Panel to study role of cooperative banks

An expert committee, headed by Prakash Bakshi, Chairman, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), has been constituted to assess the role played by the State and district central cooperative banks in fulfilling the requirement of agriculture credit, the primary purpose for which they were set up.

In a statement, NABARD said the eight-member committee had been constituted to examine the functioning of the three-tier short-term cooperative credit structure (STCCS).

Reserve Bank of India, as per the Annual Policy Statement announcement for 2012-13, has constituted the committee to make an in-depth analysis of the STCCS and to examine various alternatives with a view to reducing the cost of credit and for enhancing agriculture credit. It would also study the feasibility of having appropriate structure of the existing STCCS.

The committee would identify cooperative banks that may not be sustainable in the long-term even if some of them have met the diluted licensing criteria for the time being. It would suggest mechanism for consolidation by way of amalgamation, merger, takeover and liquidation. The panel would also suggest pro-active measures that need to be taken in this direction by the cooperative banks themselves, the Central and State governments, RBI and NABARD.

The committee has invited comments and suggestions on these issues, which may be e-mailed to rbicomm@nabard.org This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by October 25, the statement said.

National Highways Development Project

The National Highways Development Project is a project to upgrade, rehabilitate and widen major highways in India to a higher standard. The project was implemented in 1998. "National Highways" account for only about 2% of the total length of roads, but carry about 40% of the total traffic across the length and breadth of the country. This project is managed by the National Highways Authority of India under the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways.

UNDP Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) & Scenario of india

UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations’ global development network.Headquartered in New York City, the UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from member nations. The organization has country offices in 177 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity. Additionally, the UNDP works internationally to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). UNDP provides expert advice, training, and grant support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries. To accomplish the MDGs and encourage global development, UNDP focuses on poverty reduction, HIV/AIDS, democratic governance, energy and environment, social development, and crisis prevention and recovery. UNDP also encourages the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women in all of its programs.

Parthasarathy shome committee – GAAR

The Government had constituted an Expert Committee headed by Dr. Parthasarathi Shome on GAAR on July 13, 2012. The Committee has now submitted its draft report, which has been placed in public domain on September 1, 2012 for seeking suggestions/opinion of the various stakeholders.
The Government had earlier on August 6, 2012 also requested the Expert Committee to examine the applicability of the amendment on taxation of non-resident transfer of assets where the underlying asset is in India, in the context of Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) operating in India purely for portfolio investment. It has now been decided to expand the scope of the Terms of Reference of the Committee to include all non-resident tax payers instead of only FIIs.

National Manufacturing Policy & NIMZ

National Manufacturing Policy

The Government of India has announced a national manufacturing policy with the objective of enhancing the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25% within a decade and creating 100 million jobs. It also seeks to empower rural youth by imparting necessary skill sets to make them employable. Sustainable development is integral to the spirit of the policy and technological value addition in manufacturing has received special focus.

Details

Government of India decided to bring out the National Manufacturing Policy to bring about a quantitative and qualitative change with the following six objectives:

1. Increase manufacturing sector growth to 12-14% over the medium term to make it the engine of growth for the economy. The 2 to 4 % differential over the medium term growth rate of the overall economy will enable manufacturing to contribute at least 25% of the National GDP by 2022.
2. Increase the rate of job creation in manufacturing to create 100 million additional jobs by 2022.
3. Creation of appropriate skill sets among the rural migrant and urban poor to make growth inclusive.
4. Increase domestic value addition and technological depth in manufacturing.
5. Enhance global competitiveness of Indian manufacturing through appropriate policy support.
6. Ensure sustainability of growth, particularly with regard to the environment including energy efficiency, optimal utilization of natural resources and restoration of damaged/ degraded eco-systems.

Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in India ,2012

The Centre In January 2012 notified 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single brand retail, opening the decks for setting up shop by global retail chains such as Adidas, Louis Vuitton, Armani and Gucci to have full ownership of their India operations. However, the notification comes with some riders to protect the interests of domestic small and medium scale units.
“FDI up to 100 per cent under the government approval route would be permitted in single brand product retail trading,” according to an official note issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Cabinet approves proposal to place 12th Plan Document before National Development Council

The Union Cabinet today discussed the Draft Twelfth Five Year Plan document (2012-2017), and approved the proposal to place the Plan Document before the National Development Council.

The Plan proposes an acceleration of growth over the plan period to reach 9 percent in the terminal year, yielding an average growth rate of 8.2 percent for the plan period as a whole. It emphasizes that the growth must be both inclusive and sustainable, and to achieve these objectives it proposes a comprehensive game plan in terms of policies and programmes.

Five years plan for india.

Ever since the independence in India, developmental plans for a period of five years are being developed by the Planning Commission with the inputs received from the states . The tenth plan completed its term in March 2007 and the eleventh plan is currently underway. Prior to the fourth plan, the allocation of state resources was based on schematic patterns rather than a transparent and objective mechanism, which led to the adoption of the Gadgil formula in 1969. Revised versions of the formula have been used since then to determine the allocation of central assistance for state plans.

First Five-Year Plan (1951–1956)

Ø The first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru presented the first five-year plan to the Parliament of India on December 8, 1951

Ø The total planned budget of 2069 crore was allocated to seven broad areas: 

•         irrigation and energy 
•         agriculture and community development
•         transport and communications 
•         industry
•         land rehabilitation
•         other sectors and services 
•         social service

 

Ø The monsoon was good and there were relatively high crop yields, boosting exchange reserves and the per capita income, which increased by 8%.

Ø National income increased more than the per capita income due to rapid population growth.

Ø Many irrigation projects were initiated during this period, including the Bhakra Dam and Hirakud Dam.

Ø At the end of the plan period in 1956, five Indian Institutes of Technology(IITs) were started as major technical institutions.

Ø The University Grant Commission was set up to take care of funding and take measures to strengthen the higher education in the country.Contracts were signed to start five steel plants, which came into existence in the middle of the second five-year plan. The plan was successful.

Ø Target Growth: 2.1% Actual Growth: 3.6%