HCS Yearly Current Affairs 2020: Schemes & Policies Part-II

HCS Last One Year Topic Wise Current Affairs: Schemes & Policies Part-II

Haryana Civil Services Exam

CURRENT AFFAIRS YEARLY 2020

Last one-year Current Affairs For HCS Exam: Schemes & Policies Part-II

1. Mukhyamantrir Grammya Paribahan Achoni Scheme

• Assam Government has launched Mukhyamantrir Grammya Paribahan Achoni to improve rural connectivity
• Under the scheme Light Motor Vehicle Service would be launched in all the villages of the state to improve rural connectivity and generate employment in the villages.
• In the first phase of the scheme, 10,000 villages would be covered with financial outlay of Rs 100 crore.
• One vehicle would be provided to one beneficiary per village.
• The state government shall financially assist the eligible entrepreneurs with 25 percent of the cost of the vehicle or Rs 1 lakh, whichever is less.

2. ‘Paryatan Sanjeevani Scheme’

• Assam government announced ‘Paryatan Sanjeevani Scheme’, under which loan, amounting from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh would be given to an interested entrepreneur.
• A tourism conclave will be organised by the government of Assam in association with Assam Tourism Development Corporation Limited.
• The scheme has been conceived to lend empowerment to the entrepreneurs associated with tourism of the state so that the sector gets a fresh lease of life amid COVID 19 pandemic.

3. ‘Mukhya Mantri Kisan Kalyan Yojana’

• Madhya Pradesh government will launch the ‘Mukhya Mantri Kisan Kalyan Yojana’ by following the path of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi which is an initiative of the central government.
• Existing beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi who are getting Rs. 6,000 per annum, will also be getting additional financial assistance of Rs. 4,000 under the announced scheme. Thus, in total, the farmers would be getting annual assistance to be Rs. 10,000.
• Around 80 lakh farmers will be benefited from the announced Chief Minister Kisan Kalyan Yojana.
• The state government also plans to integrate the farmer-friendly schemes.

4. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the ‘YSR Aasara’ programme aimed at “empowering women economically and socially”.

• Under the YSR Aasara scheme, Andhra Pradesh government will reimburse outstanding bank loans of self-help groups as on April 11, 2019, in four instalments.
• The scheme promises to deposit money in the bank accounts of eligible women, amounting to Rs 27,168 crore in total in four instalments.  
• Rs 6,792.2 crore towards the first installment of the total dues of Rs 27,169 crores was released to the banks of 87,74,674 women belonging to 8.7 lakh SHGs.

5. 1st Heritage Tourism Policy

• Gujarat Government has announced the state's first Heritage Tourism Policy.
• This was announced after the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar. 
• The policy has provisions to permit use of pre-1950 historical buildings such as heritage palaces and forts, as heritage hotels, heritage museums, heritage banquet halls and heritage restaurants, provided that basic heritage structure is not disturbed. This decision paves a way for creating tourism attraction in unused historical buildings.
• Under this policy, the State Government will provide an aid of five to ten crore rupees to new or existing heritage hotels for renovation and expansion. 

6. Agro-tourism policy

• The Maharashtra Cabinet has cleared an agro-tourism policy aimed at reviving the tourism sector and providing support to the rural economy.
• In a meeting held on the eve of the monsoon session of the State Legislature, the Cabinet cleared the policy which would be an added income to farmers and also an enjoyable experience to tourists.
• The Cabinet passed the agro-tourism policy of Maharashtra.
• This will invigorate the rural sector and agricultural practitioners with a steady source of an alternative income and an alternative employment through tourism

7. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched ‘Navin Rojgar Chhatri Yojana’ for the development of Scheduled Castes.

• The scheme has set a target of providing financial assistance to 7.50 lakh displaced and unemployed scheduled caste families.
• Financial assistance of 17.42 crore is being transferred online to 3,484 people under the ‘Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Swarojgar Yojana’
• The scheme will bridge the financial gap along with an increase in employment rates.

8. Odisha Government has included the transgender community under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana(MBPY), a social security scheme by amending to Rule 6 of the Madhu Babu Pension Rules 2008. stat

• In addition to transgenders women, those who are fighting divorce cases in courts are also included.
• Under this scheme, about 6,000 transgenders will receive Rs 500, Rs 700 and 900 per month as a pension under various categories depending on their age.
• Madhu Babu Pension Yojana is initiated under  the Department of Social security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD)
• It was launched in Odisha in 2008 by merging the two pension schemes: Revised Old Age Pension Rules, 1989 and Disability Pension Rules, 1985.

9. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has signed the statement of intent with the United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF)’s multi-stakeholder platform – YuWaah to mobilize 1 crore youth volunteers in India to achieve the goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

• Usha Sharma, Secretary, Youth Affairs, and Dr.Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Representative in India have launched the partnership in the presence of Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Youth Affairs and Sports.
• The partnership will provide career guidance to the youths.
• The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) launched the ‘YuWaah’ Generation Unlimited in India on November 1, 2019.

10. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat launched “Arun Jaitley Financial Assistance for Group C Employees”, an Employees Welfare Scheme in the name of former Union Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley funded by his pension to his family. 

• The scheme was formulated and approved based on the decision of Sangeeta Jaitley, wife of Arun Jaitley.
• After the demise of Former Finance minister Arun Jaitley on 24th August 2019, Sangeeta Jaitley, submitted a request to the chairman of rajya sabha, M Venkaiah Naidu, to utilise the family pension entitled to her for the benefit of Group C employees of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat with low salaries.
• The wards of the Group C employees will be awarded 3 scholarships for higher technical or professional education in engineering, medicine and MCA/MBA/LLB.

11. The Government of Odisha has launched the ‘Balaram’ scheme to provide agricultural credit of Rs 1,040 crore to landless farmers facing hardships during COVID 19.

• The Scheme is designed in collaboration with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
• In the next two years around seven lakh cultivators will be benefitted by ‘Balaram’.
• The field level agricultural workers will get a credit of Rs 1,040 crore under ‘Balaram’.
• The banking sector will be mobilised through the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) for extending credit support to farmers and sharecroppers who don’t get loans due to lack of resources.

12. Chief Minister of Karnataka B.S. Yediyurappa has launched Nekar Samman Yojana to provide financial assistance of Rs 2000 for about 19,744 handloom weavers in the state, through Direct Benefit Transfer.

• The eligible handloom weavers will be given financial assistance under this scheme.
• The state government has allocated Rs 10.96 crore for the scheme.
• The Seva Sindhu software consists of 40,634 handloom weavers, among them 37,314 applications have been approved for financial assistance.
• The power looms workers are also provided with Rs 2000 as one time financial assistance. 

13. Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country to achieve the goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the launch of Ujjwala Yojana for providing a cooking gas connection to every household in the country.

• This was announced on 6th July 2020 by the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jai Ram Thakur.
• Apart from the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, the scheme of the Himachal Pradesh State Government ‘Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana’ has also played an important role for achieving the 100 percent household cooking gas connection in the state.
• The Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana was launched in May 2018 for providing LPG gas connection to households that were left out under the Ujjwala Yojana of the Central Government.

14. Tripura government has launched the Mukhyamantri Matru Pushti Uphaar scheme to provide nutrition kits to pregnant and lactating women. 

• The scheme is a part of the state’s efforts to fight malnutrition and maternal mortality
• The scheme will be in addition to the Pradhan Mantri Matru Bandana Yojana under which Rs 5000 each was given to 58,996 beneficiaries, after the birth of their first child.

15. The Government of Chhattisgarh announced the launch of ‘Godhan Nyay Yojana’. 

• Under this scheme, the Chhattisgarh government will procure cow dung from livestock owners at a fixed procurement rate.
• The procured cow dung will be utilised for the production of vermicompost fertilizer, which will be sold through cooperative societies to meet the fertilizer requirement of the farmers.
• The Yojna will commence on the Hareli festival 20 July.
• It is an agrarian festival of Chhattisgarh, observed in Shravan month. 
•  Farmers celebrate this festival by worshipping farm equipment and other livestock. 

16. The first phase of the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana (BMP) that was scheduled for completion in 2021-22 will be completed by 2025-26.

• The announcement of delay was announced by the rating agency ICRA (Investment Information and credit Rating Agency).
• Till February 2020, a total of 246 road projects with an aggregate length of about 10,100 km were awarded under BMP Phase-I at a total cost of Rs 2.38 lakh crore.
• The Bharatmala Pariyojana (BMP) Phase-I is likely to be delayed by four years and get completed by FY2026 instead of earlier envisaged FY2022  

17. The Labor and Employment Department Government of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has launched the Raj Kaushal Portal and online Shramik exchange on World Environment Day. Under this portal, employment is ensured to those migrant workers who are unemployed.

• So, Jobless candidates and workers must have to register the Raj Kaushal Yojana Portal online mode through the official web portal and also check the Online Shramik Employment Exchange.

18. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched its flagship “Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana” in Rajasthan’s Pokhran, to restore the lost glory of the pottery site.

• Under this, KVIC distributed 80 electric pottery wheels to 80 potter families in Pokhran which has a rich heritage in terracotta products.
• Pokhran is one of the aspirational districts identified by the NITI Aayog.
• Pokhran served as the test site for India’s first underground nuclear weapon, ballistic missiles.
• The program reaches out to the potters in many states including UP, MP, Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Telangana, and Bihar.

19. Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Trivendra Singh Rawat has inaugurated the “Mukhyamantri Swarozgar Yojana” for returnee migrants. 

• The project aims at giving self-employment opportunities to youth and a boost to reverse migration, especially entrepreneurs returning to Uttarakhand, and encouraging skilled and unskilled artisans, handicrafts, and unemployed youths to start their own business. 
• The scheme will offer credit facilities through nationalized banks, scheduled commercial banks, and cooperative banks.

20. Jharkhand is set to become the first state to launch an employment guarantee scheme for the urban poor on the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act.

• The scheme called Mukhyamantri Shramik Yojna will guarantee 100 days of work in a financial year for urban unskilled laborers. (SHRAMIK- Shahri Rozgar Manjuri For Kamgar)
• The new scheme would have a provision to pay an unemployment allowance if the state fails to provide 100 days of work.
• If the person doesn’t get work within 15 days of asking, he or she should be liable to unemployment allowance which would be one-fourth of the minimum wages in the first month.

21. Govt unveils PM SVANIDHI (Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi) scheme to provide loans up to Rs. 10,000 to street vendors

• This scheme will support over 50 lakh street vendors, who had their businesses operational on or before March 24, 2020. The scheme is valid until March 2022 and will provide total liquidity of Rs 5,000 crore.
• Lending under the scheme will commence in the month of July.
• The scheme was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 14 under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat economic package and the Union Cabinet approved the scheme
• Sidbi will be the ministry''s technical partner for the implementation of this scheme. They will manage the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).

22. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the Kapu Nestham scheme to provide financial support of Rs 75000/- (Rs 15000/- per annum) to women of the Kapu community.

• The objective of the scheme is to financially empower Kapu women by enhancing their livelihood and living standards with financial assistance.
• Women in the age group of 45-60 belonging to Kapu Community are benefited with this scheme. 
• In a period of five years, an eligible woman will get a sum of Rs 75000.
• About 354 crores are distributed to over 2.36 lakh women belonging to Kapu, Balija, Telaga, and Ontari communities and having rice cards.

23. Madhya Pradesh Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Limited introduced the Nishtha Vidyut Mitra Scheme for women empowerment. Under this scheme, women Self-Help Groups at the Gram Panchayat level will act as Nishtha Vidyut Mitra.

• The scheme will increase the revenue collection of the company & women will also earn additional income as the company will pay an incentive to Nishtha Vidyut Mitra for recovery of dues and new connections. 
• It has been implemented in the Gram Panchayats of all 16 districts of Bhopal, Narmadapuram, Gwalior, and Chambal divisions of the company’s jurisdiction.
• The women's Self-Help Groups will encourage consumers to pay bills online or through the Upay App. 
• They will provide information about electricity theft and illegal use of electricity to the company.

24. CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan has launched Jeevan Shakti Yojana in Madhya Pradesh.

• Under this scheme, women in urban areas can earn by making masks at home. The government will pay them Rs 11 per mask. 
• The women wishing to make masks will have to register themselves by calling on the Call Centre number through their telephone or mobile. After registration, they will get an order to make masks on their mobiles. They will get orders to make at least 200 masks at a time. The mask should be made of cotton cloth. 

25. The ‘Poshan Sarkar’ programme is being started to ensure participation and leadership of local bodies-Gram Panchayats and Urban Bodies in Madhya Pradesh

• The main objective of the Poshan Sarkar programme is to eliminate malnutrition by helping the Gram Panchayat and the Urban Bodies in the nutrition campaign. 

26. Smart Ration Card Scheme

• Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh launched the Smart Ration Card Scheme to cover 1.41 crore beneficiaries across the state. 
• Besides, he also announced a separate state-funded scheme to provide subsidized rations to the nine lakh beneficiaries not covered under the National Food Security Act. 
• The total number of beneficiaries in the state will go up to 1.50 crore.
• The Chief Minister stated the scheme would help to curb corruption and give freedom to the beneficiaries to buy entitled ration quota from any depot in the state.

27. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched ‘Parivar Pehchan Patra’. 

• The ‘Parivar Pehchan Patra’  is a unique e-governance initiative that will enable the citizens to get the benefit of various central and state government schemes.
• The Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojana and three pension schemes old age — Samman Allowance Scheme, Divyang Jan Pension Scheme, and Widow and Destitute Women Pension Scheme — have been integrated with the ‘Parivar Pehchan Patra.
• The state government has decided to celebrate the year 2020 as Susashan Sanakap Varsh 

28. The YSR Cheyutha Scheme is to be launched in Andhra Pradesh on August 12, 2020. 

• It aims to empower women from minority castes. The State Government has allocated Rs 4,500 crores to implement the scheme. 
• The scheme will provide a financial benefit of Rs 75,000 to those women who come under the age of 45 to 60 years. It aims at pension beneficiaries. 
• The amount of Rs 75,000 is to be distributed in four equal installments of Rs 18,750 each per year. The amounts are to be transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries

29. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Bhupesh Baghel has launched a social security scheme “Shaheed Mahendra Karma Tendupatta Sangrahak Samajik Suraksha Yojana” for tendu leave collectors in the state. 

• Tendu leaves, used for making bidis (leaf-wrapped cigarettes), are collected by forest dwellers.
• It is purchased by the state government. 
• The scheme, named after slain Congress leader Mahendra Karma, was inaugurated on the occasion of his birth anniversary.
• Karma, who was popularly known as Bastar tiger for his tough stand against Naxals, was among 29 people, including senior Congress leaders, who were killed in a Naxal attack in Jhiram valley of Bastar district on May 25, 2013.

30. The state government of Chhattisgarh has launched its ambitious ‘Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana’  on May 21, 2020 (the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi) to encourage crop production in the state and to give the farmers the right price for their produce.

• It was initiated by the interim president of the Congress, Sonia Gandhi, and Chief Minister (CM) Bhupesh Baghel through video conferencing.
• Under this scheme, an amount of Rs 5700 crore will be transferred directly to their accounts in four installments to 19 lakh farmers of the state.
• Farmers will be giving a maximum amount of Rs. 10, 000 per acre on the basis of the quantity acquired through cooperative society to farmers who cultivate paddy and maize from Kharif 2019. 
• About 18 lakhs farmers will be provided Rs 1500 crore as first installment for paddy crop.