India Year Book - Volume I

INDEX
1.

National Symbols

2.

Agriculture

3.

Culture and Tourism

4.

Basic Economic Data

5.

Defence

6.

Communication and Information Technology

7.

Education

8.

Energy

9.

Environment

10. Finance
11. Corporate Affairs

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NATIONAL SYMBOLS
The Republic of India has several official national symbols. These symbols are intrinsic to the Indian identity
and heritage. These are discussed as follows:
A. National Flag
Features

The National Flag is a horizontal tricolor of deep saffron (kesaria) at the top, white in the middle and dark
green at the bottom in equal proportion.

The ratio of width of the flag to its length is 2:3. In the centre of
the white band is a navy-blue wheel which represents the chakra.

Its designis that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the
Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the
width of the white band and it has 24 spokes.

The design of the National Flag was adopted by the Constituent

Assembly of India on July 22, 1947.

The flag is based on the Swaraj flag, a flag of the Indian National
Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya.

The flag, by law, is to be made of khadi, a special type of hand-spun cloth, or silk made popular by
Mahatma Gandhi.

The manufacturing process and specifications for the flag are laid out by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
The right to manufacture the flag is held by the Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission

Constitutional & Statutory Provisions Related To National Flag

Art 51A(a) - To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the
National Anthem.
Statutes Governing Use of Flag

Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950

Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act,1971

Flag Code of India, 2002

There is no restriction on the display of the National Flag by members of general public, private organisations,
educational institutions, etc., except as provided for by the above statutes.

Notes

Half-mast: The flag should be flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning. The decision to do so lies with the
President of India, who also decides the period of such mourning.

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Significance
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became India's first Vice President and second President, clarified the
adopted flag and described its significance as follows:

The saffron color denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material
gains and dedicate themselves to their work.

The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct.

The green shows our relation to the soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends.

The "Ashoka Chakra" in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. The wheel denotes
motion-India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the
dynamism of a peaceful change.

B.

State Emblem

Features

It is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capitol of Ashoka. Carved out of a single
block of polished sandstone, the Capitol is crowned by the Wheel of the Law
(Dharma Chakra).

In the state emblem, adopted by the Government of India (by Madhav Sawhney)
in 1950 on January 26, 1950, only 3 lions are visible. The wheel appears in the
centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left.

The outlines of other wheels on extreme right and left. The bell-shaped lotus has
been omitted.

The words Satyameva Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning 'Truth Alone
Triumphs', are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.

The use of the state emblem of India, as the official seal of the Government of
India, is regulated by the State of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005.No
individual or private organisation is permitted to use the emblem for official
correspondence.

C.

National Anthem

The song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its
Hindi version as the National Anthem of India on January 24, 1950.

It was first sung on December 27, 1911 at the Kolkata Session of the Indian National Congress.

It has five stanzas with first stanza containing the full version of the National Anthem

The duration of the National Anthem is approximately 52 seconds. A short version consisting of the first
and last lines of the stanza (playing time approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions.

D. National Song
The song Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration
to the people in their struggle for freedom.

It has an equal status with Jana-gana-mana.It was first sung at the 1896 session of the Indian National
Congress.

Notes

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E.

National Calendar

The National Calendar based on the Saka Era, with Chitra as its first month and a normal year of 365
days was adopted from March 22, 1957 along with the Gregorian calendar for :
(i)

Gazette of India,

(ii) News broadcast by All India Radio,

(iii) Calendars issued by the Government of India
(iv) Government communications addressed to the public.

Dates of the National Calendar have a permanent correspondence with dates of the Gregoriancalendar,
1 Chitrafalling on March 22 normally and on March 21 in leap year.

F.

National Flower: Indian lotus

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is a sacred flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient
India and has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture.
G. National Fruit: Mango
Mango (Mangifera indica) originated in India and the country is home to more than 100 varieties of the fruit.
H. National river: Ganga
Ganga is the longest river of India with the most heavily populated river basin in the world. The river is revered
by Hindus as the most sacred river on earth.
I.

National Tree: Indian Banyan

Indian banyan (Ficus bengalensis) root themselves to form new trees and grow over large areas. Because of
this characteristic and its longevity, this tree is considered immortal and is an integral part of the myths and
legends of India.
J.

National animal: Royal Bengal Tiger

Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), the largest carnivore is found only in the Indian subcontinent and can be
found in most regions of the country.
K. National Aquatic Animal: River Dolphin
Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is said to represent the purity of the holy Ganga River as it can only
survive in pure and fresh water.
L.

National Bird: Indian Peacock

Indian peacock (Pavo cristatus) is designated as the national bird of India. A bird indigenous to the subcontinent,
peacock represents the unity of vivid colors and finds references in Indian culture.
M. National Currency: Indian Rupee

Notes

Indian Rupee (ISO code: INR) is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency
is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India. The Indian rupee symbol is derived from the Devanagari consonant
"?" (ra) and the Latin letter "R" was adopted in 2010.

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AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is the principal source of livelihood for more than 55 per cent of the population of the country.
It provides the bulk of wage goods required by non-agriculture sectors and most of the raw materials for the
industries sector. In 2014-15, despite erratic and deficient monsoon, the production of foodgrains, has been
recorded at 252.68 million tonnes. This record production can be attributed to effective transfer of latest crop
production technologies to farmers under various schemes being implemented by the Department of Agriculture,
Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DACFW).

Schemes Related To Agriculture Sector

A. Krishonnati Yojana
It is an umbrella scheme which includes the following:
National Food Security Mission (NFSM)

National Food Security Mission was launched in 2007-08 to increase the production of rice, wheat and
pulses by 10, 8 and 2 million tonnes, respectively by the end of 11th Five Year Plan.

The mission is being continued during 12th Five Year Plan with new target of additional production of
25 million tonnes of foodgrains comprising 10 million tonnes of rice, 8 million tonnes of wheat and 4
million tonnes of pulses and 3 million tonnes of coarse cereals.

The major interventions/activities covered under NFSM include cluster demonstrations of rice, wheat,
pulses and coarse cereals, distribution of improved varieties/hybrid seeds, need based plant and soil
management, farm mechanization, resource conservation techniques/energy management, efficient water/
application tools, cropping system based trainings and local initiatives, etc.

b)

National Food Security Mission-Commercial Crops

The Government of India has approved crop development programme on cotton, jute and sugarcane for
enhancing productivity under National Food Security Mission - Commercial Crops (NFSM-CC) from
2014-15. Under this scheme, the thrust is on transfer of technology through frontline demonstrations and
trainings.

c)

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)

It covers wide horticulture base, which includes fruits, vegetables, tuber crops, mushrooms, spices and
aromatic plants flowers and foliage and plantation crops like coconut, arecanut, cashew nut, cocoa and
bamboo.

The mission emphasises on production of quality seeds and planting material, production enhancement
through productivity improvement measures along with support for creation of infrastructure to reduce
post harvest losses and improved marketing of produce with active participation of all stakeholders,
particularly farmer groups and farmer producer organizations.

Notes

a)

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d)

National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm

National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP) envisages increase in production of vegetable oils
sourced from oilseeds, oil palm and tree borne oilseeds.

The strategy to implement the proposed mission will include increasing seed replacement ratio with focus
on varietal replacement; increasing irrigation coverage under oilseeds from 26% to 36%; diversification of
area from low yielding cereals crops to oilseeds crops; intercropping of oilseeds with cereals/pulses/
sugarcane; use of fallow land after paddy potato cultivation; expansion of cultivation of oil palm in
watersheds and wastelands; increasing availability of quality planting materials of oil palm.

e)

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)

NMSA as a programmatic intervention became operational from the year 2014-15 with aims of making
agriculture more productive, sustainable and remunerative and climate resilient by promoting location
specific integrated/composite farming systems; soil and moisture conservation measures; comprehensive
soil health management; efficient water management practices and mainstreaming rain-fed technologies.

In relation to this following schemes have been launched:

1.

Soil Health Card Scheme

2.

Under this scheme Soil Health Card (SHC) will be provided to all farmers in the country at
an interval of three years so as to enable them to apply appropriate recommended dosages of
nutrients for crop production and improving soil health and its fertility.

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana

Under this programme, group of farmers would be motivated to take up organic farming. 50
or more farmers will form a cluster having 50 acre land to take up organic farming under the
scheme.

Every farmer will be provided Rs. 20,000 per acre over 3 years to meet end to end expenditureseed to harvesting of crops to transport of produce to the market.

Organic farming will be promoted by using traditional resources and the organic products will
be linked with the market. It will increase domestic production and certification of organic
produce by involving farmers.

f)

National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology

It aims to restructure and strengthen agricultural extension to enable delivery of appropriate technology
and improved agronomic practices to the farmers consists of four sub-missions namely : (i) On agriculture
extension; (ii) Seed and planting material; (iii) Agriculture mechanization; and (iv) Plant protection and
plant quarantine.

This includes the following initiatives:

1.

Support To State Extension Programmes for Extension Reforms

Agri-Clinic and Agri-Business Centres

Notes

2.

This scheme has recently been revised to include manpower support; roping in the farmers'
feedback into planning by setting up Farmer Advisory Committees (FACs) at block/district
and state level and providing farmer-to-farmer learning and extension support through farmer
friend.

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3.

National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture

4.

The scheme provides extension services to farmers through setting up of economically

viable self-employment ventures. Selected trainees are provided agri-entrepreneurship
training for a period of 2 months by the National centre for management of agricultural
extension at Hyderabad (MANAGE) through identified nodal training institutions in various
states, which also provide handholding support for one year.

This scheme aims to achieve rapid development of agriculture in India through the use of ICT
for ensuring timely access to agriculture related information for the farmers of the country.

Setting up of Kisan Call Centres and farmer's portal to create awareness. It also includes platform
like m-kisan portal and DD Kisan channel.

g)

Price Stabilization Fund for Cereals and Vegetables

The Government has approved the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) as a Central Sector Scheme, with a
corpus of Rs. 500 crore, to advance interest free loans to States and central/state agencies to support their
working capital and other expenses on procurement interventions for perishable agri-horticultural
commodities when prices crash and thus protect the farmers. Currently it is operational for onion and
potato only.

B.

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana (PMKSY)

The PMKSY programme will focus on:

i)

Ensuring access to water to every agriculture farm (Har Khet Ko Pani);

ii)

Increasing agricultural production and productivity by increasing availability and efficient use of water;

iii) Providing flexibility and autonomy to states in the progress of planning and executing programmes;
iv) Ensuring a holistic approach by way of preparation of comprehensive district and state irrigation plans.
C.

Initiative For Increasing Flow of Credit

a)

Interest subvention: Government of India had announced an Interest Subvention Scheme in 2006-07 to
enable banks to provide short term credit to agriculture (crop loan) upto Rs. 3 lakh at 7% rate of interest
to farmers. It aims to provide credit at a cheaper rate to the farmers.

b)

Kisan Credit Card Scheme: In order to ensure that all eligible farmers are provided with hassle free and
timely credit for their agricultural operation, Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme was introduced in 199899. The main objectives of the scheme are to meet the short term credit requirements for cultivation of
crops, post harvest expenses, produce marketing loan, consumption requirements of farmer household,
working capital for maintenance of farm assets and activities allied to agriculture like dairy animals,
inland fishery, etc., and investment credit requirement for agriculture and allied activities like pump sets,
sprayers, dairy animals, etc.

D. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

The PMFBY will replace the existing two schemes National Agricultural Insurance Scheme as well as the
Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).

The new scheme, to be executed also by private insurance companies, is seen as a significant step by
policy makers, farming community and experts. The government's move will enhance insurance coverage
to more crop area to protect farmers from vagaries of monsoon.

Notes

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Under the new scheme that would cost government Rs. 8,000-9,000 crore annually, the farmers' premium
has been kept at a maximum of 2% for foodgrains and oilseeds, and up to 5% for horticulture and cotton
crops.

There is no upper limit on Government subsidy. Even if balance premium is 90%, it will be borne by the
Government. Earlier, there was a provision of capping the premium rate which resulted in low claims
being paid to farmers. This capping was done to limit Government outgo on the premium subsidy. This
capping has now been removed and farmers will get claim against full sum insured without any reduction.

Importantly for the beneficiaries, crop losses which are covered under the scheme include yield losses as
well as post-harvest losses, where coverage will be available up to a maximum period of 14 days from
harvesting for those crops.

The use of technology will be encouraged to a great extent resulting in operational efficiency. Smart
phones will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to
farmers. Remote sensing will be used to reduce the number of crop cutting experiments.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research

Agriculture research and education in India is spearheaded by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR), an autonomous organization under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE),
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Government of India. This Apex body is mandated for
coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture and allied activities. It has the largest
network of agricultural research and education in the world.

Animal Husbandry, Dairying And Fisheries Sector In India

The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries is one of the Departments under the Ministry
of Agriculture. The Department is responsible for matters relating to livestock production, preservation,
protection and improvement of stocks, dairy development, matters relating to the Delhi Milk Scheme and the
National Dairy Development Board. It also looks after all matters pertaining to fisheries, which includes inland
and marine sectors and matters related to the National Fisheries Development Board. It advises the State
Governments and Union Territories in the formulation of policies and programmes in the field of animal
husbandry, dairy development and fisheries.
The Dairy sector in India has grown substantially over the years. As a result of prudent policy intervention,
India ranks first among the world's milk producing nations, achieving an annual output of 145 million tonnes
(Provisional) during the year 2014-15 as compared to 137.68 million tonnes during 2013-14 recording a growth
of 5.32%.
The brief details of Dairy Development Schemes being implemented by this Department are as follows:
A. National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development

Notes

The Scheme has two components: (a) National Programme for Bovine Breeding (NPBB); (b) National
Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD). The NPBB will focus on extension of field AI Network through
MAITRI (Multi Purpose AI Technician in Rural India) and to encourage conservation and development of
recognized indigenous breeds of the country. The NPDD will focus on creating infrastructure related to
production, procurement, processing and marketing of milk and milk products by the State Implementing
Agency (SIA) (State Milk Marketing Federations/District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union) and manpower
development activities including training of milk producers associated to dairy cooperative societies.

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B.

National Dairy Plan Phase-I

National Dairy Plan has been launched with the objective of increasing productivity of milch animals and
providing rural producers greater access to organized milk processing sector and is being implemented by
National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
C.

Dairy Entrepreneurship Development

Its objective is to work for promotion of private investment in dairy sector to increase the milk production and
helping in poverty reduction through self employment opportunities.
D. National Livestock Mission
National Livestock Mission (NLM) is being implemented with the objectives of sustainable development
of livestock sector, focusing on improving availability of quality feed and fodder, risk coverage, effective
extension, skill development, improving flow of credit and organization of livestock farmers/rearers, etc.
E.

Poultry Development

Poultry is one of the fastest growing sub-sectors of animal husbandry with annual growth rates of eggs at
around 6%t per annum.
F.

Central Poultry Development Organizations (CPDO)

The CPDOs located at four regions viz., Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Mumbai and Hessarghatta have been
playing a pivotal role in the implementation of the policies of the Government with respect to poultry.
G. Strengthening of Breeding Infrastructure
It aims at strengthening existing state poultry farms so as to enable the flow of suitable germplasm from the
research institutions/laboratories to the grassroots level along with other technical services through capacity
building of state poultry farms; and developing and implementing package of practices at the ground level for
different types of poultry system including family poultry system for supplementary income generation and
family nutrition.
H. Fisheries
India is the second largest producer of fish in the world contributing 5.68 per cent of global fish production.
It is also a major producer of fish through aquaculture and ranks second in the world after China. Fishery is
one of the most promising sectors of agriculture and allied activities in India.
On-Going Schemes
i.

Development of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture;

ii.

Development of Marine Fisheries, Infrastructure and Post Harvest Operations;

iii. National Scheme of Welfare of Fishermen;

iv.

Strengthening of Database and Geographical Information System for the Fisheries Sector;

v.

Assistance to Fisheries Institutes;

vi. National Fisheries Development Board;

Notes

vii. Issuance of Biometric Identity Cards to Coastal Fishermen.

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I.

Blue Revolution

In the budget allocation (2015-16) all the existing schemes of fisheries sector have been brought under the
umbrella of 'Blue Revolution' for growth of fisheries and aquaculture in the country. Blue Revolution refers
to an integrated and holistic approach towards the development and management of the fisheries and aquaculture
sector in the country for increased production and productivity.
J.

Livestock Health

Notes

Livestock sector plays an important role in national economy and socio-economic development of the country.
Livestock sector has immense potential for growth. The biggest impediment to growth of this sector, however,
is the large-scale prevalence of animal diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Pestedes Petits Ruminants,
Brucellosis, Avian Influenza, etc., which adversely affect the animal productivity. Therefore, to effectively
tackle the issue of livestock health, Government of India supplements the efforts of State Governments for
prevention and control of animal diseases by providing assistance under various components of a Centrally
Sponsored Scheme 'Livestock Health and Disease Control (LH and DC)', now renamed as 'Veterinary Services
and Animal Health'.

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CULTURE AND TOURISM

Culture refers to A human-made environment which includes all the material and non-material products of
group life that are transmitted from one generation to the next. These may be transmitted through symbols,
constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiment as artifacts. The
essential core of culture thus lies in those finer ideas, by means of which people communicate, perpetuate and
develop their knowledge about and express their attitudes toward life.
The Ministry of Culture

The Ministry of Culture preserves and conserves ancient cultural heritage and promotes art and culture,
both tangible and intangible.

It also nurtures Gandhian heritage and is responsible for commemoration of important historical events
and centenaries of great personalities.

Intangible Cultural Heritage

It includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such
as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning
nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Institutes protecting intangible heritage

A. Lalit Kala Akademi
It has been established to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the
country.

It was established on August 5, 1954 in New Delhi. The Academy has regional centres called Rashtriya
Lalit Kala Kendra at Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Garhi in New Delhi, Shimla and Bhubaneswar.

Working Area

a)

The Academy has been organizing national exhibition of contemporary Indian art with 15 national awards.

b)

Once in every 3 years, the Academy also organizes Triennial International exhibition of contemporary art
in New Delhi.

c)

The Academy honors eminent artists and art historians every year by electing them as Fellows of the
Academy.

d)

In order to foster contacts with artists from outside, it sponsors exchange of artists with other countries
under the various Cultural Exchange Programmes.

The Lalit Kala Academy accords recognition to art institutions/associations and extends financial assistance.

Notes

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It also gives scholarships to deserving young artists belonging to its regional centres.

B.

Sangeet Natak Akademi

Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, is a pioneer in creation
of modern India that led politically to India's freedom in 1947.

In 1961, the Sangeet Natak Akademi was reconstituted by the Government as a society and registered
under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

Working Area

a)

The festivals of music, dance and drama presented or promoted by the Akademi and are held all over
India.

b)

The great masters of the performing arts have been elected as Fellows of the Akademi.

c)

The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards conferred annually on eminent artists and scholars.

d)

Financial assistance to artists for their work from the Akademi.

e)

It has a large archive of audio and video tapes and remains the single most important resource for
researchers in the field of performing arts.

f)

The Akademi establishes and looks after institutions and projects of national importance in the field of
performing arts. In 1959, the Akademi established the National School of Drama and in 1964, the Kathak
Kendra).

g)

Being the apex body, the Akademi also advises and assists the Government of India in formulating and
implementing policies and projects in this field.

C.

Sahitya Akademi

Sahitya Akademi is the Indian National Academy of Letters, to promote Indian literature through
publications, translations, seminars, workshops, cultural exchange programmes and literary meets organized
all over the country.

The Akademi was founded in March 1954 as an autonomous body fully funded by the Department of
Culture.

It was registered as a Society in 1956 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The Akademi has
recognized 24 languages.

It has an office at Shillong for promotion of oral and tribal literature and an Archive of Indian literature
in Delhi.

The three fellowships by Sahitya Akademi are:

1.

Sahitya Akademi Honorary Fellowship

2.

Anand Fellowship

3.

Premachand Fellowship

Every year since its inception in 1954, the Sahitya Akademi awards are given to the most outstanding
books of literary merit published in any of the major Indian languages.

Certain special projects like the Ancient Indian Literature, Medieval Indian Literature and Modern Indian
Literature together.

Notes

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It has also launched a new project Encyclopedia of Indian Poetics.

D. National School of Drama

The National School of Drama (NSD), one of the foremost theatre institutions in the world and the only
one of its kind in India was set up by Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1959. Later in 1975, it became an
autonomous organization.

Objective/Working area of the NSD:

a)

To train students in all aspects of theatre, including theatre history, production, scene design, costume
design, lighting, make-up, etc.

b)

The school has a performing wing, a repertory company to establish professional theatre and regular
experimental work.

c)

The NSD has promoted children's theatre. The Theatre-in-Education Company (renamed as Sanskar Rang
Toli) was founded in 1989 and has been actively involved in production of plays for children and organizing
summer theatre workshops.

d)

The first ever National Theatre Festival christened Bharat Rang Mahotsav was held in 1999.

E.

Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts

The Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) is an autonomous centre under the Ministry of
Culture.

The IGNCA's view of the arts encompasses wide areas such as creative and critical literature, written and
oral; the visual arts, architecture, sculpture, painting, graphics, photography and film.

The centre aims at exploring, studying and reviving the dialogue between India and her neighbours, in areas
pertaining to the arts, and between communities in India and the world.

It focuses on schools and educational institutions and complements its research by cross disciplinary
landscape studies.

F.

Centre for Cultural Resources and Training

The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) is one of the premier institutions working in the
field of linking education with culture.

The centre was set up in May, 1979 as an autonomous organization by the Government of India. With
headquarters in New Delhi, it has 3 regional centres at Udaipur, Hyderabad and Guwahati.

The broad objectives of CCRT have been to revitalize the education system by creating an understanding
and awareness among students about the plurality of the regional cultures of India and integrating this
knowledge with education.

It conducts a variety of training programmes for in-service teachers drawn from all parts of the country.

This training also stresses on the role of culture in science and technology, housing, agriculture, sports, etc.

It creates awareness amongst students and teachers, of their role in solving environmental pollution
problems and conservation and preservation of the natural and cultural heritage.

The CCRT organizes educational tours to monuments, museums, art galleries, craft centres, zoological
parks and gardens, camps on conservation of natural and cultural heritage, camps on learning crafts using
low cost locally.

Notes

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G. Zonal Cultural Centres

Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) aim to arouse awareness of the local cultures and to show how these merge
into zonal identities and eventually into the rich diversity of India's composite culture.

The 7 zonal cultural centres were established under this scheme during 1985-86 at Patiala, Kolkata,
Thanjavur, Udaipur, Nagpur.

Master craftsmen and artisans from various ZCCs participate in Crafts Fair. Documentation of various
rare folk and tribal art forms is one of the main thrust areas of the ZCCs.

Under the National Cultural Exchange Programme (NCEP), exchanges of artists, musicologists, performers
and scholars between different regions within the country take place.

The ZCCs promote craftsmen through Shilpgrams.

Performing Arts
1.

Dance

Dance in India has an unbroken tradition of over 2,000 years. Its themes are derived from mythology,
legends and classical literature. Its two main divisions are classical and folk.

In traditional Indian culture the function of dance was to give symbolic expression to religious ideas. The
figure of Lord Shiva as Nataraja represents the creation and destruction of the cosmic cycle.

Classical dance forms are based on ancient dance discipline and have rigid rules of presentation. Important
among them are Bharata Natyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Manipuri, Kuchipudi and Odissi.
Features
Mudra or hand gestures are used by the artists as a short-hand sign language to narrate a story and to
demonstrate certain concepts.

Many classical dances include facial expressions as an integral part of the dance form.

Nartanam: Dances performed inside the sanctum of the temple according to the rituals.

Carnatakam Dances were performed in royal courts.

A.

Bharata Natyam (Tamil Nadu)

The Abhinaya Darpana by Nandikesvara is one of the main sources of textual material, for the study of
the technique and grammar of body movement in Bharatnatyam Dance.

The style was kept alive by the devadasis, who were young girls 'gifted' by their parents to the temples
and were married to the gods.

The dance movements are characterized by bent legs, while feet keep rhythm. Hands may be used in a
series of mudra.

Instruments used in Bharatnatyam are Mridangam, Violin, Veena, Flute and Talam.

B.

Kathakali ( Kerala)

The word Kathakali literally means "Story-Play".

Kathakali is known for its heavy, elaborate makeup and costumes.

Notes

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The dancers wear large head dresses, and the different colors of the face are extended with moulded lime.

Kathakali dance presents themes derived from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and other Hindu epics,
mythologies and legends.

Kathakali is traditionally performed by boys and men, even for female roles.

Instruments used in Kathakali are Chenda, Maddalam, Cymbals and Ela taalam.

C.

Kathak (North India)

Kathak, meaning "the art of storytelling."

It is performed by both men and women.

The movements include intricate footwork accented by bells worn around the ankles and stylized gestures
adapted from normal body language.

The advent of Islamic rule in the 13th century greatly influenced the Indian culture, having a direct impact
on Kathak. (It was introduced as a form of entertainment in the courts and developed its own distinct and
individualistic style). Lucknow, Banaras and Jaipur are recognized as the three schools.

Instruments used in Kathak are Pakwaj, Tabla, Harmonium, Sarengi and Talam (cymbals).

D.

Manipuri( Manipur)

The most striking part of Manipur dance is its colorful decoration, lightness of dancing foot, delicacy of
abhinaya (drama), smooth and graceful movements.

The Manipuri dance form is mostly ritualistic and draws heavily from the rich culture of the state of Manipur.

Among the important feature of the Manipuri repertoire are the Sankirtana and the Raas Leela, based on
the devotional theme of Krishna and Radha.

Another vibrant feature of Manipuri is the Pung Cholam or Drum dance, in which dancers play on the
drum known as Pung.

The Lai Haroba, a ritualistic dance depicting the Creation, is considered the precursor of Manipuri as seen
today.

Instruments used in Manipuri are Pung and Cymbals.

E.

Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh)

Kuchipudi exhibits scenes from the Hindu epics, legends and mythological tales through a combination
of music, dance and acting.

Traditionally the dance was performed by men, even the female roles, although now it is predominantly
performed by women.

Taranagam is the main unique piece of Kuchpudi repertoire, also known as plate (made by brass) dance.
In that the dancer dance upon a brass plate, placing the feet upon the raised edges.

Instruments used in Kuchipudi are Mridangam, Violin, Veena, Flute and Talam.

Notes

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F.

Odissi (Odisha)

Originating in the Devadasi tradition, it is predominantly a dance for women, with postures that replicate
those found in temple sculptures.

Like other Indian classical dance forms, Odissi has two major facets:
i.

Nritta, in which ornamental patterns are created using body movements in space and time.

ii.

Abhinaya, or facial expressions are used to interpret a story or theme.

Tribhangi, (thrice deflected posture) in which the body is bent in three places, the shape of a helix.

Instruments were used in Odissi are Pakwaj, table, harmonium, flute and cymbals.

G.

Sattriya (Assam)

Sattriya Nritya was usually performed in the Sattras (Assam monasteries) in a highly ritialistic manner by
male dancers alone.

The core of Sattriya Nritya has usually been mythological stories.

Dressed in white costumes and turbans, head gears, they include khol-patital, boratal-cymbals playing,
performing dance, creating soundscapes, floor patterns and choreographic designs.

Both solo and group numbers enrich its presentation. The dresses are usually made of pat, a type of silk
produced in Assam.

2.

Music

Two main schools of classical music - Hindustani and Carnatic-continue to survive through oral tradition being
passed on by teachers to disciples. This has led to the existence of family traditions called gharanas and
sampradayas.
A.

Hindustani Music

Hindustani Sangeet is usually considered to be a mixture of traditional Hindu musical concepts and
Persian performance practice.

Hindustani music is based on the raga system.

A raga is a melodic scale, consisting of notes from the basic seven nodes known as sa, re, ga, ma pa, dha,
and ni.

Khyal and Dhrupad are 2 major types of compositions within the Hindustani genre.

There are many musical instruments that are associated with Hindustani sangeet. The most famous are
the tabla, sitar, sarangi, santur, and the sarod.

Types of Hindustani Music and its meaning

Dhrupad - Effort from vocal chords and lungs.
Dhamar - Play of Krishna during holy.
Khayal - Delicate, romantic and based on imagination.
Thumri - Romantic religious literature.

Notes

Tappa - Quick turn of phase.

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Bhajan - Religious devotional songs.

Tarana - Syllables sung together to set a rhythm.
Sabadas - Sikh religious songs.
Qawali - Indo-Muslim repertories of songs in groups.
Ghazal - Independent couplets on love and devotion.
B.

Carnatic Music

Carnatic Sangeet is found in the South Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra
Pradesh.

Purandardas is considered as the father of Carnatic Music.

Carnatic music acquired its present form in the 18th century under the "trinity" of Carnatic music;
Thyagaraja, Shamashastri, and Muthuswami composed their famous songs.

It is also based upon a system of ragam (rag) and thalam (tal).

Musical instruments veena, violin, mridangam, nadaswaram, and the tavil.

Kriti is a dominant element.

Types of Carnatic Music and its meaning Ragam

Tanam-Pallavi - Elaborate rhythmic and melodic variation in unmeasured sense.
Kriti-Kirthanai - Most popular type which refers to devotional music laced with poetic beauty.
Varnam - Performed at the beginning of a concert; a completely composed piece.
Padam - Slower tempoed love songs referring to the human yearning for the adored god head.
Javalis - Faster tempoed love songs with direct description of human love.
Tillana - Meaningful phrases are interspersed with variety of meaningless syllables.
3.

Theatre

Folk theatre can be seen in its regional variants practically in every region. There are also professional
theatre, mainly city-oriented.

Besides, India has a rich tradition of puppet theatre, prevalent forms being puppets, rod puppets, glove
puppets and leather puppets (shadow theatre).

Tangible Cultural Heritage

A. Archaeological Survey of India

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was established in 1861. It functions as an attached office of
the Department of Culture.

Branches of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

Underwater branch

Science branch

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Horticulture Branch

Epigraphy Branch

Expedition Abroad

Major activities

i)

Survey of archaeological remains and excavations;

ii)

Maintenance and conservation of Centrally protected monuments, sites and remains;

iii) Chemical preservation of monuments and antiquarian remains;

iv) Architectural survey of monuments;
v)

Development of epigraphical research and numismatic studies;

vi) Expeditions abroad;

vii) Training in archaeology;
viii) Publication of technical reports and research works.

Under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, the ASI has declared
3,675 monuments/sites to be of national importance in the country which includes twenty one properties
that are inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities

It prepares a National Register for Built Heritage, Sites and Antiques and setting up of a state level
database on Built Heritage (time frame - 5 years).

National Mission for Manuscripts

Indira Gandhi National Centre fo the Arts, New Delhi (IGNCA) as the nodal agency to reclaim India's
inheritance of knowledge contained in the vast treasure of manuscripts.

Documentation of manuscripts through survey, preventive and curative conservation, conducting training
courses and workshops on conservation, documentation through digitization, research and publication and
public outreach programmes.

B.

National Museum

Works under the Ministry of Culture since 1960.

Main activities:
Exhibitions, Reorganization/Modernization of Galleries, Educational Activities and Outreach Programmes,
Public Relations, Publications, Photo Documentation, Summer Holiday Programmes.
National Library

The National Library, Kolkata was established in 1948. It enjoys the status of an institution of national
importance.

Functions are:

(i)

Acquisition and conservation of all significant printed material as well as of manuscripts of national
importance;

Notes

C.

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(ii) Collection of printed material concerning the country, no matter where this is published;
(iii) Rendering of bibliographical and documentary services of current and retrospective material.
D. Anthropological Survey of India:

Researches in the area of bio-cultural aspects of Indian population in general and on those who are referred
to as the 'Weakest of the Weak' in particular. Documentation and study of ethnographic materials as well
as ancient human skeletal remains.

E.

National Archives of India:

Making public records accessible to various Government agencies and research scholars.

Preparation of reference material.

Preservation and maintenance of records and conducting of scientific investigations for the said purpose.

Evolving records management programmes.

Assistance Schemes
Scholarship and Fellowship Division: Monetary assistance to individuals for cultural activities.

Scholarships to Young Artistes in different Cultural Fields.

Award of Fellowships to Outstanding Persons in the fields of Culture.

Financial Assistance to Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata.

Scheme for Visiting Fellows in Art, Culture and Heritage.

Notes

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BASIC ECONOMIC DATA

The basic economic Data consists of calculation of GDP, Inflation, national income, etc. Various organizations
have been designated the responsibility for carrying out of it. Some are discussed below:
A. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation came into existence as an independent ministry
on October 15, 1999 after the merger of the Department of Statistics and the Department of Programme
Implementation.

The ministry has two wings, one relating to Statistics and the other relating to Programme Implementation.

The Statistics Wing re-designated as National Statistics Office (NSO) consists of the Central Statistical
Office (CSO) and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).

B.

Central Statistics Office

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), an attached office of the ministry, coordinates the statistical activities
in the country and evolves statistical standards.

Its activities inter-alia, include compilation of National Accounts, Index of Industrial Production, Consumer
Price Indices for Urban/Rural/ Combined, Human Development Statistics, including Gender Statistics in
the states and union territories and disseminates Energy Statistics, Social and Environment Statistics and
prepares the National Industrial Classification.

The CSO, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation releases Consumer Price Index (CPI) for
all-India and states/union territories separately for rural, urban and combined (rural plus urban) for the
purpose of temporal price comparison with effect from January, 2011 with 2010 as the base year. The
annual inflation rates based on this CPI series are available since January, 2012.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation releases
Consumer Price Index (CPI) on base 2010 = 100 for all India and states/union territories separately for
rural, urban and combined every month since January, 2011 and annual inflation rates from January 2012
onwards. The weighing diagram for this CPI series is based on the consumption pattern derived from the
results of the NSS 61st round Consumer Expenditure Survey (2004-05).

C.

The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)

The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), in Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation,
is responsible for conduct of large scale sample surveys, in diverse fields, on all India basis.

Primary data is collected regularly through nationwide household surveys on various Socio Economic
subjects, Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) under the Collection of Statistics Act and Enterprise surveys,
as a follow up of the Economic Census.

Besides these surveys, NSSO collects data on rural and urban prices; plays a significant role in the
improvement of crop statistics through supervision of the area enumeration and crop estimation surveys
of the state agencies. It also maintains a frame of urban areal units for drawing samples for SocioEconomic Surveys in urban areas.

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The NSSO functions with requisite autonomy, in matters relating to data collection, processing and
publication/dissemination of results/data based on its surveys, under overall guidance and supervision of
National Statistical Commission (NSC) which appoints Working Groups/ Technical Committees comprising
both official and non-official members on different subjects for finalization of survey instruments for its
surveys and methodologies for the same.

Indexes
A. Index of Industrial Production

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an abstract number or ratio which measures the growth of
various sectors in the economy.

In India, IIP is a representative figure which measures the general level of Industrial activity in the country.

Being an abstract number, it does not show volume of activity and only shows the magnitude which
represents the status of production in the industrial sector for a given period of time as compared to a
reference period of time.

The 8 Core Industries viz. Fertilizers, Electricity, Refinery Products, Natural Gas, Steel, Cement, Crude
Oil and coal [remember this by mnemonic FERNS-C3] is nearly 38% in the IIP. This is shown in
decreasing order as follows: Electricity 10.32; Steel (Alloy + Non-alloy) 6.68; Refinery Products 5.94;
Crude Oil 5.22; Coal 4.38; Cement 2.41; Natural Gas 1.71; Fertilizers 1.25.

B. Annual Survey of Industries

The Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) is the principal source of industrial statistics in India.

It provides statistical information to access and evaluate, objectively and realistically, the change in the
growth, composition and structure of the organized manufacturing sector comprising activities related to
manufacturing processes, repair services, generation, transmission, etc., of electricity, gas and water supply
and cold storage.

The ASI extends to the entire country. The survey covers all factories registered under Sections 2(m) (i)
and 2(m) (ii) of the Factories Act, 1948. The survey also covers bidi and cigar manufacturing establishments
registered under the Bidi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966.

All the electricity undertakings engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity
registered with the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) were covered under ASI up to 1997-98 irrespective
of their employment size. Certain services and activities like cold storage, water supply, repair of motor
vehicles and of other consumer durables like watches, etc., are covered under the survey.

Defence establishments, oil storage and distribution depots, restaurants, hotels, cafe and computer services
and the technical training institutes are excluded from the purview of the survey.

The electricity undertakings registered with the CEA are not being covered under ASI with effect from
1998-99. However, captive units not registered with CEA continued to be covered under ASI.

C.

Rural Retail Price Collection (RPC):

The Field Operation Division (FOD) regularly collects rural price data on monthly basis for the compilation
of Consumer Price Index for agricultural and rural labourers covering 603 villages in 340 districts across
the country, on behalf of the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Data on wage rates are also collected in respect of 12 Agricultural and 13 Non Agricultural occupations,
as part of the scheme.

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Data on daily wage rates of important agricultural operations are reported by the State Governments on
monthly basis.

For providing an alternative series of wage-rates data, the Data Processing Division of NSSO is compiling
and publishing occupation-wise wage rates, based on the data collected in Rural Prices schedule 3.01(R).

The Rural Retail Price Collection (RPC) bulletin called the 'Prices and Wages in Rural India' which is
published for each quarter, provides price data only at national level and wage data at national and state
level for 24 major states.

Notes

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DEFENCE
Introduction

A stable and peaceful regional and international environment is a critical requirement to create a conducive
climate for our overall national development.

Vast geographical landmass, Border sharing troubled neighbourhood, strategic location in the Indian Ocean
and the responsibility to protect its extensive Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), increases conventional and
non-conventional security challenges of India.

The activities of terrorist groups, the menace of drug trafficking, the spread of small arms, the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction and the challenges to maritime security in the immediate and extended
neighbourhood are some of the critical factors that affect India's security environment.

To deal with these security challenges, India continues to pursue a robust defence strategy that involves
both, the strengthening of its own capabilities as well as engagement in regional and global efforts to
promote peace and stability.

Ministry of Defence And Its Departments

The principal task of the ministry is to frame policy directions on defence and security related matters
and communicate them for implementation

The principal functions of the departments are as follows:

(i)

The Department of Defence deals with the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) and 3 Services and various
Inter Service Organizations. It is also responsible for the Defence Budget, establishment matters, defence
policy, matters relating to Parliament, defence co-operation with foreign countries and co-ordination of all
defence related activities.

(ii) The Department of Defence Production is headed by a Secretary and deals with matters pertaining to
defence production, indigenization of imported stores, equipment and spares, planning and control of
departmental production units of the Ordnance Factory Board and Defence Public Sector Undertakings
(DPSUs).
(iii) The Department of Defence Research and Development is headed by a Secretary, who is the Scientific
Adviser to the Raksha Mantri. Its function is to advise the Government on scientific aspects of military
equipment and logistics and the formulation of research, design and development plans for equipment
required by the Services.

Notes

(iv) The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare is headed by a Secretary and deals with all resettlement,
welfare and pensionary matters of Ex-Servicemen.

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Army

The Indian Army is committed to the defence of the country from external and internal threats across
the entire spectrum of warfare.

Navy

The Indian Navy is the prime enabler and guarantor of the country's maritime sovereignty and myriad useof-sea activities.
Operation Area of Indian Navy

Maintaining peace and tranquility in the IOR.

Protection to shipping lanes.

Constructive Engagement with our maritime partners.

Protection to offshore assets including Offshore Development Areas (ODAs).

Oversea operation

Search and Rescue Operation of Missing Malaysian Aircraft.

Eastern Fleet Overseas Deployment (OSD): Indian Navy ships Shakti, Ranvijay
and Shivalik weredeployed in the South China Sea, Sea of Japan and Western
Pacific Ocean.

This is discharged by the Indian Navy through its four roles - Military, Diplomatic, Constabulary and
Benign.

Primary role of Indian Navy duringthe 21 Century is to use maritime power in support of the National
Foreign Policy.

Secondary areas of interest; catalyse partnerships through maritime capability; build trust and create
interoperability through joint/ combined exercises and international maritime assistance.

Indian Coast Guard

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) came into being as an independent service on August 19, 1978 under the Coast
Guard Act,1978.

The duties and functions are:

a)

Safety and protection of artificial islands and offshore terminals, installations and devices inm-aritime
zones.

b)

Protection and assistance to fisher-men at sea while in distress.

c)

Preservation and protection of marine environment; prevention and control of marine pollution;

d)

Assistance to customs and other authorities in anti-smuggling operations.

Air Force
The IAF's Doctrine articulates this vision as, 'To acquire strategicreach and capabilities across the spectrum
of conflict that serve the ends of military diplomacy, nation building and enable force projection within
India's strategic area of influence.

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Training for Defence Services

Sainik Schools

The Sainik Schools were established as a joint venture of the Central and state Governments. These are
under the overall governance of Sainik Schools Society.

The objectives of Sainik Schools include:

a)

Bringing quality public school educationwithin the reach of the common man.

b)

All round development of a child's personality and to remove regional imbalance in the officer's cadre of
the Armed Forces.
Other Training Institutions

Rashtriya Military Schools

National Defence Academy

Rashtriya Indian Military College

Indian Military Academy, Dehradun

College of Military Engineering, Pune

Programmes and some Key Projects

India's Missile System consists of:
Agni I

Agni I is a single stage, solid fuel, road and rail mobile, Medium Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM) using
solid propulsion booster and a liquid propulsion upper stage derived from Prithvi. The Agni I has range
of 700-800 kms.

Agni II

Agni II is an Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM). The range for Agni II is more than 2000 kms.

Agni III

A 2-stage IRBM capable of nuclear weapons delivery.

The missile support a wide range of warhead configurations, with a 3,500 kms range and a total payload
weight of 2490 kgs.

Agni-IV

It is a 2-stage missile powered by solid propellant. Its length is 20 meters and launches weight 17 tonnes.

It can be fired from a road mobile launcher.

Its full range is 4,000 km.

Agni-V
Agni-V is a solid fueled Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) developed by Defense Research and
Development Organization (DRDO) of India.

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It range is more than 5,500 km.

Agni-V ICBM has been designed with the addition of a third composite stage to the 2-stage Agni-III
missile.

Akash

The Akash system is a medium-range surface-to- air missile with multi-target engagement capability
carrying a 55 kgs multiple warhead capable of targeting 5 aircraft simultaneously up to 25 kms.

Nag

The Nag is a 3rd generation 'fire-and-forget' anti- tank missile with a range of 4-8 kms. It is developed
in India as an anti- amour weapon employing sensor fusion technologies for flight guidance.

In addition, HELINA (Helicopter launched NAG) is the air-to-ground version of the NAG anti-tank
missileintegrated into the HAL built Dhruv Helicopters.

BRAHMOS:

Supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, is being developed with Russia as a private joint-venture.

BrahMos is a multi-platform cruise missile enabling it to strike from various types of land, sea and airbased platforms. It is among the fastest supersonic cruisemissiles in the world with speeds ranging
between Mach 2.5 - 2.8.
Other Missiles
Nirbhay
A supplement to the BrahMos is the Nirbhay a subsonic missile using a terrain-following navigation
system to reach up to 1,000 kms.
Sagarika
It is a Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) with a range of 750 kms.
Shaurya
A variant of the K-15 Sagarika named Shaurya has been developed from ground up as a submarine-capable
missile.
Astra
The Astra is a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile using a solid-propellant.
In terms of size and weight, the Astra is the smallest missile developed by theDRDO.
Prahaar
The Prahaar is Indias latest surface-to-surface missile with a range of 150 kms.

Notes

The primary objective of the conventionally armed Prahaar missile is to bridge the gap between the
unguided Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher (ranging 45 kms) and the guided Prithvi missile variants.

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Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas:

Indigenously developed LCA is an advanced technology, single seat, single engine, supersonic, light weight,
all-weather, multirole, air superiority fighterdesigned for air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea combat roles.

It is the smallest, light-weight, 4th generation combat aircraft developed in the world.

UAVs of India

Drones are Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) either controlled by 'pilots' from the ground or increasingly,
autonomously following a pre-programmed mission. Drones basically fall into 2 categories: Those that are
used for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes and those that are armed with missiles and bombs.

6 Functional categories

1)

Target and decoy - Providing ground and aerial gunnery a target that simulates an enemy aircraft or
missile,

UAVs of India
Nishant
Nishant is a multi mission Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Day/Night capability used for battlefield
surveillance and reconnaissance, target tracking & localization, and artillery fire correction.
Rustom
Rustom (Warrior) is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) being
developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation.
UAV Panchi
It is the wheeled version of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Nishant, capable of taking-off and landing by
using small airstrips. Panchi UAV has autonomous flight capabilities and is controlled from a user friendly
Ground Control Station (GCS).
AURA
AURA is stealth UCAV, capable of releasing missiles, bombs and precision-guided munitions.
2)

Reconnaissance - Providing battlefield intelligence,

3)

Combat - Providing attack capability for high- risk missions (see Unmanned combat air vehicle),

4)

Logistics - UAVs specifically designed for cargo and logistics operation,

5)

Research and development - Used to further develop UAV technologies to be integrated into field deployed
UAV aircraft,

6)

Civil and Commercial UAVs - UAVs specifically designed for civil and commercial applications.
Ships & Submarines

Notes

Under the broader policy of "Blue water Navy" and India's growing role in world Oceans, submarines and
fighter ships plays significant role to protect India's interest.

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Project 75 Submarine Dev-elopment.

The project 75 I-class submarine is a follow on of the project 75 Kalvari-class submarine for the Indian
Navy.

Under this project Indian navy intends to acquire 6 diesel-electric submarines.

Submarines in this class will also feature advanced Air Independent Propulsion (AIP System which will
enable them to stay submerged for longer duration and increasing its operational range substantially.
Indias Submarine and Naval strength
INS Arihant
Arihants design is based on the Russian Akula- 1 Class submarine.
Apart from capability to stay long periods under water( nuclear powered), it is equipped with K15, anti
ship, land attack missiles
Sindhu Sadhana:
The 1st ever indigenously built Research Vessel (Ship) Sindhu Sadhana acquired recently by the CSIRNational Institute of Oceanography, is a multi-disciplinary research vessel.
INS Vikrant
INS Vikrant is the first aircraft carrier built in India and the first Vikrant-class aircraft carrier built by Cochin
Shipyard for the Indian Navy.

Joint Naval Exercise

Operation Hand-in-Hand 2015

A battalion level Joint India-China Army Exercise called Operation Hand-in-Hand on counter- terrorism
and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief was held at Kunming, China.

Exercise INDRA - 2015

The joint military exercise between India and Russia, INDRA-2015 was held at Mahajan Field Firing
Ranges in Rajasthan.

Exercise Yudh Abhyas - 2015

The India-US Combined Military Training Exercise YUDH ABHYAS 2015 was held at Joint Base Lewis
McChord, USA.

Indo-French Naval Exercise Varuna - 2015

14th edition of Indo-French naval exercise (VARUNA) was conducted in Goa which had both a harbor
and sea phase exercise.

SIMBEX - 2015

Operation in Indian Ocean and South China Sea with Singapore.

Exercise Malabar - 2015

The 19th edition of MALABAR exercise was conducted in the Bay of Bengal. Along with the Indian
Navy and the US Naval Forces, the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Forces (JMSDF) also participated in the
exercise.

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COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Information Technology
The Indian Information Technology-Information Technology Enabled Services (IT-ITES) industry is the
mainstay of Indian technology sector as it has driven growth of the economy in terms of employment, revenue
generation, foreign exchange earnings, standards of living, etc. and has played a major role in placing the
country on the global canvas.
As a proportion of national Gross Development Product (GDP), the sector revenues have grown from 1.2%
in 1998 to nearly 8% in 2013. The IT-ITES firms offer wide spectrum of IT services across different segments,
Business Process Management (BPM), engineering and R&D, internet and mobility and software products. The
Indian IT-ITES industry further expanded its global delivery model accounting for 580 global centres across
75 countries as compared to 560 global centres and 70 countries.
Domestic IT-ITES Performance
Though the IT-ITES sector is export driven, the size of the domestic market is also significant. In domestic
market, the IT Services is the fastest growing segment (14.4%) followed by domestic software products (13.8%)
and BPM (12.4%).
IT-ITES Employment Scenario

The IT-ITES sector has become one of the key sectors for the Indian economy because of its economic
impact. This sector is the biggest employment generator and has spawned the mushrooming of several
ancillary industries such as transportation, real estate and catering, security, housekeeping, etc.

Direct employment in the IT services and Business Processing Outsource (BPO)/(ITeS) segment is estimated
to grow by over 7%. Indirect job creation is estimated at 9.5 million.

National Policy on Electronics

The National Policy on Electronics (NPE) 2012 was approved in 2012 with the vision to create a globally
competitive Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) industry to meet the country's needs and
serve the international market.
The policy is expected to create an indigenous manufacturing ecosystem for electronics in the country. It
will foster the manufacturing of indigenously designed and manufactured chips creating a more cyber
secure ecosystem in the country.

It will enable India to tap the great economic potential that this knowledge sector offers. The increased
development and manufacturing in the sector will lead to greater economic growth through more
manufacturing and consequently greater employment in the sector.

The ESDM is of strategic importance, not only in internal security and defence but also in the pervasive
deployment of electronics in civilian domains such as telecom, power, railways, civil aviation, etc.

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The major initiatives enunciated in the National Policy on Environment are:

i.

Setting up Semiconductor Wafer Fabs

Based on the recommendations of the Empowered Committee (EC), the Government has 'in-principle'
approved setting up of 2 Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) manufacturing facilities in the country.

These FAB facilities are expected to provide big boost to the Electronic System Design & Manufacturing
(ESDM) eco-system in the country.

The Government has also provided incentives already available under the Modified Special Incentive
Package Scheme (M-SIPS) and deduction available for expenditure on R&D under the Income Tax Act.
The Government will provide Viability Gap Funding (VGF) in the form of an interest free loan for a
period of 10 years. The Government will also get 11% equity in the aforesaid projects.

ii.

Preference to Domestically Manufactured Electronic Goods

The Government has laid down policy for providing preference to domestically manufactured electronic
products in Government procurement.

The extent of Government procurement from domestic manufacturers will not be less than 30% of the
total procurement value of that electronic product or products.

Domestically manufactured electronic products would cover products manufactured by companies that
are registered and established in India and engaged in manufacture in India and would include contract
manufacturers, but traders are excluded from the definition.

iii. Electronics Manufacturing Clusters Scheme

The proposed scheme is expected to help flow of investment for the development of world-class
infrastructure specifically targeted towards attracting investment in the ESDM sector.

The policy covers all states and districts and provides the main opportunity to attract investments in
electronics manufacturing.

The assistance would be provided through a registered Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to be promoted by
private companies, industry associations, state or local governments, etc.

The proposed grant-in-aid assistance is to be 50% of the project cost in the case of green field EMCs
subject to a ceiling limit of 50 crore for every 100 acres of land and or brown field Electronic manufacturing
Clusters (EMCs) it would be 75%t of the project cost subject to a ceiling of 50 crore.

iv.

Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme

In order to attract investments into the ESDM sector by providing level-playing field and achieve competitiveness
in the global market and to partly offset the disabilities being faced by ESDM industry government has offered
package of incentives for ESDM units within Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs) by way of Modified
Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS).
Financial Incentives:
M-SIPS is investment based scheme and the financial incentives are as under:

25% of capital expenditure if the ESDM unit is in Non-SEZ and 20% of capital expenditure if the
ESDM unit is within Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Reimbursement of CVD/excise on capital equipment for Non-SEZ units.

Notes

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Reimbursement of Central taxes and duties (like custom duties, excise duties and service tax) for 10
years in select high-tech units like fabs, semiconductor logic and memory chips, LCD fabrication.

EMCs are geographical area or a region notified by DeitY.

The scheme is open for all initial applications which are received by DeitY on or before July 26, 2015.

The overall financial ceiling under the M-SIPS will initially be limited to Rs.10,000 crore during the 12th
Five Year Plan.

v.

Electronics Development Fund

One of the key initiatives to meet the objective of the draft National Policy on Electronics (NPE) to create
a globally competitive electronics design and manufacturing industry is to set up an Electronics Development
Fund (EDF) to promote innovation, Indian Intellectual Prpoerty(IP), R&D, product development,
commercialization of products, etc. In the ESDM, nano-electronics and IT sectors are being appropriate
funding/ Incentives to Industry/Academia/R&D institutions.
The broad objectives of Electronics Development Fund (EDF) are :

To facilitate Intellectual Property development by industry, academia and R&D institutions;

Design and develop India microprocessor for diverse specific/strategic applications;

Using technology to develop electronic products catering to domestic needs and conditions at affordable
price points;

Developing core competencies in sectors like telecommunication, IT, automotive, avionics, industrial,
medical, solar, information and broadcasting, etc. through use of ESDM in these sectors;

Encouraging the entrepreneurs by making available needed funding (pre-venture and venture capital),
management and mentoring support and to assist entrepreneurs to develop and commercialize India
products.

Electronics Development Fund is proposed to be set up as a 'Fund of Funds' to create need based
'Daughter Funds' for various innovation and manufacturing stages, with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore.

All funds are proposed to be professionally managed.

vi. Scheme for Mandatory Registration of Identified Electronic Products

Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012 has
been put in place since 2012 bringing into force scheme for mandatory regime of registration of identified 15
electronic products so that these products meet specified safety standards. It will help in development and
mandating technical and safety standards to curb the in-flow of sub-standard and unsafe electronics products.

National e-Governance Plan

The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), the flagship plan scheme of the department is a multi-stakeholder
programme which primarily focuses on making critical public services available and promoting rural
entrepreneurship.

Notes

Out of the 31 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) under the NeGP that are being implemented by various
ministries and departments, 27 have been approved by Government of India. 23 MMPs have gone live and
are delivering services electronically.

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The progress of the projects being implemented by DeitY under NeGP is summarized as follows:
(i)

State Data Centres (SDCs): Under this scheme, it is proposed to establish Data centres in all the states/
union territories so that common and secure IT infrastructure is created to host state level e-Governance
applications/data.

(ii) State-wide Area Networks (SWANs): SWAN is envisaged as the converged backbone network for data,
voice and video communications throughout a state/union.
(iii) Common Services Centres (CSCs): The CSCs are ICT enabled kiosks with broadband connectivity to
provide various Governments, private and social services at the doorstep of the citizen.
(iv) e-District: The implementation of the e-District project approved in 2011 for period of 4 years is currently
underway.
(v) Mobile Governance: DeitY has developed and notified the framework for Mobile governance in February,
2012. The Mobile Services Delivery Gateway (MSDG) was operationalized in July, 2011 and has now
become the core infrastructure for enabling the availability of public services through mobile devices. A
mobile Applications Store has also been created and made operational in January, 2012.
(vi) Rapid Replication Initiative: DeitY has undertaken an initiative to replicate the successful e-Governance
applications to other states. Under the initiative the online e-Pass (Scholarship scheme) application has
been successfully replicated the e-Hospital application of Tripura.
(vii) e-Bharat: The Government of India received a loan from the World Bank towards programme
management and financial support for the National-Governance Plan (NeGP) under e-Bharat initiative.
(viii)MeghRaj: To harness the benefits of cloud technology, DeitY has initiated a project named as 'MeghRaj'
for creating a Government of India cloud (GI Cloud) computing environment at the national level. This
will act as a common repository of cloud-based infrastructure resources and applications available on
demand. The GI Cloud is envisaged to provide the following outcomes. Optional utilization of ICT
infrastructure; Speedy development and deployment of e-Governance applications; Quick replication of
successful applications; and e-Governance App Store hosting certified applications.
(ix) NOFN Pilot Beyond the Fibre: Government of India has approved setting up of the National Optical
Fibre Network (NOFN) to provide connectivity to all 2,50,000 Panchayats in the country. Non-discriminatory
access to the network will be provided to all the telecom service providers like mobile, Internet and cableTV in rural areas. The project is being executed by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), namely, Bharat
Broadband Networks Limited (BBNL).
The vision of National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) is:

To provide 100 Mbps broadband connectivity to all Panchayats;

To provide Business to Business Services in a non-discriminatory manner;

To facilitate proliferation of Government to citizen, Business to customer and people to people Broadband
services in rural areas and to be a catalysts for increasing broadband penetration and usage.

Notes

(x) Dial. Gov: Dial. Gov has been implemented as a common man's interface for providing comprehensive
information on eligibility of benefits under the various social sector schemes operational across the
country by central and state departments.

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(xi) e-Taal:

Electronic Transactions Aggregation and Analysis Layer (e-Taal) is a web portal developed by NIC for
aggregation and analysis of e-Transaction statistics of central and state level e-governance projects including
Mission Mode Projects.

It receives transaction statistics from web based applications periodically on near real time basis and
presents status on actual utilization of various applications running at various locations.

National Knowledge Network

In March, 2010, National Knowledge Network (NKN) was established.

The objective of the scheme is to inter-connect all knowledge institutions across the country through high
speed data communication network to encourage sharing of resources and collaborative research.

Human Resource Development Initiatives

HRD activities of DeitY are targeted to ensure availability of trained human resources for the manufacturing
and service sectors of electronics and IT industry. Initiatives included identifying gaps emerging from the
formal sector and planning programmes in non-formal and formal sectors for meeting these gaps.
a)

Scheme of Financial Assistance for Setting up of Electronics and ICT Academies

b)

Scheme to give a thrust to Research in areas of Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM)
and IT/IT Enabled Services (ITES)

c)

Scheme for IT Mass Literacy

a.

One of the objective of the National Policy on IT 2012 is to make one person in every household
in the country e-literate.

b.

The content developed for purposes of skilling person on IT literacy shall be in local language.

d)

Scheme for Financial Assistance to States/UTs for Skill Development in Electronics System Design and
Manufacturing (ESDM) Sector.

e)

Create facilities in backward areas through strengthening of National Institute of Electronics and Information
Technology.

f)

A project on 'Development of North-Eastern Region by enhancing the training/ education capacity in the
Information, Electronics and Communications Technology (IECT) Area' has been initiated.

Different initiatives in field of IT and Electronics

A. Indian Language Computing
India is a multilingual country with 22 constitutionally recognized languages and 11 scripts. Therefore it is
essential that tools for information processing in local languages are developed and made available for wider
proliferation of ICT for the benefit the people at large. This would address the problem of digital divide and
pave the way towards 'Digital Unite and Knowledge for all'.
Significant achievements made by the department in language computing including the following:
Text To Speech (TTS) systems integrated with screen readers for 6 Indian languages

b.

Monolingual Search Engines (Sandhan) for tourism domain for 5 Indian languages.

Notes

a.

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c.

Optical Character Recognition System for 6 Indian languages.

d.

English-Indian languages (9 language pairs) and Indian languages-Indian languages (8 language pairs) machine
translation facility .

e.

Language CDs for 22 constitutionally recognized Indian languages, containing fonts and software tools
to enable users to work on computers in local languages.

B.

Research and Development and Innovation in Information & Communication Technology & Education
(ICTE)

Research & Development and Innovation Framework has been released. This framework envisages initiatives
to address various aspects in the R&D life cycle for creating R&D/Innovation environment.

Some of the initiatives are:

a)

National Super Computing Mission.

b)

R&D innovation activities have been pursued in various areas including Nanoelectronics, Free &
Open Source Software (FOSS), Bioinformatics, High Performance Computing, Green Computing etc.
The GNU/Linux based indigenous Operating System with Indian languages support 'Bharat Operating
System Solutions (BOSS)' has been deployed in various e-Governance and educational applications.

c)

Information Technology Research Academy (ITRA) programme, wherein the focus areas are chosen
with societal relevance for nurturing research, has been initiated to help build a national resource for
advancing the quality and quantity of R&D in ICT&E and its applications in IT and related institutions
across India. 2 focus areas initiated are:
1)

Mobile Computing, Networking and Architecture (ITRA-Mobile):

2)

IT based innovations in Water Resources Sustainability (ITRA-Water).

d)

Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE): Under the scheme, 27 institutions
of higher learning have been supported to provide seed funding to the technology start-up companies in
the area of ICT&E.

e)

Nanotechnology Initiatives:

R&D and Innovation Framework document has been created and released;

Major projects initiated in the area of Nanoelectronics, These include:

1)

Centre of Excellence in Nanoelectronics and a major centre on 'NEMS and Nanophotonics',

'Non-silicon Nanoelectronics', 'Cluster based MBE (Molecular Bean Epitaxy) tool for high performance
devices' and a prototyping facility for MEMS and NEMS have been established in different IITs and
IISc.

2)

Future plans: Initiation of a major project 'Indian Nanoelectronics User Programme Phase II' is under
way.Initiation of a major project on 'Computational Nanoelectronics' is under way.

Microelectronics

On-going projects in the thrust areas of Microelectronics i.e. Analog Mixed Signal Designs, Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS), Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) testing etc., were progressed.

Design and development of (body worn type and Behind-the-Ear) Digital Programmable Hearing Aid
(DPHA) - Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) completed.

A Human Resource Development project entitled 'Chip to System' is planned to be initiated in this
Financial Year.

Notes

f)

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Institutions Associated With IT And electronics

A. National Informatics Centre (NIC)
National Informatics Centre (NIC) is a premier IT organization of the country under the Department
of Electronics and Information Technology.
i)

It was established in 1976,

ii)

NIC, through its ICT Network, National Informatics Centre Network (India)'NICNET', has institutional
linkages with all the governments and governments departments at all levels.

iii) NIC services include Certifying Authority, Video-Conferencing, NIC e-MAIL (NICeMail) and SMS
services across the country.
iv) National Knowledge Network (NKN) has been set up to connect institutions/ organizations carrying out
research.
v)

Open Technology Centre (OTC) has been set up as a nodal agency for Open Technology related activities
in e-Governance applications managed by NIC/NeGP and promotes the use and adoption of Open
Source tools/software.

vi) It has established and maintains state data centersand other infrastructure related to National e-Governance
Plan (NeGP).
B.

Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA)

i)

The IT Act 2000 promotes the use of Digital Signatures for e-Governance and e-Commerce through legal
recognition to electronic records and treats digital signatures at par with hand written signatures.

ii)

The CCA licenses Certifying Authorities (CA) to issue Digital Signature Certificates under the IT Act and
also exercises supervision over the activities of these Certifying Authorities.

iii) The CCA certifies Public Keys of the CAs, lays down standards to be maintained by the CAs and
performs other functions.
iv) These are being used in applications such as Real Time Cross settlement System & Electronic Fund
Transfer (EFT) of the RBI, e-mail, electronic funds transfer, e-Procurement, share trading; issue of
import/export licenses by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and filing of company returns
with the Ministry of Company Affairs.
C.

Cyber Appellate Tribunal

The first and the only Cyber Court in the country has been established by the Central Government in
accordance with the provisions contained under section 48(1) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Provision has been made in the amended IT Act, 2009 for the Tribunal to comprise a Chairperson and many
other members, as the Central Government may notify/appoint.
D. C-DAC
Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is the premier R&D organization of the Department
of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY for carrying out R&D in IT, Electronics and associated
areas.
C-DAC is pursuing activities in the following thematic areas:
High Performance Computing (HPC), Grid Computing and Cloud computing

Notes

i)

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ii)

Computing Multilingual Computing (CMC), Grid Computing Professional Electronics including VLSI and
Embedded Systems.

iii) Software Technologies including Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).
iv) Cyber Security and Cyber Forensics
v)

Health Informatics

vi) Education and Training

Some applications developed by C-DAC are:
i)

One of the significant achievements of the past year was upgradation of the compute power of PARAM
Yuva system from 54 TF/s to 529 TF/s.

ii)

In the area of Cloud Computing, C-DAC launched its cloud platform, Meghdoot 1.0 during the Technology
Conclave at Hyderabad.

iii) In the area of Professional Electronics, C-DAC completed the development of WiTrac (Wireless Traffic
Controller) and made its first deployment.
iv) Several electronic devices and associated solutions were also built for smart buildings. These include LED
Luminaire, Human Occupancy Prediction System and Indoor Air Quality Monitoring System.
v)

In the area of Software Technology, release of a new version of BOSS Linux operating system and its
wider deployment were carried out during the year.

vi) Several e-Governance applications and frameworks including e-Praman with Aadhaar,
vii) In Health Informatics area, C-DAC carried out larger deployment of C-DAC tele medicine solutions. CDAC also initiated the development of health care services on mobile devices, m-Health and m-Swasthya
are 2 such solutions. Wider deployment of e-Vision and e-Nose systems was carried out.
viii) C-DAC is also involved in carrying out various activities in the northeast region through various Government
supported initiatives.

Cyber Security
A holistic approach is followed to secure Indian Cyber Space. The approach includes R&D, legal framework,
security incidents early warning and response, best security policy compliance and assurance, international
cooperation and security training.
i)

Thrust areas of research and development identified include cryptography and cryptanalysis; network and
systems security; security; security architectures; vulnerability and assurance; monitoring surveillance and
forensics.

ii)

Training centre in forensics has been set up in Kerala to facilitate cyber crime investigation.

iii) Biometric systems for authentication, human identification and face recognition system have been developed
and validated.
iv) Development of Prototype for Intrusion Prevention System has been completed and performance testing
is being carried out.

Notes

The Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2000, a legal framework for transactions carried out electronically
was enacted to facilitate e-Governance and to take care of computer related offences.

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1.

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team

i)

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is the national nodal agency set up under Section
70(B) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to respond to computer security incidents as and when
they occur.

ii)

CERT-In creates awareness on security issues through dissemination of information on its website (http:/
/www.cert-in.org.in), helps in cyber forensics and operates 24x7 Incident Response Help Desk.

iii) It provides Incident Prevention and Response services as well as Security Quality Management
Service.
iv) CERT-In perform the following functions in the area of cyber security:
a)

Collection, analysis and dissemination of information on cyber incidents;

b)

Forecast and alerts of cyber security incidents;

c)

Emergency measures for handling cyber security incidents;

d)

Coordination of cyber incident response activities; Issue guidelines, advisories, vulnerability

notes and whitepapers relating to information security, practices, procedures, prevention, response
and reporting of cyber incidents;

e)

Such other functions relating to cyber security as may be prescribed.

2.

Security Assurance Framework

CERT-In has taken steps to implement National Security Assurance Framework to create awareness in
government and critical sector organizations and to develop and implement information security policy and
information security best practices.

3.

National Cyber Security Policy

The National Cyber Security Policy was released in July, 2013 is intended to cater for a broad spectrum of ICT
users and providers including Government and non-Government entities. The vision is to build a secure and
resitient cyber space for citizens businesses and government.
4.

Crisis Management Plan

Crisis Management Plan (CMP) for countering cyber attacks and cyber terrorism had been approved
by the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) for wider circulation and implementation.
Cyber Security Drills

a)

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team is carrying National Cyber Security mock drills with key
sectors organizations to enable them in accessing their preparedness in dealing with cyber crisis situation.

b)

Beside this CERT-In is also participating in cyber security drills at international level. During 2012-2013,
3 international drills were conducted involving US CERT & Asia Pacific CERTs.

6.

Security Cooperation and Collaborations

a)

Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) - In plays the role of mother CERT and is regularly
interacting with the cyber security officers of sectorial CERTs in Defence, Finance, Power, Transport and
other sectors to advise them in the matters related to cyber security.

Notes

5.

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b)

CERT-In has established collaborations with international security organizations and CERTs to facilitate
exchange of information related to latest cyber security threats and international best practices.

c)

CERT-In is a member of Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), full Member of Asia
Pacific CERT (APCERT), signed a MoU with US-CERT to enhance cooperation in the area of cyber
security for rapid resolution of and recovery from cyber attacks and as part of MoU with National
Computer Board, Mauritius, CERT-In is providing advice to make CERT, Mauritius fully operational and
becoming member of Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams.

Network Traffic Scanning

CERT-In has set up a facility to gather useful network information from different IT networks across the
country.

Software Technology Parks of India

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) was established and registered as an autonomous society under the
Department of Electronics in 1991 with an objective to implement STP scheme, set-up and manage infrastructure
facilities and provide other services like technology assessment and professional training.
i)

STPI's main objective has been the promotion of software exports from the country.

ii)

The main services rendered by STPI for the software exporting community have been statutory services,
Datacom service and incubation facilities to the SMEs and start up units.

iii) It has also been providing value added

conferencing, collocation services etc.

Telecommunication
Communication has grown as
essential infrastructure for socioeconomic development in an
increasingly knowledge intensive
world. The reach of telecom services
to all parts of the country has
become integral part to innovative and
technologically driven society. Studies
have shown a positive correlation
between Internet and Mobile Services
on growth of GDP of a country.
As a result of sustainable measures
taken by the Government over the
years, the Indian Telecom Sector has
grown exponentially and has become
the second largest network in the
world, next only to China.

Notes

The data related to telephone network

and tele-density is given in associated
tables.

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services

such

as

web

hosting,

data

centre,

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Telecom Commission
The Telecom Commission was set up by the Government of India vide Resolution dated April 11, 1989 with
administrative and financial powers of the Government of India to deal with various aspects of
Telecommunications.
Presently, the Commission consists of a Chairman, four full time members, who are ex-officio Secretaries to
the Government of India in the Department of Telecommunications and 3 part time members who are the
Secretaries to the Government of India of the concerned departments. The Secretary to the Government of
India in the Department of Telecommunications is the ex-officio Chairman of the Commission.
The Commission is responsible for:
a)

Formulating the policy of Department of Telecommunications for approval of the Government.

b)

Preparing the budget for the Department of Telecommunications for each financial year and
getting it approved by the Government.

c)

Implementation of Government's policy in all matters concerning telecommunication.

A. Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep
Based on the recommendations of TRAI, Telecom Commission has given 'in principle' approval on November
7, 2014 for Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep
consisting of the following elements:a.
B.

2G (voice) coverage in uncovered villages, seamless 2G (voice) connectivity along NH, augmentation
of Optical Fibre Cable Network (OFC) Augmentation of Satellite System.

Universal Service Obligation Fund

To give impetus to the rural telephony, the Government established a Universal Service Obligation Fund
(USOF) by an Act of Parliament. Subsequently the scope of USOF was widened to provide subsidy support
for enabling access to all types of telegraph services including mobile services, broadband connectivity and
creation of infrastructure like optical fiber in rural and remote areas. Therefore, various schemes have been
launched by USOF for provision of telecom services in rural and remote areas of the country.
As per the Rules, the following services shall be supported by the Fund :
Stream-I: Public Telecom and Information Services.

b)

Stream-II: Household telephones in rural and remote areas.

c)

Stream-III: Creation of infrastructure for Mobile Services in rural and remote areas. Stream-IV: Broadband
connectivity to villages in a phased manner.

Notes

a)

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d)

Stream-V: General infrastructure in rural and remote areas for development of telecommunication facilities.

e)

Stream-VI: New technological developments in the telecom sector in rural and remote areas.

C.

Scheme for Mobile Communication Services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected Areas

The Cabinet approved in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The ownership of the assets created under the project to be vested in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)
and the sites will be identified by Ministry of Home Affairs.
D. Mobile Services in Uncovered Villages
a)

A scheme to extend financial support from Iniversal Service Obligation (USO) Fund for provisioning of
mobile communications services in inhabited uncovered villages of the country not having mobile coverage
is under consideration.

b)

It is estimated that there are about 55,669 villages in the country that do not have mobile coverage. Mobile
coverage to balance uncovered villages is proposed to be provided in a phased manner over a period of
5 years.

E.

Comprehensive Telecom Plan for North-East

The Union Cabinet, in has approved a Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for the North-East Region
(NER). The plan would be funded from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). It includes providing 2G
mobile coverage.
F.

Policy for Machine to Machine Communications

The Government recognizes the futuristic role of Machine to Machine communication (e.g. remotely operated
irrigation pumps, smart grid, etc.) to facilitate the role of new technologies in furthering public welfare and
enhanced customer choices through affordable access and efficient service delivery.
G. Foreign Direct Investment Policy
a)

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in telecom sector has helped the expansion of telecom services in the
country which has led to affordable telecom services to the masses and created greater employment
opportunities in the country.

b)

FDI upto 100% is allowed in Telecom services, with upto 49% being permitted via automatic route and
beyond 49% via Government route.

c)

FDI upto 100% is also allowed in manufacturing of telecom products under the automatic route.

H. Recent steps taken by the Government to promote domestic manufacturing, Research and Development
(R&D) of Telecom Equipments
Government has imposed basic custom duty at 10% on specified telecommunication products that are
outside the purview of the information technology agreement

b)

Imposed education cess on imported electronic products to provide parity between domestically produced
goods and imported goods.

c)

Also raised import duty on imported set top boxes to 10%.

d)

Basic custom duty on High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) for use in the manufacture of telecommunication
grade optical fibre cables has been reduced from 7.5% to Nil.

Notes

a)

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e)

An Investment Facilitation Centre in DoT has been created to help channelize investments in Telecom
Sectors.

I.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

The Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) was established under the TRAI Act 1997. Subsequently, Broadcasting
and Cable Services were also brought within the definition of 'telecommunication service'.
Under the TRAI Act, 1997, TRAI is mandated, inter-alia,
a)

To ensure compliance of the terms and conditions of license,

b)

llay down the standards of quality of service to be provided by the service providers and ensure the
quality of service,

c)

Specify tariff policy and recommend conditions for entry of new service providers as well as terms and
conditions of license to a service provider.

In the telecom sector, TRAI addressed the complex issues of 'Spectrum Pricing', 'Spectrum Trading' and
'Spectrum Sharing'. Recommendations were also made to the Government on 'improving telecom services
in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep' and 'provisioning of International Maritime Satellite
Organisation (INMARSAT)/Satellite services', etc.
J.

Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal

Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) regulates the telecommunication services,
adjudicate disputes, dispose off appeals and to protect the interests of service providers and consumers of
the telecom, broadcasting and cable sector.
a)

The TDSAT was created in the year 2000 by the Central Government under the TRAI Act, 1997

b)

The jurisdiction of TDSAT is exclusive and an appeal against its order lies to the Hon'ble Supreme Court
of India on points of law only.

c)

Statutory appeal does not lie against the interim order of TDSAT. TDSAT exercises both original as well
as appellate jurisdiction.

d)

It is an expert body and comprises of a Chairperson and two Members.

e)

TDSAT is not bound by the provisions of Civil Procedure Code. It has formulated its own Procedure
(TDSAT Procedure, 2005) which is simple and is based on the principles of natural justice.

World over, the disputes in telecom and broadcasting sectors are resolved by the regulator or normal courts.
However, in India, a unique institution in the form of TDSAT exists for speedy settlement and adjudication
of disputes in telecom and broadcasting sectors. As such, dispute resolution in India is outside the purview
of the telecom regulator. Indian model for resolution of disputes has been seen with great interest by various
telecom regulators across the world.
TDSAT has recently set up a Mediation Centre to help litigants go through a mediation process and
arrive at a mutually agreed settlement of disputes with the help of trained mediator.

g)

Recently, pre-litigation mediation has also been started by TDSAT. So far four cases have been taken up
by the Mediation Centre out of which three have been resolved and one case is pending.

h)

The TDSAT has also set up a Registrars' Court which has started functioning with the effect from July
22, 2013 for completion of pleadings, framing of issues and taking up evidence, etc. to speed up of the

Notes

f)

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disposal of cases before TDSAT. As a result of these steps taken by the TDSAT, the pendency of cases
has been reduced in last few years.
K. Public Sector Undertakings
Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has the following PSUs under its administrative control:
i)

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)

ii)

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limtied (BSNL)

iii) ITI Limited

iv) Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL)
v)

Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) vi) HPIL

i)

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was incorporated on February 28, 1986 under the Companies
Act as a wholly owned Government Company.

MTNL is the principal provider of fixed line telecommunication service in Delhi and Mumbai, and for
GSM mobile services, four peripheral towns of Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad along with
Delhi city, and the areas falling under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.

New Mumbai Corporation and Thane Municipal Corporation alongwith Mumbai city also come under the
jurisdiction of the Company.

MTNL is providing triple play services, i.e. voice, high speed internet and IPTV on its Broadband network.

Further, MTNL is providing dial up internet services in Delhi and Mumbai under separate nonexclusive
license agreement. MTNL launched Broadband service based on the state of the art ADSL2+ technology
in the year 2005.

ii)

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) was formed on October 1, 2000 by corporatization of the erstwhile
Department of Telecom operation and Department of Telecom services.
The Company has taken over the erstwhile functions of the Department of Telecom in respect of provision
of telecom services across the length and breadth of the country excluding Delhi and Mumbai.
iii) ITI Limited
ITI Limited was established in 1948, at Bengaluru (Karnataka) with the vision of attaining self-reliance in the
field of telecommunication needs of the country. It manufactures and supplies telephone and communications
equipment and parts.
iv) Telecommunications Consultants India Limited

Notes

Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) was set-up on March 10, 1978 with the main objective
to provide world class technology in all fields of telecommunications and information technology to excel in
its operations in overseas and in the domestic markets by developing proper marketing strategies, to acquire
state of the art technology on a continuing basis and maintain leadership.

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v)

Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited

A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), namely, Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BBNL) has been incorporated on
February 25, 2012 under the Indian Companies Act, 1956 for execution of the National Optical Fibre Network
(NOFN) project approved by the Government for connecting approximately 2.50 lakh Gram Panchayats.
vi) Hemisphere Properties India Limited
At the time of 25% stake strategic sale in Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (now Tata Communications
Limited), surplus land measuring 773.13 acres was demarcated out of total 1,230.13 acres of land at four
stations and decided that surplus land will not be a part of disinvestment bid and will be managed by a separate
realty company. Rights of the Government in this land were protected through a scheme of arrangement
incorporated in the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) and Share Holders Agreement (SHA). Accordingly,
the Government has approved the scheme of demerger of surplus land of VSNL into a Resulting Company
and during March 2014, 51.12% shares of Resulting Company namely Hemisphere Properties India Limited
(HPIL) have been acquired by the Government. With this, HPIL has become 6th Public Sector Undertaking
(PSU) of Department of Telecom.
L.

Vision of Digital India

The vision of Digital India aims to transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge
economy.
The Programme Will Be Implemented In Phases Till 2018.
a)

This programme has been envisaged by Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).

It would also bring in public accountability through mandated delivery of Government's services
electronically; a Unique ID and e-Pramaan based on authentic and standard based interoperable and
integrated Government applications and data basis.

The source of funding for most of the e-Governance projects at present is through
provisions of respective ministries/ departments in the Central or State Governments.

budgetary

The vision areas of Digital India

I.

Infrastructure as Utility to Every Citizen

a)

High speed internet as a core utility shall be made available in all Gram Panchayats.

b)

Cradle to give digital identity - unique, lifelong, online and authenticable.

c)

Mobile phone and bank account would enable participation in digital and financial space at individual level.

d)

Easy access to a Common Service Centre within their locality.

e)

Shareable private space on a public Cloud.

f)

Safe and secure cyber-space in the country.

II. Governance and Services on Demand

Government services available in real time from online and mobile platforms. All citizen entitlements to
be available on the Cloud to ensure easy access.

b)

Government services digitally transformed for improving Ease of Doing Business.

Notes

a)

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c)

Making financial transactions above a threshold, electronic and cashless.

d)

Leveraging Global Information System (GIS) for decision support systems and development.

III. Digital Empowerment of Citizens

a)

Universal digital literacy.

b)

All digital resources universally accessible.

c)

All Government documents/ certificates to be available on the Cloud.

d)

Availability of digital resources / services in Indian languages.

e)

Collaborative digital platforms for participative governance.

f)

Portability of all entitlements for individuals through the Cloud.

Scope of Digital India

The overall scope of this programme is:

a)

To prepare India for a knowledge future.

b)

On being transformative that is to realize IT (Indian Talent) + IT (Information Technology) IT (India

Tomorrow).

c)

Making technology central to enabling change.

d)

On being an Umbrella Programme-covering many departments.

The programme weaves together a large number of ideas and thoughts into a single, comprehensive
vision, so that each of them is seen as part of a larger goal. Each individual element stands on its own, but
is also part of the larger picture. The weaving together makes the Mission transformative in totality.
The Digital India Programme will pull together many existing schemes which would be restructured and
re-focused and implemented in a synchronized manner. The common branding of the programmes as Digital
India highlights their transformative impact.
Digital India aims to provide the much needed thrust to the nine pillars of growth areas, namely

1.

Broadband Highways

2.

Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity

3.

Public Internet Access Programme

4.

E-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology

5.

E-Kranti - Electronic Delivery of Services

6.

Information for All

7.

Electronics Manufacturing

8.

IT for Jobs

9.

Early Harvest Programmes

Notes

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EDUCATION
The essence of Human Resource Development (HRD) is education, which plays a significant and remedial role
in balancing the socio-economic fabric of the country. Since citizens of India are its most valuable resource,
our billion-strong nation needs the nurture and care in the form of basic education to achieve a better quality
of life. This warrants an all-round development of our citizens, which can be achieved by building strong
foundations in education. Good quality education is the foundation of new discoveries, new knowledge,
innovation and entrepreneurship that trigger growth and prosperity of the individual as well as that of a nation.
For this, we need to make our curriculum and pedagogy relevant to the needs of our society and economy and
nurture qualities of problem solving and creative thinking, learning-by-doing, greater engagement with the live
context, and confident self-expression from a young age.
To lay emphasis on the educational development of students of weaker sections of the society, a number
of innovative initiatives have been taken by the ministry such as:
(i)

Setting up of National Monitoring Committee on Minorities.

(ii) Setting up of National Monitoring Committee for Education of SCs, STs and Persons with Disabilities.
(iii) Student Support Initiatives such as National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS), National
Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education (NSIGSE), Special Scholarship Scheme for Jammu
and Kashmir, scheme of Interest Subsidy on Educational Loans.
(iv) Regulations on prevention of discrimination and Establishment of Ombudsman.
(v) Development of an Anti-Ragging Web Portal.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development works through 2 departments -Department of School Education
and Literacy and Department of Higher Education.
A. Elementary Education
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009

Article 21-(A) of the Constitution of India and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education
(RTE) Act, 2009 became operative in the country on April 1, 2010 with the aim of education of
satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards.

Universal Access through SSA (Sarv Siksha Abhiyaan)

Sarv Siksha Abhiyaan was launched in 2000-01 to achieving the goal of universal access to primary
education.

Ensuring an 8 year Elementary Education Cycle

The National System of Education envisages a common educational structure.

At the elementary level, the national system of education comprises 5 years of primary education and
3 years of upper primary.

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Efforts have been made to follow an 8 year elementary education cycle throughout the country; however,
few states continue to follow a 7 year elementary education cycle.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) norms provide support to states to move towards an 8 year elementary
education cycle through provisioning for additional teachers and classroom for Class VIII at the upper
primary stage and teaching learning equipment for Classes V and VIII, in order to facilitate states to adopt
an 8 year elementary education cycle.

Special Training for Mainstreaming Out-of-School Children

The Right to Education (RTE) Act makes specific provision for Special Training for age appropriate
admission for out of-school children.

A majority of out-of-school children belong to disadvantaged communities - Scheduled Castes, Scheduled

Tribes, Muslims, migrants, children with special needs, urban deprived children, working children, children
in other difficult circumstances, for example, those living in difficult terrain.

Girls' Education

Bridging gender and social category gaps in elementary education is one of the 4 goals of SSA. Consequently,
SSA attempts to reach out to girls and children belonging to SC, ST and Muslim minority communities.

SSA identifies Special Focus Districts (SFDs) and ensures availability of primary and upper primary
schools within the habitation as prescribed under the RTE Rules, uniforms, textbooks, etc. Special Training
interventions are also largely focused on girls and disadvantaged groups, because it is this category of
children who are most deprived of opportunities to pursue their education.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) are residential upper primary schools for girls from SC, ST,
OBC Muslim communities and Below Poverty Line (BPL) girls.

KGBVs are set up in educationally backward blocks where schools are at great distances or are a challenge
to security of girls which often compels girls to discontinue their education.

Residential Facilities

They have been provided in sparsely populated or hilly and densely forested areas with difficult geographical
terrains and in densely populated urban areas, where it is difficult to get land for establishing schools
residential facilities.

In urban areas there are a number of urban deprived children, homeless and street children in difficult
circumstances, without adult protection, who require not merely day-schooling facilities, but also lodging
and boarding facilities.

Apart from these, government provides facilities for transportation or escort, uniform to all girls, SC, ST
children and Below Poverty Line (BPL).

Padhe Bharat-Badhe Bharat

Another major initiative of the Government of India is a nationwide sub-programme under the SSA called
'Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat'. Launched in 2014, this programme has been planned in a twin track
approach:

(i)

To improve language development by creating an enduring interest in reading and writing with
comprehension;

Notes

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(ii)

To create a natural and positive interest in mathematics related to their physical and social world.

The 2 tracks of Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat are:

a)

Early Reading and Writing with Comprehension (ERWC)

b)

Early Mathematics (EM) particularly in class I and II.

The objectives of this programme are:

a)

To enable children to become independent, and engaged readers and writers; with comprehension possessing
sustainable and lasting reading and writing skills and achieve learning levels appropriate to the class of
study;

b)

To make the children understand the reasoning in the domains of number, measurement and shapes; and
enable them to become independent in problem solving by way of numeracy and spatial understanding
skills and to associate reading, writing and early mathematics with the experience of joy and real life
situation.

Mid-Day Meal

With a view to enhance enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously to improve the nutritional
status of children, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme 'National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary
Education (NPNSPE)'-was launched on August 15, 1995.

The scheme was extended during 2008-09 to cover children of upper primary classes and the name of
the scheme was changed as 'National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in Schools'.

The Mid-Day Meal Scheme covers all school children studying in I to VIII classes in Government and
Government aided schools, Special Training Centres (STC) and Madrasas and Maqtabs supported under
SSA. The scheme is being revised from time to time in its content and coverage.

Tithi Bhojan - Mid-Day Meal Scheme

The Central Government has written to the states to consider the concept of Tithi Bhojan for mid day
meal in a suitable manner, to encourage local community participation in the programme.

Saransh

The CBSE Board has launched an on-line facility titled and 'Saransh' on November 2, 2014 for affiliated
and CBSE schools.

It helps the schools to look at their performance at an aggregate level and at the level of each student.
All performance matrices are presented through numbers as well as in charts/graphs for easy understanding.

Saransh helps schools compare their performance vis-avis all CBSE schools at various levels.

Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission for Teachers Training

It is an umbrella scheme to create synergies among the various ongoing initiatives on teachers and
teaching.

The scheme will address all issues related to teachers, teaching, teacher preparation, professional development,
curriculum design.

It also aims to develop a strong professional cadre of teachers by setting performance standards and
creating top class institutional facilities for innovative teaching.

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The scheme will also address the need to induct qualified teachers, attracting talent into teaching profession
and raising the quality of teaching in schools and colleges.
B. Secondary Education

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan

The scheme was launched in March, 2009 with the objective to enhance access to secondary education
and improve its quality.

The scheme envisages providing a secondary school with a reasonable distance of habitation, with an aim
to ensure Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of 100% by 2017 and universal retention by 2020.

The other objectives include improving quality of education imparted at secondary level through making
all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers,
etc.

Vocationalization of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education

The Scheme of 'Vocationalization of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education" has been subsumed
under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abihayan (RMSA) with effect from April, 2013 and revised in
2014 [after a pilot programme on National Vocational Education Qualifications Framework (NVEQF) in
Haryana].

The scheme seeks to enhance the employability of youth through demand driven competency based,
modular vocational courses referenced to National Occupation Standards (NOSs);

To maintain their competitiveness through provisions of multi-entry multi-exit learning opportunities and
vertical mobility/interchange ability in qualifications;

To fill the gap between educated and employable;

To reduce the dropout rate at the secondary level and decrease the pressure on academic higher education.

The revised scheme not only introduces vocational education for the first time, nationally, at the secondary
level (Class IX onwards) but also seeks to integrate vocational education with general academic education.
Courses are offered through secondary and higher secondary Government, Government-aided and recognized
private schools.

Value Education Programme

The Values Education Programme of the board covers an entire spectrum of school education from grade
I-XII.

A wide range of themes like solidarity, unity, peace and conservation of environment are covered under
this programme.

It aids for more critical thinking about economic, social and moral issues as well as about universal human
values.

Activities in the value cards don't sermonize but involve the learner. The values are inculcated by initiating
an explanation of values discussed in the card led by its analysis and abstraction, followed by the social
action and application related to it and finally summing up the activity.

Health and Wellness Programmes

The board has initiated several programmes such as Adolescent Education Programme (AEP),
Comprehensive School Health, Physical Education Cards (PEC) and psychological counselling through
multiple modes to ensure physical and mental wellbeing of the students.

Notes

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These programmes are an extension of Life Skills education which is based on an open ended approach to
prepare students for acquiring interpersonal skills, decision making abilities and effectively dealing with stress
right from the beginning.
Udaan

CBSE has launched the Udaan programme (giving wings to girl students), designed to provide a
comprehensive platform to deserving girl students who aspire to pursue higher education in engineering,
and assist them to prepare for the IIT/ JEE while studying in Classes XI and XII.

The project aims at addressing the lower enrollment of girls in engineering colleges.

Therefore, it is envisaged as the first step towards achieving this larger goal of addressing the quality gap
between school educations and engineering entrance, by addressing the 3 dimensions of education Curriculum design, transaction and assessment.

The aim is also to enrich and enhance teaching and learning of science and mathematics at senior
secondary level so that they can compete confidently for entrance examination.
C. Higher and Technical Education

The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986, revised in 1992 (NPE) states that in higher education
in general and technical education in particular, steps will be taken to facilitate inter-regional mobility by
providing equal access to every Indian of requisite merit regardless of his origins.
D. Open and Distance Learning

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1985 to
provide access to quality education to all segments of the society.

It established special study centres to ensure access of higher education to the marginalized and
disadvantaged section of the society.

IGNOU has established 21 special study centres (11 in jail; 7 in rural remote areas; 2 in minorityEconomically and Educationally Backward Blocks [EEBB] and 1 in slum area).
E. Adult Education

The goal of adult education is to establish a fully literate society through improved quality and standard of
Adult Education and Literacy.

National Literacy Mission Authority (NLMA) is the operating and implementing organization at national
level for all the activities envisaged in National Literacy Mission.

It has 2 main bodies namely Council and the Executive Committee.

During the 12th Five Year Plan, NLMA shall strive to raise the literacy rate to 80% and reduce the gender
gap to less than 10%.

Saakshar Bharat has been revamped and aligned to new paradigm of lifelong learning. To promote a
systematic lifelong learning, the country might require comprehensive legalization.
F. Technology Enabled Learning

Notes

Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development is administering the National
Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT) Scheme to leverage
the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), in teaching and learning process for the
benefit of all the learners in higher education institutions in anytime any where mode.

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The NMEICT Scheme encompasses all the three elements viz., access, equity and quality of the National
Education Policy. The 2 major components of NMEICT Scheme are:
a.

Content generation

b.

Providing connectivity along with provision for access devices for institutions and learners.

It seeks to bridge the digital divide.

It plans to focus on appropriate pedagogy for e-learning, providing facility of performing experiments
through virtual laboratories, on-line testing and certification, on-line availability of teachers to guide and
mentor learners, utilization of available Education Satellite (EDUSAT) and Direct to Home (DTH) platforms,
training and empowerment of teachers to effectively use the new method of teaching learning, etc.

Sakshat
Sakshat is envisaged as one stop education portal (www.sakshat.ac.in) to facilitate lifelong learning of the
students, teachers and those in employments or in pursuit of knowledge free of cost to them.

The portal is expected to be the main delivery platform for the contents developed under the NMEICT
Scheme.

Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) has taken up the initiative to create integrated one stop
e-content portal for easy access to all the contents developed under the mission.
G. Education of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and Minorities

The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 (modified in 1992) gives great emphasis on the removal
of disparity among different social classes. It also talks about equality of educational opportunities to
those who have been denied equality so far.

To increase the educational opportunities for the SCs and the STs and other weaker sections of the society,
the NPE has also suggested student support measures such as scholarships, remedial classes, hostel facilities
and other forms of formal and non formal programs of technical education.

National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions

The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) was established on the November
11, 2004 to advise the Central Government or any State Government on protection of the constitutional
rights of the minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice and other allied
matters.

The Commission draws power from the National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions
(Amendment) Act, 2006 and 2010.

The commission is a quasi- judicial body and has been endowed with the powers of a Civil Court.
H. Educational Development of Women

Notes

The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986, as revised in 1992 articulates the Government of India's
unequivocal commitment, that 'Education will be used as an agent of basic change in the status of women.
Some steps taken for education of women are:

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Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) :

Bridging gender and social category gaps in elementary education is one of the 4 goals of SSA.

The targeted provision for girls under SSA include:

Free textbooks to all girls upto class VIII;

Separate toilets for girls;

Back to school camps for out-of-school girls;

Bridge courses for older girls;

Recruitment of additional teachers including women teachers;

Early childhood care and education centres in/near schools/ convergence with Integrated Child
Development Scheme (ICDS) programme, etc.;

Teachers' sensitization programmes to promote equitable learning opportunities;

Gender-sensitive teaching learning materials including textbooks;

Intensive community mobilization efforts;

Innovation fund' per district for need based interventions for ensuring girls' attendance and retention.

Some Recent Major Initiatives of The Government of India For Girls Education:
'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao':
(i)

Under this scheme, Rs. 5 crore will be made available for strengthening girls' education in 100 specified
districts on the basis of child sex ratio

(ii) District level awards to be given to 5 schools in each district every year on the following parameters:
a.

Awards to be given to School Management Committee (SMC) for ensuring 100% enrollment at
primary level and 100% transition to higher levels (from class V into class VI, from class VIII to class
IX , from class X to XII of same/other neighbourhood schools).

b.

Amount of awards to be Rs. 1 lakh.

c.

Two awards to be given for transition from class VIII to class IX, at all other levels there is one award.

Construction of schools with Separate Girls' Toilets has been taken through Members of Parliament Local
Area Development Scheme (MPLAD), Companys Social Responsibilities (CSR) funds so that girls do not
drop out of schools because of absence of this facility.
Mahila Samakhya
Mahila Samakhya (MS) is a scheme for women's empowerment initiated in 1989.

Its aim is to translate the goals of the National Policy on Education into a concrete programme.

The objectives of the Mahila Samakhya programme is to create an environment in which education can
serve the objectives of women's equality and where women can seek knowledge and information and
thereby empower them to play a positive role in their own development and development of society.

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I. Copyright
As provided under section (13) of the Copyright Act, 1957, copyright subsists in the following classes or
works:
Original literary, software, musical, and artistic works;

b.

Cinematographic films;

c.

Sound recording.

The Copyright Office was established in 1958 and a quasi-judicial body, Copyright Board which was
constituted in September, 1958 and had been functioning on part-time basis. The jurisdiction of the
Copyright Board extends to the whole of India. The Board is entrusted with the task of adjudication of
disputes pertaining to copyright registration and assignment of copyright, rectification of registration,
grant of compulsory licences in respect of works withheld from public, unpublished Indian works, for
benefit of physically disabled persons, production and publication of translations and works for certain
specified purposes.

The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 provides for a 3 member permanent Copyright Board consisting
of a Chairman and 2 other members.

Notes

a.

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ENERGY
Energy is an essential input for economic development and improving the quality of life. Development of
conventional forms of energy for meeting the growing energy needs of society at a reasonable cost is the
responsibility of the Government. Development and promotion of nonconventional/alternate/new and renewable
sources of energy such as solar, wind and bio-energy, etc., are also getting growing attention. Nuclear energy
development is being geared up to contribute significantly to the overall energy availability in the country.

Power
The Ministry of Power is primarily responsible for the development of electrical energy in the country. The
ministry is concerned with perspective planning, policy formulation, processing of projects for investment
decisions, monitoring of the implementation of power projects, training and manpower development and the
administration and enactment of legislation with regard to thermal and hydro power generation, transmission
and distribution. In all technical matters, the Ministry of Power is assisted by the Central Electricity Authority
(CEA).
The construction and operation of generation and transmission projects in the Central Sector are entrusted to
Central Sector Power Corporations, viz., the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), the National
Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), the North-Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), and the
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL).
To achieve the goal of uninterrupted power supply to consumers, the Ministry has taken several steps in
coordination with State Governments. The measures are as under:
(i)

Capacity addition of 1,18,537 MW (including 88,537 MW conventional and 30,000 MW renewable)

during the Five Year Plan, i.e. by 2016-17.

(ii)

Construction of 1,07,440 ckm transmission lines and setting up of 2,82,740 MVA transformation capacity
during the Five Year, i.e. by 2016-17.

(iii) Preparation of State specific Action Plans for providing 24X7 Power For All (PFA) in partnership with
the States.
(iv) Strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution networks and segregation of agricultural feeders to give
adequate and reliable supply and reduce line losses through new schemes of Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram
Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS).
(v) Promotion of energy conservation, energy efficiency and other demand side management measures.
(vi) New Scheme Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana ( UDAY) notified on 20.11.2015 for operational & Financial
turnaround of Discoms.
(vii) Expeditious resolution of issues for facilitating early completion of generation and transmission projects.

Notes

(viii) Providing support from Power System Development Fund (PSDF) for stranded gas based generation.

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Ultra Mega Power Projects

The Government of India had launched an initiative for the development of coal-based Ultra Mega Power
Projects (UMPPs), each with a capacity of 4,000 MW. The projects will substantially reduce power shortages
in the country. The Central Government has accordingly taken the initiative for facilitating the development
of a few Ultra Mega Power Projects of about 4,000 MW capacity each under tariff based competitive bidding
route using super critical technology on build, own and operate basis. These projects will meet the power needs
of a number of States/ distribution companies located in these States, and are being developed on Design,
Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis.
Electrification Scheme:
1.

Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana

The Government of India has launched Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) with
components (i) To separate agriculture and non agriculture feeders facilitating judicious rostering of supply
to agricultural and non-agricultural consumers in rural areas (ii) Strengthening and augmentation of sub
transmission and distribution infrastructure in rural areas, including metering of distribution transformers/
feeders/consumers.

The scheme would help in:

(i)

Improvement in hours of power supply in rural areas,

(ii) Reduction in peak load,

(iii) Improvement in billed energy based on metered consumption
(iv) Providing access to electricity to rural households.
Funding Mechanism: Grant portion of the Scheme is 60% for other than special category States (up to
75% on achievement of prescribed milestones) and 85% for special category States (up to 90% on
achievement of prescribed milestones). The milestones for the additional grant are: Timely completion of
the scheme, reduction in AT&C losses as per trajectory and upfront release of subsidy by State government
All North Eastern States including Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand are
included in special category States.

All Discoms including private Discoms and State Power Departments are eligible for financial assistance
under this Scheme. Discoms will prioritize strengthening of rural infrastructure work considering specific
network requirement and will formulate Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of the projects for coverage
under the Scheme. Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) is the Nodal Agency for operationalization of
this Scheme. It will furnish monthly progress reports on the implementation of the scheme indicating both
financial and physical progress to Ministry of Power and Central Electricity Authority .

2.

UDAY

UDAY Scheme has been launched by Union Ministry of Power for financial restructuring of debt of
power distribution companies.

It aims for financial revival and turnaround of Power Distribution companies (DISCOMs) and also ensures
a sustainable permanent solution to the problem.

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Salient Features of UDAY

a)

States shall take over 75% of Power Distriubution Companies (DISCOM) debt as on 30 September 2015
over two years - 50% of DISCOM debt shall be taken over in 2015-16 and 25% in 2016-17.

b)

Government of India will not include the debt taken over by the States as per the above scheme in the
calculation of fiscal deficit of respective States in the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17.

c)

States will issue non Statutory Liquidity Ration (SLR) including State Development Loans (SDL) bonds
in the market or directly to the respective banks / Financial Institutions (FIs) holding the DISCOM debt
to the appropriate extent.

d)

DISCOM debt not taken over by the State shall be converted by the Banks / Financial Institutions into
loans or bonds with interest rate not more than the bank's base rate plus 0.1%. Alternately, this debt may
be fully or partly issued by the DISCOM as State guaranteed DISCOM bonds at the prevailing market
rates which shall be equal to or less than bank base rate plus 0.1%.

e)

States accepting UDAY and performing as per operational milestones will be given additional / priority
funding through Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY),Integrated Power Development
Scheme (IPDS), Power Sector Development Fund (PSDF) or other such schemes of Ministry of Power
and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

f)

Such States shall also be supported with additional coal at notified prices and, in case of availability
through higher capacity utilization, low cost power from NTPC and other Central Public Sector Undertakings
(CPSUs).

g)

States not meeting operational milestones will be liable to forfeit their claim on Integrated Power
Development Scheme (IPDS) and DDUGJY grants.

h)

UDAY is optional for all States. However, States are encouraged to take the benefit at the earliest as
benefits are dependent on the performance.

3.

Integrated Power Development Scheme

To facilitate State utilities to ensure quality and reliable 24X7 Power supply in urban areas, Government
approved the IPDS with total outlay of Rs.32, 612 cr. including budgetary support of 25,354 cr.

The main component of the scheme are strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution networks in
urban areas, metering of distribution transformers/feeders/consumers in urban areas and IT enablement
of distribution sector.

During 2015-16 against the target of 360 towns, 229 towns have already been declared Go Live during
April-October. AT&C loss reduction has been reported in 630 towns out of 940 towns (64%).

Energy Efficiency Initiative

A three year action plan has been chalked out with a set of concrete measure to enhance the energy
savings from current level of 6% to 10% by 2018.

Prime Minister launched the 100 cities National Programme to convert all conventional street lights with
LED street lights and Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) to provide LED bulbs to domestic
households.

Under the Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP), 303 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have been
enrolled.

Notes

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Replacement of conventional street lights with energy efficient LED street lights have been completed in
20 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in States of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura. More
than 4 Lac conventional street lights have been replaced with LED lights.

In addition, work is in progress in 83 more urban local bodies.

Details about the National level initiative is detailed as under:

No. of street lights to be replaced

3.5 crore (approx.)

Expected annual energy savings

9000 million KWh (approx.)

Expected reduction of installed street light load

1500 MW (approx.)

Estimated capital investment (excluding Operations and

Maintenance Program (O&M))

Rs. 35,000 crore (approx.)

Annual estimated greenhouse gas emission reductions

6.2 million tonnes of CO2 (approx.)

Under Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP), 186 cities/towns have been enrolled. As on 18th
December 2015, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has successfully distributed more than 3.90
crore LED bulbs across India. At present, LED distribution is under progress in 74 cities/towns in 18
States.

Renewable energy initiatives

The Centre has taken several initiatives to increase the uptake of renewable energy through policy initiatives
including enactment of a National off shore Wind Energy Policy and throwing support behind generation-based
incentives and accelerated depreciation.

Upscaling Of Renewable Energy Targets:

The Government has up-scaled the target of renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by the year 2022 which
includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power.
Stepping up capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) by five times now
India is aiming to generate reaching 1,00,000 MW solar power by 2022. The target will principally comprise
of 40 GW Rooftop and 60 GW through Large and Medium Scale Grid Connected Solar Power Projects. With
this ambitious target, India will become one of the largest Green Energy producers in the world, surpassing
several developed countries. The total investment in setting up 100 GW will be around Rs. 6,00,000 crore.

International Solar Alliance

International Solar Alliance (ISA ) is conceived as a coalition of solar resource rich countries lying fully or
partially between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn to address their special energy needs and
will provide a platform to collaborate on addressing the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach.
ISA has been envisioned as a specialized platform and will contribute towards the common goal of increasing
utilization and promotion of solar energy and solar applications in its member countries.
ISA will work with partner countries in the identification of national opportunities to accelerate development
and deployment of existing clean solar energy technologies, the potential for which largely remains untapped.

Notes

The increased deployment of solar technologies will benefit the countries in terms of direct and indirect
employment opportunities generated and the economic activity that will be triggered through electricity and
solar appliance access to predominantly rural households.

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Across developing countries, it is mostly micro, small and medium enterprises that generate most of the
economic activity and are the ones that benefit the most from electricity access, as they will be able to operate
into the evening and increase their turnover.
Increased deployment will also go a long way in realizing social benefits, for example through solar lanterns
that improve educational outcomes from increased study hours, and lead to better health service delivery levels
across communities.
To achieve the objectives, ISA will have 5 key focus areas:(1) Promote solar technologies and investment in the solar sector to enhance income generation for the poor
and global environment.
(2) Formulate projects and programmes to promote solar applications.
(3) Develop innovative Financial Mechanisms to reduce cost of capital.
(4) Build a common Knowledge e-Portal.
(5) Facilitate capacity building for promotion and absorption of solar technologies and R&D among member
countries.
These focus areas will cater to not just grid connected solar power (Solar parks, Solar thermal projects, Rooftop
solar projects, Canal top projects, Solar on water bodies, Farmers and unemployed youths as generators) but
also off-grid and decentralised applications (Village electrification and mini-grids, Solar lanterns, Mobile chargers,
Solar powered telecom towers, Milk chilling centres, Potters wheels, Solar spinner for weavers, street lights,
Solar pumps, Solar heating/cooling, etc.). These activities will contribute significantly in employment generation
in a decentralized manner at the local levels, and also in spurring economic activities.

Solar Cities:

The Ministry has approved 56 solar cities projects against the target of 60 solar cities under the Development
of Solar Cities Programme. The Government has also approved a Scheme for setting up of 25 Solar Parks,
each with the capacity of 500 MW and above and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects to be developed in next
5 years in various States and will require Central Government financial support of Rs. 4050 crore. These parks
will be able to accommodate over 20,000 MW of solar power projects. 27 parks with capacity of about 18000
MW in 21 states have been sanctioned.

Unnat Chulha Abhiyaan:

The Unnat Chulha Abhiyan envisages developing and promoting deployment of efficient and cost effective
improved biomass cook-stoves in the country. The programme involves demonstration of the various models
of biomass cook-stoves both natural and forced draft types for domestic and large scale community cooking
on cost sharing basis. The programme aims at providing improved cook stoves for clean cooking thus saving
lives of thousands of people in the country.

Surya Mitra Scheme

Notes

Surya Mitra Scheme launched for creating 50,000 trained personnel within a period of 5 years (2015-16 to
2019-20). The course content has been approved by the National Council of Vocational Training as per the
National Skill, Qualification Framework.

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National Offshore Wind Energy Policy, 2015 :

Under this Policy, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been authorized as the Nodal
Ministry for use of offshore areas within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country and the National
Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has been authorized as the Nodal Agency for development of offshore wind
energy in the country and to carry out allocation of offshore wind energy blocks, coordination and allied
functions with related ministries and agencies. It would pave the way for offshore wind energy development
including, setting up of offshore wind power projects and research and development activities, in waters, in or
adjacent to the country, up to the seaward distance of 200 Nautical Miles (EEZ of the country) from the base
line. The policy will provide a level playing field to all investors/beneficiaries, domestic and international. It
is planned to set up the first offshore wind power project off the Gujarat coast soon.

Inclusion of Renewable Energy Projects in Priority Sector Lending Norms of Commercial Banks:

Notes

Reserve Bank of India has issued revised guidelines for all scheduled commercial banks making significant
inroads for renewable energy in the priority sector lending.

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ENVIRONMENT
Introduction
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal agency in the Central Government for
overseeing the implementation of India's environment, forest policies and programmes and also Nodal agency
for implementation of following directives:
1.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

2.

South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP)

3.

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)

4.

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)

Survey and Exploration

1.

Survey of Flora -Botanical Survey of India (BSI)

2.

Survey of Fauna -The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)

3.

Forest Survey - Forest Survey of India (FSI)

Biodiversity Conservation
Includes activities relating to:
(1) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) : In 2000, a Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) was
adopted under the aegis of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The objective of CPB is to
ensure safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.
India is a party to the CBD as well as CPB. Thereafter, a Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing
(ABS) has been adopted in 2010 after 6 years of intense negotiations under the aegis of CBD.
Salient Features Of The Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement acknowledges the development imperatives of developing countries by recognizing
their right to development and their efforts to harmonize it with the environment, while protecting the
interests of the most vulnerable.

The Agreement seeks to enhance the 'implementation of the Convention' while reflecting the principles
of equity and CBDR-RC, in the light of different national circumstances.

Countries are required to communicate to the The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) climate action plans known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every
5 years. Each Party's successive NDC will represent a progression beyond the Party's then current NDC
thereby steadily increasing global effort and ambition in the long term.

The Agreement is not mitigation-centric and includes other important elements such as adaptation, loss
and damage, finance, technology development and transfer, capacity building and transparency of action
and support.

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Climate action will also be taken forward in the period before 2020. Developed countries are urged to
scale up their level of financial support with a complete road map towards achieving the goal of jointly
providing US$ 100 billion by 2020. At the same time, a new collective quantified goal based on US$ 100
billion floor will be set before 2025.

The Agreement mandates that developed countries provide financial resources to developing countries.
Other Parties may also contribute, but on a purely voluntary basis.

Developed countries are urged to take the lead in mobilization of climate finance, while noting the
significant role of public funds in the mobilization of finance which should represent a progression beyond
their previous effort.

The Agreement includes a robust transparency framework for both action and support.

Starting in 2023, a global stocktake covering all elements will take place every five years to assess the
collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the Paris Agreement and its long term goals.

The Paris Agreement establishes a compliance mechanism, overseen by a committee of experts that
operates in a non-punitive way, and is facilitative in nature.

(2) National Biodiversity Authority (NBA): The NBA is a body corporate established in accordance with
the provisions of Section (8) of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, at Chennai in 2003. It is an autonomous,
statutory and regulatory organization which is intended to implement the provisions of Biological Diversity
Act, 2002.
The main objectives of NBA are:
(a) To regulate access to biological resources of the country to conserve and sustainable use of biological
diversity;
(b) To respect and protect the knowledge of local communities related to biodiversity;
(c) To secure sharing of benefits with the local people as conservers of biological resources and holders of
knowledge and information relating to the use of biological resources.
(d) Conservation and development of area of importance from the view point of biological diversity by
declaring them as biological diversity heritage sites.
(e) Protection and rehabilitation of threatened species.

(3) Biosafety
The Bio-safety component includes activities relating to:
(a) Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee: Rules for the Manufacture, Use/Import/Export and Storage
of Hazardous Micro Organisms/ Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells.
(b) Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000): To ensure safe transfer, handling and use of living modified
organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.

Notes

(c) Nagoya Protocol: Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources.

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Wildlife conservation
The Wildlife Wing has two Divisions, namely, Project Elephant Division and Wildlife Division. A Deputy
Inspector General of Forest (Wildlife) and an Assistant Inspector General and Joint Director (Wildlife) provide
administrative and technical support to the Wildlife Wing. In addition, there are three autonomous bodies,
Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for wildlife research and training, Central Zoo Authority (CZA) for conservation
and zoo management and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
The NTCA has been constituted by converting the Project Tiger Directorate into an autonomous body for tiger
conservation. The National Zoological Park in the capital is also a part of the Wildlife Wing of the ministry.
(1) Central Zoo Authority!
The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) oversees the functioning of zoos in the country with the view
toenhance their role in conservation.
(2) Project Elephant
a.

Project Elephant (PE) was launched by the Government of India in 1991-92 as a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme with following objectives: - To protect elephants, their habitat and corridors - To address
issues of man-animal conflict - Welfare of domesticated elephants Financial and technical support
is being provided to major elephant bearing states in the country.

b.

The project is being mainly implemented in 16 states/union territories, viz. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland,
Odhisa, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

(3) National Tiger Conservation Authority

a.

The Centrally Sponsored Scheme 'Project Tiger' was launched in 1973 with the objective "to ensure
maintenance of a viable population of Tigers in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and
ecological values, and to preserve for all times, areas of biological importance as a national heritage
for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people.

b.

The recent findings indicate a countrywide 30% increase in tiger numbers in 2014 with an estimated
number of 2,226 (range 1945- 2,491).

(4) Animal Welfare Board of India

The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) scheme relates to provision of assistance for the
following type of activities:
a.

Financial assistance to animal welfare organizations for maintaining the stray animals in distress
and for their treatment (financial assistance based on the number of animals kept for their
fodder, water, minor treatment etc).

b.

Human education programmes for the welfare of animals are implemented by the AWBI.
Capital expenditure at the Board's headquarters i.e. expenditure on non-recurring items such as
purchase of assets/equipments.

c.

Expenditure on a variety of other animal welfare activities such as rescue of cattle from illegal
smuggling and transportation, rehabilitation of rescued circus animals, lab animals, inspections,
legal expenses in connection with court cases pertaining to animal welfare, mobile clinics is also
incurred.

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Abatement of pollution
(1) Central Pollution Control Board

It is responsible for planning and executing comprehensive nationwide programmes for the prevention
and control of water and air pollution, for advising the Central Government on matters concerning
prevention and control of water and air pollution and for coordinating activities of state pollution
control boards/pollution control committees besides providing technical assistance and guidance to
them.

The Central Pollution Control Board also coordinates enforcement and implementation of Rules
framed under the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 with state pollution control boards/pollution
control committees.

It also provides support to various committees and authorities constituted by the Government of
India such as The Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority for the National
Capital Region.

(2) Hazardous Substances Management:

The Hazardous Substances Management Division (HSMD) is the nodal point within the ministry for
management of chemical emergencies and hazardous substances and four International convention (i)
Basel Convention on Control of Trans-boundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal; (ii)
Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent Procedure for certain Chemicals and Pesticides in
International Trade; (iii) Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (iv) The Minamata
Convention on Mercury.
The salient features of Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management &Transboundary Movement)
Rules, 2016 include the following:
a.

Waste Management hierarchy in the sequence of priority of prevention, minimization, reuse,

recycling, recovery, co-processing; and safe disposal has been incorporated.

b.

All the forms under the rules for permission, import/export, filing of annual returns,
transportation, etc. have been revised significantly, indicating the stringent approach for
management of such hazardous and other wastes with simultaneous simplification of procedure.

c.

The basic necessity of infrastructure to safeguard the health and environment from waste
processing industry has been prescribed as Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs), specific to
waste type, which has to be complied by the stakeholders and ensured by SPCB/PCC while
granting such authorization.

d.

Procedure has been simplified to merge all the approvals as a single window clearance for
setting up of hazardous waste disposal facility and import of other wastes.

e.

Co-processing as preferential mechanism over disposal for use of waste as supplementary

resource, or for recovery of energy has been provided.

f.

The process of import/export of waste under the Rules has been streamlined by simplifying
the document-based procedure and by revising the list of waste regulated for import/export.

g.

The import of metal scrap, paper waste and various categories of electrical and electronic
equipments for re-use purpose has been exempted from the need of obtaining Ministry's
permission.

Notes

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h.

The following items have been prohibited for import:

Waste edible fats and oil of animals, or vegetable origin; Household waste; Critical Care Medical
equipment; Tyres for direct re-use purpose; Solid Plastic wastes including Pet bottles; Waste
electrical and electronic assemblies scrap; Other chemical wastes especially in solvent form.

(3) E-Waste Management:

The Ministry has notified e-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011.

These rules apply to e-waste generated from IT and telecommunication equipment and consumer
electrical and electronics namely, television sets (including LCD & LED), refrigerators, washing
machines and air-conditioners.

New rules of E-Waste management 2016

a.

Manufacturer, dealer, refurbisher and Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) have been
introduced as additional stakeholders in the rules.

b.

The applicability of the rules has been extended to components, consumables, spares and parts
of Electriacal and Electronic Equipment (EEE) in addition to equipment.

c.

E-waste rules will now include Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) and other mercury containing
lamps, as well as other such equipment.

d.

The new Rules will bring the producers under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), along
with targets. Producers have been made responsible for collection of E-waste and for its exchange
i.e. the bulk consumers have to collect the items and hand them over to authorized recyclers.

e.

Various producers can have a separate Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) and ensure
collection of E-waste, as well as its disposal in an environmentally sound manner.

f.

Under the new rules the role of State Governments is to ensure safety, health and skill
development of the workers involved in dismantling and recycling operations.

g.

Provision of penalty for violation of rules has been introduced.

h.

The process of dismantling and recycling has been simplified through one system of authorization
and that the Central Pollution Control Board will give the single authorization throughout the
country.

i.

Toxic constituents present in E-waste and their disposal mechanism affect human health and
lead to various diseases thus the transportation of E-waste has been made more stringent.

j.

Deposit Refund Scheme has been introduced as an additional economic instrument wherein the
producer charges an additional amount as a deposit at the time of sale of the electrical and
electronic equipment and returns it to the consumer along with interest when the end-of life
electrical and electronic equipment is returned.

(4) Solid Waste Management

The collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of solid wastes, particularly wastes generated in
medium and large urban centres, have become a relatively difficult problem to solve for those
responsible for their management. The problem is even more acute in economically developing
countries, where financial, human, and other critical resources generally are scarce.

Solid waste management rules have been revamped recently.

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The New Rules Are:

a.

The Solid Waste management (SWM) rules 2016 has expanded the ambit of the rule beyond
municipal areas to include urban agglomerations, notified industrial townships, areas under
Indian Railways, airports, ports and harbours, defence establishments, special economic zones,
state and central organisations, places of pilgrimage, religious and historical importance.

b.

The new rules also defines sanitary waste such as diapers and sanitary pads and calls for their
proper disposal.

c.

The local authorities, under the new rules, will have to frame by-laws and prescribe criteria for
levying spot fines for littering.

d.

The authorities will also direct waste generators not to litter and to segregate waste at source
before handing over to waste pickers while they have to set up material recovery or secondary
storage facilities and provide access to waste pickers and recyclers for collection of such waste.

e.

Under the new rules, the local authorities will have to phase out the use of chemical fertilizers
within two years and use compost in all parks and gardens maintained by them.

f.

The new rules also fix responsibility on generators to segregate waste into three categories wet,
dry and hazardous. The generator will have to pay 'user fee' to the waste collector and a 'spot
fine' for littering and non-segregation.

National Green Corps (NGC)

Initiative for creating environmental awareness among children by formulating National Green Corps
(NGC) in 2001-02.

NGC has received has made the network more than 1,00,000 eco-clubs across the country in 14 years,
making it one of the largest conservation networks.

The unique partnership between the Environment Ministry, the State Government agencies along with the
dedicated NGOs, working in the field of environmental education. Children can be catalysts in promoting
a mass movement about the ensemble of the environmental issues

National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), New Delhi is an institution devoted to environmental
education and was opened to the public in 1978, on June 5, on the occasion of World Environment Day.

Programmes Under NMNH : Temporary exhibitions, mobile exhibitions and a large number of nature
camps. It also arranges many local and national level competitions leading to Young Environmentalist of
the Year Award (YEYA).

Notes

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FINANCE
The Ministry of Finance is responsible for administration of finances of the Government. It is concerned with
all economic and financial matters affecting the country as a whole including mobilization of resources for
development and other purposes. It regulates expenditure of the Government including transfer of resources
to the states. This ministry comprises five departments, namely:
(i) Economic Affairs
(ii) Expenditure
(iii) Revenue
(iv) Disinvestment
(v) Financial Services

Recent Initiatives related to Financial Sector

(a) The Securities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2014
(i)

The Securities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2014, inter-alia, has amended sub-section (8) of section 11(C) of
the Securities and Exchange Board of India 'SEBI' Act, 1992 to provide that search and seizures can be
conducted by SEBI after obtaining the approval from the Magistrate or Judge of such designated court
in Mumbai.

(ii) Further, the Securities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2014 inter-alia provides for establishment or designation
of Special Court by the Central Government for the purpose of speedy trial of offences punishable under
the SEBI Act, 1992; Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, [SCRA], 1957 and the Depositories Act, 1996.
(iii) The amendments included explicit power to disgorge ill-gotten gains and credit disgorgement amount to
Investor Protection and Education Fund and its utilization, power to conduct search and seizure, explicit
powers for settlement, special courts and public prosecutors, attachment and recovery, power of review
of orders passed by Adjudicating Officers, enhanced powers in respect of Collective Investment Scheme
(CIS).
(b) Tax pass through for (Alternative Investment Fund) category I and II
(i)

Under the SEBI Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) Regulations, 2012 various types of Alternative
Investment Funds (AIFs) have been classified under three separate categories as Category I, II and III
AIFs.

(ii) Category I AIFs are funds that invest in start-up or early stage ventures or social ventures or SMEs or
infrastructure or other sectors or areas which the Government or regulators consider as socially or
economically desirable.

Notes

(iii) Category II AIFs are funds including private equity funds or debt funds which do not fall in Category I
and III and which do not undertake leverage or borrowing other than to meet day-to-day operational
requirements.

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(iv) Category III AIFs are funds which employ diverse or complex trading strategies and may employ leverage
including through investment in listed or unlisted derivatives. These include Hedge funds.
(v) The Union Budget 2015-16, tax pass through has been provided for AIF Category I and Category II.
(vi) Tax pass-through status to categories I and II, would mean that capital gains will be taxed at the hand of
investors and not the funds. This status would certainly give investors more confidence in terms of
investing in such entities.

(c) SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015

(i)

The SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 1992 were notified in 1992, which was framed to
deter the practice of insider trading in the securities of listed companies.

(ii) To ensure that the regulatory framework dealing with insider trading in India is further strengthened, SEBI
sought review of the extant insider trading regulatory regime.
(iii) The new regulations strengthen the legal and enforcement framework, align Indian regime with international
practices, provide clarity with respect to the definitions and concepts, and facilitate legitimate business
transactions.
(iv) SEBI has notified the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 on January 15, 2015 which
has replaced the existing regulations of 1992 with effect from May 15, 2015.

Recent developments regarding Foreign Portfolio Investment Policy

(i)

With the effect from February 3, 2015, Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPIs) are required to invest in
Corporate Bonds having a minimum residual maturity of 3 years.

(ii) FPIs have also been prohibited from investing in liquid and money market mutual fund schemes. Since
commercial papers are short term instruments having maturities of less than one year, FPIs have also been
prohibited from investing in commercial papers.
(iiii) Prior to April 8, 2015, FPIs that had purchased Government securities when the Government debt limits
were on tap did not have a reinvestment facility.
(iv) In order to provide operational flexibility in managing/rebalancing their existing portfolios, with effect
from April 08, 2015, upon sale/redemption/ maturity of Government securities, these FPIs have been
permitted to buy Government securities on the same day. This facility applies to investors in both the
USD 25 billion and USD 5 billion Government debt limit categories.
(a) New Depository Receipts Scheme

The new Depository Receipts (DR) Scheme, 2014 formulated on the basis of M.S. Sahoo committee
recommendations has come into effect from December 15, 2014.

The new DR Scheme allows:

(i)

Issuance of Depository Receipts (DRs) against any underlying securities equity or debt;.

(ii) Issuance by any issuer - Listed or unlisted;

Notes

(iii) Depository Receipts can be issued both for capital raising through new shares or against existing/secondary

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shares;
(iv) Issuance may be either sponsored or unsponsored;
(v) Depository Receipts will count as public shareholding if they have attached voting rights for holder.
(b) Establishment of International Financial Services Centre
(i)

International Financial Services Centres (IFSC) are to be set-up/operationalized in India to provide avenues
to finest financial minds in India to fully exhibit and exploit their strength to the country's advantage and
enable India to become a producer and exporter of international financial services.

(c) Liberalization of Withholding Tax

(i)

Section 194(C) of Income Tax Act, 1961 provides for withholding tax of 5% while making payments of
the interest to a non-resident in respect of the money borrowed in foreign currency from a source outside
India under a loan agreement or by way of issue of long-term infrastructure Bonds.

(ii) The same has been amended with effect from October 1, 2014 and the concessional rate of withholding
tax has been extended to borrowing by way of any long-term bonds and not limited to only long-term
infrastructure bond, if the borrowing is made on or after October 1, 2014.
(d) External Commercial Borrowings Policy Reforms
(i)

Foreign Currency Borrowing, popularly known as External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) refers to
commercial loans in foreign currency availed by persons resident in India from non-resident lenders.
Government in consultation with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) aims to liberalize and streamline the extant
ECB policy to enable Indian firms greater access to international capital markets.

(ii) In May, 2015 to facilitate ECB lending denominated in INR by overseas lenders, such lenders have been
allowed to enter into swap transactions with their overseas bank which shall, in turn, enter into a backto-back swap transaction with any authorized dealer bank in India subject to specific terms and conditions.

Infrastructure Financing in India

(a) Infrastructure Debt Funds
(i)

Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDF) is an innovative attempt, for addressing the issue of sourcing long term
debt for infrastructure projects. Potential investors under IDFs may include off-shore institutional investors,
off-shore high net worth individuals and other institutional investors (insurance funds, pension funds,
sovereign wealth funds, etc.).

(ii) IDFs can be set up either as a trust or as a NBFC. The income of Infrastructure Debt Funds has been
exempted from income tax. So far, 3 IDF-NBFCs and 3 IDF-MFs have been operationalized.
(b) Real Estate Investment Trusts and Infrastructure Investment Trust:
(i)

Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) are mutual fund like institutions that enable investments into the
infrastructure sector by pooling small sums of money from multitude of individual investors for directly
investing in infrastructure so as to return a portion of the income (after deducting expenditures) to unit
holders of InvITs, who pooled in the money.

Notes

(ii) Two types of InvITs have been allowed, one which is allowed to invest mainly in completed and revenue
generating infrastructure projects and other which has the flexibility to invest in completed/under-construction

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projects. While the former has to undertake a public offer of its units, the latter has to opt for a private
placement of its units. Both the structures are required to be listed.
(iii) Real Estate investment Trusts (REITs) are mutual fund like institutions that enable investments into the
real estate sector by pooling small sums of money from multitude of individual investors for directly
investing in real estate properties so as to return a portion of the income (after deducting expenditures)
to unit holders of REITs, who pooled in the money.
(iv) A REIT in India is allowed to invest mainly in completed and revenue generating assets and other
approved investments. Further, REIT will have to distribute majority of its income among the unit
holders.
(c) Tax Free Bonds
(i)

With a view to broaden the Corporate Bond Market by according tax free status to infrastructure bonds,
the Government has come up with the idea of 'Tax Free Bonds' to address the specific needs of infrastructure
deficit, especially in sectors such as roads, railways and irrigation which are essential for economic growth
in any country.

(iii) Taking its commitment for infrastructure development, Government has approved issuance of tax free
bonds of Rs. 40,000 crore through infrastructure Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSEs) in Financial
Year 2015-16.
(d) National Investment and Infrastructure Fund
(i)

Government is to create a National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) with the objective to
maximize economic impact mainly through infrastructure development in commercially viable projects,
both green field and brown field, including stalled projects.

(ii) National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) would invest in the:

Equity/quasi-equity support to those NBFCs/ FIs that are engaged mainly in infrastructure financing.
These institutions will be able to leverage this equity support and provide debt to the projects selected;

In funds engaged in mainly infrastructure sectors and managed by AMCs for equity/quasi-equity funding
of listed/unlisted companies;

Equity/ quasi-equity support/debt to projects, to commercially viable projects, both green field and brown
field, including stalled projects.

(e) India Infrastructural Finance company Limited (IIFCL)

The Government has also set up India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) with the specific
mandate to play a catalytic role in the infrastructure sector by providing long-term debt for financing
infrastructure projects. IIFCL funds viable infrastructure projects through long term debt, refinance to
banks and financial institutions for loans granted by them, with tenor exceeding 10 years or any other
mode approved by the Government.

Steps taken to revive Public Private Partnership in India

(a) Debottlenecking of Stalled Projects
With a view to putting in place an institutional mechanism to track stalled investment projects, both in
the public and private sectors and to remove implementation bottlenecks in these projects, a cell in the
nature of Project Monitoring Group (PMG) has been set up for all large projects, both public and private.

Notes

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Central e-PMS, a web enabled information system has also been put in place where in an entrepreneur can
provide the details of his project having investments above Rs. 1,000 crore (USD 167 million) along with
issues that are inhibiting its smooth implementation. As per information provided by PMG (as on July
17, 2015), all issues in 272 projects (Investment Rs. 9,44,692 crore) have been resolved. At present 314
projects (Investment Rs. 13,37,656 crore) including one resolved project opened for new issues, are under
consideration of Project Monitoring Group.

(b) Renegotiation of PPP Contracts

The Department of Economics Affairs (DFA) has developed a report on the framework for renegotiation
of Public Private Partnership (PPP) contracts, with a particular focus on the National Highway and Major
Port Concessions. The report identifies issues and changes that may need to be made in the contractual
and institutional arrangement post award of the projects.

(c) Contract Management

The Department of Economics Affairs (DFA) has developed guidance material for improving the postaward management of Public Private Partnership (PPP), with particular focus on day-to-day monitoring
and proactive management of key risks in a manner that best preserves the interests of the users of
infrastructure services and the concessioning authority.

(d) 3P India

An institution '3P India' is proposed to be set up to provide support to mainstreaming PPPs for a more
directed effort to scale up private investments in infrastructure and for developing a broad and diversified
portfolio of PPP projects not only at the Central and the State Governments' level but also at the level
of local self governments. 3P India is envisaged to support the public sector in programmatic level
activities, viz., policy implementation and regulatory support.

(e) Other measures to revive PPP

(i)

A dedicated website www.pppinindia.com for PPPs giving comprehensive and current information on the
PPP initiatives and various knowledge resources and Government guidelines on PPPs has also been
developed.

(ii) A Viability Gap Funding Scheme for PPP projects was created. Infrastructure projects are often not
commercially viable on account of having substantial sunk investment and low returns, they however
continue to be economically essential. The scheme has been formulated which provides financial support
in the form of grants, one time or deferred, to infrastructure projects undertaken through public-private
partnerships with a view to make them commercially viable. It provides total Viability Gap Funding (VGF)
up to 20% of the total project. The Government or statutory entity that owns the project may, if it so
decides, provides additional grants out of its budget up to further 20 per cent of the total project cost.
(iii) A dedicated PPP Cell was set up in Department of Economic Affairs, to serve as the secretariat for the
various committees that appraise and approve central sector projects and for innovative interventions and
financial support mechanisms for facilitating PPPs in the country, managing training programmes for
capacity building for PPPs.

Foregin Direct Investment (FDI) Policy

As per the extant policy, FDI up to 100% is allowed under the automatic route in most of the sectors/

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activities. FDI under the automatic route does not require prior approval either by the Government of
India or the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Investors are only required to notify and file documents in the
concerned Regional RBI office.

Under the Government approval route, applications for FDI proposals are considered and approved by the
Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

The following sectors are prohibited for FDI: (i) Lottery Business; (ii) Gambling & Betting; (iii) Business
of Chit Fund; (iv) Nidhi Company; (v) Trading in transferable development rights (TDRs); (vi) Teal Estate
business or construction of farmhouses; (vii) Manufacturing of Cigars, Cheroots, Cigarillos and Cigarettes,
of Tobacco or of Tobacco Substitutes; and (viii) Activity/Sector not opened to private sector investment
e.g: (a) Atomic Energy (b) Railway Operations.

Recent changes With regard to FDI

(i)

NIC Code: Mapping of the sector specific FDI Policy in Consolidated FDI Policy, 2014 in terms of
National Industrial Classification (NIC)-2008 has been done with the objective of improving ease of doing
of business in India and published on January 15, 2015.

(ii) Pharma Sector: In view of difficulties of investors, the Government allowed FDI up to 100 per cent under
the automatic route for manufacturing of medical devices, which was earlier placed in the Government
approval route.
(iii) Insurance Sector: The Government in 2015 increased the FDI limit to 49 per cent (up to 26 per cent on
automatic route and beyond 26% to 49% under approval route) in respect of insurance company, insurance
brokers, third party administrators, surveyors and loss assessors and other insurance intermediaries appointed
under the provisions of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act (IRDA), 1999 subject to
compliance of Insurance Act and necessary license from IRDA for undertaking insurance activities.
Further, ownership and control of Indian Insurance Company should remain in the hands of resident
Indian entities at all times.
(iv) Pension Sector: The Government allowed in 2015 FDI in Pension Sector. FDI upto 26 per cent is allowed
on automatic route whereas FDI above 26 per cent and upto 49 per cent is allowed under approval route.
(v) Enhancing the Limit of FIPB: The Government enhanced the approval limit of FIPB to Rs. 3,000 crore
from the earlier provison of Rs. 2,000 crore. Proposal having foreign investment greater than Rs. 3,000
crore need to be approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. This will facilitate/expedite
the process of considering/approving the foreign investment proposals.
(vi) Relaxation of norms for Investment by Non Resident Indian on Non-repatriation basis: In 2015, the
Government amended the definition of NRI under FEMA-20 and stated that the investment by NRI on
Non-repatriation basis would be treated at par with investment made by residents. This will facilitate/
attract investment from NRIs as sectoral caps and conditions, etc., which were earlier applicable to them,
would not be applicable henceforth.

Notes

(vii) Introduction of Composite Caps for simplification of FDI Policy: In 2015, the Government simplified
the FDI policy. Earlier, caps for FDI, FPIs/FIIs were indicated for each activity separately in most of the
sectors. To remove ambiguity, the Government simplified the rules. In addition to the above, it is stipulated
that investment by FPIs/FIIs up to 49% in all sectors except Defence does not require FIPB approval.

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Other Recent Schemes Launched

(a) Gold Monetization Scheme
(i)

In an aim to mobilise gold held by households and institutions, the Finance Ministry launched Gold
Monetisation Scheme. Under the scheme, the minimum gold deposit will be 30 gm and the interest earned
on it would be exempted from income tax as well as capital gains tax. The bank will commit to paying
an interest to the customer which will be payable after 30/60 days of opening of the gold savings account.
However, the rate of interest will be decided by the banks.

(ii) Both principal and interest to be paid to the depositors of gold, will be 'valued' in gold. For example if
a customer deposits 100 gm of gold and gets 1% interest, then, on maturity he has a credit of 101 gm.
The tenure of the deposit will be minimum one year and with a roll out in multiples of one year. Like
a fixed deposit, breaking of lock-in period will be allowed.
(b) Gold Bond scheme

(c) Atal Pension Yojana (APY):

(i)

The scheme is intended to enhance old age income security of the working poor and is focused on
encouraging and enabling them to join the National Pension System (NPS).

Notes

(ii) It is a Government of India scheme and is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development
Authority (PFRDA). The institutional architecture of NPS would be utilised to enroll subscribers under

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the scheme.
(iii) All citizens in the unorganised sector, who join the NPS administered by the PFRDA and who are not
members of any statutory social security scheme are eligible to benefit under the scheme.
(iv) The minimum age of joining is 18 years and maximum age is 40 years. All the existing subscribers of
Swavalamban Scheme would be automatically migrated to APY, unless they opt out.
(v) It is expected that around two crore subscribers would be enrolled during the financial year 2015-16 under
the scheme.
(vi) The subscribers would receive the fixed pension, as guaranteed by the Union Government, of 1000 rupees
per month, 2000 rupees per month, 3000 rupees per month, 4000 rupees per month, 5000 rupees per
month, at the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions, which itself would vary on the age of
joining the scheme.
(vii) The pension would also be available to the spouse on the death of the subscriber and thereafter, the
pension corpus would be returned to the nominee.
(d) Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY):
(i)

Eligibility: Available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 and having a bank account. People who join
the scheme before completing 50 years can, however, continue to have the risk of life cover up to the age
of 55 years subject to payment of premium.

(ii) Premium: Rs.330 per annum. It will be auto-debited in one instalment.

(iii) Payment Mode: The payment of premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers
account.
(iv) Risk Coverage: Rs.2 Lakh in case of death for any reason.
(v) Terms of Risk Coverage: A person has to opt for the scheme every year. He can also prefer to give a
long-term option of continuing, in which case his account will be auto-debited every year by the bank.
(vi) Who will implement this Scheme?: The scheme will be offered by Life Insurance Corporation and all other
life insurers who are willing to join the scheme and tie-up with banks for this purpose.
(vii) Government Contribution:

Various other Ministries can co-contribute premium for various categories of their beneficiaries out
of their budget or out of Public Welfare Fund created in this budget out of unclaimed money. This
will be decided separately during the year.

Common Publicity Expenditure will be borne by Government.

(e) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY):

(i)

Eligibility: Available to people in age group of 18 to 70 years with bank account.

(ii) Premium: Rs.12 per annum.

(iii) Payment Mode: The premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account. This
is the only mode available.

Notes

(iv) Risk Coverage: For accidental death and full disability - Rs.2 Lakh and for partial disability - Rs.1 Lakh.

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(v) Eligibility: Any person having a bank account and Aadhaar number linked to the bank account can give
a simple form to the bank every year before 1st of June in order to join the scheme. Name of nominee
to be given in the form.
(vi) Terms of Risk Coverage: A person has to opt for the scheme every year. He can also prefer to give a
long-term option of continuing in which case the premium will be auto-debited from his account every
year by the bank.
(vii) Who will implement this Scheme?: The scheme will be offered by all Public Sector General Insurance
Companies and all other insurers who are willing to join the scheme and tie-up with banks for this
purpose.
(viii)

Government Contribution:

Various Ministries can co-contribute premium for various categories of their beneficiaries from their
budget or from Public Welfare Fund created in this budget from unclaimed money. This will be
decided separately during the year.

Common Publicity Expenditure will be borne by the Government.

(f) Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY):

The revived Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) was formally launched on August 14, 2014 and will
be open during the window stretching from August 15, 2014 to August 14, 2015 for the benefit of
citizens aged 60 years and above.

The scheme will be administered by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). The subscription to the scheme
is likely to create a corpus of more than Rs.10,000 crore, and would thus also be a significant source of
resource mobilization for the development of the country.

Pension would be on immediate annuity basis in monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual mode, varying
respectively, between Rs. 500 to 5,000 (monthly), Rs. 1,500 to 15,000 (quarterly), Rs. 3,000 to Rs.
30,000 (half-yearly) and from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 60,000 (annually), depending on the amount subscribed
and the option exercised.

The pay-out implies an assured return of 9% on monthly payment basis, which amounts to an annualized
return of 9.38%. As on date 2,477 beneficiaries have registered and total amount received is 74.52 crore

Banking Sector Initiatives

(a) Credit Guarantee Fund

Credit Guarantee Funds for Education Loans, Skill Development and expanding the scope of Credit
Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) were set up to operate all credit
guarantee schemes with the following features:

(i)

A corpus contribution of Rs. 3,500 crore for a period of five years beginning from Financial Year 2014
at Rs. 500 crore in the initial year, which will be stepped up by Rs. 100 crore each year for guaranteeing
education loans.

Provisions of this fund will be made by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (HRD)
from its budget resources, who happen to be settler for the fund in this regard; and

Notes

(ii) Further, for guaranteeing skill development loans, total corpus of Rs. 1,000 crore with contribution of Rs.
500 crore each in Financial Year 2014 and 2015. Provisions for these funds will be made by the Department
of Financial Services as settler of the fund from its budget resources.

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(b) MUDRA

The government has set up a Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank through
a statutory enactment. This Bank would be responsible for regulating and refinancing all Micro-finance
Institutions (MFI) which are in the business of lending to micro/small business entities engaged in
manufacturing, trading and services activities. The Bank would partner with state level/regional level coordinators to provide finance to Last Mile Financer of small/micro business enterprises.

The MUDRA Bank would primarily be responsible for:

1)

Laying down policy guidelines for micro/small enterprise financing business.

2)

Registration of Micro Finance Institution (MFI) entities.

3)

Regulation of MFI entities.

4)

Accreditation/rating of MFI entities.

5)

Laying down responsible financing practices to ward off indebtedness and ensure proper client protection
principles and methods of recovery.

6)

Development of standardised set of covenants governing last mile lending to micro/small enterprises.

7)

Promoting right technology solutions for the last mile.

8)

Formulating and running a Credit Guarantee scheme for providing guarantees to the loans which are being
extended to micro enterprises.

9)

Creating a good architecture of Last Mile Credit Delivery to micro businesses under the scheme of
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.

A sum of Rs 20,000 crores would be allocated to the MUDRA Bank from the money available from
shortfalls of Priority Sector Lending for creating a Refinance Fund to provide refinance to the Last Mile
Financers. Another Rs 3,000 crore would be provided to the MUDRA Bank from the budget to create
a Credit Guarantee corpus for guaranteeing loans being provided to the micro enterprises.

The above measures would not only help in increasing access of finance to the unbanked but also bring
down the cost of finance from the last Mile Financers to the micro/small enterprises, most of which are
in the informal sector.

Disinvestment

Disinvestment can also be defined as the action of an organisation (or government) selling or liquidating
an asset or subsidiary. It is also referred to as 'divestment' or 'divestiture.' In most contexts, disinvestment
typically refers to sale from the government, partly or fully, of a government-owned enterprise.

Benefits of Disinvestment
(i)

There are inherent advantages in the listing of shares of profitable Central Public Sector Enterprises
(CPSEs) on the stock exchanges as it triggers multilayered oversight mechanism which enhances corporate
governance as well as provides for level playing field to CPSEs vis--vis private companies in regard to
accessing the resources through the capital market.

(ii) The listed companies are mandated by Company Law/SEBI/Stock Exchanges to comply with higher level
of disclosures. This will bring greater transparency and credibility.

Notes

(iii) With the induction of independent directors, management accountability, competencies and performance
get enhanced.

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(iv) Investor centric research provides on a regular basis third party professional assessment of risks as well
as future prospects to management to help it benchmark its business model with the industry.
(v) Expectations of investors (shareholders) will bring productive pressure upon the management to perform
more efficiently to unlock the true value of the enterprise.
(vi) Listing also provides development of people ownership of CPSEs, thus encouraging participation and
sharing in the prosperity of CPSEs.
(vii) Raise budgetary resources for the Government.
Recent Reform Measures and Policy Initiatives

The following measures have been taken to improve the disinvestment process so as to better attain
disinvestment objectives.

(i)

A CPSE Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) comprising shares of listed CPSEs was launched in March, 2014.
The Government realized an amount of Rs. 3,000 crore as disinvestment proceeds through CPSE-ETF.

(ii) Earlier there was no reservation for retail investors in Offer For Sale (OFS) of Shares through Stock
Exchange mechanism. However, in 2014 SEBI mandated that a minimum 10% of the offer size shall
be reserved for retail investors in OFS and a discount has also been made admissible to them.

Notes

(iii) In 2014, Government amended the minimum public shareholding norms for every listed CPSE whereby
every listed CPSE has to increase its public shareholding to at least 25% within a period of 3 years.

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CORPORATE AFFAIRS
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is primarily concerned with the administration of the Companies
Act, 2013 and Companies Act, 1956. Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 and other related statutes like;
(i) The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949;
(ii) The Cost and Works Accounts Act, 1959;
(iii) The Company Secretaries Act, 1980;
(iv) The Partnership Act, 1932,
(v) The Competition Act, 2002 as amended by Competition (Amendment) Act, 2009.

Key Acts Related to the Ministry

(a) Companies Act 2013

The New Companies Act, 2013 (Act) replaced the Companies Act, 1956, by comprehensively revising
the law incorporating international best practices as well as in keeping with the needs of the current
economic environment.

Features of the Act

The new Act seeks to bring corporate governance and regulation practices in the country at par with the
global best practices.

Under the new Act the corporate sector has been given more flexibility in regulating their affairs, subject
to full disclosure and accountability of their actions, with minimal government interference by the process
of approvals.

The Act provides more opportunities for new entrepreneurs and enables wide application of information
technology in the conduct of affairs by Corporates.

(b) Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015

Need for Amendment

In the light of practical difficulties experienced by stakeholders in the implementation of the provisions
of the Companies Act, 2013 so far brought in force and also with a view to further facilitate 'ease of doing
business' and deal with certain difficulties in this behalf brought out by the World Bank in its Report
'Doing Business' 2015, the Ministry has amended the relevant provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 to
address such issues quickly.

Key provisions of the Amended Act

Accordingly, the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015 inter-alia provides for doing away with minimum
paid up share capital requirements for companies, making common seal of the company optional, enabling
prescribing of a minimum threshold for reporting of frauds by auditors to Central Government, substitution
of ordinary resolution for a special resolution in clearance of certain Related Party Transactions (RPTs)
and liberalization of provisions for grant of bail except for the offences of fraud under the Companies Act.

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(c) The Competition Act, 2002

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) was established on October 14, 2003 under the Competition
Act, 2002, with the objective of eliminating practices having an adverse effect on competition, promoting
and sustaining competition, protecting the interest of consumers and ensuring freedom of trade in India.

The provisions of the Competition Act relating to anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant
position were brought into force with the effect from May 20, 2009 and the commission has started
dealing with cases under these provisions.

The Act also provides for the establishment of a Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) to hear and
dispose of appeals against the orders of the CCI and also adjudicate on the claims of compensation that
may arise from the findings of the CCI or the orders of COMPAT.

(d) Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act

In India, about 95% of industrial units are Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The corporate
form does not appear to be widely prevalent amongst MSMEs. The reason behind this was high compliance
cost under the Companies Act, 1956 Which deterred the MSMEs from adopting the corporate form.

The functioning of a proprietorship or a partnership firm is too opaque, making assessment of creditworthiness by bankers difficult, and therefore, the MSME sector is at a comparative disadvantage vis-avis corporate bodies in accessing loan/credit facilities from banks and other financial institutions.

To overcome this problem, the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act was enacted in 2008. LLP is a
form of business entity, which allows individual partners to be protected from the joint and several
liabilities of partners in a partnership firm. The liability of partners incurred in the normal course of
business does not extend to the personal assets of the partners. It is capable of entering into contracts
and holding property in its own name. An LLP would be able to fulfill the compliance norms with much
greater ease, coupled with limitation of liability. The corporate structure of LLP and the statutory disclosure
requirements are expected to enable higher access to credit in the market.

Key Institutions Related To Ministry of Corporate Affairs

(a) Company Law Board

The Company Law Board (CLB) functions as an independent, quasi-judicial body created under section
10E of the Companies Act, 1956, exercising equitable jurisdiction, which was earlier being exercised by
the High Court or the Central Government. The Company Law Board exercises such powers as given
under the relevant provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 and 2013 and vested in a court under the Code
of Civil Procedure, 1908.

The Companies Act, 2013 envisages the setting up of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). The existing jurisdictions of CLB and the High
Courts on various company matters will thereafter be exercised by the NCLT and NCLAT.

(b) Serious Fraud Investigation Office

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) was set up in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The main
function of SFIO is to investigate corporate frauds of serious and complex nature. It takes up investigation
of complex frauds, having inter-departmental and multi-disciplinary ramifications, substantial involvement
of public interest to be judged by size of either monetary appropriation or the number of persons affected
and the possibility of investigations leading to, or contributing towards a clear improvement in systems,
laws or procedures.

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The Companies Act, 2013 has enlarged the scope of SFIO to a statutory recognition and SFIO has been
vested with police power in their investigation.

(c) Indian Corporate Law Service

Indian Corporate Law Service Ministry of Corporate Affairs is the Cadre Controlling Authority of the
Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS). The erstwhile Indian Company Law Service was rechristened in
November, 2008 as the Indian Corporate Law Service.

The training of ICLS officers inculcates skills to enforce Corporate Law efficiently including incorporation,
regulation, investor protection and implementation of corporate governance in the country.

(D) Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs

The Ministry set up the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), a registered society under Societies
Registration Act, 1860 to serve as a 'Holistic Think-Tank', and a 'Capacity Building, Service Delivery
Institution' to help corporate growth, reforms through synergized knowledge management, partnerships
and problem solving in a one-stop-shop mode.

The institute fulfils the training needs of the officers of the Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS), and
other officials working for the ministry through its network of various schools/centres.

Notes

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