Govt to sell 11.36% stake in NHPC

The government will kick-start its Rs 56,500-crore disinvestment programme on 27 April when it will sell 11.36 per cent stake in power producer NHPC through an offer-for-sale issue, which is likely to fetch the exchequer Rs 2,700 crore. 

• The government holds 85.96 per cent in NHPC and selling 11.36 per cent would help it comply with minimum public shareholding norms of 75 per cent sovereign holding in state-owned companies. 
• The NHPC stake sale will be one of the first tasks for the newly renamed Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM). The government has already lined up over a dozen PSUs for stake sale in the current financial year.
• Out of the total disinvestment target of Rs 56,500 crore, Rs 36,000 is expected to come from 5-15 per cent stake sales in PSUs while the rest is expected from strategic sales of companies or their assets.

NHPC :

• NHPC Limited (National Hydroelectric Power Corporation) is an Indian Hydropower generation company that was incorporated in the year 1975

Heart of Asia conference begins today in New Delhi

The Heart of Asia (HoA) conference has begun in New Delhi with the objective of bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan and speeding up its reconstruction with a focus on enhancing investment and connectivity to the country.

• The conference is with the objective of bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan and speeding up its reconstruction with a focus on enhancing investment and connectivity to the country.
• The key elements of HoA process have been to devise a sustained, incremental approach to implementation of the confidence building measures (CBM) in Afghanistan and the officials are set to deliberate on them during the conference.

Heart of Asia conference :

• HoA conference is a part of the Istanbul Process established 2011 which provides a platform to discuss an agenda of regional cooperation with Afghanistan at its centre. 

Shyam Benegal Committee submits its report on Cinematograph Act/ Rules to Shri Jaitley

 A Committee had been set up on 1st jan under the Chairmanship of Shri Shyam Benegal to lay down norms for film certification that take note of best practices in various parts of the world and give sufficient and adequate space for artistic and creative expression,  lay down procedures and guidelines for the benefit of the CBFC Board to follow and examine staffing patterns with a view to recommending a framework that would provide efficient and transparent user friendly services. 

The Committee chaired by Shri Shyam Benegal submitted major part of their recommendation to Hon’ble Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Shri Arun Jaitley .

Major highlights of the report –

•  CBFC should only be a film certification body whose scope should be restricted to categorizing the suitability of the film to audience groups on the basis of age and maturity.
•  The applicant must specify the category of certification being sought and the target audience.

Panel suggests fine or jail for celebs in misleading ads

In its report on the Consumer Protection Bill 2015, tabled in Parliament today, the panel has suggested legal teeth to To make celebrities accountable for misleading advertisements, a Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended stringent provisions, including a jail term of up to five years and a hefty penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh, to protect consumer interest.

• The committee, headed by Telugu Desam Party Member of Parliament J C Divakar Reddy, said in its report: "The committee strongly feels that misrepresentation of a product, especially of food product, should be taken very seriously, considering the influence of celebrities and high networth individuals and companies. 
• The existing laws are not deterrent enough to discourage manufacturers or publishers from using such personalities for misleading ads.”
• The committee recommends that for first time offence, the offender may be penalised with either a fine of Rs 10 lakh or imprisonment up to two years or both.

Missed call service launched for local train updates

COMMUTERS of Western Railway’s suburban train network can now check the status of local trains by giving a missed call. In an initiative to communicate the scheduled arrival time of trains to passengers, the Western Railway (WR) has tied up with a private firm.

• The commuter would need to dial toll free no. 1800 212 4502 and the call will get disconnected automatically after two rings subsequent to which an SMS will be sent informing the running status of suburban trains.
• Information on running of services shall be communicated to the firm by the Railways in a stipulated scheduled time, which in turn will be conveyed to passengers.
• Commuters can also register themselves with http://www.mobitip.info for daily updates at scheduled times. 
• Users of any smartphone can avail of this service with no need of any internet connection.What makes the commuters happier is the service is free of cost.

Govt. constitutes Ashok Dalwai committee for doubling farmers’ income

   The Union Govt. has recently constituted 8-member inter-ministerial committee to prepare a blueprint for doubling farmer’s income by 2022.

• The committee will be headed by Ashok Dalwai, Additional secretary at the Union Agriculture Ministry and is expected to submit the report in two months.
• Earlier,  Govt. had announced in the Union Budget 2016-17, to double farm incomes by 2022.
• "The committee will chalk out a plan to shift farm policies from being production-oriented to based on incomes,"
• The eight-member panel will identify potential areas of agriculture where more investment should happen and suggest ways to reduce the risk of farming by diversifying to horticulture and allied activities like livestock and fisheries to boost income .

Nomadic Elephant-2016: Indo-Mongolia joint military exercise begins

The eleventh India-Mongolia joint training exercise, ‘Nomadic Elephant-2016’, to promote military associations between the countries kicked off at Mongolia.

The exercise, which aims to develop synergy and inter operatability between the armies to battle in counter insurgency and counter terrorism environment under the UN mandate.

• A platoon of the Indian Army’s Kumaon Regiment along with a team of two observers will be taking part in the event.
• From the Mongolian Armed Forces, a total of 60 personnel will take part in the exercise.
• The Indian contingent will share their practical experiences of counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations through a series of classroom lectures and outdoor demonstrations which include aspects like house clearing and room intervention techniques in hostage situation, road opening, establishing mobile check posts, intelligence gathering and drills for countering Improvised Explosive Devices.
• Both the contingents will also share their techniques of unarmed combat, specialised rappelling and participate in various sports events during the two weeks’ exchange.

Mongolia :

Capital- Ulaanbaatar

Currency-Tögrög