PIB Summary- 8th February, 2022 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN)

Why in News?

86.05 lakhs passengers have travelled under RCS- UDAN flights till 09.01.2022

About Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN):

• It is an innovative scheme to develop the regional aviation market.
• Objective:
  (i) To create affordable yet economically viable and profitable flights on regional routes so that flying becomes affordable to the common man even in small towns.
  (ii) To stimulate regional air connectivity and making air travel affordable to the masses.
• The scheme envisages providing connectivity to un-served and underserved airports of the country through the revival of existing air-strips and airports. The scheme is operational for a period of 10 years.
• UDAN is a market driven ongoing scheme where bidding rounds are conducted periodically for covering more destinations/stations and routes under the scheme.
• Interested airlines assess the demand on particular routes connecting these airports and submit their proposals at the time of bidding.

UDAN 1.0
Under this phase, 5 airlines companies were awarded 128 flight routes to 70 airports (including 36 newly made operational airports)

UDAN 2.0
In 2018, the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced 73 underserved and unserved airports.
For the first time, helipads were also connected under phase 2 of UDAN scheme.

UDAN 3.0
Key Features of UDAN 3 included:

• Inclusion of Tourism Routes under UDAN 3 in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism.
• Inclusion of Seaplanes for connecting Water Aerodromes.
• Inclusion of Seaplanes for connecting Water Aerodromes.

UDAN 4.0:

• The 4th round of UDAN was launched in December 2019 with a special focus on North-Eastern Regions, Hilly States, and Islands.
  (i) The airports that had already been developed by Airports Authority of India (AAI) are given higher priority for the award of VGF (Viability Gap Funding) under the Scheme.
  (ii) Under UDAN 4, the operation of helicopter and seaplanes is also been incorporated.

Import of Cheetahs from Abroad

Why in News?

The Government of India is in the process of holding consultation meeting with African countries for bringing Cheetah.  

• A total of 12-14 cheetahs are intended to be brought from South Africa/Namibia/Other African Countries over a period of five years as per the Action Plan.
• The such introduced cheetah would be fitted with Satellite/GSM-GPS-VHF radio-collars before their release in wild so as to enable monitoring remotely.

About Reintroduction Action Plan:

• ‘Reintroduction’ of a species means releasing it in an area where it is capable of surviving.
• Reintroductions of large carnivores have increasingly been recognised as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions.
• The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been eliminated, mainly by over-hunting in India in historical times.
• the ministry will be translocating around 8-12 cheetahs from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana with help from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Wildlife Trust of India,.
• The big cats will live at Kuno Palpur National Park (Madhya Pradesh) owing to its suitable habitat and adequate prey base.

Reasons for the Extinction:

• Hunting
• Diminishing habitat and non-availability of enough prey
• Climate change
• growing human populations have only made these problems worse.

About Cheetah:

• The cheetah is one of the oldest of the big cat species, with ancestors that can be traced back more than five million years to the Miocene era.
• The cheetah is also the world’s fastest land mammal that lives in Africa and Asia.

African Cheetah

• IUCN status – Vulnerable
• CITES status – Appendix-I of the List. This List comprises of migratory species that have been assessed as being in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range.
• Habitat – Around 6,500-7,000 African cheetahs present in the wild.
• Physical Characteristics – Bigger in size as compared to Asiatic Cheetah.

Asian Cheetah

• IUCN Status – Critically Endangered.
• CITES – Appendix 1 of the list
• Habitat – 40-50 found only in Iran.
• Physical Characteristics – Smaller and paler than the African cheetah. Has more fur, a smaller head and a longer neck. Usually have red eyes and they have a more cat-like appearance.

Centrally Sponsored Schemes for Employment

Why in News?

Multi-pronged strategies are being taken by the Government to address issues relating to employment opportunity through Centrally Sponsored Schemes.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA, is an Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the ‘right to work’. This act was passed in September 2005.
• It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• It covers all districts of India except the ones with 100% urban population.
• MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by gram panchayats (GPs). The involvement of contractors is banned.
• Apart from providing economic security and creating rural assets, NREGA can help in protecting the environment, empowering rural women, reducing rural-urban migration and fostering social equity, among others.

Aatmanirbhar Bharat RojgarYojana (ABRY)

• It has been launched with effect from 1st October, 2020 as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat package 3.0 to incentivize employers for creation of new employment along with social security benefits and restoration of loss of employment during Covid-19 pandemic.
• This scheme being implemented through the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), seeks to reduce the financial burden of the employers and encourages them to hire more workers.
• The terminal date for registration of beneficiaries has been extended from 30.06.2021 to 31.03.2022.

Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme

• It has been launched on June 01, 2020 to provide working capital loans to Street Vendors, vending in urban areas, to resume their businesses, which were impacted adversely due to COVID-19.

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY)

• It is being implemented by the Government for facilitating self-employment.
• Under PMMY, collateral free loans upto Rs. 10 lakh, are extended to micro/small business enterprises and to individuals to enable them to setup or expand their business activities.
• The Production Linked Incentive Schemes being implemented by the Government have potential for creating 60 lakh new jobs.

PM Gati Shakti

• It is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development.
• The approach is driven by seven engines, namely, Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways and Logistics Infrastructure.
• This approach is powered by Clean Energy and Sabka Prayas leading to huge job and entrepreneurial opportunities for all.

Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA)

• To boost employment and livelihood opportunities for returnee migrant workers and similarly affected persons including youth in rural areas, in 116 selected districts across 6 States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• The Abhiyaan has achieved an employment generation of 50.78 crore persondays with a total expenditure of Rs 39,293 crore.

The Government of India is encouraging various projects involving substantial investment and public expenditure on schemes like Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)of the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Deen Dayal Antodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) of  the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs etc. for employment generation.

Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme

Why in news?

The Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities (PM’s New 15 PP) is an overarching programme covering various schemes/initiatives of the participating Ministries/Departments, and  is implemented throughout the country.

Details

• The performance of schemes/initiatives of Ministries / Departments included in the PM’s New 15 PP, is evaluated by the concerned Ministry/ Department and is a continuous process.
• The schemes of Ministry of Minority Affairs meant exclusively for the centrally notified minority communities viz. Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains are also evaluated from time to time.
• The Ministry implements various welfare schemes for minority communities across the country including Jammu and Kashmir, as per the guidelines of the respective scheme.
• Ministry of Minority Affairs has adopted a multi-pronged strategy by way of implementation of various schemes which aim at educational empowerment, employment-oriented skill development, infrastructure support, etc. for the upliftment of living standards of the six centrally notified minorities (Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains).

Aim:
To ensure that the underprivileged and weaker sections of six centrally notified minority communities have equal opportunities for availing the various Government welfare Schemes and contribute to the overall socio-economic development of the Country.

Objectives:

• Enhancing opportunities for education; 
• Ensuring an equitable share for minorities in economic activities and employment, through existing and new schemes, enhanced credit support for self-employment, and recruitment to State and Central Government jobs;
• Improving the conditions of living of minorities by ensuring an appropriate share for them in infrastructure development schemes; and
• Prevention and control of communal disharmony and violence.

(A) Enhancing opportunities for Education

• Equitable availability of ICDS Services The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme
• Improving access to School Education
• Greater resources for teaching Urdu
• Modernizing Madarsa Education
• Scholarships for meritorious students from minority communities
• Improving educational infrastructure through the Maulana Azad Education Foundation.

(B) Equitable Share in Economic Activities and Employment

• Self-Employment and Wage Employment for the poor
  (i) The Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY)
  (ii) The Swarn Jayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojana (SJSRY)
• Upgradation of skills through technical training
• Enhanced credit support for economic activities
  (i) The National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC)
  (ii) Bank credit is essential for creation and sustenance of self-employment initiatives.
• Recruitment to State and Central Services
  (i) In the recruitment of police personnel, State Governments will be advised to give special consideration to minorities.
  (ii) The Central Government will take similar action in the recruitment of personnel to the Central police forces.
  (iii) Large scale employment opportunities are provided by the Railways, nationalized banks and public sector enterprises.
  (iv) An exclusive scheme will be launched for candidates belonging to minority communities to provide coaching in government institutions as well as private coaching institutes with credibility.

(C) Improving the conditions of living of minorities

• Equitable share in rural housing scheme
• Improvement in condition of slums/areas inhabited by minority communities
• Prevention of communal incidents
• Prosecution for communal offences
• Rehabilitation of victims of communal riots Victims.