Author: Explains

• An umbrella scheme for integrated development and management of fisheries
• Approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
• It is Central Sector Scheme on Blue Revolution
• Will be implemented at an outlay of Rs. 3000 crore for a period of five years in all the states including North East States and Union Territories

Key facts:

• The scheme will cover will cover multi-dimensional activities for development and management of inland fisheries, aquaculture and marine fisheries
• All activities under ambit of it would be undertaken by the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) towards realizing Blue Revolution
• The scheme aims at development and management of fisheries and aquaculture sector to ensure a sustained annual growth rate of 6-8%
• It focuses mainly on increasing productivity and production from aquaculture and fisheries resources both inland and marine keeping in view the overall sustainability, bio-security and environmental concerns

Components of Scheme:

1. National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) and its activities
2. Development of Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture
3. Development of Marine Fisheries, Post-Harvest Operations and Infrastructure
4. Strengthening of database and Geographical Information System (GIS) of the Sector
5. Institutional Arrangement for Sector
6. Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) and other need-based Interventions

Convergence:

• It provides for suitable convergence and linkages with the Sagarmala Project of the Ministry of Shipping, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), MGNREGA, National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) etc.
• It also encourages increasing entrepreneurship development, private investment, Public Private Partnership (PPP) and better leveraging of institutional finance for Fisheries Sector

Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image: Source

• Union Government on 1 April 2015 launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) – India Scheme
• The scheme was launched as part of the National Mission for Electric Mobility to boost eco-friendly vehicles sales in the country

Key facts:

• Objective: To support the hybrid or electric vehicles market development and its manufacturing eco-system in the country in order to achieve self-sustenance in stipulated period
• The overall scheme is proposed to be implemented over a period next 6 years i.e. till 2020
• It envisages providing Rs 795 crore support till 2020 for the manufacturing and sale of electric and hybrid vehicles
• It also seeks to provide demand incentives to electric and hybrid vehicles from two-wheeler to buses
• Implementation: It will be implemented in phases
• The Phase-1 will be implemented over a two year period in FY15-16 and FY16-17
• Based on the outcome and experience from the Phase-1, it will be reviewed for implementation after 31 March 2017
• Then appropriate fund will be allocated for future.
• Four focus areas: Technology development, Pilot Projects, Demand Creation and Charging Infrastructure.
  In the first two years Rs 260 crore and Rs 535 crore will be spent on the focus areas
• The Department of Heavy Industries under the aegis of Union Ministry of Heavy Industries will be will be nodal department for the scheme

Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image: Linkedin

• Launched by: Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD)
• Aim: To boost the quality of higher education in India

Key facts:

• Aims at improving the quality of higher education in the country through international collaboration
• Facilitate participation of high quality international academicians for delivering short-term courses and programs in Indian institutions
• Initially 500 international faculties will be engaged in conducting courses and later in subsequent years 1000 faculties would be engaged under GIAN throughout India
• Under this scheme, academicians will cover 13 disciplines and 352 courses to be taught in 68 national institutions
• These courses will vary in duration from one to three weeks depending on the subject and will be free for students of the host institution and available for nominal fees for others
• These courses will be webcasted live for students across the country through web portal designed by IIT Kharagpur

Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image: Source

Key facts:

• It is an innovative project of Ministry of Home Affairs but yet to take off
• Aim: To connect all police station in country to a centralised database of crimes, criminals
• Goal: To facilitate collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, transfer and sharing of data between police stations and state HQs and central police organisations
• Will make interstate investigations easy and speedy for officials
• Aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing at the Police Station level
• This will be done through adoption of principles of e-Governance, and creation of a nationwide networked infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled state-of-the-art tracking system around “investigation of crime and detection of criminals
• CCTNS is a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the National e-Governance Plan of Govt of India
• It will not only automate Police functions at Police station and higher levels but will also create facilities and mechanism to provide public services like registration of online complaints, ascertaining the status of case registered at the police station, verification of persons etc.
• The Project will interconnect about 15000 Police Stations and additional 5000 offices of supervisory police officers across the country and digitize data related to FIR registration, investigation and charge sheets in all Police Stations
• This would lead to development of a national database of crimes and criminals
• The Full implementation of the Project with all the new components would lead to a Central citizen portal having linkages with State level citizen portals that will provide a number of citizen friendly services like Police Verification for various purposes including passport verification, reporting a crime including cyber-crime and online tracking of the case progress etc.
• The project will enable National level crime analytics to be published at increased frequency, which will help the policy makers as well as lawmakers in taking appropriate and timely action
• It will also enable Pan-India criminal/accused name search in the regional language for improved inter-state tracking of criminal movement

Extension of CCTNS:

• The CCEA has given its approval to the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for a major revamp of the CCTNS Project
• It has decided to implement Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS) by integrating CCTNS with E-Courts
• This will ensure quick data transfer among different pillars of criminal justice system, which will not only enhance transparency but also reduce processing time
• Police-Citizen interface will undergo a major shift with the implementation of this project, as a number of services will be enabled through citizen portal

Target:

The Government has decided to fast track the implementation and complete the implementation of the CCTNS project by March 2017 including implementation of ICJS

Published with inputs from Swapnil | Source: railnews

Key facts:

• Aim: To bring school students closer to nature by involving them in raising of saplings in school nurseries
• Objective: To create an everlasting bond between the young school students and plants, trees
• It also seeks to provide an opportunity to the students to learn about nature
• It will develop an organic linkage and positive emotions for the environment among the school students and in turn keep the schools and the neighbourhood green

Activities:

• Schools will distribute saplings to students to plant in their homes and surroundings through School Nursery
• The school nursery will be in small space of a minimum of 100 sq meters in premises of school which will provide essential facilities for raising saplings
• In this nursery students will prepare beds for raising saplings and use it for other nursery-related activities such as preparing mixture of soil, good earth and manure and storage of seeds
• Other activities: The schools also take up other activities like composting, rain water harvesting and water recycling
• Thus, the scheme will seek to inculcate best environmental awareness practices in young minds

Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image: Source

• The scheme is meant to provide for the welfare of people and areas affected by mining related operations
• The funds collected by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) will be utilised for this purpose

Key facts:

• Aim: Mitigate the adverse impacts due to mining operation on the health and environment. It also seeks to ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods for the affected people in mining areas
• Objective: To implement various welfare and developmental projects in mining affected areas by complementing the existing ongoing schemes of State and Central Government
• To mitigate and minimize the adverse impacts during and after mining on the health, environment and socio-economics of people in mining districts
• To ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods to people in areas affected by mining
• DMF spending: 60% of the DMF funds will be spent on high priority areas including health care, education, drinking water supply, sanitation and skill development of the affected people
• Rest of the funds will be spent on infrastructure developmental projects such as making roads, railways, bridges, waterways projects, irrigation and alternative energy sources

About District Mineral Foundations (DMFs):

• The Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015 has mandated setting up of DMFs in all districts in the country affected by mining related operations
• Union government also has notified the rates of contribution payable by miners to the DMFs along with launching PMKKKY
• In case of mining leases granted before 12th January 2015 (on this date Amendment Act came into force) miners have to contribute 30% of the royalty payable by them to DMFs
• While, in case of mining leases executed after 12th January 2015, miners have to contribute 10% of the royalty

Published with inputs from Swapnil | Image: Indian Express

• Union Cabinet approved the flagship Namami Gange Program
• The program integrates the efforts to clean and protect the River Ganga in a comprehensive manner by involving differed States and grassroots level institutions

Key facts:

• It has a budgetary outlay of 20000 crore rupees for 2015-20
• It will be implemented National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) with the help of State Program Management Groups (SPMGs)

Implementation mechanism:

In order to improve implementation of the program, a three-tier mechanism has been proposed for project monitoring

1. National level: High level task force chaired by Cabinet Secretary and assisted by NMCG
2. State level: State level committee chaired by Chief Secretary and assisted by SPMG
3. District level: District level committee chaired by the District Magistrate

Focus areas:

• Pollution abatement interventions by interception, diversion and treatment of wastewater flowing through the open drains through bio-remediation
• Use of innovative technologies for sewage treatment plants (STPs) and effluent treatment plant (ETPs)
• Rehabilitation and augmentation of existing STPs and immediate short term measures for arresting pollution at exit points on river front to prevent inflow of sewage etc.

Funding:

• Union government will provide 100% funding for various projects under this program
• For this Union Government will adopt Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) approach for pollution hotspots

Enforcement:

In an attempt to bolster enforcement of this program and to check pollution and protect the river, Union government will establish a Territorial Army unit named 4-battalion Ganga Eco-Task Force

For latest updates, follow this story: Mission Clean Ganga

Published with inputs from Swapnil

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved introduction of Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) for technology upgradation of the textiles industry <Who chairs CCEA? Who are its members? What are its functions? Answer in comments>
• The ATUFS replaces existing Revised Restructured Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (RR-TUFS) to give a boost to textile sector under Make in India campaign

ATUFS targets:

• Employment generation (including women) and global export by encouraging garment and apparel industry <very labour intensive sector>
• Promote Technical Textiles which is a sunrise sector for export and employment creation <can you tell us about technical textiles in comments>
• Improvement in quality and productivity by promoting conversion of existing looms to better technology looms
• Encourage better quality in textile processing industry and keep check on import of fabrics by the garment sector

Two broad categories of ATUFS:

1. Apparel, Garment and Technical Textiles sectors would be provided on capital investment with fifteen per cent subsidy. However, it will be subject to a ceiling of Rs. 30 crore for entrepreneurs over a period of five years
2. Remaining sub-sectors of textile sectors would be provided subsidy at a rate of 10 percent. However, it would be subject to a ceiling of Rs.20 crore

Advantages:

• 12,671 crore is for committed liabilities under the ongoing RR-TUFS scheme and Rs. 5,151 crore is for new cases under ATUFS
• The amended scheme would give a boost to ‘Make in India’ in the textiles sector
• It is expected to attract investment to the tune of one lakh crore rupees, and create over 30 lakh jobs
• All cases pending with the Office of Textile Commissioner which are complete in all respects, shall be provided assistance under the ongoing scheme and the new scheme will be given prospective effect
• Office of Textile Commissioner (TXC) is being reorganised & its offices shall be set up in each state
• Officers of the TXC shall be closely associated with entrepreneurs for setting up the industry, including processing proposals under the new scheme, verifying assets created jointly with the bankers and maintaining close liaison with the State Government agencies

About TUFS:

• TUFS was introduced by the Union Government in 1999
• Aim was to facilitate new technology for making the Indian textile industry globally competitive and to reduce the capital cost for the textile industry
• The scheme was earlier amended for continuation during the 12th Five Year Plan into Revised Restructured Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme

Published with inputs from Swapnil

Potential to enhance the productivity of the indigenous breeds of India through professional farm management and superior nutrition is immense. For this it is essential to promote conservation and development of indigenous breeds.

The “Rashtriya Gokul Mission” aims to conserve and develop indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner
It is a focussed project under National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development, with an outlay of Rs 500 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan

Importance & need for conservation of indigenous breeds:

• During 2012-2013, about 45 million cattle were ‘in milk’ and contributed around 59 million tonnes of milk
• Cattle not only contribute substantially to milk production but are also used as draught animals, for agricultural operations and transport in rural areas
• Most of the agricultural operations by small farmers are performed by bullocks
• They also provide cow dung (organic manure), cow urine (medicinal value)
  Indigenous cattle are categorized as Zebu and are suited for draught power because of the presence of a hump
• Indigenous cattle are well known for their quality of heat tolerance and ability to withstand extreme climatic conditions
• Studies indicate that temperature rise due to global warming will negatively impact milk production
• The annual loss in milk production of cattle and buffaloes due to thermal stress in 2020 will be about 3.2 million tonnes of milk costing more than Rs 5000 Crore at current price rate
• The decline in milk production and reproductive efficiency will be highest in crossbred cattle followed by buffaloes. Indigenous Breeds will be least affected by climate change as they are more hardy and robust
• Some of the indigenous breeds have enormous potential to become high yielding commercial milch animals under optimal farm management
• The pre-requisites for the development of a breed are- a) the presence of a minimum base population and b) a wide selection differential for economic traits
• The indigenous dairy breeds with potential for development as commercially viable milch cattle in a shorter time frame are- Sahiwal in Punjab; Rathi and Tharparkar in Rajasthan; and Gir and Kankrej in Gujarat
• If these breeds are selectively crossed with bulls selected through sibling and progeny testing, the offsprings would be commercially viable. In this manner the entire population of the breed can be upgraded in a few generations

Objectives:

• To undertake breed improvement program for indigenous cattle breeds so as to improve genetic makeup and increase the stock
• To enhance milk production and productivity of indigenous bovines
• To upgrade nondescript cattle using elite indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Tharparkar, Red Sindhi <What is a non-descript cattle? Answer in comments>
• To distribute disease free high genetic merit bulls of indigenous breeds for natural service

Implementation:

• State Implementing Agency (SIA)- Livestock Development Boards (LDB)
  State Gauseva Ayogs- Mandated to sponsor proposals to the SIAs and monitor implementation of the sponsored proposal
• Participating Agencies- All Agencies having a role in indigenous cattle development. Ex- ICAR, universities, Colleges, NGOs and Gaushalas with best germplasm

Components:

• Establishment of village level Integrated Indigenous Cattle Centres viz Gokul Gram
• Strengthening of bull mother farms to conserve high genetic merit Indigenous Breeds
• Establishment of Field Performance Recording (FPR) in the breeding tract.
  Assistance to Institutions/lnstitutes which are repositories of best germplasm
• Implementation of Pedigree Selection Programme for the Indigenous Breeds with large population
• Establishing Gopalan Sangh- Breeder’s Societies
• Distribution of disease free high genetic merit bulls for natural service.
  Incentive to farmers maintaining elite animals of indigenous breeds
• Heifer rearing programme
• Award to Farmers (Gopal Ratna) and Breeders” Societies (Kamadhenu)
  Organization of Milk Yield Competitions for indigenous breeds
• Organization of Training Programme for technical and non technical

Gokul Gram:

• These are Indigenous Cattle Centres and will act as Centres for development of Indigenous Breeds
• They’ll be established- a) in native breeding tracts and b) near metropolitan cities for housing the urban cattle
• A dependable source for supply of high genetic breeding stock to the farmers in the breeding tract
• Self sustaining and will generate economic resources from sale of milk, organic manure, vermi-composting, urine distillates, and production of electricity from bio gas for in house consumption and sale of animal products
• Also function as state of the art in situ training centre for Farmers, Breeders

Published with inputs from Swapnil

• A Committee on Taxation of e-commerce constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to examine the business models for e-commerce submitted its report on 21 March 2016
• The Report of the Committee was received by the Government of India and taken into consideration in the preparation of Finance Bill, 2016
• The Report provides the view of the Committee on issues related to taxation of e-commerce and recent international developments in this area
• The Committee included officers of the CBDT, representatives from the industry, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and tax experts
• The 8 member committee was headed by Akhilesh Ranjan, Joint Secretary (FT&TR-I), C8DT, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance

Recommendations:

• Equalization Levy may be imposed on payments to non-residents for specified services by a separate chapter in the Finance Act, 2016
• The Equalization Levy should be chargeable on any sum that is received by a non resident from a resident in India or a permanent establishment in India as a consideration for the specified digital services
• The rate of Equalization Levy may be between 6 to 8 % of the gross sum received
• Equalization Levy should not be charged unless the consideration received for specified services in a year from a person in India is more than one lakh rupees
• Equalization Levy should also not be charged on payments received by a permanent establishment of a non-resident in India, which are attributable to that permanent establishment and taxable under Income-tax Act, 1961
• Every person that has received any sum chargeable to Equalization levy, would be required to pay the Equalization Levy chargeable on that sum to the union government
• Every person that has received any sum chargeable to Equalization levy, would be required to file a return of Sum chargeable to Equalization Levy as prescribed, if such total sum received by that person in a year exceeds ten crore rupees
• Any income arising from a transaction on which Equalization Levy has been paid should be exempted from income-tax, by necessary amendment in Section 10 of the Income-tax Act, 1961
• The definition of business connection in section 9 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 may be expanded to include the concept of significant economic presence
• Work on exploring the possibility of deduction of Equalization Levy by the payment gateways should be initiated immediately
• The implementation and impact of Equalization Levy may be monitored on a regular basis

What is Equalisation Levy?

• To avoid some of the difficulties arising from creating new profit attribution rules for purposes of a nexus based on significant economic presence, an equalisation levy could be considered as an alternative way to address the broader direct tax challenges of the digital economy
• This approach has been used by some countries in order to ensure equal treatment of foreign and domestic suppliers
• An equalisation levy could be structured in a variety of ways depending on its ultimate policy objective
• In general, an equalisation levy would be intended to serve as a way to tax a non-resident enterprise’s significant economic presence in a country
• In order to provide clarity, certainty and equity to all stakeholders, and to avoid undue burden on small and medium-sized businesses, the equalisation levy would be applied only in cases where it is determined that a non-resident enterprise has a significant economic presence

Follow the story for updates- e-Commerce: The New Boom