HIMACHAL PRADESH
Himachal on fiscal correction path, CAG report shows
Comptroller and auditor general of India (CAG) in its latest report for year ending March 31, 2018, tabled in the state assembly on Saturday stated that Himachal Pradesh was on a fiscal correction path. However, the state has not yet amended the Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Management (FRBM) Act, 2005, as recommended by the 14th Finance Commission.
According to the report, overall fiscal liabilities at the end of the year were Rs 51,030 crore with growth of 8% over the previous year. Fiscal liabilities were 37.55% of the GSDP and 1.86 times of the revenue receipts.
Audit report on state finances for the year ending March 31, 2018, tabled by chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on the last day of the winter session of the state assembly stated that the growth rate of the GSDP of Himachal Pradesh for 2017-18 was lower than the growth rate of GSDP of Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir.
Also the annual growth rate of state’s GSDP at both current and constant prices was marginally below India’s GDP. Report says that during next 10 years (2028-29). The state has to repay market loan of Rs 20,874 crore (96.75%) out of the total outstanding loan of Rs 21,574 crore, along with interest amounting to Rs 9,483 crore.
During 2017-18, total expenditure (Rs 31,312 crore) of the state decreased by Rs 821 crore (3%) over the previous year, primarily on account of disbursement of loan of Rs 2,890.50 crore during 2016-17 to discom under UDAY scheme. The revenue expenditure increased by Rs 1,709 crore (7%) from Rs 25,344 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 27,053 crore in 2017-18 and its share in total expenditure increased from 79% in 2016-17 to 86% in 2017-18.
INTERNATIONAL
World Soil Day: 05 December
World Soil Day is observed on 5 December every year to raise awareness about the importance of soil on Earth.
As per the UN, every 5 seconds, the equivalent of one soccer field of soil is eroded.
Theme: ‘Stop Soil Erosion, Save our Future’
‘Joker’ fame Joaquin Phoenix named PETA’s Person of the Year
‘Joker’ Star Joaquin Phoenix has been named 2019 Person of the Year by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Phoenix is vegan since the age of three and has been a longtime supporter of the animal rights organisation.
He recently appeared in PETA’s “We Are All Animals” billboards in Times Square and on Sunset Billboard as he promoted legislation to ban travelling wild-animal circuses.
Previous PETA Person of the Year winners includes Pope Francis, Oprah Winfrey, Anjelica Huston, Olivia Munn, Eva Mendes and Alicia Silverstone.
India ranked 73rd in the 2019 E-commerce Index
India ranked 73rd in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce Index 2019. The ranking was conducted for 152 countries. The Netherlands topped the index for the second consecutive year.
The survey was conducted among 152 countries.
The index measured an economy’s preparedness to support online shopping.
The index marked the readiness of the countries that are engaged in online commerce.
The survey also included a parameter where the portion of every country’s population that uses the internet and has an account with a financial institution or mobile-money-service provider.
NATIONAL
Mongla and Chattogram port declared as Ports of Call
Centre has declared Port of Mongla and Chattogram as Ports of Call under Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWT&T) between India and Bangladesh. Mongla and Chattogram are declared as Ports of Call under the Coastal Shipping Agreement between India and Bangladesh. An MoU, Agreement and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was signed between India and Bangladesh on the use of Chattogram Port & Mongla Ports for the movement of goods to and from India.
The Ports of Call in India are Kolkata, Haldia, Pandu, Karimganj, Silghat, Dhubri. Similarly,
In Bangladesh, the Ports of Call are Narayanganj, Khulna, Mongla, Sirajganj, Ashuganj, and Pangaon.
Port of Call: Port of call is an intermediate stop for a ship on its scheduled journey for cargo operation.
Govt sanctions Rs 100 cr to set up women help desks in police stations
Union Home Ministry has sanctioned a sum of 100 crore rupees from Nirbhaya Fund for setting up and strengthening of Women Help Desks in Police Stations.
This scheme would be implemented by the States and Union Territories.
The Help Desks would focus on making the Police Stations more women-friendly and approachable, as they would be the first and single point of contact for any woman walking into a police station.
Essentially, lady police officers would be deployed at these help desks.
The officials of Women Help Desk would be trained to be sensitive towards women.
Country’s first aqua lab to be set up in Dehradun
Country’s first aqua lab to be set up in Dehradun,Uttarakhand.
State forest minister Shri Harak Singh Rawat laid foundation stone of India’s first Ganga centralised aqualab at Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Dehradun
The aqualabs will be set up under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
Tributaries of river Ganga such as Gomti, Betwa, Kosi will be scientifically studied and their biological components will be preserved in the lab.
Government to establish first maritime museum at Lothal
The government is to establish a National Maritime Heritage Museum, at Lothal, a Harappan site on the Saurashtra coast in Gujarat. The move aims to boost the underwater or marine archaeology. Lothal site is one of the oldest ports in India dating to the Bronze Age.
The Maritime Museum is being set up with technical help from the Portuguese Maritime Heritage Museum.
The government has appointed the first Director-General for the museum. The DG will be attached to the Maritime Board of the Gujarat government.
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