06.08.21

Haryana 5th in export of organic products

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Haryana has one of the lowest areas under certified but it is ranked fifth in the country in exporting organic products.

The state has 5,303 hectares under certified organic farming with 4,903 hectares under National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) and 400 hectares under Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification.

A mere 4,339 farmers are engaged in growing organic Cereals and Millets, medicinal Plants, wheat, basmati rice, fodder, fruits and vegetables, oilseeds, processed food, pulses, spices, condiments, sugar, tea and tuber products.

The state exported 38,986 MT worth Rs 348.77 crore in 2020-21. The facts come to Light in a reply of the Ministry of Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on a question of land under organic farming in the country in the Rajya Sabha on July 30. Punjab has a total of 7,021 hectares under certified organic farming involving 12,861 farmers. It exported 326.03 MT of organic foods worth Rs 2.73 crore and was ranked 19th in the country in 2020-21. Only Andaman and Nicobar (1,360 hectares), Ladakh (817.85 hectares), Lakshadweep (3,595.51 hectares), Puducherry (183.65 hectares), Daman and Diu (1,100 hectares) and Chandigarh (1,300 hectares) have a lower area under organic farming than Punjab and Haryana.

The neighbouring Himachal Pradesh has 29,554 hectares under certified organic farming involving 60,891 farmers. Besides cereals and millets, dry fruits, fruits and vegetables, medicinal plant products, pulses, spices, sugar, tea and tuber products, it is also cultivating apple, basmati rice, coriander and rajmah.

The state exported a mere 7.88 MT of products worth Rs 1.62 crore in 2020-21. Jammu and Kashmir has 31,179.82 hectares under organic farming involving 24,772 farmers. It exported 607.59 MT worth Rs 10.77 crore. Madhya Pradesh has the maximum area under certified organic farming in the country. It has 11.96 lakh hectares under cultivation and 6.26 lakh farmers are engaged in it.

It exported 5 lakh MT of products earning Rs 2,683.58 crore in 2020-21, the highest in the country. It is followed by Maharashtra (Rs 913.74 crore), Gujarat (Rs 723.20 crore) and Kerala (Rs 355.34 crore). Haryana comes at fifth rank in exports. Experts say that this is because the traders in the state bought organic products from neighbouring states and exported them.

1,132 rural habitations in Punjab reported to have quality issues in drinking water sources

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Of the 47,873 rural habitations reported to have quality issues in drinking water sources, as many as 1,132 are in Punjab and just one in neighbouring Haryana, according to the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) which generates groundwater quality data on a regional scale as part of its groundwater quality monitoring programme and scientific studies.

The studies indicate the occurrence of contaminants, including Arsenic and heavy metals, beyond permissible limits (as per Bis) for human consumption in isolated pockets in various states/UTs, according to a written reply of Minister of State of Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel to a question on contamination of groundwater by Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal in the Lok Sabha.

According to CGWB data, in Punjab, Arsenic concentration in groundwater beyond permissible limit has been reported from 10 districts, Lead from 6 districts, Cadmium from 8 districts, Chromium from 10 districts and Uranium from 16 districts.

GST collection in Himachal up 50.7 pc in July

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The monthly Goods and Service Tax (GST) collection of the state has registered a Growth of 50.7 per cent in July 2021.

The GST collected in July stood at Rs 473.81 crore, which is the highest collection in one month since its implementation. The cumulative GST collections up to July were Rs 1,301.03 crore. The state had collected Rs 705.26 crore during the corresponding period last year.

Some reasons for the improved GST collections are the increased business activities, improvement in return filing as a result of better monitoring of taxpayers and more effective enforcement activities by the department.

A total of 72 moth species were identified in Dehradun during the National Moth Week observed from July 19 to 22 in coordination with the Forest Department and Biodiversity Board. The report of the moth diversity assessed during the said period in Dehradun prepared by Sanjay Sondhi, Titli Trust/Doon Nature Walks states that the 72 moth species identified during the assessment last month was lower than 116 species identified in the previous assessment.

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The report states that one of the possible reasons for the lower count than earlier could be the full moon and local weather, considering which a recommendation has been made to the global organisers of National Moth Week that the event be held around new moon in the future. In addition, adverse weather conditions in 2021, in the form of persistent rain, possibly reduced the number of moths coming to the moth screen. Sondhi said, At Lacchiwala and Kaduapani in 2020, we kept the screens on longer, on account of Covid travel restrictions as we spent the night at the forest rest house. In 2021, we observed moths till 1030 pm, consistent with the past years.

The National Moth Week is a global citizen science event organised in the last week of July throughout the world. National Moth Week partners with organizations around the world that focus on moth ECOLOGY, distribution and . Moths are among the most diverse and successful organisms on earth. Scientists estimate there are 1,50,000 to more than 5,00,000 moth species. Their colors and patterns are either dazzling or so cryptic that they define camouflage. Shapes and sizes span the gamut from as small as a pinhead to as large as an adults hand. Moths can be important bioindicators- a species or taxon that tells us about the Health of an ecosystem. A greater diversity of moths typically means there is a greater diversity of plant species, which leads to a greater diversity of other species as well. They play a crucial role in pollination and are food for many creatures such as bats.

The Uttarakhand Forest department used National Moth Week in 2017 to launch a mechanism to monitor moth diversity annually in different landscapes in and around Dehradun. In 2021, with the restrictions of Covid-19 in place, awareness activities were not conducted, but monitoring activities continued at Lacchiwala reserved forest, Malsi reserved forest and Kaduapani reserved forest. Malsi displayed the maximum diversity with 53 species being identified, with 36 and 26 species being identified at Lacchiwala and Kaduapani respectively.

Bharat Dynamics Limited to set up Rs 400 crore unit in defence corridor in Jhansi

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Bharat Dynamics Limited, the only DEFENCE public sector company in the country that manufactures missiles and underwater weapons for the armed forces, will be setting up a manufacturing unit inJhansiwith an of Rs 400 crore in phase-1. The company signed an MoU with the State Government through UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority for the investment in the states upcoming defence corridor.

Under the MoU, theBDLwill acquire 250 hectare land in Jhansi under a lease agreement for an initial period of 30 years, which will be extendable to up to 90 years.

The Jhansi node will be the companys sixth unit and the first one in north India. At present, BDL has four units, three of which are located in Telangana and one in Andhra Pradesh. It has also acquired land in Amravati in Maharashtra to set up its fifth unit.

State is likely to procure a genome sequencer machine soon to detect and study new variants of the novel coronavirus amid the growing fear of Delta Plus variant and new mutated variants of concern that may pose higher risk than those strains that have already affected people in Jharkhand.

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The Health Minister recently asked the RIMS administration to work on starting a department of genome studies in the premiere state-run hospital. Gupta, during a meeting earlier this week, said that genome sequencing was an important part of the states fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and the will also help in combatting diseases caused by viruses in future.

Jharkhand had sent a proposal for procurement of a genome sequencer machine to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare back in March. However, the proposal was not approved for several months and the state was asked to send RT-PCR samples of Covid patients to the Institute of Live Sciences (ILS) in Bhubaneshwar for genome sequencing.

De-centralised biomedical waste incinerator opened in Buxur

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he waste incinerator would be useful at a time when the problems associated with handling and disposing biomedical waste are exacerbated due to the Covid-19 pandemic in small towns and villages that do not have access to central biomedical waste treatment facilities.

This is a pilot project with portable, forced draft incinerator capable of handling 50 kg per hour of biomedical waste with the provision of waste heat recovery. It can process waste made of , plastic, or similar materials in a batch of 5 kg. The unit requires a 2 sq mt area and only 0.6 kWh electricity for initial ignition of the waste with an option of auto electricity turn-off.

The technology was selected through the Biomedical Waste Treatment Innovation Challenge launched in June 2020 by the ‘Waste to Wealth’ mission.

Chhattisgarh: Campaign unmukt launched for release of eligible convicts

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In a humanitarian step, Chhattisgarh state legal Services authority (CGSLSA) and the andJail Departmenthave jointly launched a campaign unmukt for release of those eligible convicts, who fall within the eligibility criteria laid down in the state policies for premature release of convicts.
This campaign owes its origin as per the direction ofSupreme Courtin a special leave petition (SLP) titled Sonadhar vs State of Chhattisgarh, wherein, the apex court picked three states Chhattisgarh, Utter Pradesh, and Bihar for launch of pilot project from August 1, this year.

CGSLSA Member secretary,Siddharth Aggarwalsaid that the timeline laid down by The Supreme Court shall be duly adhered to and this pilot project in Chhattisgarh will really facilitate the much needed experience for implementing it in other states, too.
Back in 2019, Honble Prashant Mishra, has Penned down the judgement wherein, presiding judges have been directed to decide the application for opinion of release of prisoners under sec 432(2), Cr.P.C within the period of 3 months with proper application of their mind.

Madhya Pradesh will be made a logistics and warehousing hub. A well thought out policy will be formulated in this regard.

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An app will be made in collaboration with Asian . Through this, hassle free movement of trucks and tankers will be ensured. In the discussion, Principal Secretary, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion.

Madhya Pradesh is situated in the middle of the country. Therefore, if the Logistics hub is created here, the whole country will get benefit.

The revelation that microplastics lurk amid ediblesaltcomes as an eye-opener for the state government and salt producers. The researchers who recorded the findings are calling for improved refining processes to reduce microplastics in salt.

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Gujaratproduces 76% of the countrys salt. Kharaghoda, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, and the Rann of Kutch are major salt-producing centres. The research study, published in Elseviers Marine Pollution Journal, has stated that of the solid microparticle pollutants separated from the samples, 90.3% were microplastic FRACTIONS and 9.7% were non-microplastic fractions. The study was carried out by a team of 10 scientists including geologists, ocean researchers, and biotechnologists.

Polyethylene (78%) was the dominant microplastic pollutant, followed by polyester (19%). Polyvinyl chloride content was found too. The packing material of salt was primarily composed of polyethylene. A few large-sizedplasticfragments which were greater than 5mm were also observed in the samples.