Saturday, February 27, 2016

NO WATER SUPPLY TO HYDERABAD ON 1st & 2nd MARCH 2016



Due to the preventive maintenance work being taken up in Krishna Drinking Water Supply Project Ph-I a shutdown is being taken for 30 hours from 6.00AM on 01.03.2016 i.e Tuesday to 12.00 noon on 02.03.2016 Wednesday by the HMWSSB, there will be no water supply to the following areas on Tuesday and Wednesday i.e., 1st & 2nd March 2016:

1)Azampura,
2)Sultanshahi,
3)Mogulpura,
4)Darulshifa,
5)Falaknuma,
6) Bahadurpura,
7) Jahanuma,
8)Charminar,
9) Pathergatti,
10)Misrigunj,
11) Ansari Road,
12) Vattepally,
13)Engine Bowli,
14) Ashqmahal,
15)Mahboob mansion,
16) Santhoshnagar,
17)Vinay nagar,
18)Saidabad,
19) Chanchalguda,
20) Asmangad,
21) Moosarambagh,
22) Malakpet,
23) Aliabad,
24) Maisaram,
25)Gowlipura,
26) Talabkatta,
27) Madannapet,
28) Yakutpura,
29) Boggulkunta,
30) Afzalgunj,
part of
31)Jiyaguda,
32)Adikmet,
33) Ramanthapur,
34) Golnaka,
35) DD Colony,
36)Nallakunta,
37) Vidyanagar,
38) Musheerabad,
39) Azamabad,
40) Narayanguda,
41) Bolakhpur,
42) Baghlingampally,
43) Vaishalinagar and part of 44)Dilsukhnagar.

The RWS schemes of Nalgonda, Nasarlapally, Godakondla, Ibrahimpatnam and Gungal.

HMWSSB request the consumers to use water conservatively and avoid inconvenience.

Rail way budget -NEW TRAINS, LINES


* Plan to electrify 2,000 km track in 2017
* Track laying to be at 13km/day in FY18, 19km/day in Financial  Year2019
* North-South dedicated freight corridors in Delhi-Chennai
* Plan Kharagpur-Vijaywada freight corridor
* Plan Mumbai-Kharagpur freight corridor
* Decongestion on Jalandhar-Jammu line going on
* To put 3 freight corridor projects on high priority
* Mizoram, Manipur to come under broad gauge network soon
* To launch long distance fully unreserved Antyodaya trains
* To have more unreserved passenger coaches
* Proposed dedicated freight corridor for east-west, east coast
* Proposed dedicated freight corridors for north-south
* Overnight double-decker trains named 'Uday trains'
* Overnight double-decker trains for better access on busy line
* 2 elevated suburban networks to be set up in Mumbai
* To start 2 elevated train corridors in Mumbai
* To run Aastha Circuit Trains to connect key pilgrim centres
* Resolved all issues with Kolkata's east-west corridor
* Elevated corridors between Churchgate-Virar, CST-Panvel
* To partner with Delhi govt for ring rail system in Delhi
* To revive ring railway system in Delhi

* 2 dedicated freight corridor to be commissioned by 2019

Thursday, February 18, 2016

LIGO-India mega science project


The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ‘in principle’ approval to the LIGO-India mega science proposal for research on gravitational waves. The proposal, known as LIGO-India project (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory in India) is piloted by Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The LIGO-India project will establish a state-of-the-art gravitational wave observatory in India in collaboration with the LIGO Laboratory in the U.S. run by Caltech and MIT.  LIGO-India will also bring considerable opportunities in cutting edge technology for the Indian industry which will be engaged in the construction of eight kilometre long beam tube at ultra-high vacuum on a levelled terrain.  The project will motivate Indian students and young scientists to explore newer frontiers of knowledge, and will add further impetus to scientific research in the country. 

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

e-tolling system in 360 Toll Plazas



 The Minister of Union Minister for Shipping, Highways and Road Transport Mr.Nitin Gadkari announced that e-Tolling system on all the 360 toll plazas in the country will be operational by April this year.

The Minister said a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be formed to implement this project. Shri Gadkari said the introduction of e-tolling will reduce waiting time at toll plazas and save cost and fuel.

The Minister also said that his Ministry is now focusing on Hybrid Annuity and Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) models for development of road projects. “Road projects worth Rs 380,000 crore that were stalled have been revived and Rs 100,000 crore contract order has been issued in the North East region” Shri Gadkari added.

The Minister said that India’s national road highway length has been raised to 152,000 km from 96,000 km and is expected to cross the 200,000 km milestone by April-May. In Maharashtra, the road length has been raised to 22,000 km from 7,000km,

plan to create 30 water ports on this stretch and overall 500 water ports across the country,


Under DDUGY 253 Villages to Get Electricity



As per the Narendra Modi's promise to electrify villages, the project has been taken on mission mode and strategy for electrification consists of squeezing the implementation schedule to 12 months and also dividing village electrification process in 12 Stage  under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna (DDUGJY),253 villages have been electrified across the country during last week (from 8th to 14th February 2016) Out of these electrified villages, 111 villages belong to Odisha.  81 villages in Assam,   40 in Jharkhand, 13 to Rajasthan, 4 in Bihar, 3 in Madhya Pradesh  and 1 in Uttar Pradesh. The progress of ongoing electrification process can be tracked on http://garv.gov.in/dashboard

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Government plan to raise reservations from 33 percent to 50 percent

Government to bring amendment to raise to 50 % reservation for women in panchayats from existing 33% in coming Budget Session.
The government today said that it will pushamendments for increasing to 50 per cent the reservation for women in Panchayats from 33 percent in the coming Budget session of Parliament. Speaking at a National Workshop here on 'Implementation of PESA Act: Issues and way forward', Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Birender Singh said though some States had provided 50 per cent reservation to women in Panchayats, but through the Constitutional Amendment, it will be implemented in the whole country. He also expressed hope that all Political Parties will extend support in the passage of the amendment. The Minister also informed that it will also bring about changes in law to reserve the ward for women for two terms of five year each from the existing single term so that they can undertake developmental activities in a continued fashion. 

Shri Singh said on the basis of the report of the Bhuria Committee submitted in 1995, PESA was enacted in 1996 to extend Part IX of the Constitution with certain modifications and exceptions to Fifth Schedule areas in 108 districts in 10 States. The Minister also made a strong pitch for the faster implementation of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) PESA Act by states for the uplift of tribals, saying that they cannot wait any longer for development as they had already waited for 65 years. He said that effective implementation of PESA will enhance people’s participation in decision making at local level as tribal population will feel more comfortable to raise their issues and concerns in smaller Gram Sabhas at village level rather than at Gram Panchayat level. 

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Nihal Chand said that PESA will have a positive impact in preventing and checking extremism and resentment among tribal population if implemented effectively. He also thanked the NDA government for organizing such a workshop on PESA after 20 years in force to assess the effectiveness of the Act and to chart new course of action. 

Shri Nihal Chand said that financial assistance under the 14th Finance Commission award is also available to the Fifth Schedule Areas for supporting and strengthening the delivery of basic services. 

Panchayati Raj and Tribal Development ministers from 10 states are attending the workshop. 

Agenda for the discussions in the two-day workshop include framing of PESA Model Rules; compliance of the provisions of the State Panchayati Raj Acts and Subject Laws with provisions of the PESA Act; empowerment of Gram Sabha; strategies for capacity building; infrastructure and staff in Gram Panchayats and effective utilisation of grant of Fourteenth Finance Commission awards etc. 

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

A Dedicated Science & Technology TV Channel


Veteran film maker  Shyam Benegal stress the need to have a 24 hour dedicated Science & Television channel to promote scientific temper in society.During  press conference on the upcoming National Science Film Festival at the Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai Benegal said “ a dedicated TV channel will go a long way in helping spread of scientific temper and rational thinking among the citizens”.Through this  channel  there is possibility to highlight issues on science, technology, environment, health and hygiene among other things. 
The Government of India is organising 6th Natioal Science Film Festival in Mumbai from February 9 to 13,2016. 45 films to be screened during the festival. Most of the films touch upon the local issues of environment, livelihoods, health and local innovation. 


Professional workshops on science film making will also be organized during NSFF 2016 in which renowned science film makers will share their experience with the participants. Film enthusiasts can participate in the workshop by filling up an online application form at www.vigyanprasar.gov.in. 

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Republic Day Contests on social media Platforms


9 winners across India sponsored by Ministry of I&B invited for Republic Day parade 

Ministry of I&B has announced winners of contests organized on its social media platforms as a part of Republic Day celebrations 2016.The contests were held on Ministry of I&B's platforms of Facebook (www.facebook.com/inbministry), Twitter (@MIB_India) and a specially designed webpage (http://www.graffiti.inbministry.in) where Graffiti were invited from participants on various flagship programmes of the Government. The competition was open for a fortnight from, 1st January to 14th January, 2016. The 9 winners, selected by a jury constituted by the Ministry of I&B, are being invited to attend the Republic Day Parade, 2016 at New Delhi. The travel and accommodation arrangements of all these winners are being sponsored by Ministry of I&B.

While for Graffiti wall, the themes were Start Up India, Stand Up India; Digital Empowerment; Entrepreneurs of Young India ; Skilled India, Powerful India; Make In India; Financial Security to All and Housing For All. The response on graffiti was over-whelming with 419 entries across all themes. The First prize in the Graffiti contest was awarded to Shri Narendra Kumar Singh for his work captioned Housing For All". Shri Narendra Kumar Singh has beautifully captured the idea of “Housing for All” by using a metaphor of Weaver Birds’ nest. It shows independent and affordable housing for everybody across various income categories", the jury described. The second prize was awarded to Shri Narendra Borlepwar’s artwork Skill India which depicts "the fusion of Education and vocational training leading to recognisable improvement in the economic graph". The third prize was awarded to Shri Vimal Kumar’s artwork Make In Indiashowing "ladders which visually double up as scaffolds on construction sites best captures the idea of 'making'."
 For the Twitter contest, netizens’ responses were invited on Twitter on three hashtags; #VisionofTeamIndia, #MyIdeaofIndia and #RDayNotJustaHoliday. A total of 888 tweets were received by @MIB_India, the twitter handle of Ministry of I&B. The winners of the Tweet contests across three theme segments taken collectively are as follows in order of first, second and third places:
Bhaiya ji Joshi @Igjganesh –“#MyIdeaofIndia For evry Mouth there is Meal for evry girl there is life For evry head there is roof For evry foot there is road. The user has summed up in very simple terms that everybody in the India should have the basic needs satisfied.
N. Vinayak @vinumon2016 “#VisionofTeamIndia centre and states working together in the great act of nation building in spirit of ‘all for one and one for all”. The user has drawn our attention to cooperative federalism.
Neer Joy @neerjanni2000 - #RDayNotJustaHoliday It is a moment2get inspiration 4rm freedom fighters & to taking up new initiatives4making India No1 country. The user has invoked the sacrifices and sufferings of freedom fighters for whom India became independent and a constitution was framed.
Regarding the Poster making contest on Facebook, participants were invited to send posters on three themes; Give It Up – LPG Subsidy, Per Drop More Crop and Save the Girl Child. 432 posters were received by Ministry of I&B. The jury awarded first prize to Shri A. Parag Chitnis for his artwork captioned “Save the Girl Child” where "the artist has highlighted a graphical representation of a female gene which is led to the noose, whereas a male foetus seldom faces this ordeal." The second best poster was designed by Shri Sudhir Komawar for his artwork captioned “Per Drop More Crop” which "brilliantly captures super imposed image of the leaves of crops inside huge drop of water reminding that how a universe of microscopic can subsist in a drop of water." The third place was awarded to Shri Anunay Arko for his painting captioned “INDIA where we worship goddess and a child is being killed, for being a GIRL." It captures "a brilliant truism that women are the substratum of mankind."

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Cabinet approves Rs.5000 crore for promotion of Solar Rooftops in the country


The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the scaling up of budget from Rs, 600 crore to Rs. 5,000 crore for implementation of Grid Connected Rooftops systems over a period of five years upto 2019-20 under National Solar Mission (NSM). This will support Installation of 4200 MW Solar Rooftop systems in the country in next five years. 

The capital subsidy of 30% will be provided for general category States/UTs and 70% for special category States i.e., North-Eastern States including Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, There will be no subsidy for commercial and industrial establishments In the private sector since they are eligible for other benefits such as accelerated depreciation, custom duty concessions, excise duty exemptions and tax holiday etc, 

This capacity of 4200 MWp will come up through the residential, Government, Social and institutional sector (hospitals, educational institutions etc.). Industrial & commercial sector will be encouraged for installations without subsidy. This will create the market, build the confidence of the consumers and will enable the balance capacity through market mode to achieve the target of 40,000 MWp by 2022. 

The Government has revised the target of National Solar Mission (NSM) from 20,000 MWp to 1,00,000 MWp by 2022. Out of the 40,000 MWp is to come through grid connected solar rooftop systems. This approval will boost the installations in a big way and will act as a catalyst to achieve the goal of 40,000 MWp. 

Background: 

A large potential is available for generating solar power using unutilized space on rooftops in buildings. Solar power generated by each individual household, industrial, Institutional, commercial or any other type of buildings can be used to partly fulfil the requirement of the building occupants and surplus, if any, can be fed into the grid. So Tar, 26 States have notified their regulations to provide Net Metering/Gross metering facilities to support solar rooftops installations. 

Today it is possible to generate solar power from the solar rooftop systems at about Rs.6.50/kWh. This is cheaper than the diesel gen-sets based electricity generation. It is also cheaper than the cost at which most DISCOMs would make power available to the industrial, commercial and high-end domestic consumers. 

With the new initiative, India will emerge as a major country utilizing the roof space for solar rooftop systems on such a. large scale: This 40 GW will result in abatement of about 60 million tonnes of CO2 per year and will help to fulfil the commitment of India towards its contribution in mitigating the effect of Climate Change.

Press in India- 2014-15

The Annual Report “Press in India- 2014-15” was prepared on the basis of analysis of annual statements filed by the registered publications. The registered publications were required to file Annual Statements giving details including circulation figures under the Press & Registration of Books Act 1867. The report provided broad analysis of the general trend of the Indian Press based on the claimed circulation.
The print media registered a growth of 5.80% over the previous year as a total of 5,817 new publications were registered during 2014- 15 and 34 publications ceased their operation. Out of the total 1,05,443 publications registered as on 31st March, 2015, the largest number of newspapers and periodicals registered in any Indian language was in Hindi with a figure of 42,493 publications followed by English with 13,661 registered publications. Out of 1,05,443 registered publications, 14,984 were dailies and bi-tri weeklies and remaining 90,459 were of other periodicities. State-wise analysis shows that Uttar Pradesh with 16,130 publications was at top position at the end of 2014-15. Maharashtra with 14,394 publications and Delhi with 12,177 publications were at second and third position respectively.
Total claimed circulation of publications stood at 51, 05, 21,445 in 2014-15 as against 45, 05, 86,212 copies per publishing day in 2013-14. The number of Annual statements received in RNI for the year 2014- 15 was 23,394 against 19,755 in 2013-14 registering an increase of 18.42%. As per report, circulation-wise, Hindi Publications continued to lead with 25,77,61,985 copies per publishing day followed by English with 6,26,62,670 copies and Urdu with 4,12,73,949 copies per publishing day.
The report also carried different Chapters viz. ownership of newspapers, analysis of daily newspapers, language wise study of the press and analysis of registered newspapers.
Main highlights of the Indian Press in 2014-15 are as follows:-

1
The total number of registered publications
i)        Newspaper category (daily, tri/bi weekly periodicities)
ii)      Periodicals category (other periodicities)
:
1,05,443
14,984
90,459
2
The number of new publications registered during   2014-15
:
5,817
3
Number of publications ceased during 2014-15
:
               34
4
Percentage of growth of total registered publications over the previous year
:
5.80%
5
The largest number of publications registered in any Indian language  (Hindi)
:
42,493
6
The second largest number of publications registered in any language other than Hindi (English)
:
13,661
7
The State with the largest number of registered publications (Uttar Pradesh)
:
16,130
8
The State with the second largest number of registered publications (Maharashtra)
:
14,394
9
The number of  publications that submitted Annual Statements
(this figure includes 607 Misc. publications)
:
23,394


10
The total claimed circulation of publications during   2014-15
i)        Hindi Publications
ii)      English Publications
iii)    Urdu Publications
:
51,05,21,445
    
     25,77,61,985
6,26,62,670
4,12,73,949
11
The largest number of publications that submitted Annual Statements in any Indian language (Hindi).
:
12,516
12
The second largest number of publications that submitted Annual Statements in any language (English)
:
2,219
13
The largest circulated Daily: “Ananda Bazar Patrika”, Bengali, Kolkata.
:
11,78,779
14
The Second largest circulated Daily: “Hindustan Times” English, Delhi.
:
10,18,367
15
The largest circulated Hindi Daily: “Punjab Kesari”, Jallandar
:
7,42,190
16
The largest circulated multi-edition daily: “The Times of India”, English, (33  editions)
:
46,30,200
17
The second largest circulated multi-edition daily : “DainikBhaskar”,     Hindi, (34  editions)
:
36,94,385
18
The largest circulated Periodical: The Sunday Times of India”, English/Weekly edition, Delhi.
:
8,85,201
19
The largest circulated Periodical in Hindi: “Sunday Navbharat Times”, Hindi/Weekly edition, Mumbai   

7,04,257
20
i)          Total title applications received

ii)        Titles approved

iii)      Titles deblocked
:
:
:
20,217
13,492
7,819


CP/GV

Central Government step to strengthen Basic Facilities in Government Schools


Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme 3.11 lakh school buildings, 18.61 lakh additional classrooms, 2.38 lakh drinking water facilities, 19.48 lakh teachers posts and 10.14 lakh toilets (including toilets approved under Swachh Vidyalaya Initiative) have been sanctioned so far since the inception of the scheme in 2001 across States and UTs till September 30th, 2015. As per Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2013-14, the drinking water facilities, ramps, boundary wall, playground, library and electricity facilities are available in 94.14%, 64.94%, 56.98%, 51.89%, 78.29% and 48.86% of schools respectively. 

The Government of India financially supports States and Union Territories (UTs), for creation and improvement of infrastructural facilities in schools across the country under the SSA programme. The requirements of infrastructural facilities in schools are worked out every year by the respective State/Union Territory on incremental basis depending on their need and priority and this is reflected in their Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B). 

As per UDISE, the enrolment figures at elementary level in Government schools during 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 were 12.94 crore, 12.50 crore and 12.20 crore respectively. 

Subsidy for Solar Panels


Ministry of New & Renewable Energy is implementing two National level programmes (i) Grid Connected Rooftop and Small Solar Power Plants Programme and (ii) Off-Grid & Decentralized Solar Applications to promote installation of solar rooftop systems on the roofs of residential and other buildings in the country. This was stated by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy (IC) in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today . 

The Minister further said that there is a provision for subsidy of 30% for general category States/UTs, 70% for grid connected solar rooftop and 90% for off-grid solar applications for special category States and Islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep in the country. The large and major industries do require large utilization of power, however, there is no provision of subsidy to the industries by the Government for reducing power requirement to half. Government is, however, encouraging power saving through energy efficiency and conservation measures.,

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Two Mobile Apps for Farmers

Two Mobile Apps Launched for Farmers

Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, Sh Radha Mohan Singh launched two mobile apps for the farmers here today. Mobile app ”Crop Insurance” will help the farmers not only to find out complete details about insurance cover available in their area but also to calculate the insurance premium for notified crops, coverage amount and loan amount in case of a loaned farmer. Mobile apps “AgriMarket Mobile” can be used by the farmers to get the market prices of crops in the mandi within 50 km radius of the device and other mandis in the country.
Releasing the apps Sh Radha Mohan Singh said that Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is organising “Kishan Jai Vigyan Week”to celebrate birth anniversary of Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Ch. Charan Singh, from 25th December. Launching of mobile apps is the part of the week long celebrations. He said it has been constant endeavour of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare to make available all relevant and timely information to the farmers and other stake holders so as to create a conducive environment for raising farm productivity and income to global levels. It is in this direction that an ambitious project known as National e-Governance Plan in agriculture (NeGP-A) has been launched. Besides providing hardware up to the block levels offices in all States/UTs, the project also includes development of 12 clusters of services (with over 65 discrete websites/applications).
            The Minister said that out of these 36 applications and web portals have already been rolled out and are in use by different departments and other stakeholders across Centre and States/UTs. Some of these are mKisan, Farmers Portal, Insurance Portal, Nowcast, Plant Quarantine Information Systems, revamped Agmarknet and Kisan Knowledge Management System etc. The project also includes making these services available through multiple delivery channels like web based, through Touch Screen Kiosks, SMS, USSD and mobiles.  Internet penetration in rural India is still abysmally low, however number of mobiles with the farmers and in hinterlands is rising at a very fast pace.He said that Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has therefore decided to make all its existing and future services available through mobile platforms.  mKisan portal of the ministry has been a resounding success in this regard.  Today we have approximately 2 crore farmers registered with us for receiving SMS advisories which are being sent by officers and scientists across all States/UTs, ICAR, IMD and Agriculture Universities.
The Minister also said that the Government will launch new crop insurance scheme next month which would aim speedy disposal of claims with very less premiums.
Features of the mobile apps launched today are:-
Crop Insurance Mobile app
Government of India spends huge amounts in extending crop insurance to the farmers so as to provide them relief in case of unforeseen eventualities. Crop insurance is extended by both public and private insurance companies.  States/UTs nominate insurance companies to extend insurance cover for different crops in districts/blocks.  There is also a specific period during which farmers can avail this facility.  Due to administrative and technical reasons much of this information is not able to reach to the farmers well in time to take advantage of these schemes.  This Crop Insurance mobile app can be used to find out complete details about cover available but also to calculate the Insurance Premium for notified crops based on area, coverage amount and loan amount in case of a loanee farmer. It can also be used to get details of normal sum insured, extended sum insured, premium details and subsidy information of any notified crop in any notified area.
AgriMarket Mobile App
Farmers sometimes have to suffer losses due to distress sales in absence of correct market information. They can take an informed decision based on information about the ongoing prices in markets around them as to which market they should take their produce for selling.  This App has been developed with an aim to keep them abreast with crop prices around them. AgriMarket Mobile App can be used to get the market price of crops in the markets within 50 km of the device’s location. This app automatically captures the location of person using mobile GPS and fetches the market prices of crops in those markets which fall within the range of 50 km. There is another option to get price of any market and any crop in case person does not want to use GPS location.The prevailing prices are fetched from the Agmarknet portal.
Both these apps have been developed in house by IT Division of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare and can be downloaded from Google Store or mKisan portal (http://mkisan.gov.in/Default.aspx).  There is a provision that if any State desire to convert these mobile applications in their local language, they can easily do so by simply providing the names of few keywords in their language.  Then this application will be prepared in that language very easily and uploaded on the play store.