PM-SYM scheme gets 30 lakh subscribers

The number of people who have enrolled for the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM), a voluntary and contributory pension scheme aimed at workers in the unorganised sector, has reached 30,85,205.

Launched in February, the scheme assures a minimum monthly pension of Rs 3,000 to the beneficiaries after attaining the age of 60 years. Under the scheme, the subscriber is required to pay a prescribed monthly contribution and the central government provides an equal matching contribution. This scheme is implemented through LIC.

It is a scheme meant for old age protection and social security of unorganised workers.

Unorganised workers are mostly engaged as rickshaw pullers, street vendors, mid-day meal workers, headloaders, brick kiln workers, cobblers, ragpickers, domestic workers, washermen, agricultural workers, construction workers, beedi workers, handloom workers, leather workers, etc. There are an estimated 42 crore such unorganised workers in the country.

Eligibility criteria

* He / she should be an unorganised worker

* Entry age between 18 and 40 years

* Monthly income is Rs 15,000 or below

Features of PM-SYM

It is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme under which the subscriber would receive the following benefits…

* Each subscriber will receive a minimum assured pension of Rs 3,000 per month after attaining the age of 60 years.

* If the subscriber dies, the spouse of the beneficiary shall be entitled to receive 50 per cent of the sum as family pension. Only the spouse is eligible to get the money.

* If a beneficiary had made regular contributions and died before the age of 60, his / her spouse will be entitled to join and continue the scheme subsequently by payment of regular contributions or exit the scheme as per the provisions of exit and withdrawal.

Beaches selected for Blue Flag challenge

The environment ministry has selected 12 beaches to strive for getting a ‘Blue Flag’ certification, an international recognition conferred on beaches that meet certain criteria of cleanliness and environmental propriety.

These beaches are at Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Bhogave (Maharashtra), Ghoghla (Diu), Miramar (Goa), Kasargod (Kerala), Padubidri (Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Eden (Puducherry), Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh), Golden (Odisha) and Radhanagar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands).

Blue Flag programme

* The Blue Flag programme for beaches and marinas is run by the Foundation for Environmental Education, an NGO.

* It started in France in 1985 and has been implemented across Europe since 1987, and in areas outside Europe since 2001, when South Africa joined. Japan and South Korea are the only countries in South and South-east Asia to have Blue Flag beaches.

* Spain tops the list with 566 such beaches; Greece and France follow with 515 and 395, respectively.

* There are nearly 33 criteria that must be met to qualify for a Blue Flag certification, such as the water meeting certain quality standards, having waste disposal facilities, being disabled-friendly, have first aid equipment, and no access to pets in the main areas of the beach. Some criteria are voluntary and some compulsory.

* India is set to apply for certification for two beaches, at Shivrajpur and Ghoghla, by the end of this month.

* If approved, beaches are given the qualification for a year and must apply annually to continue meriting the right to fly the flag at their locations.

GST reimbursement under Seva Bhoj Yojana

Seva Bhoj Yojna is a central scheme for providing reimbursement of CGST and central government’s share of IGST paid by charitable / religious institutions on the purchase of specific raw food items for serving free food to devotees / members of the public. The scheme aims to ease the financial burden of charitable religious institutions that provide food / prasad / langar free of cost without discrimination to devotees / members of the public. The scheme is being implemented since August 1, 2018 with a total outlay of Rs 325 crore for 2018-19 and 2019-20.

Type of activities supported

Free prasad or free food or free langar / bhandara offered by charitable religious institutions such as gurudwara, temples, dharmik ashrams, mosques, dargahs, churches, mutts, monasteries, etc. Financial aid will be provided on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Quantum of assistance

Financial assistance in the form of reimbursement shall be provided where the institution has already paid GST on all or any of the raw food items such as ghee, edible oil, sugar, burra, jaggery, rice, atta, maida, rava, flour and pulses. The total amount of CGST and central government’s share of IGST that would be reimbursed on purchases in FY 2019-20 will be capped at a maximum of 10  per cent of current financial year (2018-19).

Criteria for assistance

* A public trust / society / corporate body / organisation / institution covered under the provisions of Section 10 (23BBA) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 or registered under the provisions of Section 12AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for religious and charitable purposes, or a company formed and registered under the provisions of Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, or Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956, for religious and charitable purposes, or a public trust registered as such for religious and charitable purposes under any law for the time being in force, or a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, for religious and charitable purposes.

* The applicant public trust / society / corporate body / organisation / institution must be involved in both religious and charitable activities by way of free and philanthropic distribution of food / prasad / langar / bhandara free of cost and without discrimination through the modus of public, religious and charitable trusts or endowments including mutts, temples, gurdwaras, wakfs, churches, synagogues, agiaries or other places of public religious worship.

* The institutions / organisations should have been in existence for at least three years before applying for assistance.

* Financial assistance shall be given only to those institutions that are not in receipt of any similar assistance from the central / state government for the purpose of distributing free food.

* The institutions should serve free food to at least 5,000 people in a calendar month.

* Institutions / organisations blacklisted under the provisions of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) or under the provisions of any Act / rules of the central / state government shall not be eligible for financial assistance under the scheme.