Speaking on the occasion, the Tourism Minister urged for better coordination between Centre and States to increase number of tourists in India. Highlighting the importance of perception, Prahlad Singh Patel said that we need to change the perception of India in the mind of foreign tourists which will yield us good results for promotion of tourism. He asked the States to organize surveys in their respective States to understand how the foreign tourists perceive India and should work towards removing negative impressions, if any. The Minister stated that all of us together have to make concerted efforts to realise the Prime Minister's dream of doubling the tourists, both foreign and domestic over the next five years.

The Tourism Minister launched the Hindi version of the new Incredible India portal at the conference today. He announced that the Arabic, Chinese and Spanish versions of the new Incredible India website will be launched next month. The new Incredible India website was launched on 14th June last year. Since its launch, the website has attracted 85,84,928 total visitors including 65,31,722 Unique Visitors as on 31st July, 2019.

Addressing the participants, Prahlad Singh Patel also urged all the Sates and UTs to follow the norms of UNESCO while making proposals for Heritage site of their sites with the help of ASI. The Minister said that we have great potential in our natural sites and we should focus on adventure tourism to attract more tourists in this sector. He also said that recently, in order to promote night tourism, the Culture Ministry has decided to open 10 historical monuments till 9 PM for common visitors across the country. He also urged all the States and UTs to open their important monuments till late night for visitors.

The Tourism Minister launched the Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Certification (IITFC) portal during the conference. The Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Certification (IITFC) Programme is a digital initiative of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India for the citizens of India to become a part of the booming Tourism Industry. It is an online programme where one can learn about tourism at their own time, space, path and pace. The successful completion of this programme would enable the learner to become a Certified Tourist Facilitator of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

The Tourism Minister also handed over three new Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and five new Letters of Intent (LoIs) to the prospective Monument Mitras at the conference today.

The Conference provided a platform for the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India to apprise the States / UTs about new initiatives taken and those in the pipeline, to get valuable feedback from the States / UTs on the same, to highlight areas where active cooperation of the States / UTs is required and at the same time to learn about the initiatives being taken by the States / UTs for the development of Tourism.

Discussions were held with the States / UTs to get their inputs and feedback on the following subjects:

- Developing an all-encompassing One Stop Solution including information on tourism related services through a web based application and a Grievance Redressal Mechanism through Twitter and Tourist-Helpline.

- Adoption of Adventure Tourism and Bed & Breakfast / Homestay Scheme Guidelines by States/UTs.

- Status of projects sanctioned under the Swadesh Darshan & PRASHAD Schemes and implementation of Public Financial Management System (PFMS).

Discussions were followed by Presentations which were made by the State Governments of Kerala and Sikkim showcasing their best practices in the tourism sector.

During April-July 2019-20, the private insurers reported 26.9% rise in the first-year premium income to Rs 22039.81 crore, and LIC posted 51.9% jump to Rs 60106.66 crore. The overall life insurance first year premium collection increased 44.2% to Rs 82146.46 crore in April-July 2019-20.

Among the 22 private life insurers, 7 players have recorded drop in new premium collection during July 2019. On the other hand, premium collection of 15 private insurers increased in the range of 1.1% to 75.2% in July 2019.

Among the private life insurers, Future Generali India Life posted 75.2% growth in premium collection to Rs 69 crore, followed by Tata AIA Life at 74.6% to Rs 241 crore, Max Life 38.3% to Rs 445 crore and Aditya Birla Sun Life 27.1% to Rs 267 crore in July 2019. The premium collection of HDFC Life also moved up 25.8% to Rs 1403 crore, Kotak Mahindra Life at 21.7% to Rs 355 crore, PNB Metlife Life 18.7% to Rs 134 crore and Exide Life 18.0% to Rs 68 crore in July 2019.

Further, the premium collection of ICICI Prudential Life gained 17.7% to Rs 944 crore, Reliance Nippon Life 16.2% to Rs 72 crore, Bajaj Allianz Life 15.3% to Rs 340 crore, SBI Life 8.0% to Rs 1344 crore and Indiafirst Life 6.6% to Rs 110 crore in July 2019.

However, the premium collection of DHFL Pramerica Life declined 64.5% to Rs 53 crore, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank Of Commerce Life 23.9% to Rs 92 crore, Shriram Life 26.1% to Rs 53 crore, IDBI Federal Life 14.8% to Rs 48 crore and Star Union Dai-Ichi Life 25.0% to Rs 41 crore in July 2019.

Sales of life insurance policies

The life insurers sold 21.93 lakh policies in July 2019, showing rise of 2.6% compared with July 2018 mainly due to rise in policies sold by private players together by 5.0% to 5.80 lakh policies, while the policies sold by LIC rose 1.7% to 16.12 lakh policies.

Life insurers have sold 70.00 lakh policies in April-July 2019-20, showing an increase of 1.0% against last year. LIC sold 50.30 lakh policies, down 2.1%, while all private players together sold 19.70 lakh policies, recording an increase of 9.6%.

Among private life insurers, the policy sales of SBI Life Insurance Company increased 4.4% to 1.35 lakh, followed by Max Life Insurance Company 17.1% to 0.51 lakh, Tata AIA Life Insurance Company 52.5% to 0.33 lakh, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company 19.4% to 0.23 lakh, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company 3.4% to 0.23 lakh, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company 16.5% to 0.23 lakh, Bharti Axa Life Insurance Company 63.4% to 0.20 and Indiafirst Life Insurance Company 45.6% to 0.19 lakh, while the policy sales of HDFC Life Insurance Company declined 1.2% to 0.76 lakh, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company 12.3% to 0.68 lakh, Shriram Life Insurance Company 22.5% to 0.20 lakh in July 2019.

The non-life insurance sector reported 13.0% increase in the premium collection to Rs 55450 crore in April-July 2019-20.

Among the general insurers, the public sector general insurers have posted 10.0% growth in the gross premium underwritten to Rs 5479 crore, while that of private sector general insurers moved up 17.2% to Rs 6797 crore in July 2019.

Among, public sector insurers, New India Assurance Company posted 14.2% growth in premium collection to Rs 1740 crore, followed by United India Insurance Company at 12.6% to Rs 1358 crore, National Insurance Company 6.7% to Rs 1515 crore and Oriental Insurance Company 4.2% to Rs 865 crore in July 2019.

Among, private sector general insurers, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company posted 27.1% growth in premium collection to Rs 939 crore, followed by Tata AIG General Insurance Company at 23.5% to Rs 661 crore, Reliance General Insurance Company 24.6% to Rs 609 crore and IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company 47.4% to Rs 640 crore in July 2019.

The premium collection of HDFC Ergo General insurance Company also moved up 5.5% to Rs 578 crore, SBI General Insurance Company 28.5% to Rs 396 crore, Royal Sundaram General Insurance Company 9.6% to Rs 245 crore and Bharti AXA General Insurance Company 31.4% to Rs 276 crore in July 2019.

Further, the premium collection of Future Generali India Insurance Company gained 23.6% to Rs 239 crore, Shriram General Insurance Company 9.9% to Rs 203 crore and Go Digit General Insurance 208.2% to Rs 155 crore, but that of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company declined 9.4% to Rs 1034 crore and Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company 5.9% to Rs 368 crore in July 2019.

Among the health insurers, the premium collection of Star Health & Allied Insurance Company gained 39.2% to Rs 515 crore, Religare Health Insurance Company 61.0% to Rs 211 crore and Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company 47.0% to Rs 202 crore, while that of Max Bupa Health Insurance Company also moved up 32.6% to Rs 93 crore and Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company 81.7% to Rs 53 crore in July 2019.

Among the specialized insurers, the premium collection of Agricultural Insurance Company of India gained 1428.0% to Rs 898 crore, while that of Export Credit Guaranteed Corporation of India declined 10.0% to Rs 87 crore in July 2019.

The loss absorbency of capital needed to be improved, NS Vishwanathan said. It's not sufficient for capital to deal with normal times; there must be capital to deal with problem times in future. Build capital when you are in good times. Banks are therefore required to build a capital conservation buffer of 2.5% over and above the regulatory capital requirements.

There is a need for banks to increase their resilience. The risk weighted capital framework had to capture the risks better. The standard rating approach of Basel 2 revealed certain inconsistencies. Hence the framework had to be revised. There were also changes to the market risk framework and the securitisation framework. Thus, emerged the concept of the 'too big to fail' banks.

It is not just sufficient to have individually strong entities, NS Vishwanathan said. For a financially strong system the Basel Committee recommended, apart from a capital conservation buffer, a large exposure framework and additional capital for systemically important banks. Such banks need to have more capital than others. The intent is to make them self sufficient and not dependent on state support for continuance just because they are too big to fail.

The capital risk weighted asset ratio system enabled banks with low capital to build large balance sheets. But low density of risk weights is a function of how good the ratings are, he pointed out. It can result in shortage of capital over time. It was therefore necessary to prevent unbridled growth in the balance sheet. This came in the form of leverage. The leverage ratio is a binding requirement to prevent the CRAR-based capital resulting in over-leverage of the balance sheet. He revealed that there were a lot of discussions around this issue.

One of the most important lessons of the crisis was that liquidity is an important requirement for a bank. NS Vishwanathan said that Indian lawmakers had already seen this as a very important requirement. They had already prescribed the statutory liquidity ratio as an important requirement for banks. Post the crisis, banks are expected to maintain a liquidity ratio of 30 days under stressed conditions.

I am happy to say that some of these things were things that India was looking at long ago, NS Vishwanathan said. He also reported that some of RBI's regulations were subject to Basel's regulatory consistency assessment programme and were found to be compliant.

While RBI has complied with the requirements as a whole, it has also calibrated them and deviated from the norms when necessary. There are reasons for this deviation, added NS Vishwanathan.

The post GFC reforms of the Basel Committee include changes in the standard approach to credit risk; operational risk has to be brought under the standard approach; and changes in regard to the market risk framework. These changes are due from 1 January 2022. NS Vishwanathan assured the bankers that RBI will give them enough time to finalise the new framework before 2022. The first draft is expected to be ready by 2020. He called upon the bankers to observe credit discipline. He expressed confidence that they would use the framework to deal with genuine stress in their balance sheets.

The last date for date submission applications is 23 September 2019.

Applications which meet the eligibility criteria will be further subjected to shortlisting. To help assess the leadership competencies and potential capabilities of shortlisted candidates an advisory firm may assist the Banks Board Bureau (the Bureau). The advisory firm will have no role in shortlisting. Shortlisted applicants will appear for interactions with the Bureau. Based on the interactions, the Bureau will send its recommendation to the Government of India.

The world consumption recorded 5.789 million tonnes, up 0.9% from 5.376 million tonnes during the same period last year.

As per the report, the favourable market fundamental have kept the sentiment in NR market strong despite the tension between China and US.

The HLC approved additional central assistance of Rs 4432.10 crore to three States from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) - Rs 3338.22 crore to Odisha for Cyclone Fani, Rs 1029.39 crore to Karnataka for drought and Rs 64.49 crore to Himachal Pradesh for avalanches and hailstorm.

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Narendra Singh Tomar were present in the meeting, along with senior officers of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Finance, Agriculture and NITI Aayog.

This additional assisatance is over and above the funds released by Centre to the States in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) already placed at the disposal of States. During 2018-19, Centre had released Rs 9658 crore to all states and during 2019-20, till date Centre has released Rs 6104 crore to 24 States from SDRF.

In the case of Odisha at the onset of Cyclone 'Fani', Rs 340.87 crore was released in advance on 29 April 2019 from SDRF. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi visited Odisha on 06 May 2019, and as announced by him, immediate assistance of Rs 1000 crore was released in advance. In addition, an ex-gratia sum of Rs 2 lakh were provided to next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 50000 to seriously injured in the Cyclone from PM's Relief Fund.

During Cyclone 'Fani', Central Government had deployed 71 teams of NDRF, 19 columns of Army, 09 Engineering Task Force (ETF), 27 aircraft/helicopters and 16 Ships of Armed Forces for relief and rescue operations. During this massive evacuation drive, more than 15.5 lakhs people were evacuated. Central Governmnet had provided all necessary assistance in restoration of power supply and communication in affected districts, including that of providing necessary stores, gensets, steel poles and skilled manpower etc. As other states were also likely to be affected, an amount of Rs 688 crore was released in advance from SDRF to State Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

HLC also reviewed the existing practice of deputing an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) after the receipt of Memorandum from the State in the wake of any severe calamity. In a significant decision taken by the Union Home Minister, IMCT will henceforth be constituted immediately in the aftermath of any natural calamity of severe nature, which will visit the affected areas in the State so as to have first hand assessment of damages caused and relief work carried out by the State administration. IMCT will again visit the state after submission of the Memorandum for detailed assessment of the damages and relief operations conducted for making final recommendations for allocation of additional funds. At present IMCT visits the affected state only once after the receipt of memorandum from the state.

In line with this decision, Ministry of Home Affairs will immediately constitute and depute IMCTs to States of Assam, Meghalya, Tripura, Bihar, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala affected by recent floods.

HLC also reviewed the ongoing flood situation in different parts of the country and the logistic support provided by central agencies including deployment of NDRF and Defence forces. In the combined rescue operations in the states affected by floods, landslides etc. during the current monsoon season, NDRF, Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard have evacuated and rescued more than 1,53,000 people. The flood situation in the country has been continuously monitored by Union Home Minister.

Amit Shah directed the senior officers to continue to take every possible measure to deal with the situation arising out of South-West Monsoon in the concerned states and to extend all necessary assistance to the flood affected states.

The High Level Committee (HLC), chaired by the Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah, met in New Delhi on 19th August 2019 to consider additional central assistance to three states, which were affected by drought (rabi) of 2018-19, avalanches, hailstorms, landslides and cyclone 'Fani' during 2019. The HLC approved additional central assistance of Rs. 4432.10 crore to three States from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) - Rs. 3338.22 crore to Odisha for Cyclone Fani, Rs 1029.39 crore to Karnataka for drought and Rs 64.49 crore to Himachal Pradesh for avalanches and hailstorm.

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar were present in the meeting, along with senior officers of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Finance, Agriculture and NITI Aayog. This additional assisatance is over and above the funds released by Centre to the States in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) already placed at the disposal of States. During 2018-19, Centre had released Rs 9,658 crore to all states and during 2019-20, till date Centre has released Rs 6,104 crore to 24 States from SDRF.

In the case of Odisha at the onset of Cyclone 'Fani', Rs 340.87 crore was released in advance on 29th April 2019 from SDRF. Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi visited Odisha on 06.05.2019, and as announced by him, immediate assistance of Rs. 1000 crore was released in advance. In addition, an ex-gratia sum of Rs. 2 lakh were provided to next of the kin of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 to seriously injured in the Cyclone from PM's Relief Fund.

The defence minister described Indian Air Force as a technologically advanced and extremely potent force saying that the recent offensive against terror outfits in our neighbourhood speaks volumes about the reach and lethality of the formidable arm of the Armed Forces. Indian Air Force, besides Army and Navy, needs to keep pace with the advancements in technology for enhancing operational capabilities, he added.

Listing out the Government's initiatives to promote 'Make in India', the defence minister said foreign investment up to 49% was allowed through automatic route and up to 100% under Government route on case-to-case basis. He urged foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to establish manufacturing facilities in India adding that a number of opportunities are available to foreign companies through FDI, Joint Ventures or the defence offset route. Rajnath Singh also said the process of defence offset implementation has been streamlined and one of the major demands of the industry to reinstate the provision of services for discharge of offsets has now been provided.

Rajnath Singh announced approval for use of test facilities of government entities for the private industry to meet the best quality standards required for defence manufacturing. He said the decision to this effect has been taken after incorporating the comments of the stakeholders particularly indigenous defence manufacturers. Rajnath Singh expressed hope that the synergy between government's efforts and industry participation will help fulfil the long-cherished dream of making India a frontrunner in defence production.

The defence minister added that comprehensive outsourcing and vendor development guidelines for DPSUs and OFB to promote participation of private sector, particularly MSMEs in defence production. He said indigenisation requirements of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), OFB, DPSUs, Army, Air Force and Navy have also been hosted on Ministry of Defence (MoD) website for the benefit of the private industry.

The defence minister said the defence products list for issuing industrial licenses under Industry Development and Regulation (IDR) Act has been revised adding that it has reduced the entry barriers for the industry especially the small and medium segment. The initial validity of Industrial license has been increased from three years to fifteen years with a provision to further extend it by three years on a case-to-case basis, he added.

Rajnath Singh also referred to the Technology Development Fund (TDF) Scheme which has been established under the aegis of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to promote self-reliance in Defence Technology as part of 'Make in India' initiative. He said the scheme will encourage participation of public/private industries especially MSMEs so as to create an ecosystem for enhancing cutting edge technology capability for defence application.

In his keynote address, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa pitched for inhouse manufacturing of defence equipment and called for finetuning the capabilities to meet the requirements. He said there is a need to replace obsolete war-fighting equipment with indigenous technology and bridge technological gaps in the defence sector. The Air Force is always alert on the border irrespective if there is any movement or not, he added.

India's Natural resources material consumption is expected to increase further to provide for an increasing population, rapid urbanization and growing aspirations, according to a latest update from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy. Natural resources form the backbone of any economic development. India, as one of the fastest growing economies with GDP at 2.6 trillion USD, has increased its material consumption to six times, from 1.18 billion tonnes (BT) in 1970 to 7 BT in 2015. Enhancing resource efficiency and promoting the use of secondary raw materials has emerged as a strategy for ensuring that the potential trade-off between growth, resource constraints and environmental well-being can be minimized.

The ministry says that the Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy (NREP) envisions a future with environmentally sustainable and equitable economic growth, resource security, healthy environment (air, water and land), and restored ecosystems with rich ecology and biodiversity. The Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy is guided by the principles of (i) reduction in primary resource consumption to 'sustainable levels, in keeping with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Mr Shaktikanta Das inaugurated FIBAC 2019, the Annual Banking Conference, jointly organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Indian Banks' Association (IBA). In his inaugural address, Mr Das observed that although growth takes the highest priority at this juncture in the country's economy, financial stability is very important to sustain long term growth.

Today we are all aware that there are challenges which the business community is dealing with in the real economy; there are global headwinds emanating from issues like trade tensions, geopolitical tensions and several other things happening around the world; and there are challenges which the Indian banking sector is also encountering, he said.

Speaking about the resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee, Mr Das recalled that the Committee specifically mentioned that growth is the highest priority. RBI has taken a number of steps to inject growth impulses in the country. Having said that growth is a matter of highest importance, it is also important to look at issues of financial stability, because long term growth can be sustained only by stability of the financial sector. Hence the focus of the RBI and the Government are to allocate economic resources efficiently, manage financial risk and ensure that industry has the capability of performing even in the presence of external financial shocks.

RBI Governor pointed out that today the Indian banking system is more resilient to economic shocks. Aspects of non-bank financial intermediation that contributed to the financial crisis have declined. However, the implementation of reforms is not yet complete and remains uneven, especially in the non-banking space.

He cautioned the gathering that weaker than expected growth is one of the key risks in global financial stability. The cardinal principle, he said, is that the regulator never sleeps. They need constantly to be vigilant and take proactive steps. Excessive credit growth, maturity mismatches and liquidity issues, high proportion of non-performing loans and over-leveraging are some of the factors that can pose an overall systemic risk even if individual institutions are robust. These aspects become very important as India marches towards becoming a $5 trillion economy.

He also mentioned that the NBFC sector complements the banking sector and is a bridge for last mile connectivity. The entry of non-traditional and digital players is creating a web of inter-linkages that RBI is keeping close watch on. RBI is taking proactive steps to strengthen the sector. He further observed that some banks have announced that they are linking their lending rates with the repo rate with respect to new loans. Our expectation is that they should move faster, he said. RBI is also endeavouring to ensure adequate liquidity in the system to meet the production requirements of the economy. The risk weights that banks attach to loans have reduced from 125 per cent to 100 per cent. This is bringing them closer to the Basel norms that prescribe 75 per cent.

Finally, he called upon bankers to be positive and optimistic amidst the challenges they face. He observed that the global economy is running into severe headwinds. India cannot be an exception, he said, appealing to the leaders of the business and financial fraternity to focus on the opportunities that lie ahead.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) and Information Fusion Centre - Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) located at Gurugram. He reviewed the functioning of IMAC and IFC-IOR. Senior Navy officials, including the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, briefed him on further enhancing the capabilities of the two centres under the National Maritime Domain Awareness (NMDA) Project.

The NMDA project was launched in accordance with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region). The IMAC monitors movement of more than 120,000 ships a year passing through the Indian Ocean. The cargo carried by these ships account for 66 per cent of world crude oil, 50 per cent of container traffic and 33 per cent of bulk cargo. Thus, IMAC performs a very crucial role in collecting shipping information, analysing traffic patterns and sharing the inputs with the user agencies.

He was also briefed on the IFC-IOR, which is a collaborative initiative by the Indian Navy in coordination with partner nations and multi-national maritime agencies to enhance Maritime Domain Awareness and Maritime Security. The Centre is likely to host International Liaison Officers from the partner nations in the near future.

India's Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu called upon the Indian community in Lithuania to serve as a bridge in strengthening economic and cultural relations between the two countries. Addressing the Indian community at Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania on the second day of his three nation tour to the Baltic region, he said the bilateral trade between the countries was below potential and added that Lithuania could be an important technology partner for India, especially in areas such as lasers, renewable energy, agro-food processing and life sciences.

Observing that India has become one of the fastest growing large economies in the world, he said the business sentiment following the numerous initiatives implemented by the Government of India was positive and upbeat. “The New India's mantra is “Reform, Perform and Transform”, he added. Naidu also stressed that India was one of the most open economies of the world and is placed now at 77th rank among 190 countries in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index.

The Vice President said that the “Make in India” campaign was establishing India as the hub of manufacturing and investment. He said that “Smart Cities”, “Digital India” and “Skill India” Missions were not only transforming our nation but also providing immense opportunities to collaborate and work together. “Our youth are driving the digital revolution, powering the start-up ecosystem and pioneering artificial intelligence. The Start-up India flagship initiative is intended to build a strong Eco-system for nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship in the country”, he added.

Mr. Naidu said that India was making rapid strides in the development journey and has an ambitious plan to build next-generation infrastructure including 100 Smart Cities, 10 green-field airports, 7 high-speed train corridors, 5 major ports, highways and nation-wide broadband connectivity linking our villages and urban areas. The Vice President praised the Indian diaspora for acting as a bridge to integrate the cultures of India and Lithuania. He told them to be conscious of the rich culture of their motherland and strive to spread India's message of peace and goodwill, symbolized by the universal and timeless philosophy of Vasudaiva Kutumbam. Appreciating the keen interest showed by Lithuania in Indian culture, philosophy, arts and spirituality, the Vice President described the members of the diaspora as India's cultural ambassadors.

Total production of Rice during 2018-19 is estimated at record 116.42 million tonnes. Production of rice has increased by 3.66 million tonnes than the production of 112.76 million tonnes during 2017-18. It is also higher by 8.62 million tonnes than the five years' average production of 107.80 million tonnes.

Production of Wheat, estimated at record 102.19 million tonnes, is higher by 2.32 million tonnes as compared to wheat production of 99.87 million tonnes achieved during 2017-18. Moreover, the production of wheat during 2018-19 is also higher by 7.58 million tonnes than the average wheat production of 94.61 million tonnes.

Total Pulses production during 2018-19 is estimated at 23.40 million tonnes which is higher by 3.14 million tonnes than the last Five years' average production of 20.26 million tonnes.

Total Oilseeds production in the country during 2018-19 is estimated at 32.26 million tonnes which is higher than the production of 31.46 million tonnes during 2017-18. Moreover, the production of oilseeds during 2018-19 is also higher by 2.61 million tonnes than the average oilseeds production.

With an increase by 20.25 million tonnes over 2017-18, total production of Sugarcane in the country during 2018-19 is estimated at 400.16 million tonnes. Moreover, the production of sugarcane during 2018-19 is also higher by 50.38 million tonnes than the average sugarcane production of 349.78 million tonnes.

Production of Cotton estimated at 28.71 million bales (of 170 kg each) andproduction of Jute & Mesta estimated at 9.77 million bales (of 180 kg each).

As per 4th Advance Estimates, the estimated production of major crops during 2018-19 is as under:

Foodgrains - 284.95 million tonnes.

Rice - 116.42 million tonnes. (record)

Wheat - 102.19 million tonnes (record)

Nutri / Coarse Cereals - 42.95 million tonnes.

Maize - 27.23 million tonnes.

Pulses - 23.40 million tonnes.

Gram - 10.13 million tonnes.

Tur - 3.59 million tonnes.

Oilseeds - 32.26 million tonnes.

Soyabean - 13.79 million tonnes

Rapeseed and Mustard - 9.34million tonnes

Groundnut - 6.69 million tonnes

Cotton - 28.71 million bales (of 170 kg each)

Sugarcane - 400.16 million tonnes (record)

The minister said that environment approvals which used to be a stumbling block before 2014, have now been simplified and standarized. Before 2014, it used to take 640 days for a proposal to get Environment approval but we have simplified rules and now it takes 108 days for the same and very soon it will be further brought down to 60 days but at the same time without compromising on environment protection, said the Union Minister.

The Environment minister said that we are entrusted with the work of both environment protection and at the same time fostering growth. Earlier projects costing above Rs 50000 used to be under the purview of centre but now even projects worth Rs 1.5 lakh and above are delegated to states, said Prakash Javadekar. The minister stated that the efforts of the ministry is towards making rules simpler, making fewer rules but strict implementation of them and the focus is promoting ease of doing responsible business.

The decision has been taken in pursuance of the Budget announcements for 2019-20 by Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Government's objectives of providing greater 'Ease of Doing Business' to companies in the country, as part of its 100 Days Action Plan.

Through these amendments, the provisions relating to creation of Debenture Redemption Reserve (DRR) have been revised with the objective of;

- removing the requirement for creation of a DRR of 25% of the value of outstanding debentures in respect of listed companies, NBFCs registered with RBI and for Housing Finance Companies registered with National Housing Bank (NHB) both for public issue as well as private placements;

- Reduction in DRR for unlisted companies from the present level of 25% to 10% of the outstanding debentures.

Hitherto, Listed Companies had to create a DRR for both Public Issue as well as Private Placement of Debentures, while NBFCs & HFCs had to create DRR only when they opted for Public Issue of Debentures. It is aimed at creating a level-playing field between NBFCs, HFCs and listed companies' on the one hand and also between them and Banking Companies & All India Financial Institutions on the other, which are already exempted from DRR.

The measure has been taken by the Government with a view to reducing the cost of the capital raised by companies through issue of debentures and is expected to significantly deepen the Bond Market.

The rules, while retaining DRR requirement for Unlisted Companies, provide for reduction from a DRR of 25% to a DRR of 10% for such companies, so as to safeguard interests of investors.

The Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (Independent Charge), Prahlad Singh Patel will inaugurate the State Tourism Ministers' Conference being held in New Delhi on 20 August 2019.

The Conference will provide a platform for the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India to apprise the States / UTs about new initiatives taken and those in the pipeline, to get valuable feedback from the States / UTs on the same, to highlight areas where active cooperation of the States / UTs is required and at the same time to learn about the initiatives being taken by the States / UTs for the development of Tourism.

Discussions will be held with the States / UTs to get their inputs and feedback on the following subjects:

- Developing an all-encompassing One Stop Solution including information on tourism related services through a web based application and a Grievance Redressal Mechanism through Twitter and Tourist-Helpline

- Adoption of Adventure Tourism and Bed & Breakfast / Homestay Scheme Guidelines by States/UTs

- Status of projects sanctioned under the Swadesh Darshan & PRASHAD Schemes and implementation of Public Financial Management System (PFMS).

These will be followed by Presentations to be made by the State Governments of Kerala and Sikkim showcasing best practices in the tourism sector and the social media campaigns run by them.

In order to review the Income-tax Act, 1961 and to draft a new direct tax law in consonance with the economic needs of the country, a Task Force was constituted by the Government of India in November 2017.

In partial modification of the earlier order, the Government had appointed Akhilesh Ranjan, Member (Legislation), CBDT as Convenor of the Task Force.

The Task Force had to submit its report to the Government by 28 February 2019, which received multiple extensions to submit report.