Governance Community

After External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar expressed India’s commitment to increase investment flows to hasten the debt-ridden island nation’s economic recovery, Sri Lanka expressed gratitude to India for its generous support of a $3.9 billion credit line last year and the assurances given to the IMF to restructure the country’s debt. Jaishankar, who is in town on a two-day visit, met President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his counterpart Ali Sabry from Sri Lanka on Thursday. “It was my privilege to welcome my friend Hon EAM of India Dr S. Jaishankar in Colombo. I thank him for the generous support of the USD 3.9B credit line last year and the assurances given to the IMF to restructure the debt. Sri Lanka is fortunate to have caring and considerate friends!” Sabry tweeted on Friday. It should be mentioned that India provided $3.9 billion in aid to Sri Lanka to help it meet its urgent needs for things like food, cooking gas, and oil as well as sustain itself in the face of a serious economic and financial crisis. In order to help Sri Lanka, fill its fuel shortage, India and the Indian Oil Company earlier agreed to a credit line under which the Indian Oil Company would send petroleum products worth $500 million.

Alkesh Kumar Sharma, MeitY’s Secretary, has unveiled the Technology for Air Quality Monitoring System (AI-AQMS v1.0) that was developed as part of initiatives with MeitY support. Under the “National programme on Electronics and ICT applications in Agriculture and Environment (AgriEnIcs),” the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Kolkata, in collaboration with TeXMIN, ISM, Dhanbad, has developed an outdoor air quality monitoring station to monitor environmental pollutants, including parameters like PM 1.0, PM 2.5, PM 10.0, SO2, NO2, CO, O2, ambient temperature, relative humidity, etc., for continuous air quality analysis of the environment. The Air Quality Monitoring System (AI-AQMS v1.0) was also given to the selected company, J.M. EnviroLab Private Limited, for further commercialization and implementation of the same technology in various mines and cement industries. The transfer of technology (ToT) was carried out at MeitY, New Delhi, where a ToT agreement was signed by Dr. Deepa Taneja, CEO of J.M.EnviroLab Private Limited, and Senior Director & Centre Head, C-DAC, Kolkata, in the presence of Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, Bhuvnesh Kumar, Additional Secretary, MeitY, Sunita Verma, Group Coordinator, MeitY, Naveen Kumar Vidyarthi, Director  (IT), MoEFCC, Dr. Basanta Kumar Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI, Debasis Mazumdar, Senior Director & Centre Head, C-DAC, Kolkata, Om Krishan Singh, Scientist ‘D’, MeitY, other industry partners, project team members and other respected dignitaries representing various users and ministry.

The MAARG platform (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth) was established by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to promote mentorship between startups and entrepreneurs across industries, stages, and functions. Startups will be able to interact with mentors and discuss their mentorship requirements throughout the portal’s matchmaking phase. Additionally, the minister will announce the National Startup Awards 2022 winners. A cash prize of Rs 5 lakh will be presented to each of the winning startups. A cash prize of Rs 15 lakh will also be given to one exceptional incubator and one accelerator, respectively. The winning and finalist startups will benefit from the support provided for their business growth, mentorship, funding, partnerships, and market access opportunities, the ministry stated. This will further enable them to serve as an example for other entrepreneurs. The National Startup Awards 2022 invited applications from 17 sectors, 50 sub-sectors, and 7 special categories. These industries included Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Construction, Drinking Water, Education & Skill Development, Energy, Enterprise Technology, Environment, Fintech, Food Processing, Health & Wellness, Media and Entertainment, Industry 4.0, Security, Space, Transport and Travel.

The budget session of Parliament will begin on January 31, 2023. It will run till April 6. There will be a break from February 14 to March 12. “Amid Amrit Kaal, looking forward to discussions on Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, Union Budget & other items,” tweeted Union Minister Pralhad Joshi while announcing the budget session dates. The winter session of Parliament saw numerous adjournments and interruptions on a variety of concerns. Political experts believe that the budget session will be disrupted in the same way, particularly on subjects such as the impending recession, the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, rising prices, and so on. “During the Budget Session, 2023 the recess time is there to enable the department related Parliamentary Standing Committees to examine the Demands for Grants and make reports relating to their Ministries/ Departments,” added the Union Minister. There will be 27 sittings over the course of 66 days.

According to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, India’s economy is now more transparent, and citizens are becoming accustomed to paying taxes. He said that recent tax revenues were very robust and that any reforms implemented by the government in the previous eight years, such as the good and services tax (GST), had a big influence on the economy. “India has been evolving. A lot of structural changes that took place in the last eight years have had a significant impact on the way the Indian economy is poised to take off in the next 25 years,” added Goyal. On Saturday, the Union Minister virtually addressed the attendees during the 27th Wharton India Economic Forum via videoconference. India’s leading innovation in the age of uncertainty served as the event’s theme. According to Piyush Goyal, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) was another crucial reform step that helped India develop strong financial systems. He claimed that these banks have been able to collectively offer resources for industry and infrastructure to grow. According to the ministry of commerce, measures including privatisation, economic digitization, legal decriminalisation, and compliance simplification will enable doing business easier.  “These reforms prepared India for the next 25 years and we hope to see the Indian economy among the top three economies in the world,” Piyush Goyal said. In response to a query on the government’s strategic priorities, Goyal listed infrastructure, semiconductors, and domestic manufacturing as some of the top industries. The prime minister is focusing on developing a strong infrastructure in India, according to the commerce minister, who listed semiconductors, domestic manufacturing, and infrastructure as some of the priority sectors for the Indian economy. He continued, “Private sector is also contributing to India’s infrastructure story.” Additionally, he discussed the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme’s PLI initiatives. As part of its Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme, the government introduced production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes in a number of industries to increase exports, boost investments, make Indian manufacturing more competitive abroad, and decrease reliance on imports. In spite of the country’s struggles during the Covid-19 outbreak, he claimed, Indian industry stepped up to the plate and started producing personal protective equipment.

In the recently released proposal of online gaming regulations, the government has suggested a self-regulatory framework, player verification requirements, and physical Indian addresses for online gaming companies. “Self-regulatory bodies will be registered with the ministry (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) and may register online games of such online gaming intermediaries who are its members and which meet certain criteria,” the notice stated. These organisations will also handle concerns through a grievance resolution process. The proposed revisions are intended to meet the aforementioned need and promote responsible expansion of the online gambling industry. The revised version assumes that any intermediary for online gaming will exercise the due diligence required by the rules, including making reasonable efforts to prevent its users from hosting, displaying, uploading, publishing, transmitting, or sharing any online game that is in violation of Indian law, including any gambling or betting laws. By placing a registration mark on all online games registered by a self-regulatory body and informing users of its withdrawal or refund of deposit policy, method of calculating and distributing winnings, fees and other costs due, and KYC procedure for user account registration, the proposed regulations mandate additional due diligence for companies.

The Center is going to increase the gross budgetary allocation for Indian Railways by 29%, from Rs 1.4 trillion to Rs 1.8 trillion, in order to support infrastructure development. The entire capital expenditure (capex) for the railway ministry is anticipated to increase 20% to Rs 3 trillion in FY24. The expenditure for FY23 was Rs 2.45 trillion. As the national transporter approaches a crucial stage of delivering important infrastructure projects, a higher capex commitment is urgently required. Last year, the Center increased its gross budgetary support for the initiatives by a record number. We expect it to rise even more, according to a former rail board chairman. Additionally, the ministry has requested that long-term infrastructure projects including high-speed trains, freight corridors, and train modernization receive funding at a higher priority than other projects. The Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project is also set to receive a sizeable amount of funding for FY24. The Vande Bharat Express, which runs between Howrah and New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In order to modernise, he claimed that the Center was making “record investments.” The upgrading of all stations, electrification, and doubling of train lines are also included in the modernization plans, according to Mint. Tejas Hum Safar, Vande Bharat, and VistaDome coaches are also included. The ministry’s gross budgetary support first surpassed the $1 trillion mark in FY22. With a capex allocation of Rs 2.45 trillion in FY23, the ministry received the largest amount ever. Source: Mint

Heeraben Modi, the mother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, passed away in an Ahmedabad hospital today, December 30. When he announced her demise, Prime Minister Modi remarked that a glorious century rests at the feet of God. “In Maa I have always felt that trinity, which contains the journey of an ascetic, the symbol of a selfless Karmayogi, and a life committed to values,” the prime minister wrote in a heartfelt note.” The prime minister added in another tweet, “When I met her on her 100th birthday, she said one thing, which is always remembered that is work with intelligence, live life with purity.” Heeraben, commonly known as Heeraba, used to reside with PM Modi’s younger brother Pankaj Modi in the Raysan village outside of Gandhinagar. During the majority of his trips to Gujarat, the prime minister used to frequently stop by Raysan to spend time with her. Due to some medical concerns, she was hospitalised on Wednesday morning to the highly specialised UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Center. Her condition was said to be improving on Thursday by hospital authorities. In a statement, the Gujarat Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) also stated that Heeraben will soon be discharged. In Gujarat’s Vadodara earlier on Thursday, members of the “Dharmayatra Mahasangh” prayed at the temple and chanted the “Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra” for the “good health” of PM Modi’s mother. The Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath temple committee prayed for Heeraben’s quick recovery earlier in the day. According to sources cited by news agency ANI, PM Modi, who was supposed to travel to West Bengal to officially unveil the development projects, may participate in the events via video conference. PM Modi has reportedly left for Ahmedabad, according to sources. “PM Modi has left for Ahmedabad, flagging off of Vande Bharat train in Howrah, Kolkata & other developmental works of railways and under Namami Gange & meeting of National Ganga Council to be held as per plan. PM Modi may join through Video Conference,”

The RBI has announced to transfer the fraud reporting module to DAKSH, the Reserve Bank’s advanced digital supervisory monitoring system, as of January 1. This would introduce a new digital mechanism to check financial frauds while streamlining grievance redressal, reporting, improving efficiency, and automating the payments fraud management process. In March 2020, the RBI began accepting reports of payment fraud from scheduled commercial banks and non-bank Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) issuers, launching the Central Payments Fraud Information Registry (CPFIR). The RBI stated in a circular that “…entities shall commence reporting of payment frauds in DAKSH from this date (January 01, 2023).” DAKSH offers additional functionalities, such as a maker-checker facility, online screen-based reporting, an option for requesting more information, the facility to issue alerts/advisories, the generation of dashboards and reports, in addition to the existing bulk upload facility to report payment frauds. According to the RBI note, all PSOs / providers and payment system participants operating in India that are authorised by the RBI are obligated to disclose any attempted or actual payment fraud, regardless of value, whether it was discovered by the entity or reported by a customer. This reporting was formerly made possible by the Electronic Data Submission Portal (EDSP), however it is currently being moved to DAKSH. According to the central bank, entities won’t be allowed to submit any payment frauds in EDSP after payment fraud reporting in DAKSH goes online on January 1, 2023. The issuer bank/PPI issuer/credit card issuing NBFCs, whose issued payment instrument has been utilised in the fraud, must be responsible for submitting the reported payment fraud transactions, the RBI stated.

The joint finance and health task force formed under India’s G20 presidency began work on a new draft focused on New Delhi’s global health priorities for the next year. The task force’s first virtual meeting, conducted on Tuesday afternoon, was co-chaired by Italy and Indonesia, and was attended by health and finance representatives from G20 and invited countries, as well as international organisations. India’s priorities for the G20 presidency include health emergencies, prevention and preparedness, and response; strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on availability and access to safe, effective, and affordable medical countermeasures; and digital health innovation and solutions to aid universal health coverage. “The Task Force Secretariat worked with the Indian Presidency and co-chairs Italy and Indonesia to draught the work plan for 2023 and beyond, which was designed around the Indian Presidency’s Global Health Priorities for 2023,” according to an official statement. According to the statement, the work plan was presented for approval during the meeting. It underlined that the Bali Leaders’ Declaration 2022 extended the mission of the task force to maintain the cooperation between “Finance and Health Ministries for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response”. The meeting enabled discussions on the mandates specified in the Bali Leaders’ Declaration, said the statement. The members expressed their commitment to the task force’s goal of improving global health architecture for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, as well as working with the secretariat and co-chairs to achieve the 2023 deliverables.