Guidelines against fraudulent Educational Institutes abroad

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July 24, 2016

The Government of India takes prompt action to address issues pertaining to security, safety and welfare of Indian students who are enrolled in foreign universities and educational institutions. In addition to this, the Government is in regular contact with foreign Governments, Universities and educational institutions to provide assistance to Indian students in foreign countries, as and when such issues arise.

Furthermore, the government also issues advisories to Indian students asking them to carry all documentation and undertake due diligence to ensure that the foreign institutions to which they are seeking admission have proper authorisation and capacities.

IndianBureaucracy.com forward its best wishes.

ONGC initiative to clean & beautify 4 Kunds and install 5 Water ATMs in Varanasi

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Saurabh

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July 24, 2016

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ONGC has undertaken two CSR projects i.e. setting up of 5 Water ATMs and cleaning and beautification of 4 Kunds in the holy city of Varanasi. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between ONGC, NBCC, Nagar Nigam, Varanasi and Ministry of Urban Development on 18 July 2016 for cleaning and beautification of 4 Kunds namely Durga Kund, Lakshmi Kund, Sarangnath and Lal Bhairav at a cost of Rs. 11.45 Crore.

(1) Durga Kund (2) Lat Bhairav Kund (3) Laxmi Kund (4) Sarang Nath Pond at Varanasi

In this regard, M/s Alia Consulting Solutions Pvt. Ltd was engaged by Nagar Nigam, Varanasi for conducting the feasibility study for the restoration work of the Kunds. NBCC is engaged as a project management consultant to work out the scope of work of the project in consultation with Nagar Nigam, Varanasi and Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India.

The signing of MoA was witnessed by Mr. Praveen Prakash, Joint Secretary, MOUD Govt. Of India, Dr. (Ms.) Alka Mittal, Officiating Chief CSR, Dr. Sajid Jamal, GM (Chem)-CSR, Mr. R.C. Singh, Dy. Municipal Commissioner, Nagar Nigam Varanasi and senior officials of NBCC and Ministry of Urban Development.

Setting up of 5 water ATM at a total cost of Rupees 88.13 lakh is another innovative project undertaken by ONGC under CSR in Varanasi. Out of 5 nos. of Water ATM to be installed under this project, 4 nos. have already been installed and commissioned at Durga Kund, Kabir Chaura Hospital gate, Sarnath Temple and Shahid Udyan in Varanasi. The 5th Water ATM in Tehsil complex is ready for inauguration.

1st Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of BRICS New Development Bank

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July 24, 2016

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The First Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the BRICS New Development Bank was held at Shanghai, China.

The New Development Bank (NDB) has completed one year since its establishment in 2015. Since its establishment, the policies of operations have been put in place, projects for all five member countries have been approved and the Bank has completed an issuance of Green Bonds. During the meeting of the Board of Governors of the NDB, it was decided that India will be the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Bank and the second Annual meetings of NDB will be held in India in 2017.

Mr Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India represented the Finance Minister of India and delivered the Governor’s Statement on his behalf. The Governor’s Statement read by Mr. Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance is given below:

“At the outset, we thank the Government of People’s Republic of China for their wonderful hospitality and excellent arrangements for hosting us on this historic milestone of the New Development Bank.

The first Annual Meeting of the NDB is a landmark in the advancement of the vision of the establishment of the Bank. It embodies the considerable progress and achievements of the past one year in setting up and operationalisation of the Bank. During the year, policies have been put in place and approvals have been given for financing renewable energy projects. We congratulate President Kamath and the management team for steering the Bank with speed, skill and strategy.

The first Annual Meeting also marks the commencement of the phase of immense work for realization of NDB’s vision of providing catalytic resources for sustainable infrastructure to the founder members and other emerging and developing economies.

The challenges that lie before us are significant. The current global economic context is far from being robust and is marked by a modest pickup in some advanced economies from their low levels of growth; decline in growth in emerging market and developing economies; increased financial sector volatility; and, in general, a downward revision of global growth projections by the International Monetary Fund. BREXIT has further heightened uncertainty, market volatility and risk-averse behavior.

The structural problems of Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs) continue to affect their growth. The sluggish global trade and low commodity prices have also adversely affected commodity-exporting EMDEs, by aggravating their corporate and other economic vulnerabilities.

Governments, Central Banks and regulators have to mitigate the pressure of such vulnerabilities through judicious mix of fiscal, monetary and structural policies. We, in India, are following the approach of ‘Reform to Transform’ through far reaching Structural Reforms. We have taken several initiatives to boost investment climate and improve the ease of doing business. National Infrastructure Investment Fund has been set-up to stimulate investment in Infrastructure. Likewise, Insolvency and Bankruptcy code 2016 has been passed by the Parliament to deal with insolvency of corporate, individuals, partnerships and other entities. Initiatives such as Make in India, Start-up India, and Skill India are focused at encouraging innovations, entrepreneurship and job creation. Our government has launched a massive financial inclusion programme. More than 200 million bank accounts have been opened for the unbanked persons. We are now using Aadhaar, a unique identification system with statutory backing, as backbone for targeted delivery of financial and other subsidies, benefits and service.

In such a scenario, investments in sustainable infrastructure play a catalytic role in anchoring a more resilient recovery, improving potential growth and fostering inclusive growth in the countries. This is also the niche area of focus of the New Development Bank.

True to its nomenclature, the ‘New’ Development Bank has to focus on financing demonstrable projects with innovative approaches and instruments for speedy creation of infrastructure. We urge that this focus should be on:

o Energy generation projects, both renewable and non renewable energy projects, which utilize cost effective and clean technologies;

o Transport projects, which have a significant impact on reduction in regional and spatial inequalities and promote inclusive growth; and,

o Urban sector infrastructure projects, which enhance the livelihood potential and improve the quality of life of the people.

While commencing operations in earnest, the NDB must draw upon its core strengths and uniqueness. As a top-class financial institution, it must develop a strong pipeline of projects and respond in a fast and flexible manner to further the aspirations and interests of its members.

To save water on lawns, throw some shade !

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Saurabh

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July 24, 2016

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Summary:How much water does your lawn really need? A study re-evaluated lawn watering recommendations by measuring water use by lawns in Los Angeles. The standard model of turf grass water needs, they found, lacked precision in some common urban southern California conditions, like the Santa Ana winds, or in the shade.

How much water does your lawn really need? A University of Utah study re-evaluated lawn watering recommendations by measuring water use by lawns in Los Angeles. The standard model of turf grass water needs, they found, lacked precision in some common urban southern California conditions, like the Santa Ana winds, or in the shade.

“The current method of estimating water use is very arbitrary,” says postdoctoral scholar Elizaveta Litvak, first author on the new study, published in the Journal of Arid Environments. “And there has been no scientific ground for more precise recommendations.”

Field of steam

Scientists study how much water plants lose so that landscape managers can know how much water they need to put back in. Water evaporates in a straightforward physical process that depends primarily on the temperature and humidity of the air. But plants also lose water through transpiration, breathing out water vapour as part of their metabolism. Transpiration is less predictable, because it’s controlled by the plant’s biological processes. Plants may restrict transpiration in drought conditions, for example. Transpiration rates can also vary from species to species. The combined measure of evaporation and transpiration is called “evapotranspiration” (ET) and it’s a difficult quantity to measure. “There is no direct way to measure it,” Litvak says. “It’s like trying to capture what’s not capture.”

Researchers attempt to determine a crop’s ET rates by placing a large greenhouse-like chamber over an area of plants and measure how temperature and humidity changed within the chamber. But the presence of such a large chamber changes the plants’ environment so much that the method is far from ideal.

The current state-of-the-art method involves placing tall towers, festooned with scientific instruments, in large crop fields. The towers measure slight atmospheric changes multiple times per second, and researchers feed the data into a mathematical model to compute ET rates for that field.

The lawns of LA

The present-day turfgrass ET model serves for estimating water use by forests and agricultural crops in various weather conditions. Urban lawns, however, are much smaller than crop fields. Although turf grass is the largest irrigated crop in the U.S., researchers aren’t certain how the ET model holds up in the fragmented urban landscape. Tall water vapor flux towers are not the answer. “You can’t use that method in urban lawns because they’re too small,” says U biology professor Diane Pataki. “It just can’t be done where lawns form a patchwork with streets and buildings. People hadn’t gone in to cities and measured what turf grass was actually doing.”

Urban lawns present challenges to the model. First, urban environments create heat islands as air heats up in developed areas like parking lots. The hot dry air likely enhances evaporation rates and changes plant water responses, compared with natural and agricultural settings. Second, shade from landscape trees and buildings may create the opposite effect and mitigate ET rates, perhaps on an hourly basis.

Yet, as the best method available, the turfgrass ET model is the foundation of California’s watering recommendations and guides the actions of advanced irrigation systems via nearby weather stations. “That’s the gold standard in California for watering,” Pataki says.

Because of the impracticality of building water vapor flux towers in residential lawns, Pataki and Litvak turned to the simple chamber method for measuring ET. They built a small clear box a bit bigger than a shoebox equipped with sensors that would instantaneously measure temperature and humidity within the box and, when set on a lawn, would provide a rapid estimate of ET. They carefully calibrated the method by weighing lawn pieces on a precise scale to capture weight losses caused by ET. Litvak says that she got some puzzled looks and questions while toting the mini-chamber around the LA area. Some asked if it was a science fair experiment. “It looks so primitive,” she says of the box. “It looks so simple.”

Throw some shade

Litvak and Pataki found that their measurements of turfgrass ET didn’t always match modeled predictions. The model’s recommendations for watering shaded lawns are very vague, Pataki says, and most lawns are shaded, to some degree at some parts of the day by trees or buildings. Shade dramatically reduces plants’ water needs, so a partly-shaded lawn will need less water than unshaded.

The model also doesn’t account for the Santa Ana winds, masses of hot dry air that periodically tumble out of the mountains and through the LA area. Temperatures go up and humidity plummets. “The models can’t deal with that at all,” Pataki says. “They predict very high ET, but not as high as what we observed during those time periods.”

Litvak says that the model performs best on dense unshaded grass, possibly intentionally overwatered to keep it green. On such lush lawns, actual ET is very close to predicted. Litvak and Pataki developed an approach to adjust ET rates for different urban conditions, including dry air or partial shade, that could lead to adjusted watering recommendations. “At some level, modeled methods work,” Litvak says. “But when we transition to really low humidity, they just don’t match our findings.”

“The water use we measured in the field was higher than the recommendations that California was already making,” Pataki says. “So if all people did was follow the recommendations, that’s a significant water savings right there. Plus the recommendations could be improved as well.”

On home turf

Turf grasses in California are typically fescue or Bermuda grass species, instead of the Kentucky blue grass that’s common in Utah. While the precise ET numbers may not be directly applicable in Utah, the general lessons of the study hold. Pataki and Litvak have one resounding suggestion for managing your grass in the summer: “Shade your lawn!” Then dial back irrigation water use accordingly.

“Do you know how much water you use to irrigate your lawn?” Litvak says. Many people don’t, including landscape managers she interviewed in her research. Utah water managers recommend two irrigation per week in early and late summer and three irrigation in the hottest months. Each irrigation should deliver half an inch of water, which should take 20-40 minutes, depending on the sprinkler system type.

“A lot of the lawn space we see in people’s yards doesn’t seem to be used for anything other than aesthetics,” Pataki says. “So that is going to cost some water.”

The urban jungle

Litvak’s doctoral dissertation work, of which this study is a continuation, results in an upcoming analysis of water use by plants in the entire LA area, including the “urban forest” of trees. The analysis, once completed, will be the first of its kind, a large-scale transpiration measure that can be applied to other urban areas as well.

“If you look out at this landscape in Salt Lake, how much water is coming off of this vegetation?” Pataki says, gesturing at her office window that overlooks the bustling Salt Lake Valley, covered with a canopy of trees. “No one knows.”

More:Science

Cabinet approval to MoU between India & Swiss Confederation for Skill Development

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Saurabh

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July 24, 2016

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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post-facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation of the Swiss Confederation for cooperation in skill development. The MoU was signed on 22.6.2016 during the visit of a delegation led by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to Switzerland from 20th – 22nd June, 2016.

The MoU broadly focuses on capacity building and exchange of best practices in the area of skill development. The MoU envisions the establishment of Joint Working Group (JWG) to create, monitor and review the implementation framework for the MoU. The MoU will establish a framework for bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the area of skill development and will formalise and deepen this partnership.

IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.

States governments being urged to reduce Stamp Duty

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Saurabh

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July 24, 2016

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ASSOCHAM_IndianBureaucracy

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has written to states government to reduce the stamp duty as it is adding to the burden with a new Real Estate Regulation Bill where the rules are almost ready and will be announcing at any time, union minister, Mr M Venkaiah Naidu said at an ASSOCHAM event held in New Delhi .

The slum clearance is one of important aspect which is yet to pick up in the country and area of concern as lots of people are coming from rural to urban area and living in slums and we are also trying to motivate the states government, said Mr Naidu while inaugurating a national summit on ‘Finance for Housing for All,’ organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

On the GST, Mr. Naidu said, “the government is continuously engaging itself with different parties not only with Congress party but possibly each and every party. At the end of the day, we want to get GST passage through consensus. The biggest beneficiaries of the GST will be state. The signals I am getting from all sides is positive. I hope the GST Bill will be passed during this session itself,” he added.

“There are certain apprehensions and real estate market itself is yet to pick up but now the economy is picking up and I am confident that the real estate sector also will pick up. He said, the private sector is not showing that much interest in affordable housing sector. We are going to extend this interest subsidy even to private sector provided if they select beneficiaries through the state agencies. We are ready to extend them also”, said Union minister.

The World Bank and ADB are also showing interest in this affordable segment of the housing and will sure it will pick up in coming future, said Mr. Naidu.

Housing for All Mission for urban areas will be implemented during 2015-2022 and this Mission will provide central assistance to implementing agencies through States and UTs for providing houses to all eligible families/beneficiaries by 2022. “My Ministry’s priority is to provide all beneficiaries with access to safe and affordable housing. This is the first step in building strong and healthy communities where individuals and families can prosper”, added Mr. Naidu.

The mission will support construction of houses upto 30 square meter carpet area with basic civic infrastructure. States/UTs will have flexibility in terms of determining the size of house and other facilities at the state level in consultation with the Ministry but without any enhanced financial assistance from Centre. Slum redevelopment projects and Affordable Housing projects should have basic civic infrastructure like water, sanitation, sewerage, road, electricity etc. ULBs should ensure that individual houses under credit linked interest subsidy and beneficiary led construction should have provision for these basic civic services.

Beneficiaries of Economically Weaker section (EWS) and Low Income Group (LIG) seeking housing loans from Banks, Housing Finance Companies and other such institutions would be eligible for an interest subsidy at the rate of 6.5 % for 15 years or during tenure of loan whichever is lower. The Net Present Value (NPV) of the interest subsidy will be calculated at a discount rate of 9 %.

Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) and National Housing Bank (NHB) have been identified as Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs) to channelize this subsidy to the lending institutions and for monitoring the progress of this component.

The credit linked subsidy will be available only for loan amounts upto Rs 6 lakhs and additional loans beyond Rs. 6 lakhs, if any, will be at nonsubsidized rate. Interest subsidy will be credited upfront to the loan account of beneficiaries through lending institutions resulting in reduced effective housing loan and Equated Monthly Instalment (EMI). Another component of the mission is Affordable Housing in Partnership that is a supply side intervention.

To increase availability of houses for EWS category at an affordable rate, States/UTs, either through its agencies or in partnership with private sector including industries, can plan affordable housing projects. Central Assistance at the rate of Rs. 1.5 Lakh per EWS house would be available for all EWS houses in such projects.

The Budget 2016-17 moved in the direction of facilitating the much desired eco-system to mobilise resources and according benefits of infrastructure status for housing and construction sector.

Initiatives taken up in this regard, service tax exemption has been announced on houses up to 60 sq. meters including PPP projects; 100% deduction on profits allowed for affordable housing projects approved during June 2016-March 2019 and completed in 3 year time from approval. Houses upto 30 sq.mt in four major cities and up to 60 sq.mt in other cities are eligible for this benefit. This will motivate quick formulation and completion of projects.

To promote rental housing which meets the needs of migrants and those who can’t afford to build a house, income tax deduction limit for house rent has been increased by Rs.36,000 (from the present Rs.24,000 to Rs.60,000)

For the first home buyers, an additional deduction of Rs.50,000 allowed if loan amount is less than Rs.35 lakhs and loan sanctioned in 2016-17 and cost of house is below Rs.50 lakhs;

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InVITS) encouraged by withdrawing 17% Dividend Distribution Tax; Excise Duty exemption extended to Ready Mix Concrete;

Other announcements like Modernisation and Digitization of land records, facilitating Ease of Doing Business and further liberalization of FDI conditions would also go a long way in channeling the much desired investments into housing sector including affordable housing.

Others who also spoke during the event were Mr Arjun Ram Meghwal, Hon’ble Minister of State for Finance, Mr Sunil Kanoria, President, ASSOCHAM, Mr Sriram Kalyanaraman, MD & CEO, National Housing Bank, Mr Rajeev Talwar, Chairman, Urban Development Committee, Mr S.C. Aggarwal, Chairman, Micro Finance Committee, ASSOCHAM and Mr D.S. Rawat, Secretary General.

Cabinet approves establishment of new AIIMS at Gorakhpur

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July 24, 2016

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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for establishment of new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

The cost of the project for establishment of the new AIIMS in Gorakhpur shall be Rs. 1011 crore. The above cost estimate does not include recurring costs (wages & salaries and operation & maintenance expenses). This recurring expenditure will be met by the respective new AIIMS from their annual budgets through Grant-in-Aid to them from Plan Budget Head of PMSSY of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The institution shall have a hospital with capacity of 750 beds which will include Emergency/Trauma Beds, AYUSH Beds, Private Beds and ICU Speciality & Super Speciality beds. In addition, there will be an Administration Block, AYUSH Block, Auditorium, Night Shelter, Hostels and residential facilities.

The establishment of new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super specialty health care to the population while creating a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region that can be available for primary and secondary level institutions/facilities being created under National Health Mission (NHM). This institute will also conduct research on prevalent regional diseases and other health issues and provide for better control and cure of such diseases.

The population of entire region of eastern U.P. which comprises of four Commissionerate of UP (Goarakhpur, Azamgarh, Basti and Devi Patan) comprising 14 districts of the state and also 5 districts of Western Bihar (West-Champaran, East-Champaran, Saran, Siwan, and Gopalganj) will be benefited by this AIIMS will be benefitted by the establishment of new AIIMS.

Background

The setting up of AIIMS under PMSSY aims correcting the regional imbalances in availability of affordable/reliable tertiary level healthcare in the country in general, and to augment facilities for quality medical education in under-served or backward States, in particular.

Under this scheme, AIIMS have been established in Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Raipur, Jodhpur, Rishikesh and Patna while work of AIIMS Rae Bareli is in progress. Also, three AIIMS in Nagpur (Maharashtra), Kalyani(West) and Mangalagiri in Guntur (A.P) have been sanctioned in 2015.

Start-up India States’ Conference

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July 24, 2016

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Speech by the Hon’ble Commerce and Industry Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman
Good morning everyone!
It gives me immense pleasure to be amongst this esteemed gathering of entrepreneurs, innovators, thought leaders and change catalysts. We are here today to find avenues to establish and foster relationships between all stakeholders of the Startup ecosystem.

Startup India initiative is designed to foster innovation, create jobs and facilitate investment. Government is committed to make this initiative a scalable reality and to provide an environment for our Startups to thrive in.

India is buzzing with entrepreneurial activity like never before and is at the forefront of an entrepreneurial revolution. India has been pegged at 3rd place behind USA and UK in terms of the number of Startups. Close to 4,400 technology startups exist in India and the number is expected to reach 12,000+ by 2020, driven by a young and diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem. India is the world’s youngest startup nation with 72% founders less than 35 years and remarkably innovative ventures are making a mark in India. These numbers are indicative of the positive entrepreneurial temperament of India. This is not only today’s reality but is indeed, a fantastic opportunity.

Startups are the next big economic force in India. Through the Start-up India initiative, we want to ensure that the momentum is accelerated. We are determined to make it a startup revolution and to ensure that every aspiring entrepreneur is able to achieve his/her potential. I would like to take this opportunity to compliment our government, partners and all stakeholders for making appreciable progress in implementation of the Action Plan for Startup India and also encourage them to stay determined to the goal of making India a Startup destination.

We have recognised the need to handhold and guide startups particularly in their early growth stage. To meet this, we have operationalised the Startup India Hub on 1st April 2016 to resolve queries and to provide handholding support to Startups. The hub has been able to resolve more than 13,500 queries received from Startups through telephone, email and Twitter.

We have also recognized the need of incentivizing innovative startups because we are aware that they are the engines of growth. The Finance Act, 2016 has made provision for Startups to get income tax exemption for 3 years in a block of 5 years, if they are incorporated between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2019. Tax exemption on investments above Fair Market Value have also been introduced for investments made in Startups. To avail these benefits one must get a Certificate of Eligibility from the Inter-Ministerial Board of DIPP. The Inter Ministerial Board examines the eligibility of recognized Startups, which are incorporated after April 1, 2016, for tax benefits. Startups that have not been able to obtain recognition are being guided and handheld through the process by the Startup hub.

Funding is perhaps the most important input because from day one any entrepreneur will need funds to develop his ideas and give it a concrete shape. A ‘fund of funds’ of Rs.10,000 crores for Startups has been established which is managed by SIDBI. The fund will invest in SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) which, in turn, will invest in Startups. Thus, this fund acts as an enabler to attract private capital in the form of equity, quasi-equity, soft loans and other risk capital for Startups.

Startups need to concentrate on the idea they are working on and not worry about compliances under various Acts. Startups working in areas covered under the list of 36 “white” category industries have been exempted from all the applicable compliances under 3 Environment Laws viz. the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Cess (Amendment) Act, 2003 and the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

Startups also need to be assisted during that stage when they are scaling up and trying to venture into new markets. To that end, we have made provision for relaxed norms on prior experience and turnover for public procurement for micro and small enterprises in the Procurement Policy of Ministry of MSME.

More than 250 incubators have been recognized by Government of India to provide recommendation to startups. In order to augment the existing list of incubators, a module to recognize incubators has been launched. This shall enable incubators to obtain recognition from Government of India, allowing them to issue recommendation letters to Startups. 7 proposals for Research Parks, 16 proposals for TBIs and 13 proposals for Startup centers have been recommended by the National Expert Advisory Committee (NEAC) formed by MHRD. These proposals shall be implemented in the current financial year.

The guidelines for harnessing private sector expertise to set up incubators, annual grand challenge for innovative solutions to problems posed by industry and Government departments, annual grand challenge for incubators and establishment of tinkering labs have been formulated and published on Startup India website. DIPP has written to top 50 companies requesting them to support the initiative under their CSR activities by setting up new incubators or scale up existing incubators in collaboration with educational institutes.

Letter of recommendation by incubators to ascertain the innovativeness of a product, service or process is an important requirement for startups to obtain recognition. In response to the feedback on the difficulties faced by startups in obtaining such recommendation a cap has been put on the maximum fee that can be charged by the incubators for providing Letter of Recommendation to Startups.

Innovation is the core of a Startup and protection of Intellectual property is imperative. A panel of facilitators has been constituted for providing assistance and support in filing applications for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), wherein, DIPP would bear the facilitation cost. In order to avail IPR-related benefits, rebate in fee upto 80% and free of cost facilitation in filing IPR applications, a Startup would now be required to obtain only a Certificate of Recognition from DIPP and would not be required to be examined by the Inter-Ministerial Board, as was being done earlier.

DIPP has requested State Governments and administration of Union Territories to set up a Startup Hub as well as incubators to help Startups during various stages of their development. I would like to congratulate Telangana and Gujarat who have set up T-Hub and iCreate.

These new reforms, I believe, will lead to a paradigm shift in the way investors – nationally and globally will look at India’s business environment. I foresee a bright future for the country where our economic growth is driven by technological innovation, entrepreneurship and economic diversification.

We wish to see entrepreneurs from the remotest part of India to come forth and showcase the potential of their ideas, women populace to take stage and drive change, India to become a nation of job creators and not job seekers. And all of you hold the potential to make this dream a truth.

This is a government that believes in constantly taking the feedback from people. Towards that end, I will be meeting:

1. Meeting with Startups Founders – Fixed for 28th of July, 2016

2. Meeting with incubators and accelerators

3.Meeting with educational institutions having incubators or entrepreneurship cells

4. Meeting with angel investors and angel networks

5.Meeting with VCs and Private Equity firms

6. Meeting with the heads of all industry associations dealing with Startup India

7. Meeting with journalists who have been dedicatedly covering the evolution of Startup movement in India

Nagpur’s 24×7 water supply project gets ‘Thumbs Up’ in Berlin

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Saurabh

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July 24, 2016

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After receiving many awards and recognition, The Orange City Water (OCW) has added yet another feather in its cap by being showcased and receiving ‘Thumbs Up’ for its ongoing “Uninterrupted Water Supply Project (commonly known as 24×7 project) at prestigious ‘The Indo-German Partnership meet in Water, Waste and Sanitation Event’ held in Berlin (Germany) recently.

Arun Lakhani, lead Promoter of OCW (CMD of Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd) represented Indian delegation and gave a detailed presentation about various issues and solutions in the Indian Water sector at the event.

Addressing the meeting Arun Lakhani, stated: “India is going through major shifts and mega changes such as rapid urbanisation leading to acute resource scarcity. The idea should be to supply water to more people while using the same capacities rather than waiting for new infrastructures to be built. Projects worth over US$15 billion are up for grab in over 10-15 years.”

Arun Lakhani mentioned that German companies should take note of the market developments in the water and waste sector in India which is rapidly changing. He advised German companies to adapt as well as improve their technologies and solutions to suit the Indian conditions. He suggested for adoption of successful business model including PPP modes to be successful in India.

Arun Lakhani represented FICCI as an Industrial Speaker for the event titled “Opportunities for Indo-German Partnership in Water, Waste and Sanitation”. The event was organised by the Embassy of India in partnership with the German Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) for the German investors and technology providers in the water and waste water sector.

Various German companies have expressed interest to participate and contribute to Ganga Rejuvenation Mission, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Smart Cities Mission of the Government of India. Vishvaraj Infrastructure has done studies on 100 cities in India, most of the cities have ample water resources but citizens are still facing water shortages due to poor water management.

German companies are global leaders offering advanced solutions in the water and waste sectors. Senior officials from German Water Partnership and German Waste Industry Association (ReTech) participated in the event and identified potential areas of cooperation with India leveraging the strengths of the German industry in water and waste sectors.

The Berlin event was attended by Ambassador of India to Germany Shri Gurjit Singh; General Manager, German Water Partnership, Christine Von Lonski; MD and CEO, Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd., Goutham Reddy; German Recycling Technologies and Waste Management Partnership e.V., Melanie Köpke; Second Secretary (Economic& Commerce), Embassy of India, Berlin, Vikram Vardhan among others.

During the event a Panel Discussion was also held on “Opportunities for Indo-German Partnership In Water, Waste and Sanitation”. Along with Arun Lakhani, the fellow panelists were Dr. Michael Kuhn, Managing Director Kuhn GmbH, Kai Ressel, Project Manager, Harbauer Gmbh, Andreas Waldraff, Managing Director, UBF.B GmbH, Dr. Thomas Probst, Federal Association Secondary raw materials and Waste management (BVSE), Goutham Reddy, MD and CEO, Ramky Enviro Engineers & Member, CII.

Central support for Primary Education in India

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Saurabh

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July 24, 2016

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For universalization of elementary education across the country the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State Governments. The Central and the State Governments have the concurrent responsibility to implement this Scheme. The existing fund sharing pattern between the Central and the State Government is in the ratio of 60:40 except for the 8 North-Eastern States viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim & Tripura and 3 Himalayan States viz. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh & Uttrakhand where the ratio is 90:10. The Central Government funds 100% in case of Union Territories for implementation of the Scheme with effect from 2015-16. The Central share is released in two or more installments to the State Governments/UT Administrations as per the prevalent criteria laid down in the Scheme.

Apart from the financial assistance provided to State Governments, various initiatives have been taken up by the Central Government to meet the objectives of SSA scheme in accordance with the legal framework of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. Some of these are:-

(i) Since the inception of SSA in 2001 till 31.3.2016, 3.64 lakh new elementary schools, construction of 3.11 lakh school buildings, and 18.61 lakh additional classrooms, 2.38 lakh drinking water facilities, 10.14 lakh school toilets and 19.48 lakh teacher posts have been sanctioned to States and UTs.

(ii) Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) have been opened in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) where the female rural literacy is below the national average to provide for residential upper primary schools for girls. 3609 KGBVs have been sanctioned till 31.3.2016, out of which 3599 KGBVs are operational in the country enrolling 3.64 lakh girls.

(iii) Under Swachh Vidyalaya initiative, 4,17,796 toilets were constructed in 2,61,400 elementary and secondary government schools in a period of one year from 15.8.2014 to 15.8.2015, thus ensuring that every government school has separate functional toilets for girls and boys. The initiative was made successful in partnership with all State Governments, 64 Public Sector Undertakings, and 12 Private Corporates. With this, about 13.58 crore children in 11.08 lakh government schools have access to gender segregated toilets.

(iv) The number of children with special needs that have been brought into the fold of education (through enrolment in formal schools, school readiness programme and through home-based education) is 23.18 lakh as per the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2014-15.

(v) The State Governments and UT Administrations are supported on several interventions to improve teaching standards, including regular in-service teachers’ training, induction training for newly recruited teachers, training of all untrained teachers to acquire professional qualifications through Open Distance Learning (ODL) mode, recruitment of additional teachers for improving pupil-teacher ratios, academic support for teachers through block and cluster resource centres, continuous and comprehensive evaluation system to equip the teacher to measure pupil performance and provide remedial action wherever required, and teacher and school grants for development of appropriate teaching-learning materials, etc.

The implementation of SSA is reviewed twice every year by a Joint Review Mission comprising independent experts and external funding agencies covering States. The Ministry of Human Resource Development convenes periodic meetings with State Education Ministers and Secretaries to review the programme implementation. Educational data on outcomes is collected through a Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) every year. The status of these evaluations and monitoring is placed in the public domain on the Ministry’s website. National Achievement Surveys (NAS) are conducted to check the health of the educational system and to provide information about the learning achievement of students. In this sample surveys, standardized tests and questionnaires are used to get learning achievement data and background information.

Safety Audit for Highways Projects

By

Saurabh

-

July 24, 2016

0

As per the concession/contract agreement for construction of national highways, the safety/security norms are to be complied by the concessionaire/contractor on the project highway during the construction of National Highways. For this purpose, Government has made it mandatory to get the safety audit of all project highways done at all the stages including the construction stage through independent safety consultants. The safety consultants carry out independent safety audit of the project highway during the development/ construction/ maintenance stage as per the prescribed standards/guidelines of the Ministry/IRC. The recommendations of the independent safety consultant are acted upon by the concerned concessionaire/contractor for complying to any safety deficiency or for taking action to provide additional road safety measures, which is a continuous process.

Thaawarchand Gehlot calls for effectively implementation of Constitutional safeguards for SC

By

Saurabh

-

July 24, 2016

0

The Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot has urged the states to implement constitutional safe guards for Scheduled Caste effectively to create crime free environment against SC. He said the Government has strengthened constitutional provisions for prevention of atrocities against Scheduled Caste and for their empowerment. He said urgent steps should be taken to ensure implementation these provisions effectively and to set up monitoring mechanism at each level.

Inaugurating the meeting of Chief Secretaries, Secretaries (Home), Secretary Social Welfare and Director Generals of Police of the State to discuss the issues of atrocities on Scheduled Castes and utilisation of Scheduled Castes Sub- Plan Funds here today, Shri Gehlot said that eradicating the discriminatory practices against Scheduled Caste is our constitutional responsibility. State Government should sensitise official machinery at each level for this purpose. Setting up the Special Courts, the working of the District and State Level Monitoring committees and the disbursal of the laid down monetary compensation should be monitored at highest level.

The Minister said that the persistence of socio-economic backwardness of SCs in spite of the development efforts have warranted a special and focused strategy, inter alia, to enable them to share the benefits of overall economic growth in a more equitable manner. This has been sought to be achieved through the budgeting for Scheduled Caste Sub Plan. The prime objective of Scheduled Caste Sub Plan is to channelize funds and benefits through identifies dedicated schemes, for which the States/ UTs and Union Ministries have to earmark funds in proportion to the SC population in the States/UTs and the country respectively, he said.

He said that there should be emphasis on SC beneficiary Community oriented schemes, The SCSP funds should be non divertible. States should ensure that the actual expenditure under SCSP is 100% of the allocation and funds are not reappropriated.

The meeting convened by National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) was attended by Ministers of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Vijay Sampla, Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar and Shri Ramdas Bandu Attawale. Chairman of NCSC, Shri P.L. Punia and Vice- Chairman, Dr. Raj Kumar Verka also participated in delebrations.

The meeting discussed monitoring of prevention of Atrocities on Scheduled Castes, identification and Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers, implementation of Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) and implementation of Reservation in State Government Services including State Government PSUs.

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