INDORE: The World Bank Group has announced the launch of 2013 India Development Marketplace in Madhya Pradesh and pledged $1 million in grants to be awarded on a competitive basis to social enterprises for their development solutions.

Development Marketplace, supported by the World Bank, is a competitive grant-based program. It focuses on non-profit and for-profit development solutions that demonstrate innovative and effective ways to address the most pressing social and economic problems impacting the poor and underserved communities. The selected winners are given financial and advisory support to scale the impact of their work.

BHOPAL: Officials of the state have pleaded ignorance about reports that Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had deemed Pithampur incineration facility as suitable for trial burning of the toxic wastes lying at the Union Carbide Bhopal plant.

Pithampur is among 21 TSDF sites, being evaluated for incineration of some 350 metric tons of toxic waste laying abandoned Carbide factory. Faced with opposition from local residents and villagers at Pithampur, the Madhya Pradesh government has contested incineration of Bhopal's toxic waste in the facility.

BHOPAL: Incomplete work on the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) along the Hoshangabad Road stretch up to Misrod is causing inconvenience to the commuters, as the civic body struggles to meet its deadline on the project.

Lack of service lanes on the Hoshangabad Road stretch is adding to the problems as people residing in the housing colonies along the corridor find it difficult to move out freely. The service roads are blocked at most points clogging the vehicles, Sidharth Rokade, assistant professor at civil engineering department, MANIT and a traffic and transport engineering expert told TOI.

BHOPAL: In a major decision, seen as a bid to facilitate industries to mobilize funds, the Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Wednesday approved the mortgaging of land acquired for companies. A cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also approved policies regarding conveyance of government patta land and development of solar energy parks, among other decisions.

If an industry or investor desires to convey the government land allotted to it for mobilising loan for the industry then the government will permit it on certain conditions. As per this policy, first liabilities on the land will be the charges payable to the state government and not any bank/financial institution. Following conveyance of land, it will be used only for the purpose for which it was allotted.

The state is witnessing extreme cold wave conditions with the mercury hovering at 1 degree Celsius on the hills of Amarkantak in Anuppur district to 8.6 degrees in Indore.