Category:

Policy

Cairn arbitration: Govt confirms French court order against Indian assets

The government on Tuesday confirmed that a French court has ordered the freezing of certain Indian assets in Paris on a petition by Britain’s Cairn Energy, which is seeking to recover USD 1.72 billion from New Delhi after winning an arbitration against retro tax.

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha said the government has filed an appeal against an international arbitration tribunal overturning levy of Rs 10,247 crore in back taxes on Cairn Energy.

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Parliament passes Marine Aids to Navigation Bill

While replying to the debate, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said: “This Bill will provide a legal framework for the sector to meet the latest technologies and meets the requirements of best global practices for safe and secure navigation and protection of the marine environment.”

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Nearly Rs 49,000 cr lying unclaimed with banks, insurers: Karad

As per the Insurance Regulator Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the total amount of unclaimed amounts of policy holders in public and private sector insurance companies was at Rs 24,586 crore (end-December, 2020).
On the other hand, all insurers having unclaimed amounts of policyholders for a period of more than 10 years transfer such funds to the Senior Citizens” Welfare Fund (SCWF) every year. The SCWF is utilised for schemes for promoting the welfare of senior citizens.

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California expands state healthcare to undocumented residents 50 and up

But California is not the first state to provide comprehensive public medical benefits to its undocumented elderly population. Illinois last December became the first to extend state-funded healthcare coverage to all non-citizens age 65 and older whose immigration status had left them ineligible for Medicaid.

Newsom’s action builds on two earlier expansions of Medi-Cal – California’s version of the state-federal Medicaid system for the poor and disabled. They provided full-scale coverage to undocumented children, then to young adults until their 26th birthday regardless of immigration status beginning last year.

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FSSAI mulling using next-gen technology tools to ensure food safety, quality

”FSSAI is exploring the possibilities of using technological tools like blockchain, machine learning, etc in obtaining traceability information,” Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Arun Singhal said.

Next generation tools like genome sequencing and innovations in chemical and molecular analysis can be very useful in the area of food authenticity and integrity, he pointed out. Also, Internet of Things (IoT) has taken a big leap forward and can be used for mounting production and processing operations, he added.

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NPPA has fixed ceiling prices of 355 medicines, 882 formulations: Mandaviya

”Most of the drugs that are part of COVID-19 management protocol have ceiling prices, viz., paracetamol, dexamethasone, methylprednisolone, IVIGs, enoxaparin, budesonide, heparin and amphotericin, etc,” Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya said in a written reply to a query in the Lok Sabha.
In the case of few non-scheduled medicines like remdesivir, which are part of COVID-19 protocol and are non-scheduled, on government intervention, MRPs of various brands of remdesivir have been reduced voluntarily by the major manufacturers/marketers of the remdesivir injection (lyophilized), he added.
Inter-brand maximum retail prices (MRPs) that varied up to Rs 5,400 per vial were brought down to less than Rs 3,500, the minister said.

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