Govt to take appropriate action for mitigating price rise of crude oil

The Lok Sabha has passed the  Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022. The bill seeks to  amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 for inclusion of certain community in the list of Scheduled Tribes in relation to the State of Tripura. The Bill proposes  to "Darlong" community as a sub-tribe of "Kuki" in the list of Scheduled Tribes. Moving the bill in the House, Tribal Affairs Minister  Arjun Munda said that the Narendra Modi government is committed to the development of tribal areas and the welfare of tribal community. He said, the bill has been brought with an intention to include Darlong community as a sub tribe of Kuki  community in Tripura. He  said, the amendment is proposed because  in hilly area the people of same community are residing as different sub tribes and are excluded from the list for longtime. Later replying to a debate on the bill in the Lok Sabha, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said that the government is committed to the all- round development of tribal areas, He said, the Prime Minister has stressed that without ensuring the welfare and development of Tribal population  and tribal areas, the development of the nation can not be realized. He said, under Scheduled Tribe Component-STC , there has been a gradual increase in the allocation of funds. He informed the House that during 2014-15 where the allocation was only to the tune of 16 thousand 111 crore rupees, it was increased to 87 thousand 585 crore rupees in 2021-22 under STC. Responding to members concerning about poor network connectivity in villages, Mr Munda said, IT Ministry has recently initiated a scheme with an outlay of around 7 thousand  crore rupees to enable broadband and 4G connectivity to all villages under ST component. He said, the government is implementing Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana with an objective of  integrated development of tribal areas in which schemes like health, education  and tap water are provided to the people. Talking about educational facilities in tribal areas, the Tribal Affairs Minister said that earlier in 2014  only 278 crore rupees were earmarked for  the operation of Eklavya Model Residential  Schools and now the budget has been enhanced to one thousand 418 crore rupees. He added that  only 160 such schools are operational in 2014, and now the number has gone up to 365. He also informed the House that the Finance Minister has provided an allocation of  around 28 thousand crore rupees for setting up 700 more such schools in the next five years.

-In Chhattisgarh, two goods trains collided near Jamgaon in Raigarh district on Monday evening. Eighteen wagons were derailed in this accident. According to the Railway officials, a goods train carrying steel from Brijrajnagar collided with another goods train near Jamgaon. Due to the incident, the movement of trains on both the Up and Down lines on the Mumbai-Howrah railway line has been disrupted. Railway officials have reached the spot. No casualty has been reported in this accident. Due to the accident, the railways have decided to short terminate some trains and divert some trains.

-Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Goa Shipyard Limited GSL for construction of eight Fast Patrol Vessels for Indian Coast Guard at a total project cost of 473 crore rupees. The contract was signed by Joint Secretary (Maritime and Systems) Dinesh Kumar and Chairman and Managing Director, GSL Commodore (Retd) BB Nagpal in New Delhi on Monday. These surface platforms will be indigenously designed, developed and manufactured by GSL under Buy (Indian-IDDM) Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured Category. These eight high speed vessels will be based along the coast of India with capability to operate in shallow waters and enhance the security apparatus along the vast coast line. Ministry of Defence said, while meeting the objectives of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, this would boost the indigenous shipbuilding capability and increase employment opportunities in the sector. The contract will further boost the Government’s resolve of making India a defence manufacturing hub which caters to not only the domestic needs but also the export market.

-Chief of Staff of the French Navy Admiral Pierre Vandier is on a visit to India to participate in maiden Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief HADR themed Indian Ocean Naval Symposium IONS Maritime Exercise, IMEX 22. He was accorded a Guard of Honour at South Block Lawns in New Delhi on Monday. Admiral Vandier also interacted with Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar. Various bilateral cooperation issues discussed between both the naval principals including avenues of capacity building, strengthening interoperability and collaborative mechanisms towards ensuring peace and stability in the Indian Ocean Region. During his visit Admiral Pierre Vandier will also interact with other high ranking Government of India officials. 

-The government has said that the geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine has led to global supply disruptions resulting in steep increase in global commodity prices including prices of crude oil, gas, edible oils and fertilizers, among others.  In a written reply to a question in the  Lok Sabha,  Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhury said the government is closely monitoring the global price movements and their impact on the country’s economy through trade. He said to ensure security of crude supplies and to mitigate the risk of dependence on crude oil from a single region, Oil Public Sector Undertakings have diversified its petroleum basket and are procuring crude from countries located at various geographical locations like West Asian countries, Africa, North America, South America.  The Minister said in addition, Centre is also committed to supporting initiatives for releases from Strategic Petroleum Reserves for mitigating market volatility and calming the rise in crude oil prices.