ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Education
Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy
The University Grants Commission  has launched the Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy . The guidelines of the scheme are available at https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/2089255_STRIDE_FINAL_BOOK.pdf . The UGC has informed that the First component of the STRIDE Scheme provides for research capacity building. It aims to identify young talent and providing research capacity building in diverse disciplines by mentoring, nurturing and supporting young talents to innovate solutions for local, regional, national and global problems. This component is open to all disciplines under Institutional mode. Under this component, the funds are provided to the Institution for the capacity building of faculty and students. During the last quarter of 2019, a total 35 institutions were selected for Component-1 under STRIDE.
STRIDE Scheme will strengthen research culture and innovation in colleges and universities and help students to contribute towards India's developing economy with the help of collaborative research.
Funds to the tune of Rs. 11.50 crores were allocated for the Component-1 and released as the first instalment to the selected universities and colleges during the financial year 2019-20. The list of the selected Higher Educational Institutions is available athttps://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/1493134_LSPQ-No-3056-Annexure-I.pdf .
The UGC has further informed that the duration of the Component-1 is for 03 years and the Selected Institutions will submit a Report after completion of the period of three years. In addition, a Committee for each institution has been constituted for monitoring progress of the work.
The information was given by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. SubhasSarkar in a written reply in the LokSabha today.
Vice President's Secretariat
Vice President urges political parties to include code of conduct for MPs and MLAs in their election manifestoes
Public becoming restless due to disruptions in Parliament, Legislatures;
Asks Ruling and Opposition parties to interact frequently for smooth conduct of proceedings
The Vice President of India and the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has called upon all political parties to incorporate a code of conduct for people’s representatives, including MPs and MLAs, in their election manifestos.
The code of conduct should include stipulations that the members would not enter the well of the house, nor resort to sloganeering and disruptions or any other unruly behavior such as tearing papers and throwing them in the House.
Shri Naidu, who hosted a lunch to senior officials of Rajya Sabha and media persons at Upa Rashtrapati Bhawan, here today, expressed his happiness over the productive session of the just concluded session of Parliament. He said that Rajya Sabha achieved a history of sorts in the number of questions raised and answered, special mentions and zero hour mentions during the session.
“With 32 bills passed during the 35 sittings of the recently concluded Rajya Sabha session, this has been the best in the last 17 years in terms of legislative output,” he added.
The Vice President said that he was sure that the leadership and MPs of all political parties would appreciate the significance of functional Parliament and would maintain the positive momentum of the just concluded session.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman said that he has always been emphasizing the need for members to discuss, debate and decide and not resort to disruptions and obstructions in Parliament and Legislatures as people were becoming restless over such behaviour.
Shri Naidu also expressed concern over the tendency of the opposition parties to boycott the legislature in some states, while in certain other instances the opposition was sent out. In some states, the assembly was meeting for very few days, while there was continuous disruption in some others.
The Vice President appealed to all political parties to see that Parliament and Legislatures function effectively and also to ensure that the quality of debates was raised. He said “there is a feeling among the people that the level of public discourse is going down.”
Pointing out that political parties were only rivals and not enemies, he was of the firm opinion that the ruling and the opposition parties should interact more frequently to ensure smooth conduct of both Parliament and legislatures.
Observing that Parliamentary democracy was all about ensuring governance through accountability to the people, Shri Naidu described as “Legislative, Deliberative and Accountability” the three important functions of legislatures. “We are supposed to make necessary legislations for the betterment of the country and the people, take up and deliberate on issues of public importance and ensure the accountability of the government of the day”.
Ministry of Steel
Steel Ministry to set up Safety Directorate
Ministry of Steel,Government of India, held its Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting in Goa today chaired by the Minister of Steel, Chaudhary Birender Singh. The issues discussed atthe meeting were mining activities of CPSEs under Steel ministry and safety in Steel Plants.
At the end of the Parliamentary Consultative Committeemeeting, the Steel Minister addressedmedia persons and emphasized the importance of safety in the production of iron and steel which is a complex and hazardous activity.The Minister said that recognising the need to prevent injuries and accidents and provide a healthy working environment and also guard against all possible hazards and risks, it has been decided to set up a Safety Directorate which will become operationalsoon. This directorate will oversee the safety standards in the steel industry. Steel Minister said both its CPSEs, Steel Authority of India Limited and RashtriyaIspat Nigam Limited, have comprehensive safety policies.
On the issue of mining,Steel Minister said that by 2020, large number of the mining leases will expire, which the Ministry has taken cognizance of and is taking measures to tackle it. Apart from this issue, the mining activity of Orissa Minerals Development Company Limited , a CPSE of Steel Ministry, is shut since some years and efforts are also on to make OMDC mine operational.
Steel Minister said that the National Steel Policy 2017 envisages steel capacity of 300 million tonne  which will be affected if mining activities are not smooth. The Minister also stressed that besides the existing mines, there is a need to focus on exploration of new mines.
Chaudhary Birender Singhinformed that the production of steel has also increased in the year 2018 making India the second largest producer of steel in the world leaving behind Japan and the USA. BirenderSingh said that when we compare India’s per capita consumption of steel vis-a-vis the world consumption level which is 214 kg per capita we have a long way to go. He said before 2014, India’s per capita consumption of steel was 57 kg which has now increased to 69 kg per capita.
The Minister said that along with National Steel Policy formulated in 2017, the Policy for Domestically Manufactured Iron and Steel products was also finalized. Under this policy, preference is given to domestically produced steel. This has given impetus to the Make in India programme of the Government and has also led to savings of around Rs 8,000 crore till date.
The Minister further added that a National Scrap Policy is also being drafted which will be ready in a few months. This will make available nearly 7 MT scrap in the country. Presently the requirement of scrap is around 8.3 MT and most of it is met with scrap imports. He said that steel produced out of scrap is of good quality and is environment friendly. Chaudhary Birender Singh said that SAIL has made a turnaround in last two and half years. After suffering losses for ten consecutive quarters SAIL has earned a profit of around Rs. 2000 crore during the last three quarters. Secretary Steel, Binoy Kumar also interacted with the media.
Special Service and Features
NCSC Vice Chairman Arun Halder to hold State -Level Review Meeting
Shri Arun Halder, Vice Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes will hold a State -Level Review meeting on December 27  in Thiruvananthapuram. It will be attended by Chief Secretary Dr VP Joy and other senior officials of the State government. The meeting will discuss the implementation of welfare schemes for Scheduled Castes, service safeguards and implementation of the Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes  Act. The meeting will be held at the Government Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram at 3.15 pm.
Ministry of Defence
More than Rs 11,600 Crores disbursed in Financial Year 2021-22 on SPARSH
The System for Pensions Administration – RakSHa  has achieved a major milestone of successfully on-boarding nearly Five Lakh Defence Pensioners onto the platform.
In keeping with the Digital India vision of the Government of India, the Ministry of Defence implemented SPARSH for pensioners of the Indian Armed Forces as well as Defence Civilians as an integrated system for automation of sanction and disbursement of defence pension. The armed forces and other organisations were onboarded to the platform in phases, beginning with the Indian Army from August 2021.
This web-based system processes pension claims and credits pension directly into the bank accounts of defence pensioners without relying on any external intermediary. SPARSH has grown exponentially since its inception, with more than Rs 11,600 Crores disbursed in the Financial Year 2021-22, from just about Rs 57 crores in FY 2020-21. The SPARSH platform underwent some major updations in the month of March 2022. Major updates are:
1. Introduction of provision for correction of ‘non-financial implication’ data fields for migrated records in SPARSH, which will allow migrated pensioners to update their personal information, bank, communication and family details either via Profile Service Requests  on Pensioner Portal or via functionality for data correction available to Record Offices & HOOs. Changes requested will reflect in corrigendum PPOs generated after approval by respective authorities.
2. The pensioner data verification  window has been reduced from 10 days to just 5 days, enabling faster Pension Payment Order  sanction and bringing in further efficiency in the pension sanctioning process.
3. Backend Process re-engineering: Generation of payment files immediately post-sanction of PPO via SPARSH. This will ensure timely completion of verification by disbursement agencies and on-time payment of Pension from the date of commencement.
4. SPARSH Updated to ensure timely processing of pension claims for direct entry Indian Armed Forces Women Short Service Commission Officers  with net Qualifying Service of more than or equal to 20 years, granting them pensionary benefits.
5. Introduction of provision for single sign-on login to SPARSH for Common Service Centres , enabling them to access SPARSH Service Center accounts using existing CSC credentials. The Ministry of Defence had signed an MoU with the CSCs e-Governance Services India Limited in February to offer SPARSH services across more than 4 lakh CSCs across the country.
The Defence Accounts Department has been the nodal implementing agency for Project SPARSH, which is envisaged on a ‘whole of the government’ approach and carefully integrates over 3000 pension initiating, sanctioning and disbursement agencies and brings pensions services right at the door step of the veterans – from digital process of pensioner verification to real time tracking of grievance redressal.
The SPARSH Portal may be accessed at: https://sparsh.defencepension.gov.in/
Ministry of Communications
India secures leadership position in ITU’s Council Standing Committee on Administration and Management
India has secured a leadership position in Council Standing Committee on Administration and Management of International Telecommunication Union  as an Indian official has been appointed as vice chairperson for the same.
International Telecommunication Union at Council meetings held at Geneva from 21st March till 31st March, 2022, has announced the appointment of Ms Aprajita Sharma, an IP&TAF Service officer as the vice-chair of Standing Committee on Administration and Management. She will remain as vice chairperson of Council Standing Committee for the years 2023 and 2024 and it’s chairperson for the years 2025 and 2026.
The International Telecommunication Union  is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication.
The ITU is governed by the Plenipotentiary Conference and the Administrative Council. The Plenipotentiary Conference is the supreme organ of the Union. It is the decision making body which determines the direction of the Union and its activities.
The Council, on the other hand, acts as the Union’s governing body in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences. Its role is to consider broad telecommunication policy issues to ensure that the Union’s activities, policies and strategies fully respond to today’s dynamic, rapidly changing telecommunications environment.
Special Service and Features
Shri M Annadurai assumes charge as the Additional Director General, Press Information Bureau, Chennai
Shri M Annadurai IIS today assumed charge as the Additional Director General, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Chennai.
An Indian Information Service officer, Shri Annadurai had served as Director  Doordarshan Podhigai and Director of Regional Outreach Bureau.
He had been Personal Secretary / Officer on Special Duty to the Union Ministers of Finance, Justice, Law, Information and Broadcasting and Textile Ministries.
Shri Annadurai joined the Indian Information Service in 1995.
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister’s meeting with Mr. Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President & CEO, Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met Mr. Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President & CEO of Fast Retailing Co. Ltd., the parent company of Uniqlo, on 23 May 2022 in Tokyo. During the meeting, they discussed the rapidly growing textile and apparel market of India and investment opportunities under Production Linked Incentive  scheme for textile projects in India. They also discussed various reforms being undertaken to enable ease of doing business for foreign investors in India including in the areas of industrial development, infrastructure, taxation and labour.
Prime Minister invited Uniqlo’s enhanced participation in India’s journey to becoming a manufacturing hub for textiles, particularly the use of technologies in textile manufacturing. Prime Minister also invited Uniqlo to take part in the PM-Mitra scheme aimed at further strengthening the textiles sector.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
A ‘Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’ for Divyangjan and Senior Citizens in Samastipur, Bihar tomorrow
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Nityanand Rai alongwith Ku. Pratima Bahumik, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment will attend the function
A total of 14293 aids and assistive devices worth Rs 589.54 lakhs will be distributed free of cost under Central Government Schemes to 4171 Divyangjan and 1488 Senior Citizens
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities , in association with ALIMCO and District Administration Samastipur, will organise a ‘Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’ for distribution of aids and assistive devices to ‘Divyangjan’ under the ADIP Scheme and to Senior Citizens under ‘Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’  of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India on 16.05.2022 at 11:30 AM in Patel Maidan, Samastipur .
Shri Nityanand Rai, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs will be the Chief Guest of the function while Ku. Pratima Bahumik, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment will preside over the distribution camp function in the presence of local Public representatives and dignitaries.
A total of 14293 aids and assistive devices worth Rs 589.54 lakhs will be distributed free of cost under Central Government Schemes to 4171 Divyangjan and 1488 Senior Citizens at Block/Panchayat levels by following the SOP prepared by the Department in view of COVID-19 Pandemic. The beneficiaries were pre-identified during the assessment camps conducted previous year by ALIMCO and supported by the District Administration, Samastipur.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
ALL-INDIA CONSUMER PRICE INDEX NUMBERS FOR AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL LABOURERS – DECEMBER, 2022
The All-India Consumer Price Index Number for Agricultural Labourers  for the month of December, 2022 remained stationary at 1167  points and for Rural Labourers increased by 1 point to stand at 1179  points. The maximum upward pressure on general index of Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers came from miscellaneous group to the extent of 0.91 & 0.93 points respectively, mainly due to increase in prices of medicine, barber charges, bus fare, etc.
The rise/fall in index varied from State to State. In case of Agricultural Labourers, it recorded an increase of 1 to 7 points in 9 States and a decrease of 1 to 9 points in 11 States. Tamil Nadu with 1350 points topped the index table whereas Himachal Pradesh with 911 points stood at the bottom.
In case of Rural Labourers, it recorded an increase of 1 to 8 points in 9 States and a decrease of 2 to 9 points in 11 States. Tamil Nadu with 1338 points topped the index table whereas Himachal Pradesh with 961 points stood at the bottom.
Amongst states, the maximum increase in the Consumer Price Index Number for Agricultural Labourers was experienced by Rajasthan State  and for Rural Labourers by Kerala State  mainly due to rise in the prices of wheat-atta, jowar, bajra, maize, fish fresh, chilies dry, firewood, etc. On the contrary, the maximum decrease in the Consumer Price Index Numbers for Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers was experienced by Manipur State  mainly due to fall in the prices of pulses, fish-fresh, poultry, vegetables & fruits, etc.
Point to point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL and CPI-RL stood at 6.38% & 6.60% in December, 2022 compared to 6.87% & 6.99% respectively in November, 2022 and 4.78% and 5.03% respectively during the corresponding month of the previous year. Similarly, food inflation stood at 5.89% & 5.76% in December, 2022 compared to 6.19% & 6.05% respectively in November, 2022 and 2.99% & 3.17% respectively during the corresponding month of the previous year.
All-India Consumer Price Index Number :
|
|
Group
|
|
Agricultural Labourers
|
|
Rural Labourers
|
|
|
|
November, 2022
|
|
December, 2022
|
|
November, 2022
|
|
December, 2022
|
|
General Index
|
|
1167
|
|
1167
|
|
1178
|
|
1179
|
|
Food
|
|
1098
|
|
1096
|
|
1105
|
|
1102
|
|
Pan, Supari, etc.
|
|
1941
|
|
1955
|
|
1950
|
|
1964
|
|
Fuel & Light
|
|
1285
|
|
1292
|
|
1277
|
|
1284
|
|
Clothing, Bedding &Footwear
|
|
1223
|
|
1229
|
|
1261
|
|
1269
|
|
Miscellaneous
|
|
1224
|
|
1232
|
|
1228
|
|
1236
The CPI – AL and RL for the month of January, 2023 will be released on 20th February, 2023.
Ministry of Coal
Four Rounds of Rationalization of Coal Linkages Covering 73 Thermal Power Plants Result in Rationalizing 92.16 MT of Coal with Annual Potential Saving of around Rs. 6420 Crore
Ministry of Coal has initiated a policy initiative called rationalization of Coal Linkages to reduce the distance in transportation of coal from Coal Mines to consumers, thereby decreasing transportation costs and increasing efficiency in coal-based power generation. Coal linkage rationalization in power sector has resulted in decrease in transportation cost from the mines to the power plants leading to more efficient coal-based power generation. The exercise helps in reducing the load on the transportation infrastructure, easing the evacuation constraints as well as reduction in landed cost of coal.
Linkage rationalization for State/Central PSUs was implemented initially, based on the recommendation of Inter-Ministerial Task Force  which was constituted in June, 2014. Another IMTF was constituted in July, 2017 to rationalize the linkages of the Independent Power Producers . The methodology for rationalization of coal for IPPs/Private sector plants was also issued on 15.05.2018. An IMTF was also constituted in October, 2018 to examine the possibility of further rationalization of coal linkages, including Swapping of imported coal being transported to hinterland with domestic coal transported near coastal areas.
So far, four rounds of rationalization of linkage have taken place, covering 73 Thermal Power Plants , out of which 58 belong to State/Central Gencos and 15 to IPPs. The rationalization of linkage has resulted in the rationalizing of total 92.16 million tonnes  of coal, with annual potential saving of around Rs. 6420 crores.
As part of the Ministry of Coal's comprehensive strategy for the rationalization of coal linkages, Coal India Limited has taken a significant step by inviting Expression of Interest  from both Independent Power Producers  and Generating Companies . This visionary policy aims to substantially reduce transportation costs thereby curbing fuel expenses, delivering tangible benefits to consumers.
Through the Rationalization of Coal Linkage, Coal PSUs are not only optimizing operational efficiency but also driving down costs and fostering a more sustainable energy ecosystem. This policy demonstrates our commitment to balance economic growth along environmental sensitivity. The Ministry of Coal's innovative policy initiative continues to shape a future where efficiency, affordability, and environmental responsibility harmonize seamlessly.
Ministry of Finance
CGST authorities bust input tax credit fraud of more than Rs 31,000 crore involving more than 7,200 cases in FY 2020-21
The Goods and Services Tax authorities have unearthed over Rs 31,000 crore of tax fraud committed by misuse of input tax credit  provision under the Goods and Services Tax  regime during the financial year 2020-21 and booked more than 7,200 cases involving fake ITC. This was stated by Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Giving details, the Minister stated Input Tax Credit  fraud detected by CGST formations under Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs  as following:
|
|
S. No.
|
|
Period
|
|
No. of Cases
|
|
Quantum involved

|
|
1
|
|
2020-21
|
|
7,268
|
|
31,233.40
The Minister stated that the Government has taken many steps to prevent such frauds, such as:
- Introduction of AADHAR authentication for processing of new registration application;
- Facility to verify cancelled / existing registrations of the applicants seeking new registrations;
- Provisions to suspend / cancel registration of taxpayers found to the adverse notice of the department;
- Bulk suspension of registration by GSTN based on business intelligence and further follow up of the same by the CBIC;
- Additional grounds for cancellation of registration have been introduced where there is mismatch between FORM GSTR1 and FORM GSTR 3B  of CGST Act, 2017, etc.;
- To prevent fake dealers and shell companies to pass on fake credit, without filing their GSTR3B returns and paying taxes, a provision has been made to block furnishing of outward supply statement in FORM GSTR-1 by a taxpayer, if 2 or more GSTR 3B returns are not filed by the said taxpayer.
- E-invoices have been made mandatory for all B2B transaction with turnover above Rs. 50 crore.
- Generation of E-way bill by those taxpayers who have not furnished return for consecutive period of two month has been restricted.
- Blocking of ITC Credit under Rule 86A of CGST Act, 2017, was introduced if the proper officer has reason to believe that ITC has been availed fraudulently.