Instant PAN, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Karnal Smart City
1. Facility of Instant PAN through Aadhaar based e-KYC launched by Finance Minister
- In line with the announcement made in the Union Budget, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman formally launched the facility for instant allotment of PAN (on near to real time basis), its ‘Beta version’ on trial basis was started on 12th Feb 2020 on the e-filing website of Income Tax Department.
- This facility is now available for those PAN applicants who possess a valid Aadhaar number and have a mobile number registered with Aadhaar.
The allotment process is paperless and an electronic PAN (e-PAN) is issued to the applicants free of cost.
The process of applying for instant PAN is very simple.
- The instant PAN applicant is required to access the e-filing website of the Income Tax Department to provide her/his valid Aadhaar number and then submit the OTP received on her/his Aadhaar registered mobile number.
- On successful completion of this process, a 15-digit acknowledgment number is generated.
- If required, the applicant can check the status of the request anytime by providing her/his valid Aadhaar number and on successful allotment, can download the e-PAN.
- The e-PAN is also sent to the applicant on her/his email id, if it is registered with Aadhaar.
The launch of the Instant PAN facility is yet another step by the Income Tax Department towards Digital India, thereby creating further ease of compliance to the taxpayers.
2. ADB, India sign $177 million loan for state road improvements in Maharashtra
- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India today signed a $177 million loan to upgrade 450 kilometers (km) of state highways and major district roads in the state of Maharashtra.
- After signing the loan agreement, said that the project will improve connectivity between rural areas and urban centers in the state enabling rural communities to better access markets, employment opportunities and services.
Improved mobility will expand development and livelihood opportunities outside of the state’s major urban centers to second-tier cities and towns thus reducing income disparities.
- The project will also strengthen road safety measures by developing a road safety audit framework that will protect vulnerable groups such as the elderly, women, and children, following the international best practice.
Another feature of the project is to update the road maintenance system by encouraging 5-year performance-based maintenance obligations to contractors to sustain asset quality and service levels.
Overall the project will upgrade 2 major district roads and 11 state highways, with combined length of 450 km, to 2-lane standard across seven districts of Maharashtra, and improve connectivity to national highways, interstate roads, seaports, airports, rail hubs, district headquarters, industrial areas, enterprise clusters and agricultural areas.
The project will also focus on training the Maharashtra Public Works Department project staff to build their capacity in climate change adaptation and disaster resilient features in road design, road maintenance planning and road safety.
- ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.
ADB Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
3. Karnal smart city undertakes key initiatives to fight Covid-19
- Augmentation of Medical Infrastructure
- Manufacturing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs)
- Quarantine Facilities
- Karnal Live Tracker App
- Sample Collection Kiosk and Testing Lab
- Shelter Homes for Migrant Labourers
- Adopt a Family Initiative
- Dry Ration distribution
- Cooked Meals Distribution
- Doorstep delivery of Essentials
- Lockdown Enforcement
- Accessibility for emergency services
- 24*7 Helpline Numbers
4. Twitter handle @LabourDG inaugurated
- In an attempt to supply updated latest statistics related to labour welfare, Shri Snatosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State for Labour and Employment (I/C), inaugurated the twitter handle @LabourDG for Labour Bureau.
Labour and collection, compilation and dissemination of Administrative Labour Statistics. Labour Bureau is engaged in Labour Force Surveys & Enterprise Surveys which primarily provide estimates of indicators related to Labour Force.
- Labour Bureau was established in 1946.
The two main wings of the Labour Bureau are at Chandigarh and at Shimla.
It has five Regional Offices, one each at Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Kolkata, Guwahati and Chennai with a Sub-Regional Office in Mumbai.
Headed by Director General, an Additional Secretary level Officer from the Indian Economic Service (IES), with a team of professionals from the Indian Economic Service and Indian Statistical Service.
