AP Govt issues notification to fill 10,000 posts

The Finance Department has issued a G.O. giving permission to fill 10,000 vacant posts in different categories under direct recruitment.
Of these, 4,009 posts will come under the purview of the AP Public Service Commission (APPSC) and 5,991 posts under the AP State Level Police Recruitment Board.

The posts have been categorised as Group-I, Group II, and Group III services, other gazetted, non-gazetted, and technical categories in various departments.
This is the break up of vacant posts under various categories to be filled by the APPSC:
Group I – 94 posts, Group II – 750 (including 250 Deputy Tehsildar posts), Group III – 1,000 posts, Home – 9, Medical and Health services – 422, Technical services – 1,000, and Others - 734.
Group I vacancies include 13 Municipal Commissioner posts, 10 Assistant Prohibition and Excise Superintendent posts, 13 Commercial Tax Officer, and 24 Deputy Superintendent of Police posts.
Under Group II, there are 250 Deputy Tehsildar posts, 113 Assistant Section Officer posts, 180 senior accountants.
Under the posts to be filled by the Police Recruitment Board, the bulk of posts of constable (Civil) are in the Commissionerate of Vijayawada (653 ) , AR (585), Women PC (35), and AR (54). It is followed by Guntur Rural, including Tullur, with 868 constable posts (Civil), AR constable (273).
In the DGP, AP, Hyderabad office, vacant posts include 1,103 police constable posts, 422 Armed Reserve constable posts, among other posts.
The G.O. stated that Principal Secretary, APPSC, and the Chairman, AP State Level Police Recruitment Board, were being directed to take appropriate steps for filling the above vacancies through direct recruitment by obtaining the details such as zone, district-wise vacancy, position, ros

ter points, and qualification etc., from the authorities concerned.
The recruiting agencies were also asked to issue schedule for recruitment and issue notification expeditiously.

first women fighter pilots

The India first newly commissioned women fighter pilots inducted into Air force..
Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi, Flying Officer Bhavana Kanth, Flying Officer Mohana Singh, at Air Force Academy, Hyderabad .

Prayut Chan-o-cha visit Mahabodhi temple

 Prayut Chan-o-cha,,Thailand Prime Minister visited world famous Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar. He was accompanied by his wife.Offered prayer to Lord Buddha and meditated under the pious Peepal tree in the premises of Mahabodhi temple. He also visited Thai temple and offered prayer.

Thailand PM in India

 Prime Minister of Thailand General Prayut Chan o Cha , grand ceremonial welcome at Rastra pathi Bhavan and received by  Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi . Later Prayut Chan o Cha visited Raj Ghat and paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. On three day visit Mr. Prayut  Chan o Cha focus on Expansion of Maritime and combat terrorism and improvement of trade between two countries. 

India and Saudi Arabia Co-operation on Labour for General Category Workers’ Recruitment

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for the Agreement on Labour Co-operation between India and Saudi Arabia. The Agreement was signed in Riyadh on 2-3 April, 2016 during the visit of the Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia.

The Agreement would benefit the Indian emigrant workers, especially in the unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled categories of workers who are working in Saudi Arabia without consideration of caste, creed, religion or gender.

Mahenja Daro

The Second Poster of Mohenjo Daro released.Pooja Hegde portraying cleoparta role  looks astoundingly very beautiful. Hritik Roshan said it will be the best movie in his career. This movie set to be released in August 2016.

Indian Rails announce special Concessions for disabled persons

The Ministry of Indian Railways announced special concession for disabled persons. The persons  with physically and mentally challenged patients , senior citizens, students, war windows, sports s are given special concession in Indian Railways.

The four category people elligible for concessions

1.Orthopaedically/paraplegic persons who cannot travel without an escort (At present concessional tickets issued only with escort)

2. Mentally teatrded persons who cannot travel without an escort (At present concessional tickets issued only with escort)

3. Completely blind persons with or without an escort

4. Deaf & Dumb persons both afflictions together in same persons with or without an escort

	Category	Concession
1	Orthopaedically Handicapped/Paraplegic persons who cannot trael without escort -for  any purpose	·         75% in Second ,Sleeper First,AC chair Car & AC 3 tier ·         50% in First Class and  amd AC 2 tier ·         25% in AC 3tier&AC Chair Car of Rajdhani/Shatabdi trains ·         50% in Monthly Season Ticket & Quarterly Season Ticket ·         One escort is also eligible for same element of concession
2	Mentally retarded persons who cannot travel without escort -for any purpose
3	Blind person travelling alone or with an escort- for any purpose

4

Deaf & Dumb persons (both afflictions together in the same             persons) travelling alone or with an escort- for any purpose

·         50% in Second ,Sleeper and First  Class ·         50% in Monthly Season Ticket & Quarterly Season Ticket ·         One escort is also eligible for same element of concession

Rajasva Gyan Sangam

 On Thursday ,The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi,  addressed tax administrators at the Rajasva Gyan Sangam. This is the first time that the two revenue boards – the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), and the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), are holding a simultaneous conference.

The Prime Minister began by inviting suggestions from officers. Some of the officers present, expressed their views on diverse subjects such as digitization, voluntary tax compliance, facilitation for taxpayers, increasing the tax base, upgradation of digital and physical infrastructure for tax administrators etc.

He encouraged the officers for a free and frank exchange of ideas during the Rajasva Gyan Sangam. He stressed that while there should be respect for the rule of law among all citizens, and even fear of the long arm of the law for those who evade taxes, people should not fear tax administrators.

He said that India is today at a unique stage in its history, and the high aspirations of its people need to be nurtured by the Government, so that they translate into the nation’s development.

He stressed on the need for tax administrators to engender trust in the system. Citing the example of the “Give it up” initiative for voluntarily giving up gas subsidy, he said that the tax base too could be increased significantly, provided the tax administrators can demonstrate the leadership to bring about a change.

The Prime Minister outlined a five-point charter for tax administrators – RAPID: R for Revenue, A for Accountability, P for Probity, I for Information and D for Digitization. He urged the officers to turn the Gyan Sangam into a Karma Sangam, so that the ideas generated from this conference lead to concrete action on the ground.

The Minister for Finance Shri Arun Jaitley, the Minister of State for Finance Shri Jayant Sinha, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Shri Nripendra Misra, the Revenue Secretary Shri Hasmukh Adhia, and the Chairmen of CBDT and CBEC were present on the occasion. 

Civil Aviation Policy 2016

Salient features of the Policy

i.                    The Viability Gap Funding (VGF) will be funded by a small levy per departure on all domestic routes other than Cat II/ Cat IIA routes, RCS routes and small aircraft at a rate as decided by the Ministry from time to time. A detailed scheme will be put up in the Public domain for stakeholders consultations.

ii.                  The 5/20 rule for commencement of international flight in operation since 2004 is replaced by a formulation which provides a level playing field and allows airlines, both new and old, to commence international operations provided they continue to meet some obligation for domestic operation. All airlines can commence international operations provided they deploy 20 aircraft or 20% of total capacity (in term of average number of seats on all departures put together), whichever is higher, for domestic operations.

iii.                Necessary administrative and financial flexibility will be provided to Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for an effective aviation safety oversight system and for creating a transparent single-window system for all aviation safety related issues.

iv.                The Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG)  have been  rationalised by making the criteria for declaring a route as Category I (trunk route) more transparent, while the traffic to be deployed on Cat II and IIA expressed in terms of a percentage of CAT I traffic remains the same. The criteria proposed for a Cat I route are a flying distance of more than 700 km, average seat factor of more than 70% and annual traffic of 5 lakh passengers. The percentage for CAT III will be reduced in view of the Regional Connectivity Scheme coming into operation. Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have been included as part of category II routes.

v.                  The regime of bilateral rights and code share agreements will be liberalised leading to greater ease of doing business and wider choice to passengers. “Open skies” will be implemented on a reciprocal basis for SAARC countries and countries beyond 5000 kms from Delhi. A method will be recommended by a Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary for the allotment of additional capacity entitlements wherever designated Indian carriers have not utilised 80% of their bilateral rights but the foreign airlines/countries have utilised their part and are pressing for increase in the capacity.

vi.                The Ministry will continue to encourage development of airports by the State Government or the private sector or in PPP mode and endeavour to provide regulatory certainty. Future greenfield and brownfield airports will have cost efficient functionality with no compromise on safety and security.

vii.              Airport Authority of India (AAI) will continue to develop and modernise its airports and upgrade quality of services. AAI will be suitably compensated in case a new greenfield airport is approved in future within 150 km radius of an existing operational AAI airport which is not yet saturated.

viii.            Upgradation and modernisation of Air Navigation Services will continue in line with global trends. AAI will provide a fully harmonised Air Navigation System considering International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Global Air Navigation Plan, Aviation system Block Upgrade and modern performance based technologies and procedures.

ix.                The Government will promote helicopter usage by issuing separate regulations for helicopters and development of four heli-hubs initially. Ministry of Civil Aviation will also coordinate with all the agencies and stakeholders concerned to facilitate Helicopter Emergency Medical Services.

x.                  In the budget for 2016-17, the customs duty for MRO’s  has been rationalised and the procedure for clearance of goods simplified, in particular duty on tools and tool kits. Further incentives have been proposed in the policy to give a push to this sector :-

§  MoCA will persuade State Governments to make VAT zero-rated on MRO activities

§  Provision for adequate land for MRO service providers will be made in all future airport/heliport projects where potential for such MRO services exists.

§  Airport royalty and additional charges will not be levied on MRO service providers for a period of five years from the date of approval of the policy.

xi.                The existing ground handling policy is being replaced with a new framework to ensure fair competition. The airport operator will ensure that there will be three Ground Handling Agencies (GHA) including Air India's subsidiary/JV at all major airports as defined in AERA Act 2008. At  non-major airports, the airport operator to decide on the number of ground handling agencies, based on the traffic output, airside and terminal building capacity. All domestic scheduled airline operators including helicopter operators will be free to carry out self-handling at all airports. Hiring of employees through manpower supplier will not be permitted.

Work under progress for launching LNG Barges on Ganga

The Ministry of Shipping reviewed the follow up action on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Petronet LNG for providing an LNG based alternative, fuel efficient and environment-friendly mode of transport on National Waterways, last week. The MoU was signed at the Maritime India Summit in Mumbai in April, 2016 with the objective of promoting the usage of LNG Barges on National Waterway-1(Ganga). IWAI and Petronet LNG have been asked to plan and coordinate their work plans in a manner such that LNG Barges could commence navigation on NW1 by December 2018.

Both the options of switching over from the existing diesel to LNG barges and introduction of new LNG barges are being considered. Although the switching over from traditional fuel (diesel) to LNG will entail an initial capital expenditure, the investment is likely to be recovered in four to five years at current prices. Higher fuel efficiency and negligible pollution are major attendant benefits of the new fuel. As per the present pricing, operating LNG barges will be much cheaper than diesel as fuel. LNG Barges would be a step towards achieving the commitments made by the country at COP 21.

Petronet LNG Limited will design, construct and operate LNG unloading, storage, bunkering and reloading facilities on the National Waterways (NWs). Four of the top public sector companies in the hydrocarbon sector of the country, viz. ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation, BPCL and GAIL own 50% of the equity in Petronet LNG, while 10% is held by GDF SUEZ and the balance 40% is held by the public. Action has already been initiated for preparing Detailed Feasibility Report and it is expected to be completed by December, 2016. Petronet LNG Ltd plans to set up a base depot at Haldia and fuelling stations at Sahibganj (Jharkhand), Patna (Bihar) and Ghazipur (UP).

IWAI will facilitate the switchover of bunker fuel from diesel to LNG by persuading the barge owners and the operators about the benefits of LNG. IWAI will also provide land, wherever possible, for the setting up of LNG storage and will develop jetties to facilitate bunkering. It is pertinent to note that there is a potential for 17.5 MT of cargo on NW-1 by 2020. IWAI was requested to explore the feasibility of seeking funding for the introduction of LNG Barges under the Ganga Action Plan. As National Waterways in Goa offer immense opportunities in transportation of iron ore and are closer to LNG storage facilities, the introduction of LNG Barges is being considered for that region too. The agencies responsible for framing and enforcing regulations related to the navigation of LNG Barges have been asked to study best practices and regulations on the subject for implementation in India.

AP to add 2.05 lakh additional streetlights...

In order to  save energy, Andhra Pradesh government  planning to install 3.45 lakh LED Street lights  and set target of 5.5 lakh .Till now 2 crore LED bulbs already illuminated the live of people  across the state . Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu instructed all 13 district collector to  use LED bulbs in all government offices and schools and other energy efficient electrical appliances. He highlighted the energy efficiency 5 Star rated electrical items  which consume less power compared to other appliances. Through this project , we wish to put andhra pradesh in No.1 state in the country on the energy efficient front.

Naked Restaurant….

One of its kind restaurant opened in london on 11^th June 2016, It is unique restaurant with novel concept of opening door for the people who want to be free from their dresses. The Bunyad restaurant offering an entire different dining experience in candle light, serve food on handmade clay plates. Those who enter the Bunyad , guest are taken to a private room where they may change  into gown, which they can wear or remove during the meal.The diners are asked to switch off their mobile phones.

President approval for local status to AP employees

A major stumbling block for government employees moving to Andhra Pradesh from Telangana has been removed with President Pranab Mukherjee approving the plan to confer local status to the children of government employees who relocate before June 2, 2017.

The President signed the file yesterday, paving the way for the Union government to issue a Gazette Notification. With this move, the officials will be able to get local status for their children in the district of their choice in the Andhra Pradesh.

Presidential approval and a Gazette Notification is necessary for the move since in 1975, the then President had issued an order giving local status to people in different regions of the state. Under that order, people of one region could not claim local status in another — a move that aimed to ensure equal opportunities to all people in the education and government sector.

To overcome the problem the state government raised the issue with the Union government soon after the bifurcation in June 2014. The centre then wrote to the President seeking his approval.

Later, Chief Minister held a video conference on the issue and informed employees about the President's nod.