06.07.23

Punjab Govt plans to start door-step delivery of services provided in Sewa Kendras

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To ensure seamless Services to the states citizens in a transparent manner, Punjab Government has planned to start door-step delivery of services being provided at Sewa Kendras in the State.

Announcing this while chairing the 16thmeeting of the Board of Governors (BoG) of Punjab State e-Governance Society, the states Governance Reforms and Public Grievances Minister Aman Arora on Wednesday directed the Department officials to expedite the process to start the door-step delivery of service scheme.

Currently, over 400 services are being provided to the citizens via Sewa Kendras and the doorstep delivery of all these services will be started in the coming months, said the Minister, while adding that with the start of this flagship scheme of the Punjab Government, people of the state will be able to avail government services sitting at their homes.

He said that an applicant will be able to avail doorstep delivery of the services included in the list by booking a Home visit by just calling a toll-free number and a person will visit the home of the applicant and collect as well as upload all requisite documents and then will submit it to the department concerned.

1,000 Lok Mitra Kendra to be opened in Himachal to provide internet connectivity: CM

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Himachal Pradesh government is planning to open 1,000 Lok Mitra Kendra in far-flung areas during the current fiscal to provide instant Internet access to the people, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said. The government is determined to make high-speed internet connectivity accessible to the users, especially in the rural areas which lack internet connectivity through these Kendras, he said.

These centres will help in fulfilling the objective to create EMPLOYMENT opportunities for the rural youth at their doorstep, Sukhu said in a statement.

A widespread optical fibre cable Network will be laid across the state for providing internet connectivity, he said, adding that the government will also take up the matter with the concerned authorities to strengthen 5G Services. Adequate budget provision has been made for the same by the government for the current financial year, the statement added. The chief minister said an ‘Integrated Data Base Management System’ would be created in the next four months.

This system will then be used for the direct benefit transfer (DBT) mapping of different welfare schemes of various departments, including Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture, animal husbandry, labour and employment, he said.

VSK to monitor higher education in Ukhand: Minister

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The higher Education minister Dhan Singh Rawat has said that the Vidhya Sameeksha Kendra (VSK) would also be opened for the higher education department in Uttarakhand. He directed the department to initiate the process of appointment of the Principals in the vacant posts in the colleges of the State. He gave the orders in a recent meeting with the officers of the department. Rawat said 11 posts of Post Graduate (PG) College Principals and seven posts of Undergraduate (UG) Principals are lying vacant in the government colleges of the State and soon appointments would be made on these positions. He disclosed that the process of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) for the posts of Principals has been completed. The Minister added that the 391 vacant posts of ministerial cadre would be through the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission while 150 posts of class IV employees would be filled by an outsource agency.

The VSK would help in improving the quality of education by regular monitoring and assessment. He added that a separate block for the VSK would be constructed in the education directorate and its cost would be borne by both school education and higher education departments.

Bundelkhand on path of development

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As part of its ongoing pursuit to bring Bundelkhand region at par with the developed regions within the country, the Uttar Pradesh government has completed all the projects of three out of six departments under the third phase of the Bundelkhand package and is working to complete the projects of the remaining departments, earmarked for the year 2023-2024.

With the aim to bring Bundelkhand into the mainstream of development, the Yogi Adityanath government has approved Rs 225 crore to complete the projects of various departments. The government will also use a total of Rs 116.72 crore, including surplus of Rs 60.70 crore of the departments, for the development of Bundelkhand region.

Under the third phase of the Bundelkhand package, works of Rs 65 crore and Rs 25 crore have been completed in the Horticulture and Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture departments respectively. Projects of Irrigation-and-water”>Irrigation and water Resources department worth more than Rs 255 crore have also been completed.

Besides, two works worth more than Rs 55 crore of the Livestock department have been completed, while a project worth Rs 44 crore has been approved.

Furthermore, Rs 247 crore has already been spent on three projects related to Namami Gange and Rural Water Supply department, which would be completed with an additional Investment of Rs 16.5 crore. Besides, Rs 107 crore has been spent on projects related to milk development and a capacity expansion plan is also being prepared.

In all, Rs 917 crore was approved for various projects in the third phase, out of which Rs 756 crore has been spent while more than Rs 100 crore has been saved by the departments.

NIT Jamshedpur and TIFAC collaborate for carbon emission reduction

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NIT Jamshedpur, in collaboration with the Technology Information, Forecasting, and Assessment Council (TIFAC), organised a specialized brainstorming session on its campus aimed at reducing carbon emissions. The session, which focused on decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors, brought together esteemed individuals from academia and research institutes, with a particular emphasis on the steel and cement industriesthe major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

The focus of the session was to underscore the importance of technology in achieving net neutrality by decarbonizing the steel sectors and driving India towards becoming a cleaner nation. The speakers emphasized that technology plays a pivotal role in spearheading decarbonization efforts in these sectors. They shed Light on the process of technology needs assessment, which involves evaluating the existing technological landscape, identifying limitations, and devising effective technological solutions to reduce carbon emissions.

Cabinet approves state biofuels policy

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The state cabinet approvedBihar Biofuels Production Promotion Policy, 2023, which will pave the way for production of compressed biogas (CBG) apart from ethanol in the state. Firms or individuals interested in setting up CBG units in Bihar can start applying for taking the benefits of the new policy after its notification and till June 30 next year.

CBG is produced from and waste sources like agricultural residue, cattle dung, sugar cane press mud, municipal solid waste and sewage treatment plant waste among others. As per Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) Scheme of the Centre, CBG has properties almost similar to CNG. Hence, a vehicle running on CNG can be filled with CBG without any modification.

C BG consists of methane (90%) and other gases like carbon dioxide (less than 4%). The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, through a gazette notification in June, 2015, has permitted CBG for motor vehicles as CNG alternative. SATAT envisages setting up 5,000 CBG units in the country by 2024-25.

As per a study by IIT Guwahati, India has potential to produce 80,000 tonnes per day of compressed biogas, replacing 50% of the current diesel use in transport. Under the Ethanol Production Promotion Policy, 2021, incentives were being given to the units producing ethanol only.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel sought information about the doorstep facilities provided under the Tuhar Sarkar Tuhar Dwar Yojana, implemented by the Transport Department, and the Mitan scheme by the Urban Administration Department.

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It was informed at the meeting that a total of 461 Transport Facilitation Centers (TFCs) have been established across the state.

Officials said drivers were being trained and provided with information related to traffic rules and safety.

Under the scheme, more than 21 lakh driving licenses and registration certificates were sent to applicants through Speed Post.

The officials further said that a total of 22 Services are provided under the Tuhar Sarkar Tuhar Dwar Yojana.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel later also reviewed the work of the Urban Administration and Development Department.

It was informed that 1,03,315 documents have been issued under the Mitan scheme.

IMC becomes the countrys first urban body to earn EPR credit

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Indore which is synonymous with cleanliness in the country has added another feather to its cap. Indore (IMC) has become the first urban body in the country to earn EPR credit. On this achievement, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today India is moving forward with new thinking and new approach. Along with Economic Development, it is also strengthening the ecological balance. As per the vision of Prime Minister Modi, efforts are being made to promote circular economy in Madhya Pradesh as well. The campaign of Indore Municipal Corporation to get rid of single use plastic and solid Waste Management efforts will inspire the entire state. Chief Minister Chouhan has congratulated all the residents of Indore, administrative officers and all the employees of the civic body on this achievement. The Chief Minister said that success of this effort of public participation is a matter of pride for the entire state.

After getting carbon credits, the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has taken forward the concept of Waste to Wealth by becoming the first ULB in India to be registered on the EPR portal of the Central Pollution Control Board. Today IMC has become the first ULB in India to earn EPR credits. The achievement of earning EPR credits reflects the successful implementation of Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 (PWM) and EPR policy by IMC. This innovation to earn EPR credits is another powerful step towards moving from linear economy to circular economy and Sustainable Development.

State govt may form regulatory authority for civic taxes

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The Gujarat government is mulling a proposal to set up an authority to regulate the rates of various taxes likeproperty tax,water tax, user charges and the like that are levied by urban civic bodies across the state.
The authority is expected to be modelled on the provisions of theGujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission, which has the mandate to regulate the electricity sector in the state.

At present, different urban civic bodies like municipal corporations, urban development authorities and municipalities have their own tax structure. In many civic bodies, various taxes have not been revised for several years.

Raj exporting goods worth over 500cr to Kenya: REPC

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The three-day Indo East Africa Trade Expo in Nairobi organised

by Federation ofRajasthanExport Council (REPC) and Federation of Rajasthan Trade and was inaugurated by PrimeCabinetSecretary (Prime Minister) of the Republic ofKenyaMusalia W Mudavadi.

During the inauguration,Rajiv Arora, chairman of REPC and Rajsico, said that Kenya imports goods worth about Rs 512 crore from Rajasthan alone, underlining the growing economic opportunities in the East African countries Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Madagascar, Mozambique and Mauritius. He said that that there are possibilities of exporting salt, sulphur, earth stone, plaster, lime and cement etc from Rajasthan to Kenya, which is the gateway to East Africa and the regional centre of Trade and Commerce.

More than 175 industries, members of FORTI, are participating in the expo