Uttarakhand to develop 6 ‘aroma valleys’ to keep crops safe
To control the menace of human-wildlife conflict in Uttarakhand, a state where at least 50 persons are killed and 200 brutally injured in wildlife attacks every year on an average, the state’s horticulture department has come up with the idea of “aroma valleys”. Animals like monkeys, bears and elephants, who usually raid crop fields, would find the intense fragrance of plants like Damask rose, lemongrass or Japanese mint irritating and stay away, according to officials working on the project.
The aromatic plants are expected to bring in more profits for farmers as compared to traditional crops like wheat and pulses.
INTERNATIONAL
5th ASEAN-India Business Summit 2023
The 5th Asean-India Business Summit took place on 6 March 2023 in Kuala Lumpur. Speakers and participants from Asean and India convened to discuss how business linkages, connectivity and supply chain resilience can be enhanced through deeper ASEAN-India cooperation. The Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology addresses the 5th ASEAN-India Business summit.
It is being held as part of the ASEAN-India Year of Friendship to commemorate the more than three-decade-long engagement between India and the 10-member bloc in Kuala Lumpur.
NATIONAL
Govt process of eviction, sale of Rs 1 lakh crore enemy properties starts
The Union Home Ministry has started the process for eviction and sale of enemy properties, the immovable assets left behind by people who have taken citizenship of Pakistan and China.
There are a total of 12,611 establishments called enemy property, roughly estimated to be worth over Rs 1 lakh crore, in the country.
The enemy properties are vested with the Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI), an authority created under the Enemy Property Act.
According to a Home ministry notification, the guidelines for disposal of the enemy properties have been changed under which the process for eviction of enemy properties now shall be initiated with the help of the District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner concerned before the sale of properties.
Those enemy properties having valuation of Rs one crore and below Rs 100 crore, shall be disposed of by the CEPI through e-auction or otherwise as may be decided by the central government and at the rate determined by the Enemy Property Disposal Committee. The e-auction platform of public enterprise, the Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited, shall be used by the CEPI for e-auction of enemy properties.
The government has earned over Rs 3,400 crore from disposal of enemy properties, mostly movable assets like shares and gold.
The highest number of enemy properties were found in Uttar Pradesh (6,255 properties), followed by West Bengal (4,088 properties), Delhi (659), Goa (295), Maharashtra (208), Telangana (158), Gujarat (151), Tripura (105), Bihar (94), Madhya Pradesh (94), Chhattisgarh (78) and Haryana (71).
Seven PM MITRA (Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel) Park sites announced
Seven sites were chosen out of 18 proposals for PM MITRA parks which were received from 13 States.
The Parks will come up in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
These are aimed at helping India to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9: “Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”
It will offer the opportunity to create an Integrated Textiles Value Chain right from spinning, weaving, processing/dyeing and printing to garment manufacturing etc. at one location and will reduce the logistics cost of the Industry.
A Special Purpose Vehicle owned by the Centre and State Government will be set up for each park which will oversee the implementation of the project.
National Steel Policy
The crude steel capacity of the country has increased from 137.97 million tonnes (MT) in 2017-18 to 154.06 MT in 2021-22 and is envisaged to reach 300 MT by 2030-31. The production capacity of 300 MT shall be achieved by the private and public sectors expanding their production capacities. National Steel Policy, 2017 aims to provide the conducive environment for attaining this objective by providing policy support and guidance to steel producers.
No specific fund has been allocated for Mission Purvodaya in last three years.
In the public sector, one greenfield plant has been set up at Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh.
