GUJARAT

As part of its efforts to contribute to meeting the unprecedented demand of medical Oxygen amid a sharp surge in Covid-19 cases, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Limited (IFFCO) has decided to installa plant to manufacture oxygen at its unit located in Kalol, Gandhinagar. The plant is expected to start operation soon.

The plant will have the capacity to produce 200 cubic meter of oxygen per hour. IFFCOs oxygen plant in Kalol will generate medical-grade oxygen. It will be able to fill up 700 D-type (having storage capacity of 46.7 litres) and 300 B-type cylinders (having capacity of 10 litres) every day, IFFCO tweeted on Monday. This plant is currently at erection stage and installation stage.

IFFCO has estimated a total for all the four Plants, including the one in Gujarat, at Rs 30 crore.

On the occasion of the world social day, which was observed on Sunday, activists working in the field of social justice have written to the government, seeking formation of social justice committees in villages ofGujarat.

Dalit rights activist, KantilalParmar, in a letter addressed to the chief secretary,Pankaj Kumar, said that according to provisions of the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1993, social justice committees have to be constituted in every village. He said that section 92 of the Act must be implemented by constituting such committee in every village.

Such committees are either not formed or only exist on paper. According to rules, these committees are expected to meet once every three months, but in a majority of villages, these meetings are not held at all, Paramr said in the letter.
He added that according to rules that govern implementation of the Act, the talati-cum-mantri of the village is mandated to hold meetings of thesocial justice committeeonce every three months. Parmar said that although there are about 18,500 villages in Gujarat, the number of gram panchayats are 13,632 as some villages are combined together have a single gram panchayat. Out of these, less than 3,000 gram panchayats have formed committees and none of them holdmeetings, he said.

With increase in yarn prices by almost 70%, backed by rising prices and high export demand, domestic manufacturers of textiles and apparel are losing their competitiveness to international counterparts like Bangladesh and China.

In a bid to let the domestic fabric and apparel manufacturers stay competitive, members of Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) have sought special export incentives for fabric and apparel makers back Home.

Gujaratis home to some 200 spinning units with an installed capacity of around 50 lakh spindles, according to estimates by All Gujarat Spinners Association (AGSA). According to PDEXCIL members, the government must support MSME exporters by providing intensives in the form of subsidy due to increased cost of yarn, Logistics and raw materials over the past one year.

The increase in cotton prices which has led to the increase in yarn prices was a key issue represented. In the past, Industry players had demanded that yarn exports be restricted so that domestic demand can be met at competitive rates which will help makers stay competitive.

The city of Rajkot is all set to get its much-awaited Information Technology (IT) Park soon. The Rajkot Information Technology Association (RITA) has moved a proposal to allot six lakh square feet of land for this park on the new ring road. The proposal is expected to get the government nod before the end of the current financial year.

The park will be a big shot in the arm for Rajkots IT sector which has an annual turnover of Rs 4,000 crore and is growing at almost 30%. The had generated tremendous business during the lockdown, insiders informed.

RITA has been demanding for the allotment of IT Park for a long time. But RITA officials were not able to move the proposal due to Covid-induced lockdown.

Paving the way for setting up foreign universities and Education institutions in theGIFTCity,Gandhinagarand Ahmedabad, the Centre has notified the regulations, allowing international branch campuses (IBC) and offshore educational centre (OEC) to “offer any programme identical in all respects with the course or programme conducted by the parent entity in its Home jurisdiction” and award identical degree, diploma or certificate.

As per the eligibility conditions put in place, aforeign universityshould have secured a position within Top 500 in global overall ranking and/or subject ranking in the latest QS World Universities ranking and in the case of foreign educational institution, it should be a reputed institution in its home jurisdiction.

n an unstarred question in the recent Lok Sabha session, Gujarat MP Mohanlal Kundariya sought to know the status of implementation of Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA) scheme in Gujarat.
Kundariya asked how may talukas had been selected under this scheme in Gujarat and the funds that have been allocated to the state under the .

Riding on strong demand from overseas markets, exports from the country are estimated to rise at 77 lakh bales (one bale is equivalent to 170kg) in 2020-21, the highest in the past seven years. The exports had previously reached a high of 112 lakh bales in 2013-14, said Industry players.

Being the largest producer of cotton in India, Gujarats contribution to the total exports has been 40-45%.

The Cotton Association of India (CAI) recently raised its estimate for Indias cotton exports by 5 lakh bales based on export shipment bookings data provided by the exporters. The apex body of the Indian cotton trade has now pegged the exports at 77 lakh bales, which will be 54% higher than the 50 lakh bales exported in the cotton season of 2019-20. About 70 lakh bales were already shipped as on July 31.

According to the CAI data, the cotton exports from the country stood at 42 lakh bales, 69 lakh bales, 63 lakh bales, and 72 lakh bales in fiscals 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016.

The Indian cotton prices remained Rs 2,000-2,500 per candy (one candy weighs 356kg), which were lower than the international prices throughout the year.

The surge in demand, however, has increased cotton prices with export quality cotton ruling at Rs 55,000 to Rs 56,000 per candy, said industry players. CAI has projected 93.50 lakh bales of cotton output for Gujarat for 2020-21.