Indian Polity&Constitution Quiz: Public Policy |23 Jan, 2021

: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has the following objectives:
•Provide 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to rural unskilled labour
•Increase economic security
•Decrease migration of labour from rural to urban areas
Source: Governance in India by Laxmikanth

Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) is a major credit-linked subsidy scheme launched by merging two schemes namely Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana (PMRY) and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) for generating employment opportunities by establishing micro-enterprises in urban and rural areas in the non-farm sector.
Source: Governance in India by Laxmikanth

PMKVY is a Skill Certification Scheme that aims to encourage the youth population of the country to take up training which is Industry- Relevant and builds them in Skill Development.
The scheme was launched with an intention to provide secure livelihoods for the individuals participating in the training. PMKVY will also certify the previous learning experiences or skills of the individuals under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

Public health and sanitation, Regulation of mines and mineral development comes under State list. Electricity is in Concurrent list.
Source: Laxmikanth

In Indra Sawhney Case (1992) (popularly known as the Mandal Case), the Supreme Court declared “Rule of Law” is the Basic Structure/element of Indian Constitution.
Source: Laxmikanth

The Prime Minister has various other roles. These are:
•He is the chairman of the Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog), National Development Council, National Integration Council, Inter-State Council and National Water Resources Council.
•He plays a significant role in shaping the foreign policy of the country.
•He is the chief spokesman of the Union government.
•He is the crisis manager-in-chief at the political level during emergencies.
•As a leader of the nation, he meets various sections of people in different states and receives memoranda from them regarding their problems, and so on.
•He is leader of the party in power.
•He is political head of the services.
Source: Governance in India by Laxmikanth

The Zonal Councils are the statutory (and not the constitutional) bodies. They are established by an Act of the Parliament, that is, States Re-organization Act of 1956.
•The act divided the country into five zones (Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern) and provided a zonal council for each zone.
•Each zonal council consists of the following members: (a) home minister of Central government. (b) Chief Ministers of all the States in the zone. (c) Two other ministers from each state in the zone. (d) Administrator of each union territory in the zone.
•The home minister of Central government is the common chairman of the five zonal councils.
•Each chief minister acts as a vice-chairman of the council by rotation, holding office for a period of one year at a time.
Source: Laxmikanth

: Eleventh Schedule It contains the following 29 functional items placed within the purview of panchayats:
•Agriculture, including agricultural extension
•Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land consolidation and soil conservation
•Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development
•Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry
•Fisheries
•Social forestry and farm forestry
•Minor forest produce
•Small-scale industries, including food processing industries
•Khadi, village and cottage industries
•Rural housing
•Drinking water
•Fuel and fodder
•Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means of communication
•Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity.
Source: Laxmikanth

The Government has informed that around 4.39 lakh candidates have been trained during 2018-19 and 2019-20 under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalaya Yojana (DDU-GKY).
It was launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) as a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).
Scheme aim is to transform rural poor youth into an economically independent and globally relevant workforce.
Source: The Hindu

Article 263 contemplates the establishment of an Inter-State Council to effect coordination between the states and between Centre and states.
Thus, the President can establish such a council if at any time it appears to him that the public interest would be served by its establishment.
He can define the nature of duties to be performed by such a council and its organisation and procedure.
Source: Laxmikanth