Policy Pulse #5 | July 7, 2022
Policy Pulse #5 | July 7, 2022
This Week in Policy
Technology, Media and Telecommunication
Ed-tech companies under fire from Government for unfair trade practices
India EdTech Consortium (IEC), the self regulatory body overseeing the Ed-tech sector in India, was warned by the government regarding unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements. The Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, told the IEC that if self-regulation does not curb the unfair trade practices, then stringent guidelines would require to be formulated for ensuring transparency. Read more
DoT advises against the use of signal repeaters and jammers
The Department of Telecommunications has issued an advisory highlighting that the use of jammers, GPS blockers and other signal jamming devices, as well as signal repeaters and boosters, by private individuals and organisations is illegal. As per the advisory, it is also unlawful to advertise, sell, distribute, import or market jammers, repeaters or boosters. Read more | Advisory
Manufacturing
Govt eyes battery swapping infra on highways in EV push
Ministry of Road Transportation and Highways (MoRTH) is developing battery swapping and charging infrastructure along highways to propel shift towards mass adoption of EVs. About 700 sites have been identified along the Golden Quadrilateral Highway to develop wayside centres with the required infrastructure. The government is expected to finalise its battery swapping policy soon, and over 100 projects have already been awarded for development of wayside amenities. Read more
Banking, Finance and Insurance
RBI announces measures to boost forex funding and dampen global spillovers
RBI announced measures to diversify and expand sources of forex funding including raising the external commercial borrowings limit for banks and exempting foreign currency non-resident deposits from maintaining cash reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio. These measures are in response to increasing concerns regarding a global recession and depreciation of INR against USD. Read more
Investors write to SEBI against Zomato for late disclosure of Blinkit acquisition
A group of investors has written to SEBI accusing Zomato of not timely disclosing the purchase of Blinkit to stock exchanges. The investors said that a potential acquisition had been in public knowledge sphere a month before the deal was announced, Zomato neither confirmed or denied the reports. A timely disclosure would have helped investors be better prepared for the over 20% plunge in Zomato share prices, the letter to the SEBI chairman said. Read more
Foreign Affairs
External Affairs Minister to visit Indonesia on July 7-8, 2022 For G20 Meeting
Dr. S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister shall participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia on July 7-8, 2022. The meeting shall focus on strengthening multilateralism and discuss current global challenges including food and energy security. In addition, Dr. Jaishankar is likely to hold several bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other G20 member states and invited countries. Read more
Retail and e-commerce
Draft policy for EV adoption by cab aggregators and delivery firms in Delhi released
Delhi government has released a draft policy titled ‘Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator Scheme’ aimed at cab aggregators, food delivery, and e-commerce firms. The policy mandates all firms under these brackets to transition to an all electric scheme by 2030, and imposes a fine of Rs. 50,000 per vehicle in case of failure to comply. Read more
Hotels and restaurants cannot add an automatic service charge in food bills
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) in its latest set of guidelines has stipulated that hotels or restaurant shall not add service charge automatically or by default in the food bill. Customers must be clearly informed that service charge is voluntary, optional and at consumer’s discretion. Consumers may lodge complaints against offenders through the National Consumer Hotline (1915) or file a complaint against unfair trade practice with the Consumer Commission. Read more | Guidelines
28% GST on luxury and sin goods to continue
Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj has said that while efforts may be made to narrow the three lower base tax slabs of 5, 12 and 18% into two, there is no possibility of reducing the 28% tax slab payable on luxury and sin goods at present. The high tax rate is imposed due to considerations that in a growing economy with income disparity, such goods are liable to be taxed at a higher rate than the rest. Read more
Healthcare
Pharma Industry: from ‘Volume’ to ‘Value’ leadership
Union Health Minister Shri Mansukh Mandaviya addressed the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance to discuss India’s Pharma Vision 2047 and roadmap for the Indian pharmaceutical sector. During the session, he mentioned that time has come for the Indian pharmaceuticals industry to move from ‘volume’ to ‘value’ leadership to capture the global market. Read more
Cigarette makers moved to environment-friendly packs before the plastic ban
Before the ban on single-use plastics, announced last year, come into effect on 1 July 2022, cigarette makers in India shifted from regular plastic wrapping to environment-friendly biodegradable wrapping for cigarette packs, well ahead of the single-use plastic ban. Read more
Trade and Commerce
India to focus more on services exports
In light of the present global economic slowdown and anticipating drop in export of goods, it is expected that India will boost service exports for revenue generation. The Government of India is hopeful of services exports crossing the $300-billion mark this year. It is also expecting that the new FTAs signed with Australia and the UAE would assist in the export of services. Read more
GST collections for June 2022 tally as second highest ever
The gross GST revenue collected in the month of June 2022 is ₹144,616 crore, representing an increase of 56% year-on-year. This tally is the second highest collection next to the April 2022 collection of ₹1,67,540 crore. Kerala and Ladakh both recorded over 100% increases in collection compared to June 2021.
Sustainability and Energy
India’s largest floating solar power project commissioned
Ramagundam Floating Solar PV Project in Ramagundam, Telangana is now fully operational. NTPC declared Commercial Operation of the final part capacity of 20 MW out of 100 MW project. The project is spread over an area of 500 acres, and will help abate 2,10,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year. Read more
NITI Aayog publishes report on the penetration of electric two wheelers
The NITI Aayog has published a report titled “Forecasting Penetration of Electric Two Wheelers in India”. The report introduces a tool to estimate the penetration of electric two wheelers in a bottom-up manner, which shall help generate insights regarding infrastructural requirements, manufacturing capabilities, policies and technology processes, in order to facilitate a shift towards electric mobility. Report
Govt to soften punishments in environmental cases
The Central Environment Ministry is proposing to soften the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act, 1986 by reducing the prescribed punishments for violations from imprisonment to payment of fines, save for cases where there is grave injury or loss of life. Read more
Agriculture and FMCG
Centre asks States to boost paddy sowing
In light of reports indicating a shrinkage of sowing area, the Centre has asked State Governments to take steps to increase paddy sowing. Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal at a conference in New Delhi has made this appeal, whilst highlighting the increased international demand for wheat and rice. Read more
Syngenta India gets govt nod to spray fungicides using drones
Agriculture company Syngenta India is among the first companies to get approval for spraying agrochemicals using drones after submission of safety and bio efficacy data. Read more
Labour
Parliamentary panel meets stakeholders on reforms to child labour laws
A parliamentary standing committee on labour, lead by BJD lawmaker, Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, is reportedly meeting stakeholders with the intention of recommending amendments to child labour laws in order to create greater responsibility for public bodies. The committee is reported to have met five union ministries in this regard, including the Home Ministry, the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, among others. It is also scheduled to meet various state ministries in the coming week. Read more
Logistics
ONDC will benefit logistics - here’s how
The Government of India launched the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a protocol based on Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Aside from becoming crucial digital infrastructure for India’s e-commerce system, ONDC is expected to promote the logistics business in a big way. Read more
Govt proposes broadening ambit of fuel consumption standards to cover all vehicles
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed including light, medium, and heavy duty motor vehicles of various categories manufactured in or imported by India to comply with Fuel Consumption Standards (FCS) to reduce pollution and introduce more fuel-efficient vehicles. Previously, only vehicles in M1 category were required to be FCS compliant. Read more
Miscellaneous
Automatic service charge illegal, per CCPA guidelines
The Central Consumer Protection Agency has issued guidelines on service charges imposed by hotels and restaurants, pursuant to which no hotel or restaurant can charge a service charge by default on the bill. If such a charge is placed, the consumer will have to be informed that the same is voluntary and optional. Moreover, service charge may not be collected under any other name as well. Read more | Guidelines
Monsoon session of parliament to commence from July 18, 2022
Both Houses of Parliament are likely to meet from July 18 and the session will conclude on August 13. The session will encompass the elections for the posts of President and Vice-president. Read more
A Few Good Reads
Sanjeev Chopra writes in The Print about the history of the institution of the Police Commissionerate, and the false hierarchies it creates.
In this 2005 article, John Ioannidis argues that most published scientific research findings are false.
Austin Vernon writes on how electrical grids work, the technological and regulatory challenges that they face, particularly in light of changes in technology, and the ways ahead.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond takes a detailed look at why a stablecoin like Terra fell, despite its underlying algorithm working in theory.
Tyler Cowen writes in Bloomberg on the possibility, or lack thereof, that artificial intelligence will enable a totalitarian dystopia.
Upcoming Events
India @ 2030 – A Roadmap for AatmaNirbhar Bharat in Renewable Energy
July 14-15 | Le Meridien, New Delhi
CII is organising the 3rd edition of conference & exhibition on “AatmaNirbhar Bharat – Making India Manufacturing Hub for Renewable Energy” on 14th -15th July 2022 at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi. For more details, see here | Registration Link. v
Towards a Clean Hydrogen Ecosystem. Opportunities for Indo-Dutch Cooperation
July 8 | Hybrid
The Dutch embassy in Delhi is launching a report on Clean Hydrogen on 8th July 2022 in a hybrid format. Netherlands Innovation Network India worked with TERI - The Energy and Resources Institute to prepare a detailed report on Clean Hydrogen. The event will have a series of sessions including panel sessions covering areas of cooperation between governments and businesses. Webinar Link | Registration Link
Tweets of the Week
Amitabh Kant to replace Piyush Goyal as the new Sherpa of G-20
A look at international track records on cutting down emissions:
On the share of regional media in Indian media and OTT landscapes:
Notifications
Department of Telecommunications signed an agreement with ITI Limited and BSNL to fund pilot projects under Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). See here.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has invited comments on proposed amendments to four existing Acts, namely Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986; Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981; and Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991. The last date to submit comments is July 21, 2022.
NTPC Renewable Energy signed an MOU with Government of Rajasthan for development of 10 GW Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Park in Rajasthan (notification here) and an MOU with Gujarat Alkalines and Chemicals Limited (GACL) to develop India’s first commercial scale Green Ammonia and Green Methanol project for the synthesis of Green Chemicals (see here).