Current Affairs Exam

Kerala government allots Rs 1,777 crore to acquire land

June 14, 2024 by rawan239

In a major breakthrough for widening theEdappally-Kuttippuramstretch of the national highway, the government has allocated Rs 1,777 crore as compensation forland owners. Revenue officials have prepared a plan to complete land acquisition along the stretch within three months and hand it over to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

The total amount earmarked for compensation for the land owners along Edappally-Kuttippuram stretch of the national highway is Rs 5,400 crore. The land acquisition process which was started in 2009 hadnt progressed much till recently. The notification for acquiring land was issued in the same year. The government expedited the land acquisition process after 2018. The acquisition process was completed as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The revenue officials are serving notices to the land owners asking them to move out within 60 days. The compensation amount will be given to the land owners as they submit various documents regarding their holdings. The for holdings with dispute over ownership will be deposited with the court.

Karnataka village panchayat turns role model for 100% vaccination

June 14, 2024 by rawan239

Tinthani villagepanchayat in Karnataka’sYadgir districthas been declared as the first village panchayat in the state to achieve 100% Covid vaccination.

All 4,200 eligible persons have been vaccinated within its limits in an all-out effort.
Yadgir district is considered one of the most backward districts in Karnataka. However, the District Administration was able to achieve what the authorities of most developed regions, including surrounding district of Bengaluru, could not achieve.

Yadgir is highly under-developed and the Literacy rate is also very low. There were misconceptions about side effects, long-term damage regarding the vaccination as resistance to vaccination was very high. It was then that the district commissioner, R. Raagapriya, decided to have one inspirationalgram panchayatto motivate others to come forward for the vaccination programme.
Tinthani village panchayat was selected and all revenue authorities and tehsildars were sent along with the Health department staff. With door-to- door campaigns 95% of the people were vaccinated.

Extend more loans to boost economic activity, says Telangana government to banks

June 14, 2024 by rawan239

The has asked the banks operating in the state to help boost theeconomic activityinTelanganaby extending moreloansfor purchase of vehicles, computers, electronic goods and garments in a drive mode, as it would be beneficial to both the bankers and the state.

Chief secretary Somesh Kumar suggested proactive measures from the former towards increasing economic activities in the state for accelerated Growth of the states economy.
He also asked the bankers to organiseloanmelas, open counters in shopping malls, offer additional interest rebates on sales, simplify loan process and documentation, introduce new schemes for extending loans and fast-track DECISION MAKING to boost consumption.

Earlier, the chief secretary held discussions with stakeholders of retailers, shopping malls, tourist operators and hospitality sector in the state and sought their suggestions for revival of the economy.

Andhra Pradesh announces subsidy on solar rooftop plants

June 14, 2024 by rawan239

Andhra PradeshEastern Power Distribution Corporation Limited (APEPDCL) on Friday announced central financial assistance for residential customers interested in installing grid-connected rooftop solar (RTS) Plants.

The ministry of new and (MNRE) has sanctioned 8MW capacity in the residential sector under Phase II of the RTS program for APEPDCL with timelines for completion of allocation capacity in 15 months.

Empanelment of agencies for Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic power units of capacity 1 KWp to 500 KWp capacities in APEPDCL has already been done. Sixteen agencies are empanelled in 1 KWp to 10 KWp category and three agencies are empanelled in above 10 KWp to 500 KWp category.

Goa: With entertainment village, Mandrem set to get biggest tourism project

June 14, 2024 by rawan239

Goatourismdevelopment corporation (GTDC) plans to set up a mega entertainmentvillagespread over 1.5 lakh sqm inMandrem. The foundation stone for the proposedprojectis likely to be laid in the next six months, prior to the assembly .

While the required land is currently in possession of the revenue department, formalities to transfer it to GTDC will be done shortly. It will be built on public-private PARTNERSHIP (PPP) mode, but all required permission will be facilitated through GTDC.

Five lakh gained from Maharashtras health cover in 1 year: RTI

June 14, 2024 by rawan239

Less than 8% of Covid patients in Mumbai availed treatment under theMaharashtragovernment’s flagship Health Insurance scheme. This is despite hospitalisation costs being high in the city. A possible reason could be the fact that there are not enough hospitals that are part of the scheme in the metropolis and also free treatment was available in regular and field hospitals operated by the Brihanmumbai (BMC).

As of March 31, 2021, Maharashtra reported more than 28 lakh Covid cases and 54,649 deaths as against this a little over five lakh patients received treatment under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, according to information obtained under the RTI Act by activist Jeetendra Ghadge. The scheme covered over 2.2 crore families across Maharashtra.

The United India Insurance Company was appointed as the insurer for the scheme on April 1, 2020, co-incidentally when the coronavirus-induced lockdown had just been imposed.
Though Mumbai reported over four lakh cases and 11,708 deaths till April 1, 2021, only 29,664 claims were paid, while 34,867 claims were settled in Ahmednagar which reported 95,000 infections and 1,221 fatalities in the same period. In Kolhapur, 34,574 claims were paid and in Pune, 34,045.

Amid COVID-19 restrictions, Haryana Government has procured a total of 8493145 (84.93 lakh) metric tonnes of wheat from April 1 to May 15 across 396 procurement centers in the state during Rabi season 2021-22.

June 14, 2024 by rawan239

The Food and Civil Supplies Department has procured 2567599 MT, HAFED has procured 3622157 MT, has procured 694294 MT and Haryana Warehousing Corporation has procured 1609095 MT of wheat during 2021-22.

A total of 7798851 MT of wheat was procured through 915603 J Forms by the state procurement agencies and the total MSP of the procured crop was about Rs 15402.73 crore out of which a payment of Rs 15385.09 crore has been made directly into the accounts of the farmers through 914415 J Forms.

Despite Covid restrictions, GST collection goes up in Punjab

June 14, 2024 by rawan239

Despite the second wave of Covid-19 and strict lockdown restrictions, the business community of Punjab has shown resilience by not only complying with the return filing requirements but also paying their GST dues in a timely manner in June 2021. Resultantly, the GST revenue collected during the month stood at Rs 1,087 crore which was Rs 869.66 crore in June last year.

Implementation of measures like QRMP to ease the compliance burden of taxpayers, closer monitoring of bogus billing, rigorous enforcement, advanced data analytics using data from multiple sources and effective tax administration had also contributed to the steady increase in tax revenue.

The VAT and CST revenue during June 2021 stood at Rs 699.27 crore and Rs 20.96 crore, respectively, thus registering an increase of 42.37 per cent and 104.90 per cent, respectively, than the collection made in the month of June 2020. The VAT and CST revenue up to June 2021 (Q-1 of 2021-22) is 106.73 per cent and 178.56 per cent higher than the corresponding period of the previous year, respectively.

Notably, the GST compensation pending with Government of India in respect of Punjab up to June 30, 2021, has risen to Rs 8,495 crore.

Shimla secures 16th place in climate smart city ratings

June 14, 2024 by rawan239

Shimla and Dharamsala, two Smart Cities of the state, have secured 16th and 90th positions, respectively, in the Climate Smart City Assessment Framework (CSCAF). As many as 125 cities had participated in the assessment.

Launched recently by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the objective of this initiative is to provide a clear roadmap for cities towards combating while planning and implementing their policies and inculcate a climate-sensitive approach to urban planning and development in the country.

The Climate Smart City Assessment Framework initiative was recently launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)

Four other cities Mandi, Hamirpur, Palampur and Solan also participated in the initiative

All these finished with the rankings over 100, with Palampur taking the 125th place

The cities were judged on five parameters energy and green building, urban planning, green cover and Biodiversity, mobility and air quality, water management and Waste Management.

About 900 children have been marked across Uttarakhand so far who have lost one or both parents or the sole earning member of their family to the Covid-19 disease. Currently, the Women Welfare Directorate is receiving data from all the districts about such children eligible to be the beneficiaries of Mukhyamantri Vatsalya Yojana (MVY).

June 14, 2024 by rawan239

According to the director of the Women Welfare Directorate, Yogendra Yadav, he has received the data of about 900 children from across the State so far who have been claimed as eligible for MVY.

Yadav said that as per the data provided by the districts, the number of children who lost one of their parents due to Covid-19 is more than those who lost both parents. As per Yadav, there are about 840 children in the State who lost a single parent to Covid while there are 55 children who lost both parents to this disease.

It is pertinent to mention here that the recently announced that under Mukhyamantri Vatsalya Yojana, children who have lost one or both parents, or the sole earning member of their family to the Covid would be provided with free Education, ration and Health facilities besides providing monthly monetary support of Rs 3000 till the age of 21 years.