Telangana, Assam, and Tamil Nadu bring the complement of UDAY states to 21; the BJP continues to perform well in local elections; Maharashtra proposed to remove a major hurdle in the land acquisition process; Haryana creates a commission to simplify the administration of government programs; the Telangana High Court stays the use of the state’s new land acquisition rules; and more.
Center–State relations
Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Assam signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to join the center’s relief program for debt-stressed state utilities, the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY). The admission of these states brings the total to 21. Source: Hindu Business Line, Hindu Business Line
Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the second meeting of the Council for Trade Development and Promotion. The council announced the center will provide financial support to help states build their export infrastructure under the proposed Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme. Source: Economic Times
Suzlon Group said that it has won an order for a 105 megawatt (MW) wind power plant in Andhra Pradesh. The project consists of 50 towers, each with a capacity of 2.1 MW. The entire plant is scheduled to come online by June 2017. Source: Economic Times
Nothing critical to report this week.
Nothing critical to report this week.
Nothing critical to report this week.
The Haryana government has established the Haryana Governance Reform Authority (HGRA) to simplify old rules and procedures. HGRA will submit a monthly report of suggested changes in the design of various public services, social and economic programs, and social security schemes, with the goal of making them more accessible to the state’s citizens. Source: Times of India
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Faridabad municipal elections with 30 out of 40 seats. It was the first time that BJP candidates had contested local elections using the party symbol in Haryana. Source: Indian Express
Haryana achieved a sex ratio of 900 female births for every 1,000 boys in 2016 according to data from the Civil Registration System. Haryana had the worst sex ratio in the country in 2011, with 834 girls born for every 1,000 boys. Source: Economic Times
The state government unveiled its “Non-resident Indian (NRI) Policy” in an attempt to tap the potential of the state’s diaspora. Karnataka will open an exclusive NRI investment promotion cell within its investment promotion agency and offer a special package of incentives and concessions to diaspora investors who make investment proposals of at least $36 million. Source: Deccan Herald
The ruling BJP recorded a decisive victory in three urban civic body polls, winning 30 seats of the 35 available seats. Congress won four seats and the remaining seat was won by an independent. Source: Financial Express
The state government has proposed an amendment to the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, removing the requirement that land slotted for development receive a certification that it is non-agricultural land. Under the present law, agricultural land cannot be developed unless it is formally converted into non-agricultural land through a process called certification. The governor also issued an ordinance removing the requirement that the district collector approve requests to start the non-agricultural certification process. Source: Economic Times, The Hindu
Maharashtra looks set to be the first state in the country to implement the Jan Aushadhi program, making plans to open 600 state-run pharmacies selling generic medicines at State Transport depots. The state’s public health and transportation departments signed an MoU with the Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Utilities of India, an umbrella group representing state-owned pharmaceutical manufacturers. The central government has also allocated $20 million to build three more Food and Drugs Administration laboratories in the state. Source: Hindustan Times, Hindustan Times
Larsen & Toubro was chosen as the implementation partner for the Pune smart city project. The work will include enabling Wi-Fi at around 200 strategic locations across the city; setting up emergency call boxes and public address systems; and installing environmental sensors, and variable messaging displays. Source: Economic Times, Hindu Business Line
Indian business process outsourcing firm Genpact and U.S. networking giant Cisco have launched a global center of excellence in Jaipur as part of Cisco’s Lighthouse City project. The partnership, which will be hosted and operated from Genpact’s facility in Jaipur, will serve as an innovation lab for Genpact and its partnering technology firms to rapidly test and deploy the latest smart technology advances from Cisco. Source: Economic Times
Petroleum dealers in Tamil Nadu threatened to stop accepting credit cards and debit cards at petrol pumps beginning January 9. Under pressure from the central government, they agreed to postpone the action until January 13 and to enter talks about whether merchants or banks should bear the cost of credit card transactions. Source: Financial Express
The Hyderabad High Court forbid the state government from purchasing lands using an expedited procedure designed to make it easier for the state to acquire land for infrastructure. The court was concerned that the expedited procedure, known as G.O.M.S. No. 123, did not offer buyers the same protections as those offered by the central land acquisition act. Source: The Hindu In Detail: G.O.M.S. No. 123
Telangana has registered the highest number of digital transactions in the country since demonetization, recording 102 million digital transactions in the past two months. The digital economy now accounts 4.5 percent of the state’s gross domestic product. Source: Times of India
Embattled Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav continued to insist that he, not his son, is the party president and there’s no dispute in Uttar Pradesh’s ruling political outfit. The assertion came a day ahead of his proposed meeting with the election commission over control of the party’s traditional election symbol — a bicycle — which has become the latest source of conflict in a bitter family feud for power. Source: Hindustan Times
Automotive battery maker Exide opened a $103 million assembly facility in Haldia to make punched grid batteries using technology from the U.S.-based East Penn Manufacturing Co. Exide is the first producer of such batteries in India. Source: Livemint
Best of the Rest
Mizoram
State-owned hydropower company NHPC Limited has signed a power purchase agreement with the government of Mizoram to supply 1,400 MW for a period of 35 years. The power will come from two projects currently under construction – Tawang I and Tawang II. Source: DNA India
