India’s first #IFSC becomes operational

India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City near Gandhinagar became operational on Friday. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled rules and regulations for this global financial hub.

Jaitley also attacked the previous UPA government for being “lethargic” in giving permission to the IFSC.

“Luckily, as soon as the government changed, things started moving fast and the new government has given all the due permissions. As a result, IFSC has now formally become operational from Friday. I am confident it will provide a huge lift to the economy of Gujarat as well as of the country,” he said.

The regulations are aimed at creating a vibrant IFSC on the lines of those in Dubai and Singapore and check the flight of trading in rupee and Indian securities to such offshore financial hubs.

IFSC rules allow companies incorporated outside India to raise money in foreign currencies by issuance and listing of their equity shares on stock exchanges within the IFSC, where individual and institutional investors from India and abroad, including NRIs, would be allowed to trade.

The IFSC regulatory regime allows Indian and foreign stock exchanges to set up separate bourses within IFSC as subsidiaries, while market entities from India and abroad would be allowed to operate there by providing issuance and trading in depository receipts and debt securities of domestic as well as overseas companies.

The capital and other requirements have been relaxed for some time for exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories to set shop in the IFSC.

Mutual funds and Alternative Investment Funds set up in the IFSC can also invest in the securities listed there.

Speaking at a conference on ‘Regulatory Framework for IFSC in India’, Jaitley said proposal for IFSC had been sent to UPA government by the state in 2011, but “due to the lethargic attitude of that government, we have to wait for three years to realise that idea” and it “contributed in bringing down India’s growth rate”.

US to offer smart transport solutions for Allahabad, Ajmer and Visakhapatnam

Shri Venkaiah Naidu and US Secretary of Transportation Shri Anthony Foxx discuss cooperation

The US Department of Transportation has agreed to offer sustainable transport solutions for the cities of Allahabad, Ajmer and Visakhapatnam. Bilateral cooperation in the field of transportation was discussed during a meeting between the visiting US Secretary of Transportation Shri Anthony Foxx and Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu here today. Shri Foxx was leading a 9-member delegation including Ms.Susan Kurland, Assistant Secretary for Aviation & International Affairs. Secretary (Urban Development) Shri Madhusudhan Prasad, Secretary(HUPA) Smt.Nandita Chatterjee and other senior officials of the Ministry participated in the discussions.

The two sides focused on cooperation on the transportation elements of smart cities including efficient public transportation systems, Intelligent Transport Systems, Traffic Information and Control, multimodal integration and capacity building and training in the field of urban transportation.

Shri Venkaiah Naidu gave a detailed account of initiatives being taken in the urban sector including building of 100 smart cities, New Urban Rejuvenation Mission for 500 cities, Housing For All, Swachh Bharat Mission etc, with the objective of enhancing the quality of lives of the people in urban areas and enabling cities to drive economic growth.

Shri Anthony Foxx, who was earlier Mayor of Charlottee, North Carolina during 2009-13 stressed that efficient urban transportation based on proper planning and execution holds the key to making cities more livable. He said the US Government is focusing on promoting regional transport solutions. He described the initiative of building 100 smart cities in India as ‘very exciting’.

Shri Venkaiah Naidu suggested to the delegation that Task Forces have been constituted for promotion of Allahabad, Ajmer and Visakhapatnam in association with United States Trade Development Agency and the US Department of Transportation can work with the city-wide teams for promoting sustainable transport solutions.

PM announces relief to farmers in distress

• Input Subsidy to distressed farmers increased by 50%

• Input subsidy made available for farmers even if 33% of crop destroyed
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today made two major announcements aimed at providing relief to farmers in distress.

The Prime Minister expressed concern over the problems faced by farmers due to abnormal weather over the past year. He said that helping the farmer in this time of distress is our responsibility, and therefore, the Government had sent teams of Central Ministers to affected areas, to assess the extent of damage. He said the Union and State Governments, the banks and insurance companies would all do their utmost to provide relief to the farmers.

Announcing a landmark change in norms for input subsidy, the Prime Minister said farmers will now be eligible for input subsidy if 33 percent of their crop has been damaged, as opposed to 50 percent or more, which was the norm till now.

In another major announcement, the Prime Minister said that the input subsidy given to distressed farmers will be enhanced by 50 percent of the existing amounts. He said this was a major departure from the incremental changes in input subsidy that had been made hitherto.

The announcements were made by the Prime Minister in his address during the launch of the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana. 

#PrimeMinister Narendra Modi today launched #MUDRA or Micro Units Development Re-finance Agency in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched MUDRA or Micro Units Development Re-finance Agency in New Delhi.

‪#‎MUDRA‬ aims to provide credit of up to ten lakh rupees to small entrepreneurs. Mr Modi said self-employment will be the biggest target group of MUDRA.

The Prime Minister said banks have been asked to restructure loans of farmers hit by unseasonal rains.

He said the eligibility of farmers for getting compensation for crop damage due to natural calamity has been lowered from 50 per cent of crop area to 33 per cent. Mr Modi said the quantum of compensation to affected farmers has been increased by 50 per cent.The Prime Minister expressed concern over the problems faced by farmers due to the abnormal weather in the past year. “Helping farmers in this time of distress is our responsibility, and therefore, the government has sent teams of Central Ministers to affected areas to assess the extent of the damage,” Mr. Modi said, according to an official release.

He also gave the assurance that the Centre, State governments, banks and insurance companies would do their utmost to provide relief to the farmers.

Mr. Modi said banks had been asked to restructure loans of farmers hit by unseasonal rain and insurance companies had been advised to pro-actively settle claims.

MUDRA bank launched

He also launched the MUDRA bank with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore and credit guarantee of Rs. 3,000 crore.

The bank will be responsible for refinancing micro-finance institutions in the business of lending to small entities.

While big industrial houses provide jobs to only 1.25 crore people, small entrepreneurs have given employment to nearly 12 crore people, Mr. Modi said. The postal network would be used for increasing access to the formal financial system.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the MUDRA Bank was a step in the right direction for “funding the unfunded.” He had proposed the MUDRA Bank in his budget speech in February.

MUDRA will be set up through a statutory enactment. It will be responsible for developing and refinancing all micro-finance institutions (MFIs) which are in the business of lending to micro and small business entities engaged in manufacturing, trading and service activities.

Bank’s role

It will also partner with State and regional-level coordinators to provide finance to last-mile financiers of small and micro business enterprises. Its proposed role includes laying down policy guidelines for micro enterprise financing business, registration, accreditation and rating of MFI entities.

The agency will also lay down responsible financing practices to ward off over-indebtedness and ensure proper client protection principles and methods of recovery, according to an official release.

These measures are targeted towards mainstreaming young, educated or skilled workers and entrepreneurs, including women entrepreneurs, the release said.

“A vast part of the non-corporate sector operates as unregistered enterprises and formal or institutional architecture has not been able to reach out to meet its financial requirements. Providing access to institutional finance to such micro, small business units, enterprises will not only help in improving the quality of life of these entrepreneurs, but also turn them into strong instruments of GDP growth and employment generation,” the release said.

#India registers #recordproduction of #nuclearfuel

In a major milestone for the nuclear industry, India has registered a record production of over 1,252 MT of uranium bundles, manufacturing close to double the annual fuel requirement of atomic reactors in the country.

The production has also exceeded country’s annual fuel requirement of 650 MT for the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (#PHWRs), which means the country has surplus nuclear fuel, for at least a few months.

The Hyderabad-based Nuclear Fuel Complex, which produces fuel for nuclear reactors in the country, has produced over 30 per cent more fuel compared to its 961.023 MT production in 2013-14.

“We have gone beyond our requirement this year,” Chief Engineer of NFC, N Saibaba, told PTI here.

The news is a breather for the power reactors in the country, which for all these years had been “under- performing”, primarily because of lack of fuel.

NFC, set-up with an initial production capacity of 100 MT per year, was augmented several times to a capacity to 850 MT, to cater to the fuel requirement of all the 18 operating PHWRs and the two Boiling Water Reactors at Tarapur.

“The credit for this achievement goes to the employees. The average working hours of NFC employees have increased from 6.25 hours to 8.15 hours. Secondly, we have made changes in almost all the manufacturing processes, which saved on time,” Mr. Saibaba added.

The nuclear fuel production in the country has seen a steady increase over the last seven years. A lot has been attributed to the Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement and the subsequent ones with Nuclear Suppliers Group that made the process of acquiring uranium simpler.

In 2008-09, NFC produced 226.89 —— the year Indo—US nuclear deal was signed. In 2009-10, the figure increased to 600.91 MT. In 2013-14, it crossed its rated capacity of 850 MT for the first time and produced 961.23 MT of uranium fuel.

India produces around 5,780 MW of nuclear power. Of this, 4,780 MW of electricity is generated by fuel processed at the NFC. Fuel for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) unit 1 is provided by Russia, as per the bilateral agreement.

Legendary #Tamil writer #Jayakanthan passed away

Legendary Tamil writer Jayakanthan passed away on 8 April 2015 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was 81. He was known for charting a new course in Tamil literature with his bold and progressive works.

Awards- Sahitya Akademi Award (1972) for his Tamil novel Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal, Jnanpith Award (2002), Padma Bhushan (2009). Russian government had conferred Order of Friendship (2011) on him for his translation works of Russian novelist Pushkin.



अतंर्राष्‍ट्रीय रेटिंग एजेंसी मूडीज ने भारत का दर्जा बढ़ा दिया है और अब उसका रेटिंग स्‍तर स्थिर से सकारात्‍मक बताया है। रेटिंग एजेंसी ने भारत के लिए बी ए ए 3 रेटिंग की पुष्टि की है। मूडीज के अनुसार भारत के नीति निर्धारकों द्वारा पिछले वर्षो के मुकाबले देश की आर्थिक शक्ति को बढ़ाए जाने की अधिक संभावना है।
• Rating agency #Moody's has raised the #rating outlook of India from stable to positive, saying there is an increasing probability that actions by policy makers will enhance the country's economic strength and, in turn, the sovereign's financial strength over coming years. The ratings agency affirmed India's Baa3 rating.

Human Resource and Skill Requirement Reports launched

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy here today launched the Human Resource and Skill Requirement reports across 24 sectors in India which will serve as the baseline for all skill development initiatives being planned across the country. 

According to the findings of the reports, the incremental human resource requirement across these 24 sectors is nearly 109.73* million whereby the top 10 sectors account for about 80 percent of requirements.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Rudy said that in line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of making India the skill capital of the world; this is yet another endeavour from his ministry. He said, as the old adage goes, what cannot be measured, cannot be corrected. The idea behind the Skill Gap Studies is to understand which sectors are likely to face the biggest gaps. He said, it is imperative for us to plan the skilling of future workforce of India on the basis of these reports.

The Minister said, these reports will be used for the implementation of the recently announced Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY); for State Skill Missions, and for various other skill initiatives being planned across the country.

Shri Rudy said, according to the implementation schedule for the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) (a competency based framework that organises all qualifications according to a series of levels of knowledge, skills and aptitude), after 27th December, 2016 government funding would not be available for any training, educational programme, course which is not NSQF-compliant. He said, all government funded training and educational institutions shall define eligibility criteria for admission to various course in terms of NSQF levels. Shri Rudy said, the recruitment rules of the government of India and PSUs of the Central Government shall be amended to define eligibility criteria for all positions in terms of NSQF levels. The State Governments and their PSUs shall also be encouraged to amend their recruitment rules on above lines. He said, after 27th December, 2018 it shall be mandatory for all training/educational programmes/courses to be NSQF compliant. All training and educational institutions shall define eligibility criteria for admission to various courses in terms of NSQF levels.

Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Sunil Arora said, there is a changing paradigm in skill training towards demand-driven training to ensure employability and placement of the youth. While the reports give an insight on the quantitative side of human resource requirement in each of the sectors, the research has also led to useful qualitative findings in terms of highlighting key job roles in the sector, existing skill gaps in the sectors, key interventions required to map supply and demand, etc. He said, these will help the Ministry to create a strategy to bind together the islands of excellence that we already have in the country.



In his comments, MD and CEO of NSDC Shri Dilip Chenoy said, more than 1000 industry experts, 19 Sector Skill Councils, 110 training institutions and 1500+ trainees have been engaged for the studies.

The reports were commissioned by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and authored by consulting firm KPMG. The objective of these skill gap reports was to understand the sectorial and geographical spread of skill requirements that exist. The figures have been estimated on the basis of extensive stakeholder engagement including small, medium and large enterprises in every sector as well as Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), training providers in the skills space and academia. The skill gap studies provide a granular data on the skill gaps for two time periods- 2013-17 and 2017-22.

The 2015 #Global Monitoring Report released

The 2015 #EducationforAll (EFA) Global Monitoring Report (GMR) was released by Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, the Minister for Human Resource Development today at an event organized by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in collaboration with the UNESCO here today. The 2015 Global Monitoring Report is based on the theme ‘Education for All 2000-2015 Achievements and Challenges.

Smt. Irani highlighted the achievements made by India in reducing the Out of School Children and achieving the gender parity at the elementary level thereby contributing to the global progress in the EFA goals. Minister further elaborated the recent measures taken by the government in harnessing technology for extending quality education and using education as a means pillar for nation’s character building.

The panel presentation by the Nobel laureate 2014 Shri Kailash Satyarthi, Chairperson of the Global March against child labour focused on the issue of the challenge of reaching out to the marginalized children.

The event included a brief video address by the UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki Moon who called upon the nations to harness the power of education to build a better future for all. The presentation by Mr Aaron Benevot, Director GMR on the key finding of the report while highlighted the unfinished EFA agenda also indicated at the progressive gains made in reducing the Out of School Children, increased enrolment at the primary level and encouraging trends in participation of the girl child.

The release event also included an exhibition put together by the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) entitled’Shaping the Future Education Agenda: