30.12.22

Odisha govt reduces contingency cost of land acquisition for industrial projects

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The state government has reduced land acquisition contingency from 20 per cent to seven per cent of cost of acquisition for facilitating smooth transfer of land for industrial projects under Make-in-Odisha initiative.

As per the new provision, five per cent of the estimated cost of land acquired directly will go to government account while two per cent will be retained in the bank account of the district collector or special land acquisition officer. Of the two per cent, 0.10 per cent will be transferred to Revenue and Disaster Management department and 0.20 per cent to the revenue divisional commissioner (RDC) concerned.

In case of land acquired through IDCO, 3.5 per cent of the cost will be retained by the state PSU while two per cent will be transferred to the account of collector and 1.5 per cent to government treasury.

Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin launches full-day annadanam scheme

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Chief minister M K Stalin launched whole-day annadanam (free food to devotees) in three more temples attached to the Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR & CE) department in Rameswaram, Madurai and Tiruvannamalai.

He launched the scheme through video conferencing at Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram, Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai and Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai. Food will be served from 8 am to 10 pm and it is expected to benefit about 8,000 devotees on a daily basis.

Kerala, a powerhouse of startups; India can be destination: Conclave

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Kerala is the startup powerhouse of India which has immense potential to emerge as a global startup destination, said delegates from across the world attending a tech conclave here on Friday.

On the concluding day of the Huddle Global 2022 startup conclave held at Kovalam in this southern district of the State, delegates from various nations lauded efforts of India to emerge as a startup destination, according to a release issued by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).

The delegates highlighted the initiatives of KSUM to make the State the startup powerhouse of India, the release said.

Centre’s Rs 48-crore development plans for Karnataka’s Chamundi Hills draw greens’ ire

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The Union tourism ministry is proposing to invest Rs 48 crore under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) and Rs 100 crore under Swadesh scheme to give a major facelift to the tourism infrastructure in the city.

However, activists have expressed disappointment over the way in which development activities are proposed at Chamundi Hills under the PRASAD scheme.

In 2019, it was first proposed to develop Chamundi Hills under the PRASAD scheme at the total estimated cost of Rs 60 crore.However, the proposal was changed following opposition.Green activists are opposing any development works which affect the sacred and sensitive temple area.

According to available documents, development activities are proposed in six sites atop Chamundi Hills under the PRASAD scheme.This includes works worth Rs 20.65 crore in the Chamundi Temple premises.Rs 5.37 crore will be spent on pilgrimage facilities and Mahishasura plaza, Rs 1.51 crore for the development of Devikere, Rs 4.34 crore for the Nandi statue pavilion development, Rs 4.16 crore for redevelopment of foothills and Rs 1.34 crore for the development of viewpoints.

12 lakh acres of forest land encroached: Forum for Good Governance

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About 12 lakh acres of forest land, especially in Godavari Valley, covering districts of Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam, has been encroached, Forum for Good Governance (FGG) said.

Stating that the encroachment was caught on satellite imagery, FGG said if the 12 lakh acres of podu cultivation is regularised, it will lead to more encroachments. It warned that in the next 10 years, there may not be any forest land left in Telangana thanks to rampant podu cultivation

Criticising the political parties for demanding regularisation of podu cultivation, he said they should see the larger interests of the state and environment and not make it as an election issue.

He said the forest department was unable to control podu cultivation and in the process 2.5 lakh acres of forest land, which was encroached mostly by people of neighbouring states, was regularised. “With the tacit support of Naxalites and a few political parties, illegal occupation of forests for podu cultivation continued,” Reddy said.

Jagan govt provided 3,20,812.72 crore to farmers in AP

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The state Agriculture Mission vice chairman MVS Nagi Reddy said that the YSR Congress government provided Rs 3,20,812.72 crore to farmers in the past three years and increased crop yields to 80.13 lakh tonnes.

Andhra Pradesh is the leader in fruit (15.6%) and vegetable production (7.8%). AP is on top in cultivation of oil palm, papaya, lemon, coconut, cocoa, tomato and Chilli. AP bagged second position in mango, chickpea, cashew and turmeric. AP is the second top state in implementation of micro-farming. AP is the second largest silk production state. AP is in first place in egg production, second in meat production, fourth in milk production and leader in fish production at 30.80 per cent and leader in shrimp exports at 36.21 per cent, grabbing the first place in India, he said.

Goa: Government to denotify Covid-19 relief scheme for unorganised sector

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The state cabinet decided to denotify the Covid-19 relief scheme and dispose of all applications received under the scheme till date. Under the scheme, a one-time financial assistance of Rs 5,000 was being given to people from marginalised or unorganised sectors involved in carrying out traditional occupations or businesses of Goa and lost their livelihood due toCovid.

The state cabinet also granted approval to amendment to the Indian Stamp (Goa Amendment) Bill, 2023, in an article of Schedule-I-A of the Indian Stamp Act to include brother-in-law and sister-in-law within the ambit of gift deed execution.

In Goa, the Law of Communion of Assets is applicable and accordingly whenever any instrument such as sale deed, exchange deed or gift deed is to be executed, the respective spouses are a necessary party.

GI tags for goods to promote cultural entrepreneurship

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Geographical Identification (GI) for goods and products from particular geographical territories, including Marathwada, will promote cultural entrepreneurship, said advocate Ganesh Hingmire, the two-time winner ofthe nationalIP award instituted by the Centres ministry of commerce.

Different agricultural products, natural goods and manufacturing items among other things can secure the GI tag. Such a tag can assure premium price for these goods and items, fetch international market rates and boost the income of producers, he said.

Paithani saree, kesar mango, sweet lime and Osmanabadi goat are among the entities that have secured GI tags in Marathwada.

Waste-to-wonder park to come up in Karnal city

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The Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) plans to develop a waste-to-wonder park with an aim to making people aware of the reuse of waste. A corner of Karna Park in the city has been earmarked for this project, where various sculptures made from recycled waste will be put up.

This step is being initiated keeping in mind the Swachh Survekshan-2023 as the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has allocated marks for waste management. The survey will give priority to the principle of 3Rs reduce, recycle and reuse.

Credit potential for priority sector for 2023-24 projected at Rs 2.73 lakh crore: Cheema

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Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesdaysaid that the total credit potential for the priority sector for 2023-24 is projected at Rs 2.73 lakh crore which represents an overall growth of 5 percent over the projections for 2022-23.

Addressing the NABARD State Credit Seminar 2023-24, Cheema said that out of the aggregate credit plan, the share of Crop Loan is pegged at Rs 1.03 lakh crore (38%), Agriculture Term Loan at Rs 0.52 lakh crore (19%) and MSME at Rs 0.71 lakh crore (26%) and Other Priority Sector (OPS) at Rs 0.47 lakh crore (17%).

Releasing the State Focus Paper (SFP) 2023-24 and Unit Cost Booklet on this occasion, the Finance Minister said that NABARD has undertaken the exercise of assessing the potential for credit under the priority sector for each district in consultation and coordination with banks, Line departments of the State Government, farmers, NGOs and other stakeholders. These plans have been aggregated at the state level and SFP has been prepared which reflects the aggregate potential available under various subsectors of Priority Sector of the States economy. This is quite an elaborate exercise which will provide inputs and pointers to various stakeholders, he added.

Cheema added that it is a matter of satisfaction that the SFP emphasises on development of the cooperative sector, crop diversification, promotion of organic farming, development of the Farmers Producers Organization (FPOs), promotion of digital technological innovations in agriculture and Fintech, which will provide necessary fillip to inclusive growth and sustainable development in the State. He said that it is the need of the hour that these producer organizations are supported further within the agri-value chain system.