The Third - meeting of Indo-German Joint working Group on Quality Infrastructure held

Work plan for cooperation in the area of Solid Waste Management, food safety, air and water quality management signed

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distributions hosted the third meeting of Indo German Working Group on Quality Infrastructure at New Delhi during 14-15 Jan 2016. The Working Group has been established based on the declaration signed between Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution of the Republic of India and German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (now Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy) of the Federal Republic of Germany in April 2013 for cooperation in Standardization, Conformity Assessment and Product Safety.

From Indian side, the meeting was chaired by Mr. C. Viswanath, Secretary (Consumer Affairs), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GOI and co-chaired by Mr. Ministerialdirigent Stefan Schnorr, Directorate-General VI Digital and Innovation Policy, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) from German side.

The delegates from Indian and German sides comprised of the members from the concerned Ministries, National Standards Bodies, and representatives from trade associations. During the meeting, Secretary (Consumer Affairs) highlighted the objectives of advancing bilateral economic and technical cooperation in order to facilitate bilateral trade. He further emphasized the significance of co-operation with Germany on standardization to promote coordinated activities to facilitate bilateral trade focusing on products of trade interest to India such as leather, toys & textile. He also impressed the importance of the initiative in achieving the objectives of the Make in India, digital India and Swatch Bharat Campaign.

The session on inputs for 2016 on the work plan for implementation was chaired by Ms Alka Panda, Director General, BIS. Ms Panda highlighted the recent initiatives and developmental changes brought in the country on Smart cities, Smart Grid/Micro Grid, Low voltage Direct Current (LVDC), Solid waste management for collaboration in the these areas. She also highlighted the need to address the concerns of Indian exporters by organizing workshops and awareness programmes for compliance on EU regulations & REACH regulations.

The Indo – German delegations discussed extensively on the possible areas of cooperation and signed a Work Plan for implementation by both sides. The work plan outlines various activities for the next years’ cooperation which include amongst others, cooperation on Solid Waste Management, cooperation on standards on smart grids/ micro grid, LVDC, food safety, leather & leather products, air and water quality, product safety and toy safety, Legal Metrology and laboratory testing facilities.

Holy Festival of Makar Sankranti

 

Festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated with great zest in all parts of India. On the day of Makar Sankranti, The sun starts its journey to the Northern Hemisphere.  Devotees take dips in the holy water and offer prayers to the sun. As it is the festival of Sun God, and he is regarded as the symbol of divinity and wisdom, the festival holds an eternal meaning.

Makar Sankranti is a blissful festival celebrated by Hindus. All enthusiasts step out of their houses and enjoy flying kites. Colourful kites fill the sky on the auspicious day of Sankranti. Further it is also believed that any sacred ritual can be performed from this day onwards.

It is the festival of til-gul, where sesame and jaggery laddoos or chikkis are distributed. It is also traditional to consume Khichdi and Jaggery.

Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the Sun into Makara rashi (Capricorn) on its celestial path, and the six-month Uttarayana period.  Makara Sankranti is also called as Uttarayana - the day on which the sun begins his northward journey The traditional Indian calendar is based on lunar positions, Sankranti is a solar event. The date of Makar Sankranti remains constant over a long term, 14 January or occasionally, 15 January as the Sun begins to rise in Makara Rashi.Sankranti marks the termination of winter season and beginning of a new harvest or spring season.

The Puranas say that on this day Sun visits the house of his son Shani, who is the swami of Makar Rashi. This day symbolizes the healthy relationship of father & son.

It was on this day when Lord Vishnu ended the ever increasing terror of the Asuras by finishing them off and burying their heads under the Mandara Parvata (Mountain). So this occasion also represents the end of negativities and beginning of an era of righteous living.

Another interesting fact is that on this day Goddess Durga (also known as Mahishasur-mardini) set foot on earth for the first time with a purpose to kill the demon king Mahishasur.

Makar Sankranti is celebrated all over India with same name in many states and with different names in some states ie Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Maghi (Lohri is celebrated a day before) in Punjab, Bihu in Assam, Uttarayana in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Daan is also given on this day to please the planets. This day has a special significance for Anna Daan. The donation of Wheat, Black Sesame (Kala Til), White Sesame (Safed Til), Satnaja (combination of seven kinds of grains) is considered very auspicious. Such donation has the power to remove planetary Doshas related to Sun and Saturn. Donation of blankets and clothes are aslo done to please the God. 

Married women organize a ceremony of haldi-kumkum (applying vermilion and turmeric to the forehead) and gift articles to other married women.

Prayers are offered to Lord Ganesha, Lord Surya, Lord Vishnu, Maa Durga and Maa Gayatri on this auspicious day.

New ethanol policy on the cards

The government plans to come out with a new ethanol policy focusing on producing more ethanol within a month. The new policy will seek to address wider sourcing of ethanol, including bio-wastes, over and above the main source sugar. Other options like rotten vegetables and municipal waste are being considered to produce the "cleaner" fuel.The transport ministry has already issued draft notification on the emission norms for 100% ethanol-fueled vehicles.

India, Pakistan talks deferred after Pathankot air base attack

India and Pakistan have agreed to reschedule talks between their foreign secretaries, the Indian foreign ministry said on Thursday, while an investigation into a deadly attack on a military base in Pathankot is carried out.
India has demanded action against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad that it suspects of carrying out the attack on the Pathankot air base.

Cabinet approves India joining the International Energy Agency – Ocean Energy Systems

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for India becoming a member country of the International Energy Agency - Ocean Energy Systems (IEA-OES) by signing the Implementing Agreement (IA). The nodal agency for the membership would be Earth System Science Organisation - National Institute of Ocean Technology (ESSO-NIOT) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

By becoming a member of the IEA-OES, India will have access to advanced R&D teams and technologies across the world. India will partner in developing test protocols along with other countries. This will help in testing Indian prototypes as per international requirements and norms. Joint cooperative programs with institutes of member countries could be taken up. India's own research projects with specific targets can be taken up in conjunction with other countries.

WPI number for the month of December

The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at -0.73% (provisional) for the month of December, 2015 (over December, 2014) as compared to -1.99% (provisional) for the previous month and -0.50% during the corresponding month of the previous year.  Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 0.74% compared to a build up rate of -0.89% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Latest IIP, CPI data shows steady economic growth: Finance Ministry

NEW DELHI: The finance ministry has said latest data for Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI)-New Series points at steady improvement in the Indian economy.

The August IIP growth has registered an increase of more than 6 % after 34 months, a ministry statement said late Tuesday.
"Cumulative IIP growth in the first five months in 2015-16 at 4.1%s better than the growth of 3 % in the same period last year," it said adding that the manufacturing sector growth at 6.9 % in August has spearheaded industrial production.
Double digit growth in capital goods (21.8 %) and consumer durables (17%) in August 2015, helped of course by a favourable base effect, imply improvement in investment and consumption demand, it said.
Industrial growth data is a reflection of recovery in the economy, predominantly led by domestic demand as the external sector environment continues to be sluggish, the statement said.
On inflation, the ministry said it continues to remain low. " Year-on-year inflation as reflected in all India CPI (combined) increased to 4.4 %n September 2015 from 3.7% in August 2015. However it is low compared to 5.6 % in September 2014, " it said. Inflation based on Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) in September 2015 (3.9 %) is lower than in September 2014 (6.2 %), the ministry pointed.

"Inflation continues to be low as per the latest available CPI numbers," it said. 

Retail inflation rises, IIP falls

MUMBAI: India's annual consumer price inflation edged up for a fifth consecutive month to 5.61 per cent in December from a year earlier, matching analyst expectations on the back of rising food prices, government data showed on Tuesday.

India's industrial output declines since Oct 2011

India's annual industrial output contracted in November, its worst performance in more than four years, while retail inflation picked up, complicating the central bank's task of steering monetary policy at a time of international deflation.Industrial output contracted 3.2 percent in November from a year earlier, compared with upwardly revised growth of 9.9 percent the previous month, Ministry of Statistics data showed on Tuesday.
The government has revised its economic growth target downwards to 7 to 7.5 percent for the fiscal year that ends on March 31, from an earlier estimate of 8.1 to 8.5 percent, due to weak farm output and declining exports.
A second year of drought in many parts of the country has hit production of rice, sugar, cotton and other crops, forcing the government to resort to imports to tame prices.
The consumer price index, which the Reserve Bank of India tracks in setting lending rates, edged up to 5.61 percent from a year earlier, in line with the expectations of economists, the data showed.


Retail prices were up 5.41 percent in November.
Analysts said a irregular rainfalls and plan to hike salaries of federal government employees by nearly 24 percent both pose risks to the Reserve Bank of India's target of capping retail inflation at 5 percent by March 2017.

TCS Q3 net profit rises 12.2 pct; beats estimates

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, India's largest software services exporter, on Tuesday reported a 12.2 percent increase in quarterly net profit, beating estimates, as it won more outsourcing deals from its western clients.
The company, part of India's diversified Tata conglomerate, reported a net profit of 61.1 billion rupees ($913.8 million) in the October-December quarter, up from 54.4 billion rupees a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting a profit of 59.97 billion rupees in the three month period ended Dec. 31.