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Ministry of Railways
29-August, 2017 16:45 IST
Landslide near Kalyan causes Derailment of Nagpur Mumbai Duronto Express, no injuries, no casualties reported.

Due to heavy downpour and landslide near Kalyan, Maharashtra, nine coaches with locomotive of train no. 12290 Nagpur Mumbai Duronto Express derailed between Asangaon and Vasind (83 km from Mumbai) at 06.36 am on 29th August, 2017. There are no injuries, no casualties to passengers. All the passengers of Duronto Express were safe. Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu constantly monitored the situation closely.

Prima Facie cause (of derailment) is sudden landslide due to heavy rains. Immediately on getting information, Shri Ravindra Gupta, Member (Rolling Stock), Railway Board, Shri D.K.Sharma, General Manager, Central Railway along with DRM Mumbai Shri Ravinder Goyal & Senior officers rushed to the site. Accident Relief Train, Medical Van also rushed to the site for restoration & reached the spot in an hour. Later on, the passengers were carried to their destination by buses, cars & taxies. Helplines numbers were issued immediately.

Details of Coaches derailed:

● ENG NO 30270/WAP7/AQ

● 1ST FROM ENG – CR 10708 SLR

● 2ND - (H/1) Ist AC

● 3RD - (A/1) AC 2 Tier

● 4TH - (A/2) AC 2 Tier

● 5TH - (A/3) AC 2 Tier

● 6TH - (B/1) AC 3 Tier

● 7TH - (B/2) AC 3 Tier

● 8TH – (B/3) AC 3 Tier

● 9TH - (B/4) AC 3 Tier

Help line Numbers:.

CSMT 022-22694040, Thane 022-25334840, Kalyan 0251-2311499, Dadar 022-24114836, Nagpur 0712-2564342, Bhusaval 02582-222286, Nasik Road 0253-2467863, Manmad 02591-222345.



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Ministry of Railways
29-August, 2017 15:16 IST
Shri Ashwani Lohani, Chairman, Railway Board pens down a letter for Indian Railwaymen across the country

The Chairman Railway Board Shri Ashwani Lohani has called upon the railwaymen across the country to always be on guard to ensure the highest level of safety in train operations and instill a renewed sense of confidence in railway passengers. He emphasized that safety should always remain principle focused area.

In a letter sent to all railwaymen, Shri Lohani stressed the need to resolve to bring about an all-round improvement in the working of the railways so that we are able to satisfactorily meet the hopes, expectations and aspirations of the vast multitude.

Referring to the committed workforce of Indian Railways, the Chairman Railway board said that the sincerity, dedication and professional capability of the railway employees, both officers and staff is indeed unparalleled. It is the men on the field who, regardless of their personal inconveniences and hardships, ensure that the wheels of the Nation keep moving surely and safely. This is what makes the Indian Railways the most visible symbol of dynamic delivery in our country.

He also pointed out that there is need to deal with the evils of corruption, sexual harassment at work places and alcohol abuse while on duty. These are social evils and need to be dealt firmly with an iron hand, he added.

He also talked about cleanliness at railway stations, trains, operation ratio, welfare of the railwaymen, avoiding frills in the functions.

Through the message, in an important development, Shri Ashwani Lohani, Chairman, Railway Board has established a dialogue with its 1.3 million employees of Railways by writing a letter to the employees of Indian Railways across the country. In the letter, Shri Lohani, Chairman, Railway Board, has asked all the employees to pitch in wholeheartedly to restore the glorious image of Indian Railways. In the letter, Chairman, Railway Board has posed his faith in the employees’ sincerity, dedication & professional capabilities.

The complete text of the letter is as under:



ASHWANI LOHANI



Dear Colleagues,


It is with immense pride that I share with you my happiness on assuming the position of Chairman, Railway Board. This is not only an onerous responsibility but also a challenge being the administrative head of this great organization, which is also the lifeline of the nation. At this critical juncture when we are facing a serious issue with the image perception of the railways, I expect all my fellow Railwaymen to pitch in wholeheartedly to set this perception right. I am sure, with your cooperation, we will be able to achieve and re-establish the pristine glory of the brand Indian Railways.


Indian Railways is indeed a great organization. The largest employer in the world under a single management, we are the wheels on which the nation moves. Spreading from Kanyakumari in the South to Baramulla in the North, Dibrugarh in the East to Okha in the West, this great monolith indeed touches almost the entire length and breadth of this great nation and thereby the lives of almost all the citizens of this nation. The sincerity, dedication and professional capability of the railway employees, both officers and staff is indeed unparalleled. It is the men on the field who, regardless of their personal inconveniences and hardships, ensure that the wheels of the Nation keep moving surely and safely. This is what makes the Indian Railways the most visible symbol of dynamic delivery in our country.


After spending over 41 years with the railways, this appointment as the head of the railway family has touched the inner core of my heart and makes me extremely grateful to the almighty. Besides being a humbling moment, it also strengthens my resolve to put in my life and soul for the welfare and the forward march of this great organization.


The great Indian Railways has suffered a serious dent in the recent past due to certain unfortunate incidents. Such incidents often overshadow the great work that this organization performs day in and day out. Let us, therefore, resolve to bring about an all-round improvement in the working of the railways so that we are able to satisfactorily meet the hopes, expectations and aspirations of the vast multitude.


SAFETY shall always remain our principal focus area. We have to always be on our guard to ensure the highest level of safety in train operations and instil a renewed sense of confidence in our esteemed passengers.

CLEANLINESS at stations and on trains is another area that is crying for attention and often contributes to our image. Similarly quality of CATERING and LINEN on trains is also an area of serious concern. We have to work in a mission mode to bring about quantitative and qualitative improvements in a very short time frame in these areas, while at the same time not losing sight of the fact that the railways needs an overall improvement to achieve total customer satisfaction.

Our Operating Ratio needs to be brought down considerably, not only by reducing expenditure but by increasing freight loading and also finding other means of non-conventional revenue generation to achieve a spurt in revenues.

I have always believed in the supremacy of the human resource. For me my employees, not the customers, come first. For, it is my firm conviction, that a contented and happy employee is the prerequisite for the success of any organization. And this great organisation is no exception. I would therefore, expect employee welfare to be the core concern of all railwaymen.

At the same time we also have to deal with the evils of corruption, sexual harassment at work places and alcohol abuse while on duty. These are social evils and need to be dealt firmly with an iron hand.

I personally believe in avoiding any frills in the form of bouquets, gifts, lavish celebrations, excessive protocol etc. These divert our attention from our primary responsibilities, hard core work and severely damage the organization also. Our focus needs to be on deliverance and deliverance alone. We also have to reform our processes, many of which have, with passage of time, become so complicated that they seriously hamper work. That remaining busy is not deliverance is a thought that also needs to be imbibed.

This is my personal appeal to all my fellow railwaymen to put in their best effort to restore the old glory of the lifeline of the nation – the great Indian Railways.


Jai Hind


(Ashwani Lohani)


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Chambal river bridge: PM Modi inaugurates 6-lane cable stayed ‘hanging’ bridge in Rajasthan’s Kota; breathtaking images
Chambal river bridge: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is inaugurating this breathtaking and picturesque 6-lane bridge in Rajasthan's Kota. The 6-lane cable-stayed bridge has been built across the Chambal river at Kota and will be opened for traffic soon. PM Narendra Modi is in Rajasthan to inaugurate various projects worth Rs 15,000 crore and will dedicate the Chambal river bridge to the nation. We take a look at some facts about the beautiful bridge and its scenic images.
The 30 metres wide bridge is 1.4 kilometre long. Its height is 125 metres, with the longest span at 350.5 metres, that is 1,150 feet.
The cable stayed bridge over the Chambal river has been built at an approximate cost of Rs 277.67 crore.
According to Road Transport and Highways Minister, the bridge had been stuck for years due to many problems.
"Contractors were unable to complete the project. Ultimately, we could get it completed," Gadkari is reported to have said.
The Chambal river bridge project comes under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
http://www.financialexpress.com/pho...-stayed-kota-rajasthan-nhai-pm-narendra-modi/
 
Govt mulling 2% relief on GST for digital payments
You may soon need to shell out less if you pay digitally. The government is looking at giving a 2% incentive over the applicable GST tax rate in case of digital payments where the bill is up to Rs 2,000, in a move aimed at discouraging cash payments.

According to sources, the proposal - which may give the benefit in the form of a discount or cash-back - is being discussed between the finance ministry, RBI, cabinet secretariat and ministry of electronics and IT.

"The idea is to incentivise all kinds of digital payments, especially smaller transactions, in line with the government's plan of making India a less-cash economy," a source told TOI. The IT ministry is leading the government's efforts on digital payments and has been taking stock of initiatives to further popularise electronic payments.

A recent meeting analysed digital payment transactions post demonetisation last November. It was attended by IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and senior officials from other wings of the government, including the finance ministry and the cabinet secretary's office.

The need to boost digital payments has been raised by PM Modi himself, prompting various departments of the government to facilitate their greater acceptance. Addressing the nation on the 71st Independence Day, Modi had asked people to use less cash.

The source said the relief is being mooted for "smaller transactions" as these are large in numbers and are mostly preferred through the cash mode. "Transactions of up to Rs 2,000 are very high in volumes and if an incentive can be given here, it will provide an impetus to digital payments while facilitating the entry of more people within the formal economy. This will help plug leakages while playing a credible part in countering the development of black money." The source, however, said it is not yet clear what route the government will suggest for providing the 2% incentive. "The matter is with the finance ministry."

The government is also considering other initiatives to push digital transactions. "There will be new measures that will be announced on this front in the coming time to strengthen the government's resolve on the electronics payment front," the source said.

The steps come at a time when there has been a fall in electronic transactions over the past few months. While they had picked up massively till March this year, the volumes have been coming down thereafter as the availability of cash went up.

As per the RBI, the number of electronic transactions went up from 67 crore in November last year to a peak of 89 crore in March this year. However, only 84 transactions were recorded in June.
http://m.timesofindia.com/business/...for-digital-payments/articleshow/60250385.cms

India becomes largest 2-wheeler market for Honda globally, dethrones Indonesia
India is now the largest two wheeler market globally, by volume, for Japanese automobile major Honda. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India's (HMSI) volume contribution globally hit 32% in the first quarter of this financial year -its highest ever so far.
According to top HMSI officials the company's two wheeler sales grew 20% in the April-July period -compared to 9% growth clocked by the industry -with scooters growing 19% and motorcycles growing 20% including domestic sales and exports.

"India is also the biggest production hub now for Honda with a combined capacity of 6.4 million units compared to Indonesia which was earlier the largest at 5.8 million units," said YS Guleria senior VP marketing and sales HMSI.
With this India has become Honda's largest motorcycle market globally in FY16-17 dethroning Indonesia which however continues to be Honda's biggest scooter market globally. In an effort to keep up that momentum the company is planning to enter the high growth 250 cc plus motorcycle market that is currently dominated by Royal Enfield.
"We have a strong intention to enter this segment in the near future. We have been considering how to enter it with the right product and compete from the cost and price point because competition enjoys high-cost competitiveness," said M Kato president and CEO HMSI. Apart from the lifestyle segment Honda's also trying to expand the market for scooters to semi urban and rural segments. To that end the company on Monday launched the 110 cc Cliq at a price of Rs 44,524.
"Overall rural markets contribute around 28-30% of Honda's sales with 20% of scooter sales coming from these markets" added Guleria.
Apart from rural markets, focus is also on the 5 southern markets which together account for 28% of two wheeler sales countrywide and 43% scooter sales.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/60231124.cms?from=mdr
 
Ministry of Communications
30-August, 2017 13:57 IST
C-DOT celebrates its 34th Foundation Day

The Minister of Communications Shri Manoj Sinha has called upon C-DOT, Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) to innovate and develop Telecom products at reasonable costs for exporting to SAARC countries and other developing regions of the world. In a message on the occasion for 34th Foundation Day celebrations of C-DOT, he said that the premier Telecom R&D center of the Government of India, can develop products having far reaching impact in the areas of Agriculture, Education and Health care. The Minister said that in an era of M2M communications, Internet of Things, 5G, Cognitive learning and hyper speed networks, C-DOT has to play an important role in developing state of the art telecom infrastructure at affordable rate for the common man. Referring to the launch of C-DOT’s latest innovation, “WiDHWAN”, Shri Sinha said that, it has been exclusively designed to cater to the recurring call drop issues in no-signal and low-signal network scenarios in places such as offices and homes. He also congratulated C-DOT for regularly organizing lecture series on its foundation day, attracting national and international talents from the fields of IT and Engineering to brain storm on the future challenges facing the sector.

In her address, Secretary, Department of Telecom,MsAruna Sundararajan said that in view of the current government’s huge thrust on accelerating digitization as the only way forward for India, C-DOT can emerge as a leading digital infrastructure provider as it has both deep capabilities and enormous talents to achieve the same. She said that at present 70 to 80 percent of telecom equipment is imported in India and C-DOT can play an important role in bringing down this huge import bill by developing cutting edge telecom products in the country through schemes like Design in India, Make in India or Digital India. Lauding the role of the premier Telecom R&D center, the Secretary said that after the rural telephony exchange, the country is witnessing the largest ever roll out of C-DOT powered G-PON for broadband connectivity in the rural areas with local R&D and local products.

In his address, Executive Director, C-DOT Shri VipinTyagi said that in the coming years there will be a new paradigm of communications and his organization has to rise to the new challenges. He said that this year too, in continuation of its tradition, C-DOT is holding a technical workshop and GB Meemamsi Lecture Series, wherein several field experts, Telecom veterans and academicians from around the world will share their intriguing experiences and discuss innovative ways to address the numerous issues and challenges faced by the users in the fast-changing communications scenario.

The two-days’ workshop and lecture series on “Secure and Intelligent Computing for M2M/IoT(Machine to Machine/ Internet of Things)Devices ”will be attended by senior officials from Government, R&D, Industry, Academia and the students. The list of distinguished speakers delivering their enriching keynotes on diversely relevant topics includes Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi, Dr. David Garrett, Expert in DSP & VLSI Design, USA and Dr. Samir Mittal, Expert in AI, Cognitive Solutions & Machine (Deep) Learning,USA.

The participants of the conference will deliberate upon the contemporary subjects ranging from the “Emergence of Smart Antennas in WLAN Technology” to “Cognitive Computing Architectures for Machine Learning in M2M/IoT scenario” and the need for bridging academic R&D with product innovation.



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India hails GST success after bumper July tax haul
India collected more than $14bn in sales tax during July, New Delhi said, suggesting that its new goods and services levy could provide a significant boost for revenues if early technical glitches can be solved. Arun Jaitley, India’s finance minister, said late on Tuesday that the government had surpassed its target for the new goods and services tax despite one-third of businesses not paying anything. The figures suggest that if the country can solve the problems with its online tax platform, it could see a jump in the number of traders who pay, New Delhi added. Mr Jaitley said: “A more efficient taxation system checks evasion and brings in non-filers. [It is] more difficult to evade [taxes] — that seems to be the initial first reaction.” India rolled out its goods and services tax on July 1, following a decade of political debate but only three months of concrete planning. The new system replaces a tangle of local taxes and entry levies, which businesses said had discouraged them from trading across state borders. One of the main advantages of the new system is that traders can only claim certain tax credits if they can show that every supplier in the chain has paid the tax it owes. As a result, ministers hope that companies will force their suppliers to become compliant — a potentially huge change in a country where tax evasion is routine. Mr Jaitley revealed the first results of the new system on Tuesday night, a day after businesses were due to file their first GST returns. The figures showed that only two-thirds of those registered for the tax had paid it, suggesting widespread non-compliance. A big reason for this, say experts, is that IT problems have prevented millions of businesses from filing returns or paying. Complaints range from payments not showing up on the system, to there being too little space on the form to declare every transaction. Despite these issues, Mr Jaitley said the amount collected was in line with government targets. He said 3.8m returns had been filed — 64 per cent of those registered to pay under the new system. Some of those registered, however, have simply declared that they are tax exempt. The government believes that a further 1.4m businesses are still due to register, suggesting there is scope for revenues to rise in the future. The registered businesses had paid a total of Rs923bn for July, Mr Jaitley added, slightly over the target of Rs910bn. But accountants warned that the figure might be inflated, as many businesses have yet to claim the tax credits they are owed. Meanwhile the rules governing the new system continue to change even after its implementation. On Wednesday, Mr Jaitley announced that the additional tax levied on luxury cars and sports utility vehicles would rise from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. Car prices had fallen since July 1 as carmakers passed on savings from a reduction in what they had to pay. Investors appeared to have factored in such a move though, with the share prices of Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors, two of the biggest listed Indian carmakers, slightly up by mid-afternoon trading.
https://www.ft.com/content/4b912f62-8d2f-11e7-a352-e46f43c5825d

India's exposure to US govt securities at $130.3 billion in June
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...30-3-billion-in-june/articleshow/60243587.cms
 
India's growth rate slows as new sales tax confuses firms
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Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
India's economy grew at its slowest pace for three years in the April-to-June quarter, official figures show.

The economy grew by 5.7% compared with a year earlier, down from a rate of 6.1% in the previous quarter.

Many analysts had expected the economy to bounce back after the government's crackdown on black market cash last year.

However, confusion among some firms over a new tax on goods and services was blamed for holding back growth.

Some retailers said ambiguous rules over the new sales tax, which began on 1 July, left them unsure over how to price their products.

But manufacturing saw the sharpest slowdown in growth, expanding at just 1.2% compared to 10.7% a year earlier.

Growth in the financial, insurance, real estate and professional services sectors also slowed from 9.4% to 6.4%.

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Analysis: Sameer Hashmi, India business reporter

The latest economic growth figure clearly shows that the economy is still to recover from the cash ban that was introduced last year. Investments and consumption have seen a sharp drop, with medium and small-sized businesses still struggling.

India's economic growth figure does not take into account the performance of small businesses and the unorganised sector, which constitute more than 50% of total economic output in India. These segments were the worst hit after the cash ban. That means the slowdown may be even more severe than these latest figures suggest.

But the worst may not be over for India's economy. The new Goods and Services Tax, which came into effect in July, has completely overhauled the way businesses pay tax. Many small firms are still finding it difficult to adapt - and that will delay investments and expansion plans.

The World Bank and IMF have projected India's economy to grow by more than 7% in 2017. But with the latest figures coming in, that target looks difficult to achieve.

_66239292_line2.gif

"[The] GDP numbers are certainly disappointing," said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank in New Delhi.

"The numbers seem to suggest that the slowdown from [the] last quarter has intensified due to the combination of long-term slowdown and temporary shock factors like demonetisation and GST (goods and services tax) destocking".

In November last year, India's government announced a ban on banknotes with a face value of 500 and 1,000 rupees (worth $7 and $14 respectively). The aim was to make it difficult for black marketeers and tax evaders to retain ill-gotten gains.

The move caused anger, chaos and widespread cash shortages as ordinary consumers rushed to exchange their money before the deadline.

But the impact of the banknote ban has faded.

Analysts said the new goods and services tax was a bigger cause of disruption for retailers, in the recent quarter.

Anjali Verma, economist at Phillip Capital India in Mumbai predicted that the impact of the new tax would be temporary: "GST impact is just a one quarter phenomena, or at (most) one month after that. But then in the medium to long term it's expected to be a positive."

"I would expect GDP for the full year will be somewhere closer to 6%."

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41111346
 
Prime Minister's Office
01-September, 2017 15:33 IST
PM addresses tax administrators at Rajasva Gyan Sangam


The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today inaugurated the Rajasva Gyan Sangam at New Delhi, and addressed the tax administrators of both the Union and State Governments.

The Prime Minister exhorted the officers to improve their work-culture, to incorporate both a "sense of urgency", and "measurability", in their performance.

Mentioning the benefits of the GST, the Prime Minister said that besides economic integration of the country, and transparency in the system; more than 17 lakh new traders have been brought into the indirect tax system within two months.

The Prime Minister said that in order to enable all traders to take maximum benefit of GST, we should work towards ensuring that all traders, including even relatively smaller traders with a turnover below Rs. 20 lakhs, should register with the GST system. He asked the officers to make efforts in this regard by designing a system for this category.

The Prime Minister asked the officers to fix clear targets to improve the country's tax administration by 2022, the 75th anniversary of independence. He said that the Union Government is working towards creation of an environment which shatters the confidence of the corrupt, and instills confidence and trust among the honest taxpayer. In this regard, he mentioned steps taken by the Union Government, such as demonetization, and implementation of stringent laws against black money and benami property.

The Prime Minister said human interface must be kept to a minimum in the tax administration's dealings. He asked for a push to be given to "e-assessment" and anonymity of proceedings using technology, so that vested interests do not impede the due course of law.

Shri Narendra Modi expressed his dismay at the huge pendency of tax-related cases in adjudication and appeal. He said big sums of money that is locked up in these cases, could have been used for the welfare of the poor. He asked officers to come up with an action plan during the Rajasva Gyan Sangam, to eliminate pendency.

The Prime Minister asked officers to use data analytical tools to proactively track and determine undeclared income and wealth. He said that though efforts to increase tax revenue are made by officers each year, the estimated amounts of tax that should accrue to the system, are often not realised. The Prime Minister asked officers to come up with a time-bound solution to ‘tax raised and not realised’, and asserted that the honest cannot continue to pay the price for the misdeeds of the dishonest. In this regard he also suggested complete reworking of human resource management in the tax departments to strengthen the data analytics and investigation wing.

The Prime Minister hoped that the two-day Gyan Sangam would come up with concrete ideas to improve the tax administration.


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Anti-dumping duty slapped on synthetic rubber from EU, Thailand, South Korea

The Finance Ministry has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) of 1500 and 1700 series imported from the European Union, Thailand and South Korea, for a period of five years, unless revoked earlier.

The domestic tyre industry is a significant consumer of SBR 1500 and 1700 series. SBR is the largest volume of synthetic rubber produced and consumed globally.

The petition seeking anti-dumping duty on SBR 1500 and 1700 series was filed by Indian Synthetic Rubber Private Ltd (ISRPL) and Reliance Industries Ltd.

ISRPL is a joint venture company, jointly promoted by Indian Oil Corporation; TSRC, Taiwan and Marubeni Corporation, Japan.

Based on the recommendations of the Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry in its final findings, the Revenue Department has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty that ranged from $28 per tonne to $266 per tonne, depending on the producer and country of export.

Commenting on the development, Rajiv Budhraja, Director-General of Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association, said this move will definitely have cost implications for the domestic tyre industry. “This will be more so as grade-wise domestic availability (of SBR) do not match with the requirements”, Budhraja told BusinessLine here.

Besides the issue of domestic availability, there are aspects of competitiveness of industry as also the additional cost that would play out for the domestic tyre industry in the wake of latest anti-dumping duty levy, he said. In the case of SBR produced by Kumho Petrochemical Co Ltd, South Korea, the Revenue Department has imposed anti-dumping duty of $33.95 per tonne.

For SBR produced by LG Chem Ltd, South Korea, the anti-dumping duty has been pegged at $28.68 per tonne. For all other producers from South Korea, the duty would be $64 per tonne.

In the case of SBR imports from Thailand, the dumping duty has been pegged at $243.60 per tonne.

As regards the European Union, imports of SBR produced and exported by Synthos Kralupy, A.S. Czech Republic, the anti-dumping duty has been pegged at $ 207.49 per tonne. In the case of imports from Synthos Dwory, Poland, the anti-dumping duty has been pegged at $207.49 per tonne. For all other producers and exporters from EU, the anti-dumping duty has been pegged at $266 per tonne.
http://m.thehindubusinessline.com/e...u-thailand-and-south-korea/article9840604.ece
 
WDG 4G during their journey to India. These units are expected to arrive in October November this year for testing.
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All pics, Ben Stanton, Flickr page.
 
BRO builds road in remote Arunachal district bordering China
The Border Roads Organization (BRO) has constructed a 71-km strategic road in remote Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh bordering China that will benefit several villages located there.

Project Arunank of the BRO on August 31 last established connectivity between Sarli and Huri by completing the 71.30-kilometer road which would not only provide great relief to the people of Pipa, Damin, Huri and other villages but also facilitate the construction of the new Huri - Taliha road connecting even more villages and contributing towards greater development of the state.

According to a BRO communique issued here today, the construction of the road commenced in May 2006.

All the heavy construction plant and machinery was transported to these detachments by Air Force helicopters from Ziro in Lower Subansiri district.

"The construction plant and machineries have to be broken down into a number of parts and carried under slung by helicopters which were laster reassembled at the remote detachments.

It was a herculean effort as this methodology of road construction is the single-most significant challenge in construction of roads in the state," the communique said.

Last year, in order to expedite the progress, the Project Arunank was staged forward from Ziro to Jeevan ahead of Koloriang in April. Three additional dozers were dismantled at Ziro and inducted by air to Km 44 detachment where they were reassembled.

As a result of this boost and a dedicated overdrive, it became feasible to cut 10 kms of road in one year which is an unprecedented achievement.

Project Arunank has been working relentlessly in inhospitable terrain, hazardous working conditions, un-conducive weather in extremely remote areas to construct roads for national security as well as for development of the state, the communique added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...chal-bordering-china/articleshow/60363129.cms
 
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
04-September, 2017 15:43 IST
Intervention to scuttle any unreasonable rise in onion prices

Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) is regularly monitoring the prices and availability of essential food items including onion. It has noted that 3rd advance estimate of production of onion for 20016-17 is higher at 217.2 LMT as compared to the earlier production estimated of 215.6 LMT. Therefore, there appears to be no underline cause for prices for onion to increase. However, prices of onion have recorded increase over the last month. To discourage speculative and unscrupulous trade activities, Department of Consumer Affairs has enabled States to impose stock limit on onion. In addition DoCA in coordination with Department of Commerce has recently held meeting with traders/importers, where the current onion price and availability situation was reviewed. It transpired that import of around 2,400 MT of onion has arrived while another 9,000 MT is expected shortly. Recent production does indicate that as per the fundamentals, there is no rational for prices of onion to rise any further. DoCA will regularly review the price situation with stakeholders and facilitate imports by private traders to help moderate speculation in the market if prices go up unreasonably.



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NITI Aayog
06-September, 2017 18:49 IST
Task Force on Employment and Exports and its Terms of Reference



To provide a major thrust to job creation by enhancing India’s exports, an Expert Task Force has, today, been constituted with the NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, as its Chairperson.


While the Indian workforce has high aspirations, a majority of the workers are still employed in low-productivity, low-wage jobs in small, micro and own-account enterprises. An urgent and sustained expansion of the organized sector is essential to address India’s unemployment and under-employment issue. An important strategy is also to enable a shift towards more labour-intensive goods and services that are destined for exports. Given the importance of exports in generating jobs, India needs to create an environment in which globally competitive exporters can emerge and flourish.

The steps outlined by the taskforce to address this challenge of creating well-paid, formal sector jobs, include:

1. Proposing a comprehensive plan of action to generate employment and alleviate under-employment in both goods and services sectors and low wages by boosting India’s exports in key labour-intensive industries

2. Recommending sector-specific policy interventions in key employment sectors

3. Recommending measures to enhance trade in services with high employment potential

4. Identifying key macroeconomic factors constraining exports and suggesting methods to address these constraints

5. Assessing the effectiveness of existing schemes to promote exports

6. Addressing issues related to logistics, export credits and trade facilitation

7. Suggesting ways to enhance the availability of data on trade such that it is reliable, globally comparable and timely, particularly with respect to trade in services.

Members of the Task force include CEO, NITI Aayog, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles. Leading economists and industry experts are also members of the Task Force, which will submit its report by November 2017.

Annex: Comnposition of the Task Force

1. Vice Chairman NITI Aayog - Chairperson

2. CEO, NITI Aayog – Member

3. Secretary, Department of Commerce -- Member

4. Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion -- Member

5. Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs – Member

6. Secretary, Ministry of Textiles -- Member

7. Shri Rajeev Kher, former Secretary, Department of Commerce – Member

8. Shri Ajit Ranade, Chief Economist, Aditya Birla Group

9. Shri Praveen Chakravarty, Senior Fellow, IDFC Institute

10. Dr. Jayanta Roy, formerly of The World Bank -- Member

11. Shri Harish Ahuja, MD, Shahi Exports – Member

12. Shri D. Shivakumar, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo, India – Member

13. Shri Sunil Vachani, Executive Chairman, Dixon Electronics – Member

14. Shri Dipak Deva, CEO, Kuoni Travels, former President WTTDC

15. Shri Dhiraj Nayyar, OSD, NITI Aayog -- Convener



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Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
07-September, 2017 19:32 IST
Centre allows import of 3 LMT of raw sugar through southern ports of India at 25 % import duty

To supplement the availability of sugar in southern India and to stabilize sugar price, import of 3 LMT of raw sugar through southern ports of India at 25 % import duty under Open General License (Tariff Rate Quota) has been allowed through millers/refiners. The import shall be open to millers/refiners who have their own capacity to convert raw sugar into refined /white. The imports will be allowed through the ports viz. Tuticorin, Karaikal, Chennai, Mangalore, Kakinada, Gangavaram and Vishakapatnam in the South. The scheme shall be operated by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) as per their rules and regulations. Applications shall be received online by DGFT at sugarimporttrq-dgft@nic.in from 8th to 12th September, 2017. Details of the scheme can be seen on the website of DGFT ( www.dgft.gov.in).


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