Success in my Habit

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Wheat production may cross 113 million tonnes: Skymet

According to estimates released by private weather forecasting firm Skymet, during the current rabi season, wheat production could be at a record 113.66 million tonnes (mt), nearly 10 per cent more than the 103.6 mt output in the previous year, whereas, gram output could be 8 per cent higher at 10.74 mt.

The estimate for wheat production of Skymet are much higher than the 106 mt projected by the second advance estimates of the Agriculture Ministry.

Although, there will be marginal increase of 2.7 per cent at 9.5 mt in the production of mustard and rapeseed as against 9.25 mt in the previous rabi season.

The Skymet report also added that due to the nationwide lockdown, agricultural activities and supply chain were disrupted. Harvesting activities were disturbed due to the non-availability of migrant labour.

The report added, “Though the government is trying to normalise the situation, even till date the situation is dismal as farmers and their produce are unable to reach the market due to the lockdown”. As a result, producer is struggling to sell the produce at appropriate prices, it added.

According to Skymet, the worst-hit are horticulture farmers. There have been disruptions in supply chains because of transportation problems and other issues. Farmers are not able to bring the produce to mandis. Those who have storage facilities have stored the produce while the rest have sold it at whatever prices they could get.

Consumers ended up paying more, although the prices declined for vegetables and other crops. Farmers were also affected badly by the temporary closing down of restaurants and eateries.

“The future also looks bleak as the supply of agri-inputs for the upcoming kharif season – especially seeds may get affected by this lockdown. Unavailability of seeds and other agricultural input may lead to the delayed sowing or no sowing at all,” the report said.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture data, the report said wheat sowing was up by 12.3 per cent this year over last year, with most of increase in acreage coming from Maharashtra (89 per cent more), Gujarat (73 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (nearly 33 per cent) and Rajasthan (17 per cent). Skymet said it expected the national average yield to be 3.38 tonnes per hectare.

Likewise, there is 11.5 per cent increase in the area of gram cultivation which is on account higher acreages reported from Maharashtra (58 per cent more) and Rajasthan (42 per cent), which adequately compensated for the 20 per cent drop in gram area in Madhya Pradesh.

The report added that the area under mustard and rapeseed was more or less the same this year, even though Rajasthan and Haryana planted marginal more than last year, but there was a nearly 10 per cent drop in mustard cultivation in Madhya Pradesh.

EPFO Releases Rs 764 Crore to Its Pensioners

EPFO has 65 lakh pensioners under its pension scheme.  All 135 field offices of EPFO processed pension payment for April 2020 in advance to avoid inconvenience to pensioners on account of nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.

EPFO officers and staff battled all odds to send Rs 764 crore (US$ 108.38 million) to all Nodal Branches of pension disbursing banks throughout India. All Bank branches have been directed to ensure credit of pension in the accounts of pensioners on schedule.

Timely credit of pension in this hour of need has been accorded topmost priority by EPFO to bring succour to the pensioners during COVID-19 crisis.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

National Gallery of Modern Art presents the virtual program

National Gallery of Modern Art is closed temporarily due to COVID 19 but COVID19 failed to bring down the enthusiasm to display EXHIBITION OUTREACH DURING LOCK- DOWN. National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi proudly presents the virtual program "NGMA KE SANGRAH SE".  This virtual program will showcase the rarely seen or maybe unseen jewels from its repository. This program is based on various weekly/ daily themes from NGMA’s prestigious collections.  

The theme for this week is ARTIST BY ARTISTS and is dedicated to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. This week’s program coincides with the maestro's 159th birth anniversary on 7th May 2020, a date we would like to celebrate. Many more exciting and thought-provoking themes have to come in the coming days. These virtual programs and exhibitions will give the opportunity to art lovers, artists, art connoisseurs, students, teachers, etc. to see the rarely presented artworks from their homes. 

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi has earlier presented various virtual exhibitions such as Jamini Roy and Raja Ravi Vermaetc. and has also shared permanent collections virtually to commemorate International Days such as International Women’s Day, International Dance Day and International Workers Day. These exhibitions are available on NGMA’s website and social media platforms. 

Shri Adwaita Charan Garnayak, DG, NGMA states, “The closure of Museum galleries due to COVID 19 Lockdown did not dampen our spirits and couldn't disconnect us with our audiences. Rather, this has presented us a new opportunity to get connected in an exciting way with a wider world audience through web and social media supported by the internet. All endeavours are being received really well by the community and we are hoping to serve the same way in the coming future.”

DRDO develops UV Disinfection Tower

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an Ultraviolet (UV) Disinfection Tower for rapid and chemical free disinfection of high infection prone areas. 

The equipment named UV blaster is a UV based area sanitiser designed and developed by Laser Science & Technology Centre (LASTEC), the Delhi based premier laboratory of DRDO with the help of M/s New Age Instruments and Materials Private Limited, Gurugram. 

The UV Blaster is useful for high tech surfaces like electronic equipment, computers and other gadgets in laboratories and offices that are not suitable for disinfection with chemical methods. The product is also effective for areas with large flow of people such as airports, shopping malls, metros, hotels, factories, offices, etc.

The UV based area sanitiser may be used by remote operation through laptop/mobile phone using wifi link. The equipment has six lamps each with 43 watts of UV-C power at 254 nm wavelength for 360-degree illumination. For a room of about 12 x 12 feet dimension, the disinfection time is about 10 minutes and 30 minutes for 400 square feet area by positioning the equipment at different places within the room.

This sanitiser switches off on accidental opening of room or human intervention. One more salient safety feature of the product is the key to arm operation.

Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launches

The Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, launched “The Saras Collection” on the Government e Marketplace (GeM) portal at Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi today. A unique initiative of GeM and the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development, the Saras Collection showcases daily utility products made by rural self-help groups (SHGs) and aims to provide SHGs in rural areas with market access to Central and State Government buyers.

Under this initiative, the SHG sellers will be able to list their products in 5 product categories, namely (i) handicrafts, (ii) handloom and textiles, (iii) office accessories, (iv) grocery and pantry, and (v) personal care and hygiene. In the first phase, 913 SHGs from 11 States have already registered as sellers and 442 products have been on-boarded. In order to develop a scalable model capable of onboarding a large number of SHGs across the country in a short time frame, GeM has developed an API based integration mechanism with the NRLM database.

GeM will provide dashboards for functionaries at the national, state, district and block level to provide them real time information about the number of products uploaded by SHGs, and value and volume of orders received and fulfilled. In addition, Government buyers shall be sensitized through system generated messages/ alerts in the Marketplace about availability of SHG products on the portal. Potential buyers shall be able to search, view, cart and procure such products through the stipulated modes of procurement.

The on-boarding of the SHGs under the initiative has been initially piloted in the States of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The coverage shall be rapidly extended to enable a large number of SHGs from all the states/ Union Territories to sell their products to Government buyers.

In order to handhold and facilitate the SHGs in uploading their products, GeM, along with the State and National Rural Livelihoods Missions, are assisting the sellers with product catalogue management, order fulfilment and bid participation. GeM shall also collaborate with State functionaries to address the capacity building and training needs of SHGs, and build up their competencies required for order packaging, catalogue management and logistics.

With inputs and assistance from NRLM and SRLMs, GeM will develop online learning resources in vernacular content for SHGs and SRLM staff to meet user specific needs. Further, GeM will conduct online webinars for SHGs and functionaries at State Livelihoods Missions and develop videos, eBooks, Manual and repository of FAQs fora seamless learning experience.

By providing SHGs with direct access to Government buyers, the Saras Collection will do away with intermediaries in the supply chain, thus ensuring better prices for SHGs and spurring employment opportunities at the local level. This is just the beginning and GeM is delighted at this opportunity to partner the SHGs in their growth story.

The SHGs deserve to be specially commended for the manner in which they, like the entire country, are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic valiantly at this time of national health emergency of unprecedented and historic scale.

About DAY-NRLM: DAY-NLRM aims to reduce poverty through promotion of diversified and gainful self-employment while creating skilled wage employment opportunities. The scheme supports building social capital and ensuring financial linkages to alleviate poverty and enhance the quality of the life of rural poor women. It has ambitious plans on innovations for alternate channels of financial inclusion like digital finance, creating value chains around rural products and improving market access, rural enterprise and strengthening community institutions.

About GeM:

Government e Marketplace (GeM) is a 100 percent Government owned Section 8 Company set up as the National Public Procurement Portal for procurement of goods and services required by Central and State Government organizations. GeM provides an online, end to end solution for procurement of goods and services for all Central Government and State Government Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), local bodies and autonomous organisations. The platform reduces human interventions in procurement and enables transparency, cost savings, inclusiveness and efficiency of faceless standardized public procurement.

'Lil' Goodness closes seed funding round of Rs 5 crore


Bengaluru-based kids’ food and nutrition start-up ‘Lil’ Goodness announced the close of its seed funding round of Rs 5 crore (US$ 0.71 million).

The participant in the round includes Beyond Next Ventures (BNV), a Japanese VC Fund, led by Mr Tsuyoshi Ito, President and Mr Mayu Morishima, Executive Officer. Earlier, top business leaders such as Mr Sajan Pillai, former CEO-UST Global, and General Partner-Season two Ventures, the family of Mr Lalit Pai, ex-CEO, Nightingales Healthcare and Dr Muthu Krishnan, ex-CEO Tata Health have also invested in the seed round.

IIM-Calcutta alumnus, Mr Harshavardhan and nutrition expert Ms Pariksha Rao founded the company and pursues to empower millennial moms with a range of kids foods based on good health to strengthen immunity with a focus on quality, hygiene and food safety, while providing the convenience of anytime, anywhere accessibility.

“We are quite excited by the vision of the founders -Harshavardhan and Pariksha, in building a scientific food and nutrition brand focused on the kids. There is a huge opportunity for growth in this space especially as mothers look for healthy and hygienic solutions in the current context of Covid-19. We are impressed with the differentiated business model of the enterprise that combines the range between fresh meals and packaged foods, enabled by technology, and with a focus on principles of good nutrition,” said Mr Tsuyoshi Ito, President and Mayu Morishima, Executive Officer, Beyond Next Ventures.

Mr Harshavardhan, Co-founder and CEO, ‘Lil’ Goodness, said, “We are excited to receive the additional investment support from ‘Beyond Next Ventures’. Given the current circumstances, this is indeed a good boost for the entire team. We, at ‘Lil’ Goodness’ have the vision to positively influence the eating habits of our future generations through tasty, nutritious food options. With this fund infusion, we are looking to further expand our product range and distribution of packaged foods, develop a digital interface that will enable mothers to order products directly to their homes through a contactless delivery option for the fresh meals business, ScoolMeal.”

Free LPG cylinders delivered to 4.50 crore beneficiaries amid lockdown: Pradhan


According to Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, free cooking gas (Liquified Petroleum Gas or LPG) cylinders have been delivered to 4.50 crore beneficiaries in one month till April 30 to provide relief amidst COVID-19 lockdown.

He was addressing a Facebook Live interaction on the challenges and measures to overcome COVID-19, India has tried to make the most of the unprecedented drop in crude oil prices.

He said, “Up to 60 lakh LPG cylinders are delivered every day by the distributors. They even risk their lives to deliver these cylinders in red zones.”

Mr Pradhan said that India has imported and stored crude oil to meet 20 per cent of domestic demand.

"A crude price drop of this magnitude has never been seen before. Prices went into negative territory in the US as the demand crashed. To make the most of the situation, India's strategic crude oil storage reserves have been filled up in this situation. Now there is 5.33 million tonne (MT) of crude oil stored in the country in underground caverns. Of this, nearly 2 MT has been recently procured at these low prices," Mr Pradhan said.

"Another 7 MT crude has been procured by private and public sector companies and parked in floating reserves in the form of tankers. Some 25 MT crude oil is in the pipelines and other segments of the refinery cycle," he said.

"In all there is around 20 per cent of domestic demand that can be met by this stored low-priced crude oil when there is a need," he added.

Due to the fall in prices, India's import bill will decrease.

 

Monday, May 4, 2020

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India launches online retailing for Jeep

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) India launched an online 'touch-free' Jeep retail experience in response to continued movement restrictions and social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic. The potential customers can book and own a Jeep online without having to physically visit a showroom and will enjoy the accessibility of a test drive and sanitized vehicle delivery at their doorstep, the company said.
FCA India President and Managing Director Mr Partha Datta said, "Our commitment is to ensure customers can still continue to access Jeep at their fingertips. To ensure health, safety and convenience, we are making the Jeep retail experience as touch-free as possible."
The online booking comes together with a 360-degree digital retail architecture that will deliver easy-to-use experience for customers and prospective customers can book and own a Jeep without leaving the safety of their homes, he added.
Some details such as their contact information, geographical location, choice of vehicle variant, colour, powertrain and transmission are required from the customers. After reconfirmation, they can proceed to paying the booking amount via online payment options.
Then, FCA's automated retail architecture will generate a unique ID automatically and link the customer's information to its authorized dealer in that city and a sales executive will assist the customer for test drive, booking and final payment, the company added
"The touch-free retail experience is designed to enhance convenience for customers. Physical distancing has become the new normal and keeping this in mind, our approach is to ensure customers as well as our dealer showroom staff are well protected," Mr Datta said.

Employees of EPFO contribute Rs 2.5 crore to PM CARES fund

The employees of Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) have also come forward to support the Government’s initiative in combating national crisis of COVID-19 pandemic and voluntarily contributed one day’s salary- amounting to around Rs 2.5 crore (US$ 0.35 million) to the PM CARES Fund. EPFO, as one of World's largest Social Security Organizations, stands committed in the service of the nation in every possible way. ­
­­­The COVID-19, declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, has posed serious challenges for the health and economic security of millions of Indians. Government of India has set up a public charitable trust under the name of ‘Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund’ (PM CARES Fund) with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation.
Officers and staff of EPFO are also contributing by putting in extra efforts for providing relief by expeditiously processing EPF withdrawal claims including COVID claims under PMGKY package, etc.

India Salutes Corona Warriors Indian Navy Salutes the Corona Warriors on Land, Air and High Seas

Indian Navy joined the entire nation to express gratitude and salute the Corona Warriors on Sunday 03 May 20. Expressing gratitude and appreciation of the entire nation - while representing the Indian Armed Forces - towards the determination and committed efforts of our Corona Warriors -  the medical professionals, health workers, policemen, government staff and media, for their relentless efforts against CoViD19 on 03 May 20 through a number of activities on ground, in air and on water
On Land

Appreciation to the Corona Warriors. Station Commanders & Senior Naval Officers across the three Commands (Western, Southern and Eastern Naval Commands) and in Andaman and Nicobar Command met the Health Care professionals, policemen, sanitation workers and other frontline Corona Warriors  to  convey the appreciation on behalf of the Indian Navy and applauded their efforts in successfully treating the COVID 19 patients and also thanked for their relentless efforts.

Human Word Chain. 1500 Indian Navy personnel at INS Hansa, Goa expressed their appreciation by forming a Human Word Chain and thank the Corona Warriors.
Naval Band.  Earlier in the day, the SNC band played some famous numbers on a warship berthed opposite the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and near the Vikrant-Venduruthy Bridge, epochal landmarks of Kochi. Naval Bands also performed onboard Ex-Viraat in Mumbai and in Visakhapatnam Harbour.
  •  
  • . As part of the Thanksgiving gesture, Chetak helicopter of the Navy showered flower petals on the District Hospital in Kochi. Subsequently, 07 aircraft flypast consisting of 02 Dornier aircraft, 01 SeaKing helicopter, 02 Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and 02 Chetak helicopters of Indian Navy was conducted over the city’s renowned landmark, Marine Drive which was immediately followed by steampast by 07 Fast Interceptor Crafts of the Navy, in the channel, displaying a banner thanking the Corona Warriors.
  • .  A Chetak helicopter from INS Dega showered flower petals over Andhra Medical College, Govt Hospital for Chest and Communicable Diseases (GHCCD) and GITAM Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (GIMSR).
  • Indian Navy Chetak helicopter carried out flypast with showering of petals over Kasturba Gandhi hospital and Asvini Naval hospital in Mumbai.
  • .  Indian Navy Chetak helicopter carried out flypast with showering of petals over Goa Medical College and E.S.I Hospital (along with ICG Helps).
Andaman & Nicobar Islands.   Indian Naval aviation assets carried out fly past along with the Air Force and Coast Guard across various parts of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
At Sea
Eastern Naval Command.  INS Jalashwa and INS Savitri on their Mission Based Deployments saluted the Corona Warriors for their relentless fight against the COVID pandemic while at sea
Western Naval Command.
Indian Navy personnel in Arabian Sea onboard Mission Deployed ships expressed their appreciation and thanked the Corona Warriors for their unwavering commitment in the fight against corona.
 Indian Navy personnel on board INS Vikramaditya off Karwar expressed their appreciation by forming a Human Word Chain in thanking the Corona Warriors.
Southern Naval Command.   Steam past by 07 Fast Interceptor Crafts of the Navy, in the channel, in Kochi displaying a banner thanking the Corona Warriors.
Illumination of Ships at Anchorage.
The day’s events culminated with 25 Indian Naval warships across nine port cities including those in Andaman & Nicobar Islands carried out illumination along with firing of flares and sounding of sirens from 7:30 PM onwards.