CONTENTS:
- PRIME MINISTER EMPLOYMENT GENERATION PROGRAMME
- JAL JEEVAN MISSION
PRIME MINISTER EMPLOYMENT GENERATION PROGRAMME
Focus: Government Policies and Interventions
Why in news?
In a year marred by the economic despair surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has just recorded its best ever performance in job creation under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Program (PMEGP).
Prime Minister Employment Generation Program (PMEGP)
- The Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) the result of the merger of two schemes – Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana (PMRY) and The Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP).
- PMEGP is a credit-linked subsidy scheme which promotes self-employment through setting up of micro-enterprises, where subsidy up to 35% is provided by the Government through Ministry of MSME for loans up to ₹25 lakhs in manufacturing and ₹10 lakhs in the service sector.
- PMEGP was established for generation of employment opportunities through establishment of micro enterprises in rural as well as urban areas.
- PMEGP is a central sector scheme administered by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME).
- At the national level, the Scheme is being implemented by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a statutory organization under the administrative control of the Ministry of MSME as the single nodal agency.
- At the State level, the Scheme will be implemented through State KVIC Directorates, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs) and District Industries Centres (DICs) and banks.
Objectives of PMEGP
- To generate continuous and sustainable employment opportunities in Rural and Urban areas of the country
- To provide continuous and sustainable employment to a large segment of traditional and prospective artisans, rural and urban unemployed youth in the country through setting up of micro enterprises.
- To facilitate participation of financial institutions for higher credit flow to micro sector.
Eligibility to avail this scheme:
- Individuals above 18 years of age
- VIII Std. pass required for project above Rs.10.00 lakhs in manufacturing and above Rs. 5.00 lakhs for Service Sector
- Self Help Groups and Charitable Trusts
- Institutions Registered under Societies Registration Act- 1860
- Production based Co-operative Societies
KHADI AND VILLAGE INDUSTRIES COMMISSION
- Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body of the Indian Constitution.
- It comes under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
- It was established by Khadi and Village Industries Act, 1956. It has been amended twice, in 1965 and 2006.
Objectives of KVIC
The broad objectives of the Khadi Village and Industries Commission encompassing self-reliance and sustainability are:
- To boost employment in the country.
- To promote the promotion and sale of Khadi articles
- To cater to the self-reliance doctrine of the country by empowering underprivileged and rural sections of the society.
Functions of KVIC
The following are the functions of Khadi Village and Industries Commission:
- It plans, promotes, organizes, and implements programmes for the development of Khadi and Village Industries (KVI).
- It coordinates with multiple agencies that are engaged in rural development for several initiatives w.r.t khadi and village industries in rural areas.
- It maintains a reserve of raw materials that can be further promoted in the supply-chain.
- It aids in creating common service facilities that help in processing of raw materials.
- It aids the marketing of KVI products through artisans and other avenues.
- It creates linkages with multiple marketing agencies for the promotion and sale of KVI products.
- It encourages and promotes research and development in the KVI sector.
- It brings solutions to the problems associated with the KVI products by promoting research study and enhancing competitive capacity.
- It also helps in providing financial assistance to the individuals and institutions related to the khadi and village industries.
- It enforces guidelines to comply with the product standards to eliminate the production of ingenuine products.
- It is empowered to bring projects, programmes, schemes in relation to khadi and village industries’ development.
JAL JEEVAN MISSION
Focus: GS II- Government policies and Interventions
Why in news?
- Since launch of Jal Jeevan Mission, over 4 Crore rural homes provided with tap water connections
- Over7 Crore families in rural areas now have an assured tap water connection
- Despite CoVid-19 pandemic & lockdown, the drinking water supply work continued to provide nearly 1 lakh connections every day
About Jal Jeevan Mission:
Nodal: Ministry of Jal Shakti
- Jal Jeevan Mission, a central government initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, aims to ensure access of piped water for every household in India.
- National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) was restructured and subsumed into Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – to provide Functional Household Tap Water (FHTC) to every rural household with service level at the rate of 55 lpcd i.e., Har Ghar Nal Se Jal (HGNSJ) by 2024.
Implications
- Supply of water to all households is a basic necessity
- Reduction in water borne diseases which was due to due to consumption of substandard water
Challenges
- Critical situation of Decrease in ground water table.
- Water demand and supply is a miss match
- Contamination of local ground level sources of water like, ponds lakes and wells.
- Sustaining the provision of water to all households is a challenge, not just starting it.
