Through UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme), flight operations between the Capital City of Manipur (Imphal) and Meghalaya (Shillong) have been established on 3rd August 2021.

Due to the non-availability of any direct mode of transportation, people were compelled to cover a 12-hour long journey by road to reach Shillong from Imphal or they had to take a flight to Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati, then bus service to reach Shillong. The completion of the entire journey took more than 1 day to reach Shillong from Imphal or vice-versa. Now, natives can easily fly between the two cities by opting for a flight of just 60 mins from Imphal to Shillong and 75 mins from Shillong to Imphal. Shillong is the second city to be connected with Imphal under the UDAN scheme. 

To keep the fares affordable, airlines are being provided Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the UDAN scheme by the central government.

Indigo airlines will operate four flights in a week and will deploy its 78-seater ATR 72 aircraft.

Till date, 361 routes and 59 airports (including 5 heliports and 2 water aerodromes) have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme. The scheme is envisaged to establish strong aerial connectivity in all States and UTs of the country which hitherto were not connected, laying the foundation of a new regional segment in India’s aviation market.

Flight No 7959 will Depart from Imphal at 9.55am and reach Shillong at 10.55am. The return flight no 7961 will depart from Shillong at 11.15am and reach Imphal at 12.30pm

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the continuation of the revised Samagra Shiksha Scheme for a period of five years i.e., from 2021-22 to 2025-26 today.

Financial outlay of Rs.2,94,283.04 crore which includes Central share of Rs.1,85,398.32 crore. has been allocated for this project. The scheme which covers 1.16 million schools will benefit over 156 million students and 5.7 million teachers of Govt. and Aided schools (from pre-primary to senior secondary level).

The Scheme aims to universalize access to school education; promote equity through the inclusion of disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, and improve the quality of education across all levels of school education. The major objectives of the Scheme are to Support States and UTs in:

1. Implementing the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020);
2. Implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009;
3. Early Childhood Care and Education;
4. Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy;
5. Thrust on Holistic, Integrated, Inclusive and activity-based Curriculum and Pedagogy to impart 21st-century skills to the students;
6. Provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes of students;
7. Bridging Social and Gender Gaps in School Education;
8. Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education;
9. Strengthening and up-gradation of State Councils for Educational Research and Training (SCERTs)/State Institutes of Education and District Institutes for Education and Training (DIET) as a nodal agency for teacher training;
10. Ensuring a safe, secure and conducive learning environment and maintenance of standards in schooling provisions and
11. Promoting vocational education.

Reserve Bank of India has cautioned the public not to fall prey to fictitious offers of buying/ selling of Old Banknotes and Coins.

In a press release issued today RBI has said, "It has come to the notice of Reserve Bank of India that certain elements are fraudulently using the name/ logo of Reserve Bank of India, and seeking charges/ commission/ tax from the public, in transactions related to buying and selling of old banknotes and coins through various online/ offline platforms."

"It is clarified that the Reserve Bank of India does not deal in such matters and never seeks charges/ commissions of any sort. Reserve Bank of India has also not authorised any institution/ firm/ person etc. to collect charges/ commission on its behalf in such transactions."

"Reserve Bank of India advises members of the public to remain cautious and not to fall prey to elements using the name of Reserve Bank of India to extract money through such fictitious/ fraudulent offers."

In a significant development, over 2.27 lakh pregnant women have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine under the ongoing National COVID Vaccination drive.

The state of Tamil Nadu is leading the way by vaccinating over 78,838 pregnant women, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 34,228, Odisha with 29,821, Madhya Pradesh with 21,842, Kerala with 18,423 and Karnataka with 16,673 pregnant women vaccinated.

As part of the campaign to allay fears, apprehensions, misinformed rumours and some social taboos and issues, a guidance note to assist the States/UTs in operationalizing the COVID vaccination programme for pregnant women was shared by the Union Health Ministry on 2nd July 2021. This was followed up by training of the programme managers, service providers and frontline health workers to equip them to counsel the pregnant women and their families during antenatal care about the importance of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. The States/UTs further sensitized their vaccination teams in the Government and private COVID Vaccination Centres (CVCs) regarding COVID vaccination for pregnant women.

The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) had recommended vaccination for pregnant women leading to inclusion of pregnant women in India’s COVID Vaccination Drive. The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) had unanimously recommended it earlier.  Additionally, a national level Consultation on COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women was convened by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to build consensus on COVID Vaccination of pregnant women.

The Office of Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is releasing the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) for the Month of June 2021.

ICI measures combined and individual performance of production in selected eight core industries viz. Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity. 

The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stood at 126.6 in June 2021, which increased by 8.9 per cent (provisional) as compared to the Index of June 2020. The production of Coal, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity industries increased in June 2021 over the corresponding period of last year.

The final growth rate of the Index of Eight Core Industries for March 2021 is revised to 12.6 per cent from its provisional level 6.8 per cent. The growth rate of ICI during April-June 2021-22 was 25.3 per cent (P) as compared to the corresponding period of last Financial Year.

The summary of the Index of Eight Core Industries is given below:

Coal – Coal production (weight: 10.33 per cent) increased by 7.4 per cent in June 2021 over June 2020. Its cumulative index increased by 8.0 per cent from April to June 2021-22 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Crude Oil – Crude Oil production (weight: 8.98 per cent) declined by 1.8 per cent in June 2021 over June 2020. Its cumulative index declined by 3.4 per cent during April to June 2021-22 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Natural Gas - Natural Gas production (weight: 6.88 per cent) increased by 20.6 per cent in June 2021 over June 2020. Its cumulative index increased by 21.8 per cent from April to June 2021-22 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Petroleum Refinery Products – Petroleum Refinery production (weight: 28.04 per cent) increased by 2.4 per cent in June 2021 over June 2020. Its cumulative index increased by 15.4 per cent from April to June 2021-22 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Fertilizers – Fertilizers production (weight: 2.63 per cent) increased by 2.0 per cent in June 2021 over June 2020. Its cumulative index decreased by 1.7 per cent during April to June 2021-22 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Steel – Steel production (weight: 17.92 per cent) increased by 25.0 per cent in June 2021 over June 2020. Its cumulative index increased by 86.0 per cent from April to June 2021-22 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Cement – Cement production (weight: 5.37 per cent) increased by 4.3 per cent in June 2021 over June 2020. Its cumulative index increased by 52.9 per cent during April to June 2021-22 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Electricity – Electricity generation (weight: 19.85 per cent) increased by 7.2 per cent in June 2021 over June 2020. Its cumulative index increased by 16.4 per cent during April to June 2021-22 over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is periodically monitoring the groundwater levels throughout the country including urban areas on a regional scale, through a network of monitoring wells.

During November 2020, the depth to water level in the urban areas of the country ranged from less than 2.0 metres below ground level (mbgl) to more than 40.00 mbgl.

Further, in a major part of the urban areas of the country, the water level is in the range of 2.0 mbgl to 10.00 mbgl. In addition, deeper ground water level (more than 40.00 mbgl) has also been observed in few urban areas. 

In order to assess the annual change in water level, the data collected by CGWB in urban areas during November 2020 has been compared with the November 2019. Analysis of water level data indicates that about 51 per cent of the wells monitored have registered decline in ground water levels, mostly in the range of 0.0 – 2.0 metre. A decline of more than 4.0 metre has also been observed in some of the cities. Further, rise in groundwater levels have also been observed in 48.6 per cent analysed wells out of which 39 per cent of the wells have registered a rise in groundwater levels in the range of 0.0-2.0 metre. 

This information was given by the Minister of state for Jal Shakti and Food Processing Industries, Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in the Lok  Sabha today.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, which seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, was passed in the Rajya Sabha yesterday. The bill was introduced in the Parliament by the Government in the Budget session this year. It was passed in Lok Sabha on 24th March 2021.

While introducing the bill, Ms Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child Development stressed upon the necessity for entrusting District Magistrates with the responsibility of care and protection of vulnerable children in light of the prevailing inadequacies in the system. She recounted the commitment of the Parliament towards prioritising India's children above all issues.

The amendments include authorizing District Magistrate including Additional District Magistrate to issue adoption orders under Section 61 of the JJ Act, in order to ensure speedy disposal of cases and enhance accountability. The District Magistrates have been further empowered under the Act, to ensure its smooth implementation, as well as garner synergized efforts in favour of children in distress conditions. As per the amended provisions of the Act, any Child Care Institutions shall be registered after considering the recommendations of the District Magistrate. The DM shall independently evaluate the functioning of District Child Protection Units, Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards, Specialized Juvenile Police Units, Child care Institutions etc.

The eligibility parameters for the appointment of CWC members have been redefined. Criteria for disqualification of the CWC members have also been introduced to ensure that only the persons capable of rendering quality service with requisite competence and integrity are appointed to CWC.

Presently there are three categories (petty, serious and heinous) defined under the Act which are referred to while considering the cases of children in conflict with the law. However, it was observed that some of the offences do not strictly fall under any of these categories. It has been decided that offences where the maximum sentence is more than 7 years imprisonment but no minimum sentence has been prescribed or a minimum sentence of less than 7 years is provided, shall be treated as serious offences within this Act.

Several difficulties faced in the implementation of various provisions of the Act have also been addressed and Suitable amendments to remove these difficulties arising in the interpretation of various provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and to clarify the scope of certain provisions of the Act have also been introduced.

In an attempt to develop green cover in the Indian deserts of Rajasthan, Khadi and Village Industries Commission planted 1000 bamboo saplings at Tanot village in Jaisalmer, in collaboration with the Border Security Force (BSF).

Bamboo plantation, as part of KVIC's Project BOLD (Bamboo Oasis on Lands in Drought), aims at reducing desertification and providing livelihood and multi-disciplinary rural industry support to the local population.

The saplings have been planted over 2.50 lakh sq feet of Gram Panchayat land near the famous Tanot Mata Temple which is located close to Longewala Post on the Indo-Pak Border. BSF will be responsible for maintaining the plants.

Project BOLD was launched on 4th July from a tribal village Nichla Mandwa in Udaipur district in Rajasthan with a plantation of 5,000 saplings of special bamboo species over 25 bighas of arid land. The initiative has been launched as part of KVIC's "Khadi Bamboo Festival" to celebrate 75 years of independence "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav".

KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said, "In the next three years, these bamboos will be ready for harvest. While this will generate recurring income for the local villagers; KVIC will also develop this green patch into a tourist spot considering the large footfall of tourists visiting Longewala post and the Tanot Mata Temple." He lauded the support of BSF in implementing the project in a very short time.

A consignment of the world's hottest chilli 'Raja Mircha' from Nagaland was exported to London for the first time today.

The consignment of King Chilli was sourced from Tening, part of Nagaland's Peren district, and sent via Guwahati, an official press release said. It got Geographical Indications certification in 2008.

Referred to as Bhoot Jolokia and Ghost pepper, Nagaland King Chilli belongs to the genus Capsicum of family Solanaceae and has been considered as the world’s hottest chilli. It is constantly on the top five in the list of the world's hottest chillies based on the Scoville Heat Units.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today announced that the Union Cabinet has cleared the amendment to the Deposit Insurance Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) Bill 2021, which would provide account holders with an amount of up to Rs 5 lakh within 90 days of bank failure.

The minister stated that the DICGC Bill insures all bank deposits and covers all commercial banks and even foreign bank branches in India are covered under it.

Under the DICGC, each depositor's bank deposit is insured for up to Rs 5 lakh in each bank (for both principal and interest). The increase of insured amount from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh will cover 98.3 per cent of all deposit accounts and 50.9 per cent of deposit value, Sitharaman noted.

“Normally, it takes 8-10 years after complete liquidation to get money under insurance; but now, even if there is a moratorium, within 90 days, the process will definitely be completed, giving relief to depositors, the finance minister said.

Apart from the amendment to the DICGC Bill, Cabinet also cleared amendments to the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Bill, with an aim to decriminalise various provisions under the law and foster the ease of doing business in the country.

“With the Limited Liability Partnership Amendment Bill, we will have only 22 penal provisions, 7 compoundable offences, 3 non-compoundable offences,” Sitharaman said.