Identification of States that will Lead NIMZ Project

Identification of States that will Lead NIMZ Project

Eight Investment Regions along the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project have been announced as NIMZs:-

i.                     Ahmedabad-Dholera Investment Region, Gujarat

ii.                  Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Park city near Aurangabad, Maharashtra

iii.                Manesar-Bawal Investment Region, Haryana

iv.                Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana Investment Region, Rajasthan

v.                  Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow Investment Region, Madhya Pradesh

vi.                Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad Investment Region, Uttar Pradesh

vii.              Dighi Port Industrial Area, Maharashtra ; and

viii.            Jodhpur-Pali-Marwar Region in Rajasthan

Fourteen NIMZs outside the DMIC region have also been given in-principle approval (i) Nagpur in Maharashtra (ii) Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh (iii) Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh (iv) Medak in Telangana (v)Hyderabad Pharma NIMZ in Rangareddy and Mahbubnagar Distts., Telangana (vi) Tumkur in Karnataka (vii) Kolar in Karnataka (viii) Bidar in Karnataka (ix) Gulbarga in Karnataka (x) Kalinganagar, Jajpur District in Odisha (xi) Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu (xii) Ponneri Taluk, Thiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu (xiii) Auraiya District in Uttar Pradesh; and (xiv) Jhansi District in Uttar Pradesh.

Out of these NIMZs, the NIMZs at (i) Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh and (ii) Medak in Telangana have been granted final approval.

            The National Investment & Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs) are conceptualized as integrated industrial townships with all important elements necessary to help the growth of manufacturing, e.g. state-of-the-art infrastructure; clean and energy efficient technology; simplified business regulations; and the necessary social and institutional infrastructure.

Central Government Notified the Maximum Sale Price of Bt Cotton Seed

Fix a Uniform Price of Bt Cotton Seed Across the Country for the Benefit of Farmers-Radha Mohan Singh

Central Government Notified the Maximum Sale Price of Bt Cotton Seed

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh today said that “As there was no uniformity in pricing of Bt cotton seeds across the country, the central government has recently intervened and issued a Cotton Seed Price (Control) Order, 2015, to fix a uniform price of Bt cotton seed across the states in the country for the benefit of farmers,"

The Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister said that both the public and private sectors have a role in the supply of quality seeds, including Bt cotton, to farmers. The licensing of Bt cotton seeds by Mahyco Monsanto to 50 companies is an example of the private sector's role in the production and supply of such seeds. 

 Shri Singh said that "In order to safeguard the interests of the farming community, this department issued the Cotton Seed Price (Control) Order, 2015, under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, to regulate Bt cotton seed prices. "Some state governments had also passed legislations to ensure supply of Bt cotton seeds to farmers," Shri Singh added.

            Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister also said that  "based on the representations, this department also made a reference to the Competition Commission of India for investigation of dominance of MMBL and abuse of monopoly in Bt cotton technology so as to ensure competition in the market.
             Shri Singh said that as per the order, a nine-member committee was set up to recommend the maximum sale price of Bt cotton seeds after taking into consideration the seed value, licence fees including one-time and recurring royalty (trait value), trade margins and other taxes and government  today declared the maximum sale price of Bt. cotton seed packets9450grams of Bt. Cotton plus 120 grams refugia) for the financial year 2016-17 for the whole of India.

Sl. No.	Components	BG-I version of Bt. Cotton hybrid	BG-II version of Bt. Cotton hybrid
1	Seed Value (in rupees)	635	751
2	Trait value including taxes (in rupees)	0	49
	Maximum sale price (in rupees)	635	800

Opposition sees amendment through in Rajya Sabha, again

Opposition sees amendment through in Rajya Sabha, again

The opposition has successfully moved amendment to the “Motion of Thanks” to the President for his address.

• The opposition’s amendment was against the minimum educational qualification fixed for aspirants in local and panchayat elections in Haryana and Rajasthan polls, which was also a part of the President’s address.
• It should be noted here that such amendment has been moved for the 5^th time in Parliamentary history and 2^nd time in the tenure of this government.

What next?

Now, the motion of thanks on the President’s address will be sent back to the President with a mention of the amendment passed.

Criticisms:

However, the government has argued that the amendment was not right since it referred to an issue which was a state subject

What is “Motion of Thanks” and what it contains?

The President makes an address to a joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, which is prepared by the government and lists its achievements. The President’s speech is a statement of the legislative and policy achievements of the government during the preceding year and gives a broad indication of the agenda for the year ahead. The address is followed by a motion of thanks moved in each House by ruling party MPs. During the session, political parties discuss the motion of thanks also suggesting amendments.

Amendments to the “Motion of Thanks”:

Notices of amendments to Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address can be tabled after the President has delivered his Address. Amendments may refer to matters contained in the Address as well as to matters, in the opinion of the member, the Address has failed to mention. Amendments can be moved to the Motion of Thanks in such form as may be considered appropriate by the Speaker.

Limitation:

The only limitations are that members cannot refer to matters which are not the direct responsibility of the Central Government and that the name of the President cannot be brought in during the debatesince the Government and not the President is responsible for the contents of the Address.

Provisions governing them:

President’s Address and Motion of Thanks are governed by Articles 86 (1) and 87 (1) of the Constitution and Rules 16 to 24 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.

“Promoting Space Technology based tools and Applications in Governance & Development

Good Governance

A one day National Meet on “Promoting Space Technology based tools and Applications in Governance & Development” was organized on September 07, 2015 in New Delhi with the participation of Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments. Secretaries of 58 Ministries/ Departments have presented the action plans jointly prepared with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to enhance functional effectiveness, facilitate planning and decision making.

While addressing during the special session, the Prime Minister emphasized on the need for new initiatives for governance and development, using space technology applications.

Space technology is being used by various Ministries/Departments in planning, monitoring and evaluation of developmental activities in various sectors, which include agriculture, forestry & environment, water resources, urban planning, infrastructure development, asset mapping, mineral prospecting, ocean resources, meteorology, satellite communication, location based services, Tele-education, Tele-medicine and disaster management support.  Some of the important applications being carried out by the Ministries/Departments are given below:

Ministry/ Department	Application
M/o Agriculture & Farmers Welfare	·      Crop Acreage Estimation & Production Forecasting ·      Agricultural Drought Assessment ·      Inventory and Management of Horticulture crops
M/o Environment Forests & Climate Change	·      Biennial Forest Cover Mapping ·      Monitoring Snow & Glaciers  and Snow-Melt Runoff in Himalayan Region ·      Coastal Zone Monitoring
M/o Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation	·      Command Area Development and Assessment of Irrigation Potential ·      Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies ·      Reservoir sedimentation assessment
M/o Urban Development	·      National Urban Information System ·      Enabling Master plan preparation for 500 cities / towns
M/o Culture	·      Inventory and site management plans for 4000 heritage enabling ease of business
M/o Drinking Water and Sanitation	·      Ground Water Prospects Zones and Suitable sites for constructing recharge structures
M/o Civil Aviation	·      Dedicated Satellite Communication Network (DSCN), linking several operational airports for exchange of voice and data for various services ·      GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation) for safety of life applications and en-route navigation
D/o Post	·      Geo-tagging of post offices ·      Postman beat maps
M/o Earth Sciences	·      Space derived inputs for operational weather forecast, tropical cyclone tracking & Ocean State Forecast ·      Potential Fishing Zone Advisory
M/o Petroleum & Natural Gas	·      Planning pipeline corridor
M/o Rural Development	·      Wasteland change monitoring ·      Monitoring & Evaluation of Watershed development
M/o Information and Broadcasting	·      Satellite based communication services for broadcasting
M/o Power	·      Environmental impact assessment of Power projects
M/o Panchayati Raj	·      Space Based Information Support for Decentralized Planning at Panchayat level ·      SATCOM centres at every block for training.
M/o Tribal Affairs	·      Potential Pond Identification for developing fish culture in village ponds. ·      Identifying sites for new ponds for harvesting runoff
D/o Health & Family Welfare	·      Telemedicine Centres at pilgrimage sites and remote areas

The steps taken by ISRO to further integrate space technologies with the working of the Government to enable good governance include:

i)           Formation of expert working groups in ISRO to have regular interaction with the departments

ii)         Preparation of joint action plan for short term & long term space technology applications

iii)       Conduct of Proof of Concept or Pilot projects

iv)       Development of customised tools and applications

v)         Institutionalisation of space applications and enabling formation of space technology cells in the Ministries / Departments

vi)       Capacity building of the officials of Ministries / Departments.

Space technology for public welfare

Space technology for public welfare

In India, space technology is being primarily used as a tool to enable variety of public services by various Central Ministries/Departments, State Governments, Public & Private enterprises. A few of such public services include – (i) Television, Direct-To-Home (DTH) & Radio broadcasting, (ii) Telecommunication, (iii) Weather forecasting and Disaster early warning for Cyclone & Tsunami, (iv) Emergency Communication during disaster events, (v) Agriculture and fishing zone advisories, (vi) Tele-education and Tele-medicine services. Also, many governmental programmes / schemes utilising space technology as input offer direct / indirect benefits to public. A few of these include – Ground Water Prospect zones, watershed development, urban & rural infrastructure planning and development, rural connectivity etc.

The roadmap includes providing the continuity of space technology tools for the existing public service with improved technological capabilities and development of technology for enabling newer services viz. location based services, geospatial services for ease of doing business and synergy of satellite communication, navigation & earth observation in planning, monitoring and evaluation of developmental activities in various sectors.

To enable the above activities, ISRO plans to realise communication satellites and earth observation satellites, associated ground segments and development of application tools/techniques. The funds for the above are the integral part of the annual plan of the department. 

Aims of PM’s visits abroad

Aims of PM’s visits abroad

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's recent visits to France, Russia and Japan were aimed to bring in socio-economic and scientific development particularly in the field of atomic energy. The details are as under:

France : During the visit of Prime Minister to France in April 2015, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and the French nuclear power company AREVA NP signed a Pre-Engineering Agreement (PEA) for Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (JNPP-1&2) based on the Evolutionary Pressurised Reactor (EPR) technology. The PEA will facilitate NPCIL to obtain details of the EPR technology, make a detailed safety assessment of the plant and take up licensing process with Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). During the same visit, a Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between the Indian company M/s L&T and M/s AREVA of France on 10.04.2015 for cooperation to maximize localization for the French -designed nuclear reactors in India in accord with Government's 'Make-in-India' initiative.

Russia : A Programme of Action for Localisation of Manufacturing in India for Russian-designed Nuclear Power Plants was signed between India and Russia on 24.12.2015 during the visit of  Prime Minister of India to Moscow. The programme covers localisation in India for major equipment and spares as well as fuel assemblies for future Russian-designed reactors in India, in accord with Government's 'Make-in-India' initiative. Coinciding with the visit of Hon'ble Prime Minister to Moscow, an Integrity Pact for the project for Kudankulam Units - 5&6 was signed between NPCIL and the Russian reactor supplier Atomstroyexport.

Japan : Recent high-level engagements with Japan, including the visit of  Prime Minister to Japan in August 2014 and the visit of Japanese Prime Minister to India in December 2015, have led to the negotiation on bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement being concluded in December 2015, bringing to a close five years of negotiations on this issue. The agreement will enable India to take advantage of Japan's advancements in the civil nuclear domain, and will make a direct contribution to India's civil nuclear programme.

India has signed Inter-Governmental Agreements with a number of international partners for cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The scope of cooperation inter alia covers the supply of nuclear material, non-nuclear material, equipment, components or technology, training of personnel and transfer of technology, for peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is the nodal department in Government of India for all matters related to atomic energy. DAE has two PSUs, viz. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) and Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam (BHAVINI) under its administrative control, which have been entrusted with the responsibility of nuclear power generation. With the enactment of Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act, 2015, NPCIL and BHAVINI are in a position to form joint venture companies with other Indian PSUs to meet the additional funding requirements for expanding nuclear power programme and augmenting nuclear power generation capacity of India.

Two industrial units i.e. Nuclear Fuel Complex and Heavy Water Board functioning under the aegis of the Department of Atomic Energy cater to the fuel fabrication and Heavy Water requirements respectively for India's nuclear power programme.

Private sector in India participates in India's nuclear power programme as important source of supply of components and equipment and for works contracts.

On the R&D front, constituent Units of DAE viz. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Raja Rammana Centre for Atomic Research (RRCAT), Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) are engaged in basic as well as applied research in civil nuclear energy and affiliated sciences, to bring the benefits of nuclear energy for societal use as well as scientific development.

This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in a reply to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha today. 

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Nari Shakti Puraskar Awarded to Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC)

Nari Shakti Puraskar Awarded to Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC)

The President of India Conferred Rani Lakshmibai Award (Nari Shakti Puraskar 2015) to Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) for its work under the scheme KIRAN-IPR for women empowerment in R&D through Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) training. Prof Prabhat Ranjan, ED TIFAC received the award last evening at Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

On International Women’s Day Ministry of Women and Child Development gave away the Award to Institutions and Individuals for their contribution to the society for women empowerment in the country.  TIFAC was awarded under the institution category for its work for KIRAN-IPR. TIFAC runs this programme as a part of Scheme called ‘Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing’ (KIRAN) of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) for Government of India. Award consists of  a citation and a cash prize of two lakh rupees.

The Prime Minister of India met all the award winners and complimented them.

      

About the KIRAN IPR Programme:

A large number of women in India are highly qualified in science. Many of them are not able to pursue career in science due to domestic and social reasons. India cannot afford to miss out the skills and talent of such highly educated women. The training allows them to work from their homes and thus maintain a good balance between professional and domestic demands. The scheme is being implemented by Patent Facilitating Centre (PFC) of Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC) on behalf of DST. About 400 women have already been trained under this scheme, out of which 138 have cleared the Patent Agent Examination conducted by the Patent Office of India. Most of these women are pursuing their career in the area of IPR. Some of them are self employed and have become entrepreneurs and has created jobs for many. 10% percent of active patent professionals as patent agent in the country are from this scheme KIRAN-IPR.