07.08.21

Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have recorded the highest prevalence of tobacco consumption among children at 57.9 % in each state, followed byNagaland(42.6%), Meghalaya (33.6%) and Sikkim (24.8%), revealed theGlobal Youth Tobacco Survey(GYTS)-2019 for India, released by the Union health minister.

by

According to the survey, the current use of smoking tobacco has declined from 8.1% in 2003 to 7.3% in 2019 in the country. Significantly, smokeless tobacco consumption, too, has declined from 14% in 2003 to 4.1% in 2019. But even as the national Average for tobacco consumption in the age group of 13-15 years is about 8.5% for any type of tobacco use in India, the northeastern states presented a gloomy picture.

Despite being in a better position with 11.9% tobacco consumption in the surveyed age group, Assam is also above the national average for both smoking and smokeless tobacco. Uttar Pradesh at 22.9% and Uttarakhand at 18.5% are ahead of Assam. The lowest prevalence of tobacco consumption in the same age group was found in Himachal Pradesh (1.1%), Karnataka (1.2%), Goa (2.4%) and Kerala (3.2%).

The state cabinets recent decision to begin the process of recruitment for 15,000 vacancies in the police department from September as part of the governments promise to appoint 1 lakh youths in government service, has brought a ray of hope for educated unemployed youths, many of whom lost their jobs in the pandemic that broke out last year.

by

In 2018, theState Level Police Recruitment Board(SLPRB), Assam, had released an official notification inviting online applications for 6,662 constable posts. Exams for the posts were supposed to be held by the end of 2020. But they had to be cancelled after the sub-inspector recruitment exam papers got leaked in September last year.

The has also decided to create five new Assam Police battalions. A total of 6,270 youths will be appointed in these five new battalions. The police department has around 30,000 vacant posts at present.

BJPMPs fromOdisha met Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya and sought his intervention to implement the Centres flagship health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri JanAarogya Yojana(AB-PMJAY), in the state.

by

Odisha has in place its own scheme, Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), instead ofAyushman Bharat, and the state is planning to expand it to cover 20.80 lakh more families from September 1. This would take the number of families covered to more than 92 lakh out of the states total 96 lakh families.

Odishas per capita spending on healthcare is Rs 1501 compared to the national Average of Rs 1944 in 2020-21. Similarly, the state has 59 hospital beds per one lakh Population compared to 139/one lakh people at the all-India level, the MPs wrote in the memorandum.

TheTamil Naduschool education department will give month-wise assignments to students studying from Class I to X to fill the gap in teaching learning process and to achieve uniformity in learning outcomes. The assignments will vary from preparing greeting cards to simple experiments to book reviews.

by

The department also directed the headmasters to maintain the number of assignments submitted by students unit wise.

For upper primary classes (VI to VIII), the project will be testing comprehensive skills like simple experimentation, composition writing, creating portfolios and sharing their experiences on some trips and letter writing. For secondary students (Classes IX and X), writing assignments on given topics, book review, doing simple experiments with available low cost materials.

The state government will spend Rs 52.86 crore in thecoir sectorduringOnam, said industries ministerP Rajeev. This will be used for the payment for the procurement of coir throughcoirfed, for procurement of coir products throughcoir corporation, income support scheme and production incentive.

by

The minister also inaugurated the welfare pension for two months given by the government through Coir workers welfare board. The government provided for Rs 24.48 crore for this. The pension of Rs 3,200 for the months of July and August are being distributed using this. Around 76,500 workers will get the benefit of this pension, he said.

The minister also said that following the second lockdown, the members of the Coir workers welfare fund board were being distributed an aid of Rs 1,000 each. Already 40,000 workers have got this fund, he said.

The usage of the coconut husk produced in the state has risen to 18%. Currently 35% of the coconut fibre we require is being produced here itself. Efforts are being taken to increase this to 45%, the minister said.

The coir production, which was only 7,000 tonnes in 2015-16, has increased to 25,000 tonnes, he said. This will reach 30,000 tonnes in the future, he said.

The number of real estate brokers in the state could run into several thousands.Yet, almost five years afterReal Estate Regulation and Development Act, 2016 was enforced, only about 2,787 such agents have registered underKarnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority(K-RERA).

by

The Act not only makes it compulsory for agents to register, but also binds them to deal with onlyRERA-registered properties.

The reasons for poor registration range from lack of awareness about the mandatory requirement to the fear of being held accountable. But one of the major reasons why many leading brokers are not coming forward, according to some realtors, is because of an unscientific licensing system.

All charged up about the prospects of the electric vehicle (EV) segment, Tirupati-based battery makerAmara Rajais gearing up to invest between $800 million to $1 billion to build a gigafactory over the next five to eight years.

by

The bidding process is expected to take place by the end of this financial year, he said, adding that post bidding it would take around two years to start manufacturing cells at the gigafactory.

The company will also decide on the location of the factory based on the overall incentives offered by the Centre as well as various states that have rolled out EV policies.

TirumalaTirupati Devasthanams plans to introduce Navaneeta Seva in Tirumala to protect and promote native cow breeds. KS Jawahar Reddy, chairman and executive officer ofTTDspecified authority, said the temple body is contemplating to prepare all naivedyams (food offerings) offered to Lord Venkateswara using desicow ghee.

by

TTD also plans to procure 35 electric cars which will replace the fuel-dependent vehicles in its fleet. This will be in addition to the 100 electric buses to be launched soon by the APSRTC to ply on the twin ghat roads leading to and exiting from the hill town.

The temple body also sanctioned Rs 9 crore from its Srivani trust funds towards the development and renovation of some ancient temples listed out by the endowments department.

Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry(GCCI) has written to chief ministerPramod Sawantasking for value-added tax (VAT) on piped natural gas (PNG) for industrial use to be reduced from 12.5% to 3%. GCCI presidentRalph De Sousasaid the rate of VAT on natural gas in Goa is more than four times that levied inMaharashtra, and double the rate of other states such as Gujarat and Haryana.

by

The sharp difference between the VAT levied in Goa and in the neighbouring states will put Goas industrial units at a disadvantage, said GCCI. It has also called for the inclusion of natural gas under the goods and Services tax (GST) regime.

The , particularly the manufacturing sector using PNG as a fuel, is primarily affected by this transition. Due to the inclusion under GST, the industry was able to claim the benefit of the amount of GST paid as input tax credit, and thus the GST was cost neutral.

MVA government on Wednesday decided to provide 1%parallel reservationto orphans, revising a BJP-led government decision. The cabinet led by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray approved the proposal to provide 1% reservation in government jobs and education to children in orphanages. There are over 4,000orphansin the state in orphanages.

by

The department divided orphans into A, B and C categories. Children completely orphaned and living in an orphanage and do not have information on whereabouts of parents, siblings, close relatives, village, taluka will be A. A child who lost both parents, has no caste certificate but is living in an orphanage will be B, and children who lost both parents before turning 18, but being brought up with relatives, especially paternal, will fall under C.