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Maharashtra increases salaries for state government employees; President Kovind bifurcates High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad into separate High Courts for Andhra Pradesh and for Telangana; Uttarakhand becomes first state to offer universal secondary and tertiary health coverage for all households in the state; Chhattisgarh returns land acquired from tribal farmers in Bastar in 2005 for a now-dead Tata Steel project; and more.

Center – State relations

In a survey of 100,000 households in India’s 112 “backward” districts conducted by NITI Aayog, Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu, Nuapada in Odisha and Siddharthnagar in Uttar Pradesh emerged as best performers across 49 parameters, including education, health, financial inclusion, and others.  Source: The Hindu Business Line In detail: Press Release

Andhra Pradesh

Nothing critical to report this week.

Bihar

Nothing critical to report this week.

New Delhi

The Delhi Metro opened the six-mile Lajpat Nagar-Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 corridor of the new 36.6-mile Pink Line on December 31. Source: News 18

Gujarat

The Gujarat government announced a new scheme under the Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy aimed at boosting new technology demonstration and pilot deployment in the public sector under the state’s Innovation Fund. Source: The Hindu Business Line In detail: Scheme for Technology Demonstration and Pilot Deployment under Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Fund

Haryana

The Haryana government announced that the 44,000 tube well connections that have been pending since January 1, 2014 will be issued to farmers in the state over the next six months. Source: Economic Times

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that 485 schemes and the services of 37 departments would now be available online under the Digital Haryana initiative. Source: Money Control In detail: Press Release

Karnataka

The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission set the generic tariff for grid-connected solar rooftop units between 1 kilowatt (KW) and 10 KW installed by domestic consumers in the state at $0.06. However, with subsidies, the tariff is effectively reduced to $0.04. Source: Mercom In detail: Tariff details

Madhya Pradesh

Nothing critical to report this week.

Maharashtra

The Maharashtra government announced that it will increase salaries for the two million government employees in the state, as per the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission. The increase will come into effect from January 1, 2019 and will cost the state exchequer a sum of $7.4 billion. Source: India Today

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited issued a tender for 50,000 solar water pumping systems. These solar water pumps are to be installed at projects sites of identified farmers in the state. The last date for bid submission has been fixed on January 16, 2019. Source: Mercom In detail: Tender details

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited has issued a request for selection for the purchase of power from 1,000 megawatts (MW) of grid connected floating solar photovoltaic power project on Ujjani dam in Solapur district. The power distribution company has set the upper tariff limit at $0.043 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Source: Mercom In detail: Tender details

In an attempt to give the textile industry a boost, the state government has decided to offer power subsidy of $0.043 per kWh, or unit, to cooperative spinning mills for three years. Source: Indian Express

Rajasthan

Nothing critical to report this week.

Tamil Nadu

Nothing critical to report this week.

Telangana

President Ram Nath Kovind issued orders constituting a separate High Court for Andhra Pradesh with effect from January 1, 2019. The High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad will now become the High Court for Telangana. The decision came after Telengana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a list of 16 demands, including the bifurcation of the High Court of Judicature. Source: Indian Express

Uttar Pradesh

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) announced it has received investment approvals for two solar power projects of 160 MW capacity in Uttar Pradesh. Source: Economic Times

West Bengal

Nothing critical to report this week.

Best of the Rest

Assam

The NTPC announced it will add 250 MW to the existing 500-MW capacity in Assam’s Kokrajhar district after its third unit is commissioned in February. Source: Financial Express

Prime Minister Modi opened Assam’s Bogibeel Bridge, known as India’s longest railroad bridge. It is India’s only fully welded bridge for which European codes and welding standards were adhered to for the first time in the country. Source: NDTV In detail: Press Release 

Chhattisgarh

The newly-elected government in Chhattisgarh led by the Indian National Congress announced it will return the land acquired from tribal farmers in Bastar in 2005 by the state government for the proposed Tata Steel project, which did not take off. Source: Hindustan Times

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh has proposed $1.1 billion state plan for the financial year 2019-20, a 13 percent increase from 2018-19. Source: Times of India

Jharkhand

Textile firm Arvind Limited announced the launch of its green-field garmenting facility in Ranchi, set up with an investment of $43 million. This facility will add capacity of 16 million garments annually to the company’s current garmenting operations and generate additional revenues of $100.3 million. Source: Times of India

Jammu and Kashmir

The Jammu and Kashmir government ordered revocation of the Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy for its employees starting from midnight December 31, following reports of irregularities in its allotment. Source: NDTV In detail: Jammu and Kashmir Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy

Kerala

In a major boost to the start-up ecosystem, the Kerala government approved a decision to allow its departments and autonomous institutions to invite start-ups registered under the Kerala Start-up Mission to assist with the implementation of information technology projects that cost up to $143,400. Source: The Hindu Business Line In detail: Kerala Start-up Mission

The Kerala State Electricity Board announced a tender for 200 MW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic  projects to be developed in Kerala as an Independent Power Producer. The bid-submission deadline is February 1, 2019, with the upper ceiling tariff fixed at $0.05/kWh. Source: Mercom In detail: Tender details

Punjab

The Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company signed an agreement with Tata Technologies Limited to establish “Industrial Manufacturing - Innovation, Incubation, and Skill Development” centers in Ludhiana, Amritsar, and Jalandhar as part of their smart cities plans. Source:  5Dariyanews In detail: Press Release

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country to have a dedicated drone force to keep a tab on criminal activities in forest areas. The Forest Drone Force, headed by senior forest officers, has a fleet of 25 drones, which will focus on checking illegal mining, tree felling, poaching, and other anti-wildlife and anti-environment activities. Source: Times of India

Israeli company Puremagic Limited signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Uttarakhand government worth $3.5 million to deepen collaboration on the farming and processing of algae. Source: Times of India

Building upon the center’s Ayushmaan Bharat scheme, Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched the ‘Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana,’ becoming the first state to offer universal secondary and tertiary health coverage for all households in the state for medical treatment up to $7,141 per year. Source: Economic Times In detail: Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana