08.07.21

Tripura too gets a slot in Union ministry

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Tripura Lok SabhaMP Pratima Bhowmik is among the 16 first-time members ofParliamentto take oath as a minister in theUnion Council of Ministers.

ABJPmember since 1991, Bhowmiks induction is a clear indication that BJP is preparing to retain the state it won for the first time in 2018, given that Chief Minister Biplab Deb is facing some dissent from within.TMCs victory in Bengal and Mamata Banerjees attempt to revive the partys fortunes in Tripura is seen as threat.

Bhowmik is the second woman from the Northeast to make it to the Union Council of Ministers after Bijaya Chakraborty of Assam who was a minister in theAtal Bihari Vajpayeegovernment.

Assam state committed to eliminate drug menace

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CM Sarma said in Hojai that the decision to cleanse the state of the scourge of drugs was beyond political inclination or ideology.

Three central Assam districts Nagaon, Hojai and Morigaon and the hill district of Karbi Anglong, bordering Nagaland, are under the Police‘s radar as these have become the most-favoured transit routes of drug runners. DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said in Hojai that most drug consignments originate in Myanmar and enter the state through Karbi Anglong.

A total of 874 cases have been registered and 1,493 drug runners arrested since the new government was formed on May 10.

Puri International Airport likely to be commissioned in 2022-23: Odisha govt

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Though the land for the proposed international airport in Puri has not been finalised yet, the on Sunday said the ambitious project is likely to be commissioned in the next two years.
If everything goes as planned, the flight operations to and from Puri may commence in 2022 or 2023. The land will be finalised soon as the process of identification has already begun. The government will leave no stone unturned to fast-track the project.

The proposed land, owned and acquired by the state government, near the Girala and Mangala rivers under the Sipasarubali mouza, does not have any encroachment nor is it entangled in legal disputes. The Puri District Administration said the proposed site will not violate the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms as the land is located more than 500 metres from the beach.

Puri is one of the four holy dhams in the country. Its famous Rath Yatra attracts lakhs of pilgrims and visitors from across the globe every year. Rath Yatra is celebrated in 192 countries. The proposed international airport will help bring devotees from across the world to Puri and promote the Jagannath culture globally.

Less than 20% of Tamil Nadu govt schools have internet

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Only one in five governmentschoolsinTamil Naduhasinternetfacility. Of the 37,579 government schools in the state, only 6,746 schools (17.9%) have Internet facility, said the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report for 2019-20 released last week.

The report comes at a time when internet facility has become one of the basic requirements for Learning due to online mode of education during the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 80% government schools, however, have computer facility and most of them are functional.

There are possibilities that training of teachers will be completely online post-pandemic and all schools may need access to high-speed internet. The should ensure computer and internet access to 100% schools. It will help to bridge the digital divide among rural and urban students.

Kerala minister dismisses Kitex’s allegations, says state stands for ‘responsible investment’

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Dismissing as baseless Kitex group chairman Sabu Jacob’s allegation that the in Kerala is not Industry-friendly, state industries minister P Rajeev on Wednesday said his government stands for “responsible Investment” and the southern state would be made a destination of such investments in few years.

Rajeev said the focus of the government is to attract green industries and IT-based industries in Kerala as land scarcity and environmental issues associated with it have been a problem in the state.

Elaborating on responsible investment, the minister said it is a strategy and practice to incorporate environmental, social and Governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions.

Special incentives for oxygen manufacturing units in Karnataka

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The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved a scheme to provide special incentives for Oxygen manufacturing and associated enterprises in the State.

Pointing out that the state had faced a shortage of oxygen due to Covid-19, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Bommai said there were 9 oxygen manufacturing units/factories in the state and six oxygen suppliers.

“The manufacturing capacity is 815 MT and storage capacity is 5,780 MT.To increase the capacity, if any entrepreneurs come forward, we will give them incentives,” he told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

The incentives include capital subsidy of 25 per cent of the value of fixed assets subjected to minimum of Rs 10 crore, 100 per cent exemption from electricity duty for three years after commencement of commercial production, additional power tariff subsidy of Rs 1,000 per metric tonne on supply to the government.

There will also be 100 per cent stamp duty exemption and reimbursement from loan and land documents, concessional registration charges, 100 per cent reimbursement of land conversion fees, he added.

Telangana govt to spend Rs 1,200 crore to beef up waterlines to new colonies

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With several hundreds of new colonies coming up on the outskirts of Hyderabad, especially in new municipal corporations, municipalities and villages located between the outer ring road (ORR) and the GHMC limits, the state cabinet on Tuesday allocated Rs 1,200 crore for augmenting water supply Network to these new colonies.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) will lay 2,000 km pipelines and construct nearly 100 small reservoirs for supplying drinking water to these colonies.

Official sources said the HMWS&SB had already completed works on the drinking water network at a cost of Rs 700 crore in phase I.

Fifth apex committee meet reviews Andhra Pradeshs coastal security initiatives

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The fifth Apex Committee Review Meeting (ACRM) of the states coastal security showed an emphasis on coordination between security agencies and various stakeholders.

It also focused on and other aspects.

The review was held at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) headquarters on Friday. The review meeting was co-chaired by chief secretary Aditya Nath Das and vice-admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, ENC chief, and attended by representatives, including from the State Government, Coast Guard, Intelligence Bureau, customs, CISF, marine Police, Fisheries department, minor port authorities and oil operators.

The meeting reviewed key issues on coastal security, developments and progress made since the last review in 2019. Due to Covid-19, the review was not held in 2020.

Poor students will receive incentives in engg education: Goa CM

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Chief minister Pramod Sawant said that to keep engineering programme seats from going vacant in Goa, the state will incentivise pursuing technical Education in the state.

We have seen that over the last five years continuously the seats in engineering colleges in the state, even polytechnics, they remain vacant, almost 50%. After clearing Class X and XII, students only think of joining, BA, BSc, BCom, BBA programmes and do not think outside of these courses. Technical education may not be affordable at present to students from economically backward and rural sections. To boost these students, we will provide incentives, said Sawant, speaking at the World Youth Skill Day event in the state.

Mumbai: Tata Power to set up electric charging stations at HP petrol pumps

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: Tata Power on Friday signed an agreement with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), a Maharatna Oil and Gas public sector undertaking, to provide electric vehicle charging stations at HPCLs retail outlets (petrol pumps) in multiple cities and major highways across the country.

The targets that 10 per cent of total vehicle registration in the state should be electric by 2025. Environment minister Aaditya Thackeray had unveiled the new EV policy for Maharashtra earlier this week which will ensure the government will set up 1500 charging stations in Mumbai metropolitan region.