PUNJAB

Punjab budget focuses on farmers, infrastructure growth

In its election focused tax-free budget dedicated to the farmers, the Congress government in Punjab has tried to please various sections of the society and at the same time focused on re-energising the state economy through Rs 14,134 crore allocation for capital expenditure, which is 8.41% of its total expenditure for the financial year 2021-22.

Agriculture
Presenting his fourth and last budget of this term, finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal announced that the state government would waive off the amounting to Rs 1,186 crore of 1.13 lakh farmers and Rs 526 crore of landless farm workers in this financial year for which Rs 1,712 crore has been allocated. Similarly, the state government has provisioned Rs 7,180 crore for providing free power to nearly 14.23 lakh farmers.

The finance minister announced to launch a new umbrella program ‘Kamyaab Kisan Khushaal Punjab’ during 2021-22 to improve the income of those dependent on agriculture on a sustainable basis. This scheme would be implemented with a total outlay of Rs 3,780 crore during the next three years out of which Rs 1,104 crore has been earmarked for this year. This includes setting up of the Postgraduate Institute of Horticulture Research and Education (PGIHRE) in Amritsar with an outlay of Rs 24 crore.

A sum of Rs 200 crore has been allocated for the implementation of crop diversification and Rs 40 crore has been proposed for the in-situ crop residue management under which a total of 50,815 residue management machines have already been provided to farmers and cooperative societies at subsidised rates.

To decrease farmers’ dependence on wheat-paddy cycle and to diversify crops, the state has set aside Rs 361 crore for horticulture in the budget. It has allocated Rs 300 crore for providing support to sugarcane farmers and Rs 60 crore for modernisation of sugar mills in Gurdaspur and Batala. The government is also going to establish Punjab Sugarcane Research Development Institute at Kalanaur in Gurdaspur district at a cost of Rs 47 crore. It has also made an allocation of Rs 10 crore to complete the Verka Mega Dairy Project at Bassi Pathana which will process one million litres of milk per day.

The government also proposes to launch a special project with Rs 500 crore to construct new link roads to habitations of scheduled caste and poorer sections of the society, cremation grounds and places of worship in various villages.

Local Bodies

With 68% increased budgetary allocation against the 2020-21 revised budget estimates, the state government has allocated Rs 7,192 crore for the development of the urban sector.
There is a provision of Rs 1,600 crore for the smart cities mission project, Rs 1,400 crore for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation scheme, Rs 114 crore for Swachh Bharat Mission and Rs 36 crore under the National Urban Livelihood Mission. An international standard tourism destination will be set up on Pathankot-Dalhousie road around Ranjit Sagar Lake at a cost of Rs 450 crore and commercial complexes-cum-exhibition centres constructed in Ludhiana, Mohali and Amritsar at a cost of Rs 125 crore, Rs 150 crore and Rs 250 crore, respectively.

Tourism and Culture

The Punjab government has made a provision of Rs 100 crore for organising a state-level function to commemorate the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Teg Bahadur. The theme park at Chamkaur Sahib worth Rs 30 crore to showcase Sikh culture will be opened to the public in April.

Jallianwala Bagh centenary memorial park in Amritsar has been proposed at a cost of Rs 3.52 crore and would be dedicated to the people on August 15. The state government will start construction of Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial in Doaba region this year. An amount of Rs 178 crore has been proposed for development and conservation of various memorials and monuments and Rs 5 crore proposed to organise Patiala Heritage Festival and Military Literature Festival besides other cultural activities.

Transport

An amount of Rs 170 crore has been allocated in the budget for providing free transport facility in government buses to students and women. An outlay of Rs 250 crore has been made for construction of 25 new bus stands including at Ropar, Dharamkot, Mullanpur and Zira. The government has proposed to purchase 500 new buses for PRTC and Punbus with Rs 150 crore.

Free Power to Freedom Fighters, SC, BC, BPL

A total allocation of Rs 1,513 crore has been made for providing free electricity of 300 units per month up to 1 kilowatt to freedom fighters and 200 units per month up to 1 kilowatt to scheduled castes, backward classes and non-scheduled caste BPL consumers. A total of 24.31 lakh consumers avail this subsidy.

INTERNATIONAL

Russia Launched First Arctic-monitoring Satellite

The Russian Space agency, Roscosmos, has successfully launched its first ever Arctic-monitoring satellite that will monitor the Arctic’s climate and environment.

The space agency blasted off the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket which is also carrying the Arktika-M satellite on board.

The rocket was blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on February 28, 2021. The Arktika-M spacecraft was launched to orbit later.

The development of this satellite system in the highly elliptical orbits is required to collect the information in order to solve the operational meteorology problems as well as the hydrology problems.

The satellite will also monitor the climate and environment of the Arctic region.

Arktika-M satellite will also transmit the overview images of Earth’s northern polar region and the adjoining areas every 15-30 minutes.

Right to Repair – European Union

Companies that sell refrigerators, washing machines, hair dryers or TVs in the European Union (EU) will need to ensure that the repair period for these devices is up to 10 years. About:

The Right to Repair electronic products refers to government legislation designed to enable consumers to repair and modify their own consumer electronic devices. Otherwise, manufacturers of such devices require consumers to use only the services they provide.

The concept of Right to Repair originated in the United States, when the United States’ Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act of 2012 required manufacturers to provide necessary documents and information, allow anyone to repair their vehicles.

NATIONAL

Chabahar Day Commemorated on March 4 by India

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) – India will commemorate the “Chabahar Day” on March 4, 2021, before the 2021 Indian Maritime Summit to be held in Delhi from March 2 to March 4. Highlights:

The virtual event will witness the participation of ministers from various countries which includes Afghanistan, Iran, Armenia, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

During the event; Minister of Foreign Affairs S Jaishankar will deliver a speech at the opening ceremony at the ministerial level, while Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways will deliver a keynote speech.

Ministry of Sports restores recognition of Gymnastics Federation of India

The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has decided to restore recognition of the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) as a National Sports Federation (NSF).

The Sports Ministry in a letter to the GFI president stated that the elections of two office bearers -Sudhir Mittal as President and Kaushik Bidiwala as Treasurer for the term 2019- 2023 have been taken on record of the Ministry.

E-Commerce Portal for KVIC

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Road Transport and Highway Union, expressed his appreciation for Khadi’s successful e-commerce business, saying that it provides a wide range of marketing platforms for a variety of Khadi and rural industrial products. Highlights:

The Khadi and Village Industry Council (KVIC) is a statutory body established under the Parliamentary Act “The Khadi and Village Industry Council Act of 1956”.

It is under the management control of the Mini, Small and Medium-Sized Ministry (MSME).

KVIC promotes, organizes and implements plans for the development of Khadi and other rural industries in rural areas across the country.

Conference by National Bamboo Mission

The National Bamboo Mission organized a National Conference on the Opportunities and Challenges of Indian Bamboo. About National Bamboo Mission:

The National Bamboo Mission (NBM) was implemented as a sub-scheme under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).

The National Bamboo Mission is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, which started in 2006-07, and then came under the jurisdiction of MIDH, applicable to 2014-15 and 2015-16. Objectives of the National Bamboo Mission:

Increase yield through improvements and new varieties.

In potential areas, increase the area covered by bamboo.

Promotion and marketing of bamboo and bamboo handicrafts.

Establish coordination and cooperation among stakeholders to promote the development of the bamboo sector.

Promote, develop and disseminate technology through the perfect integration of modern scientific knowledge and traditional wisdom.

Create job opportunities for skilled and unskilled workers, especially unemployed youth.

E-Daakhil Portal in 15 States/UTs

E-Daakhil’s consumer grievance redressal portal has been put into use in 15 States/UTs. About E-Daakhil Portal:

It is a portal for e-submission of consumer complaints with the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and other consumer commissions.

NCDRC launched the plan in September 2020, and Delhi is the first state to implement the plan.

The fee for submitting a complaint can also be paid online through the e-Daakhil portal.

The e-Daakhil portal gives consumers and their supporters the right to file consumer complaints online from anywhere, and pay the necessary fees online to redressal their complaints.

It also helps the Consumer Commission to check the complaint online to accept, reject or forward the complaint to the relevant commission for further processing.

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