Steps to Promote Investment in Agriculture

Press Information Bureau: Dec 12, 2012The Government of India has launched several schemes to increase public investment in agriculture sector, such as, the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Development and Strengthening of Infrastructure Facilities for Production and Distribution of Quality Seeds, National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize(ISOPOM), Gramin Bhandaran Yojana etc.

In addition, Government has substantially improved the availability of farm credit and increased Minimum Support Price to improve investment in the farm sector.

Allocation of the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation has increased considerably from Rs.5560.00 crore in 2007-08 to Rs.20208.00 crore in 2012-13 facilitating more investment in agriculture sector.

Besides, the Government has issued a “Framework for Public Private Partnership for Integrated Agricultural Development” under RKVY for facilitating large scale integrated projects, led by private sector in the agriculture and allied sectors, with a view to aggregating farmers and integrating the agricultural supply chain.

FDI, upto 100% is permitted, under the automatic route, subject to conditions, as mentioned in para 6.2.1.1 of Circular 1 of 2012 – Consolidated FDI Policy, in the following agricultural activities:

Floriculture, Horticulture, Apiculture and Cultivation of Vegetables & Mushrooms under controlled conditions; Development and production of Seeds and planting material; Animal Husbandry (including breeding of dogs), Pisciculture, Aquaculture, under controlled conditions; and Services related to agro and allied sectors.

This information was given by Shri Tariq Anwar, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

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Visa on Arrival Scheme Registers A Growth of 25 Percent

Press Information Bureau: Dec 13, 2012The “Visa on Arrival” (VoA) Scheme of the government has become popular with the tourists. The scheme registered a growth of 25% during the period January-November 2012 over the corresponding period of 2011. A total number of 13,903 VoAs were issued during the period January-November 2012 as compared to 11,121 VoAs issued during the corresponding period of 2011. The highest number of 3913 VoAs were issued to the tourists from Japan followed by New Zealand ( 2645) and The Philippines ( 2205).

The following are the important highlights of VoAs issued during November, 2012.

During the month of November 2012, a total number of 1,630 VoAs were issued under this Scheme as compared to 1,382 VoAs during the month of November 2011, registering a growth of 17.9%. The number of VoAs issued under this scheme during November 2012 for nationals of the eleven countries were Japan (435), New Zealand (299), the Philippines (257), Indonesia (229), Singapore (207), Finland (86), Cambodia (70), Luxembourg (23), Myanmar (13), Vietnam (10) and Laos (1). The number of VoAs issued under this scheme during January-November 2012 were Japan (3,913), New Zealand (2,645), the Philippines (2,205), Indonesia (2,116), Singapore (1,718), Finland (810), Vietnam (152), Cambodia (144), Luxembourg (101), Myanmar (89) and Laos (10). During the period January-November 2012, the highest number of VoAs were issued at Delhi airport (8,285), followed by Mumbai (2,827), Chennai (1,950) and Kolkata (841). As a facilitative measure to attract more foreign tourists to India, the Government launched the “Visa on Arrival” (VoA) Scheme in January 2010 for citizens of five countries, viz. Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore, visiting India for tourism purposes. The Government extended this Scheme to the citizens of six more countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar in January 2011.

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India and Malaysia Agrees to Strengthen, Cooperation in Renewable Energies

Press Information Bureau: Dec 18, 2012The Minister of New and Renewable Energy, DR. Farooq Abdullah informed Rajya Sabha today that India and Malaysia have agreed to strengthen, promote cooperation in renewable energies between the two countries and to take necessary steps to encourage their development for mutual benefits.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Renewable Energy was signed between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India and the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Government of Malaysia on 7th November, 2012 in New Delhi. The two countries intend to form a Joint Working Group in order to coordinate in renewable energy through joint research or technical projects on subjects of mutual interest, exchange and training of scientific and technical personnel, exchange of available scientific and technological information and data, organization of workshops, seminars and working groups, transfer of know-how, technology and equipment, on non-commercial basis.

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Government to Develop 54 Cities as Solar Cities

Press Information Bureau: Dec 17, 2012The Minister of New and Renewable Energy, DR. Farooq Abdullah informed Rajya Sabha today that in-Principle, approval has been given to 54 cities for developing as Solar Cities.

The draft Master Plans have been prepared for 28 cities, out of which 8 Master Plans have been approved by his Ministry for implementation. So far, an amount of Rs.19.23 crore has been sanctioned for preparation of Master Plans, Solar City Cells and Promotional Activities for 41 cities, out of which Rs. 4.22 crore has been released. Further, an amount of Rs.11.98 crore has been sanctioned for execution of renewable energy projects in 5 cities, out of which Rs.3.87 crore has been released. The minister further informed that the criteria set by the Ministry for the identification of cities include a city population between 50,000 to 50 lakh (with relaxation given to special category States including North-East States), initiatives and regulatory measures already taken along with a high level of commitment in promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy.

So far, an amount of Rs.19.23 crore has been sanctioned for preparation of Master Plans, Solar City Cells and Promotional Activities for 41 cities, out of which Rs. 4.22 crore has been released. Further, an amount of Rs.11.98 crore has been sanctioned for execution of renewable energy projects in 5 cities, out of which Rs.3.87 crore has been released for utilization by the concerned State Nodal Agencies/ Municipal Corporations.

So far, the Master Plans for 8 cities namely Agra, Moradabad from Uttar Pradesh, Thane &Kalyan-Dombivli from Maharashtra, Indore from Madhya Pradesh, Kohima from Nagaland, Aizawl from Mizoramand Chandigarh have been finalized and the development of projects is in progress.

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India-Asean Trade to Reach $100 Billion Mark by 2015, Says Anand Sharma

Press Information Bureau: Dec 19, 2012Second India-ASEAN Business Fair 2012 BeginsInaugurating the 2nd India- ASEAN Business Fair- 2012 in New Delhi today, the Union Minister for Commerce, Industry & Textiles Shri Anand Sharma expressed confidence that the two-way trade between India and the ASEAN countries “will be able to reach USD 100 billion mark by 2015”. He also added that the early operationalisation of the Services and Investment Agreement would provide greater impetus to the trade and investment flows.

Welcoming the Trade Minister from the ASEAN countries, Shri Sharma urged the Trade Ministers that they should diversify the trade basket and that the economic gains on both sides would be substantial only if we develop supply chains with a focus on intra-industry trade. He also said that in order to realise the true potential of the economies, we should give a concerted push to strengthen the regional connectivity with ASEAN.

Shri Sharma said that India views its partnership with ASEAN as a crucial block in sustaining the growth momentum. “We would like to benefit from ASEAN experience in key sectors of economy such as infrastructure, agro-processing, retail and value added manufacturing. Equally, Indian companies can be invaluable partners for ASEAN economies in augmenting their productivity,” said Shri Sharma.

Speaking on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Shri Sharma said that the negotiations would be a momentous step. “The fruition of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership which will have in its embrace ASEAN and the six countries including India, China, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Japan and Australia, will truly have a defining influence on the global economic architecture,” Shri Sharma further added.

Later addressing media persons, Shri Sharma said that the FTA negotiations on Services and Investment would be concluded by tomorrow when ASEAN Ministerial will take place after the formal negotiations. “The senior officers have been meeting and we the Ministers have given them a very clear message and mandate at the recent ASEAN-India summit at Phnom Penh in Cambodia and senior officials and negotiators thereafter met in Jakarta… So the final round of negotiations is taking place between the senior officers of India, the Chief negotiator and his team and the ASEAN officials, and they will be formally reporting to the Ministerial meeting tomorrow. And the Ministers are committed. I can say for all of us to bring this negotiations to closure and carry on with our journey of partnership, added Shri Sharma.

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Domestic Air Passenger Data for November 2012 Released; 4.65 Lakh more Passengers Travel Compared to Previous Month

Press Information Bureau: Dec 20, 2012As per the passenger traffic data submitted by various domestic airlines, the total domestic passengers carried by the scheduled domestic airlines in the month of November 2012 were 50.20 lakhs. The total domestic passengers carried by the scheduled domestic airlines in the month of October 2012 were 45.55 lakhs. This shows that 4.65 lakh more passengers travelled in the month of November 2012 compared to October 2012. The break-up for the month of November 2012 is as follows:

Air India – 10.38 lakhs, Jet Airways –9.17 lakhs, Jet Lite – 3.45 lakhs, IndiGo – 13.69 lakhs, Spice Jet – 9.78 lakhs, Go Air – 3.73 lakhs, Mantra- 0.003 lakhs.

However, the number of passengers carried by the domestic airlines was 534.14 lakhs between January-November 2012 as against 550.33 lakhs during the corresponding period of the previous year showing the growth of -2.94%.

The market share of scheduled domestic airlines for the month of November 2012 is as follows: Air India- 20.7%, Jet Airways-18.3%, JetLite-6.9%, IndiGo-27.3%, Spice Jet- 19.5% and Go Air- 7.4%.

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NMDC and Indian Railways Sign MoU for Doubling of the Railway Line from Kirandul to Jagdalpur

Press Information Bureau: Dec 24, 2012RINL-VIZAG Signs MoU with Indian Railways for Setting-Up a Forged Wheel Factory at Rae Bareli, Uttar PradeshTwo Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) of Public Sector Undertakings of Ministry of Steel with Ministry of Railways were signed here today. An MoU of NMDC Limited, a Navratna PSU under the administrative control of Ministry of Steel and the Indian Railways in the presence of the Union Minister of Steel, Shri Beni Prasad Verma and Union Minister for Railways, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal here today. RINL, a PSU under the Ministry of Steel, has also signed an MoU with the Indian Railways for setting up a forged wheel factory at Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.

As per the provisions of the MoU, the 150 km Jagdalpur - Kirandul section of the Kottavalsa - Kirandul line of the East Coast Railway will be doubled to augment the evacuation capacity of NMDC to meet the increased demand for iron ore of the Indian steel industry.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Beni Prasad Verma said that this will usher in an era of growth dedicated to the service of the Nation. He said, “I am sure that apart from benefitting the steel industry in India, the doubling of the railway line will transform the lives of the local tribal population in Bastar, Chattisgarh and adjacent states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.” Speaking about the setting up of the forged wheel factory Shri Verma said that the unit will be a specialized unit catering to the need for special grade wheels for high speed trains. He further added that setting up of the factory will considerably increase the industrial activity in the region and generate employment opportunities for the youth of the state.

Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal said that the proposed partnerships would provide the much needed impetus to investment in railway infrastructure and increase evacuation capacities from mines, plants and ports and freight traffic for the Railways. He also added that the proposed forged wheel factory would go a long way in meeting the future requirements of wheels for Indian Railways. Shri Bansal said that these two MoUs are good example of the synergy between Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Steel who have been partners for many years in developing country’s infrastructure. These projects also present a new innovative financial funding for infrastructure projects.

The MoU for doubling of railway line was signed between Shri Vinay Mittal, Chairman, Railway Board and Shri C.S. Verma, CMD, NMDC. The project will be implemented by Indian Railways at a cost Rs.826 Crores and same will be funded by NMDC with provisions for suitable returns through freight rebate. The Railways will additionally make necessary investment in wagons, locomotives, other maintenance facilities and deployment of staff. The new line is likely to create an additional traffic of upto 12 million tonne per annum (MTPA) in a phased manner.

The MoU for forged wheel factory was signed between Shri Keshav Chandra, Member Mechanical, Railway Board and Shri A.P. Choudhary, CMD, RINL. The Forged Wheel Factory being set up by RINL to supply forged wheels to the Indian Railways will have a capacity of producing 1,00,000 wheels every year. The factory, the biggest such plant in India will be completed within a schedule of 36 months at a cost of Rs. 1000 crores (Approximately) and will generate 500 to 600 jobs. The Raw material for the factory will be supplied by RINL’s plant in Vishakhapatnam in the form of Continuous Cast (CC) rounds.

Also present on the occasion were the Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Shri D.R.S. Chaudhary and other senior officers of the Ministry of Steel and Ministry of Railway.

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