The recent advisories by the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure online communication via secure platforms have highlighted the increasing need for measures to ensure security in the virtual world as Covid-19 confines most day to day activities to the digital space.

The secure part of any information transfer protocol is in the distribution of the key used to encrypt and decrypt the messages. Such standard key distribution schemes, usually based on mathematical resolution of problems, are vulnerable to algorithmic breakthroughs and possibility to run new codes on the up and coming quantum computers.

The solution to ensuring the security of the key transfer process lies in using the laws of quantum physics, wherein any eavesdropping activity will leave tell-tale signs and hence will be easily detected. This is achieved by using Quantum Key Distribution or QKD.

To tackle this challenge, researchers from Raman Research Institute (RRI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India have come up with a unique simulation toolkit for end-to-end QKD simulation named as ‘qkdSim’, which is based on modular principles that allow it to be grown to different classes of protocols using various underpinning technologies.

The research led by Prof. Urbasi Sinha and her team, in collaboration with Prof. Barry Sanders from the University of Calgary, Canada is a part of the Quantum Experiments using Satellite Technology (QuEST) project, India’s first satellite-based secure quantum communication effort, supported by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This work is going to appear in the journal Physical Review Applied (in press).

The novelty of their toolkit lies in its exhaustive inclusion of different experimental imperfections, both device-based as well as process-based. Thus their simulation results will match with actual experimental implementations to much better accuracy than any other existing toolkit, making it a QKD experimenter’s best friend.

As QKD is growing rapidly in academic, industrial, government, and defence laboratories, this newly developed simulation toolkit, accompanied by an instructive application to the uniquely designed B92 experiment, will be extremely influential. The B92 is a QKD protocol, which uses single photons and associated laws of Physics like the Uncertainty Principle and the No-Cloning theorem to assure perfect security.

“Secure error free communication protocols are assuming extraordinary importance for which Quantum key distribution (QKD) is an attractive solution, which relies on a cryptographic protocol. A shared random secret key known only to the communicating parties is employed to encrypt and decrypt messages. A unique property of quantum key distribution is that any break in attempt by an unauthorized party is immediately detected. This is because any process of measuring a quantum system creates detectable anomalies,” said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.

The research work is two-fold in its novelty as well as process development. On the one hand, they have developed a simulation toolkit, which bridges a significant gap in the QKD community. On the other hand, they have performed a novel implementation of what is called a prepare and measure QKD protocol (B92), which has higher key rates and lower quantum bit error rate than earlier reported works following similar source methodology.

In fact, this is India’s first end to end free space QKD experiment. It also has internationally competitive key rates and error rates. RRI team plans to follow this up by expanding the current scope of qkdSim to include entanglement based QKD protocols and experimental comparisons for the same. This can lead to a whole new software that will be highly beneficial to the experimental secure quantum communication community.

This first-of-its-kind practical tool will be indispensable to design, set up, optimize, and evaluate experiments for demonstrating QKD and will engender further development to broaden the simulation tool’s applicability. With the advent of the upcoming National Mission on Quantum Technologies and Applications, this work provides the bedrock for such developments in the country and hence will be of great interest.

www.udyamregistration.gov.in - a new portal for Udyam Registration launched by the MSME Ministry

The portal guides the entrepreneurs step by step as to what they should know, what they should do Government has organized a full system of Facilitation for Registration Process Posted On: 30 JUN 2020 5:41PM by PIB Delhi

As already declared by the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), vide the Notification Dated 26th June, 2020, the new process of Classification and Registration of enterprises is starting from 1st July, 2020. An enterprise for this purpose will be known as Udyam and its Registration Process will be known as 'Udyam Registration'.

Further highlights of this process are: MSME registration process is fully online, paperless and based on self-declaration. No documents or proof are required to be uploaded for registering an MSME; Adhaar Number will be requiredfor registration;

A Registration number will be given after registration; After completion of the process of registration, an Udyam Registration Certificate will be issued; This certificate will have a dynamic QR Code from which the web page on our Portal and details about the enterprise can be accessed;

There will be no need for renewal of Registration; PAN & GST linked details on investment and turnover of enterprises will be taken automatically from the respective Government data bases; MSME Ministry's online system will be fully integrated with Income Tax and GSTIN systems;

Those who have EM-II or UAM registration or any other registration issued by any authority under the Ministry of MSME, will also have to re-register themselves;

No enterprise is supposed to file more than one Udyam Registration. However, any number of activities including manufacturing or service or both may be specified or added in one Registration;

Government 's Facilitation mechanism in the name of single window systems at Champions Control Rooms and at DICs will help people in this process; Registration Process is totally free. No Costs or Fees are to be paid in this regard.

Ministry has expressed confidence that this process will be extremely simple, seamless entrepreneur friendly. It will set an example in Ease of Doing Business, not only in India but internationally. It will reduce transaction time and costs. Entrepreneurs and Enterprises can focus on their real work and become globally competitive.

The All-India CPI-IW for May, 2020 increased by 1 point and stood at 330 (three hundred and thirty). On 1-month percentage change, it increased by (+) 0.30 per cent between April and May, 2020 compared to (+) 0.64 per cent increase between corresponding months of previous year.

The maximum upward pressure in current index came from Food group contributing (+) 0.67 percentage points to the total change. At item level, Arhar Dal, Masur Dal, Moong Dal, Urd Dal, Groundnut Oil, Mustard Oil, Fish Fresh, Goat Meat, Poultry (Chicken), Milk, Cabbage, French Bean, Green Coriander Leaves, Potato, Country Liquor, Refined Liquor, Cooking Gas, Petrol, etc. are responsible for the increase in index. However, this increase was checked by Rice, Wheat, Garlic, Onion, Bitter Gourd, Coconut, Gourd, Lady’s Finger, Mango, Parval, Tomato, Torai, Banana, Kerosene Oil, etc., putting downward pressure on the index.

At centre level, Warrangal, Chhindwara and Ahmedabad recorded the maximum increase of 6 points each. Among others, 4 points increase was observed in 6 centres, 3 points in 11 centres, 2 points in 9 centres and 1 point in 8 centres. On the contrary, Doom-Dooma Tinsukia recorded the maximum decrease of 10 points followed by Salem (9 points), Munger-Jamalpur (8 points) and Lucknow (7 points). Among others, 5 points decrease was observed in 1 centre, 4 points in another 1 centre, 3 points in 6 centres, 2 points in 9 centres and 1 point in another 9 centres. Rest of 11 centres’ indices remained stationary.

The indices of 33 centres are above All-India Index and 45 centres’ indices are below national average.

Year-on-year inflation based on all-items stood at 5.10 per cent for May, 2020 as compared to 5.45 per cent for the previous month and 8.65 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year. Similarly, Food inflation stood at 5.88 per cent against 6.56 per cent of the previous month and 5.21 per cent during the corresponding month a year ago.

The Labour Bureau, an attached office of the M/o Labour & Employment, has been compiling Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers every month on the basis of the retail prices of selected items collected from 289 markets spread over 78 industrially important centres in the country. The index is compiled for 78 centres and All-India and is released on the last working day of succeeding month.

First-ever online degree by an IIT to democratize quality education by removing barriers; Applicants can be from any discipline Posted On: 30 JUN 2020 5:08PM by PIB Delhi

The Union Minister of HRD Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank' today virtually launched World’s first ever online B.Sc. degree in Programming and Data Science in the presence of Minister of State for HRD, Shri Sanjay Dhotre.The programmehas been prepared and offered by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), which is ranked No.1 in India Rankings 2020 by NIRF.

This programmeis open to anyone who has passed Class XII, with English and Maths at the Class X level, and enrolled in any on-campus UG course. Dr. Pawan Kumar Goenka, Chairman, IIT, Madras, Board of Governors, Director and the faculty of the IIT, Madras,Chairman, AICTE,Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Additional Secretary, MHRD, ShriRakeshRanjanand other Senior officials of the Ministry were also present during the launch.

Facilities of warehouses, cold storage, marketing and branding to be provided in the clusters of fruits and vegetables Posted On: 30 JUN 2020 5:11PM by PIB Delhi

Shri Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries has stated that the PM FME (PM Formalization of Micro Food processing Enterprises) scheme would leverage organic food production and the food processing industry in the North East states stand to benefit immensely.

Addressing at the virtual launch of ‘Sapno ki Udaan’, Shri Teli said that PM FME scheme and Extended Operation Greens schemes launched under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, would directly benefit farmers and micro entrepreneurs who contribute significantly to the Indian economy.

He added that food processing industry provides employment to about 55 lakh people in rural areas and this sector is a ray of hope specially for those people who have returned to their villages and homes during Covid-19 crisis. Sh Teli also said that the Government aims to connect the unorganized food processing units to the mainstream.

Sh Rameshwar Teli further shared that under this scheme, facilities of warehouses, cold storage and marketing and branding will be provided in the clusters of fruits and vegetables. He informed that this shceme would focus on North East, women, SCs, STs and Aspirational districts. He added that NE is well known for its organic products. Pineapple, Banana, turmeric, ginger, Oranges, black rice, bamboo and other products are available in abundance in NE region. Sh. Teli added that the processing of farm produce needs to be increased which can be done wsith the help of the new schemes launched under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

Providing details of the scheme, Sh Teli informed that under Extended Operation Greens scheme, now all varieties of fruits and vegetables are included. This scheme would help in price stability and fair returns to the farmers. He added that 50% subsidy for transportation of fruits and vegetables would be provided under this scheme. He concluded by saying that both the schemes of MoFPI would contribute significantly in employment generation, reducing wastage of farm produce, formalization of micro units and providing fair returns to the farmers.

Releasing the Operational Guidelines of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, Shri Giriraj Singh expresses optimism that the PMMSY with diverse interventions along the fisheries value chain would revolutionize the fisheries and aquaculture sector

Posted On: 30 JUN 2020 5:20PM by PIB Delhi Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Giriraj Singh todaylaunched the first edition of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Newsletter “MATSYA SAMPADA” published by the Department of Fisheries, Ministry for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India and the Operational Guidelines of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).

Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Dr. Rajeev Ranjan, Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Government of India and senior officers of the Department of Fisheries were present.

The Newsletter “MATSYA SAMPADA” is an outcome of the endeavours of the Department of Fisheries to reach out to the stakeholders especially fishers and fish farmers through various means of communication, and toinform and educate them about the latest developments in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. It would be published on a quarterly basis starting from the first quarter of the year 2020-21.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Giriraj Singh, Hon’ble Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying opined that the launch of this Newsletter is timely and much needed to communicate the governmental initiatives in fisheries sector including the good works being done both by government as well as the private sector.

The Newsletter would serve as an important medium for disseminating information among the stakeholders especially fishers, fish farmers, youth and entrepreneurs across the country, assist them and facilitate in ease of doing business. He expressed confidence that the newsletter will prove to be a wonderful platform for communication.

Releasing the Operational Guidelines of the Pradhan Mantri MatsyaSampada Yojana, Shri Giriraj Singh termed the launch of PMMSY as the most important moment in the journey of fisheries and aquaculture development. He expressed optimism that the PMMSY with diverse interventions along the fisheries value chain would revolutionize the fisheries and aquaculture sector and steer it to the next level. While appreciating the efforts of the Department of Fisheries in fast tacking and rolling out the Operational Guidelines of PMMSY in a short span of time, the Union Minister expressed hope that the Operational Guidelines would help the States/UTs in speedy implementation of the scheme.

The Government of India in May, 2020 launched a new Flagship Scheme i.e. the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) for sustainable and responsible development of fisheries sector at an investment of Rs. 20050 crore. The PMMSY with an array of 100 diverse activities is by far the largest ever investment in fisheries sector. Achieving the ambitious targets under PMMSY of an additional 70 lakh tons fish production, rupees one lakh crores fisheries exports, generation of 55 lakh employment over next five years, etc. require multipronged strategies along with collaborative and concerted efforts between the government and the stakeholders.

The Newsletter “MATSYA SAMPADA” is likely to serve as an effective tool and platform in disseminating the intent and initiatives of PMMSY for crystalizing public opinion in the collective effort towards reaching the envisaged goals. It would also enable to showcase the best practices in fisheries and aquaculture undertaken by the fishers, fish farmers and entrepreneurs including the latest developments and success stories.

Since Apr-June (Q1) 2010-11, Public Debt Management Cell (PDMC) (earlier Middle Office), Budget Division, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance has been bringing out a quarterly report on debt management on a regular basis. The current report pertains to the quarter January – March 2020 (Q4 FY20).

During Q4 of FY20, the Central Government issued dated securities aggregating to ₹76,000 crore as against ₹1,56,000 crore in Q4 of FY19. The weighted average yield of primary issuances softened further to 6.70 per cent in Q4 FY20 from 6.86 per cent in Q3 of FY20. The weighted average maturity of new issuances of dated securities was higher at 16.87 years in Q4 of FY20 as compared to 16.47 years in Q3 of FY20.

During January–March 2020, the Central Government raised ₹2,30,000 crore through the issuance of Cash Management Bills.The Reserve Bank conducted OMOs/ Special OMOs to inject liquidity into the system during the quarter ended March 2020. The net average liquidity absorption by RBI under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) including MSF was ₹3,03,464 crore during the quarter. The surplus market liquidity was also on account of the introduction of long term repo operations by the Reserve Bank from the fortnight beginning February 15, 2020.

The total liabilities (including liabilities under the ‘Public Account’) of the Government, increased to ₹94,62,265 crore at end-March 2020 from ₹93,89,267 crore at end-December 2019. Public debt accounted for 90.9 per cent of total outstanding liabilities at end-March 2020. Nearly 29 per cent of the outstanding dated securities had a residual maturity of less than 5 years. The holding pattern indicates a share of 40.4 per cent for commercial banks and 25.1 per cent for insurance companies at end-March2020.

The yields on G-Secs showed a downward movement from January to March 2020. This reflected the impact of several developments in the wake of the pandemic across the world; namely thereduction in the policy repo rate by 75 bps by the MPC of the Reserve Bank,an off-policy cut of 50 bps in the target range for the Federal Funds rate to 1-1.25 per cent by the US Fed and a sharp decline in crude oil prices.

Central Government dated securities continued to account for a major share of total trading volumes in the secondary market, with a share of 84.0 per cent in total outright trading volumes in value terms during Q4 of FY20.

Under the 100 % Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) backed by a Government guarantee , Banks from Public & Private Sectors have sanctioned loans worth over Rs. 1 lakh crore as of June 26, 2020, of which more than Rs 45,000 crore has already been disbursed. This would help more than 30 lakh units of MSMEs & other businesses restart their businesses post the lockdown..

The Amendments in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 brought through Finance Act 2019 and Rules made thereunder will come into effect from tomorrow, i.e. 1st July, 2020 vide notifications dated 30th March, 2020.

In order to facilitate ease of doing business and to bring in uniformity of the stamp duty on securities across States and thereby build a pan-India securities market, the Central Government, after due deliberations and consultations with the States, through requisite amendments in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and Rules made thereunder, has created the legal and institutional mechanism to enable states to collect stamp duty on securities market instruments at one place by one agency (through Stock Exchange or Clearing Corporation authorized by it or by the Depository) on one Instrument. A mechanism for appropriately sharing the stamp duty with relevant State Governments has also b

een developed which is based on the state of domicile of the buyer. The present system of collection of stamp duty on securities market transactions led to multiple rates for the same instrument, resulting in jurisdictional disputes and multiple incidences of duty, thereby raising the transaction costs in the securities market and hurting capital formation.

The relevant provisions of the Finance Act, 2019 amending the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and the Indian Stamp (Collection of Stamp-Duty through Stock Exchanges, Clearing Corporations and Depositories) Rules, 2019 were notified simultaneously on 10th December, 2019 and these were to come into force from 9th January, 2020, which was later extended to 1st April, 2020 vide notifications dated 8th January, 2020. Further, considering the requests received from stakeholders, country-wide lockdown situation due to Covid-19 and in line with the relaxations given on statutory and regulatory compliance in other sectors, the date for implementation of amendments in the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 brought through Finance Act 2019 and Rules made thereunder was further extended to 1st July, 2020 vide notifications dated 30th March, 2020.

Potential Impact This rationalized and harmonized system through centralized collection mechanism is expected to ensure minimize cost of collection and enhance revenue productivity. Further, this system will help develop equity markets and equity culture across the length and breadth of the country, ushering in balanced regional development.

Salient Features To achieve the rationalization of stamp duty structures, the amendments, inter-alia, provide for the following structural reforms; — The stamp-duty on sale, transfer and issue of securities shall be collected on behalf of the State Government by the collecting agents who then shall transfer the collected stamp-duty in the account of the concerned State Government.

In order to prevent multiple incidences of taxation, no stamp duty shall be collected by the States on any secondary record of transaction associated with a transaction on which the depository / stock exchange has been authorised to collect the stamp duty.

In the extant scenario, stamp duty was payable by both seller and buyer whereas in the new system it is levied only on one side (payable either by the buyer or by the seller but not by both, except in case of certain instrument of exchange where the stamp duty shall be borne by both parties in equal proportion).

The collecting agents shall be the Stock Exchanges or authorized Clearing Corporations and the Depositories. For all exchange based secondary market transactions in securities, Stock Exchanges shall collect the stamp duty; and for off-market transactions (which are made for a consideration as disclosed by trading parties) and initial issue of securities happening in demat form, Depositories shall collect the stamp duty.

The Central Government has also notified the Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL) under the jurisdiction of RBI and the Registrars to an Issue and/or Share Transfer Agents (RTI/STAs) to act as a collecting agent. The objective is to bring OTC derivative transactions reported to CCIL and physical space (non-demat) transactions in mutual funds handled through RTI/STAs under the ambit of stamp duty regime so as to avoid any tax arbitrage.

The collecting agents shall within three weeks of the end of each month transfer the stamp-duty collected to the State Government where the residence of the buyer is located and in case the buyer is located outside India, to the State Government having the registered office of the trading member or broker of such buyer and in case where there is no such trading member of the buyer, to the State Government having the registered office of the participant.

The collecting agent shall transfer the collected stamp-duty in the account of concerned State Government with the Reserve Bank of India or any scheduled commercial bank, as informed to the collecting agent by the Reserve Bank of India or the concerned State Government.

The collecting agent may deduct 0.2 per cent of the stamp-duty collected on behalf of the State Government towards facilitation charges before transferring the same to such State Government. For many segments, there is reduction in duty. For example, the rate prescribed is lower for issue of equity/debentures and for transfer of debentures (including re-issue) to aid capital formation and to promote corporate bond market.

For equity cash segment trading (both delivery and non-delivery-based transactions) and options, since rates are to be charged only on one side in line with the new scheme, it can be stated that there is an overall reduction in tax burden.

Secondary market transfer of instruments which are traded with differences in a few basis points, like interest rate / currency derivatives or corporate bonds are being charged at a very lower rate from the existing rates. For the newly introduced ‘repo on corporate bonds’, a far lower rate is specified, since similarly positioned repo on Government Securities is not subject to duty.

No stamp duty shall be chargeable in respect of the Instruments of transaction in stock exchanges and depositories established in any International Financial Services Centre set up under section 18 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005. Tax arbitrage is avoided by providing the same rate of stamp duty for issue or re-issue or sale or transfer of securities happening outside stock exchanges and depositories.

Mutual funds, being delivery-based transactions in securities, were supposed to have been paying the duty as per various State Acts. All mutual fund transactions are thus liable for stamp duty and the new system has only standardized the charges across states and the manner of collection of stamp duty.

Readiness for Implementation Even during the strict lockdown phases in view of pandemic situation, all efforts were made to ensure market continuity because Stock Markets are critical for the economy.

The amendments to the Stamp Act and the rates have been in public domain since February 2019 (when Finance Act, 2019 was notified) and market had enough time to prepare for this. The operational systems of Stock Exchanges, Clearing Corporations, Depositories, CCIL and RTI/ STAs are all set / prepared to roll out the relevant provisions of amended Indian Stamp Act 1899 and rules made thereunder from 1st July, 2020.

The Regulators (RBI & SEBI) have been authorized by the Central Government under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 to issue clarificatory circulars/ operational guidelines on specific issues so as to ensure smooth implementation from 1st July, 2020.

AI enabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk bagged two awards under categories (1) “Best Innovation for Covid-19 – Society” and (2) “People’s Choice Covid-19 Overall Winner”, at the recently held CogX 2020, which is a prestigious Global Leadership Summit and Festival of AI & Emerging Technology held annually in London.The awards were won by Technical Partner of Mygov, JioHaptik Technologies Limited.

MyGov is the world’s largest citizen engagement platform, which facilitates two-ways communication between the Government and Citizen and facilitates participatory governance in India, the world’s largest democracy. In the fight against Covid-19, MyGov, JioHaptik Technologies Limited and WhatsApp team collaborated to develop AI enabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk in the record time of 5 days including weekend.

MDoNER achieves 100% work output during Pandemic by its robust e-office network

MDoNER to coordinate with DoT to augment seamless high-speed net facility across the NE region

NEDFito promote start-ups for the North Eastern Region by promoting local talent. Posted On: 30 JUN 2020 5:00PM by PIB Delhi

Regional office of Press Information Bureau, Chandigarh, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India organised a webinar on Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat which beautifully showcased the rich culture & heritage of paired states Himachal Pradesh & Kerala under Ek Bharat Sreshtha Bharat. The webinar was moderated by Smt. Devpreet Singh, ADG, PIB, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

While briefing the participants in the webinar she said that the Government of India’s unique initiative of “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat” is aimed at reviving the sense of national unity in today’s times by connecting people of far-flung states. Amid such a vastly diverse social panorama, India has a running thread across the country that binds it so strongly and gives it a composite national identity.

Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) is the flagship initiative of Government of India to celebrate the Idea of India and its cultural diversity through mutual interaction and reciprocity between people of different states. As part of this initiative, a webinar was organized today with focus on sharing of rich culture & heritage of the paired states of Himachal Pradesh & Kerala under the EBSB initiative.

Ms. Shailaja Khanna, Member of the Expert committee for Culture, Government of Himachal Pradesh, who was one of the subject experts highlighted the rich history of Folk Music of Himachal Pradesh, its associated instruments and uniqueness during her session. She further spoke about the simple, graceful and melodic Nati Dance of Himachal Pradesh and states physical beauty that has inspired the art, crafts, music and dance of the state.

Dr. Purnima Chauhan, former Secretary, Language Art & Culture, Government of Himachal Pradesh emphasized on the commonalities between the two states. She said that both states with abundant natural beauty, situated at two ends of the Indian subcontinent, have done very well on Human Development Indicators. While explaining about different cultural aspects of the Himachal Pradesh, she touched upon its Buddhist connection and colonial past. She said Tabo Monastery in Spiti is considered to be the Ajanta of the hills whereas single rock cut Masrur Temple in Kangra as Ellora of the hills. She also showcased the different Pahari painting styles of the state of Himachal Pradesh namely Kangra paintings and Thangka paintings.

Dr.Neena Prasad, an Academician, Researcher & a Classical dancer from Kerala explained in detail about the various Performing Art Traditions in Kerala, namely, “Kutiyattam” - an ancient Sanskrit theatre art from Kerala and “Mohiniyattam” - a classical dance form of Kerala. Adding further about the Kerala’s rich culture, she briefly shared the Kerala’s historical connect with Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch that helped in developing the common Malayali culture.

She added that Kerala is a land of temples with each temple having its own way of celebrating festivals. Onam, a harvest festival, is the most popular festival in the state with people from all sections of society celebrating it with gaiety and enthusiasm. She also touched upon the Mural paintings from Kerala, Martial Art form – Kalaripayattu, and Kerala cuisine.

5 kg food grains per person to 80 crore beneficiaries and one kg whole chana per family will be distributed

29.64 LMT food grains distributed to 59.29 crores beneficiaries under PMGKAY in June Posted On: 30 JUN 2020 7:32PM by PIB Delhi Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana:

Food grain (Rice/Wheat) Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today addressed the nation and announced the extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana till the end of November 2020. He said that the PMGKAY scheme is extended from July till the end of November 2020. During this five-month period, more than 80 crore people will be provided 5 kg free wheat/rice per month along with 1 kg free whole chana to each family per month. The government will spend more than Rs 90,000 crore towards the extension of the scheme. The Prime Minister also underlined that the country is moving towards the institution of ‘one nation, one ration card’, which will be of immense benefit to the poor who travel to other states in search of work.

Under the PMGKAY, for the April-June period, a total of 116.34 LMT food grains has been lifted by various States & UTs. In the month of April 2020, 37.06 LMT (93%) food grains have been distributed to 74.12 crore beneficiaries; in May 2020, total 36.83 LMT (91%) food grains were distributed to 73.66 crores beneficiaries and in the month of June 2020, 29.64 LMT (74%) food grains have been distributed to 59.29 crores beneficiaries. The Government of India is bearing 100% financial burden of approximately Rs. 46,000 crores under this scheme. Wheat has been allocated to 6 States/UTs, - Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Delhi and Gujarat and rice has been provided to the remaining States/UTs.

Pulses As regards Pulses, the total requirement for the three months i.e. from April to June was estimated at 5.87 LMT. The Government of India is bearing 100% financial burden of approximately Rs 5,000 crore under this scheme. So far, 5.79 LMT Pulses have been dispatched to States/UTs and 5.59 LMT have reached the States/UTs, while 4.47 LMT pulses has been distributed. A total of 08.76 LMT pulses (Toor- 3.77 LMT, Moong-1.14 LMT, Urad-2.28 LMT, Chana-1.30 LMT and Masur-0.27 LMT ) was available in the stock as on 18.6.2020.

Food grain distribution to migrant labourers (Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package): Under Atma Nirbhar Bharat package, Government of India has decided that 8 LMT food grains will be provided to about 8 Crore migrant labourers, stranded and needy families, who are not covered under NFSA or State scheme PDS cards. 5 Kg of food grain per person is being distributed free of cost for the months of May and June to all migrants. The states and UTs have lifted 6.39 LMT of food grains. States and UTs have distributed 1,06,141 MT of food grains to 121.00 lakh beneficiaries in May and 91.29 lakh beneficiaries in June, 2020.

The Government of India also approved 39,000 MT pulses for 1.96 crore migrant families. 8 Crore migrant labourers, stranded and needy families, who are not covered under NFSA or State scheme PDS cards are being given 1 kg of gram/dal per family for the month of May and June for free. This allocation of gram/dal was made according to the needs of the states. Around 33,998 MT gram/dal have been dispatched to the states and UTs. A total 32,291 MT gram has been lifted by various States and UTs. 7,263 MT gram has been distributed by the states and UTs. The Government of India is bearing 100% financial burden of approximately Rs. 3,109 crores for food grain and Rs 280 crores for gram under this scheme.

Food grain Procurement: As on 29.06.2020, total 388.81 LMT wheat (RMS 2020-21) and 746.05 LMT rice (KMS 2019-20) were procured.

Open Market Sales Scheme (OMSS): Under the OMSS, the rates of Rice is fixed at Rs.22/kg and Wheat at Rs.21/kg. FCI has sold 5.73 LMT wheat and 10.12 LMT rice through OMSS during the lockdown period.

One Nation One Ration Card: As on 01 June 2020, the One Nation One Card scheme is enabled in 20 States/UTs, namely – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Daman & Diu (Dadra and Nagar Haveli), Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Tripura. By 31st March 2021 all remaining States will be added to One Nation One Ration Card scheme and the scheme will be operational all over India.

The Office of Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is releasing Index of Eight Core Industries for the Month of May, 2020.

The growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for May 2020 declined by 23.4% (provisional) compared to decline of 37 percent (provisional) in previous month of April 2020.Its cumulative growth during April to May, 2020-21 was -30.0 per cent.

In view of nationwide lockdownduring April& May 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, various industries viz. Coal, Cement, Steel, Natural Gas, Refinery, Crude Oil etc.experienced substantial loss of production.

Final growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for February’2020 is revised at 6.4%.The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).Details of yearly/monthly index and growth rate is provided at Annexure.

Monthly growth rates of Index of Eight Core Industries (Overall) are depicted in the graph:

5. The summary of the Index of Eight Core Industries is given below: Coal- Coal production (weight: 10.33per cent) declinedby 14.0 per cent in May, 2020 over May,2019. Its cumulative index declined by 14.7per cent during April toMay, 2020-21over corresponding period of the previous year.

Crude Oil-Crude Oil production (weight: 8.98per cent) declined by 7.1 per cent inMay, 2020 over May,2019. Its cumulative index declined by 6.7 per cent during April toMay, 2020-21over the corresponding period of previous year. Natural Gas- The Natural Gas production (weight:6.88per cent) declinedby16.8 per cent in May, 2020 over May,2019. Its cumulative index declined by 18.3 per cent during April to May, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of previous year.

Refinery Products- Petroleum Refinery production (weight: 28.04per cent) declined by 21.3 per cent in May, 2020 over May,2019. Its cumulative index declinedby 22.7per cent during April to May, 2020-21over the corresponding period of previous year.

Fertilizers-Fertilizers production (weight: 2.63 per cent) increased by 7.5 per cent in May, 2020 overMay,2019. Its cumulative index increasedby 2.0 per cent during April toMay, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of previous year.

Steel-Steel production (weight: 17.92per cent)declinedby 48.4 per cent inMay, 2020 over May,2019. Its cumulative index declined by 63.3per centduring April to May, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of previous year.

Cement-Cement production (weight:5.37per cent) declinedby22.2per cent inMay, 2020overMay,2019. Its cumulative index declinedby54.1per centduring April to May, 2020-21over the corresponding period of previous year.

Electricity- Electricity generation (weight:19.85per cent) declinedby15.6per centin May, 2020over May,2019. Its cumulative indexdeclined by19.1per cent duringApril to May, 2020-21over the corresponding period of previous year.

Researchers from GNS Science in New Zealand have announced that they mapped the shape and size of the Zealandia continent in unprecedented detail. Background: Scientists confirmed the existence of an eighth continent, called Zealandia, under New Zealand and the surrounding ocean in 2017.

Because 94% of Zealandia’s 2 million square miles are underwater, mapping the continent is challenging.

Latest findings: Zealandia‘s area is nearly 2 million square miles (5 million square kilometers) — about half the size of Australia.

But only 6% of the continent is above sea level. That part underpins New Zealand’s north and south islands and the island of New Caledonia. Latest map depicts coastlines, territorial limits, and the names of major undersea features. The map is part of a global initiative to map the planet’s entire ocean floor by 2030.

This map also reveals where Zealandia sits across various tectonic plates, which of those plates are being pushed under the other in a process known as subduction, and how quickly that movement is happening.

How Zealandia evolved? Gondwana formed when Earth’s ancient supercontinent, Pangea, split into two fragments. Laurasia in the north became Europe, Asia, and North America. Gondwana in the south dispersed to form modern-day Africa, Antarctica, South America, and Australia.

Further, Geologic forces continued to rearrange these land masses, and Zealandia was forced under the waves about 30 million to 50 million years after it broke off Gondwana as the largest tectonic plate — the Pacific Plate — slowly subducted beneath it

What is it? STARS stands for Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS).

It is a project to improve the quality and governance of school education in six Indian states. Six states are- Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan.

Some 250 million students (between the age of 6 and 17) in 1.5 million schools, and over 10 million teachers will benefit from the program.

Reform initiatives under the project include: Focusing more directly on the delivery of education services at the state, district and sub district levelsby providing customized local-level solutions towards school improvement.

Addressing demands from stakeholders, especially parents, for greater accountability and inclusionby producing better data to assess the quality of learning; giving special attention to students from vulnerable section. Equipping teachers to manage this transformationby recognizing that teachers are central to achieving better learning outcomes.

Investing more in developing India’s human capital needsby strengthening foundational learning for children in classes 1 to 3 and preparing them with the cognitive, socio-behavioural and language skills to meet future labour market needs.

Atmanirbhar and education: Atmanirbhar Bharat calls for an India that is able to produce and deliver local goods and services to its citizens. This applies equally to education for all children.

Delivering a service, like education, requires a capable state, especially given the scale and complexity of its large and diverse population. Building state capability involves a process of learning to do things on one’s own. This is precisely the idea behind an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Fundamentally, therefore, it cannot be outsourced. In other words, state capability is about getting things done in the government, and by the government, by ensuring effective implementation that is responsive to local needs, but also about being able to design and conduct reforms.

Why is the STARS approach to build state capacity flawed? It fails to address the basic capacity issues: major vacancies across the education system from District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), district and block education offices, to teachers in schools, remain unaddressed.

World Bank ignores that decentralising decision-making requires the devolution of funds and real decision-making power. It requires not just investment in the capacity of the front-line bureaucracy but also in increasing their discretionary powers while fostering social accountability.

Trust is entirely ignored in the World Bank project. Instead, the Bank displays yet again an over-reliance on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as a panacea that lacks any backing in evidence (Trust here implies listening and collaborating across different levels within the administration).

Outsourcing basic governance functions by “expanding private initiatives” and “reducing government tasks” will not make education “more relevant to local needs” or “democratically promote people’s participation by empowering local authorities” as stated in the project document.

What needs to be done? Administration must be equipped with adequate physical, financial and human resources. An overburdened bureaucracy with vacancies and without basic equipment cannot be expected to be effective.

Administrative or governance reforms must give greater discretion to the front-line bureaucracy to address local issues and innovate if required. There needs to be trust within the administration among peers and across different levels within the administration.

Context: On June 24, the UN Secretary General António Guterres told a virtual meeting of the United Nations Security Council that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at a “watershed moment”.

The Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank have alarmed the Palestinians, many Israelis and the international community. Such annexation would be “a most serious violation of international law”.

What needs to be done now? He called upon the Israeli government to abandon its annexation plans and asked the Middle East Quartet (the United States, Russia, the European Union and the UN) to resume its mandated mediatory role.

What’s the issue? The UN Secretary General’s alarm has been sounded in the context of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reported plan to annex on July 1 around 30% of the Occupied West Bank. This will include annexation of all the existing (post-1967) settlements in addition to areas surrounding them and access roads.

What is Annexation in the international law? Why Israel’s move is illegal? Under international law, annexation is forcible acquisition of territory by one state at the expense of another state. Such an act even if sanctified by Israeli law is illegal under international law and would violate the universally acknowledged principle of the “inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force”.

This is the accepted position of all international legal bodies including the International Court of Justice. Even, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) has described the annexation of occupied territory as a serious violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the Geneva Conventions.

It is also contrary to the fundamental rule affirmed many times by the UN Security Council and the General Assembly that acquisition of territory war or by force is inadmissible.

Where is West Bank? It is a landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia, bordered by Jordan to the east and by the Green Line separating it and Israel on the south, west and north. The West Bank also contains a significant section of the western Dead Sea shore.

What are the disputed settlements here? Who lives there? The West Bank was captured by Jordan after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Israel snatched it back during the Six Day War of 1967, and has occupied it ever since.

It has built some 130 formal settlements in the West Bank, and a similar number of smaller, informal settlements have mushroomed over the last 20-25 years. Over 4 lakh Israeli settlers — many of them religious Zionists who claim a Biblical birthright over this land — now live here, along with some 26 lakh Palestinians.

Context: The government has launched the scheme- Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Enterprises (PM FME). The scheme will be implemented for five years until 2024-25.

About the scheme: The Union Cabinet, last month, had given its approval to this scheme. It is for the Unorganized Sector on All India basis.

Objectives: Increase in access to finance by micro food processing units. Increase in revenues of target enterprises. Enhanced compliance with food quality and safety standards. Strengthening capacities of support systems.

Transition from the unorganized sector to the formal sector. Special focus on women entrepreneurs and Aspirational districts. Encourage Waste to Wealth activities. Focus on minor forest produce in Tribal Districts.

Salient features: Centrally Sponsored Expenditure to be shared by Government of India and States at 60:40. 2,00,000 micro-enterprises are to be assisted with credit linked subsidy. Micro enterprises will get credit linked subsidy at 35 per cent of the eligible project cost with ceiling of Rs. 10 lakh.

Beneficiary contribution will be minimum 10 per cent and balance from loan. Seed capital will be given to SHGs (Rs. four lakh per SHG) for loan to members for working capital and small tools. Cluster approach.

Focus on perishables. Administrative and Implementation Mechanisms: The Scheme would be monitored at Centre by an Inter-Ministerial Empowered Committee (IMEC) under the Chairmanship of Minister, FPI. A State/ UT Level Committee (SLC) chaired by the Chief Secretary will monitor and sanction/ recommend proposals for expansion of micro units and setting up of new units by the SHGs/ FPOs/ Cooperatives.

The States/ UTs will prepare Annual Action Plans covering various activities for implementation of the scheme, which will be approved by Government of India. A third party evaluation and mid-term review mechanism would be built in the programme.

National level portal would be set-up wherein the applicants/ individual enterprise could apply to participate in the Scheme. All the scheme activities would be undertaken on the National portal.

Benefits of the scheme: Nearly eight lakh micro- enterprises will benefit through access to information, better exposure and formalization. It will enable them to formalize, grow and become competitive. The project is likely to generate nine lakh skilled and semi-skilled jobs. Scheme envisages increased access to credit by existing micro food processing entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs in the Aspirational Districts.

Better integration with organized markets. Increased access to common services like sorting, grading, processing, packaging, storage etc.

Why we need this scheme? There are about 25 lakh unregistered food processing enterprises which constitute 98% of the sector and are unorganized and informal. Nearly 66 % of these units are located in rural areas and about 80% of them are family-based enterprises.

This sector faces a number of challenges including the inability to access credit, high cost of institutional credit, lack of access to modern technology, inability to integrate with the food supply chain and compliance with the health &safety standards.

Strengthening this segment will lead to reduction in wastage, creation of off-farm job opportunities and aid in achieving the overarching Government objective of doubling farmers’ income.

Indian government has put a ban on 59 apps including TikTok and WeChat. This marks the largest sweep against the Chinese technology companies.

Why the Govt decided to ban 59 Chinese apps? These measures have been undertaken since there is credible information that these apps are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.

The government had received complaints from various sources including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India.

Therefore, the decision has been taken in a bid to safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile users.

Background: The ban comes days after Indian intelligence agencies red flagged these Chinese apps over safety and privacy issues of users.

The recommendations of the intelligence agencies have backing of the National Security Council Secretariat which determined that certain China-linked applications could be detrimental to the country’s security.

How it Will Affect Indian Users? Jobs at stake: Most of these platforms have Indian creators, for many of whom this is the only source of income.

Some apps on the banned list are widely popular among Indians. TikTok (one of the banned apps) has more than 100 million active users in India. TikTok was the only source of income for many users. Besides, many of these apps such as UC News and others have offices and employees in India, hence following the ban, scores of jobs could be at stake.

What next? Meity has issued instructions to Google and Apple to remove the banned applications from their respective application stores.

Additionally, telecom operators and Internet service providers will be asked to block access and use of these applications on their networks.

For this, the Ministry has invoked its power under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.

Context: With the legitimacy of the Constitutionally-elected state government’s being “challenged on a day-to-day basis by the armed gangs who question the sovereignty and integrity of the nation”, Nagaland Governor has told the chief minister that he “could no longer abstain from constitutional obligations in the state under Article 371A (1) (b) of the Constitution”.

What is Article 371A(1)(b) all about? It applies exclusively to Nagaland and bestows upon the governor “special responsibility with respect to law and order”.

According to the provision, the governor, for all practical purposes, has the final say on all matters related to the state’s law and order and on what constitutes law and order.

What’s the issue? The governor has voiced concerns of sections of civil society over the slide in law and order; illegal collections by armed groups have been an issue for several years.

What next? Despite the Centre’s heady statements heralding a Naga peace accord since 2015, it is nowhere close to finalising it with the groups.

In some ways, this is due to the NSCN-IM’s obstinacy such as its insistence on retaining a separate flag and a Constitution for the State of Nagaland and its unwillingness to dismantle its parallel administrative and paramilitary structure.

The distrust it invokes among other Naga organisations besides other north-eastern governments because of its core ideology of a “greater Nagalim”, and the inherent difficulties in getting other insurgent actors on board have made this a conflict that persists despite the ceasefire and a problem that does not lend itself to a quick solution.

How old is the Naga political issue? Pre- independence: The British annexed Assam in 1826, and in 1881, the Naga Hills too became part of British India. The first sign of Naga resistance was seen in the formation of the Naga Club in 1918, which told the Simon Commission in 1929 “to leave us alone to determine for ourselves as in ancient times”.

In 1946 came the Naga National Council (NNC), which declared Nagaland an independent state on August 14, 1947.

The NNC resolved to establish a “sovereign Naga state” and conducted a “referendum” in 1951, in which “99 per cent” supported an “independent” Nagaland.

Post- independence: On March 22, 1952, underground Naga Federal Government (NFG) and the Naga Federal Army (NFA) were formed. The Government of India sent in the Army to crush the insurgency and, in 1958, enacted the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.

When did the NSCN come into being? A group of about 140 members led by Thuingaleng Muivah, who were at that time in China, refused to accept the Shillong Accord, and formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland in 1980.

As per the accord, NNC and NFG agreed to give up arms. In 1988, the NSCN split into NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K) after a violent clash.

It is India’s first COVID vaccine candidate approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine created from a strain of the infectious SARS COV-2 virus.

It is the first vaccine that has got approval of the drug controller for phase 1 and II human clinical trials.

The vaccine has been developed by Hyderabad Major Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR and the National Institute of Virology (NIV).

The company is also involved in the development of CoroFlu, a nasal vaccine for COVID-19, as part of an international collaboration of virologists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and vaccine firm FluGen.