CHHATTISGARH
Total public debt rises by 20.85% in 2019-20
The total public debt of Chhattisgarh has increased by 20.85 percent in 2019-20, from Rs 52,254.22 crores (2018-19) to Rs 63,164.72 crores (2019-20). The fiscal deficit was Rs 17,969.55 crores, which is 5.46 percent of GSDP and which exceeded the MTFP (Money Follows the Person Initiative) target of 2.99 percent of GSDP.
During 2018-19, the fiscal deficit was within the FRMB (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) target of 3.07 percent of GSDP, said a Comptroller and Auditor General of India report tabled in the House on Friday by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. On the last day of the Monsoon session, Baghel, who also holds Finance portfolio, tabled the Finance and Accounts and Appropriation Accounts of the Chhattisgarh government for 2019.20. The report said the gross budget for 2019-20 was Rs 1,06,913.44 crores. Against it, the gross expenditure was Rs 92,261.34 crores. The tax revenue stood at Rs 42,323.69 crores and the state’s own revenue rose to Rs 22,117.85 crores against Rs 21,427.26 crore (2018-19). The state received Rs 13,611.24 crores Grants in aid from the Centre as compared to last fiscal.
The capital expenditure of the state government was Rs 8,566,39 crores, Rs 337.06 crores less as compared to 2018-19. The revenue deficit of Rs 9,608.61 crores constitutes 2.92 percent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) during 2019-20.
In 2018-19, the state had achieved a revenue surplus of Rs 683.76 crores. The public debt increased by 20.85 percent in 2019-20. The state government has an off-budget liability of Rs 694.26 crores towards repayment of loans taken by various entities, in addition to its budgeted liabilities of Rs 78,712.46 crores. The report said the government had provided budgetary support and accepted liability (guarantee) for Rs 17,610.17 crores in 14 Public Sector Undertaking during the period for which their accounts are in arrear up to March 31, 2020. These PSUs have not finalized their accounts for the last 1-4 years in gross violation of the Companies Act.
INTERNATIONAL
Two New Heritage Sites in Spain
The notable Paseo del Prado avenue and Retiro Park of Madrid, in Spain, has been allowed the situation with UNESCO World Legacy Locales. The wide tree-lined Paseo del Prado, in the focal point of the Spanish capital, is home to conspicuous structures like the Prado Historical center. The notorious Retiro Park, simply connecting with Paseo del Prado, is a 125-hectare green space, and quite possibly the most visited attractions in Madrid’s set of experiences.
NATIONAL
Anand Radhakrishnan Won Will Eisner Comic Award
Visual Artist (Graphic Artist) Anand Radhakrishnan has won the esteemed Will Eisner Comic Industry Award, considered what could be compared to the funnies world. The Eisner Grants are given out every year and the honor won by Radhakrishnan “Best Painter/Mixed media Craftsman (inside workmanship)” perceives the maker of a realistic novel’s specialty and pictures.
Highlights:
Radhakrishnan imparts the honor to UK-based colourist John Pearson. They won for their work on UK-based creator Slam V’s 145-page realistic novel Blue In Green, distributed in October 2020 by Picture Funnies.
Secured Logistics Document Exchange -SLDE
The Secured Logistics Document Exchange (SLDE) and a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator were both introduced.
Highlights:
The government launched a secure logistics document exchange platform for the digital exchange of logistics-related papers, as well as a greenhouse gas emissions calculator for selecting the most sustainable and appropriate mode of transportation for freight movements.
The SLDE platform is a solution for replacing the current manual process of logistics document generation, exchange, and compliance with a digitised, secure, and seamless document exchange system.
GHG Emissions Calculator:
The calculator is an effective and user-friendly tool for calculating and comparing GHG emissions across various modes.
It enables commodity-level comparisons of GHG emissions and total transportation costs, including environmental costs, between road and rail modes of transportation.
Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Specialty Steel
The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Specialty Steel has been approved by the Union Cabinet.
Highlights:
♦ The scheme will last five years, from 2023-24 to 2027-28.
♦ The five specialty steel categories chosen for the PLI Scheme are as follows:
♦ Steel Coated/Plated Products
♦ Steel with a high strength/wear resistance
♦ Specialty Rails
♦ Steel wires and alloy steel products
♦ Electrical Steel
♦ PLI incentive measures have 3 sectors, the lowest is 4%, and the highest is 12%, which have been provided for CRGO.
Scheme’s Requirement
With a budget of Rs. 6322 crores, the scheme is expected to generate approximately 40,000 crores in investment and a capacity addition of 25 MT for speciality steel.
By the end of 2026-27, speciality steel production is expected to reach 42 million tonnes.
Speciality steel was selected as the goal segment because of the 102 million tons of steel produced in India in 2020-21, the country only produced 18 million tons of value-added steel/Specialty steel.
Dvara E-Dairy Solutions Launched AI Digital Tag
Dvara E-Dairy Solutions has launched an AI (artificial intelligence) led digital tag, Surabhi e-Tag, to identify cattle based on muzzle identity. Dvara E-Dairy Solutions is a portfolio company of Dvara Holdings. This digital tag will be used for cattle insurance products offered in partnership with IFFCO Tokio General Insurance.
Muzzle images of the cattle are collected through the Surabhi mobile application and stored in hi-resolution images as a unique digital identity.
The artificial intelligence-driven mobile application of Dvara E-Dairy captures muzzle images with the mobile phone, compares the cattle’s unique digital identity stored in a secured cloud server and retrieves the results in less than 60 seconds.
Conventional methods like polyurethane ear tags (PU ear tags) can be easily tampered with and are prone to duplication and fraud.
Losses of Discoms drop 38% to Rs 38,000 crore
Losses of distribution companies (discoms) have declined by 38% to Rs 38,000 crore in FY20 from Rs 61,360 crore in FY19 as reforms initiated by the Centre reduced line losses and gradually brought about improvement in operations, power minister R K Singh said.
Releasing the ninth annual rating of discoms, Singh said the average gap between the cost of power and revenue realisation of the utilities has also narrowed to 38 paise per unit from 42 paise during the period.
All the four discoms in Gujarat and one in Haryana — Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam — were given A+ ranking by the report prepared by state-run power sector lender PFC. Altogether eight discoms across Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Manipur, Tripura and Tamil Nadu were given C, or the lowest rating.
Underlining the importance of the ranking, Singh said a fair and accurate assessment of the true position of the distribution sector will help in assessing and improving its performance. “This will also assist state governments, lending institutions and other stakeholders to take important decisions,” he said. The rankings have a bearing on the discoms’ ability and cost of borrowings.
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