Despite repeated calls for energy saving through LED bulbs in all government offices, many ministries have still not fully complied. The department of expenditure had asked that a nodal officer for LED lighting in all government buildings in Delhi be nominated. It has now called for a time-bound roadmap from all ministries to switch over to LED-based lighting.

Double whammy

It’s now clear that there is no scientific basis for how GST rates were decided. Sample this: citizens are required to cough up 18 per cent of the premium amount as GST to buy a health insurance contract! On one side you want health insurance penetration to go up, on the other you levy a high GST rate of 18 per cent, which is going to dampen demand for such products, rued the chief executive of an insurance company.

Imagine a person who is nearing his golden years and looking to buy health insurance product for his post-retirement needs; he has to pay 18 per cent GST for protection. Shameful.

Interestingly, the GST Council, which bragged about reducing GST rates for over 700 items recently, did not see any merit in lowering GST rate for insurance contracts. Maybe insurance buyers are not a large enough vote-bank to catch the attention of the Indian polity, quipped another insurance industry honcho.

The Mashav bridge

Ambassador Gil Haskel, head of Mashav, Israel’s agency for international development cooperation, recently surprised a small gathering of people who were assembled at Hyatt Regency in the capital to know about the technical assistance his country planning to provide in the field of agriculture.

“I commenced my career as diplomat in this very city when I joined the Israeli mission here 25 years ago,” said the mild-mannered Haskel. He said technologies developed using public money in Israel will be available to all its friends.

“Mashav is actually a bridge between the peoples of India and Israel,” stressed Haskel, adding “the destiny of this beautiful country is very dear to our country and our leadership”.

Slip of the tongue

You can’t really fault her. After all, her party is in the grip of a “do or die” election. Addressing a press conference to announce the launching of an important scheme relating to her ministry recently in the capital, Minister for Woman and Child Development Maneka Gandhi experienced a slip of tongue not once, but twice.

While giving out the details of the National Nutrition Mission, just approved by the Union Cabinet, she said the programme would be rolled out in 315 constituencies, instead of 315 districts, by the end of the year. Many in the audience pardoned her when she said it the first time, but when she repeated it a few sentences later, there were sniggers.

Vultures into energy

Talk about selling of equity or bringing foreign participation into India’s public sector entities like ONGC, and it evokes strong reactions including ‘Nation’s Pride’ being at stake.

Not surprising then, that when the director-general of hydrocarbons proposed involving private players to enhance output from ONGC’s fields a war broke out between the PSU giant and the technical arm of the ministry for petroleum and natural gas.

But, it doesn’t end here. A person closely associated with the sector said: “Vultures have been eyeing India’s energy space for sometime and if we allow this they will take over the PSU before one realises.”

Vultures? “Some are the same as those that are today part of the internal think-tank of the petroleum ministry,” comes the clarification.

The ministry recently set up an internal think-tank to advise on technology and build a successful gas network in the country. Members include top guys from Shell, Hindalco, Schlumberger, BP, Delonex Energy. But, “Your guess is as good as mine who the vultures could be,” the person said, not clarifying further.

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