29.04.21

New species added to bird list of India from Arunachal

by

A team of scientists from Bombay Natural HISTORY Society (BNHS), Mumbai, while exploring the high-altitude coniferous forests ofArunachal Pradesh, has recorded a rarespeciesofbirdwhich has been identified as the Three-banded Rosefinch after detailed observations.

This species is a resident of Southern China and vagrant in Bhutan. Thus, this is the first confirmed report of Three-banded Rosefinch from Arunachal Pradesh, a new addition to the list of birds from India.

Since 2016, the bird checklist of India has increased by 104 new species which were not reported previously. In 2021, five new species including Three-banded Rosefinch have been added. In 2020, there were three new additions to the checklist

In a first for Assam, lone woman in new cabinet gets finance

by

Chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma allocated the finance portfolio to the lone woman member of his cabinetAjanta Neog, making her the first female finance minister of the state. In the last NDA government, Sarma had held this portfolio.
Sarma kept the departments of Home, personnel and public works and any other departments not allotted to any minister with him. Neog will hold the additional responsibility of the social welfare department.

Representative from the Barak Valley, Parimal Shuklabaidya, has been given Environment & forests, and excise departments. He was in-charge of these departments in the last government too.

Odisha among states with more than 20% positivity rate

by

Theactive casesinOdishabreached the one-lakh mark on Thursday, for the first time, after 10,649 people more tested positive forCovid-19in the last 24 hours. Altogether 13 states and UTs in the country now have more than one lakh active cases, with Odisha being on the 13th spot (1,00,313 cases).

The number ofnew infectionshas grown by 2.1% in the state, on an Average, in the last one week, which is more than the national average of 1.7%. The state has added more than one lakh new infections in the last 10 days.

The Union Health ministry said Odisha is among the 24 states with a positivity rate of above 20%. It is also among the states still showing a rising trend in infections, the others being Nadu, Kerala, Punajb, West Bengal, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Manipur. With rising infections, the number of patients needing critical care has also gone up sharply. Currently, 2,433 patients are inICU, including 570 on ventilator support.

Kerala to get 5,261 oxygen concentrators from United States

by

The state will soon receive a large consignment of Covid-19 relief material from the United States. TheIndo-USstrategic PARTNERSHIP forum is learnt to be supplying as many as 5,261Oxygen concentrators, 1,048 pulse oximeters, 52,329 anti-viral face coverings and 4,81,697 rapid antigen testing kits to the state.

The USISPF is currently engaged in urgently deploying critical medical supplies, medical equipment and other Covid-19 related materials to aid the countrys fight againstCovid.

TheUSconsignment has been allotted to 18 states, andKeralais the third state afterMaharashtraand Karnataka to receive the highest share from it. As many as 50,224 Oxygen concentrators, 10,000 pulse oximeters, 5,00,000 anti-viral face coverings and 46,00,000 rapid antigen testing kits are part of the consignment.

Karnataka govt launches online system to prevent hoarding of Remdesivir

by

In a bid to ensure smooth supply and prevent pilferage and black-Marketing ofRemdesivir, the government has developed a system that not only informs patients via SMS that a vial has been issued against his/her name but also allows him/her to tip off the state if they dont get the dose.

As on date, of the 3,269 recognised hospitals in the state, 1,276 have already migrated to the online process. On Average, between 210 to 300 hospitals have been placing indents. On Monday (May 10) for instance, 214 hospitals placed indents for 7,182 vials, while it was 278 and 10,292 on Tuesday. As of 6.30pm on Wednesday, 286 hospitals had placed indents for 9,960 vials. Officials estimated that this would go beyond 11,000 by the end of the day.

Telangana agriculture department draws plan to increase cultivation

by

The stateagriculture departmenthas stated that this rainy season an additional 28 lakh acres will be brought under cultivation. According to the plan of the department, a total of 1.62 crore acres will be brought under cultivation as against 1.34 crore acres last season.

The department has made it clear there is no need to follow regulated farming formula this time around aspaddy cultivationshould be brought down. According to the plan, thecultivation of cottonandred gramwill increase.

Paddy is generally the highest grown crop in the state during the rainy season and instructions were given to seed companies to supply BT seeds from June second week onwards.
The Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture department also suggested reducing paddy cultivation by 5 lakh acres compared to last years 53 lakh acres.

The plan aims to increase red gram cultivation by 13 lakh acres, thereby ensuring it is cultivated in 24 lakh acres as against 11 lakh acres grown last year. Maize, grown in 2.25 lakh acres last year, would be maintained at the around the same level at 2.29 lakh acres this year.

Andhra Pradesh government woos large investors in electronics sector with sops

by

In a move to attract big ticket investments in the electronics sector, the state has expressed willingness to work with large investors with an over Rs 7,500 crore, which could make AP a global manufacturing destination.

The government has promised not only to fast-track such investment proposals through a special committee but also ensure that these investors get required Infrastructure and skilled manpower in a rapid manner.

The State Government cleared the much awaited Electronics Policy by offering several sops to industrialists. The policy, which will be in force till 2024, is designed to expand its footprint in the electronics sector.

For industries that will invest Rs 500 crore or provide EMPLOYMENT to at least 4,000 people in the electronics manufacturing unit, the government has decided to offer customised packages.

Goa biodiversity board helping local communities sell local produce

by

In many casesbiodiversityconservation efforts tend to be viewed as being in conflict with economic interests. Turning this belief on its head, theGoa State Board(GSBB) has taken the first step to becoming the only government body in the country to begin production, along withlocalcommunities, of products derived from local bio-Resources.

Theboardis planning to set up five other centres mainly in the mining belt in Goa.

While a part of the income derived from the sales will be paid back to locals involved in the processing unit, the rest of the amount will go back into conservation of the local biodiversity and into funding other sustainability efforts.

Only sustainably harvested bio-resources are being utilized to make the products which are set to be marketed under GSBB brand name GoVan.

Maharashtra govt to initiate conservation of five forts, committees to monitor it

by

TheMaharashtragovernment will initiateconservationof fivefortsin the state and special monitoring committees with avid mountaineers and fort lovers will be created to monitor it.

It was decided that five Shivaji-era forts will be picked in the first phase and the works will be directly monitored by the chief minister’s office. Thackeray said that attempts should be made to take the locals into confidence and work in connection with them.

A comprehensive plan will be prepared and also Light and Sound shows, developing ropeways in some of the forts should be considered.

“To fasten the process of conservation, CM suggested that all the forts in the state should be brought under one government department. He also suggested that seeds should be sown in the area surrounding the fort using helicopters to increase the greenery of the area.

KU teachers to get Haryana Sanskrit Academy award

by

Two teachers of Kurukshetra University (KU) have been honoured by the Haryana Academy. While Surendra Mohan Mishra, a retired Professor of Sanskrit from department of KU will receive Acharya Sthanu Dutt Award for the year 2017, Lalit Kumar Gaur, Professor of Sanskrit, KU will receive Maharishi Vedavyasa Samman for the year 2018.

KU vice-chancellor Prof Som Nath Sachdeva congratulated Prof Mishra and Prof Gaur for this noteworthy achievement. Prof Som Nath said that it is a matter of great honour and pride for KU which was established as a Sanskrit University in 1956 and whose foundation stone was laid by the first president of India, Bharat Ratna Rajendra Prasad in 1957.