REGULATORY COST WEIGHS ON INDIA'S CEOS AS MODI FIGHTS GRAFT
Companies operating in
India see regulatory compliance as the biggest cost overrun in the next two
years, a sign that Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s efforts to curb corruption may
be clashing with his plans to improve ease of doing business in Asia’s
third-largest economy. Compliance and regulatory scrutiny ranked as the biggest
challenge up from fourth position two years ago, according to a survey. Modi
aims to take India into the top 50 countries in terms of ease of doing
business. India climbed 23 places to 77 among 190 countries surveyed in the
World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2019 rankings. A new nationwide sales tax
regime has made the movement of goods across the country easier and focus on
digitization has made bribery difficult. However, there is enhanced focus on
law enforcement. We are seeing enforcement coming out of countries where we’ve
never seen before, said Mini vandePol. Companies have to now invest real
dollars and real resources in getting compliance right, she said. It is not
good saying I am a U.S. company and I do all the right things in the U.S, said
vandePol. You have to do the right thing when you are in India, or in Africa.
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GOVT TO INFUSE RS 48,239 CR IN 12 PSBS; CORPORATION BANK GETS
RS 9,086 CR
The government will infuse
Rs 48,239 crore in 12 PSU banks to help them maintain regulatory capital
requirements and finance growth plans, said Rajeev Kumar on Wednesday. The
government will infuse Rs 9,086 crore in Corporation Bank and Rs 6,896 crore in
Allahabad Bank -- the two better-performing banks currently under the Prompt
Corrective Action (PCA) supervision of the RBI, news agency PTI reported. Rs
4,638 crore and Rs 205 crore will be provided to Bank of India and Bank of
Maharashtra. These banks have recently come out of the regulatory supervisory
framework PCA of the RBI. Kumar said Punjab National Bank will get Rs 5,908
crore, Union Bank of India Rs 4,112 crore, Andhra Bank Rs 3,256 crore and
Syndicate Bank Rs 1,603 crore. The government will pump in Rs 12,535 crore in
four other banks under PCA -- Central Bank of India, United Bank, UCO Bank and
Indian Overseas Bank.
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PM JAN DHAN YOJANA ACCOUNTS SEE RECORD 24% RISE IN AVERAGE
BALANCE
Accounts under the Pradhan
Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), the flagship financial inclusion scheme, have
been witnessing a steep hike in average balance There has been a rise of up to
24 per cent in the average balance of these accounts across banks during the
last one year, according to individual data available with major banks. Banks
claim the surge is the highest so far. State Bank of India (SBI) witnessed an
increase of more than 24 per cent in the average balance of financial inclusion
accounts to ₹1,988 in December 2018, against ₹1,594 in the year-ago
period. For Bank of Baroda, the same had gone up from ₹2,875
to ₹3,169, while Punjab National Bank registered an increase from ₹1,879
in December 2017 to ₹2,217 in December 2018. A senior SBI official attributed this
to a general increase in transactions, as well as deposits, in these accounts. There
is greater awareness about add-on facilities such as overdraft, insurance, as
well as direct benefit transfer, which is also aiding to these accounts, he
said. While 20.46 lakh accounts were found eligible for OD facility SBI had
extended it to over 50 per cent of these accounts. From what was once seen as
white elephants, financial inclusion is leading to an increase in Current
Accounts and Savings Accounts (CASA) for banks. Canara Bank, for instance, has
secured ₹2,215 crore as CASA deposits from PMJDY accounts as per the
last quarter figures. While all banks posted increase in overall balances, the
total balance under PMJDY in all banks put together is at ₹90,217.40
crore, as on February 6, 2019, with 34.26 crore beneficiaries. Zero balance
accounts have been coming down by 3 per cent in most banks at an individual
level. The overall zero balance accounts is now in the range of 17-19 per cent,
according to bankers. A field-level enquiry with a few business correspondents
(there are 1.26 lakh of them who are also Bank Mitras), however, shows that the
upper cap on balances at ₹50,000 has become a constraint for some customers.
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FDI DURING APR-DEC 2018-19 FALLS 7% TO $33.49 BN
Foreign direct investment
(FDI) into India contracted by 7 per cent to USD 33.49 billion during
April-December in the current fiscal, according to commerce and industry
ministry data. Foreign fund inflows during April-December 2017-18 stood at USD
35.94 billion. The key sectors that received the maximum foreign investment
during the nine months of the fiscal include services (USD 5.91 billion),
computer software and hardware (USD 4.75 billion), telecommunications (USD 2.29
billion), trading (USD 2.33 billion), chemicals (USD 6.05 billion), and the
automobile industry (USD 1.81 billion). Singapore was the largest source of FDI
during April-December 2018-19 with USD 12.97 billion inflow, followed by
Mauritius (USD 6 billion), the Netherlands (USD 2.95 billion), Japan (USD 2.21
billion), US (USD 2.34 billion), and the UK (USD 1.05 billion).
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DPIIT LAUNCHES SECOND EDITION OF STATES’ RANKING ON STARTUP
INITIATIVES
After the successful first
edition of States’ Startup Ranking in 2018, where 27 States and 3 Union
Territories participated, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal
Trade (DPIIT) released second edition of Startup Ranking for 2019. The Startup
Ranking framework aims to rank the States/UTs for establishing a robust
ecosystem for supporting Startups. The framework also encourages States and UTs
to identify, learn and replicate good practices from each other. The Ranking
Framework 2019 comprises of 7 pillars and 30 action points The pillars will
assess States’/UTs efforts across institutional support, simplifying
regulations, easing public procurement, incubation support, seed funding
support, venture funding support and awareness and outreach related activities.
The ranking exercise aims to evaluate measures taken by States/UTs during the
assessment period from May 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. DPIIT also proposes to
recognise States and UTs for their exemplary performance in seven pillars of
the ranking framework. As part of the Ranking 2019 exercise, DPIIT will
recognize innovative Startup programs and initiatives from State/UT
Governments.
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INDIA TO REMAIN FASTEST GROWING MAJOR ECONOMY IN NEXT DECADE:
REPORT
India will remain the
fastest growing major economy much ahead of China, in the next decade 2019-28,
according to a global economic research report. The report prepared by Oxford
Economics, which is engaged in global forecasting and quantitative analysis,
India is likely to achieve an average growth of 6.5 per cent in 2019-28, the
highest among the emerging economies. India will be followed by the Philippines
(5.3 per cent) and Indonesia (5.1 per cent), the report said. China has been
assigned the fourth slot with an average growth rate of 5.1 per cent for the
next decade (2019-28). To achieve sustained rapid growth in the coming decades,
EMs will need solid saving, the report said. India is projected to grow at 7.5
per cent in 2019 and 7.7 per cent in 2020, more than China's estimated growth
of 6.2 per cent in these two years, according to the International Monetary
Fund's recent World Economy Outlook update.
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ADVISORY COUNCIL DISCUSSES MEASURES TO IMPROVE RANKING IN
‘DOING BUSINESS’ REPORT
The Eleventh meeting of
Advisory Council of National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms was
held under the Chairmanship of Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law &
Justice and Electronics & Information Technology on 19th February, 2019. In
keeping with the objectives of the Mission, the focus of discussion was on
issues which can help in reduction of pending cases in courts as well as review
the strategic initiatives which can speed up the delivery of justice besides
making it affordable. In this context, the Council discussed ways and means for
speedier disposal of cases pending in District and Subordinate Courts, further
augmentation of Judicial Infrastructure and Judicial Manpower. The Council also
looked at other possibilities including that of filling up of vacancies at the
subordinate level for accelerating the pace of disposal of cases pending in
District and Subordinate Courts. The Council also discussed other methods which
could be adopted for accelerating reduction of pendency in the courts and use
of IT in courts. In this context, the Council discussed the possibilities of
making amendments in the existing laws for speedier trial and disposal of cases
and Access to Justice for poor and under privileged. In addition to the above,
the Council considered re-organisation of the National Mission for Justice
Delivery and Legal Reforms for close supervision and monitoring of various
activities of National Mission Directorate for effective implementation. The
Council also deliberated on the issues linked with Improving India’s Ranking in
World Bank Doing Business Report, particularly Enforcing Contracts, and
implementation of Information and Technology Tools in District and Subordinate
Courts to bring about more transparency and expeditious disposal of cases
pending in courts. The Council took note of the on-going efforts for
improvement of the court and Case Management System at the initiative of the
Apex Court of the country. The Council endorsed the approach which has been
discussed in the National Court Management Systems Committee as well as in the
Advisory Committee of the National Court Management Systems.
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7.16 LAKH JOBS CREATED IN DEC, 72.32 LAKH IN LAST 16 MONTHS:
PAYROLL DATA
Employment in the formal
sector almost trebled to touch a 16-month high of 7.16 lakh in December 2018
compared to 2.37 lakh in the year-ago month, according to the latest EPFO
payroll data. Around 72.32 lakh new subscribers were added to social security
schemes of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) between September
2017 to December 2018, the data showed. This indicates that these many jobs
were created in the last 16 months. The EPFO, however, revised downwards its
payroll data for November 2018 by 23.44 per cent to 5.80 lakh against the
earlier estimate of 7.16 lakh released last month. It also revised the
cumulative job addition data from September 2017 to November 2018 downwards
11.36 per cent to 65.15 lakh from earlier forecast of 73.50 lakh. The sharpest
revision was for the month of March 2018 in the latest report which showed net
addition of 5,498 subscribers against 55,831 subscribers in the last month's
estimate. The EPFO data statement explained that March 2018 figure is low due
to large number of exits reported in the month of March, in view of it being
the closing month of the financial year. During December 2018, the maximum
number of 2.17 lakh jobs were created in the 18-21 years age group followed by
2.03 lakh in the 22-25 years age bracket. Since April 2018, the EPFO has been
releasing payroll data covering the period September 2017 onward. The data of
exited members is based on the claims submitted by the
individuals/establishments and the exit data uploaded by employers, whereas
number of new subscribers is based on the Universal Account Number (UAN)
generated in the system and have received non-zero subscription. The EPFO said
the data is provisional as updation of employee records is a continuous process
and gets updated in subsequent month/s. This is age-band wise data of new
members registered under the EPFO where the first non-zero contribution
received during particular month. For each age-wise band, the estimates are net
of the members newly enrolled, exited and rejoined during the month as per
records of the EPFO, it added. The estimates may include temporary employees
whose contributions may not be continuous for the entire year. Members' data
are linked to unique Aadhaar Identity, it added.
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PROPOSED REDUCTION IN EMPLOYEE & EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION FOR
ESIC
Ministry of Labour and
Employment has issued Gazette Notification G.S.R 121 (E) dated 15/02/2019
notifying Draft Rules proposing to reduce Employee Contribution for ESIC to 1%
from 1.75% and Employer Contribution to 4% from 4.75 %. Currently, the
employee’s ESI contribution rate is 1.75% of the wages and that of employer’s
is 4.75% of the wages paid/payable in respect of the employees in every wage period.
Now, the Central Govt. is planning to lower the employee’s ESI contribution
rate to 1% and that of employer’s to 4%. Draft Rules published on 15-02-2019,
for information of all persons likely to be affected. They shall come into
force on the date of its final publication in the Official Gazette. Any
objection or suggestion, which may be received from any person in respect of
the said draft rules within thirty days, will be considered by the Central
Government.
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EPFO INVESTMENT IN IL&FS HAS NOT TURNED BAD: AUDIT
COMMITTEE MEMBER
The Employees’ Provident
Fund Organisation (EPFO) has an exposure of Rs 570 crore towards crises-hit
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) and is receiving
regular returns to date a member of EPFO’s finance and audit committee said on
Wednesday. The finance, investment and audit committee (FIAC) of the EPFO,
which met on February 12, discussed the EPFO’s exposure with the IL&FS,
which might also come up for discussion in a meeting of its Central Board of
Trustees (CBT) headed by Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar
on Thursday. In the FIAC meeting, it was found that the EPFO’s investment in
the IL&FS was to the tune of Rs 570 crore and it was getting regular
returns to date. We, however, didn’t discuss the exposure of exempted firms
running their own trusts in the IL&FS, EPFO’s FIAC Member Prabhakar J
Banasure told. The EPFO’s CBT will decide the interest rate for subscribers for
2018-19 in its Thursday meeting. It is expected to give approval to a revised
policy for unitisation of exchanged-traded fund investments by the EPFO
subscribers. The CBT meeting will take up draft amendments to create provisions
in the Employees’ Provident Fund scheme, 1952, to enable the process of
unitisation of the investments being made by the EPFO in equity. According to
the proposal, the EPFO will credit to the account of EPF members the amount
diverted from his contributions as ‘EPF units’, so that they are able to track
their investments made in exchange traded funds (ETFs). It said the EPFO units
will be unitised at the applicable per unit net asset value (NAV) as determined
by the CBT. The EPF units will be credited to the accounts of subscribers at
regular intervals, the proposal added. However, the EPFO members may only be
able to withdraw their ETF investments at the time of retirement. And in that
case, EPF units standing to the credit of member shall be redeemed at the last
declared per unit NAV preceding the date of receipt of the claim from the
claimant.
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INDIAN ECONOMY FUNDAMENTALS SOUND, SET TO REACH $5 TN: MODI IN
SOUTH KOREA
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi Thursday said fundamentals of the Indian economy are sound and it is on
the way to becoming a $5 trillion economy soon He said India is now a more open
economy and has attracted $250 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) in the
last four years. He said no other large economy in the world has grown at 7 per
cent year after year. The role of the government is to provide a support
system, Modi said, adding that India has emerged as a land of opportunities.
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INFLUENCERS MANIPULATING SOCIAL MEDIA, INDIAN IT ACT SILENT
If the Cobrapost
investigation which exposed that several Bollywood celebrities were willing to
pass views of political parties as personal opinion for money shook your
conscience, there is not much you can do to restrict them from doing so because
the relevant Indian law is silent on this matter. The investigation revealed
that more than 30 Indian film and TV industry actors/ artistes have agreed to
spread the propaganda of political parties through their social media accounts
for the sake of money. Taking money for tweeting on behalf of political parties
is definitely unethical, but it is not illegal. The Information Technology Act,
2000 is completely silent on this, Pavan Duggal, one of the nation's top cyber
law experts, told IANS. What the investigation unearthed was just the tip of
the iceberg. The rise in popularity of social media platforms actually opened
up a relatively new advertising economy driven by influencer marketing. Marketing
firm Mediakix estimated that influencer marketing on Instagram alone could
reach $2 billion by the end of this year from $1 billion in 2017. While
Instagram has over a billion monthly active users globally, its parent company
Facebook has over 2.3 billion monthly active users and over 16 million people
log in to Twitter every day. WhatsApp is another powerful platform which has
over 200 million users in India. The kind of reach that these social media
platforms have can offer some idea about how big the influencer marketing
business could be. With a wide array of social media analytics tool available
online, it is not difficult to spot the right influencers for their advertising
programmes. In the starting, celebrities were used as influencers for brand
endorsement and marketing purposes. However, after social media, now everyone
is a celebrity and everything is business including politics, social media
expert Anoop Mishra told IANS. In countries like the US, it is mandatory to put
proper disclosure on paid posts. But only a few follow the rules. In India, due
to lack of user awareness, it is even more difficult to distinguish between a
paid post and a personal opinion. With the elections around, political parties
are not complaining much. A top WhatsApp executive recently even warned
political parties against abusing its platform. More than 10,000 official
WhatsApp groups have been created by a leading political party to slam its
rivals on social media, Mishra said. Manipulation of social media platform for
personal gains must be brought under the ambit of law without putting barriers
on free speech, Duggal added.
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RAJASTHAN RESERVES 10% GOVERNMENT JOBS FOR ECONOMICALLY WEAKER
SECTIONS
The Congress government in
Rajasthan has notified 10% reservation for economically weaker sections in
government jobs. The department of personnel has issued a notification amending
service rules Two amendments have been brought in Rajasthan Various Service
Rules and Rajasthan Public Service Commission (Ministerial and Subordinate
Services) rules. The notification says there would be 10% reservation of
vacancies for economically weaker sections in direct recruitment and this would
be in addition to the existing reservation. The notification clarifies, In the
event of non-availability of eligible and suitable candidates amongst
economically weaker sections in a particular year, the vacancies so reserved
for them shall be filled in accordance with the normal procedure. Though the
state government has made changes in service rules, there has been no
notification for 10% quota in educational institutions. Bonafide residents of
Rajasthan not covered under existing reservation schemes for Scheduled Tribes,
Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes, More Backward Classes and whose family’s gross
annual income is below Rs 8 lakh would be eligible for reservation benefits.
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RAJASTHAN MOVE COMES AFTER THE STATE WITNESSED GUJJAR PROTESTS
AND GRANTED 5% RESERVATION
A family which owns
agricultural land of five acres or more, a residential flat of 1,000 square
feet or above, a residential plot of 100 square yards or above in notified
municipalities or a residential plot of 200 square yards in other areas would
be excluded. Rajasthan is the first Congress-ruled state which has moved on the
10% reservation following Modi government’s move. So far, other Congress-ruled
states including Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have maintained they
are studying the issue. Karnataka, where Congress is in a coalition with Janata
Dal (Secular), has countered the Centre’s move by forming a Brahmin Development
Board to support Brahmins.
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WEST BENGAL TOLD TO RETURN RS 193 CRORE RECEIVED UNDER
AYUSHMAN BHARAT
The Centre has asked the
West Bengal government to return the Rs 193 crore it had received for the
central government’s Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme, along with any
interest earned since the state has pulled out of it. This follows the Mamata
Banerjee-led state government’s failure to respond to a January 11 letter in
which the Centre had urged it to reconsider its stand of pulling out of the
scheme and requested for a meeting. The state, which has its own health
insurance scheme for the poor—‘Swasthya Saathi’ scheme—was running Ayushman
Bharat under a joint banner—Ayushman Bharat-Swasthya Saathi—but later withdrew
from it to continue with its own. As we have not got any response in this
regard, it is opined that the state government of West Bengal has decided not
to reconsider its decision of withdrawal and discontinuance of AB – PM JAY,
chief executive officer of National Health Authority, Indu Bhushan, wrote in a
letter to the additional chief secretary of West Bengal on February 11. The
Centre also pointed to the grant-in-aid, to the tune of Rs 193.34 crore,
released to the state government towards 50% of the first tranche of the
central government scheme. You are requested to please arrange for refund of
grant-inaid amount available with you along with any interest earned by you, if
any, after adjustment of claim amount payable/paid for treatment of AB – PM JAY
beneficiary families to National Health Authority’s escrow bank account,
Bhushan’s letter said.
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FEWER KISAN CREDIT CARD BORROWERS AS BANKS GRAPPLE WITH NPAS
IN FARM SECTOR
Agriculture loans under
Kisan Credit Card, the key channel of banking sector farm credit, has witnessed
a fall in the number of active borrowers. According to banks, while KCC loans
continue to account for a large chunk of agriculture credit, the rising
non-performing assets in the sector over the years has been a concern. Several
public banks are now focusing on agriculture infrastructure credit like
warehouses and cold storages, while the growth in KCC loans remains muted. According
to data from Reserve Bank of India, the number of active KCC borrowers fell
from nearly 71.52 million in FY17 to nearly 69.21 million in FY18. For
commercial banks, the loan outstanding fell from Rs 4,35,000 crore in FY17 to
about Rs 4,33,100 crore in FY18. Driven by growth from cooperative and regional
rural banks, the total outstanding loans under KKC, however, showed an increase
from Rs 6,49,600 crore in FY17 to Rs 6,70,900 crore in FY18. As on 31st
December 2018, about 16 per cent of advances to agriculture turned into NPAs,
against 7.15 per cent in December 2017. For State Bank of India, the percentage
of NPAs to total agriculture lending stood at 11.01 per cent as on December
2018, against 9.97 per cent in the year-ago period. In terms of percentage this
was second-highest among sectors, next only to corporate lending. For Bank of
India, the gross NPA in agriculture increased from Rs 5,094 crore at the end of
December 2017 to nearly Rs 7,816 crore at the end of December 2018.
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AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE CONGRESS MARKS THE CONFLUENCE OF
RESEARCHERS, INTELLECTUALS AND THE CUSTODIANS OF GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY
Shri Radha Mohan Singh has
said that the Agricultural Science Congress marks the confluence of
researchers, intellectuals, creativity and the custodians of global food
security. He said that it is nothing short of an Agri-Research Kumbh. He stated
the churning of science, technology and knowledge outcomes during this Congress
will be of immense value to the welfare of farmers as well as humanity. He
added that the government recently announced a new scheme PM-KISAN for assured
income support to the farmers. The scheme is being implemented with effect from
December 2018. A direct income support of Rs 6,000 per annum to the farmers
will be provided. Around 12 crore farming families will be directly benefitted
from this scheme. Shri Singh appreciated the role of ICAR in launching a mega
project called NICRA to address the issues of climate change through the KVKs,
adding that the Soil Health Card Scheme has been launched to improve crop
productivity through judicious use of inputs without deteriorating soil health
further. Shri Singh further said that the IARI has developed ‘Pusa Soil Testing
and Fertilizer Recommendation Meter’ for facilitating the reach of soil testing
at the farmers’ doorstep. During the last 4 and a half years, 1014 varieties of
different crops were developed among which more than 800 varieties are
tolerant/resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses. The implementation of
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sampada Yojana will result in creation of modern
infrastructure with efficient supply chain management. It will not only provide
a big boost to the growth of food processing sector in the country but also
help in providing better prices to farmers and is a big step towards doubling
of farmers’ income. He further said that the agri-based start-ups and
entrepreneurship development need to be promoted and the Atal Innovation
Mission (AIM) including Self-Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU) is
government’s endeavour to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Innovations will play a critical role in developing solutions and pathways for
addressing the agrarian challenges.
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SITHARAMAN URGES DEFENCE VENDORS TO INVEST IN INDIA, BUT
HURDLES REMAIN
Nirmala Sitharaman,
appealed foreign defence vendors to build and invest in India The National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had created an investor-friendly policy
environment since 2014, she claimed. Urging foreign original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) to build in partnership with Indian defence firms, she
promised: You have an assured market and, in fact, a captive buyer in the
Indian armed forces, she said. Sitharaman said the government had, over the
last four years up to October 2018, signed 150 contracts worth Rs 1,27,500
crore with Indian vendors for military equipment. Sitharman said the government
had, during this period, initiated 154 procurements worth Rs 2,79,950 crore in
Make in India categories where tenders are issued to Indian vendors. Sitharaman
said, the private sector got a substantial share of the orders placed on the
Ordnance Factory Board and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (OFB/DPSUs). The
volume of production of OFB and DPSUs has gone up from Rs 43,277 crore in
2013-14 to Rs 58,160 crore in 2017-18 Out of this, 40 per cent of production is
outsourced to the private sector, she said. So when we give the OFB an order,
it is definitely a government-run institution, but the order is not at the cost
of the private sector. The private sector does get a substantial part of the
order and, therefore, there is a happy blending of both the private sector and
the public sector under the Make in India programme. Sitharaman also pointed
out that 424 private firms obtained defence production licences over the last
four years. FDI liberalisation has not enabled large investment inflows.
According to the defence minister, total FDI during 2014-18 amounted to Rs 200
crore through the automatic route (below 49 per cent FDI). During this period,
only six companies obtained government approval for FDI over 49 per cent,
amounting to Rs 237 crore. Sitharaman claimed the government had streamlined
defence exports by cutting down the time taken for granting export permissions.
According to statistics displayed in the Make in India pavilion, Indian defence
exports have grown from Rs 1,150 crore in 2013-14 to an expected Rs 8,000 crore
in 2018-19. This includes the export of Dornier 228 aircraft to Mauritius,
Dhruv helicopters to Nepal, Mauritius and Maldives, Cheetal helicopters to
Afghanistan and radar warning receivers to Russia. The Defence Production
Policy of 2018 (DPrP 2018) has an ambitious target of $5 billion in annual
defence exports by 2022.
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HRD MINISTER LAUNCHES OPERATION DIGITAL BOARD
The Minister of Human
Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar launched Operation Digital Board
to leverage technology in order to boost quality education in the country.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, the Minister said that Operation
Digital Board is a revolutionary step which will make the learning as well as
the teaching process interactive and popularize flipped learning as a
pedagogical approach. Shri Prakash Javadekar disclosed that the digital board
will be introduced all over the country in government and government aided
schools from class 9th onwards as well as in higher education institutions. The
process will begin from the coming session of 2019 itself, the Minister
explained. He further said that ODB aims at converting a class room into a
digital class room and in addition to availability of e-resources at any time
and at any place to students, it will also help in provisioning of personalised
adaptive learning as well as Intelligent Tutoring by exploiting emerging
technologies like Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence & Data
Analytics. An expert committee has worked out optimum configuration of the
Digital Class Rooms under ODB. The Union Minister said that the biggest
challenge facing education sector in the country is maintaining acceptable
quality standards across the country. Although we have good number of premier
institutions, which compete with the best in the world, a large number of
higher education institutions and schools needs improvements in quality
teaching-learning, as the students coming out of these institutions find
themselves unsuitable for the requirements of the society and market. The
spread of educational technology and connectivity has given an opportunity to
resolve this issue and aim at equity in educational standards. Shri Javadekar
also stated that the launching of e-Pathshala, DIKSHA, NROER,NPTEL,
e-pgpathshala SWAYAM and SWAYAM-Prabha DTH Channels etc. by MHRD have provided
adequate content of high quality which can be taken to every classroom, and
thereby facilitating blended learning and flip class learning. These
pedagogical interventions can adequately raise the standards of teaching,
irrespective of the location of the Schools and Colleges/Institutes. Such
technology enabled learning can also inspire teachers across the country to
raise their own standards of teaching.
Implementation in Higher
Education Institutions (HEIs)
UGC will be the
implementing agency for ODB in HEIs. UGC in its Commission meeting held on 29th
Jan 2019, has passed a resolution for extending digital education to every
classroom in the country by 2022. It is estimated that there would be 5 lakh
classrooms in the institutions which are aided by Centre or State Governments.
Out of this, based on the readiness, UGC proposed to take up 300 universities
and about 10,000 colleges in the first phase covering 2 lakh classrooms. For
the 2 lakh class rooms, the cost is estimated at Rs. 2000 crores. This can be
implemented as a Central scheme, as a loan from HEFA.
Implementation in Schools
Digital / SMART board will
be provided in all Government and Government – aided schools having Secondary
and Sr. Secondary classes. Nearly 1.5 lakh Secondary / Sr. Secondary schools
will be covered under the scheme in collaboration with the State and UTs.
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NABH REVAMPS ENTRY-LEVEL CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR HOSPITALS
National Accreditation
Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations (NABH) has revamped
Entry-Level Certification Process to make it simpler, digital, fasterand
user-friendly. The revised process is driven through a new portal called HOPE -
Healthcare Organizations’ Platform for Entry-Level-Certification with a focus
to promote quality at nascent stages by enrolling a wide range of hospitals
across the country including Healthcare Organizations (HCOs) and Small
Healthcare Organizations (SHCOs). The aim is to create a momentum for HCOs and
SHCOs that want to avail benefits associated with Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and Ayushman Bharat by getting
themselves NABH certified along with the primary aim of creating a quality
healthcare ecosystem in India. The idea of cashless payment to patients under
insurance coverage has been promoted by IRDAI to reduce financial burden on
households. The IRDAI has mandated hospitals to ensure a quality healthcare ecosystem
through NABH Entry-Level Certification Process. HOPE is not just confined to
certification of HCOs/SHCOs but also enables them to comply with quality
protocols, improve patient safety and the overall healthcare facility of the
organization. It is an online platform for smooth and secure registration. It
provides a self-explanatory questionnaire to be filled by the HCO/SHCOs. A
mobile application has also been developed to support HCO/SHCOs for directly
uploading geotagged and timestamped evidences required for compliance to the
standards. It has also changed the assessment process which is now carried out
on a technology based application where the data is captured and validated on a
real-time basis. To ensure an active participation of HCO/SHCOs in the HOPE
process, various activities have been initiated
·
Nationwide awareness
workshops to sensitize the hospitals on the entire process of assessment.
·
Call center support to
hospitals through an active helpline for resolving issues while filling the application
form.
·
Platform to connect
hospitals with certified consultants for assistance in the certification
processfollowing a cost effective manner.
·
Knowledge bank providing a
comprehensive guidebook, presentation etc. with detailedinformation of the step-by-step
certification procedure.
·
Created a larger and
stronger network of qualified assessors.
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AS TALKS WITH GOVERNMENT FAIL, FARMERS RESUME 200-KM 'LONG
MARCH'
After an overnight halt at
various locations, Maharashtra farmers resumed their 200-km 'Kisan Long
March-2' from Nashik to Mumbai to protest against what they termed a betrayal
of the peasantry by the BJP governments in the state and the Centre. The
eight-day march will end in Mumbai on February 27, coinciding with the budget
session of the Legislature. Alarmed by the developments, the Bharatiya Janata
Party-Shiv Sena government's Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan rushed to
Nashik on Wednesday afternoon to pacify the farmers and urge them to call off
the Long March. Ashok Dhawale on Thursday vowed that the march will continue
until the government gives written assurances on its demands and that this time
the turnout of farmers was around 50,000 - much higher than last year. He
claimed that the state government was putting obstacles in the march and
resorting to repression through the police against the peaceful procession.
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JOHNSON & JOHNSON RECEIVES FEDERAL SUBPOENAS RELATED TO
BABY POWDER LITIGATION
Johnson & Johnson said
Wednesday it has received subpoenas from the U.S. Justice Department and the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to litigation involving
alleged asbestos contamination in its signature Baby Powder product line. The
company said it intends to cooperate fully with these inquiries and will
continue to defend the Company in the talc-related litigation. The disclosure
in Johnson & Johnson's annual report on Wednesday is the first time that
the company disclosed it had received subpoenas from federal agencies regarding
its talc powder products. A Reuters report on Dec. 14 revealed that Johnson
& Johnson knew for decades that small amounts of asbestos, a known
carcinogen, had been occasionally found in its talc and powder products,
according to tests from the 1970s to the early 2000s - information it did not
disclose to regulators or the public. Johnson & Johnson faces lawsuits
involving 13,000 plaintiffs who allege use of its talc products, including Baby
Powder, caused cancer.
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SC ORDERS FORCED EVICTION OF MORE THAN 1 MILLION TRIBALS,
FOREST-DWELLERS
The Supreme Court has
ordered the forced eviction of more than 1,000,000 tribal and other
forest-dwelling households from forestlands across 16 states after the
government failed to defend a law protecting their rights The final
country-wide numbers of forced evictions are likely to rise substantially as
other states are forced to comply with the court orders. The court’s orders
came in a case filed by wildlife groups questioning the validity of the Forest
Rights Act. The petitioners had also demanded that all those whose claims over
traditional forestlands are rejected under the law should be evicted by state
governments as a consequence. The Union government failed to present its
lawyers in defence of the law on February 13, leading a three-judge bench of
Arun Mishra, Navin Sinha and Indira Banerjee to pass orders giving states till
July 27 to evict tribals whose claims had been rejected and submit a report on
it to the Supreme Court. The written order was released on February 20. The
court said that the state governments would ensure that where the rejection
orders have been passed, eviction will be carried out on or before the next
date of hearing In case the eviction is not carried out, as aforesaid, the
matter would be viewed seriously by this Court. The next date of hearing is set
for July 27 – the effective date by when states would have to evict tribals to
comply with the court orders. The total number of rejected claims from 16
states that have reported rejection rates so far to the apex court add up to
1,127,446 tribal and other forest-dwelling households shows an analysis of the
court order. Several other states that have not provided details to court have
been asked to do so. Once they follow suit these numbers are likely to swell.
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OVER 1,000 CHILDREN DIED IN ADANI HOSPITAL IN KUTCH IN 5
YEARS: GUJARAT GOVT
Over 1,000 children had
died at the Adani Foundation-run G K General Hospital in Bhuj town of Kutch
district during the last five years, the Gujarat government told the
legislative assembly on Wednesday. Nitin Patel said in his written reply that
as many as 1,018 children had died at the Adani Foundation-run hospital in the
last five years. As per the figures shared by Patel, who handles the Health
portfolio, 188 children had died in 2014-15, 187 in 2015-16, 208 in 2016-17,
276 in 2017-18 and 159 in 2018-19 (till now) from different ailments and
medical complications. Patel added that a committee was formed in May last year
to probe the causes of the deaths. These included serious complications among
prematurely born babies, infectious diseases, respiratory complications, birth
asphyxia and sepsis among infants either referred to the hospital or born
there, he said.
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MAHARASHTRA TO BE FIRST STATE TO ADOPT MODEL RFP
Maharashtra said it would
adopt the model RFP in two months, offering technology services companies a
smooth procurement process for technology projects. Ministry of Electronics
& IT (MeitY) in August last year released the draft on model RFP (request
for proposal) after repeated efforts by the IT-BPM industry body Nasscom. Now,
the state governments have to adopt the advisory or guidelines of the model RFP
to ensure an easy selection of technology services companies for any government
projects. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis promised that the state
government would implement the fresh process to participate in technology work
tender. Maharashtra will be the first state to adopt this model. The state
government said it has reduced paperwork for various governance works by less
than 50%.
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MOU BETWEEN ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY AND UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH
COLUMBIA ON FORESTRY SCIENCE
A Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) was signed between Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada
for next 10 years in New Delhi. Both the institutions shall explore opportunities
for future collaborations in the field of forestry science through their
respective organizations namely Indian Council of Forestry Research and
Education, Wildlife Institute of India, Forest Survey of India, Indira Gandhi
National Forest Academy and Directorate of Forest Education, Dehradun,
Uttarakhand, India and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
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SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD TO INAUGURATE VIVID 2019
VIVID-Vision Insight and
Voices as India goes Digital- the District Informatics Officer (DIO) meet, is
being organised by National Informatics Centre (NIC) on 21st and 22nd February,
2019. Hon’ble Minister will also release/launch a number of other initiatives
as given below:
Release of
·
Digital India Compendium
Launch of
·
Digidhan Mitra Chatbot
·
Technology incubation and
development of entrepreneurs 2.0 scheme
Centre of Excellence on
·
IOT Open lab, STPI
Bengaluru
·
ESDM Incubation, STPI
Bhubaneswar
·
Emerging Technologies,
NASSCOM, Gandhinagar
·
Emerging Technologies,
NASSCOM, Vishakapatnam
VIVID started in 2017, as
an annual event, with the objective to empower NIC officials in the field of
technology. Continuing its tradition from previous years, VIVID 2019 will be a
landmark event for NIC. VIVID this year would once again provide a cohesive and
extensive platform for interaction and knowledge sharing.
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SHIV SENA WARNS BJP: BREAK THE ALLIANCE IF YOU DON’T AGREE ON
SHARING CM POST
Two days after forging an
alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam on
Wednesday said that the agreement happened after an understanding that there
would be a chief minister from both the parties for 2.5 years Kadam offered to
break the alliance if someone tries to go back on the agreed terms. Kadam told:
It was agreed upon that there should be a Shiv Sena chief minister for 2.5
years and a BJP chief minister for other 2.5 years. Now someone says that the
party that has more MLAs, CM should be from that party. So, if they (BJP) don’t
like this then they should break the alliance.
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65 SWINE FLU DEATHS LAST WEEK PUSH TOLL TO 377, OVER 12,000
INFECTED: GOVT
Sixty-five people
succumbed to H1N1 virus in the country last week, pushing the death toll due to
swine flu this year to 377, according to the Union Health Ministry, while the
number of those infected by it has crossed 12,000. Rajasthan reported the
highest number of cases (3,508) and fatalities (127), the ministry data showed.
Gujarat was placed second on the list with 71 deaths and 1,983 cases. In Delhi,
seven people died while 2,278 people were infected by the virus. Punjab
reported 31 deaths and 410 cases, followed by Madhya Pradesh 30 deaths and 128
cases. In Himachal Pradesh, 27 people died due to the virus and 224 were
infected. Jammu and Kashmir reported 22 deaths and 293 cases; Maharashtra 17
deaths and 330 cases; and in Haryana, seven people died while 752 people were
affected. The data showed 12,191 people tested positive for H1N1 virus in the
country this year till Sunday. Last year, 14,992 cases and 1,103 deaths due to
the swine flu were reported. With swine flu cases rising alarmingly, the Health
Ministry has asked state governments to bolster their surveillance for early
detection of the disease and keep beds reserved in hospitals to deal with acute
cases, which require ventilator facility.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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