India to go directly to BS-VI emission norms by 2020

The move comes at a time when the role of vehicular emissions is under increasing public scrutiny 

 India will move up to the toughest emission standards of BS-VI from the current BS-IV by 2020, skipping the intermediate level of BS-V, transport minister Nitin Gadkari tweeted.

The decision was jointly taken by Gadkari, heavy industries minister Anant Geete, environment minister Prakash Javadekar and oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“Me & my colleagues @PrakashJavdekar, Anant Geete, @dpradhanbjp have taken a unanimous decision to leap-frog to BS VI (Bharat Stage VI) directly from 01/04/2020,” Gadkari tweeted.
The move comes at a time when the role of vehicular emissions in polluting the atmosphere is under increasing public scrutiny. Pollution levels in several cities in India are consistently marked ‘hazardous’ and capital Delhi has been ranked the world’s most polluted city.
Currently, only 50 cities in India get BS IV fuel, while the rest still use BS III fuel. By switching to BS-VI, India will join the league of US, Japan and European Union, which follow Euro Stage VI emission norms. BS-VI is the Indian equivalent of Euro Stage VI.
To be sure, Bosch Ltd, world’s largest manufacturer of fuel injection systems and engine technologies, in 2015 warned government that such a move could lead to safety and quality problems such as self-acceleration and engine damage. Bosch, in a letter dated 5 June, said that in order to change from BS IV to BS V, it needs as much as four-and-a-half years of lead time for design, application and validation of new engine technologies, and similar time to graduate to BS V1. Mint reported this on 16 June.
While there is significant difference between the quality of BS IV and BS V fuel, BS VI fuel will have sulphur content nearly the same that of BS V. Moving to BS VI directly requires significant technological upgrades requiring Rs40,000-Rs60,000 crore by the auto industry. Indian refiners will need to make investments to the tune of Rs30,000 crore in order to supply BS VI compliant fuels, according to Gadkari.
As per the original timeline in the Auto Fuel Policy, BS IV is to be adopted across the country by 2017, BS V by 2020 and BS VI by 2024.

Urjit Patel likely to get second term as RBI deputy governor

India’s government is set to extend the term of the central banker behind monetary policy changes that have helped reduce the country’s chronically high inflation, signalling confidence in governor Raghuram Rajan’s team at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Urjit Patel—the architect of a switch to formally target inflation, among other changes—is likely to stay on as a deputy governor when his three-year term ends next week, government and policy maker sources said.
An announcement is expected within days.
Patel, one of the RBI’s four deputy governors, has run the monetary policy department since 2013.
He is viewed by officials within the bank as Rajan’s closest lieutenant. They share an expatriate background—Patel has a doctorate in economics from Yale University—and both worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), albeit at different times.
Patel’s reappointment will raise market hopes that Rajan, will also be offered an extension when his tenure ends in September.
Rajan, an academic and former chief economist at the IMF, has been one of the most influential governors in the RBI’s 81-year old history, building a significant profile abroad as a voice for emerging markets.
He was appointed by India’s previous, Congress-led, government, but has established a good working relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, despite occasional disagreements over policy and the shape of some reforms.
The inflation rate, which was in double digits when Rajan took the helm, has been virtually halved, though, like elsewhere, India has benefited from slumping global oil prices.
“The government clearly wants continuity in policy and if Dr. Patel is reappointed, then prima facie, it could indicate the government’s inclination to extend the governor’s term also,” said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank in New Delhi.
Quiet, occasionally brusque and wary of media attention, Patel prefers to engage with only a small group he is comfortable with, besides the bank’s governor, officials say.
During his tenure, Patel spearheaded a committee that in January 2014 recommended targeting consumer inflation to control historically volatile prices, shifting the focus away from wholesale prices.
The strategy was implemented by Rajan, with the government’s backing, in an overhaul of monetary policy that ranks as one of the most significant since India liberalised its economy in 1991.
The same committee also recommended the creation of a panel to set interest rates, currently solely decided by the RBI governor, and spinning off the RBI’s management of government debt to an independent public agency—changes now being discussed by the government and the central bank.
Other candidates were considered to replace Patel, government sources said, but the government did not want to risk disrupting the current direction of the bank, while also wanting retain a deputy with the intellectual clout to complement Rajan.
“Many people want a person at the RBI who matches Rajan and could question his decisions whenever necessary,” said a senior government official with knowledge of the appointment process. Reuters

Climate Change Impacts Farm Sector Growth

Climate Change Impacts Farm Sector Growth 

The year 2015 was a challenging one for the agriculture sector. It was the second consecutive year of hardships for farmers owing to drought and inclement weather in several parts of the country highlighting the urgency to address issues of climate change. The concerns are carried forward in the coming year as currently rabi sowing of wheat is lower by 20.23 lakh hectares than last year , the prices of pulses and vegetables continue to rule high and towards sugarcane growers stand at Rs. 5406 crore.

Southwest monsoon was 14 per cent below normal of the Long Period Average in 2015 on the back of 12 per cent deficiency in the previous year affecting the kharif crop. The northeast monsoon that followed played havoc in Tamil Nadu and adjoining region with unprecedented floods wiping out entire paddy and cash crops.

While the production of pulses and oilseeds is perpetually short of demand for several years now, this time there are concerns about the output of cereals. Although the country is surplus in foodgrains as of now, experts point out that with a legal commitment to provide at least 62.5 million tonnes of subsidized foodgrains in the Targetted Public Distribution System under the National Food Security Act, farmers are keeping their fingers crossed for good weather conditions to achieve a good harvest. Sowing is still going on so hopes are high.

At least nine states have declared drought-hit districts this year. These are Karnataka, Chhattisgarh , Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha,  Andhra Pradesh,  Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Jharkhand. Tamil Nadu, of course, has flood-hit districts. Parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh had been hit by drought during 2014-15 as well.

The fourth advance estimates  of foodgrains production in 2014-15 at 252.68 is 12.36 million tonnes lower than the output of 265.04 million tonnes in 2013-14. This is due to a 6.91 million tonnes decline in the production of wheat . Rice too was slightly lower. Pulses output went down from 19.24 million tonnes to 17.20 million in tonnes in 2014-15 leading to the crisis of unprecedented price rise in these commodities. Tur prices, for instance, jumped up from Rs. 75 per kilogram a year ago to Rs. 199 per kg and are still not under control. Not just tur and urad, major pulses are selling in the retail market at almost Rs. 140 per kilogram. Efforts to nail in hoarders and blackmarketeers did not yield the desired effect.

During the year the government raised the minimum support price of major pulses by Rs. 275 per quintal. Time and again the government has had to intervene in the market for onions and pulses this year. Even the prices of potato and tomatoes have ruled high this year not to talk of the regular vegetables and fruits. At the onset of the season peas were selling for as high as Rs 110 per kilogram.

To tide over the situation the government has set up a Price Stabilisation Fund with a corpus of Rs. 500 crore. Some of the funds were released this year for subsidised sale of pulses for states who came up with innovative schemes to provide pulses at affordable prices to Public Distribution System beneficiaries.

With production estimates for 2015-16 still lower than the bumper crop of 2013-14, the government has decided to create a buffer stock of 1.5 lakh tonnes of tur and urad dals which will be procured directly from farmers at market rates.

To mitigate the suffering from drought, the government came up with several measures including taking 50 per cent of the damaged crop area into consideration rather than mere 33 per cent and raising the relief amount by 50 per cent.

Reportedly Maharashtra’s Marathwada region, which has been reeling under drought for last four years, saw the highest number of suicides by distressed farmers this year. The central government has given a drought relief of Rs. 3050 crore to the state, followed by Rs. 2033 crore to Madhya Pradesh, Rs. 1540 crore to Karnataka and Rs. 1672 crore to Chhattisgarh. The money will be given from the National Disaster Relief Fund. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh blamed states for tardy implementation of drought relief and delay in sending memoranda of demand which led to farmers’ distress.  “Implementation is in the hands of states,’’ the Minister said.

Lower rabi sowing this year has prompted the Agriculture Ministry to be ready with Contingency Plan and be prepared to move seeds and fertilizers to the affected region, Last year while the average deficiency in monsoon was 14 per cent, in Punjab and Haryana it was to the tune of 17 per cent. Although these`states are irrigation, pre-harvest inclement weather hurt standing crop.

Seeking to address the issue of low productivity, the government has launched in a big way the scheme to issue Soil Health Cards. It proposes to cover 14.40 crore farmers in the next three years and has allocated Rs. 568.54 crore for the project. The card will enable a farmer to get assessed his/her far, soil for nutrient deficiency and fertilizer use. It will come with an advisory for the farmer on how much fertilizer etc. be applied in each crop.

With its focus on organic farming the government launched Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna which encourages cluster farming. The subsidy for organic manure was raised to Rs. 300 from Rs. 100 per hectare.

About 60 per cent of India’s agriculture is dependent on timely and adequate rain every year and recent droughts have only but emphasized the need for raising irrigation potential for farming. Towards this end the government last year launched the Prime Minister’s Krishi Sinchai Yojna which is meant to ensure that more hectares are brought under irrigation. The budget allocation for this was about Rs.5300 crore which includes the  funds for the Accelerated Integrated Benefit Programme. Agriculture Ministry says that about 1.55 lakh hectares have been covered under drip and sprinkler project under this programme.

Crop insurance and raising the income of farmers has been a long standing demand. While the minimum support price of cereals, pulses and oilseeds were raised substantially during the year, an adequate Crop Insurance Scheme is still elusive. Replying to a debate in Parliament on Drought, Mr. Radha Mohan Singh announced that the government will soon come up with a crop insurance scheme that does not burden the farmer with high premiums and shall be more accurate in assessing crop damage.

Knowledge of markets and market intelligence is one area that can benefit farmers for getting remunerative price for its produce. To this extent the government  moved towards setting up National Agriculture Market which will enable farmer to offer his produce to any market through e-marketing.

During the year the Ministry launched several mobile applications for farmers to empower them. Crop Insurance application will help farmers find out the insurance cover and the premium applicable to them. The “AgriMarket Mobile” enables a farmer to get the market prices of crops in the mandi within 50 km radius.

To get over the problems of lack of mobiles and lack of connectivity in hinterlands, the Agriculture Ministry has decided to make all its services available through mobile platforms. Over two crore farmers are registered with the Ministry for use of ‘mKisan’ portal for receiving SMS advisories on crops and weather.

However, there is no denying the fact that weather conditions hold the key for agricultural growth and prosperity, more so in the coming year when concerns about crop production, availability and prices will spill over.  In 2015 while  horticulture and fisheries sector remained robust, farm sector growth decelerated due to continuously bad weather. (EOM).

River Information System (RIS) System

Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurates the first River Information System of India

Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the River Information System (RIS) System at a function in New Delhi today. The first of its kind in India, the new system will facilitate safe and accurate navigation on National Waterway – 1 on the Ganges River. RIS is being implemented under the overall responsibility of Inland Waterway Authority of India, a statutory body administered by the Ministry of Shipping.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Gadkari said while it remains a challenge how to develop the waterways of the country, the River Information System is a major step in realizing the dream of waterways. He said that the Phase- II of the System from Farakka to Patna and Phase-III from Patna to Varanasi will also be implemented on priority.

River Information Services (RIS) are combination of modern tracking equipment related hardware and software designed to optimize traffic and transport processes in inland navigation. The system enhances swift electronic data transfer between mobile vessels and shore (Base stations) through advance and real-time exchange of information. RIS aims to streamline the exchange of information between waterway operators and users. This would facilitate:-

• Enhancement of inland navigation safety in ports and rivers.

• Better use of the inland waterways

• Environmental protection

RIS enables achievement of safe and efficient inland water transport by avoiding the following risks:-

i) Ship- to - Ship collisions

ii) Ship - Bridge collisions

iii) Groundings

Installation of an efficient and effective River Information Service (RIS) system on the Sagar- Farakka stretch of NW-1 is akin to the systems under operation in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, China & USA. In this project the vessels are being monitored by installing 7 remote (base station site) at the Haldia, Garden Reach (GR) Jetty, Tribeni, Swaroopganj, Kumarpur, Ballia and Farakka at a cost of Rs. 26.23 crores. There would be two control centers at Farakka and GR Jetty. Both the control stations will monitor the vessels plying in this river stretch via Automatic Identification System (AIS) and will communicate with Vessels via VHF. Under this project, there are 30 vessels which are also equipped with Inland AIS system, short range radar and VHF. The AIS data and voice communication of the vessel will be monitored and recorded at the control stations (Farakka and GR Jetty) and can be retrieved/ replayed whenever needed. The vessels can be guided from the control station via VHF and operator can provide the necessary instruction to the vessel.

Trained operators would monitor the activities round the clock and provide the necessary instructions and guidance to the vessel for safe navigation.

The RIS system is subsequently being extended upto Varanasi in two more phases. In Phase-II, the stretch from Farakka to Patna (410 Km.) will be covered by establishment of six base and one control stations at an estimated cost of Rs. 15.89 crore and the Phase-III will cover from Patna to Varanasi (356 Km.) with 4 base and one control stations at an estimated cost of Rs. 14.49 crores.

Women Recruitment in Police to be increased to 33 percent

Union Home Minister inaugurates 7th National Conference on Women in Police

Women Recruitment in Police to be increased to 33 percent

Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 7th National Conference on Women in Police at CRPF Academy, Kadarpur, Gurgaon today. The three day Conference (Jan 6- 8, 2016) is being attended by about 300 women personnel of State and Central Police Forces, from the rank of Constable to the Director General.

The theme of this Conference is “Capacity Building and Leadership” and the sub themes are Role of Women in Conflict Resolution; Work and Life Balance; Creating Gender-Sensitive Work Infrastructure and Equipment; and Strategies to handle human trafficking.

Shri Rajnath Singh expressed his happiness to participate in the Conference. The Home Minister said that women represent about 50% of the population and self sustained development of the country is not possible without the participation of 50% women population of the country. He highlighted the contribution of the women in the development of the country and mentioned that India is the country where women are given special status and respect. Shri Rajnath Singh mentioned that the women in the country achieved all posts ranging from the President, the Prime Minister and many other top positions in the country.

Regarding the representation of the women in Police and Central Armed Police Force, the Home Minister said that the women’s representation is not adequate and the Government is committed to give adequate representation to them He mentioned that the Ministry of Home Affairs has already issued instructions for 33% recruitment of women in the Police in UTs and the same has been approved for the CAPF recently. Shri Rajnath Singh said that the MHA will implement 33% implementation in CRPF and CISF to begin with and 15% in border guarding forces such as BSF, SSB & ITBP.

The Home Minister said that Kerala was the first Indian state to have women in the police force beginning with the first women inducted into the then Travancore Royal Police in 1933. Thereafter recruitment of women into the police in other states began only after independence. In 1981, women accounted for 0.4% of the total police in the country. But recently the number of women in Police increased gradually and it was 6.11% in 2014. Shri Rajnath Singh hoped that the recommendations of this Conference will be useful not only to the women but to the entire police force to make it more effective. He mentioned that the women are presently heading National Police Academy and are working as Directors General of different CAPFs. Their professional excellence needs special appreciation and there is need for equity in thinking and actions, Shri Rajnath Singh added. The Home Minister said that the MHA will do its best for the welfare and promotion of professional excellence in women police officers.

Shri Rajnath Singh also hoped that the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) will set up a cell of research and development for increasing the representation of women in Police and CAPFs. The cell should attempt to underline the role of women in Police in India, to discuss and find solutions to improve their working conditions and organizational response to their increasing number in Police, to mainstream them as key players in leadership roles of the oganisation, to provide for their capacity building and plan for their career and to celebrate their contribution and achievements as agents of change in the Organisation.

Shri Prakash Mishra, DG, CRPF, Smt Vimla Mehra, Special Commissioner of Delhi Police and Conference Chairperson among senior officers from MHA were present at the Conference.

Government brings paradigm shift in the approach for faster implementation under 'Namami Gange' programme

Government brings paradigm shift in the approach for faster implementation under 'Namami Gange' programme

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal for taking up Hybrid Annuity based Public Private Partnership (PPP) model under Namami Gange Programme which aims to reform the wastewater sector in India. Marking a paradigm shift in the implementation mode, Hybrid Annuity based Public Private Partnership (PPP) model will now be adopted to ensure performance, efficiency, viability and sustainability. In this model, a part of the capital investment (upto 40%) will be paid by government through construction linked milestones and the balance through an annuity over the contract duration upto 20 years.

Keeping in view the specialized nature of this model and to scale it up in future on sustainable basis, the Government is establishing a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to plan, structure, procure concessionaires, monitor implementation of such PPP projects and develop market for treated waste water through appropriate policy advocacy under overall guidance of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). The SPV will be established under Indian Companies Act 2013 for providing required governance framework and enabling functional autonomy.

The SPV would enter into a Tripartite Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with participating State Governments and concerned Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) for taking up individual projects. These MoAs will aim at introducing reforms and regulatory measures for recovery of user charges on Polluters Pay principle, restrictions on usage of ground & fresh water for non-potable purposes through stricter monitoring and guidelines that promote re¬use of treated wastewater.

The Ministry in a first of its kind has already entered into an MoU with Ministries of Railways, for purchase of treated water from STPs wherever feasible to facilitate faster market development for treated wastewater. Similar MoUs are also being worked out with other Ministries of Power, Petroleum, Industries etc.

This is a futuristic step taken by the Government where the market development for treated waste water and structural reforms are complementing the projects. This will help taking up more number of projects with the same allocation as made available under Namami Gange programme with reduced financial liability in the initial years. Spreading the stakes of the private participant over the entire period of concession would ensure continued operations over long-term. Linking of performance standards with the annuities will ensure desired objective of treated water of appropriate standard. It would help gradual capacity building of the Urban Local Bodies by setting ground for recovery of user charges on Polluter Pays Principle. Development of the market for treated water will lead to reduced demand on riverine fresh-water and will result in enhanced flows in river Ganga. These steps would also kick-start the process of responsible use of water in general and go a long way in mitigating the projected water shortage in the country.

Background:

It had been observed that benefits accrued from substantial investments made under various past programmes (Ganga Action Plan I & II, NGRBA, Yamuna Action Plan) were less than optimal. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), almost 30% of the Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) monitored in the 4 states of UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar & West Bengal were not operational and 94% were non-compliant with the prescribed effluent standards.

Cabinet's approval addresses the above issues that acted as road blocks for all previous efforts to clean river Ganga. The approval paves the road ahead for complete reform in the wastewater sector in India, implementation of projects in a fast track mode and ensure effective utilisation of funds released under 100% funded 'Namami Gange' - central sector scheme.

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Cabinet approves Stand Up India Scheme

Cabinet approves Stand Up India Scheme

A boost to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and Women

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today approved the “Stand Up India Scheme” to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and Women entrepreneurs. The Scheme is intended to facilitate at least two such projects per bank branch, on an average one for eachcategory of entrepreneur. It is expected to benefit atleast 2.5 lakh borrowers.

The expected date of reaching the target of at least 2.5 lakh approvals is 36 months from the launch of the Scheme.

The Stand Up India Scheme provides for:

• Refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of Rs. 10,000 crore.

• Creation of a credit guarantee mechanism through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC).

• Handholding support for borrowers both at the pre loan stage and during operations. This would include increasing their familiarity with factoring services, registration with online platforms and e-market places as well as sessions on best practices and problem solving.

The details of the scheme are as follows:

• Focus is on handholding support for both SC/ST and Women borrowers.

• The overall intent of the approval is to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to these under-served sectors of the population by facilitating bank loans repayable up to 7 years and between Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 100 lakh for greenfield enterprises in the non farm sector set up by such SC, ST and Women borrowers.

• The loan under the scheme would be appropriately secured and backed by a credit guarantee through a credit guarantee scheme for which Department of Financial Services would be the settler and National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd. (NCGTC) would be the operating agency.

• Margin money of the composite loan would be up to 25%. Convergence with state schemes is expected to reduce the actual requirement of margin money for a number of borrowers. • Over a period of time, it is proposed that a credit history of the borrower be built up through Credit Bureaus.

Background:

The "Start up India Stand up India" initiative was announced by the PrimeMinister in his address to the nation on 15th August, 2015. The Stand up Indiacomponent is anchored by Department of Financial Services (DFS) to encouragegreenfield enterprises by SC/ST and Women entrepreneurs.