19th FEBRUARY 2025 ENGLISH TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS PDF TNPSC SHOUTERS
Central government approves Rs 1,554 crore as disaster relief fund for 5 states
- As per the recommendations of a high-level committee, the Central government has approved an additional fund of Rs 1554.99 crore for 5 states - Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Nagaland, Odisha and Tripura - for floods, landslides and cyclones in 2024.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that Rs 18,322.80 crore has already been released to 27 states. However, despite the request for Rs 37,000 crore for the impact of Cyclone Fanjal, Tamil Nadu has not been allocated funds.
- The Central government has released the Fifteenth Finance Commission grant for the financial year 2024-25 to rural local bodies in Bihar, Haryana and Sikkim.
- Bihar has been given the second tranche of Rs. 821.8021 crore and the remaining first tranche of unconditional grants of Rs. 47.9339 crore. This fund will be given to 38 district panchayats, 530 eligible block panchayats and 8052 eligible village panchayats that have fulfilled the conditions for this grant.
- Rural local bodies in Haryana will receive the second tranche of unconditional grant of Rs. 202.4663 crore and the remaining first tranche of unconditional grant of Rs. 7.5993 crore. This grant will be given to 18 district panchayats, 142 eligible block panchayats and 6195 eligible village panchayats.
- Sikkim to get second tranche of unconditional grant worth Rs. 6.2613 crore for the financial year 2024-25.
- Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee National Water and Sanitation Corporation and ARGYAM have signed a MoU to collaborate in developing e-Public Infrastructure for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector.
- This initiative is in line with the Union Government’s efforts to improve water and sanitation service delivery through e-solutions. The partnership aims to design and implement an e-ecosystem to support the Water and Sanitation Movement and the Swachh Bharat Mission.
- Key areas of focus include strengthening government institutions for water resource management and developing participatory e-platforms for sustainable water management.
- Union Minister for Coal and Mines, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Secretary, Mines, and senior officials of the Ministry of Coal and Mines, called on the Governor of Catamarca Province, Argentina, Shri Raul Alejandro Jalil, in New Delhi today.
- The meeting discussed ways to expand cooperation in the mining sector, particularly in lithium drilling and investment opportunities. A MoU was signed between the Mineral Exploration and Consulting Company (MECL), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Mines, and the Government of Catamarca Province, Argentina. The MoU is a major highlight of the meeting.
