HIMACHAL PRADESH

Seven weather monitoring devices installed in Chamba district

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Seven Automatic Weather Monitoring System devices have been installed at the remote Kundi, Kuranh, Baat, Gulera Kiyani, Chandi and Kalhel areas of Chamba district in collaboration with NGO Pragya. These will provide necessary data and information for effective management of natural calamities in the district.

Launching the automatic weather system equipment here on Saturday, Deputy Commissioner DC Rana said these automatic weather system centres would be important for providing useful information related to weather in the district. He said these devices would not only provide information related to pre-disaster weather but would also be significant for farmers and orchardists in forecasting rain.

The DC said a doppler radar, with a capacity of 120 sq km, was also being installed by the India Meteorological Department at Jot in the district; adding that with the functioning of this radar, detailed weather information would be available.

Himachal Pradesh Budget: Rs 8,828 crore proposed for education sector

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To improve the quality of Education and to provide better facilities to students, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has proposed Rs 8,828 crore for the .
The CM said that several surveys brought out recently indicate deterioration of students’ Learning, reading and writing abilities especially, after Covid pandemic and his government is committed to strengthen the education system and a comprehensive work plan will be prepared to improve the situation.

Sukhu added that focus will be on both quality and quantitative improvement of the education system while implementing the National Education Policy 2020 in the state, to improve learning outcomes of children. He said that the process for filling up vacant posts of teachers in educational institutions will be expedited.

CM Sukhu further said that his government believes in providing better facilities in terms of adequate teachers, libraries, lab facilities, good buildings and Sports grounds in functional schools instead of only opening new schools or upgrading existing schools. He said that in 2021-22, only one teacher was available in 3,148 schools each of the state, which were 30 percent of the total schools. It was found that very few students were enrolled in many recently opened institutions and it was not possible to provide quality education to them. Considerable changes are needed to provide the best education to children of the state, he said.

HP gets Rs 42cr under PM Gati Shakti scheme

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Himachal Pradeshhas been awarded central funding of Rs 42 crore underPM Gati Shaktirelated expenditure of Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital 2022-23 from the Department of Expenditure, Union ministry of finance. The screening committee of Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) has approved 3 projects amounting Rs 42 crore.
The government of Himachal Pradesh had sent 4 projects amounting to Rs 84 crore for central assistance keeping in view Logistics connectivity and industrial development in the state.

One of the flagship projects under this scheme is setting up an IT Park at Rakh (Nagri),Tehsil Palampur, district Kangra as airport connectivity and Climate is highly suitable for setting up IT-enabled industries. The total cost of the project is Rs 35 crore.

Chief ministerSukhvinder Singh Sukhuhas directed the industries department to increase the size of the park from 250 kanal to at least 1000 kanal.

Phase 2 of crop diversification project to begin in Himachal soon: Minister

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Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture Minister Virender Kanwar today said the second phase of the Himachal Pradesh Crop Diversification Promotion (HPCDP) Project, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will be launched soon in the state.

About 25,000 farmers of the state would be covered under the Rs 1,010 crore project, which would focus on bringing rain-fed land under Irrigation, crop diversification and bringing new cultivation techniques for the farmers in their fields.

306 new irrigation schemes would be implemented in the state which, when complete, will have a total irrigation command area of about 9,000 hectares. He added that new irrigation techniques like drip and systems would be adopted to conserve water.

Besides, high-yielding varieties of seeds will be introduced to the farmers to boost their produce. In order to provide road connectivity for transportation of produce from remote areas, the construction of village roads has also been proposed, he said, adding that a sum of Rs 30 crore had been set aside for strengthening 13 existing agriculture produce Marketing yards.

HP approves draft MoU for flights in 2 sectors

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To boost tourism and provide better connectivity to the residents ofHimachal Pradesh, the state cabinet on Tuesday gave its approval to the draft MoU with Alliance Air Aviation Limited to start flights in two sectors that is Shimla-Kullu-Shimla(4 times a week) and Shimla-Dharamshala-Shimla (3 times a week).

The cabinet meeting in Shimla was chaired by chief ministerJai Ram Thakur. A decision was taken to create and fill 104 posts of medical officer (dental) on contract basis for giving specialized dental care the people closer to Home. Of these posts 50% will be filled throughHPPSCand 50% on batch-wise basis.

It also decided to open 22 homeopathic Health centres under Ayush department in various parts of the state along with creation and filling up of 22 posts of homeopathic medical officers to manage these centres. Approval was also given to fill up 164 (newly created and vacant) posts of technical assistant in department throughHimachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission, Hamirpur.

Following complaints of rampant copying during examination in some private educational institutions in the state, Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPERC) today constituted a three-member committee to check quality of education in private institutions.

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The commission has received complaints of rampant copying, paid copying, students paying for not appearing in examinations and other similar complaints said chairman, HPPERC Maj Gen Atul Kaushik (Retd).

He added, Though examinations are under the preview of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) and other bodies, we have constituted a three-member committee to check the quality of Education in private educational institutions.

GST collection in Himachal up 50.7 pc in July

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The monthly Goods and Service Tax (GST) collection of the state has registered a Growth of 50.7 per cent in July 2021.

The GST collected in July stood at Rs 473.81 crore, which is the highest collection in one month since its implementation. The cumulative GST collections up to July were Rs 1,301.03 crore. The state had collected Rs 705.26 crore during the corresponding period last year.

Some reasons for the improved GST collections are the increased business activities, improvement in return filing as a result of better monitoring of taxpayers and more effective enforcement activities by the department.

1,000 Lok Mitra Kendra to be opened in Himachal to provide internet connectivity: CM

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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. 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.

HPs GST collection grows by 67% in Q1 of 2022-23

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GSTcollection inHimachal Pradeshhas grown by 67% in the first quarter of the current financial year, with the collection of Rs 1,385 crore against Rs 831 crore collected during the same period of last financial year.

He said that in June this year, the GST collection has stood at Rs 372 crore whereas during June last year, the collection was Rs 235 crore only.

The has recently approved establishment of the GST training cell in the department for continuous capacity building of tax officers.

Himachal Pradesh to facilitate virtual learning for students

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Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, while virtually addressing at the launching function ofDigital Saathi-Bacchon Ka Sahara,Phone Hamara programmeat Shimla from Balichowki in Mandi district, said new technology had proved a boon to the students during the lockdown due to the pandemic as they were able to continue their studies through online mode.

He said Digital Saathi-Bacchon Ka Sahara, Phone Hamara campaign launched by the Education department would facilitate the students belonging to weaker sections of Society to get a smartphone so that they could continue their online classes without any hindrance.

Thakur saidDigital IndiaCampaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 had helped the country in ensuring that the pace of life does not slow down. He said thestate governmenthad also ensured optimum use of this new technology and held virtual meetings daily with the officers to review Covid-19 situation. He said that not only this, he also virtually inaugurated and laid foundation stones of developmental projects worth Rs 4000 crore in different parts of the State.

He said that the also started Har Ghar Pathshala programme to facilitate the students during the pandemic. He added that about 80% students were covered under this programme and now the endeavour of the government was to cover 100% students.