• 05 Jul 2023

Approval of Bihar Biofuel Production Promotion Policy- 2023

Why in News?

The Bihar Biofuels Production Promotion Policy- 2023 was approved in the meeting of the Bihar State Council of Ministers on July 4, 2023. Along with this, the Council of Ministers took many other important decisions.

Key Points:

• Under this policy, the Bihar government will give a grant of 15% of the cost of plants and machinery to those who set up plants for biofuel production in the state. This grant will be up to a maximum of five crores.
• Sc, ST, OBC women, differently-abled, war widows, acid attack victims and third-gender entrepreneurs will be given 15.75 percent of the cost of plot and machinery and a maximum of Rs 5.25 crore.
• Additional Chief Secretary of Cabinet Department Dr. S. Siddhartha said that the last date for applying for stand-1 clearance to the units to get grants under this policy is June 30, 2024.
• Also, these entities will have to apply for financial incentive approval by June 30, 2025.
• This policy will remain in effect till March 31, 2028, from the date of issue of resolution.
• The additional Chief Secretary informed that the production of biofuels will reduce the national dependence on the import of fossil fuels. This will result in the saving of foreign exchange. The use of biofuels will reduce environmental pollution and farmers will get quick payment for sugarcane and grain production. Along with this, there will be a facility to convert waste into compressed gas, which will provide new business opportunities.
• Apart from this, the Council of Ministers has extended the last date of application for units applying under the Bihar State Investment Promotion (Textiles and Leather) Policy 2022 to June 30, 2024. It was earlier scheduled for June 30, 2023.
• The Cabinet has approved the last date for applying for financial approval by the units to June 30, 2025. After the implementation of the Bihar State Investment Promotion (Textiles and Leather) Policy 2022, investors in the textile and leather sector in the state have got encouragement.
• The Cabinet also approved the Bihar Architects Service Rules- 2014 to give 25% t weightage in regular appointments to contractual employees.
• In the first phase, 59 units have been approved by the State Investment Promotion Board. The proposed investment amount is Rs 311.63 crore, after the implementation of this policy, the Muzaffarpur bag cluster started. In this, textile bags are being manufactured on more than 1100 industrial sewing machines.
• Textile bag-making units with more than 1000 stitching machines have also been set up in Muzaffarpur and Patna districts. In Muzaffarpur, textile manufacturing units are being set up by companies like RCS International and V-2. In the leather sector, seven companies are bringing the project to Madhubani at a cost of more than Rs 100 crore.

Inauguration and Foundation Stone laying of 11 NH projects in Pratapgarh

Why in News?

On July 4, 2023, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 11 National Highway projects worth Rs 5600 crore in Pratapgarh, Rajasthan.

Key Points:

• Nitin Gadkari inaugurated four National Highway projects in Rajasthan with a total length of 219 km and a cost of Rs 3,775 crore.
  • This 6-laning project from the Kishangarh to the Gulabpura section of National Highway 48 will give a fillip to the economic and social development of the Ajmer and Bhilwara districts.
  • The 6-laning of Gulabpura to Chittorgarh section will strengthen the connectivity of Udaipur, Jaipur and Kota areas of Bhilwara and Chittorgarh districts.
  • The construction of a 4-lane ROB on National Highway 162A at Fatehnagar will solve the problem of traffic jam at the railway crossing.
• Nitin Gadkari launched the construction of a High-Level Bridge over the Chambal River at Mandrayal under CRIF. With the construction of this bridge, connectivity will be maintained between Mandrayal, Karauli in Rajasthan and Sabalgarh in Madhya Pradesh.
• Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari also laid the foundation stone of 7 projects costing Rs 1850 crore and a total length of 221 km.
  • These projects will provide direct connectivity from the famous religious site Nathdwara to Udaipur airport.
  • The construction of Pratapgarh bypass will reduce the traffic load inside the city.
  • The construction of road from Ras to Beawar will facilitate the vehicles going towards Bhilwara.
  • Better connectivity will be available to tribal areas of Dungarpur, Udaipur and Banswara region.
  • By construction of bypass in Sangwada and Garhi, the distance of Dungarpur-Banswara will be reduced by 10 km.
  • 13 animal underpasses will be made for the protection of wildlife in Todgarh Wildlife Sanctuary on the Beawar-Gomti road.
• During the program, an announcement was also made to approve 74 projects under CRF in Rajasthan at a cost of Rs 2250 crore. Work on these projects will start soon.

Chief Minister's Learn-Earn Scheme

Why in News?

On July 4, 2023, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched 'Mukhyamantri Sikho-Kamao Yojana's by registering ITI passed Raj Kushwah on the portal of Swayam Yojana at Ravindra Bhawan, Bhopal.

Key Points:

• Permanent residents of Madhya Pradesh will be able to take advantage of the scheme. Youth in the age group of 18 to 29 years will be eligible under the Mukhyamantri Seekho-Kamao Yojana.
• Under this scheme, a sum of Rs 8,000 will be given to class 12th pass, Rs 8,500 to ITI pass, Rs 9,000 to diploma passer, Rs 10,000 to graduate or higher educated.
• To provide huge employment opportunities to the youth, 700 courses have been selected. It covers all types of industries, business establishments, service sectors, etc. On the portal, youth will be able to choose the activity according to their qualification and interest.
• Aadhaar e-KYC is required on Samagra portal. Mobile number and e-mail ID are required for registration and the bank account should be linked to Aadhaar and direct benefit transfer should be enabled.
• So far, 10 thousand 432 establishments have registered under this scheme and 34 thousand 785 vacancies have been identified. Along with the state, establishments outside the state are also being linked to the scheme.
• The 'Mukhyamantri Sikho-Kamao Yojana' has been designed keeping in mind the interests of business establishments and youth alike. This will provide an opportunity to the youth to learn work and ensure the availability of skilled manpower to commercial establishments.

Ratification of increase in Honorarium of Anganwadi worker, Assistant and Mini Anganwadi worker

Why in News?

On July 4, 2023, in a meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, it was decided that Anganwadi Workers will now get an honorarium of Rs 13,000 per month after an increase of Rs 3,000 and helpers and mini Anganwadi workers will get increased honorarium per month after an increase of Rs 750.

Key Points:

• The honorarium of Anganwadi workers will be increased by Rs 1000 per year and that of Anganwadi helpers and mini Anganwadi workers by Rs 500 per year.
• Apart from this, Anganwadi workers will be given Rs 1.25 lakh at the time of retirement on completion of 62 years of age and Anganwadi helpers and mini Anganwadi workers will be given Rs 1 lakh.
• The Cabinet also approved the creation of 10 new colleges in the state, new faculty in 4 colleges and creation of 589 new posts for starting post-graduate subjects in 7 colleges.
• For this, recurring expenditure burden of Rs 33 crore 47 lakh 50 thousand per year and non-recurring expenditure of Rs 105 crore 46 lakh 70 thousand has been approved.

Important decisions of the Council of Ministers of MP

Why in News?

Several important decisions have been taken in the meeting of the Council of Ministers held under the chairmanship of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 4, 2023.

Key Points:

• The Cabinet has given revised administrative approval for Barkheda Medium Irrigation Project of Dhar district at a cost of Rs. 478.88 crore, irrigation capacity of 15031 hectares. With this project, 43 villages of Kukshi tehsil will get the benefit of irrigation facilities.
• The Cabinet has approved the implementation of the Digital Crop Survey Project proposed by the Central Government by the Revenue Department and action should be taken by the State Government as per the proposed Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the project.
• There was a demand by the Bundelkhand Gaur Samaj to resolve the problems caused by the two castes of the same class, Kudmi and Kurmi, Kurmi in the list of backward classes of the state. According to the departmental proposal, after consideration by the Council of Ministers, it was decided to abolish the Kudmi caste from List number 76 and include it along with Kurmi, Kurmi in List number 39.
• With this decision, equal and proper opportunities will be available to this class to get the benefits being provided to the backward class by the state government along with solving the problems faced by them in the caste certificate.

Startup-20 Gurugram Summit

Why in News?

On July 4, 2023, the Startup-20 Gurugram Summit organized by the Startup 20 Engagement Group under the chairmanship of India G-20 concluded successfully. The 2-day summit was attended by over 600 delegates from 22 countries.

Key Points:

• It is known that Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Prakash inaugurated the G-20 Startup-20 Summit in Gurugram on July 3.
• The two-day summit served as a platform for innovations, collaborations, knowledge sharing and fostering strategic alliances within the global startup ecosystem.
• During the closing ceremony, Startup 20 President Dr. Chintan Vaishnav officially handed over the torch to Brazil as Brazil is to chair the G20 next year and has committed to continue the Startup 20 initiative in 2024.
• Underlining the importance of Startup 20, Saudi Arabia, represented by Prince Fahd-bin-Mansour, emerged as the first country to ratify and support Startup 20's appeal to allocate an ambitious amount of $1 trillion per year to the startup ecosystem by 2030.
• It is worth mentioning that earlier also, under the able leadership of Chief Minister Manohar Lal, foreign delegates were given a grand welcome by hosting the anti-corruption working group meeting in Gurugram in the first week of March.

Health Minister releases the Monthly Magazine 'Khabarwad'

Why in News?

On July 4, 2023, Chhattisgarh Health and Commercial Taxes Minister T.S. Singhdeo released the first issue of monthly magazine 'Khabarwad' at Navin Vishram Bhawan in Raipur.

Key Points:

• Health and Commercial Taxes Minister T.S. Singhdeo hoped that through this new magazine, the people of the state will get the latest information about current events as well as the governance here.
• Speaking at the launch of the magazine, Khabarwad editor Shrikant Baghmare said that accurate analysis of major news stories of the state, views of intellectuals, politics, governance, administration as well as news related to schemes and issues of public interest will be published prominently in it.
• He said that along with 'Khabarwad.com', now people will also be made aware of the news of the state through the magazine.

Chhattisgarh Power Generation Company is the No. 1

Why in News?

According to information received from the media on July 4, 2023, Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company has achieved 85.71 percent plant load factor (PLF) and has secured first place by beating 33 power stations across the country.

Key Points:

• Central Electricity Authority (CEA), New Delhi, has given Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company the first ranking in the first quarter for better performance in 33 state sectors.
• Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company has a capacity of 2840 MW, in which 85.71 percent PLF (Plant Load Factor) has secured the first position. Odisha Power Generation Corporation is in second place. Its plant load factor has been 84.98 percent.
• It is known that the Central Electricity Authority, New Delhi, a central government undertaking, releases the rankings every three months.
• The average PLF in 33 state sectors across the country is 66.97 percent, while plants in Chhattisgarh have generated 85.71 percent of electricity. The average PLF of all thermal power plants across India was 70.02 per cent. That is, more production was done in the plants of Chhattisgarh than all the plants.
• Sanjeev Kumar Katiyar, managing director of Generation Company, said, “The ranking has been received on the basis of production of April-May-June. During this time there was a severe heat situation in the state. There was a huge demand for electricity in all the states. On April 18, the power demand in Chhattisgarh reached 5878 MW.”
• In such a situation, the plants of the generation company worked continuously and continued uninterrupted power supply in the state without power cuts. In particular, Hasdeo thermal power plant Korba West, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Thermal Power Plant (DSPM) Korba East and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Thermal Power Plant Madwa have produced better this year.
• Unit No. 04 of Hasdeo Thermal Power Plant Korba West, established in 1984, has set a record of generating uninterrupted power for 162 days and 12 hours, earlier this unit had generated electricity continuously for a maximum of 111 days and 9 hours.