- 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
D. role of NGOs
E. measures
11. Social Justice
A. Welfare schemes
National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC)
National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) is a Govt. Corporation under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013, under the administrative control of Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. The Corporation has been set up to promote Socio-Economic development of Backward Sections amongst the Minority Communities through the State Channelising Agencies (SCAs) nominated by the respective State Governments/UT Administration and Canara Bank, preference being given to the occupational group and women. The Central Government has notified six Minorities viz. Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists Parsis, & Jains under the National Minorities Commission Act, 1992.
During F.Y. 2022-23, NMDFC had achieved highest ever credit disbursement to the tune of Rs. 881.70 Cr. covering over 2.05 lakh beneficiaries as against disbursement of Rs. 700.00 Cr. covering over 1.60 lakh beneficiaries in 2021-22.Further, since inception NMDFC has disbursed more than Rs. 8,300 Crs. covering over 22.5 lakh beneficiaries out of which more than 85% beneficiaries are women.
NMDFC launched Software namely MILAN (Minority Loan Accounting Software for NMDFC) to digitize loan accounting processes between applicants, SCAs & NMDFC including integration of MIS portal of NMDFC on which data of 12 lakhs beneficiaries is available. Android and IOS version of MILAN Mobile app has also been launched.
Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC- PMKSY)
Watershed development programmes have proved to be the most suitable solution to the problems of land degradation, soil erosion, water scarcity, climatic uncertainties etc. In this context, WDC-PMKSY contributes substantially towards enhancing agricultural production & productivity, reducing poverty & improving livelihoods especially in rural areas, mitigation of the adverse effects of droughts and restoration of ecological balance in the long run.
Through the implementation of 6382 WDC-PMKSY projects (sanctioned from 2009-10 to 2014-15) funded by DoLR, significant progress has been registered. Between 2014-15 and 2021-22, 7.65 lakh water harvesting structures have been created / rejuvenated, 16.41 lakh ha additional area has been brought under protective irrigation and 36.34 lakh farmers benefited. In addition to this, about 1.63 lakh ha area has been brought under plantation (Afforestation / Horticulture etc.) and 388.66 lakh man days have been generated from 2018-19 to 2021-22. The third party end-line evaluation reports of the completed WDC-PMKSY projects have also revealed significant improvement in ground water table, increase in productivity, vegetative cover, enhanced livelihood opportunities and household incomes in watershed project areas.
Government of India approved continuation of programme as WDC-PMKSY 2.0 for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a physical target of 49.5 lakh ha and an indicative financial outlay of Rs. 8,134 crore, as the Central share. DoLR has till date sanctioned 1149 projects to 28 States and 2 UTs of J&K and Ladakh. So far, Central share of Rs. 2912.93 crore has been released to States /UTs. The physical progress achieved under WDC 2.0 inter alia includes, creation /rejuvenation of 78756 water harvesting structures, 83342 ha additional area has been brought under protective irrigation and 471282 farmers benefited.
National Programme on Anganwadi-cum-Crèche (Palna)
A National Level Programme on Anganwadi-Cum-Crèche Under Palna was held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi today (21tst December 2023) to release the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the scheme. The Anganwadi-Cum- Crèche initiative under the Palna Scheme underwent revisions and was included as part of the Samarthya sub-component of Mission Shakti, starting from April 2022. The central aim of Anganwadi-cum- Crèches is to meet the demand for quality childcare facilities and enable women to actively participate in the workforce.
The programme started with an inaugural session under the chairpersonship of Union Minister of Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani in the presence of Minister of State for Ministry of Women and Child Development and AYUSH, Government of India Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai. The other dignitaries that graced the occasion included Shri Indevar Pandey, Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India; Ms. Arti Ahuja, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India; Shri. Inder Deep Singh Dhariwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India and Ms. Rajul Bhatt, Joint Secretary, Department of Personnel & Training, Government of India. The event was attended by senior officers from MoWCD, State WCD Officers, CDPOs, Lady Supervisors, Anganwadi Workers from across the country and experts from Civil Society Organisations.
B Health
C. Education
D. Human Resources.
Atmanirbhar Bharat RozgarYojana (ABRY) To boost employment generation and to minimize socio-economic compact of Covid-19 pandemic, Ministry of Labour & Employment on 30.12.2020 notified EPFO-linked Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) scheme. As on 05th December 2023 total benefits of Rs. 10,043.02 Crore have been given to 60.48 lakhs beneficiaries through 1,52,499 Establishments under ABRY.
National Career Service (NCS)
- National Career Service (NCS) Project is a Mission Mode Project launched on 20.07.2015 for transformation of the National Employment Service to provide a variety of employment related services in an online mode like job matching, career counseling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, apprenticeship, internships etc. through a digital platform [www.ncs.gov.in]. As on 30th November 2023, NCS platform has more than 3.64 crore registered Jobseekers, 19.15 Lakh employers and more than 1.92 crore vacancies since its launch in 2015. The portal has registered unprecedented more than 13.49 lakh active vacancies during November, 2023.
- NCS portal is integrated with 28 State/UTs to develop a comprehensive pan-India network. Besides states, NCS has also established integration with multiple private portals like monster.com, Freshersworld, HireMee, TCS-iON, Quikr, Quess Corp etc. to post vacancies. NCS is interlinked with Skill India portal of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Udyam Portal (MSME), e-Shram, EPFO, ESIC, DigiLocker etc. aimed to create an ease for NCS stakeholders to get maximum benefit from NCS portal.
- Ministry will soon launch advance version namely NCS 2.0 to facilitate better job matching and search facility for jobseekers along with recommendation engine for skilling by the use of latest technologies and leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI ) & Machine Learning (ML). Thereby facilitating Jobseekers in getting decent jobs as per their skills and will help employers in fulling their requirement.
E. poverty and hunger
12. International relations
A. India and its neighbourhood
french President Emmanuel Macron as Chief Guest at 75th Republic Day
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi looks forward to welcoming French President Emmanuel Macron as Chief Guest at 75th Republic Day.
Replying to a post on X by President Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister said:
“My Dear Friend President Emmanuel Macron, we eagerly look forward to receiving you as the Chief Guest at the 75th Republic Day. We will also celebrate India- France strategic partnership and shared belief in democratic values. Bientôt !”
Inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage List
The 45th World Heritage Committee meeting was held in 2023 at Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) wherein Santiniketan and Hoysala temples (Sacred Ensembles of Hoysalas) from India were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Santiniketan in West Bengal is a university set up by the Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, based on ancient Indian traditions and reflecting his vision and philosophy of recognizing unity of humanity or ‘Visva Bharati’. The Sacred Ensembles of Hoysalas comprise three magnificent 13th century temples of the Hoysala Dynasty in Karnataka, namely Hoysalesvara Temple Helebidu, Channakeshava Temple Belur, and Keshava Temple Somnathapur. This takes India’s World Heritage Sites to 42 (Cultural-34, Natural- 7, Mix-1), putting India in the 6th position for the maximum number of sites on the World Heritage list of UNESCO.
In 2023, Gwalior and Kozhikode were included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as creative cities of Music and Literature respectively.
‘Garba of Gujarat’ has been inscribed on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
B. groupings and agreements
C.Indian diaspora
13. Economic Development
A. Government Budgeting
International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)
he Prime Minister, during his speech at the Infinity Forum 2.0, emphasised making IFSC a global hub of Sustainable Finance. International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has undertaken numerous regulatory initiatives for development of financial instruments at IFSC to facilitate capital flows towards climate action in India and other developing countries. These initiatives have led to listing of $10.1 billion ESG-labelled debt securities, issuance of more than $700 million green/sustainable loans, and set-up of an ESG Engagement Fund at IFSC.
Despite the significant global growth in instruments for financing environmentally friendly activities, in the past few years, the mobilization of funds has been more inclined to certain sectors of the economy, whose activities are related to near-zero carbon emissions. The need of the hour is to fund the transition journey of all sectors, especially hard-to-abate sectors, in order to achieve Paris agreement goals and SDGs. In this context, transition finance instruments such as transition bonds, transition loans etc. have emerged as an alternative to address the financing gap needed to achieve Paris agreement goals and which is inclusive of sectors and geographies across industries.
Taking into consideration the critical need for transition finance, the development of such financing instruments being at a nascent stage, and lack of globally recognized framework as in the case of green/sustainable labelled debt securities, IFSCA has formed an expert committee on Transition Finance consisting of representation from industry, standard setters, consultants, think tanks etc. to recommend a regulatory framework for transition finance instruments and measures to promote transition finance through GIFT IFSC.
B. industrial
E.issues
14. Technology
15. Environment
Green Credit Programme (GCP)
Green Credit Initiative was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on the side-lines of COP 28. It is an initiative within the governments Lifestyle for Environment or LIFE movement. The Green Credit Rules, 2023, has been notified on 12th October 2023 under the Environment Protection Act 1986. These rules put in place a mechanism to encourage voluntary environmental positive actions resulting in issuance of green credits. In its initial phase, voluntary tree plantation is envisaged on degraded land, waste land, watershed area etc. under the control and management of Forest departments.
The generation of Green Credit under Green Credit Rules, 2023 is independent of the carbon credit under Carbon Credit Trading Scheme 2023.
Governance structure of GCP includes the steering committee members from concerned ministries/departments, experts and institutions. Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) is designated as GCP administrator and is responsible for implementation and management of GCP. Digital process of GCP includes dedicated web platform and GC registry for streamlining the operations. In addition to these methodologies and guidelines, including registration, accounting and GC issuance monitoring ensures the transparency and accountability of GCP.
28th Session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28)
An inter-ministerial delegation from India attended the 28th Session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 30th November’2023 to 13th December’2023. The major outcome from COP 28 included the decision on Outcome of the First Global Stocktake, ratcheting up global climate ambition before the end of the decade and agreement on the operationalization of loss and damage fund. These global efforts will be taken up by the countries in a nationally determined manner taking into account the Paris Agreement and their different national circumstances.
Mission LiFE, was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on 20th October 2022. At the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP26), Hon’ble PM had announced Mission LiFE, to bring individual behaviours at the forefront of the global climate action narrative. LiFE has been acknowledged by various international foras, including IPCC Climate Change 2022, Mitigation of Climate Change Working Group III Report, 2022, Cover decision of Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, 2022, G7 Communique adopted in Sapporo, Japan, 2023, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Communique, 2023., G20 Leaders’ Declaration, 2023 and 9th G20 Parliamentary Speakers Summit (P20) and Parliamentary Forum, 2023. I
india Cooling Action Plan: India is the first country in the world to develop a comprehensive Cooling Action Plan, which seeks to provide an integrated vision towards cooling across sectors encompassing inter alia reducing cooling demand, refrigerant transition, enhancing energy efficiency and better technology options with a 20-year time horizon. During Hydro Chlorofluorocarbons Phase Out Management Plan (HPMP) Stage-II implementation, India completely phased out the use of Hydro chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)- 141b in manufacturing of rigid foam, the first among the developing countries to achieve the milestone. As against target of 35% reduction from the baseline as on 1.1.2020, India achieved a reduction of 44%, highlighting India’s efforts in protection of the stratospheric ozone layer.
Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023: To achieve the country’s national as well as international commitments of NDCs, carbon neutrality, eliminate the ambiguities and bring clarity about the applicability of the Act in various lands, promoting the plantation in non-forest land, enhancing the productivity of the forests, amendment in the existing Act has been made by promulgating the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023. During last two years, the Forest Conservation Division has issued approximately 60 guidelines or clarifications to further streamline the process of approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
16. Security
INDIAN OCEAN NAVAL SYMPOSIUM (IONS) – 2023
The 8th edition of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Conclave of Chiefs (CoC) is being hosted by Royal Thai Navy at Bangkok, Thailand from 19 – 22 Dec 23. Adm R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, is leading a three-member Indian Naval delegation for the Conclave.
IONS was conceived by the Indian Navy in 2008 as a forum which seeks to enhance maritime co-operation among Navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region. IONS provides an open and inclusive platform for discussions on regionally relevant maritime issues that would lead to common understanding on the way ahead. The inaugural edition of IONS was held in Feb 2008 at New Delhi, with Indian Navy as the Chair for two years (2008 – 2010).
The 8th Conclave is being attended by Chiefs of Navies/ Heads of Maritime Agencies of IONS countries and would witness transfer of IONS Chairmanship from France to Thailand. A Seminar on the theme ‘Blue Economy: Ways Forward for Sustainable Development of IONS Member States’, is being conducted on the side-lines of CoC. Cmde Manmeet S Khurana, Cmde (Foreign Cooperation) from Indian Navy would be presenting a paper on ‘Security is Foundation for Peaceful and Sustainable Blue Economy’. Various bilateral interactions are also being conducted on the side-lines of the Conclave to facilitate a greater degree of maritime cooperation and understanding between the IONS countries.
India would take over the Chair of IONS (2025-27) during the 9th CoC planned to be conducted in India in end 2025.
17. Disaster Management