14,000 farmers ended life in 2011

New Delhi, Feb 10: The government is set to privatise Central Electronics Ltd, a CPSE under the Department of Science and Technology, by selling its 100% stake with management control and has invited the Expression of Interest for the same by March 16.

The selected bidder will be required to lock in its shares for a period of three years during which it cannot undertake the sale of its stake in CEL, the PIM (Preliminary Information Memorandum) said.

"The government of India has 'in-principle' decided to disinvest 100 per cent of its equity shareholding in CEL (which is equivalent to 100 per cent of the total paid up equity share capital of CEL) through Strategic Disinvestment with transfer of management control (Strategic Disinvestment or Transaction)," DIPAM, the Disinvestment Department, said.

The process for the transaction has been divided into two stages, namely, Stage I and Stage II.

After BPCL and Air India, this is yet another CPSE which government is slated to privatise if it gets offers from bidders.

The government has set a challenging target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore disinvestment proceeds from CPSE sell-offs and IPOs, OFSs (Offer for sale) in the next fiscal and it going out all guns blazing to meet that target after revising this fiscal target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore to Rs 65,000 crore.

The Interested Bidders (which can also include employees of CEL) must have a minimum net worth of Rs 50 crore as on March 2019. DIPAM has released complete invitation Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) of CEL. Resurgent India Limited is the advisor to the Transaction.

CEL is a pioneer in the country in the field of Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) with the distinction of having developed India's first Solar cell in 1977 and first Solar panel in 1978 as well as commissioning India's first solar plant in 1992.

More recently, it has developed and manufactured the first crystalline flexible solar panel especially for use on the passenger train roofs in 2015.

Its solar products have been qualified to International Standards IEC 61215/61730. CEL is further working on development of a range of new and upgraded products for signaling and telecommunication in the railway sector.

In the SWOT analysis of the CPSE, DIPAM has stated under weakness that "the company has weak financial loss due to past losses, high manufacturing cost and non payment of dues by state nodal agencies affecting the financial position of the company".

The CPSE has adequate land for expansion, the SWOT analysis said adding "the CPSE faces threat of dumping of solar cells at very low rates which makes solar PV manufacturing industry unviable".

Entry of new players in the market for solar products and railway signalling systems also is cited as a threat.

New Delhi, Mar 22: The total number of novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 341 on Sunday after fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country, the Union Health Ministry said.

The total includes 41 foreign nationals and five deaths, the latest being reported from Maharashtra, taking the death toll in the state to two.

Delhi, Karnataka and Punjab have reported one death each so far. Twenty-four others have been cured/discharged/migrated.

The figure of 341 cases include 63 cases in Maharashtra, which has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases, including three foreigners.

Kerala has reported 52 cases, including seven foreign nationals.

Delhi has reported 27 positive cases, including a foreigner, while Uttar Pradesh has recorded 25 cases, including a foreigner.

Telangana has reported 21 cases, including 11 foreigners. Rajasthan has reported 24 cases, including two foreigners.

In Haryana, there are 17 cases, which include 14 foreigners.

Karnataka has 20 coronavirus patients. Punjab and Ladakh have 13 cases each. Gujarat has 14 cases while Tamil Nadu has 6 cases, which includes 2 foreigners. Chandigarh has five cases.

Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and West Bengal reported four cases each. Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand have reported three cases each. Odisha and Himachal Pradesh reported 2 cases each.

Puducherry and Chhattisgarh have reported one case each.

New Delhi, Jun 8: Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has said that CBSE board results can be declared by August 15. The results of both class 10 and 12 will be declared at an interval of just a few days.

However, the decision to open schools will be taken after August keeping in mind the current COVID-19 situation. At present, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has not set any date for reopening schools.

Nishank said during a discussion "We hope that the results of both 10th and 12th class will be declared by August 15. These include the results of previous exams and the results of examinations in July."

On the issue of reopening of schools, Nishank said "after August the process of opening schools will be started."

A final decision in this regard will be taken only after assessing the prevailing conditions. According to the HRD ministry, after August, new sessions will also start in universities.

Meanwhile, the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has also written to the HRD ministry on the subject of reopening schools. Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia said in the letter, "Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said some time ago that we have to learn to live with coronavirus. So it would be better to open schools with proper safety measures."

Sisodia said that first of all, we have to assure every child that they are important to us. Everyone has equal rights over the physical and intellectual environment of his school. Education cannot progress beyond online classes only. It would be impossible to pursue education only by calling older children to school and keeping younger children at home.

Several private schools have also suggested measures to the HRD ministry to open schools and safety in schools during this period. However, the ministry is not in a hurry to reopen schools at present. According to senior officials of the ministry, at present, preparations are being made to conduct the remaining board exams of class 10 and 12 between July 1 and 15.

After the examinations, the first priority is to declare the results. Only then can the process of reopening school colleges begin.