24.08.21

Northeast is countrys new growth engine under PM Modi: Sarbananda Sonowal

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Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways SarbanandaSonowal said thenortheasthas emerged as the growth engine of the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said Modi considers the northeast the focal point of the nation’s development and has been working tirelessly for the development of the once-neglected region since assuming charge as Prime Minister in 2014.

Attending afelicitation programme in Dibrugarhon Tuesday after the conclusion of the three-day Jan Ashirwad Yatra, Sonowal said that the Prime Minister has rediscovered the immense potential and possibilities ofAssam and other northeastern states.

The induction of five ministers from the region in the Union cabinet reflects his love and commitment to the people of the northeastern states, he added.

Modiji refers to the northeastern states as Ashta Lakshmi (eight forms of the goddess of wealth) of India. Induction of five ministers from the region in the Union cabinet is evident of the Prime Ministers commitment and sincerity towards the region.

The Union minister added that several projects along the river Brahmaputra are in the pipeline which will be announced later. He exuded confidence that business prospects in the northeast region will improve with the development of waterways.

Assam signs MoU with MFIs for relief to women borrowers

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TheAssam government signed an MoU with 37 MFIs to provide financial relief to several lakh poor women borrowers in the state to help them maintain good credit discipline in Covid times by expending over Rs 7,000 crore to the lenders.

The MoU will remain in force till March 31, 2023. In the last election, BJPs biggest promise was to these women borrowers that after coming to power, the government will waive off their dues to the MFIs.

Till June this year, there were 14 lakh women microfinance borrowers in the state of which about 11 lakh have either made regular repayments or whose payments are overdue, but are not marked asnon-performing assets(NPA). To these categories of borrowers, the government will pay a one-time incentive up to Rs 25,000 to incentivize such credit discipline.

The finance department of the Government of Assam signed an MOU with microfinance institutions for implementation of Assam Micro Finance Incentive and Relief Scheme (AMFIRS), 2021 to provide succour to poor women borrowers who are not able to return the loan amount of microfinance institutions.

The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has launched Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana (Rail Skills Development Scheme) under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (Prime Minister Skill Development Scheme).

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About 2,500 youths having minimum qualification as matriculation passed in age group 18 to 35 years would be given free training in three years in the ECoR. The training will be imparted in welding, electrician and fitter trades at Diesel Loco Shed at Visakhapatnam, Electric Loco Shed at Angul and Visakhapatnam and at Carriage Repair Workshop at Mancheswar with 20 slots at each location.The training will consist of 100 hours in three weeks. The application form for the said training is available on ECoR website as well as at respective training centre.

Tamil Nadu govt plans talks with Kerala on 3 water-sharing projects

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Tamil Naduwould soon hold talks withKeralaatThiruvananthapuramto resolve various inter-state water disputes including strengthening of Mullaperiyar dam and implementation of Pamba-Achankoil-Vaippar link, which would help divert 22tmcft of water to Sankarankoil, Kovilpatti, Sivagiri, Srivilliputhur, Rajapalayam, Sathur and Tenkasi taluks in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu had sanctioned Rs9.8 crore for the work. The state has also sanctioned installation of seismic instruments at the dam at Rs99.9 lakh. TheTamil Nadu governmentalso requires permission from Kerala to cut 23 trees to complete the strengthening work of Baby dam and repair the ghat road. Due to the obstructionist attitude of Kerala government, it was getting delayed, the minister said.
On Pamba-Achankoil-Vaippar link, Duraimurugan said the project could help generate 500MW power for Kerala. Despite Tamil Nadu giving its concurrence for preparing a detailed project report, Kerala was not in favour of the project, he said.

The Tamil Nadu government also wants Kerala to give nod to the modified proposal of Pandiyar-Punnampuzha project, proposed by the DMK government in 2006. The project was expected to generate 60MWhydropowerand divert 7tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) water through a 27km long tunnel to Moyar in Bhavani sub-basin to meet the drinking and irrigation needs of some drought-prone areas. After conducting preliminary study, a feasibility report had been prepared to facilitate discussions with Kerala

Khadi boards Sakhavu fails to impress in Kerala

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RAM:Khadi boards Sakhavu brand ofshirtsdoes not seem to have struck a chord with even the hard-corecomradesin the state. The board could only sell about 1,300 such shirts since the brand was launched during the 2018Onamseason.

As per the data submitted in the assembly last week by industries minister P Rajeeve,khadihas so far received only Rs 11.31 lakh from the sales of this particular brand. That means, only around 1,300 shirts were sold by khadi under this brand, given that this particular brand of shirts are priced in the range of Rs 700 to Rs 1,000. However, to a question on what was the governments sales expectation for this particular brand, the minister said the board had not set any profit target while launching this brand. He further said the board will give priority to selling this particular brand if there is more demand for the product, as its intention was only to popularise khadi among the general public.

Khadi has apparel products under multiple brand names at present. It includes Khadi Cool, Leader, Milleni, Summer Cool, Sakhavu,Sundari Pattu, Payyanur Pattu, Sreekrishnapuram Pattu and Ananthapuri Silks.

Karnataka: Revive farm pond scheme to deal with monsoon vagaries, say experts

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With farmers being distressed by fluctuatingmonsoonrainfall for successive years, experts feel having farm ponds (krishi honda) in fields will minimise their woes.

They have urged the government to revive the Krishi Bhagya scheme to ensure a pond in each farmland.

The suggestion comes in the wake of a prolonged spell of weak monsoon in August followingexcessive rain in June and July.

About 86 taluks were hit by floods when there was copious rainfall, but crops are now drying in these and other areas due to lack of water.

The water scarcity is despite most reservoirs being almost full. For instance, the dams in Krishna basin are 99% full (overall) they have 411.9 tmc ft of water as against their cumulative storage capacity of 417.5 tmc ft. About 106 tmc ft is stored in the dams of Cauvery basin against their maximum capacity of 114.6 tmc ft.

According to data from Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), only 42% of the total 3,639 minor irrigation tanks in the state have storage more than 50% of their capacity at present.

Stop AP from executing work on Veligonda: T to KRMB

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Telanganaon Monday asked the Krisha River Management Board (KRMB) to restrainAndhra Pradeshfrom executing works on what it termed as the unauthorisedVeligondaproject. It added that new components to the project are intended to divert water outside the river basin.

Telangana has been expressing strong objection to the projects diverting water to the outside basin from Srisailam reservoir, through Pothireddypadu head regulator and SRMC, HNSS lift scheme, KC canal lift scheme and Veligonda tunnel project. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has also conveyed strong objection to the Union government on such diversions and requested to stop diversions immediately.

Palnadu emerges as pulse capital of Andhra Pradesh

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The perennially drought-hitPalnaduregion of Guntur district has emerged as capital for production of pulses in the state. The presence of over 50 dal (pulse) mills is helping a large number of local farmers to switch to pulse cultivation as it is giving them decent profits.
The farmers in the region usually are dependent on cash crops such as cotton and chilli but are now slowly moving to cultivation of red gram and green gram.

The cultivation of pulses is saving money for farmers. Growing cotton and chilli has become a gamble due to frequent fall in prices. The cultivation of chilli and cotton require massive investment, pushing farmers into a debt trap whenever the crop gets damaged or prices dip in the market. Chilli and cotton prices are witnessing severe fluctuation every alternate year leaving farmers in distress.

According to sources, the dal mill industry is making a turnover of over Rs 3,000 crore every year as the millers are exporting stocks to various states and overseas.

To boost e-vehicle sector, charging stations must: CII

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Given that the electric vehicle industry is at a nascent stage, the state governmentmustsupport thesectorwith a two-pronged strategy of ensuring that electric vehicles are affordable while also ensuring an accommodative policy for manufacturers and energy providers in Goa, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said.

CII has also expressed concern over Convergence Energy Services Ltds (CESL) presence on the proposed board that will be constituted under the policy.

EV manufacturing is a nascent industry and needs as much government support as possible said CII as it urged the Goa government to consider linking the incentives to relevant industrial policy regulations thereby allowing EV manufacturing units in Goa to avail benefits under other policies.

CII has also recommended that vehicles which are purchased by obtaining subsidies under the Centres FAME2 scheme should also be able to get state incentives. It is advisable that Goa offers a higher purchase subsidy for electric two-wheelers to accelerate adoption. Since Goan manufacturers of EV, EVSE and charging units contribute to indirect tax collection and job creation in the state of Goa, the policy should provide an additional incentive to manufacturers based in Goa

Maharashtra: Swastha Ghar Tak, free door-to-door health services to reach Maharashtra, soon

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After successfully covering several districts ofUttar Pradesh,Swastha Ghar Tak, a healthcare initiative that provides free door-to-door screening, testing and treatment to people in rural areas, will reachMaharashtrasoon.

An initiative of DoctCo, a last-mile healthcare accessibility tech start-up, Swstha Ghar Tak is currently operating through 11 buses equipped with machines and paramedic staff, a doctor and teleconsultation facilities with senior doctors stationed in Delhi.

Though the initiative started in June this year when the second wave of theCovid-19pandemic was at its peak, the door-to-door healthcare initiative is not confined to Covid-19 tests alone.