1) Union
Cabinet approved ordinance to amend Land Acquisition Act: The Union Cabinet
on 29 December 2014 approved an ordinance to amend the contentious land
acquisition act and ease restrictions including a "consent clause"
which was seen as obstacle for power, highways, housing, defence and
infrastructure projects and holding up the economy's growth potential. The
ordinance seeks to waive the "consent clause" - the requirement to
secure specific consent of owners of 70% -80% of land owners if acquisitions are
meant for defence and defence production, rural infrastructure including
electrification, housing for poor and affordable housing, industrial corridors
and infrastructure projects including projects under Public-Private Partnership
mode where ownership the land continues to be vested with the government.
2) Government
to soon establish 'SMART Police' stations in each state: In line with prime
minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'SMART Police', home minister Rajnath Singh
on 29 December 2014 decided to establish one model 'SMART Police Station' in
each state. Some suggested features of the SMART Police Station included basic
amenities for visitors, waiting area, toilets, drinking water, receptionist
whom the visitors can meet. The station will include rest room for constables,
including separate room for women constables. PM had introduced the concept of
SMART Police ( where S stands for sensitive and strict; M for modern with
mobility; A for alert and accountable; R- for reliable and responsive; T for
trained and techno-savvy) during the 49th Directors General/Inspectors General
Annual Conference at Guwahati on November 30, 2014.
3) Delhi
first city to achieve 100% enrolment in PMJDY: Delhi has become the first
city to achieve 100 percent enrolment under Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana
(PMJDY), according to a top Delhi government official. Bank accounts of more
than 31.63 lakh families have been opened under the scheme in the national
capital.
4) Government
to set up Saffron Production & Export Development Agency: Government
has approved setting up of the Specialized Agency under the Spices Board with
the nomenclature of 'Saffron Production & Export Development Agency (SPEDA)
to be headquartered at Srinagar (J&K) to plan and implement programmes for
development and promotion of exports of quality saffron. The agency will be set
up by the Spices Board in consultation with the Government of J&K as
expeditiously as possible.
5) National
Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reconstituted: The central government
on 29 December 2014 reconstituted the National Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA), a home ministry notification said. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
director of health, safety and environment D.N. Sharma has been nominated as a
member of the NDMA. Kamal Kishore, programme advisor of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), and Lt. Gen. (retd) N.C. Marwah were also named
as members.
6) IFCI
to become Government Company: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime
Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, on 29 December 2014 approved the infusion of RS.
60 crore in Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Ltd. to make it a
Government company by way of acquisition of preference shares from existing
share holder(s). Industrial Finance Corporation of India was set up in 1948 as
a Statutory Corporation under the Industrial Finance Corporation Act, 1948. A
contribution of Rs. 60 crore to the capital of the company would raise the
shareholding of the Government to 51 percent.
7) Department
of Disability Affairs gets new name: The Department of Disability Affairs
(Nishaktata Karya Vibhag) functioning under the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment has been renamed as the Department of Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities (Viklangjan Sashaktikaran Vibhag). The Gazette notification in
this regard has been issued by the Government of India, a statement said.
Carved out as separate department and christened as the Department of
Disability Affairs in 2012 to act as the nodal Department for matters
pertaining to disability and Persons with Disabilities, the department deals
with a variety of issues associated with disabilities.
8) Airtel
dropped plans to charge extra for internet voice calls: Bharti Airtel on 29
December 2014 announced rolling back of plan to start charging customers for
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services that include applications such as
Skype, Line and Viber, which lets users make free calls through the Internet.
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