The Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals on 13th September 2023.
i.Resolution on the success of the New Delhi Group20 (G20) Summit.
ii.Approval for the expansion of Ujjwala Yojana.
iii.Approval of eCourts Phase III For 4 years.
iv.Approval of MoUs between India and 3 other Countries:
- MoU between India and Armenia, India and Antigua & Barbuda, India and Sierra Leone.
v.Approval of foreign investment in M/s Suven Pharmaceuticals Limited.
Resolution On The Success Of The New Delhi Group20 (G20) Summit
The Union Cabinet has passed a resolution to commemorate the success of the 18th G20 Summit, hosted the summit for the first time by India in New Delhi from September 9th to 10th, 2023.
- The Summit was held in Bharat Mandapam – International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) complex, in New Delhi Delhi .
- The theme of the summit was “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth, One Family, One Future”. (the theme of India’s Presidency).
- The summit accepted the African Union as a permanent member of the G20,significant inclusion means that the G20 has now transformed into the G21.
Focused Arena:
The emphasis on achieving Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), reforming international financial institutions, establishing digital public infrastructure, advocating for a green development agreement, and supporting women-led development.
Outcomes of G20:
i.Boosting the global economy, providing more resources for development, expanding tourism, creating international job opportunities, improving food security through increased millet production and consumption, and strengthening commitment to biofuels are prominent outcomes of the G20 Summit.
- India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor(IMEC) Agreement and the Global Biofuels Alliance(GBA) were concluded at the summit.
Additional info:
i.IMEC Agreement is a proposed trade and investment corridor that would connect India, the Middle East, and Europe.
ii.The GBA is a new initiative by India to promote the global adoption of biofuels.
- India, Brazil and the United States of America(USA) are the founding members of the alliance.
Approval For The Expansion Of Ujjwala Yojana 2.0
The Union Cabinet approved the extension of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) 2.0 for release of 75 lakh LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) connections over 3 years from Financial Year 2023-24 to 2025-26.
- By providing additional 75 lakh Ujjwala connections, the total number of PMUY beneficiaries will be at 10.35 crore.
About PMUJ:
i.Ujjwala was launched in 2016 under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG).
- The scheme to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG(Liquefied Petroleum Gas) available to 5 crore rural and deprived households.
ii.In the Union budget for FY 21-22, provision for an additional one crore LPG connection under the PMUY scheme (under Ujjwala 2.0) was announced.
- The scheme targets low-income families who could not be covered under the earlier phase of PMUY.
iii.The first refill and stove will also be provided free of cost to Ujjwala beneficiaries.
iv.A subsidy of Rs.200 per 14.2 kg LPG cylinder for upto 12 refills per year is being provided to PMUY consumers.
Additional Info:
i.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around one-third of the global population rely on open fires for cooking.
ii.This leads to harmful household air pollution, contributing to an estimated 3.2 million deaths annually in 2020, with over 237,000 deaths being children under the age of 5.
Approval of eCourts Project Phase III For 4 years
The Union Cabinet has approved the eCourts Project Phase III as a Central Sector Scheme spanning 4 years (starting from 2023 onwards) with financial outlay of Rs.7210 crore.
- It will use intelligent smart systems enabling data-based decision making for judges and registries while scheduling or prioritizing cases.
Implementation:
- The scheme is implemented under the joint partnership of the Department of Justice under Ministry of Law & Justice(MoL&J) and eCommittee of Supreme Court of India(SCI).
- The scheme will be implemented in a decentralized manner through the respective High Courts to develop a judicial system that would promote ease of justice by making the system more accessible, affordable, reliable, predictable, and transparent for all stakeholders.
About E-Courts Project:
i.The eCourts Project was conceptualised on the basis of the “National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Indian Judiciary – 2005”
ii.The project aims to create a unified technology platform for the judiciary to provide a seamless and paperless interface between the courts, the litigants and other stakeholders.
eCourts Project Phase III:
i.e-Courts Phase-III builds on the successes of Phase-I and Phase-II and aims to ensure maximum ease of justice by moving towards digital, online and paperless courts through digitization of the entire court records
- Phase III is centered in the philosophy of “access and inclusion”.
ii.It uses Artificial Intelligence (Al), Machine Learning (ML), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Natural Language Processing (NLP) to provide a “smart” ecosystem.
Approval of MoUs Between India and 3 Other Countries
India and Armenia
The Union Cabinet approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology(Meity) of India and the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia in June 2023.
India and Antigua & Barbuda
The Union Cabinet also approved another MoU which was signed between the Meity of Government of India and the Ministry of Information, Communications Technologies, Utilities and Energy of Antigua & Barbuda in June 2023.
India and Sierra Leone:
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister approves the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 12th of June 2023 between the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Information and Communications of the Republic of Sierra Leone
- All the above three MoUs pave a way for cooperation in the field of sharing successful Digital Solutions implemented at Population Scale for Digital Transformation.
About MoU:
i.The MoU aims to enhance both Government to Government(G2G) and Business to Business (B2B) bilateral Cooperation in the field of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).
ii.The MoU intends to promote closer cooperation and exchange of experiences and digital technologies-based solutions (viz. INDIA STACK) in the implementation of digital transformational initiatives of both the countries.
iii.The MoU will be in force for 3 years.
India stack:
India stack is an ambitious government initiative to creating a unique digital infrastructure to solve India’s hard problems towards presence-less, paperless and cashless service delivery.
Additional Info:
i.India has led in building digital public infrastructure (DPI) and provided services during the COVID pandemic.
- Many countries are interested in learning from India’s experience and signing agreements to share DPI solutions.
.ii.Digital public infrastructure (DPI) refers to blocks or platforms such as digital identification, payment infrastructure and data exchange solutions that help countries deliver essential services to their people, empowering citizens and improving lives by enabling digital inclusion.
Approval of Foreign Investment in M/s Suven Pharmaceuticals Limited
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs(CCEA) approved the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposal for foreign investment in M/s Suven Pharmaceuticals Limited,a public limited Indian pharmaceutical company listed on the National Stock Exchange(NSE) Limited and the Bombay Stock Exchange Limited(BSE) of India.
- M/s Berhyanda Limited of Cyprus acquired 76.1% equity shares of Suven Pharmaceuticals Limited for about Rs.9589 crores.With this, the total foreign investment of acquired firm increased to 90.1%.
- The investments in the foreign investor company, M/s Berhyanda Limited, are held by Advent Funds which was managed by Advent International Corporation, an entity incorporated in United States of America (USA).
- Advent India began investing in India in 2007 and has invested approximately Rs 34,000 crores in 20 Indian companies.
Regulatory bodies like Reserve Bank of India(RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Competition Commission of India (CCI) evaluated the proposal.
FDI policy:
i.For greenfield pharmaceutical projects – 100% FDI is allowed (under automatic route)
ii.For brownfield pharmaceutical projects – FDI up to 74% are allowed (under the automatic route) and Government approval is required for investment beyond 74%.
iii.The investor-friendly Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy regime for the pharmaceutical sector brings in the best global practices in technology, innovation, and skills development.
- This will help to accelerate economic growth and development, increase capital investment, boost domestic productivity, enhance competitiveness, and generate employment.
Additional info:
i.Total FDI inflows in the pharmaceutical sector has been Rs.43,713 crore for FY 2018-19 to FY 2022-23.
- In 2022, FDI inflow in the pharmaceutical sector grew at 58%.
Recent Related News:
On July 5, 2023, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi, approved the Draft of Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2022, will be tabled in Parliament during the upcoming Monsoon session that will start on July 20 and continue till August 11 2023.
About Armenia:
President – Vahagn Khachaturyan
Capital – Yerevan
Currency – Armenian Dram(AMD)
About Antigua & Barbuda
Prime Minister – Gaston Browne
Capital – Saint John’s
Currency – East Caribbean Dollar(XCD)
About Sierra Leone
President – Julius Maada Bio
Capital – Freetown
Currency – Sierra Leonean Leone
