- India’s marine exports to China heading for USD 1 billion mark
India hosts a promotional event in Qingdao
India’s exports of marine products to China has tripled and touched almost USD 800 million, in the first nine months of 2019, as per the data released by China’s customs authority recently. India’s marine exports are expected to cross USD 1 billion mark by the end of this year. A Chinese trade delegation visited India on 9th October 2019 and signed a contract for import of marine products worth USD 500 million in the next two years.
The Embassy of India, consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou, under the guidance of Ministry of Commerce and Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has been promoting Indian marine products in China and is engaged with various stakeholders.
In order to pitch for India’s strength in this sector, the Embassy of India organized a promotional event and buyer seller meet on marine products in collaboration with MPEDA on the side lines of China Fisheries and Seafood expo in the coastal city of Qingdao, which is also a major port of imports.
Chairman MPEDA briefed about India’s strength in this sector with India emerging as the 4th largest exporters of sea food in the world. India is second largest aquaculture producer, 3rd largest fish producer in the world with exports of marine products worth USD 7 billion.
China is a major importer of marine products with imports of around USD 12 billion. He also briefed about the efforts being made by India for ensuring quality of its marine products.
Embassy of India has been promoting various products such as Indian grapes, sugar, rice, pharmaceuticals, tea, oil meals, IT and ITeS in which India has proven global strength but little market share in China.
- DRDO’s Air Independent Propulsion system gets boost with operation of land-based prototype
Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) has a force multiplier effect on lethality of a diesel electric submarine as it enhances the submerged endurance of the boat, several folds. Fuel cell-based AIP has merits in performance compared to other technologies. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) programme to build a fuel cell-based AIP system for Indian Naval Submarines has crossed several milestones in technology maturity.
The DRDO Chairman assured that all efforts will be made to meet the performance standards and timelines of the programme so that induction of DRDO AIP into operational Submarines could be achieved as per Indian Navy schedule.
Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief(West), Chief of Material Indian Navy, Director General (Naval Systems & Materials), Director General (Armament & Combat Engineering Systems), Director (Naval Materials Research Laboratory) and Directors of participating laboratories were present on the occasion.
- PFRDA permitted now Overseas Citizen of India to enroll in NPS at par with Non-Resident Indians
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has now permitted Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) to enroll in National Pension Scheme (NPS).
Contributions made towards NPS are eligible for an additional tax deduction under section 80CCD(1B) upto Rs. 50,000 which is over and above the Rs 1,50,000 limit of deduction available under sec 80CCD(1).
In the Union Budget 2019, the tax exemption limit for lumpsum withdrawal on exit/maturity from NPS has been increased from the present 40% to 60% under section 10(12A) of the IT Act and the remaining 40% of the corpus is already tax-exempt as it is mandatorily utilized for annuity purchase.
About PFRDA:
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is the statutory Authority established by an enactment of the Parliament, to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the National Pension System (NPS) and pension schemes to which this Act applies.
NPS was initially notified for central government employees joining service on or after 1st Jan 2004 and subsequently adopted by almost all State Governments for its employees. NPS was extended to all citizens of Indian on voluntary basis from May 2009 and to corporates in December 2011 and to Non-Resident Indians in October 2015.
The total number of subscribers under NPS and Atal Pension Yojana has crossed 3.18 crores and the Asset under Management (AUM) has grown to Rs. 3,79,758 crores.
More than 66 lakhs government employees have been enrolled under NPS and 19.2 lakhs subscribers have subscribed to NPS in the private sector with 6,812 entities registered as corporates.
PFRDA in its endeavor to promote and develop NPS has taken several initiatives towards increasing the pension coverage in the country. Now, any Indian citizen, resident or non-resident and OCIs are eligible to join NPS till the age of 65 years.
- Ministry of Railways signs Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian School of Business (ISB)
The MoU signed formalizes a strategic partnership between Indian Railways and Indian School of Business (ISB)
Ministry of Railways and the Indian School of Business (ISB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a strategic partnership.
The comprehensive MoU covers several aspects including executive education programs, developing research opportunities, developing case studies and pedagogical materials, and creating of a future-ready leadership pool for the Indian Railways.
This strategic partnership will allow Indian Railways to build leadership talent in a rapidly changing competitive environment. The MoU will also facilitate research in areas of importance to the Railways and make the Railways an innovation and technology driven future-ready organization.”
The extended partnership between the Indian Railways and ISB is going to create an important milestone in the country’s developmental processes.
It is important for the Railway officials to comprehend the nuances of managing the future transformations, and it is here that ISB could offer appropriate learning interventions, develop thought leadership and initiate research programmes to bring up win-win scenarios.
Through its Centre for Executive Education (CEE), ISB has been training the Indian Railway officers for their mid-career training requirements.
To further strengthen its collaboration, the Railway Board and ISB will also jointly conduct research in areas of mutual interest and develop case studies. ISB will initiate an ‘Executive in Residence’ Programme and involve senior executives of Indian Railways to participate.
Select ISB Faculty will be made available to advise the Railway Board in areas of mutual interest.
About Indian School of Business:
Indian School of Business (ISB) is a global business school offering world-class management education across its two campuses – Hyderabad and Mohali.
The School has grown at a rapid pace over the past eighteen years since its inception and already has several notable accomplishments to its credit – it is the youngest school ever to consistently rank among the top Global MBA programmes, one among the select 100 global b-schools to have AACSB and EQUIS accreditation, one of the largest providers of Executive Education in Asia, and the most research-productive Indian management institution.
A vibrant pool of research-oriented resident faculty, strong academic associations with leading global b-schools and the backing of an influential Board, have helped the ISB fast emerge as a premier global business school in the emerging markets.