UPSC (IAS) Preparation - Only most important current affairs for UPSC / IAS /UKPSC

2 June 2015

Plans of Union Ministry of Home Affairs for the Next Year

Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has laid out the following agenda for the Ministry for the next year:

· Scheme for Rehabilitation of the people affected by transfer of enclaves between India and Bangladesh: This includes both temporary and permanent rehabilitation of the displaced persons from the Indian enclaves in Bangladesh in the State of West Bengal only.

· Grant-in-aid to Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC): Proposal to provide grant-in-aid of Rs. 40 crore over next five years to meet the administrative and social welfare expenses for settlements of Tibetan refugees in different States in the country.

· Strengthening of Changthang Settlements: Proposal is for strengthening of Changthang Settlements of Tibetan Refugees and the area inhabited by the local nomadic population in Changthang area along the Indo-China Border. The tentative cost of the Scheme is Rs. 654 crore.

· Transfer of Central Freedom Fighter Pensioners’ accounts from SBI to other Banks: This is to streamline disbursal of Central Samman Pension for the convenience of the pensioners.

· Renovation of Freedom Fighters Home: Freedom Fighter’s Home is located in Central Delhi to provide transit accommodation to the freedom fighters and their dependents. It is maintained by NDMC. The Home is in bad shape and it will be renovated with better facilities at a cost of Rs.90 lakh.

· e-Tourist Visa (e-TV): We propose to extend the e-Tourist Visa Scheme to 150 countries and 25 Indian Airports by March 2016 in phased manner.

· IVFRT (Immigration Visa, Immigration and Foreigners’ Registration and Tracking): The project has been implemented in 160 Indian Missions and 480 FROs across the country. It is proposed to implement the project in all Indian Embassies abroad and FROs across the country by the end of March 2016.

· Integration of Online Payment Gateway: To ease out the process of online application and fees collection, we have decided to integrate online payment gateway system in all the services like Visa, Indian Citizenship, and FCRA related matters. It is proposed to complete and streamline the integration process within this year.

· Security scenario in J&K: It is proposed to plug the gaps in the International Border through strengthening the Anti-Infiltration Obstacle System (AIOS) with the use of technological solutions available globally as well as construction of physical barriers.

· Rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants: Proposal to give financial assistance to provide 3000 additional state government jobs to the Kashmiri migrants and for construction of transit accommodation in the Valley for them. Also working on an integrated proposal for townships for the return and rehabilitation of the Kashmiri migrants.

· Rehabilitation of migrants from hilly areas of Jammu region: It isproposed that migrants of hilly areas of Jammu region may be provided relief at par with the Kashmiri migrants.

· Special Industry Initiative (SII) for J&K students – Udaan: It is proposed to train 7000 more candidates during the next year and provide placement to 6000 candidates. It is proposed to conduct more than 24 mega Udaan selection drives.

· Civic Action Plan in J&K: This would include conducting of medical camps, sports and cultural activities including conduct of tour from J&K to rest of India and vice-versa, educational activities, setting up of community centres.

· AmarnathYatra: Shri AmarnathjiYatra 2015 is scheduled to commence from 2^ndJuly 2015 and conclude on 29^th August 2015. Necessary steps will be taken to ensure peaceful conduct of the Yatra. Deployment of additional forces to maintain security, ensure improved telecom connectivity, adequate health facilities, sanitation and other facilities including langars etc.

· Post flood reconstruction in J&K: State Government has been requested to send their proposals for long term rehabilitation and reconstruction. Measures have also been taken to increase the water carrying capacity of Jhelum river so that flood like situation may be avoided in future.

· Modernization of Delhi Police: Traffic and Communication Network of Delhi Police will be modernized by installation of new traffic signals/ blinkers and procurement of various components.

· Solar Power in Diu: 3 MW solar power project at Diu and 1 MW solar power project at Daman will be commissioned this year. In the next 15 months, another 6 MW solar power project will be commissioned at Diu making Diu the first city in the country to be driven 100 % on green energy.

· Hospital in Diu: A 60 bedded hospital will be commissioned at Diu and another 100 bedded sub-district hospital will be commissioned at Khanvel, the sub-district headquarters of Silvassa.

· National Population Register (NPR): -

Ø Biometric enrolment in 10 NPR States to be completed.

Ø Implementation of the scheme of updation of NRC 1951 in Assam.

· Chief Ministers’ Conference: MHA proposes to convene a Chief Ministers’ Conference in July/ August, 2015 to discuss the internal security situation in the country.

· National Security Clearance: The MHA is framing guidelines for assessment of proposals received from various ministries for national security clearances.

· SMART Policing: During the 49^th Annual Conference of DGs/IGs on 28.11.2014, the concept of SMART Policing had been introduced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister. SMART stands for Strict and Sensitive, Modern with Mobility, Alert and Accountable, Reliable and Responsive and Trained and Techno-savvy. As part of this exercise, four regional workshops have been organized by BPR&D at Bengaluru; Guwahati; Bhopal and Chandigarh. To carry forward this exercise, a National Workshop is likely to be held at New Delhi in the first week of July.

· Forensic Science: To strengthen Forensic Science capabilities in the country, three new Central Forensic Science Laboratories (CFSL) are being established at Guwahati, Bhopal and Pune. The construction work will be completed within two and half years.

· LWE Matters: The following steps will be taken in the LWE affected States:

(i) Installation of Mobile Towers to bring entire area under mobile coverage.

(ii) Development of Critical Roads under Road Requirement Plan.

(iii) Enhancement of Education Infrastructure.

(iv) Improvement of Health Amenities.

(v) Improving Efficacy of Public Distribution System.

· Central Victim Compensation Fund: Rs. 200 crore is proposed to be accessed from the Nirbhaya Fund for this purpose.

· Investigation Unit for Crime against Women (IUCAW): Investigation Units for crimes against women will be set up in 150 districts all over the country.

· Setting up of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (ICCCC): Steps will be taken to set up Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (ICCCC), at a cost of Rs. 100 crore.

· Emergency Response System to be made functional: Rs. 321 crore has been sanctioned in favour of MHA for setting up Emergency Response System for women in distress from the Nirbhaya Fund in February, 2014. It is proposed that system would be made functional in the next financial year.

· CCTNS Project: The on-going CCTNS Project will be implemented and efforts will be made to fully implement the project in at least 50% of the States.

· Cyber Crime: Approach paper to tackle Cyber Crime will be finalised.

· Upgradation of Posts of Constable to Head Constable in BSF and CRPF: It is endeavoured to upgrade about 11,000 and 14,000 posts of constables to Head Constables in BSF and CRPF respectively. This will address issue of stagnation/ promotion at constable level in these forces.

· Recruitment: Recruitment of 62390 constables, including 8533 women will be carried out for the year 2015-16.

· Infrastructure for CAPFs: A proposal for construction of 13072 houses has been initiated.

· India Reserve Battalions: Government has moved a proposal for sanction of 17 IR battalions out of which 5 will be for J&K and 12 will be for LWE states. It has been proposed that these battalions will be raised by recruiting local youth, in case of LWE states 75% of the vacancies will be filled up by local youths from the worst 27 affected districts in the states concerned.

· Critical infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh :A proposal at an estimated cost of Rs. 182.25 crore for construction of foot tracks, small bridges, suspension bridges, helipads etc. in Arunachal Pradesh in order to provide connectivity and also to provide basic amenities to the villages has been approved in principle by Ministry of Home Affairs. It has been decided that the work would be executed by CPWD.

· National Marine Police Training Institute: Steps are being taken to establish the National Marine Police Training Institute in Gujarat. The State Government of Gujarat is in the process of the transferring the land title in favour of the MHA. It is also proposed to establish Regional Training Institutes in each Coastal State.

· Installation of Automatic Identification System (Proprietary) transponders for tracking of small vessels (below 20 mtrs.) :It has been proposed to install the Automatic Identification System (Proprietary) Transponders for tracking of small fishing vessels (below 20 mtr.) upto a distance of 50 Kms. from the coastline. The project will be implemented by Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.

· Construction of Integrated Check Posts (ICPs): Construction of ICPs at Raxual (Bihar), Jogbani (Bihar) and Petrapole (West Bengal) are expected to be completed during 2015-16.

· Border Area Development Programme (BADP): During the year 2015-16 an amount of Rs. 990 crore will be allocated for creation of special development needs of people of bordering areas.

North-Eastern Matters

· Repatriation and rehabilitation of Bru migrants from Tripura to Mizoram:The Bru repatriation process is expected to be completed by September, 2015.

Shri Arun Jaitley to Inaugurate the New Bank Note Paper Line at Security Paper Mill, Hoshangabad

Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley to Inaugurate the New Bank Note Paper Line at Security Paper Mill, Hoshangabad Tomorrow;

To Flag off the First Consignment of Rs.1000/- Bank Note Paper; SPMCIL Sets-Up Another Joint Venture Company Called Bank Note Paper Mill India Pvt. Ltd. at Mysore with 12,000 MT Capacity; Combined Production from the new Paper Line at SPM, Hoshangabad and the Joint Venture Company at Mysore after Commissioning will be About 18,000 MT of Bank Note Paper and will Lead to Combined Savings of Foreign Exchange from These Two Bank Note Projects of About Rs.1,500 Crore in the coming Years

The Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information and Broadcasting Shri Arun Jaitley will inaugurate the New Bank Note Paper Line of 6000 MT capacity tomorrow at Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh. He will also flag off the first consignment of Rs.1,000 Bank Note paper made indigenously to Currency Note Press, Nashik at Security Paper Mill, Hoshangabad in the august presence of Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh and other dignitaries. This New Paper Line of 6,000 MT capacity is part of the indigenisation, of the Bank Note paper, under taken by Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL). SPMCIL has also set-up another Joint Venture Company called Bank Note Paper Mill India Pvt. Ltd. at Mysore with 12,000 MT capacity. The plant of this Joint Venture Company at Mysore is targeted to be commissioned by the year end. The combined production from the New Paper Line at SPM, Hoshangabad and the Joint Venture Company after commissioning will be about 18,000 MT of Bank Note paper, which will meet the major requirement of Bank Note Paper indigenously as against the major requirement being imported at present. The combined savings of foreign exchange from these two Bank Note projects will be about Rs.1,500 crore in the coming years.

The foundation stone for this New Bank Note Paper Line was laid on 17.12.2011 by the then Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee. The project has been completed at a cost of Rs.495 crores within the budget and within the time schedule. This plant is environment friendly with minimal use of the power and water. No additional water has been taken for this plant from Narmada River. This is a start-of-the-art plant with capability for incorporation of the advanced security features into the Bank Note paper. This plant has been incorporated with the latest pulp manufacturing plant, control systems, equipped with automatic sheet cutter and packaging and has online inspection system. This plant is capable of manufacturing all denominations of Bank Note paper with capacity to introduce 3-dimentional toned water mark. The new plant has state of the art paper testing laboratory to the international standards for testing of the Bank Note Paper before dispatch to the Currency Note Presses. This New Paper Line is environment friendly aiming for zero liquid discharge. The latest surveillance system SAP-ERP and with state-of-the-art fire and safety system has been installed. This plant has a latest Mould Cover manufacturing facility for manufacture of the Bank Note paper with latest designs.

The annual turnover from this new Bank Note Paper Line when it comes into full production stream of 6000 MT capacity, will be about Rs.450 crores. The plant will procure local raw materials like cotton comber, linter and chemicals except for the security features, which are obtained through exclusivity contracts. This plant will give boost to the local economy as lot of direct and indirect employment will be generated and supply of raw materials and services and spare parts will be sourced indigenously.

The production of the Bank Note paper from this New Paper Line at Hoshangabad and from the Joint Venture Paper Mill at Mysore will reduce the import of Bank Note paper considerably. This will also reduce possibility of diversion of the paper supplied by the foreign suppliers to the other destinations for the purpose of generating the fake currency. Commissioning of this project is part of Make-in-India – Indigenisation of Currency and to become self-reliant in production of the raw materials requirement for the production of the Bank Notes.

The existing Security Paper Mill at SPM, Hoshangabad had commenced production of the Currency and the Non Judicial Stamp Paper during 1967 with the process know-how and technology provided by M/s Portals, UK. However, with the advent of new technology in printing of the Bank Notes, requisite modernisation in the old paper lines could not be done and with the result the latest security features like wider windowed security thread etc. could not be carried out. Therefore the higher denomination Bank Note paper could not be manufactured on these old lines. The old lines are presently being primarily used for the production of the Non Judicial Stamp Paper (NJSP) of about 3000 MT per annum to meet the NJSP requirements of the state Governments.

Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), a Miniratna Category-I CPSE, is a wholly owned Schedule-A Company of Govt. of India. The Company was incorporated on 13.01.2006 and has nine Units engaged in minting of Coins, Printing of Bank Notes, Passports, Postal Stationery, Non-Judicial Stamp Papers, and other Security Documents & manufacture of Security Paper.

The performance of the Corporation in all spheres has improved significantly since corporatisation. SPMCIL has more than doubled the production of the Coins and Bank Notes while manpower has reduced by one third. SPMCIL has minted finely designed commemorative coins on various personalities and important events. It has introduced new security products like Excise labels, warehousing receipts etc. The turnover of the company has increased about three times during the last eight years to about Rs.4400 crores. SPMCIL has been paying dividend @20% of the Net Profit continuously for the last four years. It has obtained EXCELLENT rating in its MoU performance for the last five years. It has paid back Rs.1110 crore loans of BRBNMPL and Ministry of Finance, invested about Rs.1540 crore from its own resources and created cash reserves of about Rs.1500 crore. It has carried out phase-I modernisation of Mints by introducing state-of-the-art coining machinery. One state-of-the-art Currency Printing line has been installed at Bank Note Press, Dewas. Modernisation and capacity expansion of Ink Factory at Dewas has been completed. SPMCIL today stands as the successful model of Corporatisation of the erstwhile Government Units.

United Nations Peacekeeping Day-29 May

Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) celebrated the UN Peacekeeping Day on 29 May 2015 at the Manekshaw Centre in Delhi Cantt. Lt Gen Philip Campose, the Vice Chief of Army Staff was the Chief Guest at the function. The event is part of the worldwide celebrations undertaken on the day to commemorate all brave men and women who have contributed towards establishing peace and security in the war torn countries and ravaged societies across the world.

The officials acknowledged the contribution of the Indian Armed Forces in about 50 peacekeeping missions across the world and remembered all those valiant soldiers who laid down their life in the line of duty at a place away from their homeland. The event was marked by a seminar on issues pertaining to peacekeeping and its Challenges in Today’s Dynamically Changing World. Various dignitaries including Lt Gen I S Singha, Lt Gen Satish Nambiar (Retd), Lt Gen RK Mehta (Retd), Ms Rebecca Tavares from UN Women and Mr Munu Mahawar , JS (UNP) Division were also present on the occasion.

Speaking at the occasion, Lt Gen Philip Campose said that the entire peacekeepers’ fraternity had a singularity of purpose that was aimed at ensuring international peace and security. He further said that nature of conflicts was changing at a rapid pace and everyone had to evolve, adjust and modify to suit the requirements of such complexities of time and space. He also applauded the efforts of CUNPK in this direction and commended its efforts for training officers of Indian and foreign diasporas.

Earlier, the Secretary General’s address was read out to the gathering by Mrs Kiran Mehra Kerpelman, Director, United Nations Information Center, New Delhi. The Address of Mrs Sushma Swaraj, Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs, Govt of India, was also read by Shri Munu Mahawar, JS (UNP) of MEA.

India began its tryst with UN Peacekeeping by providing the Custodian Force in Korea, 1950. It is worth mentioning that the Indian Army is among the top three contributors to UN Missions.

GS Reddy Appointed Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri S Christopher Appointed the New DG, DRDO

The Government has appointed Dr GS Reddy, Distinguished Scientist & Director, Research Centre Imarat (RCI) & Programme Director, MRSAM, DRDO as Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri for a period of two years from the date of taking over charge. The Government also appointed Dr S Christopher, Distinguished Scientist & Programme Director (AEW&C) and Director, Centre for Air-Borne Systems, DRDO as Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development-cum-Director General, DRDO for period of two years from the date of taking over charge.

Dr G Satheesh Reddy: A profile

Dr G Satheesh Reddy is one of the renowned experts in Navigation and Avionics technologies. He joined DRDO in 1986 and led the Conceptualization, Design, Development and productionisation of Inertial Sensors, Navigation schemes, Algorithms & Systems, Calibration methodologies, Sensor Models, Simulation along with development of Satellite Navigation Receivers and Hybrid Navigation Systems. Under his leadership, advanced products and varieties of Avionics systems have been produced and successfully flight tested in strategic programmes of the country. As Project Director, Dr Reddy led the design and development of Ring Laser Gyro based INS System, MEMS based INS System, Sea-Guard Reference System and Ship Navigation system strengthening the country’s self-reliance in high accuracy and long range navigation and also successfully developed a 1000 kg class guided bomb.

As Director RCI, he led the development of Avionics technologies in critical areas of Inertial Systems, Embedded Computers, Control, Real Time Software and Simulation, Power Supplies, RPF, Seekers, Antennae, Flight Instrumentation for various Defence programme - Agni A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, Prithvi, Dhanush, Astra, Akash, underwater missiles, BrahMos, Nirbhay, Helina, Nag, MRSAM, Programme AD - PDV interceptor, Two stage Ship Launched Target, AAD and other defence programmes. Dr Reddy spearheaded a number of Technology Development, Mission Mode, S&T projects delivering variety of Systems to multiple Projects in different capacities. He led the development and production of GPS+GLONASS+GAGAN on Module (G3OM) receiver and System on Chip (SoC) bringing in quantum jump in miniaturization of Onboard Avionics. He also led the development of IIR Seeker for anti tank and long range BMD applications and played a crucial role in development of high accuracy accelerometers for the long range precision Navigation.

Dr Reddy graduated in Electronics and Communication Engineering from JNTU, Anantapur and received his MS & Doctorate from JNTU, Hyderabad. He is a Fellow of various Academies and Institutes like the Indian National Academy of Engineering, Royal Institute of Navigation London, Royal Aeronautical Society London and a Senior Member of many other professional/scientific bodies in the country and abroad. He has been awarded Full Member Diploma and inducted as a Foreign Member of the Academy of Navigation & Motion Control, Russia and is an Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, USA (AFAIAA). In recognition of his distinguished contributions, Computer Society of India conferred on him the Honorary Fellowship (HFCSI). He is also an Honorary Member of ACDOS and a national member of IFAC Austria.

Dr Reddy is a recipient of several prestigious awards which includes the Indian Science Congress Association Homi J. Bhabha Memorial Award, DRDO Young Scientist Award, Agni Award for Excellence in Self Reliance, DRDO Scientist of the Year Award etc. He is a Member of the Governing Council/Academic Senate of reputed academic institutes.

Dr S Christopher: A profile

Dr Christopher obtained his BE (Hons) in Electronics & Communication Engineering from University of Madras and M.Tech. in Microwaves and Radar Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur. He joined IIT, Madras, as Project Associate and carried out research in Microwave Antenna Design and Near-field Measurement Techniques. He obtained PhD in Antennae and Measurement Techniques from IIT, Madras.

Dr Christopher worked for M/s Bharat Electronics, Ghaziabad, as Senior Engineer and later joined LRDE as Scientist-‘D’ and rose to Scientist ‘G’. He led a team to create the Automated Planar near Field Measurement Facility at LRDE for the first time in the country. He was Project Director for LCA MMR and led the team for designing and developing slotted array technology, which was used for several airborne and missile projects including export to Poland. He was also Project Director for ASP project and also for development of the Maritime Patrol Airborne Radar, Super Vision 2000, for the Indian Navy.

Dr Christopher joined the Centre for Air-Borne Systems (CABS) in 2004 and assumed charge as Programme Director for the Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) programme. He was appointed Director, CABS, in addition to his responsibility as Programme Director (AEW&C). He was elevated to the rank of Distinguished Scientist in 2012.

Dr Christopher is a Fellow of the National Academy of Engineers (FNAE), Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI) and the Institution of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineers (IETE). He is a member of SEE, IEEE and is a recipient of many awards including scientist of the year award in 1998

Developments Relating to the Ministry of Earth Sciences Over the Last One Year of NDA Government

Various Developments Relating to the Ministry of Earth Sciences Over the Last One Year of NDA Government

The ministry of Earth Sciences deals with various interlinked and self-regulating systems including atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, geosphere and biosphere. They function together and their interactions are complex and significant. To understand such complex phenomena Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO) was set up and it uses high computing facilities (a backgrounder is at http://pib.gov.in/newsite/backgrounders.aspx?relid=122089) and modeling techniques for making various assessments. Such a scientific understanding of the earth system helps us to improve prediction of climate, weather and natural hazards as well as afford sustainable use of resources.

Some of the details of working of the Ministry over last one year are: -

· With advancements in observations and modeling technology, two recent cyclones,HudHud and Nilopher, were predicted well in advance giving sufficient time to respond. Several lives have been saved as the local administrations have shifted people from exact areas where it was forecast that the cyclones would hit

· On Good Governance Day on 25^th December 2014, an SMS Disaster Alert system (for cyclones, weather, storms and heavy rains) was dedicated to the nation. On the same day, a mobile application for android phones/tablets – ‘India Weather’- was also launched for giving current-day and four-days forecast of weather in 310 Indian cities.

· The then Minister of State for S&T and Earth Sciences, Shri Jitendra Singh, commissioned Heliport Aviation Weather Forecasting System at Vaishnodevi, in August 2014.

· X-band Radar in Srinagar has been installed as a part of augmentation, strengthening and integration of network of all the observations in the Himalayan terrain.

· Ago-meteorological advisories provided to 10 million farmers through mobiles in 622 districts. Block level forecast for 37 districts (342 blocks) being initiated in pilot mode.

· Commissioned High Altitude Cloud Physics Lab at Mahabaleshwar to study micro physical characteristics of aerosols and clouds and associated environmental conditions.

· Developed an indigenous Earth System Model to address climate variability and change and developed simulations for this century.

· For ocean and polar research, the government sanctioned over Rs. 1050 crore for acquisition of a Polar Research Vessel (PRV) in last October.

· Deployed India’s first moored observatory in the Arctic on 23^rd July 2014 equipped with multi-sensor sub-surface observatory in the inner part of Kongsfjorden at a depth of 180 m. The mooring is capable of acquiring data even during the winter when the surface is frozen with ice.

· Developed Polar Remotely Operated Vehicle’s (PROVe) systems having conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen sensors and Irradiance meter. PROVe was deployed near ice shelf from the ship at the India Bay in Antarctica at a depth of 62 m.

· Development and deployment of indigenous drifters to measure sea surface temperature, pressure, and currents, having INSAT communication.

· The Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, laid the foundation stone for the Ocean Research Facility of Earth System Science Organisation – National Institute of Ocean Technology (ESSO-NIOT) near ocean front at Thupilipallam village in Vakadu Mandal, near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh on April 25.

· High performance computing resource of 1.2 petaFLOPS has been deployed for weather and climate modelling. It is the most powerful machine in SE Asia.

· Deployed a US drilling vessel ‘JOIDES Resolution’ for the first time in the Arabian Sea for drilling the oceanic plate up to 1.5 km. The Expedition aims to understand the interaction between the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau uplift and the development and evolution of the Indian summer monsoon. Four sites in the eastern Arabian Sea will target sediments for the Indus submarine fan to better understand the relationships of mountain building, weathering and erosion, and climate change.

#DigitalLocker

Digital Locker – 1,00,000 Mark in 100 Days

After Digital Locker trial version was launched in Feb, 2015 over 1,00,000 Digital Lockers have been opened by the Citizens, within 100 days of its launch representing the trust, benefit and convenience offered by the Digital Locker to a common man.

Digital Locker is one of the key initiatives under the Digital India vision, which is aimed at eliminating the usage of physical documents. Digital Locker will allow various agencies to push the documents into the Digital Locker of citizens mapped to their Aadhaar Number. It also allows citizens to upload their own electronic documents with or without digitally signing them using the e-sign facility allowing them to store all such documents for posterity. The Digital Locker system has the following advantages:

a) Print anytime from anywhere – All electronic documents will be in a printable, enabling user to print from anywhere. Also, incase of disasters, non availability of documents, it is easily accessible by user even when the documents are lost

b) Convenience – No more long queues or procedures to get the documents.

c) Free of cost – Digital Locker facility is provided to Indian Citizen free of charge and will enable its use by lower strata of society.

d) Shareable – residents can easily share the documents with other agencies/departments without having to share photocopies, scan copies, document uploads, etc. Sharing can easily be done even on feature phones even via SMS and text based systems.

e) Verifiable – most importantly, government documents and certificates issued can be verified online, eliminating the use of fake documents/certificates.

f) Secure - Only the owner has the right to see and share the documents as per their own requirement and convenience.

Few other benefits envisaged by users are

a) A number of individual certificates such as Birth, Domicile, etc., may be applied online to speed up the process. The user agencies will be authorised to access the documents by the owner of digital locker. Also, the local bodies issuing these documents can push these certificates in digital form directly in the Digital Locker eliminating the risk of fake document. This will greatly benefit the people who find it difficult to have proper storage space for physical documents. This would be safe during the National Disaster such as floods, cyclones, fire etc.

b) Hassel free registration of

a. Sim Card

b. LPG connection

c. Driving License

In effect Digital Locker will touch every Citizen life by bringing in lot of convenience and therefore fulfilling the government vision of citizen centric governance model of providing services at the door step of citizens.

In India, most of the government documents used for various purposes are in physical form. This inter alia means that every time a citizen needs to avail any service, a self attested photo copy either in physical or scanned form is shared. Use of physical copies of document creates huge overheads in terms of manual verification, paper storage, manual audits etc. and thereby incurring cost and inconvenience for all the stakeholders. This also creates problem for various agencies to verify the authenticity of these documents, thus, creating loopholes in the eco system leading to usage of fake documents/certificates by certain unscrupulous elements. The Digital Locker is going to address these concerns.

Achievements and initiatives of Ministry of Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy in one year

NDA’s government’s record breaking feats in one year: India achieves lowest ever Power deficit in history and highest ever increase in power capacity addition; Highest ever Coal production by CIL; Coal bearing states to get estimated Rs.3.35 lakh crore through e-auction; Renewable Energy capacity to increase five fold

The past 365 days saw many record breaking achievements and launch of several foundational initiatives towards realizing Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji’s vision of 24x7 affordable power for all.

Last year’s milestones include, lowest ever power deficit in India’s history – 3.6%, highest ever power capacity addition – 22,566 MW, highest ever increase in transmission line capacity – 22,100 circuit kilometres, highest ever increase in sub-station capacity – 66,554 MVA and highest ever coal production increase by Coal India – 32 million tons.

Also power generation growth was highest in 20 years – 8.4%, coal production growth highest in 23 years – 8.3% and solar capacity increased by 42%.

Elimination of corruption with Rs. 3.35 lakh crores of potential revenues going to coal-bearing states especially in Eastern India through transparent coal e-auctions and allotments, over the lifespan of mines. E-auctions have set the basis for transparent and honest allocation of natural resources.LED bulb price also reduced by 74% due to transparent procurement (Rs. 310 in Feb 2014 to Rs. 82 in Mar 2015).

Future plans launched include more than5 times increase in renewable energy capacity to 175,000 MW by 2022 (Organized Renewables Financing Conference, RE-Invest 2015 which attracted commitments of 273,000 MW), 5 new UMPPs in plug-n-play mode(total 20,000 MW), reduction in peak load shortages through revival of stranded gas based power plants through transparent e-bidding, Rs. 1.09 lakh crore investment in sub-transmission and distribution through Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) and Rs. 1 lakh crore of new transmission projects to be bid out in the current year.

Clean energy will be prioritised with 25 solar parks of about 100 MW each planned & a Rs 38,000 crore green energy corridor being set up to transmit renewable energy.

All bulbs to be replaced with LEDs over next three years resulting in huge savings in power bills for consumers while proposed amendments to Electricity Act will give consumers power to choose and change power supplier with competition improving affordability and service.

Focus on development of backward regions is our government priority. Investment of Rs. 9,865 crore approved for upgrading power systems in 8 North Eastern states (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura). Transmission line approved with investment of Rs 26,000 crore to evacute power to southern region from western region.

Under the CSR programme, over 1,25,000 school toilets taken up at a cost of Rs. 2,250 crore particularly in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha , West Bengal , North East etc.

While the above plans lay down a clear roadmap towards24x7 affordable power for all, the performance so far provides ample confidence that Prime Minister’s mission will be fulfilled