Nov Current Affair Himachal..

Nov 1, 2013

Infant mortality rate on decline in state, says Health Minister

IMR of the state was 36 per 1000 while NMR was 28 per 1000 as compared to the national average of 42 per 1000 and 31 per 1000 respectively

Nov 2, 2013

HPU Regional Centre gets new building

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated the only Regional Centre of Himachal Pradesh University in Dharamsala today. It is after about 15 years since it was started in 1998 that the Regional Centre has got its building.

People celebrate festival of stones

Hundreds of people participated in the traditional Pathar Mela, a unique ritual of pelting stones at each other to anoint the forehead of the Goddess Kali at the local temple with the blood of the injured, at Dhami village, 25 km from here, today.

The event is famous as Pathar Mela in which two groups of villagers, one representing the royal family of the erstwhile princely state of Dhami, and the other, their rival, pelt stones at one another. The team comprises residents of Dagoi, Turnu, Katedu and Jathodi clans and they together take on the opponent Jamogi clan. The annual ritual is held a day after the “festival of lights”.

Male adults from the two groups assemble at the Kali temple and in the midst of playing drums and other traditional instruments; they pelt small stones at one another.

Kol Dam: NTPC fails to meet target

The NTPC has again failed to meet the target to start impounding the reservoir of the 800-MW Kol Dam project even after nine years. The foundation stone of the 800-MW Kol Dam project, the first hydroelectricity project undertaken by the NTPC, was laid by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on June 5, 2000.
It was scheduled to be executed in 2008, but was rescheduled for March 2014. The Sutlej was diverted on October 31, 2004 through Lav and Kush tunnels.
A visit to the dam site revealed that much of the work like completion of control gates, spillway and fillip bucket was yet to be completed.
An NTPC source revealed that the NTPC wanted to start the impounding in November. Some engineers were of the opinion that starting the impounding without completion of work would be against norms and dangerous. Public information officer Parveen said no date for impounding was fixed. 

Nov 6, 2013

Academic reforms: State keen on RUSA, but without financial rider

The state government has committed to implement the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), but with reservations regarding the condition making it mandatory for the state to spend 2 per cent of the gross state domestic product (GSDP) on higher education imposed by the Centre.

At present it is spending about Rs 300 crore annually on higher education which comes to 0.40 per cent and it will have to be increased to Rs 1,500 crore to meet the condition and further to Rs 2400 crore by the end of the 5th Plan.

The state government has termed the condition as irrational and unreasonable and stressed that the allocation for various sectors was made on the basis of the annual Plan and not on the basis of the GSDP. An increase in the GSDP does not lead to a proportionate increase in tax revenue, the state said. The state had taken an initiative to carry out academic reforms on the basis of the draft RUSA document last year and by the time it was approved and notified by the Centre last month, major components like switchover to semester system, introduction of choice-based credit system (CBCS) and continuous comprehensive evaluation (CCE) had already been implemented.
The state will get 90 per cent of the funds under the scheme as outright grant and it will have to contribute only 10 per cent. The scheme will be implemented over a period of 10 years up to the 13th Plan.

Nov 8, 2013

Project-affected families given cash benefits

Himachal Pradesh yesterday became the first state in Asia to provide cash benefits to project-affected families when money was transferred into the accounts of 13 persons who had been affected by the construction of the 231-MW Chamera-III hydroelectricity project on the Ravi in Chamba.

As per the policy framed by the Government of India, 1 per cent of the free power available to the state as royalty has to be distributed among families in project-affected area. In all, 5,500 families affected by the project will get the benefit as annuity for the entire life of the project.
The policy is being implemented for the first time in Asia to ensure regular income to those affected by power projects. The process has been started by handing over cheques for Rs 1,000 each as the first instalment for the period from July 1, 2012, to March 31, 2013, to Hukum Chand, Kirpa, Manak Ram and Pushottam.
The amount was transferred into the accounts of nine others, Anirudh, Desh Raj, Lachhiya Ram, Daleep Singh, Surjeet, Bhagat Ram, Gyan Chand and Kalu Ram, through the real time gross settlement system.
The total amount payable for a year will be worked out on the basis of the sale rate of power. It works out to about Rs 3 crore from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013, at average sale rate of Rs 3 per unit.
The government started the process of disbursement as per the deadline set by the World Bank, which wanted the policy to be implemented at the earliest while releasing the second instalment of Rs 1,000 crore development policy loan.
As per the policy, 50 per cent of the amount will be divided among panchayats on the basis of population and 50 per cent on the basis of land acquired for the project.
While 85 per cent of the amount will be distributed equally among project-affected families, the remaining 15 per cent will be divided among below poverty line (BPL) families. There is a rider that BPL families will get a maximum 1.5 times the maximum amount payable to above poverty line (APL) families.
The 2,936 BPL families will get a maximum of about Rs 16,000 and 2,564 APL families about Rs 12,000 for the year. The 1 per cent power is in addition to the 12 per cent free power the state has to be provided as royalty by power developers.
Fourteen panchayats, nine in the Mehla block and five in the Bharmour block, have been declared as affected partially or entirely, These are Lothal, Radi, Sunara, Gehra, Kilod, Brehi, Khudel, Chhatrari, Lech (Mehla), Aura, Ullansa, Khanni, Poolanpalan and Garola (Bharmour).
Slump adds to state’s financial woes

The economic slowdown has started impacting the hill state with tax collections falling significantly short of the projections in the first half of the year.

The maximum impact has been on the Value Added Tax (VAT) which has recorded a growth of about 5 per cent as against the projected growth of 17 per cent. The normal anticipated growth is 15 to 20 per cent for the state. With little hope of a turnaround in the country’s economy over the next four months, the VAT collections are likely to fall short by about Rs 300 crore. There is no buoyancy in cement, power, tourism and other important sectors.

The other major source of the state’s revenue has been power, but income from the sale of surplus power has been on the decline due to continuing downswing in the market. The revenue has come down from Rs 1,255 crore to Rs 700 crore over the past four years and it will be at best a zero growth year, official sources point out. A redeeming feature was that the growth of excise revenue has been maintained at 17 per cent and as such the overall tax revenue will touch Rs 5,000 crore as against the projected figure of Rs 5400 crore.

Further, the mining sector is likely to register a negative growth due to the restrictions imposed by the national green tribunal but it contributes only Rs 110 crore to the exchequer and such the impact will be minimal.

The shortfall in tax revenue will add to the woes of the fund-starved government which is already facing problems due to mounting wage bill due to increase in dearness allowance and pay revision. The state needed an increase in tax collections to cope with the decrease of Rs 570 crore in the revenue deficit grant recommended by the 13th Finance Commission for the current year as compared to the last year.

The state’s own sources add up to just around Rs 7,000 crore and the rest of the resources to fund the Rs 21,767 crore budget come from the Centre devolutions and loans. This year fresh loans to the tune of Rs 2,467 crore will be raised and the outstanding debt will cross Rs 31,500 crore.

The state’s expenditure on committed liabilities such as salary, pension and interest is nearly 157 per cent of its own tax and non-tax revenue. While 82 per cent of the revenue accrues through tax and non-tax receipts, 18 per cent gap is met through loans. 

Slowdown Blues

• VAT has recorded a growth of about 5 pc as against the projected growth of 17 pc
• Income from the sale of surplus power has been on the decline
• Mining sector likely to register a negative growth

Nov 10, 2013

CM inaugurates hockey astroturf stadium at Una
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today inaugurated an astroturf hockey stadium at Una. It is the second astroturf stadium in the state. This first astroturf hockey stadium was set up at Shilaru in Shimla district.
Una district of Himachal Pradesh has produced two Olympian international hockey players, including Chanranjit Singh and Deepak Thakur.

Museum in Sachin’s name in Dharamsala
HPCA president Anurag Thakur, who chaired the first meeting of the cricket body executive here today after reclaiming the properties from the state government, said they would construct a museum in the Dharamsala International Cricket Stadium to commemorate the contribution of Sachin Tendulkar to the cricket.
The HPCA would also name an enclosure of the stadium after Sachin. The enclosure would have a wax statue of Sachin. This was decided at the meeting, Anurag said while talking to The Tribune

CM inaugurates 4-day Lavi Fair
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated the four-day International Lavi Fair at Rampur, about 125 km from here, today.
The over 400-year-old trade fair is famous for traditional items like pashmina wool, kalazira, chilgoza, walnuts, almonds and other dry fruits.

Martyr Ram Singh Pathania remembered
Wazir Ram Singh Pathania, the martyr from erstwhile Nurpur state, was today remembered on his martyrdom day observed at Wasa Wazira in Kangra district.
KPS Rana, a prominent Congress leader from Punjab who was the chief guest at the function, said historians and society had not done justice to three major Rajput warriors, Banda Bahadur, Zorawar Singh and Wazir Ram Singh Pathania, who had fought against the Mughals and the British.
The place where Banda Bahadur fought his last battle in Gurdaspur needed to be preserved historically. However, it was in a state of neglect though the SGPC had constructed a gurdwara over the place. Similarly, the places where Wazir Ram Singh Pathania had fought guerrilla war against the British, despite his limited resources, should also be preserved, he said.
Wazir Ram Singh Pathania was son of Sham Singh, wazir of Nurpur state. When the British sought to annex the Nurpur state after the Anglo-Sikh war, Ram Singh Pathania at a tender age of 18 years revolted against them. He fought the guerrilla war against the British with limited sources in the Shivalik hills around Nurpur. He was finally caught by the British and sent to the Rangoon jail in Burma where he died.
Ram Singh Pathania is revered as martyr among the Rajputs of Kangra district. Every year a programme is held in Nurpur subdivision to commemorate him. However, till date nothing has been done by the state government to preserve the heritage of the martyr, said by locals.

Nov 13, 2013

The Agricultural department has promoted two new high-yielding varieties of wheat during the season which was introduced last year on a trial basis. The varieties DPW 621-50 and HD-2967 were introduced to combat the yellow rust disease which broke out over large areas four years ago. The new varieties are not only resistant to yellow rust but also yield 40 to 45 quintal per hectare as compared to 30 to 35 quintal per hectare of the existing varieties.

Lakhs of devotees visit Renuka Fair

Every year on the occasion of "Devprobodhini ekadashi", the traditional Renuka Fair is organised on the banks of the Renuka lake where lakhs of devotees from across the country converge.
As per the tradition, the palanquin of Lord Parshuram is brought to Renuka from the ancient temple at Jamu Koti village and it departs after performing religious ceremonies, including a holy dip in the lake.

Nov 16, 2013

Lahaul valley is fast turning into the vegetable bowl of the state

Chauhta Bazaar- Mandi

Monal is the state bird of Himachal

• The Monal Pheasant is endemic to heights above 8,000 feet and found in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, China, Tibet and Bhutan
• In India, it is found in the entire Himalayan region, including the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The bird exhibits fluctuating altitudinal migration, moving down to as low as 6,500 feet in winter and scaling up to 16,000 feet in summer
• The population of the male bird witnessed a considerable decline because of heavy hunting as its crest feather is used to adorn the Himachali caps

Nov 17, 2013

Development of tribal areas priority: CM

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said today the government was committed to equitable and balanced development of the state and special attention was being given to the tribal areas to ensure their development. He was presiding over the 43rd Tribal Advisory Council meeting here today.
“Nine per cent of the total budget has been allocated for the Tribal Sub-Plan that had helped in improving the socio-economic level of the tribal people,” he said.
Virbhadra said Rs 2,052 crore had been proposed for the 12th Five-Year Plan 2012-17 and Rs 369 crore had been allocated to the state under the Tribal Sub-Plan during the current fiscal. It is about 11 per cent higher than the previous year.
He said Rs 385.99 crore had been allocated under the non-plan for the tribal areas development. He said Rs 53.66 crore was being spent on roads and bridges, Rs 69.70 crore on education and health services, while Rs 15.82 crore had been provided for irrigation and drinking water schemes for the tribal areas in the current fiscal.
The Chief Minister said the state government had provided Rs 25 crore to the Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner for rehabilitation of the rain-affected people. Apart from it, Rs 30.55 crore had been given for the repair of roads, Rs 14.78 crore to the IPH Department for the repair of drinking water and irrigation schemes, Rs 5.80 crore for the restoration of electricity, Rs 13.39 crore to the Agriculture Department and Rs 7.14 crore for the Horticulture Department.

Himachali scientist modifies Archemedes Principle, Newton's Laws

The research work throwing new light on the Archimedes Principle and Newton's Laws, carried out by a Himachali scientist Ajay Sharma, got recognition when Cambridge International Science Publishing printed it in the form of a book last month.
Sharma said that the book entitled "Beyond Newton and Archimedes" was published on the recommendations of experts of Cambridge University who took seven months to evaluate it.
It explained in detail how he had modified the 2,265 years old Archimedes Principle and the 330 years old Newton's Laws.
The Indian version of the 340-page book having 10 chapters has been priced at Rs 5,200 on the www. amazon.in.
He claims that Newton did not discover the Second Law of Motion F=ma. It was clear from a critical study of the Principia, Book I (8 May 1686) and nobody knew who had given the equation F=ma? Thus, the school-level textbooks across the world needed to be re-structured as coming generations had the right to know the truth. The mass cannot be defined in the equation if force and acceleration are put to zero, which was a big limitation.
The Newton's First Law of Motion was nothing but Galileo's Law of Inertia. The First Law of Motion (2nd part) was applicable under ideal conditions when resistive forces frictional forces, atmospheric forces and other forces were not present in the system of body and medium.
Similarly, the Archimedes Principle also had limitations as it did not take into account the shape of body and viscosity of the medium under consideration.

Nov 18, 2013

                         Six-day Renuka Fair
The six-day historic international Renuka Fair came to an end today with the Chief Parliamentary Secretary Vinay Kumar presiding over the closing ceremony.
The six-day fair had begun on the Dashmi when the palanquin of Lord Parshuram was brought to Renuka Ji from the ancient temple in Jamu Koti village in a traditional procession known as ‘Shobha Yatra’.
A large number of people witnessed the closing ceremony where the deities of Lord Parshuram and other gods were taken in a palanquin to their respective abodes after their six-day sojourn. People offered their prayers in the local temple on this occasion.
Vinay Kumar, while addressing the gathering, said such fairs were reminiscent of the state’s rich cultural heritage and they helped in the economic uplift of the locals. He said appropriate facilities should be provided to the self-help groups in selling their products, especially those run by the women.
He also visited the stalls exhibiting developmental activities undertaken by various government and non-governmental organisations and also gave away prizes to the winners. The horticulture department bagged the first prize while the second and third positions were bagged by the the District Rural Development Organisation and the Agriculture Department respectively.
Others present on the occasion included Deputy Commissioner Vikas Labroo, SP Sumedha Diwedi and officials of the Renuka Development Board.

Panch Bheesham celebrations
One lakh and fifty thousand pilgrims from within and outside the country visited the ancient Jayanti Mata temple here during the five-day Panch Bheesham festival, which concluded today on the occasion of Kartik Poornamashi.
The festival was being celebrated as marriage of Tulsi and Saligram and was being celebrated here to remember the great warrior and Guru of the Pandavas, Bheeshma Pitamah. The famous Kangra Fort is located on one side of the Manji river and the other side of the same river on the top of the hill is situated the temple of Mata Jayanti.
The centuries old temple was a centre of faith for people from all walks of life within the country and pilgrims from Nepal too were visiting the shrine as Mata Jayanti was Kul Devi of a large number of Nepalis. People from Nepal visited the shrine today and some were seen with their newborn babies and newly-wed couples who had come there to seek the blessings of the goddess.

Nov 25, 2013

State to be leprosy free soon
The state has achieved near elimination stage of leprosy and also brought tuberculosis under control with more than 88 per cent cure rate.

Germany to fund climate proofing project for HP
A climate proofing project will be soon implemented in the state with the assistance of German state agencies to address the concerns arising due to increasing climate variability by giving a boost to core forestry activities.
The main focus will be on rejuvenation of the ever-depleting natural water resources by making watersheds resilient to current and future climatic changes through forestry activities and building adaptive capacities of local communities, besides improving livelihoods.
The approach will be watershed based such as the Mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project, but the focus will be on improving the eco-system by adopting best silvicultural practices for management over the entire basin.
The five-year project will be implemented with the technical and financial assistance of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and German government-owned development bank (KfW).