The Union Cabinet has recently approved the establishment of the National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa in Leh.
It will be an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of AYUSH.
Sowa-Rigpa is a Traditional Medical system of the Himalayan belt in India.
It has been popularly practised in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling (West Bengal), Himachal Pradesh, Union Territory of Ladakh and now all over India.
The aim of this institute is to bring a valid and useful synergy between Traditional Wisdom of Sowa-Rigpa and modern science, tools and technology.
UDAN 4.0
UDAN/Regional Connectivity Scheme‘s objective is to facilitate affordable regional air connectivity.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) is the implementing agency.
It offers concessions to the airlines to encourage them to fly on regional routes.
Concession includes operating subsidies like levies or charges imposed by the airport operators, excise duty at 2% and VAT at 1% on aviation turbine fuel, parking charges at airports and exempting these operations from the GST net.
The maximum airfare has been capped at Rs 2500 for a one-hour journey of approximately 500 kilometres on an aircraft or for a 30-minute journey on a helicopter.
The selected airlines will have to commit 50% of the seats on RCS flights (3-7 operational flights/week) and all seats up to 13 passenger seats on helicopters as RCS seats.
A Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF) and Viability Gap Funding is set up to subside operation and to meet the losses incurred.
Under UDAN 4.0, Ministry of Civil Aviation identified Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh as a priority airport and focus on routes connecting these airports.
These prescribed routes would be offered for bidding.
The region is also recognized for its distinct characteristics such as unique rice quality, Doobraj and the contribution of the Kosa silk industry to the handloom sector.
Patent Prosecution Highway Programme
It is a pilot programme between the Indian Patent Office (IPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO).
Under the programme, Indian Patent Office may receive patent applications in certain specified technical fields only while JPO may receive applications in all fields of technology.
The technical fields include Electrical, Electronics, Computer Science, Information Technology, Physics, Civil, Mechanical, Textiles, Automobiles and Metallurgy.
It will be operative for 3 years.
IPO works under the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (CGPDTM), Ministry of Commerce and Industry with patent offices of various other interest countries or regions.
Medical Devices
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has prepared a draft rule to bring all the non-notified Medical Devices under the regulation of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
The Ministry has also proposed to notify all the Medical devices under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Medical Devices Rules, 2017.
CDSCO is under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
It regulates the safety, efficacy and quality of notified medical devices under the provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules made thereunder.
Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019
Lok Sabha has recently passed Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019 recently.
It seeks to amend the Chit Funds Act, 1982, which regulates chit funds and prohibits a fund from being created without the prior sanction of a State Government.
Under the legislation, the prescribed ceiling of aggregate chit fund amount for individuals has been raised from one lakh rupees to three lakh rupees and in case of firms, the limit has been raised from 6 lakh to 18 lakh rupees.
also increases the maximum commission of a foreman from five per cent to seven per cent and also allows the foreman a right to lien against the credit balance from subscribers.
