20.05.21

Flybig connects Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh with Guwahati

by

After foraying in the northeast airspace and flagging off its first flight from Guwahati to Rupsi in the second week of May,Flybigairline has expanded its operations to thefrontier stateofArunachal Pradesh, connecting Pasighat with Guwahati.
Flybigs first flight to Arunachal arrived at the Pasighat airport on Monday morning from Guwahati. This is the second airline to operate in Pasighat airport which is maintained by theIndian Air Forceand the .

Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu said the government of India and the state government are working tirelessly towards improving transport and communications sector in Arunachal Pradesh under PM Narendra Modi.

Assam: Health, education bigger issues in Barpeta than citizenship

by

Minority strongholds inBarpetaseem more concerned abouthealth,educationand development than Citizenship issues.

Thousands of people were excluded from the NRC, the updated version of which was published in August 2019 in Baghbar, Jania and Chenga constituencies in Barpeta. This district has been the nervecentre of political andintellectual activismof the minority community in lowerAssam.

The movement against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act too gained widespread support in this region, where the Muslims were up in arms against the legislation to regularize the entry of non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Even though some intellectuals in the area feel that citizenship questions will be the deciding factor in this election, others see the polls in a different Light.

Karthikeyan Pandian, Secretary to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has been honoured by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for his huge contribution for the promotion and development of hockey in Odisha.

by

The FIH in its 47th Congress on Saturday conferred the prestigious FIH Presidents Award to Pandian.

While Odisha organised the 14th Edition of Mens Hockey World Cup in 2018, the Hockey India and the Odisha Government are no w gearing up to host the 2023 Mens Hockey World Cup.

In 2023, India will host the competition for a record fourth time since its inception in 1971. The tournament is slated to be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29, 2023.

All the matches of the 14th World Cup were held at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

Tamil Nadu govt will pass a resolution in assembly against Centres farm laws: Stalin

by

Naduchief minister M K Stalin said the DMK will fulfil its election promise of passing aresolutionin theassemblyurging theCentreto withdraw the contentiousfarm laws.
The chief ministers statement came against the backdrop of farmers observing a black day to commemorate the six months of stir against the farm laws.

He said that Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement onPrice Assuranceand Farm Services Act, 2020, The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 andEssential Commodities(Amendment) Act, 2020, were enacted by the Centre in haste and ignoring the Parliamentary procedures.

Pinarayi Vijayan sworn in as Kerala chief minister for second time

by

CPMleader PinarayiVijayanon Thursday took oath for a second consecutive term as chief minister ofKeralabreaking the decades-old alternate shift of power between Left Democratic Front (LDF) and theUnited Democratic Front(UDF) in the state.

The Kerala on Wednesday directed the government to restrict the number of participants in the ceremony view of the pandemic.

He has become the only third chief minister in the state to be re-elected and the first to continue in office after completing a full term.

Vijayan joined theCommunist Party of India Marxist(CPM) in 1964 and was elected as the 12th chief minister of Kerala after LDF came to power in 2016.

KSOU seeks UGC permission to launch online courses

by

The Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) is all set for a major shift. KSOU, the only state-run open university in Karnataka, is all set to foray into online Education.

It may be recalled that all major universities in the state, including University of Mysore (UoM), are now offering various courses online. These universities launched online courses after the stopped them from offering any courses in the distance education mode and awarded exclusive right to KSOU.

Telangana government declares mucormycosis as notifiable disease

by

Telanganagovernment notified mucormycosis infection commonly known asblack fungusinfection as a notifiable disease under theEpidemic Diseases Act, 1897, a day afterRajasthandeclared it a notified disease.

Infact the decision comes close on the heels of the designating twohospitalsas nodal centres for treatment of the infection and on the same day when the centre has asked states to notify the disease.

Fungal infection mucormycosis is hereby declared as a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. All government and private Health facilities shall follow guidelines for screening, diagnosis and management of mucormycosis issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and theIndian Council of Medical Research. It is also made mandatory for all government and private health facilities to report all suspected and confirmed cases to the statehealth department.

Andhra Pradesh saves Rs 2,350 crore in power purchases in 2 years

by

Andhra Pradeshhas saved around Rs 2,350 crore by purchasing electricity in spot markets at cost effective prices in the last two years, i.e., 201920 and 202021.

Thepower utilitiesprocured 3,393 million units in 2019-20 and 8,890 MU in 2020-21 from the open market at cheaper prices.

The Average cost of procurement, including transmission charges, was Rs 3.12 per unit against the approved weighted average procurement cost of Rs 4.55/unit.

The had persuaded theUnion ministry of powerto surrender the 625 MW thermal power, which helped the AP discoms to reduce their financial burden to the tune of Rs 1,007 crore.

The central power grid used to collect central transmission utility point of connection charges from the discoms on the anticipated usage on a quarterly basis in the past. Due to the same, the utilities had to pay higher charges to the central grid. In response to the protest of the AP energy department, the CERC has changed the methodology, resulting in Savings of Rs 350 crore in last two years.

Lockdown improved water quality in Mandovi: National Institute of Oceanography

by

A significant decrease in navigational and industrial activities along the river bank brought down the level of coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and nutrients in theMandoviestuary during the lockdown last year.

A study by Albertina Dias and other scientists of theNational Institute of (NIO), which involved sampling of water in the estuary during May 2020, showed that CDOM was low at two stations between the Mandovi bridge and Ribander as compared to the previous five years Average, from 2014 to 2018.

With restrictions in place during the Covid-19pandemic, operation of pleasure cruises, water transport systems such as barges and shipbuilding activities came to a standstill.

Relieved of anthropogenic stressors, the water quality improved due to penetration of more Light in the water column and aquatic biota in the estuary benefitted from it.

Sunlight facilitates production of phytoplankton, the algae which are fed on byzooplankton, which in turn are consumed by small fishes in the food chain.

But, if the CDOM is too low, it allows penetration of ultra violet light to greater depth and can affect the marine biota adversely. On the other hand, CDOM occurs not only due to anthropogenic factors, but also natural ones, like decay of phytoplankton also releases CDOM into the system.

In rural areas, Maharashtra govt to stress on institutional care for Covid positive patients

by

State Health minister Rajesh Tope said the government would be stressing on institutional isolation of Covid patients, mainly for rural areas in districts where the positivity rate is higher than the states weekly Average positivity rate of 12%.

Data from Pune shows that the number of weekly new cases has been on a steady decline for the last four weeks. The district had 68,254 new cases (April 26-May 2), 60,201 (May 3-9), 47,531 (May 10-16) and 25,483 (May 17-23). Maximum cases were reported from Baramati, Haveli, Indapur, Shirur and Daund talukas of Pune. An average dip of 20% has been registered.