‘Annaprasana’ – an innovative programme

The Odisha State government will be implementing the scheme through 71,134 anganwadi centres across the State. Annaprasana will be aimed at helping mothers know about complementary food required for infants after six months. The State government would give a spoon and a bowl to every mother to encourage them to follow the guideline.

Social Welfare Schemes

The mandate of the Ministry is to empower its target groups, namely, (i) Scheduled Castes, (ii) Other Backward Classes, (iii) Persons with  Disabilities,  (iv) Senior Citizens and (v) Victims of alcoholism and substance abuse through programmes for educational, economic and social development and rehabilitation, as appropriate.   No specific schemes are being implemented by the Ministry for the Scheduled Tribes and Women. The list of major schemes implemented by the Ministry at present for the welfare of its target groups and their budget allocation for the year 2012-13 is: 

Sl. No.	List of major Schemes being implemented by the Ministry	Budget Provision in 2012-13  (Amount Rs. in Crores)
	Scheduled Castes Development
1.	Post Matric Scholarship for SC Students	1500.00
2.	Pre Matric Scholarship for Children of those Engaged in ‘unclean’ occupations	10.00
3.	Pre Matric Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled Castes Students studying in Classes IX and  X	824.00
4.	Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana (Boys and Girls Hostels)	145.00
5.	Special Central Assistance to Scheduled Castes Sub Plan	1200.00
6.	Implementation of Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989	100.00
7.	Grant-in-aid to Voluntary Organisations working for Scheduled Castes	50.00
8.	Upgradation of merit of SC Students	5.00
9.	Equity support to Scheduled Castes Development Corporations	20.00
10.	Coaching and allied for weaker sections including SCs and OBCs	12.00
	Other Backward Classes Development
1.	Pre Matric Scholarship to Other Backward Class Students	50.00
2.	Post Matric Scholarship to Other Backward Class Students	625.00
3.	Construction of Hostels for OBC Boys and Girls	45.00
4.	Assistance to Voluntary Organisations working for the Welfare of Other Backward Classes	5.00
	Persons with Disabilities
1.	Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances	100.00
2.	Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme	120.00
	Social Defence
1.	Integrated Programme for Older Persons	40.00
2.	Assistance for Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drug)  Abuse	40.00

Hunar Se Rozgar Scheme

The Ministry of Tourism launched a special initiative called Hunar Se Rozgar Tak (HSRT) in the year 2009-10 for creation of employable skills amongst youth. The initiative is fully funded by the Ministry of Tourism. The features common to the training programmes under the HSRT are: the trainees should be in the age group of 18-28 years; each training programme is of short duration – 6 to 8 weeks; and no fees chargeable to the trainee.

The HSRT initiative is being implemented through expert institutions including the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Institutes of Hotel Management, Food Craft Institutes and India Tourism Development Corporation. The State Governments/Union Territory Administrations have also been authorised to implement the initiative through Institutes selected by them for purpose. It is also mandatory for certain star-classified hotels to train a prescribed minimum number of persons.

The HSRT initiative is being implemented as part of the Ministry of Tourism’s Scheme namely Capacity Building for Service Providers (CBSP).  The budget allocated for the CBSP Scheme is as indicated below:

Year	Budget Allocated
2009-10	12 crore
2010-11	17 crore
2011-12	25 crore
2012-13	50 crore

The HSRT initiative has been well received. Initially it covered only two trades namely Food Production and Food and Beverage Service. Presently it covers 6 more trades/training areas namely Housekeeping Utility, Bakery & Patisserie, Driving, Stone Masonry, Golf Caddies and Tourist Facilitation.

The HSRT initiative has helped upgrade the skills relevant to hospitality and tourism Sector in the country including Odisha.   The number of persons trained in the year 2009-10 was 5610.   It grew to 6981 in the year 2010-11 and to 12191 in the year 2011-12.

Mahatma Gandhi Suraksha Yojana

The Government has launched a scheme called ‘Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana’ (MGPSY) for Indian workers holding Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports and a valid work permit in an ECR country. This scheme encourages and enables Overseas Indian Workers to save for their return and resettlement and to save for their old age by providing a co-contribution from the Government. This also provides a free Life Insurance Cover against natural death during the period of coverage, under this scheme. However, there is no proposal to introduce a special package for Indian workers returning to India from conflict-ridden countries. There is also no plan to start a “Pravasi Bank” for Overseas Indians by the Ministry.

Goa Launched Ladli Laxmi Scheme

State Government of Goa launched Ladli Laxmi Scheme on 6 July 2012.  Women and Child Welfare department initiated this scheme. The meeting was headed by the Chief Minister of Goa. It aims to prevent female foeticide in the state.
Under this scheme, girls who are 18 years and above would be provided with Rs. 1 Lakh for their marriage. This scheme is for those girls who lie between the age group of 18-40 years.

This scheme is valid for those girls whose parents are living in Goa for the last 25 years. In addition, the girl should have been born and brought up in the state.

The State Government had reserved the fund of Rs. 150 crore for this scheme. Five banks were enrolled with the Women and Child Welfare department. Goa registers 1000 marriages (approx) every year.

Special Welfare Schemes for Coal Belts

The Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy (R&R Policy) & the Corporate Social Responsibility policy (CSR Policy) of Coal India Limited have been formed to provide employment, basic facilities and for development of affected families. The salient features of the R&R Policy of CIL are given as under:

Land compensation to land oustees is paid as per the provisions of the concerned Act or State Government notification. Solarium and Escalation are paid to land oustees as per provisions of the concerned Act or as imposed by the concerned State Govt.

Employment is provided to land oustees against every two acres of land. All the land losers who are not eligible for employment as above, are entitled to receive monetary compensation in lieu of employment at the rate of Rs.5,00,000/- (Five Lakhs) for each acre of land on pro-rata basis. One time lump sum payment of Rs.3,00,000/-(three lakhs), is paid in lieu of alternate House site, Assistance in designing Shifting Allowance, compensation for construction of cattle shed, Monetary compensation for construction of work shed etc. Each affected displaced family gets a subsistence allowance at the rate of 25 days (Minimum Agricultural Wage) per month for one year.

The coal companies assist the Project Affected People (PAPs) to establish non-farm self-employment through the provision of infrastructure, petty contracts or formation of cooperatives and encourage provisions of Jobs with contractors. Contractors are persuaded to give jobs to eligible PAPs on preferential basis.

Coal companies shift the tribal community as a unit and provide facilities to meet the specific needs of the tribal community that allow them to maintain their unique cultural identity. Tribal affected families are given one time financial assistance of 500 days for loss of customary right or usages of forest produce loss. Tribal affected families resettled out of the district shall be given 25% higher rehabilitation and resettlement benefit.

The coal companies provide at the resettlement site, a school, road with street light, pucca drain, pond dugwell and/or tube well for drinking water supply, community center, place of worship, dispensary, grazing land for cattle and play ground. Similar infrastructural facility, if necessary is extended to the host locality. The community facilities and services are available to all residents of the area, including PAPs and the host population. The approach for operation of community facilities is flexible and all efforts are made to involve the State and local self-Government/ Panchayat for operating the facilities. To achieve this, coal companies pursue with these agencies to ensure the same. The planning of the community facilities and their construction is undertaken in consultation with the affected community.

The salient features of CSR Policy of CIL:

The CSR Policy is operational within the radius of 15 Kms of the Project site and areas including headquarters. Further, Board of Directors of subsidiary companies can approve specific cases of CSR Projects beyond mining areas within the respective State. Coal India Limited. Can also execute CSR work which are beyond the jurisdiction of the subsidiary companies.

CSR Policy of CIL aims at sustainable development of the Society supplementing the role of the Govt. in enhancing welfare measures of the society based on the immediate and long term social and environmental consequences of their activities. The fund for the CSR is allocated based on 5% of the retained earnings of previous year subject to minimum of Rs.5/-per tonne of coal production of previous year. Scope of CSR activities includes Infrastructure support, water supply, Health Care, education, environment, Relief of victims and Natural Calamities like Earth Quake, Cyclone, Draught and Flood situation in any part of the country and other development works.

Major Incentives in Scholarship Schemes for Minorities

The Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities is an initiative of the Government to bring the people of minority classes in the mainstream of development.

 This Programme for the Welfare of Minorities was announced in June, 2006 under the Ministry of Minority Affairs to ensure a more focused approach towards issues relating to the minorities. The purpose was to facilitate the formulation of overall policy and planning, coordination, evaluation and review of the regulatory framework and development programmes for the benefit of the minority communities.

An important aim of the new programme is to ensure that the benefits of various government schemes for the underprivileged reach the disadvantaged sections of the minority communities. In order to ensure that the benefits of these schemes flow equitably to the minorities, the new programme envisages location of a certain proportion of development projects in minority concentration areas. It also provides that, wherever possible, 15 percent of targets and outlays under various schemes should be earmarked for the minorities.

The objectives of the programme are: Enhancing opportunities for education; Ensuring an equitable share for minorities in economic activities and employment, through existing and new schemes; enhanced credit support for self-employment and recruitment to State and Central Government jobs; Improving the living conditions of minorities by ensuring an appropriate share for them in infrastructure development schemes; and Prevention and control of communal disharmony and violence.

Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) have been notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.

Scholarship Schemes for Students of Minority Communities

Three scholarship schemes for minority communities namely, pre-matric scholarship from class-I to X, post-matric scholarship from class XI to PhD and merit-cum-means scholarship for technical and professional courses at under-graduate and post-graduate levels have been launched. It is felt that the scholarship will encourage parents from minority communities for educating their children. The scheme will form the foundation for their educational attainment and provide a level playing field in the competitive employment arena. Empowerment through education, which is one of the objectives of this scheme, has the potential to lead to upliftment of the socio economic conditions of the minority communities.

Scholarships are awarded to the students who have secured not less than 50 percent marks in the previous final examination and annual income of their parents/guardian from all sources does not exceed Rs 1 lakh and 2 lakh for school and higher education respectively. 30 percent of scholarships are earmarked for girl students. In case sufficient number of eligible girl students is not available, then the balance earmarked scholarships may be awarded to eligible boy students. As the number of scholarships for minorities available in a year is fixed and limited it is necessary to lay down preference for selection giving weightage to poverty rather than marks.

Another scheme of merit-cum-means based scholarship to students belonging to minority communities is to enable them to pursue professional and technical courses. Every year 20000 scholarships are distributed among the students of minority communities throughout the country.

Online Scholarship Management System (OSMS)

An Online Scholarship Management System (OSMS) for merit-cum-means based

scholarship scheme has been introduced as a pilot project from the current financial year i.e. 2011-12 through the website of the Ministry of Minority Affairs www.minorityaffairs.gov.in. Students may apply online. For this they should visit the website through URL www.momascholarship.gov.in. The OSMS has proved to be useful, both from the user and the stakeholder point of view. This is the first time that in a Government Scholarship Scheme such a system has been introduced.

Significant Achievements in Minority Affairs

In pursuance with the recommendations of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM), the Government have carved out a sub-quota of 4.5 percent effective from 1st January, 2012 for backward classes of minorities from out of 27 percent quota of Other Backward Classes (OBCs). This reservation is available to those minority communities who are included in the Central list of OBC published by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment from time to time. The reservation will be for the Central Government jobs and services and also admissions to Central Government educational institutions.

For educationally empowering minority communities, the Ministry of Minority Affairs within a short span of four years in the 11th Plan, have awarded more than One crore scholarships to minorities, out of which 50.34 percent has been awarded to girls students. Among other achievements during the year 2011-12, 29.23 lakh pre-matric scholarships were awarded of which 53.80 percent went to girl students; 4.38 lakh post-matric scholarships were awarded of which 55.65 percent went to girl students ; and 29579 Merit-cum- Means scholarships were awarded of which 38.06 percent went to girl students.

 Increased Budget

Union Budget 2012-13 has provided major incentives for the uplift of students of minority communities. The outlay for scholarship schemes for the students belonging to the Minorities has been increased significantly. The Ministry of Minority Affairs has got an outlay of Rs. 3,135 crore as Central Plan Outlay in the Union General Budget 2012-13. This is an increase of Rs. 385 crore over the Revised Budget Estimates for the FY 2011-12 (which stands at Rs. 2,750 crore).

Provision for Pre-Matric Scholarship has been increased from Rs. 540 crore to Rs. 810 crore;  Post-Matric Scholarship gets Rs. 450 crore – up from Rs. 405 crore; Merit-cum-means Scholarship scheme gets Rs. 198 crore - as against Rs. 126 crore in the Revised Budget Estimates for the 2011-12. Provision for Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority students has been enhanced from Rs. 47 crore to Rs. 63 crore.

New Initiatives

The Budget 2012-13 also provides Rs. 4.50 crore for a new scheme to provide free cycles to girl students of class IX with the objective of retention of minority girl students from class IX onwards.

Another new scheme of Skill Development Initiatives has been provided Rs. 18 crore in the Budget to allow urban and rural livelihoods to improve for inclusive growth by providing skill to the Minority communities who do not posses any, to allow them to gain employment.

Rs. 45 crore each have been provided for Scheme for promotion of education in 100 Minority Concentration towns/cities; and Village Development Programme for 1,000 villages not covered under Minority Concentration Blocks/ Minority Concentration Districts.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs also gets Rs. 19.70 crore as Non-Plan provision so that the total finances available with the Ministry for the FY 2012-13 are Rs. 3,154.70 crore.

Performance of Janani Suraksha Yojana

Impressive gains have been registered under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) since its inception. The number of beneficiaries under JSY has gone up from 7.39 lakhs beneficiaries in 2005-06 to 108.69 lakhs beneficiaries in 2011-12. The scheme has led to an increase in institutional deliveries which have gone up from 47% (District Level Household Survey-III, 2007-08) to 72.9% (Coverage Evaluation Survey, 2009) and to the resultant decline in maternal mortality and neo-natal mortality. Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) has declined from 254 maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births in 2004-06 to 212 maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births during 2007-09. Similarly, the Neo-Natal Mortality Rate (NMR) has declined from 37 per 1000 live births in 2006 to 33 per 1000 live births in 2010.

 For proper implementation of the scheme, the Ministry has issued the following instructions to State Governments:

• To ensure fast and seamless flow of funds under JSY from State headquarters to District and further to Block PHCs and Sub-centre levels and payment of cash assistance before discharge of pregnant women after delivery;

• Setting up of grievance redressal cells for prompt redressal of all grievances;

• Public display of names of all JSY beneficiaries in health facilities on a monthly basis so as to ensure transparency and check fraudulent payments;

• Payment of cash assistance under JSY to all beneficiaries only through cheques;

• Physical verification of beneficiaries by State and District officials in a random manner in order to check fictitious payments;

Further periodic verification of beneficiaries and assessment of the scheme is being done by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare through the Regional Evaluation Teams (RETs) of the Regional Directorates.

 The Ministry has also decided to get the annual transaction audit of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) done through the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) in all the States from the Financial Year 2011-12 in order to facilitate independent monitoring and to take corrective measures to control financial irregularities.

Recovery of Loans Sanctioned under Rashtriya Mahila Kosh

The following are the details of mechanism for recovery of loans sanctioned under the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) of the Ministry of Women and Child Development:

The RMK loans are recoverable from Intermediary microfinance organisations (IMOs) over a repayment period of 3 years (including the grace period of 6 months) in quarterly installments along with interest @ 8 per cent per annum on reducing balance. RMK follows the following procedure for recovery of loans:

(i) The repayment schedule is defined in advance, envisaging quarterly payment of principal and interest amount. The requisite Post Dated Cheques (PDCs) are collected as a risk mitigation measure.

(ii) Demand letters are issued before due dates to all IMOs at pre-defined due dates.

(iii) Quarterly list of defaults is reviewed regularly. Each defaulting NGO is contacted, either telephonically or through letters, to enquire about the reasons for default and the likely time for clearing of default.

(iv) The default loans accounts are handled as under:

(a) In the first instance reminders are sent to the defaulting IMOs asking them to pay the overdue amount, urgently.

(b) The defaulting IMO is sent first reminder, followed by another reminder and if required final warning (after 30 days from second reminder) to clear the overdues. If overdues still persist blacklisting is resorted to in case, an NGO commits default of 4 quarters of interest and / or 4 quarters of principal, or both. This has been an effective measure of recovery. Black- listing of the defaulting IMOs is undertaken mainly to pressurize for urgent clearance of overdue. In case the IMO clears the loan overdue, it is removed from RMK black list.

(c) Post-dated cheques given by NGOs are deposited in the concerned banks; if returned unpaid, case(s) under section 138 of Negotiable Instrument Act (NIA) are filed in the Court.

(d) In case of chronic default, a ‘recall-notice’ is also issued calling the defaulting IMO to pay upfront the entire outstanding amount of the loan dues, in a month’s time. If the recall-notice is not complied with, a PDC is lodged for the entire outstanding dues (loan instalments plus interest).

(e) Suits are filed or wherever applicable, Arbitration Process is followed, to recover the dues from the NGO where the loan repayment period has completed, as per the loan agreement.

Implementation of Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) in CSM Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the proposal for implementation of Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) in whole Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj (CSM) Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh comprising five tehsils and also includes this as an additional district to already approved list of 52 districts.

The expenditure for three tehsils of CSM Nagar (Musafirkhana, Amethi and Gauriganj) is already included in the proposal approved by the CCEA. Addition of two remaining tehsils of Tiloi and Salon to cover full CSM Nagar which would require additional funding of Rs. 11 crore for 32000 more beneficiaries. This will be met within the approved allocation of Rs. 520 under BE 2012-13.

Background:

The Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY), a centrally sponsored conditional maternity benefit schemes was approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in its meeting on 20.10.2010. The scheme is operational in 52 districts of all States/ UTs across the country, on pilot basis, to improve the health and nutrition status of pregnant and lactating women and their young infants. The scheme also includes Sultanpur and Mahoba districts of Uttar Pradesh.

On 01.07.2010 a new district, namely, Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj (CSM) Nagar was carved out by the Government of UP by merging three tehsils from erstwhile Sultanpur district (Musafirkhana, Amethi and Gauriganj) and two tehsils of Raibareli district (Salon and Tiloi). In the changed situation, new Sultanpur district comprises of three tehsils i.e., Sadar, Kadipur and Lambhua. The remaining three tehsils (Musafirkhana, Amethi and Gauriganj) of erstwhile Sultanpur district now form part of CSM Nagar. As the CCEA approved the proposal of the Ministry for erstwhile Sultanpur district having six tehsils. In the changed scenario, implementation of IGMSY is limited to Sultanpur district comprising only three tehsils. The remaining three tehsils, namely Musafirkhana, Amethi and Gauriganj of erstwhile Sultanpur is left out of the purview of IGMSY. The Government of UP has requested inclusion of the remaining two tehsils of Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Nagar, namely Salon and Tiloi, transferred from Rae Bareily district under IGMSY in addition to the three tehsils transferred from erstwhile Sultanpur so that the entire CSM Nagar district is covered under the Scheme.

Highlights of Achievements of Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2011-2012

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has released approximately 97% of the sanctioned grant of Rs. 16,100 crores to States/UTs and various agencies for the programmes and schemes aiming at holistic development of women and children, in 2011-2012.

The flagship programme of ICDS has reached about 10 crore beneficiaries. These include 4.37 crore children of age 6 months-3 yrs, 3.5 crore children within 3-6 yrs, and 1.81 crore pregnant and lactating women. Total of 6900 projects out of sanctioned 7076 are operational. Furthermore, around 12.04 lakh Anganwadi Centres (AWCs)/Mini-Anganwadi Centres are operational of the sanctioned number of 13.70 lakh. Moreover, 61 projects were sanctioned and 57 projects were operationalised, and 3942 AWCs was sanctioned and 41033 AWCs were operationalised in 2011-2012.

The Ministry has also initiated Annual Programme Implementation Plan (APIP) format in order to improve the planning and programme implementation. The draft Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) policy along with curricular framework and standards have been uploaded on the website of the Ministry for comments and views from public organizations etc.

Under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme introduced in 2009-2010 for the welfare and rehabilitation of children in conflict with law as well as children in need of care and protection, statutory structures have been established under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. The number of Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) has more than doubled from 240 and 211 to 548 and 561, respectively. As a result of the support provided, 26 State Child Protection Societies, 24 State Project Support Units, 20 State Adoption Resource Agency and 438 District Child protection units, have been established to work exclusively for child protection, employing approximately 4500 dedicated and trained staff. In the year 2011-2012, 8 state child protection societies, 4 state project units,112 district child protection units were established. Moreover, the provision of Emergency Outreach Services for children in distress, through a 24 hour helpline (1098), has more than doubled; from 83 in 2007-2008, it is spread to 202 locations in 2011-2012. Also, childline was extended to 94 new locations.

Under the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls, ‘Sabla’, launched in November 2010, around 84.4 lakh girls have been covered in the nutrition segment, while around 21.42 lakh girls have benefitted in the non-nutrition segment, in 2011-2012. Sabla is a comprehensive intervention for adolescent girls in the age-group of 11-18, with a focus on out-of-school girls, and is being implemented in 200 districts of the country on a pilot basis.

Around 1.77 lakh pregnant and lactating (P&L) women have benefitted under the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahayog Yojana (IGMSY), a scheme that aims at improving the health and nutrition status of P&L women. The scheme envisages providing cash directly to P&L women during pregnancy and lactation, through bank/post office accounts in response to the individual fulfilling specific conditions. It addresses short-term income support objectives with long term objective of behaviour and attitudinal change.

Furthermore, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) scheme of the WCD Ministry has benefitted 6,94,415 needy women at the grassroots levels. As on 31.12.2011, cumulative loan of Rs. 315.32 crores was sanctioned. Against this, Rs 259.32 crores was disbursed. The scheme, launched in 1993, aims to bring about the socio-economic upliftment of poor women. It extends micro-finance services to poor women to credit is provided through Intermediary Microfinancing Organisations (IMOs) working at the grassroots level, such as NGOs, Women Federations, Co-operatives etc.

Also, 322 Swadhar homes are operational across the country as on 20.1.2012. Against an allocation of Rs. 30 crores in 2011-2012, a budgetary provision of Rs.100 crores has been kept in BE-2012-13. In addition, about 29650 beneficiaries have been covered under the Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) scheme, which provides training for skill upgradation to poor and assetless women in ten traditional and two non-traditional sectors. Also, 188 projects including 96 rehabilitation homes, have been sanctioned under the Ujjawala scheme, a comprehensive scheme to combat trafficking of women and children.

In view of increasing incidents of assault on women from North Eastern States, the Ministry has established a Working Women Hostel, at Jasola, exclusively for working women of North Eastern States in 2011-2012.

New Crop Varieties to Mitigate Weather Impact

National Agricultural Research System (NARS) has developed crop varieties having tolerance/resistance against biotic stresses and abiotic stresses induced due to adverse weather conditions such as drought, heat, flood, water stagnation etc. These crop varieties are under cultivation in different agro-climatic conditions for mitigating the adverse impact of weather/climate.

To augment productivity appropriate crop rotations like rice-wheat, rice-pulses, rice-oilseeds, pulses-wheat, pulses-maize, etc depending upon the suitability of soil and climate are promoted through various crop development programmes. Shifting cultivation is prevalent in North Eastern Hill States which is unsustainable and less productive. Alternate practice of settled farming is recommended for adoption which is environment friendly and sustainable.

Most of the Agro based industries are established in those areas where concerned crops are grown abundantly and as such do not displace large area under cultivation. For increasing the cultivable area and cropping intensity, utilization of rice fallows and better land use through inter-cropping are also promoted.

Rs. 716 Crore for Grameen Bhandaran Yojana

The total number of projects sanctioned so far under the Scheme is 27,110 with a total storage capacity creation of 310.29 lakh metric tonnes (MT). The Government has provided for an amount of Rs.716 crore under Grameen Bhandaran Yojana for 2012-13 to increase the capacity of godowns. The total amount sanctioned so far under scheme is Rs.912.68 crore with an expenditure of Rs.872.44 crore.

Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme

The Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja has said that the City of Guwahati is covered under Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) programme- sub-Mission of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Other cities/towns of Assam are covered under Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP). The details of projects approved under BSUP and ISHDP are at Annexure.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today she said, city/town –wise details of funds allocated during each of the last three years and the funds released so far to the State of Assam under ISHDP are as below:

(Rs. Crore)

S. No.	Year	City/Town	No. of Projects approved	Project Cost approved	Central share approved	Additional Central share released so far
1.	2008-09	Bokjan	1	10.49	8.61	4.30
2.		Nagaon	1	14.38	11.48	5.74
3.		Thiu	1	3.89	3.29	1.65
4.	2009-10	Kokrajhar	1	17.92	13.73	6.87
5.	2010-11	-	-	-	-	-

Sanitation Programme

The Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja has said that Centrally sponsored revised Integrated Low Cost Sanitation Scheme is underway in the country since January, 2008 for conversion of dry latrines into twin-pit pour flush latrines and construction of new latrines for the Economically Weaker Section in the urban areas who have no latrines. State-wise details of proposals sanctioned and funds released including Maharashtra is at Annexure - I.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today she said, the upper ceiling cost of `10,000/- is prescribed for the complete unit of a two pit pour flush individual latrines with superstructure. `12,500/- cost is provided for the States falling in the category of difficult and hilly areas. The said structure is funded in the manner: 75% Central Share, 15% State Share and 10% Beneficiary share.  Hence, funds provided to the States as share of Centre is `9375/- for States falling under hilly and difficult areas and `7500/- for other States.

She said, at present, this Ministry is not taking any steps to increase the prescribed per unit cost.

Annexure – I

SL. No.	Name of the State	Units sanctioned	Central subsidy sanctioned (in crores)
1.	Bihar	12131	9.251
2.	Jammu & Kashmir	5897	5.54
3.	Manipur	7117	6.78
4.	Maharashtra	39663	30.50
5.	Nagaland	5480	5.19
6.	Kerala	8239	6.28
7.	Madhya Pradesh	14281	11.31
8.	Tripura	25039	26.95
9.	Odisha	4690	4.10
10.	Jharkhand	3891	3.4
11.	Chhattisgarh	26018	22.76
12.	Uttar Pradesh	238253	181.66
13.	Uttarakhand	1613	1.32
14.	West Bengal	14549	11.96
15.	Rajasthan	1039	0.79
	Total	407900	340.411

Mamoni Scheme introduced by the Assam State government

The Assam government introduced the Mamoni scheme in the state under the National Rural Health Mission. The aim of the scheme is to reduce Maternal Mortality Ratio.

Mamoni scheme will encourage the pregnant women to undergo 3 ante-natal checkups so that any danger sign could be detected during pregnancy at earliest and proper treatment could be offered. The scheme provides very pregnant woman a booklet on the tips of safe motherhood and new-born care. Afterwards, the pregnant women receive an amount of 1000 rupees in the second and third ante-natal checkups for expenses related to nutritional food and supplements.

DoNER Minister to Flag off Pilot Scheme “Youth to the EDGE” to Encourage Adventure Activities in NER

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar will flag off a Pilot Scheme “Youth to the Edge” on February 29, 2012 at Tinsukia.

The Pilot Scheme is being funded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) through North Eastern Council (NEC) and was launched by the DoNER Minister on 30th January this year at Indian Mountaineering Foundation Headquarter Complex, New Delhi. This Scheme has to be executed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYA&S) through National Service Scheme (NSS).

The Pilot Scheme aims to introduce youth from rest of India to the North Eastern Region (NER) and organise combined adventure activities alongwith the youth from NER. They will also be given exposure about local culture, traditions and life style. Conduct of adventure training will benefit the participants by inculcating spirit of adventure, environmental awareness, national integration, casualty evacuation, promotion of adventure tourism, channelising youth energy in positive direction, sense of self employment and self recognition.

Three trails have been identified, two in Arunachal Pradesh (Roing in Lower Dibang District and Hayuliang / Wolong in Anjaw District) and one in Nagaland in Dzukou Valley). The 1st batch of participants of all the three trails will be flagged off by the DoNER Minister.

The Adventure Camps are scheduled to commence from 1st March, 2012 onwards till mid of May, 2012. Under the Scheme, about 2000 youth (rest of India 1450 and NER 550) are expected to take part in adventure activities. Transit Camps are being established at Guwahati, Tinsukia and Dimapur to facilitate smooth passage for youth coming from all over India. Local guides and transport will be provided from Railway Station onwards to the Base Camp (Trail locations) and back.

The Union Minster for Youth Affairs & Sports, the Ministers of Youth Service & Sports of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland will also be present on the occasion.

Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation is implementing an employment oriented Urban Poverty Alleviation Centrally sponsored scheme named Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY), on all India basis, with effect from 1.12.1997. The scheme has been comprehensively revamped with effect from 2009-2010.  The scheme strives to provide gainful employment to the urban unemployed and under employed poor, through encouraging the setting up of self employment ventures by the urban poor living below the poverty line, skills training and also through providing wage employment by utilizing their labour for construction of socially and economically useful public assets. The thrust areas of the revised scheme are:

Supporting skill development and training programmes to enable the urban poor have access to employment opportunities opened up by the market or undertake self-employment; and

Empowering the community to tackle the issues of urban poverty through suitable self- managed community structures like Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs), Neighbourhood Committees (NHC), Community Development Society (CDS), etc.

The major changes that have been effected in the new scheme compared to the old are:

(i).        For special category States (8 NER States and 3 other hilly States i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), the funding pattern for the Scheme between Centre and the States, has been revised from 75 :25 to 90:10.

(ii).       For the beneficiary under the Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP) component of the Scheme, the education limit criteria of “not educated beyond 9th standard” has been removed and now no minimum or maximum educational qualification level has been prescribed for the purpose of eligibility of assistance.

(iii).For the self-employment (individual category), the project cost ceiling has been enhanced to Rs. 2.00 Lakhs from the existing Rs. 50000/- and the subsidy has also been enhanced to 25% of the project cost (subject to a maximum of Rs. 50000/-), from the existing 15% of the project cost (subject to a maximum of Rs. 7500/-).

(iv).For the group enterprises set up by urban poor women, the subsidy has been made as 35% of the project cost or Rs. 300,000/- or Rs. 60,000/- per member of the Group, whichever is less. The minimum number required to form a women group has been reduced from 10 to 5. The revolving fund entitlement per member has also been enhanced from the existing Rs. 1000/- to Rs. 2000/-.

(v).       Under the Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP) component, which is applicable to the towns having population less than 5 Lakhs as per 1991 census, the 60:40 Material labour ratio for the works under UWEP, flexibility of 10% (either side) is now accorded to the States/UTs.

(vi).The Skill Training of the Urban poor component has been restructured and quality skill training will be provided to the urban poor linking it with certification, imparted preferably on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, with the involvement of reputed institutions like IITs, NITs, Poly-techniques, ITIs, other reputed agencies etc. The average expenditure ceiling per trainee has been enhanced from the Rs. 2600/- to Rs. 10000/-.

(vii). 3% of the total Scheme allocation will be retained at the Central level for special /innovative projects to be undertaken to implement a time-bound targeting to bring a specific number of BPL families above the poverty line through self-employment or skill development. 

The revised scheme has the following components:

(i)         Urban Self Employment Programme(USEP):

(ii)        Urban Women Self-help Programme(UWSP)

(ii)        Skill Training for Employment Promotion amongst Urban Poor(STEP-UP)

(iv)       Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP):

(v)        Urban Community Development Network (UCDN):

During the year 2010-2011 an amount of Rs. 581.50 Crore was released to the States/UTs. under this SJSRY Scheme. The targets and achievements under the key components of the scheme are as follows:

Financial Progress

	2010-11		2011-12 (till 31.1.20120
Scheme	Allocation	Released	Allocation	Released
Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY)	536.20	581.50	782.50	669.78

Physical Progress

	2010-11		2011-12
Components	Target	Achievement	Target	Achievement (till 31.1.2012)
Number of urban poor assisted for individual micro-enterprises	25000	82668	60000	40009
Number of urban poor imparted skill training	200000	254229	220000	236547

 * As per report received from States/UTs as on   31-01-2012.