Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)

Cabinet approves continuation of Samagra Shiksha Scheme for School Education from 1st April, 2021 to 31st March, 2026

Financial outlay of Rs.2,94,283.04 crore which includes Central share of Rs.1,85,398.32 crore

The scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students and 5.7 million Teachers of Govt. and Aided schools

04 AUG 2021

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for continuation of the revised Samagra Shiksha Scheme for a period of five years i.e., from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a total financial outlay of Rs.2,94,283.04 crore which includes Central share of Rs.1,85,398.32 crore.

Benefits:

The scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students and 5.7 million Teachers of Govt. and Aided schools (from pre-primary to senior secondary level).

Details:

The Samagra Shiksha scheme is an integrated scheme for school education covering the entire gamut from pre-school to class XII. The scheme treats school education as a continuum and is in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4). The scheme not only provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act but has also been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.

The major interventions, across all levels of school education, proposed under the scheme are: (i) Universal Access including Infrastructure Development and Retention; (ii) Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, (iii) Gender and Equity; (iv) Inclusive Education; (v) Quality and Innovation; (vi) Financial support for Teacher Salary; (vii) Digital initiatives; (viii) RTE Entitlements including uniforms, textbooks etc.; (ix) Support for ECCE; (x) Vocational Education; (xi) Sports and Physical Education; (xii) Strengthening of Teacher Education and Training; (xiii) Monitoring; (xiv) Programme Management; and (xv) National Component.

Following new interventions have been incorporated in the revamped Samagra Shiksha based on the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020:

• In order to enhance the direct outreach of the scheme, all child centric interventions will be provided directly to the students through DBT mode on an IT based platform over a period of time.
• The scheme will have an effective convergence architecture with various Ministries/ developmental agencies of the Centre and State Governments. The expansion of vocational education will be done in convergence with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and other Ministries providing funding for Skills. The existing infrastructure of schools and ITIs and Polytechnics will be used to ensure optimum utilization of the facilities, not only for school going children but also for out of school children.
• Provision of training of Master Trainers for training of Anganwadi workers and In-service teacher training for ECCE teachers.
• Provision of upto Rs 500 per child for Teaching Learning Materials (TLM), indigenous toys and games, play based activities per annum for pre-primary sections in Government Schools.
• NIPUN Bharat, a National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to ensure that every child achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing and numeracy at the end of grade III and not later than grade V has been launched under the scheme with provision of TLM upto Rs 500 per child per annum, Rs 150 per teacher for teacher manuals and resources, Rs 10-20 lakh per district for assessment.
• Specific training modules under NISHTHA by NCERT to train Secondary teachers and Primary teachers.
• Strengthening of infrastructure of schools from pre-primary to senior secondary, earlier pre-primary was excluded.
• Incinerator and sanitary pad vending machines in all girls’ hostels.
• Addition of new subjects instead of Stream in existing senior secondary schools.
• Transport facility has been extended to secondary level @ upto Rs 6000 per annum.
• For out of school children at 16 to 19 years of age, support will be provided to SC, ST, disabled children, upto Rs 2000 per child per grade to complete their secondary/senior secondary levels through NIOS/SOS.
• Financial support for State Commission for Protection of Child Rights @ Rs 50 per elementary school in the state, for protection of child rights and safety.
• Holistic, 360-degree, multi-dimensional report showing progress/ uniqueness of each learner in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains will be introduced in the form of Holistic Progress Card (HPC).
• Support for activities of PARAKH, a national assessment centre (Performance, Assessments, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development)
• Additional Sports grant of upto Rs. 25000 to schools in case atleast 2 students of that school win a medal in Khelo India school games at the National level.
• Provision for Bagless days, school complexes, internships with local artisans, curriculum and pedagogical reforms etc included.
• A new component Appointment of Language Teacher has been added in the scheme- components of training of teachers and bilingual books and teaching learning material added, besides support for salary of teachers.
• Provision made for all KGBVs to be upgraded to class XII.
• Enhanced financial support for existing Stand-alone Girls’ Hostels for classes IX to XII (KGBV Type IV) of uptoRs 40 lakh per annum (earlier Rs 25 lakh per annum).
• Training for 3 months for inculcating self-defence skills under ‘Rani Laxmibai Atma Raksha Prashikshan’ and amount increased from Rs 3000 to Rs 5000 per month.
• Separate provision of stipend for CWSN girls @ Rs. 200 per month for 10 months, in addition to student component from pre-primary to senior secondary level.
• Provision of annual identification camps for CWSN at block level @Rs. 10000 per camp and equipping of Block Resource centres for rehabilitation and special training of CWSN.
• Provision for Establishment of New SCERT has been included and new DIETs in districts created upto 31st March 2020.
• Setting up of assessment cell preferably at SCERT to conduct various achievement surveys, develop test materials & item banks, training of various stakeholders & test administration, data collection analysis and report generation, etc.
• The academic support of BRCs and CRCs has been extended for pre-primary and Secondary level also.
• Support under Vocational Education extended to Government aided schools also in addition to Government Schools and grant/number of job roles/sections linked to enrolment and demand.
• Provision of Classroom cum workshop for Vocational Education in schools serving as Hub for other schools in the neighbourhood. Provision of transport and assessment cost for schools serving as spokes has been made.
• Provision of ICT labs, Smart classrooms including support for digital boards, smart classrooms, virtual classrooms and DTH channels have been provided.
• Child tracking provision included for students of Government and Government aided schools
• Support for Social Audit covering 20% of schools per year so that all schools are covered in a period of Five years.

Implementation Strategy and Targets:

The Scheme is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme through a single State Implementation Society (SIS) at the State level. At the National level, there is a Governing Council/Body headed by the Minister of Education and a Project Approval Board (PAB) headed by Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy. The Governing Council/body will be empowered to modify financial and programmatic norms and approve the detailed guidelines for implementation within the overall Framework of the scheme. Such modifications will include innovations and interventions to improve the quality of school education.

In order to enhance the direct outreach of the scheme, all child centric interventions will be provided directly to the students through DBT mode on an IT based platform over a period of time.

The Scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students and 5.7 million Teachers of Government and Aided schools (from pre-primary to senior secondary level) by involving all stakeholders of the school ecosystem i.e. Teachers, Teacher Educators, Students, Parents, Community, School Management Committees, SCERTs, DIETs, BITEs, Block Resource Persons, Cluster Resource Persons, Volunteers for providing quality, inclusive and equitable education. Further, the scheme will have an effective convergence architecture with various Ministries/ developmental agencies of the Centre and State Governments. As envisaged in NEP 2020, there will be a greater focus on imparting skills among the students. The expansion of vocational education will be done in convergence with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and other Ministries providing funding for Skills. The existing infrastructure of schools and ITIs and Polytechnics will be used to ensure optimum utilization of the facilities, not only for school going children but also for out of school children.

Major Impacts:

The Scheme aims to universalize access to school education; to promote equity through the inclusion of disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, and to improve the quality of education across all levels of school education. The major objectives of the Scheme are to Support States and UTs in:

• Implementing the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020);
• Implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009;
• Early Childhood Care and Education;
• Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy;
• Thrust on Holistic, Integrated, Inclusive and activity based Curriculum and Pedagogy to impart 21st century skills to the students;
• Provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes of students;
• Bridging Social and Gender Gaps in School Education;
• Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education;
• Strengthening and up-gradation of State Councils for Educational Research and Training (SCERTs)/State Institutes of Education and District Institutes for Education and Training (DIET) as nodal agency for teacher training;
• Ensuring safe, secure and conducive learning environment and maintenance of standards in schooling provisions and
• Promoting vocational education.

AtmaNirbhar Bharat:

Recognizing the crucial role of Foundational skills in the national development, it was announced under the ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat’ campaign that a National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission will be launched, for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy in Grade 3 by 2026-27. In this context, “National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat)” has been launched on 5th July 2021 under Samagra Shiksha.

Details and progress of scheme if already running:

The Scheme is being implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State and UT Governments to support the States and UTs in universalizing access and improving quality of school education across the country. The achievements of Samagra Shiksha are as follows:

• During 2018-2019 to 2020-2021, 1160 schools have been upgraded at Elementary, Secondary and Higher Secondary level, 54 new residential schools/ hostels have been opened, 41180 schools have been strengthened (including Additional classrooms), 13.51 lakh schools have been provided library facilities, 13.14 lakh schools have been provided sports equipment facility, 12633 schools have been covered under ICT & Digital initiatives, 5579 schools have been covered under vocational education, 783 KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to class X, 925 KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to class XII and 11562 separate girls toilets have been constructed.
• In addition, during 2018-2019, 4.78 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at elementary level, 4.24 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 16.76 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(l)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.96 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.72 cr children have been provided free textbooks at elementary level, 0.74 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 14.58 lakh teachers have been trained, 69173 schools provided self defence training to girls, 3.79 lakh CWSN girls have been provided stipend and 23183 special educators have been provided financial assistance.
• Also, during 2019-2020, 5.07 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at elementary level, 6.78 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 21.58 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(l)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.89 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.78 cr children have been provided free textbooks at elementary level, 1.76 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 28.84 lakh teachers have been trained, 166528 schools provided self defence training to girls, 3.22 lakh CWSN girls have been provided stipend and 24030 special educators have been provided financial assistance.
• Also, during 2020-2021, 3.23 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at elementary level, 2.41 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 32.67 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(l)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.57 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.84 cr children have been provided free textbooks at elementary level, 1.44 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 14.32 lakh teachers have been trained, 81288 schools provided self defence training to girls, 3.52 lakh CWSN girls have been provided stipend and 22990 special educators have been provided financial assistance.

Background:

Union Budget, 2018-19 has announced that school education would be treated holistically and without segmentation from pre-primary to class XII. It is, in this context, that the Department launched the Integrated Scheme for School Education, Samagra Shiksha in 2018 by subsuming the erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). The scheme treats school education as a continuum and is in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4). The scheme not only provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act but has also been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process

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07 MAR 2019

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has approved delegation of the following to Alternative Mechanism in all the cases of Strategic Disinvestment of CPSEs where CCEA has given ‘in principle’ approval for strategic disinvestment:

(i) The quantum of shares to be transacted, mode of sale and final pricing of the transaction or lay down the principles/ guidelines for such pricing; and the selection of strategic partner/ buyer; terms and conditions of sale; and

(ii) To decide on the proposals of CGD with regard the timing, price, the terms & conditions of sale, and any other related issue to the transaction.

This will facilitate quick decision-making and obviate the need for multiple instances of approval by CCEA for the same CPSE.

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07 MAR 2019

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of 50 new KendriyaVidyalayas under Civil/Defence Sector all over the country.

The Vidyalayas are proposed to be opened in the Civil/Defense Sector and once they are fully functional they will provide quality education to approximately 50,000 students once they become fully operational.

Consolidated list of 50 proposals recommended by the ‘Challenge Method’ Committee for opening of new Kendriya Vidyalayas

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19 SEP 2018

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved enhancement of honorarium to Anganwadi Workers/Anganwadi Helpers (AWWs/AWHs)and performance linked incentive to AWHs [Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme] with a total cost of Rs. 10,649.41 crore (GoI Share) for the period from 01.10.2018 to 31.03.2020.

Nearly 27 lakh AWWs/AWHs will be benefitted by the approval. Anganwadi Services (Umbrella ICDS) is a universal scheme and beneficiaries are spread all over the country at AWC/village level.

Details:

The proposals approved consist of the following:

(*) In addition, monthly performance linked incentive of Rs.250/- has also been approved for Anganwadi Helpers for facilitating proper functioning of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs).

The enhanced rate of honorarium and performance linked incentive would be effective from 1st October, 2018.

Impact:

The programme through targeted interventions will strive to reduce the level of malnutrition, anaemia and low birth weight babies, ensure empowerment of adolescent girls, provide protection to the children who are in conflict with law, provide safe place for day-care to children of working mothers, create synergy, ensure better monitoring, issue negative alerts for timely action, encourage States/UTs to perform, guide and supervise line Ministries and States/UTs to achieve the targeted goals and bring more transparency.

Financial Implications:

The details of expenditure for the period from 1st October, 2018 to 31st March 2020 for payment of honorarium to AWWs/AWHs and performance linked incentives to AWHs are as under:

(Rupees in crore)

Background:

Anganwadi Services (ICDS) aims at holistic development of children under the age of six years and its beneficiaries are children of this age group and Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers.The rate of honorarium paid to the Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers was last revised in the year 2011. Since then the cost of living has increased and the cost norms for the administration of Supplementary Nutrition have also been revised recently in the year 2017.

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01 AUG 2018

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for opening of 13 new KendriyaVidyalayas (KVs) in seven States and a second JawaharNavodayaVidyalaya(JNV) in Alot, District Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh.

These 13 schools are in Banda (Uttar Pradesh), Washim (Maharashtra), Chakpikarong (Manipur), Parbhani (Maharashtra), Nawada (Bihar), Mirjapur (Uttar Pradesh), Bhadohi (“Uttar Pradesh), Palamau (Jharkhand), Siddipet (Telangana), Kudamalakunte, (Karnataka), CISF Surajpur (Uttar Pradesh), Devkund (Bihar) and Baoli (Uttar Pradesh).

The CCEA also approved the establishment of an additional Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya(JNV) at Alot, Ratlam District, Madhya Pradesh.

Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh has a high percentage of SC and ST population and there is huge demand for establishing an additional JNV in that district. Moreover, the State Government has also shown readiness to earmark the required extent of land and temporary accommodation for setting up the Vidyalaya.

Benefits:

At present the KVs are imparting quality education to more than 12 lakh students and JNVs are providing modern education free of cost to nearly 2.50 lakh students in different parts of the country. With the openingof these 13 new KVs about 13000 more eligible categories of students will be able to access affordable quality education and an additional 560 students will be benefitted from the second JNV at Alot once it becomes fully functional from Class VI to XII.

Background:

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had at its meeting held in March, 2017 approved a proposal for setting up of 50 new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) under Civil/Defence Sector in the country under “Challenge Method” at an estimated outlay of Rs.1160 crore. These new KVs were to be opened only in those locations where the sponsoring authorities come forward and offer land as well as provide temporary accommodation as per norms of KVS, on ‘first come first served’ basis and the sanctions were to be utilized accordingly.

In pursuance of this approval, KVS has so far issued administrative orders for opening of 37 new KVs consequent upon, the sponsoring authorities fulfilling the requisite norms.

Detailed guidelines for consideration of proposals under the “Challenge Method” were issued in September, 2017. Thereafter, all the remaining proposals and other new proposals received by KVS were considered by a duly constituted committee which recommended the proposals for opening of new KVs to be considered under the “Challenge Method“. 13 proposals scoring maximum weightage points under “Challenge Method” were recommended by the committee for being placed before the competent authority for approval.

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1) Doubling of Hubli-Chickajur railway line

Doubling of 190 km long Hubli-Chickajur broad gauge single railway line has been approved. The total estimated expenditure will be Rs.1294.13 crore. The project is likely to be completed in 4¼ years during 13th Plan period and will cover the areas of Chitradurga, Davangere, Haveri and Dharwad.

Entire route from Pune-Miraj-Hubli-Bengalore has been identified for doubling which will not only improve smooth flow of traffic but also boost overall development of the region.

This stretch is part of an important rail link of passenger trains between Mumbai and Bangalore and goods trains to the ports at Mangalore. On this route, doubling between Bangalore-Tumkur and Arsikere-Chickajur have already been completed. On balance portion, doubling work between Hubli-Londa part of Hubli-Londa-Vasco-da-Gama, is also in progress.

2) Construction of Wardha (Sewagram) – Ballarshah 3rd railway line

Construction of Wardha (Sewagram) – Ballarshah 3rd railway line of 132 km will be taken up at an estimated completion cost of Rs.1443.32 crore. The project is likely to be completed in five years during 13th Plan period and will be located in Wardha and Chandrapur districts.

The line capacity utilization of the section is saturated and running of additional Mail/Express and Goods traffic over the section cause detention to the trains. Wardha (Sewagram) – Ballarshah section is very important from goods originating point of view of Nagpur Division where many collieries and many sidings are proposed on the section.

3) Doubling of Ramna-Singrauli railway line

Doubling of 160 km long Ramna – Singarauli railway line has been approved at a cost Rs.2675.64 crore and is likely to be completed by 2019-20. The project will cover the districts of Garhwa in Jharkhand, Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh and Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh.

The Ramna-Singrauli section falls in Dhanbad Division of East Central Railway. At present traffic utilization of the section is 105%, resulting in detention of trains and loss of revenue. In order to attain the desired fluidity and increase in the sectional capacity, doubling of this single line section is very essential from operational point of view. The project will serve the freight and passenger traffic needs in the jurisdiction of Northern Coal Fields and series of power plants and associated small scale industries in and around Anpara and Shaktinagar, namely Anpara Super Thermal Power Plant, Rihand Super Thermal Power Plant, Renusagar Hydro Power Plant,Singrauli Super Thermal Power Plant, Vidhyachal Super Thermal Power Plant.

4) Construction of 3rd railway line between Anuppur-Katni

Construction of 165 km long 3rd railway line between Anuppur-Katni in Madhya Pradesh has also been apporved at a cost of Rs.1595.76 crore. The project is likely to be completed in 5 ¼ years spanning over 12th and 13th plan period.

The project would cover the districts of Anuppur, Shahdol, Umaria and Katni districts of Madhya Pradesh.

There has been tremendous surge in coal and one mining which has been geared up in the recent past and ambitious plans for an enormous leap forward in the ensuing years to tap these resources lying hitherto untapped. As a result of the rapid industrialization, number of industrial townships have also grown up along the project line. These developments have resulted in large demand for additional coaching services on the section. With this anticipated increase of freight traffic, the capacity utilization will reach upto 175%. Apart from this substantial additional coal traffic from IB valley, Korba area, East Corridor and Gevra Road – Pendra Road Project would be channelized through this route to the respective destinations. In order to meet the growth in the freight and passenger traffic, tripling of 3rd line between Anuppur-Katni is essential.

5) Doubling of Katni-Singrauli railway line

Construction of doubling of 261 km long Katni – Singarauli railway at a cost of Rs.2084.90 crore has been approved. The project will be completed in 5 ¼ years. The project would cover the districts of Katni, Shahdol, Sidhi and Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh.

Katni-Singrauli is a critical and busy section carrying coal from Northern Coal Fields towards Western and Northern thermal power plants. This section intersects Allahabad-Mumbai route at Katni. Provision of doubling between Katni-Singrauli section would provide the necessary line capacity for introduction of additional mail/express and passenger trains to serve the people of the area and transportation of coal from collieries. This will also boost overall development of the region.

6) Construction of additional Bridge and doubling project of Rampur Dumra-Tal-Rajendrapul

Construction of additional Bridge and doubling project of Rampur Dumra-Tal-Rajendrapul sector in Bihar at a cost of Rs.1700.24 crore has also got CCEA’s approval today.

The project is likely to be completed by 2019-20. The project is located in Begusarai and Patna districts of Bihar.

The existing rail-cum-road bridge at Hathidah has single line track and doubling is not possible. Present traffic utilization of the section is 123.5%. At present this is the only railway bridge connecting both North and South Bihar. Existing single line has resulted in heavy detention of goods and passenger traffic.

In order to streamline the operation of traffic in this single line section, it is very essential that one additional bridge and doubling of this section is undertaken. By providing this facility, there will be ample fluidity in maintaining train operations as well as introduction of more passenger/goods trains in the section and it will augment line capacity too. This will also facilitate in minimizing the running time of trains between Kiul-Barauni and Mokama-Barauni section and will ease out the existing operational constraints in this section.

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