13-14.03.22

States first human milk bank inaugurated at Capital Hospital

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Odishas first human milk bank was inaugurated atCapital Hospitalhere on Wednesday. It will provide breast milk to newborns who cannot be breastfed by their mothers, infants whose mothers have died, unwell or cannot produce enough milk, or babies who cannot suck on their mothers milk.

This state-of-the art milk bank will ensure the retention of the nutritional value of mothers milk, he added. On the first day of its opening, 19 lactating mothers donated their milk to the bank, which was laterfedto their children. For pasteurisation, we require at least 2.5 litres of milk. The commercial use of the milk bank has not yet started. At present, only mothers are storing milk for their children.

The first human milk bank in the country was set atSion Hospitalin Mumbai in 1989.

Property registrations in Tamil Nadu a record Rs 12,700 crore

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Revenue fromproperty registrationstouched a new high, with 12,700 crore revenue generated till the second week of March this fiscal.

This is a leap with respect to revenues of 1,672 crore and 2,057 crore in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Chennai and Coimbatore zones have together contributed around 60% of the total income. Revival of the real estate sector post-Covid appears to be the key driver in pushing up property registrations.

An increase in sale of apartments was a major factor in Chennai zone, and the registration department is expecting an income of 13,500 crore by the end of the current fiscal. Revenue through stamp duty and registration fee account for 10%-12% of the revenue generated in the state that directly goes to the coffers.

Power consumption increases in Kerala

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With the summer peaking,power consumptionin the state has increased after a long gap. Average power consumption in the state was above 85mu for the past several days. Power consumption in the state was 87.32mu on Saturday, 87.066mu on Friday, 86.52mu on Thursday and 86.446mu.

According toKSEBsources, peak-hour consumption has increased. The all-time high power consumption was recorded on March 19, 2019, when consumption was 88.417mu. Meanwhile, power generation at Moolamattom power plant inIdukkiis at the near maximum level. The power generation at the plant on Friday was 14.615mu. Idukki dam has an extra storage of nearly 10ft comparing to the previous year.

Also, all major hydel Dams in the state have a healthy storage as on second week of March.

Only 24% cybercrime cases in Karnataka solved since 2019

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Of the 32,286 cybercrime cases registered by Karnataka Police since 2019, only 7,835 cases or 24% have been solved so far.

Data presented in the legislative council by Home minister Araga Jnanendra on Thursday showed the state managed convictions in only 70 cases and only about 75 of the accused were convicted. The highest number of cases were reported from Bengaluru. The capital recorded 10,553 cases in 2019, 8,892 in 2020, 6,423 in 2021 and 1,372 so far this year. Responding to a query by BJP MLC Suneel Valyapure, Jnanendra said the government launched cybercrime police stations in 2017 precisely to prevent such crimes.

First in country, Telangana moves to index its crops

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After the paddy procurement row with the Centre and the urging farmers to opt for alternate crops,Telanganahas, for the first time in the country, began recording crop diversification patterns in the form of an index. The state grows 77 varieties, according to the crop diversification index, with about 10 crops, mostly grains, preferred for diversification. Nirmal, Vikarabad andSangareddyare more diverse in the state.

It has also been discovered that the three least diverse areas werePeddapalli,Karimnagar, and Suryapet. Interestingly, in these districts, where paddy cultivation is prevalent, maize Cropping area has decreased significantly, whileCottonincreased. The index, according to state officials, would serve as a baseline for future crop diversification in the state.

The index has a base value of one. It denotes the Percentage of total cropped area devoted to a single crop. Many districts in the state have index values ranging between 0 and 5, and the higher the value, the greater the crop diversification.
For the current index calculations, the area under 77 different crops, including all food, non-food, and Cash Crops, as well as the area under floriculture, was used.

Crop diversification efforts have resulted in a 77.9% decrease in maize acreage from 9.7 lakh acres in 2019-20 (in vaanakalam) to 2.1 lakh acres in 2020-21 (vanakaalam).
Cotton acreage increased by 10.9% during the same period, from 52.6 lakh acres to 58.3 lakh acres, while red gram increased by 45.1% from 7.3 lakh to 10.6 lakh acres.

NIT-Andhra Pradesh tech aids clean water mission via recycling

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Researchers at National institute of technology,Andhra Pradesh, have developed a continuous reactor for the treatment of textile industrial effluents by nano coupled advanced oxidation process.

The students have initiated this research towards the mission of clean water by recycling the pollutants fromTirupur, Nadu.

The thermal activation of salts results in the generation of reactive radicals. The process focuses on the simultaneous generation of hydroxyl and sulphate radicals, which catalyse the removal of dye pollutants.
The rate of removal was almost doubled by the addition of ferrous tagged biochar nanocomposite that acts as a heterogeneous Catalyst. Based on the developed process, an integrated reactor was designed for continuous removal of textile dyes.

In the current Indian scenario, the researchers are working towards the mission of sustainability andSwachh Bharat, the scaled-up version of this work to provide a sustainable solution for the removal of pollutants from water systems by providing clean water.

Mando fest puts spotlight on need to protect tradition with state patronage

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Despite being a nearly two-centuries-longtraditionin Goa, Mando a richart formeven older than the more successful tiatr is struggling to survive.

Various speakers at the Mando Utsov 2022, organised recently by St Matevachim Nokhetram at Azossim, bemoaned the lack of government support to this unique cultural legacy, which is a fusion of eastern and western cultural and musical traditions.

Mandos areromantic Konkani songs. Comparing it to a sonnet, associate professor and head of the Konkani department in a Vasco-based college, Cosma Fernandes, said that records of mande written as early as the 1830s and 1840s can be found.

The first tiatr Italiano Bhurgo written by Lucasinho Ribeiro was directed by Joao Agostinho Fernandes in Mumbai on April 17, 1892.

At present, the government does support the annual mando festivals staged by the Goa Social and Cultural Centre. People have kept it alive till date. The government could organise it, as it does other cultural activities, Fernandes said.

Maharashtra: Water-borne diseases dive 44% in 2020, 2021

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There has been a 44% drop in the number of people affected bywater-borne diseasessuch ascholera, typhoid and leptospirosis inMaharashtraduring the two pandemic years, according to the state economic survey 2021-22.

While 8.75 lakh people were affected by water-borne diseases in 2019, the number dropped to 4.9 lakh in 2020 and 4.6 lakh in 2021.

The number of gastroenteritis and infective hepatitis also decreased.

BMC data showed hospitalisation due to gastroenteritis fell 70% and hepatitis 80%.

HAU to set up millet research centre in Bhiwani village

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Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture University (HAU) has decided to set up a nutro- research station at Gokalpura village in Bhiwani district.

Haryana Agriculture Minister Jai Prakash Dalal has laid the foundation stone of the project, which will be built on 63 acres at Gokalpura village.

The minister said this centre would prove to be a boon for farmers of rain-fed areas as it would develop advanced technology of Rain-fed Crops such as millet. He said to ensure Food Security, the focus has been on high productivity and usable crops such as wheat and paddy.

300-km rural roads to be built by year-end

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As many as 300 km roads connecting 20 panchayats will be constructed by the end of this year. As a result, 3,576 panchayats will be connected by roads. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had made this announcement in the Budget proposals presented on March 4. As many as 3,556 of 3,615 panchayats have already been connected by roads.

A target has been set to connect 20 more panchayats located in far-flung areas and having a difficult topography in the current financial year. With this, only 39 panchayats will be left without road connectivity.

The number of panchayats increased from 3,226 to 3,615 after re-organisation and of these, 3,556 panchayats have been connected by roads. Besides, 1,200 km of existing roads will be upgraded under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and 23 new bridges will be constructed.

A sum of Rs 4,373 crore has been provided in the Budget for the construction of 1,060 km of motorable roads, 2,065 metalled roads, 75 bridges and cross drainage on 990 km of roads during 2022-23, increasing the total length of motorable and mettaled roads to 40,000 km and 34,000 km, respectively.

A proposal for the construction of 45 roads of 440 km length at an outlay of Rs 552 crore has been proposed under the PMGSY-III and their DPRs will be sent to the Union Government for approval by June this year.