KERALA

The body of technology companies inKerala,GTech, has launchedMuLearn2.0, an industry-enabled digital platform for peer Learning to nurture the students with necessary expertise in the IT industry from their college days.

They have also launched an art of TEACHING contest and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Digital University of Kerala and Google. Finance ministerK N Balagopallaunched the new version of MuLearn (MuLearn 2.0).

The Academy and Technology Focus Group under GTech has formed a platform comprising leading IT companies, Abdul Kalam Technological University,Kerala University, Digital University of Kerala, ICT Academy and colleges across the state. The MuLearn 2.0 website will be available to the public for free. Awards were distributed to the top three performers in the platform.

Kerala Higher Education Minister Dr R Bindu released the first uniform sign language alphabet in Malayalam and said that it would bring a complete change in the life of hearing-impaired people.

She also promised to look into its use in special schools.

The alphabet has been developed by the Thiruvananthapuram-based National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH) in collaboration with the All Kerala Association of the Deaf.

Bindu further said that all potential technology to ensure physical and mental support to the hearing-impaired to enable them to lead a normal life would be used by the .

She also added that Kerala government will extend all support to NISH become a global institution.

Notably, the event coincided with the International Week of the Deaf observed in the last week of September.

In addition to weaker sections who shall be considered in the project, BPL families with HIV infected members, orphaned children and LGBTQ members will be considered as extremely weaker sections who shall be given priority.

The government has announced in the budget of a micro plan for extreme POVERTY eradication in the state. Approximately five lakh families are expected to be included in this category and the government plans to collect accurate data regarding these families.

The sub-committee formed to compile the set of recommendations towards drafting the guidelines for conducting the survey to identify families suffering from extreme poverty included eight family groups for whom priority shall be given for special consideration.

Keralahas received the Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus status from the Centre for making all the villages meet the parameters prescribed by the Swachh Bharat Mission.

This was achieved by ensuring that all villages have been equipped with modern facilities for sanitation and waste disposal as per the parameters set by the department of drinking water and sanitation, Union ministry of Jal Shakti. Kerala is targeting to achieve 100% ODF model status by December. The criteria for declaring a village as ODF Plus include sustained ODF status along with implementing either solid or liquid Waste Management systems. The focused effort by all villages and grama panchayats in meeting the yardsticks helped the state attain the status, which reflects on the policy initiatives and their meticulous implementation by the government.

The grama panchayats have implemented projects for source-level management of biodegradable waste, collection of biodegradable waste byHaritha Karma Sena, construction of community and household toilets, installation of public disposal facilities for biodegradable waste, liquid waste disposal facilities and various informative campaigns.

A Probability chart of the number of schools and hospitals in the state that are exposed to floods has found that 1,252 schools and 113 hospitals are exposed to floods, having a flood return probability of once in 10 years. The data was prepared by theKeralastate Disaster Management authority (KSDMA) in association with theUnited Nations Environment Program(UNEP).

The maps are relevant in the wake of a recent report by theIntergovernmental Panelon https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change (IPCC) that has predicted serious Impact Of Climate Change on the state and the unpredictable climatic patterns seen in the state’s climate cycle in recent years, especially since 2018.

As per data,Alappuzhahas the highest probability of flood returns in the once in 10-year category, with 12 hospitals and 237 schools exposed to floods, while the number is the least in Wayanad and Palakkad, where there are no hospitals and only nine schools and one hospital and seven schools, respectively, in this category.

The chart has been prepared both based on historical data available and also based on climate change scenarios. As per historical data, there are six hospitals and 132 schools in Alappuzha that would come under the flood return probability of once in 10 years. In Wayanad and Palakkad there are only four schools in this category.

With the (NGT) cracking whips on the government andKochicorporation, the State Government is learnt to have issued an order for expediting the measures for biomining oflegacy wasteaccumulated on the solid waste treatment plant premises atBrahmapuramon a war footing. The state government has asked the corporation to award the work and facilitate biomining immediately.

Biomining is the technique of extraction and segregation of Minerals and useful materials from mounds of waste.
The local body has also started measures to construct a new solid waste treatment plant to replace the existing dilapidated plant at Brahmapuram. The local body has earmarked Rs 9 crore as the first phase of allocation for the works.

Meanwhile, the waste-to-energy plant proposed by the state government for treating the solid waste and generating electricity from it is pending for more than four years. It was the corporation which mooted the project.

Taking into consideration the potential for urban Growth based on the new Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP), the civic body and the District Administration are planning to make appropriate corrections in the old Coastal Regulation Zone maps that will eventually free up lands close to water bodies in and around Kochi.

The corporation authorities, with the support of local residents, councillors, and the district administration have started measures to get exemptions for the areas which were included under the CRZ limits.
As per the new draft of the CZMP, there are provisions for certain relaxations, and if the local body or residents succeed in proving that some areas are eligible for relaxations they will be exempted from the CRZ limits.

As of now, CRZ regulations are being decided in each area based on the CZM. “Now, theKeralaCoastal Zone Management Authority has published the draft of the CZMP. Once the draft is finalized, it will be the base for deciding CRZ limits. In the new draft plan, there are some changes,” said P Z Thomas, an expert member of the panel which prepared the CZMP.

Among the winning candidates to the 15th legislative assembly, 71% havecriminal casesregistered against them while 27% have serious criminal charges. According to an analysis byAssociation for Democratic Reforms(ADR), an NGO, on the basis of affidavits submitted to Election Commision of India, 55% of winning candidates are crorepatis and their Average asset is Rs 3.12 crore.

Among the major parties, 44 (75%) of 59 winning candidates from CPM, 20 (95%) of 21 winning candidates fromINC, seven (41%) of 17 winners from CPI, 12 (86%) of 14 winners from IUML, three (60%) of five winning candidates fromKeralaCongress (M) and four (67%) of six independent winners have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavit.

In a relief to the ailingrevenue collectionof the state, the excise department is set to meet its revised revenue collection target set for the financial year 2022-23, which would come to a close in two more days.

As per the data till February 28, the revenue collection fromliquorsales (excluding sales tax) to the state exchequer is Rs 2,480.15 crore, the highest till February end for any financial year.
The previous highest collection was in 2018-19, when it was Rs 1,948.69 crore. In 2018-19, the total revenue collection till March 31 closed at Rs 2,480.63 crore, which means that Rs 531.94 crore was collected in the last month of the financial year.

The main components of this revenue figure are excise duty, license fee and other regulatory fees. The excise duty is calculated in slabs ranging from 21.5% to 23.5% of the purchase cost per proof litre, and the highest rate of excise duty is Rs 237 per proof litre. With the sales taxes also being revised recently, the revenue from liquor is all set to scale further heights.