October 28th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Ekta Diwas
2. India – UAE
3. Aarogya Setu App
4. Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2020
5. UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue
6. GIFT IFSC
7. National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC)
8. National Program and Project Management Policy Framework (NPMPF)
9. Electricity Access in India and Benchmarking Distribution Utilities Report
10. Dr Tulsi Das Chugh Award - 2020

1. Ekta Diwas

Context:

31^st October is observed as Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day in memory of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, whose birth anniversary falls on this date.

Details:

• To commemorate the 145^th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on 31 October 2020 as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, the Prime Minister will visit Kevadia in Gujarat to pay homage to the great leader at the Statue of Unity.
• The Prime Minister will participate in the Ekta Diwas Parade and administer the Rashtriya Ekta Pledge.

Know all about Sardar Patel, his contributions to the freedom struggle and independent India, click on the linked article.

2. India – UAE

Context:

India – UAE agree to further defence cooperation through joint production and mutual trade.

Details:

• In order to boost defence exports a webinar between India and the UAE was held on the theme of “Indian Defence Industry Global Outreach for Collaborative Partnership: Webinar and Expo India – UAE Defence Cooperation”.
• It was organised under the aegis of the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, through the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).
• This webinar was part of the series of webinars which are being organized with friendly foreign countries in order to boost defence exports and to achieve the defence export target of $5 billion in the next five years.

3. Aarogya Setu App

Context:

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issues clarification regarding orders passed by the Central Information Commission on an RTI query with regard to the Aarogya Setu App.

Details:

• The government clarified that the Aarogya Setu App was launched by the Government of India in public-private partnership mode to bring the people of India together in its fight against COVID-19.
• The app was developed in a record time of around 21 days, to respond to the exigencies of the pandemic with lockdown restrictions only for the objective of building a Made in India Contact Tracing App with the best of Indian minds from the industry, academia and government, working round the clock to build a robust, scalable and secure App.
• The app has been developed by the NIC in collaboration with volunteers from the industry and academia.
• It is a collaborative effort of the government and the private sector.
• The App has been downloaded by more than 16.23 Cr users.

Know more about the Aarogya Setu App in the linked article.

4. Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2020

Context:

The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2020, which came into effect on 19 October 2020, have further streamlined.

Details of the amendments:

• The amendments relate to the requirements related to the filing of Form 27 and the submission of verified English translation of priority documents, which is not in the English language.
• Now, the patentee would get the flexibility to file a single Form-27 in respect of a single or multiple related patents. This will ease the compliance burden and boost innovation.
• Authorized agents would be able to submit Form-27 on behalf of the patentee. This will lead to greater ‘Ease of Doing Business’ for innovators.
• For filing Form-27, patentees would get 6 months, instead of the current 3 months.
• If the priority document is available in WIPO’s digital library, the applicant would not be required to submit the same in the Indian Patent Office.
• Where a patent is granted to two or more persons, such persons may file a joint Form-27.
• The patentee would be required to provide ‘approximate revenue/value accrued’.
• The patentee will not be required to file Form-27 in respect of a part or fraction of the financial year.

5. UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue

Context:

Finance Minister leads the Indian delegation in the 10^th Round of Ministerial UK – India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD).

Details:

• The Dialogue, inter alia, covered sharing of experiences on coronavirus response, to enable both countries to be enriched through experiences of the other.
• Other issues discussed include collaboration in the G20 on finance track matters, international tax agenda (including the development of inclusive consensus-based solution on the taxation of the digital economy), furthering of Financial Services Collaboration with special emphasis on Fin-Tech and GIFT City, the establishment of an annual India-UK Financial Market Dialogue, infrastructure development, sustainable finance with a focus on green finance.
• It was also decided to establish bilateral India – UK Sustainable Finance Forum.
• India – UK economic ties are important as together they are two of the world’s top seven economies with a combined GDP of over $5 trillion.
• India – UK trade has more than doubled since the first EFD in 2007, with bilateral investment supporting over half a million jobs across both countries.

6. GIFT IFSC

Context:

GIFT IFSC prescribes framework for listing of Depository Receipts.

Details:

• The framework provides for the listing of DRs by companies that are listed in FATF compliant jurisdictions (including India).
• The framework enables the eligible listed companies to raise capital through issuance and listing of DRs on the stock exchanges in GIFT IFSC.
• Additionally, the framework enables eligible companies having DRs listed on any exchange in an FATF-compliant jurisdiction to list and trade such DRs on the stock exchange(s) in GIFT IFSC as an additional venue for trading, without any fresh public offering.
• While IFSCA has prescribed the framework for essential disclosure requirements such as financial statements, material or price sensitive information, shareholding pattern, change of depository and corporate actions, the listed companies shall continue to comply with the applicable requirements of their respective home jurisdictions with respect to corporate governance norms and several other disclosure requirements, without additional regulatory burden.

7. National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC)

Context:

NSIC observes National Vigilance Awareness Week. More on Vigilance Awareness Week in PIB dated 25 October 2020.

About NSIC:

• NSIC is a certified Government of India Enterprise under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
• NSIC has been working to promote, aid and foster the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises in the country.
• NSIC operates through a countrywide network of offices and technical centres in the country.
• NSIC facilitates Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises with a set of specially tailored schemes to enhance their competitiveness. NSIC provides integrated support services under marketing, technology, finance and other support services.
• NSIC has been functioning since 1955.

The following table gives the services offered by NSIC:

8. National Program and Project Management Policy Framework (NPMPF)

Context:

NITI Aayog and Quality Council of India (QCI) launched the ‘National Program and Project Management Policy Framework’ (NPMPF), envisaged to bring radical reforms in the way infrastructure projects are executed in India.

Details:

• This framework aims to formulate radical reforms in the way large and mega infrastructure projects are managed in India, with an action plan to:
  • Adopt a program and project management approach to infra development.
  • Institutionalize and promote the profession of program and project management and build a workforce of such professionals.
  • Enhance institutional capacity and capability of professionals.
• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways also unveiled the Indian Infrastructure Body of Knowledge (InBoK).
  • InBok is a book on the practice of program and project management in India.
  • In the future, InBoK is envisioned to have extensions, which will be specific to each domain or industry for infrastructure, for example, a dedicated extension for roadways that captures issues and best practices specific to that sector.

9. Electricity Access in India and Benchmarking Distribution Utilities Report

Context:

NITI Aayog, Ministry of Power, Rockefeller Foundation, and Smart Power India launched the ‘Electricity Access in India and Benchmarking Distribution Utilities’ report.

Details:

• The report assesses 25 distribution utilities and is based on a primary survey conducted across 10 states.
• The survey represents about 65% of the total rural population of India and with a sample size of more than 25,000, including households, commercial enterprises and institutions.
• Aimed at capturing insights from both the demand (electricity customers) as well as supply-side (electricity distribution utilities), the report seeks to:
• Evaluate the status of electricity access in India across these states and distribution utilities along all dimensions that constitute meaningful access
• Benchmark utilities’ capacity to provide electricity access and identify the drivers of sustainable access
• Develop recommendations for enhancing sustainable electricity access
• Key findings:
  • 92% of customers reported the overall availability of electricity infrastructure within 50 metres of their premises; however, not all have connections, the primary reason being the distance of households from the nearest pole.
  • Overall, 87% of the surveyed customers have access to grid-based electricity. The remaining 13% either use non-grid sources or don’t use any electricity at all.
  • The hours of supply have improved significantly across the customer categories to nearly 17 hours per day.
  • Nearly 85% of customers reported to have a metered electricity connection.
  • Access to electricity is observed in 83% of household customers.
  • A satisfaction index was created to assess the overall satisfaction level of customers with utility services.
    • The study suggested that a total of 66% of those surveyed were satisfied – 74% of customers in urban areas and 60% in rural areas.

10. Dr Tulsi Das Chugh Award – 2020

Context:

CSIR-CDRI Scientist, Dr Satish Mishra bags “Dr Tulsi Das Chugh Award – 2020” given by the National Academy of Medical Sciences (India).

Details:

• Dr Mishra was selected for his research work on the Malaria parasite’s life cycle which is a complex process involving two hosts and three invasive stages.

About the National Academy of Medical Sciences (India):

• The Academy functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GOI.
• Founded in 1961 as the Indian Academy of Medical Sciences. It was renamed in 1976.
• The Academy encourages and sponsors nation-wide CME (continuing medical education) programmes, symposia, workshops, etc.
• Over the years the Academy has recognized the outstanding achievements made by Indian scientists in the field of medicine and allied sciences and conferred Fellowship as well as Membership to selected persons through a peer-reviewed process and finally voting by all the Fellows.

Read previous PIB here.

October 28th, 2020, PIB:- Download PDF Here