Governance Community

India and France have espoused a road map on the ‘blue economy’ and ocean governance to boost cooperation for the exploitation and preservation of marine resources through economic, infrastructure and scientific cooperation. The road map was adopted at meeting between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris on Sunday. It’s a part of measures agreed on by the two ministers to consolidate the bilateral strategic cooperation, especially in trade and investments, defence and security, health, education, exploration and innovation, energy and climate change. Jaishankar travelled to France after participating in the Munich Security Conference in Germany last week. France is among India’s closest strategic partners in Europe, and the two sides also are working with other countries in areas like critical technologies and supply chains. During their addresses, Jaishankar and Le Drian appreciated the close cooperation between India and France during the Covid-19 pandemic and agreed on heightening the strategic cooperation, the external affairs ministry said in a statement. The “India-France Roadmap on the Blue Economy and Ocean Governance” adopted by the two sides envisages enhancing partnership in blue economy through institutional, economic, infrastructure and scientific cooperation, it said. The two ministers agreed to continue and enhance cooperation in sports and to soon conclude a joint declaration of intent in the area of sports to facilitate people-to-people contact. They also agreed to strengthen long- standing cooperation on public administration and administrative reforms between the applicable authorities in India and France. Source: Hindustan Times

The Centre said to the Supreme Court that Aadhaar card isn’t mandatory for registration on the CoWIN portal for Covid-19 vaccination. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant was informed by the ministry of health and family welfare that one among the nine identity documents including passport, driving licence, PAN card, voter’s card, and ration card may be produced for vaccination. The apex court took note of the submission and disposed of a plea filed by Siddharthshankar Sharma who claimed that Aadhaar card was being mandatorily insisted upon for administering Covid-19 vaccination on the CoWIN portal. The apex court had on October 1, 2021 issued notice to the Centre on the PIL. The bench said, “Pursuant to this court’s order dated October 1, 2021, the ministry of health and family welfare has filed an affidavit which records that Aadhaar card is not mandatory for registration on CoWIN portal and one of the nine identity documents can be produced. it is also recorded in the affidavit that a provision has been made for other categories of persons who may not have identity cards in their possession like prison inmates, inmates at mental health institutions etc. Counsel for Union submits that about 87 lakh people without ID cards have been vaccinated. The grievance of the petitioner that he was denied vaccination for non-production of Aadhaar card has also been dealt in the affidavit. The health ministry addressed a letter to principal secretary, health in Maharashtra to require action against the concerned private vaccination centre which denied vaccination to the petitioner despite production of valid passport ID. The grievance of the petitioner is duly met. All concerned authorities act in accordance with the policy of the government.” The plea had sought active and non-discriminative enforcement of the already notified rules/ policies within the entire country in a uniform manner, for the protection of the right to vaccination granted to citizen of India which is dangerously endangered on account of denial of vaccination due to non-submission of Aadhaar details to the concerned authority. The plea said that such actions are in blatant violation of right to life under Article 21 read with right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution and hence, the petitioner urges sympathetic indulgence of this court by way of issuing appropriate directions to direct the concerned authority to line aside the mandatory pre-condition of production of Aadhaar details from enabling administration of vaccination.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (February 2, 2022) addressed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers across the country virtually. PM Modi’s address comes a day after the Union Budget is tabled in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. During the address, PM Modi said, “Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman comprehensively explained the Budget in a timely manner given its vastness. I will also try to focus on important aspects of the Budget, today.” The focus of the Union Budget is on providing basic amenities to the poor, middle class and youth, Prime Minister said. “This Budget focuses on the poor, middle class and youth and aims to provide them basic necessities. Our Govt is working on the saturation of basic facilities,” PM Modi said. In his address on ‘Aatmanirbhar Arthvyavastha’ at a BJP event, he said that post-Covid, the possibility of a new world order is emerging and the initial indicators of it are already visible. “There is a possibility of a new world order post-COVID pandemic. Today, the world’s perspective of looking at India has changed a lot. Now, the world wants to see a stronger India,” PM Modi. “With the world’s changed perspective towards India, it is imperative for us to take the country forward at a rapid pace by strengthening our economy,” the prime minister added. Additionally, PM Modi also stated that the budget has several steps to take India on the road towards modernization. “In the last 7 years, the decisions taken are continuously enlarging the Indian economy. 7-8 years ago, India’s GDP was Rs 1.10 lakh cr. Today, our GDP is nearly Rs 2.3 lakh crore. In 2013-14, India’s exports stood at Rs 2.85 lakh crore. Today, it has achieved Rs 4.7 lakh crore,” PM Modi explained. The prime minister also revealed that the government is focused on modernizing Indian agriculture. “The budget also focused on modernizing Indian agriculture with a focus on organic farming. This will make farming more lucrative. Kisan drones and other machinery will be made available to the farmers at reasonable prices,” said PM Modi. “The budget also focused on the development of villages at the border. NCC Centres will be brought in at schools situated at the border,” PM added. Source: ANI

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented Union Budget 2022-23 in Parliament. Following are the key highlights of the annual budget: Total expenditure in 2022-23 estimated at Rs 39.45 lakh crore. Total receipts other than borrowings in 2022-23 estimated at Rs 22.84 lakh crore Fiscal deficit in the current financial year is estimated to rise to 6.9 per cent of GDP against 6.8 per cent in Budget Estimates. For 2022-23 financial year the fiscal deficit is pegged at 6.4 per cent of GDP. A target set to reduce fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26. Allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore in 2022-23 to assist the states in catalysing overall investments in the economy: fifty-year interest-free loans, over and above normal borrowings In 2022-23, States will be allowed a fiscal deficit of 4 per cent of GSDP, of which 0.5 per cent will be tied to power sector reforms. On the Direct Tax side, the budget allows taxpayers to file updated income tax return within 2 years for correcting errors. It also provides tax relief to persons with disability. Alternate Minimum Tax paid by cooperatives brought down from 18.5 per cent to 15 per cent. Surcharge on cooperative societies reduced from 12 per cent to 7 per cent for those having a total income of more than Rs 1 crore and up to Rs 10 crore. Tax relief to persons with disability: Payment of annuity and lump sum amount from insurance scheme to be allowed to differently-abled dependent during the lifetime of parents/guardians, i.e., on parents/ guardian attaining the age of 60 years. Parity in National Pension Scheme Contribution: Tax deduction limit increased from 10 per cent to 14 per cent on employer’s contribution to the NPS account of State Government employees. Gems and Jewellery: Customs duty on cut and polished diamonds and gemstones being reduced to 5 per cent; Nil customs duty to simply sawn diamond – To give a boost to the Gems and Jewellery sector. A simplified regulatory framework to be implemented by June this year – To facilitate export of jewellery through e-commerce. Tariff measure to encourage blending of fuel: Unblended fuel to attract an additional differential excise duty of Rs 2/ litre from October 1, 2022. – to encourage blending of fuel. A Digital University will be established to provide access to students across the country for world-class quality universal education with personalised learning experience at their doorsteps. This will be made available in different Indian languages and ICT formats. The Government proposed to introduce Digital Rupee, using blockchain and other technologies, to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India starting 2022-23 for more efficient and cheaper currency management system. Indian economy is projected to grow at 9.2 per cent in 2021-22. This will be the highest among all large economies in the world. Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in 14 sectors to create 60 lakh jobs. PLI schemes have the potential to create an additional production of Rs 30 lakh crore. Entering Amrit Kaal, the 25 year long lead up to India @100, the budget provides impetus for growth along four priorities: PM GatiShakti, Inclusive Development, Productivity Enhancement & Investment, Sunrise opportunities, Energy Transition, and Climate Action and Financing of investments. The seven engines that drive PM GatiShakti are Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways and Logistics Infrastructure. The scope of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan will encompass the seven engines for economic transformation, seamless multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency. National Highways Network to be expanded by 25000 kms in 2022-23. Rs 20000 crore to be mobilised for National Highways Network expansion in 2022-23. Contracts to be awarded through PPP mode in 2022-23 for implementation of Multimodal Logistics Parks at four locations. Railways: 2000 kms of railway network to be brought under Kavach, the indigenous world class technology and capacity augmentation in 2022-23. 400 new generation Vande Bharat Trains to be manufactured during the next three years. 100 PM GatiShakti Cargo terminals for multimodal logistics to be developed during the next three years. One Station One Product concept to help local businesses & supply chains. Agriculture: Rs 2.37 lakh crore direct payment to 1.63 crore farmers for procurement of wheat and paddy. Chemical-free Natural farming to be promoted throughout the county. Initial focus is on farmer’s lands in 5 kms wide corridors along river Ganga. NABARD to facilitate fund with blended capital to finance startups for agriculture & rural enterprise. ‘Kisan Drones’ for crop assessment, digitisation of land records, spraying of insecticides and nutrients. Ken Betwa project: 1400 crore outlay for implementation of the Ken – Betwa link project. 9.08 lakh hectares of farmers’ lands to receive irrigation benefits by Ken-Betwa link project. MSMEs: Udyam, e-shram, NCS and ASEEM portals to be interlinked. 130 lakh MSMEs provided additional credit under Emergency Credit Linked Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS). ECLGS to be extended up to March 2023. Guarantee cover under ECLGS to be expanded by Rs 50000 crore to total cover of Rs 5 Lakh crore. Rs 2 lakh Crore additional credit for Micro and Small Enterprises to be facilitated under the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE). Raising and Accelerating MSME performance (RAMP) programme with outlay of Rs 6000 crore to be rolled out. Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood (DESH-Stack e-portal) will be launched to empower citizens to skill, reskill or upskill through on-line training. Startups will be promoted to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’ and for Drone-As-A-Service (DrAAS). Health: An open platform for National Digital Health Ecosystem to be rolled out. ‘National Tele Mental Health Programme’ for quality mental health counselling and care services to be launched. A network of 23 tele-mental health centres of excellence will be set up, with NIMHANS being the nodal centre and International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB) providing technology support. 60,000 crore allocated to cover 3.8 crore households in 2022-23 under Har Ghar, Nal se Jal. Housing for All: Rs 48,000 crore allocated for completion of 80 lakh houses in

Budget Session 2022 Latest News: President Ram Nath Kovind lauded the country’s efforts against the novel COVID-19 spread. In addition, while presiding on the parliamentary Budget Session, he said, “India’s capability to fight COVID-19 was evident in its vaccination program. In less than a year, we made a record of administering over 150 crore doses of vaccine. Today, we’re one of the leading nations in the world when it comes to the number of doses given.” The country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed the parliamentary budget sessions and welcomed all legislators to the session saying that it is the right opportunity to showcase India’s economic growth to the world. He said, “In today’s global situation, there are a lot of opportunities for India. This session instils confidence in the world regarding the country’s economic progress, vaccination program, and Made in India vaccines.” The Budget Session is set to conclude on April 8, 2022 while the first part of the session will run till February 11, 2022. There’ll be a break from February 12 to March 13 as the standing committee examines the budgetary allocations. Source: The news has been published by The Indian Express with a few inputs from the ArdorComm News Network Team.

The Union budget will be presented at 11 AM on February 1, said sources. A day before, on January 31, President Ramnath Kovind will address the joint session of Parliament. In view of COVID-19 guidelines, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha will be functioning in staggered timings. The Lower House will function from 4 PM to 9 PM in the evening and Rajya Sabha from 10 AM to 3 PM in the morning, added the sources. However, on January 31 and February 1, the timings will be from 11 AM for both the houses, stated the sources. The first part of the budget session of Parliament will be held from January 31 to February 11 and the second part of the budget session will take place March 14 to April 8, as per the sources. Meanwhile, the Economic Survey will be tabled at noon on January 31. Source: ANI

The Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate was merged with the eternal flame at the National War Memorial (NWM) here on Friday. The Amar Jawan Jyoti will be put out and people can now pay their respects at the eternal flame at the NWM, military officials said. After India defeated Pakistan in the 1971 war, the Amar Jawan Jyoti was constructed as a memorial for Indian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice. It was inaugurated by the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, on January 26, 1972. In a short ceremony on Friday afternoon, a part of the Amar Jawan Jyoti flame was taken and merged with the flame at the NWM 400 metres away. Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal B R Krishna presided over the ceremony, the military officials said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on February 25, 2019, inaugurated the NWM, where names of 25,942 soldiers have been inscribed in golden letters on granite tablets. Ex-servicemen expressed mixed reactions on the Centre’s decision to merge the flames. Former Army Chief General Ved Malik supported the government’s decision, stating that it is “a natural thing” to merge flames now as the NWM has been established and all ceremonials related to remembrance and honouring soldiers killed in action are being held there. Former Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur, however, tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter and requested him to rescind the decision. “Sir, the eternal flame at India Gate is part of India’s psyche. You, I and our generation grew up saluting our brave jawans there,” he stated. While the NWM is great, the memories of the Amar Jawan Jyoti are indelible, Bahadur noted. The Congress on Friday morning accused the BJP government of “removing history” by extinguishing the Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate here and merging it with the eternal flame at the NWM. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi hit out, saying some people cannot understand patriotism and sacrifice, and added that the Congress will light the Amar Jawan Jyoti once again. “It is a matter of great sadness that the immortal flame for our brave soldiers will be extinguished today. Some people cannot understand patriotism and sacrifice – never mind…We will once again light the ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’ for our soldiers,” Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi. Government sources maintained there is a lot of misinformation on the matter, and said the flame of the Amar Jawan Jyoti is not being extinguished but is being merged with the flame at the National War Memorial. The government sources said it was an odd thing to see that the flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti paid homage to the martyrs of the 1971 and other wars but none of their names are present there at the India Gate. The names inscribed on the India Gate are of only some martyrs who fought for the British in the World War-I and the Anglo Afghan War and thus is a symbol of the country’s colonial past, the government sources said. They said the names of all Indian martyrs from all the wars are housed at the National War Memorial. Hence, it is a true homage to have the flame paying tribute to martyrs there, they added. Source: PTI

In order to promote inclusive good governance, strengthening of local institutions and effective implementation of government programmes, the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) has signed a pact with the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad. Both the national institutions signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday, the Ministry of Personnel said in a statement on Tuesday. “The main purpose of having this agreement is to focus on different collaborative activities by drawing upon the strengths of these two national institutions for bringing better good governance mechanisms into practice across all programmes and schemes,” the Ministry said. Both the institutions agreed to exchange knowledge and take up capacity building of functionaries at all levels of government, including Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs). The MoU will not only help in the application of good governance principles in true spirit but will also ensure their effective implementation in terms of transparency and accountability in the utilisation of public funds in an intended manner for delivering services to benefit rural communities. Many key mutual areas of interest were identified as actionable points, including leveraging e-governance at the panchayat level, documenting good governance models at the panchayat level, simplification of forms among others and best practices of rural governance. NCGG has suggested identifying the benchmark of the indexing of Rural Governance at the panchayat level. The MoU signing ceremony was held online between V Srinivas, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG) and Director-General, National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and Dr G Narendra Kumar, Director General (NIRDPR) with a team of officials – Prof Poonam Singh, Dr AP Singh and Dr BS. Bisht senior faculty from NCGG and Shashi Bhushan, Deputy Director-General, Dr Partha Pratim Sahu and Dr Srikanth faculty from NIRDPR. Source: ANI

The Republic Day celebrations will now begin every year from January 23 instead of January 24 to include the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Subash Chandra Bose, government sources said on January 15. This is in line with the Narendra Modi government’s focus on commemorating important aspects of India’s history and culture, they said, noting it had earlier started celebrating Bose’s birth anniversary as “Parakram Divas”. Other such days, observance of which have become a yearly affair, are August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, October 31 as National Unity Day (birth anniversary of Sardar Patel), November 15 as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary), November 26 as Constitution Day and December 26 as Veer Baal Divas (a tribute to the four sons of Guru Gobind Singh), sources added. The Centre has drawn up plans to promote sites across the country associated with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Last year, in October, news agency PTI had reported that the Tourism Ministry was planning curated tours as part of events to commemorate the anniversary of the formation of the Azad Hind government, the provisional government that was announced by Bose on October 21, 1943. “Identification of such sites has been done and will include multiple routes. We have prepared curated itineraries that cover destinations connected to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The itineraries will be given to tour operators to promote sites related to Netaji,” an official was quoted as saying by PTI. Source: PTI

Chennai: The third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has arrived in the country with new super spreader variants. As various state governments are imposing restrictions in their respective states in the light of the rising cases, the Tamil Nadu government has issued an order to postpone the semester exams of all state universities. According to newly issued order on Monday, the semester exams will now be scheduled after January 20, 2022. Higher education minister K Ponmudy said the revised schedule for semester exams will be decided only after the situation calms down. He also added that the decision to postpone exams is not only for state universities it applied to all the deemed universities in the state as well. “Colleges have completed their syllabus for the previous semester. I request the students to prepare for the exams. The mode of exams will be decided later depending on the COVID situation.” According to the previous decision, the government had planned offline examination for students in the state after January 20, 2022. Now, keeping in mind the drastic spike in COVID cases, the government has decided to postpone the exams and has issued study holidays for students. Source: The Times of India