14.01.22

GAIL acquires 26% IL&FS stake in Tripura power company

by

State-owned gas utilityGAIL acquired the 26% stake of now-defunct ILF&S ( Leasing and Financial Services) inOngc Tripura Power Company.

OTPC is a SPV (special purpose vehicle) set up by state-run explorer ONGC to build a 726 MW gas-fired power plant at Palatana in Tripura. The IL&FS group and the Tripura government were partners in the SPV.

ONGC holds 50% in the company that supplies electricity to the north-eastern states. Tripura government holds 0.5%, whileIndia Infrastructure Fund IIholds the balance 23.5% stake.
The power plant was set up by ONGC to monetise a Tripura gas find, which had to be capped for years due to absence of evacuation infrastructure.

Magh Bihu and the harvest festivals of India, a comparison

by

Being a culturally diverse country, India is also considered to be the land of festivals. Rightfully so, when a particular event is celebrated in various forms and has imbibed itself into the local tradition.

Magh is celebrated in the Assamese month of Magh (i.e., mid-January). The celebrations start on the last day of the month of ‘pooh’ in the Assamese calendar and the celebrations continue for about a week. This marks the time when the winter ends. It is also called Domahi or the convergence of two months. This day is considered auspicious in the Hindu lunar year and is known as Makar Sankranti, i.e., the day when the sun begins its northward journey or Uttarayan. This day is also marked by worshiping the sun in various parts of the country in the form of different festivals such as Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Lohri in Punjab and Uttarayan in Gujarat.

As an agrarian country, the harvest season is celebrated at different times throughout the year, owing to the diversity in Climate and differences in the staple crop of the region.

The first yield of the new crops is the joyful time of the year and is widely celebrated by farmers throughout the country. Moreover, the celebrations do not remain confined to the rural areas and are also celebrated by the urban populace, albeit in different ways.

Magh or Bhogali Bihu

Well known as the ‘festival of feast’, the Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu is celebrated by the people of Assam with the spirit of harmony and togetherness. Following the harvest, the Bhoral (granaries) are filled with surplus food and the idea is to thank the gods for the blessing of a good harvest. Community feasts are organised and various forms of Jolpan (sweets and savouries) are prepared.

The festival begins with Uruka or the Bihu Eve. While Women prepare food items like- Chira, Pitha, Laru, Curd for the following day of celebrations, the men folks remain engaged in preparing makeshift huts or Bhelaghar, which are built using bamboo, leaves and thatch.

A bonfire known as Meji is lit early in the morning of Bihu and prayers are offered to the gods. Later the huts are burned down and people immerse in the festive mood by taking blessings from their elders, feasting and playing traditional games.

The main highlight of the festival is the various delicacies being prepared, Pithas being quintessential which are made of rice powder. Rice is the staple food of the region and Pithas are being prepared with sesame, jaggery and Coconut.

Govt to partner with pvt hospitals for trauma care

by

The government has decided to partner with two private hospitals with trauma care facilities outside the state for free treatment of injured persons in the first 48 hours of road accident. Besides, some more private hospitals in Bhubaneswar and one in Rourkela have been empanelled by the government to provide free treatment to accident victims under the Free Treatment for Trauma Fund (FTTF) scheme. Earlier, only three hospitals in the state Apollo and AMRI Hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Ashwini Hospital in Cuttack were partnered by the government under the FTTF scheme.

FTTF scheme has been operational since October 2019. While the transport department used to provide the funds for free treatment of the accident victims in private hospitals, the Health department will now foot the bills. The government has sanctioned Rs 147.2 crore for five years for the FTTF scheme from the state budget, a senior transport official said. As per the new guidelines, an FTTF technical committee has been formed to look into different issues of treatment and its cost, which would be reimbursed by the government. An FTTF cell will function in the office of the DMET to supervise, regulate and coordinate the smooth functioning of the scheme.

Centre lauds state for rapid vax of kids

by

Chief ministerShivraj Singh Chouhantook part in a virtual review meeting of states presided over by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi regarding new variant Omicron and its management.
The Union Health secretary informed the meeting thatMadhya Pradeshis doing good work regarding vaccination of children, which began on January 3. In Madhya Pradesh, 72.2% of the eligible adolescents have been given the vaccine.

Precautionary dose has been given to more than 1.8 lakh people. It was informed that for vaccination in Madhya Pradesh, 11 special campaigns have been conducted using the model of public participation. So far, 96% people eligible for the first dose and 92% for the second dose have been vaccinated in Madhya Pradesh, which is higher than the national Average. Similarly, MP is the leading state in India with maximum number of vaccination in the age group of 15-17 years and in vaccination of pregnant mothers.

The state has also done good work in the expenditure of central funds for Corona control. Arrangements for common beds, Oxygen beds, HDU and ICU beds, oxygen Plants, medicines have been ensured in hospitals, especially for the prevention of Covid in the state. Rs 437 crore 17 lakh was released by the government of India as central share.

In this the states share Rs 291 crore 44 lakh has been released by the MP government. From the total share of the Centre and the State, the State has spent Rs 398 crore 33 lakh against the available amount of Rs 728 crore 61 lakh crore. MP is included in the first five states in the progress of expenditure at the national level.

The Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Mission has also been started this year. Under the mission , 50-bed critical blocks are being made in district integrated public health labs, district hospitals and medical colleges. For the year 2021-22, the Government of India has approved Rs 126.25 crore under the mission.

Kerala Water Authority to use water stethoscopes to identify leaks in supply lines

by

With an objective to address water scarcity inKochi,Kerala water authority(KWA) is planning to plug the transmission loss, which is one of the major reasons for water shortage in the city and neighbouring local bodies.

Digging up of roads for identifying the location of leakage is one of the major hindrances in the way of addressing the issue and KWA has introduced water stethoscope, a device to identify the leak without digging roads or with little digging. This will expedite the process of identifying leaks and plugging it.

According to the data with KWA, at least 22 to 25% of water supplied in the city is being lost during transmission. Leakage and theft are the main reasons for transmission loss.

KWA is to procure at least 40 water stethoscopes to identify leaks in the city and adjoining areas. KWA also plans to organize a workshop to train officials on how to use the device. KWA authorities have instructed officials to map the distribution Network in their limits.

New policy: Guest lecturers upset over 15-hour work week without job security

by

Guest lecturers, who have been saddled with 15 hours of work, instead of the earlier eight hours, are upset over the states new policy. More importantly, they say half of the guest lecturers TEACHING in undergraduate or postgraduate colleges across the state, will lose their jobs.

The has decided to increase the monthly honorarium to Rs 26,000 to 28,000 from Rs 11,000 for guest lecturers. Those candidates who have cleared UGC-NET or completed their PhD, will be paid Rs 30,000 to Rs 32,000 (Rs 13,000 earlier salary).Karnatakahas around 14,000 guest faculty.

Football likely focus as Telangana moots new sports policy

by

Football will be the likely focus as thegovernment looks to finalise a new Sports policy.

That they want to go the way Odisha government adopted hockey is clear but whether Telangana will succeed in reaping the rewards of promoting football is a moot point. To begin with, Odisha has a large pool of hockey players at the grassroots level.
Though former players here are gung-ho about the proposal, the same cant be said of football in Telangana except for some pockets in the city. Hyderabad was once the feeder line for Indian football. But it has been reduced to a pale shadow due to rampant politics.

A policy similar to Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) is also being considered. It will help identify talent early so that athletes can be groomed.

Andhra Pradesh households bettered iodine intake, shows study

by

The iodine deficiency survey conducted by theAndhra PradeshHealth department has found that about 72% of the households are consuming adequately iodised salt.

The iodine Nutrition status of the school aged children (6-12 years) has been taken as a proxy for the total Population. According to thestudy, the prevalence of goitre is 1.8% amongst the 6-12 years age group, an indicator of long-term iodine deficiency. Nutrition International, a global nutrition organisation headquartered in Canada, extended the technical support for the survey conducted in 2020-21.

According to experts, iodine is a micronutrient required in very small quantity in our daily diet, for optimal mental and physical development. In order to address iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs), the Union Government launched the National Goitre Control Programme in 1962, which was later renamed as National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme in 1992.

As per the latest survey, Andhra Pradesh is close to winning the battle against IDDs, with the achievement of 72% coverage of adequately iodised salt in the population. This is an improvement from the 63.9% coverage reported in the India Iodine Survey 2018-19.

IMA Goa takes initiative to build support system for senior citizens

by

he Indian Medical Association (IMA) Goa has decided to build asupport systemforsenior citizens, mostly those who have been living in old age homes, in the state. The IMA members will be asked to provide their Services toold age homeswhich are unable to hire professional medical care for want of Resources.

The IMA -Goa has seven branches spread across the state. It will attempt to see that member doctors render their services to the old age homes, put in some effort, and help improve the well-being of the elderly.

Maharashtra saw 13% rise in drowning deaths in lockdown year: NCRB

by

Despite restricted access to beaches during the pandemic-induced lockdown year of 2020, deaths by drowning shot up by 13% inMaharashtraas compared to 2019.
Maharashtra had the second highest number of drowning-related fatalities in the country (5,136) after Madhya Pradesh (5,779), showed data with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2020.

At least 88% of all drowning-related fatalities in Maharashtra have been attributed to fall in water bodies.