Releases...........pt1

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions  

Conference of Secretaries of Administrative reforms tomorrow Prithviraj Chavan to Inaugurate

New Delhi: August 20, 2009

 

A conference of Secretaries of Administrative Reforms will be held here tomorrow. It will be inaugurated by Shri Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. First of its kind, the day-long conference is being organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. Secretaries of Departments of Administrative Reforms of the States/Union Territories will take part in the Conference.

The conference aims to create a national platform to share experiences of the States in the field of reforms/initiatives undertaken by the department of Administrative Reforms in the States with a view to improve public service delivery, make the administration effective, transparent and accountable. The conference will provide a forum for the various states to highlight the issues being faced by them in the area of administrative reforms.

The conference will deliberate on the role of Department of Administrative Reforms in the States and Union Territories. The focus will be on the organizational structure of the administrative departments in the states, budget allocation and reform activities, challenges faced by them in the execution of reforms activities and assistance required by them from the Centre. The conference will also focus on the implementation of second ARC recommendation pertaining to the states.

 

rs/hb/dk/kol/13:47 hrs. 

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Labour & Employment  

Two-day Global Summit on Skill Development inaugurated

New Delhi: August 20, 2009

 

The Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shri Harish Rawat has said that in order to meet the aspirations of large number of school drop outs, the Union Government has launched a new scheme "Skill Development Initiative" to train one million persons in the next five years and thereafter one million every year.

Shri Rawat was speaking here today at the inaugural session of Global Skill Summit organized jointly by the Directorate General of Employment & Training and the Federation of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The Minister said that under the Skill Development Initiative, demand-driven short-term courses based on Modular Employable Skills are conducted to provide training in a wide range of employable areas. He said 450 Modular Employable Skill Courses have already been developed under the scheme. The cost of training of the successful candidates is borne by the Central Government, he said and hoped that this would meet the ever increasing skill needs of the country.

Referring to the recently formulated "National Policy on Skill Development" Shri Rawat said that this would provide Skill development opportunities in Rural and hilly areas; border and difficult areas and also in the Naxal affected and remote areas of the country.

The Minister also mentioned the setting up of a "National Skill Development Corporation" under the Companies Act to support and guide private sector efforts in skill development. He said that the Corporation should start the process of constituting Sector Skills Councils for identification of skill development needs of various sectors of economy.

In his address (which was read in absentia), the Secretary Labour & Employment Shri P.C. Chaturvedi underlined the fact that by the year 2020, India would be having a surplus of about 47 million persons and therefore the skill development align with the International Standards provided an opportunity not only to meet the domestic requirement but also meet global demand. He said that quality and relevance of skill development were key to India's global competitiveness. For enterprises to compete in the global economy, the quality of training must reach world standards and be relevant to the needs of national and international markets, Shri Chaturvedi emphasized.

In his welcome address, Shri H.P. Singhania, President of FICCI suggested that the participation of private sector should be ensured in the management of institutions and curriculum designing to establish a direct connection between the industry and the vocational training institutions. He said that training outcomes must relate to job requirements and a flexible framework addressing the changing needs of the industry was critical.

The two-day summit, amongst other issues, will discuss the Emerging Skill Development Challenges –Vision 2020, public-private participation in skill development, its role in poverty alleviation and sectoral demand for skill development etc.

 

vba/bs/dk/kol/13:49 hrs. 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Commerce & Industry  

Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices in India (Base: 1993-94=100) Review for the week ended 8th August 2009 (17 Sravana, 1931 Saka)

New Delhi: August 20, 2009

 

The official Wholesale Price Index for 'All Commodities' (Base: 1993-94 = 100) for the week ended 8th August 2009 rose by 0.1 percent to 237.4 (Provisional) from 237.2 (Provisional) for the previous week.

The annual rate of inflation, calculated on point to point basis, stood at -1.53 percent (Provisional) for the week ended 08/08/2009 (over 09/08/2008) as compared to -1.74 percent (Provisional) for the previous week (ended 01/08/2009) and 12.82 percent during the corresponding week (ended09/08/2008) of the previous year.

The movement of the index for the various commodity groups is summarized below:-

1.       PRIMARY ARTICLES (Weight 22.02%)

The index for this major group rose by 0.2 percent to 262.9 (Provisional) from 262.5 (Provisional) for the previous week. The groups and items for which the index showed variations during the week are as follows:-

The index for 'Food Articles' group rose by 0.2 percent to 262.0 (Provisional) from 261.4 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of bajra and urad (2% each) and condiments & spices, arhar and fruits & vegetables (1% each). However, the prices of jowar (4%), barley (2%) and moong (1%) declined.

The index for 'Non-Food Articles' group declined by 0.1 percent to 241.4 (Provisional) from 241.6 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of raw silk (2%). However, the prices of raw rubber (2%) moved up.

2.       FUEL, POWER, LIGHT & LUBRICANTS (Weight 14.23%)

The index for this major group declined marginally to 338.2 (Provisional) from 338.3 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of light diesel oil (2%) and naphtha (1%). However the prices of bitumen (1%) moved up.

3.       MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS (Weight 63.75%)

The index for this major group rose by 0.1 percent to 206.1 (Provisional) from 205.9 (Provisional) for the previous week. The groups and items for which the index showed variations during the week are as follows:-

The index for 'Food Products' group rose by 0.4 percent to 232.5 (Provisional) from 231.6 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of khandsari and rice bran oil (3% each), imported edible oil, sooji (rawa) and cotton seed oil (2% each) and maida, ghee and oil cakes (1% each). However, the prices of bran (all kinds) (2%) declined.

The index for 'Textiles' group declined by 0.1 percent to 143.7 (Provisional) from 143.9 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of hessian cloth (3%). However, the prices of synthetic yarn (1%) moved up.

The index for 'Chemicals & Chemical Products' group rose marginally to 227.5 (Provisional) from 227.4 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of liquid chlorine (11%) and acid (all kinds) (2%). However, the prices of caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) (1%) declined.

The index for 'Basic Metals Alloys & Metal Products' group rose marginally to 255.1 (Provisional) from 255.0 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of steel ingots (4%) and zinc ingots and lead ingots (3% each).

The index for 'Machinery & Machine Tools' group rose by 0.2 percent to 171.9 (Provisional) from 171.6 (Provisional) for the previous week due to higher prices of tractor components & accessories (12%) and complete tractors (1%).

4.       FINAL INDEX FOR THE WEEK ENDED 13th June 2009

For the week ended 13/06/2009, the final wholesale price index for 'All Commodities' (Base:1993-94=100) and annual rate of inflation based on final index, calculated on point to point basis, stood at their provisional week's level of 234.2 and -1.14 percent reported earlier vide press note dated 25/06/2009.

Next date of press release: 27/08/2009 for the week ending 15/08/2009 Office of Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, New Delhi, 20/08/2009

This press release is available at our home page http://eaindustry.nic.in

INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES attached……….. 

 

rs/hb/dk/kol/13:47 hrs.