16.03.23

Meghalaya assembly budget session to begin from March 20

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Thebudgetsession of the newly electedMeghalayalegislative assembly will get underway on March 20 with the customary address by the governor under Article 176 of the Constitution, following which election to the post of the deputy speaker of the House would be held.

CM Conrad Sangma, who also holds the finance portfolio, is scheduled to reply to the debate on the governors address on March 21.

The newly formed Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA)-2.0 government headed by chief minister Conrad Kongkal Sangma would present the full budget estimates for the financial year 2023-2024 on March 23, according to assembly officials.

For new infra push, PWD gets highest grant of 15K-cr

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Finance minister Ajanta Neog has given the highest allocation of over Rs 15,000 crore to the public works department (PWD) in her budget proposals forAssams new push.

The minister has also proposed strengthening the existing Nehru Stadium along with conversion of Khanikar Integrated Sports Complex from 5,000 to 15,000 seating capacity, whileRabindra Bhawanin Guwahati will be reconstructed apart from a state-of-the-art DGP office, 5,000-capacity auditorium at Sankardev Kalashetra and ITA Machkhowa as major highlights of new infrastructure in Guwahati.

Odisha farmers’ bodies stage rallies seeking free electricity

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Farmers staged a rally at Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar demandingfree electricityand pension for farmers and proper price for theiragricultural produce.
They also urged the to take over the power distribution responsibility to its purview instead of engaging private companies.
Farmers under the aegis of Navnirman Krushak Sangathan (NKS) came in a procession from Bhubaneswar RAILWAY station to Lower PMG and staged a massive rally near the state assembly protesting the power distribution companies for allegedly harassing farmers.

The farmers flaunting placards and shouting slogans against the government and power companies had a scuffle with the Police and marched ahead by breaking the police barricade.

Tamil Nadu: Organic farming gets a boost in agri budget

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The announced several new initiatives to boost Organic Farming in the state and to realise the objectives of its recently drafted organic farming policy.
Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture ministerM R KPanneerselvam, while presenting his third agriculture budget, said the state government would encourage organic manures free from any inorganic substances to preserve the Soil fertility. To encourage organic farming, 725 clusters will be formed covering an area of 14,500 hectares in 32 districts. To encourage organic certification, assistance will be provided for 10,000 hectares and for this purpose, Rs 26 crore will be allotted,” said Panneerselvam.

Recently, the state government released an organic farming policy to ensure, upscale and support the chemical free organic agriculture in the state and to provide safe food for the people. On the lines of the policy, the state government had announced several initiatives to promote organic farming.

Govt aims for self-sufficiency in milk production

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The government is aiming to make the state self-sufficient in milk production, said development ministerJ Chinchurani.
While inaugurating the Milmaon Wheels project nearErnakulam Boat Jetty, she said, Milma will be developed to meet the milk demands of every household in the state. For this,Keralagovernment is addressing issues of dairy farmers. Government is trying to get more farmers into the dairy sector.

In 7 years, only 45% of Karnatakas mineral fund used

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After dragging its feet over the issue, the government is now scrambling to spend as much as possible of the Rs 3,690 crore of districtmineral fund(DMF) it had collected from across the 31 districts in the past seven years. The fund was collected as part of a national policy and was to be used to restore regions ravaged bymining.
Of the Rs 3,690 crore (until November 2022) collected over the past seven years, the government has spent only Rs 1,671 crore (or 45%), although an action plan to spend Rs 3,759 crore was drawn up for all 31 districts.
The Centre decided to set up DMF in 2015-16 for reclamation and rehabilitation (R&R) of mining hit areas in every district. Accordingly, legislation was passed to implement the decision at the state-level andKarnatakabegan collecting funds from mine lease owners.

Of the 31 districts in Karnataka, the highest collection of DMF was in Ballari (Rs 1,741 cr), followed by Vijayanagara (Rs 439 cr) and Kalaburagi (Rs 475 cr).
The least collection was in Yadgir (Rs 1. 4 cr), Bidar (Rs 1. 9 cr) and Kodagu (Rs 1. 6 cr).

India’s largest prototyping hub, T-Works, unveiled in Hyderabad

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India’s largest prototyping centre, T-Works, got off to a hi-tech start with Foxconn chairmanYoung LiuandTelanganaindustries & IT minister unveiling the 78,000 sqft building via an innovative Kabuki drop (dramatic Japanese reveal style) amid fireworks and a colourful laser show.

The Foxconn boss also announced donation of a complete surface mount technology assembly line, which is used for assembling high-end electronics circuit boards, to T-Works. Addressing a gathering of over 1,000 people, including CEOs and founders of major companies, entrepreneurs, artists and hobbyists from across the world,KTRsaid he fulfilled his promise to Foxconn chairman, when he met him in Delhi that he would inaugurate T-Works only when Liu travelled to Hyderabad. KTR also pointed out that IT for him represented India & Taiwan, not information technology. India is a Software powerhouse and Taiwan is doing wonders in hardware.

APs SGDP rose to Rs 13,17,000 crore, says finance minister

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Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath said on Friday that APs gross domestic product (SGDP) increased largely to Rs 13,17,000 crore (16.22 per cent) in 2022-23 from Rs 9,25,000 crore in 2019-20.

The minister said that after the YSRC came to power in 2019-20, it was an uphill task for it to set things right. However, the Covid 19 pandemic shook AP and the whole world for two years. The continued welfare schemes through DBT during the Corona crisis and provided financial assistance to the industries. It also helped farmers in the continuation of Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture activities and helped in the circulation of Money in the market, he claimed.

The FM said the state gross domestic product (SGDP) of the last four years showed a major improvement. It was Rs 9,25,000 crore in 2019-20 (5.97 per cent at current prices), which rose to Rs 13,17,000 crore (16.22 per cent) in 2022-23.

Goa can build Indias defence: CM Pramod Sawant

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Goa has the potential to become a hub for DEFENCE manufacturing which in turn can create significant economic opportunities for the country and for the state, said chief minister Pramod Sawant

Speaking at Manohar Parrikar Memorial Lecture on Indigenisation of Bharats Defence, Sawant called for -academia interactions to help bridge the gap between innovations and the requirements of the Indian Armed Forces.

The chief minister also said that Goa has strong prospects of becoming a Logistics hub. He said that Goa already houses the Konkan maritime cluster for shipbuilding at Verna, which will generate 3,000 jobs. He said that Goas air, water, and road connectivity provides strategic advantages to Indias defence industry.

Sawant said Infrastructure, science and innovation were dear to Parrikar. He added that the Manohar Parrikar Scholarship scheme will continue to enable Goan youth to study internationally and nationally.

Rs 75,000 crore investment for green hydrogen, solar, wind energy; Rs 5,000 crore green bonds

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The state budget tabled in the Legislative Assembly accorded priority to achieving the net zero emissions target. “An of Rs 75,000 crore is expected in the field of green hydrogen, green ammonia, solar and Wind Energy,” deputy chief minister and finance minister Devendra Fadnavis announced in his budget speech.

“The state will also raise Rs 5,000 crore by 2024 through green Bonds to combat the problems of Climate-change”>Climate Change. Activities such as RENEWABLE ENERGY, green buildings, green hydrogen, electric mobility and charging facilities will be taken up from it,” he said.

The budget estimate for new and renewable energy was Rs 977 crore for 2023-24 as compared to the revised budget estimate of Rs 496 crore for 2022-23.