Hi, NewsWrap for March 26, 2023

26-March-2023: UAS-Bengaluru, UN Water Conference, PM Kisan, Indigenous Farmers' Forum, PM Ujjwala Yojana

26 March 2023

  • UAS- Bengaluru to Host 3-Day International Conference at Agri College

    The conference will be inaugurated by A.S. Kiran Kumar, former chairman of ISRO. The Vice-Chancellor of UAS, S.V. Suresha, will preside. According to S.N. Vasudevan, dean of the college, professionals and researchers from plant biotechnology, food technology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and remote sensing will present papers. The event will be attended by senior faculty members of the university as well as members of the university's academic council. The event will be co-organized by the university and the Combett Institute in Bangalore.

     

  • Union Jal Shakti Minister Delivers Address at ‘Panel Discussion on Namami Gange’ at UN Water Conference

    Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who delivered the keynote lecture, stated, "NMCG has successfully developed a robust sewerage treatment infrastructure spanning cities and towns along the Ganges, resulting in increased water quality and biodiversity. The number of sightings of Gangetic Dolphins, Turtles, and Hilsa fish has increased, indicating better health." He went on to say that the Namami Gange Mission was named one of the top ten ecosystem restoration flagships in the world during a function during the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Montreal, Canada on December 14, 2022, World Restoration Day.

     

  • PM Kisan: Non-Eligible Beneficiaries Received Benefits Worth Rs 42 Crores, as per CAG Report

    The PM-Kisan is a central government scheme that provides income support to all landholding farmer families in the country to supplement their financial requirements. It was inaugurated in February 2019. The government deposits Rs. 6000 per year in three equal quarterly instalments of Rs 2000 each every four months into the bank accounts of qualified farmers who have registered and met the program's eligibility requirements under the PM Kisan Yojana programme. According to the CAG report, payments totaling Rs 1.31 crore were given to state government retirees due to inaccurate identification, non-verification, and gaps in monitoring of the PM-Kisan scheme. These recipients belonged to Group C and above, and the audit recommended that this money be recovered. Seven districts, 14 blocks (two blocks from each selected district), and 84 villages (six villages from each selected block) were chosen at random from Haryana's 22 districts, 140 blocks, and 7,356 villages for the audit. The audit was carried out in 2021.

     

  • Indigenous Farmers' Forum Demands AP Govt to Halt Siang River Mega Dam Project

    A group of organizations located in Arunachal Pradesh, one of which is a coalition of farmers, have requested the state government to cancel an agreement to implement a 10,000 MW hydroelectric power project on the Siang River. Siang, which originates from Tibet, is among the trio of rivers that join together to create the Brahmaputra River in Assam downstream. The Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum (SIFF) and Indigenous Rights Advocacy Dibang (IRAD) have criticized the State Government for signing an agreement with the National Hydropower Power Corporation to construct a large dam without consulting the local people. They have warned of a protest if the initiative is not abandoned.

     

  • PM Ujjwala Yojana: Govt Extends LPG Cylinder Subsidy Amidst Rising Global Prices

    The Indian government has extended the subsidy of ₹200 per LPG cylinder under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for another year, in response to the soaring prices of petroleum products in the global market. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the extension of the subsidy for up to 12 refills per year to be provided to the beneficiaries of PMUY. The move is expected to benefit 9.6 crore families. Anurag Thakur, the Information and Broadcasting Minister, informed the media that the subsidy would cost ₹6,100 crores for the financial year 2022-23 and ₹7,680 crores for 2023-24. According to the official release, the targeted support to PMUY consumers will encourage them to use LPG continuously, leading to a complete shift to cleaner cooking fuel.

     

On the news

26 March 2023

That's it for for 26 March 2023