Assam cabinet approves land for AMUL's dairy plant
ANI Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Guwahati: Assam cabinet has approved land for AMUL for setting up product dairy plant in the state.
The state cabinet meeting on Friday stated, "To give fillip to dairy production in the State, Cabinet has approved to lease 20 Bighas of land to AMUL for setting up a State-of the-Art Product Dairy Plant at Institute of Farm Management Campus, Rani. "
AMUL will set up this processing unit with a capacity of 1 lakh litres per day at an appx cost of Rs 75 crore which may go up to Rs 150 crore. This plant will benefit around 20,000 dairy farmers and is part of an MoU signed during Advantage Assam 2.0Cabinet has approved the distribution of subsidized Masur Dal, Sugar and Salt to NFSA beneficiaries from October 2025 in select districts and from November 2025 in all districts
Each commodity will be provided in separate packets to ensure customer have a choice to purchase individual products.
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An Indian delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor visited New York last month, and is again in Washington DC for engagements with the US Congress, think tanks and media. • Appointment to these panels must have the concurrence of both permanent and non-permanent members of the UNSC. The development signals that Pakistan has been able to get its way, with the help of China and other members of the UNSC. • Significantly, a high-level Pakistani parliamentary delegation, led by Senate Chairman and former Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani, concluded a visit to the UN headquarters in New York earlier this week. The delegation held a series of meetings with senior UN officials and diplomats from various member states. • Pakistan has also sent a high-level multi-party political delegation to New York, Washington DC, London, Brussels and Moscow, led by its former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, to canvas for support in its favour. Do You Know: • Islamabad will now chair the UNSC committee established under Resolution 1988 (2011), which oversees the implementation of sanctions against the Taliban. It has also been named vice chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), which monitors implementation of Resolution 1373 (2001), a core component of the UN's global counter-terrorism architecture. • India has friends on the Taliban sanctions committee, too, where Guyana and Russia are vice-chairs. The working group on sanctions has Greece as a co-chair. 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Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Explained: India at the United Nations high table CAG holds horizontal audit of JJM, reports soon Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development Main Examination: • General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes • General Studies II: Important aspects of governance What's the ongoing story: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is conducting an extensive performance audit of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), the government's flagship scheme aimed at providing tap water connections to all rural households, The Indian Express has learnt. Key Points to Ponder: • What is the Jal Jeevan Mission? • Jal Jeevan Mission comes under which Ministry? • Why Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is conducting an extensive performance audit of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)? • What are the issue highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)? • What is a horizontal audit? • What is a vertical audit? • The CAG is conducting a horizontal audit of the Mission-Why? • What is the funding pattern of Jal Jeevan Mission? • Is the Jal Jeevan Mission a centrally sponsored scheme? Key Takeaways: • According to sources, the JJM audit exercise is in an advanced stage and reports are expected soon. The process began about one and a half years ago after the CAG included the subject in its audit plan. It is covering the implementation of the JJM in states from the financial year 2019-20 to 2023-24. • The CAG is conducting a horizontal audit of the Mission, through its field offices led by Principal Accountant Generals (PAGs) or Accountants General (AGs), across all states. • The fieldwork in most states is over, while in some of the states, the exercise is at the report-writing stage, said a source. Reports of two states have already reached the CAG headquarters, the source said. • Once the reports are finalised, they will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly of respective states, said the source. • The audit is conducted at state level and not at the national level as the state governments are at the forefront of implementing the JJM. All aspects of JJM implementation, including planning and financial performance, are covered under the audit. The reasons behind cost escalations will also be examined across the states, said a source. • According to sources, the CAG picks up a scheme for audit usually after 70-80% expenditure is over. The JJM started in 2019-20. In the initial years, the expenditure was low. Therefore, the CAG selected it for audit after the first phase was completed in 2023-24, said the source. • Along with JJM, the CAG is also conducting a horizontal audit of MGNREGS across states and these reports are also expected to be finalised soon. The last time CAG conducted a nation-wide audit of the NREGS was in 2013. Do You Know: • The Jal Jeevan Mission, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2019, aimed to provide tap connections to about 16 crore rural households to achieve saturation coverage by December end 2024. But only 75 per cent of the target could be achieved over five years, and the remaining 4 crore tap connections are now proposed to be installed by extending the mission by four years till December 31, 2028. • This is the first major audit of the JJM since its launch in 2019. The CAG had conducted a performance audit of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) of which a report was presented in 2018. It covered the period from 2012 to 2017. In 2019, the Centre subsumed the NRDWP to launch the JJM. Since then, this is the first audit exercise conducted by the CAG. • The Centre has deployed over 100 teams of Central Nodal Officers (CNOs) for 'ground inspection' of the JJM schemes across the country. The move followed a meeting chaired by the Cabinet Secretary on May 8 to review the JJM schemes. • Since the launch of the Mission in 2019, around 6.4 lakh water supply schemes with total estimated cost of Rs 8.29 lakh crore — more than double of the scheme's original outlay of Rs 3.6 lakh crore (Centre: Rs 2.08 lakh crore, States:1.52 lakh crore) — have been approved by the states. • To meet the additional requirement of funds, the Jal Shakti Ministry had approached the Expenditure Finance Committee, headed by the Expenditure Secretary, to approve Rs 2.79 lakh crore additional Central funding over and above Rs 2.08 lakh crore. 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Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests. What's the ongoing story: US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States, effective Monday, June 9. Similar restrictions were instituted during Trump's first term (2017-21), but they faced legal challenges. Key Points to Ponder: • Which countries are included in the ban? • Is there a precedent to the ban? • How is this ban different? • Examine the evolution of U.S. travel bans under President Trump. • How did the new version differ in legal and political terms from the original 'Muslim ban'? • Discuss the implications of U.S. travel bans on international mobility and global migration governance. • How do travel bans challenge the principles of non-discrimination and religious freedom in international law? 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Each country could seek talks with the US to ease the restrictions — a process similar to the trade deals being negotiated after Trump's tariff announcements. Do You Know: • The countries were identified based on: —A perceived threat to US national security from their limited screening and vetting processes —A 'disregard' for US immigration laws through high visa overstay rates —Presence of terrorist actors (some even state-sponsored) —Unwillingness to accept their removable nationals. The fact sheet explicitly termed Iran and Cuba 'state sponsors of terrorism', and Somalia a 'terrorist safe haven'. It mentioned that Afghanistan is controlled by the Taliban – a 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group'. • Further, the document claimed that 'hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden Administration', and cited 'national security threats.' During his election campaign last year, Trump had said immigrants were 'eating the pets', including cats, in the city of Springfield, Ohio. Unsubstantiated claims of Haitian immigrants 'abducting' pets were also repeated by his running mate and now Vice President, JD Vance. • Legal experts told The New York Times that the ban could withstand legal scrutiny better. 'They seem to have learned some lessons from the three different rounds of litigation we went through during the first Trump administration,' Stephen Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, told The NYT. 'But a lot will depend upon how it's actually enforced — and whether it's applied in ways that are themselves unlawful or even unconstitutional.' Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍What to know about Trump's new travel ban on 12 countries Hydrology of the Brahmaputra Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. 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Key Points to Ponder: • What is Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)? • What are the key features of the AB PM-JAY? • What are the administrative and governance challenges leading to the stalling of Ayushman Bharat payments in Jharkhand? • Recently, the Union Cabinet expanded the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to provide health coverage to people up to what age? • Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is a Central scheme or Centrally sponsored scheme? Key Takeaways: • But pending payments to the tune of Rs 190 crore and mounting are jeopardising the future of Ayushman Bharat in Jharkhand. Some 212 hospitals have not received payments since last June, and the rest 538 hospitals empanelled under the scheme await reimbursement since February this year. • Hospitals in the districts of Hazaribagh, Koderma, Palamu, and Deoghar have already pulled out of the scheme citing the hold up in payments. 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Do You Know: • According to Jharkhand officials, around 28 lakh families (some 1.5 crore people) are enrolled under AB PM-JAY in Jharkhand, with another 38 lakh families (roughly 2 crore people) covered through the state-run Mukhyamantri Swasthya Bima Yojana, for which the state bears the full cost. • The way these schemes work is that beneficiaries are issued insurance cards, using which they can avail healthcare services in empanelled hospitals. These hospitals are then reimbursed on actuals by the government from the funds allocated under the scheme. • Officials have confirmed to The Indian Express that there is no shortage of funds under the AB PM-JAY scheme, with Rs 2,284 crore allocated to the hospitals over the last 7 years. The problem is that beginning last year, the disbursement of these funds to hospitals has stalled. • Dr Sinha said that non-payment of Ayushman Bharat dues has meant that he has been unable to pay his staff since March. 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It has revealed a decline in their populations in several states and highlighted conservation challenges, such as habitat loss and deforestation. Key Points to Ponder: • Which is the major prey species for tigers in India? • The detailed assessment of the status of ungulates (hoofed mammals), including deer, pigs, antelopes, and bison-what report says? • Which factor most directly affects the population of tiger prey species? • What is the ecological link between tiger conservation and the population of their natural prey. 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The signs of prey decline and low density are due to severe habitat degradation, infrastructure development and mining that fragments forests, left-wing extremism, and subsistence hunting by residents. • Forests in Uttarakhand, Western Ghats, central India and the northeast have a fairly healthy population of ungulates. However, small and isolated populations of species such as barasingha, wild buffalo, pygmy hog, and hog deer face bottlenecks in their genetic diversity, with habitat fragmentation preventing the intermixing of different animals. • The core tiger prey species are abundant, especially within tiger reserves and national parks, but not so much in sanctuaries that receive a comparatively lower level of protection, and even less in forest divisions abutting tiger reserves. Do You Know: • Loss of habitat, especially quality habitat, competition with livestock and humans, conflict with humans, deforestation, development projects and subsistence hunting are some of the key challenges to the ungulate population. A fall in their numbers affects the ecological balance of forests both inside and outside tiger reserves. • Secondly, tiger-abundant regions such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are nearing their capacity to sustain their wildlife population with available resources (what is known as 'carrying capacity'). As a result, tigers often wander towards the east-central states, but struggle to occupy the forests due to poor prey base and other pressures on the ecosystem. These states have a high potential to harbour a substantial tiger population, but it will be contingent on improvements in habitat and prey, and stepping up their protection. • Another direct fallout of low prey base is tigers moving beyond the reserves to hunt livestock, putting them in closer contact with humans, who kill tigers in retaliation for livestock depredation. In states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, ungulates such as wild pigs and nilgai often damage crops, adding another dimension to the human-wildlife conflict due to the loss of wild habitats. A major concern is the conversion of swampy grasslands, seasonal wetlands, and floodplains into urban settlements or farmlands. • Linear infrastructure, such as highways, railways and power lines, can fragment the contiguity of ungulate habitats, disturbing the survival of wildlife, as well as forest dynamics. The report prescribes augmenting prey populations through on-site breeding in enclosures to protect them from predators. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Report flags tiger-human conflict risk as prey base shrinks in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha For any queries and feedback, contact Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
