National
Central Sector Scheme ‘PM Vishwakarma’ to support traditional artisans and craftspeople of rural and urban India
⇒ The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved a new Central Sector Scheme “PM Vishwakarma” with a financial outlay of Rs 13,000 crore for a period of five years (FY 2023-24 to FY 2027-28) on 16 August 2023.
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi officially launched the Central Sector Scheme PM Vishwakarma at New Delhi on 17 September 2023.
Aim:
The scheme aims to strengthen and nurture the Guru-Shishya parampara or family-based practice of traditional skills by artisans and craftspeople working with their hands and tools. The scheme also aims at improving the quality, as well as the reach of products and services of artisans and craftspeople and to ensure that the Vishwakarmas are integrated with the domestic and global value chains.
Key Points:
- Under PM Vishwakarma scheme, the artisans and craftspeople will be provided recognition through PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card, Credit Support upto Rs 1 lakh (First Tranche) and Rs 2 lakh (Second Tranche) with a concessional interest rate of 5%.
- The Scheme will further provide Skill Upgradation, Toolkit Incentive, Incentive for Digital Transactions and Marketing Support.
- The scheme will provide support to artisans and craftspeople of rural and urban areas across India.
Eighteen traditional trades will be covered in the first instance under PM Vishwakarma.
These trades include-
- Carpenter (Suthar)
- Boat Maker
- Armourer
- Blacksmith (Lohar)
- Hammer and Tool Kit Maker
- Locksmith
- Goldsmith (Sonar)
- Potter (Kumhaar)
- Sculptor (Moortikar, stone carver), Stone breaker
10. Cobbler(Charmkar)/ Shoesmith/Footwear artisan
11. Mason (Rajmistri)
12. Basket/Mat/Broom Maker/Coir Weaver
13. Doll & Toy Maker (Traditional)
14. Barber (Naai)
15. Garland maker (Malakaar)
16. Washerman (Dhobi)
17. Tailor (Darzi)
18. Fishing Net Maker
“PM-eBus Sewa” for augmenting city bus operations
⇒ The Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a bus scheme “PM-eBus Sewa” for augmenting city bus operation by 10,000 e-buses on PPP model.
- The Scheme would have an estimated cost of Rs 57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs 20,000 crore will be provided by the Central government. The Scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.
Reaching the Unreached:
The scheme will cover cities of Three lakh and above population as per census 2011 including all the Capital cities of Union Territories, North Eastern Region and Hill States. Under this scheme priority will be given to cities having no organized bus service.
The Scheme has two segments:
Segment A – Augmenting the City bus services: (169 cities)
- The approved bus scheme will augment city bus operations with 10,000 e-buses on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
- Associated Infrastructure will provide support for Development/ up-gradation of depot infrastructure; and Creation of behind-the-meter power infrastructure (substation, etc.) for e-buses.
Segment B– Green Urban Mobility Initiatives (GUMI): (181 cities)
- The scheme envisages green initiatives like bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, NCMC-based Automated Fare Collection Systems, Charging infrastructure, etc.
- Support for Operation: Under the scheme, States/Cities shall be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators. The Central Government will support these bus operations by providing subsidy to the extent specified in the proposed scheme.
Boost to E-Mobility:
- The scheme will promote e-mobility and provide full support for behind-the-meter power infrastructure.
- Cities will also be supported for development of charging infrastructure under Green Urban Mobility Initiatives.
- The support to bus priority infrastructure shall not only accelerate the proliferation of state-of-the-art, energy efficient electric buses but also foster the innovation in the e-mobility sector as well as development of resilient supply chain for electric vehicles.
- This scheme shall also bring in economies of scale for procurement of electric buses through aggregation for e-buses.
- Adoption to Electric mobility will reduce noise and air pollution and curb carbon emission.
- Modal shift due to increased share of bus-based public transportation will lead to GHG reduction.
Mobile App ‘Floodwatch’ To Provide Real-Time Flood Forecasts To Public
⇒ The Chairman, Central Water Commission, Shri Kushvinder Vohra launched the mobile application, “FloodWatch” on 17 August 2023.
- The mobile was launched with the aim of using mobile phones to disseminate information related to the flood situation and forecasts up to 7 days on a real-time basis to the public.
About App:
- The in-house developed user-friendly app has readable and audio broadcast and all the information is available in 2 languages, viz English and Hindi.
- “FloodWatch” app utilizes advanced technologies such as satellite data analysis, mathematical modelling, and real-time monitoring to deliver accurate and timely flood forecasts.
- With this app, users can access essential information regarding flood situation in the country.
Key feature of the app includes real-time flood monitoring where users can check up-to-date flood situation throughout the country.
- The app utilizes near real-time river flow data from various sources.
- The app also provides flood forecast at nearest location where users can check the flood advisory at the station nearest to them on the Home Page itself.
Other key features include forecast using an Interactive Map where users can check the CWC Flood Forecast (up to 24 hours) or Flood Advisory (up to 7 days) either by directly selecting the station from map or the user can also search for the name of the station in the search box.
- The location will be zoomed in on the map when the name of the station will be selected from the dropdown.
- The app will also provide State-wise/Basin-wise Flood Forecast (up to 24 hours) or Flood Advisory (up to 7 days) which can be accessed by selecting specific stations, state wise or basin wise from the dropdown menu.
International
G20 4th Digital Economy Working Group Meeting
⇒ The 4th meeting of the G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) was held in Bengaluru, Karnataka from August 16 – 18, 2023.
- Over 100 foreign delegates from G20 members, 9 invited countries and 5 International Organizations namely OECD, ITU, UNDP, World Bank and UNESCO attended the meeting.
Before this meeting, three Digital Economy Working Group Meetings had been held.
Focus areas of the working group:
- Digital public infrastructure
- Digital skilling
- Cybersecurity in Digital Economy
In the fourth and final meeting of the DEWG, it started off with a welcome address by Shri Sushil Pal, Co-chair of G20 DEWG, and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
- Thereafter, the detailed deliberations on the draft “G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Declaration” were held regarding the priority areas such as ‘Digital Public Infrastructure’ and ‘Security in the Digital Economy’.
- The declaration was taken up for consideration and acceptance in the Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting (DEMM) that was scheduled on August 19, 2023.
G20-Digital Innovation Alliance Summit:
Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and IT, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurated the G20-Digital Innovation Alliance Summit which was held in Bengaluru from August 17th -18th, 2023.
- The two-day summit was held on the sidelines of the 4th meeting of DEWG under G20, which was attended by global experts and digital leaders including representatives from other G20 countries.
Key Points:
- The Summit had focused discussions on ‘Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)’, ‘Security in the Digital Economy’, ‘Digital Skilling’, etc.
- The Minister also inaugurated an innovation exhibition that was put up by corporates and startups, on the sidelines of the Summit.
- As part of India’s G20 Presidency, G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA) initiative was launched under MeitY Startup Hub. It recognizes and accelerates the growth of startups from all G20 countries and nine invited guest countries in six sectors – Ed-tech, Health-tech, Agri-tech, Fin-tech, Secured Digital Infrastructure, and Circular Economy that are using digital technologies to solve humanity’s most pressing needs.
- A total of 174 startups from 29 countries were part of the program. These startups pitched to a jury of global leaders at the G20-DIA Summit.
- The Summit culminated on August 18, 2023, with an awards ceremony in which 30 startups were honoured in various categories. The meeting concluded with delegates immersed in mesmerising dance and musical performances, celebrating India’s rich cultural diversity.