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Big News

Gujarat tops ranking on states’ water departments; Andhra creating three state capitals; Maharashtra government hints at cancellation of another major rail project signed by previous government; Odisha commencing drive to cut off delinquent power customers; Punjab relaxes some provisions of its draft Clinical Establishment Act 2019; and more.

Center – State relations

Gujarat has been ranked the best for parameters on efficiency targets in the review of state and central government water departments by the ministry of Jal Shakti. Rajasthan is the third best and Delhi is among the worst performing states, according to the ranking for 2019 circulated to different state governments recently. Source: Hindustan Times

Andhra Pradesh

In a major initiative, the state government has cleared the decks for taking up comprehensive drinking water projects in six districts with $1.73 billion in funding. The projects have been planned to cater to the needs of water starving regions like Palnadu in Guntur and Uddanam in Srikakulam district. Source: Times of India

Amid protests from the opposition, the Andhra Pradesh assembly approved a proposal to create three state capitals — Visakhapatnam, Kurnool, and Amravati — to help decentralized development. Source: Indian Express

Bihar

Nothing critical to report this week.

New Delhi

Nothing critical to report this week.

Gujarat

The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has approved a tariff of ₹2.80 ($0.04) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 202.6 megawatts (MW) of power from grid-connected wind power projects in Gujarat. In its order, the Commission said that the auction discovered rate of ₹2.80 ($0.04)/kWh was allowed to be adopted for 1,000 MW of wind projects initially floated by the Gujarat-based distribution company (DISCOM) on March 1, 2019. Source: Mercom

Haryana

Nothing critical to report this week.

Karnataka

Nothing critical to report this week.

Madhya Pradesh

In Madhya Pradesh, the legislative assembly unanimously approved the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2019. The bill provides to increase the reservation of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the Lok Sabha and legislative assembly for the next 10 years. Source: All India Radio

Maharashtra

The proposed Mumbai-Pune ultra-fast hyperloop transport system in Maharashtra has come under a cloud, with the state government signaling that undertaking a first-of-a-kind project of such magnitude could turn out to be a risky proposition at this juncture. Source: NDTV

The Maharashtra Energy Regulatory Commission (MERC) has done away with the plan to have a compulsory gross metering for solar power generation. Source: Times of India In Detail: MERC solar rooftop regulations

The Maharashtra tourism ministry announced that malls, multiplexes, restaurants, and select shops in the city will be permitted to remain open 24/7 from January 26 onwards. Citing concerns over women’s safety, the Bharatiya Janata Party chief in Mumbai has spoken against the proposed rule changes. Source: Republic World.

Rajasthan

Nothing critical to report this week.

Tamil Nadu

Nothing critical to report this week.

Telangana

Nothing critical to report this week.

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh announced a ban on assemblies for Lucknow ahead of the Republic Day 2020 in the wake of widespread protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Source: India Today

West Bengal

Nothing critical to report this week.

Best of the Rest

Assam

The World Bank has approved a loan of $88.58 million to Assam Inland Water Transport for modernization of the state’s passenger ferry services on Brahmaputra and other rivers. Better-designed terminals and energy-efficient vessels will make the ferry services more sustainable with least disruption to nature. Of the total project cost of $108.2 million, the bank will provide $88.58 million. Source: Economic Times In detail: Press Release

Chhattisgarh

The Chhattisgarh State Electricity Regulatory Commission (CSERC) has issued a draft order announcing generic levelized tariffs for the fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 and 2020-21 for renewable energy sources. Source: Mercom In detail: Draft Order

Chhattisgarh joined the league of states to ratify the Constitution (126th) Amendment Bill that proposes to extend quota to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in Lok Sabha and state assemblies by another 10 years. Source: Business Standard

Goa

Goa will be the first state in the country to have 100 percent piped-water coverage by March 31, 2020, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said. Speaking at a water treatment plant commissioning event organized by the Public Works Department (PWD) in South Goa district, Sawant stated that 87 percent of houses in Goa are covered with piped water as of now. Source: Outlook India

Himachal Pradesh

Airports Authority of India signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Himachal Pradesh for the development of a greenfield airport at Nagchala near Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. Source: Free Press Journal

Jammu and Kashmir

Following the return of normalcy in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370, the J&K administration has placed over 150 websites under the “whitelist” category, which effectively means that people can now access the websites. The whitelist has been published after the administration partially restored internet services in the state. Source: OpIndia

The central government entered into an agreement for construction of the 4 mile-long Z-Morh tunnel on Srinagar-Leh National Highway at the cost of $334.5 million which will be completed in three and a half years. Source: Daily Excelsior

Kerala

The Kerala government headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has decided not to implement the proposed National Population Register. This comes after the Kerala government petitioned the Supreme Court to remove the CAA recently and also passed a resolution against the law. Source: India Today

Nagaland

The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee stated that it has adopted two resolutions with regard to the Naga Political issue and the contentious CAA and National Register of Citizens. It said that it resolved to urge the government of India “to implement political solution under non-partisan government in Nagaland.” Source: Morung Express

Odisha

The Central Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha has said it will commence its power disconnection drive from January 16 in a phased manner as the company had pending arrears of $277.15 million by end of November last year. Source: Economic Times

Punjab

The Punjab assembly passed a resolution demanding the repeal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and went beyond Kerala in seeking amendments to the forms/documentation associated with the National Population Register process. Source: Indian Express

Facing pressure from private health service providers, the Punjab health department has toned down the revised draft of the much awaited Clinical Establishments Act, Punjab 2019, by removing small and medium health centers from the ambit of the legislation. Source: Times of India

Tripura

The $218 million special economic zone (SEZ), to be set up along the Bangladesh border in Tripura, would be a multi-sector SEZ and not just agro-based food processing SEZ, officials said. The center has decided that all notified SEZs will be deemed to be a multi-sector SEZ. Source: Economic Times

The four-party agreement signed this week to try and resolve the 23-year-old crisis of Bru tribal people displaced to Tripura from Mizoram has been welcomed as the “best possible solution” under the circumstances.

Source: The Print In Detail: Tripura Press Release