31-05-23 Daily-Odisha-OPSC Current Affairs

The State Cabinet has approved tenders for execution of eight rural drinking water supply projects worth Rs 2,312.11 crore in Ganjam, Balangir and Gajapati districts.

On the occasion of completion of the fourth year of the fifth term of his Government, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik chaired a State Cabinet meeting, in which 18 important proposals including the tenders for the drinking water supply projects were approved.

Accordingly, the State Cabinet has approved the lowest tender amounting to Rs 1,509.91 crore for execution of a mega piped water supply project to provide Safe drinking water in Ganjam district out of JJM (Jal Jeevan Mission) funding. By execution of the project, around 9,92,368 people of 770 villages under 228 GPs of 12 blocks of the district would be benefited, he said.

Similarly, the Cabinet also approved a tender worth Rs 379.17 crore for execution of two rural drinking water supply projects in Gajapati district to benefit more than 1.31 lakh residents of 346 villages.
The Government also cleared two tenders of Rs 423. crore for execution of five drinking water projects in Balangir district. All the drinking water projects would be completed in two years, Jena said.

The Cabinet also decided to spend Rs 364.40 crore in three years (2022-23 to 2024-25) for implementation of the State Plan scheme Sustainable Harnessing of Ground Water in Water Deficit Areas.
The Cabinet also approved allocation of Rs 330.17 crore for establishment of an Odisha University of Health Sciences.

It approved a tender worth Rs 209.73 crore for Konark Temple Complex. Konark Heritage Area Development Plan (KHADP) under Integrated Development of Heritage & Monuments and Tourist Destination scheme will transform the physical in and around the temple complex and upgrade the visitors experience, he said.

Tracking consumertravelsentiment across India this summer, a global travel technology company has published its Summer Vacation Index 2023. As per the report, the travel resurgence continues strong, with 82% Indians intending to travel during this summer season. TheCOVIDtravel restriction-induced trend of rediscovery of our own countrysbeautyalso continues strong with a staggering 92% planning to explore domestic destinations.

As travel sentiments started to improve in early 2022, most people travelled to reunite with friends and family whom they hadn’t seen since the pandemic’s onset. However, this year brings about a complete shift in preferences. As per the survey, 59% travellers preferred to travel to rest and rejuvenate, followed by 19% adrenaline junkies seeking thrills and adventure this summer.

Kochi Water Metro Project, Indias first-ever initiative to enhance the port citys development. On April 25, 2023 (Tuesday) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will put this water metro service into action. With this, the Kochi Water Metro, the country’s first water metro service, on April 25. This transport system will link about 10 island communities in and around Kochi with the mainland.

Centre-state company Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) made the proposal for this watercraft and it received the final Environment clearance in October 2019. While the cost of this innovative metro has been Rs 1,136.83 crore, this is going to accelerate living across the Greater Kochi region.

The Kochi Water Metro project has been jointly subsidized by the Government of Kerala and KfW, Germans leading financial agency. Keralas CM Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted on April 22 (Saturday) stating that the nation will now have the top-notch Kochi Water Metro service will be functional soon.

About the availability of seeds in the district under various schemes, he said 1,786 quintals of wheat, 2,246 quintals of maize and 127.6 quintals of paddy seeds had been distributed among farmers.

With exports reaching more than 85 countries, Indias defense sector has demonstrated its ability to design and develop high-quality products to the international community.

Currently, 100 companies are engaged in exporting defense goods.

The government has implemented several policy initiatives and reforms in the past nine years to bolster defense exports.

Filling information gaps and providing an integrated framework

Unifying surface-based and space-based observations, modeling, and data assimilation

Overcoming limitations in international exchange of greenhouse gas observations and modeling products

The decision for development comes days before Prime Minister Prachanda visited India.

The draft needs to be endorsed by the Council of Ministers before it gets implemented. The previous meeting of the IBN had approved a Rs 92.68 billion for the development of the project.