Gujarat government announces Biotechnology Policy 2016

Gujarat Government announced its ‘Biotechnology Policy-2016’ to establish state as a preferred destination for manufacturing of biotechnology products.

 The policy has provisions for various incentives for investors who are keen to set up their units in the state. It aims to take annual turnover of biotechnology products to Rs 15,000 crore from current f Rs 4,500 crore turn over within next 3-4 years and make Gujarat top state in this sector in the country.

 Under the policy 

• State government will provide capital subsidy up to Rs 25 crore on the total investment for developing a Biotechnology (BT) Park.
•  In addition, the developer of such park will be eligible for 100% reimbursement of stamp duty paid on lease or sale of the land for setting such park. 
• BT Park developer will also be given 100% reimbursement for electricity duty paid for a period of five years. Capital subsidy up to Rs 10 per cent of the gross fixed capital investment(GFCI) with a ceiling of Rs 5 crore will be given to individual BT manufacturing units having GFCI up to Rs 50 crore. 
• Further, BT units borrowings up to Rs 50 crore will be entitled to an interest subsidy at the rate of 5% with a ceiling of 2.5 crore per annum. 
• Government would give 100% reimbursement of stamp duty paid on sale or lease of the land o encourage new start-ups in this sector.

Union Cabinet approves key changes to GST Constitutional Amendment Bill

• The Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the GST (goods & services tax) constitutional amendment Bill in order to incorporate suggestions made by states. 
• This decision follows a crucial meeting of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. 

Cabinet has approved 

• Removal of 1% additional tax on inter-state sales as proposed in the Constitutional Bill. 
• Removal of 1% additional manufacturing levy tax by manufacturing States from the Bill. 
• Inclusion of five years compensation clause for state governments for any loss that they may incur. 
• Adjudication of dispute between states and the Union Government by the GST Council, which will have representation from both the Centre and states. 

Background 

In the meeting of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers, States had agreed that the 1% additional levy be removed from the Bill. They also had agreed to include 100% compensation formula in the Bill for the first five years of the implementation of the GST.

7 Indian companies on 2016 Fortune 500 list

Seven Indian companies have made it to the latest Fortune 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations in terms of revenue. Fortune 500 list is an annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest companies, compiled and published by the American business magazine Fortune and published globally by Time Inc. In it companies are ranked by total revenues for their respective fiscal year which has ended on or before March 31, 2015. Revenue figures of companies mainly include their consolidated subsidiaries, reported revenues from the discontinued operations and excluding excise taxes.

Key Facts

• 7 Indian companies are:Indian Oil Corporation (161st), Reliance Industries (215th), Tata Motors (226th), State Bank of India (232nd), Bharat Petroleum (358th), Hindustan Petroleum (367th) and Rajesh Exports (423rd).
•  Global top 10 companies: Walmart (1st), State Grid (2nd), China National Petroleum (3rd), Sinopec Group (4th), Royal Dutch Shell (5th), Exxon Mobil (6th), Volkswagen (7th), Toyota Motor (8th), Apple (9th) and BP (10th).
• The world’s 500 largest companies generated collectively generated 27.6 trillion dollars in revenues and 1.5 trillion dollars in profits in 2015.
• Together, 2016 Fortune Global 500 companies employ 67 million people worldwide and are represented by 33 countries.

India ranks 110th on Sustainable Development index

• India has been ranked a low 110th out of 149 countries on Sustainable Development index (SDI). 
• The SDI assesses countries where they stand with regard to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also their progress and ensuring accountability.

Key Facts 

• Top 10 Countries: Sweden (1st), Denmark (2nd), Norway (3rd), Finland (4th), Switzerland (5th), Germany (6th), Austria (7th), Netherlands (8th), Iceland (9th) and United Kingdom (10th). 
• Bottom 5 Countries: Chad (145th), Niger (146th), Congo (147th), Liberia (148th) and Central African Republic (149th).
•  India’s neighbours: Pakistan (115th), Myanmar (117th), Bangladesh (118th) and Afghanistan (139th). 
• BIRCS: Russia (47th), China (76th) and India (110th). 
• The countries closest to fulfilling the SDGs are not the biggest economies but comparably small, developed countries. 
• Poor and developing countries score lowest on the SDG Index as they have little resources at their disposal. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries struggle to meet the goals on climate change, inequality, sustainable consumption and ecosystems.
•  Developing countries face major difficulties in providing basic social services and infrastructure access to their populations. 
• For Latin America and the Caribbean countries face challenge of high levels of inequality among the most pressing issues. 
• East and South Asia outperform many other developing regions but unmet challenges mostly persist in health and education. 
• Sub-Saharan Africa which is the world’s poorest region faces major challenges across almost all SDGs, with extreme poverty, hunger and health as major areas. 

About Sustainable Development index (SDI) 

• The SDI seeks to help countries identify gaps that must be closed in order to achieve SDGS by 2030 and to identify priorities for early action. 
• The new index was launched by Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Bertelsmann Stiftung. 
• Methodology: SDI ranks countries based on their performance across the 17 global SDGs. The index helps countries to identify priorities for early actions. 

About Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 

SDGs are 17 global non-binding goals featuring 169 targets to be implemented from 2015 to 2030. These goals and targets are a set of ambitious objectives across the three dimensions of sustainable development viz. economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, underpinned by good governance.

Axis Bank launches India’s first certified green bond at London Stock Exchange

Axis Bank has launched India’s first internationally-listed certified green bond to finance climate change solutions around the world at London Stock Exchange (LSE). 

The proceeds of the bond will be invested by Axis Bank in green energy, transportation and infrastructure projects. It will play important role in reinforcing India’s commitment to produce 175,000 MW of renewable power by 2022. 

The green bonds of Axis Bank were certified by the Climate Bonds Standards Board. It has raised 500 million dollars at the LSE after it launched. This is the first green bond of Axis Bank issued within its 5 billion dollars Medium Term Note (MTN) programme, which has also has been listed entirely on LSE.

 What are Green Bonds?

 Bonds basically are debt instruments which help issuer to get capital while the investors receive fixed income in the form of interest. In case of Green Bonds, the issuer gets capital from the investors only if the investment (capital) is being raised to fund green projects relating to renewable energy or emission reductions etc.

Union Government approves NIMZ in in Kalinganagar, Odisha

The Union Government has given its final approval to setting up of National Investment & Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) in Kalinganagar, Odisha.

 It will come up on a massive area of 163 square kilometres and on completion will be the third NIMZ of India. For execution NIMZ project, Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has approved fund of Rs. 4241 crore. 

Of this total amount, estimated Rs. 3816 crore will be invested for the first phase of the project which will be completed by 2020. NIMZ in Kalinganagar will create employment opportunities for around 1.5 lakh people. 

It will help Odisha grow as a manufacturing hub and also help Paradip port’s growth. 

About National Investment & Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) 

• Under National Manufacturing Policy (NMP), Union Government in 2014 had announced to set up 16 NIMZs to boost manufacturing sector. 
• Till 2013-14, 16 NIMZs were set up, 8 of them are along the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). NMP aims to enhance the share of manufacturing sector in GDP to 25% and create 100 million employment opportunities over a decade.