Highlights of this Issue
New union government formed after elections to the 17th Lok Sabha
A total of 542 Members of Parliament were elected to the Lok Sabha. The BJP won a total of 303 seats and has formed the union government with its allies.
GDP estimated to grow at 6.8% in 2018-19; growth of 5.8% in Q4
GDP growth (at constant prices) in the January to March quarter was lower than the 6.6% growth in the previous quarter of 2018-19. Growth in all sectors, except services and mining, decreased from Q3 of 2018-19.
Draft National Education Policy 2019 released
The draft Policy highlights key challenges in the education sector and establishes a policy framework for action. The policy initiatives address learning outcomes in education, examination reforms, and teacher development.
Scheme for providing minimum assured pension to traders approved
The scheme is contribution-based and intends to provide a minimum pension of Rs 3,000 per month to all shopkeepers, retail traders and self-employed persons after attaining the age of 60 years.
Annual Report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey released
Key findings based on survey in 2017-18 include: (i) Labour Force Participation Rate (% of people in the population working or looking for work) in age group 15-59 years is 53%, and (ii) unemployment rate is 6.1%.
Cabinet approves PM Kisan Pension Yojana for small and marginal farmers
Under the scheme, farmers will be provided with a minimum fixed pension of Rs 3,000 per month on attaining the age of 60 years. The amount of contribution made by the farmer will be matched by the central government.
Ambit of PM-KISAN scheme extended to include all farmer families
Earlier, farmer families with total cultivable landholding of up to two hectares were eligible for income support under the scheme. This has been extended to all farmer families irrespective of the size of their landholdings.
RBI publishes vision document on Payment and Settlement Systems in India
Vision 2021 concentrates on (a) exceptional customer experience; and (b) enabling an eco-system which will result in this customer experience through the four goal-posts of Competition, Cost, Convenience and Confidence.
Ministry of Defence introduces scheme for self-certification of defence products
The objective of the scheme is to encourage vendors to assume direct responsibility to sustain and improve the quality of products they supply.
Government notified guidelines for sale of biodiesel for blending with diesel
Guidelines include restricting sale of biodiesel for transportation purpose to indigenously produced biodiesel, a registration system, separate boards in English/Hindi and vernacular language at retail outlets among others.
Parliament
Anya Bharat Ram (anya@prsindia.org)
New union government formed after general elections to Lok Sabha
The elections to the 17th Lok Sabha concluded in May 2019 and the new union government was formed. A total of 542 Members of Parliament were elected to the Lok Sabha. The parties with the highest number of seats (at least 10 seats) in the Lok Sabha after the 17th general elections are listed below.
Table 1: Party position after 17th general elections
Party |
Number of seats |
Bharatiya Janata Party |
303 |
Indian National Congress |
52 |
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
23 |
Yuvajana Sramika Raithu Congress Party |
22 |
All India Trinamool Congress |
22 |
Shiv Sena |
18 |
Janata Dal (United) |
16 |
Biju Janata Dal |
12 |
Bahujan Samaj Party |
10 |
Others |
64 |
Total |
542 |
Sources: Election Commission of India, General Election to Lok Sabha Results, 2019, PRS.
The National Democratic Alliance has formed the government, with Mr. Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.[1] The new Cabinet was sworn in on May 30, 2019. The list of Ministers is given in the Annexure.[2]
Macroeconomic Development
Gayatri Mann (gayatri@prsindia.org)
GDP estimated to grow at 6.8% in 2018-19; growth of 5.8% in Q4
Provisional estimates suggest that the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for 2018-19 is 6.8%, at constant prices.[3] This is estimated to be lower than the 7.2% growth in 2017-18. GDP grew at 5.8% in the fourth quarter of 2018-19, over the corresponding period a year ago.3 This was lower than the 6.6% growth in the third quarter of 2018-19. The quarterly trend of GDP growth over the last two financial years is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: GDP growth (in %, year-on-year)
Sources: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; PRS.
GDP growth across economic sectors is measured in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA). The growth in all sectors, except services and mining, has decelerated from the third quarter of 2018-19. Electricity is expected to decrease from a growth of 8.3% in the third quarter of 2018-19 to 4.3% in the fourth quarter of 2018-19. Details on sectoral GVA growth are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Gross Value Added across sectors in Q4 of 2018-19 (growth in %, year-on-year)
Sector |
Q4 2017-18 |
Q3 2018-19 |
Q4 2018-19 |
Agriculture |
6.5% |
2.8% |
-0.1% |
Mining |
3.8% |
1.8% |
4.2% |
Manufacturing |
9.5% |
6.4% |
3.1% |
Electricity |
9.2% |
8.3% |
4.3% |
Construction |
6.4% |
9.7% |
7.1% |
Services |
8.2% |
7.2% |
8.4% |
GVA |
7.9% |
6.3% |
5.7% |
GDP |
8.1% |
6.6% |
5.8% |
Note: GVA is GDP without taxes and subsidies, at constant prices (2011-12 base year).
Sources: Central Statistics Office, MOSPI; PRS.
Industrial production grew by 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018-19
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by 0.5% in the fourth quarter (Jan-Mar) of 2018-19, as compared to the same period in 2017-18.[4] Mining saw the highest increase of 2.2% in this quarter, followed by an increase of 1.5% in electricity and 0.1% in manufacturing . Over the past year, from April 2018 to March 2019, IIP had an overall growth of 3.6% over 2017-18.
Figure 2 shows the change in industrial production during the fourth quarter of 2018-19.
Figure 2: Growth in IIP in fourth quarter of 2018-19 (year-on-year)
Sources: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; PRS.
Education
Gayatri Mann (gayatri@prsindia.org)
Draft National Education Policy 2019 released
The Committee for Draft National Education Policy (Chair: Dr. K. Kasturirangan) submitted its report on May 31, 2019.[5] The Committee was constituted under the Ministry of Human Resource Development in June 2017. The report proposes an Education Policy, which seeks to address the challenges of: (i) access, (ii) equity, (iii) quality, (iv) affordability, and (v) accountability faced by the current education system. Key observations and recommendations of the Committee include:
Labour and Employment
Roshni Sinha (roshni@prsindia.org)
Pension scheme for traders and shop keepers approved
The Ministry of Labour and Employment approved a voluntary minimum pension scheme for traders and shopkeepers.[6] Key features of the scheme include:
Annual Report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey released
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the first Annual Report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey.[7] The Report provides annual estimates relating to various aspects of employment and unemployment at the national and state level. The report is based on data collected from 1,02,113 households between July 2017 and June 2018. Key results of the Survey include:
Agriculture
Suyash Tiwari (suyash@prsindia.org)
Cabinet approves PM Kisan Pension Yojana for small and marginal farmers
The Union Cabinet approved the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Pension Yojana for small and marginal farmers.[8],[9] The scheme will provide farmers with a minimum fixed pension of Rs 3,000 per month on attaining the age of 60 years. It is a voluntary contribution-based scheme where the amount contributed by the farmer will be matched by the central government. Farmers between the age of 18 to 40 years will be eligible to start making contributions under the scheme.
After the beneficiary’s death (after the age of 60 years), their spouse will be entitled to receive 50% of the pension receivable as family pension, provided the spouse is not already a beneficiary under the scheme. If the beneficiary dies before the age of 60 years (while making contribution), the spouse will have the option of continuing the scheme by making regular contributions.
Under the scheme, farmers can choose an option where the monthly contributions will be directly deducted from the income support given under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme. Alternatively, farmers can make their monthly contributions by registering through the Common Service Centres set up by the government in rural areas for providing e-governance services.
The scheme will be funded by the central government, and is estimated to cost Rs 10,774 crore over a three-year period.
Ambit of PM-KISAN scheme extended to include all farmer families
The Union Cabinet approved extension of the PM-KISAN scheme to all farmer families irrespective of the size of their landholdings.[10] Earlier, only small and marginal landholder farmer families, i.e. families with total cultivable landholding of up to two hectares, were eligible for the income support of Rs 6,000 per year under the scheme.[11] However, certain exclusion criteria under the scheme will continue to apply. Certain farmer families of higher economic status are not eligible under the scheme, including those which are: (i) institutional land holders, (ii) families with one or more members as government employees, and (iii) families with one or more members as income tax payers.[12]
The revised scheme is expected to cover around two crore more farmers, increasing the coverage to around 14.5 crore beneficiaries. With this increase in coverage, expenditure on the scheme is estimated to increase from Rs 75,000 crore to Rs 87,218 crore in 2019-20.
Cabinet approves programme for controlling diseases among livestock
The Union Cabinet approved a programme for controlling certain diseases among livestock in the country.[13] These diseases include foot and mouth disease, and brucellosis. The programme aims to control these diseases in the next five years and subsequently eradicate them.
Foot and mouth disease is an infectious disease that causes fever, blisters inside the mouth and on the feet leading to lameness, and excessive salivation, among other things. The disease could reduce milk output in cows and buffaloes by up to 100% for a period of four to six months.
Brucellosis causes early abortions and infertility in animals, and could reduce milk output by 30% during the entire life cycle of the animal. The infection could also get transmitted to humans.
To control foot and mouth disease, vaccination would be provided to: (i) 30 crore bovines (cows, bulls and buffaloes), (ii) 20 crore sheep and goats, and (iii) one crore pigs at an interval of six months. Further, primary vaccination would be provided to bovine calves. To control brucellosis, 3.6 crore female calves would be provided 100% vaccination coverage.
The programme will be completely funded by the central government. An outlay of Rs 13,343 crore has been approved for the same.
Finance
Anurag Vaishnav (anurag@prsindia.org)
RBI publishes vision document on Payment and Settlement Systems in India
The Reserve Bank of India has published the “Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2019-2021” document. The Payment Systems Vision 2021 aims at empowering every Indian with access to a bouquet of e-payment options that are safe, secure, convenient, quick and affordable.[14]
The vision document aims to: (i) enhance the experience of customers, (ii) empower digital payment system operators and service providers, (iii) enable the digital payment eco-system and infrastructure, and (iv) put in place a forward-looking regulation.
To achieve the above, the vision document envisages the four goal-posts of competition, cost, convenience and confidence and identifies specific initiatives for each goal-post. For instance, the vision document aims to conduct customer awareness surveys to improve convenience for the customers.
The document also identifies 12 specific outcomes such as: (i) achieving 35% increase in use of digital payment for purchase of goods and services by 2021 and (ii) decrease in technical declines across payment systems by 10%.
The vision document also aims to reduce the cash in circulation as a percentage of GDP through enhanced availability of point of sales infrastructure in the country.
The RBI had constituted a High-Level Committee on Deepening of Digital Payments in January 2019.[15] The Committee has submitted its report in May 2019. [16] The RBI will examine the recommendations of the Committee and include the action points from the report in the Vision document, wherever necessary.
Working group submits its report on Foreign Portfolio Investors regulations
A Working Group has submitted its recommendations on the Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) regulations. The working group was constituted by SEBI to review the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) Regulations, 2014.[17] The Working Group aimed to: (i) consolidate existing circulars and operating guidelines into the FPI regulations, (ii) simplify and rationalise the existing guidelines, and (iii) liberalise in order to improve ease of doing business for FPIs.
Key recommendations of the Group include:
Public comments on the report are invited till June 14, 2019.
Term of the task force set up to draft new direct tax law extended by two months
Suyash Tiwari (suyash@prsindia.org)
The Ministry of Finance has extended the term of the task force set up to draft a new direct tax law by a period of two months.[18] The task force was constituted in November 2017 to review the Income Tax Act, 1961 and draft a new direct tax law keeping in view: (i) direct tax system prevalent in various countries, (ii) international best practices, (iii) economic needs of India, and (iv) any other connected matters.
The task force was required to submit its report by May 31, 2019. This has now been extended to July 31, 2019.
Defence
Vinayak Krishnan (vinayak@prsindia.org)
Ministry introduces scheme for self-certification of defence products
The Ministry of Defence introduced a scheme to allow for self-certification of defence products manufactured by Defence Public Sector Undertakings and private vendors.[19] Self-certification implies that the responsibility of certifying the quality of the product will be that of the vendor.
At present, defence products are subject to quality assurance carried out by the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (which is under the Department of Defence Production). According to the Ministry, the objective of the scheme is to encourage vendors to assume direct responsibility to sustain and improve the quality of products.
Vendors that are seeking self-certification status are required to apply to either the Directorate General of Quality Assurance or an authority in the Service Headquarters. Self-certification status will be granted by the Directorate General of Quality Assurance, based on an assessment of the quality management system put in place by the vendor, and other parameters. This status will be awarded for a period of three years. Self-certification status may be revoked in case any deficiencies in quality and reliability of the product are observed by the user. Further, it may be revoked by the Directorate General of Quality Assurance if the quality of the product is not satisfactory at any time.
Changes to scholarship scheme under the National Defence Fund approved
The Prime Minister approved certain changes to the Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme under the National Defence Fund.[20] The National Defence Fund was set up to utilise the donations received for the promotion of national defence. The Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme is a scheme being implemented under the National Defence Fund. It seeks to encourage technical and post-graduate education for widows and children of deceased/ex-service personnel of the Armed Forces, Paramilitary Forces, and Railway Protection Force.
The rates of scholarship have been increased from Rs 2,000 per month to Rs 2,500 per month for boys, and from Rs 2,250 per month to Rs 3,000 per month for girls. Further, the ambit of the scheme has been extended to include the children of state police officials who were killed during naxal or terror attacks. For the children of state police officials, 500 scholarships will be awarded per year. The Ministry of Home Affairs will be the nodal ministry for such cases.
Petroleum and Natural Gas
Anurag Vaishnav (anurag@prsindia.org)
Ministry notifies guidelines for sale of biodiesel for blending with diesel
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has notified guidelines for sale of biodiesel for blending with diesel for transportation.[21]
Biodiesel is produced from non-edible vegetable oils, acid oil, used cooking oil or animal fat and serves as an alternative fuel. Blending ethanol with petrol helps reduce vehicle exhaust emissions and reduces the import burden for petroleum. The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 has set a target of achieving 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel by 2030 to promote the use of alternative and environmental friendly fuels.[22]
The guidelines notified by the Ministry include:
High Level Committee recommends strategy to reduce import dependency
The High-Level Committee constituted by the government to examine issues relating to the Petroleum and Natural Gas sector submitted its report to the Ministry.[23] The Committee examined the preparation of action plan to create synergy among research and development centres of oil and gas public sector undertakings (PSUs), tax issues, and ways to benefit from GST by the oil and gas PSUs.
The Committee in their report recommended short term, medium term and long term strategies to reduce the import dependency of the nation. The report submitted by the Committee has not yet been released in public domain.
Statistics and Programme Implementation
Anurag Vaishnav (anurag@prsindia.org)
Merger of CSO and NSSO into National Statistics Office approved
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation approved merging of the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) into a single statistics wing, which will be known as the National Statistical Office (NSO).[24]
The NSO would be headed by the Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. A committee will be constituted to recommend the operational steps required for the merger. Note that a proposal to create the NSO by merging the NSSO and CSO had been made earlier in July 2005.[25]
Currently, the CSO, an attached office of the Ministry, coordinates statistical activities in the country and evolves statistical standards.[26] The NSSO, a subordinate office (field agency) under the Ministry, conducts large scale sample surveys across diverse fields on an all India basis, and publishes the results.[27]
Energy
Prachee Mishra (prachee@prsindia.org)
Connecting old solar off-grid plants to the grid approved
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy approved connecting the old solar off-grid power plants to the grid.[28] The connections will be made in areas where reliable grid supply is now available with provision for net-metering. Net metering is a billing mechanism that credits solar energy system (or plant) owners for the electricity they add to the grid.
The connections will be subject to applicable regulatory provisions. Further, the cost of such connections will be borne by the respective state government or beneficiary departments.
Annexure
The list of Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State – Independent Charge, and Ministers of State is given below.
Table 4: Cabinet Ministers
Name |
Portfolio |
Mr. Narendra Modi |
Prime Minister |
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions |
|
Department of Atomic Energy |
|
Department of Space |
|
All important policy issues |
|
Portfolios not allocated to any Minister |
|
Mr. Raj Nath Singh |
Defence |
Mr. Amit Shah |
Home Affairs |
Mr. Nitin Gadkari |
Road Transport and Highways |
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
|
Mr. D.V. Sadananda Gowda |
Chemicals and Fertilizers |
Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman |
Finance |
Corporate Affairs |
|
Mr. Ramvilas Paswan |
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution |
Mr. Narendra Singh Tomar |
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare |
Rural Development |
|
Panchayati Raj |
|
Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad |
Law and Justice |
Communications |
|
Electronics and Information Technology |
|
Ms. Harsimrat Kaur Badal |
Food Processing Industries |
Mr. Thaawar Chand Gehlot |
Social Justice and Empowerment |
Dr. S. Jaishankar |
External Affairs |
Mr. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ |
Human Resource Development |
Mr. Arjun Munda |
Tribal Affairs |
Ms. Smriti Irani |
Women and Child Development |
Textiles |
|
Dr. Harsh Vardhan |
Health and Family Welfare |
Science and Technology |
|
Earth Sciences |
|
Mr. Prakash Javadekar |
Environment, Forest and Climate Change |
Information and Broadcasting |
|
Mr. Piyush Goyal |
Railways |
Commerce and Industry |
|
Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan |
Petroleum and Natural Gas |
Steel |
|
Mr. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi |
Minority Affairs |
Mr. Pralhad Joshi |
Parliamentary Affairs |
Coal |
|
Mines |
|
Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey |
Skill Development and Entrepreneurship |
Mr. Arvind Sawant |
Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise |
Mr. Giriraj Singh |
Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries |
Mr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat |
Jal Shakti |
Sources: Press Information Bureau; PRS.
Table 5: Ministers of State – Independent
Name |
Portfolio |
Mr. Santosh Kumar Gangwar |
Labour and Employment |
Mr. Rao Inderjit Singh |
Statistics and Programme Implementation |
Planning |
|
Mr. Shripad Yesso Naik |
Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy |
Defence |
|
Dr. Jitendra Singh |
Development of North Eastern Region |
Prime Minister’s Office |
|
Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions |
|
Atomic Energy |
|
Space |
|
Mr. Kiren Rijiju |
Youth Affairs and Sports |
Minority Affairs |
|
Mr. Prahalad Singh Patel |
Culture |
Tourism |
|
Mr. Raj Kumar Singh |
Power |
New and Renewable Energy |
|
Skill Development and Entrepreneurship |
|
Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri |
Housing and Urban Affairs |
Civil Aviation |
|
Commerce and Industry |
|
Mr. Mansukh L. Mandaviya |
Shipping |
Chemicals and Fertilizers |
Sources: Press Information Bureau; PRS.
Table 6: Ministers of State
Name |
Portfolio |
Mr. Faggansingh Kulaste |
Steel |
Mr. Ashwini Kumar Choubey |
Health and Family Welfare |
Mr. Arjun Ram Meghwal |
Parliamentary Affairs |
Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises |
|
General V. K. Singh |
Road Transport and Highways |
Mr. Krishan Pal |
Social Justice and Empowerment |
Mr. Danve Raosaheb Dadarao |
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution |
Mr. G. Kishan Reddy |
Home Affairs |
Mr. Parshottam Rupala |
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare |
Mr. Ramdas Athawale |
Social Justice and Empowerment |
Ms. Niranjan Jyoti |
Rural Development |
Mr. Babul Supriyo |
Environment, Forest and Climate Change |
Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan |
Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries |
Mr. Sanjay Dhotre |
Human Resource Development |
Communications |
|
Electronics and Information Technology |
|
Mr. Suresh Angadi |
Railways |
Mr. Nityanand Rai |
Home Affairs |
Mr. Rattan Lal Kataria |
Jal Shakti |
Social Justice and Empowerment |
|
Mr. V. Muraleedharan |
External Affairs |
Parliamentary Affairs |
|
Ms. Renuka Singh Saruta |
Tribal Affairs |
Mr. Som Parkash |
Commerce and Industry |
Mr. Rameswar Teli |
Food Processing Industries |
Mr. Pratap Chandra Sarangi |
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
Animal Husbandry |
|
Dairying and Fisheries |
|
Mr. Kailash Choudhary |
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare |
Ms. Debasree Chaudhuri |
Women and Child Development |
Sources: Press Information Bureau; PRS.
[1] “Press Communique”, Press Information Bureau, President's Secretariat, May 25, 2019.
[2] “Press Communique”, Press Information Bureau, President's Secretariat, May 31, 2019.
[3] “Press Note on Provisional Estimates of National Income 2018-19 and Quarterly Estimates of Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2018-19”, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, May 31, 2019, http://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/press_release/Press%20Note%20PE%202018-19-31.5.2019-Final.pdf.
[4] “Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production and Use Based Index for the Month of March 2019 (Base 2011-12=100)”, Press Release, Central Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, May 10, 2019, http://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/press_release/IIP_mar19.pdf
[5] Draft National Education Policy 2019, Ministry of Human Resource Development, May 31, 2019, https://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/Draft_NEP_2019_EN.pdf.
[6] “Traders to get pension coverage”, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment, May 31, 2019.
[7] Annual Report, Periodic Labour Force Survey, July 2017 – June 2018, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, May 2019, http://www.mospi.nic.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/Annual%20Report%2C%20PLFS%202017-18_31052019.pdf.
[8] “Landmark decision taken in the first Cabinet meeting of the NDA Government offers pension coverage to crores of farmers”, Press Information Bureau, Cabinet, May 31, 2019.
[9] “Union Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar holds review meeting with Agriculture Ministry officials”, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, June 1, 2019.
[10] “PM-KISAN Scheme extension to include all eligible farmer families irrespective of the size of land holdings”, Press Information Bureau, Cabinet, May 31, 2019.
[11] “Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi announced to provide assured income support to small and marginal farmers”, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Finance, February 1, 2019.
[12] Operational Guidelines of “Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)”, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, http://agricoop.gov.in/sites/default/files/operational_GuidePM.pdf.
[13] “Union Cabinet clears new initiative to control Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis to support the livestock rearing farmers”, Press Information Bureau, Cabinet, May 31, 2019.
[14] RBI publishes ‘Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2019-2021’, Press Releases, Reserve Bank of India, May 15, 2019, https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=47045.
[15] Committee on Deepening of Digital Payments, Press Releases, Reserve Bank of India, January 8, 2019, https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=45949.
[16] Committee on Deepening of Digital Payments, Press Releases, Reserve Bank of India, May 17, 2019, https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=47068.
[17] Report of the Working Group on FPI Regulations, Reports, Securities and Exchange Board of India, May 24, 2019, https://www.sebi.gov.in/sebi_data/commondocs/may-2019/Annexure-A_p.pdf
[18] F. No. 370149/230/2017 – Part (3), Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, May 27, 2019, https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/Communications/Circular/F_No_370149_230_2017_Part_3_27_5_19.pdf.
[19] Scheme for Self Certification of Defence Public Sector & Private Vendors, Department of Defence Production, May 13, 2019, https://ddpmod.gov.in/sites/default/files/Self%20Certification%20Scheme%20Govt%20Sanction%20Letter-merged.pdf.
[20] “Major changes approved in the ‘Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme’ under the National Defence Fund Rates of Scholarship Enhanced and the scheme to include State Police Personnel”, Press Information Bureau, Prime Minister’s Office, May 31, 2019.
[21] F.No.P-13039(18)/1/2018-CC(P-26825), Gazette of India, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, May 1, 2019, http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/203238.pdf
[22] F. No.P-13032(16)/18/2017, Gazette of India, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, June 4, 2018, http://www.petroleum.nic.in/sites/default/files/biofuelpolicy2018_1.pdf.
[23] High level Committee Submits its report; Recommends Strategy to reduce import dependency, Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, 21 May 2019.
[24] Order No. M-12011/1/2019-CAP, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Central Statistics Office, May 23, 2019, http://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/iss-orders/Order_Restructuring%20of%20MoSPI%2023052019.pdf.
[25] “National Statistical Organization on the anvil”, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, July 20, 2005, http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?relid=10254.
[26] Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, last accessed on May 30, 2019, http://www.mospi.gov.in/central-statistics-office-cso-0.
[27] National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, last accessed on May 30, 2019, http://www.mospi.gov.in/national-sample-survey-office-nsso.
[28] Circular, F No. 42/09/2018-SPV Division, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, May 14, 2019, https://mnre.gov.in/sites/default/files/webform/notices/grid..pdf.
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