पॉलिसी बझ

हे पॉलिसी बझ तुम्हाला विविध कल्याणकारी योजनांमध्ये काय चालले आहे याविषयी दर 15 दिवसांनी विशेष बातम्या अपडेट करते.

धोरण बातम्या 

  • स्मार्ट सिटी मिशनची अंतिम मुदत केंद्राने जून 2023 ते जून 2024 पर्यंत एक वर्षाने वाढवली आहे.
  • ‘ईशान्य प्रदेशातील आदिवासी उत्पादनांच्या प्रचारासाठी विपणन आणि रसद विकास’ (PTP-NER) ही केंद्रीय क्षेत्र योजना, केंद्रीय आदिवासी व्यवहार मंत्रालयाने सुरू केली.
  • संघटन से समृद्धी अभियान ग्रामीण विकास मंत्रालयाने दीनदयाल अंत्योदय योजना-राष्ट्रीय ग्रामीण आजीविका अभियान अंतर्गत सुरू केले.
  • नॅशनल जेनेरिक दस्तऐवज नोंदणी प्रणाली (NGDRS) 28 राज्ये आणि केंद्रशासित प्रदेशांनी जमिनीच्या नोंदीसाठी स्वीकारली आहे.
  • कृषी आणि शेतकरी कल्याण मंत्रालयाने SATHI (सीड ट्रेसेबिलिटी, ऑथेंटिकेशन आणि होलिस्टिक इन्व्हेंटरी) पोर्टल आणि मोबाइल अॅप लाँच केले.

आरोग्य आणि पोषण

  • राष्ट्रीय आरोग्य लेखा अंदाज (2019-20) आरोग्य आणि कुटुंब कल्याण मंत्रालयाने जारी केले.
  • राष्ट्रीय वैद्यकीय उपकरण धोरण, 2023 ला केंद्राने मान्यता दिली.
  • केंद्रीय शिक्षण मंत्रालयाने राज्य सरकारांना नॅशनल अॅग्रिकल्चरल कोऑपरेटिव्ह मार्केटिंग फेडरेशन ऑफ इंडिया (NAFED) कडून PM POSHAN साठी डाळ खरेदी करण्याचे आवाहन केले.
  • निति आयोगाने प्रसिद्ध केलेला अहवाल ‘आहारात बाजरींचा प्रचार: भारतातील राज्ये/केंद्रशासित प्रदेशातील सर्वोत्तम पद्धती.

स्वच्छता

  • जलशक्ती मंत्रालयाने भारतातील पहिला जलसाठा जनगणना अहवाल प्रसिद्ध केला.

इतर बातम्या

  • राज्यांच्या राज्यपालांनी एकतर संमती द्यावी किंवा लवकरात लवकर बिले परत करावीत, असे निरीक्षण सर्वोच्च न्यायालयाने नोंदवले आहे.
  • स्टेट ऑफ वर्ल्ड पॉप्युलेशन (SOWP) 2023 युनायटेड नेशन्स पॉप्युलेशन फंड द्वारे जारी.
  • द स्टेट ऑफ द वर्ल्ड्स चिल्ड्रन (SOWC) 2023: प्रत्येक मुलासाठी, युनिसेफने जारी केलेला लसीकरण अहवाल.
  • जागतिक हवामान संघटनेने जाहीर केलेला स्टेट ऑफ द ग्लोबल क्लायमेट 2022 अहवाल.
  • जागतिक विकास अहवाल 2023: स्थलांतरित, निर्वासित आणि समाज जागतिक बँकेने जारी केले.
  • फ्युचर ऑफ जॉब्स रिपोर्ट 2023 वर्ल्ड इकॉनॉमिक फोरमने जारी केला आहे.

हा लेख पॉलिसी बझच्या इंग्रजी आवृत्तीवर आधारित आहे जो 2 मे 2023 रोजी प्रकाशित झाला.

Policy Buzz

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

  • The deadline for Smart Cities Mission has been extended by one year, from June 2023 to June 2024, by the Centre.
  • ‘Marketing and Logistics Development for Promotion of Tribal Products from North Eastern Region’ (PTP-NER), a Central Sector Scheme, was launched by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
  • Sangathan se Samriddhi campaign was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission.
  • The National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS) has been adopted by 28 states and Union Territories for land records.
  • The SATHI (Seed Traceability, Authentication and Holistic Inventory) portal and mobile app was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Health and Nutrition

WASH

Other News


Also Read: At A Glance: Maharashtra Budget 2023-24

पॉलिसी बझ

हे पॉलिसी बझ तुम्हाला विविध कल्याणकारी योजनांमध्ये काय चालले आहे याविषयी दर 15 दिवसांनी विशेष बातम्या अपडेट करते.

धोरण बातम्या 

  • नॅशनल कमिशन फॉर प्रोटेक्शन ऑफ चाइल्ड राइट्स (NCPCR) द्वारे जारी केलेल्या जघन्य गुन्ह्यांमधील बाल संशयितांच्या मूल्यांकनासाठी मार्गदर्शक तत्त्वे.
  • शालेय विद्यार्थ्यांमध्ये कृषी क्षेत्रातील नाविन्यपूर्णतेला चालना देण्यासाठी, अटल इनोव्हेशन मिशन (AIM), NITI आयोग आणि कृषी आणि शेतकरी कल्याण मंत्रालय (MoA&FW) यांनी एकत्रित प्रयत्न केले आहेत.
  • युवा धोरण आणि युवा पोर्टल मध्य प्रदेश सरकारने सुरू केलेआहे. मुख्यमंत्र्यांनी मुख्य मंत्री युवा कौशल कमाई योजना (सी.एम – कौशल्य कमाई योजना) या नवीन योजनेचीही घोषणा केली.
  • राज्यपालांना विधेयके मंजूर करण्यासाठी कालमर्यादा निश्चित करण्यासाठी केंद्र आणि राष्ट्रपतींना विनंती करण्याचा ठराव तामिळनाडू विधानसभेने मंजूर केला.

आरोग्य आणि पोषण

  • सर्वोच्च न्यायालयाने शाळेत जाणाऱ्या मुलींसाठी मासिक पाळीच्या स्वच्छतेचे व्यवस्थापन करण्यासाठी राष्ट्रीय मॉडेल तयार करण्याचे निर्देश केंद्राला दिले होते.
  • केंद्र सरकारच्या आरोग्य योजना (CGHS) पॅकेजचे दर केंद्रीय आरोग्य मंत्रालयाने सुधारित केले आहेत.
  • केंद्राद्वारे अ‍ॅनिमल पॅन्डेमिक प्रिपेडनेस इनिशिएटिव्ह (एपीपीआय) आणि वन हेल्थसाठी पशु आरोग्य प्रणाली सपोर्ट सुरू करण्यात आला आहे. 
  • NITI आयोगाच्या शिफारशींनुसार औषध नियमनाची भारतीय मानके जागतिक मानकांच्या बरोबरीने तसेच इंटरनॅशनल कौन्सिल फॉर हार्मोनायझेशन मार्गदर्शक तत्त्वांनुसार असावीत.
  • WHO द्वारे जारी करण्यात आलेले ‘प्रौढ आणि किशोरवयीन मुलांसाठी नवीन टीबी लसींच्या देश परिचयाची तयारी करण्यासाठी जागतिक फ्रेमवर्क’.

शिक्षण

  • नॅशनल क्रेडिट फ्रेमवर्क (NCRF) विद्यापीठ अनुदान आयोगाने (UGC) जारी केले.
  • UGC च्या अखत्यारीतील सर्व उच्च शिक्षण संस्थांना विद्यार्थी तक्रार निवारण पोर्टल स्थापन करण्याचे निर्देश दिले आहेत.
  • UGC द्वारे जारी केलेल्या उच्च शिक्षणामध्ये भारतीय ज्ञान प्रणाली (IKS) च्या समावेशासाठी मसुदा मार्गदर्शक तत्त्वे.
  • बोर्डांनी राज्य शैक्षणिक प्राधिकरण आणि एनसीईआरटीचे पालन न करणारा स्वतःचा अभ्यासक्रम सुरू करण्याचा प्रयत्न करणे कायद्याचे उल्लंघन आहे, असे राष्ट्रीय बाल हक्क संरक्षण आयोगाने (NCPCR) म्हटले आहे.
  • सुधारित UGC निकषांनुसार, स्वायत्त महाविद्यालयांना यापुढे कंत्राटी प्राध्यापकांची संख्या एकूण मंजूर प्राध्यापक पदांच्या 10 टक्क्यांपेक्षा जास्त नाही याची खात्री करणे आवश्यक नाही.

स्वच्छता

  • नमामी गंगे कार्यक्रमाने सर्वसाधारणपणे जलसंवर्धन आणि नदी पुनरुज्जीवन याविषयी तरुणांमध्ये जागरूकता वाढवण्यासाठी ४९ विद्यापीठांसोबत सामंजस्य करार केला.
  • युनिसेफने जारी केलेला ट्रिपल थ्रेट अहवाल, रोग, हवामानातील जोखीम आणि असुरक्षित पाणी, स्वच्छता आणि स्वच्छतेमुळे मुलांना भेडसावणाऱ्या जोखमींशी संबंधित आहे.

इतर बातम्या

  • युनायटेड नेशन्सच्या फूड अँड अॅग्रिकल्चर ऑर्गनायझेशनने जारी केलेला कृषी फूड सिस्टम्समधील महिलांची स्थिती अहवाल.

हा लेख पॉलिसी बझच्या इंग्रजी आवृत्तीवर आधारित आहे जो 17 एप्रिल 2023 रोजी प्रकाशित झाला.

Policy Buzz

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

  • Guidelines for assessment of child suspects in heinous offences issued by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
  •  To promote innovation in the agricultural sector among school students, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) have converged efforts.
  • Youth policy and youth portal launched by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. The Chief Minister also announced a new scheme, Mukhya Mantri Yuva Kaushal Kamai Yojana (CM skill-earning scheme).
  • A resolution to urge the Centre and President to fix a timeframe for governors to approve bills was adopted by the Tamil Nadu assembly. 

Health 

Education

WASH

  • Namami Gange Programme signed an MoU with 49 universities to foster awareness among the youth on water conservation in general and river rejuvenation
  • Triple Threat Report, concerning risks to children due to disease, climate risks, and unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene, released by UNICEF.

Other News


Also Read: Understanding Urban Local Body Financing through Municipal Bonds

Understanding Urban Local Body Financing through Municipal Bonds


In the first part of our blog series on municipal financing, we explored the different forms of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and their conventional sources of revenue. The blog also talked about the lack of fiscal autonomy ULBs face and the consequent resistance towards urbanisation from rural pallets in the country. The second blog in the series will delve into some non-conventional sources of revenue, like Municipal Bonds, which can help strengthen the financial health of  municipal bodies.


Revenues and expenditures by Indian ULBs have stayed at approximately 1% of the GDP for the last decade. This is very low. For context, the figures are 7.4% of the GDP for Brazil and 6% of the GDP for South Africa. While presenting the Union Budget for the year 2023-24, the Finance Minister emphasised the need for strengthening urban civic bodies to improve their finances and credit worthiness and help them raise funds through municipal bonds.


Understanding the Municipal Funding Landscape


Before unpacking municipal bonds, it is important to understand the funding landscape for local bodies. In terms of major fund resources, the Fifteenth Finance Commission has placed emphasis on empowering the third tier of government by recommending grants of ₹4.36 lakh crore to local bodies for the five year period of 2021-22 to 2025-26. This is the largest-ever share of grants to be assigned to local bodies. But it is important to note that most of this money will go to the Panchayati Raj Institutions or PRIs (the approximate sharing ratio between PRIs and ULBs is 60:40). 

Similarly, the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), while allowing for sharing one-sixth of GST proceeds with PRIs and ULBs, also increased the dependence of local bodies on higher tiers of government. Moreover, while GST was introduced in lieu of Octroi (a local tax), the subsumed taxes such as the entry tax, local body tax, advertisement tax, and other consumption related taxes levied by the ULBs were not compensated properly, narrowing revenue collection channels.


Non-Conventional Revenue Sources


Despite various grants to local governments from external sources, the availability and quality of municipal services in urban India has remained consistently poor. With rapidly rising populations, the requirements for housing and urban infrastructure are at an all-time high. Meeting these needs will require innovative and unconventional long-term financing mechanisms.

Opening up local governments to the capital market has been considered as a way forward for ULBs to acquire funding and financial autonomy. This has been done by issuing municipal bonds which can be divided into three categories:

1. General Obligation bonds: These are not backed by assets and are instead secured by the issuer’s creditworthiness and revenue generating power.

2. Revenue bonds: These are backed by earnings or collections amassed from a specific project such as highway tolls or lease fees.

3. Hybrid mechanisms: If user charges are inadequate, these employ the general revenue of the body as backup to service the bond.


Municipal Bonds: A One Fit Solution?


Some big municipal corporations in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad were able to harness growth from the bonds market in the late 1990s. This exercise was suspended with the introduction of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) in 2005, which allocated grants worth ₹1 lakh crore from the Union government; this again made the urban local governments reliant on higher tiers of the government. Recently, however, many municipal corporations have resurfaced in the bonds market by raising approximately ₹3,840 crore between 2017 and 2021.  In comparison, the municipal bonds market in the USA was valued at 4 trillion USD as of March 2023, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).

Evidence, however, suggests that only large ULBs with good technical competencies can meet the necessary requirements of bond issuance (RBI, 2022). For other smaller urban bodies, there is the option of pooled financing. This approach suggests the issuance of a common bond by combining the resources of several ULBs in the state. 

The Budget for FY 2023-24 announced incentives for cities to improve their creditworthiness for bond financing through governance reforms for property tax and segregating a portion of the user charges on urban infrastructure. Similarly, in 2006, the Union government tried to incentivise pooled financing by launching the Pooled Finance Development Fund (PFDF) Scheme to provide credit enhancement to ULBs through a state-level pooled finance mechanism. Income tax exemptions were also granted to bondholders to boost demand for pooled bonds. However, the PFDF got a lukewarm response from stakeholders due to market constraints (MoHUA).


Encouraging Stakeholder Interest in Municipal Bonds


The  Union government has announced a Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF), which will be managed by the National Housing Bank and can be used by public agencies to create urban infrastructure. According to the Budget speech for FY 2023-24, an amount of ₹ 10,000 crores is to be allocated for the UIDF, this amount can make the municipal bonds of Tier 2 and 3 cities secure investments.

There are many challenges to this at present. Firstly,  investors in the private capital market demand stable and strong investments. One of the most important determinants of a safe investment includes credit rating. Since the municipal bonds market is new and still developing, a credit rating for ULBs can attract new investors. Both the Smart Cities Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) programmes, the two largest  centrally sponsored programmes for urban development in the country, include credit ratings for various municipal bodies. 

Secondly, the law allows for ULBs to enter the market but only with the approval of state governments. Currently 10 cities across six states have their municipal bonds listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). These include Pune, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Indore, Bhopal, Surat, Ahmedabad, and Vadodara. The recent focus from the Centre on ULBs and their finances might encourage more states to approve of bond financing as a viable option for fundraising.

Another obstacle is an underdeveloped secondary market for municipal bonds, which hinders the investors’ ability to sell and buy municipal bonds, unlike the stock market. Currently, there are not many buyers and therefore, it is difficult to set up a market which will allow for easy transactions. On 22nd Februrary 2023, the NSE introduced India’s first-ever municipal bond index. The Nifty India Municipal Bond Index acts as a performance tracker for municipal bonds issued by various municipal corporations across maturities with investment-grade credit ratings. This can be the first step towards making municipal bonds popular and secure investments which can thrive in the stock market.

Lastly, India has 4,999 ULBs, it is difficult to standardise a financial empowerment system for ULBs to follow because of differential vulnerabilities and diversity in population, geography, climate risks, etc.

However, all of this prompts a need to look for financing mechanisms beyond grants and reduce the dependence of ULBs on higher tiers of government. Entering the market might also encourage ULBs to build on their financial portfolios and follow better accounting practices.


Madhur Sharma and Anwesha Mallick are Research Associates at the Accountability Initiative.


Also Read: Building the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission Ecosystem


References

पॉलिसी बज़्ज़

विभिन्न कल्याणकारी योजनाओं में क्या घटित हो रहा है, यह पॉलिसी बज़्ज़ आपको हर 15 दिन के अंदर ख़ास ख़बरों के साथ अपडेट करता है |

नीतियों से जुडी खबरें

  • देश भर के कई डाकघरों में महिला सम्मान बचत पत्र (एमएसएससी) शुरू किए गए हैं।
  • राजस्थान सरकार ने राज्य के पहले महिला सहकारी कोष, महिला निधि, से महिला बचत समूहों (एसएचजी) के सदस्यों द्वारा लिए गए फंड ऋण पर 8 प्रतिशत ब्याज सहायता प्रदान करने के प्रस्ताव को मंजूरी दी है।
  • इलेक्ट्रॉनिक्स और सूचना प्रौद्योगिकी मंत्रालय (मेइती) द्वारा सूचना प्रौद्योगिकी (मध्यवर्ती दिशानिर्देश और डिजिटल मीडिया आचार संहिता) संशोधन नियम, 2023 अधिसूचित किए गए थे। संशोधन नियमों ने विभिन्न हितधारकों का ध्यान आकर्षित किया है।
  • केंद्रीय ग्रामीण विकास मंत्रालय (एमओआरडी) द्वारा दीनदयाल उपाध्याय कौशल्य योजना (डीडीयू-जीकेवाई) के तहत ‘कैप्टिव रोजगार’ पहल शुरू की गई।
  • केंद्र ने किरीट पारिख समिति की सिफारिशों के अनुरूप प्राकृतिक गैस के घरेलू मूल्य निर्धारण मॉडल को संशोधित किया है।
  • मध्य प्रदेश की ग्राम पंचायतों में लाडली बहना योजना के लिए पंजीयन चल रहा है।

स्वास्थ्य 

  • इंडियन मेडिकल एसोसिएशन (आईएमए) – तेलंगाना राज्य के सदस्यों ने कहा कि 384 आवश्यक दवाओं और 1,000 से अधिक फार्मूलों की कीमतें 11 प्रतिशत से अधिक बढ़ जाएंगी।

शिक्षा 

  • मार्च 2023 में आयोजित पहली बुनियादी साक्षरता और संख्यात्मक मूल्यांकन परीक्षा में 22.7 लाख से अधिक छात्रों ने भाग लिया।
  • शिक्षा मंत्रालय द्वारा स्कूली शिक्षा के लिए राष्ट्रीय पाठ्यचर्या ढांचे के मसौदे पर सुझाव आमंत्रित किए हैं |

स्वच्छता

  • आवास और शहरी मामलों के मंत्रालय (एमओएचयूए) ने स्वच्छोत्सव – अंतर्राष्ट्रीय शून्य अपशिष्ट दिवस: कचरा मुक्त शहरों के लिए एक रैली का आयोजन किया था।
  • भारत और नीदरलैंड के बीच संयुक्त कार्य समूह की पहली मंत्रिस्तरीय बैठक 3 अप्रैल को आयोजित की गई।
  • जल संसाधन पर संसदीय पैनल द्वारा 234 कार्यात्मक बड़े बांधों की सुरक्षा पर चिंता व्यक्त की गई।

अन्य खबरें

  • कार्मिक, लोक शिकायत, विधि और न्याय संबंधी संसदीय स्थायी समिति की रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है कि लोकपाल का प्रदर्शन बहुत संतोषजनक नहीं है।
  • कार्मिक, लोक शिकायत, विधि और न्याय संबंधी संसदीय स्थायी समिति ने केंद्रीय प्रशासनिक न्यायाधिकरण (कैट) से कहा कि वह 10 साल से अधिक समय से लंबित मामलों का प्राथमिकता के आधार पर फैसला करे।
  • प्रधानमंत्री की आर्थिक सलाहकार समिति ने ग्रामीण-शहरी क्षेत्रों की परिभाषा में बदलाव का सुझाव दिया है।
  • 1 अप्रैल 2023 से सूक्ष्म और लघु उद्यमों के लिए ऋण गारंटी योजना का उन्नयन किया गया।
  • वित्त मंत्रालय ने सरकारी कर्मचारियों के लिए पेंशन प्रणाली की समीक्षा के लिए एक पैनल का गठन किया था।

यह लेख पॉलिसी बज़्ज़ के अंग्रेजी संस्करण पर आधारित है जो 10 अप्रैल 2023 को प्रकाशित हुआ था।

पॉलिसी बझ

हे पॉलिसी बझ तुम्हाला विविध कल्याणकारी योजनांमध्ये काय चालले आहे याविषयी दर 15 दिवसांनी विशेष बातम्या अपडेट करते.

धोरण बातम्या 


आरोग्य आणि पोषण


शिक्षण

 

स्वच्छता


इतर बातम्या

  • लोकपालची कामगिरी फारशी समाधानकारक नाही, असे कार्मिक, सार्वजनिक तक्रार, कायदा आणि न्याय विभागाशी संबंधित संसदीय स्थायी समितीच्या अहवालात म्हटले आहे.
  • केंद्रीय प्रशासकीय न्यायाधिकरण (CAT) ला कार्मिक, सार्वजनिक तक्रार, कायदा आणि न्याय यावरील संसदीय समितीने 10 वर्षांहून अधिक काळ प्रलंबित असलेल्या खटल्यांचा प्राधान्याने निर्णय घेण्यास सांगितले होते.
  • पंतप्रधानांच्या आर्थिक सल्लागार समितीने ग्रामीण-शहरी भागांच्या व्याख्येत बदल करण्याची सूचना केली आहे.
  • 1 एप्रिल 2023 पासून सूक्ष्म आणि लघु उद्योगांसाठी क्रेडिट हमी योजनेची सुधारणा.
  • सरकारी कर्मचार्‍यांसाठी पेन्शन प्रणालीचे पुनरावलोकन करण्यासाठी अर्थ मंत्रालयाने एक पॅनेल स्थापन केले होते.

हा लेख पॉलिसी बझच्या इंग्रजी आवृत्तीवर आधारित आहे जो 10 एप्रिल 2023 रोजी प्रकाशित झाला.

Policy Buzz

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

  • Mahila Samman Savings Certificates (MSSC) was launched in multiple post offices across the country.
  • A proposal for giving 8 per cent interest subsidy on loans obtained by members of women Self Help Groups (SHGs) from Mahila Nidhi, the state’s first-ever women’s cooperative fund, was approved by the Rajasthan government. 
  • The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines And Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 was notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The Amendment Rules have attracted attention from various stakeholders
  • ‘Captive Employment’ initiative under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) was initiated by the Union Ministry for Rural Development (MoRD).
  • The domestic pricing model of natural gas has been amended by the Centre in line with the recommendations of the Kirit Parikh committee.
  • Registrations for Ladli Behna Yojana are underway in Gram Panchayats of Madhya Pradesh.

Health 

  • Prices of 384 essential drugs and over 1,000 formulations would see a hike of over 11 per cent, said members of Indian Medical Association (IMA)-Telangana State.

Education

WASH

  • Swachhotsav – International Day of Zero Waste: Rally for Garbage Free Cities was organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
  • The first Ministerial-level meeting of the Joint Working Group between India and the Netherlands took place on 3rd April.
  • Concerns over the safety of 234 functional large dams were flagged by the Parliamentary Panel on Water Resources.

Other News

  • The performance of the Lokpal seems to be far from satisfactory, said a report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice.
  • The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) was asked to decide cases pending for more than 10 years on a priority basis by the Parliamentary committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice.
  • The Economic Advisory Council to the PM has suggested tweaking the definition of rural-urban areas.
  • The revamping of credit guarantee scheme for micro and small enterprises with effect from 1 April 2023.
  • A panel to review the pension system for government employees was set up by the Ministry of Finance.

Also Read: The ‘Inevitable’ Corruption of the Amorally Honest

At a Glance: Budget Session 2023 (Part-2)

The Budget Session of Parliament commenced on 31st January and is scheduled to conclude on 6th April. The session adjourned on 14th February for a month-long recess till 13th March. Below are curated highlights from the Question Hour and Zero Hour during the second leg of the session (between 13th March 2023 and 29th March 2023).

Highlights from Question Hour and Zero Hour

Livelihood 


The eShram portal was launched by the Ministry of Labour and Employment on 26 August 2021, as a comprehensive national database of unorganised and migrant workers. It aims to facilitate delivery of benefits of social security schemes to unorganised sector workers through integration with other scheme related portals. 

As on 14 March 2023, approximately 28.66 crore unorganised workers have registered on eShram portal. The revised module for gig workers and platform workers went live in September 2022. Currently over 38,000 platform workers have registered/updated their profile on the portal.

In order to facilitate job opportunities for unorganised sector workers, the portal is being integrated with the National Career Service (NCS) portal. Currently, more than 13 lakh eShram registered workers have registered on the NCS portal


Rural Development


Out of the 19.43 crore rural households in the country, around 11.49 crore (59 per cent) households have tap water supply, as on 20 March 2023. Of these, around 8.26 crore rural households have been provided with tap water connections in the last three and half years under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). Read more about the progress of JJM with our Budget Brief.


● The National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) scheme provides for online trading of agriculture and horticulture commodities across the country. As on 7 March 2023, 1,260 mandis from 22 States and 3 Union Territories (UTs) have been integrated with the e-NAM platform.


● Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, an income support scheme launched in 2019, more than ₹2.24 lakh crore has been released to more than 11 crore farmers across the country.


Health


● The status of out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) in healthcare has improved in the past few years, from ₹2,394 per capita in 2014-15 to ₹2,155 per capita in 2018-19. The proportion of OOPE in Total Health Expenditure (THE) has also been declining over the past few years. Simultaneously, the proportion of Government Health Expenditure (GHE) in THE has been increasing as depicted below.

However, as a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report highlights, OOPE in India is still high compared to global figures and continues to impoverish 55 million Indians annually.


● Under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, there are currently 13.9 lakh Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) across the country with 9.94 crore benefit availing citizens, namely, pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under the age of 6 years.


● Under the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), a total of 23.3 crore eligible citizens have been verified, as on 20 March 2023. Over 4.49 crore hospital admissions worth ₹54,241 crore have been authorised through a network of 26,434 empanelled health care providers including 11,500 private hospitals under the scheme.


● As on 28 February 2023, a total of 1,57,698 Ayushman Bharat – Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) have been operationalised across the country to deliver Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC), including preventive, promotive, curative, palliative, and rehabilitative services. Between 2019-20 to 2021-22, a total footfall of 85.63 crore persons has been recorded in these AB-HWCs.


● Launched on 10 October 2022, the National Tele Mental Health Programme aims to improve access to quality mental health counselling and care services across the country. As on 9 March 2023, 25 States and UTs have set up 36 Tele MANAS Cells and have started mental health services. A total of 63,806 calls have been handled on the helpline numbers since the scheme’s inception.


Others


As per the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) (2021-22) database, out of the 10.2 lakh government schools in India, around 2.47 lakh i.e. 24 per cent government schools have internet facilities. Out of 82.5 thousand government aided schools in the country, around 43.8 thousand i.e. 53 per cent government aided schools have internet facilities.

 

To know more about trends in allocations, public expenditures, outputs and outcomes of key social sector programmes, check out our Budget Briefs 2023. To mark the publication of the 15th volume of Budget Briefs, we have analysed  the evolution of India’s welfare system since 2008. Visit here for a basic overview of the schemes.


 

Glossary


  • AB PM-JAY provides health cover of ₹5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. The eligibility criteria for eligible households is based on SECC 2011.
  • Jal Jeevan Mission is Government of India’s (GoI’s) rural drinking water programme to provide functional tap connections to every household for drinking, cooking, and other domestic needs on a sustainable basis by 2024.
  • In FY 2021-22, GoI restructured the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) Abhiyaan, and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) into Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.
  • National Health Mission (NHM) is GoI’s largest public health programme, which aims to achieve universal access to quality healthcare.
  • As per the NFSA, up to 75% of rural population and 50% of urban population are entitled to receive subsidised foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TDPS). The AAY households, which constitute the poorest of the poor, are entitled to receive 35 kg of foodgrains per family per month while PHH are entitled to 5 kg per of foodgrains per person per month.
  • Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is GoI’s income support scheme, launched in 2019,  under which all landholding farmers receive up to ₹6,000 per year to supplement their financial needs.
  • Rural Health Statistics (RHS) 2020-21 report presents a snapshot of Public Health infrastructure & human resources across the country up to 31 March 2021. Read more here.

पॉलिसी बज़्ज़

विभिन्न कल्याणकारी योजनाओं में क्या घटित हो रहा है, यह पॉलिसी बज़्ज़ आपको हर 15 दिन के अंदर ख़ास ख़बरों के साथ अपडेट करता है |

नीतियों से जुडी खबरें

  • सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने राज्यों और केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों को तीन महीने के भीतर ऑनलाइन सूचना का अधिकार (आरटीआई) पोर्टल स्थापित करने और संचालित करने का निर्देश दिया है।
  • लोकसभा ने वस्तु और सेवा कर अपीलीय न्यायधिकरण की स्थापना को मंजूरी दी है।
  • प्रधानमंत्री उज्ज्वला योजना (पीएमयूवाई) के तहत 200 रुपये प्रति एलपीजी सिलेंडर की सब्सिडी को एक साल के लिए बढ़ा दिया गया है।
  • पर्यावरण, वन और जलवायु परिवर्तन मंत्रालय द्वारा अरावली ग्रीन वॉल परियोजना शुरू की गई है।

स्वास्थ्य और पोषण

  • राजस्थान स्वास्थ्य का अधिकार विधेयक पारित करने वाला पहला भारतीय राज्य बन गया है।
  • भारतीय चिकित्सा अनुसंधान परिषद ने स्वास्थ्य क्षेत्र में आर्टिफिशियल इंटेलिजेंस के उपयोग के लिए दिशानिर्देश जारी किए हैं |
  • दुर्लभ रोगों के लिए राष्ट्रीय नीति (एनपीआरडी), 2021 के तहत दुर्लभ बीमारियों की छह श्रेणियां जोड़ी गईं है |

स्वच्छता

  • स्थायी समिति द्वारा भूजल: एक मूल्यवान लेकिन घटता हुआ संसाधन रिपोर्ट जारी की गई।
  • संयुक्त राष्ट्र विश्व जल विकास रिपोर्ट 2023 जारी की गई।

अन्य खबरें

  • आवास और शहरी मामलों पर संसद की स्थायी समिति द्वारा प्रधानमंत्री आवास योजना – शहरी (पीएमएवाई-यू) के कार्यान्वयन पर रिपोर्ट प्रस्तुत की गई |
  • सरकार ने राज्यसभा को बताया कि भारतीय रिजर्व बैंक ने 18 देशों के बैंकों को भारतीय रुपये में भुगतान करने की अनुमति दे दी है।

यह लेख पॉलिसी बज़्ज़ के अंग्रेजी संस्करण पर आधारित है जो 28 मार्च 2023 को प्रकाशित हुआ था।