Governance Community

In order to support India’s commitment to sustainability, an ESG (environmental, social, and governance) task force will be established in the textiles sector, Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Commerce and Industry, announced on Saturday during the soft launch of the Ministry of Textiles’ e-commerce website for handloom and handicrafts in Rajkot, Gujarat. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel also attended the event, which was a part of the “Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam.” The Union Minister attended the Chintan Shivir, which took place during the two-day event in Somnath and Rajkot, where discussions on many facets of the industry were held alongside officials from the Ministry of Textiles. Speaking at the event, Goyal stated that productive discussions about boosting the vibrancy of the textile industry had taken place. He continued by saying that some exporters and manufacturers receive certification for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) compliance, which assures them two times the value. To ensure this certification for more exporters and producers, efforts are being made. The minister also discussed the textile industry’s 2030 export target of attaining $100 billion and its 2030 overall target of $250 billion. Goyal stated that one of PM Narendra Modi’s five commitments were that in order to move forward with assurance, we must return to our roots. According to him, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have a common history and culture in addition to having a robust traditional and modern textile sector.  

As part of his push for sustainable transport, Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stated on Thursday that by 2025, 121 new airports would be completely carbon neutral. There are already roughly 25 airports in India that only use green energy, according to Scindia. Scindia emphasised that India and the European Union share a common purpose in addressing climate change when speaking remotely at the two-day EU-India aviation meeting after testing positive for Covid19. The aviation sector has adopted a number of actions to reduce its carbon footprint and mitigate emissions in response to mounting demand to do so. In order to encourage airports to use 100% green energy by 2024 and attain net-zero emissions by 2030, according to Scindia, the Indian government has pushed through a number of policies in the sector. 25 AAI airports have already reached this goal, and 121 more are anticipated to do the same by 2025, according to Scindia. As part of the bid documents for future airports, the government has enforced the usage of renewable energy, the Union Aviation Minister also stated. Additionally, we are attempting to promote the usage of sustainable aviation fuel. Indian airline operators have already used biofuel that has been blended with ATF in demonstration flights, according to Scindia. While urging EU members to collaborate with India in the development of adaptable technologies to assist the goal of reducing emissions from the aviation industry, Scindia said that India has changed its legislative framework to boost aircraft production in the nation. The government has lowered the GST rate on maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services from 18% to 5% and permitted 100 percent foreign direct investment in the industry to improve the regulatory environment for MRO service providers. To make it easier for MRO service providers to conduct business, additional new maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) criteria have been introduced. Scindia urged participants in the EU aviation industry to seize these chances and join the world’s aviation market which is expanding rapidly. The EU-India aviation summit, which began on Thursday, will concentrate on the two regions’ air transport relations, the post-Covid recovery of air traffic, enhancing sustainability, ensuring safety, and developing unmanned aircraft systems.  

Devusinh Chauhan, the Union minister of state for communications, pledged the commitment of the Centre to deploying the newest 5G services across India in record speed, noting that India has already covered 600 districts with 5G services in less than 200 days. The minister stated that the “Antyodaya” vision, which is important in promoting inclusive welfare and development, served as the inspiration for the new public policies of the central government when addressing at the G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meeting in Hyderabad. According to the Union MoS, “India has covered 600 districts with 5G in less than 200 days, that is one of the fastest in the world,” and “India has the second largest telecom network with the lowest data rate in the world. The development of indigenous 4G, 5G technologies in a short span of time has surprised the world.” Addressing at the gathering, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A. Narayanaswamy stated that the ‘Digital Antyodaya’ approach and the Accessible India campaign for bridging the digital divide by making technology accessible to all demonstrate how sympathetic the current government is to differently abled people.

Employers reported over 35.7 lakh vacancies on the National Career Service (NCS) portal during 2022–23, which is a significant increase from the 13 lakh vacancies reported during 2021–22. The reporting of vacancies on NCS in 2022–2023 showed a 175% rise from 2021–2022 in comparison. Also, as of October 30, 2022, the number of active openings in 2022–23 was at its highest, at more than 5.3 lakh. Throughout all industries, there has been an upsurge in job postings on NCS. With 20.8 lakh vacancies in 2022–23 compared to 2.2 lakh vacancies in 2021–22, the finance and insurance sector has experienced extraordinary growth of more than 800%. With 3.75 lakh open positions reported in 2022–23, up from 76,000 in 2021–22, the sector of operations and support has also seen a 400% increase in job openings. The number of openings in industries like manufacturing, health, education, and hospitality increased significantly between 2022 and 2023 compared with the previous year. The NCS portal registered more than one million employers since its introduction in 2022–2023, which was another milestone. Around eight lakh employers out of the total number of registered employers were registered in 2022–2023. Employers from the service industry registered the most (6.5 lakh), followed by those from the manufacturing sector.

The Union government has started a blockchain technology system research project with the goal of improving the blockchain technology stack for the development of end-to-end blockchain applications. According to official sources, the project titled “Design and Development of a Unified Blockchain Framework for Offering National Blockchain Service and Creation of Blockchain Ecosystem” will also enable Open Application Programming Interfaces (Open APIs) for Seamless Integration and Offering Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) across Distributed Infrastructure. The National Strategy on Blockchain was formulated in 2021, according to official sources, despite the fact that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) hasn’t undertaken any formal research on the technological and economic opportunities that Web3 provides. The government’s endeavour includes the research project. According to sources, Web3 is made possible by blockchain, and the National Strategy on Blockchain includes key technological elements needed for Web3. In Web3, blockchain technology plays a significant role.

According to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, the central government and state governments are collaborating to create a “good transparent digital tech-enabled system of good governance so that Karnataka also gets benefited.” At an address to the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) in Bengaluru, Goyal said, “We commit ourselves to provide a double-engine government in Karnataka that will work hand-in-hand with Central government, converting all those MoUs in global investor meets into action on the ground and bringing a good transparent digital tech-enabled system of good governance so that Karnataka also gets benefitted.” “Today, India is the most sought-after country under PM @NarendraModi ji’s leadership. At the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry, reiterated how the double-engine Govt will ensure growth & development in the state,” Piyush Goyal tweeted. Today, India is the most sought after country under PM @NarendraModi ji’s leadership. At the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry, reiterated how the double-engine Govt will ensure growth & development in the state. pic.twitter.com/KSlX4ZXUqG — Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) April 7, 2023 The minister said, “A good and strong single-party government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will help transform and speed up the developmental process in Karnataka. Let us work together to make making India a global power.” Goyal also lauded Prime Minister Modi and stated that the Union government had strengthened India’s economy. According to Goyal, “the government had seen record foreign direct investment (FDI), low inflation, and export growth in the last nine years.” He said, “Investors are coming to India for R&D (research and development), and manufacturing and to enjoy the benefits of India’s talent pool.” Under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership, India, according to Goyal, was the most sought-after country for investments.

To provide homes with piped drinking water through the Jal Jeevan Project, the Center has granted the state for Rs 2,000 crore. For approving Rs 2,000 crore to implement the piped water scheme, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. In the northeastern state, 56% of homes already have access to piped water, and the state has a plan in place to provide water to every home. “I am glad to share that the Union ministry of Jal Shakti has approved Rs 2,000 crore for Tripura under Jal Jeevan Mission 2023-24 and the fund is more than the total of Rs 1,930 crore Tripura received in the last 3 years,” the CM said.

The startup industry body ADIF stated that the NLCAT ruling upholding Google’s penalty for abusing its dominant position by bundling the Android OS and Play Store with its apps is both real and detrimental to the Indian startup ecosystem. With certain changes, the NCLAT (National Company Law Appellate Tribunal) has upheld the fair-trade regulator CCI’s orders that penalised tech giant Google with a fine of Rs. 1,337.76 crore in the Android mobile devices case. Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) said in a statement that “ADIF welcomes NCLAT order, as it cements the fact that the abusive dominance by Google due to its bundling of Android OS and Play Store with its own apps is real and regressive for Indian startup ecosystem.” According to the startup body, the requirement to pre-install Gmail, Chrome, Search, Maps, and Youtube creates entry barriers, pricing asymmetry, and limits innovation in these segments. Additionally, Google’s agreements with OEMs are anti-competitive in nature and limit market advancements in technology and science, according to ADIF. According to the startup body, “Google lagaan,” which will require app developers to pay up to a 26 percent commission starting on April 26, 2023, is another significant barrier to the growth of Indian startups because it will reduce their ability to sustain themselves by taking a third of their revenue.

An earth science satellite called NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) was jointly created by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The satellite’s mission includes designing, developing, and launching a dual-frequency (L and S band) radar imaging satellite as well as exploring newer application areas for L & S band microwave data, particularly in surface deformation studies, terrestrial biomass structure, mapping and monitoring of natural resources, and studies pertaining to the dynamics of ice-sheets, glaciers, forests, and oil slicks, among other things. This information was provided in a written reply to a question asked in the Rajya Sabha earlier this week by Union Minister of State for Science & Technology, Space, and Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh. An Earth observation satellite equipped with a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar will be launched as part of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, a joint project between NASA and ISRO. According to the minister, the instrument designated for SAR is based on the cutting-edge Sweep SAR technique and is configured in both the L and S bands in polarimetric mode for wide swath and high resolution. With an inclination of 98.4 degrees and a 747 km sun-synchronous orbit around the Earth, the spacecraft will repeat its orbit every 12 days. According to Dr. Singh, ISRO provides the S-band SAR payload, spacecraft bus, and launch services, whilst NASA provides the L-Band SAR payload, high precision GPS, and 12 m unfurlable antenna. He stated that, as of February 2023, ISRO has spent a total of Rs 469.40 crore, excluding launch costs, on the creation of the NISAR satellite. Using two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band), NISAR will be the first radar of its sort in orbit to systematically map Earth. It will measure changes to the planet’s surface, including movements as small as centimetres. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a method for creating high-resolution images from a radar system that has limited resolution. The satellite will be used for remote sensing, which enables observation and understanding of Earth’s natural processes. The Antarctic cryosphere will be studied by its left-facing instruments. NISAR is set to be the most expensive Earth-imaging satellite in the world, with a total cost estimated at US$ 1.5 billion.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which is part of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has been requested by the Union Health Ministry to investigate a reported attempt to hack into its website, allegedly by a Russian hacker group. According to CloudSEK’s cyber security experts, the Russian hacker group “Phoenix” targeted the website and was able to gain access to the ministry’s Health Management Information System portal, which contains information on all the hospitals in India as well as their staff members and doctors. “We have sought details and asked the CERT-In to look into the alleged hacking of the health ministry’s website. They will submit a report,” an official source told PTI. CERT-In provides prevention and response services to governmental bodies and private organisations. It is the nation’s nodal agency for handling computer security issues. The group stated that the attack is “a consequence of India’s agreement over the oil price cap and sanctions of G20 over the Russia-Ukraine war,” according to a report by CloudSEK. The G7-approved price cap on Russian oil was the driving force behind this target, according to CloudSEK, which also explained that Indian authorities decided not to violate the sanctions against the Russian Federation. This decision led to numerous polls on Russian hacktivist Phoenix’s Telegram channel asking the followers for their votes, according to the statement. Phoenix, according to CloudSEK, has been operating since January 2022, is well-known for its phishing attacks, and has previously targeted hospitals in Japan and the UK, a US-based healthcare provider for the US military, and the website of the Spanish Foreign Ministry, among others.