PUNJAB

To cut subsidy bill, Punjab govt plans solar project for farm sector

The state government is looking at different ways to reduce the financial burden caused by the whopping power subsidy bill of Rs 16,400 crore. On the agenda is doing away with the power subsidy for farmers having over 10 acres of agricultural land and shifting connections of tubewells to solar power.

The power subsidy bill, which includes subsidy to farmers, industry and socially disadvantaged sections, is Rs 10,600 crore for 2020-21, while another Rs 5,759 crore is pending for the previous year. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said the revenue loss faced by the state in the first quarter of 2020-21 would be Rs 7,000 crore.

INTERNATIONAL

International Day of The Tropics: 29 May

International Day of the Tropics is observed every year on June 29 every year.

The Day aims to raise awareness to the specific challenges faced by tropical areas and the role that countries in the tropics will play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Tropics are a region of the Earth, roughly defined as the area between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn.

They receive sunlight that is more direct and are generally hotter and wetter with little seasonal change in day-to-day temperature.

The tropical region faces several challenges such as climate change, urbanisation, deforestation, logging and demographic changes.

NATIONAL

National Statistics Day: 29 June

The Government has been celebrating Statistics Day on June 29, to popularise the use of Statistics in everyday life.

It has been designated as one of the Special Days to be celebrated at the national level and commemorates the birth anniversary of Prof P C Mahalanobis.

The day also commemorates contributions made by Mahalanobis in fields of statistics and economic planning.

Govt approves use of Dexamethasone steroid

Union Health Ministry has revised clinical management protocol for treating Covid-19 patients.

Moderate and severe coronavirus patients, in need of oxygen support who experience excessive inflammatory response, can now be given Dexamethasone steroid as an alternative to Methylprednisolone.

Dexamethasone is a steroid that has been used since the 1960s to reduce inflammation in a range of conditions, including inflammatory disorders and certain cancers.

It has been listed on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines since 1977 in multiple formulations, and is currently off-patent and affordable in most countries.

World Bank approved USD 500 million loan to improve quality of school education

The World Bank has approved a $500 million loan to improve the quality and governance of school education in six Indian states. The approval is given by the Board of Executive Directors. The board approved a loan for Strengthening the Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS).

It is expected that around 250 million students, between the age of 6 and 17, in 1.5 million schools, and over 10 million teachers will benefit from the program.

The STARS program has built a long partnership between India and the World Bank, since 1994.

STARS aims to support India’s response to the challenges by strengthening implementation at the local level, investing in teacher capacity.

It also aims to ensure that no child of any background is left behind from the right to education.

STARS will enhance the learning assessment systems and strengthen classroom instruction and remediation in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan.

It will also facilitate school-to-work transition, and strengthen governance and decentralized management.

Centre launched PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises scheme

Centre launched the PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) scheme as a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. It was launched by Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

Gk bit : PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME):

Centrally Sponsored PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises scheme was launched by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI).

The scheme aims to provide financial, technical, and business support for the upgradation of existing micro food processing enterprises.

The PM FME Scheme will generate a total investment of Rs.35,000 crore.

It will also generate 9 lakh skilled and semi-skilled employment and benefit 8 lakh units through access to information, training, better exposure, and formalization.

The scheme will be implemented over a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs.10,000 crore.

The expenditure for the scheme will share a 60:40 ratio between Central and State Governments, in 90:10 ratio with North Eastern and the Himalayan States, 60:40 ratio with UTs with the legislature, and 100% by Centre for other UTs.

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