07.07.21

Smart City work uproots Agartala 71 war memorial

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Removal of the war memorial of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War from the heart ofAgartalahas sparked strong reactions acrossTripura. Opposition parties, historians, intellectuals, poets, writers and social activists raised their voices against the move of the AgartalaSmart CityMission, demanding the memorials re-installation as well as bringing back all historical monuments that have been affected by the its works.

The activists ofTripura Cultural Coordination Committeealleged that more than Rs 700 crore have been invested for renovation work, destroying the heritage of the citys socio-cultural icons in the name of making the city smart.

Assam: Akhil Gogoi seeks Rs 100 crore to develop historic Sivasagar

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Peasant leaderAkhil Gogoihas raised the demand for a package of Rs 100 crore to transform historicSivasagarinto a tourism and cultural hub.

The Sivasagar MLA and Raijor Dal president said the of Rs 100 crore can give a return of Rs 1,000 crore to the State Government.

Alongwith numerous Ahom-era monuments, the pyramid-style graveyards of Ahom kings and queens have drawn researchers from abroad to the district. Akhil pointed out the importance of these sites, saying the cremation techniques in thesemaidamsor graveyards is comparable with those adopted in the pyramids in Egypt.

TheCentrehas allocated Rs 3,323 crore toOdishaunder theJal Jeevan Mission(JJM) for the current 2021-22 financial year. The central scheme aims to provide clean tap water to every rural households by March 2024.

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The grant to the state during the current financial year is a four-fold increase as Odisha had received Rs 812 crore in the previous 2020-21 financial year.

In Odisha, only 3.10 lakh households of total 85.66 lakh rural households had tap water connections, accounting to 3.63%. In the past three years, over 22.84 lakh households in the state have been provided with tap water connections under JJM while total 30.3% rural households with tab water connection.

While the and drinking water department has been the implementing agency for JJM in the state, it has targeted to provide tap water connections to 21.31 lakh rural households during the current financial year. Similarly, additional 22.53lakh tapwater connections are planned in the year 2022-23 and another 18.87 lakh tap water connections in 2023-24.

As the scheme is being implemented with 50:50 fund sharing pattern between the Centre and the State Government, total fund available for ensuring piped dinking water to all rural households for 2021-22 financial year will be over Rs 6,500 crore (with states matching share).
Apart from allocation under the JJM, the 15th Finance Commission has also sanctioned Rs 1,002 crore to the panchayati raj institutions of the state to manage water supply in villages and to ensure improved sanitation in villages.

Besides tap water connection to rural households, the Centre has also been emphasizing on providing tap water to children in schools and anganwadi centres. In Odisha, as many as 25,820 schools (47%) and 11,913 anganwadi centres (22%) have been provided tap water connections.

Tamil Nadu: Erode based college bags Rs one crore grant

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Erode-basedKongu Engineering Collegehas bagged the Union governments grant worth Rs 1 crore to conductresearch on Waste Management technologies.

The college has proposed to convert plastic wastes into fuel and char through hydrothermal liquefaction process. It had submitted the proposal, titled Design and Development of Continuous High-pressure Screw Reactor for Alkali Catalyzed Hydrothermal Co-liquefaction of Plastic Wastes in Lignocellulosic , to the technology development programme of theministry of science and technologylast November.

Govt plans to make Kerala a hub of responsible investment: Industries minister P Rajeeve

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Industries minister P Rajeeve said that the entrepreneurs were giving big contributions to the industrial development of the state. Speaking to reporters after meeting investors in Kochi on Thursday, Rajeeve said that the entrepreneurs who attended the Meet the Minister programme expressed satisfaction over the measures taken by the government for the industrial development in the state.

He said that a change in the mindset of all, including the media, should be there on certain issues. If the state brings an investor from other states by sending a chartered flight, it will become news. In states like Uttar Pradesh, the government has to negotiate with one single owner for acquiring 5,000 acres while we have to negotiate with around 400 owners for acquiring three acres, he said.

Electric Bike Taxi scheme in Karnataka

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Yediyurappa(Karnataka CM) has unveiled the Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi scheme-2021. This taxi scheme will serve as a bridge between daily commuters and public transport. The scheme focuses on the reduction of travelling time and the inconvenience in reaching the bus, RAILWAY and also metro stations.

Highlights:

The Scheme will allow people, PARTNERSHIP firms and companies to participate.
The concerned authority of Karnataka will issue licences under this scheme. Vehicles under this scheme will be in the transport category for which the government has given several exemptions like permits, tax & financial benefits for electric vehicles manufacturers.
The Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme will enhance self-EMPLOYMENT, promote an eco-friendly Environment, fuel conservation, strengthen public transport & encourage establishing related industries.

Celebration of Bonalu Festival

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Bonalu is a traditional folk festival celebrated each and every year in the month of Ashadham (falling in June/July).

Highlights:

Bonalu is celebrated every year in the twin cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and some other parts of Telangana state. The Bonalu festival was declared a state festival by the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led government after the states formation back in the year 2014.

The Bonalu festival involves scores of devotees offering the traditional bonam (derived from Bhojanam, meaning meals) to the goddess Mahankali at 25 temples across the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Andhra Pradesh announces subsidy on solar rooftop plants

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: Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Corporation Limited (APEPDCL) on Friday announced central financial assistance for residential customers interested in installing grid-connected rooftop solar (RTS) Plants.

The facility was extended to Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and both Godavari districts residential consumers by installing grid-connected plants in their homes through EPDCL, the chief general manager, Energy Conservation, Energy Audit, Solar/APEPDCL V Vijaya Lalita said.

The ministry of new and (MNRE) has sanctioned 8MW capacity in the residential sector under Phase II of the RTS program for APEPDCL with timelines for completion of allocation capacity in 15 months.

Empanelment of agencies for Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic power units of capacity 1 KWp to 500 KWp capacities in APEPDCL has already been done. Sixteen agencies are empanelled in 1 KWp to 10 KWp category and three agencies are empanelled in above 10 KWp to 500 KWp category.

Nabard raises Goas credit limit to Rs 350cr

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The National Bank for Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and Rural Development () has agreed to increase the credit limit for Goa to Rs 350 crore, chief minister Pramod Sawant said at Sakhali on Saturday. Various projects are being implemented in the state in collaboration with Nabard.

Nabard has agreed to complete any kind of project that the government hands over to them. This co-operation from Nabard will help Goa create good Infrastructure, Sawant said.

State draft EV policy stimulus for auto sector

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groups and manufacturers in the automobiles and electric vehicles space have said the draft electric vehicles policy announced by the State Government this week would help boost demand, especially in the two-wheelers and commercial vehicles segment.

The draft EV policy includes sops such as road tax and registration charges exemptions, as well as subsidies for different classes of electric vehicles, which will substantially bring down the prices for some of the most sold models of e-vehicles, both in the private and commercial segments.

Manufacturers also emphasized that allied Infrastructure to EVs, which have been mentioned in the report, can boost last-mile connectivity and reduce range anxiety.