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Since Modi government has came into power, n number of schemes have been launched:Financial inclusion schemes:PM Jan Dhan Yojna: aims to provide basic bank account to every family with no minimum balance required. Also, to bring poor financially excluded people into banking system and to decrease corruption in govt. subsidy schemes. It also provides accidental insurance up to 1 lakh and medical Insurance cover of 30,000Social security related schemes:Pradhan Mantri Jeevan jyoti yojna: its a life Insurance scheme worth ₹ 2 lakh at just ₹ 330 per annum.Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna: its an accidental Insurance scheme worth ₹ 2 lakh at just ₹ 12 per annum for accidental death its ₹ 2 lakh and for partial disability- 1 lakh rupeesAtal pension yojna: it guarantees a minimum pension amount at the age of 60 to subscribers depending upon their contributions per month. Amount may range from 1000 to 5000 per month. Minimum contribution period should be 20 years.Urban Reform schemes:Smart cities scheme: Smart city will b equipped with basic infrastructure to give a decent quality of life, a clean and sustainable environment throughout application of some smart solutions. Its for rise of neo middle class who wants better civic amenities.2. AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation): In this 500 cities selected to develop civic infrastructure. Few capital cities, important cities loated in hilly areas and islands and tourist areas are selected.3. HRIDAY ( Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojna): to preserve and rejuvenate the rich cultural heritage of the country. 12 heritage cities had been identified. Aim is to bring urban planning, economic growth and heritage conservation for heritage cities.4. PRASAD (National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) : Aims to create spiritual centres for tourism development within the nation. 12 cities have been identified.5. Swadesh Darshan: Aim is to develop theme based tourist circuit. It should be insured that none of them are in same town, village or city but are not separated by a long distance too.6. Rurban Mission: seeks to develop smart village on the line of smart cities and reduce the burden of migration to the cities through adopting cluster approach.Farmer centric schemes:Deen Dyal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna: To provide round the clock power supply in Rural areas.2. DD Kisan: India first television chanel dedicated to farmers have been launched to provide onputs new farming techniques water conservation and prganic farming .It will include quiz shows farmers , a bottoms up approach involving agriculturists .This will provide real time interaction with time and farm scientists.3. Soil health card scheme: it aims to help farmers to improve the productivity of farms by providing them basic information for use of nutrients or fertilizers .the card careies crop wise recommendations of fertilizer that are required for farm lands and it also help farmers identify health of soil and judiciously use soil nutrients4. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna: it is a proposed scheme by the government of India which envisages connecting the irrigation system’s three crucial components - the field application , water sources & distribution network for optimal usage. it also envisage interlinking of perennial rivers to avoid drought and flood situations.5. Pradhan mantri Fasal Bima yojna: it aims to reduce the premium rates to be paid by the farmers so as to enable more farmers avail insurance cover against crop loss on account of natural calamities.Education related shemes:DIKSHA portal: for providing digital platform to teachers to make their lifestyle more digital. This will provide online/offline training to teachers, students and teacher educatorsYUYA: it aims to connect with youth by upgrading their skill as per their competencies.JIGYASA: student-scientist connect programme. Under this programme CSIR (Council of Scientific and industrial Research ) has joined hands with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. The focus is on connecting schools students and scientists so as to extend student’s classroom learning with that of a very well planned research laboratory based learning. This programme will connect 1151 kendriya Vidyalayas with 38 national laboratories of CSIR and will target 10,000 students and teachers every year.SWAYAM: Its an indigenously designed massive open online course ( MOOC), it will host all the courses, taught in classrooms from 9th class till post graduation and can be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time. It aims to bridge the digital divide for students in e-Education.SWAYAM PRABHA: it will provide high quality educational contents, developed by experts, through 32 DTH (direct to home) television channels with an aim to bring uniformity in standards of education. It will cover diverse topics of all levels of education in various languages.National Academic Depository: it will directly integrate with boards/ universities which issue certificates which will be verified, authenticated, accessed and retrieved in a digital depository for purpose of employment, higher education and loansNational Digital library: its a online library containing 6.5 million books in English and the Indian languages.Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojna: stands for Scholarship for promotion of aptitudes and research in stamps as a hobby. It is proposed to award 920 scholarships to students pursuing philately as a hobby. Amount of scholarship would be 6000 per annumEklavya schools will be established for schedule tribe students by 2022 on the lines of Navodhya schools. Though its an old scheme but the government has signalled in budget 2018 that it wants to expand the scope.RISE: Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education scheme. It aims to lend low cost funds to government higher educational institutions.PMRF (Prime ministe’s Research Fellows scheme): This scheme will help tapping talent pool of country for carrying out research indigenously in cutting edge science and technology domains. Under this scheme, 1000 best students who have completed or in final year of B.tech or integrated M.tech or M. Sc in science and technology streams from IISc/ IITs/ NITs/ IISERs/IITs will be offered direct admission in PhD programme in the IITs/IISc. In this, govt. will provide fellowship of Rs. 70,000 per month fornthe first two years, Rs. 75,000 per month for 3rd year and Rs. 80,000 per month in 4th and 5th year.Beti Bachao Beti Padhao yojna: it aims at promoting gender equality and educating girl child.E-basta: created a framework to make school books accessible in digital form as e-books. Books can be read on laptops, tablets and mobiles. It will bring various publishers and schools together on one platform.Padho pradesh yojna: Its a scheme of interest subsidy on educational loan for overseas studies. It assists the students belonging to poor and minority community to acquire loan for subsidised interest rates.Flagship missions:Make In India: to make India a manufacturing hub and to create 100 million jobs and skill enhancement in 25 sectors of economy. Enhancing service sector is also covered under this mission.2. Digital India Mission: to transform the country into a digitally empowered knowledge economy. To create participative, transparent and responsive government. Digital india mission has 9 pilliars:Broadband highwaysInformation for allUniversal mobile accessPublic internet access programmeElectronics manufacturing: target net zero importsEarly harvest programmesE- kranti: electronic delivery of servicesIT for jobsE- Governance: reforming government through technology3. Swachh Bharat mission: its a massive mass movement that seeks to create a clean india by 2019. It aims atElimination of open defecationConversion of insanitary toilets to pour flush toiletsEradication of manual scavenging100 % collection and scientific processing/ disposal/reuse/recycling of municipal solid wasteA behavioral change in people regarding healthy sanitation practicesSupporting urban local bodies in designing, executing and operating waste disposal systems4. Namami Gange Project or Namami Ganga Yojana: is an ambitious Union Government project which integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner. This will cover 8 states, 47 towns and 12 rivers. Rivers covered are: Ganga, Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar, Mahananda, Ramganga, Beehar, Chambal, Khan, Shipra, Betwa and Mandakini.Innovation and entrepreneurship schemes:Start up india: Through the Startup India initiative, Government of India promotes entrepreneurship by mentoring, nurturing and facilitating startups throughout their life cycle. Since its launch in January 2016, the initiative has successfully given a head start to numerous aspiring entrepreneurs. With a 360 degree approach to enable startups, the initiative provides a comprehensive four-week free online learning program, has set up research parks, incubators and startup centres across the country by creating a strong network of academia and industry bodies. More importantly, a ‘Fund of Funds’ has been created to help startups gain access to funding.2. Atal Innovation Mission: It is a Government of India’s endeavour to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, and it serves as a platform for promotion of world-class Innovation Hubs, Grand Challenges, start-up businesses and other self-employment activities, particularly in technology driven areas. In order to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination right at the school, AIM recently launched Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) across India. ATLs are workspaces where students can work with tools and equipment to gain hands-on training in the concepts of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) are another programme of AIM created to build innovative start-up businesses as scalable and sustainable enterprises. AICs provide world class incubation facilities with appropriate physical infrastructure in terms of capital equipment and operating facilities. These incubation centres, with a presence across India, provide access to sectoral experts, business planning support, seed capital, industry partners and trainings to encourage innovative start-ups.3. Stand Up India: to support entrepreneurship among women and SC and ST4. MUDRA - Micro Units Development and Refinance Agnecy: Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) is a scheme launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on April 8, 2015 for providing loans upto 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises. These loans are classified as MUDRA loans under PMMY. These loans are given by Commercial Banks, RRBs, Small Finance Banks, Cooperative Banks, MFIs and NBFCs. The borrower can approach any of the lending institutions mentioned above or can apply online through this portal. Under the aegis of PMMY, MUDRA has created three products namely 'Shishu', 'Kishore' and 'Tarun' to signify the stage of growth / development and funding needs of the beneficiary micro unit / entrepreneur and also provide a reference point for the next phase of graduation / growth.Schemes under Skill India Mission :Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojna: aims to give training to rural youths for jobs. Minimum age for entry is 15 years. Its complementing PM’s Make in India campaign.PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): aims to provide skills training to youth across the country. It includes class 10th and 12th drop outs.Nai Manzil scheme: to enable students of madrasas to cope up with the contemporary education system and provide them skill training so that they could earn their living once they move out of madrasahUSTTAD ( Upgrading Skill and Training in Traditional Arts/crafts for development) to conserve traditional arts/crafts and build capacity of artisans and craftsmen belonging to minority communities.Nai - roshni scheme: a leadership training program for womenManas: for upgrading entrepreneurial skills of minority youthsSeekho aur Kamao (Learn and Earn): central sector scheme for skill Development of minorities.Schemes related to women:Beti Bachao Beti Bhadao: discussed aboveSukanya samridhi yojna: Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a small deposit scheme for the girl child launched as a part of the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign. It is currently 8.1 per cent and provides income-tax benefit.A Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be opened any time after the birth of a girl till she turns 10, with a minimum deposit of Rs 1,000. A maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh can be deposited during the ongoing financial year.The account can be opened in any post office or authorised branches of commercial banks.The account will remain operative for 21 years from the date of its opening or till the marriage of the girl after she turns 18.To meet the requirement of her higher education expenses, partial withdrawal of 50 per cent of the balance is allowed after she turns 18.3. One Stop Crisis Centre: Ministry of Women and Child Development has formulated a scheme for operationalization of minimum 100 pilot projects of One Stop Crisis Centres (OSCCs), a specialized facility for providing all necessary services for women victims/ survivors of violence, in urban areas having population of more than 5 lakh, identified by the States for implementation during the remaining years of the 12th Plan. These Centres will be attached to the District Hospitals of the State Governments.4. SWADHAR - A scheme for women in difficult circumstances: to provide primary need of shelter, food, clothing and care to the marginalised women/ girls living in difficult circumstances who are without any social and economic support. Also, to provide emotional support and counselling to such women.5. STEP - Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women:STEP was launched by the Government of India’s Ministry of Women and Child Development to train women with no access to formal skill training facilities, especially in rural India. The Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and NITI Aayog recently redrafted the Guidelines of the 30-year-old initiative to adapt to present-day needs. The initiative reaches out to all Indian women above 16 years of age. The programme imparts skills in several sectors such as agriculture, horticulture, food processing, handlooms, traditional crafts like embroidery, travel and tourism, hospitality, computer and IT services.6. UJJAWALA scheme: to prevent trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation. It works on 4 R appoach :RescueRehabilitationReintegrationRepatriationInfrastructure related schemes:Sagarmala project: Sagar Mala project is a strategic and customer-oriented ₹8 trillion (US$120 billion or €100 billion) investment initiative of the Government of India entailing setting up of 6+ mega ports, modernization of several dozen more ports, development of 14+ Coastal Economic Zones and at least 29 Coastal Economic Units, development of mines, industrial corridors, rail, road and airport linkages with these water ports, resulting in US$110 billion export revenue growth, generation of 150,000 direct jobs and several times more indirect jobs. It aims to modernize India's Ports so that port-led development can be augmented and coastlines can be developed to contribute in India's growth. It also aims for "transforming the existing Ports into modern world class Ports and integrate the development of the Ports, the Industrial clusters and hinterland and efficient evacuation systems through road, rail, inland and coastal waterways resulting in Ports becoming the drivers of economic activity in coastal areas."Bharatmala project: is a centrally-sponsored and funded road and highways project of the Government of India. The project will build highways from Gujarat and Rajasthan, move to Punjab and then cover the entire string of Himalayan states - Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand - and then portions of borders of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alongside Terai, and move to West Bengal , Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and right up to the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur and Mizoram. Special emphasis will be given on providing connectivity to far-flung border and rural areas including the tribal and backward areas.Setu Bharatam Project: It aims to make all national highways free from railway level crossing by 2019 to ensure road safety.Green highways policy 2015 - to develop eco friendly National Highways with participation of the community, farmers, NGO’s, private sector, institutions, government agencies and the forest department.Gold schemes:Gold monetisation scheme: Gold monetisation scheme is like a gold savings account. You would generally keep your gold without any security at home or store it in bank lockers by paying a maintenance fee. But instead of that, you could keep your gold in any form in a Gold Monetisation Scheme account and earn interest as the price of the precious metal goes up. Also, You do not have to pay capital gains tax on the profits made through the gold monetisation scheme. The capital gains are also exempt from wealth tax and income tax.The Gold Monetisation Scheme is a great opportunity for big Indian households to make profits from the old jewellery lying in bank lockers and at the bottom of safe deposit boxes. Companies, trusts, jewelleries and individuals who have a hoard of gold can also use this scheme to monetise their precious metal. But do not forget that your jewellery will not come back to you in the same form as you put them in – you get the returns in the form of money or gold coins and bars that you can later encash.2. Sovereign Gold Bond : SGBs are government securities denominated in grams of gold. They are substitutes for holding physical gold. Investors have to pay the issue price in cash and the bonds will be redeemed in cash on maturity. The Bond is issued by Reserve Bank on behalf of Government of India.3. Indian gold coin: • The coin will be the 1st ever National gold coin minted in India and will have the National Emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved on one side and Mahatma Gandhi on the other side .• Initially the coins will be available in denominations of 5 and 10 grams; later a 20 gram bullion will also be available through MMTC outlets.Advantages• It would provide gold coins of maximum possible purity and check the supply of counterfeit or adulterated gold sold by jewelers.• While it may not address people looking forward to buy jewellery, but people who buy gold coins for investment purposes can buy these, if they are still reluctant about the Gold bond scheme.• Physical gold coins are more liquid resource compared to gold bonds, as perceived by many people in India.Labour reform schemes:5 labour reform schemes have been launched for the youth, workers and employers to improve ease of business for enterprises while expanding government support to impart skill training for workers.A. Shram suvidha portalB. Random Inspection SchemeC. Universal Account NumberD. Apprentice Protsahan YojnaE. Revamped Rashtriya Swasthya Bima YojnaSchemes for Banking Reforms:Indradhanush plan for Revamp of Public Sector Banks: The strategy, Indradhanush (rainbow), focuses on systemic changes in state-run lenders, including a fresh look at hiring, a comprehensive plan to de-stress bloated lenders, capital infusion, accountability incentives with higher rewards including Stock Options and cleaning up governance.The 7 Elements includes:a. Appointmentsb. Bank of Board Bureauc. Capitalizationd. De-Stressing Public Sector Bankse. Empowermentf. Framework of accountabilityg.Governance Reforms2. Gyan Sangam : Gyan Sangam is the meet of various banks, financial institutions and insurance companies in order to discuss for enhancing the digitisation of the banking system in India and ways to increase the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and big data analytics in the banking & financial services industry in India.3. Bankruptcy and Insolvency Code: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) is the bankruptcy law of India which seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for insolvency and bankruptcy.The code could ensure quicker resolution of NPA (Non- performing Assets) problems, especially in PSU banks. In fact, the Financial Stability Report issued by RBI in 2015 indicates that corporate sector vulnerabilities and the impact of their weak balance sheets on the financial system needs closer monitoring. The time-bound insolvency resolution process would definitely help the financial services industry function better.Bankruptcy laws accept that business ventures can fail and allow entrepreneurs to make a new start. While facilitating failed firms to wind up painlessly, the code can pave the way to resurrection also.Schemes for sports:Revamped Khelo India: this marks a watershed moment in the history of Indian sports, as the programme aims at mainstreaming sport as a tool for individual development, community development and national development. Under this scheme, each selected athlete shall receive an annual scholarship worth ₹5 lakh for 8 consecutive years.National Sports Talent Search Portal: to unearth sporting talent from every nook and corner. The portal will be also available as smartphone application. Using this portal, a child or his parents, coaches or teachers can upload their biodata or video on the portal.Schemes for household:SAUBHAGYA: Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana: to ensure electrificationof all willing households in the country in rural as well as urban areas here today.National Nutrition Strategy: NITI AYOG has launched this scheme aiming at Kuposhan Mukt BharatNational Rural Drinking Water Program Continuation and Restructuring : aim is to provide every rural person with adequate safe water for drinking, cooking and other basic domestic needs on a sustainable basis, with a minimum water quality standard, which should be conveniently accessible at all times and in all situations. Though this was already under NRDWP Started in 2009, Union cabinet has accorded its approval for continuation and restructuring.KUSUM SCHEME: The scheme will work towards promoting solar power production a.k.a. solar farming up to 28,250 MW to help farmers.KEY FACTS ABOUT THE KUSUM SCHEMEKUSUM scheme will provide 1.75 million off-grid agricultural solar pumpsIt will build 10,000 MW solar plants on barren lands for solar farmingFarmers will be given a chance to earn extra income if they help produce additional power by setting up solar power project on their barren landThe energy produced by the farmers on their barren land will be bought by the state electricity distribution companies (DISCOMS)The scheme is likely to decrease the consumption of diesel in the agriculture sector (used in pumps)KUSUM scheme also includes the distribution of 17.5 lakh solar pumps for which 60 per cent subsidy will be given to the farmers.Scheme for Fisherman:Sagar Vani project: is an integrated information dissemination system that will serve the coastal community, especially the fisherman community with the advisories and alerts towards livelihood as well as their safety at seaHealth related schemes:Mission indradhanush and then Intensified Mission Indradhanush: “Let no child suffer from any vaccine-preventable disease". This was stated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi as he launched the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) at Vadnagar in Gujarat, today. Through this programme, Government of India aims to reach each and every child under two years of age and all those pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation programme. The special drive will focus on improving immunization coverage in select districts and cities to ensure full immunization to more than 90% by December 2018. The achievement of full immunisation under Mission Indradhanush to at least 90% coverage was to be achieved by 2020 earlier. With the launch of IMI, achievement of the target has now been advancedAyushman Bharat project: The Government today announced two major initiatives in health sector , as part of Ayushman Bharat programme. The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitely while presenting the General Budget 2018-19 in Parliament here today said that this was aimed at making path breaking interventions to address health holistically, in primary, secondary and tertiary care systems, covering both prevention and health promotion.The initiatives are as follows:-(i) Health and Wellness Centre:- The National Health Policy, 2017 has envisioned Health and Wellness Centres as the foundation of India’s health system. Under this 1.5 lakh centres will bring health care system closer to the homes of people. These centres will provide comprehensive health care, including for non-communicable diseases and maternal and child health services. These centres will also provide free essential drugs and diagnostic services. The Budget has allocated Rs.1200 crore for this flagship programme. Contribution of private sector through CSR and philanthropic institutions in adopting these centres is also envisaged.(ii) National Health Protection Scheme:- The second flagship programme under Ayushman Bharat is National Health Protection Scheme, which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage upto 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. This will be the world’s largest government funded health care programme. Adequate funds will be provided for smooth implementation of this programme.Other schemes:Ajeevika Grameen Express Yojna: to provide an alternative source of livelihood to members of Self Help Group (SHGs). This scheme has been launched under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojna - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY - NRLM). This scheme will facilitate them to operate public transport services in background rural areas.PENCIL PORTAL - Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour: its an electronic platform that aims at involving Centre, State, District, Governments, civil society and general public in achieving the target of child labour free society.It encompasses various components- Child Tracking System, Complaint Corner, State Government, National Child Labour Project and Convergence. Each district will nominate District Nodal Officers (DNOs) who will receive the complaints. Within 48 hours of receiving complaints, DNOs will check genuineness of complaint and take rescue measures in coordination with police, if complaint is genuine. So far, 7 states have appointed DNOs.3. National Biopharma Mission: this is an Industry- Academia Mission to accelerate bio pharmaceutical development in India.4. VAJRA - Visiting Advanced Joint Research : this scheme enables NRIs and oversees scientific community to participate and contribute to research and development in India.5: Test and Treat Policy for HIV patients: Test-and-treat is an intervention strategy in which the population at risk is screened for HIV infection and diagnosed HIV infected individuals receive early treatment, aiming to eliminate HIV as it reduces the rate of spreading the virus to other people.6. DIGITAL POLICE PORTAL: will enable citizens to register FIRs online and the portal will initially offer seven public delivery services in all states and UTs like person and address verification e.g. of employees, tenants, nurses etc, permission for hosting Public Events, Lost and Found Articles and Vehicle theft etc.It will provide investigator the complete record history of any criminal from anywhere across the country.7. Nationwide campaign - Gaj yatra: A nationwide campaign to protect elephants on the occasion of World Elephant Day.8. SHE BOX portal: The Minister of Women & Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi launched an online complaint management system titled Sexual Harassment electronic–Box (SHe-Box) for registering complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace in New Delhi today. The complaint management system has been developed to ensure the effective implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (the SH Act), 2013.This portal is an initiative to provide a platform to women working or visiting any office of Central Government (Central Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Undertakings, Autonomous Bodies and Institutions etc.) to file complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace under the SH Act. Those who had already filed a written complaint with the concerned Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) constituted under the SH Act are also eligible to file their complaint through this portal. The SHe-Box portal can be accessed at the link given below:http://www.wcd-sh.nic.in9. Sankalp and strive schemes:STRIVE scheme: will incentivize ITIs to improve overall performance including apprenticeship by involving SMEs (Small Scale Enterprises), business association and industry clusters. It will develop robust mechanism for delivering quality skill development training by strengthening institutions- National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs), Sector Skill Councils, ITIs and National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) etc.It will support universalization of National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) including National Quality Assurance Framework (NQAF) across skill development schemes. It will provide required push to National Skill Development Mission 2015 and its various sub missions. It is also aligned to flagship Government programs such as Make in India and Swachhta Abhiyan.SANKALP scheme : envisages setting up of Trainers and Assessors academies with self-sustainable models. Over 50 such academies are to be set up in priority sectors. It will leverage institutions for trainingtrainers in both long and short term VET thereby bringing about convergence. Additional trainer academies will also be set up.It will focus on greater decentralization in skill planning by institutional strengthening at State level which includes setting up of SSDMs and allow states to come up with State and District level Skill Development Plans (SSDPDSDP).It also aims at enhancement of inclusion of underprivileged and marginalized communities including women, Scheduled Castes (SCs)/Schedule Tribes (STs) and Persons with Disabilities (PWD). It will also develop a skilling ecosystem that will support the country’s rise in Ease of Doing Business index.10. Anti Narcotics Scheme: aims to combat illicit trafficking in drugs and psychotropic substance. The purpose is to assist state governments and UTs which are contributing in controlling the inter-state and cross border drug trafficking.11. Atal Bhujal Yojna: to tackle ever-deepening crisis of depleting groundwater level12. Gobar-Dhan yojna: the solid waste and cattle dung will be composed into useful elements such as Bio-CNG and Bio-gas.13. National Bamboo Mission: The Mission would ensure holistic development of the bamboo sector by addressing complete value chain and establishing effective linkage of producers (farmers) with industry.Beneficiaries:The scheme will benefit directly and indirectly the farmers as well as local artisans and associated personnels engaged in bamboo sector including associated industries. Since it is proposed to bring about one lakh ha area under plantation, it is expected that about one lakh farmers would be directly benefitted in terms of plantation.States/ districts covered:The Mission will focus on development of bamboo in limited States where it has social, commercial and economical advantage, particularly in the North Eastern region and States including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.The Mission is expected to establish about 4000 treatment/ product development units and bring more than 100000 ha area under plantation.Impact:Bamboo plantation will contribute to optimizing farm productivity and income thereby enhancing livelihood opportunities of small & marginal farmers including landless and women as well as provide quality material to industry. Thus, the Mission will not only serve as a potential instrument for enhancing income of farmers but also contributing towards climate resilience and environmental benefits. The Mission will also help in creating employment generation directly or indirectly in both skilled and unskilled segments.14. Secure Himalaya project:The Union Government had launched SECURE Himalaya, a six-year project to ensure conservation of locally and globally significant biodiversity, land and forest resources in high Himalayan ecosystem spread over four states viz. Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.Key FactsThe SECURE project aims at securing livelihoods, conservation, sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems. It is meant for specific landscapes including Changthang (Jammu and Kasmir), Lahaul – Pangi and Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh), Gangotri – Govind and Darma – Byans Valley in Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand) and Kanchenjunga – Upper Teesta Valley (Sikkim).The key focus areas of the project is protection of snow leopard and other endangered species and their habitats and also securing livelihoods of people in region and enhancing enforcement to reduce wildlife crime. Under it, enhanced enforcement efforts and monitoring will be undertaken to curb illegal trade in some medicinal and aromatic plants which are among most threatened species in these landscapes.15. Operation Greens: aims to promote farmer producers organisations, agri-logistics, processing facilities and professional management. The operation aims to aid farmers and help control and limit the erratic fluctuations in the prices of onions, potatoes and tomatoes.

Q: “What causes an immune response that will destroy the pancreas’ ability to produce insulin as in Type 1 diabetes?”Come up with the definitive answer to that, and there’s a Nobel Peace Prize in Medicine in your future. That said… we’ve some pretty good ideas. In short… T1 is a genetic condition, but MUST be “triggered” (by one of several known - or as yet unknown - environmental factors), and it MUST be at a susceptible time - when the gut microbiome is in a weakened state, or simply not “in prime condition”.BUT FIRST… it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to carry the genetic markers that bestow susceptibility; without those, you WILL NOT develop T1 - whether exposed to a “trigger” or not. AND… even in identical twins, T1 is NOT consistent; having a T1 relative - even an identical twin - does NOT mean you will get the disease; as a matter of fact, in more than 50% of those that develop T1 that have an identical twin, the identical twin never develops the disease.It is important to understand that there is NO single gene that causes susceptibility to T1; it is a combination of certain genetic alleles that bestows the risk upon an individual, and that alone is NOT enough to cause the disease. AND… there are several causative combinations of alleles, though some confer more risk than others.On “triggers” that initiate the disease development…Many viruses have been linked to T1; the most common ones are the family of enteroviruses. This “family” is the largest family of viruses that plague humans, though most of them are relatively harmless, causing little more than mild cold symptoms, and readily overcome. Except, of course, in those cases where they trigger the T1 autoimmune response. A few other common viruses that have been identified as triggers of T1 are mumps, rubella, rotavirus, cytomegalovirus, and ljunganvirus.AND… several bacteria are suspected triggers of T1. The gut microbiome is a key component of the immune system - and issues therein can make a carrier of the genetic risk factors more susceptible to development of the disease. SO… not only do you have to carry the genetic risk factors, AND be exposed to an environmental trigger, but ALSO that exposure must happen at a susceptible time vis-a-vis the gut microbiome.AND… several dietary habits are suspected sources of “triggers” for T1. AND a few other environmental factors.In short - this is a very complex issue, and involves a LOT of factors. It is likely that many more years of study will be required to even begin to identify who’s “really” at risk for the disease, and then, many more years of research to identify the actual diseases progression “steps” in order to intervene effectively.For a more in-depth understanding of these issues… here’s a short reading list:Åkerblom HK, Vaarala O, Hyöty H, Ilonen J, Knip M 2002. Environmental factors in the etiology of type 1 diabetes. Am J Med Genet 115: 18–29 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]Atarashi K, Tanoue T, Shima T, Imaoka A, Kuwahara T, Momose Y, Cheng G, Yamasaki S, Saito T, Ohba Y, et al. 2011. Induction of colonic regulatory T cells by indigenous Clostridium species. Science 331: 337–341 [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]Barnett AH, Eff C, Leslie RDG, Pyke DA 1981. Diabetes in identical twins. A study of 200 pairs. 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UPDATE: I just received a superb email about vitamin D and COVID-19. It’s long, so here is an amazing one line summary:simply adding vitamin D to the standard of care for COVID reduced the odds of requiring ICU admission by 97%!The world is racing to develop a vaccine against COVID-19, something that many believe will put their fears around this virus to rest. The latest Gallup and STAT-Harris polls suggest that at least half of Americans would get the vaccine if it were provided free of charge, even if it only cut risk by under 25% [1,2].It’s understandable that most Americans are willing to get a vaccine. They’re scared, and they want to protect themselves and their family from COVID. What doesn’t make sense is that many of these same Americans are vitamin D deficient or insufficient.According to the Endocrine Society, a vitamin D status of less than 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) is considered a deficiency, 20–30 ng/mL (50–75 nmol/L) is an insufficiency, and more than 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L) is compatible with optimal health and considered sufficient [3].These recommendations line up well with the vitamin D concentrations of indigenous tribes in Africa: 25–68 ng/mL (60–170 nmol/L), with an average of ~45 ng/mL (110 nmol/L) [4,5]. It’s likely these were the levels we evolved with and under which our immune system developed.Yet, 42% of Americans are vitamin D deficient, including 80% of the Black population and 63% of the Hispanic population [6]. When we take into account vitamin D insufficiency, only 23% of the American population has sufficient vitamin D levels, including only 5% of Black Americans and 10% of Mexican Americans [7].While not really surprising considering that we transitioned from a “people of the sun” to a “people of the cubicle”, it is disheartening considering the essential role of vitamin D in protecting us from infectious diseases.In fact, I’d wager that if a simple vitamin D supplement were a vaccine, it’d be considered a miraculous breakthrough in COVID prevention and treatment. My goal with this article is to show you why.How Vitamin D Fights InfectionsVitamin D fights infections in two fundamental ways: it enhances our immune defenses and bolsters the resilience of our tissues and organs. This means that vitamin D can help prevent us from becoming infected altogether, as well as reduce the severity of any infection that does take hold.For example, every immune cell in our body has vitamin D receptors and responds to its signal, with the overarching effects being to suppress inflammation, promote immune tolerance, and maintain proper functionality of immune cells [8,9]. A great example of its importance is T-cells.T-cells are a critically important aspect of our adaptive immune system. They are the cells that communicate with all other immune cells to coordinate attacks against invaders, as well as develop into a special type of cell that functions to eliminate very specific targets with minimal tissue damage, such as cancer cells or cells infected with viruses.In the case of COVID, several studies have found that a more potent T-cell response reduces the severity of the infection — there are more asymptomatic or mild cases [10–12]. And guess what T-cells require in order to mobilize? Vitamin D! Adequate vitamin D is critically important for the activation of T-cells from their inactive state [13].As another example, consider the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin, which is produced by innate immune cells and respiratory epithelial cells in response to infection by bacteria, viruses, and fungi [14]. It functions to both directly kill invading pathogens and also neutralize any endotoxins they might release [15]. Yet, this powerfully protective compound requires vitamin D to be produced [16,17].Lastly, high levels of vitamin D are critical for first line immune defences including physical mucosal defences, tight junctions, gap junctions, and adherens junctions [18,19], all of which are disturbed by viral and bacterial infections as part of their efforts to establish a stronghold within the body [20,21].Without adequate vitamin D circulating through the body, our innate and adaptive immune defenses are sabotaged against bacterial and viral assaults [22,23].Quite simply, vitamin D deficiency predisposes us to infections.What Does Clinical Evidence Say?So, the biological plausibility is there — the mechanistic rationale for vitamin D in preventing and treating infections doesn’t just exist, it’s incredibly strong. But even so, theory must take a backseat to experimental investigations.“It doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn’t matter how smart you are. If it doesn’t agree with experiment, it’s wrong.” – Richard Feynman, physicistThankfully, there have been numerous investigations looking at the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the risk of experiencing respiratory tract infections. The most recent, largest, and well-conducted meta-analysis pooled data from 25 randomized controlled trials with nearly 11,000 participants from 15 different countries on four continents [24,25].Vitamin D supplementation was found to reduce the risk of acute respiratory infection by 12% — only 33 individuals would require supplemental vitamin D to prevent just 1 of them from suffering a respiratory infection.The benefits were most pronounced with daily or weekly dosing, as opposed to taking huge monthly boluses that weren’t significantly protective. When using this smaller and more frequent dosing regimen, supplementation reduced the risk of respiratory infections by 25–75% depending on how deficient a person was.If you do happen to become infected, vitamin D can help prevent more severe complications. For example, one study followed over 9,500 older adults for 15 years and found that the risk of dying from respiratory infections increased substantially as vitamin D status dropped below 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L) [26]. Just having a vitamin D status of 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) doubled the risk of death compared to 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L).These observations are largely upheld when it comes to COVID specifically. As you’re about to see, the totality of evidence supports obtaining sufficient vitamin D status as a means of preventing and reducing the severity of COVID-19 [27].Vitamin D Reduces COVID SeverityFirst and foremost, we all become sick every now and again. No matter the illness, the goal is to make it as bearable and harmless as possible. Vitamin D can help make that a reality.Published online in June, 2020, researchers from France, Canada, and China determined that vitamin D status is a biological determinant of COVID outcomes using the Bradford Hill criteria for causality [28].This criteria is used when there is a lack of interventions for determining whether a causal relationship exists between two variables. This can be incredibly helpful when it would be unethical to expose people to certain variables like cigarette smoke, which is where the Bradford Hill criteria made its debut — showing that smoking causes lung cancer.Basically, since it would be unethical to expose people to COVID-19, the researchers used the available mechanistic and observational evidence to show that a causal link is likely between vitamin D status and COVID outcomes, whereby deficiency increased the susceptibility to infection and the severity of infectious outcomes.For example, adults admitted to Spanish hospitals for COVID had better lung function, lower medication requirements, lower ICU admissions, and a shorter hospital stay if their vitamin D status was above 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) [29].In other studies, vitamin D deficiency was associated with a 2–3-fold greater risk of having more severe COVID outcomes and a 6-fold greater risk of requiring invasive mechanical ventilation or death, even after adjusting for age, sex, and the presence of comorbidities [30–34].Two months after the Bradford Hill criteria were satisfied for vitamin D and COVID, supportive experimental evidence finally emerged. It was a relatively simple study in which researchers from Spain randomly allocated adults showing up to their hospital with a COVID infection to receive standard medical care with or without supplemental vitamin D [35].Of the 50 adults who were given vitamin D, only one (5%) required admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), compared to 13 of the 26 adults (50%) who didn’t receive vitamin D. In other words, simply adding vitamin D to the standard of care for COVID reduced the odds of requiring ICU admission by 97%!These findings make sense. COVID-19 is a respiratory virus that infiltrates cells of the lungs and causes an exacerbated inflammatory response, leading to impaired breathing ability and severe pneumonia [36,37]. This is what can kill you in a severe infection.However, this intense inflammatory response, also called a cytokine storm, is likely inhibited by vitamin D [38], a conclusion supported by previous research in rodents showing that vitamin D reduces markers of both lung inflammation and lung damage following drug-induced injury [39,40].All-in-all, one of the best things you can do for your health is ensure an adequate vitamin D status. If you happen to catch COVID while your vitamin D is low, then it’s probably a good idea to start supplementing right away.Vitamin D Protects Against COVID InfectionsWhat’s cool about ensuring optimal vitamin D levels year-round is that it will likely reduce the risk of catching COVID to begin with, which makes all the previous information somewhat moot.For example, a study of over 190,000 adults living in all 50 US states found a clear inverse relationship between COVID prevalence and vitamin D status, with a plateau occurring at around 55 ng/mL (135 nmol/L) [41]. Roughly every 1 ng/mL (2.5 nmol/L) increase in vitamin D status was associated with a 2% reduction in the likelihood of being infected.Other smaller studies have confirmed this association, whereby people who test positive for COVID-19 tend to have lower vitamin D levels, on average [42,43]. Interestingly enough, a study of 34 countries on every continent found that COVID-19 cases are more common in areas of the world where there is less UVB exposure [44], which is necessary for vitamin D production in the skin.ReferencesSilverman E, Facher L, Garde D, Feuerstein A, Herper M, Florko N. STAT-Harris Poll: Most won’t get a Covid-19 vaccine unless it halves risk [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2020 Nov 14].Saad L. Americans’ Readiness to Get COVID-19 Vaccine Falls to 50% [Internet]. Gallup. 2020 [cited 2020 Nov 14].Holick MF, Binkley NC, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Gordon CM, Hanley DA, Heaney RP, et al. Evaluation, treatment, and prevention of vitamin D deficiency: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011;96:1911–30.Luxwolda MF, Kuipers RS, Kema IP, Dijck-Brouwer DAJ, Muskiet FAJ. Traditionally living populations in East Africa have a mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration of 115 nmol/l. 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Low plasma 25(OH) vitamin D level is associated with increased risk of COVID-19 infection: an Israeli population-based study. FEBS J [Internet]. 2020Jain A, Chaurasia R, Sengar NS, Singh M, Mahor S, Narain S. Analysis of vitamin D level among asymptomatic and critically ill COVID-19 patients and its correlation with inflammatory markers. Sci Rep. Nature Publishing Group; 2020;10:1–8.Entrenas Castillo M, Entrenas Costa LM, Vaquero Barrios JM, Alcalá Díaz JF, López Miranda J, Bouillon R, et al. “Effect of calcifediol treatment and best available therapy versus best available therapy on intensive care unit admission and mortality among patients hospitalized for COVID-19: A pilot randomized clinical study.” J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2020;203:105751.Li G, Fan Y, Lai Y, Han T, Li Z, Zhou P, et al. Coronavirus infections and immune responses. J Med Virol. 2020;92:424–32.Yao XH, Li TY, He ZC, Ping YF, Liu HW, Yu SC, et al. [A pathological report of three COVID-19 cases by minimal invasive autopsies]. Zhonghua Bing Li Xue Za Zhi. 2020;49:411–7.Daneshkhah A, Agrawal V, Eshein A, Subramanian H, Roy HK, Backman V. The possible role of Vitamin D in suppressing cytokine storm and associated mortality in COVID-19 patients. MedRxiv. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 2020;Tan Z-X, Chen Y-H, Xu S, Qin H-Y, Zhang C, Zhao H, et al. Calcitriol inhibits bleomycin-induced early pulmonary inflammatory response and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in mice. Toxicol Lett. 2016;240:161–71.Takano Y, Mitsuhashi H, Ueno K. 1α,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D₃ inhibits neutrophil recruitment in hamster model of acute lung injury. Steroids. 2011;76:1305–9.Kaufman HW, Niles JK, Kroll MH, Bi C, Holick MF. SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates associated with circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. PLoS One. 2020;15:e0239252.D’Avolio A, Avataneo V, Manca A, Cusato J, De Nicolò A, Lucchini R, et al. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations Are Lower in Patients with Positive PCR for SARS-CoV-2. Nutrients [Internet]. 2020;12.Meltzer DO, Best TJ, Zhang H, Vokes T, Arora V, Solway J. Association of Vitamin D Status and Other Clinical Characteristics With COVID-19 Test Results. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3:e2019722.Alipio M. Do Latitude and Ozone Concentration Predict COVID-2019 Cases in 34 Countries? [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2020 Jul 16].From an SECOND email:Results just in from a hospital trial in Spain showed vitamin D to produce phenomenal results in preventing the progression of COVID-19. Only 2% of those given the vitamin D were transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) compared to over 50% of those not receiving the vitamin.Vitamin D3 has been shown to produce a wide range of immune enhancing e!ects and it is now well-established that it offers important in protection against upper respiratory infections. There is also a growing body of science that show low levels of vitamin D increase the risk for more severe COVID-19 infection and death from this viral infection.Take a look at this graph from Grassroots Health. It clearly shows that low levels of D3 are associated with an increased severity of COVID-19.Now, take a look at this second graph that shows the correlation between vitamin D3 and death from COVID-19. If vitamin D levels were below 20 ng/ml the mortality rate was nearly 100% while a level of 34 ng/ml had a 0% mortality rate. Many vitamin D experts recommend trying to achieve a serum 25(OH)D3 level between 50-80 ng/ mL (approx. 145-200 nmol/L), but certainly getting to at least 34 ng/ml may be critical in having the best odds of surviving COVID-19. No one died in the study with a level above 34 ng/ml.Many health experts recommend a dosage of 2,000 to 4,000 IU daily depending upon a person’s size and/or sun exposure. Vitamin D3 is extremely safe at these dosage levels.My comment. Look at the above graph. The average age of these patients was OVER 60! This is a critical age group. Only 2% of the group taking vitamin D were put on a ventilator and none died. The death rate for people with more than 34ng/ml D3 is ZERO abd they are all over 60 years old. D3 costs pennies/ cents per tablet. Big Pharma can only dream of getting these results and at this cost NO CHANCE! ( I seriously expect some double blind big Pharma results either rubbishing D3 or trying to prove it’s dangerous, as they did with hydroxychloroquine).Indeed, I have received an email about CNN already trying to rubbish D3!CNN has published treacherous and dangerously misleading remarks, such as taking vitamin D supplements “can hurt a lot,” as “too much vitamin D can lead to a toxic buildup of calcium in your blood, causing confusion, disorientation and problems with heart rhythm, as well as bone pain, kidney damage and painful kidney stones.”CNN does not specify what “too much” vitamin D actually is and omits any advice on necessary supplementation. Instead, the article quotes people searching for ridiculous levels of up to 60,000 IU daily. It’s an old trick, to discredit someone: take what they are saying and blow it up to absurdity… and then scoff! In fact the whole piece is nonsensical. The main reporter was one Sandee LaMotte — a medical producer and writer for CNN and executive producer of video at pharma-biased WebMD. She obviously doesn’t care much for science and not at all about whether people die or not, so long as she gets her thirty pieces of silver.But there is one caveat. Supplementing with vitamin D alone risks hardening your arteries. We all know about vitamin D, calcium and bones. Historically, as people lived in smoky cities and got little direct sunshine, there was a lot of rickets, due to very low vitamin D levels.It remains true, of course, as it always was, that vitamin D will mobilize calcium. Some of it will end up in your arteries. The walls become thickened and that is a bad idea!To counter this effect you need to supplement with vitamin K2 (and you should be taking magnesium, anyway). K2 is an expensive micronutrient but very essential. It will literally block the calcium deposits in your arteries and will leech out the calcium if it’s already there. So—money well spent.But it goes deeper: vitamin K2 actually aids the absorption of vitamin D. In fact you need more than TWICE the amount if vitamin D to achieve healthy blood levels, if you don’t also take K2. In fact vitamin D can rapidly become toxic, even at reasonable doses, if you don’t concomitantly take K2.Not many vendors are telling you that, I’ll bet!Another point: if you supplement with K2 and magnesium (400 – 500 mg) you can manage on far lower doses and get the same effect.