highlights of budget

see the document
http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2014/jul/gbEngHighlight.pdf

SCHEMES in budget 2014-15

Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana 

“Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana” for feeder separation will be launched to augment power supply to the rural areas and for strengthening sub-transmission and distribution systems. Its long term aim is to provide 24×7 uninterrupted power supply to all homes. A sum of Rs. 500 crores has been set aside for this scheme.

Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission 

Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission will be launched to deliver integrated project based infrastructure in the rural areas. The scheme will also include development of economic activities and skill development. The preferred mode of delivery would be through PPPs while using various scheme funds. It is based on the example of Gujarat that has demonstrated successfully the Rurban development model of urbanization of the rural areas, through which people living in the rural areas can get efficient civic infrastructure and associate services.

Soil Health Card Scheme for Every Farmer 

The deteriorating soil health has been a cause of concern and leads to sub optimal utilization of farming resources.  The Government will initiate a scheme to provide to every farmer a soil health card in a mission mode. A sum of Rs 100 core for this purpose has been kept aside by the government.

An additional Rs 56 crores have been allocated to set up 100 mobile soil testing laboratories across the county. There have also been growing concerns about the imbalance in the utilization of different types of fertilizers resulting in deterioration of the soil.

Swatchh Bharat Abhiyan 

The Government intends to cover every household by total sanitation by the year 2019, the 150th year of the Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi .

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana 

The Government has proposed to initiate the scheme “Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana”. It is proposed to meet the need to provide assured irrigation to mitigate risk to the farmer since bulk of the farm lands are rainfed and depend on monsoon. This scheme would facilitate access to irrigation. A sum of Rs.1,000 crores is being set aside for this scheme.

A Dedicated TV Channel ‘Kisan TV’ to be Launched for Farmers

 Kisan TV, dedicated to the interests of the agriculture and allied sector will be launched in the current financial year. This will disseminate real time information to the farmers regarding new farming techniques, water conservation, organic and farming etc.

Multi Skill Programme – Skill India

The Government has announced the launch of a national Multi-Skill programme called Skill India. This programme would skill the youth with an emphasis on employability and entrepreneur skills. It will also provide training and support for traditional professions like welders, carpenters, cobblers, masons, blacksmiths and weavers etc. Convergence of various schemes to attain this objective is also proposed.

Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) Re-Introduced 

Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) is being re-introduced to encourage people, who may have banked and unbanked savings to invest in this instrument.

Kisan Vikas Patra is a saving scheme that doubles the money invested in eight years and seven months. The Directorate of Small Savings Government of India, sells these saving bonds through all Post Offices in the country so that the scheme can be accessed by citizens from all over the country. A KVP can be encashed after two and a half years from the date of issue at the value it has been bought and the interest accrued for the period.

 Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission ‘Namami Gange’

The Government has proposed to set up an Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission called (Namami Gange). Aan amount of Rs. 2037 crore has been set aside for the Mission in the current Budget. The Mission is being launched because a substantial amount of money has been spent in the conservation and improvement of the river Ganga but the efforts have not yielded desired results because of the lack of concerted effort by all the stakeholders. To harness the enthusiasm of the NRI Community to contribute towards the conservation of the river Ganga, an NRI Fund for Ganga will be set up which will finance special projects.

Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana Launched 

Government has introduced a new scheme called Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, which will help in generating awareness and improving the efficiency of delivery of welfare services meant for women with an initial corpus of Rs 100 crore. The  government would focus on campaigns to sensitize people of this country towards the concerns of the girl child and women. The process of sensitization must begin early and therefore the school curriculum must have a separate chapter on gender mainstreaming.

Digital India Programme 

Centre has proposed to launch a pan India Programme called “Digital India” to further bridge the divide between digital “haves” and “have-nots”. This would ensure Broad band connectivity at village level, improved access to services through IT enabled platforms, greater transparency in Government processes and increased indigenous production of IT hardware and software for exports and improved domestic availability. Special focus would be given on supporting software product startups.

The  Government has also proposed to set-up A National Rural Internet and Technology Mission for services in villages and schools, training in IT skills and E-Kranti for government service delivery and governance scheme with an initial corpus of Rs. 500 crore. A programme for promoting “Good Governance” will also be launched and a sum of Rs.100 crore will be set aside for this.

Housing for All by 2022 

Government has proposed to set up a Mission on Low Cost Affordable Housing to be anchored in the National Housing Bank. A  sum of Rs 4,000 crore has been earmarked for National Housing Bank with a view to increase the flow of cheaper credit for affordable housing to the urban poor/EWS/LIG segment. The Government has already outlined some other incentives such as easier flow of FDI in this sector and is willing to examine other positive suggestions. The government has included slum development in the list of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities to encourage the private sector to contribute more towards this activity.

Emphasis of Budget 2014 in the HRD Sector

The Union Budget 2014 has many aspects which would promote education in the country: Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani The Minister feels that: Ø  The focus of the Budget has been on education and skill development. In particular, the Plan Budget of Higher Education has been considerably increased in 2014-15.  In the School Education and Literacy sector also, the increase has been substantial. Overall, the Budget of the Ministry of HRD (Plan & Non-Plan), of both the Departments of Higher Education and Department of School Education & Literacy taken together, will witness an increase of 12.3 per cent from Rs. 74,621 crores in RE 2013-14 to Rs. 83,771 crores. Ø  The Budget has specially focused on education of girl child which is one of the major priorities of this Government. Ø  The Budget highlights the resolve to provide the residual one lakh girls toilets and drinking water facilities in schools which will benefit 100 lakh girls in the first phase.  This would enable girls to not only enrol in schools but also stay in schools.  When girls get the needed sanitation facilities in schools, they would demand similar facilities at home, leading to a cleaner India. Ø  The Beti Bacho Beti Padhao scheme announced in the budget would not only improve the adverse sex ratio but also ensure that girls are educated. Ø  The Budget has emphasised on gender mainstreaming. The school curriculum will have a separate chapter on gender mainstreaming.  This will sensitise students, teachers and the community at large to be more sensitive to the needs of girl child and women and will promote growth of a more harmonious society.  This will benefit all girls in the country. Ø  Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya’s Teacher Training Programme has been provided Rs.500 crore in the budget. This would enable the Government to better train students who aspire to become teachers in our professional colleges.  This will improve the quality of teachers that we would produce and will ultimately lead to improvement in learning outcomes of the students in our school system.  This will benefit nearly 20,000 teacher trainees studying in Teacher Education Institutions. Ø  The Budget provides for madarsa modernisation.  An additional amount of Rs.100 crore has been provided for this.  The madarsa modernisation would enable 10 lakh Muslim children to get education of national standards which is certified through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). This would enable Muslim students to progress to higher education or vocational education depending on their choice. Ø  The Budget provides for Rs.30 crore for School Assessment Programme. The assessment of the quality of schools through various parameters, such as levels of student learning outcomes, quality of teaching by teachers etc., and public display of such school performance would enable parents to make a more informed choice about schools.   This will ultimately benefit all children, parents and stakeholders. Ø  The Budget has announced support to States to set up 15 braille presses.  This would allow publishing of Braille books that would help our visually challenged students. Ø  The Budget provides for Rs.28635 crore for SSA and Rs.4966 crore for RMSA. This would strengthen the elementary and secondary school infrastructure in the country and will improve access and quality of education across the school sector and will benefit nearly 23 crore children in schools.   Ø  The announcement of 5 IITs, 5 IIMs and the National Centre for Himalayan Studies in Uttarakhand in the Budget speech is a welcome step. The new IITs would come up in Jammu, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Goa and Andhra Pradesh. The new IIMs would be established in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra and Odisha. A provision of Rs. 500 crores has been made for the new IITs and IIMs in the Budget. Ø  Setting up virtual classrooms and Massive Open Online Courses are planned for which a provision of Rs.100 crore has made in the Budget.   A national e-library will also be created which will be a repository for all educational resources. Ø  The Budget proposes the setting up of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash National Centre for Excellence in Humanities to be set up in Madhya Pradesh– a first of its kind initiative

cpf result declared

congrat   to all those who qualified !! see the result

http://www.upsc.gov.in/exams/final-results/cpf/2013/cpf2013_eng.pdf

Import of Shale Gas

The Minister of State (I/C) in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply today that the Indian oil and gas companies are continuously looking for opportunities abroad for tying up equity oil and gas, including shale gas acreages, and/or importing hydrocarbons, including LNG.

GAIL has taken 20% participating interest in a shale gas asset in the Eagle Ford basin in United States of America (USA). Currently, the gas production from these acreages is being sold in local market. GAIL has contracted 5.8 MMTPA of LNG from the USA and deliveries will commence from the last quarter of 2017.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) has acquired 10% interest in integrated (upstream and LNG) Pacific North West LNG project in British Columbia, Canada. The project will produce natural gas from its shale gas acreages. IOCL’s share of 1.20 MMTPA of LNG is slated for supply from 2019 onwards.

The Government has, on 14.10.2013, notified the policy guidelines for exploration and exploitation of shale gas and oil by National Oil Companies (NOCs) in their onland PEL (Petroleum Exploration Lease)/PML (Petroleum Mining Lease) blocks awarded under the nomination regimes.

As per the policy, the NOCs will undertake a mandatory minimum work programme in a fixed time frame for shale gas and oil exploration and exploitation, so that there is optimum accretion and development of shale gas and oil resources.

Under the first phase of assessment of shale gas and oil, exploration and exploitation, at present, 56 PEL/PML blocks (ONGC 50, and OIL – 6) have been identified by NOCs. These blocks are located in the states of Assam (7 Blocks), Arunachal Pradesh (1 Block), Gujarat (28 Blocks), Rajasthan (1 Block), Andhra Pradesh (10 Blocks) and Tamil Nadu (9 Blocks).

ONGC has drilled one well where coring has been completed. In addition, ONGC has collected cores from another 7 wells.

Indian Diaspora Abroad ,for ias mains

Government have taken several initiatives for engaging the Indian Diaspora around the world. The major initiative is the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, which is one of the largest diaspora engagements in the world. The Ministry of OIA does not organise programmes based on region, caste or creed. Besides Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, this Ministry organizes various other engagement programmes namely Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, Know India Programme, Study India Programme, Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children, Tracing the Roots and  issues Overseas Citizen of India(OCI) cards for eligible applicants from the Indian diaspora abroad irrespective of their region, caste or creed. In addition Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Awards are also given to distinguished NRIs/PIOs for excellence in various fields.  New programmes for the Indian Diaspora abroad are formulated by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs from time to time taking into account the various needs for engaging the Indian Diaspora. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs organises the following programmes and schemes for the Indian Diaspora abroad. 1.       Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (RPBD)             This Ministry organizes Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (RPBD) to allow participation of the Indian diaspora who are unable to attend annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in India.  So far, 7 Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas have been held at New York, Singapore, The Hague, Durban, Toronto, Mauritius and Sydney.  These have elicited enthusiastic support from the Indian diaspora and the local Government and have been highly successful.             7th Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (RPBD) Convention was organized by MOIA in Sydney, from 10th - 12thNovember, 2013 to have interaction & discussion with Indian Diaspora to ensure their connectivity with their ancestral motherland as well to know their expectations & concerns. Secondly, the guiding spirit of the decision to hold the 7thRPBD in Australia was on account of the sentiments of the Indian diaspora in the region.  Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea represent an important region for our diaspora, and the Indian community has been taken note of by the leadership of all political parties, there.  The theme of the PBD Convention in Sydney was “Connecting for a Shared Future: The Indian Diaspora, India and the Pacific”.  This was appropriate, as the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas seeks to reach out to both members of the Indian origin community as well as all those persons who are interested in plugging into India’s growing relationship with Australia and its neighbouring countries.              The programme for the event included an inaugural session on Sharing Experiences and breakout sessions on different topics including Bilateral Business Opportunities in Services, Resources, Primary Commodities, Engagement through Culture, Indian Languages, Skills, Infrastructure (Airports, Ports, Road and Construction), Manufacturing, Education, Culture and Youth Dialogue. There were breakout sessions also on Sharing Experiences, The Indian Diaspora in the Pacific, Honouring the Success Stories, Scientists and Academics, Women in Business and Community, Power of Media in the Asian Century and India Australia Strategic Partnership.             Eighth Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is scheduled to be held in London from 16th to 18th October, 2014. 2.         Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards (PBSA) The Award shall be conferred on a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), Person of Indian Origin (PIO) or an organization or institution established and run by Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin, who has made significant contribution in any one of the following fields: (a)  Better understanding abroad of India; (b) Support to India’s causes and concerns in a tangible way; (c)  Building closer links between India,the overseas Indian community and their country of residence; (d) Social and humanitarian causes in India or abroad; (e) Welfare of the local Indian community; (f)  Philanthropic and charitable work; (g) Eminence in one’s field or outstanding work, which has enhanced India’s prestige in the country of residence; or (h) Eminence in skills which has enhanced India’s prestige in that country (for non-professional workers). It is conferred by the President of India as a part of the Pravasi BharatiyaDivas (PBD) Convention. PBSA is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians. So far, 164 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards have been conferred on PIOs and NRIs.     During PBD 2014, 13 prominent Overseas Indians were given PBSAs for their notable contributions in different fields. 3.         Know India Programme (KIP)     The objective of the Ministry`s Know India Programme is to help familiarize Indian Diaspora youth, in the age group of 18-26 years, with developments and achievements made by the country and bringing them closer to the land of their ancestors. KIP provides a unique forum for students and young professionals of Indian origin to visit India, share their views, expectations and experiences and to bond closely with contemporary India. The Ministry has conducted 28 editions of KIPs so far and a total of 866 overseas Indian youth participated in these programmes. The participants are selected based on nominations received from Indian Missions/Posts abroad. They are provided hospitality and are reimbursed 90% of their economy class return airfare from their respective countries to India. The programme content broadly includes the following: (a)  Presentations on India, the Constitution, the political process, etc. (b)  Interaction with faculty and students at a prestigious University / College / Institute (c)  Presentation on industrial development and visit to some Industries (d)  Visit to a village to better understand the typical village life in India (e)  Exposure to Indian media and cinema (f)   Interaction with NGOs and organizations dealing with women`s issues (g)  Visits to places of historical importance or monuments (h)  Participation in Cultural programmes (i)    Exposure to Yoga (j)    Call on high dignitaries, which may include the President of India, the Chief Election Commissioner of India, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and Ministers in-charge of Overseas Indian Affairs, Youth Affairs and Sports, etc. 4.         Study India Programme (SIP) The first `Study India Programme` (SIP) was organized from 25 September to 23 October, 2012 in Symbiosis University, Pune, Maharashtra with participation of 9 youths of Indian origin from four countries like Trinidad & Tobago, Malaysia, Fiji and South Africa. Like KIP, SIP has immense potential of connecting youth Indian Diaspora with India through the channel of educational institutions. The SIP enables Overseas Indian youth to undergo short term course in an Indian University to familiarize them with the history, heritage, art, culture, socio-political, economic developments etc. of India. The focus of the programme is on academic orientation and research. Cost of boarding, lodging, local transportation, course fee during the programme and 90% of the cost of air-ticket by economy class is borne by Govt. of India. Gratis Visas by Indian Missions are granted to the participants. The 2ndSIP was conducted from 01.11.2013 to 28.11.2013 at the Symbiosis University, Pune, Maharashtra with the participation of 14 youths of Indian origin. 5.         Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children (SPDC) A scheme called `Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children (SPDC)` was launched in the academic year 2006-07. Under the scheme 100 scholarships upto US$ 4000 per annum are granted to PIO and NRI students for undergraduate courses in Engineering/Technology, Humanities/Liberal Arts, Commerce, Management, Journalism, Hotel Management, Agriculture/Animal Husbandry etc. The scheme is being implemented by Educational Consultants India Limited (Ed. CIL), a Government of India Enterprise under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The scheme is open to NRIs / PIOs/OCIs from 40 countries with substantial Indian Diaspora population. SPDC scheme has been modified and it has been decided to do away with the "Common Entrance Test (CET)" for selecting PIO/OCI and NRI students for the award of scholarships. The applications from students who meet the prescribed eligibility criteria are evaluated and short listed by a selection committee consisting of officers from the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ed.CIL (India)Ltd. and MOIA and recommended for selection to the competent authority. 6.         Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card Scheme Keeping in view Government`s deep commitment of engaging Persons of Indian Origin with the land of their ancestors in a mutually beneficial relationship, the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Scheme was launched in August, 2005 by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955. The OCI Scheme is operated by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Scheme provides for registration as Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) of all Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who were citizens of India on or after 26 January, 1950 or were eligible to become citizens of India on 26 January, 1950 and who are citizens of other countries, except Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Scheme provides for the issue of OCI documents consisting of OCI registration certificate and universal visa sticker to PIOs. The Scheme has been operational since January 2006 and as on 31 March, 2014, a total number of 15,25,890 PIOs had been registered as OCIs. A registered Overseas Citizen of India is granted multiple entry, multi-purpose, life-long visa for visiting India, and is exempted from registration with Foreigners Regional Registration Office for any length of stay in India. As mandated under the Allocation of Business, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has issued notifications granting registered OCIs further benefits as under: (i)    Parity with Non-Resident Indians in the matter of inter-country adoption of Indian children; (ii)  Parity with resident Indian nationals in matters of tariffs in domestic airfares; (iii) Parity with domestic Indian visitors in respect of entry fee for visiting national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India; (iv) Parity with non-resident Indians in respect of: (a)  entry fee for visiting the national monuments, historical sites and museums in India; (b)  practicing the following professions in India, in pursuance of the provisions contained in the relevant Acts, namely: ·         Medicine, dentists, nursing and pharmacy; ·         Law; ·         Architecture; and ·         Chartered Accountancy; and (v)   Entitlement to appear for the All India Pre-Medical Test or such other tests to make them eligible for admission in pursuance of the provisions contained in the relevant Acts. However, the OCI is not `dual nationality`. OCI does not confer political rights. Detailed instructions and procedures concerning the OCI Scheme are available in the MHA`s website: www.mha.nic.in. An on-line OCI miscellaneous service is now available for issuance of duplicate OCI documents, in case of issuance of new passports, change of personal particulars, such as nationality, name, change of address/occupation etc. and loss/damage of OCI registration certificate/visa. 7.         Tracing the Roots The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is running a scheme since October 2008 known as "Tracing the Roots" to facilitate PIOs in tracing their roots in India. PIOs who intend to trace their roots in India need to apply in a prescribed Form, through the Indian Mission/Post in the country of their residence. Application Form for this purpose is available on the website. Persons of Indian origin desirous of tracing their roots in India would be required to fill up the prescribed application form and deposit it with the concerned Indian Mission/Post located in the country of their residence along with a fee of Rs.30,000 (Rupees Thirty Thousand only) in equivalent US $, Euro or any other foreign currency acceptable to the Indian Mission/Post. The traced details of roots in India, i.e. name of close surviving relative(s); place of origin of their forefathers (paternal and maternal side); and a possible family tree, are made available to the applicant.

16 National Investment and Manufacturing Zones(NIMZS) to Boost Manufacturing Sector

In order to boost manufacturing sector, the government has already announced setting up of sixteen national investment and manufacturing zones (NIMZs). The National Manufacturing Policy (NMP) has the objective of enhancing the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent and creating 100 million jobs over a decade. The NMP provides for promotion of clusters and aggregation, especially through the creation of national investment and manufacturing zones (NIMZ). Till 2013-14, 16 NIMZs are being set up. Of these, eight are along the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). Besides, eight other NIMZs have been given in-principle approval: (i) Nagpur in Maharashtra, (ii) Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, (iii) Medak in Andhra Pradesh (now Telengana), (iv) Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh (v) Tumkur in Karnataka, (vi) Kolar in Karnataka, (vii) Bidar in Karnataka, and (viii) Gulbarga in Karnataka.

The DMIC project was launched in pursuance of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the Government of India and the Government of Japan in December, 2006. The project, spans the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) of the Railways. The DMIC Development Corporation (DMICDC), incorporated in 2008, is the implementing agency for the project. The Master plans for all the nodes except the Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad Investment Region in Uttar Pradesh have been completed and approved by the state governments. Land acquisition for the new industrial regions/ areas as well as for the early bird projects identified for development as model initiatives is in different stages of progress in different states. The DMIC Trust has taken investment decisions on nine projects and action to implement them has already been initiated by the DMICDC.

The Chennai-Bengaluru-Chitradurga industrial corridor (around 560 km) will benefit the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Study Team undertook the Preliminary Study for Comprehensive Integrated Master Plan for Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) and identified a total of 25 priority projects across various sectors aimed at removing infrastructural bottlenecks. Progress on these projects is being regularly monitored.

India and the United Kingdom have signed an MOU for the development of a new Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic corridor (BMEC). A feasibility study has been undertaken and is scheduled to be completed during 2014. A joint steering group will be set up for the project after the feasibility study.

A concept note has been prepared by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on an East Coast Economic Corridor linking Kolkata-Chennai-Tuticorin and it has been decided to initiate a feasibility study with the help of the ADB. In view of the commitment made by the central government under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, in the first phase of the study the ADB will focus on the Vizag-Chennai Section so that a final view on the Chennai-Vizag Industrial Corridor may be taken within the timeline prescribed in the Act and further action taken accordingly.

The government has, in January 2014, accorded ‘in principle’ approval for setting up of an Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) along a 150-200 km band on either side of the Easter Dedicated Freight Corridor(EDFC) in a phased manner. The proposed Corridor comprises seven states: Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The government has also approved ‘in principle’ formation of an Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (AKICDC). It is proposed to set up the AKICDC during 2014-15 to kickstart work on the AKIC.