05.07.22

Assam: Barak Valley tea industry in deep crisis

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TheTea Association of India(TAI),BarakValley branch, has expressed concern over the collapse of Communication Network following natural calamities that led to the closure of rail and surface transport between the southernAssam valleyand Guwahati.

TAI Barak Valley branch secretary SorodinduBhattacharjee said the RAILWAY connectivity in the valley has been disrupted since mid-May. Surface transport between Barak and Guwahati has been repeatedly closed due to landslides in Rathacherra-Sonapore zone ofMeghalaya.

The Assam government is exploring to revive theCacharpaper mill and use the site of the defunctNagaonpaper mill for expansion of the state capital. Meanwhile, as per the agreement between the government and employees of theHindustan Paper Corporation Limited(HPCL) to resolve the long-pending issues of their salaries and dues on September 29 last year,Sarmaon Thursday formally launched the relief package of Rs 810 crore for 2,751 employees of the now-defunct paper mills of the HPCL.

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The Cachar paper mill atPanchgramhas remained non-functional since October 2015, while the Nagaon paper mill at Jagiroad has remained shut since March 2017.

Out of the Rs 810 crore, banks will have to be paid Rs 150 crore and theAssam Power Distribution Company Ltdaround Rs 60-80 crore, while the remaining amount will be distributed among the employees of Nagaon and Cachar paper mills.

Thirty four new courts to come up in Odisha

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A committee led by finance minister Niranjan Pujari has given its nod to establish 34 new courts16 civil, 10 commercial and eight sessions courtsin the state, law minister Pratap Jena said.

Odisha currently has more than 700 . According to a reply given by Union law ministerKiren RijijuinLok Sabhaon March 25, total 15.45 lakh cases are pending cases in lower courts in Odisha. They include 12.38 lakh criminal cases and 3.07 lakh civil cases. Similarly, 1.89 lakh cases are pending in theOrissaHigh Court, the HCs pendency report as on April 29 on its website shows.

Jena said it has been governments constant endeavour to make Justice delivery accessible to people. The government has been working on new courts and better Infrastructure on a priority basis, he said.

Tamil Nadu up six spots in startup ecosystem rankings

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Nadurose six spots in the national ranking of the startup ecosystem of states released by the Centre’s department for promotion of Industry and internal trade (DPIIT).

Tamil Nadu stood at the 11th spot, categorised among “leader” states in the state startup rankings 2021. In the previous ranking exercises (2019 and 2018), Tamil Nadu was at the bottom-most category, classified as an “emerging ecosystem” for startups.

The report noted that Tamil Nadu has shown “remarkable performance” through the evaluation pillars of institutional support, fostering innovation and Entrepreneurship and capacity building for enablers.
The setting up of Tamil Nadu startup and innovation mission (Tansim), an agency driving the state’s startup ecosystem, and launch of Tanseed to support startups with a seed grant of up to 10 lakh were mentioned as key initiatives.

Keralas total debt stands at 3,32,291 crore: state finance minister KN Balagopal

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The statefinance ministerinformed the assembly that the total debt ofKeralastood at Rs 3,32,291 crore; the liability doubled during the 2015-16 period. However, despite the pandemic situation here, the Growth rate was 88.66% in 2020-21 compared to that of 2015-16.
In the absence of finance ministerKN Balagopal, ministerK Radhakrishnangave replies to queries. He said that despite all financial constraints, the did not compromise on development projects and welfare schemes.

The Centre had provided a loan of Rs 1,471 crore during the 2019-20 period and had increased the borrowing limit in the subsequent two financial years. The negative growth during the pandemic was the key reason for the present financial crisis. Earlier, the Centre had cut down the borrowing limit of the state and only during the pandemic a relaxation was given.

As per the medium-term Fiscal Policy and strategy statement, the domestic production will show a two-digit increase from the present financial year. As a result, the state should show an improved performance in tax and non-tax revenue this year.

Bengaluru to get first animal waste-processing plant

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Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) estimates that the city produces 150 tonnes of animal waste every day but says there is no mechanism to control or properly dispose it of.
Determined to find a solution to this, Mahadevapura Task Force (MTF), a citizens group set up by local MLA Arvind Limbavali, has come together with the local administration to build Bengalurus first animal waste processing plant, with an initial capacity of 20 tonnes.

The plant has been sanctioned by the gram panchayat of Kannuru and will be constructed under a private-public PARTNERSHIP model. The plan is to collect animal waste from all shops in the constituency for free and process it into usable products that will be sold to relevant dealers and businesses. An inaugural ceremony a bhoomi pooja was conducted to kickstart the project on July 2.

Telangana: Education quality ‘average’, digital literacy needs reboot, reveals district survey

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Theschool educationquality inTelanganais Average, according to the recently-released Performance GradeIndex-Districts(PGI-D). Also, none of the 33 districts has managed to secure high grade, while Khammam managed 402 of 600 points in the latest 2019-20 gradation. Apart from Khammam, 11 other districts have been graded’Uttam’ districts, which have an average score between 61-70%.

ThePGI-D index, released by the Union ministry of Education, has graded 600 of the 733 districts and categorised them based on the marks scored as Daksh, Utkarsh, Ati Uttam, Uttam, Prachesta 1, Prachesta 2, Akanshi 1, Akanshi 2, Akanshi 3. Amongst these categories, Daksh is the highest grade for districts scoring above 90% and Akanshi 3 is the lowest grade for districts scoring up to 10%.

As per the PGI-D index of 2019-20, 12 districts in the state were of Uttam category, 20 of Prachesta 1 level, which implies they scored between 51and 60%. Narayanpet was put in the Prachesta 2 level for scoring between 41 and 50%.

Even in the ‘outcomes’ category, which includes scores for Learning outcomes, teacher availability, and access to education, Siddipet scored the highest grade with 190 out of 290 poionts.

Lightning strikes kill nearly 100 people each year in AP

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Despite the new technologies, programmes and alerts, lightning continues to kill at least 100 people every year in the state.Coastalareas usually witness maximum lighting strikes, owing to its proximity to the sea. Lightning has remained one of the largest causes of deaths due to natural disasters every year in the country for two decades.

As many as 276 people were killed due to lightning strikes between 2018 and 2020 inAndhra Pradesh, according toNCRBdata on accidental deaths. The large proportion of these deaths were in rural pockets, with only 5 to 6 per cent in urban settings.

The lighting strikes also kill wild animals and , cause substantial damage to property and injuries to people and livestock trapped in damaged properties. Experts said that the spate of fatalities every year due to lighting strikes before and during the monsoon months are mostly preventable.

Amendments to Goa GST Act get state cabinet nod

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The Goa Goods and Service Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2022, received the cabinets approval on Wednesday. As per the amendment, the registration of a person paying tax under Section 10 of the act is liable to be cancelled if the return for a financial year has not been furnished beyond three months from the due date.

The bill seeks to amend clause (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 29 of the act and will be introduced in the upcoming assembly session of Goa legislative assembly.
It seeks to insert a new sub-clause (ba) in clause (2) of explanation in order to provide clarity regarding the relevant date for filing refund claims in respect of supplies made to a Special Economic Zone developer or a Special Economic Zone unit.

Maharashtra among top 3 states to have highest coal backup

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Maharashtrais among the top three states in the country to have high buffer stock of coal for its seven coal-fired power stations. Jharkhand andOdishaare the two other states ahead of Maharashtra, each with a buffer stock of 12-13 days.

The current situation is in stark contrast to the struggle with buffer stock that Maharashtra faced in April this year, when demand for electricity soared and the coal with generation Plants was in short supply. With the onset of monsoon, the demand for power has reduced from 23,000 megawatt in summer to 19,000 megawatt now.

Mahagencos coal buffer stock has improved as 4.1 lakh tonne of the 30 lakh tonne to be imported has reached the state. The top Mahagenco management will continue to monitor the coal supply to avoid any shortage that the state had faced in September last year due to a significant decline in coal supply due to rain-related issues.