30.06.22

Meghalaya major transit point for drug trafficking

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Meghalayahas turned into a major transit point for drug trafficking because of its close proximity to the Golden Triangle, a fact that has put authorities on very high alert, the director general of state Police,LR Bishnoi, has said. He added that the state has approximately 2.5 lakh users of drugs and psychotropic substances, including injectable drugs.

The police department has come out with a strategic plan by strengthening and coordinating with all stakeholders, he said. In the past 15 days,Meghalaya Policehave conducted a record 142 drug awareness programmes in schools, colleges and other public places across the state reaching out to over 15,061 young people, he added.

Delivering his address on the theme Addressing Drug Challenges in Health and Humanitarian Crises, deputy chief ministerPrestone Tynsongexpressed concern on the increasing number of drug users among children and youth in the state and said children can easily succumb to pressure of their peers and friends to turn to these Intoxicants for comfort.

CoE tag for Polytechnics and ITI colleges will enhance industry training for students

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Assam government recently decided to upgrade its 34 state polytechnics and 43 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) into Centres of Excellence (CoEs). This will help in imparting the advanced skills to students and build a support system to make the state a hub for technology and industrial Growth.

Polytechnics and ITIs in other states are following the trend, to offer diploma courses that will help them find a job in Industry 4.0.

The up-gradation will bring upscaling of technical competencies, says Hanif Noorani, additional chief secretary at Skill, EMPLOYMENT and Entrepreneurship Department of Assam Skill development Mission (ASDM).

For skill development among students at a large scale, polytechnics, and ITIs play a crucial role as more than 90% of Learning happens through practical training. Mohanty says, Training in a specialized skill is the fulcrum of vocational Education and acquisition of such skills requires industrial exposure offered through industrial labs run at polytechnics and ITIs. We need to leave aside outdated technologies and stay updated with industry trends and align training to students through industry collaborations

Thirty four new courts to come up in Odisha

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A committee led by finance minister Niranjan Pujari has given its nod to establish 34 new courts16 civil, 10 commercial and eight sessions courtsin the state, law minister Pratap Jena said here on Monday. Jena said the new courts will help reduce pendency and take the delivery system closer to people.

Odisha currently has more than 700 Subordinate Courts. According to a reply given by Union law ministerKiren RijijuinLok Sabhaon March 25, total 15.45 lakh cases are pending cases in lower courts in Odisha. They include 12.38 lakh criminal cases and 3.07 lakh civil cases. Similarly, 1.89 lakh cases are pending in theOrissaHigh Court, the HCs pendency report as on April 29 on its website shows.

Two commercial courts will come up in Puri besides one each in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Balasore, Balangir, Kendrapada, Jeypore and Rourkela. One commercial court will be a Leave Reserve court to hear cases in case of any commercial court judge on leave.
The law department has asked the registrar of the Orissa high court for staff pattern and revised cost estimates for establishment of the different courts. As per the current estimate, the government would spend Rs 21.26 crore on Infrastructure.

Tamil Nadu among top five achievers: Education index

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Nadu is among the top five achievers in the key parameters of Education such as access, Equity, Infrastructure and Governance processes, according to the the Union ministry of education’s Performance Grading Index (PGI) for 2019-20. The state has scored 906 points out of 1,000, an increase from 793 points in the previous year. However, the PGI district scorecard revealed that some districts have poor Learning outcomes. Chennai district was among the bottom 10 districts in learning outcomes with 395 points out of 600.

Dharmapuri and Villupuram districts have been deemed to have better learning outcomes compared to other districts, according to the new Performance Grade Index-District (PGI-D) 2019-20 report.

Surprisingly, Chennai with better infrastructure is among the bottom 10 districts with an overall score of 395 of 600. Of 290 points for learning outcome category, it scored 141, below the 50% mark. In fact, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts, Chennai’s neighbouring districts, fared better compared to the state capital, registering overall scores of 420 and 419.

In the education index for 2019-20 released in 2021, Tamil Nadu had shown a big improvement as it was ranked among the top five achievers with 906 out of 1000 points with better performance in the key domains including access, infrastructure, equity and governance process over the previous year. However, the score for learning outcomes remained the same compared to previous year.

1,252 schools, 113 hospitals in Kerala exposed to floods: Data

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A Probability chart of the number of schools and hospitals in the state that are exposed to floods has found that 1,252 schools and 113 hospitals are exposed to floods, having a flood return probability of once in 10 years. The data was prepared by theKeralastate Disaster Management authority (KSDMA) in association with theUnited Nations Environment Program(UNEP).

The maps are relevant in the wake of a recent report by theIntergovernmental Panelon https://exam.pscnotes.com/Climate-change”>Climate Change (IPCC) that has predicted serious Impact Of Climate Change on the state and the unpredictable climatic patterns seen in the state’s climate cycle in recent years, especially since 2018.

As per data,Alappuzhahas the highest probability of flood returns in the once in 10-year category, with 12 hospitals and 237 schools exposed to floods, while the number is the least in Wayanad and Palakkad, where there are no hospitals and only nine schools and one hospital and seven schools, respectively, in this category.

The chart has been prepared both based on historical data available and also based on climate change scenarios. As per historical data, there are six hospitals and 132 schools in Alappuzha that would come under the flood return probability of once in 10 years. In Wayanad and Palakkad there are only four schools in this category.

Karnataka govt may defer zilla panchayat, taluk panchayat polls

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Facing a stiff challenge of completing the process of determining reservation for OBCs and completing delimitation of wards across the existing 30 ZPs and 176 TPs, theKarnatakagovernment may defer these polls to beyond the assembly which is likely in April-May next year. “The focus is on completing these processes for BBMP wards first.

With Supreme Court and Karnataka High Court deadlines over holding local body elections polls fast approaching, the State Government is under pressure to speed up the process of determining reservation for Other Backward Castes (OBCs) and completing delimitation of wards across the existing 30 zilla panchayats (ZP) and 176 taluk panchayats (TP).

Constituencies will need to be reserved for these communities based on their Population strength. And all this, within the HC time frame. Senior ministers say that even if the process is completed, it does not mean elections can be held immediately.

Top-class educational hub coming up in Gajwel constituency of Telangana

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The government has sanctioned Rs 126.28 crore for an educational hub in Gajwel constituency which is being represented by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. The hub being executed by the Telangana State Education Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation would house classes from six to postgraduation in English medium on a single campus.

Two separate educational hubs for boys and girls were built in Gajwel in 40 acres and 20 acres respectively.

Spacious classrooms, dining halls, libraries and laboratories have been set up with the highest standards. The total built-up area would be 4.59 lakh sq ft.

Andhra Pradesh govt nod for Rs 15,000 crore green power projects

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The State Investments Promotion Board (SIPB) of the headed by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had cleared the projects worth 15,000 crore in green energy.
These projects would generate 3,000 crore revenue to the state government and 10,000 jobs to the people.

The chief minister chaired the SIPB meeting held at his Tadepalli camp office on Wednesday, which cleared pump storage projects proposed by Adani Green Energy with a total capacity of 3,700 MW. This was part of the 60,000 crore projects proposed by the Adani Group in the state. The proposal was cleared at the World Economic Forum meeting held in January this year.

The Adani Group had come forward to invest 15,740 crore providing EMPLOYMENT for 10,000 people. The projects would come up in Parvathipuram and YSR districts. In Parvathi Puram, a 1,200 MW capacity plant will be set up in Kurukutti, and a 1,000 MW plant in Karrivalasa.

Meanwhile, a 1000 MW will be set up in Gandikota while 500 MW plant in Chitravathi. In each of these districts, Adani Group has proposed that they will be generating 3,000 jobs in Kurukutti, 3,000 in Karrivalasa, 1,500 in Chitravathi and 2,500 in Gandikota.

The project would commence in December 2022 on 1,490 acres of land each and would be commissioned in December 2028. The state government has decided to take the lands from the farmers at a cost of 30,000 per acre.

Mace candy set to be Goas signature product

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While the cashewnut is already synonymous with Goa,macecandy is poised to become another of Goassignatureproducts.

The fruit from which nutmeg is derived comprises of the rind called javetri (pericarp) and the kernel called jaiphal (nutmeg). While nutmeg is used widely, the pericarp often gets discarded by farmers, this even as 70% of the fruit comprises it.

In 2017, however, Goa-based ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute (CCARI) developed a process to makecandyfrom this rind.

The process of preparing this candy has already begun at the two centres Curchorem in South Goa and Pale-Kothambi in North Goa established recently by the .
The candy will shortly be available for retail sale as aproductof the states own brand GoVan.

The GoVan brand was created by the state under the Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB) to produce products from locally derived natural ingredients.
The two processing centres are run entirely by local Women and the idea was to preserve local biodiversity by helping generate livelihood opportunities through it.

Aurangabad name change gets nod

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TheMaharashtra cabinet cleared the proposal to renameAurangabadasSambhaji Nagarand Osmanabad as Dharashiv.

This the second attempt to rename Aurangabad. Earlier, in the year 1995, the then Shiv Sena-led government had issued a draft notification to name Aurangabad after Sambhaji, son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. However, it was challenged in court.

The cabinet approval, however, is not the final step. A long-drawn process lies ahead, including an approval from the Centre for the official renaming.