Neighbourhood First: India-Bangladesh to Sign Trade Agreement
Earlier this week, at the commerce secretary-level meeting in New Delhi, in an effort to resolve several important issues related to the agreement were discussed.
Economy
News on Indian Economy
In Ramp-Up, 75% Roads on China Border Ready
The new 11 roads, known as India-China Border Roads (ICBRs), that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) plans to complete by March will be located along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh. The BRO also plans to complete about nine more such roads by March 2021. It has set a target to complete the 61 of the 73 ICBRs assigned to it in three years.
India Achieves Complete Phase Out on One of the Most Potent Ozone Depleting Chemical
India has consciously chosen a path for environment friendly and energy efficient technologies while phasing out Ozone Depleting Substances (ODSs). Importantly, India is one among the few countries globally and a pioneer in some cases in the use of technologies, which are non-Ozone Depleting and have a low Global Warming Potential (GWP).
Assam’s All Women Market Tells the Story of Women Empowerment
The group of 22 women who are running the market, are not only contributing to the income of their family but are becoming self-sufficient and independent.
Gujarat Ranked Top for Water Efficiency, Delhi Among Worst
In the previous year’s ranking, Telangana had got the top slot and this year’s topper, Gujarat, was ranked seventh last time. Delhi, in fact, improved its position by six notches by getting 35th rank as compared to the bottom 41 in 2018. Among the states that significantly improved its ranking was Tamil Nadu, which stood at 13th position as compared to 33 in 2018.
New Parliament Complex May Seat 1,350 Members
The new Parliament complex, which has an earlier deadline, 2022, will be among the first plans to be finalised and tendered out, perhaps in the first half of this year itself. The current design of an evolving plan envisages a triangular complex, with a tricoloured beam lighting up the sky overhead. And at a more mundane level, the MPs will sit comfortably in broad two-seater benches, accessible from either side so that no one will have to squeeze through — and which can, when a joint session is held, accommodate three.
Mastercard Plans $1 Bn Investment To Build Tech R&D For India
The investment will be made in the company’s India operations, including an R&D facility at Pune and another centre at Vadodara, both of which cater to the company’s global operations. Vadodara provided the backend multiple payments support.
India Attracted $49 Billion FDI in 2019, 16% Increase from Previous Year
India was among the top 10 recipients of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2019, attracting $49 billion in inflows, a 16% increase from the previous year, driving the FDI growth in South Asia. The majority went into services industries, including information technology.
186 Agri Products Testing Laboratories Set Up by APEDA
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has added 135 laboratories to existing 51 recognized laboratories. With this initiative APEDA recognition of laboratories has reached 186 laboratories across the country.
Paperless Licensing for Petroleum Service Stations to Benefit More Than 70,000 Owners
This initiative for petroleum pump licensing is directly going to benefit more than 70,000 petroleum pump owners and oil marketing companies under the Petroleum Rules, 2002. An added advantage of this move is that the authenticity of the license may be verified on PESO’s website https://peso.gov.in/index.aspx. This automation will greatly benefit the petroleum and gas industry.