03.05.21

Covid-19 spreading faster in Mizoram than rest of NE

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The Covid-19 situation in Mizoram is deteriorating at a faster rate than the rest of the NE states even as Assam, which is the most populated state in the region, remains at the top with maximum number of active cases and fatalities.

Barring Manipur, which has nearly 5,000 active cases, the other states so far have adequate beds, ICUs and ventilators.

Despite having a high active caseload of over 40,000 Average, Assams rate of Growth of new cases in the last one week was 1.8%. Tripura had the smallest growth rate of 0.8% in the same period, followed by Arunachal Pradesh with 1%, Manipur with 1.4%, Nagaland with 1.7% and Meghalaya 1.8%.

Assam: Tea industry likely to suffer 10-15% crop loss due to weather

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The tea in Assam is apprehensive of losing 10-15% of the crop during March and April due to drought-like situation and hailstorms.

In January and February this year, Assam harvested only 0.23 million kg compared to 0.27 million kg in 2020 and 0.44 million kg the year before. While the crop figure for March is yet to be released by the Tea Board, the figure is expected to be lower by 10-15% in March and April 2021 as compared to 2019, Bhattacharjee said, adding that tea bushes needed rainfall during summer so that production of tea leaves remained steady till the arrival of monsoon.

Assam received paltry rainfall in March and April, directly affecting its yield. Assam valley has received only 14.2 mm of rainfall during January and February as against 28.47 mm in 2020. Similarly, Cachar has received only 4.15 mm rainfall as against 8.3 mm last year during the same period.

About 10.5% of Assams total tea production which was 618.35 million kg last year is recorded during March and April. The state produces about 4.5% of its total crop in March and around 6% in April, which is about 32 million kg and 44 million kg, respectively.

Odisha: Centre allocates 333 crore for panchayati raj institutions

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The institutions (PRI) inOdisha received Rs 333 crore after the Centre released the first instalment of the untied (unconditional) grants for 2021-22 financial year as per recommendation of the15th Finance Commission.

The grant is meant for all the three tiers of PRIs gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zilla parishads while the amount can be utilized for various preventive and mitigation measures to combat Covid-19 at the district, block and panchayat level among others.

As part of the state governments decentralized method of handling the pandemic, role of the PRIs was instrumental during the first wave of the Covid-19, especially in managing over 16,000 TMCs which were used to quarantine over 10 lakh migrants who had returned from various states during the nationwide lockdown.

Inside the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, two Pulayar tribal settlements (Kattupatti and Kuzhipatti) are preparing for their annual festival of local deity Vairapattan.

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The Pulayar, also known as Pulaya, Holeya, or Cheramar, are a major ethnic community in Kerala, Karnataka, and historical Nadu (Tamilakam).

In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, they are classified as a Scheduled Caste.

Pulayas are known for their music, craftsmanship, and specific dances such as,

Klam-thullal, a mask dance that is used in exorcism rituals, and

Mudi-ttam , or hair dance that originated in a fertility ritual.

Pulaya King was the name given to Mahatma Ayyankali.

Anamalai Tiger Reserve:

It is one of Tamil Nadu’s four Tiger Reserves.

It is located in the Southern Western Ghats and is part of the Anamalai Parambikulam Elephant Reserve, which was established in 2003.

It is bordered on the east by Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, on the south west by Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, and Eravikulam National Park (all belong to Kerala).

The reserve is also surrounded by Kerala’s reserved forests of Nenmara, Vazhachal, Malayattur, and Marayur.

Amaravathi, Udumalpet, Pollachi, Ulandy, Valparai, and Manamboli are among the ranges found in this reserve.

Keralas health minister K K Shailaja tops states margins

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This round of assembly had many firsts, not the least among them being Mamata Banerjee emerging as thefirst female CM of a major state to win a third successive term in office. While she did that in part by completely decimating the Left andCongress a blank slate for them inBengalbeing another first the Left chalked up its own first by winning asecond successive term inKeralaand that too with an even bigger win than five years ago, 99 seats compared to 91.

In a year in whichCovidhas hogged the headlines, it is telling that Health ministerK KShailajaor Shailaja Teacher as she is popularly known, had thehighest margin in Kerala of nearly 61,000 voteswithCM Pinarayi Vijayan(incidentally the oldest of the CMs in this round) a distant second on this count.

Karnataka ranks first in the establishment of a health and wellness center under the Ayushman Bharat Plan, which aims to provide comprehensive primary health care in rural areas.

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Karnataka is leading the way in implementing projects for 2020-2021. Although the center has set a goal of establishing 2,263 centers, the state has upgraded 3,300 centers until March 31.

Of the 95 projects, 90 scored the highest, and the state ranked top in terms of project implementation in 2020. By the regulations of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, it is 21.

In order to provide high-quality medical care for all under the Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka plan, all PHCs have been upgraded under the national health mission.

The states goal is to upgrade 11,595 centers as HWC. These centers provide adult counselling Services, public camps, ENT care, first aid in emergencies, and referrals to tertiary hospitals.

No containment zones yet in hotspot Hyderabad

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Two weeks after theTelanganahigh court directed the government to createcontainment zonesin areas whereCovid-19 caseswere high, the Greater Hyderabad (GHMC) authorities said they have only identified hotspots and are sanitising for now.

The civic body had played a key role in maintaining containment zones, disinfecting localities, tracking contacts of Covid-19 patients to get them tested during the first wave, but residents and Health experts said it must do the same, if not more now.

The Telangana High Court expressed its displeasure over the state governments failure in handling second wave of Covid-19 in the state. The court directed it to publicise information on the micro-containment zones through media bulletins and include data of newly declared containment zones.

Andhra Pradesh government woos large investors in electronics sector with sops

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In a move to attract big ticket investments in the electronics sector, the state has expressed willingness to work with large investors with an over Rs 7,500 crore, which could make AP a global manufacturing destination.

The government has promised not only to fast-track such investment proposals through a special committee but also ensure that these investors get required Infrastructure and skilled manpower in a rapid manner.

The State Government cleared the much awaited Electronics Policy by offering several sops to industrialists. The policy, which will be in force till 2024, is designed to expand its footprint in the electronics sector.

The minister pointed out that land allotment to electronics Industry would be done by a designated agency only on the recommendations of Consultative Committee on Information Technology and Electronic Industry (CCITEI), comprising experts from the government. The government has also decided to allow investors for mixed land usage, up to 25 per cent of the developed land.

Bicholim gets its first free dialysis facility, 10th such centre in state

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Health minister Vishwajit Rane said that in a bid to provide better healthcare Services in the state, the government has taken the initiative to startdialysiscentres in different parts. As such, the tenth dialysis centre was made operational at the community health centre, in Bicholim. Chief minister Pramod Sawant has fully supported the initiative, the health minister said.

The state has over 1,000 patients on dialysis who take the treatment at various centres. The government then reimburses them the cost of dialysis.

The Maharatta Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and Commerce (MCCIA) cooperated with the National Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (NABARD) to establish India’s first agricultural export facilitation center in Pune, India.Highlights:

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The new convenience center will serve as a one-stop center for exporters in the agricultural sector and promote agricultural exports in the region in accordance with global standards.

The center will use its experts to guide prospective exporters in all aspects of the agricultural product export chain of “agricultural products from farm to table”. It will organize publicity programs, training programs and workshops for related parties, organize visits to export companies for practical guidance, and organize buyer and seller meetings.