Rs. 410 Crore Allocated to Frequently Drought Affected and over Exploited & Notified Ground Water Blocks 

In the recent years, there has been a change in the rainfall pattern in the country.  Number of rainfall events have been reduced which has resulted in longer dry spells.  In many parts of the country, it has become a perennial problem of longer dry spells resulting in drought and drought like situation.  In addition to the issue of scarcity of rain, there are few areas in the country where not only rainfall is limited but also due to over exploitation of ground water beyond rechargeable limit, has resulted in rapid depletion of ground water table.  Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) through dynamic assessment of ground water has identified 1071 blocks/talukas under over exploited category which needs immediate special attention for water conservation and ground water recharge.  CGWB has also notified about 150 blocks/talukas as most vulnerable areas suggesting regulated and cautious use of ground water.  These blocks witness serious scarcity of water and are vulnerable even to sustain drinking water requirement unless addressed for ground water recharge and its regulated use.  It has also been observed that 219 districts in the country have been frequently affected by drought in the recent past.  These areas are witnessing regular agrarian crisis and the farmers are in the state of distressed condition, requiring special attention and support for a durable & sustainable solution.    All these have affected agriculture very adversely on ground and farmers in particular.                 

Realizing the gravity of situation, under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), Government of India made an effort for the first time to identify the most vulnerable areas that require immediate attention for water conservation, harvesting and ground water recharge.  The perennially drought affected districts along with the over exploited and notified blocks by CGWB have been considered for special treatment to improve the condition of underground water, to improve soil moisture regime and to create micro water storages for protective irrigation during longer dry spells. Department of Agriculture and Cooperation has allocated a sum of Rs. 410 crores during the current year to minimize the impact of drought and improving the ground water recharge.Final Report of the Justice A.P. Shah Committee on Direct Tax Matters Constituted with the Initial Mandate to Examine the Matter Relating to Levy of MAT on FIIs/FPIs for the Period Prior to 01.04.2015 Released 

                    A Committee on Direct Tax matters chaired by Justice A.P. Shah was constituted with the initial mandate to examine the matter relating to levy of MAT on FIIs/FPIs for the period prior to 01.04.2015. The Committee has submitted its final report on applicability of MAT on FIIs/FPIs for the period prior to 01.04.2015 to the Government on 25.08.2015. 

 The Committee has recommended that section 115JB of the Income-tax Act may

be amended to clarify the inapplicability of MAT provisions to FIIs/FPIs. Alternatively, the Committee has suggested that a Circular may be issued clarifying the inapplicability of MAT provisions to FIIs/FPIs.

 

The Government has accepted the recommendation of the Committee to clarify the inapplicability of MAT to FIIs/FPIs and has decided that an appropriate amendment to the Income-tax Act will be carried out.  Through the amendment the Government proposes to clarify that MAT provisions will not be applicable to FIIs/FPIs not having a place of business/ permanent establishment in India, for the period prior to 01.04.2015. Pending such amendment, CBDT will convey to the field formations the decision of the Government to accept the recommendation. Government of India Joins the United Nations’ Better than Cash Alliance for Digitization of Payments to Achieve Financial Inclusion and to Share Success Stories from PMJDY,The World’s Largest Financial Inclusion Programme 

 The Government of India is joining the UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance. The

announcement comes on the First Anniversary of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s flagship financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).    

Under PMJDY, in one year, about 180 million new accounts have been opened, with deposits totaling more than $3.4 billion (223 billion Rupees). 

The new partnership with the Better Than Cash Alliance, made up of Governments, companies, and international organizations, is an extension of Indian Government’s commitment to reduce cash in its economy. Digital financial services lower the cost of providing financial services and make it more convenient for poor people to access their accounts. 

The Union Finance Minister of India Shri Arun Jaitley said: “The scale of ambition of Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana has been much higher than for any other financial inclusion initiative in the past. The project has been instrumental in bringing almost all families of the country into the formal financial system and enabling citizens at grassroots level to perform financial transactions and keep their hard-earned money safe.”  

India’s announcement comes ahead of next month’s United Nations Special Summit in New York, when Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and other world leaders will launch the adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Digital financial services are a key tool for the implementation of the goals, and advocates hope India’s leadership inspires other governments to harness the power of digital payments as a strategy for achieving the SDGs. 

Dr. Ruth Goodwin-Groen, Managing Director of the Better Than Cash Alliance said that India’s leadership and progress are inspirational for countries around the world. He said that by making the digitization of payments to achieve financial inclusion a top priority, the Indian Government is showing its commitment to improving the lives of its people and driving inclusive growth. 

One year ago, the Government of India had announced PMJDY with a goal of covering every household with a bank account in less than five months’ time. The programme focuses on citizens excluded from the formal financial sector, including women, small farmers, and labourers. To ensure that these accounts are actively used, the Government is delivering financial products, such as credit for economic activity, as well as remittance facilities, insurance, and pension directly into the accounts. 

The Union Finance Minister of India Shri Arun Jaitley said “We have been recognized by the Guinness World Records for opening over 1.8 crore (10 million) bank accounts in a single week. As a next step, the aim is to utilize these accounts for extending insurance, pension, and credit facilities to those who are currently excluded from these benefits.” 

Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, then Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, said: “PMJDY has been a game changer in the country’s financial inclusion efforts. The initiative has demonstrated that when we converge the efforts of all stakeholders, and work in unison with clearly defined goals, unprecedented results follow.” 

The financial inclusion programme, along with Aaadhar biometric Unique Identity cards that make it easier for the Government to identify social benefit recipients and the widespread use of mobile phones, are driving financial inclusion in India. It is also resulting in cost savings. The fuel subsidy programme, which is the world’s largest cash transfer programme, saved $2 billion (131 billion Rupees) by paying cooking gas consumers directly into their bank accounts, according to a new paper by Columbia University. Success stories There have been many success stories since the launch of PMJDY. For example, Canara Bank opened 12 million accounts and delivered financial literacy and educational tools to poor people in rural areas.Union Bank of India has also prioritized financial inclusion in rural areas, with a particular focus on women by providing weekly education trainings in villages and garment factories. Rama Devi’s story highlights the impact on people’s lives. A resident of the small village of Nawadkheda, she opened her bank account during PMJDY’s launch one year ago that included extensive outreach to the community. Prior to opening a bank account with IDBI Bank, the mother of three who helps her husband in his general store did not have a bank account or any idea of the benefits of having one. She now transacts on a regular basis and plans to open recurring deposit accounts for all her children. By joining the Better Than Cash Alliance, the Indian Government will have a research, technical, and policy partner as it continues to create a digital financial economy. Other Government members of the Alliance will also benefit by gaining access to the lessons and insights of India’s experience and growing expertise. 

  About Better Than Cash Alliance The Better Than Cash Alliance is a partnership of Governments, companies, and international organizations that accelerates the transition from cash to digital payments in order to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth. The United Nations Capital Development Fund serves as the secretariat. To learn more, visit www.betterthancash.org, follow @BetterThan_Cash   and subscribe for news. About Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), National Mission on Financial Inclusion, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India PMJDY is a National Mission on Financial Inclusion encompassing an integrated approach to bring about comprehensive financial inclusion of all the households in the country. The plan envisages universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household, financial  literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension facility.Number of scholarships doubled under National Talent Search Scheme 

Number of scholarships under National Talent Search Scheme will be doubled to 2000 from existing 1000. This was announced by the Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani while speaking on the occasion of 55th Foundation Day celebration of the NCERT in New Delhi today. 

While expressing concern about quality in school education, the Union Minister asked the Director, NCERT to undertake the National Achievement Survey for Classes III, V, VIII and X, annually. She also desired that a roadmap be prepared and submitted to Ministry of Human Resource Development within a week’s time. 

The Minister dwelt on the initiatives of Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan and reiterated the Government’s intention to set up Model Science Labs in a Government School in every district of the country. 

The Minister appreciated the books developed by NCERT in Hindi, English, Urdu and Sanskrit for the students and suggested that the NCERT could support the states to translate these books in regional languages. On this occasion, Smt. Irani released Tactile Map Book on Braille for Upper Primary students and appreciated the effort of NCERT for this work. 

The Minister stated that the NCERT was holding a panel discussion on “Innovations for Promoting Quality in School Education” later in the day and suggested the panel to offer recommendation specially to help students who are slow learners. She also directed NCERT to make available online all the new research work in teachers education. 

Dr. S.C. Khuntia, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy appreciated

the yeoman service being rendered by NCERT in maintaining high standards of quality education. 

Speaking on the occasion, Director, NCERT mentioned the achievements made by the Council in the field of school education during the last five decades, and also highlighted various recent initiatives of the Ministry of HRD in school education. Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu Launches Three IT Initiatives Developed by CRIS 

The Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu today launched the following IT initiatives developed by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) (the IT arm of Ministry of Railways using remote control by organising Video-Conferencing between, Rail Bhawan and New Delhi Station. 

1. Paperless Unreserved Ticketing through Mobile Phone between New Delhi – Palwal Section (NR) 

2. Currency Coin cum Card operated Automatic Ticket Vending Machines at New Delhi Railway Station

3. Mobile Application for Freight Operations (PARICHAALAN) CASH/SMART CARD OPERATED TICKET VENDING MACHINE (CCOTVM) 

Cash/Smart Card operated Ticket Vending machine (CCoTVM) is an unmanned self-operated kiosk which can be used by passengers themselves to buy unreserved tickets through Currency/Coins as well as smart cards. These kiosks have easy graphical interface for ticket transaction so that the user can operate these machines. The kiosk accepts currency/coin of all denominations of Rs 5 and above. The machine does not accept soiled/cut/ glued/taped/colored notes and accepts currency notes of Gandhi series. CCoTVMs will reduce queue length at existing ticket counters by providing an alternate unmanned ticketing solution and mode of payment. CCoTVMs have the following functionalities:- 

1) Issue of non-concessional second class journey tickets for non-suburban section and second/first class journey/return tickets for suburban section. 

2) Issue of Platform Tickets 

3) Renewal of non-concessional season tickets. 

4) Recharge of smart cards in denominations of Rs. 20/-, Rs. 50/-, Rs. 100/- and Rs. 500/-.

CCoTVM consists of: 

1) Thin Client 

2) Thermal Printer 

3) Touch screen 

4) RFID reader 

5) Cash Validator with 15 notes escrow 

6) Coin Validator with 10 coins escrow 

7) The cash box has the capacity to hold 25,000 notes and 3,000 coins. 

The basic difference between Automatic Ticket Vending Machine installed upto now and newly introduced CCoTVM is that ATVM can issue tickets through smart cards while CCoTVM can issue tickets using Cash (notes & coins) and smart cards. It can also be used for recharging these smart cards. 

Security of CCoTVM: 

The machine has two access doors, both at the front side of the machine and is equipped with mechanical & electronic locks. One door is used for maintenance activity by the service engineer. The second door is for accessing the cash box and is integrated with an alarm system. The alarm will go off whenever the door is opened by any unauthorized person. The machine has a cash box with electro mechanical lock at the bottom. Whenever the authorized supervisor wants to open the cash box to takeout shift cash, he/she will gain access to the machine by using a supervisory smart card. On keeping this smart card on the reader slot and pressing the Indian Railway logo on top right side of the screen, the supervisor's menu will appear on the screen. After entering the password, machine will print the Daily Trains Cash -cum-Summary Book (DTC) for accountal of the collected cash. 

PAPERLESS UNRESERVED TICKETING MOBILE APPLICATION 

To move forward in line with Digital India, Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) has developed a paperless Unreserved Ticketing feature in Mobile Application “utsonmobile” both for Android and Windows platforms. This will eliminate the need for printing of Unreserved Tickets on ATVMs at the stations. User can download ‘App’ from Google Play Store or Window Store. 

The application was rolled out as a pilot project between Chennai Egmore & Tambaram suburban Section of Southern Railway on 22.04.2015 and Churchgate-Dahanu Road suburban section of Western Railway on 08.07.2015. The application has now been implemented on complete suburban area of Chennai & Mumbai Western Railway suburban section which covers 125 stations over 295 kms distance. Presently, about 1600 tickets are being booked daily by the passengers through this application. 

The application is now being implemented on the New Delhi-Palwal section of Northern Railway covering 11 stations over 57 kms distance. For paperless ticketing, GPS co-ordinates of railway tracks on the New Delhi-Palwal section, plus 20 meters on either side of the tracks have been earmarked as Geo-Fencing area within which no ticket booking is allowed in order to ensure that passengers have ticket before commencing the journey. 

The application provides necessary on-screen alerts to guide the passenger during the booking process. Payment for the ticket is done through the "Railway Wallet” feature in the "App". After booking the ticket, the passenger will get the ticket confirmation screen which contains limited information of the ticket. The paperless journey ticket will be stored in the local mobile application database in the encrypted form which cannot be tampered with. Ticket booked in paperless mode cannot be cancelled in order to prevent claiming of refund after travel. 

The ticket has distinct colour scheme everyday and it is embedded with Quick Response (QR) code. It cannot be forwarded to another mobile or edited or printed. The old invalid tickets will be removed from the mobile device through a sync feature in the ‘App’. 

For the purpose of ticket checking, the application has various features such as colour scheme, show ticket features, secret code of the day, booking time of the ticket and scrolling of legend “IR UNRESERVED TICKETING”. In case of mobile in disconnected mode, it will be checked through QR Code. 

PARICHAALAN, REAL TIME DECISION MAKING IN FREIGHT OPERATIONS 

Freight operations on Indian Railways are monitored through various reports generated by FOIS. These MIS reports represent various facets of freight operations like rolling stock holding of wagons and locomotives, interchange of freight trains with neighbouring divisions/zones, loading details, current train running and terminal performance. These reports are tabular in design and are mostly static in nature. 

‘Parichaalan’ is a mobile application conceptualized and developed by CRIS to make decision making on freight operations absolutely easy and user friendly. The application is a powerful tool as it not only represents data in a pictorial and graphical manner that is easily comprehensible but also makes the information dynamic and current in nature. Instead of focusing on post-mortems, Parichaalan moves operations management systems to a higher level of real time decision making. 

‘Parichaalan’ overcomes all this by: 

• Providing mapped movement of freight trains- the first time ever on IR. 

• Providing powerful search tools-removing the need to sift through voluminous tabular

data. 

• Providing effective Decision Support System-focusing on the right parameters 

• Use of powerful graphical interfaces-for easy comprehension of vital parameters of operations. 

• Providing an effective planning tool-predictive in nature for planning of movement and loading. 

• Providing a paperless tool- environment friendly leading to savings of a 1000 trees per annum. 

• Allowing for mobility of officials- Live updates and decision sharing through the app. 

• Allowing adequate time for officials- less stressful working environment. 

• Allowing for instant information retrieval across multiple pages through hyperlinks. 

• Cost saving in procurement of paper, printing and distribution 

This app has the potential to earn carbon credits for IR and also can become a revenue generating tool by providing similar logistics solutions for IR customers like CIL, NTPC, SAIL, TISCO, FCI, Oil Co’s, Ports, etc. National Payment Corporation of India and C-DAC to come out with specifications and support systems 

The Ministry of Urban Development has come out with a Smart National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) model to enable seamless travel by different metros and other transport systems across the country besides retail shopping and purchases. Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu has approved the ‘EMV Open Loop Card with stored value’ in this regard. 

Following the failure of an earlier effort to come out with such an inter-operable mobility card, Shri Venkaiah Naidu set up a Committee last year under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary(UD) to recommend a card which is inter-operable across different transport systems in the country and which can also be used as a credit/debit card. This Committee had representatives of National Informatics Centre (NIC), Centre for Development of Advance Computing (C-DAC), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), National Payment Corporation of India (NCPI) and the Ministry of Finance. 

After extensive study of various models being followed across the world, the Committee has recommended the EMV Open Loop Card with stored value based model and the same was approved by Shri Venkaiah Naidu. 

This Smart Common Mobility Payment Card addresses the deficiencies associated with other cards being used in Singapore and other countries. This card meets travel needs

based on stored value of money and can be used for travelling by any means of transport and also enables account based retail applications. Accordingly, this card does away with the need for carrying separate cards for banking and transit requirements. 

Some of the other models examined include Closed Loop Solution like the Octopus cards in Hong Kong which are limited to using for travel only. The other model of EMV Open Loop Account based model suffers from the limitations of not supporting weekly, monthly, student passes etc., and not facilitating checking for ticketless travel, collection of fines etc., besides increased costs of robust backend systems required for operation. 

Globally, there is no nationwide common card except in Singapore where in inter-operability is confined to city only. The Committee, hence, recommended EMV Open Loop Card with stored value for use across the country. 

The Urban Development Ministry has decided to task the National Payments Corporation of India with indigenous development and management of Clearing and Settlement of payments, Simulating Cards, Terminals and network, a support base of vendors for providing certified tools, cards, terminals and other services. This is in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative. 

C-DAC will develop the standards and hardware for Metro gates/validators along with related ecosystems. Funding of Rs.4.47 cr also has been approved in this regard. Certification and authentication mechanism will be developed by NPCI or any other government agency. 

Shri Venkaiah Naidu has directed the Ministry officials to ensure time bound and coordinated progress in this regard by various agencies to ensue early introduction of Smart Mobility Cards and also to inform the States of this initiative for taking appropriate action for integration of other systems with the new smart card. Categorization of sports disciplines - Sports Ministry recognizes ‘Yoga’ as a sports discipline 

The categorization of various Sports disciplines was reviewed and the revised categories of sports disciplines and the scale of financial assistance admissible to each category was conveyed to IOC and all recognized National Sports Federations on 23rd March, 2015. It was also conveyed that ‘General’ category of sports disciplines shall be retained. Criteria for inclusion in this category and financial assistance to be provided will be separately issued. 

it has now been decided by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports that sports disciplines included in the multidiscipline mega events like Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games etc and which have obtained a ranking upto 8th in individual events and upto 10th in team events in Olympics/Asian Games/CWG or their respective Asian and World Championships shall be placed in ‘General’ category. Financial assistance for this category will be as under:- 

i National Championships are to be funded. 

ii One international event in India in a year, can be funded. 

iii Maximum of one foreign exposure each in Senior & Junior categories can also be funded during a year. 

Based on the past performance in major international events, it has been decided to upgrade the sport of Fencing from ‘Others’ to ‘General’ category. 

It has also been decided to place ‘University Sports’ in the ‘Priority’ category. 

It has further been decided to recognize ‘Yoga’ as a sports discipline and to place it in the ‘Priority’ category. Reimbursement of losses incurred by NAFED, PEC, STC and MMTC for import of pulses and sold in the domestic market under the 15 percent reimbursement Scheme 

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, to reimburse Rs.113.40 crore of losses on pulses imported between 2006-2011 by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), Project and Equipment Corporation (PEC), State Trading Corporation (STC) and Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC), apart from losses incurred in the sale of pulses upto six months after closure of the scheme. This will enable the Central PSUs to intensify trading activities to cool down prices. 

In order to ensure retail distribution to the consumers, it was decided to import 5000 tonnes of Tur Dal and 5000 tonnes of Urad Dal by MMTC, a Central PSU. The first consignment of imported Dal would be reaching Mumbai by 5.9.2015. 

The Union Government has taken several measures to increase availability and control the price of essential commodities, especially pulses and onions. States have been empowered to impose stock limits on pulses, export of all pulses is banned except Kabuli Chana, organic pulses and Lintels to the tune of 10,000 MTs. Besides there is zero duty on import of pulses. Policy for Marginal Fields of ONGC and OIL Major expansion of role of private sector in oil and gas 

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval to the Marginal Fields Policy (MFP), for development of hydrocarbon discoveries made by national oil companies; Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd. (OIL). These discoveries could not be monetized for many years due to various reasons such as isolated locations, small size of reserves, high development costs, technological constraints, fiscal regime etc. 

Under the new policy, 69 oil fields which have been held by ONGC and OIL for many years, but have not been exploited, will be opened for competitive bidding. Under this

policy, exploration companies will be able to submit bids for exploiting these oil fields. These oil fields have not been developed earlier as they were considered as marginal fields, and hence were of lower priority. With appropriate changes in policy, it is expected that these fields can be brought into production. In keeping with the principle of `Minimum Government Maximum Governance’, significant changes have been made in the design of the proposed contracts. The earlier contracts were based on the concept of profit sharing. Under the profit sharing methodology, it became necessary for the Government to scrutinize cost details of private participants and this led to many delays and disputes. Under the new regime, the Government will not be concerned with the cost incurred and will receive a share of the gross revenue from the sale of oil, gas etc. The second change is that the licence granted to the successful bidder will cover all hydrocarbons found in the field. Earlier, the licence was restricted to one item only (e.g. oil) and separate licence was required if any other hydrocarbon, for example, gas was discovered and exploited. The new policy for these marginal fields also allows the successful bidder to sell at the prevailing market price of gas, rather than at administered price. 

This decision is expected to stimulate investment as well as higher domestic oil and gas production. 

Stamp Release on Women Empowerment 

Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to build stronger economies, achieve internationally agreed goals for development and sustainability, and improve the quality of life for women, men, families and communities. United Nations Development Program (UNDP) focuses on gender equality and women’s empowerment not only in term of human rights, but also because they are a pathway to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and sustainable development. 

The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive principles. The Constitution not only grants equality to women but also empower the State to adopt measure of positive discrimination in favour of women. 

Within the framework of a democratic polity, our laws, development policies, plans and programmes, have aimed at women’s advancement in different spheres. The National Commission for Women was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1990 to safeguard the rights and legal entitlements of women. The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) to the Constitution of India have provided for reservation of seats in the local bodies of Panchayats and Municipalities for women, laying a strong foundation for their participation in decision making at the local levels. 

Even though the women’s movement and a wide-spread network of non- Government Organizations, which have strong grass-roots presence and deep insight into women’s concerns, have contributed towards inspiring initiatives for the empowerment of women, there still exist a wide gap between the goals enunciated in the Constitution, legislation, policies plans, programmes, and related mechanisms on the one hand and the situational reality of the status of women in India, on the other. 

A holistic approach to women’s health which includes both nutrition and health services requires to be pursued where attention needs to be given to the needs of women and the girl at all stages of the life. The reduction of infant mortality and maternal mortality, which are sensitive indicators of human development, continues to be a priority concern. 

The Department of posts organized a nation-wide competition inviting entries for the designs of commemorative postage stamps on the theme “Women Empowerment”. Based on selected entries, a set of four stamps and a miniature sheet on the theme was released by Hon’ble Minister of Communication & Information Technology Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad here today. 

Focus on Image, Innovation, Initiative and Interaction’: Javadekar 

Environment Minister Addresses Conference of Forest, Wildlife Officers 

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Javadekar, today emphasised that forest and wildlife officers must focus on the 4 ‘I’s – Image, Innovation, Initiative and Interaction. Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day Conference of all Principal Chief Conservators of Forests and Wildlife Wardens here today, Shri Javadekar said that maintaining and improving the quality of forests is a major challenge. He said, “We must ensure that degraded forest must be converted into moderately dense forest in 10 years and moderately dense forest must be converted into dense forests in 5 years. To that end, water harvesting and changing some species is a must. Forest research institutes must draw up a distinct plan of improving the quality of each forest, taking the existing flora and climate into consideration”. He laid emphasis on ensuring people’s participation in changing the quality of forests. He also urged the officers to provide solutions to various challenges. The Minister said that a lot of good work is being done and such success stories and initiatives must be highlighted prominently. 

The two-day Conference will discuss various issues related to forest and wildlife, such as Forest Conservation Act, Eco Sensitive Zones (ESZs) and minimising human-wildlife conflict. Seventy-five PCCFs and higher officials representing all the 32 States are participating in the Conference. 

Shri Javadekar released a report – “Management effectiveness evaluation of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in India, 2006-2014”. The agreement to establish the world’s first centre of World Natural Heritage & Training at the Wildlife Institute of India was signed on the occasion. The Union Cabinet had recently given its approval for signing of agreement between UNESCO and the Government of India and had authorised Director General (Forests) and Special Secretary to Government of India to sign this agreement on behalf of the Government of India. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, has initiated a process of decentralisation and empowerment of the member countries of the UNESCO convention. As a part of this process, UNESCO has identified nine countries in the world for establishment of Category 2 centres for protection of cultural heritage. In the field of natural heritage, UNESCO has selected India for the establishment of the world’s first centre of World

Natural Heritage Management & Training at the Wildlife Institute of India. 

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Ashok Lavasa, said that there is a greater need to adhere to the prescribed timelines. He also said that since last year, there has been an increased transparency in the functioning of the Ministry. 

Shri Anil Kumar, Additional Director General (FC) in the Ministry delivered the vote of thanks. 

overnment issues notification to Repeal the FCRA, 1952 and shift the Regulation of the Commodity Derivaties Market to SEBI with effect from 28th September,2015. 

In exercise of powers conferred by Sections 131 and 133 of the Finance Act, 2015 (20 of 2015), the Central government hereby appoints the 28th Day of September, 2015 as the date on which the provisions of Part I (excluding Section 132) and Part II of Chapter VIII of the said Act shall come into force. A notification to this effect was issued on 28th August, 2015.As a result, Forward Contracts Regulation Act (FCRA) 1952 gets repealed and Regulation of Commodity Derivatives Market will shift to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) under Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) 1956 with effect from 28th September, 2015. 

This action has been taken in order to comply with the announcement made by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley during his Budget Speech while presenting the General Budget 2015-16. The Finance Minister had proposed to merge the Forwards Markets Commission (FMC) with SEBI to strengthen the regulation of Commodity Forward Markets. Enabling legislation, amending the Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) 1956 and FCRA 1952 were proposed in the Finance Act, 2015.NDRF to host Advance Coordination Conference ahead of the South Asian Annual

Disaster Management Exercise, SAADMEx-2015 

The Advance Coordination Conference ahead of the South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx-2015), organised by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), will begin here tomorrow. The Head of Disaster Response from the SAARC member countries besides representatives from National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), NDRF and Senior Officers from the nodal Ministries will be attending the two-day Conference where modalities and requirements for the main exercise to be conducted at the NDRF Base, Ghaziabad, during November 23-26, 2015 will be discussed. 

On the first day, Director, NIDM will make a Presentation on “Vulnerability Profile of South Asia” which will be followed by Country Presentations on “Disaster Response Mechanism and Capability in Response and Relief” by delegations from each of the eight SAARC nations, -Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. 

Government of India is organising the SAADMEx-2015 to provide a platform for sharing

of best practices on all aspects of disaster risk reduction, strengthening regional response and coordination for disaster management among the SAARC nations. 

Equal Focus on Various Forms of Renewable Power”- Shri Piyush Goyal 

Launches Indian Wind Resource Atlas at 100m Level: Online GIS 

Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy said that the Union Government has equal focus on various forms of renewable power and does not discriminate between solar, wind or biogas power in terms of providing support to these renewable sources. Shri Goyal said that the Government reinstated accelerated depreciation to boost wind power sector in the first budget of the new government so that people can expand and take benefits of the same. He was speaking after launching Indian Wind Resource Atlas at 100 metre level here today. 

Shri Piyush Goyal stated that the Atlas will help policy makers at Centre and State Governments to deal with issues related to tariff fixation, transmission, grade frequency etc and providing better infrastructure for the investors. He said that he is personally very delighted that the ministry has provided such crucial information in public domain at free of cost. He assured that the Ministries of Coal, Power and New & Renewable Energy will keep on providing more and more data in public domain and thus work on bringing transparency in the system. Shri Saurabh Patel, Gujarat Energy Minister, Shri Rajendra Shukla, Madhya Pradesh Energy Minister, Shri Pushpendra Singh, Rajasthan Energy Minister, Shri D.K. Shivkumar, Karnataka Energy Minister, senior officials from central agencies, state government and high level representatives of the wind industry were also present at the occasion. 

The new Indian Wind Atlas is an important online GIS (Geographic Information System) tool for identification of the regional and local wind energy potential in India. It contains average annual values of Wind Speed (m/s), Wind Power Density and Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) calculated for an average 2 MW turbine at 100 m. In the atlas the resultant layers are at very high resolution and joint frequency tables have been derived for the entire country at 500 m resolution. Also, high resolution Re-analysis data set has been used for the study- NCEP/CFSR which enhanced the accuracy of the mapping. The Atlas uses dynamic meso-micro coupled WRF modelling technique. 

Brief on Wind Energy Sector & Resource Atlas 

Grid connected renewable power has been a major focus area in the Ministry. So far, the installed capacity of renewable power is about 36,500 MW. Wind Power has made significant contribution to this achievement by way of 24,000 MW installed capacity, mainly in the states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Wind Electric Generators of unit sizes between 225 KW to 2.50 MW have been deployed across the country. India ranks 5th in the world after China, USA, Germany and Spain. Necessity for energy security and caution on environmental degradation made wind as one of the non-ignorable source in Indian energy mix. The government’s target of 60,000 MW of wind power by 2022 is highlighting the needed focus on the green power’s contribution in India’s sustainable

development. In order to meet the ambitious goals, India is not only committed to refine and strengthen the regulatory framework governing wind power in India, but also to provide the necessary reliable background information on the geographical variation and magnitude of the Indian wind resource and an estimated gross technical potential spread across entire country at today’s wind turbine hub heights . This information is essential for the policy makers, private players, Government agencies and other stakeholders of the industry to move towards achieving the ambitious goal as envisaged by the Government. With the above facts into consideration, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, through National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), an autonomous institute of MNRE, announced the “Indian Wind Resource Atlas : Online GIS”, using scientific combination of satellite and one of the world’s largest number of measured (1300 locations ) ground data. Under the direction of MNRE, the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), has created an online GIS based wind resource atlas at 100m hub height with scientific rigor and based on authentic latest available data-sets of wind as well as land geographically spread across India. NIWE (formerly C-WET) had already performed the potential estimation study corroborating meso-scale derived wind maps and micro-scale measurements and released Indian Wind Atlas at 50m and indicative values at 80m hub heights with 5km resolution in April 2010 in collaboration with RISO-DTU, Denmark. The potential assessment presently has been carried out at a very high (10times finer than 5km) resolution of 500m, using the advanced meso-micro coupled numerical wind flow model and with the corroboration of almost 1300 actual measurements spread all over India. The land information has been taken through land availability estimation using authentic data sources of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) in GIS format with detailed information available from Bhuvan Atlas maintained by the Department of land Resources in collaboration with the National remote Sensing Agency. 

West Central Railway Zone Becomes the First Zone on Indian Railways to Eliminate all Unmanned Level Crossings from its System 

The West-Central Railway (Headquarter: Jabalpur) Zone has become the first Railway Zone on Indian Railways to eliminate all unmanned level crossings from its system by 31st August, 2015. Out of total 118 unmanned level crossings falling on West-Central Railways as on 1st April, 2014, 80 were eliminated in the financial year 2014-15 and the target of 66 and the remaining 38 have been achieved in current financial year by 31st August, 2015. This could only be achieved by constructing 33 Limited Height Sub Ways (LHs) and manning of 30 level crossings. It is a big safety initiative. 

It can be termed as a great success for West-Central Railway. West-Central Railway has been taking all possible initiatives to improve its working by adopting all available modern technologies and has started special drive to improve its performance at all fronts including safety, cleanliness, punctuality etc. Strategies for Boosting Biotech Industry, Stem Cell Research, Genome Engineering,

Computational Biology and Drug Discovery were Outlined at a Strategy meet on Biotechnology 

 

The Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India is completing 30 years and will be celebrating its 30 th Foundation Day in February 2016. It was felt appropriate at this point to assess and analyze in consultation with all Stake-holders the 4P’s- Progress, Promises, Problems and Plans for Future. In this connection a Strategy Meet was organized by Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on 31st August, 2015 at NCR Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad. The Minister Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan presided over the meeting. The meeting was attended by the Directors and Senior Faculty of DBT aided Autonomous Institute’s, Senior Experts across the Country and Senior Members of the Civil Society. Secretary and all Officers of DBT were present. In his Opening Address, Secretary, DBT gave an overview and detailed assessment of the impact over the years and highlighted how DBT has contributed significantly through its efforts towards:Supporting Key MissionsSpear heading cutting edge researchBuilding Institutional and Human Resource CapacityForging Industry Academic partnershipLeveraging international strength through collaborations andGuiding policy thinking and analysis The Minister Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan in his Inaugural Address highlighted the importance of Biotechnology Sector to contribute to the society. He said that it would be important to develop a new sense of urgency and work towards preparing an Action Plan and address key strategies for the future to deliver perceptible and measurable impact to the benefit of society. The Minister also stated that the Biotechnology Sector which has an important role and cuts across all other sectors, takes forward its strategy in partnership with other S&T Ministry / Departments and State Governments. He appreciated the good work that DBT is doing in taking forward Biotechnology Research in the country and stressed the necessity to fix 3 to 4 focus areas with achievable targets in the next 2 to 3 years.  The Hon’ble Minister added that malnutrition could be one of the key focus areas elaborating that whereas there has been much research on nutrition, the research needed to be translated to yield benefits for people. In response to questions from management and social sector experts on perceptible and measurable strategies of DBT over the next couple of years, Secretary DBT underlined the following: Biotech will see at least a 20 % increase in new companies, 20% more biotech incubators, 20% more social-sector partnerships, and 20% more Med-tech devices each year over the next three years 

Results from stem-cell research will see impact on Sickle-cell anemia and Thalassemia treatments in three years Work on maternal health, pre-term birth and stunted growth will result in significant improvement in nutrition and anemia treatment - programs for women within 2-3 years India will establish a substantial presence in genome engineering and computational biology in coming three (3) years. Mapping of the biodiversity of our islands and the coral reefs will be completed next year from which drug discovery centres will have access to novel compounds in two years Major international collaborations will be established this year and the next following high-level exchanges with Japan (Stem-cells), France (Marine Biology) Canada (Stem cells), Netherlands (Vaccines), UK (Agri-plant), Netherlands (vaccines), US (Energy, Vaccines) The Hon’ble Minister Science & Technology highlighted that while the overall strategy of the DBT was clear, each institution and each unit of DBT should have measurable targets over the next couple of years. The DBT aided Autonomous Institutions have contributed significantly to the specific domain areas of expertise and concerted efforts has been made to take basic research through translation to product development. From the analysis it was noted that a number of technologies, products and patents have been generated and DBT has worked towards promoting Industry Innovation Research. Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), which is a Public Sector of DBT focusses on promoting the innovation ecosystem and today a large number Startups and young Innovators have benefited from the support provided. A number of products and technologies have been delivered. In the presentations made by the Directors of DBT Autonomous Institutions and other experts a broad overview of various thematic areas was presented highlighting specifically where we stand vis-à-vis the global scenario, the challenges faced and future action plan. At the end of the meeting after detailed deliberations, a clear road map for the future was prepared. The targeted mission is to “Accelerate the pace of growth of Biotechnology Sector to achieve a target of $110 billion by 2025”. It was agreed to focus on:Building a skilled workforce and leadership.Encouraging basic and discovery research and connecting this to our society.Nurturing innovation, translation and entrepreneurship to transform our society.

Ensuring a transparent and globally best regulatory environment.Building and fostering partnerships both at National and International level. It was also agreed that for effective implementation of these strategic decisions it is important that we create a matrix of the measurements of process as well as outcome. Key Missions are also being formulated to address major National Challenges on Healthcare, Energy, Food Security and Human Resource.

EEPC to focus on product quality and market as well as product diversification 

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) today (September 3, 2015) at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. 

Speaking on the occasion, the President called upon the EEPC to focus on product quality and market as well as product diversification. He commended the EEPC for taking initiatives to promote new and emerging sectors such as Defense, Medical Devices and Renewable Energy and for its stress on Skill Development. 

The President complemented EEPC for having become the largest organization of its kind with over 13,000 members out of whom 60% are SMEs after having started its journey with only 40 exporters at a time when India’s engineering exports were all of 10 million US dollars. He pointed out that exports from India crossed US$70 billion in the last fiscal, which he described as testimony to the service EEPC has been rendering to the nation. 

The President said engineering is the leading segment of Indian industry and overseas shipments from this sector account for over twenty-two percent of India’s total merchandise exports. The engineering sector accounts for 25 percent of India’s total factories in the organized sector and contributes around 35 percent of total output in the country, being the highest foreign exchange earner. 

The President said EEPC’s achievements have been many, but there is a long path which still remains to be traversed. India’s share in the world market was however abysmally low at less than 1%. It is not possible to be satisfied with this situation. To consistently achieve high growth rates over the next two decades, India would require unprecedented investments in infrastructure, human and social capital. Infrastructure development for India is, thus, both an imperative and a key concern. The growth prospects for the engineering sector in the light of stepping up of investments in infrastructure and physical capital are, accordingly, immense. 

The President expressed confidence that EEPC India will continue to enlarge the sphere of its activities in coordination with all stakeholders and build up a formidable brand value for the Indian engineering industry in the years to come.

Government Closes Indian People’s Natural Calamity Trust and Transfers its Corpus to PM Relief Fund 

Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare has taken a decision to wind up the Indian People’s Natural Calamity Trust (IPNCT) created by former Ruler of Jaipur in 1900, with an objective to provide relief to the Indian people during famine. The Trust is presently administered under the chairmanship of Agriculture Minister with 27 nominated members and two officers. With the passage of time, the Trust seems to have outlived its utility. Since its last meeting held in August 1995, the Trust has no significant activity except giving donations through PM Relief Fund in case of natural disasters. Now disaster management is being handled by National Disaster Management Authority in Ministry of Home Affairs which has sufficient budget and infrastructure. With the consent of the representative of the former Ruler of Jaipur and opinion of Ministry of Law & Justice, it has been decided to wind up the Trust and Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh decided to transfer the balance fund of nearly Rs.91 lakhs in its corpus to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for better utilization of the funds. Smart City is what citizens want their city to be, says Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu today said that ‘ a Smart City is what the citizens want their city to be and the city level plans should be evolved based on extensive consultations with them. Smart City Plans will be evaluated in the second stage of City Challenge competition based on such consultations and their economic and environmental impacts.” 

Shri Venkaiah Naidu was addressing the Smart City Regional Workshop held here today for ten Northern states and Gujarat to discuss various aspects of preparation of Smart City Plans and related issues. Mayors and Municipal Chairpersons and Municipal Commissioners from cities included in Smart City Mission and Principal Secretaries of Urban Development from these states besides representatives of domestic and global technical agencies and consultants and multi-lateral lending agencies attended the workshop. The participating states and Union Territories of Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat accounted for 40 of the 98 smart city candidates, 201 of 482 AMRUT cities and 5 of the 12 HRIDAY cities identified so far. 

The Minister said that for realizing the India growth story, the urban areas of the country need to be improved in terms of infrastructure, urban governance to enhance business and economic activity and quality of life. 

Shri Naidu urged the elected representatives and officials of the cities included in the Smart City Mission to leave behind the jubiliation over the same and face the tough challenge of making them smart, for which the clock has begun to tick. He expressed confidence that the urban landscape of the country can be recast to make urban areas more livable and more effective engines of economic growth under the epochal new beginning made under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. 

The Urban Development Minister said that a paradigm shift has been introduced to enable the success of new urban development initiatives based on the learnings of the past, including the implementation of JNNURM. Elaborating on the essential features of

this new approach, Shri Naidu said, these include : Bottom-up planning based on citizen participation, complete autonomy to states and UTs in project proposal, appraisal and approval, selection of cities and towns under new urban missions based on objective criteria, convergence of different schemes to enable integrated planning and better utilization of resources for visible impact on ground and unprecedented resource support to states and urban local bodies. 

Shri Naidu informed that as against central assistance of only Rs.36,000 cr under ten year long JNNURM, the present central government has committed to spend over Rs.3.00 lakh crores on urban development during the next five to six years. Transfer of divisible revenues to the States has been increased by a whopping 10% besides enhanced assistance of Rs.64,032 cr to urban local bodies over the next five years, he said. 

Seeking to motivate the Mayors, Municipal Chairpersons and Municipal Commissioners of 40 cities included in Smart City Mission, Shri Naidu said ; “You have it in you to rise to the challenge of making these cities smart if you so desire and act accordingly. All that is needed is change of mindset and commitment to live up to people’s expectations and the desire to be remembered for what you have done instead of worrying about the next elections.” 

Shri Naidu informed the elected and executive heads of urban local bodies that the Smart City Plans to be now prepared for evaluation in the second stage of City Challenge competition will be broadly assessed for the extent and quality of citizen participation and their economic and environmental impacts. These city level plans are to be submitted to the Urban Development Ministry in the next three months for evaluation for selecting the top 20 rankers for extending financial support during the current financial year. 

Differentiating between the Smart City Mission and the Atal Mission (AMRUT), Shri Madhusudhan Prasad, Secretary (UD) said that the former is based on selection while the latter on entitlement. He stressed that “Smart City Mission is not a mere urban infrastructure upgradation mission. It is area based and intended to benefit all the citizens of an urban areas in one form or the other. For the success of smart city mission, one has to think out of the box and act accordingly. “

Under AMRUT, all towns and cities with a population of more than one lakh each are included in the mission for ensuring basic infrastructure to improve service levels by targeting individual households. Under Smart City Mission, selection of cities is based on competition and the implementation strategy is area based. 

A Study Titled ‘All India Cold-Chain Capacity Assessment (Status & Gaps) Released 

Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Dr. Sanjeev Balayan, released a study titled ‘All India Cold-chain Capacity Assessment (Status & Gaps)’ here yesterday. The study was undertaken by the National Centre for Cold-chain Development (NCCD) along with NABARD Consultancy Service (Nabcons). 

A unique aspect of this study is that it takes into account the actual per-capita

consumption of food items, thereby making the assessment realistic and relevant to existing market demand. The study analyses the requirement of all types of cold-chain infrastructure, directly linked to the flow of perishable food stuffs to urban clusters of India. 

This is the first ever study that undertakes a holistic approach to cold-chain as it evaluates all the necessary logistics components, including modern pack-houses, refrigerated transport, cold stores as distribution platforms and ripening chambers, besides traditional cold stores. The report has highlighted that the gap in India’s cold-chain is not as much due to a lack of cold storage capacity, but more to do with various other components, necessary to implement farm-to-fork connectivity. 

Releasing the study, Dr. Balayan, said that “the cold-chain sector is part of India’s second green revolution and high value products such as fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry and dairy are critically dependent on it. This study by NCCD has underlined the missing links in agri-logistics and will help devise long term plans and policies to improve our cold-chain networks. The report highlights that in future, development focus needs to be more on modern pack-houses and refrigerated transport, which are important to initiate the appropriate logistics chain from villages to city centres.” 

As per this report by NCCD, to fulfil current consumption of urban clusters, India needs about 70,000 pack-houses, each equipped with a pre-cooler and dispatch room for onwards transport links. Currently, the country only has about 250 such pack-houses. On the other hand, India seems to have better status in form of large cold storage facilities. The gap in cold store capacity is projected at only about 3.5 million tons in space. As per recorded data of 31-March-2014, the country has created cold stores of 31.8 million metric tons in holding capacity. This breaks away from various earlier reports which suggested that India required to create a total of 61 million tons of cold storages for its perishable produce. To match this storage, country is said to have less than 10,000 refrigerated vehicles, whereas the requirement is estimated at 62,000 vehicles. Lack of pack-houses and transport connectivity results in a breach in the integrity of cold-chain. This also results in most of the cold storage capacity being used to store only crops like potato, dried chillies, pulses, etc. which do not need onwards cold-chain connectivity. 

The Prime Minister has frequently expressed the need to improve market linked connectivity for agricultural produce. This study is an important step in this direction and provides inputs for planning future development. Previously, the main focus was on creating of cold stores, and this report now explains how farm-gate infrastructure in form of modern pack-houses and reefer vehicles is key to connecting the farmers with the distribution network. The report lays emphasis that modern pack-houses, which are used to prepare and pre-condition the fresh farm produce for subsequent logistics connectivity in the cold-chain, are a critical missing link. Without these village level facilities, farmers of high value fruits and vegetables are not able to take full advantage of the cold-chain. 

At the release of the study, Shri Siraj Hussain, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation said, “This is the first such study that directly correlates the food

consumption with source points, making the evaluation more relevant and market linked. This study has demonstrated that cold-chain development needs to address “end-to-end” connectivity from farm-gate to consumers. To be future ready, India requires modern and smart logistics to serve as the logistics bridge between source points and markets.” 

The existing food distribution suffers food losses due to lack of integrated cold-chains. Establishing modern supply chains for perishable food items, not only minimises the food losses, but also empowers the farmers to reach across to more distant markets. Integrated cold-chain, enables the farmer groups proactively connect to various demand centres and take advantage of the recently launched National Agriculture Market. This empowering aspect of cold-chain, allows for a greater geographical spread of markets by countering produce perishability, and is key to gainful and improved value realisation for farmers. 

To support cold-chain as an important agri-logistics intervention, the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, is providing incentives to entrepreneurs for the development of all such relevant cold-chain infrastructure components. Also present at the release of the report were Shri Sanjeev Chopra, Joint Secretary (DAC-MIDH) and Shri Pawanexh Kohli, Chief Advisor & CEO of NCCD. 

The assessments made in this study have disregarded cold-chain use where the produce is harvested within 300 kilometres of the consumption centres since the selling cycle is manageable well within the normal holding life of the perishable produce. The study has also suggested that the additional time gained by using the cold-chain should be used to reach out to concentration of consumers to better use the remaining shelf life. The example of the quick and efficient supply systems developed for milk distribution is highlighted. The document includes key definitions which is the first comprehensive listing of terminology used so as to add clarity to the concept of cold-chain. Skill India’ connects with India Inc through Google+ Hangout on partnerships for

Skill Development 

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in partnership with the World Bank organized a Google+ Hangout with participants from some of India’s largest companies to enable greater engagement in the skills space.

It marked one of the first direct engagements between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the corporate sector. The panelists consisted of Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State (I/C) SDE, Shri Rohit Nandan, Secretary (SDE), Shri S. Ramadorai, Chairman - NSDA & NSDC, and Mr. Onno Ruhl, Country Director - World Bank, in addition to the heads of large Indian corporate houses like SBI, BHEL, Amazon, ICICI Bank, Mahindra, ONGC, TCS and Lemon Tree Hotels. The discussion was moderated by Shereen Bhan from CNBC TV18.

The Google+ Hangout, saw the government and corporates discuss innovative models for skill development which have been successful in small pockets and could be scaled up to benefit the community. The topic of how Corporate Social Responsibility funds of

Indian companies can be channeled towards skill development initiatives of the government, was also on the agenda for the discussion.

The Minister highlighted that there were silos in the skill development landscape which need to be tackled by removing disconnect between individual skill development efforts initiated by various entities and setting national standards of skilling and certification. The integration process started by the government would help scale skill development efforts across the country. Citing international examples, the Minister exalted industry and corporates to play a proactive role in the skill training ecosystem of the country.

ICICI mentioned that their experience of imparting skill training to 25,000 people through 21 skill development institutes with knowledge partners as well as governments of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh had been very positive. 300 employers have already signed MoUs to place persons trained through these centres and ICICI targets to train 1 lakh people in the coming years. SBI also has around 117 rural training centres where 2,65,000 persons have been trained across 247 vocations. However, challenges of productivity and placements, which can be tackled through focused skill gap analyses, were highlighted by Ms. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman-SBI. Ameet Nivsarkar from TCS mentioned that their BPO employability programmes and IT employability programmes, having trained over 74,000 persons, still face issues of unqualified instructors and outdated curriculum. 

 

Amit Agarwal, Country Director of Amazon India also brought forth that they could collaborate with the government by sharing their certification programmes and training delivery methodologies. Rajeev Dubey, Chairman & CEO, Mahindra Rise reiterated that their experience of adopting ITIs has been very successful as evidenced by the 100% placement rate achieved. He indicated that their efforts are being directed at adopting more ITIs and linking the trainees to jobs at the end of the training period.

“There is a need to create credible training and certification procedures which would be valuable to employers as it is essential to ultimately link skills to jobs. Being the human resource capital of the world implies that the aspirations of each Indian need to be addressed. This can only be done by ensuring equal opportunity for skilling to reach even the most disadvantaged segments of society”, said Onno Ruhl,World Bank Country Director in India

Secretary, SDE mentioned that efforts were being made by the Ministry in collaboration with World Bank, to create a platform for sharing of funds and knowledge resources between the corporate and government towards skill development. It was also reiterated that partnerships between the government and industry is essential, since the scale of skilling required cannot be achieved through individual efforts. 

Government Announces One Rank One Pension Scheme for Ex-Servicemen <br< div="" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">

 The Government has announced the One Rank One Pension scheme for the Ex-

Servicemen. This was announced by the Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar here today. The following is the statement of the Defence Minister:

“Government of India respects its Defence Forces and Ex-Servicemen for their valour, patriotism and sacrifices. The Government is proud of their devotion to duty and bravery. Our forces, besides vigilantly and gallantly defending the nation, have displayed exemplary   standards   of   courage   and   bravery   in   natural   calamities,   law   and   order situations and other difficult circumstances.

The issue of “One Rank One Pension” (OROP) has been pending for nearly four decades.   It   is   a   matter   of   deep   anguish   that   the   various   governments   remained ambivalent on the issue of OROP. In February 2014, the then Government stated that OROP would be implemented in 2014-15, but did not specify what OROP would be, how it  would  be   implemented  or  how much   it  would   cost.  An  estimated  Rs.  500   crore provided for OROP in the budget presented in February 2014 by the then government was  not  based  on  any   thorough  analysis.   It   is   pertinent   to  mention   that   the   then Minister of State for Defence in 2009 had, in reply to a question, informed Parliament that there are administrative, technical and financial difficulties in implementing OROP. It is for these reasons that the present government took some time to fulfil its promise.

Prime Minister  Shri  Narendra  Modi  has,  on  various  occasions,   reiterated   the Government’s   commitment   to   implement   OROP   for   Ex-Servicemen   under   military pension. As stated above, the previous government has estimated that OROP would be implemented with a budget provision of a mere Rs. 500 crore. The reality, however, is that to implement OROP, the estimated cost to the exchequer would be Rs. 8,000 to 10,000 crore at present, and will increase further in future.

The Government held extensive consultations with experts and Ex-Servicemen. The main argument for OROP is that the Defence personnel retire early and thus are not able to get the benefits of serving till normal retirement age. Despite the huge fiscal burden, given its commitment to the welfare of Ex-Servicemen, the Government has taken a decision to implement the OROP.

In simple terms, OROP implies that uniform pension be paid to the Armed Forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, regardless of their date   of   retirement.   Future   enhancements   in   the   rates   of   pension   would   be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. This implies bridging the gap between the rate of pension of current and past pensioners at periodic intervals.

Under this definition, it has been decided that the gap between rate of pension of current pensioners and past pensioners will be bridged every 5 years.

Under the OROP Scheme:

The benefit will be given with effect from 1st July, 2014. The present government assumed office  on  26th May,  2014  and   therefore,   it  has  been  decided   to  make   the scheme effective from a date immediately after.

Arrears will  be paid  in four half-yearly  instalments.  All  widows,   including war widows, will be paid arrears in one instalment.

To begin with, OROP would be fixed on the basis of calendar year 2013.

Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners retiring in the same rank and with the same  length  of  service  as   the average of  minimum and maximum pension  in  2013. Those drawing pensions above the average will be protected.

Personnel who voluntarily retire will not be covered under the OROP scheme.

In future, the pension would be re-fixed every 5 years.

It   is estimated that the expenditure on arrears alone would be ten to twelve thousand  crores  of   rupees.   Apart   from the   fact   that   the  previous  government  had provided   for  only  Rs.   500   crore   in   the  budget,   it   is   noteworthy   that   the  Koshiyari Committee had accepted the estimate of Rs. 235 crore as additional financial burden to implement OROP. The present government has accepted OROP in true spirit without being constrained by these inaccurate estimates.

OROP  is  a  complex   issue.  A  thorough examination of   interests  of   retirees  of different periods and different ranks  is needed. The inter-service  issues of the three Forces also require consideration. This is not an administrative matter alone. Therefore, it has also been decided that a One Member Judicial Committee would be constituted which will give its report in six months.

Prime Minister Shri Modi has fulfilled his commitment and approved OROP for Armed   Forces   personnel.  Ministry   of  Defence  will   soon   issue  detailed  Government Order.”

National Meet on Promoting Space Technology based Tools and Applications in Governance and Development on 7th September 2015 

The Prime Minister of India during his address at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota on June 30, 2014, urged Department of Space to pro-actively engage with all stakeholders to maximise the use of space science in governance and development. National Meet on “Promoting Space Technology based Tools and Applications in Governance & Development” National Meet on “Promoting Space Technology based Tools and Applications in Governance & Development” at a function organised in New Delhi today. The one-day National Meet provided an opportunity for interaction amongst ministries/departments and state governments towards enhanced utilization of the space technology in governance and development. The basic objective of the meet include harnessing the benefits of space technology in planning and development process, preserving eco-

system, better managing and conversing country’s natural resources and improving disaster management support through synergy of Remote Sensing, Communication and navigation based solutions. It also aims to help the states by building state level geospatial data repository and delivering state specific applications. 

Emphasizing upon the need of using space technology for the benefit of common man, the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said that no space should be left between the common man and the space technology. The technology should be utilised for the benefit of the common man. Technology is a driving force with huge impact. He asked all departments to from one cell for technology where the youth with scientific temper can work for the promotion of technology. He also said that capacity building can be done through human resource development for which ISRO can work in coordination with HRD Ministry and state governments. He also called for “Start-up India, Stand-up India” initiative to be implemented with regard to science. The Prime Minister appealed to the youth with scientific temper for “start-up” in the field of technology. 18 expert teams were constituted within ISRO in order to hold proactive interactions with the Central Ministries regarding use of space technology. Subsequently various projects across ministries/departments have emerged where space technology can be used. The space technology can be helpful for the flagship programmes of the Government, he added. 

During the day, nine Sessions were held on various themes including Agriculture, Energy & Environment, Infrastructure Planning, Water Resources, Technology Diffusion, Developmental Planning, Communication & Navigation, Weather & Disaster Management and Health & Education. The Secretaries of Central Ministries/Departments presented joint action plans on effective utilization of Space Technology to enhance functional effectiveness, facilitate planning and decision making. The Chairs of these nine theme sessions presented the salient outcomes of the sessions in the august presence of the Prime Minister. 

Various areas were identified for the use of space technology including environment impact assessment, forest fire alert system, GIS based infrastructure planning, geo-morphological mapping for mining, mapping of protected areas & coastal zones, asset management, satellite communication for remote regions, toll information system for NH on Bhuvan portal, site management plan for tourist places under ASI, GAGAN based Geo-tagging and 3D visualization, potential fishing zone information, water bodies & ground water prospects mapping, countryside DTH coverage through expansion of private channel network served by additional satellite transponders, tele-education and disease surveillance and occupational health among others. Various challenges including sharing of data to avoid duplication of efforts and integration between the states and other departments and limited capacity were also discussed during the meet. 

The Officials from Prime Minister Office & Cabinet Secretariat, Secretaries, Special Secretaries, Additional Secretaries, Joint Secretaries and Senior Officials of all the Ministries/Departments, Chief Secretaries of all States/Union Territories, Principal

Secretaries and senior officials of the State Line Departments and Academia/Institutions and functionaries from Department of Space/ISRO were also present on the occasion. 

Intervention by Environment Minister at the Informal COP-21 Meeting in Paris The world must debate seriously the sustainable lifestyle issue, as only sustainable lifestyle can mitigate the challenge of Climate Change. Technology may bring forth some solutions, but we must ensure that needs of 7 billion people are met on a sustainable basis. Greed and unsustainable lifestyle should have no place in a new world regime to fight Climate Change and its ill-effects. 

Latest Earth Overshoot Report is an eye-opener. Global Footprint Network (GFN) every year presents a report on ecological footprint which maps consumption and requirement of natural resources to sustain it. Lifestyle adopted in developed countries is unsustainable and it will require five Earths to fulfil their lifestyle demands. On the other hand, Indian lifestyle is sustainable where one earth is sufficient. This is not because of poverty, but because of Indian value systems. We believe in need-based consumption and our lifestyle is against extravagant consumption. We have an ingrained sense of responsibility where wasteful consumption is abhorred. Therefore, the Paris conference must include a debate on lifestyles. The Earth Overshoot Report has indicated that the Ecological Footprint of developed countries ranges from 8 to 4 whereas India is at 0.9. 

India and other developing countries have priority of eradication of poverty. They cannot be asked to compromise on that goal in the name of Climate Change. Every poor of the World has the right to emerge out of poverty, and poor and developing countries need sufficient carbon space to ensure sustainable development. As Climate Change impacts the poorer and vulnerable sections severely, we must ensure climate justice. 

Shri Javadekar expressed concern over the recently concluded Bonn negotiations round wherein instead of discussion on draft text, there was an effort to steamroll and thrust new ideas. It also rejected proposals of developing countries. For a successful Paris summit, next round of Bonn negotiations in October must come out with a draft text, which will include all the principles of convention like CBDR and Equity, as also all elements of Convention like Mitigation, Adaptation, Finance & Technology and Capacity Building in the core agreement. 

Shri Javadekar also chaired a meeting of the group of Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) at the Indian Embassy and held bilaterals with UK, USA and Germany.” Announces initiating efforts to replicate this successful model across the country Addressing the students after visiting Meritorious School at Bhatinda (Bathinda) in Punjab today, the Union Minister of HRD said that this model has shown the way to the Government of India for benefitting the poor but meritorious students adding that by opening such schools Shri Badal has created a history in the country. She urged the Chief Minister to send a team of experts to the Government of India so that their valuable advice could be incorporated in the New Education Policy to replicate this model at national level. This will help in benefitting poor but meritorious students across the country. 

In his address the Chief Minister said that the state of Punjab was blessed with students who despite belonging to economically weaker strata of society were excellent in their studies. He said that the State Government had opened these meritorious schools with a sole aim to tap their enormous potential to full extent. The CM Shri Badal said that this model of schooling was the need of the hour to ensure that students from economically weaker sections were enormously benefitted. 

The Chief Minister further said that realizing the unprecedented success of the ‘Meritorious School’ model in the state, the Punjab Government has recently approved the setting of three more such schools at Sangrur, Ferozepur and Gurdaspur districts at a cost of Rs. 30 crore each. He said that these schools would be established on the pattern of already existing seven such Meritorious Schools at SAS Nagar (Mohali), Patiala, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Talwara (Hoshiarpur). 

Earlier the Union HRD Minister Smt. Smriti Irani, the Union Food Processing Minister Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal and the Chief Minister Shri Badal, had detailed interactive session with the children of this meritorious school at Bathinda. 

TRAI Releases Report of the “Independent agencies engaged for Assessment of (i) Implementation and effectiveness of various regulations, directions and orders in the interest of consumers and (ii) Customer Perception of Service through Survey 

 TRAI has conducted Customer satisfaction survey through independent agencies

for the assessment of Quality of Service being provided by the telecom service providers and collected customers views through survey for the assessment of (i) Implementation and Effectiveness of various regulations, directions and orders issued by TRAI in the interest of consumers and (ii) Customer perception of telecom service through surveys during the period from October, 2014 to March, 2015. The survey was carried out in the service areas of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh (East &West) in North Zone, West Bengal, North East, Bihar & Jharkhand in East Zone, Mumbai and Rest of Maharashtra in West Zone,   Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in South Zone in respect of Basic Telephone Service (Wire line), Cellular Mobile Telephone Service and Broadband Service. Survey on Quality of Service Parameters:As per the methodology of the survey, survey questionnaire has been framed to assess customer perception on service relating to the following seven quality of service parameters specified in the regulations·         Provision of services·         Billing performance·         Help services including customer grievance redressal·         Network performance, reliability and availability·         Maintainability·         Supplementary and value added services·         Overall service quality 

The satisfaction of the customers were assessed on a scale of 1 to 7, where a score of 4 to 7 denotes levels of customer satisfaction and score below 4 is considered as customer dissatisfaction. The survey reveals that the satisfaction level varies from service area to service area and from service provider to service provider. Survey on the customer centric provisions of various Regulations:For assessing effectiveness of the regulations relating to awareness about grievances redressal mechanism, implementation of mobile number portability and UCC regulation, following parameters were surveyed.·         Registration for blocking unsolicited commercial calls/SMSs (Basic/Cellular)·         Satisfaction on effectiveness of blocking of unsolicited commercial calls/SMSs

(Basic/Cellular)·         Satisfaction on ease of lodging the complaint:·         Satisfaction on action taken on the complaint lodged·         Awareness about the grievance redressal mechanisms·         Consumers’ complaints to toll free consumer care number·         Satisfaction with manner in which the complaint was handled in consumer care ·         Consumers’ appeal to Appellate Authority and Satisfaction with manner in which

the appeal was addressed·         Utilization of Mobile Number Portability service: (Cellular)·         Satisfaction with information provided under Fair Usage policy (in case of

broadband)·         Satisfaction with the facility to measure the broadband connection speed (In case

of Broadband) The results of the survey reveal that the telecom service providers need to take effective steps for making their consumers aware of the various grievances redressal mechanism available to them including awareness of the Appellate Authority, to improve customer’s satisfaction.

Ultra Marathon 

Indian Air Force is organizing an Ultra Marathon from Air Force Station Pathankot to Air Force Station Hindon covering a distance of around 574 Km in 11 days on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of 1965 Indo-Pak war. Seven air warriors will be participating in this unique endeavour, covering on an average 60 Km per day. 

nternational Literacy Day–2015 Celebrated 

Without literacy Empowerment not possible, says president of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee 

Shri Pranab Mukherjee, President of India said that all leaders including Mahatma Gandhi have emphasised on literacy. Literacy was included even in Millennium Development Goals. He said this while speaking at the function held for celebrating International Literacy Day 2015 at New Delhi today. The function was organised by National Literacy Mission Authority, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The President further said that we have significantly raised our literacy rates from 18% in 1951 to 72.98% in 2011 but are yet to achieve 100% literacy.

We must strive to achieve the goal of literacy laid down in XII Five Year Plan and gender gap in literacy should not remain more than 10 percentage points.  Saakshar Bharat in combination with Swachh Bharat has the potential to transform India. Literacy gives empowerment and without it empowerment is not possible. Literacy has assumed greater significance in light of paradigm shift which has taken place in last one decade by giving rights to people backed by enactments in areas of employment, education and information etc. Therefore, we must consider empowerment and sustainability through literacy. President congratulated Minister of Human Resource Development for fixing target of 100% literacy under Saansad Aadarsh Gram Yojna. In his closing remarks, he said that we must make Bharat – Saakshar Bharat, Swachh Bharat – a Bharat of our dreams! Smt. Smriti Irani, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, in her address, congratulated the literacy functionaries and volunteers and said that it is a matter of prestige that in the last 15 months a record number of 2.28 crore learners have been made literate. Scope of literacy has been expanded to include economic empowerment of beneficiaries and around one crore bank accounts have been opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna. Efforts of literacy functionaries deserve appreciation and require to be stated in figures and it must be mentioned that very recently and in a short span of one month, they have mobilised and facilitated around 92.7 lakh beneficiaries to avail benefits of Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna. She said national policy on education is being revised and for the revised policy, she requested one and all to suggest ways and means to achieve the goal of universal literacy. The Ministry has taken the pledge to achieve 100% literacy by March 2016, in adopted Saansad Aadarsh Grams located in 410 districts and made an appeal to state and district representatives to take similar kind of pledge for their respective operational areas. She made an appeal to literacy functionaries and officials to spread the message to honour women in family and only then one would be considered as literate and educated. Shri Upendra Kushwaha, Minister of State for Human Resource Development (School Education & Literacy) in his welcome address said that illiteracy in India or elsewhere is a blot on the face of humanity. Illiteracy must be eradicated and it is the responsibility of educated ones to do it. It is unfortunate that one out of every five men and one third of women in India are still illiterate. Our country has progressed and we are moving towards the goal of literacy but much remains to be done. Therefore, whoever you are, wherever you are you must contribute towards efforts for eradication of illiteracy.  Shri Shigeru Aoyagi, Director, UNESCO, at New Delhi read out the message of Ms. Irina Bokova, Director General, UNESCO. Ms. Bokova said, UNESCO’s message on this International Literacy Day is to allow women and men to participate fully in their societies, we need greater investments and more effective policies to embed action for literacy within wider development policies, supported by innovative mechanisms that generate positive synergies across all policy areas that are vital to build more just and cohesive societies. This is essential to all efforts to build a better future for all, on the basis of human rights and dignity.A short film, titled, ‘Saaksharta Se Samajik Suraksha Ki Ore’, was screened during the function. It highlighted the efforts done under Saakshar Bharat programme to mobilise

and facilitate the target groups to avail benefits of financial inclusion and social security schemes of Government of India especially Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna.The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee also presented 11 Saakshar Bharat Awards - 2015 to States, Districts, Blocks, Gram Panchayats, State Resource Centre (SRC) and Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) for best performance in the field of adult education and skill development. Following are the list of awardees:

Category of Award WinnersBest Performing State Tamil NaduBest Performing District 1. Bastar, Chhattisgarh

2. Dharampuri, Tamil Nadu3. Haveri, Karnataka

Best Performing Gram Panchayat

1. Palamalai, Salem District, Tamil   Nadu2. Giroud, Raipur District, Chhattisgarh3. Poosarlapadu, Srikakulam District, Andhra

Pradesh4. Ankireddygudem, Nalgonda District,

Telangana5. Khanggabok Part - II, Mayai Leikai , 

Thoubal District, ManipurBest Performing Resource Support Organisation

1. State Resource Centre (SRC), West Bengal2. Jan Shikshan Sansthan, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh

 ew production facility for prosthetics under ‘Make in India’ initiative 

Distribution of assistive AIDS and Appliances for Persons with Disabilities 

Minister for Social justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot inaugurated the new production facility for producing affordable State- Of- Art lower limb prosthetic systems at Kanpur today. Estimated cost of this project is Rs.6 Crores. 

It is to be noted that, under the ‘Make In India’ initiative of the Prime Minister, Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) working under the aegis of Department Of Empowerment Of Person with Disability (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), inked the Transfer of Technology (ToT) and Technical & Consultancy Services agreement with multinational company Ottobock for mass manufacturing of new generation Lower limb prosthetic systems for PwDs (Persons with Disabilities) in the country at affordable price. With this new production unit ALIMCO will be able to produce technologically advanced prosthetic system which will improve the independence and mobility of lower limbs amputees from all section of society in the country. 

In the continuous spree of providing free of cost distribution of Assistive Aids and Appliances to the Persons with Disabilities, Kanpur based Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), conducted another successful camp at Kanpur Dehat District (on the border of Kanpur). The Union Minister for Social Justice

and Empowerment Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot, distributed artificial limbs and aids to 692 pre-identified beneficiaries with different kind of disabilities. They were provided aids and assistive devices, prosthetics, valuing over Rs. 60 Lakhs under the ADIP scheme of the Government in the camp. These beneficiaries were pre-identified during the assessment camps conducted last month in August this year. 

20 specially indentified beneficiaries having more than 80% disability were handed over battery operated motorized Tricycle fitted with Utility Box costing Rs.37,000 each. Major cost of this high end product was borne by the Ministry and amount of Rs.2.4 lakh was graciously provided by local MP Shri Devendra Singh ‘Bhole’ utilizing MP LAD fund. 

Pre-identified beneficiaries were provided with various assistive aids and devices which includes 550-Tricycles, 26-Wheelchairs, 596-Crutches (Axilla and L-bow), 93-Walking Stick, 01-Rollators for Orthopedically Impaired persons 08-Braille Cane (folding), 42-Behind The Ear – Digital Hearing Aid machines and 02- MSIED Kit (Multi Sensory Inclusive Educational Kit) for Children with Special Needs. Also in the camp 26 Prosthetics and Orthotics appliances were distributed. 

Shri Lov Verma, Secretary and Shri Awanish Kumar Awasthi, Joint Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disability, Shri D R Sarin, CMD, ALIMCO and senior officers/officials of the Ministry were present on the occasion.

Handloom

fabrics and handloom weavers form an integral part of the rich culture, heritage and tradition of India. Apart from providing one of the basic needs of human beings, along with a sizable contribution to GDP and export, this Industry provides direct and indirect employment to lakhs of people in the rural and urban areas. Handloom is one of the largest employment providers after agriculture in India.  This sector provides employment to 43.31 lakh persons engaged on about 23.77 lakh handlooms, of which 10% are from scheduled castes,18%belong to the scheduled tribes, and 45% belong to other backward classes. Production in the handloom sector recorded a figure of 7116 million sq. meters in the year 2013-14. During 2014-15, production in the handloom sector is reported to be 3547 million sq. Meters (April-September-2014)

         This sector contributes nearby 15% of the cloth production in the country and also contributes to the export earning of the country. Ninety five percent of the world’s hand woven fabric comes from India. It has been sustained by transferring skills from one generation to   another. The strength of the sector lies in its uniqueness, flexibility of production, openness to innovations, adaptability to the suppliers’ requirement and the wealth of its tradition.

 However, handloom industry needs to reorient itself for meeting the challenges being posed by rapid economic, social and technological changes. Efforts are required to produce defect free high quality handloom   fabrics according to contemporary consumer preferences, and also to ensure reasonable wages so that younger generation opt for this occupation.   With a view to promote this industry on a sustainable basis, it is deemed

necessary to produce quality fabrics with new design for winning the trust and confidence of the consumers.

 “India Handloom Brand” is an endorsement to quality of the handloom products in terms of raw material, processing, embellishments, weaving design and other parameters besides social and environmental compliances for earning the trust of the consumers. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the India Handloom Brand at Chennai recently as part of the First ever National Handloom Day celebrations. It seeks to ensure this by giving particular attention to the following:

         Production of high quality, defect free, hand-woven, authentic “niche product”         Zero defect.         Authentic traditional design.         Zero impact on environment.         Social compliance.

Advantages

*Customer will be assured of the quality of the product as per specification

*Bulk buyers and exporters will be able to source quality fabrics as per his/her design produced in time and establish  a distinct market positioning for authentic   hand-woven fabrics of India.

*Weaver will be able to get bulk orders and higher wages by   interacting directly with the market.

*Weaver entrepreneur (younger generation) will take up traditional profession of production of quality handloom fabrics in bulk and marketing within and outside the country.

*It will empower women and disadvantaged segments

Products identified for Branding

1)      SARI:-Cotton:Jamddani,Tangail,Shantipiri,Dhaniakhali,Bichitrapuri,Bomkai,Kotpad,Poc

hampalli,Venkatgiri,Uppada,Siddipet,Narayanpet,Mangalagiri,Chetinad,Balaramapuram,Kasergod,Kuthampally, Chendmangalam  Dhoti

Silk:-Baluchari, Mugasilk, Sulkuch silk, Khandua, Berhampuri, Bomkai Silk, Benares Brocade,Tanchoi,Benarasi,Butidar,Jangla,BenarasiCutwork,Pochampally,Dharmavaram, Kanchipuram, ArniSilk, Molkalmuru, Paithani, Patola, Champasilk, Ashawali Silk, Salem Silk(Dhoti), Uppada, Jamdani

Cotton Silk Sari:-  Chanderi, Maheswari, Kota Doria, IIKal, Gadwal, Covai Kora Cotton    

2)DRESS MATERIAL;-

  Cotton: Odisha Ikat,Pochampalli Ikat

   Silk :Tanchoi, Benarasi, Cutwork, ,Odisha Ikat, Pochampally Ikat, Tassar Fabric, Muga Fabric,  Mekhala/ Chadar

3)BED SHEET

Odisha Ikat, Pochampally Ikat

4) SCARF/SHAWL/CHADAR

 Kani Shawl, Kinnori Shawl, Kulu Shawl, Tangaliya Shawl, Kutch Shawl, Wangkhei  Phee

BRANDING PROCESS:-

The following entities will be eligible to apply for ‘India Handloom’ brand registration:

a.       Genuine firms/institutions dealing with production of handloom fabrics includinga.       Primary Handloom Cooperative Societiesb.      Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Consortia, Producer companies, Joint Liability

Groups (JLGs)c.       Weaver Entrepreneurs

b.      Producers of garments and made-ups with the condition that they will use 'lndia Handloom' Branded fabric and also comply with additional quality parameters regarding stitching, standard sizes etc., as may be laid.down by the Development Commissioner for Handlooms.

 

Applications can be submitted at the Weavers Service Centers or Offices of Textile Committee in the prescribed format.  Brand certificates along with the logo will be issued within 30 days after verifying the facts presented in the application. Fabric sample will be tested in accredited laboratory. Deficiencies if any will be conveyed within 30 days of filing the application. The branding will be normally valid for three years, subject to terms and conditions and will be renewed thereafter .After branding certificate is issued each item for sale will be affixed with logo and labels(stickers)