India, Japan to sign pact on increasing intellectual property cooperation

The union cabinet on Wednesday approved a pact between India and Japan for cooperation in the field of intellectual property. The Memorandum of Cooperation will be signed between the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO).

The pact will aim to enhance efforts to support innovation in both the countries and will be renewed automatically every four years. The union cabinet also approved six new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the country. These will be located at Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sambalpur (Odisha) and Amritsar (Punjab).

They will commence their first academic session from 2015-16. REVISED COST ESTIMATE FOR DFC PROJECTS OKAYED The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the revised cost estimate of Rs 81,459 crore for the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project, including land costs and financing plan. DFC aims to spur economic growth and is being created for the exclusive movement of freight.

Cleared by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-headed CCEA, the revised cost estimate comprises construction cost of Rs 73,392 crore. While the 1,839-km-long Eastern DFC from Ludhiana to Dankuni is estimated to cost Rs 26,674 crore, the construction of the 1,499-km-long Western DFC from Dadri to Jawaharlal Nehru Port will involve an expenditure of Rs 46,178 crore.

Earlier, CCEA in March, 2008, had given its approval for implementation of the Eastern and Western DFC projects with an expenditure of over Rs 28,181 crore having so far been incurred on the same. The approval for the revised cost estimate was essential for proceeding with project implementation and entering into commitments. The land acquisition cost for the project will be Rs 8,067 crore.

This excludes the cost of the 534-km Sonnagar-Dankuni section proposed to be implemented through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) route.