 The government has decided to set up a committee under the Chairmanship of Mr Anil Swarup, former Secretary, School Education, with suitable representations from NCC, M/o Youth Affairs and Ministry of HRD to suggest measures to strengthen National Cadet Corps (NCC) and National Service Scheme (NSS). The Committee will deal with on issues like expansion, strengthening training infrastructure, rationalizing resources, reducing manpower deficiency affecting NCC and NSS. The Committee will also submit recommend for building synergies between these two institutions viz. NCC and NSS and further strengthen them for empowering the youth. |
| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
 The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has constituted a 10 Member Committee, headed by the Secretary of Ministry of Corporate Affairs Mr Injeti Srinivas, for review of the penal provisions in the Companies Act, 2013. It has been setup to examine ‘de-criminalisation’ of certain offences. The Committee shall submit its report within thirty days to the Central Government for consideration of its recommendations. |
| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
 The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres constituted a High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation. The panel will be co-chaired by Melinda Gates, Co-Chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group. The Panel has a total of 20 members, representing a cross-section of expertise from Government, private industry, civil society, academia and the technical community. The Panel will hold its first in-person meeting in September 2018. |
| Source- The Guardian |
 The Finance Ministry has kept the interest rates on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, unchanged for the July-September quarter. The move is aimed at matching the hardening interest rates in the banking sector. Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified on a quarterly basis. |
| The Interest rates on different Small Savings schemes are as follows: |
| Sl.No. | Schemes | Interest rate (in %) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | 5 yr Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (Paid Quarterly) | 8.3 |
| 2. | Savings Deposits | 4 |
| 3. | Public Provident Fund (PPF) | 7.6 |
| 4. | National Savings Certificate (NSC) | 7.6 |
| 5. | Kisan Vikas Patra (maturity in 11 months) | 7.3 |
| 6. | Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) | 8.1 |
| 7. | Term Deposit (1-5 years) | 6.6-7.4 |
| Source- The Firstpost |
 The Madhya Pradesh State Government launched an outstanding power bill waiver scheme and subsidised power scheme called ‘Sambal’ for labourers and poor families. Under Sambal Yojana, the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families would be provided electricity at a cost of Rs 200 per month. The main objective of the scheme is to make sure that all the households have power facility in the state. In case the bill is lower than Rs 200, the beneficiaries will have to pay the actual bill amount and if the bill amount is crossing Rs 200 then, the difference amount would be subsidised by the state government. |
| Source- News on AIR |
 The government has set up a 13-member committee to upgrade the norms for computation of economic data at states and districts level in the backdrop of plans to revise the base year for National Accounts or GDP calculation. The Committee for Sub-National Accounts will be headed by Ravindra H Dholakia, a retired professor of IIM Ahmedabad. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) will change the base year to 2017-18 for the calculation of GDP and IIP numbers from the current 2011-12 with an aim to capture changes in the economy. |
| Source- Business Standard |
 The Maharashtra government announced a new scheme called 'Kanya Van Samruddhi Yojana', wherein farmers families where girl children are born will be given saplings for plantation. The scheme is aimed at empowering women and promoting tree plantation. The scheme was approved in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. |
| Source- The Hindu |
 The Government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 via Gazette Notification. As per provisions of the Scheme, Electoral Bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. A person being an individual can buy Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals. Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of Representation of People Act, 1951 & which secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in last General Election or the Legislative Assembly of the State, shall be eligible to receive Electoral Bonds. Electoral Bonds shall be encashed by an eligible Political Party only through a Bank account with the Authorized Bank. |
| Source- DD News |
 The Maharashtra government has set up a committee to study issues related to the development of a 1,000-MW floating solar power plant at Ujani dam in Solapur district. The committee will be headed by the Director (Commercial) of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL), Satish Chavan. Among other things, the committee will study the environmental impact of the project and monitor the month-wise water level of the dam. Ujani, located in Madha taluka of Solapur, around 300 kms from Mumbai, is among the largest dams in Maharashtra. |
| Source- The Economic Times |
 The government has set up a committee under former Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan to lay down standardisation norms for components with an aim to cut costs in the construction and operation of metro rail systems in the country and bring them under the Make in India umbrella. Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal, following a meeting at the PMO to review ongoing and upcoming metro projects. The standards, once finalised by the committee, will be mandatory for all metro projects coming up with central assistance. Currently, metro projects with a total length of 370km are operational in eight cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi and Mumbai. |
| Source- Hindustan Times |
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