1. Lok Sabha passes Interim Budget
• Lok Sabha passed the Interim Budget with voice vote amidst the din.
• The House also passed the Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill 2019, Appropriation Bill 2019 and Finance Bill 2019.
• Replying to debate on the Interim Budget earlier, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said that the country is going on the path of development ever since Narendra Modi came to power.
• He said the NDA government has worked tirelessly for every section of the society in the past five years and the Budget has taken care of all of them.
• Highlighting the economic achievements, the Minister said the NDA government has brought down the fiscal deficit to 3.4 per cent. He added that inflation has also come down to 2.19 per cent last December. Mr Goyal said the Budget has taken care of the middle class by giving them tax benefits.
• He said Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi will provide food security to the farmers. He said people who are belittling this provision fail to realise the value which six thousand rupees hold for the poor farmers.
• The Minister alleged that in its ten years, the UPA government did not make any special provisions for the farmers in the general budget.
• He said the NDA government has brought several schemes for farmers during its tenure. He pointed out that the government increased the Minimum Support Price of 22 crops by 1.5 times.
• Mr Goyal said that in the 2014-15 interim budget, tax on SUV cars was brought down which benefited the rich class while in this budget, the government has given several benefits to common man.
• Terming the budget as an honest one, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants honest budgets to become a habit in the country. He alleged that earlier, the UPA government made several promises in the Budget but did not fulfil them.
• He said NDA government will protect the honest and punish the dishonest.
• The Minister alleged that Congress is not able to digest the fact that the country’s economy has steadily become stronger in the past five years. Mr Goyal also rejected Opposition charge of terming the Budget as full-fledged. He emphasised that this is only an interim budget.
• While Minister was replying, TDP and Congress members created noisy scenes in the House. TDP members were demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh while Congress pressed its demand for JPC probe in Rafale aircraft deal.
2. NTPC signs pact with SBI for Rs 5K crore term loan
• State-owned power NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for Rs 5,000 crore with State Bank of India.
• This loan has a tenure of 15 years and will be utilised to part finance the capital expenditure of NTPC.
• The loan facility is extended at an interest rate linked to 3-Month MCLR of the Bank. This loan has a door to door tenure of 15 years and will be utilised to part finance the capital expenditure of NTPC," a company statement said.
• The loan agreement was signed by Masood A Ansari, General Manager (Finance), NTPC Ltd and Neelabh Sinha, Dy General Manager, SBI in the presence of Saptarshi Roy, Director (Finance), NTPC Ltd , Sudhir Arya, CFO, NTPC Ltd and Pradeep Kelshikar, General Manager, SBI.
3. e-Marketplace
• Government e Marketplace (GeM) and Competition Commission of India (CCI) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to enable a fair and competitive environment in the e-Marketplace.
• GeM is a state-of-the-art national public procurement platform of Ministry of Commerce and Industries, that has used technology to remove entry barriers for bonafide sellers and has created a vibrant e-marketplace with a wide range of goods and services.
• GeM aims to enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement.
• It facilitates online procurement of common use Goods & Services required by various Government Departments / Organisations / PSUs. It provides the tools of e-bidding, reverse e-auction and demand aggregation to facilitate the government users, achieve the best value for their money.
4. International IP Index 2019
• The International IP Index 2019 has been released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC).
• Released by GIPC, the Index evaluates the IP infrastructure in each economy based on 45 unique indicators, which are critical to the growth of effective IP systems.
• The indicators encompass 8 categories of IP protection: patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, commercialization of IP assets, enforcement, systemic efficiency, and membership and ratification of international treaties.
• The 2019 Index demonstrates the close correlation between effective IP protection and economic growth, global competitiveness, and the creation of 21st century knowledge-based economies.
• India is placed at rank 36th this year. In 2018, India was ranked 44 out of 50 countries. In the first edition of the report in 2014, India had ranked last in the ranking of 25 countries.
• Among major global economies, most substantial movement can be seen from India, which has surged almost 20% and climbed eight places in the IP Index rankings from 44th to 36th.
• The increase in India’s ranking is a result of specific reforms that better align India’s IP environment with the international IP system, including its accession to the WIPO Internet Treaties, the agreement to initiate a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with Japan, a dedicated set of IP incentives for small business, and administrative reforms to address the patent backlog.