HIMACHAL PRADESH
Himachal Govt raises Rs 1,000-cr loan for development
The Himachal Government has raised a loan of Rs 1,000 crore in two equal installments for undertaking development works in the state. The Finance Department has decided to raise these loans with the last quarter of the financial year 2020-21 coming to an end on March 31.
The two installments of Rs 500 crore each are being taken for a period of 10 and 12 years from the open market. The Rs 1,000-crore loan will be received by January 27.
The mounting debt trap of over Rs 58,000 crore has been a cause of worry for the state government. With little avenues of resource generation, Himachal remains dependent on loans for undertaking development works. Most of the development works, be it in roads, health, education, housing and infrastructure are undertaken under various Centrally sponsored schemes.
With this loan of Rs 1,000 crore, the Himachal Government can now only raise a loan of Rs 1,500 crore only for the current financial year. The state government has so far raised Rs 5,000 crore during this financial year. It could raise additional loan as Centre has given the offer of taking two per cent extra loan, which will allow the BJP regime to raise Rs 1,000 crore extra, besides the remaining Rs 1,500 crore.
With all major sectors taking a severe hit due to Covid pandemic, it is being expected that the BJP regime will have to take the remaining limit of Rs 1,500 crore by March 31, 2021 when the financial year ends. The recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission will also come into effect after March 2021.
The Rs 450-crore special interest free 50-year-loan to Himachal Pradesh given by the Union Finance Ministry in October 2020 came as a breather for the sagging economy which is already under a huge debt trap with little revenue generating avenues. Himachal was amongst the top beneficiary states in the country in getting one of the highest allocations.
INTERNATIONAL
Great Green Wall for Sahel and Sahara
At the “One Planet Biodiversity Summit”, the “Great Sahel Green Wall and Sahara Desert Initiative” received US$14 billion in funding. The funds will be used to restore degraded land, enhance resilience, create green jobs and protect biodiversity. Among financial institutions, the World Bank pledged 5 billion US dollars, the African Development Bank pledged 6.5 billion US dollars, and the French government pledged 14 billion US dollars.
The “Green Wall” initiative aims to change the lives of 100 million Africans by planting trees, vegetation, grasslands and plants 8,000 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide.
The Great Green Wall is an initiative of African leaders. It was initiated by the African Union in 2007 to combat desertification, land degradation and drought. The goal of the project is to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. From 2007 to 2019, so far, the Great Wall Green Wall Initiative has restored only 4 million hectares of land.
The plan aims to store 250 million tons of carbon and create 10 million green jobs. It will support African communities in planting fertile land and increase economic opportunities for the youngest population. The project will help create climate resilience in areas where the temperature rises faster than the rest of the planet.
India sends 1 million doses of COVID vaccine to Nepal as gift under ‘Vaccine Maitri’ Initiative
India sent 1 million doses of a COVID vaccine to Nepal as a gift under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ Initiative.
Previously India had sent 150,000 doses of ‘Covisheild’ vaccines to Bhutan and 100,000 doses to the Maldives.
In a major announcement, Indian Government said that it will send COVID-19 vaccines to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles and supplies to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius will commence after confirmation of necessary regulatory clearances.
NATIONAL
ISRO to launch customised space-themed t-shirts, mugs, other merchandise
Along the lines of what American space agency NASA has done, the ISRO will come out with customised t-shirts, posters, coffee mugs, key chains, and posters etc.
The merchandise will revolve around several missions the Indian space agency has made possible from the time it was set up in 1969.
ISRO, through these collectibles, hopes to create awareness and enkindle an interest, particularly among students, in space and technology.
Transport Ministry, DRDO ink pact for geo-hazard management
The DRDO and the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) have joined hands to strengthen collaboration in the field of technical exchange and cooperation on sustainable geo-hazard management.
Both establishments will cooperate in the areas of mutual benefit, including conceptual planning of integrated avalanche and landslide protection schemes for all-weather connectivity in snowbound areas.
The MoRTH and DRDO will be cooperating in different mutually beneficial areas that are related to geohazard management.
This initiative aims at ensuring safety against the adverse effects of landslides as well as other natural calamities on the national highways of India.
Shramshakti Digital Data Solution was Launched
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Goa Government jointly launched the Shramshakti Digital Data Solution.
This is a national migration support portal designed to make the national and state-level programmes for migrant workers to run smoothly. The Goa Government also released “Shram-Saathi”, a training manual for migrant workers in Goa.
Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report – TRAI
TRAI released a report on India’s Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator for the fourth quarter from July to September 2020.
Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released the “Report on the Performance Indicators of Telecommunications Services in India”.
It provides a broad perspective of Indian telecom services and introduces key parameters and growth trends of Indian telecom services as well as cable TV, DTH and radio broadcasting services.
It is mainly compiled based on information provided by the service providers. The number of telephone subscribers in India increased by 0.70% from the previous quarter.
This reflects a decrease of 2.22% in the same quarter compared to the same period last year. The total number of Internet users also increased this quarter, increasing by 3.66%.