Free Essays for Competitive Exams-Prime Minister Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

Comprehensive Scheme for Enhancing Agricultural Area under Irrigation – Prime Minister Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

Out of about 141 million hectares of net area sown of the country, only an extent of 65 million hectares (46%) is currently covered under irrigation. Substantial dependence on rainfall makes cultivation in remaining areas a high risk and less productive profession. Empirical evidences suggest, that assured/protective irrigation/in-situ moisture conservation encourages farmers to invest more in farming technology and inputs leading to productivity enhancement and increased farm income.

            The Government of India is committed to accord high priority to water security. Government has conceived the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) with the objective of extending the coverage of irrigation in a focused manner, with end-to-end solution on source creation, distribution, management, field application and extension activities.In the budget speech 2014-15, a provision of Rs.1000 crore was announced to initiate the scheme and the Ministry of Water Resources was initially assigned the responsibility to launch the programme. Following a high level meeting with various stake holder departments on 14^th November, 2014, the Deptt. of Agriculture and Cooperation was assigned the responsibility of ‘Nodal Department’ for implementation of PMKSY.  A budget line to achieve synergy of resources has been created in the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Water Resources and Department of Land Resources, to implement PMKSY with effect from the year 2015-16.  Further, an outlay of Rs. 5300 crores has been made for the current financial year, which includes Rs. 1800 crore for DAC (PMKSY- “Per Drop More Crop”); Rs. 1500 crore for DoLR (PMKSY- “Watershed Development”); and Rs. 2000 crore for MoWR (Rs. 1000 crore for AIBP & Rs. 1000 crores for PMKSY- “Har Khet Ko Pani”).   Each of the three Departments/Ministries has a cut out mandate in the overall scheme  of this new initiative.

            The Department of Land Resources (DoLR) in the Ministry of  Rural Development  is to mainly undertake rain water conservation, construction of farm ponds, water harvesting structures, small check dams and contour bunding etc. under its Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP).  The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) is to  undertake various measures for completion of ongoing projects under ‘Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme’ (AIBP), besides construction of diversion canals, field channels, water diversion/lift irrigation, including development of water distribution systems. The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC) will promote efficient water conveyance and precision water application devices like drips, sprinklers, pivots, rain-guns in the farm “(Jal Sinchan)”, construction of micro-irrigation structures to supplement source creation activities, extension activities for promotion of scientific moisture conservation and agronomic measures, including cropping alignment, to maximise use of available water including rainfall and minimise irrigation requirement  “(Jal sanrakshan)”;  capacity building, training for encouraging potential use water source through technological, agronomic and management practices including community irrigation, Information  Communication Technology(ICT)  interventions through NeGP-A  for awareness campaign on water saving technologies, practices, programmes etc.,

            The supervision and implementation are being taken care of through a well structured committee systems from the national to the district level.

            A committee under the chairmanship of District Collector/ Dy. Commissioner/ District Magistrate with members from departments concerned, including District Forest Officer, Lead Bank Officer etc. at district level is empowered to finalise the District Irrigation Plan (DIP). While formulating the DIPs, suggestions of Hon’ble Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly of that area are to be invited and will be included after due technical consideration. Highest priority is to be given to valuable suggestions/recommendations of Member of Parliament of that particular district subject to technical Financial viability. State Irrigation Plan(SIP) will be  the amalgamation of DIPs for operative convergence platform for all water sector activities, including drinking water & sanitation, application of science & technology etc. through comprehensive SIP.

            With a view to ensuring effective planning, coordination amongst various departments, various committees viz. State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) chaired by the Chief Secretary of the respective  States, National Executive Committee (NEC) under the Chairmanship of Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog have been constituted.  Further, the programme will be guided, supervised and monitored by an Inter-Ministerial National Steering Committee (NSC) under the Chairmanship of the Hon’ble Prime Minister with the Union Ministers concerned, as  its members.

            The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister has accorded approval to Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) in its meeting held on 1^st July, 2015. The scheme has been approved with an outlay of Rs. 50,000 crore for a period of 5 years (2015-16 to 2019-20).  The draft Operational Guidelines of PMKSY have been uploaded on the website of DAC (www.agricoop.nic.in) and also circulated to the States for comments/suggestions.

            A decision has been taken at the level of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to  engage three junior most batches of IAS and IFS (Forest) for preparing District Irrigation Plans (DIP) on PMKSY. To this effect, a meeting was held with the heads of all training institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Rural Development & Ministry of Water Resources to finalise the institutes and module of training. Following this, five institutes, namely, National Water Academy (NWA), Indian Institute of Water Management (IIWM), National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), Indian Institute of Soil & Water Conservation (IISWC), ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region have been identified to conduct one-week training programme for States, and tentative schedule (24^th August, 2015 to 9^th October, 2015) was worked out. All the respective Departments, Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF) and State Governments have been requested to provide necessary cooperation toward this.

            As seen thus, the newly launched scheme, unlike, many earlier irrigation related programmes is integrated and comprehensive in its approach.  It aims at not just creating a water source but also in sustaining it.  More importantly, it intends to use the scarce water resource efficiently by deploying multiple approaches.  Water is a critical input for agriculture and given the competing demands for alternate uses of water, the efficiency of its use is well recognized in tailoring the scheme.

Free Essays for Competitive Exams-Atoms in the Service of the Nation

Atoms in the Service of the Nation

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), established on August 3, 1954 celebrated its Diamond Jubilee during August 2014 - August 2015. It has been serving with the motto, ‘Atoms in the Service of the Nation’, and is consistently delivering the benefits of nuclear science and technology in six broad areas: Energy Security, Food Security, Water Security, Health Security, National Security, and developing and sustaining world class scientific and technological strength through research, education and industry.

Nuclear Power and Fuel Cycle

DAE contributes in energy-mix options of India by pursuing progressively the indigenous three-stage Nuclear Power Programme, envisioned by Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, and also through additionalities based on international civil nuclear cooperation. 

 There are 21 nuclear power reactors with a total installed generating capacity of 5780 MW of electricity. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) achieved the highest power generation ever of 37835 Million Units (that is, 3783.5 Crore Units) during 2014-15 (7% more than in the previous year), with overall capacity factor of 83% and availability factor of 88%.

The Kudankulam Unit -1, set up with technical cooperation with Russian Federation, reached its rated capacity of 1000 MW on June 7, 2014, and has begun commercial operations from the end of 2014 and has been supplying electricity to the grid since then. The Kudankulam Unit-2 is getting closer to commissioning.Hot Run, a pre-requisite to Fuel Loading and further commissioning activities, has been completed.

India has logged over 421 reactor years of safe and reliable operation, as reflected in several operating achievements. Unit-5 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station completed 765 days of continuous operation on September 6, 2014; the longest in the world in the last 20 years, and the second longest in the 60-year history of nuclear power. So far, continuous operation of more than a year has been logged by Indian Reactors 20 times, including 7 reactors registering this feat during last one year.

Government’s initiatives to give a boost to the civil nuclear energy sector in India include: civil nuclear agreement with Australia (potential supplier of uranium); Pre-Engineering Agreement signed between NPCIL and AREVA company of France; Supplement to General Framework Agreement with Russian Federation in respect of Kudankulam Units-3&4; formulation of vision document on future cooperation with Russian Federation; efforts to develop and manufacture  indigenous components and some critical large size equipment for our 700 MW  indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR), in line with “Make in India goal”, by DAE units.

The Government has made significant efforts in augmenting fuel supplies from both domestic and foreign sources, thus easing out the fuel-constrained position to a large extent. In this context, during Hon’ble PM’s visit to Canada in April 2015, an agreement was entered into for supply of 3000 tonnes of Uranium ore concentrate over 5 years.

Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) of DAE achieved record production of fuel (1252 MT) for PHWRs during the past year.

The construction of Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is nearing completion at Kalpakkam. Indigenously produced Plutonium-based fuel has been delivered by BARC for the first criticality of PFBR which is expected later this year.

 BARC’s reprocessing plant at Tarapur exceeded its name plate capacity in production of material for PFBR fuel. A comprehensive project on Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility is being set up at Kalpakkam, for the sustained progress of setting up fast breeder reactors in coming future.

Towards the technology demonstration of thorium utilisation, and advances in indigenous reactor technology development, site selection is about to be finalised for a 300 MW Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR). To give a further thrust to the development of thorium-related technologies, it is proposed to set up a dedicated Centre for Thorium Advanced Research, initially virtually, and later on, as a physical entity. India will be hosting the International Thorium Energy Conference (ThEC) in Mumbai in October this year.

Nuclear Technologies for Societal Benefits  

·         Radiation processing of food and agro products helps in enhancing the shelf-life and marketability, and exports (e.g. spices, fruits etc.) Two Radiation Processing plants were commissioned with DAE technology support at Unnao, Lucknow and Bavla, Ahmedabad in 2014, taking the number of such plants in private sector to twelve (12). More plants are under construction with the support of DAE.

·         BARC has developed a crop mutant high-yielding pigeon-pea variety, Trombay Akola Red Arhar, which has been released and Gazette notified for commercial cultivation in Maharashtra. Seed multiplication of BARC varieties has been taken up by the inmates of four (4) prisons in Tamil Nadu; one variety of groundnut seeds (called TG37A; 350 kg given by BARC), has been adopted and shown record yields in prison farm.

·         A large number of medical centres in the country are using radiopharmaceuticals supplied by DAE Units, BRIT & BARC, for diagnosis and therapy of certain diseases, particularly cancer. DAE’s supplies are estimated to lead to annually over 2.5 lakhs in-vivo diagnostic investigations, about 15,000 investigations using Positron Emission Tomography (PET), about 20000 therapeutic treatments, as well as about 10 lakhs in-vitro hormone analysis.

·         BARC had developed indigenous teletherapy machine, called Bhabhatron, for cancer treatment. One Bhabhatron unit is being supplied to Mongolia, with the technical support of Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), under an agreement signed between TMC and National Cancer Centre of Mongolia, during the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister to Mongolia in May 2015. During 2014, four (4) Bhabhatron units were supplied (including one exported) by the company manufacturing Bhabhatron with BARC technology.

·         Technologies developed by DAE help enhancing the environmental safety, and in turn, support the Swachcha Bharat Abhiyaan. The BARC biogas plant, Nisargruna, for processing bio-waste for production of energy or cooking gas, has been installed in over 190 places until March 2015, including fourteen (14) set up during the past one year. BARC has demonstrated radiation hygienisation of urban sewage sludge for safe disposal, and scope to use the resultant bi-product as organic manure. Radiation plants to efficiently hygienise dry sludge are planned to be set up in Ahmedabad and Nagpur.

·         DAE is participating in water quality analysis aspects, as technology provider cum adviser in support of Clean Ganga project.

·         India is one of the seven Partners in the largest International Cooperation Project ‘International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)’ being set up in France for harnessing fusion energy. DAE has initiated the process for acquiring Associate Membership of CERN-LHC, with which DAE Units have active on-going collaboration.

Government of India and DAE look forward to taking the Indian nuclear programme to greater heights and continue rendering valuable service to the society towards sustainable all-round national development.

Free Essays for Competitive Exams-Swachh Bharat Mission – A Citizens Movement

Swachh Bharat Mission – A Citizens Movement

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has spearheaded the Swachh Bharat Mission in rural India, after Hon’ble Prime Minister gave a call to the Nation to make India Swachh within five years by 2019. This entailed freedom from open defecation, and solid and liquid waste management. Since open defecation is closely linked to diarrhoeal deaths, morbidity, poor education, malnutrition and poverty, the main focus of the programme in the first year has been accelerating efforts towards eradicating it. Towards this end, since the launch of Swachh Bharat, nearly 80 lakh toilets have been constructed. What is at the crux of the matter is, however, that the focus of the programme is not toilet construction but on behaviour change and community involvement in Sanitation as the preferred approach. The States are free to choose their approach, given their socio-economic-cultural milieu.

Realising that the health benefits accrue only when the entire village becomes free from open defecation, the Ministry has focussed on achievement of open defecation free (ODF) villages, besides increase in coverage. The parameters of ODF have now been standardised and a uniform definition provided to the States. Process is on to now roll-out the mechanism for verification of ODF by the States. A framework is also being put in place to incentivise better performing States, so that focus is on outcomes and moving ahead on a fast track.

There is a major focus on capacity building, given the criticality of skills required for change in age-old habits and mind-set. District is identified as the key unit of implementation, and District Collectors are being trained so that they can give the leadership to the programme. Close to 206 Collectors from across India have already been trained, many of them are emerging as champions and strategizing to make their districts ODF within the next two-three years. States have also taken up capacity building in right earnest and workshops on community oriented approaches and attitudinal change have begun in many States.

Some extremely encouraging innovations and inspiring events are happening across rural India presently. In States such as Chhattisgarh and Punjab, there is focus on complete achievement of ODF communities, and not just increase in coverage. ODF has been made the basis of planning and monitoring in these States, and therefore, work is progressing at speed. Chhattisgarh has planned 1889 Gram Panchayats to be ODF by March 2016, and Punjab has initiated "Mission 1000" - i.e. to make 1000 GPs ODF by October 2, 2015. In the state of Madhya Pradesh initiatives like gifting toilets to the sisters on “Raksha Bandhan” have been taken and the programme has been named as “Operation Mal Youdh”. In Rajasthan, for the panchayat elections, toilets in the house has been made a compulsory qualification for contesting the elections. In Assam and Odisha each village achieving the ODF status is seeing celebrations as in a festival. In west Bengal district Nadia has been declared as the first district achieving the ODF status. The collector of Nadia has been awarded in the UN forum for his contribution.

The States are also utilizing flexibility provided by the programme to achieve programme objectives faster. For example, some States/districts are choosing to give incentive directly to communities, rather than individuals, in those villages where community processes have been adopted. States are also bringing out innovative policies at their end to boost the programme. 

 The ministry has been leveraging its efforts to disseminate clear messages using 360 degree Media Campaign and interactive social media tools to provide a platform for sharing innovative practices across the country.

The ministry is also mandated to provide safe and potable drinking water to all the rural population. Though we have already achieved the millennium development goal, the issues related with the quality of drinking water in the rural areas still remain a concern. In order to achieve the targets, the Ministry has formulated guidelines to provide minimum 8 to 10 liters per capaita per day potable water through suitable community water purification plants in water quality affected habitations. In the naxal affected and difficult areas, 20,000 habitations across the country are being provided with solar power based dual pumping piped water supply in collaboration with national clean energy fund.

In the states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, a separate World Bank assisted project costing Rs. 6000 cr. has been launched. The project is estimated to benefit about 78 lakh rural populations in these states with provision of piped water supply.

Innovative technology in the water and sanitation sectors always plays an important role and the Ministry has organised three exhibitions cum workshop in Delhi called “Indovation”. In each of the exhibitions, innovators from all parts of India presented and showcased their technologies, which are cheap, affordable and sustainable. Some very innovative technologies like using jute to prepare the super structure of toilet, nano technology for water purification, water less urinals, etc were exhibited. Ministry has constituted a high level committee under the chairmanship of eminent Professor Dr. R.A Mashelkar, which examines and endorses the technologies for acceptance by the states for implementation. A link in the website has been created, wherein any innovator can submit his or her technology for placement before the high level committee for examination. Now the challenge is to popularise these shortlisted technologies at the grass roots level through organizing Indovation at State and Regional levels.

 During the flood in Jammu and Kashmir this year, this Ministry came forward and on a short notice arranged airlifting of mobile water treatment plants and water bottles for the flood victims. Massive awareness drive about the water and sanitation issues and challenges has been a key to the success of the Swachh Bharat Mission and providing potable drinking water through national rural drinking programme. The ministry has  targeted in the recently held “Puri RathYatra” through a massive campaign, and the ongoing Kumbhmela in Nashik is also witnessing notable campaigning.

The next chapter in SBM will unfold with the “Citizens Movement” to take the mission forward as a befitting tribute to the “Father of Nation” on his 150^th birth anniversary in 2019.

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Free Essays for Competitive Exams-Transforming India’s Skill Landscape

Transforming India’s Skill Landscape

Why Skill India?

Skill India seeks to give all Indians, the opportunity to aspire and achieve a better future for themselves and their families. A combination of demographic, economic and social factors makes skill development an urgent policy priority for India.

The challenge is immense. 54% of India’s population is below 25 years of age and over 62% of the population is the working-age group. Yet, only 4.69% of the Indian population has undergone formal skills training. By 2025, almost 1 in 5 of the world’s working age population (18.3%) will be Indian. Recent skill gap reports suggest that over 109 million incremental human resources will be required in India alone, across 24 key sectors by the year 2022. 93% of India’s workers work in the unorganised sector and acquire skills through informal channels and lack formal certification. How can India’s skill training ecosystem be equipped to cope with these diverse challenges?

India’s first Department of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was established in July 2014 under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to specifically focus on addressing the above challenges. This Department became a full-fledged Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in November 2014, when Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy was inducted into the Council of Ministers. The primary focus of MSDE is to develop a robust policy framework and programme of action for scaling up skill development efforts in India, at speed and scale, while ensuring quality outcomes. This article highlights some major initiatives taken over the past nine months by MSDE, in order to lay a strong foundation for the skill training and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country.

Creating a Robust Skills Landscape in India: Key Milestones

MSDE’s policy orientation for skill development is based on the following premises viz: coordination, private sector participation, entrepreneurship linkages, equity etc. The first premise clarifies MSDE’s role which would be to steer, coordinate and converge skill development programmes. The second pertains to catalysing private sector participation in the skill development sector through Public Private Partnerships and scaling up industry linkages with vocational training institutes. Skilling and entrepreneurship go hand in hand.  Skill training initiatives need to create a pool of job seekers and job creators, to propel economic growth. Importantly, economically and socially disadvantaged sections of society must be prime beneficiaries of skill training initiatives. MSDE’s activities over the past few months have been guided by these premises.

Establishing a Clear Policy Framework: Policy, Mission, Common Norms

As a new Ministry, one of MSDE’s first tasks was to establish a clear policy framework for skill development in India. Three key policy interventions have been undertaken by MSDE. This includes the creation of a National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015, which articulates a framework for skilling at scale and speed while ensuring high quality outcomes; the establishment of National Skill Development Mission which seeks to converge, coordinate, implement and monitor skilling activities on a pan-India basis, and the creation of Common Norms for all skill development programmes across Cemntral Ministries/Departments. All three policy documents have received Cabinet Approval. Policy and Mission have also been formally launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 15 July this year, as a part of the launch of ‘Skill India’. India now has a robust policy framework to scale up skill development initiatives across the country. Having set out the policy framework, MSDE has also been working on developing a coherent programme of action.

Developing a Programme of Action: Pradhan Manthri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Revamping ITIs, Strategic Partnerships, NSDC and NSDA

Pradhan Manthri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) MSDE’s flagship outcome-based skill training scheme, was formally launched by the Prime Minister on 15 July 2015. A pilot phase of the scheme was initiated on 25 May 2015. PMKVY aims to incentivise young people to enrol in skill development initiatives, by providing a monetary reward to every young person who successfully completes an approved skill training programme, with an affiliated training provider. PMKVY is  funded by Government of India and implemented through National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). 24 lakh youth across India will be trained under PMKVY in the next one year, of which 14 lakh trainees will be fresh entrants. 50,000 Persons with Disabilities will also be trained under PMKVY. In addition, youth who do not possess formal certification, will be assessed and certified through an initiative known as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in PMKVY. 10 lakh youth will be trained under the RPL initiative, over the next year. This will be an important effort to recognize the skills and open up new job opportunities for a vast majority of young Indians who acquire skills through informal channels or work in the unorganised sector. As of 31 July this year, 25 participating SSCs have already enrolled 2.12 lakh candidates for 196 Job roles in 29 states and 4 Union Territories across India, in PMKVY.

Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), which were formerly under Ministry of Labour and Employment have were transferred to MSDE in April this year. A number of initiatives are being undertaken to revitalise these organisations. This includes for example, upgrading their curriculum (in collaboration with industry experts), strengthening industry linkages, scaling up apprenticeships, modernising equipment and facilities within ITIs etc. In addition, 34 ITIs and 68 Skill Development Centres are also being established in 34 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts to open up employment opportunities for youth in these areas. These initiatives are aimed at improving the quality of training in these institutions and ensuring that students who complete ITI courses are employable.

Strategic partnerships have also been undertaken between MSDE and other Ministries/Departments in the Central Government, to collaborate on scaling up skill training activities in specific sectors. MSDE now has strategic partnerships with: Ministries of Social Justice and Empowerment (Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities), Health and Family Welfare, Steel, Mines, Railways, Defence and Chemicals and Fertilizers (Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Department of Fertilizers, Department of Pharmaceuticals). Public Sector Units (PSUs) within these sectors and related contractors will be encouraged to hire workers certified in job roles aligned to NSQF, utilize CSR Fund for skill training purposes and set up Centres of Excellence in collaboration with DGT or NSDC, through these strategic partnerships. Ministers heading each of these Ministries/Departments, other Cabinet Ministers, several Chief Ministers and stakeholders from government, academia, industry organisations etc. also participated in the launch of ‘Skill India’ on 15 July and shared their commitment to partner with MSDE to skill India’s youth. These partnerships will play an important role in scaling up skill training initiatives and ensuring that skill training takes place at high quality, in each of these sectors.

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has been a key player in the skill development space, even before the Ministry was formed. NSDC is now MSDE’s implementation arm. It works with a network of 235 training partners and 38 approved Sector Skills Councils. The entire NSDC ecosystem has trained over 55 lakh people as of July 2015.

National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) which is also a part of the Ministry plays an important role as a normative body. Its focus is on ensuring that skill training programmes are aligned to National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) and quality assurance mechanisms are operational. Till date, NSDA has approved 1226 Qualification Packs, across 28 different Trades NSDA is also playing an important role to develop a framework for RPL.

Together, NSDC and NSDA focus on scale and quality, which are two key pillars of MSDE’s skill development mandate.

Moving forward, MSDE’s focus will be on programme implementation, monitoring and ensuring that high standards and quality assurance systems are in place.  It is vital that private sector, industry associations, training providers and government institutions play a proactive role and collaborate to scale up skill training efforts across the country. These initiatives are an important step towards meeting industry’s human resource requirements and will boost growth. Importantly, they will also give India’s aspiring youth access to stable employment opportunities and sustainable livelihoods.