UNREGULATED DEPOSIT ORDINANCE TO LEAD TO CREATION OF CENTRAL
REPOSITORY OF REGISTERED FIRMS: KUMAR
Rajiv Kumar Friday said
the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Ordinance promulgated by the
President will help create a central repository of all the registered entities
that can take deposits. The repository will help put a check on illicit deposit-taking
activities that dupe the poor and the financially illiterate of their
hard-earned savings, he said. The Ordinance makes it absolutely necessary for
everyone to register before taking a deposit and creating a central repository
of all the registered entities which can take deposits. So, whosoever are not
registered are not regulated entities he said. From now on, there is a complete
ban on unregulated deposit and anyone promoting this will be punishable, he
said. It also says you cannot dupe anybody as an agent or even as
advertisement, you cannot give face to that scheme which is not regulated by
any agency, he added. The law also proposes to create three different types of
offences -- running of unregulated deposit schemes, fraudulent default in
regulated deposit schemes, and wrongful inducement in relation to unregulated
deposit schemes. The Ordinance also provides for severe punishment ranging from
1 year to 10 years and pecuniary fines ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 50 crore to
act as deterrent. It also has adequate provisions for disgorgement or repayment
of deposits in cases where such schemes nonetheless manage to raise deposits
illegally. The law provides for attachment of properties or assets and
subsequent realisation of assets for repayment to depositors. Clear-cut
timelines have been provided for attachment of property and restitution to
depositors. It also enables creation of an online central database for
collection and sharing of information on deposit-taking activities in the country.
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NITI AAYOG BATS FOR SETTING UP INDEPENDENT DEBT MANAGEMENT
OFFICE
Rajiv Kumar Friday made a strong
case for setting up an independent debt management office and also pitched for
segregating different aspects of Reserve Bank's responsibilities. Kumar further
said that India's gross domestic product (GDP) will be growing at over 7 per
cent in the coming years. The time for an independent debt management office
may have come, he said. Kumar said, very often, there have been conversations
on whether the central bank should not only have a role as monetary policymaker
or supervisor, but also as a government debt manager. The idea behind setting
up of PDMA was to resolve issues relating to conflict of interest as the RBI
decides on the key interest rates as well as undertakes buying and selling of
government bonds. Kumar also noted that there was a need to deliberate on how
to segregate different aspects of the Reserve Bank of India's responsibilities.
In this context, he said the government has been very courageous in giving the
Reserve Bank the statutory authority of inflation targeting. Therefore, who
then looks after growth, employment, debt and other legal things etc in the
country? I think those are the things that need to be discussed, Kumar said.
The Niti Aayog vice chairman also noted that the RBI and the finance ministry
have been working together in tough times without any single causality. At
present, the government debt, including market borrowing, is managed by the
Reserve Bank of India.
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MORE BLACK MONEY WITHIN COUNTRY THAN STASHED ABROAD
More black money is lying
within the country than is stashed abroad by Indians, revealed three studies on
unaccounted wealth commissioned by the government. The reports, which haven't
been made public by the government, show that 90-97.2% of the black money is
inside the country while only 2.8-10% has gone out of the country. The black
money outflow has been estimated at Rs 9.4-22 lakh crore ($216-498 billion)
during 1980-2010. The finance ministry had submitted the study based on the
reports prepared by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER),
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and National Institute
of Financial Management (NIFM) to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Finance in July 2017. A study by NCEAR shows that the unaccounted wealth
outside the country is 2.8% at Rs 17-22 lakh crore The wealth accumulated
outside India is estimated to exist between $384 billion and $490 billion
during 1980-2010. Taking the capital outflow worth $498 billion, its share of
outflows in total unaccounted wealth can be estimated as 2.8%. Therefore, it
appears that a greater proportion of the concealed wealth is lying within the
country and only a small fraction is outside the country, the report says. The
second study by NIPFP puts the illicit financial flows out of the country
between 1997 and 2009 in the range of 0.2% to 7.4% of GDP. It, however, did not
give any estimate of unaccounted wealth. The total illicit outflow during
1990-2008 was Rs 9.4 lakh crore as per the NIFM estimation, which suggest that
total illicit outflow at present value (including opportunity cost) from India
in the reforms period (1990-2008) is Rs 9.4 lakh crore ($216 billion).
Importantly, illicit outflows from the country are estimated on average to 10%
of the estimated unaccounted income. The reports were commissioned in 2011 by
then finance minister to assess unaccounted income and wealth both inside and
outside the country. These studies were submitted to the government in December
2013, July 2014 and August 2014, while these were presented before the Standing
Committee on finance headed by Congress leader Veerappa Moily in July 2017. The
Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) to whom the study reports were forwarded had,
however, observed that there are large variations in the numbers (percentage of
unaccounted income with respect to GDP). He had opined that there is no scope
for arriving at a common estimate of unaccounted income by combining estimates
from the three reports.
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INSTITUTIONALISATION OF P J NAYAK PANEL REPORT TO IMPROVE
GOVERNANCE OF PSBS: CEA
K V Subramanian Friday
made a case for implementing some of the recommendations of the P J Nayak
Committee report with a view to improve corporate governance in the banking
sector. Asserting that the governance aspect of the banking sector needs to be
fixed he said some of the recommendations of the Nayak committee have been
implemented and some more need to be institutionalised. For example, this
government has shown the political will to let the public sector banks (PSBs)
function independently without interfering in commercial aspects which is
certainly important, he said. Some of them (recommendations) are yet to be
institutionalised and that's where some of the recommendations of the Nayak
committee report need consideration to make sure this process of ensuring that
banks are allowed to run commercially without any previous phenomenon of phone
banking, etc. The risks are there if you don't institutionalise those, he said.
Some of the recommendations of the Nayak committee implemented included splitting
of the post of chairman and managing director in the PSBs and
professionalisation of boards of the state-owned banks. Besides, the government
set up the Banks Board Bureau, an independent body to select executive
directors of the PSBs.
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CENTRE NOT DELAYING APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES IN HIGHER JUDICIARY,
SAYS SC
The Centre has not been
delaying the appointment of judges in higher judiciary and delay, if any, was
at the collegium end, the Supreme Court said Friday. The apex court was hearing
a PIL filed by NGO 'Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) which has
alleged that the Centre has been indefinitely sitting on the names recommended
by the Supreme Court collegium for appointment of judges in the higher judiciary.
Appointments are happening. As the Chief Justice, I am telling you that
whatever is pending is pending before the Supreme Court collegium. Nothing is
pending with the government, a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice
Sanjiv Khanna said. Most of the recommendations with regard to appointment of
judges in high courts were pending with the collegium headed by the CJI, it
said. There are about 27 recommendations pending before the government and
there are 70 to 80 pending before the Collegium, as the CJI, I am telling you,
the CJI said. Bhushan, however, said that as per his knowledge, there were
several recommendations pending with the government despite the reiteration by
the Collegium. The apex court refused to pass any directions for the time being
and ordered listing of the PIL for hearing after six weeks. Having heard
Prashant Bhushan, counsel appearing for the petitioner, we are of the view that
the matter should await orders of the court at a later point of time. List the
matter after six weeks, the bench said in its order.
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MODICARE PUSH: OVER 12 LAKH PEOPLE AVAILED FREE TREATMENT
UNDER AYUSHMAN BHARAT
Over 12 lakh people have
received free treatment under the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya
Yojana, while around two crore beneficiary e-cards have been issued since its
launch in September last year, Dr Indu Bhushan, said Friday. At least 15,000
hospitals have so far been empanelled under the scheme out of which, 15 per
cent are private hospitals, he said, urging more healthcare establishments to
join the movement. For the first time in the history of independent India,
health sector has become a political commitment. The government of India has
shown its commitment towards strengthening the healthcare eco-system in the
country by increasing the investments to 2.5 per cent, Bhushan said. The
Ayushman Bharat has received tremendous response in the initial phases. We have
completed 150 days and have issued two crore cards. We will be completing five
months tomorrow, he said. He said 15,000 hospitals have joined the movement of
which, 15 per cent are private hospitals. The future of this movement lies in a
good integration between the private and public health care entities. I urge
all entities to join in and make the change happen, Bhushan added.
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MORE THAN 10,000 AYUSHMAN BHARAT-HEALTH AND WELLNESS CENTRES
BECOME OPERATIONAL
The first Health and
Wellness Centre (HWC)under Ayushman Bharat was inaugurated by the Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modi at Jangla in Bijapur Chhattisgarh on 14th
April 2018. Since then 10,252 HWCs have been operationalized Andhra Pradesh has
operationalized 1361 HWCs, Tamil Nadu 1318, UP 912, Karnataka 700 and Kerala
678 HWCs. A total of 1,33,84,332 women and men, thirty years of age and above
have been screened for common Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) at these HWCs.
Ayushman Bharat has two components which are complementary to each other. Under
its first component, 1,50,000 existing Sub- Health Centres (SHCs) and Primary
Health Centres (PHCs) will be transformed to Health & Wellness Centres
(HWCs) to deliver Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC), that is universal
and free to users, with a focus on wellness and the delivery of an expanded
range of services close to the community. The wide range of services provided
at these Health and Wellness Centres will encompass maternal and child health
services, communicable and non-communicable diseases, services for the elderly
and palliative care including free essential drugs and diagnostic services. An
expanded range of services will be provided at the HWCs, with the level of complexity
of care at the PHC being higher than at that at SHC. States will also have the flexibility
to expand the service package to address problems of local importance as
defined by disease prevalence and community feedback. In the urban context, the
Urban Primary Health Centres or Urban Health Posts where they exist, would be strengthened
to deliver comprehensive primary health care The norm of One Multipurpose
worker MPW-(F) per 10,000 population supported by four-five ASHAs, will enable
outreach services, preventive and promotive care and home and community-based
services. Therefore, in the urban context, the team of ANM and ASHA would be
considered to equivalent to a frontline provider team with the first point of
referral being the UPHC catering to about at 50,000 populations. 133 IGNOU
Programme Study Centres (PSCs) in various district hospitals and 90 other PSCs
under the state specific Certificate Programmes in the state of Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and West Bengal have been notified, taking the total of
Programme Study Centres to 223 PSCs across the country. This will enable
production of 1,12,546 candidates annually that will be eligible to become
CHOs. A total of 77691 ASHAs, 20024 MPWs/ANMs, 3837 Staff Nurses and 3548 PHC
Medical Officers (1,05,100 in all) have been trained, so far. 3,54,22,026
individuals have been empaneled at HWCs.
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MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS WILL LAUNCH A MASSIVE RECRUITMENT DRIVE
TO FILL UP ITS VACANCIES
Ministry of Railways is
going to launch a massive recruitment drive to fill up its vacancies in various
categories of posts which are essential for smooth and safe running of trains On
23.02.2019, an Indicative Notice will be published in Employment News on the
forthcoming recruitments. Indian Railways has over 1.3 lakh vacancies in
different departments which needed to be filled up. The eligible candidates for
the first tranche of recruitments in Non-Technical Popular Categories can do
registration of online applications from 28.02.2019. The next tranche of
recruitment will be available for online registration with effect from
04.03.2019, in Paramedical categories like Staff Nurse, Health & Malaria
Inspector, Pharmacist, ECG Technician, Lab Assistant, Lab Superintendent, etc. On
08.03.2019, online registration will open for candidates eligible for
Ministerial and Isolated Categories like Stenographer, Chief Assistant, Junior
Translator (Hindi) etc. In all, there are expected to be 30,000 vacancies in
the above three recruitments. In addition, the Ministry of Railways will also
recruit about 1 lakh staff in Level-1 (erstwhile Group-D Categories) for which
online registration would open on 12.03.2019. There will be reservation for
Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC) (non
creamy layer) and for the first time there will be reservation for Economically
Weaker Sections (EWS) candidates. Besides, there will be reservation of posts for
Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD), Ex-Serviceman (ExSM). Besides, for
Level-1 post, there will reservation for Course Completed Act Apprentices
(CCAA). The vacancies in the above categories, except Level-1, will be
available on Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) websites, after opening of online
registration for the respective category. The vacancies of Level-1 will be
available on website of Railway Recruitment Cell (RRC). Applications for all
post will be accepted online only. Indian Railways is already in the process of
recruiting over 1.5 lakhs candidates in various safety categories like
Assistant Loco Pilot and Technicians, Safety Category posts of Operating
Department and Technical Department such as Civil Engineering, Electrical,
Mechanical, Signal & Telecommunication, in both the Level-1 and Supervisory
Categories. This also includes over 10,000 recruitments in Railway Protection
Force organization.
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ESI CORPORATION TOOK IMPORTANT DECISION TOWARDS IMPROVEMENT IN
ITS SERVICE DELIVERY MECHANISM
The ESI Corporation during
its recently held 177th meeting under the Chairmanship of Shri Santosh Kumar
Gangwar, has taken some important decisions towards improvements in its service
delivery mechanism. The decisions include reduction in rate of ESI
Contribution, Proposal for increasing the income limit for dependency of the
dependent parents of an Insured Person for availing Medical Benefit, ESIC to bear
full cost of ESI Scheme in the prescribed ceiling of per IP expenditure,
Setting up of 500 bedded ESIC Model Hospital at Sheelanagar, Visakhapatnam,
Up-gradation of ESI Dispensary into 30 bedded ESI Hospital, Sub-Committee
formed to decide the quantum of enhancements of PDB/DB rates and Starting of
DOTT and DMRT Courses. In the meeting, it was informed that Government has approved
the reduction in the rate of contribution being paid by employers and employees
from 4.75% to 4% and 1.75% to 1% respectively of the wages, and a draft
notification intending to reduce the rate of contribution has been issued by
Government on 15.02.2019. Reduction in contribution will benefit all the
employees and employers covered under ESI Scheme. The Income limit for availing
medical benefit for the dependent parents of an Insured Person covered under
ESI Scheme has been enhanced from the existing Rs.5000/- per month from all
sources to Rs.9000/- per month. In order to improve the medical service
delivery in the states, It was decided that ESIC will also bear the 1/8th share
of expenditure earlier used to be borne by States. Till now, ESIC used to bear
7/8th share of expenses of ESI Scheme. With this decision, ESIC will bear the
full cost of ESI Scheme in the prescribed ceiling of per IP expenditure for a
period of three years beginning from 2019-20. ESIC will acquire an additional
land of 10.56 acres abutting already allotted land of 8.58 acre at Sheelanagar,
Visakhapatnam. On this land, 500 bedded ESIC Model Hospital with Super
Specialties will be constructed. Now, the 30 bedded ESI Hospitals will be
established on 20000 IPs population in plain area and 15000 IPs population in
hilly areas. Besides above, around 40 other agenda items pertaining to
improvement in services/benefits to Insured Persons and their beneficiaries and
other administrative matters were deliberated upon and approved during the
meeting. The ESI Act applies to premises/precincts where 10 or more persons are
employed. The employees drawing wages up to Rs. 21,000/- a month are entitled
to health insurance cover and other benefits, under the ESI Act. The Act now
applies to over 10 lakh 33 thousand factories and establishments across the
country, benefiting about 3 crores 43 lakh family units of workers. As of now,
the total beneficiary population of ESI Scheme stands over 13 crores 32 lakh.
Ever since its inception in 1952, the ESI Corporation has, so far, set up 154
Hospitals, 1489 Dispensaries, 174 ISM Units, 815 Branch/Pay Offices and 63
Regional and Sub-Regional Offices.
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VOTER REGISTRATION SERVICES GET MORE ACCESSIBLE WITH HELPLINE
AT NUMBER 1950
In view of the impending
General Elections, the Election Commission of India has strengthened its Voter
Helpline to make it easy for the Voters to get authentic information pertaining
to their voter registration. The range of services provided by the Helpline
Number 1950 have been refurbished and made easily accessible The enrolled
electors in the Electoral Roll can check the details of their personal
information the Polling Station planned for them to visit on the Poll Day and
to know the contact details of Booth Level Officers, Electoral Registration
Officers and District Election Officers, by using the Voter Helpline Mobile App
or through www.nvsp.in portal or by calling 1950 Helpline Number. In the same
line, services through SMS can also be availed by citizens by sending SMS
without any cost to 1950. Formats in which such SMSs can be sent are:
·
ECI <0 (for reply in
English) or <1 (for reply in the regional language).
ECIPS
·
This will fetch the
address of the Polling Station, where the said EPIC Number bearer needs to go
to cast the vote.
ECICONTACT
·
This will fetch the reply
providing the sender with contact details of Booth Level Officers, Electoral
Registration Officers and District Election Officers.
Since mere possession of
EPIC Card is not enough for the electors but their names should also be there
in the electoral roll for enabling them to cast their vote on the poll day, it
is necessary that the citizens/electors should check that their names figure in
the electoral rolls. If they are not enrolled, they can submit Form 6 online
through www.nvsp.in or submit the form through Mobile APP or hard copy to the
respective ERO Offices. If there is any correction needed, they can submit Form
8 for necessary correction online through NVSP or through Mobile App or hard
copy to respective ERO offices. Also if their addresses are changed within the
part, they need to submit Form 8A on the same lines as above. It is also
clarified that all these services can be obtained directly or by approaching
the concerned officials appointed by the Election Commission of India. ECI has
not authorized any intermediaries to provide these services.
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INDIA IS ONE OF THE FASTEST-GROWING EMERGING MARKETS FOR
AIRBNB: BLECHARCZYK
Online accommodation
platform major Airbnb Friday said India is one of the fastest-growing emerging
markets for the company as it unveiled its 'Plus Homes' range in India. The
company, which commenced operations in India in 2016, currently has 45,000
listings on its platform Fastest-growing markets for Airbnb are emerging
markets and India is one of them. India is one of the fastest-growing emerging
markets for the company, Nathan Blecharczyk told. India is an important
business opportunity for Aibnb as it has a huge population and a huge number of
millennials, young people, he added. The company has also introduced its new
range of 'Plus Homes' in India. Currently, these are available in over 41
cities across the globe. Set to become the world's third-largest economy by
2030, India will inevitably play a crucial role in bringing Airbnb's mission --
to have 1 billion belonging to the platform in the next decade -- to fruition,
it added.
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PMO REJECTS PLAN FOR DEDICATED NBFC TO FINANCE FOOD PROCESSING
PROJECTS
The Prime Minister’s
Office has shot down a proposal from the food processing ministry to set up a
nonbanking finance company dedicated to help the food processing industry get
loans for capital-intensive projects that have long gestation period, officials
said. The decision is seen as a setback for the industry. It is a big setback
to the sector which has an important role in doubling farmers’ income, a food
processing ministry official said. The food processing sector is annually
seeing a growth of more than 10%. Ease of getting credit would have further spurred
the growth. The official said the liquidity crisis in the NBFC sector following
a series of defaults by IL&FS late last year may have prompted the PMO
decision, pointing out that the proposal was sent to the Cabinet for clearance
around the same time. The expenditure finance committee chaired by secretary
expenditure had cleared and recommended it to the cabinet. But when the ministry
went ahead with cabinet note, it was not cleared by the PMO the official said.
The Holland government through its national bank was keen to participate, the
official said. Denmark government, Rabo Bank, European Structural and
Investment (ESI) Funds and South Korea’s National Agricultural Cooperative
Federation were also willing to participate in the bid. The ministry had
proposed to hold 20% stake in proposed NBFC which was to have an initial corpus
of Rs 2,000 crore. It was waiting for cabinet clearance since the last quarter
of 2018 to enable it to issue request for proposal from private and foreign
financial firms. In the past the government has created NBFCs for growing
sectors like infrastructure and housing, the official said. Safeguards could
have been built by having its own director on board of NBFC and tying
government contribution based on the equity mobilisation by the promoters.
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TELANGANA GOVERNMENT PROPOSES TO WAIVE FARM LOANS UP TO RS 1
LAKH
The Telangana government
Friday proposed to waive all agriculture term loans up to Rs 1 lakh outstanding
as on December 11, 2018. Towards this, an amount of Rs 6,000 crore is proposed,
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who also holds the finance portfolio, said
while presenting the vote-on-account budget for 2019-20 in the legislative
assembly. He noted that his party, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), had promised
the loan waiver before the December 7, 2018 assembly elections. The budget
reflected the major electoral promises made by TRS, with thrust on welfare
schemes. Under the investment support scheme 'Rythu Bandhu', the government is
currently extending support of Rs 4,000 per acre per crop season amounting to
Rs 8,000 per annum. I propose to increase this support to Rs 5,000 per acre per
crop. The total support in a year will be Rs 10,000 per acre, Rao said. To
redeem another election promise, the government proposed to introduce
unemployment allowance of Rs 3,016 per month to the eligible. The details of
the scheme are being worked out, he added. The 'Aasara' pensions, covering the
aged, widows, single women, beedi workers, people suffering from filariasis,
handloom workers and toddy-tappers, are proposed to be increased from Rs 1,000
per month to Rs 2,016. For differently-abled persons, I propose to increase
their monthly pension from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,016, the Chief Minister said.
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STRICT ACTION IF CANE DUES NOT SETTLED BY FEB 28, UP GOVT
WARNS SUGAR MILLS
Days before Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s visit to Gorakhpur to formally launch the flagship farmer’s
minimum guarantee scheme on Sunday, the Uttar Pradesh government has asked the
state's private sugar mills to fully clear their cane arrears The defaulting
millers have been warned of strict legal action if they failed to settle their
arrears by February 28. Currently, the state mills owe almost Rs 10,000 crore
in farmers’ arrears, which is almost half the total outstanding by mills in
India, including Maharashtra. Sanjay Bhoosreddy held a meeting with the private
sugar mills to review the payments situation, in which he stressed on making
prompt payments to farmers. The millers have been directed to deposit 85% of
their realisation from the sale of sugar, and other cane byproducts, including
bagasse, molasses and press mud, in the escrow account, so that the funds could
be transferred to farmers’ bank accounts.
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SURESH PRABHU DEDICATES 1000 CRORE WORTH COMMERCE &
INDUSTRY MINISTRY PROJECTS TO THE NATION
Suresh Prabhu, dedicated
to the Nation 1000 crore worth of projects of the Commerce & Industry
Ministry through video conference in New Delhi. The projects were inaugurated
in 7 States and 2 Union Territories across the country. Commerce Minister
inaugurated skilling Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Udupi, Karnataka and laid
the foundation stone on CFC in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Commerce Minister
inaugurated two spices parks in Kota, Rajasthan and Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh.
He also inaugurated National Institute of Design (NID) campus in Jorhat, Assam
and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. Suresh Prabhu said that the CFC in Udupi for
traditional jewellery manufacture in South India will be able to produce world
class talent in gem and jewellery business for around 1200 jewellery units in
an around Udupi. The CFC in Udupi has been established by the Gem and Jewellery
Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC). The Coimbatore CFC has the capacity
to train 50, 000 people in the unique jewellery manufacture. The gem and
jewellery business in India is a USD 42 billion industry employing over 5
million people and it contributes 7 % of India’s total GDP. India is the
largest diamond cutting and polishing centre in the world and 14 out of 15
diamonds set in jewellery worldwide are processed in India. India is the 5th
largest jewellery exporter in the world. India is the largest producer and
exporter of spices in the world. India produces more than 65 spices out of the
109 spices listed by ISO. Currently, India is holding significant share of 48 %
in quantity and 43 %in value of the global spice trade. At present there is
need for improved linkages between spice producers, processes and food
processing industry and the spices parks will function as a nodal point for
development of the spices industry. The parks will provide common
infrastructure facilities for both post-harvest and processing operation of
spices. The parks will facilitate both forward and backward integration. Both
the spices parks have facilities for cleaning, grading and packing at par with
international standards. The Minister further stated that the leather package
of Rs. 2600 crore announced by the centre earlier is helping FDDI in major
infrastructural and capacity augmentation in order to bring world class
infrastructure and skills development to its campuses and turn them into
Centres of Excellence (CoE).
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SURESH PRABHU INAUGURATES AVIATION INFRA PROJECTS IN 7 STATES
This was done in order to
make them world class and future ready Justice P. Sathasivam (Retd.), Governor
of Kerala, inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for projects of Trivandrum
and Calicut airport from Trivandrum, Governor of Karnataka, Vajubhai Vala laid
the foundation stone for projects at Mangaluru airport and Sarbananda Sonowal,
Chief Minister of Assam, laid the foundation stone of Rupsi airport in Assam. Suresh
Prabhu, said that Rs. 620 crore is being spent on 8 AAI airports in the country
to upgrade and revamp airports infrastructure. The Minister further stated that
aviation connectivity will not only help in the development of tourism but will
also boost trade and airports at Rupsi, Assam and Imphal in Manipur will open
up the entire South East Asia sector and airports at countries like Nepal and
Bangladesh for tourism and trade. Suresh Prabhu said that airports in the North
East region will bring about huge transformative change and the states of North
East will now become the fastest growing states in India. Suresh Prabhu said
that these projects are not only foundation stones but are the foundation to
empower people through connectivity. India has the fastest growing aviation
sector in the world and the Civil Aviation Ministry has recently launched UDAN
3.1 and invited bids for airlines to fly over as many as 28 to 30 routes in
order to cover the North Eastern region of India, hilly terrain of Uttarakhand,
Jammu, Himachal Pradesh and establish intra island connectivity at Andaman and Lakshadweep
islands. Minister further said that the document estimates that India will need
200 airports with an investment of USD 40 to 50 billion to handle at least 1.1
billion passengers flying to, from and within the country. In order to cater to
this huge passenger traffic all round development of airports will have to take
place in order to provide quality service to flyers. The scheduled airline
fleet will rise from 622 at the end of March 2018 to 2,360 till March 2040.This
will fulfil the vision of UDAN scheme to open Indian skies and achieve its
objective of SAB UDE - SAB JUDE.
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A CLARIFICATION
With reference to the
interim Order of the Apex Court dated 13th February 2019 in CWP No 109/18
regarding claims of forest rights by forest dwelling tribals and other
traditional forest dwellers, several misleading news items are in a section of
media. It’s clarified that Govt of India, Ministry of Tribal Affairs is well
aware of its responsibilities of defending the Constitutional validity of the
Forest Rights Act and the Ministry will do everything at its disposal to
safeguard the interests of the tribals as it has been doing so far. State
Governments are being sensitised from time to time for implementation of the
various provisions of the FRA in letter and spirit.
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INDIA MUST ENSURE DIGITAL PLATFORMS REMAIN SAFE: PRASAD
India must ensure that its
digital platforms remain safe and have cybersecurity architecture built into
their foundation with safeguards such as involvement of security auditors, said
Ravi Shankar Prasad. Prasad said India’s growing digital clout in the global
arena and its thrust on initiatives to spur electronics manufacturing, are well
known. The government is pushing for a software products policy, he said,
adding that the safety of digital platforms and systems are an absolute
pre-requisite. Your platforms must be safe and secure, and therefore, the cybersecurity
architecture must be inbuilt into your system. You need to have security auditor
there is a need for greater awareness about cybersecurity requirements. If we
work along with that, India’s digital power is going to rise, Prasad said. He
added that India, with its 130-crore population, has the potential to emerge as
a big centre for data analytics. Prasad also launched some new initiatives
including the STQC Accessibility Certification Scheme, the Unified Messaging
Platform, the Public DNS Service, the Cyber Crisis Management Plan 2019 (CCMP)
and the Guidance Framework for the CCMP, the Digidhan Mitra Chatbot and the
Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs 2.0 scheme. According to
NIC, the email service has grown from an user base of 0.45 million in 2014 to
over 2 million in 2018 and handles over 2 crore mails daily.
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PM NARENDRA MODI TO LAY FOUNDATION STONE OF INDIA’S LONGEST
LPG PIPELINE ON SUNDAY
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi will on Sunday lay the foundation stone of the country’s longest LPG
pipeline that will cater to cooking fuel needs of a fourth of the country’s
population, said Dharmendra Pradhan. State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is
laying an LPG pipeline from Gujarat coast to Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh
to cater to growing demand for cooking gas in the country. IOC plans to import
LPG at Kandla in Gujarat and move it through the 1,987-kilometre pipeline to
Gorakhpur via Ahmedabad (in Gujarat), Ujjain, Bhopal (in Madhya Pradesh),
Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Lucknow (in Uttar Pradesh). The pipeline
possibly is the longest LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) pipeline in the world,
Pradhan said adding the pipeline would be laid at a cost of Rs 9,000 crore The
pipeline will carry 3.75 million tonne per annum of LPG. LPG will be fed into
the pipeline at Kandla port as well as IOC’s Koyali refinery in Gujarat. This
will be the biggest LPG pipeline in the country. GAIL currently operates a
1,415-km line from Jamnagar in Gujarat to Loni near here. The line carries 2.5
million tonne of LPG annually. GAIL also has a 623-km Vizag-Secunderabad
pipeline. IOC also has a 274-km pipeline from Panipat in Haryana to Jalandhar. Prime
Minister will on February 24 lay the foundation stone of the pipeline project
that will supply LPG to 22 bottling plants along the route, he said.
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SUPER-EFFICIENT AIR CONDITIONING PROGRAMME LAUNCHED BY EESL
Energy Efficiency Services
Limited (EESL), a joint venture of four National Public Sector Enterprises
under Ministry of Power, Government of India, launched its Super-Efficient Air
Conditioning Programme for residential and institutional consumers in the BSES
area. These Super-Efficient Air Conditioners are 40 percent more efficient
than, but priced comparably with, the 3-star ACs currently available in the
market (ISEER 3.8). EESL is working towards making this programme and its
benefits available to all consumers across the nation with the other DISCOMs
likely to partner with EESL in future. Besides promoting energy efficiency, the
Super-Efficient AC programme will also help to reduce the peak power demand in
South and West Delhi by 22MW, enabling the two organisations to harness
synergies to promote energy security and sustainability. The programme directly
addresses the prospect of the nearly four-fold increase in energy consumption
from buildings and cooling appliances in India by 2032, while also addressing
goals of India’s Cooling Action Plan and Hydrochlorofluro carbons Phase Out
Management Plan, enabling achievement of India’s targets under the Kigali and
Paris Agreements. EESL will conduct all activities related to source, supply,
complaint management and redressal, and fulfilment of warranty obligations for
the products. Applying its proven business model of demand aggregation, EESL
will mobilize the capital of INR 150 crores for the programme while redeeming
its investment through upfront payments for the super-efficient ACs from
customers. EESL has initiated the procurement process of super-efficient ACs
thereby capitalising on opportunities for leveraging economies of scale through
demand aggregation, and so reducing the cost of this superior green technology
to consumers. Based on its past experiences with bulk procurement for other
technologies and programmes, EESL expects to discover prices that are 20-30
percent less than the retail costs of similar technologies currently available
in the market. Saurabh Kumar, stated: Our UJALA programme gave us the
confidence that the Indian consumer is receptive to awareness and demand
cultivation efforts for energy efficiency. Through the Super-Efficient AC
programme, we are endeavouring to not only redefine standards for efficiency
and widen the gamut of energy efficient appliances available to Indian
consumers, but to also significantly improve upon our previous efforts to make
these technologies universally and conveniently accessible. EESL also launched
its e-Commerce website, EESLmart.in, through which customers of BRPL, and of
other DISCOMs that partner with EESL in future, can purchase the
super-efficient air conditioners. With a focus on increasing consumer adoption
of, and access to, energy efficient technologies, the website will also allow
customers to purchase other appliances distributed by EESL, including induction
cookstoves and products sold under the UJALA programme - 9-Watt LED bulbs, LED
luminaries, and BEE 5-star rated energy efficient fans.
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IATA SEEKS SINGLE, INDEPENDENT COORDINATOR FOR SLOTS AT INDIAN
AIRPORTS
Global airlines' grouping
IATA has pitched for a single and independent coordinator for allocation of
slots at airports across India, as domestic carriers grapple with slot
constraints. With the government planning to revamp the existing slot
allocation mechanism the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has
emphasised the need for transparency in the process and ensure that slot
availability is declared through NAC (Notice on Airport Capacity) charts for
all airports. The civil aviation ministry has sought views from various
stakeholders including airlines and airports, regarding the slot allocation
process. In aviation parlance, slot refers to permission given to use airport
infrastructure to arrive or depart on a specific date and time. Philip Ireland,
said the Worldwide Slot Guidelines (WSG) has been the standard for slot
allocation since 1974. Deviating from the WSG will make airlines operations in
India more complicated than it should be and do more harm than good to the
potential of Indian aviation and Vision 2040, he noted. India is one of the
fastest growing domestic aviation markets in the world and had recorded
double-digit passenger traffic growth for more than four years continuously.
Indian carriers -- Air India, Jet Airways and Vistara -- are part of IATA,
which is a grouping of around 290 airlines worldwide. Regarding slot
allocation, Ireland said there should be transparency and that the ministry
should mandate declaring of available capacity through the NAC charts for all
airports. Secondly, there should be a single, centralised and independent
airport slot coordinator for India. From a single slot-coordinator a decade
back, we now have separate slot coordinators for each of the private airports.
This leads to a multiplicity of coordinators, different practices and
interpretation of standards around slots in India, he told. He also said that
an artificial cap on slots at an airport brings uncertainty to an airline's
future growth plans. Such a move might result in less competition, less
connectivity and hurt the hub potential of the airport, he added.
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M&M WORKERS' UNION INDICTED FOR 'UNJUSTIFIED' PAYMENTS
An industrial court in the
city has indicted the workers' union of automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra
for various financial transactions between 2010 and 2012 in violation of labour
laws including payment of money to a trust founded by NCP leader Sachin Ahir.
In an order passed on February 1, tribunal member J L Gandhi held that the
union had made several financial transactions in violation of the trade union
laws and directed it to recover the money paid to certain private bodies
without any justification. The tribunal directed the union to recover over Rs
50 lakh from various organisations. The tribunal was hearing a petition filed
by an expelled union member, Ravindra Hatim. While the tribunal refused to hold
Hatim's expulsion as illegal and get him reinstated, it noted that the union
had been flouting laws. The applicant has failed to prove that his expulsion
from the union's membership is illegal and void, but succeeded to prove that
the managing committee of the opponent union misused the union's funds for
purposes other than that stipulated or enumerated in the aims and objects of
the union. Nearly Rs 50 lakh were paid out of the union's funds to Sankalp
Pratishthan and other societies, but no explanation was given as to how and
under what capacity it was paid, it added.
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RAILWAYS TO RUN SPECIAL TRAIN TO STATUE OF UNITY FROM MARCH 4
Railways will run a
special train for tourists visiting the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, five months
after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a statement from the
ministry said. The train, which will be run under the government's Bharat
Darshan scheme, will have a seven-night and eight-day tour package beginning
March 4 from Chandigarh, it said. The journey will also cover pilgrimage sites
like Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar
Jyotirlinga near Indore, MP, Shirdi Sai Baba Darshan, Trimbakeshwar in Nashik,
Maharashtra, and Ghrishneshwar Jyotirlinga in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Priced
at Rs 7,560 per person, the tour package has multiple boarding and de-boarding
stations viz Chandigarh, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Delhi Cantt,
Rewari, Alwar and Jaipur, the statement said. The package has been designed to
pay tribute to the Iron Man of India, Shri Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Train will
halt at Vadodara station and passengers will be taken to the Statue of Unity by
buses, it said.
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MUMBAI-AHMEDABAD BULLET TRAIN: CONTRACT FOR INDIA’S FIRST SUCH
PROJECT LIKELY TO BE OF RS 15,000-20,000 CRORE
The National High-Speed
Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is preparing to float the civil works
contract for India’s first bullet train project, connecting Mumbai to
Ahmedabad. It is likely to be the biggest ever civil works contract in the
country, the value of which is estimated to be in the range of five figures of
crores of rupees. The civil works contract, which will be given out to a single
entity, is slated to be floated by next month. The decks are being cleared for
this contract on war footing. Achal Khare, Managing Director of the NHSRCL was
quoted in the report saying that the corporation will be floating this tender
soon. The job for civil works will include construction of the over 200 km long
viaduct for the high-speed corridor in Gujarat along with all the installations
that come with it, including four stations Surat, Valsad, Vapi, and Billimora.
However, the setting up of the high-speed track on the viaduct will be done
under a separate contract that will come later. While it is difficult to
estimate the cost before a tender is opened, the officials estimate it will be
in the range of Rs 15,000 crore to 20,000 crore for the whole work, going by
the benchmark pricing of civil works involved. As per the agreement with Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is the funding agency, only
Indian and Japanese construction companies are qualified to apply. However,
unlike the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad
bullet train project is free to give the civil works tender to Indian companies
even without any tie-up with Japanese firms. As per terms negotiated between
India and Japan, civil works is the domain of Indian companies that may or may
not engage any Japanese company. Viaduct for high-speed operations has never
been developed in India. Railway officials stated that as per specifications,
they are heavier than the viaduct erected for Indian Railways. According to
them, irrespective of which company bags the tender, a contract of this magnitude
will surely energize India’s civil construction sector. It is being expected
that the bullet train project will require around 58 lakh tonne of cement. The
stations included in the contract are also large standalone projects each with
a unique design reflecting the local culture along with the development of
circulating areas, commercial areas, parking areas etc. Moreover, there is also
a maintenance depot between Valsad and Vapi, which is a part of the civil works
contract. The time taken to award the civil works contract is likely to be
around eight months, including pre-bid conference as well as completing all
processes. The tender will be a two packet where qualification, as well as the
financial quote, are separate, the report said.
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WILL ENSURE FULL STATEHOOD TO DELHI WITHIN 2 YEARS IF AAP WINS
ALL 7 LS SEATS: KEJRIWAL
Arvind Kejriwal on
Thursday announced that if the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) wins all seven seats his
party will ensure that Delhi gets full statehood status within two years
Kejriwal said that he will provide a pucca house to every citizen of the
national capital if Delhi attains full statehood. He also appealed to people to
not vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, but
for the issue of full statehood.
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433 GUJARAT FISHERMEN IN PAKISTANI JAILS, SAYS GOVT
As many as 433 fishermen
from Gujarat are languishing in Pakistani jails the state government said in
the assembly on Thursday. The minister's reply also said that 687 fishermen
were released from jails in the last two years. 510 fishermen were released
from jails in 2017, and 177 in 2018, it said. Asked about the steps taken by
the state to secure the release of the fishermen, the minister said that the
state government provided confirmation regarding their nationality to the union
home ministry. In another written reply, the minister said that the government
paid Rs 150 as daily livelihood allowance to families of fishermen languishing
in Pakistani jails. The allowance was increased to Rs 300 by the state
government while announcing the vote on account on Tuesday. Families of 344
fishermen were paid assistance of Rs 1.88 crore in 2017, and families of 307
fishermen were paid Rs 1.71 crore in 2018, the minister added.
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PULWAMA ATTACK: TELANGANA CM ANNOUNCES RS 25 LAKH EACH FOR
MARTYRS' FAMILIES
K Chandrasekhar Rao on
Friday announced financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh each for families of CRPF
(Central Reserve Police Force) personnel killed on the February 14 in the
Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Assembly and Council adopted a
resolution condemning the Pulwama attack and expressing sympathy with the
families of the martyrs.
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PM MODI DONATES RS 1.4 CRORE SEOUL PEACE PRIZE MONEY TO NAMAMI
GANGE FUND
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi was conferred the Seoul Peace Prize on Friday. He dedicated the prize to
the people of India and donated its amount to the Namami Gange fund Modi said,
I believe that this award belongs not to me but to the people of India. It
belongs to the success India has achieved in the less than five years powered
by the strengths and skills of 1.3 billion Indians and on their behalf, I
humbly accept the award and express my gratitude. He said the award was a
recognition of the philosophy that gave the world the message of Vasudhaiv
Kutumbkam (the world is a family). It is for the culture that has given the
message of peace even on the battlefield. In the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna
preached the Bhagwad Gita during the battle, he said. The Prime Minister said,
The Seoul Peace Prize is for the land which prays may there be peace everywhere
in the sky, in the space, all over the planet, in nature. May there be eternal
peace.
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DON'T RELEASE AUTOBIOGRAPHY TILL MAR 13: HC TO RAYMOND'S
VIJAYPAT SINGHANIA
The Bombay High Court has
restrained former chairperson of the Raymond Group, Vijaypat Singhania, from
publishing his autobiography till March 13 this year. In an interim order
passed on February 20, a single bench presided over by Justice SK Shinde
directed that Singhania must not publish his autobiography, tentatively titled
'The Incomplete Man', till the next date of hearing scheduled for March 13 this
year. The bench was hearing an application filed by Singhania seeking the
transfer of a suit filed against him in the Thane District Court by Raymond
Limited. In the said suit, the company has sought an injunction against
Singhania's autobiography on the ground that some parts of the book might be
defamatory to the company. Singhania, however, filed an application in HC
seeking that the hearing of the above suit be transferred from Thane to the
city civil court in Mumbai.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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