ODISHA

KIIT official sources said the institution climbed 200 places globally in the THE rankings. It is a significant improvement from last year when we had achieved a rank of 1001+. KIITs performance makes it the number one ranked university inOdisha, said an official Communication issued by the institution.

The state commerce and transport secretaryMadhu Sudan Padhihas asked all district collectors, SPs and regional transport officers to strictly comply with the directive of theSupreme Court Committeeon Road Safety. The transport department has laid Stress on the conduct of joint inspection of accident spots on regular basis from August 1.

The government said proper analysis of the accidents can be done once the Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD) project in launched in Odisha. TheWorld Bankfunded project, which is being executed by theministry of road transportand highways across the country, is aimed at analysing the causes of road accidents and devising measures to cut down the fatality rate. The ministry already rolled out the IT-based solution in six states Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.

The April, May, June quarter of 2023, compared to last nine years,has seen a26 % rise in number of human- elephant encounters which resulted in more human kills and injuries than ever before,a rise of 50% above the highest human kills of last year.

According to Wildlife Society of Orissa secretary Dr Biswajit Mohanty, the escalating figures each year also indicate that elephants are straying out of their habitats more often due to huge levels of disturbances caused by quarries and crushers and night movement of trucks and tractors. There is also a lack of adequate forest fodder and amarked shift towards consumption of farm cropsand food grains stored inside villages.

Palm fruits which are their prime source of food during June and July havebecome scarce due to massive felling of palm trees for inter-State trade to Nadu. Dhenkanal, Angul and Deogarh districts have lost thousands of palm trees since the last three years as organised timber traders camp there and decimate the trees.

Dhenkanal has recorded a ten-fold jump in diversion of elephant habitat for black and laterite stone quarries, stone crushers and steel/power Plants between 2011 and 2021. The Wildlife Wing has failed to take any action in view of growing demands to shut down the quarries.

Odisha happens to have a dubious record of more number of human kills among all other States despite an elephant Population of 1,976 compared to Karnatakas 6,049, Assams 5,719, Keralas 3,054 and Tamil Nadus 2,761 as per the last national level census carried out in August, 2017.

Odishatops the maiden ranking for the implementation of theNational Act(NFSA), followed byUttar Pradeshand Andhra Pradesh among the 20 general category states and Union Territories (UTs).

The achievement comes close on the heels of chief ministerNaveen Patnaiksharing the state’s transformational progress in food security at theUN World Food Programmeheadquarters in Rome last month.WFPexecutive director David Beasley had said Odisha’s success can provide Learning insights for other similarly placed countries.

The states were assessed out of 45% for coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act, 50% for delivery platform including allocation and movement and last-mile delivery and another 5% for Nutrition initiatives. The 14 special category states and UTs and three UTs operating in cash transfer mode were ranked in two other lists.

The KIIT School of Architecture & Planning (KSAP) is at present offering a five-year degree course in Architecture. There is a proposal to start the Master Degree Programme in Urban Planning in the coming years.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik rolled out the State Dashboard, a data and analytics-powered platform, which will streamline performance monitoring of Government schemes, aiding data-driven DECISION MAKING.

The dashboard consists of three critical components, CM Dashboard, Department Dashboard and Administrative Action Monitoring Portal. The application appraises the performance of different administrative departments on 5T parameters.

The CM Dashboard huge data with public and is a landmark initiative for transparency.

TheConfederation of Indian Industries(CII) has written to theOdisha State Pollution Control Board(OSPCB) requesting it to find a suitable alternative to physical public hearings for granting Environment clearances.

In view of the prevalent Covid-19 situation, the OSPCB has cancelled the public hearings for mining and industrial projects. The CII and theFederation of Indian Mineral Industries(FIMI) have also urged the forest and environment ministry to intervene in the matter and allow virtual public hearings.

On this occasion, State President of Bharatiya Janata Party and Member of Parliament Deepak Prakash said that Odisha is known for its artwork, architecture and sculpture all over the world. The culture and rituals are in the of Odisha. India is one from Attak to Cuttack and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. That’s why, to show this unity, Bharatiya Janata Party is working to connect different culture and language speakers and create harmony among them under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat all over India.

Ganjam, chief ministerNaveen Patnaiks Home district, has topped the charts in both the state and country in providing 100 days of EMPLOYMENT to more than one lakh families under theMGNREGA(Mahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment Guarantee Act), the flagship rural employment scheme of the Centre.

As many as 1,01,001 households have completed 100 days of employment under the MGNREGA in Ganjam until Thursday, sources said. It was followed by Barmer and Nagaur districts in Rajasthan, which provided jobs to 91,033 and 79,592 families, respectively. Andhra Pradeshs Anantapur district stood fourth by providing employment to 66,143 families, they said.

Ganjam had provided 100 days of employment to 77,275 and 46,113 households in 2020-21 and 2019-20, respectively. The district had stood first in the state in both fiscals in providing employment to most households, while it was ranked 15th and 11th in 2020-21 and 2019-20, respectively, sources said.

Ganjam has also stood first in the state in generating person-days of work (273,45,660) and making an expenditure of more than Rs 593 crore during the period, the sources added.

In order to recognise the participation of Women in sanitation and Waste Management, the Centre has launched the Women Icons Leading Swachhata (WINS) Awards 2023 and has asked the to nominate its entries in different categories.

The different categories include self-help-groups, micro-enterprises, non-government organisations, startups and individual women leaders.
Urban Local Bodies in the state will first publicise the details of awards and invite entries. Towns will then select up to five entries using an evaluation strategy prepared by theministry of housing and urban affairs. The five entries will then be evaluated at the state level following which three from each category will be finalised. The state can consider organising a public event to facilitate and award the state level nominees or winners, according to the ministrys guidelines.