The Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA) is taking action on mission mode to provide employment to migrant workers who have returned to their native villages of 6 states namely Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Abhiyaan is now empowering villagers with livelihood opportunities in 116 districts of these states.

By the 13th week a total of about 30 crore mandays employment has been provided and Rs 27,003 crore has been spent so far in the pursuit of objectives of the Abhiyaan. A large number of structures have been created including 1,14,344 water conservation structures, 3,65,075 rural houses, 27,446 cattle shed, 19,527 farm ponds, and 10,446 Community Sanitary Complex. 6727 works have been taken up through District Mineral Funds, 1,662 Gram Panchayat have been  provided internet connectivity, a total of 17,508 works related to solid and liquid waste management undertaken, and 54,455 candidates have been provided skill training through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) during the Abhiyaan.

The Abhiyaan’s success so far can be seen as convergent efforts of 12 Ministries/Departments and State Governments, which are giving higher quantum of benefits to the migrant workers and rural communities.

GKRA was launched to boost employment and livelihood opportunities for migrant workers returning to villages and similarly affected citizens in rural area, in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. The stage is set for longer term action for a longer term initiative for jobs and livelihoods for those who chose to stay back.

The Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhantoday launched CSIR Technologies for rural development under a joint initiative of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) and Vijnana Bharti (VIBHA).  The event was organized through online platform on the occasion of CSIR-NISTADS 40^th Foundation Day, here.The technologies released included:

1. Improved bee hive for quality and hygienic extraction of honey,  CSIR-IHBT, Palampur
2. Technology for manufacturing of Ginger paste,  CSIR-CFTRI, Mysore
3. Dehumidified drier for food and agri products,  CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram; and
4. Technology for agricultural waste (wheat bran, sugarcane bagasse and fruit peels) based biodegradable plates, cups and cutleries,  CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram

The Minister also released CSIR-NISTADS e-Compendium and e-Coffee Table Book, on the occasion.

   Dr. Shekhar C Mande (DG-CSIR, Secretary, DSIR, GOI), Padma Bhushan Shri Vijay P. Bhatkar (Chairman-National Steering Committee, UBA), ProfRam Gopal Rao (Director, IIT Delhi), Prof. Virendra K. Vijay (National Coordinator, UBA), Dr. Ranjana Aggarwal (Director, CSIR-NISTADS) were among the speakers throwing light on the synergy among science and technology interventions and rural upliftment. Various stakeholders including famous dignitaries, science experts, field experts, all Regional Coordinating Institutes and Participating Institutes of UBA, non-profit organisations, UBA volunteers, villagers and farmers of the adopted villages also participated in this programme organized with a purpose to enable the outreach of CSIR rural technologies to society.

A tripartite MoU to this effect was signed by the three parties on 28th July 2020 at CSIR to work jointly for post-COVID fast track action plan to create livelihood opportunities in rural areas, particularly for the people who have returned to their native villages in the lockdown period.  

Over the years CSIR has developed several appropriate technologies which could be deployed in rural areas for development and livelihood generation and achieving sustainable development goals. These technologies will now be disseminated to society through the Higher Education Institutional network of UBA and local chapters of VIBHA. CSIR- National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (CSIR-NISTADS) is acting as a nodal CSIR Lab to establish linkages between CSIR laboratories, UBA, VIBHA, and stakeholders.

 In his keynote address, Dr Harsh Vardhan congratulated CSIR-NISTADS on their 40th Foundation Day, and said, “they have been involved in exploring continuously the interface between Science, Technology and Society and have played an important role in science policy research in CSIR and at National Level also”.  Stating that “appropriate intervention of Science & Technology can play a crucial catalytic role in bringing equity and equality in the process of development”, Dr Harsh Vardhan said that “Corporates, Research agencies, Organizations working with medium, small, and cottage level entrepreneurs, voluntary social organizations, NGOs, and socially cognizant citizens need to partner on a common platform to address various problems affecting the lives of millions”.  He said, “the challenges that we would be facing need actions at several levels, and we need to explore and reinvent innovative approaches for actions from different stakeholders that include not just Government agencies but also voluntary social organizations, NGOs, Corporates, Entrepreneurs, academicians & Scientists and constructively supplement these efforts”.

He highlighted that “Unnat Bharat Abhiyan” is a flagship programme of Ministry of Education conceptualised and launched in IIT Delhi, with a vision of transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India.“Unnat Bharat Abhiyan now constitutes 45 Regional Coordinating Institutions (RCIs) and 2,614 Participating Institutions (PIs). Till date, a total of 13,760 villages have been adopted under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan”, he added.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan expressed his confidence that “the agencies known for its knowledge, grassroot presence and technical competency, like IIT Delhi, VIBHA and their joining hands with CSIR can prove to be very useful for deployment of indigenously developed technologies by CSIR in rural areas”.  He called for “greater synergy among innovative scientific solutions and tradition knowledge systems so that the fruits of this combination reaches to the every person, every village to for betterment of their lives and development of the country.”

CSIR, UBA, Vijnana Bharti have planned to work jointly on a framework for scientific intervention to create sustainable livelihood opportunities in the rural clusters under synergy of S&T Organizations (CSIR/DST/DBT/DRDO etc), VIBHA and UBA. It began with strengthening the network, where R&D organizations and institutions to take the role of nodal agencies who provide solutions to the felt need of the communities in the country. UBA nodal centers- RCIs are the solution facilitators and are the link that build capacities and connect to the solution seekers (community, farmer etc.) and solution disseminators such as Development agencies, Institutes, NGOs, and Panchayati Raj Institutions etc.

CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies(NISTADS), New Delhi is one of the constituent laboratory of CSIR. It is devoted to a study of various aspects of interaction among science, society and state and exploring continuously the interface between Science, Technology and Society. Currently, the faculty comprises of highly qualified faculty members drawn from a variety of academic disciplines. This intellectual diversity is the mainstay of the institute. The Institute has core competence in Science and Technology policy Research mainly addressing the concerns and problems of developing countries. The institute’s strength mainly lies in Interdisciplinary research teams, multi-discipline in faculty, long experience of field research.

Vijnana Bharti(Vibha): VIBHA, a science movement with swadeshi spirit, has a greater role to play. Swadeshi Science Movement was started in Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru by some eminent scientists under the guidance of Prof. K. I. Vasu. One of the founding principles of VIBHA is – Swadeshi Movement with modern sciences adapted to national needs.

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(MSDE) and High Commission of Australia holds meeting for Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training.In an endeavor to support Vocational Education and Training (VET) in India and Australia, the Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dr. MahendraNath Pandey and Mr. Barry O’Farrell, Australian High Commissioner, today participatedin a virtual meeting to operationalize & implementCooperation in VET to promote development of occupational standards in priority industry sectors.

This was in line with the joint participation of the Prime Minister of India and the Prime Minister of Australia in the India-Australia Leaders’ Virtual Summit held on 4^thJune, 2020. Earlier, on this occasion, a Joint Statement for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership document between both the countries was announced including the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the Department of Education, Skills.

During the meeting, Minister emphasized on making firm progress in the forthcoming Joint working group meeting between India & Australia. Talking about post-COVID era, Dr Pandey highlighted the skill priorities of India like, mapping of job roles in the health sector and better migration and mobility. These are high priority areas for India as per the New Education policy in enhancing Vocational education in School education and the collaboration with Australia shall be crucial in this aspect.

Mr. Barry O’Farrell, Australian High Commissioner, said, “The joint working group meeting will further assist us in formulating focussed interventions to deliver on the skills agenda across both the nations. Through this partnership, we will ensure a collaborative and clear plan of action to address the priority areas in skill development.”

The closing ceremony of the 3rd Rashtriya Poshan Maah which was celebrated from 7th – 30th September this year was held today through virtual mode. Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, being the nodal Ministry for POSHAN Abhiyaan, coordinated the celebration of the Poshan Maah in convergence with partner Ministries and departments, at National, States/UTs, Districts, and grass root level. Identification of Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) Children and their management and plantation of Poshan Vaatikas- Nutri gardens, were undertaken as focus activities during the Poshan Maah, along with awareness generation regarding importance of early breast feeding, need for good nutrition during first 1000 days of life, measures for reducing anaemia in young women and children etc.

Addressing the webinar organized to mark the occasion, Union Minister of State for Women & Child Development Sushri Debasree Chaudhuri appreciated the celebration of the Poshan Maah while observing adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. She said that while the Covid pandemic has posed many challenges to promoting maternal and child nutrition, growth monitoring and detection of malnutrition, frontline workers have not only risen to the occasion to provide essential services but also observed Poshan Maah 2020. She stressed that the Hon’ble Prime Minister has repeatedly emphasized on the importance of maintaining good nutrition and health as also on how it could be achieved by consuming local diets. The Minister expressed hope that the efforts to realize the mission of Suposhit Bharat will continue at the same speed even after the Poshan Maah.

Earlier, Secretary, Women & Child Development, Government of India, Shri Ram Mohan Mishra in his welcome address, said that the Hon’ble Prime Minister has fixed the target of Kuposhan Mukt Bharat which requires the contribution of citizens, government departments and social organizations at the national, state and local levels. Conveying the appreciation of Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Textiles Smt Smriti Zubin Irani at the outstanding contributions by various organizations and individuals throughout the month, he said that Poshan Maah activities are just a beginning and need to be upscaled further to achieve the target.

Representatives of various Central Government ministries like Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Health & Family Welfare, Department of School Education and States/UTs like Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Gujarat and Mizoram gave an overview of the activities conducted by them during Poshan Maah 2020. Joint Secretary, Women & Child Development Smt Aastha S. Khatwani gave a presentation on the activities and initiatives undertaken during the Poshan Maah 2020.

The Naval Investiture Ceremony – 2020 for Western Naval Command (WNC) was held at INS Shikra on 30 Sep 20.  Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar ,Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command presented gallantry and distinguished  service awards to recipients. The FOC-in-C (West) also presented Unit Citations  to selected Units for their contributions in the past year.

The investiture ceremony commenced with a 50 men Guard of Honour inspected by Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar  followed by the award of 12 medals which included one  Bar to Nausena Medal (Gallantry), three Nausena Medals (Gallantry), three Nausena Medals  (Devotion to Duty), three Vishisht Seva Medals , one Capt Ravi Dhir Memorial Gold Medal for promoting Flight Safety and one Jeevan Raksha Padak for displaying courage and alacrity in saving life.

The C-in-C also presented Unit Citations to INS Hansa and INS Sindhuvijay and acknowledged the contribution of all the family members of the awardees for their unstinted support to the service personnel in performance of their duty.

The Government had in December 2019 prescribed that the GST Taxpayers having aggregate annual turnover more than Rs. 100 crore in any preceding Financial Year will be required to issue e-invoice for all the Business to Business (B2B) supplies, in the manner prescribed under rule 48(4) of the CGST Rules, 2017 w.e.f. 1^st April 2020. Further, it was also mandated under rule 48 (5) of the CGST Rules, 2017 that a B2B  invoice or an export invoice issued by such a taxpayer, in any other manner, shall not be treated as an invoice.

In March 2020, the date of implementation of e-invoice was extended to 1^st October 2020. Keeping in view the hardships faced by the taxpayers due to COVID-19 lockdown, in July 2020, it was further prescribed that the taxpayers having aggregate turnover of Rs. 500 crore and above only would be required to issue e-invoice w.e.f. 1^st October 2020.

It has been reported that even after more than 9 months of the first notification in this regard, some of these taxpayers having aggregate turnover of Rs. 500 crore and above are still not ready. Accordingly, as a last chance, in the initial phase of implementation of e-invoice, it has been decided that the invoices issued by such taxpayers during October 2020 without following the manner prescribed under rule 48(4),  shall be deemed to be valid and the penalty leviable under section 122 of the CGST Act, 2017, for such non-adherence to provisions, shall stand waived if  the Invoice Reference Number (IRN) for such invoices is obtained from the Invoice Reference Portal (IRP) within 30 days of date of invoice.

The same is illustrated with an example: In case a registered person has issued an invoice dated 3^rd October, 2020 without obtaining IRN but reports the details of such invoice to IRP and obtains the IRN of the invoice on or before 2^nd November, 2020, then it shall be deemed that the provisions of rule 48 (5) of the CGST Rules, 2017 are complied with and the penalty imposable under section 122 of the CGST Act, 2017 shall also stand waived. Relevant notifications would follow.

It may be noted that no such relaxation would be available for the invoices issued from 1^st November 2020 and such invoices issued in violation of rule 48(4) of the CGST Rules 2017 would not be valid and all the applicable provisions of CGST Act and Rules would apply for the said violation. 

Hardeep Puri to release Compendium & Dynamic GIS portal showcasing innovative practices for effective SWM

Document on response of Indian Cities towards COVID-19 : Sanitation perspective to be released

Session on experience sharing of past six years by states/cities & chalking out next steps towards a Swachhatam Bharat

4,327  URBAN LOCAL BODIES (ULBS) declared ODF so far under SBM-U

66 Lakhs individual household toilets & over 6 lakhs community/ public toilets completed

1,319 cities certified ODF+ & 489 cities certified ODF++ so far

59,900 toilets across 2900+ cities made live on Google maps

97% of wards have complete door-to door collection under SWM

77% of wards have source segregation of waste while 67% of total waste generated is being processed –jump of nearly 4 times over 2014 levels of 18% processing.

Indore, Ambikapur, Navi Mumbai, Surat, Rajkot and Mysuru rated as 5-Star Cities, 86 Cities as 3-Star and 64 Cities as 1-Star, as per MOHUA’s star rating protocol for garbage free cities

12 crore citizens participated in Swachh Survekshan 2020

Emphasis on dignified livelihoods to all sanitation workers and informal waste pickers in line with Mahatma’s vision of ensuring equality and inclusion for all sections of society

Over 84,000 informal waste pickers integrated into mainstream while over 5.5 lakh sanitation workers linked to various welfare schemes

More than 150 Workshops conducted for capacity building with participation of over 6,000 officials from over 3,200 ULBs

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is celebrating the sixth anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) by organizing a webinar titled ‘Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal’ on 2^nd October 2020.  The day, which also marks the 151^st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, will focus on celebrating the achievements of the past six years under the Mission along with experience sharing by States and cities and partner organizations. Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C), MoHUA will chair the Webinar on the occasion along with Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA and Shri Kamran Rizvi, Additional Secretary, MoHUA.

The Minister will release a compendium and a dynamic GIS portal showcasing innovative practices for effective solid waste management (SWM) practices from across India. Alongside, a document on Response of Indian Cities Towards Covid-19: A Sanitation Perspective prepared by NIUA, ‘Frontline Stories of Resilience: India’s Sanitation Champions’ – a collection of inspirational stories of sanitation workers compiled by the National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (NFSSM) Alliance and a Toolkit for Safety of Sanitation Workers prepared by Urban Management Centre (UMC) will also be released by the Ministry.

The second half of the session will focus on experience sharing of the past six years by select States and cities and chalking out the next steps towards a Swachhatam Bharat. The event will be an opportunity for all stakeholders to learn from each other and envision the next phase of the Mission. 

Since its launch in 2014, SBM-U has made significant progress in the area of both sanitation and solid waste management.  4,327 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have been declared ODF so far. This has been made possible through construction of more than 66 lakhs individual household toilets and over 6 lakhs community/ public toilets, far exceeding the Mission’s targets. The Mission is now focusing on holistic sanitation through its ODF+ and ODF++ protocols with a total of 1,319 cities certified ODF+ and 489 cities certified ODF++ as on date. Additionally, over 59,900 toilets across 2900+ cities have been made live on Google Maps. In the area of solid waste management, 97% of wards have complete door-to door collection, 77% of wards have source segregation of waste while 67% of the total waste generated is being processed – a jump of nearly 4 times over 2014 levels of 18% processing. A total of 6 cities (Indore, Ambikapur, Navi Mumbai, Surat, Rajkot and Mysuru) have been rated as 5-star cities, 86 cities as 3-Star and 64 cities as 1-Star, as per MoHUA’s Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free Cities. Moreover, from being a government program, the Mission has transformed into a people’s movement, a true ‘Jan Andolan’ with participation of over 12 crore citizens being recorded in Swachh Survekshan 2020, the last edition of the annual cleanliness survey conducted by MoHUA.  The Mission has also laid great emphasis on providing dignified livelihoods to all sanitation workers and informal waste pickers which is directly in line with Mahatma’s vision of ensuring equality and inclusion for all sections of society. To this end, the Mission has successfully integrated over 84,000 informal waste pickers into the mainstream while over 5.5 lakh sanitation workers have been linked to various welfare schemes under the Government.

Capacity building of officials and staff of ULBs has been an integral part of the Mission. As part of this endeavor, the Ministry, with the help of National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) has conducted over 150 workshops across India witnessing the participation of over 6,000 officials representing over 3,200 ULBs.

Swachh Bharat Mission, the flagship program of the Government of India, was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 2^nd October 2014 from Rajghat, New Delhi and aimed to achieve the vision of a ‘Clean India’ by 2^nd October 2019, the 150^th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation. The urban component of the Mission which is being steered by MoHUA had the broad objectives of making urban India open defecation free (ODF) along with modern and scientific waste management through large scale behavior change among citizens.

With a very high number of COVID patients recovering every single day, India’s steady trend of posting high level of daily recoveries also continues. 85,376 recoveries have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country.

India’s total recoveries stands at 52,73,201 today. Higher number of single day recoveries have resulted in continuous increase in the national recovery rate, which is currently pegged at 83.53%.

The rise in total recovered cases has been steep. The last 10 lakh recoveries were added in just 12 days.

77% of the total recovered cases are recorded in 10 States/UTs.

Maharashtra has contributed the highest number to the total recovered cases followed by Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

A total of  86,821 new confirmed cases have been reported in the last 24 hours in the country.

76% of the new cases are concentrated in ten states. Maharashtra contributed more than 18,000 to the new cases. Karnataka and Kerala, both contributed more than 8,000.