Source: Australia Government Statements – Agriculture
03 February 2025
All users of the Seasonal Pests (SeaPest) system.
All clients submitting the below declarations:
All users of the department’s Export/Next Export Documentation systems (EXDOC/…
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Northern Territory Police Force seized a quantity of kava in Nhulunbuy last week.
On Friday 31 January 2025, Nhulunbuy police received information that a large quantity of kava was being transported to Nhulunbuy on a commercial flight.
Local police attended the Gove Airport and conducted a search under the Kava Management Act (NT). As a result of the search, members located and seized 156.6kg of kava along with a large quantity of illicit tobacco products.
A 27-year-old male and a 67-year-old female have been charged and bailed to appear in Nhulunbuy Local Court on 11 February 2025.
Another 62-year-old male was issued with a Notice to Appear to appear at a later date.
Senior Sergeant Danny Bell said, “Police will continue to target the transport and supply of all illicit substances into the Arnhem region.
“We encourage all community members to play their part by reporting unusual or suspicious behaviour to police by either reporting it to their local police station or via Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53)
Congresswomen Sara Jacobs (CA-51) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) introduced a bill to codify the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States, ensuring the Council is not a one-off initiative but an important asset that continues to be utilized by future administrations.
Congresswoman Jacobs, the Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, said: “The African diaspora in the United States is a special, and often untapped, resource as we continue rebuilding and strengthening our relationship with the African continent. That’s why it’s so important that we codify the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement and make permanent the pathway for direct and robust dialogue between the African diaspora and U.S. officials. As we work to tackle our shared challenges and promising opportunities, the African diaspora’s strong ties and deep knowledge will be invaluable.”
“The African diaspora in Los Angeles and across the U.S.—from recent immigrants to the descendants of enslaved Black Americans—are leading advocates for a strong U.S.-Africa relationship,” said Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove. “These communities have pioneered U.S.-African partnerships in trade, education, climate, sports, and the arts, and are our greatest asset when it comes to enhancing ties with the continent. The President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement is a long overdue recognition of the critical role our diaspora plays in advancing common interests and addressing shared challenges. Codifying this initiative affirms the U.S.’s continued commitment to bolstering mutually beneficial relationships with the African continent.”
Full text of this legislation can be found here.
ABOUT THE PRESIDENT’S ADVISORY COUNCIL ON AFRICAN DIASPORA ENGAGEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES:
The establishment of the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement was a deliverable announced during the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. The Council advises the President, through the Secretary of State, on issues involving the African diaspora and U.S.-Africa ties in an effort to enhance dialogue between United States officials and the African diaspora. In July, the Council conducted its first visit to the continent to strengthen ties between the United States and Nigeria through diaspora-led initiatives. A list of the Council’s inaugural members can be found here.
Source: Asia Development Bank
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (3 February 2025) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Emma Veve as Director General of its Pacific Department (PARD), where she will be responsible for the department’s vision and strategy in the subregion.
Beginning her new role today, Ms. Veve will lead the delivery of the forthcoming Pacific Approach 2026–2030, which will serve as ADB’s overall country partnership strategy for 12 of its 14 Pacific developing members: Cook Islands, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. She will also lead the implementation of ADB’s individual country partnership strategies for Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
“I am delighted to be back working in the Pacific, and I’m deeply committed to helping shape the new Pacific Approach, which will serve as ADB’s guide to assisting the Pacific developing members achieve their development goals,” said Ms. Veve. “In keeping with ADB’s role as Asia and the Pacific’s climate bank, we will remain focused on combatting climate change and its impacts using innovation, knowledge, and collaboration.”
Prior to her appointment as Director General for the Pacific, Emma was Deputy Director General with ADB’s Southeast Asia Department. She also served as the Deputy Director General of the Pacific Department where she supported the Director General in the delivery of ADB operations across the 14 Pacific developing member countries. Ms. Veve has also held other senior roles within ADB’s economic, social, and urban sectors in the Pacific Department.
Before joining ADB in 2005, Emma was the Economic Advisor with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva, Fiji and held various positions in the Australian commonwealth public service. She is a national of Australia, holds a double degree in agricultural science and economics from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; and holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of New England, Armidale, Australia.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.
Source: Minister of Infrastructure
BRANDON LONG [JOURNALIST]: First of all, let’s talk a little bit about the Regional University Study Hubs. So, ten new ones, and we’ve got a handful in Queensland. What can you tell us about this new announcement?
ANTHONY CHISHOLM [ASSISTANT MINISTER]: So, this is an extension of the existing hubs that have already been in operation around the country. They do an outstanding job, I’ve been lucky enough to visit a number of them now, and what they’re doing is providing an opportunity for those people who live in a regional or rural location to have the opportunity to study at any higher education institution across the country. We know that it’s not always easy to move away from home to study, or indeed you might move to a regional location and want to continue your studies, and that’s what these organisations are doing. So they’re community-led, and that means that the next nurse or next teacher can already be living in these places, but they’re going to get the opportunity to stay and study locally, enjoy that family support that helps you thrive and go on to achieve their degree and aims, which is fantastic.
LONG: Okay and the two new hubs are Clermont and Moranbah, Hughenden, Hay, Tumut, Northam, Kununurra, Kangaroo Island, Hamilton, St Helens and Burnt Pine – some of my interstate colleagues will probably hate the pronunciation there – but what’s some of the data showing about the uptake?
CHISHOLM: So, what we know is that there’s already thousands of people that are studying at these hubs across the country, and they’re doing nursing, they’re doing teaching, they’re doing social work, they’re doing all types of things. We know that in regional and rural economies there is a skills shortage. We need more nurses; we need more teachers. These study hubs are providing that opportunity for those people to study locally. We know that if you study in your local community you’re much more likely to stay there longer term and work, so it’s really helping to fix that skills gap but also making these regional and rural locations more attractive for people to live at the same time.
LONG: And when do we expect the new hubs to be operational?
CHISHOLM: We’d expect them to be operational this year. I know that a number of them have already started work on where they’d be located, they have been raising money within the community to ensure that they’re ready to go, and often they’re led by the local council with support of the local community. So, we know that there’s already 43 existing and a lot of those who’ve applied have good relationships with those that are already existing, so we’re confident that they can get up and running really soon and provide a service to the local community.
LONG: Yeah and what’s the kind of cost that we’re talking about with these hubs?
CHISHOLM: Yeah. So traditionally what the Federal Government do is we provide some initial support, because they might need to convert a building to make it suitable. So a lot of the councils that apply use existing council facilities and turn them into a study hub, which is great use of resources, but we also, as part of the Federal Government fund someone to run the centre, and they’ll be responsible for the mentoring, they’ll go out and talk to Year 11 and 12 students and say, you know, we operate in town so you don’t have to move away now to study, you can stay and study in your local community, and then really encourage those 11 and 12s who may be thinking moving away was a bit too far, you don’t have to move away, you can stay and study locally, and it might just increase their ambitions in 11 and 12, which would be fantastic. I’ve seen a lot of these centres in action already across the country. I’m really passionate about the opportunity they provide for people to gain their higher education degree without leaving their community. So, I’m confident that these additional ones are going to provide a fantastic service to those communities, increase the workers, and what we hope is that next nurse or teacher will benefit from these opportunities.
LONG: Let’s move to Inland Rail now. So obviously in the news of late there’s been discussion about the Infrastructure Priority List and Inland Rail doesn’t appear on that anymore. There’s been plenty of discussion about why that is. So, should people be concerned that it isn’t on the list anymore?
CHISHOLM: No, they shouldn’t, Brandon, and it is just a sad scare campaign that we’ve seen from the State Government and unfortunately it seems the local Member for Groom has hopped on board that. What I would remind people of is the mess we inherited when we came to government three years ago in regards to Inland Rail, where they hadn’t even determined the route that we would take in Queensland. So, we’ve had to go back to the drawing board in Queensland. That process is ongoing. We’re trying to work constructively with the State Government identifying the route, getting the approvals in place, but the work on Inland Rail continues, it is being – that work continues further south of the border, and we look to make progress on approvals in Queensland. We understand it’s an important project, we’re the ones who started it, we want to see it get done, but it has been frustrating that when we inherited this project it was in a complete mess, that’s what the Schott Review that we initiated explained, that’s what we’re trying to fix at the moment.
LONG: And Goondiwindi Mayor, Lawrence Springborg said in January that it looks to be very soon that we’ll see some action in Queensland. Are we waiting on some EISs for various parts? What can you tell us about when do we see more action taking place?
CHISHOLM: We understand that it’s an important project, and there is a high expectation about what it will mean for the local community. We want to ensure that it gets done in a cost-effective way and one that ensures that there is community support for it as well. That’s the process that we’re going through at the moment. We need to get all those approvals done appropriately. We’ll work to do that with the State Government to ensure that people can have confidence that once we announce what that route will be that there will be community support for it, and the money behind it as well.
LONG: Do we have a timeline yet?
CHISHOLM: I wouldn’t want to put a timeline on it, but we’re committed to seeing the project through, we want to make progress on it as a government.
LONG: All right, there’s just been some recent figures from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator as they’ve been doing inspections over two weeks across multiple states on the eastern seaboard, just to check for compliance with things like fatigue. They did 4,500 inspections and found 182 fatigue-related issues that needed action. Do you think that we probably rely on trucks a bit too much, and do you think Inland Rail will relieve some of those issues?
CHISHOLM: I certainly think that it’s an important bit of economic infrastructure, but it’s also important for the transport and logistics industry as well. Truck drivers do an outstanding job moving freight across the country, particularly in such a big state as ours. We want that to be done as safely as possible, so it is concerning the number of instances that you highlighted there. As someone who is passionate about road safety, we want to ensure that our roads are as safe as possible. We know particularly over this time of year, when people are getting out and about, particularly over the holiday season that there is often high instances. So, we really encourage people to be doing what they can to be driving safely, taking rests where appropriate and ensuring that you do get to your destination in a safe manner.
LONG: And just on to the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing or Toowoomba Bypass, look, it was all finished, it was a very expensive and large project, and it’s taken trucks around the town instead of right through it. Lately, there’s been a few issues with some rocks, rock formations, you know, cracking and things on the side, a lane has been closed for some time, and some truckies in the region say that we shouldn’t be, they shouldn’t be paying the full toll at the moment because of some issues there. Do you think that this project, it was a Federal and State Government combined, do you think that what has happened after you’ve finalised the project has been disappointing, or?
CHISHOLM: Yeah, certainly it’s frustrating, and I’m not someone who drives it every day, but I do come up here regularly, and used it this morning and saw the work that is undertaken, and it is frustrating, because it was an expensive bit of infrastructure, as you’ve identified, and I’m sure the community would be hoping that it would be fully operational and it is important for the freight industry at the same time. I know that the work is going to remediate there, that is being handled by the State Government, so I don’t necessarily have an update, but I think it is a lesson for all of us involved in the use of public money, that you want it to be done as efficiently as possible, but you also want these projects to be done in a way to ensure that they do fix those problems longer term. So, I think all politicians should take heed of that advice.
LONG: All right and just finally on to the vets, the peak body for the veterinary practice in Australia, they’ve said that vets need to do a 52-week practical placement, and they’ve missed out on some Commonwealth funding. They’re calling for a bit of extra help. Do you think that that’s possible?
CHISHOLM: Yeah, it is a really important industry, and as I get around the country I do know that there has been identified a shortage of vets, particularly in rural and regional locations. When we brought in the prac placements that would apply to nursing and teaching and social work, this is the first time that the Federal Government have provided some support for students when they are doing that prac placement. It is quite costly, so it is going to cost, it’s due to start from 1 July this year, and it is going to cost upwards of $300 million for us to establish that. We’d obviously like that to be expanded, but it is something that does cost money, so we’ll work with those people in professions that are impacted and do have claims to make. We want to ensure that this can be done in a way that it continues to be supported and that it does provide that support to people to study so that it doesn’t become a barrier, and I do understand that there are other professions out there that do have a claim or a case to be made in regards to this.
LONG: The group also said that it’s accrued some of the highest HECS-HELP debts out of any other body studying, I think they put a figure around $80,000 as the medium debt. Is there any option of giving some relief to those people?
CHISHOLM: Obviously we announced that we have taken action on HECS debt, and that it had been too high, so that has taken place. In terms of what we’ve identified around the cost of courses, that is something that is going to be something that is looked at part of the ongoing Universities Accord process that we went through last year. When we went through the Universities Accord, we said that we wouldn’t be able to implement all of those changes from day one, it would take time, and one of the ones that was identified that we are going to look at over time is the cost of degrees. We don’t want that to be a barrier to someone studying, but it is something that we need work with the sector on and do it in a way so that we can manage the growth of the sector into the future, but ensure people have an opportunity to study at the same time.
HOST: That was Federal Assistant Minister for Education, Regional Development and Agriculture, Anthony Chisholm there speaking with the ABC’s Brandon Long.
Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development
BRANDON LONG [JOURNALIST]: First of all, let’s talk a little bit about the Regional University Study Hubs. So, ten new ones, and we’ve got a handful in Queensland. What can you tell us about this new announcement?
ANTHONY CHISHOLM [ASSISTANT MINISTER]: So, this is an extension of the existing hubs that have already been in operation around the country. They do an outstanding job, I’ve been lucky enough to visit a number of them now, and what they’re doing is providing an opportunity for those people who live in a regional or rural location to have the opportunity to study at any higher education institution across the country. We know that it’s not always easy to move away from home to study, or indeed you might move to a regional location and want to continue your studies, and that’s what these organisations are doing. So they’re community-led, and that means that the next nurse or next teacher can already be living in these places, but they’re going to get the opportunity to stay and study locally, enjoy that family support that helps you thrive and go on to achieve their degree and aims, which is fantastic.
LONG: Okay and the two new hubs are Clermont and Moranbah, Hughenden, Hay, Tumut, Northam, Kununurra, Kangaroo Island, Hamilton, St Helens and Burnt Pine – some of my interstate colleagues will probably hate the pronunciation there – but what’s some of the data showing about the uptake?
CHISHOLM: So, what we know is that there’s already thousands of people that are studying at these hubs across the country, and they’re doing nursing, they’re doing teaching, they’re doing social work, they’re doing all types of things. We know that in regional and rural economies there is a skills shortage. We need more nurses; we need more teachers. These study hubs are providing that opportunity for those people to study locally. We know that if you study in your local community you’re much more likely to stay there longer term and work, so it’s really helping to fix that skills gap but also making these regional and rural locations more attractive for people to live at the same time.
LONG: And when do we expect the new hubs to be operational?
CHISHOLM: We’d expect them to be operational this year. I know that a number of them have already started work on where they’d be located, they have been raising money within the community to ensure that they’re ready to go, and often they’re led by the local council with support of the local community. So, we know that there’s already 43 existing and a lot of those who’ve applied have good relationships with those that are already existing, so we’re confident that they can get up and running really soon and provide a service to the local community.
LONG: Yeah and what’s the kind of cost that we’re talking about with these hubs?
CHISHOLM: Yeah. So traditionally what the Federal Government do is we provide some initial support, because they might need to convert a building to make it suitable. So a lot of the councils that apply use existing council facilities and turn them into a study hub, which is great use of resources, but we also, as part of the Federal Government fund someone to run the centre, and they’ll be responsible for the mentoring, they’ll go out and talk to Year 11 and 12 students and say, you know, we operate in town so you don’t have to move away now to study, you can stay and study in your local community, and then really encourage those 11 and 12s who may be thinking moving away was a bit too far, you don’t have to move away, you can stay and study locally, and it might just increase their ambitions in 11 and 12, which would be fantastic. I’ve seen a lot of these centres in action already across the country. I’m really passionate about the opportunity they provide for people to gain their higher education degree without leaving their community. So, I’m confident that these additional ones are going to provide a fantastic service to those communities, increase the workers, and what we hope is that next nurse or teacher will benefit from these opportunities.
LONG: Let’s move to Inland Rail now. So obviously in the news of late there’s been discussion about the Infrastructure Priority List and Inland Rail doesn’t appear on that anymore. There’s been plenty of discussion about why that is. So, should people be concerned that it isn’t on the list anymore?
CHISHOLM: No, they shouldn’t, Brandon, and it is just a sad scare campaign that we’ve seen from the State Government and unfortunately it seems the local Member for Groom has hopped on board that. What I would remind people of is the mess we inherited when we came to government three years ago in regards to Inland Rail, where they hadn’t even determined the route that we would take in Queensland. So, we’ve had to go back to the drawing board in Queensland. That process is ongoing. We’re trying to work constructively with the State Government identifying the route, getting the approvals in place, but the work on Inland Rail continues, it is being – that work continues further south of the border, and we look to make progress on approvals in Queensland. We understand it’s an important project, we’re the ones who started it, we want to see it get done, but it has been frustrating that when we inherited this project it was in a complete mess, that’s what the Schott Review that we initiated explained, that’s what we’re trying to fix at the moment.
LONG: And Goondiwindi Mayor, Lawrence Springborg said in January that it looks to be very soon that we’ll see some action in Queensland. Are we waiting on some EISs for various parts? What can you tell us about when do we see more action taking place?
CHISHOLM: We understand that it’s an important project, and there is a high expectation about what it will mean for the local community. We want to ensure that it gets done in a cost-effective way and one that ensures that there is community support for it as well. That’s the process that we’re going through at the moment. We need to get all those approvals done appropriately. We’ll work to do that with the State Government to ensure that people can have confidence that once we announce what that route will be that there will be community support for it, and the money behind it as well.
LONG: Do we have a timeline yet?
CHISHOLM: I wouldn’t want to put a timeline on it, but we’re committed to seeing the project through, we want to make progress on it as a government.
LONG: All right, there’s just been some recent figures from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator as they’ve been doing inspections over two weeks across multiple states on the eastern seaboard, just to check for compliance with things like fatigue. They did 4,500 inspections and found 182 fatigue-related issues that needed action. Do you think that we probably rely on trucks a bit too much, and do you think Inland Rail will relieve some of those issues?
CHISHOLM: I certainly think that it’s an important bit of economic infrastructure, but it’s also important for the transport and logistics industry as well. Truck drivers do an outstanding job moving freight across the country, particularly in such a big state as ours. We want that to be done as safely as possible, so it is concerning the number of instances that you highlighted there. As someone who is passionate about road safety, we want to ensure that our roads are as safe as possible. We know particularly over this time of year, when people are getting out and about, particularly over the holiday season that there is often high instances. So, we really encourage people to be doing what they can to be driving safely, taking rests where appropriate and ensuring that you do get to your destination in a safe manner.
LONG: And just on to the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing or Toowoomba Bypass, look, it was all finished, it was a very expensive and large project, and it’s taken trucks around the town instead of right through it. Lately, there’s been a few issues with some rocks, rock formations, you know, cracking and things on the side, a lane has been closed for some time, and some truckies in the region say that we shouldn’t be, they shouldn’t be paying the full toll at the moment because of some issues there. Do you think that this project, it was a Federal and State Government combined, do you think that what has happened after you’ve finalised the project has been disappointing, or?
CHISHOLM: Yeah, certainly it’s frustrating, and I’m not someone who drives it every day, but I do come up here regularly, and used it this morning and saw the work that is undertaken, and it is frustrating, because it was an expensive bit of infrastructure, as you’ve identified, and I’m sure the community would be hoping that it would be fully operational and it is important for the freight industry at the same time. I know that the work is going to remediate there, that is being handled by the State Government, so I don’t necessarily have an update, but I think it is a lesson for all of us involved in the use of public money, that you want it to be done as efficiently as possible, but you also want these projects to be done in a way to ensure that they do fix those problems longer term. So, I think all politicians should take heed of that advice.
LONG: All right and just finally on to the vets, the peak body for the veterinary practice in Australia, they’ve said that vets need to do a 52-week practical placement, and they’ve missed out on some Commonwealth funding. They’re calling for a bit of extra help. Do you think that that’s possible?
CHISHOLM: Yeah, it is a really important industry, and as I get around the country I do know that there has been identified a shortage of vets, particularly in rural and regional locations. When we brought in the prac placements that would apply to nursing and teaching and social work, this is the first time that the Federal Government have provided some support for students when they are doing that prac placement. It is quite costly, so it is going to cost, it’s due to start from 1 July this year, and it is going to cost upwards of $300 million for us to establish that. We’d obviously like that to be expanded, but it is something that does cost money, so we’ll work with those people in professions that are impacted and do have claims to make. We want to ensure that this can be done in a way that it continues to be supported and that it does provide that support to people to study so that it doesn’t become a barrier, and I do understand that there are other professions out there that do have a claim or a case to be made in regards to this.
LONG: The group also said that it’s accrued some of the highest HECS-HELP debts out of any other body studying, I think they put a figure around $80,000 as the medium debt. Is there any option of giving some relief to those people?
CHISHOLM: Obviously we announced that we have taken action on HECS debt, and that it had been too high, so that has taken place. In terms of what we’ve identified around the cost of courses, that is something that is going to be something that is looked at part of the ongoing Universities Accord process that we went through last year. When we went through the Universities Accord, we said that we wouldn’t be able to implement all of those changes from day one, it would take time, and one of the ones that was identified that we are going to look at over time is the cost of degrees. We don’t want that to be a barrier to someone studying, but it is something that we need work with the sector on and do it in a way so that we can manage the growth of the sector into the future, but ensure people have an opportunity to study at the same time.
HOST: That was Federal Assistant Minister for Education, Regional Development and Agriculture, Anthony Chisholm there speaking with the ABC’s Brandon Long.
Source: Australian Executive Government Ministers
BRANDON LONG [JOURNALIST]: First of all, let’s talk a little bit about the Regional University Study Hubs. So, ten new ones, and we’ve got a handful in Queensland. What can you tell us about this new announcement?
ANTHONY CHISHOLM [ASSISTANT MINISTER]: So, this is an extension of the existing hubs that have already been in operation around the country. They do an outstanding job, I’ve been lucky enough to visit a number of them now, and what they’re doing is providing an opportunity for those people who live in a regional or rural location to have the opportunity to study at any higher education institution across the country. We know that it’s not always easy to move away from home to study, or indeed you might move to a regional location and want to continue your studies, and that’s what these organisations are doing. So they’re community-led, and that means that the next nurse or next teacher can already be living in these places, but they’re going to get the opportunity to stay and study locally, enjoy that family support that helps you thrive and go on to achieve their degree and aims, which is fantastic.
LONG: Okay and the two new hubs are Clermont and Moranbah, Hughenden, Hay, Tumut, Northam, Kununurra, Kangaroo Island, Hamilton, St Helens and Burnt Pine – some of my interstate colleagues will probably hate the pronunciation there – but what’s some of the data showing about the uptake?
CHISHOLM: So, what we know is that there’s already thousands of people that are studying at these hubs across the country, and they’re doing nursing, they’re doing teaching, they’re doing social work, they’re doing all types of things. We know that in regional and rural economies there is a skills shortage. We need more nurses; we need more teachers. These study hubs are providing that opportunity for those people to study locally. We know that if you study in your local community you’re much more likely to stay there longer term and work, so it’s really helping to fix that skills gap but also making these regional and rural locations more attractive for people to live at the same time.
LONG: And when do we expect the new hubs to be operational?
CHISHOLM: We’d expect them to be operational this year. I know that a number of them have already started work on where they’d be located, they have been raising money within the community to ensure that they’re ready to go, and often they’re led by the local council with support of the local community. So, we know that there’s already 43 existing and a lot of those who’ve applied have good relationships with those that are already existing, so we’re confident that they can get up and running really soon and provide a service to the local community.
LONG: Yeah and what’s the kind of cost that we’re talking about with these hubs?
CHISHOLM: Yeah. So traditionally what the Federal Government do is we provide some initial support, because they might need to convert a building to make it suitable. So a lot of the councils that apply use existing council facilities and turn them into a study hub, which is great use of resources, but we also, as part of the Federal Government fund someone to run the centre, and they’ll be responsible for the mentoring, they’ll go out and talk to Year 11 and 12 students and say, you know, we operate in town so you don’t have to move away now to study, you can stay and study in your local community, and then really encourage those 11 and 12s who may be thinking moving away was a bit too far, you don’t have to move away, you can stay and study locally, and it might just increase their ambitions in 11 and 12, which would be fantastic. I’ve seen a lot of these centres in action already across the country. I’m really passionate about the opportunity they provide for people to gain their higher education degree without leaving their community. So, I’m confident that these additional ones are going to provide a fantastic service to those communities, increase the workers, and what we hope is that next nurse or teacher will benefit from these opportunities.
LONG: Let’s move to Inland Rail now. So obviously in the news of late there’s been discussion about the Infrastructure Priority List and Inland Rail doesn’t appear on that anymore. There’s been plenty of discussion about why that is. So, should people be concerned that it isn’t on the list anymore?
CHISHOLM: No, they shouldn’t, Brandon, and it is just a sad scare campaign that we’ve seen from the State Government and unfortunately it seems the local Member for Groom has hopped on board that. What I would remind people of is the mess we inherited when we came to government three years ago in regards to Inland Rail, where they hadn’t even determined the route that we would take in Queensland. So, we’ve had to go back to the drawing board in Queensland. That process is ongoing. We’re trying to work constructively with the State Government identifying the route, getting the approvals in place, but the work on Inland Rail continues, it is being – that work continues further south of the border, and we look to make progress on approvals in Queensland. We understand it’s an important project, we’re the ones who started it, we want to see it get done, but it has been frustrating that when we inherited this project it was in a complete mess, that’s what the Schott Review that we initiated explained, that’s what we’re trying to fix at the moment.
LONG: And Goondiwindi Mayor, Lawrence Springborg said in January that it looks to be very soon that we’ll see some action in Queensland. Are we waiting on some EISs for various parts? What can you tell us about when do we see more action taking place?
CHISHOLM: We understand that it’s an important project, and there is a high expectation about what it will mean for the local community. We want to ensure that it gets done in a cost-effective way and one that ensures that there is community support for it as well. That’s the process that we’re going through at the moment. We need to get all those approvals done appropriately. We’ll work to do that with the State Government to ensure that people can have confidence that once we announce what that route will be that there will be community support for it, and the money behind it as well.
LONG: Do we have a timeline yet?
CHISHOLM: I wouldn’t want to put a timeline on it, but we’re committed to seeing the project through, we want to make progress on it as a government.
LONG: All right, there’s just been some recent figures from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator as they’ve been doing inspections over two weeks across multiple states on the eastern seaboard, just to check for compliance with things like fatigue. They did 4,500 inspections and found 182 fatigue-related issues that needed action. Do you think that we probably rely on trucks a bit too much, and do you think Inland Rail will relieve some of those issues?
CHISHOLM: I certainly think that it’s an important bit of economic infrastructure, but it’s also important for the transport and logistics industry as well. Truck drivers do an outstanding job moving freight across the country, particularly in such a big state as ours. We want that to be done as safely as possible, so it is concerning the number of instances that you highlighted there. As someone who is passionate about road safety, we want to ensure that our roads are as safe as possible. We know particularly over this time of year, when people are getting out and about, particularly over the holiday season that there is often high instances. So, we really encourage people to be doing what they can to be driving safely, taking rests where appropriate and ensuring that you do get to your destination in a safe manner.
LONG: And just on to the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing or Toowoomba Bypass, look, it was all finished, it was a very expensive and large project, and it’s taken trucks around the town instead of right through it. Lately, there’s been a few issues with some rocks, rock formations, you know, cracking and things on the side, a lane has been closed for some time, and some truckies in the region say that we shouldn’t be, they shouldn’t be paying the full toll at the moment because of some issues there. Do you think that this project, it was a Federal and State Government combined, do you think that what has happened after you’ve finalised the project has been disappointing, or?
CHISHOLM: Yeah, certainly it’s frustrating, and I’m not someone who drives it every day, but I do come up here regularly, and used it this morning and saw the work that is undertaken, and it is frustrating, because it was an expensive bit of infrastructure, as you’ve identified, and I’m sure the community would be hoping that it would be fully operational and it is important for the freight industry at the same time. I know that the work is going to remediate there, that is being handled by the State Government, so I don’t necessarily have an update, but I think it is a lesson for all of us involved in the use of public money, that you want it to be done as efficiently as possible, but you also want these projects to be done in a way to ensure that they do fix those problems longer term. So, I think all politicians should take heed of that advice.
LONG: All right and just finally on to the vets, the peak body for the veterinary practice in Australia, they’ve said that vets need to do a 52-week practical placement, and they’ve missed out on some Commonwealth funding. They’re calling for a bit of extra help. Do you think that that’s possible?
CHISHOLM: Yeah, it is a really important industry, and as I get around the country I do know that there has been identified a shortage of vets, particularly in rural and regional locations. When we brought in the prac placements that would apply to nursing and teaching and social work, this is the first time that the Federal Government have provided some support for students when they are doing that prac placement. It is quite costly, so it is going to cost, it’s due to start from 1 July this year, and it is going to cost upwards of $300 million for us to establish that. We’d obviously like that to be expanded, but it is something that does cost money, so we’ll work with those people in professions that are impacted and do have claims to make. We want to ensure that this can be done in a way that it continues to be supported and that it does provide that support to people to study so that it doesn’t become a barrier, and I do understand that there are other professions out there that do have a claim or a case to be made in regards to this.
LONG: The group also said that it’s accrued some of the highest HECS-HELP debts out of any other body studying, I think they put a figure around $80,000 as the medium debt. Is there any option of giving some relief to those people?
CHISHOLM: Obviously we announced that we have taken action on HECS debt, and that it had been too high, so that has taken place. In terms of what we’ve identified around the cost of courses, that is something that is going to be something that is looked at part of the ongoing Universities Accord process that we went through last year. When we went through the Universities Accord, we said that we wouldn’t be able to implement all of those changes from day one, it would take time, and one of the ones that was identified that we are going to look at over time is the cost of degrees. We don’t want that to be a barrier to someone studying, but it is something that we need work with the sector on and do it in a way so that we can manage the growth of the sector into the future, but ensure people have an opportunity to study at the same time.
HOST: That was Federal Assistant Minister for Education, Regional Development and Agriculture, Anthony Chisholm there speaking with the ABC’s Brandon Long.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Northern Territory Police Force has seized a quantity of alcohol intended for distribution within remote communities in the Daly River Region.
Around 9pm on Friday 31 January, local police members established a roadblock along Port Keats Road before stopping a vehicle attempting to enter the alcohol restricted area.
The vehicle was discovered to be transporting:
The 37-year-old female driver was issued a Notice to Appear for offences including possess and convey alcohol into a general restricted area.
Acting Superintendent Erica Gibson said “ This was fantastic work from local members and our message is simple; You just never know where and when police will be on the road.
“The disruption of alcohol into restricted communities has a detrimental impact on the health, safety and finances of everyone. Police will continue to proactively target anyone who seeks to take advantage of alcohol restricted areas.
“If you have any information regarding the distribution of drugs or alcohol into remote communities, please contact police on 131 444.
“Anonymous reports can also be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/. “
Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority
Anthony Rhodes at state championships
The events are once again being held at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve across two weekends.
Urban Junior State Championships will kick off on 22 and 23 March. The Senior Urban, Junior Rural, and Senior Rural events are being held at the same site the following weekend, 29 and 30 March.
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said the State Championships have always been an integral part of CFA since they began in 1874.
“The Championships are a great way to show the endurance and reliability of brigades as well as promoting leadership, mental wellbeing, and physical fitness with all competitors celebrated for having a go,” Jason said.
“The Championships are one of the most exciting events on the CFA calendar and a great opportunity for our members to engage in friendly competition with their brigade and fellow firefighters.
“It’s also a great way for the community to see what we do and hopefully we can inspire them to join their local brigades.
“I highly recommend brigades to get involved in the event which includes practical firefighting activities using hoses, hydrants and other equipment. It’s also fantastic for teamwork and comradeship.”
Captain of Melton Fire Brigade, Anthony Rhodes, has been competing and coaching teams in the State Championships since he was a teenager and said he loves the family aspect of the event.
Not only does he compete and coach alongside his sons he said other members become like your family too.
“I love the camaraderie,” Anthony said.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from it is a real family feeling.
“It gives you a good opportunity to socialise and meet people and then you run into them on strike teams or just out and about and you really feel connected.”
Anthony competed in the junior division before becoming a senior competitor. He also spent many years as a coach for both junior and senior teams at Melton brigade.
“I used to coach the juniors, but when my two sons came along I decided to step back from that and just be a dad,” he said.
This year he is both competing in the senior open running team and coaching the senior women’s teams, he said he can’t wait to share the event with his boys and extended firefighting family.
“Champs allow members and family to have an outlet and have a little bit of fun.
To anyone thinking of signing up Anthony said, “today is the day”.
“When people go to fires, we don’t always deal with great things. This is a great outlet because it isn’t life or death, it is just a bit of fun,” he said.
| Submitted by | CFA Media |
|---|
Source: Government of India (2)
Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 12:58PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Budget 2025-2026 in the Parliament today said that a Nuclear Energy Mission for research & development of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) with an outlay of ` 20,000 crore will be set up. At least 5 indigenously developed SMRs will be operationalized by 2033, she informed.
Smt. Sitharaman highlighted that development of at least 100 GW of nuclear energy by 2047 is essential for our energy transition efforts. For an active partnership with the private sector towards this goal, amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act will be taken up.
The Budget also proposes that states will be incentivized for electricity distribution reforms and augmentation of intra-state transmission capacity. This will improve financial health and capacity of electricity companies. The Minister informed that additional borrowing of 0.5 per cent of GSDP will be allowed to states, contingent on these reforms.
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NB | VV | BKCV
(Release ID: 2098367) Visitor Counter : 38
Source: Government of India (2)
BOOST TO E-MOBILITY: 35 ADDITIONAL CAPITAL GOODS FOR EV BATTERY MANUFACTURING EXEMPTED FROM BCD
PROPOSALS TO SUPPORT DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING AND VALUE ADDITION WHILE PROMOTING EXPORTS, FACILITATING TRADE AND PROVIDING RELIEF TO COMMON PEOPLE
Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 12:55PM by PIB Delhi
The Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman in parliament today, focuses its customs proposals on rationalizing tariff structure and addressing duty inversion. The Minister said that the proposals will also support domestic manufacturing and value addition while promoting exports, facilitating trade and providing relief to common people.
Delivering on the promise to review customs rate structure announced in July 2024, the Budget proposes to remove seven customs tariff rates for industrial goods over and above the seven tariff rates removed in Budget 2023-24. This will leave only eight tariff rates, including ‘zero’ rate. The Budget also proposes to levy not more than one cess or surcharge. This will exempt Social Welfare Surcharge on 82 tariff lines that are subject to a cess.
Relief on import of Drugs/Medicines
In sector specific proposals, the Budget comes as a big relief to patients, particularly to those suffering from cancer, rare diseases and other severe chronic diseases. The Budget proposes to add 36 life saving drugs and medicines to the list of medicines fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty. The Budget also proposes to add 6 life saving medicines to the list attracting concessional customs duty of 5%. Full exemption and concessional duty will also respectively apply on the bulk drugs for manufacture of the above.
Specified drugs and medicines under Patient Assistance Programmes run by pharmaceutical companies are fully exempt from Basic Customs Duty, provided the medicines are supplied free of cost to patients. The Budget proposes to add 37 more medicines along with 13 new patient assistance programmes to the list.
Support to Domestic Manufacturing and Value addition
The Budget proposes to add 35 additional capital goods for EV battery manufacturing, and 28 additional capital goods for mobile phone battery manufacturing to the list of exempted capital goods. “This will boost domestic manufacture of lithium-ion battery, both for mobile phones and electric vehicles”, FM stated in her speech.
The Budget also proposes to fully exempt Basic Customs Duty on cobalt powder and waste, the scrap of lithium-ion battery, Lead, Zinc and 12 more critical minerals. Finance Minister said that this will help secure their availability for manufacturing in India and promote more jobs for our youth. This is in addition to the 25 critical minerals fully exempted of BCD in July 2024 Budget.
To promote domestic production of technical textile products such as agro-textiles, medical textiles and geo textiles at competitive prices, the Budget proposes to add two more types of shuttle-less looms to the list of fully exempted textile machinery. “I also propose to revise the BCD rate on knitted fabrics covered by nine tariff lines from “10% or 20%” to “20% or Rs.115 per kg, whichever is higher”, said Finance Minister in her speech.
In line with the ‘Make in India’ policy, the Budget proposes to increase the BCD on Interactive Flat Panel Display (IFPD) from 10% to 20% and reduce the BCD to 5% on Open Cell and other components. The Minister informed that it will rectify the inverted duty structure.
Considering the long gestation period of shipbuilding, the Budget proposes to continue the exemption of BCD on raw materials, components, consumables or parts for the manufacture of ships for another ten years. The Budget also proposes the same dispensation for ship breaking to make it more competitive.
The Budget also proposes to reduce the BCD from 20% to 10% on Carrier Grade ethernet switches to make it at par with Non-Carrier Grade ethernet switches. Finance Minister said that that this will prevent classification disputes.
Export Promotion
The Budget also contains certain tax proposals to promote exports. To facilitate exports of handicrafts, it proposes to extend the time period for export from six months to one year, further extendable by another three months, if required. The Budget also proposes to add nine handicraft items to the list of duty-free inputs.
The Budget also proposes to exempt crust leather from 20% export duty to facilitate exports by small tanners, while fully exempting BCD on Wet Blue leather to facilitate imports for domestic value addition and employment.
To enhance India’s competitiveness in the global seafood market, the Budget proposes to reduce BCD from 30% to 5% on Frozen Fish Paste (Surimi) for manufacture and export of its analogue products. It also proposes to reduce BCD from 15% to 5% on fish hydrolysate for manufacture of fish and shrimp feeds.
To promote development of domestic MROs for aircraft and ships, the July 2024 Budget extended the time limit for export of foreign origin goods that were imported for repairs, from 6 months to one year and further extendable by one year. The Budget 2025-26 proposes to extend the same dispensation for railway goods.
Trade facilitation and Ease of Doing Business
Presently, the Customs Act, 1962 does not provide any time limit to finalize Provisional Assessments leading to uncertainty and cost to trade. As a measure of promoting ease of doing business, the Budget proposes to fix a time-limit of two years, extendable by a year, for finalizing the provisional assessment.
The Budget also proposes to introduce a new provision that will enable importers or exporters, after clearance of goods, to voluntarily declare material facts and pay duty with interest but without penalty. “This will incentivize voluntary compliance. However, this will not apply in cases where department has already initiated audit or investigation proceedings”, said Smt Sitharaman.
The Budget proposes to extend the time limit for the end-use of imported inputs in the relevant rules, from six months to one year. This will not only allow industry to better plan their imports, but also provide operational flexibility in view of cost and uncertainty of supply. Further, such importers will now have to file only quarterly statements instead of a monthly statement.
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NB/VM/ST
(Release ID: 2098364) Visitor Counter : 71
Source: Government of India (2)
Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 12:36PM by PIB Delhi
NO INCOME TAX ON AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME OF UPTO RS 1 LAKH; TO BOOST MIDDLE CLASS HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS & CONSUMPTION
SALARIED CLASS TO PAY NIL INCOME TAX UPTO ₹ 12.75 LAKH PER ANNUM IN NEW TAX REGIME
UNION BUDGET RECOGNISES 4 ENGINES OF DEVELOPMENT – AGRICULTURE, MSME, INVESTMENT AND EXPORTS
BENEFITTING 1.7 CRORE FARMERS, ‘PRIME MINISTER DHAN-DHAANYA KRISHI YOJANA’ TO COVER 100 LOW AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY DISTRICTS
“MISSION FOR AATMANIRBHARTA IN PULSES” WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON TUR, URAD AND MASOOR TO BE LAUNCHED
LOANS UPTO Rs. 5 LAKHS THROUGH KCC UNDER MODIFIED INTEREST SUBVENTION SCHEME
FY-25 ESTIMATED TO END WITH FISCAL DEFICIT OF 4.8%, TARGET TO BRING IT DOWN TO 4.4% IN FY-26
SIGNIFICANT ENHANCEMENT OF CREDIT WITH GUARANTEE COVER TO MSMEs FROM ₹ 5 CR TO ₹ 10 CR
A NATIONAL MANUFACTURING MISSION COVERING SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE INDUSTRIES FOR FURTHERING “MAKE IN INDIA”
50,000 ATAL TINKERING LABS IN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS IN NEXT 5 YEARS
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR EDUCATION, WITH A TOTAL OUTLAY OF ₹ 500 CRORE
PM SVANIDHI WITH ENHANCED LOANS FROM BANKS, AND UPI LINKED CREDIT CARDS WITH ₹ 30,000 LIMIT
GIG WORKERS TO GET IDENTITY CARDS, REGISTRATION ON E-SHRAM PORTAL & HEALTHCARE UNDER PM JAN AROGYA YOJANA
₹ 1 LAKH CRORE URBAN CHALLENGE FUND FOR ‘CITIES AS GROWTH HUBS’
NUCLEAR ENERGY MISSION FOR R&D OF SMALL MODULAR REACTORS WITH AN OUTLAY OF ₹ 20,000 CRORE
MODIFIED UDAN SCHEME TO ENHANCE REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY TO 120 NEW DESTINATIONS
₹ 15,000 CRORE SWAMIH FUND TO BE ESTABLISHED FOR EXPEDITIOUS COMPLETION OF ANOTHER 1 LAKH STRESSED HOUSING UNITS
₹ 20,000 CRORE ALLOCATED FOR PRIVATE SECTOR DRIVEN RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION INITIATIVES
GYAN BHARATAM MISSION FOR SURVEYAND CONSERVATION OF MANUSCRIPTS TO COVER MORE THAN ONE CRORE MANUSCRIPTS
FDI LIMIT ENHANCED FOR INSURANCE FROM 74 TO 100 PER CENT
JAN VISHWAS BILL 2.0 TO BE INTRODUCED FOR DECRIMINALISING MORE THAN 100 PROVISIONS IN VARIOUS LAWS
UPDATED INCOME TAX RETURNS TIME LIMIT INCREASED FROM TWO TO FOUR YEARS
DELAY IN TCS PAYMENT DECRIMINALISED
TDS ON RENT INCREASED FROM ₹ 2.4 LAKH TO ₹ 6 LAKH
BCD EXEMPTED ON 36 LIFESAVING DRUGS AND MEDICINES FOR TREATING CANCER, RARE AND CHRONIC DISEASES
BCD ON IFPD INCREASED TO 20% AND ON OPEN CELLS REDUCED TO 5%
BCD ON PARTS OF OPEN CELLS EXEMPTED TO PROMOTE DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING
TO BOOST BATTERY PRODUCTION, ADDITIONAL CAPITAL GOODS FOR EV AND MOBILE BATTERY MANUFACTURING EXEMPTED
BCD EXEMPTED FOR 10 YEARS ON RAW MATERIALS & COMPONENTS USED FOR SHIP BUILDING
BCD REDUCED FROM 30% TO 5% ON FROZEN FISH PASTE AND 15% TO 5% ON FISH HYDROLYSATE
Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2025-26 in Parliament today. Here is the summary of her budget speech;
PART A
Quoting Telugu poet and playwright Shri Gurajada Appa Rao’s famous saying, ‘A country is not just its soil; a country is its people.’ – the Finance Minister presented the Union Budget 2025-26 with the theme “Sabka Vikas” stimulating balanced growth of all regions.
In line with this theme, the Finance Minister outlined the broad Principles of Viksit Bharat to encompass the following:
a) Zero-poverty;
b) Hundred per cent good quality school education;
c) Access to high-quality, affordable, and comprehensive healthcare;
d) Hundred per cent skilled labour with meaningful employment;
e) Seventy per cent women in economic activities; and
f) Farmers making our country the ‘food basket of the world’.
The Union Budget 2025-2026 promises to continue Government’s efforts to accelerate growth, secure inclusive development, invigorate private sector investments, uplift household sentiments, and enhance spending power of India’s rising middle class. The Budget proposes development measures focusing on poor (Garib), Youth, farmer (Annadata) and women (Nari).
The Budget aims to initiate transformative reforms in Taxation, Power Sector, Urban Development, Mining, Financial Sector, and Regulatory Reforms to augment India’s growth potential and global competitiveness.
Union Budget highlights that Agriculture, MSME, Investment, and Exports are engines in the journey to Viksit Bharat using reforms as fuel, guided by the spirit of inclusivity.
1st Engine: Agriculture
Budget announced ‘Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana’ in partnership with states covering 100 districts to increase productivity, adopt crop diversification, augment post-harvest storage, improve irrigation facilities, and facilitate availability of long-term and short-term credit.
A comprehensive multi-sectoral ‘Rural Prosperity and Resilience’ programme will be launched in partnership with states to address underemployment in agriculture through skilling, investment, technology, and invigorating the rural economy. The goal is to generate ample opportunities in rural areas, with focus on rural women, young farmers, rural youth, marginal and small farmers, and landless families.
Union Finance Minister announced that Government will launch a 6-year “Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses” with special focus on Tur, Urad and Masoor. Central agencies (NAFED and NCCF) will be ready to procure these 3 pulses, as much as offered during the next 4 years from farmers.
The Budget has outlined measures to Comprehensive Programme for Vegetables & Fruits, National Mission on High Yielding Seeds, and a five year Mission for Cotton Productivity amongst other measures to promote agriculture and allied activities in a major way.
Smt. Sitharaman announced the increase in loan limits from Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh for loans taken through Kisan Credit Cards under modified interest subvention scheme.
2nd Engine: MSMEs
Finance Minister described MSMEs as the second power engine for development as they constitute for 45% of our exports. To help MSMEs achieve higher efficiencies of scale, technological upgradation and better access to capital, the investment and turnover limits for classification of all MSMEs enhanced to 2.5 and 2 times, respectively. Further, steps to enhance credit availability with guarantee cover have also been announced.
The Finance Minister also announced the launch of a new scheme for 5 lakh women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes first-time entrepreneurs. This will provide term loans up to Rs. 2 crore during the next 5 years.
Smt. Sitharaman announced that the Government will also implement a scheme to make India a global hub for toys representing the ‘Made in India’ brand. She added that the Government will set up a National Manufacturing Mission covering small, medium and large industries for furthering “Make in India”.
3rd Engine: Investment
Defining Investment as the third engine of growth, the Union Minister prioritized investment in people, economy and innovation.
Under the investment in people, she announced that 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs will be set up in Government schools in next 5 years.
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman announced that broadband connectivity will be provided to all Government secondary schools and primary health centres in rural areas under the Bharatnet project.
She said Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme will be implemented to provide digital-form Indian language books for school and higher education.
Five National Centres of Excellence for skilling will be set up with global expertise and partnerships to equip our youth with the skills required for “Make for India, Make for the World” manufacturing.
A Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education will be set up with a total outlay of 500 crore.
Budget announced that Government will arrange for Gig workers’ identity cards, their registration on the e-Shram portal and healthcare under PM Jan Arogya Yojana.
Under the investment in Economy, Smt Sitharaman said Infrastructure-related ministries will come up with a 3-year pipeline of projects in PPP mode.
She added that an outlay of Rs 1.5 lakh crore was proposed for the 50-year interest free loans to states for capital expenditure and incentives for reforms.
She also announced the second Asset Monetization Plan 2025-30 to plough back capital of Rs 10 lakh crore in new projects.
The Jal Jeevan Mission was extended till 2028 with focus on the quality of infrastructure and Operation & Maintenance of rural piped water supply schemes through “Jan Bhagidhari”.
Government will set up an Urban Challenge Fund of Rs.1 lakh crore to implement the proposals for ‘Cities as Growth Hubs’, ‘Creative Redevelopment of Cities’ and ‘Water and Sanitation’.
Under the investment in Innovation, an allocation of ₹20,000 crore is announced to implement private sector driven Research, Development and Innovation initiative.
Finance Minister proposed National Geospatial Mission to develop foundational geospatial infrastructure and data which will benefit urban planning.
Budget proposes Gyan Bharatam Mission, for survey, documentation and conservation of more than 1 crore manuscripts with academic institutions, museums, libraries and private collectors. A National Digital Repository of Indian knowledge systems for knowledge sharing is also proposed.
4th Engine: Exports
Smt. Sitharaman defined Exports as the fourth engine of growth and said that jointly driven by the Ministries of Commerce, MSME, and Finance; Export Promotion Mission will help MSMEs tap into the export market. She added that a digital public infrastructure, ‘BharatTradeNet’ (BTN) for international trade was proposed as a unified platform for trade documentation and financing solutions.
The Finance Minister mentioned that support will be provided to develop domestic manufacturing capacities for our economy’s integration with global supply chains. She also announced that government will support the domestic electronic equipment industry for leveraging the opportunities related to Industry 4.0. A National Framework has also been proposed for promoting Global Capability Centres in emerging tier 2 cities.
The government will facilitate upgradation of infrastructure and warehousing for air cargo including high value perishable horticulture produce.
Reforms as the Fuel
Defining Reforms as the fuel to the engine, Smt. Sitharaman said that over the past 10 years, the Government had implemented several reforms for convenience of tax payers, such as faceless assessment, tax payers charter, faster returns, almost 99 per cent returns being on self-assessment, and Vivad se Vishwas scheme. Continuing with these efforts, she reaffirmed the commitment of the tax department to “trust first, scrutinize later”.
Financial Sector Reforms and Development
In a demonstrated steadfast commitment of the Government towards ‘Ease of Doing Business’, the Union Finance Minister proposed changes across the length and breadth of the financial landscape in India to ease compliance, expand services, build strong regulatory environment, promote international and domestic investment, and decriminalisation of archaic legal provisions.
The Union Finance Minister proposed to raise the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit for the insurance from 74 to 100 per cent, to be available for those companies that invest the entire premium in India.
Smt. Sitharaman proposed a light-touch regulatory framework based on principles and trust to unleash productivity and employment. She proposed four specific measures to develop this modern, flexible, people-friendly, and trust-based regulatory framework for the 21st first century, viz.:
Fiscal Consolidation
Reiterating the commitment to stay the course for fiscal consolidation, the Union Finance Minister stated that the Government endeavours to keep the fiscal deficit each year such that the Central Government debt remains on a declining path as a percentage of the GDP and the detailed roadmap for the next 6 years has been detailed in the FRBM statement. Smt. Sitharaman stated that the Revised Estimate 2024-25 of fiscal deficit is 4.8 per cent of GDP, while the Budget Estimates 2025-26 is estimated to be 4.4 per cent of GDP.
Revised Estimates 2024-25
The Minister said that the Revised Estimate of the total receipts other than borrowings is ₹31.47 lakh crore, of which the net tax receipts are ₹25.57 lakh crore. She added that the Revised Estimate of the total expenditure is ₹47.16 lakh crore, of which the capital expenditure is about ₹10.18 lakh crore.
Budget Estimates 2025-26
For FY 2025-26, the Union Finance Minister stated that the total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure are estimated at ₹34.96 lakh crore and ₹50.65 lakh crore respectively. The net tax receipts are estimated at ₹28.37 lakh crore.
PART B
Reposing faith on middle class in nation building, the Union Budget 2025-26 proposes new direct tax slabs and rates under the new income tax regime so that no income tax is needed to be paid for total income upto ₹ 12 Lakh per annum, i.e. average income of Rs 1 Lakh per month, other than special rate income such as Capital Gain. Salaried individuals earning upto ₹ 12.75 Lakh per annum will pay NIL tax, due to standard deduction of ₹ 75,000. Towards the new tax structure and other direct tax proposals, Government is set to lose revenue of about ₹ 1 lakh crore.
Under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Government has taken steps to understand the needs voiced by the people. The direct tax proposals include personal income tax reform with special focus on middle class, TDS/TCS rationalization, encouragement to voluntary compliances along with reduction of compliance burden, ease of doing business and incentivizing employment and investment.
The Budget proposes revised tax rate structure under the new tax regime as follows;
|
Total Income per annum |
Rate of Tax |
|
₹ 0 – 4 Lakh |
NIL |
|
₹ 4 – 8 Lakh |
5% |
|
₹ 8 – 12 Lakh |
10% |
|
₹ 12 – 16 Lakh |
15% |
|
₹ 16 – 20 Lakh |
20% |
|
₹ 20 – 24 Lakh |
25% |
|
Above ₹ 24 Lakh |
30% |
To rationalize TDS/TCS, Budget doubles limit for tax deduction on interest earned by senior citizens from the present ₹ 50,000 to ₹ 1 Lakh. Further, TDS threshold on rent has been increased to ₹ 6 Lakh from ₹ 2.4 Lakh per annum. Other measures include, increasing of threshold to collect TCS to ₹ 10 Lakh and continuing with higher TDS deductions only in non-PAN cases. After the decriminalization of delay in payment of TDS, delay in TCS payments has now been decriminalized.
Encouraging voluntary compliance, Budget extends time-limit to file updated returns for any assessment year, from the current limit of two years, to four years. Over 90 Lakh taxpayers paid additional tax to update their income. Small charitable trusts/institutions have been given the benefit by increasing their period of registration from 5 to 10 years, reducing compliance burden. Further, tax payers can now claim annual value of two self-occupied properties as NIL, without any condition. Last budget’s Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme has received a great response, with nearly 33,000 tax payers having availed the scheme to settle their disputes. Giving benefits to senior and very senior citizens, withdrawals made from National Savings Scheme Accounts on or after 29th of August, 2024 have been exempted. NPS Vatsalya accounts also to get similar benefits.
For ease of doing business, Budget introduces a scheme for determining arm’s length price of international transaction for a block period of three years. This is in line with global best practices. Further, self harbor rules are being expanded to provide certainty in international taxation.
To promote employment and investment, a presumptive taxation regime is envisaged for non-residents who provide services to a resident company that is establishing or operating an electronics manufacturing facility. Further, benefits of existing tonnage tax scheme are proposed to be extended to inland vessels. To promote start-up ecosystem, period of incorporation has been extended for a period of 5 years. To promote investment in the infrastructure sector, Budget extends the date of making investment in Sovereign Wealth Funds and Pension Funds by five more years, to 31st March, 2030.
As part of rationalization of Customs tariffs of industrial goods, Budget proposes to; (i) Remove seven tariffs, (ii) apply appropriate cess to maintain effective duty incidence, and (iii) levy not more than one cess or surcharge.
As relief on import of Drugs/Medicines, 36 lifesaving drugs and medicines for treating cancer, rare diseases and chronic diseases have been fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty (BCD). Further, 37 medicines along with 13 new drugs and medicines under Patient Assistance Programmes have been exempted from Basic Customs Duty (BCD), if supplied free to patients.
To support Domestic Manufacturing and Value Addition, BCD on 25 critical minerals, that were not domestically available, were exempted in July 2024. The Budget 2025-26 fully exempts cobalt powder and waste, scrap of lithium-ion battery, Lead, Zinc and 12 more critical minerals. To promote domestic textile production, two more types of shuttle-less looms added to fully exempted textile machinery. Further, BCD on knitted fabrics covering nine tariff lines from “10% to 20%” revised to “20% or ₹ 115 kg, whichever is higher”.
To rectify inverted duty structure and promote “Make in India”, BCD on Interactive Flat Panel Display (IFPD) increased to 20% and on Open cells reduced to 5%. Further to promote manufacture of Open cells, BCD on parts of Open Cells stands exempted.
To boost manufacturing of Lithion-ion battery in the country, 35 additional capital goods for EV battery manufacturing, and 28 additional capital goods for mobile phone battery manufacturing added to the list of exempted capital goods. Union Budget 2025-26 also continues exemption on BCD on raw materials, components, consumables or parts for ship building for another ten years. Budget also reduced BCD from 20% to 10% on Carrier Grade ethernet switches to make it at par with Non-Carrier Grade ethernet switches.
For export promotion, Budget 2025-26 facilitates exports of handicrafts, fully exempts BCD on Wet Blue leather for value addition and employment, reduce BCD from 30% to 5% on Frozen Fish Paste and reduce BCD from 15% to 5% on fish hydrolysate for manufacture of fish and shrimp feeds.
Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said that Democracy, Demography and Demand are key pillars of Viksit Bharat journey. She said that the middle class gives strength of India’s growth and the Government has periodically hiked the ‘Nil tax’ slab in recognition to their contribution. She said the proposed new tax structure will substantially boost consumption, savings and investment, by putting more money in the hands of the middle class.
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NB/RC/VV/SR
(Release ID: 2098352) Visitor Counter : 657
Source: Government of India (2)
Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 11:52AM by PIB Delhi
Launching ceremony of 9th ACTCM Barge, LSAM 23 (Yard 133) was held on 31 Jan 25 at M/s Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd, Thane. Chief Guest for the launching Ceremony was Cmde R Anand, AGM (COM)/ ND (Mbi).
The contract for construction of eleven (11) Ammunition Cum Torpedo Cum Missile Barge was concluded with MSME Shipyard, M/s Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd, Thane on 05 Mar 21. These Barges have been indigenously designed and built by the Shipyard in collaboration with an Indian Ship Designing firm and Indian Register of Shipping (IRS). Model testing was undertaken at Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam to ensure seaworthiness. The Shipyard has successfully delivered eight of these Barges till date and are being utilised by Indian Navy for its operation evolutions by facilitating Transportation, Embarkation and Disembarkation of articles/ ammunition to IN platforms both alongside jetties and at outer harbours.
These Barges are proud flag bearers of “Make in India” and “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” initiatives of Government of India.
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VM/SKY
(Release ID: 2098347) Visitor Counter : 94
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zac Bowman, PhD Candidate, College of Education, Psychology & Social Work, Flinders University
Around 350 million people globally use dating apps, and they amass an estimated annual revenue of more than US$5 billion. In Australia, 49% of adults report using at least one online dating app or website, with a further 27% having done so in the past.
But while dating apps have helped many people find romantic partners, they’re not all good news.
In a recent review, my colleagues and I found using dating apps may be linked to poorer body image, mental health and wellbeing.
Our study was a systematic review, where we collated the results of 45 studies that looked at dating app use and how this was linked to body image, mental health or wellbeing.
Body image refers to the perceptions or feelings a person has towards their own appearance, often relating to body size, shape and attractiveness.
Most of the studies we included were published in 2020 onwards. The majority were carried out in Western countries (such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia). Just under half of studies included participants of all genders. Interestingly, 44% of studies observed men exclusively, while only 7% included just women.
Of the 45 studies, 29 looked at the impact of dating apps on mental health and wellbeing and 22 considered the impact on body image (some looked at both). Some studies examined differences between users and non-users of dating apps, while others looked at whether intensity of dating app use (how often they’re used, how many apps are used, and so on) makes a difference.
More than 85% of studies (19 of 22) looking at body image found significant negative relationships between dating app use and body image. Just under half of studies (14 of 29) observed negative relationships with mental health and wellbeing.
The studies noted links with problems including body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, depression, anxiety and low self-esteem.
It’s important to note our research has a few limitations. For example, almost all studies included in the review were cross-sectional – studies that analyse data at a particular point in time.
This means researchers were unable to discern whether dating apps actually cause body image, mental health and wellbeing concerns over time, or whether there is simply a correlation. They can’t rule out that in some cases the relationship may go the other way, meaning poor mental health or body image increases a person’s likelihood of using dating apps.
Also, the studies included in the review were mostly conducted in Western regions with predominantly white participants, limiting our ability to generalise the findings to all populations.
Despite these limitations, there are plausible reasons to expect there may be a link between dating apps and poorer body image, mental health and wellbeing.
Like a lot of social media, dating apps are overwhelmingly image-centric, meaning they have an emphasis on pictures or videos. Dating app users are initially exposed primarily to photos when browsing, with information such as interests or hobbies accessible only after manually clicking through to profiles.
Because of this, users often evaluate profiles based primarily on the photos attached. Even when a user does click through to another person’s profile, whether or not they “like” someone may still often be determined primarily on the basis of physical appearance.
This emphasis on visual content on dating apps can, in turn, cause users to view their appearance as more important than who they are as a person. This process is called self-objectification.
People who experience self-objectification are more likely to scrutinise their appearance, potentially leading to body dissatisfaction, body shame, or other issues pertaining to body image.
There could be several reasons why mental health and wellbeing may be impacted by dating apps, many of which may centre around rejection.
Rejection can come in many forms on dating apps. It can be implied, such as having a lack of matches, or it can be explicit, such as discrimination or abuse. Users who encounter rejection frequently on dating apps may be more likely to experience poorer self-esteem, depressive symptoms or anxiety.
And if rejection is perceived to be based on appearance, this could lead again to body image concerns.
What’s more, the convenience and game-like nature of dating apps may lead people who could benefit from taking a break to keep swiping.
Developers of dating apps should be seeking ways to protect users against these possible harms. This could, for example, include reducing the prominence of photos on user profiles, and increasing the moderation of discrimination and abuse on their platforms.
The Australian government has developed a code of conduct – to be enforced from April 1 this year – to help moderate and reduce discrimination and abuse on online dating platforms. This is a positive step.
Despite the possible negatives, research has also found dating apps can help build confidence and help users meet new people.
If you use dating apps, my colleagues and I recommend choosing profile images you feel display your personality or interests, or photos with friends, rather than semi-clothed images and selfies. Engage in positive conversations with other users, and block and report anyone who is abusive or discriminatory.
It’s also sensible to take breaks from the apps, particularly if you’re feeling overwhelmed or dejected.
If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. The Butterfly Foundation provides support for eating disorders and body image issues, and can be reached on 1800 334 673.
Zac Bowman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Dating apps could have negative effects on body image and mental health, our research shows – https://theconversation.com/dating-apps-could-have-negative-effects-on-body-image-and-mental-health-our-research-shows-247336
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tobias Barkley, Lecturer, La Trobe University
What happens to our super when we die? Most Australians have superannuation accounts but about one in five of us die before we can retire and actually enjoy that money.
If we do die early our money is paid out as super “death benefits”. They can be substantial. Even people who die young can have $200,000–$300,000 of death benefits through super life insurance.
Death benefits have recently been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Last week the Treasurer Jim Chalmers expressed concern about delays paying out death benefits.
The Law Council is concerned people do not have enough control over how death benefits are distributed. Others are devastated about death benefits being paid to alleged violent partners.
Our first thought might be writing it in our will. However, super is not covered by our will as it does not become part of our deceased estate.
Instead, death benefits are distributed by the trustee of your superannuation fund. Under the law, there are two main mechanisms controlling distribution: binding nominations and the trustee’s discretion.
Every super member has the option to create a binding nomination. It’s like a will for your super that the super trustee is obliged to follow. It also needs two witnesses to execute it. However, there are actually more ways for a binding nomination to fail than for a will to fail.
The law only allows you to nominate certain people: your “dependants” or your estate. If you nominate anyone else your entire nomination stops being binding. Plus, unlike wills, there is no way to fix execution errors. Also, many binding nominations expire after three years.
If you don’t have a binding nomination, then the trustee can choose who your death benefit goes to. There are two main mechanisms controlling how the trustee chooses who gets your death benefit.
First, legislation requires the trustee to give the death benefit to your dependants or deceased estate before anyone else. This means that your parents, for example, will only receive something if you have no children, partner or other dependants.
Second, decisions made by trustees can be disputed by complaining to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). The authority has a rigid approach to who should get death benefits and trustees usually follow this course of action.
Research I’ve done with Xia Li of La Trobe University reveals what AFCA does in practice.
Most crucially, people’s wishes expressed in non-binding nominations were essentially ignored. Our research found there was no statistically significant association between being nominated in a non-binding nomination and receiving any of the death benefit. This was true even for recent nominations.
Other factors the complaints authority ignores are family violence and financial need. In one case, five daughters provided evidence, including a police report, that their deceased mother was a victim of violence perpetrated by her new partner. In keeping with the Federal Court, AFCA gave the alleged perpetrator everything because he alone would have benefited from the deceased’s finances if she had lived.
In another case, the deceased’s adult son received nothing despite living with disability and “doing it tough”. He had refused financial help so was not financially dependent. AFCA gave everything to the partner.
AFCA ignores these factors because of one key issue. It places “great weight” on whether beneficiaries are financially dependent on the deceased.
This means when choosing between a financial dependent – such as a new partner who shares home expenses with the deceased, and non-financial dependants, such as most adult children – AFCA will almost always give everything to the spouse.
Relying on financial dependence can be arbitrary. Unlike in family law, a de facto partner does not need to be living with you for two years before becoming entitled. For example, in one case AFCA gave a partner of possibly only seven months (and 41 years younger than the deceased) everything and the deceased’s three children aged 27–33 nothing.
Also, AFCA treats any regular payment that supports daily living as financial dependence. For example, a son paying A$100 a week board to parents means both parents are financially dependent on the son. In another case, payments from the deceased to his brother of $5,000, $7,000 and $5,000 made over a year was not financial dependence because they were irregular.
The whole process is slow. The average time it takes to resolve a death benefit case that goes to AFCA is nearly three years and the longest case I’ve seen took over six.
The only thing that you can do that will make a difference is execute a binding nomination; non-binding nominations are worthless.
But take care to execute your binding nomination correctly (get legal advice) and leave reminders for yourself to review it every three years.
Tobias Barkley is an ordinary member of the Unisuper superannuation fund.
– ref. Want your loved ones to inherit your super? Here’s why you can’t afford to skip this one step – https://theconversation.com/want-your-loved-ones-to-inherit-your-super-heres-why-you-cant-afford-to-skip-this-one-step-248019
Source: China State Council Information Office
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes amid widespread severe flooding in northern Australia.
Authorities in the northeastern state of Queensland on Monday warned residents of the state’s tropical north to expect further flooding following days of torrential rainfall.
Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate from the city of Townsville, over 1,000 km north of the state capital of Brisbane, and from surrounding towns.
The region has received over one meter of rainfall over three days, with up to 300 millimeters forecast for Monday by the Bureau of Meteorology.
State Premier David Crisafulli said on Monday morning that modelling shows the flooding has not yet peaked, urging residents of a stretch of coast over 600 km long between the cities of Mackay and Cairns to take heed of emergency warnings.
He said that authorities are focused on protecting lives before turning their attention to recovery efforts.
The State Emergency Service (SES) reported receiving almost 400 calls for assistance on Sunday, one-quarter of which were related to water entering properties.
A bridge on the Bruce Highway, a major road connecting northern Queensland to Brisbane, has collapsed just north of Townsville, cutting off several towns.
The Mayor of Hinchinbrook town, Ramon Jayo, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation television that the collapse was a “disaster” for the town, which will likely rely on supplies arriving by helicopter as it faces its worst flooding since the 1960s.
As of Monday morning local time, about 10,000 properties in the region were without electricity, with those affected told to prepare for prolonged outages.
Police in Townsville have increased patrols in evacuated parts of the city to protect properties from potential looting.
The Townsville Airport reopened on Monday, but the city remains cut off by road.
The federal government has deployed Australian Defence Force helicopters to help monitor the flooding.
Source: Government of India
NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR TOYS TO MAKE INDIA A GLOBAL HUB FOR TOYS
Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 1:19PM by PIB Delhi
A “National Manufacturing Mission” to cover small, medium and large industries for furthering “Make in India” was announced by the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs , Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2025-26 in Parliament today. This will provide policy support, execution roadmaps, governance and monitoring framework for central ministries and states.
The National Manufacturing Mission will lay emphasis on five focal areas i.e. ease and cost of doing business; future ready workforce for in-demand jobs; a vibrant and dynamic MSME sector; availability of technology; and quality products.
The Mission will also support Clean Tech manufacturing and aims to improve domestic value addition and build the ecosystem for solar PV cells, EV batteries, motors and controllers, electrolyzers, wind turbines, very high voltage transmission equipment and grid scale batteries, the Union Finance Minister added.
The Finance Minister also outlined measures for Labour-Intensive Sectors, adding that Government will undertake specific policy and facilitation measures to promote employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in labour-intensive sectors.
The Union Minister specified that to enhance the productivity, quality and competitiveness of India’s footwear and leather sector, a focus product scheme will be implemented. The Union Finance Minister further informed that the scheme will support design capacity, component manufacturing, and machinery required for production of non-leather quality footwear, besides the support for leather footwear and products. The scheme is expected to facilitate employment for 22 lakh persons, generate turnover of Rs. 4 lakh crore and exports of over Rs. 1.1 lakh crore.
The Union Minister further proposed National Action Plan for Toys to be implemented to make India a global hub for toys. The scheme will focus on development of clusters, skills, and a manufacturing ecosystem that will create high-quality, unique, innovative, and sustainable toys that will represent the ‘Made in India’ brand, the Minister added.
On the front of support for food processing, the Union Finance Minister reiterated Government’s commitment towards ‘Purvodaya’. The Union Minister proposed to establish a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management in Bihar. The institute will provide a strong fillip to food processing activities in the entire Eastern region. This will result in enhanced income for the farmers through value addition to their produce, and skilling, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for the youth.
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NB/SB/RY
(Release ID: 2098392) Visitor Counter : 103
Source: Government of India
INDIA POST WILL BE TRANSFORMED AS A LARGE PUBLIC LOGISTICS ORGANIZATION TO MEET THE RISING NEEDS OF VISWAKARMAS, WOMEN, SHG, MSMEs ETC
Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 12:57PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said, while presenting the Budget 2025-26 in the Parliament today, that India Post with 1.5 lakh rural post offices, complemented by the India Post Payment Bank and a vast network of 2.4 lakh Dak Sevaks, will be repositioned to act as a catalyst for the rural economy.
Finance Minister also proposed that the expanded range of services of India Post will include:
1) rural community hub co-location;
2) institutional account services;
3) DBT, cash out and EMI pick-up;
4) credit services to micro enterprises;
5) insurance; and
6) assisted digital services.
Smt Sitharaman further added that India Post will also be transformed as a large public logistics organization. This will meet the rising needs of Viswakarmas, new entrepreneurs, women, self-help groups, MSMEs, and large business organizations.
Union Minister also said that the services of India Post Payment Bank will be deepened and expanded in rural areas.
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NB | VV| BKCV
(Release ID: 2098365) Visitor Counter : 144
Source: Government of India (2)
GOVERNMENT WILL SUPPORT THE DOMESTIC ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY TO LEVERAGE THE OPPORTUNITY OF INDUSTRY 4.0
NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR STATES TO BE FORMULATED FOR PROMOTING GLOBAL CAPABILITY CENTRES IN EMERGING TIER 2 CITIES
Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 1:15PM by PIB Delhi
In our journey of realizing ‘Sabka Vikas’ by stimulating balanced growth of all regions, Exports have been reckoned as one of the powerful engines of India’s growth story. The Union Budget 2025-26 tabled in Parliament today by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, aims to initiate transformative reforms in domestic manufacturing and integrating India’s economy with global supply chains.
BharatTradeNet
A digital public infrastructure, ‘BharatTradeNet’ (BTN) for international trade has been proposed to be set-up as a unified platform for trade documentation and financing solutions. In the budget speech Smt. Sitharaman stated that, “BTN will complement the Unified Logistics Interface Platform and will be aligned with international practices”.
Integrating India’s Economy with Global Supply Chains
The Finance Minister announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 that support will be provided to develop domestic manufacturing capacities for integrating Indian economy with global supply chains. In this direction, the sectors will be identified based on an objective criteria.
It is also proposed that facilitation groups with participation of senior officers and industry representatives be formed for select products and supply chains.
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that the youth of India have both high skills and talent which are required for capitalizing on the opportunities related to Industry 4.0. “Our Government will support the domestic electronic equipment industry to leverage this opportunity for the benefit of the youth”, she added.
National Framework for GCC
It has been proposed in the Union Budget 2025-26 that a National Framework will be formulated as guidance to states for promoting Global Capability Centres in emerging tier 2 cities. This will suggest 16 measures for enhancing availability of talent and infrastructure, building-byelaw reforms, and mechanisms for collaboration with industry.
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NB/KS
(Release ID: 2098387) Visitor Counter : 44
Source: Government of India (2)
ALLOCATION OF RS 20,000 CRORE TO IMPLEMENT PRIVATE SECTOR DRIVEN RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION
PROVISION OF 10,000 FELLOWSHIPS FOR TECHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN IITs AND IISC UNDER PM RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP SCHEME
5 NATIONAL CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE FOR SKILLING TO EQUIP YOUTH FOR “MAKE FOR INDIA, MAKE FOR THE WORLD” MANUFACTURING
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR EDUCATION WITH TOTAL OUTLAY OF RS 500 CRORE
Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 1:09PM by PIB Delhi
While presenting the Union Budget 2025-26 in the Parliament today, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman proposed various development measures for nurturing innovation.
The Union Finance Minister announced to set up Fifty thousand Atal Tinkering Labs in Government schools in next 5 years to cultivate the spirit of curiosity and innovation, and foster a scientific temper among young minds. The Union Budget also proposes to provide Broadband connectivity to all Government secondary schools and primary health centres in rural areas under the Bharatnet project.
On higher education, the Union Budget 2025-26 states that total number of students in 23 IITs has increased 100 per cent from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh in the past 10 years. Additional infrastructure will be created in the 5 IITs started after 2014 to facilitate education for 6,500 more students. Hostel and other infrastructure capacity at IIT, Patna will also be expanded.
With the aim to help students understand their subjects better, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed to implement a Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme to provide digital-form Indian language books for school and higher education.
The Union Finance Minister also announced to set up five National Centres of Excellence for skilling with global expertise and partnerships to equip youth with the skills required for “Make for India, Make for the World” manufacturing. The partnerships will cover curriculum design, training of trainers, a skills certification framework, and periodic reviews.
The Union Budget also announced to set up a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education with a total outlay of Rs 500 crore.
While presenting the Budget, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman announced to allocate Rs 20,000 crore to implement private sector driven Research, Development and Innovation. In the next five years, under the PM Research Fellowship scheme, provision of ten thousand fellowships for technological research in IITs and IISc with enhanced financial support is also proposed in the Budget.
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NB/KS/AS
(Release ID: 2098380) Visitor Counter : 61
Source: Government of India (2)
Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 1:06PM by PIB Delhi
As part of the 3rd engine of investment in economy, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman proposed multi-sectoral reforms encompassing Public Private Partnerships, support to States, Asset Monetisation Plan for 2025-2030, mining sector, and support to domestic manufacturing, while presenting the Union Budget 2025-26 in Parliament, today.
Public Private Partnership in Infrastructure
Smt. Sitharaman proposed that each infrastructure-related ministry will come up with a 3-year pipeline of projects that can be implemented in PPP mode, and States will also be encouraged to initiate and seek support from the India Infrastructure Project Development Fund (IIPDF) scheme to prepare PPP proposals.
Support to States for Infrastructure
The Union Finance Minister proposed an outlay of ₹1.5 lakh crore for the 50-year interest free loans to states for capital expenditure and incentives for reforms.
Asset Monetisation Plan 2025-30
Building on the success of the first Asset Monetisation Plan announced in 2021, Smt. Sitharaman proposed to launch the Second Plan for 2025-30 to plough back capital of ₹10 lakh crore in new projects with fine-tuning of the regulatory and fiscal measures to support the Plan.
Mining Sector Reforms
The Union Finance Minister proposed mining sector reforms, including those for minor minerals, through sharing of best practices and institution of a State Mining Index.
PM Gati Shakti Data for Private Sector
Smt. Sitharaman proposed to provide access to relevant data and maps from the PM Gati Shakti portal for furthering PPPs and assisting the private sector in project planning.
Support to Domestic Manufacturing and Value addition Critical Minerals
The Union Finance Minister proposed to fully exempt cobalt powder and waste, the scrap of lithium-ion battery, Lead, Zinc and 12 more critical minerals to secure their availability for manufacturing in India and promote more jobs for India’s youth.
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NB/KMN
(Release ID: 2098376) Visitor Counter : 69
Source: Government of India
Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 2:38PM by PIB Delhi
Exports hit USD 778.21 billion in 2023-24, marking a 67% increase since 2013-14
Introduction
India’s exports have seen a historic rise, reaching USD 778.21 billion in 2023-24. This marks a 67% increase from USD 466.22 billion in 2013-14. The growth reflects India’s expanding role in global trade, driven by strong performances in both merchandise and services exports.
In 2023-24, merchandise exports stood at USD 437.10 billion, while services exports contributed USD 341.11 billion, demonstrating a well-balanced expansion. Key sectors like electronics, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, iron ore, and textiles played a vital role in this surge. Strengthened by strategic policy measures, enhanced competitiveness, and broader market access, India’s export ecosystem is now more resilient and deeply integrated into the global economy.
The momentum has continued into FY 2024-25, with cumulative exports during April-December 2024 estimated at USD 602.64 billion, a 6.03% increase from USD 568.36 billion in the same period of 2023. Strengthened by strategic policy measures, enhanced competitiveness, and broader market access, India’s export ecosystem is now more resilient and deeply integrated into the global economy.
Export Classification and Growth Trends
Merchandise exports have grown from USD 314 billion in 2013-14 to USD 437.10 billion in 2023-24, driven by a stronger manufacturing base and increased global demand.
Service exports have expanded from USD 152 billion in 2013-14 to USD 341.11 billion in 2023-24, fueled by the rise of IT, financial, and business services.
Leading Export Regions Over the Years
In 2004-05, India’s exports were predominantly directed to regions like North America, the European Union, North-East Asia, West Asia-Gulf Cooperation Council, and ASEAN. By 2013-14, there was a marked increase in export values across these regions, with North America, the EU, and West Asia seeing notable growth. Fast forward to 2023-24, and the export landscape shows continued expansion, with North America leading as the largest destination. The EU, West Asia, and ASEAN also experienced robust growth, illustrating India’s diversified and strengthened global trade relationships over the years.
Key Export Destinations in 2023-24
Sectoral Growth in India’s Exports
Key Government Initiatives to Strengthen India’s Export Landscape
Foreign Trade & Export Promotion
Infrastructure & Logistics
Ease of Doing Business & Digital Initiatives
E-Commerce & Digital Trade
Agriculture & Organic Exports
Conclusion
India’s export sector has experienced extraordinary growth, driven by a combination of strategic policy measures, robust infrastructure development, and a strengthened manufacturing base. With exports touching new heights across both merchandise and services, the country has firmly established itself as a key player in global trade. The expansion of high-value sectors like electronics, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, and agriculture, coupled with innovations in e-commerce and digital trade, showcases India’s growing global influence. Supported by initiatives such as the National Logistics Policy, Production-Linked Incentive schemes, and enhanced market access, India is well on its way to further diversifying its export landscape. As the country continues to focus on improving business ease, fostering competitiveness, and tapping into emerging markets, it is poised to not only sustain but also accelerate its export momentum in the years to come.
References:
v https://www.commerce.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Annual-Report-English-Lower-Resolution-1.pdf
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Santosh Kumar/ Sarla Meena/ Saurabh Kalia
(Release ID: 2098447) Visitor Counter : 58
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sylvia Nissen, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Policy, Lincoln University, New Zealand
Genetic modification is back on the political agenda in New Zealand. The issue may not be as hotly contentious as it once was, but big questions remain about the way forward.
Last year, the National-led coalition government signalled its intent to reform genetic modification laws to provide more “enabling” and “modern” regulation. The subsequent gene technology bill was introduced in December and is currently before select committee.
The bill comes on the back of growing calls for New Zealand’s regulatory frameworks to become less restrictive.
One of the arguments often made is that the current system, in place since the 1990s, is holding back gene technology research by restricting it largely to laboratory-based experiments. By this account, New Zealand is falling behind in knowledge and expertise, while missing out on the benefits of these technologies.
Those benefits are said to span a wide range of areas, including agriculture, health, conservation and climate change.
There are some applications of genetic modification that have potential long-term public benefit and few or no alternatives. These includes the control of invasive wasps or the production of insulin. But plenty of challenges remain for many emerging forms of gene technology, not least the technical complexities.
There are also difficult questions that must be asked. Who benefits and who carries the risks of harm? What might be other hard-to-anticipate implications, spanning health, social, cultural, ethical, environmental, economic and trade concerns?
In conservation, for instance, questions need to be asked about how interventions might spread or interact with ecosystems that are already under strain or beyond our shores.
Genetic modification is a controversial political topic for good reason. As with many other technologies, the devil is in the detail. We should not fall for overly simple narratives that it is all about benefits, with little to no risk. Context matters, as does robust and responsible governance.
It is important to take a close look at how decisions about genetic modification might be made under the proposed bill.
The suggested model is loosely based on Australia’s approach of a single gene technology regulator, which has been in place for two decades and is widely considered to be successful.
But there are crucial – and troubling – differences between the Australian model and what is proposed for New Zealand.
In Australia, the regulator is fully independent. The law is clear: the regulator “is not subject to direction from anyone” in making decisions about genetic modification.
The regulator has a charter which frames decisions, an office and biosafety committees that support their work, and they report to parliament as a whole (not just the government of the day).
In contrast, the proposed New Zealand bill claims the regulator is independent, but also says they are “subject to general policy directions given by the minister”.
It is worth looking deeper into what this means. The bill’s coversheet explains:
Government needs a mechanism to intervene if the regulator acts contrary to its policy objectives.
These objectives would be provided through general policy directions and would “ensure the regulator acts consistently with reform objectives”, including by changing risk tolerance.
Although a minister cannot intervene in decisions about specific applications, they would have the ability to change the parameters of the regulator’s decisions, with no apparent requirements for wider consultation.
This is not true independence by any stretch of the imagination – and a long way from the Australian approach.
If a minister is able to change the parameters of a regulator’s decisions at will, it is important to consider what doors might be opened that we may wish, in retrospect, remained shut.
For example, the recently released first report of the Science System Advisory Group calls for “attracting multinational corporations to undertake research and development in New Zealand”. The report alludes to genetic modification research as a key area to expand.
Put this together with the decision-making model proposed under the bill. It is not a stretch to see how a regulator, who was subject to the general policy direction of a minister, could be provided with a scope that facilitated multinational genetic modification research in New Zealand.
There is ample reason to be cautious of opening New Zealand to this. Numerous international scholars have highlighted that genetic modification research is “firmly dominated” by elite US-based or European science teams.
It is also increasingly funded by private philanthropists, corporations and the military, who often implement their experiments in distant countries or islands with relatively minimal regulation.
This practice has been given a specific term: “ethics dumping”.
Science might progress, but local communities are left with the unpredictable and unintended consequences of these experiments, usually without meaningful prior consultation.
It is therefore important that any changes to New Zealand’s genetic modification regulation ensure truly independent decision-making. There can be benefits of these technologies, but a system that can be changed at short notice to suit the government of the day could set the scene for more harm than good.
The devil really is in the detail. To have responsible governance, a few changes in the new law will make a significant difference.
Sylvia Nissen receives funding as a researcher on the MBIE Endeavour-funded project ‘Whatu raranga o ngā koiora: Weaving cultural authority into gene-drives targeting wasps’.
– ref. NZ’s gene technology reform carries benefits and risks – a truly independent regulator will be vital – https://theconversation.com/nzs-gene-technology-reform-carries-benefits-and-risks-a-truly-independent-regulator-will-be-vital-248535
Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority
Anthony Rhodes at state championships
CFA is encouraging brigades across the state to compete in this year’s CFA/VFBV State Firefighter Championships in March.
The events are once again being held at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve across two weekends.
Urban Junior State Championships will kick off on the 22nd and 23rd of March. The Senior Urban, Junior Rural, and Senior Rural events are being held at the same site the following weekend, 29th and 30th of March.
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said the State Championships have always been an integral part of CFA since they began in 1874.
“The Championships are a great way to show the endurance and reliability of brigades as well as promoting leadership, mental wellbeing, and physical fitness with all competitors celebrated for having a go,” Jason said.
“The Championships are one of the most exciting events on the CFA calendar and a a great opportunity for our members to engage in friendly competition with their brigade and fellow firefighters.
“It’s also a great way for the community to see what we do and hopefully we can inspire them to join their local brigades.
“I highly recommend brigades to get involved in the event which includes practical firefighting activities utilising hoses, hydrants and other equipment. It’s also fantastic for teamwork and comradeship.”
Captain of the Melton Fire Brigade, Anthony Rhodes, has been competing and coaching teams in the state championships since he was a teenager and said he loves the family aspect of the event.
Not only does he compete and coach alongside his sons he said other members become like your family too.
“I love the camaraderie,” Anthony said.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from it is a real family feeling.
“It gives you a good opportunity to socialise and meet people and then you run into them on strike teams or just out and about and you really feel connected.”
Anthony competed in the junior division before becoming a senior competitor. He also spent many years as a coach for both junior and senior teams at his Brigade in Melton.
“I used to coach the juniors but when my two sons came along and I decided to step back from that and just be a dad,” he said.
This year he is both competing in the senior open running team and coaching the senior women’s teams, he said he can’t wait to share the event with his boys and extended firefighting family.
“Champs allow members and family to have an outlet and have a little bit of fun.
To anyone thinking of signing up Anthony said, “today is the day”.
“When people go to fires, we don’t always deal with great things, this is a great outlet because it isn’t life or death, it is just a bit of fun,” he said.
| Submitted by | CFA Media |
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Source: Allens Insights
Since releasing the NSW Government Action Plan: A ten point commitment to the construction sector (the Ten Point Commitment) in 2018, the construction sector has undergone significant change. Having met the challenges of unpredictable external factors like COVID-19, extreme weather and geopolitical instability, the construction sector continues to grapple with supply chain constraints, rising material costs, labour shortages and skills gaps, increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions and adapting to technological change.
In recognition of this, at the end of last year, Infrastructure NSW published the NSW Government Principles for Partnership with the Construction Industry (the Principles), which will replace the Ten Point Commitment.
The Principles aim to streamline the delivery of infrastructure projects by bolstering cooperation between the NSW Government and construction industry participants to face these challenges together. The refreshed Principles signal an increased government focus on local industry, growing a skilled and diverse Australian construction workforce and embedding decarbonisation into procurement processes.
In this Insight, we cover:
In 2018, through the Ten Point Commitment, the NSW Government made the following commitments in relation to the procurement and delivery of the NSW infrastructure pipeline:
In the six years since then, the construction sector has been heavily impacted by evolving market conditions, including:
The Principles seek to refresh the Ten Point Commitment in light of these changing market conditions. Infrastructure NSW and its member agencies are also devising an implementation plan to ensure that the Principles are implemented effectively, although a release date for this plan is yet to be announced.
Before diving into the detail of the Principles, there are two key differences between the Ten Point Commitment and Principles in the NSW Government’s approach to setting down principles for partnership with the construction industry:
Turning to the detail, the seven Principles are:
The NSW Government has committed to promoting the local construction industry by signalling early opportunities for local manufacturing, establishing new functions to boost participation (such as the Future Jobs and Investment Authority), mandating tender weighting towards local content, job creation, SME participation and ethical supply chains, expanding the Industry Capability Network portal and providing opportunities to the local workforce. It remains to be seen how mandating tender weighting towards local content at the state level will interact with Australia’s obligations under its free trade agreements.
The Principles also prioritise the development of local off-site and prefabricated manufacturing to support the delivery of the NSW Government’s housing objectives.
The Principles aim to support worker safety and wellbeing by improving safety and culture in the construction industry. Notably, the Principles include a government promise to update the WHS Management Guidelines for Construction to reflect the need to protect psychosocial safety, in addition to physical safety. This Principle seems particularly germane given the Federal Government’s decision to place the construction arm of the CMFEU into administration after allegations of corruption and bullying resurfaced in August last year.
The Principles also request that industry partners update their subcontract and supply chain arrangements to include safety and wellbeing expectations. The NSW Government will consider a company’s performance against this metric when awarding future work opportunities.
This principle seeks to simplify procurement processes, and in turn, boost productivity, by committing to:
It will be particularly interesting to see which NSW Government departments, if any, allow reliance on tender documents and choose to cap pre-tender design, given this has been a point of discussion between government and industry for some time now.
This principle also focuses on opportunities to harness digitisation to increase productivity by streamlining data creation and management, and deploying digital tools in project design, procurement and delivery.
The NSW Government has committed to improving diversity and ensuring high-quality training across the construction industry. Practically, this will be implemented by prioritising construction skills in the 2024-2028 NSW Skills Plan and supporting vocational training courses, amongst other things.
This Principle aligns with a nationwide push to increase skills in the construction industry – the Federal Government committed $90.6 million towards upskilling the construction and housing sector in the 2024-25 Federal Budget, and is considering the implementation of a National Energy Workforce Strategy after receiving submissions during August and September 2024 on the same.
The Principles’ overall focus on investing in skills and jobs is made explicit in Principle 5, which aims to enhance industry culture and diversity (and therefore retention). Women only constitute 2% of qualified construction trade workers in Australia – this is a marginal improvement from the ‘1-2%’ recorded in the Ten Point Commitment (but less than the ‘doubling’ that was targeted in that Commitment). The NSW Government proposes to introduce a Culture in Construction Taskforce and pilot programs under a draft Culture Standard for the Construction Industry to collate data and implement measures to improve diversity. It will be interesting to see how this Principle will play out in the NSW market, given the rolling back of similar diversity, equality and inclusion programs in the US federal and private sectors.
The NSW Government is also proposing a whole-of-government Contractor Performance Reporting system to deliver enhanced insights into culture and diversity in the industry. In an effort to promote work-life balance, industry partners have been asked to adopt workforce flexibility plans, with a view to achieving working weeks of ≤50 hours per week and a five-day work week where possible, or a 5 in 7 day work week. While this is a noble ambition, the Principle does not explain how industry partners will be supported to achieve this ambition in light of the increasing prevalence of painshare/gainshare models and the long-staying ‘stick’ of liquidated damages for late delivery, which incentivise timely completion.
Like the Ten Point Commitment, the Principles reiterate the NSW Government’s focus on achieving value for money, and delivering projects on time and on budget. However, the Principles also acknowledge that contractors have been facing increased financial capacity constraints and, as such, seek to foster collaborative risk allocation and transparency in relation to financial capacity to ensure the sustainability of each project throughout its lifecycle.
To achieve this, the NSW Government has committed to:
At this stage, there are still open questions about whether ‘tailored’ security means that contractors will be required to put up less security (to alleviate financing costs) or more security (to guard against contractor insolvencies). However, a shift in government payment frequencies would certainly support the construction industry by improving cash flow and reducing reliance upon (and the cost of) lines of credit. A new gold standard in public infrastructure contracts may lead to a shift away from monthly payment terms more broadly.
The Principles acknowledge that decarbonising infrastructure delivery will be critical to the NSW Government realising its commitment to net zero by 2050, and its interim emission reduction targets of 50% and 70% by 2030 and 2035. As such, the NSW Government has committed to considering the carbon impact of each project in its existing infrastructure decision-making processes and challenging the need for new infrastructure, where possible.
The NSW Government will also provide a consistent approach to measuring carbon across different asset types and will mandate a measurement of embodied carbon emissions to be included in the business case, planning approval, design and procurement and practical completion requirements of each project. These commitments sit alongside the measures in the Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery Policy and Measurement Guidance, released by the NSW Government in April 2024, and join the groundswell of momentum towards better carbon reporting and transparency in both the government and private sectors (see our Insight on mandatory climate-related financial disclosures).
Some aspects of the Principles reiterate or build upon the NSW Government’s existing commitments under the Ten Point Commitment. For example:
On the other hand, the Principles also herald some new areas of focus, with much stronger commitments around decarbonisation and workforce culture. The key differences between the Ten Point Commitment and the Principles include:
While there is some overlap between the Ten Point Commitment and the Principles, the Principles demonstrate a clear shift in priority towards addressing some of the more structural issues facing the Australian construction industry (particularly around skills shortages, workforce retention and financial capacity).
Collaboration between industry and government (at both the state and federal levels) will be imperative in achieving a coordinated response to these structural issues and bolstering the local construction industry. Decarbonisation has also emerged as a key priority for partnership with the construction industry. This priority aligns with the increasing focus more generally on reducing emissions in hard-to-abate industries as corporations and governments chase down their decarbonisation targets.
Infrastructure NSW will track progress against the Principles for Partnership in its annual Progress Report, as it has previously done with the Ten Point Commitment.
Source: MetService
Covering period of Monday 3 – Thursday 6 February – MetService is forecasting a mostly settled start to the week before a brief spell of rain moves over the South Island in time for Waitangi Day. This will bring a cooler day for the island, while sunny skies are on the cards for other parts of the country. Meanwhile, activity continues to develop in the tropics.
Monday and Tuesday offer sunny and dry weather for many parts of the country, thanks to a ridge of high pressure. While some areas may experience cloud cover at times or an isolated shower, particularly in the northern half of the North Island, as well as the lower and eastern South Island, most places can expect a summery couple of days.
Temperatures climb in the lower South Island on Wednesday, with highs in the mid to upper 20s. However, this warmth will be short-lived as a weather system approaches from the west, bringing rain at night.
MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane says, “Brief rain spreads up the South Island on Thursday, bringing a cooler day for many. For the rest of the country, Waitangi Day is shaping up to be mostly settled, including in Waitangi itself.”
At the same time, MetService continues to keep a close watch on the tropics, where a couple of low-pressure systems between Australia and Vanuatu have the potential to develop into tropical cyclones. These systems may bring heavy rain to parts of Vanuatu and New Caledonia, along with strong winds and large waves across the region, including waters near Australia’s east coast.
“At this early stage, these systems appear likely to remain north of Aotearoa New Zealand as they move eastwards, but our meteorologists will continue to monitor their development,” Makgabutlane says. Further details on these systems can be found on the websites of the Fiji Meteorological Service and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
Back home, a new month means the latest Monthly Outlook for February is out. In short, the month is starting off on the drier side, but be watchful of any northerly lows as we approach mid-month, with the month ending on a more seasonal flavour. For the full outlook, check it out here: https://metservice.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=63982abb40666393e6a63259d&id=eba4f3adbc&e=852c839bf9
Source: Government of India
50,000 ATAL TINKERING LABS IN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS IN NEXT 5 YEARS
ALL GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY UNDER BHARAT NET IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS
BHARATIYA BHASHA PUSTAK SCHEME TO PROVIDE DIGITAL-FORM INDIAN LANGUAGE BOOKS
ALLOCATION OF RS 20,000 CRORE TO IMPLEMENT PRIVATE SECTOR DRIVEN RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION
IITs STARTED AFTER 2014 TO GET NEW INFRASTRUCTURE FOR 6,500 MORE STUDENTS
PROVISION OF 10,000 FELLOWSHIPS FOR TECHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN IITS AND IISC UNDER PM RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP SCHEME
5 NATIONAL CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE FOR SKILLING TO EQUIP YOUTH FOR “MAKE FOR INDIA, MAKE FOR THE WORLD” MANUFACTURING
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR EDUCATION WITH TOTAL OUTLAY OF RS 500 CRORE
‘GYAN BHARATAM MISSION’ TO PRESERVE OVER 1 CRORE MANUSCRIPTS
NATIONAL DIGITAL REPOSITORY OF INDIAN KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS FOR KNOWLEDGE SHARING TO BE SET UP
Posted On: 01 FEB 2025 9:15PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister for Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan lauded the Budget 2025-26, emphasizing it as a budget that takes everyone together and prioritizes welfare, well-being, and empowerment of all citizens while firmly placing India on the path to achieving the goal of developed India by 2047. The Minister expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman for a visionary and futuristic Budget.
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that this Budget is aiming to cater to the comprehensive requirements, right from childhood to youth, who would be leading from the front in realizing the Viksit Bharat agenda in 2047 and beyond.
He further stated that the Budget announcements encompass today’s entire youth demographic, who will lead the nation for the next 25 years. This will strengthen the Bhartiya Gyan Parampara within our education system and foster a global community, he added.
The Minister highlighted that the Budget 2025-26 emphasizes investing in people and facilitating all-round development of India’s human capital. He noted that with “Gareeb, Yuva, Annadata, and Naari” as the pillars, this budget would uplift sentiments of the poor and middle class, accelerate spending, catalyze investments, and spur growth. He emphasized that it would remove regional imbalances, build rural prosperity, nurture research, innovation and entrepreneurship, invigorate the education and skilling landscape, and lead to employment-led development.
The Minister expressed gratitude for continuing with bigger and bolder investments in education, skilling, research, and innovation, stating that this budget represents another big leap towards empowering India’s population with more opportunities for world-class education and building capacities of human capital.
The Minister informed that the total budget allocation for the Ministry of Education has reached ₹128,650 crore, marking a 6.22% increase over BE 2024-25.
Union Education Minister informed that Fifty thousand Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) will be set up in Government schools in next 5 years to cultivate the spirit of curiosity and innovation, and foster a scientific temper among young minds. With this, students of all Government secondary schools will have access to ATL. The Union Budget also proposes to provide Broadband connectivity to all Government secondary schools and primary health centres in rural areas under the BharatNet project, he added.
Shri Pradhan informed that the total number of students in 23 IITs has increased 100 per cent from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh in the past 10 years. Additional infrastructure will be created in the 5 IITs started after 2014 to facilitate education for 6,500 more students. Hostel and other infrastructure capacity at IIT, Patna will also be expanded, he further added.
Shri Pradhan said that with the aim to help students understand their subjects better, it is proposed to implement a Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme to provide digital-form Indian language books for school and higher education.
The Union Minister also informed that five National Centres of Excellence for skilling will be set up with global expertise and partnerships to equip youth with the skills required for “Make for India, Make for the World” manufacturing. The partnerships will cover curriculum design, training of trainers, a skills certification framework, and periodic reviews.
Shri Pradhan highlighted that the fourth AI Centre of Excellence in Education, envisioned in the Budget 2025-26, aims to revolutionize India’s educational system from pre-primary to professional and research levels. By harnessing artificial intelligence, it seeks to address disparities and inefficiencies, ensuring equitable and high-quality education across the nation. This Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for Education will be established with a total outlay of ₹500 crore, he added
The Minister informed the allocation of Rs 20,000 crore to implement private sector driven Research, Development and Innovation. In the next five years, under the PM Research Fellowship scheme, provision of ten thousand fellowships for technological research in IITs and IISc with enhanced financial support is also proposed in the Budget, he added.
The Minister informed that a Gyan Bharatam Mission for survey, documentation and conservation of our manuscript heritage with academic institutions, museums, libraries and private collectors will be undertaken to cover more than 1 crore manuscripts. A National Digital Repository of Indian knowledge systems for knowledge sharing will also be set up.
D/o School Education & Literacy
Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education
Allocations to Major Autonomous Bodies under Higher Education
*****
MV/AK
(Release ID: 2098805) Visitor Counter : 90
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Mclaughlin, Adjunct Research Fellow, The University of Western Australia
What could you buy for 90 cents? Not much – perhaps a banana.
Unfortunately, that’s how much the Australian government has invested per person annually on walking, wheeling and cycling over the past 20 years.
How would Australians’ lives change if that figure rose?
Read more:
What makes a city great for running and how can we promote ‘runnability’ in urban design?
From 2008-2028, the federal government spent $384 million on the following active transport investments:
All up, about $714 per person is spent annually on roads; 90 cents out of this $714 is just pocket change.
Even if you don’t want to walk, wheel or ride, you should care because less driving helps everyone, including other drivers, who benefit from reduced traffic.
As a result of this over-investment in car road-building, Australia has the smallest number of walking trips of 15 comparable countries across Western Europe and North America.
Cycling rates are equally dismal.
Globally, the United Nations recommends nations spend 20% of their transport budgets on walking and cycling infrastructure.
Countries like France, Scotland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and the largest cities in China invest between 10% and 20%.
These places were not always known for walking and cycling – it took sustained redirecting of investment from roads to walking and cycling.
Meanwhile, many Australians are dependent on cars because they have no other choice in terms of transport options.
Road use is inherently dangerous – in Australia last year, more than 1,300 people died on our roads, which is more than 25 people a week.
Owning a car can also be expensive, which is especially concerning for those struggling with the cost-of-living.
The typical Australian household spends 17% of its income on transport – with car ownership making up 92.5% of that figure, compared to 7.5% on public transport.
Many Australians feel forced to own a car to get around, so investing in paths and public transport provides people the freedom to get around how they choose.
Congestion is getting worse in most major cities and we can’t build our way out of it with more or wider roads.
About two-thirds of car journeys in our cities could be walked, wheeled or cycled in 15 minutes or less, but these short car trips clog up our roads with traffic.
A major source of all emissions in Australia are from driving.
If more people felt safe to walk, cycle or take public transport, it would reduce this major emissions source.
There is a strong rationale and economic argument, too. The NSW government has estimated every kilometre walked benefits the national economy by $6.30, while every kilometre cycled benefits the economy by $4.10.
This means that by simply walking 500 metres to the local shops and back, you’re saving the economy about $6, while riding five kilometres to work and back saves a whopping $41 for the economy.
Redirecting funding from the current road budget makes the most sense, because getting more people walking, wheeling and cycling eases pressure on the transport system (think of school holiday traffic).
This is a popular proposition. One study found two-thirds of Australians supported the redirection of funding from roads to walking and cycling infrastructure. Another found many Australians support building more walking and cycling paths where they live.
This is not a partisan issue: all Australians in all communities would benefit, including drivers who would face less traffic and enjoy more parking availability.
Unfortunately, false solutions to our unwalkable and un-cycleable communities continue to derail our focus on fixing the root cause of our problems. For example, telling people to ride to work, while not providing them a safe place to do so, doesn’t make sense.
Investing $15 per Australian per year would create a better built environment to walk, wheel or ride and deliver significant economic, social and environmental benefits.
If this was matched with 50:50 funding from state and territory governments (which often happens with transport projects) over a ten-year period, this investment would deliver the four national projects already shortlisted on Infrastructure Australia’s infrastructure priority list for our largest capital cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane.
It could also fund up to 15 regional cities to build comprehensive networks. Wagga Wagga for example, is about to finish building a 56 kilometre network of walking and cycling paths. As a result, those using the network are 3.7 times more likely to meet physical activity guidelines than those who don’t.
Such an investment could also fund supporting initiatives, such as electric bike subsidies which have proven extremely popular in both Queensland and Tasmania.
The Australian government could invest less than $15 per person – at $5 or $10 per year, the key projects outlined in Infrastructure Australia’s infrastructure priority list could still be targeted, but those would just take proportionally longer because there is less money.
Or, instead of investing in the four capital cities on the infrastructure priority list, it could invest in two.
A different approach could be to spend $5 or $10 to fund infrastructure for regional towns, but this wouldn’t help the problems in our capital cities.
When it comes to transport, the saying goes “we get what we build” – so if we build more roads, we get more people driving. If we build paths, we get more people walking and cycling short journeys and our roads are less congested.
We need bold solutions, and $15 should be seen not as an extravagance.
Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Sara Stace, President of Better Streets Australia, for her expertise in discussions regarding this article.
Dr Matthew ‘Tepi’ Mclaughlin has received research funding from government research funding organisations. He is currently a Board Member of Better Streets.
Peter McCue receives an Australian Postgraduate Research Award to study a PhD. He is a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Advocacy Committee of the Asia-Pacific Society for Physical Activity.
Grant Ennis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Australia spends $714 per person on roads every year – but just 90 cents goes to walking, wheeling and cycling – https://theconversation.com/australia-spends-714-per-person-on-roads-every-year-but-just-90-cents-goes-to-walking-wheeling-and-cycling-247902
Source: Tasmania Police
Police investigating Tea Tree burglary
Monday, 3 February 2025 – 11:47 am.
Police are calling for information in relation to a house burglary on Middle Tea Tree Road at Tea Tree about 4pm Saturday 1 February.
A white Toyota Hilux utility vehicle with NSW registration plates was recovered by police on Grices Road shortly after the incident.
Police are interested in any dash cam footage of the vehicle in the Tea Tree area between 3.50pm and 4.50pm Saturday.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Bridgewater CIB on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at crimestopperstas.com.au. Information can be provided anonymously.
Source: New Zealand Government
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is welcoming the opening of an online portal for the public to submit to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned.
“The portal is an easy way for members of the public to have their say to the Inquiry about how the response to the COVID-19 pandemic affected them, their families, and their businesses. The terms or reference covered by Phase 2 of the Inquiry includes the use of vaccines, lockdowns, testing, and public health materials,” says Ms van Velden.
Last year the Government announced that there would be a second phase of the Inquiry into COVID-19 covering outstanding matters of public concern. Both the ACT-National and New Zealand First-National coalition agreements include commitments to expand the Inquiry into COVID-19. Phase 2 of the Inquiry began on 29 November and will deliver the final report in February 2026.
Any member of the public can submit to the Inquiry using the portal at www.covid19inquiry.nz. Submissions close at midnight on 27 April 2025.
“I would strongly encourage New Zealanders to have their say by making a submission to the Inquiry. I look forward to seeing the final report delivered to me in February 2026.”
The full terms of reference for Phase 2 of the Inquiry is available here: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2022/0323/latest/LMS792965.html
Note to Editors:
The Phase 1 report is publicly available at the Royal Commission’s website. [https://www.covid19lessons.royalcommission.nz/]
Bios for the Commissioners:
Grant Illingworth KC (Chair)
Mr Illingworth is a litigation specialist, and he has conducted his own practice since 1975. During this time, he has conducted a wide range of civil, criminal, and immigration cases, and tribunal proceedings. Mr Illingworth has appeared as counsel at every level of the New Zealand legal system, including in the Court of Appeal, Privy Council, and the Supreme Court.
His area of expertise is in public law, including constitutional law, administrative law, and judicial review. He has experience in tribunal proceedings, particularly disciplinary proceedings for medical, legal, and accountancy professions. Mr Illingworth has acted as counsel in proceedings involving two constitutional crises in Fiji.
Judy Kavanagh (Commissioner)
Ms Kavanagh is a public policy professional with experience and expertise in evaluating evidence and in making evidence-based policy recommendations to Government. She has held Director of Inquiries roles including at the Infrastructure Commission and ten years at the Productivity Commission. She has a background in economics with a particular interest in urban economics, infrastructure pricing and policy. Ms Kavanagh worked as a lecturer in Economics for fifteen years and produced research on regulatory systems.
Anthony Hill (Commissioner)
Mr Hill is a practicing barrister, and has a background in health and disability sectors, having held senior positions at the Ministry of Health for 15 years. Mr Hill served as the Health and Disability Commissioner for 10 years, after six years as a Deputy Director-General of Health. This involved oversight of the funding and performance of the District Health Boards, and a range of health crown entities. He also served as the Ministry of Health’s chief legal counsel and was a solicitor with the Ministry of Commerce.
