13.10.22

Haryana tops big states in Public Affairs Index 2022

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Haryana has bagged the top position in the category of big states in the Public Affairs Index, 2022. In this report, Haryana has been at the forefront in social , economic justice and political justice themes. The state has topped among the major states with a score of 0.6948, followed by Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Karnataka among many other states.

In PAI-2022, Sikkim has retained its position as the best-governed small state in India. The 7th edition of Public Affairs Index, 2022, prepared by Bengaluru-based not-for-profit think tank Public Affairs Center (PAC), was released on Friday. In this report, Economic justice was measured on indicators such as Labour Productivity Assurance of standard of living to wage workers, Public expenditure on development, Coverage of social safety Net, and EMPLOYMENT Opportunities.

Political Justice was measured on indicators such as Functional devolution to rural and Urban Local Bodies, Commitment to independent financial devolution to local bodies, Incidence of crime Efficiency of Police in mobilising case related evidence, Redress for undertrial Population.

Similarly, Social Justice was measured on indicators such as Learning outcomes for school-goers, Safe drinking water and sanitation coverage, Early Childhood Development outcomes, Ease of Logistics and trade, Regularity and reliability of power supply.

Director, Public Affairs Center (PAC), G. Gurucharan said the report has been prepared transparently and fairly. He said that in the report, the states have been divided into two categories – large and small, and the assessment was done based on central government data. Union Territories are not part of the report.

Haryana has emerged as the best-governed state among the 18 big states, while Sikkim has topped in the category of the 10 smaller states.

Punjab to establish Horticulture Estates in 4 districts for producing high quality fruits

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Equipped with latest technological information and machinery etc to provide all facilities to the horticulturists, Punjab Government will establish Estates in states four districts Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Faridkot, and Ludhiana. These estates will help the horticulturists in producing high quality fruits and cutting cost of fruit production, said the states Horticulture, Food Processing, Ex-Serviceman Welfare and Welfare of Freedom Fighters Minister Fauja Singh Sarari while sharing the information during a meeting.

The Minister, addressing the heads of different districts, instructed them to bring maximum area under horticulture crops by motivating the farmers to come out of the current wheat-paddy crop cycle. He also asked the horticulture officials to create awareness to save the groundwater which is going down day-by-day in Punjab, adding that the best performing officers in this regard will be honoured at the state level.

Himachal Pradesh: PM Narendra Modi launches multi-crore development projects in Una and Chamba

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Ahead of the assembly polls inHimachal Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched multi-crore development projects inUna and Chambaduring his visit to the state.

In Una, the Prime Minister flagged off the inaugural run of the new Vande Bharat Express from Amb Andaura, Una to New Delhi and inaugurated the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Una.

The Prime Minister pointed out that Himachal has been chosen as one of the three states to get a bulk drug park.

Underlining the focus on the development of tribal communities, the Prime Minister informed that the government had taken another landmark decision in giving the tribal status to the Hati community of Giripar area of Sirmaur.

IIT-Roorkee validates adaptability of Japanese tech-based STPs for hilly towns

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Environmental researchers at IIT-Roorkee have carried out research on Japan’sJohkasou technology(JT) for its adaptation and validation in Indian conditions. JT deals in sewage treatment Plants (STPs).

Japanese company Daiki signed an MoU in December 2020 with IIT-R. The researchers said that JT’s implementation inUttarakhandcan address the problem of wastewater treatment through on-site household STPs very effectively. Daiki’s representative in the country Daiki Axis India Pvt Ltd (DAIPL), Mumbai, has installed around half a dozen STPs at different sites in Uttarakhand, in the last 10 months.

TheUttar Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority(UPSDMA) has signed anMoUwith the UP Rajarshi Tandon Open University,Prayagraj, for better disaster management practices.

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Lt Gen RP Shahi, vice-chairperson of UPSDMA said the main idea behind the MoU is, as per the 10 points agenda of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, to set up a Network of universities to ensure effective Disaster Management and cut down on the loss of life during a disaster. The network would work not just to minimise losses due to disasters but also to create awareness among people. University V-C Seema Singh said thatthe first phase would commence under which programmes will be started in the university on disaster management.

Under the leadership of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the State has achieved many achievements in the direction of continuous development. In this sequence, on Saturday, the State was awarded a great honour by the Government of India. In the presence of President of the country Draupadi Murmu at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri honoured Jharkhand as the second topper of the country in the Swachh Sarvekshan 2022 among 100 urban bodies.

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In Swachh Sarvekshan 2022, Jharkhand has been awarded the second topper award along with some other cities in various categories. Chaibasa has been awarded for Best Citizen Feedback in the Municipal Bodies of Eastern Zone having Population of 50000 to 100000. Bundu has been awarded for Best Citizen Feedback in the Municipal Bodies of Eastern Zone having population of 15,000 to 25,000.

Nearly 1,400 air quality monitoring sensors to be deployed in rural areas across UP and Bihar

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In a significant step towards bringing rural areas on the real-timeAir Qualitymonitoring map of India, theIndian Institute of Technology(IIT) Kanpur in association with partners is spearheading a project to deploy 1,362 air qualitymonitoring sensorsat block levels in Uttar Pradesh andBihar.
Similar models will later be replicated in rural areas of other states. The rural districts of India have, so far, not managed to be part of the national discourse on air quality as no baseline data is, currently, available from rural areas.

The project aims to deploy low-cost sensors, the first of its kind in rural India. Various pilots for deployment of air quality sensors have already been done in various urban areas but there is little or no understanding of air quality in rural areas in India.

Rs 21K crore investment made in Cgarh in 45 mths

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The new Industrial Policy in Chhattisgarh has adapted provisions ensuring . As a result, 2,218 industrial units have opened in the state in the past 45 months with a capital Investment of Rs 21,457.29 crore.

To ease the process of approvals for establishment of industries, a single window system has been adapted and complexprocedures have beensimplified, it added.

The priority sector has been Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and forest produce based industries. Various incentives areprovided to mineral-based industries.

Under the new industrial policy, a special incentive package has been provisioned for investors belonging to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes.

Village lights and pumps will run with solar energy under Surya Shakti drive

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Surya Shakti Abhiyan has been launched in Madhya Pradesh for supply of electricity from to make villages self-reliant. Madhya Pradesh is the first state to launch such a unique campaign in the country.

This is an important step towards fulfilling the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the country self-reliant in the field of solar energy. Solar electricity will be used in village street lights, tap-water supply, offices and other works while promoting solar energy in village panchayats.

Under the Jal-Jeevan Mission, the target is to provide one crore household water connections in rural areas, which were only 15 lakh two years ago.

With this, the expenditure on electricity of village Panchayats, which was about 450 crores, is likely to increase to 2 thousand crores. With the help of solar energy, the expenditure of about Rs. 2000 crore on electricity bills in future in the village panchayats of the state can be reduced. This amount can be used for other development works of the village. Along with this, the benefit of Carbon Credit will also be available to the panchayats.

Covid mortality at 0.2% in Guj: RS data

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Gujaratin 2022 had recorded 836 deaths ofCovidpatients till July 19. With 4.12 lakh cases, the mortality rate for state was 0.2%, indicated a data tabled in theRajya Sabharecently. In absolute numbers, Gujarat stood ninth among Indian states in mortality, whereas in terms of mortality rate, Gujarat had the seventh highest mortality rate in states with more than 750 Covid deaths.

The data also indicated fall in Covid cases and mortality in the third year of the pandemic. In 2020, Gujarat had recorded 2.44 lakh cases and deaths of 4,302 patients giving mortality rate of 1.8%. In 2021, Gujarat recorded 5,816 deaths from 5.86 lakh cases at mortality rate of 1%.