Notifications & Circulars
Press Information Bureau
04.10.2017
Civil
Cabinet apprised of the MoU between India and Switzerland on Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector
MANU/PIBU/1225/2017
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding between Ministry of Railways, Government of India and the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications of Swiss Confederation on Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector. The MoU was signed on 31st August, 2017.
The MoU will enable technical cooperation in the following areas:-
a. Traction Rolling stock
b. EMU and train sets
c. Traction Propulsion Equipments
d. Freight and Passenger Cars
e. Tilting Trains
f. Railway Electrification Equipments
g. Train scheduling and operation improvement
h. Railway Station modernization
i. Multimodal transport
j. Tunneling technology
Background:
Ministry of Railways have signed MoUs for technical cooperation in the Rail sector with various foreign Governments and National Railways. The identified areas of cooperation include high-speed corridors, speed raising of existing routes, development of world-class stations, heavy haul operations and modernization of rail infrastructure, etc. The cooperation is achieved through exchange of information on developments in areas of railways technology & operations, knowledge sharing, technical visits, training & seminars and workshops in areas of mutual interest.
The MoUs provide a platform for Indian Railways to interact and share the latest developments and knowledge in the railway sector. The MoUs facilitate exchange of technical experts, reports and technical documents, training and seminars/workshops focusing on specific technology areas and other interactions for knowledge sharing.
Tags : MoU Technical Cooperation Rail Sector
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Press Information Bureau
04.10.2017
Banking
Government takes note of the decision of the RBI Monetary Policy Committee to keep the policy rate and policy stance unchanged
MANU/PIBU/1228/2017
The Government has taken note of the decision of the RBI Monetary Policy Committee to keep the policy rate and policy stance unchanged.
Following is the text of statement issued by Ministry of Finance in response to RBI unveiling its fourth bi-monthly monetary policy statement today.
"We have noted that this decision has been made by the MPC in light of the underlying analysis which implies: (i) a downward revision of the real GVA growth forecast for 2017-18 from 7.3 percent to 6.7 percent, which leads to a widening of the output gap; and (ii) a marginally upward revision of the CPI inflation forecast for the second half of the year meaning an average inflation for the year 2017-18 as a whole of less than 4 percent.
Government welcomes the institution building initiatives, including : finalising the Peer to Peer NBFC financing regulations which would improve financing for smaller firms;
and increasing retail participation in government securities via aggregation of bids by stock exchanges."
Tags : Committee Decision Unchanged Rate Monetary policy
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Press Information Bureau
04.10.2017
Civil
Government constitutes a High Level Committee for proper management of water resources in North Eastern Region
MANU/PIBU/1226/2017
The Government has constituted a high-level committee for proper management of the water resources in the North Eastern Region (NER) under the Chairmanship of Vice-Chairman, Niti Aayog. This is a sequel to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's visit to Guwahati in August this year to review the flood situation and relief work in the North Eastern States.
The Committee would facilitate optimising benefits of appropriate water management in the form of hydro-electric power, agriculture, bio-diversity conservation, reduced flood damage erosion, inland water transport, forestry, fishery and eco-tourism. Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) will serve as the coordinating point. The Committee will submit its report, including Plan of Action, by June, 2018.
During the review of the flood situation with the Chief Ministers of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, the Prime Minister had announced constitution of a High-Level Committee for holistic management of water resources in the NER. The meeting noted that the optimum management of water resources is a cross-cutting task which requires multi-sectoral interventions and concerted strategy, including management of catchment areas in upper reaches involving concerned Central Ministries and State Governments.
The Brahmaputra and Barak river systems which account for one-third of India's run off, are highly prone to floods. Brahmaputra is one of the largest river systems in the world and causes considerable distress and costs on the region through frequent flooding and erosion.
The terms of reference of the Committee include:
i) Appraisal of existing mechanism/institutional arrangements for management of water resources of the North Eastern Region.
ii) Identification of gaps in the existing mechanism/institutional arrangements for optimal management of water resources of the NER.
iii) Suggest policy interventions required for optimally harnessing the water resources for accelerating development in the NER.
iv) Spelling out of actionable measures required for optimizing the management of water resources in the North-East.
v) Chalking out a Plan of Action for dovetailing of the schemes/programmes of concerned Union Ministries, their attached offices and autonomous bodies as well as the schemes of the respective North-Eastern State Governments.
The Committee includes Secretaries from the Ministries of Development of North Eastern Region, Department of Border Management, Department of Space, Power, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and National Disaster Management Authority and Chief Secretaries of all the 8 states in NER as Members. The Committee may co-opt or invite as special invitees Secretaries of other Ministries / Departments as well as experts who have domain knowledge in the matter.
Tags : Committee Constitution Water resources Management
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Press Information Bureau
04.10.2017
Civil
Cabinet approves MoU on Upgradation of the Women's Police Training Centre at Yamethin, Myanmar
MANU/PIBU/1227/2017
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Myanmar on upgradation of the Women's Police Training Centre at Yamethin, Myanmar. The MoU was signed on 6th September, 2017. The MoU covers upgradation of the Yamethin Women's Police Training Centre to further augment the capabilities of the Myanmar Government to build capacities of its police force with technical and financial assistance from Government of India.
Tags : MoU Approval Upgradation Women's Police Training Centre
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Reserve Bank of India
04.10.2017
Banking
Report of the Internal Study Group to Review the Working of the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) System
MANU/RPRL/0153/2017
As indicated in Para 2 of today's Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies, the Reserve Bank of India placed on its website today the Report of the Internal Study Group to Review the Working of the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) System. The Reserve Bank has stated that the comments on the report may be sent to the Principal Adviser, Monetary Policy Department, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, 24th Floor, Central Office Building, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 by post or by email by October 25, 2017.
After taking into account the feedback received, the Reserve Bank will take a final view on the recommendations of the Study Group.
It may be recalled that in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies of August 2, 2017, it was indicated that an internal Study Group (Chairman: Dr. Janak Raj) was constituted by the Reserve Bank of India to study the various aspects of the MCLR system from the perspective of improving the monetary transmission and exploring linking of the bank lending rates directly to market determined benchmarks.
The Group submitted its report on September 25, 2017.
The terms of reference for the Study Group were: (i) to study whether the MCLR has achieved the objective for which it was introduced; (ii) to look into the practices followed by banks for fixing the spread over the MCLR; (iii) to suggest appropriate modification in the MCLR system with a view to strengthening the monetary transmission; and (iv) to make any other recommendation with regard to setting of interest rates by banks for improving the monetary transmission.
Tags : Marginal Cost Funds Review
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Press Information Bureau
04.10.2017
Civil
Cabinet approves the Extradition Treaty between India and Lithuania
MANU/PIBU/1229/2017
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for the signing and ratification of the Extradition Treaty between India and Lithuania. The Treaty would provide a legal framework for seeking extradition of terrorists, economic offenders and other criminals from and to Lithuania. The Treaty would help in extradition of fugitive criminals including terrorists for criminal prosecutions from Lithuania who may have committed crimes against India. It will bring the criminals to justice, with a view to ensure peace and tranquility to public at large.
Tags : Extradition Treaty Approval
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Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
03.10.2017
Law of Medicine
Ensuring compliance of the price capping of the Primary Knee and Revision Knee along with maintaining its uninterrupted supply
MANU/CHFZ/0085/2017
The undersigned is directed to state that the Department of Pharmaceuticals vide its notification No. 31026/31/2007-Pricing, dated 18.09.2017 invoked the powers under paragraph 3 of Drugs Prices Control Order, 2013 and directed the companies :-
i. to furnish the production figures for 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18;
ii. to maintain production/import/supply of the orthopedic knee implant systems at the same levels before August, 2017;
iii. to submit a weekly report on orthopedic knee implant system produced and distributed.
2. As per the above notification of the Department of Pharmaceuticals all manufacturers/ importers/ marketers of orthopedic knee implant system are required to comply the above direction in letter and spirit. Therefore, for uniformity and also to enable the companies to submit the data, three excel formats have been devised and enclosed as Table-A and Table-B and Table-C. The details of the same are as follows:-
i) Table-A is to submit production/import /sales figures for the years 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 upto July, 2017.
ii) Table-B is to submit production/import /sales figures for the month of August, 2017 in two parts. Part (i) from 01 /08/2017 to 15/08/2017 and part (ii) from 16/08/2017 to 31/08/2017.
iii) Table-C is for submitting weekly report for production/import /sales of orthopedic knee implant system.
3. Therefore, all manufactures/importers/marketers of knee implant system are directed to follow the direction of the Department of Pharmaceuticals and to submit one time report as per Table-A and Table-B and weekly report as per Table-C. It is requested that the soft copy of the report should be sent in excel format only to email id nihalepdric@nic.in and a hard copy of the same may be sent by post. Non-compliance of these instructions shall be taken up for prosecution under relevant provisions of Essential Commodities Act.
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Press Information Bureau
03.10.2017
Excise
Government of India decides to reduce the Basic Excise Duty rate on Petrol and Diesel [both branded and unbranded] by Rs. 2 per litre with effect from 4th October, 2017
MANU/PIBU/1222/2017
The Government of India has decided to reduce the Basic Excise Duty rate on Petrol and Diesel [both branded and unbranded] by Rs. 2 per litre with effect from 4th October, 2017. This decision has been taken by the Government in order to cushion the impact of rising international prices of crude petroleum oil and petrol and diesel on Retail Sale Prices of Petrol and Diesel as well as to protect the interest of common man.
The Revenue loss on account of these reductions in excise duty is about Rs. 26,000 crore in a full year, and about Rs. 13000 crore during the remaining part of the current financial year.
Earlier due to the increase in the international prices of Petrol and Diesel, during the last few weeks, the Retail Selling Prices (RSP) of Petrol and Diesel at Delhi have risen to Rs. 70.83/litre and Rs. 59.07/litre respectively, as on 2nd October 2017. This rise in the prices of Petrol and Diesel is also reflected in WPI inflation, which has increased to 3.24% for the month of August 2017, as compared to 1.88% for the month of July 2017. This also prompted the Government to act swiftly in this regard.
Tags : Excise Duty rate Petrol and Diesel Reduction
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Press Information Bureau
02.10.2017
Civil
President Appoints Commission to Examine Sub Categorization of other Backward Classes under Article 340 of the Constitution
MANU/PIBU/1221/2017
The President today i.e. on 02.10.2017, in exercise of the powers conferred by article 340 of the Constitution appointed a Commission to examine the sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes. This decision, taken on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, reinforces, in the spirit of his teachings, the Government's efforts to achieve greater social justice and inclusion for all, and specifically members of the Other Backward Classes. Sub categorization of the OBCs will ensure that the more backward among the OBC communities can also access the benefits of reservation for educational institutions and government jobs.
The composition of the Commission is as follows:
(i) Chairperson -Justice (Retd.) G. Rohini,
(ii) Member -Dr. J.K. Bajaj,
(iii) Member (Ex-officio)-Director, Anthropological Survey of India,
(iv) Member (Ex-officio)-Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India
(v) Secretary of the Commission-Joint Secretary, Department of SJ&E, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
The terms of reference of the Commission are as under
(i) to examine the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among the castes or communities included in the broad category of Other Backward Classes with reference to such classes included in the Central List;
(ii) to work out the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters in a scientific approach for sub-categorisation within such Other Backward Classes; and
(iii) to take up the exercise of identifying the respective castes or communities or sub-castes or synonyms in the Central List of Other Backward Classes and classifying them into their respective sub-categories.
The Commission is required to present their Report to the President within a period of twelve weeks of assumption of charge by the Chairperson of the Commission.
On receipt of the Report of the Commission, the Central Government will consider ways and means for equitable distribution of the benefits of the reservation in Central Government jobs and admission in Central Government Institutions amongst all strata of the Other Backward Classes.
Tags : Commission Appointment Sub Categorization OBCs
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