10.07.21

Tripura asks central minister to clear pending projects

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Union tribal welfare minister ArunMundahas reviewed the ongoing projects and schemes undertaken for the development of indigenous community of Tripura especially for Autonomous District Council areas during his two-day state visit, state tribal welfare minister Mevar Kr Jamatia said.

Munda had presided over a major review meeting on the progress in implementation of various schemes, including projects like Van Dhan Vikash Karyakram. The matters of forest rights act and tribal sub-plan were also discussed in the meeting and the progress of Tripura had impressed him, he claimed.

While emphasising on sanctioning the pending projects of the state, Jamatia requested Munda to ensure the introduction of 125th constitutional (Amendment) Bill regarding Empowerment of Tripura ADC and formation of theTripura Territorial Councilin the upcomingParliamentsession slated to start from July 19, which has been pending for a long time.

Assam budget: Rs 1 lakh for every Covid victims family, phones for pupils

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Assams first woman finance minister AjantaNeog tabled a Rs 566.20-crore deficit budget in the assembly with a range of bold initiatives like financial help of Rs 1 lakh to each family that has lost their members to Covid-19 and smartphones to about eight lakh Class IX and X students of government schools to bridge thedigitaldivide created by the pandemic.

The financial assistance to Covid-hit families, which is the first-of-its-kind in the country, proves our firm resolve to be with our people during these difficult times. The scheme will immediately cost the exchequer around Rs 40 crore, Neog said.

The budget proposed to start the process of recruitment of one lakh educated youths of the state in the government sector.

The budget also proposed piped water supply schemes to cover all 805 tea gardens in the state within a year. This initiative will benefit more than 2,69,648 families. In due course, we will also provide piped gas supply to tea garden households, starting with the upper Assam districts first, Neog said.

Thestate governmentalso proposed to constitute an Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture commission under a scientist of international repute to focus on issues related to agriculture, animal husbandry and sector in Assam. She said the commission will study and suggest measures for achieving self-sufficiency in the field of agriculture, milk, egg and pork production, identify constraints and devise a roadmap to achieve the goals in five years.

The government also proposed to establish a state university in Karbi Anglong and establish new wildlife safari and rescue center at Silchar and Dibrugarh.

Odisha OKs five projects worth Rs 1.46 lakh crore

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The on Tuesday approved five Investment proposals in the Metal sector worth Rs 1.46 lakh crore with an aim to double steel production in the state over the next few years. While the states existing steel-making capacity is about 30 mtpa, the high-level clearance authority led by chief ministerNaveen Patnaikapproved another 27.5 mtpa capacity. All five approved proposals are expansion of existing facilities.

The approved projects include expansion ofBhushan Power and SteelLimiteds (BPSL) plant from 5 mtpa to 15 mtpa. Around Rs 55,000 crore will be invested in the expansion project located at Rengali in Sambalpur while it is expected to generate EMPLOYMENT opportunities for over 10,000 people.

Nearly six years after dedication of the first phase of Tata Steels plant at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district, the companys proposal for its expansion from 3 mtpa to 8 mtpa got the governments nod.Tata Steelwould invest Rs 47,599 crore in the expansion project and set up several other ancillary units to generate over 4,600 jobs. The chief minister had dedicated the companys 3 mtpa plant in November 2015. The panel also approvedJindal Steeland Power Limiteds revised expansion plan of its Angul plant from 6 mtpa to 25.2 mtpa to make it the largest single location steel plant in the world.

Plans on for insurance scheme for Tamils living abroad for work

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Taking cognizance of the plight of Tamils working abroad, theTamil Nadugovernment is set to put in place a system to track them, aid them in their hour of crisis, insure them and offer financial assistance when they plan to return, says minister of minorities welfare,Wakf BoardandNon-Resident Tamilswelfare Gingee K S Masthan . In an interview to Shanmughasundaram J , he details the measures being taken for the welfare of Sri Lankan refugees including a new housing project and better living conditions in the camps until the DMK governments plea for granting them Citizenship is accepted.

Many NRT associations and representatives said families of those who may have been killed in an accident at the workplace or those who died of other causes find it difficult to get back their mortal remains. They lamented that many of them were being cheated by the employers when it comes to the nature of the job and wages.

Kerala: All ration card holders to get Onam kit

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The Cabinet on Thursday decided to recommend the governor to convene the second session of the assembly from July 21.

The department-wise discussion of the revised budget would be held during the upcoming session. Other key decisions:

Onam kit: A decision has been taken by the Cabinet to distribute special Onam kits to all ration card holders in the month of August.

Water Metro: The rates of Kochi Water Metro were finalized for the next one year. The minimum fare would be Rs 20, and for every additional km, it will be Rs 4. The maximum rate towards one direction has been fixed Rs 40. The Cabinet also gave powers to the Kochi Water Metro to form a fair fixation committee to revise the rates from time to time.

Financial aid: The cabinet decided to provide Rs 20 lakh as financial compensation to the family of Harshad, who lost his life after being bitten by a king cobra at Thiruvananthapuram zoo. Rs 10 lakh will be provided as financial compensation and the government will also construct a house for him. His wife will be offered a government job bypassing seniority list and the government would also bear the educational expenses of his son till the age of 18 years.

The government has also decided to offer financial compensation to the family of Tutu, an auto-rickshaw driver in Thiruvananthapuram, who passed away last year due to Covid-19. His family will be offered Rs 3 lakh from the chief ministers distress relief fund, besides an apartment under the Life Mission of the government on a priority basis.

Thaawarchand Gehlot takes oath as 19th governor of Karnataka

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Veteran BJP leader and former Union minister Thaawarchand Gehlot on Sunday took oath as the 19th governor of Karnataka succeeding Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala.

The chief of the Karnataka High Court, justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, administered him the oath of office and secrecy to Gehlot at the Raj Bhavan in the presence of outgoing governor Vala, chief minister B S Yediyurappa, his cabinet colleagues, MPs, MLAs and senior officials of the State Government.

The 73-year-old Gehlot was the minister for social justice and Empowerment at the centre, and was Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha before assuming the new role in the southern state.

T-Hub partners with Atal Innovation Mission to foster innovation in healthcare

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T-Hub said it has partnered with the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), , to foster innovation and Entrepreneurship in the healthcare space.

As a part of this PARTNERSHIP, T-Hub has rolled out a three-month cohort-based programme called AIC T-Hub Foundation exclusively for the deep tech startups creating new-age solutions in the field of life sciences and healthcare, it said.

As part of the programme 10 deeptech startups have been handpicked after an extensive screening process by T-Hub, AIM and external Industry experts based on their cutting-edge deeptech innovation for healthcare and life sciences, go-to market readiness, scalability, team composition, T-Hub said.

The programme will focus on providing startups with world-class experts and Resources to sharpen their understanding of markets, refine their business and product commercialization plans, it added.

Andhra Pradesh tops country in health scheme coverage

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Andhra Pradesh has topped the country in terms of the Percentage of households (at least one family member) covered under any Health scheme or health Insurance, according to the recent Niti Aayogs SDG India Index 2020-21.

While the all-India Average is 29%, the coverage of any health scheme/insurance in Andhra Pradesh is 74.6%. Chhattisgarh has 68.5% coverage, taking the second place. About 66.4% of the households in have access to some form of health insurance or health scheme.

The provision of some form of universal health coverage is regarded as a basic component of social security. The SDG (Sustainable Development goals) target stipulates universal health coverage. Creating an access to affordable and indiscriminate health Services is key to providing UHC. Ideally, patients should be in a position to avail of the health services through a prepayment mechanism or tax revenues, but not necessarily free of cost.

Among all the state and central health schemes, the Aarogyasri scheme has remained the mainstay in Andhra Pradesh. According to the official statistics, about 95 percent of the families in the state are benefiting from this flagship health scheme with the enhancement of the annual income limit to Rs 5 lakh.

Teams constituted to study feedback to draft coastal plan: Nilesh Cabral

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Environment minister Nilesh Cabral on Friday said that teams have been constituted to inspect places to verify the objections and suggestions received during the recently held hearings for the draft coastal zone management plan (CZMP).

The teams will submit their technical reports and necessary corrections will be undertaken thereafter. This is my assurance, Cabral said

The minister said that the public will be informed about the places before the teams make their visit.

MHADA appoints HDFC as most favoured institution

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I: Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with HDFC appointing it as a Most Favored Institution (MFI).

The MOU was signed by Vikas Desai, finance controller at MHADA, and Ajay Sachdewa, joint general manager at HDFC Limited.

As an MFI, HDFC allottees from all 7 MHADA boards across Maharashtra (Mumbai, Konkan, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Amravati, Pune, and Nashik) will get loans at competitive interest rates and minimum processing charges.