PRS Capsule - October 2024 | 11 Nov 2024

Key Highlights of PRS

• Polity and Governance
  • Guidelines Released for Pilot of Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme
  • SC Upholds Provision on Citizenship for Migrants From Bangladesh to Assam
  • Supreme Court Upholds States’ Right to Regulate Industrial Alcohol
  • Health Ministry Expands Scope Of Nutrition Support For Tuberculosis Patients
  • Guidelines for innovative projects under PMSurya Ghar Yojana notified
• Economy
  • Repo rate kept unchanged at 6.5%
  • Cabinet Approves Rationalisation of Schemes For Sustainable Agriculture And Food Security
  • Cabinet Approves Mission For Oilseeds Production
  • Cabinet Approves Continuation of Supply of Free Fortified Rice Under PMGKAY
  • National Electricity Plan (Transmission) notified for 2022-32
• Science and Technology.
  • Cabinet Approves Rs 1,000 Crore Funding For Space-Based Startups

Polity and Governance

Guidelines Released for Pilot of Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme

• The Ministry of Corporate Affairs released the guidelines for the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme, Pilot Project.
• A pilot project of the scheme has been launched for 2024-25 with a target of providing 1.25 lakh internships.
• Key Features:
  • Criteria for Companies: For offering internships, the top 500 companies have been selected based on their average expenditure on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) over the last three years.
  • Other companies can participate in the scheme with approval from the Ministry.
    • The internship duration must be for 12 months.
    • At least half of this must be spent in actual working experience/job environment.

SC Upholds Provision on Citizenship for Migrants From Bangladesh to Assam

• With a 4:1 majority, the Supreme Court upheld the provision of the Citizenship Act, 1955 providing a separate citizenship criterion for migrants from Bangladesh to Assam.
• Key Highlights of Judgement:
  • The Court ruled that Parliament has the competence to pass any law on citizenship.
    • This competence extends to legislating the provision in question.
  • The Court also ruled that a separate provision under the Act for Assam does not violate the right to equality (Article 14).
    • Assam and the rest of India are distinguishable based on the unique political situation created in Assam by the influx of migrants.
  • The Court also added that the cut-off dates under this provision are not arbitrary as they are based on specific historical events and circumstances.

Supreme Court Upholds States’ Right to Regulate Industrial Alcohol

• The Supreme Court in a nine-judge bench judgment reversed an earlier seven-judge bench judgment and upheld states’ right to regulate denatured spirit or industrial alcohol.
• The Court held that the Constitution empowers states to regulate intoxicating liquors from the stage of raw materials to their consumption.
• It further held that Parliament cannot enact a law to take control of the industry of intoxicating liquor.
• It also held that intoxicating liquors under Entry 8 of List II cover all alcohol that could be used noxiously to the detriment of public health.
  • This includes rectified spirits and industrial spirits (not fit for human consumption) used in the production of potable alcohol and other products.

Health Ministry Expands Scope of Nutrition Support For Tuberculosis Patients

• The Health Ministry recently announced the expansion of the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana.
• This scheme aims to provide nutritional and financial support to TB patients to reduce mortality due to TB.
  • Financial support for each TB patient will be increased from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 per month.
• The scheme will also provide energy-dense nutritional supplements to underweight TB patients for the first two months of treatment.
• Family members of TB patients will also receive nutritional support which will be aimed at improving their immunity.

Guidelines for Innovative Projects Under PMSurya Ghar Yojana Notified

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy notified the guidelines for the implementation of innovative projects under PM Surya Ghar Yojana.
• The scheme aims to increase the share of solar rooftop capacity and empower residential households to generate their own electricity.
• Rs 500 crore has been allocated for innovative projects under the scheme to encourage advancements in rooftop solar technologies and fund innovations in business models.
• The scheme is open to entities and individuals including international co-operation for joint research.
• Projects under the scheme can have a maximum duration of 18 months.
• The selected projects will receive financial assistance of up to 60% of their total cost or Rs 30 crore, whichever is lower.

Economy

Repo Rate Kept Unchanged at 6.5%

• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5%.
• Other decisions of the Committee include:
  • The standing deposit facility rate has been retained at 6.25%.
  • The marginal standing facility rate and the bank rate have been retained at 6.75%.
  • The MPC decided to change its stance to neutral from its earlier disinflationary stance.
  • It also decided to remain focused on keeping inflation in line with the target of 4% while supporting growth.

Cabinet Approves Rationalisation of Schemes For Sustainable Agriculture And Food Security

• The Union Cabinet approved the rationalisation of all existing centrally sponsored schemes under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare into two umbrella schemes:
  • Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY): The PM-RKVY will be implemented with an outlay of Rs 57,075 crore to promote sustainable agriculture.
  • Krishonnati Yojana: The Krishonnati Yojana will be targeted at achieving food security for self-sufficiency with a proposed outlay of Rs 44,247 crore.

Cabinet Approves Mission For Oilseeds Production

• The Union Cabinet approved the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds).
• The Mission will be implemented with a proposed allocation of Rs 10,103 crore between 2024-25 to 2030-31.
• The mission aims to increase the production of primary oilseed crops from 39 million tonnes in 2022-23 to 70 million tonnes by 2030-31.
• These include rapeseed mustard, Groundnut, Soybean, Sunflower, and Sesamum. Domestic edible oil production in 2023- 24 is estimated to be 12 million tonnes.

Cabinet Approves Continuation of Supply of Free Fortified Rice Under PMGKAY

• The Union Cabinet approved the continuation of supply of free fortified rice under all welfare schemes including the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
• The free supply has been extended from July 2024 to December 2028.
• Rice fortification involves adding rice kernels enriched with micronutrients to regular rice.
• It will be implemented as a central sector scheme funded by the Union government.

National Electricity Plan (Transmission) notified for 2022-32

• The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) notified the National Electricity Plan (NEP) (Volume-II Transmission) for 2022-32.
  • In May 2023, CEA had notified NEP (Volume-I Generation).
• CEA is required to formulate a National Electricity Plan once in five years under the Electricity Act, 2003.
• Key Features of the Plan:
  • Current Capacity and Target: The NEP plans to add 1,91,474 km of transmission lines during 2022-32 (at voltage levels of 220 kV and above).
  • Target for 2017-22 not met: The Plan noted that target capacity addition for 2017-2022 could not be achieved due to reasons such as the Covid-19 pandemic and delay in getting forest clearance.
  • Renewable Target: The Plan noted that the installed electricity generation capacity from renewable energy sources was 193.5 GW as of May 31, 2024.
    • The NEP provides a plan for installing a transmission system associated with a renewable energy capacity of 613 GW by 2032.

Science and Technology

Cabinet Approves Rs 1,000 Crore Funding For Space-Based Startups

• The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund to support space-based startups.
• This fund is being set up by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (INSPACe).
• The fund would be deployed over a five-year period starting from 2025 to 2030, with an annual deployment of Rs 150-200 crore.
• This fund is expected to benefit around 40 space-based startup companies.