03.07.21

Soon, the consumers will not have to stand in long queues to fetch food grains in front of government ration depots as Haryana Government has prepared a plan to install Grain ATMs across the state.

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Under this, the countrys first Grain ATM has been set up as a pilot project in Gurugram district.

Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, who also holds the portfolio of Food and Civil Supplies Department said that with the installation of Grain ATMs, all the complaints regarding the time and right measurement of ration quantity will be redressed.

He said that the purpose of installing this machine is to ensure that the right quantity should reach the right beneficiary. This would not only benefit the consumers but would also end the hassle regarding shortage of food grains at government depots and would bring more transparency in the public food distribution system than before, he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister further said that these machines would not only prove helpful in distributing food grains to the government depot operators but would also save the time of the depot operators.

Three types of grains including wheat, rice and millet can be distributed through this machine. At present, distribution of wheat has been started from the Grain ATM machine installed in Farrukhnagar in Gurugram.

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday announced waiver of Rs 590 crore worth of loans under the farm debt waiver scheme for 2.85 lakh labourers and the landless farming community, paving the way for the fulfilment of another key

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Punjab Government will pay off loans to the tune of Rs 590 crore of 2,85,325 members of the Primary Agricultural (PACSs), thus ensuring a relief of Rs 20,000 per member, said the Chief Minister.

He directed the Finance and Cooperation Departments to kick off the process for effective implementation of the decision on the ground.

Punjab Government has formulated a Debt Relief Scheme for Farm Labourers and Landless Farming Members of PACS-2019, which will cover only Consumption Loan to the members of the Primary Agricultural advanced by District Central Cooperative banks in the state of Punjab through Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies.

Himachal Pradesh: IIT Mandi develops device to detect diseases in potato crop

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Scientists fromIIT Mandihave developed a computational model for automated disease detection in potato crops using photographs of its leaves. The research led by Srikant Srinivasan, associate professor, School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, IIT Mandi, in collaboration with the Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, uses (AI) techniques to highlight the diseased portions of the leaf.

The computational tool can detect blight in potato leaf images. The model is built using an AI tool called mask region-based convolutional neural https://exam.pscnotes.com/Network“>Network architecture and can accurately highlight the diseased portions of the leaf amid a complex background of plant and Soil matter.

The Uttarakhand Government has decided to start vocational courses in 44 government degree colleges of the state. The higher education minister Dhan Singh Rawat took a review meeting of the department on Wednesday and directed the officials to prepare the curriculum of these courses and start the process of their affiliation with the Sridev Suman University. He said that the professional colleges in Paithani in Pauri and Model College in Mithi Berri in Haridwar would start from this academic session. In the meeting Rawat stressed the need for imparting employment oriented education along with higher education in the state.

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He said that the decision to start vocational courses in 44 colleges of the state is a step in this direction. The minister also directed the officials to submit the proposals for setting up a dozen new colleges in the state. The had declared that every block would have at least one degree college. Taking a stern note of the institutions showing laxity and delay in construction works, the minister said that the budget to such institutes should not be allotted in future. He also directed that disciplinary action should be initiated against the institutes where https://exam.pscnotes.com/TEACHING“>TEACHING and non teaching posts are lying vacant for long.

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) area is set to emerge as a major industrial hub of India in the coming years, given the amount of interest it has been generating among industrialists from both within the country and outside.

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The acquisition of industrial plots by as many as 1,564 major investors from India and abroad in the last four years of Yogi Adityanath government bears testimony to interest among investors in the YEIDA area.

As many as 1,564 industrialists are making an of about Rs 16,523.83 crore to establish their units in YEIDA area, and they are expected to provide https://exam.pscnotes.com/EMPLOYMENT“>EMPLOYMENT to over 2.6 lakh people. This is for the first time that YEIDA has attracted such a huge Investment.

The investors have already started construction of their manufacturing units and many are close to completion. A case in point is that of Vivo which has set up its mobile phone manufacturing unit in Sector 24 of YEIDA and the production is likely to start in the next four to six months.

The Yingtong Electronic Technology’s unit for manufacturing mobile phone accessories is almost ready in Sector 24 and many companies like Surya Global Flexi Pvt Ltd, Haldiram Snacks Pvt Ltd, Holistic India Kent RO, Orient Fashion Export, Bodycare International are setting up their units in YEIDA.

According to Industry experts, the number of investors in the YEIDA area could go further up remarkably with the beginning of construction of Jewar International Airport. The experts believe that the airport will attract the biggest investors of the world and YEIDA, leaving other industrial development authorities in the state far behind in terms of investments.

Jharkhand to get fresh stock of cereals for free distribution

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TheJharkhandgovernment will get 6.59 lakh metric tonnes of rice and wheat worth Rs 2,483.41 crore from the Centre for free distribution among poor between July and November this year following further extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) scheme in the country last month in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, officials of theFood Corporation of India(https://exam.pscnotes.com/Fci“>Fci).

Citing the achievements of the FCI since last one year after the pandemic broke, the official said that they have been providing timely foodgrain under PMGKY in addition to the regularNational Act(NFSA) allocation to the state under the Public Distribution System.

Nearly 5 lakh guest workers register in labour dept portal

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early 5 lakh guest workers have registered in the labour departments online portal. The exercise has been expedited to create a complete https://exam.pscnotes.com/Database“>Database of the workforce from other states by the end of October this year.

The department launched the portal in April 2020 to create a realtime database of the guest workers in the state. Within a span of two months from the launch of the portal, the department has registered 3.49 lakh guest workers. The department has continued the exercise with the help of the district administrations and we have registered around 5lakh workersfrom other states in the portal, said a senior official in the department.

As of now, the department would have captured around 15% of the total workforce, which accounts for around 30 to 35 lakh people in various sectors. A majority of them hailed from Madhya Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh,Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh,Odishaand Jharkhand. They account for a significant number in textiles and garments, brick kiln, and construction and manufacturing sectors.

Highlighting the rising demand for minor millets globally, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday called for growing kodo, kutki (minor millets) and ragi on a mission mode to jack up production.

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Chhattisgarh has a large area where minor and are grown. The procurement, processing and value addition can ensure better returns to farmers and EMPLOYMENT to Women self-help groups and youths, he said. Higher production will also push up consumption within the state, he said.

Baghel was holding a review meeting of the Forest Department here, an official statement said.

He said the states minor millet production is concentrated in the tribal areas of Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Jagdalpur, Dantewada and Sukma besides Rajnandgaon, Surguja, Kawardha and Bemetara.

Baghel said the Rajiv Gandhi Kisaan Nyay scheme has been extended to the minor millets (kodo, kutki) and they will be procured on minimum support price.

He said farmers clusters can be formed in select development blocks for production. Small processing units can be installed.

For increasing local consumption, minor millet cuisines can be included in Gadhkalewa (state’s traditional cuisine centre). Additionally, it can be included in midday meals in schools.

The Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Cooperative Federation will seek cooperation from the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad, to promote millets.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that in the last three months, the control of Covid infection in the state was on topmost priority. All the ministers and officers worked in this direction with full dedication thus giving positive results.

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Roadmap is ready for building an Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh, activities, sub activities, outputs and outcomes etc. have been fixed. Now it is necessary to ensure that all the targets are achieved within the time limit. Chouhan was addressing the meeting of Ministers, Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, Secretary and Head of Department in Mantralaya.

Gujarat now weighs pros and cons of population control bill

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Close on the heels of theUPgovernment releasing the first draft of its proposed Population control bill, theGujaratgovernment has begun an exercise to study the pros and cons of a similar legislation. Both UP and Gujarat face crucial assembly next year.

The draft of the UP population bill says that those having more than two kids will be debarred from contesting local body polls, applying for government jobs or availing subsidies.