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Some 3.89 billion person days were generated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) during 2020-21, Giriraj Singh, Union minister for rural development told the Lok Sabha August 3, 2021.
This figure was 47 per cent more than the figure of 2019-20, Singh added.
A total of 18.9 million new job cards had been issued while 75.5 million households had been provided employment under MGNREGS during 2020-21, Singh said.
Timber trees
Timber-yielding tree species like Sheesam, Teak, Eucalyptus, Malabar Neem, Ardu, Poplar, etc were being promoted for plantation on farm land along with other species, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union minister of agriculture and farmers welfare told the Lok Sabha.
The scheme to grow such trees was being implemented in 23 states and Union territories having liberalised felling and transit regulations for the transport of timber.
Food distribution
The Government of India had approved a centrally sponsored pilot scheme on the fortification of rice and its distribution under the Public Distribution System (PDS) to address anaemia and micro-nutrient deficiency in the country.
The scheme had been approved for a period of three years, beginning in 2019-20, with a total outlay of Rs 174.64 crore, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Union minister of state in the Ministry of Rural Development and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution told the Lok Sabha.
The scheme focuses on 15 districts across 15 states, preferably one district per state. So far, six states namely Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh have started distribution of fortified rice under the scheme in their selected districts, Jyoti said.
Natural calamities
Some 1,989 people died due to hydro-meteorological calamities / hazards in India in 2020-21. The calamities include flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides.
West Bengal reported 354 deaths due to natural calamities, the highest among states. In 2019-20, Madhya Pradesh had reported 674 deaths, the highest. The total number of deaths was 2,422 in 2019-20, Nityanand Rai, Union minister of state in the Ministry of Home Affairs told the Lok Sabha.
Renewable energy
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy was implementing Rooftop Solar (RTS) Programme Phase II to increase the use of solar energy to meet the day-to-day household demand.
The target of the scheme was to aggregate RTS capacity to 4000 megawatt in the residential / domestic sector by 2022, with provision of central financial assistance, RK Singh, Union minister for new and renewable energy and power told the Rajya Sabha.
COVID-19 vaccines for children
Clinical trials for vaccination against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in children were ongoing. Further necessary action would be taken based on the results obtained during the trials along with expert consultations, Bharati Pravin Pawar, minister of state in the Union Ministry of Health And Family Welfare told the Rajya Sabha.
India without tuberculosis
The Government of India had chaired four meetings with development partners on tuberculosis-mukt Bharat (TB-free India) between November 2020 and June 2021, Pawar told the Rajya Sabha.
The Government of India had developed a National Strategic Plan (2017-25) for ending TB in the country by 2025, Pawar added.
In 2020, 171 million people were screened for TB. An additional 52,273 TB cases were detected from these campaigns, Pawar added.
COVID-19 vaccine production
The monthly production of Covishield vaccine for COVID-19, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, was projected to be increased to more than 120 million doses a month, from from 110 million doses.
The production of Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech Intl Pvt Ltd, was projected to be increased to 58 million doses a month, from 25 million doses, Mansukh Mandaviya, Union minister for health and family welfare told the Rajya Sabha.