Ms. Vanaja N. Sarna, IRS (C&CE:1980) appointed as Chairman, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC); Takes charge today on superannuation of Shri Najib Shah

Ms. Vanaja N. Sarna, IRS (C&CE:1980) presently holding the charge as Member (Administration), has been appointed as Chairman, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). She is taking over on superannuation of Shri Najib Shah, IRS (C&CE:79) today i.e. 31.03.2017.

 

Ms. Vanaja N. Sarna has served Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in several capacities over the last 36 years. These include postings in Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax formations in Kochi, Delhi, Chennai, Meerut, Chandigarh and Bangalore. She has also worked as Additional Director General, National Academy of Customs, Excise & Narcotics (NACEN), in Chennai. She was also Additional Director General in Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence, New Delhi. She also served on deputation as Under Secretary, Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and as Director/ Joint Secretary in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. 

 

Prior to becoming Member, Central Board of Excise and Customs, she held the charge of Director General of Vigilance and Chief Vigilance Officer of the Department.

Courtesy: pib.nic.in

Japan’s Official Development Assistance Loan to India for FY 2016: Loan Packages for an amount of Yen 371.345 billion (=Rs.21590 crore approx.)

The Notes were exchanged today between Mr. S. Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India and H.E. Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India. The Government of Japan has committed JICA Official Development Assistance loan for an amount of Yen 371.345 billion (=Rs.21590 crore approx. @ Exchange Rate of Re.1 = Yen 1.72.) under FY 2016 loan packages. The ODA loan assistance has been committed to Mumbai Trans Harbour Link Project (JPY 144.795 billion), Dedicated Freight Corridor Project (Procurement of Electric Locomotives) (JPY 108.456 billion), Chennai Metro Project (V) (JPY 33.321 billion), Andhra Pradesh Irrigation and Livelihood Improvement Project (Phase 2) (I) (JPY 21.297 billion), Rajasthan Water Sector Livelihood Improvement Project (I) (JPY 13.725 billion), Odisha Forestry Sector Development Project (Phase 2) (JPY 14.512 billion), Delhi Eastern Peripheral Expressway Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Installation Project (JPY 6.87 billion), Nagaland Forest Management Project (JPY 6.224 billion) and Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Program (Phase 2) (JPY 22.145 billion).

 

            India and Japan have had a long and fruitful history of bilateral development cooperation since 1958.  In the last few years, the economic partnership between India and Japan has steadily progressed. This further consolidates and strengthens the Strategic and Global Partnership between India and Japan.

 

Courtesy: pib.nic.in

CBDT notifies new Income Tax Return Forms for AY 2017-18: Introduces one page simplified ITR Form-1(Sahaj)

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has notified Income-tax Return Forms (ITR Forms) for the Assessment Year 2017-18. One of the major reforms made in the notified ITR Forms is the designing of a one page simplified ITR Form-1(Sahaj).  This ITR Form-1(Sahaj) can be filed by an individual having income upto Rs.50 lakh and who is receiving income from salary  one house property / other income (interest etc.) . Various parts of ITR Form-1 (Sahaj) viz. parts relating to tax computation and deductions have been rationalised and simplified for easy compliance. This will reduce the compliance burden to a significant extent on the individual tax payer. This initiative will benefit more than two crore tax-payers who will be eligible to file their return of income in this simplified Form.  

 

Simultaneously, the number of ITR Forms have been reduced from the existing nine  to seven forms. The existing ITR Forms ITR-2, ITR-2A and ITR-3 have been rationalized and a single ITR-2 has been notified in place of these three forms. Consequently, ITR-4 and ITR-4S (Sugam) have been renumbered as ITR-3 and ITR-4 (Sugam) respectively.

 

 There is no change in the manner of filing of ITR Forms as compared to last year. All these ITR Forms are to be filed electronically. However, where return is furnished in ITR-1 (Sahaj) or ITR-4 (Sugam), the following persons have an option to file return in paper form:-

 

(i) an individual of the age of 80 years or more at any time during the previous year;   or

(ii)  an individual or HUF whose income does not exceed five lakh rupees and who has not claimed any refund in the return of income,

 

     The notified ITR Forms are available on the department’s official website www.incometaxindia.gov.in

Courtesy: pib.nic.in

Buffer Stock of Pulses Crosses 16.88 lakh MT

Centre creating a dynamic buffer of upto 20 lakh tonnes of Pulses under the Price Stabilization Fund

Government has procured around 16.88 lakh tonnes including 3.79 lakh tonnes of imports towards building the buffer stock of pulses of upto 20 lakh tonnes as on 28.03.2017.

Government has approved creation of a buffer stock of upto 20 lakh tonnes of pulses under the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF). The domestic procurement of the pulses is from farmers/farmers’ association at farm gate/Mandi through designated agencies viz., NAFED, FCI and SFAC. Government procured Arhar and Moong during KMS 2016-17 to extend MSP support to farmers and simultaneously build the buffer.

This information was given by Shri C.R. Chaudhary, the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today. 

Courtesy: pib.nic.in

Ministry of Power reviews Power supply Position and preparedness for Summer, 2017

Union Ministry of Power has taken a review regarding power supply position in the country, especially the northern region, and preparedness of various utilities during the forthcoming summer season. The meeting was chaired by Shri P.K. Pujari, Secretary, Power and attended by representatives from State Governments, India Meteorological Department (IMD), CEA, POSOCO, various Regional and State Load dispatch Centres (RLDCs/SLDCs). 

Based on IMD’s report, it was observed that temperatures would be above normal during the March-May 2017. In the recent release dated 27th March 2017 by IMD, it was noted that the temperature during the last week of March was 4-6 degrees above normal, constituting heat wave conditions in many areas. 

The present prevailing power demand and the projections were reviewed for each state, region and an All India basis. It was observed that while the power demand in Northern Region would peak to the extent of 56 GW during April to Sep 2017 period. The demand in Southern region has already peaked to 42 GW while Western Region has touched 50 GW and expected to reduce to 46 GW between April-June. The All India peak demand during the summer is expected to be of the order of 165 GW. 

It was noted that generation resource was adequate during the period considering enough coal fired capacity available in the country. There is a fall in reservoir levels in Southern Region compared to last year, leading to 700 MU reduction in energy content as on date. Certain states may experience constraints due to limitations in the transmission and distribution network at the intra state level. To combat the same, the State utilities were advised to complete the transmission systems in the pipeline. 

The state utilities of Northern region are required to face the dust storm and thunderstorm related disturbances in the electricity grid during April-June period which often caused 6-7 GW reduction in load. They utilities were advised to coordinate generation reduction in such cases so that the disturbances in the grid are minimized. 

Further, considering the past instances of transmission tower collapses, the state utilities were advised to keep Emergency Restoration Systems (ERS) ready. CEA would monitor the availability of ERS across different state utilities and transmission licensees. It was also decided that POSOCO and the SLDCs would work closely with IMD for getting tailor made forecasts/web based weather information for better planning and reliability of supply. 

The State of Uttar Pradesh was advised to augment the intra state transmission systems expeditiously as the shortages reported by the State were primarily on account of lack of the necessary transmission & distribution infrastructure within the state. 

Principal Secretary, Energy, Government of Delhi informed that the transmission constraints within Delhi system is being resolved. However, there is a need to maintain generation in Badarpur TPS and ensure gas supply to the combined cycle gas stations within Delhi till then. Jammu & Kashmir was also advised undertake planned sub-transmission & distribution system within the state. 


Courtesy: pib.nic.in

Workshop on leveraging Private Investment in Indian Railways Organized by the World Bank and Indian Railways Held on March 29th, 2017

The Ministry of Railways and the World Bank organised a knowledge sharing workshop on leveraging private investment in Railways on March 29, 2017. The objective was to showcase the projects that provide opportunities to the private sector for investing their funds in Indian Railways. The participants include representatives of various funds and developers.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Railways said that there are huge expectations from Railways and to meet these expectations Railway needs to grow for which investment is required. Investment is required for decongesting the highly congested network and also for operations, maintenance and modernisation of Rolling stock. Recently a Safety Fund has also been created to clear all backlogs and modernise the safety infrastructure. Recently, we were successful in attracting FDI for our loco factories through a completely transparent bidding process. He felt that compared to previous years, there has been improvement in investment but by itself the investment requirements of Indian Railways are huge. There should not be concerns regarding servicing of the investments in Railways as being a transportation organisation, it has continuous cash flows. A lot of investment opportunities exist in Indian Railways and the workshop would be beneficial for structuring investments. There are possibilities of end to end logistics support. Unless logistics and transport come together, enhancement of business value would not be possible. Partnerships should be the guiding principle for the future. Railways have partnered with State Governments to form Joint Venture Companies. He was categorical that Indian Railways welcomes all long term & short term investors and the multilateral and bilateral agencies to partner with Indian Railways.

The Country Head of the World Bank, Mr. Junaid Ahmad said that Indian Railways is an important player in the economy and the backbone of India’s transportation sector. He opined that in the future growth story of the country, Indian Railways will have an important role to play. He also stated that this was a historic period for the country and for Railways and the Railway employees were fortunate to be a part of this history in the making. He gave example of successful partnership with the private sector such as the Sao Paulo water and sanitation company, Sabesp which serves more than 300 municipalities. He also highlighted the case of the Johannesburg where unbundling of different public agencies enabled them to raise resources from the local capital market and form partnerships with community based organisations and the private sector. In the case of Railways, he felt that apart from financing, the private sector can also bring in expertise in areas such as station development. In the years to come, once the DFC is commissioned, opportunities could be available to the private sector to run trains. Partnering with private sector logistics provider and other transporters will be key to fast ramping up of traffic.

Mr. Sujoy Bose, CEO of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) shared his experiences regarding PPPs. Presentations were made on station redevelopment, connectivity projects, State Joint Ventures, Dedicated Freight Corridors, Indian Railway Finance Corporation and also on the proposed Railways of India Development Fund.

Courtesy: pib.nic.in

President of India to visit West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar from April 1 to 3

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee will visit West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar from April 1 to 3, 2017.
On April 1, 2017, the President will attend the 52nd Annual Convocation of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta in Kolkata as the Chief Guest. 

On April 2, 2017, the President will lay the foundation stone of RabindraBhawan and Haj House at Ranchi.  On the same day, he will also inaugurate the 44 KmsDeoghar - Basukinath Solar Street Light Project and lay the foundation stone of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) Centre; Employees State Insurance Corporation Hospital and Driver's Training Centres at Deoghar.

On April 3, 2017, the President will visit Vikramshila University Monuments and Museum at Vikramshila.  He will also visit Guru ShyamaCharanLahiriPeeth, Gurudham-Bounsi before returning to Delhi. 

Courtesy: pib.nic.in

Chenani-Nashri Highway Tunnel: Beginning of a New Era in Road Connectivity

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will dedicate India’s longest highways tunnel - the Chenani- Nashri tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir- to the nation on 2nd April, 2017. An ideal example of the government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’ initiative, the 9 km long, twin-tube, all-weather tunnel between Udhampur and Ramban in Jammu & Kashmir is not only India’s longest highways tunnel but also Asia’s longest bi-directional highways tunnel. Built at an elevation of 1200 metres on one of the most difficult Himalayan terrains, the tunnel will cut the travel time between Jammu and Srinagar by two hours, bypassing about 41 kms of road length. It will also ensure an all weather passage on a route that often sees heavy traffic jams and disruptions due to landslides, snow, sharp curves, breakdown of vehicles and accidents. 

The tunnel was constructed at a cost of about Rs 3720 crores. It is a part of the 286-km-long four-laning of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. The structure consists of a 9 km long, two-laned main tunnel with a parallel escape tunnel of same length. The two tunnels are connected by 29 cross passages at regular intervals along the entire length of the tunnel. These cross passages can be used for evacuation of vehicles and commuters in case of breakdown or any other emergency. There are two minor bridges on the south and north sides and 4-lane approach roads with Toll Plazas on both ends of the tunnel. The maximum height permitted in the tunnel is 5 meters and for checking the height special sensors have been installed just before the toll points at both ends.

The tunnel has an efficient, transverse ventilation system. There are inlets bringing fresh air at 8 metre intervals and outlet for exhaust every 100 metres. There is also a fully-integrated control system with ventilation, communication, power supply, incident detection, SOS call box and fire fighting. Fitted with intelligent traffic mechanism, the tunnel has fully automatic smart control and no human intervention will be required for its operations. The tunnel is also equipped with advanced scanners to ward off any security threat. Very few tunnels in the world have this kind of fully integrated tunnel control.

The project is also environment friendly. The time saving on the Jammu- Srinagar route will further result in fuel saving of approximately Rs 27 lakhs per day. Besides, the construction of the tunnel has avoided large –scale deforestation. 

The Chenani-Nashri tunnel will have a very positive impact on the state economy. In line with the Skill India initiative of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the skill sets of local people were developed and improved, and they were engaged for construction of this tunnel. The project has provided employment to over 2,000 unskilled and skilled youth of Jammu and Kashmir as 94 percent of the work force was from the state. Around 600 to 900 people from across the country also worked on this project in 3 shifts over the past 4 years.

Courtesy: pib.nic.in

Provision of Local Cuisines in Running Trains through Self-Help Groups

Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are empanelled by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) for providing local cuisines in running trains through station based e-catering service. At present, 9 SHGs have been empanelled on 10 stations which provide authentic regional food cooked in hygienic conditions.  Passengers of all trains originating/ stopping at these stations can avail of the facility of SHG cooked food through e-catering. The list of SHGs already empanelled by IRCTC and progress made regarding employment generation therefrom, is appended.  Further proliferation of the scheme, being a continuous process, has been mandated through IRCTC. 

            List of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) partnered with IRCTC to provide local cuisines on running trains are as under:-

S. no.	Name of self Help Group	Name of Station	IRCTC Zone	The progress made so far, in introduction of local cuisines in Trains	Estimated employment generation from SHGs and women empowerment*
1	Smt. V S Vani	Vijayawada	South Central	All trains originating/ stopping at these stations are served by respective SHGs where they are empanelled.	10
2	Spoorthy Janaabhivrudhi Samsthe	Mysore	South		04
3	Cafe Kudumbashree	Ernakulam	South		05
4	Cafe Kudumbashree	Ernakulam Town	South		05
5	Laxmi Mahila Mandal	Saugor	West		04
6	Sanskar Mahila Mandal	Saugor	West		04
7	Prayas Swa-Sahayata Sangatham	Saugor	West		04
8	Maher Lok Sanchalit Sadhan Kendra	Savantwadi	West		15
9	Manorma Paroseba Sambay Samity Limited.	Adra	East		27
10	Sri Srinivasa	Visakhapatnam	East		Not Available
11	Sri Srinivasa	Anakapalle	South Central		Not Available
12	Sri Srinivasa	Tuni	South Central		Not Available

*The numbers indicate the members of SHG.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 31.03.2017 (Friday).

Courtesy: pib.nic.in

The Union Government has announced revised rates of interest on Small Savings Schemes for the First Quarter of 2017-18 to bring them somewhat closer to market rates

Small Savings schemes will continue to be attractive as some of them enjoy income tax benefits and additional interest rate spreads

Revision of rates is a reflection of calibrated reform of the Union Government in the financial sector to ensure better interest rate transmission

The Union Government has announced revised rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the first quarter of the financial year 2017-18.  To bring such rates somewhat closer to market rates, the Government has decided to effect a reduction of 0.1 percentage points (10 basis points) in interest rates across the board in all the schemes except the Post Office Savings Account, which has been left untouched.

Government continues to accord highest priority to the interest of small savers, especially savings for the benefit of girl child, the senior citizens and the regular savers who form the backbone of our savings architecture. The current revision of rates is reflective of the Government’s commitment to calibrated reform in the financial sector to ensure better interest rate transmission.

Various small savings schemes will continue to be very attractive compared to bank deposits of similar maturities and tenor even after this marginal reduction in interest rates by 0.1 percentage points.  Apart from offering higher interest rates compared to bank deposits, some of the small savings schemes also enjoy income tax benefits.  Further, small savings schemes like Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS), Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA), PPF, 5 year National Savings Certificate (NSC), 5 year Monthly Income Scheme (MIS) and 5 year Time Deposits (TD) enjoy additional interest rate spreads.  This additional interest rate spread is 100 basis points in the case of Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, 75 basis points in Sukanya Samriddhi Account and 25 basis points spread in PPF, 5 year NSC, 5 year MIS and 5 year TD.

Courtesy: pib.nic.in

Modernisation and Manufactureing of Rail Coaches

Several measures have been taken by Indian Railways to modernize / upgrade rail coaches of Mainline trains in the recent past. These include provision of improved interiors with upgraded fire retardant properties, Bio Toilets, Balanced Draft Gear for reducing the jerks in Centre Buffer Couplers (CBC) fitted coaches, Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting, Screw less Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) or Aluminium Composite Panel (ACP) paneling for interiors, etc. Besides, a policy decision has been taken to proliferate Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches. LHB type coaches are based on new technology and are of superior design as compared to conventional Integral Coach Factory (ICF) type coaches.

In addition to the above, Humsafar trains having additional amenities in the coaches have recently been introduced for providing comfortable Air-Conditioned III Tier travel.  Humsafar coaches have better passenger amenities, improved aesthetics, passenger announcement system, Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) based surveillance system, etc. Also, Antyodaya and Deen Dayalu coaches for unreserved travel, having additional amenities in the coaches, have been introduced in service.  These coaches have features such as cushioned luggage racks, drinking water dispenser, pleasing interior and exterior with anti-graffiti measures, enhanced number of mobile charging points, etc.

Targets set for the manufacture of Humsafar/Deen Dayalu and Antyodaya coaches for the next three years, which are available now, are as under:

Type of coach	2017-18 (coaches)	2018-19 (coaches)	2019-20 (coaches)
Humsafar	200	200	200
Deen Dayalu	385	384	392
Antyodaya	160	200

The modernization/upgradation of rail coaches of Mainline trains as a continual process is carried out based on availability of capacities/funds.

 The zone-wise holding of coaches of Indian Railways, as on 31.03.2016 is as below:

Zonal Railway	Number of coaches
Central Railway	5241
Eastern Railway	4241
East Central Railway	3761
East Coast Railway	2572
Northern Railway	6659
North Central Railway	1473
North Eastern Railway	2702
Northeast Frontier Railway	2813
North Western Railway	2624
Southern Railway	6784
South Central Railway	4686
South Eastern Railway	3389
South East Central Railway	1146
South Western Railway	3439
Western Railway	4639
West Central Railway	1415
Total	57584

Indian Railways undertakes Mid-Life Rehabilitation (MLR) of Mainline coaches in a programmed manner depending upon the capacity and availability of funds. During 2016-17 (upto February 2017), ­­­­­­­­­766 such coaches underwent MLR. It is planned to do MLR for around 1000 coaches in 2017-18.

As a part of MLR, selected number of coaches are being refurbished. Refurbished coaches with improvedinteriors, vibrant colour scheme, additional amenities,  etc. have been inducted in the Mahamana Express running between New Delhi and Varanasi. Additional coaches are taken up for refurbishing based on sanctions under the Rolling Stock Programme and availability of capacities/funds.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 31.03.2017 (Friday).

Courtesy: pib.nic.in

Initiatives for Cashless Transaction in Indian Railways

 In order to help passengers and incentivize the payment through digital modes for booking of reserved tickets, service charge on online booking of tickets has been withdrawn for the tickets booked from 23.11.2016 to 31.03.2017. Approximately, an amount of  `184 crore has not been realized from passengers on account of service charge and service tax thereon on reserved tickets booked online from 23.11.2016 to 28.02.2017.

            With a view to promoting cashless transaction on Indian Railways, various initiatives have been taken including the following:-

                                                        i.            The facility of online booking of reserved ticket has been provided through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website. The payment for tickets booked through IRCTC website is made through various cashless modes such as net banking, through credit/debit cards, cash cards and e-wallets. Further, to incentivize cashless transaction, service charge on online booking of tickets has been withdrawn for the tickets booked from 23.11.2016 to 31.03.2017.

                                                      ii.            The facility of booking unreserved ticket including journey, season and platform tickets through mobile phone has been introduced in all suburban sections of Central, Western, Southern, Eastern, South Central, South Eastern and Delhi-Palwal section of Northern Railway.  Additional payment options under the digital modes have also been introduced to widen the scope of digital payments for purchase of unreserved tickets.

                                                    iii.            The facility of renewal of season tickets through IRCTC website has been provided for suburban train services on Western and Central Railways wherein payment is made through electronic mode.

                                                    iv.            It has been decided to install 10,000 Point of Sale (POS) machines in association with State Bank of India at various locations of Indian Railways i.e. PRS locations, UTS locations, Parcel/Goods locations. At present, more than 4100 POS machines have been installed over the Zonal Railways.

                                                      v.            An advanced Beta version of the mobile application for booking of reserved tickets has also been launched by IRCTC giving additional options of cashless payment.

                                                    vi.            Service charge applicable on transactions against credit/debit cards for purchasing journey tickets at Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS)/ Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters has been withdrawn.

                                                  vii.            Online booking facility for accredited press correspondents on the basis of registered ID card has been launched.

                                                viii.             International Credit/ Debit cards issued outside India are accepted for booking of e-tickets through IRCTC website.

                                                    ix.            Free accidental insurance cover of upto `10 lakh for confirmed/RAC passengers in case of tickets booked online from 10.12.2016 to 31.03.2017.

                                                      x.            Provision of 0.5% discount on season tickets purchased through digital means with effect from 01.01.2017.

                                                    xi.            Provision of 5% discount on payment made online for availing services like online booking of retiring rooms with effect from 01.01.2017.

                                                  xii.            Catering stalls have also been instructed to provide options for making cashless payments.

   This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 31.03.2017 (Friday).

Courtesy: pib.nic.in