IMPORTANT NOTES ON CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY: UPSC

 

The Historical Background

Indianisation of the superior civil services became one of the major demands of the political movement, compelling the British Indian government to consider the setting up of a Public Service Commission for recruitment of candidates to its services in the Union territory. The first Public Service Commission was set up on 1 October 1926. However, its

limited advisory functions failed to satisfy the people's aspirations and the continued stress on this aspect by the leaders of our freedom movement resulted in the setting up of the Federal Public Service Commission under the Government of India Act, 1935. Under this Act, for the first time, provision was also made for the formation of Public Service Commissions at the provincial level. The Constituent Assembly, after independence, saw the need for giving a secure and autonomous status to Public Service Commissions, both at the Federal and Provincial levels, for ensuring unbiased recruitment to civil services, as also for the protection of service interests. With the promulgation of the new Constitution for independent India on 26 January 1950, the Federal Public Service Commission was accorded a constitutional status as an autonomous entity and given the title UPSC.

The Structure of UPSC

The Chairman and other members of the UPSC are appointed by the President and they hold office for a term of 6 years from the date of appointment, or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They are independent of the Executive and legislature in the same manner as the judges of the Supreme Court.

Constitutional Provisions 

The UPSC has been established under Article 315 of the Constitution of India.
The Commission consists of a Chairman and fixed number of members (generally 10) under Article 318.
 The terms and conditions of service of the Chairman and members of the Commission are governed by the UPSC (member) Regulations, 1969. It is generally 6 years.
The Commission is serviced by a Secretariat headed by a Secretary with two Additional secretaries, a number of Joint Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and other supporting staff.
 Under Article 317, the terms of UPSC's Chairman and members is not determined by the executive department of the government of India,  Therefore they cannot be removed from their positions easily.
Only under the special charge of corruption and dishonesty can members be removed by the president under Article 317 (1).
 Under 317 (2), the member can be removed if proven insolvent or mentally and physically unfit, and only President can remove him or her.
Article 322, states that salaries of Chairman and members of UPSC are charged to the consolidated fund of India, and are not subject to the approval of the Parliament.
  Functions of UPSC have enumerated under Article 320.

 Important article related to UPSC

Article-315. Public Service Commissions for the Union and for the States.
Article-316. Appointment and term of office of members.
Article-317. Removal and suspension of a member of a Public Service Commission.
Article-318. Power to make regulations as to conditions of service of members and staff of the Commission.
Article-319. Prohibition as to the holding of offices by members of Commission on ceasing to be such members.
Article-320. Functions of Public Service Commissions.
Article-321. Power to extend functions of Public Service Commissions.
Article-322. Expenses of Public Service Commissions.
Article-323. Reports of Public Service Commissions.

Independent and Neutral UPSC

To keep UPSC independent, neutral and impartial, the constitution has taken two precautionary measures. 

The government has to consult UPSC on employee appointments and other matters related to the employees
If UPSC's advice or recommendation to the government is not implemented, the government has to give an explanation to the parliament detailing the reasons for such non-acceptance. The government of India can appoint a few employees without UPSC's recommendation, but that appointment will be temporary and for a period of 1 year only.

 Power of UPSC

UPSC's most important powers are advisory in nature and it can advise the President and Governor of state on the following six domains:

 All matters relation to the appointment of civil servants.
Evaluation of standards and efficiency of candidates for appointment, promotion or transfers of employees.
All matters concerning discipline, behaviour and punctuality of employees of All India services.
All affairs relating to demand and privileges to its employees under All India Civil Services and injured while on duty.
On any payment or expense for any work of an employee of All India Services to be borne by the consolidated fund of India.
Issues relating to discipline and punctuality in government functions are paying compensation to an employee, if there is a loss incurred by him due to negligence on part of the government, matters relating to punishment means of those employees and of all matters related to the interest of government employees working under the central government.
 

The Non-Metals and Metalloids

Non Metals:

• Non-metal may be solid, liquid or gas.
• Bromine is the only liquid non metals.
• Non metals are the elements that do not have the properties of the metals.
• They are soft, non lustrous, brittle ,non sonorous and poor conductor of heat and electricity .e.g. carbon, hydrogen, helium, neon krypton etc.

Important Non metals

Carbon:

 

• Carbon belongs to the group 14 of the periodic table.
• Carbon occurs both in free state as well as in combined state.
• Carbon has two crystalline allotropesdiamond and  graphite.

Allotropes of Carbon:

Diamond:

• Diamond is  the hardest substance and is the bad conductor of electricity.
• Diamond is the purest form of the Carbon
• Used in making of jewellery and cutting glass.

Graphite:

• Its an exception , it is a good conductor of heat and electricity.
• Used in nuclear reactor as a moderator.

Compounds of Carbon:

Carbon monoxide:

• It is colourless, odourless, neutral and highly poisonous gas in nature.
• Combines with haemoglobin to formCarboxyhaemoglobin, which is not able to absorb oxygen as result leads to suffocation
• Wood fire or coal fire in a closed room leads to the formation of the carbon monoxide which leads to the death of the persons in the rooms.

Carbon Dioxide:

• Occur in the air to the extent of 0.03-0.05 percent.
• Solid CO2 is known as dry ice.
• Dry ice is used is used in transport of perishable food material as it provides cold and inert atmosphere which helps in killing bacteria, fungi, modules etc.
• Carbon dioxide is used by the plants in the process of photosynthesis for the formation of oxygen.
• Carbides are the compound of carbon with metals or electro-negative elements.

Silicon(Si)

• Silicon occurs in nature in the form ofsand but never found in free state.
• This is a non-metallic element which also exhibits the characteristic ofallotropy.
• This is  the second most abundant element on the earth crust after oxygen
• Used as a superconductor in making computer chips.
• Silicon carbide is an artificial diamond called carborendum.
• Silica is also called sand which exist most abundantly in solid state in the nature and used in the production of glass, cement etc.
• Quartz is a crystalline form of SiO₂.

Nitrogen(N₂) :

• Important constituent of air about 79% by volume.
• Used in the manufacturing of  nitric acid, ammonia and  other nitrogen compounds.
• As a refrigerant in liquid form.
• To provide inert atmosphere in different metallurgical operation.
• Used as preservative in the food packing.

Compounds of Nitrogen:

Ammonia:

• Most important compound of nitrogen.
• Prepared by Haber's process.
• It is soluble in water and its aqueous solution is alkaline in nature.
• Used in refrigerator and manufacturing of fertilisers and explosives.

1. Nitrous oxide(N₂O) is used aslaughing gas .
2. The symbiotic bacteria present in the root nodules of leguminous plant convert the atmospheric nitrogen into compounds of nitrogen .e.g. Azobactor.

Phosphorus(P):

• It is highly reactive non metal that why it does not occursinfree state.
• Phosphorus is an essential constituents of bones, teeth, blood nerves and tissue.
• Bones contains 80% phosphorus.

Allotropes of phosphorus:

• White phosphorus:
• Red phosphorus
• Black phosphorus
• Scarlet phosphorus
• Violet phosphorus

Oxygen

• Oxygen exist in two allotropic form that is in most stable diatomicform(O₂) and in less stable triatomicform (O₃) ozone.
• Oxygen is the supporter of combustion but it is non-inflammable.
• Oxygen dissolved in blood in the form of  oxyhaemoglobin.
• Liquid oxygen mixed with freshly divided carbon is used in place of dynamite in coal mining.
• Ozone is formed by the action of UV rays from the Sun on Oxygen and protects the living beings by not allowing UV rays to reach the earth.
• Ozone is also used as germicide and disinfectant for sterilizing water and for detecting position of double bond in unsaturated organic compounds.

Sulphur(S):

• Sulphur occurs in free state in volcanic areas.
• Suphur exists in five allotropic form.
• Sulphur is used in rubber industry forvulcanization of rubber.
• Sulphuric acid is also known as oil of vitrol or king of chemicals.
• Sulphuric acid  is prepared by two process  i.e. lead chamber process and contact process.

Halogens:

• Halogens are highly reactive elements and therefore they do not exist in free state but exist only in combined form.
• Halogens have highest electronaffinity so they act as strong oxidising agent.
• Their oxidising power decreases from fluorine to iodine.

Chlorine(Cl₂):

• Chlorine always present in combined state in nature in the form of chlorides .
• Chlorine was first discovered byScheele by the action of hydrogen chloride on manganese dioxide.
• Chlorine is used as an bleachingagent.
• Reacts with water to form HCL and HCIO.
• Used as disinfectant and oxidising agent ,

Iodine:

• It is used as an antiseptic as tincture of Iodine.
• Used in the cure of Goitre.
• Turns starch solution blue.

Noble Gases:

• Helium, neon , argon, krypton , xenon and radon are known as inert gases or noble gases.
• These elements have completely filled valence shell and so these do not form chemical bonds..
• These are always found in free state but radon is not present in nature.
• In atmosphere argon is the most abundant noble gas but in universehelium is the most abundant gas.
• Mixture of Helium and Oxygen is used for artificial breathing ofAsthama patients and by sea drivers.
• Helium is used as pressuring agent in rockets to expel liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
• Neon is used in neon discharge lampand signs for advertising purposes.
• Xenon is also known as stranger gasand combined mixture of xenon and krypton is used in high intensity photographic flash tubes.
• Radon is used in the preparation of ointment for the treatment of cancer.
• A mixture of argon and nitrogen is used in electric bulb.
• Krypton is used in high efficiencyminer's cap  lamps.

Metalloids:

• They have properties of both metals and non-metals.
• Six commonly known metalloids are boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony and tellurium.
• Typical metalloids have a metallic appearance but they are brittle and only fair conductor of electricity.
• Metalloids and their  compounds are used in the manufacturing of alloys , biological agents, flames retarders, glasses, optical storage

Questions from History, Geography and Polity

Questions from History, Geography and Polity.

1.From origin to the delta, the Brahmaputra traverses-China, India and Bangladesh 

The Brahmaputra is one of the major rivers of Asia, a trans-boundary river which flows through China, India and Bangladesh.

2.The Girnar Hills are situated in which of the following States-Gujarat 

Girnar is a collection of mountains in the Junagadh District of Gujarat, India, situated near Junagadh at a distance of 327 km from Ahmedabad.

3.Which was the first hydel power project in India-Sivasamudram in Karnataka

Shivanasamudra is a small city in the Mandya District of the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated on the banks of the river Kaveri, which forms here the boundary to the Chamarajanagar District, and is the location of one of the first Hydro-electric Power stations in Asia, which was set up in the year 1902

4.Which hill stations name means place of the thunderbolt- Darjeeling

The name Darjeeling comes from the Tibetan words, Dorje (thunderbolt) and Ling (place or land), meaning the land of the thunderbolt.

5.The climatic zones are classified on the basis of- Rainfall

The climate map in such a scheme would be same as the mean annual rainfall map. Such system may be refined by subdividing classes according to distribution of precipitation throughout the year, whether uniform or seasonal.

6.'Moorlands' are- Areas where twisted shrubs and grasses grow 

Moorland is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands and mountain grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils.

7.Which of the following is the largest Archipelago in the world- Indonesia

An archipelago is a chain, cluster or collection of islands. Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world.

8.Vardhman Mahavir is also know as-Jena 

Mahavira was given the title Jīnā which subsequently became synonymous with Tirthankara

9.Before assuming the office of the Sultan of Delhi Balban was the Prime Minister of Sultan- Nasir-ud-din

Before assuming the office of the Sultan of Delhi Balban was the Prime Minister of Sultan Nasir-ud-din. Nasir-ud-din was the eighth sultan of the Mamluk Sultanate.

10.Taj Mahal was designed by- Ustad Isa 

The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658), to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal

11.Which inscription mentions about the village administration under the Cholas- Uttaramerur

The Uttaramerur inscription, found in the village by this name in Chengalpattu district south of Chennai, has been studied and commented upon by many authorities, such as K. A. NilakantaSastri, S. KrishnaswamyIyengar, etc. The text of the (from V. Venkayya, in Annual Report on Epigraphy, 1904), was kindly provided by Dr. R. Nagaswamy, an eminent archaeologist, epigraphist and art expert of South India, who has authored many scholarly works.

12.The Upanishads were translated by DaraShikoh in Persian under the title of-Sirr-i-Akbar

He believed that what is referred to in the Quran as Kitab al-Maknun [The Hidden Book] is actually the Upanishads. It was inspired by this belief that he spent whatever time he could find in translating the Upanishads into Persian, with the help of several pundits of Banaras. His translation of the Upanishads is appropriately called Sirr-i-Akbar.

13.The famous Sun Temple at Konark was built by- Narasimha-I

Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha, India. It is believed that the temple was built by king Narasimhadeva I of Eastern Ganga Dynasty around 1250 CE.The temple is in the shape of a gigantic chariot elaborately carved stone wheels, pillars and walls. A major part of the structure is now in ruins.

14.Nurjahan's real name was- Mehr-un-Nisaa

Nur Jahan born as Mehr-un-Nissa, was Empress of the Mughal Empire as the chief consort of Emperor Jahangir. A strong, charismatic and well-educated woman, she is considered to be one of the most powerful and influential women of the 17th century Mughal Empire

15.Who was the Viceroy at the time of Quit India Movement- Lord Lin Lithgow

16.How many languages have recognized by the Constitution- 22

1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmiri, (7) Konkani, (8) Malayalam, (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi, (11) Nepali, (12) Oriya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit, (15) Sindhi, (16) Tamil, (17) Telugu, (18) Urdu (19) Bodo, (20) Santhali, (21) Maithili and (22) Dogri.

17.In case no party enjoys absolute majority in the Legislative Assembly of a state, the Governor will go by- His own discretion

In case no party commands absolute majority in the Legislative Assembly of the State or the majority party fails to elect its leader, the Governor can use some discretion

18.Which article of the Constitution of India is related to the establishment and Constitution of Supreme Court- Article 124

The Article 124 is related with Establishment and constitution of Supreme Court- (1) There shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number, of not more than seven other Judges. (2) Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal on the recommendation of the National Judicial Appointments Commission referred to in article 124A and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five years.

19.Which states enjoys the distinction of being the first Linguistic state of India-Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is the first state in India to have been formed on a purely linguistic basis. On October 1, 1953, eleven districts of the Madras state were put together to form a new Andhra state with Kurnool as capital.

The final authority to interpret our Constitution is the- Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal under the Constitution of India, the highest constitutional court, with the power of constitutional review.  

Vedic literature Part II

 

Here is the next part of the series Vedic Period and it's details.

The vast literature of the Aryans is divided into two parts -

• Sruti
• Smriti 

1. Sruti Literature: The word Veda has been divided from the Sanskrit word Ved, which means 'spiritual knowledge'. The Vedas are four in number - Rig Veda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda. The Rig Veda contains a references only to the first three Vedas, which suggests that the fourth Veda was composed at some later date.

The Vedic literature is usually divided into three periods:-

1. The Mantra period when the Samhitas were composed
2. Brahaman period when the Brahamanas, Upanishads and Aranyakas were composed
3. the Sutra period.

• Brahmanas are massive prose text which contain speculation of the meaning of the hymns, give precepts for their application, relate stories of their origin in connection with sacrificial rites and explain the secret meaning of the later.
• The Aranyakas are the concluding parts of the Brahamanas. It doest not lay much stress on rites, rituals and sacrifices, but merely contain the philosophy and mysticism. The lead with the problems of soul, origin and elements of universe and the creation of universe.

Aranyaka:-

• Literarily, it means 'Jungle'
• Provides description of Moral Science and Philosophy
• Provides details of hermits and saints who lived in Jungles
• Give stress on meditation
• Protests the system of 'Yajnas'

It would be appropriate to describe Upanishadas as mystic writings. There are 108 Upanishads in all, the most prominent of them being Ish, Prasana, Aitareya, Taittiriya, Chhandogaya, Kathoupanishad, Ishopanishad, Brehadaranyaka, etc.

Upanishada

• Literary meaning is 'Satra' (to sit near masters feet) in which Guru offers band of knowledge to their disciples
• Is a combination of Tatva-mimansa and philosophy
• They are also called "Vedanta"
• Primitive upanishada are"Brahadaranyaka" and "Chandogya"
• Later Upnishada like "Katha" and "Swetaswatar" have been written in poetic forms.
• Brahma is the summary of philosophy, which is the only a 'truth' in the world.
• Knowledge awards salvation says Upanishadas
• Oldest possibility Narsinghpurvatapani
• Latest possibility Allopanishada in Akbar's reign

2. Smriti Literature: Smriti is traditional knowledge and designates almost the entire body of post-Vedic classical Sanskrit literature. Smriti literature generally includes the following overlapping subjects:-

1. The Vedangas: They refer to certain branches of post-Vedic studies regarded as auxiliary to the Vedas. The Vedangas are conventionally divided into six heading namely:-

(i)Kalpa or the ritual canon, including the dharma shastras or legal codes,

(ii)Jyotisha or astronomy,

(iii) Siksha or phonetics,

(iv)Chhanda or metre

(v) Nirukta or etymology

(vi)Vyakarana (Grammer)

1. The Shad-Darsana: Six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, namely Nyaya, 'Vaiseshikha', Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta.
2. Itihasa: Legendary or semi-legendary works, specifically the Ramayana and Mahabharata and often extended to the Puranas.
3. Puranas: Being a fairly late description of ancient legends, they are heavily coloured with the superstitions. The Puranas represent the most corrupt form of Hinduism. They are 18 in number

• The Eighteen Puranas
• Brahma Purana
• Vishnu Purana
• Shiva Purana
• Padma Purana
• Shrimad Bhagwat Purana
• Agni Purana
• Narad Purana
• Markandey Purana
• Bhavishya Purana
• Ling Purana
• Varah Purana
• Vaman Purana
• Brahm Vaivertya Purana
• Shanda Purana
• Surya Purana
• Matsya Purana
• Garuda Purana
• Brahmand Purana

Upaveda: Also known as the auxiliary Vedas, they deal with medicine, architecture, erotics, archery and various arts and crafts. These were partly derived from original Vedic texts and were traditionally associated with one or other of the Vedas.

Tantras: Tantras are the writings of Shakta or Shaivite sects and also of certain antinomian Buddhist scholars

Agamas: They are scriptures of sectarian Hindus like Vaishnavites, Shaivites and Shaktas.

Upangas: They are a generic name for any collection of treatises although traditionally confined to the philosophical systems of 'Nyaya' and 'Mimansa' - the 'Dharma Sutras' the 'Puranas' and the 'Tantras'

Epics

Some historians regard the Later Vedic Period as the Period of Epics. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana are the two great epics of this period.
Ramayana: It is said to have been composed by the sage, Valmiki. The incident related in it precedes the Mahabharata by about a hundred and fifty years. The story of Ramayana is of indigenous origin and had existed in ballad form in Prakrit, in more than one version. It was rewritten in Sanskrit and augmented with many 'Shlokas'. The epic was given a Brahmanical character which was not visible in the original work. It is also known as Adi Kavya. Evidence places the oldest part of the Ramayana to before 350 BC. The reference in the epic to the mingled hords of Yavanas and Shakas suggests that it received accretions in the Graeco-Scythian period and may have acquired its final shape by about AD 250.

Mahabharata: The Mahabharata is the bulkiest epic consisting of 100,000 verses and is divided into 18 paravas (books). This book is usually assigned to Rishi Ved Vyas, but scholars have expressed doubts if such a great work could have been accomplished by one single person. The story itself occupies only about one-fourth of the poem. It is a tale about conflict between Aryans-Kaurava and Pandava.

The rest is episodical comprising cosmology, theogony, state craft, the science of war, ethics, legendary history, mythology, fairy tales and several digressional and philosophical interludes, of which the best known is the Bhagavad Gita.

The Vedicliterature Part - I

 

The Vedic literature was composed in Sanskrit. To begin with the Vedas were recited and not written. They were taught by oral method. Hence they were called as Sruti (heard) and Smriti (memorized). But later on they were reduced to writing after the invention of scripts.

The major literary and religious works of Vedic Period are the four Vedas and the Upanishads. These works still continue to hold immense authority in the sphere of spiritual and religious literature. The idea and principles of Karma (action) and Moksha (spiritual liberation) are widely accepted by the people belonging to Hindu faith.

Four Vedas

Veda is a sanskrit word. It means "knowledge". There were four Vedas :

1. The Rig Veda
2. The Sama Veda
3. The Yajur Veda and
4. The Atharva Veda.

1. The Rig Veda

• Collection of hymns
• Oldest of all vedas
• Associated of 1017 hymns or Suktas after adding "Blhilya Sukta" number in 1028
• Compiled in 10 'mandalas' & 8 'Akhtaks'.
• Also contains the famous Gayatri Mantra
• II, III, IV, V, VI & VII are oldest mandalas
• I, VIII, IX, X are latest mandalas.
• The Tenth "Mandalas" or chapter which has the "Purushasukta" hymn, was probably added later.
• Mandala IX is completely devoted to 'Soma'.
• Mandala II to VII were created by Grita Samada, Vishwamitra, Vamadeva, Atri, Bharadwaj, Vashistha, VIII Kanwa and Angira, IX Soma

2. Samveda

• Rhthmic compilation of hymns for Rigveda
• "Book for Chants" contains 1,549 hymns, meant to be sung at the 'soma' sacrifice by a special class of Brahmanas called Udgatris. But the Samaveda has very little original value.
• Has only 75 fundamental hymns

3. The Yajur Veda

• Book of sacrifical prayers
• Rituals of yajnas
• Is sung of priest "Adhavaryu"
• Its mantras tell us how the sacrifices were to be performed and what part the "Adhvaryus"- the Brahmanas who performed the manual work in the arrangement of sacrifice were to play at the time of sacrifice.
• Has been compiled in "fourth path"
• Has been divided into, Krishna(black) Yajurveda & Shukla(white) Yajurveda
• Prose text

4. Atharvaveda

• Mantras for magic spells
• Populate ritualistic system & superstitions
• Associated with "Saunkiya" and "Paiplad" community
• Collection of 711/731/760 hymns
• Not included in 'Trai'
• Has been divided in 20 "Kandas"
• 18th, 19th & 20th 'Kandas' are later works
• Provides freedom from evils spirits.
• Oldest text on Indian Medicine.

Union Budget 2017-18

Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley has now announced the Union Budget 2017. We are now providing the highlights of the Budget 2017. 

Here are the highlights of Finance Minister's speech during Budget presentation - 

• IMF estimates that World GDP will grow by 3.4 per cent in 2017.
• CPI inflation declined from 6% in July 2016 to 3.4% in December, 2016 and is expected to remain within RBI's mandated range of 2% to 6%.
• India's Current Account Deficit declined from about 1% of GDP last year to 0.3% of GDP in the first half of 2016-17.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased from 1,07,000 crores in the first half of last year to 1,45,000 crores in the first half of 2016-17.
• As on 20th January 2017, Foreign Exchange Reserves are at $361 billion.
• India has become the sixth largest manufacturing country in the world, up from ninth previously.
• Two major policy decisions taken by Government this year -  Passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill for GST as well as the progress for its implementation  and Demonetization of high denomination bank notes.
• He mentioned about three major reforms involved in the Budget 2017-18. These are -
  (a) The presentation of the Budget has been advanced to 1st February to enable the Parliament to avoid a Vote on Account and pass a single Appropriation Bill for 2017-18, before the close of the current financial year, which would enable the Ministries and Departments to operationalise all schemes and projects, including the new schemes, right from the commencement of the next financial year.
  (b) Discontinuing the colonial practice prevalent since 1924, Railways Budget has been merged with the Union Budget.
• (c)  The plan and non-plan classification of expenditure.
• He also mentioned that Government's agenda for the next year is - "Transform, Energize and Clean India", that is, TEC India. 
• He also mentioned that Budget will be focused on the following major themes -
  Farmers
  Rural population
  Youth
  Poor and underprivileged health care
  Infrastructure
  Financial sector for stronger institutions
  Speedy accountability
  Public services
  Prudent fiscal management
  Tax administration for the honest

Highlights of Union Budget 2017 

Farmers - 

• Agriculture is expected to grow at 4.1% in the current year.
• For the financial year 2017-18, the target for agricultural credit to farmers has been fixed at a record level of Rs. 10 lakh crore with 60 days interest waiver.
• Government will support NABARD for computerization and integration of all 63,000 functional PACS (Primary Agriculture Credit Societies) with the Core Banking System of District Central Cooperative Banks which will be done in 3 years at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,900 crores, with financial participation from State Governments.
• The coverage of Fasal Bima Yojana will be increased from 30% of cropped area in 2016-17 to 40% in 2017-18 and 50% in 2018-19. The Budget provision for this scheme has been increased from Rs. 5,500 crores to Rs. 13,240 crores to settle the arrears claims. 
• Government will set up new mini labs in Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and ensure 100% coverage of all 648 KVKs in the country.  1000 mini labs will be set up by qualified local entrepreneurs. Government will also provide credit linked subsidy to these entrepreneurs. 
• A Long Term Irrigation Fund has already been set up in NABARD. Addition of Rs. 20,000 crores to its corpus was also announced which will take the total corpus of this Fund to Rs. 40,000 crores.
• Micro Irrigation Fund will be set up in NABARD to achieve the goal, 'per drop more crop' which will have an initial corpus of Rs. 5,000 crores.
• The coverage of National Agricultural Market (e-NAM) will be expanded from the current 250 markets to 585 APMCs (Agriculture Produce Market Committee).
• A Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund would be set up in NABARD with a corpus of Rs. 8,000 crores over 3 years. Initially, the Fund will start with a corpus of Rs. 2,000 crores.

Rural Population - 

• Government will undertake Mission Antyodaya to bring 1 crore households out of poverty and to make 50,000 Gram Panchayats poverty free by 2019.
• The target of 5 lakh farm ponds and 10 lakh compost pits announced in the last Budget from MGNREGA funds will be fully achieved.
• It is expected that about 10 lakh farm ponds would be completed by March 2017 against 5 lakh farm ponds earlier. 
• Participation of women in MGNREGA has increased to 55% from less than 48% in the past.
• Budget provision under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) has been increased to Rs. 48,000 crores in 2017-18 against Rs. 38,500 crores in 2016-17, i.e. the highest ever. 
• Sum of Rs. 19,000 crores allocated for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in 2017-18. Together with the contribution of States, an amount of Rs. 27,000 crores will be spent on PMGSY in 2017-18.
• Proposal to complete 1 crore houses by 2019 for the houseless and those living in kutcha houses was also introduced. Amount allocated for Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin will be stepped up from  Rs. 15,000 crores in 2016-17 to Rs. 23,000 crores in 2017-18.
• Government also expects to achieve 100% village electrification by 1 st May 2018. An increased allocation of Rs. 4,814 crores has also been proposed under the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana in 2017-18.
• Proposal to increase the sum allocated for Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihood Mission for promotion of Skill Development and livelihood opportunities for people in rural areas to Rs. 4,500 in 2017-18 has also been introduced.
• The allocation for Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and credit support schemes has been increased more than 3 times.
• Proposal to provide safe drinking water to over 28,000 arsenic and fluoride affected habitations in the next four years has been introduced which will be a sub mission of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).
• Mason training will be provided to 5 lakh persons by 2022 for imparting new skills to the people in the rural areas.
• The total allocation for the rural, agriculture and allied sectors in 2017-18 is Rs. 1,87,223 crores, which is 24% higher than the previous year.

Youth - 

• An Innovation Fund for Secondary Education will be created to encourage local innovation for ensuring universal access, gender parity and quality improvement. This will include ICT enabled learning transformation. The focus will be on 3479 educationally backward blocks.
• In higher education, reforms will be undertaken in UGC. Good quality institutions would be enabled to have greater administrative and academic autonomy.
• Colleges will be identified based on accreditation and ranking, and given autonomous status. A revised framework will be put in place for outcome based accreditation and credit based programmes.
• SWAYAM platform will be launched with at least 350 online courses. Access to SWAYAM will also be widened by linkage with DTH channels, dedicated to education.
• Proposal to establish a National Testing Agency as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organisation to conduct all entrance examinations for higher education institutions has also been introduced which would free CBSE, AICTE and other premier institutions from these administrative responsibilities so that they can focus more on academics.
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKK) will be extended to more than 600 districts across the country.
• 100 India International Skills Centres will be established across the country.
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKK) have already been promoted in more than 60 districts. We now propose to extend these Kendras to more than 600 districts across the country.
• 100 India International Skills Centres will be established across the country.
• Proposal to launch the Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion programme (SANKALP) has also been introduced at a cost of Rs. 4,000 crores. SANKALP will provide market relevant training to 3.5 crore youth.
• The next phase of Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) will also be launched in 2017-18 at a cost of Rs. 2,200 crores.
• A special scheme for creating employment in the textile sector has already been launched. Similar schemes will be launched in the leather and footwear sectors.
• Incredible India 2.0 Campaign will be launched across the world.

Poor and underprivileged health care -

• Mahila Shakti Kendra will be set up at village level with an allocation of Rs. 500 crores in 14 lakh ICDS Anganwadi Centres.
• Fund allocated for the welfare of Women and Children under various schemes across all Ministries will be stepped up from Rs. 1,56,528 crores in 2016-17 to Rs. 1,84,632 crores in 2017-18.
• Affordable housing will now be given infrastructure status, which will enable these projects to avail the associated benefits.
• The National Housing Bank will refinance individual housing loans of about ` 20,000 crore in 2017-18.
• Government has prepared an action plan to eliminate Kala-Azar and Filariasis by 2017, Leprosy by 2018 and Measles by 2020. Elimination of tuberculosis by 2025 is also targeted.
• 1.5 lakh Health Sub Centres will be transformed into Health and Wellness Centres.
• Two new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will be set up in the States of Jharkhand and Gujarat.
• Legislative reforms will be undertaken to simplify, rationalize and amalgamate the existing labor laws into 4 Codes on - wages, industrial relations, social security and welfare as well as safety and working conditions.
• The fund allocation for the welfare of Scheduled Castes has been stepped up from Rs. 38,833 crores in 2016-17 to Rs. 52,393 crores in 2017-18
• The allocation for Scheduled Tribes has been increased to Rs. 31,920 crores and for Minority Affairs to Rs. 4,195 crores.
• For senior citizens, Aadhar based Smart Cards containing their health details will be introduced.
•  LIC will implement a scheme for senior citizens to provide assured pension, with a guaranteed return of 8% per annum for 10 years.

Infrastructure - 

Railways Budget -

• Rs. 1,31,000 crore allocated for Railways for total capital and development expenditure in 2017-18, which also includes Rs. 51,000 crore from the government.
• For passenger safety, a Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh will be created with a corpus of ` 1 lakh crores over a period of 5 years.
• Unmanned level crossings on Broad Gauge lines will be eliminated by 2020.
• Railway lines of 3,500 kms will be commissioned in 2017-18, as against 2,800 kms in 2016-17.
• Steps will be taken to launch dedicated trains for tourism and pilgrimage.
• 500 stations will be made differently abled friendly by providing lifts and escalators.
• Proposal to feed about 7,000 stations with solar power in the medium term has been introduced.
• Proposal for 'Coach Mitra' facility, a single window interface, to register all coach related complaints and requirements has been introduced. Bio-toilets for all coaches of the Indian Railways will be provided by 2019.
• Railways will also implement end to end integrated transport solutions for select commodities through partnership with 18 logistics players.
• Railways will offer competitive ticket booking facility to the public at large. Service charge on e-tickets booked through IRCTC has been withdrawn.
• A new Metro Rail Policy will be announced with focus on innovative models of implementation and financing.

Aviation and Road Transport - 

• Budget allocation for Highways will be stepped up from Rs. 57,976 crores in 2016-17 to Rs. 64,900 crores in 2017-18.
• Select airports in Tier 2 cities will be taken up for operation and maintenance in the PPP mode.
• Total fund of Rs. 2,41,387 crores will be allocated for transportation sector as a whole, including rail, roads, shipping in 2017-18.
•  Allocation for BharatNet Project will be increased to Rs. 10,000 crores in 2017-18.
• High speed broadband connectivity on optical fibre will be available in more than 1,50,000 gram panchayats by the end of 2017-18.
• A DigiGaon initiative will be launched to provide tele-medicine, education and skills through digital technology.
• Government has decided to set up Strategic Crude Oil Reserves for strengthening our Energy sector, . 2 more reserves will be set up at Chandikhole in Odisha and Bikaner in Rajasthan for this. 
• Fund allocation for incentive schemes like M-SIPS and EDF has been increased to Rs. 745 crores in 2017-18.
•  Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES), a new and restructured Central scheme will be launched in 2017-18.
• The total allocation for infrastructure development in 2017-18 stands at Rs. 3,96,135 crores.

Financial sector -

• Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) will be phased out in 2017-18 and a roadmap for the same will be announced in the next few months.
• Multi State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 will be amended in consultation with various stakeholders, as part of the Clean India agenda.
• A Computer Emergency Response Team for Financial Sector (CERT-Fin) will be established.
• The Government will put in place a revised mechanism and procedure to ensure time bound listing of identified CPSEs on stock exchanges.
• The shares of Railway PSEs like IRCTC, IRFC and IRCON will be listed in stock exchanges
• In lines with the 'Indradhanush' roadmap, Rs. 10,000 crores for recapitalisation of Banks will be provided in 2017-18. Additional allocation will be provided if required.
• Lending target of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana will be set at Rs. 2.44 lakh crores for 2017-18.

Digital Economy - 

• 125 lakh people have adopted the BHIM app so far. The Government will launch two new schemes to promote the usage of BHIM - Referral Bonus Scheme for individuals and a Cashback Scheme for merchants.
• Aadhar Pay, a merchant version of Aadhar Enabled Payment System, will be launched shortly.
• A Mission will be set up with a target of 2,500 crore digital transactions for 2017-18 through UPI, USSD, Aadhar Pay, IMPS and debit cards.
• Government will undertake a comprehensive review of Payment and Settlement Systems Act and bring about appropriate amendments.
• Proposal to create a Payments Regulatory Board in the Reserve Bank of India by replacing the existing Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems has been introduced.

Public Service - 

• Head Post Offices will be utilised as front offices for rendering passport services.
• A Centralised Defence Travel System has been developed through which travel tickets can be booked online by our soldiers and officers.
• A comprehensive web based interactive Pension Disbursement System for Defence Pensioners will be established.
• A system will be introduced for single registration and two tier system of examination for our citizens to avoid the cumbersome procedures of Government recruitment.

Prudent fiscal management - 

• The total expenditure in Budget for 2017-18 has been placed at Rs. 21.47 lakh crores.
• Allocation for Capital expenditure has been stepped up by 25.4% over the previous year.
• Provision of Rs. 3,000 crores under the Department of Economic Affairs will be made to implement various Budget announcements and other 26 new schemes in 2017-18. For Defence expenditure excluding pensions,  sum of Rs. 2,74,114 crores including Rs. 86,488 crores for Defence capital will be allocated. Allocation for Scientific Ministries will be increased to Rs. 37,435 crore in 2017-18.
• Fiscal deficit for 2017-18 pegged at 3.2 percent of GDP and its target for next three years pegged at 3 percent.
• Revenue Deficit of 2.3% in 2016-17 stands reduced to 2.1% in the Revised Estimates. The Revenue Deficit for next year is pegged at 1.9%.

Tax Proposals -

• Against the estimated 4.2 crore persons engaged in organised sector employment, the number of individuals filing return for salary income are only 1.74 crore.
• Against 5.6 crore informal sector individual enterprises and firms doing small business in India, the number of returns filed by this category are only 1.81 crore.
• Of the 76 lakh individual assesses who declare income above ` 5 lakh, 56 lakh are in the salaried class.
• The number of people showing income more than ` 50 lakh in the entire country is only 1.72 lakh.
• During the period 8th November to 30th December 2016, deposits between ` 2 lakh and ` 80 lakh were made in about 1.09 crore accounts with an average deposit size of ` 5.03 lakh.
• Tax to be levied for unoccupied houses a year after getting completion certificate on notional rental income.
• Capital Gains Tax holding period will be reduced from 3 years to 2 years for real estate. Also, the base year for indexation is proposed to be shifted from 1.4.1981 to 1.4.2001 for all classes of assets including immovable property.
• Concessional with-holding rate of 5% is charged on interest earned by foreign entities in external commercial borrowings or in bonds and Government securities. This concession period will be extended to 30.06.2020 from 30.6.2017.
• MAT (Minimum Alternate Tax) will carry forward upto a period of 15 years instead of 10 years at present.
• Income tax for smaller companies with annual turnover upto Rs. 50 crore will be reduced to 25%.
•  Proposal to increase allowable provision for Non-Performing Asset from 7.5% to 8.5% has also been introduced.
• Basic customs duty on LNG will be reduced from 5% to 2.5%.
• Proposal to limit the cash expenditure allowable as deduction, both for revenue as well as capital expenditure to Rs. 10,000 has been introduced.
• Limit of cash donation which can be received by a charitable trust will be reduced from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 2000/-.
• Special Investigation Team (SIT) has suggested that no transaction above Rs. 3 lakh should be permitted in cash.
• List of donors who contributed more than Rs. 20,000/- to any party in cash or cheque is required to be maintained.
• The maximum amount of cash donation that a political party can receive will be `2000/- from one person and they will be entitled to receive donations by cheque or digital mode from their donors.
• Proposal to increase the threshold limit for audit of business entities who opt for presumptive income scheme from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 2 crores has been introduced.
• The threshold for maintenance of books for individuals and HUF will be increased from turnover of Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 25 lakhs or income from Rs. 1.2 lakhs to Rs. 2.5 lakhs.
• TDS of 5% will be deducted from commission payable to individual insurance agents even if the income of some of them may be below taxable limit.
•  The time period for revising a tax return will be reduced to 12 months from completion of financial year.

Personal Income Tax - 

• Proposal to reduce the existing rate of taxation for individual assesses between income of Rs. 2.5 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs to 5% from the present rate of 10% has been introduced.
• To avoid duplication of benefit, the existing benefit of rebate available to the same group of beneficiaries is being reduced to Rs. 2500 available only to assessees upto income of Rs. 3.5 lakhs.
• The combined effect of both these measures will mean that there would be zero tax liability for people getting income upto Rs. 3 lakhs p.a. and the tax liability will only be Rs. 2,500 for people with income between Rs. 3 and Rs. 3.5 lakhs.
• While the taxation liability of people with income upto `5 lakhs is being reduced to half, all the other categories of tax payers in the subsequent slabs will also get a uniform benefit of `12,500/- per person.
• Proposal to levy a surcharge of 10% of tax payable on categories of individuals whose annual taxable income is between Rs. 50 lakhs and Rs. 1 crore has been introduced. 
• Simple one-page form to be filed as Income Tax Return for the category of individuals having taxable income upto `5 lakhs other than business income will be introduced.

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