Page 4 - Gujarat

Over 71,000 Vibrant Gujarat projects implemented: Socio Economic review

Of total 1,04,872 projects proposed during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summits held in the state since 2003, more than 71,000 projects were commissioned while over 3,000 others are under progress, the Socio Economic Review of 2022-23 said. The report was tabled in the Gujarat Assembly on Friday as part of the state Budget for 2023-24 presented by Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai. A total of 1,04,872 projects were filed for MoUs and investment intentions during Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summits held between 2003 to 2019. The last summit was held in 2019. Of these, 71,323 projects were completed while 3,080 projects were in the pipeline, it said. Citing data from the Annual Survey of Industries, the report said the number of factories in Gujarat increased from 26,842 in 2018-19 to 28,479 in 2019-20, showing a growth of 6.10 per cent. "The Net Value Added (NVA) by factory sector in the state has increased from Rs 1,88,028 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1,90,257 crore in ...

Two more minor earthquakes hit Gujarat's Amreli, third in two days

Two minor tremors of 3.4 and 3.1 magnitudes were recorded in 24 hours in Gujarat's Amreli district, taking the number of such earthquakes in the area to three in the past two days, an official from the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said on Friday. There was no report of any loss of life or damage to property, district officials said. An earthquake of magnitude 3.1, the latest of the three, was recorded at Mitiyala village in Savarkundla taluka at 11.40 am on Friday. It was 43 km south-south east of Amreli city, said the ISR official. At 11.35 pm on Thursday, a tremor of 3.4 was recorded at Khambha, 44 km south-south east of the district headquarters, which is in the Saurashtra region. Earlier on Thursday morning, a 3.1 tremor was recorded at Mitiyala village, at a depth of 6.2 km, said the official from the Gandhinagar-based ISR. On February 19 too, the Khambha area had seen a 2.2 tremor. Gujarat's Kutch district, also located in the Saurashtra region, was devastated

Gujarat 'model state' for country, says Guv on first day of Budget session

Gujarat has emerged as a model state and a "growth engine" of the country in the last two decades with its government showing commitment for socio-economic upliftment of all sections of society, Governor Acharya Devvrat said on Thursday. Addressing the Legislative Assembly here on the first day of the Budget session, he said the Gujarat government's priority is to focus on "panch shakti" or five strengths -- electricity, water, education, agriculture and health. This is the first Budget session of the newly-constituted Assembly and is being held two months after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained power with a thumping majority in the December 2022 polls and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel returned for a fresh term in office. On Friday (Feb 24), the state Budget for fiscal 2023-24 will be presented in the Assembly by Finance Minister Kanu Desai. "With focus on good governance, Gujarat has become a model state of the country for the last two decades. The development path pursue

3.1 magnitude tremor recorded in Savarkundla taluka of Gujarat's Amreli

A mild tremor of 3.1 magnitude was recorded in Savarkundla taluka of Gujarat's Amreli district on Thursday, an official from the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said. There was no report of any loss of life or damage to property, district authorities said. The tremor was recorded 44 kilometres south-south east of Amreli at Mitiyala village in Savarkundla taluka, at a depth of 6.2 km, said the official from the Gandhinagar-based ISR. On February 19, a tremor of 2.2 magnitude was recorded in Khambha area of Amreli district, located in Saurashtra region, it said. Gujarat's Kutch district, also located in the Saurashtra region, experienced a devastating earthquake in January 2001 in which 13,800 people were killed and another 1.67 lakh were injured. The earthquake had caused severe damage to properties in various towns and villages of the district.

Gujarat health centres under probe for issuing fake Covid vax certificates

A five-member committee headed by the Deputy Development Officer will submit its report within a fortnight and recommend action

GSEB HSC board exam date 2023: Check latest details here

According to the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSEB) official website, exams will be held between March 14 and March 31

Gujarat Budget for fiscal 2023-24 to be presented in Assembly on Feb 24

The Budget session of the Gujarat Assembly will begin from Thursday in Gandhinagar and the state Budget for FY 2023-24 will be presented on Friday as Opposition parties geared up to corner the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over key issues such as leak of question papers of recruitment exams, inflation and unemployment. A detailed agenda of the Assembly during the more than three-week-long session was discussed at a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) on Wednesday, said an official release. This will be the first budget of the state after the BJP retained power with a thumping majority in the December 2022 Assembly polls and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel returned for a fresh term in office. The meeting of the BAC, which decides legislative business and other issues related to an Assembly session, was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Shankar Chaudhary and attended by MLAs of the ruling BJP, including Chief Minister Patel, and Opposition members. ...

Salaried employment rises in Gujarat

This upward trend in salaried employment is certainly a cheery outcome for Gujarat as it suggests an improvement in the quality of jobs in the state

Gujarat govt signs 18 MoUs worth Rs 9,852 crore to boost investment

The Gujarat government on Monday signed 18 memoranda of understanding (MoU) worth Rs 9,852 crore under the state government's 'Aatmanirbhar Gujarat Schemes for Assistance to Industries', which was announced last year to boost new investment, an official release said. Through these 18 agreements, various firms have pledged to invest Rs 9,852 crore in different parts of the state, which would generate 10,851 employment opportunities. These MoUs were signed in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday. Companies engaged in the business of chemicals and agrochemicals production, pharmaceuticals, equipment and electric rickshaws had signed MoUs with the state government, said the release. Some of the major investments which were promised through MoUs today include a yarn and PET chips plant in Palsana taluka of Surat by Garden Silk Mills, said the release, adding that the facility will provide employment to 1,450 persons. Other major investments include a plant b

Vedanta-Foxconn selects Dholera SIR for 1st semiconductor facility in India

A joint venture of Indian conglomerate Vedanta and electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn has finalised the Dholera Special Investment Region near Ahmedabad city of Gujarat for setting up their semiconductor and display manufacturing facility, a senior state government official said on Monday. In the biggest ever corporate investment in the history of independent India, a joint venture of Vedanta and Foxconn in September last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 1,54,000 crore to set up the plant in the state. This will be the first manufacturing facility for semiconductors in India. At that time, the joint venture company had not disclosed the exact location of the facility. "After a detailed site analysis in consultation with Gujarat government authorities, the joint venture entity of Vedanta and Foxconn has selected Dholera SIR for setting up their semiconductor and display manufacturing facility. The project is in the advanced

Godhra train burning case: Gujarat govt seeks death penalty for 11 in SC

The Gujarat government on Monday told the Supreme Court that it will press for the death penalty to 11 convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case, as it was a 'rarest of the rare and grave offence

Will seek death penalty for Godhra train burning convicts: Gujarat govt

The Gujarat government on Monday told the Supreme Court that it will press for death penalty to 11 convicts whose sentences in the 2002 Godhra train burning case were commuted to life imprisonment by the state's high court. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala also fixed the bail pleas of several accused in the case for hearing after three weeks. It asked counsel for both sides to file a consolidated chart giving details such as actual sentences awarded to them and the period spent in jail till now. We will be seriously pressing for award of death penalty to the convicts whose death penalties were commuted into life imprisonment (by the Gujarat High Court). This is the rarest of rare cases where 59 people, including women and children, were burnt alive, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, told the bench. It is consistent everywhere that the bogey was locked from outside. Fifty-nine died, ...

22 of 49 cables of collapsed Morbi bridge found corroded: SIT report

The SIT report also states that proper testing of the main cable and vertical suspenders of the bridge was not carried out before commencement of repair work

Corroded wires, welded suspenders behind Morbi bridge tragedy: SIT report

The Gujarat government-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) has found in its preliminary probe that corrosion on nearly half of the wires on a cable and welding of old suspenders with new ones were some of the major faults that led to the collapse of the suspension bridge in Morbi last year in which 135 people were killed. These findings are part of the 'Preliminary Report on Morbi Bridge Incident' submitted by the five-member SIT in December 2022. The report was recently shared with the Morbi Municipality by the state Urban Development Department. Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group) was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchu river that collapsed on October 30 last year. The SIT had found several lapses in repairs, maintenance and operation of the bridge. IAS officer Rajkumar Beniwal, IPS officer Subhash Trivedi, a secretary and a chief engineer from the state Roads and Building Department and a professor of ...

Salt pan workers of Little Rann protest eviction bid by Gujarat forest dept

Salt pan workers on Friday protested against notices issued to them by the forest department for eviction from a wildlife sanctuary in Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) in Gujarat and submitted a memorandum to the collector of Surendranagar. A part of the LRK, which is a salt marsh, falls in Surendranagar district and is protected as a wild ass sanctuary. "More than 400 Agariyas, or salt farmers, gathered outside the district collector's office at Patdi here and submitted a memorandum and raised slogans against the move by the state forest department to evict them. They also accused the forest department of damaging and confiscating their solar panels used to make salt," an official said. The salt farmers have sought that the state government protect their traditional livelihood and have alleged only small farmers were being targeted, while bigger units were left untouched, he said. The memorandum of the NGO Agariya Heet Rakshak Manch marked for state forest minister Mulu Bera claimed the

SC takes exception to Gujarat govt keeping proposals on court infra pending

The Supreme Court Thursday took exception to the Gujarat government keeping proposals for improving the infrastructure of district courts pending for years. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, which is hearing a matter relating to the improvement of judicial infrastructure across the country including filling up of vacancies, directed that the vacancies in Gujarat state district judiciary, which is around one-third of the sanctioned strength, be filled by March this year. "There is no justification for proposals to be kept pending by Gujarat for eight years. Proper coordination between the High Court and the state would have ensured proposals are cleared. We direct that at least 40 proposals be cleared at the earliest," the bench said. It added that the state law secretary and the registrar general of the high court will monitor the progress with regard to other proposals. It noted that out of the 75 pending proposals regarding ...

G20 delegates to visit 2001 quake victims memorial in Gujarat's Bhuj

A group of G20 delegates, including three from Turkiye, who are currently in Gujarat's Rann of Kutch for the influential bloc's first meeting under the tourism track, is slated to visit on Friday an iconic memorial in Bhuj built after the deadly 2001 earthquake. Their visit will take place days after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake and several powerful aftershocks hit Turkiye and Syria, killing over 17,000 people and flattening thousands of buildings. Turkiye is a member of the G20, or Group of 20, an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. The death toll in Turkiye since the Monday quake has risen to more than 14,000, with over 63,000 injured, according to international media reports. Over 100 delegates, including both from India and foreign countries have taken part in the G20 event held at the pristine Rann of Kutch being hosted from February 7-9. "The first tourism working group meeting had started from February 7. On that day, one-minute ..

Guj HC reserves order on whether PM Modi's degree certificate can be shared

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a petition seeking direction to the Gujarat University to share Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree certificate

G20: Kishan Reddy, Rupala to address Tourism Working Group meet in Gujarat

Union ministers G Kishan Reddy and Parshottam Rupala and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will on Wednesday address the Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting organised in Rann of Kutch as part of India's G20 presidency, officials said. Working sessions will be held on five priority issues, namely green tourism, digitalisation, skills, tourism MSMEs and destination management, as per an official release. Union Culture and Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday addressed a side event at the start of the three-day TWG meeting and said tourism can be a positive force for economic transformation, rural development and community wellbeing, and India plans to use the key segment to achieve sustainable development goals during its G20 Presidency. This is the second G20 event in the state after the 'Business 20 Inception' programme held in Gandhinagar last month. The delegates who arrived from different countries were on Tuesday given a traditional welcome, which included performanc

Fire breaks out at firecracker godown in Gujarat's Amreli district

A fire broke out at a firecracker godown on the outskirts of Savarkundla town in Gujarat's Amreli district on Tuesday night, an official said. The blaze started around 9:00 pm and was brought under control in two hours, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Haresh Vora. While the godown and its inventory were gutted, no one was injured, he said, adding that the cause of the fire was not known. The godown, situated on Mahuva road in Savarkundla, had the necessary permission to store firecrackers, the official said.