TAMILNADU

Soon after theAmul vs Nandini milk controversyinKarnataka, the Gujarat-based cooperative Society is facing a pushback inTamil Naduover its move to procure milk from the state.

In a letter to Union Home minister Amit Shah, chief minister M K Stalin said Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (Amul) should not be allowed to procure milk from Nadu. Amul faced similar opposition to its move to sell fresh milk in Karnataka.

Stalin said Amul, which has been selling its products through retail outlets in Tamil Nadu, is now planning to install chilling centres and a processing plant in Krishnagiri district by utilising its multi-state cooperative licence. It is also planning to procure milk from Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts, he said.

Government data shows Aavin procures around 35 lakh litres of milk per day from about 4.5 lakh pouring members and Dairy farmers. This is only 14% of the total milk produced in Tamil Nadu (2.4 crore litres) every day.

The 148.3 km-long Krishnagiri-Walajahpet stretch of the Chennai-Bengaluru Road has been chosen one among the top 20 National Highways stretches in the country. It came sixth in terms of the total score obtained. It got 87.15 points under three heads user Services, highway efficiency and highway safety.

The 142.87 km stretch running through four districts Krishnagiri, Tirupattur, Vellore and Ranipet witnesses around 37,000 vehicles daily. We have divided the stretch into three portions and have individual accident response teams with ambulances and cranes. Apart from this we have emergency calling booths every 2 km through which people can call our control room, said a source in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The Nadu government has allocated Rs 3,268 crore for theindustries departmentfor FY24. The upcoming Global Investors Meet (GIM) has been earmarked with an allocation of Rs 100 crore.

Announcing this in his budget speech in the assembly, finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said the next GIM would be held in Chennai on January 10 and 11, 2024. “This will be a platform that will showcase the Investment friendly Climate prevailing in the state and also its immense strengths and attractiveness as an investment destination. It will also facilitate our industries, MSMEs and startups to connect with the global markets and investors,” he said.

Noting that the government is according high priority to labour-intensive sectors such as non-leather footwear, he said two industries are proposed to be established in Ranipet and Kallakurichi districts with EMPLOYMENT potential for 32,000 Women.

He further said Tamil Nadu has been attracting substantial investments in the last two years. Since May 2021, 221 MoUs have been signed for investment commitments worth Rs 2.7 lakh crore with employment opportunities for nearly 3.9 lakh people.

A two-day vendor development programme cum industrial exhibition organised by the Union micro small and medium enterprises (MSME) development and facilitation office and the state MSME department was inaugurated.

Participating in the platform to connect with the central (CPSU), entrepreneurs inquired about the procedures to produce components for DEFENCE and RAILWAY coach manufacturers.
Officials from Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE) in Avadi, Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai and Golden Rock Workshop, Trichy put up stalls to display the components that can be produced by MSMEs.

The Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISSIA) submitted a memorandum with their inputs for the state budget 2022-23 with finance ministerPalanivel Thiaga Rajanduring the pre-budget discussion held in Chennai.

The association sought extension of financial support to MSMEs, expedite the revised master plan for Coimbatore, and formation of Coimbatore Development Authority similar to Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority for faster Growth and development of the district.

Similarly, he sought the government to implement and grant loans like credit linked capital subsidy schemes through Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation(TIIC) without any collateral security. He urged not to insist on any ISO certification for availing loan subsidies from the government.

The memorandum also requested to extend the state capital subsidies to all the existing industrial units for investments made on machinery and equipment for cleaner environments to be maintained in industries.

Minister for Hindu religious and charitable endowments P K Sekar Babu launched a toll-free telephone number and a 24-hour helpline to help devotees report grievances and get information on temples in Nadu.

Complaints received at this new centre are assigned a number and forwarded to the officer concerned for appropriate action.

At present, five people are employed to attend calls and receive suggestions and complaints from devotees.

The Union law and ministry has launched a new system, ‘Fast and secured transmission of electronic records’ (Faster) to enable transmission of electronic copies of interim orders, stay orders, bail orders and proceedings of high courts and district courts to the prison authorities through a secured electronic Communication channel, said Union law and justice minister Kiren Rijiju.

Furnishing a written reply to a query posed by Villupuram MP D Ravikumar, the minister said the ministry launched the system following orders from Supreme Court in July and September this year.

The minister rolled out statistics furnished by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to a query on the number of CCTVs installed in prisons in various states.

Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of CCTVs (2,757) installed in the prisons in the state followed by Gujarat (2,314), Chhattisgarh (1,612), Maharashtra (1,580),Rajasthan(1,529) and Odisha (1,520). Only five other states have installed more than 1,000 CCTVs in the prisons in their states.

Tamil Naduis one of the 14 states that have installed less than 100 CCTVs in the prisons in their states.MizoramandLakshadweephave not installed even a single CCTV in the prisons.