HIMACHAL PRADESH

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today said the (WB) had approved the negotiation package of a financial outlay of Rs 1,825 crore ($250 million) for the Water Supply and Sewerage Services Delivery Programme for improving water supply in the Greater Shimla area.

Out of Rs 1,825 crore, the World Bank will provide a financial assistance of Rs 1,168 crore and the remaining Rs 657 crore will be borne by the Himachal Pradesh Government, he said.

Thakur said the project would ensure round-the-clock water supply in the Shimla Municipal Corporation areas, besides strengthening sewerage facilities.

Under the project, Shimla water supply from the Sutlej will be augmented with additional 67 MLD to meet the demand up to 2050, he added.

He said bulk water supply to Shimla peri-urban areas would also be ensured to meet the demand in Kufri, Shoghi and Ghanahatti, which fall under the Special Area Development Authority and additional planning areas, up to 2050.

The project will be completed by 2026. The agreement between the WB, Department of Economic Affairs, Centre and the state Urban Development Department will be signed soon.

The youths of Tino village under Kolang panchayat in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti are promoting agro tourism to sustain their economy.

They have started agro tourism at Gaimur village, where they have set up camps for the stay of tourists. They are planning to expand the concept across the district in the coming days.

During the stay of tourists, they are allowed to collect farm produce like organic vegetables from the nearby farmland for kitchen purpose. The motive is to give them the first-hand experience of agricultural produce harvesting and self-cooking under agro tourism plan. Similarly, in the sowing season, the tourists will be allowed to experience sowing of Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture crops.

These youths are promoting organic agro tourism to attract tourists to Lahaul Spiti. They have grown exotic vegetables on their land to attract the tourists, which is purely the organic produce.

Agro-tourism encompasses a wide variety of activities and provides a means to farmers to diversify and supplement their income. Such activities include wildlife study, horseback riding, cooking classes, wine tasting, harvest festivals, barn dances, farm stays, guided tours and petting zoos.

Dr YS Parmar University of and Forestry, Nauni, has signed an MoU with a Shimla-based Food Processing company for the production of apple cider vinegar based on the technology developed by its scientists.

This is the second start-up that has signed an agreement with the university for the transfer of technology by paying Rs 40,000 as fee. The company will acknowledge the universitys name on the product label.

KD Sharma, Professor and Head, Department of Food Science and Technology, said the technology was an alternative to the traditional methods and ensured utilisation of culled apples.

Union Power Minister R.K. Singh and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu participated in an interaction programme organised under Vibrant Village Programme at Chitkul in District Kinnaur.

During the interaction programme organised under the Vibrant Village programme, the Union Power Minister and Chief Minister interacted and listened to the grievances of the local villagers. The people were also assured that all their genuine demands would be considered on priority.

The Union Minister while addressing the gathering said that the Vibrant Village programme is an initiative of the Union Government to strengthen the facilities in the Northern border and to provide all facilities at par with cities. He said that Chitkul, Pooh, Nako, Leo and Chango villages of district Kinnaur will be developed under the Vibrant Village Programme. He said a Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) will adopt Chitkul Village and assist the State Government in development of the this Vibrant Village. He said that one mega-watt power plant would be established in Chitkul and the possibility of setting up of micro hydel projects on rivulets of the area would also be explored. He said that to promote the rich cultural heritage of the area and tourism activities, a cultural and tourist centre would also be established at Chitkul.

The Himachal Pradesh government will test the use of indigenously developed anti-hail guns’ to assist horticulturists who have crop damage due to hailstorms. The indigenous guns were created by IIT Bombay in collaboration with Dr YS Parmar University of Forestry, Nauni (Solan).

About the anti-hail gun:

The anti-hail gun is a machine that generates shock waves to destroy the Growth of hailstones in the cloud.

It consists of a tall fixed structure, a bit like an inverted tower, a few meters high, with a long and narrow cone that opens up to the sky.

The gun “fires” by sending an explosive mixture of acetylene gas and air into its lower chamber, thereby releasing shock waves

Shock waves (such as those produced by supersonic aircraft) travel faster than the speed of Sound.

These shock waves are said to prevent water droplets in clouds from forming hailstones, allowing them to fall as raindrops instead.

In an effort to upscale Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture-related knowledge and develop technologies within and outside the state, Dr YS Parmar University of and Forestry, Nauni, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Rohru-based firm, Himgiri Agri solutions.

The MoU will facilitate collaborations in the fields of Education and research, besides skill upgradation of farmers in fruit production and manufacturing of value-added products from organic and natural farming produce, said Vice-Chancellor Prof Rajeshwar Singh Chandel.

The company also runs an EdTech platform, Khetiyari. It will collaborate with the university on certificate courses in farming and development of content through this platform.

hief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday proposed Rs 2,233 crore for the social security and welfare ofwomen,childrenand other weaker sections in the budget estimates for 2023-24.

The has started a new scheme -Mukhya Mantri Sukh-Ashray Yojana- for children in need of care (orphans, semi-orphans and specially abled). All children and persons up to the age of 27 years covered under the scheme will be known as ‘Children of State’ and the government will look after them by following the principle of ‘Sarkaar hee Mata, Sarkaar hee Pita’.

Sukhu in his budget speech also said new integrated buildings – Adarsh Gram Sukh Ashray Parisar – with a capacity of about 400 inmates would be constructed in Sundernagar and Jwalamukhi to provide shelter and residential facilities to senior citizens, children, specially-abled children and destitute Women.

He further said provision of better furniture, clothing, bedding, food, additional house mothers, quality Education, career counseling, etc. would be made for qualitative improvement of orphanages.

Additionally, the children covered under this scheme will be taken out for educational tours outside the state once in a year. They will also be provided facilities of air travel and stay in three star hotels, said Sukhu.
The expenditure on account of education, hostel, professional training and skill upgrade for the beneficiaries in the age group of 18 to 27 years, covered under the scheme, will be borne by the state government, he said.

Sukhu also announced ‘Mukhya Mantri Vidhwa Evam Ekal Nari Awas Yojana’ with the financial assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh for construction of houses for eligible widows and single women.

He said 7,000 women would be given assistance for constructing houses under the scheme in 2023-24. Electricity, water and other facilities will be provided in the houses built under this scheme, the CM added.
He said the government would provide financial assistance to such poor children of the state, who were unable to pursue higher and professional studies due to paucity of Resources. For this, Sukhu announced to start ‘Mukhya Mantri Vidyarthi Protsahan Yojana’ with the proposed expenditure of Rs 200 crore.

Under the scheme, eligible poor children will be given education loan through financial institutions/banks at the interest rate of 1% to pursue engineering, medical, management, PhD, courses from ITIs/polytechnics, BPharmacy, Nursing, general nursing and midwifery.

Over the years, the economy ofHimachal Pradeshhas shown a shift from Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture sector to industries and Services as the Percentage contribution of agriculture in totalGross State Domestic Producthas declined from 57.9 per cent in 1950-51 to 55.5 per cent in 1967-68, and then from 26.5 per cent in 1990-91 to 9.64 per cent in 2020-21. During Covid pandemic, the agriculture and allied sectors were least impacted and this sector is expected to grow by 3.9 per cent in 2021-22 after growing 3.6 per cent in the previous year.

According to the latest Economic Survey report tabled in stateAssemblyrecently, the services sector was hardest hit by the pandemic, especially segments that involve human contact and this sector is estimated to grow by 8.2 per cent this financial year following last years 8.4 per cent contraction. During 2020-21, the state economy contracted by 5.2 per cent due to Covid-19 pandemic but as per current estimates, is expected to grow by 8.3 per cent during 2021-22.
The of the industries and services sectors which were 1.1 and 5.9 per cent respectively in 1950-51 increased to 5.6 and 12.4 per cent in 1967-68, 9.4 and 19.8 per cent in 1990-91 and to 28.9 and 44.7 per cent in 2020-21. However, the contribution of remaining sectors declined from 35.1 per cent in 1950-51 to 26.4 per cent in 2020-21.

The declining share of agriculture sector does not affect the importance of this sector in the state economy as the Growth in Primary Sector of the state economy is still determined by the trend in agriculture and Horticulture production. It is one of the major contributors to the total domestic product and has overall impact on other sectors via input linkages, EMPLOYMENT, trade and transportation. Report says that due to lack of Irrigation facilities, agricultural production to a large extent still depends on timely rainfall and weather conditions. High priority has been accorded to this sector by the Government.

The state has made significant progress in the development of horticulture. The topographical variations and altitudinal differences coupled with fertile, deep and well drained soils favour the cultivation of temperate to sub-tropical fruits. The region is also suitable for cultivation of ancillary horticultural produce like flowers, mushroom, honey and hops.

Following theUttarakhand glacier burst, the environmentalists in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh (HP) have brought government’s attention towards finding clean sources of energy, solvingglobal warmingissues, and dispelling myths about propagating hydropower projects as a clean Source Of Energy before it was too late.

The anaerobic decomposition of muck or the biological matter which deposits in the dam impoundments with flood water leads to the generation of methane gas which further contributes to , he said.

He said in Chamba district alone there were as many as five hydropower projects including Baira Siul, Chamera,1,2, 3, and Holi project.

Switching on its entire fleet of official vehicles, as electrical, Himachal Pradesh State Transport Department has achieved the distinction of becoming the first such department in the country to switch over to electrical vehicles (EVs). Adopting the Go Green approach, the Directorate of Transport has replaced the official petrol and diesel vehicles with electric ones.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, congratulating the State Transport Department, said that Himachal has taken a lead in switching over to electrical vehicles and notified its policy, whereas some states of the country are in the final stage for implementing the same.

The motive to start these e-vehicles was to curtail unnecessary expenditure on petroleum products besides preserving the state’s pristine Environment. All the Government departments will be equipped with electrical vehicles within a year, said the Chief Minister, adding that EV Policy-2022 has also been notified.

The Government is also mulling to make Parwanoo-Nalagarh-Una-Hamirpur-Nadaun-Dehra highway as Clean and Green corridor. Apart from this, the e-buses will soon run on Shimla-Rampur corridor, he said, adding that the rest of the routes in the State will be provided e-buses in a phased manner in next three to four years, which will minimize both noise and Air Pollution.

The HRTC has been in loss since the last few years. Switching over to electrical vehicles will be a step forward to minimize the cost of transportation and will be affordable to all.

The electrical Charging Stations will be set up in a phased manner for which around 110 places along the four lanes, national and state highways have been identified. Besides, 700 government buildings have been selected to set up the electric charging stations.