14-15.11.21

Two ethnic northeast tribes bag national awards in agriculture sector

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In a first, two ethnic tribes from the northeast bagged two national awards inagriculture sector, under the leadership ofAssam Agricultural University(AAU).

The Centre conferred the ‘Plant Genome Saviour Community Award’ to Dhonsuri Agril farmer cooperative society of Karbi tribe and ‘Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Recognition award’ to Boloram Sorongsa of Dimasa tribe for their contribution in the agricultural sector.

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, established by the Central government, under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, confers the ‘Plant Genome Saviour Community Award’ annually on the basis of short listing and site verification of the applications received from the community of farmers/farming community-based organizations who have a long track record for conserving plant agro-biodiversity.
Similarly, the authority confers the ‘Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Recognition’ award to the farmers engaged in the conservation of genetic resources of landraces and wild relatives of economic plants and their improvement through selection and preservation and the material so selected and preserved has been used as donors of gene in varieties registered under the PPV & FR Act, 2001.”

IIT Guwahati, OIL come together to boost tech in energy sectorThe Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, and Oil India Ltd (OIL) will be collaborating for the development and introduction of new technologies in energy and related sectors, a release issued by the educational institution said.

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This MoU will facilitate a new path for exploring various opportunities in applied and translational research for the sustainable energy sector with OIL. “IIT Guwahati is among the few top institutions in India that are dedicated to developing state-of-the-art technologies and skilled manpower in the field of petroleum and its allied industries

Gangadhar Meher project to be ready by September 2023: CM Naveen Patnaik

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The ambitious Gangadhar Meher lift canal system, designed to provide assured irrigation to around 25,600 hectares of drought-hit areas surrounding Bijepur inBargarhdistrict, will be operational by September 2023, chief ministerNaveen Patnaiksaid on Saturday while launching the distribution of smart health cards under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY).

Bargarh is the sacred land of goddess Lakshmi. It is the rice bowl of Odisha. Like farmers, weavers of the district have gifted the famous Sambalpur sari to the world.

The irrigation project was announced by the chief minister in October 2017, ahead of the Bijepur by-election. Once operational, it will source water from the Hirakud dam through Bargarh main canal and provide irrigation to the drought-hit areas like Bijepur, Sohela and Barpali.

Regarding the BSKY smart card, the chief minister said around 3.64 lakh families will receive them. The card will help people receive hassle-free cashless treatment in government hospitals and 200 private empanelled hospitals in and outside the state.

Tamil Nadu owes Andhra Pradesh Rs 340 crore: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at zonal meet

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Requesting the Centre to constitute a panel under Union home minister to resolve interstate disputes,Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said his state has been supplying water to meet drinking water needs of Chennai butTamil Naduhas not paid Rs 338.5 crore it owed to AP for infrastructure and cost associated withTelugu Gangaproject for 10 years.

Even as he emphasised the Centre’s delay in according nod for TN’s power offshore projects, Stalin continued to extend olive branches to neighbouring states.

The CM said Tamil Nadu always trusted in cooperative federalism with strong patriotic fervor even as it gave equal emphasis to rights of the state and its autonomy.

Kerala facing climate change impact: M V Govindan

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Keralais facing climate change induced issues, said local self-government ministerM V Govindan. He was addressing the workshop, ‘Vypeen island protection and sustainable development’, which was inaugurated through videoconference.

The monsoon disasters recur every year causing severe crisis. This has jeopardized the traditional job sector of Vypeen,” minister said.
He asked to formulate long term plans to withstand the climate change induced issues.

CM chairs first GoM meeting on GST rates

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The first meeting of the group of ministers (GoM)on GST rate rationalisation headed by chief minister Basavaraj Bommai was held on Friday and the panel discussed issues related to tax slabs.Officials said the meeting details have been kept confidential since the first sitting of the panel was confined to taking stock of concerns aired by various stakeholders, including traders, on multiple rates and complications arising out of the present classification of commodities under slabs.The next meeting is scheduled on November 20 when the issue will be discussed in detail and there will be more clarity on rate rationalisation.The GST council chaired by Union finance ministerNirmala Sitharamanin September formed the GoM to look into rationalisation of tax rates and restructure the slabs, and chose Bommai to head the panel. The other panel members are West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra, Keralas FM KN Balagopal, Bihar deputy chief ministerTarkishore Prasad, Uttar Pradesh finance ministerSuresh Khanna, as well as GST Council members from Goa andRajasthan.

Telangana goes for Rs 4,000-crore bonds to raise funds

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The state government in one of its biggest moves in recent months issued a new schedule of raising bonds worth Rs 4,000 crore.

The money will most likely be used to implement theRythu Bandhu schemefor the upcoming season, high-ranking government sources said.

In July, the state borrowed for the scheme’s execution and transferred Rs 7,360 crore into the accounts of more than 60 lakh eligible farmers.

The earlier raised Rs 2,000 crore was used to meet rising costs for the implementation of several initiatives, but funds for the Dalit Bandhu scheme are still required. While in the first seven months of the fiscal year, the state borrowed more than Rs 30,000 crore. In the last two months, the state has barely raised Rs 2,000 crore in bonds as revenue increased. Faced with the need for finances to pay salaries under the new PRC, the state postponed making a decision on the new Asara pension scheme.

Given state’s limited resources, the state administration has asked the Centre to increase the borrowing limit under the Finance Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act from 4% to 5%.

Andhra Pradesh: Power panel okays purchase from SECI

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Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission(APERC) has stamped its nod for the purchase of power fromSolarEnergy Corporation of India (SECI). The distribution companies wanted to purchase about 7,000 mw of power from theSECI. The APERC has asked the state government to ensure that the annual procurement does not increase the maximum ceiling of 17,000 million units.

Discoms have filed an application with the APERC seeking approval for an interim power procurement with a plan purchase of 7,000 MW of solar power from SECI in a phased manner commencing from September 2024.

In their request, discoms said that Centre has pledged in Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to reduce its emissions intensity by 33 to 35% between 2005 and 2030 at COP21 deliberations and to that effect it has been focusing on accelerated use of clean and renewable energy by 40% by 2030.
Centre had also set a target to achieve 450 GW renewable energy installed capacity by 2030.

It has been estimated that the subsidy support for free power supply to agriculture is likely to increase from Rs 8,900 crore in 2020-21 to around Rs 17,819 crore by 2030-31 considering release of new connections of 50,000 per year.

Goa preparing 100% renewable energy plan

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The state government has started preparing a 100%renewable energyplan with the assistance of the Union government to achieve the goal of cent per cent use of renewable energy.

Goa requires approximately 540MW power during the day and 640MW during peak hours, 6pm to 11pm. The government has notified a solar policy with 50% subsidy on benchmark cost. However, till date, only about 15MW installations have been completed.

The Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) is the nodal agency which interacts with MNRE for implementation of centrally sponsored schemes as well as schemes of the government of Goa in the field of new and renewable resources, Cabral said.

The state government has decided to set up floatingsolar powerplants at Selaulim, Amthanem, Anjunem and Chapoli dams on a design, build, finance and operate model for a period of 25 years and has invited expression of interest (EoI) for selection of solar power developers.

Minister announces Rs 10 crore for Naxal rehab in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli

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The state will extend full support to rehabilitate surrendered Maoists and bring them into the mainstream by allocating special funds forGadchiroli district,guardian minister Eknath Shindesaid.

Shinde was interacting with the media a day after 26 hardcore Maoists, including key Naxal leader and Yavatmal resident Milind Teltumbde, were gunned down on Saturday in one of the biggest police encounters of the year in Gadchiroli.