Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Heavy Industries said that under the FAME II Scheme of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), Cities/STUs/State Governments placed supply orders for 3,538 Electric Buses.

* Out of those 3,538 Electric Buses, a total of 1,716 electric Buses have been deployed as on 2nd January 2023.

 

* He further stated that for the Union Territory of Delhi 400 Electric Buses; 300 Electric Buses to Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) for intra city operations and 100 Electric Buses to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for last Mile connectivity were sanctioned in the Month of August 2019.

 

* The supply orders were to be placed by 15th January 2020.  DMRC issued supply order in December 2019 to the successful Bidders whereas Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) could only issue supply order in March 2021. 

* To facilitate DTC, MHI extended last date of supply order by DTC 31st March 2021, as a special case for providing pollution free world class transit system to Delhi. 

 

* A total of 250 buses have already been deployed by DTC and now the remaining 50 buses have been launched, fulfilling commitment of MHI to provide 300 electric buses to DTC. The Central Government will be giving incentive of Rs. 165 Crore to DTC for these 300 Electric Buses..

Source : PIB

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister’s Residential Land Rights Scheme (Mukhyamantri Aavaseya Bhoomi Adhikaar Yojana) will be launched from Bakpura Panchayat of Tikamgarh district 4th Jan 2023.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will distribute free leases of residential land to selected beneficiaries. Applications of 14 lakh people have been received from all over the state.

Out of these, 10 thousand 500 eligible beneficiaries of Tikamgarh district will be given residential plots worth 120 crore rupees 4th Jan 2023. The scheme will be launched in the entire state with today’s (4th Jan 2023) event.

 

Our correspondent reports that the state government has been working on this scheme for the last year (2022). The Chief Minister had instructed the Revenue Department to identify eligible beneficiaries for this scheme and prepare their data.

Each beneficiary family will be given a land plot of about 600 square feet for the construction of houses under various schemes including Pradhanmantri Awas Yojna..

Source : News on Air

On Monday (2nd Jan 2023), Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the world's longest river cruise (Ganga Vilas), from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam through Bangladesh, on January 13, 2023.

 

Yogi Adityanath stated at a meeting of top bureaucrats that officials should finish all preparations for the prime minister's visit and the inauguration ceremony in Varanasi.

 

India's grandeur cruise project which was announced in November 2022 was named the Ganga Vilas project. According to the sources, the cruise will transport passengers across 4,000 kilometres in 50 days.

The cruise will also flow through national parks and wildlife refuges, such as the Sundarbans Delta and the Kaziranga National Park. The entire journey will include a lot of river systems in India, including Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly, Brahmaputra, and West Coast Canal.

The cruise will make over 50 architecturally significant stops, including world heritage sites.

 

The Ganga Vilas cruise is the first ever ship built in India which is outfitted with contemporary amenities and safety equipment. It will make the longest cruise route from Varanasi to Dibrugarh in Assam.

 

32 Swiss tourists will reach Varanasi on January 6 on board the Ganga Vilas cruise which left the port of Kolkata on December 22, a state government spokesman said.

Swiss tourists will explore Varanasi's religious and spiritual sites upon their arrival, said Raj Singh, director of Ganga Vilas Cruises. Following their visit to Varanasi, the Swiss visitors will embark on the world's longest river cruise on 13 January 2023 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi lights off the historic voyage.

 

On November 11, 2022, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced the itinerary for the cruise.

 

According to a state government official, the Uttar Pradesh government is striving to improve amenities for visitors visiting Varanasi. Along with road, rail, and air transportation, he added, visitors wanted to visit the city via river transit to see the natural beauty of the river system.

Captain Shiva Chauhan of Fire and Fury Sappers has become the first woman officer to be operationally deployed in Kumar Post at the highest battlefield in the world-Siachen.

 

* Before this, no women officer was ever deployed at Siachen glacier at such an altitude in the past 40 years after India launched Operation Meghdoot to secure the world’s highest and coldest battleground.

 

* Like other soldiers, Chauhan will be deployed in the frozen landscape for three months. The temperature at Siachen can dip to minus 60 degrees Celsius.

 

* Chauhan is now deployed at the Kumar post at a height of 15,632 feet. Almost 80% of posts on the glacier are located above 16,000 feet, with the highest post at more than 21,000 feet. She will be a team leader at the post and will be responsible for numerous combat engineering tasks.

 

* The Siachen glacier at a height of around 20,000 feet in the Karakoram range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds.

 

* In the past, women officers have been posted to Siachen base camp which is at about 9,000 ft as part of their regular postings along with the unit.

 

* Chauhan underwent rigorous training at the Siachen Battle School before being deployed at the glacier. The training included endurance training, ice wall climbing, avalanche and crevasse rescue, and survival drills..

Source : Mint

The state-run power major on Tuesday (3 January 2023) announced that it has commissioned India's first green hydrogen blending operation in the piped natural gas (PNG) network of its Kawas township, Surat.

 

* In an exchange filing, NTPC said that the green hydrogen blending has been started in the PNG network of NTPC Kawas township, Surat.

* The project is a joint effort of NTPC and Gujarat Gas (GGL).

 

* The power generation company stated that the first molecule of green hydrogen from the project was set in motion by P Ram Prasad, Head of Project, Kawas in presence of other senior executives of NTPC Kawas and GGL. After the start of blending operation, NTPC Kawas held awareness workshops for township residents with help of GGL officials, it added.

 

* The foundation stone of the project was laid by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on 30 July 2022.

 

* This set-up is geared up to supply H2- NG (natural gas) to households of Kawas township at Adityanagar, Surat. 

 

* Green hydrogen in Kawas is made by electrolysis of water using power from already installed 1 megawatt (MW) floating solar project.

 

* Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), the regulatory body has given approval for 5% vol./vol. blending of green hydrogen with PNG to start with and the blending level would be scaled phase wise to reach 20%. 

 

* Green hydrogen when blended with natural gas reduces CO2 emissions keeping net heating content same.

 

* NTPC states that this feat is achieved only by a few select countries like the UK, Germany, Australia, etc.

 

* This would bring India to the center stage of the global hydrogen economy.

 

* India will not only reduce its hydrocarbon import bill significantly but also bring forex ashore by being a green hydrogen and green chemicals exporter to the world.

* NTPC is India’s largest energy conglomerate. It has a presence in the entire value chain of the power generation business..

Source : Business Standard

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu sunday (1s Jan 2023) announced to set up of Rs 101 crore CM’s Sukhashraya Sahayata Kosh for the destitute in the state.

Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh informed that 40 Congress MLAs agreed to contribute Rs one lakh each from their first salary for the fund and also requested the MLAs from BJP and other parties to contribute.

 

The collected fund will be spent on the higher education of destitute children to encourage them to pursue courses such as engineering, medicine, management, and other streams from reputed institutions like IIT, IIM, AIIMS, and NIT.

 

* CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced that there are 6,000 destitute children in Himachal Pradesh.

* The CM’s Sukhashraya Sahayata Kosh with an expenditure of Rs 101 crore would provide the facility of higher education to needy children.

* Through the CM’s Sukhashraya Sahayata Kosh other than bearing the educational expenses, the government would also provide Rs 4000 monthly pocket money to the destitute children and women pursuing higher education.

* The state government will bear the expenditure on skill development education, higher education, and vocational training of such children.

* They will also be given financial assistance as per their requirement so that they can lead a respectable life.

* The state government was committed to ensuring the welfare of needy children, orphans, destitute women, and senior citizens.

* The Chief Minister informed that receiving assistance from this fund would be free from government restrictions and no income certificate would be needed.

* The assistance will be given directly to the beneficiary’s account immediately by the department of social justice and empowerment on a simple application...

Source : Times of India

The second phase of the Sari Festival “VIRAASAT”- Celebrating 75 handwoven Saris of India will begin from 3rd to 17 January 2023 in New Delhi . The Union Ministry of Textile is organising the festival.

 

Over 90 participants from different parts of India  the will display a wide variety of sarees like handloom Saris of Jamdani, Ikat, Pochampally, Banaras Brocade, Tussar Silk (Champa), Baluchari, Bhagalpuri Silk, Tangail, Chanderi, Lalitpuri, Patola, Paithani etc

 

The first phase of “VIRAASAT”- Celebrating 75 handwoven Saris of India started on 16th December 2022 and concluded on 30th December 2022.

The event was inaugurated by Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 16th December 2022, along with Hon’ble Minister of State Smt. Darshana Jardosh and other women parliamentarians.

 

The event is likely to bring renewed focus on the age-old tradition of Sari weaving and thereby improve earnings of the handloom community.

 

One of Asia’s largest private banks, Bank of Singapore, has appointed Jason Moo, formerly of wealth manager Julius Baer, as its new chief executive from 6 March 2023, the bank said on Tuesday (3rd Jan 2023).

 

Part of Singapore’s second-biggest listed lender OCBC , the bank said Moo would succeed Bahrin Shaari, who retired on December 31 after 13 years with it.

 

“Having worked in top global financial markets, Jason will bring a unique set of skills and perspectives,” its chairman, Lai Teck Poh, said in a statement.

 

The appointment comes at a time of growing competition in Asia’s private banking industry as global wealth management firms battle to expand their share in a fast-growing market.

 

Bank of Singapore had total assets under management of $109 billion by Sept. 30 last year.

 

In December, Zurich-based Julius Baer said Moo would leave his role as head of private banking for Southeast Asia. Moo was also manager of its Singapore branch.

 

Prior to joining Julius Baer in 2020, Moo worked at Goldman Sachs for more than two decades, most recently as its Singapore chief executive and head of Southeast Asia and Australia for private wealth management. (Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Clarence Fernandez)..

Source : Reuters

Defence minister Rajnath Singh will visit Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday (3rd Jan 2023) morning to inaugurate a 100-metre bridge, which will open an alternative route to the India-China border.

The Siyom Bridge is one of the 28 projects completed by the Border Roads Organisation at a cost of Rs 724 crore to strengthen border infrastructure.

 

Singh, who arrived at the IAF base at Chabua in Assam’s Dibrugarh on Monday (2nd Jan 2023), will travel to Boleng in Arunachal’s Siang district on Tuesday (3rd Jan 2023).

The defence minister will physically inaugurate the steel arch superstructure Siyom Bridge on the Along-Yingkiong Road, which will facilitate faster induction of troops, heavy equipment like howitzers and mechanised vehicles to forward areas of the Upper Siang district, Tuting and Gelling, along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

He has virtually inaugurated other 27 projects in Ladakh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Punjab and J&K..

Source : Times of India

Ahead of panchayat polls in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress Chairperson and Chief Minister "Mamata Banerjee" on Monday (2nd Jan 2023) launched a fresh public outreach programme to reach out to people of the State.

* Under the initiative  ‘ Didir Suraksha Kawach’ (Didi Protection Shield)‘   about 3.5 lakh volunteers of the Trinamool Congress will reach out to all 2 crore households of the State in a span of 60 days. 

 

* Launching the campaign Ms. Banerjee said that while ‘ Duare Sarkar (Government at Doorstep)‘ was an attempt at government level to reach out to the people, the new initiative is an initiative at the party level .

* Under the scheme the volunteers will try to extend the benefits of 15 flagship schemes of the West Bengal government to the people of the State.

 

* The public outreach comes at a time when the State government is battling scams including the recent protests at the panchayat level over irregularities in the allocation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

* On the issue of corruption at panchayat level the Chief Minister pointed out that panchayats get funds directly from the Centre and there is not much which the State government can do instead of keeping a watch and sending reports if there are allegations of corruption. 

 

* Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee who was seated on the stage with the Chief Minister during the launch said that a mobile application has been developed and a training programme will be held at a local level will be undertaken before the initiative kicks off on January 11, 2023.

* The outreach is similar to ‘Didi ke Bolo (Tell Didi)‘ campiagn of the party which was launched ahaed of 2021 Assembly polls in the State..

Source : The Hindu