FM Inaugurates the First Brics Heads of Revenue Meeting;

Emphasized the need for Greater Cooperation among Brics 
Countries in the area of Tax Administration; Reiterates the Commitment of the Government to A Stable Tax Regime, 
Moderate Tax Rates, Non- Adversarial Tax Administration and A Fair Mechanism for Dispute Resolution 

The Union Finance Minister Shri P.Chidambaram emphasises the need for greater cooperation among BRICS countries in the area of tax administration. The Finance Minister reiterated the commitment of the Government of India to a stable tax regime, moderate tax rates, non- adversarial tax administration and a fair mechanism for dispute resolution. He added that India has been modernizing its tax administration in a way that will minimize transaction costs and maximize taxpayer convenience, without compromising the deterrence factor. The Finance Minister Shri Chidambaram was addressing the participants after inaugurating the meeting of the Heads of the Revenue Departments of five BRICS countries, i.e., Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa here today. The Finance Minister stated that tax administrations are faced with new challenges that include providing quality taxpayer services to take care of taxpayer expectations, protecting and increasing domestic tax revenues, and allocation of taxing rights and sharing of taxable income from cross border dealings between countries.

Addressing the participants, the Finance Minister Shri Chidambaram further observed that during the last two or three decades, the global economy has been undergoing significant transformations, and BRICS countries have been at the centre of this economic change. He stated that it would be a good idea to hold deliberations and even try to come out with agreed stands on issues of mutual concerns so that BRICS countries can play a more proactive role in modifying and developing existing international standards on international taxation and transfer pricing in order to safeguard their tax revenue interests. He felt that this meeting can help in developing a roadmap for such coordination. During the two day meeting, the participants are likely to deliberate on issues of mutual concerns related to tax administration, including those pertaining to international taxation, transfer pricing, cross border tax evasion and avoidance, tax dispute resolution mechanisms. The meeting is being hosted by India, which presently holds the chair of the BRICS group. 

President Presents Krishi Karman Awards to States, Farmers for Outstanding Performance in 2011-12

President, Shri  Pranab Mukherjee today presented Krishi Karman Awards to eight States for their achievements in foodgrains production in 2011-12. Ten States were given commendation awards.

   Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and Nagaland received the awards for special contribution to totalfoodgrains production.  Bihar received the award for contribution to production and productivity of rice, Haryana for wheat, Jharkhand for pulses and Uttar Pradesh for coarse cereals. Punjab, Uttarakhand, Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh received commendation awards. 

Krishi Karman Awards were instituted in 2010-11 for recognizing the meritorious efforts of States in foodgrain production. The awards announced now - for 2011-12 - will be presented by the President tomorrow to Chief Ministers or Agriculture Ministers of these States.

The awards are given to best performing States in two broad sets, one for the total foodgrain production and the other for individual foodgrain crops of rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals. States for total foodgrains category are further divided into three categories based on total foodgrain production capacity of the State.

Award winning States get a trophy, a citation and cash award. The cash award is Rs. 2 crores for total foodgrainproduction and Rs. 1 crore for each of the four individual crops. Commendation award winners get a cash prize of Rs. 25lakh. Individual farmers get Rs. one lakh besides a trophy and citation.

A selection committee headed by Secretary (Agriculture and Cooperation) assessed the performance of States against criteria that took into account production outcomes, implementation of crop production programs and innovative approaches adopted for effective service delivery.

Houbara Bustard bird

Found in Desert regions of Rajasthan
Recently, a leading environmental group working for conservation of flora
and fauna has sought intervention of the External Affairs Ministry to put
pressure on Pakistan to ban hunting of rare birds, Houbara bustards, which
has drastically reduced India's share of their annual winter migration and
affected the desert eco-system. The hunting of Houbara bustards,
taxonomically classified as Clamydotis undulata , through falconry in
Pakistan has led to an alarming decline in their numbers. The poaching
mainly in Sindh province along the international border is not only a cause
of serious concern for India but also in violation of wildlife protection laws
and international conventions

Census 2011 Medal Ceremony Held Today President Gives Away Census Medals

Dr. C.
Chandramouli,
Registrar General &
Census Commissioner, got gold medal

Details

http://www.pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2013/jan/d2013011102.pdf

Chiranjeevi Announces Campaign “Land of Pi”

Recognizing
the importance of
cinema as a
powerful tool for
the development
and promotion of
various tourist
destinations, Union
Tourism Minister
Shri K. Chiranjeevi
announced, several
initiatives for
promoting “Film
Tourism” through
films shot in India.
Announcing this in
New Delhi today the
Minister said that a
“Land of Pi”
campaign would be
launched soon
across all media,
including print,
online, electronic
and outdoor, to
promote Puducherry
and Munnar as
tourist destinations.
The highlights of
the campaign will
be :
· “Land of
Pi” posters
produced by
Tourism
Ministry will
be displayed
worldwide
through the
Indiatourism
offices
overseas.
These would
also be put
on the
“Incredible
India”
website and
the websites
of the
Puducherry
and Kerala
Tourism
Departments.
· Luxury
buses plying
between
Chennai and
Puducherry
and Kochi
and Munnar
will be
branded with
“Land of Pi”
creatives.
· Special
“Land of Pi”
tours and
walking
trails will be
organized for
tourists
visiting
Puducherry
and Munnar .
Maps
depicting
these tours
have already
been
produced.
· Short films
and virals on
the tourist
attractions in
Puducherry
and Munnar
which have
been
depicted in
the film have
been created
and one
being put on
Youtube and
other Social
Media
networks.
· “Land of
Pi” contests
will be
organized
online, with
two prizes
given every
month. The
prize would
be a holiday
package to
Puducherry
or Munnar,
including air
tickets to
Chennai /
Kochi and
local
hospitality.
· A boat that
hints at “Life
of Pi”, with a
stuffed toy
tiger will be
permanently
placed at two
prominent
locations in
Puducherry,
to provide a
photo
opportunity
to visiting
tourists. One
location will
be a child-
safe shallow
water near
Puducherry’s
Paradise
Island and
the other the
soon-to-be-
inaugurated
Puducherry
airport.

National Electric Mobility Mission Plan Launched

The Hon’ble Prime
Minister
unveiled the National
Electric Mobility
Mission Plan
(NEMMP) 2020 in the
presence of Shri
Praful Patel, Minister
for Heavy Industries
& Public Enterprises
and Shri Montek
Singh Ahluwalia, Dy.
Chairman, Planning
Commission. The
ceremony was
attended by eminent
leaders from the
automotive industry,
academia and
research institutes,
officers of stakeholder
Ministries, National
Manufacturing
Competitiveness
Council.
The principal end
objectives of the
National Mission for
Electric Mobility
(NMEM) are National
energy security,
mitigation of the
adverse impact of
vehicles on the
environment and
growth of domestic
manufacturing
capabilities. The
NEMMP 2020, the
mission document for
the NMEM that was
approved by the
National Council for
Electric Mobility
(NCEM) on 29th
August, 2012, sets the
vision, lays the
targets and provides
the joint Government
– industry vision for
realizing the huge
potential that exists
for full range of
efficient and
environmentally
friendly electric
vehicle (including
hybrids) technologies
by 2020.
The NEMMP 2020 is a
well researched
document and relies
on in-depth primary
data based study
conducted jointly by
the Government and
the Industry which
indicates that high
latent demand for
environmentally
friendly electric
vehicle technologies
exists in the country.
As per these
projections, 6-7
million units of new
vehicle sales of the
full range of electric
vehicles, along with
resultant liquid fuel
savings of 2.2 – 2.5
million tonnes can be
achieved in 2020. This
will also result in
substantial lowering
of vehicular emissions
and decrease in
carbon di-oxide
emissions by 1.3% to
1.5% in 2020 as
compared to a status
quo scenario.
However, in view of
the significant
barriers that exist
today for these
frontier technologies,
the global experience
indicates that this is
an area where
Governments need to
focus their efforts and
provide support that
is necessary for
creation of the eco
system and viable self
sustaining business in
the near future. This
includes providing
initial impetus
through demand
support measures that
facilitate faster
consumer acceptance
of these expensive
newer technologies.
In addition,
Government will also
need to facilitate
automotive R&D and
put in place charging
infrastructure. It is
estimated that the
Government will need
to provide support to
the tune of Rs 13000 –
Rs 14000 Crore over
the next 5-6 years.
The industry will also
need to match this
with a much larger
investment for
developing the
products and creating
the manufacturing
eco-system.
The NEMMP 2020
projections also
indicate that the
savings from the
decrease in liquid
fossil fuel
consumption as a
result of shift to
electric mobility alone
will far exceed the
support provided
thereby making this a
highly economically
viable proposition.
Therefore on all
counts encouraging
the faster adoption of
hybrid & electric
vehicles and their
manufacture in India
is a wise investment
for our future
generations.
NMEM is amongst the
most significant
interventions of the
Government that
promises to transform
the automotive
paradigm of the
future by lessening
the dependence on
fossil fuels, increasing
energy efficiency of
vehicles and by
providing the means
to achieve ultimate
objective of cleaner
transportation that is
compatible with
sustainable renewable
energy generation.
This Intervention will
also help encourage
the Indian Automotive
Industry to shift to
newer, cleaner
technologies so that it
builds its future
competitive advantage
around
environmentally
sustainable products,
high end
technologies,
innovation and
knowledge.
The implementation
and roll out of the
NEMMP 2020 will be
done through various
specific schemes,
interventions, policies
that are currently
under formulation
and will be
considered by the
Government in the
near future.

11th pravasi bhartiya divas held

Place....kochi

Chief guest-- President of Mauritius ----Rajkeshvur Purryag

Theme f this year pravasi bhartiya diwas----  “Engaging Diaspora –the Indian Growth
Story”