Revised Estimates of Annual National Income, 2010-11 and Quarterly Estimates of Gross Domestic Product, 2010-11

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has released the revised estimates of national income for the financial year 2010-11 and the quarterly estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the fourth quarter (January-March) of 2010-11, both at constant (2004-05) and current prices. 

2.         The CSO has also released the corresponding annual and quarterly estimates of Expenditure components of the GDP in current and constant (2004-05) prices, namely the private final consumption expenditure, government final consumption expenditure, gross fixed capital formation, change in stocks, valuables, and net exports. 

I           REVISED ANNUAL ESTIMATES OF NATIONAL INCOME, 2010-11

3.         The advance estimates of national income for the year 2010-11 were released on 7^th February, 2011. These estimates have now been revised incorporating latest estimates of agricultural production, index of industrial production and performance of key sectors like, railways, transport other than railways, communication, banking and insurance and government expenditure.

           

4.         The salient features of these estimates are detailed below:

(a) Estimates at constant (2004-05) prices

Gross Domestic Product

5.         GDP at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices in the year 2010-11 is now estimated at Rs. 48,77,842 crore  (as against Rs. 48,79,232 crore estimated earlier on 7^th February, 2011), showing a growth rate of 8.5 per cent (as against 8.6 per cent in the Advance Estimates) over the Quick Estimates of GDP for the year 2009-10 of  Rs. 44, 93,743 crore, released on  31^th January 2011.  The downward revision in the GDP growth rate is mainly on account of lower performance in ‘mining and quarrying’, ‘manufacturing’ and ‘trade, hotels, transport, and communication’ and ‘financing, insurance, real estate & business services’ than anticipated.

6.         In the agriculture sector, the third advance estimates of crop production released by the Ministry of Agriculture showed an upward revision as compared to their second advance estimates in the production of wheat (84.27 million Tonnes from 81.47 million Tonnes), pulses (17.29 million Tonnes from 16.51 million Tonnes), oilseeds (302.51 lakh Tonnes from 278.48 lakh Tonnes) and sugarcane (340.54 million Tonnes from 336.70 million Tonnes) during 2010-11.  Due to this upward revision in the production, ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing’ sector in 2010-11 has shown a growth rate of 6.6 per cent, as against the growth rate of 5.4 per cent in the Advance estimates.

7.         In the case of ‘mining and quarrying’, the Index of Industrial Production of Mining (IIP-Mining) registered a growth rate of 5.9 per cent during 2010-11, as against the growth rate of 8.0  per cent during April-November, 2010, which was used in the Advance Estimates.  Due to this decrease in the IIP-Mining, the growth rate in GDP is now estimated at 5.8 per cent, as against the advance estimate growth rate of 6.2 per cent. 

8.         Similarly, the IIP of manufacturing registered a growth rate of 8.1 per cent during 2010-11, as against the growth rate of 10 per cent during April-November, 2010.  Due to this decrease in the IIP, the growth rate in GDP of ‘manufacturing’ sector is now estimated at 8.3 per cent, as against the Advance estimate growth rate of 8.8 per cent. 

9.         The sector 'community, social and personal services' has shown a rise in growth rate to 7.0 per cent in the revised estimates, as against the growth rate of 5.7 per cent in the advance estimates, mainly due to rise in total expenditure of Central Government than anticipated (during April-December, 2010, the total expenditure of Central Government showed an increase of 11.2 per cent over the corresponding period of previous year which was extrapolated in the advance estimates, whereas the RE, 2010-11 showed a rise of 19.4 per cent during 2010-11).

10.       Growth rates in various sectors are as follows: ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing’ (6.6 per cent), ‘mining and quarrying’ (5.8 per cent), ‘manufacturing’ (8.3 per cent), ‘electricity, gas and water supply’ (5.7 per cent) ‘construction’ (8.1 per cent), 'trade, hotels, transport and communication' (10.3 per cent), 'financing, insurance, real estate and business services' (9.9 per cent), and 'community, social and personal services' (7.0 per cent). 

Gross National Income

11.       The Gross National Income (GNI) at factor cost at 2004-05 prices is now estimated at Rs. 48,34,759 crore (as compared to Rs. 48,44,971 crore estimated on 7^th February 2011), during 2010-11, as against the previous year’s Quick Estimate of Rs. 44,64,854 crore.  In terms of growth rates, the gross national income is estimated to have risen by 8.3 per cent during 2010-11, in comparison to the growth rate of 7.9 per cent in 2009-10.

Per Capita Net National Income

12.  The per capita net national income in real terms (at 2004-05 prices) during 2010-11 is estimated to have attained a level of Rs. 35,917 (as against Rs. 36,003 estimated on 7^th February, 2011), as compared to the Quick Estimates for the year 2009-10 of Rs. 33,731. The growth rate in per capita income is estimated at 6.5 per cent during 2010-11 as against 6.1 per cent during 2009-10.

(b) Estimates at current prices

Gross Domestic Product

13.  GDP at factor cost at current prices in the year 2010-11 is estimated at Rs. 73,06,990 crore, showing a growth rate of 19.1 per cent over the Quick Estimates of GDP for the year 2009-10 of  Rs. 61,33,230 crore, released on  31^th January  2011.  

Gross National Income

14.       The GNI at factor cost at current prices is now estimated at Rs. 72,41,026 crore during 2010-11, as compared to Rs. 60,95,230 crore during 2009-10, showing a rise of  18.8 per cent.

Per Capita Net National Income

15.         The per capita income at current prices during 2010-11 is estimated to have attained a level of Rs. 54,835 as compared to the Quick Estimates for the year 2009-10 of Rs. 46,492, showing a rise of 17.9 per cent.

II         ANNUAL ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURES ON GDP, 2010-11

16.       Alongwith the Revised Estimates of GDP by economic activity, the CSO is also releasing the estimates of expenditures of the GDP at current and constant (2004-05) prices.  These estimates have been compiled using the data on indicators available from the same sources as those used for compiling GDP estimates by economic activity, detailed data available on merchandise trade in respect of imports and exports, balance of payments, and monthly accounts of central government.  As various components of expenditure on gross domestic product, namely, consumption expenditure and capital formation, are normally measured at market prices, the discussion in the following paragraphs is in terms of market prices only.

Private Final Consumption Expenditure

17.       Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) at current prices is estimated at Rs. 45,02,974 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 37,82,013 crore in 2009-10. At constant (2004-05) prices, the PFCE is estimated at Rs. 30,91,328 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 28,46,410 crore in 2009-10. In terms of GDP at market prices, the rates of PFCE at current and constant (2004-05) prices during 2010-11 are estimated at 57.2 per cent and 58.3 per cent, respectively, as against the corresponding rates of 57.7 per cent and 58.5 per cent, respectively in 2009-10.

Government Final Consumption Expenditure

18.       Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE) at current prices is estimated at Rs. 9,06,665 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 7,85,443 crore in 2009-10. At constant (2004-05) prices, the GFCE is estimated at Rs. 5,91,761 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 5,64,835 crore in 2009-10. In terms of GDP at market prices, the rates of GFCE at current and constant (2004-05) prices during 2010-11 are estimated at 11.5 per cent and 11.2 per cent, respectively, as against the corresponding rates of 12.0 per cent and 11.6 per cent, respectively in 2009-10.

Gross Fixed Capital Formation

19.       Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) at current prices is estimated at Rs. 23,22,097 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 20,16,186 crore in 2009-10. At constant (2004-05) prices, the GFCF is estimated at Rs. 16,93,284 crore in 2010-11 as against Rs. 15,59,126 crore in 2009-10. In terms of GDP at market prices, the rates of GFCF at current and constant (2004-05) prices during 2010-11 are estimated at 29.5 per cent and 32.0 per cent, respectively, as against the corresponding rates of 30.8 per cent and 32.0 per cent, respectively in 2009-10.  The rates of Change in Stocks and Valuables at current prices during 2010-11 are estimated at 3.3 per cent and 2.0 per cent, respectively.

20.       The discrepancies at current and constant (2004-05) prices during 2010-11 are estimated at (-) 0.2 per cent and (-) 1.5 per cent, respectively of the GDP at market prices, as against the corresponding rate of (-) 0.3 per cent each in 2009-10.

21.       Estimates of gross/net national income and per capita income, along with GDP at factor cost by kind of economic activity and the Expenditures on GDP for the years  2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 at constant (2004-05) and current prices are given in Statements 1 to 6.

II         QUARTERLY ESTIMATES OF GDP FOR Q4 (JANUARY-MARCH), 2010-11

(a) Estimates at constant (2004-05) prices

22.       The four quarters of a financial year are denoted by Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4.  GDP at factor cost at constant (2004-05) prices in Q4 of 2010-11 is estimated at Rs. 13,17,554 crore, as against  Rs. 12,22,573 crore in Q4 of 2009-10, showing a growth rate of 7.8 per cent. The sectors which registered significant growth rates in Q4 of 2010-11 over Q4 of 2009-10 are  ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing’ at 7.5 per cent  ‘electricity, gas and water supply’ at 7.8 per cent, ‘construction’ at 8.2 per cent, 'trade, hotels, transport and communication' at 9.3 per cent, and 'financing, insurance, real estate and business services' at 9.0 per cent.

23.       The PFCE and GFCF at constant (2004-05) market prices in Q4 of 2010-11 are estimated at Rs. 7,72,416 crore and Rs. 4,72,304 crore, respectively.  The rates of PFCE and GFCF as percentage of GDP at market prices in Q4 of 2010-11 were 52.6 per cent and 32.1 per cent, respectively, as against the corresponding rates of 52.4 per cent and 34.5 per cent, respectively in Q4 of 2009-10.

(b) Estimates at current prices

24.       GDP at factor cost at current prices in Q4 of 2010-11 is estimated at Rs. 20,12,528 crore,  as against  Rs. 17,16,675 crore in Q4 of 2009-10, showing a rise of 17.2 per cent. 

25.       The PFCE and GFCF at current market prices in Q4 of 2010-11 are estimated at Rs. 11,70,430 crore and Rs. 6,58,212 crore, respectively.  The rates of PFCE and GFCF at current prices as percentage of GDP at market prices in Q4 of 2010-11 are estimated at 52.6 per cent and 29.6 per cent, respectively, as against the corresponding rates of 53.2 per cent and 32.7 per cent, respectively in Q4 of 2009-10.

26.       Estimates of GDP at factor cost by kind of economic activity and the Expenditures on GDP for the four quarters of 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 at constant (2004-05) and current prices, are given in Statements 7 to 10.

27.       The next release of quarterly GDP estimate for the quarter April-June, 2011 (Q1 of 2011-12) will be on 30.08.2011.

  

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MCQs OF RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

1) The central banking institution of India?
a) State Bank of India
b) Ministry of Finance
c) Reserve Bank of India
d) Finance Commission of India
e) None of these

2) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was established on?
a) 1 April 1935
b) 1 January 1949
c) 1 July 1955
d) 12 July 1982
e) 2 April 1990

3) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was nationalized on?
a) 1 January 1949
b) 1 July 1955
c) 19 July 1969
d) 15 April 1980
e) None of these

4) Which of the following acts govern the RBI functions?
a) RBI Act,1934
b) Banking Regulation Act, 1949
c) Companies Act, 1956
d) Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973
e) Foreign Exchange Manage-ment Act, 1999

5) Which of the following formu-lates, implements and monitors the monetary policy?
a) Ministry of Finance
b) RBI
c) SBI
d) ICICI Bank
e) None of these

6) Headquarters of Reserve Bank of India is in?
a) New Delhi
b) Mumbai
c) Kolkata
d) Chennai
e) Hyderabad

7) The first Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1 April 1935 to 30 June 1937?
a) Sir Osborne Smith
b) Sir James Taylor
c) C. D. Deshmukh
d) Sir Benegal Rama Rao
e) K. G. Ambegaonkar

8) 22nd and Current Governor of Reserve Bank of India?
a) Manmohan Singh
b) C.Rangarajan
c) Bimal Jalan
d) Y.V.Reddy
e) D.Subbarao

9) Which of the following rates is not decided by RBI?
a) Bank Rate
b) Repo Rate
c) Reverse Repo Rate
d) Prime Lending Rate
e) Cash Reserve Ratio

10) The Reserve Bank of India was set up on the recommendations of the?
a) Narasimham Committee
b) Hilton-Young Commission
c) Mahalanobis Committee
d) Fazal Ali Commission
e) None of these

11) The stance of RBI monetary policy is?
a) inflation control with adequate liquidity for growth
b) improving credit quality of the Banks
c) strengthening credit delivery mechanism
d) supporting investment dema-nd in the economy
e) Any of the above.

12) The National Housing Bank (NHB) is wholly owned by?
a) SBI
b) RBI
c) ICICI Bank
d) NABARD
e) None of these

13) The Reserve Bank of India had divested its stake in State Bank of India to?
a) IDBI Bank
b) LIC
c) ICICI Bank
d) Government of India
e) None

14) At Present the RBI holds one per cent of shareholding in?
a) State Bank of India
b) National Housing Bank c) State Bank of Hyderabad
d) National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
e) None of these

15) The current deputy governors in RBI?
a) D.Subbarao, U.K.Sinha, J.S.Sarma and J.Harinarayan
b) Shyamala Gopinath, K.C.Ch-akrabarty, Subir Gokarn and Anand Sinha
c) Pratip chaudhuri, Chanda Kochhar, K.R.Kamath and Aditya Puri
d) Sushma Nath, Nirupama Rao, S.S.Menon and C.Rangarajan
e) S.H.Kapadia, G.E.Vahanvati, Vinod Rai and D.P.Agrawal

16) Which of the following pairings is wrong?
(Country & Central Bank)
a) China : People's Bank of China
b) Pakistan : State Bank of Pakistan
c) USA : Bank of America
d) Japan : Bank of Japan
e) Australia : Reserve Bank of Australia

17) Which of the following pairings is wrong?
(As per current rates)
a) Cash Reserve Ratio: 6%
b) Statutory Liquidity Ratio: 25%
c) Bank Rate : 6%
d) Repo Rate : 7.25%
e) Reverse Repo Rate : 6.25%

18) Which of the following intern-ational organizations serve as a bank for central Banks?
a) World Bank
b) International Monetary Fund (IMF)
c) Bank for International Settlements(BIS)
d) Federal Reserve
e) None of these.

19) Who has the sole right to issue paper currency in India?
a) Finance Commission
b) Planning Commission
c) Reserve Bank of India
d) Ministry of Finance
e) None of these.

20) Which among the following is Oldest in Age?
a) Small Industries Developm-ent Bank of India ( SIDBI )
b) National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
c) Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI)
d) State Bank of India (SBI)
e) Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

21) Which of the following recomm-ended by RBI as a part of anti money laundering measures?
a) Basel Norms
b) KYC Norms
c) Monteray policy
d) Fiscal policy
e) Foreign Trade policy

22) The RBI is not expected to perform the function of?
a) The banker to the government
b) Accepting deposit from Commercial Banks
c) Accepting deposits from general public
d) Issuer of currency
e) None of these.

23) The amount of funds that the banks have to keep with RBI is known as?
a) Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)
b) Capital Adequacy Ratio(CAR)
c) Prime Lending Rate(PLR)
d) Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR
e) Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)

24) The amount a commercial bank needs to maintain in the form of cash, or gold or govt. approved
securities (Bonds) before provid-ing credit to its customers, is known as?
a) CAR
b) SLR
c) CRR
d) Repo Rate
e) Reverse Repo Rate

25) Which of the following is the rate of interest which a central bank charges on the loans and advances?
provided to commercial banks?
a) Bank Rate
b) CRR
c) SLR
d) Reverse Repo Rate
e) None of these

26) The rate at which the RBI lends shot-term money to the banks?
a) PLR
b) CRR
c) Repo Rate
d) Reverse Repo Rate
e) None

27) The rate at which banks park their short-term excess liquidity with the RBI is known as?
a) Reverse Repo Rate
b) Bank Rate
c) Repo Rate
d) PLR
e) None of these

28) Open market operations, one of the measures taken by RBI in order to control credit expansion in the economy means?
a) Sale or purchase of Govt. securities
b) Issuance of different types of bonds
c) Auction of gold
d) To make available direct finance to borrowers
e) None of these

29) The number of regional offices of RBI?
a) 20
b) 21
c) 22
d) 23
e) None of these

30) RBI generally reviews the Monetary policy for every?
a) Three months
b) Six months
c) Nine months
d) Ten months
e) None of these

ANSWERS
1) c 2) a 3) a 4) a 5) b 6) b 7) a 8) d 9) d 10) b 11) e 12) b 13) d 14) d 15) b 16) c 17)b 18) c
19) c 20) e 21) b 22) c 23) e 24) b 25) a 26) c 27) a 28) a 29) c 30) a

Census 2011

India's 15th National census has began on May 1, 2010. The census was conducted in two phases. According to the provisional reports released on March 31, 2011, the Indian population increased to 1.21 billion with a decadal growth of 17.64%. Adult literacy rate increased to 74.04% with a decadal growth of 9.21%. India's population is now pegged at 1.21 billion, an increase of more than 181 million in the last 10 years, according to the provisional 2011 Census report released on March 31 2011. The population comprising 623.7 million males and 586.5 million females is almost equal to the combined population of the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan put together. The population has increased by more than 181 million during the decade 2001-2011, the report said. Figures At a Glance

CENSUS OF INDIA 2011 PROVISIONAL POPULATION TOTALS - INDIA - DATA SHEET

Population 2011 map

Distribution of population sex ratio density and decadal growth rate of population 2011 Table

Administrative division of India map

The growth rate in 2011 is 17.64 percent in comparison to 21.15 percent in 2001. Growth of population 2001-2011 map

The 2001-2011 period is the first decade -- with exception of 1911-1921 -- which has actually added lesser population compared to the previous decade, Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner of India C. Chandramauli said in presence of Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai in New Delhi. However, the percentage decadal growth during 2001-2011 has registered the sharpest decline since independence -- a decrease of 3.90 percentage points from 21.54 to 17.64 percent.Table

The percentage decadal growth rates of the six most populous states have declined during 2001-2011 compared to 1991-2001.

Uttar Pradesh (25.85 percent to 20.09 percent), Maharashtra (22.73 per cent to 15.99 per cent), Bihar (28.62 per cent to 25.07 per cent), West Bengal (17.77 per cent to 13.93 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (14.59 per cent to 11.10 per cent and Madhya Pradesh (24.26 per cent to 20.23 per cent).

Among the states and Union territories, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state with 199 million people and Lakshadweep the least populated at 64,429. The combined population of UP and Maharashtra is bigger than that of the US. Population share of States and Union Territories India 2011 Graph Table

The highest population density is in Delhi's north-east district (37,346 per sq km) while the lowest is in Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh (just one per sq km).

Child sex ratio in 2011 is 914 female against 1,000 male--the lowest since Independence. Sex Ratio of Total population and child population in the age group 0-6 and 7+ years - 2001 and 2011 Table

According to the data, literates constitute 74 percent of the total population aged seven and above and illiterates form 26 percent. Map

The literacy rate has gone up from 64.83 percent in 2001 to 74.04 percent in 2011 showing an increase of 9.21 percent. Table

Interestingly, the addition of 181 million population during 2001-2011 is slightly lower than the total population of Brazil, the fifth most populous country in the world. India in World Population 2011

While China has 19.4 percent of the world's total population, India has 17.5 percent of the world population.

Apart from UP, other most populous states are -- Maharashtra (112.3 million), Bihar (103.8 million), West Bengal (91.3 million) and Andhra Pradesh (84.6 million).

Besides Lakshadweep, smallest UTs and states are - Daman and Diu (2,42,911), Dadra and Nagar Haveli (3,42,853), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (7,79,944) and Sikkim (6,07,688).

"For the first time, there is a significant fall in the growth rate of population in the Empowered Action Group states after decades of stagnation," Chandramouli said.

The EAG states are: UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh and Orissa.

The Indian Census is the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India. With a history of more than 130 years, this reliable, time tested exercise has been bringing out a veritable wealth of statistics every 10 years, beginning from 1872 when the first census was conducted in India non-synchronously in different parts. To scholars and researchers in demography, economics, anthropology, sociology, statistics and many other disciplines, the Indian Census has been a fascinating source of data. The rich diversity of the people of India is truly brought out by the decennial census which has become one of the tools to understand and study India.

Census of India has been conducted in India since 1872 and 2011 marks the first time biometric information was collected.

India's population is projected to overtake China's by 2025 and its large youth population means it can look forward to a demographic dividend that includes ample supply of labour, rising productivity and plenty of younger workers to fund the pensions of those who have retired.

The responsibility of conducting the decennial Census rests with the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India under Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. It may be of historical interest that though the population census of India is a major administrative function; the Census Organisation was set up on an ad-hoc basis for each Census till the 1951 Census. The Census Act was enacted in 1948 to provide for the scheme of conducting population census with duties and responsibilities of census officers. The Government of India decided in May 1949 to initiate steps for developing systematic collection of statistics on the size of population, its growth, etc., and established an organisation in the Ministry of Home Affairs under Registrar General and ex-Officio Census Commissioner, India. This organisation was made responsible for generating data on population statistics including Vital Statistics and Census. Later, this office was also entrusted with the responsibility of implementation of Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 in the country.

India's Knowledge Economy

Private higher education is one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing segments of post-secondary education at the turn of the 21st century. A combination of unprecedented demand for access to higher education and the inability or unwillingness of governments to provide the necessary support has brought private higher education to the forefront. Private institutions, with a long history in many countries, are expanding in scope and number, and are increasingly important in parts of the world that have relied on the public sector. A related phenomenon is the "privatization" of public institutions in some countries. With tuition and other charges rising, public and private institutions look more and more similar.

Private higher education has long dominated higher education systems in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines. There has been a dramatic shift from public to private post-secondary education in Latin America, and Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela now have at least half of their students in private universities. Private higher education is the fastest-growing sector in many countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as also in India. For the most part, this unprecedented growth in the private sector stems from an inability of the governments to fund expansion.

There is tremendous differentiation in private higher education internationally. Harvard University, with its endowment measured in billions of dollars, could hardly be more different from a newly established "garage university" in El Salvador offering specialized training in a few fields. Some private institutions are highly focused in specific fields, such as the world-renowned INSEAD international management school in Paris. Others are large multipurpose universities like the Far East University in Manila, with more than 100,000 students. Some are among the most prestigious institutions, like Waseda or Keio in Japan, Yale in the United States, the Ateneo de Manila in the Philippines, or Javieriana University in Colombia.

Higher education in India is gasping for breath, at a time when India is aiming to be an important player in the emerging knowledge economy. With about 300 universities and deemed universities, over 15,000 colleges and hundreds of national and regional research institutes, Indian higher education and research sector is the third largest in the world, in terms of the number of students it caters to. However, not a single Indian university finds even a mention in a recent international ranking of the top 200 universities of the world, except an IIT ranked at 41, whereas there were three universities each from China, Hong Kong and South Korea and one from Taiwan.

On the other hand, it is also true that there is no company or institute in the world that has not benefited by graduates, post-graduates or Ph.D.s from India: be it NASA, IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Bell, Sun, Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Cambridge or Oxford, and not all those students are products of our IITs, IIMs IISc/TIFR or central universities, which cater to barely one per cent of the Indian student population. This is not to suggest that we should pat our backs for the achievements of our students abroad, but to point out that Indian higher educational institutions have not been able to achieve the same status for themselves as their students seem to achieve elsewhere with their education from here.

The experience over the last few decades has clearly shown that unlike school education, privatization has not led to any major improvements in the standards of higher education and professional education. In higher education and professional courses, relatively better quality teaching and infrastructure has been available only in government colleges and universities, while private institutions of higher education in India capitalized on fashionable courses with minimum infrastructure.

The last decade has witnessed many sweeping changes in higher and professional education: For example, thousands of private colleges and institutes offering professional courses, especially engineering courses, appeared all across the country by the late 1990s and disappeared in less than a decade, with devastating consequences for the students and teachers who depended on them for their careers. This situation is now repeating itself in management, biotechnology, bioinformatics and other emerging areas. No one asked any questions about opening or closing such institutions, or bothered about whether there were qualified teachers at all, much less worry about teacher-student ratio, floor area ratio, class rooms, labs, libraries etc. All these regulations that existed at one time have now been deregulated or softened under the self-financing scheme of higher and professional education adopted by the UGC.

It is not that the other well established departments and courses in government funded colleges and universities are doing any better. Decades of government neglect, poor funding, frequent ban on faculty recruitment and promotions, reduction in library budgets, lack of investments in modernization leading to obsolescence of equipment and infrastructure, and the tendency to start new universities on political grounds without consolidating the existing ones today threatens the entire higher education system.

The economics of imparting higher education are such that, barring a few courses in arts and humanities, imparting quality education in science, technology, engineering, medicine etc. requires huge investments in infrastructure, all of which cannot be recovered through student fees, as high fees will make higher education inaccessible to a large section of students. Unlike many better-known private educational institutions in Western countries that operate in the charity mode with tuition waivers and fellowships (which is one reason why our students go there), most private colleges and universities in India are pursuing a profit motive. This is the basic reason for charging huge tuition fees, apart from forced donations, capitation fees and other charges. Despite huge public discontent, media interventions and many court cases, the governments have not been able to regulate the fee structure and donations in these institutions.

It is not only students but also teachers who are at the receiving end of the ongoing transformation in higher education. The nation today witnesses the declining popularity of teaching as a profession, not only among the students that we produce, but also among parents, scientists, society and the government. The teaching profession today attracts only those who have missed all other "better" opportunities in life, and is increasingly mired in bureaucratic controls and anti-education concepts such as "hours" of teaching "load", "paid-by-the-hour", "contractual" teachers etc. With privatization reducing education to a commodity, teachers are reduced to tutors and teaching is reduced to coaching. The consumerist boom and the growing salary differentials between teachers and other professionals and the value systems of the emerging free market economy have made teaching one of the least attractive professions that demands more work for less pay. Yet, the society expects teachers not only to be inspired but also to do an inspiring job!

On the other hand, many teachers are also exploiting the situation. Due to acute shortage of teachers the Universities, especially the new Universities, are found to be at the receiving end because of constant job hopping by teachers for better pay packets. Sometimes, this job hopping goes to the level of professional black mailing.

Yet another worrisome trend in higher education and research is the emerging government policy of according deemed university status to national labs and research institutes, so that these institutes can award their own Ph.D. degrees, without having to affiliate themselves to a university or fulfilling any other role of being a university. It was expected that these national (or regional) laboratories would employ selected scientific manpower generated from the colleges/universities and nurture their talents towards specific applied goals. But this did not happen, as the national labs became more sophisticated versions of university departments drawing better monetary and infrastructural support and publishing research papers, for which they need research students, who cannot be retained and tapped unless they are promised research degrees.

Traditionally, colleges and universities have been non-profit institutions, operating under legal authority from the State to provide education and engage in research and other education-related activities. These institutions have been owned by non-profit agencies, such as religious organizations, educational societies, and others that have legal authority to own and manage them. For the most part, these arrangements do not permit the institutions to earn a profit, while they are guaranteed a high level of autonomy. In some cases, the university is "owned" by a sponsoring organization, in others by the academic staff and administrators, and in still others by boards of trustees or governors that may be partly composed of academics or dominated by outsiders.

With the stress on cost-recovery measures, many areas of study, including the humanities and social sciences and even the natural and physical sciences, have come under great pressure. Only the marketable areas of study may survive. With the universities emphasizing revenue-generating programs, Darwin's law might come into operation, and other areas of study, however important they may be, could fade away. A significant increase in fees for general education might shift enrollment from general education to professional education.

The trend toward privatization has also created serious problems concerning equity in higher education. While the government is to a great extent able to ensure that protective discrimination policies are followed in government colleges and private aided colleges, resistance to such policies is much higher in the case of self-financing institutions. While the overall elasticity of demand may not be high, such elasticity may certainly be high for the economically weaker sections. In other words, under privatization even if the size of total enrollment does not change, the composition might change in favour of the better-off sections of society.

The government's inability to control the quality of education in private colleges is also being increasingly felt. The first choice of parents and students in general is the government colleges, and when they fail in that endeavour they seek admission in private colleges, where admissions criteria are relaxed for those who can pay the high fees. Unfortunately, even strong proponents of private higher education call for government to take responsibility for regulating quality in the system. But given social, political, and economic factors, the government seems to feel severely handicapped in regulating quality in private institutions. Generally, once recognition is granted to a private institution, which is not a very difficult process, the government is unable to enforce any of its conditions. This is true to some extent even in the case of State-aided private colleges. State grants are rarely delayed for any reason. Massive erosion of quality in private colleges might lower the overall quality of higher education.

Conflicts that arise between national manpower needs and the short-term market signals that influence private higher education institutions have also had serious impacts. The long-term consequences can include manpower imbalances--both shortages and gluts.

In the whole process of privatization, universities might well become more and more efficient, but the important question is: "efficient to do what?" They become financially efficient, generating more and more resources, but in the process lose sight of their main academic goals and objectives. Activities hitherto peripheral to universities tend to become the dominant ones. Universities tend to undertake increasingly more commercial and quasi-commercial activities--such as, consultancy, sale of physical products and services, publication of books, training, and so on. Herein lies the great danger of privatization and to the very development of higher education in India.

SOCIO ECONOMIC MCQs

1.The President of India appoints the Chairman and Members of the National Human Rights Commission on whose recommendations?
(A)Prime Minister of India
(B)Speaker of Lok Sabha
(C)Home Minister
(D)Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha
(E)All of the Above
Ans. (E) All of the Above
2.In which year India ratified International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ?
(A)1966
(B)1968
(C)1976
(D)1978
(E)1979
Ans. (E) 1979
3.In which of the following cities is located the technology center of Unique Identification Authority of India?
(A)Delhi
(B)Hyderabad
(C)Ranchi
(D)Hyderabad
(E)Bangalore
Ans. (E) Bangalore

4.The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) links 37 constituent laboratories with diverse research portfolios as varied as drug discovery to oceanography. Recently we read in the newspapers that CSIR’s latest imitative is launching of an Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) Programme. What is the main purpose of Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) Programme?
(A)To make India a hub of drug research and development
(B)To bring the scientists of the world under one roof
(C)To bring down the costs of the new drugs and make them affordable to all
(D)To make India self reliant in Drug production
(E)All of above
Ans. (C) To bring down the costs of the new drugs and make them affordable to all

5.On the recommendation of which of the following committees the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has been releasing money of the Centers share of recapitalization assistance to the primary agriculture credit societies (PACS) in various states to introduce
cooperative reforms ?
(A)N R Narayanmurthy Committee
(B)Prof A. Vaidyanathan Committee
(C)K Madhav Das Committee
(D)R Gandhi Committee
(E)None of them
Ans. (B)Prof A. Vaidyanathan Committee

6.Express Remit is the brand name of a remittance facility by which of the following banks?
(A)State Bank of India
(B)Punjab National Bank
(C)Bank of Baroda
(D)ICICI Bank
(E)HDFC Bank
Ans. (A) State Bank of India

7.Which among the following is the most important source region of NRI remittances to India ?
(A)North America
(B)Europe
(C)Middle East
(D)Asia Pacific
(E)South America
Ans. (A) North America

8.As per the guidelines issued by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in February 2009, any company with more than what fraction of foreign equity should be considered as a foreign company?
(A)51%
(B)59%
(C)61%
(D)71%
(E)75%
Ans. (A) 51%

9.To achieve 100% financial Inclusion in India, Reserve Bank of India had had issued a circular in July 2009 permitting cash withdrawals of up to Rs 1,000 per day from PoS (Point of sale) terminals at merchant establishments. Recently which of the following bank has become first Bank of India to offer this facility?
(A)State Bank of India
(B)Punjab National Bank
(C)Bank of India
(D)Union Bank of India
(E)UCO Bank
Ans. (D) Union Bank of India

10.Which among the following sector of Indian Economy is maximum dependent on economic developments in advanced nations?
(A)Manufacturing Sector
(B)Agricultural Sector
(C)Mining Sector
(D)Textile Sector
(E)Services Sector
Ans. (E) Services Sector

11.Many a times we read in the newspapers that Government of India is promoting private investment in the country through PPP mode that is Public private partnership. What is the target of the private sector investment in the country by 2012 ?
(A)$ 150 Billion
(B)$ 200 Billion
(C)$ 300 Billion
(D)$ 400 Billion
(E)None of them
Ans. (B) $ 200 Billion

12.Which among the following country has been consistently on the top slot for last four years and this year too in the latest version of World Bank’s annual report “Doing Business 2010″?
(A)Sweden
(B)New Zea Land
(C)Singapore
(D)China
(E)South Korea
Ans. (C) Singapore

13.What is Doing Business 2010 rank of India?
(A)129
(B)131
(C)132
(D)133
(E)135
Ans. (D) 133, last year it was 132 and it has gone down by 1

14.As per the World Bank Report, which among the following in India is comparatively easy for outsiders planning to do business here?
(A)Dealing with Construction Permits
(B)Registering Property
(C)Getting Credit
(D)Enforcing Contracts
(E)Employing Workers
Ans. (C) Getting Credit

15.Which among the following cities ranks first in ease of doing business in India?
(A)Gurgaon
(B)Chandigarh
(C)Hyderabad
(D)Ludhiana
(E)Bangalore
Ans. (D) Ludhiana

16.For the first time in India, in which of the following Budgets “basic reforms in the international financial and trading system ” was stressed in India?
(A)1969
(B)1975
(C)1983
(D)1991
(E)1992
Ans. (C) 1983

17.The recently presented Economic Survey says ” India’s unpardonably large bureaucratic costs are like a valuable resource buried under the ground, waiting to be excavated and used” . The unpardonably large bureaucratic costs refer here to which of the following?
(A)Cost incurred in recruitment and training of bureaucrats
(B)Costs incurred in getting a project cleared in government offices as bribes
(C)Hidden Costs due to unwanted delay in projects approval
(D)Low efficiency of the bureaucracy of the country due to political instability
(E)All of the above
Ans. (C) Hidden Costs due to unwanted delay in projects approval

18.Bring out the incorrect statement regarding India’s textile sector:
(A)India’s textile and clothing sector currently employs 35 million people
(B)After agriculture it is second largest provider of employment
(C)Textile sector has a tendency to shrink as the GDP and Economy grows
(D)Textile sector is a major absorber of low-skilled labor
(E)All of above are correct statements
Ans. (C) statement C is incorrect. This natural tendency has been seen in agriculture sector and not in textile sector

19.Year 2009-10 was a time of inflationary concerns for our country witnessing unusual double digit inflation. In the history of Independent India, which among the following decades had shown 3 consecutive years of double-digit, food price inflation?
(A)1970s
(B)1980s
(C)1990s
(D)2000s
(E)1960s
Ans. (A) 1970s. 1972-73-74

20.Who among the following is the chairman of the Technology Advisory Group which has the mandate to fix the framework for large and transformational IT projects of the government?
(A)Kaushik Basu
(B)C Rangrajan
(C)Nandan Nilkeni
(D)Ashowk Chawla
(E)None of them
Ans. (C) Nandan Nilkeni
21.The following options A to E are news headlines related to Union Budget 2010 , taken from some financial newspapers. Among them bring out the one that deals with Transfer Payments ?
(A)Government projects Rs. 248664 crore for Interest payments
(B)Government projects Rs. 301331 as corporation tax in 2010-11
(C)Government will spend Rs. 60000 Crore on Defense in 2010-11
(D)The Subsidy has been Reduced from Rs. 131025 crore to 116224 crore in Union Budget 2010
(E)The government pitches for Rs. 40000 crore for Disinvestment
Ans. (D) The Subsidy has been Reduced from Rs. 131025 crore to 116224 crore in Union Budget 2010

22.In which of the following example the marginal productivity is close to zero?
(A)7 people working in a bank branch and 3 more join them after a massive recruitment drive of the bank
(B)7 people from a family working in a farm and 3 more join to them because they lost their jobs due to poor markets
(C)7 teachers teaching in a school and 3 more join them to teach 3 different subjects to a class of 100 students
(D)7 people are recruited by a company in unreserved category and 3 more recruited one of them was a physically disabled person
(E)None of them
Ans. (B) Option B is an example of Hidden Unemployment

23.As we all know that economic liberalization began in true sense in July 1991 in India. Which among the following was the first step of the government while taking the country towards Economic Liberalization?
(A)Substantial changes in industrial license policy were made
(B)The Rupee was made convertible
(C)Procedural formalities for Foreign direct Investment were removed
(D)The government significantly reduced the taxes
(E)The Government launched a highly focused Foreign Trade Policy
Ans. (A) Substantial changes in industrial license policy were made

24.Who among the following is not a member of National Development Council?
(A)The Prime Minister of India
(B)The President of India
(C)The members of Planning Commission
(D)The Chief Minister of states
(E)All of above are members
Ans. (B) The President of India

25.Bhoodan Yojna which was a measure of gifting land by the rich landlords to the poor laborers was initiated by whom among the following?
(A)Acharya Narendra Dev
(B)Acharya Vinoba Bhave
(C)Raj Naraina
(D)Medha patkar
(E)Swami Sundaranand
Ans. (B) Acharya Vinoba Bhave

26.As per 2001 census, which among the following states had lowest density of population per sq. kms?
(A)Mizoram
(B)Sikkim
(C)Nagaland
(D)Manipur
(E)Arunachal Pradesh
Ans. (E) Arunachal Pradesh

27.In a condition of monopoly, the monopolist has a control over the price he charges for his product. In which of the following conditions he will be able to maximize his profits?
(A)Lowering the prices if the demand curve is elastic
(B)Lowering the price, if the demand curve is inelastic
(C)Raising the price, if the demand curve is elastic
(D)In all of above situation
(E)in none of the above situations
Ans. (A) Lowering the prices if the demand curve is elastic

28.A competitive firm maximizes its profit when _______?
(A)MR=AR
(B)MR=MC
(C)MC=AC
(D)MC=AR
(E)None of the above
Ans. (B) MR=MC
29.Rs. 10000 are realized after selling 100 units and Rs. 14000 are realized after selling 120 Units. In this example, Rs. 200 is ________?
(A)Price per unit
(B)marginal cost
(C)marginal profit
(D)marginal revenue
(E)maximum profit
Ans (D) Marginal Revenue
30.Who among the following is India’s current Minister of State (Expenditure & Financial Services)?
(A)S S Palanimanickam
(B)Namo Narain Meena
(C)Dinsha J. Patel
(D)Jitin Prasada
(E)None of them
Ans. (B) Namo Narian Meena
31.What is the current limit for collateral free loansto micro and small enterprises (MSEs) sector in India?
(A)Rs. 5 Lakh
(B)Rs. 10 Lakh
(C)Rs. 15 Lakh
(D)Rs. 8 Lakh
(E)None of them
Ans. (A) Rs. 5 Lakh
32.As we read in the newspapers that Reserve bank of India is introducing Base rate System which shall be the new reference rate for determining lending rates for banks. The Base Rate System would bring in more transparency to loan pricing for customers. On which date is being introduced in India?
(A)April 1, 2010
(B)June 1, 2010
(C)July 1, 2010
(D)January 1, 2011
(E)April 1, 2011
Ans. (C) July 1, 2010
33.Recently RBI has released on its website, the report of the Committee on Comprehensive Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies. Who among the following is the chairman of this committee?
(A)Dr. K.P. Krishnan
(B)Subir Gokarn
(C)Ashok Chawla
(D)Shri Vipin Malik
(E)Dr A.Vasudevan
Ans. (A) Dr. K. P. Krishnan
34.”On-line Electric Vehicle,”(OELV) is world ‘ s first commercial wireless electric vehicle. It was launched on March 9, 2010 in which of the following countries?
(A)Japan
(B)United States
(C)South Korea
(D)China
(E)India
Ans. (C) South Korea
35.With traded over 161 million contracts in 2009 , MCX has in February 2010 became word’s ______largest commodity Exchange?
(A)Second
(B)Third
(C)Fourth
(D)Fifth
(E)Sixth
Ans. (E) Sixth
36.Recently we read in the newspapers that attorney generals of seven states of United States are investigating over the charges over world’s largest seed producer that it has abused its market power to lock out competitors and raise prices. Which of the following companies is this world’s largest seed producer?
(A)Asgrow
(B)McKenzie Seeds
(C)Burpee Seeds
(D)Monsanto
(E)Unwins Seeds
Ans. (D) Monsanto

37.Recently Bt varieties Bollgard-I and Bollgard-II were amid news as the reports in various news papers say that Bollgard-I has been phased out in many countries and Bolgard-II are preferred. These verities are of ________?
(A)Bt Cotton
(B)Bt Brinjal
(C)Bt Tomato
(D)Bt Potato
(E)None of them
Ans. (A) Bt Cotton
38.Which among the following is the largest importer of Indian marine products as we read in the newspapers that it has decided to adopt the 20 per cent sampling method on Indian marine Products, especially shrimp, from April 2010 which shall lead to difficulty in exports?
(A)China
(B)Japan
(C)United States
(D)European Union
(E)Australia
Ans. (D) European Union
39.Which among the following organizations holds the largest stake in India’s top depository, National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL)?
(A)National Stock Exchange
(B)IDBI Bank
(C)Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI)
(D)Bombay Stock Exchange
(E)None of them
Ans. (B) IDBI Bank

40.What is Amfis related to in India?
(A)Banking
(B)Mutual Funds
(C)Marketing & Finance
(D)Power Industry
(E)Information Technology
Ans. (B)Mutual Funds Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfis)

Various major schemes by Government for Energy Conservation

Major Schemes for Energy Conservation include following:

1. Bachat Lamp Yojana promotes energy efficient and high quality CFLs as replacement for incandescent bulbs in households by leveraging Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) benefits. So far 2.08 crores CFLs have been distributed at the rate of an incandescent bulb. The scheme has been registered as a Programme of Activities (PoA) with the CDM Executive Board on 29.4.2010 under UNFCCC. This will enable the other states to join the umbrella project (PoA) without registration with CDM Executive Board which is time consuming.
2. Standards & Labeling Scheme targets high energy end use equipments and appliances to lay down minimum energy performance standards. . Labeling of air-conditioners, refrigerators, tubular fluorescent lamps (TFLs) and distribution transformers were made mandatory on 7.1.2010. Six other appliances have been covered under the voluntary programme (Geysers, Motors, Pump sets, Colour TV, LPG Stoves, Ceiling Fans).
3. Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) / Existing Buildings - ECBC sets minimum energy performance standards for new commercial buildings having a connected load of 100 kW. These codes define norms of energy requirement per square meter of area and takes into consideration the climatic regions of the country where the building is located. State Governments have the flexibility to modify the ECBC based on local and regional requirements. Energy efficiency measures in existing buildings are also being carried out through retrofitting. 45 ECBC expert architects have been empanelled. Investment grade audits have been initiated in 35 Central Government buildings and in 400 buildings in the states. 89 Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) have been empanelled and accredited. The star rating programme for office buildings, BPOs and shopping malls have been launched. 136 buildings have been found eligible for awarding the BEE star label.
4. Agricultural and Municipal DSM targets replacement of inefficient pumpsets, street lighting, etc. The pilot activities under the scheme have been initiated in five states viz. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. The pilot scheme in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh will be initiated in the second phase.
5. Operationalising EC Act by Strengthening Institutional Capacity of State Designated Agencies (SDAs). The scheme seeks to build institutional capacity of the SDAs to enable them to perform their regulatory, enforcement and facilitative functions in the respective states. Action Plans for 31 States / UTs are under implementation. The study on potential savings in the states has been completed. The results of the study indicates that the total consumption assessed in all States is 501003 MU of electricity. There is a deficit of 73093 MU and the total energy saving potential is 75364.08 MU. This is about 15 % of the total consumption. If this can be tapped it will take care of the deficit.
6. Energy Efficiency Improvement in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) aims at stimulating energy efficiency measures in 25 high energy consuming small and medium enterprise clusters. Activities under the scheme have been initiated.

The Energy Conservation Act was enacted in 2001 with the professed goal of reducing energy intensity of Indian Economy. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) was set up as a nodal statutory body on 1st March, 2002 at the central level to facilitate the implementation of the EC Act. The Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) lays emphasis on energy conservation and efficiency, particularly through Demand Side Measures (DSM) and estimates 15% saving of energy is possible by such interventions. BEE is targeting: House hold lighting, Commercial Buildings, Standards & Labeling of appliances, Demand Side Management in Agriculture / Municipalities, SMEs and Large Industries, and Capacity Building of SDAs.

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) is a scheme sponsored by both centre and state governments. The main aim in introduction of this scheme is for achieving 4% annual growth in the agriculture sector during the XI Plan period, by ensuring a holistic development of Agriculture and allied sectors.

The beneficiaries of this scheme include Individual, Family, Community, Women, Children. The scheme applies to all the States and Union Territories and is valid from 01-08-2007 to 06-08-2012.

The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) is to be implemented in the coming fiscal year (2011-12) with a budget of Rs. 7860 crore and nine sub-schemes. There is a quantum jump in funds from Rs. 6775 crore in 2010-11 and the scope of the scheme is expanded.

Sharing the progress of implementation of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana with the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, Agriculture Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar informed that the mega programme for agricultural rejuvenation will continue to allow full authority and flexibility to the States even after its expansion.

The RKVY will now have nine sub-schemes. Three of the sub-schemes were introduced in 2010-11 and will be continue this year too. The sub-schemes are as follows:

1. Extending Green Revolution to the Eastern Region of the Country. This sub-scheme gets an allocation of Rs. 400 crore and targets improvement in the rice based cropping systems of Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
2. Integrated Development of 60,000 Pulses Villages in Rainfed Areas. This sub-scheme aims at attaining self-sufficiency in production of pulses within the next three years. An amount of Rs.300 crores has been proposed to promote 60,000 pulses villages in rainfed areas for increasing crop productivity and strengthening market linkages.
3. Promotion of Oil Palm. It seeks to achieve a major breakthrough, special attention will be paid to oil palm as it is one of the most efficient oil crops. Accordingly, an amount of Rs. 300 crores has been provided to bring 60,000 hectares under oil palm plantation, by integrating the farmers with the markets.
4. Initiative on Vegetable Clusters. Growing demand for vegetables will be met by a robust increase in the productivity and market linkage. For this purpose, an efficient supply chain will be established, to make quality vegetables available at competitive prices. An amount of Rs.300 crores has been provided for this.
5. Nutri-cereals. To promote balanced nutrition, higher production of bajra, jowar, ragi and other millets will be promoted. Additionally, projects will be taken up to upgrade their processing technologies and create awareness regarding their health benefits. This initiative would provide market linked production support to ten lakh millet farmers in the arid and semi-arid regions of the country. The programme would be taken up in 1000 compact blocks covering about 25,000 villages. Outlay for this programme is Rs. 300 crores.
6. National Mission for Protein Supplements. This Mission is being launched with an allocation of Rs.300 crores to take up activities to promote animal based protein production through livestock development, dairy farming, piggery, goat rearing and fisheries in selected blocks.
7. Accelerated Fodder Development Programme. To accelerate the production of fodder through intensive promotion of technologies to ensure its availability throughout the year, Rs. 300 crores have been provided for Accelerated Fodder Development Programme. It will benefit farmers in 25,000 villages.
8. Rainfed Area Development Programme. This programme aims at improving productivity of crops in rainfed areas.
9. Saffron Mission. This programme aims at revival of saffron cultivation in Jammu & Kashmir. It gets an allocation of Rs. 105 crores during 2011-12.

Sanchar Shakti

Sanchar Shakti envisages bringing together the combined efforts and contributions of Department of Telecommunication (DoT), Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), mobile and Mobile Value Added Service Providers, Telecom Equipment Manufacturers and their partner NGOs to use ICT to empower rural women. NABARD and U.N Women have also been involved in the development of this scheme.

The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, while launching "Sanchar Shakti" said, real development cannot take root if it bypasses women, who represent the very pivot around which social change takes shape. As we make progress on gender mainstreaming, more and more women will become full partners in many activities of the nation and society. She said, rural women will become both users and enablers of ICT service with the launch of this scheme. Under the scheme Mobile Value Added Services are being designed to provide a variety of useful information to women about health, social issues, and government schemes, as also livelihood related inputs and training over their mobile phones, she added. It is intended that while the targeted group will benefit through improved skills and livelihoods, the overall rural community will get access to facilities such as locally available mobile repair and solar mobile charging centres.

Sanchar Scheme

The Sanchar Shakti scheme includes four categories of projects aimed at rural women’s SHGs:

1. Provision of subsidized mobile VAS subscription to SHGs with a service validity/warranty of at least one year
2. Setting up of SHG run mobile repair centers in rural areas
3. Setting up of SHG run modem repair centers in rural areas
4. Setting up of SHG run solar based mobile/CDMA FWT charging centers in rural areas

Under the mobile VAS project category, seven pilot projects will be initiated in the different parts of India. The projects are aimed at the facilitating women’s SHGs’ access to ICT enabled services and creation of employment opportunities in the area of ICT enabling services. About 15,000 SHG members are expected to benefit from these initial mobile VAS pilot projects. The details of Lead Executing Agency and location of the mobile VAS Pilot Projects are as follows:

1. Tata Tele Services Limited--Uttar Pradesh
2. Sasken Communication Technologies Limited--Tamil Nadu and Kerala
3. Reuters Market Light--Maharashtra
4. Reuters Market Light--Uttarakhand
5. Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Private Limited--Tamil Nadu
6. Videocon Telecommunications Limited--Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
7. Vodafone Essar South Limited--Andhra Pradesh

The mobile VAS projects would focus on providing the women SHG members with a bundle of informational inputs which are pertinent to their livelihood/entrepreneurial activities and lifestyles. This would comprise information related to markets and financial products, skill enhancement, health, social issues and Government schemes. The mode of delivery would include short messaging service (SMS) and interactive voice response systems (IVRS). The content and its delivery will be specially customized for the SHG members keeping in mind aspects of socio-cultural background, literacy, language and gender sensitivity. Training and facilitation and monitoring and evaluation would form an integral part of the projects which shall be completed by Jun-July 2012.

The current Scheme should also serve the purpose of increasing tele-density, as well as broad band connectivity in rural areas, enabling the rural populace to join the cyber community and in this way, bridge the digital divide. With the creation of ICT-skills sets, in rural areas, over a period of time, these areas can become centers for the consumption and production of various ICT goods and services, including hubs for processing outsourced work.

The learning from these Pilot Projects would play a crucial role in framing of future strategies for the empowerment of rural women through ICT. It is envisaged that the success of this scheme would encourage Government and private agencies to use ICT enabled services to reach out to rural women as target beneficiaries of empowerment initiatives and as a potential market segment respectively.

What is USOF?

• The Universal Service Obligation Fund of India came into being with retrospective effect from April 01, 2002 with the passing of the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act 2003, in December 2003.
• The Fund which is headed by the Administrator, USOF has a mandate of providing access to Telegraph (Telecommunications) Services to people in rural and remote areas at reasonable and affordable prices.
• The Fund has already rolled out a large number of schemes aimed at promoting public and individual access to telephony and broadband services in rural India. These include schemes for Village Public Telephones (VPTs), Rural Community Phones (RCPs), Rural Household phones (RDELs), Mobile Infrastructure and Services, Wire Line Broadband, Intra-district OFC Networks etc.
• In recognition of the requirements of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB), USOF has also undertaken gender specific initiatives; like preferential allocation of broadband connections to women’s SHGs has been incorporated in the USOF Wire Line Broadband Scheme.
• A special scheme for provisions of broadband enabled Rural Public Service Terminals to SHGs has been incorporated in the Fund’s activities. These terminals will enable SHGs to provide banking, financial services and other broadband enabled Value Added Services (VAS) to the rural population.

list of Various schemes for the welfare of physically and mentally handicapped persons

Various schemes and programmes that are being implemented by the Government for the welfare of physically and mentally handicapped persons in the country are given below:

1. Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS): Under the Scheme, funds for the welfare of persons with disabilities are provided to the non governmental organizations for projects like special schools for disabled, Vocational Training Centres, Half Way Homes, Community Based Rehabilitation Centres, Early Intervention Centres for Disabled and Rehabilitation of Leprosy Cured Persons etc.
2. Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP): Under the scheme, aids/appliances are distributed to the needy persons with disabilities.
3. National Institutions (NIs): The Ministry supports seven autonomous National Institutes which provide rehabilitation services and with the overall objective of providing rehabilitation services for different types of disabilities.
4. The National Handicapped Finance and development Corporation (NHFDC) provides concessional credit to persons with disabilities for setting up income generating activities for self employment.
5. Scheme for implementation of Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (SIPDA): Under this scheme, assistance is provided to the State Governments, Institutions, Organizations under Central or State Governments for various activities relating to implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 particularly for creating barrier free environment supporting District Disability Rehabilitation Centres, Composite Regional Centres etc.
6. Scheme of incentives to Employees in the Private Sector for providing employment to persons with disabilities: Under this Scheme, launched in April, 2008, the government of India reimburse the employers' contribution for Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees State Insurance (ESI) for initial three years in respect of persons with disabilities employed in the private sectors on or after 1.4.2008, with a monthly salary upto Rs. 25,000/-.

Government has been under taking Various programs to address the concern of Urban-Rural Disparity

To address the problem of urban-rural disparity in the country the Government of India has been implementing various programs such as Special Area Programs, Flagship Programs, Bharat Nirman Programs and Centrally Sponsored Schemes.

The Ministry of Rural Development implements schemes like

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the objective to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) to provide self employment to the members of the rural poor families in the country. SGSY has been restructured as National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) to implement it in a Mission mode in a phased manner for targeted and time bound delivery of results.
• Besides, the Ministry is also implementing others schemes viz, Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Drinking Water Supply (DWS), Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) and Watershed Development Programs with the objective of developing rural infrastructure and basic amenities for improving living conditions of the rural masses.

These schemes are primarily designed to provide employment to the rural poor in their villages besides creating rural infrastructure so that urban-rural disparity in the country could be reduced.

Concurrent Evaluation Studies have been conducted from time to time by the Ministry to assess the effectiveness and impact of rural development programs. The findings of these studies revealed that by and large the target groups of the programs have been satisfied with the implementation of these programs in rural areas.The Ministry of Rural Development has laid special emphasis on monitoring and evaluation of its programs being implemented in rural areas all over the country. The Ministry has put in place a system of monitoring implementation of the programs and utilization of funds through Periodical Progress Reports, Performance Review Committee, Area Officers’ Scheme, Vigilance and Monitoring Committee at the State/District Level, and National Level Monitors. Executive instructions have been issued by the Ministry for conducting social audit of the schemes.

Government to implement Various schemes to enrich the skills in Farmers

The Government is formulating various Schemes with training and capacity building of farmers as one of the components. One such attempt is the Scheme ATMA, started under ‘Support to State Extension Programme for Extension Reforms', which provides support for organizing trainings to farmers at National, State and District level. The scheme also provides for setting up of Farm Schools where progressive farmers with the help of subject matter experts provide trainings to other farmers at six critical stages of the crop cycle. At least, 50% beneficiaries under ATMA Scheme have to be small and marginal farmers.


What is ATMA?
Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is a society of key stakeholders involved in agriculture activities for sustainable agricultural development in the district.
ATMA is mainly intended to:

• decentralize decision-making to the district level through the creation of Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA). 
• increase farmer input programme planning and recourse allocation, especially, at the block level, and to increase accountability to stakeholders. 
• increase programme coordination and integration, so that the programme thrusts such as Farming System Innovations (FSIs), Farmers Organization (FOs), Technology Gaps (TG) and Natural Resource Management (NRM) can be more effectively and efficiently implemented.

Besides this, skill development of farmers, including small and marginal farmers, under Schemes are as follows:

1. National Food Security Mission (NFSM): Trainings of farmers are organized through Farmer Field Schools (FFS).
2. National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility: Trainings on balanced use of fertilizers are being provided.
3. Watershed Development Programmes: Under National Watershed Development Project for Rain-fed Areas (NWDPRA), Soil Conservation in the Catchments of River Valley Project and Flood Prone Rivers (RVP & FPR) and Water-shed Development Project in Shifting Cultivation Areas (WDPSCA), trainings on agricultural production, in-situ moisture conservation, on farm water management, water use efficiency etc. are provided to the farmers.
4. Farm Mechanization Training and Testing Institutes (FMTTI): Training is imparted on operation, maintenance and repair of small tools/ equipments.
5. Integrated Development of Tree Borne Oilseeds Scheme: Farmers’ training is organized for quality seed collection, nursery raising, plantation and production of Tree Borne Oilseeds (TBOs).
6. Strengthening of Infrastructure Facilitates for Production and Distribution of Quality Seed: Training programmes are organized for farmers on fields to upgrade the quality of farmer-saved seeds in association with Seed Village Programme.
7. National Horticulture Mission (NHM) and Horticulture Mission for North Eastern Hills (HMNEs): Need based trainings are provided to small and marginal farmers.

MGNREGA completes 5 years

The nation today witnessed successful completion of five years of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Addressing a large gathering at Vigyan Bhawan on this occasion in New Delhi today, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh called upon the states to strengthen the Gram Sabhas for rural empowerment. He said the Ministry of Rural Development and Ministry of Panchayati Raj has jointly chalked out a plan to strengthen the Panchayats. Technical Units will be set up in Gram Panchayats and to improve the managerial efficiency every unit will have a Panchayat Development officer and one Junior Engineer. Focus would be on Left Wing Extremism(LWE) affected districts and the districts where more than Rs.100 crore have been spent under MGNREGA.

Recent steps taken by the Government to address the concerns of MGNREGA workers:

• Wages under MGNREGA have been hiked by 17-30% this year.
• The transparency and accountability in payment of wages would be ensured by the help of modern ICT enabled techniques like Biometric hand held devices.

The above initiatives are to improve the delivery mechanism of the Act so as to extend the employment benefits to the genuine persons.

Achievements under MGNREGA:

• So far under this programme a total of 880 crore person days work has been generated of which 52% beneficiaries are from SC/ST while 47% beneficiaries are women.
• Efforts are being made to chalk out Micro-Plans at rural level by involving the local people. These plans will decide the category and place of works to be done under MGNREGA besides involving rural masses in the implementation, monitoring and social auditing.

The UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi while expressing her happiness on the overall performance of MGNREGA said this is also the time to learn from the experience and to prepare for the challenges ahead. She termed the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA as a life line of the rural people which has not only been a source of empowerment for them but also a means of social security. She said half of the job holders are women and the increased wages under this Act has helped in checking the distress migration of labours. Lauding the creation of Green Jobs under MGNREGA, the UPA Chairperson said that water harvesting and ground water recharge works are not only a short term employment but capable of ensuring permanent employment opportunities. Expressing concerns over reported instances of misappropriations in wage payment she said remedial steps should be taken in this regard. Mrs. Gandhi laid emphasis on strengthening the social auditing and said the cooperation of SHGs and NGOs should be taken. to increase the land productivity.

In his inaugural address at the MGNREGA Sammelan -2011 ,the Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh said we will have to strengthen the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the days to come and the Panchayats should be made accountable to the Gram Sabhas in each and every respect. He said that MGNREGA has been the scheme of Aam admi and it has transformed the rural India. The Minister underlined the need to ensure transparency and accountability so that the benefit of the scheme reaches out to the needy and the poor in rural areas in time. Mr. Deshmukh lamented the shortcomings in the implementation and said it is high time we address the issue on priority while strengthening the Gram Sabhas.

Under MGNREGA in the financial year 2010-11, upto December, 4.10 crore households have been provided employment and 145 crore persondays have been generated. The average wage earned has risen from Rs 65 per person day in 2006 to Rs 100 by 2011. To further give fillip to income of the MGNREGA workers wage rates have been revised. The notification has linked MGNREGA wage rates to CPI-AL with a corresponding annual increase. The notified wage rates have led to enhancement of wage rates by 17-30%.

Another important attraction of the Sammelan today was demonstration of demonstration of Bio-Metric based ICT enabled MGNREGA process to ensure transparency and accountability in payment of wages to the right person in time was also done . During the Sammelan, “Report to People on Mahatma Gandhi NREGA” showcasing the performance under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA over the past five years was also released along with the “Rozgar Sutra” highlighting the provisions, rights and entitlements under the act.In addition three booklets, namely “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act MGNREGA”, Guide Book for Gram Panchayats in Hindi and English and “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act MGNREGA” for Laborours were also released.

Ten District Programme Coordinators one each from the States of Manipur, Sikkim, Karnataka, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil nadu and Twelve Gram Panchayats from seven states were awarded for their exemplary performance under the Scheme of Awards for Best Performing Gram Panchayats for the year 2009-10. These include Khairwahi (Dondi Block) and Machandur (Durg Block) from Durg District of Chhattisgarh; Kalauna (Dadwali Block) from Sirsa Disstrict of Haryana; Nedumkandam (Nedumkandam Block) from Idduki and Kottukal (Athiyannoor Block) from Thiruvanthapuram districts of Kerala; Pandurna (Mukhed Block) from Nanded district of Maharashtra; Pampura (Asind Block) from district Bhilwara and Badwas Choti (Kushalgarh Block) from Banswara district of Rajasthan; Chuba Phong (Namathang Block) from South Sikkim district of Sikkim and Dhamna (Mauranipur Block) and Dhamna Khurd (Chirgaon Block) from district Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.

Later in the day “Voices from the field” an interactive session was organized wherein the workers who have completed 100 days of work under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA and the Sarpanchs from the rural areas shared their experiences along with District Project Co-ordinators. The District Programme Coordinators and their district teams, bank and post office functionaries and civil society organizations would be felicitated for their exemplary work.

Over 1200 participants from the country took part in the deliberations. These include among others the State Rural Development Ministers, the Deputy Chairperson and Members of Planning Commission, Members of Central Employment Guarantee Council, awardees of excellence in NREGA administration, awardees of Rozgar Jagrookta Puraskar Scheme, awardees of financial inclusion for Banks and Post Offices, representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions, District Program Co-ordinators and his team members, Senior State Government Officials from the Rural Development Ministry, Heads of Financial institutions including Post Offices, Banks and Insurance Companies. It is expected that the deliberations on the five years of completion of MGNREGA would go a long way towards the march of the nation towards inclusive growth and development .