18.06.21

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched Local Bodies Vikas Nidhi Portal.

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The portal will facilitate the transfer of funds as per needs of local bodies in a transparent manner by the Finance Department in coordination and consultation with Development and Panchayats Department, Department and Local Bodies concerned.

The State Government has constituted the Inter-District Council (IDC) to strengthen the local bodies in terms of their financial and functional Empowerment. In this direction Local Bodies Vikas Nidhi Portal was designed and developed on the principle of Purav Yojana Purn Yojana by the Finance Department in consultation with Departments concerned.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister was apprised that the portal will further strengthen the monitoring mechanism, timely utilisation of funds meant for development activities as well as committed expenditure of the local bodies. Further, as the portal is dynamic in nature, new features to facilitate the tracking of flow of funds to the end-user, overlapping of development activities, non-parking of funds in bank accounts by local bodies etc will be added in due course.

PSPCL forms committee to discuss power purchase pacts

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The Pspcl top brass apprised the PSEB Engineers Association that its letter mentioning two points had been considered and a committee had been formed. The three-member committee should submit its report within a month, reads the letter. Till 2020, the PSPCL has surrendered unutilised power worth more than Rs 4,000 crore. The per-unit cost from the IPPs has been increasing. Moreover, the IPPs have been finding loopholes and indulging in litigation. The overall impact of such a litigation will be around Rs 20,000 crore over the next remaining 20 years of the agreements.

Under the agreements, fixed charges are to be paid to these three Plants even if the state does not require power. In its opinion to the government, the Punjab Advocate General office has already opined that there was deviation from bidding guidelines, adding that the very quantum of power required to be procured by the then was unnecessarily increased by the state.

Thakur meets Sitharaman, seeks help for Rs1,892-cr ADB project

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Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today called on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi and requested her to provide financial assistance to the state as recommended by the 15th .

Himachal Pradesh lacks Resources for Investment in Infrastructure projects like expansion of Kangra airport and construction of Mandi Airports. Hence, the financial assistance is of great significance for the development of the state

He apprised the minister that a tourism project of Rs 1,892 crore proposed to Asian Development Bank (ADB) for funding was also awaiting approval. He requested her for the speedy approval to the project.

Thakur also urged for GST compensation due for the financial years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-2020 to be provided to the state. He sought her intervention in expediting negotiations with the World Bank for funding of Himachal Hydro Power and renewable power sector development programme.

Uttarakhand to open 37 disaster management cells to tackle mishaps

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Theforest departmenthas decided to develop 37 model crew stations, spacious facilities in remote, disaster-prone areas which rescue forces can access quickly to tackleforest fires, wildlife attacks or natural disasters.

The model crew stations have been selected based on their accessibility, connectivity and space available for camping and storage (for convenience of rescue personnel). These are basically moderndisastermanagement centres of the forest department. The idea is to let all departments: Police, Disaster Management, fire-fighting units as well as work under the same roof, in synergy, to save maximum lives and Resources“>Natural Resources in case of any mishap. These centres will also be used as camping sites for theState Disaster Response Force(SDRF) andNational Disaster Response Force(NDRF), if they are deployed.

Phoolo-Jhano Ashirwad Abhiyan, an aspirational scheme rolled out by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, is now proving a lifesaver for the marginalised section of the society. Women, who were involved in selling Hadiya-Daru (local alcoholic drinks) are now leading a respectful life and becoming entrepreneurs.

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Under the Phoolo-Jhano Ashirwad Abhiyan, after conducting a detailed survey of the rural Women associated with the sale of Hadiya-Daru, counselling of these women is done by Sakhi Mandal. Counselling is an integral part of this scheme so that the ill can be eradicated from the root. These women are being linked to alternative livelihood means like agro-based livelihood, animal husbandry, forest produce collection, Sericulture, , forest produce related work and other micro-enterprises. JSLPS has made a provision of an interest-free loan of Rs 10,000, for the livelihood promotion of the beneficiary under the scheme, which is interest-free for one year, whereas, under Phoolo Jhano Ashirwad Abhiyan, women can take more amounts in the form of loan from Sakhi Mandal.

Phoolo Jhano Ashirwad Scheme was started on the instructions of the Chief Minister. Women involved in liquor selling are connected with Sakhi Mandal Groups. Here, they receive thorough counselling about the ill effects of being involved in the sale of liquor. There is a provision of an interest-free loan, which ensures that these women are making good income by starting their ventures for their livelihood

Patna ranks 13th in spreading infectious diseases

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Patnahas been ranked 13th when it comes to vulnerability of cities in spreading infectious diseases, including Covid-19, through transportation networks, according to the hazard map prepared by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune.

A team of researchers devised this map of Indian cities, including 446 cities with over 1 lakh Population, to understand the spread of infectious diseases from a host city reporting an outbreak and its spread. The institute used different modes of transportation, such as air, rail and road between cities to create this hazard map. They opined that infections can travel out from cities because of the well-connected transport hubs.

From Bihar, 26 cities were included in the study and five figured on the list top 100 vulnerable cities. Haveli Kharagpur stood at 61st position, Gaya 66, Muzaffarpur 73, Bhagalpur 81 and Ara 87.

Chhapra, Buxar, Danapur, Hajipur, Begusarai, Darbhanga, Katihar and Kishanganj figured in the rank between 101 and 200. Siwan, Sasaram, Dehri and Jamalpur, on the other hand, figured in the rank between 201 and 300. In the rank between 301 and 400, six Bihar cities Bagaha, Bettiah, Motihari, Purnia, Jehhanabad and Saharsa found their mention. Munger got 425th rank to emerge as least vulnerable city in the state as far as spreading infectious diseases is concerned.

Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jhansi, Pune and Jaipur occupied the top 10 positions.

The Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Federation on Monday signed a MoU with the Indian Institute of Millets Research for better processing of Kodo-Kutki and Ragi.

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With this, the Federation will be able to develop new durable food items by using the technology of the research institute, an official Communication said.

These food items will be sold under the prestigious government brand ‘Chhattisgarh Herbals’. This value addition work of Kodo and Kutki will provide better benefits to the farmers.

The government has decided to buy Kodo-Kutki and Ragi in the notified areas of Chhattisgarh at the minimum support price. This work will be done through the Federation.

These steps have been taken to improve the financial condition of the farmers involved in millet cultivation in the state.

Observing the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day on June 8, 2021, the Authentication Solution Providers Association (ASPA) a self-regulated industry body of Anti-Counterfeiting and Traceability Solutions providers unveil the latest edition of its report The State of Counterfeiting in India – 2021′.

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The aim is to create awareness amongst stakeholders in the fight against fake.

Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are the top three states with the highest counterfeit incidents reported in the last year. The top three states represent almost 46% of the counterfeit incidents reported in India. Most of these cases are being reported in Alcohol, Currency, FMCG, and Pharma.

The report studies and highlights the trends of counterfeiting incidents reported in India for the period January 2018 to December 2020, providing special insight on 2020 incidents.

According to the report, counterfeiting incidents have risen rapidly /steadily in the last few years.

While counterfeiting is a global menace and no economy in the world has remained unaffected by this menace, the latest trends are alarming for the lives of citizens and Indian economy. Globally, it now stands at 3.3% of global trade (according to OECD report) and is impacting the social and Economic Development of countries.

Gujarats exports from SEZs surge 20% in May

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The cumulative exports from Gujarats functional special economic zones (SEZs) surged 20% to Rs 18,441 crore in May this year from Rs 15,418 crore in the preceding month of April, according to government data.

Increase in exports ofpetroleum,pharmaceutical and chemical productspushed up the overall exports from the 20 SEZs operational within the state.

The exports from Reliance SEZ increased by 36% from Rs 10,203 crore in April to 13,869 crore in May. During the same period, Zydus SEZ, which is a pharmaceutical SEZ, saw its exports grow from Rs 396 crore to Rs 443 crore, while Dahej SEZs exports moved up from Rs 585 crore to Rs 757 crore.

However, exports from GIFT and TCS SEZs located inGandhinagaras well as Surat SEZ in Surat and Sterling SEZ in Bharuch witnessed a declined in May on month-on-month basis, the government data further showed.

On year-on-year basis, the cumulative exports jumped 143% due to low- as the exports remained muted at Rs 7,594 crore in May last year due to lockdown-induced disruptions.

Rajasthan becomes 4th in country to administer 2 crore jabs; Maharashtra at no. 1

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Rajasthanbecame the fourth state in the country to administer over two crore doses of Covid-19 Vaccines to beneficiaries.

According to the Centre’s Wednesday morning report on vaccination,Maharashtraled the country with 2,64,79,757 doses, followed by Uttar Pradesh (2,38,29,486 doses) and Gujarat (2,08,30,209). Rajasthan stood at fourth place with 1,99,81,201 doses.

According to Health department figures, 36,60,873 youngsters in the 18-44 years age group in the state have been administered the first and 1,813 of them the second dose of the vaccine. Similarly, 60,65,648 people have received the first dose and 9,26,283 the second dose in the 45-59 years age group. In the 60 years and above age group, 54,96,885 senior citizens and 17,74,326 among them have received the first and both doses of the vaccine, respectively.