25.05.25
Odisha Farmers To Get Free Crop Insurance For Coming 3 Years: Govt
The Cooperation Department, Government of Odisha today announced that farmers in the State will be meted out absolutely free crop Insurance coverage for the coming three years, starting from the Kharif season of the year 2023 up to the Rabi season of FY 2025-26.
The announcement came close on the heels of a review of the Departments performance conducted by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik earlier in the day. As per the announcement, the department will pay insurance premiums for the same period on behalf of the beneficiary farmers.
Providing free crop insurance coverage to Odisha farmers is the first-ever step in the country. Agricultural loans provided to farmers in the State are one of the successful programmes taken up by the Department. Accordingly, Odisha State Cooperative Bank, 17 Central and around 2,710 Primary Agricultural credit Societies (PACS) have been providing agricultural loans to farmers in Odisha.
The beneficiary farmers get short-term cooperative loans at the time of their requirements, with low rates of interest and easy installments of payment, a press release mentioned.
The State Government previously enhanced the interest-free loan limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. Under this ambitious scheme, more than seven lakh small and marginal farmer families were provided with total agricultural loans to the tune of Rs 16,683.57 crore during the FY 2022-23.
CM Stalin inaugurates iTNT hub
Chief Minister M K Stalin inaugurated the Nadu Technology (iTNT) hub, constructed at a cost of Rs 54.61 crore inside the Anna University campus, through video conference from the Secretariat on Monday.
Touted as Indias first emerging and Deep Tech innovation Network, iTNT hub, which would promote Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Block Chain technology by integrating growing technologies to face future challenges, was announced in the State Budget for 2022-23.
It will create an ecosystem for innovations and take Tamil Nadu to the top 10 position in the world on Deep Tech. It will work with an academic network of more than 570 engineering colleges by engaging with researchers and Industry partners to promote innovation.
The non-profit organization under the States Information Technology and Digital Services department, iTNT was set up with 50 per cent funding from the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, 37 funding from the State and 13 per cent from industry partners.
Kerala becomes the First State to Introduce Uniform Gold Price Based on Bank Rate
Kerala becomes the first state in India to launch uniform gold price based on the . The decision to introduce uniform price on 916 purity 22 carat gold has been taken at a meeting between officials of Malabar Gold and Diamonds, one of the largest gold and diamond retail chains in the country and key members of All Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants Association which sets the board rate for gold.
The gold rate should be uniform across the country based on bank rate. However, in most states, gold is priced Rs.150-300 per gram extra over the bank rate. In Kerala, gold used to be sold at different prices on a particular day. Uniform gold price based on bank rate offers an opportunity to the consumers to purchase gold at a reasonable and transparent price.
According to Mr.Ahammed, there should be a system to determine the price of gold based on the bank rate on a specific day in the country. Bank rate on gold, GST and other taxes including import duty are the same across India. For example, on November 4, 2022, the bank spot rate of 916 (22 carat) gold was Rs. 1,640 per ounce, the bank premium was Rs. 3.50, the import duty was Rs. 6,67,467 per kg and the bank cost per gram of gold was Rs. 5,008. Adding all these, the bank rate of November 4, 2022 amounts to Rs. 4610 per gram of 916 gold. Thanks to the price standardization, jewellers in Kerala now charge the same price as the bank rate for gold.
Only 45% of farming in India is mechanised: Study
A study conducted byNITK Surathkalhas concluded that to date only 45% of farming in India is mechanised, out of which around 20% is semi-mechanised, where farmers use both manual labour and machinery.
The study titled Distribution and Dividends of Mechanised Farming in India was conducted byPradyot Ranjan Jena, associate professor, School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Management, NITK Surathkal. It was co-authored byPurna Chandra Tanti, a PhD scholar from NITK. The two-year-long study that has analysed various data from more than 20 states of the country was published recently in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, a leading journal.
The study took a sample size of 42,152 households and other data available with the central government. The study also points out that the adoption rate of mechanised farming is still low, and that its distribution is uneven in India.
The impact evaluation estimates show that the adoption of tilling implements such as tractors and power tillers has the biggest positive impact on net agricultural income, which is 31% higher compared to non-adopters. Recently, there has been a surge in small and medium-sized machines in the south, east, and north-eastern regions.
Telangana CM KCR sanctions Rs 105 crore for Formation Day celebrations
Chief ministerK Chandrasekhar Raohas sanctioned 105 crore forTelangana Formation Day’s decennial celebrations. The amount will be released to all 33 district collectors soon. The has already decided to extend celebrations to three weeks, starting June 2.
The CM held a conference with district collectors and superintendents of Police along with ministers, secretaries and heads of various departments at the new secretariat on Thursday. He said the celebrations should be held in a grand manner as it is a major milestone and a priority for the government.
He asked the officials to make arrangements for extending 1 lakh financial assistance to Vishwakarmas on June 9, which would be celebrated as welfare day. The CM asked the cabinet subcommittee, headed by BC welfare minsiter Gangula Kamalakar, to finalise the guidelines for the scheme being extended to the Most Backward Classes (MBCs).
AP To Cite Changes In State’s Health, Nutrition Sectors At Niti Aayog Meet
The Andhra Pradesh government would present a report on the changes it has introduced in the healthcare and Nutrition sectors, along with reports on several other important schemes that are being implemented in the state at the governing council meet in New Delhi on May 27.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy held a meeting with top officials on Tuesday and asked them to identify the states subjects to be taken up at the Niti Aayog meeting.
Accordingly, the state will present reports on the family doctor concept, Aarogyasri, the Nadu-Nadu programme in hospitals, healthcare to mothers and children and appointment of more doctors and other healthcare personnel in the government hospitals, the 104 ambulance Services, PHCs and Village Health Clinics.
Goa state wildlife board reconstituted
The Goa government reconstituted theGoa State Board for Wildlife.
The reconstituted Goa State Board of Wildlife is chaired by the chief minister,Pramod Sawant. The 31-member board includes representatives of varying departments from the state and central governments in addition to stakeholders and representatives of Environment organizations.
The board also comprises of prominent scientists from the Goa University and the NCPOR, Goa as members.
Maharashtra: Alcohol sale jumps record 23% in 1 year, revenue rises 25%
Alcohol consumption jumped 23% going by sales between 2021-22 and 2022-23 in the state, show excise department data. Senior officials said it was the biggest year-on-year rise over the past several decades despite a price rise.
The state reaped the benefit with a record Rs 21,550 crore excise haul, a huge revenue increase of almost 25%.
Beer and wine put on impressive shows (see box), thanks to a liberalised policy to push sale, said officials.
The revenue jump has been the most impressive in Nagpur, Aurangabad and Kolhapur regions, more than the traditional cash cows of Mumbai-Thane, Pune and Nashik regions. Nagpur revenue grew 42.9%, Aurangabad and Kolhapur have registered 29.7% and 28.5% more sales, respectively. Mumbai-Thane, Pune and Nashik have shown an annual increase of around 23% in excise revenue.
Nutrition gardens to come up in 120 govt schools in Ambala
As many as 120 government schools in the district have been identified to grow seasonal vegetables for the mid-day meal.
An official in the Education Department said though the department, for the past several years, had been asking the schools to grow vegetables, very few schools showed interest in maintaining the Nutrition garden due to various reasons.
Recently, during a visit to government schools, the District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO) noticed the efforts made by the teachers of Government Primary School, Rupamajra, and Government Senior Secondary School, Kesri, and facilitated the teachers with appreciation certificates.
They have been growing vegetables, including brinjal, bottle gourd, onions, capsicum and cauliflower. A list of 120 schools had been prepared where nutrition garden can be set up and the schools will get a grant of Rs 5,000 each to set up the gardens.