Quotable Quote-Message of the Day

If we continue to pursue salvation through relationship, we will be disillusioned again and again. But if we accept that the relationship was there to make us conscious instead of happy then the relationshipwill offer us salvation. 

Free Essays for Competitive Exams-India’s Gems & Jewellery Industry: A Dazzling Success Story

India’s Gems & Jewellery Industry: A Dazzling Success Story

India’s gems and jewellery industry is a bright star of the economy, and one of the important foundations of the country’s export-led growth. It is a leading foreign exchange earner and one of the fastest growing sectors, which accounted for 14 per cent of India’s total merchandise exports during FY 2011-12. The industry has registered a remarkable growth over the last four decades, with exports growing from US$ 28 million in 1966-67 when the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council ( GJEPC) was established, to US$ 42.84 billion in FY 2011-12.

Diamonds account for 54 per cent of the total export basket of the industry, with gold jewellery contributing 38 per cent and coloured gemstones and others contributing 1 per cent each, whereas rough diamond contributes 4 per cent of the total share. The industry is a truly global one, with both suppliers and buyers from many different countries.

The UAE ( 44 per cent), Hong Kong ( 25 per cent) and USA ( 12 per cent) are among the major buyers, while Belgium, which accounts for 21.55 per cent of all imports of raw materials, is by far the major supplier.

Diamonds : Undisputed Leadership

A major contributor to the creditable performance of the industry is the massive diamond manufacturing sector, which employs nearly one million people across the country. India exported cut and polished diamonds worth US$ 23.30 billion in 2011-12.

The industry has grown from its small origins in the ‘50s and has established itself as the world’s largest manufacturing centre of cut and polished diamonds for the last many years, contributing 60 per cent of the world’s supply in terms of value, 85 per cent in terms of volume. Eleven out of every 12 diamonds set in jewellery worldwide, are processed in India, mainly around Mumbai, Surat and Jaipur. This feat has been possible due to various factors.  At the forefront is the skill of the Indian artisan.  The relentless efforts of Indian entrepreneurs, who took on the daunting task of setting up this industry, has contributed to its growth in no small measure. Indian diamantaires have gone on to create a marketing network worldwide, which is truly mind-boggling.  Added to this is the strong financial base of the industry and support of financial institutions of the country.

Today, after creating a niche for itself in the diamond world with small diamonds, India is developing skills for cutting and polishing larger stones and fancy cuts. Indian diamond polishing factories are on a par with the world’s best and are at the cutting edge of technology using laser machines, computerized yield planning machines, advanced bruiting lathes, etc.

Jewellery: Brilliant Impact

In the recent past, it is in the jewellery sector that India has made a brilliant impact, emerging as the fastest growing jewellery exporter in the world, averaging a growth of nearly 15-20 per cent each year over the last decade. Exports of gold jewellery in 2011-12 touched US$ 16.5 billion from just US$ 486 million in 1994-95.

However, the development of the branded jewellery segment is still in its rudimentary stage, mainly because the traditional jewellery has been dominated by home grown retail enterprises or the concept of the family jeweller.The Hall Marking of jewellery introduced by the Bureau of Indian Standards to institutionalize global bench marking in quality assurance and to prevent against frauds will go a long way in building a reliable Brand India.  A few Indian jewellery brands are marking their global footprints, having entrenched themselves in the domestic market.

The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council

The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, set up by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 1966, has played a significant role in the evolution of the industry to its present stature by effectively moulding the scattered efforts of individual exporters into a powerful engine driving the country’s export-led growth.  Today, the Council has 5,300 members spread all over the country.

            The Council undertakes direct promotional activities such as organizing joint participation in international jewellery shows, sending and hosting trade delegations, and sustained image building exercise through advertisements abroad, publications, audio visuals/corporate literature, members’ directory, etc.

It also directly aids intra-regional investments by encouraging co-operation and joint ventures in jewellery manufacturing, especially in the various EPZs/SEZs created by the Ministry of Commerce which offer special facilities for Foreign Direct Investments in Jewellery units through foreign collaborations and partnerships.

The Government, recognizing the the inherent strengths of this sector in terms of its employability potential has taken major initiatives to strengthen institutional linkages. Enhancing the skill levels of the workers commensurate with the requirement of the industry tops the agenda and two such centres are being set up at Domjur in West Bengal and Khambat in Gujarat.

The Government is also encouraging global partnerships and collaborative ventures for adopting a diversified approach in the jewellery sector. A collaboration with the Antwerp World Diamond Centre has also been sought to strengthen skills in diamond and gem stones grading, certification, research and development, cutting and polishing and setting up state-of-the –art training centres in India.

India International Jewellery Week & India International Jewellery Show

The Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, in its endeavour to promote India as the “Innovation & Design Destination” for jewellery, presents the India International Jewellery week (IIJW).  It is a five day extravaganza of 32 shows brought together major jewellery designers of India.  IIJW is an initiative to showcase India’s finest in jewellery, be it design or innovation supported by top of the line craftsmanship, technology and quality, to customers around the globe.

The Jewellery week is followed by the India International Jewellery Show, which has grown significantly to become the second largest Jewellery Expo in the Asia –Pacific region. It has acquired the reputation of being the most prominent sourcing show in India, evincing great participation from exhibiters, exporters, buyers and trade visitors. The 29^th edition of the India International Jewellery Show, which was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Mr.Anand Sharma on August 23,  has attracted participation of over 800 exhibitors with 1800 stalls, with exclusive country pavilions of Thailand, Israel, Turkey, Belgium and UAE.  

The India International Jewellery Show represents an amalgam of the ingenuity of handcraft, skill, technology, innovation and creativity of our brilliant minds truly making India.

Looking Ahead

The global market for Gems and Jewellery today is over USD 100 billion with jewellery manufacturing dominated by a handful of countries, namely- Italy, China, Thailand, USA and India. Although India is the global factory of cutting and polishing diamonds, the trading hubs are located in the bye lanes of Antwerp and Belgium where this trade is shared by Jews and Gujarati’s. The setting up of the Diamond Bourse in Mumbai –amongst the largest bourses in the world, at par with international standards is expected to ensure India’s strategic shift as a leading diamond trading market in Asia.  The vision is to make India the Global Jewellery Hub and world’s one stop destination for diamonds, gems, gold and jewellery, in the years to come.

Quotable Quote-Message of the Day

Make your angry so expensive that no one can afford it. And make your happiness so cheap that everyone can access it!! 

Inspiring Moral and Real Stories-Anand kumar- mathematician from Patna

Mr Anand kumar , A mathematician from Patna, Bihar  developed an indomitable affection and love towards mathematics and possesses exceptional mathematical abilities. His role model is great Indian mathematician “Ramanujan”. During graduation, He submitted papers on Number Theory, which were published in Mathematical Spectrum and The Mathematical Gazette. He worked hard and dreamed of getting into one of the world’s best university “Cambridge”. And one day he got it, admission to Cambridge.
But…
Very soon he realized that his father cannot afford his education at Cambridge. He and his father searched helplessly for a sponsor all over India but nobody came up. And one day his family’s only breadwinner: his father died and his last hope of getting good education diminished. He gave up the dream of Cambridge and came back to his home in Patna, Bihar.

He would work on Mathematics during day time and would sell papads in evenings with his mother, who had started a small business from home, to support her family. He also tutored students in maths to earn extra money. Since Patna University library did not have foreign journals, for his own study, he would travel every weekend on a six-hour train journey to Varanasi, where his younger brother, learning violin under N. Rajam, had a hostel room. Thus he would spend Saturday and Sunday at the Central Library, BHU and return to Patna on Monday morning.

 He rented a classroom for Rs 500 a month, and began his own institute, the Ramanujam School of Mathematics (RSM). Within the space of year, his class grew from two students to thirty-six, and after three years there were almost 500 students enrolled. Then in early 2000, when a poor student came to him seeking coaching for IIT-JEE, who couldn’t afford the annual admission fee due to poverty, Kumar was motivated to start the Super 30 program in 2003, for which he is now well-known.

Every year in August, since 2003, the Ramanujan School of Mathematics, now a trust, holds a competitive test to select 30 students for the ‘Super 30’ scheme. About 4,000 to 5,000 students appear at the test, and eventually he takes thirty intelligent students from economically backward sections which included beggars, hawkers, auto-driver’s children, tutors them, and provides study materials and lodging for a year. He prepares them for the Joint Entrance Examination for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). His mother, Jayanti Devi, cooks for the students, and his brother Pranav Kumar takes care of the management.

Out of 270 students he tutored from 2002-2011 236 students have made an admission to IIT. All of them came so poor background that their parents were Hawkers, Auto-drivers, laborer etc.

During 2003-2009, 182 students out of 210 have made it to the IITs.
In 2010, all the students of Super 30 cleared IIT JEE entrance making it a three in a row for the institution.

Anand Kumar has no financial support for Super 30 from any government as well as private agencies, and manages on the tuition fee he earns from the Ramanujam Institute. After the success of Super 30 and its growing popularity, he got many offers from the private – both national and international companies – as well as the government for financial help, but he always refused it. He wanted to sustain Super 30 through his own efforts. After three consecutive 30/30 results in 2008-2010, in 2011, 24 of the 30 students cleared IIT JEE.

Anand’s work is now well received from all over the world :

USA’s president obama read about Anand in TIME magazine and sent a special envoy to check the work done by him and offered all the assistance and Anand never accepts help irrespective of helper.

Discovery Channel broadcast a one-hour-long program on Super 30, and half a page has been devoted to Kumar in The New York Times.

Actress and ex-Miss Japan Norika Fujiwara visited Patna to make a documentary on Anand’s initiatives.

Kumar has been featured in programmes by the BBC.

He has spoken about his experiences at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.

Kumar is in the Limca Book of Records (2009) for his contribution in helping poor students crack IIT-JEE by providing them free coaching.

Time Magazine has selected mathematician Anand Kumar’s school – Super 30 – in the list of Best of Asia 2010.

Anand Kumar was awarded the S. Ramanujan Award for 2010 by the Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS) in July 2010.

Super 30 received praise from United States President Barack Obama’s special envoy Rashad Hussain, who termed it the “best” institute in the country. Newsweek Magazine has taken note of the initiative of mathematician Anand Kumar’s Super 30 and included his school in the list of four most innovative schools in the world.

Anand Kumar has been awarded by top award of Bihar government “Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Shiksha Puraskar” November 2010.
He was awarded the Prof Yashwantrao Kelkar Yuva Puraskar 2010 by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Bangalore.

In April 2011, Anand Kumar was selected by Europe’s magazine Focus as “one of the global personalities who have the ability to shape exceptionally talented people.”  

Source- E-Mail 

General Knowledge- Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts

Backgrounder 

The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) was established in March 1987 in the memory of Late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi. It is an Autonomous Body under Ministry of Culture with the following objectives and mandate:- 

i. to serve as a major resource centre for the arts, especially primary material, written oral, auditory, audio-visual, pictorial, etc.; 

ii. to undertake research and publication programmes of reference works, glossaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias, fundamental texts in the arts, humanities and cultural heritage; 

iii. to establish tribal and folk arts collection for undertaking, promoting and facilitating systematic scientific studies in this area; 

iv. to provide a forum for creative and critical dialogue among the diverse arts ranging from architecture and literature to music, dance, theatre, sculpture, painting, photography, films, pottery, puppetry, weaving, embroidery, etc. through performances, exhibitions, multi-media projections, conferences, seminars, workshops; 

v. to evolve models of research programmes and administration of arts more pertinent to the Indian ethos and reality; 

vi. to promote awareness of and sensitivity to the historical and cultural interaction and interlinkages between India and other parts of the world in the evolution and manifestation of art and cultural traditions and through this endeavour to promote international goodwill and peace; 

vii. to facilitate and promote systematic scientific understanding of the formative and dynamic factors in the complex web of cultural interaction between diverse communities, regions, social strata, etc., and to make through this endeavour a strong rational base for mutual understanding of the role of different cultures and traditions in promoting fundamental values of human welfare such as tolerance, cooperation, aesthetic enrichments, etc.; 

viii. to make efforts to bridge the gap in the intellectual understanding between the modern sciences on the one hand and the arts, culture, traditional skills and knowledge on the other; 

ix. to develop linkages with other national and international centres of arts and culture and to affiliate with universities and other academic organizations of higher learning within India or abroad for the conduct and recognition of research in art, humanities and cultural heritage. 

The details of all the programmes of the IGNCA are available in the website www.ignca.nic.in. 

Quotable Quote-Message of the Day

Small changes can produce big results. The trick is to know where to change and when to change.

Quotable Quote-Message of the Day

Fantastic Quote and Beauty of belief in GOD: “If he doesn’t give me when I ask… surely, he will give me when I NEED”….

- Abraham Lincon

 

UPSC Exams-Time Table for Civil Services Main Exam 2012

TIME TABLE FOR CIVIL SERVICES (MAIN) EXAMINATION, 2012

Date/Day	Forenoon Session 9.00 A.M. to 12.00 P.M	Afternoon Session 2.00 P.M. to 5.00 P.M.
(1)	(2)	(3)
05.10.2012 (Friday)	General Studies Paper-I	General Studies Paper-II
06.10.2012 (Saturday)	Indian Language {Assamese/Bengali/Bodo/Dogri/ Gujarati/Hindi/Kannada/Kashmiri/ Konkani/Maithili/Malayalam/ Manipuri/Marathi/Nepali/Oriya/ Punjabi/Sanskrit/Santali/Sindhi (Devanagari/Arabic Script)/Tamil/ Telugu/Urdu}	English
07.10.2012 (Sunday)	Essay	---
09.10.2012 (Tuesday)	Political Science & International Relations Paper-I/ Public Administration Paper-I	Political Science & International Relations Paper-II/ Public Administration Paper-II
10.10.2012 (Wednesday)	Geography Paper-I	Geography Paper-II
11.10.2012 (Thursday)	Sociology Paper-I/ Anthropology Paper-I	Sociology Paper-II/ Anthropology Paper-II
12.10.2012 (Friday)	History Paper-I	History Paper-II
13.10.2012 (Saturday)	Literature of Arabic/Assamese/Bengali/Bodo/ Chinese/Dogri/English/French/ German/Gujarati/Hindi/Kannada/ Kashmiri/Konkani/Maithili/    Malayalam/Manipuri/Marathi/Nepali/ Oriya/Pali/ Persian/ Punjabi/ Russian/ Sanskrit/ Santali/ Sindhi (Devanagari/ Arabic Script)/ Tamil/Telugu/Urdu Language Paper-I	Literature of Arabic/Assamese/Bengali/Bodo/ Chinese/Dogri/English/French/ German/Gujarati/Hindi/Kannada/ Kashmiri/Konkani/Maithili/ Malayalam/Manipuri/Marathi/Nepali/ Oriya/ Pali/Persian/ Punjabi/ Russian/ Sanskrit/  Santali/ Sindhi (Devanagari/ Arabic Script)/ Tamil/Telugu/Urdu Language Paper-II
14.10.2012 (Sunday)	Psychology Paper-I	Psychology Paper-II
15.10.2012 (Monday)	Philosophy Paper-I	Philosophy Paper-II
16.10.2012 (Tuesday)	Mathematics Paper-I/ Statistics Paper-I/Zoology Paper-I	Mathematics Paper-II/ Statistics Paper-II/Zoology Paper-II
17.10.2012 (Wednesday)	Civil Engg. Paper-I/Electrical Engg. Paper-I/Mechanical Engg. Paper-I/ Medical Science Paper-I	Civil Engg. Paper-II/Electrical Engg. Paper-II/Mechanical Engg. Paper-II/ Medical Science Paper-II
18.10.2012 (Thursday)	Physics Paper-I/Botany Paper-I/ Geology Paper-I	Physics Paper-II/Botany Paper-II/ Geology Paper-II
19.10.2012 (Friday)	Commerce & Accountancy Paper-I/ Management Paper-I	Commerce & Accountancy Paper-II/ Management Paper-II
20.10.2012 (Saturday)	Chemistry Paper-I/Law Paper-I	Chemistry Paper-II/Law Paper-II
25.10.2012 (Thursday)	Economics Paper-I	Economics Paper-II
26.10.2012 (Friday)	Agriculture Paper-I/Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science Paper-I	Agriculture Paper-II/Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science Paper-II

Free Essays for Competitive Exams-Biotechnology Information Network

Biotechnology Information Network

Bioinformatics is attaining greater significance in the life sciences research and industry and hitherto unexplored areas of biology. Research in biotechnology, which is highly knowledge and capital intensive, has generated a deluge of information in this decade. To make use of this information effectively, there is a need for high speed and large bandwidth network. Towards this end, the Department of Biotechnology has successfully established a high-speed and high-bandwidth network in the form of Virtual Public Network (VPN) named as BIOGRID INDIA. Eleven nodes have been established in the first phase, which are actively pursuing bioinformatics activities such as human resource development and R&D in bioinformatics besides, dissemination of biotechnology information to researchers in the country. This resource sharing helps in enhancing the value and usefulness of the BTIS, the only true resource sharing network in India.

BTISnet in a Nutshell

BTISnet a potential scientific network in the country comprises of more than 165 institutions having capable human resources and state of art infrastructure to carry out intensive research in bioinformatics and computational biology. More than 100 subject specific databases are currently available on the BTISnet.

Centres of BTISnet are networked and now some of them are being  networked through National Knowledge Commission network. Eight new centres have been added to the BTISnet. NEBInet which comprises of  27 bioinformatics  centres in North East states has opened up great opportunities in biotechnology for the North East Region of the country. Through this network it is now much simpler to generate and implement programs like biotech hubs, overseas associateship etc. Three major consortium projects on bioinformatics in TB, rice and mango have  shown excellent progress during the last year.

  

Centres of Excellence 

Six Centres of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology have been established as part of BTISnet. These Centres are well equipped with state of art infrastructure to support research. Each centre is responsible for developing a database in the identified thrust areas. Some of these efforts have received international recognition. The CoE at the Bose Institute, Kolkata is specialising in the areas like genome analysis, regulatory RNA stem cells, genomics and structural bioinformatics. The CoE at JNU, New Delhi is a part of the School ofComputational and Integrative Sciences, with a major objective of development of human resource through teaching and research in the frontier area of computational biology, bioinformatics and systems biology. The CoE at MaduraiKamaraj University, Madurai is specialising in the areas like structural bioinformatics, proteomics, data mining and computer aided drug design. The Centre at the University of  Pune, conducts M.Sc. course in bioinformatics. The Centre has developed 3 major databases namely viral protein structural database, antigen antibody genomics and viral genome resources.

R&D

The bioinformatics centres are being extensively used for intensive research by the hosts and neighbouring institutions. In addition scientists at bioinformatics centres have carried out research in gene analysis, protein structure prediction and engineering, modelling, macromolecular assembly, evolutionary biology, developing tools for peptide vaccine,  new tools for data mining etc.

The Department of Biotechnology is also supporting long-term teaching programs on bioinformatics and BIOGRID will be useful in sharing teaching materials, to deliver lectures through video conferencing-virtual classrooms besides synergizing research in biotechnology and bioinformatics. The mirror sites of internationally recognized genomic databases such as Protein Data Bank (PDB), Plant Genome Data Banks, Databases of European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) and public domain bioinformatics software packages are also available on the BIOGRID. The advantage of mirroring these databases in India is to provide unhindered mining of high quality data from well established primary and secondary information sources. The BTIS network will act as a knowledge pathway for discoveries in biotechnology and bioinformatics.

Quotable Quote- Message of the Day

Every test in our life makes us bitter or better, every problem comes to make us or break us, choice is ours. Whether we become victim or victorious.  

Free Essays for Competitive Exams-Recommendations of the Sachar Committee

Implementation of the Recommendations of the Sachar Committee: Leading to better Results

Inclusive growth being the basic mantra of the Government policies at the Centre, a number of steps have been taken by the Government at various levels to ensure that the benefits of development and economic resurgence reach all sections of the society including Minorities. It was in this very context that the Prime Minister had constituted a High Level Committee on Social, Economic and Educational status of the Muslim Community, popularly known as the Sachar Committee, so as to suggest ways to ameliorate the condition of the Muslim Community as a whole. In tune with this policy perspective a large number of measures have been adopted to ensure that the development deficit that exists with respect to the Muslim Community gradually disappears and the Community is able to march ahead on the path of development alongside other communities.

Major recommendations of the Sachar Committee accepted by the Government include the following:

Access to Education – Providing free and high quality education to children up to the age of 14, opening government schools in Muslim concentration areas, awarding scholarships, modernising Madrasas, etc.

Access to Credit – Promoting and enhancing access to Muslims in Priority Sector lending, open more branches in Muslim concentration areas, promote micro finance among women, etc.

Skill Development – Opening  ITIs and Polytechnics to focus on high growth potential in the Muslim concentration areas.

Special Area Development Initiatives -Villages/towns/habitations to be provided with basic amenities, good quality government schools, health facilities, etc. for all poor including Muslims.

Waqf – better utilization of waqf properties, etc.

Measures for Affirmative Action – Setting up of Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), National Data Bank (NDB) and Assessment and Monitory Authority (AMA).

Thirteen Departments/Ministries report to the Government regarding the progress in implementation of Sachar Committee recommendations on a periodic basis.

Department of Financial Services

·         All public sector banks have been directed to open more branches in districts having a substantial minoritypopulation. In 2007-08, 523 branches were opened in such districts while in 2008-09, 537 new branches wereopened. In 2009-10, 743 new branches and in 2010-11, 814 new branches were opened. During 2011-12, 1098 branches have been opened upto 31^st March 2012. A total of 5954branches have been opened since 2007-08.

·         RBI revised its Master Circular on the1^st July, 2011 on priority sector lending (PSL) for improving creditfacilities to minority communities. As on 31^st March 2012,  Rs.1,64,748.42 crore,  which  is 14.55%  of  total PSL ,were  provided to minorities.

·         To promote micro-finance among women, 5,55,563 accounts have been opened for minority women with Rs. 6582.22 crore as micro-credit in 2011-12 up to March 2012.

·         All public sector banks are organizing awareness campaigns in blocks/districts/towns with  substantial  minority population.  In 2011-12, 6912  awareness  campaigns were organized in such areas up to March 2012.

·         Lead banks   have  organized   4095 entrepreneurial   development   programmes   in  blocks/districts/towns withsubstantial minority population upto March 2012 and the number of beneficiaries is 58,106.

Ministry of Human Resource Development

A multi-pronged  strategy to  address the  educational  backwardness  of the Muslim  community,  as brought out by  the Sachar  Committee, has been adopted-

·         Under the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) scheme, criteria of educationally backward  blocks has  been revised with  effect from  1st April 2008 to cover blocks with less than 30% rural  female literacy  and  in  urban areas with less than national average of female literacy. Under the scheme, 450 KGBVs have been operationalised in minority concentration districts, so far.  75 KGBVs  have been operationalised  for minority concentration districtsduring the year 2011-12   up to March 2012.

·         Universalization of access to quality education at secondary stage called Rashtriya Madhyamik  Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) has  been approved.  The scheme envisages preference to minority  concentration areas  in opening  of Government schools. State Governments have been advised to accord priority to setting up of new / upgraded  schools in minority  concentration areas while appraising proposals under this scheme.  356 New Secondary Schools have been approved in 2011-12 up to March 2012.

·         One model college each would be set up in 374 educationally backward districts (EBDs) of the country.  Of 374 EBDs, 67 are in identified  minority  concentration  districts.  During the 11^th Plan, 14 model colleges have been sanctioned in MCDs, and funds  of Rs. 2.67  crores have been released.

·         Under  the  Sub-mission  on   polytechnics,   financial  assistance   is  provided  to  the States/UTs for setting up ofpolytechnics in un-served  and  under-served districts. 57 districts out of 90  minority  concentration  districts  are eligible for consideration under the scheme. So far, 48 minority  concentration districts have been covered for settingup of polytechnics, and an amount of Rs.254.66 crore have been released up to March 2012.

·         Preference is given by the University Grants Commission for provision of girls' hostels in universities  and colleges  in the  areas  where  there is  concentration of minorities especially Muslims. The UGC  has  sanctioned  285 Women's hostels and released Rs.203.69 crore till March 2012 during  11th Plan in Minority Concentration Districts/area.

·         The Area Intensive & Madarsa Modernisation Programme has been revised and bifurcated into two schemes.  A Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madarsas (SPQEM) has been launched with an allocation of Rs. 325 crore for the Eleventh Five-year Plan.  It contains attractive provisions for better teachers’ salary, increased assistance for books, teaching aids and computers, and introduction of vocational subjects, etc.  An amount of Rs. 139.53 crore has been released during 2011-12 against budget provision of Rs. 150 crore.  The other scheme, which provides financial assistance for Infrastructure Development of Private aided/unaided Minority Institutes (IDMI), has been launched with an allocation of Rs. 125 crore for the Eleventh Five-year Plan.  During 2011-12, an amount of Rs. 48.43 crore has been released to 259 institutions, against budget outlay of Rs. 50.00 crore.

·         For subsequent access to higher education, the Certificates issued by the State Madarsa Boards, whose Certificatesand qualifications have been  granted  equivalence by the corresponding  State Boards,  would be  considered equivalent by the Central Board of Secondary Education  (CBSE),  Council of Board of  School Education in India  (COBSE) or/and  by  any other school examination board.

·         Academies for professional development of Urdu medium teachers have been set up at three  Central Universities namely, Aligarh  Muslim  University, Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi and Maulana  Azad  National Urdu University, Hyderabad.  During 2011-12, 5092 Urdu Teachers have been trained under Refresher Courses/Workshops.

·         Under the revised scheme, financial assistance is given for appointment of Urdu teachers in a Government school in any locality  where more  than 25% of the population is from Urdu speaking community. The financial assistance would be based on the prevailing salary structure of  Urdu  teachers  mployed with schools of the StateGovernment. Honorarium is also admissible to part-time Urdu teachers.

·         The  States/UTs  have  been  advised  to  undertake  community  based  mobilization campaigns in areas having a substantial  population  of  Muslims.  Saakshar Bharat is being implemented in 372 districts out of 410 eligible districts where adult female  literacy is  50% or below  as per  2001 Census. Out of 88 Muslim dominated districts, 61 districts have been covered under Saakshar Bharat.

·         Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSSs) are envisaged in the revised schemes. At present, JSSs  are imparting  vocational training in  33 out of the  88 Muslim  dominated districts in the country.

·         The mid-day meal scheme has been  extended to all areas  in the  country  from the year 2008-09 and also covers upper primary schools. Blocks with a concentration of Muslim population  are being  covered under this scheme. 

·         All State Governments/UT administrations have been advised to use existing school buildings and community buildings  as  study  centers  for  school children.

·         National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has prepared text books for all classes in the light ofthe National Curriculum Framework-2005 (NCF). 16 States have completed revising their curriculum in the light of NCF 2005, while 5 States are currently in the process of doing so, and 11 states follow the NCERT syllabus.  3 UTs have followed the Curriculum of neighbouring States.

·         Thirty five universities have started centers for studying social exclusion and inclusive policy for minorities and scheduled castes  and scheduled  tribes. Besides, 1280 Centers of Equal Opportunity (CEOs)  have been  established in51 universities during 2009-10 and 1345 and 1367 such  centers  are proposed to be  established during 2010-11 and2011-12  respectively.

Ministry of Minority Affairs

·         An expert group, constituted to study and recommend the structure and functions of an Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), submitted its report on  13th March, 2008.  The concept of diversity index has been subsumed in the EOC.  It is proposed to consult experts, intellectuals, academia in order to have a final view on the scope and jurisdiction of the EOC.

·         A Bill to amend Waqf Act, 1995 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 27^th April, 2010 and passed on 7^th May, 2010.  It was then referred to the Rajya Sabha.  The Bill was referred to the Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha. Several sittings of the Select Committee were held. The Select Committee has submitted its report and the same is under examination by the Government.  After the proposed Wakf Act comes into force, Wakf rules will be framed by the States/UTs.

·         The Government has accorded 'in-principle' approval  for  restructuring  of National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation  (NMDFC). A consultancy firm has been appointed  to  work  out  the details for restructuring of NMDFC. The firm has submitted its draft reports  which were examined in the Ministry.  A committee chaired by Secretary (Minority Affairs) and Senior Officers of the Department of Financial  Services, RBI, and NABAD has been constituted to finalise the restructuring of NMDFC.  

·         An Inter-ministerial Task Force constituted  to devise an appropriate  strategy and action plan for developing 338 identified towns having substantial  minority population, has submitted its report on 8th November, 2007. The  concerned Ministries/Departments have been advised to give priority  in the implementation of their schemes in these 338 towns.

·         Three  scholarship schemes for minority communities  namely, pre-matric scholarship from class –I to X, post-matric scholarship from class XI to PhD and merit-cum-means scholarship for technical and professional courses at under-graduate and post-graduate levels have been launched.  Under these schemes, Rs. 1094.94 crore have been sanctioned for award of scholarships to 62.72 lakh students belonging to minority communities in 2011-12 upto 31^st March, 2012.  Further, a fellowship scheme called Maulana Azad National Fellowship Scheme for M.Phil and Ph.D scholars has been under implementation. 756 fellowships and 3778 renewals have been sanctioned by University Grants Commission (UGC) and financial assistance for Rs. 51.98 crore has been released up to  March, 2012.

·         The corpus of Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF), which stood at  Rs. 100 crore, was doubled to Rs. 200 crore in December, 2006.  The corpus was, however, increased during 11^th Plan period to Rs. 750 crore. Under the scheme of MAEF, since 2007-08, 419 NGOs have been given grants-in-aid for infrastructure development of educational institutions and 48471 scholarships were awarded to meritorious girls in classes-XI and XII.

·         A revised     Coaching           and       Allied   scheme  was       launched             in         2006-07.  Against the target of 6000 candidates for 2011-12, financial  assistance has been given to 7830 students/ candidates  belonging to minority communities.  Funds to the tune of Rs.15.98 crore have been released against the budget provision of Rs. 16 crore, upto 31st March, 2012.

·         A Multi- sectoral  Development  Programme (MsDP)  was  launched  in 90 identified minority concentrationdistricts in 2008-09.   Plans  of 90 minority concentration districts (fully in 70 and partly in 20 districts) in  Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,  West Bengal,  Assam,  Manipur,  Bihar,  Meghalaya,   Jharkhand, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Orissa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttrakhand, Mizoram, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim andArunachal Pradesh have been approved and Rs.2941.60 crore released  to State  Governments  and  Union TerritoryAdministrations up to 31^st March, 2012  since  launching  of  the programme.

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

A dedicated cell is being created in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for setting up NDB. The Ministry has addressed letters to Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for NRHM, Ministry of HRD for Sarvashiksha Abhiyaan and the Ministry of Rural Development for SGSY, IAY, MGNREGA & PMGSY to expedite the supply of block level data.

 Planning  Commission

·         An autonomous Assessment & Monitoring Authority (AMA), to analyse data collected for taking appropriate and corrective policy decisions, was set  up  in the Planning Commission.  Since the term of the AMA ended on 15^thJanuary, 2011,  the Planning Commission has reconstituted the AMA and the newly reconstituted  AMA   has conducted few meetings. 

·         A comprehensive institutional structure for fostering skill development has been set up in Planning Commission to address  the skill  development  needs of the country including minorities. It includes National Council  on  Skill Development, National Skill Development Coordination  Board  and a  National Skill Development Corporation.

Department of Personnel and Training

·         Department of Personnel & Training has developed training modules for sensitization of government officials. These modules have been sent to the Central/ State Training Institutes for training.

·         State Governments and Union Territory Administrations have been advised by Department of Personnel& Training for posting of Muslim police personnel in Thanas and Muslim health  personnel  and  teachers  in Muslim concentration areas. Guidelines have also been issued by Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare advising States/UTs for similar action.

Ministry of Home Affair

            A Working Group in the National Advisory Council (NAC) drafted a Bill titled “Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice & Reparations) Bill, 2011”.  The NAC sent the Bill to Ministry of Home Affairs on 25.07.2011.  The draft Bill is under examination in Ministry of Home Affairs.

Ministry of Urban Development and Ministry of Housing &  Urban Poverty Alleviation

For facilitating the flow of funds under the Jawarharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Urban Infrastructure  Development  Scheme  for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT),  Integrated  Housing  & Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) and Basic Services  for Urban Poor  (BSUP) to towns and cities, having a substantial concentration  of minority  population, necessary steps have been taken to ensure  that Detailed  Project  Reports (DPRs)for such towns and cities include adequate provisions  for  minorities.  The progress during 2011-12 are-:

  Under UIDSSMT, Rs. 2672.34 crore has been sanctioned for 88 towns having a substantial minority population.

  Under IHSDP, projects costing Rs. 1962.34 crore are for 102 towns having a substantial minority population.

 Under BSUP, Rs.7174.67 crore out of total project cost of Rs. 30094.90 crore has been sanctioned for 17 towns.

Under UIG, Rs.9248.63 crore has been sanctioned for 17 towns. 

Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Chhatisgarh, Madhya  Pradesh, Rajasthan,Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Kerala have given exemption to Waqf Board properties from Rent Control Act, while Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland have informed that no Waqf property exists in these States.

Ministry of Labour and Employment

An Act has been passed by the Parliament for providing social security to workers in the un-organized sector,which, inter- alia,  includes home  based  workers.

Ministry of Culture

Meetings of Archeological Survey of India have been held with Central Wakf Council to review  the list  of waqf properties  which are  under the  Archeological  Survey of India.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Dissemination of information regarding health and family welfare schemes is being undertaken in regional languages in minority concentration areas.

Ministry of Panchayati Raj/Urban Development

State Governments have been advised by Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Urban Development to improve representation  of  minorities  in  local  bodies.  As per information furnished by Ministry of Panchayati Raj, States /UTs  of Uttarakhand, Kerala, West Bengal and Lakshadweep have mentioned  that provisions for ensuring representation of minorities in District and Panchayat level exist.  The State Governments of Himachal Pradesh and Orissa  have informed that the matter is under consideration. 

Ministry of Urban Development has informed that State Governments of Kerala, West Bengal and Haryana have implemented the guidelines.

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has been regularly releasing features of various themes associated with minority welfare covering issues such as scholarship schemes, area development initiatives, etc.  taken in pursuance of the Sachar Committee Report.

                  The socio-economic schemes/measures arising out of the Sachar Committee recommendations are being implemented on a continuous basis and have not been limited to any specific time period.