Page 26 - Rajasthan

Kirodi Meena takes onus of BJP's Lok Sabha loss; quits Rajasthan govt

Kirodi Lal Meena has resigned as a minister in the Rajasthan government following the BJP's underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls in the state. During the recently held elections, Meena (72) had said he would quit the Bhajan Lal Sharma government if the BJP loses any of the seven parliamentary seats under his responsibility. The Rajasthan agriculture, rural development, disaster management and relief minister had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi assigned him the seven seats in eastern Rajasthan on which he worked hard during the polls. But in the Lok Sabha poll results announced on June 4, the BJP lost some of these seats, including his native Dausa. Overall the BJP won 14 of the state's 25 seats, its tally coming down from 24 in the 2019 polls. "Kirodi Meena resigned as minister. He gave the resignation to the chief minister 10 days back," an aide of the minister said. On Thursday, Meena posted the famous Ramcharitramanas lines 'Raghukul reeti sada chali aai, pran jaa

Uproar in Rajasthan Assembly as Cong targets BJP govt over Guv's address

The opposition Congress on Wednesday created a ruckus in the Rajasthan Assembly, accusing the BJP government of violating constitutional provisions by not holding the Governor's address at the commencement of the Budget Session. Speaker Vasudev Devnani, however, gave a ruling that since it was the second session of the year, the governor's address was not required. As soon as the House assembled at 11 am on the first day of the Budget Session, the leader of the opposition Tikaram Jully raised the issue of the session not commencing with the Governor's address. He also accused the government of not following constitutional provisions. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel said the governor's address is held in the first session after assembly elections and the first session of the year. But the Budget Session was the second session of the year, he said as he accused the leader of the opposition of misinterpreting the constitutional provision. The Speaker too gave the ruling

Rajasthan comes up with new draft township policy, invites suggestions

The draft policy says that in case of a lack of maintenance or development work, the urban body or development authority will be able to sell these reserved plots and get development work done

ACs, coolers shoot up India's power usage by 9% to 152.38 bn units in Jun

India's power consumption rose by nearly 9 per cent to 152.38 billion units (BU) in June compared to the year-ago period mainly due to scorching heat which forced excessive use of cooling appliances like air conditioners and desert coolers. In June 2023, the power consumption stood at 140.27 BU, according to official data. The highest supply in a day (peak power demand met) also rose to 245.41 GW in June 2024 against 223.29 GW in the year-ago month. The peak power demand was recorded at 224.10 GW in June 2023. The peak power demand touched an all-time high of 250.20GW in May this year. The previous all-time high peak power demand of 243.27 GW was recorded in September 2023. Earlier this year, the power ministry projected a peak power demand of 235 GW during daytime and 225 GW during evening hours for May and 240 GW during daytime and 235 GW during evening hours for June 2024. The ministry also estimated that peak power demand may hit 260 GW this summer. Experts said the scorching

Rajasthan medical student undergoes dialysis after being ragged; 7 booked

According to the victim's father, the seniors forced his son to perform between 300 and 350 sit-ups under the blistering sun

Industrial sector in Rajasthan fears output slump after power cut order

The power department on Wednesday announced intermittent power cuts in industrial areas daily between 8pm and 3am

Shree Cement's installed renewable power capacity touches 1 GW across India

India's third largest cement manufacturer Shree Cement on Monday announced achieving installed power capacity of 1,000 MW with the commissioning of a 19.5 MW solar power plant at its Andhra Pradesh unit. "The one GW (Gigawatt) capacity includes a mix of solar, wind, thermal and waste heat recovery power plants, showcasing Shree Cement's diversified approach to meeting the electricity demand for cement production," the Bangur family-promoted firm said in a statement. The company has made an investment of Rs 4,000 crore to expand the renewable portfolio, which now accounts for nearly half of the installed power capacity. "Looking ahead, an estimated capex of Rs 1,000 crore is planned in FY25 for installation of additional renewable energy capacity," it said. This includes the installation of 132 MW of solar capacity in five states - Jharkhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, 36 MW of wind generation in Rajasthan and 34 MW of waste heat recovery capacity in Karnatak

CBI takes over five NEET-UG cases from Bihar, Gujarat & Rajasthan

The CBI has taken over the investigation of five new cases of alleged malpractices in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG that were being probed by police in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar, officials said on Monday. They said the central agency has re-registered one case each from Gujarat and Bihar and three cases from Rajasthan as its own FIR, while it is also likely to take up another case from Maharashtra's Latur. Barring the case from Bihar, the other four appear to be isolated incidents of impersonation and cheating by local officials, invigilators and candidates, the officials said. The CBI has already registered its own FIR in connection with the case on a reference from the Union education ministry to conduct a comprehensive probe, they said. After taking over these new cases, the CBI is now probing a total of six cases pertaining to alleged irregularities in NEET-UG, the officials said. NEET-UG is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYU

Trade bodies ask Rajasthan govt to focus on ease of doing business

Suggestions were presented by the Hotel Association of Rajasthan to make the state a global tourism destination by 2047

Rajasthan govt to boost religious tourism by enhancing temple towns, infra

Tourism contributes roughly 12-14% to the state economy and employs over 7.5 million to 8 million, the third largest after agriculture and textiles

77% rural households provided with tap water connections: Govt data

About 77 per cent or 14.88 crore rural households have been provided with tap water connections till now, according to official data. There are a total of 19.31 crore rural households in the country, according to official data by the Jal Jeevan Mission. According to official data, 14,88,16,184 out of a total of 19,31,21,778 rural households have been provided with a tap water connection so far. Eleven states and Union Territories (UT) have achieved 100 per cent coverage in rural areas, the data showed. A total of 16 states and UTs have tap water coverage between 75-100 per cent and five states have coverage of 50-75 per cent. Rajasthan and West Bengal have below 50 per cent coverage, according to the data. Jal Jeevan Mission, launched in 2019, aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.

Trade bodies in Rajasthan seek budgetary, tax reforms to boost development

"This force should also be responsible for budgetary reforms of the state government," said Kailash Sharma, senior vice-president of ARTIA

Our govt has fulfilled 45% promises made in 'Sankalp Patra': Rajasthan CM

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said Sunday his government has fulfilled 45 per cent of the promises made in the BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' ahead of the election. He said the empowerment of youths, farmers and women and the welfare of the poor through policies and schemes are priority areas for his government. Sharma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the 17th instalment of the Kisan Samman Nidhi soon after assuming office in his third term. The country will be prosperous and happy only with the prosperity of farmers, he added. The chief minister was addressing the felicitation ceremony of Union Minister of State for Agriculture Bhagirath Chaudhary in Kishangarh. He said the Rajasthan government is working for the all-round development of all sections. "Our government has sped up work on the ERCP project in view of the water requirement of eastern Rajasthan," Sharma added. He said work is underway to give concrete shape to the Yamuna Water Agreement for the Shekhawat

Rajasthan govt begins recalling some batches of MDH and Everest spices

Rajasthan told the federal government in a letter it found a batch of Everest's cumin powder and a batch each of two MDH spice blends unsafe after tests, Reuters reported on Thursday

ED makes fresh arrest in Rajasthan's Jal Jeevan Mission case, say officials

The Enforcement Directorate has made a fresh arrest in connection with its money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme being implemented in Rajasthan, official sources said Friday. Padamchand Jain, proprietor of Shree Shyam Tubewell Company, has been taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) launched by the Union government aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through household tap connections and it is being implemented in Rajasthan by the state's Public Health Engineering (PHE) department. A man named Piyush Jain was the first to be arrested in this case by the federal agency early this year. The money laundering case of the ED stems from an FIR registered by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) where it was charged that Padamchand Jain, Mahesh Mittal (proprietor of Shree Ganpati Tubewell Company), Piyush Jain and others were ...

Rajasthan govt finds some MDH, Everest spices 'unsafe' for consumption

India's domestic market for spices was valued at $10.44 billion in 2022, according to Zion Market Research

Trade and industry bodies in Rajasthan call for creating solar energy hub

Rajasthan ranks as one of the leading states in the country for solar energy production

JSW Energy begins construction of battery storage project in Rajasthan

JSW Energy on Monday said it has commenced the construction of 1 gigawatt hour (GWh) battery energy storage system project at Fatehgarh in Rajasthan. The company bagged the project from Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) recently, JSW Energy said in an exchange filing. The project consists of two installations, each with a 500 MWh storage capacity, designed for two hours of storage in one cycle. The project will be developed under a Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) mechanism and will be transferred to the offtaker after 12 years, the company said. JSW Energy said it aims to commission the project expected by June 2025. The company has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with JSW Steel Ltd to supply an additional 85,000-90,000 tonne of green hydrogen annually, along with 7,20,000 tonne per annum (TPA) of green oxygen, progressively by 2030. Sharad Mahendra, Joint Managing Director and CEO, JSW Energy, said, "...Our Battery Energy Storage System projec

Domestic open access solar capacity addition doubles in Jan-Mar: Mercom

Open access solar installations rose two-fold in India to 1.8 gigawatts during January-March this year supported by several factors, including reduced module cost, US-based Mercom Capital has said. Solar power through open access is an arrangement where a power producer establishes a solar power plant to supply green energy to consumers. India added over 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of solar open access capacity in the first quarter of the calendar year of 2024, posting a two-fold increase from 909.3 megawatts (MW) in Q4 2023, the report titled 'Mercom India Solar Open Access Market' said. As of March 2024, the cumulative installed solar open access capacity stood at 14.3 GW. Solar open access developers benefited from lower Chinese module prices and the suspension of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) order for projects commissioned through March 2024. Additionally, lower power purchase agreement (PPA) prices, due to reduced project costs, further incentivized consumers t

Rajasthan developing Maharana Pratap Tourist Circuit worth Rs 100 cr: CM

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Saturday said the state government is developing the Maharana Pratap Tourist Circuit at a cost of Rs 100 crore. Sharma said this while inaugurating the Maharana Pratap Jayanti celebrations in Udaipur. Maharana Pratap is a source of inspiration not only for Rajasthan and India but for the whole world, the chief minister said. His valour, bravery and patriotism cannot be bound by time and geographical boundaries, Sharma said and added that Maharana Pratap's life "inspires us to not step back even in adverse circumstances and to always follow the path of truth, religion and national interest". He said, "It is the aim of our government to spread the message of Maharana Pratap to the whole world, and in this direction Maharana Pratap Tourist Circuit is being developed at a cost of Rs 100 crore." According to an official statement, the keynote speaker of the programme, RSS leader Krishna Gopal said if today people and their culture, civilisat