30 June 2020: PIB Summary & Analysis

June 30th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Index of Eight Core Industries
2. MyGov Corona Helpdesk bagged two awards
3. Loan Agreements between Government of India and World Bank
4. Amendments in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and Rules
5. Udyam Registration
6. Towards a Clean Energy Economy: Post-Covid-19 Opportunities for India’s Energy 
and Mobility Sectors Report

1. Index of Eight Core Industries

Context:

Index of Eight Core Industries for May 2020 released.

Details:

• The Office of Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is releasing the Index of Eight Core Industries for the month of May 2020.
• The growth rate of the Index of Eight Core Industries for May 2020 declined by 23.4% (provisional) compared to a decline of 37 percent (provisional) in April 2020. Its cumulative growth from April to May, 2020-21 was -30.0 percent.
• Due to the lockdown imposed, various industries such as coal, cement, steel, natural gas, refinery, crude oil, etc. experienced a substantial loss of production.
• The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

2. MyGov Corona Helpdesk bagged two awards

Context:

India’s AI-enabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk bagged two awards at Global Leadership Summit and Festival of AI & Emerging Technology, CogX 2020.

Details:

• AI-enabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk bagged two awards at CogX 2020, which is a prestigious Global Leadership Summit and Festival of AI & Emerging Technology held annually in London.
• The awards were won by Technical Partner of MyGov, JioHaptik Technologies Limited.
• The categories under which the awards were won are:
  • Best Innovation for Covid-19 – Society
  • People’s Choice Covid-19 Overall Winner

About MyGov:

• MyGov is the world’s largest citizen engagement platform, which facilitates two-way communication between the Indian Government and the Citizen.
• It helps in facilitating participatory governance.
• In the fight against COVID-19, MyGov, JioHaptik and WhatsApp collaborated to develop AI-enabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk in a record time of 5 days.
  • MyGov Corona Helpdesk is a WhatsApp Chatbot and is available to all WhatsApp users.
  • The person in need is only required to save the prescribed number in their contact list and send a message to the MyGov Corona Helpdesk.
  • The chatbot engages citizens in a user-friendly manner with personalized information and updates on COVID-19, government advisories, advice of medical experts, stories of COVID-19 survivors, myth busters and musical interludes.
  • The move is intended to mitigate the circulation of fake news and the spreading of misinformation among the masses pertaining to coronavirus.
  • This initiative by the Centre will also help in creating awareness among the citizens about the preventive measures that could save them from falling prey to the coronavirus.
  • In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the ‘MyGov Corona Helpdesk’ has received more than 76 million messages and processed over 41 million conversations.

About CogX:

• CogX is one of the world’s largest events on AI, held annually in London with over 15,000 participants in attendance from the highest levels of business, government, industry, and research.
• The CogX Awards are given out to the best-of-the-best in AI and emerging technologies across the world.

3. Loan Agreements between Government of India and World Bank

Context:

The Government of India, the Government of Tamil Nadu and the World Bank signed legal agreements to help low-income groups in the state of Tamil Nadu get access to affordable housing.

Details:

• The legal agreements were signed for two projects – $200 million First Tamil Nadu Housing Sector Strengthening Programme and $50 million Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development Project – to strengthen the state’s housing sector policies, institutions, and regulations.
• Nearly half of Tamil Nadu’s population is urban, and this is expected to increase to 63 percent by 2030. An estimated 6 million people are currently living in slums (representing 16.6 percent of the state’s urban population).
• First Tamil Nadu Housing Sector Strengthening Programme:
  • This programme supports the government’s ongoing efforts to increase the availability of affordable housing by gradually shifting the role of the state from being the main provider to an enabler.
  • It will also aim to unlock regulatory barriers and incentivise private sector participation in affordable housing for low-income families.
• Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development Project:
  • This project will support innovations in housing finance and strengthen housing sector institutions in the state.
  • It will finance the newly created Tamil Nadu Shelter Fund (TNSF) – an innovation in housing finance in India – by providing an equity contribution of $35 million.
  • This initial support to TNSF will enable cross-subsidisation opportunities where higher returns from commercial and high-income developments will compensate for lower returns from affordable housing.
  • This will make affordable housing commercially viable for potential investors.
  • The project will also strengthen the capacity of key housing institutions including the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, the state’s main provider of affordable housing; Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, the land use planning authority for the Chennai Metropolitan Area; and Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation Limited, the asset management company of TNSF.
• The loans of $200 million and $50 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) have a maturity of 20 years including a grace period of 3.5 years.

4. Amendments in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and Rules

Context:

The Amendments in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 brought through the Finance Act, 2019 and Rules made thereunder will come into effect from 1^st July 2020.

Details:

• These amendments to the Act and Rules will enable states to collect stamp duty on securities market instruments at one place by one agency (through Stock Exchange or Clearing Corporation authorized by it or by the Depository) on one Instrument.
• This was done in order to facilitate ease of doing business and to bring in uniformity of the stamp duty on securities across States and thereby build a pan-India securities market.
• A mechanism for appropriately sharing the stamp duty with relevant State Governments has also been developed which is based on the state of domicile of the buyer.
• The need for the amendments:
  • The present system of collection of stamp duty on securities market transactions led to multiple rates for the same instrument, resulting in jurisdictional disputes and multiple incidences of duty, thereby raising the transaction costs in the securities market and hurting capital formation.
• Potential impact:
  • This rationalized and harmonized system through a centralized collection mechanism is expected to ensure minimized cost of collection and enhance revenue productivity.
  • Further, this system will help develop equity markets and equity culture across the length and breadth of the country, ushering in balanced regional development.

5. Udyam Registration

Context:

New process of MSME registration takes off in the name of Udyam Registration.

Details:

• A new process of classification and registration of MSMEs is starting from 1^st July 2020.
• An enterprise for this purpose will be known as Udyam and its Registration Process will be known as ‘Udyam Registration’.
• The MSME Ministry has launched a new portal for this purpose.
• Highlights of Udyam:
  • MSME registration process is fully online, paperless and based on self-declaration. No documents or proof are required to be uploaded for registering an MSME.
  • The user will need to provide their 12-digit biometric Aadhaar number for the registration process.
  • A registration number will be given after completion of the entire process and an Udyam Registration Certificate will be issued.
  • The Udyam Registration Certificate will have a dynamic QR Code from which the web page on the Portal and details about the enterprise can be accessed. There will be no need for renewal of the registration.
  • The PAN & GST linked details on investment and turnover of enterprises will be taken automatically from the respective Government databases.
  • No enterprise will be allowed to file more than one Udyam Registration. Any number of activities including manufacturing or service or both may be specified or added under one Registration.
  • The registration process will be completely free of cost.

6. Towards a Clean Energy Economy: Post-Covid-19 Opportunities for India’s Energy and Mobility Sectors Report

Context:

NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) released “Towards a Clean Energy Economy: Post-COVID-19 Opportunities for India’s Energy and Mobility Sectors” report.

Details:

• The report advocates for stimulus and recovery efforts that work towards building a clean, resilient, and least-cost energy future for India. These efforts include electric vehicle, energy storage, and renewable energy programs.
• The report identifies how Covid-19 is beginning to influence the clean energy transition in India, specifically for the transport and power sectors, and recommends principles and strategic opportunities for the country’s leaders to drive economic recovery and maintain momentum towards a clean energy economy.
• Covid-19 has presented significant demand- and supply-side challenges for India’s transport and power sectors, from liquidity constraints and supply shortages to shifts in consumer demand and preferences.
• The CEO of the NITI Aayog said that clean energy will be a major driver of India’s economic recovery and international competitiveness.
• The report lays out four principles as a framework for policymakers and other key decision-makers considering programmes to support India’s clean energy future:
  • Invest in least-cost energy solutions
  • Support resilient and secure energy systems
  • Prioritise efficiency and competitiveness
  • Promote social and environmental equity
• Opportunities in the transport sector include making public transport safe, enhancing and expanding non-motorized transport infrastructure, reducing vehicle kilometres travelled through work-from-home where possible, supporting national strategies to adopt electric vehicles in the freight and passenger segments, and making India an automotive export hub.
• In the power sector, opportunities include improving the electricity distribution business and its operations, enabling renewables and distributed energy resources, and promoting energy resilience and local manufacturing of renewable energy and energy storage technologies.
• The report states that India’s transport sector can save 1.7 gigatons of cumulative carbon dioxide emissions and avoid about 600 million tonnes of oil equivalent in fuel demand by 2030 through shared, electric, and connected passenger mobility and cost-effective, clean, and optimized freight transport.
• Significant savings are also achievable in the power sector through the adoption of renewable energy, energy storage, efficiency, and flexible generation and demand.

June 30th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

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