GUJARAT

With soaring share markets attracting more and more investors, the number ofstock investorsfromGujaratonBSE(BombayStock Exchange) is set to cross the one crore-mark.

Indias premier bourse has already seen the count of its registered users (based on unique client codes) from Gujarat jump to 99 lakh as of November 21, which is the second highest registered accounts on BSE after Maharashtra, shows the data compiled by the exchange.

Going by the addition of around 2.42 lakh new users over the previous month, the states tally of registered investors with BSE will soon achieve the milestone of one crore. These investors include all types of investors, be it individual or institutional or those investing through .

With a Growth of 31%, Gujarat has so far added 23.58 lakh investor accounts over the previous year, the BSE data further reveals. Gujarat currently has a share of 11% in total investors accounts on BSE.

A new DEFENCE airbase is slated to come up atDeesain Banaskantha district ofGujaratfor the Indian Air Force (IAF). The foundation stone for the airbase will be laid by Prime MinisterNarendra Modiduring the Defence Expo 2022 scheduled to be held in Gandhinagar next week.

The decision to set up the airbase was taken in 2020 by the Centre. This will call for an of at least Rs 1,000 crore, according to sources privy to the development.

Some 4,500 acre land has been earmarked for setting up the airbase, which will be situated some 130km from the Indo-Pak border and this proximity will help reduce the aerial distance in Indian Air Defence along the western border.

The airbase will, therefore, be a strategic location for theSouthwestern Air Commandwhich is tasked to protect Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The airbase will expand the operating range of the Indian fighter jets in war situations, according to experts.

The Gujarat government will shortly announce its new agro-business policy for the period of 2021-2026 to give a boost to the EMPLOYMENT-generating sector.

While the government has proposed to reduce key financial benefits being offered in the current policy (2016 to 2021), agro-business industries will be able to enjoy dual benefits from Centre and state policies for the sector.

Under the proposed new policy, the most significant feature will be that industries will be allowed to avail dual benefits of policies offered by the government of India and government of Gujarat. Under the present policy, benefits can be availed under any one policy only. This policy change is expected to attract more industries to state.

Navratna Gallery, a first of its kind auction house dealing in all categories ofgemsand jewellery, started its operation in the city.

Interestingly, the gallerys first pre-auction exhibition of lab-grown diamonds was held in the city which is globally known as the natural diamond capital.
The gallery is an initiative of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and was inaugurated by its chairman Colin Shah. The auction house is spread across 2,700 sq ft area and considering the high-value products on display, it is insured for Rs 30 crore.

The auction house will provide a common platform for multiple sellers and buyers.

The in the textile Industry continued in the first quarter of the financial year 2023-24, with India’s textile exports dropping by 15.26% to $8.4 billion.

Industry experts attribute the decline to weak demand and high prices of Cotton.

The entire textile value chain of ginning, spinning, weaving, processing and garment making has been affected by weak global demand. Exports of cotton yarn and fabrics, man-made yarn and fabrics, carpets, handicrafts and apparel shrank from April to June, according to data from the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI).

The textile industry has been going through a tough time for more than a year because of volatile cotton prices and weak global demand, especially since the Russia-Ukraine war began.

Industry experts say textile exports make up about 10% of the country’s merchandise exports. Textiles and apparel make up about 40% of total textiles exports, while Home textiles and fabrics account for 18% and 13%, respectively.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani inaugurated hi-tech Command & Control Centre 2.0 (CCC 2.0) for the effective implementation of various educational projects as well as child-tracking and real-time monitoring of educational activities. The state-of-the-art CCC 2.0 will be useful for systematic monitoring of activities in 54,000 schools covering over 3 lakh teachers and 1 crore students across the state.

Gujarat has developed technology-based Command Control Centre 2.0 to monitor Education quality, student attendance, preparedness of TEACHING faculties.

The e-content includes animated Videos, simulations of experiments, self-study and self-assessment modules, and reference-supplementary literature. Students will be able to access these features from any device or platform.

TheGujaratgovernment is set to use (AI) in administrative Governance to ensure effective delivery of welfare schemes and efficiency in government functioning.

Gujarat has been at the forefront in adopting technology for governance and AI will become part of the state’s administration. AI is a broad discipline of computer science that allows applications of technology for tasks that require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making and translation between languages.

The State Government has always been keen to adopt new technologies in governance and AI will become a part of administrative governance in Gujarat.

As Covid-19 spreads rapidly inrural areasand the administration struggles to find trained medical staff, theGujarathigh court on Monday saidmedical staffshould compulsorily serve in rural areas.

During the hearing of the suo motu PIL on Covid-19, the bench of Bela Trivedi and Justice Bargav Karia said that the court was concerned about the rapid spread of the disease in rural areas. They saidtesting facilitiesare not adequately available there and reports come in late, resulting in delayed treatment.

The government counsel conceded that districts are not in as good a position as urban areas, and therefore the state governments focus is now on rural areas. The HC asked the government to place on record by May 24 the details about PHCs, CHCs and whether they are functional and have the required medical staff.

A media and Communication team from the union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) reviewed several developmental projects and implementation of flagship government schemes during its three-day visit to the city.
Surat has been a frontrunner in the implementation of the Smart Cities Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission, and Prime Minister Awas Yojna (PMAY) among others.

The delegates also visited the Surat Diamond Bourse and the Khajod waste dumping site remediation project. The team personally experienced the bicycle-sharing project and went cycling to Dumas.
They also interacted with residents of the economically weaker section (EWS) housing projects developed under PMAY.

ICCCs developed under Smart Cities Mission have done exceptional work during Covid-19. MoHUA is transforming cities through its various projects and improving ease of living.