06.11.21

Phase 2 of crop diversification project to begin in Himachal soon: Minister

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Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture Minister Virender Kanwar today said the second phase of the Himachal Pradesh Crop Diversification Promotion (HPCDP) Project, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will be launched soon in the state.

About 25,000 farmers of the state would be covered under the Rs 1,010 crore project, which would focus on bringing rain-fed land under Irrigation, crop diversification and bringing new cultivation techniques for the farmers in their fields.

306 new irrigation schemes would be implemented in the state which, when complete, will have a total irrigation command area of about 9,000 hectares. He added that new irrigation techniques like drip and systems would be adopted to conserve water.

Besides, high-yielding varieties of seeds will be introduced to the farmers to boost their produce. In order to provide road connectivity for transportation of produce from remote areas, the construction of village roads has also been proposed, he said, adding that a sum of Rs 30 crore had been set aside for strengthening 13 existing agriculture produce Marketing yards.

IIT-R develops innovative public road transportation system, wins competition

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A team of researchers from IIT-R has won a competition arranged for developing an innovative system in public road transportation area. IIT’s innovators have developed a mobile app which provides the crowding level of public transportation system to the user.

The Union ministry of housing and Urban Affairs had organised the competition in different categories last month. Around 80 teams from various technical institutions had participated in the competition and IIT-R came first among the winners and bagged a prize of Rs 20 lakh.

Ernst & Young to design revenue model, IT solutions for Kashi Vishwanath Dham

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The Kashi Vishwanath Dham (corridor) project is nearing completion and the task of designing and finetuning the model for its smooth operations, revenue generation and upkeep has been entrusted to the London-headquartered MNC Ernst &Young, counted among the Big Four firms.

The firm will also develop IT solutions and Software for crowd management in the premises.

Ernst & Young has been roped in to design the model for revenue generation to assist the operations and maintenance of all the establishments in the corridor except Kashi Vishwanath temple which is looked after by the KV Temple Trust.

Once the project is inaugurated and thrown open to public, it would require revenue for daily operations and maintenance.

Solar power can help Jharkhand save Rs 12,000 crore in 15 years: Experts

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The stateagriculturedepartment expressed its eagerness to shift the energy load of agricultural activities to renewable Resources, particularlysolarenergy, after an expert committee projected an estimated of Rs 12,465 crore to the state exchequer in the next 15 years, if done so.

The State Government gives huge amounts of subsidy to farmers onpowerbills for their consumption in agricultural activities. As per the roadmap on energy transition in Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture sector, prepared by theJharkhandRenewable Energy Development Agency (JREDA) in consultation with the Centre for Environment and Energy Development (CEED) and Centre for Excellence in Green Energy & Efficient Technology, Central University of Jharkhand, switching to renewable resources would bring down thecostof power substantially and result in savings for the state, which it otherwise gives as subsidy. It would also help the farmers in augmenting their income.

While the roadmap elaborates a slew of measures which can initially reduce the cost of power and save subsidy, it goes on to suggest the development of solarised cold stores and warehouses which can further prove to be sites of Entrepreneurship and activity favouring installation of rooftop grid connected solar Plants.

Highlighting the key aspects of the study conducted for preparing the roadmap, CEEDs Ashwini Ashok said agricultures contribution to the states GDP is as low as 13% and the sector consumes merely 3% of the power from conventional sources. There is a huge scope to incorporate power usage and augment its share to the state GDP. The government will be able to save around Rs 12,465 crore while adding a solar capacity of 4250MW. Solarisation can be instrumental in avoiding CO2 emissions of more than 36.4 million tonnes in the next 15 years he added.

Bihar govt to set up solar plants at Kajra, Pirpainty

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The state cabinet on Wednesday approved the governments proposal to establish solar power Plants at Kajra in Lakhisarai and Pirpainty in Bhagalpur district on the land earlier acquired for the thermal power plants.

The proposal for integrated development of 20 towns and their allied rural areas was also approved. The towns concerned are Buxar, Kishanganj, Katihar, Sasaram, Dehri, Motihari, Aurangabad, Hajipur, Jamui, Siwan, Bettiah, Bagaha, Lakhisarai, Khagaria, Araria, Forbesganj, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Bhabhua and Sheohar.
In yet another decision, the government will transfer 200.02 acres of land at Darbhanga to the Centre for the construction of Aiims there. The land is located in Darbhanga Sadar and Bahadurpur circles.

The cabinet cleared the proposal to calculate the earned leave of government employees, who retired between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021, at the enhanced rate of dearness allowance. As per the revised payscale, the increase in the DA will be from 28% to 31% effective from July 1, 2021.

The cabinet cleared the release of Rs2.90 crore for the purchase of eight new vehicles for use in the Patna . Besides, it also cleared Rs 1.13 crore for the purchase of six vehicles for use by the Speaker, deputy Speaker of the assembly, as well as the whips.

Bihar State Cooperative Bank has been authorized to raise Rs5,000 crore from NABARD pertaining to the Kharif Marketing season of 2021-22 and the Rabi marketing season of 2022-23. Similarly, Bihar Sate Food and Civil Supplies Corporation has been allowed to raise Rs9,000 crore from Commercial Banks and NABARD as its WORKING CAPITAL in connection with the kharif marketing season 2021-22 and procurement of paddy.

A unique bicycle Bambooka, made from bamboo, was launched at the National Tribal Dance Festival and Rajyotsava 2021 here on Monday.

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Jagdalpur resident and founder-consultant of Naturescape, Asif Khan, has initiated the project by making Chhattisgarh’s first Bamboo bicycles.

He said the making of bamboo bicycles involves four prominent art and craft forms of Bastar: Dhokra art, iron (Wrought), shishal (wood) and bamboo craft.

All these are handcrafted, which is the identity of the tribal-dominated Bastar region, he said.

The aim was to generate EMPLOYMENT to the tribal youth of Bastar by reviving the extinct bamboo art and promoting it on a global platform.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that implementation of projects of Narmada basin has to be ensured with the concept of resolution to develop with Narmada water. What other activities can be taken up to raise additional funds for the projects will have to be considered.

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Chouhan was addressing the meeting of the Board of Directors of Narmada Basin Projects Company Limited. In the meeting, discussions were held regarding the projects, management and financial targets being run in the Narmada Basin Project.

At Rs 8,400 crore, Gujarat GST collection second highest

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With surging raw material costs, costlier commodities coupled with an improved demand in the run up to the festive season, Gujarats GST collection stood at an all-time high of Rs 8,497 crore in October 2021, since the rollout of the new tax regime. Tax collection grew 25% year-on-year against Rs 6,797 crore in October 2020.Gujarathad the second highest GST collection, laggingMaharashtrawhere the tax mop-up was Rs 16,355 crore in October.

According to Union finance ministry, the revenues would have still been higher if the sales of cars and other products had not been affected because of disruption in supply of semi-Conductors.
Even month on month, GST collection rose 9.2% against Septembers Rs 7,780 crore in Gujarat. state GST (SGST) collection has also grown 40% in Gujarat during October. According to data, SGST collection stood at Rs 3,821 crore in October this year against Rs 2,731 crore of collection in the same month last year.

The dilly-dallying approach of the state government in constituting a monitoring committee inMount Abuis giving a tough time to residents as they wait to receive permission for newconstruction.

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The ministry of environmentforestandclimate change(MoEF&CC) on September 29 after issuing a notification delegated the powers to the . However, the government continues to drag its feet to form a competent authority.

The Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) covers the entire area of the notified urban area limit, including Mount Abu municipal limits and adjoining forest block areas. All activities in the forest block areas are be governed by the provisions of theRajasthanForest Act, 1953 and the Forests (Conservation) Act, 1980 (69 of 1980) and all the activities in the Protected Areas (Sanctuary) are governed by the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (53 of 1972).

After the urban limits too came under ESZ, repair and renovation were allowed only after the proposals were scrutinized and approved by the monitoring committee, which was constituted to give permission.

Booker Prize Won By Damon Galgut

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Damon Galgut, a South African playwright and writer, has won the 2021 Booker Prize.

Highlights:

He is honored with the award for “The Promise,” his third shortlisted novel about a family in his nation from the end of apartheid to the election of Jacob Zuma.

The book spans several decades and depicts the family’s gradual disintegration as the country transitions to Democracy.

Mr. Galgut won his third medal as a finalist for a novel that the judges described as a “tour de force.”

He had previously been nominated for “The Good Doctor” in 2003 and “In a Strange Room” in 2010, but both times he was unsuccessful.

The indigenously-developed smart anti-airfield weapon (SAAW), which is a precision-guided bomb designed to destroy enemy runways, bunkers, aircraft hangers, radars and other reinforced structures at a maximum range of 100-km, has been tested twice byDRDOandIAFin recent days.

The electro-optical configuration of the system is equipped with imaging infra-red (IIR) seeker technology to enhance the precision strike capability of the weapon. In both the tests, the intended target was hit with high accuracy.