UnPoliticko

The Government agencies have procured 34546.69 MT pulses- Moong and Urad as on 25.10.2016 during ongoing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS). FCI, NAFED and SFAC are procuring Kharif pulses from the farmers to ensure MSP for their crops in pulses producing states. So far, FCI has procured 8166.71 MT, NAFED 23510.13 MT and SFAC 2869.85 MT Moong and Urad since the arrival of Kharif crop during ongoing KMS 2016-17. The Government has set up the procurement target of 50,000 MT Kharif pulses during current KMS for its buffer stock.

The Minister of state (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Vijay Goel has said that digital media broadcasting will play a critical role in bringing about change in sports broadcasting in India. Addressing the Big Picture Summit 2016 here today, he said increasing penetration of internet, mobile devices and cheaper data services especially in rural areas will prove game changer in this direction. He said Broadcasters must focus on how sports are delivered to these audiences. Shri Goel said, data suggests that more than 60% of the Digital Audiences in India is within the age group of 13-35 years. This is the base that Sports needs to capture to build up the overall Business of Sports. He said, there is a need for Brands and Advertisers to come forward and recognize the power of Sports delivered to young India with respect to both, a Return on Investment and Corporate Social Responsibility aspect.

Implementation of sagarmala project will increase movement of coal through coastal route from 27 MTPA in FY 2016 to 129 MTPA by 2025 and increase the share of inland waterways and coastal shipping in modal mix to increase from 6% to 12%, according to Indian Government. The programme envisions reduction in the cost of power generation by Rs 0.50 per unit of power. It is estimated that for power plants located 800 to 1,000 km away from coal mines, the cost of coal logistics can contribute up to 35% of the cost of power production. Particularly in the case of the Coastal power plants in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, that currently receive coal from Mahanadi Coalfields by Railways, significant savings can be achieved by taking coal through the rail-sea-rail (RSR) route. It is estimated that coastal movement of coal to these plants can result in annual savings of over INR 10,000 Crore to the power sector. In addition, up to 50 Million tonnes of coal can be moved via co...

Sagarmala, the ambitious programme for 'Port-led development' in the country is all set to change the logistics sector performance by optimizing India's logistics modal mix. The flagship programme by the Ministry of Shipping will help in reducing the logistics cost for both domestic and EXIM cargo with optimized infrastructure investment. An overall cost savings of INR 35,000 to 40,000 Crore per annum by 2025 is estimated from the same. According to a study conducted under the Sagarmala programme, there lies a significant potential for moving raw materials and finished products using coastal shipping and inland waterways which is 60-80% cheaper than road or rail transport. Although the share of coastal shipping and inland waterways in the country's modal mix remains low, an emphasis on coastal shipping to complement road and rail transport can lead to overall logistic cost savings.

In pursuance of the Budget Announcement 2016-17, the Government has constituted a five Member Committee to comprehensively review and give recommendations on the FRBM roadmap for the future. The composition of the FRBM Review Committee is as follows: (i)Shri N.K. Singh, Former Revenue Secretary & Expenditure Secretary &Former Member of Parliament(Rajya Sabha) : Chairman (ii)Shri Sumit Bose, Former Finance & Revenue Secretary: Member (iii)Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Advised (CEA) : Member (iv) Shri Urijit Patel,Deputy Governor,RBI: Member (v) Shri Rathin Roy, Director, NIPFP: Member The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Committee are as under: (i) To review the working of the FRBM Act over last 12 years and to suggest the way forward, keeping in view the broad objective of fiscal consolidation and prudence and the changes required in the context of the uncertainty and volatility in the global economy; (ii) To look into various aspects, factors, c...

The Empowered Institution (EI) approves VGF Support for two PPP Projects of Government of Rajasthan The Empowered Institution (EI), under the Government of India's Scheme for Financial Support to Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Infrastructure, met here today for its Seventy-First meeting. The Meeting was chaired by the Additional Secretary (Investment), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and approved Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support to two projects of the Government of Rajasthan. One project, in the Road Sector for Development and Operation of Chomu Chandwaji - Highways Project, was granted in-Principle approval while the other project, in the Power Sector, granted final approval of the VGF support, was for the development of the 400 kV Bikaner-Sikar Transmission Line Project .

Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourer Scheme – 2016 to be Made Central Sector Scheme Revised Scheme Proposes Increase in Quantum of Financial Assistance Annual Budget Raised from Rs.5 Crore to Rs.47 Crore; Cash Assistance from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. One Lakh Cash Assistance may extend to Rs Two Lakh in Special Cases and to Rs.Three Lakh in Cases of Extreme Deprivation The Government is revising the rehabilitation of bonded labour scheme and increasing the quantum of financial assistance from Rs 20 thousand to one lakh rupees. The Scheme proposes to increase the budget provision from Rs 5 crores to about Rs 47 crores per annum. This was stated by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya ,the Minister of State (IC) labour and Employment here today while announcing the proposed scheme. While the most deprived and marginalised like the disabled, female and children rescued from trafficking, sexual exploitation and transgender will get Rs 3 lakhs, the next in order is the special category comprising of females and t...