30.06.21

Progressive decline in Covid-19 cases in northeast: Union minister Jitendra Singh

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Union ministerJitendra Singh said there is a progressive decline in Covid-19 cases in all eight northeastern states but cautioned that the fall in active cases must be followed with greater thrust on vaccination and strict observance of relevant protocols.

Meghalaya is the only exception which witnessed a surge due to the Covid-19 cases at a prison in Ri-bhoi district, he said.
There is a progressive decline in Covid-19 cases in all the eight north-eastern states, the minister added.

All the eight states informed the minister that they were taking regular measures to defeat the second wave of the pandemic, and at the same time, augmenting Health with support from the central government and the ministry of DoNER.

Adopt ‘zero tolerance’ policy for crimes against women: Assam CM

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The officer in-charges of Police stations acrossAssamhave been directed to adopt a “zero Tolerance” policy while dealing withcrimes against Women.

Chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma, while addressing the first-ever conference with the officers in-charge (OCs) of all police stations on “redefining policing standards in Assam”, directed the OCs to file chargesheets in all rape, molestation, assault, murder, arms and drugs smuggling cases at the earliest for speedy trial.

He also directed the OCs to collect post mortem reports expeditiously while saying that range DIGs would ensure post mortem report collection as soon as possible. “Steps have to be taken to send samples for testing at forensic labs outside the state for minimising delay as the only forensic lab in Guwahati is not sufficient,” he said.

Odisha OKs five projects worth Rs 1.46 lakh crore

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The on Tuesday approved five Investment proposals in the Metal sector worth Rs 1.46 lakh crore with an aim to double steel production in the state over the next few years. While the states existing steel-making capacity is about 30 mtpa, the high-level clearance authority led by chief ministerNaveen Patnaikapproved another 27.5 mtpa capacity. All five approved proposals are expansion of existing facilities.

All these projects need a big push forward to realize Odishas dream of becoming the steel hub of India by 2030, Naveen said during the meeting. The national steel policy-2017, that aims to increase the countrys steel production to 300 mtpa by 2030, envisionsOdishaproducing 100 mtpa steel by that time.

Official sources in the state industries department said Odisha attracted investment opportunities of Rs 2.96 lakh crore during the 2020-21 financial year despite Covid. With Tuesdays additional investments, the total investments since last year will be in the region of Rs 4.43 lakh crore.

The approved projects include expansion ofBhushan Power and SteelLimiteds (BPSL) plant from 5 mtpa to 15 mtpa. Around Rs 55,000 crore will be invested in the expansion project located at Rengali in Sambalpur while it is expected to generate EMPLOYMENT opportunities for over 10,000 people.

Tamil Nadu gets ready to emerge as aerospace and defence hub

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Its been close to four years since the Centre announced its plan to establish DEFENCE corridors inUttar PradeshandTamil Naduwith an aim to become Atmanirbhar Bharat in manufacturing and service of aerospace and defence equipment.

The plan behind the defence industrial corridors is to catalyse indigenous production of defence and aerospace-related items and promote Growth of private domestic manufacturers, MSMEs and startups in the defence sector.

But progress of the project has been limited due to multiple reasons including the outbreak of the pandemic. Further, the is characterised by the long gestation needed for DECISION MAKING and implementation of projects, given the sensitive nature of the sectors. The low volumes on offer also make it tough for projects to evolve from concept to reality.
Tamil Nadu has been silently going about identifying its advantages and converting it as opportunities to emerge stronger in the aerospace and defence segments. The aim is for Tamil Nadu to emerge as the manufacturing and service hub for aerospace and defence industries in the country.

In Tamil Nadu, the defence corridor plan identified Chennai, Trichy, Salem, Hosur and Coimbatore as areas of focused development for the targeted sectors. The state also unveiled an exclusive Aerospace and Defence Industry Policy in 2019.

A defence park will come up in 400 acres at Sulur near Coimbatore, while more such exclusive facilities will be established at Ulundurpet, Salem and Trichy, besides the 250-acre aerospace park established near Chennai.

Kerala govt initiates steps to biomine waste

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With the (NGT) cracking whips on the government andKochicorporation, the State Government is learnt to have issued an order for expediting the measures for biomining oflegacy wasteaccumulated on the solid waste treatment plant premises atBrahmapuramon a war footing. The state government has asked the corporation to award the work and facilitate biomining immediately.

Biomining is the technique of extraction and segregation of Minerals and useful materials from mounds of waste.
The local body has also started measures to construct a new solid waste treatment plant to replace the existing dilapidated plant at Brahmapuram. The local body has earmarked Rs 9 crore as the first phase of allocation for the works.

Meanwhile, the waste-to-energy plant proposed by the state government for treating the solid waste and generating electricity from it is pending for more than four years. It was the corporation which mooted the project.

One in three school students lacks internet access in Karnataka

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More than 31.3 lakh students inKarnatakadont have digital devices, 37.8 lakh lack Internet access and 8.7 lakh have no television or radio in their homes, said a government report on Thursday. The department of public instruction released the report, which details gadget and net availability, as thousands of government and state board schools in Karnataka reopened for the academic year 2021-22 in virtual mode.

Over 1 crore children are enrolled in classes 1 to 10 in the state. It seems from the findings that a large number of students of government schools may be deprived of mainstream Education. Like 2020, it is unlikely that they will be called for regular oncampus classes anytime soon. Learning will take place through online modes such as WhatsApp andYou-Tube, and DDChandanachannels.

The report has once again brought the issue of the digital divide into focus. Educationists have been saying that lakhs of students miss out on learning because of officials and schools emphasis on technology. They have suggested that the government must find ways to restart offline classes safely.

Bengaluru Urban (South) has the highest number of students (11.1 lakh) among all education districts. According to the report, more than 8 lakh students here have smartphones or tablets, while 1.4 lakh have neither of these. Nearly 7 lakh students have internet access, but 2 lakh students dont. Over 9 lakh students have a TV and 2 lakh have a radio, while 37,213 have neither.

Telangana schemes going national, says urban development minister KT Rama Rao

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Municipal administration and urban development minister KT Rama Rao on Thursday said several schemes anddevelopment programmes, which were first launched inTelanganaare now being implemented across the country.

Rao said the Union governments Jal Jeevan, Rythu Bandhu and now Nagar Van are schemes inspired by governments development programmes. After Rythu Bandhu, the Centre has come up with Pradhan Mantri Kisan Yojana, which is benefiting about 16 crore farmers, he said.

According to the forest department, so far, 220 crore saplings had been planted under Haritha Haram at a total cost of Rs 5,900 crore. This year, the target is to plant 20 crore saplings and distribute six saplings to each household, said forest minister Allola Indrakaran Reddy.

Rice distribution in Andhra Pradesh through two channels till November 2021: Official

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has decided to distribute PDS rice through two different channels till November due to shortage of quality rice stock. While the sortex variety stock will be distributed through mobile dispensing units (MDU), rice procured fromFood Corporation of India(Fci) will be distributed under Centres quota at ration depots.

In fact, the state government had spent close to Rs 3,100 crore to manage the distribution of rice, Bengal gram/redgram to meet all the requirements of PMGKAY-I and II, PDS from April 2020 to November 2020 when two separate quotas of ration was issued to the cardholders in view of the Covid-19 lockdown.

However, the Centre in the last week of June announced free distribution of rice under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM GKAY-III) from July to November. He said that they would require 10.78 lakh metric tonnes of rice to take up the distribution under PM GKAY.

Mobile towers in Goa strictly monitored, radiation within norms: Telecom dept

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Misinformation about radiation from mobile towers is alarming in Goa, the department of telecommunications (DoT) said on Saturday. It said that several studies have shown that mobile tower electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation has no adverse impact on peoples Health.

The EMF project of World Health Organisation (WHO), after two decades of extensive research has corroborated that there is no evidence to support the claim that exposure to low-level electromagnetic fields is harmful to human health. The WHO has studied over 25,000 articles and reached the conclusion that there is no correlation between mobile tower EMF emissions and its hazardous impact on human health.

In India, EMF radiation norms are 10 times stricter than the limits prescribed by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and recommended by the WHO.

Maratha quota: Maharashtra govt calls for amending Constitution

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A day afterSupreme Courtrefused to re-examine theMarathaquota, theMaharashtra governmentappealed to the Centre to make a Constitutional amendment to grantMaratha quotaon the lines of 10% economically weaker section (EWS) reservation, while theMaratha Kranti Morcha(MKM) said that they would continue to fight until their demand for reservation was granted.

One of the convenors of MKM and a petitioner in the Maratha quota case Vinod Patil said, “The state should form a backward classes sub-committee to collect data on Marathas and send it to the Centre. Both the state and Centre should take equal responsibility for the quota and act immediately.” Though the SC refused to consider the Centre’s plea, the two review petitions filed by the and Vinod Patil are still pending in SC.