India Post launches Five Star Villages Scheme to ensure 100% rural coverage of postal schemes

 

The Department of Posts has launched a scheme called Five Star Villages, to ensure universal coverage of flagship postal schemes in rural areas of the country. The scheme seeks to bridge the gaps in public awareness and reach of postal products and services, especially in interior villages. All postal products and services will be made available and marketed and publicized at village level, under the Five Star Villages scheme. Branch offices will function as one-stop shop to cater all post office - related needs of villagers. The schemes covered under the Five Star scheme include: i) Savings Bank accounts, Recurrent Deposit Accounts, NSC / KVP certificates, ii) Sukanya Samridhi Accounts/ PPF Accounts, iii) Funded Post Office Savings Account linked India Post Payments Bank Accounts, iv) Postal Life Insurance Policy/Rural Postal Life Insurance Policy and v) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Account / Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana Account.

If a village attains universal coverage for four schemes from the above list, then that village gets four-star status; if a village completes three schemes, then that village get three-star status and so on.

Launching the scheme, the Union Minister of State for Communications, Shri Sanjay Dhotre said that the scheme is being launched on pilot basis in Maharashtra; based on the experience here, it will be implemented nation-wide. “Postman and Postal Department are a vital part of the ordinary citizen's life. India Post has been serving the people in an extraordinary way in the difficult situation which has emerged due to COVID-19, by bringing them medicines and financial assistance. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi not only brought schemes but has been ensuring their effective implementation as well. The Postal Department has been playing a major role in the implementation of Government schemes, leveraging the immense strength of its vast network. Postal schemes are known for providing highly secured deposits, they provide higher return of interest with low risk.” The Minister said that the way to realize the goal of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat is through collaborative efforts such as this, wherein various schemes have been brought together under one umbrella, with the goal of providing financial inclusion.

The entire state of Maharashtra will be covered under the scheme. To begin with, two rural districts / areas for each region have been identified: Akola and Washim in Nagpur Region; Parbhani and Hingoli in Aurangabad Region; Solapur and Pandharpur in Pune Region; Kolhapur and Sangli in Goa Region; and Malegaon and Palghar in Navi Mumbai Region. A total of 50 villages in each district will be covered during the current financial year 2020-2021. Regional offices will identify the villages to be covered.

Scheme Implementation Team

The scheme will be implemented by a team of five Gramin Dak Sevaks who will be assigned a village for marketing of all products, savings and insurance schemes of the Department of Posts. This team will be headed by the Branch Postmaster of the concerned Branch Office. Mail overseer will keep personal watch on progress of team on daily basis. The teams will be led and monitored by concerned Divisional Head, Assistant Superintendents Posts and Inspector Posts.

Campaign

The team of Gramin Dak Sevaks will conduct door-to-door awareness campaign on all schemes, covering all eligible villagers. Wide publicity will be given by displaying the information on notice board of Branch Office. Prominent places of targeted villages like Panchayat Offices, schools, village dispensaries, bus depots, markets will also be used for advertising and pamphlets will be distributed. Small melas will be organized, considering COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Training and Monitoring

Required training and infrastructure, covering all schemes, would be provided to all branch offices in identified villages. The scheme progress and target achievement will be closely monitored at Circle, Regional and Divisional levels. Monthly progress will be reviewed by the Chief Postmaster General.

The Chief Postmaster General of Maharashtra Circle and Goa State, Shri Harish Chandra Agrawal assured the Minister that Maharashtra will provide a fine example in successful implementation of Five Star Villages Scheme, paving the way for the national roll-out of the scheme later. Director General (Posts), Shri Vineet Pandey; and Postmaster General, Mumbai Region, Ms Swati Pandey also attended the online launch.

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan dedicates 56 CNG stations to the nation

 

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today dedicated to the nation 56 CNG stations. These CNG stations are in 13 states and one UT-Chandigarh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that in the last 6 years, the number of CNG stations has gone up from 947 to over 2300. He said that presently more than 400 districts of the country are being covered by the City Gas distribution network. Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) is preparing to come out with 11th round of CGD bidding round, after which 50-100 additional districts will get the clean fuel.

Shri Pradhan said that India is moving towards becoming a gas-based economy. He said that the government is committed to provide infrastructure to facilitate this, and 17,000 km long pipeline is being laid for the purpose. He said that the places like North-eastern states and the eastern India, which were deprived of the access to gas, are also being covered. Efforts are underway to complete the national Gas Grid in a time bound manner.

He said that the Government with the spirit of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas has worked to usher in a blue flame revolution in the country. Over 28 crore households have been provided LPG connections and an ambitious plan to provide 5cr households with PNG connection is underway.

The Minister expressed his gratitude to the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India, for facilitating growth of CBG ecosystem in the country. He said that Compressed Biogas (CBG) has been included in the priority sector by the RBI, which will help the entrepreneurs to get cheaper and easier access to loans.

Talking about the waste to energy concept, the minister said that India, despite being very low in per capita pollution, has taken steps to adopt the renewable sources of energy in a big way. He specially mentioned about the efforts being made by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to adopt clean fuel, to reduce the pollution level in the National capital region (NCR) during the winter. He mentioned about the recent initiative of IOCL, NTPC and SDMC to convert the municipal waste at Ghazipur into gas.

The Minister called upon the entrepreneurs to take advantage of the policy reforms brought in the energy sector. He said that capital requirement for setting up of retail outlets has been reduced from Rs 2000 crore to Rs 250 Crore, and even the start-ups can take part in it now. He said that Retail outlets can not only sell the traditional fossil fuels, but also dispense gas, and put up electric vehicle charging stations. He appealed to the entrepreneurs to take advantage of policy reforms, compete and bring in innovation in fuel marketing which will be beneficial for the consumers. The Minister also spoke about the recent initiative of battery swapping station set up in Chandigarh, which can be replicated elsewhere also. He also called upon the CGD players to set up CBG stations for which he said that cheaper and easily available raw material is abundantly available, and the OMCs are providing uptake guarantee at remunerative prices.

The Minister said that India is one of the largest energy consumers in the world, and this would further go up as the country marches ahead on the path of progress. Recalling the Hon. Prime Minister’s clarion call of energy justice and Aatamnirbhar Bharat, Shri Pradhan said that energy available to the people should be sustainable, accessible, affordable and this would lead to energy security.

Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Tarun Kapoor, speaking on the occasion, said that the government is fully committed to the ushering of gas economy in the country. He called upon the vehicle manufacturers to promote the factory fitted CNG vehicles, and reduce fitting the external kits for the same, so that our transport sector can use more CNG.

Chairman of IOCL Shri S.M. Vaidya also spoke on the occasion. Senior officers of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Oil Marketing companies and the companies setting up these CNG stations were present on the occasion.

Mr Piyush Goyal says the Government is working with states & local bodies to make it easier to start a business.

 

The Government is working with states & local bodies to deregulate and make it easier to start a business.  Addressing the students of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade through virtual interaction today, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal said that India's own ease of doing business ranking has improved significantly in the five years.

Talking about India’s mammoth potential, Shri Goyal said that the real unique selling point of India should be around High Quality, Good Service and Good Pricing. “India should get recognised the world over for its quality & competitiveness. Quality will have to be integral for the planning of our future. We believe in Transparent pricing, Transparent trade, Free Market, no price controls, and No hidden subsidies”, he said

Explaining the concept of AatmaNirbhar Bharat, Shri Goyal said that it is not about closing India's doors to international trade & engagement. “In fact, it is about opening it wider looking for greater engagement in global trade. Now India has to engage with global economies from a position of strength with highly cost-competitive products of high quality”, he said

On India being a huge and much sought after market, the Minister said “It's a market that businesses around the world want to engage with. The businesses will not only get a large Indian market but can also leverage this market to get economies of scale. Trading relations between 2 countries rest on the pedestal of high reciprocity & equilibrium. More & more countries are moving towards balanced trade. India also will have to engage with other countries to expand our trading relationships but on the strength of our own competitiveness.”  He said that if other countries want access to the market of 130 crore Indians then they will have to give us equal access to their market. India is not going to be a patient receiver of unfair trade practices.

Stating that India had not been a gainer from the past FTA’s, the Minister said that historical wrong will have to be corrected by our generation. Lauding the strong and decisive leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Shri Goyal said that RCEP deal was not signed as it was not properly addressing India’s concern. He said that India, Japan and Australia, all three true democracies, trusted partners and believers in rule-based trading, have recently agreed to have a supply chain initiative.

Quoting His Holiness Dalai Lama who said, "Open your arms to change but don't let go of your values", he said that this is the spirit in which India wishes to engage with the rest of the world. Shri Goyal said that India wants to do FTAs with developed countries like the US, the UK and EU. He said that India is ready to sign a limited trade deal with the US at the earliest. He assured that deal will entail substantive gains for the country. All the forthcoming trade deals will be undertaken after discussions with all the stakeholders, and the interests of dairy, agriculture, MSMEs and indigenous manufacturers will be properly safeguarded, he said. The Minister said that the trade with the US is increasing rapidly, and the withdrawal of GSP by the US has not made much impact.

Calling upon active partnership between the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and IIFT, Shri Goyal called upon the students of IIFT to help in identification of new products and areas of export. He asked them to do research, analysis and mine data so that policymakers can learn from the world’s best practices, and work in the spirit of providing better future for India and its citizens. He said, “Our trade policies are up for debate, discussion, review, relook & consideration by students. I hope all of you will deliberate on the future of Indian trade policy and how we can sail through the COVID pandemic & come out resilient:

On the question of promoting indigenous production of toys, Shri Goyal said “We have introduced quality control order on toys, and BIS has come up with standards. As we improve local toys' quality & increase scale of production, automatically people will prefer local toys, suited to the country.” He said that the Government is helping the industry with enablers, to make them competitive, which include setting up clusters, anchor investors. With digital technologies & start-ups bringing newer ways of entertainment & creating new toys, India will be able to compete with any country.

Talking about India’s resilience, Shri Goyal said that Indian exports have started showing upward trajectory recently. “In the first week of September, our exports were 13% more than the corresponding period of last year, despite lockdowns and Covid related issues.” He said that our services exports have done well, but now we must ensure that merchandise exports also flourish. The Minister said that for promoting domestic production and exports of goods, the government has identified sectors, and working with the industry to help them overcome the bottlenecks.

Lauding the Indian industry’s hard work and tenacity, Shri Goyal said that from nowhere, in just 5 months, India has evolved in terms of becoming self-reliant in the production of PPE kits & masks. He said that India has not only become self-sufficient in these items but is exporting them in large numbers.

Silver Lake to invest Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Retail

 

US private equity firm Silver Lake will invest Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Retail which marks the second billion-dollar investment by Silver Lake in a Reliance Industries subsidiary after the $1.35 billion investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year. Shares of RIL traded 1.07 per cent higher at Rs 2129.60 after the announcement, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was down 0.49 per cent at 38,179. “Reliance Industries and Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) announced that Silver Lake will invest Rs 7,500 crore into RRVL, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. This investment values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. Silver Lake’s investment will translate into a 1.75 per cent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis,” RIL said in a release. “We believe technology will be key to bringing the much-needed transformation in this sector so that various constituents of the retail ecosystem can collaborate to build inclusive growth platforms. Silver Lake will be an invaluable partner in implementing our vision for Indian Retail,” said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries.

Egon Durban, Co-CEO and Managing Partner of Silver Lake, said, “Reliance’s New Commerce strategy could become the disruptor of this decade. We are thrilled to have been invited to partner with Reliance in their mission for Indian Retail.” Silver Lake is the global leader in technology investing, with over $40 billion in combined assets under management. The company has a terrific track record of investing in some of the largest and successful tech companies globally such as Twitter, Airbnb, Alibaba, Dell Technologies, ANT Financials, Twitter, Alphabet’s Waymo and Verily amongst others.

Khadi's E-Market Portal Goes Viral; Indians Go Vocal for Local

 

Khadi and Village Industry Commission’s (KVIC) venture into the online marketing segment has quickly established a pan-India reach enabling the artisans sell their products to the remotest parts of India through the KVIC E-Portal - www.kviconline.gov.in/khadimask/. The online sale that was launched with just Khadi Face Masks on July 7 this year has evolved into a full-fledged E-market platform with 180 products as on today and many more in the pipeline.

As per KVIC, the product range includes hand-spun and hand-woven fine fabric like Muslin, Silk, Denim and Cotton, Unisex Vichar Vastra by Ritu Beri, Khadi’s Signature Wrist Watch, a variety of honey, Herbal and Green Tea, Herbal Medicines and Soaps, Papad, Kacchi Ghani Mustard Oil and a range of herbal cosmetics among many others. KVIC is adding at least 10 new products to its online inventory on a daily basis and it has set a target of adding at least 1000 products by October 2 this year. In less than two months’ time, KVIC has served nearly 4000 customers.

KVIC Chairman, Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena said the online sale of Khadi products is a big push to “Swadeshi” and aims at empowering the local artisans. “Khadi’s E-market portal is providing our artisans an additional platform to sell their goods. This is a concrete step towards building of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” Saxena said, adding the product range is priced from Rs 50 to Rs 5000, keeping in view the choice and affordability of all sections of buyers.

“Earlier products of Khadi institutions were sold only through outlets and hence their visibility was confined to a few states only. However, with KVIC’s E-portal, products are now reaching to the far-flung areas of the country and thus giving wider marketing spectrum to Khadi institutions which will ultimately increase their production and add to the income of artisans.

Customers, too, have expressed great satisfaction over the online sale of Khadi products. A regular Khadi customer in Delhi who used to buy products from the Khadi India outlet in Connaught Place could not find the same products in Assam where he is posted now. However, the E-market platform has enabled him to order his desired products online and receive the same at his doorsteps.

KVIC has received online orders from 31 States and Union Territories that include the far-flung Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. KVIC has fixed the minimum order value at Rs 599 for free delivery of goods. It has entered into an agreement with the Postal Department for delivery of consignments via Speed Post.

According to KVIC, it has developed the E-portal in-house and thus saved crores of rupees to the exchequer. The exercise is similar to the PMEGP E-portal developed in-house by KVIC where it saved at least Rs 20 crore on website development and maintenance.

KVIC’s online inventory also includes stitched Modi Kurta and Modi Jackets for men and palazzo and straight trousers for women. Several other products like Khadi Rumal, spices, herbal neem wood comb, shampoo, cosmetics, cow dung and cow urine soap, yoga dress and several varieties of ready-to-eat food have been included so far.

India is working on clean energy mission with a collective mindset: Shri Piyush Goyal

 

Union Commerce and Industry & Railways Minister Shri Piyush Goyal has said that India is working on Clean energy mission with a collective mindset. Speaking at the Valedictory function of the First World Solar Technology Summit organized by International Solar Alliance (ISA) on Tuesday, Shri Goyal said “The best part about India's own engagement with clean energy is that we are working with a collective mindset, breaking all departmental silos and working to support each other to finally achieve a cleaner future for our future generations.”

Shri Goyal said that Solar energy and new technologies will certainly power our tomorrow to make the world a cleaner and better place for living. “Going forward, we will have no choice but to be pure in our sources of energy & to be sure that we all participate in making this future happen & secure a better future for our children of tomorrow”, he added.

Lauding the initiatives by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry under Shri Dharmendra Pradhan to usher in a gas-based economy in India, the Minister said that the game-changing & transformational initiatives will help the country’s smooth transit from the Fossil fuels to Renewable sources of energy.

Shri Goyal envisioned that one-day Power will almost become free in the world. He said “I envisage India, which has a demonstrated capability to go up to 745 GW of solar energy alone, will be providing power to other parts of the world in their peak hours. I see an interconnected grid across the world. I visualise a world grid with transmission lines crossing oceans, such that we can transmit energy throughout the world.” He said that Sun always shines in some part of the world, Wind always gives its benevolence in the form of energy in some part of the world, and Water through hydro energy provides a source of power in different part of the world.

Describing the decision at COP-21 summit in Paris to reduce carbon emission levels as the most important collective decision taken in several years, Shri Goyal said “This was most important collective decision for better cleaner future for all. We had decided to work towards a cleaner & better future of our world, decided what each country would do to bring down carbon emissions & to collectively agree that it shall be a global responsibility of all stakeholders to address the challenge of Climate Change.”

Congratulating International Solar Alliance for gaining acceptance in over 100 countries, Shri Goyal called upon all to join hands together to harness the infinite power of the SURAJ: S- Stable, U- Unconditional, R- Renewable, A- Affordable, J- Justice.

NEWS GO BACK PM to launch Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana on 10th September

 

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will digitally launch the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) on 10th September. Prime Minister will also launch e-Gopala App, a comprehensive breed improvement marketplace and information portal for direct use of farmers. Several other initiatives in the fisheries and animal husbandry sectors in Bihar will also be launched by the Prime Minister on the occasion.

The Governor and Chief Minister of Bihar, along with Union Minister and MoS for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, will also be present on the occasion.

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana

The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) is a flagship scheme for focused and sustainable development of fisheries sector in the country with an estimated investment of Rs. 20,050 crores for its implementation during a period of 5 years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 in all States/Union Territories, as a part of AatmaNirbhar Bharat Package. The investment of Rs. 20,050 crores under PMMSY is the highest ever in the fisheries sector. Out of this, an investment of about Rs 12340 crores is proposed for beneficiary-oriented activities in Marine, Inland fisheries and Aquaculture and about Rs 7710 crores investment for Fisheries Infrastructure.

 PMMSY aims at enhancing fish production by an additional 70 lakh tonne by 2024-25, increasing fisheries export earnings to Rs.1,00,000 crore by 2024-25, doubling of incomes of fishers and fish farmers, reducing post-harvest losses from 20-25% to about 10% and generation of additional 55 lakhs direct and indirect gainful employment opportunities in fisheries sector and allied activities.

PMMSY is designed to address critical gaps in fish production and productivity, quality, technology, post-harvest infrastructure and management, modernization and strengthening of value chain, traceability, establishing a robust fisheries management framework and fishers’ welfare. While aiming to consolidate the achievements of  Blue Revolution Scheme, PMMSY envisages many new interventions such as fishing vessel insurance, support for new/up-gradation of fishing vessels/boats, Bio-toilets,  Aquaculture in saline/alkaline areas, Sagar Mitras, FFPOs/Cs,  Nucleus Breeding Centres, Fisheries and Aquaculture start-ups, Incubators, Integrated Aqua parks, Integrated coastal fishing villages development, Aquatic Laboratories Network and Extension Services, Traceability, Certification and Accreditation, RAS, Biofloc & Cage Culture, E-Trading/Marketing, Fisheries Management Plans, etc.

PMMSY scheme primarily focuses on adopting ‘Cluster or Area based approaches’ and creation of Fisheries clusters through backward and forward linkages. Special focus will be given for employment generation activities such as seaweed and ornamental fish cultivation. It emphasizes on interventions for quality brood, seed and feed, special focus on species diversification, critical infrastructure, marketing networks etc.

As of now, under PMMSY the Department of Fisheries has approved Rs 1723 crores worth of proposals for 21 States/UTs in phase-I. Priority has been accorded for income generating activities under PMMSY.

PMMSY in Bihar envisages an investment of Rs.1390 crore with Central Share of Rs. 535 crore and the additional fish production target pegged at 3 lakh tons. During the current financial year (2020-21), Government of India has sanctioned the proposal of Government of Bihar at a total project cost of Rs.107.00 crore for  major components like establishment of Re-circulatory Aquaculture System (RAS), construction of Biofloc ponds for aquaculture, finfish hatcheries, construction of new ponds for aquaculture, Ornamental fish culture units, installation of Cages in reservoirs/wetlands, Ice plants, refrigerated vehicles, motor cycle with ice box, three wheeler with ice box, cycle with ice box, fish feed plants, extension and support services (Matsya Seva Kendra), establishment of a Brood Bank, etc.

Other inaugurations related to Fisheries sector

Prime Minister will announce the establishment of Fish Brood Bank at Sitamarhi, and of Aquatic Disease Referral Laboratory at Kishanganj, for which assistance has been provided under PMMSY. These facilities will help in enhancing production and productivity of fish by ensuring timely availability of quality and affordable fish seed for the fish farmers and address the need for disease diagnosis as well as water and soil testing facilities.

He will inaugurate one-unit fish feed mill at Madhepura and two units of ‘Fish on Wheels’ assisted at Patna under Blue Revolution. He will also interact with the beneficiaries on the occasion.

 Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Comprehensive Fish Production Technology Centre at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar. The Center, with facilities for Seed production technology and demonstration unit technology for fish, referral laboratory and diagnostic testing, will facilitate in boosting fish production and assist in capacity building of fish farmers.

e-Gopala App

e-Gopala App is a comprehensive breed improvement marketplace and information portal for direct use of farmers. At present no digital platform is available in the country for farmers managing livestock including buying and selling of disease free germplasm in all forms (semen, embryos, etc); availability of quality breeding services (Artificial Insemination, veterinary first aid, vaccination, treatment etc) and guiding farmers for animal nutrition, treatment of animals using appropriate ayurvedic medicine/ethno veterinary medicine. There is no mechanism to send alerts (on due date for vaccination, pregnancy diagnosis, calving etc) and inform farmers about various government schemes and campaigns in the area. The e-Gopala App will provide solutions to farmers on all these aspects.

Other inaugurations related to Animal Husbandry sector

Prime Minister will inaugurate Semen Station with state-of-the-art facilities, which has been established under Rashtriya Gokul Mission in Purnea, Bihar with an investment of Rs 84.27 crores on 75 acres of land made available by the State Government of Bihar. This is one of the largest semen stations in the government sector with production capacity of 50 lakh semen doses per annum. This Semen Station will also give new dimension to development and conservation of indigenous breeds of Bihar and meet demand of semen doses of eastern and north eastern States.

Prime Minister will inaugurate IVF lab established at Animal Sciences University, Patna under Rashtriya Gokul Mission. A total of 30 ETT and IVF laboratories are being set up across the country through 100% grant in aid. These labs are crucial for propagating elite animals of indigenous breeds and thereby enhancing milk production and productivity manifold.

Prime Minister will also launch use of sex sorted semen in artificial insemination under Rashtriya Gokul Mission by Baroni Milk Union in Begusarai district of Bihar. Through use of sex sorted semen in AI, only female calves can be produced (with more than 90% accuracy). This will help double the growth rate of milk production in the country. Prime Minister will also launch a demonstration of IVF technology at farmer's doorstep. This will propagate the technology for multiplication of high yielding animals at a faster rate as through use of technology they can give birth to 20 calves in a year

Aiming to enhance MSME contribution to GDP from about 30 % to 50%; and in exports from 49% to 60%: Shri Gadkari

 

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSME has said that he aims to enhance MSME contribution to GDP from about 30% to 50%; and in exports from 49% to 60%. Speaking at a virtual meet organised to launch Aatmanirbhar Bharat ARISE Atal New India Challenges by NiTI Ayog today Shri Gadkari said that his Government is aiming to create 5 crore additional jobs in the MSME sector which presently employs about 11 crore people.

Shri Gadkari applauded the Aatmanirbhar Bharat ARISE Atal New India Challenge initiative of Niti Ayog and called for working in encouraging use new technology in finding solutions to the problems being faced in different areas ensuring value addition. He cited the issue of excess rice which can be utilised for producing ethanol there by addressing the problem of storage on the one hand and providing green fuel to the country as import replacement on the other. Delving further on the issue he said risk taking ability in innovations/finding new solutions need to be promoted and those making bonafide mistakes in the process need to be protected.

The Minister stressed that country's growth will be further accelerated when the backward and tribal areas including the 115 aspirational districts are brought on growth trajectory. He pointed out that the Prime Minister has emphasised on the development and growth of these areas which are socially and economically lagging. Shri Gadkari also said we need to work according to spirit of the Prime Minister's vision that science should work in solving problems of common people including those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The Minister further advocated broadbasing support for innovations and entrepreneurship so that bonafide new talent also get chance to grow. This helps in lowering costs as well. He also felt that performance audit of Schemes for agriculture and ST/SCs will help in better targeting the schemes.

The objective of Aatmanirbhar Bharat ARISE Atal New India Challenges program is to proactively collaborate with Ministries and the associated industries to catalyse research, innovation and facilitate innovative solutions to sectoral problems.

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launches 22 bamboo clusters in 9 States; Logo for National Bamboo Mission also released

 Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Narendra Singh Tomar today inaugurated by virtual mode 22 bamboo clusters in 9 States (Gujarat, MP, Maharashtra, Odisha, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Karnataka). A logo for the National Bamboo Mission was also released. Lauding the success of the National Bamboo Mission, Shri Tomar said that the country is now gearing up to increase the export of bamboo products.

Addressing the video conference, the Union Agriculture Minister said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has always strived that local industries should be protected and make progress so that local artisans get a source of livelihood. The Government’s goal in the bamboo sector is being achieved with the concerted efforts of all stakeholders of the Bamboo Mission. Keeping in consideration the importance of bamboo, the Indian Forest Act 1927 was amended in the year 2017 to remove bamboo for the category of trees, as a result now anyone can undertake cultivation and business in bamboo and its products. Import policy has also been modified to ensure progress of the bamboo industry in the country. Shri Tomar said that the use of bamboo has been an ancient tradition in India, and it is now being supported with modern technology. Youth are also being given training for bamboo industry.

The Minister called upon the States to take forward the objectives of the Mission which would contribute to the call of Hon’ble Prime Minister of an AatmaNirbhar Bharat through an AatmaNirbharKrishi. The support being given by the Mission to local artisans through locally grown bamboo species will also actualize the goal of Vocal for Local. This will help increase income of farmers and at the same reduce dependency on imports of some raw material. With the wealth of bamboo in India and growing industry, India should aim to establish herself in global markets for both engineered and handcrafted products.

The restructured National Bamboo Mission was launched in 2018-19 for holistic development of the complete value chain of the sector. The Mission is being implemented in a hub (industry) and spoke model, with the main goal of connecting farmers to markets so as to enable farmer producers to get a ready market for the bamboo grown and to increase supply of appropriate raw material to domestic industry. The Mission was launched as a natural corollary of the historic amendment of the Indian Forest Act in 2017, removing bamboo from the definition of trees, hence bamboo grown outside forests no longer need felling and transit permissions.

The bamboo ecosystem has been energized with 23 States being assisted, including all the 8 States of North East. 10 most important species which are required by industry have been identified and quality planting material is being made available to farmers for plantations. Assam has already engaged FPOs for raising plantations. New FPOs will also be formed under the recently approved scheme of DACFW for formation of 10,000 FPOs in 5 years. Further primary processing, CFCs are being set up close to the plantations which will enable cost of transportation of whole bamboo to be reduced, increase local entrepreneurship and move to a zero-waste approach.

These will be engaged in raising nurseries and plantations and/or product development like furniture, agarbatti, venetian blinds, chopsticks, toothbrush, lifestyle products, jewellery, bottles, yoga mat, charcoal, etc. Together with industrial products, the National Bamboo Mission also endeavours to upgrade skills of traditional bamboo craftsmen as per requirement of contemporary markets with tie up with enterprises and premier institutes so that our cultural heritage is continued. The Sector Skill Councils established under National Skill Development Agency will also impart skills and Recognition of Prior Learning to traditional artisans. This will also encourage the youth to carry forward their family traditions.

The winner of the logo contest, Shri Sai Ram Goudi Edigi of Telangana was selected from 2033 entries received on MyGov platform from across the country. The logo portrays a bamboo culm in the centre of a circle composed of half an industrial wheel and half farmers, depicting the objectives of NBM appropriately. The green and yellow colour of the logo symbolise bamboo often termed as green gold.

More than 42 crore poor people received financial assistance of Rs 68,820 crore under PMGKP

 As part of the Rs 1.70 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP), the Government announced free food grains and cash payment to women and poor senior citizens and farmers. The swift implementation of the package is being continuously monitored by Central and State governments. Around 42 crore poor people received financial assistance of Rs 68,820 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package.

• Rs 17,891 crore front loaded towards payment of the first instalment of PM-KISAN to 8.94 crore beneficiaries.
• Rs 10,325 crore credited to 20.65 crore (100%) women Jan Dhan account holders as first instalment. Rs. 10,315 crores credited to 20.63 crore (100%) women Jan Dhan account holders with second instalment. Rs. 10,312 crores credited to 20.62 crore (100%) women Jan Dhan account holders with third instalment.
• Total Rs 2,814.5 crore disbursed to about 2.81 crore old age persons, widows and disabled persons in two instalments. Benefits transferred to all 2.81 crore beneficiaries in two instalments.
• 1.82 crore Building & construction workers received financial support amounting to Rs 4,987.18 crore.

Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, 37.52 LMT of food grains has been distributed to 75.04 crore beneficiaries in April ’20, 37.46 LMT distributed to 74.92 crore beneficiaries in May ’20, and 36.62 LMT distributed to 73.24 crore beneficiaries in June ’20. Scheme was further extended for 5 months till November. Since then, 98.31 LMT food grains has been lifted by States /UTs so far. In July ’20 36.09 LMT food grains has been distributed to 72.18 crore beneficiaries, in August ’20 30.22 LMT distributed to 60.44 crore beneficiaries, and in September ’20 1.92 LMT distributed to 3.84 crore beneficiaries as on 7th September,2020.

In addition under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, total of 5.43 LMT pulses has also been distributed to 18.8 crore beneficiaries between April – June ’20. This Scheme was also extended for 5 months till November,2020 for distribution of Chana. 4.6 LMT Chana has been dispatched so far.  In July 1.03 LMT Chana has been distributed to 10.3 crore beneficiary households, in August 23,258 MT distributed to 2.3 crore beneficiary households. As on 7th September,2020 ,1475 MT of Chana distributed to 0.15 crore beneficiary households in September, 86 MT distributed to 0.008 crore beneficiary households for October, and 40 MT distributed so far to 0.004 crore beneficiary households for November.

Under Atma Nirbhar Bharat, Government announced supply of free food grains & Chana to migrants for 2 months. The estimated number of migrants provided by the States was about 2.8 crore migrants. During the distribution period up to August, total 2.67 LMT of food grains was distributed to 5.32 crore migrants. This works out to an average of about 2.66 crore beneficiaries per month, which is nearly 95% of the estimated number of migrants. Similarly, Under Atma Nirbhar Bharat, total quantity of Chana distributed is 16,417 MT to 1.64 crore migrant households, which is 82 Lakh households on an average per month.

 

• Total 8.52 crore Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) cylinders have been booked and already delivered for April and May 2020 under this Scheme so far. 3.27 crore PMUY free cylinders delivered to beneficiaries for June 2020, 1.05 crore for July 2020, 0.89 crore for August 2020, and 0.15 crore for September 2020. 
• 36.05 Lakh members of EPFO has taken benefit of online withdrawal of non-refundable advance from EPFO account amounting to Rs. 9,543 crores.
• 24% EPF contribution transferred to 0.43 crore employees amounting to Rs. 2476 crore. Benefits for March were given to 34.19 lakh employees amounting to Rs. 514.6 crore, for April given to 32.87 lakh employees amounting to Rs. 500.8 crore, for May given to 32.68 lakh employees amounting to Rs. 482.6 crore, for June given to 32.21 lakh employees amounting to Rs. 491.5 crore, for July given to 30.01 lakh employees amounting to Rs. 461.9 crore, and for August given to 1.77 lakh employees amounting to Rs. 24.74 crore.
• MNERGA: Increased rate of has been notified w.e.f 01-04-2020. In the current financial year, 195.21 crore person’s man-days of work generated. Further, Rs 59,618 crore released to states to liquidate pending dues of both wage and material.
• Under District Mineral Fund (DMF), States have been asked to spend 30% of the funds, which amounts to Rs. 3,787 crore and that Rs. 343.66 crore has been spent so far.