30-31.10.21

Sikkim bags India’s ‘Most Film Friendly State’ award

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was awarded the ‘Most Film Friendly State’ of the country at the 67th Awards“>National Film Awards. The award was received by the state’s Information and Public Relations Minister Lok Nath Sharma at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi from Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. Sikkim was recognised for standing out as a new destination for shooting films in the country.

The recognition comes as a moment of pride for the state and shall greatly facilitate, setting the foundation for Sikkim to become a premier film destination, while also providing opportunities for the local filmmakers and artistes.

Assam Seba opens portal to store internal exam marks

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The Board of Secondary Education,Assam(Seba), on Monday launched a digital portal for schools to save marks of internal exams for an error-free formula-based evaluation in case the final or board exams are disrupted in the future due to Covid or any other circumstances. The portal will store marks of internal examinations conducted by schools and district-level internal examination committees.

State education boards faced great difficulty this year after the Class X and XII board examinations were cancelled as the boards did not have compilations of past records of the internal assessment examinations.

Federalism is inherently an instinct in life and blood of every Odia as the legacy is inherited from Utkalgaurab Madhusudan Das, the founding father of Odisha’s unification, who as member of Bihar-Bengal-Odisha Legislative Council had demanded decentralisation of power in order to strengthen local bodies in the country.

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The concept of decentralisation was echoed later by Biswanath Das and other members in the Constituent Assembly. Madhubabu was the pioneer of concept of linguistic States to meet regional aspirations by his strategic and distinct approach in British India. Many leaders of Odisha led by him ignored Congress’s call to boycott .

He inspired the Odias to submit memorandums to the commission for unification of Odia speaking tracts though the entire Congress party was opposed to the Simon Commission.

This paved the way for creation of Odisha State in 1936 for which Odisha province could send representatives to the Constituent Assembly formed in pursuance to May 1946 decision of the Cabinet Mission to frame a constitution for independent India.

Tamil Nadu to seek payment banking licence, could be first state to get it

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TheTamil Nadugovernment is planning to seek a payment bank licence soon from theReserve Bank of Indiato help it efficiently manage its funds and effectively monitor its disbursal, while implementing welfare measures for the needy.

The finance minister had stressed on the need, while presenting the revised budget on August 13 this year, for linking the 250-odd sub-treasuries for effective monitoring of disbursal and .

In order to prevent recurrence of such instances of idle non-utilisation of funds in the future, direct disbursal of funds from the government treasury to the ultimate beneficiaries will be soon done through anIntegrated Financial andHuman Resources Management System (IFHRMS).

Kerala govt to propose Rs 2,000 crore plan for returnees’ rehab

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The government will soon submit a Rs 2,000 crore proposal to the Centre for therehabilitationof the non-resident Keralites (NRKs) who have returned Home permanently from abroad amid the Covid pandemic, chief ministerPinarayi Vijayantold the assembly.

At the same time, as per the details provided by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), as many as 39,55,230 persons returned through the in the state from May 2020 till October 21, this year. It can be inferred from these figures that the majority of those who wished to return, had returned, the chief minister said.

The government had provided an immediate relief of Rs 5,000 per person to 1,33,800 people who had arrived with a valid passport and valid job visa but could not return.

Karnataka resubmits development scheme for Chamundi Hills

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After a central snub, the Karnataka government has resubmitted its interest to secure funds for developing the religious tourism centre ofChamundi Hillsin Mysuru under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (Prashad) and suggested new tourism circuits under the Swadesh scheme of the Union Government.

At the recently concluded southern region tourism and cultural ministers conclave, central tourism minister G KishanReddyand state tourism minister Anand Singh found each other at opposite ends over the reasons for Karnataka not being accorded funds under the two tourism schemes for development of state circuits. While Reddy had termed it a failure of Karnataka to provide the report, Singh and the state tourism department had said it was a technical rejection.

With over Rs 100 crore of central government grants at stake, the schemes, if approved, are expected to help the Karnataka tourism sector, which is under distress due to the pandemic.

The department has proposed a Smart Heritage idea, which involves an interactive museum and interpretation centre narrating the HISTORY of Chamundi Hills and Mysuru with audio visual aid. The Narratorium will showcase the Wadiyars of Mysuru, souvenir collection stores and a childrens park with the theme ofMahishaandMahishasura Mardhini. It will also have interactive signages, smart parking and information and weather alert systems.

On the Swadesh scheme, the Karnataka government is waiting for the Centre to announce the Swadesh 2 programme under which it is likely to propose at least two to three new tourism circuits, including coastal, heritage and adventure Sports.

After Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh, neem trees in Telangana hit by dieback disease

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After causing havoc in Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, dieback, a fungal disease, is now inflicting neem trees inTelangana.

Thousands of trees have been hit badly in Warangal, Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal, Mahbubnagar, Gadwal and other districts. A neem tree begins to dry up and its yield is hit once the fungus infects the tree.

Ironically, neem that has become synonymous with providing good Health to other trees, animals and people through its twigs, leaves, flowers, bark, seeds and fruits has been dying due to the rare pest first identified about three decades ago. Neem is a natural pesticide and now it has become a victim of the pest that attacks only neem trees.

In Hyderabad, scores of neem trees in Alkapur Township are drying up with the infection killing the branches. Fresh cases of dieback infection were reported from Warangal city causing concern among Environment activists. Though the infection was noticed more than two decades ago in Karnataka, it began invading neighbouring Rayalaseema in the last five years. From Rayalaseema, it entered Telangana.

RTC to introduce 100 electric buses in Andhra Pradesh

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The had set an ambitious target of theAndhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation(APSRTC) converting all its fleet into electric vehicles by 2029. The RTC is going to make a head start by introducing 100electric busesbut the road is too long for it to achieve the target within the stipulated time.

The state government in itsElectric Vehicle(EV) policy document, envisaged to convert more than 11,000 buses owned by APSRTC into electric vehicles by 2029 way back in 2018 but it has taken more than three years for the RTC to make a beginning. The state government set a target to convert 100 per cent of the APSRTC fleet in the top four cities into electric by 2024 in the first phase. Achieving this target would be next to impossible with the present operating conditions of APSRTC and the support it is getting from the government, according to insiders of the corporation.

Another problematic area for APSRTC is that of lack of Infrastructure and skilled manpower to handle electric buses. Tirumala Rao observed that they will have to train drivers, mechanics, and maintenance persons prior to acquiring electric buses.

Govt notifies draft ODP-2031 for 4 areas, two months for scrutiny

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With threemonthsto go for the 2022 assembly , the State Government has opened up the outline development plans (ODP) 2031 for Margao, Ponda, Kadamba Plateau and Panaji, even though the present plans are valid till 2028.

The South Goa planning and development authority (SGPDA) and the Greater Panaji planning & development authority (GPPDA) have kept the ODPs of the planning areas for viewing. The planning bodies have also given a two-month period for the inputs regarding change of land use and zone change.

Thetwoplanning bodies had submitted the draftODP-2031in September to the town and country planning board, which granted provisional approval for thedraftODP-2031 in October.

The NGPDA has already notified the ODP 2030 of the Arpora-Nagoa-Parra planning area while in November 2020, the TCP approved the draft outline development (ODP) plan for the Mormugao planning area.

Copies of the draft ODP-2031 of the Kadamba Plateau, Margao, Panaji and Ponda planning areas have been kept for inspection at the offices of the SGPDA and NGPDA apart from the offices of the municipal bodies of the respective areas

Maharashtra: 500 youths to be trained in healthcare services

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As many as 500 youths from the district will be trained in severalhealthcare servicesto tackle the expected third wave of Covid.

There is shortage of skilled healthcare workers at various levels like operating medical devices, ambulances, Covid care centres, collecting and testing swab samples.

The youths will be trained in six courses which includes Home care support to monitor home isolated patients, basic care support for primary Health Services, advanced care support for advanced medical services, emergency care support for emergency medical services, medical equipment support to operate equipment in Covid hospitals and collecting swab samples and testing through RT-PCR.