the statesman

• Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu inaugurated the week-long International Shivaratri Festival at Paddal Ground in Mandi.
• Thousands of devotees in traditional attire participated in the traditional procession of more than 200 deities in the district, also known as "Shahi Jaleb."
• The festival is known for its unique cultural repository of the state and the colourful tradition that depicts prosperity, brotherhood, and love.
• The Chief Minister announced an honorarium of ₹1 crore for the deities participating in the festival.

• The goal is to make Himachal Pradesh the first Green Energy State in the country by replacing the entire fleet of HRTC buses with electric ones by 2025.
• The state's Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) will add 300 e-buses to its fleet for which an outlay of INR 4 billion has been sanctioned.
• Himachal Pradesh's electric vehicle policy is targeted to achieve a 100 percent transition to electric vehicles by 2030 in alignment with the United Nations sustainable development goals.

the print

• Two cement plants owned by Adani Group in Himachal Pradesh have been closed since December 14th.
• The closures have left thousands of locals without work, including truck operators, drivers, and workers at roadside eateries and vehicle repair garages.
• High freight rates imposed by truck unions are seen as a major barrier to the Ease of Doing Business in Himachal Pradesh and have led to the closure of many industrial units.
• The state government is working on a solution to fix freight rates that are beneficial to the people.
• The truck unions have agreed to lower their freight rates to Rs 10.15 per tonne per km, but the cement plant managements have not accepted these rates and have asked the unions to further lower the rates.
• The Adani Wilmar stores and other Adani Group establishments in Himachal Pradesh have been raided by the state Excise and Taxation Department on allegations of tax irregularities.

• The HP government is planning to use drones for various purposes, including monitoring illegal mining, managing traffic, supervising government schemes, and rescuing stranded trekkers.
• Notably the state govt has approved the Himachal Pradesh Drone Policy 2022 last year, which aims to build a holistic drone ecosystem to check illegal mining and felling of trees, deliver medicines in remote areas, and spread micronutrients for crops.
• The adoption of drone tech is still in its early stages, a drone from Skye Air transporting blood samples between two hospitals in Mandi district crashed on Wednesday Feb 15.

• Reliance Jio has launched 5G services in Himachal Pradesh in four cities, including Shimla, Hamirpur, Nadaun, and Bilaspur.
• Airtel also launched 5G Plus network services in three new cities - Dharamshala, Mandi, and Baddi, notably it is only available in specific areas within each of the three cities.
• The launch is expected to bring benefits to various sectors such as healthcare, education, tourism, e-governance, horticulture, agriculture, automation, artificial intelligence, disaster management, IT, and manufacturing.

• Three snow leopards were spotted in the Lahaul valley.
• Residents of the Keylong panchayat noticed one leopardess and her two cubs roaming in the hillside of a village.
• This sighting of snow leopards is becoming common in the Spiti valley, where locals earn a livelihood through snow leopard sight-seeing business.

• Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited announced development of five solar power projects in the Himalayan state across Una, Kangra, Sirmaur.
• Himachal Pradesh aims to ensure that 100% of its energy requirement is met through renewable and green energy, and generate 10,000 MW of additional green energy, as per its new energy policy.

tribune

• Sheep reared by traditional Gaddi shepherds in Kangra district are producing organic wool that has been certified for sale in national and international markets by the Uttarakhand State Seeds and Organic Production Certification Agency.
• Gaddi shepherds are receiving around 20% higher rates for their wool produce by selling it to Indian companies for export in Europe and the US where its demand is rising, compared to the rate offered by the government's Wool Federation.

• The site proposed for the university campus at Jadrangal falls in seismic zone 5 and is an active sliding zone.
• The site is a reserved forestland and if it is used for campus construction, the state government will have to give 10 times more land for afforestation.

• A tourist facilitation centre built 15 years ago at the cost of Rs 35 lakh is lying in a state of neglect in Ukhali village in Himachal.
• The centre was to provide wayside facilities to commuters on the Shimla-Dharamshala National Highway, but the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) never made it operational due to its “unfeasible” location.

• The Himachal Agriculture Department is experiencing acute staff shortage with 1,165 out of 2,852 posts vacant, including key roles such as Agriculture Development Officers, Subject Matter Specialists, and Agriculture Extension Officers.
• Concerns mounting as selection for over 4,000 posts delayed due to HPSSC's suspension following paper leak scam.
• The suspension was due to a paper leak scam involving a senior assistant selling exam questions to some Junior Office Assistant (IT) candidates in December 2022.
• The delay has left over 5 lakh job aspirants with concerns that some applicants may become ineligible or overage.

• 75% of colleges in Himachal Pradesh, or 100 out of 132 degree colleges, are without regular principals. This number is expected to rise to 112 by December 2023.
• 50 colleges don't even have their own buildings and the state's colleges are also short of infrastructure and teachers.
• There are 1800 college teachers against the required figure of 3,000. Also, 40 colleges have fewer than four teachers.

• Former Union Minister Shiv Pratap Shukla sworn in as Himachal Governor
• The governor expressed concern over illegal drug trade and stated plans to make the de-addiction campaign more widespread.
• 24x7 DD Himachal channel launched by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur.
• The channel will broadcast programmes on the state's art, culture, heritage, religious destinations, sports, adventure sites, and freedom fighters. The channel will be available on the DTH platform and aims to boost tourism in the state.
• Chamba district, part of the NITI Aayog-led Aspirational District Programme, granted ₹ 11 crore as an incentive for outstanding execution.
• Officials appreciated the efforts being made to improve institutional delivery and eradicate malnutrition among women and children. Suggestions were made to make anganwadi centres attractive for children and inspecting schools regularly to ensure quality education.

• ₹ 49 Crore compensation to be given to residents of 10 villages whose land has been acquired for the four-laning of the Shimla-Matour highway.
• The four-laning project was announced by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in 2016, costing over Rs 5,000 crore.
• The highway will pass through 15 villages, but only the residents of the 10 villages mentioned will receive compensation.
• The compensation amount will be on average Rs 1.5 lakh per marla, ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 3 lakh per marla

• So far, in 2023, the police have issued 702 challans, registered one criminal case, and impounded 35 vehicles. Mandi district saw the maximum of 125 challans, followed by Nurpur and Sirmaur with 106 and 101, respectively.
• Himachal Pradesh Police issued 6,686 challans against illegal land mining in 2022.

• Shimla’s warmest February in 17 years, the city experienced the warmest night of February with the minimum temperature at 14.4 degrees Celsius, 11 degrees above normal.