01-02.07.23
PM lauds efforts to boost petrochemicals sector in Assam & Northeast
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the first methanol consignment to Bangladesh from Assam Petrochemical Plant, an effort towards establishing Assam as a major exporter of petrochemicals.
In a big push towards establishing Assam as a major exporter of petrochemicals, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on July 1 flagged off the first methanol consignment to Bangladesh from Assam Petrochemicals Plant in Namrup. The Chief Minister also virtually laid the foundation for the development of Joypur Chariali and Namrup Sonari Tiniali roads to facilitate the movement of industrial outputs from Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizers Corporation Limited, Assam Petrochemicals Limited and Namrup Thermal Plant.
Human-elephant conflicts rise by 26% in nine yrs, says survey
Incidents of human-elephant encounters during April, May and June this year have seen an increase of 26 per cent compared to the data of the past nine years during the same period, a survey done by theWildlife Society of Odishahas found.
According to the survey, these three months witness most encounters as humans and elephants vie for the same fruits such as mango, stoneappleand jackfruit.
There were as many as 93 human-elephant encounters in the three months this year compared to 69 incidents reported during the corresponding period in 2022.
As many as 57 people have died this year compared to 38 last year.
The sharp rise suggests that this year the number of human deaths could go up significantly compared to 146 last year.
Incidentally, this quarter also happens to have recorded the highest ever human deaths in elephant attack compared to the past nine years, the survey stated.
17,000 identified in Madurai to get basic literacy, numeracy lessons
As many as 16,984 illiterate people aged above 15 years have been identified by the directorate of non-formal and adult Education inMaduraito learn basic alphabetical and numerical skills under the New India Literacy Programme (NILP). The programme aims to equip those who have not undergone formal education, especially adults, to become more independent by helping them read, write and calculate.
District education department officials said that the 16,984 people will undergo classes at 934 Learning centres across the district. NILP is sponsored mainly by the central government with the support of the . Last year, as many as 18,762 people above 15 years underwent NILP and benefited, which was more than the target. We encourage as many people as possible who are illiterate to join NILP and come out of their fear of not knowing basic literacy and numeracy, said an official.
The beneficiaries were selected by tracing those using thumb prints instead of signatures at places like ration shops or those enrolled in MGNREGA scheme. NILP offers a chance for those who could not get formal education to acquire skills that would help them make day-to-day life easier. Even filling up forms or reading signs on their own would make a major difference in their lives.
Govt must fund proposed waste treatment plant
The opposition councillors in the Kochi corporation have come up against a public private PARTNERSHIP (PPP) project to set up a garbage treatment plant and demanded that the new plant should be funded by the .
The state government has designed a project titled KeralaSolid Waste Management Project to resolve the issue of waste management, said opposition leaderAntony Kureethra.
World Bank has given $300 million to the state government for the project. The state government should allot funds for constructing the 100-tonne per day (TPD) solid waste treatment plant from Kerala Solid Waste Management Project, said Kureethra.
Karnataka: Under govt insurance in 5 years, 55 lakh got treatment worth Rs 6,000 crore
Since its inception in 2018, theAyushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya YojanaArogyaKarnataka(AB-PMJAY-ArK) Health assurance scheme has benefited about 55 lakh people and Rs 6286. 7 crore has been reimbursed to hospitals towards their treatment.
The health department has seen an over 600% increase in reimbursements till 2022-23 compared to when the scheme started in 2018-19. However, the number of people who possess AB-PMJAY-ArK cards remains a measly 27% of the targeted 5. 1 crore APL or BPL ration cardholders, the schemes target Population.
On the flip side, a high enrolment, did not naturally mean higher coverage. He said coverage in districts such as Kodagu and Udupi is relatively high 39. 6% and 28. 6% yet delivery of Services under the scheme is low in these districts. Also, one reason for high enrolment could be their small populat ion size compared to other districts.
2010 central law adopted to regulate pvt hosps: T to HC
The informed the High Court that it has adopted the 2010 central legislation, Clinical Establishments Act, aimed at regulating and monitoring the private hospitals and also brought in the required mechanism to implement the law in the state.
The law is known asTelanganaClinical Establishments (Registering and Regulation) Act after it came into force in June 2022. The state informed this to a bench of Chief JusticeUjjal BhuyanandJusticeN Tukaramji that was hearing a PIL filed byVijay Gopalof Forum Against Corruption, an NGO, questioning the inaction of the state in adopting the central law.
The state, it can be recalled, argued that its laws are far more effective and hence it need not adopt the central law. Scores of petitions, including the current one, alleged the state has done nothing to punish errant hospitals and left hapless people at the mercy of corporate and private hospitals mafia. There were allegations that corporate hospitals have made crores during the pandemic.
AP Genco met 45% of states power demand
AP Gencoincreased generation from all its power stations by 12 per cent during May, when summer heat was at its peak. The additional generation from government-owned power stations helped ease the burden on discoms. The increase in production also accounted for nearly 45% of total energy demand of the state. In the corresponding period last year, theGencocould supplement only about 33% of the total power demand in the state.
Energy demand in May 2022 was registered at 5947.39 million units from which AP Genco could supply around 1,989.37 million units. The demand surpassed all previous records during May 2023 when it reported nearly 6430.72 million units. We anticipated the growing demand through analysis and stepped up efforts to increase generation from our own power stations. Genco stations produced around 2,917.99 million units of power in May which is a record. This is nearly 45% of the total demand, said AP Genco managing director KVN Chakradhar Babu.
Natl Law Univ gets 70 acres in Versova to set up campus
Eight years after it was set up in Mumbai, theMaharashtra National Law University(MNLU) will finally get a permanent address. The , through a recent gazette notification, has allotted a 70-acre plot of land in Pahadi Goregaon village near Versova Metro station to set up the university.
MNLU started from a smallspaceon the TISS campus in August 2015. After spending two years at TISS, the operations of the university moved to the Centre for Excellence in Telecom Technology and Management, an MTNL training institute building in Powais Hiranandani Gardens. Since then, the campus has been operating out of the Powai campus on rent.
Punjab CM announces to introduces AI for need-based construction of rural roads
To ensure the judicious use of public for development purposes, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) for need-based construction of rural roads in the State.
The Chief Minister, chairing a meeting of Punjab Mandi Board at his office, gave a nod for introducing Artificial Intelligence for need-based construction of the rural roads in the state. This step will ensure optimum use of existing Resources of the state along with ensuring top quality work on rural roads. This technique will revolutionize the construction work on roads by saving a lot of public money, he added.
The State Government has decided to give a major facelift to the link road Infrastructure by widening, strengthening, and upgradation of rural roads across the State. Keeping in view the importance of this road Network to facilitate the people, the State Government has taken this decision, said Mann, asking the Punjab Mandi Board to ensure high quality of the work besides ensuring that every penny allocated for that project was invested in a justified manner.