MNEWS

Plans to install at least 5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2022 The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) an autonomous body under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has called for ‘Expression of Interest’ (EoI) for the first offshore wind energy project of India. The global EoI is intended to shortlist prospective offshore wind energy developers for a  1000 MW offshore wind energy project in Gulf of Khambat, off the coast of Gujarat . The proposed area is located 23-40 km seaward side from Pipavav port. MNRE plans to install at least 5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2022.  As per the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy notified on October, 2015, National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), Chennai is the nodal agency to carry out the necessary studies/surveys before final bidding and act as a single window for facilitating necessary clearances required for development of offshore wind project in India. The first offshore LiDAR was instal...

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of a Cooperation Arrangement between Food Safety & Standards Authority of India ( FSSAI ), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare ( MoH&FW) and Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation & Livestock (MAIL), Afghanistan for cooperation in the field of Food Safety and related areas. The areas of cooperation include the following: Establishment of a mechanism of information exchange and communication; Facilitating technical exchange  on identified topics  of interestespecially about import procedures, quality control operations, sampling,testing, packaging and labeling; Facilitating/organization of joint seminars, workshops, visits, lectures,training programme, etc; Other areas of interest to the participants within their responsibilitiesas they may mutually determine. The cooperation arrangement will facilitate information sharing training and capacity ...

The Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu, delivering the inaugural address at the Global Logistics Summit, in New Delhi Efficient logistics is critical for countries like India to harness trade and facilitate greater & faster integration with both the domestic as well as world economy. Keeping this in mind 56 new airports will become functional in the next few years, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu said at the two days Global Logistics Summit being held in New Delhi. The Minister further said that by bringing all the stakeholders together it will create the right platform to improve logistics and connectivity which are vital for increasing intra-state and international trade flows. Indian logistics industry is estimated at around US $ 215 billion in 2019-20, growing at over 10 % annually. In the last decade or so, significant improvements in Railways, Roads, Highways, Inland ...

An open House was organized at the initiative of Hon’ble Minister of State (MOS) for Statistics & Programme implementation with Hon’ble Members of Rajya Sabha for first time to understand the problems in smooth implementation of MPLAD Scheme and also elicit getting their suggestions for improvement. Initiating the discussion Minister told them that in last four years 3.17 lakh number of works were completed. The MPLADS portal is also being improved so as more information can be given and a transparent and friendly information system can work. Hon’ble MOS inaugurated a pocket book on Scheme guideline, to be used as a ready reckoner, and also launched an e-book on the scheme. The e-book highlights the good quality assets created under the scheme as well as informs about the basic feature/ provisions of the scheme. A number of MPs attended the meeting. All MPs were provided with an opportunity to give their suggestions which can improve the outcome of the scheme. ...

Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman , who is on three-day visit to Russia to attend ‘VII Moscow Conference on International Security’ from 03 to 05 April 2018, addressed the II Plenary Session of the Conference on the theme titled ‘Global Security in a Polycentric World’ covering aspects related to current global defence, security and strategic scenario on April 4 in the Russian capital.  Raksha Mantri stated that for India, cooperation with Russia is vital in ensuring stability and security in our shared Eurasian neighbourhood, especially in addressing the menace of terrorism. She also spoke about terrorism in the region, persistence of instability in Afghanistan, rising threats to security in the wider Asia Pacific region, non-traditional security challenges such as climate change, food and energy insecurity, financial instability and the need for cooperation amongst the countries to address these issues. Following is the full text of the address delivered by Rak...

The Defence Accounts Department is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining the pay accounts of million plus Jawans and JCOs of Indian Army . The Pay Accounts Offices (PAOs) of this department are at the forefront of the concerted efforts that are being put in to ensure that these men get their correct dues within reasonable time frame. An important requirement to meet the expectations of the end user and ensuring their contentment is that the JCOs/ORs understands their dues and their entitlement. If they further appreciate the processes involved in acceptance or denial of any dues, it would equip them with enough knowledge to have better awareness to contest entitlement inconsistencies, if any. This handbook was conceptualized with the aim to provide more grasp on the rules of entitlement as well as to have complete transparency of procedures in the PAOs. This first edition contains all the procedures right from the inception stage of publishing and processing o...

Government has provided financial assistance to women entrepreneurs in setting up 14,768 projects in 2016-17 under Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) aimed at generating employment in rural and urban areas of the country. A total of over Rs.389.49 crore subsidy was disbursed for these projects. Minister of State (Independent Charge)for Micro, Small and Medium EnterprisesShri Giriraj Singh informed this to Rajya Sabha in a written reply today. The maximum number of 1,484 projects were from Assam, followed by 1,387 in Uttar Pradesh, 1,248 in Tamil Nadu, 942 in Odisha, and 915 in Bihar, besides other States/UTs with varying number of projects. Under the PMEGP scheme women entrepreneurs are provided 25% and 35% subsidies for the project set up in urban and rural areas respectively. The maximum cost of the project under PMEGP scheme is Rs. 25 lakhs for manufacturing sector units and Rs.10 lakhs for units under service sector. For women ...