MADHYA PRADESH

MP govt to set up Mental Health Authority to help psychiatric patients

Madhya Pradesh cabinet headed by chief minister Kamal Nath  decided to regularise illegal colonies and buildings under provisions of the Urban Land Ceiling Act 1976.

There are many such illegal residential colonies and buildings that exist in Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior.

Minister for revenue Govind Singh Rajput explained that those occupants who have been served notices but have not paid to regularise their buildings will be given a specific period to pay for mutation and diversion at 12% interest for the first year and then 15% interest thereafter.

In another decision and a first in the country, the Kamal Nath government approved setting-up a Mental Health Authority for the welfare and treatment of psychiatric patients. The authority on mental patients will have nine government members and 11 non-government members. Review boards will be set-up at each divisional level comprising five members.

In yet another major decision, the government approved taking the tap water supply or the Nal Jal Yojana to the villages through 15 projects which will be implemented by the state water board. Estimated cost of implementation of the project will be Rs 7854 crore. On completion, 4,022 villages in 13 districts will get tap water supply in every home.

INTERNATIONAL

Moody’s Investors Service slashes India’s growth forecast to 5.4 per cent for 2020

Moody’s Investors Service slashed India’s growth forecast to 5.4 per cent for 2020 from 6.6 percent predicted earlier.

In its on Global Macro Outlook, Moody’s said India’s economy has decelerated rapidly over the last two years and expects economic recovery to begin in the current quarter.

The growth projections are based on calendar year and as per its estimates.

Global GDP growth forecast has been revised down, and Moody’s now expect G-20 economies to collectively grow 2.4 per cent in 2020.

NATIONAL

NABARD infuses Rs 1.46 lakh crore in rural banking system during current fiscal

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has infused 1.46 lakh crore rupees in the rural banking system during the current fiscal.

In a statement, NABARD has said that 66,397 crore rupees have been given in short-term credit and 6,704 crore rupees in long-term credit to rural cooperative banks.

Regional rural banks have availed 14,141 crore rupees in short-term credit and 8,417 crore rupees in long-term credit.

While short-term refinance is essentially production credit, long-term refinance is aimed at supporting sectors like dairy, poultry, fishery, farm mechanisation, irrigation, and non-farm sectors, among others.

Government launches ‘Humsafar’ mobile app for doorstep diesel delivery

Housing societies, hotels, and hospitals in the national capital region will soon be able to get diesel delivered at their doorsteps, with the launch of mobile application ‘Humsafar’ by Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar.

The app will be used for the fuel delivery services to housing societies, hotels, hospitals, malls, construction sites, industries, banquets and other bulk buyers of diesel in various national capital region cities, including Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad, Hapur, Kundli, Manesar, and Bahadurgarh.

The main idea of introducing this service is to help entities such as housing societies, industries and malls avoid the hassle of transporting large amounts of fuel from the fuel station to the desired destination.

The major benefits of diesel delivery service are good quality and quantity of fuel delivered, live tracking of the delivery vehicle, automated billing, delivery within 8 hours and no spillage and wastage of fuel.

Humsafar has 12 bowser tankers in varying capacity from 4 kilo litres to 6 kilo litres and an experienced team of 35 people, excluding bowser crews.

Cabinet approves 2019 Companies Second Amendment Bill

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Companies (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 on 4 March 2020. The Bill will amend the Companies Act, 2013. 

Bill Provisions:

The Bill will make 72 changes in the Companies Act.

The Bill will remove criminality under the Act in case of defaults which can be determined objectively and which, otherwise, lack the element of fraud or do not involve larger public interest.

The Bill will lead to further de-clogging of the criminal justice system in the country.

It would also further ease of living for law-abiding corporates.

Previously, the Companies Act was amended by the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015. The Bill removed certain difficulties faced in the implementation of various provisions of the Act.

APEDA signed MoUs with various organizations to implement Agri Export Policy

Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) signed MoUs with specialized institutions namely the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD),  Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA), SGT University, Pearl Academy, and Quality Council of India (QCI) Delhi, on 4 March 2020. The MoU aims to utilize its expertise to work together to boost the activities in the