UPSC PIB Summary Analysis Jun25

Monsoon Session of Parliament 2018 to begin from 18th July

• The Monsoon Session of Parliament 2018 would be held from 18^th July till 10^th August, informed by Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar today.
• Shri Ananth Kumar further informed that the session would have a period of 18 working days and the legislative business would include passing of six Ordinances promulgated during the inter-session period before the Monsoon Session, 2018.
• The Minister said that the Government would bring other important bills, including the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Third Amendment) Bill, 2017, Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, National Medical Commission Bill, 2017, Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017, inter alia, for consideration and passing in both the Houses of Parliament.
• The election to the post of Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha would also be held during the session as the term of Shri P. J. Kurien is ending this month.

Cooperatives have the potential to revive agriculture and make it sustainable

• The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that cooperatives have the potential to revive agriculture and make it sustainable.
• He has asked cooperatives to take up the task of training farmers in the right use of fertilizers, and also help them understand new technologies in farming.
• He further said that the cooperative sector has a big role in bridging the urban-rural divide and creating opportunities for income generation. Women’s participation will further strengthen economic activity in rural areas, he added.

Set up of 3000 Van Dhan Kendras involving 30,000 SHGs across the country

• The Government proposes to set up 3000 Van Dhan Kendras involving 30,000 SHGs across the country under the Van Dhan Scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.  
• Under Van Dhan Scheme, 10 Self Help Groups of 30 Tribal gatherers each have been constituted at Bijapur, Chhattisgarh. They are then trained and provided with working capital to add value to the products, which they collect from the Jungle. 
• Working under the leadership of Collector, these groups can then market their products not only within the States but also outside the States. Training and technical support is provided by TRIFED.

Saudi ARAMCO and ADNOC sign MoU for participating in the Ratnagiri Refinery project

• Saudi Aramco and ADNOC signed an MoU today to jointly develop and build an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.
• The project will be implemented by Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (RRPCL). 
• RRPCL which is promoted by a consortium of India PSUs consisting of IOCL, BPCL and HPCLwill now have Saudi Aramco & ADNOC as overseas strategic partners. The project will be set up as a 50:50 joint partnership (50:50) between the consortium from India and Saudi Aramco and ADNOC. This will be single largest overseas investment in the Indian refining sector.
• The strategic partnership brings together crude supply, resources, technologies, experience and expertise of these multiple oil companies with an established commercial presence around the world.
• The mega refinery will be capable of processing 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day (60 million metric tonnes per annum).

Background on Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd.(RRPCL):

• Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (RRPCL), a JVC, was formed on 22^nd September, 2017 between IOCL,BPCL& HPCL with equity participation of 50:25:25 respectively. This is to implement a 60 MMTPA (1.2 MMBD) Integrated Refinery & Petrochemicals Project at Ranagiri, Maharashtra. The expected Petrochemical production is likely to be around 18 MMTPA. The estimated cost of the Project would be around Rs. 3,00,000 crores (around 44 billion dollars). This would potentially be one of the largest Projects in the world. It is expected that it will contribute to a GDP improvement of around 2% nationally and about 12% to the state of Maharashtra.

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