Parliament Winter Session, November 30: Information that nation learnt today
Here's a round-up of key data shared by the Narendra Modi government in Parliament on Tuesday, November 30
FollowHere's a round-up of key data shared by the Narendra Modi government in Parliament on Tuesday, November 30
Northeast Insurgency
The government has given out data regarding the number of civilians, security forces and insurgents who were killed in insurgency-related incidents in northeastern states during the last five years. The data shows:Â
2016
Civilians: 48
Security Forces: 17
Insurgents: 87
2017
Civilians: 37
Security Forces: 12
Insurgents: 57
2018
Civilians: 23
Security Forces: 14
Insurgents: 34
2019
Civilians: 21
Security Forces: 4
Insurgents: 12
2020
Civilians: 2
Security Forces: 5
Insurgents: 21
2021 (Up to November 15, 2021)
Civilians: 20
Security Forces: 8
Insurgents: 39
State Disaster Response Fund for States
Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha that Rs 17,747.20 crore were allocated from the central share for the State Disaster Response Fund while the states contributed Rs 5439.20 crore towards the same. The data further suggests that the Centre's share of Rs 17,747.20 crore was disbursed in two instalments of Rs 8873.60 each.
The minister also announced that based on the guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority on September 11 this year, the ex-gratia payment of Rs 50,000 was allowed to the next of kin of the deceased due to COVID-19, including those involved in relief operations or associated in preparedness activities, subject to the cause of death being certified as COVID-19.
21 startups in Northeast
The Centre has informed that 21 startups are operations in northeast India.Â
Minister for Development of North East Region G Kishan Reddy informed Lok Sabha that the Centre had made an in-principle commitment for the investment of Rs 73.76 crore in 35 start-ups under the North East Venture Fund. Out of these 35 startups, a total of 21 have already availed funding of Rs 35.62 crore from NEVF, which has been in operation since April 2017.
Most of these startups (8) are in the Services sector followed by two each in biotech and healthcare, industrial product, food processing and agriculture. In this financial year alone (2021-2022), three startups started operations in Assam and one in Manipur. Overall, in the last five years, Assam was home to 16 out of the 21 startups.
Anti-Diabetics Ayurvedic Drug Bgr-34
Minister of Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal informed Rajya Sabha that the drug BGR-34 is available to patients in the country since 2015. The formulation was developed and required scientific studies were carried out by the National Botanical Research Institute and Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants and research units functioning under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. The tests include standardization, antioxidant activity determination, optimization of herbal components for best activity, product validation on the basis of modern scientific parameters, assessment of anti-diabetic activity and safety studies etc.
BGR-34 is licensed under the proprietary Ayurvedic Medicine category and its availability is possible only through tenders. Inclusion of drug BGR-34 in the tender depends on the responsive bid, price and qualifying approved Standard Operative Procedure (SOP) for procurement norms of the concerned procurement agency.
Covid impact on Rural Development Sector
The Rural Development Ministry outlined measures taken for providing relief and boosting employment and livelihood opportunities in rural areas during the Coronavirus pandemic. However, the ministry clarified that it had not undertaken any survey on the impact of COVID-19 on the rural development sector.
Minister of State for Rural Development Ms Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said that under the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, a total of 50.78 crore person-days of employment has been generated with a total expenditure of Rs. 392923 crore. Besides, Pradhan MantriAwaasYojana-Gramin sanctioned a total of 7,70,522 houses and completed 4,81,210 houses with a total expenditure of Rs 5618.19 crore.
The minister also informed that an amount of Rs 68,233.24 crore has been released in the current FY 2021-22 (as of 24.11.2021) for the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
BharatNet in 1.6 lakh Gram Panchayats
Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Kapil Moreshwar Patil informed that BharatNet project, the targeted completion date for which is August 2023, is being implemented in a phased manner to ensure last-mile broadband connectivity via Wi-Fi or Fiber to gram panchayats across the country.
He said that as of November, a total number of 1,66,088 Gram Panchayats have been made Service Ready in the country, including 8,386 Gram Panchayats in Chhattisgarh. The scope of BharatNethas been recently extended up to all inhabited villages beyond Gram Panchayats.Â
