Campaign Launched to Promote Energy Efficiency in Air-Conditioning Area.

Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable launched a campaign to promote energy efficiency in the area of air-conditioning. He said “Every one-degree increase in the air-conditioner temperature setting results in saving of 6 percent of electricity consumed. Under the guidance of Ministry of Power, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has carried out a study and has recommended that the default setting in the air-conditioning should be at 24 degree Celsius. The new campaign will result in substantial energy savings and also reduce greenhouse gas emission. Countries like Japan have already put in place a regulation to keep the temperature at 28 degree Celsius. Under this campaign, an advisory will be issued to all establishments and manufacturers where the manufacturers were advised to keep the default setting of air conditioners at 24 degree Celsius and also to carry out labeling indicating the optimum temperature setting for the benefits of consumers both from financial and their health points of view. These temperatures setting will be in the range of 24-26 degree Celsius.

For more information: Financial Express

Adnoc Ties up with Aramco for Refinery in Ratnagiri

Saudi Aramco and ADNOC signed a MoU to jointly develop and build an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. The project will be implemented by Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (RRPCL). The project will be set up as a 50:50 joint partnership between the consortium from India and Saudi Aramco and ADNOC at an estimated cost of Rs. 3 lakh crore (USD 44 billion). This will be single largest overseas investment in the Indian refining sector. The strategic partnership brings together crude supply, resources, technologies, experience and expertise of these multiple oil companies with an established commercial presence around the world. The mega refinery will be capable of processing 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day. With this RRPCL will rank among the world’s largest refining & petrochemicals projects and will be designed to meet India’s fast-growing fuels and petrochemicals demand.

For more information: Livemint

Government approves the Establishment of Additional 6.5MMT Strategic Petroleum Reserves

The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of additional 6.5 Million Metric Tonne (MMT) Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) facilities at two locations, i.e. Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur in Karnataka, including construction of dedicated SPMs (Single Point Mooring) for the two SPRs. The SPR facilities at Chandikhol and Padur will be underground rock caverns and will have capacities of 4 MMT and 2.5 MMT respectively. This approval for establishing additional 6.5 MMT SPR facilities will provide an additional supply of about 12 days and is expected to augment India’s energy security.

For more information: The Hindu

MoHFW Signs an MoU with IGNOU

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) signed a MoU with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to scale up the short term healthcare courses. The main objective under this MoU is to specially design the curriculum for 10 courses related to health, to create trained personnel in the healthcare sector, to set up a dedicated cell for developing, implementing and certifying the skill-based programs, and  to establish a robust monitoring and assessment framework to ensure that MoHFW standards are followed stringently. MoHFW will provide financial assistance to IGNOU for establishing the structure and initiating the programs. The courses will be initiated in a phased manner across the country and in the first phase, only four courses namely Home Health Aide, Geriatric Care Assistant, Phlebotomist and General Duty Assistant will be launched. The remaining six courses will be started in next phase.  The total target of the project is to provide more than 14 lakh trained manpower by 2025.

For more information: Business Standard

Visa Exemption to Foreign Designers in Handicrafts Sector

Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) had sought the intervention of Union Minister of Textiles for getting the exemption from the minimum salary condition for grant of employment visa to foreign designers. As a result of the Textiles Minister’s prompt action regarding same,  Handicrafts sector has been exempted from minimum salary condition (Rs. 16.25 lakhs per annum) for grant of employment visa to foreign designers for a period of 2 years i.e. till 30.06.2020. This will help the exporters to hire international designers as per their requirement and to develop products in sync with international trends.

For more information: Business Standard

Government Simplifies Process for Additional Borrowing by States

The finance ministry has simplified the process for additional borrowing by state governments after discussions in the 4th meeting of the NITI Aayog Governing Council. During the meeting, some states had pointed out that the permission accorded by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, is delayed due to bunching of proposals received from different states at different intervals into one consolidated approval. The government, keeping in view its policy for cooperative federalism, has therefore decided to simplify the process of approval of such additional borrowing limits requested by states. Now, the proposal for additional borrowing within certain limit along with complete information will be processed independently as and when it is received.

For more information: Times of India

Government Declares National Targets for Off-Shore Wind Power

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) for the first 1 GW offshore wind project in India, which has evoked the keen response from the industry. Now to give confidence to the wind industry, the Ministry has declared the medium and long-term target for off-shore wind power capacity additions, which are 5 GW by 2022 and 30 GW by 2030. It is a challenging task considering the difficulties in installing large wind power turbines in open seas. It may be mentioned that offshore wind turbines are of much larger dimensions and capacities than onshore turbines. This would add a new element to the already existing basket of renewable energy for the country. Globally there has been the installation of about 17 to 18 GW of offshore wind power led by countries such as UK, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands & China.

For more information: Business Standard

Government Constituted a Subgroup to Coordinate Policy for Agriculture and MGNREGS

GOI has set up a CM’s subgroup to coordinate policy approaches for agriculture and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) with the CM of Madhya Pradesh as the convener and CM’s of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim along with the member NITI Aayog as its members. The move comes in the backdrop of the PM’s vision of doubling farmers income by 2022 which requires a multi-dimensional and inclusive approach. During the deliberations, it was suggested to come out with approaches with special emphasis on pre-sowing and post-harvest interventions using MGNREGS, for creating durable assets that double incomes of farmers and reduce agrarian distress. The subgroup will submit its report within three months from its date of constitution.

For more information: Economic Times

Comments Invited for Draft of NVGs on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had constituted a two-member expert committee to update the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business (NVGs). The draft has been placed on the website, www.mca.gov.in for public comment till 20.07.2018. The updated version will be finalised after an assessment and review of suggestions and inputs received from stakeholders and wide consultations with the relevant Ministries, Business and Stakeholders at large.

For more information: PIB Release

HRD Minister Dedicates the National Digital Library to the Nation

The Union HRD Minister launched the National Digital Library of India’s on the occasion of National Reading Day. This National Digital Library of India (NDLI) is an HRD ministry project under the aegis of National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT). The objective of NDL is to make digital educational resources available to all citizens of the country to empower, inspire and encourage learning. NDLI is developed by IIT Kharagpur and is a single window platform that collects and collates metadata from premier learning institutions in India and abroad, as well as other relevant sources. It is a digital repository containing textbooks, articles, videos, audiobooks, lectures, simulations, fiction and all other kinds of learning media. The library can be accessed by anyone at any time and anywhere absolutely free of cost. NDL is also available on the Mobile app.

For more information: PIB Release

IIT-BHU gets Future-Ready with AI and ML Skills

The Indian Institute of Technology – Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) and Amazon Internet Services Private Limited (AISPL) signed a MoU to develop cloud-ready job skills by providing access to the AWS Educate program and to help establish a Cloud Research Lab on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).  The Cloud Research Lab will provide students with opportunities to use AWS Cloud technology to pursue research initiatives that focus on AI and ML innovation for India. Under the MoU agreement. This collaboration will help accelerate cloud-related technical expertise for students and boost their readiness as they prepare to undertake the industry-recognized Certification. This MoU agreement will help students to develop technical proficiency with AWS Cloud skills and its advanced technologies in AI and ML.

For more information: PIB Release

20 States sign MoU for implementing AB-NHPM

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare exchanged the MOU with the State Health Ministers of 20 states marking their commitment towards the launch of the Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM). This mission is to protect the people and at the same time, Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) will deliver comprehensive primary health care. The H&WC would provide preventive, promotive, and curative care for non-communicable diseases, dental, mental, geriatric care, palliative care, etc. A web portal for initiating the empanelment of hospitals under the mission was also launched. This marks the commencement of the implementation of AB-NHPM and takes the Mission closer to launch. Training / Demo of empanelment software will be conducted in next two weeks and States can operationalize empanelment of hospitals by 1st of July.

For more information: Live Mint

Cabinet approves proposal for enactment of Dam Safety Bill, 2018

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for introduction of Dam Safety Bill, 2018 in the Parliament. This act will help all the States and Union Territories of India to adopt uniform dam safety procedures which shall ensure the safety of dams and safeguard benefits from such dams. This shall also help in safeguarding human life, livestock and property. The draft Bill has been finalised after wide consultation with leading Indian experts and international experts. The Bill provides guidelines and standards for proper surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of dams in the country to ensure their safe functioning.

For more information: Business Standard

Minister launches “Rail Madad” App

In line with digital initiatives, Indian Railways has completely digitized the complaint management system. Railways minister has launched a new App “Rail Madad” – An App to expedite & streamline passenger grievance redressal. RPGRAMS (Railway Passenger Grievance Redressal and Management System) has been developed by Northern Railway (Delhi Division) and comprises many novel features like complaint registration through mobile phone/web. It relays real-time feedback to passengers on the status of their complaints. RPGRAMS integrates all the passenger complaints received from multiple modes on a single platform, analyzes them holistically and generates various types of management reports which enable the top management to continuously monitor the pace of grievance redressal as well as evaluate the performance of field units/ trains/ stations on various parameters viz cleanliness, catering, amenities etc. It also identifies weak/deficient areas and laggard trains/stations for undertaking focused corrective actions.

For more information: Economic Times

Minister launched a new App ‘Menu on Rails’

Railways has launched a new App ‘Menu on Rails’, a Mobile Application developed by IRCTC for creating awareness to the Railway Passengers for the items served to them on their rail journey.  Some of the salient features of the app are menu display under four categories viz Beverages, Breakfast, Meals and A-La-Carte, Rates for standard food items like Tea, Coffee, Packaged Drinking Water etc. It also displays the menu to be served in Rajdhani/ Shatabdi/ Duronto group of trains where foods are pre-booked passengers at the time of booking their tickets itself. This app will be available on Android and iOS platforms along with website version. This app will help in creating awareness among passengers about food items availablity and their price.

For more information: PIB Release

Indigenous Lithium Ion battery production to end dependence on China, Japan

Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu under Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and RAASI Solar Power Pvt Ltd have signed an MOA for transfer of technology for India’s first Lithium Ion (Li-ion) Battery project. CSIR-CECRI has developed an indigenous technology of Lithium-ion cells in partnership with CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) New Delhi, CSIR- Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CSIR-CGCRI) Kolkata and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) Hyderabad. Currently, India is one of the largest importers and in 2017, it imported nearly 150 Million US Dollar of Lithium-Ion Battery from China, Japan and South Korea etc. This project will help India in turning into a manufacturing hub and will cut down the outflow of foreign exchange.

For more information: Financial Express

Cabinet approves proposal for withdrawal of Nalanda University (Amendment) Bill, 2013

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for withdrawal of Nalanda University (Amendment) Bill, 2013 pending in the Rajya Sabha. The Nalanda University was proposed to be established as a non-state, non-profit, secular and self-governing international institution. Subsequently, the Nalanda University Act, 2010 was passed by the Parliament and came into effect from 25th November 2010. The present proposal is for moving a motion in Rajya Sabha withdrawing the Nalanda University (Amendment) Bill, 2013 introduced in Rajya Sabha on August 26, 2013 to amend certain existing provisions of the Nalanda University Act, 2010 and add some new provisions. The Amendment Bill will need to be discussed with the current Governing Board of Nalanda University before a final decision could be taken on going ahead with the proposed amendments. Further, the current Governing Board may also look into the entire Nalanda University Act, 2010 afresh and suggest amendments/additions wherever necessary.

For more information: PIB Release

PM lays Foundation Stone for Patratu Super Thermal Power Project

PM laid the foundation stone of the 2400 MW NTPC’s Patratu Super Thermal Power Project in Jharkhand. The project is a 74: 26 joint venture between Government of Jharkhand (GoJ) and Patratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. (PVUN), a subsidiary company of NTPC. The project is set to develop the project in two phases: 2,400 MW (3x800MW) in Phase-I and 1,600 MW (2×800 MW) in Phase-II, which will be developed later. The project will allocate 85 % of the power to Jharkhand that will benefit the state in the long run and help in the economic growth of the region. This project has salient features of dry ash disposal system, zero liquid discharge system, Air-cooled condenser technology and rail loading facility for transportation of ash. The Engineering, Procurement & Construction contract of the project has been awarded to BHEL.

For more information: PIB Release

PRAAPTI App and Web Portal Launched

A web portal and an App namely PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators), www.praapti.in, has been launched. This will capture the invoicing and payment data for various long-term PPAs from the generators. This will also help the stakeholders in getting month-wise and legacy data on outstanding amounts of Discoms against power purchase. The app will also allow users to know the details related to the payments made by the Discoms to the power generation company and when they were made. The Portal would also help DISCOMs and GENCOs to reconcile their outstanding payments.

For more information: PIB Release

India signs Loan Agreement with the WB for $21.7 Million

India has signed a loan agreement of $21.7 million with the World Bank (WB) to strengthen the public financial management in Rajasthan. The total project size is of approximately $31 million, of which $21.7 million will be financed by the WB and the remaining amount will be funded out of the state budget. The project objective is to contribute to the improved budget execution, enhanced accountability and greater efficiency in Revenue Administration in Rajasthan. The Project involves Strengthening of the Public Financial Management Framework; Strengthening of Expenditure and Revenue Systems; and Project Management and Capacity Building among others.

For more information: Business Standard

Government signs loan with WB for PMGSY Rural Roads Project

The Government of India (GOI) has signed a $500 million loan agreement with World Bank (WB) to provide additional financing for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) rural roads project. The loan has a 3-year grace period with the maturity of 10 years. This will help the government to build the climate resilient roads of 7,000 km. The WB has supported PMGSY since its inception in 2004. The PMGSY and the Bank’s involvement under this additional financing will emphasize on managing the rural road network through green and climate-resilient construction using green, low-carbon designs and new technologies – far beyond merely funding civil works.

For more information: Business Line

Railways Launches New User Interface for e-Ticketing System

Indian Railways has launched the beta version of its new User Interface for online Travel Portal – www.irctc.co.in. The new link has more user-friendly features for easier navigation. E-ticketing constitutes about two-third of total reserved tickets on Indian Railways. With this Next Generation e-Ticketing (NGeT) system railways will be able to provide an easy and fast way of booking rail tickets by automating the journey planning and purchase of tickets.

For more information: Business Standard

NIC launches new data centre in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar becomes the home to fourth National Data Centre (NDC) of National Informatics Centre (NIC) after Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune. The new cloud-enabled NDC aims to offer round-the-clock operations with secure hosting for various e-governance applications of central and state governments and has the ability to support  35,000 virtual servers. NIC will hire 800 professionals in the next one year, including for 355 cyber security experts, to tackle rising risks of cyber security. This centre will provide benefits like on-demand access to ICT (Information and Communication Technology) infrastructure for easy availability and quick deployment of applications and standardized platforms of deployment.

For more information: Livemint

PCET Starts Operating

Northeast Frontier Railway has started operating one lease Parcel Cargo Express Train (PCET) on fortnightly basis. The route of this leased PCET will be from New Guwahati in Assam to Kalyan in Maharashtra with stoppages at New Jalpaiguri, Kalumna goods shed. This move would enable farmers of NE region to market their products at the retail markets in western coastal region. The initiative will promote industries of the region and will also provide sustainable job opportunity to the local youths including unskilled labour. PCET results in less carbon emission which will contribute for Green India & saving of foreign exchange on account of purchasing of fuel.

For more information : PIB Release

Cabinet approves provision of mobile connectivity in LWE Areas

The Union Cabinet has approved the “Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)” supported scheme to provide mobile services at 4072 tower locations. These locations are  identified by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in inhabited uncovered areas affected by Left Wing Extremism [LWE] of 96 districts in 10 States.  The total project cost would be Rs.7,330 Crore. This network would be used by the security personnel deployed in LWE affected areas.  Project will also provide the mobile services to help the residents in unconnected inhabited villages which would improve the economic activities in the region. It will give impetus to the e-Governance activities in the backward and LWE affected area with the availability of digital mobile connectivity.

For more information: Business Standard

Model Agriculture Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2018 released

Union Agriculture minister has released the final Model Act “The State/UT Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion & Facilitation) Act 2018”. This act will help farmers to integrate with bulk purchasers including exporters, agro – industries etc. for better price realization through mitigation of market and price risks to the farmers and will ensure smooth agro raw material supply to the agro industries.

For more information: Economic Times

Civil Aviation ministry notified draft Passenger Charter

Civil Aviation ministry have notified the draft f Passenger Charter for public consultation. The charter defines the rights for air passengers and ensure a hassle-free air travel experience. Several other initiatives of ministry were also proposed including Digiyatra, AirSewa app, and Wi-Fi Connectivity in flights. The draft defines the rules for compensation in case of delay and cancellation. DigiYatra aims to transform the flying experience for passengers and position of Indian Aviation among the most innovative aviation networks in the world. AirSewa app: ensure timely and effective handling of customer grievances and will disseminate real-time data.

For more information: PIB Release

“Samagra Siksha” : An Integrated School Education Scheme Launched

HRD minister has launched the ‘Samagra Shiksha’ scheme for school education. The scheme is a paradigm shift in the conceptual design of school education by treating ‘school’ holistically as a continuum from pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary and senior secondary levels. The scheme focuses on improving the quality of education at all levels by integrating the two T’s – Teachers and Technology. The scheme builds on the grade-wise, subject-wise learning outcomes and it envisages active participation of all stakeholders especially the parents/guardians, School Management Committee (SMC) members, community and the state functionaries.

For more information : Economic Times

UGC has approved UGC (Online Courses) Regulations, 2018

UGC has approved the UGC (Online Courses) Regulations, 2018 in its meeting. Under this any higher educational institutions can offer certificate, diploma and degree programmes in full-fledged online mode in only those disciplines in which it has already been offering the same or similar Programmes /Courses at graduation level in regular mode (of classroom teaching) or in Open and Distance Learning mode and from which at least one batch has been graduated and approved by the statutory councils, as applicable. Aadhaar and Passport shall be used to authenticate the Indian and foreign students respectively for all online interactions including teaching-learning and examinations.

For more information: Financial Express

Cabinet approves development of Trunk Infrastructure Components for Integrated Multi Modal Logistics Hub known

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. The proposal includes the development of Freight Village, an Integrated Multi-Modal Logistics Hub (IMLH). Amount of Rs. 1029.49 crore has been sanctioned for development of Phase I and in principle approval for development of Phase II of the project. This project has enormous economic value including the creation of employment, reduction in fuel costs, boosts to exports, reduction in the vehicle (trucks) operating cost, reduction in accident-related costs, increase in collection of taxes by the State Government, reduction in pollution, etc.

For more information: PIB Releases

19 Teams for Cleaning of Beaches, River Fronts and Lakes in Nine Coastal States

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has formed 19 teams to take up cleaning of beaches, riverfronts and lakes in the country.  Cleaning of around 24 beaches in nine (9) coastal states and cleaning of riverfronts in 24 identified polluted stretches in 19 states will be undertaken. Besides the listed rivers, a special cleanliness drive will be carried out at Yamuna riverfront in Delhi. Certain lakes and water bodies have also been identified for cleaning. The 19 teams will include senior officers of MoEF&CC, state nodal agencies in-charge of eco-clubs of schools, State Pollution Control Boards, district administration, college of fisheries located along the coastal stretches and other educational/research institutions. The teams will involve school children, college students and local communities in the cleaning exercise. An amount of Rs. 10 lakh has been earmarked for each stretch of beach, riverfront and lake. Cleaning up around important archaeological sites will also be taken up.

For more information: PIB Release

Cabinet approves National Policy on Biofuels – 2018

The Union Cabinet has approved National Policy on Biofuels – 2018. The salient features of the policy is to categorise biofuels in several categories, to enable extension of appropriate financial and fiscal incentives under each category, to expands the scope of raw material production, to allows  the use of surplus food grains for production of ethanol for blending with petrol with the approval of National Biofuel Coordination Committee and to encourages setting up of supply chain mechanisms for biodiesel production. The policy is framed with expected benefits in several fields including reducing import dependency, a cleaner environment, health benefits, MSW Management, infrastructural investment in rural areas, employment generation, Additional Income to Farmers, can help in price stabilization.

For more information: The Hindu

Cabinet approves development of Trunk Infrastructure Components for Integrated Multi Modal Logistics Hub known

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. The proposal includes the development of Freight Village, an Integrated Multi-Modal Logistics Hub (IMLH). Amount of Rs. 1029.49 crore has been sanctioned for development of Phase I and in principle approval for development of Phase II of the project. This project has enormous economic value including the creation of employment, reduction in fuel costs, boosts to exports, reduction in the vehicle (trucks) operating cost, reduction in accident-related costs, increase in collection of taxes by the State Government, reduction in pollution, etc.

For more information: PIB Releases

A dedicated web portal for promotion of AV Services in India

The Film Facilitation Office is in the process of establishing a dedicated web portal that will disseminate information on filming locations and the facilities available in India for production/post-production. The portal will help potential production companies looking to shoot in India to obtain permissions, explore potential benefits (tangible and non-tangible) and obtain an overview of various locations in India that could benefit the storyline of the film under consideration. The portal will also facilitate the acceptance of the application for shooting, provide information on all Co-production treaties and will have a holistic database of the available resources,

For more information: PIB Releases

Cabinet approves a Central University in Andhra Pradesh

The Union Cabinet has given its in-principle approval for establishing a central university by the name of “Central University of Andhra Pradesh” in Janthaluru Village of Ananthapur District, Andhra Pradesh. A fund’s Rs. 450 crore has been approved for meeting the first phase expenditure towards the establishment of the said University. The Cabinet has also approved the proposal for operationalization of the Central University in the transit campus and will be mentored by an existing Central University till its governing structure is in place. This approval would increase access and quality of higher education and help in minimizing the regional imbalances in education facilities.

For more information: PIB Release

E-PPO: New Step in the Right Direction

Principal Controller of Defence Accounts(Pensions), Allahabad has started issuance of electronic-Pension Payment Orders (e-PPOs) to the pensioners along with their Pension Disbursement Agencies viz., Banks, Defence Pension Disbursement Offices, Post Offices, etc. This step is taken to move on the Digital India-initiatives of the government and it was limited to all Commissioned Officers and JCOs/ORs of Armed Forces in the first phase which is now extended to all defence pensioners including defence civilians. The shift from the manual system to e-PPO system is expected to minimize delays in pension disbursement and further revision as and when needed. This initiative also eliminates the occurrence of human errors in data entry at multiple levels and will facilitate better implementation of OROP.

For more information: Business Standard

Cabinet approves enhancement of budget for NFS for Defence Services

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the budget enhancement by Rs.11,330 crore for Network For Spectrum (NFS) project for laying of an alternate communication network for Defence Services for the release of spectrum over and Rs.13,334 crore have already been approved by Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure in July 2012. The project will be completed in a period of 24 months by BSNL. The project will boost the communication capabilities of the Defence Forces in a major way leading to enhanced national operational preparedness.

For more information: Economic Times

Cabinet approves: AIIMS in Deoghar, Jharkhand

The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Deoghar, Jharkhand. A provision of funds worth Rs. 1103 crore has been approved for the project and the said AIIMS will be set up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). It will consist of a hospital, trauma centre, medical college, nursing college,  residential complexes and allied facilities, 20 Speciality/Super Speciality departments including 15 Operation Theatres and Ayush Department with 30 beds. This project will serve the dual purpose of providing super speciality health care to the population while also helping to create a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region.

For more information: Business Standard

First ever online selection of Airmen by the  IAF  

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully conducted its first online selection test for airmen from 03 to 06 May 2018. The first ever Scheduled Test for Airmen Recruitment (STAR) was conducted successfully through computer-based online tests in collaboration with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) Pune. The initiative is part of the Air Headquarters policy to reach out to the best talent to man and service the technology-intensive platforms that equip the IAF. This will also help the IAF  to reach out the youth in remote corners of the country and help them participate in the selection.

For more information: Times of India

NITI Ayog inks pact with IBM  to develop AI based Agriculture Model 

NITI Aayog and IBM signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to develop a crop yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence (AI). This will provide real-time advisory to farmers. The partnership aims to work together towards the use of technology to provide insights to farmers to improve crop productivity, soil yield, control agricultural inputs with the overarching goal of improving farmer’s incomes. The first phase of the project will focus on developing the model for 10 Aspirational Districts across the States of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

For more information: Economic Times

100 Additional OSCs Approved

The Ministry of Women and Child Development in its Programme Approval Board (PAB) meeting has approved to open 100 additional One Stop Centres (OSC) in the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The purpose of these OSCs is to facilitate integrated services for women affected by violence such as police assistance, medical aid, psycho-social counselling, legal aid/counselling, temporary stay for 5 days etc. Since April 2015, the Ministry has set up 182 such centres and over 1.3 lakhs such affected women have been assisted.

For more information: Devdiscourse

SoI signed between NITI Aayog and Google

Aiming to foster growth for India’s nascent artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) ecosystem, NITI Aayog and Google have come together and signed a Statement of Intent (SoI). Under the aegis of this program, Google will train and incubate Indian AI startups in an accelerator program. These startups will be mentored and coached by Google and its affiliates to enable them to better leverage AI in their respective business models. Google through the NITI Aayog, will conduct hands-on training programs that aim to sensitize policymakers and technical experts in governments about relevant AI tools, and how they can be used to streamline governance.

For more information: PIB Release

AI to Monitor the Food Production in Base Kitchens

An Artificial Intelligence (AI) module has been developed by IRCTC to find anomalies in the standard operating procedure using CCTV footage. The AI module realizes the value of their videos and photos with vision computing. It can detect an unexpected change or an event that does not conform to the expected pattern using their machine learning algorithms. Initially, 16 base kitchens of IRCTC have been installed with high definition cameras connected to huge monitors for AI vision detection. The system detects anomalies of headgear, uniforms, rodents and mopping across kitchens and raises issues to be dealt accordingly with by IRCTC.

For more information: PIB Release

HRD Ministry notifies 75 NRCs for Higher Education Faculty

HRD ministry has launched a major and unique initiative of online professional development of 1.5 million higher education faculty using the MOOCs platform SWAYAM. In the first phase, 75 discipline-specific National Resource Centres (NRC) have been identified which are tasked to prepare online training material with the focus on latest developments in the discipline, new & emerging trends, pedagogical improvements, and methodologies for transacting revised curriculum. Faculty from all the discipline can benefit from this initiative as it is highly flexible and can be done at one’s own pace and time. The NRCs will revolutionize the professional development of faculty by leveraging ICT and online technology platform of SWAYAM.

For more information: Devdiscourse

“Swachh Bharat Summer Internship – 100 Hours of Swachhata” Program Launched

The HRD Minister has urged students to become part of the nationwide Swachhta Mission by participating in “Swachh Bharat Summer Internship – 100 Hours of Swachhata” campaign. The campaign was launched by the Ministry of HRD in association with the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to engage youth across the country for sanitation related work and village level development. The program from 1st May to 31st July 2018 is aimed to develop the skill and orientation of youth for sanitation related work. This will also bring the youth of the country to make a significant contribution to the swachhata revolution and integrate them in the community service in rural areas. The last date of registration is 15th May, 2018. The winners will be awarded by Shields / cups and special certificates at College Level.

For more information: Times of India

Suggestions invited on draft notification for new Rule of IT Rules, 1962

Finance Act, 2018 has inserted clause (via) to section 28 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (‘the Act’) so as to provide that any profit and gains from the conversion of inventory into the capital asset or its treatment as capital asset shall be charged to tax as business income. It has also been provided that for this purpose the fair market value of inventory on the date of conversion or treatment determined in prescribed manner shall be deemed to be the full value of consideration. In view of the above, it is proposed to insert a new rule 11UAB in the Income-tax Rules, 1962 for prescribing the manner of determination of the fair market value of the inventory which has been converted into, or treated as, a capital asset. The draft of proposed notification to be issued for amending the Income-tax Rules, 1962 has been uploaded on the website. Stakeholders are requested to submit their comments/ suggestions on the draft notification.

For more information: PIB Release

Cabinet doubles Investment Limit under PMVVY

The Union Cabinet has approved the extension of the investment limit and time limit to boost the social security of the senior citizen. The modified scheme provides the extension investment limit  from Rs 7.5 lakhs to Rs 15 lakhs as well as an extension of time limits for subscription from 4th May 2018 to 31st March, 2020 under the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandan Yojana (PMVVY). This modification will provide a larger social security cover to the Senior citizens and enable a pension upto Rs.10000 per month for Senior Citizens.

For more information: Times of India

Telecom Commission Approves In-Flight Connectivity

The Telecom Commission has approved almost all the TRAI’s recommendation on In-flight Connectivity in its meeting. With this, the airlines and the TSPs can offer voice and data services in India Airspace once an aircraft reaches an altitude of 3000 meters. It is expected that it will take 3 to 4 months to operationalize the service. In line with the earlier decision of Committee of Secretaries, In-Flight voice and data services shall be provided through Indian Satellites or through satellites approved by Department of Space for communication purposes, with gateways in India.

For more information: NDTV

PMSSY approved beyond 12th Five Year Plan

In a major boost to the expansion of healthcare infrastructure in the country, the Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) beyond 12th Five Year Plan for a period 2017-18 to 2019-20 with a financial outlay of Rs. 14,832 crores. Under this scheme, new All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) is established and the government medical colleges will be upgraded. Setting up of new AIIMS in various states will lead to employment generation for nearly 3000 people in various faculty and non-faculty posts in each of the AIIMS and also this will lead to the improvement in health outcomes through the adequate and timely intervention of medical/health services.

For more information: The Economic Times

Continuation of ‘Krishonnati Yojana’ approved

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the Umbrella Scheme, “Green Revolution – Krishonnati Yojana” in agriculture sector beyond 12th Five Year Plan for the period from 2017-18 to 2019-20 with the Central Share of Rs. 33,269.976 crore. The Umbrella scheme comprises of 11 Schemes/Missions. These schemes look to develop the agriculture and allied sector in a holistic and scientific manner to increase the income of farmers by enhancing production, productivity and better returns on produce.

For more information: The Economic Times

NEET PG and NEET SS cut off percentile reduced

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has reduced the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test PG (NEET-PG) and NEET Super Speciality (SS) exams. NEET PG and NEET SS cut off percentile by 15%. The decision is likely to benefit about 18000 students as this will improve the chances of filling up PG seats and minimizing wastage of seats.

For more information: Economic Times

Swachh Bharat Mission launches GOBAR – DHAN

Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation has launched the GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources – DHAN scheme at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) Auditorium, Karnal. The scheme aims to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste. The scheme also aims at creating new rural livelihood opportunities and enhancing income for farmers and other rural people. This scheme envisages the implementation of 700 biogas units in different states of the country in 2018-19.

For more information: Times of India

Comments invited on draft Notification under section 112A as inserted by Finance Act, 2018

The Finance Act, 2018 has withdrawn the exemption under clause (38) of Section 10 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and has introduced a new section 112A in the Act. The said section, inter alia, provides that the provisions of the section shall apply to the capital gains arising from a transfer of long-term capital asset being an equity share in a company, only if securities transaction tax (STT) has been paid on acquisition and transfer of such capital asset. In order to have a wider consultation in this matter, the draft of notification proposed to be issued under Section 112A (4) of the Act has been uploaded and  Stakeholders are requested to submit their comments/ suggestions on the draft notification by 30th April 2018.

For more information: Business Standard

LOI awarded to 9 agencies for 22 monuments under Adopt a Heritage project

The 3rd Award Ceremony of Adopt a Heritage Project was conducted in New Delhi for awarding the Letters of Intent (LOI) to the shortlisted agencies under Phase IV of the project. Awarding the LOI to 9 agencies for 22 monuments of Phase-IV, Union Minister for Tourism asked the stakeholders to ‘protect, preserve and market’ the heritage of India. The Minister also emphasized the creation of awareness amongst the corporates and citizens to adopt heritage sites under the project for creation, operation a, d maintenance of basic and advanced amenities at tourist destinations.

For more information: PIB Release

UGC releases a list of 24 fake universities

In the interest of students and public at large, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has released the list of 24 fake Universities. UGC has said that these 24 self-styled, unrecognized institutions functioning in contravention of the UGC Act have been declared as fake and are not entitled to confer any degrees. The University Grants Commission Act, 1956 under Section 22(1) provides that only a University established by a Central, State/ Provincial Act or an institution deemed to be university under section 3 or an institution especially empowered by an Act of Parliament to confer UGC specified degrees under section 22(3) of the Act.

For more information: Times of India

India Exploring Signing of MoU with South Korea for Road Information System

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways has revealed that India is exploring an agreement with South Korea for the introduction of Highways Information System in the country. This would be developed on lines of the system run by the Express Highways Information Corporation of South Korea, with integrated monitoring of a highway at a centralized control room and to treat road accident victims.

For more information: Deccan Herald

Cabinet approves restructured National Bamboo Mission

The Cabinet has approved the centrally sponsored scheme of National Bamboo Mission (NBM) under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) during the remaining period of Fourteenth Finance Commission (2018-19 & 2019-20).  The Mission would ensure holistic development of the bamboo sector by addressing complete value chain and establishing effective linkage of producers (farmers) with industry. This scheme will benefit directly and indirectly the farmers as well as local artisans and associated personnel engaged in the bamboo sector including associated industries.

For more information: Financial Express

Government to launch this fiscal’s first tranche of gold bond on April 16

The GOI in consultation with the RBI has decided to issue Sovereign Gold Bond, 2018-19 Series-I. Applications for these bond will be accepted from 16th to 20th April 2018. The Certificate of Bond (s) will be issued on May 04, 2018. The Bonds will be sold through Banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL), designated Post Offices and recognised Stock Exchanges viz., NSE of India Ltd and BSE Ltd. The Bonds will be denominated in multiples of the gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram. The tenor of the Bond will be for a period of 8 years with an exit option in 5th, 6th and 7th year.

For more information: Economic Times

Minister of Communication Launched DARPAN-PLI App

Department of Posts has launched DIGITAL ADVANCEMENT OF RURAL POST OFFICE FOR A NEW INDIA (DARPAN) Project to achieve total digitisation of postal operations in the country. This Project aims to connect all 1.29 lakh Rural Branch Post Offices in the country and to enable them to do online Postal and Financial Transactions. The DARPAN-PLI App will help in the collection of the premium for Postal Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) policies. Further, this will help in indexing of maturity claims in respect of PLI and RPLI.

For more information: PIB Release

GITC 2018 to be held in New Delhi

“Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities (GITC), 2018” will be held in New Delhi during 8th to 11th November 2018. A MoU was signed between Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Rehabilitation International Korea. As per MoU, both the parties have agreed to cooperate in making all arrangements for the successful events in providing all necessary financial, logistics, manpower and other facilities. This event will have around 300 participants including 120 Youth with disabilities from 24 Asia Pacific countries.

For more information: PIB Release

Government  launched the digital platform for MSME Exporters

The Minister of Commerce & Industry launched the FIEO GlobalLinker- a digital platform for MSME exporters to digitise their businesses and join a global community of growing businesses. This Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO’s) initiative will help in expanding India’s multi-focused export strategy and also aid in connecting art and artisans to the market. FIEO GlobalLinker is setup with a view to making the business growth of SMEs simpler, more profitable and enjoyable. It is freely available to exporters with the wide range of features and benefits.

For more information: Business Standard

The government launched ‘Study in India’ Portal

The government has launched the Study in India programme by launching the ‘Study in India’ portal (www.studyinindia.gov.in) at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The integration of e-SANAD portal and NAD – National Academic Depository (of HRD Ministry), was also launched on this occasion. The “Study in India’ is an innovative initiative to attract students from our partner countries in South Asia, South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa to come and experience the very best of academic learning from the top institutions in India. This portal will become a single window to cover all aspects relating to studying in India for foreign students. This will be supported by an App and a Helpline number. The website will not only provide information on the latest offerings on Indian education but also facilitate admissions to the foreign students and help them make informed choices based on individual aptitudes and career goals.

For more information: Times of India

Smart Imprest Cards & E- MB Launched on PFMS Portal for CPWD

Minister of State (I/C) for Housing & Urban Affairs has launched Smart Imprest Cards & e- Measurement Book ( e-MB) on PFMS (Public Financial Management System) portal for CPWD (Central Public Works Department). After its launch, it has become the first integrated web-based module in Civil Ministries to monitor both the financial progress i.e. utilization of funds along with related physical progress captured as per schedule of various items of works through e-MB in all projects/works undertaken by CPWD. The launch of Smart Imprest cards with end to end digitization of entire process will enable maximization of Digital payments to achieve ultimately 100% digitization of payments in MoHUA thereby also fulfilling objectives of Digital India mission.

For more information: PIB Release

Environment Ministry notifies Plastic Waste Management (amendment) rules

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018.  The amended Rules lay down the phasing out of Multilayered Plastic (MLP) which are “non-recyclable, or non-energy recoverable, or with no alternative use.” It also prescribes a central registration system for the registration of the producer/ importer/ brand owner. The centralised registration system will be evolved by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for the registration of the producer /importer /brand owner. In addition, Rule 15 of the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018 on “explicit pricing of carry bags” has been omitted.

For more information: Business Standard

First “Van Dhan Vikas Kendra” Launched at Bijapur, Chhattisgarh

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has approved the establishment of the first multipurpose “Van Dhan Vikas Kendra” on a pilot basis for the establishment in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh State for providing skill upgradation and capacity building training and setting up of primary processing and value addition facility. This first model of Van Dhan Vikas Kendra is being implemented for the training of 300 beneficiaries with a total outlay of Rs 43.38 lakhs for training, providing equipment & tools for primary level processing and infrastructure & building for housing the Kendra. TRIFED has assigned the work for the establishment of this Kendra to CGMFP Federation. The training is scheduled to start from 10th April 2018. The Van Dhan Vikas Kendras will be an important milestone in the economic development of tribals.

For more information: PIB Release

AIIB approves a loan of $140M to improve Rural Connectivity in India

The board of directors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in a Meeting has approved the USD $ 140-Million loan. The Project aims to improve the rural road connectivity and management for residents of about 5,640 villages who use the rural roads for daily activities. Approximately 1.5 Million rural residents in State of Madhya Pradesh are going to directly benefit from improved livelihoods, education and mobility with this project. Livelihoods of the rural population will be improved by expanding income earning opportunities through better farm-to-market road connections.

For more information: Business Standard

Union Minister inaugurates State’s second mega food park

Union Minister for Food Processing Industries inaugurated the second mega food park in Uttarakhand at Mahuakhera Ganj village, Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district. The park- M/s Himalayan Mega Food Park Private Ltd has been set up at a cost of Rs 99.96 crore and will benefit around 25,000 farmers. The park has been set up in an area of 50.14 acres and has a central processing centre (CPC)  as well as three Primary Processing Centres (PPCs) at Ram Nagar, Ramgarh and Kaladungi. The facilities created at CPC include Multi-Purpose Cold Storage of 1,250 MT, Aseptic Brick Filling Line of 7,500 pack per hour, Dry Warehouse of 6,000 MT, Fruit & Vegetable Processing Line input capacity 7 MT/Hr for Tomato Paste, 8 MT/Hr for Apple, 10 MT/Hr. for Carrot, 5 MT/Hr. for fruit pulp, QC & Food Testing Lab and other related food processing facilities.

For more information: Times of India

NCERT publishes child helplines info in textbooks

NCERT has published the information regarding Childline (1098) – 24×7 Helpline for children and POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) E-box on the back side of the front cover of all the course books from class 6th to class 12th. Through these course books, the information is expected to reach approximately 26 crores school students in 15 lakh schools. The information will not just reach these children but is about to stay with them on daily basis. As a result, it is expected that the children will be more aware and they may use the Child Helpline or POCSO E-box, in case of any distress.

For more information: Business Standard

Army inks pact for procurement of 1.86 lakh BPJ’s

A major contract through capital procurement route, for procurement of 1,86,138 Bullet Proof Jackets (BPJs) has been signed. The contracted BPJs have contemporary and state-of-the-art specifications with added protection level and coverage area. The new BPJs will provide 360-degree protection to the soldier in combat, including from latest hard steel core bullets. These ergonomically designed BPJs have modular parts, thereby providing immense protection and flexibility to soldiers operating in different operational situations ranging from long distance patrolling to high-risk room intervention scenarios. The provision of these new BPJs was done by Indian manufacturers who were successful in the trials. This has given an impetus to the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government and provides confidence that the Indian Industry is capable of fulfilling the requirements of Indian Army for its personal protective equipment.

For more information: Economic Times

Foundation Laid for Naitwar Mori Hydro Electric Project

The foundation stone of the 60 MW Naitwar Mori Hydro Electric Project (NMHEP) was laid by Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy,   along with Uttarakhand Chief Minister in Uttarkashi. The Proposed NMHEP is located on the river Tons – a tributary of the Yamuna, in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The project is scheduled to be completed by December 2021, in a period of 4 years. This project has 30.5 m high dam structure with 4.3 km long headrace tunnel having a diameter of 5.6 m and it will have two underground generating units of 30 MW each. This Project will add 265.5 Million Units of renewable energy to the grid and would result in CO2 emissions reductions to the tune of 0.21 Million tons annually.

For more information: Business Standard

Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Act, 2018 brought in force.

The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2018 has been passed by Lok Sabha on 15th March 2018 and by the Rajya Sabha on 22nd March 2018, It has been brought in force on 29th March 2018. This amendment will ensure harmony among employees in the private sector and in Public Sector Undertakings/ Autonomous Organizations under Government who are not covered under CCS (Pension) Rules. These employees will be entitled to receive the higher amount of gratuity at par with their counterparts in the Government sector.

For more information: PIB Release

High-Performance Computing (HPC) Systems for weather forecasting.

Ministry of Earth Sciences has augmented the High-Performance Computing (HPC) System at a total cost of Rs. 438.9 Cr. The systems are installed at two sites Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune and National Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (NCMRWF), Noida with computing capacities of 4 petaflops and 2.8 petaflops, respectively.  The Two High-Performance Computing (HPC) Systems Pratyush and Mihir installed at IITM, Pune and NCMRWF, Noida respectively has a total computing capacity of 6.8 petaflops. After the current augmentation, India gets placed at the 4th position after Japan, UK and USA for dedicated HPC resources for weather/climate community. This will be used for the advanced dynamical prediction systems.

For more information: Devdiscourse

Cabinet approves the Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018

The Union Cabinet has approved the Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018 for better protection and promotion of human rights in the country. The Amendment will strengthen the Human Rights Institutions of India further for effective discharge of their mandates, roles and responsibilities. Moreover, the amended Act will be in perfect sync with the agreed global standards and benchmarks towards ensuring the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual in the country.

For more information: Indian Express

Skill India joins hands with Ministry of Power to support household electrification scheme ‘Saubhagya’

Aiming to empower and uplift the rural youth and development, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship partnered with the Ministry of Power to ensure access to electricity for every household in the country through an ambitious scheme, Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojna (SAUBHAGYA).  The scheme aims to achieve universal household electrification in all parts of the country. To support the successful execution of the scheme, the vocational training program has been launched in Six States namely Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. A total of 47000 (estimated) number of participants to be trained between the two job roles of Lineman Distribution and Technical Helper in these six focused states.

For more information: PIB Release

E-Waste Management Rules amended for effective management.

The Government has amended the E-waste (Management) Rules in a move to facilitate and effectively implement the environmentally sound management of e-waste in India.  The amendment in rules has been done with the objective of channelizing the E-waste generated in the country towards authorized dismantlers and recyclers in order to formalize the e-waste recycling sector.   The collection targets under the provision of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the Rules have been revised and targets have been introduced for new producers who have started their sales operations recently.

For more information: Economic Times

SARAS Aajeevika Mela 2018: An opportunity to showcase handmade products

Union Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines inaugurated the SARAS Aajeevika Mela 2018. The Aajeevika mission is aimed to bring huge socio-economic transformation in the lives of rural women. The SARAS Aajeevika Mela is an attempt to provide the direct marketing platform to the rural women producers and enabling them to get proper prices for their products by eliminating middlemen. The Aajeevika Mela 2018 has 350 stalls set up by Self Help Group (SHG) women. The products on exhibition range from handlooms, handicrafts, artefacts and heritage products, tribal ornaments, decorative items, metallic products, earthen utensils and paintings to organic food items, spices, processed foods, soft toys, utility items, brass and wrought iron products.

For more information: PIB Release

Cabinet approves the restructuring of NSDF and NSDC to strengthen governance, implementation and monitoring framework

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for restructuring of National Skill Development Fund (NSDF) and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to strengthen governance, implementation and monitoring framework. The restructuring will also ensure better corporate governance, transparency and accountability in operations of NSDC besides strengthening the oversight role of NSDF.  The approval would lead to the restructuring of the composition of Board of NSDF and the NSDC to strengthen governance, implementation and monitoring framework.

For more information: Business Standard

GSLV Launches GSAT-6A Satellite: Successfully

India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F08) successfully launched GSAT-6A Satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). This is the fifth consecutive success achieved by GSLV carrying indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage. In its oval-shaped GTO, GSAT-6A is now orbiting the Earth. Soon after separation from GSLV, the two solar arrays of GSAT-6A were automatically deployed in quick succession and the Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka assumed control of the satellite. GSAT-6A is an S and C band transponders equipped communication satellite built by ISRO to provide mobile communication services through multibeam coverage.

For more information: Hindustan Times

HRD approves the ‘Study in India’ programme.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development has approved the ‘Study in India’ programme with, inter-alia, the following objectives: to improve the soft power of India, to boost the number of inbound International students in India, to double India’s market share of global education exports, for improvement in overall quality of higher education. To increase the global ranking of India as the educational destination. to reduce the export-import imbalance in the number of international students. The proposed fee waivers to meritorious foreign students in this policy will be decided by the Institute concerned based on certain criteria.

For more information: PIB Release

Cabinet approves the amendment in NMC Bill

The Union Cabinet has approved certain amendments to the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill. The Amendment to the NMC Bill comes in the backdrop of its consideration in the Lok Sabha on 02.01.2018 and subsequently being referred to the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee (DRPSC). The Government has considered the recommendations made by the Standing Committee in its report. The Amendments include:

• Final MBBS Examination to be held as a common exam across the country and would serve as an exit test called the National Exit Test (NEXT):
• Provision of Bridge course for AYUSH practitioners to practice modern medicine removed:
• Fee regulation for 50% seats in private medical institutions and deemed universities.
• Number of nominees from States and UTs in NMC increased from 3 to 6:
• Monetary penalty for a medical college non-compliant with the norms replaced with provision for different penalty options
• Stringent punishment for unqualified medical practitioners or quacks.

For more information: Economic Times

NCAA: The World’s First Trusted Digital Repository

National Cultural Audiovisual Archives (NCAA) project of the Ministry of Culture, implemented by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) has been certified as the world’s first Trusted Digital Repository as per ISO 16363:2012 standard, granted by Primary Trustworthy Digital Repository Authorisation Body Ltd. (PTAB), United Kingdom. The plan for the next phase is to integrate about three lakh hours of audiovisuals materials on this platform over the next five years. The primary objective of the NCAA is to identify and preserve the cultural heritage of India available in audiovisual form through a process of digitization and making it accessible to the people.

For more information: PIB Release

Providing Healthy Food at Railway Stations

To provide pure and healthy food to passengers, a new Catering Policy has been issued. As per Catering Policy 2017, IRCTC has been mandated to carry out the distinction between food preparation and food distribution on trains. In order to upgrade the quality of food preparation, IRCTC has been asked to set up new kitchens and upgrade existing ones. Further, detailed instructions/guidelines have been issued to the Zonal Railways for conducting joint inspections by Medical, Commercial and concerned infrastructure maintenance departments to inspect each and every catering unit including base kitchens/cell kitchens on all Railway divisions/zones.

For more information: Financial Express

Over 17 lakh beneficiaries enrolled under PMMVY

The Government of India has approved Pan-India implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matru VandanaYojana (PMMVY) in all districts of the country from 01.01.2017 under which the eligible beneficiaries get Rs. 5,000/- under PMMVY and the remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY). The number of beneficiaries enrolled under PMMVY has increased to 17,66,423. Every day on an average, around 50, 000 new applications are received for enrolment. So far, Rs. 2048.21 Crores to all 36 States/UTs have been sanctioned under PMMVY out of which Rs. 2042.09 Crores have been released till date.

For more information: Business Standard

First Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction

India and Japan, two of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, are coming together to address disaster risk. Over a two-day workshop expert will discuss issues pertaining to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), especially earthquakes. Japan is situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire and is highly susceptible to earthquakes. Japan’s technological know-how, especially in the area of earthquake risk reduction, is among the most advanced in the world. The workshop will present an opportunity to explore as to how Japan invests in making its infrastructure resilient to present and future disaster risks. It will also help understand recent advancements the area of earthquake detection and early warning systems and adapt them to India’s context. This will play a vital role in enhancing preparedness and response at every level.

For more information: PIB Release

GIAN Launched to Improve Institutes Ranking

The Government has launched the Global Initiative for Academic Networks (GIAN) to help foreign faculty to teach some courses in the higher educational institutions. The Government has also decided to allow faculties working under the Central Government or Central Autonomous Bodies, to join the newly set up Central Educational Institutions on long-term deputation, for a period of 10 years. The government as part of the initiative has approved 165 courses, which will enable international faculty members to engage with the premier engineering schools and other institutes of higher learning.

For more information: Economic Times

Scheme for Out of School Adolescent Girls

The Government is implementing Scheme for out of school adolescent girls (11-14 years). The scheme contains both Nutritional and non-nutritional components. The nutritional support is provided to the beneficiaries for 300 days in a year. The scheme also aims at motivating out of school girls to go back to formal schooling or /skill training under the non-nutrition component of the scheme. The Government has also approved the phased expansion of the scheme so as to cover additional districts for a period of one year i.e. up to 30.11.2018. In 2017-18, the scheme has been extended to additional 303 districts, with pan India expansion in 2018-19.

For more information: PIB Release

Deemed to be University: Not to Engage in Commercialization of Education

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has informed that it has notified UGC Regulations, 2016. As per these Regulations no institution Deemed to be University shall charge any fee for an admission test other than an amount representing the reasonable cost incurred by it in conducting such test. Further, as per the Regulations, an institution Deemed to be University shall not engage in commercialization of education in any manner whatsoever, and shall provide for equity and access to all deserving students.

For more information: PIB Release

KUSUM Scheme: Harnessing Solar Power for Rural India

The Government of India is in the process of formulating a Scheme ‘Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM)’ which, inter alia provides installation of grid-connected solar power plants, installation of standalone off-grid solar water pumps to fulfill irrigation needs, solarization of existing grid-connected agriculture pumps to make farmers independent of grid supply and also enable them to sell surplus solar power generated to DISCOM and get extra income and solarization of tube-wells and lift irrigation projects of Government sector. The details on funds and mode of implementation will be decided on approval of the Scheme.

For more information: PIB Release

Proposal for Nuclear Power Plants in States

The Government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction of twelve (12) nuclear power reactors in the country. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is a Public Sector Enterprise of the Department of Atomic Energy and fully owned by the Government of India. The mandate of NPCIL is the implementation of the first stage of the indigenous three-stage nuclear power programme comprising of natural uranium fuelled Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) and Light Water Reactors (LWRs) set up with Russian Federation.

For more information: PIB Release

“Innovation Cell” to be set up to boost Innovation

An Innovation Cell will be created in HRD to further strengthen the innovation efforts.  It will be headed by a Scientist and comprise of a senior Ministry official and young professionals who bring to the table new ideas in promoting innovation. The decision comes close on the heels of India moving 6 ranks up in the Global Innovation Index Ranking from 66 in 2016 to 60 in 2017, out of 127 countries.  This increase has happened for the 2nd year in succession and it coincides with the launch of the Smart India Hackathon by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in coordination with other Ministries.

For more information: Business Standard

LaQshya Program for Pregnant Woman

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has recently announced the launch of program ‘LaQshya’, aimed at improving quality of care in labour room and maternity Operation Theatre (OT) and Obstetrics Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and High Dependency Units (HDUs). The LaQshya program is being implemented at all Medical College Hospitals, District Hospitals and First Referral Unit (FRU), and Community Health Centers (CHCs) and will benefit every pregnant woman and newborn delivering in public health institutions.

For more information: The Hindu

Atal Bhujal Yojana

The Government has proposed Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) aimed at sustainable groundwater management with community participation. It will be implemented in selected over-exploited and ground water-stressed areas of seven States (Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh).  ABHY is designed as a Central Sector Scheme with a total outlay of Rs. 6,000 Crore and is proposed to be implemented with World Bank assistance.

For more information: Times of India

India Was Awarded “Best Exhibitor” at ITB 2018 in Berlin

The ITB – 2018 i.e. World Tourist Meet’ was convened in Berlin, Germany from 7th March to 10th March, 2018. In this exhibition, India was awarded as “Best Exhibitor” in Australia and Oceania category. It was a big platform to showcase India’s tourism product to the global tourism fraternity. There India has taken a large space for the India Pavilion in which over 50 co-exhibitors comprising tour operators, hoteliers etc. from different parts of India participate. During this Event, Tourism minister had launched a short film named “Yogi of the Racetrack ” which got 3.2 million hits in 60 hours.

For more information: Economic Times

PMRF Scheme for Ph.D. in IITs and IISc

The Government has approved the Scheme ‘Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF)’ at a total cost of Rs.1650 crore for a period of seven years beginning 2018-19. Under this Scheme, the best students who have completed (in last 5 years) or are in the final year of B. Tech or Integrated M.Tech or M.Sc. in Science and Technology streams from IISc/IITs/NITs/IISERs/IIITs, with atleast 8.0 CGPA, will be offered direct admission in Ph.D programme in the IITs / IISc,  after going through the selection process. Such students will be offered a fellowship of Rs.70,000/- per month for the first two years, Rs.75,000/- per month for the 3rd year, and Rs.80,000/- per month in the 4th and 5th years.

For more information: Financial Express

New AICTE Rules for admission and Approval of Institutions

In order to grant approval to new Technical Institutions and extension of approval to existing Technical Institutions, detailed Approval Process for the Academic Year 2018-19 have been notified in the Official Gazette of India on 05.12.2017. The Approval Process Hand Book for 2018-19 is available on AICTE Website.  The revisions incorporated in the latest edition of APH 2018-19 include revision of intake in Pharmacy Courses and Fellowship Program in Management, reduction of approved intake to 50% for Institutions having admission less than 30 for five continuous years, conversion of Post Graduate Diploma in Management to MBA Courses, introduction of Built up Area concept instead of Land Area in Metro and Mega Cities and revision of penal actions in case of violation of AICTE Regulations and Approval Process Norms.

For more information: PIB Release

Research Parks in IITs

Government has approved setting up of 9 Research Parks one each at IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad, and IISc Bangalore.  IIT Madras Research Park, which is fully functional with 43 R&D clients, 4 Incubators, 55 Startups, and 5 Centres of Excellence was established. at a total cost of Rs. 447.66 crore. The Research parks at IIT Kharagpur, IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Bombay are under construction. Remaining five new Research Parks have been approved and a sum of Rs. 5 crores to each has been released.

For more information:  PIB Release

Partial Withdrawal under NPS

The Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) relaxed the norms for partial withdrawal under the National Pension Scheme (NPS). In accordance with the PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) (First Amendment) Regulations 2017, the subscribers can withdraw after three years from the date of joining the system and a maximum of three times during the entire tenure of subscription under the NPS, but the partial withdrawal is linked with the contributions made by the subscriber. The subscriber shall be permitted to withdraw accumulations not exceeding 25 percent of the contributions made by him or her and standing to his or her credit in his or her individual pension account, as on the date of application for withdrawal.

For more information: Financial Express

Rs 1000 crore for research and Innovation under IMPRINT-II

The Union Minister for HRD, Shri Prakash Javadekar said that in a major boost for research and innovation in the country, the Central Government has sanctioned a sum of Rs. 1000 crore for the phase two of the Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) India programme. According to him under the IMPRINT-II, a fund is being created by the Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Human Resource Development together, in which participants will come from industry and other interested Ministries.  The project will be run as a separate vertical in coordination with the DST.

For more information: The Hindu

IBBI invites comments on draft IBBI Regulations, 2018

Section 240 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) empowers the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) to make regulations subject to the conditions that the regulations: (a) carry out the provisions of the Code, (b) are consistent with the Code and the rules made thereunder; (c) are made by a notification published in the official gazette; and (d) are laid, as soon as possible, before each House of Parliament for 30 days. The IBBI invites comments from the public, including the stakeholders and the regulated, on the draft Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Mechanism for Issuing Regulations), Regulations, 2018.

For more information: Business Standard

2% DA approved to Central Government employees

The Union Cabinet has given its approval to release an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners w.e.f. 01.01.2018 representing an increase of 2% over the existing rate of 5% of the Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate for price rise. This will benefit about 48.41 lakh Central Government employees and 61.17 lakh, pensioners.

For more information: Times of India

PM launches National Nutrition Mission, and pan India expansion of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, our PM has launched the National Nutrition Mission and Pan India Expansion of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) covering all 640 districts of the Country. He also awarded ten districts for showing outstanding performance in the areas of effective community engagement, enforcement of PC & PNDT Act and enabling the education of the girl child. The ten districts which were felicitated by the Prime Minister today have been awarded for their contribution in the following categories:

1. Effective community engagement (Six districts awarded): Raigarh (Chattisgarh), Sikar (Rajasthan), Bijapur (Karnataka), North Sikkim (Sikkim), Tarantaran (Punjab), Hyderabad (Telangana)
2. Enforcement of PC&PNDT Act (Two Districts awarded): Sonipat (Haryana), Ahmedabad (Gujarat)

Enabling education of Girl Child (Two districts awarded): Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan), Udhampur (Jammu & Kashmir)

For more information: PIB Release

Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav

The Cultural Ministry has organised the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav in five cities of Madhya Pradesh, 24th February onwards. Artists from various states will be presenting a number of art forms, including folk and tribal culture. Free bus transport facilities will also be provided across Gwalior, where the event will begin, to facilitate smooth transportation to the venue. Alongside these unique dances and other art forms, handicraft and food festivals will also be organised.

For more information: The Pioneer

Aviation Multi Skill Development Centre

The country’s first aviation multi-skill development centre has been inaugurated at Chandigarh Airport’s old terminal. This is a product of the Airports Authority of India’s CSR initiative, in collaboration with the National Skill Development Corporation and Aerospace and Aviation Sector Skill Council of India. 2,360 students will be initially trained for free, for a period of three years.

For more information: Indian Express

International Data Science Summit

The 5th International Data Science Conference was organised in Delhi, by the Bureau of Indian Standards and Data Science Foundation. Around 130 delegates participated in the Conference from various fields such as policy planning, academics, research and development, among others. Issues such as big data standardization, machine learning and challenges of big data, were discussed.  This assumes significance at a time when the Government is investing heavily in Digital India.

For more information: Business Standard

Provision of Free Viral Load Testing

The Government has launched a scheme to provide viral load testing free of cost, for the benefit of 1.2 million people affected by HIV/AIDS and undergoing treatment. The initiative will help in monitoring the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy, and this detection early on will ensure that the virus doesn’t develop resistance to drugs. This will be provided at least once a year.

For more information: Live Mint

Electoral Bearer Bond Scheme 2018

The Government of India has notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 vide Gazette Notification S.O. No. 29 (E) dated 02nd January 2018. These Bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. A person being an individual can buy Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals. Only the Political Parties registered under  section 29A  of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last general election to the House of the People or  the  Legislative Assembly of the State, shall be eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds. The Bond shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a bank account with the authorized bank.

For more information: PIB Release

PM Inaugurates the Fourth Container Terminal of JNPT.

PM Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Fourth Container Terminal (FCT) of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai tomorrow and with this, JNPT will nearly double its container handling capacity. The new FCT will add a capacity of 24 lakh containers per year in Phase-I and after completion of Phase-II in 2022, the capacity of JNPT will be 100 lakh containers per year. The FCT has been developed on Design, Built, Fund, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis for a concession period of 30 years at an estimated cost of Rs. 7915 Crore.

For more information: PIB Release

The two-day Sanskriti Mahotsav begins in Varanasi

Ministry of Culture organised the two days long Sanskriti Mahotsav “Ras Banaras – Swachhagraha – Bapu ko Kaaryaanjali” at Man Mandir and Assi Ghat. Integrating the tangible and intangible heritage along the river-belt different institutions/missions like the National Mission for Clean Ganga and Namami Ganga Jagriti Yatra, the academia, artists, artisans, writers, poets, environmental and cultural forums came together giving the cultural expressions to the conservation and protection of the river. The 2-day event is focused on music and dance performances on the theme of ‘Swachhagraha’.

For more information: PIB Release

ISRO Plans to Launch Chandrayaan-2 Mission

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch Chandrayan-2 Mission around April this year. Chandrayaan-2 is the country’s second mission to the moon.  Chandraayan-2 is a challenging mission as for the first time it will carry an orbiter, a lander and a rover to the moon. It is a matter of pride that ISRO is launching Chandrayaan-2, which will place India at a new height in space technology.

For more information: PIB Release

UK and India will Jointly Upgrade Research

Dr. V K Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog, Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST India and Daniel Shah, Director, Research Councils UK (RCUK) India launched UK-India research projects on ‘Water Quality Research’ and ‘Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment’. This programme has eight ‘Water Quality Research’ projects and four ‘Energy Demand Reduction in Built Environment’ projects, with a total joint investment of up to £15 million. These projects aim to deliver mutual benefits and research solutions not only to the UK and India but also to address shared global sustainable development goals – clean water and clean energy.

For more information: Business Standard

SARAS completes the second test-flight successfully

India’s indigenous light transport aircraft SARAS has been successfully test flown for a second time in presence of union Science & Technology minister. The flight took off from HAL’s airport in Bengaluru for a test flight. This was the second of the 20 test flights planned for SARAS PT1N, before freezing the production version. He said SARAS will be 20-25% cheaper than any imported aircraft in the same category. “The unit cost of the aircraft, with more than 70 percent indigenous content, will be around 40-45 crores as against 60-70 crores for imported ones and has far more benefits than what the imported aircraft offer. The improved version will be a 19-seater aircraft instead of 14-seater.

For more information: Economic Times

Next Generation Technology Loop to Generate Clean Energy

Indian scientists have developed a supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton test loop facility that would help generate clean energy from future power plants including solar thermal. This next generation technology loop was developed indigenously by Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and was inaugurated by Science & Technology Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan. This is India’s first test-bed for next generation, efficient, compact, waterless supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle test loop for power generation. This early-stage research could potentially be useful for meeting the energy needs of the country. The new generation high-efficiency power plants with closed-cycle CO2 as the working fluid have the potential to replace steam based nuclear and thermal power plants, thus reducing the carbon footprint significantly.

For more information: PIB Release

MoU Signed Between BSI and Natural History Museum, UK

Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and Natural History Museum (NHM), UK signed a Memorandum of Understanding. This MoU will pave the way for BSI staff to work in NHM, London and vice-versa and they will share fairly and equitably the benefits that may arise from the collection, study and conservation of the plant materials such as seeds, herbarium specimens and tissue samples and exchange associated data and images. NHM will help BSI in capacity building in areas of systematic botany and long-term conservation of plant genetic resources in India.

For more information: Business Standard

Inauguration of Integrated Automatic Aviation Meteorological Systems (IAAMS) At INS Garuda

Rear Admiral RJ Nadkarni, Southern Naval Command inaugurated the ‘Integrated Automatic Aviation Meteorological System (IAAMS)’ at INS Garuda on 09 February 2018. INS Garuda is the fourth air station to have been installed with this integrated system. It’s an ambitious project of the Indian Navy to modernise the Meteorological infrastructure of the nine Naval Air Stations. This project at INS Garuda will give a major fillip to aviation safety through automation of weather monitoring process. It undertakes automatic and continuous recording of relevant weather parameters that are vital for accurate weather forecasting.

For more Information: PIB Release

Government Launched ASH TRACK Mobile App

To promote better management of by-product from thermal power plants i.e fly ash, a web-based monitoring system and a mobile application named “ASH TRACK” was launched by Union power minister R K Singh in Delhi on Friday. These two platforms will enable better management of the fly ash which results in air pollution. This will provide an interface between the thermal power plant and potential ash users such as road contractors, cement plants etc. Fly ash disposal is an area of concern for Ministry of Power as about 176 million tonnes of it is generated every year. which creates air pollution if it is not utilised quickly by manufacturing subsequent products such as cement or bricks etc.

For more Information: Indian Express

India – UAE bilateral investments in Oil and Gas

Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas has told that several agreements have been signed during the PM’s visit to the Middle East. The main agreements include the signing of the Concession Agreement between an Indian Consortium and ADNOC for the award of 10% stake in Lower Zakum Offshore oil field, and an agreement between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) and ADNOC to operationalize the filling up of a strategic petroleum reserve cavern in Mangalore. He also told that UAE will be the first country which will participate in India’s strategic petroleum reserves programme. 

For more Information: The Hindu

India’s First Ever Highway Capacity Manual

India’s first ever Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) was released on Monday by Union minister Nitin Gadkari. The manual known as ‘Indo-HCM’ has been developed by CSIR-CRRI on the basis of an extensive, country-wide study of the traffic characteristics on different categories of roads like a single lane, two-lane, multi-lane urban roads, interurban highways and expressways and the associated intersections on these roads. This manual will guide road engineers and policymakers about road expansion. The manual lays down guidelines for when and how to expand or manage different types of roads and their intersections and the level of services to be put in place.

For More Information: Times of India

USD 100 Million for Rajasthan Water Sector Restructuring Project

The government of India and the New Development Bank (NDB) has signed a loan agreement for the financing of Rajasthan Water Sector Restructuring Project for the Desert Areas. This is the first tranche loan of USD 100 million approved by the NDB under the Multi-Tranche Financing Facility of USD 345 million for this project. The objective of this Project is to rehabilitate the 678 km long Indira Gandhi Canal system to prevent seepage, conserve water, and enhance water use efficiency.

For more Information: Business Standards

Startup India Ranking

The Government has launched three new tools to facilitate ranking of startups for States and Union Territories. These are; the State and Union Territory Startup Ranking Framework, the Compendium of Good Practices for Promoting Startups in India, and the Startup India Kit. These are meant to facilitate the Startup India Initiative in the country, which is home to almost 20,000 startups. These ranking frameworks will help the States in creating an enabling environment and a supportive ecosystem for encouraging startups in their States.

For more information: Business Standard

60 Solar Cities to be Developed

Under the Government scheme ‘Development of Solar Cities’, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has approved 60 cities, to be developed as solar cities. This will be undertaken at a cost of Rs 101.64 crore, of which, Rs 25.92 crore has already been released.

For more information: PIB Release

AYUSH Services in Railway Hospitals

An agreement has been signed between the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of AYUSH, to provide services under the AYUSH system in the zonal hospitals of Railways, in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Guwahati. This will make for Out Patient Departments (OPDs) in these hospitals to have medicines ranging from homoeopathy to ayurveda, along with their respective practitioners, for consultation purposes.

For more information: India Today

Pay As You Use Toll

The National Highways Authority of India will begin a ‘pay as you use’ toll system on the Delhi-Mumbai Highway, on a pilot basis. It will be tested for a year, in order to study the implementation of the system. The said system involves the usage of a satellite-based electronic toll collection, which runs on GPS/GSM. The Ministry intends to integrate this with the existing pre-paid wallet account system offered under the FASTag programme.

For more information: Economic Times

Advantage Assam Summit

The Prime Minister of India inaugurated the Advantage Assam Summit, bringing in numerous investment proposals. Around 200 MoUs were signed in this two-day event, amounting to an investment commitment of Rs 1,00,000 crore. The tourism sector is one of the important beneficiaries, which will see an investment by Mahindra of up to Rs 1500 crore. Another significant investment will be seen in developing the inland water transport system in Assam.

For more information: Economic Times

International Kala Mela

The first ever International Kala Mela was organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi, in partnership with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, under Ministry of Culture. The festival saw the participation of more than 800 artists from all across the world. The Vice President of India and the Minister of Culture emphasised the importance of preserving and propagating the ideals of various individual cultures. The event provided a unique opportunity for artists to exhibit their works of art on such a major platform, especially those artists who cannot afford to showcase their work in Art Galleries.

For more information: Business Standard

Great Indian Blog Train

With the aim to promote luxury trains and tourist destinations in the country, the Ministry of Tourism has organised a Social Media Key Influencers’ Campaign. Depending on the power of social media to promote ideas, the initiative will bring together 60 bloggers from 23 countries, including India. They will travel in groups of 15 each on luxury trains such as the Palace on Wheels, Maharaja Express, Deccan Odyssey and Golden Chariot. The intention of the government is to popularise unique tourism means such as the luxury trains and the destinations that will be visited on the same, using social media, in both the domestic and overseas markets. For more information: Outlook India

USD 30 million for 750 MW solar power plant

The World Bank and the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited have signed a MoU, for the purpose of setting up a 750 MW solar power plant in Rewa and Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh. The step gains prominence in light of the Government’s mission to achieve  solar power generation of 100 GW by 2022. The project is also being promoted as the world’s largest solar power plant.
For more information: Financial Express

USD 100 million for TN’s Rural Economy

The Government and the World Bank have signed a loan agreement amounting to USD 100 million, for the purpose of boosting the rural economy in selected regions of Tamil Nadu across its 26 districts. The Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project will provide an enabling environment for organisations and enterprises to promote their businesses. Rural enterprises are sought to be strengthened by improving their access to finance, also leading to employment generation.

For more information: India Today

USD 250 million for Road Infrastructure

The World Bank will finance the construction of roads in five states, at a cost of USD 250 million, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. The said rural roads stretching up to 6254 kilometres, will be constructed in the states of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. It will provide better and safer connectivity in rural areas, also aiding economic development in the region.

For more information: Economic Times

Khelo India School Games Launched

The Prime Minister declared the start of the Khelo India School Games, in Delhi. This initiative will provide the required platform to the young sporting talent in the country and at the same time, enable the country to showcase its potential. The event will be held every year and broadcast live. The Government has also decided to reward the earliest coaches of world-renowned sportspersons in the country, with the aim to provide that much-needed recognition to such coaches.

For more information: Hindustan Times

Government e-Marketplace 3.0

The Government has launched the third version of its National Procurement Portal, Government e-Marketplace. The Portal will offer standard catalogue management, real-time price comparison, demand aggregation, user rating, among other advanced analytical facilities. The portal will ensure more transparency in transactions of all products and services. The rating based performance will aid in creating an open and a dynamic marketplace.

For more information: Business Standard

High Performance Computer System Launched

The Ministry of Earth Science launched Mihir, a high-performance computer system for the purpose of improving India’s weather forecasting system. This improved system will provide better weather forecasts at the block level, predict extreme weather conditions, along with offering high resolution seasonal and extended range forecasts of active/break spells of monsoon. The services which will improve are ocean state forecasts, tsunami forecasts with greater lead time and air quality forecasts for different cities along with climate projections.

For more information: Live Mint

Over 1200 Graduates from Top Institutes to Teach in Rural India

The Government has employed over 1200 youngsters from institutes such as the IITs, IISc, and NIT, in engineering colleges in certain backward regions. This will help state governments to fill up vacancies in 53 government engineering colleges and also provide quality education in these rural colleges. The selected graduates will be employed for a period of three years, at an income of 70,000 per month. About 300 candidates have Ph.D degrees, while about 900 have M.Tech degrees.

For more information:The Hindu

100% Sewage Treatment Capacity in Patna

The city of Patna is set to have 100% sewage treatment capacity, making it one of the few cities along river Ganga to have one. The National Mission for Clean Ganga has approved 11 projects worth Rs 3582.41 crore for creating sewage treatment capacities, with sewage lines of up to 1140.26 km. The city’s geographical setting makes it important to pay attention to and rectify the existing river pollution issue surrounding the city.

For more information: Business Standard

Smart Star Rating for Clean Cities

The Swachh Bharat Mission has developed a 7-star rating system for cities, based on their cleanliness quotient. The rating will be sourced from various indicators of waste management such as door to door collection, scientific land filling and processing of waste, citizen grievance redressal system, etc. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will carry out an independent verification to certify cities, and this will have to be carried out every year to retain the star-status.

For more information: PIB Release

100 Websites Made Disabled-Friendly

With the aim to empower persons with disabilities, the Government has launched 100 websites of different State Governments and Union Territories. This initiative aims to enable persons with disabilities to navigate, understand and interact with the concerned websites. It has been launched under the Accessible India Campaign through ERNET India and a total of 917 such websites are in the pipeline.

For more information: The Hindu

Camp for Beedi Workers and Unorganised Workers

The Labour and Employment Ministry has organised a mega camp for the beedi workers and other unorganised workers in Bareilly. Welfare schemes meant for the benefit of these workers were highlighted for creating greater awareness amongst the workers. Over 6000 workers were participated in the camp, with 70 housing sanction certificates and 3000 insurance certificates being granted to the beneficiaries.

For more information: Business Standard

Awareness Programme on Pollution for Delhiites

The Government will organise a two-week awareness campaign for the citizens of Delhi, on pollution and air quality in the city. This is being done in collaboration with the Delhi government, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Central Pollution Control Board and other municipal agencies. It will focus on sensitising ground level functionaries and people regarding environmental concerns and encourage groups including shopkeeper associations and Resident Welfare Associations in mitigating pollution.

For more information: The Hindu

SAKSHAM – 2018

Sanrakshan Kshamta Mahotsav (SAKSHAM) is an annual event organised by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The initiative seeks to create a sense of realization among the masses regarding conservation and efficient use of petroleum products. This awareness is created using citizen-centric activities including training and educational programs and group talks, etc.

For more information: PIB Release

$350 million for International Solar Alliance

At Abu Dhabi’s World Future Energy Summit, 2018, India has announced the setting up of a $350 million development fund for the promotion and financing of solar projects, to give an impetus to fund mobilisation under the International Solar Alliance. Nine companies and banks have signed MoU’S for the purpose of solar-related projects with the ISA.

For more information: Business Standard

Agro Options Contract in Guar Seeds

The Finance Minister has launched options trading in guar seed on NCDEX, with an aim to ensure better prices for farmers. To help farmers in getting decent prices for their produce even during a fall in price rates, and to contribute to boosting development of the agricultural market for commodities, is the main intention behind this move, as proposed by the Government.

For more information: Economic Times

CSIR to Develop Eco-friendly Firecrackers

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research will be developing a cost-effective technology to make e-crackers. With concerns increasingly being raised over the use of polluting firecrackers, this initiative by different labs at the CSIR will go a long way in addressing this issue. An inter-ministerial expert committee has also been constituted to mentor the labs in taking this initiative forward, along with a proposal to meet the manufacturers of firecrackers, so as to fully be a part of this program.

For more information: Economic Times

Drones to Monitor Railway Projects

The West Central zone of the Indian Railways has procured and conducted a trial run of drone cameras in all its zones. The cameras will aid in monitoring railway projects, oversee track maintenance, monitor relief and rescue operations, crowd management and other railway related infrastructure. Real-time information regarding safety and security of concerned infrastructure will prove to be an important resource for the Railways.

For more information: The Hindu

1st PIO-Parliamentarian Conference

The Prime Minister of India inaugurated the first PIO-Parliamentarian Conference in New Delhi. The conference witnessed participation of a diverse group of PIO (Person of Indian Origin) parliamentarians, representing over 20 democracies of the world. Sharing of best practices with each other and inviting partnerships from the PIO community in some of the Government’s flagship schemes are some of the highlights of the Programme.

For more information: PIB Release

Army Technology Seminar

The Indian Army organized the second edition of the Army Technology Seminar, highlighting the need for equipment and technology for the Indian Army. Participants ranging from serving officers to DRDO scientists to representatives from the Industry sector and academia were present. The role of indigenous technology and ‘Make in India’ initiative also formed an important discussion point at the seminar.

For more information: PIB Release

Dharma-Dhamma Conference

The President of India inaugurated the Dharma-Dhamma Conference on ‘State and Social Order in Dharma-Dhamma Traditions’ in Nalanda. Nalanda University has organised this in collaboration with the Centre for Study of Religion and Society, India Foundation, Ministry of External Affairs and the Vietnam Buddhist University, as part of the Silver jubilee celebration of the ASEAN-India Dialogue Partnership. By focussing on the common roots and shared traditional diversities between India and the ASEAN nations, the growth of economic and diplomatic endeavours between the two was suggested.

For more information: Business Standard

E-catalogue to Promote Engineering Goods at a Global Level

As part of the Brand India Initiative, Indian companies that adhere to international standards and quality will be showcased on an e-catalog, for buyers across the globe. This initiative seeks to promote India’s high-quality engineering products, medical devices, textile machinery and accessories, and electrical machinery equipment and pumps and valves, internationally. Currently, 150 Indian companies have been listed on this e-catalog and the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India intends to promote the platform also at international exhibitions.

For more information: The Hindu Business Line

NARI Portal

The Ministry for Women and Child Development has launched NARI, a portal providing complete information on all existing government schemes for women. It presently carries information on about 350 schemes, which will be updated from time to time. The Schemes are categorised into seven sections; education, employment, health, housing, and shelter, addressing violence, decision making and social support. Additionally, a website called ‘e-SAMVAD’ has also been launched, wherein NGOs can share their best practices, feedback, and suggestions in this field.

For more information: Economic Times

Three Ministries Collaborate for Technology Mission for Railways

The Ministries of Railways, Human Resource Development and Science and Technology department have signed a MoU, which will facilitate co-financing by all of them for identified railway projects and conduct applied research. The three ministries will cooperate and collaborate on the Technology Mission for Indian Railways (TMIR). The funding pattern of the ministries of Railway, HRD and Science and Technology will be 30%, 25%, and 25% respectively. Research on projects pertaining to safety, energy, environment and urban railways will be taken up.

For more information: Economic Times

Railway SMS Facility Extended to 1373 Trains.

The facility provided by Indian Railways of informing passengers through SMS regarding the status of train delay by more than an hour has been extended to 1373 more trains, including Garib Rath, Duranto, Jan Shatabdi, Suvidha, Hamsafar and Superfast trains. This facility was initially available only for passengers of Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Tejas and Gatimaan trains.

For more information: PIB Release

PM India Website Now Available in 11 Regional Languages

The Prime Minister’s official website has launched an Assamese and a Manipuri language version, in keeping with the demands made by people of the two states. The portal is now available in a total of 11 regional languages, in addition to English and Hindi. The measure can be seen in the light of increasing communication possibilities for people from all parts of the country with the Prime Minister.

For more information: North East Today

Database of Healthcare and Allied Professionals

A web portal has been launched by the Ministry of Health, with a database of all allied and healthcare workers, with the aim to bring about transparency and to keep a track of the number of such professionals. The repository will include professions such as anesthesiologists, art therapists, audiologists, cardiovascular technologists, etc. Owing to such mapping of manpower available in the field, better policies can be framed in this regard.

For more information: Business Standard

Online Oncology Tutorial Series

The Ministry of Health has launched a digital oncology tutorial series. It will assist doctors, including general physicians and dentists with training on the basics of oncology detection, so that early detection, diagnosis, prevention, rehabilitation and treatment of cancer can be possible. The course has been designed for a period of seven weeks, which will equip doctors with the required knowledge and skills in understanding this medical problem. The course will be conducted with the use of tools such as video lectures, case studies, assessment questionnaires and interactive webinar sessions with experts from Tata Memorial Hospital.

For more information: The Hindu Business Line

AIIMS in Bilaspur

The Cabinet has approved setting up of AIIMS in Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur region, under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. This project will use an outlay of 1,350 crores under the said scheme and will be completed in 48 months. The new AIIMS is set to have 750 beds, a medical college with a capacity of 100 seats, along with a nursing college with 60 seats.

For more information: NDTV

Ganga Gram Project

The Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry has launched the Ganga Gram project, aimed at undertaking an integrated development of all the 4470 villages along Ganga river. The project was launched at the Ganga Gram Swachhta Sammelan, which witnessed over 1400 participants, including 500 village sarpanches from states around the river.

For more information: PIB Release

Recategorization of Railway Stations

The Ministry of Railways has introduced a major revision to the manner in which stations are categorised. This step will ensure that passenger amenities are provided in a more specific and effective manner, depending on criteria of account earnings, passenger footfalls and strategic importance. Based on the type of stations, they have been further grouped under categories of non-suburban, suburban and halt. Based on the category that the stations fall under, they will be entitled to receive an uplift and better amenities.

For more information: PIB Release

Regional Conference on Good Governance and Best Practices

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, along with Assam’s Administrative Reforms Department organised a conference on good governance and best practices. Various technical sessions were held for the purpose of discussing an array of issues.

For more information: The Assam Tribune

Gram Panchayats Ranked under Mission Antyodaya

With the aim to make 50,000 villages poverty free by 2019, the Rural Ministry has completed ranking of 50,000 Gram Panchayats. Grading the Panchayats on various parameters will help the Government in identifying the gaps that exist in the system as a whole and rectify accordingly.

For more information: Financial Express

New Initiatives Marking Good Governance Day

The Union Minister for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, launched multiple initiatives marking Good Governance Day. These measures include an overhaul of the DoPT website, making it citizen friendly, a launch of e-service books so that a fully automated Human Resource Management System can be in place, and making it mandatory to file appraisal reports and Immovable Property Returns online.

For more information: PIB Release

Spot the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Logo Contest

With the intention to highlight the amount of progress made by the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao programme, and to promote and engage as many people in its idea as possible, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched ‘Spot the BBBP logo contest’. As part of this, participants are expected to upload a picture of the BBBP logo along with a tagline, with the winning entry receiving a cash prize.

For  more information: PIB Release

Atal Tinkering Labs in 1500 more Schools

Under NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission, 1500 more schools will have Atal Tinkering Labs. The labs are a part of the Atal Innovation Mission, which possesses state of the art technologies such as 3D printers, Internet of Things, and miniature electronics, to create an ecosystem for innovation in schools. This has now taken the number of beneficiary schools under the programme to 2441, since its inception in 2016.

For more information: Financial Express

Rs 2600 crore Package for Leather and Footwear Industry

A 2600 crore package to create employment opportunities in leather and footwear sector has been approved. The package will also include the implementation of Indian Footwear, Leather, and Accessories Development Programme, along with facilitating additional investments in the sector.

For more information: Live Mint

Digital Boost for over 2.82 Lakh Fair Price Shops

Electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices has been installed in over 2.82 lakh fair price shops. The technology enables monitoring of all the electronic transaction that takes place in the shops, i.e., authentication of beneficiaries and recording of distribution of foodgrains. For the purpose of installing the devices, central financial assistance has also been provided, and in case of connectivity issues, the devices function in offline mode as well.

For more information: PIB Release

Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector

The Cabinet has approved a skill development scheme for the benefit of the textile sector. Having an outlay of Rs 1300 crore for the period from 2017-18 to 2019-20, the scheme will undertake multiple measures for skill development purposes. These include the provision of placement oriented skilling programmes and skill upgradation in the traditional sectors.
For more information: Business Standard

Incentives for Speedy Implementation of Bharatmala Project

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to incentivise its employees with cash rewards, certificates of appreciation and trophies, for the purpose of completing the Bharatmala project as per schedule. The project will see an expenditure of Rs 5.35 lakh crore for the construction of 34,800 Kms of roads.

For more information: DNA

National Rail and Transport University

The Government will be setting up the country’s first railway university in Vadodara, Gujarat. The latest technology will be used to aid an increase in productivity and performance of the Railways. This establishment which will be funded by the Railway Ministry, once operational, will be able to enroll 3000 full-time students.

For more information: The Economic Times

India’s First Social Audit Law in Meghalaya

Passed in April, the Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act will facilitate the auditing of government schemes and programmes by the Government, giving these audits an official sanction and making them a mandatory act. The measure will help the Government in changing its scheme implementation procedure and rectify policy issues if gaps are identified in them.

For more information: The Indian Express

DARPAN

As part of the modernisation project undertaken by the Department of Posts, DARPAN- Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India, has been launched by the Communications Minister. The project will enable provision of low power technology solution based on ICT to branch postmasters, which will in turn help provide better services to rural customers across the country. This is aimed at achieving financial inclusion of the rural population.

For more information: Business Standard

International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography

The Cabinet has signed an agreement with UNESCO to establish an International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography in Hyderabad. The Centre will work towards capacity building for the Indian Ocean Rim countries, some African and small island countries under UNESCO’s framework, besides knowledge and information sharing which can be an important resource for UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanography Commission.

For more information: Business Standard 

BPO Schemes Result in Over 10,000 Jobs

The India BPO Promotion Scheme and the North East BPO Promotion Scheme has resulted in the creation of 10,297 jobs in small towns across 19 States and UTs, and across 5 States in case of the North East BPO Promotion Scheme. Incentives provided under the schemes and establishment of shared service centres have led to an increase in digital inclusion. Incentives for generating employment for women are also provided.

For more information: Business Today

Online Bill Tracking System in Indian Railways

CRIS has developed an online platform, Indian Railways E-Procurement System, which will aid vendors and agencies on Indian Railways to track the status of their bills at each stage, and get paid within 30 days of generation of receipts. This measure will help in facilitating e-procurement and settlement of bills in a more transparent manner. User manuals are also available online, to guide vendors in getting themselves registered on the portal.

For more information: Economic Times

Public Procurement Portal Launched for MSMEs

The Minister of State for MSME has launched a portal for the purpose of monitoring implementation of public procurement from MSEs by Public Sector Enterprises at the central level. The portal will facilitate the agendas of Ease of Doing Business and Make in India.

For more information: The Hindu Business Line

2-Day National Workshop on Role of Sakhi One Stop Centres

The Minister of Women and Child Development will inaugurate a two-day national workshop on the role and significance of Sakhi One Stop Centres in strengthening response to violence. Around 400 functionaries from such centres from across the states and UTs will participate in the workshop. The scheme, Sakhi, seeks to integrate multiple levels of assistance, from medical to legal aid, for the benefit of women affected by violence.

For more information: PIB Release

NIC-CERT Set Up to Prevent Cyberattacks

The Government has set up the NIC-CERT centre that will help in preventing and mitigating cyber attacks on government portals and networks. Sector wise CERTs (Computer Emergency Response Teams) will also be established for sectors like Power and Finance.

For more information: The Hindu

Active Trachoma Eliminated

A survey commissioned for, by the Health Ministry, has shown that active trachoma has been eliminated as an infectious public health problem, causing blindness world over. Being the first country to begin an anti-trachoma national plan in 1963, the elimination of the disease in its active form, which is seen among children, is an achievement for which the Ministry will seek a WHO certificate.

For more information: The Tribune

New Initiatives Launched to Promote Universal Health Coverage

The Minister of Health and Family Welfare has launched a number of initiatives on furthering universal health coverage. One of such initiatives is Lakshya Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative, which will seek to improve the quality of care provided in labour rooms. A mobile application to ensure safe delivery, for health workers placed in peripheral areas, has also been launched. Achievements of programs such as Mission Indradhanush, PM Dialysis Program, and AMRIT Pharmacies were also highlighted at the launch. A plan to transform 1.5 lakh sub-health care centers has also been announced.

For more information: PIB Release

International Solar Alliance

International Solar Alliance has become the first treaty-based international government organization, ratified by 19 countries, that will be based in India. The initiative, jointly launched by India and France, attempts to reduce obstacles for deploying solar projects on a large scale, by increasing cooperation and coordination between solar-rich countries lying between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. It also aims to reduce costs incurred, by aggregating demand from member nations and accordingly invite tenders.

For more information: Live Mint

10 Crore Soil Health Cards Distributed

In the first phase (2015-17), 100 million Soil Health Cards have been distributed, and the Ministry of Agriculture aims to provide them to all 120 million farm holdings by December, 2017. The National Portal of the Soil Health Card contains information regarding the online registration of soil samples and the test results, based on which, the recommendations are processed.

For more information: India Today

Maharashtra Launches Industrial Policy for Women

Maharashtra has become the first state to frame a specific industrial policy for women. The policy provides for a capital subsidy of up to Rs 1 crore, based on where the unit is located, to first generation women entrepreneurs investing in Micro, Small or Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Incentives such as lower power tariffs and higher interest subsidies will also be provided. The policy also seeks to incentivise women entrepreneurs in industrially backward regions, along with some benefits extended to existing women entrepreneurs as well.

For more information: The Indian Express

B R Ambedkar International Centre

The Prime Minister inaugurated the B R Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi. It established with the intent to develop it as an important centre to conduct research on socio-economic issues. It will also seek to promote the teachings of Dr. B R. Ambedkar.

For more information: PIB Release

National Conference on Reforms in PDS

With an aim to introduce reforms in the existing Public Distribution System (PDS), the Government organised a two-day national conference in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Representatives from 20 states participated in the Conference, along with visiting fair price shops and godowns to get an exposure to the devices and new technology being used and on-ground functioning of the system.

For more information: Business Standard

Border Protection Grid in States Bordering Bangladesh

The Home Minister has announced that the Government will establish a Border Protection Grid, in order to secure the Indian States bordering Bangladesh better. This is aimed at reducing the instances of illegal activities and creation of both physical, and non-physical barriers to entry.

For more information: The Indian Express