Government policies, leadership stories and much more
From 1 January 2021, many rules are going to change, that includes implementation of Positive Pay system to curb cheque frauds, mandatory FASTags for all four-wheelers across India and new mode of Goods and Services Tax (GST) return filing facility for small businesses. So, before the new rules roll out, it is important to know them in advance.
In an endeavour to address the inadequacies of capacity constraints and improve its modal share in total freight eco system of the country, Indian Railways has come up with Draft National Rail Plan.
Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and MSMEs Shri Nitin Gadkari has said that the Government has finalised GPS-based(Global Positioning System) technology toll collection to ensure seamless movement of vehicles across the country. He said, this will ensure India becomes ‘toll booth free’ in next two years.
Department of Posts (DoP) and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) unveiled a new digital payment app ‘DakPay’ at virtual launch event today. The App is launched as part of its ongoing efforts to provide Digital Financial inclusion at the last mile across India.
Quality Council of India (QCI) at the behest of the FSSAI has come out with a Scheme for approval of Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies to scale up Hygiene Rating by increasing the number of recognised Hygiene Rating Audit Agencies in the country. The detail of the scheme is available on QCI’s website.
The Union Cabinet led by the Prime Minister took the decision in June this year to open up the space sector and enable the participation of Indian private sector in the entire gamut of space activities. With the creation of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the government believes the reforms will provide a level playing field for private companies and start-ups.
India Water Impact Summit continues with many more experts from India and abroad sharing their insights on the topic of conservation and development. Experts from Norway joined their Indian counterparts to discuss ‘Arth Ganga – River Conservation Synchronised Development’ on 4th day of the summit.
The HMIS will bring a paradigm shift in the health care systems maintained by Indian Railways. The new system will improve the quality of health services and aid in utilization of resources in a transparent manner. Patients waiting time at the hospitals will be minimized and medical records will be available to the team of doctors at all the times.
On Thursday, online food distribution platform Swiggy announced the expansion of its Street Food Vendors programme that will support 36,000 people in 125 tier 2 and 3 cities.
In collaboration with the AtmaNibhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) system of Prime Minister Street Vendor, Swiggy has formed a team to discover and recognise famous street vendors on the platform.
The business has also developed a special app destination where customers can discover their favourite street food suppliers.
Swiggy stated that it would ensure that all suppliers are registered with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at the time of on-boarding and will promote Food Safety Training and Certification (FOSTAC) in collaboration with FSSAI and its partners.
To date, the SVANidhi Scheme has earned loan applications from 1.47 lakh street food suppliers and in the first phase, Swiggy will panel 36,000 suppliers, the company said in a statement.
Mr. Vivek Sunder, COO, Swiggy said, “As a platform dedicated to safely and hygienically delivering the widest range of food to the doorsteps of customers, we are pleased to bring them their favourite street food they have been craving for several months now.”
Earlier, with the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Chennai, Delhi and Indore, the online food delivery company had a successful pilot, through which Swiggy onboarded more than 300 street vendors on its platform.
According to Swiggy, until being onboarded, all PM SVANidhi Scheme street food vendors must undertake a three-stage training programme.
Following training and registration, all manufacturers are required to perform a self-audit and to illustrate the requirements they comply with FSSAI’s guidelines to confirm that essential hygienic practices are maintained.
Swiggy stated that it provides one-on-one interactive training and brings street vendors through the process of obtaining, planning, and fulfilling orders on the platform without sacrificing the experience of the customer.
By upgrading the app, customers can now find “Street Vendor” in the restaurant category in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Indore and Varanasi.
This new ‘Made in India’ Solution, which is indigenously developed by Skylo, will connect with BSNLs satellite- ground infrastructure and provide PAN-India coverage, including Indian seas. The coverage will be so vast that it will not leave any dark patch within the boundary of India, from Kashmir &Ladakh to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to the North East, including the Indian seas.
