29.06.21

Smart City work uproots Agartala 71 war memorial

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Removal of the war memorial of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War from the heart ofAgartalahas sparked strong reactions acrossTripura. Opposition parties, historians, intellectuals, poets, writers and social activists raised their voices against the move of the AgartalaSmart CityMission, demanding the memorials re-installation as well as bringing back all historical monuments that have been affected by the its works.

The activists ofTripura Cultural Coordination Committeealleged that more than Rs 700 crore have been invested for renovation work, destroying the heritage of the citys socio-cultural icons in the name of making the city smart.

Distribution of free foodgrains under PMGKAY-IV begins; 14,700 tonnes distributed so far

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TheCentre said distribution of free foodgrains under the fourth phase of thePradhan Mantra Garib Kalyan AnnaYojana (PMGKAY) has started in seven states and about 14,700 tonnes have been given to beneficiaries so far.

About 70.6 lakh tonnes of foodgrains were distributed in the third phase of PMGKAY between May and June, it said.

On ration card portability facility, the government said the remaining four states –Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and West Bengal — are expected to come on board soon.
PMGKAY was first introduced in 2020 for eight months to provide relief to 80 crore beneficiaries covered under the NationalFoodSecurity Act (NFSA) from Covid-induced economic hardships.

The scheme was reintroduced this year for third phase implementation for two months till June and later extended till November under the fourth phase.

Free grains are provided under PMGKAY over and above the quota allocated at highly subsidised rates under NFSA to these beneficiaries.

NHRC seeks reports from Odisha on crime against women

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TheNational Human Rights Commission(NHRC) has asked the director general of Police (DGP) and the chief secretary ofOdishato look into the case of compensation to a rape survivor fromMalkangiri districtand the steps taken by the state to check, control and prevent crime against Women within six weeks.

The commission passed this order on June 29 after hearing a petition, which was filed by human rights lawyerRadhakanta Tripathyon August 14, 2017. He had alleged that a tribal woman was raped on the roadside in broad daylight near the MV-84 village in Malkangiri district on August 9 that year. The matter had come to Light after a video of the incident had gone viral on Social Media. He had said the incident had occurred when a tribal woman fell unconscious on the roadside, prompting a tribal man to committ the crime in full public glare.
No compensation has been paid to the victim and the video of the heinous act has not been stopped by the government, the petitioner had said in his prayer.

Flipkart opens its first grocery centre in Coimbatore

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Flipkart, the country’s homegrown E-Commerce marketplace, on Wednesday launched its grocery Services here with the opening of its first fulfillment center in theregionto meet the growing demand for groceries online.

The facility also bolsters Flipkart’s supply chain in theSouthand would create thousands of direct and indirect EMPLOYMENT and opportunities, a company release said.
Spread across over 1.2 lakh square feet, the newly built facility would generate direct employment for nearly 1,200 people while encouraging local entrepreneurship.

In the initial stages, only a part of the facility would be utilised for which over 500 people would be hired and this would be the only facility for Flipkart which would almost be entirely run by Women constituting 90 per cent of theoverall workforce.

To enable more women to join the workforce, Flipkart under its initiative Vividhta provides workplace policies that support women and their career progression.

The new fulfillment centre would further augment Flipkart’s capabilities to cater to more consumers, including millions of first-time e-commerce consumers from the southern region.
Flipkart has also introduced multiple language access for consumers to provide a native language experience.
Interestingly, over 52 per cent of Flipkart consumers are from tier-II and beyond cities, a testament to the growing adoption of e-commerce services.
This would be Flipkart’s second grocery facility inTamil Naduafter Chennai and ninth in the South.

Kerala government allots Rs 1,777 crore to acquire land

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In a major breakthrough for widening theEdappally-Kuttippuramstretch of the national highway, the government has allocated Rs 1,777 crore as compensation forland owners. Revenue officials have prepared a plan to complete land acquisition along the stretch within three months and hand it over to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

The total amount earmarked for compensation for the land owners along Edappally-Kuttippuram stretch of the national highway is Rs 5,400 crore. The land acquisition process which was started in 2009 hadnt progressed much till recently. The notification for acquiring land was issued in the same year. The government expedited the land acquisition process after 2018. The acquisition process was completed as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The revenue officials are serving notices to the land owners asking them to move out within 60 days. The compensation amount will be given to the land owners as they submit various documents regarding their holdings. The for holdings with dispute over ownership will be deposited with the court.

Karnataka village panchayat turns role model for 100% vaccination

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Tinthani villagepanchayat in Karnataka’sYadgir districthas been declared as the first village panchayat in the state to achieve 100% Covid vaccination.

All 4,200 eligible persons have been vaccinated within its limits in an all-out effort.
Yadgir district is considered one of the most backward districts in Karnataka. However, the District Administration was able to achieve what the authorities of most developed regions, including surrounding district of Bengaluru, could not achieve.

Yadgir is highly under-developed and the Literacy rate is also very low. There were misconceptions about side effects, long-term damage regarding the vaccination as resistance to vaccination was very high. It was then that the district commissioner, R. Raagapriya, decided to have one inspirationalgram panchayatto motivate others to come forward for the vaccination programme.
Tinthani village panchayat was selected and all revenue authorities and tehsildars were sent along with the Health department staff. With door-to- door campaigns 95% of the people were vaccinated.

Extend more loans to boost economic activity, says Telangana government to banks

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The has asked the banks operating in the state to help boost theeconomic activityinTelanganaby extending moreloansfor purchase of vehicles, computers, electronic goods and garments in a drive mode, as it would be beneficial to both the bankers and the state.

Chief secretary Somesh Kumar suggested proactive measures from the former towards increasing economic activities in the state for accelerated Growth of the states economy.
He also asked the bankers to organiseloanmelas, open counters in shopping malls, offer additional interest rebates on sales, simplify loan process and documentation, introduce new schemes for extending loans and fast-track DECISION MAKING to boost consumption.

Earlier, the chief secretary held discussions with stakeholders of retailers, shopping malls, tourist operators and hospitality sector in the state and sought their suggestions for revival of the economy.

Andhra Pradesh announces subsidy on solar rooftop plants

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Andhra PradeshEastern Power Distribution Corporation Limited (APEPDCL) on Friday announced central financial assistance for residential customers interested in installing grid-connected rooftop solar (RTS) Plants.

The ministry of new and (MNRE) has sanctioned 8MW capacity in the residential sector under Phase II of the RTS program for APEPDCL with timelines for completion of allocation capacity in 15 months.

Empanelment of agencies for Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic power units of capacity 1 KWp to 500 KWp capacities in APEPDCL has already been done. Sixteen agencies are empanelled in 1 KWp to 10 KWp category and three agencies are empanelled in above 10 KWp to 500 KWp category.

Goa: With entertainment village, Mandrem set to get biggest tourism project

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Goatourismdevelopment corporation (GTDC) plans to set up a mega entertainmentvillagespread over 1.5 lakh sqm inMandrem. The foundation stone for the proposedprojectis likely to be laid in the next six months, prior to the assembly .

While the required land is currently in possession of the revenue department, formalities to transfer it to GTDC will be done shortly. It will be built on public-private PARTNERSHIP (PPP) mode, but all required permission will be facilitated through GTDC.

Five lakh gained from Maharashtras health cover in 1 year: RTI

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Less than 8% of Covid patients in Mumbai availed treatment under theMaharashtragovernment’s flagship Health Insurance scheme. This is despite hospitalisation costs being high in the city. A possible reason could be the fact that there are not enough hospitals that are part of the scheme in the metropolis and also free treatment was available in regular and field hospitals operated by the Brihanmumbai (BMC).

As of March 31, 2021, Maharashtra reported more than 28 lakh Covid cases and 54,649 deaths as against this a little over five lakh patients received treatment under the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, according to information obtained under the RTI Act by activist Jeetendra Ghadge. The scheme covered over 2.2 crore families across Maharashtra.

The United India Insurance Company was appointed as the insurer for the scheme on April 1, 2020, co-incidentally when the coronavirus-induced lockdown had just been imposed.
Though Mumbai reported over four lakh cases and 11,708 deaths till April 1, 2021, only 29,664 claims were paid, while 34,867 claims were settled in Ahmednagar which reported 95,000 infections and 1,221 fatalities in the same period. In Kolhapur, 34,574 claims were paid and in Pune, 34,045.