HIMACHAL PRADESH

Anurag Thakur fifth from Himachal Pradesh to become Union cabinet minister

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In the expansion on Wednesday, minister of state for finance and corporate affairs, Anurag Singh Thakur took oath as the cabinet minister. Before him,Shanta Kumar,Virbhadra Singh, Anand Sharma and JP Nadda he is the fifth leader from state to hold cabinet rank. Veteran Congress leader Sukh Ram had held the portfolio of Union minister of state for Telecommunication (independent charge).

Anurag Thakur is the 4th term Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Hamirpur Parliamentary constituency of Himachal Pradesh. Within Parliament he has served as Chairman of theParliamentary Standing Committeeon IT and Member ofPublic Accounts Committee. During the 16th Lok Sabha, he was appointed as the Chief Whip, Lok Sabha, becoming the youngest to assume the post.

Himachal Govt moving forward on agenda of service to common man: Deputy CM

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Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said that the Congress-led is moving forward on the agenda of service to the common man.

Agnihotri, during a public meeting in Unas Panjawar, said: The State Government is moving forward on the agenda of service to the common man.

He said that the Government is moving towards completing the public welfare works with full commitment. He expressed gratitude to the local people for their support in the assembly Elections.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that about Rs 13 crore has been sanctioned for the road from Pandoga to Panjawar. This road will be widened and repaired, he said, while assuring to take necessary action regarding the construction of a new school building in Panjawar.

He said that efforts would be made to meet the demands of tube wells and drinking water schemes in Panjawar and its surrounding areas.

Rs 11 crore has been released for the maintenance and repair of tube wells in the Una district, he said, while announcing a sanction of Rs five lakh for various local development works.

Shoolini University third in Scimago rankings

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The Solan-based Shoolini University has been placed at number three in the northern region, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh, in the internationally recognised Scimago rankings of universities. It has also attained 37th rank nationally.

Among the Indian private universities, the university has topped the region with 16th rank in the category of research across the country. The Scimago institutions rankings are regarded as one of the most objective rankings because experts evaluate universities and scientific organisations based on information from international databases. In subject-wise category, the university has secured first place among Indian universities in chemistry while it has secured the fourth position in environmental science as well as in physics and astronomy and 12th in energy.

The Scimago ranking list includes 4,126 premier higher educational institutions worldwide. As many as 549 Chinese and 511 universities from the United States have made it to institutions rankings.

Himachal Pradesh govt mulls to create more municipal corporations in state

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Himachal Pradeshchief ministerSukhvinder Singh Sukhusaid that the was contemplating to create a few Municipal Corporations in the state particularly in growing towns likeUna,Hamirpurand Baddi-Barotiwala provided they fulfil all the required norms.

He said that this would not only stop unplanned construction but also ensure planned development of these fast-emerging towns. He said that the authorities must also ensure planned development of these areas, besides laying special thrust on construction of parking and children parks.

He asked the officers to come up with a concrete plan to provide proper housing for slum dwellers, particularly in Shimla town so that they can live in a better and hygienic Environment by providing them affordable houses and better living conditions.

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that various welfare schemes were being implemented in the State but people were not aware of these schemes. He directed the officers to ensure wide publicity of these schemes so that the general public could be benefitted at large.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday said the State Government has succeeded in getting in-principle approval of Rs 2,095 crore in ADB infrastructure Development Project for the State.

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He said out of this, 90 per cent would be loan amount which would be supported by Government of India whereas 10 per cent would be State share, as Himachal Pradesh is a special category State. The Screening Committee, Department of Economic Affairs of Union Ministry of Finance has given its in-principle approval for funding from the ADB.

The Chief Minister said the project is aimed at giving a fresh impetus to tourism in the State through creation of new destinations, improving existing destinations besides ensuring maintenance and preservation of heritage. The project also envisages development of eco tourism by ensuring development of lesser known places to lower burden on already crowded tourist destinations, he said.

Thakur added he had personally taken up the matter with the Union Finance Minister and presentations were also made before the Ministry of Tourism, and Ministry of Finance.

The project would be implemented in two tranches. The first tranche would be worth more than Rs 900 crore while the second tranche would be more than Rs 1,100 crore. The work on formulation of DPR would be taken in hand at the earliest and the project would kick start from March next year, he added.

Shoolini University top private institute

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Himachal Pradesh-based Shoolini University has been ranked best private universities in India in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2023. Terming the achievement as a matter of national pride, university Chancellor and Founder Dr PK Khosla said, It is a collective result of the untiring efforts of our faculty in TEACHING and research. The university has been ranked 351-400 overall and 39th in the category Citations in the world.

The Lawrence School, Sanawar, has been ranked best In the country in the category Vintage Legacy Co-ed Boarding Schools by the Education World, which announced its India-Schools Ranking (EWISR) for 2022-23.

Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Friday inaugurated live telecast of Aartis of all the three Shaktipeeths situated in Kangra district –Jwalaji, Brijeshwari and Chamunda.

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Earlier, he paid obeisance and performed pooja at the Jwalaji temple and also visited the place where a statue of Saint Aadiguru Shankaracharya has been installed in the premises of Jwalaji Shrine.

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur, Industries Minister Bikram Thakur, MP Kishan Kapoor, Chairman State Planning Board Ramesh Chand Dhawala, MLAs Arjun Thakur and Rajesh Thakur, amongst others were also present at the premises of Jwalaji Temple during the live telecast of function of Shri Kedar Dham in Uttrakhand presided over by the Prime Minister.

Rs 427-cr MoUs signed for Una

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Director, Industries, Rakesh Prajapati today signed MoUs with 17 industrialists, who have proposals to set up units in Una district with a total of Rs 427 crore. Most proposed units are from the food Industry, while three pharmaceutical units have also been proposed.

Farmwale, an agro-processing company, signed an MoU for setting up multiple milk-chilling plant, vegetable-processing plant, bakery unit, gram dehydration Evaporation and processing unit, sorting, grading and destoning of maize unit, sugarcane jaggery processing, potato-grinding, storage and packing unit, green corn packaging unit and corn seed grit plant. The company has proposed to invest Rs 180 crore in Bathari of the district.

Hemtex Textile has proposed to set up a yarn manufacturing unit at Nangal Slangari village, involving an investment Rs 31 crore, and the firm, Narinder Kumar-Bhupinder Kumar, will set up a chemical plant for manufacturing formaldehyde chemical with an investment of Rs 5 crore.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur inaugurated development projects worth Rs 75.50 crore in the Nachan Assembly constituency from Jai Devi in Mandi district.

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He announced the upgrade of various Health centres and Education facilities, Rs 10 lakh each for 12 new panchayats in the Nachan constituency for the construction of panchayat bhawans and the opening of a new patwar circle at Killing. He said Ayurvedic dispensaries would be opened at Gharot and Ghinvi.

The Chief Minister said that Rs 50 lakh each had been released for the construction of stadiums at government senior secondary schools at Aatgarh and Chail Chowk.

Later, Thakur presided over a conference of the elected members of the institutions (PRIs) of the block and the elected members of the Municipal Council, Sundernagar.

Developing artificial lakes on the cards in Himachal

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The Himachal Pradesh government is contemplating to develop artificial reservoirs as vibrant tourist destinations in the state, offering a range of adventurous activities, including watersportsactivities, angling, bird watching and eco-tourism activities. Chief ministerSukhvinder Singh Sukhusaid rules and regulations are currently being formulated to govern these activities.

Sukhu said Kangra District Administration has been directed to identify suitable sites to create an artificial lake, spanning one to two km, along a perennial river route. Additionally, 5.75 hectares of land has also been identified in Nagrota for setting up a wellness centre as well as an artificial lake with world-class fountains.

Stating that the government intends to increase the influx of tourists in the state to attract five crore tourists in the coming four to five years, he said the government has allocated Rs 70 crore for promoting adventure tourism activities at Pong Dam in Kangra, which will attract adventure Sports enthusiasts to the state.