PM to visit J&K to participate in celebrations of National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April
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
Nirmala Sitharaman participates in the 105th Meeting of the Development Committee Plenary in Washington D.C.
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 105th 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 DISCUSSES good governance with Madhya Pradesh CM
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."
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman meets World Bank President Mr David Malpass in Washington D.C.
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.
Record increase in the coal production
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.