01.02.22

4 women among 10 eminent personalities from NE conferred Padma Shri awards

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Ten distinguished personalities, including four Women, from seven of the eight northeastern states were conferred Padma Shri Awards in different fields. The four women are Shakuntala Choudhary of Assam for social work while Lourembam Bino Devi and Muktamani Devi, both from Manipur, were recognised for their contributions in art and trade and , respectively, and Badaplin War of Meghalaya in the field of Literature and Education.

Choudhury, the 102-year-old Gandhian social worker from Kamrup, is popularly known as ‘Shankuntala Baideo’. Veteran applique textile artist Lourembam Bino Devi, 77, famous for preserving the Leeba textile art of Manipur for over five decades while Muktamani Devi, 49, is an inspirational woman entrepreneur exporting and popularising handcrafted woollen shoes. War, 60, a scholar and author, has been always promoting Meghalaya’s Khasi language globally.

Assam to start leopard census in non-protected forest areas

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In a first-of-its-kind initiative,Assamwill conduct aleopardcensus in the non-protected forest areas from Tuesday and the exercise will continue for the next six months.

North Kamrup Forest Division has taken the initiative and will cover an area of 100 sq km, which will include the leopard-dense areas such as Sila Reserve Forest Changsari, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education And Research (NIPER) campus and All India Institute of Medical Science (Aiims) campus in Amingaon in Kamrup district.

He added that the counting would be done through the camera-trapping method. As many as 50 cameras would be installed in the identified areas for six months. “However, we will get a figure about the leopard Population within two months. But we will keep the cameras installed for six months for a better monitoring. Data from each camera will be extracted every seven days. The census will help us get data on leopard population outside the ,” he added.

Odisha: Rs 7,600 crore outlay plea to boost rail connectivity

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The has sought Rs 7,600 crore in theUnion Budgetfor the development of rail Infrastructure with emphasis on strengthening rail connectivity to various Ports, mining belts and tribal-dominated districts.

Official sources said the demand include fund for various on-going projects, sanctioning of new lines, station modernisation, introduction of new trains, extension of existing trains, improved passenger amenities at stations, on-board Services, establishment of rail-based industries and multi-modal Logistics parks.

Major port connectivity projects for which fund has been sought in the annual budget include Rs 100 crore forJajpur Keonjhar Road-Dhamra Portvia Jajpur and Aradi (95 km), Rs 300 crore forTalcher-Gopalpurrail link, Rs 50 crore for Paradip-Dhamra rail link and Rs 200 crore for Gopalpur-Sambalpur link.

As creation of rail infrastructure is the responsibility of the Centre, the official said the government has already partnered with Indian Railways to fill the viability gap wherever it has been asked for.

Battery swapping policy charges up TN electric vehicle brigade

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Budget 2022 has brought cheers for Naduselectric vehicleIndustry which, with Rs 15,000 crore Investment, is the largest EV cluster in India. With the finance minister announcing abattery swapping policyfor setting up charging Infrastructure and interoperability standards, TNs EV hub in Hosur should attract incremental investments, say industry experts.

SUN Mobility chairman Chetan Maini said thebattery swappingpolicy will accelerate penetration of EVs. There are some 50 companies working in the battery swapping spaceOEM, battery companies, swapping operators, OMC, energy companies, mobility solution companies and tech companiesand the new policy framework will accelerate investments in hubs like Tamil Nadu, he said.

Better mgmt practices key to increase fertility rate of crossbred cows: Study

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Better management practices and congenial Environment play an important role in ensuring better fertility among crossbred cattle in the state, according to a study by researchers ofKeralaVeterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU).

The study is based on data collected from 1,180 crossbred cattle sired by 208 Frieswal bulls, spread over a period of 16 years from 2003 to 2019. The cattle have been maintained at different farms of the university. A team of genetic scientists from the Centre For Advanced Studies in Animal Genetics andBreeding,KVASU-Thrissur, found that there is no co-relation between high milk yielding cows and fertility.

The findings were published in Elsevier Science Direct-Estimation of co-Variance components and genetic parameters of fertility and production traits in crossbred cattle of Kerala withJamuna Valsalanas the lead author.

Karnataka: Centres loan offer to fund Gati Shakti evokes mixed response

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The Centres proposal to extend financial assistance to states in the form of interest-free loan to invest on projects under the PMGati Shaktischeme has evoked mixed response inKarnataka. Some experts even sought to call it a Money lending scheme’.

Union ministerNirmala Sitaramanin her budget speech on Tuesday said that the Centre has proposed to allocate Rs 1 lakh crore to assist the states in catalysing overall Investment in the economy for 2022-23. This comes as an interest-free loan for 50 years and the states are allowed to avail this over and above their borrowing limits allowed under the Fiscal Responsible and Budget management (FRBM) norms.

A state cannot borrow more than 3% of its gross state domestic product (GSDP), but it was relaxed in the backdrop of the covid-induced slowdown. The 15th Finance Commission has allowed the state to borrow up to 4% of its gross state domestic product (GSDP), which is around Rs 17 lakh crore, and Karnataka has proposed to borrow Rs 17,332 crore for 2021-22. Of this 0.5% is linked to power sector reforms.

The Centre has apparently intended to continue the borrowing scheme as it introduced during the first and second wave of pandemic to pay GST compensation and allowed the states to borrow under a special window provided by the Reserve Bank Of India. While the Centre will repay principal and interest on behalf of the states, Karnataka has availed Rs 12,407 crore in 2020-21 under the scheme and it is entitled to get Rs 18,109 crore in 2021-22.

The budget has fixed the Centres Fiscal Deficit target for 2022-23 at 6.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) and some observers said the Centre would not be able to stick to the target if it takes the debt burden of Rs 1 lakh crore and hence it has transferred it to states.

Telangana: Study water availability before interlinking rivers

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Even as the Centre proposed linking of the rivers in the Union budget,said no move should be initiated until availability of water in Godavari river was determined.

Raising apprehensions, it said any proposal to link rivers should be taken up only after holding consultations with both states. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana shareKrishnaand Godavari river basins and sharing of Irrigation water has always been the bone of contention.

In the past, the TRS government had asked the Centre to take up a detailed project report after determining that the state has water in excess of its needs before interlinking the rivers. Though Telangana has agreed to link the rivers in principle, it, however, told the Centre that a water balance study was required before taking any action. The reason for this, Telangana argued, is that the Centre was relying on two-decades-old water availability report.

Several new projects based on Godavari water are also being planned, particularly after the bufurcation of AP, it contended and said the river becomes surplus only after the tributaries,Pranahitaand Indravati, join it.

The feasibility report on interlinking southern rivers is also outdated, Telangana said and added it needed to be updated as new projects such as Sriramsagar stage 2, Sriramsagar flood flow canal, Devadula, Indirasagar,Rajivsagar,Pranahita-Chevellaand Kanathapalli are being implemented.

Andhra Pradesh ranks 4th in number of death row prisoners

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The number of prisoners on death row inAndhra Pradeshat the end of 2021 stood at 14, the highest in the past few years. Andhra Pradesh stood fourth in the country for maximum number of death sentences (13) awarded in 2021.

The Death Penalty in India report states that the number of prisoners on death row at the end of 2021 stood at 488 in the country, the highest in 17 years. It adds that 2021 saw the highest number of prisoners on death row since 2016. This number (488) was an increase of nearly 21 per cent from 2020.

Five states Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha awarded the highest numbers of death sentences in 2021.

Of the 13 persons who were awarded the death sentence in Andhra Pradesh in 2021, 12 were members of a gang involved in highway murders.

The report stated that sessions courts in Andhra Pradesh imposed one death sentence in 2017, four in 2018 and three in 2020.

Goa Inc: Growth-oriented Budget avoids populism, will create jobs

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Optimistic about the UnionBudgetfor 2022-23, leaders of Goas private sector said that theGrowth-orientedBudget could fuel economic growth and EMPLOYMENT generation. Goan entrepreneurs said that the priority laid on PM Gati Shakti, inclusive development, energy transition and Climate action and financing of investments is a step in the right direction.
The private sector said it was glad that Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman avoided announcing new taxes and surcharges while leaving slabs untouched.

The move to extend the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) to 14 sectors for Atmanirbhar Bharat willcreatesix millionjobsand the enhanced fund allocation can also boost the MSME sector.

Developers request govt not to raise RR rates, expect boosters

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Developers inMaharashtrawant the to keep the Ready Reckoner rates unchanged and help them tide over the slowdown in the past years, particularly after the Covid-19 outbreak.

The property registration department has started discussions on the division-wise revision of the Ready Reckoner (RR) rates, which are announced in April every year. There was no revision in the rates due to the pandemic last year. Tthere was a slight increase (1.74%) in the rates announced in September 2020.

The developers said theKarnatakagovernment had reduced the stamp duty by 2% on flats below Rs45 lakh. Maharashtra should not increase the RR rates. We have urged the state to reduce the stamp duty by 50% on flats under Rs75 lakh, Furde said.