8. Union Cabinet approves JIN pact between India and Bangladesh.

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The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the Joint Interpretative Notes (JIN) on the Agreement between India and Bangladesh for the Promotion and Protection of Investments.
Decision in this regard was taken at the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
In general, JIN plays an important supplementary role in strengthening the investment treaty regime. Looking at increasing trend in Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) disputes, issuance of such statements is likely to have strong persuasive value for resolving disputes before arbitration tribunals. Moreover, such pro-active approach by states also can foster more predictable and coherent reading of treaty terms by tribunals.
The approval JIN by the Union Cabinet will impart clarity to the interpretation of the existing agreements between India and Bangladesh for the Promotion and Protection of Investments (BIPA). The JIN between India and Bangladesh includes interpretative notes to be jointly adopted for many clauses, including, the definition of investor, investment, exclusion of taxation measures, National Treatment (NT), Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) and Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment, essential security interests, expropriation and Settlement of Disputes between an Investor and Contracting Party.
9. Union Cabinet approves establishment of International Rice Research Institute in Varanasi July 12, 2017No comments.
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The Union Cabinet has approved establishment of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) set up a regional centre International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a global rice research institute. It will be named as IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) and will be set up at campus of National Seed Research and Training Centre (NSRTC) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
For setting up of the Centre, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) will be signed between Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DACFW) and IRRI, Philippines. This Centre will be the first of its kind international Centre in the eastern India.
Centre of Excellence in Rice Value Addition (CERVA) will be also established in Varanasi. It will include a modern and sophisticated laboratory with capacity to determine quality and status of heavy metals in grain and straw. It will also undertake capacity building exercises for stakeholders across rice value chain.
The ISARC will help in utilizing the rich biodiversity of India to develop special rice varieties. It will help India to achieve higher per hectare yields and improved nutritional contents. Further it will help to address India’s food and nutritional security issues.
It will play a major role in harnessing and sustaining rice production in the region. It is also expected to be a boon for food production and skill development in the eastern India and similar ecologies in other South Asian and African countries.
The Centre will support in adopting value chain based production system in the country. Thus, help to reduce wastage, add value to produce and generate higher income for the farmers. The farmers in Eastern India will be main beneficiaries, besides those in South Asian and African countries.
10. CCEA approves SASEC Road Connectivity Investment Program – Tranche 2.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for upgradation and widening of 65 kms of Imphal-Moreh Section of NH-39 in Manipur.
The Imphal-Moreh Section is a vital link in providing road connectivity up to Thailand and Malaysia. It will boost trade, commerce and tourism in the region.
The project is being developed with Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) loan assistance under the South Asian Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Road Connectivity Investment Program. It aims at upgradation of road infrastructure in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India (BBIN) in order to improve the regional connectivity.
The project corridor is also a part of the Asian Highway No. 01 (AH01). It will fulfil India’s “Look East” Policy and acts as India’s Gateway to the East. Thus, it will promote and enhance trade link with South East Asia. The project will also improve connectivity between Imphal with the eastern part of Manipur which is a landlocked state with almost 90% of the area under difficult terrain.
11. Government empowers Army to procure weapons systems for short intense wars.
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The Union Government has empowered the Army to directly procure critical weapons systems and military platforms to maintain combat readiness for short duration intense wars. The purpose of this new scheme is to maintain an optimum level to fight short intense wars following critical voids in capabilities of Army.
The Army faces severe shortage in ammunition, mainly for artillery guns, air defence, tanks and certain infantry weapons. This shortage may make it very difficult for Army to fight a short intense war that lasts for 10 to 15 days. To overcome this issue, Army was pressing the government for ensuring speedy procurement of key military platforms citing evolving security challenges.
Under the new scheme, Vice Chief of Army has been given the full financial powers to procure ammunitions. Army has been empowered on a routine basis to review the optimum holding state and maintaining it on a recurring manner.
The new procedure will be part of revenue procurement of the Army for in-service equipment and weapons. As part of it, the Army has been allowed to procure 46 types of ammunition and spares for 10 different types of weapons systems.
The new revenue route for procurement of in-service equipment will not require going through numerous procurement stages which often cause inordinate delays. Earlier it was necessary to take permission from Defence Acquisition Council (headed by defence minister) or the Cabinet Committee on Security (headed by Prime Minister), for procuring such critical equipment. Thus, new scheme will ensure that the time taken in procuring such equipment is reduced.
12. Indian Railways launches RailCloud to optimise server management, resources.
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The Indian Railways has launched RailCloud, a virtual server with an inbuilt security system that will enable faster connectivity at a reduced cost. Rail Cloud works on popular Cloud Computing system. Cloud computing is an emerging technology for faster and on demand commensurate deployment of server resources which results in reduced cost.
RailCloud has been developed by rail PSU RailTel as part of Railways strategic IT initiative, IR—OneICT. It is aimed at optimising server the resources and its management. Its technology enables maximising the usage of available server and storage. It can accommodate bigger data and more applications within same server space.
RailCloud technology will pave the way for swifter deployment of application. Moreover, cloud hardware and environment can provide rigorous testing of the new applications. It subsumes existing infrastructure and resources available with railway for ensuring that expenditure is minimized in acquiring new resources.
RailCloud technology allows server and storage space to scale up and down as per the demand. This makes the system suitable to meet the higher demand at peak hours with less expenditure. It is also equipped with security features as per the latest Government guidelines. Moreover, these features can be updated in one go for all the applications hosted on the cloud.
RailCloud server resources are constantly scaled up or down as per the number of users logged on to the system and it ensures a better user experience. It covers all management related and other services like human resources, signal assets, freight and logistics, health and hospital and energy among others.
13. NGT declares 100m from edge of Ganga as No-development Zone.
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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has passed a slew of directions, measures, fines, and strict deadlines to rejuvenate River Ganga. It declared ‘No-Development Zone’ along an area of 100 metres from the edge of the river in the stretch between Haridwar in Uttarakhand and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. This zone must be turned into green belts.
The NGT has banned dumping of waste of any kind within 500 metres from the edge of River Ganga. Rs. 50,000 environment compensation will be imposed on anyone who dumps waste in the river. The apex environment regulator also directed all authorities concerned to complete various projects including setting up of a sewage treatment plant and cleaning drains within two years.
The NGT also directed Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh governments to formulate guidelines for regulating religious activities on the ghats of Ganga River or its tributaries. It also ordered to stop indiscriminate extraction of groundwater from all industrial units falling in the catchment area of Ganga River.
The NGT also directed Uttar Pradesh government to be duty-bound to shift tanneries within six weeks, from Jajmau in Kanpur to leather parks in Unnao or any other appropriate place.
It also appointed a supervisory committee, headed by the secretary of the Union Water Resources Ministry and comprising IIT professors and officials from UP government to oversee implementation of the directions passed in its verdict. It also asked the committee to submit reports at regular intervals.
14. DIPP to set up India’s first TISC in Punjab.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will establish India’s first Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) at Patent Information Centre, Punjab. In this regard, DIPP has signed an Institutional agreement with the Punjab State Council of Science and Technology. The TISC will be set up under the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) TISC program.
Objective of TISC: Stimulate a dynamic, vibrant and balanced Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) system in India to foster creativity and innovation. It will play an important role in promoting entrepreneurship and enhancing social, economic and cultural development by establishing a network of TISCs in India.
National Focal Point (NFP): The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) has been designated as the NFP for the TISC national network. CIPAM will identify potential host institutions, assess their capacities and support them in joining the TISC program. It will also act as the main intermediary between WIPO and TISC host institutions and coordinate all the activities of the national TISC network.
Services offered by TISC will include: Access to online patent and non-patent (scientific and technical) resources and IP-related publications; Training in database search; On-demand searches (state-of-the-art, novelty and infringement); Assistance in searching and retrieving technology information; Monitoring technology and competitors; technology commercialization and marketing, and basic information on industrial property laws, management and strategy.