Latest news with #Pradhan
The Print
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Print
Gujarat sees highest coverage under PM's rooftop solar installations scheme; Bengal, Jharkhand lag
According to data provided by the MNRE Wednesday, the implementation of the policy since February 2024 has been inconsistent across states. Gujarat and Maharashtra are leading, with 5.23 and 3.79 lakh households covered, respectively, but the scheme is yet to cover even 1,000 households in states such as Jharkhand and West Bengal. The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana is a central scheme introduced in February 2024 to provide rooftop solar installations in one crore households. The scheme has an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore until 2026-27. The scheme grants residential households subsidies of 40-60 percent for solar panel installations. New Delhi: As of 14 July, the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, the solar rooftop scheme of the Centre, had benefitted 15.45 lakh households, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has informed the Parliament. Nearly 5.23 lakh of those households—33 percent—are located in one state, Gujarat. 'The scheme is demand-driven, meaning all residential consumers in the country … can avail the benefits of the scheme by applying on the National Portal,' according to a written response submitted by the MNRE on Wednesday during the ongoing monsoon session. The National Portal has noted 57 lakh applications from across the nation, but only 12.7 lakh completed installations. The total installed capacity under the scheme is 4.8 Gigawatts so far, with 1.4 Gigawatts of that in Gujarat alone. Responding to another question in the Parliament—whether Karnataka is significantly lagging in rolling out the mission—Wednesday, the MNRE noted that Karnataka had completed over 14,000 installations by 31 May, while receiving more than two lakh applications under the scheme. The ministry also informed the Parliament that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Karnataka state government in September 2024 to help with solar panel installations. It added that the National Portal had 'simplified' the process of obtaining loans to install rooftop solar panels. States by highest & lowest installations Under the scheme, the target of one crore residential solar rooftop installations is likely to be achieved by the end of March 2027. Union Territories, such as Chandigarh and Daman and Diu, have already met 100 percent of their targets for solar panel installations at government buildings. Currently, the top states in rooftop solar installations are Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Kerala. Of those, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Kerala alone account for 10.39 lakh household installations (67 percent). Besides Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir, the states with the lowest installed capacity are in the Northeast—Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, and Sikkim. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: India's solar ambition needs financial vision – ISA must move from commitments to execution
News18
a day ago
- Business
- News18
PM Kisan Scheme: How It Works, Benefits And Eligibility
Providing financial assistance to farmers and easing their initial struggles for crop management, the PM Kisan Yojana has had a significant impact on farmers across India. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM Kisan) Yojana is a government-sponsored farmer support scheme launched in 2019, providing financial assistance to crop owners and easing their struggles. Under this scheme, eligible farmers receive Rs 6,000 from the Indian government annually in three equal instalments per year. The government aims to cover farming costs and other crop-related expenses, which has raised agricultural productivity and boosted farmers' livelihoods. Apart from the annual financial support of Rs 6,000 that helps farmers buy seeds, fertilisers and equipment for their initial farming activities, the PM Kisan encourages modern agricultural practices. With the financial aid provided, farmers can invest in modern tools and techniques. The assistance from the government also reduces debt, as farmers don't necessarily have to borrow money from unorganised sectors anymore. Such loans often come at high interest rates, causing a serious headache on repayment. Eligibility The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana targets small and marginal farmers, who have a holding of up to two acres of land. The following are the eligibility criteria to become a beneficiary of the scheme: The applicant must be an Indian citizen. The land the farmer owns must be cultivable as per the land records maintained by the government. The scheme also allows landholding farmers' families, who have cultivable land in their names, to apply and fetch the benefits. Certain higher economic status categories are not eligible for the PM Kisan scheme, including institutional landholders and farmer families holding constitutional posts. Also not eligible are active, retired officers or employees of the state and central government, PSUs and other autonomous bodies. It further excludes professional doctors, engineers, and lawyers. How To Apply For PM Kisan While the offline process to apply for the PM Kisan scheme involves visiting the nearest Common Service Centres (CSCs), farmers can now enrol themselves with the scheme online as well. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to proceed. Step 1: Visit the official website of PM Kisan ( Step 2: Click on 'New Farmer Registration' Step 3: Provide your Aadhaar number, mobile number and bank account details. Step 4: Upload all the required documents. The website will ask for the land ownership proof to identify you as an eligible farmer. Step 5: Apply for verification Upon verification, the farmer becomes eligible for financial assistance directly into their registered bank account. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Cong, BJP spar as posters come up of arrested NSUI state chief with Rahul
Bhubaneswar: A day after National Students' Union of India's state president Udit Narayan Pradhan was arrested on charges of raping a 19-year-old student in the city, posters have surfaced throughout Bhubaneswar displaying images of the suspended Congress member alongside Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi. The giant posters have come up at prominent places including Janpath, sparking heated exchanges between the Congress and BJP . State Congress president Bhakta Charan Das accused the BJP of having orchestrated this poster campaign to defame the party. "We are certain about BJP's involvement in this negative poster campaign against the Congress. This indicates BJP's apprehension towards Congress, which has strengthened its protests regarding the reported rise in crimes against women," Das said. "BJP cannot stifle our voice. Women safety is our biggest focus. Our protest will be intensified in the coming days," he added even as another Congress member criticised the BMC for not pulling down such unauthorised posters. The Congress formed a six-member committee on Monday to investigate the allegations against Pradhan. The party indicated it would support strict action if the charges were proven true. Responding strongly to the allegations, BJP MLA Babu Singh said, "Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 most beautiful women in the world Undo The arrest of Udit Pradhan has exposed the double standard of Congress on issues of women's safety." Avilash Panda, state president of BJP's youth wing, criticised Congress for appointing Pradhan as NSUI Odisha president. "Days before his appointment (Aug 2024), he was arrested in a criminal case in Bhubaneswar. Still, the Congress made him the NSUI state president," Panda said. Amid the BJP-Congress confrontation over Pradhan's arrest, BJD president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik expressed concern over an alleged increase in crimes against women. "A disturbing wave of crimes against women is gripping Odisha. This surge in sexual assaults reflects a troubling erosion of law enforcement. When various ranks of the police face interference and political pressure, accountability weakens — and women and girls pay the price first," Naveen wrote in a social media post.
The Print
2 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Software company Salesforce targets academia to create AI-trained professionals
He said Salesforce, which pioneered cloud-based software, deals with customer data to build socially responsible technologies, which impact the end user. The company's tie-ups with academia are aimed at bridging the skill gap by imparting the right training, fueling the digital economy while tapping the country's AI advantage, its VP (sales) Kamal Kanth said. Kolkata, Jul 22 (PTI) Cloud-based software company Salesforce on Tuesday said it is targeting academia to build a pool of AI-trained professionals to create a digitally empowered workforce. Announcing its collaboration with Sister Nivedita University here, Salesforce India VP (sales) Kamal Kanth said that under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhijan (PMGDISHA), nearly 24 lakh individuals in West Bengal have been trained in digital literacy. He said there is a strong readiness for industry-led campus programmes in the country. 'The future will be for the AI generation. Students with knowledge of AI will be able to create assignments and generate leads', he said. Kanth said AI will empower people to move up the value chain. 'We are underserved in terms of AI penetration. We are targeting several universities in the academia spectrum', he said. According to him, data reveals trends in customer behaviour. 'Data is important. AI is all about data,' he said. PTI DC BDC This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
It's time for a holistic strategy to foster women's entrepreneurship
Over the past 25 years, the share of women-owned enterprises in the Indian economy has been steadily rising, a promising development amid the concerns surrounding low female labour force participation. We ask, what lies behind this growth? How large are these enterprises? Do they operate primarily in manufacturing or services? Are they concentrated in specific industries within these sectors? Crucially, what are the constraints faced by women-owned enterprises, and how can we fully tap the potential of such enterprises? Data from the Economic Census (EC) of India shows a steady increase in women-owned enterprises between 1998 and 2013, both in manufacturing and services. We observe sharp growth particularly between 2005 and 2013, even among firms that have more than 10 paid workers. Also read: Women entrepreneurs need a tribe of their very own We combine data from older rounds (2010 and 2015) with the most recent rounds (2021, 2022 and 2023) of the unorganized sector enterprise survey, with the caveat that these primarily cover informal, unregistered enterprises. Here too, we observe an upward trajectory of own-account enterprises and those with more than one worker in manufacturing and services both. Within manufacturing, the increase in women-owned enterprises is mostly in select industries, namely tobacco, food and beverages, paper and chemicals; for services, the growth is led by sectors like education and other personal services. The growth of women-led enterprises can drive economic development. By engaging more women in income-generating and productive activities, a substantial segment of the population—previously not actively participating in the economy—can be brought into the workforce. This impact is amplified by the phenomenon of employment homophily, where individuals tend to hire others similar to themselves. For example, the 2013 EC reported that 65% of employees in women-owned businesses were women. Therefore, encouraging women's entrepreneurship could create more jobs for women, improving India's overall women's labour force participation. The rise in women's entrepreneurship is in tandem with recent financial inclusion initiatives by the government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Following the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in 2014, India's banking sector saw a steep rise in the share of bank accounts held by women. According to the ministry of finance (2024 data), 55.6% of PMJDY beneficiaries are women. As for women entrepreneurs, the enterprises survey shows that the share of women owners with a bank account has gone up from 40% in 2015 to 61% in 2023. This has enabled credit access, increasing the share of loan accounts held by women. Moreover, targeted schemes offered by banks under their Priority Sector Lending goals have also increased credit flow to women, particularly in rural areas. Also read: Women's participation in the labour force: It's too risky to let it languish The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana launched in 2015 also aims to ease credit constraints through collateral-free loans with flexible repayment tenures and concessional rates for women borrowers. The share of MUDRA loan accounts held by women increased dramatically from about 18% in 2015 to 36% in 2024. Similarly, the female share of retail business loan accounts rose from 19.9% to 30.7%. This trend is reflected in the enterprise data, where commercial banks, cooperative banks and government schemes account for up to a third of outstanding loans to women-owned enterprises in 2023. Another constraint faced by women is their lack of property rights, which deprives them of collateral against which they can borrow. Lakshmi Narayanan (2019) finds that amendments to India's property-rights laws to ease women's inheritance of property strengthened their rights and paved the way for more women entrepreneurs. While targeted financial integration is expected to close gender gaps in credit access, social norms and lack of awareness contribute to gender disparities in entrepreneurship. There is ample evidence that women are influenced by role models and peers, particularly other women in leadership positions, not just in developing countries but in developed ones as well. Given this, how do we bring more women into entrepreneurship? The government has started the Women Entrepreneurship Platform to identify and mentor women entrepreneurs who want to start businesses and provide knowledge as well as hands-on support for doing so. There have been several initiatives in specific sectors to leverage this platform. The steady rise in women's entrepreneurship in India is a promising development, but significant challenges remain. While financial inclusion has opened new doors, deep-rooted social norms, limited property rights and weak support networks continue to constrain many women. Credit access and training, though essential, are not sufficient on their own. A more holistic approach is needed, one that combines financial support with legal empowerment, mentorship, access to networks and sector-specific interventions. The Women Entrepreneurship Platform is a step in this direction. As more women enter and sustain themselves in entrepreneurial roles, gender-disaggregated data and a careful evaluation of policy initiatives will also be critical. Also read: Caregivers to contributors: Can India unlock the full potential of its female workforce? Only through such an integrated strategy can we ensure that the gains made so far translate into a more inclusive and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem. The authors are affiliated with the Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL).
