Cabinet approves Rs. 24,104 cr. outlay for tribal welfare (GS Paper 1, Social Issue)
Why in news?
- The Union Cabinet recently approved a special development mission for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) with a total outlay of over ₹24,104 crore over a three-year period.
- Of the ₹24,104 crore, ₹15,336 crore will be funded by the Union government and ₹8,768 crore by the respective State governments.
PM-JANMAN:
- The PM Janjati Adivasi Nyay Maha Abhiyaan (PM-JANMAN), announced in the Union Budget and launched by Prime Minister on November 15, is meant to improve the overall socio-economic conditions of the 75 tribal groups recognised as particularly vulnerable.
- It will focus on 11 critical interventions, part of existing schemes, and will be implemented by nine Ministries.
- The mission aims to build 4.9-lakh pucca houses, lay 8,000 km of connecting roads, and bring piped water to all households in over 22,000 villages.
- It will also provide community water pipelines to 2,500 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups villages, each with fewer than 20 households.
- The scheme aims to build 2,500 anganwadi centres, set up 1,000 mobile medical units (10 per district), install mobile towers in 3,000 villages, and set up 500 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras to facilitate the sale of forest produce.
Implementation:
- The Skill Development Ministry will facilitate the skills and vocational training in the selected villages.
India launches 1st auction of 20 critical mineral blocks
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Union Mining Minister launched India’s first-ever auction of 20 blocks of critical minerals, including lithium, molybdenum, and rare earth elements.
Details:
- The total worth of the minerals in the 20 blocks is estimated to be Rs 45,000 crore.
- The blocks up for auction contain critical minerals such as lithium, rare earth elements, molybdenum, glauconite, chromium, lithium, nickel, potash, and phosphorite, among others.
- They are located across Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Why the move matters?
- From mobile phones to electric vehicles, solar panels, semiconductors and wind turbines, all modern technologies are dependent on critical minerals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt, thalium and rare earth elements. Such minerals are essential not only in high-tech electronics and telecommunications, but also in transport and defence.
- Earlier, state governments used to auction mineral blocks. But amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, in August 2023 gave the Union government the power to auction critical minerals.
- The amendments also paved the way for the private commercial mining of six critical minerals; lithium, beryllium, niobium, tantalum, titanium and zirconium and deep-seated minerals like gold, silver, and copper. Earlier, only government agencies were allowed to explore and mine these minerals.
- The 5.9-milllion-tonne lithium reserve discovered by the Geological Survey of India in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir in February is also on the auction list.
- Earlier, the Centre approved royalty rates of 3 percent each for lithium and niobium and 1 percent for rare earth elements.
Critical minerals:
- Among the other significant steps taken by the government in the critical mineral sector is the June 2023 release of a comprehensive list of 30 critical minerals necessary for economic development and national security.
- The 30 critical minerals identified include antimony, beryllium, bismuth, cobalt, copper, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, indium, lithium, molybdenum, niobium, nickel, phosphorous, potash, titanium, tungsten and rare earth elements.
Cabinet approves Terms of Reference for the Sixteenth Finance Commission
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
Why in news?
- The Union Cabinet recently approved the Terms of Reference for the Sixteenth Finance Commission.
- The 16th Finance Commission’s recommendations, upon the acceptance by the government, would cover the period of five years commencing April 1, 2026.
Fifteenth Finance Commission:
- Article 280(1) of the Constitutions lays down that the modalities for setting up of a Finance Commission to make recommendation on the distribution of net proceeds of taxes between the Union and the States, allocation between the States of respective shares of such proceeds; grants- in-aid and the revenues of the States and measures needed to supplement the resources of the Panchayats during the award period.
- The Fifteenth Finance Commission was constituted on November 27, 2017.
- It made recommendations covering the period of six years commencing on 1st April, 2020 through its Interim and Final Reports.
- The recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission are valid upto the financial year 2025-26.
Terms of Reference for the Sixteenth Finance Commission:
- The distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes which are to be, or may be, divided between them under Chapter I, Part XII of the Constitution and the allocation between the States of the respective shares of such proceeds;
- The principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India and the sums to be paid to the States by way of grants-in-aid of their revenues under article 275 of the Constitution for the purposes other than those specified in the provisos to clause (1) of that article; and
- The measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities in the State on the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of the State.
- The Commission may review the present arrangements on financing Disaster Management initiatives, with reference to the funds constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (53 of 2005), and make appropriate recommendations thereon.
- The Commission shall make its report available by 31st day of October, 2025 covering a period of five years commencing on the 1st day of April, 2026.
Background:
- The Fifteenth Finance Commission was constituted on 27th November 2017 for making recommendations for a five-year period of 2020-21 to 2024-25.
- The Finance Commission normally takes about two years to make their recommendations. As per the clause (1) of article 280 of the Constitution, the Finance Commission is to be constituted every fifth year or earlier. However, as the recommendations of the 15th FC cover the six-year period up to 31st March 2026, the 16th FC is proposed to be constituted now.
- This will enable the Finance Commission to consider and appraise the finances of the Union and the States for the period immediately, preceding the period of its recommendations.
- In this context, it is pertinent to mention that there are precedents where the Eleventh Finance Commission was constituted six years after the Tenth Finance Commission. Similarly, the Fourteenth Finance Commission was constituted five years and two months after the Thirteenth Finance Commission.
