PIB Summary- 20th August, 2022 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Soverign Gold Bond Scheme

Why in News?
Recently, the issue price of the Bond during the subscription period shall be Rs 5,197 per gram, as also published by RBI.

About Soverign Gold Bond Scheme (SGB)

• The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme was introduced in the Union Budget 2015-16 by the Union Cabinet which was chaired by PM Narendra Modi.
• It was launched to reduce the demand for physical gold and with an aim to invest a part of these physicals gold bars and coins that are purchased every year into financial savings in the form of gold bonds.
• Investors have to pay the issue price in cash and the bonds will be redeemed in cash on maturity.
• The Bond is issued by Reserve Bank on behalf of Government of India.
• Government introduced these bonds to help reduce India’s over dependence on gold imports.
• The move was also aimed at changing the habits of Indians from saving in physical form of gold to a paper form with Sovereign backing.
• The bonds will be restricted for sale to resident Indian entities, including individuals, Hindu Undivided Family (HUFs), trusts, universities and charitable institutions.
• The bonds will be denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram.
• The tenor will be for a period of 8 years with exit option from the 5th year to be exercised on the interest payment dates.
• The minimum permissible investment limit will be 1 gram of gold, while the maximum limit will be 4 kg for individual, 4 kg for HUF and 20 kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal (April-March) notified by the government from time to time.
• In case of joint holding, the investment limit of 4 kg will be applied to the first applicant only.
• Bonds can be used as collateral for loans.
• The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is to be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by the Reserve Bank from time to time.

Benefits of Soverign Gold Bond

• As a low-risk investment, it is perfect for investors with low-risk appetite.
• Compared to physical gold, the cost to purchase or sell SGBs is quite low.
• The expense of buying or selling the SGB is also nominal in comparison to the physical gold.
• The gold bonds can be availed either in paper or in demat form as per the convenience of an individual.
• The gold bonds invested by the Investors can be gifted or transferred to others who are eligible under the scheme.
• They can also trade these bonds on stock exchanges subject to notifications of the Reserve Bank of India.
• These Gold bonds can be purchased through multiple payment modes such as cheques, cash, DDs or electronic transfer.

Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G)

Why in News?
Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), the flagship programme of the Government of India, recorded another milestone – of 101462 villages declaring themselves as ODF (open defecation free) Plus.

Swachh Bharat Mission

• Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) or Clean India Mission is a country-wide sanitation campaign launched on the day of Gandhi Jayanti, 2014.
• The phase -2 of SBM was announced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in February, 2020 i.e. just preceding the first COVID wave in India.
• The phase -1 concluded in October 2019 with grand declaration of the Nation as Open Defecation Free.
• The Phase -2 emphasizes upon the sustainability of achievements under phase -1 and to provide adequate facilities for Solid/Liquid & plastic waste management in rural India.

Mission coordinator

• Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS),
• Ministry of Jal shakti with two Sub-Missions –
  • Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)
  • Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban).

The Main objectives of SBM are

• Elimination of open defecation,
• Eradication of Manual Scavenging,
• Implementing Modern and scientific municipal solid waste management and
• Bringing behavioural change regarding healthy sanitation practices.

Swachh Bharat Mission (G) Phase-I

• The rural sanitation coverage in the country at the time of launch of SBM (G) on 2nd October, 2014 was reported as 38.7%.
• More than 10 crore individual toilets have been constructed since the launch of the mission; as a result, rural areas in all the States have declared themselves ODF as on 2nd October, 2019.

About SBM(G) Phase-II

• It emphasizes the sustainability of achievements under phase I and to provide adequate facilities for Solid/Liquid & plastic Waste Management (SLWM) in rural India.
• SBM (G) Phase-II will be implemented from 2020-21 to 2024-25 in a mission mode with a total outlay of Rs. 1,40,881 crores.
• The fund sharing pattern between Centre and States will be 90:10 for North-Eastern States and Himalayan States and UT of J&K; 60:40 for other States; and 100% for other Union Territories.
  • Funding Norms for SLWM have been rationalized and changed to per capita basis in place of the number of households.
• The SLWM component of ODF Plus will be monitored on the basis of output-outcome indicators for 4 key areas:
  • Plastic waste management,
  • Biodegradable solid waste management (including animal waste management),
  • Greywater (Household Wastewater) management
  • Fecal sludge management.