05.02.22

Union Budget: Rs 1,500 crore will help youth, women, says northeast industry

by

Industry bodies in the northeast have hailed theUnion Budgetfor earmarking Rs 1,500 crore for development initiatives, which they said will enable livelihood activities for youths and women in the region.

The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has termed it an extremely growth-centric budget that they felt every industry needed amid a pandemic and to achieve fast recovery of their respective businesses.

As almost 99% of all enterprises in the northeast come under the MSME category now, Abhijit Barooah, chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), northeast, was hopeful that the budget will give a push to the MSMEs.

Federation of Industry & Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER) has hailed the Budget and said that FM presented a capital expenditure-led budget aimed at reviving the Covid-hit economy and creation of more jobs over the next two decades.


Assam CM stresses on need to develop work culture

by

Assam needs to change its mindset and adopt a work culture that will put an end to dependency on others, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said. Sarma also said many commodities, including eggs, still have to be procured from outside, which eats into the state’s gross domestic product.

The state government has initiated efforts to provide citizen-friendly services to people digitally in a phased manner, Sarma said. He said besides Tinsukia, steps have been taken to extend financial incentives to beneficiaries in Hojai, Darang, Nalbari, Lakhimpur, Karimganj, Nagaon, Marigaon, Goalpara, Hailakandi and Barpeta districts under the scheme. The Assam government will also design a programme for those who have not been able to repay loans.

Nalco registers 831 crore net profit

by

The National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) has registered nearly a 3.5-fold increase in net profit to clock Rs 831 crore in Q3 of financial year 2022, a jump of 246% compared to Rs 240 crore in the same period previous year.

The company has also broken the highest profit figure clocked since its inception for the first nine-month period, with net profit of Rs 1,926 crore for the period ending on December 2021, a five-fold increase and a substantial jump of 429% over Rs 364 crore posted in corresponding period last year. The total revenue from operations in Q3 of FY22 witnessed a substantial growth, a profit of Rs 3,773 crore compared to Rs 2,379 crore in Q3 of FY21.

Invest TN 2.0 is for real

by

A quarter of a century after liberalisation brought global manufacturing giants to Tamil Nadu, another investment boom is on. The state has clocked the highest rate of growth in investments nationally in the April-December 2021 period, ahead of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, according to the latest survey by Projects Today.

With total investments of Rs 1,43,902 crore from 304 projects up from Rs 36,292 crore in the year-ago period TN has clocked a jump of Rs 1,07,610 crore in the first nine months of the fiscal. Add to this a nearly $2 billion infusion in private equity and VC funding and you get an idea of why Invest TN 2.0 is a real thing.

Part of it is fuelled by the EV boom which has brought more than Rs 19,868 crore of investments to the state. But, investments are also flowing into automotive manufacturing, IT and electronics, aerospace and defence, textiles, pharma and general manufacturing, say industry and analysts.

New Gecko Species Discovered In Western Ghats

by

n Kerala’s the Western Ghats, a team of researchers recently found a new gecko species. Hemidactylus easai is the scientific name for the species.

Highlights:

P S Easa, the Kerala Forest and Research Institute director, was honored with the species’ name. The species was discovered in the forest’s drier areas. From snout to vent, it measured 105 millimeters.

The species has a light brown color to it. It was discovered near a human settlement. There are about 180 different species of geckos on the planet.

India has 48, and Thirty of the 48 are in Kerala. Geckos do not pose a threat to human life. They play a crucial role in insect control.

Param Pravega Commissioned By IISC Bengaluru

by

The Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in Bengaluru has launched “Param Pravega,” one of India’s most powerful supercomputers.

Highlights:

The supercomputer Param Pravega has a supercomputing capacity of 3.3 petaflops. It is an Indian academic institution’s largest supercomputer.

Param Pravega is a supercomputer that belongs to the High-Performance Computing system family.

This system comprises a variety of heterogeneous nodes, with CPU nodes powered by Intel Xeon Cascade Lake processors.

It includes a software stack on top of the hardware that includes various program development tools, utilities, and libraries for developing and executing High-Performance Computing (HPC) applications.

PM To Visit Hyderabad And Launch 50th Anniversary ICRISAT Celebrations

by

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Hyderabad on February 5, 2022, to kick off the “International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) 50th-anniversary festivities.

Highlights:

PM will also dedicate ICRISAT’s climate change research facility to plant protection during his visit.

He will also dedicate the rapid generation improvement facility at ICRISAT. Both facilities will be devoted to Asian and Sub-Saharan African smallholder farmers.

On this occasion, he will dedicate a 216-foot tall “statue of equality” to the nation. Sri Ramanujacharya, a bhakti saint from the 11th century, is commemorated by the ‘Statue of Equality.’

The saint advocated for equality in all elements of life, including caste, creed, and religion. The statue’s dedication is part of a 12-day commemoration of his 1000th birthday.

A 3D display of the saint Sri Ramanujacharya’s life journey and teachings will be shown during the session.

PM Modi will also visit the replicas of 108 ‘Divya Desams that encircle the monument.

Gandhi Mandiram, Smruthi Vanam

by

At the Municipal Park in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, social activists created a temple for Mahatma Gandhi and freedom fighters Smrithi Vanam.

Highlights:

To instill patriotism among the youth by commemorating the sacrifices of freedom fighters, social activists have created a temple for Mahatma Gandhi and freedom fighters’ Smrithi Vanam at the Municipal Park in Srikakulam Andhra Pradesh.

With donations, statues honoring independence warriors and social activists were constructed in the park.

On Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary, the Mahatma Gandhi statue and Smritivanam were unveiled in Srikakulam City.

The North Eastern District of Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam, popularly known as Chicacole, is famed for temple tourism.

After observing the park’s progress, Srikakulam municipal corporation commissioner Obulesh approved Rs 4.60 lakh from the corporation’s money for park beautifying.

Srikakulam, also called Chicacole, the North Eastern District in AP, is known for temple tourism.

Empowered by third gender voter IDs, Goas transgenders motivate community

by

Finally identified as a citizen, Heena, 45, a transgender from Goa, will be casting her vote for the first time this election, making it a giant leap towards inclusion for thecommunityin Goa.
It is every persons right to vote and we are entitled to select the leader of our choice as well. It has made us very happy to be included,

While members of the transgender community have been participating in elections using their male registeredvoterIDs all these years, this is the first time that some of them will be casting their votes under their recognised identity after the Supreme Court declared them thethirdgender in 2014.

They were motivated to vote following an initiative undertaken by Anyay Rahit Zindagi (ARZ), an organisation combating human trafficking. Seven from South Goa and two from North Goa enrolled themselves on the electoral roll under the thirdgendercategory.

Maharashtra hopes to persuade Amazon, Uber, others to go electric faster

by

Maharashtra will offer companies likeAmazon.com Inc andUbernew incentives to electrify their delivery fleets ahead of a 2025 target for cleaner air, its environment minister told Reuters.
Maharashtra is an important market for e-commerce, ride-hailing and food delivery companies. Last year, it set a target for such companies to electrify 25% of their fleet by 2025.

Companies the state is likely to approach in the next month include Amazon, Uber, Walmart’s Flipkart, Softbank Group-backed ridesharing firm Ola and food-delivery companies Zomato and Swiggy.
The push comes weeks after New Delhi, issued strict draft rules for companies to get a licence on condition that a certain percentage of their new fleet is electric.
The Maharashtra government has yet make its offer to the companies and Amazon, Flipkart, Uber, Ola, Zomato and Swiggy did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters about the possibility of speeding up the electrification process.