13.08.21

Punjab Govt waives licence fee for NGO projects

by

Public Works Minister Vijay Inder Singla today said the had waived licence fee for projects run by registered non-governmental organisations or not-for-profit organisations for the welfare of the destitute and specially-abled people. The Cabinet minister said the notification in this regard had also been issued and benefits would be extended to all eligible beneficiaries with immediate effect.

Singla said the licence fee was levied towards allowing road access to projects or institutions. All constructions, including petrol stations, educational institutions, hotels, etc., needed to apply for a licence to get access to state highways, major districts roads, other district or rural roads.

Prior to the notification, the welfare institutions had to submit licence fee ranging from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh for a period of five years.

Bill on land Act amendment referred to select panel of Himachal Vidhan Sabha

by

With the matter pending before The Supreme Court, the Bill on amendment in HP Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1973 was referred to the Select Committee of the Vidhan Sabha.

Revenue Minister Mahender Singh tabled the amendment in the Vidhan Sabha. However, after a detailed discussion on the issue in which CPM legislator Rakesh Singha, Arun Kumar of the BJP and Congress MLA Ashish Butail participated, the minister agreed to refer it to the Select Committee of the Assembly.

The contentious issue of allowing change of land use of tea gardens for other purposes has been in focus. The previous Congress regime had tried to allow use of tea gardens for tourism in the name of tea tourism. However, the present BJP regime is keen to plug any scope for sale or change of land use of tea gardens that have been retained over and above the limit under the Land Ceiling Act.

He contested that the owners of tea gardens who had not taken benefit of the Land Ceiling Act to retain excess land over and above the prescribed limit should be kept out of the purview of this amendment. He added that the government must retain the powers to acquire land under tea with itself as this land could be required for development works.

Wheels of justice: ‘E-court’ vans to reach remote Uttarakhand hills

by

TheUttarakhandhigh court has set up five ecourt vans equipped withWiFiand computers for videoconferencing that will travel to remote areas in the hills to connect residents in far flung areas with virtual courts.

Judges will hear the cases both civil and criminal online while technical teams stationed in the vans will facilitate the appearance of witnesses, complainants and experts before the and also help with documentation.

In Uttarakhand, the ecourt vans will roll out on Independence Day in the five hill districts of Pithoragarh,Champawat,Uttarkashi, Tehri and Chamoli.

The Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop Uttar Pradesh as a hub of defence manufacturing by promoting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), start-ups and defence manufacturing units.

by

The MoU was signed by Sunil Mishra from SIDM and UPEIDA Chief Executive Officer Awanish Awasthi. The validity of the MoU will be three years and a DEFENCE platform will be jointly set up by UPEIDA and SIDM.

The UPEIDA CEO said the MoU had the potential of mobilising Investment of Rs 1,000 crore in defence manufacturing. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was likely to inaugurate the Aligarh node of the defence industrial corridor in UP.

Awasthi said the UPEIDA had also signed an agreement with Bharat Dynamics Limited for providing 250 acres of lands to the company at Jhansi node of the defence industrial corridor.

SIDM is a non-profit organisation advocacy group for promoting the defence manufacturing industries while UPEIDA is the nodal agency of the UP government for the development of the defence industrial corridor in UP.

Data shows only 23% of total population vaccinated in state

by

With increase in awareness, drop invaccinehesitancy and streamlining of vaccine supply, around 60% of the eligible Population in the state has received at least the first dose.
But despite the feat, the Percentage of vaccinated population is as low as 22.9.

According to the projections of the National Commission on Population (NCP),Jharkhandis estimated to have a population of 3.74 crore out of which those eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine (above the age of 18 years) is 2.47 crore which is 66% of the population. Out of the eligible category 60.2% people corresponding to 85,69,939 people have got at least their first dose (around 19 lakh among them getting both doses). Experts believe that since Vaccines for all age groups are not yet available, it was necessary to achieve a close to cent per cent vaccination target for effective protection against the virus.

Apart from regular supply, awareness among people has also helped the state pep up its drive in urban and rural areas.

Nitish government likely to conduct caste census on its own

by

Bihar’s Nitish Kumar government is likely to conduct a caste-based census in the state on its own expense, say ruling Janata Dal-United leaders.

The leaders said that Nitish Kumar has a clear stand on this issue, and is waiting for the Centre’s response on his proposal. If it refuses, he will activate “Plan B” for the state to conduct the exercise on its own.

A section of people argue that caste-based census may allow social tension to develop between the communities in the country. I want to ask them that if religion-based census had not created division in the Society as per their claim, how caste-based census can create differences in the society.

“Our Chief Minister Nitish Kumar advocated caste-based census to help people on the last levels. He is having support of opposition parties leaders in Bihar. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav met the Chief Minister on this issue and demanded the same. Nitish Kumar also assured him and other leaders to take time with Prime Minister for the issue. Nitish Kumar sent the letter to PM Narendra Modi in this regard,” Kushwaha said.

Minimata has made remarkable contributions towards women empowerment, labour welfare and untouchability alleviation.

by

Baghel said Minimata understood the pain of POVERTY, displacement, exploitation and tyranny since childhood. She had witnessed the atrocities of British rulers. She served as the member of the Lok Sabha from 1952 to 1972. As her political life began, Minimata intensified the work of social uplift and dedicated her life towards eradication of social evils.

Madhya Pradesh: 8 lakh hectares of farm hit by floods

by

About 8 lakh hectares of rabi crop sowing area would be affected acrossMadhya Pradeshif Dams and canal systems are not repaired by October 15. A sum of Rs300 crore would be required for their repair, said sources.

The recentfloodhas severely affected around 660 minor Irrigation schemes, dams and canal systems of 38 medium and major projects in Sheopur,Shivpuri,Gwalior, Bhind, Morena, Ashoknagar,Gunaand Datia districts in the Gwalior-Chambal region.

An estimate of Rs 816 crore has been made for the repair and restoration of dams, canals and other water structures on a preliminary survey.

Gujarat loses Rs 171 crore to GST evasion in Q1

by

The state exchequer inGujaratlost Rs171 crore in the first quarter of 2021-22. The involvement of some 99 trading entities is suspected in this evasion. The details came to Light after the state GST (SGST) department began probing traders who tend to claim excessITC.
During the first quarter of 2021-22, the department identified some 99 big trading entities involved in such practice. Inquiry has been initiated against the culprits. Further investigation revealed that some 78 trading entities did not exist at all, indicating a fake billing scam.

The department was compelled to use technology to fish out such culprits as it came to their notice while examining sales and purchase returns that excess ITC is being claimed by traders to evade taxes.

Rising prices of solar panel, steel & wire hit rooftop energy projects in Rajasthan

by

Higher prices of photovoltaic panels,steel, wires and invertors have hit the rooftop scheme for 45 MW with only projects worth 23 MW getting commissioned.

The scheme, which was supposed to end in March this year, has been extended and will close on August 31. Vendors selected by the government for this scheme said the sudden rise in photovoltaic panels, steel, copperwireprices since the beginning of the year have made the scheme unviable.

Under the scheme, the government had fixed the prices with one kilowatt requiring Investment of Rs 43,000 including subsidies of 40% for projects below 3 KW and 20% for 4-10KW, which is the upper capacity limit.