Achievement Tracking - Modi 2.0 Govt - No Discussions

[member_29112]

National Career Service

Home page: http://www.ncs.gov.in/Pages/default.aspx

National Career Service Portal Is Now Live; 4.5 Cr Job Seekers Across 959 Employment Exchanges Can Apply for Govt As Well As Private Jobs

PM Modi has launched India’s biggest, and most comprehensive job portal: National Career Service which aims to connect all existing employment centers, and create one of it’s kind online employment exchange board.

NSC will directly benefit 4.48 crore job seekers who are already registered across 959 employment exchanges across the country. At the time of launch, 2 crore job seekers are already on-board of this massive job portal, and within the next few days, all remaining candidates would find themselves inside their database.

The most striking aspect of NSC is that, not only Govt. jobs, but private jobs would also be listed on the portal. Govt. has already initiated talks to include 900,000 privately registered companies into the portal.

Labor Ministry has allocated a budget of Rs 100 crore to make this portal as ‘one stop destination’ for all types of jobs available in the market. Although registrations are fee, applicants would be required to link their Aadhaar Card with the account to filter out genuine applicants and companies which are registering as employers need to submit their registration papers for authentication.

Out of 4.48 crore job seekers already registered with various employment exchanges, 2.6 crore are those who are under 29 years of age. Creating an online, unified job portal for the whole country is certainly targeting this segment of job seekers, who are comfortable using Internet and are aware of their preferences.


Salient features of this job portal:

From day 1, this job portal has included: 2,04,07,548 registered job seekers (2.04 crore), 1031 career centers, 129 career counselors, 1684 registered employers from 53 industries and 23,956 Subject Matter Experts
Rest 2.44 cr registered job seekers would be included within next 6 months
This portal would be linked with every employment exchange across India, and all Ministries and Govt. Departments would be mandated to share their job requirements on this website.
In the first stage, 100 employment exchanges (out of 959) would be digitalized and enhanced to include career counselors and Subject Matter Experts as well. Govt. has allocated a budget of Rs 144 crore for the same. These employment exchanges will be rechristened as National Career Counseling Centers
Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Skill India Mission and MSME Ministry would be directly linked with the job portal, so that startups and SMEs can pick the right candidates for their ventures.
The portal will these features: job posting, career counseling, aptitude assessment, job matching, skill courses, training providers. Special guidance courses on self-employment and entrepreneurship would also start in next few months
This job portal has been designed to create a melting point of three major Govt. initiatives: Digital India, Skill India and Make in India
PM Modi has specifically shared that candidates who are seeking jobs should first be counseled as per his/her area of interest and capability, and mapping needs to done before initiating Skill enhancement program. This online portal and National Career Counseling Centers would serve the same purpose of mapping skills with market opportunities

Although various job portals such as Naukri, Monster etc exist as of now, to connect employees with employers; but services are not free on these sites. National Career Service is not only free, but also provides Govt. as well private jobs, along with counseling and other services.

If maintained and optimized well, this portal has the fire to disrupt the existing job market in India.

[jamwal]

Road safety policy, cashless treatment for accident victims soon: PM

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 225732.cms

Shocked over one fatality every four minutes in road accidents in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government will soon implement a road safety policy and cashless treatment for accident victims.

In view of this, the government would soon introduce a Road Transport and Safety Bill in parliament and work to implement the National Road Safety Policy and a Road Safety Action Plan, he said. The prime minister said there would soon be a nationwide toll free number 1033 to provide information on accidents across the country.

[jamwal]

Pakistan's provocations show that the Modi-Doval dual strategy is working
http://www.firstpost.com/world/pakistan ... 47502.html

Indian policymakers, unfortunately, have never understood the importance of the iron fist in a velvet glove. We have let strategy be decided by public emotion or political peace fantasies, leading to regular failure. This is why we have lurched from extraordinary optimism when peace talks appear to be heading somewhere (Shimla, Lahore, and last May), and undiluted anger when Pakistani perfidy becomes visible (this usually follows the first).
To those who think that India's strategy should only focus on Pakistan's perfidy and nothing else, the simple point is this: this response, too, is driven by anger. It is not effective. Those who say we should not engage Pakistan at all, should ask themselves this: if this policy is right for Pakistan, why don't they apply this logic to China, India's bigger enemy and more potent threat to our long-term territorial and strategic interests? But all analysts steadfastly, without any fear of contradiction, maintain that we should both engage China and be prepared to defend our borders with it.
The logic of engagement and tough ground postures on the border with Pakistan is stronger for another reason: we cannot have a Pakistan strategy that is separate from our China strategy. What we are up against is a Sino-Pak joint strategic gameplan where Pakistan will take on India from the west while China will start pressuring us from the east (Myanmar, Arunachal).

[Hari Seldon]

[AnimeshP]

No news article but wanted to share something I heard at a NASSCOM organised event for discussing the Internet of Things challenge for India. Some of the speakers were part of the NASSCOM committees which deal with the central government in driving the Digital India initiative.

These gentlemen were openly & repeatedly praising the Modi sarkar for the speed at which things were moving. The government has created specific 30-60-90 plans and there are weekly meetings with Jt. Secretaries which were more like stand-up meetings where the focus in on getting things done. They were also praising the fact that for the first time there is a government which is quite proactive in defining policies, frameworks etc.

[Hari Seldon]

[Ankit Desai]

Modi govt signs historic peace accord with Nagaland's NSCN(I-M)

The government has signed a historic peace accord with Nagaland's insurgent group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) on Monday.

This was announced at a joint event at 7 Race Course Road in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Rajnath Singh, other government officials and NSCN(I-M) chief Thuingaleng Muivah along with other leaders of the group.

Speaking on the occasion, Muivah said, "I thank God for this momentous occasion. Naga people have great respect for Mahatma Gandhi. We appreciate the statesmanship of (former PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee."

Praising Modi, he said, "Under PM Narendra Modi, we have come close to understand each other, and worked out a new relation between the two parties ... Nagas will forever remember you for your statesmanship."

After Muivah finished his speech, the Prime Minister described as "historic" the signing of the peace accord.

He said, "The Nagaland political issue had lingered for six decades, taking a huge toll on generations of our people."

He praised NSCN(IM) leaders Muivah and Isak Swu for showing "wisdom and courage" and for making this effort resulting in the historical agreement.

"I have the deepest admiration for the great Naga people for their extraordinary support to the peace efforts," he said.

"My relationship with the northeast has been deep. I have travelled to Nagaland on many occasions. I have been deeply impressed by the rich and diverse culture and the unique way of life of the Naga people."

The Prime Minister said, "... unfortunately, the Naga problem has taken so long to resolve because we did not understand each other."

"The Naga courage and commitment are legendary. Equally, they represent the highest levels of humanism," he added.

The NSCN was formed by Isak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and SS Khaplang in early 1980 opposing the Shillong Accord signed by the then Naga National Council with the Indian government.

The objective of the group was to establish a sovereign nation called Nagalim through insurgency. The NSCN and Indian government agreed to hold talks and declared ceasefire on many occasions, but nothing concrete came out of them.

In 1988, the NSCN split into two groups — NSCN (Isak-Muivah) and NSCN (Khaplang) — over disagreements between the group's leaders on holding peace talks with the Indian government.

The Khaplang group is held responsible for the deadly attack on a convoy of 6 Dogra that left 20 soldiers dead. This led the Indian Army to carry out cross-border raids inside Myanmar against the northeast insurgent groups based there.

-Ankit

[Gus]

another link

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 336662.cms

ET was the first to report on July 29 last year that Modi fixed a one-year deadline to finalise an agreement with the NSCN with N Ravi as the interlocutor.
..
Muivah's statement added that he applauds Modi's statesmanship shown towards finding possible final political solution. "With all faith and confidence, we believe that an honourable peaceful solution will be worked out before long," Muivah's said.
..
Without giving any details on the agreement, it said: "Within this framework agreement, details and execution plan will be released shortly." Senior government officials remained tight-lipped.

"The entire top leadership of the NSCN (IM), including all members of the 'collective leadership', has fully endorsed the agreement and was present during the ceremony," a government statement said. 19 other top Naga leaders from different groups and civil society organisations were also present at the function at 7, RCR to sign the accord at a function where PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and NSA Ajit Doval were on the stage along with Muivah.

.
Before the agreement was signed, Modi spoke to former PM Manmohan Singh and other Opposition leaders.

[jamwal]

Centre to develop 15,000 km of national highway at Rs 1.9 lakh crore

To improve connectivity with far-flung areas including major tourism centres, the government plans to develop 15,000 km of National Highways (NH) at an estimated cost of Rs 1,90,000 crore. The government has "undertaken detailed review of NH network with a view to improve connectivity in border area including coastal boundaries, major cities of tourism, pilgrimage, minor ports and under developed areas," Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Pon Radhakrishnan informed the Rajya Sabha

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 329569.cms

[member_29058]

http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 008_1.html
Why NDA govt's toilet revolution is flush with success
More spending in the first three months suggests favourable change for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

On June 31, the Union ministry for drinking water and sanitation invited a batch of district collectors from various states to instil in them the importance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). The collectors were told the massive outreach programme was not only about the construction of toilets but also about changing the behaviour of communities.

The collectors were told about the success stories of districts such as Bikaner in Rajasthan, Nadia in West Bengal and Angul in Odisha. These have performed exceptionally well under SBM. Non-profit organisations triggered the need for toilets and explained the perils of open defecation. The collectors in Bikaner, Nadia and Angul encouraged communities to collectively build toilets for whole villages and gram panchayats. The collectors attending the workshop were told that within the given budget and rules, it was indeed plausible to scale up the construction of toilets and motivate people in a short span of time.

Until now, the Union government has trained 200 collectors. It intends to train all the 640 district collectors in Delhi in the next one year. The Union ministry also reached out to 180 Indian Administrative Service probationers and directed them to make at least two ODF villages during their field training. A similar approach is being adopted for trainee officers of other services.

Officials say this is the first time the Union government is resorting to such measures to achieve Prime Minister Modi's most ambitious target, of making the entire country ODF by October 2, 2019. In the past, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had made a similar attempt and registered some success. The current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) dispensation has changed the previous programme by delinking it from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employ-ment Guarantee Scheme.

It also made compulsory to geographically tag the pictures of newly-constructed toilets and upload these on its portal to verify the number of actual toilets. The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) has been asked to conduct a third-party review.

Modi is likely to present the NSSO report on the first anniversary of SBM on October 2. The government claims it has already crossed the current target (between October 2, 2014 and October 2, 2015) of constructing six million toilets. Its next-year target is to build 10.2 million latrines.

[jamwal]

Foxconn vows $2 billion push to Make in India; plans to set up manufacturing plants over next 5 years


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ind ... 351590.cms

Foxconn Technology Group is set to invest over $2 billion (Rs 12,800 crore) initially to establish manufacturing plants in India over the next five years to produce mobile devices, TVs, electronic products, batteries and key electronic components, among others, which could make it the biggest foreign investor in the government's 'Make in India' programme so far. "They are planning to make some 400 million handsets here. Half of these will be manufactured for the Indian market and the rest for exports to Middle East, Africa and Russia," a top official familiar with the matter told ET.

"Given the right timing and policy, definitely we've been expressing very strong interest and good ambitions to help India gain wings." Sources told ET that Gou's meeting on Monday night with PM Modi was decisive in the company firming up its India plans. "Gou was in a dilemma regarding investments in India but the meeting with the PM clinched the deal," one of the sources said. The two seemed to have hit off really well with Gou profusely praising Modi and his vision of India. The two discussed several matters, including their birth dates. "They discovered they were born in the same year — 1950," sources said. Gou declared that he was keen to come to India but needed some convincing. He was apprehensive of investing, given the beating India's image had taken among foreign investors in the past years.

[Sachin]

Citizenship soon for those who fled religious persecution
The migrants include not just Hindus but also Buddhists, Christians, Zoroastrians, Sikhs and Jains. {Identify the missing man}

[jamwal]

Police verification no longer required for reissue of passports: Govt

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... orts-govt/

No police verification is required for reissue of passports, the government said today. “For reissue of passports, police verification is not required, provided the first passport had been issued on the basis of clear police report,” Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh told Lok Sabha in a written reply.
The decision will have a significant impact on applicants facing delay due to mandatory police verification for re-issuance of his or her passport.

[SanjayC]

India received $19.78 billion FDI from nations visited by Narendra Modi in FY15
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/art ... aign=cppst

[member_28812]

Rxb, please get a proper name handle, read forum guidelines, and post in threads and topics related to what you are posting - JE Menon

[Gus]

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/f ... 22455.html
India received $19.78 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) from 12 countries visited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in financial year 2014-15.

During the period, Indian companies invested $ 3.42 billion in these countries which include Bhutan, Brazil, Nepal, Japan, the US, Myanmar, Australia, Fiji, Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

The total outflow and inflow of foreign investment in general for 2014-15 fiscal was $6.42 billion and $75.71 billion, respectively, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

In 2014-15, FDI in India increased by 27 per cent to $30.93 billion.

[Singha]

http://timesofoman.com/article/64980/Wo ... -passports

Meanwhile, the Home Ministry is working on a country-wide online police verification project for passports that will cut down the time required for issuing the travel document from a month, at present, to just a week.

The project is likely to be launched from Bengaluru in November.

Under the project the head of district police-- SP or DCP -- will be given access to databases of National Population Register, Aadhaar and the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) to enable online verification of identity, address and criminal record, if any, of the applicant.

[sukhish]

del.

[Rampy]

I think a new terror attack almost everyday should also be an achievement of mr modi.

get your facts right before you post https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_t ... s_in_India

use google chahca. even if you count Maoist attack they have come down

[Rampy]

Saw this in titter, not sure authenticity but if true, we have moved way ahead in last one year

At a time when close to 70% of India’s military hardware requirement is import-dependent and Make in India is being pushed for balancing out this huge gap in import-export ratio, notably, in the last one year, India exported defence equipment to 22 countries, including to the US, the UK, Israel and Russia.

http://defencenews.in/defence-news-inte ... AfBeg84%3D

[jamwal]

Government to upgrade eight National Highways to world class express highways


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 377152.cms

To strengthen the country's road infrastructure, the government will convert eight National Highways, including Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Chandigarh and Delhi- Agra sections, into world-class express highways, Parliament was informed today. The stretches approved for upgradation into expressways include 249 km Delhi-Chandigarh section of NH-1 and NH-22; 334 km of Bangalore-Chennai section of NH-4; 261 km of Delhi- Jaipur section of NH-8, and 277 km Kolkata-Dhanbad stretch of NH-2, Minister of state for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan said in reply to Lok Sabha today.

[schinnas]

Heard from a chaiwala in a private corporate event where media was not allowed.

Brian Cornell, CEO of Target corporation (one of the fortune 50 companies and amongst top retailers in US) was addressing Target India employees yesterday on stage. He was asked as to if he could meet one Indian leader who would that be and why. He responded saying that if he has an opportunity, he would like to meet Prime Minister Modi. He cited several of the leadership attributes of Modi such as courage and breath of vision for development of India, his ability to communicate that vision to both leaders and common people. There was huge applause from the few thousand strong audience indicating how popular Modi-ji is. This view was very similar to what John Chambers (CISCO CEO) had to say about Modi. Posting it in this thread as it is indicative of how CEOs of global MNC are viewing India.

The leaders also talked about sourcing products from India, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc., to reduce dependence on China. There was a talk that given the TPP agreement (Trans Pacific Partnership?), there will be increased trave with Vietnam. Not sure why India is kept out of those trade agreements.

[jamwal]

Recyclers told to use local waste as government quietly slaps ban on import of electronic, PET scrap

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ind ... 366863.cms

The ministry of environment, forests & climate change, through a surprise order issued last month, banned import of all used plastic or PET bottles scrap by recycling plants in India and asked these units to, from now on, rely on similar waste generated within the country.

he ministry has also taken a policy decision to ban import of all kinds of household waste, non-exportable electrical equipment and computers & accessories that don't have a clearly preset residual life.

[member_29058]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 391531.cms
Centre invests Rs 4.85 lakh crore in big infrastructure projects

The Centre has invested Rs 4.85 lakh crore in big infrastructure projects, costing over Rs 150 crore, as of June 1 in the current fiscal.

In 2014-15, the total investment in such projects was to the tune of Rs 5.44 lakh crore; Rs 5.02 lakh crore in 2013-14 and Rs 4.48 lakh crore in 2012-13, Minister of State for Planning Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today.

"The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation monitors ongoing central secto ..

[arshyam]

Small Vendors Take 'Swipe' at Lenders - The New Indian Express

MYSURU: Poor vendors around the landmark Dufferin Clock Tower (Chikka Gadiyara) on Monday freed themselves from the clutches of private moneylenders by becoming MUDRA beneficiaries.

An acronym for Micro Unit Development and Refinance Agency, MUDRA, an ambitious programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, provides small vendors their daily working capital at a low interest.

Corporation Bank distributed MUDRA cards to 150 vendors. Hitherto, vendors were at the mercy of moneylenders who were charging 20 per cent interest a day.

If they sought a loan of Rs 1,000, the moneylender would give them Rs 800 after deducting the interest in advance. After sunset, they had to return Rs 1,000.

Now, armed with MUDRA cards, the women just walk into any neighbourhood ATM and draw the working capital. Interest will be charged on only the amount they have withdrawn. The annual interest for the micro loan is 10.75 per cent. Moreover, the procedures for getting the loan are simple and beneficiaries will get an insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh.

[member_29058]

http://thenamopatrika.com/boost-for-mak ... harashtra/

Taiwan’s Foxconn, the trade name for Hon Hai Precision Industry, on Saturday signed a pact with Maharashtra to invest $5 billion over five years on a new electronic manufacturing facility.

The announcement was made by Foxconn founder Terry Gou and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis after the signing of an accord between the two in state capital Mumbai.

Gou said the company, the world’s largest contract maker of electronic products and counts Apple, Blackberry, Xiaomi and Amazon among clients, was looking for local partners for the planned facility in the western state.

[jamwal]

Explain why you shouldn’t face action for Yakub execution coverage: Govt notice to 3 channels

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... -channels/

Sources said the I&B ministry obtained video clips of the Chhota Shakeel phone-in and Yakub’s lawyer’s statement from the Electronic Media and Monitoring Centre to get the quotes which have been cited in the notice.
For the first time since it took charge, the NDA Government has issued separate show-cause notices to ABP News, NDTV 24×7 and Aaj Tak alleging that these three private news television channels showed disrespect to the judiciary and the President of India by airing certain content on the day 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon was hanged. The Union Information & Broadcasting Ministry has asked these channels to explain within 15 days why action should not be taken against them for broadcasting such content.
The content includes phone-in interviews of Chhota Shakeel on Aaj Tak and ABP News in which he claimed Yakub Memon was innocent and said that four mercy petitions were dismissed in a single day. He also alleged that justice had not been done and that he did not believe the court. NDTV 24×7 had aired an interview of Yakub Memon’s lawyer who spoke about how many countries have done away with the death penalty.

[Singha]

here is the free govt of india run digital locker. you can upload scanned copies of docs for a online safekeeping and use your aadhar details to register. links to such docs can be forwarded to others also it reads.

https://digitallocker.gov.in/

site is undergoing some upgrade and fresh registration is disabled today.

its not perfect but one has to start somewhere
http://trak.in/tags/business/2015/02/12 ... ts-online/

[arshyam]

x-post from the Economy thread

Jan Dhan scheme: LPG subsidy transfer sees zero-balance a/cs drop below 50%

Looks like JAM will end up as the killer app for Modi sarkar. It is tangible and each family can see their benefits flow to them directly.

Posting the Business Line article in full:

Of the 17.29 crore accounts opened since last August, 8 cr have no money
Mumbai, August 10:

The number of accounts with zero balance under the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has dropped below 50 per cent, nearly a year since its launch.

Bankers claim that the rollout of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for LPG — where subsidies are directly paid into consumer bank accounts — have had a positive impact.

According to data available on the PMJDY website, of the total number of accounts opened under the scheme, zero-balance accounts have declined to 46.48 per cent as on July 29 from 76.02 per cent as on September-end 2014.

“The DBT and social security schemes help in maintaining some saving deposits with the bank. Also, we have done a massive campaigning for financial literacy as part of the scheme to include every household,” said a State Bank of India official.

A maximum of two members of a family can have a zero-balance account under PMJDY and get benefits, such as life cover of ₹30,000 and accidental cover of ₹1 lakh per account, mobile banking facility, receive mini-statements, check account balance, and instant transfer of funds, among others, free of cost.

Of the 17.29 crore accounts opened since its launch in August last year, about eight crore accounts have zero balance.

In the rest of the accounts, all banks (public, private and regional rural banks) put together have managed to garner ₹20,769 crore as balance, with public sector banks accounting for ₹16,055 crore. Hence, the average balance per account stands at about ₹2,235 crore. {Looks like a typo}

SBI, the country’s largest lender, has seen its zero-balance accounts come down to 56.7 per cent in July-end as against 93.8 per cent as on September-end last year. Other big nationalised lenders Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda saw a reduction to 50.85 per cent (76.15 per cent in September) and 37.33 per cent (52.18 per cent), respectively.

Among private sector banks, ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private lender, witnessed a sharp dip in zero balance accounts to 44.55 per cent from 92.76 per cent. HDFC Bank saw a decline to 38.62 per cent (77.89 per cent) while for Axis Bank zero balance accounts dropped to 56.74 per cent (77.35 per cent).

Banks have also issued a total of 15.26 crore RuPay debit cards.

PMJDY, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship financial inclusion scheme, now claims over 99 per cent household coverage under the formal banking system.

[Hari Seldon]

India rises by 13 Places in Travel & Tourism Competitive Index 2015 (PIB press release)

Posting in full

As per the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2015, of the World Economic Forum, rank of India has improved significantly to 52nd in 2015 from 65th in 2013. Improving ranking of India from 65th to 52nd position in travel and tourism competitiveness index had been set as a target in the Result Framework Document (RFD) of Ministry of Tourism for the year 2014-15.


The measures taken by the Government to improve India's tourism competitiveness, particularly regarding infrastructure and restrictive visa policy are as below:

Infrastructure:

Development and promotion of tourism is primarily responsibility of the respective State Government/Union Territory (UT) Administration. The Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for tourism projects that are complete as per existing scheme guidelines and sanctioned subject to availability of scheme/funds and utilization of funds released earlier.


Pursuant to the announcement made in the Budget 2014-15, the following two new schemes were launched in 2014-15 under Central Sector:

(i) Swadesh Darshan - Integrated Infrastructure Development as Theme-Based Tourist Circuits.

Swadesh Darshan were launched for development of theme based tourist circuits in a way that caters to both mass and niche tourism in a holistic manner. Twelve Circuits namely North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit and Ramayana Circuit have been identified for development under this Scheme.

(ii) National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD).

In the first phase, 12 cities have been identified for infrastructure development. The cities identified are Amritsar, Kedarnath, Ajmer, Mathura, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Dwarka, Amravati, Kanchipuram, Vellankanni and Guwahati.

Visa policy:

i. The Government of India has introduced e-Tourist Visa facility with effect from 27.11.2014. This facility is presently available to nationals of 77 countries. This is a major step taken to ease the visa regime as the e-Tourist Visa would enable the prospective visitor to apply for an Indian Visa from his/her home country online without visiting the Indian Mission and also pay the visa fee online.
ii. The restriction of two-month gap on re-entry of foreign nationals coming to India on Tourist Visa has been lifted with effect from 4th December, 2012.


This information was given by the Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge), Culture (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, Dr Mahesh Sharma in reply to an unstarred question today in Lok Sabha.

[member_29058]

ABP News Special Report: PM @narendramodi target for Toilets in all school is almost achieved . http://youtu.be/CJI5X_xBKOw

[member_29058]

Already 4.7 Lakhs have enrolled for #APY and Rs.564 Cr collected in 2 months. Imagine when enrolments cross One Cr .mark!!

[Kakkaji]

3.64 Lakh Toilets Built in Schools Since Last Independence Day Says Government

NEW DELHI: With four days to India's 69th Independence Day, the government today said that 87 per cent of schools have been provided with toilets pledged under the Swachh Vidyalaya initiative in the last one year.

"As on August 4, 2015, 3.64 lakh toilets have been constructed," Human Resource Development minister Smriti Irani said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. The target is to construct 4.19 lakh toilets.

[Kakkaji]

X-Posting. Compare the numbers with the post above

This is how seemingly impossible targets are met - through focused hard work:

Toilet talking point for speech

New Delhi, Aug. 13: Officials tasked with ensuring that Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat campaign in schools met its August 15 deadline can heave a collective sigh of relief.

According to a status report, the government has completed 98.2 per cent of its target of building 4.17 lakh toilets in schools.

In his Independence Day speech last year, Modi had promised to ensure at least one toilet each for girls and boys in all government schools across the country and fixed a year's deadline.

A 2012-13 report had revealed that as many as 1.01 lakh schools had no toilets for girls, while 1.52 lakh had no toilets for boys

According to the latest status report, around 7,500 toilets - of the promised 4.17 lakh - are still to be built. Officials said they were planning to get them done by Saturday. "It was in the last three months that the campaign gained momentum. Initially, the pace was very sluggish," said an official of the human resource development ministry, the nodal ministry responsible for constructing the toilets.

Officials said that except for Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh - where around 2 per cent or less work is still to be done - other states have already met their targets.

The report says government and private companies collaborated to build the toilets, with contributions from the public and educational institutions. While the contribution of private companies has been less than one per cent, they seem to have delivered on their promise of building 3,466 toilets, with just 327 of their quota still to be completed.

"The Prime Minister's idea was to encourage people from all walks of life to build toilets in schools. The success of the campaign in schools shows that each sector has delivered on its promise," the HRD ministry official said.

While 2.54 lakh toilets were to be constructed with government funds - of which 134 are left - PSUs had committed to building around 1.41 lakh, of which 7,136 are left. Money from the Swachh Bharat Kosh was to fund 14,050 toilets, all of which have been constructed.

An educationist in Delhi said she "seriously" doubted the quality and the number of toilets constructed, as officials "have been rushing against time" to meet the deadline. "But even if they have made 50 per cent of what they are claiming to have built, it's good progress."

[SaiK]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 489725.cms

One year on, Swachh drive shows results
Of the 4,17,796 toilets that the Swachh Vidyalaya programme aimed to build in a year, over 98% have been completed.


The government is drafting a law under which municipalities can punish those found spitting, urinating and throwing garbage in public places.

READ ALSO: Govt plans to give legal teeth to 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan'
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 850083.cms

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Calling all BRFites to celebrate this! you have to pat yourselves back for this achievement

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[member_29058]

http://thenamopatrika.com/check-pm-modi ... d-results/
CHECK : PM MODI’S LAST YEAR INDEPENDENCE DAY SPEECH PROMISES AND RESULTS

[Gus]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/business- ... 81630.aspx

About 190 million, or one in three of the total 580 million debit cards currently in use in India are RuPay cards.

Modi launched the Jan Dhan scheme in August last year, with the promise to end “financial untouchability”.

So far, more than 175 million accounts, which come with a RuPay debit card and an overdraft facility of Rs 5,000, have been opened under the scheme.

Already 154 million RuPay cards have been issued to these new non-frills account holders. Banks have also issued another 40 million RuPay debit cards to “non-Jan Dhan” customers.

“We are now focussing outside the PMJDY and promoting these RuPay cards even to other savings account holders,” AP Hota, MD and CEO, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which runs RuPay, told HT. “Until one year ago MasterCard and Visa Card were predominant in the market while now RuPay has made a mark and we are hoping to increase its presence further.”

NPCI’s nine promoter banks include State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank and HSBC.

For RuPay, which the RBI first conceptualised in a vision paper in 2009, making it more acceptable in retail merchandise and e-commerce transactions, and globally remain key challenges.

China has a similar card called the Union Pay of China.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), billed as India’s biggest e-commerce site, has launched a RuPay pre-paid card that allows railway passengers to book tickets, shop and pay service bills.

NPCI has tied up with Discover Financial Services and Japanese card network JCB for international acceptance of its cards.

[Hari Seldon]

Editorial in a phoren paper succinctly explaining Modi sarkar's phoren policy achievements, which our DDM doggedly refuse to cover...

http://www.dawn.com/news/1201503

INDIAN Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UAE, and the joint communiqué issued afterwards, should be nothing less than a wake-up call for Pakistan.

Both countries have agreed to enhance their economic cooperation and set specific targets, including bringing UAE investment into Indian infrastructure up to $75 billion and raising their bilateral trade by 60pc in five years.

The communiqué also goes to some lengths to “condemn efforts, including by states, to use religion to justify, support and sponsor terrorism against other countries”, dilating upon this commitment with a specificity and sweep that almost betrays a sense of relish with which the words were written. The language is being widely interpreted to be pointed towards Pakistan.

Know more: Modi steps into Pakistan-UAE breach

By itself, the growing closeness between India and the UAE would be cause for little more than some alarm. But given the diplomatic moves under way in the region it highlights how the conduct of foreign policy is changing in profound ways.

India has already received overtures from Iran for expanding its economic beachhead at Chabahar port, giving access to Iran and Afghanistan as well. It has obtained American support for its Look East policy, building a Trilateral Highway through Myanmar to Thailand, as well as greater connectivity with ASEAN countries.

The main artery of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) corridor is almost ready as an all-weather road, linking Yunnan province in China with West Bengal. In short, India is on the move in the region, keeping countries as diverse as the UAE, Iran, China and the United States on board as it spins a web of connectivity from the Middle East to Southeast Asia.

This should be enough to wake Pakistan’s foreign policy community up to the fact that their game has changed fundamentally. Lingering territorial disputes are no longer the driving force behind foreign policy. Instead, the foreign interests of states are now, more than ever before, viewed through an economic lens. States can be rivals in one sphere and partners in another.

The game is no longer about pushing a single-agenda item, but the meticulous placement of pieces on an increasingly complex and interconnected chessboard. For Pakistan, remaining wedded to an old foreign policy template developed in the early Cold War years — which saw friends and masters in its search for a big brother who would help solve problems in return for a geopolitical alliance — is no longer a viable option.

Maturity is the need of the hour in Pakistan’s foreign policy, as a thaw with Iran opens up opportunities to the west, and the possibility of building an economic partnership with India to the east — however remote it might seem at the moment — remains a viable foreign policy goal. It’s time to emerge from the old world, and recognise the changes happening in our region before it’s too late.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2015

[Ankit Desai]

Govt launches education loan portal for students

The government on Thursday said it has a launched a website, vidyalakshmi.co.in, for students seeking educational loans and five banks including SBI, IDBI Bank and Bank of India have integrated their system with the portal.

"Vidya Lakshmi (www.vidyalakshmi.co.in) was launched on the occasion of Independence Day i.e. 15th August, 2015 for the benefit of students seeking educational loans," a Finance Ministry release said.

-Ankit