13 June 2019: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

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June 13th 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here

SVEEP Nodal Officers meet

Context

A two-day National Conference of SVEEP Nodal Officers was organized by the Election Commission of India to review the strategy and implementation of outreach program during Lok Sabha Election 2019 and to chalk out the blueprint for the next 5 years.

SVEEP

• Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation program, better known as SVEEP, is the flagship program of the Election Commission of India for voter education, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy in India.
• Since 2009, we have been working towards preparing India’s electors and equipping them with basic knowledge related to the electoral process.
• SVEEP’s primary goal is to build a truly participative democracy in India by encouraging all eligible citizens to vote and make an informed decision during the elections.
• The program is based on multiple general as well as targeted interventions which are designed according to the socio-economic, cultural and demographic profile of the state as well as the history of electoral participation in previous rounds of elections and learning thereof.

Fifth Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog

Context

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will chair the fifth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog.

Agenda:

• Rain-Water Harvesting
• Drought Situation and Relief Measures
• Aspirational Districts Programme – Achievements And Challenges
• Transforming Agriculture: Need For Structural Reforms With Special Emphasis On:
• Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act
• Essential Commodities Act (ECA)
• Security Related Issues with Specific Focus On LWE Districts

NITI Governing Council

• The Governing Council reviews the action taken on the agenda items of the previous meeting and deliberates upon the future developmental priorities.
• The Governing Council of NITI Aayog comprises of the Prime Minister of India, Chief Ministers of all the States and Union Territories with Legislatures and Lt. Governors of other Union Territories, and other special invitees.
• It is the premier body tasked with evolving a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors and strategies with the active involvement of States in shaping the development narrative.

Agriculture Minister urges to expedite farmers’ enrolment process

Context

• Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar chaired a meeting with Agriculture Ministers of all States/UTs via Video Conference.
• Discussed the implementation of three key schemes of Government of India namely Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM-Kisan), Pension Scheme for Small and Marginal Farmers and Kisan Credit Card Campaign.

PM-Kisan Yojna

• The PM-Kisan Yojna is an income support scheme for farmers. It is a 100% central sector scheme which will give farmers Rs. 6000/- per year in 3 equal instalments.
• During the video conference it was stressed that there should be 100% enlistment of eligible beneficiaries by States/UT’s, timely uploading of corrected data on PM-Kisan portal and establishment of proper redressal Mechanism.

Pension scheme for small and marginal farmers

• Scheme will provide a social security net for all such farmers.
• Under this scheme a minimum fixed pension of Rs 3000 per month will be provided to the eligible small and marginal farmers subject to certain exclusion causes on attaining the age of 60 years.
• It will be a voluntary and contributory pension scheme with entry age of 18 to 40 years.
• The beneficiary can opt to become member of the scheme by subscribing to a pension fund. The beneficiary would be required to contribute Rs. 100 per month at median entry age of 29 years.
• The Central government shall also contribute to the Pension Fund in equal amount. Contribution shall be made to a Pension Fund managed by the LIC which will be responsible for the pension pay out.
• Under the scheme farmers can also opt to allow contribution to be made directly from the benefits drawn from the PM-KISAN scheme.

Kisan Credit Card

• Introduced in 1998, presently there are 6.92 crore live KCCs against 14.5 crore operational landholdings.
• The recent initiatives for KCC saturation include
  • Adding farmers engaged in Animal Husbandry & Fisheries
  • Removal of inspection ledger folio charges and processing fee of loan under KCC
  • Raising limit of collateral fee on existing agriculture loan from l lakh to 1.6 lakhs.

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