03.09.21

Remove the Name of Rajiv Gandhi from National Park – Assam

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The Assam cabinet has decided to take away the identity of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi from the Orang .

Highlights:

Since the title Orang is related to the sentiments of the Adivasi & tea-tribe community, the cabinet has planned to rename the Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park as Orang National Park. Orang National Park is situated the North Bank of Brahmaputra; Orang National Park, spread over 78.80 sq km, is the oldest wooded area reserve. It was recognized as a wildlife sanctuary in 1985 and declared a national park in 1999.

ID cards to senior citizens of Bhubaneswar soon

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The commissionerate of Police assured senior citizens of Bhubaneswar that issuing of identity cards for them would be resumed soon. Through these ID cards, senior citizens can get police help at any time and extra attention from their local police station.

The SCSC scheme had been started in 2010 with an objective to build a sense of security and confidence among the senior citizens. A nodal officer has been engaged at every police station in the city to look after the safety and security of the elderly. At present, these officers visit them at regular intervals of two-three months. But, Sharma said the nodal officers would now visit the senior citizens every month to inquire about their physical security and problems.

Tamil Nadu announces plan to provide a unique health ID to everyone

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Everyone inTamil Naduwill soon get a unique Health ID (UHID) that will help them access medicare and provide the government with a Database to better prioritise and provide health care.

The unique ID will also be the backbone for schemes such as makkalai thedi maruthum, a scheme to provide comprehensive and holistic healthcare for non-communicable diseases at peoples doorsteps. Every listed beneficiary under the scheme is brought under thePopulation Health Registry(PHR). The registry will have the name, age, gender, mobile number, smart (ration) card number, health ID, street details, health sub-center of the beneficiaries.

KIIFB to get assured funding from Kerala government, says minister KN Balagopal

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Finance ministerKN Balagopalsaid that the government was committed to give enough funds toKIIFBto meet the unexpected slump in proceedings from motor vehicle tax and petroleum cess, following Covid-related Stress on states economy.

KIIFB is a unique finance model devised to meet developmental needs ofKerala. It invests in projects by sourcing funds from various agencies. There was a significant dip in the collection of motor vehicle tax and petroleum cess, the major source of assured funds for KIIFB.

Government has given relaxation to private bus operators for payment of tax in view of theCovidsituation. These extraneous factors cannot be a reason for the government to go back on its original promise, he said.

As per KIIFB Act, government is supposed to transfer a portion of the motor vehicle tax. According to this arrangement, KIIFBs share of motor vehicle tax has reached the maximum ceiling of 50% this year.

Neelakurinji Bloomed in Karnataka

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After 12 years, Neelakurinji flowers have bloomed in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. This type of mass flowering is recognised as gregarious flowering.

It is a shrub that is discovered in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Nadu.

Locally recognised as Kurinji, the flowers develop at an altitude of 1,300 to 2,400 metres.

Nilgiri Hills, which literally means blue Mountains, is named after Neelakurinjis purple-blue flowers, which bloom only once every 12 years.

Telangana urges Krishna River Management Board to stop HNSS project of Andhra Pradesh

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After raising its objections over Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) and Veligonda projects of Andhra Pradesh, theTelanganagovernment dashed off another letter toKrishna River Management Board(KRMB), this time on Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS).
The government asked the KRMB to stop AP from diverting Krishna water outside the basin till the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (Brijesh Kumar tribunal) finalizes the Shares of water and also stop the construction activity taken up in violation ofAP Reorganization Act, 2014.

TheENCsaid it is known to all that Krishna is a deficit basin and diverting water from it to outside the basin, basin areas adjacent to the river, suffer from severe scarcity of water. It is highly objectionable and does not stand to any logic or principles.

Andhra Pradesh: Municipal schools reel under poor infrastructure, apathy

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Municipal schools, which are catering to Education needs of the poor children from urban slums, are struggling with inadequate and proper monitoring system. With the government setting its focus mainly on strengthening rural schools, themunicipal schoolswere neglected.

The absence of a separate directorate to monitor the functioning of municipal schools has become a setback in resolving the issues of teachers, students and other staff.
The states municipal school education system, commissioned 163 years ago, is one of the oldest streams in the country. Academicians say that the school managements continuing the old rules are leading to disorder in urban public schools.

In 1966, the Kothari Commission suggested appointment of school supervisors. The commission had also observed that school supervisors should have expertise in education psychology, childrens psychology and pedagogy. Several decades have passed since then, but nothing has changed in the field.

Goa: Vasco-Kulem rail route to be completed by March 2022

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Work of South Western Railways (SWR) double tracking project on the Goa stretch, which was affected on account of the reverse Migration of labourers on account of the pandemic, has now gathered pace.RailVikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) hascompletedlaying the second track betweenKulemto Majorda.

RVNL has now setMarch2022 as its target for completing the double tracking of the Vasco-Kulemroute.

Work on certain stretches between Majorda andVascohas been grounded owing to stiff opposition from locals. The report of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) recommending to The Supreme Court cancellation of the double tracking project has added ammunition to the opposition.

Govt sets aside Rs 494 crore to build 488 model schools in Maharashtra

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The state cabinet decided to convert 488 schools into model schools inMaharashtra. The schools will be provided with infrastructural facilities as well as modules for academic development. A budget of Rs 494 crore has been set aside.

The model school concept developed by the government includes separate toilets, drinking water system, well-maintained classrooms, attractive building, playground, Sports equipment, ICT lab, science lab, library.

There will be roads for transportation from the surrounding villages and schools. If the number of students increases in the future, there will be ample scope for expansion of the building and physical facilities. These schools are chosen under the Samagra Shiksha Abhigyan run by the Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshan Parishad.

Portal to popularise micro-irrigation in Haryana

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The Irrigation Department has prepared a portal to make micro-irrigation system more accessible to the farmers.

The farmers could take benefit of this scheme individually or as a group of at least two farmers. Individual farmers will be given 70 per cent subsidy on the construction of water tank, 75 per cent on solar pump and 85 per cent on mini sprinkler/. Similarly, 85 per cent subsidy will be given to a group of farmers on the construction of water tank, 75 per cent on solar pump and 85 per cent on mini sprinkler/drip.

He said 20 per cent subsidy would be given on the completion of the water tank excavation, 40 per cent on the completion of water tank construction. Under this scheme, 99 per cent of the expenditure for channel construction and reconstruction would be borne by the government as long as the shareholder of the channel was ready to deposit 1 per cent of his share.