Shri D.Suresh IAS (Haryana 1995) presently posted as Managing Director, Har Minerals Ltd, New Delhi, has been given an additional charge of Resident Commissioner, Haryana Bhawan, New Delhi.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.
S.C.Mahapatra appointed as Secy -Forest and Environment , Odisha
Shri Suresh Chandra Mahapatra IAS (Odisha 1986) presently posted as Secretary Energy department, Odisha, has been appointed as Secretary, Forest and Environment Department, Government of Odisha.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.
Anurag Sharma appointed the regular DGP Telangana Government
Shri Anurag Sharma IPS (Telangana 1982) presently Serving as in-charge Director General of Police (DGP) Government of Telangana since its formation last year, has been appointed the regular Director General of Police(DGP)Telangana Police.During his service,he has held many important and sensitive posts such as Superintendent of Police of Ranga Reddy district, Group Commander (Operations) Grey Hounds, DCP of Old City in Hyderabad, DIG (Warangal Range) and also Hyderabad City Police Commissioner.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.
Parvez Dewan Former IAS, appointed as Member, Tourism Advisory Board Govt.of J&K
Shri Parvez Dewan Former IAS (Jammu& Kashmir 1977) previously posted as Former Tourism Secretary Government of India, has been appointed as Member, Tourism Advisory Board Government of J&K, under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.
Umang Narula, appointed as Member, Tourism Advisory Board Government of J&K
Shri Umang Narula, IAS (Jammu& Kashmir 1989) presently posted as Chairman cum Managing Director ITDC, Government of India, has been appointed as Member, Tourism Advisory Board Government of J&K, under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.
G V V Sarma given additional charge of Secy -Higher Education, Odisha
Shri G.V Venugopala Sarma IAS (Odisha 1986) presently posted as Secretary, General Administration Department, Odisha, has been given an additional charge of Secretary, Higher Education Department, Government of Odisha.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes Shri G.V Venugopala Sarma the very best.
Dr. L k Panwar appointed as Member, Tourism Advisory Board Government of J&K
Dr.Lalit K Panwar IAS, (Rajasthan 1979) previously posted as Former Tourism Secretary Government of India, has been appointed as Member, Tourism Advisory Board Government of J&K, under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.
Health Minister opens AMRIT outlet at AIIMS
With the aim to reduce the expenditure incurred by patients on treatment of cancer and heart diseases, the Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Shri J P Nadda inaugurated the Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) outlet at AIIMs. The retail outlet will sell drugs for the two ailments at highly discounted rates at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to begin with.
AMRIT will be launched in all Central Govt hospitals soon, Shri Nadda stated. He further added “What we launched today in the form of AMRIT pharmacy reflects our strong commitment to reduce the cost of treatment for the patients. Lakhs of patients will benefit from this initiative. The AMRIT pharmacy would be selling 202 cancer and 186 cardio-vascular drugs, and 148 types of cardiac implants at very affordable prices. Patients can buy medicines and implants at 50 to 60 percent cheaper prices than the open market from AMRIT outlet in AIIMS.”
The project has been floated in a tie-up with government-owned HLL Lifecare Ltd (HLL) which is deputed to establish and run the AMRIT chain of pharmacies across the country.
“This is certainly an innovative initiative. The government is pinning a lot of hope on it, given that it is an IT-enabled system,” Shri Nadda said. “We are exploring the possibility of scaling up the facility and also making it accessible to larger number of people in various parts of the country.”
Initially, AMRIT pharmacy will retail cancer drugs, based on authentic prescriptions from doctors. By this month-end, cardiovascular drugs will be dispensed in line with medicines sold for cancer. Based on the outcome of the AIIMS outlet, this initiative will be taken to other central government hospitals and Regional Cancer Centres.
The government’s move comes amid statistics that peg Indians diagnosed with cancer at 700,000 every year. About 2.8 million people have cancer at any point of time and half a million die of the disease each year. The annual figure of women being diagnosed with breast cancer in India is 145,000, according to the World Health Organisation. A significant number of patients (nearly over 50 per cent) stop visiting hospitals after two or three cycles of chemotherapy due to unaffordable costs.
Also present at the event were Shri Arun Kumar Panda, Additional Secretary, MoHFW, AIIMS Director Prof M.C. Misra, AIIMS Deputy Director Mr V Srinivas and HLL Lifecare Limited Chairman and Managing Director Dr. M. Ayyappan, along with senior officials from the Health Ministry.
SJVN participating in India International Trade Fair 2016
SJVN is participating in India International Trade Fair (IITF), which is being organized at Pragati Maidan New Delhi from 14th to 28th November 2016.All the power sector Organizations are participating under the aegis of Ministry of Power. SJVN’s stall at fair was inaugurated by Ms Shalini Prasad, Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Power, Govt. of India. On this occasion Sh. A.S. Bindra Director (Finance), SJVN was also present along with officers from Ministry of Power & SJVN.
On this occasion, Shri A.S. Bindra explained about the exhibits to Ms. Shalini Prasad. Ms. Prasad appreciated the exhibits and applauded the efforts of SJVN. She appreciated the works that SJVN is carrying under Corporate Social Responsibility.
Hydro Power is the core strength of SJVN and the Company has the distinction of implementing India’s largest 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station in Himachal Pradesh. The Company’s other two projects namely 412 MW Rampur HE Project in Himachal Pradesh and 47.6 MW Khirvire Wind Power Project in Maharashtra are already in operation. SJVN is implementing 12 other projects in Nepal, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra. SJVN which has already diversified in the field of Wind Power, Thermal Power and Power Transmission is presently generating 2000 MW of electricity.
TPP casts shadow on India’s foreign trade worth over $200 bn: ASSOCHAM
India might have to bear the brunt of 13-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal as its trade with the TPP countries stood at about $220 billion (bn) i.e. about 29 per cent of the country’s total trade (exports plus imports) in the financial year 2014-15, apex industry body ASSOCHAM said today while cautioning the government.
“The TPP accord will dismantle trade barriers, reduce transaction costs, promote ease of doing business and possibly benefit consumers with lower prices and more choice in member countries,” stated The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in a communication addressed to the Union Finance and Commerce Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley and Ms Nirmala Sitharaman.
India’s total exports and imports were of the order $79 bn (26 per cent of country’s total exports) and $140 bn (31 per cent of country’s total imports) respectively. India’s exports to the TPP block rose by four per cent in terms of value (in dollars) even when the country’s overall exports fell by over one per cent in 2014-15.
Besides, India had received foreign direct investment (FDI) worth $9.5 bn from TPP countries (Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the USA) which was close to 40 per cent of the total FDI inflows into India worth about $25 bn in the last fiscal.
Challenges posed by TPP pact must be treated as an opportunity for domestic industry in rising to the challenge of higher standards in products, services and framework of rules.
“Such mega trade agreements and other negotiations like Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will erode existing preferences for Indian products in established traditional markets like the US and the EU (European Union) thereby benefitting the partners to these deals” highlighted ASSOCHAM letter to the FM and Commerce Minister.
The TPP block is likely to develop a rules’ architecture that might place greater burden of compliance on India’s manufacturing and services standards for access to the markets of the participating countries, it pointed out.
“Though it is not a member of TPP, India has much at stake as it may lose export market share due to strong trade diversion effects arising from global price reduction felicitated by widespread tariff elimination,” said Mr D.S. Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM.
“Since TPP members would face tariffs in their bilateral trade, it would be more economical for multinational corporations (MNCs) to shift production from non-member countries to countries like Malaysia and Vietnam to reduce production costs,” said Mr Rawat.
ASSOCHAM has thus suggested that TPP and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) should evolve into complementary agreements to serve the entire Asia-Pacific Region in a much better way, more so as the two initiatives have overlapping membership.
Though the RCEP also aims to expand liberalisation commitments contained in existing ASEAN-plus one free trade agreements (FTAs), it is less ambitious regarding depth of reforms, allows far more exemptions for sensitive products and for broad development considerations, and provides more consultative rather than binding dispute resolution procedures.
Huge Scope of Furthering Indo German Relations – Steffen Builger
In order to further the business ties between India and Germany following the recent meetings of Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and his German counterpart Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), organized a Roundtable Meeting on the Trajectory of Indo-German Relations post Dr Merkel’s Visit on 27 October 2015 at The Imperial in New Delhi. The meeting was graced by members of both Indian and German Parliaments as well as business leaders from a diverse range of industries.
Welcoming the delegates, Mr Deep Kapuria, Chairman, CII Trade Fairs Council & Chairman, Hi Tech Group, said that the growing closeness between the two nations is evident from the recent meetings and signing of co-operation pacts on a range of subjects including technology transfer, clean and green energy, climate change, security and counter terrorism, etc. He informed the German delegation about India’s commitment to grow in an inclusive, responsible and sustainable manner by generating livelihood opportunities in rural as well as urban areas. Highlighting the India Prime Minister’s vision to render Indian manufacturing sector globally competitive through the Make in India mission, he identified Germany as a natural partner in this drive. He added that apart from a strong footprint of German auto companies in the Indian market, the recent years have seen the bilateral trade and investment between Asia’s third largest economy and the European powerhouse multiply manifolds. As part of the recent initiatives of CII to further global business ties, he mentioned the Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA), a CII-DST (Department of Science & Technology, Government of India) joint venture, for developing research based partnerships between international companies.
Dr Lars Peter Schmidt, Resident Representative to India, KAS, expressed his enthusiasm for the roundtable and acknowledged the scope for closer ties between India and Germany.
Leading the German delegation, Mr Steffen Builger, Member of German Parliament and Chairman, Young Group, said that closer business ties with India present huge opportunities for India not just in the area of trading but also in research, joint development and production.
Members of the Indian delegation stated that opportunities of mutual benefit between the two countries must be sought with renewed vigour in light of the recent meetings of the heads of state.
Ms Bidisha Ganguly, Principal Economist, CII, made a brief presentation on the state of Indian economy and highlighted features such as a young nation, a robust services sector, high domestic savings and investments, continuously improving fiscal as well as current account deficits and foreign inflows, etc. demonstrating the inherent strength of the Indian economy.
During a brief interaction following the address, the delegates discussed the possibilities for closer ties through addressing the biggest obstacles. The German delegates emphasized the need to address the impediments to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two nations. In his concluding address, Mr Deep Kapuria assured the German delegation of the renewed focus on the matter of FTAs by the Indian government following the recent high level talks and thanked the delegation for a vibrant discussion.
Government to set up special regulator for bankruptcy cases
The government is considering setting up a special regulator to look into bankruptcy cases and may make it mandatory to take a call on whether to liquidate a company or not within 180 days, a person close to the development said.
The government is working on a new bankruptcy code based on recommendations given by the TK Vishwanathan committee, which submitted its final report to the government about ten days ago, that would tilt the balance in favour of creditors, the person said.
“Why should the government let go of national asset (company) if the management is unable to
run a company? Under the new code the main aim would be to save the asset and maximise
the value,” the person told ET.
Manoj Joshi, joint economic affairs secretary, had on Tuesday said that the government is keen to present the Bankruptcy Law in the winter session of Parliament. “We are putting a lot of focus on administrative mechanism by which the bankruptcy enforcement could take place,”
Joshi said at a FICCI seminar in Mumbai.
People close to the development said the committee recommendations, if accepted, could give a leeway for many special situation funds to operate profitably in India. Special situation funds normally buy stake in distressed assets and then try to turn them around, making profit on the
upside and then selling the stake.
This is quite difficult in India currently as there is no bankruptcy law which could give a freehand to such funds. Although there are many laws such as the SARFAESI Act (Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002) and the Sick Industrial Companies Act, they are tilted towards promoters, industry trackers said.
While the Reserve Bank of India’s new structural debt restructuring (SDR) rules have been introduced, they only benefits banks and not other lenders. The bankruptcy law would try to protect rights of all the stakeholders in a company and wherever needed even go for “automatic liquidation”, said the official quoted earlier.
“Under the new bankruptcy code even unsecure lenders would see their rights being protected. Also till the time the decision is taken by the regulator, the assets of the company would be frozen,” the person said. Industry trackers said such a code could make India more attractive for foreign investors and called for an insolvency framework similar to the ‘Chapter 11’ rescue mechanism in the US.
“A stronger insolvency framework will facilitate economic growth,” said Dinkar V, partner, transaction advisory services, at EY India.
“Protecting the rights of borrowers and lenders clarify the risks associated with lending and make the revival of such (bankrupt) companies easier.
These factors will also unlock the flow of much needed ‘new capital’ to stressed and distressed situations,” he said.
ET first reported on March 1 that the government was looking to bring out a bankruptcy law. Industry insiders said Indian promoters till now have been able to get a way around by not repaying money to the lenders.
Even the public sector banks find it tough to enforce the law. Some, however, warn that even the new code could end up ineffective. “A Chapter 11-like law is a welcome move, but one has to follow it in letter and spirit,” said Anand Desai, managing partner at DSK Legal.
The bankruptcy committee was set up last year under former law secretary TK Vishwanathan to find out ways for resolution of situations where companies were unable to protect interest of all stakeholders