GOVT APPROVES 14 FDI PROPOSALS WORTH Rs 1,528.38 CRORE

14 FDI PROPOSALS APPROVED BY THE GOVT

 Based on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), the government has approved fourteen proposals of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounting to `1,528.38 crore. Th ese proposals include `600 crore proposal of Laurus Labs for a brownfi eld pharma company, `275 crore proposal of ACME Solar Energy to increase foreign investment from 50 per cent to 76 per cent and `485.9 crore proposal of Golden Agri Resources, which is seeking approval for downstream investment. However, six proposals have been rejected while seven proposals have been deferred.

PM TO INAUGURATE TWO HYDRO PROJECTS IN KARGIL AND LEH:

PIYUSH GOYAL Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon inaugurate two hydro projects in Kargil and Leh districts. Also, he will lay the foundation stone for Srinagar- Leh transmission line to augment the supply of electricity in the region from rest of the country. While inaugurating FICCI’s conference on hydro power in India, Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, said that government is quite serious on unlocking the untapped potential of renewable energy present in the region. He informed that government is also contemplating creating a body to look at the long term hydro projects. He explained that the government is keen to tap the potential of hydro power and there is a need to create a positive public perception for hydro power as it can resolve India’s power crisis. Th e minister emphasized that it is necessary for the states and the Centre to work in tandem and facilitate the private sector in procuring hydro projects.

LABOUR LAW REFORMS APPROVED BY CABINET

Slowly but steadily, the government is moving ahead on the reforms agenda and in line with that the Cabinet approved the much-awaited labour reforms recently. Th e Cabinet has approved amendments to all the three laws concerning labour, i.e. Factories Act 1948, Labour Laws (Exemption from furnishing returns and maintaining of registers by certain establishments 1988) and Apprenticeship Act 1961. Industry was lobbying for these reforms since last so many years and it is expected that these reforms will bring more investment as it will ease the process of doing business. As per the proposed amendments in Factories Act 1948, women would be allowed to work in the night shift with adequate safety and provision for transport after work. Also, the hours of overtime will be increased from the current limit of 50 hours to 100 hours per quarter. This can also be raised to 125 hours in the public interest with the prior approval of state government. Proposed amendments will also ensure proper safety for employees working in hazardous environment and include provision of canteen for factories employing 200 employees instead of 250 workers. Similarly, Apprenticeship Act 1961 amendments will bring flexibility for the employers to hire apprentices and will help in skill development and training. The amendment in labour laws are touted as the biggest and most anticipated reforms by the government and it will surely help in promoting manufacturing activity in the country and attracting investment.

NSPCL ORGANIZES CUSTOMER MEET IN AGRA

Joint venture of NTPC and SAIL, NSPCL recently organized its fourth customer meet in Agra. Customers of the company such as SAIL, Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company, UT Dadra and Nagar Haveli and UT Daman and Diu took part in the meet addressed by N N Mishra, NSPCL Chairman and Director (Operations) and S S Mohanti, Director (Technical), SAIL. DS