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New Delhi : Reiterating his government's resolve to not allowing the 'digital divide' to become a barrier between people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Digital India Week here during inauguration of digital India week, he exhorted the youth to not only use technology for the country's benefit, but also serve the world by building cyber-security solutions. He urged industry captains, who were present in huge numbers, to boost production of electronics devices and goods in the country as part of the “Make in India” initiative, leading to corporate pledging Rs. 4.50 lakh crore for the Digital India initiative. Drawing attention to global worries on cyber-security, Modi said digitization will mean a lot of data usage stored in servers or cloud. For that the country has to meet the challenge posed by the threat of the 'bloodless war', he added. Clouds of a bloodless war are hovering over the world. The world is terrified by this....India has a big role to play in this,” he said, adding that India should accept the challenge to provide a shield to the world. Modi, who launched the 'Digital India' logo and released policy documents related to the initiative, said his vision of e-governance and mobile governance was when all important government services will be available on a mobile phone. “I dream of a Digital India where highspeed digital highways unite the nation; 1.2 billion connected Indians drive innovation; technology ensures that the citizen-government interface is incorruptible,” he said, adding that “so many coal mines were auctioned but there is no allegation against the government because it was all done in a transparent manner (online).” Similarly, the Digital India initiative was aimed at improving the lives of the common man. “India may have missed the Industrial Revolution, but will not miss the IT revolution,” he said. Assuring full support to young entrepreneurs who wished to launch start-ups, Modi called upon the youth to innovate and said 'Design in India' is as important as 'Make in India'. Among the top business honchos who pledged investments worth Rs. 4.5 lakh crore and employment to around 18 lakh people are Mukesh Ambani, Cyrus Mistry, Sunil Mittal, Anil Ambani, Anil Agarwal Azim Premji and global CEOs such as Ping Cheng of Delta Electronics. The honchos, who shared the dais with the Prime Minister, were given twoand-a-half minutes each to share their vision and commitment on the Digital India programme.
he railways are perhaps one of the most sought after travel methods in the country. They are convenient and also carry a lot of people and goods at the same. There are several types of trains, from inter-state to intra-state, from Delhi and Jaipur Metros to the Mumbai locals. It would be remiss to not call them the lifeline of many citizens of the country. Indian Railways is also continuously adding to the plethora of services that it already provides. The latest addition to this repertoire is India's first air-conditioned DEMU (diesel electric multiple unit) train
launched by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on June 21. The Angamaly-ErnakulamTripunithura-Piravom train service is expected to help in reducing traffic congestion in Kerela's fastest growing city. DEMU and MEMU trains are trains that run short distances in Semi-Urban and Rural areas and usually carry daily commuter traffic. The AC coach has reclining-type comfortable cushion seats for 73
Simla : The government of Himachal Pradesh had signed an agreement with the Government of Spain to let them purchase carbon credits under the Bio-carbon Project of World Bank-funded HP Mid-Himalayan watershed project. This project is being implemented in the state to increase the livelihood means of the marginalized people, mainly small and marginal farmers. The agreement has led the government to receive the first installment of the sequestered carbon credits which is a sum of Rs 1.93 crores. The Himachal Pradesh government has received the cash benefits from the government of Spain for implementing the climate change mitigation project under the Kyoto Protocol. The beneficiaries of the cash benefits are about 50,000 villagers from 602 villages who all raised multiple forest plantations on degraded public land in the mid and high hills under the community-led initiative. As a part of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), forest and other plantations are being raised on the
common village land by villagers and local communities who have banded together into groups. The financial benefits from the carbon credits will be directly passed on to the local communities and user groups as incentive for improved natural resource management practices. Additional Chief Secretary (Forests and Environment) Tarun Shridhar told Media that “The Project is registered under CDM provisions and subsequently a purchased agreement was entered with the government of Spain through the World Bank for the sale of carbon credits. The forestry plantations raised on 3204 hectares became eligible for the first cycle of carbon credits. The verification process for the first cycle was completed in November, 2014.” In fact, the project is one of its kinds in India and is under the public sector and community driven initiative in the hill state.
passengers and is equipped with biotoilets and vestibules for free movement of passengers between coaches. There are other non-AC coaches in the train which have bench-type cushion seats and large windows with glass shutters. Prabhu said at a function at the Ernakulam Junction,“It is for the first time in a DEMU service, we have provided air conditioned service. We want to increase it further.
“If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.” - Bob Hooe
New Delhi : The Government will provide a roadmap for ending corporate tax exemptions in the next 45 days, Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das said here , as part of a plan to lower the tax rate to 25 % in four years. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while presenting his annual Budget in February, had announced that the Government would gradually pare corporate tax by 5 per cent during the next four years from 30 per cent and roll back various tax exemptions.