Railways Urge Passengers not to Carry Inflammable Objects on Trains

In order to make train journey safer, the Ministry of Railways has urged passengers not to carry and also not let their co-passengers to carry inflammable objects while travelling on the trains. Travelling in trains with explosives and inflammable objects like crackers, gas cylinder, acid, petrol, kerosene, dry grass/leaves, thermic welding, sigri, stove etc is not permitted. Carrying such inflammable objects on the trains is a punishable offence under Section 164 of the Railway Act, 1989 where the offender may get an imprisonment upto 3 years, or a fine of Rs. 1,000/- or both and under Section 165 where a fine of Rs. 500/- is applicable.

Passengers can use Security helpline numbers 011-23303982, 011-23303983, 011-23303748 in this regard.

India and Bulgaria to Explore Cooperation in Tourism Sector

India and Bulgaria will explore the possibilities of cooperation in Tourism Sector. This was decided at a meeting held between Tourism Minister of Bulgaria Mr. Delian Dobrev and Union Tourism Minister Shri Subodh Kant Sahai here today.

It was decided in the meeting that both the countries will identify areas for working together and explore new opportunities in Tourism sector especially in the field of Hospitality Training, Promotion, Marketing, Development and management of Tourist destinations. Both sides gave an overview of the “Tourism Sector” in their respective countries and re-emphasised on its potential for employment generation and economic growth. It was also agreed that increased tourist traffic between the two countries could strengthen the bilateral relations at people to people level. Both sides also exchanged views to explore the possibilities of promoting investment in the field of hotel industry tourism and infrastructural development. India allows 100% FDI in Hotel sector on automated basis.

India and the Bulgaria emphasised upon the need of exchange of visits of tour operators and opinion makers to promote tourism between the two countries. The importance of interaction between the tour operators and destination managers of the two countries was stressed upon to develop better packages for tourists. The information about investment of opportunities in the tourism sector in both the countries was also shared. Both the countries agreed that growing opportunities in tourism sector should be showcased to attracts investments from the private stake-holders of the two countries. It was also agreed to explore the possibilities of enhancing air-connectivity between both the countries as lack of direct air connectivity between India and Bulgaria is one of the major reasons for small number of tourists traveling between the two countries.

Erlier in his welcome address Shri Sahai said that India and Bulgaria have enjoyed traditionally close and cordial bilateral relations sustained through regular high level political contacts.

Mr. Delian Dobrev in his address appreciated the friendly relations between the two countries and emphasised upon the importance of pursuing a closer relationship based on the emerging potential in the tourism sector in the two countries. He said Bulgaria with its beautiful mountains, the Black-Sea coast boasting of cities like Varna has become an attractive destination for Indian film Industry.

Mr. Delian Dobrev is on a visit to India in connection with the 17th session of the Indo-Bulgarian Joint Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation of which he is the co-chairman.

Progress of Tourist Visa on Arrival Scheme in September 2012

Last month, a total number of 1404 (Visa on Arrivals) VoAs were issued under this Scheme as compared to 991 VoAs during September 2011 registering a positive growth of 41.7 %.

During the period January-September 2012, a total number of 10816 VoAs were issued as compared to 8505 VoAs during corresponding period of 2011, registering a growth of 27.2%. The number of VOAs issued under this scheme during September 2012 for nationals of the eleven countries were Japan (541), New Zealand (256),The Philippines (236), Indonesia (175), Singapore (135), Finland (29), Myanmar (11), Vietnam (9), Cambodia (6),Luxembourg (4) and Laos (2). The number of VoAs issued under this scheme, during January-September 2012 were Japan (3106), New Zealand (2045), Indonesia (1689), The Philippines (1678), Singapore (1313), Finland (647), Vietnam (126), Myanmar (73), Cambodia (68), Luxembourg (62) and Laos (9). During the period January-September 2012, the highest number of VoAs were issued at Delhi airport (6380), followed by Mumbai (2247), Chennai (1528) and Kolkata (661).

As a facilitative measure to attract more foreign tourists to India, Government launched a Scheme of “Visa on Arrival” (VoA) in January 2010 for citizens of five countries, viz. Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore, visiting India for tourism purposes. This scheme was extended for the citizens of six more countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos and Myanmar from January 2011.

Report of the Rangarajan Committee on Deregulation of Sugar Sector in India

Prime Minister had set up a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister to look into all the issues relating to the deregulation of the sugar sector. The committee has completed its task, after several rounds of deliberations, consultations with stakeholders, and discussion with Chief Ministers of major sugar-producing states. The report was submitted to the Prime Minster on 10-10-2012.

2.         A major recommendation of the committee relates to revising the existing arrangement for the price to be paid to sugarcane farmers, which suffers from problems of accumulation of arrears of cane dues in years of high price and low price for farmers in other years. The existing arrangement comprises a Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) announced each year by the Centre, under the Sugarcane Control Order and on the advice of CACP, as the minimum price of sugarcane. However, many states in north India also announce a State Advised Price (SAP) under state legislation. Generally, the SAP is substantially higher than the FRP, and wherever SAP is declared, it is the ruling price. Instead of the present arrangement, the committee has proposed that at the time of cane supply, farmers be paid FRP as the minimum price, as at present. Further, subsequently, on a half-yearly basis, the state government concerned would announce the ex-mill prices of sugar and its by-products, and farmers would be entitled to a 70% share in the value of the sugar and by-products produced from the quantity of cane supplied by each farmer. Based on the share so computed, additional payment, net of FRP already paid, would then be made to the farmer. Since the sugar value estimate includes return on capital employed, this implies that farmers would also get a share of the profits.  With such a system in operation, states should not declare an SAP.

3.         The committee has also recommended dismantling of the levy obligation for sourcing PDS sugar at a price below the market price. States should be allowed henceforth to fix the issue price of PDS sugar, while the existing subsidy to states for PDS sugar transport and the difference between the levy price and the issue price would continue at the existing level, augmented by the current level of implicit subsidy on account of the difference between the levy price and the open market price. This will free the industry from the burden of a government welfare programme, and indirectly benefit both the farmer and the general consumer since the industry passes on the cost of levy mechanism to farmers and consumers.

4.         The committee has recommended dispensing with the present mechanism of regulated release of non-levy sugar, as it imposes additional costs on factories on account of inventory accumulation.

5.         The committee has recommended that cane area reservation ultimately be phased out and contracting between farmers and mills allowed for enabling theemergence of a competitive market for assured supply of cane, in the interest of farmers and economic efficiency. However, in case some states want to continue it for the time being, they should do so while ensuring that area reservation is done for at least three to five years at a time, so that industry has a stake in its development. Further, wherever and whenever a state discontinues area reservation, the Centre should remove the stipulation of a minimum distance between two mills.

6.         On external trade, the committee has favoured a stable policy regime with modest tariff levels of 5% to 10% ordinarily, and dispensing with outright bans and quantitative restrictions. The committee has also recommended dispensing with the mandatory requirement of jute packaging. In respect of molasses, the committee favours free movement and dismantling of end-use based allocation quotas that are in vogue in several states, to enable creation of a national market and better prices for this valuable by-product as well as improved efficiency in its use.

7.         Members on the committee were Shri T. Nandakumar, Member, NDMA, Dr Ashok Gulati, Chairman, Commission on Agricultural Costs & Prices, Dr Raghuram Rajan, Chief Economic Advisor, Shri Sudhir Kumar, Secretary, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Ashish Bahuguna, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, and Dr K. P. Krishnan, Convener, as the then Secretary, Economic Advisory Council.

Railway Revenue Earnings up by 19.78 per cent during April- September 2012

The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during first six months of the financial year 2012-13 i.e. 1st April to 30th September 2012 were Rs. 58649.83 crore compared to Rs. 48963.19 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 19.78 per cent.

The total goods earnings have gone up from Rs. 32425.41 crore during 1st April – 30th September 2011 to Rs. 40303.85 crore during 1st April – 30th September 2012, registering an increase of 24.30 per cent.

The total passenger revenue earnings during first six months of the financial year 2012-13 were Rs. 15581.44 crore compared to Rs. 14017.76 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 11.15 per cent.

The revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs. 1510.38 crore during April-September 2012 compared to Rs. 1377.58 crore during the same period last year, an increase of 9.64 per cent.

The total approximate numbers of passengers booked during 1st April - 30th September 2012 were 4274.87 million compared to 4121.99 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 3.71 per cent. In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the numbers of passengers booked during April-September 2012 were 2215.51 million and 2059.36 million compared to 2154 million and 1967.71 million during the same period last year, showing an increase of 2.84 per cent and 4.86 per cent respectively.

Government to provide 24 hours electricity to all households in the country in the next 5 years, says Prime Minister

Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh today said the government aims to provide 24x7 electricity to all households in the country and affordable access to electricity in the next 5 years. One million households in India are now using decentralized solar energy to meet their lighting energy needs, said the Prime Minister. Government is also striving to light up around 20 million rural households with solar home lighting by 2022. Renewable energy technologies provide probably the most sustainable and economic options for energy access. At present renewable power represents about 12 per cent of the total installed generating capacity in India. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, launched under the aegis of India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change aims to install 20 Gigawatt of grid connected solar power by 2022. The links between access to energy and the various Millennium Development Goals are now well established and they are well documented. Meeting these goals that are fundamental to an existence of minimum dignity and well being all over the world requires access to affordable energy. The Prime Minister said this while inaugurating “International Seminar on Energy Access” today at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister of New and Renewable Energy mentioned that today renewable energy is competent to meet the energy requirement in rural areas and supplementing the urban energy needs. Energy access is an issue of over arching importance and is closely related to poverty, development, gender disparity, environment, health and also sustainability. Over three billion people in developing countries today rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating; about one and a half billion people are without electricity. Dr. Farooq Abdullah said the provision of basic energy services to these energy-poor citizens is the key challenge our world is facing today. Lack of access to energy cripples the productive capacity of people and traps them in a downward spiral of want, deprivation and poverty. Energy access is crucial to inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Renewable energy can be an excellent tool in providing energy access. With over 400 million citizens who lack access to modern forms of energy, we have one of the largest decentralized, off-grid renewable energy programmes in the world. In fact, our local renewable energy based initiatives have already started making a profound impact on the lives of millions in India. Solar home lighting systems and solar powered micro-grids are lighting millions of Indian homes every night. Family size biogas plants provide clean and efficient cooking energy in the villages. Energy access is an issue of over arching importance and is closely related to poverty, development, gender disparity, environment, health and also sustainability. Over three billion people in developing countries today rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating; about one and a half billion people are without electricity. The provision of basic energy services to these energy-poor citizens is the key challenge our world is facing today. Lack of access to energy cripples the productive capacity of people and traps them in a downward spiral of want, deprivation and poverty. Energy access is crucial to inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

The United Nations General Assembly has designated 2012 as the “International year of Sustainable Energy for All” and the 2 days seminar is organized in recognition of the importance of energy access for sustainable economic development and supporting achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The Government of India, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy along with other stakeholders – NGOs, civil society organizations and state governments is promoting energy access for sustainable economic development.

About 30 countries are participating of which 26 Ministers in the ministerial level delegation included the Prime Minister of Guiana, Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius from about 26 countries. Over 100 foreign participants including senior Government functionaries High level policy/decision makers, International Financial Institutions, Banks/ Financial Services Providers from participating countries, UN bodies/organizations, international players and NGOs etc are attending the event. The major participating Country/Ministerial delegation includes Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cape Verde, Congo, Fiji, Georgia, Guatemala, Guyana, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Seychelles, South Africa, Suriname, Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Yamen & Zambia.

BHEL Pays All-Time High Equity Dividend of 320% for Fiscal 2011-12

With a final dividend payout of 184%, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has paid an equity dividend of 320% for fiscal 2011-12, as against 311.5% paid in the year before. At Rs.1,567 Crore, this is the highest-ever dividend in percentage as well as value terms paid by the company so far.

A cheque of Rs.609.98 Crore towards the final dividend for the year 2011-12 on the equity (67.72%) held by the Government of India, was presented here today to Mr. Praful Patel, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises by Mr. B.P. Rao, Chairman and Managing Director, BHEL, in the presence of Mr. S. Sundareshan, Secretary, Department of Heavy Industries.

In fiscal 2011-12, BHEL maintained the growth momentum achieved in the year before, with a top line growth of 20% and an all-time high Turnover of Rs.49,510 Crore. The company also recorded a quantum jump of 24% in its Profit After Tax (PAT) which was also the highest-ever at Rs.7,040 Crore. Significantly, with this BHEL has become eligible for ‘Maharatna’ status.

BHEL recorded a 26% surge in Net Worth, which went up to Rs.25,373 Crore from Rs.20,154 Crore in the year before. Earnings Per Share (EPS) on the post split number of shares basis went up by 24% to Rs.28.76.

With an order book position of nearly Rs.1,33,000 Crore at the end of the first quarter, the company expects to achieve robust growth in 2012-13 and beyond. The company has also established the capability to deliver power plant equipment of 20,000 MW per annum.

Vivek Rae Joins as Secretary MSME

Shri Vivek Rae, today took over as Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. He succeeds Shri Radha Krishna Mathur, at present Secretary, Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence.

Shri Rae is a 1978 batch IAS officer of UT cadre. Before joining the Ministry of MSME, he was Director General (Acquistion), Ministry of Defence.

Health Fair on Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homoeopathy

The Arogya 2012, Hyderabad will be organised by the Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India and Government of Andhra Pradesh in collaboration with FICCI from 12th to 15th October 2012. The fair will showcase the strength of AYUSH systems and inevitable linkages with the industry.

The 4-day fair is being held in parallel with the 11th Conference of Parties at Hyderabad from 8th to 19th October 2012 organized by Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India to invite the visiting foreign dignitaries and delegates at the conference.

The Arogya 2012 health fair will give a platform for participants to showcase the strength and potential of traditional systems of medicine, exhibit Research and Development efforts in the AYUSH sector, interact with practitioners, consumers and other stakeholders, project future trends and requirements in the AYUSH healthcare sector, create awareness among individuals and professionals about Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homoeopathy.

The fair will attract stakeholders in AYUSH sector like manufacturers, retailers, consumer healthcare product manufacturers, health food producers & processors, medical practitioners and publishers. Free consultations by AYUSH specialists, live yoga demonstration, business & public lecture sessions will be attractive facets of the fair.

It may be mentioned that there is a worldwide resurgence of interest in traditional medicines based on herbs and medicinal plants. ASU medicines are gaining popularity in many countries as food supplements.

Indian Railways Adopting a Multi Pronged Strategy

Indian Railways Adopting a Multi Pronged Strategy to Provide Faster and Safer Train Journeys

Indian Railways Plan to Introduce Most Modern Emu Train Sets for Existing Rajdhanis/Shatabdis

The Proposed Train Sets to Increase Passenger Carrying Capacity, Reduce Run Time Between Destinations and Consume Less Energy

Indian Railways is adopting a multi pronged strategy to provide a safer, faster, cleaner, and comfortable passenger trains. As announced in the budget, seven corridors have been identified for conducting pre feasibility studies for running high speed trains(popularly referred as Bullet trains) at speeds above 350 kmph. These corridors will be set up through PPP route. A study is also being done on Delhi Mumbai route with Japanese help to raise the speed of passenger trains from 160 kmph to 200 kmph being referred to as Semi-High Speed.

In addition, Indian Railways is working on the concept of acquiring Electrical Multiple Units (EMU) Train sets for intercity journeys for operating speed ranging from 130-160 km/hour. The adoption of train sets technology was announced in this year’s Railway Budget also. Indian Railways proposes to introduce in near future such modern EMU train Sets designed for operations at maximum speed of 130 kmph/150 kmph for running premium Shatabdi/Rajdhani trains, without any additional expenditure on existing track and signalling infrastructure. Existing Railway track on Rajdhani route is fit for running trains up to a speed of 150 kmph, but average speeds of Rajdhani/Shatabdi trains is less than 90 kmph due to large number of speed restrictions and poor acceleration and deceleration characteristics of existing loco hauled trains. The proposed modern distributed powered EMU train sets will be free from these bottlenecks and provide faster and safer movement and will substantially reduce run time. The plan is also in line with the international trend wherein most advanced countries in the world have progressively switched over its locomotive hauled conventional intercity trains to distributed powered Electrical Multiple Train sets.

The proposed EMU Train sets may consist of 21 cars (coaches). EMU Train sets are highly energy efficient, aerodynamically designed light weight, distributed powered trains with driving cabs at both ends like suburban trains and have following advantages over conventional loco hauled trains operating at similar speeds:

 Propulsion equipment is mounted on the coaches, hence locomotives and Power cars in conventional loco hauled trains get replaced by additional passenger coaches in train sets, thereby increasing the passenger carrying capacity by 25-30% for the same length of a train.

 EMU Train sets have very high acceleration and deceleration due to which it takes much less time in negotiating speed restrictions and achieving maximum permissible speed and it is possible to reduce the rune time between Howrah and New Delhi by 2.5 to 3.0 hours by operating train sets at existing speed of 130 kmph without any additional expenditure on track and other infrastructure.

 Train sets provide improved safety due to reduced braking distance because of higher deceleration caused by regenerative and electro-pneumatic braking and cause very less wear and tear to the track due to its light weight. Distributed powering also reduces jerks.

 Modern train sets are eco friendly, noiseless, consume 30% less energy and do not pollute the environment as in case of conventional loco hauled trains with diesel power cars.

 Train sets are equipped with the three phase modern IGBT technology and require very less maintenance. Further with cabs at both ends, turn round time required at terminal stations is less than 15 minutes, leading to improved utilization. A train set can do extra trip/day for inter city travel like Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Amritsar or Mumbai-Ahmedabad.

 Per passenger cost of train sets is only marginally higher (at approximately Rs. 200 crore per train set of 21 cars) as compared to conventional loco hauled trains for speeds up to 130 kmph/150 kmph and that too gets returned in less than 3 years owing to high rate of return due to substantial increase in revenue because of extra carrying capacity, better utilization and higher energy efficiency.

President of India to Confer Sangeet Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards 2011 on 9 October 2012

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee will confer the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards for 2011 at a special ceremony on 9 October 2012. This year eleven eminent personalities will be conferred with Akademi Fellowships and thirty six artists will receive the Akademi Awards.

The Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) and Akademi Award (Akademi Puraskar) are recognized as the highest national honours conferred on performing artists, gurus and scholars of the performing arts and have come to stay as the most coveted honour which the artistes aspire to. These honours are decided by Akademi’s General Council, the apex body consisting of eminent artistes, scholars and nominees of Government of India and of different States and Union Territories of the country.

The highest honour of Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) will be conferred on Shri Mukund Lath, Shri Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shri Shivkumar Sharma, Shri Amjad Ali Khan, Shri Umayalpuram Kasiviswanatha Sivaraman, Shri Mohan Chandrasekaran, Shri Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, Shri Kalamandalam Gopi, Smt Padma Subrahmanyam, Shri Chandrasekhar Basavanneppa Kambara and Shri Heisnam Kanhailal. They will receive purse money of Rupees three lakhs, besides an angavastram and a tamrapatra. The Fellowship of the Akademi is the most rare honour, which is restricted to a limited number at a given time. Presently there are only 40 living Fellows of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

The eminent representatives of Music, Dance and Theatre to be honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2011 will receive purse money of Rupees one lakh, angavastram and tamrapatra.

In the field of Music, nine eminent artists, namely Shruti Sadolikar Katkar and Marathe Venkateshkumar for Hindustani Vocal Music, Tota Ram Sharma (Pakhawaj) and Pushpraj Ramlal Koshti (Surbahar) for Hindustani Instrumental Music, J Venkatraman for Carnatic Vocal Music, Ellapulli Mahadevaiyer Subramaniam (Ghatam), Ayyagari Syamasundaram (Veena) and Seshampatti T Sivalingam (Nagaswaram) for Carnatic Instrumental Music, and Gopal Chandra Panda (Odissi Music) for Other Major Traditions of Music, will receive the Akademi Award 2011. In the field of Dance, nine eminent practitioners, namely Narthaki Nataraj (Bharatanatyam), Manjusree Chatterjee (Kathak), Thonnakkal Peethambaran (Kathakali), Priti Patel (Manipuri), Alekhya Punjala (Kuchipudi), Ramli Ibrahim (Odissi), V K Hymavathy (Mohiniattam), Tanusree Shankar (Creative & Experimental Dance) and Karaikudi R. Krishnamurthy (Music for Dance - Mridangam) will receive the Award for 2011.

In the field of Theatre, eight eminent persons who will be receiving the Akademi Awards are Kirti Jain for Direction, Amitabh Srivastava, Vikram Chandrakant Gokhle, Neena Tiwana and A R Srinivasan for Acting, R Nageswara Rao for Major Traditions of Theatre – Company Theatre, Andhra Pradesh and Kamal Jain for Allied Theatre Arts (Lighting).

For their contribution to other Traditional/Folk/ Tribal Music/ Dance/ Theatre and Puppetry, eight artists - Thrippekulam Achuta Marar for Traditional Music (Kerala), Hemant Rajabhai Chauhan for Folk Music (Gujarat), Gurmeet Bawa for Folk Music (Punjab), Kashi Ram Sahu for Folk Theatre (Chhattisgarh), Mipham Otsal for Traditional Theatre (Jammu & Kashmir), Belagallu Veeranna for Togalu Gombeyatta, Puppetry (Karnataka), Gopal Chandra Das for Putul Nach (Tripura) and Qasim Khan Niyazi for Making of Musical Instrument (Delhi) will be conferred with the Akademi Award for the year 2011.

Shrivatsa Goswami will receive the Akademi Award 2011 for Overall Contribution / Scholarship to Performing Arts.

Alakhnandan (Theatre–Direction) and Sundari Krishnalal Shridharani (Overall Contribution) were also selected for Akademi Awards 2011. Due to their demise the said Award will be conferred on them posthumously.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards 2011 presentation ceremony will be followed by a Festival of Music, Dance and Drama featuring Fellows and Awardees of the year from 9-16 October 2012.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi, established by the Government of India on 31 May 1952, is the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama. It was created as the apex body in the country for the task of preservation and promotion of the performing art tradition of India. One of the important activities of the Akademi has been to give recognition and honours to artistes for setting standards in performing arts and restoring the art and artists to their rightful place in independent India.

Train Running Information Facility Expanded to Cover All Trains

To provide accurate train running information to the public, the Indian Railways has expanded the train running information facility. Now the information on the running of ,b>all trains is available at www.trainenquiry.com.

Similarly this facility is available through SMS on 139. To avail this SMS facility, following procedure is to be adopted:

Type SPOT and send it to 139

Earlier, train running information of only selected 36 important trains (Shatabdi, Rajdhani & Duronto) were available at website www.simran.in and through SMS on 9415139139. Now, the information about all trains will become available on www.trainenquiry.com

Official amendments to the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010.

The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal to move official amendments to the Forwards Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010 (the Bill, 2010), based upon the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution in its 15th Report, in the next session of Parliament.

After the Bill is passed and enacted by Parliament, Forward Market Commission (FMC) as a regulator will get autonomy and power to regulate the market effectively. New products like 'options' will be allowed in the commodity market. This will benefit various stakeholders including farmers to take benefit of 'price discovery and 'price risk management'. The Bill would enhance public accountability of the Regulator by providing for an Appellate Authority.

The recommendations of the Committee with regard to definition of the "Commodity Derivative" in Clause 3, establishment and constitution of Forward Markets Commission in Clause 4, term of office of the Chairman and every other whole time members in Clause 5, accounts and audit in Clause 9, penalties for contravention of certain provisions of Chapter IV in Clause 25 of the Bill, 2010 have been accepted and are proposed to be incorporated as official amendments. The amendment in Clause 25 will require consequential amendment in Clause 26, which is also proposed to be included in the official amendments.

Background:

The Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act provides for the regulation of commodity futures markets in India and the establishment of the Forward Markets Commission (FMC). While the markets have been liberalized with effect from April, 2003 and modern institutional structures are in the process of being evolved, yet the market regulator, FMC is largely functioning in its traditional format.

Many of the existing provisions of the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act need changes to strengthen and reinforce legal provisions to meet the requirements of changing environment. In order to amend further the Forward Contracts(Regulation) Act, the Bill, 2010 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 6.12.2010. The Bill, 2010 went through examination by the Committee which submitted its 15th Report on 22nd December, 2011.