14.03.23

Haryana CM announces increase in honorariums of sarpanches, panches

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Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday announced to increase the honorariums of sarpanches from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000; and panches from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,600 by linking it with dearness allowance (DA) on the lines of government employees. Besides, the sarpanches (village heads) will now be able to record their comments in the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) of the Gram Sachiv.

Khattar also announced that the limit of development works on quotation basis of sarpanches has also been increased from Rs two lakh to Rs five lakh.

Calling upon the sarpanches to understand their responsibility towards the people as public representatives and get the development works done in villages in a transparent manner, Khattar said that any hassle in the e-tendering process will be removed. The Government has strengthened the hands of sarpanches with e-tendering, which will bring transparency in development works and the works will be completed in a time-bound manner, he added.

Govt agrees to provide Rs 30 crore monthly grant to Punjabi University, Patiala

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The will provide Punjabi University Rs 30 crore per month (Rs 360 crore annually) as grant. The university said the decision was conveyed during Vice Chancellor Prof Arvinds meeting with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Principal Secretary (Finance) and Principal Secretary (Higher Education).

The university had demanded Rs 360 crore as annual grant from government

According to officials, the university can earn Rs 200 crore from its own sources

40% students are from reserved category whose tuition fee is waived

The university is also pays monthly interest of Rs 1 crore on a Rs 150-crore bank loan

The university said the government had said that it would provide full grant (Rs 30 crore per month) as demanded. The university said it had already sent the bill for the amount due for the first quarter of the year to the government.

Himachal cabinet nod to implementation of Old Pension Scheme from April 1

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The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Friday decided to implement the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) from April 1 in the state. The cabinet, presided by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, gave its nod to the implementation of the OPS which would put a burden of Rs 1,000 crore on the state exchequer.

The cabinet also approved the repealing of Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahari Samman Adhiniyam, 2021, and Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahari Samman Niyam, 2022, providing a monthly pension of Rs 11,000 per month to persons who were jailed during the Emergency, a government statement said.

The cabinet decided that the employees will also be brought under the ambit of General Provident fund (GPF).

The employees under the New Pension Scheme (NPS), who have retired after May 15, 2003, will be given OPS from the prospective date. The decision would put a burden of Rs 1,000 crore on the state exchequer during 2023-24 financial year.

Sukhu said the decision has been taken after making necessary amendments in the rules.

The contribution towards NPS by the government and the employees would stop from April 1, 2023. If any employee wants to opt for NPS, he/she can give Consent to the government, he said. The cabinet has passed a resolution, asking the Union Government to return an amount of Rs 8,000 crore under the NPS to the state and asked the state Finance department to amend the rules and issue necessary instructions in this regard.

The integrated road accident data (i-RAD) maintained by the traffic police has revealed that 45 of the total 166 police stations inUttarakhandreported more road accidents than others in the past one year.

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Inspector general Mukhtar Mohsin, director of state traffic directorate, said that among the 45 Police stations, maximum were in four major districts — Haridwar, US Nagar, Dehradun and Nainital. “Haridwar and US Nagar districts had six police stations while Dehradun and Nainital had five each. Those in capital Dehradun included Doiwala, Raipur, Patel Nagar, Nehru Colony and Vikas Nagar,” said Mohsin.
He also informed that out of the 13 districts, five had the minimum number of police stations which reported more accidents.

UP cabinet accepts recommendations of Backward Class Commission

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The Uttar Pradesh cabinet, which met here on Friday, approved the recommendations of the five-member Backward Classes Commission constituted to look into the issue of reservations to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in urban local body , and the same would be presented to The Supreme Court at the earliest.

He also stated that the State Government is committed to providing complete reservation to the OBC category in local body elections and that therefore the state government did not waste time and constituted the commission so that demographic representation of OBCs could be determined.

The result of the Panchayati Raj system

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The result of the system is that at present no one migrates from Kudlum Panchayat under Karra Block of Khunti District and there is no Unemployment. Most of the villagers here are living a self-sufficient life so that the Panchayat of Khunti has been nominated for the Panchayat Award for Governance“>Good Governance under the National Panchayat Award given by the Government of India.

The Director said that the people of all castes, religions and communities live in Sonmer village. Here the temple, Sarna Sthal and Church house are located in the same premises. This is an example of unity in diversity. People of all communities had equal cooperation in the construction of Sonmer temple. The construction work of the temple has been done by donating labor by the Gram Sabha itself. Every day 15-20 villagers are engaged in the temple for law and order, its routine is decided by the Gram Sabha. Due to the construction of the temple, today unemployment in the village has completely gone away. Shop of worship material, tea snacks and toy shop in the temple premises, all this belongs to the residents of Sonmer village only. The entry of outsiders into the business here is strictly prohibited. The Pahan of the village is appointed by the Gram Sabha to conduct ritual in the temple and he is paid an honorarium of Rs.350 per day. Today the Gram Sabha is supreme here, she added.

Investors particpate in meet for startups

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In an effort to promote the states entrepreneurial ecosystem, the state industries department has organised aninvestors meet Bihar Connect 23 for Biharstartups.

Startups from various industries are able to gain exposure and establish connections with investors under one roof, thanks to the industries department andBiharConnect 23. Events like this inspire the youth to start their own enterprises and contribute to the development of Society and the state, said Sadhana Jha, director of a Robotics startup.

MSME dept sees 190cr investment in proposed power loom cluster

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Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) department is anticipating an of close to Rs 190 crore from investors in the proposed power loom cluster at Mohammadpura in Burhanpur district in Madhya Pradesh. A cluster for power loom Industry is proposed at Mohammadpura on 7.6 hectare under the Micro & Small Enterprises – Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP). The estimated cost of development of the proposed cluster is Rs 12.9 crore, according to the MSME department.
Burhanpur is a hub for looms with nearly 40,000 power loom units operating from homes, small rooms and in unorganised workshops in the city.

According to the MSME, the cluster is expected to generate EMPLOYMENT for close to 4,000 people.

Three textile clusters are proposed for Burhanpur of which other two are coming at Nimbola and Sukhpuri. The Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSME) department has identified 23 hectare and 63 hectare land for developing clusters at Nimbola and Sukhpuri respectively in Burhanpur

Gujarat to raise Rs 17,000 crore through disinvestment

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The Gujarat government, according to sources, is expected to raise Rs 17,630 crore through of state Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

Independent legislative research institute PRS Legislative Research has said the significant increase of thebudgetoutlay for 2023-24 means the State Government intend to divest stake in government-run companies.
PRS Legislative Research agency, quoting figures provided by the state government during thebudget speechlast week, said that the 23% increase in budget outlay is primarily because of the government expects to raise Rs 17,630 crore from divesting itself of its holdings in SPSUs.
Over the past few years, the state governments budget outlay has been increasing by between 4% and 5% from the previous year. This years budget outlay shot up by 23%.

According to the latest CAG report, there were 91 SPSUs in the state of which 18 are inactive. Of the 91 SPSUs, four SPSUs are listed on stock exchange(s).