26.12.22

Tripura signs Rs 2,275 crore pact with ADB on power supply

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TheTripuragovernment has signed an agreement with Asian (ADB) amounting to Rs 2,275 crore to strengthen and improve power distribution efficiency in the northeastern state, deputy chief ministerJishnu Dev Varmasaid.
Terming the agreement as historic for the state,Dev Varmasaid it is the single biggest project in any plan through an externally aided project.

Of the Rs 2,275 crore fund, the Centre will repay Rs 1,820 crore while the state is supposed to provide Rs 455 crore, he said, adding the project will be implemented in the next three years.

APDCL seeks hike in power tariff to raise 10,000 crore

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The Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) has petitioned the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) for a hike of Rs 1.25 per unit and the fixed charge by Rs 15 in power tariff with effect from April 1 for the period 2023-24 to meet its requirement of around Rs 10,000 crore, which would hit hard households that form around 93% of the companys consumer base.

According to the proposals, the tariff (which is a combination of fixed charges and variable charges) will shoot up by a minimum Rs 25.55 for Jeevan Dhara category for every kilowatt consumed per hour.

Odisha’s maternal mortality ratio now stands at 119 against 168 in 2015-17

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Odisha has reported second highest point decline in the country in maternal mortality ratio (MMR) with a 49-point decline from 168 in 2015-17 to 119 in 2018-20. But the state is still performing poorly compared to the national Average of 97.

MMR is the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per one lakh live births.

According to the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin on MMR, 2018-20, Rajasthan witnessed 73-point decline followed by Odisha and Uttar Pradeshs 49, Bihar 47, Assam 34, 33, Gujarat 30, Andhra Pradesh 29, Karnataka 28 and India 25 from 2015-17 to 2018-20.

States MMR was 358 in 2001-03 compared to Indias 301. It has witnessed a progressive reduction in MMR from 2001-03 to 2018-20 and coming closure to national level, said an official of the Health and family welfare department.

Odisha is yet to accomplish the National Health Policy (NHP) target for MMR of less than 100/lakh live births. It is also far away from achieving the Sustainable Development goal (SDG) target of MMR of less than 70/ lakh live births by 2030.

So far eight states have achieved the SDG goal. They are Kerala followed by Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Karnataka.

Madurai region only halfway through in I-T collection

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The Madurai regional office of the has managed to collect 2,100 crore so far out of the target collection of 4,000 crore for the Madurai region, principal chief commissioner of income tax for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, R Ravichandran said. Ravichandran reviewed the income tax collection for the Madurai office.

though the collection for Madurai region appears mediocre, they are hopeful that the collection will improve in the next quarter. The income tax collection target for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry region is 1,08,000 crore in which they have collected 70 %. Another installment for advance tax collection is also due, he said.

The Growth of the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry collection is at 28 %. The region has been given the target of 17% but the income tax collection growth is another 11% because the states economy is doing well and tax collection is really good. Though we have been given the target of 1,08,000 crore, we are planning to touch 1,25,000 crore and it will be the highest target the region has ever achieved. We managed to touch 1 lakh crore collection last year, he said.

States action plan strategies to cost over 52K crore

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In keeping with the IPCC report on developing adaptation and mitigation policies, Kerala state action plan on https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change (2023-30) has initiated anticipatory action to deal with future risks. The action plan has put the focus on reducing vulnerability and exposure to the present climate variability and its impact on the natural ecosystem and socio-Economic Systems as a coastal state.

The 187-page document proposed to prioritize the hotspot districts for Investment and develop targeted interventions to lower sensitivity and build adaptive capacity. It has proposed mitigation strategies estimated at Rs 52,238 crore and the adaptation outlay is Rs 38,407 crore. The states share is estimated at 5%, and the central governments share at 23% while the remaining will be the consumers share.

Kerala is the fifth-least greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting state in India. It calculates that emissions from energy sectors, which account for 80% of the emissions, had seen a growing trendincreasing at a compounded annual Growth rate of 5.5% between 2005 and 2015. Within the Energy sector, transport (54%) was the highest contributor to GHG emissions, followed by buildings (21%).

Using 17 indicators, a composite vulnerability index (CVI) was developed in which the top eight factors, namely Population density, BPL, inherently-sensitive groups like below 6 years, above 65 years and disabled persons, air, water, groundwater, Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and communicable diseases, were categorized as sensitive.

Wayanad was ranked the most vulnerable in the state. Kozhikode, Kasaragod, Palakkad, Alappuzha, Idukki, Kannur, Malappuram, and Kollam are the other highly-vulnerable districts. Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram are the medium vulnerable districts. Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, and Thrissur districts are classified as having a low vulnerability, with Pathanamthitta having the least vulnerability.

The vulnerable districts have high disease prevalence, a large population of very young, very old, and differently-abled, and reduced availability of healthcare facilities and relief shelters. In most districts, insufficient Irrigation coverage and poor groundwater/surface water quality are fuelling the decline in adaptive capacity.

An entire paradigm shift to alternative energy sources has been proposed by 2030 including increasing RE-installed capacity to 3.46 GW. A higher share of EVs in public transport and intermediate public transport, increased installation of solar based and energy efficient agricultural supports and improving the Energy Efficiency of Non- PAT (perform, achieve and trade) industries and Micro, Small and Medium enterprises.

Karnataka government may end 100% road tax exemption for EVs

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In a move that could affect electric vehicle (EV) adoption inKarnataka, the state transport department is mulling ending 100% road tax exemption given to battery-run vehicles. If approved, EVs will be costlier in the state.

Sources in the transport department said discussions are going on to include this proposal in the upcoming budget. By 2030, a significant number of vehicles will be electric, especially in Bengaluru. Motor vehicle tax is one of the major revenues of the and any shortfall will affect Infrastructure and social welfare schemes. There will be a separate tax slab for EVs. But talks are in early stages. The state government will have to approve the proposal, the sources said.

Karnataka has more than two crore registered vehicles of which EVs are only 1.5 lakh till December. Between May and December 2022, 61,598 EVs were registered in the state.

In March 2016, the state government exempted all EVs from paying road tax. In Karnataka, however, only road tax exemption with no registration fee is given to EV customers. Many other states/UTs offer financial subsidies for EVs along with road tax exemption.

Karnataka is also the first state in the country to come up with an Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy in 2017. Experts fear a move to impose MV tax on EVs is likely to discourage prospective buyers. Many are reluctant to shift to EVs due to the high initial cost and inadequate number of charging stations.

At present, Karnataka imposes the highest road tax for non-EVs in the country. For cars below Rs 5 lakh, for instance, it is around 13% of the actual price, 14% for Rs 5 lakh-Rs 10 lakh, 17% between Rs 10 lakh-Rs 20 lakh and 18% for above Rs 20 lakh.

Godrej to invest Rs 250 crore in palm oil processing unit in Telangana

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Godrej Agrovet Ltd plans to invest Rs 250 crore in setting up an edible oil processing unit in Khammam district of with a proposed capacity of 30 tonnes per hour (TPH) which will be expandable to 60 TPH.

The facility, which is expected to achieve full-scale operations by 2025, is slated to be the single largest private Investment in Khammam district, Telangana Industries minister KT Rama Raos office said after the minister met the Godrej group of companys top brass in Hyderabad.

According to the company, the palm oil farmers will be serviced through 10 Godrej Samadhan centres, including one existing and nine in the pipeline, and their extension team.

The company will also deploy digital technology with tools such as satellite and drones to track the area under cultivation, offer image-based crop advisory Services, farmer apps and sapling portal among others, in the region.

The Godrej Agrovet top boss also informed the minister that the company is actively considering opportunities to expand its presence in other sectors such as animal feed, aqua feed, agrochemicals, Poultry processing and Dairy, among others, in Telangana over the next few years.

Telangana has set a goal of bringing 20 lakh acres in the state under palm oil cultivation as part of efforts to reduce dependence on imported oil.

Education reforms in AP to help improve skills of students: Botsa

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Education Minister Botsa Satyanarayana has said the aims to upgrade the skills of students to make them globally competitive. This would be done by introducing a series of reforms like the introduction of English as a medium of instruction and CBSE syllabus in government schools.

The minister appreciated the role of officials in developing a new curriculum linking higher education with Skill development. This was not being practised anywhere in the country. Some 1.40 lakh students are undergoing training with Microsoft.

‘Climate-smart agriculture can help meet rising food demands’ in Goa

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and Climate-change”>Climate Change are posing a threat to crops and there is an urgent need to make a shift to ‘Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture“>Climate-Smart Agriculture‘ to meet the increasing demand for food, saidBalasaheb Sawant, vice chancellor of KonkanKrishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli while speaking as the chief guest at the two-day national level conference on agriculture and climate change.

To avoid losses there is a need to propagate varieties of mango, paddy and other crops that would suit aptly to the changing climatic conditions. Indian farmers through their hard work have made it possible to get good yield of crops of temperate zone grapes and apples in the tropical areas, said Sawant at the event organised by the department of economics at Laxmibai Halbe College, Dodamarg, and the Indian council of social science and research.

Govt policy to regulate commercial operations in space sector soon: Isro chief

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The government of India would soon come out with a policy to regulate commercial operations for space exploration, said Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) chairman S Somnath.

The premier space organization has already submitted a draft policy to the department of space, he added.

Isro already has established its commercial arm NewSpace India Limited to handle all its Marketing operations. The space agency has plans to launch Aditya Mission to place its spacecraft in the halo orbit between Earth and Sun, said Somnath, adding no such plan has been devised so far for asteroid.

The Isro also plans to set up a second launch station at Kulasekharapatinam in Nadu, he said.

Explaining the Isros roadmap for Amritkaal (2022-2047), Somnath said, The organisation is focusing on building reusable rocket, flexible satellite that would address complex Communication issues and spectrum, to continue with explorations including human missions with an eye on key emerging areas. We invest only in projects having utility and with defined goals, and not in show-off kind of things. We work on low-cost models. Isro has been working successfully in good science, with minimum Money.