Rojgar And Karobar News

NIESBUD & IFC Rollout Innovative Training of Trainers’ Programme for MSME Sector

2012-02-06T06:02:00.000-08:00

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed here today in the presence of Shri Virbhadra Singh, the Union Minister of MSME between the National Institute for Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development (NIESBUD), an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, for jointly undertaking different Projects relating to entrepreneurship development in India.

As a sequel, the NIESBUD will collaborate with the IFC in conducting Training of Trainers (TOT) programme, based upon their vast experience in the area, for strengthening the training skills of MSME Trainers so that they are in a better position to impart training and thus facilitate sustenance of this vital sector of the Indian Economy. The ultimate objective is to create a cadre of Master Trainers who would, in turn, replicate the model to impart training for MSME Sector in a much bigger way.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Virbhadra Singh, the Union Minister of MSME elucidated the crucial role of the MSME Sector in achieving different socio-economic objectives. The Minister also elaborated the necessity of equipping the workforce of the country with the required skills for enabling the country to reap the demographic dividend. The Minister expressed the hope that the programmes will go a long way in improving business skills and knowledge transfer, measuring outcome through ensuring application of the acquired skills and building a professional community among MSME trainers.

The Pilot Programme(s) will be organized for the selected Trainers from across the 5 identified States/U.Ts. The Programme(s) shall involve the use of the Business Edge Training of Trainers methodology of IFC which has been rolled out in 29 countries so far. The methodology is a learning platform for small businesses that includes a comprehensive and effective approach to equip trainers with key facilitation skills.

Direct Employment in Electrical Equipment Industry Set to Increase to 15 lakh and Indirect to 20 lakh by 2012

2012-02-06T05:52:00.000-08:00

Currently, it is estimated that the electrical equipment industry provides direct employment to 5 lakh people and indirect employment to more than 10 lakh people. This requirement is estimated to increase to 15 lakh direct employment and 20 lakh indirect employment by 2012.

Even today, the electrical equipment industry is facing a major problem in getting skilled and employable manpower which is technically competent, equipped with skills and ready to be deployed. The industry is facing a looming skill gap, which is widening every year. Due to lack of skilled manpower, electrical equipment industry is suffering as it is affecting critical functions like R&D, consultancy, design and detailed engineering work.

The technical education system in the country does not promote innovative thinking. Training being provided in the ITIs is out dated and the trained students are not able to meet the aspirations of the industry. Even the qualified supervisors and engineers are not available. Those who are qualified are not well trained to meet the technical needs of the industry.

Because of the above factors the labour productivity is far less than the labour productivity in China and Korea. This is one of the important reasons for making the industry non-competitive and is also effecting the timely completion of the projects. Therefore, there is very urgent need for training the work force for all the segments of the industry and making changes in the curriculum of the polytechnics and engineering colleges.

One of the Working Groups constituted in the proposed Mission Plan for Electrical Equipment Industry will specifically look into this area and recommend the interventions required.

IEEMA has been also regularly interacting with the Department of Heavy Industry and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to set up Sector Skill Councils in the capital goods and engineering sectors.

ICSI Launches New Syllabus for CS Foundation Programme

2012-02-02T05:32:00.000-08:00

The Institute of Company secretaries of India ( ICSI), a premier National Professional body established by Act of Parliament to develop and regulate the Profession of Company Secretaries has launched a new syllabus for CS Foundation Programme today, at New Delhi. The CS Foundation programme consists of four papers viz., Business Environment and Entrepreneurship; Business Management, Ethics and Communication; Business Economics; Fundamentals of Accounting and Auditing.

Under the new syllabus, Optical Marks Recognition (OMR) based examination (Objective type multiple choice questions) would be conducted for Foundation Programme. The students are eligible to appear in the examination on the basis of self study.The requirement of Coaching Completion Certificate has been discontinued for Foundation Programme Students.

The new syllabus of Foundation Programme will be effective from 1st February, 2012 and the examination under this new syllabus will be held from December 2012 session of CS examinations.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Nesar Ahmad, President, the ICSI said that the professionalism and the knowledge base has to happen at the grass root level and the revision of syllabus is the first step towards this direction. He further said that in addition to the awareness of legal aspects the students will be taught various aspects of business environment and entrepreneurship coupled with communication skills.

Admission to CS Foundation Programme :

Foundation Programme which is of eight months duration can be pursued by 10+2 pass or equivalent students of Arts, Science or Commerce stream (Excluding Fine Arts)

Cut off dates for admission to CS course: 31st March for appearing in December Examination in the same year, and 30th September for June Examination next year.

Student can register online at our website www.icsi.in by making payment through online payment gateway /Debit Card/Credit Card.
24X7 Study through E-Learning: (http://elearning.icsi.edu)

In order to facilitate students, e-learning portal is available for the Company Secretary Foundation Programme. Students through out the country including rural and semi-urban areas as well as from other countries can avail this 24x7 hours on-line study facility as the portal has global reach.The online CS Course includes:

§ Web based Training (WBT)

§ Video Based Training (VBT)

§ Live Virtual Classroom (LVC)

Under e-learning, students can have continuous access to studies and guidance of faculties on-line. The e-learning module will enable the students to have access to learning and faculty support at any time as per their convenience.

“The Institute of Company Secretaries of India” (ICSI) is a premier National Professional body established by Act of Parliament to develop and regulate the Profession of Company Secretaries. The Institute functions under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs ,Government of India .

Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) Invites Applications For Asst Professor – 19 Posts

2012-02-02T05:27:00.000-08:00

Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) Invites Applications For Asst Professor – 19 Posts
Qualification :PG
Last Date:9/03/2012
Notification for Recruitment
Application form for Assistant Professor
Data Sheet

High Court of AP Invites Applications For Civil Judges – 35 Posts

2012-02-02T05:09:00.000-08:00

High Court of AP Invites Applications For Civil Judges – 35 Posts
Qualification:Degree (Law)
Last Date:01/03/2012
Get Details..

Applications are invited for admission to the H.P.Judicial Service Competitive (Preliminary) Examination, 2012

2012-02-02T05:03:00.000-08:00

Applications are invited on the web based Interface for applying online, from the eligible and desirous citizens of India, for admission to the H.P.Judicial Service Competitive (Preliminary) Examination, 2012, based on Multiple
Choice Questions (100% objective type), to be conducted at Shimla and Dharamsala in Kangra District (if adequate Nos. of candidates opt for Dharamsala centre), followed by main written examination and viva voce, for appointment to the following vacancies of Civil Judge, (Junior Division) in the pay scale of Rs.27,700-44,770/- :-

Details..

High Court of Madhya Pradesh Invites Applications For Court Managers – 54 Posts

2012-02-02T04:57:00.000-08:00

High Court of Madhya Pradesh Invites Applications For Court Managers – 54 Posts
Qualification:MBA, Degree (Law), B.E/B.Tech
Last Date:27/02/2012
Details..

Combined Defence Services Exam (I) – 2012

2012-02-02T04:54:00.000-08:00

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will be conducting the Combined Defence Services Examination (I) – 2012 on 12/2/2012 (Sunday) at 41 Centres all over India. The Commission has introduced the facility of generating e-Admit Card (Admission Certificate) for this examination for the convenience of candidates. Rejection Letters citing the ground(s) for rejection have been dispatched and also put on the Commission’s website http://www.upsc.gov.in In case of any difficulty faced by the candidates for downloading e-Admit Card (Admission Certificate) or the rejection letter, he/she may contact the UPSC Facilitation Counter on Telephone Nos. 011-23385271, 011-23381125 & 011-23098543 on any working day during working hours. The candidates can also send FAX message on FAX No. 011-23387310. The candidates may also get “Venue Information” through Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) of the Commission by dialing 011-23074458. No paper Admission Certificate will be sent by post.

Government of India and World Bank Sign an Agreement Worth US $130 Million to Improve Livelihoods for 300,000 Village Households in North Eastern States

2012-01-20T04:48:00.001-08:00

The Government of India and the World Bank today signed an IDA credit of US$ 130 million to finance the Government of India`s (GOI) efforts to empower rural communities in the growth-deficient North East (NE) region to improve their livelihood opportunities.

The North East Rural Livelihoods Project (NERLP) will enhance the livelihoods of the rural poor, especially women, unemployed youth and the severely disadvantaged in eight districts of the four participating states- Aizawl and Lunglei in Mizoram; Peren and Tuensang in Nagaland; South, West and 15 Panchayat wards of East District in Sikkim; and West and North Districts in Tripura.

Despite its rich natural resources and relatively good human development indicators, the North East (NE) region lags behind the rest of India in important parameters of growth. Almost 35 percent of its predominantly rural population lives below the poverty line; agricultural productivity is low; and high school drop-out rates and lack of skills have led to high unemployment among the youth. This low-growth scenario is exacerbated by problems of geographical inaccessibility, protracted insurgency in some areas, and recurring natural disasters. Recognizing the urgent need to put economic growth on track in the NE, the Government of India developed the North Eastern Region (NER) Vision 2020, endorsed by all NE states. The Vision envisages using a partnership-approach with all relevant stakeholders to make interventions responsive to people’s needs and aspirations for a better quality of life.

The agreements for the North East Rural Livelihoods Project (NERLP) were signed by Shri Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; Shri D. L. Wankhar, Project Director on behalf of the North East Rural Livelihoods Project; and Mr. Roberto Zagha, World Bank Country Director in India.

The Project seeks to develop an institutional platform for the communities, which will help them link up with the private sector, public sector, and civil society and to acquire the institutional, technical, and financial capacity needed for improving their livelihoods. Global development experience shows that absolute poverty can be overcome by equipping a member of the household (especially a youth) with employable skills. A separate activity for skills development and job placement has thus been included in the project to ensure that such opportunities are available to the rural poor. Some livelihood opportunities envisaged under the Project include natural resource management activities such as forest management, non-timber forest produce storage and processing, horticulture, preservation of riverine fishes, water harvesting and recharging of ground/surface water in the villages; community-based infrastructure activities like upgrading of small agricultural link roads, micro hydro-power schemes, wind-cum-solar mills, to name a few.

The Project comprises four main components (i) Social Empowerment; (ii) Economic Empowerment; (iii) Partnership Development and (iv) Project Management. The first component seeks to help rural communities to create sustainable institutions so that they can manage common activities around microfinance, livelihoods and natural resource management. The second component will provide funds to the community institutions to undertake various livelihood activities, as well as provide self-entrepreneurship opportunities to unemployed youth. To enable this, the Project with help develop partnerships with various formal financial intermediaries - such as microfinance institutions, commercial banks, development financial institutions such as National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and specialized funding agencies such as North East Development Finance Institution (NEDFI) – and with the private sector and civil society to allow rural communities to access technical and marketing support. The project management component facilitates the implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, learning and quality enhancement efforts of the project.

The credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm, has a final maturity of 25 years, including 5 year grace period.

Filing of Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum (IEM)

2012-01-20T04:43:00.001-08:00

Under the provisions of Press Note. 9 (1991 Series) dated 2nd August 1991, entrepreneurs are required to submit an Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum (IEM) in the prescribed form along with the prescribed fee for undertaking the manufacture of any article exempted from Industrial Licence in terms of this Ministry’s (Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion) notification No. 477 (E) dated 25.7.1991. Such a memorandum was also to be filed by industrial undertakings engaged in non-scheduled industries i.e. those not covered under the 1 (D&R) Act, 1951. On filing the memorandum with the requisite number of copies, entrepreneurs are given an acknowledgement of receipt.

It was clarified by Press Note. No. 22 (1991 Series) dated 24 the December, 1991 that the IEM was intended purely for statistical purposes and to conduct a limited post-facto check to see whether the proposed manufacturing activity requires an industrial licence or not. It was also clarified that the procedure was not in the nature of any registration involving scrutiny of the memorandum, etc.

Press Note No. 17 (1997 Series) dated 28.11.1997 further clarified that acknowledgement of the IEM, which is given on the spot on prima facie evidence of not attracting licensing provisions, cannot be construed as a clearance of approval to carry on an industrial activity contemplated in the IEM unless the provisions of statutes/regulations/notifications etc. issued by the Central or State Governments from time to time or any specific directions or Stay orders issued by the Court/Competent Authority relevant to such an activity, are also fully complied with or in no way contravened, as the case may be. Hence, it was stated that it is the responsibility of the entrepreneur to ensure that the manufacturing activity as specified in the IEM, does not come into conflict with other legal provisions or directions or standing orders. In case of doubt, the entrepreneurs were free to seek clarification/avail assistance of the Secretariat of Industrial Assistance (SIA).

In continuation of the position mentioned in the Press Notes 22 (1991 Series) & 17 (1997 Series), it is reiterated that the IEM is meant purely for statistical purposes and the acknowledgement is issued without any further scrutiny beyond checking that all the requisite columns in the Form are filled in, and the onus for compliance/non-contravention with all the rules regulations, guidelines, orders and directions etc., on the subject lie with the applicant.

Bamboo Mission Coverage Exceeds Target; 1.89 Lakh Hectare area Covered; Rs. 485 Crore Spent on Scheme so Far

2012-01-19T05:14:00.001-08:00

Target of plantation fixed under National Bamboo Mission has been achieved with the coverage of 1.89 lakh hectare area in different parts of the country. 1.76 lakh hectare area was targeted to be covered from 2006-07 to 2011-12 under the mission.

Out of 1.89 lakh hectare, 1.33 lakh hectare is in forest area and 56 thousand hectare in non-forest area. An area of 47 thousand hectare of existing bamboo plantation has been improved for higher productivity. In different States, 1194 nurseries have been established to supply quality-planting material.

Rs. 485.39 crore has been spent by the Centre on the Mission so far since its inception in 2006-07. Total allocation for the Mission for 2006-07 to 2011-12 is Rs. 568 crore.

The Mission was launched in 2006-07 in 27 States to harness the potential of bamboo crop. The key objective of the mission is to increase the productivity of bamboo from 3 tonne per hectare to 20 tonne. The major thrust areas include setting up nurseries for production and distribution of quality planting material, area expansion, rejuvenation of old and unproductive plantation, pest and disease management, bamboo markets and dissemination of latest knowledge thorough workshops, seminars and training programmes.

India Will Touch Export Target of US$ 300 Billion

2012-01-19T05:13:00.001-08:00

Anand Sharma the Union Minister of Commerce, Industry & Textiles inaugurated the Tex Trends India 2012, here today. Tex Trends India 2012, aims to provide the biggest platform in Asia to the exporters and the buyers, to bring together the best in Indian Garments and Accessories, Fabrics, Home Furnishings & Made-ups, Indian Handicrafts, Handlooms, Jute and Carpets – all under one roof. Speaking on the occasion Shri Sharma said, “Textiles Industry provides gainful employment to large number of people. The sector contributes 14% of industrial production, 4% of GDP and 10.63% of country’s export earnings. It provides direct employment to over 35 million people. The event (Tex Trends) will showcase India’s huge potential as an exporting country and will offer a great variety for its global buyers.”

Referring to recent initiatives for small weavers like loan weaver and special package amounting to about 6500 crore rupees, the Minister said that “while this is impressive, when time will come we will revisit and will do more.” The Minister expressed the concern that small weavers need to be empowered and if need be Government will do more within its own limit to support and train them.

On export performance the Minister said that given the difficult international climate India may just about touch its target of export of US $ 300 billion this year and US$ 750 billion of total trade barring the trade in services. The government has allocated more than 15000 crore in Technical Upgradtion Scheme the Minister informed that the scheme will continue in next five year plan. On Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks (SITP) the Minister informed that in the 11th Five year plan 40 Integrated Textile Parks were sanctioned, with a financial allocation of Rs. 1400 Crores. He also referred to the 24 National Textiles Corporation Mills which have been revived recently.

Smt. Rita Menon, CMD ITPO, said, “Tex Trend 2012 is the culmination of vision to showcase the best of the Textiles Industry. It is indeed emotive to see the Tex Trend shape up into a grand success. It is heartening to know that Tex Trend 2010 generated export of 185 million US $ last year. She later informed that about 1000 buyers will be visiting the fair. Tex Trends 2012 puts a window of opportunities for the industry where products from handlooms to technical textiles are under one roof. It caters to product categories in casual wear, city wear, high fashion & occasional wear, speciality garments, sportswear, knitwear & made-ups bed linen, napkins, cushion covers, floor mats, curtains, etc”.

Tex Trends India 2012 will see a huge participation from about 600 exhibitors, 10 textile Export Promotion Councils and National Jute Board and global buyers from countries including USA, UK, Turkey, Japan, Spain and South Africa. The exhibition comprises activities like fashion shows, seminars, cultural program and award ceremony. It will also provide a perfect platform to enhance the global reach of India’s wide array of textiles and clothing including Indian Garments & Accessories, Fabrics, Home Furnishings & Made-Ups & Indian Handicrafts. Smt. Kiran Dhingra, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India was also present at the occasion.

India Maritime Week Launched

2012-01-19T05:12:00.001-08:00

The Indian tonnage as part of global shipping stood at 10 million GT about a year ago. The Indian tonnage has recently crossed the 11 million GT mark. This was stated by Shri G.K. Vasan, Union Minister of Shipping while inaugurating India Maritime Week in New Delhi today.

Shri Vasan said that last year, in the month of January, the Ministry launched the Maritime Agenda 2020, a vision document spelling out the perspective plan of the Ministry for the decade 2010 to 2020. The objectives of the Maritime Agenda include creation of port capacity of about 3200 MMT to handle the expected traffic of about 2500 MMT by 2020 and bringing our ports on a par with the best international ports in terms of performance and capacity. For the shipping sector, the Agenda envisages enhancement of tonnage under the Indian flag and control and also the share of Indian ships in our EXIM trade; increasing India’s share in global ship building to 5% from the present 1%; and raising the share of Indian seafarers from the current level of 7% in the global shipping industry to at least 9% by 2015. The Ministry of Shipping is working relentlessly towards achieving the objectives contained in the Maritime Agenda, Shri Vasan added.

Shri Vasan further informed that during the last two years, 22 projects worth Rs. 6,170 crore had been awarded. The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust is about to sign an MoU with a private sector consortium for development of Phase I of the Fourth Container Terminal at a cost of Rs. 4,100 crore. Upon completion, the terminal is expected to handle 2.4 million TEUs.

Shri Vasan revealed that the Ministry had issued in 2010 a comprehensive Land Policy to be followed by all the Major Ports for putting land at their disposal to optimal use, whether for port`s own use or for earning revenue by leasing out unutilized land. A further revision of the Land Policy is underway to bring in more transparency. The captive policy, policy to prevent monopoly and the dredging policy are also part of the policy driven development of the port sector.

Shri Vasan stated that in order to promote Indian shipping, the Government has introduced tonnage tax. The Ministry of Shipping has also taken up with the Ministry of Finance the need for exemption of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on the book profit on sale of qualifying ships and its inclusion within tonnage tax regime. The inclusion of interest income on funds deployed out of tonnage tax reserve within tonnage tax regime has also been taken up.The Ministry would come out with a policy for the promotion of coastal shipping, he added.

Regarding the Government’s initiative to handle Marine accidents and pollutions Shri Vasan said that in order to put in place a mechanism to handle marine accidents, the Ministry of Shipping has obtained the approval of the Cabinet for accession to the Wreck Removal Convention and the Protocol of 1996 to the Limited Liability Convention. Shri Vasan informed that very soon, the Ministry would be seeking the approval of the Cabinet for other related conventions like the Bunker Convention which would go a long way in addressing issues of pollution arising out of marine accidents.

Shri K. Mohandas, Secretary Shipping also spoke on the occasion. This week-long event will bring both International & Indian maritime community together through conferences, dialogues, exhibitions, special trade events and social events.

e-Procurement System for Transparent Governance

2012-01-18T22:41:00.001-08:00

Procurement of goods and services is one of the important activities of the Government. Substantial amount of money is being spent towards procurement covering Goods, Works and Services across the country. In view of its importance, the Government has identified e-Procurement as one of the Mission Mode Projects (MMP) under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). Department of Commerce has given the responsibility to NIC for implementing the e-Procurement solution developed by NIC in the State Governments under the MMP. In the case of central government organizations, in pursuance to the recommendations of the Committee on Public Procurement and the decisions thereon of the Group of Ministers constituted to consider measures to tackle corruption and ensure transparency, the Department of Expenditure has taken action for setting up a Central Public Procurement Portal (CPP Portal) through NIC and move towards e-Procurement in a phased manner.

The e-Procurement System will enable disclosure of information on procurements made across various government organizations. It aims at transparency and non discrimination amongst bidders, by allowing free access to tender documents, clarifications, secure online bid submission and access to bid opening event to participating bidders from any place through Internet.

The objective under MMP is to implement e-Procurement System in all State Governments by March 2013. In the case of Central Government organizations, e-Publishing of tender enquiries and related details are made mandatory for adoption in all the Central Government organizations by April 2012.

e-Procurement System Developed By NIC

NIC has developed a generic e-Procurement solution called GePNIC (Government e-Procurement system from NIC) which can easily be adopted by the government organizations for all kinds of procurement activities such as Goods, Services and Works. The system has been designed taking into account the tender rules followed in various states and the CVC’s guidelines on tendering. The system provides secured access to the site using Digital Signature Certificate and has role based access to the departmental officials.

The main functionalities covered under GePNIC are - Registration of Government officials under different roles; Registration of Bidders; Tender Creation (Multiple Covers) and Publishing; Publishing of Corrigendum and decisions of Pre-bid meeting; Online Bid submission by the Bidders; Online Tender opening and decryption of Bids at various stages; Evaluation of Tenders; and Award of Contract.
Security Features of GePNIC

The GePNIC system has strong in-built security features including two-factor Authentication with Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs) as per IT Act, usage of Secured Socket Layer (SSL), Role-based User Access and Bid-encryption at client-end using PKI technologies. The GePNIC system has been security audited by STQC and other third party agencies.

Implementation Status
The GePNIC system is in use since November 2007 and more than 97,000 e-Tenders have been floated using the system with procurement value worth more than ` 125,000 crores.
It has been implemented successfully in 16 State Governments till Dec 2011.
Implemented for procurements under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) of Rural Development Ministry in 21 states including some of the North Eastern states.
Implemented in Directorate General of Supplies & Disposal (DGS&D), Mahanadi Coal Fields Limited (MCL), Visakhapatnam Port Trust, NICSI and others
The Central Public Procurement Portal has been launched on 1st January 2012 in association with Department of Expenditure (http://eprocure.gov.in).

Rollout Model

Under MMP, the cost towards back-end hardware, storage and related systems required at the Data Centre are taken care of by the Department of Commerce for implementation in 23 States. The end users will have to take care of only the front-end resources such as Desktop system, NICNET/Internet connectivity, Printer and Scanner. In the case of central government of organizations, NIC will take care of the back-end hardware, storage and related systems at the Data Centre. For providing handholding support, NIC has created 24x7 Helpdesk facility with a toll free number.

For additional handholding support and training, the implementing organizations can make use of the roll out agencies empanelled by NICSI, as per the needs of the organizations. The rollout model for GePNIC solution does not envisage any fee/charge from suppliers/bidders for their portal registration or bid submissions.

Draft National Policy on Electronics 2011

2012-01-18T22:37:00.000-08:00

Information Communication Technologies and Electronics have been contributing significantly to the economic growth of India and have the potential to script India’s future across the economy, society and government and epitomize what modern, resurgent and young India is capable of accomplishing. Achievements in the recent past in the IT and Telecom sectors have been spectacular and unprecedented in India’s history. Yet, it is the future that holds even more breathtaking possibilities. In October 2011, a combination of three interdependent and synergistic policies for IT, Telecom and Electronics were formulated by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Of the three sectors – IT, Telecommunications and Electronics - Electronics presents special challenges. Lack of a strong base, an adverse international environment and failure to build an enabling eco-system are among the major barriers. The Government recognizes that a stage has now been reached where not only the lofty aspirations for the future, but even sustaining growth trends in IT and Telecom is critically dependent on India’s ability to foster a strong electronics systems design and manufacturing (ESDM) base in the country. The silver lining is the strong chip design and substantial R&D capability that has developed in the country.

It is in this context that the draft National Policy on Electronics, 2011 has tremendous importance. The Policy envisions creating a globally competitive ESDM industry including nano-electronics to meet the country's needs and serve the international market. One of the important objectives is to achieve a turnover of about USD 400 Billion by 2020 involving investment of about USD 100 Billion and employment to around 28 million by 2020. This is a quantum jump from production level of about USD 20 Billion in 2009. This interalia, includes achieving a turnover of USD 55 Billion of chip design and embedded software industry, USD 80 Billion of exports in the sector. Moreover, the policy also proposes setting up of over 200 Electronic Manufacturing clusters. Another important objective of the policy is to significantly upscale high-end human resource creation to 2500 PhDs annually by 2020 in the sector.

Some of the major strategies proposed in the policy include:

· Providing attractive fiscal incentives across the value chain of the ESDM sector through Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS).

· Setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fab facilities and its eco-system for design and fabrication of chips and chip components.

· Providing Preferential Market Access for domestically manufactured/ designed electronic products including mobile devices, SIM cards with enhanced features, etc. with special emphasis on Indian products for which IPR reside in India to address strategic and security concerns of the Government consistent with international commitments.

· Providing incentives for setting up of over 200 Electronic Manufacturing Clusters with world class logistics and infrastructure.

· Creating an “Electronic Development Fund” for promoting innovation, R&D and commercialization in ESDM, nano-electronics and IT sectors including providing support for seed capital, venture capital and growth stages of manufacturing.

· To use innovation and R&D capabilities to develop electronic products catering to domestic needs and conditions at affordable price points.

· Setting up Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) specific Incubation Centres across country.

· Developing an India microprocessor for diverse applications/ strategic needs.

· Creating a 10 year stable tax regime for the ESDM sector.

· Setting up a specialized Institute for semiconductor chip design.

· Encouraging greater participation of private sector in human resource development for the sector. Also encouraging setting up of skill-oriented courses for electronic designs along with hands-on laboratories enabling graduates from other disciplines to migrate to ESDM.

· Developing and mandating standards for electronic products specific to Indian conditions of power, climate, handling etc.

· Creating linkages for long term partnership between domestic ESDM industry and strategic sectors like Defence, Atomic Energy and Space.

· Setting up of Centres of Excellence in the area of Automotive electronics, Avionics, and Industrial electronics.

· Adopting best practices in e-waste management

· Setting up of a National Electronics Mission with industry participation to advance the implementation of various programmes in this policy.

· The Department of Information Technology to be renamed as Department of Electronics and Information Technology to reflect the desired focus on electronics.

It is expected that these policy initiatives will provide necessary impetus to Electronics Manufacturing in India and help in building an environment that will nurture an Electronics System Design and Manufacturing ecosystem.

DPE Advisory on Professionalisation of Below Board Level Management in CPSEs

2012-01-18T22:35:00.000-08:00

The Department of Public Enterprises(DPE) has issued guidelines regarding professionalization of Boards of Central Public Sector Enterprises(CPSEs). These guidelines are advisory in nature and have been developed as it was noted that generally below Board level incumbents assume board level position in CPSEs.

The advisory has been issued to print the issue of professionalism of below Board level management in CPSEs into sharper focus and enable CPSEs to implement this process at the earliest keeping in view their resource availability and HR practices currently being followed. The broad advisory has the following four main components:

(A) Define: The CPSEs should identify the critical roles in their respective companies and the desired profile/competency framework of an incumbent to discharge such role(s) keeping in view the organization’s vision, mission, business strategy and assessment of requirements from future leadership. The competency framework may also be developed where the roles are undergoing a transition viz. Lower management level to idle management, middle management to senior manag3ment, senior management to board.

(B) Assess: The CPSEs should assess the performance of their below Board level incumbents by any or some of the following methods for assessments.

· Assessment Centre

· Performance Management System

· 360 Degree Feedback

· Psychometric test

It may be mentioned that the above list is only indicative and the CPSEs may utilize any other prevalent system for assessment of performance of their below Board level incumbents.

(C) Groom & Develop: The next step should be to groom and develop a select group of executives who are seen as having high potential by the concerned organization in order to fill leadership positions in the future. The developmental process could take any of the following forms depending upon the specific requirements of the CPSEs.

· Training

· Executive education

· Coaching/mentoring

· Developmental assignments

· Rotational assignments

· Action learning

· E-learning

· Individual development plan

(D) Developing a leadership pipeline and succession planning: The CPSEs need to develop a comprehensive leadership pipeline which would ensure continuous and timely supply of high performance individuals who will occupy critical leadership roles as identified by the concerned company. The suggested process of succession planning is:

i) Identification of critical leadership positions

ii) Determination of leadership criteria

iii) Identification of potential successors for each key role based on PMS, experience,

background, 360 degree feedback, assessment centre, psychometric test etc.

iv) The Board of respective CPSEs may finalize the list of potential leaders and also

provide inputs such as special assignments, job rotation etc. to enable the high

potential individuals to develop greater expertise.

In order to have a focused approach, an empowered Leadership and Management Learning Centre can also be devised keeping in view specific requirements of the concerned CPSE.

As the CPSEs have diverse backgrounds in terms of their operations, working/business environment, existing HR systems, talent cool availability, available financial resources etc., therefore each CPSE has been asked to devise a system which best caters to its specific requirement. The advisory is an overall broad framework for developing a meaningful and comprehensive system for professionalization of their Board level management.

States Seek Growth-Centric Budget in Pre-Budget Consultations with union Finance Minister

2012-01-18T22:33:00.001-08:00

The Union Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has emphasized that in a federal country like ours, States and Centre complement each other in managing the fiscal policy and the economy. He said that coordination between Centre and States is extremely vital for creating a conducive environment for growth and inclusive development in the country. He was addressing the Finance Ministers of States/UTs in a pre-Budget Meeting held here today. He stated that with a significant scaling-up of the development efforts in social sectors in the past few years, higher transfer of resources to the States and the growing integration of the domestic market, there is an urgent need for harmonising the economic policies at different levels. These pre-budget consultations serve that end, he said. The Finance Minister further stated that as the country enters the 12th Plan period in 2012-13, there is a need to balance the need for higher Government expenditure for supporting improved and inclusive growth and the imperative of fiscal prudence. The Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee said that at present, we are facing three major challenges viz. maintenance of inflation especially the food inflation at reasonable level, bringing the economy back on the path of fiscal consolidation and maintaining sustainable and inclusive growth. He sought the support of State Governments in this regard as he maintained that we can meet these challenges jointly with the mutual cooperation and support of each other. He also touched upon the issue of state of Indian and global economy and other related issues.

A number of suggestions were given by the participating Ministers in the pre-Budget Consultation process for the Union Budget 2012-13. It was stated that there was a need to focus on growth in rural areas and provide more resources and facilities in education and health sector. Some members stated that recommendation of the B.K. Chaturvedi Committee Report pertaining to reducing the number of centrally sponsored schemes should be implemented. Similarly, the recommendations of Dr Rangarajan Committee Report regarding efficient management of public expenditure should also be looked into. It was suggested that the classification of expenditure into plan and non-plan needs to be re-looked into. It was also suggested that various banking services especially regarding sanction/non-sanction of loans to individuals should be placed under Citizens’ Charter so that the time limit is fixed for delivery of specific services. The participants said that the Government should consider fiscal incentives to spur investment. Many State Finance Ministers were of the view that the Union Budget for 2012-13 should be growth-centric and employment centric as the country could not afford to have jobless growth. It was stated that emphasis should be laid on neo-natal care and supplementary nutrition for pregnant and lactating mothers. The focus should be on issues pertaining to boost agriculture production, urban infrastructure facilities and power development among others. Some Finance Ministers highlighted the need for higher investment in providing affordable housing, drinking water facilities, irrigation, flood management, welfare of minority communities and those living in hills and the north east.

Beside the Union Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee, the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena, Adviser to FM, Secretary (Economic Affairs), Secretary (Expenditure), Secretary (Financial Services), Chief Economic Advisor and Chairman, CBDT were present among others. The meeting was attended by the Chief Minister of Meghalaya; Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar and Jharkhand and Finance Ministers and other Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and NCT of Delhi.

Income Tax Department Directed to Launch Special Drive for Verifying High Value Transactions

2012-01-18T22:32:00.000-08:00

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has directed the Income Tax department to launch a special drive, from 20th January to 20th March 2012, for verifying high value transactions (investments / deposits / expenditure) from persons who are not assessed to income tax or who have not furnished their PAN while entering into such transactions. In an instruction issued today, the CBDT issued proforma for query letters and responses to be issued to the high value investors / depositors / spenders.

Addressees will be required to furnish their PAN if they already have one, or apply immediately for PAN to NSDL / UTIISL if they do not have one. They will also be required to explain the source of the high value investments / deposits / expenditure, and whether these are properly accounted for / explained in the income tax return filed by them. Persons who have not properly accounted for the high value transactions, are required to pay due taxes and file the income tax return within this financial year, i.e. by 31st March, 2012. For furnishing the information called for, visit to the tax office is not necessary. Information can be sent by speed / registered post.

In some cases, the tax officials may also visit the premises of the high value investors / depositors / spenders. In such cases, the taxpayer should verify the identity of the tax official before furnishing information in the prescribed proforma. In case of any grievance or complaint, taxpayer may contact the assessing officer or the additional / joint commissioner or the commissioner concerned. The visiting tax official is required to furnish the telephone numbers of his supervisory officers.

There are penal consequences of not obtaining PAN or reporting it. For not paying proper taxes, there can be penalty up to 300% of the unpaid tax, and also prosecution in some cases.

India And Japan to Cooperate in Infrastructure Sector

2012-01-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

Takeshi Maeda, Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism (MLITT), Government of Japan along with a high level delegation from the Policy Bureau of the MLITT called on Dr. CP Joshi, Minister of Road Transport and Highways in New Delhi today. Both the Ministers discussed bilateral cooperation in infrastructure sector with special reference to road construction

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is in the process of finalizing a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) proposed to be signed with its Japanese counterpart Ministry for Land, Infrastructure, and Transport & Tourism. The proposed MOC will enable Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to exchange technical knowledge and expertise in the Road Transportation and Highways sector including capacity building and advanced technology for roads road transport management system and intelligent transport system.

Japanese companies have been participating in National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) of India as “Supervision Consultants”. Four projects have already been completed where their performance has been satisfactory. India is also a beneficiary of Japanese cooperation through Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Mr. Maeda’s visit is in the context of State visit by Mr. Yoshihiko Noda, Prime Minister of Japan to India wherein a Joint Statement was issued by both the Prime Ministers, inter-alia recognizing the bilateral co-operation in the infrastructure sector including cooperation in the development of expressways in India and capacity building,

Project of six laning of Vijaywada –Gundugolanu section of NH 5 in Andhra Pradesh

2012-01-12T04:47:00.000-08:00

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure today approved the implementation of the project of six laning of Vijaywada –Gundugolanu section of NH 5 in Andhra Pradesh under NHDP Phase V on DBFOT basis in BOT (Toll) mode of delivery.

The total project cost estimated will be Rs.2011 crore out of which Rs.327 crore will be for the land acquisition, rehabilitation, resettlement and pre-construction.

The total length of the project will be 103.590 kms.

The project, on completion, will reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying between Vijayawada – Gundugolanu. It will also increase the employment potential for the local labourers for the project activities.

The main objective of the project is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh, increase the capacity of Golden Quadrilateral corridor and also to reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying between Vijayawada- Gundugalanu. The National Highway No.5 is an important link connecting Kolkata to Chennai, which is part of the Golden Quadrilateral Corridor. This will facilitate road users, particularly traffic on Chennai-Kolkata section of Golden Quadrilateral passing through Guntur, Krishna and West Godavari districts and Chennai- Hyderabad and Kolkata – Hyderabad section.

The project is covered in the districts of Guntur, Krishna and West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in the meeting held in October 2006 approved six laning of 6500 km of four-lane National Highway comprising 5700 km of Golden Quadrilateral and 800 km of other sections at a cost of Rs.51,210 crore under NHDP Phase V. Of the total investment required, Rs.35,692 crore is expected to come from private sector and the balance Rs.5,518 crore from Government funding for bridging the viability gap and for the cost of land acquisition, utility shifting, consultancy etc. The average cost per km after acceptance of the recommendations of B.K. Chaturvedi Committee by the Government is now Rs.10 crore /km for NHDP Phase-V projects.

Project of four laning of UP/Haryana border – Yamunagar – Saha – Barwala - Panchkula section on NH 73 in Haryana

2012-01-12T04:45:00.001-08:00

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure today approved the implementation of the project of four laning of UP/Haryana border – Yamunagar – Saha – Barwala - Panchkula section on NH 73 in Haryana under NHDP Phase III on DBFOT basis in BOT (Toll) mode of delivery.

The total project cost estimated will be Rs.1021.16 crore out of which Rs.86.23 crore will be for the land acquisition, rehabilitation, resettlement and pre-construction.

The total length of the project will be 104.770 kms.

The project, on completion, will reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying between UP/Haryana border – Yamunanagar – Saha – Bawala - Panchkula. It will also increase the employment potential for the local labourers for the project activities.

The main objective of the project is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in Haryana and also in reducing the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying betweenUP/Haryana border- Yamunanagar – Saha – Barwala – Panchkula. Besides, the traffic congestion in the towns of Yamunagar, Saha, Shahazadopur and Dangri Barwala will be reduced due to the construction of bypasses. It will also increase the employment potential for the local labourers for the project activities.

The project is covered in the districts of Yamunagar, Ambala and Panchkula in Haryana.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in the meeting held in March 2005 approved four/ six laning of 4000 km of National Highways under NHDP Phase IIIA on BOT basis. Subsequently, the Government approved additional stretches in May, October 2006 and April 2007 for upgradation under NHDP Phase IIIA and IIIB. The total length approved under NHDP Phase III A and Phae IIIB are 4815 km and 7294 km respectively and, therefore, as such, the total length approve under NHDP Phase II ( Phase IIIA + IIIB) is 12109 kms. The sub-project of UP/Haryana border – Yaunanagar – Saha – Barwala – Panchkula under consideration for four laning of 104.770 km long stretch of UP/Haryana boder – Yamunanagr – Saha – Barwala – Panchkula Section in Haryana on NH 73 in BOT (Toll) mode is one of the approved stretches under NHDP Phase III.

The Steering Committee on Athletics for Olympics, 2012 constituted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Sports) has approved the foreign training of following 9 Athletes along with their coaches under National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) Scheme. These Athletes have either qualified for Olympics 2012 or are likely to qualify. S.No. Name of the Athlete Country where training is to be imparted Status 1. Mr. Vikas Gowda USA Already qualified for Olympics 2012 2. Mr. Om Prakash Singh Hungary Already qualified for Olympics 2012 3. Ms. Krishna Poonia USA Already qualified for Olympics 2012 4. Ms. Mayookha Johny Berlin, Germany Already qualified for Olympics 2012 Along with her Coach Mr. G.R. Shyam Kumar 5. Ms. Preeja Sreedharan Kenya Yet to qualify Along with their Coach Mr. J.S. Bhatia 6. Ms. Kavita Raut Kenya Yet to qualify 7. Ms. Sudha Singh Kenya Yet to qualify 8. Ms. O.P. Jaisha Kenya Yet to qualify 9. Ms. Harvant Kaur South Africa Along with her Coach Mr. Pramveer Singh The Committee has also approved the Calendar for Training & Competitions (CTC) submitted by Athletic Federation of India for the period from January, 2012 to June, 2012 and a CTC for Domestic Coaching Camps and Competitions. The Committee also decided that from now on and up until Olympics, 2012 foreign exposure to Athletes must be restricted to only those Athletes who have either already qualified or are very likely to qualify for London, 2012. The Committee also considered the issue of Coaching with special emphasis on Indian Coaches and Foreign Coaches. Reviewing the performance of Indian Coaches, the Committee noted that all Indian Coaches are performing satisfactorily. The Committee approved the appointment of Sh. Gurdev Singh as Indian Coach for the Athletes Team. The Committee also asked Sports Authority of India (SAI) to examine the list of foreign coaches of the Indian Athletics team and check whether these foreign coaches are actually being utilised for imparting customised training to the Core Probables only and also review whether appropriate foreign coaches have been hired by SAI to impart event specific training to the concerned Core Probables. The Committee also discussed the preparation of Indian Athletics team for the London Olympics, 2012. The Committee discussed the Probables who are likely to qualify for the Olympics, 2012 and to focus all energy on them so that better results could be obtained in the event.

2012-01-12T04:44:00.000-08:00

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure today approved the implementation of the project of four laning of Kiratpur – Ner Chowk section on NH 21 in Himachal Pradesh under NHDP Phase III on DBFOT basis in BOT (Toll) mode of delivery.

The total project cost estimated will be Rs.2356.20 crore out of which Rs.537.37 crore will be for the land acquisition, rehabilitation, resettlement and pre-construction.

The total length of the project will be 84.380 kms.

The project, on completion, will reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying between Kiratpur and Ner Chowk. It will also increase the employment potential for the local labourers for the project activities.

The main objective of the project is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh and also in reducing the time and cost of travel for traffic, particularly heavy traffic, plying between Kiratpur and Ner Chowk. The National Highway No. 21 is an important link connecting national capital and tourist destination of Manali in Himachal Pradesh. Also the NH 21 is a major link to Leh in Ladakh. .

The project is covered in the districts of Rupnagar, Bilaspur and Manali in Himachal Pradesh.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in the meeting held in March 2005 approved four/ six laning of 4000 km of National Highways under NHDP Phase IIIA on BOT basis. Subsequently, the Government approved additional stretches in May, October 2006 and April 2007 for upgradation under NHDP Phase IIIA and IIIB. The total length approved under NHDP Phase III A and Phase IIIB are 4815 km and 7294 km respectively and, therefore, as such, the total length approve under NHDP Phase II ( Phase IIIA + IIIB) is 12109 kms. The sub-project of Kirat pur – Ner Chowk under consideration for four laning of 84.380 km long stretch of Kiratpur –Ner Chowk section of NH 21 in Himachal Pradesh under BOT (Toll) mode is one of the approved stretches under NHDP Phase III in place of some of the deleted projects of NHDP Phase III.

Domestic car sales up 8 pc, bikes 7 pc in Dec

2012-01-10T04:40:00.001-08:00

Domestic passenger car sales jumped by 8.49 per cent to 1,59,325 units in December 2011 compared to 1,46,856 units in the same month in 2010.

According to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Tuesday at the 11th Auto Expo here, motorcycle sales in last month grew by 7.27 per cent to 8,07,829 units from 7,53,102 units in the same month previous year.

Total two-wheeler sales in December 2011 increased by 8.52 per cent to 10,91,982 units from 10,06,289 units in the same period of previous year.

Total sales of commercial vehicles jumped by 14.50 per cent to 72,192 units from 63,048 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said.
Total sale of vehicles across categories registered a growth of 8.45 per cent to 14,13,709 units in December 2011 as against 13,03,516 units in the same month of 2010, it added.

C-DOT Manufacturers’ Conference

2012-01-10T04:19:00.001-08:00

Sam Pitroda, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations today inaugurated a two day C-DOT Manufactuters’ Conference. The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier telecom technology development centre of the Government of India has organized this Conference in an effort to rejuvenate the Indigenous Telecom R&D and Manufacturing Eco-system.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri V V R Sastry, Executive Director, C-DOT said that this Conference is aimed at reminding the telecom fraternity that C-DOT has the competencies and the technologies to give greater support to indigenous R&D and Manufacturing in telecom sector. He further said that C-DOT has been holding the Manufacturers’ Conferences regularly in the past as a forum to announce new products and discuss issues of mutual interest.

C-DOT has been instrumental in setting up a requisite production infrastructure for state-of-the-art technology manufacturing in the country with associated eco-system through a comprehensive C-DOT Transfer-of-Technology (ToT) Package. This has been the hallmark for converting R&D concept from lab-to-manufacturing and then to the field deployments to fulfill the objectives of National Telecom Policy (NTP)-2011.

The Centre had been in the technology forefront and significantly contributed in the Indian Telecom Network digitization, bridging the digital divide between urban and rural, establishing strong telecom manufacturing infrastructure and employment generation.

It also develops standards based contemporary telecom technologies, best suited to Indian needs, and transfers them to the industry through a Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreement. The ToT package of C-DOT is comprehensive and tailor-made to enable the technology recipient to go into production very quickly. C-DOT effectively hand holds everything right from setting up of manufacturing infrastructure, to ironing out manufacturing problems, finding reliable vendors or solving problems reported from field.

Starting from the single mission of providing a dial tone, C-DOT has grown, over the last 26 years, to the level of a national centre for Research and Development in communication technology in many areas –Satellite communications, IN, ATM, DWDM, NMS, Wireless Broadband, GPON, NGN and Mobile Cellular systems.

The Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) is expected to play a lead role in bringing broadband pipes to rural India and new infrastructure like multi-dwelling units, Campuses, large networks and Public utility buildings.

The Shared GSM Roaming Access Network (SG-RAN) product, based on sharing of active GSM infrastructure, will bring affordable mobile telephony to the rural market.

C-DOT’s umbrella Network Management System (NMS) solutions have made it possible to manage networks with elements from multiple vendors.

The Data Clearing House (CLH) solution of C-DOT is commercially deployed for reconciling the roaming records between BSNL and MTNL.

The quality of service and price to performance ratio of C-DOT are competitive and attractive in global competition. C-DOT has already signed ToT Agreements for GPON with Indian Telephone Industries Ltd. (ITI), Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), VMC Systems Ltd, United Telecoms Ltd. (UTL), Sai InfoSystem (India) Limited, S M Creative Electronics Ltd. etc. for indigenous manufacturing. In addition, ToT has also been signed with M/s Tejas Networks Limited for customized development.

Shri Ajay Shankar, Secretary NMCC, Prof S V Raghavan, Scientific Secretary, Office of (Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA), Shri S R Rao, Additional Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Shri R K Upadhyay, CMD, BSNL and Shri Kuldip Singh, Director (T), MTNL also attended.

Need for Developing New Instruments, like Credit Enhancement to Enable Increased Financing for Infrastructure Projects, Says FM

2012-01-05T05:15:00.000-08:00

The Union Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has emphasized on the need for developing new instruments, like credit enhancement for providing increased financing for infrastructure projects in the country. The Finance Ministerwas speaking after launching the Pilot transaction under Credit Enhancement Scheme, a major initiative of Indian Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) here today. The Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee said that this alternative mechanism of fund availability to infrastructure project developers would go a long way in development of infrastructure bond market through creation of new class of investors like Insurance Companies and Pension Funds. This would also free-up Banks’ capital for financing new projects, the Minister added.Shri Mukherjee also lauded the efforts and initiatives of IIFCL, LIC of India, HUDCO and Seven major public sector Banks on coming together to create a mechanism to facilitate faster and smoother availability of funds to infrastructure sector in the country.
On the occasion, the approval letter from IIFCL to the first pilot transaction under this scheme was handed over to GMR Jadcherla Expressway, an SPV of GMR group. To further support the financing of infrastructure projects and smoothen the availability of credit to them, an MoU was also signed among IIFCL, LIC of India and seven major Public Sector Banks namely State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, and IDBI to create a financing mechanism for direct financing of infrastructure projects. The financing mechanism created through MoU would enable developers to fast-track the achievement of financial closure and hence commence the construction of projects more quickly. This mechanism would provide a single window to the developers to approach multiple lending institutions which would save time and money on appraisal and sanction of projects.
An MoU was also signed between IIFCL & HUDCO on the occasion to support initiatives for infrastructure financing in India through joint pooling of respective complimentary resources and expertise of both the organizations.
Under Credit enhancement, IIFCL in association with Asian Development Bank (ADB) would provide credit rating enhancement to the bond issue programme of an infrastructure company to make it an eligible investment grade instrument mainly for long-term investors such as insurance companies and pension funds through extension of Partial Credit Guarantee. This would be a win-win product for all players in the financial market – the lenders, the investors, and the developers. It would help address twin constraints in bank lending viz. Asset-liability mismatch and prudential group and sectoral exposure norms and would simultaneously free up capital for creation of new assets. The developer would also derive benefit from the scheme by way of reduction in interest cost, stability and certainty of debt obligations due to fixed rate of interest in place of floating interest rate of banks, and freeing up of exposure limits of banks on them. The scheme would enable channelizing of long-term funds from fairly untapped resources such as insurance companies and pension funds to the infrastructure sector and would also help in development of corporate bond market in the country.
Shri D.K. Mittal, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (MoF) while welcoming the gathering appreciated the banks, LIC, HUDCO and IIFCL for providing a new facilitation and financing mechanism for infrastructure developers and also lauded the launch of First Pilot Transaction under Credit Enhancement Scheme of IIFCL.
Also present on the occasion Shri D.K.Mittal,Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Shri Rakesh Singh, Additional Secretary, Financial Services, Shri S.K. Goel, Chairman & Managing Director, IIFCL, Chairman, HUDCO, Chairman of PFRDA and LIC, CMDs of seven PSBs including SBI, IDBI,Canara Bank,PNB,Bank of Baroda,Union Bank of India, Bank of India and other senior Government officials, senior Bankers and Infrastructure project Developers among others.

Villages Electrified through Renewable Energy Sources

2011-12-12T05:25:00.000-08:00

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing Remote Village Electrification Programme for providing financial support for lighting / basic electrification using renewable energy sources in those remote unelectrified census villages and unelectrified hamlets of electrified census villages where grid extension is not found feasible by the state governments and hence are not covered under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana. Details of such villages/hamlets covered through renewable energy sources in the country during the last five year are given below:

Sl. No.	State	No. of villages & Hamlets covered
1.	Andhra Pradesh	13
2.	Arunachal Pradesh	867
3.	Assam	1691
4.	Chhattisgarh	243
5.	Gujarat	36
6.	Haryana	241
7.	Himachal Pradesh	20
8.	Jammu & Kashmir	43
9.	Jharkhand	162
10.	Karnataka	30
11.	Kerala	49
12.	Madhya Pradesh	351
13.	Maharashtra	228
14.	Manipur	57
15.	Meghalaya	72
16.	Nagaland	11
17.	Orissa	584
18.	Rajasthan	163
19.	Tripura	539
20.	Uttarakhand	76
21.	Uttar Pradesh	184
22.	West Bengal	5

State-wise details of funds sanctioned and released to various states during the last five years under the programme are also given below:

Sl. No.	State	Funds released (Rs. in Lakh)
1.	Andhra Pradesh	31.47
2.	Arunachal Pradesh	476.09
3.	Assam	11050
4.	Chhattisgarh	1621.34
5.	Delhi	24.96
5.	Goa	9.74
6.	Haryana	68.55
7.	Jammu & Kashmir	5954.69
8.	Jharkhand	4424.99
9.	Karnataka	125.98
10.	Kerala	339.04
11.	Madhya Pradesh	2792.14
12.	Maharashtra	2220.207
13.	Manipur	520.59
14.	Meghalaya	229.73
15.	Nagaland	83.477
16.	Orissa	4878.44
17.	Rajasthan	2128
18.	Sikkim	8.04
19.	Tamil Nadu	66.76
20.	Tripura	2295.57
21.	Uttarakhand	619.428
22.	Uttar Pradesh	1969.19
23.	West Bengal	2785.24

Under the Off-grid Solar Applications Scheme of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, the Ministry provides a subsidy of 30% of project cost subject to a maximum of Rs. 150/- per watt peak for installation of standalone rural SPV power plants with battery storage in a micro grid mode/local distribution network. The Scheme is open to all the States and Union Territories. So far one project of 20kWp capacity standalone SPV micro grid project has been installed in the State of Jharkhand.

The Ministry is also promoting distributed / off grid power programme for meeting unmet demand of electricity in rural areas through biomass gasifier systems in association with state governments, NGOs, village level organizations, institutions, entrepreneurs etc. Central Financial Assistance of Rs. 15,000 per kilowatt is being provided for installation of biomass gasifier with 100% producer gas engines besides support for laying local distribution network after successful installation and commissioning of the system. So far, 60 gasifier systems of 32kWe with 100% producer gas engines using rice husk and other agriculture residues have been set up for providing unmet demand of electricity through local distribution network in various villages / hamlets in Bihar.

Targets for Construction of National Highways

2011-12-12T05:22:00.001-08:00

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has fixed the targets for construction of national highways in the country. Details of target and achievement for construction of National Highways by NHAI during the last three years and current year are as under:

Year	Target in km	Achievement in km
2008-09	3519	2205
2009-10	3165	2693
2010-11	2500	1780
2011-12	2500	823 (upto October, 2011)

Progress in implementation of National Highway Development Projects has been affected mainly due to poor performance of some contractors, delays in obtaining forest/wild life/ railway clearances, law & order problems in some states apart from delay in land acquisition. In order to expedite implementation of projects Regional Offices each headed by Chief General Manager have been set up by NHAI for close monitoring of implementation of projects. Measures have been taken to expedite the land acquisition and shifting of utilities etc. Achievement of targets is being monitored closely. Projects are periodically reviewed at field and at Head Quarters.

All NHDP projects are implemented as per norms laid down in Indian Roads Congress guidelines/Ministry’s specifications. For each project, quality assurance plan is prepared by the contractor/concessionaire as well as supervision consultant, which is being followed during the execution. Supervision Consultants/Independent Engineers monitor the projects for maintaining quality on regular basis.

During periodic site inspections, if any unsuitable/sub-standard quality of materials or works is noticed, the same is got rectified as per standards and specifications of National Highway works and this is a continuous process.

Growth Rate of MSMEs

2011-12-12T05:21:00.000-08:00

The latest Census (Fourth Census) was conducted with reference year 2006-07 wherein the data was collected till 2009 and the results published in 2011. The growth in major parameters pertaining to registered MSMEs viz. Number of Enterprises, Employment and Gross Output, as per Third All India Census of Small Scale Industries with reference year 2001-02 and Fourth All India Census of MSMEs shows annual compound growth rate of 2.61% , 8.60% and 30.26% respectively.

MSMEs are highly diverse in their nature of activity and operate across the non-agricultural segment of economy. Specific growth targets for the Sector during 12th plan is likely to be on par with that of National Economy, as these enterprises are dependent on the macro economic factors influencing the economy and industry.

To facilitate promotion and development as well as to enhance competitiveness of MSMEs in domestic and global market, so as to achieve higher growth rate of MSMEs, ongoing initiatives include:

‘Policy Package of Stepping up Credit to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),’ in the year 2005, which envisages public sector banks to fix their own targets for funding SMEs in order to achieve a minimum 20 per cent year-on-year growth in credit to the SME sector.

The Prime Minister had set up a Task Force to address the issues of the MSME sector which has since submitted its report. The Task Force has made various recommendations in the areas of credit, taxation, labour issues, infrastructure/technology, skill development, marketing, etc., for providing an impetus to the growth of the sector, which are under various stages of implementation and is an ongoing process. Also, the recently announced Public Procurement Policy, which envisages 20% of the total procurement to be made by Central Ministries/Departments/PSUs would be from MSEs, aims to promote these industries.

Further, the Ministry is implementing various schemes/programmes relating to credit, infrastructural development, technology upgradation, marketing, entrepreneurial / skill development, etc., for assisting the MSE sector in meeting the challenges. Some of the major schemes / programmes being implemented are Credit Guarantee Scheme, Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme, Performance and Credit Rating Scheme, Cluster Development Programme, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme, Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme and Market Development Assistance Scheme.

Export of Leather Products

2011-12-12T05:19:00.000-08:00

As per available information the production and export of leather products during last three years is as follows:

Production:

Item	Unit	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
Finished leather	Th.Pcs	28248	27840	26300
Leather footwear Indian type (IPP)	Th.Pairs	6592	6819	8031
Leather footwear Indian type (SSI)	Th.pairs	192815	202331	210658
Leather footwear Western type	Th.Pairs	20471	19893	19457
Shoe Uppers	Th.Pairs	10344	9334	9580
Leather Garments	Rs. Mn	2856	3409	3719
Leather Goods	Rs.Mn	561	519	653

(Source: Website of Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation)

Export :

	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Exports in Million US$	3599.46	3404.57	3844.86

(Source: Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI & S)

The decline in exports during the year 2009-10 was due to the adverse impact of the global financial crisis.
The Government is implementing Indian Leather Development Programme (ILDP) in the XI Five year plan with an outlay of Rs.1251.29 crore in order to promote the growth of the sector in critical areas namely capacity modernization & technological upgradation, environment management, human resources development etc., For promotion of exports, Government of India has identified leather sector as a Focus Sector in Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14 which, inter- alia, includes facilities such as a) allowing duty free import of critical inputs to the extent of 3% of FOB value of export realization in the previous year b) duty credit scrip of 4% for notified leather products and footwear & 2% duty credit scrip for finished leather under Focus Product Scheme c) Zero Duty Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme (EPCG) to facilitate import of machinery d) 1 % duty credit scrip under Status Holders Incentive Scrip Scheme for status holders in leather sector (except finished leather segment) for import of capital goods under actual user condition.

As a result of various steps taken by the Government, the export of leather products has increased in the year 2010-11.

Export of Human Hair

2011-12-12T05:17:00.001-08:00

The global import of Human Hair during 2010 was US$ 1339.00 Million against which Indian export was to the tune of US$193.90 Million .

Details of export of Human Hair from India during the last three years is as under:-

Year Export (US$ million)

2008-2009 179.11

2009-2010 193.90

2010-2011 181.08

India’s Major five export destinations of Human Hair are:-

(US$ million)

S.No.	Country	2008-2009	2009-2010	2010-11
1.	China	80.37	86.26	97.88
2.	Brazil	17.71	26.72	23.29
3.	Hong Kong	15.32	14.69	16.76
4.	Italy	17.66	17.63	11.33
5.	USA	9.46	10.80	13.74

To promote the export of all goods including Human Hair, the exporters are encouraged to take benefits of the schemes like Advance License Scheme (ALS), Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB), Market Development Assistance (MDA), Market Access Initiative Scheme(MAI) etc. The exporters are also encouraged to participate in Trade Fairs/ Exhibitions in various countries to procure new business opportunities.

Spice Park in Kota

2011-12-12T05:16:00.001-08:00

India is facing stiff competition from major competing countries like Vietnam, China, Guatemala, Indonesia, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria, Iran etc in different spices.

In the case of spices like Pepper, Cardamom, Ginger, Garlic etc., Indian prices are uncompetitive in the world market, the major reason being the high productivity and low cost of production in major competing countries. However, due to the intrinsic quality of Indian spices, the produce from India fetches a premium price in the world market.

The Government has given in principle approval for establishing the Spice Park at Kota under Assistance to States for Infrastructure Development of Exports (ASIDE) Scheme with a financial support of Rs.10.00 Crore. The Govt of Rajasthan has allotted 12.14 ha of land in Nimana village of Ramganjmandi, Kota District for setting up of Spices Park on a free hold basis. The Spices Board has entrusted the work to M/s KITCO, Ltd as the consultant of the project. The spices park at Kota is aimed at setting up of infrastructure and processing facilities for the Seed Spice, especially Coriander and Cumin.

Decline in Mineral Production

2011-12-12T05:15:00.000-08:00

The overall index for mining sector has shown growth of 7.90% in 2009-10 and 5.25% in 2010-11, where as non-fuel and non-coal minerals, the index has declined marginally by 0.35% in 2009-10 as compared to 2008-09 and then increased by 0.41% in 2010-11. However, in the year 2011-12(April-September) the overall index for mining sector has decreased by about 1% and for non-fuel and non-coal minerals by 1.45%, as compared to same period in the previous year. As per returns filed by miners under Mineral Conservation and Development Rules,1988, the main reasons for decline in production are restrictions on export, temporary discontinuance of mining, lack of environmental clearance, shortage of labour, and restrictions on grant of transport permits by State Government.

Power Generation and Alloaction to States

2011-12-12T05:13:00.001-08:00

The details of demand and supply of power in the country during April to November, 2011 are given below:

Energy Requirement:	613,869 Million Unit
Energy Availability:	569,081 Million Unit
Energy Shortage:	44,788 Million Unit (7.3%)
Peak Demand:	127,724 Mega Watt
Peak Met:	114,233 Mega Watt
Peak Shortage:	13,491 Mega Watt (10.6%)

During 2011-12 (upto November), the gross electricity generation from Central and State Sector Power Stations in the country was 242,676 Million Unit and 241,633 Million Unit respectively.

Power from Central Generating Stations to beneficiary States/ Union Territories is allocated in accordance with formula for allocation of power which is being treated as guidelines from April, 2000. As per these guidelines, allocation of power is made to the States/ UTs in two parts, namely firm allocation of 85% and 15% unallocated power for allocation by the Government for meeting the urgent/ overall requirement. The firm allocation includes allocation of 12% free power to the affected States and 1% for local area development in case of Hydro Power Stations and 10% (not free) power to the home State in case of Thermal and Nuclear Power Stations. The balance 72%/ 75% power is distributed amongst the States / UTs of the region in accordance with the pattern of central plan assistance and energy consumption during the previous five years, both factors having equal weightage. Central plan assistance is determined in accordance with the Gadgil formula, in which population of the states is also taken into consideration. In case of joint venture projects, the equity contributing state gets benefit in firm allocation in accordance with their equity contribution.

The aforementioned guidelines for allocation of power from Central Generating Stations are applicable to the generating stations for which PPAs have been signed upto 5th January, 2011. After 5th January, 2011, power is to be procured by the Distribution Companies/ Utilities through tariff based competitive bidding.

In 13 new projects of NTPC, Central Government has in January, 2011 approved allocation of 50% of power to ‘Home’ State, 15% unallocated power at the disposal of Government of India and 35% to other constituents (except ‘Home’ State) of that region on the basis of extant guidelines on allocation of power giving equal weightage to central plan assistance and energy consumption by each State of the Region for preceding 5 years. Similar dispensation has also been provided by the Government in January, 2011 in respect of new projects of Nuclear Power Corporation. Central Government has also approved 50% allocation of power from Barethi Power Project of NTPC to Madhya Pradesh and 35% to Uttar Pradesh.

Public-Private Pertnership Scheme

2011-12-12T05:07:00.000-08:00

The Central Government provides up to 20% viability gap funding under the “scheme for financial support to Public-Private Partnership in Infrastructure”. The Central Government has added Education and Health as sectors eligible for viability gap funding under the Scheme for “Financial Support to Public Private Partnership in Infrastructure”. The Central Government is envisaging to set-up 2500 Model Schools under Public-Private Partnership mode to supplement the efforts of State Governments.

Public-Private Partnership in the socio-economic sector, particularly in health and education, fall within the domain of the state governments. Some initiatives have been taken in various States to attract private investment in health and education sector.

There are no built-in-deficiencies in the working or attitude of the State Governments. Since the subject is new, various models are being developed to attract private investment in the health and education sector and it will take some time for the system to evolve.

Draft Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy Circulated to Stake Holders

2011-11-30T23:56:00.001-08:00

Patented drugs are not defined in the drugs (Price Control) Order, 1995 (DPCO, 1995). Under the provisions of the DPCO, 1995, prices of 74 scheduled bulk drugs and the formulations containing any of these scheduled drugs are controlled. National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) fixes or revises prices of scheduled drugs / formulations as per the provisions of the DPCO, 1995.

Anti-cancer medicines are non-scheduled drugs, i.e. not covered under DPCO, 1995. In respect of non-scheduled drugs, manufacturers are at liberty to fix the prices by themselves without seeking the approval of Government / NPPA.

Department of Pharmaceuticals has prepared a draft National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy 2011 (NPPP-2011) based on the criteria of essentiality and requirements as stipulated by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The draft Policy envisages bringing the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) – 2011 and associated medicines under price control. The draft NPPP-2011 has been circulated among the concerned Ministries/Stake holders asking them for the feedbank.

Investment in Closed/Sick Fertilizer Units

2011-11-30T23:54:00.001-08:00

At present, there is no suchproposal under consideration of the Government to invite foreign firms toinvest in the closed/sick fertilizer units in order to revive them. This was stated by the Minister of State forChemicals and Fertilizers, Shri SrikantKumar Jena.

The details of estimated scrap valueof machinery and equipments of the closed units of the Hindustan FertilizerCorporation Limited (HFCL) and Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited (FCIL)along with the estimated land value as estimated by Project & DevelopmentIndia Limited (PDIL), premier fertilizer consultancy organization are as under:

ASSET VALUATION (Rs. Crore)

ITEMS	FCIL				HFCL
ITEMS	Ramagundam	Gorakhpur	Talcher	Sindri	Durgapur	Barauni	Haldia
Land	120.45	367.70	143.21	554.65	192.99	128.37	236.69
Usable Items	28.78	13.68	31.87	29.66	26.78	20.08	#
Other items	10.13	8.11	10.00	42.25
Non-usable items	73.19	42.42	74.74	143.45	39.84	37.89	37.55
Total Value	232.55	431.91	259.82	770.01	259.61	186.34	274.24

#Rs. 12 cr to be added in case a fertilizer plant isset up using the existing assets

He said, setting up of new ureaplants of minimum 1.15 million ton per annum capacity at each of the 08 closedunits of HFCL and FCIL is part of the revival plan.

Majority of the employees of HFCLand FCIL have already been released under Voluntary Separation Scheme(VSS). HFCL now has only 20 employees onits roll and the amount being paid to them is around Rs. 1.00 crore annum. Similarly, FCIL has 27 employees with total annual expenditure on thembeing Rs. 1.65 crore.

Income Tax and Wealth Tax Settlement Commission

2011-11-30T22:49:00.001-08:00

A High-Level Alternative Dispute Resolution Body
Mandated to resolve tax disputes by serving as a neutral mediator.
Consensus rather than conflict, as the main approach.
Objective is to allow non-habitual tax offenders to come clean.
Orders of the Commission are final and conclusive.

Achievements by the Income Tax Settlement Commission
35 years of successful performance as apex ADR body for direct tax disputes.
With 4 benches at Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Delhi, it has resolved over 4500 cases of tax disputes in last 10 yrs and over 15000 cases in its life-time.
Reduction of Tax Compliance costs
Each case before Commission may involve proceedings for an average number of 6 Assessment years.
Each assessment year may have assessment and Penalty proceedings and many procedural actions.
These proceedings are to be defended before various Appellate authorities, which may take 5-7 years.
In its life-time Commission could help reduction of at least 1.35 lakhs tax proceedings of various nature.

Achievements:Significant Revenue Collection
The incremental revenue gain for the Income Tax Department after protracted litigation before various appellate authorities is insignificant.
On the other hand, the revenue gain through disclosure before the Commission and subsequent enhancement by the Commission is significant.

Revenue Gain through Settlement (Data for the year 2010-2011)

In 400 cases settled by the Commission-
Returned income was: Rs. 206 Crores.
Income finally settled by the Commission was: Rs. 595 Crores.
Net Revenue Gain was: 187%.

Generally, upto 20% of the additions to income made by the Income Tax Authorities get sustained before the appellate authorities/Judiciary.
Time-Bound Conclusive End To Tax Disputes
Settlement Commission is required to pass settlement order in respect of all proceedings included in an application within 18 months.
In the regular channel, each proceeding may take several years to conclude.

Assured Upfront Tax Payment
Before filing settlement application, taxpayer is required to pay full amount of tax and interest on the income disclosed before the Commission.
In the regular channel, actual full tax collection is not assured till proceedings are sustained by the appellate authorities, which may take 5-7 years.
Net present value of tax collected very high in case of Settlement Commission.
Vision of Settlement Commission
3 new Benches announced by the Finance Minister in 2011. Likely to be set up in New Delhi(2) and Mumbai(1).
Use of IT to monitor settlement application
Interactive website (www.itscindia.gov.in) with cause-list.

Mineral Production during September 2011

2011-11-25T03:51:00.001-08:00

The index of mineral production of mining and quarrying sector in September 2011 was lower by 4.86% compared to that of the preceding month. The mineral sector has shown a negative growth of 5.64% during September 2011 as compared to that of the corresponding month of previous year.

The total value of mineral production (excluding atomic & minor minerals) in the country during September 2011 was Rs.13658 crore. The contribution of petroleum (crude) was the highest at Rs. 5626 crore (41%). Next in the order of importance were: coal Rs 2800 crore, iron ore Rs.2490 crore, natural gas (utilized) Rs. 1452 crore, lignite Rs. 311 crore and limestone Rs. 267 crore. These six minerals together contributed about 95% of the total value of mineral production in September 2011.

Production level of important minerals in September 2011 were: coal 299 lakh tonnes, lignite 26 lakh tonnes, natural gas (utilized) 3879 million cu. m., petroleum (crude) 31 lakh tonnes, bauxite 995 thousand tonnes, chromite 258 thousand tonnes, copper conc. 11 thousand tonnes, gold 172 kg., iron ore 126 lakh tonnes, lead conc. 13 thousand tonnes, manganese ore 196 thousand tonnes, zinc conc. 114 thousand tonnes, apatite & phosphorite 185 thousand tonnes, dolomite 412 thousand tonnes, limestone 188 lakh tonnes, magnesite 18 thousand tonnes and diamond 2061 carat.

In September 2011 the output of apatite & phosphorite increased by 28.44%, diamond 19.27%, manganese ore 16.82%, bauxite 8.88%, chromite 8.05%, copper conc. 5.34%, magnesite 5.16 percent. However the production of lignite decreased by 2.61%, natural gas (utilized) 2.85%, dolomite 3.13%, limestone 3.27%, petroleum (crude) 4.00%, coal 8.59%, iron ore 8.77%, gold 8.99%, lead conc. 9.36% and zinc conc. 9.36 percent.

Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011.

2011-11-25T03:50:00.001-08:00

The Government set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into the proposed new draft Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011. The Cabinet considered the recommendation of the GoM and has approved the draft MMDR Bill, 2011 on 30th September 2011. The benefit sharing model proposed in the new draft MMDR Bill, 2011, is applicable for all mining leases, including those in tribal areas, and provides for:

suitable compensation for all exploration activities to be payable to the person or family holding occupation or usufruct or traditional rights on the area of exploration,
all Mining Lease holders, including public sector undertakings and private sector companies to pay annually into a District Mineral Foundation set up at District level –
a sum equivalent to royalty in case of major minerals (other than coal)
a sum equivalent to 26% of profit in case of coal minerals;
and in case of minor minerals a sum prescribed by the State Government.
A portion of the amount paid into the District Mineral Foundation shall be used to make recurring payments to people affected by mining related operations.
All mining companies to allot at least one share at par to each person of the family affected by mining, so as to give a sense of ownership in the enterprise.
All mining companies to provide employment or other compensation as stipulated under Rehabilitation &Resettlement policy.

The proposed provision for sharing of benefits with the local population would enable monetary benefit to families affected by mining related activities, creation, management and maintenance of local infrastructure in areas affected by mining related operations, and implementing measures under sustainable development framework.The District Administration would also be represented in the Governing Council of the District Mineral Foundation for management and utilization of the funds for benefit of the local population affected by mining activities.

Launching of 4G And 5G Technologies

2011-11-25T03:47:00.001-08:00

Milind Deora, the Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology informed Rajya Sabha that 3G spectrum was auctioned through simultaneous ascending e-auction during April 2010. Four (4) Blocks of 2X5 MHz of spectrum in 2.1 GHz band has been auctioned in 17 service areas and five (5) Blocks 2X5 MHz of spectrum has been auctioned in five (5) Telecom Service Areas including BSNL/MTNL.

As per the provisions of Notice Inviting Applications issued for 3G auction, the following rollout obligation conditions were incorporated.

(1) Roll-out obligations for 3G Spectrum:

(i) Metro service area:

The licensee to whom the spectrum is assigned shall be required to provide required street level coverage using the 3G Spectrum in at least 90% of the service area within five years of the Effective Date.

(ii) Category A, B and C service areas:

The licensee to whom the spectrum is assigned shall ensure that at least 50% of the District Headquarters (“DHQ”) in the service area will be covered using the 3G Spectrum, out of which at least 15% of the DHQs should be rural Short Distance Charging Areas (“SDCA”), within five years of the Effective Date. Further:

* the operator shall be permitted to cover any other town in a District in lieu of the DHQ;

* coverage of a DHQ/ town would mean that at least 90% of the area bounded by the municipal/ local body limits should get the required street level coverage;

* the DHQ shall be taken as on the Effective Date;

* the choice of DHQs/ towns to be covered and further expansion beyond 50% of DHQs/ towns shall lie with the operator.

TRAI has released pre-consultation paper on 4G technologies on 10-02-2010 to identify the issues involved in allocation and pricing of spectrum for such services and issues related to licensing. Based on views received from the stakeholders, TRAI has released a consultation paper on 19-08-2011.

MCA Initiatives to Simplify Procedures under Companies Act,1956 & LLP Act, 2008

2011-11-11T22:24:00.001-08:00

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has in order to improve service delivery to the Corporate Sector recently taken initiatives for further simplifying procedures under the Companies Act, 1965 and the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008. These include:

(a) Company Law Settlement Scheme: The scheme was initially notified w.e.f. 12.08.2011 to enable the Companies failing to file their annual returns and financial statements to file the same. This measure has elicited a good response and so far 61875 documents have been filed yielding the revenue of Rs. 7.71 crore. As the demand for availing of this concession is persistent, a decision has been taken to extend this one time measure till 15.12.2011.

(b) Integration of Director’s Identification Number (DIN) with PAN data base: The MCA has already simplified the procedure of online allotment of DIN on the basis of verification with PAN data base through a practicing professional. To remove duplicate DINs, the existing DIN holders have been called upon to update their PAN details, and the time limit has for the purpose has been extended till 15th December, 2011.

(c) Reducing Delay in approval of e-forms by Registrar of Companies: Earlier, the Registrar of Companies (ROCs) were allowed a period of 120 days for approval of e-forms, inclusive of time taken, if any, for seeking clarifications from the companies concerned. To reduce the pendency and to expedite approvals, the time limit has been reduced to 60 days.

(d) Improvements in the LLP e-Governance Service: Filing of annual statement of accounts by Limited Liability Partnership has now been brought up under the ‘Straight Through Process ‘(STP) procedure. Further, documents filed by LLP are now available for public viewing.

Inclusion of International Civil Aviation in European Union-Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) and its Impact

2011-11-11T22:20:00.001-08:00

Regardless of Non-EU States’ objections and concerns, EU had unilaterally passed the regulation to include aviation in the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The EU-ETS affects all aircraft operators regardless of where they are based, provided that they operate flights departing from and / or arriving at an aerodrome in the EU.

Government of India has always opposed this unilateral scheme. The Ministry of Civil Aviation had written a letter to the European Commission on 16th May 2011, stating that the Government’s decision is that the EU-ETS or any such market based measure could only be imposed after bilateral agreements with the EU Member States.

Failing to get any positive response from EU, Ministry of Civil Aviation of India had convened a meeting of all non-EU member States in ICAO Council along with a few other member States of ICAO in New Delhi on 29-30 September 2011 to develop a coordinated and unified stand against the scheme. The meeting was very successful and a Declaration was unanimously adopted urging the EU not to subject non-EU carriers to this scheme. The Declaration was signed in New Delhi by Representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates.

Consequently in the Council of ICAO in Montreal, India has taken a lead to organize a strong group of ICAO non-EU Council Members to join hands to oppose EU ETS in its current form. The Representative of India to the Council of ICAO presented a working paper for ICAO Council using the elements of New Delhi Declaration of September 2011 which was endorsed by 26 Member States in the 194th session of the Council of ICAO on 2nd November 2011. The 26 non-EU member States supporting the working paper are Argentina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.

After a long debate in the Council of ICAO the Working Paper presented by India and supported by 25 other States was fully adopted by the ICAO Council. The ICAO council also adopted the New Delhi Declaration of 30th September 2011. The action points in the Working Paper adopted by ICAO Council are as follows:

ICAO Council to:

a) take note of the implication of inclusion of aviation in the EU ETS with regard to provisions of the Chicago Convention;

b) continue working on the basis of paragraphs 13 and 18 of Resolution A37-19;

c) re-affirm the importance of the role of ICAO in addressing aviation emissions;

d) welcome and adopt the Joint Declaration adopted in New Delhi on 30 September 2011;

e) urge the EU and its Member States to refrain from including flights by non-EU carriers to/from an airport in the territory of an EU Member State in its emissions trading system; and

f) urge EU and its Member States to work collaboratively with the rest of the international community to address aviation emissions.

This is a historic decision taken by ICAO against the unilateral measure introduced by EU and vindicates the stand of India and other countries opposed to this scheme. Further action in this regard has to be initiated by the EU and the international community is eagerly awaiting EU`s decision in light of the ICAO Council Resolution taken on 2nd November 2011.

New High Level Appointments in Indian Railways

2011-11-10T04:07:00.000-08:00

General Managers (GMs) of 13 Zonal Railways and Railway Production Units have been appointed with effect from 9.11.2011 as per the list given below:

1. Shri Indra Ghosh, Chief Operations Manager/Northern Railway as General Manager/East Coast Railway, Bhubneshwar.

2. Shri S.K. Jain, Chief Administrative Officer (Construction), Western Railways as General Manager of Central Railway, Mumbai.

3. Shri Mahesh Kumar, Additional Member (Signal), Railway Board as General Manager, Western Railway, Mumbai.

4. Shri A.K. Verma, Chief Mechanical Engineer, Central Railway as General Manager, South Eastern Railway, Kolkata.

5. Shri Arunendra Kumar, Additional Member (Production Unit), Railway Board as General Manager, South East Central Railway, Bilaspur.

6. Shri G.C. Agarwal, Principal Chief Engineer, Eastern Railway as General Manager, Eastern Railway, Kolkata.

7. Shri Varun Bharthuar, General Manager, Eastern Railway as General Manager, East Central Railway, Hajipur.

8. Shri S.V. Arya, Additional General Manager, Central Railways as General Manager, West Central Railway, Jabalpur.

9. Shri G.N. Asthana, General Manager, West Central Railway as General Manager, South Central Railway, Secunderabad.

10. Shri B.N. Rajasekhar, Addl. Member (Planning), Railway Board as General Manager, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala.

11. Shri Abhay Kumar Khanna, Addl. Member (Budget), Railway Board as General Manager, Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai.

12. Shri Rajeev Bhargava, Addl. Member (Works) as General Manager, Rail Wheel Factory, Bangalore.

13. Shri Jagdev Kalia, Chief Electrical Engineer, South Central Railway as General Manager, Central Organization for Railway Electrification (CORE), Allahabad.

Innovation: Changing the Indian MSME Landscape

2011-11-05T05:19:00.001-07:00

Innovation is the key factor, given the current global scenario, the only way that Indian MSMEs can remain competitive is by adopting innovation as a key business strategy.The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has taken several initiatives to encourage MSMEs to continuously innovate in terms of creation of new products, new processes and new services.

The ‘National Innovation Council’ was constituted by the Prime Minister to encourage and promote innovation in every sector of the economy. MSME sector got special emphasis under this Innovation Council and a Sectoral Council was constituted under the Chairmanship of Secretary (MSME) to evolve an enabling framework that would help transform novel innovative ideas to successful business ventures.

National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme

The MSME Ministry is implementing the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme (NMCP), the nodal programme of the Government to develop global competitiveness among Indian MSMEs. There are ten components under NMCP targeted at enhancing the entire value chain of MSME sector. It includes programmes like establishment of new Tool Rooms, enhancing of product and process quality, cost reduction through lean manufacturing techniques, design clinic, etc. Out of these 10 components, one component i.e. incubator scheme, especially caters to the need of supporting innovative ideas. So far the Ministry has already identified 76 institutions and has helped them financially for incubating innovative ideas. This is an on-going scheme and more and more innovative ideas would be incubated to become successful commercial ventures.

Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme

To encourage innovation and entrepreneurship at the grass root level, a flagship programme i.e. Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) is being implemented by the Ministry. Under this programme, margin money assistance, upto 35% of the project cost, is provided to entrepreneurs desirous of setting up an enterprise. The Ministry also implements the Rajiv Gandhi Udhyami Mitra Yojana (RGUMY) whereby handholding support and assistance is provided to potential first generation entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship Development Institutes

The National Knowledge Commission had identified that the most important external barrier to innovation, as perceived by the MSMEs, is skill shortage. The three national level

Entrepreneurship Development Institutes under the Ministry, NIESBUD, Noida, NIMSME, Hyderabad and IIE Guwahati alongwith the MSME Development Institutes and Training Centres spread across the country organize comprehensive training programmes to upgrade existing skills and to create new skills in workers and technicians of existing units as well as unemployed youth. Specific tailor made programmes are also being organized for the skill development of socially disadvantaged groups like OBC, SC, ST, minorities and women.

Web Portal on ‘International SME Development’

In this globalised era, proper understanding of the international markets is essential for MSMEs to remain competitive globally as well as domestically. The Ministry, through various schemes, facilitates the participation of Indian MSMEs in international exhibitions & fairs for getting the much required exposure to the world markets. This helps not only in increasing the exports from this sector but also helps the MSMEs to acquire latest technologies and understand international best management practices. National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry, is maintaining a dedicated web portal on ‘International SME Development’ which facilitates information and sustainable collaborations amongst SMEs of 28 countries.

Adoption of innovative practices may entail additional investment by the entrepreneurs. In order to facilitate technology upgradation of Small Enterprises to meet international competition, the ministry provides capital subsidy on investment for technology upgradation through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro & Small Enterprise (CGFTMSE). Under the scheme, credit facilities extended to micro and small enterprises are guaranteed upto 75% of the amount in the event of a default. The Performance & Credit Rating Scheme of the Ministry is a very unique way of empowering the small enterprises to face internal and global competition. Under this Scheme, financial assistance to the extent of 75% is provided for rating of MSMEs by a third party national or international rating agency. This rating benefits the units in many ways like establishing their creditworthiness which helps them in accessing quicker and cheaper credit. It also certifies their performance ability which would help procuring orders from foreign and other bulk buyers and. It also helps the entrepreneur in analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of unit and may prompt him in bringing changes to improve upon their operating performance.

The Ministry has also taken several other initiatives to promote innovation in the MSME sector. With a view of recognizing the efforts and achievements of MSMEs, National Awards are given annually to selected entrepreneurs and enterprises. The awards are given for various categories in Research & Development Efforts, Entrepreneurship & Quality Products. The MSMEs are also encouraged and financially assisted through various schemes to adopt ISO certification, Bar Coding, Patents, better designs etc.

a holistic end-to-end e-Governance project :MCA21

2011-11-05T05:18:00.000-07:00

As a regulator and enabler for corporate growth in the country, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been working on two key initiatives, to reform the legislative framework and to embark on e-Governance initiatives that will facilitate service delivery in a user friendly, efficient and economic manner.

The Ministry has implemented a holistic end-to-end e-Governance project called ‘MCA21’ for registry related services carried out in the offices of Registrar of Companies, Regional Directors and MCA Headquarter, specifically focusing on starting a business, doing business and closing of business. The project has infused a new era in Corporate-to-Government interaction. It was formally launched on March 18, 2006 by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Some of the key aspirations of the stakeholders, including convenient, ‘anytime, anywhere access’ has been achieved by harnessing the right technology tools in the project. The project has provided the stakeholders easy and secure access to all MCA services and has improved the speed and certainty of services sought. It has set an example in bringing about transparency, quickness and efficiency in the functioning of the Government, and is now regarded as amongst the most successful IT initiatives within the Government.

The project has been running successfully for the last five years with continuous steps for improving the G2B and G2C services. The following table depicts the service maturity and efficiency achieved through this transformation.

Serviceand Impact on Service Delivery efficiency

S. No.	Nature of Service	Prior to MCA21	After MCA21	Current status
	Starting business
1	Obtain Director Identification Number (DIN)	-	2-7 days	Online
2.	Name Approval	7 days	1 day	Online/ 1 day
3.	Company Incorporation	15 days	1-2 days	1-2 days
	Doing business
4.	Change Of Name	15 days	3 days	Online
5.	Charge Regn. / Modifications	10-15 days	2 days	Online-instantaneous in most cases
6.	Annual Return	60 days	Instantaneous	Instantaneous
7.	Balance Sheets	60 days	Instantaneous	Instantaneous
8.	Change of Directors	60 days	1-3 days	Instantaneous
9.	Change of Regd. Office address	60 days	1-3 days	Instantaneous
10.	Increase in Authorised Capital	60 days	1-3 days	Within 24 hours
	Citizen Service
11.	Certified Service	10 days	2 days	2 days
12.	Inspection of Public Documents	Physical appearance	Online	Online

The key achievements of the project are procedural uniformity across all offices, transparency, speed and certainty of service delivery, with ease of access, elimination of malpractices inherent with a paper-based system, empowerment of the citizen-investor with authentic data about companies and introduction of e-stamping making incorporation completely paperless. Recent improvements include trouble free peak filing, introduction of a new process to obtain Director Identification Number (DIN) online, a new Complaint Monitoring System, payments by NEFT/RTGS mode from any bank, digitally signed certificates and approvals and introduction of Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL).

Future steps of MCA21 that are being envisaged are integration with trademark registry, introduction of details of unpaid/ unclaimed dividends, integration of LLP e-Governance with MCA21, integrating second cycle of MCA21 comprising Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), Official Liquidator (OL), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Company Law Board (CLB), introduction of e-auction and e-Court for OL functions.

OMCs register Huge Losses; Borrowings at unprecedented levels

2011-11-04T05:14:00.000-07:00

The average price of Indian basket of crude oil, which was $85.09/barrel in 2010-11, has now increased by 30% and the average price in the current financial year is around $110/barrel. To worsen the situation Rupee has depreciated from Rs.45/$ to over Rs.49/$ in the recent months. The under-recoveries of OMCs increase by about Rs. 8,000 crore annually on account of every Re.1 depreciation.

In spite of the increase in RSP on 25.6.11 in prices of the three sensitive petroleum products and reduction in customs and excise duties, the Oil Marketing Companies are incurring under-recovery of Rs.8.58 per litre on HSD, Rs 25.66 per litre on PDS Kerosene and Rs. 260.50 per cylinder on Domestic LPG. The total Under-recovery of oil PSUs on sale of 03 products for the year is expected to be around Rs.1,32,000 crore compared to Rs.78,190 crore last year.

The under-recovery of OMCs for the first half of 2011-12 is Rs. 64,900 crore. Despite a cash support of Rs.15,000 crore by the Government and a contribution of Rs.21633 crore by the upstream oil companies, the OMCs have declared huge losses for the first half of 2011-12. The combined losses of BPCL and HPCL for the first half are more than Rs.12,000 crore and IOCL is also likely to be in red, if no further cash assistance is announced.

The crisis faced by OMCs is evident by unprecedented level of borrowings of Rs. 1,29,989 crore necessitated by need for working capital and dollar requirements for payment of funds for import of crude.

The OMCs are working in extremely adverse conditions to provide uninterrupted supplies of petroleum products to the citizens across the length and breadth of the country.

Government E-Payment System to be Inaugurated; will Bring Transparency; Facilitate Paperless Transaction and Reduce Overall Transaction Cost

2011-10-29T00:44:00.001-07:00

The Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance has developed a fully secured Government e-payment system for direct credit of dues from the Government of India into the account of beneficiaries using digitally signed electronic advice (e-advice) through the ‘Government e-Payment Gateway’ (GePG). The Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the Government e-Payment System on Monday. Government e-Payment Gateway (GePG) is a portal which enables the successful delivery of payment services from Pay & Accounts Offices (PAOs) for online payment into beneficiaries’ accounts in a seamless manner under a secured environment. GePG serves as middleware between COMPACT (Computerized Payment and Accounts) application at Pay & Accounts Offices and the Core Banking Solution (CBS) of the agency banks/RBI to facilitate paperless transaction, reducing overall transaction cost and promoting green banking.

This system will bring transparency and expedite direct payments from central paying units relating to subsidies to the users and consumers of fertilizer, kerosene and cooking gas which is already a declared objective of the government. This will increase the adoption of other e-services due to its efficiency and ease-of-use for all Central Government Ministries and Departments for online payment transactions. The digitally signed e-advices uploaded by the PAOs on GePG portal is downloaded by the concerned banks to credit the beneficiaries’ accounts through CBS/NEFT/RTGS as applicable. The e-payment system will save time and efforts in effecting payments and will facilitate elimination of physical cheques and their manual processing. Further the constraints of manual deposit of cheque by the payees into their bank account would also be eliminated. The system will also have online reconciliation of transactions and efficient compilation of payment accounts.

Under the traditional system of government payments, paying units in central government are using cheque, cash, DD or in few ministries ECS for payments to employees and vendors. In the past few years RTGS and NET faculties provided by RBI are also being utilized for central government payments in various ministries through the banking channel.

Rice Procurement Crosses 341 Lakh Tonne

2011-10-28T00:08:00.000-07:00

Rice procurement in the Kharif Marketing season 2010-11(October-September) has crossed the mark of 341 lakh tonne. According to statistics 341,84,740 Mts. rice has been procured by the various government agencies by October 27, 2011. While last year procurement by this date was 318,83,509 Mts.

Andhra Pradesh has led the States by procuring 96,10,417 Mts. followed by Punjab 86,34,553 Mts. and Chhatisgarh 37,39,993 Mts. Uttar Pradesh and Orissa have also contributed significantly by procuring 25,53,687,Mts and 24,75,926 Mts. respectively.

MMTC Records Highest ever Trade Turnover Pays 25% Dividend for 2020-11

2011-10-28T00:06:00.001-07:00

A cheque for Rs. 24.83 crore was presented today to Shri Anand Sharma, Minister for Commerce, Industry & Textiles by Smt Vijaylaxmi Joshi, Additional Secretary, Department. of Commerce and CMD, MMTC Limited towards 25% Final dividend for fiscal 2010-11. MMTC, the largest international trading company of India, at its 48th Annual General Meeting held on 30/9/2011, had declared dividend payout of 25% for 2010-11 on the enhanced post Bonus & Split equity. During the year 2010-11 MMTC had sub-divided its equity shares from face value of RS.10/- each to Re. l/- each in the ratio of 1: 10 and had also issued bonus shares in the ratio of 1: 1.

MMTC, currently holding the no. 1 rank amongst trading companies in India, concluded fiscal 2010-11 with its highest ever topline for the seventh consecutive year and achieved a business turnover of Rs. 68,855 crores which includes Exports of Rs. 3,694 crore, highest ever Imports of Rs. 63,301 crore and domestic trade of Rs. 1,860 crore. MMTC also earned net profit after tax of Rs. 122 crores.

Proposal for Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project approved

2011-10-26T00:49:00.001-07:00

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the proposal for scheme of Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) with the World Bank assistance.

Total cost of the scheme is Rs.21,000 crore (Rs.1968 crore for State component and Rs.132 crore for Central component), comprising Rs.1680 crore will be funded by World Bank, Rs.393.60 crore will be funded by the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) states and balance Rs.26.4 crore through central sector scheme.

It would provide rehabilitation of 223 Dams in the States of Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu along with the dam safety institutional strengthening in these four States and Strengthening of the Dam Safety Organizations at national level in Central Water Commission.

The project will improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams with reduced risk of failure. The primary beneficiaries are both urban and rural communities dependent on the concerned reservoirs for their water supply and livelihood as well as all downstream communities, who could be placed at physical and/or operational risk if dam safety is compromised. With the institutional strengthening component, Dam Safety Organisations (DSOs) will become effective organisations that can take the lead in overseeing that dams remain safe from a structural and operational point of view.

MSP for Rabi crop of 2011-12

2011-10-26T00:48:00.001-07:00

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the MSP for Rabi Crops of 2011-12 season to be marketed in 2012-13. The MSP of wheat has been fixed at Rs.1285 per quintal marking an increase of Rs.165 per quintal over the last year’s MSP.

The MSP of barley has been raised by Rs.200 per quintal and fixed at Rs.980 per quintal.

The MSP of gram and masur (Lentil) has been fixed at Rs.2800 per quintal each marking an increase of Rs.700 per quintal and Rs.550 per quintal respectively over their last year’s MSPs.

The MSPs of rapeseed/mustard and safflower have been increased by Rs.650 per quintal and Rs.700 per quintal respectively over the last year’s MSPs and have been fixed at Rs.2500 per quintal each.

Infrastructure Development for Food Processing

2011-10-26T00:47:00.001-07:00

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved setting up 15 new Mega Food Park Projects under the Infrastructure Development Scheme (in addition to 15 ongoing projects), involving a total Government grant of Rs. 787.50 Crore.

The setting up of 15 new Mega Food Parks will result in creation of state of the art infrastructure in major parts of the country with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlets. The projects are expected to bring about substantial reduction of wastage, value addition, employment generation and increased income for the farmers.

The Scheme will be implemented in a market driven manner commensurate with both global and national demands. Innovative supply chain management will be the key to implementation of this scheme.

Expressions of Interest (EOI) will be invited from the prospective entrepreneurs. As per the procedure laid down in the scheme guidelines, the most suitable proposal will be selected The timeline for project implementation in respect of each Mega Food Park is 24 months from the date of release of first tranche of the first instalment.

Each Mega Food Park is expected to generate the following financial outcomes:

i. Expected to benefit 6000 farmers / producers directly and 25000-30000 farmers indirectly,
ii. Estimated investment in each project will be about Rs. 100 Crore. in common facilities and will leverage an additional investments about of Rs. 250 Crore.

iii. Expected annual turnover of each project will be Rs. 500.00 Crore.

iv. Each Mega Food Park will generate about 40,000 direct and indirect jobs.

v. In each Project, an estimated number of 30-40 food processing industries are expected to be set up.

The Infrastructure Development Scheme for Mega Food Parks aims at providing excellent infrastructure facilities for food processing industries along the value chain from farm to market. The Scheme operates in hub and spoke model under which there will be farm proximate Collection Centres (CC) and Primary Processing Centres (PPC) which will facilitate for cleaning, grading, sorting and packing facilities, dry warehouses, specialised cold stores including pre-cooling chambers, ripening chambers, reefer vans, mobile pre-coolers and mobile collection vans.

Supply side constraints major reason for rising inflation: FM

2011-10-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today attributed the supply side constraints the major reason for the rising inflation. Speaking on the side lines of a function, Mr Mukherjee expressed concern over the inflation rate crossing double digit mark. It has reached 10.6 per cent. The Finance Minister added that appropriate measures will be taken to tackle the problem.

Earlier,addressing the foundation day function of Vijaya Bank in New Delhi, the Finance Minister said 500 million skilled man power will be required to meet the challenge of inclusive growth in next 20 years.He said banks will have to play an important role in financial inclusion and the government had instructed banks to extend banking facilities to all the villages by March next year.These facilities will be available to the villages having population of 2000 or more. He said 208 villages have been already covered

Govt takes final decision on sugar export: Thomas

2011-10-21T05:42:00.001-07:00

The Government will take the final decision on sugar export in the first week of next month. Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas told reporters in New Delhi today that his Ministry is preparing a note on the sugar produced this season.

The note will be submitted to the Empowered Group of Ministers EGoM by the end of this month. Mr Thomas said, the EGoM will take the ultimate decision on the quantum of sugar to be allowed for export.

Stating that there is difference of perception over sugar production, Mr. Thomas said that his Ministry estimates the production to be around 246 lakh tonnes while the Agricultural Ministry has pegged the figure at nearly 250 lakh tonnes. Replying to questions on rising food inflation, Mr. Thomas said that cold storage facilities and transportation, needs to be improved to cut additional costs.

Earlier, releasing the Operational report of the Food Corporation of India for the year 2010-11, Mr. Thomas emphasised the need for bringing in transparency in the functioning of the Corporation. According to the report, there has been an increase of over 27 lakh million tonnes in storage capacity of FCI in 2010-11 compared to previous year.

CBDT Makes Discussion Paper on Tax Accounting Standards Public

2011-10-20T23:42:00.000-07:00

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has made public the discussion paper on accounting standards, to be known as Tax Accounting Standards (TAS), for feedback from all concerned.
The proposed TAS, while enabling smooth transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), will provide certainty on accounting issues for tax purposes as it removes alternatives and will cover all tax accounting issues.
The TAS, applicable only to computation of taxable income under the Income Tax Act 1961, will be different from accounting standards issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and notified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs under the Companies Act 1956. However, separate books of account are not required to be maintained under TAS, thus reducing compliance burden on businesses.
A Committee of experts from the government and professionals was constituted by the CBDT in December 2010 to suggest accounting standards for tax purposes that could be notified under section 145 of the Income Tax Act 1961. The Committee submitted its interim report in August 2011, suggesting the above measures. At present, section 145 provides that the method of accounting for computation of income under the head “Profits and gains of business or profession” and “Income from other sources” can either be the cash or mercantile system of accounting. The Finance Act, 1995 empowered the Central Government to notify Accounting Standards for any class of taxpayer or for any class of income.

The discussion paper is available on the following web-sites:finmin.nic.in ; incometaxindia.gov.in ; www.irsofficersonline.gov.in

Govt. approves construction of 1000 km expressways under NHDP

2011-10-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

The government has approved construction of 1,000 kilometer of expressways under its National Highways Development Project- NHDP at a total cost of 16,680 crore rupees.Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in a statement said, the constructions of roads will be carried out through public private partnership.

The projects include 400 km long Vadodara-Mumbai route, 66 km long Delhi-Meerut expressway, 334 km long Bangalore-Chennai, and 277 km Kolkata-Dhanbad expressways. In addition, there is a proposal to develop the National Expressway-2 which will connect National Highway-1 near Kundli in Haryana and terminating on NH-2 near Palwal.There is also a proposal to establish the Expressways Authority of India on the pattern of the National Highways Authority of India -NHAI on which discussion is on.

India Is Committed to Low Carbon Growth Strategy in Power Sector

2011-10-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

India is actively pursuing a low carbon growth strategy in the Power Sector to address climate related issues. This was stated by the Minister of Power Shri Sushilkumar Shinde at the International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministerial Meeting in Paris today. Shri Shinde was making an intervention during the session on “Accelerating the Transition to a Secure, Low Carbon Energy Future’ organised as part of the meeting. IEA meeting was attended by energy ministers of IEA member countries including USA, UK, France, Australia, Germany, Spain, Norway, Turkey, and EU and 8 partner countries including India, Russia, China, South Africa, Chille, Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico. Pointing out that India’s future energy mix is likely to be coal dominated due to endowment of domestic coal reserves, Shri Shinde said that India is moving towards Super Critical Technology in coal based thermal plants along with rapid induction of other Clean Coal Technologies. He said that during the 13th Five Year Plan (2017-2022), super critical technology would dominate the power scenario in India.

The Minister highlighted that India has taken policy initiatives for the development of renewable energy and the implementation of energy efficient improvement programmes. He said the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), which is under implementation aims at adding 20,000 MW solar capacity by 2022. He added that the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions in India are mandating a minimum Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) to the power distribution utilities of their respective states. Shri Shinde informed that in order to facilitate capacity addition based on renewable energy, a mechanism of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) or “Green Certificates” has recently been introduced in India.

Stating that the Indian Government has given due emphasis to energy efficiency, Shri Shinde said that 37 ESCOs have been accredited by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). He said a National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency is under implementation while a “Perform-Achieve-Trade” (PAT) Scheme for energy intensive sectors has been launched recently. Reaffirming that it is common responsibility to work for the poorest of the poor, Shri Shinde said that the policy initiatives taken by the Government of India and the Prime Minister’s National Action Plan on Climate Change would guide low carbon growth in India during the next decade.

Changing the Indian MSME Landscape

2011-10-19T22:26:00.001-07:00

The Micro, Small and Medium enterprises sector has a key role cut out in shaping India’s GDP growth in the 12th Plan period. Addressing the two-day, inaugural function of India Global Summit on MSMEs 2011- Innovation: Changing the Indian MSME Landscape here today the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Virbhadra Singh said that the MSME Sector has contributed immensely towards the Indian growth story enabling the country to maintain a steady rate of growth even in the face of worldwide economic decline/meltdown. He said that even though adversely affected by the depressing global economic environment especially since 2008, the performance of the Sector has been somewhat consistent.

Elaborating on the achievements of the sector, Shri Virbhadra Singh said the Sector consisting of 26.1 million units, as of today, provides employment to over 60 million persons. The Sector through more than 6,000 products contributes about 8% to GDP besides 45% to the total manufacturing output and 40% to the exports from the country. The Sector is expected to perform an equal important role during the 12th Five Year Plan Period (2012-13 to 2016-17) in enabling the country to achieve the envisaged overall growth rate of 9% during the Plan.

At the India Global Summit on MSMEs, 2011 organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) with the support of Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Singh said the summit, has provided a singular opportunity for Indian MSMEs to demonstrate their capabilities to a global audience as well as open up new opportunities for partnerships.

The Minister emphasized that given the current global scenario, the only way that Indian MSMEs can remain competitive is by adopting innovation as a key business strategy. He further added that National Innovation Council has been constituted by the Prime Minister to encourage and promote innovation in every sector of the economy and MSME sector has got a special emphasis under this Innovation Council and a Sectoral Council has been constituted for the MSME sector and has started functioning under the Chairmanship of Secretary (MSME). Stating that the Ministry of MSME is implementing the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme (NMCP), he said it includes programmes like establishment of new Tool Rooms, enhancing of product and process quality, cost reduction through lean manufacturing techniques, design clinic, etc. Out of these 10 components, one component i.e. incubator scheme especially cater to the needs of supporting innovative ideas. Shri Virbhadra Singh expressed satisfaction that specific tailor made programmes are also being organized for the skill development of socially disadvantaged groups like OBC, SC, ST, minorities and women.

Shri Virbhadra Singh said the Government has accorded high priority to the MSME sector in key national developmental programmes and assured the gathering that the Ministry will consider and act upon key recommendations made at the summit. Stating that the Government has introduced a whole gamut of schemes to support MSME initiatives, the Minister urged the entrepreneurs to fully leverage the support systems and schemes that have been put in place. Noting that global alliances and partnerships have assumed key significance for MSME growth, he said that his Ministry will continue to encourage Indian MSMEs to participate in international fairs and exhibitions. He said the presence of delegates from 47 countries at the summit was a key milestone in the direction of international MSME cooperation.

The Minister said, the Government has set up a Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro & Small Enterprise (CGFTMSE). Under the scheme, credit facilities extended to micro and small enterprises are guaranteed upto 75% of the amount in the event of a default. The Performance & Credit Rating Scheme of the Ministry is a very unique way of empowering the small enterprises to face internal and global competition. Under this Scheme, financial assistance to the extent of 75% is provided for rating of MSMEs by a third party national or international rating agency. This rating benefits the units in many ways like establishing their creditworthiness, which helps them in accessing quicker and cheaper credit.

Shri Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises in his special address said the MSME sector is fundamental to India maintaining growth with equity. A significant number of MSMEs are owned by people belonging to the disadvantaged sections of society. For instance, nearly 13% of MSMEs are owned by women entrepreneurs. Hence, the sector forms a key piece of the inclusive growth process. Stating that the MSME sector is at the threshold of big transformation powered by innovations, Shri Varma said the challenge lies in institutionalizing the initiatives that drive innovation. The MSME Innovation Council plays an important role in this, he said. Shri Varma said that while key sectoral challenges like access to easy finance, technology and markets are being addressed; in the 12th Plan period the focus will be on building MSME global competitiveness. He also said that MSMEs will continue to account for 40-50% of the GDP growth, and added that the defence-offset policy has created new growth avenues for the sector.

Organic Farming

2011-10-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

India is bestowed with considerable potential for organic farming due to prevailing trend of integrated farming systems of crops and live stocks, high bio-diversity on account of diverse agro-climatic conditions and large number of small and marginal farmers. Besides, inherited tradition of low input agriculture in many parts of the country, particularly in hilly and rain-fed areas too, is an added advantage and augurs well for the farmers to shift to organic farming and tap the steadily growing domestic as well as overseas markets.

In rain-fed areas of the country, where usage of chemicals in agriculture is relatively low, there is vast scope for the promotion of organic farming. In the intensively cultivated irrigated areas too, where usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is considerably high, organic farming practices can help in arresting the decline of organic matter in soil. Application of organic manure and inter-cropping with legume crops can improve the soil quality and future agricultural productivity. In fact, future of sustainable development of agriculture, next to water, depends on preventing the decline in organic matter in soil. Organic farming has an important role to play in ensuring sustainability of agriculture.

Growth of organic farming

According to one estimate, about 1.4 million producers are engaged in organic farming in 35 million hectares of agricultural land worldwide. Almost two-thirds of the agricultural land under organic management is grass land. The cropped area constitutes 8.2 million hectares which is a quarter of total organic agricultural land. Asia, Latin America and Australasia are important producers and exporters of organic foods. Global sales of organic produce have reached $ 50.9 billion in 2008, doubling in value from $ 25 billion in 2003. Consumer demand for organic products is mainly from North America and Europe.

In India, from 42,000 hectare under organic certification in 2003-04, organic agriculture has grown many-fold. As on March 2010, more than 4.4 million hectare area was under organic certification in the country. For quality assurance, India has internationally acclaimed certification process in place for export, import and domestic markets. The National Programme on Organic Production (NPOP) notified under Foreign Trade Development and Regulation Act looks after the country’s export of certified organic produce. Certification of organic produce under NPOP has already been granted equivalence by European Union and Sweden.

During 2008-09, India produced about 18.78 lakh tonnes of certified organic products. Out of this, nearly 54,000 tonne food items worth Rs. 591 crore were exported. With more than 77,000 tonnes of organic cotton link production, India became the largest organic cotton grower in the world a year ago.

Indian organic exports include cereals, pulses, honey, tea, spices, oil seeds, fruits, vegetables, cotton fibre, cosmetics and body care products.

Government Support to Organic Farming

The Ministry of Agriculture is promoting organic farming in the country under these schemes: National Project on Organic Farming, National Horticulture Mission, Technology Mission for North East and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. The National Project on Organic Farming is being implemented since October 2004 through a National Centre of Organic Farming at Ghaziabad and six Regional Centres located at Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Hissar, Imphal, Jabalpur, and Nagpur. The project supports organic input production infrastructure, technical capacity building of stake holders, human resource development through training, statutory quality control of organic inputs, technology development and dissemination, market development and awareness. Two new innovative components were added in the project from the last financial year. These were:

1. Biological Soil Health Assessment: Traditionally, soil health is assessed through physio-chemical soil test and addressed mainly through chemical nutrient supplementation. It is now proposed to assess the soils also form biological health angle for making appropriate interventions to restore the fertility through organic and biological means.

2. PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) Certification: For quality assurance of organically grown crops so far the available system is third party certification which is not only cumbersome but also very costly. To address the issue, a new system is being introduced. In this method, farmers in a group collectively pledge for adopting organic farming, maintain necessary records and have inspection by each other. PGS will also serve as preparation to third party certification and farmers can easily switch over from PGS to the other form of certification.

Under the National Horticulture Mission and Technology Mission for North East, assistance is provided @ 50 per cent of cost subject to a maximum of Rs. 10,000 per hectare (upto 4 hectares per beneficiary) for organic horticulture cultivation. Assistance is also provided for setting up vermi-compost units @ 50 per cent of cost upto Rs.30,000 per beneficiary. Assistance of Rs.5 lakh is provided to a group of farmers covering an area of 50 hectares for organic farming certification.

Under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, States are being assisted for area expansion of organic food crops, capacity building of farmers and organic input production.

Besides the efforts of Central Government, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Mizoram and Uttarakhand have already drafted policies for promotion of organic farming. Nagaland, Sikkim, Mizoram and Uttarakhand have decided to go 100 per cent organic in due course of time.

Network Project on Organic Farming

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) took an initiative during 10th Plan in the form of Network Project on Organic Farming to study productivity, profitability, sustainability, quality and input use efficiency of different crops and cropping systems in different agro-ecological regions and to develop efficient crop and soil management options, and need-based cost effective new techniques for farm waste recycling.

The project came into existence in 2004 with main centre at project directorate for farming systems research, Modipuram. It comprises 13 cooperating centres spread over 12 States. Based on results of past years, several significant achievements have been made and good yields/profits have been achieved in many crops at some of the centres under the organic farming system. Since these results are only indicative and need a mid-term and long-term validation, their response to new environment would take some time to stabilise. The ICAR has continued the project during 11th Plan also with 13 centres and the budgetary provision of Rs.5.34 cr

More Indian Standrds to be Harmonized with International Standards

2011-10-15T04:01:00.001-07:00

Minister of consumer affairs, food & public distribution, Prof K.V. Thomas has said that Indian Standards, wherever feasible, should be. It will help our industry to compete globally. Prof Thomas was addressing a seminar on the occasion of celebrations of World Standards Day here today. He asked the Bureau of Indian standards(BIS) to take periodic review and up gradation of Indian Standards, keeping in view consumer needs, health and safety aspects, environmental protection and the latest technological developments.

Highlighting the need of adopting International Standards, the Minister said that these Standards give manufacturers confidence to reach out to the global markets with the knowledge that their products will perform globally and users can obtain same services, wherever they travel. International Standards also promote the transfer of new technologies by facilitating market access for innovative solutions and by providing confidence to the users. Purchasing products or services complying with international standards assures the consumers that they can rely on the same and thereby makes their investments more secure, he added

The minister said that today, India is an important player in the global market. It is therefore important that, where exports are concerned, we make all efforts in adhering to the national/international standards and quality requirements so that our national image and commercial interests are enhanced and protected overseas. In the present era of the WTO, the national standards play a vital role. Further, as per WTO TBT agreement, to which India is also a signatory, the technical regulations are normally required to be based on international standards. Prof Thomas urged the manufacturers and exporters to comply fully to the prescribed standards and regulations so that the international consumers and community have confidence in Indian manufactured goods and products,

The minister said that all the standardization efforts require active involvement of consumers. He expressed the hope that the BIS is conscious of its role in protecting consumer interests with the representation consumer bodies in its various Advisory and technical committees.

On the occasion It was informed that BIS is formulating Indian Standards in line with the national priorities in a time bound manner. It has formulated over 18,600 Indian standards on diverse subjects, ranging from food, chemicals, engineering, textiles, to high technological areas of electronics. These standards are formulated through a network of technical committees comprising different stakeholders like representatives from industry, research and development organizations, consumers, testing and lab experts, government etc.

Small Capacity Pellet Plants for Iron Ore Fines

2011-10-14T23:52:00.000-07:00

The Centre for Techno-Economic Mineral Policy Options, a society set up under the aegis of Ministry of Mines, has prepared a position paper on “Development of iron ore pelletisation industry in India”. As per the paper, the main technology based on which the existing pellet plants have been set up in the country have an individual plant capacity of 3-5 million tonnes per annum. The paper further holds that in order to revolutionize pellet manufacturing in India, there is a need to develop indigenous technology based on raw materials suitable to smaller capacities of 60,000 to 150,000 tonnes per annum. In another recent technical publication titled “Relevance of Iron Ore Pelletisation Industry In India” Centre for Techno-Economic Mineral Policy Options has also held that the Indian pellitisation industry is quite different from that of the Chinese pelletisation industry and the Chinese technology and design institutes are still in the process of establishing the know how for pelletising hematite ore (which is largely used in India for steel production). In order to promote R& D efforts, the Government (through the Ministry of Steel) is providing financial assistance and three such projects are under way with financial assistance from the Government.

New Categories of Generic Top Level Domains to be Introduced for Brands, Communities and Cities

2011-10-14T23:48:00.000-07:00

New Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) will be introduced by Internet Corporation for Assigned Name and Numbers (ICANN) for the categories of Brands, Communities and Cities and Regions. Applications for the first round of new gTLDs will open on January 12, 2012 and run until April 12, 2012. During this time frame, organizations will be able to propose and apply for new generic top-level domains associated with particular interests or business sectors. Mr Rod Beckstorm, President and CEO, ICANN said this today at a Seminar organized jointly by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), Department of Information Technology (DIT) and the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI).

These domain names are likely to help organizations enhance branding, revenue, security, and user interaction. The availability of new gTLDs will create a unique opportunity for fast-acting organizations to define and acquire their own online namespace. With this Brand owners, such as corporations, sports teams, and other high-profile entities can protect their brands and trademarks, enhance brand trust, and create new ways to extend their brand and services to partners, resellers, and customers. Groups of like-minded organizations that share common missions, goals, and challenges can promote commercial or non-commercial offerings to better promote, protect, guide, and serve their communities. Cities and regions can promote greater recognition of their areas, city names, town and other geographical indiactors.

Shri N Ravi Shankar, Additional Secretary, DIT in his opening remarks said that the seminar is a crucial step that will determine the success of the gTLD initiative for the Indian Internet Community. Although there is no doubt that it signals a positive time for the Internet users and related organizations, there will be a number of issues that will require deliberation for its smooth implementation, security and confidentiality being some of the key elements within that framework. Both stakeholders and the industry have to come forward to iron out the underlying issues and set the standards towards raising the confidence level of the user community, and thereby its wide acceptance.

Dr Govind, Senior Director, DIT highlighted the role of the DIT in creating the ecosystem for the implementation of Indian languages on the Internet. Surpassing geographical boundaries, the Internet has brought forth the new dynamics of access, dependability and communication. Of these, language has probably been one of the key issues due to its direct effect on communication and its subsequent reach. The DIT has proactively recognized this aspect and tried to address the challenges by partnering with the best R&D organizations to seek relevant solutions.

Internet domain names have come to play an important role in socio-economic activities of mankind, especially in this Internet age. The importance and impact of the Internet on modern society can be gauged by the fact it transcends every aspect of human activity from knowledge to entertainment, and communication to regular chores like shopping and banking.

Internet Corporation for Assigned Name and Numbers (ICANN), the global body which manages Internet names and numbers, works to ensure a secure, stable and unified global Internet. It is based on the multi-stakeholder concept, which allows everyone with an interest in the Internet to participate in its work. Very recently, ICANN has made a major breakthrough by opening the doors to new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs). This new initiative can be seen as a strategic move aimed at increasing choice and competition for all Internet users.

Through this announcement, ICANN has opened up its policy and permitted not only country names and Institutional names but also new Generic Top Level Domain Names (gTLDs), which were earlier limited to .edu, .com, .org etc.

National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council Reconstituted

2011-09-26T05:03:00.000-07:00

The government has reconstituted the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) under the chairmanship of Dr. V. Krishnamurthy. From the Government of India, the Council will comprise the Member (Industry), Planning Commission; Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Secretary, Finance; Secretary, Heavy Industry; Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME); and the Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI); and President, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) will represent the apex industry organizations in the 28-member body, which was reconstituted vide a Government Gazette Notification dated 17 August 2011.

Dr. Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance; and Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia of the Indian Council for Research in International Economic Relations are the two economists in the reconstituted body.

Representatives of various industrial sectors included in the NMCC are: Shri Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Group of Companies; Shri Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director(CMD), TVS Motor Company Ltd; Shri Mukul Kasliwal, Chairman, S.Kumars Group; Shri A.M.Naik, CMD, Larsen & Toubro Ltd; Shri Y.C.Deveshwar, CMD, ITC Ltd; Shri Jamshyd Godrej, CMD, Godrej & Boyce Ltd; Shri Baba N. Kalyani, CMD, Bharat Forge Ltd; Dr. Habil Khorakiwala, CMD, Wockhardt Ltd; Dr. Surinder Kapur, Proprietor, M/s Sona Steerings, Gurgaon; Ms. Uma Reddy, Proprietor, M/s Hitech Magnetics, Bangalore and Ex-President, AWAKE; Dr. V. Sumantran, Executive Vice-Chairman, M/s Hinduja Automotive Ltd; Shri B.P.Rao, CMD, Bharat Heavy Electrials Ltd (BHEL); and Shri Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman & CEO, HCL Infosystems.

NMCC was set up by the Government as an interdisciplinary body at the highest level to serve as a policy forum for credible and coherent policy initiatives in the manufacturing sector. The Council’s role is to energise and sustain the growth of manufacturing industries in India and also help in the implementation of strategies.

India Canada agree on FIPA and SSA

2011-09-25T04:08:00.000-07:00

Anand Sharma, the Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles, and Edward Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia Pacific Gateway of Government agreed that residual issues with regard to Foreign Investment Protection Agreement (FIPA) and Bilateral Social Security Agreement (SSA) between the two countries have been resolved and both agreements could now be signed at an opportune time. Minister Fast also confirmed that the Canadian side has delinked the SSA from FIPA. The Canadian Minister flew down to New York to meet with, on 23 September.

Minister Sharma raised the issue of constrained supply of Potash from Canada to the Indian buyers. He said that the Government of Canada should view this matter from a strategic perspective and urge the Canadian businesses to enter into long term agreements with the Indian buyers on commercial terms.

The two Ministers took stock of the current status of trade and commercial linkages between India and Canada. They also discussed steps to be taken by both sides to intensify the interaction between the government and the private sector stakeholder on both sides.

Minister Sharma underscored the need to convene the meeting of the India-Canada CEO Forum at an early date so that the agenda for positive engagement between the businesses of the two countries could be furthered.

Minister Sharma strongly raised the problems being faced by professionals of the Indian IT industry in obtaining appropriate visas for Canada. He said that this was limiting services trade between the two countries. In this regard, he asked Minister Fast to sensitize the relevant Canadian authorities to remove impediments to the movement of IT professionals from India to Canada. Minister Fast said that the Canadian government had recently changed its policy and under the revised guidelines Canada was giving appropriate multiple entry visas if the passports were of 10 year validity.

Text of the Address of Union Finance Minister's Address to BRICS

2011-09-24T02:50:00.000-07:00

The Text of the address delivered by Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee at the BRICS Finance Ministers Meeting in Washington DC, yesterday:
“We are meeting here at the time when global economic growth seems to be losing its momentum after about a year and half of fragile and uneven recovery. There are signs of economic and financial weaknesses in Europe and the US that threaten the global economic outlook. The robust and quick recovery in EMEs also seems to be running out of steam. It is important that at this juncture the BRICS countries have come together to discuss the implications and the possible policy responses to the emerging situation in the US and Europe and in doing so make an assessment around the following agenda points:-
o State of the global economy and current risks;
o Policy response in advanced economies and market reaction;
o BRICS policy response and coordination;
o BRICS Report
Which we shall discuss during the course of this meeting.
I suggest that in view of the time constraint all the agenda items may be taken up together.
Global economic growth seems to be decelerating recently with a downward revision in growth projections of both advanced and Emerging Market economies after about a year and half of fragile, uneven and multi--paced recovery. The weaknesses in major developed economies continue to be a drag on global recovery and poses risks for world economic stability. Despite the return to growth, unemployment levels in the United States remains at unacceptably elevated levels. With the near term growth prospects in both the US as well as in the European countries appears to be rather bleak, and according to experts, the chances of a double dip recession cannot be ruled out. In the euro zone, the indications are that drastic austerity measures might entail a recession without resolving their debt sustainability problem, and possibly also affect the growth prospects of other neighboring European economies. There is also a fear that Euro zone sovereign debt crisis could spread to some larger countries that are too big to be bailed out. The European banking system is also at risk on account of its exposure to peripheral sovereign bonds and cross holdings that make them vulnerable to contagion from assets not directly on their balance sheets. Growth in Japan also remains a source of concern following the after effects of the earthquake and tsunami.
It is therefore evident that the revival of the global economy following the financial crisis of 2008 has started to falter. Successive numbers on growth, industrial production and forward looking indicators are suggestive of an impending recession in advanced economies. The most serious and immediate problem faced is the debt crisis in several advanced economies with the market perception that public debt of these countries could continue to rise even as growth remains subdued. Even under conservative assumptions, debt in relation to GDP will continue to rise and exceed the 100 per cent on an average for the next few years and many advanced economies will face large and increasing funding needs. While a spike in debt has always followed deep recessions, advanced economies have been able to grow their way out of high levels of debt in the past. However, the recent demographic changes make the growth prospects in several developed countries much more challenging. As and when interest rates rise, levels of public debt might become more and more unsustainable.
Corresponding to the rising public debt, the risk of enhanced financial fragility has also increased because public indebtedness has got intricately linked to the health of the banking sector. There is risk that the debt of these two parties will feed into one another and form a vicious circle and amplify the risk throughout the world. Markets seems to be speculating that while Sovereigns could bail out the financial sector, the only way sovereigns can be bailed out is through higher quantitative easing that is likely to eventually result in inflationary outcomes.
Currency markets are also being impacted due to investors seeking safer havens. The consequences has been increased volatility of capital flows, and heightened prices of safe haven assets like gold, US Treasuries and also commodities. The deleterious effects that these developments would have on the global economy are issues of concern.
The advanced economies, most notably the US, has had to keep in place a policy of aggressive fiscal stimulus and cheap money for an extended period in their effort to help the financial sector’s return to normalcy and to stimulate economic activity. However unusually low interest rates and two rounds of quantitative easing in the US have so far has not resulted in a sustainable revival of the real economy. On the contrary, it had added new risks, including greater volatility among major currencies and commodities, and a surge of volatile capital flows to emerging markets. Measures taken from time to time in the euro zone to deal with the crisis emanating from the peripheral economies have also not been successful in stabilizing the situation and reassuring the markets. What is adding to the market nervousness is perhaps the apparent lack of confidence in the ability of policy makers to adequately handle a possible “double dip” since both fiscal and monetary tools seem to be exhausted. Another major risk factor is that any rise in protectionist tendencies as a knee-jerk reaction to persistently high levels of unemployment in advanced countries would further worsen the economic sentiments and the growth prospects of the EMEs and indeed the rest of the world.
In key advanced economies, the necessary hand-off from public to private demand is not taking place. The fundamental problem is that weak growth and weak balance sheets of governments, financial institutions, and households are feeding negatively on each other. If growth continues to lose momentum, balance sheet problems will worsen, fiscal sustainability will be threatened, and the scope for policies to salvage the recovery will disappear.
An area of major concern is that financial markets continue to be in state of uncertainty showing little confidence in the growth prospects and policy actions taken by sovereign governments particularly in advanced markets. As I had said previously, the most serious problem faced on an immediate basis is the market perception that public debt of developed countries will continue to rise even as growth remains subdued. The downgrading of US sovereign long-term debt by Standard and Poor`s, is nevertheless a clear indication of a lack of conviction about policy action. The fall in several global forward looking indices also reflects in some ways a similar sentiment.
The BRICS economies have been key drivers of the global recovery, but even their growth is faced with the challenge of inflation and continuing uncertainty in global financial markets. The volatility in capital flows arising from policy choices is a further source of vulnerability.
I would like to have your views and concerns on the global economy and current risks we face. Some of the questions that need to be addressed are:

· How should policy response be coordinated at the international level, especially since global economic cycles seem to be divergent;

· What, if any, should be the role of the IMF and other IOs in ensuring that the world transits more smoothly through the current turmoil?

· What steps BRICS can take in the current situation.
Now taking up the last agenda item, I would like to recap our earlier resolve at the London meeting on September 4, 2009 to commission a study by our Finance Ministries and Central Banks regarding where the world economy will be heading in the near future and the role of the BRIC countries. Given the fact that the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa would come to play a dominant role in the global economy, it will be important for the group to explore the role of the BRICS countries in the face of the emerging global challenges and identify areas of cooperation and synergies between BRICS countries for promoting mutual growth and collectively harnessing the global economic recovery. We expect that the global community that has so far looked at BRICS from the viewpoint of investment bankers, would be interested to get the BRICS’s own perspective of their role in the global economy.
India offered to Anchor this report. I am glad to inform you that recently a workshop was held in New Delhi wherein experts from Finance Ministries and Central Banks discussed and provisionally finalised the study. I am happy to share the third draft report in this regard and would simultaneously call on our experts from Finance Ministries and Central Banks to finalise this report at the earliest and present the final report before our next meeting as a group.”

2011-09-18T03:55:00.000-07:00

A MoU was signed todya in Mumbai between IIFCL, LIC and IDFC in the presence of the Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Prithviraj Chauhan today in Mumbai.

Speaking on the ocasion,the Union FinanceMinister Shri Pranab Mukherjee said thatTakeout Finance Scheme was launched last year on 12th October 2010, when MoU between IIFCL and PNB, Allahabad Bank, Union Bank, Indian Bank & UCO Bank was signed. This Scheme is aimed at removing the bottlenecks in infrastructure financing by addressing ALM, Group Exposure issues, he added. The Union Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee said that in this Scheme, IIFCL can take out debt up to 20% of the Total Project Cost after the COD of the project with certain limitations. He said that there was felt need for higher take out. MoU between IIFCL and LIC & IDFC will provide for takeout upto 50% of the Total Project Cost in the ratio of 20:20:10 by these institutions respectively. Shri Mukherjee said that he xpectsI this mechanism will help financing to the tune of ` 30,000 crore under the Scheme. This will facilitate banks to take more exposure in new projects, which in turn will help in bridging the gap in infrastructure financing to a great extent the Finance Minster added.

Details about the MoU between IIFCL, LIC and IDFC are

1. Identified project Lender(s) will offer eligible infrastructure projects for availing takeout financing to IIFCL in respect of mutually agreed accounts in accordance with IIFCL’s Takeout Finance Scheme.

2. In respect of aforesaid mutually agreed accounts of infrastructure financing LIC, IDFC and IIFCL will agree to give takeout finance

i) enter into a quadripartite agreement, which will be the Takeout Agreement as mutually agreed between the Parties,

ii) LIC, IIFCL and IDFC will take out/ buy-out in the ratio of 20:20:10 respectively and take out debt upto 50% of the project cost.

3. Earlier IIFCL could take out debt upto 20% of the Total Project Cost. With this MoU in place, the take out of debt upto 50% of the Total Project Cost will be possible. This will facilitate banks to take more exposure in new projects, which in turn will help in bridging the gap in infrastructure financing to a great extent.

Take out finance is essentially a mechanism designed to enable Banks/ Lenders to avoid asset liability mismatch that may arise out of extending long tenor loans to infrastructure projects. Under this arrangement, Banks that extend credit facility to infrastructure projects enter into an arrangement with a financial institution for transferring the loan outstanding in the Banks books to the books of the financial institution who take out the loan.

Subsequent to the announcement in the FY 2010-11 general budget, Government of India (GoI) entrusted India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. (IIFCL) with the task of introducing the Takeout Finance Scheme (TFS). Accordingly TFS was launched on 12th October 2010 by the Union Finance Minister wherein MoU between IIFCL and PNB, Allahabad Bank, Union Bank, Indian Bank & UCO Bank was signed.

Broad features and advantages of TFS :

1. Enhances the availability of long tenor debt finance for infrastructure projects

2. It enables availability of cheaper cost of finance available for the borrower

3. Addresses sectoral / group / single party exposure issues of Banks/ Lenders who are providing long term debt financing to infrastructure projects.

4. Addresses Asset-Liability mismatch (ALM) of Banks arising out of financing infrastructure projects and also to free up capital for financing new projects.

Schedule of all Industry Rates of Duty Drawback (2011-12) to be Notified Soon; Additional 1100 New Line Items to be Incorporatied Raising the Number of Such Line Items to 4000

2011-09-16T04:34:00.000-07:00

The Government of India will shortly be notifying the schedule of AIR (All Industry Rates) of duty drawback for the year 2011-12. In this regard, the Government had constituted a Committee in January 2011 under the chairmanship of Shri Saumitra Chaudhuri, Member, Planning Commission for formulation of AIR of Duty Drawback. In view of the Government’s decision to bring the DEPB scheme to an end by 30th September this year, the Committee had also been entrusted with the added responsibility of recommending drawback rates for those commodities which have traditionally been exported under DEPB (Duty Entitlement Passbook) Scheme . The Committee has had wide ranging discussions with various export councils to gain a better understanding of the issues involved. A number of export councils and associations have submitted data to the Committee which has been carefully examined and considered. The Committee has since submitted its report to the Government along with a Schedule of recommended Drawback rates. The recommendations of the Committee form the basis for the rates being notified.

The DEPB Scheme has been in existence since 1997. Presently, there are 2130 line items covered under this scheme. Incorporating these items within the drawback schedule and assigning appropriate duty drawback rates for these items was a challenge both from a product classification perspective as well as from a drawback rate perspective. Consequently, the new Drawback Schedule will incorporate an additional 1100 line items(approx.) which are being taken from the DEPB list. With this, the total number of items in the drawback schedule will number approximately 4000 line items, as against the present 2835 line items.

Broadly speaking, most of the items which are already covered under the duty drawback schedule will suffer a minor reduction in the existing drawback rates. The reduction is mainly on account of the reduction in basic customs duty on crude petroleum from 5% to Nil as well as a reduction in central excise duty on diesel from Rs 4.40 per litre.to Rs 2.40 per litre. Crude petroleum enters into the product chain of various products as petrochemical inputs and diesel is also consumed in captive DG power plants in a majority of industries. Further, there has been a steep reduction in import duty on silk yarn from 30% to 5%. This has resulted in an adverse impact on the duty drawback rates for the silk fabric, silk garments and silk carpet industries for which imported silk yarn is the main input. The extent of reduction has been limited to 30% to 50% . While, there would be a minor reduction in duty drawback rates for most other items, due care has been taken to ensure that this reduction is capped at 10% of existing duty drawback rates, wherever the reduction in percentage terms actually works out to be much more, so as to minimize the hardship faced by exporters. In certain items namely leather garments and leather bags, the duty drawback rates have actually increased.

In respect of items covered under the DEPB Scheme, it was observed that the major exporters operating under the DEPB Scheme were mainly from the Engineering sector including the auto and auto component industry, Chemicals, Pharma Sector, Textiles and the marine sector. Since the DEPB Scheme will not continue beyond September 30,2011, it has been decided to provide a smooth transition for these items while incorporating these in the drawback schedule. As a transitory arrangement, these items will suffer a modest reduction in the existing DEPB rates , to the extent of 1% to 3%, which represents the ad-hoc rates of DEPB introduced in 2007. Further, the appropriate duty drawback rates for the items under DEPB have been recomputed taking into account the prevailing customs duty rates. It has been observed that for most of the items under DEPB, the recomputed rate works out to be far lower than the existing DEPB rates, even after removal of the ad-hoc element, ranging from 1 to 3%. In order to ensure that this transition does not adversely affect exporters who were operating under the DEPB Scheme, the Government has decided that the drawback rate shall be capped at 5.5% for many items. However, there are 340 line items where , even after reduction of the ad-hoc rates (1 to 3%) from the existing DEPB rates, the recomputed rate works out to more than 5.5%. Some of these items are listed below as an illustration:

Worsted woollen yarn

Blanket, etc

Nylon twine

Cut polished chat stones

Lacquer coated polyester film

Hermetically sealed compressors

Polyester metallised film

In such cases, Government has decided to provide the recomputed duty drawback rates. Further, for certain products in the marine products sector, namely frozen and chilled meat products, it has been decided to provide a transitional duty drawback rate , taking into account the large volumes of exports of these products in the DEPB and also considering the fact that a large number of exporters in these sectors are from the Medium and Small Scale Sector.

Presently, the DEPB rates are available for two wheelers, three wheelers, commercial vehicles and tractors. Drawback rates have been provided in the proposed schedule. However, exporters of passenger cars are presently opting for brand rate of duty drawback. Government has received requests from these exporters through SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers)for inclusion under the AIR drawback schedule and the same has been accepted. Consequently, the drawback schedule will now provide AIR rate of duty drawback for Passenger Car Exporters also. Further, Government has also decided not to impose any value cap on the transport sector. With these measures, it is hoped that the auto sector which are the primary beneficiaries under DEPB would be able to make a smooth transition into the drawback scheme.

In respect of overlapping items, (i.e. items which figure in both the DEPB Schedule as well as the drawback schedule) Government has decided that to the extent possible the drawback rates be aligned so as to provide uniformity to exporters who have been operating under either of these schemes.As a general policy, it has been decided that there will be no value cap for all items, where the duty drawback rate is less than or equal to 3%.

Enabling National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation to Increase its Operations

2011-09-16T03:21:00.001-07:00

The authorized share capital of National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) has been enhanced from Rs. 750 crore in 2007-08 to Rs. 850 crore in 2008-09 to Rs. 1,000 crore in 2009-10 and to Rs. 1,500 crores during 2010-11. The Government of India has been providing share capital contribution to NMDFC in order to enable NMDFC to increase its operations. The total equity share capital released by the Government to NMDFC as on 31st July 2011 is Rs.875.36 crore.

NMDFC extends loans to individuals belonging to Minorities, living below double the poverty line, for undertaking self employment and income generating activities. The term Loans are provided by NMDFC through the State Channelising Agencies (SCAs) nominated by the respective State Governments. NMDFC also provides Micro-credit to the members of Self Help Groups (SHGs) through Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as well as SCAs. The target group of NMDFC includes persons belonging to minorities living below double the poverty line income, which at present is Rs. 55,000 per annum in the urban areas and Rs. 40,000 per annum in rural areas. Eligible persons can obtain loans from the respective SCAs by applying directly to the respective SCAs. NGO can also approach NMDFC directly or to the SCAs for obtaining micro credit to further lend the same to the members of the SHGs belonging to minorities.

Six laning of Kishangarh-Udaipur-Ahmedabad section of NH

2011-09-15T05:33:00.001-07:00

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure today approved the implementation of the project for development of six laning of Kishangarh-Udaipur-Ahmedabad section on National Highway NH-79A, NH-79, NH-76 and NH8 in Rajasthan and Gujarat under NHDP Phase V on DBFOT basis in BOT (Toll) mode of delivery. The total project cost estimated of the project for implementing under DBFOT pattern is Rs.6013.70 crore, out of which Rs.626.40 will be for the land acquisition, R&R and preconstruction purposes.

The project when completed will reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic plying between Kishangarh and Ahmedabad whch will connect to Vadodara and Mumbai in the West and Delhi in the East. It will also increase the employment potential to the local labourers for the project activities and development of tourism activities and would boost economic activities in the State of Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Payment of statutory dues, salary and wages in 10 sick / loss making CPSEs under the Department of Heavy Industry

2011-09-15T05:27:00.000-07:00

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the proposal for providing non-plan budgetary support of Rs.59.72 crore for liquidation of statutory dues and salary and wages from 1.1.2011 to 31.3.2011 in respect of 10 sick / loss making CPSEs under the Department of Heavy Industry. A list of these CPSEs is given below.

Payment of outstanding dues of salary / wages would mitigate the hardship of the employees thereby motivating them for better output and prepare them to achieve the goal of revival / restructuring for the company. In addition clearance of outstanding statutory dues is likely to result in fulfilment of statutory requirement.

Revival / closure of these companies is yet to be finalized (except in the case of HMT Bearings Ltd. in which case revival plan already approved could not materialize and in case of NPPC, revival plan with the cash infusion of Rs.552 crore was approved in June, 2007 but it could not be implemented in view of steep cost escalation). Therefore, it was considered essential that the interim financial support from the Government be provided so that the operation of these companies will not be affected. Non settlement of these liabilities had been causing serious hardship not only to the employees of the companies but also adversely affecting the day-to-day operation of the companies resulting in further deterioration of their performance.

As a result of the revival plans approved in case of 16 CPSEs, seven CPSEs have turned around and have posted net profit presently. Initially in (May/June, 2004) there were 24 CPSEs which were defaulting in payment of wages / salaries. Now this number has come down to 10 due to comprehensive restructuring efforts.

	Name of CPSEs	Salary/Wages	Statutory Dues	TOTAL
1.	Hindustan Cables	20.74	2.34	23.08
2.	HMT Ltd.	0.00	6.02	6.02
3.	HMT (Watches) Ltd.	10.06	2.01	12.07
4.	HMT (CW) Ltd.	0.99	0.09	1.08
5.	Nagaland Pulp & Papers Co.Ltd.	1.75	0.52	2.27
6.	Triveni Structurals Ltd.	0.58	0.14	0.72
7.	Tungbhadra Steel Products Ltd.	0.54	0.06	0.60
8.	Nepa Ltd.	5.27	5.03	10.30
9.	Scooters India Ltd.	1.58	0.19	1.77
10.	HMT Bearings Ltd.	1.20	0.61	1.81
	TOTAL	42.71	17.01	59.72

(Rs. in crore)

Relief to States in respect of National Small Savings Fund loans in terms of recommendations of 13th Finance Commission

2011-09-15T02:55:00.001-07:00

The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal of Ministry of Finance to withdraw the reduced interest rate of 9% in respect of National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) loans in case a State deviates from the targets in the FRBM Act of the State and to restore the original interest rate from the year 2012-13. The State Government can revert to 9% interest rate as and when it again complies with the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) targets.

The State will be considered eligible for relief measures recommended by the 13th Finance Commission on NSSF loan from the date of FRBM Act is amended/enacted in accordance with the recommendation of the 13th Finance Commission. In addition, from the year 2012-13, the debt relief recommended by 13th Finance Commission will be allowed to States based on the compliance to the fiscal targets in their respective FRBM Acts as reflected in their Budget Estimates of the year in which the relief is given.

The 13th Finance Commission has recommended providing debt relief measures to the States, inter alia recommending that the interest rate of NSSF loans contracted by the States till 2006-07 and outstanding at the end of 2009-10, be reset at a common interest rate of 9% in place of existing 10.5% or 9.5%. This debt relief is recommended to be available to States only if they amend/legislate FRBM Act in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission. These recommendations had been accepted in principle by the Cabinet in its meeting held in February 2010.

While recommending the relief measure relating to NSSF loans, the 13th Finance Commission has not set any conditionality with regard to compliance with the targets. The Ministry of Finance has observed that continued compliance with FRBM targets is an important aspect and it is essential not only in view of the spirit of the FRBM Act but also because of the huge sacrifice on the part of NSSF whose deficits are eventually an implicit liability of the Central Government.

Subsidy to Farmers

2011-09-04T00:59:00.001-07:00

Considering the special needs of the Indian farmers, the Government has been providing them interest subvention on short term crop loans. The quantum of subsidized agricultural loans disbursed by banks during the last three years is as under:

Year	Amount of subsidized loans disbursed (Rs. in crore)
	Public Sector Banks	Cooperative Banks and RRBs	Total
2008-09	94,147.87	62,642.72	156,790.59
2009-10	128,164.75	86,748.05	214,932.80
2010-11	74,344.21*	102,335.49	176,679.70

(*Provisional, figures still being compiled)

FEMA Violations

2011-09-04T00:58:00.001-07:00

The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 is a civil act in nature as such there is no provision for launching the prosecutions. During the last three years i.e. 2009-10,2010-11 and 2011-12 (upto July 2011) , the Directorate of Enforcement has issued 990 Show Cause Notices to various persons/firms under Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999 (FEMA), for initiating the adjudication proceedings. The Zone-wise details of the Show Cause Notices issued during the last three years is as under: -

Zone	No. of SCN issued
Ahmedabad	39
Bangalore	62
Chandigarh	102
Chennai	163
Cochin	241
Delhi	20
Hyderabad	55
Lucknow	92
Kolkata	84
Mumbai	131