Telangana unveils its Information Technology policy

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that target has been set by the Centre to set up a water testing lab in all blocks of the country by 2023. He said that so far over two thousand accredited labs have been set up. Talking to newspersons in Guwahati on Thursday, Shekhawat said that nearly 15,000 crore rupees have been given to North Eastern states under Jal Jeevan Mission. He expressed hope that Assam would achieve the target of households water tape connections before 2024.The Minister said that the North Eastern states are doing well under Jal Jeevan Mission despite various constraints. Shekhawat added that six lakh women across the country were trained on how to test pure and safe drinking water. Earlier, he took part in a review meeting of all North Eastern PHE Ministers in Guwahati.

-In Uttar Pradesh, the construction work of the first phase of Shri Ram temple in Ayodhya was completed on Thursday. While addressing a press conference, General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Champat Rai told that the work of laying a strong foundation for the temple was successfully completed during this phase. For this, a strong base of 14 metres below the sanctum sanctorum and 12 metres for other parts of the temple has been cast. He said that the second phase of temple construction would be completed in the next two months and after that the third phase would also be completed in three to four months. Champat Rai also said that the s regarding temple construction would be made public at regular intervals.

-Telangana on Thursday unveiled its Information Technology policy for next five years. State Information Technology and Industries Minister K. Taraka Ramarao formally launched the second IT Policy in Hyderabad with focus on digital empowerment of citizens, innovation and entrepreneurship and taking innovation ecosystem to global levels. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said, technology for social good will be the focus area and due importance will be given to distribution of development for taking IT sector to tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Stating that Telangana is the hub of emerging technologies, Rao said the fibre optic network called T-Fibre in the state, is not matched by any other state. He also recalled the recently launched projects like Medicine from the Sky. He said, Hyderabad city offers scope for adopting digital technologies for enhancing the quality of life and the government departments will be the drivers of technology use. It may be recalled that Telangana launched its first IT policy in 2016 after the state was formed in 2014.

-In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, as part of Public Outreach Programme launched by the Central Government, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Narayan Rane on Thursday laid foundation stone for development park. Besides, he interacted with delegations of entrepreneurs and PRIs at Bari Brahmana in Samba district. Rane said that the Central Government is committed to provide enhanced basic facilities to people at their doorsteps. He asked for maintaining a strong coordination between the administration and the people for effective implementation of various welfare and development programmes launched by the government. He urged the unemployed youth of J&K to take full benefit of various Centrally sponsored schemes for employment generation.

-Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Karad has said that a decision will be taken to make MUDRA Loan more hassle-free and available to those who wanted to start businesses. He was addressing ‘Manthan’ at the Rashtriya Bank Parishad being held in Aurangabad on Thursday. Dr. Karad highlighted the transformation brought about by the financial inclusion programmes of the government. He said, Government of India has in recent years introduced a series of indigenous platforms to facilitate quick, safe and equitable banking. Currently, India has a staggering 43.23 crore beneficiary accounts under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. He also asked banks to focus on those Aspirational Districts which are yet to attain financial inclusion targets.