Prime Minister to launch the “Stand up India scheme” on April 5th,2016

Prime Minister to launch the “Stand up India scheme” on April 5th,2016

Prime Minister will be launching the “Stand up India scheme” and a Web portal for the scheme on 05th April, 2016 at Sector 62, NOIDA. It will be attended by Governor, UP, Union Finance Minister, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism and Union Minister of State for Finance among others.

The “Stand up India Scheme” is being launched now to promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Caste/Schedule Tribe and Women for loans in the range of Rs. 10 Lakhs to Rs. 100 Lakhs. The Scheme is expected to benefit large number of such entrepreneurs, as it is intended to facilitate at least two such projects per bank branch (Scheduled Commercial Bank) on an average one for each category of entrepreneur.

The broad features of the scheme are as under:-

I. Composite loan between Rs. 10 lakh and upto Rs.100 lakh, inclusive of working capital component for setting up any new enterprise.

II. Debit Card (RuPay) for drawal of working capital.

III. Credit history of borrower to be developed.

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

V. Creation of a corpus of Rs. 5,000 crore for credit guarantee through NCGTC.

VI. Handholding support for borrowers with comprehensive support for pre loan training needs, facilitating loan, factoring, marketing etc.

VII. Web Portal for online registration and support services.

The overall intent of the proposal is to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to these underserved sectors of the population by facilitating bank loans in the non-farm sector set up by such SC, ST and Women borrowers. The initiative will also develop synergies with ongoing schemes of other Departments.

The process would be led by SIDBI with involvement of Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) and various sector – specific institutions all over the country. The offices of SIDBI and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) shall be designated Stand Up Connect Centres (SUCC).

The launch event would involve distribution of 5100 E-Rickshaws by Bhartiya Micro Credit (BMC) under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna scheme. In addition the recipients will also be covered under Pradhan Matri Jan Dhan Yojna, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jivan Jyoti Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana schemes and other eight significant Prime Minister schemes.

“Bhartiya Micro Credit (BMC) aims to spread awareness of the financial inclusion and social security schemes and proposes to take the benefits to poor and destitute people in the country. The idea is to facilitate the up gradation of pedal rickshaw pullers into E Rickshaw owners and help create threefold increment in their income. Credit for all these facilities are being provided under Mudra Scheme. The progression to E rickshaw from pedal rickshaw will also help contribute towards achieving the goals of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Sach hua Sapna, Rickshaw hua apna!, shared Vijay Pandey, Managing Director, Bhartiya Micro Credit.

As the first step of this process the pedal rickshaw pullers are provided training post which certificate is provided by NSDC. 150 women drivers have been trained. In addition the customers will also be able to book E Rickshaw through Ola mobile apps and make online payment via Freecharge, which will be integrated under the Digital India initiative.

Under the scheme, charging and service station will also be set up, which will help the growth of emergence of small and micro enterprises along with creating many opportunities for entrepreneurs. This organically integrates Bhartiya Micro Credit (BMC) E-Rickshaws program into Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi flagship ‘Stand Up India’ initiative.

The Prime Minister on 15th August 2014 launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) for “Banking the Unbanked”. As is well known, it met with resounding success as more than 21.3 crore accounts have been opened. Further, Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) was launched by the PM for “Funding the Unfunded” by facilitating loans upto Rs. 10 lakh on 8th April, 2015. As on date, over Rs. 1.22 Lakh crore have been disbursed wherein over 57.75 lakh Scheduled Castes, 15.15 lakh Scheduled Tribes and 2.52 crore women entrepreneurs have been benefited under this scheme. To intensify this inclusive growth, the PM in his address to the nation on 15th Aug, 2015 had announced the “Start up India Stand up India” initiative.

**********

Narendra Modi announces key nuclear security initiatives

Modi says India will counter nuclear smuggling and strengthen the national detection architecture for nuclear and radioactive material 

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced several key initiatives taken by his government in the area of nuclear security and non-proliferation, including countering nuclear smuggling and deployment of technology to deter nuclear terrorism.

The announcements were made by Modi during the second and final day of the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), which was attended by leaders from more than 50 countries.
Informing the world leaders of measures taken by him, Modi said India will continue to accord a high national priority to nuclear security through strong institutional framework, independent regulatory agency and trained and specialized manpower.
The plan includes development and deployment of technology to deter and defend against nuclear terrorism. These include physical and cyber barriers, technological approaches, setting up a facility for medical grade ‘Moly-99’ using low enriched Uranium and using vitrified forms of vulnerable radioisotopes such as Ceasium-137, the national plan says.
India will counter nuclear smuggling and strengthen the national detection architecture for nuclear and radioactive material, he said, adding that a dedicated counter-nuclear smuggling team has been set up.
Further, India will support IAEA’s role in nuclear security by a further contribution of $1 million to the nuclear security fund. A workshop with IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) experts on International Physical Protection Assessment Service (IPPAS) will also be held in India.
India, he said, will join trilateral initiative of NSS chairs circulated at IAEA by subscribing states as the joint statement on strengthening nuclear security implementation.
India will also join three gift baskets for this summit in priority areas of countering nuclear smuggling, nuclear security contact group in Vienna, and sharing of best practices through Centres of Excellence such as India’s own, he said.
Finally India will host a meeting of Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism in 2017. An international conference on countering nuclear smuggling is also being planned with Interpol.
The nuclear security architecture in the country has been strengthened and India has also participated in strengthening security architecture at the global level, the national action plan said.
India’s export controls list and guidelines have been harmonized with those of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and India looks forward to strengthening its contribution to shared non-proliferation objectives through membership of the export controls regimes, it said.
In 2005, India enacted the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems Act, 2005. This gives effect, inter alia, to India’s obligations under the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1540, it said

Union Human Resource Development Minister, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani to Participate in an International Conference on the Zero at UNESCO Headquarters

Union Human Resource Development Minister, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani to Participate in an International Conference on the Zero at UNESCO Headquarters

The High Level segment of the International Conference on the Zero, will be addressed by Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India and Ms. Irina Bokova, Director General UNESCO on 5th April 2016.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, through the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO, and together with the Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris, will host an International Conference on the Zero on 4-5 April, 2016 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. The International Conference will share the rich and remarkable history of mathematics, through the participation of some brilliant minds, resonating with the UNESCO’s mandate to advance, transfer and share knowledge for the greater global good.

The International Conference in Paris will open on 4th April at the Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris, with a session by Professor Manjul Bhargava, Fields Medalist and Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University on “Gems of Ramanujan and their lasting Impact on Mathematics”. Session 2 at UNESCO on “Negative Numbers, Zero, Infinity and Beyond” will be addressed by Dr. Shailendra Mehta from Auro University, Gujarat. There will also be a Panel Discussion on the “Arabic Traditions in Mathematics”. Special Session by Professor Manjul Bhargava on “Mathematics in Indian Music” will be a high point of the Conference.

Through the length of the event at UNESCO, there will be visual and interactive sessions, including films on Mathematics and Science, and interactive problem solving events designed for a young audience. In this category, the highlight will be “Zero: Infinity and Set Theory” conducted by Mr. Romain Attal from the Palais de La Decouverte in Paris.

The event will formally close with the unveiling of a bronze bust by the Minister of Human Resource Development, India and the Director General, UNESCO of the ancient Indian mathematician-astronomer Aryabhata which is a gift from India to UNESCO, as its tribute to the world of Mathematics and Science. The Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani participated in the high level segment, the Leaders’ Forum, held at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris on November 16-17, 2015 as a part of the 38th session of the UNESCO General Conference.

During this visit, the Minister also held a meeting with the Director General of UNESCO, Ms. Irina Bokova, to discuss the full range of India's cooperation with the organization. As a follow up to the discussions held during the bilateral meeting, for the first time, both the leaders issued Joint Statement on the occasion of the National Mathematics Day, i.e. 22nd December, which is the birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the great Indian intellectual and mathematician. Both the leaders agreed to organize in 2016 a Conference on “Zero” at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

How bankruptcy code will save lenders

A key design focus in the proposed code is speed of resolution. Delay is disincentivized at various stages 

Creditors to Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) suffered a setback when there were no bids above the reserve price they had set for the Kingfisher House auction. This only reflects the failures of the bankruptcy process and banking regulation in India, which yield low recoveries with huge delays. How will the proposed bankruptcy reforms in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) help improve the situation?
Robust banking regulation and a sound bankruptcy process share a common goal: to recognize bad news and act quickly. This is not the driving principle in the current Indian bankruptcy regime. Take KFA as an example. In March 2009, it had a debt of Rs.5,600 crore along with a negative net worth. Even by 2013, lenders had taken no credible or coordinated action. Instead, the 2013 annual report records higher debt at more than Rs.10,000 crore, with banks having additional loans of Rs.2,000 crore.
The failure of the Kingfisher House auction is then perhaps about the angst of banks. The auction failed because the bid price set by the lenders was higher than the market price by at least three times. What might explain this? Perhaps the assets are being carried on the books of banks at inflated values, and banks are not keen on revealing the bad news and recognizing a large loss.
This is a failure of banking regulation, which needs reforms. The moment there are failures to repay, banking regulation must incentivize banks to rapidly recognize losses up front. This ensures that the valuation of banks, as seen in the public domain, is always conservative. Any recovery that takes place in the future is pure upside. Technically, robust regulation needs to be backed up by technically sound supervision, where the Reserve Bank of India inspects the books of banks, and block banks when they try to cover up.
A key design focus in the proposed IBC is speed of resolution. Delay is disincentivized at various stages in the process. Let us start at the first date of default. The Insolvency Resolution Process (IRP) can be triggered by any creditor— not just banks alone—on the date of the first default. This is unlike mechanisms in SARFAESI (the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest) Act, 2002, where banks can wait for 90 days before designating a default account as non-performing asset, and have to wait for 30 days before taking action. The IBC empowers even operational creditors including employees and trader creditors to trigger the process. The earliest publicly observed default by KFA was on employees’ salaries. Under IBC, default to employees can be used to trigger resolution. The possibility of this will help keep banks honest.
When IRP is triggered, the firm is protected as a going concern. No secured creditor can take away assets. However, at that point, the creditors’ committee and the resolution professional (RP) could choose to replace the management. This could perhaps have happened with Kingfisher Airlines in 2008 or 2009.
It is likely that at that time the airline had value as a going concern under a new management team. This would have dramatically reduced losses to the lenders. In the proposed IBC, while banks may favour wrong resolution owing to bad banking regulation and public sector ownership, three factors would push in favour of rationality: (a) the fees of the RP would be proportional to effective resolution, (b) the presence of non-bank lenders such as bond-holders in the committee, and (c) the transparency of the process.
Thus, if the creditors’ committee cannot agree on a plan to keep the company as a going concern, it would automatically go into liquidation. The RP would rarely make a mistake through which the auction fails, because his/her earnings are proportional to the value of recovery.
Lastly, suppose public sector banks have flawed incentives owing to weak regulation and political pressures. Suppose they dominate the creditors’ committee with over 75% of the debt, and decide to undertake an extend-and-pretend plan, under the proposed IBC, smaller creditors would get a seat on the table in the meeting of the creditors’ committee and get to protest vociferously. This would be recorded officially. Some of this would be visible in the press. If the firm is unviable, it is likely to default a few months later. In the next IRP, it would be harder for the public sector banks to operationalize another extend-and-pretend plan.
In summary, if we imagine how Kingfisher Airlines would have worked under the proposed IBC, it is likely that the outcomes would have been better, even if there is no progress on banking reform or public sector bank privatization. The bankruptcy reform, in and of itself, is beneficial. At the same time, it is a complex reform that will require a strong team to oversee the implementation, which includes perfecting the draft law, and setting up working groups or task forces to build the institutional infrastructure to enforce the law. Moreover, it is one of the critical pillars of a mature market economy.
The proposed IBC stands alongside other critical pillars, such as the Companies Act, contract law, contract enforcement through a well-functioning judiciary, macroeconomic stability and sound financial regulation through the Indian Financial Code. Each will strengthen the other to facilitate the development of the debt market that has been long sought in India.

India jumps to sixth spot in manufacturers list: UN report

The UN report states that India’s Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) grew by 7.6% in 2015 

 With its ranking going up by three places, India has now been ranked sixth among the world’s 10 largest manufacturing countries, a United Nations Industrial Development Organization report said. India previously held the 9th rank.

The yearbook, published by the UNIDO, finds that in India, the Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) grew by 7.6% in 2015 compared to the previous year. It also said that the quarterly index of industrial production (IIP) shows 1% growth of manufacturing output in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to the same period of previous year.
“India is now the sixth largest manufacturer in the world,” the report said. The report also said that the global growth rate of manufacturing production has slowed to 2.8% in 2015. “This slowdown could be due to reduced manufacturing growth rates recorded by major developing and emerging economies,” it added.
China tops the list of 10-top industrial producers followed by the US, Japan, Germany and Korea. Indonesia was at the bottom of the lis

Uttarakhand joins “UDAY” scheme ;

Uttarakhand joins “UDAY” scheme ; would derive an overall net benefit of Rs 962 crore through “UDAY”

The Government of India, the State of Uttarakhand and the Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) which takes care of the power distribution activity of Uttarakhand signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under the Scheme UDAY – “Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana” on 31^st March, 2016 for operational turnaround of the DISCOMs.

Under UDAY, ten states have signed MoU till date. The combined DISCOM debt that would be restructured in respect of these states is around Rs.1.96 lac crore, which is approximately 45% of the total outstanding DISCOM debt of Rs.4.3 lac crore as on 30^th September, 2015.

The Government of Uttarakhand has taken a positive step towards supporting its DISCOM by signing the MOU under UDAY for further improving the operational efficiency of the already efficient DISCOM. Through compulsory Distribution Transformer metering, consumer indexing & GIS mapping of losses, upgrade/change transformers, meters etc., smart metering of high-end consumers, feeder audit etc. AT&C losses and transmission losses would be brought down, besides eliminating the gap between cost of supply of power and realisation. The reduction in AT&C losses and transmission losses to 14.50% and 1.78% respectively is likely to bring additional revenue of around Rs.645 crore during the period of turnaround.

While efforts will be made by the State Government and the DISCOM to improve the operational efficiency of the DISCOM, and thereby reduce the cost of supply of power, the Central government would also provide incentives to the DISCOMs and the State Government for improving Power infrastructure in the State and for further lowering the cost of power. The Central schemes such as DDUGJY, IPDS, Power Sector Development Fund or such other schemes of MOP and MNRE are already providing funds for improving Power Infrastructure in the State and additional/priority funding would be considered under these schemes,  if the State/DISCOMs meet the operational milestones outlined in the scheme.

Demand Side interventions in UDAY such as usage of energy-efficient LED bulbs, agricultural pumps, fans & air-conditioners and efficient industrial equipment through PAT (Perform, Achieve, Trade) would help in reducing peak load, flatten load curve and thus help in reducing energy consumption in the State of Uttarakhand. The gain is expected to be around Rs.303 crore.

An overall net benefit of approximately Rs.962 crore would accrue to the State by opting to participate in UDAY, reduction in AT&C and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency, etc. during the period of turnaround.

The ultimate benefit of signing the MOU would go to the people of Uttarakhand. Reduced levels of transmission and AT&C losses would mean lesser cost per unit of electricity to consumers and will increase consumption. Higher demand for power from DISCOM would mean higher PLF of Generating units and therefore, lesser cost per unit of electricity which would again mean lesser cost per unit of electricity to the consumers.

Speech by the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at first convocation of Swami Rama Himalayan University

1.  I am happy to be here this afternoon for the first convocation of Swami Rama Himalayan University. From my brief observation, I find that this campus represents a clean, green and serene setting for imparting higher education. This University was set up three years ago by the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT) that has been rendering yeoman service in Uttarakhand for the last twenty seven years. The Trust was set up by Shri Swami Rama, who was a great philosopher, teacher, yogi and humanitarian.

2.    Swami Rama, when he was young, trekked the peaks and valleys of the Himalayas. It was then that he became acutely aware of the lack of development, limited access to affordable healthcare and shortage of livelihood opportunities in the region. He decided to return one day and make a difference in the lives of the inhabitants. He founded the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust in order to provide education, healthcare and livelihood skills. He was of the firm opinion that a human frame is a form of the Divine and that serving one’s fellow beings selflessly and lovingly is the highest form of worship. Swamiji had said and I quote: “If I cannot serve the God within you, then going to temples, churches and masjids is all hypocrisy” (unquote). This conviction led him to make “Love, Serve, Remember” the motto of HIHT, inspiring students, faculty and staff towards selfless service of fellow beings.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

3.  Swami Rama was a multi-faceted personality with great love for his motherland and the place of his birth. Though anointed as the Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham at a young age, he renounced this high spiritual post in order to pursue his yogic-meditative lifestyle. After intense yogic disciplines, he went to Japan and the US to create a bridge between science and spirituality. It is said that under controlled laboratory conditions, he demonstrated voluntary control over involuntary functions such as blood flow, body temperature, heart rate and brain waves. His revelation laid the foundation for acceptance of the psychosomatic origins of disease and the ability of the mind to bring about healing. He established holistic health as a new discipline that had much to offer to allopathic medicine. At HIHT, he stressed upon the importance of amalgamating the wisdom of the East with the modern technologies of the West. As he so succinctly said and I quote: “The fragrance of Eastern wisdom combined with the beautiful form of Western science and technology creates a perfect flower for humanity” (unquote).

4.   Swami Rama had penned a widely-acclaimed book titled, “Living with the Himalayan Masters”, which dealt with his life in the Himalayan caves and monasteries. I am told that the royalties from this book were used by Swamiji to procure land and create infrastructure for this beautiful two hundred acre university campus. The bridge that Swamiji created between science and spirituality will have far reaching consequences for the evolution of mankind and for the betterment of healthcare systems throughout the world. I, therefore, feel privileged to be amidst you in this temple of education, compassion and love.

Friends:

5. It is heartening to note that what started twenty five years ago - with an OPD in a tin shed and a small house for rural development - has bloomed into a beautiful township and a university. Today, this institute provides quality higher education in medicine, para-medical sciences, nursing, engineering and management. It serves the rural masses comprising more than 1,200 villages of Uttarakhand. It focuses on health, education, and income generation programmes. It provides tertiary care services through its 750 bedded multi-specialty hospital and state-of-the-art 250 bedded Cancer centre.

6.  Students and new faculty joining this institution are trained in the Science of Joyful Living, a programme with lectures and practices based on the teachings of the Swamiji. This University is developing integrated and cost-effective approaches to healthcare and development. This will address the needs of the local population. It will also serve as a model for replication in areas with under-served populations. SRHU is taking all steps necessary to align itself to international standards in the delivery of quality education. Its Department of Medical Education was designated in 2014 as a Regional Medical Education Training Centre by the Medical Council of India. This unit is involved in faculty development programmes and the development of innovative teaching and assessment tools.

Friends:

7. A university is the apex of the education system. It is therefore incumbent on higher educational institutions to provide quality education to transform the entire education system. The demographic dividend that we talk about will fructify if we can provide the growing number of our youth good education, knowledge and skills. Mere expansion of higher education by establishing more centres of higher learning is not enough. Unless we take care of quality, the objective of preparing young minds into capable, confident and committed individuals will not be met. An all-out effort to maintain good standards in our higher academic institutions is required, be it in developing the faculty, nurturing core competencies, establishing linkages with other institutions, networking with the industry, or focusing on research and innovation. The research areas should be prioritized so as to solve specific socio-economic problems. It is the duty of our institutions to instill in their students core civilizational values - love for their motherland, a sense of responsibility towards their society, and a compassion for all. The higher education system should produce sound professionals with a strong social sensitivity.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

8.  I congratulate the medical, nursing and management students receiving their degrees from SRHU today. You are the future and the hope of our nation. You are equipped to serve our country with the education and training you have received at SRHU. Remember what Mother Teresa once observed and I quote: “The greatest disease today is not tuberculosis or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love” (unquote). HThis motto takes on even greater meaning when one witnesses that healing and healthcare system in our country must always stand on moral high ground. The prime focus of such a system should be the welfare of patients only. We need dedicated nurses, doctors and managers to make healthcare more scientific and efficient. On your shoulders rests the future of this noble profession.

9.    Convocation is the biggest day in your life as you graduate from formal education and leave the portals of your alma mater. You may do well to bear in mind some suggestions that I have for you:

a)              Don't be anxious about your future: Learn to live in the present. Past is history; future is mysterious; so, focus on your present. Your future will be the outcome of your actions in the present.

b)              Don't brood over the past: You cannot undo what has already taken place. Counter-factual thinking should find no place in your present and future endeavours.  

c)              Do not be afraid of failures; let failure be a source of learning.

d)              Trust yourself: We do not need magic to change the world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already; we have the power to imagine and create a better future.

e)              Be a life-long learner: Remember that graduation is a concept. In real life, you graduate every day. It is a never ending process as you learn new things from your occupation and imbibe other qualities from your life experiences. Remember that change is the law of nature.  Like  old  foliage that drops off  in  autumn, to be replaced by new foliage in the spring, try to adapt to change and become an agent for change. Old ideas and approaches that no longer serve any purpose should give way to better ideas. It is your creativity that can usher in change. So, proceed in the journey of life with an attitude to learn and an aptitude to think new.

10. Before I conclude, young students, I wish you by saying that:

I hope your dreams take you...

To the corners of your smiles,

To the highest of your hopes,

To the windows of your opportunities,

And to the most special places your heart has ever known.

11.   Always remember that all our dreams can come true; only, if we have the courage to pursue them. Spread your fragrance and judge yourself not by your accomplishments, but by the happiness of the people around you. Wish you Godspeed in your endeavors!