Risk Allowance, Hospital Patent Care Allowance and Patient Care Allowance doubled

The Cabinet today approved revision of rates of Risk Allowance. Hospital Patient Care Allowance and Patient Care Allowance payable to about two lakh entitled Central Government employees to double the existing rates with effect from 1s' September, 2008.

The proposed revision in the rates of the Risk Allowance, Hospital Patent Care Allowance and Patient Care Allowance will provide succor to the employees at risk due to the nature of their duties. It will also result in considerable financial savings as compared to the Risk Insurance Schemes/Packages.

The financial implication of doubling the extant rate of Risk Allowance, Hospital Patient Care Allowance and Patient Care Allowance would be Rs.42.16 crore per annum, as against Rs.503.26 crore plus service tax (approximately) {Rs.40.50 crore plus service tax per annum for insurance policy and Rs.462.76 crore plus service tax for purchase of annuity} for implementing the Risk Insurance package.

The amount of Risk Allowance, Hospital Patient Care Allowance and Patient Care Allowance would be automatically raised by 25 per cent every time the Dearness Allowance on the revised pay structure goes up by 50 per cent. The proposed revision in the rates of Risk Allowance, Hospital Patient Care Allowance and Patient Care Allowance will benefit certain categories of Central Government employees engaged in duties involving special risks.

Amendments in Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959

The Union Cabinet today approved the introduction of Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Amendment Bill, 2012 in Parliament.

The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959 was enacted in the year 1959 and with the passage of time some of its provisions have become obsolete and require modifications. With this in mind, the Act is being amended.

Employment Exchanges will be renamed as "Employment Guidance and Promotion Centres" as the focus is now on vocational guidance and career counseling besides registration, submission and placement etc. Establishments in the private sector employing between 10-24 persons are being brought under the purview of the Act for the purpose of submission of returns. This is likely to result in a more realistic estimate of employment in the organised sector. The employer is being mandated to furnish information relating to the result of selection against the vacancies notified within thirty days from the date of selection, to make the registration data more rational. The definitions of employee and employer are being broad based to include contract labour that has worked for more than 240 days in a year.

Constitution of Twentieth Law Commission

The Union Cabinet today approved the constitution of 20th Law Commission for a period for three years from 01.09.2012 to 31.08.2015.

The details are as follows:

The terms of reference of the 20th Law Commission will include : (i) identification of laws which are in harmony with the existing climate of economic globalization, (ii) exploring suitable measures for equal redressal of citizens grievances related to the field of law, (iii) examination of laws which affect the poor and carrying out post-audit for socio-economic legislations, (iv) to take measures to harness the law and legal process in the service of the poor, (v) to eliminate delays, speedy clearance of arrears of cases and reduction in costs, (vi) examining existing laws with a view to promote gender equality and suggesting amendments to such cases, (vii) to examine the impact of globalization on food security and unemployment and recommend measures for the protection of the interests of the marginalized.

The 20th Law Commission will be headed by a full-time Chairperson and will consist of four full-time Members (including Member-Secretary), Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs ( as ex-officio Member), Secretary, Legislative Department (as ex officio Member) and five part-time Members that, This time, Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs and Secretary, Legislative Department have been added to the Commission as ex officio Members with a view to achieve better implementation of Law Commission Reports. Further, before concretizing its recommendations, the Commission will consult the nodal Ministry /Department(s) and such other stakeholders as the Commission may feel necessary for the purpose.

The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by the Government of India from time to time. The Commission was originally constituted in 1955 and is reconstituted every three years. The tenure of the Nineteenth Law Commission has ended on 31st August, 2012.

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.

The estimates show resource availability for the Twelfth Plan at Rs.80,50,123 crore in current prices for the Centre and States taken together. This implies the public sector resources for the Twelfth Plan (2012-2017) would be 11.8 per cent of GDP as against 1096 per cent realized during the Eleventh Plan (2007-2012).

To achieve the targeted growth rate, the fixed investment rate should increase to 35 per cent of GDP (at constant prices) by the end of the Twelfth Plan, yielding an average fixed investment rate of 34 per cent of GDP (at constant prices) for the Twelfth Plan period as a whole. The projected average rate of gross domestic capital formation in the Twelfth Plan is 37 per cent of GDP, the projected gross domestic savings rate is 34.2 per cent of GDP and the net external financing needed for macro-economic balance would average around 2.9 per cent of GDP.

In a first attempt at presenting scenario analysis, the plan emphasizes that the policy agenda outlined must be substantially implemented for all the virtuous cycles to come into play that will lead to Scenario One called the “Strong Inclusive Growth”. This would also imply we can achieve inclusive and sustainable growth averaging 8.2 per cent over the Twelfth Plan period.

The Plan emphasizes a broad definition of inclusiveness, which encompasses a spread of benefits to the weaker sections, including especially the SC/STs, OBCs and Minorities, and also regional balance in development.

The plan emphasizes the need to speed up the pace of implementation of infrastructure projects, which is critical for removing supply bottlenecks which constrain growth in other sectors, and also for boosting investor sentiment to raise the overall rate of investment.

The Plan contains ambitious programmes in health, education, water resource management, infrastructure development, and a number of programmes aimed at inclusiveness, most notably the National Health Mission (NHM), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). Considerable resources are being allocated for these programmes. It proposes that beneficiary payments across a large number of schemes, which have experienced leakages in the delivery system, may be carried out through the use of the Aadhaar (UID) platform.

Cabinet approves amendment of the Competition Act, 2002

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to further amend the Competition Act, 2002, with a view to fine tune it and to meet the present day needs in the field of competition, in the light of the experiences gained in the actual working of the Competition Commission of India in the last few years.

Major amendments approved by the Cabinet relate to changing the definition of “turnover”, “Group”, reducing the overall time limit of finalization of combinations from 210 days to 180 days and insertion of a new Section 5A enabling the Central Government to lay down, in consultation with the Competition Commission of India, different thresholds for any class or classes of enterprises for the purpose of examining acquisitions, mergers and amalgamations by the Commission. The other amendments relate to procedural aspects in working of the Commission.

Background:

The proposal after its initial consideration in April, 2012 was referred to a Group of Ministers to examine it in details, with particular reference to jurisdiction of sectoral regulators on Competition related issues.

The Group of Ministers considered the issues referred to it by the Cabinet and while endorsing the original proposal also proposed amendment in the Competition Act requiring other regulators to mandatorily refer matters impinging on “Competition” to the Competition Commission of India, and vice-versa to concerned regulators by CCI, on matters relating to those regulators. To this extent the original proposal has been modified.

Levy of Service Tax on Transportation of Parcel Traffic (Leased or Non-Leased Parcel Traffic by Rail from 1st October 2012

In compliance of the provisions contained in Finance Bill 2012 and subsequent notifications issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Service Tax in case of transportation of parcel traffic (leased or non-leased parcel traffic) by rail, which was exempted upto 30^th September 2012, would now be levied on total freight charges with effect from 1^st October 2012. 

Since an abatement of 70%  has been permitted on freight for the taxable commodities by the Ministry of Finance,  the Service Tax will be charged on 30% of the total  freight inclusive of all charges would be calculated as follows:-

i)              Service Tax of 12% will be charged on 30% of freight (equivalent to 3.6% on the total freight charges)

ii)             Education Cess of 2% on Service Tax will be added (equivalent to 0.072% on total freight) and

iii)            Higher Education Cess of 1% on Service Tax will also be added (equivalent to 0.036% on total freight)

iv)           Total Service Tax implication will be (i)+(ii)+(iii)=3.708% on the total freight charges.

      Service tax will be levied for transportation of all description of parcel traffic (leased or non-leased parcel traffic) and merchandise items (for commercial use) booked as Luggage with effect from 1^st October 2012.  Luggage traffic i.e. personal baggage belonging to the travelling passengers, (excluding merchandise items for commercial use), shall be exempted from service tax.  The list of commodities exempted from payment of service tax is as follows:

(a)     Relief materials meant for victims of natural or man-made disasters, calamities, accidents or mishap;

(b)    Defence or military equipments;

(c)     Postal mail or mail bags;

(d)    Household effects;

(e)     Newspaper or magazines registered with the Registrar of Newspapers;

(f)     Agricultural produce;

(g)    Foodstuff including flours, tea, coffee, jiggery, sugar, milk products, salt and edible oil, excluding alcoholic beverages.

Further details on the modalities of levy and collection of Service Tax on transportation of parcel traffic by rail, may be ascertained from Indian Railways’ web site i.e. www.indianrailways.gov.in

The amount of Service Tax collected by Railways would be deposited with the Ministry of Finance as per prescribed procedure. 

Levy of Service Tax on Transportation of Parcel Traffic (Leased or Non-Leased Parcel Traffic by Rail from 1st October 2012

In compliance of the provisions contained in Finance Bill 2012 and subsequent notifications issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Service Tax in case of transportation of parcel traffic (leased or non-leased parcel traffic) by rail, which was exempted upto 30^th September 2012, would now be levied on total freight charges with effect from 1^st October 2012. 

Since an abatement of 70%  has been permitted on freight for the taxable commodities by the Ministry of Finance,  the Service Tax will be charged on 30% of the total  freight inclusive of all charges would be calculated as follows:-

i)              Service Tax of 12% will be charged on 30% of freight (equivalent to 3.6% on the total freight charges)

ii)             Education Cess of 2% on Service Tax will be added (equivalent to 0.072% on total freight) and

iii)            Higher Education Cess of 1% on Service Tax will also be added (equivalent to 0.036% on total freight)

iv)           Total Service Tax implication will be (i)+(ii)+(iii)=3.708% on the total freight charges.

      Service tax will be levied for transportation of all description of parcel traffic (leased or non-leased parcel traffic) and merchandise items (for commercial use) booked as Luggage with effect from 1^st October 2012.  Luggage traffic i.e. personal baggage belonging to the travelling passengers, (excluding merchandise items for commercial use), shall be exempted from service tax.  The list of commodities exempted from payment of service tax is as follows:

(a)     Relief materials meant for victims of natural or man-made disasters, calamities, accidents or mishap;

(b)    Defence or military equipments;

(c)     Postal mail or mail bags;

(d)    Household effects;

(e)     Newspaper or magazines registered with the Registrar of Newspapers;

(f)     Agricultural produce;

(g)    Foodstuff including flours, tea, coffee, jiggery, sugar, milk products, salt and edible oil, excluding alcoholic beverages.

Further details on the modalities of levy and collection of Service Tax on transportation of parcel traffic by rail, may be ascertained from Indian Railways’ web site i.e. www.indianrailways.gov.in

The amount of Service Tax collected by Railways would be deposited with the Ministry of Finance as per prescribed procedure. 

Schedule for the General Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

The terms of the Legislative  Assemblies  of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will  normally expire  as follows:

          Gujarat                                               17.01.2013

          Himachal Pradesh                                           10.01.2013

As per the established practice, the Election Commission holds the General Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of the States whose terms expire around the same time, together. By virtue of its powers, duties and functions under Article 324 read with Article 172(1) of the Constitution of India, Section 15 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Commission is required  to hold elections to constitute the new Legislative Assemblies in the said States of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh before expiry of their present terms.

 

ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES

The total number of Assembly Constituencies in the States of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and the seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, as determined by the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008, are as under:

State	Total No. of ACs	Reserved for SC	Reserved for ST
Gujarat	182	13	27
Himachal Pradesh	68	17	3

ELECTORAL ROLLS

The electoral rolls of all the existing Assembly Constituencies in the States of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have been revised, with reference to 01.01.2012 as the qualifying date, and finally published on 31.08.2012 and 09.08.2012 respectively. 

State	Total No. of Electors as per final publication
Gujarat	37815306
Himachal Pradesh	4516054

President Felicitates NSIC

NSIC has been always been conscious of its responsibilities and duties towards the society. On the occasion of International Day of Older Persons, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, President of India felicitated NSIC with Help Age India Silver Plate Awards for Corporate Social Responsibility. Dr. H.P. Kumar, CMD, NSIC received the award.

NSIC has been in the forefront in conducting various CSR initiatives for the benefits of the weaker section of the society in different parts of the country. In continuation of this objective, the corporation has taken up several initiatives under the CSR activities such as health care facilities for weaker sections of the society through health camps, fully equipped Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) was launched for providing health care facilities at the doorsteps of urban poor, computer centres were set up for providing computer education to the under privileged girls and visually challenged persons, education for under privileged children in selected slum areas for pre-school going children and school going children in form of getting their home work done and extra studies in form of bridge education, vocational training to physically challenged persons to equip them with the required skill set to enable them to take up employment or set up their own small enterprises, Integrated development of selected slum clusters by taking up special programme(s) for upliftment of girl children and women, provided training in solar lanterns assembly and distribution in the selected areas where there is no electricity, provided day care facilities and medicines for disabled persons, etc.

Village industries more relevant in an age of Globalisation-Jairam

Union Minister for Rural Development Shri Jairam Ramesh said that village industries and particularly Khadi have become more relevant in India in an age of privatization, liberalization and globalization. Talking to media after inaugurating an Exhibition on Gandhiji Textiles of Peace here, Shri Ramesh said, his endeavor will be to bring more and more industries in the rural India, so that more jobs can be created for rural prosperity. He said, though MGNREGA is doing a good job in providing livelihood security to the rural poor, but there is also a need for creating permanent assets in the rural areas. Dwelling on the issue of Panchayati Raj, the Minister said the vision of Gandhiji for stronger and self-sufficient panchayats must be fulfilled and there is need for empowering the local bodies with more and more autonomy, particularly independent financial powers to undertake developmental works in a more efficient way. He said, from this year onward, one percent of the Rural Development Ministry’s budget that comes about 1000 crore rupees will be given for strengthening the panchayati raj institutions in the country.

Exhibition of Indigenous Textiles begins at National Archives of India

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, an Exhibition of indigenous textiles titled ‘Gandhiji and Textiles of Peace’ has been organised at the premises of National Archives of India.

The Exhibition showcases textile products by several leading group of craftsmen/organizations, like Janapada Seva Trust Mandya (Karnataka), Khadi Nekar Sahkari Utpadakta Sangh, Dharwad (Karnataka), Asal (Ahmedabad), Women’s Weave Charitable Trust (Madhya Pradesh), Guntur Zila Khadi Samiti (Guntur), Porgai Lambadi Dharampuri, (Tamil Nadu) etc.

A display of rare archival documents/photographs entitled ‘A Satyagrahi of South Africa: Mahatma Gandhi and Hindi’ is also on view to coincide with the celebration. The display portrays the activities of Gandhiji in South Africa as well as his support for the cause of Indians in South Africa after his departure in 1914. His philosophy, concern for Hindi and his memorabilia are highlights of the display.

The exhibition was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Rural Development and Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Shri Jairam Ramesh.

India’s Trade and Economic Links with Southeast Asian Countries have Experienced Rapid Progress: Shri Ghatowar

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar has said that over the two decades, economic and strategic connections with Southeast Asia has increased manifold.

He said this while addressing the 158TH Annual General Meeting of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry Kolkata on 28th September, 2012. Shri Ghatowar said that India’s trade and economic links with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have experienced rapid progress. The total trade between India- ASEAN has grown up from $21.29 billion in 2005-06 to $57.89 billion in 2010-11, clocking compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.14 %. The Minister hopes that there is the strong possibility of existing economic linkages expanding even more. And this is where the integration of the North Eastern Region (NER) with Southeast Asia is significant, the Minister added.

In another meeting of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry on the subject- “Look East – North East and Beyond (Expectations from West Bengal)”, he referred to the North East Vision 2020 document released by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2008, which recommends a structural transformation of the region in terms of development to catch up with the rest of the country with an increasing average growth rate of 12.95 % in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) per annum from the present 7.5 %. The Vision 2020 was the result of a collaborative effort of all the States under the aegis of North Eastern Council which aims at achieving various development goals, including : Poverty eradication ; Maximising self-governance ; Harnessing resources for people’s benefit ; Building capacity in people and institutions ; Strengthening infrastructure ; Creating a centre for trade and commerce , etc.

At Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) meeting, Shri Ghatowar expressed his views on emerging business opportunities in Bangladesh with focus on East and North East India. He observed that the NER can become the main hub of India’s economic bonding with both Bangladesh and Southeast Asia because of the contiguous land borders between the two regions. Land connectivity through establishment of transport links between India’s Northeast and Bangladesh would go a long way in facilitating movements of goods and people on both sides. He opined that while physical connectivity by expanding infrastructure capacities is one key issue, the NER also expects such connectivity to provide several new opportunities for the region. Being a landlocked region, the NER is deprived of some natural advantages of economic geography, which are enjoyed by coastal areas. But it is hopeful of collaborating with Bangladesh on various projects for securing mutual benefits. He cited examples of proposed establishment of Border Haats, development of seven Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) on India – Bangladesh Border and generous market access by India for Bangladesh imports, at zero basic customs duty for all items except liquor and tobacco.

Tourist from Buddhist Countries to get Visa on Arrival Sahai Inaugurates International Buddhist Conclave

Union Tourism Minister Shri Subodh Kant Sahai has said that tourist from countries having sizable Buddhist population such as Thailand and Malaysia would be provided the facility of Visa on Arrival ( VOA). Inaugurating a two day International Buddhist Conclave at Varanasi today, he said his Ministry had also decided to develop a Ghat in the temple town Varanasi in the name of Lord Buddha on the bank of river Ganga. He said his Ministry had adopted a Keep India Clean Mission to keep clean the cities particularly tourist places across the country to attract maximum tourists. The Minister appealed to the State Governments to take initiatives for the success this Mission. He assured full cooperation of his Ministry to the state Government local administration to keep the holy city of Varanasi clean.

Shri Sahai said India being the land of origin of Buddhism, is the main attraction for the Buddhist tourists from across the globe. He said his Ministry is drawing up plans to to attract more tourists from Buddhist countries by providing them special facilities. Buddhism being a world religion now, its sites have a great attraction for tourists’ world over. The Ministry of Tourism is continuing with its efforts in identifying more and more Buddhist Circuits and developing them in holistic and integrated manner.

Shri Sahai announced that his Ministry has identified three circuits to be developed as part of Buddhist Circuits during the 12th Five Year Plan.they are:Circuit 1: The Dharmayatra or the Sacred Circuit - This will be a 5 to 7 days circuit and will include visits to Gaya (Bodhgaya), Varanasi (Sarnath), Kushinagar, Piparva ( Kapilvastu) with a day trip to Lumbini in Nepal.Circuit 2: Extended Dharmayatra or Extended Sacred Circuit or Retracing Buddha’s Footsteps - This will be a 10 to 15 days circuit and will include visit to Bodhgaya (Nalanda, Rajgir, Barabar caves, Pragbodhi Hill, Gaya), Patna (Vaishali, Lauriya Nandangarh, Lauriya Ariraj, Kesariya, Patna Museum), Varanasi(Sarnath), Kushinagar, Piparva (Kapilvastu, Shravasti, Saniska) with a day trip to Lumbini in Nepal.Circuit 3: Buddhist Heritage Trails State Circuits- Jammu and Kashmir - Ladakh, Srinagar and Jammu; Himachal Pradesh - Dharamshala, Spiti, Kinnaur and Lahaul. Shri Sahai expressed the hope that deliberations at the conclave would help us to carry on this process of identifying and developing more Buddhist circuits.

The Tourism Minister said that tourism today is being looked upon as a driver of economic growth. India too has seen rapid development in tourism over the last few years apart from promoting our rich heritage and culture and its diversity. He said during 12th Five Year Plan period we have identified around 35 major integrated circuits and destinations having potential to attract a large number of tourists. It is proposed to develop around 20 tourism parks on the lines of Sentosa Islands in Singapore

The conclave is being held with a view to showcasing and projecting the Buddhist Heritage of India. The delegates at the conclave include the International Buddhist scholars, tour operators and media both domestic and international who actively promote Buddhist Tourism. About 130 Overseas guests including Buddhist Scholars/Tour Operators and Media representatives (mainstream media and travel journalists) from 30 countries including Australia,Belgium,Bhutan,Cambodia,Canada,China,France,Holland,Hungary,Indonesia,Italy,Japan,laos,Malaysia,Myanmar,New Zealand, Phillipines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, USA and Vietnam are attending the conclave. More than one hundred Indian Tour Operators, Scholars, Media personnel from 16 States/UTs including Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar are also attending the Conclave.

The Conclave is an important tourism marketing event designed to bring together international buyers from around the world particularly from the popular Buddhist destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, China etc. together, to interact, promote and sell, with the objective of increasing tourist arrivals to India and specifically to the Buddhist sites in different states.

The Conclave sessions include Technical sessions on Buddhism for scholars, and travel and Tourism sessions for the media and Tour operators. The delegates will also be taken for site visits to Bodh Gaya and Nalanda. The International Buddhist Conclave in India is being organized after a period of two years. The last Conclave was organized in Nalanda in February 2010.