GENERAL UPDATES 05.03.2019

GOVERNMENT CANCELS PASSPORTS OF 33 NRIS FOR ABANDONING WIVES

The government has cancelled passports of 33 non-resident Indians or NRIs for abandoning their wives the women and child development ministry said Wednesday. The Integrated Nodal Agency (INA) made to look into the matter has been issuing Look-Out Circulars to absconding husbands in cases of NRI marriages and till now, 8 LoCs have been issued and 33 passports have been impounded by the external affairs ministry, a senior official said. The WCD ministry has also said that a detailed proposal, including points like mandatory registration of NRI marriages within one week with penal consequences for non-registration, would be placed before the Cabinet for its approval. Another clause includes amendments in passport rules to facilitate its cancellation for absconders, the official said. The WCD Ministry and NCW(National Commission for Women) are taking every possible step to protect women in NRI marriages. We serve as a nodal point of contact for grievances received from women on the dedicated email address nricell-ncw@nic.in and coordinate the redressal system, the WCD said in a tweet.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

FINTECH COS REMAIN WATCHFUL ON VOLUNTARY USE OF AADHAAR FOR KYC

While the government’s move to bring in an ordinance to allow voluntary use of Aadhaar for KYC (know your customer) has come as a relief to the banking and telecom sectors fintech companies are unsure if the step will benefit them. Even after multiple representations, non-banking payment companies appear to have been excluded from the ordinance for Aadhaar-based customer authentication, industry executives told. Section 25 of the ordinance makes it clear that authentication under Aadhaar or eKYC is only allowed for banking companies said Sunil Kulkarni. The good news for fintech companies is that through the ordinance, addition of offline Aadhaar verification use has been incorporated and is broad-based to include financial services and not just subsidies and benefit payments. Offline verification will be available for ‘reporting entities.’ Industry executives said payment companies might reach out to the Reserve Bank of India to understand the next step in the KYC process. Permission to use offline Aadhaar could emerge as a ray of hope for fintech companies, many of which are burdened with paper-based documentation process for customer authentication.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

INADEQUATE ATM INFRA COULD HIT INDIA'S FINANCIAL INCLUSION PLAN

The government’s aim to drive financial inclusion could face a major roadblock if the ATM infrastructure continues to be inadequate, the Confederation of ATM industries of India told a central bank committee. Himanshu Pujara, which is a collective of about 20 ATM companies, said the industry had requested for an increase in interchange for inter-bank ATM transactions in at least rural ATMs, so that the cash dispensing business there becomes viable. In a presentation made to the Reserve Bank of India’s committee on deepening of digital payments, headed by Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani, the industry body suggested an increase in the fee to Rs 18 from Rs 15 currently for financial transactions and to Rs 8 from Rs 5 for non-financial transactions. A look at the number reveals that cash is back in the economy, card transactions on ATMs are also increasing, but rural ATM infrastructure is not up to the mark, said Pujara. We need to deploy (ATMs) in tier 3-6 locations to bridge the demand and supply gap for cash, but fresh deployment has completely halted. Data from the RBI show that rural areas, where more than 77 crore people live, have only 41,000 ATMs, indicating the skewed spread of the cash machines, Pujara said. As per RBI figures, the number of ATMs has remained around 2.2 lakh for quite some time now. The number has reduced post the demonetisation days. Meanwhile, compliance cost has gone up for banks and the ATM industry, with the central bank having strengthened rules for cash transit. Also, ATMs have been updated to read chip and pin cards so that security can be enhanced.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

SOON, ONLINE DATABASE OF DEPOSIT TAKERS

The government took another step towards investor's protection by issuing the ordinance to ban the Unregulated Deposit Schemes, more commonly known as Ponzi schemes. The intent of this Ordinance is to check illicit deposit activities in the country. There are operators who take money from small investors and lure them with higher interest rates with an intention to defraud them. The introduction of this ordinance will act as a roadblock for these operators. As per the ordinance, Unregulated Deposit Schemes are schemes or arrangements under which deposits in the form of money received by way of an advance or loan or in any other form are accepted or solicited by any deposit taker by way of business and are not regulated by any regulator. No deposit taker shall now be allowed to directly or indirectly promote, operate, issue any advertisement soliciting participation or acceptance of deposits in pursuance of an Unregulated Deposit Scheme. Deposit takers include all possible entities (including individuals) except banks and certain specific entities. Individuals are now prevented from taking any deposit or loan from any person other than their relatives. Partnership firms can now take deposits or loans only from relatives of their partners. Issuance of this ordinance raised concerns amongst small businesses in terms of genuine transactions. These were later clarified by the Ministry of Finance - exempting loans/advances availed by individuals, firms, companies & LLP, etc. in the course of business as per Section 2(4) E, F, I and other provisions. Further, individuals taking loans or money from relatives or friends for marriage, medical emergency, business needs or any other personal reasons are also not covered within the ambit of the said ordinance. The Ordinance also provides for punishment ranging from one to 10 years of imprisonment, along with a fine ranging from Rs 2 lakh to 50 crore, to act as a deterrent from committing any offence. Further, it also provides for attachment of properties or assets and subsequent realisation of assets for repayment to depositors.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

SERVICES PMI GAINS MOMENTUM, RISES TO 52.5 IN FEB FROM 52.2 IN JAN

The country's services sector activity gathered momentum in February, driven by a quicker expansion in new work orders that supported a faster increase in output and job creation, a monthly survey showed Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index rose from 52.2 in January to 52.5 in February, indicating an upturn in output. The services PMI was in the expansion territory for the ninth straight month. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction. New business received by services companies rose to a greater extent in February amid strengthening underlying demand, the survey said adding that the upturn in new orders in the services sector was domestically driven, as highlighted by a renewed contraction in external sales. According to Pollyanna De Lima, Principal Economist at IHS Markit, and author of the report, Faster increases in new work and business activity supporting one of the best upturns in jobs for eight years. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index, that maps both the manufacturing and services industry, rose from 53.6 in January to 53.8, indicating acceleration in private sector activity in the country. Meanwhile price pressures waned as almost 97 per cent of panellists reported no change in their selling prices.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

LAND, LABOUR REFORMS NEEDED TO AID MANUFACTURING: CEA

India’s next government will have to bring in land, labour and financial sector reforms to improve the productivity of the manufacturing sector and boost economic growth, Krishnamurthy Subramanian said. These are the critical areas, we need to work on, Subramanian said. Several business leaders said a delay in land acquisition for private factories, decades-old restrictive labour laws and higher borrowing costs discourage many investors, who therefore prefer to build new plants in countries like Vietnam, Thailand, and Bangladesh. The share of manufacturing in the economy has grown just 1.5 percentage points in the last three years to 18 per cent, and goods exports have shown little sign of a pick up in the last five years. India’s economic growth rate has decelerated to a five-quarter low of 6.6 percent in the last quarter of 2018, dragged down by lower growth in consumer demand and government spending, raising concerns among policymakers and politicians. But brushing aside concerns about an economic slowdown, Subramanian said the present government's economic reforms have contributed to an average annual growth rate of 7.3 percent over the past five years. Land costs have more than doubled over the past five years, and hiring costs have gone up significantly, hitting labour intensive sectors like textile, leather and gems and jewellery, business leaders said. The country faces an uphill task to create jobs and shift millions of unemployed and underemployed youth from the rural farm sector to urban areas. We have a population that is growing at less than one per cent and the food is growing more than 3 per cent, he said referring to fall in prices of food items. Because there is a surplus, the prices will go down, said Subramanian, adding that India’s farm sector faced a real crisis and needed government intervention. The average annual income of farm households was just ₹30,000 he said, and the government’s plan to directly transfer ₹6,000 annually to each of about 120 million farmer households would help them as well as the economy. Subramanian said the economy was on a stronger footing thanks to economic reforms, higher State spending on infrastructure and fall in inflation which has strengthened the domestic consumer demand and private investments. We are poised for growth because some of the requirements for a sustained growth without speed breakers have been erected, he said adding the economy could grow at 7.2 to 7.5 per cent in the next fiscal year beginning April 1.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

MSMES URGE NAVEEN PATNAIK TO CHANGE STATUS OF ALLOTTED LANDS TO FREEHOLD

Micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Odisha represented by nine industry associations, have urged chief minister Naveen Patnaik to change the status of allotted lands from leasehold to freehold There are around 50,000 MSME units operating in 106 industrial estates in the state where around 4200 units have been allocated nearly 5000 acres of land against due payment. These MSME units provide direct employment to 150,000 workers supporting around 500,000 families. The industry bodies rued that the growth of MSME has been substantially retarded for inadequate credit flow, non-availability of real time co-lateral security and the need of various NOCs (no objection certificates) due to leasehold nature of the land. It discourages establishment of new enterprises, they said.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

UJJWALA LEADS TO 40 MN NEW LPG CONNECTIONS WITH A JUMP OF 45% IN FY19

The push for clean energy through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has led to a record 40.7 million new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections being added in the current fiscal year (2018-19, or FY19). This is a jump of 45 per cent over 2017-18 (FY18). The three oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) — have together set a target of adding 42.5 million customers by the end of March 31. The rising number of Ujjwala customers is, however, increasing the government’s subsidy burden. The LPG subsidy during the first nine months of the current fiscal year has already crossed the last year’s mark by 23 per cent. The government shelled out Rs 25,700-crore subsidy during April-December 2018, compared to Rs 20,880 crore during the whole of FY18. The Budget for 2019-20 had, however, provided only Rs 20,283 crore in the Revised Estimates for FY19. The government expects the LPG subsidy to rise 62 per cent to Rs 32,989 crore next year. A part of this is expected to be rolled over from the current year. There were around 148 million LPG consumers in India on March 31, 2015. The number has increased by about 77 per cent to 261.6 million now.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

GOVERNMENT MAY ISSUE ORDINANCE TO RESTORE SC/ST FACULTY QUOTA IN UNIVERSITIES

In a last ditch effort to counter political opposition and a social backlash against dilution of university faculty reservations ahead of the elections, the Modi government is likely to issue an ordinance this week to restore the earlier system of quotas for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. The ordinance to impose reservation university-wise instead of by department is set to be taken up on March 6, when the Union Cabinet meets possibly for the last time to clear projects and schemes before the model code of conduct comes into force with the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule. The Cabinet is also expected to approve an additional allocation of about Rs 4,000 crore to fund implementation of the 10% quota for economically weaker classes in higher education institutes, officials said. The ordinance on university faculty quotas will clearly say that a Central Educational Institution shall be regarded as one unit for the purpose of reservation of posts.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

DELHI GOVERNMENT DRAFTS POLICY TO CHECK FOOD WASTAGE AT SOCIAL FUNCTIONS

The Delhi government has drafted a policy to keep a check on the wastage of food at social functions in the national capital. All organisers and caterers will have to register themselves with NGOs to manage the surplus and leftover food for distribution among the underprivileged, says the draft policy. The caterer should make proper arrangements to handover fresh surplus and leftover food to these NGOs reads the Draft 'Policy for Holding Social Functions in Hotels, Motels and Low-Density Residential Area (LDRA) in National Capital Territory of Delhi'. According to the draft policy, the owner, organiser, and the caterer must have the necessary permissions including FSSAI license from Delhi's Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to run their kitchens or to sell or serve prepared food for the guest and the consumer. The Commissioner Food Safety shall ensure that the above conditions are strictly followed; any violation thereof would invite action from the deployed officers by the Commissioner Food Safety, the draft policy reads. The rules will be enforced by periodical inspections, which shall be conducted by officers of various state stakeholder agencies.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ECOURTS APP BRINGS REFORMS IN JUSTICE DELIVERY SYSTEM

eCourts services is touted as a revolution in court management in the country and is expected to speed up India’s quest for attaining top ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business. A new digital app, available on both android and iOS, has already seen 17 lakh downloads within few months of its launch, recording almost 5,000 downloads a day, making it so popular that it has bagged the top Digital India award this year. This mobile application gives case status and entire case history of almost all 3.2 crore pending cases across 21 high courts and about 18,000 district & subordinate courts in India. Barring the Supreme Court and four high courts of Delhi, Bombay, Karnataka and MP, all 21 other HCs in the country have been linked through the app along with subordinate courts giving details of all pending cases. Using the app, litigants and lawyers can e-pay court fees, have a one-point solution to view entire case history, cause list, download judgments and can store multiple cases within the app to monitor their progress. E-Courts Services App is useful to citizen, litigants, lawyers, police, government agencies and other institutional litigants, said Justice Madan B Lokur, retired Supreme Court judge who spearheaded the computerisation and modernising of courts over the last decade which has helped in expeditious service delivery and disposal of cases. Justice Lokur told that this new app is one of the most significant court reforms initiated in the country so far and would help in not only tracking court cases but would also help the higher judiciary in monitoring performance of judges of the district and subordinate courts—how much time each of them spend on each case and the number of times cases are adjourned in their courts. Next big task on hand is to ensure installation of information kiosks at all court premises, Justice Lokur said. One of the important aspects of this eCourt app is that it provides option of saving your case history within the app and scanning the QR code assigned to a case to obtain case history. The setting up of Judicial Service Centres in each court complexes with facilities of touch screen information kiosks and waiting area for litigants will act as a single window system where a host of eServices can be accessed, such as e-filing of cases, obtaining certified copies of orders and judgments and case status. Maintained by NIC, the portal has recorded 24.11 crore e-transactions so far, according to law ministry and has been ranked among top five of the government’s eGovernance projects.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ELECTIONS 2019: POLITICAL PARTIES TO SPEND ₹400 CRORE ON OUTDOOR ADS ALONE

Political parties are expected to spend as much as ₹400 crore on outdoor ads ahead of Elections 2019 due by May, according to media buyers. Outdoor has specific nuances, which is physical and locational in nature. It cannot be switched off, skipped or blocked. It is this physical presence that makes it the most transparent of mediums, said Sujit Banerjee. Apart from general elections, outdoor advertising is expected to take centre stage this year due to events such as the ICC Cricket World Cup. Overall out-of-home (OOH) advertising is poised for disruptive growth in the next 8-12 months. Events such as general elections, big sporting events such as Indian Premier League and ICC World Cup followed by assembly elections in a few big states will help drive its usage, said Fabian Cowan. With an estimated size of ₹3,000-5,000 crore the outdoor medium will continue to grow at an annual average growth rate of 10%. Another emerging advertising category propelling this growth is over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Zee5, among others.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

GOVT’S NEW AADHAAR CAMPAIGN TO MENTION PM KISAN NIDHI SCHEME, EARLIER IT RETURN FILING

A new TV and radio campaign on Aadhaar is expected to include the pitch that having an Aadhaar number will benefit crores of farmers spread across the country as they can get their yearly assistance of Rs 6,000 under PM Kisan Nidhi Samman Scheme directly into their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. The campaign, with mini-films and audio spots, will also focus on how Aadhaar is making filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) easier to verify your ITR in a jiffy and doing away with the need to send a physical copy to the processing centre in Bengaluru. This is the brief given for the campaign to prospective bidders this year after Aadhaar was made non-compulsory for a host of services after a Supreme Court order and limited only to government subsidies and services. The government had decided to accept Aadhaar enrolment number for giving out the first instalment under the PM Kisan Nidhi Samman scheme while an Aadhaar number shall be compulsory for release of 2nd instalment. The Union Cabinet on February 28 relaxed conditions to made Aadhaar seeding of the beneficiaries' data compulsory only from the third instalment so as to not cause discontent among farmers since the seeding required biometric authentication. The government has similarly made Aadhaar compulsory for availing medical insurance services under the PM-JAY Ayushman Bharat scheme to eliminate frauds or misappropriation attempts. The number of total authentications done by people using an Aadhaar had dropped to a year’s low last November of just 824 million following the SC order on September 26, 2018 but have since picked up again with 964 million authentications in January this year and 868 million last month, as per the online dashboard of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). This shows people are back to using Aadhaar for a host of services, officials claim. This seems to have prompted the government to come out with an ordinance on February 28 which allows the voluntary use of Aadhaar number in physical or electronic form by authentication or offline verification with the consent of Aadhaar number holder and for authentication on voluntary basis as acceptable KYC document under the Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

DELHI-NCR OVERTAKES MAHARASHTRA AS INDIA'S TOP FDI DESTINATION

The New Delhi region, which covers the national capital and parts of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Haryana, has pipped long-standing leader Maharashtra, in attracting FDI (foreign direct investment) equity inflows into the country. New Delhi received FDI equity inflows to the tune of Rs 57,333 crore ($8.3 billion) in the first nine months of 2018-19 (FY19), data released by DIPP (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) showed. FDI equity inflows aggregated about $33.5 billion in first nine months of fiscal year 2018-19, a 7% decline compared to the same corresponding period in the previous fiscal year. Though Tamil Nadu’s share in FDI inflows declined to 14% in the first nine months of FY2018-19 from 18% during the corresponding period in FY2017-18, it was much higher than the 3% share in the same period in FY2016-17, data showed. Maharashtra, which had the highest share in FDI in the first nine months of fiscal 2016-17 (49%), has witnessed a consistent drop in its share. Its share in total FDI flows fell to 32% during the same corresponding period in fiscal 2017-18 and further to 24% in the same period in FY2018-19. In contrast, Delhi has seen a sustained increase in its share in total FDI equity inflows — from 14% in first nine months in FY2016-17 to 17% in FY2017-18 and further to 25% in the same period in FY2018-19. Maharashtra’s FDI inflows fell 30% year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs 56,346 crore ($8.02 billion) in the first nine months of FY19 while that of Tamil Nadu contracted 26% y-o-y to Rs 14,166 crore ($2.05 billion), DIPP data showed. FDI inflows into Karnataka also slumped 26% y-o-y to Rs 33,014 crore ($4.74 billion). Gujarat, however, saw higher inflows — from $787 million in the first nine months of FY2017-18 to about $1.7 billion in the same corresponding period in FY2018-19. Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat received nearly 75% of the total FDI equity inflows into the country in the first nine months of FY2018-19. The top-5 sectors — services, computer hardware and software, chemicals, telecommunication and trading— accounted for nearly 65% of total FDI equity inflows. During the first nine months of FY2018-19, chemicals received highest FDI inflows of $6.07 billion, which was 18% of the total FDI equity inflows during this timeframe. It was much higher than the 3% share of the sector in the comparable period last year and was five times more than the inflows amounting to $1.1 billion in the first nine months of FY2017-18. It was followed by services with nearly 17.7% share and by computer software and hardware (14% share). While inflows in the services sector grew by 28% y-o-y, it declined 8% in computer hardware and software.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

LOKPAL SEARCH PANEL RECOMMENDS FINAL NAMES TO PM

The Justice Ranjana Desai-led search committee for appointment of Lokpal has finalised its recommendations for the chairperson and eight members of the anti-corruption ombudsman. The committee, sources told, has sent a list comprising five names for Lokpal and 24 names for members of the anti-graft body — three each for eight positions — to PM Narendra Modi, who heads the Lokpal selection committee. The eight-member search panel, formed in September, held its first meeting in January. It held several meetings after February 22, the last day for receiving applications and nominations for appointment as Lokpal. Working against the February 28 deadline fixed by the SC to recommend names, the panel is understood to have forwarded the list to the PM on Friday. The selection committee, which is headed by the PM and has CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and former advocate general Mukul Rohatgi as members, may meet soon. While Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is designated as a special invitee on the selection panel, he to attend its meetings, saying invitation as special invitee without the right of participation, recording of opinion and voting is an eyewash. The senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP also accused the government of making a concerted effort to keep an important member of the selection committee out, which has implications on selection of the Lokpal.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

AADHAAR CAN BE USED VOLUNTARILY AS ID PROOF, PRESIDENT SIGNS ORDINANCE

President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to an ordinance that allows voluntary use of Aadhaar as ID proof for obtaining mobile SIM cards and opening bank accounts. The ordinance -- necessitated because the Rajya Sabha could not approve a Bill after its passage by the Lok Sabha -- was promulgated on Saturday. The amendments make it clear that anyone not offering Aadhaar cannot be denied any service, be it opening of a bank account or obtaining a mobile phone SIM card.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

NITI AAYOG TO DRAW UP LIST OF CPSES' NON-CORE ASSETS FOR MONETISATION

Niti Aayog has been tasked with drawing up a list of non-core assets of various CPSEs both healthy and sick ones, as the first step towards finance ministry's plan to monetise such assets and unlock value to shareholders. This is part of the overall plans of the government to lay down procedure and mechanism for monetisation of non-core assets of central public sector undertakings (CPSEs), which include mainly land and building. Niti Aayog will draw up the list of non-core assets owned by CPSEs which can be sold separately after discussion with a consultative group comprising officials from administrative ministries, Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), an official told PTI. The process would take about six months' time, the official added. The report of Niti Aayog will be taken up by the alternative mechanism on disinvestment, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, following which the CPSE and the respective administrative ministry will further proceed with the monetisation process, the official added. So far the disinvestment process was confined to a corporate level. Now, it will go one step down and monetise non-core assets of CPSEs to unlock wealth and generate value on equity for shareholders, the official added. It is pertinent to mention here that in 2016 Niti Aayog was also asked to draw up a list of CPSEs which could go in for a strategic sale. It has already identified about 35 CPSEs which could go in for outright sale. The nine CPSEs whose non-core assets have been identified for hiving off are Pawan Hans, Scooters India, Air India, Bharat Pumps & Compressors, Project & Development India Ltd (PDIL), Hindustan Prefab, Hindustan Newsprint, Bridge and Roof Co and Hindustan Fluorocarbons.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

BANKS STILL NEED TO LEND RS 1 TRILLION TO MEET FY19 MUDRA TARGET: GOVT DATA

With less than one month left in the current financial, banks will have to work overtime to meet the Mudra loan lending target of Rs 3 trillion, as only about Rs 2 trillion have been disbursed till February 22. As on February 22, the total loan disbursed under the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd (Mudra) scheme stood at Rs 2,02,668.9 crore as against sanctioned amount of Rs 2,10,759.51 crore, said a government data. The latest data of the finance ministry said over 3.89 crore Mudra loans have been sanctioned this fiscal so far. According to the Budget 2018-19, the government intends to disburse loans of up to Rs 3 trillion in the current financial year ending March 31. In 2017-18, the lending at Rs 2,46,437.40 crore had exceeded the target. In fact, lending under the scheme has exceeded the targets in all previous fiscal.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

369 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS FACING COST OVERRUNS, 366 DELAYED: REPORT

As many as 369 infrastructure projects of the total 1,420 under implementation are facing cost overruns while another 366 are significantly delayed, according to a report. The report Infrastructure & Real Estate: A fulcrum for Change & Economic Growth by Property consultant ANAROCK and Association of Infrastructure Industry (India) said the government should accord high priority to the infra sector. It said India's vision to enter the $ 5 trillion club economy by 2025 depends on the development of infrastructure and real estate that contribute 29.5 per cent to the GDP. The sheer impact of challenges faced by the infrastructure projects is visible from these statistics - of the total 1,420 projects under implementation, 369 projects are facing time overruns to the tune of Rs 3.38 trillion of cost overrun and an average time of 46 months for 366 delayed projects, the report said. To expedite infrastructure development along with maintaining the ecological and political balance, the government must give high importance to addressing the challenges, it said. If negligence towards such factors is continued the sector which is expected to fuel the overall economic growth of the country and generate employment opportunities will lose its shine which will thereby hamper the economic growth of the country, it said. The report said infrastructure and real estate sector's contribution to India's GDP is the highest at 29.5 per cent compared to 22.6 per cent in the US and 17.6 per cent in China.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

GOVERNMENT PLANS SKILL VOUCHERS TO MAKE YOUTH MORE SKILFUL

The government is considering issuing skill vouchers or skill wallets to incentivise youths to undertake skilling programme of their own choice. The vouchers can be used to pay for skill training at any of the approved skill providers, a senior government official told. The redeemable value of these vouchers/wallets will depend on the courses opted, the official said. This is against the existing system where trainers and employers are subsidised to impart skills training and apprenticeship. The move is in line with the government’s plan to shift from subsidy-based system to incentive-based Skill India mission The official said the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship is deliberating on ways to incentivise India’s youth to take on skilling programmes and one of the ways of doing this is to issue vouchers/wallets that can be redeemed by students after the skills training is imparted. It is expected to empower the youth to opt for courses of their choices besides ensuring trainers impart quality training. The plan is to issue 100% redeemable wallets/vouchers for skills training in sectors like construction as the starting salary earned in these sectors is generally not enough for the youth to bear the cost of training. However, for courses like those of beautician or fashion designing where the starting salary is good, the vouchers will be partly redeemable and the remaining cost will have to be borne by the candidate. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is of the view that enough consolidation and upgradation has happened in the last four years under the Skill India Mission, but it is now time to experiment with an altogether new model to making skilling aspirational for India’s youth. Less than 5% of India’s workforce is formally skilled, compared to South Korea (96%), Japan (80%), Germany (75%), United Kingdom (68%) and the United States (52%), according to MSDE’s annual report for 2015-16.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

GOVT APPROVES PENSION OPTION FOR OVER 42,000 EMPLOYEES OF PSU INSURERS

In a big bonanza to over 42,000 employees of public sector insurance companies, the government Saturday decided to give one more pension option as retirement benefit to these left over officers and staff who missed the opportunity in the past. This benefit is applicable to those who have joined any of the Public Sector Insurance Companies (PSICs) on or before June 28, 1995. To benefit 42720 employees including 10720 senior citizens, Arun Jaitley said in a tweet. These employees had opted for contributory provident fund instead of pension option

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ASSETS OF SONIA, RAHUL AND MANEKA GANDHI GREW MANIFOLD IN 10 YEARS: REPORT

Assets of most politicians, representing various Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha constituencies, have grown manifold between 2004 and 2019, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi's assets grew by Rs 8 crore between 2004 and 2014. While that of Maneka Gandhi's increased by Rs 30 crore, the report revealed. Mulayam Singh Yadav's assets grew by Rs 14 crore from 2004 to 2014, it added. In 2007, legislators who were re-elected in 2012, saw a phenomenal growth in their assets from an average of Rs 1.2 crore in 2007 to Rs 3.87 crore in 2012 and Rs 7.74 crore in 2017. Of the 19,971 candidates who were considered for the analysis, 1,443 MPs and 38 per cent legislators had admitted of criminal records against them. Of these, 328 legislators and MP's have serious criminal charges against them, it said.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

DELHI CABINET APPROVES 1,000 ELECTRIC BUSES

In a major move to fight air pollution, the Delhi cabinet on Saturday approved 1,000 Low Floor AC Electric Buses for the national capital, claiming to be the first Indian city to have such a large number of e-buses. Kailash Gahlot said the decision will help in ensuring a cleaner and greener future for the people of Delhi. Delhi will become the first Indian city to have such a large no of electric buses, Kejriwal tweeted. The number of passengers carried daily by Delhi Transport Corp (DTC) and cluster buses is some 43 lakh, according to official data. This is more than the 25 lakh ferried every day by Delhi Metro. The cabinet also gave its approval to allow the Transport Department to ask the prospective bidders to bring the buses with CCTV, Automatic Vehicle Tracking System (AVTS), Panic buttons and Panic alarms as per the specification finalized by the government, it said. A subsidy of up to Rs 75 lakh per bus or 60 per cent of cost of bus, whichever is lesser, shall be provided in three instalments along with the safeguards as prescribed by the Delhi government.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

EVMS BEING TREATED LIKE ‘FOOTBALL’: CEC

Electronic voting machines are being treated like football, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said on Friday in the wake of political parties expressing apprehensions on the working of EVMs EVMs are being used for the past over two decades. If we take results of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls into account, the results of the Delhi Assembly polls, four months after, were different. We have made EVMs football, knowingly or unknowingly. If the result is X, then EVMs are okay, and if it is Y, then EVMs are faulty, Arora said. He was also asked about the Election Commission’s view on the apprehensions raised by political parties over the functioning of EVMs. We have taken cognisance of sentiments of people and started the use of VVPAT (voter-verifiable paper audit trail). There were some problems initially, but arrangements have been made (for its use), Arora said. Defending the use of EVMs, the CEC said, these (EVMs) are made by highly-secure companies — Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), which are involved in making defence equipment. He said a technical advisory committee is there to keep an eye on EVM arrangements. It has decisive powers, which even the EC did not have. This committee has the best of scientists. Therefore, there are no chances of doubts, Arora said.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

DUE PROCEDURES NOT FOLLOWED IN 2017 POLLS: RETURNING OFFICER IN HC

A deputy collector who was Dholka constituency’s returning officer for the 2017 Assembly polls admitted to the Gujarat High Court on Friday that he did not videograph or follow due process of re-verification of all postal ballots, as per the provision. Dhaval Jani is a witness in the trial on the election petition moved by Congress leader Ashwin Rathod, who has challenged the victory of state education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama in the polls. Rathod lost to Chudasama by a margin of a mere 327 votes, and said he lost because the returning officer illegally invalidated 429 postal votes. He has also alleged that Jani was transferred to Dholka by Chudasama’s design, despite the model code of conduct, to win the election. On whether he breached the provision of the Handbook of the Returning Officers, 2014. (directive 15.15.5.1), Jani said he may have skipped a few steps, but the intention was never to be in breach of Election Commission directives. As per the handbook, in case the victory margin is less than the total number of postal ballots received, there should be mandatory re-verification of all postal ballots. The Observer and RO (returning officer) shall record the findings of re-verification and satisfy themselves before finalising the result. The entire proceeding should be videographed without compromising the secrecy of ballot and the video cassette/CD should be sealed in a separate envelope for future reference. Percy Kavina, representing Rathod, presented as evidence to the court the CCTV footage of the counting hall during the counting process to show that Jani had not announced as mandated that the postal ballot count had finished.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

WILL RISE IN CLAIMS BUMP UP INSURANCE PREMIUM UNDER AYUSHMAN BHARAT?

Tamil Nadu, which has integrated the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) with the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme, has submitted 1.25 lakh claims so far totalling ₹274 crore United India Insurance, the State’s insurance partner for the earlier CMCHIS, currently charges a premium of ₹699 per cover, which is borne by the State (under Ayushman, it is split between the Centre and the State in 60:40 ratio for 77 lakh beneficiaries). The existing tender comes up for renewal in 2022. The fact that the State’s health scheme has been in operation for over seven years, and claims have more or less stabilised, lends comfort on the premium front. But integration of Ayushman with CMCHIS is likely to increase awareness and also lead to substantial rise in claims over the next two to three years. This could bump up premium costs significantly when the tender comes up for renewal. Tamil Nadu’s CMCHIS offered a coverage of ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh per year for specified procedures for those with an annual income of less than ₹72,000. Under Ayushman (PMJAY-CMCHIS), while about 77 lakh beneficiaries must be covered as per SECC data, the State covers close to 1.47 crore families for up to ₹5 lakh according to the income criteria. According to the existing tender, which is up to 2022, the insurance company will take care of specified procedures up to the sum insured of ₹1 lakh or ₹2 lakh. For uncovered procedures beyond the sum insured, reimbursement will be done by the State. Currently, the overall utilisation has been 3-4 per cent over the past few years – that is, of the 1.4 crore families – about six lakh have been availing benefits under the CMCHIS every year. If utilisation moves up to 5-6 per cent, premiums could go up substantially. However, there are some factors that lend comfort. Ayushman covers 1,393 procedures, while CMCHIS covered 1,027 packages About 335 packages fall under both schemes, while 635 are covered in one and not the other. All three types – totalling 970 – are clubbed and covered under the new integrated health scheme called PMJAY-CMCHIS. The remaining 423 packages (1,393 less 970) have been reserved only for government hospitals. These are mainly low-end procedures. The re-jigging of the packages in such a way ensures minimal burden on the insurer as the procedures reserved for government hospitals are zero packages, explains Selvavinayagam.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

PUNJAB CABINET GIVES NOD TO DISBURSE RS 25 PER QTL TO CANE GROWERS

The Punjab cabinet Saturday gave nod to disburse Rs 25 per quintal to cane growers out of the state agreed price (SAP) of Rs 310 for the crushing season 2018-19. The balance amount of Rs 285 per quintal will be paid by the private sugar mills. The ex-post facto approval to directly credit Rs 25 per quintal into the accounts of sugarcane growers came nearly three months after the state government had agreed to pay Rs 25 per quintal following state-wide protests by cane growers. The move is aimed at ensuring economic viability of the mills and timely cane payment to the farmers for the crushing season 2018-19, and is a follow-up of the decision taken in this regard at a meeting held under the Chairmanship of the CM on December 5, 2018, as per an official release. Mill owners at that time had said that they would buy cane at the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of Rs 275 per quintal fixed by the central government. However, the state government had issued a notification to purchase sugarcane as per SAP for early, mid and late varieties at Rs 310, Rs 300 and Rs 295 per quintal, respectively.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

FOUR MAJOR PORT TRUSTS TO BUY CENTRE’S STAKE IN DCI FOR RS 1,056 CR

Four major port trusts will buy the Central government’s 73.47 per cent stake in Dredging Corporation of India Ltd (DCI) for Rs 1,056 crore at Rs 510 per share. Central government-owned Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Paradip Port Trust, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Deendayal Port Trust are paying a whopping 42.26 per cent premium a share to buy the government holding in DCI, at least two people briefed on the deal said, asking not to be named. The share purchase agreement will be signed by the four major port trusts and the government on 8 March, a government official, one of the two persons mentioned earlier, said. DCI’s public share holders who hold 26.53 per cent of the stock will not benefit from the deal. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), exempted the deal from the mandatory open offer under the Take Over Code. The market regulator’s approval was holding up the finalisation of the transaction for which the price bid was submitted on February 4.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

MINISTRY JUNKS PROPOSAL FOR MINIMUM IMPORT PRICE ON STEEL AS PRICES FIRM UP

The Steel Ministry has junked a proposal to levy Minimum Import Price on steel as domestic prices of the commodity have recovered. Birender Singh, told : If you see in the last three months there was a ₹10,000 a tonne to ₹12,000 a tonne reduction in prices, so there is no situation of prices going up as being said. My personal view is that the general consumer should not feel that there is any pinch. We are very much aware of that. Singh said the steel industry has recovered from the situation that had come about over the past three-four years. I would say that we are on the correct path and if the industry will need more support to be competitive, we are ready for that. The demand in the country is also growing. I think the auto industry is struggling a little bit. But, the other sectors are growing, the infrastructure spends continue to be quite strong and the rural markets we see are also continuing to pick up steam. So, demand is continuing to improve and this is probably the best time of the year for steel production from January to June. The inventories have already dropped in February and we expect them to drop further in March, Narendran added.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

RAJASTHAN EDUCATION SYSTEM UNDERGOING A SEA CHANGE UNDER NEW GOVERNMENT

Rajasthan's education system is undergoing a sea change with the new Congress government infusing fresh thoughts into the system From taking initiatives to motivate teachers by felicitating them at the block, district and state levels to changing the course curriculum to remove the politicisation and saffronisation of education done during the former BJP regime, the state government is trying to make education a smooth process where students don't look at the world from a political prism, Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara told. We are looking at things in a holistic manner and hence have decided that no student shall stand with flowers or bouquets to welcome any politician. This will end the torture of students who keep standing for hours under the sun (waiting for the dignitary to arrive), wasting their time and energy which should otherwise be used for academics. Also, this practice symbolises that a politician is more like a God who needs to be offered flowers and bouquets, Dotasara added. He further informed that the education department has set up a committee to review the syllabus in government schools. While 80 per cent of the syllabus shall remain the same, 20 per cent will undergo certain changes. The former BJP government brought in saffronisation and politicisation of education. Hence we are reviewing those aspects the minister added. There is a picture of Sati in school textbooks. How can the picture be there when the practice has been long abolished, he asked. Dotasara further said that the former government had reduced the role of freedom fighters in textbooks and had presented the role of Veer Savarkar far more strongly. This reflects saffronisation in textbooks and to review this, we have formed a special committee comprising educationists who are looking into all such aspects, Dotasara said that stories of martyrs will be included in textbooks.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

INDIA’S MSP PROGRAMME FOR PULSES UNDER WTO LENS

India’s minimum support price (MSP) programme for pulses has come under greater scrutiny at the World Trade Organization (WTO) with the US, Canada and Australia serving it a formal counter-notification, alleging that the subsidy involved was much higher than the permitted cap. The EU, New Zealand, Ukraine and Paraguay also joined the chorus against the country. Defending itself at the agriculture committee meeting this week in Geneva, India said the calculations of MSP made by the US and Canada were incorrect and stressed that its price support programme for pulses was only to ensure nutrition supply for 195 million poor people. The five pulses covered under MSP are chickpeas, pigeon peas, black matpe, mung beans and lentils. Contrary to India’s reported number of 1.5 per cent of total value of production, Canada and the US believed India’s MPS (market price support) for pulses was actually between 31-85 per cent, vastly exceeding its de minimis limits (cap) of 10 per cent of the total value of production, a Geneva-based trade official said. In case it is established that India’s ‘trade distorting support’ exceeds the cap, it would be forced to discontinue the support programmes, failing which it may have to pay penalties. Although India and a number of developing countries have been demanding that food procurement subsidies should not be capped, WTO members are yet to arrive at a permanent solution to the problem. In addition, India only provided the aggregate MPS support for five pulses products without breaking down figures according to each product, it added. In response, India said that the US and Canada’s counter-notification, co-sponsored by Australia, was based on incomplete and misleading information. India said its minimum market price support for pulses was merely to ensure nutrition supply for 195 million poor people and is a very small quantity. It insisted that eligible production is only the volume actually purchased by the government, the trade official said.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

IT, START-UPS DRIVING BENGALURU HOUSING MARKET: CREDAI

The housing demand in the country is very strong. Especially in Bengaluru, IT and start-up trend is creating a lot of job opportunities which in turn helping the housing market, said Ashish Puravankara. The GST rate cut will provide a much needed relief to this sector. People who are currently unable to decide due to the price and tax factors will be inclined to make new decisions as the new GST rates are conducive and more affordable, he added. According to a report by CREDAI, during the second-half of 2018, residential property sale in the city surged by 35 per cent compared to the previous year 2017. The department of Stamps and Registration shared that the real estate market in Bengaluru recorded nearly 20 per cent rise in revenue from property registrations in the last seven months of 2018 in comparison to 2017. This indicates that the property buyers are not in a wait mode as the city has been offering the best residential properties at a better price.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

UNAUTHORISED SURCHARGE IMPEDING E-PAYMENT SYSTEM, FINDS IIT MUMBAI STUDY

Unauthorised surcharging and high MDR charges are some of the reasons for impeding growth and sustenance of digital payments despite all efforts to promote it, according to a study. This is, inter alia, due to the distortionary pricing of payment products (i e MDR) and the continued fraudulent practice of surcharging by acquirer banks and big merchants. Small/medium merchants on the one hand and customers on the other hand are losing out, hindering the government's intent of broad basing digital payments, as per the study done by IIT Mumbai. It is estimated that the merchants were burdened with nearly Rs 10,000 crore towards credit card Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) in 2018 alone, it said, adding that this is exorbitant in contrast with the overall cost of Rs 3,500 crore towards debit card MDR, even though in value terms, credit and debit card transactions are nearly the same Rs 5.7 lakh crore each in 2018. The study done by Ashish Das, a professor of statistics, highlighted that unauthorised surcharging has also burdened the payment system users with huge additional costs. Just for the online payments, it has led to extortions by the acquirer banks and their payment facilitators/aggregators to the tune of Rs 200 crore in 2018 alone. This is a conservative estimate since we restrict only to the online credit and debit card payments. Naive card users, oblivious of the set rules and regulations that prohibit surcharging, are ignorant of the fact that it is the banks that owe them this fraudulently extorted money, it said. Unfortunately, rather than merchants, it is banks themselves who are causing fraudulent surcharging by resorting to outsourcing of their payments' services, it said.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

JET AIRWAYS GROUNDS 2 MORE PLANES, 20% OF ITS FLEET NOW OUT OF OPERATIONS

Beleaguered carrierJet Airways has grounded two more of its aircraft due to non-payment of lease rentals taking the total number of planes on ground to 23. With the grounding of two more planes, almost 20 per cent of aircraft in the airlines fleet are now out of operations. The company said it was making all efforts to minimise disruption to its network due to the grounding of these planes and was pro-actively informing and re-accommodating its affected guests.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

STAY ON FOREST DWELLERS EVICTION: HOW STATES ILLEGALLY REJECTED LAND CLAIMS

Breaking the law isn’t something one is usually proud of. But for Devi Lal, a resident of a forest village in southern Rajasthan, a court summons for encroaching on forest land in 2002 is a prized possession. Since the Forest Rights Act (FRA) was introduced in 2006, these summons became evidence that Devi Lal had lived on the land in question before that, and became vital evidence to support his claim under the Act. Nearly three years after he and 60 others in the villages of Rawatbhata block applied for land titles, the applications were rejected in 2015. They do not know why; they were never informed of the rejection, a violation of the FRA, which says that decisions to reject or modify claims have to be communicated to the claimant in person, so that they have the opportunity to appeal the rejection within 60 days They could not appeal against the rejection because they were never informed that it was rejected. They were not even given a chance to appeal their case before the rejection order was passed, another violation of the law, which says that no claim will be disposed of against a claimant without giving them a reasonable opportunity to present their case. Such government violations of the law are common not just in Rajasthan but nationwide, as 1.9 million families of indigenous people--roughly 9.5 million people at five persons per family--are at risk of being evicted from their homes in forests. Such violations include, as this story will detail, allowing forest guards to illegally decide claims and demands made by governments, and asking tribals to furnish satellite imagery and non-existent 75-year-old records. On February 13, 2019, the Supreme Court ordered that all households whose rights claims under FRA have been rejected should be evicted from forests by July 2019. After widespread criticism and protests from tribal groups and conservation scientists, and a petition by the central government, the Supreme Court temporarily stayed its own order on February 28, 2019.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

RS 9,000 CRORE GAS-GRID PROJECT FOR NORTH EAST, BENGAL: DHARMENDRA PRADHAN

A Rs 9,000 crore gas-grid project has been approved to transport natural gas among northeastern states and West Bengal, Dharmendra Pradhan said. There is huge amount of natural gas available in Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast states is being tapped into for the Rs 9,265 crore North East Gas Grid (NEGG). The government has okayed this project to transport gas among the northeastern states as well as West Bengal via Siliguri, Pradhan said inaugurating the Rs 215 crore Sonamura Gas Collecting station of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). The transportation and availability of cooking gas (liquefied petroleum gas -- LPG) has been eased after the Centre signed a deal with the Bangladesh to ferry LPG via Chittagong international sea port and land route. The ONGC has been working in Tripura for the past five decades. It has drilled 225 wells and found gas in 116.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

BANGALORE, HYDERABAD AMONG TOP 20 GLOBAL CITIES ATTRACTING FDI IN ICT SECTORS

Bangalore and Hyderabad have secured their place among the top 20 global cities successfully attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) into the information and communications technology (ICT) and electronics sectors, according to a latest analysis released in London on Friday. London & Partners (L&P), the Mayor of London's promotional agency, found in its evaluation of provisional 'fDi Markets' data for 2018 that the British capital attracted more FDI projects than any other global city last year. For the ICT and Electronics sector in particular, Bangalore ranked sixth with 37 companies compared to London's 80. Bangalore also held on to the sixth position in an overall analysis for the 10-year period of 2008-2018 for the top destinations for ICT and Electronics sectors, with a total of 410 projects compared to top-ranked London's 911 projects. Hyderabad ranked 14th in terms of attracting FDI in the ICT and Electronics sector, with 20 companies investing over the course of 2018. Some of the other top-ranking cities in the sector behind London include Singapore, Dubai, Paris and Tokyo. London's business community is truly global, built on the values of diversity and progressive thinking. We're delighted to welcome more international companies than any other city and today's figures show that London is open to investment and talent from all over the world, she said. The data revealed that London is currently home to 13 unicorn businesses, more than Madrid, Stockholm and Amsterdam combined. The increasing number of high growth businesses coming out of London's has boosted the UK to the top of the unicorn league tables, with the UK currently housing over a quarter (20) of the 64 total unicorn businesses across Europe.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

JAITLEY'S DIG AT 'COMPULSIVE CONTRARIANS', SAYS THEY DISCOVERED BALAKOTE IN POONCH AFTER IAF STRIKE IN PAKISTAN

Arun Jaitley Saturday said compulsive contrarians discovered a new Balakote which lies within Indian territory and without checking facts referred to it as the target of the Indian Air Force when it struck the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Paktunkhwa province. He also took a sharp dig at news channels saying they are increasingly resorting to agenda setting instead of reporting. When our Air Force reached Balakot in KPK, before one could gather any information someone started saying it is very close to the LoC (Line of Control) and some people whom I call compulsive contrarians discovered a new Balakote without even checking that, that particular Balakote is not across the LOC but in our own Poonch. Why will our own Air Force attack our own territory, Jaitley said. The conventional role of the media was to report and present views on the editorial page, but (now) we will not report the country's agenda but set it, Jaitley said.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

VICE-PRESIDENT OF INDIA LAYS FOUNDATION STONE OF KAUSHAL BHAWAN

M. Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of Kaushal Bhawan, the proposed office of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and several of the Government offices which are part of the Ministry. Kaushal Bhawan will be coming up on a plot of 1.354 Acre in New Moti Bagh, New Delhi. Being built at the cost of about Rs 172 Crore, it will comprise of 3 basements and 8 floors above, consisting of modern offices, auditorium, mini convention centre, training rooms, yoga hall, crèche, sports facilities and Gym. It is imagined as a future ready building, with state of the art Building Management Systems. Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, said that India is young and aspirational as 65% of the population is below 35 years of age. There is 48 crore workforce in the country, and 1 crore more are added every year. He said that getting demographic dividend for India is a unique opportunity as well challenge. Skills and knowledge are driving forces of economic growth and development, and hence they need to be updated regularly and effectively.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

PM ADDRESSES CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY INDIA EVENT

The Prime Minister emphasized the commitment of the Union Government towards ensuring that every family’s dream of a home, becomes a reality and said that the need for the Global Housing Technology Challenge, was felt in the light of rapid urbanization in India. The Prime Minister said a lot of emphasis has been placed on affordable housing, real estate sector, skill development, and housing technology. He reiterated his dream that every Indian should have a proper house by 2022, and 1.3 crore houses have been made in his tenure. He called upon everyone to work together to enhance capacities and help the poor. The Prime Minister said that the Government is also making it easier for people to buy houses, through tax and other incentives. He said the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, (RERA), has improved consumers’ confidence in developers and brought transparency in the Real Estate Sector. He said a large pool of skilled human resource has been created, especially in the rural areas. He said that in the construction sector, there is now much greater focus on disaster-resilience, energy efficiency, and local innovation. He declared that the period from April 2019 to March 2020, will be observed as the Construction Technology Year. Prime Minister launched the GHTC-India mobile application an interactive platform for all the stakeholders for facilitating exchange of knowledge on innovation and alternative housing technologies. Hardeep S Puri, stated that Indian cities, which will contribute over 80% to GDP by 2050, need to be receptive, innovative and productive to foster sustainable growth and ensure a better quality of living. Providing details of the progress made in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(Urban), the Housing Minister stated that Pursuing a validated housing demand of about 10 million (1 Crore), PMAY (Urban) mission has already sanctioned 7.9 million (79 lakh) houses, grounded 4.1 million (41 lakh) and completed 1.6 million (16 lakh). Looking at the scale of construction that needs to take place in the next 3 years it becomes absolutely imperative that we get the technology right. Rapid urbanization as an outcome of this sustained growth has resulted in the increase of the urban population in the country. This will exponentially increase the demand for basic services and housing in cities. Thereby it is important for us to adopt an integrated approach to provide a conducive and productive environment with better living conditions to every household in urban India.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

NARENDRA MODI-LED GOVT MADE SOME RADICAL REFORMS, BUT LARGELY LOST OPPORTUNITY FOR DYNAMIC CHANGE

The 18th century German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe noted, Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game. But when is a policy idea considered to be a success? While factors such as a favourable environment and novelty play an important role, structural change heavily depends on when it is brought about, that is, the timing of policy implementation is vital. The privatisation of British Telecom in 1984, former United States President Jimmy Carter’s price controls and high Federal Reserve interest rates aimed at curbing inflation, and Deng Xiaoping’s string of reforms in 1978 in China are all success stories courtesy their well-timed implementation. A tool for gauging the timeliness of an idea is the Overton Window, attributed to the late think tank veteran, Joseph Overton. The Overton Window depicts the realm of policy ideas in public discourse and provides a scale to judge the tolerance/acceptability of these topics. Hence, as discussions and debates ensue, ideas move along the spectrum of the Window, ranging from acceptable and popular to radical and unthinkable. The Window allows for the possibility of ideas that were once unthinkable to become popular and vice-versa. Its up/down movement reflects the degree of government intervention, that is, the greater the intervention, the lesser the freedom resulting in downward movement and vice-versa. The image below illustrates the Overton Window, giving examples from the domain of education to identify activity in the field. Modi’s victory in the elections marks the end of a long era in which the structures of power did not differ greatly from those through which Britain ruled the subcontinent. Voters were frustrated with a sluggish economy, rampant corruption, and a slew of false promises; the alternative came in the form of Narendra Modi and his campaign promising acche din (better days). He had the support of a majority of the country, both in terms of citizens’ trust and seats in the Lok Sabha. Thus, while the government has attempted certain policies, it has largely lost out on an environment opportune for dynamic change. Moreover, Modi’s winning streak in state elections was reversed late last year, and the Overton Window started moving out of his control, settling back in the popular policy amendment sphere. The recent 2019 interim Union Budget is an indication of this. We hope future governments keep windows of opportunity in mind and prioritise structural reforms, such as opening doors for lateral entry into government, making significant labour market changes, and an overhaul of the legal system. After all, as English chess player Gerald Abrahams remarked, Good positions don’t win games, good moves do.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ARUN JAITLEY, RELEASED A BOOK TITLED ‘MANN KI BAAT

The book sheds light on various aspects of Prime Minister’s outreach, the remarkable response it continuously received from the people, the mass movement it has inspired and the profound impact it ingrained in the minds and hearts of the youth of India. The book also gives insight into behind the scene research work done on the massive public feedback received through various channels after every episode of Mann Ki Baat, which had aired first on 3rd October, 2014. The book also gives a rare and exclusive opportunity to readers to discover several unknown facets of Prime Minister’s thinking and beliefs related to ‘Mann Ki Baat’, revealed by him to the authors of the book. The insights that emerge from the transcripts of the radio address are the most important contribution of this book. Arun Jaitley said that Mann Ki Baat program has a strong power of recall which leaves deep footprints in the minds of listeners of the program. He highlighted the power of radio, recalling its impact as a source of both news and entertainment, its huge geographical reach and as a mode of learning language. He added that radio was used extensively by Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom movement to reach out to people directly.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

COAL IMPORTS CHECKED BY CIL’S EFFORTS: PIYUSH GOYAL

Piyush Goyal said on Friday that the country’s coal imports would have been 1.5 times higher than current volumes if Coal India (CIL) had not increased its production rate. Commercial coal mining, which was approved by the Cabinet in February, 2018 will also reduce import dependency and bring energy security through assured coal supply, the minister added. Power plants across the country had imported 5.5 MT of coal in December 2018, about 15% higher than what was imported in the same month in 2017. State-owned power generator NTPC plans to double its coal import target in FY20 (from 5 MT in FY19) to meet the incremental demand from upcoming power plants of 4 GW capacity. As per earlier trend, coal imports would have reached 380 MT in FY18, but it is maintained at about 200 MT per year, coal ministry officials said. CIL has supplied 407 MT coal to power sector during current fiscal till February 4, 2019, recording an increase of 7.3%. The average rake-loading of the power sector stands at 252.5 rakes/day, 13% than the same period of last year. Sumanta Chaudhuri said that coal supply to power plants would improve after the completion of 14 critical railway projects for evacuating coal. Out of these, the 52-kilometre Jharsuguda-Barpali rail line in Odisha was completed in March 2018 and the 44 km Tori-Shivpur line in Jharkhand was completed in September in the same year. Goyal said that railway related deaths has reduced from 152 in 2013-14 to 29 till January 31, 2019. The average pace of commissioning of new lines have increased from 4.1 kms/day during 2009-14 to 6.5 kms/day in 2014-18, he added.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

SANITATION WORKERS SET GUINNESS RECORD AT KUMBH

Sanitation workers in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday set a Guinness World Record when 10,000 of them got together for a three-minute cleaning drive at Kumbh, officials said. The Minister hailed the sanitation workers as the real heroes at the Kumbh, as the cleanliness drive was the highlight at the biggest religious congregation in the world

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

BJP WILL WIN MORE SEATS IN 2019 LOK SABHA POLLS THAN IT HAD WON IN 2014: PRAKASH JAVADEKAR

Prakash Javadekar on Saturday exuded confidence that the BJP will win more seats in this general elections than it had won in 2014. The BJP had won 282 seats in the last Lok Sabha elections and we are confident that the number of seats won by the party will be higher than this in the upcoming elections, Javadekar told. He said it is the Modi government that can take on terrorism and provide a strong leadership to the country.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

NO UNCERTAINTIES IN TIE-UP WITH DMDK, GOOD NEWS SOON: AIADMK

Asserting that there were no uncertainties regarding a tie-up with actor Vijayakanth-led DMDK for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK Saturday said there would be good news soon. The ruling AIADMK, which is in an alliance with the BJP and PMK, has been making all-out efforts to rope in the DMDK. There are no such uncertainties. In one or two days we will be taking a good decision and will announce a happy news (in this regard), AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam, who is also the deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu, told. While the AIADMK has concluded its poll deal with the BJP and the PMK for the Lok Sabha polls by allotting five and seven seats in the state to them respectively, talks with the DMDK and other smaller outfits are yet to be formalised.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

US FDA FINDS CANCER-CAUSING TOXIN IN HETERO'S BLOOD PRESSURE DRUGS

US health regulators said on Friday a third cancer-causing toxin was found in some blood pressure pills recalled by India's Hetero Labs Ltd, adding to a global recall of commonly used drugs to treat hypertension. The US Food and Drug Administration is also looking into whether these types of impurities could be found in other classes of drugs, a spokeswoman for the regulator said. The toxin, N-Nitroso-N-methyl-4-aminobutyric acid (NMBA), identified in 87 lots of Hetero's losartan potassium pills, was not found in medicines that were previously recalled by a number of drugmakers. Global authorities have been clamping down on sales of some blood pressure medicines as they are suspected to be tainted with two probable carcinogens - N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). The FDA said increased risk of cancer in patients exposed to the new impurity, NMBA, appeared to be the same as those exposed to NDMA, but less than the risk from NDEA.

  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

SIX CITIES SELECTED FOR INNOVATIVE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT

Six cities across the country have been selected as live laboratories for a pilot project under which 1,000 houses will be built using innovative technologies that are low-cost, sustainable and disaster-resistant, according to a senior official of the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. Durga Shanker Mishra told media that 54 Proven Technology Providers with 32 new technologies from 25 countries were evaluated by the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) at the exposition. Six cities have been identified to serve as live laboratories for the Lighthouse project. These are Rajkot (Gujarat), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Agartala (Tripura) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), he said. Mishra said that technology adoption will happen in other States and Union Territories, as well. Mishra said that he will write to all States to use its assessment before beginning construction activities in their cities. The Vulnerability Atlas of India is a collation of the existing hazard scenario of the entire country. The CTI-2019 saw participation of about 2,500 delegates from 32 countries. The conference had four plenary sessions, six technical sessions, including a World Cafe, and three master classes.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

INDIA'S COFFEE EXPORTS RISE 13 PC IN FIRST 2-MONTHS OF 2019

Coffee shipments from India, Asia's third-largest producer and exporter, rose 13.26 per cent to 48,330 tonnes during the first two months of this calender year, according to the Coffee Board. The country had exported 42,670 tonnes in the year-ago period. India ships both robusta and Arabica varieties, besides instant coffee. As per the Board's latest data, the shipment of Robusta coffee jumped 28.42 per cent to 34,090 tonnes during January-February 2019, from 26,545 tonnes in the same period last year. Similarly, the export of Arabica coffee increased by 14.39 per cent to 11,156 tonnes, from 9,752 tonnes in the said period. The volume of coffee re-exported also remained higher at 13,392 tonnes, as against 11,516 tonnes in the said period. However, the export of Instant coffee showed a decline as volumes remained at 3,047 tonnes during January-February of 2019, when compared with 5,704 tonnes in the year-ago period. Coffee production is pegged higher at 3,19,500 tonnes for 2018-19 crop year (October-September), as against the final output of 3,16,000 tonnes achieved last year.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

EC VISITS J&K TO ASSESS FEASIBILITY OF HOLDING SIMULTANEOUS POLLS

The Election Commission of India (ECI) Monday began a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir to assess the feasibility of holding the Lok Sabha and the state assembly polls simultaneously. The ECI team, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, began interactions with political parties soon after their arrival in the summer capital, officials said. They said the team will meet with officials of the state government, including the deputy commissioners and the district police chiefs, to get a briefing on the security situation in the state.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

WILL ACT AGAINST PERPETRATORS OF TERROR SITTING ACROSS BORDER: PM MODI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday warned that India would hunt down terrorists wherever they may be hiding. The country has run out of patience with terrorism and now it is prepared to retaliate and beat them (terrorists) in their own house, Mr. Modi said. He said, no terrorist would be spared even if they hide in the bowels of the earth. The bullets of terrorists have repeatedly pierced the heart of India but those indulging in vote bank politics hardly cared to take any action. I am not worried about chair or power. I care for my country and its people and their security and will do anything to protect them, he said. This country will not sit silent even if the perpetrators are sitting on the other side of the border, the Prime Minister said.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

HOW MINIMUM WAGE COULD DOUBLE TO RS 375/DAY IF GOVT ACCEPTS PROPOSED NORMS

Millions of informal workers across India may see their minimum wage entitlement more than double from Rs 176 per day at present to Rs 375 per day or Rs 9,750 per month, if the government accepts the norms proposed by a committee set up to determine how the national minimum wage should be calculated. Currently, the formula for calculating the national minimum wage presumes that each wage earner supports three persons (consumption units), and that a consumption unit needs at least 2,700 calories per day (in addition to essential non-food items such as clothing, medicines and transport). The new formula, arrived at by using new evidence on how and how much households consume, suggests increasing the number of consumption units per household to 3.6. Given a reduction in the proportion of workers engaged in heavy work and an increase in the number of workers in moderate and sedentary occupations, the committee recommends reducing the per head (adult) minimum calorie requirement to 2,400 calories, but also that the monetary value for food consumption used in the formula must account for including 50 grams of protein and 30 grams of fat in an adult diet. With the new formula--which also ascribes enhanced values to essential non-food items--the committee has arrived at a figure of Rs 375 per day, or Rs 9,750 per month, as the national minimum wage. More than 80% of Indian workers are employed in informal jobs. These workers are unable to negotiate decent wages and working conditions, and often have no social security benefits. The increase in minimum wage recommended by the committee--to Rs 375--looks like a lot compared to the Rs 176 at present, but if you compare it to the central minimum wage, it is not an increase, Sabina Dewan, told. The central minimum wage is what is paid to workers in central government organisations or those working on central government projects, e.g., a building in Odisha for the IT department. It starts from Rs 333 for agricultural unskilled workers and goes up to Rs 728 for highly skilled, industrial workers.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

7 OF TOP 10 MOST POLLUTED CITIES IN THE WORLD ARE IN INDIA; GURGAON ON TOP

Seven of the top 10 most polluted cities in the world are in India, according to a new study showing South Asia’s battle with deteriorating air quality and the economic toll it’s expected to take worldwide. Gurugram, located southwest of India’s capital New Delhi, led all cities in pollution levels in 2018, even as its score improved from the previous year, according to data released by IQAir AirVisual and Greenpeace. Three other Indian cities joined Faisalabad, Pakistan, in the top five. The index measures the presence of fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, a pollutant that can fester deep in the lungs and bloodstream of human beings. This has enormous impacts, on our health and on our wallets, Yeb Sano, said in a statement released with the figures. In addition to human lives lost, there’s an estimated cost of $225 billion in lost labor, and trillions in medical costs. India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, makes up 22 of the top 30 most polluted cities with five in China, two in Pakistan and one in Bangladesh. India racks up health-care costs and productivity losses from pollution of as much as 8.5 percent of gross domestic product, according to the World Bank. China made marked progress in its usually dismal pollution levels, with average concentrations falling by 12 percent in 2018 from the previous year, according to the data. That should help the message President Xi Jinping will share with political party leaders on progress across three so-called critical battles during the National People’s Congress meetings that start this week.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

AIR POLLUTION CLAIMS 7 MILLION LIVES EACH YEAR: UN EXPERT

Air pollution, both outside and inside homes, is a silent and prolific killer responsible for the premature death of seven million people each year, including 600,000 children, according to a UN expert on environment and human rights. David Boyd, UN special rapporteur on environment and human rights, said that over six billion people, one-third of them children, are regularly inhaling air so polluted that it puts their life, health and well-being at risk Yet, this pandemic receives inadequate attention as these deaths are not as dramatic as those caused by other disasters or epidemics, said Boyd. Every hour, 800 people are dying, many after years of suffering from cancer, respiratory illnesses or heart disease directly caused by breathing polluted air, said Boyd. Boyd said that failing to ensure clean air constituted a violation of their fundamental right to a healthy environment, a right that is legally recognised by 155 countries and should be globally recognised. People cannot avoid inhaling whatever contaminants are present in the air inside their homes or in their communities, the expert was quoted as saying in a UN statement.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

96% USAGE OF TOILETS UNDER SWACHH BHARAT, SHOWS SURVEY BY AN INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AGENCY

An independent verification of the Swachh Bharat (Grameen) programme has confirmed 96% usage of toilets in the country. The National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2018-19, conducted by an Independent Verification Agency under the World Bank support project to the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), has found that 96.5% of the households in rural India who have access to a toilet use it, government sources told. The survey has also re-confirmed the Open Defecation Free (ODF) status of 90.7% of villages which were previously declared and verified as ODF by various districts and states. The survey was conducted between November 2018 and February 2019, covering 92040 households in 6136 villages across the country. 93% households were found to have access to toilets during the survey period while 96.5% of the people who had access to toilets used them. While 90.7% of villages which were previously declared and verified as ODF were confirmed to be ODF, the remaining villages also had sanitation coverage of about 93%, the survey shows. Further, 95.4% of the villages surveyed found to have minimal litter and minimal stagnant water, the survey has highlighted. The government claims that since its Swachh Bharat Mission programme started in October 2014, 500 million people have stopped defecating in the open , down from 550 million at the beginning of the programme to less than 50 million today. Over 9 crore toilets have been built across rural India under the Mission. Over 5.5 lakh villages and 615 districts have been declared ODF, along with 30 ODF States and Union Territories, as per the government.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

AP, TELANGANA IN POLITICAL SLUGFEST OVER ‘DATA THEFT’

KV Kurmanath A war of words erupted between the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments after the Cyberabad police here booked a case against IT company IT Grids India Pvt Ltd for allegedly obtaining access to private data (Aadhaar and voter ID) of individuals residing in Andhra Pradesh through the ‘Seva Mitra’ app. The police has served a notice on Amazon’s cloud service company, Amazon Web Services, which hosts the data on the app that is run by IT Grids and belongs to the TDP. The police are also approaching the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the Election Commission (EC) for more details. We have asked for the production of the database relating to the app and other data (related to the case), Cyberabad police said. Initial investigation found that the firm had obtained illegal access to personal and sensitive data of individuals which can be misused for illegal purposes, the police added. Through this app, they have constituency-wise voters’ data and the (political) affiliations of each voter. It also has voter ID details, caste details and addresses of voters, a senior Cyberabad police official said. Acting on a complaint by T Lokeshwara Reddy, the police raided the office of the firm here and seized IT storage devices and phones. While Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his son and IT Minister Lokesh have alleged that the Telangana government is trying to get access to the State’s data through the move, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has defended the police action. KCR (Telagana Chief Minister KC Chandrasekhar Rao) is functioning like a dictator and, in collusion with the main opposition party in Andhra Pradesh, the YSRCP, he is hatching conspiracies to undermine the electoral prospects of the TDP in the coming elections, said Naidu at a public meeting at Madanapalle in Chittoor district on Monday.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

STUBBLE BURNING COSTS PUNJAB, HARYANA, DELHI ₹2 LAKH CRORE ANNUALLY

The study, scheduled to be published in the forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Epidemiology, indicated that there has been a substantial increase in acute respiratory infections reported during the period in which stubble burning was intense. The study, which among other things obtained data from India’s fourth round of District Level Household Survey (DLHS-4), found that there was a three-fold increase in respiratory ailments among those living in districts where intense crop burning takes place. Poor air quality is a serious problem in Delhi during the winter months with the levels of airborne particulate matter spiking to 20 times the World Health Organization’s safety threshold during certain days. The researchers observed that as crop burning increased in Haryana, respiratory health worsened. They also examined other factors that could contribute to poor respiratory health such as firecracker burning during Diwali (which usually coincides with the time of crop burning) and motor vehicle density. In fact, economic losses owing to exposure to air pollution from firecracker burning are estimated to be around $7 billion or nearly ₹50,000 crore a year.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ADANI GROUP’S POWER SEZ GETS CENTRE’S NOD POST NORMS TWEAK

Less than two months after amending the power sector guidelines for special economic zones (SEZs) enabling standalone power plants to qualify as SEZs and be eligible for tax sops the government has approved Adani Power’s request to set up a power sector SEZ in Jharkhand. Adani Power’s renewed request for a sector-specific SEZ for power in Jharkhand got the approval from the Board of Approval (BoA) for SEZs last week as the new power guidelines now allow such zones provided they are dedicated to exports, a government official told. Adani Power’s request for a power SEZ in Jharkhand made last year had to be rejected by the BoA for SEZs — the highest inter-ministerial decision making body for the zones headed by the Commerce Secretary — as that time it was inconsistent with the existing power guidelines. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal by Adani Power (Jharkhand) for setting up a sector-specific SEZ for power at Motia, Mali, Gaighat and adjacent villages in Godda District, Jharkhand, over 425 hectares, the minutes of the BoA meeting held on February 25, said. Formal approval has been given for the 222.68 hectares of land in possession, while in-principle approval has been given for the remaining 202.32 hectares.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH IN TREATMENT OF AIDS: SECOND PATIENT CURED OF HIV

Researchers say a London man appears to be free of the AIDS virus after a stem cell transplant. It's the second such success including Berlin patient Timothy Ray Brown. Such transplants are dangerous and have failed in other patients The London patient has not been identified. He was diagnosed with HIV in 2003. He developed cancer and agreed to a stem cell transplant to treat the cancer in 2016. His doctors found a donor with a gene mutation that confers natural resistance to HIV.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

GOVT MAY OFFER SAMSUNG DUTY RELIEF TO RESTART ITS TV PRODUCTION

The government has sought a commitment from Samsung that the South Korean electronics company will bring production of TVs back to India if duty on ‘open cells’ — which prompted it to relocate manufacturing to Vietnam – was removed. The company has been noncommittal so far, a senior government official told. He said the government and the company are discussing the matter. Samsung’s decision to shift TV production to Vietnam last year was seen as a severe setback for the government’s Make India initiative. The company’s largest production hub is located in Vietnam. We feel Samsung was already planning to shift its production of TV panels to Vietnam and this imposition of duty on open cells was one opportunity they got, the official said. They got an opportunity to shift out to Vietnam from where they can use the free trade agreement route to avoid the duty. The government doubled customs duty on imported LCD and LED TV panels to 15% from 7.5% in the 2018 Union budget. While the duty on ‘open cells’ used in the manufacture of LCD and LED televisions was hiked to 10%, it was halved after the industry immediately sought a rollback since it wasn’t ready to manufacture the component. Open cells are among the most critical parts in a TV panel and account for 65-70% of a set’s production value. We feel it was the hike of 15% duty on the LED panels which really hurt the company’s India production and not the open cell duty, the official said. The government is actively considering the removal of the 5% customs duty on open cells with other TV makers such as LG joining the chorus and stressing that the duty was making it more expensive to manufacture in the country.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

CHINA SLASHES GDP GROWTH TARGET TO 6-6.5% AMID SLOWDOWN, TRADE WAR WITH US

China has slashed its official GDP target to 6 to 6.5 per cent this year as the world's second largest economy grapples with the ongoing trade war with the US and a continued economic slowdown. The lowered growth rate was proposed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in his work report for this year at the opening session of the annual session of the rubber-stamp Parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC). Besides the trade war with the US, China is also haunted by the spectre of a continued economic slowdown. In order to rejig its economy, China is all set to pass a new foreign investment law in a hurry, providing an equal footing to investors abroad with that of local business with legal safeguards for IPR and technology transfer. The draft law is aimed to meet the main demands of US President Donald Trump to end the trade war. The draft foreign investment law will be submitted to the NPC, which began in Beijing on Tuesday, for review on March 8 and put for vote on March 15, NPC spokesman Zhang Yesui said on Monday. The NPC is often regarded as a rubber-stamp parliament for its routine approval of the proposals of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC). The NPC, with over 2,900 deputies and the advisory body -- the Chinese People's Political Consultative (CPPCC) -- is holding its annual sessions in Beijing. The sessions would go on for the next 10 days. The new investment law providing a level-playing field to investors abroad with local investors with all rights is being passed by China in record time to work a deal with Trump's trade war which is badly affecting Beijing. Trump, who declared the trade war last year, is demanding China to reduce the $375-billion trade deficit, provide legal protection for intellectual property rights (IPR), technology transfer and more access for American goods to Chinese markets. He has already increased the tariffs on over $250 billion Chinese exports to the US and threatened to extend tariffs on $200 billion Chinese imports to 25 per cent.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

CHINA TO RAISE DEFENCE SPENDING BY 7.5%, LOWER THAN 2018

China announced Tuesday a 7.5 percent increase in military spending in 2019, lower than last year as the country faces an economic slowdown, but still likely to make Asian neighbours nervous. it working to provide the two million-strong People's Liberation Army (PLA) with state-of-the-art hardware, spending heavily on stealth warplanes, aircraft carriers and other weaponry. Beijing has also stepped up its rhetoric against any independence movements in self-ruled Taiwan and continues to assert its vast territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea. The government will spend 1.19 trillion yuan ($177.6 billion) on defence in 2019, after it increased its outlay by 8.1 percent to 1.11 trillion yuan in 2018, according to a government report presented at the start of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC). Boasting the world's largest army, China's military spending is second only to the United States, which budgeted $716 billion for defence in 2019. Beijing has not posted double-digit spending increases since 2015.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

US, CHINA 'ON THE CUSP' OF POSSIBLE END TO TRADE WAR: MIKE POMPEO

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday he thought the United States and China were on the cusp of a deal to end their trade war adding to positive signs about negotiations from both sides of the Pacific. Pompeo, in a series of interviews with Iowa radio and television stations, said he hoped a deal could be agreed in coming weeks to make trade between the world's two largest economies fairer and eliminate China's retaliatory tariffs on Iowa farm commodities such as soybeans. We're trying to get that rectified, get that fixed, make it fair and reciprocal and I think we're on the cusp of doing that and I hope all those tariffs will go away, all those barriers, Pompeo told KCCI television in Des Moines, where he was attending a farmers conference. His comments echoed positive sentiments earlier on Monday from White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and a spokesman for China's parliament. Hassett told Fox Business Network a deal with China was now possible, given recent progress in talks reported by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

GLOBAL ECOMMERCE TALKS STRIKE AT ROOTS OF WTO, SAYS INDIA

India has told the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it will not join the negotiations to develop trade rules on ecommerce arguing that it is an idea whose time has not yet come. New Delhi has also argued that the discussions by some countries are not consistent with the mandate of the multilateral trading system In our view, these negotiations strike at the roots of the multilateral system and its mandate, India said on Wednesday at a heads of delegations meeting. Stating that it is not persuaded to join the negotiations, India said it is working on a national ecommerce policy which will be finalised soon. This policy will inform our international engagements on this important subject, India said. In its draft National E-Commerce Policy, India has proposed regulating cross-border data flows locating computing facilities within the country to ensure job creation and setting up a dedicated ‘data authority’ for issues related to sharing of community data. It has asserted that the data generated in the country is a national asset, and citizens and the government have a sovereign right over it. Though New Delhi is opposed to the plurilateral on ecommerce, it will pursue the existing multilateral work programme that prohibits countries from imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions, something that India and South Africa have questioned, citing revenue loss to developing nations. India has in its submission also sought reforms of the multilateral body and resolution of outstanding issues urgently. The top most priority is to protect and preserve the system, fix the Appellate Body issue so that the independent dispute settlement mechanism can function effectively, the Indian trade envoy said, cautioning against debating contentious issues like differentiation, which could be divisive and further reduce trust within the organization.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

AIR POLLUTION FROM STUBBLE BURNING COSTING INDIA $30 BN ANNUALLY: STUDY

Air pollution due to crop residue burning in northern India is a leading risk factor of acute respiratory infections and causes an estimated economic loss of $30 billion annually according to a study unveiled Monday. Living in districts with air pollution from intense crop residue burning (CRB) is a leading risk factor for acute respiratory infection (ARI), especially among children less than five years. The study that estimates -- for the first time -- the health and economic costs of CRB in northern India also found that CRB leads to an estimated economic loss of over $30 billion annually. Poor air quality is a recognised global public health epidemic, with levels of airborne particulate matter in Delhi spiking to 20 times the World Health Organization's safety threshold during certain days, said Samuel Scott. Among other factors, smoke from the burning of agricultural crop residue by farmers in Haryana and Punjab especially contributes to Delhi's poor air, increasing the risk of ARI three-fold for those living in districts with intense crop burning, Scott said in a statement. The study also estimated the economic cost of exposure to air pollution from crop residue burning at $30 billion or nearly Rs 2 trillion annually for the three north Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, researchers said. The study analysed health data from more than 250,000 individuals of all ages residing in rural and urban areas in India. Economic losses owing to exposure to air pollution from firecracker burning are estimated to be around $7 billion or nearly Rs 50 thousand crore a year, researchers said. In five years, the economic loss due to the burning of crop residue and firecrackers is estimated to be $190 billion, or nearly 1.7 per cent of India's GDP, they said.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

OIL EXPLORATION WILL REMAIN A CHALLENGE FOR GOVTS

India’s hydrocarbon space will test the patience and policy consistency of the government of the day in the coming years as the country’s exploration policy enters a transition phase. Life of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) regime may remain only for the next 10-15 years, as the country’s entire oil and gas exploration as well as production business is shifting to Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP)-Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP). In many countries there are multiple models — revenue sharing, production sharing or customised — but these are places where the oil industry plays a dominant role. In India there are mainly three different categories — nomination basis: areas given prior to auction rounds; pre-NELP and NELP: where areas were given through auctions based on production sharing contracts; and HELP regime — a uniform licensing regime based on revenue sharing model and OALP. Yes, all three can co-exist, but the challenge will be in implementation. The government of the day will be under pressure to ensure that there is no interruption in this high risk business due to policy issues, an oil industry tracker said. But, the moot point is whether HELP will turn the tides for India in meeting its energy demand. HELP is just taking baby steps and by the time it stabilises it will take, said an analyst. Particularly when with growing consumption, India’s demand is also going to put pressure on the import bill. According to the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell estimates, the crude oil import bill is likely to increase by 27 per cent from $88 billion in 2017-18 to $112 billion in 2018-19 considering actual upto December 2018 and Indian basket (rate at which domestic refiners buy their requirement) crude oil price at $57.77 a barrel and exchange rate at ₹70.73 versus dollar for January 2019-March 2019. Since NELP was introduced in the late 1990s, 314 blocks have been offered under various auction rounds, of which 254 have been awarded. There are 60 NELP blocks that are operational today by players such as ONGC, Reliance Industries and Oil India. From 2017 all new contracts have been signed under the HELP regime. Although most of the producing blocks in the country, at present, are those that have been offered before NELP or after NELP. All these production sharing contracts have a life.

   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

AMETHI ORDNANCE FACTORY WAS ALREADY PRODUCING SMALL ARMS: RAHUL GANDHI

Narendra Modi a 'habitual liar' Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the ordnance factory Modi inaugurated in Amethi on Sunday had been producing small arms for a while. Prime Minister, I laid the foundation of Amethi's ordnance factory in 2010. For the past several years, it has been producing small arms. You went to Amethi and being forced from the habit, you lied again, the Congress President tweeted in Hindi. He also questioned if Modi don't feel ashamed at all. 

#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.




Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya