Day: November 23, 2012

MNS:- The Joint Working Group report on engagement with Private Sector for strengthening Cyber Security Architecture in the country was formally released by National Security Adviser on 15th Oct. 2012 in New Delhi.
The Joint Working Group has identified the guiding principles and objectives that would underpin the overall framework and roadmap for Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Cyber Security. It envisages setting up of Institutional Framework, Capacity building in the area of Cyber Security, Development of Cyber Security Standards & assurance mechanisms, augmentation of testing & certification facilities for Information Technology products.
The Joint Working Group included representatives of Government Departments and Agencies from Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-On), Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, Office of Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) along with Information and Communication Technology Industry Association including NASSCOM, Data Security Council of India (DSCI), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).
The key recommendation of The Joint Working Group include the following:
1. Setting up of a permanent Joint Working Group under the aegis of National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) with representatives from government as well as private sector.
2. Setting up of the Joint Committee of International Cooperation of Advocacy (JCICA).
3. The private sector will set up information Sharing & Analysis Sector (ISACs) in various sectors and cooperate with the sectoral Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) at the operational level.
4. The Joint Working Group has identified four pilot projects for collaboration which include:
(I) Setting up of Pilot Testing Lab.
(II) Conducting a test audit of a specified sector.
(III) Studying vulnerabilities in a sample critical information infrastructure.
(IV) Establishment of the multi – disciplinary Centre of Excellence.
5. Action has been initiated to work out the action plan for implementation of the recommendations.
This information was given by Shri Milind Deora, Minister of State for C&IT in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/recommendations-of-jwg-on-cyber-security/

MNS:- There is no concept called Tax Free Zones as such in operation. However, there are schemes like Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Export Oriented Units (EOUs) which provide tax exemptions. Both above schemes are administered by the Department of Commerce. In addition to above, package of incentives for the Special Category States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and North Eastern States (such as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura) are provided by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion under its Industrial Policy. Package of incentives provided to above States also include various tax concessions as per notifications issued by the Department of Revenue.
Presently there is no proposal under consideration of the Ministry of Finance to declare certain areas as tax free zones.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri S.S. Palanimanickam in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/no-tax-free-zones-in-operation/

MNS:- The Medical Council of India (MCI) has notified amendment in its regulations to conduct common entrance test viz. National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to Under Graduate (UG) and Post Graduate (PG) medical courses in the country from 2013-14. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has been identified as the agency for conducting NEET for UG and National Board of Examinations (NBE) for PG medical courses.
Majority of States have accepted the proposal but few States have expressed apprehensions about the proposed NEET which pertained to syllabus, medium of test, reservation policy, etc. Most of the apprehensions have been addressed. The MCI’s regulations on NEET clearly indicate that the prevailing reservation policy of States would not be disturbed. Further, the NEET-UG will be conducted in six regional languages viz. Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu and Assamese in addition to Hindi and English. Few medical colleges and State Governments have filed writ.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/common-medical-entrance-test/