28.02.23

No child marriage in last one month in Assam: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

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Justifying the crackdown on child marriages in Assam, chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma said not a single such incident has taken place in the state in the last one month.

The Assam government on February 3 started an intensedrive against child marriagesacross the state, registering over 4,000 cases. Till Tuesday, 3,145 people have been apprehended.

Observing that making a large number of arrests in thecrackdown on child marriagecreated “havoc in the private lives of people”, the Gauhati on February 14 said there was no need for custodial interrogation of the accused in such cases.

In a first, Orissa high court opens virtual branches in 10 districts

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Amidst demands from lawyers across the country for setting up benches in different parts of all the states, theOrissaHC has taken the pioneering step of opening virtual HCs in 10 districts and plans to provide this facility in the remaining 20 districts by the middle of this year.

The demands for high court benches at places other than its principal seat from bar associations in different states and resultant strikes had often paralysed judicial work. Recently, ugly incidents were seen at Sambalpur in western Odisha, leading to The Supreme Court directing strict action against erring advocates.

The approximate figures of filing of cases from the remaining nine districts are: Sambalpur (4,000), Ganjam (10,500), Bhadrak (5,300), Kalahandi (3,400), Bolangir (3,800), Koraput (3,200), Puri (8,200) and Rourkela at Sundargarh (3,278).

Tamil Nadu govt to present budget on March 20

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Nadufinance ministerPalanivel Thiaga Rajanwill present the financialbudgetfor the year 2023-24 on March 20.

The finance minister would table the Vote on Account for the first few months of the fiscal year 2023-24 and the final supplementary estimates for the year 2022-23 on March 28. Soon after the budget is presented, the Business Advisory Committee will decide on the dates for the presentation of the Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture budget and debates for the demand for grants for various government departments, Appavu said.

Credibility of higher education institutions under cloud in Kerala

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Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) has demanded drastic changes in the higher Education system in the state.

The KSSP leaders said the reports that ineligible persons were appointed in the top posts of educational institutions has put a question mark on the credibility of the higher education system in the state.

There is widespread concern that the policy is against the concept of all-inclusive education, Parishad leaders said in the statement.

Kerala government has already taken measures to transform the state into a knowledge Society. Though the has been taking major steps to achieve this goal, there are many issues to be resolved, they pointed out.
As per the data provided byKerala Higher Education Boardin 2021, there are 18 universities and 1,504 colleges in the state. Though there are adequate infrastructural facilities, around 80,000-degree seats remain vacant every year, most of them in the unaided sector.

Crimes against children up by 10-20%, says Karnataka govt

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The government revealed that crimes against children have shot up by between 10% and 20% inKarnataka.

Cases under Pocso in 2018 stood at 2,063 which rose to 3,097 in 2022, Jnanendra said. In less than two months in 2023, we have already registered 207 Pocso cases. This is largely due to an increase in awareness among the public to report such incidents and punish culprits. He said there has been a slight increase in the number of missing children cases. While data revealed a marginal drop in the number of missing girl children, the number of missing boys has seen a significant increase. In 2021, some 1,644 girl children went missing but that number has fallen to 1,443 in 2022, Janendra said.

Similarly, the number of missing boys, which was 488 in 2021, shot up to 742 in 2022. In both years, Bengaluru topped the list with the highest number of missing boys and girls. Jnanendra lauded efforts of the Police in swiftly detecting such cases and tracing the missing children successfully. The success rate of tracing missing boys and girls is 94% and 96 % respectively, he said.

Telangana tops in digital governance with maximum e-transactions

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leads the country in terms of e-transactions per 1,000 Population between June 2014 and January 2023. The state had the most e-transactions (1.58 lakh), followed by AP (1.41 lakh) andKerala(1.25 lakh), which are the only three states in the country with more than one lakh e-transactions per 1,000 people within the specified time frame.

WhileKarnataka, another IT hub and Home to India’s ‘Silicon Valley’ Bengaluru, ranks 13th with only 22,486 transactions. The data from Telangana’s Socio Economic Outlook-2023 highlights e-Governance in the state and assumes significance in Light of external affairs ministerS Jaishankar’s recent remarks in Hyderabad on how India is important to the world because of its massive digital delivery capacity.

Officials said rising digital transactions reflect the availability of e-governance solutions in a state. Such solutions were initiated in this part of the country a long time ago. With many added Services and post-Covid-19, such transactions have increased, a senior official said.
Telangana has digital delivery services in over 45 departments, with Police using the service the most.

Increasing C-sections a cause for concern in Andhra Pradesh

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Increasing number of caesarean births have become a cause for concern inAndhra Pradesh. Even as per the official data, over 50% of the total deliveries occurred at the private hospitals in the last two years in the state are surgical deliveries or C-section births. This stood at about 45% even if the institutional deliveries happened at public Health facilities were taken into consideration. The international healthcare community considers 10-15% C-sections as the ideal rate.

While some people are preferring C-sections on what they believe as an auspicious day or time, a few hospitals are opting for C-sections as they can charge more compared to normal delivery. Some facilities are inclining towards the surgical deliveries to make a fast buck under the Dr YSRAarogyasrischeme, which gives a higher coverage for the C-sections. In some cases, public themselves demand a C-section with a belief that it is a safe option than that of normal birth.

It is assumed that 15% of the pregnancies will land into complication, requiring surgical intervention. Here the caesarean section becomes a lifesaving surgery for the mother and the child.World Health Organisation, in its statement released in April 2015, stated that at Population level, C-section rates higher than 10% are not associated with reductions in maternal and new-born mortality rates. As in other surgeries, C-sections also have inherent risk of surgical and anaesthetic complications.

Goa allows import of ore for export from Mormugao port

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The allowed import of iron Ore extracted in other states or countries for domestic consumption or export fromMormugao PortAuthority (MPA). This will generate additional revenue for the state by way of Rs 50 per tonne as cess, processing fees and other incidental revenue opportunities.
The directorate of mines and geology notified amendments to the Goa (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation of Minerals) Rules, 2013.

All imports shall be by rail route or road at the cost of importers under the strict supervision of directorate of mines and geology

The state had received representation from stakeholders requesting to allow them import of iron ore from Karnataka specifically for export from Mormugao port. Presently iron ore is being imported from Karnataka for domestic consumption only.

Maharashtra govt plans special authority for medical purchases

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The state cabinet approved setting up of theMaharashtra Medical Purchase Authoritythrough an Act and allowing purchase of medicines and medical equipment through a high-level committee headed by the chief secretary.
Officials said the chief minister will be the chairman of the regulatory board. This authority will have 14 posts.

In December, with extensive delays in purchase of medicine, medical and surgical equipment for state-run medical colleges and hospitals through the Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation, the had said it would set up a newMaharashtraMedical Authority on the lines of MMRDA for buying medicines, medical equipment and surgical items. Medical Education minister Girish Mahajan had said this in the state legislative council while replying to a Calling Attention Motion by MLCs Praveen Datke, Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Nago Ganar.

Upgrade 66km road network for buses by ‘2027: RITES

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Calling for an improvement in plying of buses, raising their frequency on high-density routes and more dedicated corridors for last-mile connectivity, theRail India Technical and Economic Service(RITES) in its final draft report has identified 66km road Network in theTricityfor upgradation by 2027

A maximum of 40km stretch falls in Mohali district of Punjab, 24km inHaryana’s Panchkula and the remaining 2 km in Chandigarh.

The report has called for strengthening the road network by 2027 under a short-term measure and all authorities should focus on it. With the development of the road network, more people will get better connectivity with Metro too planned,” sources said.

The RITES has also identified five to six very high-frequency bus corridors in the Tricity and asked the authorities to ensure around 800 to 1,000 buses on these routes by 2052 to provide quick last-mile connectivity. “The high-frequency routes should have maximum buses, as areas along them are either already developed or at developing stage. Buses will play a most vital role on such routes in the future,” said the RITES in its report.