Himachal Pradesh Affairs
Healthy punch, Himachal may dish out apples in schools & hospitals
The Himachal Government is considering the inclusion of apple in mid-day meals in schools and anganwadis and in meals served to patients in hospitals. Mahender Singh, Minister, said, We are expecting a higher yield this time. The availability of this nutritious fruit will benefit both students and patients. We are also thinking of making the fruit available in small packing of 2-6 kg for sale at hotels. This will not only help the growers, but also benefit the tourists as they will get good quality fruit at reasonable prices. We will talk to the hoteliers in this regard soon.
Apple growers feel it is a good step, if it goes beyond a mere announcement. Lokender Bisht, president, Progressive Growers Association, said, Its a welcome move, but only if implemented. Apart from schools and hospitals, the government can also tie up with the Railways and hotels outside the state as well. Also, the plan will only look realistic when the modalities for Procurement and Distribution of the fruit are revealed.
National and International Affairs
Istanbul Airport(Worlds Best Airport Shopping and Most Family-Friendly Airport).
approves $250 mn loan for road safety
The World Bank has approved a $250 million loan to support the Government of India’s road safety programme for seven States under which a single accident reporting number will be set up to better manage post-crash events.
The India State Support Program for Road Safety, financed by the World Bank, will be implemented in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The $250 million variable spread loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a maturity of 18 years including a grace period of 5.5 years.
The project will also establish a national harmonised crash Database system in order to analyse accidents and use that to construct better and safer roads.
It will also fund Network expansion of basic and advanced life support ambulances and training of first responder caregivers to road crash victims on the spot.
The project will also provide incentives to the States to leverage private funding through Public Private PARTNERSHIP (PPP) concessions and pilot initiatives.
According to a World Bank study, road crashes are estimated to cost the Indian economy between 5% to 7% of GDP a year. Official government data show that each year road accidents in India kill about 1,50,000 people and injure another 4,50,000. More than half of the victims are pedestrians, cyclists, or motorcyclists and almost 84% of all fatalities are among road users between the working ages of 18-60 years.
India successfully conducts VL-SRSAM missile test off the coast of Odisha