Cabinet approves promulgation of GST (Compensation to States) Ordinance, 2017

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved promulgation of an ordinance to suitably amend the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017.

The approval will allow increasing the maximum rate at which the Compensation Cess can be levied from 15% to 25%.

The increased cess would be levied on: Motor vehicles for transport of not more than thirteen people, including the driver falling under sub-headings 8702 10, 8702 20, 8702 30 or 8702 90 and Motor vehicles falling under headings 8703.

The GST Council in its meeting held in August considered the fact after introduction of GST, the total tax on motor vehicles (GST + Compensation Cess) has come down vis-a-vis pre-GST total tax and recommended the increase as above.

The issue regarding the increase in effective rate of Compensation Cess on motor vehicles will be examined by the GST Council in due course.

MOU between India and Brazil for cooperation in Zebu Cattle Genomics and ARTs

The Union Cabinet was apprised of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Brazil for cooperation in the fields of Zebu Cattle Genomics and Assisted Reproductive Technologies.

The MoU will promote development of genomics and Assistant Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) in cattle through joint activities between the two countries.

An implementation committee would be created with an equal number of representatives of each party for determining the activities and developing work plans and subsequently their evaluation.

It will be done through joint projects in the fields of productivity improvement of cattle and buffaloes, for the purpose of broadening the existing knowledge base on sustainable dairy development and institutional strengthening.

The MoU would facilitate scientific cooperation and setting up of genomic selection programme in zebu cattle.

This would be done through application of genomics in zebu cattle and their crosses and buffaloes; application of ARTs in cattle and buffaloes; capacity building in genomics and assisted reproductive technology; and related R&D in genomics and ART.

India to help conserve quake-damaged pagodas of Myanmar

The Union cabinet approved a project to conserve the earthquake-damaged pagodas in Bagan city of Myanmar.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalise the pact will be signed between the two countries during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the nation on September 6-7. 

Bagan being a premier tourist attraction of Myanmar will also afford an opportunity to showcase India's expertise in the restoration and conservation of monuments not only to the people of Myanmar but also to tourists from other countries.

ઇસરો આજે નેવિગેશન સેટેલાઈટ IRNSS-1H લોન્ચ કરશે

શ્રીહરિકોટા સ્થિત કેન્દ્રમાંથી સાંજે 6.59 વાગ્યે ઉપગ્રહ લૉન્ચ કરવામાં આવશે. ઉપગ્રહ પીએસએલવી-સી-39 રૉકેટ દ્વારા ભ્રમણ કક્ષામાં તરતો મુકાશે. ઇન્ડિયન રિજનલ નેવિગેશન સેટેલાઇટ સિસ્ટમનો આઠમો ઉપગ્રહ છે.

1425 કિગ્રા વજનનો ઉપગ્રહ આઇઆરએનએસએસ-1નું સ્થાન લેશે. જૂના ઉપગ્રહની પરમાણુ ઘડિયાળ કામ કરતી અટકી ગઈ છે.

Nav ICના હાલના સાત સેટેલાઇટને જોડવા માટે આવતી કાલે નેવીગેશન સેટેલાઇટ IRNSS-1H ના લોંચિંગનું  ૨૯ કલાકનું કાઉન્ટ ડાઉન શરૃ થયું હતું. પીએસએલ,વી સી૩૯ બોર્ડ પર  IRNSS-1H લોંચ થનાર IRNSS-1a માટે બેકઅપ તરીકે કામ કરશે.સેટેલાઇટની ત્રણ ઓટોમેટિક ઘડિયાળો બંધ પડી જતાં સાત સેટેલાઇટ પૈકી એક માટે કામ કરશે. 

Govt to release new industrial policy by October

Under the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is likely to release a new industrial policy by October which will focus on encouraging Indian branded products with higher value addition.
 
The proposed policy will also review the existing foreign direct investment (FDI) policy regime to facilitate greater technology transfer. The policy is expected to replace the United Progressive Alliance government’s National Manufacturing Policy (NMP) released in 2011, which sought to create 100 million jobs by 2022.

It is time to shift from a policy of ‘continuity with change’ in 1991 to radical and accelerated reforms for greater strategic engagement with the world. A comprehensive, actionable, outcome-oriented industrial policy will enable industry to deliver a larger role in the economy; to fulfil its role as the engine of growth and to shoulder the responsibility of adding more value and jobs

Cabinet approves pact on India-Israel tech Fund

The union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Israel on 'India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F). The MoU was concluded in July, 2017.

India and Israel will make a contribution of USD 4 million or about Rs 25 crore each for the fund annually for five years, which will be governed by a joint board comprising four members from each country.

The MoU envisages promotion of bilateral Industrial R&D and Innovation cooperation in the fields of science and technology by extending support to joint projects for innovative or technology-driven new or improved products, services or processes.

The projects under the fund will lead to affordable technological innovations in focus areas of mutual interest such as water, agriculture, energy and digital technologies.

The collaboration between the two countries for this fund is expected to enable institutional support in building up consortia, including private industry, enterprises and R&D institutions.

The activities supported by the Joint Fund would increase the techno-economic collaboration between the two countries by investing in jointly developed technology projects and collaborations based on technological innovation.

The fund is expected to foster and strengthen the eco- system of innovation and techno-entrepreneurship in India and contribute directly to the Startup India programme, it said.

The Cabinet was also informed that India and Canada have mutually agreed to jointly issue a set of two commemorative postage stamps on the theme of "Diwali".

The joint stamps will be released on 21st September, 2017. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has already been signed between Department of Posts and Canada Post for this joint issue.

In this joint issue, the theme "Diwali" has been selected as it is a cultural theme for both the countries and also their is large presence of Indian diaspora in Canada.

Ocean forecasting system for Madagascar and Mozambique

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences here inaugurated the Ocean Forecasting System for Comoros, Madagascar, and Mozambique at the third Ministerial Meeting of Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Asia and Africa (RIMES), held at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

The ocean forecast and early warming information on high wave, currents, winds, tides, sub-surface ocean conditions cater to users like fishermen, coastal population, tourism sector, coastal defence officials, marine police, port authorities, research institutions and offshore industries of these countries.

These ocean services are aimed towards safety at the sea. The system would offer oil spill advisory services, high wave alerts, port warnings, forecast along the ship routes in addition to tsunami and storm surge warnings and help in search and rescue operations.

INCOIS is already providing these operational services to Maldives, Sri Lanka and Seychelles.

The Ocean Forecast System developed for the Indian Ocean countries and the real-time data from their territories also help to improve the ocean forecast and early warning system for Indian coast too

World's first diamond futures contract

The Anil Ambani Group-anchored Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) became the world's first derivatives exchange to launch diamond futures contract.

India is a global diamond polishing hub where 14 out of every 15 rough diamonds in the world are polished. The futures contracts will enable companies involving in cut and polished gems business to better hedge price risks.

Successfully launched diamond futures trading . The contracts are initially launched in size of 1 carat with compulsory delivery. This will create an entirely new market for the diamond players where sellers can deliver their certified diamonds to different buyers

The exchange will offer a fair, transparent and nationwide market, bringing in large market participation into diamond trade. It will result in efficient price discovery and provide an effective hedging platform for all stakeholders

The new exchange will be able to make a meaningful contribution towards further development of commodity markets, Gems & Jewellery Export 

ICEX is powered by technology from MillenniumIT (MIT), part of the London Stock Exchange Group while International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research, a part of the DeBeers Group, certifies diamonds for the exchange delivery.

MALCA, the world's largest courier of diamonds, is the depository and transporter through its Indian arm Malca Amit.

International Day against Nuclear Tests

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day against Nuclear Tests brings public awareness and education about the effects of global nuclear weapon tests. The day aims to end nuclear testing and to promote peace and security.

The International Day against Nuclear Tests aims to raise people’s awareness on the need to prevent nuclear catastrophes to avert devastating effects on humankind, the environment and the planet.

The history of nuclear testing began on July 16, 1945, when an atomic bomb was used at a desert test site in Alamogordo, New Mexico, in the United States. More than 2000 nuclear tests were carried out worldwide between 1945 and 1996. Nuclear weapons tests are generally broken into different categories reflecting the test’s medium or location:

Atmospheric tests.

Underwater tests.

Underground tests.

The International Day against Nuclear Tests was declared to be annually held on August 29, which marks the closing of one of the world’s largest nuclear test sites (in Kazakhstan) in 1991. The day is devoted to enhancing public awareness and education about the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions. It also promotes the need for a nuclear weapon-free world. The day’s first official observance was marked for August 29, 2010.

Govt launched the National Sports Talent Search portal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday paid tribute to hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on his birth anniversary and launched the National Sports Talent Search portal.

Modi said the legend’s sporting skills did “wonders for Indian hockey”.

His birthday is celebrated as National Sports Day in India.

It would provide “essential direction and support to youngsters to pursue their sporting aspirations...”, Modi said, adding, “Sports is about physical fitness, mental alertness and personality enhancement.”

Special training programme on oceanography for students

The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is preparing to launch a Deep Ocean Mission by January 2018, to spur research activities in ocean science and develop technology to harness ocean resources.

India has 7,500 km of coastline and 2.4 million square km of exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The oceans along Indian peninsula contain enormous opportunities in energy, food, medicine and a host of other natural resources.

The Ministry would soon launch a special training programme on oceanography free of cost for university students.

The rapid warming up of the Indian Ocean would add to the threat of heat waves and extreme rainfall events. The increasing ocean heat content in the Indian Ocean could have a bearing on the intensity of cyclones in the region as well as ocean acidification and marine biodiversity.

Gobindobhog rice gets geographical indication status 

Gobindobhog rice,a speciality from Burdwan district of West Bengal, has got the geographical indication (GI) status. The state government had applied for GI status for Gobindobhog rice on August 24, 2015. 

The region of Burdwan (now divided into the districts of east and west Burdwan) is known as the rice bowl of Bengal. As a result of getting the GI tag, as the certification is also called, rice from other regions or rice of other varieties cannot be branded as ‘Gobindobhog’. Hence, the marketability of the rice would be strengthened, for the local, national and international markets, government officials said. 

The south Damodar belt has been the traditional area of Gobindobhog rice cultivation.

The rice has several advantages:

·         It is cultivated late and therefore not much affected by rains.

·         It is less prone to pests as well.

·         The productivity per area is high and farmers get better prices for Gobindobhog rice. 

World’s first low Enriched Uranium bank in Kazakhstan

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supported by the Kazakh government opened Aug. 29 its first-ever Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank in Kazakhstan.

The LEU Bank will serve as a last-resort mechanism to provide confidence to countries that they will be able to obtain LEU for the manufacture of fuel for nuclear power plants in the event of an unforeseen, non-commercial disruption to their supplies,” IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said.

The LEU Bank is based at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP) in Ust-Kamenogorsk, in the East Kazakhstan region. The facility will store nuclear fuel and sell it to IAEA members. The bank will store up to 90 tonnes of low-enriched uranium, sufficient to run a 1,000 MW light water reactor or give power to a large city for three years.

It’s the largest producer of uranium and are ready to play an important role in the world energy. Also, Kazakhstan is in the mainstream of a global green trend.

The IAEA plans to start buying uranium soon and to start shipping it to the bank in 2018.

The IAEA is the world’s central intergovernmental organisation, established for scientific and technical cooperation in the nuclear field. The IAEA seeks safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear technologies and science.

In 2009, Kazakhstan proposed to host the LEU bank in Kazakhstan under the IAEA. An agreement was signed with the IAEA on Aug. 27, 2015. Kazakhstan is a leading producer of uranium, boasting more than 15 percent of global uranium reserves.

Russia established its own LEU bank in 2010, but the LEU bank in Kazakhstan is the first to be fully owned and managed by the IAEA.

Centre clears 100%strategic sale of CEL

The Centre has approved a 100% strategic sale along with transfer of management control of Central Electronics Ltd (CEL). Incorporated in 1974, CEL is under the administrative control of Ministry of Science and Technology.

The CPSE is wholly owned by the government and has a net worth of 50.34 crore as on March 2017.

The Government of India (GoI) has ‘in-principle’ decided to disinvest its 100 per cent equity in Central Electronics Ltd through strategic sale with transfer of management control. The government plans to engage an advisor from a consulting firm, investment banker or a merchant banker or a financial institution, for providing advisory services and managing the disinvestment process. It is also looking to appoint a legal firm for advising on the strategic sale.

“YUVA” is Delhi Police initiative under “Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana”

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the YUVA a skill development programme and an initiative by Delhi Police under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

These kind of initiatives improve the image of the police among common man.It is a big task that Delhi Police has opened skill development training centres in the police stations.

The Police should engage with the youth who are prone to drug addiction and other crimes. He expressed happiness over the fact that efforts are being made that about 70-80% youth under this project get employment. It is the collective responsibility of the police and the society to bring the youth of the country on right path.Delhi Police has started this project with the same objective in mind. 

A detailed exercise was conducted in all 13 districts of Delhi Police to select the youth in the age of 17-25 years for this training belonging to categories such as School dropouts, Juvenile offenders, Victims of crimes and families in dire state due to incarceration of the bread earner of the family, mostly from the underprivileged colonies. 

So far, 2,269 candidates have been selected to be trained by 36 training partners in 45 skills in the next three months. A total of 32 police station buildings have been identified where Skill Development Centers would be opened at the earliest. 

The youth coming for skill training in a police station building will be a huge step in building up their confidence and faith in police organization and will go a long way in building a positive image of police in the long run. 

હોકીના પ્રખ્યાત ખેલાડી મેજર ધ્યાનચંદનો જન્મદિવસ -29 ઓગસ્ટ 

તેમનો જન્મ 29 ઓગસ્ટ 1905એ ઈલાહાબાદમાં થયો હતો. આજે તેમના જન્મ દિવસે રમતની દુનિયામાં સારુ પ્રદર્શન કરનાર ખેલાડીઓને રાજીવ ગાંધી ખેલ રત્ન, અર્જુન અને દ્રોણાચાર્ય પુરસ્કાર આપવામાં આવે છે. ધ્યાનચંદે સતત ત્રણ ઓલંપિકમાં 1928 એમ્સટર્ડમ, 1932 લૉસ એન્જલસ અને 1936 બર્લિનમાં ભારતને હોકીમાં સુવર્ણ ચંદ્રક અપાવવામાં મહત્વપૂર્ણ ભૂમિકા ભજવી છે.

તેમણે તેમના 22 વર્ષના આંતરરાષ્ટ્રીય કરિયરમાં 400 ગોલ કર્યા છે. એમને રમત જગતમાં ઘણી સિધ્ધિઓ પ્રાપ્ત કરી છે. ભારતના ઈતિહાસમાં જર્મન તાનાશાહ હિટલર પણ ધ્યાનચંદની રમતથી પ્રભાવિત હતા. તેમણે ધ્યાનચંદને જર્મનની ફોજમાં આવવાનો પ્રસ્તાવ કર્યો હતો પણ તેમણે તેનો અસ્વીકાર કર્યો હતો.

ધ્યાનચંદ જ્યારે રમતા ત્યારે એવું લાગતુ કે બોલ તેમની સ્ટિક પર ચોંટી ગયો હોય. તેમના નામ પાછળ પણ રસપ્રદ વાત છે કે તેઓ ચંદ્રના અજવાળામાં નિયમિત અભ્યાસ કરતા હતા તેથી તે ચાંદ નામથી પણ જાણીતા હતા. જો કે આના પહેલા તેમનું નામ ધ્યાનસિંહ હતુ અને ત્યારબાદ તેમનુ નામ ધ્યાનચંદ પડ્યુ હતુ.

મેજર ધ્યાનચંદની આટલી સિધ્ધિઓ હોવા છતાં તેમને હજુ સુધી ભારત રત્ન આપવામાં આવ્યો નથી. જોકે રમત જગતમાં પહેલો ભારત રત્ન ક્રિકેટર સચિન તેંડુલકરને આપવામાં આવ્યો છે. ધ્યાનચંદને ભારત રત્ન આપવાની માંગણી અત્યારે ઘણી ઝડપી ચાલી રહી છે. ધ્યાનચંદનું અવસાન 3 ડિસેમ્બર 1979એ થયો હતો.

ઉદયપુર પહોંચ્યા વડાપ્રધાન નરેન્દ્ર મોદી, હેંગિંગ બ્રિજનું કર્યુ ઉદ્ધાટન

વડાપ્રધાન નરેન્દ્ર મોદી રાજસ્થાનના પ્રવાસે છે. અહીં વડાપ્રધાને હેંગિંગ બ્રિજ સહિતના એક હજાર કરોડના પ્રોજેક્ટનું ઉદ્ધાટન કર્યું.  આ ઉપરાંત અન્ય કેટલીય યોજનાનું ડિઝીટલ રીતેથી ભૂમિ પૂજન પણ કર્યું.

ખાસ છે આ બ્રિજ

પિલર વગરનો 1.4 કિમી લાંબો આ હેંગિંગ બ્રિજ છેલ્લા નવ વર્ષથી બની રહેલો આ પ્રકારનો પહેલો બ્રિજ છે જેના નિર્માણ પાછળ આઠ દેશોના એન્જિનિયરોની ટેક્નોલોજીનો ઉપયોગ કરવામાં આવ્યો છે. જોકે, દેશમાં આ પ્રકારનો ત્રીજો હેંગિગ બ્રિજ છે. ચંબલ નદીનો આ ઝૂલતો બ્રિજ 277 કરોડની ખર્ચથી બન્યો છે.

Biosensor developed by IIT team detects disorders in a few minutes

The Indian Institutes of Technology, Bombay and Indore, have jointly developed a biosensor that makes it possible to detect kidney disorders in less than eight minutes.

The biosensor can accurately measure both the pH and urea concentration with a single drop of urine. The researchers who developed it say that it will help make a point-of-care test to determine whether the kidneys are functioning normally.

For a kidney function test, doctors need an estimate of pH and urea as most kidney disorders result in reduced pH and higher concentration of urea. Available methods to detect urea require patients to undergo two tests for accuracy. In addition, there is the problem of contaminating components in urine such as calcium, chloride, ascorbic acid, sodium and potassium.

How it works

The biosensor, developed by Rashmi Chaudhari, Abhijeet Joshi, and Rohit Srivastava, can detect both and is made by encapsulating an enzyme urease and a molecule FITC-dextran in alginate microspheres. The combination glows in response to a chemical reaction with urea and changes in pH when urine is added. The fluorescence reduces when the pH is acidic and increases when it is alkaline. The changes in fluorescence intensity are measured, which helps to calculate the values of pH and urea.

Bioethanol from cotton-stalks

CSIR’s Scientists from National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram have deveed  to turn waste into wealth.

The new technique will help to produce bioethanol, a clean fuel from cotton stalk wastes. Converting the agro-residues such as cotton stalks and wheat and rice husks etc to ethanol reduces the food vs fuel competition.

India has about 9.4 million hectares under cotton cultivation and every hectare generates 2 million tonnes of cotton stalk wastes.

Five year anti-dumping duty on sodium nitrite imports from China

The Finance Ministry has imposed a five year anti-dumping duty on Sodium Nitrite imports from China

Deepak Nitrite Ltd had filed the petition, which was also supported by Punjab Chemicals & Crop Protection Ltd, seeking sunset review investigations on Sodium Nitrite imports from China, sources said.There are two more producers of Sodium Nitrite in the country - National Fertilisers Ltd and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Limited.

Based on the recommendations of the Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry in its final findings of its third sunset review investigations, the revenue department has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty of $ 72.95 per tonne on Sodium Nitrite imports from China.

Sodium Nitrite is an oxidising and also a reducing agent. It is a white crystalline powder mostly used in the pharmaceutical and dye industries, lubricants, lubricants, construction chemicals, rubber blowing agent, meat processing, and textiles.

Government notifies Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2017

The government has notified the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act under which it can authorise the RBI to issue directions to banks to initiate insolvency resolution process to recover bad loans. 

The banking sector is saddled with non-performing assets (NPAs) of over Rs 8 lakh crore, of which Rs 6 lakh crore is with public sector banks (PSBs). 

Earlier this month, Parliament had approved the Act, which replaced an ordinance in this regard. 

The government in May had promulgated an ordinance authorising the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to issue directions to banks to initiate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. 

Following the ordinance, the RBI had identified 12 accounts each having more than Rs 5,000 crore of outstanding loans and accounting for 25 per cent of total NPAs of banks for immediate referral for resolution under the bankruptcy law. 

In Boost To Army's Fire Power, Medium Range Missile System In 3 Years

After years of wait, the Indian Army will finally get an advanced medium-range surface to air missile (MRSAM) system by 2020 which will be able to shoot down ballistic missiles, fighter jets and attack helicopters from a range of around 70 km.

The missile system will be produced by premier defence research organisation DRDO in collaboration with the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a senior army official said.

The MRSAM system will be capable of shooting down enemy ballistic missiles, aircraft, helicopters, drones, surveillance aircraft and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems) aircraft, the official said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The current version of MRSAM is operational with the Indian Air Force and the Navy.

India's first 'Videsh Bhavan' in Mumbai

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the country's first Videsh Bhavan, assimilating all Regional Passport Offices and allied departments under a single roof, at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) 

As a first pilot project, four offices of MEA -- Regional Passport Office (RPO), Protector of Emigrants (PoE) office, Branch Secretariat and Regional Office of ICCR -- have been integrated and brought to function under one roof at the state-of-art office in BKC 

The pilot project of the Videsh Bhavan in Mumbai is part of the central government's policy to bring together different offices of the MEA under a single roof and work closely with states as more and more Indians are going abroad for employment, education, business and tourism.