MNEWS

Prime Minister to inaugurate EPE and Package –I of  Delhi-Meerut Expressway on 29thApril Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari has announced development of a new highway alignment between Delhi and Mumbai. A sum of one lakh crore rupees will be spent on this expressway. The Minister also disclosed plans for a Chambal Expressway which would be connected to this Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, and is likely to benefit states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the backward areas will also shine like Gurugram. Addressing a media event in New Delhi today, Shri Nitin Gadkari outlined major initiatives of his ministry for de-congestion of Delhi NCR. A total of ten projects are underway costing 35,600 crore rupees. He said, about forty thousand commercial vehicles enter Delhi on a daily basis, which cause increased pollution and congestion in the city state. An ambitious scheme o...

121 crores released towards Government of India co-contribution in Atal Pension Yojana (APY); Total number of subscribers registered under APY as on 12th April 2018 has crossed 97.60 lakhs. Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is being implemented through the APY Service Providers comprising of Public Sector Banks(PSBs), Private Sector Banks, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Cooperative Banks and Department of Post both in urban and rural areas across the country. The total number of subscribers registered under APY as on 12 th   April 2018 has crossed 97.60 lakhs. The scheme provides for a co-contribution from Government of India for those who have registered before 31/3/2016 with an amount of 50% of the subscribers contribution up-to a maximum of Rs. 1000/- and these subscribers will be eligible for co-contribution for a period 5 years from 2015-16 to 2019-20 only those subscribers who are not income tax payers and not part of any other social security schemes are eligible for Gove...

The Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Suresh Prabhu launchedthe FIEO GlobalLinker- a digital platform for MSME exporters to digitise their businesses and join a global community of growing businesses today in New Delhi. The Minister congratulated Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) for coming out with the interesting idea. He said that this initiative will help in expanding India's multi-focused export strategy and also aid in connecting art and artisans to the market. Minister also informed that at least 300 Geographical Indications will be registered very soon, which will give a major boost to exports. FIEO GlobalLinker is setup with a view to make the business growth of SMEs simpler, more profitable and enjoyable. It is a growing global network currently comprising over 140,000 SME firms, who are seeking business collaboration and growth opportunities through the use of their electronic business card and digital profiles created on the p...

Government and RBI have taken all steps to meet unusual demand of the currency. Adequate reserves of currency to meet the rising demands. Non Functional ATMS to be normalized soon. There are reports of cash shortages and some ATMs running dry of cash or becoming non-functional in some parts of the country. There has been unusual spurt in currency demand in the country in last three months.   In the current month, in the first 13 days itself, the currency supply increased by Rs.45000 crores.  This unusual spurt in demand is seen more in some parts of the country like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, MP and Bihar. The Government of India with the Reserve Bank of India have taken all steps to meet this unusual demand. We had adequate reserves of currency notes which have been used to meet fully the extraordinary demand generated so far.  We continue to have in stock adequate currency notes of all denominations, including of Rs.500, 200 and...

A Loan Agreement for IBRD loan of USD 48 million for the “Meghalaya Community - Led Landscapes Management Project (MCLLMP)” was signed here today with the World Bank. The Loan Agreement was signed by Mr. Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary (MI), Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Hisham A Abdo Kahin, Acting Country Director, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank. A Project Agreement was also signed by Mr. P. Sampath Kumar, Commissioner & Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya & CEO, Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) and Mr. Hisham A Abdo Kahin, Acting Country Director, World Bank (India). The Objective of the Project is to strengthen community-led landscapes management in selected landscapes in the State of Meghalaya. The Project consists of three components: (i) Strengthening Knowledge and Capacity for Natural Resource Management; (ii) Community-led landscape planning and implementation and (ii...

RM appreciates National Level Open Challenge Competition "Solution to Problem: DefExpo 2018" Winners Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman today gave away prizes for National Level Open Challenge Competition "Solution to Problem: DefExpo 2018" during DefExpo India 2018 at Thiruvidanthai, Kancheepuram district on the East Coast Road near Chennai. Raksha Mantri said that much more than anything else in the DefExpo this was the most interesting aspect. She appreciated the students for their contributions for the betterment in the field of science and technology in general and defence technology in particular and mentioned that she was seeing better future for the country as most of these young minds have come up with such ingenious solutions in spite of tied up with the academic schedules. Smt Sitharaman encouraged the winners to keep up the good work and said Ministry of Defence would be always looking forward to engaging such brilliant minds in fu...

GreenCo rating implemented in 42 production units and workshops of Indian Railways Pursuing sustainable growth through preserving the environment is one of the hallmarks of Indian Railways. To further spread its green initiatives, Indian Railways had entered into partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in July 2016. As part of this partnership, CII is facilitating various railways’ production units, workshops and other units go the Green way and in the process equipping them to green the operations and practices. CII’s GreenCo Rating System is a first-of-its-kind rating in the world that facilitates companies in improving their overall green performance. GreenCo focus on major environmental areas including- energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, waste management, resource conservation, green supply chain, product stewardship and life cycle assessment. As on date, GreenCo Rating is being implemented in 42 facilities (production ...

The Law Commission of India is examining the subject matter of Uniform Civil Code. The Commission requested the individuals / organisations (governmental and non-governmental) to send their submissions in the form of consultation / discussion / working papers on any of the issues pertaining to Uniform Civil Code (except the issue relating to Triple Talaq, which is pending before parliament) through its Public Appeal dated the 19th March, 2018 . Further, the Supreme Court, in the case of Sameena Begum v. Union of India &Ors., [WP(C) No. 00022/2018 along with WP(C) Nos. 202, 227 and 235 of 2018] has admitted a petition pertaining to the prevalent practice of polygamy, NikahHalala, NikahMutah and NikahMisyar. Considering the overwhelming continuous responses and the requests made by many stakeholders seeking extension of time for submission of above said consultation / discussion / working papers (except on the matters which are either pending in parliament or is sub-j...

MHA asks states to take measures to prevent any untoward incident in view of forthcoming Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14 The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the State Governments to take all necessary precautionary measures to prevent any untoward incident in view of the forthcoming Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14. The MHA has asked that patrolling should be intensified in all sensitive locations to ensure that no loss of life and property takes place and prohibitory orders may be issued wherever necessary. The advisory stressed that District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police may be asked to take all necessary steps for ensuring that law and order situation remains firmly under control in the areas of their jurisdiction. The MHA has advised them to activate community policing initiatives to ensure peace and harmony. The communication was issued in the wake of reports of vandalism of statues in some parts of the country and violence during Bharat Bandh ...

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...

Marking the growing prominence of India in the global energy map, the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial (IEF16) is being hosted by India and will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on Wednesday. IEF16 is the largest gathering of Energy Ministers from across the globe, industry leaders and heads of key international organizations who will debate the future of global energy. Prominent among those attending the Ministerial Meeting this year are Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, India, Mr. Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia, Mr. Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry, UAE, Mr. Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Minister of Petroleum, Iran, Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, Qatar, Mr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Nigeria, Mr. Kosaburo Nishime, State Minister of E...

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has wished people on World Health Day.  PM said, " Good health is the foundation of human progress. This World Health Day, I wish all of you remain in the best health and continue to scale new heights of growth.  I welcome the theme ‘Universal health coverage: everyone, everywhere’ that has been chosen by WHO and others. It is the quest for Health For All that inspired us to create Ayushman Bharat, the largest healthcare programme in the world. "

The major ports in India have recorded a growth of 4.77 per cent and  together handled 679.35 Million Tonnes of cargo during the period April 2017 to March 2018 as against 648.39 Million Tonnes handled during the corresponding period of previous year. Nine Ports - Kolkata (including Haldia), Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Kamarajar, Chennai, Cochin, New Mangalore, JNPT and Deendayal also registered positive growth in traffic. Cargo traffic handled at Major Ports: Cochin Port registered the highest growth of 16.52 per cent, followed by Paradip 14.68 per cent, Kolkata (incl. Haldia)  13.61 per cent, JNPT 6.2 per cent and New Mangalore 5.28 per cent. The growth at Cochin Port was mainly due to increase in traffic of Fin. Fertilizer (105.88 per cent), POL (20.62 per cent) and Containers (12.46 per cent). In Kolkata Port, overall growth was 13.61 per cent. Kolkata Dock System (KDS) registered traffic growth of 3.45 per cent. Whereas Haldia Dock Complex (HDC)...