1. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kaam Karyakram (PMKKK) renamed as Promotion of Prime Minister's Heritage (PM Vikas) Scheme
Tags: Government Schemes National News
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The Minister of Minority Affairs, Smriti Zubin Irani in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 15 December informed that the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Ko Kaam Karyakram (PMKKK) has now been named as Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) Scheme.
Important facts
This integrated scheme amalgamates the five earlier schemes of the Ministry – Seekho aur Kamao, Ustad, Hamari Dharohar, Nai Roshni and Nai Manzil.
The scheme has been approved by the cabinet for the period of 15th Finance Commission.
PM VIKAS aims to improve the livelihood of minorities, especially artisan communities, by using components of skill development, education, women leadership and entrepreneurship.
These components complement each other in the ultimate objective of the scheme to enhance the income of the beneficiaries and provide assistance by facilitating credit and market linkages.
2. UN ranks 'Namami Gange' project among world's top 10 initiatives
Tags: Government Schemes Awards National News
India's 'Namami Gange'- river Ganga rejuvenation project- has been recognised as one among world's 10 most "ground-breaking" initiatives for restoration of natural ecosystems, according to a report released during the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15).
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has won the "Public Water Agency of the Year" award at the Global Water Awards, 2019 by Global Water Intelligence.
Important facts
The award was received by G Ashok Kumar, Director General, Namami Gange, at the 15th Conference of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Montreal, Canada on 14 December 2022.
Namami Gange was selected from over 150 such initiatives from 70 countries across the globe.
They were selected under the banner of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global movement coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Recognized initiatives, including Namami Gange, will now be eligible to receive UN support, funding or technical expertise.
Other initiatives included in the World Restoration Flagship
Trinational Atlantic Forest Pact, which aims to protect and restore the forest in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.
Abu Dhabi Marine Restoration project that targets safeguarding the world’s second-largest dugong population in Abu Dhabi.
Great Green Wall for restoration to restore savannahs, grasslands and farms across Africa.
Multi-Country Mountain Initiative based in Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Uganda and Rwanda.
The Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative in Kazakhstan to restore the steppe, semi-desert and desert ecosystems.
The Central American Dry Corridor
Shan-Shui Initiative in China
About Namami Gange
It was approved as a 'Flagship Programme' by the Central Government in June 2014.
It was launched to serve the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution and conservation and rejuvenation of the national river Ganga.
It is being operated under the Ministry of Water Resources, Department of River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The program is being implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and its State Program Management Groups (SPMGs).
3. Government extended the PM SVANidhi Scheme
Tags: Government Schemes
The Government of India has extended the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme beyond March, 2022.
Important facts
The extension of the lending period will be till December 2024.
Introduction of 3rd loan of upto ₹50,000 in addition to 1st & 2nd loans of ₹10,000 and ₹20,000 respectively.
To extend ‘SVANidhi Se Samriddhi’ component for all beneficiaries of PM SVANidhi scheme across the country.
About PM Svanidhi Yojana
PM Svanidhi Yojana was launched on June 1, 2020.
This scheme was started with the aim of providing financial support to small shopkeepers and hawkers.
Under the PM Svanidhi Yojana, people who sell goods on the street tracks or do other small jobs can take a loan of up to ₹ 10,000 from the bank.
After repaying the loan taken in the first instance, the beneficiary can get a loan of up to ₹ 20,000 in the second time and up to ₹ 50,000 in the third time.
The tenure of the Svanidhi scheme was earlier till March 2022, but the government has extended the deadline of the Svanidhi scheme till December 2024.
So far 53.7 lakh applications have been received under this scheme, out of which 36.6 lakh applications have been approved and 33.2 lakh loans have been disbursed.
An amount of Rs 3,592 crore has been disbursed under the scheme so far.
4. More than 3 crore 60 lakh pregnant women receive comprehensive antenatal care under PMSMA
Tags: Government Schemes National News
The Government has said that more than three crore sixty lakh pregnant women have received comprehensive antenatal care under the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) programme across all States and Union Territories.
Important facts
Dr. Bharti Praveen Pawar, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, said this in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 9 December.
The program was launched with the objective of providing free, assured, comprehensive and quality antenatal care to all pregnant women universally on the 9th of every month.
The percentage of institutional deliveries in public facilities has increased from 52 per cent in 2015-16 to around 62 per cent in 2019-21.
Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan
This is a programme under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
It aims to provide free antenatal services (ANC) and essential treatment to pregnant women on 9th of every month.
The scheme is applicable only for the pregnant women in their pregnancy period of 3 to 6 months.
Objectives of the scheme
Provide healthy life to pregnant women.
Lowering the maternal mortality rate.
Making pregnant women aware of their health issues and diseases.
Making sure safe delivery and healthy life of the baby.
5. 10th meeting of Empowered Task Force of Clean Ganga Mission
Tags: Government Schemes National News
The Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat chaired the 10th meeting of the Empowered Task Force (ETF) of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) on 8th December 2022.
Important facts
The Minister reviewed the progress of various components under the Namami Gange Programme.
The Union Minister directed the States and Central Ministries/Departments to expedite the work being done for the overall rejuvenation of river Ganga.
The minister urged the states and central ministries to achieve the targets in a time-bound manner.
Ashok Kumar, Director General, NMCG, briefed the task force about the activities undertaken by Arth Ganga over the past months.
Kumar added that the Ghat Mein Haat initiative was launched under Arth Ganga in the Ganga Basin among other activities.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare informed of the steps taken to build organic farming and natural farming corridors along River Ganga.
National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG)
It was registered on 12 August 12, 2011 as a society under the Societies Registration Act 1860.
It serves as the implementing arm of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act (EPA), 1986.
It was established to address pollution challenges in the Ganga river.
The operational area of the project covers the Ganga basin and all the states through which the river flows, including Delhi.
The objective is to reduce pollution and ensure rejuvenation of the Ganga river.
6. Government of India invest Rs 5000 crore in the SWAMIH fund to complete housing projects
Tags: Economy/Finance Government Schemes
The government of India has invested an additional Rs 5,000 crore into the SWAMIH Invest Fund-I to help the stressed realty investment platform achieve its final close at Rs 15,530 crore.
Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income (SWAMIH)
In November 2019, the Union Finance Ministry announced creation of a Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) to provide debt financing for the completion of stressed, brownfield and residential projects registered with regulatory bodies that fall in the affordable, mid-income housing category.
The corpus of the Fund is Rs 12,500 crore with a green shoe option of Rs 12,500 crore. Green Shoe options means that if required an additional Rs 12,500 crore fund will be raised for the SWAMIH scheme.
The Sponsor of the Fund is the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Government of India on behalf of the Government of India.
The Investment Manager of the Fund is SBICAP Ventures Ltd which is owned by State Bank of India.
The major investors in the fund are Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), HDFC, and other major Public Sector Banks.
So far, the fund has given final approvals to 127 projects which will in turn complete over 79,000 homes
Stressed project means that the company which started the residential project is unable to complete the project due to financial problems.
Brown field projects means that no new houses will be built but the existing housing project which is either finished or under construction will be finished.
7. Govt extends rooftop solar scheme till March 2026
Tags: Government Schemes National News
The government on 8 December said the rooftop solar programme has been extended till March 31, 2026, and therefore, subsidy under the programme will be available until the target for the scheme is achieved.
Important facts
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has advised that all residential consumers should not pay extra amount to any company for applying on the National Portal, nor should they pay more than the amount fixed by the concerned distribution company for metre and testing.
The ministry said that any vendor, agency or individual demanding additional charges should be informed about the same through email.
Consumers wishing to install solar panels on the roof of their houses can apply through the National Portal.
Under this program, the central government gives a subsidy of Rs 14,588 per kilowatt to a person who installs solar panels on the roof of his house.
About Rooftop Solar Scheme
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing the Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Scheme (Phase II) to generate solar power by installing solar panels on the roof of houses.
Phase II aims to achieve a cumulative capacity of 40,000 MW from Rooftop Solar Projects by the year 2022.
The objective of the programme is to promote the grid-connected SPV rooftop and small SPV power generating plants among the residential, community, institutional, industrial and commercial establishments.
To ease the implementation of the scheme, a National Portal was developed, which was launched by PM Modi on 30 July 2022.
The central government has set a target of 450 GW of renewable energy generation by 2030.
Under this, many schemes are also going on, in which a target has been set to provide more than 17 lakh solar pumps to farmers in the country through Pradhan Mantri-Kusum Yojana.
8. Horticulture Cluster Development Programme
Tags: Government Schemes National News
The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has prepared a Horticulture Cluster Development Program (CDP), for which a meeting was held on November 30 under the chairmanship of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
Important facts
The implementation of the CDP will focus on the overall development of horticulture in the country.
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with garden crops, generally fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants.
About Horticulture Cluster Development Programme
The Nodal Agency of CDP is the National Horticulture Board (NHB).
Aim of CDP is to improve exports of targeted crops by about 20% and create cluster-specific brands to enhance the competitiveness of cluster crops.
Its objective is to promote the Agriculture sector in the country and to increase the income of the farmers by giving them a reasonable price for their produce.
It will support integrated interventions to enhance the competitiveness of targeted clusters.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has identified 55 horticulture clusters.
9. Adani Group bags Dharavi Redevelopment Project as highest bidder
Tags: Economy/Finance Government Schemes State News
Gautam Adani-led Adani Properties on 29 November bagged the Dharavi redevelopment project, Asia's second largest slum colony, as the highest bidder.
Important facts
Adani Properties, the highest bidder offered Rs 5,069 crore as its investment in the project.
The Adani group quoted Rs 5,069 crore for this project, followed by Rs 2,025 crore quoted by the DLF group.
Dubai-based infrastructure firm Seclink Technologies Corporation turned out to be a successful bidder in January 2019 against Adani.
Dharavi redevelopment will involve a massive investment of money upfront, amid tricky complications of land acquisition and rehabilitation.
What is the Dharavi redevelopment project?
Dharavi is only a short drive from India's richest business district, the Bandra-Kurla Complex, which has the largest concentration of commercial offices in the country.
The slum, spread over 2.8 sq km, is home to an informal leather and pottery industry that employs over a lakh people.
The state government had envisaged to convert this slum area into a cluster of skyscrapers with better urban infrastructure.
It entailed resettling 68,000 people, including slum dwellers and those with commercial establishments.
In 1999, the BJP-Sena government first proposed to redevelop Dharavi.
Thereafter, the Maharashtra government in 2003-04 decided to redevelop Dharavi as an integrated planned township, and an action plan for this was approved.
10. Power Ministry launches schemes to procure 4,500 MW electricity supply for five years
Tags: Economy/Finance Government Schemes
The Ministry of Power on 28 November launched a scheme for power procurement totaling 4500 megawatts (MW) under the SHAKTI Policy.
Important facts
PFC (Power Finance Corporation) Consulting, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PFC, has been designated as the nodal agency by the ministry of power.
Under the scheme, PFC Consulting has invited bids for the supply of 4,500 MW. Supply of electricity will commence from April 2023.
The ministry of coal has been requested to allocate around 27 MTPA for this.
Gujarat Energy Development Corporation, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company, Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company, New Delhi Municipal Corporation and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation have shown interest for the scheme.
The scheme is expected to help those states which are facing power shortage and will also help in increasing the capacity of power generation plants.
About SHAKTI scheme
The SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India) policy was approved in May 2017 with the intent of better allocation of coal to present and future power plants.
Its objective was to introduce a more transparent and competitive coal allocation policy.
The policy was amended in March 2019 to provide assistance to stressed projects based on the recommendations of the High-Level Empowered Committee.
