India, UK to contribute 120 mn pound each to green energy fund

New Delhi, Apr 4 (PTI) India and the UK today decided to contribute 120 million pound each to a fund to finance clean energy projects here, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.

The Green Growth Equity Fund will be a sub-fund of NIIF.

"We have established the NIIF. Our first major step in the fund has been taken and there is going to be a sub-fund.

With the NIIF participating in it, this is going to be a Green Growth Equity Fund where both are going to make a contribution of 120 million pound each and this will be financing the energy needs in India," Jaitley said.

In 2015, India had set up the Rs 40,000-crore National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) to finance greenfield as well as brownfield projects.

"This is going to be the first a major beginning as far as the fund is concerned," Jaitley said while addressing the media after the 9th India-UK Financial Dialogue.

During the meeting between Jaitley and the visiting UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, both countries reaffirmed their commitment to invest up to 120 million pound each in the joint fund which aims to raise around 500 million pound.

The fund will focus initial investments in India's rapidly growing energy and renewables market and a "fund manager would be selected by autumn".

"Progress will be accelerated by starting the process of appointing a fund manager now with early market engagement via the publication of a blueprint with the aim to identify additional and complementary sectors for fund investments," said the joint statement after the meeting of the two ministers.

India reiterates position of bilateral redressal of Indo-Pak issues

New Delhi, Apr 4 (PTI) India today made it clear that its position of bilateral redressal of all India-Pakistan issues has not changed, in a veiled snub to the US which suggested that it may "find its place" in efforts to de-escalate Indo- Pak tensions.

"Government's position for bilateral redressal of all India-Pakistan issues in an environment free of terror and violence hasn't changed.

"We of course expect international community and organisations to enforce international mechanisms and mandates concerning terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which continues to be the single biggest threat to peace and stability in our region and beyond," the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said.

He was responding to a query on remarks of US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley that the American administration was "concerned about the relationship between India and Pakistan and very much wants to see how we de-escalate any sort of conflict going forward".

Govt clears proposal to buy Barak missiles for Navy

New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI) The government on Monday approved procurement of a fresh batch of Barak surface-to-air missiles for Naval warships to enhance India's maritime capability in view of the changing security dynamics in the Indian Ocean region

A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, approved capital acquisition proposals totalling over INR 860 crore, including for the purchase of Barak missiles

The missiles will be procured under 'Buy Global' category from Rafael Advance Defense Systems Limited of Israel at an approximate cost of around INR 500 crore, defence ministry sources said

Almost all ships of the navy will be equipped with these missiles

The DAC, which is Defence Ministry's highest decision making body for capital acquisition, also accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of equipment such as underwater robot to counter mines in the sea

The equipment is being procured as a repeat order with 'buy global' categorisation at a cost of approximately Rs 311 crore

It was the first meeting of the DAC after Jaitley took as defence minister on March 14

At the meeting, Jaitley took stock of various procurement proposals and issued directions for close monitoring and expeditious clearance of pending capital acquisition cases

He particularly asked for close monitoring of the proposals which are with CFA (Competent Finanancial Authority) and CNC (Contract Negotiation Committee)

The sources said DAC also reviewed several old proposals and gave instructions for their speedy processing

The DAC also cleared procurement of 'Expendable Bathythermograph Systems', a small torpedo-shaped device that holds a temperature sensor and a transducer to detect changes in water temperature, for the Indian Navy which will be acquired from the US.

40 yrs of bloodshed has benefitted none, PM to Kashmiri youth

Udhampur (J&K), Apr 2 (PTI) Sending out a message to the misguided youth of Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said "40 years of bloodshed" has not benefitted anyone and that they should choose tourism over terrorism to ensure the state's development and well-being.

He again invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's slogan of 'Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat, Insaniyat (Kashmirism, democracy and humanity)' and said this "prime motto" will be used for taking the state to new heights of development and "no obstacle can stop us".

Modi, who was on a brief visit here to inaugurate the country's longest road tunnel between Kashmir and Jammu, used the occasion to tell the stone-pelters of the valley that stones can be used for better purposes -- building infrastructure.

Addressing a rally here, he told the Kashmiri youth that if they ignore the "invaluable tradition of sufi culture", they would "lose the present and put your future into darkness".

In a veield manner, the Prime Minister also hit out at the rulers of Pakistan who are eyeing Kashmir, saying "they can't even take care of themselves".

He said his government was committed to ensure fast-paced development of Jammu and Kashmir, which would also tell the people living under "occupation" in the other parts of the state how they are being destroyed.

At the event attended by Governor N N Vohra, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and some union and state ministers, Modi promised to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the development of Jammu and Kashmir and sought the cooperation of the people in this regard.

"I want to tell the misguided youth of Kashmir valley, realise the power of a stone. On one hand, there are some misguided youth who pelt stones, on the other hand, there are youth from the same Kashmir who carve stones to build infrastructure," he said.

The message was clearly for the youth who are indulge in stone-pelting in the Kashmir valley and thus risk their lives.

"I want to tell the Kashmiri youth, there are two paths in front of you which can determine your future -- one is tourism, the other is terrorism," he said.

"Over last 40 years, there has been lot of bloodshed. My own Valley has been blood-soaked, my Kashmir's beloved youth, my Hindustan's beloved youth. Nobody has benefitted from this bloodshed," the Prime Minister emphasised.

He said if the people of Kashmir had devoted the same 40 years to development of tourism, the valley would have been blessed with tourism of world class. .

Cong urges EC to scrap EVMs, return to ballot papers

New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) Crying foul over efficacy of EVMs in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress today knocked at the doors of the Election Commission and demanded scrapping its use in upcoming elections while reverting to old ballot paper system.

Citing the incident of Bhind where VVPAT machines dispensed slips only with BJP symbol, a delegation of Congress leaders met Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi and two other ECs seeking a thorough probe and strict action against officials involved.

The delegation comprised Digivijaya Singh, Jytiraditya Scindia, Mohan Prakash, K C Mittal and Vivek Tankha, who told the EC to discontinue use of EVMs.

"All parties should be taken into confidence for the credibility and viability of use of EVMs or to revert back to the old system of ballot papers," the Congress delegation said.

"In the face of revelations about tampering of EVMs, it is necessary that the entire process be re-examined thoroughly and all agencies and persons involved in maintenance, operation and data feedings of machines be examined before use of EVMs in further elections," the party said in a memorandum.

Congress general secretary Mohan Prakash said, "In a democracy, time and again there have been doubts created on EVMs. We have demanded that elections be held on ballot paper because every section has created doubts on EVMs. If there are doubts on votes cast, then democracy is weakened." 

Another party general secretary Digvijay Singh said, "The next elections, be it in Gujarat or elsewhere, should be held with ballot papers and the use of EVMs be stopped." 

He also questioned the "compulsion" of "using EVMs whose chip was imported".

He argued that if the Bank of Bangladesh's account can be hacked and 80 million Dollars be stolen, besides 30 million dollars from the Russian bank, "then why can't EVMs be tampered".

"When elections all over the world, including in the developed countries, are taking place with ballot paper, why should we have problems in doing so," Singh said, adding he had doubts on the efficacy of EVMs right from day one.

Scindia said, "We hope that the EC will seriously act on our complaint and EC has assured us that it will seriously look into complaints raised by us." 

Terming this as a "serious issue", Mittal said, "This is something substantially wrong. If this is found in EVMs, then it is better to discontinue its use. The entire credibility of electoral process is in jeopardy." 

Singh added, "From (LK Advani) Advani to Mayawati to (Arvind) Kejriwal, I stand with them on this." 

Notably, BJP veteran Advani had raised doubts about possibility of EVMs malfunctioning after the 2009 elections when UPA emerged victorious second time in a row.

Sindhu enters final, sets up title date with Marin

New Delhi, April 1 (PTI) Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu set up a summit showdown with Carolina Marin after a hard-fought win over World No. 4 Korean Sung Ji Hyun in the semifinals of the India Open Super Series here on Saturday.

Cheered on by a sizable crowd at the Siri Fort Sports Complex, Sindhu dished out a superb performance to outwit the second seeded Hyun 21-18 14-21 21- in a battle of nerves, in which fortunes fluctuated.

Fans, who kept chanting 'Sindhu' and 'India' throughout the match, will witness a rematch of the Olympic final on Sunday.

Earlier, Olympic and two-time world champion Marin of Spain, defeated Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, seeded fourth, 21-16 21-14 in an easy contest.

Coming into the match with a 6-4 head-to-head record, Sindhu displayed nerves of steel and produced some scintillating low lifts.

"I was prepared from the start because it's always a long match. So, in the second game, I was leading 5-2 but made simple errors as I hit a mid court smash outside.

"From there she lead 11-6 and I tried, but she maintained the lead and finished it off," Sindhu said.

The two-time world championship bronze medallist added, "In the decider, I was aggressive from the start. I remember last time I made some errors and gave her lead.

"So, I was prepared from the first point itself. She came back in the third but I told myself if she can win so many points why can t I and so I believed myself."

Talking about her final against Marin, Sindhu said: "At Dubai finals we played and I beat her but she defeated me at PBL but this time it will be at Delhi so I will have the support.

"But it will be a new game, new conditions, new style.

She might know my game and I might know hers, we both will have this feeling that we won against each other. But it will be a fresh strategy, fresh game, so who plays best on that day will win. I just hope for the best."

Sindhu had clinched her maiden Super Series Premier title at China Open last year before reaching the final at the Hong Kong Open.

This season, she guided the Chennai Smashers to the title win at the Premier Badminton League (PBL). She started the new international season with a win at the Syed Modi International Grand prix Gold tournament at Lucknow in January.

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.