10.06.23

Indian government ushers in tremendous development in northeastern part

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Underlining Indian governments focus on northeastern part of the country, Indian Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said Prime Minister Narendra Modis new model of Governance through Seva, Sushasan and GaribKalyan (Service to people, and Welfare of Poor) has ushered in tremendous development in the north-eastern region, making it an attractive destination for investors.

Pre-2014, there was no development in the North-East and investors used to stay away from it as there were no roads, RAILWAY Network or connectivity by air. Today the region is connected like any other in the country. It has made tremendous progress in the nine years of Prime Minister Narendra Modis governance and foreign countries are eager to engage with us, said Chandrasekhar, while addressing a meeting organised by the JanjatiMorcha initiative at Chakma Ghat Community Hall of Khowai district in Tripura.

The Indian government has spent more than Rs 3.84 lakh crore for the development of Infrastructure in the North Eastern (NE) states since 2014-15. A total of 55 non-exempted Central ministries and various departments have spent at least 10 percent of their Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for the overall development of the region including Assam.

An amount of Rs 3,84,426 lakh crore has been spent on several Infrastructure Development projects to improve road connectivity, air connectivity, railways network, waterways, telecom, and power, reported Financial Express.

The news report said as of December 2022, a total of 4,121 km of road projects have been completed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the region in the last seven years, while several projects of length 7,545 km amounting to Rs 1,05,518 crore are presently underway. The major ongoing road projects in the NE region are the 62.9 km long four-laning of Dimapur-Kohima Road in Nagaland, 167 km long four-laning of Nagaon bypass to Holongi in Arunachal Pradesh, 152 km long alternate two-lane highway from Bagrakote to Pakyong (NH-717A) in Sikkim, 351 km long two-laning of AizawlTuipang NH-54 in Mizoram, 20 km long four-laning of ImphalMoreh section of NH-39, and 75.4 km of two-laning in Manipur.


Assam silk on Cannes red carpet

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Indian celebrities were truly ruling the red carpet at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. But they were not the only ones putting India on the global map. Promoting the rich Indian textile and weaves, particularly of Assam was designerSanjukta Duttawho had model Ingrida Ilgine walk the red carpet wearing a hooded neon gown made frompaat silkor mulberry silk.

This is the third time the model has picked something from designer Sanjukta Dutta for her Cannes appearance.

The silk gown featured floral detailing around the hemline and a hood, thereby making it avant-garde. Sanjukta is known for empowering the rural artisans of India. She is also reviving and bringing forward the age-old art of Assamese handlooms internationally.
Sanjukta had also recently showcased at Paris Fashion Week with her collection titled Chiki-Miki.

Drones to detect faults in power lines

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TheOdishaPower Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL) has introduced drone-based survey of its transmission corridor to detect the fault in the lines and take up immediate repair and maintenance to restore the supply in any particular area.

Earlier, the towers or the power lines were being surveyed traditionally, which has a number of limitations. These can be avoided by adapting trending technologies for which the drone-based survey system has been introduced.

The drone-based survey will be taken up regularly along the transmission corridors.

Tamil Nadu set to restructure tribal advisory council

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TheTamil NaduTribal Advisory Council is to be restructured soon to work on the lines of theTamil NaduCommission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, said minister of Adi Dravidar welfare N Kayalvizhi Selvaraj.

As of now, the tribes council is implementing various projects for tribal people.

The Tamil Nadu Tribal Advisory Council was first formed in 1961, and was restructured in 1978, 1980, 1998, 2007, 2009 and 2018. In 2021, it was theDMKgovernment that established an exclusive state commission for SCs/STs.

Kerala becomes first state to use robotic scavengers to clean manholes

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The Kerala government on Friday launched robotic scavenger, Bandicoot, to clean sewages in this temple town, becoming the first state in the country to use robotic technology to clean all its commissioned manholes.

Resources“>Water Resources Minister, Roshi Augustine, launched Bandicoot under the Guruvayur Sewerage Project in Thrissur district by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), as part of the 100-day action plan of the .

The robotic Tron Unit, which is the major component of Bandicoot, enters the manhole and removes sewage using robotic hands, similar to a man’s limbs, the release, adding that the machine has waterproof, HD vision cameras and sensors that can detect harmful gases inside the manholes.

Bandicoot, developed by Kerala-based Genrobotics, had recently bagged ‘Kerala Pride’ award at the Huddle Global 2022 conclave organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).

Bandicoot robots are currently deployed in few towns across 17 states in India and three Union Territories. In 2018, KWA started using Bandicoot to clean the manholes in Thiruvananthapuram. Later, it was introduced in Ernakulam also, the release said.

Genrobotics, a Technopark-based company, have developed “the world’s first robotic scavenger” Bandicoot in an effort to eliminate manual scavenging providing respite for workers engaged in manhole cleaning.

Karnataka housing minister proposes 1,000 villas on 500 acre land on outskirts of Bengaluru

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State housing minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan proposed that theKarnataka Housing Board(KHB) consider constructing 1,000 villas on 500 acre of land available for the department on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The proposal was mooted at a review meeting of the board and housing department officials.

Justifying the reasons for proposing the villas, Khan has told the officials that Bengaluru has gained a lot of international reputation and a large number of industrialists and VVIPs come from abroad looking to stay in the city vicinity permanently.
It is said the proposal looks to construct 250 villas in all five directions of Bengaluru and as much as 10,000 sqft palatial houses can be offered for the purpose. He specified that the villas must be located amidst nature.

Take up socio-economic caste survey: Telangana BC Commission

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The Backward Classes (BC) Commission chairman Vakulabharanam Krishna Mohan Rao has urged theNational BC CommissionChairman,Hansraj Gangaram Ahirto recommend to the Centre for taking up socio-economic caste survey on priority basis as it falls under the purview of the Union Government.

Such caste census data arrived on scientific lines would help the states to determine the accurate Percentage of reservation needed for backward classes ineducation,EMPLOYMENT, andlocal body Elections, he said.
He also urged the national BC body to include the BC castes of the state in the central OBC list to enable them to avail benefits of Education and employment fields. And also suggested taking up a review on enhancing the non-creamy layer ceiling from Rs.8 lakhs to Rs.15 lakhs.

Krishna Mohan Rao reiterated that there is an urgency to take up the socio-economic caste census which would ease the difficulties faced by the states in fixing reservations for OBCs in education, employment, and local body representations across the country. This exercise would also provide a helping hand to the Rohini commission working on sub-categorization and finding a permanent solution.

He also explained the various schemes being implemented by the Telangana government such as Kalyana Lakshmi, reimbursement of tuition fees, overseas Scholarship, Mahatma Phule residential schools, and free financial assistance. The state BC commission chairman also discussed the meagre budget of Rs.2,000 crores allotted in the union annual budget of 2023-2024 to the OBCs who constitute 56% of the total Population.

Andhra Pradesh CM Flags Off E-Autos Under CLAP

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Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy flagged off 516 e-autos under the Clean Andhra Pradesh (CLAP) initiative from here on Thursday. The e-autos, worth Rs 22.18 crore, would be deployed in 36 municipalities for garbage collection in an eco-friendly manner.

The government aims to make all cities of AP as “Bin-free, Litter-free and Garbage-free.” Some 80 to 100 Women are being given the opportunity to become drivers of e-autos under this initiative.

Municipal administration and urban development minister Adipulapu Suresh said the CM started the e-auto plan to reduce the financial burden on small municipalities. “He is undertaking many programmes as part of the decentralisation of administration and development,” the minister said.

Suresh said 516 e-autos have been distributed in the first phase, and more in the second phase. Some 120 lakh waste baskets in blue, green and red colours have been distributed to 40 lakh families in 123 municipalities for the collection of wet, dry and hazardous waste.

He said that 2,525 petrol, diesel and CNG garbage tippers are being used for garbage collection in municipalities.

Waste-to-Energy projects have been started in Guntur and Visakhapatnam and another plant with a capacity of 400 metric tonnes per day would be set up.

“The government has set up 71 integrated solid Waste Management projects, 29 waste to compost and 4 bio-mixing projects for wet waste management. Some 206 STPs have been set up at a cost of Rs 1,445 crore in 66 small municipalities having a Population of less than one lakh.

Goa becoming a plastic sink, state needs to act fast: Ex-WII scientist

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Though Goa is not a source of plastic production, the tourist hotpot is unwittingly becoming a sink for plastic waste, retired scientist of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, B C Choudhary, said while underscoring the urgency in putting some mechanisms in place to tackle the menace.

The retired scientist said awareness that plastics are not welcome in Goa should begin at places like the , with clear and loud messaging for tourists setting foot into Goa.

Without realizing, Goa, a small place, is becoming a plastic sink. Not a source, but a sink. It should be extremely worrying for the State Government, said Choudhary.

He also said that if the Oceans are not protected from plastic waste, fish itself will soon become a rare commodity. Involve fishermen to get ghost nets back from the sea and compensate them for it. We should also cook our own food as much as possible, as purchased food is again packaged in disposable plastics. We should stop using straws. Though it is something small, it contributes to the waste. Close to 20 billion plastic bottles are disposed of every day. This should motivate us to use reusable water bottles instead, said Choudhary.

State malaria cases are dropping by 20% for 2 yrs

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The incidence of malaria has been dropping by 20% for two consecutive years, said state Health officials.

According to statistics released by thestate health department, while 19,303 cases were detected in 2021, the numbers dropped to 15,451 cases in 2022. This is a 20% drop in annual cases. Moreover, a comparison of cases in the periods between January and May 2022 and 2023, too, shows a 20% drop, said a state official. Till May this year, the state had 2,571 malaria cases.

These numbers gain significance as India is working towards malaria elimination by 2030. By 2027, the country has to achieve zero transmission, and if sustained for three years, the World Health Organisation would declare elimination of the mosquito-borne parasitic infection from the country.