08.10.21

Three northeast states hit CAPEX target of finance ministry

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Three northeastern states Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland are among 11 states in the country, which have achieved the target set by the finance ministry for Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) in the first quarter of 2021-22. As an incentive, they have been given permission for additional open market borrowings by the expenditure department.

The other states are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. While the additional borrowing permitted for Manipur is Rs 90 crore, for Meghalaya it is Rs 96 crore and Rs 89 crore for Nagaland.

It said the capital expenditure had a high multiplier effect, enhancing future productive capacity of the economy and resulting in a higher rate of economic Growth. Accordingly, out of the net borrowing ceiling of 4% of GSDP for the states for 2021-22, 0.50% of GSDP was earmarked for incremental capital expenditure to be incurred by states during 2021-22. The target for incremental capital expenditure for each state to qualify for this incremental borrowing was fixed by expenditure department .

Centre OKs Rs 3,000 crore project for 8th bridge over Brahmaputra river

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Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced the Centres approval to an over Rs 3,000-crore externally aided project (EAP) for building the eighth bridge over the Brahmaputra river near Guwahati and also performed the bhoomi pujan for another EAP worth Rs 2,200 crore for a 120-MW hydel project in Assams Dima Hasao district. In a day-long visit to the state, Sitharaman also laid the foundation of improvement and upgrading work of a 90-km road from Haflong Tinali to Lower Haflong at an estimated cost of Rs 900 crore to be implemented under ADB-aided Assam Road Network Improvement Project (ARNIP).

In her last engagement, she launched the Assams Right to Public Services portal. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the portal is a way forward for electronic delivery of ARTPS notified public services to people. Our government is committed to bringing about fast, effective and resilient reforms in Governance in tandem with the rapidly transforming world, he added.

This run-of-the-river project over Kopili river will help increase electricity supplied from clean energy by 469 gigawatt hour (GWh) by 2025 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 360,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Odisha may earn Rs 400 crore from Red Sanders sale

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The Centre has relaxed export norms to allow Odisha sell more than 810 metric tonnes of red sanders wood, the trees of which had fallen during cyclone Titli in 2018. It is likely to fetch

This is likely to fetch more than Rs 400 crore to the state exchequer. Though export of red sanders also known as red sandalwood, an endangered species known for its therapeutic and cosmetic value, is banned, the Directorate General of under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a notification allowed the state to ship 810.1894 tonne wood as logs.

One MT of the log fetches between Rs 50 lakh to Rs one crore in the international market and is in high demand across many countries in Asia such as China and Japan. Apart from medicines and cosmetics, it is also used in woodcraft and Musical instruments.

Govt will increase forest cover to 33%: Minister

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The is taking steps to increase the states geographical area under green cover from 23% to 33%, forest minister K Ramachandran said here on Friday.

Speaking at the 67th Wildlife Week Celebration organised at the Tamil Nadu Forest Academy, the minister said native tree species will be planted in forests. Wildlife can thrive only if there is substantial forest cover. When wildlife Population increases, forests should offer the required food, for which native tree species are necessary. We are focusing on planting more native tree species by removing exotic species like eucalyptus brought by the Britishers, he said.

The minister also unveiled the logo of Coimbatore Forest Division. It has an elephant in the backdrop, symbolising the large number of elephants found in the Western Ghats.

GI tag for Kerala’s Kuttiattoor mango & Edayur chilli

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Kuttiattoor mango and Edayur chilli gets Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the GI Registry at Chennai. The GI status was received through the concerted efforts jointly undertaken by the Intellectual Property Cell of the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), the state department of Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture-development”>AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT and Farmers Welfare as well as the farmers from Edayur and Kuttiattoor.

The GI tag brings fame to the products and generates interest in more people and that will result in higher demand. This eventually benefits the farmers of these products as they get higher prices in the market, said Prof C R Elsy, former coordinator of the IPR Cell of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), during whose tenure, the applications for both these products were submitted.

Edayur chilly is cultivated in Edayur, Athavanad, Marakkara, Irimbiliyam, Kalpakanchery and Valanchery panchayats in Valanchery block, as well as Moorkanad and Kuruva panchayats in Angadipuram block of Malappuram district. It has been cultivated in the area for the past 150 years.

Karnataka ban on online betting games comes into force

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The Karnataka government has notified the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act, 2021, banning all formats of online games involving wagering, betting and gambling of all nature and forms in the state.

Under the amended act, online gaming is considered a non-bailable offence with fines up to Rs 1 lakh and imprisonment of up to 3 years.

Under the amended act, online gaming is considered a non-bailable offence with fines up to Rs 1 lakh and imprisonment of up to 3 years.

Rs 7,220 crore disbursed under Kalyan Lakshmi-Shaadi Mubarak scheme: Telangana minister Gangula Kamalakar

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BC welfare minister Gangula Kamalakar on Thursday said Rs 7,220 crore was disbursed under Kalyan Lakshmi-Shaadi Mubarak scheme benefiting 9.31 lakh people in the state.

Replying to a question on the scheme during the assembly session, the welfare minister said that the scheme was initially rolled out for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and minorities in 2014-15.

It was extended to BC communities from 2016 and Rs 3,834 crore was spent on them. An amount of Rs 877 crore was spent on Scheduled Tribes, Rs 1,475 crore on Scheduled Castes and another Rs 1,534 crore was spent on minorities, he said.

As part of the scheme, Rs 50,000 was earmarked for each member initially and then it was increased to Rs 75,000 and now to Rs 1,10,116.

The eligibility criteria for the scheme is a familys annual income should be less than Rs 2 lakh in urban areas and Rs 1.5 lakh in rural areas.

Nearly 30% coastal area in Andhra Pradesh subject to erosion: Report

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The National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) in its report has pressed the alarm bells warning that the coastline along Andhra Pradesh is facing a massive coastal erosion. Andhra Pradesh has a coastline of 974 km and of this, about 290 km is under varying degrees of erosion, according to the shoreline change assessment mapping done by the NCCR.

As per the research study, about 480 km of the coast in the state is subject to accretion (deposition of sand), while the remaining coastline is, however, in a stable state. The assessment was carried out by using satellite data spanning 28 years.

The coastal erosion had hit several beaches in Vizag city in the past. Visakhapatnam is taking up beach nourishment works in the eroded RK beach area every year to improve the beach front. However, the proposed permanent control measures have not made any headway.

In Goa, one in six primary schools has just one teacher: Unesco

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After Arunachal Pradeshs 18.2%, Goa has the second-highest Percentage of single teacher schools in the country, at 16%. As per Unescos State of the Education report for India 2021, Goa has 239 single-teacher schools. The number of such schools in the state are up from 230 last year, which was pointed out by data of the Union education ministry.

To blame for this scenario in Goa is an age-old norm followed by the state directorate of education (DoE), which makes primary schools eligible for a second teacher only if they have an enrolment of 24 or more students.

This has taken a toll on government primary schools in the state, which are grappling with low student numbers. Government primary schools are pushed into a vicious cycle as having a single teacher means fewer children are motivated to join the school, and fewer children means not being eligible for a second teacher, as per state norms.

Of the 1,486 schools in Goa, 239 are single-teacher schools, states the Unesco report. At one point, the number of such schools in Goa stood at nearly 350.

Maharashtra task force advises districts to follow ring fencing method

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The state task force has advised the local administrations to adopt the ring-fencing method and earmark clusters to curtail Covid-19 cases within a specific area amid the unlock process and ahead of festivities, citing the example of Ahmednagar district.

The states WPR declined to 2.07% from the last weeks 2.11%, according to the cabinet note.

A total of 10 districts recorded higher WPR than the state Average but none surpassed the crucial 5%-mark.