UTTARAKHAND
Water Balance Plan of Doon presented to directorate
The Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) in its recently released guidelines had suggested cities to conduct Water Balance Plan study to promote circular economy of the water focusing on recycle/reuse of treated sewage, rejuvenation of water bodies and water conservation. In this regard, the Dehradun city water balance plan study which was recently concluded in Dehradun with the support of US Agency for International Development (USAID) by Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE), was handed over to the Urban Development Directorate. CURE had initiated the City Water Balance Plan (CWBP) study at Dehradun in collaboration with a local consulting agency, ImpactDASH in June 2020 and was the first city to conclude the study out of three cities.
The key findings of the study include satisfactory underground water availability, satisfactory piped water supply especially to the slum areas, intensive groundwater extraction, lack of convergence between all the stakeholder departments for better outcome, paucity of data and prevalence of water borne diseases. The CWBP will facilitate the city administration in subsequent interventions for making the city more water resilient. CURE city manager Swagata Kainthola said that Dehradun city water balance plan will work as a guideline for the rest of cities in Uttarakhand and other northern states on water issues as well.
INTERNATIONAL
China, Russia Look to Deepen Best Ties
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is paying an important visit to China. Highlights:
The visit was conducted shortly after the China-US relations conversations took place in Alaska. Following the first summit of leaders of the Group of Quad (India, Australia, Japan and the United States).
He asserted that the relationship between Russia and China is currently the best in history.
He believes that, unfortunately, the formation of a truly multi-polar democratic world is hindered by Western countries, especially the United States, because they seek to continue to dominate the global economy and politics at all costs, and combine their will and the requirements are imposed on other countries.
In this regard, Russia and China are promoting a constructive and unified agenda, and hope that the international governance system will be fair and democratic, run smoothly, and build on the basis of extensive interaction between countries and their integration initiatives.
NATIONAL
Extension of Project Mausam
The Mausam Project has now been extended to March 31, 2023. Highlights:
The ” Mausam ” project is a project of the Ministry of Culture, with the Archaeological Society of India, New Delhi (ASI) as the nodal institution and the Indira Gandhi National Art Center (IGNCA) in New Delhi as its research department.
The project aims to explore the multi-faceted Indian Ocean world-organizing archaeological and historical research to document the diversity of Indian Ocean cultural, commercial and religious interactions.
The main purpose of this project is to identify places and sites under the Mausam Project as a transnational nomination for inclusion in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The central themes that unite the ” Mausam ” project are cultural routes and marine landscapes, which not only connect different parts of the Indian Ocean coast, but also connect the coastal center with the hinterland.
More importantly, the shared knowledge system and ideas spread along these channels and affected coastal centers and most areas.
NAFED e-Kisan Mandis Trading Platform
Mandi has physical and virtual infrastructure and is based on spokes and hub models. About NAFED e-Kisan Mandis:
NAFED e-Kisan mandis (NeKM) is an electronic trading platform that works with local Farmer Producer Organisations (FPCx and cooperatives) to have physical infrastructure at each proposed location to integrate with a National Level Digital Marketing Platform.
Mandi has physical and virtual infrastructure and is based on spokes and hub models.
The physical infrastructure will include a digital platform with auction facilities, packaging plants (including sorting and grading, packaging and pre-cooling facilities), warehouses and cold storage.
FPO will receive financial support through subsidies provided by the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) and various Central government and State government schemes.
Mandis is made at the door of the farm, bringing buyers to the hands of farmers.
Safe City Project Under Nirbhaya Fund Scheme
The Ministry of the Home Affairs approved the “Safe City” project in 8 cities under the Nirbhaya Fund scheme. Highlights:
The eight cities are Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai.
These projects involve identifying hot spots for crimes against women and deploying various components through awareness-raising programs, including infrastructure, technology adoption, and community capacity building.
The status of project implementation is regularly reviewed by the State Apex Committee.
Information about Champion Services Sector (CSS) Scheme
The Minister of State for Commerce and Industry provided information on the Champion Services (CSS) scheme in Lok Sabha’s written response. About the CSS Scheme:
This is the overall scheme for 2019-20 to 2023-24.
This is the central sector scheme of the Department of Commerce. The aim of the scheme are:
Unleash the full potential of the service industry and achieve its sustained growth.
Extensive service industry diversification.
Enhance the global competitiveness of India’s service industry and position India as the world’s service center. The state goals of the scheme are: Resolve sectoral and cross-cutting issues, including domestic regulatory reforms.
“New” initiatives include new processes, new infrastructure, new thinking, new departments and new standards to prevent India’s service industry from losing its competitive advantage in the global market.
Increase the gross value added contributed by the domestic service industry.