On the issue of Iron Ore exports, the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry would like to place on record the following facts:

Export policy restriction put in 1998 only for KIOCL: On 21.01.1998, vide Notification, a specific entry was added in the export policy regarding “Iron Ore pellets manufactured by Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) out of concentrates produced by it”. Thus, the export policy was regard to only Iron Ore pellets manufactured by KIOCL, which was ‘canalized’ through KIOCL, a CPSU under Ministry of Steel.

No change in policy for Iron Ore Pellets not manufactured by KIOCL: Subsequently, vide its Notification dated 26.09.2014 the export policy of Iron Ore pellets manufactured by Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited was amended to ‘Free’ from ‘canalised’. Further, in the notification a policy condition was also added that the export of Iron Ore pellets manufactured by KIOCL is to be done by KIOCL Limited, Bangalore or any entity authorised by KIOCL Limited, Bangalore. However, there has been no amendment to the export policy of Iron Ore Pellets not manufactured by KIOCL.

Export duty on Pellets made Nil in 2011: To promote the export of Iron Ore pellets as a value added product, then Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee, had reduced export duty to ‘nil’ during the 2011-12 budget announcing in his budget speech“Iron ore is also exported in a value-added, pelletized form. Full exemption from export duty is being provided to Iron Ore pellets to encourage the value addition process for fines.”

Iron Ore Pellet Export happening prior to even 2014: As per the Export Policy, items not mentioned specifically in the export schedule are “free” for exports. As per export data, Iron Ore Pellets were taking place even prior to change in export duty in 2011-12. The iron ore pellet export data in the ten years before the 2014 notification is given in the annexure and is available in public domain. Thus, the linkage to changes in 2014 notification is misleading and is not backed by data.

Legal position still under consideration: The legal opinion from Deputy Legal Advisor, Department of Legal Affairs has not been endorsed by the senior officials of the Department and cannot be taken as the official legal view on this matter. The matter for final legal position is under consideration.

Annexure: Export data of Iron Ore Pellets

S.No	Year	Quantity (in MT)
1.	2004-05	53,32,600
2.	2005-06	35,47,560
3.	2006-07	4,32,520
4.	2007-08	23,58,490
5.	2008-09	9,09,080
6.	2009-10	2,86,740
7.	2010-11	86,620
8.	2011-12	2,09,670
9.	2012-13	20
10.	2013-14	17,12,970
	Total	1,48,76,270

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at Invest India Conference in Canada through video conference today.

The Prime Minister said India is undisputedly the only country shining in all their investment parameters like having political stability, investment and business friendly policies, transparency  in governance, skilled talent pool and a large market. He said there is an opportunity for everyone including Institutional Investors, manufacturers, supporters of innovation ecosystems and infrastructure companies.

The Prime Minister said in the post-Covid world, India showed resilience and emerged as a land of solutions to overcome various kinds of problems related to manufacturing, supply chains, etc. He added, despite disrupted logistics, money was directly delivered into bank accounts of  over 400 million farmers, women, poor and needy people within a matter of days. He listed various initiatives taken by the Government to overcome the disruption owing to the pandemic and stressed that this shows the strength of governance structures and systems that have been built over the last few years.

The Prime Minister said while the entire country was in a stringent lockdown, India was providing medicine to around 150 countries and played the role of the pharmacy to the world. He added during March-June of this year, agricultural exports rose by 23%. He said before the pandemic, India hardly manufactured PPE kits but today not only does India manufacture millions of PPE kits every month, it exports them too. He committed to ramping up production and helping the entire world in vaccine production for Covid-19.

The Prime Minister explained how India’s story is growing stronger by listing the initiatives of the Government in creating a business friendly environment. He listed initiatives like liberalizing the FDI regime, creating a friendly tax regime for Sovereign Wealth and Pension Funds, bringing significant reforms for developing a robust Bond market, Incentive schemes for Champion sectors. He said schemes in sectors like Pharma, Medical Devices and Electronics Manufacturing are already in operation. He added for ensuring high-level attention and effective hand-holding for investors, a dedicated Empowered Group of Secretaries has been formed. He emphasized proactive monetization of assets across sectors like Airports, Railways, Highways, Power Transmission lines, etc. He said Real Estate Investment Trusts and Infrastructure Investment Trusts have been fully enabled for monetization of both public and private assets.

The Prime Minister said today India is undergoing a rapid change in mindsets as well as markets. It has embarked on a journey of deregulation and decriminalization of various offences under the companies act. He said India has risen from 81 to 48 in the Global Innovation Index rankings and risen from 142 to 63 in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings in the last 5 years.

The Prime Minister said due to these improvements, India received around USD 70 Billion from Institutional Investors between January 2019 to July 2020. This is almost equal to that received in four years between 2013 and 2017. He stressed that continuing confidence of the global investor community in India is seen by the fact that FDI into India went up by 20% in 2019 when global FDI inflows fell by 1%.

The Prime Minister said India has already received over USD 20 Billion during the first 6 months of this year from across the globe when Covid-19 has been at peak globally. He said India has adopted a unique approach posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. He said relief and stimulus packages were given to the poor and the small businesses and at the same time this opportunity to undertake structural reforms which will ensure more productivity and prosperity.

The Prime Minister said India has undertaken a trinity of reforms in the field of education, labour and agriculture. Together, they impact almost every Indian. He said India has ensured reforms of old laws in the field of labour and agriculture. They ensure greater participation of the private sector while also strengthening the government’s safety nets and will lead to a win-win situation for entrepreneurs as well as for our hard-working people. He said the reforms in the field of education will further harness the talent of our youth and have set the stage for more foreign universities to come to India.

The Prime Minister said the reforms in the labour laws greatly reduce the number of Labour codes and are both employee and employer friendly and will further increase ease of doing business. He added the reforms in the field of agriculture are far-reaching and will not only give more choice to farmers but will boost exports. He said these reforms will support our efforts to build an AatmaNirbhar Bharat or self reliant India and by working towards self-reliance, we seek to contribute to global good and prosperity. He highlighted that India is the place to partner in the field of education, to invest in manufacturing or services and to collaborate  in the field of agriculture.

The Prime Minister said India-Canada bilateral ties are driven by shared democratic values and many common interests. He said the trade and investment linkages between us are integral to our multifaceted relationship. He highlighted that Canada is home to some of the largest and most experienced infrastructure investors. He said Canadian Pension Funds were the first ones to start investing directly in India. Many of them have already discovered great opportunities in a range of areas like highways, airports, logistics, telecom and real estate. He said Mature Canadian investors who have been in India for many years now can be our best brand ambassadors. Their experience, their plan to expand and diversify can be the most credible evidence for other Canadian investors to come here too. He promised no barriers for the Canadian investors in India.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the passing away of Union Minister Shri Ram Vilas Paswan.

In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister said, “I am saddened beyond words. There is a void in our nation that will perhaps never be filled. Shri Ram Vilas Paswan Ji’s demise is a personal loss. I have lost a friend, valued colleague and someone who was extremely passionate to ensure every poor person leads a life of dignity.

Shri Ram Vilas Paswan Ji rose in politics through hardwork and determination. As a young leader, he resisted tyranny and the assault on our democracy during the Emergency. He was an outstanding Parliamentarian and Minister, making lasting contributions in several policy areas.

Working together, shoulder to shoulder with Paswan Ji has been an incredible experience. His interventions during Cabinet Meetings were insightful. From political wisdom, statesmanship to governance issues, he was brilliant. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti.” 

The Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah condoled the passing away of the Union Cabinet Minister, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan. In series of tweets he has said, “I am extremely disturbed to hear the news about the passing away of Shri Ram Vilas Paswan. Shri Paswan always fought for the welfare and the rights of the poor and the deprived. He always kept national interest and public welfare paramount in his political life. His passing away has created a void in Indian politics.”

“Whether it was the fight against the Emergency of 1975 or to make the mantra of the welfare of the poor meaningful in this period of the Corona pandemic in the Modi government, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan played a unique role in all these. Shri Paswan while holding many important positions, was loved by everyone due to his simple and gentle personality.”

“His absence in Indian politics and in the Union Cabinet shall always be felt, and the Modi government is committed to complete his dream of welfare of the poor and the development of Bihar.”

“My condolences to his family and supporters and I pray for the peace of the departed Soul. Om Shanti.

The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and environment from POPs, which are identified chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate in living organisms, adversely affect human health/ environment and have the property of long-range environmental transport (LRET).

Exposure to POPs can lead to cancer, damage to central & peripheral nervous systems, diseases of immune system, reproductive disorders and interference with normal infant and child development. POPs are listed in various Annexes to the Stockholm Convention after thorough scientific research, deliberations and negotiations among member countries.

Considering its commitment towards providing safe environment and addressing human health risks, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had notified the ‘Regulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants Rules, on March 5, 2018 under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The regulation inter alia prohibited the manufacture, trade, use, import and export seven chemicals namely (i) Chlordecone, (ii) Hexabromobiphenyl, (iii) Hexabromodiphenyl ether and Heptabromodiphenylether (Commercial octa-BDE), (iv) Tetrabromodiphenyl ether and Pentabromodiphenyl ether (Commercial penta-BDE), (v) Pentachlorobenzene, (vi) Hexabromocyclododecane, and (vii) Hexachlorobutadiene, which were already listed as POPs under Stockholm Convention.

The Cabinet’s approval for ratification of POPs demonstrates India’s commitment to meet its international obligations with regard to protection of environment and human health. It also indicates the resolve of the Government to take action on POPs by implementing control measures, develop and implement action plans for unintentionally produced chemicals, develop inventories of the chemicals’ stockpiles and review as well as update its National Implementation Plan (NIP). The ratification process would enable India to access Global Environment Facility (GEF) financial resources in updating the NIP.

The Cabinet further delegated its powers to ratify chemicals under the Stockholm Convention to Union Ministers of External Affairs (MEA) and Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MEFCC) in respect of POPs already regulated under the domestic regulations thereby streamlining the procedure.

India had ratified the Stockholm Convention on January 13, 2006 as per Article 25(4), which enabled it to keep itself in a default “opt-out” position such that amendments in various Annexes of the convention cannot be enforced on it unless an instrument of ratification/ acceptance/ approval or accession is explicitly deposited with UN depositary.

Constructed at a total cost of about Rs. 68.60 Crores, these four KVs have been running in temporary buildings till now. About 4000 Students will be benefitted with these newly developed campuses in the states of Odisha, Haryana and Rajasthan.

All the four new buildings of KVs have been constructed as per ‘Green Building’ norms and facilitated with Rain Water Harvesting System to ensure maximum water conservation. Buildings are constructed barrier free for the easy access to Divyang people. Ample space for Sports and Physical Activities has been allotted for encouraging students towards fitness.

During the virtual inauguration ceremony, Union Education Minister will also address the local gatherings and dignitaries through Video Conferencing.

India’s elite men and women boxers will travel to Italy and France for a period of 52 days from October to December for their overseas training and participation in international competition. The overseas training and exposure has been sanctioned by the government at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.31 crores.

A 28 member contingent will travel which include 10 male boxers and 6 women boxers along with the support staff. Amongst the boxers who will be participating include Amit Panghal, Ashish Kumar, Satish Kumar, Simranjit Kaur, Lovlina Borgohain and Pooja Rani, all of whom have earned quotas for the Tokyo Olympics. All the four events (Men’s 57 kg, Men’s 81 kg, Men’s 91 kg, Women’s 57 kg) where India is yet to win a quota, will have boxers who will be a part of the travelling contingent. They will be accompanied by 8 coaches and support staff in the men’s team and 4 coaches and support staff in the women’s team.

Lovlina Borgohain, Women’s 69 kg boxer, is looking forward to be participating in competition again, “It is very good that we will be getting a feeling of competition again. I am very excited about this. With 10 months to go before the Olympics, getting to compete against European opponents will be really helpful.”

The men’s and women’s boxing team will be training at Assisi, Italy for a period of 52 days from October 15 to December 5. The expenses will include their boarding, lodging, airfare and visa fees. Covid Tests of all 28 players and staff will also be covered under this expense.

13 boxers from the contingent will also participate in the “Alexis Vastine” International Boxing Tournament to be held in Nantes, France from October 28 to October 30.

Ashish Kumar, Men’s 75 kg boxer said that this is good preparation as they would be coming up against opponents who they might face at the Olympics, “It will be very helpful for us to play against competitors from abroad. We were already at camp in Patiala and regained our fitness, going abroad will really help. When we meet new competitors, we will get an idea of our level. It will help us get a better idea of where we stand and what aspects we need to improve on.”

Nine boxers, the highest ever for a single Olympics from India have earned quotas for the Tokyo games. The World Olympic qualifying event scheduled for next year is the last event for Indian boxers to obtain quotas for the Olympics.

CA Kutappa, Chief Coach, Indian Men’s Boxing Team is very happy that the boxers will travel abroad and calls this exposure trip as an opportunity to know where they stand against international competition after all the disruptions that have taken place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “At this time last year, we were at peak competition fitness, participating in the World Championships and were training intensely. Thank the government for sanctioning this. The boxers are very happy, they wanted to do something different, they need competition and training. They want to see where they stand compared to the European boxers. This overseas exposure will give a better idea of competition from Europe.

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the beginning of his 20^th year as a public representative. In a series of tweets, the Union Home Minister said “October 7 is a very important day in the history of our country. On this day in 2001, Shri Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, and from that day onwards, an unstoppable journey dedicated to the cause of the nation and public service was begun which has helped us in achieving new milestones in the country’s development every day.

Shri Amit Shah said that “Inspired by the thoughts, vision and charismatic personality of PM Modi, every Indian today is working towards re-establishing India as a ‘Vishwa Guru’. It is a matter of great pride for me to work for the welfare of the nation under his extraordinary leadership and guidance”.

He further added that “if anyone can truly understand the aspirations of 130 crores Indians, then he is none other than Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. With his visionary thinking, PM Modi is working relentlessly towards creating an India that is strong, modern and self-reliant, said Shri Amit Shah.

Shri Amit Shah said that “as Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi brought a revolution of development in the state and now as Prime Minister, he is bringing a positive change in the lives of millions of poor, farmers, women and deprived sections of society by empowering them with various historic schemes and initiatives”.

Shri Amit Shah said “whether it was bringing Bhuj out from the catastrophic earthquake and placing it on the development path, or to make Gujarat a symbol of peace and harmony, or to provide the Gujarat model of development and progress to the country through hard work and visionary thinking, it is solely the result of the untiring commitment of Modi ji”.

Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence organised the Ambassadors’ Round Table Virtual conference on Aero India 2021, chaired by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh here today. The major reach-out effort of the Ministry was well attended by 200+ invitees comprising Ambassadors, Heads of Missions and Defence Attaches of over 75 countries indicating the growing stature of the 13^th mega biennial event, to be held in Karnataka’s capital Bengaluru from February 3-7, 2021. The senior representatives of foreign missions at New Delhi were briefed about the Aero India-21well in advance with a view to encourage the presence of their leaders and senior most decision makers at the event in February 2021 wherein India’s Aerospace and Defence manufacturing capabilities will be displayed under one umbrella.

Addressing the conference, Raksha Mantri said, Aero India-21aligns with India’s vision to be among the top five countries of the world in defence and aerospace industries, with active participation of public and private sector fulfilling the objective of Self-Reliance as well as requirements of other friendly countries. Shri Rajnath Singh stated that “Aatmanirbhar Bharat was the centerpiece of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and towards this, Ministry of Defence has announced numerous government reforms such as increase in FDI to 74% through automatic route, the Defence Acquisition Procedure -2020, revised Offset guidelines to promote Investment in India for co-development and co-production as also formulated the draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 (DPEPP 2020)during the preceding pandemic months to steer the vision as also for ease of business”.

Shri Rajnath Singh added that India’s Aerospace and defence sector has matured and is exploring mutually beneficial partnerships with friendly countries to set up manufacturing industries in India and defence equipment produced in India to be exported abroad. He further stated that “Aero India-21 will showcase Government’s intent to achieve a turnover of USD 25 billion with exports of USD 5 billion in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025”.

The representatives from across the world were briefed that Aero India-21 will be a business oriented event and will be compliant to the COVID-19 stipulations. The event has received tremendous interest since the launch of the event website by the Defence Minister on 11 Sep 2020 and more than 90%of space has been booked reflecting the tremendous interest shown by exhibitors to participate in the aero show. The fine tuning of the business events and seminars are being planned and over 500 exhibitors are expected at Asia’s Largest Aeroshow.

Raksha Mantri also urged the Ambassadors to impress upon their leadership and Industry captains of their respective countries and defence industries to participate in Aero India-21 in a big way so as to “dive deep into the strategic and business opportunities available in India with the aim of establishing strategic partnerships”. Shri Rajnath Singh also released the official Aero India 2021 inaugural film on the occasion.

The theme of the event ‘The runway to a billion opportunities’, encompasses the gamut of Aerospace and Defence manufacturing including opportunities in the civil aerospace domain. The Defence Minister expressed confidence that Aero India-21 will demonstrate India’s ability to take the lead and further build on our strengths in the post COVID world.

Department of Defence Production gave a detailed presentation on all aspects of Aero India-21 and built in assurances to be compliant with COVID-19 stipulations. The Government of Karnataka also gave a presentation informing the participants about the preparedness of the state to conduct the show in a controlled and safe environment.

Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri BS Yediyurappa also addressed the distinguished audience and assured them that Government of Karnataka would make all necessary preparations towards safe conduct of the Aero India-21 in February 2021 at Bengaluru keeping in mind the safety of the participants and in compliance with the COVID-19 protocols.

Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Yesso Naik; Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Raj Kumar also addressed the gathering and echoed the resolve of the Ministry of Defence to steer the indigenous defence industry as one of the pillars of Atmanirbhar Bharat and invited the Foreign delegates to Aero India-21.

Indian Railways today opened the applications submitted by various entities in response to the RFQs for PPP in Passenger Train Operations Project.

MoR has received excellent response.In all 120 Applications have been received for the 12 Clusters, from 15 applicant firms.

It may be noted that Ministry of Railways (MOR) had invited Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for private participation in operation of passenger train services over 12 Clusters comprising 140 Origin Destination pair of routes through introduction of 151 modern Trains to increase high quality trains operated on the network.

This is the first major initiative of attracting private investment for running Passenger Trains over Indian Railway Network. The project is expected to entail private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crores.

The private entities for undertaking the project would be selected through a transparent two-stage competitive bidding process comprising of Request for Qualification (RFQ) and Request for Proposal (RFP).

The RFQ for 12 clusters were published on 01 July 2020. 

MoR will expeditiously complete the evaluation of Applications and RFP documents will be made available to the qualified applicants by November 2020. MoR has targeted to award all the Clusters by February, 2021.

Details of Participation Cluster wise

SN	Cluster Name	Number of RFQs received
1	Mumbai 1	9
2	Mumbai 2	12
3	Delhi 1	10
4	Delhi 2	12
5	Chandigarh	9
6	Howarh	9
7	Patna	9
8	Prayagraj	10
9	Secunderabad	10
10	Jaipur	10
11	Chennai	9
12	Bengaluru	11
	Total	120

Details of Participants

SN	Applicant’s Name
1	Megha  Engineering and Infrastructures Limited
2	Sainath sales and Services Pvt Ltd
3	IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited
4	Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation LImited
5	GMR Highways Limited
6	Welspun Enterprises Limited
7	Gateway Rail freight Limited
8	Cube Highways and Infrastructure III Pvt Ltd
9	Malempati Power Private Limited
10	L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited
11	RK Associates and Hoteliers Pvt Ltd
12	Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarrriles, S.A
13	PNC Infratech Ltd
14	Arvind Aviation
15	BHEL

Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India, on behalf of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi ji and his own behalf today congratulated PHD Chamber on its 115^th Annual Session. He praised the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri NarendraModi and appreciated the extensive measures undertaken in tough COVID-times.

DrPandeysaid that Skill India is a concept that has been making a footprint, both in and outside India. He said that all our ecosystem of education and skill departments in every state and district came together to contribute with their innovative ideas during the last 7 months of the COVID pandemic.He opined for skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling, skill training centres, industry connect skilling and industry demand skilling are important for achieving the vision of a USD 5 trillion economy and making India self-reliant, going forward.

Dr. MahendraNathPandey mentioned about the importance of Atmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM), a database to bridge the gap of demand and supply of skilled workforce across the sectors.Dr. Pandey was affirmative that PHD Chamber could play a significant role in supporting the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the Government has a whole, in achieving its Skilled India mission and overall vision of high economic trajectory and self- reliant India.

With a vision to make India Skill capital of the world, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has worked towards making more than 5 crore people skilled in the country since 2014-15. Also, the Ministry signed various MOUs on skill development with different countries, worked on recognition of Indian skilled youth in the world, amplified apprenticeship programme, among others.

Union Railways and Commerce & Industry Minister Shri PiyushGoyal has said that Trade & economy is one of the most important pillars of India- European Union (EU)  partnership. Addressing the Diplomatic & Industry Leadership Session on EU-India Collaborative Economic Growth today, he said that we are also hopeful of working with EU towards a FTA, possibly starting with a Preferential Trade Agreement for an early harvest to get faster outcomes.

Shri Goyal said that under the Prime Minister Shri NarendraModi, we have furthered our relationship across the European Union.India was one of the first countries to develop diplomatic relations with the EU & extend our hand of friendship.“Our friendship with the people of EU & the chemistry between PM Modi& various leaders of EU member countries is indeed remarkable. Our partnership surpasses political, innovation & cultural collaboration. We are both very natural partners willing to engage as responsible global citizens to address very pressing global challenges.We believe EU & India are 2 very important stakeholders when it comes to finding solutions for pressing matters.” 

The Minister called for strengthening 3-R approach that EU & India are using: Re-energise, Re-invent and Re-orient. He said that removing barriers to trade between Europe & India is essential to move forward. Shri Goyal said that EU is India’s largest trading partner block, with about $105 billion trade in goods in 2019.It is also the 2nd largest destination for Indian exports. He said “We believe we have to work towards balanced, ambitious & mutually beneficial trade & investment agreements. During the 15th India-EU summit in July 2020, we had adopted the EU-India strategic partnership which will guide our co-operation in the future.”

Shri Goyal said that to combat the COVID crisis, India & Europe worked together whether it was for adequate supply of medicines to different European countries or other goods required tobattle coronavirus. He said that through the lockdown, our Information Technology sector continued to serve businesses in Europe, without any interruption. “We met all our international obligations & therefore, India is looked upon as a trusted partner of the EU. India can be the trusted partner to move away from single source supply chains and countries can work in partnership with India for robust & sustainable global supply chains. During the pandemic, India never let down any of our friends.”, he added.

On the Covid-19, Shri Goyal said that when it came to addressing the problem in India, we moved swiftly into lockdown so that we could save lives & as we were able to prepare ourselves to fight COVID. “We started unlock process from June. As we move from protecting lives to saving lives & livelihoods, we have evolved as per the emergent situation.We can see benefits of that in having one of the highest recovery rates in the world & one of the lowest fatality rate. We have one of the highest recovery rates in the world.”

The Minister said that as we have opened up the economy, we are seeing that India is rapidly turning around, restoring its economic situation, rapidly coming back to normalcy. Recently, we have removed all restrictions on export of N-95 masks & Personal Protective Equipment. In the month of September, in the goods & merchandise sector, we have grown by 5.27% over the corresponding period of last year. Power consumption is up by 4.6% in September 2020 year on year.On the world trade also, India’s presence is felt. In goods & merchandise sector, in September 2020, we have grown by 5.27% over the same period last year. In the month of September and in the 1st 6 days of October, Railway freight has grown by 15% over the same period last year.  He said that Indian economy is poised not only for normalcy but for growth in the years to come given that Prime Minister has offered Aatmanirbhar Bharat package  for relief to the people & the industry. The Government has embarked on a series of reforms in Agriculture, labour, defence, space technology, mining, energy.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has awarded projects for a total cumulative length of 1330 km in the current Financial Year. The Authority reports that projects awarded so far in first half of the current Financial Year are1.6 times higher of 828 km awarded in FY 19-20 and 3.5 times higher of 373 km awarded in FY18-19 during the same period. For the awarded projects, NHAI has already completed atleast 80 to 90 percent of the land acquisition, actioned utilities shifting and has obtained required clearances from various forest and environment authorities.

As per an NHAI statement, during April to September 2020, it awarded a total of 40 projects covering 1330 km length. Capital cost of these 40 projects is Rs. 47,289 crore, which includes cost of civil work, land acquisition, and other pre- construction activities. NHAI has set a target of awarding 4500 km of projects during current Financial Year and is likely to exceed the target.

NHAI is committed to improve ease of doing business and facilitate better working relationshipwith all its stakeholders. Recently, NHAI has agreed to implement various suggestions made by different industry bodies towards improving National Highways. NHAI has taken various initiatives from time to time to instil confidence of the bidders in the Road Sector.

In March 2020, NHAI disbursed Rs. 10,000 crore through online payments and ensured that no payments remain pending due to closure of office during the lock down. In the first quarter of current Financial Year, NHAI disbursed more than Rs. 15,000 crore to the vendors. Additionally, steps such as monthly payments to the contractors were taken to ensure cash flow to the contractors. Such moderations will result in a spiraling effect not only on the growth of the road sector but will also play a critical role in nation building and advancing the growth of the Indian Economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a Campaign tomorrow on 8th October, 2020 by way of a Tweet on Jan Andolan for COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour.

The campaign will be launched in view of the upcoming festivals and winter season as well as the opening up of the economy.

The campaign will be launched with the aim to encourage People’s Participation (Jan Andolan). It endeavours to be a Low Cost High Intensity Campaign with the Key Messages of ‘Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene’

A COVID-19 Pledge will be taken by all. A Concerted Action Plan will be implemented by Central Government Ministries/ Departments and State Governments/ Union Territories with the following highlights:

• Region- specific targeted communication in high case-load districts.
• Simple and easily understandable messages to reach every citizen
• Dissemination throughout the country using all media platforms
• Banners and Posters at public places; involving Frontline workers and Targeting Beneficiaries of Government Schemes
• Hoardings/ wall paintings/ electronic display boards in government premises
• Involvement of Local and National influencers to drive home the message
• Running mobile vans for regular awareness generation
• Audio messages; pamphlets/ brochures on awareness
• Seeking support of Local Cable Operators for running COVID messages
• Coordinated media campaign across platforms for effective outreach and impact