PIB Summary- 20th July, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

WHO-GMP/COPP

Context: WHO-GMP/COPP Certification for Ayurvedic Products.

Details

• A Central Public Sector Enterprise in the pharmaceutical sector has applied for WHO-GMP/COPP certification for 18 Ayurvedic products.
  • The CPSE is Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd. (IMPCL), Mohan, Dist. Almora, Uttarakhand under the administrative control of the Ministry of AYUSH.

What is WHO-GMP/COPP?

• The certificate of pharmaceutical product (CPP or COPP) is a certificate issued in the format recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• The application for grant of WHO-GMP Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product shall be made to respective zonal/sub zonal officers as per the requirement. The COPP will be issued by zonal/sub zonal officers on behalf of the Drugs Controller General (India) after inspection and satisfactory clearance by CDSCO officers as per WHO – GMP guidelines.
• It is valid for 3 years from the date of issue and companies can apply for renewal after that.
• The WHO-GMP certificate is mandatory in most global markets for pharmaceutical companies to be able to sell medicines. The manufacturer of an exporting country must be licensed by the regulatory authority of that country and comply with the WHO-GMP guidelines.
  • The COPP is issued under WHO-GMP based on guidelines laid down by the health agency and is aimed at diminishing the risks inherent in pharmaceutical production.
  • The certificate helps the regulator ensure that drugs are consistently produced and are quality controlled before they leave the country.
• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), which is the national drugs regulatory authority, regulates the import and export of the drugs in the country, through the port offices located in different parts of the country.

BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade issues (CGETI)

Context: Meeting of the BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade issues (CGETI) held in July 2021 chaired by India.

Details

• During the three day-meeting, the BRICS Members deliberated on the following proposals circulated by India, for strengthening and increasing the Intra-BRICS cooperation and trade:
  • BRICS Cooperation on Multilateral Trading System;
  • BRICS Framework for ensuring Consumer Protection in E-Commerce;
  • Non-Tariff Measures (NTM) Resolution Mechanism for SPS/TBT Measures;
  • Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Working Mechanism;
  • Cooperation framework for protection of Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions;
  • BRICS Framework on Cooperation in Professional Services.

Background

• India is the Chair of the BRICS for 2021.
• Of the various groups of BRICS, the Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues (CGETI) is responsible for economic and trade matters.
• The Department of Commerce is the national coordinator for the BRICS CGETI.

BharatNet Project

Context: BharatNet Project: Tender invited for Public Private Partnership.

Details

• Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), on behalf of Department of Telecommunication, has invited global tender for the Development (Creation, Upgradation, Operation & Maintenance and Utilisation) of BharatNet through Public Private Partnership model in 9 separate packages across 16 states for a concession period of 30 years.
• Under this project, the government will provide a maximum grant of Rs. 19041 Crore as Viability Gap Funding.
• The Project shall cover an estimated 3.61 lakh villages (including Gram Panchayats) across Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The scope of work under this BharatNet PPP Project includes:
  • Connecting the remaining unconnected GPs under BharatNet project and all the inhabited villages beyond the GPs.
  • Upgradation of the existing BharatNet Network from Linear to Ring topology.
  • Operation and Maintenance (O&M) and Utilisation of the existing as well as the newly deployed network.

Introduction to the BharatNet

An expert committee reviewed the National Optic Fiber Network (NOFN) and proposed a modified project called BharatNet.   It has subsumed all the ongoing and proposed broadband network projects. The project is being executed by BSNL, RailTel, and Power Grid and is being funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

• It aims to connect all of India’s households, specifically rural households through demand, affordable high-speed internet connectivity to fulfill the objectives of the Digital India programme in partnership with the states and the private sector.
• The Bharat Net project proposes broadband connectivity to households under village Panchayats and even to government institutions at the district level.
• It intends to cover all 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats for the provision of E-governance, E-healthcare, E-Commerce, E-Education, and Public Interest Access services.
• The first phase of the Bharat Net project will be completed in December 2017, providing internet access to 1 lakh Gram Panchayats. So far, 83000 Gram Panchayats have been connected.
• The types of equipment for the programme are indigenously designed and are manufactured in India, under the “Make in India” initiative.
• NOFN had not incorporated any revenue model but Bharat Net has.

Latest Context on BharatNet Project
The deadline for completion of the BharatNet Project has been extended till June 2021 from December 2020, and a notice has been issued to Tata Projects Ltd for failing to meet projected milestones.

1. The BharatNet project was awarded to Tata Ltd. in July 2018 and  was originally scheduled to be completed in a year. It involves laying an optical fibre network covering 32,466 km, linking 85 blocks and 5,987-gram panchayats across 27 districts in the state.

Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)
The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was established with the primary objective of providing access to ‘Basic’ telecom services to people in the remote and rural areas at reasonable and affordable prices. Subsequently, the scope was widened to provide subsidy support for enabling access to all types of telegraph services including mobile services, broadband connectivity, and creation of infrastructure like Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) in rural and remote areas.

Adarsh Smarak Scheme

Context: 3 monuments of Andhra Pradesh Identified as “Adarsh Smarak” for providing additional facilities.

Details

• Three monuments in Andhra Pradesh have been identified under the Adarsh Smarak Scheme to provide additional amenities and make them more tourist-friendly.
• The monuments are:
  • Monuments at Nagarjunakonda: Nagarjunakonda in Guntur District is named after the renowned Buddhist monk Nagarjuna. It once an important settlement during the 1st and 2nd centuries BCE. It was an important Buddhist learning centre and houses the remains of many Buddhist Stupas, statues, pillars, Chaityas, monasteries, etc. The first archaeological ruins of Nagarjunakonda were discovered in 1926 by A.R. Saraswati.
  • Buddhist Remains at Salihundam: Salihundam in Srikakulam District contains several votive stupas, a mahastupa, chaityas and viharas. Several inscriptions that were unearthed at the site indicate that it dates back to the 2nd century CE. The mahavihara sali-pethaka here, interestingly, has an entrance in the shape of a swastika, indicating that this is probably from where Buddhism spread to Sumatra and the rest of Southeast Asia.
  • Veerabhadra Temple at Lepakshi: Veerabhadra Temple at Lepakshi, District Anantapuram is a temple dedicated to Virabhadra (Lord Shiva). Built in the 16th century, the architectural features of the temple are in the Vijayanagara style with a profusion of carvings and paintings at almost every exposed surface of the temple.

About the Adarsh Smarak Scheme

• The scheme was launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Culture for providing improved visitor amenities in historical and archaeological monuments/sites.
• It also aims at the better preservation of the monuments.
• The monuments included in the list would have all the tourist facilities as per international standards including wi-fi, signages, security, encroachment free area, interpretation centres, etc.
• Objectives of the scheme:
  • To make monuments visitor friendly.
  • To upgrade/provide washrooms, drinking water, signages, cafeteria, and wi-fi facility.
  • To provide interpretation and audio-video centres.
  • To streamline wastewater and garbage disposal and a rainwater harvesting system.
  • To make the monuments accessible to the differently-abled.
  • To implement Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

SMILE – Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise

Context: Government has formulated a scheme covering comprehensive measures for welfare of beggars.

About SMILE

• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated a scheme “SMILE – Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise”, which includes the sub-scheme – ‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of Begging’.
• The focus of the scheme is extensively on rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, basic documentation, education, skill development, economic linkages and so on.
• The scheme would be implemented with the support of State/UT Governments/Local Urban Bodies, Voluntary Organizations, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), institutions and others.
• The Scheme provides for the use of existing shelter homes available with the State/UT Governments and urban local bodies for rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of begging.
• In case of non-availability of existing shelter homes, new dedicated shelter homes are to be set up by the implementing agencies.
• The Ministry has also initiated pilot projects on Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons engaged in the act of Begging in ten cities namely Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna and Ahmedabad.

Stand Up India

Context: Stand Up India Scheme extended up to the year 2025.

Key Features of the Stand Up India Scheme

The Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi launched the Stand Up India Scheme in April 2016, encouraging people from the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes and women across the country to become entrepreneurs by loaning them a sum of money to start a business.

Given below are the key features of the Stand Up India scheme:

• The scheme is part of an initiative by the Department of Financial Services (DFS),Ministry of Finance to promote entrepreneurial projects.
• An amount ranging from Rs 10 lakhs to Rs.1 crore to be provided as a loan, inclusive of working capital for setting up a new enterprise.
• The scheme states that each bank branch needs to facilitate two entrepreneurial projects on an average. One for SC/ST and one for a woman entrepreneur.
• A RuPay debit card would be provided for the withdrawal of credit.
• Credit history of the borrower would be maintained by the bank so that the money is not used for any personal use.
• Refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs.10,000 crore.
• Under this scheme, through NCGTC, creation of a corpus of Rs.5000 crore for credit guarantee.
• Supporting the borrowers by providing comprehensive support for pre-loan training like facilitating the loan, factoring, marketing, etc.
• A web portal has been created to assist people for online registration and support services.
• The main purpose of this scheme is to benefit the institutional credit structure by reaching out to the minority sections of the population by initiating bank loans in the non-farm sector.
• The scheme will also be an advantage for the ongoing schemes of other Departments.
• The Stand Up India scheme will be led by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) along with the involvement of the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI). Along with DICCI, there will also be involvement of other sector-specific institutions.
• The designation of Stand Up Connect Centres (SUCC) will be provided to SIDBI and National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) 
• An initial amount of Rs.10,000 crore will be allotted to the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to provide financial aid.
• There will be a pre-loan and an operational phase for this scheme and the system and Officials tend to help people throughout these phases.
• To help the credit system reach out to the entrepreneurs, the margin money for the composite loan will be up to 25 per cent.
• The people who apply for this scheme will be familiarised with the online platforms and other resources of e-marketing, web-entrepreneurship, factoring services and registration.

Convergence and Inter-Sectoral Linkages In the Scheme

• At the launch of this scheme, 5100 E-Rickshaws were distributed by Bhartiya Micro Credit (BMC) under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna scheme. 
• In addition to getting a loan under the Stand Up India Scheme, the recipients will also be covered under Pradhan Matri Jan Dhan Yojna, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana schemes, and other eight significant Prime Minister schemes.
• BMC – Bhartiya Micro Credit, aims to spread awareness of the financial inclusion and social security schemes and proposes to take the benefits to poor and homeless people in the country.
• The idea is to facilitate the up-gradation of pedal rickshaw pullers into E Rickshaw owners and help create a threefold increment in their income.
• The Mudra scheme is responsible for providing credit for all the facilities under this program.
• The shift from pedal rickshaw to E rickshaw will also help contribute towards achieving the goals of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
• Under the scheme, charging and service station will also be set up, which will help the growth of the emergence of small and micro enterprises along with creating many opportunities for entrepreneurs.
• This organically integrates Bhartiya Micro Credit (BMC) E-Rickshaws program into the ‘Stand Up India’ initiative.

What is the need for this scheme?
At present, only established cities get encouragement from the establishment of new industries. But once this scheme is launched, the new industrial activity will be triggered by 2.5 lakh people and 1.25 places across the country every year.  
Bank nationalisation was done in the name of the poor, but for the first 70 years after Independence, nearly 40 per cent of the population did not have access to banking services
The idea is to provide finance and loans to not only big businesses but also to the common man.

Eligibility Criteria: Stand Up India Scheme

There are certain eligibility criteria that need to be fulfilled by the people applying for the loan:

1. The individual must be 18 years or above
2. The company must be a private limited/LLP or a partnership firm.
3. The turnover of the firm must not be more than 25 crores
4. The entrepreneur should either be a woman for a person belonging to scheduled caste or scheduled tribe category.
5. The loan will only be provided to fund greenfield projects i.e., the project must be a very first one being undertaken under the manufacturing or service sector. 
6. The applicant must not a bank or any other Organisation’s defaulter.
7. The company should be dealing with any commercial or innovative consumer goods. An approval of DIPP is also required for the same.
   

Benefits of Stand Up India Scheme

When the Government comes up with a scheme, its main aim is to benefit the citizens and the same is the case with the Stand Up India scheme. Given below are the benefits of launching the Stand-Up India scheme:

• The basic aim of the initiative is to provide encourage and motivate new entrepreneurs so as to minimize unemployment.
• If you are an investor then Stand Up India gives you the right platform where you get professional advice, time, and knowledge about laws. Another benefit is that they would assist you in the start-up for the initial two years of your work.
• They also provide post set up aid to the consultants.
• Moreover, another benefit for entrepreneurs is that they do not have to worry much about how to pay back the amount that they have taken for the loan as they need to pay back the loan in a span of seven years, which reduces the stress of repayment for the borrowers. However, a certain amount needs to be paid back each year as per the borrower’s choice.
• This scheme will help to eradicate legal, operational and other institutional obstacles for entrepreneurs as well.
• It can be a very positive boost in terms of job creation, leading to socio-economic empowerment of Dalits, tribals and women.
• It may also act as the driving force for other Government schemes like ‘Skill India’ and ‘Make in India’.
• It will help protect the demographic dividend in India
• With access to bank accounts and technological education, it will lead to financial and social inclusion of these strata of society.

Tax Benefits/Incentives in Stand Up India

• The applicants will get 80% rebate after filing the patent application form. This can only be filled by startups and the benefits are also more for them as compared to other companies.
• There is also an inclusion of Credit Guarantee Fund and the entrepreneurs enjoy relaxation in Income tax at least for the first three years.
• There will be complete relaxation for the entrepreneurs for the Capital Gain Tax.
• Moreover, for the entities who qualify the program will further enjoy benefits like the redemption of tax on the profits earned.
• This is to ease the entities during the initial startup phase and that there is no burden of paying heavy costs for taxes.

Stand Up India Scheme: Challenges

Every scheme or program launched comes up with its set of advantages and disadvantages. The Stand Up India Scheme is also the same. The various challenges with the Stand Up India scheme are as given below:

• The education of the people about the socio-economic dimensions of Dalit entrepreneurship and women entrepreneurship has not been paid much attention. If this is not done, the Stand Up India scheme may not be very effective.
• The criteria for this scheme says that the company needs to be innovative. Judging whether a product is innovative or not is left to the discretion of the DIPP. This may lead to delays and also potentially good entrepreneurial ventures may be lost in the process
• The company is required to have a turnover of 25 crores. There are very few women-led entrepreneurs and SC/ST led firm which fit this criterion
• The self-help group’s which have indeed provided some impetus to women entrepreneurs, especially in rural areas have been subject to elite capture and have been overwhelmed by locally dominant interests. The Stand Up India scheme does not make mention of any institutional measures to address these challenges
• Further, the banking sector has not yet penetrated to the hinterlands in a meaningful manner. Therefore, the challenges of lack of institutional bank linkages, awareness among the people, digital divide and many other technical challenges can be obstacles to bank account linkages despite the success of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. (PMJDY)
• The funding support of about 10 lakhs to 1 crore is inadequate for the manufacturing sector
• The SC/ST’s and women have not been fully and meaningfully empowered in terms of tech-know how, access to skilled labour, knowledge about the sectors and so on.

Awareness generation
As a part of media awareness and reporting the following initiatives will be taken up by the Government to promote the scheme:

• A Startup India Twitter Handle has been created
• An official website has been made and application for the initiative to create better awareness about Stand Up India has also been initiated.
• Also to encourage others, motivating stories will also be blogged every day on the online web portal of the scheme.
• To spread awareness about the scheme on social media platforms, a devoted Facebook page will also be set- up.

Most of the women entrepreneurs involved in the co-operative movement and self-help group movement are dominantly contributing to the service sector. Experts are of the opinion that, the government through this scheme can provide an institutional framework and support services to the women to make a beginning in the manufacturing sector too.
The SC/ST population needs to be educated and socio-politically empowered further to reap the benefits of this scheme meaningfully. If implemented with the adequate ecosystem support, this scheme can indeed transform the socio-economic architecture of rural and urban India and realise the Gandhian directive principle of encouraging village and cottage industries could be fully and meaningfully.