Haryana to establish automated testing stations
Author: BI Bureau
Chandigarh: Haryana government is establishing six Automated Testing Stations (ATS) in the state, which will help to reduce air pollution and improve the overall sustainability of transportation.
This was disclosed in the meeting convened by Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal to review the enforcement of the ban on 10/15 years old vehicles and the mandatory use of Smog Guns here today.
The Chief Secretary said that automated testing equipment can test vehicles more quickly and accurately than manual testing, saving time and reducing the cost of testing.
It was apprised in the meeting that in compliance to the orders of NGT, a drive was launched in Gurugram and Faridabad where as many as 2,411 petrol vehicles older than 15 years have been impounded and 354 has been deregistered as on March 1, 2023. While 1,121 diesel vehicles older than 10 years were impounded and 1565 have been deregistered.
Kaushal directed the Deputy Commissioners of Faridabad and Gurugram to assess the gap of anti-smog guns and submit its report within one month.
Besides this, the concerned officers of Gurugram and Faridabad must ensure that all construction and demolition projects must deploy and ensure frequent and effective use of adequate number of anti smog guns, in proportion of the total area of construction for the project as at least one for a total construction area between 5000-10000 sqm, at least two for a total construction area between 10001 - 15000 sqm, at least three for a total construction area between 15001 - 20000 sqm and at least four for a total construction area above 20,000 sqm.
These instructions should be wide publicity and enforced strictly by all concerned. Non-compliance of these directions shall be construed as contravention of the provisions of Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act 2021 and may lead to penal action against the officials concerned under the relevant laws as well as imposition and levying of environmental compensation charges, he added. /BI/
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The exports of agricultural commodities from March to June 2020 shot up by 23.24 percent on-year to Rs 25,552.7 crores.
As the economy comes to a standstill amid the coronavirus-led lockdown, India’s agriculture sector has taken the baton of economic growth in its hands. The exports of agricultural commodities from March to June 2020 shot up by 23.24 percent on-year to Rs 25,552.7 crores, according to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. The government said that self-reliant agriculture is critical for the goal of an Atmanirbhar Bharat and for this, agricultural export is extremely important as besides earning foreign exchange for the country, the exports help farmers, producers, and exporters to take advantage of the wider international market and increase their income.
The surge in exports has also resulted in increased production in the farm sector by increasing coverage area and productivity. The share of India’s agricultural exports and imports in the world agriculture trade in 2017 was 2.27 percent and 1.90 percent, respectively. Even during the difficult time of pandemic lockdown, India took care not to disturb the world food supply chain and continued to export, the government said.
Ministry of Agriculture has prepared a comprehensive action plan for the promotion of Agri trade; the twofold approach focuses on boosting Agri Export with emphasis on value addition and action plan for Import Substitution. Recently, the Agriculture sector has witnessed a series of reforms, giving more choices to the farmers to sell their produce at competitive rates.
To mention a few, the Export strategy focuses on the export promotion of fast-evolving niche markets of Wellness food/ Health-conscious food/nutraceuticals, Development of “Brand India” in campaign mode to help penetration into new foreign markets and of new products which automatically translates into higher value realization, Gulf countries have been identified as focus destination to increase the market share which is a strong market for India though presently India caters to only 10-12% share of their total imports. A product-market matrix has been made containing a list of products of strength that could be expanded in new geographies and a list of known markets which can be introduced with newer products.
At the behest of the Department of Agricultural Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture, product-specific Export Promotion Forums have been created to lead Agri exports to new heights. Each Export Promotion Forum shall be having exporters of the related commodity as its members along with official members representing concerned Ministries/Departments of the Central and State Governments. Chairman APEDA shall be the chairman of each of these forums. The forums will meet at least once every two months, to discuss recommendations on issues pertaining to the export.
The recommendations of the forum will be placed in the product committee / Authority of APEDA. The Forum will keep in close contact with the concerned organization of the Ministry of Agriculture such as MIDH, Extension, NPPO, etc., DGFT, Ministry of Civil Aviation, MoFPI, etc. to further the interest of agricultural export.
