Press Information Bureau

31.01.2018

Power and Energy

Ireda and Rumsl Signs Agreement for Large-Scale Solar Parks in Madhya Pradesh

MANU/PIBU/0137/2018

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) and Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL) signed an agreement today for financing the shared infrastructure of two large Solar Parks in Madhya Pradesh.

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), World Bank & IREDA have been able to work out a proposal to channelize US$ 100 Million for creating common infrastructure for ultra-mega solar parks in India to achieve the 100 GW solar capacity addition target by 2022, set by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Under the World Bank Line of Credit, IREDA has sanctioned its first loan of Rs. 210.62 Cr. to RUMSL to finance two such solar parks in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The agreement was signed by Shri S K Bhargava, Director (Finance), IREDA and Shri Avaneesh Shukla, Executive Engineer, RUMSL in the presence of Shri Upendra Tripathy, Interim Director General, International Solar Alliance (ISA).

The broad terms and condition of the agreement include fixed interest rate of 8.5% p.a. for entire loan tenure, moratorium from principal repayments upto 5 years and loan repayment period of upto 20 years. Speaking on the occasion, Shri K S Popli, CMD, IREDA appreciated the initiative of MNRE, support of The World Bank and more specifically of DEA to reduce the Sovereign Guarantee fee to 0.5%. He further stated that this support from DEA will enable to expedite development of such proposals in other states also.

Shri Upendra Tripathy, Interim Director General, ISA mentioned that India being in leading position in solar technologies, there is immediate attention for the development of 121 projects of solar technologies in 121 ISA member countries by April 21,2018. He congratulated IREDA and RUMSL for achieving the feat in short time frame and also for the innovative Payment Security Mechanism which will ensure timely payment to the developer.

Shri Manu Srivastava, Principal Secretary and Managing Director, RUMSL mentioned that RUMSL, at present, is implementing two solar parks i.e. Rewa with capacity of 750 MW and Mandsaur with 250 MW capacity in the state of Madhya Pradesh. With the solar park model, Payment Security Mechanism and the Line of Credit from The World Bank, the tariff for Rewa project is discovered as low as Rs.3.30 on levelized basis. Out of the total power proposed to be generated at Rewa solar park, 24% has been agreed to be purchased by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and balance 76% by Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Ltd (MPPMCL).

Tags : Agreement Signing of Solar Parks

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Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

31.01.2018

Media and Communication

TRAI releases "The Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Per Port Transaction Charge and Dipping Charge (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 (03 of 2018)"

MANU/TRAI/0014/2018

1. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today issued "The Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Per Port Transaction Charge and Dipping Charge (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 (03 of 2018)" thereby reducing the 'Per Port Transaction Charge' of Rupees Nineteen to Rupees Four for each successful porting.

2. "The Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Per Port Transaction Charge and Dipping Charge Regulations, 2009 (9 of 2009)" was notified on 20th November, 2009 prescribed Rs. 19/- as 'Per Port Transaction Charge' and "The Telecommunication Tariff (Forty-Ninth Amendment) Order, 2009" dated 20th November 2009, prescribed the Per Port Transaction charge Rs. 19/- as ceiling.

3. Considering the upsurge in the volume of porting requests w.e.f. 3rd July, 2015 (when pan India Mobile Number Portability was permitted) and the financial results of both the Mobile Number Portability Service Providers (MNPSPs) for the last two available years, the Authority is of the view that the present ceiling of Rs. 19/- is quite high as compared to cost and volume of transaction involved. The Authority has, therefore, decided to review the ceiling for per port transaction charge. Accordingly, draft "The Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Per Port Transaction Charge and Dipping Charge (Amendment) Regulations, 2017" was uploaded on TRAI's website on 18th December 2017 for public consultation. An Open House Discussion on the same was also held on 16th January 2018.

4. After taking into consideration the comments received from stakeholders during consultation process and other relevant facts, the Authority has decided that the per port transaction charge may be reduced as the costs of operations of MNPSPs have substantially gone down and the volume of MNP traffic has increased. Accordingly, the Authority has notified "The Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Per Port Transaction Charge and Dipping Charge (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 (03 of 2018)" prescribing the 'Per Port Transaction Charge' of Rupees Four for each successful porting.

5. "The Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Per Port Transaction Charge and Dipping Charge (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 (03 of 2018)" shall come into force from the date of its notification in the Official Gazette.

6. The Telecommunication Tariff (Forty-Ninth Amendment) Order, 2009 prescribed the ceiling of Per Port Transaction Charge leviable from subscriber by the recipient operator through "The Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Per Port Transaction Charge and Dipping Charge Regulations, 2009 (9 of 2009)" (as amended from time to time). Now, with notification of this amendment to the aforesaid Regulations, the ceiling of charges leviable from subscriber stands automatically reduced to Rupees Four. However, recipient operators are free to charge a lesser amount from the subscriber for Mobile Number Portability.

Tags : Mobile Number Portability Release

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Press Information Bureau

29.01.2018

Civil

Economic Survey Reiterates India's Commitment to Achieve the Targets Under SDG-3 and to Strengthen Health Delivery Systems

MANU/PIBU/0111/2018

The Economic Survey 2017-18 reiterates India's commitment to achieve the targets under Sustainable Development Goals-3 (SDG-3) with some of them also aligned with the National Health Policy 2017. This was stated in the Economic Survey 2017-18 tabled in Parliament today by the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley. The Survey takes note of the shift in the disease burden from Communicable Diseases to Non-Communicable Diseases in the country between 1990 and 2016. The Survey mentions that Child and Maternal Malnutrition continues to be the most challenging risk factor for health loss in India in 2016. The other key risk factors include air pollution, dietary risks, high blood pressure and diabetes etc.

The Survey takes note of the National Health Policy 2017 which recommended increasing State sector health spending to more than 8 per cent of the States' Government Budget by 2020. It also takes note of the Report 'India: Health of Nation's States' 2017', which provides the first comprehensive set of findings for the distribution of diseases and risk factors across all States from 1990 to 2016. The concept of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) has been developed to provide a framework for analysing the disease burden and risk factors. The Survey advocates there is a need to understand the efficiency of public spending with respect to DALYs behaviour across the major States and to assess whether high-spending by States on health results in better health outcomes.

The Survey notes that there has been significant improvement in the health status of individuals in India as life expectancy at birth has increased by 10 years during the period 1990 to 2015. The Survey, however, notes with concern that there are wide differences in the average prices of diagnostic tests across cities which need to be addressed by standardising rates to reduce Out of Pocket Expenses (OPE) on health services. According to the Survey, the National Health Policy 2017 will help in strengthening health delivery systems and in achieving universal health coverage.

Tags : Economic Survey Commitment Strengthening of Health Delivery Systems

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Press Information Bureau

29.01.2018

Civil

Sector-Wise Performance of Major Services and Some Recent Government Policies to Boost the Growth of the Sector

MANU/PIBU/0113/2018

The Services sector, with a share of 55.2 per cent in India's Gross Value Added (GVA), continued to be the key driver of India's economic growth contributing almost 72.5 per cent of GVA growth in 2017-18, as stated in the Economic Survey 2017-18 tabled in the Parliament today by the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitely. While the growth of Service Sector as a whole is expected to be at 8.3 per cent in 2017-18, the growth in Services exports was 16.2 per cent in H1 of 2017-18. The Government has taken many initiatives in the different Services which include digitization, e-visas, infrastructure status to Logistics, Start-up India, Schemes for the housing sector, etc. which could give a further fillip to the Services Sector.

Major Services' Sector-wise performance and some recent Government policies to boost the growth of the sector are as follows:

TOURISM

India's Tourism sector has been performing well with Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) growing by 9.7 per cent to 8.8 million and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) at 8.8 per cent to US$ 22.9 billion in 2016. FTAs during 2017 were 10.2 million, with a growth of 15.6 per cent, while FEEs from tourism were US$ 27.7 billion, with a growth of 20.8 per cent over 2016. Domestic tourist visits grew by 12.7 per cent to 1,614 million in 2016 from 1,432 million in 2015. Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka were the Top 5 Destination States in 2016.

Various initiatives have been taken by the Government to promote tourism include the introduction of the e-Visa facility under three categories of Tourist, Medical and Business for the citizens of 163 countries; launch of Global Media Campaign for 2017-18 on various Channels; launch of 'The Heritage Trails' to promote the World Heritage Sites in India; launch of International Media Campaign on various international TV channels; Celebration of 'Paryatan Parv' having 3 components namely 'Dekho Apna Desh' to encourage Indians to visit their own country, 'Tourism for All' with tourism events at sites across all states in the country, and 'Tourism & Governance' with interactive sessions & workshops with stakeholders on varied themes. FTAs on e-Tourist Visa grew by 143 per cent to 10.8 lakh in 2016, and further grew by 57.2 per cent to 17.0 lakh during 2017.

IT-BPM

India's Information Technology - Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry grew by 8.1 per cent in 2016-17 to US$ 139.9 billion (excluding e-commerce and hardware) from US$129.4 billion in 2015-16, as per NASSCOM data. IT-BPM exports grew by 7.6 per cent to US$ 116.1 billion from US$ 107.8 billion during the same period. E-commerce market is estimated at US$ 33 billion, with a 19.1 per cent growth in 2016-17.

To further promote this sector, many initiatives have been taken, which include the establishment of BPO Promotion and Common Services Centres to help create digital inclusion and equitable growth and provide employment to 1.45 lakh persons, mostly in the small towns; setting up a separate Northeast BPO promotion Scheme with 5000 seats and having employment potential of 15000 persons; preparing the draft Open Data Protection Policy law; besides long-term initiatives like Digital India, Make in India, Smart Cities, e-Governance, push for digital talent through Skill India, drive towards a cashless economy and efforts to kindle innovation through Start-up India.

REAL ESTATE

The Indian Real Estate sector has begun to show signs of improvement with the total FDI of US$ 257 million in H1 2017, which is more than double the total FDI in 2016 full year.

Some of the recent reforms and policies taken by the Government of India related to Real Estate Sector include the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) with the government sanctioning over 3.1 million houses for the affordable housing segment in urban regions till November 2017. Of this, about 1.6 million houses have been grounded and are at various stages of construction, and about 0.4 million houses have been built under the mission. PPP policy for affordable housing was also announced on 21st September 2017 for affordable housing segment to provide further impetus to the ambitious 'Housing for all by 2022' mission. Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) under PMAY was extended to the Middle Income Group (MIG) segment, which got included in the scheme from 1st January 2017. With the enactment of Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016, it is anticipated that accountability would lead to higher growth across the real estate value chain, while compulsory disclosures and registrations would ensure transparency.

R&D

The professional Scientific & Technical activities which include R&D services grew by 17.5 per cent and 41.1 per cent in 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively. India-based R&D services companies, which account for almost 22 per cent of the global market, grew at 12.7 per cent. However, India's gross expenditure on R&D has been at around 1 per cent of GDP. India ranks 60th out of 127 on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2017, improving from 66th rank in 2016.

Buoyed by the Government's support which includes important Schemes of different Ministries/Departments, the R&D sector in India is all set to witness robust growth in the coming years. According to a study, engineering R&D market in India is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 14 per cent to reach US$ 42 billion by 2020. India is also expected to witness strong growth in its agriculture and pharmaceutical sectors as the Government is investing large sums to set up dedicated research centres for R&D in these sectors.

SPACE

In the case of Satellite Launching, as on March 2017, PSLV successfully launched 254 satellites. Foreign exchange earnings of India from export of satellite launch services increased noticeably in 2015-16 and 2016-17 to Rs. 394 crore and Rs. 275 crore from Rs. 149 crore in 2014-15.

India's share in global satellite launch services revenue has also increased to 1.1 per cent in 2015-16 from 0.3 per cent in 2014-15. Antrix foresees greater utilization of PSLV, GSLV and GSLV-Mk-III launch services by the international community for launching their Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

Tags : Major Services Performance Economic survey

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Press Information Bureau

29.01.2018

Civil

In 15 States And UTS, Services Sector is the Dominant Sector, Contributing More than Half of the Gross State Value Added

MANU/PIBU/0110/2018

The Economic Survey 2017-18, tabled today in Parliament by the Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitely, presents a unique State-wise comparison of the performance of the Service sector in India. Out of the 32 States and Union Territories (UTs), in 15 states and UTs, the Services Sector is the dominant sector, contributing more than half of the Gross State Value Added (GSVA). The major services in most of the States are trade, hotels and restaurants, followed by real estate, ownership of dwellings and business services.

However, there is wide variation in terms of share and growth of services GSVA. Out of the 32 States and UTs for which data are available for 2016-17 (or latest year for which data are available), in terms of services GSVA share, Delhi and Chandigarh are at the top with over 80 per cent share, while Sikkim is at the bottom with 31.7 per cent share. In terms of services GSVA growth, Bihar is at the top and Uttar Pradesh at the bottom with 14.5 per cent and 7.0 per cent growth respectively in 2016-17.

Tags : Services Sector Dominant Survey

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Ministry of Finance 

02.02.2018

Customs

Exemption of goods specified in the first schedule of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 from Education Cess leviable under Finance Act, 2004

MANU/CUST/0008/2018

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), read with section 94 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2004 (23 of 2004), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempts all goods specified in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 ( 51 of 1975) when imported into India, from whole of Education Cess leviable thereon under section 94 of the said Finance Act.

Tags : Exemption Goods Customs Tariff

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Press Information Bureau

01.02.2018

Customs

To Incentivise Domestic Value Addition And Make In India, Customs Duty Increased On Mobile Phones And TV Parts, Measure Will Help Promote Creation Of More Jobs, Customs Duty On Raw Cashew Halved

MANU/PIBU/0151/2018

In the first General Budget 2018-19 after the roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley, made a calibrated departure from the underlying policy in the last two decades, wherein the trend largely was to reduce the customs duty. In the General Budget 2018-19 presented in Parliament here today, Shri Jaitley acknowledged there is substantial potential for domestic value addition in certain sectors, like food processing, electronics, auto components, footwear and furniture. The Finance Minister thus proposed to reduce customs duty on raw cashew from 5% to 2.5% to help the cashew processing industry.

To further incentivise the domestic value addition and Make in India, the Finance Minister proposed to increase customs duty on mobile phones from 15% to 20%, on some of their parts and accessories to 15% and on certain parts of TVs to 15%. This measure will promote creation of more jobs in the country' Shri Jaitley added. In fact, this will make the domestic items cheaper than imported ones and will generate more demand which, in turn, will create more employment opportunities for the people at large.

Tags : Duty Increase Mobile Phones Tv Parts

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Press Information Bureau

01.02.2018

Civil

Budgetary support to Defence sector to remain government's priority

MANU/PIBU/0152/2018

Ensuring adequate budgetary support to the Defence Sector will be the priority of the Government. Presenting the General Budget 2018-19 in Parliament today, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitely said that a lot of emphasis has been given to modernizing and enhancing the operational capability of the Defence Forces over the last three and a half years. The Finance Minister appreciated the stellar role played by the Armed Forces in meeting the challenges on the country's borders as well as in managing the internal security environment both in Jammu and Kashmir and the North East.

A number of initiatives have been taken to develop and nurture intrinsic defence production capability to make the Nation self-reliant for meeting our defence needs, the Finance Minister explained. Shri Arun Jaitely said that private investment in defence production has been opened up including liberalizing foreign direct investment. The Government will take measures to develop two defence industrial production corridors in the country. The Government will also bring out an industry friendly Defence Production Policy 2018 to promote domestic production by public sector, private sector and MSMEs, he said.

Tags : Budgetary support Defence sector Priority

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Press Information Bureau

01.02.2018

Commercial

Rationalisation of long term capital gains proposed, Revenue gain of about Rs.20,000 crores expected in the first year

MANU/PIBU/0153/2018

The Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Shri Arun Jaitley today proposed to tax long term capital gains exceeding Rs.1 lakh at the rate of 10% without allowing the benefit of any indexation. Presenting the General Budget 2018-19 in Parliament here today, Shri Jaitley said that all gains up to 31st January, 2018 will be grandfathered. Recognising that a vibrant equity market is essential for economic growth, Shri Jaitley proposed only a modest change in the present regime.

The Finance Minister also proposed to introduce a tax on distributed income by equity oriented mutual fund at the rate of 10% to provide level playing field across growth-oriented funds and dividend distributing funds. He elaborated that in view of grandfathering, this change in capital gain tax will bring marginal revenue gain of about Rs.20,000 crores in the first year 2018-19. The revenues in subsequent years may be more.

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley added that currently, Long Term Capital Gains arising from transfer of listed equity shares, units of equity oriented fund and unit of a business trust are exempt from tax. With the reforms introduced by the Government and incentives given so far, the equity market has become buoyant. "The total amount of exempted capital gains from listed shares and units is around Rs. 3,67,000 crores as per returns filed for A.Y.17-18. Major part of this gain has accrued to Corporates and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs). This has also created a bias against manufacturing, leading to more business surpluses being invested in financial assets. The return on investment in equity is already quite attractive even without tax exemption. There is therefore a strong case for bringing Long Term Capital Gains from listed equities in the tax net" the Minister explained.

Tags : Rationalisation Capital gains Proposal

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