10.12.22

MSME budget for North East increased by Rs 8k crore: Union Minister Narayan Rane

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Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Industries Narayan Rane said that budgetary allocations for the North East region under his department have been increased by Rs 8,000 crore for the current fiscal year. In the 2021-22 Financial Year, total budgetary allocation for the North East was Rs 68,000 crore. In the current fiscal year, the budget has been increased to Rs 76,000 crore. Several states like Assam and have performed very well in the last couple of years and I feel Tripura will also do good in the days to come, the Union Minister told a press conference followed by regional conference on Sustainable Development goals for MSMEs in North East.

In the 2021-22 Financial Year, total budgetary allocation for the North East was Rs 68,000 crore. In the current fiscal year, the budget has been increased to Rs 76,000 crore. Several states like Assam and Sikkim have performed very well in the last couple of years and I feel Tripura will also do good in the days to come, the Union Minister told a press conference followed by regional conference on Sustainable Development Goals for MSMEs in North East.

Assam worst among northeastern states in providing tap water to rural households

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Assamis at the bottom of the performance table among northeastern states when it comes to providingtap watertorural householdsunder the Union governments Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). The state is blessed with enormous Resources“>Water Resources. However, if the state has to meet the government deadline of 100% coverage by 2024, it has to accelerate the pace of installation.

The Union Jal Shakti minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, informed theLok Sabhaon Thursday that out of 65.67 lakh rural households in Assam, only 41% are reported to have tap water in their homes after three years of JJM. This includes 1.11 lakh (1.69%) households, which already had tap water before the launch of JJM in 2019.

It took three years to connect 26.05 lakh households with tap water in Assam under JJM with an estimated 8.68 lakh target achieved annually. However, the government will have to accelerate the pace by achieving over 19 lakh targets annually for the next two years to accomplish the goal of giving tap water connection to the remaining 38.51 lakh households.

The Union Government, in PARTNERSHIP with the states, is implementing the programme to provide tap water to every rural household across districts. The goal is to provide 55 litre treated potable water per member in a household.

State Excise Dept bags Digital India Gold Award

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Under 5T initiatives, the Excise Department has switched over to the digital workplace eAbkari. It has developed and implemented more than 30 online modules like e-Lottery, Instant issue and renewal of excise licences, brand label registrations with 100% online payment, DPR, CCIS, SIR and mobile application development for tracking or raid spots and excise shops bringing transparent, hassle-free, real-time, seamless and timely service delivery eliminating physical touch points, reducing discretion and providing faceless service at doorsteps.

This has led to proper monitoring and strengthening of enforcement activities, curbing of illicit and spurious liquor, timely service delivery at different levels, proper with regulation of production and manufacture and above all, change of public perception and transformation in the department, an official release stated.

Last year, total 45,541 excise cases were detected till December against 29,038 till December 2021 with an increase of 56%. Further, 1,310 cases were detected under the NDPS Act till December 2022 against575 in 2021 during the same period with an increase of 127%. Similarly, till December, Rs 6,197.54 crore was collected including VAT against Rs 5,023.92 crore in 2021 with an increase of 23%.

24/7 helpline for temple grievances

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Minister for Hindu religious and charitable endowments P K Sekar Babu on Wednesday launched a toll-free telephone number and a 24-hour helpline to help devotees report grievances and get information on temples in Nadu.

Complaints received at this new centre are assigned a number and forwarded to the officer concerned for appropriate action.

Govt to raise 1.5k-cr amid financial crisis

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The has decided to raise Rs 1,500 crore from the market as Kerala continues to be in a financial crisis.

A statement issued by the finance department said that the government decided to raise the amount and use it for developmental activities in state. However, it is also learnt that the funds are meant for the disbursal of salaries and pensions next month.

The states main committed expenditure include salaries, pensions and interest payments on loans and the revision of salaries and pensions based on the recommendations of the 11thpay commission alone has caused an additional burden of Rs 15,000 crore annually to the exchequer.

The government has been maintaining that with the discontinuation of GST compensation by Centre, Kerala is facing a shortage of Rs 12,000 crore every year. In addition, another Rs 6,700 crore is the Revenue Deficit grant this year.

Karnataka govt mulls industry tag for jaggery units to ensure quality

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Growing demand for jaggery and jaggery-based products, thanks to rising awareness about healthy lifestyles, and widespread adulteration of the item have prompted the commerce and industries department to contemplate regulating the sector and set standards.

A state-level coordination committee will meet this week to decide on conferring the ” tag on the sector.

Given jaggery has a higher nutritional value than sugar, its consumption will only increase with the rising focus on sustainable lifestyle. While India is the biggest exporter of jaggery, Karnataka being the third biggest sugarcane growing state should have cashed in on the advantages that jaggery production offers. However, lack of the authorities focus has cost Karnataka dear as can be seen by the fall in jaggery production in Mandya. An industry tag will certainly go a long way in not only reviving the sector but also generating jobs. It will bring the units under regulatory control so that quality can be ensured and adulteration checked.

Will invest in 50 startups in Telangana: We Founder Circle founders

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Co-founders of We Founder Circle (WFC), a startup platform, said they will aggressively invest in 50 startups across Telangana within five years. Speaking to reporters at TiE Global Summit 2022, co-founder of WFC Neeraj Tyagi said they will facilitate funding for at least 10 startups by 2023.

For a lot of startup verticals such as auto service, Web3 and SAAS, Hyderabad has become the launchpad, Tyagi said. The best examples of the success we see for startups in the Hyderabad-Telangana regions are Hesa and CUSMAT.

Interestingly, a majority of 75% of the investors happen to hail from tier-2 and tier-3 cities rather than the metros. WFC has also partnered with local Ecosystems such T-Hub, to boost the platform in democratising early-stage startup investments.

We believe local ecosystems play a significant role in building the startup ecosystem of a region and we plan to create more of such partnerships, Gaurav VK Singhvi, WFC co-founder said. The executives of the company also note that the Average ticket size of these investments would be between $100,000 to $150,000.

Andhra Pradesh looks to become leader in green energy

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AP is taking big strides in attracting investments in green energy. The state is giving a tough fight to the states which were so far known as hubs for green energy Plants. The state secured fourth spot in generation of green energy in 2022 and it is going to be the leader in the next two-three years as the has lined up several big-ticket projects in RENEWABLE ENERGY sector.

According to the data compiled by the Centre, AP added 1,261.54 megawatts to the existing power generation through green energy during 2022. While Gujarath added a whopping 7,880 mw, Rajasthan added 9,227 mw.

State cabinet had recently stamped its nod for big-ticket investments in green Energy sector. The state government gave green signal to different firms to set up Pumped Storage Hydro-Electricity Projects (PSP). Adani group is planning to set up plants to generate about 3,700mw in different locations. Shirdi Sai electricals of Kadapa district is coming up with two plants with 1,200 mw in green energy sector. These projects are expected to be completed in two-five years. Adani group alone is investing 16,000 crore in green energy plants in AP.

Goa govt moots fines for unsegregated waste

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The draft Goa Model Panchayat Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Bye-Laws, 2022, has proposed spot fines and penalties between Rs200 and Rs 10,000 against residential units, commercial establishments and institutions for non-segregation of waste at source, and not maintaining clean surroundings, among others.

The has invited objections and suggestions from the public before finalising the bye-laws.

The panchayat will impose fines for not storing and delivering commercial or domestic hazardous waste as required by the bye-laws, for not storing and delivering household biomedical waste as required by the bye-laws, for not granting access to the premises for inspection, for organising a public gathering or event without an event permit, for littering on roads or streets, for not delivering construction and demolition waste in a segregated manner as specified, for not delivering garden waste and tree trimmings as specified, and for disposal of waste by burning.

Maharashtra road fatalities up 17% compared to pre-Covid 2019

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Deaths in road crashes in Maharashtra increased by 17% in January-November 2022 as compared to the same period in pre-pandemic 2019. Over 13500 deaths and 30120 total road crashes were reported in January-November 2022. Very high fatalities were reported in Nashik rural (825), Pune rural (794) and Ahmednagar (770) this year. With newer potentially high speed road being built in the state, such as the recently launched Samruddhi Expressway, the priority should be to improve safety and manage speeds, experts said.

For state roads, a combined approach of electronic enforcement and manual enforcement– in such a way that the time and place of enforcement are unpredictable– will create a lasting impact on driving behaviour. World over, sustained and evidence-based ‘Anytime Anywhere Enforcement’ has proven to be an effective intervention in reducing road crash fatalities.

The silver lining for Mumbai was that crashes and deaths both reduced by at least 36% in January-November 2022 as compared to the same period in pre-pandemic 2019. Over 1600 total crashes and 259 fatalities were reported in the city in January-November 2022. Reduction in fatalities could be due to ongoing infrastructure works and reduction of overall speed levels to non-fatal levels, besides installing speed cameras at strategic locations, experts said.