Government Policy

The central government promulgated an Ordinance that undid the unanimous verdict of a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court. The Central government promulgated an Ordinance extending the powers of the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) over services in the administration of the national capital. These powers essentially involve the power to transfer and appoint …

An animal, Susan, goes about her life, doing all the things that an animal of Susan’s sort would. But while pursuing her goals, she runs into various hurdles, a few frivolous, and unimportant to her life, and a few that are more serious — an illness, a storm that wrecks …

The government is considering restructuring the priority sector lending (PSL) scheme to allow deposits made by banks in the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) and such other funds to qualify as exposure under PSL. What are the norms for PSL? Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations require banks to allocate 40% …

Aadhaar-enabled Payment Services (AePS) is a bank-led model which allows online financial transactions at Point-of-Sale (PoS) and Micro ATMs through the business correspondent of any bank using Aadhaar authentication. There is no need for OTPs, bank account details, and other financial details for AePS. It allows fund transfers using only the bank name, Aadhaar number, and fingerprint captured during Aadhaar enrolment. Are …

Secretary, the Ministry of MSME presided over BizAmp, an outreach programme organized by the Ministry of MSME. It was organized in association with NSIC Venture Capital Fund Limited (NVCFL) under its Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund. Aim: The programme, aimed at empowering MSMEs from the North Eastern States and amplifying their businesses utilizing benefits under SRI Fund. BizAmp is the first …

The Government has approved Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) recently. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. Comprehensive development of villages of blocks on the northern border to improve the quality of life of people living in identified border villages. Development of essential infrastructure and creation of livelihood opportunities Time period: It is approved for the Financial Years 2022-23 to …

This week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the synthesis report of its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) cycle, drawing together key findings from its six most recent reports. The report gains added legitimacy as its summary for policymakers is approved line-by-line by governments of the world. The United …

The Union Finance Ministry’s reiteration in the Rajya Sabha recently, of the legal position, i.e., the absence of any provision to allow the accumulated corpus of members of the National Pension System (NPS) to be “refunded and deposited back” to States, should have a deterrent effect on those States contemplating …

Prime Minister of India launched the ‘Call Before u Dig’ (CBuD) app recently. To facilitate coordination between excavation agencies and underground utility owners to prevent damage to utilities due to digging. To prevent damage to underlying assets like optical fiber cables that occurs because of uncoordinated digging and excavation. Implementing Authority: It is an initiative of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry …

As the deadline for completing the Smart Cities Mission approaches, the government has asked 20 of the worst performing cities — ones that have completed the fewest projects under the mission — to buck up. Smart Cities Mission The Smart Cities Mission is an initiative of the Union Housing and Urban …