As told to Parliament (December 21, 2023): Labour force indicators in 2022-23 are better than pre-COVID period

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As told to Parliament (December 21, 2023): Labour force indicators in 2022-23 are better than pre-COVID period
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Employment for persons aged 15 years and above in India has increased to 56 per cent during 2022-23, as compared to 50.9 per cent during 2019-20. This is according to the latest available Annual Periodic Labour Force Survey Reports, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Rameshwar Teli told the Rajya Sabha on December 21.

On the other hand, the estimated unemployment rate on usual status for persons aged 15 years and above in India has decreased to 3.2 per cent during 2022-23. It was 4.8 per cent during 2019-20.

The data indicates that the labour force indicators in 2022-23 are better than the pre-COVID period, Teli added. 

Black tigers

Melanistic tigers have been recorded only in the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) of Odisha. Sixteen individuals were recorded at STR, according to the 2022 cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation. Ten of these were melanistic, Minister of State in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) Ashwini Kr Choubey told the Rajya Sabha.

Endangered species

The MoEFCC had not received any reports indicating animal species were on the verge of extinction in India, Choubey said. The populations of species like Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, Asian elephant, Greater one-horned rhinoceros, vultures, etc. had shown an increase due to the concerted efforts taken by the government, he added. 

Brick kilns

There are 12,551 brick kilns in India. Of these, 6,443 brick kilns have been converted into zig-zag technology. Thirty-nine brick kilns in Maharashtra have been converted to zig-zag technology as per information received from the Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board, Choubey said.

Air pollution

An amount of Rs 9,650 crore has been released from FY 2019-20 till FY 2023-24 (till December 15) to 131 cities identified under the National Clean Air Programme, Choubey said.

Kerala wildlife conflict

Some 105 humans died due to attacks by wild animals in the financial year 2023-24 as per information received from the Government of Kerala, Choubey said.

Safety audit of dams

There are 234 large dams in India which are more than a century old as per the 2023 National Register of Large (Specified) Dams compiled by the National Dam Safety Authority, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu told the Lok Sabha. 

Road construction waste

Policy guidelines have been issued by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and standards / manuals / guidelines have been published by Indian Roads Congress regarding utilisation of solid waste materials in specific items of road construction.

These guidelines have been formulated based on studies conducted by reputed academic and research Institutes, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari told the Lok Sabha.

Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0

All Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of 35 Indian states and Union territories have declared themselves Open Defecation Free (ODF). Of these, 3,547 ULBs have been certified as ODF+, 1,191 ULBs as ODF++ and 14 ULBs as Water+ under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban.

The scientific processing of Municipal Solid Waste in India has increased to 76.49 per cent from 17 per cent in 2014. This means 76.49 per cent of 0.157 million Tonnes Per Day of total waste generated is being processed through material recovery facilities, waste to compost, waste to gas / electricity, construction and demolition waste processing, etc.

In addition, legacy waste dumpsites remediation has been taken up, Minister of State in the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore told the Lok Sabha.

Green Hydrogen in India

The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing the National Green Hydrogen Mission, approved by the Union Cabinet on January 4 this year, with an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore.

The overarching objective of the Mission is to make India a global hub for production, usage and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives, Union Minister of New & Renewable Energy and Power R K Singh told the Lok Sabha.

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