By
Posted on

Big News

JICA signs $1.8 billion loan agreements with India for projects in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, and the northeast; Maharashtra advances privatizing power distribution in three more cities, while Uttar Pradesh rescinds privatization; Harvard publishes study on urban air pollution in Delhi; Jharkhand first to use Oral Pentavalent vaccine to eradicate rotavirus; and more.

Center – State Relations

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed loan agreements with the central government for official development assistance (ODA) loans of up to $1.8 billion for five projects in various states including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh, as well as the northeast region. Source: Business Standard In Detail: Press Release

The central government will allow states to set up their own insurance companies for implementation of center's national health insurance plan. Source: Economic Times

Only seven of the 32 participating states in UDAY, the center's bailout initiative for the state-owned power distribution companies (discoms), have reported meeting their aggregate technical and commercial losses for fiscal year 2017. Source: Financial Express

State and private power plants will have to increase their annual production of electricity by conventional sources (includes coal, gas, nuclear, and hydro) by 9.2 percent and 13.4 percent respectively to meet the center's new 126,000 million units (MU) production target for fiscal year 2019. Source: Financial Express

Andhra Pradesh

China-based GCL Group along with Softbank Vision Fund will establish a four gigawatt (GW) solar PV production facility in Andhra Pradesh, which will include the production of ingots, wafers, cells, modules, and batteries. Source: PV-Magazine

Andhra Pradesh's tourism department signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Interups Inc for construction of a luxury resort in Tirupati estimated to cost $154 million. Source: New Indian Express

Bihar

State-run HPCL has received environmental clearance to set up its new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant along with bottling and storage facilities in East Champaran, Bihar, at an investment of $209.3 million. Source: Economic Times

New Delhi

BSES discoms in Delhi have signed power sale agreements with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to procure 200 MW of wind energy. Source: Business Standard

A recent study conducted by the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences found 50 percent of the pollution in the national capital comes from agricultural fires in the surrounding northwestern states. Source: Live Mint In Detail: Report: Quantifying the influence of agriculture fires in northwest India on urban air pollution in Delhi, India

Gujarat

The center has committed $317.6 million for the development of 31 cities in Gujarat under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) mission. Source: Money Control

Haryana

The Haryana government has increased, in most cases doubled, the financial limit for development projects that can be approved by urban local bodies. Source: Daily Pioneer

The Haryana government will provide tuberculosis patients in the state special benefits and nutritional support at $7.67 per month during treatment, in an effort to eliminate the disease from the state by 2025. Source: Hindustan Times

Karnataka

Nothing critical to report this week

Madhya Pradesh

The Madhya Pradesh government approved the state's lawsuit management policy to create decentralized monitoring committees for handling lawsuits and grievance redressal systems at the state and district level. Source: United News of India

The Madhya Pradesh government has announced a special cash incentive of $4 per quintal (per 220 pounds) on wheat and $1.5 per quintal for chana, masoor, and mustard sold, irrespective of the rate at which it is sold. Source: Business Standard

Maharashtra

JICA has decided to provide $921 million in official development assistance (ODA) loan for development of the Mumbai metro line 3. Source: Business Standard In Detail: Press Release

The World Bank has approved a $420 million loan to improve water harvesting structures and to adopt climate resilient agricultural practices in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra. Source: The Hindu Business Line In Detail: Press Release

The Maharashtra government has decided to lift the ban on small plastic PET and PETE bottles with capacity of less than 16 ounces. Source: Hindustan Times

The Maharashtra government has formed a committee to determine parameters of its new weather-based crop insurance scheme extending insurance for damaged crops due to fluctuations in weather conditions. Source: The Hindu

Maharashtra's energy department has decided to privatize power distribution in three more cities- Mumbra-Kalwa, Malegaon and Akola. Source: Daily News Analysis

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a set of incentives for builders of IT parks, which include a floor space index of up to four times the plot size, in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, and Aurangabad. Source: Indian Express

Rajasthan

Nothing critical to report this week

Tamil Nadu

JICA has signed an agreement with the Indian government to provide loan assistance of $76.8 million for installation of intelligent transport systems in Chennai. Source: Economic Times In Detail: Press Release

The Tamil Nadu government has released a plan to open six new fertility and strict norms for them, which were drafted by the state health society in association with the National Health Mission. Source: Times of India

The Tamil Nadu government launched "Amma" (named after the former chief minister Jayalalitha) Wi-Fi zones in five cities of the state, with free usage for the first 20 minutes and a subsequent charge of 15 cents per hour. Source: Financial Express

Telangana

The Telangana government collected a total of $6.46 billion in revenues, accounting for 20 percent growth in collection compared to the previous year. Source: Telangana Today

Uttar Pradesh

The Uttar Pradesh government rescinded its plans for privatization of electricity distribution in five cities after a 20-day boycott from power department employees. Source: Financial Express

The Uttar Pradesh government approved a bill to check arbitrary fee increases by private schools. Source: Economic Times

Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Genus Power and Allied Engineering won a contract to supply 10 million pre-paid meters to Uttar Pradesh under the Saubhagya initiative, which aims to provide electricity to all households by end of 2018. Source: Economic Times

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) won a $675.8 million order from Uttar Pradesh for setting up of 660-megawatt (MW) supercritical thermal power plant. Source: Economic Times In Detail: Press Release

NTPC has commissioned the first unit of the 1,320 MW super-critical Meja thermal project at Allahabad. Source: Economic Times

Uttar Pradesh accounts for the highest growth in micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) credit across India at 21 percent with a total outstanding of $8.75 billion at the end of December 2017. Source: Business Standard

West Bengal

Nothing critical to report this week

Best of the Rest

Jharkhand

Jharkhand becomes the first in India to introduce Oral Pentavalent Vaccine to eradicate Rotavirus, considered to be the most common cause of diarrhoeal disease among infants. Source: Daily Pioneer

Odisha

Vedanta group signed a MOU with the Odisha government for setting up of a medical college and hospital at Bhangabari in Bhawanipatna, with an investment of $15.3 million. Source: The Hindu

Himachal Pradesh

JICA has approved a loan agreement of $104 million to the Indian government for a project in Himachal Pradesh pertaining to sustainable forest ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation. In Detail: Press Release