingencyplansare placed in the ‘farmer portal’ of the Ministryof Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Governmentof India (http://www.farmer.gov.in) and also inthe ICAR / CRIDA website (http://www.crida.in)for downloading the full plan by stakeholders foroperationaluse.

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)It is implemented with a view to promote

organic farming in the country. To improve soilhealth and organic matter content and increasenetincomeofthefarmersoastorealisepremiumprices.Underthisscheme,anareaof5lakhacreistargetedtobecoveredthough10,000clustersof50acreeach,fromtheyear2015-16to2017-18.


Focus on Allied Sectors As noted earlier, the focus has been laid

on allied agriculture activities to boost farmers'income.CorpusofRs10,000crorehasbeensetupto create infrastructure in fisheries, aquacultureandanimalhusbandry. IntegratedDevelopment&ManagementofFisherieswithanoutlayofRs3000crore, the establishment of 20 Gokul Grams aresomeoftheexamplesinthisregard.

Growth in ProductionThere are ample indications to suggest

that the agriculture policy implementation hasbeen yielding results. Agriculture productionhas touchedanewhigh in2017-18with279.51million tonnes of foodgrain production. Theextent of the buffer stock of pulses increasedfrom 1.5 lakh tonnes to 20 lakh tonnes. Milkproduction has increased by 18.81 per cent in2016-17ascomparedto2013-14.

There have been some importantachievements in improving the lives of farmersthrough undertaking reforms in agriculture.Notably, the historic MSP announcement thatfarmerswillget150percentofthecost,ensuringavailability of 100 per cent neem coated urea,enabling higher productivity through 13 croresoil cards, providing the biggest safety net andrisk cover through Pradhan Mantri Fasal BimaYojana, ensuring irrigation of 28.5 lakh hectaresthrough PradhanMantri Krishi Sichai Yojana aresome initiativeswhichhaveusheredachange inthelivesofthemarginalisedfarmers.

Today, the industry players, as well as theexisting and emerging organizations, are placingtheir best foot forward in tackling the agriculturalproblems.

The Future LandscapeDigital Innovation in agriculture is one of the

major trends to look out for economic growth.Digital agriculture is theuseof newand advancedtechnologies,integratedintoonesystem,toenablefarmersandotherstakeholderswithintheagriculturevaluechaintoimprovefoodproduction.Theresultingcombined data is analysed and interpreted so thefarmer can make more informed and appropriatedecisions.

Currently, the Government is striving hard to streamline the policies, creating necessaryinfrastructure and commercializing this innovationforthebettermentofthemasses.Manyorganizationsaremakingstrongmovesinordertocreateincentivesforadoptionofthisinnovationinagriculturesector.Theinnovationinagricultureandfoodsystemsinthedigitalagelike3DPrinting,Robots,Drones,Sensors,andBlockchainareplayingasignificantroleinhelpingfarmerstogenerateprofitableoutcomes.

This role of innovation in agriculture istransforming the infrastructuredevelopmentspaceand supply chain management. An extra plus isbeing added to quality, traceability, logistics anddistribution, and other areas of the value chain oftheIndianagriculture.

(The author was associated with Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India. Currently, the author is Director, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi.Email: [email protected])

The Government has set a goal of doublingfarm incomes by 2022 and isworkingwithmulti-modal focus towards achieving the same. Fromseeds and soil to access to markets, the focushas been on reforms across the agriculturalcycle. There is also a renewed focus on alliedactivities, to aid incomes of farmers. There is therecord budgetary allocation for agriculture andfarmer welfare. The present Government has allocated Rs. 2,11,694 crore in the period 2014-19.Thisisalmostdouble.TruetothespiritofPM’smotto-‘BeejselekeBazaartak’,Government has beenpursuingaholisticapproachinagricultureandpositiveresultsareexpected.


finAnciAl inclusion: mAjor initiAtives Dr. Manjula Wadhwa

During the last seven years, India has taken massive strides towards financial inclusion. When the first Global Findex Database was released by the World Bank in 2011, it stated that only 40 per cent of adult Indians had a bank account. Seven years later, almost 80 per cent of adult Indians have bank accounts, according to the Global Findex Database published in April 2018. This dramatic rise has been done through a series of financial inclusion measures launched by the Government.

The world famous economist Dr. AmartyaSenaptly said, “Poverty is thedeprivationofopportunity.” It clearly points towards the

enormoussignificanceoffinancialinclusioninavastanddiversecountry like India.Once thefinanciallyvulnerable segments of society are part of themainstream financial system, they have access tomicrocredittogenerateadditionalincomestreams;tochanneltheirsavingsintoinvestmentsandcreateassets;tobuyinsuranceproductsthatprotectthemfinancially intimesofdisease,disabilityanddeath;andtohelpfundtheirchildren’seducation.Althoughthe efforts towards achieving this ambitious goalstartedinastructuredmannerwaybackin2005withtheconstitutionof‘CommitteeonFinancialInclusion’underthechairmanshipofthethenReserveBankofIndiaGovernor,Dr.C.Rangarajan.

During the last seven years, India has takenmassive strides towards financial inclusion. WhenthefirstGlobalFindexDatabasewasreleasedbytheWorldBankin2011,itstatedthatonly40percentof adult Indians had a bank account. Seven yearslater,almost80percentofadultIndianshavebankaccounts, according to theGlobal FindexDatabasepublishedinApril2018.Thisdramaticrisehasbeen

achieved through a series of financial inclusionmeasures launched by the Central Government.These include Aadhaar, a biometric database thatprovidesauniqueidentitytoeachIndiancitizen;no-frillssavingsbankaccountscalledJan-Dhan;thedirecttransfer of social benefit payments into these Jan-Dhanaccounts;andadigitalpaymentinfrastructurecalledBHIM(BharatInterfaceforMoney).Today,90per cent of India’s 1.3 billion population have auniqueAadhaar identity,which is vital formeetinganti-money laundering and ‘Know Your Customer’(KYC) requirements. In the last four years, morethan360millionnewJan-Dhanbankaccountshavebeen opened. Mobile penetration is expected toreach90percentby2020.Internetpenetrationhassoaredandtheuseofdigitalpaymentsisalsorisingsignificantly.

Now,letuscastaglanceatthevariousinitiativestakenbythepresentCentralGovernmentduringthelast 5 yearswhile referring to the ancient Sanskritverse: ‘Sukhasya Moolam Dharma, Dharmasya Moolam Artha, Arthasya Moolam Rajyam’. The present government took the onus on itself ofinvolvingthecommonmanintheeconomicactivitythrough PradhanMantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)


launched on 28 August 2014. PMJDY is a nationalmission on financial inclusion started with anintegratedapproachtobringaboutcomprehensivefinancial inclusion and provide banking services toallhouseholds in thecountry.Theschemeensuresaccesstoarangeoffinancialserviceslikeavailabilityofbasicsavingsbankaccount,accesstoneed-basedcredit,remittancefacility,insuranceandpension.Itcovers both urban and rural areas and thosewhoopen account get indigenous debit cards (RuPaycard).

Account can be opened in any bank branchor Business Correspondent (or BankMitra) outletat zero balance. Every bank account is on CoreBanking System (CBS) of banks. Mobile banking,usingUSSDfacilityavailableonevenbasicfeaturephones is also being supported. A facility of callcentreandtoll-freenumberisavailablenationwide.The main features of PMJDY include Rs. 5,000overdraft facility for Aadhaar-linked accounts andaRuPayDebitCardwithinbuiltRs.1lakhaccidentinsurance cover. In addition, for accounts openedbetween15thAugust2014and26thJanuary2015,aLifeInsurancecoverofRs.30,000isalsoavailableto the eligible beneficiaries. One of the salientfeatures of the scheme is that after remainingactiveforsixmonths,theaccountholderbecomeseligibleforanoverdraftuptoRs.5,000.Underthescheme,FinancialLiteracyprogramme,whichaimstotakebasicfinancialeducationuptovillagelevelisalsoprovidedforbetterunderstandingofthewholemechanism. Themissionalsoenvisagesextensionof Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under variousgovernmentschemesthroughbankaccountsoftherecipients.KisanCreditCards(KCC)havealsobeenlinked with the RuPay platform. Micro insuranceand unorganized sector pension schemes likeSwavalambanthroughtheBusinessCorrespondentshavealsobeenincludedforthesecondphaseofthe

programme. The lateststatusofPMJDYisreflectedinfigure-1:

As far as its monitoring is concerned, astructuredmonitoringmechanismfromCentral toDistrict level, has been instituted. At the Centre,Finance Minister is the mission-head along withaSteeringCommitteeandaMissionDirector. It ismonitoredatStatelevelbyaStateImplementationCommittee and in the districts by a DistrictImplementationCommittee.Thus,PMJDYnotonlyserves as an important example of governancein mission mode, but also demonstrates whata government can achieve if it is committed tothe welfare of the people. Another significantmilestoneisAtalPensionYojana(APY)launchedon9May2015bythePrimeMinister,toaddressthelongevity risks among theworkers inunorganizedsector who are not covered under any statutorysocialsecurityscheme.AnyIndiancitizenbetweentheageof18–40yearscanjoinitthroughtheirSBaccount. The subscribers in the eligible age, whoarenotincome-taxpayersandwhoarenotcoveredunder any statutory social security scheme, areentitled to receive the co-contribution by CentralGovernmentof50percentofthetotalprescribedcontribution, upto Rs. 1000 per annum for fiveyears,i.e.fromFY2015–16to2019–20.Minimumpension of Rs. 1000 or Rs. 2000 or Rs. 3000 or Rs. 4000 or Rs. 5000 is guaranteed by theGovernmentof India to the subscriber at theageof60years,withaminimummonthlycontribution(forthosejoiningattheageof18)ofRs.42orRs.84orRs.126orRs.168orRs.210,respectively.

Based on the success and popularity ofVarishtha Pension Bima Yojana 2003, VarishthaPensionBimaYojana2014andtoprotectelderlypersons aged above 60 against a future fall intheir interestincomeduetotheuncertainmarketconditionsandalsoprovidesocialsecurityduring

Figure-1(As on 24.07.2019) (Amt.in cr.)

Bank Category Total Rural/se mi-urban

Urban/Metro Rupay cards issued

Balance amt. in a/cs

PublicSectorBanks 28.95 15.68 13.27 24.13 79674.55

RegionalRuralBanks 6.21 5.21 1.01 3.82 18354.13

PrivatesectorBanks 1.25 0.69 0.56 1.16 2956.53Total 36.41 21.58 14.84 29.11 100985.21

(Source: pmjdy.gov.in.)


oldage,asimplifiedschemeofassuredpensionof8percentcalledPradhanMantriVayavandanaYojana (PMVVY) is being implemented throughLifeInsuranceCorporationofIndia.Accordingtothe scheme, on the payment of an initial lumpsumamount ranging fromaminimumpurchaseprice of Rs. 1,50,000 for aminimumpension ofRs 1000/- per month to a maximum purchasepriceof Rs. 7,50,000/- formaximumpensionofRs.5,000/-permonth,thesubscriberswillgetanassured pension based on a guaranteed rate ofreturnof8percentperannumpayablemonthly.While revising the earlier investment limit of7.5 lakhs, ithasbeen increasedto15 lakhs .Thelastdate toapply for theschemehasalsobeenextended to31March2020.Relaxing it further,nowinafamilyifboththehusbandandwifeareseniorcitizens,bothcan invest15 lakhseachaspurchase price (total 30 lakhs) and can enjoybonusfacility.

WhileintroducingPradhanMantriSurakshaBimaYojanainBudget2015,allindividual(singleor joint) bank accountholders in the age groupof 18–70 years have beenmade eligible to jointhisschemeatanominalpremiumofRs.12perannumpermember.Thisschemeisadministeredthrough Public Sector General InsuranceCompanies in collaboration with participatingbanks.Itisanaccidentinsurancescheme,whichoffersaone-yearaccidentaldeathanddisabilitycoverthatcanberenewedannually.

Recognizing the challenges, the vulnerablesections of our society face in obtaining loan forsetting up their enterprises, the Stand-Up IndiaSchemehasbeenlaunchedbyGovernmentofIndiaon5April2016underwhich,bankloansbetweenRs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore are given to at leastone Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST)borrower and at least one woman borrower perbankbranchforsettingupagreenfieldenterprisein manufacturing, services or the trading sector.WhileropingintheLDMsintoit,SIDBIandNABARDhave been made the Connect Centres for itsimplementation.

With an objective to promote the financialinclusion of SC entrepreneurs, enhanceentrepreneurship create direct and indirectemploymentamongthem,GovernmentofIndiatook

onemorestepofestablishingCreditEnhancementGuarantee Scheme with an allocation of Rs. 200croreparkedwithIFCI.

How can financial inclusion be completewithoutensuringabrightfutureforthedaughtersofIndia?Therefore,asapartof‘BetiBachaaoBetiPadhaao’ scheme of the present government,SukanyaSamridhiYojanacameintobeingin2015,enablingparentstomeetthemajorfutureexpensessuchashighereducationandmarriageoftheirgirl-childrenplusofferingtaxbenefitsaswell.Inordertoservetheintendedpurpose,theparentscannotwithdrawthemoneyanduseitforpersonalneeds,thus ensuring the financial independence of thegirl child. Furthermore, it offers an attractive rateof interest, the highest among all small savingschemes.

In a country like India, where around 55.8million MSME units employ more than 12 crorepeople, the present Government rightly took the initiative of MUDRA Scheme with the motive ofbringingsmallbusinessentitiesinvolvedintrading,manufacturingandservicesectors intheambitofformalbanking.

The scheme is extremely beneficial for thetargetedgroupsandthebanksaswell.Twenty-sevenpublic sector banks, 36 microfinance institutions,25 NBFCs and 4 co-operative banks are alreadyparticipantsintheschemewithmoreexpectedtobeaddedinthefuture.

If we look at the state-wise sanctions anddisbursementsunder thescheme,TamilNadutopsthelistforsanctioningRs.25338.68crore,followedbyWestBengal,KarnatakaandUttarPradesh.

Thelaunchofmultipleschemesforthemissionof financial inclusion begs one to examine thedifference they made in the lives of the commonman.The resultsareencouraging.Theabove-citedprogrammes, especially PMJDY have been broadlysuccessfulasafinancialinclusionstrategy,especiallyforwomen, in the rural areas.Manywomen havejoinedbankingsectorandopenedaPMJDYaccount.Banks, SHGs and BCs have played an increasinglyimportantroleinopeningofPMJDYaccounts.SHGshaveconsolidatedtheirpositionandareincreasinglyextendingcreditin rural areas. Changeisbeingfeltat the grassroot level.


Approximately 90 per cent of the villagers requirehelp infillingupbank formsandoperatingATMsbutgraduallytheirinquisitivenessisincreasingand some change is being observed in ruralecosystems. The digitization of economy is yet abigchallenge,nonetheless,theimpactofTV,radio,magazines and newspapers have been positive interms of financial literacy. The use of vernacularmediaandtechniqueslikedrama,streetplayscouldhelpinadvancingfinancialinclusionandliteracy.

Development in IT isverycrucial inextendingfinancial services in the unbanked rural areas.Thereisaneedforfacilities likebiometric-enabledand multi-lingual hand-held devices which canprovide confidence to rural masses. Technologicalinnovationslikeintegratedmachinesthathavethefunctionality of cash withdrawals and deposits;facility of scanning documents to facilitate newaccount opening and loan disbursals; and voicecommands and narration for available facilitiescould further help increase banking penetration.These are, undoubtedly, creditable achievementsforthecountry.However,gettingauniqueidentity,having a bank account andusingdigital paymentsare just the foundationsoffinancial inclusion.The next step to build a super structure of economicprosperityneedtobetakenbythegovernmentaswellasprivatesector.So,letusponderoverthekeyelementsoftruefinancialinclusion:

First,financialfirmsmustunderstandthemarketandstructureproductsaccordingly.Forexample,in the agrarian economyof Indiawith somanydiversities,whereagriculturalincomeisseasonal,thebanksneedtostructurealoanproductwheretherepaymentcycleisseasonalandnotmonthly.Inordertoservetheircustomersbetter,financialservicefirmsneedtobepresentinlocalmarketsand have employees who are familiar with theculturalandeconomicnuancesofthecommunityinwhichtheywork.

Secondisfinancialliteracy.AccordingtoStandardandPoor’ssurvey,basicfinancialliteracyinIndiais sub-par. Thegoodnews is thatdrivenby thegovernment and the regulators with setting upofFinancialLiteracyCentres,developingmobile-apps,mobile-ATM fitted demo-vans, awarenesscreation programmes as well as voluntaryefforts by companies through Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) programmes, this ischanging.

Partnership between the government andproviders of various financial products shouldimprove.Oneglaringexampleis,throughpublic-privatepartnership,around7crorenewhouseshave been built in the last five years, up fromabout four crore previously. Similarly, the lastdecade’s growth rate of investment in mutualfunds in India isnowdouble thatof the restoftheworld.Interestingly,digitalflowsintomutualfunds have increased 12 times in the last twoyears.Nodoubt,mostof this growthhas comefromurbanareasbutasfinancialinclusiontakeshold and more of the rural population is abletomeet basic needs such as housing, theywilllook at investing their surplus to create long-term assets through financial investments.The panacea to all the problems faced by ruralcommunitiesis—greaterandmeaningfulfinancialinclusion.Toillustrate,microcreditproductshavegreatpotentialtotransformthefinanciallyweakintomicro-entrepreneurs aswell as create jobsin the local community. So SHG-Bank Linkageprogrammehastobemadesustainable.

Fourth is ensuring secured technology-drivenenviron. Given the prevailing situation wherewearemovingfast towardsdigitaleconomy, itbecomes necessary to create an ecosystem inruralIndiawherethepopulacecanuseitscardsin secured technology-driven environment tocarry out digital transactions and not just useit on cash-dispensingmachines.What is to beemphasized here is that all the stakeholdersneed to wear new thinking caps and workin consonance with one another to achievefinancial inclusion in the rural hinterlandsthrougheffectiveuseoftechnology.

Toconclude,Indiahastheworld’slargestshareofyoungpeople—halfthecountryisbelowtheageof25.Theyarenolongersatisfiedwiththestatusquo,andhavesoaringambitions.Financial inclusionwillnecessarilyhavetobeatthecoreofanyeconomicstrategythatthenationputsinplacetomeettheseaspirations.

(The author is AGM NABARD Chandigarh.Email:[email protected])


RegistRation opens foR pM Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana; Union agRicUltURe MinisteR URges faRMeRs to RegisteR foR the pension scheMe

union Minister for Agriculture and FarmersWelfare Shri narendra Singh Tomar hasannounced that the registration for the

PradhanMantriKisanMaanDhanYojana,PM-KMY,beganon9thofAugust.AddressingapressconferenceinNewDelhirecently,ShriTomarappealedfarmersacross the country to join the old age pensionScheme. The Minister said, the scheme has beenenvisionedwithanaimtoimprovethelifeofsmallandmarginal farmers of the country. He said, theoperational guidelines have been shared with theStatesandAgricultureSecretaryShriSanjayAgarwalconducted a Video Conference with States in thisregard toensureproper informationdisseminationandspeedyimplementationoftheScheme.Elucidating the salient features of the Scheme,Shri Tomar said that the scheme is voluntary andcontributoryforfarmersintheentryagegroupof18to40yearsandamonthlypensionofRs.3000/-willbeprovidedtothemonattainingtheageof60years.ThefarmerswillhavetomakeamonthlycontributionofRs.55toRs.200,dependingontheirageofentry,inthePensionFundtilltheyreachtheretirementdatei.e.theageof60years.TheCentralGovernmentwillalsomakeanequalcontributionofthesameamountinthepensionfund.ThespouseisalsoeligibletogetaseparatepensionofRs.3000/-uponmakingseparatecontributionstotheFund.TheLifeInsuranceCorporationofIndiashallbethePensionFundManagerandresponsibleforPensionpayout.TheMinisterstatedthat,incaseofdeathofthefarmerbeforeretirementdate,thespousemaycontinueintheschemebypayingtheremainingcontributionstilltheremainingageofthedeceasedfarmer.Ifthespousedoesnotwishtocontinue,thetotalcontributionmadebythefarmeralongwithinterestwillbepaidtothespouse.Ifthereisnospouse,thentotalcontributionalongwithinterestwillbepaidtothenominee.Ifthefarmerdiesaftertheretirementdate,thespousewillreceive50percentofthepensionasFamilyPension.Afterthedeathofboththefarmerandthespouse,theaccumulatedcorpusshallbecreditedbacktothePensionFund.ThebeneficiariesmayoptvoluntarilytoexittheSchemeafteraminimumperiodof5yearsofregularcontributions.Onexit,theirentirecontributionshallbereturnedbyLICwithaninterestequivalenttoprevailingsavingbankrates.Thefarmers,whoarealsobeneficiariesofPM-KisanScheme,willhavetheoptiontoallowtheircontributiondebitedfromthebenefitofthatSchemedirectly.Incaseofdefaultinmakingregularcontributions,thebeneficiaries are allowed to regularize the contributions by paying the outstanding dues along withprescribed interest. The initial enrollment to the Scheme is being done through the Common ServiceCentres in various states. Later on alternative facility of enrollment through the PM-Kisan StateNodalOfficersorbyanyothermeansoronlineenrollmentwillalsobemadeavailable.Theenrollmentisfreeofcost.ShriTomaralsosaidthatunderthePradhanMantriKisanSammanNidhithetargetof10crorebeneficiariesfor thisyearwillbeachieved.TheMinisteradded thattilldate,5,88,77,194and3,40,93,837 farmers’familieshaveavailed1stand2nd instalmentsrespectivelyunderthePM-KisanScheme.

(Source : PIB)

The Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar

addressing a press conference, in New Delhi on August 09, 2019. The Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers

Welfare, Shri Kailash Choudhary is also seen.


e-projects of publications Division launched

union Information and BroadcastingMinister Shri Prakash Javadekarlaunched several e-projects of

Publications Division including its redesigneddynamic website, mobile app, e-version ofRozgaar Samachar and e-book “SatyagrahGeeta” during his visit to Book Gallery atSoochnaBhawaninDelhion31stJuly.

Speakingontheoccasion,ShriJavadekarsaidthat in line with PrimeMinister NarendraModi’scalltocitizensin‘MannKiBaat’2.0programme,tomakereadingahabit,thereis aneed to revitalise the reading culture.He also urged for the creation of ReadingClubsintheneighbourhoodtoimprovethereading culture.Headded that the roleofRozgarSamacharcanbeimprovedwhenallthejoblistingincludingtheprivatejobsarelistedinthenewspaper.ShriJavadekarsuggestedthatRozgarSamacharwhendistributedintheCollegeswillhelpthestudentstoimprovetheirskillsetsandmakethembettersuitedforthejobmarket.TheMinistersaidthattherevampedwebsiteofPublicationsDivisionlooksattractiveanddynamic,updatingitdailywouldmakethepeoplevisit thesite frequently.Hewashappyfor the launchofamobileappforPublicationsDivisionwhichwouldhelpinimprovingthereadinghabitsofpeopleintheeraofebooksandKindle.

Thedetailsofthee-projectslaunchedareasunder:

1. Redesigned Dynamic Website:Thenewlyrevampeddynamicwebsite(www.publicationsdivision.nic.in) with integrated payment gateway is capable of providing real time purchase facilities aswell as updated information about Publications Division’s books and journals. The website will

The Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Information & Broadcasting, Shri Prakash Javadekar

speaking at the launch of several e-projects of DPD, in New Delhi on July 31, 2019.


facilitateeaseofpurchase.AllbooksareavailableonthewebsiteforsaleviapaymentgatewayofBharatkosh.

The website has an attractive look and feel and a well planned architecture. Catalogue of booksand updates and new books’ releases are displayed prominently for effective engagement withaesthetic layout, soothingcolour,well-designed iconswithgoodcontrastbetweenbackgroundandtextforeasyviewing.Theinformationisorganisedintodifferentsectionsandcategories,cateringtoallstakeholders,viz.readers,authors,otherpublishers,printers,agentsetc.,inneatlystackedlists,withpropervisualmaterialwhichiseasytounderstand.

Thewebsite isuser-friendlywitheasilyaccessibleSocialMedia tools. It is clutter-freewitheffectivesearchfeatureandinformativemenusandsub-menu.Thesmoothinterfaceprovideseasyinteractivityin English and Hindi. It is accessible to everyone including specially-abled persons (with a screenreader).EasyinterfaceforfeedbackandsuggestionswithFacebookandTwitterlinksforconnectingwiththeorganisationonSocialMediahavealsobeenprovided.

IthasaspecialsectiononGandhi@150. Thissectiondetailswiththeworkundertakenwithspecialfeatures including specialGandhi Catalogue, link toGandhiHeritage Portal for reading volumes ofCollectedworksofMahatmaGandhiandotherGandhianpublications.

2. Mobile App : ItisavailableforfreedownloadonGooglePlayStoreandwillfacilitatetappingintothegrowingmobilecommercepotential.TheMobileAppissyncedwiththeDigitalRightsManagementSystemtokeepacheckonapiracyandintegratedwiththeBharatkoshpaymentgatewayfortheeaseofpayments.

3. e-version of Rozgar Samachar:RozgarSamachar, acorrespondingversionofEmploymentNews(English),isaprominentjobjournalinHindiprovidinginformationaboutjobopportunitiesinCentralGovernment including Public Sector Enterprises. It alsoprovides informationandguidanceaboutadmissionandcareeropportunitiesinvariousstreamsthroughcareer-orientedarticlesbyexperts.

Thee-RozgarSamacharwillprovide the journal indigital formand [email protected] foryearlysubscriptionThee-RozgarSamacharisexpectedtofulfilthegrowingneedsofyoungreaders,turningtoelectronicmodesofcommunication.

4. e-book “Satyagraha Geeta”:TheheritagevaluebookwrittenbyeminentpoetDrKshamaRaoin1930sinSanskritversespresents the lifeand activities ofGandhiji. As partof Gandhi@150commemoration,DPD procureda PDF versionof the bookand prepared the e-versionof the book.English translation has also been added to ensure wider reach. Divided in eighteen chapters(like Adhyays ofBhagwat Geeta),SatyagrahaGeetapresentsGandhi’sideas,philosophyoflifeandhismethodsofactioninSanskritverseform,capturingGandhianethosandtenets.

(Source: PIB)


mAking electricity sustAinAble And AvAilAble to All Siddhartha P. Saikia

Electricity is one of the essential infrastructures for economic growth, employment generation and poverty alleviation. The rate of economic growth in the new globalized economy is dependent on the availability of adequate, reliable and quality electricity at competitive rates. The rural agricultural and non-agricultural consumers (domestic and non-domestic load) of the country are generally serviced through the local distribution network. The demand of power in rural areas is increasing day-by-day due to changing consumer base, improving living standards for which augmentation of rural infrastructure needs to be regularly undertaken.

In its first term, the Government took theinitiative of making power accessible tothe entire country, particularly the rural

geographies. This has been made possible withtheGovernment’s flagship programme– theRs.16,320crorePradhanMantriSahajBijliHarGharYojanaorSaubhagya,inadditionto,severalotherprogrammes and digital initiatives that have made electricityaccessibletoallcornersofthecountry.Expertshavemaintainedthatensuringthateveryvillage has access to electricity has been one ofthemostcelebratedachievementsofGovernmentin its first five years. As on 21 May 2019, theGovernment’sdatashowsthatofthe26.30millionhouseholdstargetedundertheSaubhagyascheme,99.93percent,or26.28millionhouseholdshavegotelectricityconnections.

In the second term, the Government’s focuswill be on providing reliable, sustainable andaffordable electricity to the masses. Electricity isone of the essential infrastructures for economicgrowth, employment generation and povertyalleviation.Therateofeconomicgrowthinthenewglobalizedeconomyisdependentontheavailabilityof adequate, reliable and quality electricity atcompetitive rates. The rural agricultural and non-agriculturalconsumers(domesticandnon-domesticload)ofthecountryaregenerallyservicedthroughthe local distribution network. The demand ofpowerinruralareasisincreasingday-by-dayduetochangingconsumerbase,improvinglivingstandardsfor which augmentation of rural infrastructureneedstoberegularlyundertaken.

Technical Interventions in Power Sector:

The Union Power Ministry has developed acrowd-sourcingmobileappforreal-timeconsumerfeedbackonqualityandavailabilitywithanaimtoensure uninterrupted supply. The app Jagruk has

beendevelopedbytheNationalInformaticsCentre(NIC). It has an automaticmode bywhich powersupplydatawillbecollectedwhenamobilephoneisbeingcharged.

Earlier, Government also launched a mobileapplication - Vidyut PRAVAH - Electricity, PriceAvailabilityandHighlights.Thismobileapplicationprovideshighlightsofthepoweravailabilityinthecountryonrealtimebasis.Itprovidesinformationpertainingtothecurrentdemandmet,shortagesifany,surpluspoweravailableandtheprices in thepowerexchange.Therealtimedataandcomparisonwithpreviousday/yeardataisalsoavailable.Datafrom multiple sources, including the states and


powerexchanges,hasbeenmadeavailablethroughasingleportalforeverybody’sconvenience.

A user-friendly interface, based on thegeographicalmapofIndia,facilitatesallconsumersinvisualizationofthepoweravailabilityandpricesat the overall country level. The informationdisseminatedthroughtheapplicationwillempowertheconsumer,therebyleadingallthestakeholderstobemoreresponsiveandefficient.

Urja Mitra: UrjaMitraisanotherinitiativeoftheGovernment,whichprovidesoutagemanagementandnotificationplatformfordissipatingtheoutageinformationtopowerdistributionconsumersacrossIndiathroughSMS/email/pushnotifications.Italsoprovides pan-India integrated mobile applicationfor Android and iOS platforms to enable citizensto access outage information for distributioncompanies.Powerconsumerscanalsoinformaboutpoweroutageintheirareathroughmobileapp.

TARAnG: TARANG (Transmission App forReal-time Monitoring and Growth) is a powerfulmonitoringtoolthattracksupcomingtransmissionprojects and monitor the progress of inter-stateandintra-statetransmissionsystemsinthecountrythat are being developed through regulated tariffmechanism as well as tariff-based competitivebiddingroute.TARANGshallalsoincludestatusofstalledordelayedtransmissionsystemsincountrywhich would enable the stakeholders such asMinistry of Power, StateGovernments, all privatesectortransmissiondevelopersandPSUslikePowerGridCorporationofIndiaforexpeditiouscompletionof such projects. The Government also said thatGreenEnergyCorridors, an important componentof our renewable energy mission, would also bemonitoredthroughTARANGanditwillhelptomeetourtargetsontime.

Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY): Inorder toconnecteachvillage to theelectricity grid, the Government has launched ascheme--DeendayalUpadhyayaGramJyotiYojana(DDUGJY),particularlyaimedatruralelectrification.The erstwhile RajivGandhiGrameenVidyutikaranYojana (RGGVY) scheme for village electrificationandprovidingelectricitydistributioninfrastructureintheruralareashasbeensubsumedintheDDUGJYscheme. Rural Electrification Corporation is thenodalagencyforimplementationofDDUGJY.

In rural areasof thecountry, theagriculturaland non-agricultural load (domestic and non-domestic) are typically catered through commondistributionnetwork.Thedistributionutilitiesresorttofrequentloadsheddinginruralareastomitigatethegapbetweensupplyanddemand,whichaffectspower supply to agricultural consumers as wellas non-agricultural consumers owing to commondistributionnetwork.

Feeder separation refers to supply ofelectricity to agricultural consumers and tonon-agricultural consumers (domestic and non-domestic) separately through dedicated feeders.Thisarrangementallowsthedistributioncompanytoregulatepowersupplytoagriculturalconsumersas and when needed for effective Demand SideManagement (DSM). The separation of feedershelps in flattening of the load curve by shiftingthe agricultural load to off-peak hours therebyfacilitating peak load management. The coreobjective of separation of feeders is to provideregulated supply to agricultural consumers andcontinuous power supply to non-agriculturalconsumersinruralareas.

Government launched the DDUGJY for therural areas with the following components: (i)Separation of agriculture and non-agriculturefeedersfacilitatingjudiciousrosteringofsupplytoagriculturalandnon-agriculturalconsumers intherural areas; (ii) Strengthening and augmentationof Sub-Transmission and Distribution (ST&D)infrastructureinruralareas, includingmeteringatdistribution transformers, feedersandconsumers’end.

Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya): In 2017, Government of Indialaunched a scheme - Pradhan Mantri Sahaj BijliHar Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) with the objectivetoprovideelectricityconnections toall remainingunelectrifiedhouseholds in rural aswell asurbanareas. This scheme is targeted at all unelectrifiedhouseholds in all villages and all poor households in towns in any of the state/UTs of the country.Under this scheme, there is no upfront fee orcharges for obtaining electricity connection. Non-poorhouseholdswillhavetopay10instalmentsofRs. 50 each alongwith the bill eachmonth, totalamountingtoRs.500.


The electricity distribution companies orDISCOM organizes camps in cluster of villageswhereapplicationfortheconnectionareregisteredon spot. All materials such as service cable andmeterforprovidingconnectionareprovidedbytheDISCOM.

UnderSaubhagyascheme,asinglepointwiringalongwithaLEDbulb,mobilechargingpointsandswitch, among others are provided and no extracost is charged by the DISCOM. However, if thehouseholddesires tousemorepowerpoints, theadditionalwiringwouldhavetobearrangedbythehousehold itself. Every household and consumerwillpayfortheconsumptionasperthetariffoftheDISCOM. There is no provision in the scheme toprovidefreepowertoanycategoryofconsumers.

There is also a provision under Saubhagyascheme to also provide last mile connectivity toremaining unelectrified households like erectionof pole, conductor etc. and a connection can bereleased to such households in accordance withscheme’sguidelines.

Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS): In order to make electricity accessibleto every household in the country, it is critical tohavestronginfrastructure.Inordertoaddresstheconcernsaboutelectricitynetwork,theGovernmenthad launched Integrated Power Development Scheme(IPDS).

Theschemewasfirstannounced in the union Budget2014-15andisaimedatthestrengtheningofsub-transmissionnetwork,metering,ITapplication,customer care services, provisioning of solarpanelsandthecompletionoftheongoingworksofRestructuredAcceleratedPowerDevelopmentandcompletionoftheReformsprogramme(R-APDRP).TheestimatedoutlayofIPDSisRs.32,612crore,inadditiontooutlayofRs.44,011croreofR-APDRPcarriedforwardtoIPDS.

Initially introduced in Varanasi, this projectenvisaged converting area overhead lines intoundergroundcablingintheareasaroundthetemplesand ghats. The scheme included upgradationof the electrical assets at sub-centres, lines anddistribution transformers, capacity enhancementandrenewaloftheoldsub-stationsandinstallationofroof-topsolarpanelingovernmentbuildings.

According to Government, IPDS will helpin reduction in AT&C losses; establishment of ITenabled energy accounting and auditing system,improvement in billed energy based on meteredconsumption and improvement in collectionefficiency.

URJA (Urban Jyoti Abhiyaan): In order to ratetheperformanceofDISCOMS,anapp-baseddigital initiative URJA (Urban Jyoti Abhiyaan)is launched to place before the people, theperformance of DISCOMS in IT-enabled towns,with a vision to generate a sense of positivecompetition amongst the stakeholders andurgeall concerned forbetterperformance inallconsumer-centricparameters.

This app focuses on enhancing connectionwithconsumerconnectbywayofrankingoftownson various parameters related to consumers in atransparentmanner. Following parameters of Go-LiveTownsarebeingmonitoredthroughURJAApponamonthlybasis:

Consumer Complaints Pending: Ranking is donebasedonthenumberofconsumercomplaintpendinginthelastmonth.Thecumulativenumberof complaints receivedandpending for redressal,aspertheITSystemonthelastdayofthereportingmonth,isshownontheapp.

Average Duration and number of Power Cuts:Rankingisdonebasedonaveragenumberof


powerinterruptionsat11kVfeederlevelrecordedintheITsystem.Thevaluesofaveragenumberofhours forwhich power cutwas experienced by aconsumerandnumberofsuchinstancesareshownon theApp.Average values are calculatedonperconsumerbasisforthetown.

Release of new Connection:Thestatusofnewconnections applied and connection pending forrelease through IT system is displayed on the App. Ranking on least number of connections pendingfor release, as on last day of reportingmonth, isdisplayed.

e-payments:Rankingof towns isdonebasedon number of consumers making online billpayments.

November 2015, the Government launched anambitious scheme, Ujwal DISCOM AssuranceYojana (UDAY), to improve the financial healthandoperationalefficiencyofDISCOMs.Underthisscheme,DISCOMscanconverttheirdebtintostategovernmentbondsoncertainstringentconditions.IntheUDAYscheme,Governmentsof16stateshavetakenoveraroundRs.2.32lakhcroredebtoftheirDISCOMs; this resulted in loweringof the interestratesontheseloansto7-8.5percentfromaround11-12percentearlier.Accordingtoanewsreport,savings through improvement in billing efficiencyalsocontributedtothelossreductioninFY17andFY18.

Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA): Launched in 2015, the Unnat Jyoti by AffordableLEDsforAll(UJALA),inashortspanofthreeyears,hasemergedastheworld’slargestdomesticlightingprogramme.DevelopedtoaddressIndia’shighcostofelectrificationandhighemissionsfrominefficientlighting,UJALA’ssuccessliesinitsinimitablestrategicapproachtoenergyefficiency.Globally,Indiaisatavantage point ofmitigating climate change,whilealsobuildingandstrengtheningitsaccesstoenergyand lighting. While high-quality energy efficientappliancesmeetboththesecriteria,Indiawasheldbackfromadoptingthemduetolackofawarenessandaffordability.Takingthesechallengesheadon,EESL(EnergyEfficiencyServicesLimited)adoptedastrategy of demand aggregation,mass awarenessand bulk procurement, designed to attract thesupport of utility companies, State Governments,andthepriceconsciousIndianpublic.

The company’s innovative business modelobviates the need for DISCOMs to invest in theupfront cost of energy efficient appliances. EESLprocures the appliances and provides them toconsumersatarateofRs.70/LEDbulb,Rs.220/LEDtubelightandRs.1,110/fanrespectively,whicharemuchbelowthemarketprice.

(The author is New Delhi-based communications strategist, journalist and regularly writes on domestic and global developments in energy and infrastructure sectors. Email: [email protected])

Percentage Loss of Power/Theft:TownsarerankedbasedonAT&C lossesof the townasperenergyauditcarriedoutusingITsystemscreatedunder the scheme. For accurate calculation ofAT&C losses, ring fencingof townshasalsobeendone under the scheme. A ring fenced area isan electrical boundary of a townwhere import/export meters are placed for determining netinput energy.

Data is updated on monthly basis before10th of every month for the previous month’sreport (consumer complaints pending, averagedurationofpowercuts,averagenumberofpowercuts, pending connection and consumers makinge-payment).Percentagelossofpower/theftdataisrollingaverageoflastoneyear.

Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY): For the success of several schemes to provideelectricity to all, the good financial health ofelectricity distribution utilities is necessary. In


Nimish Kapoor

Renewable energy has been an important component of India’s energy planning process for quite some time, especially since India seeks to make significant contributions towards climate change mitigation and emerge as a responsible global powerhouse. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in India has been facilitating the implementation of broad spectrum programmes including harnessing renewable power, renewable energy for rural areas for lighting, cooking and motive power, use of renewable energy in urban, industrial and commercial applications and development of alternate fuels and applications.

cleAn And reneWAble energy initiAtives

Renewable energy is bound to play anincreasingly important role in future energysystems. India has a huge potential for

generating green electricity from the renewableenergy sources. To promote green energy,GovernmentofIndiaislaunchingmanyschemesforthe renewableenergy resources. India’s renewableenergycapacityhascrossedthe80GWmark,whichincludes 29.55 GW of solar energy and 36.37 GWwindpower.TheGovernmenthassetanambitioustargetofhaving175GWofcleanenergycapacityby2022, including 100GW solar and 60GWofwindenergy. A total of 80.46 GW of renewable energycapacityhasbeeninstalledinthecountryasonJune30, 2019which includes 29.55GW from solar and36.37GWfromwindpower.

As per India’s submission to the UnitedNationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChangeon Intended Nationally Determined Contribution(INDC), a cumulative electric power capacity of 40percentfromnon-fossilfuel-basedenergyresourcesistobeinstalledby2030. Indiaattainedglobal4thand5thpositionsinwindandsolarpowerinstalledcapacitiesand5thglobalpositionforoverallinstalledrenewableenergycapacityin2018.Atotalof101.83billionunitsofpowerweregeneratedinthecountryduring the year 2017-18 from renewable energy.The Government has declared the trajectory ofbidding60GWcapacityofsolarenergyand20GWcapacityofwindenergybyMarch2020,leavingtwoyears’ time for execution of the projects. As perthe Paris AccordonClimateChange, Indiamade apledgethatby2030,40percentofinstalledpowergenerationcapacityshallbebasedoncleansources,itwasdeterminedthat175GWofrenewableenergycapacitywillbeinstalledby2022.Thisincludes100GWfromsolar,60GWfromwind,10GWfrombio-powerand5GWfromsmallhydropower.

ThesolarradiationincidentoverIndiaisequalto4–7kWhpersquaremeterperdaywith an annual radiationranging from1200–2300kWhpersquaremeter.Ithasanaverageof250–300clearsunnydays

and2300–3200hoursofsunshineperyear. India’selectricityneedscanbemetonatotallandareaof3000km2whichisequalto0.1percentoftotallandinthecountry.GovernmentofIndiaispromotingsolarenergy through fiscal and promotional incentives,suchascapitalsubsidy,taxholidayontheearningsfor10years,generation-basedincentive,accelerateddepreciation,ViabilityGapFunding(VGF),financingsolar rooftop systems as part of home loan,concessional custom duty, exemption from exciseduty, preferential tariff for power generation fromrenewables,andforeigndirectinvestmentupto100percentundertheautomaticroute.

Now, the world’s energy leaders are lookingto India for investment. The President and GlobalHead for a leading energy solutions business saidin an media interaction recently that India has ahugesolarpowerpotential,thissourceofenergyisintermittent and subject tofluctuations. Wewantto develop India as our headquarters for battery-storagebusinessinAsia. Indiahasahugepotentialfor solarpowerand theGovernmenthas takenupthebiggestadditionofsolarpowerinthehistoryofhumankind.Recently, Indiaachievedthethirdrankgloballyforsolarinstallationcapacity.Acleanenergyresearchorganisation,hasreportedthattheinstalledsolarphotovoltaic(PV)capacityhasreachedover28GWasofDecember2018.

Last year, India and France have committedmorethanUS$2billiontofundsolarenergyprojectsin developing countries. The announcement cameon 11March 2018 during the first summit of theInternational Solar Alliance (ISA) in New Delhi,whichdrewheadsofGovernment frommore than20countries.Inhisopeningaddress,PrimeMinisterpledged $1.4billiontosupportsolarenergyprojectsinBangladeshandindevelopingcountriesinAfrica.Itwouldbeusedtosupport27newprojects in15developingnations.Projectswillrangefromsettingupsmallsolarphotovoltaicpowerplants inseveralAfrican countries to a 100MW solar photovoltaic


plant inMollahat, Bangladesh, and an LED street-lightingproject in the Seychelles. FrenchPresidentEmmanuelMacroncommitted€700million(US$865million)tothescheme.Macrontoldthesummitthatthe alliance needed $1 trillion to achieve its 1TWtarget by 2030. Macron’s pledge of €700 millionbrings France’s total investment to €1 billion. Thecountrycommitted€300millionin2015.TheWorldBankhasalsopledged$500,000,andotheragencies,including theGreen Climate Fund, have offered tosupportthescheme,butmostoftheinvestmentisexpectedtocomefromtheprivatesector.

The vision and mission of the InternationalSolarAllianceistoprovideadedicatedplatformforcooperation among solar resource-rich countriesthatliecompletelyorpartiallybetweentheTropicsof Capricorn and Cancer, the global stakeholders,including bilateral and multilateral organisations,corporates, and industries to make a positivecontributiontoassistandhelpachievethecommongoalsofincreasingtheuseofsolarenergyinmeetingenergyneedsofprospectiveISAmembercountriesin a safe, convenient, affordable, equitable andsustainable manner. The Alliance has three mainprogrammes:promotingtheuseofsolarwaterpumpsinstead of diesel pumps for irrigation; affordablefinancingforsolartechnology;andpromotingsolarmini-gridsintheleast-developedcountriesandsmallislandnations.

The intergovernmental International SolarAlliancewaslaunchedbythePrimeMinisterofIndiaand former French President François Hollande atthe United Nations Climate Conference in Paris in2015.TheAllianceseeks to lower thecostof solartechnology so that it can meet the energy needsof 121 sunshine-rich developing countries. It aimstocreate1TW(1,000GW)ofsolarenergyby2030.Sofar,61countrieshavejoinedtheAllianceand32haveratifieditsframeworkagreement.

Renewable energy has been an importantcomponent of India’s energy planning process for

quitesometime,especiallysinceIndiaseekstomakesignificant contributions towards climate changemitigation and emerge as a responsible globalpowerhouse. TheMinistryofNewandRenewableEnergy (MNRE) in India has been facilitating theimplementation of broad spectrum programmesincluding harnessing renewable power, renewableenergyforruralareasforlighting,cookingandmotivepower,useofrenewableenergyinurban,industrialand commercial applications and development ofalternatefuelsandapplications.

India’sambitiousmissionon solarenergy, theNationalSolarMission(NSM)waslaunchedin2010with active collaboration from states to promoteecologically sustainable growth while addressingIndia’s energy security challenges. The first phaseof themissionwas completed in 2013,whichwasfocused on promoting scale-up in grid-connectedsolarcapacityadditionof300MWthroughaschemeofbundlingwiththermalpower.Inthesecondphaseduringthe2013–17,capacityadditionof3,000MWunder the central scheme was envisaged throughvarious schemes. In the third phase, 2017–22, thetargetuptoyear2022of20,000MWormorewasto be decided dependent on the experiences andlearning of the first two phases. Further, on 17June 2015, the Government of India revised theNSMtargetofgrid-connectedsolarpowerprojectsfrom20,000MWto100,000MWbyyear2022.TheGovernment has planned to achieve the target of100 GW by setting up of distributed rooftop solarprojectsandmediumandlargescalesolarprojects.

Under the scheme for development of solarparkswhichwaslaunchedinDecember2014,atotalof42solarpowerparkswithanaggregatecapacityof around 23.40 GW have been approved by theGovernmentsofartofacilitateachievementof100GWtargetbyMarch2022.Outofapprovedcapacityof 23.40 GW, power purchase agreements (PPAs)havebeensignedforaround9.20GWandoutofthis,around6.40GWofcapacityhasbeencommissionedinvarioussolarparksason30June2019.

The total capacityof solarparkswill generatemore than 64 billion units of electricity per yearwhichwill lead toabatementof around55milliontonnesofcarbondioxideperyearoveritslifecycle.Itwouldalsocontributetowardsthelong-termenergysecurity of the country and promote ecologicallysustainable growth by a reduction in carbonemissionsandcarbonfootprint,aswellasgeneratelargedirectandindirectemploymentopportunities

The share of renewable energy in overall installed capacity in the country as on 31 October 2018

Source Installed Capacity (GW) PercentageThermal 221.76 GW (63.84%)nuclear 6.78 GW (1.95 %)Hydro 45.48 GW (13.09 %)Renewable 73.35 GW (21.12 %)Total 347.37 GW (100%)

(Source: PIB)


insolarandallied industries,suchasglass,metals,heavyindustrialequipment,etc.

KUSUM: Recently, the Government of Indiahas launched Kisan Urja Suraksha evam UtthaanMahabhiyan–KUSUMwiththeobjectiveofprovidingfinancialandwatersecuritytofarmers.Thisschemehas three components which include 10,000 MWof decentralized ground-mounted, grid-connectedrenewable power plants; installation of 17.50 lakhstandalone solar-powered agriculture pumps andsolarisationof10lakhgrid-connectedsolarpoweredagriculturepumps.Theschemeaimstoaddasolarcapacity of 25,750MWby 2022. The total centralfinancialsupportprovidedundertheschemewouldbeRs.34,422crore.

This is a unique scheme in terms of directemployment potential. Besides increasing self-employment, this scheme is likely to generateemploymentopportunityequivalentto6.31lakhjobsforskilledandunskilledworkers.Renewablepowerplantsof capacity500KW to2MWwill be setupby individual farmers, cooperatives, panchayatsor Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) on theirbarrenorcultivablelands.Thepowergeneratedwillbe purchased by the distribution company at feedin tariffsdeterminedby respective StateElectricityRegulatory Commission. The scheme will opena stable and continuous source of income to therural land owners. Performance based incentivesatRs.0.40perunitforfiveyearstobeprovidedtodistributioncompanies.

Theschemewillhavesubstantialenvironmentalimpactintermsofsavingsofcarbondioxideemissions.All three components of the scheme combinedtogether are likely to result in saving of about 27milliontonnesofcarbondioxideemissionperannum.Onecomponentoftheschemeonstandalonesolarpumps may result in saving of 1.2 billion litres ofdiesel per annum and associated savings in theforeignexchangeduetoreductionofimportofcrudeoil.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energyhas introducedanew schemeSustainableRooftopImplementation for Solar Transfiguration of India -SRISTI,toincentivizetheinstallationofrooftopsolarprojects in India. SRISTI scheme aims to achieve anationalsolarrooftoptargetof40GWtill2021-2022.Central financial assistance will be provided onlyfor installationofrooftopsolarplants inresidentialsectors.TheresidentialusersmayinstalltheplantofcapacityaspertheirrequirementandtherespectiveStateElectricityRegulatoryCommission regulation.But,thesubsidysupportwillbelimitedupto5kWpcapacityofplant.The incentivetowardssubsidytotheresidentialsectoriscappedatRs.18,000perkWcalculatedatbenchmarkcostofRs.60,000perkW.The incentive to distribution companies for social,institutional, government sectors, commercial andindustrial sector is capped at Rs. 5,500 per kWcalculatedatbenchmarkcostofRs.55,000perkW.Thetotal incentivefortheresidentialsectorstandsat Rs. 9,000 crore for 5000 MW of installations.The incentive to distribution companies is cappedatRs.14,450crorefor35,000MWofrooftopsolarinstallations.ThetotaloutlayisRs.23,450crorefor40,000MWofrooftopsolarinstallations.Residential,socialand the institutional sectorwill setup5,000MWeach.

Inanotherinitiativeofcleanenergy,aNationalWind-SolarHybridPolicyhasbeenlaunchedrecentlytoprovideaframeworkforpromotionoflargegridconnectedwind-solarPVhybridsystemforefficientutilization of transmission infrastructure and land.Italsoaimsatreducingthevariabilityinrenewablepowergenerationandachievingbettergridstability.On technology front, the Policy provides forintegrationofboththeenergysourcesi.e.windandsolaratACaswellasDClevel.ThePolicyalsoprovidesforflexibilityinshareofwindandsolarcomponentsinhybridproject,subjecttotheconditionthat,ratedpower capacity of one resourcebe at least 25percentoftheratedpowercapacityofotherresourceforittoberecognisedhybridproject.

Status of Renewable Energy Projects as on October 2018

Sector Target (GW) Installed capacity (GW) as on 31.10.2018

Under Implementation (GW)

Tendered (GW) Total Installed/ Pipeline (GW)

SolarPower 100 24.33 13.8 22.8 60.93Windpower 60 34.98 7.02 2.4 44.4BioEnergy 10 9.54 0 0 9.54SmallHydro 5 4.5 0.73 0 5.23Total 175 73.35 21.55 25.2 120.1

(Source: PIB)


Solar Parks in India as on 31 May 2019Sl.

no.State Solar Park Capac-

ity (MW)

1 Andhra Pradesh Ananthapuramu-ISolarPark 15002 KurnoolSolarPark 10003 KadapaSolarPark 10004 Ananthapuramu-IISolarPark 5005 HybridSolarWindPark 1606 ArunachalPradesh LohitSolarPark 30

7 Gujarat RadhnesadaSolarPark 7008 HarsadSolarPark 5009 DholeraSolarPark 500010 jharkhand FloatingSolarPark 15011 Karnataka PavagadaSolarPark 200012 Kerala KasargodSolarPark 10513 MadhyaPradesh RewaSolarPark 750

14 Neemuch-MandsaurSolarPark

700

15 AgarSolarPark 55016 ShajapurSolarPark 500

17 Morena(Chambal)SolarPark 250

18 Maharashtra SaiGuruSolarPark(Pragat) 50019 PatodaSolarPark(Para-

mount)500

20 DondaichaSolarPark 50021 LaturSolarPark 6022 Washimsolarpark 170

23 YavatmalSolarPark 7524 Kacharalasolarpark 14525 Manipur BukpiSolarPark 2026 Meghalaya SolarparkinMeghalaya 2027 Mizoram VankalSolarPark 2028 nagaland SolarParkinNagaland 23

29 Odisha SolarParkinOdisha 27530 SolarParkbyNHPC 10031 Rajasthan Bhadla-IISolarPark 68032 Bhadla-IIISolarPark 100033 Bhadla-IVSolarPark 50034 Phalodi-PokaranSolarPark 75035 Fatehgarh Phase-1B Solar

Park421

36 NokhSolarPark 98037 Tamil nadu KadaladiSolarPark 50038 UttarPradesh SolarParkinUP 44039 UPKanpurDehatSolarPark 5040 UPJalaunSolarPark 50

41 UPKanpurNagarSolarPark 3042 WestBengal SolarparkinWestBengal 200

(Source: MNRE website)

The Policy seeks to promote new hybridprojects as well as hybridisation of existing wind/solar projects. The existingwind/solar projects canbehybridisedwithhighertransmissioncapacitythanthesanctionedone,subjecttoavailabilityofmarginintheexistingtransmissioncapacity.ThePolicyprovidesforprocurementofpowerfromahybridprojectontariff-based transparent bidding process for whichtheGovernmententitiesmayinvitebids.ThePolicyalso permits use of battery storage in the hybridprojectforoptimisingtheoutputandfurtherreducethevariability.Itmandatestheregulatoryauthoritiestoformulatenecessarystandardsandregulationsforwind-solarhybridsystems.Withsignificantcapacityadditions in renewables in recent years and withHybridPolicyaimingatbetterutilisationofresources,it is envisaged that the Hybrid Policy will open-upa new area for availability of renewable power atcompetitivepricesalongwith reducedvariability.Ascheme fornewhybridprojectsunder thepolicy isalsoexpectedshortly.

Green Energy Corridor is another initiative ofGovernment of India for evacuation of large scalerenewableenergyforwhichIntraStateTransmissionSystem(iSTS)wasproposed.ISTSisbeingimplementedby eight renewable rich states of Tamil Nadu,Rajasthan,Karnataka,AndhraPradesh,Maharashtra,Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.Theprojectisbeingimplementedinthesestatesbythe respective State Transmission Utilities (STUs).Theprojectincludesaboutapproximately9400ckmtransmissionlinesandSubstationsoftotalcapacityofapproximately19000MVAtobecompletedbyMarch2020.Thepurposeistoevacuateapprox.20,000MWoflargescalerenewablepowerandimprovementofthegridintheimplementingStates.Thetotalprojectcost isapproximatelyRs.10141crores.TheCentralgrantisdisbursedintwoinstallmentstotheSTUs:a)70percentadvanceontheawardofcontract,andb)Balance30percentaftersuccessfulcommissioningandthreemonthsperformancetesting.

In this way, the Government of India isimplementingvarietyofschemessothatmaximumclean energy can be tapped in the country anduninterrupted power supply can be ensured inremote areas. Today, in this direction, more andmoreresearchandtechnologicaldevelopmentsneedtobedoneintheresearchinstitutestoconservethecleanandrenewableenergyfortheinterestsofthecountryandasafefuture.

(The author is a Scientist “E” in Vigyan PrasarEmail: [email protected])


on the anniversary of Quit india Movement, shri prakash javadekar presents gandhi albums to president of india

OntheanniversaryofQuitIndiaMovement(9August,2019)UnionMinisterforMinistryofEnvironment, ForestandClimateChangeand Information

and Broadcasting Shri Prakash Javadekar presented the Album “MahatmaGandhi:ALifeThroughLenses”tothePresidentofIndiaShriRamNathKovindin Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Album narrates the pictorial story of the life andtimesofMahatmaGandhithrough550photographs.IthasbeenbroughtoutbythePublicationsDivision,MinistryofInformationandBroadcasting.Secretary,Ministry of I & B, Shri Amit Khare, Principal Director General, PublicationsDivision, Ministry of I & B, Smt Sadhana Rout and the team of PublicationsDivisioninvolvedwiththeprojectwerealsopresentatRashtrapatiBhavanontheoccasion.

With rare photographs detailing the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi, theAlbumnotonlyportrays thebirthof a shyboy,hisearlyyearsandeducation,makingofaMahatma(inSouthAfrica),hisexperimentswithtruththroughhisvariousmovements–firstinSouthAfricaandtheninIndia,butalsothestoryoftheintensiveIndianfreedomstruggleof20thcentury,ofwhichhewasthemainarchitect.

Forthefirsttime,aHindiversionoftheAlbum,“MahatmaGandhi:ChitramayaJeevanGatha”hasalsobeenbroughtoutinordertoincreasetheoutreachandcatertoawiderreaderbase.

This English version of the bookwas first brought out in 1954, taking photographs from the SarvodayaDiwasPradarshni,organisedatRajghatinJanuary1949tomarkthefirstanniversaryofMahatmaGandhi’sdeath.Thisheritagepublication,alongwiththenewHindiversion,withphotosupportfromNationalGandhiMuseum,hasnowbeenreprintedwithbetterdesignandproductionquality.

Shri Prakash Javadekar apprised the President about efforts of I&BMinistry towards celebrating 150th Birth Anniversary of MahatmaGandhi.

UnionMinister Shri Prakash Javadekarpresentedanoverviewof thebooks to the President, terming these albums as a kaleidoscope ofIndia’sfreedomstruggle.HealsohighlightedtheeffortsoftheMinistryof Information and Broadcasting and Publications Division towardscelebratingthe150thBirthAnniversaryofMahatmaGandhi.ThetaskoftheMinistryisnotmerelylimitedtoitsowneffortsbutalsoincludeshighlighting the efforts of all other Ministries of the GovernmentthroughitsMediaUnitsinordertoreachouttopeopleeffectively.

The Minister also apprised the President about the publication ofCollectedWorks ofMahatmaGandhi,which is available in e-versionas well. To mark the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi,Publications Division has brought out around twenty books andfifty e-books, including a book on Kasturba Gandhi during thecommemoration year of the 150th Birth Anniversary of MahatmaGandhi.ThePresidentShriRamNathKovindappreciatedtheeffortsofI&BMinistry inspreadingthevaluesand idealswhichGandhiji stoodfor.Heaskedtheofficialstofurtheraugmenttheefforts intheweekprecedingGandhi Jayanti this year.HealsoexhortedallGovernmentemployees to participate actively in the celebrations marking the150thBirthAnniversaryofMahatmaGandhi.

(Source: PIB)

'Mahatma Gandhi: A Life Through Lenses' & 'Mahatma Gandhi: Chitramaya Jeevan Gatha'

brought out by Publications Division, Ministry of I & B, being presented to the Hon'ble President of India,

Shri Ram Nath Kovind by Union Minister for I & B, Shri Prakash Javadekar. Also seen are Secretary I & B, Shri Amit Khare and Principal Director General,

Publications Division, Dr Sadhana Rout.


Dr. Nandini Sahay

Let us appreciate that women empowerment and gender equality are fundamental to the achievement of sustainable development of the country. Research has established that women empowerment can elevate and enhance the social, economic, political and legal strength of women, and equip them with the positivity to claim their rights. To achieve women empowerment, the present government has initiated comprehensive programmes to safeguard educational rights, health rights, social security rights, economic security and safety of women.

Women emPoWerment: A neW PArAdigm

Empowerment is theprocess which conferspower on individuals over

theirown lives, in their society,and in their communities.It signifies promotion in thesocial, economic, spiritual orpolitical status of an individual.In the context of women, it isan exercise in enhancing theireducational, economic, social,political, and health status. ForempoweringIndianwomen,ourConstitution endorses equalitytowomenandrequirestheStateto assimilate steps to protectrightsofwomen.

Fundamental Rights have been enshrinedin the Indian Constitution which are central towomen empowerment. This includes Article 15,Article 15(3) and Article 16. In addition to theConstitutional provisions, there are several lawswhichhavebeenenactedbyParliamenttoempowerIndian women. Women empowerment is a pre-conditiontofulfilthegoalsofseveralsustainabledevelopment parameters. To meet these goals,India has been a party to several internationalconventionsandtreatiesdedicatedtosafeguardingwomen’s rights. These include Convention onEliminationofAllFormsofDiscriminationAgainstWomen (CEDAW), International Conference onPopulation and Development (ICPD), The BeijingDeclaration, TheMexico Plan of Action and TheNairobiForwardLookingStrategies. Institutionalmechanisms/nationalmachineriesvizTheMinistryof Women and Child Development, NationalMission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW),The National Commission for Women (NCW),The National Institute of Public Cooperationand Child Development (NIPCCD), The National

Policy on Empowerment ofWomen (NPEW) andParliamentary Committee on Empowermentof Women (PCEW) are some of the importantinstitutions which also actively work forempowermentofwomen.Theaforesaidnationalandinternationalconventions,laws,programmes,policies and institutions have contributed to thecauseofamelioratingthestatusofIndianwomen.Today,womenareabletomaketheirpresencefeltinsocio-economicactivitiesandasserttheirrightsinthefieldofeducationandemployment.

Letusappreciatethatwomenempowermentand gender equality are fundamental to theachievement of sustainable development of thecountry. Research has established that womenempowermentcanelevateandenhancethesocial,economic,politicaland legal strengthofwomen,andequipthemwiththepositivitytoclaimtheirrights. An empowered woman would be in aposition to access the opportunities availableto her without limitations and restrictions ofeducation,professionandlifestyle.Shewouldfeelencouragedtotakeherowndecisionsondifferentissues concerning herself, her family and hercommunity.Toachievewomenempowerment,the


present government has initiated comprehensiveprogrammestosafeguardeducationalrights,healthrights,socialsecurityrights,economicsecurityandsafetyofwomen.A fewof these programmesareenumeratedbelow:

Health Empowerment: Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY):

ThismaternitybenefitprogrammePMMVYwaslaunchedby theGovernment in2016andMinistryofWomenandChildDevelopmentwasentrustedtoimplementit.Itprovidescashtransfer(conditional)forexpectingand lactatingwomen. It alsoensuresthatthewagelossofwomenduringthepregnancygets compensated. The scheme fosters care andutilizationofinstitutionalservicesduringchildbirth.

Maternity Care Act:The Maternity Benefit Act originally

providedmaternitybenefitof12weeks,outofwhichupto6weekscouldbeclaimedbeforetheexpecteddate of delivery. In 2017, the law was amendedextendingthisperiodto26weeksandrevisingtheperiodof6weeksto8.

Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA):

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfareintroduced PMSMA with an objective to ensureprovision of antenatal care to pregnantwomen. Itpledgesantenatalcareservicestowomenintheir2nd or3rdtrimestersofpregnancyinaninstitutionalsetup.Italsoencouragesparticipationofprivatesectorinensuringtheseservicestoexpectingmothers.

National Nutrition Mission: To improve the nutritional status of pregnant

women, lactating women, adolescent girls andchildren in the age group of 0-6 years, Ministryof Women and Child Development (MWCD),Government of India initiated a programmenamedNationalNutritionMission. The aimof thismissionwastoaddresstheseriousissueofstunting,malnutrition,anaemiaandlowbirthweightamongstnewborns.

Mission Indradhanush: Mission Indradhanush was initiated in

December 2014 with an aim to ensure fullimmunization for women and children. It also

ensured that the required medicines for thispurpose are available. This immunizationprogramme was further intensified and in2017 it led to the launch of IntensifiedMissionIndradhanush(IMI).It isaninitiativeofMinistryof Health and Family Welfare, Government ofIndia.

Apartfromthecentrallysponsoredschemes,there are many programmes at the state level to address the problem of expecting and lactatingmothers. For example, ‘Godebharai’ ceremonyis conducted in Bihar to meet the nourishmentneedofthepregnantwomenatalltheAnganwadicentres inBihar.Theexpectantmothers’ lapsarefilledwithfruits,greenvegetables,rice,pulseandcoconut amidst chanting of folk songs. They arealso given regular supply of folic acid and irontablets. Such a function is organized on 7th ofevery month.

Social Security and Empowerment

Swachh Vidyalaya Initiative:Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya

(SBSV) initiative was launched by theMinistry ofHuman Resource Development, Government ofIndia in2014withtheobjectivetoprovideaccesstotoiletfacilitiesseparatelytobothboysandgirls.

Swachh Bharat Mission: Under this programme, household-owned

andcommunity-ownedtoiletswereconstructedtoeliminateopendefecation.TheMissionalsoseekstoestablishamechanismofmonitoringtoiletuse.ThemissionisexpectedtohelpIndiareachSustainableDevelopmentGoal6(SDG6),laiddownbytheUNin2015.

Ujjwala Yojana:Tomeetthebasicneedsofwomenbelongingto

lowereconomicstrata,especiallyfromBPLfamilies,Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) wasintroduced in2016.Theobjectiveofthisschemewas to distribute 50 million LPG connections towomen belonging to this category. The schemeaims toprovide clean fuel in the formof LPG towomenwhoarebelowpovertyline,hithertousingunclean cooking fuels with attendant harm. Theobjective is to protect the health ofwomen andstemthehealthhazardsresultingfromtheuseoffossilandotherfuelsforcooking.


Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY):

This ambitious programmewas introducedtoprovidehousingfacilitiestoallby2022.UnderthePMAY,theownershipofahouseismandatedto be in the name of the woman of the family.MinistryofHousingandUrbanPovertyAlleviation(MoHUPA)haslaunchedthisprogramme.

Passport Rules:

Womenwereearlier required to furnish thecertificate ofmarriage or divorcewhile applyingfor a passport. It often made the applicationprocess complicated and cumbersome to theapplicants. Under the new rules, women do nothave toproducesuchacertificate forprocessingof passport application. It permits a woman toeither use her father’s ormother’s nameon theapplication form. The government is alreadycommittedtoopeningnewPassportSewaKendras(PSK)ineveryLokSabhaconstituency.

Working Women Hostels:

Thisschemewasintroducedtoensuresafetyand convenience of working women. Purposeof this scheme was to provide accommodation,whichwaslocatedataconvenientplaceandalsohasadaycarearrangementfortheirchildren.

Financial Security and Empowerment for Women

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY):

Thisscheme,withthehelpofsmallfinancialbanks,Non-BankingFinancialCompanies(NBFCs)

and micro finance institutions,provides loans up to Rs.10,00,00to small entrepreneurs. Majorbeneficiaries (78 per cent) ofthis scheme have been womenentrepreneurs. AroundRs. 1,78,313croreworthofloanssanctioned,weregiventoself-employedwomen.

Stand-Up India:

Stand-Up Indiawas introducedto promote economic security andentrepreneurship. The aim of thisprogrammeistoextendhelpinghandinpreparationofprojectplantoavailloansfromthebankbetween10lakhto1crore.Underthisscheme,banks

aremandated to include at least one ScheduledCaste(SC)orScheduledtribe(ST)borrowerandatleast onewomanborrower per bank branch, forestablishingagreenfieldbusiness.

Sukanya Samridhi Yojana:

Thegovernmentintroducedthisnewschemeas a part of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign.This isasmalldepositschemeexclusivelyforthewelfareof the girl child. It is an incentive to theparents to create funds tomeet the educationalneed of their girl child. It also proposes to takecareofthemarriageexpensesoftheirdaughter.

Mahila E-Haat:

AbilingualportalMahilaE-Haatwaslaunchedon7March2016bytheMinistryofWomen&ChildDevelopment. It provides web based marketingplatform to leverage technology for the displayof the products/services made/manufactured/undertaken by the entrepreneurs who werewomen. It isan incentiveplatformforwomentomeettheirneedsandaspirations.ThiswasasequeltoDigitalIndiaandStand-upIndiaandreminderofthefactthattechnologycanhelpmakingbusinessbetter.Contactdetailsandthepricearedisplayedbythevendorswhichwouldpavethegroundfordirectinteractionwiththebuyers.

Support to Training and Employment programme:

Theobjectiveofthisprogrammeistoprovideskills to woman, which would enhance their


employability.Theprogramme is further designed to impartproficiency and develop theskills, which would enablea woman enrolled in thisprogramme to become self-employed.

Girl Child EmpowermentBeti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme (BBBP):

The scheme “BetiBachao Beti Padhao” (BBBP)was launched to combatthe problem of genderdiscrimination leading todeclineinCSR.Theunderlyingobjectiveofthisinitiativeistoacclaimthearrivalofafemalechild.Theprogrammestrivestostopsexselectiveabortion.

Pragati Scheme:Pragati scheme was introduced by Ministry

of Human Resource Development. It seeks toprovide assistance to the girls who are inclinedto pursue higher technical education. Every yeararound 4000 scholarships are given to femalemeritorious students in their pursuits. Similarschemehasbeen introduced inother states. Forexample, inBihar,agirl isgivenRs.25,000asanincentive if she acquires graduationdegree. Thisscheme is applicable to even married womenas it is considered that by the time a girl passesgraduation,shebecomesamajor.

Safety for Womennirbhaya Fund :

NirbhayaFundwasintroducedinthehonourof the victim brave girl. Under this scheme, thegovernment announced to contribute Rs. 1000crores ensuring the safety and empowermentof girls and women. The fund is intended tosupplement other initiatives of the Governmentand NGOs, who are tasked with protection ofsafetyanddignityofwomen.

Ujjawala Scheme:A scheme “Comprehensive Scheme for

PreventionofTraffickingforRescue,Rehabilitationand Re-Integration of Victims of Trafficking for

CommercialSexualExploitation-Ujjwala”,fundedby the Central Government, was introduced.The objective was to curb such degradablepracticesbyinvolvinglocalpeople,throughsocialmobilisation,talksandotherawarenessgenerationprogrammes.Theschemealsolooksafterthelongterm rehabilitation of the victims by providingfood, health services, counselling and vocationaltraining to ensure their livelihood.

Swadhar Greh:

Department of Women and Child Development introduced this programme toprovide integrated rehabilitation to womenin distress. It is intended to help women indifficulties, especially those who lack any kindof support. The purpose is to support themto become emotionally strong. The followingcategoryofwomenareeligibleforthisscheme:

a. Abandonedwomen

b. Womenwhohavesurvivednaturaldisasters

c. Womenprisonersreleasedfromjail

d. Victimsofdomesticviolenceandfamilytension

e. Traffickedwomen/girls

f. WomenwhohavecontractedHIV/AIDS

Mahila Police Volunteers (MPVs):

Topromote the visible presenceofwomeninthepoliceforce,theHomeMinistryundertook this initiative to give 33 per cent reservation to


women candidates in police force.Mahila PoliceVolunteers have been introduced for servingas a link between the community and police forhelping women in distress and to resist crimeagainstwomen.

Mahila Shakti Kendra (MSK) Scheme:

It is an umbrella scheme under PradhanMantri Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana (PMMSY)intendedtoprovideaninterfaceforruralwomentoenablethemtoavailthebenefitsofGovernmentprogrammes.ThenewschemeMSKenvisages toworkonatvariouslevelsare:

a.For implementation of women centricprogrammes of the Government, a national-leveldomainknowledgebasedsupportwouldbeprovided.

b.State Resource Centre for Women will beestablished at the state level, to arrangetechnical know-how for implementation of theprogrammes.

c. The District Level Centre for Woman (DLCW),whichwillbeestablishedatthedistrictlevel,willcompileanddisseminateinformationonvariousprogrammesdesignedforwomenempowermentincluding theflagship programmesBetiBachaoBetiPadhao.

d. VariousactivitiesatGramPanchayatlevelwillbefacilitatedattheblocklevel,whichwillincorporatealltheprogrammesforthebenefitofwomen.

Women of India Festival:

TheWomanofIndiaFestivaliscelebratedtocreate and promote entrepreneurship amongstwomen. It promotes women farmers andentrepreneurs in the organic sector. The festivalsupports women entrepreneurs to interact withincreasing number of buyers, thus providingthem an opportunity to become economicallyempowered. Through this festival, the Ministryalsoaimstomakethepeopleawareofthespecialschemesforwomenandchildren.

Conclusion

There has been substantial progress in the fieldofwomenempowerment.

a) Asper2011census, literacyrate in Indiastands

at72.98percentwitha13percentincreaseascomparedto2001. It is heartening to note that theimprovementismaximumforruralwomenat20percent,inthelastdecade.

b) AccordingtotheEconomicSurvey2018-19,Indiashowedwelcomeprogressinthefieldofwomenempowerment. Around 53 per cent womenownedabankaccountin2015-16.

c) According to National Family Health Survey(NFHS-4), the figure for married women whoexercised decision-making in their households,wasreportedat84percent,asagainst76.5percentin2005-06.

d) From11.7percentin2005-06,theproportionofwomen’sparticipation in agriculturehasmovedupto13.9percentin2015-16.

e) The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) acrossIndia has abated from 167 per lakh live birthsbetween2011-13,to130between2014-16.Thisnumberisprojectedtocomedownto70bytheyear2030.

f) Women-centric components in schemesacrossMinistrieshas increased. Fifty-sevenMinistries or Departments have formed Gender BudgetCells to strengthen and implement gender budgeting processes. While the NationalNutritionMissionwas recipient of a big boostofRs.3,400crore,AnganwadiServicesandtheIntegrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS)tooweresimilarlysupported.

The Government is of the firm convictionthat a country can prosper only with greaterparticipation of women and has supported andencouraged women entrepreneurship throughvarious schemes. The Finance Minister Smt.NirmalaSitharamanacknowledgedtheimportanceof women emancipation and described them as‘NariTuNarayaani’.AllstakeholdersincludingCivilSociety Organizations, Government and electedrepresentatives can forge effective collaborationwhich would help girls and women avail all theavailableopportunities,sothattheygrowtotheirfullpotential.

(The author is Assistant professor, Department of Social Work, Amity University.Email:[email protected])


ItwasafterMay,2014whenthenewgovernmenttookoverundertheleadershipofPrimeMinisterNarendraModi,theIndustrybodiesstartedasking

formoreandmoreskilledmanpowerfortheirindustrypartners. In one of such Government-Industrymeets, top industry leaders urged Government toopen more and more skill development centersin rural India to fulfill the growing demands ofindustry. They requested Government to openmoreIndustrialTrainingInstitutes(ITIs),startmoreskill development initiatives in rural India, so theindustriescangetskilledmanpowerattheirnearest.The reasons were very oblivious; such initiativeswill trainyouthwith skill-sets that canbeusedbyindustries. Also, such skilled youth power can beturned into entrepreneurswho can run ancillariesfor industry. But the Government had something unprecedented in mind. First time in India,GovernmentturneditsfocustomakeIndianyouthforce as skilled manpower, who can even turn asentrepreneurs.Mission’saimwasveryclearasthePrimeMinistersaysmanytimes-LetIndianyouthbetheJobcreators,notjustjobseekers.

Indiaisacountrytodaywith65percentofitsyouth in theworking age group. If ever there is awaytoreapthisdemographicadvantage,ithastobethroughskilldevelopmentoftheyouthsothattheyaddnotonlytotheirpersonalgrowth,butalsotothecountry’seconomicgrowth.

skilling indiA through government initiAtivesNimish Kumar

India is a country today with 65 per cent of its youth in the working age group. If ever there is a way to reap this demographic advantage, it has to be through skill development of the youth so that they add not only to their personal growth, but also to the country’s economic growth. For the first time since India’s independence, a Ministry for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has been formed to focus on enhancing employability of the youth through skill development.

How the Skill India Journey Began: ForthefirsttimesinceIndia’sindependence,a

Ministry for Skill Development& Entrepreneurship(MSDE) has been formed to focus on enhancingemployability of the youth through skilldevelopment.TheskillecosysteminIndia,isseeingsomegreatreformsandpolicy interventionswhichis reinvigorating and re-energising the country’sworkforce today, and is preparing the youth forjob and growth opportunities in the internationalmarket. The Prime Minister’s flagship scheme,PradhanMantriKaushalVikasYojana(PMKVY)alone,hastilldateseencloseto50lakhpeoplegetskilledandpreparedforanewsuccessfulIndia.

MSDE also recognises and certifies skillsacquired through informal means through itsRecognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programmeunder PMKVY, bringing about a major shift fromunorganisedsectortoanorganisedeconomy.Sofarmorethan10lakhpeoplehavebeencertifiedandformallyrecognisedundertheprogrammes.

The Ministry has also actively madecomprehensivereformstotheApprenticesAct1961,wheremaximumcontrolhasbeengiventotheprivatesectorsothattheindustrystandardsaremaintainedaspermarket requirement.More regulatory rightshavebeengiventotheindustrywheretheycanevensetthetargetforapprenticesthattheyrequire.Thisis a big opportunity that industry should leverageandbenefit.MSDEalsointroducedaschemecalledNationalApprenticeshipPromotionScheme(NAPS)in August 2016 to promote this most sustainablemodel of skill development and industry connect.Underthisscheme,theGovernmentofIndiaprovidesfinancial benefits for apprenticeship. More than 7lakhapprenticeship trainingshavebeenconductedsofar.

Skill India Mission:The Skill India Mission was launched by the

PrimeMinisteron15July2015.Morethanonecrore


youthjointheSkillIndiamissionannually.SkillIndiaisaninitiativeoftheGovernmentofIndiawhichhasbeenlaunchedtoempowertheyouthofthecountrywith skill setswhichmake themmore employableandmoreproductiveintheirworkenvironment.

Skill India offers courses across 40 sectors inthe country which are aligned to the standardsrecognisedbyboth,theindustryandthegovernmentunder the National Skill Qualification Framework(NSQF).Thecourseshelpapersonfocusonpracticaldeliveryofworkandhelphimenhancehistechnicalexpertisesothathe isreadyfordayoneofhis jobandcompaniesdon’thavetoinvestintotraininghimforhisjobprofile.

Skill Indiaharbours responsibility forensuringimplementation of Common norms across all skilldevelopment programmes in the country so thattheyareallstandardizedandalignedtooneobject.The ITI ecosystem has also been brought underSkill India forgarneringbetter results in vocationaleducationandtraining.

National Skill Development Mission:The National Skill Development Mission was

approvedbytheUnionCabineton01July,2015,andofficiallylaunchedbythePrimeMinisteron15July2015ontheoccasionofWorldYouthSkillsDay.TheMissionhasbeendevelopedtocreateconvergenceacross sectors and States in terms of skill trainingactivities. Further, to achieve the vision of ‘SkilledIndia’,theNationalSkillDevelopmentMissionwouldnotonlyconsolidateandcoordinateskillingefforts,butalsoexpeditedecisionmakingacrosssectorstoachieve skilling at scalewith speed and standards.It will be implemented through a streamlinedinstitutionalmechanism driven byMinistry of SkillDevelopmentandEntrepreneurship(MSDE).

KeyinstitutionalmechanismsforachievingtheobjectivesoftheMissionhavebeendividedintothreetiers,whichwill consist of aGoverningCouncil forpolicyguidanceatapexlevel,aSteeringCommitteeandaMissionDirectorate(alongwithanExecutiveCommittee) as the executive arm of the Mission.MissionDirectoratewillbesupportedbythreeotherinstitutions: National Skill Development Agency(NSDA), National Skill Development Corporation(NSDC),andDirectorateGeneralofTraining(DGT)–allofwhichwillhavehorizontallinkageswithMissionDirectorate to facilitate smooth functioning of thenationalinstitutionalmechanism.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY):

PradhanMantriKaushalVikasYojana(PMKVY),which is the flagship scheme of the Ministry ofSkill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE)is implemented by National Skill DevelopmentCorporation.Theobjectiveof thisSkillCertificationSchemeistoenablealargenumberofIndianyouthto take up industry-relevant skill training that willhelptheminsecuringabetterlivelihood.Individualswithprior learningexperienceor skillswill alsobeassessed and certified under Recognition of PriorLearning(RPL).ThisSchemewasfurtherextendedintheyear2016.TheobjectiveofthisSkillCertificationScheme was to enable a large number of Indianyouth to take up industry-relevant skill trainingthatwill help them in securing abetter livelihood.A component for assessment and certification ofindividuals with prior learning experience or skillswasalsointroducedundertheRecognitionofPriorLearning (RPL) component of the Scheme. So far,morethan6lakhindividualshavebeenRPLcertifiedunderPMKVYScheme.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY):

The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)announced the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya GrameenKaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) Antyodaya Diwas, on25th September 2014. DDU-GKY is a part of theNational Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), taskedwith the dual objectives of adding diversity to theincomesofruralpoorfamiliesandcatertothecareeraspirationsofruralyouth.

DDU-GKY is uniquely focused on rural youthbetween the ages of 15 and 35 years from poorfamilies.AsapartoftheSkillIndiacampaign,itplaysan instrumental role in supporting the social andeconomic programmesofthegovernment liketheMake-In India,Digital India,SmartCitiesandStart-UpIndia,Stand-UpIndiacampaigns.Over180millionor 69 per cent of the country’s youth populationbetweentheagesof18and34years,liveinitsruralareas. Of these, the bottom of the pyramid youthfrompoorfamilieswithnoormarginalemploymentnumberabout55million.

DDU-GKY takespride in itspartners and theirability to add value. Innovation from partners isencouraged to build scale and capacity. Its uniqueimplementation structure involves partners, whoarebynature,committedtochanginglivesandare


expertsintheirareas,theyformapartoftheSkillingEcosystem integrated by DDU-GKY. Partners aresupported through investment, capacity building,strategies for retention, linkages to internationalplacement and technology support for trainingpurposes.

DDU-GKYispresentin28StatesandUTs,across669 districts, impacting youth from over 7,294blocks. It currently has over 1242 projects beingimplemented by over 557 partners, in more than585tradesfrom50 industrysectors.Over7.9Lakhcandidates have been trained and over 3.6 Lakhcandidateshavebeenplacedinjobsason11thJuly,2019.From2012,DDU-GKYhassofarcommittedaninvestmentofmorethanINR5,600Crores,impactingruralyouthpan-India.

Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY):PradhanMantriMUDRAYojana (PMMY) isa

schemelaunchedbythePrimeMinisteronApril8, 2015 for providing loans up to 10 lakh to thenon-corporate,non-farmsmall/microenterprises.TheseloansareclassifiedasMUDRAloansunderPMMY.TheseloansaregivenbyCommercialBanks,RRBs,SmallFinanceBanks,MFIsandNBFCs.Underthe aegis of PMMY, MUDRA has created threeproducts namely ‘Shishu’, ‘Kishore’ and ‘Tarun’to signify the stage of growth/development andfunding needs of the beneficiary micro unit/entrepreneur and also provide a reference pointforthenextphaseofgraduation/growth.

Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-nULM):

Urban poverty being multi-dimensional,variousvulnerabilitiesfacedbythepoorincitiesandtowns:occupational, residentialandsocialneedtobe addressed simultaneously in a comprehensiveand integrated manner with a targeted focus onthe vulnerable groups so that a definitive impactcan be made on ground. Residential vulnerabilityissues are being addressed through programmeslikePradhanMantriAwasYojana(Urban).Theothertwo vulnerabilities: occupational and social can bebest addressed by creating opportunities for skilldevelopmentleadingtomarket-basedemploymentand helping them to set up self-employmentventures.

Urban poverty alleviation programmesneed to be based on skill development and easy accesstocredit. It is inthiscontextthatamission-

mode approach to urban livelihoods is considerednecessary in the formof theDeendayalAntyodayaYojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM).

ThecorebeliefofDeendayalAntyodayaYojana-National Urban LivelihoodsMission (DAY-NULM) isthat the poor are entrepreneurial and have innate desire to comeout of poverty. The challenge is tounleash their capabilities to generate meaningfuland sustainable livelihoods. The first step in thisprocess ismotivating theurbanpoor to formtheirown institutions. They and their institutions needtobeprovided sufficient capacity so that they canmanage the external environment, access finance,expand their skills, enterprises and assets. Thisrequires continuous and carefully designed hand-holdingsupport.Anexternal,dedicatedandsensitivesupportstructure,fromthenationalleveltothecityand community levels, is required to induce socialmobilization, institution building and livelihoodpromotion.

Mission will be implemented in all DistrictHeadquarter Towns and all other cities with apopulationof1,00,000ormoreasper2011census.TheStates/UTsarealsoallowedtoimplementalloranyofthecomponentsoftheMissioninanyotherStatutory Town, based on the local capacity andrequirement. The primary target of DAY-NULM istheurbanpoor, includingtheurbanhomeless.Thefinalization of Socio-economic and Caste Census(SECC), 2011 for identification of urban poor iscurrentlyunderprogress.

TheseherculeantasksshowtheGovernment’scommitmenttomakecountryas‘SkilledIndia’,asthePrimeMinistersaysthatit’stheSkill-setsofIndianswhich have been recognized by the world sincecenturies. The world and the mankind always getbenefitedbytheseSkill-setsofIndia,beitintextiles,architecture or pottery or any other sector linkedclosely to human life. At present India’s dream tobecomeafivetrilliondollareconomicor inworld’stop three, can only be achieved through ‘SkilledIndia’.AsPrimeMinistersays-aprosperousIndialiesinhandsofSkilledyouthforceofourcountry.

(The author is from Delhi School of Economics and a journalist covering Indian economy, finance & policy.Email:[email protected])


ensuring children's heAlth And nutrition Dr. Jyoti Sharma

Constitution of India guarantees fundamental rights to children and empowers states to make special provision for children. The National Policy for Children (2013) recognize that a long term, sustainable, multi-sectoral, integrated and inclusive approach is vital for health growth and development of children. The policy further recognizes that survival, health, nutrition, education, protection and participation is the right of every child of this country.

Indiaishometothelargestchildpopulationintheworld.Childhealthandnutritionalstatusisoneof the important indicatorsofacountry’s

socialandeconomicdevelopment.AspartoftheSustainable Development Goals set out by theUN, Indiahascommittedtoreducedeathrateofunder-five years childrenby25deathsper1,000live births by 2030. India’s own National HealthProfilehassetanaimof23by2025.

ConstitutionofIndiaguaranteesfundamentalrightstochildrenandempowersstatestomakespecial provision for children. The NationalPolicy forChildren (2013)recognizethata longterm, sustainable, multi-sectoral, integratedandinclusiveapproachisvitalforhealthgrowthanddevelopmentofchildren.Thepolicyfurtherrecognizes that survival, health, nutrition,education,protectionandparticipation is rightofeverychildofthiscountry.Toensurehealth,nutritionandprotectionofthechildren,variousprogrammes are implemented by Ministry of

Women and Child Development (MoWCD)and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW).

Child Health Programme under National Health Mission

Reducing child deaths is one of the mostimportantgoalofNationalHealthMission(NHM).Child health programmes implemented under National Health Mission (NHM) comprehensivelyintegrates interventions recognizing thatreproductive,maternalandchildhealthcannotbeaddressedinisolationasthesearecloselylinkedtothehealthstatusofthepopulationinvariousstagesoflifecycle.Thehealthofanadolescentgirlimpactspregnancywhile thehealthofapregnantwomanimpacts thehealthof thenewbornand thechild.As such, interventionsmaybe requiredatvariousstagesoflifecycle,whicharemutuallylinked.

Similarly,householdorcommunityeducationcontributes to preventing health complications,


quality care provided at the community levelhelps avoid the need for hospitalisation, andsound referral systems at primary care levelsupport early identification of risks and bettertreatment for acute and complicated conditions.Essential interventions to improve the health ofwomenandchildrenthereforeneedtotakeplaceatalllevelsinthehealthsystem,thatis,fromthehometothecommunitylevelandthroughallthehealth facilities. Thus, there are two dimensionsto healthcare: (1) stages of the life cycle (Fig 1)(2)andplaceswhere thecare isprovided.Thesetogetherconstitutethe‘ContinuumofCare’(Fig2).ThehealthcareofchildrenunderNHMfocusesonproviding immediate, routine newborn care andcare of sick newborns, child nutrition includingessential micronutrients supplementation,immunizationagainstcommonchildhooddiseasesand management of common neonatal andchildhoodillnesses.

As per annual report ofMOHFW (2017-18)712 Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs) havebeen set up in district hospitals and medical

colleges to provide round the clock services forsick newborns. 1148 nutrition RehabilitationCentres (NRCs) have been set up at facilitylevel to providemedical and nutritional care toSevere Acute Malnourished children. MissionIndradhanush,helpedinincreasingthecoverageofimmunizationservicesacrossthecountry.

National Nutrition Mission (Poshan Abhiyaan)

Nutrition isacknowledgedasoneof themostcosteffectiveentrypointsforhumandevelopment,poverty reduction and economic development.Poshan Abhiyan launched in 2017-18 ismandatedtoreducelevelofundernutrition,stunting,anaemiaand low-birth weight babies in most backwarddistricts of the country.NationalNutritionMissionorPoshanAbhiyanisanapexbodytomonitorandsupervise nutrition related interventions acrossMinistries, set-up with budget outlay of 9046.17crore. The Poshan Abhiyan proposes to introducerobustconvergentmechanismbymappingofvariousschemes relatedwithaddressingmalnutrition. TheinitiativesproposedunderPoshanAbhiyaaninclude

Fig.1- Health care across lifecycle

Fig. 2 –structure of child health care at the public health facilities under national health Mission


real-timemonitoringofprogrammeimplementation,introducing measurement of children’s height atAnganwadicentres,incentivizingStatesformeetingthe targets and involving masses through jan Andolan.

PoshanAbhiyanisproposedtobeimplementedinaphasedmannerandaimstocoveralltheStates anddistrictsby2019-20;315districtsin2017-18,235 districts in 2018-19 and remaining districtsin 2019-20. There are a number of schemesbeing implemented in the country which affectthe nutritional status directly/indirectly. Poshan

Abhiyanaimtofocusoncreatingsynergyandbring effectiveconvergenceamongvariousschemestoachievenutritiongoalsacrosslifecycle(pregnancytilladolescent).

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

Byfar,thebiggestnutritionsupplementationprogramme is Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Launched on 2nd October 1975,the ICDS Scheme represents one of the world’slargest andmost unique programme to improvethenutritionalandhealthstatusofchildrenaged0to6yearsandpregnantandnursingwomen.

The programme provides a package ofservices, comprising supplementary nutrition,immunisation, health check-up, referral servicesto childrenbelowsix yearsofageandexpectantand nursing mothers. Non-formal pre-schooleducationisimpartedtochildrenintheagegroup3-6 years and health and nutrition education towomenintheagegroup15-45years.

Service Provisions

ICDSSchemeoffersapackageofsixservices,viz. health services areprovided in collaborationof NHM usually by ANMs during village healthnutrition and sanitation day.

Implementation Mechanism of Poshan Abhiyan


Table 1 – Package of services provided under ICDS

Beneficiary Services*

Pregnant mothers Healthcheck-up,Immunization,supplementarynutrition,healthandnutritioneducation

nursing mothers Healthcheck-up,Supplementarynutrition,Healthandnutritioneducation

Children less than 3years

GrowthmonitoringSupplementarynutritionHealthcheck-upReferral

Children3-6years SupplementarynutritionGrowthmonitoringHealthcheck-upReferralNon-formalpre-schooleducation

Adolescentgirls SupplementarynutritionHealthandnutritioneducation

NutritioncomponentofICDSaimstoprovidethefollowingservices

• Food supplementation to pre-school childrenbetween the age of six months to six years,pregnant and lactating mothers and selectedadolescentgirls

• Nutrition education to mothers for improvingdietary intake and dietary diversity

• Nutritioneducationregardingappropriateinfantandyoungchildfeeding

• Growth monitoring and detection of growthfaltering

The Supplementary Nutrition programme(SNP) of ICDS Scheme is one of the most pivotalinterventions addressing childmalnutritionandfoodinsecurityamongpregnantand lactatingwomen and children in India.The programme is primarily designed to bridge the gapbetween the RecommendedDietary Allowance (RDA)and the Average Daily Intake (ADI) and ensure adequatenutritionforchildrenaged0-6years, pregnant and lactatingmothers.

AsperSection5(1)ofNationalFoodSecurityAct(NFSA-2013),childrenintheagegroupofsixmonthstosixyearsareentitledtogetappropriatemeal, free of charge,whichwas to be providedthrough the local Anganwadi Centre (AWC) soastomeetthenutritionalstandardsspecifiedinNFSA. Provisions under SNP include dry rationfor children between 6 months – 3 years andpregnantandlactatingmothers.Morningsnacksand hot cookedmeals are provided to children(3-6 years) who attend the Anganwadi centredailyforpreschooleducation.

Toensuretimelyandqualityofsupplementaryfood, decentralization of procurement wasintroduced by eliminating the involvement ofcontractors and encouraging the engagementof local SHGs and mahila mandals to supplylocally acceptable meals. Different recipes areformulated using different permutations andcombinationsforpreparationofmorningsnacks,hot cooked meal for beneficiaries and TakeHome Ration. The DFM helped in increasingacceptability of food, quality assurance andensureduninterruptedavailabilityoffood.Italsosupportedcreatingeconomicandpoliticalcapitalforwomeninvillagesandincreasedtransparencyin procurement and distribution. ICDS Servicesareprovidedthroughcommunity-basedworkersatthe‘Anganwadi’(AWC).

One anganwadi centre caters to 400-800population in a rural/urban project and 300-800populationintribalareas.AminiAWCcaterstotheneedofchildrenincaseofpopulationis150-400. ICDS has emerged from small beginnings in1975tobecomeIndia’sflagshipprogramme.Theprogrammehasexpanded rapidly thenumberof


AWCincreasedfrom4891to6.4Lacsin2004-05.Furthermore, thenumberof functionalAWChasbeendoubledinlastdecadeto13.4Lacsin2015-16. Currently, the ICDS caters to the nutritionalrequirements of over 83 million young childrenand19millionpregnantandlactatingmothers inthecountry.

Budgetary Allocations and Restructuring of ICDS

ICDS is a centrally sponsored schemeimplemented by state governments and union territories. Until FY 2005-06, the Governmentof India (GOI) provided 100 per cent financialassistance for inputs other than supplementarynutrition programme (SNP), which was fundedentirely through state budgets. The fundingpatternwasmodified in FY 2009-10. SNP is nowfunded through a 50:50 ratio except for north-eastern states which have a 90:10 ratio. For allother components, GOI provides 90 per cent ofthebudget.

Many steps have been taken under systemstrengtheningandrestructuringofICDStoimproveservicedelivery-

l Public Private Partnership to improveinfrastructure and service delivery such as‘NandGhar’projectisencouragingandcanleadtobetterdividends.

l Decentralizedfoodprocurementinfewstatesisa

Organizational structure of ICDS at the district level

positivestep,jointaccountinthenameofAWWandWardmember,Standardmenuforthestate,communitybasedmonitoring,displayofstandardmenu at the AWC, Role of Gram Panchayat inMonitoring and Supervision, involvement ofWSHGsforpreparingfood,etc.helpinincreasingtransparencyandaccountability.

lImprovedManagementInformationSystemandmonitoring and supervision using informationcommunication technology will supportquality improvement. Use of ICT and systemstrengthening efforts in selected states hasreported to have helped in improving delivery ofservices.

Mid-Day Meal Scheme School feeding programmesare considered

as long term social protection investmentthat have multiple benefits. They serve threeimportant perspectives: social equity throughreachingthemostvulnerablechildren,educationaladvancement by contributing to learning byincreasing children’s access to education andmaintaining their nutritional status and overall health.Additionally,theyprovideincomesupportto families through the provision of food tochildren.Mid daymeal perhaps facilitate schoolperformanceamongunderprivilegedchildrenandclassinequalities.

Mid-day meal programme was launched in1995 as central sponsored scheme. Under this


programme cooked mid-day meals were to beintroduced in all government and government-aided primary schools within two years. Theprogramme envisaged the provision of cookedmeals/ processed food of calorific value as perprescribednorms forchildrenstudying inclassesIVinallGovernment,localbodyandGovernmentaidedprimaryschoolsfreeofcost.

Programme Implementation

The Central and State Governments work hand in hand to implement the programme. Central Government issues guidelines to befollowed by State Governments while executingthescheme,somestateshavedevelopedseparateguidelinesaswell.

AspertheMid-DayMealSchemeGuidelines(2006) and revised guidelines 2017, whereverpossible, the Government need to mobilisecommunity support and promote public-privatepartnership for the programme. Not-for-profitorganizations, such as Akshaya Patra, SHGs arethereforeencouragedtosetupoperationsandactastheimplementingarmoftheGovernment.

During2016-17,9.78crorechildrenbenefitedfrom hot cooked nutritious food in 11.40 lakhschools.8.17Lakhkitchen-cum-storeshavebeenconstructed to ensure safety of food grains andensure hygienic meals to the children. 25.38Lakh cook-cum-helpers mainly from SC/ST/OBC

communities have beenengagedtoprovideMDMtoschoolchildrenduring2016-17. The coverage againstenrolment remained almost similarin2014-15and2015-16.

Budgetary Allocations

Mid-DayMeal SchemeallocationadoptedabottomupapproachandisbasedonAnnualWorkPlan&Budget(AWP&B), submitted byStates/UT Administrations.State/UTrequiredtoensurethat the plans have beenpreparedattheSchool level

through participatory planning processes as perguidelines(2006).ThebudgetallocationforMDMcoveredfollowingheads,

l Foodgrainattherateof100gramperchildforprimaryschooland150gramperchildforupperprimaryschools

l cookingcost foreligibleschools/ implementingagencies for meeting the cost of pulses,vegetables,oil/fats,salt&condimentsandfuel.

l Tocovertheimpactofpriceriseintheitemsofconsumption in the MDM basket, the [email protected].

ThepresentcookingcostisRs.4.13perchildper day for primary stage and Rs. 6.18 per childperdayforupperprimarystage(2016)

The above described initiatives highlightthe commitment of the Government to addresshunger and malnutrition in India. Although, toachievenutritiongoals,thereisaneedtoaddressthe challenges of bridging the gaps in theirimplementation, bringingparitiesand improvingthecoverageofservices.

(The author is Additional Professor, Indian Institute of Public Health Delhi, Public Health Foundation of India.Email:[email protected])


2800 field Trainers to Strengthen Capacity of Panchayats for Swachh Bharat Mission and Rural Water Supply

unionMinisterofJalShakti,ShriGajendraSinghShekhawat,launchedthecapacitystrengtheninginitiativeoftheDepartmentofDrinkingWaterandSanitation(DDWS),MinistryofJalShakti,

inRanchi,Jharkhandon27thJuly.Thisinitiativewillcreateapoolof2800fieldtrainersinitsinitialtrainings,whowillreachouttoaround2.5lakhGramPanchayatsacrossthecountry

Theinitiativeseekstoensurethesustainabilityofopendefecationfree(ODF)villagescreatedundertheSwachhBharatMissioninthelongtermandenablefieldtrainersandmembersofPanchayatRajInstitutions(PRIs)tocreatecapacitytomanagesolidandliquidwastesaswellasimproveaccesstosafeandadequatedrinkingwatersupply.

Addressing more than 6000Mukhiyas, Jal Sahiyas, Swachhagrahis and others present on theoccasion, JalShaktiMinisterShriGajendraSinghShekhawatemphasized theneed forpeople’sparticipationhighlightingthatitisnowtimetoturnthe“jalkaandolan”into“jankaandolan”toavert the impending water crisis. He appreciated the role of people who have committedthemselvestowardsthecauseoftheSwachhBharatMission.Becauseoftheirefforts,inODFandsanitizedvillages lakhsof liveshavebeensaved,headded.Heurgedthepeopletore-energizetheireffortsforenablingsustainedsafesanitationpracticesandexpandingtheireffortstowardstheprovisionofpipedwatersupplytoeveryhousehold.

TheMinisterofState,MinistryofJalShakti,ShriRattanLalKatariaalsoappreciatedtheroleplayedbythevariousstakeholders inmakingJharkhandStateODFandreiteratedthatthecountry isontrack to achieve an ODF India by 2nd October 2019, on the 150th birth anniversary ofMahatmaGandhi.

Addressing the gathering, Secretary, DDWS, Shri Parameswaran Iyer shared the details of thecapacity building training programme. He shared that by January 2020, four Field Trainers(FTs) from each district will be trained through 5-day Training of Trainers (ToTs) organized bytheDDWS. The FTswould then train Sarpanchs, village secretaries andSwachhagrahis in theirdistrictsthrougha3-dayfieldtrainingsupportedbythestatesandthedistricts,completingtheentireexercisebyMarch2020.

During the event, abooklet and a film onthe Jharkhand StateGovernment’s MenstrualHygiene ManagementCampaign–‘ChuppiTodo-Swasth Raho’ Abhiyanwere released whilegrassroots functionariesshared their experiencesof being a part of theSwachh Bharat Mission(Grameen). This wasfollowed by an awardceremonyrecognizingtheoutstandingcontributionsinthefieldofsanitation.

cAPAcity strengthening initiAtive for 2.5 lAkh PAnchAyAts lAunched

sWAchhtA success story


Documents

Kurukshetra - yojana.gov.inyojana.gov.in/September2019.pdf · 4 Kurukshetra September 2019 Editorial The government is taking various initiatives to accelerate growth in rural India