Notifications & Circulars
Press Information Bureau
10.01.2019
Power and Energy
Cabinet approves MoU between India and France on technical bilateral cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy
MANU/PIBU/0081/2019
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and France on technical bilateral cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy. The MoU was signed on 3rd October, 2018.
Salient Features
India and France aim to establish the basis for a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable issues on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity. The technical cooperation will cover joint research working groups, pilot projects, and capacity building programs, study tour, case studies and the sharing of experience/expertise.
Benefits
The MoU will help in strengthening bilateral cooperation between India and France.
Tags : MOU Approval Renewable energy
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Press Information Bureau
09.01.2019
Civil
Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance adopts E-Mobility Programme
MANU/PIBU/0077/2019
The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley along with the Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri R. K. Singh launched the induction of 15 Electric Vehicles in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance in New Delhi today. Finance Secretary, Ajay Narayan Jha, Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA); Shri Ajay Bhalla, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Shri Anand Kumar, Secretary, Department of New and Renewable Energy and Shri G. C. Murmu, OSD, Department of Expenditure were also present on the occasion among others.
Marking the adoption of e-mobility, the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India has signed an agreement with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), an entity under the Ministry of Power for deployment of 15 Electric Vehicles for their officers. Also, 28 charging points (24 Slow charging points charging in 6 hours and 4 Fast Charging Points charging in 90 minutes) have been installed at North Block for charging these vehicles.
With the induction of these 15 vehicles being provided on lease basis for a period of 5 years, DEA is expected to save over 36,000 Litres of fuel every year besides leading to reduction of over 440 tonnes of CO2 annually. These vehicles are automatic and fully air-conditioned with zero emission. The Government will also save in maintenance and operating cost which is almost one fourth in comparison to an internal combustion engine.
With this development, the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance begins its transition towards a reduced carbon footprint and a more environmentally sustainable future. It also marks its participation in India's e-mobility goal of 30 percent fleet electrification by 2030. Several stakeholders across the nation are already implementing many initiatives to support electric mobility with more expected to join the effort.
The Department of Expenditure has also issued an office memorandum for all the Government Offices in Delhi to switch over to electric vehicles. Several stakeholders across the nation are already implementing many initiatives to support electric mobility with more expected to join the effort. Adoption of electric vehicles will reduce dependence on oil imports and promote power capacity addition in India thereby enhancing energy security of the country. It will further reduce GHG emissions from the transport sector and also positively impact the pollution level in the cities.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley, said that Electric mobility, is an attractive, sustainable and profitable solution to mitigate adverse impact of climate change and the threat to public health caused especially by vehicular emission. He said that EVs have the potential to support India's growth by enhancing manufacturing, job creation, and technical capabilities. We are glad to be a part of India's mission of rapid adoption of e-mobility, he concluded.
The Minister of State (I/C) Power, New & Renewable Energy, Shri RK Singh said that the Indian Government is committed to usher in an era of clean, green and future-oriented technologies in the country. Today, we have achieved yet another milestone in that direction. He said that the Government is promoting e-mobility by taking a lead in changing the fleet of cars used for official purposes with electric cars and at the same time creating the Right Policy Framework enabling this ecosystem and to support its adoption.
EESL has received an encouraging response from the Central Government Departments and across the States. So far, Agreements and MoUs have been signed with the Central and State Government Departments in Delhi, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. EESL is in advanced negotiations with other State Governments across India. The recent Guidelines on charging infrastructure provide a thrust to Private & Public Charging Stations ensuring access & availability for consumers. Further, the inclusion of CCS & CHAdeMO under charging infra standards is set to encourage automakers to offer higher range EVs. This will remove barriers like range and build confidence for EV consumers.
Towards enabling the Indian Government's e-mobility vision, EESL first plans to replace the Government's 5,00,000 conventional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) cars with electric variants. EESL has also established charging infrastructure across all the States where EVs are being deployed.
Tags : E-Mobility Programme Adoption
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Press Information Bureau
08.01.2019
Media and Communication
I and B Ministry hikes advertisement rates for print media by 25%
MANU/PIBU/0052/2019
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has taken a decision to revise the advertisement rates for print media by announcing a hike of 25% over and above the existing rate structure for advertisement in print media by the Bureau of Outreach and Communication (erstwhile DAVP). The decision takes place w.e.f today and will be valid for a period of three years.
The last such revision had taken place in 2013 when an increase of 19% had been announced over and above the rates of 2010.
This decision has been taken based on the recommendations of the 8th Rate Structure Committee constituted by I&B Ministry which took into account several factors, including the increase in price of news print, processing charges and other factors which go into the computation of advertisement rates.
The decision will be of great benefit especially to the medium and small newspapers including a large number of such papers in regional and vernacular languages.
Tags : Advertisement rates Print media Hike
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Reserve Bank of India
08.01.2019
Banking
RBI releases guidelines on Tokenisation - Card Transactions
MANU/RPRL/0005/2019
The Reserve Bank has today released guidelines on tokenisation for debit / credit / prepaid card transactions as a part of its continuous endeavour to enhance the safety and security of the payment systems in the country. Tokenisation involves a process in which a unique token masks sensitive card details. Thereafter, in lieu of actual card details, this token is used to perform card transactions in contactless mode at Point Of Sale(POS) terminals, Quick Response(QR) code payments, etc.
These guidelines permit authorised card payment networks to offer card tokenisation services to any token requestor (third party app provider), subject to conditions enumerated in these guidelines. A card holder may avail of these services by registering the card on the token requestor's app after giving explicit consent. No charges shall be recovered from the customer for availing this service.
All extant instructions of Reserve Bank on safety and security of card transactions, including mandate for Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) / PIN entry shall be applicable for tokenised card transactions also.
Tags : Guidelines Release Tokenisation
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Ministry of Commerce and Industry
08.01.2019
Customs
Import policy for electronics and IT Goods under Schedule - I (Import Policy) of ITC (HS), 2017
MANU/DGFT/0007/2019
In exercise of powers conferred by Section 3 of FT (D&R) Act, 1992, read with paragraph 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020, as amended from time to time, the Central Government hereby inserts the following Import Policy and Policy Condition for new Electronics and IT Goods under General Notes 2 (C):
"Import policy for electronics and IT Goods:
The import of Notified Goods under the "Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012, as amended from time to time, will be allowed subject to registration with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), or on specific exemption letter from Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for a particular consignment, as per provisions of Gazette Notification SO No.3022 dated 11.09.2013. Accordingly, import of unregistered / noncompliant notified products as in CRO, 2012, as amended is "prohibited".
Import consignments without valid registration with BIS shall be re-exported by the importer failing which Customs shall deform the goods and dispose them as scrap under intimation to MeitY.
2. Further, the above is also inserted as Policy Condition No.2 under Chapter 84 and Policy Condition No.5 under Chapter 85 of ITC (HS), 2017, Schedule 1 (Import Policy).
3. Effect of this Notification: Import Policy on Notified Goods under Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012, is laid down.
This issues with the approval of Minister of Commerce & Industry.
Tags : Import policy Electronics IT Goods
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Press Information Bureau
07.01.2019
Motor Vehicles
Avoiding Multiple Driving Licences
MANU/PIBU/0036/2019
A National Database has been created on Driving Licenses and Vehicle registration. NIC has been entrusted with the design, development, computerization roll-out and maintenance of the VAHAN for Vehicle Registration and SARATHI for issuing of Driving Licence project across all the states and Union Territory Administrations. Subsequently to consolidate the database, State Register (SR) for all the states and National Register (NR) were established. Almost all the sites in 36 States/Union Territory Administrations are connected. More than 25 crore Vehicle records and 15 crore Driving License records are available in National Register repository. State Transport Departments and enforcement agencies have been provided access to data on National Register to facilitate instant verification of all driving licenses (DLs)/ Registration Certificate (RCs).
The SARATHI-4 application of the NIC for Driving License processing, which is a web based online application, is currently operational in 28 States/UTs across the country. It has a built-in facility to identify duplicate driving licenses. The SARATHI-4 application can identify duplicates on the basis of certain combination of available personal parameters. When any such license having duplicates is taken up for any transaction, the officials can view all these related records and take appropriate actions like cancelling or clubbing of duplicate licenses. The State RTO's are already using this facility to de-duplicate Driving License records.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2017, passed by Lok Sabha and presently in Rajya Sabha for consideration and passing, provides for centralised register of driving licences. This will further help to carry reforms in the driving licence testing process and eliminating the duplicate licences.
Shri Mansukh L Mandaviya, Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways gave this information in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Tags : Driving Licences Multiplicity Avoidance
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Press Information Bureau
07.01.2019
Civil
Regulation of Functions of MSMEs
MANU/PIBU/0037/2019
In order to promote the Ease of Doing Business, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has introduced various initiatives including online filing of Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum (UAM). The Ministry has also taken the following steps:
i. MSME SAMADHAAN Portal- for empowering micro and small entrepreneurs across the country to directly register their cases relating to delayed payments.
ii. MSME SAMBANDH Portal- to help in monitoring the implementation of public procurement policy for micro and small enterprises.
iii. MSME SAMPARK Portal - A digital platform wherein jobseekers (passed out trainees/students of MSME Technology Centres) and recruiters get connected.
iv. Digital Payments- to pass on the benefits of the schemes of Ministry of MSME through digital payment gateway.
This was informed by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for MSMEs, Shri Giriraj Singh in Lok Sabha today.
He further stated that for regulating the functions of the MSMEs, the Government has enacted the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development (MSMED) Act, which is applicable to all the States and Union Territories.
Tags : Regulation Functions MSMEs
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Press Information Bureau
07.01.2019
Civil
Import and Sale of Sub-Standard Goods
MANU/PIBU/0047/2019
Import of sub-standard goods and their sale have come to the notice of the Government in Indian market. Appropriate action under the Customs Act, 1962 has been initiated.
Further with a view to protecting its domestic producers and consumers, India has an elaborate and robust legal framework and institutional set up to protect its environment, life and health of its people, plants and animals. Adequate provisions exist under the Foreign Trade Policy to protect the Indian consumers and producers as imported goods are subject to domestic laws, rules, orders, regulations, technical specifications, environmental and safety norms. The BIS standards applicable to domestic goods are also applicable to imported goods. Besides, imports of plant & plant based products are subject to Plant Quarantine measures and sanitary & phyto-sanitary measures, imports of animal & animal based products are subject to sanitary import permits and imports of food and edible items are subject to FSSAI standards.
Against cheaper imports causing injury to domestic industry, there are trade defence measures like anti - dumping duty, countervailing duty and safeguard duty. Whenever Indian industry is affected by cheaper imports, it can seek remedies from the Government under the above provisions. DGTR conducts anti - dumping investigations on the basis of duly substantiated petition filed by the domestic industry alleging dumping of goods into the country causing injury to the domestic industry. Similarly, DGTR conducts anti-subsidy investigations against countries subsidising their export products. Section 8B of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, subject to certain conditions, empowers the Central Government to impose Safeguard Duty on any article imported into India in such increased quantities and under such conditions so as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury to the Indian domestic industry.
Tags : Import Sale Sub-Standard Goods
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