231 Namami Gange projects worth Rs 1500 Cr launched

 Haridwar/New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) In its bid to fast-track execution of the ambitious Namami Gange programme, the NDA government today launched 231 projects, including installation of sewage treatment plants and ghat constructions, at over 100 locations in seven states with an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore.

The projects, aimed at cleaning the holy river and ensuring its unfettered flow, were launched simultaneously at 103 locations in five basin states of the river - Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, besides Delhi and Haryana through which Ganga's tributary Yamuna passes.

Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Uma Bharati and Mahesh Sharma and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat launched 43 such projects in Haridwar.

Noting "wrong planning" resulted in high pollution level in Ganga, Union Water Resources Minister Bharati reiterated commitment of the Modi government to taking corrective steps to cleanse the river which she termed as "pride of the world and country".

"The Ganga has not been polluted because of untreated water as much as because of wrong planning. Projects being launched under Namami Gange are corrective steps to atone for what has been done over the years to dirty the river," she said at the event.

"We will achieve what has been resolved," she told the gathering, according to an official statement.

Announcing that the Centre is mulling a legislation, called the Ganga Act, for the success of Namami Gange, Bharati said industries will not just be barred from dumping untreated waste into the holy river, but treated water will also be diverted for irrigation purposes.

The preliminary draft of the Act will be sent to the states for their opinion and the final draft will be prepared based on it, she said.

Bharati also renewed her pledge to begin a 'Ganga Padayatra' (foot march) in October this year to create awareness among the people about advantages of a 'Clean Ganga' and how they could contribute to it.

The minister said those found dumping industrial waste into the Ganga will be sent to jail.

She said that Namami Gange will achieve its objective by 2018 but its effects will be visible by the end of this year.

Union Transport Minister Gadkari said the government will install 60 sewage treatment plants and launch 50 other big projects under the mission later this year. .

Joint Press Conference by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya and Mr. Guy Ryder, DG of ILO held

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge), Shri Bandaru Dattatreya along with the Director-General of International Labour Organization (ILO), Mr. Guy Ryder addressing the joint press conference, in New Delhi on July 07, 2016. The Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Shri Shankar Aggarwal is also seen.

Government of India is following the approach of ‘Reform to Transform’ through far-reaching structural reforms. Employment Generation is the first priority for Government of India. This was stated by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State(IC) for Labour and Employment in a joint press conference with DG,ILO(International Labour Organisation) Shri Guy Ryder here today. India is working on a comprehensive strategy to bring employment to the core of development strategy, promoting industrial activity through Make in India, enhancing employability through Skill India and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship through Start up India. These are a few transformative initiatives that the existing government has taken. 

The Minister said that India is very proactive voice on the international Labour Policy Forum. International Labour Conference 2015 adopted the Recommendation on Transition from Informal to Formal economy (R 204) aimed at facilitating the transition of workers and economic units from the informal to the formal economy with an overwhelming majority. The concept of ‘Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)’, which India is practicing, has also been acknowledged by the international forum as a powerful intervention for leading the transition. 

He said India is actively engaged with other international forums like BRICS and G20 to address common issues faced by these nations in labour and employment sectors. BRICS brings together five major emerging economies, comprising 43% of the world population, having 37% of the world GDP and 17% share in the world trade. Starting essentially with economic issues of mutual interest, the agenda of BRICS meetings has considerably widened over the years to encompass topical global issues. BRICS cooperation has two pillars – consultation on issues of mutual interest through meetings of Leaders as well as at the level of Ministers. 

India has assumed the presidency of BRICS, this year, the Minister informed. Labour & Employment pillar has newly been added to BRICS. The Ministerial level meeting of BRICS took place recently at the sidelines of International Labour Conference at Geneva. For the first time an Employment Working Group of BRICS has been constituted and the first meeting of the Group is scheduled to be held on 27-28, July, 2016 at Hyderabad, India. This will be followed by the Labour & Employment Ministers’ Meet in October 2016. 

Shri Dattatreya said that the Ministry of Labour and Employment is committed towards job security, wage security and social security for each and every worker. The Ministry is working on reforms for bringing transparency and accountability in enforcement of Labour Laws. Simultaneously, the Ministry is making important initiatives to realize and establish the dignity and respect for each and every worker in the country through provision of social security and enhancing the avenues and quality of employment. 

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Guy Ryder, DG, ILO said that the World of Work is fast changing due to globalization, technological upgradation, geo-political situations for which collective responses and solutions needs to be taken by all the stake holders. India is the fastest growing economy, largest democracy and the youngest nation and is responsive to the challenges that new global order is throwing at . He said there is a very clearly detectable convergence in the priorities and ambitions of Indian government with the objectives of ILO. Indian Government is focussing on rural population and rural economy and expressed hope of success in these efforts, he added. Talking about India’s footprint on international labour policy he said that India is not only a founding member of ILO but a strong voice on the issues of Labour. Speaking of ILO’s role he said, the ILO can bring three ingredients to these efforts i.e. International experience, international labour standards and social dialogue. ILO as a 100-year-old organisation looks forward to strong and practical India leading in achieving ILO objectives. Sympathising with labour reforms, Mr.Guy Ryder said there is nothing negative or objectionable about labour reforms as per se. Labour laws that are easy to comprehend and easy to implement are need of the day. He said that the international community is coming closer and UN adopted development agenda for 2030 with 17 goals to be achieved and one of these commitment is decent work opportunities for all. Mr. Guy Ryder also responded to questions from media while interacting with them. 

Mr. Guy Ryder, Director General, International Labour Organization (ILO) is on a five day visit to India from July 5-9, 2016, at the invitation of Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State (IC), Labour and Employment. The DG is participating in high-level discussions with Government officials and Social Partners. He had successful one-to-one meetings with the Prime Minister and the Minister of State (IC), Labour and Employment. ILO is the highest tripartite UN body on labour matters. Presently, 187 countries are members of ILO. India is a founding member of ILO and a permanent member of the Governing Body. 

The visit of Mr. Guy Ryder, DG, ILO to India has come at an appropriate time. ILO is a think tank for many other international fora in their research activities. This visit of DG, ILO would be beneficial both to ILO as well India. 

Market consolidates as Sensex creeps up, Lupin leads

 Mumbai, Jul 7 (PTI) Market remained in a phase of consolidation as the Sensex edged up 35 points in choppy trade today ahead of start of earnings season next week and Monsoon session of Parliament amid a higher opening in Europe.

According to the just-released US Fed minutes, policymakers decided to put rate hike plans on hold till they get a grip on likely consequences of the Brexit fallout.

The earnings season is scheduled for next week and the Monsoon session is slated to begin from July 18.

Healthcare, FMCG, power and banking stocks were on the radar as buying paced up.

Though the market showed plenty of resilience after the UK vote to exit the European Union, investors digest implications of the development and are trying to get a sense of the fuller impact.

HSBC in a report said India's economy may grow at a slightly slower pace of 7.4 per cent this fiscal amid weaker global demand and risk aversion, which injected a sense of restraint.

The 30-share Sensex gave up most of its early gains before closing at 27,201.49, a moderate gain of 34.62 points, or 0.13 per cent.

On Tuesday, the index had dropped 112 points for the first time in six sessions as investors booked profits in recent gainers.

The NSE Nifty settled the day at 8,337.90, up 1.95 points, or 0.02 per cent.

The market was shut yesterday on account of 'Eid-Ul-Fitr'.

IT, auto, capital goods and metal stocks came under pressure, which restricted the gains.

Lupin topped the Sensex gainers' list, soaring 6.25 per cent after the company received Establishment Inspection Report from USFDA for the Goa facility, followed by Hind Unilever 3.03 per cent.

The recovery also got support from gains in Dr Reddy's, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Power Grid, ITC, Cipla, NTPC, Axis Bank and Sun Pharma, rising by up to 2.97 per cent.

Punjab National Bank rose 2.68 per cent as its arm PNB Housing Finance approached Sebi for an IPO to raise Rs 2,500 crore.

Of the 30-share Sensex pack, 12 advanced while 18 fell.

BSE healthcare counter saw maximum activity with gains of 1.14 per cent, followed by FMCG (0.92 per cent), power (0.30 per cent), banking (0.24 per cent) and realty (0.20 per cent).

The small-cap index ended 0.04 per cent higher while the mid-cap index fell 0.41 per cent.

The buy momentum continued as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net bought shares worth Rs 265.63 52 crore on Tuesday, provisional data from the stock exchanges showed.

Global stocks presented a mixed picture. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 1.03 while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.67 per cent and Shanghai Composite shed 0.01 per cent.

European stocks extended their early advance, with Britain's FTSE, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 climbing up to 1.61 per cent

PM Modi arrives in Mozambique

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and the President of Mozambique, Mr. Filipe Nyusi, at the delegation level talks, at Maputo, Mozambique on July 07, 2016.

Maputo (Mozambique), Jul 7 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in Mozambique as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.

"A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi's arrival in Mozambique's capital Maputo.

Modi begins his five-day tour with Mozambique and will then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

"Beginning my Africa tour with a visit to Mozambique. This visit will strengthen India's bond with Mozambique," the Prime Minister said in a tweet.

7th Pay Commission News - Pay Matrix Table

We received good response on our earlier post on 

``Cabinet approves Implementation of the recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission`` 

(more than 100 hits) published on 29 June 2016 and in turn some readers wanted information on pay matrix table. In view of above, we are giving information on the same for benefit of all readers :

Pay Matrix Table for Central Government Employees : Pay Matrix which is simple, transparent, predictable and easily comprehensible. During their interactions with the Commission, the stakeholders placed many demands, ranging from common entry pay, rationalization of the existing grade pay structure, common treatment of like cadres, transparent pay structure as also increasing the frequency of the MACP. The new pay matrix incorporates all these features: subsuming the grade pay, the rationalized matrix presents the whole universe of pay levels in one simple chart. The levels have been rationalized too, displaying a logical pay progression. Employees would be able to see their pay level, where they fit in and how they are likely to progress over their career span. The Commission has also recommended simplified procedures for computation of pension.

Pay Matrix Table : 7th Pay Commission has recommended the new pay structure for Defence Personnel with minimum of Rs.21700 and maximum of 250000. We compiled the table with Pay Band wise and given below for your information…Just scroll and click the images links and get the separate table for all pay bands…

17 new faces in Modi Govt; Javedekar elevated to cabinet rank

 New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) 17 new faces including BJP leaders S S Ahluwalia, and M J Akbar and allies Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal and Ramdas Athawale of RPI were today inducted along with two old hands Vijay Goel and Faggan Kulaste into the Modi government in expansion and reshuffle in which five were dropped and Environment Minister Prakash Javedekar was elevated to the Cabinet.

The second exercise by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in little more than two years since he took over in May 2014 saw a number a dalit and OBC leaders being given ministerial positions done apparently with an eye on assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand next year and Gujarat later.

Javadekar, who held independent charge of Environment, was the lone minister to be promoted to the cabinet rank while all new inductees took oath as Ministers of State. Earlier, there was speculation that Power Minister Piyush Goel and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be elevated to the Cabinet.

Ajay Tamta (Uttarakhand), Arjun Ram Meghwal (Rajasthan), Krishna Raj (UP), Athawale (Maharashtra), Ramesh C Jigajinagi (Karnataka) were among the dalit MPs administered the oath of Office and Secrecy by President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan attended by Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Modi, his cabinet colleagues, BJP President Amit Shah and leaders allied parties among others. No Congress leader was present.

Others who were inducted included P P Chaudhary, C R Chaudhary (Rajasthan), A M Dave, Faggan Singh Kulaste (Madhya Pradesh), Mahendra Nath Pandey (UP), Purshotam Rupala, J Bhabhor and Mansukhbhai Mandaviya (Gujarat), Rajen Gohain (Assam) and S R Bhamre (Maharashtra).

Akbar was elected recently to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh while Goel represents Rajasthan in the Upper House.

Ahluwalia was elected to Lok Sabha from Darjling while Anupriya Patel was elected from Mirzapur in UP.

Those dropped from the ministry are Nihalchand, Ram Shankar Katheria, Sanwar Lal Jat, Manuskhbhai D Vasava and M K Kundariya.

All barring Goel and Faggan Kulaste are new faces while a few have been ministers in BJP-ruled state governments. .

Cabinet expansion will reflect ''budget focus & priorities'': PM

 New Delhi, July 4 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi was tonight quoted as saying that tomorrow's expansion of his ministry will reflect "budget focus and priorities".

Modi, who met a group of journalists here, talked about various other issues, including the Dhaka carnage with regard to which he pressed the need for the world to unite to fight against terrorism.

During the interaction, he referred to the expansion of his Council of Ministers tomorrow and said it is "reflect the budget focus and priorities", according to one of those present.

Modi said the four-point agenda on minimum government for maximum governance was expeditious clearance of office files, improving ease of doing business, reduced time for Cabinet note finalisation and government no longer working in silos, the journalist from Business Standard reported on the website of the newspaper.

"(It is) not correct to say economic growth in India will be jobless. Focus (is) on creating more jobs in retail sector.

Model law (has) already (been) passed," he said.

"I am in favour of promoting the personal sector for creating more jobs," the Prime Minister said, adding Banks Board Bureau will act as an agent to distance ownership from management.

He said subsidies reforms have made headway with kerosene and urea.

Entire leakage of subsidised kerosene in Chandigarh has been plugged and there are no complaints of urea shortage after more production and neem-coating, Modi said.

He said 70 per cent of 125,000 beneficiaries of loans under Jan Dhan Yojana for women and people belong to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward castes.

Talking about the Dhaka carnage, Modi said it was a reminder to the world to unite to fight against terrorism.

He said it was time to give a bigger push to adopting the United Nations resolution to define terrorism through the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

Nifty ends over 10-month high, up 42 points

Mumbai, Jul 4 (PTI) Market benchmark Nifty gained for sixth session in a row to mark over fresh 10 month highs by 42.35 points to finish at 8,370.70 following buying in key frontline shares on the back of good monsoon progress and higher global cues.

Shrinking domestic monsoon deficit reports, strong rupee and Higher Asian as well as European opening ruled today's range-bound trading momentum as key indices rallied to reach a high of 8,398.45 intra-day, however some gains were erased from mid-afternoon amid caution witnessed in European trading momentum.

Monsoon deficit substantially shrank to 6 per cent from previous 18 per cent in the first week of June, while shares of Tata Motors rallied after the company reported an 8 per cent growth in sales in June.

Elsewhere, China led gains across Asian stock markets on Monday as investors bet that global central banks would loosen policies to encourage economic growth. However, European market witnessed mixed trend after initial gains.

The 50-share index opened higher at 8,376.75 and moved between 8,398.45 and 8,364.70 before ending at 8.370.70, showing a gain of 42.35 points, or 0.51 per cent, the level not seen since August 20, 2015.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth net Rs 187.51 crore last Friday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Among the counters, PSU Bank climbed 2.53 per cent, followed by Realty (2.31 per cent), Metal (1.56 per cent), Infra (1.24 per cent), Media (1.24 per cent), Energy (1.19 per cent), Commodities (0.86 per cent), IT (0.78 per cent), Auto (0.70 per cent), Financials (0.70 per cent) Bank (0.62 per cent), Pharma (0.61 per cent) and Pvt Bank (0.54 per cent).

The midcap index surged 1.20 per cent, while smallcap gained 1.55 per cent.

Major gainers were BHEL (4.54 per cent), Adani Ports (4.38 per cent), Tata Motors (4.13 per cent), ICICI Bank (3.25 per cent), ONGC (3.13 per cent).

Key losers included ITC (2.95 per cent), Bosch (1.92 per cent), Dr Reddy (1.41 per cent), Indusind bank (1.40 per cent), Grasim (1.36 per cent).

A total of 1071 scrips gained, 521 declined while 85 were unchanged.

Turnover in cash segment fell to Rs 17,749.99 crore from Rs 19,138.24 crore yesterday.

A total of 11,952.97 lakh shares changed hands in 73,43,133 trades. The market capitalisation of NSE stood at Rs 102,46,512 crore.

India represents enormous opportunities to Europeans:V K Singh

Cascais (Portugal), Jul 4 (PTI) Seeking Portuguese investment in the country, Union Minister V K Singh has said that India represents enormous opportunities to European partners and it is expected to spend around USD 130 billion on defence modernisation alone in the next seven years.

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, also a former army chief, also said India has announced a new Defence Procurement Procedure in March that seeks to make the country a manufacturing hub for export of 'Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured' (IDDM) items, to other countries.

"India is expected to spend around USD 130 billion on defence modernisation alone in the coming seven years," Singh said addressing a meeting on 'Portugal and India - Forging a New Growth Partnership' here yesterday.

"The fact that the Portuguese association of defence industries IDD participated in our flagship defence event AEROINDIA for the first time last year, is a clear sign of growing Portuguese interest in collaborating with us in this sector," Singh said as he pitched for investment in India.

He said the two sides are looking at exchanging visits by the Defence Ministers soon to advance their ties in the field.

Singh said the BJP-led government has placed a renewed thrust on public investment in infrastructure, to help improve the investment climate.

"We are planning to spend USD 32 billion on building highways, USD 16 billion on building world-class port infrastructure, USD 5.5 billion on developing inland waterways and USD 132 billion on modernising the rail sector," he added.

The minister said a clear-cut road map for lowering corporate tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent over the next 4 years has also been laid down.

"Retrospective Minimum Alternative Tax affecting foreign funds has been waived and the government is working towards early implementation of the Goods and Services Tax," he added.

The minister said that given Portugal's acknowledged world class competencies in many of India's priority sectors especially infrastructure, renewable energy, construction and tourism, India invite the Portugese government, business and industry to take advantage of these opportunities and partner it in its transformative economic agenda.

He rued that the bilateral trade and investment relations, while remaining warm, are well below potential.

"While bilateral trade grew steadily over the past few years, it dipped significantly in 2014 and 2015 to less than USD 700 million from a high of almost USD 967 million.

"While this is perhaps reflective of the global economic situation and the slowing down of global trade including India's overall trade, it demonstrates fairly clearly that our two countries need to do much more to tap into the tremendous economic opportunities and synergies that exist between us," he said.

"It is now time to turn the challenges perceived by both our businesses into opportunities for 'win win' partnerships between India and Portugal. We look to our Portugese partners to shed inhibitions, rediscover their entrepreneurial spirit and bet on the India story," he added.

PM meets Rio bound Indian sportspersons, shares photos and words of encouragement for each of them on Twitter

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacting with the sportspersons who shall be representing India at forthcoming Rio Olympic Games, in New Delhi on July 04, 2016.

In a unique and perhaps unprecedented gesture, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today interacted individually with over 60 athletes who will represent India at the forthcoming Rio Olympics. 

The Prime Minister offered words of encouragement to each of them. He also chatted informally with several athletes, who drew out their mobile phones for selfies with the Prime Minister. 

Later in the day, the Prime Minister took to the social networking platform Twitter, to share his photographs with each player, with words of encouragement for each of them. 

Several sportspersons appreciated this gesture of the Prime Minister, and responded by sharing their own selfies and photos with the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has also been retweeting some of these tweets, including those of Boxer Manoj Kumar, and Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt.