Soil Health Card Scheme

• The Government has introduced Soil Health Card Scheme in all States/UTs with an aim to assist all State Governments to evaluate fertility in all farm holdings across the country and issue soil health cards to farmers regularly in a cycle of 2 years.
• Soil Health Cards provide information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients to be applied for improving soil health and its fertility.
• Launched by the central government in February 2015, the scheme is tailor-made to issue ‘Soil card’ to farmers which will carry crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilizers required for the individual farms. 
• This is aimed to help farmers to improve productivity through judicious use of inputs.
• In order to improve quality of soil and ultimately for better nutrient values and higher yields, experts say while at present, general fertilizer recommendations are followed by farmers for primary nutrients, the secondary and micro nutrients are often overlooked. 
• This has become a limiting factor in increasing food productivity. The Soil Health Card scheme will address these.
• At present, general fertilizer recommendations are followed by farmers for primary nutrients (N, P & K). 
• However, secondary and micro nutrients are often overlooked leading to deficiency of nutrients like Sulphur, Zinc and Boron. 
• Keeping this in view, Government of India is promoting soil test based balanced and judicious use of chemical fertilizers, along with bio-fertilizers and locally available organic manures.
• It is for the first time that Government of India has launched Soil Health Card scheme to cover 14 crore holdings once in a cycle of 3 years to promote soil management practices and restore soil health.
• Nationally agreed norms / standards of 10 ha for rainfed areas and 2.5 ha for irrigated areas will be applied for soil sample collection. 
• By implication, a total of 2.53 crore samples will be collected and tested to generate 14 crore soil health cards to individual farmers, once in 3 years.  
• The target for the year 2015-16 is 84 lakh of samples, against which 34 lakh samples have already been collected.

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)

v  Groups of farmers would be motivated to take up organic farming under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY). 

• Fifty or more farmers will form a cluster having 50 acre land to take up the organic farming under the scheme. 

v  In this way during three years 10,000 clusters will be formed covering 5.0 lakh acre area under organic farming. There will be no liability on the farmers for expenditure on certification.

v  Every farmer will be provided Rs. 20,000 per acre in three years for seed to harvesting of crops and to transport produce to the market.

v  Organic farming will be promoted by using traditional resources and the organic products will be linked with the market.

v  It will increase domestic production and certification of organic produce by involving farmers

v  In order to implement the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana in Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana in the year 2015-16, an amount of Rs.300 crore has been allocated.

National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS)

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, through the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, has conducted National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS-4) 2015-16.

• As per the Survey, in the age group of 15-49 years, 8.0% of men and 5.8% of women in India have high random blood sugar levels and 13.6% men and 8.8% women are hypertensive.

• World Health Organization (WHO) has been part of several consultations on preparation and control of NCDs including Diabetes and Hypertension. 

Government of India has launched the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) which is implemented for interventions up to District level under the National Health Mission.

• NPCDCS has a focus on awareness generation for behaviour and life-style changes, screening and early diagnosis of persons with high level of risk factors and there treatment and referral (if required) to higher facilities for appropriate management for those Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) including diabetes and hypertension.

Government of India has also initiated a programme on population level screening of Common Non-Communicable Diseases such as Diabetes, Hypertension and Common Cancers viz. Oral, Breast and Cervical Cancer.

• Under this programme, the frontline health workers such as ASHAs and ANMs, inter alia, are being leveraged to carry out screening and generate awareness about the risk factors of NCDs among the masses. 

India is the first country globally to adopt the NCD Global Monitoring Framework and Action Plan to its National Context. 

• The Framework includes a set of nine voluntary targets and 25 indicators which can be applied across regional and country settings. 
• The framework elements include 
• halting the rise in obesity and diabetes prevalence, 
• reduction in alcohol use and 
• promotion of physical activity. 

The Central Government, through its hospitals, augments the efforts of the State Governments for providing health services in the country. 

• Under PMSSY 6 new AIIMS have been made operational. 
• Upgradation of identified Government medical colleges/institutions, for higher speciality facilities has been undertaken.
• All these will augment facilities for prevention, control and treatment of Diabetes, Hypertension and Heart Disease. 

FAME – India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India)

Government of India approved the National Mission on Electric Mobility in 2011 and subsequently National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 was unveiled in 2013.

FAME-India:- 

• As part of the mission, Department of Heavy Industry has formulated a scheme namely FAME – India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India).
• The overall scheme is proposed to be implemented over a period of 6 years, till 2020, wherein it is intended 
• To support the hybrid/electric vehicles market development and its manufacturing eco-system 
• To achieve self-sustenance at the end of the stipulated period.
• The FAME India Scheme is aimed at incentivising all vehicle segments i.e. 2 Wheeler, 3 Wheeler Auto, Passenger 4 Wheeler Vehicle, Light Commercial Vehicles and Buses.
• The scheme covers Hybrid & Electric technologies like Mild Hybrid, Strong Hybrid, Plug in Hybrid & Battery Electric Vehicles.  
• The scheme has 4 focus areas i.e.
  • Technology Development,
  • Demand Creation,
  • Pilot Projects and
  • Charging Infrastructure. 
• Under FAME-India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India) Scheme of the Government, Department of Heavy Industry has extended demand incentives @ Rs. 127.77 Crore for purchase of 1,11,897 Electric/Hybrid vehicles since inception of the Scheme on 1st April, 2015 till February, 2017. 
• The Phase-1 of the scheme is being implemented over a 2 year period i.e. FY 2015-16 and FY 2016-17 commencing from 1st April 2015 with approved outlay of Rs. 795 Crore.
• Based on the outcome and experience gained in the Phase I (2 years), the scheme shall be reviewed appropriately with inputs from stakeholders and shall be considered for implementation post 31st March, 2017 with appropriate allocation of fund in the future. 

Implementation of Crop Insurance Schemes

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) was launched from Kharif 2016 to provide comprehensive insurance coverage for all food crops (cereals, millets & pulses), oilseeds crops and annual commercial/horticultural crops against all non-preventable natural risks. 

• This is however subject to yield data being made available for the particular crop for a sufficient number of years and the capacity of State Governments to conduct requisite number of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) to assess the yield loss. 
• The highlights of this scheme are as under:
• There will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops. 
• In case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers will be only 5%. 
• The premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low and balance premium will be paid by the Government to provide full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of natural calamities.
• There is no upper limit on Government subsidy. 
• Even if balance premium is 90%, it will be borne by the Government. 
• Earlier, there was a provision of capping the premium rate which resulted in low claims being paid to farmers. 
• This capping was done to limit Government outgo on the premium subsidy. This capping has now been removed and farmers will get claim against full sum insured without any reduction.
• The use of technology will be encouraged to a great extent. Smart phones will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers. 
• Remote sensing will be used to reduce the number of crop cutting experiments. 
• The new Crop Insurance Scheme is in line with One Nation – One Scheme theme. 
• It incorporates the best features of all previous schemes and at the same time, all previous shortcomings/weaknesses have been removed.

er Crop Insurance Scheme - Comparison

No	Feature	NAIS [1999]	MNAIS [2010]	PM Crop Insurance Scheme
1	Premium rate	Low	High	Lower than even NAIS (Govt to contribute 5 times that of farmer)
2	One Season – One Premium	Yes	No	Yes
3	Insurance Amount cover	Full	Capped	Full
4	On Account Payment	No	Yes	Yes
5	Localised Risk coverage	No	Hail storm Land slide	Hail storm Land slide Inundation
6	Post Harvest Losses coverage	No	Coastal areas - for cyclonic rain	All India – for cyclonic + unseasonal rain
7	Prevented Sowing coverage	No	Yes	Yes
8	Use of Technology (for quicker settlement of claims)	No	Intended	Mandatory
9	Awareness	No	No	Yes (target to double coverage to 50%)

One Nation – One Scheme: best features of all previous schemes incorporated + all previous shortcomings / weaknesses removed

Perennial horticultural crops can also be insured under Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS).  

• Inclusion of crops and areas under the PMFBY/RWBCIS are however, decided/notified by the concerned State Governments.   
• NAIS and MNAIS have been discontinued from Kharif 2016, but the ongoing Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) and Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme would continue to operate while premium to be paid under WBCIS has been brought on a par with PMFBY.
• The Agriculture ministry has empaneled state-owned Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC) and 10 private companies including ICICI-Lombard General Insurance, HDFC-ERGO General Insurance, IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance and SBI General Insurance, for implementation of the mega scheme.

The Central Government on its part, has continuously persuaded the State Governments to notify maximum number of crops and areas under crop insurance schemes, so that the coverage can be enhanced from the present level of about 30% of cropped area in 2016-17 to  50% of cropped  area over the next two years. 

This is the first year of implementation of PMFBY/RWBCIS and 23 States implemented the schemes during Kharif 2016 and 25 States and 3 Union Territories during Rabi 2016-17. 

Disparities among States in coverage is  attributable to the schemes being optional for States, notification by States of food and oilseeds crops & annual commercial/horticultural crops on selective basis, poor infrastructure of insurance companies for coverage of non-loanee farmers etc.   

Apart from these factors, coverage of farmers differs from State to State also due to perception of risk of areas and crops, being higher in more risky areas and crops.  

Government is keeping a close watch on the implementation/progress of the schemes which are being monitored at the highest level and through weekly video conferences with State Governments, insurance companies and financial institutions.  

Due to the improved features of the new schemes and efforts made by the Government, coverage under PMFBY/RWBCIS has increased substantially over that of the erstwhile schemes.

Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES)

The Scheme is focussed on addressing the needs of the exporters. The focus is not just to create infrastructure but to make sure it is professionally run and sustained. 

Total Budget is Rs. 600 cr. to be used in the next three financial years (Rs. 200 cr. each year)

• There will be an Empowered Committee to periodically review the progress of the approved projects in the Scheme and will take necessary steps to ensure achievement of the objectives of the Scheme.
• The proposals of the implementing agencies for funding will be considered by an inter ministerial Empowered Committee specially constituted for this Scheme to be chaired by the Commerce Secretary.
• While appraising the project the justification, including the intended benefit in terms of addressing the specific export bottlenecks, would be evaluated. 

Projects to be Supported:-

• The scheme would provide assistance for setting up and up-gradation of infrastructure projects with overwhelming export linkages like the Border Haats, Land customs stations, quality testing and certification labs, cold chains, trade promotion centres, dry ports, export warehousing and packaging, SEZs and ports/airports cargo terminuses. 
• Last and first mile connectivity projects related to export logistics will also be considered.
  About TIES:-
•  After delinking of the ASIDE Scheme in 2015, the State Governments have been consistently requesting the support of the Centre in creation of export infrastructure.
• This support is imperative to act as an inducement to the States to channelize funds from their increased devolution towards creation of export infrastructure.
• The objective of the proposed scheme is to enhance export competitiveness by bridging gaps in export infrastructure, creating focused export infrastructure, first mile and last mile connectivity for export-oriented projects and addressing quality and certification measures.
• The Central and State Agencies, including Export Promotion Councils, Commodities Boards, SEZ Authorities and Apex Trade Bodies recognised under the EXIM policy of Government of India; are eligible for financial support under this scheme.
• The Central Government funding will be in the form of grant-in-aid, normally not more than the equity being put in by the implementing agency or 50% of the total equity in the project. (In case of projects located in North Eastern States and Himalayan States including J&K, this grant can be upto 80% of the total equity).
• The grant in aid shall, normally, be subject to a ceiling of Rs 20 Cr for each infrastructure project.
• The implementing agencies shall provide details of the financing tie-ups for the projects which will be considered before approval of the project.
• Disbursement of funds shall be done after financial closure is achieved.

Sagar Mala project

Sagar Mala project is a strategic and customer-oriented initiative of the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India to 

• Modernize India's Ports so that port-led development can be augmented and coastlines can be developed to contribute in India's growth.
• It looks towards transforming the existing Ports into modern world class Ports and
• integrate the development of the Ports, the Industrial clusters and hinterland and efficient evacuation systems 
• through road, rail, inland and coastal waterways resulting in Ports becoming the drivers of economic activity in coastal areas.

Six megaports are planned in Sagarmala project.

West Bengal	Sagar Island
Tamil Nadu	Sirkhaji, Enayam
Maharashtra	Wadhwan
Karnataka	Belikeri
Orissa	Paradip Outer Harbour

• The prime objective of the Sagarmala project is 
• to promote port-led direct and indirect development and 
• to provide infrastructure to transport goods to and from ports quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.
• Therefore, the Sagarmala Project shall, inter alia, aim to develop access to new development regions with inter-modal solutions and promotion of the optimum modal split, enhanced connectivity with main economic centres and beyond through expansion of rail, inland water, coastal and road services. 

The Sagarmala initiative will address challenges by focusing on three pillars of development, namely

• (i) Supporting and enabling Port-led Development through appropriate policy and institutional interventions and providing for an institutional framework for ensuring inter-agency and ministries/departments/states’ collaboration for integrated development,
• (ii) Port Infrastructure Enhancement, including modernization and setting up of new ports, and
• (iii) Efficient Evacuation to and from hinterland. In addition to strengthening port and evacuation infrastructure, it also aims at simplifying procedures used at ports for cargo movement and promotes usage of electronic channels for information exchange leading to quick, efficient, hassle-free and seamless cargo movement. 

For a comprehensive and integrated planning for “Sagarmala”, a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for the entire coastline shall be prepared within six months which will identify potential geographical regions to be called Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs).

• While preparing the NPP, synergy and integration with planned Industrial Corridors, Dedicated Freight Corridors, National Highway Development Programme, Industrial Clusters and SEZs would be ensured.

• Detailed Master Plans will be prepared for identified Coastal Economic Zones leading to identification of projects and preparation of their detailed project reports. 

National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC):-

• A National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC) is envisaged for overall policy guidance and high level coordination, and to review various aspects of planning and implementation of the plan and projects.
• The NSAC shall be chaired by the Minister incharge of Shipping, with Cabinet Ministers from stakeholder Ministries and Chief Ministers/Ministers incharge of ports of maritime states as members.
• This committee, while providing policy direction and guidance for the initiative’s implementation, shall approve the overall National Perspective Plan (NPP) and review the progress of implementation of these plans. 

Sagarmala Coordination and Steering Committee (SCSC):-

At the National Level, Sagarmala Coordination and Steering Committee (SCSC) shall be constituted under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary with Secretaries of the Ministries of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Tourism, Defence, Home Affairs, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Departments of Revenue, Expenditure, Industrial Policy and Promotion, Chairman, Railway Board and CEO, NITI Aayog as members. 

• This Committee will provide coordination between various ministries, state governments and agencies connected with implementation and review the progress of implementation of the National Perspective Plan, Detailed Master Plans and projects. 
• It will, inter alia, consider issues relating to funding of projects and their implementation. 
• This Committee will also examine financing options available for the funding of projects, the possibility of public-private partnership in project financing/construction/ operation. 

Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) :-

• At the Central level, Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) will be set up under the Companies Act, 1956 to assist the State level/zone level Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), as well as SPVs to be set up by the ports, with equity support for implementation of projects to be undertaken by them.
• The SDC shall also get the Detailed Master Plans for individual zones prepared within a two year period. 
• The business plan of the SDC shall be finalised within a period of six months. 
• The SDC will provide a funding window and/or implement only those residual projects that cannot be funded by any other means/mode. 

State Sagarmala Committee:-

In order to have effective mechanism at the state level for coordinating and facilitating Sagarmala related projects, the State Governments will be suggested to set up

• State Sagarmala Committee to be headed by Chief Minister/Minister in Charge of Ports with members from relevant Departments and agencies. 

• The state level Committee will also take up matters on priority as decided in the NSAC.

• At the state level, the State Maritime Boards/State Port Departments shall service the State Sagarmala Committee and also be, inter alia, responsible for coordination and implementation of individual projects, including through SPVs (as may be necessary) and oversight. 
• The development of each Coastal economic zone shall be done through individual projects and supporting activities that will be undertaken by the State Government, Central line Ministries and SPVs to be formed by the State Governments at the state level or by SDC and ports, as may be necessary. 

Improvement of operational efficiency of existing ports, which is an objective of the Sagarmala initiative, shall be done by undertaking business process re-engineering to simplify processes and procedures in addition to modernizing and upgrading the existing infrastructure and improved mechanisation. Increased use of information technology and automation to ensure paperless and seamless transactions will be an important area for intervention. 

• Under the Sagarmala Project, the use of coastal shipping and IWT are proposed to be enhanced through a mix of infrastructure enhancement and policy initiatives. 
• The Sagarmala initiative would also strive to ensure sustainable development of the population living in the Coastal Economic Zone (CEZ).

 This would be done by synergising and coordinating with State Governments and line Ministries of Central Government through their existing schemes and programmes such as those related to community and rural development, tribal development and employment generation, fisheries, skill development, tourism promotion etc.

•  In order to provide funding for such projects and activities that may be covered by departmental schemes a separate fund by the name ‘Community Development Fund’ would be created. 
• The Institutional Framework for implementing Sagarmala has to provide for a coordinating role for the Central Government. 
• It should provide a platform for central, state governments and local authorities to work in tandem and coordination under the established principles of “cooperative federalism”, in order to achieve the objectives of the Sagarmala Project and ensure port-led development. 

In order to kick start the implementation of projects it is proposed to take up identified projects covered in the concept of Sagarmala for implementation forthwith. 

• These identified projects for implementation in the initial phase will be based on the available data and feasibility study reports and the preparedness, willingness and interest shown by the State Governments and Central Ministries to take up projects. 
• All efforts would be made to implement those projects through the private sector and through Public Private Participation (PPP) wherever feasible. 
• Funds requirement for starting the implementation of projects in the initial phase of Sagarmala Project is projected at Rs. 692 crores for the FY 2015-16.
• Further requirement of funds will be finalized after completion of Detailed Master Plan for Coastal Economic Zones for future years. 
• These funds will be used for implementation of projects by line ministries in accordance with approvals by the SCSC. 

Background of the port sector:

• Presently, Indian ports handle more than 90 percent of India’s total EXIM trade volume.

• However, the current proportion of merchandize trade in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India is only 42 percent, whereas for some developed countries and regions in the world such as Germany and European Union, it is 75 percent and 70 percent respectively.

• Therefore, there is a great scope to increase the share of merchandising trade in India’s GDP.

• With the Union Government’s “Make in India” initiative, the share of merchandise trade in India’s GDP is expected to increase and approach levels achieved in developed countries.
• India lags far behind in ports and logistics infrastructure. 
• Against a share of 9 percent of railways and 6 percent of roads in the GDP the share of ports is only 1 percent.
• In addition high logistics costs make Indian exports uncompetitive. 
• Therefore Sagarmala project has been envisioned to provide ports and the shipping the rightful place in the Indian economy and to enable port-led development. 
• Amongst Indian States, Gujarat has been a pioneer in adopting the strategy of port-led development, with significant results.
• While in the 1980’s the state grew at only 5.08 percent per year (National average was 5.47 percent), this accelerated to 8.15 percent per annum in the 1990’s (All India average 6.98 percent) and subsequently to more than 10 percent per annum, substantially benefitting from the port-led development model. 
• The growth of India’s maritime sector is constrained due to many developmental, procedural and policy related challenges namely, involvement of multiple agencies in development of infrastructure to promote industrialization, trade, tourism and transportation; presence of a dual institutional structure that has led to development of major and non-major ports as separate, unconnected entities; lack of requisite infrastructure for evacuation from major and non-major ports leading to sub-optimal transport modal mix; limited hinterland linkages that increases the cost of transportation and cargo movement; limited development of centres for manufacturing and urban and economic activities in the hinterland; low penetration of coastal and inland shipping in India, limited mechanization and procedural bottlenecks and lack of scale, deep draft and other facilities at various ports in India. 

An illustrative list of the kind of development projects that could be undertaken in Sagarmala initiative are

• (i) Port-led industrialization
• (ii) Port based urbanization
• (iii) Port based and coastal tourism and recreational activities
• (iv) Short-sea shipping coastal shipping and Inland Waterways Transportation
• (v) Ship building, ship repair and ship recycling
• (vi) Logistics parks, warehousing, maritime zones/services
• (vii) Integration with hinterland hubs
• (viii) Offshore storage, drilling platforms
• (ix) Specialization of ports in certain economic activities such as energy, containers, chemicals, coal, agro products, etc. 
• (x) Offshore Renewable Energy Projects with base ports for installations
• (xi) Modernizing the existing ports and development of new ports.

This strategy incorporates both aspects of port-led development

1. viz. port-led direct development and
2. port-led indirect development.  

Pilot project on ornamental fisheries

Ornamental fishery is a sub-sector of the fisheries sector dealing with breeding and rearing of coloured fish of both freshwater and marine water.

Though ornamental fisheries does not directly contribute to the food and nutritional security, it generates livelihood and income for the rural and periurban population, especially women and unemployed youth as part-time activities.

• The ornamental fish industry in India is small but vibrant, with potential for tremendous growth.
• The low production cost and high returns within a short span of time and the ever growing demand, both in domestic and international markets, etc. are the major attractions.
• About 400 species of marine ornamental fishes and 375 freshwater ornamental varieties are available in various parts of our country.
• Fisheries and Aquaculture sector mainly focus on the production of table fish.
• Consequently, the major funding, both in the Government & private sector, is aimed at increasing the production and productivity of fish. 

Recognizing the potential and scope of ornamental fisheries, the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, has envisaged a program to unlock the country’s ornamental fisheries sector through a special drive by launching a pilot scheme for the development of ornamental fisheries with a total outlay of Rs. 61.89 crore.

• Implementation of the pilot-scale Ornamental Fisheries Project focuses mainly on creating an enabling environment for a sustainable and holistic development of Ornamental Fisheries for the socio-economic development of the people involved in this activity as well as for exports.
• The thrust areas have been identified for enhancing ornamental fisheries production through cluster-based farming and conservation of natural resources, both inland and marine, through habitat restoration and creating awareness amongst the stakeholders. 

The major objectives of the pilot project are:

• (i) to promote ornamental fish culture with cluster-based approach,
• (ii) to augment ornamental fisheries trade and export earnings,
• (iii) to create employment opportunities for the rural & periurban population and
• (iv) use of modern technology and innovation to make ornamental fisheries a thriving activity. 

For the purpose of implementation of the pilot project, a total of 8 potential States have been identified, viz., Assam, West Bengal , Odisha, Maharashtra , Gujarat , Karnataka , Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

• All the activities under the pilot project are classified in to four major groups, viz.,
  • (a) activities related to production of ornamental fish, e.g. setting up of backyard rearing units, medium scale units, integrated breeding-cum-rearing units, etc.,
  • (b) activities related to aquarium fabrication, trade and marketing;
  • (c) activities for promotion of ornamental fisheries sector, and d: activities related to skill development and capacity building. 

The pilot project on ornamental fisheries shall be implemented by the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) through the Fisheries Departments of States/UTs.

• The broad funding patterns proposed under the pilot project on ornamental fisheries are in line with the funding patterns under CSS Blue Revolution:
  • Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries.
  • The financial resources required to meet the Central Govt. liability towards implementation of the proposed pilot project on development of ornamental fisheries shall also be mobilized through dovetailing of funds under other schemes implemented in the GoI, in a convergence mode, wherever feasible.
  • The implementation of proposed pilot project on ornamental fisheries will require a minimum time frame of one year. 

'ShaGun'

Ministry of Human Resource Development launched 'ShaGun' - a web-portal for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

• ShaGun, which has been coined from the words 'Shala' meaning Schools and 'Gunvatta' meaning Quality, has been developed with a twin track approach. 
• It aims to capture and showcase innovations and progress in Elementary Education sector of India by continuous monitoring of the flagship scheme - Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
• It has two components i.e.

• One is a Repository of best practices, photographs, videos, studies, newspaper articles etc on elementary education, State /UT wise.
  • These would be in the public domain with the purpose to provide a platform for all stakeholders to learn from success stories of each other.
  • This would also instill a positive competitive spirit among all the States and UTs.
• The second part is regarding the online monitoring of the SSA implemented by States and UTs and will be accessed by Government Officers at all levels using their specific passwords.
  • It comprises questionnaires, related to various interventions under SSA and the performance of the State, which will be filled in by the States and UTs.
  • There are 122 Reports which will be automatically generated from the data filled in the questionnaires.
  • These Reports, along with the success stories in the Repository, will create an online platform which can be viewed by officers in the Department, PMO, Niti Aayog etc., to see the status of implementation of the SSA and the elementary education in all States and UTs.

Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA)

Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) is a proposed not-for-profit agency with initial capital base of Rs. 1000 Crore. It was announced in Union Budget 2016-17.

Organization:-

The HEFA will be set up with joint participation by the government and philanthropic donors.

• It would be set up under Companies Act and will be registered with RBI as a Non-banking Finance Company (NBFC).
• The HEFA would be jointly promoted by the identified Promoter and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) with an authorized capital of Rs.2,000 crore.
• The Government equity would be Rs.1,000 crore.
• The HEFA would also mobilize CSR funds from PSUs/Corporates, which would in turn be released for promoting research and innovation in these institutions on grant basis.
• Government of India has appointed M/S Canara Bank as Promoter for the HEFA and it is expected that the HEFA’s operations would begin by April 2017.
• It will be headed by a banker and will have a board with five donors and five institutions selected on rotation basis.
• All centrally funded higher educational institutions will automatically be added as members.

Objective and Proposed Functions:-

• • The major objective of the HEFA is to leverage funds from the market and supplement them with donations and CSR funds.
  • These funds will be used to finance improvement in infrastructure in top educational institutions.
  • The monies of the fund will be used to finance capital expenditure for building quality infrastructure in IITs, NITs, IIITs and IISERs and central universities.
  • It will also be used to fund state-of-the-art research labs and other infrastructure.

Funding and Finances of HEFA:-

Total corpse of the body is Rs. 2,000 crore.

• • Out of this, the initial government contribution will be Rs. 1,000 crore.
  • Remaining Rs. 1000 Crore would be collected from 5 other corporate donors {Rs. 200 Crore Each} of which the sponsoring bank would be one.

Further, the body will be allowed to raise debt funding of up to Rs. 10,000 crore from the financial markets, including pension and insurance funds.

• Thus, there is a 1:5 ratio of own funds to debt ratio for HEFA.

The debts would be returned back {debt service} from the money received Inflows would be from market borrowings, CSR funds from PSUs and other through the escrowed student fee accounts and the donations received from the CSR funds and others.

Financing Arrangement for the Higher Education Institutions:-

• An institute will be eligible for a credit limit of 5 times the annual inflow of the student fee from the institution. 
• The institute can then draw interest-free funds against an approved capital or research project and repay the amount over 5-10 years through the escrowed student fee. 
• Each institute will have to prepare a detailed master plan on infrastructure gaps that will be assessed by an independent group before releasing amount sought.
• HEFA will monitor implementation, fund utilisation & review outcome, thus necessitating greater financial discipline across institutes.
• The HEFA would finance the academic and research infrastructure projects through a 10-yr loan. 
• The principal portion of the loan will be repaid through the ‘internal accruals’ of the institutions. 
• The Govt would service the interest portion through the regular Plan assistance.
• All the Centrally Funded Higher Educational Institutions would be eligible for joining as members of the HEFA.
  • For joining as members, the Institution should agree to escrow a specific amount from their internal accruals to HEFA for a period of 10 years.
  • This secured future flows would be securitised by the HEFA for mobilising the funds from the market.
  • Each member institution would be eligible for a credit limit as decided by HEFA based on the amount agreed to be escrowed from the internal accruals.