HIMACHAL PRADESH

The Chief Minister was addressing the Swaran Jayanti Panch Parmeshwar Gram Swaraj Sammelan at Jogindernagar in Mandi district. Thakur performed inaugurations and foundation stones laying ceremonies of developmental projects worth Rs 110 crore at Chauntra in Jogindernagar Vidhan Sabha area.

He said that this shows that the pace of development has been expedited during the last three and a half years. The developmental projects worth crores of rupees were being implemented in Jogindernagar constituency.

The is providing old age pensions to over 5 lakh old age persons in the State. Almost 3.17 lakh free gas connections were provided in the State under the Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojna.

Himachal Pradesh government is planning to open 1,000 Lok Mitra Kendra in far-flung areas during the current fiscal to provide instant Internet access to the people, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday. The government is determined to make high-speed internet connectivity accessible to the users, especially in the rural areas which lack internet connectivity through these Kendras, he said.

These centres will help in fulfilling the objective to create EMPLOYMENT opportunities for the rural youth at their doorstep, Sukhu said in a statement.

A widespread optical fibre cable Network will be laid across the state for providing internet connectivity, he said, adding that the government will also take up the matter with the concerned authorities to strengthen 5G Services. Adequate budget provision has been made for the same by the government for the current financial year, the statement added. The chief minister said an ‘Integrated Data Base Management System’ would be created in the next four months.

This system will then be used for the direct benefit transfer (DBT) mapping of different welfare schemes of various departments, including Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture, animal husbandry, labour and employment, he said.

Himachal Pradeshhas been recognized as the aspiring leaders in developing a strong startup ecosystem in the state. A spokesperson said the appreciation certificate was received by thedepartment of industries, Himachal, recently at an event States Startup Ranking-2021 organised by the department for promotion of Industry and internal trade, Government of India.

The certificate of achievement was awarded to chief secretaryRam SubhagSingh for his efforts as director of industries; RakeshKumar Prajapatiwas awarded the certificate of commendation for extending support to startups from various state departments and setting up of a new incubation centre in the state to facilitate the startups.

Concerned over high vehicular emissions, Himachal plans to promote electric vehicles by creating zero or low emission zones in Shimla, Baddi, Dharamsala and eco-sensitive areas in all tourist destinations where only battery-operated vehicles will be allowed.

The Himachal Electric Vehicle policy is being formulated. The state has around 19 lakh registered vehicles, including nine lakh two-wheelers. As the prices of most of the electric vehicles are high, the government is keen to provide some subsidy or incentive but this may not be possible due to severe financial constraints it is facing.

Himachal is amongst the first states in the country to run battery-operated electric vehicles following the (NGT) rap over high vehicular emissions causing environmental damage in the ecologically-fragile Rohtang area and its Glaciers. Some private individuals are running electric auto-rickshaws in border areas such as Baddi, Nalagarh and Paonta Sahib, as they are cost efficient with low running cost and practically require no maintenance.

Shoolini University has been ranked among the top 200 global universities for the second year in a row in the Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings for 2023 announced last evening. It is among nine Indian universities to have found a place in the THE rankings.

The university has also bagged the top position in the country for its initiatives to tackle https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change along with Lovely Professional University and Chitkara University.

The State Excise and Department collected revenue of Rs 642 crore in April 2021 in comparison to Rs 76 crore collected during the same period last year. The department has registered a Growth of 9 per cent in April 2021 in comparison to April 2019 (Rs 590 crore).

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today said this was in continuation of departments improved performance which surpassed the revenue collections by 4 per cent in 2020-21 despite heavy disruptions caused by Covid.

The Chief Minister said the department registered the highest-ever GST collection of Rs 429 crore in April 2021 which was Rs 43 crores and Rs 333 crore in April 2020 and April 2019, respectively. The Excise Department also registered a revenue collection of Rs 142 crores in April 2021 as compared to Rs 8 crore and Rs 155 crore in April 2020 and April 2019, respectively.

Now, the has decided on raising willow species in nurseries including Kashmir willow and planting the same in the forest area. So far, the state government has ensured the planting of 3.40 lakh trees of various species under willow plantation.

He said that based on study and survey now the proper site selection, raising of mixed plantations and planting of good quality seedlings of willow species is being done in Lahaul valley. He said that HFRI under a research project funded by ICFRE is working on development of disease free and disease resistant clonal varieties of willow since 2016 in Lahaul-Spiti district and the same varieties would be available for multiplication within a year.

The Dr YS Parmar University of and Forestry, Nauni, will soon introduce a vocational certificate course on Entrepreneurship development in production and processing of Plants“>Medicinal And Aromatic Plants. The course will be among five vocational courses initiated under the World Bank-funded National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

The course will focus on value addition of medicinal and aromatic plants and information on production, processing, Marketing and value addition of Himalayan medicinal herbs would be provided. It is designed to provide foundational information in the development of herb enterprises and will also assist trainees to develop and enhance their knowledge at both backyard and commercial levels by enhancing their knowledge and skills.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, has developed an innovative green technology air nano bubble that can reduce the use of water up to 90 per cent in textile . Nearly 200 litres of water is required to process 1 kg of Cotton fabric.

The laboratory reports suggest the air nano bubble dispersed in water could reduce the water consumption and chemical dosage by 90-95 per cent.

This ultimately also saves 90 per cent of the energy consumption, said Dr Neelkanth Nirmalkar, who has developed the technology.

In the textile industry, the water is used at many steps, including for dyeing, finishing chemicals in the textile substrates, desizing (process of removal of sizing material from yarn), scouring, bleaching, and mercerizing (chemical treatment of fabric to enhance affinity towards dye).

At the same time, the textile industry also produces the highest volume of waste water.

Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday said that the is contemplating to bring a state integrated drug prevention policy, in which a multi-pronged strategy and effective action plan will be formulated to deal with all forms of drug abuse.

The Chief Minister said this while launching a special drug prevention helpline under Mukhya Mantri Sewa Sankalp Helpline 1100. The objective of this helpline is to provide necessary guidance and counseling on drug abuse.

He said that this helpline would connect drug dependent persons or their parents with the nodal officers of Himachal Pradesh Nasha Nivaran Board and State Mental Health Authority in Shimla for initial counseling and guidance.