04.07.23

HP too eyes Chandigarh, forms sub-panel

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TheHimachal Pradeshgovernment has constituted a cabinet subcommittee to look into the claims of the state on its “share” inBBMBprojects and the union territory of Chandigarh as envisaged under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, and other inter-state agreements.

Punjab and Haryana are already annoyed with the state’s decision to impose water cess and now, this development can further make the ties bitter. The demand to stake a claim on 7.19% share as per the provisions of the reorganisation act was being raised for last several decades, but this is for the first time when a cabinet subcommittee has been formed by theHimachalgovernment.

The cabinet sub-panel will be headed by Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture minister Chander Kumar, while industries ministerHarshwardhan Chauhanand revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi would be the members, and secretary (MPP and power) will be the member secretary.

As per the Punjab Reorganisation Act, Himachal Pradesh has 7.19% share in projects under BBMB, that includes Dehar, Pong dam and Bhakra projects, from where power and water is supplied to other states. The stand of Himachal Pradesh is that under the 1966 act, it has its share in Chandigarh too, like Punjab and Haryana.

Previous state governments, though, used to raise the issue from time to time, but no concrete steps were ever taken to stake the claim.

CM requested that the union government should remove the ceiling on the loans for the externally assisted projects in view of the special conditions and limited financial resources of the State. He also requested that the government of India should provide a sum of Rs 1174 crore for the Song dam drinking water project in the State as special assistance.

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Dhami said that the Population of Dehradun is increasing rapidly due to which the demand for drinking water is also consistently increasing. In view of this and considering future needs a project is proposed on Song river which is a tributary of Ganga. He said that the estimated cost of the project is Rs 2021 crores. The project envisages providing 150 MLD drinking water by use of gravity to Dehradun and its peri urban areas. A population of about 10 lakh would get drinking water from the project. Dhami said that the project once completed would end the dependence on tube-wells for providing drinking water. A 3.5 km long lake would also get formed due to the Song dam which apart from providing impetus to tourism and creating new EMPLOYMENT opportunities would help in preserving the Environment. The CM told the union finance minister that flood control is another objective of the project. The project would provide protection to a population of 15000 in 10 villages from the floods which affect them every year.

Yogi govt plans solar fencing to protect crops from stray animals

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The Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture department of Uttar Pradesh is gearing up to implement the Mukhyamantri Khet Suraksha Yojana (Solar Fencing) as a measure to safeguard crops from stray and wild animals. This initiative aims to secure fields by installing wires that carry a 12-volt current, delivering a powerful yet non-harmful electric shock to deter cattle and other animals from entering fields.

The entire solar fencing system will operate on renewable , and the government has announced a 60 percent subsidy on the total cost. The proposal is currently being prepared for presentation to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a senior government official said.

Stray animals have been a significant concern for farmers and all the measures taken by the government proved to be inadequate. The animals often damage crops, exacerbating the challenges faced by farmers. While farmers resorted to installing barbed wire for protection, the government later imposed a ban, citing harm caused to the cattle. However, farmers continued to use wired fencing due to the lack of alternatives.

The cost of installing the battery-operated solar fencing system amounts to approximately Rs 1,43,000 per hectare. The government intends to provide a 60 percent subsidy to small and marginal farmers to ensure their inclusion in the scheme.

The first phase of the scheme will be implemented in seven districts of Bundelkhand, where stray animal incidents are more prevalent. A budget of approximately Rs 50 crore has been allocated for the initial phase. Under the project, farmers will need to install batteries, wires, poles, starters, solar panels, sirens and other necessary equipment. The government will offer exemptions on the entire project.

The solar fencing system entails placing seven to nine lines of horizontal wires at an Average distance of 5 metres from each other attached to poles at a height of 1.5 to 2.10 metres above the ground level. Approximately 400 metres of wire fencing will be required per hectare. Farmers who have already installed solar pumps will find it easier to connect the solar fencing system to their existing setup.

State govt should have long-term plan for zero carbon emission: Jayant Sinha

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Even as the country is committed to achieving zero Carbon Emission by 2070, theJharkhandgovernment has not come up with its long-term plan to achieve the objective, said BJP MP and former Union ministerJayant Sinha.

About Jharkhand, Sinha stressed that the should make policy changes for setting up of EV and their battery manufacturing factories in the state which has the mineral Resources required for the purpose. The MP said the EV factories would also generate EMPLOYMENT and added the Jharkhand government should promote EV charging networks in the state.

Sinha stated that even though the coal reserve of the state can last for 200 years the state government should start reducing its coal consumption and eventually eliminate it in the long term.

The MP said the state government should also come up with a white paper on achieving zero emission. He said Jharkhand has the resources and also the experts for transformation to green energy but the state Leadership lacks vision and commitment toward this end.

RMRIMS and CUSB ink MoU

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Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS), Patna and Central University of SouthBihar(CUSB),Bodh Gaya, on Saturday inked aMoUfor promoting academic activities in the streams of knowledge associated with medical and allied sciences.

RMRIMS is an institute under the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi.

Women gain financial independence with self-employment in Chhattisgarh

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Gauthans have opened new pathways for the development of Women, giving them access to income-generating activities.

Numerous women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the Tilai Gauthan located in Jangir-Champa district are involved in various livelihood activities, an official communiqu said on Tuesday.

The families of these women are experiencing improved financial stability. These women have become a source of inspiration.

According to them, the Chhattisgarh government’s Suraji Gaon Yojana has proven to be highly beneficial. With livelihood activities in the Gauthan, women can access self-EMPLOYMENT opportunities within their villages.

The Aarti Women SHG is involved in vermicompost production and duck farming. They have prepared around 3,494 bags of organic manure and made them available to the societies.

The Jai Ma Lakshmi Group focuses on and fish farming. They have earned Rs 20,000 with an Investment of Rs 17,000 in poultry. The Jai Anndhari Group is engaged in commercial vegetable production. They have sold vegetables worth over Rs 54,000.

State transformed parameters for farmers welfare: CM

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Chouhan transferred crop compensation amount of Rs 41 crore 85 lakh to 4261 farmers from the CM’s residence office with a single click. The area of affected crops was 3690 hectares. Out of this, the area of affected banana crop is 3470 hectares and that of other crops is 219 hectares. There are 3960 banana crop producer farmers and other crop producer farmers are 301.

It is notable that the banana of Burhanpur is exported to numerous countries of the world. The has given financial relief to the banana producing farmers, relieving them from the crisis of crop getting damaged. Banana production has also been selected in Burhanpur district under “One District – One Product”. Along with the states of the country, the banana of Burhanpur is also exported to other countries.

Chief Minister said that the compensation rate for banana crop has been doubled. According to this important amendment, now the relief amount will be increased from Rs 15 thousand to Rs 30 thousand per hectare if the farmer suffers 25 to 33 percent damage to his banana crops. Similarly, in case of 33 to 50 percent damage, the relief amount will be increased from Rs 27 thousand to Rs. 54 thousand per hectare. If the damage is more than 50 percent, then the relief amount will be Rs. 2 lakh per hectare instead of one lakh.

State receives Rs 9,021 crore GST compensation from Centre

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In a major advantage, the government ofGujaratreceived pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation cess worth Rs 9,021 crore from the Centre.

The compensation amount remained pending for over a year. According to data tabled in the state assembly, the Centre owed Gujarat a compensation worth Rs 9,136 crore as on March 31, 2023.
The Union Government owed Rs 23,332 crore to the Gujarat government for the period between January 2021 and December 2021. Similarly, the Centre owed Rs 7,068 crore to the for the period between January 2022 and June 2022, according to the response tabled in the state assembly.

Therefore, in the past two years, dues worth Rs 30,400 crore as compensation cess from the centre were yet to be cleared by the Centre. Against these dues, the state received Rs 3,364 crore in May last year and Rs 855 crore in November last year.

The Centre also provided a loan towards compensation worth Rs 17,045 crore to the state government, on condition that the Centre will pay the loan along with the interest from the Cess Fund.

When GST was rolled out, a provision was made in the act to compensate states for shortfall in revenue. According to the provisions under the GST Compensation Cess Act, the protected income of the states was determined for five years from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2022.

This protected income was computed projecting a 14% Growth in GST collection per annum, considering the fiscal year 2015-16 as the Base Year.

No manual scavenger in Raj under Centres rehab scheme

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InRajasthan, not a single person, who worked as a manual scavenger, has been identified under the Centre’s Self EMPLOYMENT Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers for capital subsidy up to Rs 5 lakh to take up alternate self-employment projects, a ministry of socialjusticeand Empowerment data states.

So far, capital subsidy up to Rs 5 lakh has been provided to 1,935 persons, who were identified as working as manual scavengers, and their dependents to take up alternate self-employment projects, informedRamdas Athawale, minister of state (MoS) for social and empowerment, while replying to an unstarred question in Rajya Sabha in April this year.

However, the data stated 2,673 persons in Rajasthan have been identified for one-time cash assistance of Rs 40,000 per family and Skill development training has been provided to 1,432 persons in the state under the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers.

Under the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers, a one-time cash assistance of Rs 40,000 per family has been provided to all identied and eligible 58,098 persons who worked as manual scavengers. Skill development training has been provided to 22,294 identied persons who worked as manual scavengers and their dependents with stipend of Rs 3,000 per month during the training period.

The Prohibition of employment as manual scavengers and their rehabilitation act 2013, which came into force on December 6, 2013, bans manual scavenging and hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.

Centre launches Bharat 6G Alliance as India acquires 200 patents relating to 6G

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Union Minister of Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, announced the introduction of the Bharat 6G Alliance, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at launching the next-generation technology in India following the successful implementation of 5G.

The Bharat 6G Alliance brings together key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, as well as other departments, with a common objective of advancing telecommunications technology and fostering the development of 6G in the country.

In addition to the Bharat 6G Alliance, the government plans to introduce a new wave of telecom reforms in the upcoming weeks. The anticipated arrival of 6G is set to revolutionise Communication by providing speeds nearly 100 times faster than 5G, opening up exciting possibilities for the development of novel communication applications.

The Bharat 6G Alliance will serve as a platform for comprehensive discussions on various facets of emerging telecom technologies and platforms that will shape the next decade. It will facilitate collaboration, knowledge sharing, and strategic planning to ensure India remains at the forefront of technological advancements.