Monthly Archives: December 2016

India to Get Germany’s Aid Worth Euro 1 billion for ‘Green Energy Corridors’

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Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines (Independent Charge) Piyush Goyal addressing at the National Energy Conservation Day function, in New Delhi on December 14, 2016. (PIB)

Union Minister for State for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Thursday said that a comprehensive scheme including Intra-State and Inter-State transmission system has been identified as a part of ‘Green Energy Corridors’.

The German air agency KfW Germany is providing soft loan to be funded as 20% equity of the State government, 40% grant from National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) and 40% soft loan, whereas, the inter State transmission schemes are to be funded as 30% equity by PGCIL and 70% as soft loan, he said.

For Inter-state transmission projects pertaining to Part A, B and C of Green Energy Corridor, loan agreement for financial assistance of Euro 500 million from KfW, Germany has been signed by PGCIL and the projects are likely to be completed by 2018. Further, for implementation of transmission schemes under Green Energy Corridor-Part D, PGCIL has taken loan from ADB.

For Intra-state transmission projects under Green Energy Corridor; the States of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have signed the loan agreements from KfW, Germany for financial assistance of Euro 76 million, Euro 49 million, Euro 57 million, Euro 68 million, Euro 114 million and Euro 124 Million respectively.

Further, Goyal added that in order to integrate solar parks with the grid, Ministry of Power assigned PGCIL to implement Inter-State transmission scheme for evacuation from 8 solar parks (7200 MW). Transmission scheme for 6 solar parks (5750 MW) is already under implementation [Ananthapuram (1500 MW), Pavagada (2000 MW), Rewa (750 MW), Bhadla-III (500 MW), Bhadla-IV (250 MW), Essel Saurya (750 MW)]. Tender issued for Banaskantha Solar Park (700 MW), whereas Long Term Access (LTA) application for other MP solar park from the developer is awaited.

To evacuate power from the renewable capacity addition in renewable rich States (Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu), transmission system strengthening, both Intra State and Inter State, along with setting up of Renewable Energy Management Centre (REMC) and the control infrastructure is being implemented under GECs.

Time for India, Indonesia to Stem Radicalism and Intolerance: President Mukherjee

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President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said India attaches high importance to Indonesia’s success as a pluralistic democracy with an open society based on the shared values of syncretism, tolerance and respect for diversity.

Hostin a banquet to the visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Mr Mukherjee said, “We see India and Indonesia as two countries providing a bulwark against radicalism and intolerance. India values its cooperation with Indonesia to address these common security concerns and transnational threats. Our proximity as close maritime neighbours indicates that this is a key area where we must work together as partners to achieve for strategic stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and safety and security of sea lanes.”

The President said Indonesia is the largest economy in ASEAN and India’s number one trade partner in the region. Our bilateral trade was about US$16 billion last year. We can try to realise the actual potential of our trade by diversifying our trade basket. India would value Indonesia’s active support for strengthening India-ASEAN relations during 2017 when we will be celebrating 15 years of Summit level interaction.

Subsequently, in his banquet speech, President Pranab Mukherjee said Indonesia and India helped to write the closing chapters of colonialism and started the Non-Aligned Movement. India looks forward to work with Indonesia to achieve the full potential of economic co-operation, maritime and air links and in increasing reciprocal investments.

India would be happy to contribute to Indonesia’s ‘maritime fulcrum vision’ of Indonesia Nusantara and, thereby, also to the security of the Indo-Pacific region. In the multilateral and global context of facing the common challenges of the 21st Century, India and Indonesia, together, are factors of stability for the world.

Digital IT Honchos to Meet Trump, Grudgingly for Now!

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President-elect Donald Trump is meeting the IT honchos known as “Technology Roundtable” on Wednesday, December 14th, reportedly organized in part by Paypal co-founder and Trump supporter Peter Thiel.

The list of invitees include Alphabet (Google) CEO Larry Page; Apple CEO Tim Cook; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella; Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg; Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins; IBM CEO Ginni Rommetty; Intel CEO Brian Krzanich; and Oracle CEO Safra Catz. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos may also join, though Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said he wasn’t invited.

During the election campaign, Cook and Page were allegedly involved in early discussions of how to stop Trump’s nomination, while Apple came under criticism by Trump for manufacturing its phones in China and refusing to provide security backdoors to law enforcement. Bezos was engaged in a running battle with Trump throughout the campaign and described Trump as “eroding our democracy.”

Other IT people invited for the roundtable include Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, IT investor and Shark Tank fame Mark Cuban, HP CEO Meg Whitman, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.

Post-Jayalalithaa, Tamil Nadu Braces Cyclone Vardah, Schools Closed

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In less than a week after the demise of J.Jayalalithaa, Tamil Nadu is bracing for the worst storm on Monday, Dec. 12, called Cyclone Vardah with heavy rains and strong winds lashing the coast, forcing shut down of schools and cancellation of flights.

In Andhra Pradesh, the storm is feared to damage the paddy crops and orchards in Ongole and Nellore districts. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the situation through teleconference on Sunday evening and advised the officials to keep food and other essential commodities ready.

The storm is likely to hit both Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh coasts with the Indian Navy and the National Disaster Response Force on standby. The expected winds are in the range of 80 to 100 km an hour.

The government has not begun evacuation as the storm is expected to weaken by Monday afternoon. "Arrangements to be made for evacuating people in low lying and vulnerable areas. Relief centres to be kept in readiness along with necessary food, water and other arrangements. Army, Navy, Air-force and Coast Guard have been alerted to be on standby for deployment as and when necessary," a statement from the CM office said.

The Met office said the storm has weakened from very Severe to Severe storm. Already transportation was badly hit and 15 flights have been cancelled and 25 have been diverted so far with 9 of them reporting delay. All schools have been closed in coastal Tamil Nadu cities of Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, and Villupuram. Private firms have been advised to give a holidya to the staff or allow them to work from home on Monday.

The fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea for the next 48 hours and people in low-lying areas have been advised to move to safer zones.

National Disaster Management Authority, in a tweet, asked people "to remain in safe places and cooperate with state government officials and disaster management agencies".

The Navy said it is ready with relief materials including additional divers, doctors, inflatable rubber boats, integral helicopters and relief material including food, tents, clothes, medicines and blankets to rescue more than 5,000 people.

Sushma Swaraj Kidney Transplant Successful: AIIMS

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External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj underwent a kidney transplant at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Saturday and her condition is stable, said a statement. It said the minister, 64, is safe and is in Intensive Care Unit after the six-hour-long surgery.

“A dedicated team of 50 personnel comprising transplant surgeons Prof. M. Minz and Prof. V. K. Bansal, transplant anaesthesiologists Prof. M.K. Arora, Prof. Rashmi Ramchandran, Prof. Vimmi Rewari and Dr. Preet Mohinder Singh, nurses, technicians and support staff, undertook the procedure under the leadership of Prof. M.C. Misra, Director, AIIMS and HoD Cardiac Anaesthesia, AIIMS,” said the statement.

The kidney was donated by a woman, not any relative, in her 40s and both of them are doing well, said the statement.

President Mukherjee Launches ‘100 Million for 100 Million’ Campaign on Birthday

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President of India Mr. Pranab Mukherjee marked his 81st birthday by launching a ‘100 Million for 100 Million’ Campaign organized by the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (December 11, 2016).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that he was delighted to launch the campaign led by Nobel peace prize winner, Shri Kailash Satyarthi, from Rashtrapati Bhavan, an institution which symbolises our Republic’s commitment to democracy, pluralism and secularism.

The President said that despite the progress the world has made in science and technology, economic development and in other fields of human endeavour, there are still over a 100 million children who are “out of school”. They are being denied their childhood and are facing exploitation in various ways. The world must realise without further delay that there can be no progress unless our children are safe, secure and unless they are provided the freedom and opportunity to become agents of change for the larger good of humanity. To ensure for them a bright, carefree and secure future, devoid of poverty, violence and want is our bounden duty.

The President said this global effort to mobilize 100 million youth for shaping a better future of 100 million children who are less privileged is the beginning of a change which was long overdue. It is only appropriate that this campaign begins from India, which has one of the largest populations of youth in the world. He expressed hope that the campaign, as it runs for five years, will have a path-breaking impact on the lives of children across the globe. He urged all children and young people from India and abroad to join this campaign and be the torchbearers for a vibrant, compassionate and happy world where every child is free from want, fear and exploitation.

The ‘100 Million for 100 Million’ Campaign aims to mobilise 100 million youth and children for 100 million underprivileged children across the world, to end child labour, child slavery, violence against children and promote the right of every child to be safe, free, and educated, over the next 5 years.

Earlier in the day, the President inaugurated twin tower apartments for staff of Rashtrapati Bhavan; Navachara-II, a hall for permanent exhibition of grassroots innovations at Rashtrapati Bhavan and a museum of vintage carpets & tapestries of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

204 Patents Issued So Far in Ayurvedic Formulations; AYUSH Ministry Pushes for Global Tie Ups

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Ayush ministry is collaborating with International Agencies in its quest for promotion of cooperation in the field of medicinal plants, the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with University of West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago in 2014.

To give further impetus to the promotion of international cooperation in the field of Medicinal plants, the NMPB has since revised its “Central Sector Scheme on Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants, 2015”, by including a component on “Bilateral / International cooperation and collaboration with International Agencies”.

The salient features of Delhi Declaration on Traditional Medicines for South East Asian countries are follows:-

I.To promote National policies, strategies and interventions for equitable development and appropriate use of traditional medicine in the health care delivery system.
II. To develop institutionalized mechanism for exchange of information, expertise and knowledge with active cooperation with WHO on traditional medicine through workshops, symposia, visit of experts, exchange of literature etc.
III. To establish regional centers as required for capacity building and networking in the areas of traditional medicine and medicinal plants.

The Ministry of AYUSH has already set up Ayurveda Chair in University of Debrecen, Hungary and Rangsit University, Thailand.

Accordng to the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), 204 Patents have since been granted on formulations/ processes/ products of herbs / plants, on inventions that satisfy the patentability criteria as laid out in the Patents Act, 1970.

As per the Patents Act 1970 (as amended), patents can be imparted only to new formulations based on products related to herbs/ plants or processes related thereto, which are not in public domain and fulfill the criteria of patentability.

Though Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules 1945, does not have any provision for registration of Ayurvedic formulations, to protect Traditional Medicinal Knowledge of India, the Ministry of AYUSH has created Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) in collaboration with Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) for digitalization of traditional medicinal knowledge.

More than 3 lakh formulations from the texts of Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha Systems have been digitalized till date under TKDL to protect Traditional Knowledge from misappropriation by providing defensive protection.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, ShripadYesso Naik in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.

Watch Shriya Making Debut as Heroine Now

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Shriya Sharma Grown up to play lead heroine roles now

The little girl Sneha in “Kasautii Zindagi Kay” is now a grown up beautiful lady ready to don the lead heroine roles and her latest picture on Instagram have already rocked many in the film industry.

Playing the role of Sneha, daughter of of Prerna (Shweta Tiwari) and Anurag Basu’s daughter in the famous television show ‘Kasautii Zindagi Kay’, Shriya Sharma is not new to Telugu film indsutry.

She has acted in Telugu film Jai Chiranjeeva’ as the little girl Lavanya and later she played in Hindi films including, ‘Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic’, ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’, ‘Knock Out’ and ‘Chillar Party’. In fact, her role in ‘Chillar Party’ won her the national award too.

Born in 1997 in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, she started acting at the age of 3 years and has completed 16 years in the film industry, with her latest film in Telugu “Nirmala Convent” bringing her back to the stardom.

A brilliant student, she has scored 95% in ICSE 10th standard and 91% in Central Board of Secondary Education, 12th standard. She is now studying Law at Mumbai University.

Here is her filmography:

Filmography

Year Movie Role Language
2005 Jai Chiranjeeva Lavanya Telugu
2006 Benaam Ajay Devgn’s daughter Hindi
2006 Sillunu Oru Kaadhal Aishwarya ‘Aishu’ Gautham Tamil
2007 Soundarya Sanjana Kannada
2007 Laaga Chunari Mein Daag Hindi
2008 Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic Aditi Walia Hindi
2010 Prem Kaa Game Pinky Hindi
2010 Enthiran papa Tamil
2010 Knock Out Sweety Hindi
2011 Chillar Party Toothpaste Hindi
2011 Dookudu Sushanti Telugu
2012 Racha Chaitra’s sister Telugu
2013 Tuneega Tuneega Young Nidhi Telugu
2012 Neethane En Ponvasantham Kavya Tamil
2012 Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu Kavya Telugu
2014 Gayakudu Akshara Telugu
2015 Billu Gamer Hindi animated
2016 Nirmala Convent Shanti Telugu

TV

  • Kanhaiya
  • Kasautii Zindagii Kay as Sneha (2001-2007)
  • Jhoot Bole Kawya Katte as Shriya
  • Carryy on Shekhar
  • Galaxy of Stars
  • Gumrah: End of Innocence Season 3 Episode 3
  • Confessions of an Indian Teenager
  • Pogo (TV channel) Awards (2006 and 2007)
  • Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? as Herself with Shah Rukh Khan (2008)
  • Boogie Woogie as Jury member (2008)
  • LIL STAR Awards (2008)

Awards

  • Star Parivaar Awards, 2004 – Favourite Chhotta Bachha (Kasautii Zindagii Kay)
  • Indian Television Academy Awards 2004 – Best Female Child Artist (Kasautii Zindagii Kay)
  • Indian Telly Award
  • National Film Award for Best Child Artist in 2011 (Chillar Party)

Defence Minister Parrikar Arrives in Mauritius on a Two Day Visit

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Union Minister for Defence, Manohar Parrikar and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Sir Anerood Jugnauth at the Commissioning of CGS Victory the Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WFAC) of the Coast Guard of Mauritius, the vessel has been manufactured by the Goa Shipyard Limited, on December 10, 2016.(PIB)

Indian defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, arrived in Mauritius on Saturday, on a two day visit, the first ever visit by a Defence Minister of India to Mauritius. He is accompanied by senior officers of the Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Ministry of Defence.

Parrikar called on the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Sir Anerood Jugnauth and was the Special Guest of Honour at the Commissioning Ceremony of CGS Victory and two Chetak Helicopters.

During the meeting with Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth, both sides expressed their deep satisfaction over the close and growing defence and security cooperation and collaboration between India and Mauritius. Emphasizing their mutual security interests, Parrikar said that the Government of India would continue to extend its full support to Mauritius for training and capacity building, as well as supply and maintenance of defence equipment.

CGS Victory, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WFAC), was manufactured by the Goa Shipyard Limited and funded by a Government of India Line of Credit. CGS Valiant, another WFAC also being manufactured by Goa Shipyard Limited for the Government of Mauritius, is due for delivery in mid 2017.

With the induction of the CGS Victory, the National Coast Guard of Mauritius will be able to widen its Outer Island support activities and conduct in-depth surveillance in the Mauritian EEZ for tackling transnational crimes such as drug and human trafficking, piracy, smuggling and terrorism.

The two Chetak helicopters from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), were gifted by Government of India to the Police Helicopter Squadron (PHS) of the Mauritius Police Force. These two helicopters have an operational life of 15 years and would enhance and supplement the existing capabilities of the Mauritius PHS for Search and Rescue operations, emergency evacuations and Anti-Cannabis cultivation operations in Mauritius.

Parrikar will call on the President of Mauritius, Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim tomorrow. He will interact with senior Cabinet Ministers of the Government of Mauritius, including the Vice Prime Minister, Showkutally Soodhun and Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth.  He will attend a Deck Reception on-board the Indian Survey Ship INS Darshak, which is on a month-long deployment to Mauritius for conducting hydrographic surveys. Mauritian dignitaries and prominent members of the Indian community will attend the Deck Reception.

India has a long history of cooperation with Mauritius in the defence and maritime security sector. With this visit, both India and Mauritius reaffirmed their strong commitment to the maintenance of peace, security and stability in the Indian Ocean region.

Ministry Asks Banks to Show New Currency Deposit Receipts

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The Ministry of Finance, Government of India through its Department of Financial Services(DFS) has asked all the Public Sector Banks(PSBs) and the Indian Bankers Association (IBA) to ensure hundred percent(100%) that deposits of new currency is properly reflected in the customers’ counterfoils.

In a letter addressed to all the Managing Directors (MDs) & Chief Executive Officers (CEOs)/Chairman cum Managing Directors (CMDs) of PSBs and Chairman, IBA, the DFS has stated that maintenance of records regarding deposit of SBN and Non-SBN, as the case may be, is essential both in the bank record as well as the customer’s record.

The letter further states though most banks providing correct information to the customers yet to ensure that it is done in 100% of cases without fail, all the bank branches in the country be alerted to reflect correctly the cash deposit in old and new currency and inform the customers about the same.

The Ministry has asked the MDs &CEOs/CMDs of PSBs and Chairman, IBA that this must be followed scrupulously and any deviation in this regard has to be prevented and if noticed, dealt with firmly and immediately.

The letter further states that to educate the public, banks may clearly display a prominent sign (including in the local language) in their respective branches requesting their customers to fill-up deposit slips clearly indicating old and new currency and the denomination of the notes..

The DFS has asked all the MDs &CEOs/CMDs of PSBs and Chairman, IBA to consider this urgently and action taken in this regard be reported by 16.12.2016.

The Ministry also appreciated the role played by the banks post-demonetisation especially when the old currency was accepted and till 24th November, 2016, when exchange of old currency to specified limit was also permitted.

TN Cabinet Seeks Bharat Ratna for Jayalalithaa, Bronze Statue in Parliament

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Jayalalithaa

The Tamil Nadu cabinet on Saturday decided to recommend J. Jayalalithaa’s name for India’s highest civilian honour, the ‘Bharat Ratna’ and installation of her life-size bronze statue in Parliament complex.

“A resolution was adopted in the Cabinet to recommend to the Centre to award Bharat Ratna to honourable Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa,” said an official statement after the cabinet meeting today. It said a memorial building will be built for both MG Ramachandran (MGR) and J. Jayalalithaa.

Meanwhile, opposition to her aide Sasikala Natarajan’s continuation in the Veda Nilayam residence of Poes Garden in Chennai is emerging from different quarters though the party, AIADMK, has kept silence on the issue of Jayalalithaa’s properties amounting to about Rs.113 crore,  including movable assets of Rs. 41.63 crore and immovable assets of Rs. 72.09 crore.

The question over Sasikala inheriting the property has sent out mixed reaction. She came into Jayalalithaa’s life as an aide and caretaker in 1991 when she was about 34 years. Since then, all that one knew about her was that she was a close associate and caregiver.

Except for her brief expulsions twice, she had been with Jayalalithaa both at home, in election campaigns, tours, temple visits and vacations, including the jail term in Bangalore over Disproportionate Assets case. The AIADMK party cadre and leaders knew that Jayalalithaa had always kept Sashikala in high esteem as her sister in the last 35 years.

She was expelled from the house twice but it did not last for more than 100 days. Sasikala had even abandoned her husband and son to be with Jayalalithaa, a fact that the party may consider to keep her the de facto heir to Jayalalithaa.

 

 

 

Bangladesh Coast Guard Visits India

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The Indian Coast Guard welcomed a four member delegation led by Director General, Bangladesh Coast Guard Rear Admiral Aurangzeb Chowdhury who are on a three day visit to India.
In addition to meeting senior officials in the Ministry of Defence, the delegation will also be discussing issues of mutual cooperation in the field of maritime law enforcement, maritime Search & Rescue and marine pollution response with an Indian Coast Guard delegation headed by Director General Indian Coast Guard Shri Rajendra Singh.
The Bangladesh Coast Guard delegation will also travel to Mumbai and Kolkata for visiting ICG facilities and conducting discussions on operational issues with Coast Guard Commander (Western Seaboard) and Commander Coast Guard Region (North East), respectively.

14 Coastal Economic Zones to Come up Under Sagarmala Program

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The Indian Ministry of Shipping has identified 14 Coastal Economic Zones (CEZ) along the coastline under National Perspective Plan (NPP) of Sagarmala Program, said Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Lal Mandaviya in reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Thursday (08 Dec 2016).

The CEZ are  spatial economic regions spread over multiple coastal districts with strong port linkage. Within each CEZ, there could be multiple industrial clusters that could contain industrial units with requisite support infrastructure.  The details of  identified CEZs are as under:-

 

CEZ State Linkage Port Potential Industries
CEZ-1 Gujarat Kandla, Mundra Petrochemicals, Cement, Furniture
CEZ-2 Pipavav, Sikka Apparel, Automotive
CEZ-3 Dahej, Hazira Marine clusters
CEZ-4 Maharashtra

Goa

 JNPT, Mumbai Power, Electronics, Apparel
CEZ-5 Dighi, Jaigarh, Mormugao Refining, Steel, Food processing
CEZ-6 Karnataka New Mangalore Petrochemicals
CEZ-7 Kerala Cochin Furniture
CEZ-8  

Tamil Nadu

 VOCPT(Tuticorin) Apparel, Refining
CEZ-9 Karaikal Leather processing, Power
CEZ-10 Chennai, Kamarajar(Ennore) and Katupalli Steel, Petrochemicals, Electronics, Shipbuilding
CEZ-11 Andhra Pradesh Krishnapatnam Electronics
CEZ-12 Vizag, Kakinada Food processing, Petrochemicals, Cement, Apparel
CEZ-13 Odisha Paradip, Dhamara Petrochemicals, Marine processing
CEZ-14 West Bengal Kolkata, Haldia Leather processing

 

Based on the land parcels available in close proximity to a deep draught port and with strong potential for manufacturing, four CEZs have been identified to be taken up in the first phase of development.  These are in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. No special provision regarding tax holiday, employment and extent of investment has been made so far.

 

 

India Pushes for Digital Economy, Offers Incentives Galore

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To further accelerate the cashless economy, after the cancellation of old Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes, the Central Government has decided on a package of incentives and measures for promotion of digital and cashless economy in the country.
These incentives include:

1. The Central Government Petroleum PSUs will offer a discount at the rate of 0.75% of the sale price to consumers on purchase of petrol/diesel if payment is made through digital means. Nearly 4.5 crore customers buy petrol or diesel at such petrol pumps per day who can benefit from this. It is estimated that petrol/diesel worth Rs.1800 crore is sold per day to the customers out of which nearly 20% was being paid through digital means.

In the month of November 2016 it has increased to 40% and the cash transaction of Rs.360 crore per day have got shifted to cashless transaction methods. The incentive scheme has the potential of shifting at least 30% more customer to digital means which will further reduce the cash requirement of nearly Rs. 2 lakh crore per year at the petrol pumps.
2. To expand digital payment infrastructure in rural areas, the Central Government through NABARD will extend financial support to eligible banks for deployment of 2 POS devices each in 1 Lakh villages with population of less than 10,000.
These POS machines are intended to be deployed at primary cooperative societies/milk societies/agricultural input dealers to facilitate agri-related transactions through digital means. This will benefit farmers of one lakh village covering a total population of nearly 75 crore who will have facility to transact cashlessly in their villages for their agri needs.
The Central Government through NABARD will also support Rural Regional Banks and Cooperative Banks to issue “Rupay Kisan Cards” to 4.32 crore Kisan Credit Card holders to enable them to make digital transactions at POS machines/Micro ATMs/ATMs.
3. Railway through its sub urban railway network shall provide incentive by way of discount upto 0.5% to customers for monthly or seasonal tickets from January 1, 2017, if payment is made through digital means.

Nearly 80 lakh passengers use seasonal or monthly ticket on suburban railways, largely in cash, spending worth nearly Rs.2,000 crore per year.  As more and more passengers will shift to digital means the cash requirement may get reduced by Rs.1,000 crore per year in near future. All railway passengers buying online ticket shall be given free accidental insurance cover of upto Rs. 10 lakh.

Nearly 14 lakh railway passengers are buying tickets everyday out of which 58% tickets are bought online through digital means.  It is expected that another 20% passengers may shift to digital payment methods of buying railway tickets.  Hence nearly 11 lakh passengers per day will be covered under the accidental insurance scheme.

For paid services e.g. catering, accommodation, retiring rooms etc. being offered by railways through its affiliated entities/corporations to the passengers, it will provide a discount of 5% for payment of these services through digital means. All the passengers travelling on railways availing these services may avail the benefit.
4. Public sector insurance companies will provide incentive, by way of discount or credit, upto 10% of the premium in general insurance policies and 8% in new life policies of Life Insurance Corporation sold through the customer portals, in case payment is made through digital means.
5. The Central Government Departments and Central Public Sector Undertakings will ensure that transactions fee/MDR charges associated with payment through digital means shall not be passed on to the consumers and all such expenses shall be borne by them.  State Governments are being advised that the State Governments and its organizations should also consider to absorb the transaction fee/MDR charges related to digital payment to them and consumer should not be asked to bear it.
6. Public sector banks are advised that merchant should not be required to pay more than Rs. 100 per month as monthly rental for PoS terminals/Micro ATMs/mobile POS from the merchants to bring small merchant on board the digital payment eco system. Nearly 6.5 lakh machines by Public Sector Banks have been issued to merchants who will be benefitted by the lower rentals and promote digital transactions.  With lower rentals, more merchants will install such machines and promote digital transactions.
7. No service tax will be charged on digital transaction charges/MDR for transactions upto Rs.2000 per transaction.
8. For the payment of toll at Toll Plazas on National Highways using RFID card/Fast Tags, a discount of 10% will be available to users in the year 2016-17.

Sprint Stores Become Pokémon GO Joints

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Sprint stores will soon get visitors or more customers looking for Pokemon GO spots and to collect their Poke Balls and Razz Berries. Sprint Stores said that every all 10,500 Sprint stores in the US will become either a PokéStop or Gym for players of Pokémon GO.

It means, Sprint, Boost Mobile, and Sprint at Radioshack stores will become Pokemon GO players’ Stops and Gyms, whenever they may want to fill up on game items. They can loiter around and play Pokémon, and even get in-store charging for their devices.

Pokémon GO also said the collaboration between Sprint, Boost Mobile and Sprint at Radioshack stores will expand the scope of the game and its PokéStops and Gyms. They will help players to stock up on Poké Balls and Razz Berries and to battle with friends on their devices.

The Pokémon GO team also announced that they have more surprises in store for the yearend of 2016.

YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Skype on One Page to Stem Terrorism

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Web-based tech giants YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft (Skype & Bing) have decided to work together to stop extremist content from their websites by creating a common database. The firms have agreed to share ‘hashes’ or unique digital fingerprints they automatically assign to videos or photos of such content.

The hashtag on such content enables the peers to identify the content on their platforms and remove them in turn. "We hope this collaboration will lead to greater efficiency as we continue to enforce our policies to help curb the pressing global issue of terrorist content online," the companies said in a statement.

The firms have long resisted outside or government intervention on policing their sites but came together recently to do more to remove extremist content in view of recent militant attacks in Paris and other cities in the West. YouTube and Facebook have already begun to use such hashes to automatically remove such content.

Until now the practice was that mainly users have to flag content that violates terms of service and then human editors will review and delete such content found in violation of the guidelines or norms. Twitter alone suspended 235,000 accounts between February and August 2016.

The new database will come into operation in early 2017. The European Union has laready established an EU Internet Forum last year to remove such extremist content.

4G Rivalry Heats Up as Airtel Slashes Prices to Match Jio

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Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Thursday unveiled unlimited voice calls and more 4G data under a new plan, while keeping the old subscribers to 4G unhappy as it costs Rs.200 per GB on these devices currently.

On the contrary, Reliance Jio has been providing 1GB per day free on its 4G devices and the freebeis have been extended up to March 31, 2017 by the parent company Reliance Industries.

Under the new plan, for Rs.345, Bharti Airtel will allow users to make unlimited calls to any network and consume 1 GB 4G data for 28 days. This is still far behind Jio offer of the same at no cost until March 31, 2017.

Airtel also offered another plan for Rs.145 where users will 300 MB of 4G data and unlimited calls within Airtel network for 28 days, it said. However, none of these offers actually compete with Reliance Jio at least not until March 2017.

Even after the freebies, Reliance is offering free calls, no roaming charges and plus 1GB to 10GB dataplan for 4G devices at Rs.149.

ISRO Launches PSLV-C36 Remote Sensing Satellite

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In its 38th flight (PSLV-C36), ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully launched the 1,235 kg RESOURCESAT-2A Satellite on Wednesday morning (December 07, 2016) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.

After PSLV-C36 lift-off at 10:25 am IST from the First Launch Pad with the ignition of the first stage, the subsequent important flight events, namely, strap-on ignitions and separations, first stage separation, second stage ignition, payload fairing separation, second stage separation, third stage ignition and separation, fourth stage ignition and cut-off, took place as planned.

After a flight of 17 minutes 05 seconds, the vehicle achieved a polar Sun Synchronous Orbit of 824 km height inclined at an angle of 98.725 degree to the equator (very close to the intended orbit) and 47 seconds later, RESOURCESAT-2A was separated from the PSLV fourth stage.

After separation, the two solar arrays of RESOURCESAT-2A deployed automatically and ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore took over the control of the satellite. In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration following which it will begin to provide imagery from its three cameras. The data sent by RESOURCESAT-2A will be useful for agricultural applications like crop area and crop production estimation, drought monitoring, soil mapping, cropping system analysis and farm advisories generation.

Like its predecessors RESOURCESAT-1 and 2, RESOURCESAT-2A has a unique 3-Tier imaging system with Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS), Linear Imaging Self Scanner-3 (LISS-3) and Linear Imaging Self Scanner-4 (LISS-4) cameras. The AWiFS provides images with a sampling of 56 metres, a swath of 740 km and a revisit of 5 days whereas the LISS-3 provides 23.5 metre sampled images with 141 km swath and a repitivity of 24 days. LISS-4 provides 5.8 metre sampled images with 70 km swath and a revisit of 5 days.

"With today’s launch, the PSLV has yet again demonstrated its reliability," said ISRO in a statement. The total number of satellites launched by India’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV including today’s RESOURCESAT-2A has now reached 122, of which 43 are Indian and the remaining 79 are from abroad.

Trump Nominates Gen ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis as Pentagon Chief Against Rule Book

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US President-elect Donald Trump is likely to nominate retired Marine Gen. James Mattis as his selection for secretary of defense during his latest “thank you” tour in North Carolina tonight, said reports.

Trump earlier stated in a Twitter message:”General James “Mad Dog” Mattis, who is being considered for Secretary of Defense, was very impressive yesterday. A true General’s General!”

Gen James N Mattis

James “Mad Dog” Mattis in the Pentagon has similar views as Trump and is expected to be his mouth piece in security matters, besides towing the party line. He retired in 2013 but the rule book says a defense secretary must have been out of the armed services for at least seven years.

Here is a full list of the cabinet positions that have been filled so far:
Appointed Cabinet Positions:
Department of Defense: James N. Mattis
Department of Treasury: Steven Mnuchin
Department of Transportation: Elaine L. Chao
Department of Health and Human Services: Tom Price
Department of Commerce: Wilbur Ross
Department of Education: Betsy DeVos
United Nations Ambassador: Nikki Haley
Department of Housing and Urban Development: Dr. Ben Carson
Central Intelligence Agency: Mike Pompeo
Attorney General: Jeff Sessions
National Security Adviser: Michael T. Flynn
Chief of Staff: Reince Priebus
Chief Strategist: Stephen K. Bannon
Unfilled Cabinet Positions:
Secretary of State
Director of National Intelligence
Department of the Interior
Department of Agriculture
Department of Labor
Department of Energy

Yearender: Fidel Castro or Jayalalithaa? Real Crusaders World Lost in 2016?

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa resembles the talented, educated and mature leader of masses while Fidel castro resembles the age-old image of a crusader for his people to lead a revolution and life-long respect in turn.

Unfortunate but Fidel Castro lived up to see his promise for a revolution dwindle once his health deteriorated a decade ago but Jayalalithaa remained steadfast in her pitch for making the poor and middle class women happier.

Fidel castro of Cuba

Fidel Castro not only challenged the US hegemony in Americas but remained the sole leader dreaded by any US President even to shake a hand until Bill Clinton accidentally did. He was behind the Cuban revolution that threw balance of power in Americas off guard and kept Washington on its toes always. He was even accused of masterminding JFK killing though it never stood the test of time or reason.

Fidel Castro was an eloquent speaker who could address his people for over 10 hours at a stretch, yet commanded their audience. His people braced poverty but never belied their leader. He remained an epoch in an era when socialism triumphed and capitalism remained in the periphery in world politics. A friend of Indira Gandhi, he had apparently warned of her of a plot to assassinate her about six months before it happenned. Though a non-alignment player, his presence in NAM Meetings during the Cold War had distanced many seen as US allies. Finally, it was his brother who succeeded him to the reins of power to make Cuba see the reason and adjust to the realities of capitalism as it is the most-acknowledged reality now.

On the other side of the globe, Jayalalithaa too mesmerized millions with her glamourous roles and sought to be a leader throughout. From filmdom to politics, her journey remained as cushioned as her films were. With MG Ramachandran (MGR) on her side, she saw no reason why she should not aspire for the top post. So did she when MGR died and resisted insults and insinuations for over two years to ramp home with a united party behind her charisma.

When cadre-based DMK party threatened her safety and self-respect with physical assaults in the Assembly, she swore to return as chief minister and teach her opponents a lesson and she did clinch the victory, thanks to her alliance tactics with the Congress at the apt time. Soon, she had groomed her own ilk in the state and her chosen target group of women always proved her right in her outreach strategy.

Jayalalithaa

Finally, notwithstanding the corruption charges and the jail term, she used all her adversities into accomplishments as proved by her second-straight victory in Assembly elections. If Fidel Castro was excellent in his charisma-centric speeches, Jayalalithaa was equally adored for her tactful and matured personality among the most-hated politicians in Tamil Nadu.

Her speeches lacked triumphant exhortations but her deeds stood before the voters glaringly to decide during the hustings. She knew her fans are far more important than her rivals and she proved them right again and again with her women-centric freebies. She never groomed any greater-than-thou personality within the party but tolerated even adhoc impurities. Whether her aide Shashikalaa or her trusted man Panneerselvam, she showed them who the boss would be but relented their mistakes to make them realise her mastery over inter-personal relations.

finally, both of them died within one week gap but both will remain the most-cherished personalities in the annals of history. Both will be missed by their followers forever. Both will be leaving behind void that cannot be filled by anyone else so easily.