RBI TO ISSUE 12 EDGED POLYGON TWENTY RUPEES COIN READ
NOTIFICATION TO KNOW DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS
RBI vide notification
G.S.R. 184(E) dated 06.03.2019 has notified the Coinage of One Rupee, Two
Rupees, Five Rupees, Ten Rupees and Twenty Rupees Rules, 2019. The notification
authorises minting of the 12 edged polygon coin of twenty rupees along with of
circular coins of One Rupee, Two Rupees, Five Rupees and Ten Rupees.
Dimension and Composition
of Coins
The Twenty rupee coin
shall conform to the following dimensions and composition:-
OBVERSE
The face of the coin shall
bear the Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar with the legend सतयमेव जयते
inscribed below, flanked on the left
periphery with the word भारत in Hindi and on the right periphery with the word INDIA in
English.
REVERSE
The face of the coin shall
bear denominational value 20 in the international numerals. The Rupee symbol ₹
shall be shown above the denominational value. The design of grains depicting
the agricultural dominance of the country is flanked on the left periphery of
the coin. The outside diameter of new Rs 20 coin will be 27mm (millimeters) and
it will weigh 8.54 grams.
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CABINET APPROVES PROCEDURE AND MECHANISM FOR STRATEGIC
DISINVESTMENT OF THE CPSES – DELEGATION THEREOF
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has approved delegation of the
following to Alternative Mechanism in all the cases of Strategic Disinvestment
of CPSEs where CCEA has given 'in principle’ approval for strategic
disinvestment:
(i) The quantum of shares
to be transacted, mode of sale and final pricing of the transaction or lay down
the principles/ guidelines for such pricing; and the selection of strategic
partner/ buyer; terms and conditions of sale; and
(ii) To decide on the
proposals of CGD with regard the timing, price, the terms & conditions of
sale, and any other related issue to the transaction.
This will facilitate quick
decision-making and obviate the need for multiple instances of approval by CCEA
for the same CPSE.
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CABINET APPROVES ADDITIONAL FUNDS UNDER THE SCHEME FOR
EXTENDING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO SUGAR MILLS FOR ENHANCEMENT AND AUGMENTATION
OF ETHANOL PRODUCTION CAPACITY
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs, chaired by Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has
given its approval for funds amounting to Rs.2790 crore towards interest
subvention for extending indicative loan amount of Rs.12900 crore by banks to
the sugar mills under “Scheme for extending financial assistance to sugar mills
for enhancement and augmentation of ethanol production capacity” for the 268
applications/proposals, in addition to Rs.1332 crore already approved by CCEA
in June, 2018. CCEA has also approved Rs.565 crore towards interest subvention
for extending indicative loan amount of Rs.2600 crore by banks to the molasses
based standalone distilleries to augment capacity through installation of
incineration boilers and other methods in the existing distilleries for achieving
ZLD and additional equipment for ethanol production as well as for setting up
of new standalone distilleries for ethanol production. A separate scheme for
the molasses based standalone distilleries would be formulated accordingly by
Department of Food & Public Distribution. Both the interest subvention
would be payable @6% per annum or 50% of commercial rate of interest charged by
banks, whichever is lower, as per scheme approved by CCEA in June, 2018. The
approval of interest subvention will help in:
·
improving liquidity of
sugar mills by way of value addition to their revenues from supply of ethanol
under Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme (EBP);
·
reducing sugar inventories
and thereby facilitate timely clearance of cane price dues of farmers and achieving
10% blending target of EBP.
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CABINET APPROVES THE 3RD LINE BETWEEN NARAYANGARH &
BHADRAK (155 KM) ON SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAY
The Cabinet Committee of
Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the
construction of a 3rd railway line between Narayangarh in West Bengal &
Bhadrak in Odisha of 155 kms length. At a total cost of Rs. 1,866.31 crore it
is slated for completion during the year 2023-24.
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Cabinet approves
implementation approval for implementation of 1320 MW Khurja Super Thermal
Power Project in Uttar Pradesh
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the investment
approval for 2x660MW Khurja Super Thermal Power Plant (STPP) in District
Bulandshahar of Uttar Pradesh at an estimated cost of Rs.11,089.42 crore and
Amelia Coal Mine in District Singraulli, Madhya Pradesh. The project will be
implemented at an estimated cost of Rs. 1587.16 crore and will be implemented
by THDC India Limited, a Mini Ratna CPSU under the Ministry of Power,
Government of India. The project is expected to generate substantial direct and
indirect employment and overall development of District Bulandshahar and nearby
districts of Western Uttar Pradesh. The Khurja STPP will start yielding
benefits from 2023-24.
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CABINET APPROVES INVESTMENT APPROVAL FOR 1320 MW BUXAR THERMAL
POWER PROJECT IN BIHAR
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given
its approval for investment approval for 2x660 MW Buxar Thermal Power Project
(Buxar TPP) in District Buxar of Bihar. The project will be completed at an
estimated cost of Rs. 10,439.09 crore and implemented by SJVN Thermal Private Ltd.,
a wholly owned subsidiary of SJVN Ltd., a Mini Ratna CPSU under Ministry of
Power, Government of India. The Buxar TPP will be based on Supercritical
Technology with two units of 660 MW each, equipped with latest emission control
technology to protect the environment and has high efficiency and use less fuel
to generate power. The Buxar TPP will improve the deficit power scenario in
Bihar and Eastern region. Govt. of Bihar has already signed Power Purchase
Agreement (PPA) for supply of not less than 85% of generated power.
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REGIONAL AIR CONNECTIVITY INFRASTRUCTURE GETS A BOOST
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs, chaired by Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has
given its approval for extension of time and scope for revival and development
of un-served and under-served air strips of State Governments, Airports
Authority of India (AAI), Civil enclaves, CPSUs, helipads and water aerodromes
at the total cost of Rs.4500 crore with the budgetary support of Government of
India. As an outcome, small cities/towns shall be connected on commencement of
operation of flights to under-served/un-served airports and it will further
boost the economic development in these as well as surrounding areas in terms
of job creation and related infrastructure development. The Ministry has
received overwhelming response from the airlines in two rounds of RCS Bidding
held so far. In the first round of UDAN bidding, 128 routes were assigned to
five airline operators for 43 un-served/underserved airports/airstrips on
31.03.2017. The response from airline operators have considerably improved in
second round of RCS bidding wherein 86 proposals involving 325 routes were
awarded to 15 selected airline operators in January, 2018.
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CABINET APPROVES TEESTA STAGE-VI HE PROJECT (4X125 MW), SIKKIM
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modihas given its
approval for the investment sanction for acquisition of M/s Lanco Teesta Hydro
Power Ltd (LTHPL) and execution of balance work of the Teesta Stage-Vl HE
Project by NHPC Ltd in Sikkim. The project will be implemented at an estimated
cost of Rs 5748.04 crore (at July, 2018 Price Level), which includes Bid amount
of Rs 907 crore for acquisition of LTHPL and estimated cost of balance work of
Rs. 3863.95 crore withincludes Interest During Construction (IDC)and Foreign
Component (FC) of Rs. 977.09 crore. Teesta Stage-Vl HE Project is a Run of
River (RoR) Scheme in Sirwani Village of Sikkim to utilize the power potential
of Teesta River Basin in cascade manner. It consists of construction of a 26.5
m high Barrage across river Teesta; Two nos Horse Shoe shape Head Race Tunnels
of 9.8 m dia with 13.76 km length; an underground Power House having 4 no Units
of 125 MW each. The project would generate 2400 MUs in a 90% dependable year
with Installed Capacity of 500 MW (4x125MW).
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CABINET APPROVES KIRU HYDRO ELECTRIC (HE) PROJECT (4 X 156 MW)
IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs, chaired by Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has
approved the investment sanction for construction of Kiru Hydro Electric(HE)
Project (624 MW) by M/s Chenab Valley Power Projects Private Limited (M/s
CVPPPL) in Jammu & Kashmir. The project will be implemented at an estimated
cost of Rs.4287.59 crore (at July, 2018 price level) which includes Interest
During Construction (IDC) and Foreign Component (FC) of Rs.426.16 crore and
infusion of equity of Rs 630.28 crore by NHPC in M/s CVPPPL, for construction
of Kiru HE Project (624 MW) including Rs.70 crore for pre-construction
activities already approved by the Cabinet, while according the approval for
execution of the Pakal Dul HE Project.
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CABINET APPROVES RECOMMENDATIONS OF GROUP OF MINISTERS
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the recommendations
of Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to examine the specific recommendations
of High Level Empowered Committee (HLEC) constituted to address the issues of
Stressed Thermal Power Projects. The CCEA has approved recommendations of the
GoM mainly relating to grant of linkage coal for short-term PPA, allowed
existing coal linkage to be used in case of termination of PPAs due to payment
default by DISCOMs, procurement of bulk power by a nodal agency against
pre-declared linkages, Central/State Gencos may act as an aggregator of power,
increase in quantity of coal for special forward e-auction for power sector,
coal linkage auctions to be held at regular intervals, non-lapsing of short
supplies of coal, ACQ to be determined based on efficiency, payment of Late
Payment Surcharge (LPS) made mandatory, non-cancellation of PPA/FSA/LTOA post
NCLT scenario and non-cancellation of PPA for non-compliance of COD. With the
implementation of these recommendations, many of the issues affecting the
Thermal Power Sector are likely to get resolved.
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CABINET APPROVES EX-POST FACTO APPROVAL OF THE MOU SIGNED IN
2008 AND RENEWED IN 2014 BETWEEN THE ICAI AND ICAEW
The Union Cabinet, chaired
by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Ex-post facto approval of the
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2008 and renewed in 2014 between
the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Institute of
Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW). The Cabinet also approved
the Renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) & The Institute of Chartered
Accountants in England & Wales The instant MoU would help encourage more
and more young Indian Chartered Accountants to take up the recognition of ICAEW
professional designation to further help them pursue professional opportunities
in UK. It is a matter of great pride that a number of Indian Chartered Accountants
are holding top level positions in companies in UK and with the recognition
from ICAEW the Corporates in UK would be trusting Indian talents and skills
more to hire them.There are no financial implications for the Government of
India.
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CABINET APPROVES RESERVATION IN TEACHERS’ CADRE ORDINANCE,
2019
The Union Cabinet, chaired
by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for promulgation
of The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre)
Ordinance, 2019 considering the University/ College as a unit instead of
'Department/ Subject'. This decision is expected to improve the teaching
standards in the higher educational institutions to attract all eligible
talented candidates. This decision will allow filling up of more than 5000
vacancies by direct recruitment in Teachers' Cadre duly ensuring that the
Constitutional Provisions of Articles 14, 16 and 21 shall be complied with and
stipulated reservation criteria for the Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes and
Socially and Educationally Backward Classes are met with.
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MOBILITY SOLUTIONS GET A BOOST
The Union Cabinet chaired
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved
·
Setting up of a National
Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage, to drive clean,
connected, shared, sustainable and holistic mobility initiatives;
·
Phased Manufacturing
Programme (PMP) valid for 5 years till 2024 to support setting up of a few
large-scale, export-competitive integrated batteries and cell-manufacturing
Giga plants in India.
·
Creation of a PMP valid
for 5 years till 2024 to localize production across the entire Electric
Vehicles value chain.
·
Both PMP schemes will be
finalised by the National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery
Storage.
National Mission on
Transformative Mobility and Storage
The multi-disciplinary
National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage with an
Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee will be chaired by CEO NITI Aayog.
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CABINET APPROVES SETTING UP OF 50 NEW KENDRIYA VIDYALAYAS
UNDER CIVIL/DEFENCE SECTOR ALL OVER THE COUNTRY
The Union Cabinet, chaired
by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of 50 new
Kendriya Vidyalayas under Civil/Defence Sector all over the country. The
Vidyalayas are proposed to be opened in the Civil/Defense Sector and once they
are fully functional they will provide quality education to approximately
50,000 students once they become fully operational.
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CABINET APPROVES CONTINUATION OF NATIONAL AIDS CONTROL
PROGRAMME-IV
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has given its approval for
continuation of National AIDS Control Programme-IV (NACP-IV) beyond 12th Five
Year Plan for a period of three years from April, 2017 to March, 2020. The
total outlay will be Rs.6434.76 crore. More than 99% of population will be kept
HIV free. More than 70 lakh of key population covered annually through a
comprehensive HIV prevention programme. Around 15 crore of vulnerable
population (including five crore pregnant women) will be tested for HIV in
three years of project. Two crore 32 lakh units of blood will be collected at
NACO’s supported blood banks during three year of project. Two crore 82 lakh
episodes of sexually transmitted infections will be managed under project
during three years of project. Seventeen lakh of PLHIV will be put on free
anti-retroviral treatment by end of project period.
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CABINET APPROVES MUMBAI URBAN TRANSPORT PROJECT PHASE-IIIA
The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has approved Phase-IIIA of the
Mumbai Urban Transport Project The total estimated cost of the project will be
Rs.30,849 crore with completion cost of Rs.33690 crore. The project is likely
to be completed in five years.
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CABINET APPROVES AMENDMENT TO THE ARTICLE 3 OF THE AGREEMENT
BETWEEN INDIA AND BHUTAN
The Union Cabinet chaired
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Amendment to the Article 3 of the
Agreement between India and Bhutan regarding Mandechhu Hydro Electric Project
(MHEP) in order to extend the loan repayment tenure by two years extended by
India to Bhutan, for implementation of the said Project in Bhutan from fifteen
(15) to seventeen (17) years. The proposal aims to secure
·
The First Year Tariff for
import of power from the 720 MW MHEP in Bhutan at Indian Rupees 4.12 per unit.
·
Certainty ot supply of
surplus power to India by Bhutan from MHEP.
·
Strengthening India-Bhutan
economic relations and inter-linkages especially in the field of hydro-power
co-operation and overall deepening of India-Bhutan relations.
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CABINET APPROVES FMBAP FOR FLOOD MANAGEMENT WORKS IN ENTIRE
COUNTRY AND RIVER MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
The Union Cabinet chaired
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Flood Management and Border
Areas Programme (FMBAP) for Flood Management Works in entire country and River
Management Activities and works related to Border Areas for the period 2017-18
to 2019-20 with a total outlay of Rs.3342.00 crores.
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CABINET APPROVES AGREEMENT BETWEEN INDIA AND BELARUS ON MLAT
IN CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL MATTERS
The Union Cabinet, chaired
by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the agreement between Republic
of India and the Republic of Belarus on Mutual Legal Assistance (MLAT) in Civil
and Commercial Matters. The Agreement after having come into force will promote
Mutual Legal Assistance between the Contracting Parties in Civil and Commercial
Matters. The proposal aims to benefit the citizens of the respective Parties
seeking Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters in the requested Party
irrespective of any gender, class or income bias.
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CABINET APPROVES MOU BETWEEN UPSC AND CSCM
The Union Cabinet, chaired
by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) between Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Civil Service Council
of Mongolia (CSCM). The MoU will strengthen the existing relationship between
CSCM and UPSC. It will facilitate sharing of experience and expertise of both
the parties in the area of recruitment.
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CABINET APPROVES DELHI METRO'S PHASE -4 PROJECT
The Union Cabinet, chaired
by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Delhi Metro's Phase -4 project
comprising of 3 - priority corridors. The total length of these 3 corridors is
61.679 km. Out of the total 61.679 km, 22.359 km will be built underground and
39.320 km will be constructed as elevated section. These corridors will consist
of 46 stations, of which 17 stations will be underground and the rest 29
stations will be constructed as elevated sections. The total completion cost of
three metro corridors will be Rs.24,948.65 crore. The project will be
implemented by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (DMRC), the existing 50:50
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of the Government of India and Government of
National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).
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CABINET APPROVES MOU BETWEEN INDIA AND AUSTRIA
The Union Cabinet, chaired
by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the signing of the Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways,
India and the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology, Austria
on Technology Cooperation in the Road Infrastructure Sector. The MoU aims to
create an effective framework for bilateral cooperation in the field of Road
Transportation, Roads/Highways infrastructure development, management and
administration, Road safety and Intelligent Transport Systems between both
countries.
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CABINET APPROVES GRANT OF MEDICAL FACILITIES UNDER
EX-SERVICEMEN CONTRIBUTORY HEALTH SCHEME (ECHS) TO WORLD WAR-II
The Cabinet Meeting
Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the grant of Ex-Servicemen
Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) facilities to World War-II Veterans, Emergency
Commissioned Officers (ECOs), Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) and
pre-mature retirees. As a result, over 43,000 individuals not covered so far
under ECHS will be able to avail the benefits of cashless medical treatment
under ECHS facilities through a network of over 425 ECHS polyclinics, over 2500
empanelled private hospitals and all Government hospitals throughout the
country, subject to certain conditions.
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GOVERNMENT MAY ALLOW PUBLIC AID FOR INJURED JAWANS
Encouraged by the
outpouring of donations to ‘Bharat Ke Veer’ corpus as assistance for the kin of
Pulwama martyrs, the home ministry is considering allowing such contributions
to also be made for personnel who suffer serious injuries or disability during
operational duties. This will be in addition to the treatment costs that are
fully borne by the government. A proposal to provide assistance during the
period of recovery from injuries in addition to the treatment costs is under
active consideration, home minister Rajnath Singh said. While the minister did
not give out details, CRPF director general R R Bhatnagar later told that even
though a graded system of compensating personnel for injuries during operations
— right from those resulting from stone-pelting to a permanent disability — was
in place, it was now proposed to allow the general public to extend financial
assistance to injured jawans via the ‘Bharat Ke Veer’ corpus. As of now, public
contributions through the corpus can only be made to martyrs from the eight
central armed police forces (CAPFs) — CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, NDRF, NSG,
Sashastra Seema Bal and Assam Rifles. Sources said there was a move to extend
the contributions made to Bharat Ke Veer fund to paramilitary personnel who
suffer a certain level of disability on account of injuries sustained on
operational duty. The projects inaugurated on Wednesday comprise 5,283 housing
units, 71 non-residential buildings and 34 barracks built at a cost of Rs 1,895
crore and spread across 17 states, for CAPFs, Delhi Police and Central Police
Organisations (CPOs). Singh, while appreciating the valour, hard work and
contribution of the jawans in providing security, recalled the various measures
introduced by the Modi government to improve facilities and amenities for
CAPFs. This includes free travel from Jammu to Srinagar and from Delhi to
Srinagar and back for paramilitary personnel on duty/leave and enhancement of
risk and hardship allowance for personnel deployed in J&K and Naxal-hit
districts. He said CAPF personnel wounded in an operation and admitted to
hospital were now considered on duty during the period of treatment. Besides,
ex-gratia payable to a CAPF martyr has been raised to Rs 35 lakh from Rs 15
lakh.
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RAMAN SINGH GOVERNMENT DIVERTED WELFARE FUNDS TO UJJWALA
The newly-elected Congress
government in Chhattisgarh has found that funds from several social welfare
schemes, including District Mineral Foundation and Compensatory Afforestation,
were diverted by its predecessor to fund the Centre’s flagship initiative
Ujjwala scheme, which provides free LPG cylinders to below poverty line
families. Chhattisgarh government’s records reveal that the Raman Singh-led BJP
government had made a budget provision of Rs 55 crore for the Ujjwala scheme.
However, it diverted finances from other schemes, including Rs 29 crore from a
labour department scheme, Rs 212.90 crore from environment cess, Rs 47.08 crore
from Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)
and Rs 162.38 crore from District Mineral Foundation (DMF). CAMPA oversees
compensatory afforestation which needs to be done in lieu of diversion of
forest land for non-forestry use. As per the guidelines, CAMPA funds cannot be
diverted for any other purpose. DMF, a non-profit trust established in 2015 in
all mining districts, has been planned as a dedicated board, which would work
for the interest of persons and areas affected by mining. Like CAMPA, DMF
guidelines prohibit any diversion to any other purpose. This is not the first
time that diversion of DMF funds has been reported from Chhattisgarh.
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GOVERNMENT TIGHTENS LOCALISATION NORMS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES
The government has placed
stiff localisation riders for the automotive industry to avail of incentives
upfront under the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of hybrid and
Electric Vehicles) II Initiative to promote local manufacturing of electric
vehicles Two persons who attended a Wednesday meeting of policymakers and industry
stakeholders under the aegis of the Department of Heavy Industry told. Vehicle
makers have to ensure minimum localisation content of 40% on ex-factory price
of the vehicle in case of buses and 50% for all other categories of vehicles
(electric twowheelers, electric three-wheelers, electric four-wheelers and
e-rickshaws) to qualify for benefits under the scheme. Automobile companies
have to meet the specified localisation requirements from April 1, 2019, to
avail of benefits under FAME II, said a senior government official, who did not
wish to be identified. Overall, direct subsidies to the tune of Rs 8,800 crore
will be extended to consumers to promote widespread utilisation of electric
two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers and buses. Only lithium-ion battery
fitted vehicles registered with appropriate authorities will be eligible for
incentives. An additional Rs 1,200 crore has been earmarked to set up charging
infrastructure and build awareness among consumers about electric vehicles. The
government last week approved Rs 10,000 crore to implement the second phase of
FAME India Initiative for a period of three years starting April 1.
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P. CHIDAMBARAM DEMANDS PUBLICATIONS OF RAFALE DEAL PAPERS
Senior Congress leader P
Chidambaram Thursday demanded publication of all documents related to the
Rafale aircraft deal, saying Article 19 of the Constitution ensured people's
rights regarding freedom of speech and expression He also said the celebrated
judgement of the US Supreme Court in 1971 in the case of the Pentagon Papers
was a complete answer to the attorney general's arguments that the media cannot
publish so-called secret papers. We fully support the publication of documents
pertaining to the Rafale deal. The argument that they are 'stolen papers' flies
in the face of Article 19 of the Constitution, he said in separate tweets. The
Article 19 of the Constitution ensures protection of certain rights regarding
freedom of speech and expression besides others. On June 30, 1971, the Supreme
Court of the United States overturned the Richard Nixon administration's effort
to restrain 'The New York Times' and 'The Washington Post' from publishing a
top-secret history of the Vietnam War called the Pentagon Papers. The
government had on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that documents related to
the Rafale fighter jet deal were stolen from the Defence Ministry and
threatened The Hindu newspaper with the Official Secrets Act for publishing
articles based on them. Those who put documents on the Rafale deal in the
public domain were guilty under the act as also contempt of court, Attorney
General K K Venugopal said before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice
Ranjan Gogoi.
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RAFALE DEAL: NO FORCE ON EARTH CAN MAKE ME REVEAL THE SOURCE,
SAYS N RAM
N Ram, Chairman of The
Hindu publishing group, responded strongly to Attorney-General KK Venugopal’s
argument in the Supreme Court that the documents on the Rafale deal were stolen
and those publishing them were guilty under the Official Secrets Act We did not
steal the documents from the Ministry of Defence, we got them from confidential
sources and no force on earth can make me or us reveal the source of the
documents because we have given our word, said Ram. Secondly, we have published
this information obtained through investigative journalism in the public
interest, information which was withheld or suppressed despite repeated demands
in Parliament and outside. He asserted that we are fully protected by the
Article 19(1) A of the Indian Constitution, the fundamental right of freedom of
speech and expression and also by the Right to Information Act, specifically
8(1)(i) and 8(2), which overrides the Official Secrecy Act and that there is no
question of any national security being compromised by it. Ram also called for
democratic India to do away with the Official Secrets Act, 1923, saying: The
OSA is an obnoxious piece of colonial legislation which is anti-democratic and
has rarely been used against publications in independent India. If there was
espionage or something like that, it’s a different matter. Here, it is material
that should have gone into the public realm and should have been freely
available to readers. Asked if the Attorney General’s argument would have a
chilling effect on investigative journalism, Ram said if it represented
government policy, it would clearly have a chilling effect on journalism, and
investigative journalism in particular. He added, however, that any such
attempt was unlikely to succeed. Today it’s not just The Hindu, but also some
other independent news publications which have put out material on Rafale.
There has been an overarching fear in the media ecosystem under this government
but the Indian press is now willing to do more. And the very fact that issue
has been covered in a big way shows that the blanket of silence that some would
like to be imposed on this matter has been breached, he said. Ram also
explained that The Hindu had exercised due diligence in its investigation and
it was not as though everything that came to hand was unloaded in the public
realm in the name of investigative journalism. For example, during the course
of our independent Rafale investigation, we had access to information on the 13
India-specific enhancements but in the newspaper's judgment there was no need
to publish this, because it was not strictly relevant to the investigative
articles being published and also because the government was saying this
technical information was highly sensitive, it may help the interests of
adversaries and may cause harm. I don’t accept that argument fully but still we
felt that there was no need to publish this technical information, he said. The
Hindu had exercised due diligence in its investigation, and not everything that
came to hand was unloaded in the public realm, said Ram.
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K’TAKA CM BLOCKING CASH BENEFIT TRANSFER: PM MODI
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Wednesday attacked the JD(S)-Congress regime in Karnataka, saying it is
led by a remote controlled Chief Minister (HD Kumaraswamy) with total disregard
to farmer problems. The Chief Minister, Modi said at a BJP rally in Kalaburgi
(Gulbarga) in Karnataka, was not sharing the names and other details of farmers
eligible for cash benefits under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi yojana. The scheme,
announced in the Union Budget in February, provides for cash benefits of Rs
6000 to each eligible farmer. The money is credited to farmers’ accounts every
quarter under the scheme. They are blocking the benefits of PM-KISAN to reach
the farmers as there is no middlemen in our scheme and money directly reaches
the farmers in their bank accounts, the Prime Minister said. He also took a dig
at the Chief Minister, and said his programme of waiver of farm loans was yet
to reach farmers. Modi chose Kalaburgi (Gulbarga), the constituency of
Mallikarjuna Kharge, the Congress floor leader in the Lok Sabha, for
Wednesday’s political campaign. Without naming Kharge, he said the district had
been ignored, and the State Government has paid little attention to the region.
Kalaburgi district in charge minister Priyank Kharge, son of Mallakarjun
Kharge, described the PM’s rally as damp squib. The most disappointed people
will be the new entrants of BJP as they had expected a lot., he tweeted. HD
Kumaraswamy told that Karnataka was ready to share whatever information the
Centre wants on farmers, but the Centre itself was bankrupt. It does not have
funds to release against NREGA payments to labourers in Karnataka because it
has diverted those funds to PM Kisan yojana. The Centre owes Rs 2000 crore
under NREGA scheme to Karnataka, and the State Government was meeting NREGA
payment commitments from own funds.
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IIMB RANKED HIGHEST IN INDIA IN THE QS UNIVERSITY RANKINGS
2019
The Indian Institute of
Management Bengaluru (IIMB), has bagged the top spot in India in the QS
University Rankings 2019, under the Business and Management Studies category.
The institute has received the top spot by breaking into the global 51 to 100
range and within the top 15 in Asia. In the past two years, IIMB was ranked
second in India. It was also ranked among the top 25 institutes in Asia and in the
global 101-150 range. The QS World University Rankings identifies the world’s
top universities in individual subject areas so that students who know what
subjects they are interested in can find suitable universities.
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BOB, DENA, VIJAYA BANK MERGER COULD OPEN RS 1,000 CR IT
OUTSOURCING WINDOW
The amalgamation of Bank
of Baroda (BoB), Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will create an IT outsourcing opportunity
worth about Rs 1,000 crore in terms of integrating the different technology
stacks used by these PSU lenders. According to several people in the know,
while existing vendors Infosys and Hewlett-Packard (HP) have a fair chance of
clinching this deal, even global majors IBM and Accenture are seen as strong
contenders to execute the projects. As part of the amalgamation, core banking
platform integration will be the first step, and will be followed by
integration of applications related to human resources and treasury, apart from
product-focussed APIs (Application Programme Interface). Firstly, IT
integration will start from integrating platforms. Currently, our bank (BoB)
and both Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank are using different versions of Infosys’ Finacle.
So, Infosys will take care in onboarding them, said Vikramaditya Singh. BoB,
Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank are all set to be amalgamated into one entity
effective April 1, creating India's third largest bank after the State Bank of
India and ICICI Bank. The amalgamation will take place on a share swap basis
with shareholders of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank receiving 402 and 110 equity
shares of BoB for every 1,000 shares held by them. In India, banks typically
spend about 3-4 per cent of their annual revenue in technology. This would
include hardware and systems, applications, data centres and network. Merger
related application migration and testing, typically range between 0.25 to 0.5
per cent of the combined revenue, said P Venkatesh, Director at Maverick Systems.
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VERIFY 19.5 LAKH FOREST LAND CLAIMS: CENTRE TO STATES
The Centre has asked state
governments to carry out a village-level scrutiny of 19.50 lakh claims of land
ownership under the Forest Rights Act 2006, which have been rejected by the
states to establish the exact number of persons with rejected claims. After a
thorough de-duplication exercise to be carried out within 15 days, the states
have also been asked to provide details of the exact number of persons who face
eviction once the final number of rejected claims is established. A meeting was
called in the wake of the Supreme Court last week staying its February 13 order
on eviction of tribals and other forest dwellers whose claims to land ownership
under the Forest Rights Act have been rejected. States have been asked to file
their affidavits by July 10. In keeping with the SC order, states have also
been informed that only claims rejected at the district level, delivered
through a speaking order and conveyed through written communication will be
considered as such. Claims rejected at village and sub division level will not
be considered as final. The directions to the states came at a meeting of
secretary in the ministry of tribal affairs (MoTA) Deepak Khandekar with
officials from around 25 states. Khandekar shared that as per states around
40.50 lakh claims for land ownership were filed under FRA. Of these about 18.50
have been granted land pattas (ownership rights). Of the remaining 22 lakh
claims about 2.50 lakh are either pending or under process. So, we have sought
that the states verify the 19.50 lakh claims that are cited to have been
rejected. This is important to establish how many persons are rejected at the
district level , he said. It is important to understand that a claim does not
add up to one person. There can be more than one claim filed by a single
person. Also every rejected person does not necessarily join the eviction list.
For instance, if a husband and wife have filed the same claim, one may be
rejected, he explained. The Centre had pleaded before the SC on February 28 to
withhold its February 13 order which would have led to eviction of an estimated
11.8 lakh tribals and other traditional forest-dwellers (numbers as per
affidavits filed by states in the court). The Centre asserted that claims of
the forest-dwellers were rejected in a summary manner and the affected persons
had no wherewithal to defend their rights.
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SUGAR DOES NOT CAUSE DIABETES: INDIAN PRODUCERS WANTS YOU TO
BELIEVE THAT
Can sugar be the sole
culprit for making India the diabetes capital of the world? Well, if some
experts and sugar industry representatives are to be believed, the sweetener is
being unnecessarily dragged into the controversy over rising cases of diabetes
in the country, especially as a host of factors, including sedentary lifestyle
and growing urbanisation, are causing diabetes. In a seminar on 'Sugar and
Health', organised by the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), the premier
association of private sugar factories in the country, industry players said
there was an annual increase of 6.25 per cent in diabetes cases in the country
between 2000 and 2016. During the same period, per capita sugar consumption
grew by only 1.23 per cent. ISMA’s efforts to highlight the health benefits of
sugar come at a time when India is staring at a massive glut in the sugar
market, with production in the 2018-19 sugar season (October to November)
projected at around 30-31 million tonnes, compared with an estimated
consumption of 26 million tonnes. A high opening stock, along with a low offtake
in the domestic and international markets, could leave the country saddled with
sugar stocks in excess of 11 million tonnes by the time the 2018-19 season
ends. Many experts blame slow growth in domestic retail sugar consumption as
one of reasons for surplus stock. India’s annual sugar consumption is 18.4 kg,
one of lowest in the world. It is lower than even Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and
yet we have such high number of diabetes cases. This shows the problem perhaps
lies elsewhere, not in sugar consumption, said Abinash Verma, director general
of ISMA. He said there were two big myths associated with sugar consumption:
First that it causes diabetes, and second that it leads to dental caries
(medical term for tooth decay or cavities). Studies and research have shown
that dental caries are caused by acid in food. The pH value (a measurement of
acidity and alkalinity of water soluble substances) of sugar is seven, which is
considered neutral. A pH value reading below 7 is considered acidic and more
than 7 alkaline. You can manage Type-2 and Type-3 through food management,
Khosla said.
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NO BIDS FOR GUJARAT SOLAR AUCTION DUE TO LOW TARIFF
In a setback for Gujarat’s
renewable energy drive, its latest solar auction of 1000 MW got no bids at all
because developers felt the ceiling tariff it had set was too low. Tuesday was
the last day for submitting techno-commercial bids for the 1000 MW auction, for
projects to be set up at the state’s Dholera Solar Park, but not a single
developer responded. The auction has now been postponed to March 19. Gujarat
Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL), which is conducting the auction, confirmed the
development. We heard from various bidders yesterday that they did not want to
participate at the moment, said a GUVNL executive. The tariff was capped at Rs
2.75 per unit which developers felt was unviable for Dholera, because of its
location. The ceiling tariff is unrealistic because of the quality of the site.
It is not plain land, the terrain is problematic, the construction cost there
will be higher, said a developer on the condition of anonymity. But the GUVNL
executive said no changes will be made to the tender conditions when bids are
sought again. We will not increase the ceiling tariff either, he said. GUVNL
has been unhappy with the discovered price at some of its earlier auctions,
finding them too high. It cancelled the results of a 700MW solar auction held
in December for projects at Raghanesda solar park because it felt the winning
tariff there, Rs 2.84 per unit, was higher than warranted. Since the high
tariff was attributed to high charges at this particular solar park, it told
winning developers that the state would reduce park charges and go for another
round of bidding. However, this has not been held so far.
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VIJAY MALLYA’S JET BEING DISMANTLED AT AI HANGAR
Vijay Mallya’s private
jet, Airbus A 319 (VT – VJM), which was auctioned to US-based Aviation
Management Sales (AMS), is being dismantled at the Air India hangar for the
past few weeks as making it fl y-worthy had become difficult. After Kingfisher
Airlines was grounded, the Service Tax Department had seized the aircraft. The
AMS, which won the bid for the seized aircraft for Rs 34 crore in June last
year, was unable to take possession of the aircraft because of bureaucratic
hurdles. Three previous bids had failed to attract any buyers. Under the
bidding conditions, the aircraft had to be removed from the airport premises
within 60 days, said sources in the aviation industry.
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MUMBAI IS 16TH MOST EXPENSIVE PRIME RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
MARKET IN THE WORLD
India’s commercial
capital, has emerged as the 16th most expensive prime residential property
market in the world In terms of price rise, Indian luxury home markets remained
low on the growth chart with Delhi gaining 1.4%, Bengaluru 1.1% and Mumbai
0.3%, showed Knight Frank’s Prime International Residential Index. Known for
its upscale casinos, yacht-lined harbour and prestigious Grand Prix motor race,
Monaco emerged as the most expensive of all prime markets globally. One can buy
only 172 sq ft with the budget of $1 m. Mumbai has shown a downward movement in
capital values for its prime residential markets. In Mumbai, $1 m can now buy
around 1,076 sq ft translating to around $930 per sq ft.
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EMISSION FIASCO: NGT FINES VOLKSWAGEN RS 500 CR FOR USE OF
CHEAT DEVICE
The National Green Tribunal
Thursday slapped a fine of Rs 500 crore on German auto major Volkswagen for
damaging the environment through the use of cheat device in its diesel cars in
India. A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the
carmaker to deposit the amount within two months. The green panel on November
16, 2018 had said that use of 'cheat device' by Volkswagen in diesel cars in
India leads to inference of environmental damage and had directed it to deposit
an interim amount of Rs 100 crore with the Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB). It had also constituted a joint team of representatives of the CPCB,
Ministry of Heavy Industries, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI)
and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, which had
recommended Rs 171.34-crore fine on Volkswagen as health damages for causing
air pollution in Delhi due to excess nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The
tribunal was hearing pleas filed by Ailawadi, a school teacher, and a few
others seeking ban on the sale of Volkswagen vehicles for alleged violation of
emission norms.
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USE NUMBERS TO DISCUSS GOVERNMENT WORK: BJP TO ITS MEDIA FACES
Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley, who heads the BJP publicity and propaganda committee formed for the
general election campaign, held a meeting with more than 30 party
spokespersons, panellists and columnists at the party headquarters on
Wednesday. Sources said Jaitley discussed the main issues in currency in the
media and newspapers and BJP stand on them. These ranged from the
India-Pakistan stand-off and how this was to be dealt with in the media and
press debates. BJP has been engaged in a verbal duel with Congress and regional
parties like TMC on this issue and tried to paint the opposition as one that is
playing into the hands of Pakistan while raising questions on the Balakot
operations. The government stand on the Rafale fighter jet deal which is raised
vociferously by Congress as well as the manner in which the Ram temple issue is
playing out are also matters where the BJP is engaged in a contest with the
opposition. BJP is widening its list of panellists on news channels and has
asked its leaders to write more often in various newspapers and magazines.
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US TRADE DEFICIT WITH INDIA DECREASED BY USD 1.6 BILLION IN
2018
The trade deficit between
India and the US decreased by USD 1.6 billion almost seven per cent, in 2018 as
compared to the previous year, according to the latest official figures. India
recorded a decrease in the deficit from USD 22.9 billion in 2017 to USD 21.3
billion in 2018, according to the latest figures revealed by the Bureau of
Economy Analysis on Wednesday. The US trade deficit in goods and services
increased by USD 9.5 billion from USD 50.3 billion in November to USD 59.8
billion in December, according to the figures. For 2018, the US goods and
services deficit was USD 621.0 billion, up USD 68.8 billion from USD 552.3
billion in 2017. Exports were USD 2,500.0 billion in 2018, up USD148.9 billion
from 2017. Imports were USD 3,121.0 billion, up USD 217.7 billion from 2017, it
said.
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LEGAL PROCESSES TO REOPEN STERLITE COPPER PLANT UNDERWAY:
VEDANTA
Vedanta Ltd Wednesday said
legal processes are in progress through state courts for reopening Sterlite
Copper plant in Tuticorin. The Tamil Nadu government had in May last year
ordered the state pollution control board to seal and permanently close the
mining group's copper plant following violent protests over pollution concerns.
At Sterlite Copper, legal processes are underway through the state courts to
re-open this plant, the company said in an investor's brief. In the alumina
vertical, the company said, it has seen increase in volumes, decrease in costs
and margin improvements as a result. In fact, several new performance records
have been set, it said. Within six months of acquisition, Electrosteels Ltd has
turned around to achieve a run rate of 1.5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) with
healthy EBITDA margins, largely as a result of cost and volume improvements,
Vedanta said.
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WOMEN FRIENDLY; VISTARA TO START PROVIDING FREE SANITARY
NAPKINS ON-BOARD IN SPIRIT OF WOMEN’S DAY
Vistara will become the
first Indian airline to offer free sanitary pads on request to women travellers
on domestic flights from International Women’s Day on March 8. The airline will
provide ISO 9001:2015 certified bio-degradable and organic sanitary napkins
made from plant-based fibres that are free of plastic, toxins and perfume,
Vistara said in a statement on Wednesday. From this Friday, the full-service
carrier’s cabin crew will make in-flight announcements on all flights to create
awareness that sanitary pads are now available on board for customers to freely
ask for it if they need it. The initiative to provide sanitary pads to our
customers is a meaningful one that reflects our core philosophy that ‘small
things make a big difference’, said Deepa Chadha. As a woman, I feel a greater
sense of pride for being part of an organization that’s providing such an
essential amenity to customers — something that will help so many travellers in
times of need, Chadha added. Vistara carries has a 3.8-per cent share in the
domestic passenger market, as per the January data of aviation regulator
Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
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PHILIP MORRIS PAID FOR INDIA MANUFACTURING DESPITE BAN ON
FOREIGN INVESTMENT
Philip Morris
International Inc has for years paid manufacturing costs to its Indian partner
to make its Marlboro cigarettes, circumventing a nine-year-old government ban
on foreign direct investment in the industry, internal company. The Indian
government in 2010 prohibited foreign direct investment (FDI) in cigarette
manufacturing, saying the measure would enhance its efforts to curb smoking.
Some former Indian enforcement officials said the practice of indirectly paying
for manufacturing-related costs violates regulatory rules. Six invoices issued
by Godfrey showed billing of 45.5 million Indian rupees ($644,200) to Philip
Morris between December 2013 and January 2018 for manufacturing-related
charges. Philip Morris paid for items ranging from large cigarette-making
machines to costs of smaller equipment such as barcode scanners and printers
deployed in Godfrey's factories. Three former officials and one former head of
India's main financial crime-fighting agency, the Enforcement Directorate,
reviewed the Philip Morris documents for Reuters and said the dealings should
be investigated for circumventing India's foreign investment rules. One of the
former officials said that paying for machines to manufacture cigarettes
essentially resulted in the promotion of cigarettes, and the government's
intent of banning foreign direct investment in 2010 was to deter that.
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AADHAAR-BASED E-KYC TO BOOST USER ADDS FOR TELCOS: EXPERTS
A recent ordinance
allowing voluntary Aadhaar-based digital verification is likely to speed up
customer adds for the Big 3 telcos, especially in the rural markets, and reduce
user acquisition costs, analysts and industry executives said. Aadhaar, they
said, would be a simpler and more foolproof authentication mechanism than the
one using QR codes to verify IDs of new users before selling mobile
connections, especially in rural markets. Aadhaar-based customer verification
will boost customer acquisitions for big telcos, particularly in rural markets
where bulk of the new customer adds are happening now, Hetal Gandhi, director
(research) at Crisil India, told. Aadhaar-based customer enrolment, she said,
would also benefit telcos subsidising 4G handsets. Rajan Mathews, expects a
definite increase in the pace of subscriber adds if more folks voluntarily opt
for the Aadhaar-based verification system following the latest ordinance.
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INDIA'S BILLIONAIRE CLUB TO GROW 37% IN 5 YEARS, TO BEAT
GLOBAL AVERAGE
India’s billionaire
population is expected to grow 37 per cent in the next five years, beating the
global and Asian averages, said a new report by UK-based property consultant
Knight Frank on Wednesday. In Asia, the number of billionaires is expected to
grow 27 per cent, while the number in North America is set to rise 17 per cent
and in Europe by 18 per cent, between 2018 and 2023. The number in Asia is
expected to touch 1,003 in the next four years — more than a third of the
world’s total billionaire population of 2,696, said The Wealth Report by Knight
Frank. India saw a rise of 116 per cent in billionaires from 2013-18, the
report added. In terms of growth in the number of ultra-high networth
individuals (UHNWIs) — those with net assets of $30 million or more — the
country is expected to see a growth of 39 per cent, the highest globally. India
is followed by The Philippines (38 per cent) and China (35 per cent), it said.
Despite the election uncertainties of 2019, India’s wealth is expected to surge
over the next five years, with the numbers of UHNWIs rising to 2,697, it said.
The report also said India’s UHNWIs will grow fastest globally over the next
five years. The report said that on an average, Indian UHNWIs own 3.64 homes
and have allocated nearly a quarter of their wealth to property. According to
the Attitudes Survey in Knight Frank’s Wealth Report, 25 per cent of Asian
UHNWIs plan to buy a home outside their country of residence by 2020, higher
than the global average of 22 per cent. About 18 per cent of Indian UHNWIs
showed an affinity towards purchasing homes outside their domicile country. The
survey is based on responses from 600 wealth managers and private bankers
across the world. Among Indian UHNWIs, 74 per cent preferred to buy a house in
India, while 39 per cent responded favourably to the US.
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MEDIATION IN AYODHYA DESIRABLE, RULING SOON: SC
The Supreme Court on
Wednesday said that mediation was desirable to sort out the contentious Ayodhya
issue given its bitter history and its wide-ranging implications on the body
polity even though the Hindu parties to the case were unwilling, but stopped short
of passing an order to this effect. Instead the court said that it would rule
on this very shortly We cannot undo history. But we can undo this dispute, a
five-judge bench led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi said. The bench said that instead one
mediator, there could be a panel of mediators to thrash out the issue. While
the process was on it could be confidential.
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SC ASKS AG TO INFORM WITHIN 10 DAYS DATE FOR MEETING OF LOKPAL
SELECTION COMMITTEE
The Supreme Court Thursday
asked Attorney General K K Venugopal to inform it within 10 days about a
possible date for meeting of the selection committee for appointment of Lokpal
and its members. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was informed by
Venugopal that the search committee headed by former apex court judge Ranjana
Prakash Desai has recommended three panels of names to the selection committee
for appointment of chairperson, judicial and non-judicial members. The AG told
the bench, also comprising Justices S A Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna, that he will
ask the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training to ensure that
the meeting of the prime minister-headed selection committee is convened as
early as possible The top court also refused to pass directions to disclose
names in the three panels.
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INCOME TAX EXEMPTION FOR GRATUITY ENHANCED UP TO RS. 20 LAKHS
Ministry of Finance has
enhanced the income tax exemption for gratuity under section 10 (10) (iii) of
the Income Tax Act, 1961 to Rs. 20 lakhs Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, expressed
hope that this would benefit those employees of PSUs and other employees not
covered by Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 and has thanked the Finance Minister
for enhancing the exemption limit. The ceiling of Gratuity amount under the
Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 has been raised from time to time keeping in view
over-all economic condition and employers capacity to pay and the salaries of
the employees, which have been increased in private sector and in PSUs. The
latest such enhancement of ceiling of gratuity was made vide Government of
India Notification dated 29.03.2018 under which the gratuity amount ceiling has
been increased from Rs.10 lakhs to 20 lakhs w.e.f. 29.3.2018.
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GOVT ISSUES MODEL GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPMENT & REGULATION
OF RETIREMENT HOMES
Sh Hardeep S Puri, has
informed that the model guidelines for development and Regulation of Retirement
Homes which have been prepared by his Ministry prescribe an elderly friendly
built environment, physical standards and specifications. Providing details of
the guidelines he informed that the Model Guidelines address the special needs
and protect the rights of senior citizens and retirees living in Retirement
Homes who aspire to spend their retired life independently in a safe, secure
and dignified environment. The Guidelines provide option to senior citizens and
family members, who are willing and can afford to purchase a living space for
their parents. The guidelines states that:
· Retirement Homes should
be aligned with the Principles, Guidelines, Norms etc. as prescribed in
‘National Building Code’ (NBC), ‘Model Building Bye Laws’ and ‘Harmonized
Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier Free Built Environment for persons
with Disability and Elderly Persons’.
· Elderly friendly built
environment like lifts with audio and visual signage and signalling systems,
wheel chair accessibility, mandatory ramps, design of spaces to enable barrier
free movement, anti-skid tiles in bathrooms and stairs, elderly friendly design
of door-knobs, hand rails, furniture, etc., kitchens with gas leak detection
systems, power back up facilities in corridors, lobby, lifts and apartments.
· Compliance with Green
Building Principles as provided in Model Building Bye Laws and use of
non-polluting and renewable energy.
· Provision of common
basic services like 24X7 water and electricity supply, maintenance of proper
hygiene, indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, security and housekeeping,
single window facilities and helpdesk, transportation assistance, yoga and
fitness facilities, care giving facilities, etc.
· Provision of basic
medical, safety and security services like 24x7 on-site ambulance service,
mandatory tie up with emergency facilities with the nearest hospitals and
pharmacy, medical emergency room, regular medical check-up of residents,
emergency alarm systems, trained and skilled security personnel, CCTV cameras
in common areas, prior police verification of all the personnel deployed in the
Retirement Homes.
· Customised services over
and above the basic common services like internal and external housekeeping,
managing dining services, assistance with legal services, etc., if required by
the residents has also been prescribed.
From approximately 7.6
crore in 2001, the number of senior citizens in India, has increased to 10.4
crore in 2011. This number is expected to grow to 17.3 crore by 2025 and about
24 crores by 2050. By the end of the century, senior citizens will constitute
nearly 34 percent of the total population of the country. The salient features
of these Model Guidelines are:
· Keeping in view the
requirement of independent lifestyle choice, these Guidelines provides that any
person can buy such apartments but has to be solely used by a senior citizen.
· Resident of Retirement
Homes will be any person who is 60 years of age or above.
· Promoter/ Developer can
build and manage the Retirement Homes or engage a ‘Service Provider’ or
‘Retirement Home Operator’ for management of Retirement Homes. Such Service
Providers will be required to be registered with appropriate State Authorities.
· To encourage
participation of promoter/ developer to develop such projects enhanced Floor
Area Ratio (FAR) is proposed.
Transparency in fund
utilisation
· Provision of a twofold
mechanism in the form of refundable Interest Free Maintenance Security Deposit
(IFMS) and Maintenance Charges. IFMS to be paid by the Allottee which is
refundable within a maximum period of three months from the date of refund
application. Maintenance Charges to be paid by the resident on lump-sum or
monthly/ quarterly/ yearly instalments on mutually agreed terms.
Regulation of Retirement
Homes
· Retirement Home
apartments can only be sold after registration under the respective Real Estate
Regulatory Authorities of the States/Union Territories. To protect the rights
of the residents a list of ‘Basic Rights of the Allottee/Resident of a
Retirement Home’ has been stipulated.
· The Model Guidelines
provides for disclosure of technical skill of the Service Provider at the time
of executing the ‘Agreement to Sale’ in the form of a ‘Tri-Partite Agreement’
to be executed among the Developer, Service Provider /Retirement Home Operators
and Allottee.
· To ensure implementation
of the Guidelines, a Task Force for constant dialogue with States/UTs and other
stakeholders will be set by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
· Setting up of
appropriate Monitoring Committees by the State/UT Authorities for timely
implementation of all applicable laws, regulations, rules and guidelines
governing the Retirement Homes, under the supervision of MoHUA.
· The Model Guidelines
will encourage inclusive growth wherein States/UTs are required to review and
align their policies and regulations and institutionalise appropriate
mechanisms on Retirement Homes.
· The Model Guidelines
will enable all States/UTs to align their policies and regulations in line with
these Model Guidelines to ensure the protection of rights of the senior
citizens and promote a dignified life after retirement. The implementation of
these Guidelines will boost investment in the Retirement Home segment,
contribute in employment generation in service sector industries associated
with Retirement Homes.
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MAHARASHTRA’S INDUSTRIAL POLICY TARGETS RS 10 LAKH CRORE
INVESTMENT, 40 LAKH JOBS
Devendra Fadnavis
government on Tuesday unveiled a new five-year industrial policy (2019-24),
promising investments of Rs 10 lakh crore that would generate 40 lakh jobs The
policy is focussed on industrial growth and development of the backward regions
of Vidarbha and Marathwada. It also introduced a special component for the
development of Maoist and tribal belts of Nandurbar, Washim and Gadchiroli
under the industrial cluster development project. The one stand out feature of
the policy is the ambitious Chief Minister Employment Generation Programme
(CMEGP), aimed at addressing the growing unrest over the lack of jobs. In five
years, the target is to create two lakh youth entrepreneurs in manufacturing
and service sectors. Fadnavis said, The policy will be a game changer, opening
doors for migrants abroad to return home and provide new job avenues to the
sons of the soil. While reiterating the dream of making Maharashtra a trillion
dollar economy by 2025, Fadnavis pledged to strengthen foreign direct
investment and industrial status of Maharashtra Fadnavis said: Eligible
persons, aged between 18 to 45 years, will be trained and promoted for self
employment, for which equity will be converted into back-end subsidy, which
will be provided by the state government against bank loans. Under the scheme,
one would get a maximum of Rs 50 lakh under the manufacturing sector and Rs 10
lakh under the service sector. The state government will provide budgetary
support to the scheme, which will be executed by the directorate of industries
and khadi village industries board. The government has further decided to set
up Maharashtra Export Promotion Council on the lines of the one at the Centre
to attract global investments in core sectors. The industrial policy stressed
an industrial cluster-based approach to promote sustainable, cost-effective and
an inclusive strategy to ensure competitive and improved micro, small and
medium enterprises (MSME) units. The government will offer fiscal assistance
for approved common facility centres. The limit for fiscal assistance for
cluster promotion will be raised to Rs 10 crore from the current Rs 5 crore. A
special purpose vehicle will be set up for the scheme. The state steering
committee would evaluate and approve proposals under the scheme. Almost 20 per
cent area would be reserved for MSMEs in new MIDC estates. Out of this, 20 per
cent area will be reserved for SC/ST entrepreneurs and five per cent for women
and industrial units of women self-help groups. For rehabilitation of
ex-servicemen and to promote self employment among ex-servicemen, two per cent
plots will be reserved. MSME’s eligible new units in north Maharashtra,
Vidabrha, Marathwada, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in Konkan will get power
tariff subsidy of Re 1 per unit consumed Up to 100 per cent stamp duty will
also be exempted for eligible MSMEs. The other aspects of the policy include
revival and unlocking assets tied up in closed units. Under this, 20,000 sq m
of contiguous land in MIDC areas will be allowed to develop industrial
clusters. Special incentives shall be taken up to promote industrial land.
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‘DEDUCTION OF WAGES, DISCIPLINARY ACTION’: GOVT WARNS
EMPLOYEES OF ‘CONSEQUENCES’ IF THEY GO ON STRIKE ON MARCH 13
The Centre has warned its
employees of consequences if they go on strike on March 13 to protest against
the New Pension Scheme (NPS), the Personnel Ministry has said in an order. It
has been brought to notice that the National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) has
decided to organise dharna/demonstrations in front of Jantar Mantar, New Delhi,
and across the country on March 13 in order to protest against the NPS, the
ministry said. Citing existing rules, the order said instructions prohibit
government servants from participating in any form of strike, including mass
casual leave, go slow, etc., or any action that abet any form of
strike/protest. Any employee going on strike in any form would face the
consequences which, besides deduction of wages, may also include appropriate
disciplinary action, it said. All officers have been requested to not sanction
casual leave or any other kind of leave if applied for, during the period of
the proposed strike and ensure that the willing employees are allowed
hindrance-free entry into the office premises, the order stated. The ministry
has also sought a report from all divisional heads in case employees go on
strike. They have been asked to forward the report indicating the number and
details of employees absent on the day of the strike, it said. The Personnel
Ministry has asked officers concerned of the Central Industrial Security Force
(CISF), which guards majority of important government buildings, to ensure
strict vigil on all entry gates and if necessary, deploy extra security
personnel for the purpose. There are around 48.41 lakh central government
employees.
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DRAFT E-COMMERCE POLICY: SOME STAKEHOLDERS SEEKING MORE TIME
TO GIVE COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS
Some stakeholders from the
online trading sectors are seeking more time beyond March 9 to provide their
comments and suggestions on the draft national e-commerce policy, an official
said. The government has released the draft proposing setting up a legal and
technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow and also
laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of
sensitive data locally and storing it abroad. The draft was formulated by the
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Certain
e-commerce players have sought more time from the department to give their
views. It is under consideration. Currently the last date for receiving
comments is March 9, the official added.
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EEPC INDIA ACTIVELY WORKING ON CREATING RIGHT ECOSYSTEM FOR
INDUSTRY 4.0 FOR BENEFIT OF SMES: OFFICIAL
Trade and investment
promotion council Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) India has been
actively working on creating the right ecosystem in the area of Industry 4.0
for the benefit of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), said an official. At
EEPC we have been working on Industry 4.0 for last two years. Industry 4.0 is
our top most agenda and we have been working on helping the SMEs to equip
themselves and overcome the challenges in terms of technology up gradation,
said Mahesh K Desai. Simultaneously, we are also focusing on skill development
in order to have the right ecosystem, he said while announcing the details
about the 8th edition of EEPC India’s International Engineering Sourcing Show
(IESS). C H Nadiger, EEPC India, explained that the primary objective of the
IESS is to reduce dependence on traditional markets in exports. About 72% of
our exports are accounted by just 25 countries in the world. We want to expand
our export base. Of course, we are providing a platform for Indian engineering
industry to target the domestic market also as a derisking strategy, he added.
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AYUSHMAN BHARAT ON WAY TO BECOME WORLD’S LARGEST FREE
HEALTHCARE SCHEME, SAYS ARUN JAITLEY
Arun Jaitley Wednesday
said the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (Ayushman Bharat) is on its way to
become the world’s largest free healthcare scheme in just over five months of
launch. Billed as the world’s largest government healthcare programme, Ayushman
Bharat is funded with 60 per cent contribution coming from the Centre and
remaining from the states. The central government aims to cover around 50 crore
poor people In just over five months of its launch #AyushmanBharat #PMJAY is
well on its way to become the world’s largest free healthcare scheme with – 2.2
crore people issued e-cards and over 14 lakh people treated, Jaitley said in a
tweet. In another tweet, the Finance Minister said over 9.23 crore toilets have
been constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission, taking the coverage of
toilets from 39 per cent in October 2014 to 98.9 per cent in 30 states and
Union Territories have become open defecation free. A national survey,
conducted by an independent agency under the World Bank support to Swachh
Bharat Mission, has found that 93.4 per cent of households in rural India who
have access to toilet use it, showing that construction is also matched by a
behavioural change in the usage of toilets, he added.
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LABOUR MINISTER SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR ASKS BENGAL CM MAMTA
BANERJEE TO ENROL WORKERS IN PENSION SCHEME
Union labour minister
Santosh Kumar Gangwar, on Tuesday, urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta
Banerjee to allow enrollment of unorganised workers in Pradhan Mantri Shram
Yogi Maandhan Yojana (PM-SYM). While Community Service Centres from other
states participated in enrollment, centres from West Bengal are not
participating, said Gangwar. West Bengal government has closed all centres for
enrollment of unorganized workers today. It seems that the Bengal government is
not concerned about the welfare of these workers. Politics should not be played
in matters related to labour welfare, said Gangwar.
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GOVT SO FAR GIVES 1ST TRANCHE OF RS 2,000 TO OVER 2 CR FARMERS
UNDER PM-KISAN: AGRI MIN
The Centre has transferred
the first instalment of Rs 2,000 each to over 2 crore farmers so far under the
ambitious Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme, Radha Mohan
Singh said Wednesday. Many states are seriously showing interest to implement
the scheme and sending the data. So far, over 2 crore farmers have been
benefitted Singh told. Some states such as West Bengal, the minister said, are
not keen to roll out the scheme and therefore not providing the data. To such
states, I only urge to keep the politics aside else the electorate will teach
them a lesson, he added. Asked about a large number of vacancies in top
leadership positions at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR),
Singh said the recruitment would be done in a transparent manner now as the
entire process has been digitised unlike manual process earlier.
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KERALA EXTENDS MORATORIUM ON FARM-LOAN REPAYMENT TILL DECEMBER
A series of farmer
suicides in Idukki district seem to have prompted the State government to come
up with debt-relief measures for the farming community in the State. A special
cabinet meeting held on Tuesday at Thiruvananthapuram has decided to extend the
moratorium on loan-recovery proceedings on agricultural loans to December 31
from the earlier deadline of October 31. It was also decided to raise the loan
limit from ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh. The government’s decision will be applicable to loans
availed for agri-related and allied activities, the meeting noted. For
long-term crop loans such as rubber, coffee and coconut, the meeting decided to
give up to 9 per cent interest and the amount will be disbursed from the Chief
Minister’s Relief Fund. An amount of ₹85 crore has also been
sanctioned as compensation for crop-loss caused by natural calamities. The
compensation for crop losses increased 100 per cent from the levels fixed in
2015.
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CONGRESS-RULED MADHYA PRADESH FOCUSES ON OWN LOAN WAIVER
SCHEME, DELAYS PM KISAN NIDHI
Congress-ruled Madhya
Pradesh is focussing on its own loan waiver promise before the model code of
conduct for the Lok Sabha elections comes into play, rather than the PM Kisan
Samman Nidhi scheme MP will complete the waiver of loans worth Rs 10,123 crore
of 25 lakh farmers by this Friday. However, the state is still to send the list
of beneficiary farmers — estimated to be 75 lakh — under PM Kisan Nidhi scheme
to the Centre. The MP government is not sending the list of farmers as it feels
Modi will benefit if the money goes into the accounts of the farmers, former
chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a
rally in Dhar, said he was pained that not a single farmer of Madhya Pradesh
was among the 1.01 crore farmers in the country who got the first instalment of
Rs 2,000 under the central scheme in their bank accounts on February 24. I am
waiting for the list of farmers to send the money. They (Congress) think if Rs
2,000 reaches farmers, toh unki naak kat jayegi (state government will lose
face), he said. The total loan waiver under the state’s Jai Kisan Fasal Rin
Maafi Yojana is expected to be Rs 38,000 crore, covering nearly 55 lakh
farmers. But only Rs 10,123 crore of loans of 25 lakh farmers are being waived
in Phase-1, with Nath saying the rest would be waived afterwards.
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HOW PENDING CASES IN COURTS HURT CORPORATE INDIA
Indian courts are
notorious for taking time to deliver verdicts. Beyond delaying the delivery of
justice a slow legal system can also hurt Corporate India's productivity
according to new research. Johannes Boehm of Sciences Po and Ezra Oberfield of
Princeton University attempt to quantify the impact of congestion and delays in
Indian courts of justice on productivity of local companies, using data on
inputs from the Annual Survey of Industries between 2000-01 and 2012-13. They
argue that when courts are slow in processing cases, contract enforcement is
weak as petitioners face long delays when trying to enforce contracts through
the legal system. Because of this, firms may prefer purchasing materials of
production from suppliers they trust or avoid purchasing the inputs altogether
and simply make the components themselves. These decisions can be costly. To
quantify the overall effect on industrial productivity, the authors compare
firms’ expenditures on different types of inputs with court delays in their
state. First, they find that delays vary starkly across states: the average
pending case is a year old in the fastest processing high courts (Goa and
Sikkim), and four and a half years old in the slowest high court (Uttar Pradesh).
The authors calculate that, on average across states, if court congestion were
reduced to be in line with the least congested state, industrial productivity
could increase by as much as 5%. Thus, the authors argue that the potential
economic benefits to improving the speed in which courts process cases could be
large.
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GOVERNMENT HAS IMPLEMENTED SEVERAL MEASURES TO PROVIDE
ADDITIONAL FACILITIES AND AMENITIES TO THE CAPFS
Rajnath Singh has said the
Government is committed to improve the working conditions and quality of life
of jawans of the Central Armed Police forces (CAPFs). He was speaking at an
event here after inaugurating 28 projects covering 5,283 housing units, 71
non-residential buildings and 34 barracks built at a cost of Rs 1,895 Crores of
various CAPFs, Delhi Police and Central Police Organisations (CPOs). Home
Minister said the Government has implemented several measures to improve
various facilities and amenities to the CAPFs during the last nearly five
years, yet more needs to be done. Despite our best efforts made for the welfare
of jawans, there is still room to do more, said Shri Rajnath Singh. The Home
Minister listed several recent decisions made by the Government to boost the
morale of the CAPF jawans. They include:
·
Free air travel from Jammu
to Srinagar and back on duty/ leave and also on duty from Delhi to Srinagar and
back.
·
Enhancement of existing
Risk and Hardship Allowances for CAPF personnel deployed in Jammu and Kashmir,
LWE affected districts.
Besides, the ex-gratia
payable to a CAPF martyr has been enhanced from Rs.15 lakh to Rs.35 lakh. Shri
Rajnath Singh said though no amount of monetary compensation is enough for the
sacrifices made by the jawans in the line of duty, he has ensured that every
CAPF martyr’s family gets a minimum of Rs. 1 crore. For this, the Bharat ke
Veer Fund has been created which has already raised huge sums in donations. Besides,
private institutions are also providing scholarships to wards of CAPF martyrs.
CAPF martyrs’ dependents are now entitled to preferential allotment of LPG
outlets at par with martyrs of the Armed Forces. A proposal to provide
assistance during the period of recovery from injuries in addition to the
treatment costs is under active consideration, he added. The Union Home
Minister assured there will be no shortage of money for benefit of CAPF/CPOs
personnel as India has enough resources both from Government, Public and Private
Sector. You constitute the first and vital aspect of the development process, -
the security, said Shri Rajnath Singh, adding, the provision of better
facilities will improve performance and satisfaction level among the jawans. The
Home Minister said the Government has allocated Rs.425 crore for Police
Modernization during the FY 2018-19. Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the
raising of two Mahila Battalions in CRPF and 21 Mahila Companies in SSB. Ten
India Reserve Battalions have been sanctioned for the North-Eastern Region
where the insurgency related incidents have shrunk by a huge 85%. Government
has also set up more Central Forensic Sciences Laboratories (CFSL) to aid in
crime investigation while a new NSG hub has been set up in Gujarat. With
capacity building and better coordination among CAPFs, State Police Forces and
Security Agencies, the security scenario has improved significantly in LWE
affected areas while concerted operations are being carried out in J&K to
check cross-border terrorism.
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AMENDMENT IN HAZARDOUS WASTE (MANAGEMENT& TRANSBOUNDARY
MOVEMENT) RULES, 2016
In order to strengthen the
implementation of environmentally sound management of hazardous waste in the
country, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has amended the
Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules,
2016 vide notification G.S.R. G.S.R. XX (E), dated 01 March 2019. The amendment
has been done keeping into consideration the Ease of Doing Business and
boosting Make in India initiative by simplifying the procedures under the
Rules, while at the same time upholding the principles of sustainable
development and ensuring minimal impact on the environment. Some of the salient
features of the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management& Transboundary
Movement) Amendment Rules, 2019 are as follows:
·
Solid plastic waste has
been prohibited from import into the country including in Special Economic
Zones (SEZ) and by Export Oriented Units (EOU).
·
Exporters of silk waste
have now been given exemption from requiring permission from the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
·
Electrical and electronic
assemblies and components manufactured in and exported from India, if found
defective can now be imported back into the country, within a year of export,
without obtaining permission from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change.
Industries which do not
require consent under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 and
Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981, are now exempted from
requiring authorization also under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management
& Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, provided that hazardous and other
wastes generated by such industries are handed over to the authorized actual
users, waste collectors or disposal facilities.
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MODI WAVE IN ACTION AS MOST FEEL CORRUPTION IS DOWN, COST OF
LIVING HAS FALLEN
With India heading towards
the general election in 2019, environment for Modi government looks positive.
57 per cent of the Indian citizens feel that prices of essential commodities
and cost of living has been reduced in the last five years and 64 per cent said
there has been a reduction in corruption under the current government, shows a
recent survey. 75 per cent of the citizens in the survey has given thumbs up to
the government’s performance during the last five years. While 30 per cent
citizens feel Modi Government has exceeded expectations, 45 per cent rate the
government as meeting them, said a citizens survey.
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ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO PROSECUTE PM MODI FOR CORRUPTION IN RAFALE
DEAL: RAHUL GANDHI
Alleging that the trail of
corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal begins and ends with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi Wednesday claimed there is now enough evidence to
prosecute him. Leading the party's attack on the Modi dispensation over the
deal, Gandhi also alleged destruction of evidence and obvious cover-up after
the government told the Supreme Court that crucial files pertaining to the
fighter jet deal were stolen There is now enough evidence to prosecute the PM
in the Rafale Scam. The trail of corruption begins & ends with him. That
crucial Rafale files incriminating him are now reported stolen by the Govt, is
destruction of evidence & an obvious coverup, he said on Twitter, using the
hashtag FIRagainstCorruptModi. The Congress on Wednesday alleged corruption and
malfeasance in the Rafale fighter jet deal and said the time has come to lodge
an FIR against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The corruption and malfeasance in
Rafale deal is out in the open. PM Modi misused his office to give benefits to
Dassault Aviation and caused loss to the public exchequer, Congress chief
spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters. This is a clear cut case under
Section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and different
provisions of Indian Penal Code. Time has now come to register an FIR against
PM Modi and every other individual so that a time-bound investigation takes
place in this entire sage of Rafale corruption reaching the highest echelons of
power, he said.
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RAFALE DEAL DOCUMENTS STOLEN FROM DEFENCE MINISTRY, GOVERNMENT
TELLS APEX COURT
The government on
Wednesday told the Supreme Court that documents related to the Rafale aircraft
deal have been stolen from the Defence Ministry and threatened The Hindu
newspaper with the Official Secrets Act for publishing articles based on them.
Those who put documents on the Rafale deal in the public domain are guilty
under the Official Secrets Act and contempt of court, Attorney General K K
Venugopal said before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
The bench, also including Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, was hearing a batch
of petitions seeking a review of its December 14 verdict dismissing all the
pleas against the deal procured by India from France. Former Union ministers
Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and advocate Prashant Bhushan, who had jointly
filed a petition, alleged that the Centre suppressed crucial facts when the
apex court decided to dismiss the batch of PILs against the Rafale deal in December.
When Bhushan referred to an article written by senior journalist N Ram in The
Hindu, Venugopal said the write-ups were based on stolen documents An FIR has
not been registered so far into the theft of documents pertaining to Rafale
deal, he added. He said the first write-up by Ram appeared in The Hindu on
February 8 and Wednesday’s edition had another article aimed at influencing the
court’s proceedings. This amounted to contempt of court, he said. The newspaper
published the documents by omitting the word ‘secret’ on top, he said, seeking
a dismissal of the review petitions and raising objections to Bhushan’s
arguments based on the The Hindu’s articles. The bench sought to know from the
Centre what it has done when it alleges that the stories are based on stolen
material. At this point, the chief justice said hearing Bhushan did not mean
the top court was taking on record the documents on the Rafale deal. He also
asked Venugopal to tell the court what action had been taken on theft of
documents on the aircraft deal. The AG submitted that the documents on the deal
relied on by the petitioners were marked secret and classified and are
therefore in violation of the Official Secrets Act.
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PRESS STATEMENT
Misinformation on the
shooting of Pakistan Air Force F-16 by MiG-21 Bison are being spread on various
social media sites IAF during the press statement on 28 Feb 19 had clarified
that one F-16 of Pakistan Air Force was shot by MiG-21 Bison and it fell across
the LoC. Additionally fake accounts of Wing Commander V Abhinandan have been
created in the last one week. IAF has informed on 06 March 19 that Wing
Commander V Abhinandan does not have any official social media account on
Twitter and Instagram and have advised all not to follow these accounts as they
may contain malware.
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FSSAI TO DO AWAY WITH TRANS FATS, TO ALIGN WITH WHO GOALS BY
2023
Taking a big step towards
improving diet and health outcomes of Indians, the Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI), has proposed amendments to ‘Food Products Standards
and Food Addictive Regulations, 2011’, for the purpose of limiting trans-fatty
acids in all oils and fats to not more than 3 per cent by January, 2021 and to
not more than 2 per cent by January, 2022. Civil society representatives and
consumer activists have favored the policy amendment as a notable milestone
towards aligning Indian’s regulation of ‘trans fats’ with World Health
Organisation’s (WHO) call for global elimination of industrially-produced trans
fats by 2023.
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91% OF URBAN MIGRANTS NOT REGISTERED AS VOTERS IN CITIES THEY
LIVE
Nestaway Technologies, a
managed home rental platform, has revealed that as many as 91 per cent of urban
migrants are not registered as voters in the cities where they currently reside
in. The study revealed almost all the urban migrants are not registered as
voters in the city where they currently live in after moving out of their
hometown (where only 27 per cent are not registered). Urban migrants move to
different cities for multiple reasons, few being, marriage, jobs, studies, etc.
Whatever be the reasons, if they do not travel to their hometown for the
elections, then they are unlikely to cast votes. Amrendra Sahu, said, Many
urban migrants have tried to update their addresses in their voter
registration. However, if you do not belong to the same state you are residing
in, the entire process is very tiresome, especially if they do not speak the
local language. The authorities are more proactive now in helping out fresh
voters. However, we cannot deny that there is a dire need for awareness and
education about the voting process. At Nestaway, we are making a conscious
effort towards this. We believe that this is one step towards the process of
making voter registration simpler and accessible to migrants, he added. More
shocking is that 63 per cent of migrants believe that they cannot vote if they
move to a new city while 41 per cent of migrants felt that if they have a
voter’s ID, they are eligible to vote anywhere. The survey also shows that 73
per cent of urban migrants do not know how to register as a voter in the city
they live in. Despite efforts from the government as well as private
institutions, knowledge about voting is very negligible amongst the migrant
population. Despite lack of awareness, a whopping 75 per cent said they want to
vote during the upcoming 2019 general elections. The participant of the study
are mostly men (80 per cent) in their 20s (34 per cent are in the age group
18-25 and 44 per cent in the age group 25-30).
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P CHIDAMBARAM ATTACKS CENTRE ON ISSUE OF UNEMPLOYMENT; SAYS NO
UNEMPLOYED YOUTH WILL FORGIVE BJP GOVERNMENT
Congress leader P
Chidambaram on Wednesday attacked the government citing unemployment data
released by a think tank and said no parent, unemployed youth or student will
forgive the BJP government for leaving the country with 7.2 per cent
unemployment rate The former finance minister said this is the highest rate in
several decades and termed it as a man made catastrophe.
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SUGAR PRODUCTION AROUND 248 LAKH TONNES TILL FEB 28: ISMA
Sugar mills in the country
produced 247.68 lakh tonnes (lt) of sugar till end of last month, nearly 16 lt
more than they produced in the corresponding period last year, Indian Sugar
Mills Association (ISMA) said on Wednesday. The total sugar production in the
same period last year was 231.77 lt. As many as 266 mills are in operation as
against 457 last year and mills in Maharashtra and Karnataka are on the verge
of completing crushing, it said. However, ISMA said a high monthly sale quota
of 24.5 lt, announced by the government on Tuesday has had a negative impact on
sugar prices, which went down by ₹100 a quintal. Only last
week, the government announced soft loans worth ₹10,000 crore to help
improve the liquidity of sugar mills, which in turn is expected to reduce sugar
cane arrears due to farmers. As on February 22, the total sugarcane arrears
stood at ₹20,159 crore, according to the official estimates.
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50% GOVERNMENT IT WORKERS TO OCCUPY ROLES BY 2023 THAT DON'T
EXIST NOW: REPORT
As transition to digital
governance gains momentum globally over half of government IT workers by 2023
will occupy roles that don't exist today, a report said on Wednesday. The
Gartner CIO survey found that 53 percent of digital initiatives in government
organisations have moved from the design stage to early stages of delivering
digitally-driven outcomes -- up from 40 per cent last year. Additionally, 39
per cent of governments expect Cloud services to be a technology area where
they will spend the greatest amount of new or additional funding in 2019. These
findings demonstrate that leadership has become more comfortable with cloud
delivery models and has moved away from concerns regarding security and data
ownership, said Cathleen Blanton. Gartner predicts that by 2023, over 80 per
cent of new technology solutions adopted by governments will be delivered and
supported using an anything-as-a-service (XaaS) model. The model offers an
alternative to legacy infrastructure modernisation and investment, said Alia
Mendonsa. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT)
technologies advance, machine trainers, conversational specialists and
automation experts will slowly but certainly replace experts in legacy
technologies, the report added.
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TRUCK RENTALS FALL FOR FOURTH MONTH IN A ROW; DOWN 13% SINCE
NOVEMBER
In more evidence that
economic activity remains subdued truck rentals have been trending down and
fell by about 3-3.5% over the course of February despite an increase in the
cost of diesel. In January too rentals — on average across the country — had
fallen by about 1.5-2%. Diesel prices have been rising since end-December. With
the real estate sector in a bit of a slump, the demand for materials such as
steel and cement remains somewhat weak, Umesh Rewankar, told. Since November
truck rentals have come off by as much as 13-13.5% with the supplies of several
commodities also falling, IFTRT, which tracks truck rentals across the country,
noted. Moreover, a higher turnaround time for trucks is adding to logistics
costs. Indeed, the dull sales of new trucks reflect the weak demand; after
growing at a brisk pace in the first half of 2018-19, volumes in the M&HCV
segment of commercial vehicles were flat in January on the back of an 11% year-on-year
dip in November and a 21% year-on-year dip in December. The tipper segment was
relatively unaffected on the back of road construction, affordable housing,
irrigation projects and government spending on infrastructure projects. Factory
output grew at just 2.4% y-o-y in December, 2018; in November it barely grew
clocking a growth of just 0.5%, a 17-month low. The Indian economy grew at a
slow 6.5% year-on –year in the three months to December, 2018 with
manufacturing clocking an increase of just 6.7% y-o-y.
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RAJNATH SINGH TO INAUGURATE, LAY FOUNDATION STONE FOR RS 1
LAKH CR HIGHWAY PROJECTS IN UP
Rajnath Singh will on
Thursday inaugurate and lay foundation stone for 80 highway projects including
Lucknow-Kanpur-Expressway, worth Rs 1 lakh crore as per an official statement.
Rajnath Singh will inaugurate and lay foundation stones for national highway
projects worth Rs 1,10,154 crore in Lucknow. He will also inaugurate/lay
foundation stone for several works under Namami Gange programme worth over Rs
1,969.57 crore, Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways said in a statement
Wednesday. Besides, foundation stones will be laid for flyover at IIM crossing,
Ghazipur-Phephna-Majhighat road on NH-31A, flyovers, bypasses, FOBs,
underpasses for road safety on different highways, among others.
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GREEN CRACKERS READY FOR PRODUCTION, SC INFORMED
Almost four months after
the Supreme Court banned manufacture of polluting firecrackers and allowed
bursting of only ‘green’ crackers the chemical formulation of these crackers
have been finalised and bulk manufacturing could start from May after getting
the necessary approvals from Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation by
April 30. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and National
Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), which were entrusted with
the task by the court to formulate the chemical composition of green crackers,
told the apex court that trial samples have been developed and tested. They
told a bench of Justices A K Sikri and S Abdul Nazeer, After the joint work in
various fireworks manufacturing factories situated in an around Sivakasi(in
Tamil Nadu) and after observing materials, analysis/assessment of the
manufacturing process and testing performance efficiency it appears that the
above mentioned manufacturing shall reduce the emission of pollutants PM2.5 at
least by 25-30 per cent (improved and green fireworks/green firecrackers) and
it will be a win-win situation in the interest of all stake holders in the
public interest, it said. It said that emission of pollutants in green crackers
would be reduced by 25-30 percent and memorandum of understanding has been
signed with nearly 200 manufacturers.
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GOYAL TO HOLD MARATHON MEETING WITH SENIOR OFFICIALS THURSDAY
Piyush Goyal will hold a
marathon meeting of senior officials on Thursday to prepare a road map for the
future of the national transporter Goyal will conduct a final assessment of the
work done by the ministry over the last five years, sources said on Wednesday.
The discussion will focus on achievements of targets for year 2018-19, security
situation in the country, security measures required to be taken by zonal
railways and setting of agenda for 2019-20, the sources said.
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MINISTRY OF YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS RECOGNISES KUDO
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION INDIA AS NATIONAL SPORT FEDERATION
Ministry of Youth Affairs
and Sports has granted provisional recognition to Kudo International Federation
India(KIFI) as National Sport Federation with immediate effect. The grant of
recognition is subject to compliance of the provisions of National Sports
Development Code of India, 2011 as modified from time to time, by the
federation including displaying information on their website as per the
instructions issued by the Ministry. The recognition means granting a major
role to KIFI Association for promotion and Development of Kudo sport in India.
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SMT. MANEKA GANDHI FELICITATES 'WEB WONDER WOMEN'
Women online, though
niche, are a very powerful voice. #WebWonderWomen was a campaign to recognise,
honour and encourage such voices that have in their own capacity driven a
positive impact on social media platforms, said Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi. The
WCD Minister, along with a panel of 10 judges, finalised the names of 30 women
who have impacted and influenced society through social media. On 8th March,
the Ministry honours women who have contributed to society but have remained
unsung with the Nari Shakti Puruskar, which is conferred by the President of
India at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Along with these Puruskars, the Ministry started a
new system of recognising women who have broken the glass ceiling and ventured
into unusual fields. In 2018, the Ministry hosted 'First Ladies', a
first-of-its-kind Government initiative to felicitate exceptional women who
were the first to set a milestone in their respective fields. In 2015, the
Ministry had collaborated with Facebook to recognise '100 Women Achievers' who
have excelled in diverse sectors of public work. These women were hosted by His
Excellency the President of India. Web Wonder Women' is the third leg of the
‘Women Achievers’ campaign of the Ministry.
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MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) SIGNED BETWEEN SHRI
VISHWAKARMA SKILL UNIVERSITY AND NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL TEACHER’S
TRAINING AND RESEARCH
A Memorandum of
Understating (MoU) between Shri Vishwakarma Skill University (SVSU) and
National Institute of Technical Teacher’s Training and Research (NITTTR) was
signed The MoU will be inforce for a period of three years The collaboration
targets to ensure purposeful engagement of Faculty, Experts and Industry
Partners for various academic activities.
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INDIA'S AIR TRAVEL TO TRIPLE BY 2037; NEED TO URGENTLY IMPROVE
AIRPORT PROCESSES, SAYS IATA
The number of air
travellers in India could triple by 2037 and the country must urgently improve
aviation processes to keep pace with the increased demand. The International
Air Transport Association (IATA) on Wednesday issued a study on Indian aviation
where the world’s fastest growing aviation market has got tips on how to handle
the growing rush. India is facing a crippling shortage of airport
infrastructure While air traffic has doubled in last five years, airport
capacity has remained almost static. The biggest hubs like Delhi, Mumbai and
Bangalore are completely choked. The runways at most big Indian airports cannot
handle heavy aircraft movement. The terminals are bursting at seams with
serpentine queues everywhere from entry point to security and immigration.
Accordingly, to cope with the massive growth the international agency has
requested India to take steps like — doing away with stamping procedures at
touch points and allowing mobile boarding passes; adopting automation in border
control process, for both departure and arrival; adopting risk-based approach
to aviation security instead of 100% pat down checks and allowing self drop for
check-in bags. To be sure, India has already adopted some of the above steps
like having complete paperless domestic boarding at some airports. IATA
forecasts global passenger numbers will double in 20 years and India is even
looking at trebling of passenger numbers by 2037 when some 50 crore people are
expected to fly to, from or within India improving processes should be
considered a primary solution as infrastructure capacity expansion cannot keep
up with the speed of traffic growth. However, in most of Indian airports, a
number of processes remain manual and are not so efficient, (like) requiring
stamping on boarding pass at multiple touchpoints, the IATA paper says. The
trade association for 290 airlines, representing 82% of total global air
traffic, has requested the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Bureau of
Immigration (BoI) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (hereinafter
Customs) to support improved facilitation and security by adhering to global
standards and best practices and by embracing new technologies and innovation
in processes to handle this growth and meet passenger experience expectations.
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NINE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MISSIONS WITH FOCUS ON SCIENCE FOR
PEOPLE AND PEOPLE FOR SCIENCE
K. Vijay Raghvan shared
details of the nine national missions guided by the Prime Minister Science,
Technology & Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC). Prof. Raghvan said
that science and technology is the fulcrum for the levers of government to
effect social and economic change For this, scientists and society must connect
closely; build stronger foundations in education, fundamental research,
applications in agriculture, health, environment, energy etc. The PM,s STIAC
aims to facilitate, through its missions, the process of collaboration and
focus needed to solve complex problems in a reasonable time-frame. Prof.
Raghvan further stated that the nine missions of national importance through
the PM-STIAC, aim to understand and conserve our biodiversity and develop
sustainable processes, leverage precision health for personal wellbeing,
recover wealth from waste, develop and use artificial intelligence, quantum
computing, connected mobility solutions and other technologies to address
frontier scientific questions and our challenges, thereby enabling sustainable
development for India and, indeed, the planet.
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TOP PERFORMING DISTRICTS ALLOCATED ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR
ACHIEVEMENT IN KEY AREAS
Mr Amitabh Kant also felicitated
eighteen fast moving Aspirational Districts on the basis of delta rankings
calculated in November – December 2018 and December 2018 - January 2019 on
basis of the Champions of Change dashboard These delta rankings reflect overall
improvements made across sectors and sector specific ranks in the domains of
Health & Nutrition, Agriculture & Water Resources, Education, Skill
Development & Financial Inclusion and Basic Infrastructure. The
Aspirational Districts programme has evolved from the principle of ‘Convergence
of Schemes’ to provision of additional financial resources to the Districts to
undertake innovative projects that significantly improve the indicators. Department
of Public Enterprises notified rules mandating 60% of CSR allocation of CPSEs
under health, nutrition and education to be spent on projects in Aspirational
Districts. Today, additional funding to the tune of about Rs 1,000 crores was
announced for two years for projects under challenge method to be rewarded to
top performing districts every month as per improvement made in the delta
ranking. The funding allocation has been designed in a manner such that
districts having mineral fund accrual annually of more than Rs. 30 crores do
not receive this additional allocation but are encouraged to continue focusing
on bettering governance structures and implementation efficiency. However, they
were recognized for their performance by the NITI Aayog through a special
commendation during the conference. States have also been requested to ensure
that additional allocation of equivalent amount from DMF is made available to
these districts.
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MMRDA SPENDS RS 15 CR IN 4 YEARS TO DECIDE CONSTRUCTION COST
OF MUMBAI METRO-1
While the arbitration over
Mumbai Metro's construction cost is ongoing for over since four years now, the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has spent around Rs 15
crore on arbitration in form of legal fees, travel, stay by having 69 hearings
for the arbitration at luxury hotels like Taj Mahal Palace and Hotel Oberoi at
Nariman Point. The MMRDA and Reliance Infrastructure-led Mumbai Metro One
Private Limited (MMOPL) are in arbitration over construction cost of
Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro-1, wherein MMOPL cites civil cost to be over Rs
4,000 crore, the MMRDA claims the project cost to be around Rs 2,200 crore for
which the arbitration is currently ongoing. The MMRDA says for the venue of
arbitration, it shares half expenditure with MMOPL by booking at third party
places. Of the total Rs 14.86 crore arbitration expenses between 2014 and
February 2019, the maximum expense was incurred on legal fees of the lawyer for
arbitration, fees of arbitrator followed by expenditure on the venue of the
same. The arbitration expenditure data was accessed by DNA through Right To
Information (RTI) act, 2005 that reveals the expense incurred by MMRDA for
arbitration in 2014 stood at around Rs 17 lakh in 2014, around Rs 94 lakh in
2015, around Rs 3 crore in 2016, around Rs 5 crore in 2017 followed by around
Rs 4 crore in 2018 and 60 lakhs in 2019, up-to February.
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OPPOSITION TRYING TO REMOVE ME; I AM TRYING TO REMOVE
TERRORISM, POVERTY: MODI
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Wednesday said the Opposition was trying to remove him, while he was
trying to wipe out terrorism, poverty and corruption The person who has the
blessings of 125 crore people why should he fear anybody, be it Hindustan,
Pakistan, thieves or the dishonest. India and 125 crore people have given this
strength, Mr. Modi said at a rally in Kalaburagi, Karnataka. The world is
witnessing a new kind of courage It is not Modi’s but of 125 crore people of
India, he said. Calling the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance of opposition
parties) a mahamilavat (high adulteration), he said the country wanted a strong
government.
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PM MODI PITCHES FOR FULL-MAJORITY GOVT, SAYS 'MAHAMILAVAT'
WILL DELIVER HALF RESULTS
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi urged people of Karnataka on Wednesday to elect a full-majority government
in the coming Lok Sabha election, stressing that a mahamilavat (highly
adulterated) dispensation would deliver half results He also slammed opposition
parties' efforts to form an anti-BJP alliance as politics of selfishness and
said they were guided solely by the agenda of Modi hataao. Reminding people
that the country got a full-majority government in Delhi after 30 years, he
said, If it (the government) were half and incomplete, it would have performed
half and incomplete. This (government) is complete, it completes its works. This
is why Modi has become a reason for worry to them. Day and night, they indulge
in one job — 'Modi hataao', he said. It was not because of Modi but because of
the (resolve of) 125 crore people, the prime minister said. Cautioning people
against mahagatbandhan (grand alliance), which he called mahamilavat, Modi said
leaders doing politics for their families are not liking the 'New India' and
its new policies. They fear a majboot (strong) government. Hence, they are looking
for a majboor (helpless) government, he said.
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PM NARENDRA MODI SAYS HE IS NOT BOTHERED ABOUT THREATS TO HIM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Wednesday said he was not bothered about threats and abuses against him and
asserted that he would do whatever was needed to make India strong. Citing a
Congress leader's remarks on 'killing' him, he said, I am not bothered about
threats and abuses. Will do whatever it takes to make India strong. Lashing out
at the Opposition, he said they are guided by politics and selfish interests
and neither want a strong India or a strong armed force. The opposition should
clearly state their plan to take the nation forward, he said and reiterated his
maha milawat, jibe (adulteration alliance) against them. Modi recalled that as
many as 50 governments were dismissed by former Prime Minsiter Indira Gandhi
using Article 356. Even the DMK had become a victim, he said and hit out at the
Dravidian party led by M K Stalin, saying opportunism has prevailed over values.
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CASE FILED AGAINST NRI FOR POSTING DOCTORED CLIP OF
CONVERSATION BETWEEN RAJNATH SINGH, AMIT SHAH: DELHI POLICE
The Delhi Police has
registered a case against a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) man in connection with a
video featuring a fake, edited and doctored audio clip of conversation between
Home Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP president Amit Shah, police said Tuesday. Avi
Dandiya posted the doctored audio clip on social media with the intention to
create mistrust among the citizens against the defence forces and the top
executives and defame them, they added. The audio clip was later removed from
social media.
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PUNJAB FARMERS STIR: 38 TRAINS REMAIN CANCELLED,
DELHI-AMRITSAR ROUTE SEVERELY AFFECTED
Thirty-eight trains
remained cancelled on Wednesday with almost all trains running between Amritsar
and Delhi being disrupted amid farmers protest in Punjab, railways said.
Parmpal Singh, however, said in Amritsar that the agitation has been called off
following an intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The farmers had
been squatting on the rail tracks in Amritsar since March 4 in support of their
demands, including full loan waiver, stopping auction of land and arrest of
farmers, and payment for sugarcane crop with 15% interest.
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GOVERNMENT TIGHTENS LOCALISATION NORMS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES
The government has placed
stiff localisation riders for the automotive industry to avail of incentives
upfront under the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of hybrid and
Electric Vehicles) II Initiative to promote local manufacturing of electric
vehicles Vehicle makers have to ensure minimum localisation content of 40% on
ex-factory price of the vehicle in case of buses and 50% for all other
categories of vehicles (electric twowheelers, electric three-wheelers, electric
four-wheelers and e-rickshaws) to qualify for benefits under the scheme.
Automobile companies have to meet the specified localisation requirements from
April 1, 2019, to avail of benefits under FAME II, said a senior government
official, who did not wish to be identified. Overall, direct subsidies to the
tune of Rs 8,800 crore will be extended to consumers to promote widespread
utilisation of electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers and buses.
Only lithium-ion battery fitted vehicles registered with appropriate
authorities will be eligible for incentives. An additional Rs 1,200 crore has
been earmarked to set up charging infrastructure and build awareness among
consumers about electric vehicles. The government last week approved Rs 10,000
crore to implement the second phase of FAME India Initiative for a period of
three years starting April 1.
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LIKELIHOOD OF GDP GROWTH COMING AT BELOW 7% IN 2019-20 IS VERY
HIGH: NOMURA
The likelihood of Indian
GDP growth coming at below 7 percent in 2019-20 is very high despite aiding
factors like low oil prices and an expansionary budget, a report said
Wednesday. Global slowdown, tight financial conditions and political
uncertainty in the election year will be the biggest headwinds for growth, the
report by Japanese brokerage Nomura has said. These headwinds are likely to
keep the growth mix skewed towards consumption and away from investment, the
report said, adding the elections worsen the outlook for fresh investment. The
report seemed to suggest that the brokerage is not too pessimistic with its
estimate of 6.8 percent growth in FY20 made public in December as against
around 7 percent in FY19. It can be noted that the RBI has pegged FY20 growth
at 7.4 percent. It said consumption stimulus in the budget is likely to add 0.4
percentage points to GDP growth, but the cut in public capital expenditure will
shave off 0.2 percentage points. Monetary accommodation of fiscal stimulus
effectively neuters the crowding out of private investment through the interest
rate channel. However, upcoming elections will worsen the outlook for fresh
investment, it said.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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