2nd Financial Framework Conference of the G-20 Alliance begins
- India currently holds the presidency of the G-20 alliance. On this occasion, seminars are being held in the major cities of the country in which the representatives of the G-20 countries will participate in education, finance, energy, climate change etc.
- The two-day meeting of the 2nd Financial Structure Working Group of the G-20 has started in Chennai. More than 80 delegates from member countries and allied countries including India, USA, UK, China, Japan, France participated in this conference.
- Central Government Chief Economic Adviser V. Ananda Nageswaran and UK Government Finance Department Chief Economic Adviser Claire Lombardelli presided.
- Food, energy and climate change were also discussed in detail in the conference, which is being held in different sessions.
- Prime Minister Modi went to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh yesterday. There he participated in the only World Tuberculosis Conference held on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day. In this he initiated initiatives like Tuberculosis Free Panchayat Advance Care Model.
- Published the National Preventive Treatment of Tuberculosis, Tuberculosis in India 2023 Annual Report. He presented awards to the states and Union Territories for their outstanding performance in TB prevention work.
- In this series being held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh yesterday, Indian athlete Rudranksh Patil won the bronze medal in the men's 10m air rifle category with 262.3 points. China's Sheng Lihao and Diu Linshu won gold and silver respectively.
- China continued to dominate the medal table at the end of Day 3. China tops the list with 8 medals including 5 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze. India stands 2nd with 5 medals including 1 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze.
- The Union Cabinet meeting was held in Delhi under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Modi. Various types of projects were discussed in this.
- Speaking to reporters after the Union Cabinet meeting, Union Sports Minister Anurag Tagore said that a decision has been taken in the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi to give a 4 percent increase in salary to central government employees.
- Already in January 2023, dearness allowance for central government employees has been increased to 38 percent. It is noteworthy that the discount rate has now been increased to 42 percent.
- Chief Minister M. K. Stalin released the 'Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Plan - 2023 and State Disaster Management Policy' prepared by the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority at the Chennai Chief Secretariat.
- On the occasion, Minister of Revenue and Disaster Management KKSSR Ramachandran, Chief Secretary Thaoyanpu, Commissioner of Revenue Administration and State Relief Commissioner Prabhakar, Secretary of Revenue and Disaster Management Department Kumar Jayant, Director of Disaster Management Department Raman and Govt. Officials attended.
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for raw jute for the season 2023-24. The approval is based on the recommendations of the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
- The minimum support price (MSP) of jute (TD-3 equivalent to earlier TD-5 grade) for the season 2023-24 has been fixed at Rs.5050/- per quintal. This would ensure a return of 63.20 per cent above the all-India average weighted cost of production.
- The announced minimum support price (MSP) for raw jute for the season 2023-24 is in line with the policy of fixing the minimum support price (MSP) to cover at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production announced by the government in the 2018-19 financial statement.
- It ensures at least 50 percent as profit margin. This is one of the important and progressive steps to ensure better returns to jute farmers and promote quality jute fiber production.
- The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Activities chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to provide Prime Minister's Ujjwala beneficiaries with Rs. 200 has approved a maximum of 12 gas filling subsidy per year.
- As on March 1, 2021 there are 9.59 crore Prime Minister's Ujjwala beneficiaries in the country. It is estimated that the subsidy will cost Rs 6,100 crore in FY 2022-2023 and Rs 7,680 crore in FY 2023-2024.
- The grant is to be directly credited to the beneficiary's bank account. This subsidy has already been given to public sector oil companies such as Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum from 22 May 2022.
- Consumption of cooking gas cylinders increased by 20 per cent to 3.68 in 2021-22 from 3.01 in 2019-20. All beneficiaries of Prime Minister's Ujjwala scheme are eligible for this grant.
- The Ujjwala scheme was launched in May 2016 to provide free cooking gas cylinders to poor women in an effort to provide clean cooking fuel to rural, oppressed poor families.
- The Ministry of Defense has signed an agreement to procure two integrated electronic warfare systems from Hyderabad-based Bharat Electronics under the Himshakti project worth around Rs 3,000 crore. The procurement is being done under an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured scheme.
- The Himshakti project will create around 3 lakh man-days of employment over the next two years, promoting industries including Indian electronics, MSMEs, which will act as subsidiary outlets of BEL.
- The scheme will play an important role in building indigenous skills to make the country self-reliant with the government's Make in India initiative.
