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26th, June, 2022

 

 

Topic: ‘Nasha Nahin, Zindagi Chunne’ Campaign

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

  • Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while launching the ‘Nasha Nahin, Zindagi Chunne’ an initiative of the Department of State Taxes and Excise and HP Nasha Niwaran Board.

Steps towards this:

  • Major part of the anti-drug strategy of the State Government focuses on certain drugs originally derived from plant sources such as cannabis and opium.
  • The State Government has taken stringent steps against cultivation and for the eradication of these drug generating plants.
  • A Special Task Force would be constituted headed by Additional Director General of Police CID and officers of the Department of State Taxes and Excise to curb the drug menace in the State.
  • Jai Ram Thakur said that the State Government was committed to eradicate the drug menace from the State, for which an Integrated Drug De-addiction Policy has been adopted. The State Government has constituted a Nasha Niwaran Board.
  • The State Government also started a special de-addiction helpline under the Chief Minister helpline-1100. He said that this helpline aims at providing counseling and guidance to the patients.
(Source: The Tribune)

 

 

Topic: Cluster Development Program

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

  • The central government has approved two infrastructure development projects with a value of 22.29 crore rupees for Himachal under the Cluster Development Programme.

 

Which Ministry approved this?

  • The National Level Steering Committee (NLSC) of the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium has approved.

Which two projects in Himachal are part of the Cluster Development Program (MSC-CDP)?

  • Both these projects have been sanctioned for upgradation of industrial estate at Jeetpur Behari in Ghanari tehsil of Una district and Khadin in Parwanoo in Solan district.
  • The total cost of these two projects is Rs 22.29 crore. Out of this, the Central Government’s grant will be Rs 15.92 crore and the contribution of the state will be Rs 6.37 crore.
  • These projects would increase the efficiency of the manufacturing units in the State.

 

About Cluster Development Programme:

  • The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India (GoI) has adopted the cluster development approach as a key strategy for enhancing the productivity and competitiveness as well as capacity building of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) and their collectives in the country.

 

What is a cluster?

A cluster is a group of enterprises located within an identifiable and as far as practicable, contiguous area and producing same/similar products/services.

 

The essential characteristics of enterprises in a cluster are:

(a) Similarity or complementarity in the methods of production, quality control and testing, energy consumption, pollution control, etc.

(b) Similar level of technology and marketing strategies/practices.

(c) Channels for communication among the members of the cluster.

(d) Common challenges and opportunities.

Objectives

i. To support the sustainability and growth of MSEs by addressing common issues such as improvement of technology, skills and quality, market access, access to capital, etc.

ii. To build capacity of MSEs for common supportive action through formation of self help groups, consortia, upgradation of associations, etc.

iii. To create/upgrade infrastructural facilities in the new/existing industrial areas/ clusters of MSEs.

iv. To set up common facility centres (for testing, training centre, raw material depot, effluent treatment, complementing production processes, etc).

 

Strategy and Approach:

  • Given the diverse nature of the MSEs in terms of both geographical location and sectoral composition, the MSE-CDP scheme aims at addressing the needs of the industries, through well defined clusters and geographical areas.
  • This will enable achieving the economies of scale in terms of deployment of resources as well as focusing on the specific needs of similar industries.
  • The capacity building of associations, setting up of special purpose vehicles (SPVs), consortia, etc, which are integral part of the scheme would enable the MSEs to leverage their resources and also to have better access to public resources, linkages to credit and enhance their marketing competitiveness.
(Source: CMO Himachal)