MAHARASHTRA

When farmers of the country become atmanirbhar (self-reliant), the country would automatically become atmanirbhar, said Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari after inaugurating the new administrative building of Shri Shivaji Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture College.

Praising the wisdom and vision of Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh, who was minister of agriculture in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru, and founder of Shri Shivaji Education Society, which runs the college, Koshyari said leaders of that era were committed to the cause of the country, while the present day netas bring tears to his eyes as politics only means power and chair for them.

Stating that all governments are taking steps for the welfare of farmers, the governor urged them to do traditional farming and blend it with research that takes place in agriculture colleges to boost yield.

The new warehouse, which Amazon calls fulfilment centres, is located at Varale. A spokesperson called its in the state significant, while not disclosing the amount. In a statement, Amazon claimed that the new centres will also help MSMEs units expand their customer base.

The fulfilment centres stand on top of the distribution chain in the Amazon Network, with the company also operating seven sorting centres, 200 delivery service partner stations, and on-ground shops for last-mile operations.

Regional office of Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) here has begunair qualitymonitoring to gauge pollution spread byChandrapurSuper Thermal Power Station (CSTPS).

Wadettiwar, while reviewing Environmental Degradation in Chandrapur city and surrounding areas, had blamed CSTPS for high pollution levels. He charged the mega power plant, having installed capacity of 2920MW, of not taking measures to curb pollution despite Supreme Court orders.

Expressing concern over the rising diseases like skin ailment, asthma, cancer and other respiratory disorders, he had directed MPCB regional office to check pollution caused by CSTPS and take appropriate action to bring the situation under control.

Maharashtrahas become the fifth Indian and 125th global state to join theUnder2 Coalition a global community of state and regional governments committed to ambitiousclimate actionin line with theParis Agreement.

In the last few years, the state has witnessed a severe loss of life and serious economic disruptions due to the increasing impact of https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change in recent decades. It also has the highest number of non-attainment cities in the country where Air Pollution levels are not meeting the set standards.

By joining the coalition, the state aims to implements dedicated climate action in line with the Paris Agreement and reducing the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters. Formed in 2015, the Under2 Coalition is a global community of nearly 230 governments, with its members representing over 1.3 billion people and 43% of the global economy. Apart from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana and West Bengal are also a part of the coalition.

As per a study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Maharashtra faces high climate risk with a seven-fold increase in the frequency of drought events and a six-fold increase in extreme floods in the last five decades.

Alcohol consumption jumped 23% going by sales between 2021-22 and 2022-23 in the state, show excise department data. Senior officials said it was the biggest year-on-year rise over the past several decades despite a price rise.

The state reaped the benefit with a record Rs 21,550 crore excise haul, a huge revenue increase of almost 25%.

Beer and wine put on impressive shows (see box), thanks to a liberalised policy to push sale, said officials.

The revenue jump has been the most impressive in Nagpur, Aurangabad and Kolhapur regions, more than the traditional cash cows of Mumbai-Thane, Pune and Nashik regions. Nagpur revenue grew 42.9%, Aurangabad and Kolhapur have registered 29.7% and 28.5% more sales, respectively. Mumbai-Thane, Pune and Nashik have shown an annual increase of around 23% in excise revenue.

Buldhanadistrict in west VidarbhasAmravatidivision is one of the top three worst-hit districts in the region due to Covid-19. But, there is a silver lining.
Total 138 small villages in the remote parts of the district have not reported even a single case of Covid-19 right since the onset of the pandemic.

After almost 15 months and two waves, not a single native of about 1.5 lakh cumulative Population of these villages got infected. Authorities in the district said the credit goes to the villagers only as they followed Covid-appropriate behaviour and also made farm quarantine mandatory for any guests and visitors.

With theSupreme Courtquashing its to restore theMarathaquota in jobs and Education, the Eknath Shinde-led government inMaharashtraheld an urgent meeting on the issue on Friday and said it would file a Curative Petition in the apex court. The government also announced it would set up another commission to conduct a detailed survey to prove the social and educational backwardness of the community.

The SC recently refused to re-examine its decision by which it had declared the Maharashtra law to grant reservation to Marathas as unconstitutional and said there was no error in its 2021 verdict.

Only 10% of colleges in the state offering technical Education in engineering, MBA, architecture, etc have courses that are accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA). Of the 1,502 technical colleges in the state, only about 156 have accredited courses. Together these colleges offer 5,921 courses, but only 471 are accredited.

The data was provided in a written answer by the higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil in the state assembly over questions raised by the opposition. Colleges have been given a deadline of six months to seek the board’s accreditation for eligible courses. The board accredits technical courses in the country and not the entire college like the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

Accreditation from NBA is must for professional courses, as is reinforced by the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). And it will be wrong for colleges to seek permission for new courses, or to seek an increase in intake capacity for existing courses without it.

The state will act as per section 110 (4) of theMaharashtraPublic Universities Act, 2016, which states colleges failing to comply with accreditation or re-accreditation requirements can be denied affiliation by the university. Such institutions then cannot admit any student.

Maharashtra has among the most comprehensiveElectric Vehicle policiesin India with strong incentives for those switching to EV and focussing on public transport fleet electrification and charging.
This was revealed in a detailed study by Climate Trends – ‘Analysis Of State Electric Vehicle Policies And Their Impact’

The new study assessed the comprehensiveness of EV policies in various states across the country based on 21 parameters that cover targets and budget allocations, demand side and manufacturing incentives, and focus on fleet electrification, charging mandates and job creation. Of the 36 states and Union Territories in the country, 26 have released EV policies over the last 5 years, with 16 of them being released between 2020 and 2022.

In Mumbai, BEST has planned to bring in 10,000 e-buses by 2026. State transport statistics showed that in the past one year alone, the number of e-cars in the city had risen by 168% while e-two wheelers witnessed an unprecedented Growth of 253%.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has given a green signal for tendering a Rs 1000 crore project to wash up Punes rivers, Mula, Mutha, and Mula-Mutha.

Highlights:

The sewage of the town is thrown into the Mula and Mutha rivers, thus making them extremely polluted.

This project aims to enhance the water quality within the Pune (PMC) area by increasing sewage treatment facilities and sewage collection Infrastructure.

The Rs 1000-crore assistance which will tend by JICA are going to be wont to reduce pollution within the Mutha, Mula, and Mula-Mutha rivers, also on improving living conditions and sanitation within the downstream area and therefore the city.

The Money is going to be wont to build pumping stations, sewer lines, and treatment Plants for sewage treatment before it’s discharged into the Mula, Mutha, and Mula-Mutha rivers.

Under this project, 55 km of trunk lines and 11 new sewage treatment units (STP) are going to be installed. The combined capacity of those 11 newly installed STPs would be 396 million liters per day (MLD).

Aside from the 11 STPs, JICA will help found out a 113-kilometer sewer Network, 24 community toilets, and 4 sewage pumping stations.

The expanded network will cater to the citys sewage generation up to the year 2027.

JICA

Japan International Cooperation Agency is an agency of Japan.

This organization helps in social and economic processes in developing countries and also looks to market international cooperation.

Professor Shinichi Kitaoka is the president of JICA and its headquarters is in Tokyo.