Day: January 4, 2022

Can we fix our Ozone layer? The Montreal protocol

Imagine that one day our Ozone layer was disappeared. What will happen? How long can we survive without it? The Ozone layer is a region of Earth’s atmosphere that contains a high concentration of Ozone (O3). Ozone is a highly reactive gas composed of three oxygen atoms. It is found in the lower portion of Earth’s atmosphere. It absorbs 97 to 99 percent of the Sun’s ultraviolet rays. Direct exposure to UV rays can cause serious skin problems including sun burn, skin cancer, premature ageing of the skin, solar elastosis. It can also cause eye problems and can ruin our immune system.

The depletion of ozone layer was first observed by a Dutch chemist Paul crutzen. He described the Ozone depletion by demonstrating the reaction of nitrogen oxide with oxygen atoms which slowing the creation of Ozone (O3). Later in 1974, American chemists Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland observed that chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) molecules emitted by man-made machines like refrigerators, air conditioners and airplanes could be the major source of chlorine in the atmosphere. One chlorine atom can destroy 100,000 ozone molecules.

Not all chlorine molecules contribute to ozone layer depletion; chlorine from swimming pool, sea salt, industrial plants, and volcanoes does not reach the stratosphere. The ozone hole in Antarctica is one of the largest and deepest depletion which was discovered by the British scientists. This became worldwide headlines after that. According to NASA scientist Paul Newman, if this depletion continues in this rate our ozone layer can be likely disappeared in 2065. If that happens UV rays from sun directly reach earth and cause severe health issues, Humans can last 3 months and plants may die in 2 weeks because of heavy UV radiation. Thus Earth will become inhabitable.

Fortunately in 1987, Montreal protocol was made that bans chlorofluorocarbon and other chemicals that cause ozone depletion. Surprisingly it works, researches made in 2018 tells that the ozone layer is repairing itself at a rate of 1% to 3% per decade since 2000. Still it will take at least 50 years for complete recovery. The greenhouse effect allows the short wave radiation of sunlight to pass through the atmosphere to earth’s surface but makes it difficult for heat in the form of long wave radiation to escape. This effect blankets the earth and keeps our planet at a reasonable temperature to support life. Earth radiated energy, of which about 90 percent is absorbed by atmospheric gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, nitrous oxide, and others. Absorbed energy is radiated back to the surface and warms earth’s lower atmosphere.


The gases have come to be called greenhouse gases because they hold in light and heat, just as a greenhouse does for the sake of the plants inside. Greenhouse gases are essential to life, not only at an appropriate balance point. These gases increased during the 20th century due to industrial activity and fossil fuel emissions. For example, the concentration of carbon dioxide I the atmosphere have recently been growing by about 1.4 percent annually. This increase in greenhouse gases is one of the contributors to be observed patterns of global warming. On September 16th world ozone day, we can celebrate our success. But we must all push to keep hold of these gains, in particular by remaining vigilant and tackling any illegal sources of ozone depleting substances as they arise, says UN ozone-secretariat. So without the Montreal protocol, life on earth could be a question mark, so keep working hard. “OZONE FOR LIFE”.

The incredible journey of Elon Musk’s SpaceX – The engineering masterpiece

The Falcon super heavy launch vehicle was designed to transport people, spaceships, and various cargos into space. Such a powerful unit wasn’t created instantly and it also had its predecessors. The history of the Falcon family of vehicles began with the creation of the Falcon 1- a lightweight launch vehicle with a length of 21.3 meters and a diameter of 1.7 meters and a launch mass of 27.6 tones; the rocket could carry 420 kilograms or 926 pounds of payload on board. It became the first private device that was able to bring cargo into low earth orbit. Construction of the Falcon 1 of only two stages, the first of them consisted of a supporting element with fuel tanks, an engine and a parachute system. They chose kerosene as the fuel and liquid oxygen became its oxidizing agent.


The falcon heavy side boosters landings -SpaceX
The second stage also contains fuel tanks and an engine; though the latter had less thrust compared to the one in the first stage despite the huge launch cost $7.9 million. Totally five attempts were made to send the Falcon 1 beyond the of our planet nut not all of them were successful. During the debut launch of the rocket, a fire started in the first stage engine; this led to a loss of pressure which caused the engine to shut down in the 34th second of flight. The second attempt to start the Falcon 1 incurred a problem with the fuel system of the second stage fuels stopped flowing into its engine at 474 second of flight it shut down as well. The third time of the Falcon 1 went on a flight, it wasn’t alone of the serious cargo the rocket carried onboard the trailblazer satellites and to NASA micro-satellites. In phase one with the first stage he flight went normally but when the time came to separate the stages, the first hit the second when it started engine, so the second stage couldn’t continue its flight.

The fourth and fifth launches showed good results but that wasn’t enough. The main problem with Falcon 1 was low demand due to its low payload abilities. For this reason, they designed Falcon 9; this device can carry on onboard 23 tons of cargo. It’s also a two stage launch vehicle and uses kerosene and l liquid oxygen as fuel. The device is currently in operation and the cost of its launch is equal to $62 million. The first stage of the rocket is reusable; it can return to earth and can be used again. The Falcon 9 is designed to not only launch commercial communication satellites but also to deliver dragon 1 to the ISS. Dragon 1 can carry a six ton payload from the earth, this drone supplies the ISS with everything they needs and it also takes goods back.


The prototype of SpaceX starship had its first free flight on July 25, 2019
The dragon 2 is designed to deliver a crew of four people to the ISS and back to earth. Now there is an ultra heavy launch vehicle with a payload capacity of almost 64 tones. It is the most powerful and heavier device called the Falcon heavy. This rocket was first launched on February 6th 2018 and the test was successful. The rocket sent Elon Musk’s car into space- a red Tesla Roadster. After this debut subsequent launches were also conducted without problem. The launch cost is estimated to $150 million.

The first stage of the Falcon heavy consists f three parts. There are three blocks contain 27 incredibly powerful engines in nine each one. The thrust created when takeoff is comparable to 18 Boeing 747s at full power. The second stage is equipped with a single engine. It is planned that the device would be used for missions to the moon and mars. Currently, SpaceX working on the star-ship manned spacecraft. According to its creators, this device will be much larger and heavier than all of the company’s existing rockets. This device will able to deliver cargo into space weighing more than a hundred tons. The launch of star-ship into pace is planned for 2022 to mars with a payload. Who knows, one of the mankind’s largest dreams may come true within the next year.

“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk

Ideas to change your life!

“People don’t like to think, if one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.” – Helen Keller

Think big, act small

Never let anything hold you back when you think of ideas.
You’ve got nothing to lose. Just make sure you act small. Put in the work and stay practical.

Problems are unanswered questions

Every time you experience stress over a problem, you’re sabotaging your life.
A problem is nothing but an unanswered question. So stay calm. And figure out the answer.

firm foundation for relationships

Wrong reasons to start relationships include money, fear of being alone, abuse, needing attention.
The foundation of all relationships should be based on love, respect, support, trust, patience, good company, laughter, sadness, and more support.

Nothing in life is free

You always pay for something with money, time (the most valuable thing you have), or other resources.
Life is a business. And smart business people spend their resources wisely.

Never be afraid of making decisions

Waiting, postponing, doubting, researching too much — it’s all not useful. Get your act together, and decide firmly whenever you have to make one. 
And when you made the wrong decision, own it, apologize, and make another decision.

Decide to become a leader

Being a leader also has nothing to do with your title.
When everyone looks at each other because no one wants to take responsibility, decide that you will take responsibility.

Productivity yields results

There’s only one thing that helps you to go from nothing to something: You have to put in the work. 
Make sure you value effectiveness over everything. Results matter. Get things done and move on to the next thing.

See yourself as a salesperson

In almost everything you do, you’re selling yourself.
When you sell, be transparent, honest, and to the point. Don’t waste your time on people who don’t like you anyway. 

Improve your skills

To improve your self-confidence.
You only improve your self-confidence by becoming good at something: By learning, doing, seeing results, and repeating that process for years. Your confidence will grow slowly every day.

Value your friends

We’re social animals. When we’re alone, we die early.  
So be nice to each other. And respect that your friends also have lives of their own.

Don’t believe everything you see

Don’t believe all the success stories you see everywhere. YouTubers, Instagram models, millionaire entrepreneurs: They seem perfect. But you only see the outside.
You don’t have to be a cynic. Just don’t take appearances for facts.

Learn to love criticism

It’s fuel for you. You can use criticism to improve yourself, your product, or your service. 
Or, if the criticism makes no sense, it can make you angry, which is also a good thing. That type of anger is useful. “I’ll show them!”

Take care of your body

If you can’t take care of your body, you can’t take care of anything.
You can influence your health by eating healthy, exercising, and treating your body with respect.

Happiness is a choice

You control your thoughts. That means you decide what you do with your life. If you’re unsatisfied, angry, or frustrated, that’s all you.

Create something

Make yourself useful. 
Instead of consuming so much information, products, and entertainment from others, spend a fraction of that time on creating something yourself.

Reference

https://observer.com/2017/02/i-have-15-ideas-to-change-your-life-do-you-have-five-minutes/

MoHUA Schemes and Missions help boost the Make in India and AtamNirbhar Bharat Initiatives

 Various schemes and Missions run by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs during 2021 have helped boost the Make in India and AtamNirbharBharat initiatives in many ways. The schemes and Missions have directly influenced the AtamNirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives directly or indirectly. 

Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), launched to address urban housing shortage including the slum dwellers by ensuring a pucca house to eligible urban households by the year 2022, the technology used to build the houses at faster speed was innovative, specially the Light House projects as part of Global Housing Technology Challenge – India (GHTC -India) initiative, in six States .The initiative led to a new era in the construction technology in India, thus giving impetus to Make in India initiative.  Bringing people and technology together, LHPs will pave the way for a new eco- system where globally proven technologies will be adopted for cost-effective, environment friendly and speedier construction. Advantages of these LHPs are many, the primary ones being durability, climate-resilient, affordability, safety and speed.

MoHUA also launched the Enrolment Module for TECHNOGRAHIS including students from IITs, NITs, engineering, planning and architecture colleges, faculty members, academicians, and stakeholders for registering themselves to visit Live Laboratories at six LHP sites for learning, consultation, generation of ideas and solutions, experimentation, innovation, and technical awareness. This helped them in getting a first-hand account of the technologies being used and in turn, they can adapt and adopt them as per their requirements in the construction sector for a ‘Make in India’ approach.

A Technology Sub-Mission (TSM) was set up to facilitate the adoption of innovative, sustainable, eco-friendly and disaster-resilient technologies and building materials for low-cost, speedier and quality construction of houses. TSM not only aims to ensure speedier and safer delivery under PMAY-U but also has the potential to bring a paradigm shift in the overall housing construction sector in the country.

Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) Scheme under Atmanirbhar Bharat Package addresses the vision of ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ significantly by creating a sustainable ecosystem of affordable rental housing solutions and to achieve overall objective of “Housing for All” encompassing the need of affordable rental housing for urban migrants/poor. ARHCs will provide them dignified living with necessary civic amenities near their place of work.

Under Smart Cities Mission(SCM), the City Innovation Exchange (CiX) platform was launched for   innovative practices in cities. The platform was a significant addition to the growing innovation ecosystem of India and focuses on fostering innovative practices in cities. CiX, through an ‘open innovation’ process, engages with innovators to design-test-deliver on solutions to pressing urban challenges. This initiative is among the ongoing efforts of the Government to realise Prime Minister’s vision of New and AtmaNirbhar Bharat, by making cities more self-reliant and enabled to meet the needs of and provide services to their citizens. Another step towards making the SCM targets easier, a SmartCode is a platform was launched by MoHUA that enables all ecosystem stakeholders to contribute to a repository of open-source code for various solutions and applications for urban governance. It is designed to address the challenges that ULBs face in the development and deployment of digital applications to address urban challenges, by enabling cities to take advantage of existing codes and customising them to suit local needs, rather than having to develop new solutions from scratch. The India Urban Data Exchange has been developed in partnership between the Smart Cities Mission and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. A New smart cities website & Geospatial management information system GMIS for project monitoring was also developed to implement and proper scrutiny of the projects under SCM. 

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the Transport4All, aiming to bring together cities, citizen groups, and start-ups to develop solutions that improve public transport to better serve the needs of all citizens. It also started the EatSmart Cities Challenge which aimed to motivate Smart Cities to develop a plan that supports a healthy, safe and sustainable food environment supported by institutional, physical, social, and economic infrastructure along with the application of ‘smart’ solutions to combat food related issues.

National Urban Digital Mission will create the ideal space to harness immense synergies from the domain of urban and technology towards creating a citizen-centric governance that reflects Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘minimum government and maximum governance’. The National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM) will create a shared digital infrastructure for urban India, working across the three pillars of people, process, and platform to provide holistic support to cities and towns. It will institutionalise a citizen-centric and ecosystem-driven approach to urban governance and service delivery in 2022 cities by 2022, and across all cities and towns in India by 2024.

For making the street vendors AtmaNirbhar, Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNibhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme, MoHUA has entered into MoU with Zomato, one of the largest online platforms for ordering and delivery of food in India, to onboard street food vendors on its food-tech platform. It has given street food vendors online access to thousands of consumers and help these vendors grow their businesses. Further, MoHUA launched the Mobile Application for PM SVANidhi se Samriddhi- Socio-economic profiling of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries and their families to link them to various Central Government Schemes

Under AtmaNibhar Bharat initiative, DAY-NULM scheme has focussed on equipping the urban poor women with adequate skills and opportunities, and to enable them to promote sustainable micro enterprises. It mobilises women from urban poor households into SHGs and their federations to create a support system for these women. Over 5.7 lakh SHGs have been formed across various States/ UTs, with almost 60 lakh members. Many of these SHGs are engaged in livelihood activities, producing goods such as handicrafts, textiles, toys, eatables and so on. These were being sold primarily in local neighbourhood markets and often faced barriers in achieving visibility and wide market access.

Under Urban Transport Mission, the metro coaches which were earlier imported from Spain, South Korea, and China, are now being manufactured within the country. Their quality is at par with international standards and also being exported to Australia and Canada. 

Under the Central Vista project, the new Parliament Building is an intrinsic part of the vision for Azadi@75 and symbolises our commitment and efforts towards building AatmaNirbhar Bharat. The new Parliament has been designed and is being built by Indians using Indian materials. It will be the first Indian Parliament built by the people, of the people, and for the people.

To enable the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister for New Urban India, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs organised Azadi@75 Conference-cum-Expo in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh along with an exhibition themed on transforming urban landscape across the country.

 

Achievements and initiatives 

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U)

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) was launched on 25th June, 2015 to address urban housing shortage among the EWS/ LIG and MIG category, including the slum dwellers by ensuring a pucca house to eligible urban households by the year 2022. 

  • Against the total assessed demand of 1.12 Cr houses, 1.14 Cr houses have been sanctioned. Of these, total of 91.5 lakh houses were grounded for construction and 53 lakhs houses were completed / delivered, as on 12th Dec’ 2021.
  •  A total of 17.35 Lakh beneficiaries have availed subsidy on housing loans through Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), out of which 6.15 Lakh beneficiaries are from Middle Income Group. 
  • A total of 6,368 houses in Light House Projects are being constructed involving project cost of ₹790.57 crore.

 

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

  • Against total SAAP size of ₹77,640 crore, 5818 projects worth ₹80,713 crore have been grounded. Of the grounded projects, works worth ₹57,414 cr. have been physically completed (inclusive of completed projects worth ₹22,756 cr.) and expenditure of ₹50,118 cr. has been incurred so far.

  • Sector-wise progress of AMRUT projects is as below:

Sector

Projects completed

Projects ongoing

Total Projects Grounded

No.

Amount

No.

Amount

No.

Amount

Water Supply

740

11,530

586

30,320

1,326

41,850

Sewerage &Septage

370

8,259

483

25,074

853

33,332

Storm Water Drainage

612

1,114

187

1,829

799

2,943

Non-motorised urban transport

218

397

131

626

349

1,023

Parks & Green spaces

1,943

1,130

548

435

2,491

1,565

Total

3,883

22,430

1,935

58,284

5,818

80,713

 

  • AMRUT 2.0 was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 1st October 2021 with the aim of making the cities ‘water secure’ and providing functional water tap connections to all households. The total indicative outlay for AMRUT 2.0 is ₹2,77,000 Cr including central share of ₹ 76,760 Cr for the period from 2021-22 to 2025-26.In the water supply sector, contracts for 1,326 projects worth ₹41,850 crore have been awarded of which 740 projects worth ₹11,530 crore have been completed. In addition, 18 projects worth ₹358 crore are at various stages of tendering.  The target is to provide 139 lakh water tap connections to achieve universal coverage. So far 118 lakh water tap connections have been provided through AMRUT and in convergence with schemes.

 

Swachh Bharat Mission- Urban (SBM-U)

            Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) was launched on 2nd October 2014, with the vision to make India open defecation free. Under the mission, 31 cities have been self-declared as ODF and 58 have been certified as ODF since 1st January 2021. ODF+ certified cities increased by 1,828 and ODF++ certified cities increased by 472 since 1st January 2021. Number of Individual Household toilets constructed increased by 20,892 and Community/ Public Toilets constructed increased by 17,866 till date. Under solid waste management, 100% Door to door collection has increased to 86,403 wards and 100% Source Segregation has increased to 77,415 wards resulting in increase of the total waste processing to 70% as against 68% till 1st January 2021.

Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0: Hon’ble Prime Minister launched the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 on 1st October, 2021 with an outlay of about ₹ 4.4 Lakh Crore to adopt ‘Universal Approach’ and make a move towards ‘Saturation’ in sanitation and water availability in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). 

 

Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana –National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)

 

The DAY-NULM is a flagship scheme which aims towards alleviating urban poverty through building strong community institutions, providing skill training, access to affordable credit for self-employment, support for street vendors and shelters for the urban homeless. Since inception, it has covered 28 states, 7 UTs and 3,806 Towns creating 25.60 livelihoods. Under the scheme, 1.30 lakhs shelter spaces were created for urban homeless and 66.70 lakhs women members were mobilised into 6.4 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs). 

 

Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) were implemented with e-commerce giants like Amazon & Flipkart for selling over 2,000 products made by 5,000 SHG members on e-commerce portals across 25 States/ UT.‘SonChiraiya’ brand was launched with the aim to provide increased visibility and wider market access to the local ethnic products viz. handicrafts, food, apparel, decorative, etc.The Mission has provided 26.50 lakh Certificate of Vending (CoV) to urban street vendors to safeguard their rights. Mission has streamlined the process for payments of training fees to skill training providers through PAiSA Portal, which is centralized electronic platform for processing payments to the beneficiaries under the Mission. 

 

AZADI KA AMRUT MAHOTSAV: As a part of the ongoing “AzadikaAmritMahotsav”  of MoHUA, Revolving Fund (RF) support to Area Level Federation (ALF) i.e. federation of Self Help Groups through PAiSA Portal was operationalised on 30.09.2021.

 

PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi)

            The PM SVANidhi was launched to empower street vendors, making them independent and self-sustainable. Under “SwadishtVyanjankiAadhunikDukaan (SVAD)”, MoHUA has signed MOU with Swiggy and Zomato providing a digital platform for Street Food Vendors (SFVs). Presently, over 8,486 SFVs have been onboarded and have generated sales of over ₹4.9 Crores.

            Tie up with Digital Payment Aggregators (DPAs) like BharatPe, Mswipe, PhonePe, Paytm, Aceware were done to issue UPI ids, QR codes and digital training to the beneficiaries. Around 24.5 Lakh Street Vendors (SVs) have been onboarded digitally out of which 9.8 lakh vendors are Digitally active who have conducted 10.9 Crore Digital Transactions till date.

 

More than 42 Lakhs Eligible Loan Application under 1st Tranche and 773,986 Eligible Loan Application under 2nd Tranche were submitted. Out of these, more than 30 Lakhs loans under 1st Tranche and 46,931 loans under 2nd Tranche were sanctioned and more than 27 Lakhs loans under 1st Tranche and 33,471 loans under 2nd Tranche were disbursed. The loan total amount disbursed under 1st Tranche is ₹2656.97Crores and under 2nd Tranche is ₹66.62 Crores.

Urban Transport 

            One metro project i.e. Bangalore Metro Rail Project Phase 2A & 2B of length 58.19 kms at the completion cost of ₹14,788 Cr has been sanctioned in June, 2021. 31 kms of metro rail lines have been commissioned in the cities of Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Nagpur.Under Make-in-India initiatives, the Ministry, in January, 2021, has issued a list of items where public procurement shall be done only from local suppliers. With driverless train operation on 94 km on Delhi Metro’s network, India is at 4th position in the elite league of world’s metro systems which operate drives less trains. 

************

"Management solutions emerge when we hear and listen to all the views with honest intentions"

 The Minister for Commerce & Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal today exhorted the youth to “dream big and aim high.” Addressing a group of university students affiliated to Vadodara based ‘Chhatra Sansad’ who are on the ‘Intern Nation Leadership Tour 2022’, a ten-day Good Governance tour, Shri Goyal said youth are the agents of positive change.

Citing their role in the Independence Movement and the Fight Against Emergency, Shri Goyal said, “Mass movements are created on the back of the youth of the times.” 

“Students bring energy that brings great changes. We need to give up on ‘Chalta hai’ (Let It Go) attitude to ‘Kuchh karna hai’ (Let’s do It). The Josh and excitement that youth bring to the table is vital to achieve great results. Please dream big…Don’t think in terms of small aims,” said Shri Goyal, in his address during the video conference. “Koshish karne walon ki kabhi haar nahin hoti,” he quipped.

“When we aspired for $400 billion exports, people would laugh away at us  But now here we are at $300 bn in the first nine months (of the current Financial Year.),” said Shri Goyal, adding, “Even in the pandemic we dreamt big about exports and  making India vibrant with bound less business opportunities.”

Shri Goyal said the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is an inspirational leader for the nation’s youth, who has brought about sweeping changes in India’s history such as ‘Swachh Bharat’ and ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ by involving all the people with his motto of “Sabka Prayas.”

 

Shri Goyal said we are having the world’s biggest Food Security programme, – NFSA, and food grains are being given to almost 80cr people to ensure no one goes hungry.

Shri Goyal said the civil society should not only work on improving social conditions but also work towards improving political processes as well which encourages honesty in Governance. 

“Integrity, transparency and honesty is the need of the hour which the civil society is now beginning to see from initiatives of Government.  Civil society should always be proactive and bring dignity to vulnerable sections of society. We must decide about the positive outcomes and go all out with full force about it,” he said.

Responding to a question by one of the participants about how he manages to arrive at good management solutions, Shri Goyal said it’s important to hear and listen to all the views with honest intentions without getting biased and prejudiced about anything. “Solutions emerge when such an approach is implemented,” he said. The Minister gave the example of implementation of the jewellery hallmarking which was stuck for many years for the lack of deeper insights.

Shri Goyal said the Indian Youth has made a great impact on the global scale. International organizations now look up to India and Indian youth to make changes and bring growth.

“We are celebrating 75 years of Freedom, Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, and it’s time the nation achieve the global status it rightly deserves,” said Shri Goyal. 

Pointing out that India has started leaving its mark on the global stage including the Olympics and Paralympics, Shri Goyal said, “Today no international organisation or event is possible to be conceived without India.”

***

A Right Not A Privilege

Menstrupedia Blog | Let's Break the Vicious Circle of Menstrual Taboo - Menstrupedia Blog

Judy Grahn once beautifully said and I quote “Menstrual blood is the only source of blood that is not traumatically induced. Yet, in modern society, this is the most hidden blood, the one so rarely spoken of and almost never seen, except privately by women”. By this, everyone knows what this article is going to be about today. As women are slowly growing stronger and learning to stand up for themselves, it is time, not just women but also men start talking about menstruation, periods, and the entire process that girls, women go through every month for several years. It is high time topics like menstruation are brought out openly rather than hiding among women.

Understanding menstruation and the taboo behind it

Menstruation is the process where girls and women lose blood for a period of five to seven days, every month. This process is the menstrual cycle. The blood is usually old blood cells that detach themselves from the uterine walls. This is a process that every girl and woman goes through around the world no matter which religion, race, ethnicity, countries women belong to. Sounds pretty normal right? Then everyone just is wondering what the taboo is all about. People need to understand that menstruation, menstrual cycle, period cramps, etc are not something that has emerged very recently. These have been there from the time humankind has been existing.

The idea of menstrual blood being impure and something bad for society comes from a place of women idealization, gender discrimination, the gendered identity that has come into creation by the one and only patriarchy. Menstruation has become a medium to suppress women and limit their creativity, intelligence, feelings, emotions, and everything else that makes women as important as men or more in society. Let me ask people reading this. First, to all women and girls, how many of you have covered your pad in a newspaper and or taken your sanitary napkin like a secret bomb to the washroom? In addition, the second question to all men and boys who have seen this and found it weird until you know why women or girls have been doing this? This is how the inclusion of patriarchy happens in society and the idea of impurity and purity seeps into everyone’s lives. The very idea of how girls in co-ed schools and college are only in the class while the teachers are talking periods and the boys are in another class during that period shows how the societal taboo behind them. This is the very reason boys have no education about menstruation and how it works.

Until today, the awareness of menstruation is so less, that a lot of action and awareness is in great need to make things better for women and girls in every district, village, and country. Over the years, the taboo has come down about the menstrual cycle at least in the metropolitan areas of different countries. There was a time when women were in deprivation of communication with other people during their menstruation, and there were places separately for women and girls during their menstruation that was usually away from the house. So many more things were happening that no are longer happening in the developed parts of the country. Nevertheless, there are still so many places that these things take place. These are small villages, districts that have no connection with the mainland. That being said, many castes and religions have a cultural tradition of celebrating the commence of menstruation with great joy and pomp and bringing down the menstruation taboo that has such a strong grasp on the minds of the community.

Yes, things are much better in the metropolitan areas but let me ask you this how many times do we hear jokes or statements made about women “PMSing” when they are genuinely angry or irritated about something at work or home. Linking something as natural as menstruation to religion, caste, and gender is still present in every part of the world whether it is a village or a metropolitan area. People believe that period cramps are nothing because every woman goes through the menstrual cycle. What people do not understand is that though every woman suffers from period cramps the intensity level is very different. If you believe that women who have low tolerance levels have high-intensity pain, then you are wrong. Several studies have proven that period cramp pain is equivalent to the pain of several bones breaking together. Therefore, it is time we think twice before making comments or statements about menstruation.

It's Time We Make Feminine Products Free

Menstruation products and their prices

Though the world is moving forward and developing rapidly, women are still paying a huge amount for menstruation products that are in use for a natural process of losing blood every month. It might seem very surprising that women all over the world have to keep aside a lot of money just for menstrual products such as sanitary napkins, tampons, etc. Basic things like these have become a privilege. Products that are necessary during the cycle are not available for the lower section of the economy because the price of these products is so high. How fair is it that some sections of girls and women get menstruation products and some women and girls cannot? Menstrual hygiene is such an important thing in every single female’s life. If menstrual hygiene is not cared for then it can lead to many physical problems as well. It is time that governments all over the world look into this problem and make things more accessible to women and girls whether they belong to the higher economy or the lower economic class. Scotland and New Zealand are some of the best examples of other countries. These countries have made sanitary napkins free for everybody. These countries have shown that menstruation products should not be a privilege rather products everybody has a right to.

The argument that has been made is that these countries have a lesser population, therefore; it is easier for the government to bring about these laws. To this argument, the only answer can be that, even if you cannot make sanitary products free for everybody, things can at least be done to make them free for people who cannot afford menstruation products. The thing that needs to be kept in mind as well is that the quality of these products should be equally good as the products that are being paid for. The rights of women and girls should not be made into a monetary business from which only the rich benefit. In recent years, awareness, protests, and petitions have been increasing to bring about some change and remove patriarchy from the root so that women can get what they deserve. These actions should not stop until we as people have some change in the community and the world.

I would like to conclude that women do not expect to be treated as supernatural beings or goddesses rather what we do expect is to be treated as human beings who deserve respect, trust, proper treatment, and everything else like any other person living on this planet. Finally, it is time that the people of the world realize that periods are not gross, weird, or inappropriate to talk about.

References

  1. Google searches for quotes and images.

100% door to door collection of segregated waste from each household/ premise to be done under (SBM-U) 2.0

 The salient features of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM-U) 2.0, launched on 01st October, 2021, are:

(i). all households and premises segregate their waste into “wet waste” (from kitchen and gardens) and “dry waste” (including paper, glass, plastic, and domestic hazardous waste and sanitary waste wrapped separately);

(ii). 100% door to door collection of segregated waste from each household/ premise;

(iii). 100% scientific management of all fractions of waste, including safe disposal in scientific landfills;

(iv). all legacy dumpsites remediated;

(v).all used water including faecal sludge, is safely contained, transported, processed and disposed so that no untreated faecal sludge and used water pollutes the ground or water bodies, in cities with less than one lakh population;

(vi). phased reduction in use of single use plastic.

The salient features of AMRUT 2.0, launched on 01st October, 2021, are:

(i). Universal coverage of water supply from 500 cities to about 4,800 statutory towns.

(ii). Focus on making the cities ‘self-reliant’ and ‘water secure’.

(iii). Universal coverage of sewerage and septage management in 500 AMRUT cities.

(iv). Target to provide 2.68 Crore tap connections and 2.64 Crore sewer connections.

(v). Focus on financial sustainability of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) through enhanced credit worthiness and market borrowing.

(vi). ‘Pey Jal Survekshan’ will be undertaken in cities to promote healthy competition among them and function as monitoring tool and Mission accelerator.

(vii). Technology sub-Mission under AMRUT 2.0 will help in identifying proven and potential global technologies in water sector.

(viii). Entrepreneurship/ start-ups involved in low-cost indigenous equipments and processes will be encouraged.

 

SBM-U 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 have been launched on 01stOctober, 2021. The financial outlay of SBM–U 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 is at Annexure-I.

 

Out of 4372 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs),4371 have been certifiedOpen Defecation Free (ODF),except for one ULBof Purulia in West Bengal.

 

Under AMRUT Mission, launched on 25thJune, 2015 in 500 cities, the objective was to improve the sewerage coverage and septage management and providing safe drinking water universally, in all ULBs with population of one lakh or more (as per Census 2011), all Capital cities, all Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) cities, identified cities on the stem of the main rivers, hill states, islands and tourist destinations.Now under AMRUT 2.0 all 500 cities will get universal coverage through sewerage/ septage.

Sewerage, septage management and recycle/ reuse of treated used water in cities with population less than one lakh, which are not covered under AMRUT, will be covered under SBM-U 2.0.

Sanitation being a State subject, it is the State Government which formulates its Action Plan for implementation of SBM-U in the State. Under SBM-U, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has released the Central Share (CS) assistance for implementation of the Action Plan submitted by the Government of Assam, which includes construction of Individual House Hold Latrine (IHHL), Community/ Public Toilet (CT/PT), Solid Waste Management (SWM), Capacity Building (CB) of the ULBsand also for carrying out Information Education Communication (IEC) and Public Awareness (PA) campaign.  The details of the status of financial and physical progress of SBM-U in Assam are at Annexure-II.

For making cities garbage free, underSBM-U a protocol has been launched for Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities (GFCs) in January, 2018, in order to institutionalize a mechanism for cities to achieve Garbage Free status, and to motivate cities to achieve higher degrees of cleanliness.

In the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has been rated as 3 star ULB in 2019 and 5-star in 2021 in Garbage Free City (GFC) assessment. In the past,Delhi Cantonment achieved 1 star GFC rating in 2020.

Under AMRUT, steps taken to provide water supply to every household includes, taking-up of 1,345 water supply projects worth ₹ 42,206 Crore, of which 1,326 projects worth ₹ 41,847 Crore have been grounded. Out of the target of providing 139 lakh water tap connections to achieve universal coverage, so far 114 lakh new water tap connections have been provided.

In NCR of Delhi, so far ten water supply projects worth ₹ 292 Crore have been taken up in the four ULBs, namelyNew Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), North Delhi Municipal Corporation (North DMC) and South Delhi Municipal

Corporation (SDMC).  Of these nine projects of ₹ 262 Crores have been grounded.

Operational Guidelines of SBM-U 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 have been shared with the States/ Union Territories through the web portals given below:

SBM-U2.0:https://sbmurban.org/

AMRUT 2.0:https://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/AMRUT-Operational-Guidelines.pdf

Annexure-I

 

Financial outlay of SBM-U 2.0

Estimated cost of implementation                    : ₹1,41,600 crore.

Government of India share                              : ₹36,465 crores.

 

Balance cost to be contributed by

 

(a).  Individuals as beneficiary contribution,

(b). States and UTs/ ULBs

(c). Private Sector under PPP.

 

(Wherever private sector funding is not available, State/ UT will need to provide the necessary funds)

 

Remaining cost : To be generated through various other sources of funds, including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds from public/ private sector, external assistance etc.

Financial outlay of AMRUT 2.0

The total indicative outlay for AMRUT 2.0 is ₹ 2,77,000 crore including central share of ₹ 76,760 crore for five years from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26.

The central budgetary allocation for various Mission components will be as under:

S.

No.

Mission component

Central

Allocation ( ₹ Cr)

1.

Projects

66,750

2.

Incentive for Reforms (8% of project CA allocation)

5,340

3..

Administrative & Other Expenses (A&OE) for States/ UTs (3.25% of project CA allocation)

2,169

4.

Administrative & Other Expenses (A&OE) for MoHUA (1.75% of project CA allocation)

1,168

5.

Technology Sub-Mission (1% of project CA allocation)

667

6.

IEC Activities (1% of project CA allocation)

667

 

The ongoing AMRUT projects will be funded with central assistance up to 31 March 2023.

No funds will be released for any AMRUT project incomplete by that date and it will become the responsibility of the State/ UT to complete them from their own resources.           

Annexure-II

 

Swachh Bharat Mission

 

  1. Financial progress: Out of total Mission allocation of ₹244.30 Crores for Assam, an amount of ₹207.49 Crores (84.93%) has been drawn by the Government of Assam till date.

 

  1. Physical Progress:

 

(i). Toilet construction :

Type of Toilets

Target

Completed

Percentage Progress

Individual House Hold Latrines (IHHL)

75,720 Units

74,416 Units

(98.50%)

Community / Public Toilets (CT/PT)

3,554 seats

3,350 seats

(92%)

 

(ii). Open Defecation Free (ODF) status :

ODF certification type

Target

No. of certified ULBs

ODF

All 96 ULBs in the State ODF

96

ODF+

27

ODF++

0

 

(iii). Solid Waste Management :

Activity

Target

Achievement (in%)

100% Door-to-door collection

In all 943 wards

In 845 wards (89.60%)

100% Segregation at source

In all 943 wards

In 410 wards (43.47%)

Scientific processing of waste

100% of 1,021 TPD of waste generated daily

653 TPD (64%) of waste processed

MetroLite and MetroNeo projects to ease the Mobility Problems in smaller cities

 The standard specifications of Light Urban Rail Transit System named “MetroLite” and rubber-tyred electric coach powered by overhead traction system running on a road slab with an exclusive right of way named “MetroNeo”, suitable for smaller cities or areas of cities with less projection of ridership were issued in July, 2019 and November, 2020 respectively. MetroLite and MetroNeo are the low cost mobility solutions with reduced system requirements and same experience, ease of travel in terms of comfort, convenience, affordability, safety, punctuality, reliability and environment- friendliness as that of conventional metro rail system. The low capital cost of these new transit modes than that of high capacity metro rail is due to light civil structure, lesser axle load, smaller stations, low power rated electrical equipment, low operation and maintenance cost etc. These systems can also be used as feeder system to conventional metro rail.

Urban transport, which is an integral part of urban development, is a state subject. Hence, respective State Government/ Union Territories(UTs) is responsible for initiating and developing urban transport infrastructure including rail based mass transit modes viz. Metro Rail/MetroLite/MetroNeo/Regional Rapid Transit System(RRTS) etc.   As per Metro Rail Policy-2017, the Central Government considers financial assistance for such projects in cities or urban agglomerates, based on feasibility of the proposal and availability of resources, as and when posed by the concerned State Government/ Union Territories (UTs). The details of MetroLite and MetroNeo proposals received from various State Governments/Union Territories (UTs) for central financial assistance, State and City-wise, are as under:

Sr No

State/UT

City

Name of Project

1

Delhi

Delhi

Rithala-Narela MetroLite Corridor in the remaining 03 corridors of Delhi Metro Phase-IV

2

Maharashtra

Nashik

Nashik MetroNeo

3

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu

Jammu MetroLite

4

Srinagar

Srinagar MetroLite

5

Uttar Pradesh

Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur MetroLite

Swachh Technology Challenge launched to Create an Innovations’ Ecosystem in Waste Management

 Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0), under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), today launched the Swachh Technology Challenge. The Challenge seeks to harness the entrepreneurial potential of the waste management sector in India and promote an enabling environment for enterprise developmentunder Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0. In line with Hon’ble Prime Minister’s clarion call for an “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, there is a need for identifying indigenous, cost effective technologies that are easy to replicate and scale-up, andcan be put to use by ULBs to implement various components of SBM-U 2.0 on the ground.

 

Over the years, SBM-U has been encouraging innovations and best practices particularly through Swachh Survekshan, the annual cleanliness survey conducted by MoHUA. This trend has been rising over the years with over 4,000 innovations and best practices having been identified since 2018. Swachh Technology Challenge,scheduled to run from 6th December 2021 to 15th January 2021, will particularly seek solutions in  four thematic categories, viz.(i) social inclusion, (ii) zero dump (solid waste management), (iii)plastic waste management and (iv)transparency through digital enablement. The details and modalities of the Challenge were elaborated in a presentation by Roopa Mishra, Joint Secretary and National Mission Director, Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, MoHUA. Designed as a sub-component of the ‘Citizen Engagement’ component under Swachh Survekshan 2022, the Challenge endeavours to invite solutions not just from start-ups but also individual entrepreneurs, educational institutions, local businesses, research and development organisations,NGOs, and other citizen groups to help city administration efficiently manage Mission operations.The active participation of cities in the Challenge will have a direct bearing on their performance in the ‘Citizen Engagement’ component of Swachh Survekshan 2022 and thus their overall ranking in the survey. The top three solutions in each of the four thematic categories from across the country will be felicitated at the Swachh Survekshan award ceremony hosted by MoHUA. As an additional incentive, top three state level solutions will be rewarded with a cash prize by respective State governments.

To further incentivize the start-up ecosystem, MoHUA will also launch a Swachhata Start-Up Challenge as an extension to the Swachh Technology Challenge in January 2022. Winning solutions from start-ups under Swachh Technology Challenge will be eligible to participate in the Swachhata Start-Up Challenge to be run in collaboration with AgenceFrançaise de Développement (AFD). Winning entries under the Challenge will be rewarded with seed funding of ₹25 lakhs per project along with one year of dedicated incubation support from French Tech, the French government’s initiative to promote start-ups.  

                                                        

Speaking at the launch occasion, Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA said, “Technology has played a key role in the transformation of the urban landscape of India. Technology has the potential to bring about affordable, scalable and replicable innovations that can not only bring the Mission closer to citizens but also help us achieve our collective goal of Garbage Free Cities in a time-bound and efficient manner. Today, with the launch of the Swachh Technology Challenge, I appeal to all States and cities to participate wholeheartedly in the Challenge by engaging proactively with stakeholders across the spectrum to drive sanitation and waste management outcomes under SBM-U 2.0”. Also present on the occasion was Mr. Augustin Delisle, Deputy Director, AFD. The event was attended virtually by senior government representatives including Principal Secretaries, Mission Directors and Municipal Commissioners from States and cities.

Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, launched on 1stOctober, 2021, aims to achieve the vision of ‘Garbage Free Cities’ over the next five years through remediation of legacy dumpsites, construction and demolition waste and plastic waste management. Additionally, sustainable sanitation through faecal sludge and used water management will be a key focus under SBM-U 2.0. Technology has played a critical role in achieving the outcomes under SBM-U’s journey in the last seven years with several key initiatives such as Swachhata App, SBM Toilets on Google Maps, etc. Recently, the integrated SBM-Urban MIS portal Swachhatam and the state-of-art GIS platform were launched under SBM-U 2.0which will not only take the Mission closer to citizens but will also enable smart data driven decision making, transparency and robustness in Mission implementation. The Swachh Technology Challenge is another step towards ensuring smart governance in SBM-U 2.0 by incentivizing the innovations’ ecosystem to help realize the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Garbage Free Cities’.

AMRUT 2.0 envisages to make cities ‘water secure’ through circular economy of water

 The Government has launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) scheme on 01 October, 2021 for the period of 05 years i.e. from the financial year 2021-22 to the financial year 2025-26. AMRUT 2.0 is designed to provide universal coverage of water supply to all households through functional taps in all statutory towns and coverage of sewerage/septage management in 500 AMRUT cities. Making the cities ‘water secure’ and thereby enhancing ease of living of citizens is major objective of the Mission. AMRUT 2.0 will promote circular economy of water through development of city water balance plan for each city focusing on recycle/reuse of treated sewage, rejuvenation of water bodies and water conservation. It will help cities to identify scope for projects focusing on universal coverage of functional water tap connections, water source conservation, rejuvenation of water bodies and wells, recycle/reuse of treated used water, and rainwater harvesting. Based on the projects identified in City Water Balance Plans, Mission envisages to make cities ‘water secure’ through circular economy of water.

Mission also has a reform agenda on ease of living of citizens through reduction of non-revenue water, recycle of treated used water, rejuvenation of water bodies, augmenting double entry accounting system, urban planning, strengthening urban finance etc.

Other components of AMRUT 2.0 are:

    1. Pey Jal Survekshan to ascertain equitable distribution of water, reuse of wastewater, mapping of water bodies and promote healthy competition among the cities /towns.
    1. Technology Sub-Mission for water to leverage latest global technologies in the field of water.
    1. Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign to spread awareness among masses about conservation of water.

The total indicative outlay for AMRUT 2.0 is ₹2,99,000 crore including Central share of ₹76,760 crore for five years. This outlay includes funding of ₹22,000 crore (₹10,000 crore as Central Assistance) for ongoing projects of AMRUT till March 2023.

70 percent Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) processing achieved under Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban

 Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) was launched on 2nd October 2014 with the objective of making all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the country Open Defecation Free (ODF), scientific management of all Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated therein and change in behaviour.  Under SBM-U, out of 4,372 ULBs across the country, 4,371 have been certified ODF, exceptfor one ULB of Purulia in West Bengal. Processing of MSW has increased from 18 per cent in 2014 to 70 per cent in 2021. Through a Jan Andolan approach, there is perceptible change in behaviour towards swachhata in urban areas.

Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM-U) 2.0 has been launched on 1st October, 2021 with a vision of achieving 100 per cent ‘Garbage Free’, status for all cities. The following specific objectives are targeted to be achieved under SBM-U 2.0.

(i). Ensuring cleanliness and hygiene in public places to make all cities clean and garbage free, with 100% scientific processing of MSW.

(ii). Reducing air pollution arising out of SWM activities, through effective management of C&D waste, and mechanical sweeping.

(iii). Phased reduction in use of single-use plastic.

(iv). Remediation of all legacy dumpsites.

The present status of progress of Solid waste Management (SWM) in various States, including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, is at Annexure-I.

AMRUT:

Under the first phase of Mission AMRUT, launched on 25th June, 2015 in 500 cities, the objective was to improve the sewerage coverage and septage management and providing safe drinking water universally, in all ULBs with population of one lakh or more (as per Census 2011), all Capital cities, all Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) cities, identified cities on the stem of the main rivers, hill states, islands and tourist destinations.

Under first phase of Mission AMRUT, steps were taken to provide water supply to every household includes, taking-up of 1,345 water supply projects worth ₹ 42,206 Crore, of which 1,326  projects worth₹ 41,847 Crore have been grounded. Against the target of providing 139 lakh water tap connections to achieve universal coverage, so far 114 lakh new water tap connections have been provided.

The second phase, i.e., AMRUT 2.0 has been launched on 1st October, 2021 with the following salient features:

(i). Universal coverage of water supply from 500 cities to about 4,800 statutory towns.

(ii). Focus on making the cities ‘self-reliant’ and ‘water secure’.

(iii). Universal coverage of sewerage and septage management in 500 AMRUT cities.

(iv). Target to provide 2.68 crore drinking water tap connections and 2.64 crore sewer connections.

(v). Focus on financial sustainability of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) through enhanced credit worthiness and market borrowing.

(vi). ‘Pey Jal Survekshan’ will be undertaken in cities to promote healthy competition among them and function as monitoring tool and Mission accelerator.

(vii). Technology sub-Mission under AMRUT 2.0 will help in identifying proven and potential global technologies in water sector.

(viii). Entrepreneurship/ start-ups involved in low-cost indigenous equipments and processes will be encouraged.

Model Tenancy Act to promote rental housing

 Union Cabinet approved Model Tenancy Act (MTA) on 2nd June, 2021 and the same was circulated to all States / Union Territories (UTs) on 7th June, 2021 for adoption for future tenancies by way of either enacting a fresh legislation or amending existing rental laws suitably.

Model Tenancy Act aims to promote rental housing by balancing and protecting the rights and interests of both the tenants and landlords by regulating renting of premises in an efficient and transparent manner. It will also help in overhauling the legal framework with respect to rental markets across the country by providing speedier dispute resolution mechanism framework and is expected to give a fillip to private participation in rental housing.

All States and UTs were consulted while finalising Model Tenancy Act. Views / comments / suggestions of States and UTs on draft Act were duly analysed and suitably incorporated in the final draft.MTA is applicable in both urban and rural areas of the States and UTs.

Land and Colonization are State subjects. Tenancies in States/ Union Territories are governed by their respective rental laws. States and UTs have been advised to adopt MTA by way of eitherenacting a fresh legislation or amending their existing rental laws suitably on lines of MTA in their respective jurisdictions.

"Main Bhi Digital 3.0" campaign aimed at digital onboarding of Street Vendors

 Digital onboarding and training of Street Vendors (SVs) is an integral part of PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbharNidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.Lending Institutions (LIs) have been instructed to issue a durable QR Code & UPI ID at the time of disbursement and train the beneficiaries in conduct of digital transactions.

In order to give further impetus to the digital onboarding and training of beneficiaries, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) jointly launched ‘Main Bhi Digital 3.0’from September 9 to November 30, 2021, to complement the efforts of LIs in adoption of digital transactions by the PM SVANidhi beneficiaries.

“Main Bhi Digital 3.0” campaign is aimed at digital onboarding of Street Vendors (SVs)who have already been provided loans under PM SVANidhi Scheme.

An Integrated IT Platform has been developed for implementation of this Scheme. The application process is fully online. SVs can apply for loan directly through PM SVANidhiPortal. The application can also be submitted at Municipal Offices and Common Service Centres (CSCs). In addition, the SVs can approach municipal functionaries or representatives of Lending Institutions to apply through PM SVANidhi mobile App.

PM SVANidhi Scheme is available to all street vendors across the country, including those from Dahod tribal area, who are engaged in vending in urban areas on or before March 24, 2020. InDahod Municipality of Gujarat, out of 868 beneficiaries of the scheme, 337 are from Scheduled Tribes Category.

"Main Bhi Digital 3.0" campaign aimed at digital onboarding of Street Vendors

 Digital onboarding and training of Street Vendors (SVs) is an integral part of PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbharNidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.Lending Institutions (LIs) have been instructed to issue a durable QR Code & UPI ID at the time of disbursement and train the beneficiaries in conduct of digital transactions.

In order to give further impetus to the digital onboarding and training of beneficiaries, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) jointly launched ‘Main Bhi Digital 3.0’from September 9 to November 30, 2021, to complement the efforts of LIs in adoption of digital transactions by the PM SVANidhi beneficiaries.

“Main Bhi Digital 3.0” campaign is aimed at digital onboarding of Street Vendors (SVs)who have already been provided loans under PM SVANidhi Scheme.

An Integrated IT Platform has been developed for implementation of this Scheme. The application process is fully online. SVs can apply for loan directly through PM SVANidhiPortal. The application can also be submitted at Municipal Offices and Common Service Centres (CSCs). In addition, the SVs can approach municipal functionaries or representatives of Lending Institutions to apply through PM SVANidhi mobile App.

PM SVANidhi Scheme is available to all street vendors across the country, including those from Dahod tribal area, who are engaged in vending in urban areas on or before March 24, 2020. InDahod Municipality of Gujarat, out of 868 beneficiaries of the scheme, 337 are from Scheduled Tribes Category.

Regional Rapid Transit System corridors to connect various important towns of NCR

 National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) prepared a ‘Functional Plan on Transport for National Capital Region(NCR)-2032’ which recommended eight Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors to connect various important towns of NCR with high speed rail based commuter transit system viz. (i) Delhi-Gurgaon-Rewari-Alwar (ii) Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut (iii) Delhi-Sonipat-Panipat (iv) Delhi-Faridabad-Ballabhgarh-Palwal (v) Delhi-Bahadurgarh-Rohtak (vi) Delhi-Shahdara-Baraut (vii) Ghaziabad-Khurja and (viii) Ghaziabad-Hapur. Out of these, the Task Force constituted by the then Planning Commission prioritized three corridors namely, (i) Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut (ii) Delhi-Gurugram-Rewari-Alwar and (iii) Delhi-Panipat. From the above, Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor has been approved and the construction work is underway.

The Detailed Project Report (DPR) after the Feasibility Study has been received from National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) for Delhi-Gurugram-SNB Urban Complex RRTS Corridor in December, 2018 and for SNB Urban Complex to Sotanala RRTS Corridor in June, 2020; which are part of Delhi-Gurugram-Rewari-Alwar RRTS Project.The DPR of Delhi-Panipat corridor has been received from NCRTC in June 2020. Approval of Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) with financial commitment on DPRs of Delhi-Gurugram-SNB RRTS corridor and Delhi-Panipat RRTS corridor has not been received.

The RRTS projects are cost intensive projects which require extensive inter-ministerial consultations and their approval depends on feasibility of projects and availability of resources. The allocation/release of funds and construction activity of project is undertaken once the project is approved.