Policies and Schemes

Agriculture	Rural employment
National Mission on Micro Irrigation (NMMI) Compendium of Agriculture related schemes National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) National Policy for Farmers 2007 National Food Security Mission National Horticulture Mission A Hand Book on National Programme for Organic Production Crisis Management plan - Drought Artificial Recharge through Dugwells Coffee Debt Relief Package Agricultural legislations in India National Crisis Management Plan - Drought (2011) Rural Godown Scheme (RGS) or Gramin Bhandaran Yojana Schemes of Government of India Providing Assistance for Seeds	Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) Programme for promotion of Village Industry Cluster -Rural Industry Service Centre (RISC)for Khadi and Village industry Agri Clinics and Agri Business Centres Scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA) Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana Minimum rate of wages
Animal husbandry
Livestock Insurance Scheme Fodder and Feed Development Scheme Scheme for development of small ruminants and rabbits

Current Parliament Session

The Monsoon Session, 2010 of Parliament which commenced on Monday, the 26^th of July, 2010, concluded on Tuesday, the 31^st of August, 2010. The Session was originally scheduled to conclude on Friday, the 27^th of August, 2010 but the sittings of both the Houses were extended by two days i.e. up to Tuesday, the 31^st of August, 2010 to transact essential Government Legislative Business. The Session provided 26 sittings of both the Houses of Parliament spread over a period of 37 days.

Addressing the media persons today, the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pawan kumar Bansalinformed that during the Session, 26 Bills (18 in the Lok Sabha and 08 in the Rajya Sabha) were introduced. The LokSabha passed 21 Bills (including the minor amendment in trade marks Bill) and the Rajya Sabha passed 24 Bills during the session. Total number of Bills passed by both Houses of Parliament during the Session is 24. One Bill, namely, the Representation of People (Amendment) Bill, 2006 was withdrawn in Rajya Sabha. Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs Shri Prithviraj Chavan and Shri Narayanasamy were also present at the press conference. A list containing the titles of the Bills introduced, and considered and passed during the Session is annexed.

The Statutory Resolution seeking approval of the Proclaimation issued by the President on the 1^st of June, 2010 under Article 356(1) of the Constitution in relation to State of Jharkhand, was discussed and adopted by both the Houses. Besides a Government Motion on the issues of Population stabilization in the country was also discussed in Lok Sabha.

During the Session, Supplementary Demands for Grants (General and Railways) for 2010-11 and Supplementary Demands for Grants relating to the State of Jharkhand for the year 2010-11 and their Appropriation Bills, were discussed and passed by the Lok Sabha. Thereafter, the Rajya Sabha considered and returned these Appropriation Bills.

In Lok Sabha, motion regarding inflationary pressure on the economy and its adverse impact on the common man moved by Smt Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition was discussed for about 9 hours spread over two days on August 3 and 4, 2010 and in Rajya Sabha, similar motion moved by Shri Arun Jaitely, Leader of Opposition was discussed for about 8 hours spread over two days on August 4 and 5, 2010. Thereafter, the Chair placed the Resolution urging upon the Government to take further effective action to contain its adverse impact on the common man, which was agreed to by both the Houses.

Two Bills replacing the Ordinances, namely, the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2010 and the Securities and Insurance Laws (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2010 which were promulgated by the President, were considered and passed by both the Houses of Parliament during the Session. One Bill replacing the Ordinance, namely, the Jharkhand Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Ordinance, 2010, promulgated by the Governor was also considered and passed by both the Houses of parliament.

In the Lok Sabha, Six Short Duration Discussion under Rule 193 were held on (i) delay in preparation for Commonwealth Games, 2010; (ii) Bhopal gas tragedy; (iii) illegal mining; (iv) atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; (v) situation in Jammu and Kashmir; and (vi) flood and drought situation in the country. In the RajyaSabha, Two Short Duration Discussion under Rule 176 were held on (i) Bhopal gas tragedy; and (ii) illegal mining in the country. Besides, 7 Calling Attentions each in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were discussed. One Half-an-hour discussion inLok Sabha and two Half-an-hour discussions in Rajya Sabha were also discussed.

Annex

LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS TRANSACTED DURING FIFTH SESSEION OF FIFTEENTH LOK SABHA AND 220^TH SESSION OF RAJYA SABHA

(MONSOON SESSION)

I Bills Introduced in Lok Sabha

1. The Securities and Insurance Laws (Amendment and Validation Bill, 2010.

2. The Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research Bill, 2010

3. The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2010

4. The New Delhi Municipal Council (Amendment) Bill, 2010

5. The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2010

6. The Appropriation (No. 4) Bill, 2010

7. The Jharkhand Appropriation Bill, 2010

8. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2010.

9. The Jharkhand Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2010

10. The Repatriation of Prisoners (Amendment) Bill,2010

11. The Appropriation (Railways) No. 4 Bill, 2010

12. The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2010

13. The Constitution (One Hundred and Fourteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 (Amendment of Articles 217 and 224)

14. The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2010

15. The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosures Bill, 2010

16. The Dam Safety Bill, 2010

17. The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2010

18. The Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010

II Bills Passed by Lok Sabha

1. The Securities and Insurance Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill,2010

2. The State Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, 2010

3. The Appropriation (No. 4) Bill, 2010

4. The Jharkhand Appropriation Bill, 2010

5. The Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2010

6. The Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010

7. The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2010.

8. The Indian Medical Council ( Amendment) Bill,2010

9. The Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill, 2010

10. The Essential Commodities )Amendment) Bill,2010

11. The Jharkhand Panchayat Raj (Amendment)Bill, 2010

12. The Appropriation (Railways) No. 4 Bill, 2010

13. The Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010

14. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bills, 2010

15. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010

16. The Nalanda University Bill, 2010

17. The Educational Tribunals Bill, 2010

18. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2010

19. The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2010

20. The Indian Medicine Central Council Bill, 2010

21. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2010

III - Bills Introduced in Rajya Sabha

1. The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010

2. The Jawaharlal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry (Amendment) Bill, 2010

3. The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Amendment Bill, 2010

4. The Nalanda University Bill, 2010

5. The Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, 2010

6. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2010

7. The Architects (Amendment) Bill, 2010

8. The Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, 2010

IV - Bills Passed by Rajya Sabha

1. The Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2009

2. The Clinical Establishment (Registration & Regulation) Bill, 2010

3. The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2010

4. The Securities and Insurance Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2010

5. The Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2009

6. The Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill, 2009

7. The Jharkhand Appropriation Bill, 2010

8. The Appropriation (No.4) Bill, 2010

9. The State Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, 2010

10. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2008

11. The Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2010

12. The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2010

13. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006

14. The Land Ports Authority of India Bill, 2010

15. The Appropriation (Railways) No.4 Bill, 2010

16. The Nalanda University Bill,2010

17. The Jharkhand Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2010

18. The Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2010.

19. The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2010

20. The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2010

21. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2010

22. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010

23. The Representation of People (Amendment) Bill, 2010

24. The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2010

V - Bills passed by Both Houses

1. The Clinical Establishment (Registration & Regulation) Bill, 2010

2. The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2010

3. The Securities and Insurance Laws (Amendment and Validation) Bill,2010

4. The Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2010

5. The Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill, 2009

6. The Jharkhand Appropriation Bill, 2010

7. The Appropriation (No. 4) Bill, 2010

8. The State Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, 2010

9. The Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010

1. The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2010

2. The Land Ports Authority of India Bill, 2010

3. The Appropriation (Railways) No. 4 Bill, 2010

4. The Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010

5. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bills, 2010

6. The Jharkhand Panchayat Raj (Amendment)Bill, 2010

7. The Nalanda University Bill, 2010

8. The Indian Medical Council ( Amendment) Bill,2010

9. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2010

10. The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2010.

11. The Essential Commodities )Amendment) Bill,2010

12. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010

13. The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2010

14. The Indian Medicine Central Council Bill, 2010

15. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2010

World Water Day 2010

                         Theme : Clean water for a healthy world

The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. The theme for the year 2010 is "Clean water for a healthy world"

More than 70% of our planet is filled with water. But fresh water constitutes a very small proportion of this enormous quantity. About 2.7 per cent of the total water available on the earth is fresh water of which about 75.2 per cent lies frozen in polar regions and another 22.6 per cent is present as ground water. The rest is available in lakes, rivers, atmosphere, moisture, soil and vegetation. What is effectively available for consumption and other uses is a small proportion of the quantity available in rivers, lakes and ground water. Less than 1% of the world’s fresh water (or about 0.007% of all water on earth) is readily accessible for direct human use. We need anywhere between 30-50 liters of clean and safe water every day and yet 884 million people, lack access to safe water supplies.

Every year, 1,500 cubic kilometres of wastewater are produced globally. While waste and wastewater can be reused productively for energy and irrigation, it usually is not. In developing countries 80 percent of all waste is being discharged untreated, because of lack of regulations and resources. And population and industrial growth add new sources of pollution and increased demand for clean water to the equation. Human and environmental health, drinking and agricultural water supplies for the present and future are at stake, still water pollution rarely warrants mention as a pressing issue.

Water quality is our well being

Three steps to water quality

Water quality - What we need to do

The challenge of change

National Action Plan on Climate change

The National Action Plan on Climate change was formally launched on June 30th, 2008.
The NAPCC identifies measures that promote development objectives while also yielding co-benefits for addressing climate change effectively. There are eight “National Missions” which form the core of the National action plan. They focus on promoting understanding of climate change, adaptation and mitigation, energy efficiency and natural resource conservation.”

The eight missions are:

• National Solar Mission
• National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
• National Mission on Sustainable Habitat
• National Water Mission
• National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem
• National Mission for a Green India
• National Mission fro Sustainable Agriculture
• National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change
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  National Solar Mission:

  Great importance has been given to the National Solar Mission in the NAPCC. The objective of the mission is to increase the share of solar energy in the total energy mix of the country, while also expanding the scope of other renewable sources. The mission also calls for the launch of a research and development (R&D) programme that, with the help of international cooperation, would look into creating more cost-effective, sustainable and convenient solar power systems. The NAPCC sets the solar mission a target of delivering 80% coverage for all low temperature (<150° C) applications of solar energy in urban areas, industries and commercial establishments, and a target of 60% coverage for medium temperature (150° C to 250° C) applications. The deadline for achieving this is the duration of the 11th and 12th five-year plans, through to 2017. In addition, rural applications are to be pursued through public-private partnership. The NAPCC also sets the target of 1000 MW/annum of photovoltaic production from integrated facilities by 2017 as well as 1000 MW of Concentrating Solar Power generation capacity. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency: The Government of India already has a number of initiatives to promote energy efficiency. In addition to these, the NAPCC calls for: Mandating specific energy consumption decreases in large energy consuming industries and creating a framework to certify excess energy savings along with market based mechanisms to trade these savings. Innovative measures to make energy efficient appliances/products in certain sectors more affordable. Creation of mechanisms to help finance demand side management programmes by capturing future energy savings and enabling public-private-partnerships for this. Developing fiscal measures to promote energy efficiency such as tax incentives for including differential taxation on energy efficient certified appliances. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat: The aim of the Mission is to make habitats more sustainable through a threefold approach that includes Improvements in energy efficiency of buildings in residential and commercial sector Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Promote urban public transport

  
  
  
  
  
  

  National Water Mission:

  The National Water Mission aims at conserving water, minimising wastage and ensuring more equitable distribution through integrated water resource management. The Water Mission will develop a framework to increase the water use efficiency by 20%. It calls for strategies to tackle variability in rainfall and river flows such as enhancing surface and underground water storage, rainwater harvesting and more efficient irrigation systems like sprinklers or drip irrigation.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem The Plan calls for empowering local communities especially Panchayats to play a greater role in managing ecological resources. It also reaffirms the following measures mentioned in the National Environment Policy, 2006. Adopting appropriate land-use planning and water-shed management practices for sustainable development of mountain ecosystems Adopting best practices for infrastructure construction in mountain regions to avoid or minimize damage to sensitive ecosystems and despoiling of landscapes Encouraging cultivation of traditional varieties of crops and horticulture by promoting organic farming, enabling farmers to realise a price premium Promoting sustainable tourism based on best practices and multi-stakeholder partnerships to enable local communities to gain better livelihoods Taking measures to regulate tourist inflows into mountain regions to ensure that the carrying capacity of the mountain ecosystem is not breached Developing protection strategies for certain mountain scopes with unique “incomparable values” National Mission for a Green India: This Mission aims at enhancing ecosystem services such as carbon sinks. It builds on the Prime Minister’s Green India campaign for afforestation of 6 million hectares and the national target of increasing land area under forest cover from 23% to 33%. It is to be implemented on degraded forest land through Joint Forest Management Committees set up under State Departments of Forests. These Committees will promote direct action by communities.  National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: The aim is to make Indian agriculture more resilient to climate change by identifying new varieties of crops, especially thermal resistant ones and alternative cropping patterns. This is to be supported by integration of traditional knowledge and practical systems, information technology and biotechnology, as well as new credit and insurance mechanisms.  National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change: This Mission strives to work with the global community in research and technology development and collaboration through a variety of mechanisms and, in addition, will also have its own research agenda supported by a network of dedicated climate change related institutions and universities and a Climate Research Fund. The Mission will also encourage private sector initiatives for developing innovative technologies for adaptation and mitigation. Implementation of Missions: The 8 National Missions are to be institutionalised by “respective ministries” and will be organised through inter-sectoral groups including, in addition to related Ministries, Ministry of Finance and the Planning Commission, experts from industry, academia and civil society.

The National Environment Policy 2006

• The National Environment Policy builds on the existing policies (e.g. National Forest Policy, 1988; National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and Development, 1992; and the Policy Statement on Abatement of Pollution,1992; National Agriculture Policy, 2000; National Population Policy, 2000; National Water Policy, 2002 etc).
• It is intended to be a guide to action: in regulatory reform; programmes and projects for environmental conservation; review and enactment of legislations by Central, State and Local Government.
• The dominant theme of this policy is that while conservation of environmental resources is necessary to secure livelihoods and well-being of all, the most secure basis for conservation is to ensure that people dependent on particular resources obtain better livelihoods from the fact of conservation, than from degradation of the resource.
• The policy also seeks to stimulate partnerships of different stakeholders, i.e. public agencies, local communities, academic and scientific institutions, the investment community, and international development partners, in harnessing their respective resources and strengths for environmental management.

State of Environment Report

The main objective of the State of Environment Report of India is to bring out an overview of the environmental scenario of India that serves as a baseline document and assists in logical and information-based decision-making.

The SoE Report aims to provide policy guidelines and strategies for resource allocation for the coming decades, based on analysis of the state and trends of the environment and provide guidance for national environmental action planning.

The State of the Environment Report for India covers the state and trends of the environment (land, air, water, biodiversity) and five key issues viz. Climate Change, Food Security, Water Security, Energy Security and Managing Urbanization.

The report provides an insight on various priority issues for India related to the current status of environment and natural resources, the pressures behind environmental changes and the impacts associated with these changes. The report also assesses the Government's current and proposed policy initiatives or programmes as a response to check and monitor further degradation of environment and also suggests policy options.

Salient points of State of Environment Report 2009:

 

About 45 percent of India's land is degraded due to erosion, soil acidity, alkalinity and salinity, water logging and wind erosion. The prime causes of land degradation are deforestation, unsustainable farming, mining and excessive groundwater extraction. However, over two-thirds of the degraded 147 million hectares can be regenerated quite easily. India's forest cover is also gradually increasing (currently about 21%). Air pollution is increasing in all its cities. The level of respirable suspended particulate matter (the small pieces of soot and dust that get inside the lungs) had gone up in all the 50 cities across India. The main causes of urban air pollution were vehicles and factories. India is using 75 percent of the water it can use, and it has "just enough for the future if it is careful. Lack of proper pricing of water for domestic usage, poor sanitation, unregulated extraction of groundwater by industry, discharge of toxic and organic wastewater by factories, inefficient irrigation and overuse of chemical fertilisers and pesticides are the main causes of water problems in the country. While India remains one of the world's 17 "megadiverse" countries in terms of the number of species it houses, 10 percent of its wild flora and fauna are on the threatened list. The main causes for this were habitat destruction, poaching, invasive species, overexploitation, pollution and climate change. About one-third of India's urban population now lives in slums. India contributes only about five percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions that are leading to climate change. However, about 700 million Indians directly face the threat of global warming today, as it affects farming, makes droughts, floods and storms more frequent and more severe and is raising the sea level.