1. India, Mozambique ink MoU to boost ties in New and
Renewable Energy sector
i. India
and Mozambique agreed to deepen cooperation in New and Renewable Energy. In
this regard both sides inked Memorandum of understanding (MoU) on expanding
cooperation in energy sector.
ii. It was
signed after delegation level talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and his counterpart Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique who is on official 5
day visit to India.
iii. Apart
from this, both nations also agreed ways to intensify cooperation in maritime
security and ocean economy as both have large coastlines and are linked by
Indian Ocean.
iv. India
and Mozambique share a history of profitable trade relations and there
bilateral trade in 2014-15 valued at US 2.4 billion dollars. In last 5 years
trade between the two countries has multiplied five times.
2. ILO, FICCI ink MoU to boost MSME productivity
i. The
International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have inked MoU to impart training to Micro, Small
& Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to make them competitive and boost
productivity.
ii. The MoU
was signed as part of the second phase of Sustaining Competitive and
Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Global Programme. The second phase covers three
years period from January 2014 to December 2017 wherein national institutes
will provide training to MSMEs.
iii. SCORE
is a training programme which seeks to empower employers and workers and
increase productivity and competitiveness of MSMEs. It is being supported by
the Norway Agency for Development Cooperation (NADC) and the Swiss Secretariat
for Economic Affairs (SSEA). Presently it is operational in eight countries
including India.
iv. It
seeks to enable the FICCI to effectively coordinate and manage SCORE training
services. Each phase under this global programme will approximately have year
or more period and will be governed by a technical partnership agreement. The
first phase was covered between October 2009 and December 2013.
3. Union Cabinet approves proposal to sign agreement with
UNESCO
i. Union
Cabinet gave its nod to a proposal to sign an agreement with UNESCO for
establishment of a Centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training
for Asia-Pacific region.
iii. By
signing this agreement WII Dehradun will be first existing institute to be
accorded recognition by UNESC. It will be also the first institute to get
natural heritage recognition by UNESCO as currently there are 9 C2C institutes
related to cultural heritage.
this
agreement has been mooted by the Union Environment Ministry. While, Union
Government will provide capacity building for establishing this centre in order
to support countries in the region for up keeping of heritage and natural
sites.
4. Union Cabinet gives nod to Direct Release of Wages into
bank accounts of MNREGA workers
i. Union
Cabinet has approved the proposal of direct release of wages in to the accounts
of the workers engaged under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Direct release of wages system under the MNREGA aims
to streamline the flow of funds and to empower state governments to deliver
entitlements as per the objectives of the Act.
iii. The
fund transfer order in case of wages of workers from implementing agencies will
be based in accordance with procedures prescribed by Union Rural Development
Ministry and the wage component will be given to the State Employment Guarantee
Fund window for further transferring it to beneficiaries.
iv. In the
implementation of this scheme, the gram panchayats will be empowered to take up
work according to the agreed labour budget and without struggling for release
of funds.
5. Central Government liberalises single-brand retail norms
for non-resident entities
i. Now non
resident single-branded retailers in India can operate their own outlets, can
franchise their stores and can even opt for wholesale business as per central
government’s new notification.
iii.
Central government allowed single-brand retailers because the proceeds from
franchise business will come into the current account while proceeds from FDI
will be accounted in the capital account which does not violates rules set for
non resident entities doing business in India.
iv. Central
government norm of 30 percent sourcing from Indian MSEs or cottage industries
may be relaxed for all non-resident entities who are involved in FDI beyond 51
percent.
v. At
present there is 100 per cent FDI allowed in single-brand retail trading and
require prior approval from government for the proposals beyond 49 per cent FDI
6. Murugappa Group to form new Joint venture with
Japan-based Organo
i. The
water treatment engineering company Polutech Limited of Murugappa Group signed
an agreement with Organo Corp of Japan to set an industrial water treatment
requirement company in a Joint venture.
ii.
According to the agreement signed the Murugappa Group will hold 51 per cent in
joint venture and the remaining portion will be with the Organo Group. The
estimated new venture will deal in industrial water treatment requirements
services, which will deal to meet growing demand of industries for waste water
management.
iii.
Murugappa Group’s Polutech is a key player in the water treatment engineering
services in India; it manufactures equipment and designs systems for water and
waste water treatment plants. Whereas, Japan’s Organo is a key player in
general water treatment engineering. It provides water treatment systems,
management and maintenance of delivered systems and also deals in sales of
standard products and chemicals.
7. Airtel commercially Launches India’s first 4G services
across 290 cities
i. On 6
August 2015 India’s telecom giant Airtel has commercially launched the
high-speed 4G services across 296 towns across India .
ii. In
April 2012 Bharti Airtel had first launched its 4G service in Kolkata and from
then conducted trials in 51 cities.
iii. For
the 4G devices Airtel has join hands with mobile handset maker Samsung to
develop and provide 4G-enabled handsets in affordable price.
iv. It
should be noted that it is Airtel who has built first commercial 4G network in
India that has brought high speed mobile broadband into reality.