December 2, 2019

 

Topic:  fiscal health management

 

 News:-Punjab faces a great fiscal challenge as it struggles to pay off the salaries and pensions to its employees

 

• Punjab government is struggling to compensate its 3.5 lakh employees and 1.5 pensioners.
• The state government has resorted to advanced loans for dealing with its expenses.
• Besides, the bills of around rupees 5000 crores are also to be paid by the state.
• Punjab has been facing this massive fiscal crunch for years.
• The state government is also alleging that the government has not given it the due share of its GST revenue ( till September), due to which the state is suffering.
• The state’ s share of rupees 4100 crore is yet to be paid by the union government.
• The state government also says that apart from GST revenues, another 800 crore rupees are yet to be paid by the union government.
• The state government requires around rupees 3000 crores for payment of salaries and pensions to its people.
• The state government is increasingly going for ways and allowances advances to meet its cash shortage.

 

Ways and means allowances-:-

• Ways and means advances is a mechanism used by Reserve Bank of India under its credit policy to provide to States, banking with it, to help them tide over temporary mismatches in the cash flow of their receipts and payments.
• Also, the GST collections in Punjab has reduced by around 44 %, as per some estimates.
• The state has got just Rs 5,748.16 crore as GST, in the first six months of this year, as against Rs 17,109.56 crore that the state should get under the head.
• Also, the state’s expenses have increased.

 

Some solutions for improvement of the fiscal scene of Punjab could be:-

• Rationalising the subsidies e.g. free Electricity, etc.
• Strengthening the position of State Finance commission for improvement of the utilisation of funds.
• State fiscal management policy should be renewed so that the revenue expenditure could be reduced.
• Boosting the investment to state GDP ratio should be done so that productive investments could be done. This would yield revenues in the long run.
• Investments from domestic and foreign investors should be further promoted( Punjab investors Summit).

(Source:- The Tribune)

 

 

Topic: Sports

 

News:- National Sikh games 2020 to be held in New Delhi.

 

• These are modelled on the Australian Sikh Games.
• They will be organised by a Delhi- based trust  Jap Jaap sewa trust.
• This trust has partnered with the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC).
• These games will be held in January 2020.
• The participants would come from  10 States of the country
• Around 2500 athletes would take part in over 16 disciplines of sports.

 

The Purpose of the games:-

• Tapping the sporting talent of the Sikh community.
• And check the rising menace of unfitness such as obesity in the Sikh community.
• Also, drug abuse menace could also be checked.

 

The activities would include:-

• Sports such as Basketball, badminton, hockey, table tennis etc in sports.
• Some cultural activities would also be there such as Bhangra, Giddha, stand up comedy etc.
• Both men and women can participate in these games.

(Source:- The Tribune)

 

 

Topic: Sports

 

News:-

• International Kabaddi meets 2019 kicks off at Sultanpur Lodhi.
• Around 150 players would participate in the event.

 

8 countries would participate in this event. The countries are:-

•  India, Australia, Canada, England, Kenya, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the USA.
• The winning team would get rupees 25 lakh as the prize money.
• And rupees 15 lakh and 10 lakh would be awarded to the runner up team and the third Position team respectively.
• The event is being held to mark the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

(Source:- The Tribune)

 

 

 

Topic: Cultural heritage

 

News:- SHPC along with people of Sangrur holds a fest to promote the heritage of the district

 

• Sangrur Heritage Preservation Society ( SHPS) is organising the fest to raise awareness about the neglected sites of the district.
•  Vee Walker, a heritage consultant and novelist of UK  is also actively involved in this fest.
• The society is also celebrating the 5th edition of its VIRSA festival at Akal degree College for women.
• SHPS alleges that the heritage sites of Sangrur lie in abeyance ( in ignorance).
• Sites such as Malerkotla, Bagrian, Khetra Kheri, Sunam, Badrukhan etc are some of the prominent heritage sites.

 

Some books were also released during this time such as:-

• The Sikh heritage: Beyond the Borders.
• A tryst with Royalty.
• Delhi heritage: top 10 Baolis.

(Source:- The Tribune)

 

 

Topic: Allied Agriculture in Punjab.

 

News:- Punjab government seeks to boost aquaculture in the state

 

• Punjab government is planning to introduce schemes and fair in waterlogged Muktsar district of Punjab to promote fish and shrimp farming.
• The state is keen on opening a training centre and a demonstration farm in Malout division.
• Also, a 50% subsidy on recirculating aqua systems is also in the offing.
• Muktsar has around 1950 acres under fish farming and around 150 acres under shrimp farming.
• Shrimps can fetch around 300 to 330 rupees per kg.
• And the government is also promoting the nutritional value of the fish and shrimps.

 

Promotion of biofloc culture is also being done:-

• It is a Technological concept in which toxic substances such as Nitrate, Nitrite and ammonia etc are converted into the proteinaceous feed to be used in these farms.

Although there have been some concerns:-

• Under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana ( RKVY), the amount for this year has not been provided to the state yet.
• The 90% subsidy scheme is also not in the application now. So, it has discouraged the farmers to an extent.

(Source:- The Tribune)

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