23.12.21

Kachai to be developed as a model village: Manipur CM

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The Kachai village in Ukhrul district has been proposed to be set up as a model village considering its importance in the production of the renowned ‘Kachai Lemon,’Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said today. Biren Singh accompanied by Rajya Sabha MP Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba and Loktak Development Authority Chairman L Sushindro,was addressing an outreach gathering at Teinem Village in Ukhrul District.

Earlier on his arrival in the hill village, the Chief Minister was given a rousing welcome by the District Administration and leaders and villagers of LM Block. Various organisations, Village Authorities and individuals also honoured him by presenting him gifts. In March 2015, Kachai Lemon (Citrus jambheri Lush), a unique lemon variety which contains 45-51 mg/100 ml ascorbic acid – the highest so far available in the realm of citrus – has been accorded GI registration tag.

AFSPA to continue in Assam, to be withdrawn if peace lasts : Himanta Biswa Sarma

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Assam chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma said the state will continue to be under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 and a decision on withdrawing it will be taken only if the present peace prevails for a longer term.

He expressed apprehension that the militant groups might not reciprocate the same way if theAFSPAis withdrawn from Assam.

Sarma, however, said that no state government wants to continue with AFSPA if the law and order situation is peaceful and conducive.

Stating that no state government will want to continue with AFSPA if the law and order situation is peaceful and conducive, he said “I am only saying this in the context of our state and notNagalandbecause I have no jurisdiction to do so. On Nagaland I do not have any assessment. I do not want to comment on the situation that exists in that state,” he added.

The Act was imposed in Assam in November 1990 and has been extended every six months since then after a review by the state government.

AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior warrant. It also gives a certain level of immunity to the security forces in case of an operation going wrong.

Odisha announces 960 crore livelihood package under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana

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It’s raining sops inOdishaahead of the panchayat elections, scheduled in February. Chief ministerNaveen Patnaikannounced Rs 1000 aid each for 96 lakh families covered underBiju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana(BSKY) towardslivelihoodassistance.

The chief minister has directed officials to release the assistance within seven days. “Those who are yet to get BSKY smart cards can still avail the benefits by showing national food security or state food security cards as all of them are automatic beneficiaries of BSKY,” a government statement said.

Stating that welfare of the poor is the government’s primary focus, Naveen said, “Covid-19 has made major social and economic impact on families of theeconomically weaker sections. The government assistance is to help mitigate that pain.”

The Rs 960 crore livelihood assistance package comes a day after Naveen announced Rs 1444 crore house repair help at the rate of Rs 3,000 each to the beneficiaries of various state housing schemes and Rs 5,000 each for eligible families deprived of central housing benefits.

CM MK Stalin to launch dashboard today to access real-time data on Tamil Nadu

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Hours of discussion in the chief ministers chamber on the spike in cases of crimes against women and children, skyrocketing price rise of vegetables and fruits and current employment trends may be a thing of the past.

In a bid to bring about a paradigm change in governance, chief minister M K Stalin is scheduled to launch on Thursday a real-time “CM DashboardTamil Nadu360″ to track, analyze and increase the efficiency in the decisionmaking process. Report of crimes with reference to the districts and poor performers in maintaining law and order will be looked at on a real-time basis.

They are key performance indicators of every department, said a senior government officer. The price mesh monitors the price stability over 25 foodgrains/vegetables/fruits available with the support of state and central government agencies and market prices and predictive analytics will help in timely intervention.

‘Neeraj’ to be mascot for first Kerala Olympic Games

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Arabbit mascotnamed Neeraj, in honour ofNeeraj Chopra, the first Indian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal, will be the symbol for the first ever ‘Kerala Olympic Games‘, slated to be held in February 2022.

State Education MinisterV Sivankuttyunveiled the mascot on Wednesday.
TheKerala Olympic Association(KOA) is organising the ‘Kerala Olympics Games’ from February 15 to 24, 2022.

Karnataka govt resolves to increase time for legislature sessions

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Even as the legislators and Speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri admitted that there has been a drop in the quality of debate, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said the government will try to increase the number of days for each of the legislative sessions in 2022.

As decorum within the house went haywire, Speaker Kageri expressed his anguish over members not refraining themselves from speaking out of turn and wasting time, while repeating the same issues time and again.

The anguish was shared by senior legislators like former speaker K RRamesh Kumar, former chief ministers B S Yediyurappa and H D Kumaraswamy and the law minister JC Madhuswamy.

Telangana govt green signal to auction Kokapet land

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The state government gave a green signal to auctionKokapetlands at Neopolis area under survey number 239, 240 on Wednesday. A government order in this regard was issued by chief secretary Somesh Kumar which granted permission to execute the sale deeds of government lands to Rangareddy district collector.

It maybe recollected the government sold Kokapet lands through e-auctioning in July this year which garnered huge response as eight plots over 48.27 acre were offered for a minimum upset price of Rs 25 crore per acre.
In its GO, the government made it clear that the rights on the land belong to government and that the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) will conduct the auction as a government agent.

The government is keen on earning a total Rs 5,000 crore by auctioning these lands. So far, the HMDA made Rs 2,000.37 crore by auctioning Kokapet lands alone.

Andhra Pradesh: Nod for marine exports office in Bhimavaram

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The Centre has cleared the decks for the construction of integrated office complex for Marine Exports Promotion and Development Authority (MPEDA) atBhimavaramof West Godavari district.

The integrated complex is expected to benefit thousands of aqua farmers and exports. The regional office would also house an advanced laboratory to test the feed and also the end produce before export. AP is the biggest exporter of marine products in the country with a share over 55-60 per cent. Interestingly, more than 50 per cent of the APs marine produce is coming from Bhimavaram region.

MPEDA had agreed to locate the regional office in Bhimavaram, the hub of marine exports in the state, almost four years ago. The proposal was cleared by the authorities at MPEDA headquarters in Kochi following an initiative taken by a senior official worked in the state. He exerted pressure on the top management to set up an exclusive regional office including an ultra-modern laboratory in Bhimavaram for the benefit of the local farmers. He worked overtime in prevailing upon the district collector and top officials in the marketing department to get the land allocated in the local agriculture market yard. The regional office would help local farmers in getting clearance for exports, and quality testing reports.

State has used 96% of funds sanctioned by Centre: CM

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Chief ministerPramod Sawant said that his government has been able to utilize 96% of the funds sanctioned to Goa for various projects by the central government. Several of the projects are nearing completion, while the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Goa, campus at Cuncolim will be ready by August 2022, the international law school will begin operations from June 2022 and will have 20% seats reserved for Goans, Sawant said.

The government of India has certified that we have utilized 96% of the funds sanctioned to us during my tenure, Sawant said. He was speaking after releasing the report card on the achievements of the BJP governments in Goa over the last 10 years.

Since 2014, Goa received Rs 25,000 crore funding from the centre under PM Narendra Modi, for both human development and infrastructure development. This is more than Goas annual budget, which is Rs 21,000 crore, he said.

Maharashtra govt presents record additional expenditure totaling Rs 31,000 crore

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TheMaharashtragovernment on Wednesday presented supplementary demands totalling Rs 31,298.26 crore, the highest amount so far under the MVA government.

The state government has budgeted Rs 435 crore for the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission (MSBCC), which was declared as a dedicated commission forOBCreservation four months ago. The state government released Rs 5 crore from its contingency fund to the commission last week.

An amount of Rs 1,152 crore has been earmarked for creating health infrastructure during the pandemic. Another Rs 1,000 crore has been earmarked for providing ex-gratia to the families of those who died due to Covid-19. That apart, the government has earmarked Rs 1,410.8 crore to provide relief to the farmers whose crops were damaged by the devastating rains in August and September.

Supplementary demands are additional expenditure that are not part of the main budget. A total of Rs 1,150 crore has been budgeted for the loss-makingMaharashtra State Road Transport Corporation(MSRTC), which is reeling under a financial crisis and also the ongoing employee strike. The government recently announced a salary hike for all ST employees.