GUJARAT

Ahmedabad drops to 10th spot in Swachh Survekshan

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Over the last three years, Ahmedabad has dropped by four ranks to land on the tenth spot since 2019 in the latestSwachh Survekshanranking 2021.

Gujaraton the other hand has ranked third with 931 points in the latest 2021 cleanliness survey.

It is worth pointing out here is that the city had ranked 14 in 2016 and 2017 in a row and then in 2018 it ranked twelfth. The issue is significant as it was in this city between 1917 and 1919 that Mahatma Gandhi had launched one of the longest running cleanliness drives with Dr Hariprasad Desai in the Walled City, when he had returned from South Africa to set up the Satyagraha Ashram in Ahmedabad.

Another major blow to Gujarat in the cleanliness ranking was Bapus birthplace Porbandar, which dropped to the 146 rank among 695 districts that were assessed by the Union ministry of urban development. Back in 2016 it ranked 187 and it was only in 2020 that Bapus birthplace had risen to the rank 100. The state urban development department had asked Porbandar Nagarpalika and the District Administration to come out with a detailed plan for improving the situation of Bapu;s birthplace

Gujarat to give aid worth Rs 498 crore to Covid-hit industries

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Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani announced a plan for assistance to industrial units and MSMEs in the state which had been adversely affected by the second wave of Covid-19 cases.

A meeting was chaired by chief minister Vijay Rupani, with the chairman and managing director of GIDC and additional chief secretary of the industries and mines department.

Before this, the chief minister had announced an Atmanirbhar Package of Rs 14,000 crore, after the first wave of Covid-19, to boost the economy by reviving and trade. Under this package, 31,166 industrialists received benefits worth Rs 407.72 crore under 14 schemes from GIDC.

According to this, industrialists whose time limit to start production ends in 2021-22 will get an extension till 2022-23 i.e. up to March 2023, without levying the non-use penalty.

Due to this decision, industrialists will get more time to use the property and will be relieved from payment of non-use penalty of around Rs 16.70 crore. Around 672 parties will benefit from this.

Allottees of the industrial estates who did not get the benefit of the extended time limit for usage under the previous policy and those who were provided benefits up to March 2022 will also get the extension up to March 2023. Under this policy, 1,656 such industrialists will get benefits worth around Rs 350 crore.

Soda ash production must be augmented by 2.5L tonne a year

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In the wake of clean energy and electric mobility sectors fuelling the demand for soda ash in India and the world, the domestic soda ash production needs to grow at 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh tonne a year, according toGujarat-based soda ash maker,GHCL.

Soda ash is a key raw material for manufacturing solar glass widely used in solar panels and is also a key component for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries and used in treatment of flue gases.

The Soda ash demand increases by 5% per annum, which is stipulated to increase to 6.5% to 7% per annum, driven by growing clean energy applications such as Solar, Flue gas treatment andLithium Ion batteries. However, if the soda ash must fuel the countrys RENEWABLE ENERGY targets, the production needs to be ramped up at the rate of 2.5 – 3 lakh MT every year, to meet the rising demand.

Industry players suggest that demand-supply gap underlines the need for more Greenfield investments in soda ash manufacturing.

Gujarat govt to spell out hydrogen policy soon

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As the green energy movement gains momentum, theGujaratgovernment is planning to roll out a special policy for promoting green hydrogen generation and products.

The proposed policy, which aims to incentivize the sunrise sectors, in all Probability will be announced ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) to be held inGandhinagarnext month, said sources close to the development.

Gujarat plans to offer financial subsidy or (VGF) for companies investing in green hydrogen which is being touted as the future of energy.

The government aims to offer major financial incentives for research & development and human Resources incentives also.
The government also plans a budgetary allocation for the sector.

Farmers in Gujarat to get Rs 1,500 government aid to purchase smartphones

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TheGujaratgovernment has decided to provide financial assistance of up to Rs 1,500 to farmers in the state for purchasing a smartphone, as per a notification issued by the state Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture department.

The scheme is meant to encourage the farmers to buysmartphoneswhich could be used for various purposes towards increasing their farm income, at a time when the prevalence of digital Services in the field of agriculture is growing every day, it said.

Any landholding farmer in Gujarat can apply for the assistance of 10 per cent of the total cost of a smartphone not exceeding Rs 1,500 on i-khedut portal to avail of the benefit of this scheme.

The assistance is valid only for the cost of the smartphone and not for any other accessories such as power backup device, earphones, charger etc., it said. All landholding farmers are eligible for this scheme, but only one beneficiary in a joint holding farm will be eligible.

Mutual fund AUM grew by Rs 55,000 cr in Gujarat

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Riding on fresh inflows to -linked Mutual Funds and increasing net asset value, overall assets under management (AUM) for mutual funds (MFs) in Gujarat increased by Rs 55,201 crore in just eleven months. With this, total AUM for MFs in Gujarat breached the Rs 2.5 lakh crore-mark to touch Rs 2.57 lakh crore in September 2021, according to data by Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

In Gujarat, overall AUM breached the Rs 2 lakh crore mark in November 2020. Since then, AUM for equity MFs alone increased by Rs 44,440.65 crore, driven by sustained SIP inflows, and fresh inflows by investors drawn lured by attractive returns.

Powerdemand acrossGujaratsoared to a record high on Tuesday, thanks to the increased consumption ofelectricityin the agriculture sector amid the stalled monsoon. With more and more farmers drawing groundwater using pumps to save their crops, the electricitydemandfrom the agriculture space, too, has reached near its all-time high level.

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The states maximum power demand stood at 19,431MW on Tuesday, which is the highest so far, shows the daily data compiled by the Western Region Load Dispatch Centre (WRLDC), which is a central government entity. Previously, the power demand had touched a high of 19,360MW in April this year.

The surge in demand is primarily attributed to the growing usage of electricity by farmers for Irrigation purposes. The consumption in Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture has spiralled as farmers are drawing more ground water to save their crops in the wake of the stalled monsoon, said people closely monitoring power demand-supply in the state.
The also raised the time for supply of power to farmers to 10 hours a day, which has also contributed to the higher consumption.

According to sources, around 110 million units (MUs) or Average 4,583MW of power consumed in the agriculture sector on Tuesday, a tad lower than the all-time high of consumption of 111MUs (about 4,625MW) in agriculture in the state.

Gujarat university sports city gets Rs 50 crore booster dose

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The upcomingGujarat universitysports city construction that was stalled during the pandemic is now all set to start churn concrete.

Recently the university has called for Rs 50.2 crore worth of construction work at the Sports city which is spread over 34.8 acres.

The plan for the sports city was first floated in 2018, but work was delayed till early 2017, when construction had picked up momentum. But by 2019 December there has been a lull in the construction activity.

Gujarat government likely to support Uniform Civil Code

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TheGujaratgovernment is expected to respond affirmatively to the Law Commission of India’s notice, which seeks input from various stakeholders on theUniform Civil Code(UCC).

The Law Commission has recently initiated fresh discussions on the topic of the UCC.

Prior to the 2022 Gujarat assembly , the BJP-led State Government had declared its intention to implement the UCC in the state. Consequently, UCC implementation was also one of the prominent pledges made by the ruling party in its election manifesto. However, the state government is yet to establish a committee to assess various aspects of its implementation.

Earlier this year, the state government began the process of fulfilling its much-publicized election pledge to implement the UCC. The Home and legal departments of the state government began efforts to seek legal opinions on whether to introduce the UCC as legislation or through a government resolution.

Gujarat govt directs preschools to not admit kids younger than 3 years

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The , on May 15, introduced theGujaratState Pre-Primary Education Policy, 2023, to regulate the unorganized preschool sector. The policy, along the lines of the National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy and the National Education Policy, stipulates that the children in such facilities should be at least three years old as of June 1 of that academic year.

Majority of these schools function from residential premises, have no overarching regulatory framework related to the course, fees charged, and quality of education. There are no definite numbers, too, of such facilities operating. The policy will help address several such issues.