PM to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development initiatives worth over Rs 20,000 crore. PM to inaugurate Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel which will help bring the regions of Jammu and Kashmir closer, PM to lay foundation stone of three road packages of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway and Ratle & Kwar Hydroelectric projects, PM to launch Amrit Sarovar - an initiative aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country, PM to also visit Mumbai where he will be conferred 1st Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award for exemplary contribution towards nation building

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will undertake a visit to Jammu & Kashmir to participate in the celebration of National Panchayati Raj Day at around 11:30 AM on 24 April, 2022 and address all the Gram Sabhas across the country.

Why is it in news?

He will visit Palli Panchayat in Samba district. During the visit, Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development initiatives worth around Rs 20,000 crore.

He will also launch the Amrit Sarovar initiative. Thereafter, at around 5 PM, Prime Minister will attend the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Awards Ceremony in Mumbai, where he will also receive the 1st Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award.

Highlights

PM in J&K

·       Since the introduction of constitutional reforms with regards to J&K in August 2019, the government has been focussed on bringing about wide ranging reforms to substantially improve governance and enhance ease of living for the people of the region at an unprecedented pace.

·       The projects being inaugurated and whose foundation stone is being laid in this visit will go a long way in facilitating provision of basic amenities, ensuring ease of mobility and development of infrastructure in the region.

·       Prime Minister will inaugurate the Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel, built at a cost of over Rs 3100 crore. The 8.45 Km long tunnel would reduce the road distance between Banihal and Qazigund by 16 km, and reduce journey time by around one and a half hour.

·       It is a twin tube tunnel – one for each direction of travel – with the twin tubes being interconnected by a cross passage every 500m, for maintenance and emergency evacuation. The tunnel would help establish an all weather connection between Jammu and Kashmir, and bring the two regions closer.

·       Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of three road packages of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, being built at a cost of over Rs. 7500 crore. They are for the construction of 4/6 lane access controlled Delhi-Katra-Amritsar Expressway from: Balsua on NH-44 to Gurha Baildaran, Hiranagar;  Gurha Baildaran, Hiranagar to Jakh, Vijaypur; and Jakh, Vijaypur to Kunjwani, Jammu with spur connectivity to Jammu Airport.

·       Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of Ratle and Kwar Hydroelectric projects. The 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Project will be constructed on Chenab river in Kishtwar District at a cost of around Rs 5300 crore. The 540 MW Kwar Hydroelectric Project will also be built on Chenab river in Kishtwar District at a cost of over Rs. 4500 crore. Both the projects will help meet the power requirements of the region.

·       In order to further expand the network of Jan Aushadi Kendras in J&K and to make good quality generic medicines at affordable prices available, 100 Kendras have been made functional and will be dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister. These Kendras are located in the remote corners of the UT.  He will also inaugurate a 500 KW solar power plant at Palli, which will make it the country’s first panchayat to become carbon neutral.

·       Prime Minister will hand over SVAMITVA cards to beneficiaries under the scheme. He will also transfer award money to Panchayats which are winners of awards given across different categories on National Panchayati Raj Day for their achievements.

·       Prime Minister will also visit the INTACH photo gallery which depicts the rural heritage of the region, and Nokia Smartpur, a rural entrepreneurship-based model designed to create ideal smart villages in India.

Amrit Sarovar

·       With a view to ensure rejuvenation of water bodies, during the visit to J&K, the Prime Minister will also launch a new initiative named Amrit Sarovar.

·       It is aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country. It is yet another ode of the government towards the celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

PM in Mumbai

·       Prime Minister will attend the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Awards Ceremony in Mumbai at around 5 PM. On this occasion, Prime Minister will be conferred 1st Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award.

This award, which has been instituted in memory of Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, will be given every year exclusively to one individual for exemplary contribution towards nation building

Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman participates in the 105th Meeting of the Development Committee Plenary in Washington D.C.

Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 105^th Meeting of the Development Committee Plenary in Washington D.C. today.

Why is it in news?

The items on the agenda included Digitalisation & Development, Making Debt Work for Development & Macroeconomic Stability and World Bank Group’s Response to Global Impacts of the War in Ukraine: A Proposed Roadmap.

Highlights

·       In her intervention at this session, the Finance Minister stated that India’s economic growth in the current year is robust and highest among all large economies and reflects India’s resilience and strong recovery.

·       Smt. Sitharaman stated that India faced the COVID-19 pandemic crisis with great resilience and made remarkable progress in vaccination and administered more than 1.85 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses.

·       The Finance Minister underlined that India voluntarily offered COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) platform to all countries and stand willing to provide assistance for other public-goods platforms recognising the importance of replication of proven and scalable digital platforms.

·       The Finance Minister drew attention of distinguished gathering in the meeting to the unprecedented situation in Sri Lanka and hoped for decisive relief to Sri Lanka so that they come out of the crisis.

PM meets Madhya Pradesh CM

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today met Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan.

Why is it in news?

PM discussed the good governance initiatives of the MP Government and how their transformative schemes are bringing a positive change in people’s lives.

Highlights

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;

"Met MP CM Shri @ChouhanShivraj Ji, who discussed the good governance initiatives of the MP Government and how their transformative schemes are bringing a positive change in people’s lives."

Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman meets World Bank President Mr David Malpass in Washington D.C.

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and World Bank Group President Mr. David Malpass met in Washington D.C., today, to discuss various issues, including India’s continued recovery from COVID-19 pandemic; impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the world economy and India in particular; economy and role of the WBG; Single Borrower Limit and exploring the possibility of Guarantees from other  nations, India’s G20 Presidency and World Bank's leadership in India after CD’s departure.

Why is it in news?

The Finance Minister stated that India’s pandemic response has focused on the twin goals of saving lives and livelihoods.

Highlights

·       Smt. Sitharaman mentioned that India remains concerned about the risks to global recovery due to rising uncertainty amidst enhanced geopolitical tensions.

·       India has been successfully running world’s second largest vaccination programme, administering more than 1.85 billion doses of vaccine.

·       On account of the pandemic and the recent geo-political developments, there is a need for the World Bank to come to the rescue of countries facing debt stress.

·       The Finance Minister suggested that the multilateralism has become more critical as the world is undergoing a phase of exceptional uncertainty.

·       Smt. Sitharaman highlighted the India’s roadmap for infrastructure development and look forward to World Bank’s continued support for financing investments for the National Infrastructure pipeline and Gati Shakti programme.

·       In particular, the World Bank needs to pay special attention to Sri Lanka, which is facing an unprecedented economic situation.

Shri Pralhad Joshi Says 72.50 Million Ton Coal Available At Different Sources

Recording 8.55% Increase India Produced 777.23 Million Ton Coal During 2021-22

Union Minister for Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi said that at present 72.50 Million Ton (MT) of coal is available at different sources of Coal India Ltd (CIL), Singareni Colleries Company Ltd (SCCL), coal washeries etc.

Why is it in news?

Stating that there is sufficient coal availability in the country, Shri Joshi said that the same will last for a month and availability is getting replenished on a daily basis with record production. In a tweet, the Minister said that 22.01 Million Ton coal is available with Thermal Power Plants (TPP).

Highlights

·       It may be recalled that as per the provisional data of the Ministry of Coal, the total coal production during the financial year 2021-22 has touched 777.23 Million Ton (MT) compared to 716 MT during 2020-21, recording a growth of 8.55 per cent.

·       Coal India Ltd (CIL) production has gone up by 4.43 per cent from 596.24 MT in 2020-21 to 622.64 MT during the financial year 2021-22. 

·       Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) with an increase of 28.55 per cent growth produced 65.02 MT during 2021-22 compared to 50.58 MT the previous year.  

·       At the same time, coal production of captive mines has gone up to 89.57 MT.  During 2020-21 it was only 69.18 MT.

·       Total coal dispatch during 2021-22 touched the figure of 818.04 MT against the figure of 690.71 MT the previous year, an increase of 18.43 per cent. During the period, CIL dispatched 661.85 MT coal against 2020-21 figure of 573.80 MT.