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Eighteen states have expressed their inability to complete rollout by September Fearing spurt in prices of food items between July and December due to poor supplies, the Centre has directed all states to take strong action against hoarding and black- marketing of food items, particularly in areas prone to shortages, and start their own price monitoring cells. The states have agreed to adopt a multi- pronged strategy, which includes reviewing the APMC Act for onions, potatoes and tomatoes to free inter- state movement. The food items most vulnerable to price rise are onions, potatoes, tomatoes, pulses, edible oils and rice. “There has been slight increase in prices of pulses due to low production and for which we have decided to import 10,000 tonnes of pulses. Food inflation is under control and all states have assured us that they would take strict action against hoarders and black- marketers,” Paswan later told reporters, after a day- long meeting of state food ministers in pr

The government has set up Customs Clearance and Facilitation Committees at ports to ensure expeditious Customs clearance of goods to improve ease of doing business for traders. Welcoming the move, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations said the move would help in getting faster clearances from different agencies. Business Standard, New Delhi, 8th July 2015

The government plans to table four labour reform bills in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament that are designed to promote industrialization while protecting workers’ rights, labour secretary Shankar Aggarwal said. The four bills are the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous (Amendment) Bill, Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, Small Factories Bill and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill. “All the amendments are being done keeping in mind three things—need of the times, workers’ protection and creating an environment for more job creation,” Aggarwal said. “Every year, the country needs to create an excess of 10 million  jobs  and for that manufacturing sector is key. The proposed labour reforms will help the pace of industrialization while keeping workers’ rights intact.” Aggarwal said the child labour amendment has already received cabinet approval and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) amendment is likely to be taken to the cabinet by the f

Govt raises threshold from Rs.137 on the basi of average hike in CPI for industrial workers The government has increased minimum wage across the country to Rs.137 Rs.160 a day from with effect from this month. It has raised the threshold after two years on the basis of average increase in the consumer price index for industrial workers during this period. Labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday said he has written to all chief ministers and lieutenant governors to take necessary steps to fix minimum rates of wages in respect of all scheduled employments in states and union territories not below the revised level. “While reviewing the movement of CPI-IW (consumer price index for industrial workers) during s April 2014 to March 2015 over the period April 2012 to March 2013, it was observed that the average CPI IW has risen from 215.17 to 250.83. Ac cordingly , the NFLMW (national floor level minimum wage) has been re vised upwards from existing Rs.160 Rs.137 to per day with e

Deposits up to Rs.1 lakh are insured. Read on for ways to raise this cover Bank fixed deposits are among the safest of savings instruments. The principal and interest are guaranteed and depositors know exactly how much return they can expect at maturity. But, what if the bank goes bankrupt? Or it merged with another bank? What happens to your deposits in that case? The latest Financial Stability Report ( FSR) of the Reserve Bank of India raises concerns about the soundness of public sector banks due to their high level of non- performing assets ( NPAs). “The decline in their ( PSBs’) soundness ( measured in terms of CRAR, the capital to risk weighted assets ratio) by 1.8 percentage points between March 2011 and March 2015 was the ( highest), followed by foreign banks at 1.5 percentage points and PVBs ( private banks) at 1.1 percentage points,” the report said. The level of stressed assets was highest for PSBs at 13.5 per cent of total advances as of this March, while the net NP

FOR SECURITY SAKE Move to retain the worker in PF net and ensure that the money saved is used only in case of dire need The government is planning to put a cap on premature withdrawal of provident fund (PF) money.The move is aimed at ensuring social security for workers in old age. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has proposed that an employee be allowed to withdraw only 75% of the overall kitty, instead of 100% as permitted under the existing Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, in case of resignation from a job or for any other use before retirement. The change, once implemented, will impact working people who tend to withdraw PF money between jobs or those planning to use it for either buying a house or for paying medical bills or for children's higher education or weddings. Pre-mature withdrawal before retirement on these counts as well would also be restricted to 75% of the overall amount. “The provision of 100% withdrawal at any time is be

The Supreme Court said on Monday that capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has the power to probe Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) sold by Indian companies, backed by local shares, to foreign investors and listed on overseas exchanges. A bench comprising justices F.M.I. Kalifulla and S.K. Singh favoured the minority view held by presiding officer J.P. Devadhar in a 30 September 2013 ruling by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). The bench set aside the majority ruling by SAT. The court has now sent the case back to SAT to be dealt with in the next three months. Mint has not seen a copy of the verdict, which was not uploaded on the court website in time for print. SAT had ruled that regulation of GDRs is outside the purview of Sebi. The regulator managed to get a stay on SAT’s order by the Supreme Court. The case pertains to GDR issuances by a merchant banking firm, Pan Asia Advisors Ltd, in 2009. In each of these issuances, large-scale o