27.10.21

ADB approves Rs 458cr loan to improve infra of Tripura’s capital: OfficialAsian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan amounting to around Rs 458 crore for strengthening urban infrastructure in Tripura’s capital Agartala, an official said.

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The financial support will be provided to harness technology and promote new developments to accommodate the increasing Population in Agartala, he said. Agartala, one of the fastest-developing cities in the country, is strategically located near the BangladeshBhutanIndiaNepal economic corridor and has the potential to become a commercial hub for the northeastern region, the official said.

The project will upgrade the city’s urban and Services that will facilitate economic resilience and improve the Quality Of Life of its residents, the official said. However, the city currently suffers from poor infrastructure such as inadequate Drainage Systems and road networks.

Guwahati air quality index dips

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As hazy skies are back to haunt the state capital, the city’s air quality dipped to the “moderate” category, which causes breathing discomfort to people with lungs, asthma and heart diseases, with a steady reduction in ambient temperature and lack of rain.

After a few months of blue skies and clean air quality index (AQI), PM 2.5 pollutants stood at 144, which was 88 barely one week ago, the national air quality index of the Central Pollution Control Board stated.

The prominent pollutant is PM2.5 and the peak level of PM2.5, tiny particulate matter of diameter 2.5 microns or less than 2.5 microns – that can enter deep into the lungs – was 271 on Wednesday morning(10 am) contrary to the Average 144 during the day.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor”, and 401-500 “severe”. Above 500 AQI is “severe-plus emergency” category.

The variation in AQI values is primarily due to variation in PM 2.5 values, which are seasonal weather characteristics.

The air quality may further deteriorate in the coming days due to the bursting of crackers as every year,Diwalinight pushes the city’s ambient air to dangerous levels which lead to winter pollution.

Last year, Guwahati’s air quality index had dipped to “severe” category with bursting of firecrackers on Diwali and a day after, despite a “complete ban” by the authorities. The average air quality index in Guwahati was 454 – the worst in the last season.

The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) signed a Statement of Intent with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday to work for tribal development and sustainable development in Odisha.As per provisions, the two organisations will undertake targeted analytical tribal research activities based on SDG and Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), skilling through career guidance and counseling, management of natural resources especially water and biodiversity to ensure overall development of tribal areas.

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The Statement of Intent was signed between KIIT and KISS founder Dr Achyuta Samanta and UNDP Resident Representative, India, Shoko Noda. Both UNDP and KISS are working towards eradication of hunger and POVERTY. We are happy to work with KISS to bring about overall development of tribal areas in Odisha,” said Noda. Thanking UNDP for partnering with KISS, Dr Samanta said KISS has been working towards eradication of poverty and hunger and fulfilling Goals for last three decades.

Tamil Nadu: TNRERA-registered projects go up

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The number of housing projects registered with theTamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority(TNRERA) till October this year has exceeded the total number of projects that were registered in 2020.

While 765 housing projects were registered with the state’s real estate regulatory Authority between January and October, only 755 projects were registered from January to December in 2020.

A year before, 492 housing projects got registered for the entire 2019. All ongoing housing projects must be registered with the state’s real estate regulatory authority.

Ayurveda to boost kids immunity in Kerala

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As the unvaccinated children are preparing to resume their physical classes, the state Health department has approved a series of ayurveda preventive medicines to prevent the risk of health problems.

The medicines will be available at the various government ayurveda hospitals and Ayur Raksha clinics.

The decision was taken after the state ayurveda Covid response cell (SACRC) submitted an action plan for ayurveda prophylactic care in children under project Kiranam. The action plan is based on the recommendations of Ayush ministry.

SACRC has been implementing several programmes to prevent, mitigate and rehabilitate Covid patients in the state by coordinating all the ayurvedic departments. Amritham, the ayurvedic preventive strategy for Covid-19 quarantined individuals, has gained wide acceptance and has shown clinically viable results in various studies.

Karnataka: Clamour for equal status to Kannada and Hindi

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hile chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday reaffirmed his commitment to promote Kannada, stakeholders urged the to prevail upon the Centre to accord Official Language status toKannadaand other regional languages on a par withHindiand English.

The activists revived their demand of official status to all 23 scheduled languages in the central government administration through a constitutional amendment. They want a resolution passed in the legislature.

Meanwhile, the Kannada Development Authority (KDA) is preparing a draft of the Samagra Kannada Bhasha Masoode (Comprehensive Kannada Language Bill) envisaging a single-window agency to implement Kannada in the state administration and frame common rules for promoting it, including signages in public places and commercial establishments.

Article 343 of the Constitution states that the official language of the Union shall be Hindi along with English and theyre now being used for official purposes by the central government. Language activists want it to be amended to accommodate all scheduled languages, including Kannada. They want Article 351, which says its the duty of the Union Government to promote Hindi, to be repealed.

T delegation promotes state in Paris

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TheTelanganagovernment said the state delegation headed by IT and industries minister KT Rama Rao held a series of meetings with various CEOs and heads inParis.

The delegation met the Leadership of missile player MBDA, aviation training providerAerocampus Aquitaineas well as officials ofCosmetic Valley, which is a cluster of about 800 companies that employs about 70,000 people with around Euro 11 billion in revenue.

The minister also held a formal meeting with the ambassador of India to theRepublic of France, Jawed Ashraf, and apprised him about the various priority sectors in the state and the state governments effort to draw investments into these sectors.

MoU for APSDC loan likely to see revision

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The controversy over the securing a loan of Rs 25,000 crore through AP State Development Corporation (APSDC) does not appear to be over as the government is believed to have started negotiations with the consortium of bankers to revise the previous MoU.
The development took place after the Andhra Pradesh High Court questioned the government for making thegovernorin his personal capacity a guarantor to the debts.

The state governments decision to constitute APSDC exclusively to borrow monies from different financial institutions had kicked up controversy as several PILs were filed in the AP high court. TheUnion finance ministryhad also sought clarification from the state government following a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on formation of SDC as it suspected that the new entity was constituted to bypass the consolidated fund and treasury rules.

Minimum temperature falls by 1 degree Celsius in Goa

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Minimum temperature has started falling from October 27 as per the India meteorological department (IMD) and was one degree Celsius below its normal value on Thursday. This will continue to persist for another 24 hours, theIMDsaid.

The minimum temperature recorded inPanajion Thursday was 21C which was 2.6C below its normal value. The maximum temperature, which has been on the higher side at 33C, has increased to 34C. This will persist for three to four more days, IMD said.
Gradually, as the northerly components reduce and it will be mostly easterlies in the lower levels, the minimum temperature will rise to its normal value, IMD said.

Maharashtra cabinet nod for 17% more elected representatives in local bodies

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The state cabinet approved the proposal to increase the number of elected representatives in all , except theBMC, by 17%.

Last month, the cabinet had approved reintroduction of the multi-member system for all these local bodies. Elections are to be held for 23 of the 27 municipal corporations and 27 of the 36 district councils early next year. Pune, which has a Population of more than 30 lakh, may see the number of seats increase by 11, Nagpur five, Navi Mumbai and Thane by 11 seats each.

At present, the number of members in municipal corporations is a minimum 65 and maximum 175. The number of members in municipal councils is a minimum 17 and maximum 65. Thus, the minimum number of members to be elected for a population of 3 lakh to 6 lakh will be 76 and the maximum will not exceed 96. The minimum members to be elected for a population of 6 lakh to 12 lakh will be 96 and the maximum will not exceed 126. (For Navi Mumbai, it will go up from 111 to 122).

For a population of 12 lakh to 24 lakh the minimum will be 126 and the maximum 156 (For Thane, the seats will go up from 131 to 142, Nashik 122 to 133, Kalyan-Dombivli 122 to 133, and Vasai-Virar 115 to 126).