- Indian Heritage
- Culture
- Modern Indian history
- The Freedom Struggle
- Post-independence
- Indian Society
A. population and associated issues
B. poverty and developmental issues
C.urbanization
7. Geographical features
8.Indian Constitution
9. Polity
10. Governance
A. institutions
B. regulatory
C. Government policies
National Mineral Policy 2019
The National Mineral Policy, 2019 [NMP 2019], states that minerals are valuable natural resources, which are essential raw materials for the core sectors of the economy. The exploration, extraction, and management of minerals are guided by national goals and perspectives, integrated into the overall strategy of the country’s economic development. NMP 2019 also focuses on promoting domestic industry, reducing import dependency, and contributing to the Make in India initiative. NMP 2019 emphasizes on a fair and transparent allocation of mineral resources to ensure equitable distribution of mineral wealth to serve the common good. NMP 2019 aims to ensure environmentally sustainable mining, with stakeholders’ participation; devolution of benefits of mining to mining-affected persons and areas; maintaining high level of trust among all stakeholders; conducive regulatory environment for ease of doing business in the sector; simpler, transparent, and time-bound procedures for obtaining clearances for mining.
Mineral Conservation and Development Rules (MCDR), 2017 was framed under Section 18 of MMDR Act, 1957 for the mineral conservation, systematic development of minerals and protection of environment by preventing or controlling any pollution which may be caused by prospecting or mining operations. As per Rule 12(1) of MCDR (amendment) 2017, the prospecting and mining operations shall be carried out in such a manner so as to ensure systematic development of mineral deposits, conservation of minerals and protection of the environment. Rule 35 to 44 under Chapter V of MCDR, 2017 is provided for Sustainable Mining. Adequate emphasis has been given on Sustainable Development in Mining areas in the NMP 2019. Further, to implement the Sustainable Development Framework (SDF), Ministry has evolved a system of Star Rating of Mines.
India is not a member of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). However, India has adopted the United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) to report the mineral resources, status of exploration and feasibility of extractions. Further, as per the MMDR Act, 1957 and rules framed thereunder, every lease holder has to adhere to the conditions prescribed under various clearances issued by the different Ministries /Departments of State and Central Government. The lease holders are also mandated to submit the prescribed reports like monthly / annual return, result of exploration, yearly report on progressive mine closure activities, etc. to statutory authorities.
D. role of NGOs
E. measures
11. Social Justice
A. Welfare schemes
NATIONAL LIVESTOCK MISSION: The focus of the scheme is towards employment generation, entrepreneurship development; increase in per animal productivity and thus targeting increased production of meat, goat milk, egg and wool. Under National Livestock Mission, for the first time, the Central Government is providing direct 50% subsidies to the Individuals, SHGs, JLGs, FPOs, Section 8 Companies, FCOs to establish Poultry Farms with Hatcheries and brooder mother units, sheep and goat breed multiplication farm, piggery farm and feed and fodder units. Till date, 1160 applications have been approved by DAHD and Rs 105.99 Crore has been released as subsidy to 498 beneficiaries.
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FUND: For incentivizing investments by individual entrepreneurs, private companies, MSME, Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) and Section 8 companies to establish (i) the dairy processing and value addition infrastructure, (ii) meat processing and value addition infrastructure and (iii) Animal Feed Plant.(iv) Breed improvement Technology and Breed Multiplications farms for Cattle/ Buffalo/Sheep/Goat/ Pig and technologically assisted Poultry farms. So far, 343 Projects sanctioned by banks with total project cost is Rs. 8666.72 crore and out of the total project cost Rs. 5713.64 crore is term loan. Funds of Rs. 50.11 crore have been released during 2023-24.
LIVESTOCK HEALTH AND DISEASE CONTROL PROGRAMME: For prevention, control and containment of animal diseases of economic and zoonotic importance by vaccination. Till date, total number of animals ear tagged are nearly 25.46 crores. So far, 24.18crore animals have been vaccinated in second round of FMD. Round III and IV of FMD vaccination is going on. So far, 12.61 and 1.80 crore animals are vaccinated respectively for Round III and Round IV. So far, 2.71 crore animals have been vaccinated against Brucella. 3.32 crore sheep and goats are vaccinated against PPR, and 28.16 lakh pigs have been vaccinated against CSF. 2896 Mobile Veterinary Units (MVUs) have been procured in 26 States/ UTs, out of which 2237 MVUs are operational in 14 States.
B Health
C. Education
Achievements of New Education Policy
Central Government, State and UT Government have taken several initiatives for implementation of National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) details of which are as under:-
In School Education, a number of initiatives have been taken such as PM SHRI (PM Schools for Rising India) for upgradation of schools (A total of 6448 schools were selected and Rs. 630.11 crore has been released to 6207 PM SHRI schools in 27 States/UTs along with KVS/NVS as first installment); National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat);Vidya-Pravesh–School Preparation Module; PM e-VIDYA for digital/online/on-air education; DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) as One Nation One Digital Platform; National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF FS); Jadui Pitara for children between the age group of 3 to 8 years; National Curriculum Framework for School Education; NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement) 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 an Integrated Teacher Training Programme for different stages of school education; National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR) for creating a unifying national digital infrastructure with 1500+ Micro courses, 5 billions Learning sessions, 12 billion+ QR codes, 20K+ ecosystem participants, 15K+ Micro improvements ongoing across various linked building blocks; “New India Literacy Programme or ULLAS” targeting all non-literates age 15 years and above, etc.
Samagra Shiksha Scheme has been fully aligned with the recommendation of NEP 2020, with a total financial outlay of Rs. 2,94,283.04 crore which includes a Central share of Rs. 1,85,398.32 crore. PM Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojna has also been aligned with the recommendation of NEP 2020.
National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) has been set up to fulfil the objectives of setting norms, standards, guidelines and implement activities related to student assessment.
New policy on weight of School bags with focus on reducing the weight of school bags has been circulated to States/UTs.
4-year Integrated Teacher Education Program has been introduced. Recognition has been granted to 42 institutions including IITs, NITs, RIEs, IGNOU and Government Colleges for the Academic Session 2023-24.
National Mission for Mentoring (NMM) has also been introduced to create a large pool of outstanding professionals who are willing to provide mentoring to school teachers. NMM is being piloted in 30 Central schools. Also, a school volunteer management program namely Vidyanjali has been started to strengthen Government and Government aided schools through community and private sector involvement across the country. So far 671512 Govt. and Govt aided schools have on boarded and 443539 volunteers have registered on the Vidyanjali Portal.
In Higher Education, various initiatives / reforms have been carried out for implementation of NEP 2020. For learner centric education, National Credit Framework (NCrF), National Higher Education Qualification Framework, Academic Bank of Credit (ABC), multiple entry/exit etc. have been introduced. So far 1667 Universities/INIs/HEIs are on boarded on ABC portal & 2.75 Crore students are registered. To ensure access to high quality education with equity and inclusion, courses are being offered in Indian Languages; entrance exams such as JEE, NEET, CUET are conducted in 13 Indian languages; 100 books for UG students on various subjects launched in 12 Indian Languages; and 20 Technical books of first year have been translated in Indian Languages.
To promote digital learning by leveraging technology, at present 95 Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) are offering 1149 ODL programmes and 66 HEIs are offering 371 online programmes. More than 19 lakh students are availing these facilities. To promote multi-disciplinary education and provide flexibility, around 295 Universities have adopted SWAYAM regulation permitting learners to avail upto 40% credit Courses from SWAYAM platform. Over 9 lakhs students earn SWAYAM certificate through a proctored exam every year. These certificates can be utilised for credit transfer by the university in which student is enrolled. Technology enabled Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) based Solutions for Governance of HEIs starting from admission to grant of Degree – Smarter Automation Engine for Universities (SAMARTH) is being extensively used by around 2700 Universities & HEIs covering 32 States / UTs. 7 State Higher Education Departments are also on boarded.
In order to enable HEIs to work with industry experts in developing courses and curriculum to meet the industry and societal needs, initiatives have been taken such as Guidelines on Professor of Practice; MoUs with Cisco/IBM/Meta/Adobe/Microsoft/Sales force etc. to create industry-aligned courses; offering Apprenticeship / Internship embedded Degree Programme by HEIs; Single Unified online portal for internship with total registration of around 10560 HEIs and 73383 industries so far. For promotion of research and innovation, around 7568 Institutions’ Innovation Councils and around 104 Idea Development, Evaluation and Application Labs (IDEA) have been set up.
To promote internationalization, regulation on setting up and operation of campuses of foreign Higher Education Institutions in India have been issued. Also, MOUs have been signed for setting up of campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar- Tanzania and IIT Delhi in Abu Dhabi. Classes have commenced at IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar-Tanzania.
Guidelines for Training/Orientation of Faculty on Indian Knowledge System (IKS), Empanelment of Artists/Artisans–in–Residence in Higher Educational Institutions, Introduction of courses based on Indian heritage and culture, Incorporating Indian Knowledge in Higher Education Curricula and Translation of books into Indian languages have been issued. More than 8000 HEIs have started adopting IKS into their curriculum.
National Credit Framework jointly developed by University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Council for Vocational Education & Training (NCVET), National Institute of Open Schooling( NIOS), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), National Council of Education, Research & Training (NCERT), Directorate General of Training (DGT), Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is a comprehensive credit framework encompassing elementary, school, higher and vocational education and training incorporating creditization of various dimensions of learning i.e. academics, vocational skills and Experiential learning including relevant experience and proficiency/professional levels acquired. It encompasses qualifications frameworks as prescribed in National Higher Education Qualifications Framework (NHEQF), National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) and National Curriculum Framework (NCF), thereby providing broad-based multi-disciplinary / inter-disciplinary, holistic education with flexible curricula, creative combination of subjects, multiple pathways, establishing equivalence, facilitate national and international mobility.
D. Human Resources
E. poverty and hunger
Aadhaar under One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC)
At present, around 99.8% of ration cards have been seeded with Aadhaar for the rightful targeting of Public Distribution System (PDS) beneficiaries in the country. The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) plan has already been implemented by all 36 States/UTs, across the country. Since its inception around 124 Crore portability transactions have been recorded under the ONORC plan, which includes both inter-State and intra-State transactions ensuring the food security of around 80 Crore beneficiaries in the country. ONORC plan is proving to be especially beneficial to the migrant labourers, internally displaced persons (IDPs) etc. who frequently change their place of dwelling in search of temporary employment. Under the plan, the beneficiaries are empowered to lift their entitled foodgrain from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of their choice, anywhere in the country, by using their existing ration card/Aadhaar card with biometric authentication on an electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) device. ONORC also enables the family members of such migrant beneficiaries back home (in the village/hometown) to lift the part / balance foodgrains on the same ration card. ONORC has also facilitated the migrant beneficiaries/ family members to choose any FPS of their choice without being dependent on visiting only the tagged FPS in their ration cards. Such flexibility was not available earlier under the traditional PDS.
Due to Aadhaar seeding and installation of ePoS devices at the FPSs, at present, around 97% transactions in the country are done in a transparent manner through biometric authentication by use of ePoS devices on a monthly basis. This Department has extended the timeline given to the States/UTs, under the Notification dated 08/02/2017 (as amended from time to time) issued in exercise of Section-7 of the Aadhaar Act 2016, for completing the Aadhaar seeding of ration cards up to 31/03/2024. Until then, all States/UTs have been advised that no genuine beneficiary/household shall be deleted from the list of eligible ration cards/ beneficiaries and shall not be denied their entitled quota of foodgrains to Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) beneficiaries only for want of Aadhaar number or only on the ground of not possessing an Aadhaar number, failure of biometric authentication due to network/ connectivity/ linking issues or any other technical reasons etc.
However, till the Aadhaar is assigned to the beneficiaries, either of the eight identification documents shall be used for identification purpose i.e. (Voter ID Card, PAN Card, Passport, Driving License, Certificate of Identity with photo issued by Gazetted Officer/Tahsildar on official letter head, Address card having Name and Photo issued by Department of Posts, Kissan Photo Passbook and any other document as specified by State/UT Governments)
7th ECONOMIC CENSUS
The fieldwork of 7th Economic Census has been completed. As regards to results of 7th Economic Census, 12 States/UTs have not approved the provisional results and it is pending in 10 States/UTs for decision on approval. Therefore, nationwide 7th Economic Census results could not be finalized.
West Bengal is the only state that has not participated in the 7th Economic Census. Although numerous consultations and communications between the Ministry and Government of West Bengal officials were made at various level, it could not fructify.
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Mining & quarrying sector data are being received from West Bengal government and are used for compilation of Gross Value of Output and Gross Value Added for estimation of Gross Domestic Product of the country by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.
12. International relations
A. India and its neighbourhood
B. groupings and agreements
C.Indian diaspora
13. Economic Development
A. Government Budgeting
Government takes various export promotion initiatives like New Foreign Trade Policy, extension of Interest Equalization Scheme on pre and post shipment rupee export credit, etc.
Government has taken the following export promotion initiatives:-
i New Foreign Trade Policy was launched on 31st March, 2023 and it came into effect from 1st April, 2023.
ii Interest Equalization Scheme on pre and post shipment rupee export credit has also been extended upto 30-06-2024 with additional allocation of Rs. 2500 crores.
iii Assistance provided through several schemes to promote exports, namely, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) and Market Access Initiatives (MAI) Scheme.
iv Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) Scheme to promote labour oriented sector export has been implemented since 07.03.2019.
v Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme has been implemented since 01.01.2021. With effect from 15.12.2022, uncovered sectors like pharmaceuticals, organic and inorganic chemicals and article of iron and steel has been covered under RoDTEP. Similarly, anomalies in 432 tariff lines have been addressed and the corrected rates have been implemented with effect from 16.01.2023.
vi Common Digital Platform for Certificate of Origin has been launched to facilitate trade and increase Free Trade Agreement (FTA) utilization by exporters.
vii Districts as Export Hubs initiative has been launched by identifying products with export potential in each district, addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products and supporting local exporters/manufacturers to generate employment in the district.
viii Active role of Indian missions abroad towards promoting India’s trade, tourism, technology and investment goals has been enhanced.
ix Regular monitoring of export performance with Commercial Missions abroad, Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards/ Authorities and Industry Associations and taking corrective measures from time to time.
Following measures have been taken by the Government to maximize the growth of domestic markets and to expand its reach globally;-
i. Pradhan Mantri Gari Shakti
ii. National Logistics Policy
iii. National Industrial Corridor Development Programme
iv. GIS enabled Land Bank- India Industrial Land Bank (IILB)
v. Industrial Park Rating System (IPRS)
vi. Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI)
vii. Make In India
viii. Startup India
ix. One District One Product
x. National Single Window System
A new Chapter has been introduced within the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), 2023 that aims to promote e-Commerce exports by bringing such exporters under the ambit of various export promotion schemes of the Government. In line with the special emphasis laid in the FTP 2023 on e-commerce exports, the outreach events are being held in the districts under Districts as Export hubs initiative with focus on promoting e-commerce exports of the identified goods from the districts in collaboration with various stakeholders including the e-commerce platforms, various concerned central and state government departments such as the Department of Posts, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Banks, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Export Promotion Councils, Local Trade Associations/Chambers of Commerce, District Industries Centers, etc.
B. industrial
PM GatiShakti National Master Plan to provide multimodal connectivity infrastructure to various economic zones
Hon’ble Prime Minister launched the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) on 13th October2021 for providing multimodal connectivity infrastructure to various economic zones. PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan provides a comprehensive database of the trunk & utility infrastructure, ongoing & future projects of various Infra structure and Economic Ministries/Departments of Central Government and States/UTs. This data is integrated with the GIS-enabled PM Gati Shakti platform, there by facilitating the integrated planning, designing, and monitoring of the Next Generation infrastructure projects on a single portal.
Economic Zones like textile clusters, pharmaceutical clusters, defence corridors, electronic parks, industrial corridors, fishing clusters, agri zones etc. are being mapped for integrated infrastructure planning and make Indian businesses more cost-competitive. This will boost economic growth, attract foreign investments while de-risking investments by visualizing the connectivity, and enhance the country’s global competitiveness in export markets.
While the development of integrated infrastructure development is addressed through the PM Gati Shakti NMP, efficiency in services (like processes, digital systems, and regulatory frame work) and human resources is addressed by the National Logistics Policy, 2022 through its Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan (CLAP). NMP and National Logistics Policy together provide a framework for creating a data-driven decision support mechanism for an efficient logistics ecosystem aimed at reducing logistics costs and enhancing logistics efficiency in the country.
PM Gati Shakti is a Whole-of-Government approach adopted to facilitate integrated planning of multimodal infrastructure through collaboration among the concerned Ministries. So far, the Logistics Division of DPIIT has conducted 62 Network Planning Group (NPG) meetings to assess the comprehensive area-based socio-economic development of infrastructure projects.
The feedback from various Ministries has been received; inter-alia Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is using PM Gati Shakti for ground surveys, land records, and highway alignments resulting insaving time and costs in the planning of projects; Ministry of Petroleumand Natural Gas utilizes NMP’s electronic Detail Route Survey (eDRS) to generate reports in a shorter span of time; Ministry of Railways has finalised Final Location Survey (FLS) in FY2021-22 at a much faster rate as compared toFY2020-21,to cite a few examples.
Further, the PM Gati Shakti institutional mechanism has been adopted by States/UTs and NPG meetings are also being organized at State/UT level to assess last and first-mile connectivity gaps and ensure seamless movement of people, goods &services.
E.issues
14. Technology
15. Environment
16. Security
17. Disaster Management