07-08.03.23

‘Five Mizoram hydel projects in pipeline’

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Mizoram power and electricity departmentofficials informed governorHari Babu Kambhampati that five hydroelectric projects with a total capacity to produce almost 800 megawatt energy are in the pipeline.

State power and electricity department officials, led by power secretary H Lalengmawia, apprised Kambhampati about the hydroelectric potential of the state, saying that detailed project reports (DPRs) for the five projects have already being prepared.

The officials said that DPRs for Kolodyne -II HEP (460 Mw), Tuival HEP (210 Mw), Bairabi Dam Project (80Mw), Tuirini HEP (24 Mw) and Tuivawl HEP (24 Mw) have been prepared.

Assam’sper capita debt burdenat the close of the last financial year 2021-22 is estimated at Rs 26,771 while the per capita income has been pegged at Rs 1,02,965 (by quick estimate), state finance minister Ajanta Neog informed the assembly.

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According to the minister’s reply to a query, the per capita debt burden has increased by over Rs 13,000 from Rs 13,521 in in last five financial years.
Quoting reports from the statedirectorate of economics and statistics, Neog stated that the state’s per capita income according to quick estimates was Rs 1,02,965 andGDPRs 4,12,162 crore registering a Growth rate of over 16% in 2021-22.

The minister said in last three financial years, the availed a total loan of Rs 17,148 crore during the last financial year from several sources for various purposes.

During 2021-22, the state government has taken Rs 12,753 crore from market borrowings for development work, another loan of Rs 1,385.94 crore has been taken for developing rural Infrastructure from financial institutions, central loans of Rs 157.34 crore for implementing development schemes and Rs 600 crore for implementing capital schemes and Rs 2252.10 crore from state provident fund for development and welfare projects.

Odisha govt plans to verify certificates of doctors

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The came out with a plan to verify certificates of doctors by May 31 following anOrissahigh court order to identify fake medical practitioners.

HealthsecretaryShalini Panditin a letter to all chief district medical and public Health officers (CDMPHOs) along with other officials urged them to issue notice to all allopathic doctors to submit self-attested copy of valid medical registration certificate along with degree/PG/super specialisation certificates in a proper format.

According to the notice, the allopathic doctors will submit their certificates to the authorities concerned by March 10. The CDMPHOs will submit a consolidated report along with the list of non-respondents to director of health Services (DHS), Odisha and list of doubtful cases to registrar, Odisha Council of Medical Registration (OCMR) for verification by March 31.

Suicides cost Rs 30,000 crore or 1.3% of Tamil Nadu GDP in 2021, says study by IIT-Madras

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The cost due to suicide including attempts in the state in 2021 was around 30,000 crore, 1.3% of the state GDP, according to a study by IIT-Madras. Each of the deaths due to suicide was estimated to cost 1.29 crore.
The study by theRehabilitation Bioengineering Labsat IIT-M to estimate the socio-economic cost of suicide was handed over to Health ministerMa Subramanianon Wednesday. The study pushed for suicide prevention initiatives though state-wide registry, strengthening district mental health programmes, surveillance and Education besides policies and legislation. The cost includes premature loss of life, health Services, bereavement, psychological impact on survivors and lost productivity.
According to NCRB, there were 16,927 deaths due to suicide in TN in 2011, which came down to 13,493 in 2019. There was a steep rise in suicides to 16,883 in 2020. The next year, it rose to 18,925 in 2021 when India had recorded 1.64 lakh deaths due to suicide.

Kerala bets big on STREET Hubs

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In a bid to explore the scope of responsible tourism with increased public participation, the is planning to expand the STREET (sustainable, tangible, responsible, experiential, ethnic, tourism) Hub project, tourism ministerMohamed Riyasinformed.

Once the design policy of STREET Hubs policy is complete, the activities of responsible tourism would be expanded by incorporating the recommendations in the policy. Responsible tourism will also be used for strengthening the agri-tourism Network.

The minister expressed hope that tourism would grow into a significant component in the state’s Sustainable Development model. The proposed Women-friendly tourism initiatives will promote small-scale Entrepreneurship in a big way.

KSPCB awaits Karnataka HC direction on 1,000 commercial units

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With the fate of 1,036commercial units currently functioning across Karnataka hanging in the balance in the backdrop of the order declaring them as unauthorised constructions, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has filed a Review Petition before the court with a request to reconsider its order.
According to KSPCB sources, these commercial firms had come up between 2007 and 2015 without obtaining environmental Consent from the State Environment Clearance Committee (SECC). Interestingly, KSPCB had passed a resolution in its board meeting way back in 2007 to levy administrative charges on such unauthorised units and allow them to come up and start operations. However, the same was challenged by then Congress MLC PR Ramesh through a PIL petition in 2007.

Telangana second only to Kerala in Net subscriptions

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At 83 subscribers for every 100 residents, is second second only toKerala(87) in Internet penetration in states in the country. Overall, internet reach in India stands at 67 for every 100 people.

According to data released recently by the Union Government, only four states have more than 80 subscribers per 100 people. After Kerala and Telangana,Punjab and Himachal Pradeshhave also 83 internet subscribers for every 100 residents. The number stands at 67 for neighbouringAndhra Pradesh. Among the states, Bihar (37) is at the bottom. National capital New Delhi (taken as a city) is an exception with more than 202 internet subscribers for every 100 people.

The internet subscription details include both wireless and wired connections (landline and mobile internet), according to the report of the technical group on Population projections for India and states 2011-2036.

Teledensity is one of the sub parameters used to assess the progress of states and countries towards achieving Sustainable Development goals (SDG).
As per the report, Telangana has 11.5 million rural subscribers compared to 20 million urban ones. While urban areas are saturated with 110 internet connections per 100 population, rural areas are still lagging at 57.

According to data from telecom service providers (TSPs), department of telecom’s (DoT) field unit and state governments as of March 2022, out of 6,44,131 villages (as on 2019) in the country, around 6,05,230 have mobile internet connectivity.

BEE identifies 30 EE projects worth Rs 400 crore in Andhra Pradesh

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TheBureau of Energy Efficiencyfacilitation centre has identified 73 Energy Efficiency financing projects worth 2,500 crore from all the states. Among these, 30 projects worth around 400 crore belong to Andhra Pradesh.

The large industries and establishments, micro, small, and medium enterprises, and other stakeholders can register on BEEs online facilitation centre to seek financial support and implement energy efficiency projects.

Andhra Pradesh special chief secretary (energy)K Vijayananddirected APSECM to fully focus on motivating and convincing MSMEs, large industries and other establishments in the state to register on BEEs online facilitation centre.

Govt implemented 90% of budget proposals, says CM

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Promising a realistic budget, chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that the government has managed to meet the goals of the 2022-23 budget and has succeeded in meeting 90% of its expenditure targets.

The state budget for 2023-24 will focus on the ongoing efforts to makeGoa self-reliant, said Sawant. The chief minister held a review meeting and deliberations on the coming budget with various heads of departments to understand the views and requirements of various sectors.

For the first time we had a detailed budget exercise with the heads of departments and the accountants. First, we took a review of the previous budget. What we found is that in 98% we have been able to achieve the targets. You will see that the government has been able to implement 90% of the budget in the current financial year,” said Sawant after the meeting.

The chief minister has asked the department heads to identify schemes and funds that have been announced by the Centre so that the State Government can implement projects in the state using central funds. “I have set the target of availing maximum benefit out of centrally-sponsored schemes. The state will carry out schemes on priority areas like Education, healthcare, sanitation and tribal welfare,” said Sawant.

Cash-strapped Maharashtra government has Rs 1.5 lakh crore of unrealised taxes

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Maharashtrafaces a staggering debt of Rs 7 lakh crore in 2023-24. However, it has a massive chunk of revenue which remains unrecovered and could potentially reduce debt. The state has Rs 1.5 lakh crore of unrealised tax revenue, according to the latest budget documents.
The amount of unrealised tax revenue is 73% higher than it was in 2019-20. The dues that year were Rs 89,661 crore.
The Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth ofunrealised taxeswere outstanding as of March 2020-21. Of this sum, as much as Rs 87,241 crore is under dispute. The amount which is not under dispute totals Rs 67,831 crore.