The Government of India and the World Bank signed a $400 million project to support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second operation in a programmatic series of two. The first operation of $750 million was approved in May 2020. The programme will strengthen the capability of state and national governments in India to provide coordinated and adequate social protection to the poor and vulnerable from the shocks triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also Read: India and NDB sign agreement for USD 1,000 million for support India’s economic recovery from COVID-19
This programme will help further expand and deepen the coverage of India’s social protection systems by helping these vulnerable groups in urban and peri-urban areas across the country.
The MoU Signed by
The agreement was signed by Dr. Mohapatra on behalf of the Government of India and Ms Sumila Gulyani, Acting Country Director, India, on behalf of the World Bank.......Read More
India and NDB sign agreement for USD 1,000 million for support India’s economic recovery from COVID-19
India NDB sign agreement for USD 1,000 million to provide support to Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan: The Government of India and the New Development Bank (NDB) signed a loan agreement for lending $1,000 million for ‘supporting India’s economic recovery from COVID-19’ by supporting expenditures on rural infrastructure related to natural resource management (NRM) and rural employment generation under Government of India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
The MoU Signed by
The agreement was signed by Shri Baldeo Purushartha, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Xian Zhu, Vice President, Chief Operations Officer on behalf of the NDB.....Read More
Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank announces four times JEE (Main) Examination from 2021
Nishank announces four times JEE (Main) Examination from 2021: Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ made several announcements on JEE (Main) Examination-2021. He announced that JEE (Main) Examination- 2021 will be conducted in four sessions in the month of February, March, April and May 2021. The first session of JEE (Main) 2021 will be held from February 23rd - 26th, 2021. He also announced that drawing from the National Education Policy (NEP), for the first time ever JEE (Main) Examination-2021 will be conducted in 13 languages- Assamese, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu , Hindi, English and Gujarati.
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The Minister informed that a candidate need not appear in all the four Sessions. However, if candidate appears in more than one Session then his/her best of the 2021 NTA Scores will be considered for preparation of Merit List/ Ranking. He also announced that Question paper will contain 90 questions, in which the candidate will have to attempt a total of 75 questions.......Read More
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Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati elected Vice President of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU)
Prasar Bharati has achieved another global milestone in broadcasting with the CEO, Shashi Shekhar Vempati being elected as the Vice President of Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), one of the largest broadcasting associations in the world. The election happened today during the General Assembly of the Union which was held virtually due to COVID-19. Shri Vempati has been elected to the office of the Vice President, ABU for three years with immediate effect.
The Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union was formed in 1964 as a professional association of
broadcasting organisations with over 286 members in 57 countries and regions, reaching the potential population of about three billion people.......Read More
Cabinet approves MoU between India and USA for exchange of information in areas of mutual interest in the electricity sector
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s proposal for entering into a Memorandum of Understanding between Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), India and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), United States of America (USA) for exchange of information and experiences in areas of mutual interest to both in the electricity sectors.
The MoU will help in improving regulatory and policy framework for developing efficient whole sale power market and enhancing grid reliability.
Cabinet approves Auction of spectrum: Point-to-Point Details
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a proposal of the Department of Telecommunications to conduct spectrum auction through which spectrum will be assigned to the successful bidders for providing commercial mobile services.
The auction will be for spectrum in 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz frequency bands. Spectrum will be offered for assignment for validity period of 20 years. A total of 2251.25 MHz is being offered with total valuation of Rs. 3,92,332.70 crore (at reserve price).
By winning right to use spectrum through the auction, incumbent telecom service providers will be able to augment their network capacity whereas new players will be able to start their services.
In the auction, bidders will have to comply with parameters/conditions e.g. block size in which bidders will be able to submit their bids, spectrum cap i.e. the maximum amount of spectrum that can be held by each bidder after the completion of the auction, roll-out obligations, payment terms etc.
Successful bidders may pay entire bid amount in one go (upfront) or may exercise an option to pay a certain amount (25% for spectrum won in 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz bands or 50% for spectrum won in 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz bands) upfront and remaining amount in a maximum up to 16 equated annual instalments, after a moratorium of two years.
In addition to the bid amount, successful bidders will also have to pay 3% of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) excluding wireline services as spectrum usage charges for the spectrum won through this auction.
Cabinet approves revised cost estimate of North Eastern Region Power System
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP) at an estimated cost of Rs. 6,700 crore. This is a major step towards economic development of North Eastern Region through strengthening of Intra - State Transmission and Distribution systems.
The scheme is being implemented through POWERGRID, a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under Ministry of Power in association with six beneficiary North Eastern States namely, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura and is targeted to be commissioned by December 2021. After commissioning, the project will be owned and maintained by the respective North Eastern State Utilities.
The main objective of the project is Government commitment for the total economic development of North Eastern Region and to strengthen the Intra-State Transmission & Distribution Infrastructure in the North East Region.
Cabinet approves assistance of about Rs. 3,500 crore for sugarcane farmers (Ganna Kisan)
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved assistance of about Rs. 3,500 crore for sugarcane farmers (Ganna Kisan).
Currently, there are close to five crore sugarcane farmers (Ganna Kisan) and their dependents in India. In addition to this, there are about five lakh workers employed in the sugar mills and ancillary activities; and their livelihood depends on the sugar industry.
Deadline for States to implement citizen centric reforms extended till 15th February 2021
The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, has extended the deadline for the States to complete citizen centric reforms in various sectors. Now, if the recommendation from the nodal Ministry concerned regarding implementation of the reform is received by 15th February, 2021, the State will be eligible for reform linked benefits.
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