Notifications & Circulars

Press Information Bureau

13.09.2017

Civil

Secretary MSME reviews implementation of Public Procurement Policy by various PSUs in National SC ST Hub Conclave

MANU/PIBU/1172/2017

National SC ST Hub Conclave was chaired by Dr. Arun Kumar Panda, Secretary, Ministry of MSME, and other senior officials of the ministry were present on the occasion. Chairman or representatives from about 50 PSUs from 20 Ministries also participated in the conclave. The interaction aims to bring together leading CPSEs from different sectors and initiate discussion to understand the gaps and their challenges in realizing the mandate of Public Procurement Policy. The interaction is envisioned to put forth a strategy that delivers sustained and measurable impact on the entire MSME ecosystem. With participation from over 50 CPSEs from 20 Ministries, the conclave also aims to develop an understanding of procurement requirements of CPSEs and facilitating them in vendor development programme by providing support in mobilizing SC/ST entrepreneurs.

Ministry of MSME, through National SC-ST Hub, is continuously thriving to achieve its objectives, and in order to accomplish desired goals has taken up multiple initiatives. The conclave will give a brief on all ongoing activities and also give a snapshot on the roadmap for the near future.

A brief presentation by Joint Secretary, MSME, on the achievements and challenges faced by CPSEs in procuring goods and services from SC ST entrepreneurs was given. In order to receive inputs and suggestions from CPSES, an open discussion was organized during the conclave to decide upon the future course of action. Key highlighted from the discussion were:

1. Current status of procurement done by CPSEs from MSMEs (including SC/ST MSEs) during the last Financial Year

2. Need for one consolidated database of SC/ST Vendors including details of products and services provided by them

3. Focus on organizing Special - Vendor Development Programmes (VDPs) and capacity building programmes for addressing the skills gap of SC/ST MSEs

4. Use of technology as a medium for dissemination of information.

The conclave brought various insights from CPSEs to understand the gaps in realizing the mandate of Public Procurement Policy and put forth innovative strategies for holistic development of MSEs owned by SC/ST Entrepreneurs. The discussion help was extremely fruitful and will go a long way in meeting the objectives of the National SC ST Hub.

Background:

National SC-ST Hub, launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, aims to create a supportive ecosystem for SC/ST entrepreneurs by assisting in technology upgradation and capacity building thereby enabling them to effectively participate in public procurement processes. The Government of India formulated the Public Procurement Policy, 2012 which states that 20% of total procurement of goods and services by Central Ministries, Departments and CPSEs shall be made from MSEs and 20% of such procurement (4% of total procurement) from MSEs shall be made from SC & ST owned MSEs.

Tags : Procurement Policy Implementation Review

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Press Information Bureau

13.09.2017

Civil

CBDT has been asked to consider inclusion of Service Charge while assessing tax: Shri Ram Vilas Paswan

MANU/PIBU/1174/2017

Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution told that in order to check the levying of Service Charge compulsorily, CBDT has been asked to consider inclusion of Service Charge while assessing tax. Similarly, directions have been issued to the officers of Legal Metrology of all States to monitor the cases of charging more than MRP.

In order to stop levying Service Charge compulsorily from consumers without their consent, guidelines were issued on 21st April 2017. A number of renowned hotels/restaurants have made Service Charge optional under the Guidelines. But still the complaints are being received through National Consumer Helpline about levying 5% to 20% Service Charge compulsorily by some hotels and restaurants. Some media reports have also been published in this regard.

To stop this unfair practice, hotels and restaurants have been asked either to leave the column of Service Charge blank or mention on the Bill that it is optional. It means that the consumer can pay the Service Charge if he or she wants.

In this regard State Governments were asked to issue directions to hotels and restaurants to display the message at an appropriate place that Service Charge is completely optional and if the consumer is not satisfied with the services of that hotel or restaurant, he or she is free not to pay Service Charge.

Similarly, guidelines have been issued in April 2017 against levy of Service Charge compulsorily and consider it as an unfair trade. In addition to it, all the States have been asked to implement these guidelines strictly and sensitize the consumers about the same through publicity. These guidelines were sent to Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI), National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and Hotel Association of India (HAI) also.

Advertisements have also been released under 'Jago Grahak Jago' conveying the message among consumers that Service Charge is not mandatory but a tip which is fully a discretion of the consumer. Hotels or restaurants cannot compel the consumer to pay Service Charge. Similarly, Voluntary Consumer Organizations have also been asked to increase awareness and pick up some cases for exemplary remedial action.

Tags : Service Charge Inclusion Tax Assessment

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Press Information Bureau

12.09.2017

Civil

Cabinet approves implementation of the scheme "Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund"

MANU/PIBU/1166/2017

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved a Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund" (DIDF) with an outlay of Rs 10,881 crore during the period from 2017-18 to 2028-29. Consequent to the Union Budget 2017-18 announcement, Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund will be set up as a corpus of Rs 8004 crore with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the Expenditure Finance Committee has given approval for initiation and setting up of Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) at a total scheme outlay of Rs 10881 crore. Out of Rs 10881 crore of financial outlay for project components of DIDF, Rs 8004 crore shall be loan from NABARD to National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and National Dairy Development Cooperation (NCDC), Rs 2001 crore shall be end borrowers contribution, Rs 12 crore would be NDDB/NCDC's share and Rs 864 crore shall be contributed by DADF towards interest subvention. NABARD shall disburse Rs 2004 Cr, Rs 3006 Cr and Rs 2994 Cr during the year 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively.

Allocation of Rs 864 Crore for meeting interest subvention will be released to NABARD over a period of 12 years covering the entire loan repayment period from 2017-18 to 2028-29.

The major activities of DIDF:

The project will focus on building an efficient milk procurement system by setting up of chilling infrastructure & installation of electronic milk adulteration testing equipment, creation/modernization/expansion of processing infrastructure and manufacturing faculties for Value Added Products for the Milk Unions/ Milk Producer Companies.

Management of DIDF:

The project will be implemented by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and National Dairy Development Cooperation (NCDC) directly through the End Borrowers such as Milk Unions, State Dairy Federations, Multi-state Milk Cooperatives, Milk Producer Companies and NDDB subsidiaries meeting the eligibility criteria under the project. An Implementation and Monitoring Cell (IMC) located at NDDB, Anand, will manage the implementation and monitoring of day-to-day project activities.

The end borrowers will get the loan @ 6.5% per annum. The period of repayment will be 10 years with initial two years moratorium. The respective State Government will be the guarantor of loan repayment. Also for the project sanctioned if the end user is not able to contribute its share; State Government will contribute the same. Rs 8004 crore shall be loan from NABARD to NDDB/NCDC, Rs 2001 crore shall be end borrowers contribution, Rs 12 crore would be jointly contributed by NDDB/NCDC and Rs 864 crore shall be contributed by DADF towards interest subvention.

Benefits from DIDF:

With this investment, 95,00,000 farmers in about 50,000 villages would be benefitted. Additional Milk processing capacity of 126 lakh litre per day, milk drying capacity of 210 MT per day, milk chilling capacity of 140 lakh litre per day, installation of 28000 Bulk Milk Coolers (BMCs) along with electronic milk adulteration testing equipment and value added products manufacturing capacity of 59.78 lakh litre per day of milk equivalent shall be created.

Initially 39 MUs the Department will start the project with 39 profit making milk unions of 12 States, other Milk Cooperatives which become eligible on the basis of their net worth and profit levels, in subsequent years, to apply for loan under DIDF.

Employment Generation Potential:

The implementation of DIDF scheme will generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled manpower. Direct employment opportunities for about 40,000 people will be created under the scheme through project activities like expansion & modernisation of existing milk processing facilities, setting up of new processing plants, establishment of manufacturing facilities for value added products and setting up of Bulk Milk Coolers (BMCs) at village level.

About 2 lakh indirect employment opportunities will be created on account of expansion of milk and milk product marketing operations from existing Tier I, II & III to Tier IV, V & VI cities/towns etc. This will lead to deployment of more marketing staff by Milk Cooperatives, appointment of distributors and opening of additional milk booths/retail outlets in urban/rural locations.

With the increase in milk procurement operations of the Milk Cooperatives, there would be generation of additional manpower employment for supervision of increased milk procurement operations, transportation of milk from villages to processing units, and increased input delivery services like Artificial Insemination (AI) services, Veterinary Services, etc.

Tags : Implementation Scheme Dairy Processing Development Fund

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Press Information Bureau

12.09.2017

Customs

Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley constitutes a Group of Ministers and a Committee on Exports

MANU/PIBU/1165/2017

In pursuance of decision taken in the 21st Meeting of GST Council held on 9th September, 2017 at Hyderabad, the Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley today constituted a Group of Ministers and a Committee on Exports.

The Group of Ministers (GoM) has been constituted under the convenorship of the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Sushil Kumar Modi,in order to monitor and resolve the IT challenges faced in the implementation of GST. The Members of the GoM are Shri Amar Agarwal, Minister for Commercial Taxes, Government of Chhattisgarh; Shri Krishna Byregowda, Minister for Agriculture, Government of Karnataka; Dr. T.M. Thomas Isaac, Finance Minister, Government of Kerala and Shri Etela Rajendar, Finance Minister, Government of Telengana. The GoM will be assisted in its work by the Chairman, Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) and the Chief Executive Officer, GSTN.

The Committee on Exports has been constituted under the convenorship of the Revenue Secretary to look at the issues of export sector and to recommend to the GST Council suitable strategy for helping the export sector in the post-GST scenario. This Committee consists of the Chairperson, CBEC; Member (Customs), CBEC; Director General, DGFT; Addional Secretary, GST Council; Director General, DG Export Promotion from the Central Government and Commissioners of Commercial Taxes from the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Tags : Committee Exports Constitution

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Press Information Bureau

12.09.2017

Labour and Industrial

Cabinet approves introduction of the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in the Parliament

MANU/PIBU/1167/2017

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for introduction of the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in the Parliament. The Amendment will increase the maximum limit of gratuity of employees, in the private sector and in Public Sector Undertakings/ Autonomous Organizations under Government who are not covered under CCS (Pension) Rules, at par with Central Government employees.

Background:

The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 applies to establishments employing 10 or more persons. The main purpose for enacting this Act is to provide social security to workmen after retirement, whether retirement is a result of the rules of superannuation, or physical disablement or impairment of vital part of the body. Therefore, the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 is an important social security legislation to wage earning population in industries, factories and establishments.

The present upper ceiling on gratuity amount under the Act is Rs. 10 Lakh. The provisions for Central Government employees under Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 with regard to gratuity are also similar. Before implementation of 7th Central Pay Commission, the ceiling under CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 was Rs. 10 Lakh. However, with implementation of 7th Central Pay Commission, in case of Government servants, the ceiling now is Rs. 20 Lakhs effective from 1.1.2016.

Therefore, considering the inflation and wage increase even in case of employees engaged in private sector, the Government is of the view that the entitlement of gratuity should be revised for employees who are covered under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. Accordingly, the Government initiated the process for amendment to Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.

Tags : Amendment Gratuity Payment Approval

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Press Information Bureau

12.09.2017

Company

Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MOCA) identifies more than one lakh directors of shell companies for disqualification

MANU/PIBU/1169/2017

Pursuant to the action of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs of cancellation of registration of around 2.10 lakh (2,09,032) defaulting companies and subsequent direction of the Ministry of Finance to banks to restrict operations of bank accounts of such companies by the directors of such companies or their authorized representatives, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has identified 1,06,578 Directors for disqualification under Section 164(2)(a) of the Companies Act, 2013 as on September 12, 2017.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs is further analyzing the data of these companies available with the Registrar of Companies to identify the Directors and the significant beneficial interests behind these companies. Profiles of Directors such as their background, antecedents and their role in the operations/functioning of these companies are also being compiled in collaboration with the enforcement agencies. The money laundering activities performed under the aegis of these companies are also under the scanner. The Professionals, Chartered Accountants/Company Secretaries/Cost Accountants associated with such defaulting Companies and involved in illegal activities have been identified in certain cases and the action by Professional Institutes such as ICAI, ICSI and ICoAI is also being monitored.

The above exercise is part of the strategy formulated by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and presented to the Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley and the Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Shri P.P. Chaudhary. The Minister of State Shri Chaudhary is closely monitoring the situation emerging-out of cancellation of registration of such companies under the Companies Act, 2013. He is holding regular meetings with the officials of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and its subordinate organizations such as Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), Registrars of Companies (ROCs), Department of Financial Services, Indian Banks Association and other Departments involved in the crackdown against such companies.

MOS (CA) Shri Chaudhary said that all the concerned agencies are handling this issue on priority. He said "The present Government has vowed to fight Black Money and fighting the menace of Shell Companies is an imperative element of such fight. The fight against black money shall be incomplete without breaking the network of shell companies. Possibility of using the Shell companies for laundering the black money cannot be undermined.

I am happy that all the concerned agencies are handling this issue on priority. The disqualification under Section 164 of the Act is by operation of law. We are identifying the defaulting Directors of these shell companies. My officers have assured me that by the end of this month, we would be ready with the relevant details of all defaulting Directors of these shell companies. This whole exercise shall go a long way in creating an atmosphere of confidence and faith in the system paving the way for ease of doing business in India. The interest of stakeholders would be protected and the image of the country in the global business arena and fora would substantially improve."

It may be recalled that as per Section 164 of the Companies Act, 2013, any person who is or has been a director in a company which has not filed financial statements or annual returns for any continuous period of three financial years shall not be eligible for re-appointment as a director in that company or appointed in other company for a period of five years from the date on which the said company fails to do so. Also, Section 248 of the Act provides that, the liability, if any, of every director, manager or other officer who was exercising any powers of management and of every member of the de-registered/dissolved company, shall continue and may be enforced as if the company had not been de-registered/dissolved. Further, Section 167 of the Act provides that on suffering the aforesaid disqualification, the Director shall vacate the office. It may be noted that prior to action against defaulting companies, there were about 13 Lakh companies in the Registry. However, after closing of around 2.10 Lakh Companies, there are about 11 Lakh companies having Active status in the Registry.

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Press Information Bureau

11.09.2017

Commercial

Secretary, DEA inaugurates the Workshop on the involvement of Multilateral Agencies in developing the capacity of Finance Departments of the States and Union Territories

MANU/PIBU/1162/2017

Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India inaugurated here today the familiarization Workshop on the involvement of Multilateral Agencies in developing the capacity of Finance Departments of the States and Union Territories (UTs). The Workshop was organized at the IMF South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Centre (SARTTAC) in New Delhi. In his Inaugural Address, Shri Garg hoped that the States/ UTs will have a deeper understanding of the opportunities they can avail from SARTTAC and MDBs while the latter will have sufficient inputs from the States and Union Territories (UTs) to enable them to develop a comprehensive training module for the future.

The Workshop witnessed the participation of Additional Chief Secretaries/ Principal Secretaries of Finance Departments from several States/UTs, senior officers from the Ministry of Finance, and experts from IMF SARTTAC, World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB) among others. The workshop was organized with the aim of showcasing the potential of multilateral agencies like IMF SARTTAC, World Bank, AIIB and NDB in developing capacity of states and UTs. In the workshop, presentations were also made by the Ministry of Finance officials on initiatives taken like the Financial Data Management Centre (FDMC) and rationalization of the stamp duty regime for security market related instruments.

Tags : Workshop Introduction Multilateral Agencies Finance Departments Development

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Reserve Bank of India

11.09.2017

Banking

Mint Street Memos

MANU/RPRL/0146/2017

The Reserve Bank of India today placed on its website the fourth release titled 'Agriculture Loan Bank Accounts - A Waiver Scenario Analysis, co-authored by Rajendra Raghumanda, Ravi Shankar and Sukhbir Singh from Department of Statistics and Information Management' and the fifth series titled 'Farm Loan Waivers, Fiscal Deficit and Inflation, co-authored by Pratik Mitra, Joice John and Ashish Thomas George from the Monetary Policy Department and Indranil Bhattacharyya and Indrani Manna from the Department of Economic and Policy Research' under the series 'Mint Street Memos (MSM)'. The views and opinions expressed in MSM series are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the RBI.

Tags : Loan Waiver Analysis

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