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Agartala, Mar 21: The Central government has assured the newly formed BJP-IPFT government of Tripura to raise two more Indian reserve battalion (IRB) of Tripura State Rifles (TSR), providing at least three lakh LPG connection, skill development training on Hydrocarbon by ONGC, direct assistance of Rs 292 Cr for Urban development, Rs 1320 Cr for district headquarters development and Rs 384 Cr for 24 new Ekalavya Schools.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh agreed to the demand of Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb today regarding rising of IRB, which will create job opportunity for 2200 youths. Tripura has now 12 battalions of TSR and among them five are IR battalions. 
Mr Singh however, assured to seek the feasibility of installation of CCTV cameras on the border fence and to set up the Central Control and Monitoring Rooms so as to prevent illegal cross border activities on the border.
Chief minister Deb said, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has assured him that total 3 lakh LPG connections under “Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana” would be provided in Tripura in next year, which is now only 41,250.
He has also instructed the officials of his ministry to explore the feasibility of utilization of CSR funds from various corporate houses so as to bear the cost of Rs 1600 on behalf of “Ujjwala’ beneficiaries. He also instructed the Ministry PSUs to upgrade the infrastructure in terms of piped domestic gas supply & CNG, LPG Bottling Plants etc, Deb stated.
“The Union Minister mentioned about the plan under which gas might be delivered to Bangladesh on western side in exchange for Bangladesh delivering gas to Tripura. The ONGC has asked to seek feasibility of making one MMSCMD of gas so that the possibility of setting up a petrochemical or fertilizer plant in Tripura,” he said.
He also asked the ONGC to set up skill development in Hydrocarbon Sector in Tripura. The minister suggested that all the skill training Institutions should be c converged under Tripura Skill Development Corporation for more effective delivery.
On the other, Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep S Puri having heard the chief minister immediately asked his officials for urgent release of Rs 292 Cr in different schemes. The Union Minister requested the CM Tripura to ensure all the Urban Local Bodies Open Air Defecation (ODF) free by using funding under Swatch Bharat Mission (Urban).
Puri assured all the necessary support for Agartala Smart City Project by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. He also assured support for the Externally Aided Projects for development of remaining seven district headquarters at a total cost of Rs1320 Cr.
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram assured sanction of 24 number of Eklavya Model Residential schools in Tripura in next three years at Rs 384 Cr for constructions of schools and hostels in addition to the recurring cost of Rs 50 Cr per year. The Union Minister also ensured support.for hostels for ST boys and girls and livelihood support to the forest dwellers provided deed under Forest Right Act.
Union Minister for DONER Jitendra Singh assured to extend all possible support for promotion and branding of world class queen variety of pineapples grown in Tripura so as to establish unique identity of Tripura in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured Tripura to provide all out support for fulfilling the poll promises of the new government and to begin with Union Rural Development Minister assured assistance of Rs 241 Cr on urgent basis to boost rural economy of the state.
Chief Minister had meeting with as many as six central ministers seeking assistance for development of the state and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely was positive to sanction special plan assistance (SPA) of Rs 350 Cr to meet the committed liabilities as recommended by NITI Aayog.
As agreed to the demand of setting up projects under Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET), Union Chemical and Fertilizers Minister assures responded well to ensure direct employment to about 5000 youths annually while the minister in Principle set up Plastic Park in Tripura. UNI


Kolkata, Nov 21: Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has signed a framework agreement with Uber, the ride sharing company, to sell tens of thousands of autonomous driving compatible base vehicles between 2019 and 2021.
The base vehicles are developed on Volvo Cars’ fully modular, in-house developed Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). SPA is one of the most advanced car architectures in the world and is currently used on Volvo Cars’ top-of-the-line 90 series cars as well as on the new XC60 midsize SUV. The non-exclusive agreement enhances the strategic partnership between Volvo Cars and Uber announced in August 2016 and also marks a new chapter in the convergence of car makers and Silicon Valley-based technology companies, a Volvo Auto India spokesperson here today said. “The automotive industry is being disrupted by technology and Volvo Cars chooses to be an active part of that disruption,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive.
“Our aim is to be the supplier of choice for AD ride-sharing service providers globally.
Today’s agreement with Uber is a primary example of that strategic direction.” Volvo Cars’ engineers have worked closely together with engineers from Uber to develop the XC90 premium SUVs that are to be supplied to Uber. The base vehicles incorporate all necessary safety, redundancy and core autonomous driving technologies that are required for Uber to add its own self-driving technology. “We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with Volvo,” said Jeff Miller, Head of Auto Alliances, Uber. “This new agreement puts us on a path towards mass produced self-driving vehicles at scale.
”At the same time as providing Uber with AD compatible cars, Volvo will use the same base vehicle in the development of its own independent autonomous car strategy, which is planned to culminate in the release of its first fully autonomous car in 2021. UNI


Srinagar, Aug 17 : An amount of Rs 27.36-crore funds of State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) was diverted or spent irregularly after 2014 devastating floods in Jammu and Kashmir. Of this amount, Rs 12.25-crore was utilised on 1208 works, which were either started or were under execution or had been completed before the occurrence of the flood, Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) said in its latest report. An amount of Rs 10.21-crore was utilised on normal repair and maintenance works, ineligible items and works, and works not included in the damaged report. The CAG report said that Rs 4.90-crore was utilised on ineligible works actually ongoing under other schemes and projects and not handed over to the concern department. Due to incorrect projection of span for a bailey bridge in Poonch district of Jammu region, excess material costing Rs 4.39-crore was purchased which could have avoided, the report said, adding that due to incorrect application of rates by the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Division, Srinagar, for earthwork in banking in layers and for supply of earth extra expenditure of Rs 2.36 crore from SDRF was incurred. It said that 6,369 metres of pipes were issued in January and February 2015 from the stores of Water Works Division, Srinagar for restoration of 25 works costing Rs 23.54-lakh. Surprisingly these works had already been shown completed between October-December 2014, raising doubt as to the actual execution of the work, the CAG report said. Moreover, as per the Manual and Administration of SDRF, eligible sectors for which the assistance are to be provided are specifically named and categorised. However, Rs 31.44-crore was released from the SDRF to seven department and agencies which were not eligible. Of this amount, Rs 14.97-crore was spent by Estate Department, Tourism department, including SK International Conference Centre (SKICC) and State Motor Garages on items such as furniture, electronic and electrical gadgets and other items besides renovation of government quarters which were in any case not associated with flood damage. Further, the report said that Government of India (GoI) released Rs 1,000-crore as Special Plan Assistance (SPA) for rebuilding or damaged infrastructure. However, the audit observed that Rs 42.24-crore of SPA funds were utilised on works and items not covered under SPA guidelines. It said that expenditure from SPA was subject to the conditions, inter alia, that SPA should be utilised only for rebuilding damaged infrastructure. However, 79 works which were not damaged due to the floods were taken up by three departments at a cost of Rs 30.48-crore out of which expenditure of Rs 23.12-crore had been incurred as of March 2016. UNI