UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION PRESS NOTE ON AMENDMENT OF SCHEME OF CIVIL SERVICES (PRELIMINARY) EXAMINATION, 2014

http://www.upsc.gov.in/exams/misc/2014/CSP_2014/Press_note_Eng_CSP_2014_21Aug.pdf

Do your best,rest leave for god

Making financial inclusion work

The branding of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new financial inclusion vision—Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (JDY)—is direct and simple and should resonate positively with the masses. Another highly encouraging aspect, although it did not form an explicit part of his Independence Day address, is the intent to follow through with delivering a well-rounded set of essential financial tools to excluded low-income households. Over the first 12 months, the focus will be on issuing bank accounts and an accidental death insurance cover to 75 million unbanked households. A year later, these individuals could be provided an emergency credit facility through an overdraft on their bank accounts, a retirement savings plan (presumably using the NPS) and a life insurance cover. As ecosystem partners including banks, telcos, BCs, payment solution providers, distributors, regulators, UIDAI and government departments come together at the starting line, it may be pertinent to pause briefly and reflect on some questions. What have we learnt from past successes and failures in financial inclusion design and/or implementation? How can we avoid repeating past mistakes? And how can we minimise new mistakes during this new policy push?

Although a clear vision flowing from the top is invaluable, there are some inherent problems with setting and chasing numerical targets as the lines between policy intent and meaningful outcomes often tend to blur. Seventy-five million bank accounts could easily dissolve into mere statistics if stakeholders focus entirely on a particular number but lose sight of the underlying policy intention. After all, opening bank accounts for the poor is presumably not the end goal. Nor is it a new idea. Previous efforts at financial inclusion were similarly focussed on issuing no-frill bank accounts. But the majority of such accounts ended up with zero balances and zero transactions simply because households did not have any tangible reason to use banking services. As a result, previous financial inclusion efforts did not really benefit target beneficiaries. Neither did they benefit banks nor the thousands of BC outlets whose core business model depended heavily on revenues from banking transactions.

Real success of supply-side solutions, however well-intended or designed, will inevitably depend on demand-side understanding, adoption and utilisation. Therefore, before we run out and start opening 75 million bank accounts, it may be useful to understand the change that we are aiming to bring about at the level of one household. If everything that we intend today can work for that one household, we can be more confident that it can work for 75 million.

A good starting point may be to reflect on what happens when we ourselves buy a saving, pension or insurance product. First, we need someone to clearly explain the product and the underlying concepts, processes, features, benefits and risks. Once we are sure about the product and the amount that we are committing to periodically save, we need a simple and easy way to complete our enrollment formalities —filling up application forms and providing valid KYC documents. Thereafter, we need a secure and convenient mechanism to put money into our financial instrument—preferably through an ECS on our bank account along with a reminder ahead of the ECS due date. We need an equally simple, convenient and secure method to get back our savings and receive benefits when due. And finally, we need easy access to periodic statements and information regarding our savings, and an equally sound mechanism to file a complaint and get prompt redressal.

This is precisely what each of the 75 million JDY target beneficiaries will require. With perhaps three differences: (1) the number of zeros in the amounts that they will probably save, (2) the marked absence of enthusiastic agents eagerly knocking on their doors to sell them a financial solution, and (3) the high probability of frequent interruptions in committed savings flow due to health shocks, ongoing conflicts between current and future consumption, and/or spells of unemployment.

The JDY must see itself as a mission to deliver mainstream financial and risk management solutions, albeit in sachets instead of full bottles, to low income excluded households. The quality of the content of each sachet should be identical to the contents of the bottle. And the pricing should be proportional.

To start with, someone will need to meet the household to explain the importance of old age savings, emergency credit, life and health insurance, saving for known future expenses, etc. And also why, if the person wants these benefits, she will require a bank account. That way, banking will not be the end of the road. Simply the beginning of a genuinely useful journey towards financial empowerment and independence. In this way, a person would clearly see and therefore use her bank account not only for banking services, but more importantly as a channel to save for her old age or for her children’s education.

In all this, a target beneficiary should not interact with an army of institutions, each armed with its own unique supply-side piece of the financial inclusion ecosystem. Instead, her interface should be a simple and convenient single window through which she would get everything—product information, a bank account, multiple financial services, account statements, periodic information and reminders, and effective complaints resolution. There is a critical role, therefore, for front-end integration of the financial inclusion ecosystem from an individual’s perspective. And an equally critical role for someone to interface with the ecosystem providers at the back-end, periodically gather both supply- and demand-side data, and monitor implementation, adoption and utilisation from a policy goals perspective.

The UIDAI can play a pivotal role in this process as the glue that binds both demand and supply. Presumably, individual applications for a bank account, insurance, pension, savings or credit products would be linked to a person’s e-KYC at the front-end using her Aadhaar number. Thereafter, she could use her own prepaid card or mobile wallet to deposit cash into her bank account from any convenient BC location as per her unique cashflow—regardless of where she works or lives over time. At the back-end, her bank would periodically sweep her committed contributions from her account using a standing instruction mandate, and transmit her savings to each product provider selected by her.

 

When she needs her savings back or when her pension or insurance benefits are due, she would not need to go through a cumbersome process or wait endlessly. Her money would be swiftly and directly delivered into her own UID-linked bank account. She would simply use her debit card at an ATM to withdraw her money. She should have a toll-free helpline number to call if she has an insurance claim or a complaint or wants to know the balance in her pension account.

Award for devolution of power to Panchayats

 Arunachal Pradesh has been chosen for national award for devolution of powers to the three-tier panchayati raj system under the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashastikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) for the years 2013 and 2014.



The Union Ministry of Panchayat Raj, RGPSA division announced the award amounting to Rs One crore each for five states, namely Maharashtra (first), Kerala (second), Karnataka (third), Andhra Pradesh (fourth) and Arunachal (fifth), an official release said here today.



The process was initiated by Chief Minister Nabam Tuki in February 2013 by delegating functions of 25 of the 29 departments to the panchayats.



“This is in tune with the party’s commitment to the masses to fulfill former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s dream to hand over power to the people to for self-governance and speedy development,” APCC President Padi Richo said, adding this is the beginning and many more promises made would be fulfilled accordingly.



Arunchal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Coordination Committee Secretary General Sangha Tagik lauded the CM for his initiative.

5 Indian firms among Forbes most innovative companies

Five Indian companies, including Hindustan Unilever and Tata Consultancy Services, are among Forbes’ list of the world’s 100 most innovative companies that investors think are most likely to “generate big, new growth ideas“.
The annual ‘World’s Most Innovative Companies’ list, released on Wednesday, has been topped by California-based global cloud computing company Salesforce for the fourth year in a row.

The five Indian companies on the list are consumer goods company Hindustan Unilever, which is ranked 14th, followed by IT major Tata Consultancy Services (57), construction services firm Larsen & Toubro (58), pharma major Sun Pharma Industries (65) and Bajaj Auto (96).
Hindustan Unilever recorded an innovation premium of 54.7 per cent. Forbes said the innovation premium is a measure of how much investors have bid up the stock price of a company above the value of its existing business based on expectations of future innovative results like new products, services and markets.

The innovation premium of TCS was 39.58 per cent and the Mumbai-based company had a market cap of USD 71.25 billion as of May 2014
Larsen and Toubro had an innovation premium of 39.4 per cent and had a market cap of USD 19.81 billion.
Sun Pharma had an innovation premium of 38.34 per cent and a market cap of USD 19.88 billion.
Bajaj Auto recorded an innovation premium of 31.73 per cent and a market cap of USD 10 billion.
Salesforce, with a market cap of USD 35.87 billion, had an innovation premium of 75.9 per cent and continued its reign as Forbes’ most innovative company for the fourth straight year.
“A key to Salesforce’s success has been its ability to move into bigger companies, selling to enterprise-class large customers who require more modifications and attention than a small or medium business,” Forbes said.
The other companies making up the top five on the list are Connecticut-based biotech firm Alexion Pharmaceuticals (2), British semi-conductor company ARM Holdings (3), fast moving consumer goods company Unilever Indonesia (4) and New York-based biopharmaceutical company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (5).
The US was home to a majority of the companies on the list with 41 firms headquartered in the country, followed by Europe with 29 companies.

National Sports Awards – 2014

National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.  Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years immediately preceding the year during which award is to be given; Arjuna Award is given for consistently outstanding performance for four years preceding the year of award; Dronacharya Award for coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events, Dhyan Chand Award for life time contribution to sports development and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar  is given to the corporate entities (both in private and public sector) and individuals who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development.             A large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were considered by the select  panels of eminent sportspersons and sports administrators; Selection Committees were headed by eminent sportspersons  and consisted of former  Olympians, Arjuna Awardees, Dronacharya Awardees, Dhyan Chand Awardees, Sports Journalists/Experts/Commentators and sports administrators. Selection Committee for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards was headed by Shri Kapil Dev.  Selection Committee for Dronacharya Awards was headed by Shri Ajitpal Singh. Selection Committee for Dhyan Chand Awards was headed by Shri Ajit Mohan Saran , Secretary (Sports).   Selection Committee for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar was headed by Shri Ajit Mohan Sharan, Secretary (Sports).                                                                  Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny, the Government has approved to confer awards upon the following sportspersons/ coaches/organizations:             (i) Arjuna Awards 2014 S. No. NAME OF THE SPORTSPERSON DISCIPLINE 1 Mr. Abhishek Verma Archery 2 Ms. Tintu Luka Athletics 3 Mr. H.N. Girisha Para-Athletics 4 Mr. V. Diju Badminton 5 Ms. Geetu Anna Jose Basketball 6 Mr. Jai Bhagwan Boxing 7 Mr. R. Ashwin Cricket 8 Mr. Anirban Lahiri Golf 9 Ms. Mamta Pujari Kabaddi 10 Mr. Saji Thomas Rowing 11 Ms. Heena Sidhu Shooting 12 Ms. Anaka Alankamony Squash 13 Mr. Tom Joseph Volleyball 14 Ms. Renu Bala Chanu Weightlifting 15 Mr. Sunil Kumar Rana Wrestling (ii) Dronacharya Awards 2014 Sl. No. Name Discipline 1. Shri Mahabir Prasad Wrestling 2. Shri N. Lingappa Athletics – Lifetime 3. Shri G. Manoharan Boxing – Lifetime 4. Shri Gurcharan Singh Gogi Judo – Lifetime 5. Shri Jose Jacob Rowing – Lifetime (iii)  Dhyan Chand Awards 2014 Sl. No. Name Discipline 1. Shri Gurmail Singh Hockey 2. Shri K.P. Thakkar Swimming (Diving) 3. Shri Zeeshan Ali Tennis  (iv) Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2014 Sl. No. Category Entity recommended for Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Purushkar, 2014 1. Employment of sports persons and sports welfare measures Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited  (ONGC) 2. Community Sports - identification and nurturing of budding /young talent Jindal Steel Works (JSW) 3. Establishment and Management of sports academies of excellence Guru Hanuman Akhara, Delhi 4. Other forms of sports activities not covered in the four categories mentioned in the schemes Child Link Foundation of India (Magic Bus) For Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2014, no sportsperson has been recommended. The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29, 2014.               Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand Awardees will receive statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each.  Recipients of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar will be given Trophies.

2015-2016 to be Observed as Water Conservation Year One Uninterrupted Stream of Ganga to be Ensured within Three Years

The year 2015-2016 will be observed as water conservation year. A public movement will launched through out the country for this purpose and at least one official of the Union Water Resources Ministry will be present in every district of the country during this period. This was announced by Union Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Sushri Uma Bharti while inaugurating and international seminar on water risk and water stewardship here today. The Minister said cooperation of State governments, NGOs, civil society, youth and retired personnel will be taken in this task. She said, public movement has become a necessity for conservation of water and river in the country. The Minister said water is an important element of development. She said at some places the sacred water of river Ganga is not even fit for consumption by animals. Referring to the apprehensions raised by some sections on the viability of inter-linking of rivers in the country, Sushri Bharti said, “we will ensure that environment, aqua life of rivers and eco-balance is not disturbed in the process.” She said her government is committed to the inter-linking of rivers as it will ensure equitable distribution of river water in the country. She said Government proposes to fulfill this task within ten years. The Minister also referred to the criticisms made in a section of the media about the efforts to locate the extinct Saraswati River and said that there is no religious feeling behind this. In fact, this will help us to locate the water reservoirs en-route which can be utilized for irrigation, the Minister added. Expressing concern over the pollution in river Yamuna in Delhi, the Minister said her Ministry will give full cooperation to Government of NCT Delhi in making Yamuna pollution free. She informed that she will be taking a meeting in this regard within a day or two. Referring to the Ganga Rejuvenation Programme the Minister said whole country is united on this issue. She said Government will ensure that Ganga is pollution free and flows uninterrupted. She said “We will ensure that within a period of three years Ganga is free of most of its pollution and at least on stream of Ganga flows uninterrupted.” The Minister appealed to every section of the society to join this movement.