Daily PIB Analysis For UPSC/IAS | 25th Feb 19

Table of Contents

Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises

MSME Ministry’s First Conclave on Empowering Marginalised Sections’ Women Entrepreneurs Tomorrow in Mumbai
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSME, will organise a Conclave “Empowering Women Entrepreneurs 2019, Financing & Enabling Women from Marginalised Sections” , in Mumbai tomorrow. The first of its kind conclave endeavours to empower women entrepreneurs from marginalised sections and enable their growth and success in business by offering substantial knowledge on various business opportunities and national best practices in doing business. The conclave is being organized under National SC-ST Hub initiative of the MSME ministry which is targeted towards developing a supportive ecosystem towards SC/ST entrepreneurs. Issues of access to financing, assessing risks and growth mantras enabling SC-ST women entrepreneur to setup and run a sustainable business will be discussed during the day long programme. Minister of State for MSME (IC) Shri Giriraj Singh will inaugurate the Conclave. Path-breaking women entrepreneurs and inspirational women achievers will be awarded with Enterprising Women of the Year 2018 Awards. Loan disbursal cheques or sanction letters to women entrepreneurs under StandUp India initiative will also be distributed by Banks.

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs

Curtain Raiser: Second APEX Conference of CEOs of Smart Cities Mission Will Chart out a roadmap for Smart Cities Mission Over 130 experts from several countries to participate Experts to discuss: How Smart Cities Mission is creating Connected Communities; Urban Resilience and Sustainability & Smart Governance
Discussion will be held on subjects like : Ease of Living—How Smart Cities Mission is making an impact on ease of living for citizens; Connected Communities—How Smart Cities Mission is creating Connected Communities; Urban Resilience and Sustainability—How Smart Cities Mission is making Indian cities resilient and sustainable; Smart Governance—How Smart Cities Mission is creating a Smart Governance ecosystem in Indian cities etc. Over 130 experts from several countries will participate in the conference. The Conference is expected to chart out a roadmap for implementing Smart Cities mission.

Prime Minister’s Office

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi will dedicate the National War Memorialto the nation .The National War Memorial, near India Gate in New Delhi, is a fitting tribute to our soldiers who laid down their lives defending the nation, post-independence.
The National War Memorial also commemorates the soldiers who participated and made the supreme sacrifice in Peace Keeping Missions, and Counter Insurgency Operations. In 2014, Prime Minister had spelt out his vision for the National War Memorial as a state-of-the-art world class monument. The layout of the National War Memorial comprises four concentric circles, namely, the ‘Amar Chakra’ or Circle of Immortality, the ‘VeertaChakra’ or Circle of Bravery, the ‘Tyag Chakra’ or Circle of Sacrifice, and the ‘Rakshak Chakra’ or Circle of Protection. The National War Memorial complex includes a central obelisk, an eternal flame, and six bronze murals depicting famous battles fought by Indian Army, Air Force and Navy.
Busts of the 21 awardees of Param Veer Chakra have been installed at Param Yoddha Sthal which includes three living awardees Sub Maj (Hony Capt) Bana Singh (Retd), Sub Major Yogendra Singh Yadav and Sub Sanjay Kumar. National War Memorial represents the culmination of the collective aspiration of a grateful nation to pay a fitting tribute to the martyrs.

Ministry of Finance

Successful Operationalisation of Electronic Transfer of Funds to a Large Number of Farmer Beneficiaries under the Scheme PM Kisan SammanNidhi (PM-KISAN) with in a short timeline through Public Finance Management System (PFMS): A Historic Achievement
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched the PM-KISAN Scheme on 24th February 2019 at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to electronically transfer the First Installment of Rs 2,021 crore directly into the bank accounts of 1,010,6,880 (One Crore One Lakh Six Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty) Eligible Farmers of 24 States and the Union Territories. The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under the Scheme PMKISAN is being done through the System of Public Finance Management System (PFMS), a web-based payment and MIS IT application of the Government of India administered by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India. DBT process through PFMS ensures digitally authenticated payments, without any manual intervention, directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries in a transparent manner and without any delay. The integration of PFMS with about 273 banks enables validation of bank account details of beneficiaries before making payments directly into their bank accounts. All DBT payments for the Government of India Schemes are being done through PFMS.

Ministry of Railways

Shri Piyush Goyal launches Rail Drishti Dashboard to Promote Transparency and Accountability Shri Piyush Goyal quoted Gandhiji “I understand democracy as something that gives the weaker the same chance as the strong” The information, when it reaches to the weakest section of the society, develops their morale and instils confidence in them that the country is progressing and is on the move: Shri Goyal This is the first Government in the history of India that showcased its report card to public every year: Shri Goyal Dashboard brings information from various sources under a single window Gives access to key statistics and performance parameters to every citizen of the country Dashboard can be accessed using a desktop/laptop or a mobile device such as a phone or tablet Information on Rail Drishti has been categorised into 15 user friendly sections The url of the dashboard is “raildrishti.cris.org.in”.

Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

Water Conservation and Management should become people’s movement-Nitin Gadkari National Water Awards – 2018 distributed Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh adjudged top three states in Water Management Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation & Road Transport and Highways & Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari today distributed 82 National Water Awards in 14 categories jointly with Minister of State, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and Secretary, Shri U.P. Singh at New Delhi.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Gadkari said that India does not have a shortage of water, rather, the management of water is not adequate. He said that a need to institute national level water awards spanning all sectors was strongly felt to encourage people to play their respective roles in conservation of water. Shri Gadkari said that a new vision for entire water resource sector is required and National Water Awards is a good step in this direction.

Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation

Payroll Reporting in India: An Employment Perspective December, 2018

Introduction

Since April, 2018 this Ministry has been bringing out the employment related statistics in the formal sector covering the period September 2017 onwards, using information on the number of subscribers who have subscribed under three major schemes, namely, the Employees’ Provident Fund(EPF)Scheme, the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme and the National Pension Scheme (NPS).
EPF is applicable to establishments having more than 20 workers (see Endnote 1)
(3) As updation of employee records is a continuous process, and the data gets updated in subsequent months; information, particularly in respect of latest months remains provisional.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme (EPF) is a mandatory savings scheme under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
ESIC is applicable to establishments having more than 10 workers (see Endnote 2)
(3) Subscribers in ESIC are termed as Insured Persons (IP)
(4) The stock of existing employees paying contributions for a given month is provisional for up to at least six months because of delayed filing of contributions/ returns by the employers.
The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 is applicable to nonseasonal, manufacturing establishments (other than a mine subject to the operation of the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952), or a railway running shed)employing 10 or more workers. For health and medical institutions, the threshold limit is 20 or more workers. ESI Scheme for India is an integrated social security scheme tailored to provide socioeconomic protection to the workers in the organized sector and their dependents, in contingencies, such as Sickness, Maternity and Death or Disablement due to an employment injury or occupational hazard. The wage ceiling is Rs.21000/-per month. Subscribers are termed as Insured Persons (IP) and a new IP number can also arise due to change in employment. Employees may cease to pay contribution due to wage exceeding the statutory ceiling of Rs.21000/-per month or owing to resignation, death, retirement or dismissal. The number of subscribers of this scheme also gives an idea of the level of employment in the formal sector. Data is sourced from Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and the information may have an element of duplication with EPF data and is thus not additive.
NPS is applicable to any citizen of India, whether resident or non-resident, individuals who are aged between 18 – 60 years as on the date of submission of his/her application
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PRFRDA)’s National Pension scheme (NPS) is an easily accessible, low cost, tax-efficient, flexible and portable retirement savings account. Under the NPS, the individual contributes to his retirement account and also his employer will co-contribute for the social security/welfare of the individual. NPS is designed on defined contribution basis wherein the subscriber contributes to his account, there is no defined benefit that would be available at the time of exit from the system and the accumulated wealth depends on the contributions made and the income generated from investment of such wealth. From 1st January 2004, the central and the state governments have adopted this scheme for new employees except for armed forces. This was extended to other establishments from 2009 onwards.