KERALA

Coronavirus could spoil Kerala’s tourism gains

The increasing coronavirus cases in the state and subsequent restrictions have cast a cloud over the tourism industry. The state had attracted around 1.96 crore domestic and foreign visitors in 2019, registering the highest growth rate in domestic and total tourist arrivals in 24 years.

The total earnings from tourism in the state stood at Rs 45,010.69 crore in 2019, notching a robust 24.14 % increase over the previous year. The total number of tourists was pegged at 1,95,74,004, of whom 1,83,84,233 were domestic tourists and 11,89,771 visitors from abroad.
In 2018, the number of tourists visiting Kerala was 1,67,01,068 (domestic tourists 1,56,04,661 and foreign tourists 10,96,407). The growth rate in the inflow of domestic tourists was 17.81 % while for the foreign tourist arrivals, it was 8.52 %.

Of the 14 districts, Ernakulam attracted the largest number of tourists (45,82,366), followed by Thiruvananthapuram (33,48,618), Thrissur (25,99,248) and Idukki (18,95,422).

Also, the total foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from tourism crossed Rs 10,000 crore for the first time, touching a figure of Rs 10,271.06 crore and registering a growth of 17.19 % over the previous year.

Ernakulam alone generated Rs 4,508.32 crore of the FEE, accounting for 43.9 % of the total foreign exchange earnings from tourism sector. It was followed by Thiruvananthapuram (Rs 2,680.06 crore) and Alappuzha (Rs 1,003.37 crore).

In terms of total revenue earned from the tourism sector, Ernakulam ranked No. 1 with Rs 12,816.54 crore, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (Rs 8,700.12 crore), Thrissur (Rs 4,646.08 crore) and Idukki (Rs 3,984.4 crore).

INTERNATIONAL

India remains second-largest arms importer in 2019

India retains its position as the second-largest arms importer in the world followed by Saudi Arabia, says a new report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

India neighbour Pakistan ranked 11th.

The SIPRI report shows how Russia gradually lost the lucrative Indian arms market over the years, though the communist country remains a key supplier.

Although India remains the main recipient of Russian arms in 2015-19, accounting for 25% of the total, Russian arms exports to India fell by 47 per cent between 2010-14 and 2015-19.

The USA became the second-largest arms supplier to India in 2010-14.

China, on the other hand, accounted for 51% of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2010-14 and for 73% in 2015-19.

NATIONAL

Gujarat tops in domestic solar rooftop installations

Gujarat has topped the list in the installations of solar rooftop plants across the country with about 50,915 systems being fixed on domestic rooftops in the state.

Maharashtra follows with 5,513 installations.

Of 79,950 systems installed across the country, Gujarat has topped with 64 per cent or two-thirds of total domestic solar rooftop installations.

The total capacity of the 50,915 systems installed on domestic rooftops in the State is 177.67 MW, whereas the total systems installed across the country have a combined capacity of 322 MW.

The State government has adopted a solar rooftop scheme ‘Surya Gujarat’ to cover about eight lakh domestic electricity consumers under the scheme by 2022.

The electricity generated through the domestic rooftops is being consumed by the households, while the excess units are purchased by the State discoms at the rate of ₹2.25 per unit.

Govt to make sanitary napkin disposal bags mandatory from January 2021Union

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that Sanitary napkin makers will be asked to supply a biodegradable bag with each napkin from January 2021.

The possibility of getting infected because of handling used Sanitary Napkins thrown in the garbage was brought to notice by many of the women garbage collectors.

That’s why the Environment Ministry has taken the decision to ask Makers of Sanitary Napkins to provide biodegradable bags so that Napkins can be wrapped in these bags before being thrown in the garbage.

Mr. Javadekar announced that the sanitation norms for Corporations and municipalities will now be applied to villages with a population of more than three thousand.

Poshan Abhiyaan celebrated its second anniversary

The second anniversary of the Centre’s Poshan Abhiyaan Poshan Pakhwada was celebrated on 8 March. The focus of the two-week-long Poshan Pakhwada 2020 is ‘Men for Nutrition.’ The aim is to increase male engagement in Poshan Abhiyaan. It aims to improve Nutritional Indicators.

NITI Aayog’s data states that Andhra Pradesh ranked first in the overall implementation of Poshan Abhiyan. As part of the program, the State has trained all Angan Wadi Workers on modules created based on lifecycle approach with the support of incremental learning Approach (ILA).

Tamil Nadu State has topped the list of the states in terms of the number of participants in the program. The Integrated Child Development Scheme has been rejuvenated with the Centre’s Poshan Abhiyaan mission. The program is revitalizing India by reaching out to the children and mothers across the nation.

POSHAN Abhiyaan:

Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition (POSHAN) Abhiyaan or National Nutrition Mission is the Government of India’s flagship program. It improves nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers. The scheme reduces malnutrition in the country in a phased manner, through a life cycle approach, by adopting a synergized and result oriented approach.

Centre to set up at least one PMBJP Kendra in every block of the country

Government plans to set up at least one Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya JanAushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) Kendra in every block of India by the end of 2020. The announcement was made by the Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region Dr.Jitendra Singh at the Jan Aushadhi Diwas celebration in Kathua, J&K.

The government for Jammu & Kashmir launched the PMBJP to promote affordable and quality generic medicines among the people. The speed of development in UT of J&K has increased manifold after the creation of Union Territory (UT) as all the progressive Central laws have been directly implemented without any hindrance.

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) campaign was launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) in 2008. It was launched under the name Jan Aushadi Campaign. Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) is the implementation agency of the scheme. PMBJP aims to provide quality medicines at affordable prices to the masses.

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