Bihars second tiger reserve in Kaimur soon: Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey

Union minister of state for Environment, forests and https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change Ashwini KumarChoubey said thesecond tiger reserve in Biharwould be set up inKaimur.

He said a proposal in this regard was being finalised and deliberations on it were held at the meeting of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

The state forest department had first spotted a tiger through camera traps in Kaimur wildlife sanctuary on March 26, 2020.

Till now, tiger spotting in Bihar has been confined to either VTR in West Champaran or Patna zoo. VTR, the lone tiger reserve in Bihar, has a good number of 31 tigers as per the last tiger census.

Nitish Kumar asks Bihar officials to speak to Centre for allotment of adequate fund under MGNREGS

Bihar chief ministerNitish Kumar asked rural development department (RDD) officials to speak to theCentrefor allotment of adequate fund under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural EMPLOYMENT Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to ensure timely payment to labourers in the state.

The CM also reviewed the ongoing works under the Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali Abhiyan and asked the concerned officials to expedite execution of works.

Earlier, the RDDs principal secretary gave detailed information to the CM about the works taken up under the MGNREGS, its budget and the latest status of expenditure. He said altogether 10.37 crore man-days have so far been created against the budget of 20 crore man-days sanctioned by the Centre for financial year 2021-22. He said the cent percent amount of labourers are provided by the Centre under this scheme.

CIMAP ties up with Bihar university to boost research

CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) signed a memorandum of understanding withMahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari,Biharto strengthen research work and extend the benefits of research to the students.

Research students will be familiarised with the new developments taking place in both the institutes. Under this agreement, MSc/MPhil/JRF/SRF/PhD students, faculty and scientists will be able to use the equipment available in both the institutes,” said CSIR-CIMAP spokesperson Manoj Semwal.

CSIR-CIMAP will also provide short-term training to the university students, said Semwal.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of institute’s senior scientists and faculty members of the university.

Cabinet sanctions release of Rs 29 crore for Tharuhat development project in West Champaran

The state cabinet sanctioned the release of Rs 29 crore for the implementation of schemes to be taken up under integratedTharuhatdevelopment project in West Champaran district during the current financial year.

Additional chief secretary,cabinet secretariat department, S Siddharth said the cabinet also approved the extension of the scheme till 2024-25 financial year.
The cabinet gave its nod to the release of Rs 41 crore for the execution of the certification programme during the current fiscal in the state’s organic corridor that passes through 13 districts. Besides, the period of the scheme has been extended to 2024-25, involving utilisation of Rs 104 crore.

The cabinet approved the allotment of Rs 416 crore for industrial area development, of which Rs 195 crore will be made available through supplementary budget for utilisation during the current financial year.

The cabinet also sanctioned the government’s proposal to give special remission in the prison terms of convicted persons on the occasion of Republic Day and Independence Day every year.

Bihar govt to set up solar plants at Kajra, Pirpainty

The state cabinet on Wednesday approved the governments proposal to establish solar power Plants at Kajra in Lakhisarai and Pirpainty in Bhagalpur district on the land earlier acquired for the thermal power plants.

The proposal for integrated development of 20 towns and their allied rural areas was also approved. The towns concerned are Buxar, Kishanganj, Katihar, Sasaram, Dehri, Motihari, Aurangabad, Hajipur, Jamui, Siwan, Bettiah, Bagaha, Lakhisarai, Khagaria, Araria, Forbesganj, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Bhabhua and Sheohar.
In yet another decision, the government will transfer 200.02 acres of land at Darbhanga to the Centre for the construction of Aiims there. The land is located in Darbhanga Sadar and Bahadurpur circles.

The cabinet cleared the proposal to calculate the earned leave of government employees, who retired between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021, at the enhanced rate of dearness allowance. As per the revised payscale, the increase in the DA will be from 28% to 31% effective from July 1, 2021.

The cabinet cleared the release of Rs2.90 crore for the purchase of eight new vehicles for use in the Patna . Besides, it also cleared Rs 1.13 crore for the purchase of six vehicles for use by the Speaker, deputy Speaker of the assembly, as well as the whips.

Bihar State Cooperative Bank has been authorized to raise Rs5,000 crore from NABARD pertaining to the Kharif Marketing season of 2021-22 and the Rabi marketing season of 2022-23. Similarly, Bihar Sate Food and Civil Supplies Corporation has been allowed to raise Rs9,000 crore from Commercial Banks and NABARD as its WORKING CAPITAL in connection with the kharif marketing season 2021-22 and procurement of paddy.

Bihar to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2040

Bihargovernment is actively pursuing the target of net zero carbon level a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the by the year 2040. Significant progress has been made so far in this direction through field visits, data collection and assessment, the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) chairman Ashok Kumar Ghosh said.

A final report comprising policy-level recommendations for achieving the desired results will be submitted to the State Government by March next year.

Later, several other agencies working in the Environment conservation sector, includingShakti Foundation, WRI-India and CEEW were also associated with the project as partner organisations.

Bihar at last in NITI Aayog health system rankings

Bihar, as per its Health , is languishes last among all states and Union Territories, as per the latest report on health infrastructure at the district level, published by NITI Aayog.

As per the report, prepared with the help of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry and WHO India, Bihar has just six hospital beds for one lakh Population as against the national standard of 24 beds per one lakh population. Puducherry tops the list with 222 beds per one lakh population.

De-centralised biomedical waste incinerator opened in Buxur

he waste incinerator would be useful at a time when the problems associated with handling and disposing biomedical waste are exacerbated due to the Covid-19 pandemic in small towns and villages that do not have access to central biomedical waste treatment facilities.

This is a pilot project with portable, forced draft incinerator capable of handling 50 kg per hour of biomedical waste with the provision of waste heat recovery. It can process waste made of , plastic, or similar materials in a batch of 5 kg. The unit requires a 2 sq mt area and only 0.6 kWh electricity for initial ignition of the waste with an option of auto electricity turn-off.

The technology was selected through the Biomedical Waste Treatment Innovation Challenge launched in June 2020 by the ‘Waste to Wealth’ mission.

Cabinet approves state biofuels policy

The state cabinet approvedBihar Biofuels Production Promotion Policy, 2023, which will pave the way for production of compressed biogas (CBG) apart from ethanol in the state. Firms or individuals interested in setting up CBG units in Bihar can start applying for taking the benefits of the new policy after its notification and till June 30 next year.

CBG is produced from and waste sources like agricultural residue, cattle dung, sugar cane press mud, municipal solid waste and sewage treatment plant waste among others. As per Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) Scheme of the Centre, CBG has properties almost similar to CNG. Hence, a vehicle running on CNG can be filled with CBG without any modification.

C BG consists of methane (90%) and other gases like carbon dioxide (less than 4%). The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, through a gazette notification in June, 2015, has permitted CBG for motor vehicles as CNG alternative. SATAT envisages setting up 5,000 CBG units in the country by 2024-25.

As per a study by IIT Guwahati, India has potential to produce 80,000 tonnes per day of compressed biogas, replacing 50% of the current diesel use in transport. Under the Ethanol Production Promotion Policy, 2021, incentives were being given to the units producing ethanol only.

Bihar: Campaign launched to minimise dropouts in schools

Theeducationdepartment launched a fortnight-long state-level “Praveshotsava” (enrolment festival) in a big way. The campaign is aimed at ensuring 100% enrolment of boys and girls passing Class VIII examination into Class IX of their respective schools.

The minister said Education department officials would accompany the education rath and there would also be some cultural artists who will attract students towards schools by motivating their guardians.

He appealed to the officials to organise the enrolment festival sincerely from July to 15 so that not a single student who has passed Class VIII examination this year is dropped.