14.07.23

Conrad launches tourism vehicles

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In line with its vision to positionMeghalayaas a $10 billion economy by 2030, the government has taken a significant step towards fostering economic Growth through tourism with chief ministerConradKongkal Sangma launching PRIME vehicles on Friday to elevate high-value tourism experience in the state.

These vehicles were launched considering that high-value tourists look for exclusive experiences in terms of stay and prefer high-quality mobility while travelling.

The tourism plays a vital role in providing livelihood opportunities for nearly 50,000 people in Meghalaya and contributes approximately 4.1% to the GSDP.


Assam to introduce bill to ban polygamy

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Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the is on its own preparing to bring a bill in the assembly to ban polygamy in the state.

Pending the decision on UCC, we want to take up one of the segments of the entire UCC, that is polygamy. We want to ban polygamy in Assam immediately, Sarma said.

TheAssam governmentset up a four-member expert committee in May to examine if polygamy can be banned in the state through a state law. The committee headed by retired Gauhati High Court judge, Justice Rumi Phukan, has been given a 60-day time limit to submit its report.
If the state expert committee gives its report before the decision on UCC, we want to introduce our bill for banning polygamy in the state in the upcoming assembly session in September. If for some reason we cannot do it in September, we will do it in the January session, Sarma said.

In the meantime, however, if the UCC is implemented, we do not have to take this action as the ban on polygamy will be there, he added.
Sarma said the UCC is a matter to be decided by Parliament, but the state can also take a call on it with the assent of the President.

Plan to turn 155-year-old Chandaka PS into museum

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Police stations in the state are no longer inferior in looks compared to swanky corporate offices. However, the commissionerate police have decided to preserve the 155-year-old building ofChandakapolice station in the city, built in 1868, and turn it into a heritage museum.

TheShree Lingarajand Chandaka police stations in the capital were built by the British. Though official records say Chandaka police station was built in 1868, there is no record to ascertain the year of establishment of ShreeLingarajpolice station, which used to be called Bhubaneswar police station before it was renamed.

Shree Lingaraj police station, which had been functioning from an age-old asbestos building in front of Lingaraj Temple, has been operating from a temporary building for the past few months. The old building was demolished for the ongoing redevelopment work around the Lingaraj Temple.

Steps taken to improve tourism

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Nadutourismminister K Ramachandran said inMetturhere on Thursday that steps have been taken to improve the tourism sector in the state as per the latest world standard.

The minister inspected aTamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation(TTDC) hotel in Mettur. He said necessary steps will be taken to make the hotel usable. He added, We have also sent a proposal to theWRDto take over the maintenance of the Mettur park, once we receive their Consent, we will take up renovation work.

Customs yet to issue consent to start shipping

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TheKeralaMaritime Board (KMB) is unable to start shipping service from the oldVizhinjamport despite receiving ISPS code from the mercantile marine department ascustomsdepartment is yet to issue Consent over it.
The board had taken all necessary measures to start the custodian ship service from the port and also arranged a private ship. However, customs had denied consent citing lack of International Ship andPort Facility Security Code(ISPS).

The officer further said there is no objection for the port to resume crew change at the port. Crew change is a good source of revenue, the officer said. Through crew change, the state received revenue of Rs 10 crore in two years. After all, crew change will also help boost domestic businesses, such as hotel, taxi and other allied sectors, the officer said.
A cargo ship service from Vizhinjam to Mali was there from the port from 2007 to 2017 and the board was operating it smoothly. It ran on profit for 10 years, but later the private firm withdrew from it citing internal issues.

CM ensured guarantee schemes are under Fiscal Responsibility Act: KRRS

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Though thebudgetpresented by CMSiddaramaiahhas focused on fulfilling the guarantee schemes, it has ensured that it is under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, saidKarnatakaRajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) president Badagalapura Nagendra.

Welcoming the decision to increase the zero-interest loan to Rs 5 lakh for the farmers, he said that the scale of finance must also be increased for the farmers to reap the benefits of the scheme.
Stating that the farmers were ready to provide rice for the AnnaBhagyascheme, Nagendra added that the government must pay the farmers as per MSP, which would be Rs 5 more than the Rs 34 fixed by the .

KRRS has no objection to authorities taking up the modernisation of Visvesvaraya Canal (VC canal) but asked theCauveryNeeravari Nigam to use latest technologies to modernise the canal without disturbing the flow of water. Farmers should not be made to suffer, Nagendra said.

13 Lakh Farmers Await Rythu Bandhu in Telangana

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Over 13 lakh farmers across owning more than five acres each are awaiting the Rythu Bandhu aid from the State Government, which is currently facing a shortage of funds for the scheme, according to official sources.

Already faced with a fund crunch for regular use, the government is learnt to have asked the finance department to give priority to paying salaries and pensions for employees and pensioners for the month of July. As of now, employees working in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts have received their salaries.

With July entering its third week, there is pressure from employees of other districts for salaries and pensions, forcing the finance department to channelise available funds towards the same.

For this season, the government has to disburse Rs 7,720.29 crore to 70 lakh farmers. It has disbursed Rs 4,377.42 crore till June 30, while disbursal of Rs 3,242.87 crore is pending. The direct account credit of Rythu Bandhu aid, of Rs 5,000 per acre, for the ongoing kharif season started on June 26.

EESL plans big for AP on energy efficiency

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The Energy Efficiency Services Limited of the Union Government is planning to deploy latest technologies to further energy efficiency initiatives inAndhra Pradesh. EESL CEO Vishal Kapoor discussed the proposed initiatives with top officials from the state.

Apart from implementation of energy efficiency street lighting and agricultural pump sets, EESL earlier distributed around 2.2 croreLED bulbsin Andhra Pradesh. It is estimated to save around 1,700 million units per annum besides huge saving on the finances front.

A Chandra Sekhara Reddy, who has been recently appointed as thesenior advisorof EESL, said that the EESL distributed over 36.86 crore LED bulbs, 72.18 lakh LED tube lights and 23.59 lakh energy efficient fans across the country.

This strategic initiative by EESL is designed to support the countrys nationally determined contribution targets by encouraging widespread adoption of energy efficient fans. This transition is ultimately expected to help all the stakeholders in saving energy, reducing electricity bills, and contributing to the nations sustainable Energy Management.

Set up organ retrieval centres to boost donations, govt med colleges told

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All government medical colleges in the state have been asked to start organ retrieval centres toboost cadaver organ donations in Maharashtra. The state-run medical institutes have been under constant criticism for doing precious little to identify brain deaths and convince families to donate, thereby making organ transplantations largely a private affair.

Mahajan highlighted the importance of compiling a list of required materials in all government medical colleges and ensuring their availability. If any items are lacking, their procurement process should be expedited. By establishing well-equipped organ retrieval centres in remote areas, we can significantly increase the Percentage of donations from brain-dead patients, offering a new lease of life to many needy patients, he wrote in the letter.

Haryana, Tanzania centre sign MoU

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The Foreign Cooperation Department (FCD) of the and the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) have taken a significant step towards bolstering bilateral economic collaboration by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) today.

This landmark agreement aims to facilitate investment opportunities between the two entities, ultimately driving sustainable economic Growth and development between the two regions.