Ministry of Railways signs an MoU with Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom #DFID #Sukumarbalakrishnan

With a goal of transforming Indian Railways into "Green Railways", complete electrification of Railway network has been approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) which will reduce its carbon footprint and will also improve its finances through reduction in fuel cost.

As part of its obligations & commitment to reduce carbon footprints, Indian Railways is taking several initiatives in the field of Green Energy to achieve the same. In line with this, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Ministry of Railways, Government of India and Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom on 2nd December 2019 for collaboration on energy and sustainability. The MoU was signed in the presence of Mr. Rajesh Tiwari, Member (Traction), Railway Board by Mr. Rajesh Kumar Jain, Executive Director/Electrical Engineering (Development), Indian Railways and by Mr. Gavin McGillivray, Head, DFID-India.

Through Power Sector Reform (PSR) programme, the MoU with DFID envisages to include co-operation for Energy Efficiency & Energy Self Sufficiency for Indian Railways. The MoU will broadly cover:

i. Energy planning for Indian Railways in line with Governments' policies and regulations as applicable from time to time including 100% greener sources of electricity supply through

Renewable energy planning and deployment

Off-shore wind and solar energy

Energy storage and new energy technologies

Off-grid renewable energy services
ii. Promoting energy sustainability initiatives like

Adopting energy efficiency practices

Enabling Fuel efficiency
iii.Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure deployment

iv. Battery operated Shunting Locomotives

v. Capacity development like training programmes, industrial visits, field visits etc.

The collaboration of Indian Railways with DFID, United Kingdom will go a long way in ensuring self-sufficiency and efficiency in terms of energy and greener Indian Railways.

Wind Power Projects of 12,162.50 MW Capacity awarded so far #WindPowerProjects #Sukumarbalakrishnan

Wind power projects are set up in the country, including in the state of Rajasthan, on the basis of commercial principles taking into account wind resource, land availability, transmission infrastructure, etc.

So far, bids for 15,100 MW of wind power projects have been issued, out of which projects of 12,162.50 MW capacity have been awarded.

The cumulative installed capacity of wind power (as on 31.10.2019) in the country is 37,090.03 MW. The details of state-wise installed capacity of wind power are given in Annexure I.

The Government has issued 'Guidelines for Development of Onshore Wind Power Projects' on 22 October 2016 with an objective to facilitate development of wind power projects in an efficient, cost effective and environmentally benign manner taking into account the requirements of project developers, States and national imperatives. The Guidelines have provisions for requirement of site feasibility, type and quality certified wind turbines, micrositing criteria, compliance of grid regulations, real time monitoring, online registry and performance reporting, health and safety provisions, decommissioning plan, etc.

The Government has also issued 'Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Power from Grid Connected Wind Power Projects', on 8th December, 2017, with an objective to provide a framework for procurement of wind power through a transparent process of bidding including standardization of the process and defining of roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders.

The Government is promoting capacity addition of wind power projects through private sector investment by providing various fiscal and financial incentives such as Accelerated Depreciation benefit; concessional custom duty exemption on certain components of wind electric generators. Besides, Generation Based Incentive (GBI) is available for the wind projects commissioned before 31 March 2017. In addition to fiscal and other incentives as stated above, technical support including wind resource assessment and identification of potential sites is being provided through the National Institute of Wind Energy, Chennai.

This information was provided by Union Minister of State (IC) New & Renewable Energy, Power and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri R.K. Singh, in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Annexure I

The state wise wind power installed capacity as on 31.10.2019.

STATE Cumulative wind power capacity as on 31.10.2019 (MW)
Andhra Pradesh 4092.45
Gujarat 7203.77
Karnataka 4753.40
Kerala 62.50
Madhya Pradesh 2519.89
Maharashtra 4794.13
Rajasthan 4299.72
Tamil Nadu 9231.77
Telangana 128.10
Other States 4.30
Total 37090.03Wind power projects are set up in the country, including in the state of Rajasthan, on the basis of commercial principles taking into account wind resource, land availability, transmission infrastructure, etc.

Apollo Tyres enters Saudi Arabia through tie-up with Al Jomaih Tyres #ApolloTyres #Sukumarbalakrishnan

Apollo Tyres Ltd, plan to enter Saudi Arabia through a tie-up with Al-Jomaih Tyres Company Limited. The company is aiming at the large and growing truck-bus radial and passenger car tyre market, looking to obtain a sizeable market share, in each of the segments, in the next couple of years.

"The entry into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the culmination of a long-term product planning and development programme. We are now ready with products suited to cater to the Saudi market, which is the largest and important replacement tyre market in the Middle East region," said Mr Shubhro Ghosh, group head ASEAN, Middle East & Africa of Apollo Tyres.

"Saudi Arabia has a market potential of approximately 22 million tyres, and we have set a very aggressive target for ourselves, of selling nearly 800,000 tyres per annum, including both commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle tyres, within the next five years", he added.

Mr Sheikh Abdullah Al-Jomaih, CEO, Al-Jomaih Tyres, said: "We have noticed that the premium tier 2 market in Saudi has been expanding at a fast pace and Apollo Tyres meets the need of local customers who are seeking quality products at competitive prices."

The tyres sold in Saudi Arabia would be modified according to the demand of the local market and would be covered under a 5-year warranty from the date of manufacturing.

Apollo Tyres had set-up its hub for the Middle East and Africa region, in Dubai, in 2011.

GNFC launches Neo Neem World outlet #GNFC #Sukumarbalakrishnan

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd, a major state-run fertilisers company launched its first Neo Neem World parlour, which is an exclusive retail outlet for its products. This comes after it successfully introduced a range of neem-based consumer products in market.

The company launched a range of consumer products with neem as its base, including Neem hand wash, shampoo, face wash, soap, all-purpose oil and hair oil.

Mr JN Singh, Gujarat Chief Secretary said, "It is the need of the hour to develop, promote and use natural products. We are all aware of the benefits of neem. Neo Neem Project is an effort to modernise the neem application and present it in a consumer-friendly form."

Ahmedabad City Mayor Mr Bijal Patel and senior GNFC officials, including the Managing Director Mr MS Dagur were present at the launch event.

"Brand Neo Neem is created after studying changing consumer aspirations. We recently took brand Neo Neem to an international exhibition at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The overwhelming response that consumers gave us has filled us with pride" Mr Dagur said.

Financial Assistance provided to 10 Major Ports and 8 Non-Major Ports for procurement of Oil Spill Response (OSR) Equipments: Shri Mansukh Mandaviya #OSR #FinancialAssistance #Sukumarbalakrishnan

In a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today the Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya said that the Government has developed a standard operating procedure for all ports in the country to deal with oil spills and other accidents that can damage the marine ecology surrounding the ports.

He said that the central government has formulated a scheme for providing assistance to major ports and oil handling non- major ports under state maritime Boards/State Govts. for combating oil pollution and for mitigation measures. Under the Scheme 10 Major Ports and 8 Non-Major Ports have been provided financial assistance so far for procurement of Oil Spill Response (OSR) equipment as per specifications suggested in NOSDCP-2015.

He said that the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) delineates the role and responsibility of various authorities including ports during an oil spill. Annual calendar is published for conduct of different levels of exercises involving various stakeholders for exercising their capabilities in mitigating risk of oil spills in their area of jurisdiction. As per NOSDCP, ports are required to be capable of handling tier-I level of oil spill within their jurisdiction.

MSMEs contribute 29.7 per cent of GDP and 49.66 per cent of Indian exports #MSMEs #IndianExports #Sukumarbalakrishnan

MSMEs contribute 29.7 per cent of GDP and 49.66 per cent of Indian Exports. Government has taken various initiatives to enhance the competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through schemes such as Credit Linked Capital Subsidy and Technology Upgradation Scheme (CLCS-TUS), Micro and Small Enterprises - Cluster Development Programme, Procurement and Marketing Support and support for MSMEs to participate in international exhibitions / trade fairs, conferences / summits/ workshops.

This information was given by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Exploration of 37 and drilling of 121 non-CIL coal blocks this year; Country to produce 810 MT of coal in FY20: Shri Pralhad Joshi #Sukumarbalakrishnan

The government has planned exploration of 37 coal blocks and 10 lignite blocks along with drilling of 121 coal blocks and one lignite block in the current fiscal in addition to exploration and drilling of coal blocks allocated to state-run Coal India Limited (CIL) informed the Coal Minister Shri Pralhad Joshi to the Parliament on Monday.

"Exploration of Non-Coal India Limited (Non-CIL) coal blocks is carried out under the Central Sector Scheme 'Exploration of Coal & Lignite' of the Ministry of Coal. Under this scheme, both regional exploration and detailed drilling of these blocks are conducted. Each year exploration programme of regional exploration & detailed drilling in Non-CIL blocks in coal & lignite is approved. The regional exploration for the year 2019-20 has been planned for 37 coal blocks & 10 lignite blocks, whereas detailed drilling has been planned for 121 coal blocks & 1 lignite block." Coal Minister Shri Pralhad Joshi said in a reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The minister also informed to the upper house that fund of Rs 937 crore (US$ 134.07 million) have been allocated for exploration and drilling of Non-CIL blocks in coal and lignite out of which Rs 120 crore (US$ 17.17 million) have to be spent on regional exploration and remaining 817 crores to be spent for detailed drilling.

In a reply to the House, the minister also informed that the country will produce 810 Million Tonnes (MT) of coal in the current fiscal for which targets for Coal India Limited, Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd and Captive & others have been set as 660 MT, 67 MT and 83 MT respectively.

In another reply, the minister informed that the focus of the Government is on accelerating domestic production of coal through allocation of more coal blocks, pursuing with State Government for assistance in land acquisition and coordinated efforts with Railways for movement of coal. He also said that in order to enhance coal production, CIL has taken many steps. This state-run Manharatna company will open 55 greenfield projects having capacity of 92 million tonne per annum (MTPA) and expand 193 brownfield projects having capacity of about 310 MTPA in next five years.
He said maximum use of technology and portal-based monitoring of on-going projects are in place to ensure timely completion of projects.

India conducts 1st night trial of nuclear capable Agni-III missile #Nuclear #Missile #Sukumarbalakrishnan

The first night trial of nuclear capable long-range ballistic missile Agni-III was conducted by India from the Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast on Saturday.

The first night trial of the missile was conducted by the Strategic Forces Command of the Indian Army from launch pad-IV of the Integrated Test Range in Bhadrak district at 7.17 pm, said defence sources.

As per Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Agni-III is considered to be core of India's nuclear arsenal.
The armed forces introduced the missile in June 2011.

It has a strike range of 3,000 km to 5,000 km and is efficient of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes.

The missile is powered by a two-stage solid propellant engine. It is 17 metres long with two-metre diameter and weighs around 2,200 kg.

Rs 1,03,492 crore gross GST revenue collected in the month of November 2019 #GST #Sukumarbalakrishnan

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of November, 2019 is Rs 1,03,492 crore (US$ 14.81 billion) of which CGST is Rs 19,592 crore (US$ 2.80 billion), SGST is Rs 27,144 crore (US$ 3.88 billion), IGST is Rs 49,028 crore (US$ 7.02 billion) (including Rs 20,948 crore [US$ 3 billion] collected on imports) and Cess is Rs 7,727 crore (US$ 1.11 billion) (including Rs 869 crore [US$ 0.12 billion] collected on imports). The total number of GSTR 3B Returns filed for the month of October up to 30th November 2019 is 77.83 lakh.

The government has settled Rs 25,150 crore (US$ 3.60 billion) to CGST and Rs 17,431 crore (US$ 2.49 billion) to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue earned by Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of November 2019 is Rs 44,742 crore (US$ 6.40 billion) for CGST and Rs 44,576 crore (US$ 6.38 billion) for the SGST.

After two months of negative growth, GST revenues witnessed an impressive recovery with a positive growth of 6 per cent in November 2019 over the November 2018 collections. During the month, the GST collection on domestic transactions witnessed a growth of 12 per cent, highest during the year. The GST collection on imports continued to see negative growth at (-)13 per cent but was an improvement over last month's growth of (-)20 per cent. This is the eighth time since the inception of GST in July 2017 that monthly collection has crossed the mark of Rs one lakh crore (US$ 14.31 billion). Also, November 2019 collection is the third highest monthly collection since introduction of GST, next only to April 2019 and March 2019 collections.

Third Edition of Khelo India Youth Games Logo Launched in Guwahati #IndiaYouthGames #Sukumarbalakrishnan

The third edition of Khelo India Youth Games-2020 Logo was launched in Guwahati today by Shri Sarbanada Sonowal, Chief Minister of Assam in presence of Shri Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports. The Mascot, Jersey and Theme song of the event was also launched at Karmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium, Sarusajai.

Speaking on the occassion Shri Kiren Rijiju said that Guwahati has now emerged as one of the top sporting cities in India. This is a big opportunity for everyone to make Guwahati a top sporting region in India. The Minister stated with as many as 11,000 participants taking part in the event, the Youth Game will be the biggest sporting event in the history of India. He urged everyone to cooperate and work hand in hand to make the Youth Games a successful event. He also appreciated the efforts of the Government of Assam for such magnificent arrangement for the upcoming sporting extravaganza. "This is also a great opportunity for us to showcase the culture and heritage of Assam in front of the world", he added.

Shri Rijiju said that Assam now have many talented youths in the field of sports and the present initiative of the Government in organising youth games in the state will help in encouraging more talented youth of Assam and the rest of the Northeast to excel in the field of sports.

Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister of Assam said in his speech that each and every individual of this state will ensure the success of this grand event. This event is being possible only because of the cooperation of people of Assam and the far sightedness of the Prime Minister of Assam, he added. The youth of Assam needs to work hard in the field of sports to establish themselves as a powerful contender in front of the rest of the world.

The Khelo India programme has been introduced to revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level by building a strong framework for all sports played in our country and establish India as a great sporting nation.

The 3rd edition of Khelo India Youth Games will start from 10th January 2020 and will continue till 22nd January. The event will be held in 20 disciplines with participation of 37 states and Union Territories. Khelo India programme’s inaugural edition was held in New Delhi in 2018, while Pune hosted 2nd edition in 2019.

2020 Games will be conducted in partnership with Indian Olympic Association (IOA), School Games Federation of India (SGFI) & Assam as host State. The event will see a participation of over 12000 athletes and officials from all over country.

Every year best performing 1000 participants are given an annual scholarship of Rs 5,00,000 (US$ 7154) for 8 years to prepare them for international sporting events.