Keep up-to-date with all that is happening in welfare policy with this curated selection of news – Policy Buzz – published every fortnight.

Policy News

1. The Union Cabinet accepted the proposal to expand the mandate of Government e-Marketplace (GeM) by allowing procurement by cooperatives.
2. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology released the Draft National Data Governance Framework Policy. The government has invited inputs and feedback on the latest draft by 11 June 2022. 
3. The Union Cabinet extended the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) till 2025-26 with an outlay of ₹13,554.42 crore.
4. The Centre released ₹86.9 thousand crores to states to clear the GST compensation payable till May 2022. 
5. A detailed advisory was issued to states and UTs to take up a range of activities to phase out the use of single use plastic by the Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs.
6. India, along with at least 60 nations, proposed a new method to calculate subsidies given to purchase, stockpile and distribute food to the World Trade Organisation to ensure food security for developing and poor nations.

Health & Nutrition 

1. The National Health Association announced the integration of E-Sanjeevani, a telemedicine platform, with Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.
2. The Union Cabinet has raised the insurance premium rates for Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).
3. UNICEF released a report titled ‘Severe wasting: An overlooked child survival emergency’. According to the report, India ranks first in severe child wasting with 5.77 million affected children. 

Education 

1. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched the Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas (SHRESHTA), a scholarship scheme to enable Scheduled Castes students to study in CBSE-affiliated residential schools.
2. The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education released the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 report. Read about preparedness of states to cater to challenges related to reopening of physical schools in our Budget Brief on Samagra Shiksha. 
3. The Union Cabinet extended the Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme (PMSSS) for students in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for five years. 
4. The National Council for Teacher Education launched an online portal to simplify the process of recognition of teacher education programmes in higher education institutions.
5. The Ministry of Education launched a digital skilling initiative for one crore students from Class 7 to graduation with a focus on skilling, reskilling and upskilling students.

Sanitation 

1. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the Swachh Survekshan 2023 with the theme ‘Waste to Wealth’ for garbage-free cities.
2. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released Draft E-waste Management Rules, which aims to set revised standards for businesses to adhere to recycling electronic waste.

Other News

1. According to recent figures, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), started in June 2015 with a target of constructing 1.2 crore homes, only 60 lakh houses have been completed to date. Also read about the progress of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) with our Budget Brief 2022. 
2. The Ministry of State for New and Renewable Energy launched the Pan-India Rooftop Solar Awareness Campaign. The Ministry is also providing a 40 per cent subsidy for households to install solar. 
3. The State of Inequality in India Report was released by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).
4. Chhattisgarh became the second state, after Odisha, in India to recognise community forest rights inside a national park area after providing Community forest resources rights certificates to residents of a village in Bastar district.  

Also Read: ‘Have not Received any Financial Incentive during the Pandemic’