15-16.08.21

Two sites in Haryana have been recognised as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Beside the two sites in Haryana, 2 sites in Gujarat too were recognised, taking the number of such sites to 46 in the country.

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The Union Environment Ministry said Sultanpur in Gurgaon and Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary in Jhajjar — have been included in the Ramsar list.

The aim of the Ramsar list is “to develop and maintain an international Network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits”.

Haryana’s Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary is a human-made freshwater wetland and the largest in Haryana. Over 250 bird species use the sanctuary throughout the year as a resting and roosting site. The site supports more than 10 globally threatened species including the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Steppe Eagle, Pallas’s Fish Eagle, and Black-bellied Tern.

The Sultanpur National Park in Haryana supports more than 220 species of resident, winter migratory and local migratory waterbirds at critical stages of their life cycles.

Punjab pushes for proposal to start project in Ludhiana with Centre

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Punjabindustries department has recommended the common fund for commodities (CFC) projectproposalof modern printing and packaging cluster in Ludhiana to the ministry of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSME) under the scheme micro and small enterprises cluster development programme.

Under this scheme, the central government provides assistance of 70-90% of theprojectcost of maximum project cost of Rs 20 crore depending upon the number of micro units for setting up of CFC and the balance is to be contributed by the special purpose vehicle or the .

Punjab industries minister Sunder Sham Aora said this CFC will provide EMPLOYMENT opportunities to about 5,750 people and generate direct and indirect export up to Rs 20 crore. About 630 MSME units will benefit in terms of increased productivity and quality, he added. The project is being implemented under the formation of a SPV, which has arranged the land at Gaunspur village industrial zone in Ludhiana. The project is coming up with an Investment of Rs 20 crore, out of which Rs 16 crore would be spent on machinery and equipment. The state industries department has identified 14 projects under this scheme, out of which two CFCs have been completed and four projects are in advanced stages of implementation where final approvals have already been provided by the central government.

Himachal Pradesh govt to launch project to conserve Pahari cow

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TheHimachal Pradeshgovernment will launch a three-year Rs 4.64-crore centrally sponsored project for the period from 2020-21 to 2022-23 financial years for the conservation and propagation of thePahari cow, which has been recognised as an indigenous breed by theNational Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources(NBAGR), Karnal.

Recognized as Himachali Pahari Cattle by NBAGR, the bovine breed constitutes about 7.59 lakh (41.52%) of the total cattle Population in the state and contributes about 7.46% to the states total milk production and 10.73% of milk obtained from cattle. Due to changes in the socio-economic Environment, this cattle breed is under threat of extinction.

The will set up three ultra-modern sheds at an initial cost of Rs 75 lakh to rear 50 disease-free Pahari cows (30 adult and 20 heifers) at Bagthan. The cattle will be purchased from farmers at an estimated cost of around Rs 17 lakh.

Department will spend Rs 2,520 every month on each cow and Rs 1,572 on each heifer to meet feeding requirements. The department will purchase three bulls for natural service under the project, he said, adding that the procurement of animals will be done from farmers whose animals have a record of lactation yield.

Wheels of justice: ‘E-court’ vans to reach remote Uttarakhand hills

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TheUttarakhandhigh court has set up five ecourt vans equipped withWiFiand computers for videoconferencing that will travel to remote areas in the hills to connect residents in far flung areas with virtual courts.

Judges will hear the cases both civil and criminal online while technical teams stationed in the vans will facilitate the appearance of witnesses, complainants and experts before the and also help with documentation.

Uttarakhand has a very difficult topography and many areas lack Internet and road connectivity. But now instead of people going to court, the court will approach them.

Mission Shakti 3.0: Focus on women safety in rural parts of Uttar Pradesh

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The third phase ofMission Shakti, to be launched by chief ministerYogi Adityanathon August 21, will focus on safety of Women from rural areas. Nodal head of the mission, Laxmi Singh (Ips), said the aim of the third phase is to provide Police service at the doorstep of every woman, including those living rural areas.

She said for the first time women cops are being assigned beat duties like their male counterparts. In the system we will include 3 or 4 villages and make it a beat for women constables/head constables. They will have to visit the area twice weekly and note the problems being faced by women and then resolve them with the help of senior officers. The women cops will also spread awareness about the government schemes which benefit women, said Singh.

Another step taken under Mission Shakti is weekly care of single mothers and elderly by Women help desks at police stations, both in urban and rural pockets.

Jharkhand has max non-minority students in minority schools

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A massive 99% of students enrolled in minority schools inJharkhandbelong to non-minority communities the highest among all states in the country followed by Uttarakhand where 88% of pupils in such educational institutions do not belong to a minority community, a report by the National Council for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has found.

The report, which was released recently, found that 62.5% (or more than 63 lakh) of total 1.2 crore students in minority schools across the country belong to non-minority communities. In many states, this Percentage went up to over 70%.

Uttarakhand had the second highest Population of non-minority students enrolled in minority schools followed by Madhya Pradesh (MP). In the hill state, 88% of students in 67 minority schools where a total of 69,000 pupils were enrolled belonged to the non-minority community while in MP, 87% of students in minority schools belonged to the non-minority community. MP had 421 minority schools where slightly over 4 lakh students are enrolled.

Education department targets to increase Bihar’s GER to 30%

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The Education department has launched an intensive drive to enhance the states gross enrolment ratio (GER) from 14.5% to 30% by the end of the decade.

The states GER would be equal to the national Average (27.1%) soon as the results of the sincere efforts being made by the government have already started bearing fruit. The states GER has increased from 13.6% to 14.5% in just one year.

The government has already decided to open eight new model degree colleges in different areas of the state for promoting quality education. Four of these have been set up in Gaya, Araria, Katihar and Purnia and sites for the remaining are being identified.

First State to Recognise Community Forest Resource Rights

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Chhattisgarh became the 1st state of India to recognise Community Forest Resource Rights in an urban area.

Highlights:

The recognises the rights of residents of Dhamtari district covers 4,127 hectares of forests. Community resource rights over 5,544 hectares within the area of the tiger reserve area were recognised.

In Forest Rights Act, Community Forest Resource Right gives gram sabhas the right to protect, regenerate or manage any forest Resources used by the entire community or village.

Baghel also unveiled an atlas of tribal communities living in Chhattisgarh and a particular five-part TEACHING module on the overall development of tribal areas to be used to train public representatives and members of the Panchayati Raj system. Tribals account for more than 31 per cent of Chhattisgarhs Population.

Madhya Pradesh: 8 lakh hectares of farm hit by floods

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About 8 lakh hectares of rabi crop sowing area would be affected acrossMadhya Pradeshif Dams and canal systems are not repaired by October 15. A sum of Rs300 crore would be required for their repair.

The recentfloodhas severely affected around 660 minor Irrigation schemes, dams and canal systems of 38 medium and major projects in Sheopur,Shivpuri,Gwalior, Bhind, Morena, Ashoknagar,Gunaand Datia districts in the Gwalior-Chambal region.

An estimate of Rs 816 crore has been made for the repair and restoration of dams, canals and other water structures on a preliminary survey.

Gujarat: Scrappage policy to boost new car, CV sales, say dealers

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After theUnion ministry of road transportand highways (MoRTH) launched the new vehicle scrappage policy, car dealers believe it will help boost the sale of new cars as well as commercial vehicles. The new policy comes with a slew of incentives such as waiver of registration fee of the purchased vehicle, scrap value and road tax rebate, getting a 10-year old vehicle scrapped after a certain period becomes an attractive proposition. Dealers have projected a series of long-term benefit of such a policy.

There are provisions proposed for a DISCOUNT on new cars against a vehicle scrappage certificate, which go up to 4-5% of the ex-showroom cost of the vehicle. This will certainly boost demand for new vehicles in both commercial as well as passenger vehicle segment.