Project Aim Implementation Status Update March 2016: Fill & Download for Free

A2ADon’t know what to add really aside from the usual, Thailand is technically not a poor but an upper middle income country, about the same level as China only with a lot less population.I’ll just quote the World Bank and let you see for yourselfLast updated March 2018Over the last four decades, Thailand has made remarkable progress in social and economic development, moving from a low-income country to an upper-income country in less than a generation. As such, Thailand has been one of the widely cited development success stories, with sustained strong growth and impressive poverty reduction, particularly in the 1980s.Thailand’s economy grew at an average annual rate of 7.5% in the boom years of 1960 to 1996 and 5% following the Asian financial crisis during 1999-2005, creating millions of jobs that helped pull millions of people out of poverty. Gains along multiple dimensions of welfare have been impressive: more children are now getting more years of education, and virtually everyone is now covered by health insurance while other forms of social security have expanded. After average growth slowed to 3.5% over 2005-2015, with a dip to 2.3 % in 2014-2016, Thailand is now on the path to recovery. Economic growth reached 3.9% in 2017 - the best growth performance since 2012 - and is expected to expand further to 4.1% in 2018.Poverty declined substantially over the last 30 years from 67% in 1986 to 7.2% in 2015 during periods of high growth and rising agricultural prices. However, poverty and inequality continue to pose significant challenges, with vulnerabilities as a result of faltering economic growth, falling agricultural prices, and ongoing droughts. As of 2014, over 80% of the country's 7.1 million poor live in rural areas. Moreover, an additional 6.7 million were living within 20% above the national poverty line and remained vulnerable to falling back into poverty. Although inequality has declined over the past 30 years, significant and growing disparities in household income and consumption can be seen across and within regions of Thailand, with pockets of poverty remaining in the Northeast, North, and Deep South.The rate of economic recovery and reigniting growth will depend on how fast Thailand can address structural constraints to growth, while promoting inclusion. There are opportunities in the horizon, including improving the business regulatory environment, expanding trade through enhanced integration with the global economy, bolstering growth by implementing transformative public investments to crowd-in private capital, stimulate domestic consumption, and improving quality of public services across the entire country. This will support a resumption of a higher, more balanced, growth path that eliminates poverty and boosts shared prosperity for all citizens.Thailand has laid out its long-term economic goals in its 20-Year National Strategy (2017 – 2036) for attaining developed country status through broad reforms. The reforms address economic stability, human capital, equal economic opportunities, environmental sustainability, competitiveness, and effective government bureaucracies. Recent reforms include the implementation of large multi-year public infrastructure projects related to dual tracking of railways, regulatory reforms aimed at improving ease of doing business, setting up the State Enterprise Policy Committee to improve state-owned enterprise governance, the transfer of supervisory oversight of specialized financial institutions to the Bank of Thailand, the approval of progressive inheritance and property taxes, and the launch of the National Savings Fund, a retirement safety net for informal workers.

Disclaimer: I am former AAP (in 2012, in Ahmedabad, I joined AAP because initially I thought that they are against corruption but soon I found the agenda of party, they are just against a person and his name is Modi) member but when I went to their office so that they can give some informative work that can be beneficial to public but I don't get it, instead they asked me to do research on something which is annoying me and that to for their rival of politics, I asked to do research how Modi is doing good thing and yes, propaganda was to publish the loopholes in media to defame the initiative took by him in an adverse manner that can grab the votes to AAP. While doing research I found some good things which are the initiatives led by our Honourable Prime Minister Mr. Modi. I resigned from AAP in 2013, and never joined either BJP or any other political party.I have witnessed some changes and below are some summarised examples I have of change that I have witnessed:Change of mindset: People of India moreover on Quora asked about change after he became Prime Minister. Yes, I have seen people throwing garbages here and there but I can easily see people now a days want cleanliness around them. This mentality was gifted by Swachch Bharat Abhiyan. Suddenly, I can see vendors also support his good initiatives and had Benner like this in front of their shops, “If you can read this, we assume are enough educated, we are not charging any amount for throwing garbage in dustbin. Please keep clean.” Yes, it happened when I visited Vadodara when I saw some volunteer informing passengers for not spitting and keeping the Newly Opened Bus Depot clean. Some of the people are there who were found spitting and they got punished for Rs. 500 on public place by the authority. It is necessary to keep our surroundings clean, Modi just started this from root level and also he broke the stereotype mentality that a PM cannot handed a broom to motivate people to keep the surrounding clean. Yes, he did in Varanasi. He started this initiative just after he took over the change of being a Prime Minister. Since then I can see this awareness.Fear in Government official to ask bribe: In 2014, in winter of December I went to Delhi for my official visit to DGS&D department for getting a certificate of the same, I went there without any appointments or any prior information to their director. I just met their PRO, co-incidently his name was also Narinder which resembles Modi's first name. I asked him to get an appointment and I was stunned when he just went to the director and said the person of Gujarat coming straight to meet you, the director granted me an appointment. Soon, the meeting was started and he asked me how was Modi in Gujarat being a Chief Minister, I said yes he was very good CM while he served as CM. I was stunned when he said that he was doing job still it was on Sunday to complete his work, I said why on Sunday, he answered you send the man to Delhi just to monitor what their departments are doing on duty, so I also need to complete my work before deadlines and issue certificates on time to our applicants. Soon, after completing our meeting he said something which left me with my goosebumps and he said, you send a man who also not eat and don't let other to eat (he was talking about bribe). This fear should be there in government official's mind and they better should understand they are there to help is not to torture us. I was in Delhi after Kejriwal became CM for second time after he resigned from 49 days government.Routine habits: If I talk about recent developments, he rashes the high denomination currency notes and demonatisation took place where people cannot withdraw more than ₹2500 from their ATMs, we saw queues also, but also we observed that he change the habit of overspending and teach us how we can survive in limited span of money and can control our unnecessary expense. Small companies are also now giving cheques to pay the salary of their lower level staffs like servents and watchmen after opening their bank accounts in the same way that they have opened accounts of their higher level staff in banks. It's something good. I paid by PayTM for purchasing cigarette at a Parlour where Pan and Cigarettes were sold, on petrol pump I paid by my debit card and also my mother who used to carry cash is now carrying debit card for her routine puechsses, though my mother was not well-educated but I teach her how to use it for the sake of her benefits. Moreover, my mother is also spreading the same thing to her circle friends and those ladies are also using debit cards now for their purchases, for your information my mother is used to provide tiffin service and she also running a primary education classes to those children who are coming from backward background since last 20 years.Political scenario: Now a days people of the nation and media kept their eyes on WHAT MODI IS DOING AND WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO? It's great thing where a government is continuously monitored and criticized also for what they have done and what they are doing. Before that people used to see news and just updating the status on their social media platforms. But now a days, people are wise, they are using Quora and asking some change that Modi has brought.Schemes for which that actually have impact in your and others life: Yes, lower cost schemes lead his governance to a benchmark. In simple terms, if I want to explain this, just have an example of his earlier schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jandhan Yojana, where government given target to private sector banks as well as Public sector banks to reach as many people as they can and I can say with proof the data of opening of accounts is continuously monitored by the concerned authorities and sent to government on regular basis. So, his focus was on banking sector to strengthen the financial system through banking and the lazy lame bankers we saw in early 90s are now proactive like never before. He further connect the earlier government schemes to Aadhar and linked it with the bank accounts, it is also nice step towards the change, because if Rajiv Gandhi himself said Government sent 1 rupee and people is getting only few paisas for benefits it is very shameful. Subsidies are now directly coming to accounts without any cutting of commission or corruption.Doing something for people who actually need: Ujjwala Yojana is an example, where a housewife can have gas connection easily if she don't have. Moreover many schemes he introduced in favour of the people who actually need it, Pradhan Mantri Jivan Jyoti Insurance Scheme is also an example he set by providing lacs or cover at negligible amount of Rs. 12 or Rs. 360. I was worked with an organisation where they have provided this insurance schemes to their staffs like watchmen and servents and paying premium for them and same in case of Atal Pension Scheme. It's a change.Decision he took in favour of national interest: Either his decision of demonatisation or his decision of surgical strikes, left vast impact on people which increases their trust on government. Many things but few sentences are enough to understand this because I am not getting paid by BJP to promote this.Change is a continuous process and if you observe your surroundings as well as your own self you will definitely agree with whatever I have written over here directly or indirectly.I need to mention here the schemes he has announces and little bit about those schemes and initiatives he took during this 2.5 year tenure of his government:Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)Launched: ‎28 August 2014Main Objective: Financial inclusion and access to financial services for all households in the country.Official Website: Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan YojanaPradhan Mantri Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (PMSSY)Launched: 22 January 2015Main Objective: Secure the future of girl childSukanya Samriddhi Yojana is an ambitious small deposit savings scheme for a girl child. Under the scheme, a saving account can be opened in the name of girl child and deposits can be made for 14 years. After the girl reach 18 years of age, she can withdraw 50% of the amount for marriage or higher study purposes.After the girl completes 21 years of age, the maturity amount can be withdrawn including the interest at rates decided by Government every year.The investments and returns are exempt from section 80C of Indian income tax act. The maximum investment of Rs. 1.5 Lakh per year can be made while minimum deposit is Rs. 1000/- per year.In case of more than one girl child, parents can open another account on the different name but only for 2 girl child. Only exception is that the parents have twins and another girl child.Official Website: National Savings Institute ::Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY)Launched: 8 April 2015Main Objective: Financial support for growth of micro enterprises sector.Pradhan Mantri MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) Yojana was launched with the purpose to provide funding to the non-corporate small business sector. Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) is open and is available from all Bank branches across the country.The small businesses/startups or entrepreneurs can avail loans from Rs. 50 thousand to 10 Lakh to start/grow their business under the three, Shishu, Kishore and Tarun categories of the scheme.As per the official website of PMMY, 27344053 number of loans have been sanctioned under the scheme till 26 February 2016. The amount sanctioned has reached more than Rs. 1 Lakh Crore.Official Website: Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd.Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)Launched: 9 May 2015Main Objective: Provide life insurance cover to all Indian citizensPradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana is a government backed life insurance scheme in India aimed at increasing the penetration of life insurance cover in India. The scheme is open and available to all Indian citizens between the age of 18 to 50 years.Under the scheme, the policy holder can get a life insurance cover of Rs. 2 Lakh with an annual premium of just Rs. 330 excluding service tax. All the Indian citizens between 18-50 years of age with a saving bank account are eligible to avail the scheme.Official Website: Jan-Dhan Se Jan SurakshaPradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)Launched: 9 May 2015Main Objective: Provide accidental insurance cover to all Indian citizensPradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is also a government backed accident insurance scheme in India aimed at increasing the penetration of accidental insurance cover in India. The scheme is open and available to all Indian citizens between the age of 18 to 70 years.Under the scheme, the policy holder can get a life insurance cover of Rs. 2 Lakh with an annual premium of just Rs. 12 excluding service tax. All the Indian citizens between 18-70 years of age with a saving bank account are eligible to avail the scheme.Official Website: Jan-Dhan Se Jan SurakshaAtal Pension Yojana (APY)Launched: 9 May 2015Main Objective: Increase the number of people covered under any kind of pension scheme.Atal Pension Yojana is one of the three Jan Suraksha schemes launched by PM Narendra Modi. APY is aimed at increasing the number of pension scheme beneficiaries across the country. The scheme is especially targeted to the private unorganized sector and is open to all Indian citizens between the age of 18 to 40 years.Under the scheme, the beneficiary have to make contribution for at least 20 years before he/she can get pension after attaining age of 60 years. The scheme provides a monthly pension of Rs 1000 to Rs. 5000 per month based on the contribution amount.Official Website: Jan-Dhan Se Jan SurakshaPradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)Launched: 25 June 2015Main Objective: Achieve housing for all by the year 2022, 2 crore in Urban and 3 Crore homes in Rural areas.Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is an ambitious scheme of Narendra Modi Government. Under the PMAY, the government aims to provide about 5 Crore affordable homes to the people belonging to EWS and LIG categories by the year 2022. There is a target of building 2 crore homes in urban area and 3 crore in rural areas across the country.Under the scheme, the government will provide financial assistance to the poor home buyers, interest subsidy on home loan and direct subsidy on homes bought under the scheme.Official Website: http://mhupa.gov.inSansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)Launched: 11 October 2014Main Objective: Social, cultural, economic, infrastructure developments in the villages, i.e. development of model villages called “Adarsh Gram”Under the Yojana, Members of Parliament (MPs) will be responsible for developing the socio-economic and physical infrastructure of three villages each by 2019, and a total of eight villages each by 2024.Official Website: Welcome to Ministry of Rural Development (Govt. of India)Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)Launched: 11 October 2014Main Objective: Provide insurance cover to rabi and kharif crops and financial support to farmers in case of damage of crops.In order to make crop insurance simpler and cheaper for the farmers and to provide them with better insurance services, a Central Sector Scheme of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFSY) was launched by the Government of India replacing NAIS and MNAIS.Under the new scheme, farmers will have to pay a uniform premium of two per cent for all kharif crops and 1.5 per cent for all rabi crops.The scheme will be implemented from the kharif season this year, i.e. 2016.Official Website: http://agricoop.nic.inPradhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojana (PMGSY)Launched: 01 July 2015Main Objective: Irrigating the field of every farmer and improving water use efficiency to provide `Per Drop More Crop’.The scheme is aimed to attract investments in irrigation system at field level, develop and expand cultivable land in the country, enhance ranch water use in order to minimize wastage of water, enhance crop per drop by implementing water-saving technologies and precision irrigation.All the States and Union Territories including North Eastern States are covered under the programme.The government has approved Rs.50,000 crore for the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana for next 5 years, i.e. up to 2020.Official Website: http://agricoop.nic.inPradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojanaye (PMGKY)Launched: April 2015Main Objective: Implement the pro-poor welfare schemes in more effective way and reaches out to more poor population across the country.Garib Kalyan Yojana is a Poverty Alleviation Scheme, which is primarily a work shop that you can pay and attend. The effort of the campaign and workshop is to motive and appraise the member of parliaments to help them effectively implement the government run schemes for the welfare of poor in the country.Official Website: http://niti.gov.inPradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana (PMJAY)Launched: March 2016 (Expected)Main Objective: Provides drugs/medicines at affordable cost across the country.The scheme is a new version of earlier Jan Aushadhi Yojana, to be renamed as Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana, the scheme aims to open 3000 Jan Aushadhi stores to sell drugs at affordable cost.Under the scheme, over 500 medicines will be sold through Jan Aushadhi stores at price less than the market price. Private hospitals, NGO’s, and other social groups are eligible to open the Jan Aushadhi stores with a onetime assistance of Rs. 2.5 Lakh from the central Government.**The scheme is yet to be launched in March 2016.Official Website: Jan Aushadhi : An Initiative of Government of IndiaMake in IndiaLaunched: 25 September 2014Main Objective: To encourage multi-national, as well as domestic companies to manufacture their products in India and create jobs and skill enhancement in 25 sectors.The major objective behind the initiative is to focus on job creation and skill enhancement in 25 sectors of the economy. The initiative also aims at high quality standards and minimising the impact on the environment. The initiative hopes to attract capital and technological investment in India.Official Website: http://www.makeinindia.comSwachh Bharat AbhiyanLaunched: 2 October 2014Main Objective: To fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a clean and hygienic India.Swachh Bharat Mission is being implemented by the Ministry of Urban Development (M/o UD) and by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (M/o DWS) for urban and rural areas respectively.Official Website: Swachh Bharat #MyCleanIndiaKisan Vikas PatraLaunched: 3 March 2015 (Re-Launched)Main Objective: To provide safe and secure investment avenues to the small investors.Kisan Vikas Patra is an investment scheme wherein the invested money will get doubled in 8 years and 4 months. However, investors would not get any tax benefit for their investment in Kisan Vikas Patra unlike in PPF. The Kisan Vikas Patra certificates would be available in the denominations of Rs 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 50,000 and there is no upper limit on investment in KVPs.Official Website: National Savings Institute ::Soil Health Card SchemeLaunched: 17 February 2015Main Objective: To help farmers to improve productivity from their farms by letting them know about nutrient/fertilizer requirements for their farms.The soil health card studies and reviews the health of soil or rather we can say a complete evaluation of the quality of soil right from its functional characteristics, to water and nutrients content and other biological properties. It will also contain corrective measures that a farmer should adopt to obtain a better yield.Official Website: http://www.soilhealth.dac.gov.inDigital IndiaLaunched: 1 July 2015Main Objective: To deliver Government services to citizens electronically by improving online infrastructure and by increasing Internet connectivity.The Digital India programme is a flagship programme of the Government of India with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The vision of Digital India programme is to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.Official Website: Department of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of IndiaSkill IndiaLaunched: 16 July 2015Main Objective: Train over 40 crore people in India in different skills by 2022.The main goal of Skill India Program is to create opportunities, space and scope for the development of talents of the Indian youth. The scheme also targeted to identify new sectors for skill development and develop more of those sectors which have already been put under skill development for the last so many years.Official Website: Skill India PortalBeti Bachao, Beti Padhao YojanaLaunched: 22 January 2015Main Objective: To generate awareness and improving the efficiency of welfare services meant for women.The scheme is to have as focussed intervention and multi-section action in almost 100 districts with low Child Sex Ratio (CSR).Official Website: Ministry Of Women & Child Development | GoIMission IndradhanushLaunched: 25 December 2014Main Objective: To immunize all children as well as pregnant women against seven vaccine preventable diseases namely diphtheria, whooping cough (Pertussis), tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B by 2020.The aim of Mission Indradhanush is to achieve full immunization in 352 districts which includes 279 mid priority districts, 33 districts from the North East states and 40 districts from phase one where huge number of missed out children were detected.Official Website: Mission IndradhanushDeen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY)Launched: 25 July 2015Main Objective: Electric supply feeder separation (rural households & agricultural) and strengthening of sub-transmission & distribution infrastructure including metering at all levels in rural areas.DDUGJY will help in providing round the clock power to rural households and adequate power to agricultural consumers. The earlier scheme for rural electrification viz. Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) has been subsumed in the new scheme as its rural electrification component.Official Website: http://powermin.nic.inDeen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY)Launched: 25 July 2015Main Objective: To achieve inclusive growth, by developing skills and productive capacity of the rural youth from poor families.DDU-GKY aims to train rural youth who are poor and provide them with jobs having regular monthly wages. It is one of the cluster initiatives of the Ministry of Rural Development that seeks to promote rural livelihoods. It is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) – the Mission for poverty reduction called Aajeevika.Official Website: Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya YojanaPandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Yojana (PDUSJY)Launched: 16 October 2014Main Objective: To consolidate information of Labour Inspection and its enforcement through a unified web portal, which will lead to transparency and accountability in inspections.A Unified Labour Portal, known as the Shram Suvidha portal was launched under the scheme as a platform to facilitate the implementation of a transparent system for information and database management.Official Website: https://www.efilelabourreturn.gov.inAtal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)Launched: 24 June 2015Main Objective: Providing basic services (e.g. water supply, sewerage, urban transport) to households and build amenities in cities which will improve the quality of life for all, especially the poor and the disadvantaged.The purpose of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is to (i) ensure that every household has access to a tap with assured supply of water and a sewerage connection; (ii) increase the amenity value of cities by developing greenery and well maintained open spaces (e.g. parks); and (iii) reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorized transport (e.g. walking and cycling).Official Website: http://amrut.gov.inDownload PDF Version of the List of Narendra Modi SchemesSwadesh Darshan YojanaLaunched: 09 March 2015Main Objective: Develop world class tourism infrastructure.As part of the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, theme based tourism circuits (TBCT) around specific themes such as religion, culture, ethnicity, niche, etc. are identified for infrastructure development across the country.Official Website: http://tourism.gov.inPRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive)Launched: 09 March 2015Main Objective: Develop world class tourism infrastructure in Amritsar, Ajmer, Amaravati, Dwaraka, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Kedarnath, Kamakhya, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi and Vellankani.PRASAD scheme aims to create spiritual centres for tourism development within the nation. As part of mission strategy, religious destinations that have potential to be show-cased as world-class tourism products are identified and infrastructure is developed on a priority basis.Official Website: http://tourism.gov.inNational Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)Launched: 21 January 2015Main Objective: Bringing together urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation in an inclusive manner to preserve the heritage character of each Heritage City.With a duration of 27 months (completing in March 2017) and a total outlay of INR 500 Crores, the Scheme is being implemented in 12 identified Cities namely, Ajmer, Amaravati, Amritsar, Badami, Dwarka, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi, Velankanni and Warangal. The scheme is implemented in a mission mode.Official Website: Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)Udaan SchemeLaunched: 14 November 2014Main Objective: Encouraging girls for higher technical education and aims to provide a platform that empowers girl students and provides them with better learning opportunities.It is a mentoring and scholarship scheme to enable meritorious girl students to transit from schools to technical education without much difficulty and also aims to enrich and enhance teaching and learning of mathematics and science at senior secondary school level by providing free online resources for all.Official Website: Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource DevelopmentNational Bal Swachhta MissionLaunched: 14 November 2014Main Objective: To provide hygienic and clean environment, food, drinking water, toilets, schools and other surroundings to the children.The Bal Swachhta Mission is a part of the nationwide sanitation initiative of ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ launched by the Prime Minister on 2nd October, 2014.Official Website: Ministry Of Women & Child Development | GoIOne Rank One Pension (OROP) SchemeLaunched: NAMain Objective: To provide same pension, for same rank, for same length of service, irrespective of the date of retirement.This is not a Modi Government scheme, however, the government is making its efforts to implement the long pending scheme.Official Website: Ministry Of Women & Child Development | GoISmart City MissionLaunched: 25 June 2015Main Objective: To develop 100 cities all over the country making them citizen friendly and sustainableUnder the mission, the NDA Government aims to develop smart cities equipped with basic infrastructure and offer a good quality of life through smart solutions. Assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, robust IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation along with safety of its citizens are some of the likely attributes of these smart cities.Official Website: http://smartcities.gov.inGold Monetisation SchemesLaunched: 04 November 2015Main Objective: To reduce the reliance on gold imports over time.The programme is to lure tonnes of gold from households into the banking system. Under the scheme, people can deposit gold into the banks and earn interest based on the value of the gold.Official Website: Ministry of Finance, Government of IndiaStartup India, Standup IndiaLaunched: ‎16 January 2016Main Objective: To provide support to all start-up businesses in all aspects of doing business in India.Under the scheme, the start-ups will adopt self-certification to reduce the regulatory liabilities. An online portal, in the shape of a mobile application, will be launched to help start-up founders to easily register. The app is scheduled to be launched on April 1.Official Website: Ministry of Finance, Government of IndiaDigiLockerLaunched: ‎01 July 2015Main Objective: To provide a secure dedicated personal electronic space for storing the documents of resident Indian citizens.It is a part of Digital India programme, Digital Locker has been designed to reduce the administrative overhead of government departments and agencies created due to paper work.It will also make it easy for the residents to receive services by saving time and effort as their documents will now be available anytime, anywhere and can be shared electronically.Official Website: DigiLocker:Towards Paperless GovernanceIntegrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS)Launched: ‎18 September 2015Main Objective: To ensure 24/7 power for all.The Government of India will provide financial support of Rs. 45,800 crore over the entire implementation period of IPDS under which strengthening of sub-transmission network, metering, IT application, customer care Services, provisioning of solar panels will be implemented.Official Website: http://www.apdrp.gov.inShyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban MissionLaunched: ‎21 February 2016Main Objective: To create 300 rural clusters across the country and strengthen financial, job, and lifestyle facilities in rural areas.Rurban Mission is a solution for both villages and cities in the country that would promote growth of villages and its residents at the place where they are. Under the mission, the government will identify and develop 300 rural clusters with urban like facilities in the next 3 years.Official Website: | National Rurban MissionSagarmala ProjectLaunched: ‎31 July 2015Main Objective: To transform the existing ports into modern world class ports.The prime objective of the Sagarmala project is to promote port-led direct and indirect development and to provide infrastructure to transport goods to and from ports quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.The Sagarmala Project, aimed at port-led development in coastal areas, is bound to boost the country’s economy and the government has lined up about Rs 70,000 crore for its 12 major ports onlyOfficial Website: Ministry of Shipping, Government of India‘Prakash Path’ – ‘Way to Light’ – The National LED ProgrammeLaunched: ‎05 January 2015Main Objective: To distribute LED bulbs and decrease the power consumption.This is one of the many schemes launched by Narendra Modi government India. The programme has been launched to distribute and encourage the use of LED light bulbs to save both cost and consumption.Official Website: http://powermin.nic.inUJWAL Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY)Launched: ‎20 November 2015Main Objective: To obtain operational and financial turnaround of State owned Power Distribution Companies (DISCOMs).The Scheme aims to reduce the interest burden, reduce the cost of power, reduce power losses in Distribution sector, and improve operational efficiency of DISCOMs.Official Website: http://powermin.nic.inVikalp SchemeLaunched: ‎01 November 2015Main Objective: For confirmed accommodation in next alternative train for the waitlisted passengers.Vikalp scheme is available only for the tickets booked through internet for six months and option will be limited to mail and express trains running on Delhi-Lucknow and Delhi-Jammu sectors.Official Website: http://powermin.nic.inNational Sports Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS)Launched: ‎20 February 2015Main Objective: To Identify sporting talent among students in the age group of 8–12 years.The scheme is being implemented by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports for spotting talented young children in the age group of 8-14 years from schools and nurturing them by providing scientific training.Official Website: Sports Authority of India, MYASRashtriya Gokul MissionLaunched: ‎16 December 2014Main Objective: To conserve and develop indigenous bovine breeds.Rashtriya Gokul Mission aims to conserve and develop indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner. It is a focussed project under National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development, with an outlay of Rs 500 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan.Official Website: Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & FisheriesPAHAL-Direct Benefits Transfer for LPG (DBTL) Consumers SchemeLaunched: ‎01 January 2015Main Objective: To send the subsidy money of LPG cylinders directly into the bank accounts of the consumers and increase efficiency & transparency in the whole system.Under the scheme, the LPG consumer can now receive subsidy in his bank account by two methods. Such a consumer will be called CTC (Cash Transfer Compliant) once he joins the scheme and is ready to receive subsidy in the bank account.Official Website: Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & FisheriesThe National Institution for Transforming India (NITI AAYOG)Launched: ‎01 January 2015Main Objective: to foster involvement and participation in the economic policy-making process by the State Governments of India.The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) which replaced 65 year old Planning Commission will act more like a think tank or forum, in contrast with the Commission which imposed five-year-plans and allocated resources to hit set economic targets.Official Website: http://niti.gov.inPradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY)Launched: ‎17 September 2015Main Objective: To Safeguard Health, Environment and Economic Conditions of the Tribals.Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) is meant to provide for the welfare of areas and people affected by mining related operations, using the funds generated by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs).Official Website: http://mines.nic.inNamami Gange ProjectLaunched: ‎ 10 July 2014Main Objective: To integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner.Namami Gange approaches Ganga Rejuvenation by consolidating the existing ongoing efforts and planning for a concrete action plan for future. The interventions at Ghats and River fronts will facilitate better citizen connect and set the tone for river centric urban planning process.Official Website: https://nmcg.nic.inSetu Bharatam ProjectLaunched: ‎ 03 March 2016Main Objective: To free all national highways from railway level crossings and renovate the old bridges on national highways by 2019.Setu Bharatam is an ambitious programme with an investment of Rs. 50,000 crore to build bridges for safe and seamless travel on National Highways.208 new “road over bridges / road under bridges” are envisaged for construction, while 1500 bridges will be widened, rehabilitated or replaced.Official Website: http://morth.nic.inPradhan Mantri Ujjwala YojanaLaunched: ‎ 1 May 2016Main Objective: To distribute free LPG connections to the women belonging to 5 Crore BPL families across the country.According the estimates, about 1.50 Crore BPL families will be benefited under the scheme in the year 2016-17. The scheme will cover 3.5 Crore more BPL families in the next two years. The scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households.This is the first ever welfare scheme by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas which would benefit crores of women belonging to the poorest households.Official Website: Official Website of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala YojanaRashtriya Gram Swaraj AbhiyanLaunchedMain Objective: To help Panchayat Raj Institutions deliver Sustainable Development Goals.It is a new proposed scheme announced in the union financial budget 2016-17 by the Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley.Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan has been proposed with allocation of Rs. 655 crore.Official Website: http://rgsa.nic.inClean My CoachAadhar BillReal Estate BillPradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (Renamed from Indira Awas Yojana)Unnat Bharat AbhiyanTB Mission 2020Dhanlakshmi YojanaNational Apprenticeship Promotion SchemeGangajal Delivery SchemePradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva AbhiyanVidyanjali YojanaStandup India Loan SchemeGram Uday Se Bharat Uday AbhiyanSamajik Aadhikarita ShivirRailway Travel Insurance SchemeSmart Ganga CityMission Bhagiratha in TelanganaVidyalakshmi Loan SchemeSwayam PrabhaPradhan Mantri Surakshit Sadak Yojana (Upcoming)Shala Ashmita Yojana (Upcoming)Pradhan Mantri Gram Parivahan Yojana (Upcoming)National Health Protection Scheme (Upcoming)Right to Light Scheme (Upcoming)Rashtriya Sanskriti MahotsavaUDAN – Udey Desh ka Aam NagrikDigital VillagesUrja GangaSaur Sujala YojanaEk Bharat Shreshtha BharatGreen Urban Transport Scheme (GUTS)Cease of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 Notes to be a legal tenderPradhan Mantri Yuva YojanaBharat National Car Assessment Program (Bharat-NCAP)Thanks for reading my answer.

“Walls”Since the focus of the latest example of government dysfunction and partisan poison seems to emanate from a word rather than a policy, it might be useful to explore that word. The catalyst for the current government shutdown, now the longest in history (although only partial in scope), is the word “wall”. Since the word in this context refers to a structure designed to prevent unauthorized crossing of national borders, it seems reasonable to use a broader term like “permanent physical barrier” (PPB) that takes in a range of structures with the same basic mission. For purposes of this discussion, the now emotion-fraught and political-frenzy-provoking word “wall” and PPB will be interchangeable. Feel free to choose from among parapet, rampart, barricade, bulwark, or palisade as you please.After all, if the objective is the same, i.e. the physical interdiction or serious hindering of illegal entry, you can call it whatever you wish…as long as the function is interdiction and not just detection after the border is breached, as with drones or sensors or similar technology.A discussion about the relative merits and even the “morality” of concrete versus steel versus electrified fences versus multiple layers of barbed wire plus trenches versus a Lincoln Log base topped with Leggos battlements will have to wait for another time.With that as the semi-defined term, a little stroll through history and current practice around the planet might be useful.Let’s start with the “Amorite Wall”, a massive fortified barrier over 100 miles constructed by Sumerian rulers Shulgi and Shu-Sin during the 21st century BC to keep out the Amorites, a group of nasty nomadic tribesmen who had been making incursions into Mesopotamia. It seems to have only succeeded in fending off the Sumerians’ enemies for a few years. Hostile invaders either penetrated the mud brick wall or simply marched around it. Score one for the “Wall’s a Waste” crowd.Around 461 B.C., the Athenians sought to correct their vulnerability to invasion from the sea by constructing a series of barriers to connect the city center to the vital harbors of Piraeus and Phalerum. When completed, these famous “Long Walls” of Athens created a siege-proof triangle of land that allowed the city to easily resupply itself from the sea, which was itself guarded by the mighty Athenian navy. The fortifications made Athens all but impregnable during the Peloponnesian War with Sparta and its allies, but the city was later forced to surrender after its navy was defeated at sea. The barriers were later rebuilt, however, and continued to stand until 86 B.C., when they were destroyed by the Romans, who loved to tear other people’s stuff down. Partially successful.Around 122 A.D., the Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of a 73-mile-long, 10 to15-foot- high stone barrier across northern England to protect Roman Britain from the Picts and the other “barbarian” tribes that inhabited northern England and Scotland. “Hadrian’s Wall,” or “PPB” if you please, stretched from the Solway Firth on the western coast to the mouth of the River Tyne in the east. Though briefly decommissioned in the 140s in favor of a more northerly barrier called the Antonine Wall, Hadrian’s Wall was later reoccupied and remained an imposing symbol of Roman power until their withdrawal from Britain in the early 5th century. Pretty effective for a couple of hundred years.The “Great Wall of Gorgon”, also known as the “Red Snake” for its distinctive red-colored bricks, was a 121-mile rampart that extended from the southern coast of the Caspian Sea to the Elburz Mountains in what is now Iran. It was built by the Sasanian Persians sometime around the 5th century A.D. Surprisingly little is known about the wall’s history, but most scholars believe the Persians used it to guard against the Hephthalite Huns and other enemies to the north. Who knows how well it worked?Then there is, of course, the mother of all PPBs, the Great Wall of China. Rather than a single unbroken barrier, China’s legendary Great Wall is actually a collection of stone, wood and earthen barricades that meander for some 13,000 thousand not necessarily continuous miles from the Gobi Desert to the North Korean border. Construction on the fortifications began in the 3rd century B.C. under Chinas first Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, but the most famous sections were erected between the 14th and 17th centuries A.D. to defend the Ming Dynasty against the steppe nomads to the north. Despite its massive scale and symbolic impact, the Great Wall was not very effective as a defensive barrier. No surprise there. After all, it was a 13,000-mile intermittent hodgepodge of rammed earth, mud brick and, later, kiln-fired masonry. The Mongols went over and through it like a hot knife through butter and the Manchus broke through in 1644 and brought about the fall of the Ming Dynasty.Of course all these barriers were intended to stop invading armies or large armed bands of tribal warriors. They weren’t designed to stop immigrants, either individual or in caravans, although they would probably have been quite effective if that had been the mission. In those days, boiling oil poured from the ramparts or a shower of arrows might well have been the standard reception for uninvited aliens. Very off-putting.Which brings us to more modern examples of the genre. I should say in advance that the status of some of these projects probably needs updating since I looked at this stuff a while ago for another project.The Berlin Wall is, of course, the most famous or, rather, infamous contemporary example of a border wall. Opponents of a wall on the US southern border cite the Berlin wall as conclusive evidence that walls are employed only by repressive, authoritarian regimes like the “evil empire” of the Soviet Union and its puppet state East Germany. There are, however, a couple of issues that make the Berlin Wall a poor analogy for our situation in the United States. For one thing, the Berlin Wall and its extensions across the entire East German border were not primarily designed to prevent illegal immigrants from getting into the country. Rather, they were intended to stem a tidal wave of East German citizens escaping to the West. That’s one rather significant difference. I am not aware of caravans of American citizens storming the US southern border to escape into the Garden of Eden/Workers’ Paradise that is Mexico . The other difference, which made the Berlin Wall quite effective, was the willingness of the East German government to shoot and kill any citizens attempting to breech the barrier. That is not among the options for US border security being considered by either political party, at least as far as I know…although I am sure that many out there are of the opinion that the incumbent president would be happy to open fire on the border busters if he thought he could get away with it. You opinions are hereby stipulated. You need not post comments to that effect.Parenthetically, I cannot resist pointing out the irony that this most egregious example of the abusive nature of walls, repeatedly invoked by the anti-wall people was perpetrated by none others than the leaders of the last great global experiment in “democratic socialism”, the mantra of the new left and a lot of freshman Congresspeople. And it was an experiment that imploded thirty years ago under the weight of its fatal economic flaws after 70 years of tyranny, mass murder and corruption. But that’s off point.The Israeli West Bank barrier or wall is a 440 mile separation barrier in the West Bank or along the Green Line built beginning in 2003. Israel considers it a security barrier against terrorism, while Palestinians call it a racial segregation or apartheid wall. Potato, patato.Suicide bombings have decreased dramatically since the construction of the barrier. Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been less able to conduct attacks in Israel, which have decreased significantly in areas where the barrier has been completed.The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israel Security Agency report that in 2002, there were 452 fatalities from terrorist attacks. Before the completion of the first continuous segment (July 2003) from the beginning of the Second Intifada, 73 Palestinian suicide bombings were carried out from the West Bank, killing 293 Israelis and injuring over 1,900. After the completion of the first continuous segment through the end of 2006, there were only 12 attacks based in the West Bank, killing 64 people and wounding 445.Israeli officials (including the head of the Shin Bet) quoted in the newspaper Maariv have said that as the barrier was completed in various segments, the number of hostile infiltrations decreased to almost zero.The Israelis, not noted for throwing money down rat holes, say the wall, while very expensive, is extremely effective and more than worth the money…but can you really trust the word of Zionist oppressors?Turkey has recently completed the construction of a 764-kilometer (475-mile) concrete wall along its border with Syria.Ankara had launched the construction project in 2015 to build an 826-km (513-mi) wall on the Syrian border, as part of Turkey's measures to increase border security and combat smuggling and illegal border crossings.The construction of a 144-kilometer wall on its Iranian border is almost completed.Ironically, the Turkish walls have been funded under the table by the EU, which is officially opposed to border walls.According to DER SPIEGEL:“The EU states have provided the government in Ankara with security and surveillance technology valued at more than 80 million euros in exchange for the protection of its borders.”A lot of this money was funneled into Turkish regional development authorities that, in turn, issued contracts for construction of the barrier. The EU looked the other way and gave the traditional palms up “who knew” gesture. And why not, since the barrier plugged one of the most problematic routes of refugees to the EU borders.Turkey is either an important NATO ally or an incipient Islamic dictatorship, depending on what the subject under discussion happens to be and who’s doing the talking.Further up the line, Greece is building 12.5 km-long fence at its border with Turkey that will clamp down on asylum-seekers crossing the Dardanelles.Hungary has built two parallel 10-foot-high razor-wire electric fences at the border, which also doubles as a frontier for the European Union.The result is a barrier that stretches for 100 miles and is monitored by soldiers, dogs, thermal cameras and 3,000 newly recruited border police officers.Hungarian authorities say it has effectively shut off the main migrant route from the Middle East to Western Europe; police arrested only five undocumented immigrants last month, compared with 3,528 before the fence existed in March 2016.The Calais border barrier is an international border barrier under construction jointly by France and the United Kingdom. It is designed to prevent illegal migrants from gaining access to the Channel Tunnel and from the port of Calais as a means of illegal entry to Britain. Construction, initially funded by Britain, began in September 2016.The $23 million cost will be shared by Britain and France.France ultimately closed down the notorious“Calais Jungle” refugee camp it had inexplicably situated near the mouth of the Chunnel…some say intentionally to shift their own glut of refugees across the channel to the UK. This did more than the barrier to choke off the flow of illegals hiding in the backs of trucks headed for the UK via the tunnel.However, the illegals are now attempting the dangerous Channel crossing in rubber boats.In November 2015, during the European migrant crisis, Austria announced its intention to begin construction of a border barrier on its border with Slovenia. The stated aim of the barrier is, again, to help control the flow of refugees and migrants. Both Austria and Slovenia are within the “Schengen Area” that is supposed to guarantee borderless travel mobility…theoretically.The fence initially covers 3.7 (2.3 miles) at the busiest crossing from Slovenia into Austria, near Spielfeld. According to Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner, the barrier will be 2.2 meters high. However, preparations will be put in place to enable the construction within 48 hours’ notice of a fence along a 25-km stretch of the border, if needed. Construction began in early November. The border barrier was finished in January 2016.In response to the European migrant crisis, Bulgaria began erecting a 10 ft (3.0 m) tall barrier of fortified with razor wire coils along its Turkish border in 2014 to halt the influx of illegal crossings. The barrier is 166 kilometers (103 mi) in length.The Slovenian border barrier constructed of razor wire was erected by Slovenia in 2015 - 2016 on its 400 mile border with Croatia, yet again as a response to the European migrant crisis. Both Slovenia and Croatia are European Union members, therefore the barrier is located on an internal EU border; but currently only Slovenia is a member of the free travel Schengen Area, which Croatia is legally obliged to join in the future. In March 2016, Slovenia announced that only migrants who apply for asylum in Slovenia and those with clear humanitarian needs will be allowed to enter Slovenian territory.The Macedonian PPB is a barrier built by Republic of Macedonia on its border with Greece to curtail illegal border crossings by migrants. The construction of the barrier began in November 2015, modeled similarly to the Hungarian border barrier.Yada, yada, yada.These examples above would suggest that countries on the front line of border crises management don’t believe that barriers are ineffective or “vestiges of medieval thinking”. Still, they could be wrong…right?Whether these barriers are “immoral” or “un-American”, as some opponents solemnly charge, is another matter altogether.It is being hotly debated in Washington. However, career politicians debating morality is, in my humble opinion, oxymoronic.“Walls”Since the focus of the latest example of government dysfunction and partisan poison seems to emanate from a word rather than a policy, it might be useful to explore that word. The catalyst for the current government shutdown, now the longest in history (although only partial in scope), is the word “wall”. Since the word in this context refers to a structure designed to prevent unauthorized crossing of national borders, it seems reasonable to use a broader term like “permanent physical barrier” (PPB) that takes in a range of structures with the same basic mission. For purposes of this discussion, the now emotion-fraught and political-frenzy-provoking word “wall” and PPB will be interchangeable. Feel free to choose from among parapet, rampart, barricade, bulwark, or palisade as you please.After all, if the objective is the same, i.e. the physical interdiction or serious hindering of illegal entry, you can call it whatever you wish…as long as the function is interdiction and not just detection after the border is breached, as with drones or sensors or similar technology.A discussion about the relative merits and even the “morality” of concrete versus steel versus electrified fences versus multiple layers of barbed wire plus trenches versus a Lincoln Log base topped with Leggos battlements will have to wait for another time.With that as the semi-defined term, a little stroll through history and current practice around the planet might be useful.Let’s start with the “Amorite Wall”, a massive fortified barrier over 100 miles constructed by Sumerian rulers Shulgi and Shu-Sin during the 21st century BC to keep out the Amorites, a group of nasty nomadic tribesmen who had been making incursions into Mesopotamia. It seems to have only succeeded in fending off the Sumerians’ enemies for a few years. Hostile invaders either penetrated the mud brick wall or simply marched around it. Score one for the “Wall’s a Waste” crowd.Around 461 B.C., the Athenians sought to correct their vulnerability to invasion from the sea by constructing a series of barriers to connect the city center to the vital harbors of Piraeus and Phalerum. When completed, these famous “Long Walls” of Athens created a siege-proof triangle of land that allowed the city to easily resupply itself from the sea, which was itself guarded by the mighty Athenian navy. The fortifications made Athens all but impregnable during the Peloponnesian War with Sparta and its allies, but the city was later forced to surrender after its navy was defeated at sea. The barriers were later rebuilt, however, and continued to stand until 86 B.C., when they were destroyed by the Romans, who loved to tear other people’s stuff down. Partially successful.Around 122 A.D., the Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of a 73-mile-long, 10 to15-foot- high stone barrier across northern England to protect Roman Britain from the Picts and the other “barbarian” tribes that inhabited northern England and Scotland. “Hadrian’s Wall,” or “PPB” if you please, stretched from the Solway Firth on the western coast to the mouth of the River Tyne in the east. Though briefly decommissioned in the 140s in favor of a more northerly barrier called the Antonine Wall, Hadrian’s Wall was later reoccupied and remained an imposing symbol of Roman power until their withdrawal from Britain in the early 5th century. Pretty effective for a couple of hundred years.The “Great Wall of Gorgon”, also known as the “Red Snake” for its distinctive red-colored bricks, was a 121-mile rampart that extended from the southern coast of the Caspian Sea to the Elburz Mountains in what is now Iran. It was built by the Sasanian Persians sometime around the 5th century A.D. Surprisingly little is known about the wall’s history, but most scholars believe the Persians used it to guard against the Hephthalite Huns and other enemies to the north. Who knows how well it worked?Then there is, of course, the mother of all PPBs, the Great Wall of China. Rather than a single unbroken barrier, China’s legendary Great Wall is actually a collection of stone, wood and earthen barricades that meander for some 13,000 thousand not necessarily continuous miles from the Gobi Desert to the North Korean border. Construction on the fortifications began in the 3rd century B.C. under Chinas first Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, but the most famous sections were erected between the 14th and 17th centuries A.D. to defend the Ming Dynasty against the steppe nomads to the north. Despite its massive scale and symbolic impact, the Great Wall was not very effective as a defensive barrier. No surprise there. After all, it was a 13,000-mile intermittent hodgepodge of rammed earth, mud brick and, later, kiln-fired masonry. The Mongols went over and through it like a hot knife through butter and the Manchus broke through in 1644 and brought about the fall of the Ming Dynasty.Of course all these barriers were intended to stop invading armies or large armed bands of tribal warriors. They weren’t designed to stop immigrants, either individual or in caravans, although they would probably have been quite effective if that had been the mission. In those days, boiling oil poured from the ramparts or a shower of arrows might well have been the standard reception for uninvited aliens. Very off-putting.Which brings us to more modern examples of the genre. I should say in advance that the status of some of these projects probably needs updating since I looked at this stuff a while ago for another project.The Berlin Wall is, of course, the most famous or, rather, infamous contemporary example of a border wall. Opponents of a wall on the US southern border cite the Berlin wall as conclusive evidence that walls are employed only by repressive, authoritarian regimes like the “evil empire” of the Soviet Union and its puppet state East Germany. There are, however, a couple of issues that make the Berlin Wall a poor analogy for our situation in the United States. For one thing, the Berlin Wall and its extensions across the entire East German border were not primarily designed to prevent illegal immigrants from getting into the country. Rather, they were intended to stem a tidal wave of East German citizens escaping to the West. That’s one rather significant difference. I am not aware of caravans of American citizens storming the US southern border to escape into the Garden of Eden/Workers’ Paradise that is Mexico . The other difference, which made the Berlin Wall quite effective, was the willingness of the East German government to shoot and kill any citizens attempting to breech the barrier. That is not among the options for US border security being considered by either political party, at least as far as I know…although I am sure that many out there are of the opinion that the incumbent president would be happy to open fire on the border busters if he thought he could get away with it. You opinions are hereby stipulated. You need not post comments to that effect.Parenthetically, I cannot resist pointing out the irony that this most egregious example of the abusive nature of walls, repeatedly invoked by the anti-wall people was perpetrated by none others than the leaders of the last great global experiment in “democratic socialism”, the mantra of the new left and a lot of freshman Congresspeople. And it was an experiment that imploded thirty years ago under the weight of its fatal economic flaws after 70 years of tyranny, mass murder and corruption. But that’s off point.The Israeli West Bank barrier or wall is a 440 mile separation barrier in the West Bank or along the Green Line built beginning in 2003. Israel considers it a security barrier against terrorism, while Palestinians call it a racial segregation or apartheid wall. Potato, patato.Suicide bombings have decreased dramatically since the construction of the barrier. Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been less able to conduct attacks in Israel, which have decreased significantly in areas where the barrier has been completed.The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israel Security Agency report that in 2002, there were 452 fatalities from terrorist attacks. Before the completion of the first continuous segment (July 2003) from the beginning of the Second Intifada, 73 Palestinian suicide bombings were carried out from the West Bank, killing 293 Israelis and injuring over 1,900. After the completion of the first continuous segment through the end of 2006, there were only 12 attacks based in the West Bank, killing 64 people and wounding 445.Israeli officials (including the head of the Shin Bet) quoted in the newspaper Maariv have said that as the barrier was completed in various segments, the number of hostile infiltrations decreased to almost zero.The Israelis, not noted for throwing money down rat holes, say the wall, while very expensive, is extremely effective and more than worth the money…but can you really trust the word of Zionist oppressors?Turkey has recently completed the construction of a 764-kilometer (475-mile) concrete wall along its border with Syria.Ankara had launched the construction project in 2015 to build an 826-km (513-mi) wall on the Syrian border, as part of Turkey's measures to increase border security and combat smuggling and illegal border crossings.The construction of a 144-kilometer wall on its Iranian border is almost completed.Ironically, the Turkish walls have been funded under the table by the EU, which is officially opposed to border walls.According to DER SPIEGEL:“The EU states have provided the government in Ankara with security and surveillance technology valued at more than 80 million euros in exchange for the protection of its borders.”A lot of this money was funneled into Turkish regional development authorities that, in turn, issued contracts for construction of the barrier. The EU looked the other way and gave the traditional palms up “who knew” gesture. And why not, since the barrier plugged one of the most problematic routes of refugees to the EU borders.Turkey is either an important NATO ally or an incipient Islamic dictatorship, depending on what the subject under discussion happens to be and who’s doing the talking.Further up the line, Greece is building 12.5 km-long fence at its border with Turkey that will clamp down on asylum-seekers crossing the Dardanelles.Hungary has built two parallel 10-foot-high razor-wire electric fences at the border, which also doubles as a frontier for the European Union.The result is a barrier that stretches for 100 miles and is monitored by soldiers, dogs, thermal cameras and 3,000 newly recruited border police officers.Hungarian authorities say it has effectively shut off the main migrant route from the Middle East to Western Europe; police arrested only five undocumented immigrants last month, compared with 3,528 before the fence existed in March 2016.The Calais border barrier is an international border barrier under construction jointly by France and the United Kingdom. It is designed to prevent illegal migrants from gaining access to the Channel Tunnel and from the port of Calais as a means of illegal entry to Britain. Construction, initially funded by Britain, began in September 2016.The $23 million cost will be shared by Britain and France.France ultimately closed down the notorious“Calais Jungle” refugee camp it had inexplicably situated near the mouth of the Chunnel…some say intentionally to shift their own glut of refugees across the channel to the UK. This did more than the barrier to choke off the flow of illegals hiding in the backs of trucks headed for the UK via the tunnel.However, the illegals are now attempting the dangerous Channel crossing in rubber boats.In November 2015, during the European migrant crisis, Austria announced its intention to begin construction of a border barrier on its border with Slovenia. The stated aim of the barrier is, again, to help control the flow of refugees and migrants. Both Austria and Slovenia are within the “Schengen Area” that is supposed to guarantee borderless travel mobility…theoretically.The fence initially covers 3.7 (2.3 miles) at the busiest crossing from Slovenia into Austria, near Spielfeld. According to Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner, the barrier will be 2.2 meters high. However, preparations will be put in place to enable the construction within 48 hours’ notice of a fence along a 25-km stretch of the border, if needed. Construction began in early November. The border barrier was finished in January 2016.In response to the European migrant crisis, Bulgaria began erecting a 10 ft (3.0 m) tall barrier of fortified with razor wire coils along its Turkish border in 2014 to halt the influx of illegal crossings. The barrier is 166 kilometers (103 mi) in length.The Slovenian border barrier constructed of razor wire was erected by Slovenia in 2015 - 2016 on its 400 mile border with Croatia, yet again as a response to the European migrant crisis. Both Slovenia and Croatia are European Union members, therefore the barrier is located on an internal EU border; but currently only Slovenia is a member of the free travel Schengen Area, which Croatia is legally obliged to join in the future. In March 2016, Slovenia announced that only migrants who apply for asylum in Slovenia and those with clear humanitarian needs will be allowed to enter Slovenian territory.The Macedonian PPB is a barrier built by Republic of Macedonia on its border with Greece to curtail illegal border crossings by migrants. The construction of the barrier began in November 2015, modeled similarly to the Hungarian border barrier.Yada, yada, yada.These examples above would suggest that countries on the front line of border crises management don’t believe that barriers are ineffective or “vestiges of medieval thinking”. Still, they could be wrong…right?Whether these barriers are “immoral” or “un-American”, as some opponents solemnly charge, is another matter altogether.It is being hotly debated in Washington. However, career politicians debating morality is, in my humble opinion, oxymoronic.