Centre holds consultations with states for formulating new STIP policy

 

Association serve Harsh Vardhan on Thursday held nitty gritty interviews with the states for the plan of Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) 2020, the Department of Science and Technology said.

Tending to a virtual gathering with the state pastors and senior authorities of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Vardhan said the approach means to re-empower the nation's logical environment and rethink the needs and sectoral concentrate in order to straightforwardly decipher endeavors in S&T to help the general public and economy.

He said through broad thoughts, the STIP 2020 proposes organization of Center-State STI commitment and production of pathways to effectively permeate the arrangement instrument to the grassroots level.

There is a need to distinguish public needs that are driven by the necessities of the states. Through improvement of formal linkages, we plan to complete ceaseless most significant level of commitment, broad limit building works out, innovation advancement uphold programs, and other related exercises, the Union Science and innovation Minister said.

Vardhan said this would likewise help in smoothing out asset activation to keep away from guile of endeavors inside the environment, subsequently prompting exponential development.

This commitment is basic at both the strategy making and usage measures and is feasible through more noteworthy correspondence and joint effort between the Center and states, Vardhan called attention to.

We might want to make this genuinely a comprehensive arrangement in all perspectives every single state should turn into an equivalent accomplice and should share possession and obligation in plan of this strategy as well as in actualizing them with full meticulousness, he said.

K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the administration, said proactive investment of states would make the whole STIP-2020 plan measure really comprehensive and decentralized.

Railways can't be privatised, govt will corporatise some arms: Piyush Goyal

International News

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said there was "no question" of privatisation of the railways, but said the ministry will invite investments for new lines and projects in national interest.
Addressing the Lok Sabha on the issue of Demands for Grants of the railways, Goyal said track kilometre grew from 77,609 km to 89,919 km from 1950-2014 and rose to 1,23,236 km in the past five years.
"There is no question of privatisation of railways. Railways cannot be privatised. However, if we have to increase the facilities in railways then obviously we need investments for it. We have taken a decision to encourage public private partnerships and we will also corporatise some units," the minister said.
"There is no question of privatisation of the railways, but we should invite investment in national interest if there are new projects and lines," the minister told the House.
He also said railway budgets which were earlier presented in Parliament were designed to mislead the public and show them dreams about new trains for political gains.
"A tea vendor selling tea in front of trains during his childhood saw this country and understood the significance of the railways," said Goyal.
During Congress rule, not one coach was manufactured in Rae Bareli's Modern Coach Factory, one of the production units of which will be corporatised, he said. But the first coach was made in August 2014 shortly after the BJP came to power, he added.

 "There is only one difference between winners and losers, losers see difficulties while winners look at goals," Goyal said...Read More

Fastest growing economy? India to grow at 7.5% in FY20, says World Bank

Current Affairs

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares her budget, the World Bank reports Indias economy grew by 7.2 per cent in 2018-19 in contrast to the recent Indian Central Statistical Office (CSO) estimate of only 6.8 per cent growth during the period.
The Bank's Economic Prospects Report released on Tuesday forecast India's economy to grow by 7.5 per cent during this and the next two fiscal years, retaining its top spot as the fastest growing major economy. It would be helped by a "more accommodative monetary policy" and low inflation, it said.
The report retained the forecasts it made in January for India.
India's growth forecast is the brightest spot in a grim forecast for the world economy. The report said that the global growth rate was estimated at 3 per cent last year and is forecast to dip steeply to 2.6 per cent this year, before edging up to 2.7 per cent next year and 2.8 per cent in 2021.
India "is estimated to have grown 7.2 per cent in fiscal year 2018-19, which ended March 31", the report said. "A slowdown in government consumption was offset by solid investment, which benefited from public infrastructure spending".
The Bank said that the cut-off dates for data used in the report was May 23.
On May 31, the CSO said that India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth during the 2018-19 fiscal stood at 6.8 per cent, lower than the previous year's 7.2 per cent.The CSO said the Indian economy grew by only 5.8 per cent in the fourth quarter. That dragged down the fiscal year's growth rate.

 Finance Secretary Subash Garg attributed the slowdown to "temporary factors like stress in non-banking financial company (NBFC) sector affecting consumption finance".

BJP manifesto rooted in reality, prepared with nationalist vision: Jaitley

Election News

BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Monday said the BJP's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections beginning this week has not been prepared with a 'tukde tukde' mindset but with a strong nationalist vision.
The document, 'Sankalp Patra' (document of resolve), is rooted in reality, Jaitley said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the manifesto.

"Our new policy, new doctrine of striking terror in its origin has received global recognition," Jaitley told the gathering.

The Union finance minister said the party was committed to annulling Article 35 A of the Constitution, which provides special rights and privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The provision is discriminatory against non-permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
When India is at the cusp of history making most of all its lost opportunities, does it require a fragile government or a decisive one, he asked.

Jaitley added that previous governments only gave slogans, but the Modi-led administration gave resources to the poor.

He said the essence of the BJP manifesto is to deplete poverty over the next five years to single digit and then gradually eliminate it.

"Our fiscal prudence since 1947 has been best ever for any government," the finance minister said.

 (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)