Headlines at a Glance – 22nd December 2021
Parliament passes Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021
Parliament passed the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill with the Rajya Sabha approving it yesterday. The Upper House passed the legislation amid the walkout by the opposition members. Lok Sabha passed the bill on Monday. The main objective of the Bill is to pave the way for linkage of electoral roll data with the AADHAAR ecosystem. This will address the menace of multiple enrolment of the same person in electoral rolls at different places. Besides, the legislation gives four opportunities to enroll in a calendar year as a voter upon attaining 18 years of age.
SOURCE: The Hindu
NITI Aayog signs agreement with UNWFP for inclusion of millets in government programmes
Aiming at a more diversified food basket under its free food distribution programme with focus on coarse grains and millets, NITI Aayog has entered into an agreement with United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to address issues related to inclusion of millets in government programmes. Under the statement of intent signed between the Aayog and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), the focus will be on mainstreaming millets and strengthening of climate resilient agriculture for enhanced food and nutrition security in India, the Aayog said recently. According to the statement, numerous steps have been taken to promote millets including establishment of center for excellence, integration of nutri-cereals in National Food Security Act and establishment of Millet Mission in multiple states.
SOURCE: Economic Times
NITI Aayog, AIM, UNCDF announce first AgriTech cohort
NITI Aayog, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) today rolled out their first AgriTech challenge cohort for its ambitious innovative Agri-tech programme that aims to help smallholder farmers across Asia and Africa to address their challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic. NITI Aayog, AIM in partnership with UNCDF, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Rabo Foundation launched a South-South innovation platform to enable the cross-border exchange of innovations, insights, and investments in July this year 2021. Through this platform, cross-border collaborations among emerging markets across India, Indonesia, Malawi, Malaysia, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia would be enabled.
SOURCE: The Statesman
Govt cuts basic customs duty on refined palm oil to 12.5%
The government has cut the basic customs duty on refined palm oil to 12.5% from 17.5% to boost supply and also to cool off retail price of cooking oil.According to the notification issued on Monday, the centre “seeks to reduce BCD on refined palm oil and its fractions from 17.5% to 12.5% till March 31, 2022. The order comes into effect from Tuesday. This comes a day after the government allowed traders to import refined palm oil without licence for one more year till December 2022. Also the market regulator SEBI banned the launch of new derivative contracts of crude palm oil along with few other agricultural commodities to keep inflation in check.
SOURCE: The Indian Express
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