Government Intensifies Efforts to Curb Tobacco Use Among Youth
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is actively working to reduce tobacco use among young people through a combination of legislation, guidelines, awareness campaigns, and restrictions on the sale of tobacco products.
Government initiatives to support women owned enterprises
The Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) is a flagship Scheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs which converges five erstwhile schemes viz. ‘Seekho Aur Kamao’, ‘Nai Manzil’, ‘Nai Roshni’, ‘Hamari Dharohar’ and ‘USTTAD’; and focuses on upliftment of six notified minority communities through skill development; entrepreneurship and leadership of minority women; and education support for school dropouts.
AB-PMJAY Enhances Hospital Empanelment and Grievance Redressal Mechanisms
The Indian government has strengthened the empanelment process for hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and enhanced its grievance redressal system to ensure beneficiaries receive quality healthcare services.
Gujarat Announces Special Leave for Employees on Election Day
Gujarat mandates three hours of special leave for employees to vote in the upcoming elections on February 16, 2025, under the Shops and Establishments Act.
NATS 1.0 Portal Reopens for Final Completion of Pending Task
The NATS 1.0 portal reopens until March 31, 2025, allowing establishments and apprentices to complete pending tasks before its permanent shutdown.
Delhi Enforces New Rules to Curb Unregulated Deposit Schemes
Delhi’s new rules under the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act strengthen investigations, asset recovery, and protect legitimate financial activities.
MP Issues Amendments to the Disabled Persons Rights Rules
MP updates the Disabled Persons Rights Rules 2017 replacing” Commissioner, Disabled Persons” with “Commissioner, Persons with Disabilities”
PFRDA Seeks Public Feedback on Unified Pension Scheme Draft
PFRDA invites public comments on the draft Unified Pension Scheme regulations for Central Government employees until February 17 2025 to enhance pension benefit
CRCS- Sahara Refund Portal
In compliance with the Supreme Court’s directions, the Ministry of Cooperation launched the CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal on 18th July 2023. This portal is specifically designed to allow depositors from the four Multi-State Cooperative Societies of the Sahara Group—Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd. (Lucknow), Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Society Ltd. (Bhopal), Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd. (Kolkata), and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd. (Hyderabad)—to submit their claims for refunds of their legitimate deposits.
Measures taken to prevent misuse of AB-PMJAY Scheme
To eliminate ineligible beneficiaries from the scheme, AB-PMJAY beneficiaries are verified through Aadhaar e-KYC at the time of creation of the card. Further, beneficiaries have to undergo Aadhaar authentication at the time of availing services. Aadhaar-authentication helps establish the identity of the eligible beneficiary.
