Punjab Government Launched Fund for Free Treatment of Hepatitis-C
- Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal launched a special fund called Mukh Mantri Punjab Hepatitis-C Relief Fund to provide free treatment for patients affected by Hepalilis-C.
- With this initiative, Punjab became the first State in the country to provide free treatment to confirmed cases of Hepatitis-C.
- Punjab government created a special fund with an initial contribution of 7 20 crore called the Mukh Mantri Punjab Hepatitis-C Relief Fund for this purpose.
- The scheme was now available to all the residents of Punjab. The patients of Hepatitis-C will be registered in 25 hospitals and medicines for the course of treatment will be issued after examination and testing by the medical specialists.
Delhi Government Set-up Committee to look into Matters Related to Water Bodies
- Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal constituted a high level committee under the chairmanship of PWD Minister Satyendra Jain to look into the matters related to water bodies in the national capital on June 10, 2016.
- Water Minister Kapil Mishra and Environment & Forests Minister Imran Hussain will be members of the committee. The CEO of Delhi Jal Board, Keshav Chandra will be its Member Secretary.
- The committee will look into matters related to water bodies in Delhi and issues related to taking necessary steps for the benefit of water bodies alongwith their development and beautification plan on targeted basis for all the water bodies-owning agencies.
‘Internet Sathi’ Launched to Empower Rural Women
- Google Inc and Tata Trusts launched ‘Internet Saathi’ programme to empower rural women in West Bengal on June 8, 2016.
- The programme is not only aiding women access information and services but is also empowering them socially and economically.
- The ‘Internet Saathi’initiative is part of Google’s ‘Helping Women Get Online’ campaign, which is designed to create awareness about the benefits of internet among women in rural India.
Gujarat Government Announced New Policy for IT-based Startups
- The Gujarat government announced its first-ever ‘IT and Electronics Startup Policy’ on June 6, 2016. It aims to promote and financially assist 2000 startups in the State in next five years.
- 50 incubators would be set-up including those incubators which had already set-up by various educational institutes like the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), Gujarat Technological University (GTU), Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), IIT-Gandhinagar, National Institute of Design (NID) etc.
- Under the policy, the new startups will get power tariff subsidy of 7 1 per unit, 50% of Electricity Duty back for five years. The new ventures will also get 100% exemption in stamp duty and registration fees.
- For obtaining national and international patents, the startup firms will get financial assistance of up to Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively.