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India leaps into 77th place from 100th in latest World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report; Andhra Pradesh is ranked number one in the country with an average growth of 10.5 percent; by recording 13.6 percent annual growth rate in power consumption, Telangana stands first in the country;  Kerala signs MOU with central government to join the flagship Ayushman Bharat healthcare program; Odisha rolls out the Odisha Aerospace & Defence Manufacturing Policy, 2018; and more .

Center – State relations

The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry approved the construction of 215,000 affordable houses for the poor in six states under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Urban).

Source: Business Standard In detail: Press Release

Under the Ministry of Power’s first pilot scheme for reviving stressed thermal power projects without power sale contracts, Bihar, West Bengal, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu have agreed to procure power for three years from these projects.

Source: Business Standard, Press Release

The Executive Committee (EC) of the National Mission for Clean Ganga approved 12 projects worth $127.6 million under the Namami Gange program.

Source: Jagran Josh In detail: Press Release

Around 500 mills across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan will stop operations from November 4, under directions of the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA). EPCA has asked all biomass and coal-based industries in the National Capital Region (NCR) to remain closed to help keep a check on air pollution.

Source: Energy Infra Post

According to the World Bank’s 2019 Ease of Doing Business report, India has taken a huge leap of 23 ranks from 100th place in 2017-18 to 77th place in 2018-19.

Source: Times of India In detail: Press Release, World Bank Rankings

Andhra Pradesh

According to the State Planning Department, Andhra Pradesh is ranked number one in the country with an average growth of 10.5 percent. Telangana has slipped to the second, Karnataka to the third, Maharashtra is ranked the sixth, and Punjab is ranked the fourteenth during the last four years. The average growth in the country stands at 7.3 percent during the last four years.

Source: The Hindu

The center has approved $31.4 million for the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) of Andhra Pradesh for the year 2018-19, the Home Ministry said.

Source: NDTV

In detail: Press Release

Bihar

Nothing critical to report this week.

New Delhi

The third section of the Delhi Metro’s Pink Line, connecting Trilokpuri to Shiv Vihar, was opened to the public. The 11.2-mile stretch has 15 elevated stations, including stations which connect to the other metro lines.

Source: Economic Times In detail: Press Release

Almost a third of all vehicles registered in Delhi are at risk of being impounded after the Supreme Court decreed that petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years will not be allowed on the roads in the Delhi- NCR.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

Gujarat

The Supreme Court asked the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to amend the power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed with Tata Power, Adani Power, and Essar Power for their imported coal-based thermal plants in Gujarat. It gave the CERC eight weeks to consider and approve the tariff hike for the three plants proposed by the High Power Committee appointed by the Gujarat government.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission will support the implementation of Suryashakti Kisan Yojna (SKY) as a pilot project in Gujarat. In response to a petition filed by discoms, the state government has decided to utilize solar resources for the benefit of the farmers and accordingly notified the SKY program to be implemented on a pilot basis.

Source: Mercom

Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the first Mega Food Park in Gujarat.

Source: SME Times In detail: Press Release

Haryana

Haryana has become the first state to announce denying input tax credit to any GST (Goods and Services Tax) assesses found to be fake.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved deviations in terms of power purchase agreement for procurement of power by Haryana Power Purchase Centre from a 10 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic project developed by Haryana Power Generation Corporation.

Source: Mercom

The Haryana government has approved procurement of moong and potato through the e-procurement system at the Minimum Support Price and directed transfer of payment to the farmer’s bank account.

Source: Economic Times

Karnataka

Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited has awarded 150 MW of solar projects to Giriraj Renewables at a tariff of $0.04 kilowatt-hour (kWh), or unit, and awarded 100 MW to Asian Fab Tec with a tariff of $0.039 kWh.

Source: PV Tech

Following the success of Unnati and Airavata schemes, Karnataka Social Welfare Department launched the Samruddhi program to boost employment opportunities for schedule cast/schedule tribe youth through entrepreneurship.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has onboarded Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to launch Bharat Bill Pay, an integrated platform including banks, e-commerce portals, and online payment gateways, to enable over 10 million consumers to easily and securely pay their bills electronically.

Source: Economic Times

Madhya Pradesh

Nothing critical to report this week.

Maharashtra

Nothing critical to report this week.

Rajasthan

Nothing critical to report this week.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has inaugurated bridges, residential quarters, police stations, fire and rescue services stations, and other infrastructure projects costing $86.4 million.

Source: Times of India

The Tamil Nadu government has passed an order providing detailed guidelines pertaining to increases in the free floor space index (FSI) and the premium FSI. The free FSI will be increased from 1.5 to 2 for residential buildings in the state, according to an official release on the new guidelines.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

Telangana

By recording 13.62 percent annual growth rate in power consumption, Telangana stands first in the country followed by Uttar Pradesh which registered 11.92 percent growth and Andhra Pradesh with 7.43 percent growth respectively. Maharashtra now stands fourth with 7.4 percent growth according to the Central Electricity Authority.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

Uttar Pradesh

The Uttar Pradesh government has approved the process of construction of the Jewar airport by releasing its first instalment of $34.3 million to begin the land acquisition process for the project.

Source: Financial Express

The central government has approved a Safe City Project for Lucknow at a total cost of $26.72 million under the Nirbhaya Fund Scheme with an aim to strengthen the security of women in public places.

Source: Indian Express In detail: Press Release

To strengthen inter-state road transport between Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the two neighboring states signed an MOU in the presence of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his Uttarakhand counterpart, Trivendra Singh Rawat. According to the MOU, the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) will be allowed to operate buses on 216 routes and complete 86,415 miles per day, while the Uttarakhand-owned buses will run 156,953 miles per day on 335 routes.

Source: Devdiscourse

The Uttar Pradesh government instructed the state’s western districts, in and around the NCR, to suspend all construction activities between November 1-10. It also ordered shutting down industries using coal and biomass fuel for a week, to check pollution, asking them to ensure “strict compliance” to other guidelines framed by EPCA.

Source: Daily News Analysis

West Bengal

India and Japan signed a loan agreement of $250 million for the construction of the Turga Pumped Storage project in West Bengal. The deal was signed by the Additional Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), C.S. Mohapatra, and Katsuo Matsumoto, chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Source: New Indian Express

Best of the Rest

Assam

Construction of the Technology Facility Centre at Jorhat, Assam, solely funded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), was kickstarted with the laying of a foundation stone by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) DoNER, Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Source: Egov

The Supreme Court extended the deadline for filing claims and objections of people not included in the final draft of the new citizen’s list in Assam to December 15.

Source: NDTV

Himachal Pradesh

The Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC) has issued HPERC (Renewable Power Purchase Obligation and its Compliance) (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2018. According to the new regulation, the state’s solar renewable purchase obligation (RPO) has been set at 7.25 percent and non-solar RPO at 10.25 percent for fiscal year 2019-20. Thereafter the solar RPO will be ratcheted up on an annual basis till 2021.

Source: Mercom In detail: HPERC (Renewable Power Purchase Obligation and its Compliance) (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2018

Kerala

Kerala signs MOU with central government to join the flagship Ayushman Bharat healthcare program.

Source: The Week

Odisha

Odisha government rolled out Odisha Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Policy, 2018 ahead of the second edition of the Make In Odisha Conclave to be held from November 11-15. The policy aims to carry forward the process of industrialization through promotion of aerospace and defense manufacturing enterprises, to generate employment opportunities, and to promote value addition.

Source: Financial Express In detail: Odisha Aerospace & Defence Manufacturing Policy, 2018

The Odisha government approved six proposals to set up large manufacturing units in the state at a cost of $3.5 billion.

Source: NDTV

The Odisha government has banned the use of polythene in six major cities of the state.

Source: NDTV

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched the Soura Jalanidhi scheme that aims to increase use of solar energy for helping farmers in irrigating their land. Under the scheme, 5,000 solar pumps will be given to Odisha farmers at a subsidy of 90 percent to irrigate 2,500 acres of land.

Source: Economic Times In detail: Odisha Solar Pump Web Portal

Punjab

The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Technical Education and Industrial Training of the state of Punjab signed an MOU in the field of Skill Development and Vocational Education.

Source: 5 Dariya News

Tripura

Tripura’s ruling government started a two-day Chintan Shibir (thought camp) at Agartala to prepare a “comprehensive roadmap” for development of the state with Niti Ayog ahead of the apex planning body’s next meeting.

Source: Indian Express