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. National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman workers (NIPUN) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) with an aim to train over 1 lakh construction workers.
2. The Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance scheme was launched by the Prime Minister to enhance the performance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
3. The second phase of the Going Online As Leaders (GOAL) programme was launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and META with an aim to digitally upskill and empower tribal youth and women. 
4. Computerisation of 63,000 Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) over the next five years with an outlay of ₹2,516 crore.
5. Applications under sub-schemes of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) have been invited by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
6. Under the Pilot Project for Skilling Tribal Youth – Rural Tribal Technical Training or Grameen Udyami, 140 tribal youths received certificates for completing training as village engineers.

Health & Nutrition 

1. ‘Take Home Ration: Good Practices across the State/Union Territories’ report was released by NITI Aayog and World Food Program. Read the report here.
2. A general health insurance cover for the surrogate mother for a period of three years needs to be purchased by the couples availing surrogacy as per new rules issued by the government.
3. ‘Mitigation and Management of COVID-19: Compendium of Ayush-based Practices from Indian States and Union Territories’ was released by NITI Aayog. Read it here.

Education 

1. The Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D), which evaluates the school education system’s performance at district level, for 2018-19 and 2019-20 were released by the Department of School Education and Literacy. 
2. New assessment guidelines to evaluate students on application skills have been issued by the Delhi Government for government, government-aided and recognised unaided schools.
3. ‘The State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update’ was released as a joint publication of the World Bank, UNICEF, FCDO, USAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and in partnership with UNESCO. Read the report here.
4. ‘Global Estimates: Number of Crisis-Affected Children and Adolescents in Need of Education Support’ report was released by the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, Education Cannot Wait (ECW). Read the report here.

Sanitation

1. Revised Swachh Certification Protocols for multiple certifications were launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0. 

Other News

1. The 25th issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR) was released by the Reserve Bank of India. Read the report here.
2. World Cities Report 2022 was launched by the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat). Read the key findings of the report here.
3. The ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’ report was launched by the NITI Aayog. Read the report here.  
4. An Action Agenda on Internal Displacement was launched by the UN General Secretary based on the report of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement.  

Also Read: Build Something that Lasts in the System for a Long Time: Interview with IAS Minal Karanwal