29-30.04.23

‘Nagaland’s adult HIV positivity 1.6%’

by

Nagaland’sadult HIV positivity ratestands at 1.61%, the second highest in the country, as against the national Average of 0.22%.

Y Kikheto Sema, commissioner and secretary,Nagaland Health and family welfare department, said this while flagging off six mobile integrated counselling and testing centre vehicles for the districts of Kiphire, Phek, Peren, Dimapur, Mokokchung and Zunheboto at the health and family welfare department directorate in Kohima.

Sema said understanding that Nagaland is one of the states of HIV andAIDSepidemics, the Centre has considered replacing all old vehicles.

7 black spots most prone to accidents marked in Assam

by

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has identified seven black spots that have taken many lives in road accidents over the years inAssam, from central to western part of the state. Frequent accidents for successive years has compelled NHAI to give refurbishment to ease flow of traffic in these black spots to avert road accidents.
According to the ministry of road transports definition, a stretch of road is tagged as a black spot if five road accidents or 10 fatalities are reported for consecutive three years in a stretch of 500 metres.

Scattered from Nagaon district in central Assam to Bongaigaon in lower Assam, these seven black spots Tihujunction, Society Chowk Rangia, Changsari-Madanpur stretch, Dabaka junction,Kishanbazar,Manikpurand Sundari will soon witness infrastructure revamp as a long-term measure.

Odisha second state to start OBC survey

by

Odisha became the second state in the country to launch theOBC survey. The much-awaited survey will continue till May 27, an official said.
The opposition BJP has criticised the ruling dispensation over the manner in which the exercise is being undertaken, while the governing BJD said the survey is being held to ensure the socio- of the OBC.

Bihar was the first state to have launched the survey, the first phase of which was launched on January 21 and the second on April 15 2023.

Census to count elephants in four states from May 17

by

The state forest department will conduct a wild elephant census for three days from May 17. The last such exercise was conducted in 2017.
State forest SecretarySupriyaSahu said the census will be done in coordination with all the southern states Nadu, Andhra,Keralaand Karnataka. This is the first time that a synchronised elephant census will be conducted, she said.

Chief Wildlife WardenSrinivasR Reddy said the census will cover 465 blocks in 25 forest divisions in Tamil Nadu. Anti-poaching watchers, forest watchers, forest guards, foresters, rangers and volunteers from non-governmental organisations will be involved in the data collection process.
Wildlife officials have prepared a manual for conducting the census, which has been sent to all 25 forest divisions in the state, he said.

Wildlife authorities, forest department biologists and experts train the field staff and volunteers from NGOs on the census process.
Once the data for Population estimation of wild elephants is collected, it will be sent to Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in the Nilgiris. They have been entrusted with the responsibility of compiling the data

30% tourist boats operate illegally in Kerala

by

Almost 30% of the tourist boats (motorboats, houseboats, shikaras and country boats) are operating without necessary permissions in Kerala. Though many boats have licenses, they overload passengers without ensuring safety.

Also, several jetties are not maintained and there is no proper dredging (removal of sediments and debris from the bottom of waterbodies) at regular intervals.

A cruise through the intricate web of rivers, lagoons, canals and lakes in Kerala is popular not just with international and domestic tourists, but also locals. Even as tourism department promotes these activities to attract tourists, it has little control over boats that operate for tourism purposes. They are not able to ensure quality and service.

Telangana paddy output value at 99%, highest in India

by

Telanganahas the highest Growth rate forpaddy outputvalue over a decade (2011-12 to 2021-22) in the country at 99%, as per central government report.

According to figures released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, the output value of paddy has increased from 8,291 crore in 2011-12 to 16,533 crore in 2021-22. At the same time, the state had to lose 46% of the value of vegetables and crops.
In the last 10 years, no other state has experienced this level of growth or outperformance of any other commodity. Punjab, the country’s leading producer of paddy, saw only a 28% increase. During this period, the value of paddy output in Punjab increased from 17,565 crore to 22,544 crore.
According to agricultural experts, despite paddy being a water-intensive crop, the extent of paddy has increased due to large-scale Irrigation projects.

has a high agricultural production value growth rate for two other crops. The state is third in terms of Cotton output value after Maharashtra and Gujarat, and second after Andhra Pradesh in terms of chilly crop.

Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy participates in Raja Syamala Srilakshmi Maha Yagnam in Vijayawada

by

A major Hindu religious ritual – Sudarshana sahitha Srilakshmi Maha Yagnam – was started amidst chants of hymns by the priests at Indira Gandhi (IGMC) stadium in Vijayawada.

Chief minister YSJagan Mohan Reddyattended the Yagnam and participated in several rituals. Endowments minister Kottu Satyanarayana, commissioner S Satyanarayana accompanied the chief minister to the Yagnam venue at the stadium.

Endowments department has planned the performance of Ashtothara Sata Kundatkama Chandi, Rudra, Raja Syamala, Sudarshana Sahitha Srilakshmi Maha Yagnam for the overall wellbeing of the state and people.

Soon, 170 services at your doorstep: Goa CM Pramod Sawant

by

The has announced that 170 Services across 27 departments will now be provided through citizen service centres and village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs). CMPramod Sawantsaid that in the coming months,government serviceswould be available at the doorstep through gramin mitras under the Digital Goa campaign.

Meanwhile, during the empowered committee meeting, benefits to the tune of Rs 1.07 crore were disbursed to startups under the Goa startup policy, and Rs 37.4 lakh to IT companies under the IT policy, 2018. Khaunte said that the department has registered 186 startups since 2018, and 93 of these startups have availed of various subsidies and grants worth around Rs 2.7 crore.

Infant mortality rate in tribal talukas of Nashik goes down

by

The infant mortality rate (IMR) in the tribal-dominated talukas ofNashikdistrict dropped to three-year low of 7.4 in 2022-23 as compared to 12.8 in the previous financial year and 14 in 2020-21.
Officials from theNashik Zilla Parishadsaid child mortality rate (CMR) too has dropped to least in three years, at 9 per thousand live births in the nine tribal dominated talukas of the district in 2022-23. It was 15 per thousand live births in 2021-22 and 17 in 2020-21.

District Health authorities attributed the drastic drop in mortality rates to awareness drives in the tribal areas and intense follow-ups on the mothers and the infants through anganwadi workers, as well as ASHA volunteers.
The number of infant deaths dropped from 445 in 2020-21 to 369 the following year and to 199 in 2022-23. A similar trend was observed in the childrens death, which stood at 70 in 2020-21, 65 in 2021-22 and 17 in 2022-23.

TheIgatpuritaluka has shown the best performance by reducing the IMR by 60%. In Surgana, the drop was 15%, ZP officials said.

Haryana to increase area under natural farming from 6k to 25k acres

by

Haryana Government has decided to increase the area under natural farming from 6,000 acres to 25,000 acres that is by more than 300 percent. This effort will not only save water but also improve Health, said the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday while speaking at the concluding session of the two-day Water Conclave organized by the Haryana Resources“>Water Resources Authority under Amrit Jal Kranti in Panchkula.

Khattar, during his address, also announced that the area under direct seeding of paddy has been increased by 275 percent 73,000 acres to nearly two lakh acres which will save 218 MCM of water. For this, provision will be made for availability of machinery and subsidy.

Apart from this, the Chief Minister also announced that more than 9500 water sources would be renovated in the next two years, including 5308 ponds, 63 check Dams, 81 shallow tubewells, and 4000 recharge borewells.