Chakraborty, who joined the BJP in 2017 and was elected from the Khayerpur constituency in 2018 polls, is a former minister in the Congress-led government (1988-1993).
25.09.21
Assam destroys over 2,400 rhino horns to bust medicinal myth
On World Rhino Day on Wednesday,Assamset on fire a large stockpile of over 2,400 rhino horns, which were extracted from naturally or accidentally dead rhinos as well as those confiscated from arrested poachers and stored for over four decades in government treasuries, to stop the illegal trade in rhino horns.
Chief minister Himanta BiswaSarma, who personally supervised the event atBokakhatamid the chanting of Vedic rituals and blowing of conches, said they wanted to prove the common belief that rhino horns have miraculous medicinal properties is a myth. The horns, extracted by poachers after killing the animals, have a huge illegal market in several countries, especially Vietnam, where they are prized for their aphrodisiac qualities and command a high price.
Selling these horns would propagate the myth that rhino horns have medicinal values, which the wants to bust. As trade in human organs cannot be allowed, the state government is also committed towards not encouraging trade in wildlife animal parts, the chief minister added.
Acting on a cabinet decision, 2,479 horns were consigned to the flame. About 94 horns will be showcased in a museum to be set up at the Kaziranga National Park, while 29 will be kept for court cases.
Sarma added that the government has taken a zero-Tolerance policy towards poaching of wildlife. The one-horned rhinoceros Population in Assam has increased from 1,672 in 1999 to 2,652 as per the 2018 census, which has contributed to the greater one-horned rhino moving up the conservation ladder from the Endangered to the Vulnerable tag under the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
In an initiative meant to protect, preserve and promote the rich cultural traditions of tribals, theOdishagovernment has decided to come up with textbooks in 21tribal languages.TheSC/STResearch and Training Institute (SCSTRTI) in association with the Academy of Tribal Language and Culture (ATLC) has been developing these textbooks up to Class V which will be included in the curriculum inschoolsrun by the state SC/ST development department from the 2022 academic session.
The books will have topics like folklore, art and craft, music, songs and fables that have enriched tribal communities. They will also contain and document riddles and stories in tribal languages.
Odisha has as many as 62 tribal communities speaking 21 languages of which seven have their own scripts. The major tribal languages include Santali, Ho, Koya, Munda, Bonda, Kishan, Gandi, Desia, Kuvi, Kui, Gabba, Soura, Juanga, Bhumija, Binjhal, Bhuyan, Sadri and Khadia.
Experts said imparting Education in tribal languages has several challenges, primarily being the shortage of adequate teachers. Besides, residential schools have a varied proportion of students from different tribal communities.
Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Limited (TCMPF) has claimed to have adopted the latest dairy technology in processing and transporting milk so that Aavin products meet the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) standards.
TCMPF in response said that the Auditing was done in the year 2019 and since then it had improved the cooling to ensure that only quality milk reached the diaries.
Usually, the bacterial content in raw milk increases due to transportation delays. To reduce this to one hour or less, the federation has installed more bulk milk coolers (BMCs). The state now has around 500 BMCs.
TheUDFsubcommittee, which was given the task to examine thefeasibilityofSilverlinesemi high-speed rail project ofKerala Rail Development Corporation(K-Rail), has in its report said that the ambitious project of theLDFgovernment was unviable and would pose seriousenvironmental issues. The report of the subcommittee, headed byIUMLleader and formerPWDministerMK Muneer, will be discussed by UDF at a meeting scheduled
The report is said to have pointed out that the project is expected to have huge cost overruns than the currently estimated figure of Rs 63,000 crore and will not be financially viable. It has also been said that as the Silverline project is going to use standard gauge, it cannot be integrated into the existing rail of the country.
Silverline is an ambitious project that aims to cover a distance of 530km from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram in less than four hours. The project is facing criticism from a section of activists and the public over the huge costs involved amid fears of causing environmental damage. The project will require 3418 acres, including both RAILWAY and private land. Of the estimated project cost of Rs 63,941 crore, Rs 11,535 crore has been estimated for overall compensation.
Karnatakawill renew its efforts to convince the Centre to continue granting compensation for the loss of revenue due to implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) beyond June 2022 even as the states tax collection is slowly emerging out of the Covid-hit slowdown.Finance department officials said Karnataka has joined other states seeking continuation of GST compensation at least for two more years. Chief ministerBasavaraj Bommai, who holds the finance portfolio and represents the state in the GST Council, will pursue the matter with the Centre. We have already sought for it and further correspondence with the Centre will be done, said ISN Prasad, additional chief secretary, finance department.
While the state claims Rs 2,500 crore per month on Average, the Centre has released Rs 8,542 crore so far, which includes both general compensation and that for Covid losses for this year, and Rs 11,059 crore is due. The commercial tax department has collected Rs 2,351 crore GST and Rs 1,794 crore sales tax levied on petrol and diesel in September till date, while the state has got Rs 2,000 crore compensation in the month.
To ensure better services to its customers, in the festive season in coming days, theTelangana postal departmenthas launched a four-month-long Dak Parcel Mahotsav to book and deliver thegift packagesandparcelsto their near and dear ones, living within the country and abroad.
Parcels can also be picked up from customers, based on online requests through either the Post info app or by requests through beat postman. The packing is made available in five head post offices including, Hanamkonda, Karimnagar, Khammam, Nizamabad and Warangal, too, said Srinivas.
Though seizure of fake Indian currency notes (FICN) in the state in 2020 saw a 125 per cent decrease compared to that of 2019,Andhra Pradeshstood first in southern India and third in the country, according to the NCRB-2020 data.
A total of 17,705 FICN worth Rs 1,44,50,550 were seized in 2020 as compared to 40,000 notes worth Rs 3,70,85,600 in 2019. Of all the FICN seizures in the country, the highest was recorded in Maharashtra (Rs 83.6 crore), followed by West Bengal (Rs 2.4 crore), Andhra Pradesh (Rs 1.44 crore), and Nadu (Rs 1 crore). Investigating agencies believe that the counterfeit notes are being smuggled into India from Bangladesh through West Bengals Malda. The Malda-based syndicates smuggle the FICN through the Indo-Bangladesh border.
The state government has decided to set upsolarpower plants on barren and uncultivated lands to generate solarpowerin Goa.
The GoaEnergyDevelopment Agency (GEDA) invited expression of interest from bidders to set up a minimum 500kW and maximum 2mW capacity grid connected ground mounted solar PV power Plants on barren or uncultivable lands.
A plant should be within a 10km radius of the 33kV/11kV Network of the electricity department (EDG) to facilitate easy supply of solar power.
The state wants to set up solar power plants under Component-A of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha (PM-KUSUM).
The ministry of new and (MNRE), government of India, has issued guidelines for setting up decentralised ground mounted grid connected renewable power plants under Component-A of PM-KUSUM scheme and further allocated 50mW to the GEDA under this component for pilot implementation.
Individual farmers, group of farmers, Cooperative Societies, panchayats, farmer producer organisations (FPO), water user associations (WUA) all of whom can be collectively referred as landowners hereinafter, can collaborate with EPC contractors or system integrators or developers to set up 500kW to 2 mW capacity grid connected ground mounted solar PV power plants on barren / uncultivable lands located within 10km radius of the substations notified by the GEDA.
E-commerce giantAmazonhas announced that it has launched a new large warehouse in Pune and Mumbai, and has expanded another Mumbai facility, taking the tally of such facilities acrossMaharashtrato 10, with a total capacity of nine million cubic feet.
The new warehouse, which Amazon calls fulfilment centres, is located at Varale. A spokesperson called its in the state significant, while not disclosing the amount. In a statement, Amazon claimed that the new centres will also help MSMEs units expand their customer base.
The fulfilment centres stand on top of the distribution chain in the Amazon Network, with the company also operating seven sorting centres, 200 delivery service partner stations, and on-ground shops for last-mile operations.