20-08-21 Daily-Kerala-KPSC Current Affairs

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has taken exception to the state governments delay in remitting the dues to the concessionaires of various toll plazas in the state, accumulated by way of non-payment of user fee by KSRTC buses and free passes to vehicles passing through these toll plazas.

According to the documents, at least Rs 235 crore is due from the under these heads to the concessionaires. Of the five toll plazas operating on the highways in the state namely at Paliyekkara (Thrissur), Walayar (Palakkad), Kumbalam and Ponnarimangalam (Ernakulam) and Kollam, the KSRTC is paying the user fee only at Kumbalam. The concessionaire of the toll plaza in Paliyekkara alone had pegged the dues from the KSRTC at Rs 104 crore till March this year, due from the state government as the user fee by the KSRTC.

The state government had issued free passes to car, van, jeep and Light commercial vehicles that belong to within 10km radius of the Paliyekkara toll plaza, in 2012. The government had then assured the concessionaire that the user fee for such vehicles that have been issued free passes will be paid by the government. But this amount has now accumulated up to Rs 129 crore, which also is yet to be paid. Further, close to Rs 1.5 crore is due in a similar case at Kumbalam toll plaza as well.

As per the agreement between the Union Government and the state, the state would bear 25% of the cost of land acquisition for the highways in the state, while the remaining will be borne by the NHAI. The NHAI has also asked the state government to clear its Consent for bearing 25% of the acquisition cost for four various highway projects running to 336km and the development cost has been estimated at Rs 25,000 crore.

PM Narendra Modi has announced a Rs 100 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Gatishakti scheme while addressing the kingdom on the 75th Independence Day from Red Fort.

Highlights:

The Pradhan Mantri Gatishakti scheme aims to adopt a holistic and built-in method in the boom and create EMPLOYMENT opportunities for the youth of the country.

The government will soon announce the Master Plan for the scheme, to help improve the productivity of industries, and raise the economic boom of the country, except developing job possibilities for lots of youths.

Gati Shakti will be a national infrastructure grasp layout for our country that will lay the foundation of holistic infrastructure and will lead to a built-in and holistic pathway to our economy.

The PM Gati Shakti scheme is aimed at breaking the silos between road, rail, air and waterways to reduce travel time, enhancing industrial productivity, making manufacturing globally competitive, facilitating future financial zones and creating employment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Hydrogen Mission on August 15, 2021, from Lal Quila at the event of the 75th Independence Day. This mission was launched to push for the electricity protection of India.

Highlights:

This mission was introduced in the backdrop of India spending Rs 12 trillion annually to meet its strength needs.

The mission seeks to make India a world hub for inexperienced hydrogen production and exports.

India presently imports 85% of its oil and 53% of its gas demand.

On the occasion, PM said that, for India to progress and become self-reliant, it becomes important to turn out to be electricity independent.

In the line, India is thinking about making it mandatory for fertilizer flowers and oil refineries to purchase inexperienced hydrogen below its plans to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water Molecules into hydrogen and Oxygen with the assist of an electrolyzer which is powered through electricity from renewable electricity sources like wind and solar.

The fifty-fifth assembly of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) was held below Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U).

Highlights:

In this meeting, proposals for the development of 16,488 homes have been approved.

The homes are proposed to be developed underneath Beneficiary-Led Construction (BLC) and Affordable Housing in PARTNERSHIP (AHP) verticals of PMAY-U.

Progress beneath PMAY-U: Construction of PMAY-U homes is in a range of levels

With this, the quantity of sanctioned homes beneath PMAY-U is now 113.06 Lakh; 85.65 Lakh have been grounded for building and extra than fifty one Lakh have been carried out and delivered to the beneficiaries.

The Union <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture Minister inaugurated the worlds second-largest refurbished gene financial institution at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.

Highlights:

The National Gene Bank used to be mounted in 1996 to maintain Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) seeds for future generations. It has the potential to maintain about one million germplasm in the shape of seeds.

Presently it is defending 4.52 lakh accessions, of which 2.7 lakh are Indian germplasm and the relaxation has been imported from different countries.

The NBPGR was installed in 1976 as the National Bureau of Plant Introduction and it received its existing identity 12 months later.

Its origins, however, can be traced again to the late Forties as the ICAR Scheme for plant introduction.

NBPGR is an institute below the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

It is headquartered in New Delhi with 10 Regional Stations placed in specific phytogeographical zones of the country.

The Central Government launched the DEFENCE Testing Scheme in May 2020.

About the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme:

The Scheme was once launched with an outlay of Rs four hundred crore for developing ultra-modern checking out infrastructure in PARTNERSHIP with the personal Industry.

The chief purpose of the Scheme is to enhance Home defence and aerospace manufacturing.

The Scheme would run for 5 years and envisages putting up of 6-8 Greenfield Defence Testing Infrastructure amenities required for defence and aerospace associated production.

The initiatives below the Scheme will be furnished with up to seventy-five per cent Government funding in the structure of Grant-in-Aid. The ultimate 25 per cent of the assignment fee will have to be borne with the aid of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Elements which will be Indian personal entities and nation governments.

The SPVs below the Scheme will be registered underneath the Companies Act, 2013 and shall additionally function and hold all belongings below the Scheme in a self-sustainable manner by amassing consumer charges.

The target of the Scheme is to promote indigenous defence production, with a distinct center of attention on participation of MSMEs and Start-Ups through bridging gaps in defence trying out infrastructure in the country.

Setting up defence trying out infrastructure will furnish handy get admission to and meet the trying out wants of the home defence industry.

Google paid tribute to Subhadra Kumari Chauhan on her 117th delivery anniversary by way of dedicating a creative doodle to her.

Subhadra Kumari Chauhan was an Indian activist, freedom fighter, and poet.

Google doodle was once illustrated with the aid of Prabha Mallya who is a New Zealand-based guest artist.

Doodle signifies Chauhan dressed in a saree, sitting & keeping a pen with various notes.

Doodle additionally indicates Jhansi Ki Rani and countless freedom fighters.

Google additionally described Chauhan as a trailblazing author and freedom fighter who earned national prominence for the duration of the time when literature was once dominated by using men.