Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan

One Year Achievement of NDA Govt.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA), a centrally sponsored scheme, was launched on 21.2.2014 in place of erstwhile Panchayat Yuva Krida aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA). Under the revised RGKA scheme, construction of a sports complex in each block of the country both for outdoor and indoor sports disciplines on land measuring about six - seven acres at a Total cost of Rs. 1.60 crore (Rs. 80 lakh each for outdoor playfield and indoor sports hall) will be undertaken. There is also provision of Rs. 15 lakh for sports equipment and Rs. 1.5 lakh for furniture to be provided by Department of Sports.    All the 6545 blocks in 634 districts will be covered in a phased manner over a period of 5 years. 

Further, following sports competitions at block, district, state and national levels are conducted under Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan:

(i)     Rural Sports Competitions

(ii)   Sports Competitions exclusively for Women

(iii) North East Games

(iv) Sports Competitions for Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Affected Areas

Outcomes and Progress: RGKA aims (i) to provide universal access to sports in rural areas and promote sports culture among both boys and girls; (ii) to harness available and potential sporting talent among rural youth, through a well-designed competition structure from the block level; and (iii) to put in place an effective mechanism to identify and nurture sporting talent in rural areas.

The above objectives will be achieved by construction of block level sports complexes and conduct of Annual rural Sports competitions. 

Annual Rural Sports Competitions were conducted in 22 States in the year 2014-15 and a sum of Rs. 83.84 crore was released to these States for holding such competitions.  A total number of 7666 athletes participated at the National level sports competitions. The first three winners were given utility prizes, medals and prize money. The participants were youth and from rural areas.

Benefits that have accrued or will accrue: Construction of sports complexes at block level will address the problem of inadequate sports infrastructure in rural areas. Conduct of annual rural sports competitions will encourage and promote sports and games among rural youth, by providing them with access to basic sports infrastructure in the form of play fields and providing access to advanced sports infrastructure facilities including sports equipment of requisite quality at the Block level, and opportunity to participate in sports competitions at the Block, District, State, and National levels, leading to the identification of the sporting talent in the sports competitions at various levels and nurture the sporting talent.

Creation of Sports Infrastructure under the scheme will be taken up during the current year 2015-16.  Under the erstwhile PYKKA Scheme playfields were developed in village and block panchayats with lesser funds. Under RGKA as stated above the sports complex will be developed in blocks at a cost of Rs. 1.60 crore (both Indoor and Outdoor). Similarly the competitions grants have also been enhanced suitably under the RGKA Scheme. This change will provide better sports facilities to the participants.

Himalayan Region Sports Festival

One Year Achievement of NDA Govt.

Finance Minister in his Budget Speech for 2014-15 had stated that “Unique sports traditions have developed in the Himalayan region countries and the states which are a part of it. To promote these, India will start an annual event to promote these games and would invite countries such as Nepal and Bhutan also to participate in addition to the Indian states such as J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and the North Eastern States. The Department of Sports has formulated Himalayan Region Sports Festival (HRSF) for promoting unique sports traditions in the Himalyan Region, which includes Nepal and Bhutan Indian states such as J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and the North Eastern States.

Outcomes and Progress: The HRSF Scheme has been finalized and issued to the States and Guidelines for implementation of the Scheme are being prepared. First HRSF is proposed to be organized at Guwahati in the month of December, 2015.

Benefits that have accrued or will accrue: In the sports competitions to be conducted under HRSF, all the North Eastern States, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttrakhand and the neighboring countries such as Nepal and Bhutan will participate. These competitions will promote various indigenous games as also team spirit between the hilly states of the country and regional cooperation in the area of sports with neighboring countries. 

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

One Year Achievement of NDA Govt.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is the flagship outcome-based skill training scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and has been approved by the Cabinet on 20th March 2015. The program aims at skill certification and reward to enable and mobilize a large number of youth for outcome based skill training and become employable and earn their livelihood. Under the scheme, monetary reward would be provided to trainees who are successfully trained, assessed and certified in skill courses run by affiliated training providers.

Outcomes: The scheme has an outlay of Rs 1500 crores and targets to reach out to 24 lakh candidates (14 lakh fresh training, 10 lakh Recognition of Prior Learning-RPL) in its first year of implementation. It will target school drop outs, women and disadvantaged sections of the society. It will also be focussing on the difficult areas like districts affected with LWE and North East.

Progress: The first meeting of the Steering Committee was held on 28.04.2015 under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. It was decided that National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) will be the implementing agency. A Sub-Committee has been formed under chairmanship of CEO, NSDC responsible for day to day implementation of the scheme. 

#AtalBihari Vajpayee will be conferred with Friends of Bangladesh Liberation War Award by Bangladesh government

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be conferred with Friends of Bangladesh Liberation War Award by Bangladesh government. He will be bestowed this award for his outstanding support for the Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971 when he was member of Lok Sabha. Bangladesh Government will hand over this award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his upcoming visit to the country from June 6, 2015. Besides, Bangladesh Government headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will also honour the families of the members of Indian armed forces who had sacrificed their lives for the cause of Bangladesh’s independence. In this regard, a letter alongside a certificate to be signed by the Bangladesh PM will be sent to the martyrs’ family members.

#John Nash

#John Nash Jr., whose life was depicted in the book and Academy Award-winning film A Beautiful Mind, was killed in a car accident along with his wife on May 24. They had just returned from Norway, where Nash was awarded the prestigious Abel Prize for his contributions to the field of partial differential equations. Nash is best known for his contributions to game theory — the study of interaction and decision-making strategies between different rational actors. Nash’s work, particularly the Nash Equilibrium, have given rise to foundational concepts in this field. Although a mathematician at heart, Nash’s work in game theory has had far-reaching implications that span well beyond the field of quantitative theories, changing the way we understand human psychology, global trade and even strategic forecasting.

Committee on Revisiting & Revitalizing the #PPP Model of Infrastructure Development

Committee on Revisiting & Revitalizing the PPP Model of Infrastructure Development Constituted; to Submit Its Report Within a Period of Three Months from the Date of Its Constitution

During his Budget Speech while presenting the General Budget 2015-16 in Parliament, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley had announced that the PPP mode of infrastructure development has to be revisited, and revitalized, in which the major issue involved is rebalancing of risk.  In pursuance of this announcement, a Committee comprising of the following members has been constituted:

Dr. Vijay Kelkar, former Finance Secretary and Chairman, National Institute of Public Finance & Policy(NIPFP), New Delhi	Chairman
Shri C.S. Rajan, Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan	Member
Shri S.B. Nayar, CMD, IIFCL, New Delhi	Member
Dr. Shekhar Shah, Director General, NCAER	Member
Shri Pradeep Kumar, MD, CBG, State Bank of India	Member
Representative of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways – not below the rank of Joint Secretary	Member
Shri Vikram Limaye, MD, IDFC	Member
Shri Sudipto Sarkar, Barrister-at-law, Kolkata	Member
Ms. P.S. Behuria, IRS (Retd.)	Member
Ms. Sharmila Chavaly, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi	Member Secretary

The Terms of Reference of the Committee are as follows:

• Review of the experience of PPP Policy, including the variations in contents of contracts and difficulties experienced with particular variations/conditions, if any,

• Analysis of risks involved in PPP projects in different sectors and existing framework of sharing of such risks between the project developer and the Government, thereby suggesting optimal risk sharing mechanism,

• Propose design modifications to the contractual arrangements of the PPP based on the above, and international best practices and our institutional context, and

• Measure to improve capacity building in Government for effective implementation of the PPP projects.

            The Committee may consult various stake holders in the private sector, government sector, legal experts, banking/financial institutions and academia while firming-up its recommendations. 

            Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) shall provide secretarial assistance to the Committee. 

           

            The Committee shall submit its report within a period of three (3) months from the date of its Constitution.

PM launches #DDKisan – India's first television channel dedicated to farmers

PM launches DD Kisan – India's first television channel dedicated to farmers

PM: Foodgrain productivity must rise from 2 tons per hectare to 3 tons per hectare
PM: Tehsil should be the unit of agricultural development

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today called for increasing food-grain productivity from 2 tons per hectare to 3 tons per hectare. Addressing a gathering of farmers at New Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan on the occasion of the launch of DD Kisan, Doordarshan's channel dedicated exclusively to farmers, the Prime Minister also called for making the "Tehsil" the unit of agricultural planning and development.

The Prime Minister said that if the country has to move forward, villages must progress, and if villages are to progress, then it is essential for agriculture to progress. He said there was a time when agriculture was the most preferred of professions, but over a period of time, its attractiveness had declined to rock bottom. He added that with the right incentives and actions, this trend could be completely reversed.

The Prime Minister recalled the inspiration of former Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, which had led farmers to make the country self-sufficient in the production of foodgrains. He said the same inspiration and spirit was needed again, so that the nation became self-sufficient in the production of pulses and oilseeds.

The Prime Minister said the DD Kisan channel should keep an eye and inform farmers about the changes in weather, global markets etc., so that farmers can plan ahead and take the right decisions well in time.

The Prime Minister called for re-engaging rural youth with agriculture in a big way. He said DD Kisan channel can also highlight the efforts of progressive farmers, so that their innovations can be replicated across the country.

The Prime Minister called for farmers to adopt a three-pronged approach to agriculture, which balanced farming, animal husbandry and tree plantation.