Tamil Nadu: Urban Local Body Polls on Feb, 19 Result on Feb 22

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, works are on establishing 29 new integrated textile parks in the country to benefit small players in the sector. During Question Hour, he said 27 such facilities have already been made operational in the country under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks for which the Centre has released about 1478 crore rupees. He said the initiative is to help improve the ecosystem for the crucial textile sector in the country. He added, the textile parks have attracted an investment of 13,475 crore rupees, creating more than one lakh, two thousand jobs.  Goyal also said, the Centre has come out with an ambitious scheme called the Prime Minister Mega Integrated Textile Parks, also known as PM-MITRA this year. He said seven such mega parks will be set up in the country. He expressed hope that each such park will generate one lakh direct employment and two lakh crore indirect employment. He asked the states to participate in the scheme that is under challenge more, by offering about a thousand acres each of land, concessional power supply and other basic infrastructure.

-The Election Commission has come up with an initiative aimed at making the country's electoral process more participative through creative expression. It had launched a National Voters Awareness contest -  My Vote is My Future- Power of One Vote. The contest includes Quiz Contest, Slogan Contest, Song Contest, Video Making Contest, and Poster Design Contest which are open to all age groups. The initiative was launched on the occasion of National Voters Day on 25th of January this year. Entries for the contest can be sent in till 15th March, 2022. The winners will be suitably awarded cash prizes and merchandise. The contest will have questions related to the basic and important information relevant to all categories of voters, Electoral roll, Electronic Voting Machine and VVPAT, Election Law and History of Elections in India.

-The Tamil Nadu State Election Commission will hold Urban local body election on the 19th of this month. Elections will be held in 21 Corporations, 138 municipalities, and 490 town panchayats.  A total of 57 thousand 778 candidates will be contesting for the 12 thousand 607 seats across the state. For the 1374 seats in the Corporations, a total of 14 thousand 701 nominations were filed whereas for the three thousand 843 seats in municipalities 23 thousand 354 nominations were filed and for town panchayats, 36 thousand 328 nominations were received for seven thousand 609 seats. Counting of votes will take place on the 22nd of this month and newly elected members would take oath on March 2. This election is being held after a gap of ten years with the Supreme Court mandating the completion of polls before January this year.

-The Budget session of Kerala Assembly is to begin on 18th of this month with Governor's address. Discussion on the motion of thanks on Governor's address will be taken up in the first phase of sitting before the House adjourns. There will not be sitting from 25th of this month to 10th March. The State Budget will be presented on 11th March. 

-In Assam, polls for 80 municipal boards will be held across the state on March 6. Counting of votes will be held on 9th of March. With issuance of election notification by the State Election Commission today, the process for election has kicked off with immediate enforcement of model code of conduct in the respective municipal board areas.The last date of nomination is February 15th. The state election commission said that the scrutiny of nominations will be done on 17th of this month, while 20th February is the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers. Our Correspondent reports that for the first time EVMs are going to be used in any local body elections in the state.