RBI open to raising cap on global e-commerce deals

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is open to looking at increasing the limit on international e-commerce transactions now set at $3,000, a top official said on October 8.

“If the system wants the limit to be enhanced, that is something that we are positively inclined to look at,” RBI Executive Director G. Padmanabhan said on the sidelines of a CII event.

Mr. Padmanabhan said the limit was set in consultation with PayPal, a major player among the international payment gateways, and added that as many as 99 per cent of the e-commerce transactions fell under the limit of $3,000.

Giving rationale for setting the limit (there are no limits for domestic e-commerce transactions), he said it was needed in a country like India which had exchange controls.

On extending trading hours in the forex market, the RBI official said it was difficult to relax as “we do not have full capital account convertibility.”

15 Greenfield airports to come up in next few years

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on October 8  announced that 10 to 15 Greenfield airports would be built in the next few years to improve aviation infrastructure. The new airports at Chennai and Kolkata would be commissioned soon.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the 49 Conference of Director General of Civil Aviation of Asia-Pacific region here, Mr. Singh said the government had drawn up a plan to modernise around 50 non-metro airports in the next two years.

14 FDI proposals approved

The Central Government has accorded approval to 14 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals envisaging a total capital inflow worth Rs.113.35 crore. Of these, three clearances pertain to the pharmaceutical sector and account for a major chunk of Rs.81.05 crore as FDI.

According to a Finance Ministry statement, among the proposals approved on the basis of recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) headed by Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) Secretary Arvind Mayaram was that of U.K.-based Dashtag which has been allowed to hike its foreign equity valued at Rs.68.22 crore. The nod is for carrying out the business of pharmaceuticals specialising in dermatology, anti-histamines, antibiotics and oncology products.

Prime Surgical Centers Private Ltd. has also received the go-ahead to set up a limited liability partnership (LLP) to carry out the business of setting up and managing short stay surgery centres in India. With its flagship centre in Pune, the company proposes to bring in FDI worth Rs.14 crore in the medical venture.

Mumbai-based Neo Capricorn Plaza Ltd. was also given post-facto approval for issue of partly paid-up shares to carry out the business of construction of five-star hotels while Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company Ltd. has been permitted to increase foreign equity by way of issuance of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) to carry out the business of shipbuilding, ship repairs and offshore assets production.

Decisions on nine proposals were deferred owing to a variety of reasons. These include applications of Multi Commodity Exchange of India, Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd. and Deutsche Investments India Pvt. Limited. Alongside, seven proposals pertaining to companies such as British Marine India, Atlas Equifin Ltd., Filtrex Technologies and IPsoft Netherland were rejected.

Cabinet nod for FDI in pension sector

The government gave green signal to foreign investment in pension funds and said the FDI limit could go up 49 per cent in line with cap in the insurance sector.

Allowing FDI forms a part of the amendments to Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, which was approved by the Union Cabinet.

"The FDI limit in pension will follow FDI limit in insurance. If insurance bill passes with 49 per cent, pension will also be 49 per cent," Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters.

The PFRDA Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March 2011, following which the Standing Committee on Finance gave its recommendations in September last year.

Chidambaram said the government has accepted five key recommendations of the standing committee.

The Bill, which would allow part investment of the corpus in stock markets, is likely to be taken up for discussion and passage in the upcoming session of Parliament.

The original Bill had no provisions pertaining to FDI.

However, the Standing Committee on Finance, headed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, had suggested FDI in pension programmes but with a cap of 26 per cent.

The Bill had failed to get parliamentary approval in the previous term of UPA 1 government due to strong opposition from its then allies, the Left parties.

In June 2012, the Cabinet had deferred a decision on the Bill following opposition from the Trinamool Congress.

The Bill provides powers to the PFRDA to oversee multiple pension funds in the country and also paves way for being a full-time regulator for the sector.

It also provides for establishment of a statutory authority to undertake promotional, developmental and regulatory functions in respect to pension funds.

Interim regulator PFRDA has been functioning since 2003 through an executive order.

Under the new legislation, all government employees who have joined service on or after January 2004, would be covered by the New Pension Scheme (NPS).

Armed forces personnel would not come under the NPS.

The NPS, launched in January, 2004, has about 24 lakh subscribers, mostly those employed with the central government.

The PFRDA has garnered Rs 15,466 crore under the NPS as of July.

Cabinet likely to approve 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17)

The union cabinet  approve the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) that seeks an average annual economic growth of 8.2 percent and identifies infrastructure, health and education as thrust areas.

The growth rate has been lowered to 8.2 percent from the 9.0 percent projected earlier in view of the current slowdown in the economy and adverse international situation.

During the 11th Plan period, the average annual growth was 7.9 percent. A full Planning Commission chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh September 15 endorsed the document which has fixed the total plan size at Rs.47.7 lakh crore.

The 12th Plan seeks to achieve 4 percent agriculture sector growth during the five-year period "critical to achieve inclusive growth".

Highlights of 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17)

Average growth target has been set at 8.2 percent Areas of main thrust are-infrastructure, health and education Growth rate has been lowered to 8.2 percent from the 9.0 percent projected earlier in view adverse domestic and global situation. During the 11th Plan period, the average annual growth was 7.9 percent  A full Planning Commission chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on September 15 endorsed the document which has fixed the total plan size at Rs.47.7 lakh crore The 12th Plan seeks to achieve 4 percent agriculture sector growth during the five-year period Agriculture in the current plan period grew at 3.3 percent, compared to 2.4 percent during the 10th plan period. The growth target for manufacturing sector has been pegged at 10 percent On poverty alleviation, the commission plans to bring down the poverty ratio by 10 percent. At present, the poverty is around 30 per cent of the population.  According to commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia, health and education sectors are major thrust areas and the outlays for these in the plan have been raised. The outlay on health would include increased spending in related areas of drinking water and sanitation. The commission had accepted Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's suggestion that direct cash transfer of subsidies in food, fertilizers and petroleum be made by the end of the 12th Plan period After the cabinet clearance, the plan for its final approval would be placed before the National Development Council (NDC), which has all chief ministers and cabinet ministers as members and is headed by the Prime Minister

Agriculture

Agriculture in the current plan period has grown at 3.3 percent, compared to 2.4 percent during the 10th plan period. The growth target for manufacturing sector has been pegged at 10 percent.

Infrastructure

The document stresses the importance of infrastructure development, especially in the power sector, and removal of bottlenecks for high growth and inclusiveness. It also sets targets for various economic and social sectors relating to poverty alleviation, infant mortality, enrolment ratio and job creation.

Poverty

On poverty alleviation, the commission plans to bring down the poverty ratio by 10 percent. At present, the poverty is around 30 per cent of the population.

Health and Education

According to commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia, health and education sectors are major thrust areas and the outlays for these in the plan have been raised.

The outlay on health would include increased spending in related areas of drinking water and sanitation.

The commission had accepted Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's suggestion that direct cash transfer of subsidies in food, fertilizers and petroleum be made by the end of the 12th Plan period.

Direct cash transfers would bring down the government's subsidy burden as the money would go directly to the "genuine" beneficiaries and "plug leakages" in the implementation of these schemes.

After the cabinet clearance, the plan for its final approval would be placed before the National Development Council (NDC), which has all chief ministers and cabinet ministers as members and is headed by the Prime Minister.

Financial Inclusion

Financial Inclusion is the process of ensuring access to appropriate financial products and services needed by all sections of the society in general and vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income groups in particular at an affordable cost in a fair and transparent manner by mainstream institutional players.

The vulnerable section in India today also accrue a major proportion of credit and other financial services and products from the uninstitutional players like local moneylenders etc. These players charge exorbitant interest rates, non transparent practices and other stringent terms and conditions on the financial services. The aim of financial inclusion is to provide access to institution credit and other financial services to the section which hitherto have remained outside the coverage of institutional players.

Extent of Financial Exclusion -Global

• 2.5 billion Adults, just over half of world’s adult population, do not use formal financial services to save or borrow.
• 2.2 billion of these unserved adults live in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
• Of the 1.2 billion adults who use formal financial services in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, at least two-thirds, a little more than 800 million, live on less than $5 per day.

Hence, financial exclusion is not an India specific problem but a global one.

Extent of Financial Exclusion -India

• In India, almost half the country is unbanked.
• Only 55 per cent of the population has deposit accounts and 9 per cent have credit accounts with banks.
•  India has the highest number of households (145 million) excluded from Banking. 
• There was only one bank branch per 14,000 people.
• In 6 lakh villages in India, rural branches of Schedule Commercial Banks including Regional Rural Banks number 33,495 only.
• Only a little less than 20% of the population has any kind of life insurance and 9.6%  of the population has non‐life insurance coverage.
• Just 18 per cent had debit cards and less than 2 per cent has credit cards.

Financial Inclusion- Need

• It is now widely acknowledged that financial exclusion leads to non accessibility, non-affordability and non-availability of financial products. 
• Limited access to funds in an underdeveloped financial system restricts the availability of their own funds to individuals and also leads to high cost credit from informal sources such as moneylenders.
• Due to lack of access to a bank account and remittance facilities, the individual pays higher charges for basic financial transactions.
• Absence of bank account also leads to security threat and loss of interest by holding cash. All these impose real costs on individuals.
• Prolonged and persistent deprivation of banking services to a large segment of the population leads to a decline in investment and has the potential to fuel social tensions causing social exclusion.

Thus, financial inclusion is an explicit strategy for accelerated economic growth and is considered to be critical for achieving inclusive growth in the country.

Financial Inclusion – Steps Taken in the Past

• Co-operative Movement
• Setting up of State Bank of India
• Nationalisation of banks
• Lead Bank Scheme
• Regional Rural Banks
• Service Area Approach
• Self Help Groups

Financial Exclusion –Why did the approach fail?

• Absence of Banking Technology
• Absence of Reach and Coverage
• Absence of Viable Delivery Mechanism
• Not having a Business Model
• Rich have no compassion for poor

Current scenario w.r.t. Financial Exclusion

• Focus on Inclusive Growth
• Banking Technology has arrived
• Realisation that Poor is bankable

The Indian Way- Multi Agency Approach

• Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) mandated to focus on Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy
• Financial Sector Regulators including the Reserve Bank committed to FI Mission
• Financial Inclusion is a mammoth task- financial services through mainstream financial institutions to 6 lakh villages

​Banking Correspondent Model

The Reserve Bank of India has initiated several policy measures to ensure financial inclusion and increase the outreach of the banking sector. A major initiative taken by the Bank in this direction is the introduction of the business correspondent model.

Under this model RBI has permitted banks to use the services of intermediaries such as business facilitators and correspondents to provide banking services for ensuring greater financial inclusion and increasing the outreach of the banking sector

By using the Information Technolgy now intermediaries are allowed to extend the banking services in the areas which are bankable. 

What has been done so far

• ICT based Business Correspondent (BC) Model for low cost door step banking services in remote villages .
• RBI Board approved Financial Inclusion Plans (FIPs) of banks for 3 years, starting April 2010 .
• Roadmap to cover villages of above 2000 population by march 2012
• Availability of minimum four banking products through ICT model has been ensured
• Mandatory opening of 25 % of new branches in unbanked rural centers.
• KYC documentation requirements significantly simplified for small account
• Guidelines for convergence between Electronic Benefit Transfer and FIP have been issued.
• Pricing for banks totally freed . Interest rates on advances totally deregulated.

Approach adopted by RBI- Some Specifics

• Achieving planned, sustained and structured Financial inclusion.
• Technology-To be fixed first

1. ​All Bank branches must be on Core Banking Solution (CBS). All Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to be on CBS by September 2011.
2. Multi-channel approach (Handheld devices, mobiles, cards, Micro-ATMs, Branches, Kiosks, etc.)
3. Front-end devices transactions must be seamlessly integrated with the banks’ CBS.

Coverage- Ensuring Transparency

What is meant by Banking Coverage?

A village is covered by banking service if either a bank branch is present or a Banking Correspondent is physically present or visiting that village.

Twin Aspects of Financial Inclusion

Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy are twin pillars. While Financial Inclusion acts from supply side providing the financial market/services what people demand, Financial Literacy stimulates the demand side – making people aware of what they can demand.

Kelkar for hike in PDS price

In its report on the road map to fiscal consolidation, the three-member committee headed by the former Finance Secretary and 13th Finance Commission Chairman, Vijay L. Kelkar, has suggested a host of “bold reform” measures on ways of slashing the subsidy bill which, it admitted, would result in some short term pain and hardships.

The committee’s recommendations also include sale of surplus land with public sector undertakings (PSUs), fast-tracking of the Centre’s disinvestment programme, expansion of the service tax net to raise revenue as also an overhaul of the Direct Taxes Code (DTC).

Reading out from a prepared statement at the briefing, Dr. Mayaram said: “The committee has reached certain conclusions and has made a number of recommendations. The main conclusion of the report is that ‘We cannot over-emphasise the need and the urgency of fiscal consolidation.’”

The government has reiterated its intention to implement the promise of food security for all. While taking a final view on the various recommendations, “the government will bear in mind that the goal is to achieve high growth, inclusive development, and economic and social justice for all.”

In its report, the committee suggested phased elimination of subsidy on diesel and LPG in the next four years and reduction in kerosene subsidy by one-third by 2014-15. As for food and fertilizer subsidies, it has sought an increase in the urea price and a hike in the issue price of foodgrains at ration shops.

Alongside, it cautioned that without these measures, the fiscal deficit of the government could shoot up to 6.1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the current financial year.

It can be contained to 5.2 per cent with the proposed reforms.

The committee also recommended that over the next two-three years the government should raise resources by selling unutilised and under-utilised land of the PSUs, Port Trusts, and the Railways, to fund infrastructure sector.

As for disinvestment, it said that in the absence of adequate steps the government will be able to raise around Rs. 10,000 crore, as against the target of Rs. 30,000 crore.

With regard to petroleum subsidy, it suggested that the government should seek to eliminate diesel subsidy by 2013-14 and “our policy goal should be to eliminate the LPG subsidy by 2014-15 by reducing it by 25 per cent this year, with the remaining 75 per cent reduction over the next 2 years.”

‘Increase diesel, kerosene, LPG prices’

“For kerosene, the objective should be to reduce the subsidy by one-third by 2014-15. Our recommendation is to immediately increase the price of diesel by Rs. 4 per litre, of kerosene by Rs. 2 per litre and of LPG by Rs. 50 per cylinder… Overall, we feel that if no steps are taken the subsidy expenditure would go up from 1.9 per cent of the budgeted levels to 2.6 per cent of the re-assessed GDP,” it said.

FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE

Financial action task force is an inter-governmental body responsible for setting global standards on anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism. The FATF Secretariat is housed at the headquarters of the OECD in Paris and after long wait, India has finally become a full-fledged member of the FATF. History of the FATF In response to mounting concern over money laundering, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) was established by the G-7 Summit that was held in Paris in 1989.  Recognising the threat posed to the banking system and to financial institutions, the G-7 Heads of State or Government and President of the European Commission convened the Task Force from the G-7 member States, the European Commission and eight other countries. Objective The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.  The FATF is therefore a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms. Starting with its own members, the FATF monitors countries' progress in implementing the FATF Recommendations; reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures; and, promotes the adoption and implementation of the FATF Recommendations globally. The FATF monitors the progress of its members in implementing necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques and counter-measures, and promotes the adoption and implementation of appropriate measures globally.  In collaboration with other international stakeholders, the FATF works to identify national-level vulnerabilities with the aim of protecting the international financial system from misuse. Benefits to INDIA With its induction as the 34thmember country of the global body that chalks out policies to counter financial frauds, India will have access to information on suspicious financial transactions in Switzerland, China, U.S and the U.K. The development marks a significant step towards tracing the source of terror financing and black money stashed away in tax heavens abroad. India and its tax enforcement authorities—the Financial intelligence unit, the Enforcement directorate, the central economic intelligence bureau and the Directorate of revenue intelligence would be able to exchange vital information from member countries on money laundering and terrorist financing activities. Current In February 2012, the FATF completed a thorough review of its standards and published the revised FATF Recommendations. This revision is intended to strengthen global safeguards and further protect the integrity of the financial system by providing governments with stronger tools to take action against financial crime. They have been expanded to deal with new threats such as the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and to be clearer on transparency and tougher on corruption. The FATF currently comprises 34 member jurisdictions and 2 regional organisations, representing most major financial centres in all parts of the globe.

Rural Business Hubs

The Rural Business Hubs (RBH) is a steady influx of rural people to urban areas in search of employment and economic opportunity.  Also, there is a wide gap between rural and urban areas in terms of public services like health and education, in the quality of life and levels of income.  This gap is perceived to be widening.  The 73^rd Constitutional Amendment, 1992, has mandated Panchayats as Institutions of Self Government, to plan and implement programmes of economic development and social justice.  Government of India has recognized thatPanchayati Raj is the medium to transform rural India 700 million opportunities.  There is also a felt need to ensure that the benefits of rapid economic growth, unleashed through the reforms of the last two decades, need to flow to all sections of society, particularly to rural India. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has adopted the goal of "Haat to Hypermarket" as the overarching objective of the Rural Business Hubs (RBH), initiative aimed at moving from more livelihood support to promoting rural prosperity, increasing rural non-farm incomes and augmenting rural employment. 

The budget allocation for the RBH scheme introduced during the Eleventh Five Year Plan w.e.f. 2007, has been fairly small, as a result of which the scheme has been restricted to the BRGF districts and districts of the North Eastern States. The implementation of the scheme has not taken off as anticipated and due to the lack of response by various partners, it has been decided to taper off the scheme during the 12th Plan. RBH projects have been sanctioned for various products including metal work, carpets, embroidery, biofuels, horticultural products etc. However, as the scheme is not being continued in 12th Five Year Plan, no further steps are proposed to be taken for creating awareness or training people in the production of these items.

           Details of total employment generated by the Rural Business Hubs that have been set up are not maintained by the Ministry of PanchayatiRaj. However, the number of beneficiaries of various RBH projects is given State-wise as below: 

Sl.No.	State	Number of Beneficiaries
1	Andhra Pradesh	500
2	Arunachal Pradesh	300
3	Assam	2220
4	Bihar	54
5	Chhattisgarh	4046
6	Haryana	100
7	Himachal Pradesh	500
8	Jharkhand	1030
9	Karnataka	200
10	Kerala	340
11	Madhya Pradesh	N.A.
12	Maharashtra	5487
13	Manipur	1065
14	Meghalaya	300
15	Orissa	120
16	Rajasthan	4050
17	Tamil Nadu	1140
18	Tripura	554
19	Uttar Pradesh	1116
20	Uttarakhand	2500
21	West Bengal	5860
	Total	31482

Note: N.A. = Not available

All India Survey on Higher Education Provisional Report

Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal, released the first Provisional Report of the ambitious All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) at New Delhi on September 28. The report contains countrywide estimates of Gross Enrolment Ratio on the basis of data collected till July 31, 2012, from the Higher Education (HE) Institutions of the country including Universities, Colleges, and Stand-Alone Institutions.

The key idea behind this Survey and the resulting document is to prepare a sound database on the large and diverse system of Higher Education in the country. The Survey compiles and manages statistics directly online from respondent institutions. The Ministry has constituted a Task Force to carry out the Survey. This Task Force has representations from stake-holders including the Ministry, the UGC, the AICTE, various Regulatory Bodies, as well as Departments of Higher Education of the States. Shri Sunil Kumar, Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh, the then Additional Secretary in the Department of Higher Education is its Chairman. 

India ranked 111th in economic freedom list

India ranks very low at 111th position in terms of economic freedom, behind countries like China, Nepal and Bangladesh, a global study has claimed in a worldwide index of 144 nations.

The annual ranking, titled 'Economic Freedom of the World: 2012', is topped by Hong Kong, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland (8.24) and Australia in the top-five.

The index has been prepared by Canada-based public policy think-tank, Fraser Institute, in cooperation with independent institutes in 90 nations and territories, and claims to measure the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries support economic freedom.

India's ranking has fallen from 103rd last year, while Hong Kong has retained its top slot, the report said.

Canada is ranked sixth on the list, while others in the top-ten include Bahrain, Mauritius, Finland and Chile. The countries with lowest level of economic freedom are -- Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Republic of Congo and Angola.

India shares its 111th position with two other countries, Iran and Pakistan, while those ranked lower include Guyana, Syria and Nigeria.

India has scored an overall rating of 6.26 in the economic freedom index as against an average global scrore of 6.83.

In the economic freedom index, China is at 107th position with a score of 6.35, Bangladesh at 109th with a score of 6.34 and Nepal is at 110th position (6.33).

 
The report said that Hong Kong offers the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, with a score of 8.90 out of 10, followed by Singapore (8.69), New Zealand (8.36), Switzerland (8.24), Australia and Canada (each 7.97), Bahrain (7.94), Mauritius (7.90), Finland (7.88) and Chile (7.84).

"Governments around the world embraced heavy-handed regulation and extensive spending in response to the US and European debt crises, reducing economic freedom in the short term and prosperity over the long term," the report noted.

"But the slight increase in this year's worldwide economic freedom score is encouraging. Impressively, all five continents are represented in the global top 10," it added.

The report noted that on an average, the poorest 10 per cent of people in the freest nations are nearly twice as rich as the average population of the least free countries.

Interestingly, the US, which is considered a champion of economic freedom among large industrial nations, continues its protracted decline in the global rankings. This year, the US plunged to its lowest-ever ranking of 18th, after being ranked at as high as second position in 2002.

The decline is attributed to higher spending and borrowing on the part of the US government.

The rankings and scores of other major economies include -Japan (20th), Germany (31st), Korea (37th), France (47th), Italy (83rd), Mexico (91st), Russia (95th) and Brazil (105th).

National Family Benefit Scheme

The Ministry of Rural Development is implementing, through State Governments and UT Administrations, a scheme namely National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS). Under this scheme, earlier a provision of grant of Rs. 5,000/- was made in case of natural death of BPL primary bread winner. The primary BPL bread winner specified in the scheme, whether male or female, had to be a member of the household whose earning contributed substantially to the total household income. The death of such primary bread winner occurring whilst he/she was in the age group of 18 to 64 years. In the year 1998, the amount of benefit has been raised to Rs. 10,000/- in case of death due to natural causes as well as accidental causes. The funds are released to State Governments and UTs by Ministry of Finance as Additional Central Assistance. The National Family Benefit Scheme is a sub-scheme of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) and details of funds released sub-scheme wise to State/UTs are not maintained. These sub-schemes are only for BPL families.

Schemes to Financially Help BPL Widows

The Government in the Ministry of Rural Development is implementing through State Governments and UT Administrations the major schemes /programmes namely Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY)/ National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) for providing wage, self employment and houses in rural areas respectively. These schemes have specific provision to provide benefits to rural women including widows to enhance their income and living standard. Besides, Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS) is also implemented in urban and rural areas for Below Poverty Line (BPL) widows, between the age groups of 40 to 59 years.

Mahatma Gandhi Suraksha Yojana

The Government has launched a scheme called ‘Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana’ (MGPSY) for Indian workers holding Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports and a valid work permit in an ECR country. This scheme encourages and enables Overseas Indian Workers to save for their return and resettlement and to save for their old age by providing a co-contribution from the Government. This also provides a free Life Insurance Cover against natural death during the period of coverage, under this scheme. However, there is no proposal to introduce a special package for Indian workers returning to India from conflict-ridden countries. There is also no plan to start a “Pravasi Bank” for Overseas Indians by the Ministry.

Cabinet Decisions on FDI in Single Brand Retail, Multi Brand Retail, Civil Aviation, Broadcasting Sector and Power Exchanges Notified

The Government  notified the cabinet/CCEA decisions on FDI in single brand retail, multi brand retail, civil aviation, broadcasting sector and power exchanges. The decisions were taken in the Cabinet and CCEA meetings on September 14, 2012.

Please see the following notifications by clicking on the hyperlinks below.

Amendment of the existing policy on Foreign Direct Investment in Single-Brand Product

Retail Trading-  Press Note No.4 (2012 Series)

    Click here to see

Review of the policy on Foreign Direct Investment- allowing FDI in Multi-Brand Retail

Trading.-      Press Note No.5 (2012 Series)

    Click here to see

Review of the policy on Foreign Direct Investment in the Civil Aviation sector- Press Note No.6 (2012 Series)

    Click here to See

Review of the policy on Foreign Investment (FI) in companies operating in the Broadcasting Sector-  Press Note No.7 (2012 Series)

    Click here to See

Policy on foreign investment in Power Exchanges- Press Note No.8 (2012 Series)

    Click here to See.

Cabinet Approves National Policy on Information Technology 2012

The Cabinet has recently approved the National Policy on Information Technology 2012. The Policy aims to leverage Information & Communication Technology (ICT) to address the ountry’s economic and developmental challenges. The policy is rooted in the conviction that ICT has the power to transform the lives of people.

ICT and Electronics are contributing significantly to the Indian economy, society and governance. IT is a key driver of the knowledge based global economy. The right policies and investment in infrastructure can strengthen and enhance India’s position as a global IT power-house. Use of IT can transform our economy, enhance equity and lead to improvement in development indices. The Policy envisages the growth of the IT market to USD 300 Billion and creation of additional 10 million employments by 2020.

The thrust areas of the policy include:

1. To increase revenues of IT and ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) Industry from 100 Billion USD currently to 300 Billion USD by 2020 and expand exports from 69 Billion USD currently to 200 Billion USD by 2020.

2. To gain significant global market-share in emerging technologies and Services.

3. To promote innovation and R&D in cutting edge technologies and development of applications and solutions in areas like localization, location based services, mobile value added services, Cloud Computing, Social Media and Utility models.

4. To encourage adoption of ICTs in key economic and strategic sectors to improve their competitiveness and productivity.

5. To provide fiscal benefits to SMEs and Startups for adoption of IT in value creation

6. To create a pool of 10 million additional skilled manpower in ICT.

7. To make at least one individual in every household e-literate.

8. To provide for mandatory delivery of and affordable access to all public services in electronic mode.

9. To enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency, reliability and decentralization in Government and in particular, in delivery of public services.

10. To leverage ICT for key Social Sector initiatives like Education, Health, Rural Development and Financial Services to promote equity and quality.

11. To make India the global hub for development of language technologies, to encourage and facilitate development of content accessible in all Indian languages and thereby help bridge the digital divide.

12. To enable access of content and ICT applications by differently-abled people to foster inclusive development.

13. To leverage ICT for expanding the workforce and enabling life-long learning.

14. To strengthen the Regulatory and Security Framework for ensuring a Secure and legally compliant Cyberspace ecosystem.

15. To adopt Open standards and promote open source and open technologies

The policy attempts to optimally leverage India’s global edge in ICT to advance national competitiveness in other sectors, particularly those of strategic and economic importance. The Policy will promote an inclusive and equitable society. The Policy is oriented towards use of ICT to consciously promote decentralization and empowerment of citizens.