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The Sivok Rangpo rail project is a dream project of Indian Railways which will allow the travelling time between West Bengal to Sikkim to be drastically reduced to 2 hours.  Union Minister of state for Railways, Coal and Mines Raosaheb Patil Danve visited the site of construction on Nov 22 and said that the goal is to complete the whole project by June 2023. He also said that this project will really help the people of the North East as there are no easy ways to travel to Delhi or any other state and it will also help to improve trade and commerce.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone along with IRCON international Limited, is working to construct the 44 km long Sivok Rangpo railway line, which will enable travelling between Sivok in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim in just two hours. The rail line spans across a total length of 44 kms crossing as many as 19 bridges and 14 tunnels. The tunnels cover almost 85% of the total journey. Around 40 km of track will be laid in West Bengal and around 4km will be in Sikkim.

The line will cross through Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Kurseong forest division, Darjeeling forest division, Kalimpong forest division and the East Sikkim forest division. However, it is said that it will not disturb the environment and wildlife as the train will run through tunnels.

The project has several benefits as the northeast part of the area from Sivok to Rangpo has a single road route which is often closed due to natural disturbances in monsoons due to landslides and many other reasons. This makes traveling very tough over this route. However, the Sivok Rangpo rail line will come as the ultimate solution for regular passengers and tourists in this area. The tourist industry will also receive a huge profit as travelling will be really easy. This line will also improve trade of industries like medicine, hydropower projects which is the main revenue generation source of Sikkim. It will also be very helpful for students in this project, by connecting major states and towns which will open professional and academic opportunities for students.

This route connects to Sikkim which shares borders with China so it will be a lot easier for the Indian Army to commute in this area. It will also make travelling faster and easier for the Indian Soldiers at the nearby Nathula border.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) set a new world record by building and black-topping the world’s highest motorable road at Umling La Pass in Ladakh, which is 19,024 feet above sea level.

Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, congratulated the Border Roads Organisation on setting a Guinness World Record by building and blacktopping the world’s highest scalable road at Umling La Pass in Ladakh.

It’s worth noting that the route is said to be considerably more difficult for vehicles than the Khardung La Pass. During the peak winter season, the temperature at Umling La Pass is said to plunge below -40 degrees. At this height, oxygen levels are said to be roughly 50% lower than at sea level.

The route connects significant towns in Eastern Ladakh’s Chumar area. It provides a direct route from Leh to Chisumle and Dhemchuk, which will be extremely helpful to the local inhabitants. It will also have an impact on the region’s socioeconomic situation by encouraging tourism in Ladakh.

On November 16, 2021, the Indian Army’s road-building wing was awarded a Guinness World Record certificate. BRO was recognized for building and black-topping the world’s highest motorable road.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has notified an increase in goods and service tax rate of various kinds of textiles, apparel, and footwear to 12% from 5% earlier, which will be effective from January 1, 2022. However, GST rates for certain synthetic fibers and yarn have been lowered from 18% to 12%. This will bring in uniformity of rates for the entire textiles sector as well as remove distortions due to the inverted duty structure.

GST Council’s meeting that was held back in September decided to correct the inverted duty structure on footwear and textiles, which it said will come into effect from January 1, 2022 but had left the effective rate change undecided at that time. An inverted duty structure arises when the taxes on output or final product is lower than the taxes on inputs.

In an industry, where almost 80% of the units are in the MSME (Ministry of Micro, Small, Medium Enterprise) segment, fixing the rate at 12% for fabrics and garments will only lead to higher prices for the common man, said Sanjay K. Jain, Chairman of the Textiles Committee of the Indian Chamber of Commerce.

According to Sanjay K Jain chairman, of ICC Textile Committee, and past CITI chairman, the total garments industry is worth Rs 10 lakh crore and out of this, Rs 8.5 lakh crore is from this segment.

“MSMEs mainly supply low-end garments, so the reduction in consumption in that segment would be huge as this segment is more price elastic and more working capital requirements will put more nails in this struggling segment,”

Sanjay K Jain also said that GST compliance had grown multifold in the unorganized segment as there was no financial gain on evading GST at 5%. He said that “However, it is feared that at 12% the unorganized segment will once again go back to old ways of evading tax.

On their respective foundation days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended greetings to five states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh.

“Greetings to my sisters and brothers of Andhra Pradesh on the state’s Formation Day. The people of AP are known for their skills, determination, and tenacity. That is why they are successful in many fields. May the people of AP always be happy, healthy, and successful,” PM tweeted in his wishes for the southern state.

Kerala is “widely admired for its picturesque surroundings and the industrious nature of its people. May the people of Kerala succeed in their various endeavors.” “Kerala Piravi day greetings to the people of Kerala,”  PM Modi added.

“Best wishes on the special occasion of Karnataka Rajyotsava. Karnataka has made a special mark due to the innovative zeal of its people. The state is at the forefront of outstanding research and enterprise. May Karnataka scales newer heights of success in the times to come,” the Prime Minister wrote in the following tweets.

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh was founded in 1956 and is located in the heart of the country. Bhopal, the current capital of MP, was once a separate state. The princely state of Bhopal gave birth to it. Later, the government combined Bhopal with neighboring states to form Madhya Pradesh, which is now the state’s name.

Kerala

Kerala Piravi Day commemorates the state’s establishment. It was founded on November 1, 1956, many years after the country’s independence. Kerala was formerly been divided into three major provinces and several outlying territories, all of which were ruled by different rulers.

Haryana

In 1966, the state that shares a border with the nation’s capital was established. It resulted from the separation of the previous state of Punjab into two independent states: Punjab, which speaks Punjabi, and Haryana, which speaks Hindi.

Chhattisgarh

The state’s founding day is known as ‘Chhattisgarh Rajyotsava.’ In 2000, the government separated Chhattisgarh from Madhya Pradesh and declared it an independent state.

Karnataka

The government amalgamated all Kannada-speaking territories of south and western India on November 1, 1956, to become the current state of Karnataka. It was once known as Mysore, but in 1973 it was renamed ‘Karnataka.’

Zydus Cadila has reportedly agreed to reduce the price of its needle-free COVID-19 vaccination to Rs 265 per dose after months of discussions.

Each dose of ZyCov-D vaccination requires a disposable painless jet applicator, which costs Rs 93, bringing the total cost to Rs 358 per dose, according to the PTI.

”The company has brought down the price to Rs 358 for each dose which includes Rs 93, the cost of a disposable jet applicator, following repeated negotiations by the government…. A final decision in the matter is likely to be taken this week,” a source told the news agency.

The Ahmedabad-based pharma firm had previously recommended pricing for its three-dose ZyCov-D vaccine at Rs 1,900, with a shot in both arms (one dosage) given 28 days apart.

On August 20, the drug regulator approved the use of ZyCoV-D in an emergency situation, making it the first vaccination to be given to anyone aged 12 and up.

The government, on the other hand, is still waiting for recommendations from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) on whether to include the world’s first DNA-based needle-free COVID-19 vaccine in the immunization drive for adults and children with co-morbidities.

The government said earlier this month that the vaccine would be included in the nationwide anti-coronavirus vaccination drive soon.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya unleashed a withering criticism on Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, saying the party stood for “terrorism, mafia, and corruption.”

Mamata Banerjee had stated on Friday that her party stood for “Temple, Mosque, and Church.”

Surya stated in a news conference in Goa that the party that opposes Durga Puja in Kolkata had no place in Shantadurga’s Land.

Shantadurga is the most popularly worshiped form of the Hindu goddess Durga in the coastal state.

Surya expressed confidence that Goans will reject the TMC on all fronts, claiming that it had nothing to offer the BJP-led Goa.

He also referred to Rahul Gandhi’s and West Bengal Chief Minister’s visit to Goa as “political tourism.”

“Vision-less political tourists from AAP, TMC or Congress have no leader, no cadre and no voter in Goa,” he tweeted.

The Bangalore South MP made a dig at Rahul Gandhi, saying that the Wayanad MP was visiting Goa since Thailand had been closed for the past one-and-a-half years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The people of Goa know that the BJP is a tried and tested model of politics, notwithstanding the advent of the TMC and AAP into the state, according to the saffron party’s Yuva Morcha national president.

TMC has been vigorously campaigning in the coastal state for the 2022 state assembly elections and is attempting to establish an anti-BJP front by bringing together all like-minded parties.

Goans should not allow governments to be controlled remotely from Kolkata, according to the BJP leader. “We need a government which will be led by a Goan, for Goans from Panaji from Goa. This is our resolve,” Surya said.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant retorted to Mamata Banerjee’s “Bohiragoto” jibe, stating Goa does not require outsiders to bring in a “new dawn” in the state.

During the West Bengal elections, the TMC used the name ‘Bohiragoto’ to describe BJP politicians.

India and Italy have agreed to explore development of green hydrogen by setting up renewable energy corridors, and joint projects in the natural gas sector.
The two leaders agreed to encourage joint investments of Indian and Italian companies in energy transition-related fields, according to a joint statement released after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi for the first time on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome.

They agreed to “initiate a dialogue to support the development and deployment of green hydrogen and related technologies in India” as well as to “consider working together to support a large size green corridor project in India to capitalize on India’s target to produce and integrate 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030.”
Adding “encourage Italian and Indian companies to develop joint projects in natural gas sector, technological innovation for decarbonisation, smart cities and other specific domains.”

As it transforms to a low-carbon economy, India set an ambitious goal of constructing capacity to generate 450 gigawatts of electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind, and more than doubling the amount of natural gas in its energy basket to 15% by 2030.

As part of its energy transformation strategy, it is also considering scaling up hydrogen generation from all sources, notably green hydrogen.
According to the joint statement, a joint working group will be charged under the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Energy, signed in Delhi on October 30, 2017, to study cooperation in areas such as smart cities, mobility, and smart-grids.

The group will also look at collaboration in areas such as electricity distribution and storage, gas transportation, and promoting natural gas as a bridging fuel, integrated waste management (waste-to-wealth), and renewable energy sources (green hydrogen; CNG & LNG; bio-methane; bio-refinery; second-generation bio-ethanol; castor oil; bio-oil waste to fuel).

• Himachal Pradesh’s former minister Gurmukh Singh Bali died in Delhi on Friday night. He was 67 years old.

A senior Congress leader, Gurmukh Bali died in a private hospital namely, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.
The news of his death was informed by his son Raghubir Singh Bali through a Facebook post this Saturday morning.
In a Facebook post, he stated, Gurmukh Bali’s body would be brought to Himachal Pradesh and kept for ‘antim darshans’ for the public.
A founder president of Himachal Nagrik Sudhar Sabha, Gurmukh Bali was vice chairman and later chairman of the Himachal Social Bodies Federation.
He was also the President of the Congress Seva Dal from 1995 to 1998 also the Joint Secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee from 1993 to 1998.
His body will be flown to Dharamsala on Saturday evening and the last rites will be performed in Chamunda Dham on Sunday, according to his family.
His son and Congress secretary RS Bali stated, “With a very sad heart, I have to inform you that my father and your dear Shri GS Bali ji are no longer. Last night he breathed his last at AIIMS in Delhi. My father always used to say, whether GS Bali is in the world or not, he will always be in the hearts of his supporters. His ideals and guidance will always remain in our hearts.”