Manipur govt allocates more funds to hill areas: Officials

Imphal: Days after the Manipur CM N Biren Singh announced that the state govt undertook equal efforts for the development of both valley and hill areas, top government officials said on Friday that a higher amount of funds was sanctioned in the hilly areas than in the valley areas.The Manipur govt’s response comes after some tribal organisations, tribal leaders and MLAs have been accusing the state govt of imbalanced allocation of funding of the Central Road Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) under the ministry of road transport and highways.Ningombam Subhash, the chief engineer of Manipur’s public works department, said between 2020-21 and 2024-25, Rs 2,395.51 crore was sanctioned for different road and bridge projects in the hill areas of the state while Rs 1,300.21 crore was sanctioned for the valley areas. PTI

Sanction maximum sports funds to govt colleges: MU syndicate

Mangalore University Syndicate has urged the university to allocate the maximum sports fee funds collected from students to government colleges, highlighting the struggle faced by these institutions in managing sports expenses. The syndicate seeks a review with the Sports Advisory Committee. Additionally, the university has made progress in clearing pending salaries of guest faculty and non-teaching staff.

Allocate more funds for scientific research

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called on the central government to increase funding for scientific research and knowledge sectors. Speaking at the inauguration of new infrastructure at the Sreenivasa Ramanujan Institute for Basic Sciences, he highlighted that India spends only 1% of its GDP on research and development, well below the global average of 1.8%.

Centre okays Bharatmala road through DNP areas

The Union ministry of environment, forest, and climate change has approved the construction of the 137-km Jaisalmer-Myazlar-Sundra Bharatmala road, which faced a seven-year delay due to Desert National Park (DNP) regulations. The project, initially estimated at Rs 390 crore and later revised to Rs 872 crore, aims to improve infrastructure and boost tourism in border areas.