In a significant initiative, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation has enabled online submission of applications by the urban poor for affordable houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(Urban) from tomorrow.
●    A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed today by the Ministry of HUPA and Common Services Centre e-Governance Services India Limited of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in the presence of respective ministers Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu and Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad.
●    Out of the over two lakh Common Services Centre across the country, about 60,000 located in urban areas will enable online submission of applications from November 3,2016 at a nominal cost of Rs.25/- per application. As per the MoU, CSCs will also facilitate printing of the acknowledgement receipt with beneficiary photograph which helps applicants in tracking application status. Beneficiaries have to visit the nearest CSC for seeking assistance for seeking benefits of PMAY(Urban) online. In case the beneficiary does not have Aadhar Card, CSCs will enable beneficiaries acquiring them. This process of applying online is e-KYC (Know Your Client) enabled which means applications are submitted after due verification.
●    Minister of HUPA Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu said on the occasion that Digital India Mission is transforming the country and collaboration with CSC SPV will help in bringing more urban poor under the ambit of PMAY(Urban) by addressing the difficulties associated in physical submission of applications to Urban Local Bodies, for want of adequate help and guidance. He said that while 13.70 lakh urban poor were sanctioned affordable houses during 2005-14, about 11 lakh houses have been already sanctioned for urban poor during the last one year and this will pick up further momentum through online applications.
●    Minister of Electronics and IT Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said that CSCs are the front end soldiers of Digital India Mission and are engaged in empowering different sections of the society through skilling and online delivery of services.
●    The MoU was signed by Shri Amrit Abhijat, Joint Secretary, Ministry of HUPA and Shri Dinesh Tyagi, CEO, CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd.
●    Through a similar MoU with the Ministry of Urban Development, CSCs have so enabled 15 lakh transactions helping beneficiaries apply on line for construction of toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission in urban areas.

In a significant measure to further improve functioning at railway stations Ministry of Railways, has decided to post Station Directors at all A-1 Category railway stations numbering 75.  The deployment of Station Director will be done in phases to begin with Station Directors have been posted at 12 such stations namely (1) Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) Mumbai (2) Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) Mumbai (3) Mumbai Central (4) Delhi (5) New Delhi (6) Secunderabad (7) Chennai Central (8) Bengaluru City (9) Howrah (10) Sealdah (11) Ahmedabad and (12) Jaipur. The remaining 63 AI Category railway station will be manned with Station Directors by the end of this year.
●    Station Directors will ensure that the stations function as excellence centers for the customers with the additional objective to ensure vigilant and sensitive customer service and also superior commercial sense. 
●    The Station Directors shall be supported by cross functional team in suitable manner to undertake these functions effectively. Station Directors shall also be associated in the decision making process related to proposals and execution of ‘traffic facility’ and passenger amenities’ works at that particular stations. 
●    They will also be actively involved in the process of raising revenue from ‘non fare box’ like commercial advertisement, etc. at that station. For all this, the Station Directors will seek the assistance of officers/superiors of the respective Departments, as the case may be.
●    The post of Station Directors will be manned by officers belonging to the Traffic (both Commercial & Operations) Department. 

As part of its Coastal Community Development Programme under Sagarmala, the Ministry of Shipping has sanctioned Rupees 10 Crore as part of the first instalment to the Gujarat Maritime Board for capacity building and safety training of 20,000 workers involved in the ship recycling activities at Alanag- Sosiya recycling yard in Bhavnagar district in Gujarat. 
●    The total project cost is estimated to be Rupees 30 Crore over a period of 3 years. 
●    The initiative has been identified in the National Perspective Plan (NPP) of Sagarmala for the upliftment of the coastal community and aims to provide health and safety training to the skilled and semi-skilled workers which is required while performing their work at ship recycling yards. 
●    Due to the accident prone nature of the ship breaking activity, Gujarat Maritime Board has been running an indigenous Safety Training and Labour Welfare Institute at Alang and has trained about 1.10 lakh labors over the last 12 years. 
●    With the increased volume of ship recycling over last decade and to bring the training standards at par with the international regulations like UN Body -International Maritime Organization, it is imperative to enhance the capacity build-up and upgrade the existing training standards. 

The State of Kerala today became the third State overall and the largest State so far to be declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) (Gramin). The declaration was formally made by the Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, in a magnificent ceremony at the Central Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. Shri Vijayan also distributed awards to and felicitated district collectors and other government officials who had been instrumental in bringing about this landmark achievement for the State. 
●    With this, all 14 districts, 152 blocks, 940 Gram Panchayats and 2117 villages of the State have been declared free from open defecation. Freedom from open defecation has been proven to lead to significant health benefits in terms of incidences of water-borne diseases, especially in children, and provide safety and dignity for all, especially women and senior citizens. Kerala, with a rural population of approximately 3.5 crores, is also the largest State so far to have achieved the ODF Status, after Sikkim (~6 lakhs) and Himachal Pradesh (~70 lakhs). 
●    The Secretary, Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Shri Parameswaran Iyer, in his address, lauded the State government’s focused efforts on sanitation and congratulated the State on this landmark achievement. He assured that the Centre will continue supporting the State’s efforts towards creating a Swachh Bharat and Swachh Kerala in the next phase as well, as they continue their efforts to sustain ODF and focus on solid and liquid waste management. 
●    The State Leader of Opposition, Shri Ramesh Chennithala, Minister for Revenue, Shri E Chandrasekharan, Minister for Water Resources, Shri Mathew T Thomas, Member of Parliament, Shri Shashi Tharoor, and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion. 

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued Letter of Award (LOA) for development of national highway section in the state of Punjab under phase IV of National Highways Development Projects (NHDP).
●    The 81 km long Phagwara - Rupnagar section passes through Banga Town and proposed Nawashahir bypass and terminates at Rupnagar. 
●    This will be the shortest route for movement between Amritsar and ‘The City Beautiful’, Chandigarh, two most important cities of Punjab and also tourist hub for Sikh pilgrimage. 
●    The project will help in expediting the improvement of infrastructure in Punjab and in reducing the time and cost of travel.
●    The project will have 4 structures (Grade separator/flyover), 1 major bridge, 22 minor bridges, one Vehicular Underpass and one Pedestrian Underpass. 
●    The project would be executed on Hybrid Annuity mode and scheduled time of completion of project is 30 months from the date of commencement.

Vigilance Awareness Week was observed across India beginning from 31 October 2016 to promote probity in public life and achieve a corruption free society.
●    The theme of the Vigilance Awareness Week 2016 was Public participation in promoting integrity and eradicating Corruption.
●    The observance of week commenced with pledge taking by public servants in the Ministries, Departments, PSUs, Banks and all other Organisations. 
●    Several functions were organised to create awareness among the people about the corrupt practices as it adversely affects the development of the country.
●    In addition to these activities, the concept of Integrity Pledge was envisaged for enlisting support and commitment of the citizens and corporate and firms to prevent and combat corruption.
●    The Week is organized every year by the Central Vigilance Commission as part of its efforts to promote probity in public life and to achieve a corruption free society.
●    The Central Vigilance Commission, under Para 3(v) of Government of India Resolution no 371/20/99/AVD-III dated 4 April 1999, declared that the week beginning from 31 October every year should be observed as the Vigilance Awareness Week. 

The significance of 31 October is that it is the birthday of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. He integrated the country and also was a shining example of probity in public life.

It is a five-day programme beginning from 31 October to 4 November.

Real estate developers will have to furnish additional information regarding the ongoing projects for the benefit of the buyers besides depositing 70% of the unused funds in a separate bank account to ensure their completion. This has been stipulated in the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (General) Rules, 2016 notified today by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Population and applicable to the five Union Territories without Legislature viz., Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and Chandigarh. These Rules were required to be  notified on  October 31, as stipulated in the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016 that was partly brought into effect on May 1stthis year.
●    Some changes have been made in the Draft Rules placed in public domain three months back,  by incorporating some suggestions received from consumer associations and real estate bodies. 
●    In respect of the ongoing projects that have not received completion certificate in specified time,  developers will have to make public the original sanctioned plans with specifications and changes made later, total amount collected from allottees, money used, original timeline for completion and the time period within which the developer undertakes to complete the project, duly certified by an Engineer/Architect/practicing Chartered Accountant. Promoter shall also declare size of the apartment based on carpet area even if it was earlier sold on any other basis. 
●    The developer, within three months of applying for registration of a project with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority shall deposit in a separate bank account , 70% of the amount collected and unused for ensuring completion of ongoing projects. 
●    For registration of projects with the authorities, developers will be required to submit authenticated copy of PAN Card, annual report comprising audited profit and loss account, balance sheet, cash flow statement and auditors report of the promoter for the immediate three preceding years, authenticated copy of legal title deed, copy of collaboration agreement if the promoter is not the owner of the plot. Promoter also has to declare information regarding the number of open and closed parking areas in the project.
●    Promoter shall upload on the webpage of the project, within 15 days of expiry of each quarter information regarding number and type of apartments or plots, garages booked, status of the project with photographs floor-wise, status of construction of internal infrastructure and common areas with photos, status of approvals received and expected date of receipt, modifications in sanctioned plans and specifications approved by the competent authority. 
●    The requirement of disclosing Income Tax returns proposed earlier has been withdrawn in the final  Rules keeping in view the confidentiality attached with them and as pointed out by legal experts and promoters.
 

The low levels of productivity, growth and incomes are ailing the farm sector in India.
●    Addressing the issue, NITI Aayog has identified three key areas for reform. 
●    The areas identified for immediate reforms are: Agricultural market reforms, Land lease reforms, Reforms related to forestry on private land – felling and transit of trees. 
●    Three crucial reforms pertaining to marketing in agriculture have been recommended by NITI Aayog. 
●    First is the immediate need to amend existing regulations in order to liberalize markets. 
●    The second area of reforms included in the index is relaxation in restrictions related to lease in and lease out agricultural land and change in law to recognise tenant and safeguard land owners liberalisation. 
●    The third area included in the index represent freedom given to farmers for felling and transit of trees grown on private land.
 

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said the country had too few Wi-Fi hotspots and will soon recommend that a neutral Wi-Fi infrastructure be deployed to bridge the digital divide, among other steps needed to improve broadband connectivity. 
●    In regions like the US, UK, and France, there are millions of Wi-Fi hotspots but in India, it is just 35,000. 
●    TRAI had suggested to the government that the BOOT model be adopted for its Bharat Net strategy with active participation from entrepreneurs to operate, use and market the network, besides utilising cable TV infrastructure for speedier broadband penetration. 
●    100 million cable TV homes carry 10 Mbps or more bandwidth, then we can have a reliable broadband infrastructure.
●    TRAI floated a consultation paper on the matter in July, with comments sought until August 24, and responded to them by September 7 

The Union Government has reconstituted the Inter State Council (ISC) and the Standing Committee of the ISC under Clause 2 of the Inter State Council order,1990. 
●    The Inter-State Council is a constitutional body to facilitate coordination between states and the centre. 
●    It will be headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 
●    Composition of reconstituted Inter State Council (ISC) Members: Chief Ministers of all states and Union Territories (having legislative Assembly), Six Union Ministers. 
●    Six Union Ministers: Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister for Information and Broadcasting M Venkiah Naidu and Road Transport Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari. 
●    The Standing Committee of the Inter State Council will be headed by Union Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh.
●    The Inter-State Council is a constitutional body to facilitate coordination between states and the centre.