GeM Samvaad, a two month long national outreach programme was launched on 17^th December 2019 to reach out to stakeholders across the country and also local sellers in order to facilitate on-boarding of local sellers on the marketplace while catering to specific requirements and procurement needs of buyers.

The outreach programme took off from 19^th December 2019 and during the launch week the States of Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh were covered.

GeM Samvaad is being conducted in all States and Union Territories. After the first four states the outreach programme has been held in J & K on 5^th January, Ladakh on 7^th January, Assam and Bihar on 9^th January and in Chandigarh on 8^th January 2020. All the outreach programmes witnessed overwhelming participation of buyers and sellers. GeM senior officers are steering the programmes. They are also interacting with buyers and sellers attending the events. Arrangements for the outreach programmes including logistics are made by the respective State Governments. The target is to reach out to all stakeholders and learn from their experiences on their usage of GeM portal. Through this outreach programme, GeM expects to make the actual users aware about the new features and functionalities of the portal and collect feedback, which is the first step towards GeM’s ‘Voice of Customer’ initiative.

A Roundtable with Ministries/Departments & Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) was held on 14 January 2020 in New Delhi as part of GeM Samvaad. It was chaired by Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India and CEO GeM.

More than 100 participants including Financial Advisors & nodal officers of Ministries, Departments, and representatives of CPSEs participated in the Roundtable and shared their feedback, challenges and suggestions.

Commerce Secretary highlighted the need for full utilization of the potential of GeM. He stated that Rule 149 of GFR and directives of the Department of Public Enterprises make the procurement of goods and services by Ministries and CPSEs mandatory for goods and services available on GeM and the same should not be violated.

GeM is continuously working to bring all the items on-board and buyers should accelerate this process by providing specifications of categories and asking sellers to onboard GeM. He further emphasized the importance of timely payments to sellers and stated that buyers should ensure payments to sellers on time.

State Departments and Organizations and Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) have been using GeM for their buying needs. Sellers from the States are also benefitting through the access to national Public Procurement market using the portal. Through GeM Samvaad the marketplace is looking forward to receiving feedback from users which will be used for making improvements and advancements in the system.

GeM has more than 15 lakh products and around 20,000 services, more than 3 lakh registered sellers and service providers and more than 40,000 Government buyer organizations. In its short journey of three years, GeM has processed more than 28 lakh orders worth Rs. 40,000 crores in Gross Merchandise Value out of which 50% has been transacted by MSMEs.

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MM/ SB

(Release ID: 1599643) Visitor Counter : 388

Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) initiated 34 anti-dumping (AD) investigations (both fresh and review), 4 countervailing duty investigations, and 6 safeguard investigations during the period from 01.04.2019 to 31.12.2019. Final Findings in 14 anti-dumping investigations, 4 countervailing duty investigations and Provisional Findings in 5 investigations were issued during this period.

Time taken in issue of final findings from the date of initiation, has come down to 234 days in 2019 – 2020 from 478 days in 2014-15.

Average time taken to initiate an Anti-Dumping investigation has also come down to 33 days in 2019-20 as compared to 43 days in 2018-19.

DGTR has also started using all available options for providing relief against unfair trade practices like the first ever Safeguard Quantitative Restrictions investigation on imports of Iso-propyl Alcohol initiated under the FTDR Act, 2002 on 04.11.2019; three Bilateral Safeguard Investigations initiated (Refined Bleached Deodrized Palmolien against Malaysia; Phthalic Anhydride and Polybutadiene Rubber against Korea); two global Safeguard investigations initiated under the Custom Tariff Act, 1997 (Phenol and Single Mode Optical Fibre) and nine Countervailing Duty investigations completed and five are underway.

Anti-circumvention provision was introduced in Customs Tariff Act, 1975 for Counter-vailing Duty (CVD) investigations. Rules of circumvention for AD and CVD are being simplified for providing relief to the domestic industry so that increased instances of circumvention in AD/CVD can be addressed. Six cases of anti-circumvention have been completed so far.

DGTR has initiated outreach programmes to sensitize stakeholders about the available trade remedy measures. The outreach programmes were conducted by officers of DGTR in Gurugram on 25.06.2019, Mumbai from 26.09.2019 to 27.09.2019 and Ahmedabad on 13.12.2019.

Training programmes were held during August-September, 2019 to sensitize the officers of Indian Trade Service, Indian Cost Accounts Service and officers from select Administrative Ministries regarding the available trade remedial measures.

Commerce and Industry Minister held a stakeholder meeting on Regulatory Instruments for formulation and implementation of an effective Trade Policy and Development Strategy on 11.09.2019. A help desk and Facilitation Centre were established on 23.09.2019 to facilitate optimal utilization by different stakeholders of available trade remedial measures aimed at curbing unfair trade. A total of 62 different issues have been dealt by the Centre since its setting up in September, 2019.

DGTR has launched an online portal – ARTIS (Application for Remedies in Trade for Indian industry and other Stakeholders) on 30.09.2019 to enhance transparency, efficiency and provide expedited relief to the domestic producers for different trade remedies like anti-dumping duty, safeguard duty and countervailing duty. Applicants can also monitor the current status of their applications through this portal. The portal will be further improvised so that it can in real terms bring about transformative change in the process of filing, tracking and monitoring the Trade Remedy applications.

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H.E. Josep Borrell Fontelles, European High Representative/ Vice President (HRVP) called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today. Mr. Borrell is on a visit to India from Jan 16-18 to attend Raisina Dialogue 2020 where he delivered Valedictory Address yesterday. This is his first visit outside the EU after he took over as HRVP on 01 December 2019.

The Prime Minister extended a warm welcome to HRVP Borrell, congratulated him on assuming the charge of HRVP and conveyed his best wishes for a successful tenure. The Prime Minister also appreciated HRVP’s regular participation in the Raisina Dialogue.

The Prime Minister conveyed that India and the European Union were natural partners and that he was looking forward to a productive India-EU Summit in March 2020.  The Prime Minister reiterated India’s commitment to deepen the engagement with the EU particularly in the fields of climate  change, and trade and economic relations.  The Prime Minister also recalled his earlier interactions with leadership of European Commission and European Council.
HRVP Borrell conveyed that the leadership of the European Union keenly looked forward to hosting the next India-EU Summit in Brussels in the near future. He also dwelt on the shared priorities and commitment of EU and India, which include democracy, multilateralism and rules-based international order.

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VRRK/AK

The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu today suggested the inclusion of the life stories of Veer Savarkar and other heroes of the freedom struggle from different parts of the country, in school textbooks.

Participating in a Civic Reception hosted in his honor by the Port Blair Municipal Council (PBMC), he said that the historical role of the Cellular Jail in Andaman in the freedom movement should also form part of History textbooks.

He also urged all Members of Parliament, MLAs and MLCs from across the country to visit Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Cellular Jail.

Recalling his visit to the Cellular Jail the previous day, Shri Naidu described it as a pilgrimage to a sacred temple.

Decrying the attempts to create divisive tendencies among the people, he said that unity is the need of the hour. Pointing out that our freedom was hard won, he urged all citizens to draw inspiration from the story of India’s struggle for independence and from the countless sacrifices made by our freedom fighters and strive to reinforce the unity and integrity of this nation.

Earlier in the day, the Vice President inaugurated the Nature Park and Interpretation Centre at Haddo in Port Blair. He released butterflies and went around the butterfly conservatory at the Park. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have around 300 species of butterflies out of which 207 are endemic to the region.  Water bodies with inter-connecting channels have been added in the conservatory to provide the much required moist and airy micro climate for the butterflies to thrive.

Shri Naidu also visited the orchid and fern house at the Nature Park and Interpretation Centre which showcases the habitat of the tropical orchids. So far about 140 species of orchids and an equal number of ferns have been reported from the Andaman Islands. They include tree-ferns whose origin can be traced back to the Jurassic era. Vanilla, used in confectionaries is also sourced from an orchid species found in these islands.

At the Nature Park, the Vice President also appreciated a wooden sculpture of a mother and child, made out of the trunk of a single Andaman Padauk tree. The sculpture represents nature as a mother who lovingly nurtures all her creation. A tribal woman has been depicted as the mother, as a mark of deep respect to the tribal people of Andaman who are revered as the protectors of the Islands.

He also flagged off AC buses and electric vehicles. The Vice President complimented the Andaman & Nicobar Administration for the initiative and said that it would provide sustainable mobility solutions and help in keeping the islands clean and green. He said the electric vehicles would bring down emissions considerably and curb pollution.

Praising the administration for banning the use of single-use-plastics and for implementing the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in letter and spirit, Shri Naidu said that these initiatives including the increase in renewable energy capacity would promote sustainable development in the Islands.

Expressing his concern about the vulnerability of the islands to climate change, the Vice President said that India was playing a leadership role in promoting renewable energy, especially solar energy through initiatives like the International Solar Alliance.

Highlighting the role of connectivity in development, the Vice President expressed confidence that submarine Optical Fibre cable connectivity that is set to be operational by June 2020 would transform the development of the Islands. Four routes in the Islands have been included in UDAN for regional connectivity and International air travel is expected to be operational from Port Blair this year”, he added.

Launching the project for the replacement of traditional electricity meters with smart meters, Shri Naidu termed it as a pro-poor move.

The Vice President said that Smart meters will increase the ease of bill payment and eliminate the possibility of incorrect billing. He added that paperless billing with smart meters would also help the environment by saving the trees.

He visited a photo gallery and exhibition put up by the Port Blair Municipal Council on ‘Sanitation and Solid waste management’. The gallery showcased the best practices of the PBMC in the arena of sanitation and solid waste management, such as the use of 10 percent plastic in road construction and the restoration of traditional Japanese wells under the Jal Shakti Abhiyaan. The exhibition also displayed several pragmatic and aesthetic ‘waste to wealth’ products.

Shri Naidu also laid the foundation stone for three projects under the Smart Cities Mission — the Marine Esplanade, Neighborhood Parks and Fecal Sludge Treatment Plant.

The Lieutenant Governor, Admiral DK Joshi, the Chief Secretary, Shri Chetan B. Sanghi and others were present on the occasion.

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