17-02-23 Daily-Himachal Pradesh-HPPSC Current Affairs

TheHimachalPradesh government will now charge tax on water used in power projects set up in the state. To increase revenue, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government has imposed water cess on power projects by bringing in an ordinance. According to sources, the intends to collect revenue of over Rs 1,000 crore through this water cess.

Through a gazette notification published on Friday the governor, in exercise of powers vested in him under Section 17(1) of theHimachal Pradesh Water CessonHydro Power Generation Ordinance, 2023 (Ordinance No. 2 of 2023), has ordered the imposition of water cess on all Hydro Power projects in the state.

There are more than 50 power projects in Himachal and work is going on on more than 30. This tax will be applicable on all these projects. Total identified hydro power potential of the state is around 27,436 MW and harnessable power potential is 23,750 MW, out of which, 10,781.88 MW has been harnessed while over 12,000 MW power is yet to be done.

The Institute of Occupational Training Services (IOTS) has announced its plans to open 53 centres across India to provide vocational and Skill development training.

The centres would provide skill based training in accordance with international standards, preparing Indian applicants for global markets.The centres will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and Resources to provide candidates with a high-quality up-skilling training experience. Headquartered in Delhi, the organisation is all set to expand in the north-eastern regions of India, including Pune, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Jamshedpur, Guwahati, Arunachal Pradesh, Indore, and neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

As per the groundwater assessment report, Punjab has annual extractable groundwater Resources of 17.07 billion cubic metres (BCM). The recharge is 18.94BCM, while the extraction turned out to be 28.02 BCM. This is 165.99% of extractable resources. Also, 117 of the 153 (including three urban blocks) groundwater blocks were overexploited. This is 76.47% of total blocks.

Of 28.02 BCM, 26.69 BCM is extracted for Irrigation purpose. Domestic extraction was recorded at 1.17 BCM (4.18%) and extraction for Industrial Sector was recorded at 0.16 BCM, which turns out to be a meagre 0.57% of the total extraction.

In the entire country, extractable resources, as per 2022 report, have been assessed at 398.08 BCM and the extraction has been recorded at 239.16 BCM, while the recharge is 437.60 BCM. The extraction rate is 60.08%.

HostsJammu and Kashmirhave maintained their supremacy in winter Sports by bagging the first position with a tally of 26 gold medals at the third Khelo IndiaWinter Gamesat Gulmarg.

Besides 26 golds, Jammu and Kashmir bagged 25 silver and 25 bronze medals in the five-day event, which concluded on Tuesday.
Maharashtrabagged the second position with 14 gold, eight silver and six bronze medals followed byHimachal Pradeshin third place with 10 golds.

A Saudi Arabian woman will become the first woman astronaut from the country to go on a space mission later this year.

Barnawi and Al-Qarni will fly to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of a mission this spring by the private space company Axiom Space, according to Saudi Press Agency and Axiom.

The crew will be launched into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Neighbouring United Arab Emirates had become the first Arab country to send woman astronautNoura Al-Matrooshiinto space in 2021.

Spanish lawmakers gave final approval to a law granting paid medical leave to Women suffering severeperiod pain, becoming the first European country to advance such legislation.

The law, which passed by 185 votes in favour to 154 against, is aimed at breaking a taboo on the subject, the government has said.

Menstrual leave is currently offered only in a small number of countries across the globe, among them Japan, Indonesia and Zambia.

The legislation entitles workers experiencing period pain to as much time off as they need, with the state social security system — not employers — picking up the tab for the sick leave.