GUJARAT
Indian Institute of Skills is to set up in Gujarat
The Indian Institute (IIS) of Skills is being set up by Labour and Employment department
along with Tata Group at Nasmed village of Gandhinagar.
Gujarat Govt. to start work for IIS at Nasmed, about 20 km from Ahmedabad, which is aimed
at providing training in highly specialized areas. Govt has allotted around 20 acre land for
where Tatas to start IIS.
The Indian Institute of Skills is being developed on a Not-for-profit Public Private Partnership
mode by the Tata Group along with the state’s Labour and Employment department. While
the state government has provided land for the Institute, Tata Education Development Trust
is contributing the capital investment.
INTERNATIONAL
Foreign Ministers of India, Australia, Japan and US to meet to discuss free, open and
inclusive Indo-Pacific region
The Third India-Australia-Japan-USA QUAD Foreign Minister's Meeting will be held with the
participation of the respective Foreign Ministers.
The QUAD meeting provides an opportunity to continue the useful exchange of views from
their last meeting in Tokyo in October last year.
The Ministers will exchange views on regional and global issues especially practical areas of
cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
They will also discuss ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing global
climate change and other issues of mutual interest.
NATIONAL
Intensified Mission Indradhanush 3.0 launched to expand immunization coverage across
the country
Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched Intensified Mission
Indradhanush 3.0, (IMI 3.0) to expand immunization coverage across the country.
It will have two rounds starting from the 22nd of this month and the 22nd of March this
year.
The IMI 3.0 is aimed at reaching the unreached population with all the available vaccines
under Universal Immunisation Programme and thereby accelerate the full immunization and
complete immunization coverage of children and pregnant women.
The focus of the Intensified Mission Indradhanush 3.0 will be the children and pregnant
women who have missed their vaccine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The present campaign will target achieving 90 percent Full Immunization Coverage in all
districts of the country.
Atal Paryavaran Bhavan Inaugurated By Environment Minister
The Minister of the Environment, Forest and Climate Change unveiled the Atal Paryavaran
Bhavan in Lakshadweep on February 19, 2021.
Suheli Par: This is the coral atoll of Lakshadweep. The atoll has an oval shape and is 17
kilometers long. It is surrounded by abundant marine fauna. It is located southwest of
Kavaratti, 76 kilometers south of Agatti. It is located 139 kilometers west of Karpeni and 205
kilometers from the NNW of Minikuy Island. The Nine Degrees Strait stretches between
these islands. The area is 87.76 square kilometers.
Nine Degrees Channel: It is a passage in the Indian Ocean between Karpeni and Sukhripal
Islands and Mariku Atoll. The channel is about 200 kilometers wide and 2597 meters deep.
Kadmat Island: It is also called Cardamom Island. This is a coral island, belonging to the
Amindivi island subgroup. The total length is 9.3 kilometers. Coral reefs with seagrass and
turtles are the marine characteristics of the island.
Lakshadweep: This group of islands is located 200 to 440 kilometers southwest of India. It is
administered as a territory of the United Kingdom and an area of India. Its total surface
area is 32 sq.km. It includes 10 subdivisions. The capital of the island is Kavalati. The area is
under the jurisdiction of the Kerala High Court.
Power sector reforms for Five States
The other five states underwent partial Power Sector Reforms and obtained additional
borrowing of Rs. 2,094 crore.
The states of Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand have successfully achieved
the targets set by the Ministry of Power to reduce Aggregate Technical & Commercial
(AT&C) losses, or achieved target reduction in Average Supply Costs and Average Revenue
Realisation (ACS-ARR) gap.
Reducing AT&C losses and ACS-ARR gap are two of the three reforms in Power Sector
specified by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.
Part of the state's additional borrowing ceiling is related to the reform of the Power Sector.
States obtain permission to borrow funds equivalent to 0.05% of the Gross State Domestic
Product (GSDP) to meet the state's target to reduce AT&C losses, and obtain an additional
0.05% GSDP to meet the ACS-ARR gap target.
In response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, GOI increased the state’s borrowing
limit by 2% of its GSDP.
