10.05.21

A first: Haryana farmers get 9% interest for delayed payment

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Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said after the sale of wheat crop, Rs 15,598 crore had been deposited directly to the bank accounts of farmers.

He said this time, wheat procurement by the started from April 1, 2021, and a total of 85,30,000 MT of produce had been procured so far.

Giving information about the mustard crop, he said last time, more than 7 lakh MT of mustard was procured at the MSP but this time, it had been increased to Rs 4,650 per quintal. The state did not have to procure a single grain of mustard at the MSP, as farmers were paid Rs 7,275 per quintal in the market.

A study onPunjabs migrant labourcrises during theCovid-19 lockdownhas recommended a compensation of Rs 10,000 per month per migrant family by the Punjab government for the lockdown period of 2020 and also for the current lockdown imposed to control the second wave.

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According to the study, conducted by former economics professor of Punjabi University, Patiala, Lakhwinder Singh, in view of the crisis faced by migrant labourers during the pandemic and in normal times, there is an urgent need to frame a comprehensive public policy to ensure decent work and upward mobility of the migrant workforce.

A large number of migrant workers faced misery during the first lockdown that lasted more than 68 days, says the study. In the initial phase, migrant workers and their family members travelled back Home with their own meagre transport facilities such as bicycle and barefoot. Some died on the way due to the lack of food and water and other lifesaving facilities.

Concluding that the upward mobility of migrant labour force is quite limited in Punjab, the study also recommended that if the would like to draw full benefits of the young migrant workforce working in urban locations, it should provide them Education and skills keeping in view of the emerging EMPLOYMENT opportunities. It also emphasised that the female migrant workforce should be imparted two-pronged literacies education and skills, and financial so that they are saved from double exploitation and also empowered and ensured upward mobility.

Tribal status sought for 21 Bharmour panchayats

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The Gramin Welfare Society, Samra-Lihal of Bharmour, has reiterated its demand for granting tribal status to 21 panchayats which fall in Bharmour assembly constituency of Chamba district.

These 21 non-tribal panchayats of Bharmour tribal constituency are a part of the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.

The societys general secretary Tarsem Bhardwaj in a representation to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that inhabitants of these non-tribal panchayats were being used merely as vote bank in the name of tribal area but had been ignored for tribal development funds.

Faced with a challenge to combat the contagion of Covid 19 which has now spread to the rural areas, the state government has decided to implement a decentralised Covid care system in Uttarakhand. Informing about the plan, the Health secretary Amit Singh Negi told media persons here on Monday that under the new system one Covid Care Centre would be set up in every block of the state. He said that every block would also have a control room and arrangement of manpower for the CCC and control rooms would be made. Negi said that efforts are being made to operate mobile testing labs which would visit villages for collecting samples.

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He claimed that in the last one month, a total of 2600 Oxygen supported beds, 678 ICU and 192 ventilators have been added in the Health system. Now we have 6000 oxygen beds, 1495 ICU beds, 983 ventilators, 1500 oxygen concentrators and more than 10000 oxygen cylinders in the state, he said.

Uttar Pradesh amends global vaccine tender, Pfizer, Moderna can now bid

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The UP government has amended its global tender forCovid-19 vaccinesissued 10 days ago, making the condition for vaccine storage flexible, thus enabling companies likePfizerandModernato place bids.

The spokesperson also scotched speculation about Chinese vaccine manufacturing firms being part of the bidding process.

The meeting was also attended by representatives ofSerum Institute of India(SII), Dr Reddys Lab (manufacturing Russia-made Sputnik), Zydus Cadila and Bharat Bio-tech. The SII representative said, the company was unable to participate in the bidding process as pending orders for Vaccines were significantly high.

Jharkhand govt starts distribution of kharif seeds after beating pandemic hurdles

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The has kicked off the distribution ofseedsfor the kharif season weeks ahead of the monsoon this year.

State Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture minister Badal Patralekh said that they have managed to place order for 44,000 quintals of seeds, mainly forpaddy, in record time through the tendering process despite several challenges posed by the pandemic.

The minister added that the agriculture department was also keeping a strict vigil to curb black-Marketing of fertilisers. Three companies IIFCO, YARA and Indorama are permitted to sell Fertilizers in the state at government-approved rates.

Experts: Stricter curbs, not lockdown, need of the hour in Bihar

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The alarming rise in number of Covid-19 positive cases in the state has refreshed the memory of last years lockdown. Experts and residents, however, believe re-imposition of lockdown is not a suitable option. Instead, stricter surveillance, containment and caution are the way forward.

While states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have already imposed weekend lockdowns, night curfews and stricter curbs to break the chain of transmission, the Bihar government has so far not announced any major step to contain the pandemic.

Bihar Industries Association (BIA) president Ram Lal Khaitan said small businesses which bore the brunt of the pandemic last year can no longer survive another lockdown.

To solve the problems related to film production in Chhattisgarh and to promote its film industry, the government has taken authorized all District Collectors to issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) related to movie production.

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In addition, the time-bound issuance of NOC has been included under the Guarantee Act and a time-limit of 30 days has been set for the same, an official Communication said on Wednesday.

In the same sequence, the Culture Department has started the facility of Single Dashboard for registration and renewal of NOC for movies shooting in the state.

As per an order, the District Collectors must NOCs for film shooting free of cost.

A film cell has been constituted under the Culture Department to provide necessary information, advice and guidance about NOC application and process of film production.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that 299 Covid Care Centres have been started in 52 districts of the state for corona patients with mild symptoms. Patients with mild symptoms are being treated free of cost at these centres. Covid Care Centres currently has a total of 19,796 beds. Out of these, 2208 oxygen beds have been installed. The number of beds in the centres is continuously increasing.

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Feedback (surveys) are also being taken for qualitative improvement in the districts’ established care centres and provide better Health facilities to the patients. In this, the utilization of beds, medical, medicines, food facilities, etc. is also being assessed. According to the feedback from the districts’ Covid Care Centre, it was found better in Harda, Indore, Katni, Agar-Malwa for providing medical facilities and better in providing food facility in Hoshangabad, Indore, Rajgarh, Seoni, and Dindori.

Amul Dairy sets up oxygen plant in Anand

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The Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited popularly known asAmul Dairywill set upoxygenplants in Nadiad and Balasinor districts in addition to Anand.
The co-operative has set up anoxygen plantatShree Krishna Hospital(SKH) at Karamsad in Anand. The plant with a capacity of producing 20,000 litres per hour of Oxygen and can serve 60 patients in a day.

Amul will establish more oxygen Plants in Nadiad and Balasinor. SKH is treating Covid patients from all overGujarat. Keeping this in mind, the first plant was established at this hospital.