Entrepreneurs with smaller investments can set up a green with more ease. Following the new order, RajasthanState Pollution Control Board(RSPCB) has reduced the deadline for disposal of applications for green category industries to seven days for those with capital Investment of Rs 5 crore and 15 days for those with capital investment of more than Rs 5 crore. The previous deadline was 120 days.
As per provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, Air (prevention and control of pollution) Act, 1981, E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 and Hazardous and Other Waste (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, the statutory timeline for disposal of Consent for setting up industries and authorisation applications received at State Pollution Control Board is within 120 days.
17.02.23
Cess on water used in power projects
TheHimachalPradesh government will now charge tax on water used in power projects set up in the state. To increase revenue, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government has imposed water cess on power projects by bringing in an ordinance. According to sources, the intends to collect revenue of over Rs 1,000 crore through this water cess.
Through a gazette notification published on Friday the governor, in exercise of powers vested in him under Section 17(1) of theHimachal Pradesh Water CessonHydro Power Generation Ordinance, 2023 (Ordinance No. 2 of 2023), has ordered the imposition of water cess on all Hydro Power projects in the state.
There are more than 50 power projects in Himachal and work is going on on more than 30. This tax will be applicable on all these projects. Total identified hydro power potential of the state is around 27,436 MW and harnessable power potential is 23,750 MW, out of which, 10,781.88 MW has been harnessed while over 12,000 MW power is yet to be done.
70% relaxation in GST for pine needle product makers in Uttarakhand
With the Met department predicting a hot and dry summer this year, theUttarakhandgovernment has decided — with the onset of the wildfire season in the state — that the players involved in making chir pine needle products will be given a whopping 70% relaxation inGSTfor five years.
Moreover, the forest department will create a “special corpus” to make payments to all the NGOs involved in the collection of pine needles from forests. Also, the transit fee for the transportation of pine needles would be reduced. The meeting was chaired by chief secretary SS Sandhu and attended by senior forest officials. The clearance of pine needles from the forest floor is important, because an Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) study during lockdown had established that a staggering 70% of the forest fires are related to anthropogenic activities. Pine needles (leaves of pine trees) are highly combustible and often, a carelessly-tossed beedi or matchstick in a chir pine forest is known to have triggered a major wildfire in the hills. According to forest department, Chir pine forests are spread across around 3.94 lakh hectares of total forest area in the state and the trees shed at least 15 lakh metric tonnes of pine needles annually, leading to highly inflammable conditions in forests, especially during summer.
Incidentally, out of 13 different types of trees classified by the forest department here, chir pine has the highest area — almost 15.25% of the total 25,86,318 hectares.
PM SHRI to benefit students studying in 1,753 UP schools
In line with the governments vision of providing quality Education to children in the state and creating a Learning-friendly , the Yogi Adityanath government has swung into action to equip schools in Uttar Pradesh with modern facilities under the PM SHRI scheme.
The Central government has laid emphasis on adopting a modern education system to strengthen the foundation of the students in schools as per the National Education Policy, for which the PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme has been launched.
In the recent budget announcement made by the State Government, an amount of more than Rs 1,000 crore has been earmarked for this scheme.
According to the announcement, with the Central governments assistance, Rs 510 crore will be spent on basic education and Rs 500 crore on secondary education.
According to the standards of this scheme, selected schools will be given the status of PM SHRI and will be equipped with modern facilities. As many as 1,753 schools have been verified by the state government at the district and state levels and their list has been sent to the Central government.
It is noteworthy that the Central government has decided to upgrade 14,500 schools across the country under the PM SHRI scheme. After the announcement of the prime minister, the Yogi government has made a provision of funds for this in the 2023-24 budget.
Fifth Mining Conclave by Indian Chamber of Commerce held in Ranchi
The Fifth Mining Conclave organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce held today under the theme ‘Impact of Latest Technology in Mining ‘. Many experts from major mining companies of Jharkhand state participated in this conclave. Welcoming all the guests in the conclave, Dr. Amritanshu Prasad, Chairman, Indian Chamber of Commerce, Jharkhand Chapter spoke about the increasing impact of technology on the mining industries. Talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI), he explained how it is helping mining companies locate Minerals more easily. Dr. Prasad also added about sustainability in the mining industry during his inaugural address.
Jharkhand State Mines Secretary Abu Baqr Siddiqui, addressing the programme as the chief guest, said that Jharkhand is a major producer of coal, iron Ore, copper ore, mica and cobalt. Jharkhand has been attracting investors globally due to increasing mechanization in mining, availability of raw material and competitively priced labour cost. Even today, we are dependent on fossil fuel i.e. mining industries to meet the energy requirement in the country. Appraising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge at the United Nations Climate-change”>Climate Change Conference (COP26) held in Glasgow last year, he added that India would limit its carbon emissions to net zero by 2070.
1200-year-old idols found in Bihar’s Nalanda
Two stone idols believed to be about 1200 years old was found from a water body close to the ancientNalanda Universityduring desilting of a pond.
A year ago a 1,300-year-old idol of Nag Devi of the Pala period was found in the same pond. It has been put on display at the ASI museum in .
The Nalanda Mahavihara site comprises the archaeological remains of the monastic and scholastic institution dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. It includes stupas, shrines, viharas (residential and educational buildings) and important artworks in stucco, stone, and Metal.
Nalanda Mahavira is the most ancient university in the Indian subcontinent. It is engaged in the organised transmission of knowledge over an uninterrupted period of 800 years.
Over 39.76L treated under Urban Slum Health Scheme
A total of 39,76,285 people in urban slums have been treated for free in Chhattisgarh under the Chief Minister Urban Slum Health Scheme.
Under the scheme, 120 MMUs equipped with doctors, paramedics, medical equipment and medicines delivering health Services.
This scheme has led to pathology tests for 9,18,484 people. In addition, free medicines have been distributed to 33,65,323 individuals. Among those who have benefited are 2,64,973 labourers.
In addition, 52,892 camps have been set up in slum settlements of 169 urban bodies.
The first phase of the scheme began in November 2020 in slums in 14 districts. It was extended to all urban areas in March 2022.
MPs budget will be Modern Budget
The budget of this year’s election in Madhya Pradesh is going to be special. According to the information received, this time there will be a ‘Modern Budget’. This budget will strengthen the economy, in which emphasis will be laid on development and public welfare. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took part in the presentation related to the preparation of the state budget, in which focus has been given on development, Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and rural areas.
The special thing is that the Shivraj government of Madhya Pradesh has a special focus on the tribal community of the state. In such a situation, due to the election year, tribals will also be given priority in the budget this year.
In this regard, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that no stone will be left unturned to strengthen the state’s economy. He also said that it will be our priority to provide EMPLOYMENT to the villagers in the village itself. An amount of more than 48 thousand crore rupees has been planned to be spent on development.
The Chief Minister also said that, through this budget, our efforts will also be to take maximum advantage of the provisions in the budget of the Government of India. Four tourist circuits will be developed in the state. For this, Rs 400 crore will be spent in the financial
year.
Gujarat has second highest number of street children
According to figures provided by the Union Government,Gujarathas the second highest number of children who live on the streets.
Data provided by the Union ministry of Women and child development shows that 1,990 children live on the streets in Gujarat, second only to Maharashtra, where 5,153 children live on the streets.
Those working in the field of child rights say the actual number of such children could be higher, although the number of children on the streets keeps fluctuating.
Bhat clarified that there is a difference between “children living on the streets” and “street children”. “Those living on the streets go back to their homes during the night hours, while street children are those who live on the streets of one particular area. These are predominantly those who live without family members,” Bhat said.
Rajasthan ranks No. 1 as 2.75 lakh take admissions under RTE
The state has admitted 2.75 lakh students under the Right to Education (RTE) in 2022-23 which is the highest in the country in a year.
The Act is mandated to provide admission to economically poor and marginalised sections. In the state, only 5% of the admissions under the criteria is grabbed by ST students while their share in the Population is almost 14%. Also,Rajasthanstood 7th in terms of population in the country but it is number one in RTE admission raises questions on the admission process.
This year in the first RTE admission session in April-May, 1.38 lakh admissions took place in class I. Thereafter, the second admission session took place for pre-primary Classes in February which received 2.20 forms against the estimated seats of 1.50 lakh seats.
Officials have confirmed that the state is leading in terms of having the highest number of students admitted under RTE followed byMadhya Pradesh.