1. Lions Suspected of Killing 35-Year-Old Villager
A 35-year-old man was suspected to have been mauled to death by lions on the outskirts of a village in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat. The victim was identified as Ramabhai Chudasama, a resident of Gujarda, a coastal village in Mahuva taluka, around 175km from Ahmedabad.
The matter came to light this morning when residents of Gujarda spotted the half-eaten body of Chudasama on the village's outskirts and informed forest staff, said Deputy Conservator of Forest (Bhavnagar) Sandeep Kumar.
Though no one saw Chudasama being attacked by lions during night, officials believe three lions, who are among the 10-odd big cats living in a forest patch near the village, may be the culprits, he told PTI. Lion trackers, deployed by, had spotted a lion, a lioness and a cub on Gujarda's outskirts Wednesday, 12 December, evening, the official said.
(Source: PTI)
2. Vibrant Gujarat to Have 16 Partner Countries
The ninth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit (VGGS 2019) will feature 16 partner countries; the 2017 edition had 12 partner countries. However, both the USA and the UK and backed off from becoming partner countries, citing unresolved issues with the Indian Government; the US and the UK were partner countries in 2017.
According to industries commissioner Mamta Verma, the 16 countries include Australia, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Czech Republic, Morocco and Sweden; these nations have also promised to send high-level delegations for the summit.
A special feature in this year’ summit is ‘Africa Day’, which is aimed at bringing exporter and investors on the same platform from and will feature government and business delegations from most African countries.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. NPAs in Agri Sector Spike
Farmers are unable to pay their farm loans and fingers are being pointed at rainfall deficit and poor price yield on harvest. According to the quarterly report issued by the State Level Banker’s Committee (SBLC), bad loans in agri sector have spiked by Rs 1,258 crores, rising from Rs 4,161 crore in the second quarter of 2017-18 to Rs 5,419 crore in the second quarter of 2018-19.
The ratio of Non-Performing Asset (NPA) to outstanding also rose from 5.32 percent to 6.56 percent as agricultural advances grew from Rs 78,276 crores in the second quarter of 2017-18 to Rs 82,608 crore in the second quarter of 2018-19.
According to the convenor of SBLC Gujarat, Rohit Patel, this financial year saw poor rainfall due to which many farmers could not repay their crop loans despite the interest subsidy given to them by the state and central governments.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. MSMEs Under Stress as NPAs Rise Across Sectors
Bad loans in micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Gujarat continue to rise.
According to the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) quarterly report, Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) for MSMEs spiked by Rs 2,205 crore rising from Rs 6,321 crore in the second quarter of FY 2017-18 to to Rs 8,526 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY 2018-19.
Similarly, MSME advances also spiked for the same period from Rs 90,046 crores Rs 1.15 lakh crore. This has pushed the ratio of NPA to outstanding from 7.02 percent to 7.4 percent for the same period.
According to the Executive Director of Dena Bank, Ramesh Singh, borrowers from sectors such as textiles, garments, ginning, infrastructure and real estate among other are under stress and therefore are unable to repay their loans.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. AMC Considering Outdoor Air Purifiers to Combat Pollution
With deadly suspended particulate matter polluting the lungs of Amdavadis, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is keenly observing the results of a 6-foot high modular outdoor air pollution controller currently installed near a petrol pump on Judges Bungalow Road.
The device has been installed at the location for well over a month. According to laboratory tests submitted by the manufacturing firm, these devices can clean respirable air by 30 percent. The machine claims to suck 2,000 cubic feet of air per minute.
Polluted air sucked from the bottom is cleaned and released from the top of the machine. These machines have also been installed at the Pune Airport, a few municipal areas in Pune-Chinchwad are and in Janakpuri New Delhi.
(Source: The Times of India)
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