Malaysia wants to raise ties with India to new heights: Najib

New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) Malaysia wants bilateral trade with India to touch USD 15 billion by 2020, visiting Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said here today.

In his interaction with President Pranab Mukherjee during the welcome ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Najib, who is on a six-day visit, said India has always supported Malaysia in difficult times and his country wants to raise their relations to "new heights".

Welcoming the dignitary, Mukherjee said the two countries have taken their strategic partnership forward, particularly after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Malaysia in November 2015.

There is considerable potential for Indo-Malaysia collaboration in defence production, Mukherjee said.

He said relations between India and Malaysia are centuries old and are "the best ever so far".

Reciprocating the sentiments, the visiting Prime Minster said the relations between India and Malaysia are multi-dimensional.

"The two countries can collaborate in a wide variety of fields. Malaysia would like to achieve target of USD 15 billion bilateral trade by 2020," he said.

Malaysia is India's third largest trading partner in ASEAN. Bilateral trade between Malaysia and India stood at USS12.8 billion in 2015-16, as against USD 16.9 billion in 2014-15.

The President said the visit is taking place as the two countries are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations.

"While our relations are historic, we have been able to make significant strides in the last 10 years," he said.

Mukherjee said commercial and investment relations have become the mainstay of India-Malaysia relations.

"There is also considerable potential for collaboration in defence production especially under the Make in India initiative," he said as he thanked Malaysia for the close cooperation on counter-terrorism.

The Malaysian Premier inspected the Guard of Honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan and paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

He had arrived in India on March 30. In the first leg of his visit, Najib went to Chennai, where he interacted with Malaysian students and met Tamil megastar Rajinikanth.

Najib met Vice President Hamid Ansari today.

He will visit Jaipur during his stay in India.

Cabinet allows unrestricted export of all certified organic agricultural products

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for removal of all quantitative ceilings on individual organic products and allowed unrestricted exports of all organic agricultural and organic processed products irrespective of any existing or future restriction/prohibition on the export of their basic product (non-organic). However, in respect of organic pulses and lentils, in view of their acute shortage in the country, the quantitative ceiling on exports will continue but enhanced from the existing 10,000 MT per annum to 50,000 MT per annum.

Removal of quantitative celling on wheat, sugar, non-basmati rice, organic sugar and increasing the limit on export of organic pulses is expected to contribute to the Government's objective of doubling the farmers' income. It will lead to reduction in input costs in farming and gaining premium price for organic agriculture products and in the process resulting in increased adoption of organic agriculture by farmers.

All organic products exports are certified by Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP). Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system wherein the products are grown in accordance with principles of sustainability. Government is supporting the farmers and exporters to tap huge opportunity that exists within the country and abroad for organic agriculture products.

A stable and consistent export policy relating to export of organic products would allow exporters to make long term commitment to the buyers and also establish linkages with the farmers. This is likely to result in enhanced realization to farmers from organic production. A stable export policy on organic agriculture products would complement various Government programs like National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NSAM), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Organic Value Chain Development in North Eastern Region (OVCDNER) which have been taken up to encourage organic agriculture.

CBDT notifies new Income Tax Return Forms for AY 2017-18

Introduces one page simplified ITR Form-1(Sahaj)

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has notified Income-tax Return Forms (ITR Forms) for the Assessment Year 2017-18. One of the major reforms made in the notified ITR Forms is the designing of a one page simplified ITR Form-1(Sahaj).  This ITR Form-1(Sahaj) can be filed by an individual having income upto Rs.50 lakh and who is receiving income from salary  one house property / other income (interest etc.) . Various parts of ITR Form-1 (Sahaj) viz. parts relating to tax computation and deductions have been rationalised and simplified for easy compliance. This will reduce the compliance burden to a significant extent on the individual tax payer. This initiative will benefit more than two crore tax-payers who will be eligible to file their return of income in this simplified Form.  

 

Simultaneously, the number of ITR Forms have been reduced from the existing nine  to seven forms. The existing ITR Forms ITR-2, ITR-2A and ITR-3 have been rationalized and a single ITR-2 has been notified in place of these three forms. Consequently, ITR-4 and ITR-4S (Sugam) have been renumbered as ITR-3 and ITR-4 (Sugam) respectively.

 

 There is no change in the manner of filing of ITR Forms as compared to last year. All these ITR Forms are to be filed electronically. However, where return is furnished in ITR-1 (Sahaj) or ITR-4 (Sugam), the following persons have an option to file return in paper form:-

 

(i) an individual of the age of 80 years or more at any time during the previous year;   or

(ii)  an individual or HUF whose income does not exceed five lakh rupees and who has not claimed any refund in the return of income,

 

     The notified ITR Forms are available on the department’s official website www.incometaxindia.gov.in

7th Central Pay Commission

The 7th Central Pay Commission has retained rate of annual increment at 3 percent. The 7th CPC has also recommended withholding of annual increments in the case of those employees who are not able to meet the benchmark either for MACP or a regular promotion within the first 20 years of their service. These recommendations have been accepted by the Government. 

The 7th CPC has observed that it is essential to have a linkage between Departmental Results Framework Documents (RFD) and Annual Appraisal Performance Report (APAR) and has suggested the following modification in the existing APAR system for determining Performance Related Pay:

(i)                 Alignment of Objectives: The Ministry’s Vision/Mission needs to be translated into a set of strategic objectives for each department and these objectives need to be cascaded by the Department Head to his subordinates and subsequently down the chain.

(ii)               Prioritizing Objectives, Assigning Success Indicators and their Weights: Objectives reflected in the APAR should be prioritized and assigned weights along with success indictors or Key Performance Indicators. The Commission recommended 60 percent weight on work output and 40 percent weight on personal attributes, instead of existing 60 percent weight on personal attributes and only 40 percent weight to work output.

(iii)             No Ex-ante Agreement: The indicators in the APAR of an officer/staff will need to be discussed and set with the supervisor at the beginning of the year.

(iv)             Timelines: The timelines for RFD may be synchronized with the preparation of the APAR so that the targets set under RFD get reflected in individual APARs in a seamless manner.

(v)               Online APAR System: The Commission recommended introduction of online APARs system for all Central Government officers/employees. 

This was stated by Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Open Slogan Contest on the theme “Role of National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) in Disaster Management in India” begins tomorrow

An online slogan contest on the theme “Role of National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) in Disaster Management in India” opens tomorrow. The best entry for the slogan contest will be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 25,000/- and certificate.

Only resident Indian citizens can participate in this slogan contest. Competition will start from 10:00 AM tomorrow. Entry received through email latest by 05:00 PM of April 17, 2017 will only be considered. Entries must be submitted by email to npdrr.india-mha@nic.in along with their contact details. Any correspondence regarding the contest will be by email provided by the participant. Organisers will not be liable in case of email delivery failure.

The slogans in not more than ten words, either in Hindi or English, should bring out the essence of collective decision making platform in the form of NPDRR provided to stakeholders from government, private, non-governmental sectors, so that country can endeavor to disaster resilient.

The best entry under the slogan contest will be selected by a panel of judges comprising of four members of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The best entry for the slogan contest will be provided with following awards/felicitation:

·      A cash prize of Rs. 25,000/- and a certificate from the Minister of State in MHA

·      To-and fro economy class air tickets from their place of stay in India for participating in the 2^nd meeting of NPDRR

·      Accommodation for 2 day and 2 night stay at Delhi during NPDRR for participating and presenting the view of the award winning entry in the 2^nd meeting of NPDRR

The 2^nd meeting of National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) will be held in New Delhi on April 24-25, 2017 on the theme ‘Disaster Risk Reduction for Sustainable Development: Making India Resilient by 2030’. It will have an exclusive Ministerial session besides Plenary session on the theme “National Perspective on Disaster Risk Reduction: Sendai and Beyond”. There will also be five Technical sessions  on the themes “Understanding Disaster Risk”, “Strengthening Disaster Risk Governance to Manage Disaster Risk”, “Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction for resilience”, “ Enhancing Disaster Preparedness for Effective Response and to Build Back Better in Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction” and “Sendai Framework for DRR: Monitoring”.

The National Platform aims to bring together the whole range of India's disaster risk community from Government, Parliamentarians, Local Self Governments, Media, International Organizations, NGOs, local community representatives, scientific and academic institutions and corporate businesses etc. It will help in sharing of experiences, views and ideas, present findings of research and action and explore opportunities for mutual cooperation in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

The multi-stakeholder NPDRR was constituted by the Government in 2013.  NPDRR is chaired by the Union Home Minister and Minister of State in-charge of Disaster Management in the Ministry of Home Affairs is the Vice Chairperson of NPDRR. The other members of NPDRR are 15 Cabinet Ministers, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Minister of each State Government/ UT dealing with the subject Disaster Management; representatives of Local Self-Governments and Parliament (4 members from Lok Sabha and 2 from Rajya Sabha), ex-officio members, Heads of institutions of national importance, persons representing industry, media representatives, civil society organizations and international representatives.

Apart from members of NPDRR, representatives from State Governments (Resident Commissioners, Relief Commissioners, SDMAs, select DDMAs, select local government representatives, heads of fire service and civil defence), representatives from Central Governments, select public sector organizations, institutions of national importance, private sector, financial institutions, professional experts, NGOs, pre-event organizers are going to participate in the meeting. About 1,000 participants are likely to attend the meeting.

The output from the National Platform will offer a strategic direction and a roadmap for the formulation of our future national action plans on DRR. The NPDRR will help sensitize the participants about important initiatives at global and national level on DRR, including AMCDRR 2016, and the Asia Regional Plan 2016, Prime Minister’s 10 point agenda on DRR. Key expected outcomes include:

§ To obtain consensus of the states/UTs for conducting Multi-hazard Risk Vulnerability Assessment within specific timeframe.

§ To explore how Hazard Risk Vulnerability Analysis (HRVA) outcomes can be integrated into policy formulation.

§ To identify constraints and find out their solutions in strengthening District Disaster Management Authorities in multi-hazard risk prone districts.

§ To develop a mechanism for compliance of building codes in urban areas and to develop building codes for rural areas.

§ To suggest various measures for promoting insurance as risk mitigation tool among the general public.

§ To explore possible areas/schemes for reducing risks of earthquakes, floods and landslides.

§ To strengthen Incident Response Forces at State/Local levels for effective response.

§ To have a mechanism in place for build-back-better.

§ To measure and monitor the performance of India on different priority areas/ targets of SFDRR

The first meeting of NPDRR was held on May 13-14, 2013 in New Delhi on the theme ‘Mainstreaming DRR in Development: From Risk to Resilience’. The meeting was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. It had two plenary and six thematic sessions and four pre-events. The proceedings of the meeting were forwarded to State Governments/UTs, nodal Ministries/ Department for appropriate action. Numbers of States and Central Ministries/organizations/department have reported action taken on the recommendations of the 1^st meeting of NPDRR.

The main functions of the NPDRR are:

·  To review the National Disaster Management Policy and progress made in the field of Disaster Management from time to time.

·  To appreciate the extent and manner in which the Disaster Management Policy has been implemented by the Central and State Governments, and other concerned agencies, and to give appropriate advice in the matter.

·  To advise on coordination between the Central and State Governments/UT Administrations, local self-governments and civil society organizations for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Joshi, Pawar, Sangma conferred Padma Vibhushan

New Delhi, Mar 30 (PTI) Political stalwarts Sharad Pawar, Murli Manohar Joshi and former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, cricketer Virat Kohli and Bollywood singer Anuradha Paudwal were among the 39 people who were conferred this year's Padma awards today.

Joshi, Pawar, Sangma (posthumous) and Prof. Udipi Ramachandra Rao, former Chairman of ISRO, were conferred Padma Vibhushan, the country's second highest civilian award, by President Pranab Mukherjee at a special function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

Yoga guru Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati, Thai princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and the father of laparoscopic surgery in India Tehemton Erach Udwadia were conferred Padma Bhushan awards.

The number of Padma awardees this year is 89, which includes seven recipients each for Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.

The rest of the awardees will be conferred the awards on April 13.

LS passes GST supplementary bills

New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) The historic Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime today came a step closer to meet its July 1 target of rollout, with the Lok Sabha approving four supplementary legislations.

The Central GST Bill, 2017; The Integrated GST Bill, 2017; The GST (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017; and The Union Territory GST Bill, 2017 were passed after negation of a host of amendments moved by the opposition parties.

Replying to the seven-hour-long debate, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the GST, which will usher in a uniform indirect tax regime in the country, will make commodities "slightly cheaper".

He said the GST rates would depend upon whether the commodity is used by a rich person or a common man.

Jaitley said once the new regime is implemented, the harassment of businesses by different authorities will end and India will be one rate for one commodity throughout the country.

He said the GST Council, comprising Finance Ministers of Union and states, had agreed to take a decision on bringing real estate within the ambit of the new tax regime within a year of its rollout.

On the impact of GST on prices, Jaitley said: "Today you have tax on tax, you have cascading effect. When all of that is removed, goods will become slightly cheaper".

On why the Council has decided on multiple GST rates, Jaitley said one rate would be "highly regressive" as "hawai chappal and BMW cannot be taxed at the same rate".

He said currently food articles are not taxed and those will continue to be zero rated under the GST. All other commodities would be fitted into the nearest tax bracket.

The GST Council has recommended a four-tier tax structure -- 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. On top of the highest slab, a cess will be imposed on luxury and demerit goods to compensate the states for revenue loss in the first five years of GST implementation.

However, the Central GST (CGST) law has pegged the peak rate at 20 per cent and a similar rate has been prescribed in the State GST (SGST) law, which takes the peak rate to 40 per cent which will come into force only in financial exigencies.

Jaitley said the cess would be transient for a period of 5 years so that the proceeds can be utilised to compensate the states.

Touted as the biggest taxation reform since Independence, GST will subsume central excise, service tax, VAT and other local levies to create an uniform market. GST is expected to boost GDP growth by about 2 per cent and check tax evasion.

Balloon Flights for Scientific Expedition

Scientific Ballooning was started in India during the 1950’s by Dr. Homi J. Bhabha under the aegis of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), an autonomous body under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and was established in the outskirts of Hyderabad in the 1970’s. Since then, more than 490 balloon flights of various sizes have been conducted from this center till date. This is one of the unique facilities in the world where stratospheric zero pressure balloons are designed, fabricated with indigenous material, launched and the instruments recovered. The balloons designed and fabricated in this facility have also been exported to foreign scientific institutions and many foreign scientific missions have also been flown from the Hyderabad balloon facility. 

Balloons supplied by this facility are used to measure vertical wind profiles at SDSC-SHAR before launch of satellites by ISRO and also for qualifying many instruments in near space environments before being incorporated in satellites. This facility is also involved in experimental strategic programs of the armed forces. Experiments carried out on the earth’s atmosphere have also helped in rain prediction as well as pollution monitoring and control. Any scientific institution which desires to conduct scientific balloon flights can approach Balloon Facility, Hyderabad and send the proposal for conducting the scientific experiment. TIFR ensures that all the concerned agencies are kept informed about the flights, their expected trajectory and their likely recovery area. 

At the time of the balloon flights, all Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) in the corridor allotted for balloon flights are kept informed by TIFR well in advance of the trajectory of the balloon flight. During the balloon flight, the ATCs are kept informed of the actual position of the balloon on minute by minute basis. The police stations in the vicinity of the expected landing of the instruments are also informed. Pamphlets regarding the instruments are attached to the instruments in various local languages and the persons to contact in case these instruments are sighted by any person, are prominently displayed. Also, an advance party of TIFR technicians is always following the balloon trajectory in a vehicle so as to reach the landed instrument in the shortest possible time. Care is taken to try and release the payload in sparsely inhabited areas of the corridor and only in broad daylight so that the instrument descending on a brightly colored parachute is easily visible to any person on the ground.

In addition, for every flight window season, the Balloon Facility communicates with the Chief Secretary of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Police Wireless of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra for awareness of balloon drift and instrument recovery. In the case of balloon flights conducted for Government funded and private institutions, the cost is recovered from the institution concerned. With regard to in-house experiments and research and with regard to improving balloon design and efficiency and for procuring equipment for safely conducting balloon flights, funding from the Government (DAE) in terms of Plan Funds is about Rupees One crore per year.

This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Quality Control of Processed Food Items

The Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act was enacted in 2006 to establish the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). FSSAI has the mandate for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import and to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. The work relating to implementation and enforcement of the FSS Act, 2006 and regulations thereunder has primarily been entrusted to the Food Safety Departments of the States/Union Territories. Appropriate structures have been established in the States/Union Territories for enforcement of the Act. 

Regulation 2.2 of the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011 prescribes the general requirements for labelling of pre-packaged food which includes the clause regarding nutritional information on food labels. 

Regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection and random sampling of food products is undertaken by the officials of Food Safety Departments of the respective States/ UTs to ensure that food products comply with the laid down standards. In cases, where food samples are found to be non-conforming to the prescribed standards, recourse is taken to penal provisions under Chapter IX of the FSS Act, 2006. 

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh Faggan Singh Kulaste stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today. 

Automobile Safety Standards

India is a signatory of UNECE, WP-29, 1998 agreement and takes active part in the formulation of Global Technical Regulations. As such all safety norms prescribed under CMVR 1989 are based on UN regulated international standards. 

Although government has not put any mechanism in place to monitor and redress manufacturing defects, Indian Auto Industry has proactively, on a voluntary basis put in place ‘Voluntary Recall Policy’ since June 2012. 

This information was given by Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Shri Babul Supriyo in reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha today.