23-24-04-23 Daily-Odisha-OPSC Current Affairs

The Odisha Cabinet at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik extended the sponsorship of Indian men’s and Women‘s national hockey teams for another 10 years.

The Odisha Government has been the official sponsor of the national mens and womens teams since 2018.

The Cabinet decided to continue with the sponsorship of the teams (both senior and junior) from 2023 to 2033. A sum of Rs 434.12 crore (excluding applicable taxes) will be released by the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) to the Hockey India during the period from February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2033.

The OMC had earlier entered into an agreement with the Hockey India, after due Government approval, for sponsorship of all Indian hockey teams for a period of five years from 2018 to 2023.

The Cabinet also approved a proposal of the SC and ST Welfare Department for incorporation of Odishas 22 Socially, Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) in the State SEBC list.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said these 22 SEBC communities, though were in the Central list, did not figure in the State list.

he finance ministry has asked to draw up a campaign for a one-time clean up strategy for clearing over 1 lakh bad loan recovery cases pending in debt recovery Tribunals (DRTs).

The ministry has asked banks to use an alternate dispute resolution platform like Lok Adalat to bring down the number of cases.

According to Banking sources, there are over 2 lakh cases pending with debt recovery tribunals of which over 1.5 lakh are original applications for over Rs 12 lakh crore exposure. Of these, the 12 public sector banks have over 1 lakh pending cases where the original exposure is around Rs 7.4 crore. The issue was discussed in the finance ministry in the presence of law ministry officials.

The proposal is to have a scheme for cases of low claim value where the dispute is straightforward and parties are likely to opt for settlement.

At the 16th Civil Services Day Celebration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi awarded the Excellence in Public Administration-2022 award to the PM Gati Shakti national master plan in the Innovation (Central) category. The plan was launched in October 2021 to reduce costs and streamline critical Infrastructure projects. The award recognizes the innovative approach of the plan towards improving the countrys infrastructure and its impact on public administration

Modi highlighted the importance of utilizing the single platform that consolidates all infrastructure-related data to better plan and execute projects, especially in the social sector.

He added that PM Gati Shakti would help identify citizens needs, tackle Education challenges, and enhance Communication between departments, districts, and blocks, leading to the development of future strategies.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced plans to develop an integrated Network of around 10,000 kilometers of optic fiber cables (OFC) across India by the fiscal year 2025. The project will be implemented by NHAIs special purpose vehicle, National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), which will create utility corridors along the national highways to develop the OFC infrastructure. The OFC network will provide Internet connectivity to remote regions in India and facilitate the countrys transition to modern Telecommunication technologies such as 5G and 6G. Pilot tracks for the development of digital highways have already been identified by NHAI, with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and Hyderabad-Bangalore corridor included in the plan.

The OFC Infrastructure Development project is already underway, with a goal to complete it within a year. The OFC network will be leased out on a fixed-rate allocation system on an open-for-all basis through a web portal to eligible users. An official OFC allotment policy is being finalised in consultation with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The development of digital highways in India is expected to expedite the countrys digital transformation and have a catalytic effect on its Growth and development

An India-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce will be established in the upcoming months in an effort to strengthen commercial ties. The Chamber will work to increase opportunities for and cooperation in industries including Infrastructure and power with the help of the Ukrainian government

The Ukrainian Embassy in India reports that in 2021, bilateral trade between India and Ukraine totaled $3.45 billion.

Ukraine sold fertilisers and vegetable oils worth $2.49 billion to India, but it also received $961.2 billion worth of commodities from that country.

Pharmaceuticals and electrical equipment made up its two primary imports