GUJARAT
4.35L more farmers in five years
The government said that the number of farmers in Gujarat as per the agri census of 2015-16, was 53.20 lakh, which is 4.35 lakh higher than the number of farmers according to the 2010-11 agri census. According to data provided by the agriculture minister in a written reply to a question by Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar, there has been a rise in the number of marginal, small and semi-medium farmers in the state between 2010-11 and 2015-16. The number of medium farmers and big farmers has fallen during the same period. According to the 2015-16 agri census, there were 20.18 lakh marginal farmers, 16.15 lakh small farmers, 11.50 lakh semi-medium farmers, 4.95 medium farmers and 39,888 big farmers in the state. Compared to the 2010-11 agri census, the number of marginal farmers increased by 2.03 lakh, small farmers increased by 1.86 lakh, and semi-medium farmers increased by 70,721. The number of medium farmers decreased by 16,782, while the number of big farmers fell by 8,883.
INTERNATIONAL
Belgium to become second EU country to recognize Buddhism
Belgium is expected to officially recognize Buddhism after the federal government approves a draft law on Friday, opening the door to federal funding, official delegates and school classes.
The Belgian Buddhist Union had requested recognition in March 2006. The union estimates the number of Buddhists in Belgium at 150,000. The only other EU country where Buddhism is recognized is Austria.
There are currently six worship services officially recognized in Belgium: the Roman Catholic, the Orthodox, the Israelite, the Anglican, the Protestant Evangelical and the Islamic, recognized in 1974.
Buddhism would be recognized as “a non-denominational philosophical organization” alongside organized secularism, recognized since 2002. It would receive federal funding of up to 1.2 million euros.
NATIONAL
Assets of Rs 1 lakh crore seized, Rs 71 crore disposed of by taxmen: Govt
The Centre’s direct and indirect tax wings have seized immovable property valued at over Rs 1 lakh crore, but disposed of assets to the tune of Rs 71 crore, the government told the Rajya Sabha.
According to the data shared by him, the ED has also secured confiscation of proceeds of crime of Rs 15,600 crore.The minister also said that assets of Rs 15,114 crore have been restituted to public sector banks.
Nitin Gadkari unveiled first methanol run buses in Bengaluru
The first methanol-powered buses in Bengaluru will be unveiled by Union Minister for Road and Transport, Nitin Gadkari. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), NITI Aayog, Indian Oil Company (IOC), and Ashok Leyland are working together to carry out the initiative, which aims to lower the level of pollutants.
Methanol can be produced through the reaction of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen, which are also known as syngas. The syngas can be produced from various sources such as natural gas, coal, or biomass.
Daily UPI transactions jump 50% to 36 crore: RBI
Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das said payments through UPI (unified payment interface) have grown exponentially in the past 12 months with daily transactions crossing 36 crore, which is up 50 per cent from 24 crore in February 2022.
While the UPI has facilitated digital payments to retail outlets, kiranas, street vendors etc, the Bharat bill payment system (BBPS) has ensured migration of bill payments from cash/cheques to digital mode and the national electronic toll collection (NETC) system has helped in migration of the toll payments to digital mode with enhancing efficiency in terms of reduced waiting time at toll plazas, the governor said.
The national automated clearing house (NACH) system has also facilitated direct benefit transfers (DBT) payments digitally and eliminated leakages in the system.
Over 6% of Indian industries don’t follow green norms
More than 6% of India’s operational industries (4,40,989) currently do not comply with one or the other environmental standards, risking air, water and soils due to emissions and discharge of effluents carrying various pollutants, shows a compilation on non-compliant industries and relevant actions taken against them over the years by different state pollution control boards.
According to the compilation, shared by the environment ministry in response to a question in the Parliament during the pre-recess phase of the budget session last month, Punjab has the highest number (6,293) of such polluting industries followed by Gujarat (4,605), Rajasthan (3,796), Maharashtra (3,043) and Jharkhand (1,760).
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the country’s national pollution watchdog, which has power to impose environmental compensation (EC) on such industries that violate various green norms under different laws, had imposed over Rs 13.4 crore of EC on 34 polluting chemical/fertilizers and cement industries and collected over Rs 12.3 crore from them during 2018-22. The EC is imposed against the polluters for contaminating/ damaging the environment.
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