05 Dec 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. India Infrastructure Report 2023 (IIR 2023)
2. Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana
3. India Ageing Report 2023

1. India Infrastructure Report 2023 (IIR 2023)

Syllabus: GS-3, Infrastructure

Prelims: India Infrastructure Report 2023

Mains: Infrastructure in India, related problems and challenges

Context: 

India Infrastructure Report 2023 released.

Details:

• The India Infrastructure Report 2023 on Urban Planning and Development was released.
• The report has been compiled by the IDFC Foundation, Infrastructure Development Corporation (Karnataka) Ltd. (iDeCK) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA). 
• The report gives a roadmap on how to improve the existing cities through urban redevelopment.
• The key aspects of IIR 2023 are Planning and Governance, Smart Initiatives, PPPs and Financing, Housing and Migration, Public Service Delivery, Integrating Infrastructure, and Urban Redevelopment.
• The report contains 25 chapters by prominent names in the urban development and policy ecosystem on the current state of urban development in India.
• The report is an annual publication and has been a useful tool for formulating urban policy and for those interested in the development of India’s infrastructure and urbanization, such as policymakers, investors, academics, financiers, and multilateral agencies.
• Highlights of the report:
  • Potential of digital technology in shaping the urban landscape of India
  • Focus on ‘smart cities’
  • Significance of performance ranking
  • Financial dimensions of urban development, with a special emphasis on public-private partnerships (PPPs)
  • Financial sustainability of urban local bodies
  • Efficacy of municipal bonds as potent financing instruments
  • Urban transportation planning and urban redevelopment

About IDFC: 

• IDFC Foundation is a not-for-profit institution, working on philanthropic initiatives in social infrastructure.
• It carries out research, policy advocacy and capacity building in infrastructure.

About iDeCK:

• Founded in 2000, it is a joint venture of the Government of Karnataka, IDFC Foundation and HDFC.
• It focuses on catalysing well-planned, sustainable infrastructure projects, especially through public-private participation.

About NIUA:

• It is a Central Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs founded in 1976.
• It is a national think-tank undertaking cutting-edge multi-disciplinary research, knowledge exchange and capacity development, policy planning and advocacy in the domain of urban development.

2. Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana

Syllabus: GS-2, Govt schemes

Prelims: Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana 

Context:

Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana.

About Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana:

• It is a centrally sponsored scheme that has been implemented since 2009-10.
• It is aimed at the integrated development of Scheduled Castes (SC) majority villages. 
• Since the FY 2021-22, this scheme has been merged with two other schemes and all these 3 erstwhile schemes are being implemented as components of the unified scheme namely Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY). 
• Villages having a total population of at least 500 people and an SC population of more than 40% are eligible for selection in descending order of their SC population. 
• The scheme is under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

3. India Ageing Report 2023

Syllabus: GS-1, Social Issues

Prelims/Mains: India Ageing Report 2023

India Ageing Report 2023:

• The report has been prepared by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Institute of Population Sciences(IIPS) on the welfare of senior citizens in India.

Highlights of the report:

• India’s elderly population has been growing rapidly.
• The share of population over the age of 60 years is projected to increase from 10.5 percent in 2022 to 20.8 percent in 2050.
• Sharp growth in the elderly population is observed from 2010 onwards along with a decline in the age group of below 15 years, indicating rapidity of ageing in India. 
• India has witnessed moderate to high pace of decadal growth in elderly population since 1961.
• A distinguishing feature of ageing in India is the significant interstate variation in absolute levels and growth (and hence, share) of the elderly population, given the varying stages and pace of demographic transition across states.
• Most of the states in the southern region and select northern states such as Himachal Pradesh and Punjab reported a higher share of the elderly population than the national average in 2021.
• Share of the elderly population would be substantial in most of the states in the coming decades with one in five persons being elderly in the southern states by 2036.
• Higher old-age dependency ratio indicates higher demand for support from the next generation in terms of caregiving, social and financial needs.
•  Life expectancy of women at 60 years is greater than 20 years in states such as Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, raising concerns about their social and economic well-being. 
• Three aspects of ageing that create significant challenges are: (a) women living longer than men (feminization) resulting in higher levels of widowhood and associated socio-cultural and economic deprivations and dependencies; (b) high proportion of rural population among the elderly (ruralization); and (c) ageing of the aged persons.
• Living alone is a growing phenomenon among older females due to higher life expectancy and higher incidence of widowhood. 
• Poverty among the elderly is a concern, affecting their quality of life and healthcare utilization.
• The elderly in India have a low awareness of the various social security schemes designed for them.
• The report recommends addressing the issue of a scarcity of relevant data related to elderly well-being, increasing awareness of schemes meant for the elderly, encouraging at-home ageing as it results in better care, and stressing the advantages of elderly people living in multigenerational households, among others.

Read the previous PIB articles here.