Governance

Government policies, leadership stories and much more

Parliament Passes the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020 with provisions to remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from the list of essential commodities was passed by Rajya Sabha today. Earlier, the bill was introduced by the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Danve Raosaheb Dadarao in the Lok Sabha on 14th September, 2020 to replace ordinances promulgated on 5th June 2020. The bill was passed by Lok Sabha on 15th September, 2020.

Government e-Marketplace Help India Govt. Save 1 Billion Dollars

The Government e-Marketplace is also being used to keep Chinese companies away from government contracts after tensions between the neighbours intensified earlier this year amid border clashes. Suppliers must note the country of origin for any goods they sell on GeM, which helps government departments implement Modi govt’s “Make in India” policy.

E-Gram Swaraj Portal-egramswaraj.gov.in

With a vision to strengthen digitalization in Panchayats for the purpose of empowering rural India, a unified tool e-Gram SWARAJ portal (https://egramswaraj.gov.in/) has been developed by the Ministry for effective monitoring and evaluation of works taken up in the Gram Panchayats.

e-Gram SWARAJ unifies the planning, accounting and monitoring functions of Gram Panchayats. It’s combination with the Area Profiler application, Local Government Directory (LGD) and the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) renders easier reporting and tracking of Gram Panchayat’s activities. It provides a single window for capturing Panchayat information with the complete Profile of the Panchayat, details of Panchayat finances, asset details, activities taken up through Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP), Panchayat information from other Ministries/ Departments such as Census 2011, SECC data, Mission Antyodaya survey report etc.

For the year 2020-21, around 2.43 lakh Gram Panchayats have finalized their GPDP on e-Gram SWARAJ. Further, around 1.24 lakh Gram Panchayats have transacted online using the e-Gram SWARAJ Online Payment Module.

Setback for China as India Makes Random Sampling of Imported LED Products Mandatory

In yet another setback for China, the Government of India has made the random sampling of all imported light-emitting diodes (LED) and control gears for LED products mandatory. According to a new notification issued by the Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), now all LED products being imported from other countries will be subjected to stringent quality tests.

In A First, 8 Beaches of India Recommended for the Coveted “Blue Flag” International Eco-Label.

On the eve of International Coastal Clean-Up Day which is celebrated across 100 countries since 1986, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) announced at a virtual event that for the first time eight beaches of India are recommended for the coveted International eco-label, the Blue flag certification. The recommendations are done by an independent National Jury composed of eminent environmentalists & scientists. Blue Flag beaches are considered the cleanest beaches of the world. The eight beaches are Shivrajpur in Gujarat, Ghoghla in Daman&Diu, Kasarkod and Padubidri beach in Karnataka, Kappad in Kerala, Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh, Golden beach of Odisha and Radhanagar beach in Andaman and Nicobar.

Parliament Passes The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill

Parliament today passed two bills aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers’ incomes. The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 which were passed by Lok Sabha on 17th September 2020, were passed by the Rajya Sabha also today.

Employment Opportunities in Textile Sector

Textile Sector in India provides largest source of employment in the country with over 4.5 crore people employed directly and another 6 crores people in allied sector including large number of women and rural population through various schemes and public programmes