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. SMILE-75 Initiative was launched by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of begging in 75 identified unicipal Corporations.
2. The proposal for continuation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) till 31 December 2024 has been approved.
3. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program has been launched in Delhi to upskill 75,000 workers by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in association with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
4. The onboarding of cooperatives on the Government e Marketplace (GeM) portal was launched by the Union Minister for Home and Cooperation.
5. The extension of Panchayat Rights in Scheduled Areas or PESA Rule, 2022 was implemented by the Chhattisgarh government.
6. New Delhi International Arbitration Center (Amendment) Bill was introduced by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Health & Nutrition 

1. Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for providing technical support for digitalisation of the AYUSH sector under the AYUSH Grid project.
2. Operational Guidelines regarding implementation of Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 were issued by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Read more about the funds, coverage and service delivery under the scheme with our Budget Briefs 2022 here. 

Education 

1. An inter-ministerial meeting for seeking inputs for reconfiguring curricular and pedagogical structure under National Curriculum Framework (NCF) was held by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
2. The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has announced training programme for over 10,000 teachers on NEP 2020.

Sanitation

1. Regularisation letters were handed to 187 contractual sanitation workers in Delhi by the Lieutenant Governor.

Other News

1. Under the Bal Aadhaar initiative, more than 79 lakh children (0-5 years) were enrolled during the first four months (April – July) of FY 2022-23 by the Unique Identification Authority (UDI) to help parents and children avail multiple benefits.
2. Two instalments of tax devolution, amounting to ₹1.17 lakh crore, were released to state governments as against normal monthly devolution.
3. Any citizen who is or has been an income-tax payer is not eligible to join Atal Pension Yojana (APY), according to new orders by Ministry of Finance.
4. Recovery in youth employment is lagging globally, according to ‘Global Employment Trends for Youth 2022’ released by International Labour Organisation (ILO). The report further states that this confirms that COVID-19 has hurt young people more than any other age group. Read the complete report here. 
5. The Supreme Court suggested the Centre to unclog the jails to mark 75 years of India’s independence. 
6. The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 came into effect.

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