RBI ASKS
ALL BANKS TO ADOPT ICAI SOFTWARE ON ALLOTMENT OF STATUTORY BANK-BRANCH AUDIT
The Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) has asked
all the banks to adopt the software adopted by the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India for the allotment of Statutory Bank-Branch Audit said ICAI
Chief CA Naveen ND Gupta. The ICAI have over the years expressed our concern on
the appointment of auditors of public sector banks by Banks’ Board themselves
and on the autonomy given to them. To address this, the ICAI had developed an
automated web-based software for the selection of statutory branch auditors of
public-sector banks. On the request of the Institute, the RBI requested all
banks to take help of this software or any other software to allot bank-branch
audit. Last year, the ICAI software was utilized by three banks, namely Dena
Bank, Syndicate Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce, and we got a letter of
appreciation. I am happy to share that this year, the majority of banks have
taken the demo of this software and many of them have expressed their consent
to use the same. With such a vast usage of our software, our concern regarding
the autonomy of banks in the selection of bank-branch auditors will be suitably
addressed. Moreover, the allotment of the audit will be uniform besides being
fair, transparent and equitable, ICAI President said.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
NO
UNEMPLOYMENT DATA POST-DEMONETISATION: LABOUR MINISTER
There is no data available on unemployment
subsequent to the period of demonetisation, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar
told Parliament on Monday. More than a third of the questions asked by Members
of Parliament to the Labour Ministry on Monday were related to unemployment
data. The Ministry held firmly to citing Labour Bureau surveys on unemployment,
for which the latest data available is pre-demonetisation. According to this
data, the unemployment rate in 2015-16 was 3.7%, Mr. Gangwar said. In response
to another question, Mr. Gangwar said, Information related to impact of
demonetisation on employment in the unorganised sector is not maintained
centrally. With regard to the NSSO’s survey, Mr. Gangwar only said that the
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has initiated the
PLFS, whose primary objective is to measure quarterly changes of key Labour
Force Indicators such as Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker
Population Ratio (WPR) and Unemployment Rate (UR) in urban areas as well as to
generate the annual estimates of different labour force indicators both in
rural and urban areas. The report of the same has not been published, he said.
Asked why the Labour Bureau’s Quarterly Employment Surveys have been put on
hold, he said that a committee under the chairmanship of former MoSPI secretary
T.C.A. Anant had submitted a report examining the current relevance of these
surveys and that the report was being studied.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT
SEEKS PARLIAMENT'S NOD FOR ADDITIONAL GROSS SPEND OF RS 1.98 TRILLION
Government on Tuesday sought Parliament's nod
for gross additional expenditure of Rs 1,98,831.36 crore during the current
fiscal ending March. The third batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants,
tabled by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in the Lok Sabha, said the net cash
outgo aggregates to Rs 51,433.28 crore. The gross additional expenditure
aggregates to Rs 1.47,396.87 trillion to be matched by savings by ministries or
higher receipts. Of the total net cash outgo, the document has pegged Rs 19,481
crore for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rs 4,840.75 crore for Ministry of
Road Transport and Highways. The government is also seeking over Rs 4,700 crore
for the Ministry of Home Affairs.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
JANUARY
SERVICES PMI DECLINES TO 3-MONTH LOW OF 52.2 ON WEAK DEMAND GROWTH
The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing
Managers' Index declined to a three-month low of 52.2 in January from 53.2 in
December, but remained above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction for
an eighth month. There is some sign that growth may run out of steam, in the
short-term at least, as seen by the weakest improvement in demand for four
months and relatively subdued optimism, said Pollyanna De Lima, principal
economist at IHS Markit. Should data for services carry on a downward path, we
could see a slowdown in GDP expansion in the final quarter of fiscal year 2018.
Weaker growth in domestic demand, dampened by sharper price rises, offset a
rebound in foreign sales and dragged a sub-index tracking new business orders
to its lowest since September. That, alongside uncertainty over the outcome of
a national election due in May, pulled down optimism about future activity to a
three-month low. Yet firms increased staff levels at the fastest rate in three
months, partly on expectations of increased business after the elections and
possibly reflecting resilience in manufacturing activity. The increasing
willingness of companies to hire workers should help reduce still high levels
of unemployment in the country. A composite index, taking into account both
manufacturing and services activity, remained unchanged at December's 53.6,
helped by an unexpected acceleration in factory activity.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
OPPOSITION
PARTIES MEET ELECTION COMMISSION OVER EVM ISSUE, DEMAND MATCHING OF 50 PC OF
EVM RESULTS WITH VVPATS
Leaders of several opposition parties
approached the Election Commission on Monday and sought redressal of the issue
of alleged tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs). The opposition
leaders demanded the poll panel ensure that 50 per cent of EVM results are
matched and cross-checked with voter verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs)
before declaration of results in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The leaders
told the Election Commission the people of the country doubted the efficacy of
EVMs and this issue needs to be redressed. The opposition delegation met the
Chief Election Commissioner and other members of the panel.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
Employment generation coupled with improving
employability is the priority of the Government. The Government is implementing
various programs in this direction like encouraging private sector of economy,
fast tracking various projects involving substantial investment and increasing
public expenditure on schemes like Prime Minister’s Employment Generation
Programme (PMEGP), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS), Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Deendayal
Antodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) etc. The details
of employment generated through these major schemes are given below:
· Pradhan
Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has been initiated by Government for facilitating
self-employment. Under PMMY collateral free loans upto Rs. 10 lakh, are
extended to small/micro business enterprises and to individuals to enable them
to setup or expand their business activities. Till 25th January, 2019, total
15.59 crore loans have been sanctioned under the Scheme.
· Pradhan
Mantri Rozgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) has been launched by the Ministry of
Labour & Employment for incentivizing employers for promoting employment
generation. Under this scheme, Government is paying entire employer’s
contribution (12% or as admissible) towards EPF and EPS for all eligible new
employees for all sectors for three years. Till 21.01.2019, more than 1.04
crore employees have been benefitted through 1.28 lakh establishments under
this scheme.
As per the results of available labour force
surveys on Employment-Unemployment conducted by Labour Bureau, Ministry of
Labour and Employment, the estimated unemployment rate for persons aged 15
years and above on usual status basis in the country in 2012-13, 2013-14 and
2015-16 was 4.0%, 3.4% and 3.7% respectively.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
FDI
DECLINES 11% TO $22.66 BILLION DURING APRIL-SEPT; MAY IMPACT RUPEE
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India
has declined 11 per cent to $ 22.66 billion during April-September period of
the current fiscal, according to commerce and industry ministry data. The
foreign fund inflows during April-September 2017-18 stood at $ 25.35 billion. Key
sectors that received maximum foreign investment during the first six months of
the fiscal include services ($ 4.91 billion), computer software and hardware
($2.54 billion), telecommunications ($2.17 billion), trading ($2.14 billion),
chemicals ($1.6 billion), and automobile industry ($1.59 billion). Singapore
was the largest source of FDI during April-September 2018-19 with $8.62 billion
inflow, followed by Mauritius ($3.88 billion), the Netherlands ($2.31 billion),
Japan ($1.88 billion), the US ($970 million), and UK ($845 million). FDI had
increased at a five-year low growth of 3 per cent at $ 44.85 billion in
2017-18. A decline in foreign inflows could put pressure on the country's
balance of payments and may also impact the value of the rupee.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
DRAFT
NATIONAL RIVER GANGA BILL, 2018
Draft of The National River Ganga
(Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Bill 2018 provides for the
constitution of Ganga Protection Corps as an armed forces of the union. The
Ganga Protection Corps is proposed to be empowered to arrest or caused to be
arrested for offence under the Act, and to take the person to the nearest
police station. The Court would take cognizance of the offence on the basis of
the complaint filed by the officers who are authrorized under the proposed Act.
The draft Act contemplates certain provisions conferring powers to the National
Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga [National
Ganga Council] to arrange to carry out or caused to be carried out impact
assessment of certain projects and activities which affect or are likely to
affect the flow of water in river Ganga, such as building barrages,
deforestation on hill slopes, hydroelectric projects etc.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
FY20
FISCAL DEFICIT TO OVERSHOOT TARGET, SLIP TO 3.6%: FITCH SOLUTIONS
Fitch Solutions, the research arm of Fitch
Group, Monday projected the government's fiscal deficit to overshoot the
budgeted target by 0.2 per cent to 3.6 per cent of GDP in 2019-20 fiscal. It
said that 2019-20 Budget appears to show a strong populist bent in the run up
to the General election due by May 2019. It is on expected lines considering
that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking to shore up its
popularity following its loss of three strongholds in agrarian states at the November/December
2018 state legislative assembly elections, it stated. We believe that
expenditure growth will exceed the government's projections, giving our
expectation for high election spending and the budget speech's repeated
emphasis that 'if necessary, additional funds will be provided'. Additionally,
the government's revenue growth projections also appear too optimistic given
its sweeping tax rebates for the middle class and small business, Fitch
Solutions said. Accordingly, Fitch Solutions revised its forecast for the
central government fiscal deficit to come in at 3.6 per cent of GDP in FY
2019-20, from 3 per cent previously, which reflects our expectation for a wider
fiscal deficit in FY 2019-20 versus FY2018-19. The central government plans to
spend a total of Rs 27.8 lakh crore in fiscal 2019-20, a 13.3 per cent increase
over the 2018-19 revised budget estimates. By contrast, we are looking at
expenditures rising at a quicker rate at around 13.8 per cent, given the
upcoming Lower House election, and the ruling BJP's desire to shore up support
on the ground. It said agriculture spending as a proportion of total
expenditures grew to 5.4 per cent in 2019-20, from 3.5 per cent in the 2018-19
revised budget estimates, which suggests a populist shift in the government's
expenditure patterns.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
PM-KISAN
SCHEME: AADHAAR OPTIONAL FOR FIRST INSTALLMENT; COMPULSORY FROM SECOND ONWARDS
The Centre has made Aadhaar number of small
and marginal farmers optional for availing the first installment of Rs 2,000
under the recently launched Rs 75,000 crore PM-Kisan scheme, according to
official document. However to get the subsequent installments, it has been made
compulsory for farmers to show Aadhaar number for verifying their identity. The
central government's fully funded scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi
(PM-Kisan), will be implemented from this year and the first installment will
be transferred by March. For transfer of first installment of benefit for the period
December 2018-March 2019, Aadhaar number shall be collected wherever available,
the Union agriculture ministry said in a letter to the state governments. If
Aadhaar number is not there, then other alternate documents namely driving
licence, voters' ID card, NREGA job card, or any other identification issued by
central/state governments or their authorities will have to provided for
availing the first installment, it said. However for transfer of subsequent
installments, Aadhaar number shall have to be compulsorily captured, the
Ministry said directing the state governments to ensure that there is no
duplication of the eligible farmers.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT
EXPECTS 20 PER CENT DECLINE IN ROAD ACCIDENTS: GADKARI
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on
Monday that the Central Government expects a 20 per cent decline in road
accidents from the current five lakh a year. Parliament’s nod to pending
legislation Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill will also help curb the accidents,
said the road transport, highways, shipping, water resources, Ganga
rejuvenation and river development minister. The Bill provides for stringent
penalties in cases of offences and violation of traffic rules Currently, five
lakh road accidents a year, the highest in the world, take place in the country
in which about 1.5 lakh people die. When the latest road accidents data comes
in March, we expect about 15 to 20 per cent decline. I feel pained on such high
number of accidents in which mostly youth in the age of 18 to 35 years die. We
could not get much success in preventing accidents and resultant deaths but due
to consistent efforts, there was a decline of 4.1 per cent in 2016 and 4.75 per
cent in 2017 in road accidents, the minister said. He said the country lacked
22 lakh drivers and fake licences is one of the major issues and to address
this, the government was setting up motor training centres where issuing of
licences will be done electronically. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill,
which has already been passed by the Lok Sabha, was introduced in the Upper
House in April 2017, but was referred to a select panel. After taking into
account the panel’s recommendations, the Bill was re-introduced in the Rajya
Sabha and is still pending there. Steps are also on to curb faulty road
engineering and the 786 black spots causing accidents are being addressed, he
said.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
CAIT
URGES PRABHU TO IMPOSE RESTRICTIONS ON DOMESTIC E-COMMERCE COMPANIES
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT)
in a communication sent to Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu has drawn his attention
towards various e-commerce portals which are still flouting the FDI policy on
e-commerce despite it been implemented from 1st February, 2019. CAIT has also
demanded that FDI restrictions may also be imposed on domestic e commerce
players as well to maintain fair e commerce market in the Country. While
commending the intention of the Government to implement the policy in its
letter and spirit, B.C.Bhartia and Praveen Khandelwal said that it is regretted
to note that despite the policy is now implemented still portals like Amazon
and Flipkart are violating the policy by exclusively selling certain products
on their respective portals. As per media reports Oppo intend to sell its K
series smartphones on Flipkart exclusively. Such other violations must also be
occurring on other e commerce portals as well which is a matter of grave
concern. Both Bhartia and Khandelwal in communication to Prabhu suggested that
for the time being a Special Cell should be constituted under the Department
for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade to look after proper
implementation of the policy and to deal actively and effectively with
complaints. The CAIT has demanded that in order to ensure strict implementation
of the policy, the Ministry should constitute a Regulatory Authority to
regulate and monitor the e-commerce business of India. It has also demanded
that much delayed e commerce policy should be formulated and announced
immediately. The CAIT has further said that it is a matter of common knowledge
that several major e-commerce players have flouted the policy since year 2016
to their advantage and their misdeeds need to be brought to the book and therefore
we urge you to constitute a Special Investigation Team to investigate business
modal of major e commerce players at least for past two years and subsequent
action may be taken against those e commerce portals which have flouted the
policy.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
RETAILERS
FACING INDUSTRY DISRUPTION FROM E-COMMERCE
Welcome to the new world of retailers. As
technology breaks down the entry barriers, traditional retailers are confronted
by a plethora of new competitors from niche online specialists. While many see
this as the end of physical retail, Vivek Puri, says creative marketers can
aspire to the examples set by players such as Amazon and Alibaba: their
commitment to the customer and the unerring use of customer data to formulate relevant
offers that set the trend in retail. The ability to differentiate brands and
stores has become harder than ever, says Puri, as click-and-mortar retailing
continues to drive omni-channel strategies. Consequently, fierce competition
has increased table stakes. Even Amazon is investing in physical channels now,
he added. Stating that retailers are looking at every opportunity to maximise
revenue optimise customer acquisition costs and improve customer loyalty, Puri
said companies are increasingly leveraging technologies to identify and target
the right audiences with the right content. Terming it the ‘Amazon effect’,
Puri insists it is the age of massive industry disruption. Customer experiences
and expectations are changing. Customers want connected experiences and
everybody is facing this challenge. We see a lot of niche retail plays coming
in which are disrupting the space, like direct-to-customer plays and highly
contextualised personalised play, which are eating into the share of the
retailers, he said. Puri told that there are several similarities between
retailers in North America and India. If one takes a look at the macro trend in
retail, grocery is big overseas. The same is the case in India too, he said. Between
now and 2026, there is bound to be a four-fold increase in e-commerce What is
10 per cent of total sales today would go up to 40 per cent. Brick-and-mortar
players will require a different level of transformation, Puri added.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
STEEL
PRODUCTION INCREASES BY OVER 14 MILLION TONNES IN 3 YEARS
The total steel production in the country has
increased from 88.98 MT in 2014-15 to 103.13 MT in 2017-18. The Government has
notified the National Steel Policy, 2017 and the Policy for Providing Preference
to Domestically Manufactured Iron and Steel (DMI&SP) in Government
procurement, which create facilitative environment to improve domestic
production and consumption of steel. With a view to provide relief to the
domestic industry, the Government of India took the following measures
· Increased
Customs Duty on steel in two phases-in June’15 and Aug.’15, by 2.5% each.
· Minimum
Import Price (MIP) imposed on specified steel products in Feb.’16. MIP has
since expired in Feb.’17.
· Imposed
20% Safeguard Duty on Hot Rolled Coils, provisionally in Sept.’15 and finally
notifying it in August, 2016.
· Imposed
Safeguard Duty on Hot Rolled not in Coils, provisionally in Aug. and finally in
Nov.’16.
· Imposed
Anti dumping measures for HR Coils provisionally in Aug.’16 and finally
notified in May’17.
· Imposed
Anti dumping measures for CR Coils provisionally in Aug.’16 and finally
notified in May’17.
· Imposed
Anti dumping measures for Wire rods provisionally in Sep.’16 and finally
notified in Oct.’17.
· Imposed
Anti-dumping duties for Colour Coated Steel provisionally in Jan.’17 and final
notification issued in Oct.’17.
· Sunset
review of SS Cold Rolled 600-1250mm wherein duties extended upto 2020. On
China, additional Countervailing Duty (CVD) @18.95% for 5 years from Sept.’17.
· Imposed
Anti dumping duties on SS Hot Rolled products in March’14 valid upto 2020. On
China, additional CVD@18.95% for 5 years from Sept.’17.
Government of India has also issued Quality
Control Orders namely Steel and Steel Products (Quality Control) Order, 2018
covering 47 carbon/alloy steel and 6 stainless steel products. The Quality
Control Order prohibits manufacturing / import of sub-standard / seconds and
defective products. In reply to another question the Minister of State for
Steel said India has not been much impacted by the tariff imposed by USA since
India’s exports to the USA were just around 2.2% before the imposition of the
tariff.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
MAHARASHTRA
GOVT TO GIVE 10 PC QUOTA TO EWS IN JOBS, EDUCATION
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Maharashtra
government has decided to grant 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education
to those who are economically weak in the state. Devendra Fadnavis tweeted a
graphic that said families, whose collective annual income is less than Rs 8
lakh -- through sources such as farming, salaries, business-industry -- would
be treated as economically backward in this case. #Maharashtra Cabinet 10 per
cent reservation for the economically poor in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said on
Twitter. The state government's decision is in line with the Centre's recent
move of granting 10 per cent quota to the financially weak from general
category, Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said. The
(Maharashtra) Cabinet has decided to give 10 per cent quota to those who are
financially weak, from any caste or religion, in education and jobs,
Mungantiwar told.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
UPGRADATION
OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO SENIOR SECONDARY LEVEL UNDER SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN
Department of School Education and Literacy
has launched an Integrated Scheme for School Education-Samagra Shiksha,
subsuming three erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
(SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE),
with effect from 2018-19. The new integrated scheme envisages school education
as a continuum from pre-school to senior secondary level and aims to ensure
inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels. The main objectives of
the scheme are provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes
of students, bridging social and gender gaps in school education, ensuring
minimum standards in schooling provision, support to states in the implementation
of RTE Act, 2009 and strengthening of teacher education institutions. The
scheme also provides for support for upgradation of secondary schools to senior
secondary level and addition of new streams in existing senior secondary
schools. During the year 2018-19, under Samagra Shiksha, 44 schools have been
upgraded from secondary to senior secondary level and additional subject
streams have been approved in 851 senior secondary schools, based on appraisal
of the proposals received from the States/UTs.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
DATA-ADEQUACY
STATUS FOR INDIAN COMPANIES
A Data Security Expert Group was set up by
the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITY) to resolve the
Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ ITES)
business issues relating to Data adequacy/ security with the European Union
(EU) and to have meaningful market access for Indian IT/ITES companies.
Further, a meeting of the India-EU Joint Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) Working Group, which is also led by MEITY, along with ICT
Business Dialogue and Workshop on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),
was held during 20th-21st March, 2018 to discuss issues including data adequacy,
movement of data, mobility of IT experts in EU countries etc. In February,
2017, India tabled a proposal on 'Trade Facilitation Agreement for Services'
(TFS) in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The proposal, inter-alia,
contained a provision on ‘facilitating cross border flow of information’ with
respect to commitments on cross border supply of services. Further, at the
Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11) in December 2017, Members reaffirmed
the WTO Work Programme on Electronic Commerce which has an exploratory and
non-negotiating mandate. However, on the margins of the MC11, Ministers
representing 71 WTO members issued a Joint Statement on Electronic Commerce to
initiate exploratory work towards future WTO negotiations on trade-related
aspects of electronic commerce. Since India is a proponent of a non-negotiating
Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, India has not joined discussions on
cross border data flow in the WTO. Also wherever relevant, this issue has been
discussed in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with different countries.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
WHY INDIA
SHOULD START A WELL-BEING INDEX
GDP growth has been relatively good, the Modi
administration has launched several new initiatives, and Indias status and world
image has strengthened. The problem is that these are all top-line measures and
do not get down to how the Indian people are feeling. Recent research on this,
unfortunately, indicates they are not feeling very happy. India ranked as 133
out of 156 countries on the UN 2018 World Happiness Report (Happiness Report).
This was 11 spots lower than India's 2017 ranking. India's dismal 2018 ranking
placed it far below most developing nations around the world and near the very
bottom for the South Asian countries surveyed. A well-being study released by
social science researchers at the end of 2018 revealed that life satisfaction
in India dropped by 10 percent from 2006-17. What accounts for India's poor
performance on these assessments? There is no simple explanation. It is
instructive, however, to consider the factors that have the greatest impact on
achieving good scores on them. India obviously does not score well on most of
those factors. There are various studies that have highlighted major deficiencies
in areas such as income, health, education and employment. There is not a
systematic method in place, however, to assess the well-being of India's
citizenry on an ongoing basis. India, as do most other countries, puts
considerable emphasis on measuring GDP growth and tracking other economic
indicators routinely and regularly. The assumption is that moving the needle
positively on those metrics will cause benefits to flow through to citizens.
That is not the case. As Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz
explains, No single measure can capture what is going on in a modern society,
but the GDP measure fails in critical ways we need measures on how the typical
individual is doing (measures of median income do a lot better than measures of
average income.) There are two old proverbs. One states: What is measured
matters. The other says: What gets measured gets managed. By putting a
well-being measurement system in place, India would demonstrate that the
happiness of its citizens matter and provide the platform for developing and
implementing policies for enhancing their life satisfaction. Mahatma Gandhi
famously said: Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do
are in harmony. Gandhi was correct. Mahatma Gandhi also famously said: Be the
change you want to see in the world. In this and in the years ahead, I am
confident a change that all would like to see is a happier India. A Well-Being
Index would be a starting point for focusing attention on a happier India and
bringing Indians together to work in unison on being the change that will be
necessary to achieve that end.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
DIGITALISATION
OF SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
The Central Government has launched an
Integrated Scheme for school education- Samagra Shiksha, which subsumes the
three erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA),
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education, from the year
2018-19. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, Information
& Communication Technology (ICT) component envisages covering all
Government and Government Aided schools from classes VI to XII, subject to the
availability of budgetary provision, progress of approved interventions and
receipt of proposals from the States/UTs. So far, about 1,79,498 upper primary,
secondary & senior secondary schools have been approved for coverage under
ICT component of the respective schemes. Further, the Government has undertaken
various initiatives for providing education through digital means such as:
· ICT in
Education Curriculum for School System - ICT curriculum for teachers and
students has been developed by NCERT. Students’ curriculum was piloted in 588
Navodaya Vidyalayas for one year. 805 MRPs/ KRPs of thirty states were oriented
on roll-out of ICT curriculum for students and teachers in the respective
states.
· e-pathshala
– e-pathshala has been developed by NCERT (National Council for Educational
Research and Training) for showcasing and disseminating all educational
e-resources including textbooks, audio, video, periodicals and a variety of
other print and non-print materials. So far, 3444 audios and videos, 698
e-books (e-pubs) and 504 flip books have been made available on the portal and
mobile app.
· National
Repository of Open Educational Resources (NROER) - The National Repository of
Open Educational Resources (NROER) is an initiative to bring together all
digital and digitisable resources across all stages of school education and
teacher education. So far, 13635 files including 401 collections, 2722
documents, 565 interactive, 1664 audios, 2581 images and 6105 videos have been
made available over the portal. States/ UTs are motivated to contribute
resources on NROER and create OERs for their own State/ UT.
· SWAYAM :-
The ‘Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds’ (SWAYAM) is an
integrated platform for online courses, using Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) and covering school (9th to 12th) to Post Graduate Level. It
offers online courses for students, teachers and teacher educators. It may be
accessed on swayam.gov.in. National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is
promoting education through e-learning methods by providing courses on Massive
Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on the portal. There are 44 courses of NIOS offered
on SWAYAM platform – 14 at secondary level, 16 at senior secondary level, 4
vocational courses and 10 courses of Diploma in Elementary Education
(D.El.Ed.). NCERT has so far developed 22 courses for classes XI-XII in
different subject areas.
· SWAYAM
PRABHA :- A programme for utilization of satellite communication technologies
for transmission of educational e-contents through 32 National Channels i.e.
SWAYAM PRABHA DTH-TV has been launched. CIET-NCERT is the national coordinator
for one DTH TV channel i.e., Kishore Manch (#31) and has started feeding a 24x7
educational TV channel w.e.f. 09.07.2018. Everyday four hour fresh slot is
telecast and repeated 5 more times in 24 hours to provide learning opportunities
for the stake holders, as per their convenience. Besides, NIOS is running 5
channels for teachers, for secondary and senior secondary levels and for sign
language.
· CBSE
initiatives :- SARANSH is a tool for comprehensive self review and analysis for
CBSE affiliated schools and parents. It enables them to analyse students’
performance in order to take remedial measures. SARANSH brings schools,
teachers and parents closer, so that they can monitor the progress of students
and help them improve their performance. It helps schools to compare their
performance vis-Ã -vis all CBSE schools at various levels and also helps parents
to compare their ward’s performance within school State, Region and National
level. It is currently available for Standards IX – XII and provides a
comprehensive overview of Standard X performance since 2007 and Standard XII
performance since 2009, till the current academic session.
· KVS
initiatives :- ICT Skills are imparted in all the Kendriya Vidyalayas to the
students of classes III to XII. 12011 e-Classrooms (9711 e-Classrooms
established and 2300 under process) have been established in Kendriya
Vidyalayas throughout the country for facilitating effective learning through
digital mode. Besides, 276 Digital Language Labs and 1137 Computer labs have
been established in 276 KVs across the Country. Further, a pilot project
e-Prajna has been started for providing tablets pre-loaded with e-content in
Maths and Science. 5076 Touch Tablets have been distributed among Class VIII
Students and teachers for classroom transactions in Maths and Science.
· Operation
Digital Board :- An initiative has been taken by Government of India to provide
interactive digital boards to nearly 15 lakh classrooms across the country for
9th standard to post graduate level, where they can receive lectures from best
teachers/professors and access quality e-content, in order to enhance overall
learning process and experience of the students.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
PRE-DEPARTURE
ORIENTATION PROGRAMME LAUNCHED FOR POTENTIAL MIGRANT WORKERS
Given the need to orient potential migrant
workers with regard to language, culture, do’s and don’ts in the destination
country, the emigration process and welfare measures, a Pre-Departure
Orientation Training (PDOT) programme has been launched. The Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA) in collaboration with Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is conducting the PDOT programme under the Pravasi Kaushal
Vikas Yojna (PKVY). PDOT and Arabic modules are currently catering to gulf
countries. The National Skill Development Corporation is the implementing
agency for this programme. However, MSDE has not signed any Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with South Asian countries under the ‘Skill India Programme’.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
NATIONAL
TESTING AGENCY LAUNCHED MOBILE APP THROUGH WHICH STUDENTS CAN PRACTICE MOCK
TESTS
National Testing Agency (NTA) has launched a
‘mobile app’ through which students can practice or take mock tests on their
own computers or smart phones. In order to ensure that no student is
disadvantaged due to lack of resources NTA has established a network of more
than 4000 Test Practice Centres (TPCs) to acquaint the aspirants, especially
those from rural areas with Computer Based Tests (CBTs). Students across the
country can register themselves online at NTA Website or ‘NTA Students App’ for
visiting the TPCs. All these services are provided to the students free of
cost. So far, more than one lakh students have registered at these TPCs and
more than one crore students have benefited from these ‘App & Web’
services.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
SCHOLARSHIPS
FOR GIRLS TO ENCOURAGE BETTER EDUCATION AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
The Ministry of Human Resource Development,
Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing ‘National Scheme of
Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education (NSIGSE)’. The objective of the
scheme is to establish an enabling environment to reduce the drop outs and to
promote the enrolment of girl child belonging to SC/ST communities in secondary
schools and ensure their retention up to the 18 years of age. The scheme covers
(i) all girls belonging to SC/ST communities who pass class VIII and (ii) all
girls who pass class VIII examination from Kasturba Gandhi BalikaVidyalayas
(irrespective of whether they belong to SC/ ST) and enroll in class IX in
State/ UT Government, Government-aided and Local Body schools. According to the
scheme, an amount of Rs.3000/- is deposited in the name of eligible unmarried
girls as fixed deposit on enrolment in class IX, who are entitled to withdraw
it along with interest thereon reaching on 18 years of age and passing class
10th class examination. The scheme is covered under the Direct Benefit Transfer
(DBT) Scheme. The scheme is on-boarded on National Scholarship Portal (NSP)
since 2015-16. The Central board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is implementing
Merit Scholarship Schemes for single girl child to provide scholarships to the meritorious
Single Girl Students, who are the only child of their parents. It provide
Rupees Five Hundred (Rs.500/‐) per
month to Single Girl Child who is pursuing further studies for class XI &
XII and have passed the CBSE class Xth exam with 60% / 6.2 CGPA or more
marks/grades. Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to meritorious
students whose family income of less than Rs.8 lakhs per annum for pursuing
higher studies. The scheme envisages 82000 fresh scholarships award of every
year, of which 50% is earmarked for girls. The University Grant Commission
(UGC) is implementing the scheme of Post Graduate Indira Gandhi Scholarship for
Single Girl Child since 2006 for providing financial assistance to selected
students for pursuing Post-Graduation in Universities/Institutions/Colleges in
India. This scheme has been on boarded on National Scholarship Portal (NSP)
since 2017-18. Under the scheme, 4000 scholarships are granted annually on one
girl, per family basis where the family income is Rs.6 Lakhs/ annum or less.
The candidates should have been admitted to 1st year of the Degree or Diploma
programme in any of the AICTE approved institute during the academic year 2015-
16 through centralized admission process of the State/ Centre Government. The candidates
are selected on merit at the qualifying examination to pursue technical
education from amongst such candidates. Tuition Fee of Rs.30000/- or at actual,
whichever is less and Rs.2000/- per month for 10 months as incidentals each
year is provided under the scheme as financial assistance.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
ANTI-RAGGING
REGULATIONS BY UGC FOR CURBING THE MENACE OF RAGGING IN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS
In pursuance to the Judgment of the Hon’ble
Supreme Court of India dated 8.5.2009 in Civil Appeal No. 887/2009, the
University Grants Commission (UGC) has framed UGC Regulations on curbing the
menace of ragging in higher educational institutions, 2009 notified on 17th
June, 2009. In order to ensure the strict compliance of these regulations UGC
sends circular to all universities twice a year and also creates awareness
through media campaigning like TVCs, Posters, Jingles and Films. Owing to the
awareness campaigns and realization in the students the reporting of the cases
of ragging has improved during 2018. Encouraged by the commitment of the
government to tackle the menace of ragging, the students garner courage to call
the anti-ragging helpline for registering their ragging complaint.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
CREATION
OF NATIONAL VIRTUAL LIBRARY OF INDIA AS ONE OF THE COMPONENTS OF NATIONAL
MISSION ON LIBRARIES
The objective of National Virtual Library of
India (NVLI) is to facilitate creation of a comprehensive database on digital
resources of India on information about India in an open access environment. Salient
features of NVLI are : -
· Federated
searching through multilingual user interfaces.
· Virtual
learning environment
· E-Governance
platform facilitating data analytics
· Multilingual
searching and retrieval on ontology/thesaurus based.
The project of creation of National Virtual
Library of India costing Rs.72.34 crore had been entrusted to IIT Bombay (in
collaboration with C-DAC, Pune and IGNOU, Delhi). An amount of Rs.71.78 crore
has been released by Government to IIT Bombay till date. The core software
application and cloud infrastructure for NVLI has been developed. Soft launch
of NVLI has been done on 15th February, 2018. Harvesting of Metadata and its
curation is on.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
REPORT OF
SHEKATKAR COMMITTEE
The Committee of Experts (CoE) constituted by
the Ministry of Defence under the chairmanship of Lt. Gen (Retd) DB Shekatkar
to recommend measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure
of the armed forces, submitted its report in December 2016. The Report was
taken up by the Ministry of Defence to frame key action points and roadmap for
implementation. Measures as recommended by the Committee and taken up for
implementation include:
· Optimization
of Signals Establishments to include Radio Monitoring Companies, Corps Air
Support Signal Regiments, Air Formation Signal Regiments, Composite Signal
Regiments and merger of Corps Operating and Engineering Signal Regiments.
· Restructuring
of repair echelons in the Army to include Base Workshops, Advance Base
Workshops and Static / Station Workshops in the field Army.
· Redeployment
of Ordnance echelons to include Vehicle Depots, Ordnance Depots and Central
Ordnance Depots apart from streamlining inventory control mechanisms.
· Better
utilization of Supply and Transportation echelons and Animal Transport units.
· Closure
of Military Farms and Army Postal Establishments in peace locations.
· Enhancement
in standards for recruitment of clerical staff and drivers in the Army.
· Improving
the efficiency of the National Cadet Corps.
A total of 99 recommendations were forwarded
for implementation to concerned agencies / stake holders. Full details of the
Report and its recommendations are not being placed in the public domain as the
Report covers operational aspects of the armed forces, disclosure of which is
not in the interest of national security.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
BLAST AT
CENTRAL AMMUNITION DEPOT AT PULGAON
Multi-tier system of Safety Audit and Quality
Audit is already in existence for assuring quality of ammunition and compliance
of safety norms in the process of manufacture. In addition to this, for defect
noticed at production stage, detailed investigation is carried out by Failure
Review Board (FRB), one of the members of which is from Directorate General of
Quality Assurance (DGQA) whereas in case of defects at customer end, if any,
AHSP (Authority Holding Sealed Particulars) carries out defect investigation in
association with the concerned Ordnance Factory to find out the exact cause of
defect and suggest remedial measures. Further, ammunition store is supplied
only after ensuring quality requirements by DGQA as per relevant
Specifications, Inspection Schedules, Proof Schedule and carrying out Tests as
per Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP). The accident was not due to sub-standard
ammunition A team of officials from Ordnance Factory Khamaria (OFK) was deputed
to Central Ammunition Depot (CAD), Pulgaon from 19.11.2018 to 08.12.2018 for
demolition of old / unserviceable / obsolete / rejected ammunition under
technical supervision of CAD, Pulgaon. On 20.11.2018, ammunition boxes
containing unserviceable ammunition were being unloaded and shifted from the
vehicle to the demolition pit. During this shifting, one of the boxes fell down
and exploded. There is no such incidence of accident due to technical fault of
ordnances manufactured at Khamaria in the last three years. As such, demolition
of unserviceable / rejected / surplus / obsolete ammunition is a regular
practice being undertaken by Central Ammunition Depot (CAD), Pulgaon to dispose
of accumulated ammunition which cannot be issued to the Armed Forces.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
AIR FORCE
RESCUE OPERATION DURING KERALA FLOODS
During Kerala Floods, Indian Air Force (IAF) carried
out 517 sorties of Fixed Wing aircraft, airlifting 3787 persons and 1350 Ton of
load and 634 sorties of Helicopters, winching 584 persons and airlifting 247
Ton of load. Bills of approximately Rs.102.6 crores have been forwarded to
Kerala Government for use of IAF aircraft / helicopters for Kerala Flood
relief. The recoveries for providing services of IAF aircraft / helicopters are
effected from the State Government and the Administration of Union Territories.
The assistance by Armed Forces to civil administration is governed by
Instructions on aid to Civil Authority by the Armed Forces – 1970, wherein
recovery of expenditure incurred by Armed Forces in aid of civil administration
is specified. Armed Forces compile the details of expenditure incurred and
forward the same to State Government (requisitioning authority). The bills duly
scrutinised are forwarded by the State Government to Ministry of Home Affairs
(MHA) for reimbursement.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
PROMOTING
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN DEFENCE
Several Ordnance Factories and Defence Public
Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) have been carrying out innovative research on the
development of certain materials, components / sub-assemblies / assemblies
leading to performance upgradation of the existing system / platforms. A need
was felt to create a structured mechanism to facilitate and encourage
innovative activities with a primary objective to Boost Intellectual Property
culture which would enhance the Intellectual Capital that is vital for
encouraging in-house Research & Development in such organizations. With
this objective in view, an Intellectual Property Rights Facilitation (IPF) Cell
has been established under the Department of Defence Production on 4th April,
2018 to promote self-reliance in Intellectual Property Rights in Defence
Sector. As part of this initiative, Department of Defence Production has
launched the Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti on 27th November, 2018 to encourage
Defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and Ordnance Factory Board to boost
IPR culture in their respective organization to promote self-reliance in
defence sector. During the period July to December 2018, 304 IPRs have been
filed and 8838 personnel have been trained for this purpose. The innovative
research undertaken by Defence Public Sector Undertakings and Ordnance Factory
Board is helping in indigenization of existing system / platform to bring down
import contents thereby resulting in cost savings. The challenges faced by the
Defence Public Sector Undertakings and Ordnance Factory Board in pursuing
Intellectual Property Rights in defence sector include lack of awareness and
availability of trained manpower besides the need to collectively appraise the
challenges ahead with private sector, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs) and end users. The Intellectual Property Rights Facilitation Cell and
Mission RakshaGyan Shakti have been created to address such challenges being
faced by Defence Public Sector Undertakings and Ordnance Factory Board.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
VOCATIONAL
TRAINING PARTNERS
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
is a Public Private Partnership Company set up as part of a National Skill
Development Mission to fulfill the growing need in India for skilled manpower
across sectors and narrow the existing gap between the demand and supply of
skills. NSDC provides funding to build scalable, vocational training initiatives.
Its mandate is also to enable support systems such as quality assurance,
information systems and train the trainer academies either directly or through
partnerships. NSDC acts as a catalyst in skill development by providing funding
to enterprises, companies and organizations that provide skill training. There
is no proposal of the Government to close the NSDC. Under Skill India Mission,
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is implementing a flagship
scheme known as Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 2016-20 with an
objective to provide skilling to one crore people under Short Term Training
(STT), Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Special Project (SP) across the
country for four years i.e. 2016-2020 with an outlay of Rs.12,000 crore. During
FY 2017-18, the target allocation under PMKVY 2016-20 was temporarily put on
hold in few States/Sectors due to aberration caused by crossing State /
Sectoral ceiling of target. Currently, under the scheme, NSDC as an
implementing agency is allocating the targets based on past performance of TCs,
Request for Proposal (RFP) mode, MoUs, etc. For the implementation of PMKVY
2016-20, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, as on 24.01.2019,
has disbursed / sanctioned funds amounting to Rs. 3,897.56 crore to
implementing agencies for further disbursement to training providers as per
laid down guidelines and Common Norms.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
6.23
CRORE CONNECTIONS RELEASED UNDER PMUY
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched
by the Government on 1st May 2016. The initial target under PMUY was 5 crore
LPG connections, which was subsequently enhanced to 8 crore As on 28.01.2019,
Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have released more than 6.23 crore LPG
connections under the Scheme across the country. The main features of Pradhan
Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) Scheme are as under :-
(i) LPG connection is released in the name of
an adult woman of the poor family, subject to the condition that no LPG connection
exists in the name of any family member of the family, including the applicant.
(ii) Under PMUY, cash assistance uptoRs
1600/- is provided for releasing deposit free LPG connection.
(iii) The beneficiary bears the cost of Hot
Plate and purchase of first refill. The beneficiary has an option to take the
Hot Plate or the first refill or both on loan basis, from Public Sector Oil
Marketing Companies (OMCs) at zero interest rate.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
AMALGAMATION
OF PMKSY TO SCHEMES
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
(PMKSY) is amalgamation of various schemes viz. Accelerated Irrigation Benefits
Programme (AIBP), PMKSY –Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP) including Command Area
Development (CAD), Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) and Repair, Renovation and
Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies [Implemented by MoWR, RD & GR], PMKSY -
Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) [Implemented by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers
Welfare] and PMKSY - Watershed Development (WD) [Implemented by Department of
Land Resources]. PMKSY has been approved for implementation across the country
with an outlay of Rs.50,000 crore during 2015-2016 to 2019-2020. Further,
during 2016-17, ninety-nine (99) on-going Major/Medium irrigation projects
under PMKSY-AIBP having ultimate irrigation potential of 76.03 lakh hectare and
balance estimated cost of Rs.77595 crore [Central Assistance (CA) component of
Rs.31342 crore] have been prioritized in consultation with States for
completion in phases up to December, 2019 along with their Command Area
Development & Water Management (CADWM) works.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
WATER
QUALITY OF RIVER GANGA
Under Namami Gange Programme, a total of 136
sewerage infrastructure projects have been sanctioned and 36 projects have been
completed so far; remaining projects are under various stages of
implementation. The Government has launched Namami Gange Programme covering
short term, medium term and long term activities. Under short term activities,
certain entry level activities which cover development of ghats crematoria
& river surface cleaning activities etc have been taken up. Under medium
term activities, existing Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and Effluent Treatment
Plants (ETPs) are being upgraded and new STPs & ETPs are being established.
Beside, rural sanitation has been taken up in the villages on the banks of
river Ganga. The long term action plan involves restoration of wholesomeness of
river Ganga and maintaining the ecological & geological integrity of river.
The Central Government approved the Namami Gange Program in May, 2015 as a five
year program till 2020. However, efforts are being made to achieve substantial
progress much before the target date. Against the estimated sewage generation
of 2953 Million Litres per Day (MLD) from the towns along main stem of river
Ganga, the sewage treatment capacity in the towns along Ganga has increased
from 1305 MLD (2014) to 1822 MLD capacity. In addition to this, STP capacity of
3577 MLD is being created in Ganga basin.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
NBHC
RELEASES KHARIF CROP ESTIMATES FOR THE YEAR 2018-19
National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC) has
come out with kharif crop estimates for the year 2018-19 which shows that
basmati rice production is expected to decline by 9.24% to 5.18 million metric
tonne. Dr Hanish Kumar Sinha, said that the pulses production is projected to
drop marginally to 9.10 million tonne from 9.35 million tonne last year. This
is mainly due to the fall in Urad output by 10.11 per cent largely due to the
shift in acreage towards soybean in some parts of Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra. Sinha said that the total oilseeds production is estimated to be
19.87 million metric tonne which is 5.36 % lower than last year's figure of 21
million metric tonne.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
FISCAL
SLIPPAGE FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS CREDIT NEGATIVE: MOODY'S
Moody's Investors Service Tuesday said that
fiscal slippage from the budgeted targets for the past two consecutive years
and tax cuts and spending ahead of the general elections, is credit negative
for India. In the interim budget for 2019-20, the government proposed to
increase spending to provide income support for small farmers and introduce a
middle-class tax cut in the run up to the general election between April and
May. In light of these budget measures, the government announced slippage from
its original fiscal deficit targets to 3.4 per cent of GDP both for the fiscal
years ending in March 2019 and March 2020. Ongoing fiscal slippage from
spending and tax cut proposals ahead of election is credit negative for the
sovereign, Moody's said. It said the ongoing fiscal slippage from the budgeted
targets over the past two years, and our expectation that the government will
face challenges meeting its target again in fiscal 2019, does not bode well for
medium-term fiscal consolidation. Moody's, however, said that lack of a formal
capital support plan for public sector banks is credit negative. The budget
does not include any provisions for capital support for public sector banks
(PSBs). Meanwhile, the budget also does not address last year's announced
merger of three public sector non-life insurers, which creates ambiguity around
their merger plan, the US-based rating agency said. On cross-sector analysis of
Budget, Moody's said the Budget proposals are positive for the real estate
sector but negative for state-owned oil and gas companies. The budget includes
both direct and indirect benefits for the real estate sector and will likely
help boost property demand, Moody's said. Besides, middle-class tax relief and
measures to boost farmers' incomes are credit positive for Indian asset-backed
securities (ABS) and residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) because they
will help borrowers remain current on their payments and reduce default risk.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
GOVT
UNLIKELY TO CHANGE COMPENSATION FORMULA IN J&J FAULTY HIP IMPLANT CASES
The government is unlikely to modify the
formula approved in November last year to calculate the quantum of compensation
to be awarded to patients fitted with Johnson and Johnson (J&J) Pvt. Ltd’s
faulty hip implants. The central committee that came up with the formula met
J&J’s representatives and aggrieved patients following their displeasure
over the formula. However, the central expert committee that met on 4 February
is unlikely to revise the formula to accommodate the company’s perspective,
said two people aware of the matter, requesting anonymity. The centre started a
fresh round of discussions on the compensation formula in January after J&J
and a group of patients expressed concerns. Both the parties shared their views
with the committee on 9 January. The decision of the panel to not make any
change in the formula is also prompted by the apex court verdict on 12 January
accepting the centre’s compensation scheme for those who suffered from the
faulty implants. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also directed the
centre to widely publicize an 11 September notice asking affected people to
approach the panel to look into the compensation issue. The Supreme Court
expressed its satisfaction on the steps that were being taken by the central
government. Its verdict sealed everything. Therefore, there is no point in
modifying the formula. We will have to see how to deliver so that patients can
get their compensation and the process is started without any further delay,
said one of the persons mentioned above.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
NOBODY IS
ABOVE LAW; SC ORDER BLOW FOR MAMATA, VICTORY FOR CBI, SAYS BJP
The BJP on Tuesday projected the apex court
order directing Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar to make himself
available before the CBI as a blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led government in
West Bengal and a moral victory for the investigating agency. The Supreme Court
said Kumar will appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation in the
Meghalaya capital Shillong. The court also said no coercive steps including the
arrest of the Kolkata police chief, will take place during the course of the
investigation. Senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
welcomed the order and said it's a blow to the Mamata Banerjee government and a
victory for the CBI. It also showed that nobody is above the law, including the
police commissioner, he added. The Kolkata police commissioner will appear
before the CBI in Shillong as the environment is not conducive in West Bengal,
Prasad said. The Mamata Banerjee-led government in the state and BJP are at
loggerheads after the CBI tried to question Kolkata's police commissioner in
connection with chit fund scams. Banerjee has been on a 'dharna' since Sunday
night over the CBI's attempts to interrogate the police chief.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
SHIV SENA
TARGETS MODI GOVERNMENT OVER WEST BENGAL GOVT-CBI FACE-OFF
The Shiv Sena Tuesday attacked the Modi
government over the face-off between the West Bengal government and the CBI,
alleging that it was orchestrated for political gains in the upcoming Lok Sabha
elections. The Sena, in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', said what
was happening in Kolkata was a threat to democracy West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee has been on a sit-in protest since Sunday against the CBI's bid
to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in chit fund scam cases,
declaring that her agitation to save the Constitution and country will go on
and she was ready to face the consequences. The Sena said the Centre could have
acted against the Kolkata Police chief two months back and the CBI should have
carried proper summons before visiting his house to question him. No one
involved in the Saradha chit fund scam should be spared, but how does the CBI
look at the 'cheat India' matter which has been going on for the last
four-and-a-half years, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party remarked. Without
elaborating its point, it said Narendra Modi should look in to the crisis in
West Bengal as a prime minister of the country and not as a leader of the BJP.
The Sena claimed that the BJP was going to fall short of 100 Lok Sabha seats
from north India to Maharashtra (in the west) in the Lok Sabha polls. To fill
the gap, the BJP has laid its hopes on states like West Bengal to win 10 to 15
seats all this (the all-out war between the Centre and the Mamata Banerjee
government) is being orchestrated with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls, said the
Sena, which is an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra. The Sena
said the first trigger of the 'BJP versus Mamata Banerjee conflict came in the
form her opposition to BJP president Amit Shah's rath yatra in West Bengal.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
DETAINED
130 FOREIGN STUDENTS WERE AWARE OF THEIR CRIME: STATE DEPT
All 130 foreign students, including 129 Indians
who were detained for enrolling in a fake university, were aware that they were
committing a crime to fraudulently remain in the US, the State Department has
said, days after India issued a demarche to the American Embassy in New Delhi.
The foreign students were arrested last week by the US Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) for enrolling at the University of Farmington allegedly to
remain in America. The fake university was set up by the DHS's investigating
unit in Greater Detroit area to bust the pay-and-stay racket. All participants
in this scheme knew that the University of Farmington had no instructors or
classes (neither on-line nor in-person) and were aware they were committing a
crime in an attempt to fraudulently remain in the United States, a State
Department spokesperson said in a statement on Monday. The State Department's
response came after India issued a demarche to the American Embassy in New
Delhi on Saturday, expressing its concern over the detention of Indian students
and sought immediate consular access to them. The External Affairs Ministry
said India continued to closely monitor the situation arising out of the mass
detention. The Indian Embassy here has made an aggressive effort to reach out
to these students and, with the help of the community leaders, is providing
them with legal help.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
CLIMATE
CHANGE INCREASING AIR POLLUTION ACROSS GLOBE: STUDY
Rising temperatures increase the
concentration of aerosols in the atmosphere that cause air pollution, according
to a study which highlights another disturbing effect of climate change. While
climate change is warming the ocean, it is warming the land faster, which is bad
news for air quality all over the world, according to researchers from the
University of California, Riverside in the US. The study, published in the
journal Nature Climate Change, shows that the contrast in warming between the
continents and sea, called the land-sea warming contrast, drives up the aerosol
concentration in the atmosphere. Aerosols are tiny solid particles or liquid
droplets suspended in the atmosphere. They can come from natural sources, like
dust or wildfires, or human-made sources such as vehicle and industrial
emissions. The increase in aridity leads to decreased low cloud cover and less
rain, which is the main way that aerosols are removed from the atmosphere.
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
191
KASHMIRI YOUTHS JOINED MILITANCY IN 2018: OFFICIAL
As many as 191 local youths joined various
militant outfits in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018, 65 more than 2017, a senor Army
official said Monday. The new recruits mostly hailed from the restive south
Kashmir region, he added. As many as 191 Kashmiri youths joined militancy in
2018, the official told PTI. In 2017, 126 locals had joined militant ranks, he
said. The official said out of the 191 recruits in 2018, 139 alone hailed from
south Kashmir. The highest -- 59 -- was from Pulwama, he added..
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
DDA TO
LAUNCH ONLINE PORTAL FOR LAND POOLING POLICY ON TUESDAY
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is all
set to launch an online portal on Tuesday to ease application and verification
processes for stakeholders of the land pooling policy, officials said Monday. Using
this portal, all processes of receiving applications, verifications, grant of
approvals and licences, etc., are expected to be completed in a time-bound
manner through a single-window system, according to the DDA. The land pooling
policy, notified by the DDA in September last year, is aimed at allowing the
city to get 17 lakh housing units capable of accommodating 76 lakh people. It
covers urbanizable areas of urban extensions at 95 villages in the national
capital.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
No comments:
Post a Comment