• 02 Jul 2022

Uttar Pradesh Commission for SCs and STs

Why in News?

On July 1, 2022, the Government of Uttar Pradesh has given Asim Arun, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Welfare, the charge/responsibility of the Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission with immediate effect. Notification in this regard was issued on June 29, 2022.

Key Points

• The state government has assigned the post to Arun Yadav till he is appointed as the regular chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• Aseem Arun is a 1994 batch IPS officer. He formed the SWAT team for the first time in Aligarh in 2009. Aseem Arun has served in Hathras, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Agra, Aligarh and Gorakhpur.
• He was the first Commissioner of Police of Kanpur. Prior to the Uttar Pradesh elections, he had quit his IPS job and joined the BJP.
• The BJP declared him as its candidate from Kannauj Sadar seat. From here, Aseem Arun won by defeating three consecutive Samajwadi Party MLA Anil Dohre.
• Mar 25, 2022 Asim Arun was sworn in as minister of state for independent charge in the Yogi cabinet and on March 28, he was given the responsibility of social welfare, SC and ST affairs.

Communicable Disease Control and Dastak Campaign

Why in News?

On July 1, 2022 Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the Communicable Disease Control and Dastak campaign from BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur. He also flagged off the rally of special communication campaign.

Key Points

• The communicable disease control campaign will run from July 1 to 31 and the door-to-door Dastak campaign in the state from July 16 to 31 to prevent the spread of Encephalitis, Malaria, Dengue, Filariasis and Chikungunya .
• Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that 95 percent of the deaths due to Encephalitis in the state have been controlled and the remaining 5 percent will be controlled and the disease will be completely eradicated from the state.
• The Chief Minister said that under the campaign, ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, employees of several departments including the health department and people of various organizations will go door-to-door and make people aware and if anyone is found to be sick, they will arrange for treatment and provide a medical kit.

Ultramega Renewable Energy Power Park

Why in News?

On July 1, 2022 an agreement was signed between the Government of Rajasthan and NTPC Renewable Energy Limited in Jaipur for the development of a 10,000 MW Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Park (UMREPP) in Rajasthan.

Key Points

• Speaking on the occasion, Rajasthan Power Minister Bhanwar Singh Bhati said that the availability of adequate quantity of unused wasteland in the state and the availability of the country's highest solar radiation also attracts private investors in the state.
• Principal Secretary (Energy) Bhaskar A Sawant said that due to the setting up of renewable energy projects by private investors in Rajasthan, employment opportunities are also being created at the local level along with the increase in the land rate of farmers.
• Mohit Bhargava, CEO, NTPC Energy Limited, said that an investment of about Rs 50,000 crore will be made on setting up the project.
• NTPC Renewable Energy Limited will set up Ultramega Renewable Energy Power parks in the state. NTPC Limited is a 100% subsidy company, which is designed to take the renewable energy sector business forward.
• At present, Rajasthan ranks first in the country in the renewable energy sector with the setting up of 18,701 MW capacity projects across the country. Solar projects of 13,332 MW capacity have been set up in the state.

Reservation in Promotion for Differently-abled Workers

Why in News?

On July 1, 2022, Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal issued a letter to give 4 percent horizontal reservation in promotions to the differently-abled personnel of the state. Benefit of this will be available to the persons with benchmark disabilities covered in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Key Points

• The Chief Secretary has issued a letter to all administrative secretaries, heads of departments, boards, corporations, chief administrators of public undertakings, managing directors, divisional commissioners, registrars of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, DCs and SDMs besides registrars of all universities.
• The Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, came into force on April 19, 2017, hence the benefit of four percent horizontal reservation will be available from April 19, 2017.
• In the case of promotion, out of the total posts of Group A, B, C and D cadre, four percent will be reserved for the differently-abled. One percent reservation will be given in the case of blindness or low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, locomotor disability, person suffering from cerebral palsy, leprosy-cured, dwarfism, acid attack victim and muscular dystrophy.
• One percent reservation will be given in the case of Autism, Intellectual Disability, Specific Learning Disability and Mental illness, Deafness in multiple disability category from Group A to D combined.
• According to the notification, if any department considers it necessary to partially or fully exempt any post/cadre from the provision of reservation for the disabled, then it can request the Social Justice and Empowerment Department stating the full rationale of the proposal.
• It is noteworthy that the reservation for the backward classes of citizens (Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes) is called vertical reservation. Reservation for categories like differently-abled and Ex-Servicemen is called Horizontal Reservation.

‘Tunhar Paudha Tuhar Dwar' Programme

Why in News?

On July 1, 2022, Chhattisgarh's Forest and Climate Change Minister Mohammad Akbar launched the 'Tunhar Paudha Tunhar Dwar' program by flagging off two greenery propagation vehicles filled with different species of plants at his residence office in the capital Raipur.

Key Points

• The objective of the programme is to encourage people towards clean environment and tree plantation in the State.
• Taking a special initiative by the Forest Department, under the 'Paudha Tunhar Dwar' scheme, free saplings are being supplied to the homes. Under the 'Paudha Tunhar Dwar' scheme, 1 to 5 saplings will be provided in the municipal corporation area, Raipur.
• It may be noted that more than 3 crore 12 lac saplings are currently available in all the 257 nurseries of the Forest Department for the successful implementation of the tree plantation programme in the state.
• Under the program 'Tunhar Paudha Tunhar Dwar' by the Forest and Climate Change Department, sapling distribution was started in all the forest divisions of the state during the current year.
• In this context, Industries and Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma under Forest Division, Raigarh, MLA Raigad Prakash Nayak and District Panchayat President Nirakar Patel and MLA Arun Bora in Durg and District Panchayat President Shamini Yadav and Mayor Durg Dheeraj Bakliwal started free distribution of saplings.
• Similarly, free sapling distribution was started by MLA Devti Karma under Dantewada Forest Division, District Panchayat President Harish Kawasi under Sukma Forest Division and District Panchayat President Shankar Kudiyam under Bijapur Forest Division.

Crop Insurance Claim Amount Payment

Why in News?

On July 1, 2022, Chhattisgarh's Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Ravindra Choubey launched the statewide 'Crop Insurance Awareness Week' at his residence office in Raipur .

Key Points

• The Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources flagged off awareness chariots to promote 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana' on the occasion. These raths will travel in the rural areas till July 15 and motivate the farmers to know about the provisions of crop insurance and to get crop insurance.
• On the occasion of Amrit Mahotsav, the 75th anniversary of the country's independence, publicity chariots were also dispatched from all the district headquarters of the state under the Crop Insurance Week.
• Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, farmers will be able to insure paddy irrigated and unirrigated, Arhar, Moong, Urad, Maize and horticulture crops till July 15.
• Speaking on the occasion, the Agriculture Minister said that Chhattisgarh is the leading state in the country in terms of helping the farmers and getting them their due. Chhattisgarh is the first state in the country to have first paid its farmers the crop insurance claim amount for the Rabi season 2021-22.
• Even before the start of the kharif season, more than 1.5 lac farmers have been paid a claim amount of Rs.304.38 crore against the premium amount paid by them to them of Rs.15.96 crore.
• Given by more than 4 lac farmers of the state in kharif season 2021, the farmer premium amount has been paid to Rs 758 crore 43 lac in lieu of Rs 157 crore 65 lakh.
• It may be mentioned that under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, farmers have to pay only one and a half percent of the crop insurance premium, while the farmers have to contribute only 5 percent of the insurance premium amount for weather-based horticulture crops. The remaining premium amount is paid by the regime.

'Lakhpati Didi' Scheme

Why in News?

On July 1, 2022, Uttarakhand's Additional Secretary (Rural Development) Anand Swarup informed that under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) of the Ministry of Rural Development, the Central Government has started work on the plan to make 3 lakh women Lakhpati of the state. .

Key Points

• Anand Swarup said that under the 'Lakhpati Didi' scheme, the work of training co-ordinators at the block and district level has been started through the app. After the survey work is done, different works will be assigned to different groups of SGH so that their income can be up to one lakh rupees per year.
• Under the 'Lakhpati Didi' scheme for women belonging to Self Help Groups (SHGs), they will be encouraged to take up micro-enterprises with skill development. With this, 20,000 new self-help groups will be formed in the state in this financial year so that more and more women can get the benefit of the scheme.
• At present, 4 thousand 310 village organizations and 259 cluster level organizations have been formed by organizing 3 lakh 5 thousand women in 39,116 self-help groups in 95 blocks of the state.
• Sustainable, micro enterprises will be encouraged along with skill development to double the income of women associated with these organizations. For this, through the National Institute of Rural Development and the Uttarakhand Institute of Rural Development, women will be made skilled by training them in all new works.
• Till now women associated with SHGs are generally confined to work like pickle, papad, handicraft, vegetable, silk, fruit etc. In the coming days, these women will be made proficient in work like electrician, plumber, tent house, masons, manure making, organic farming, LED bulb making.
• These will be brought under one roof through the NRLM program to market the finished products by the SHGs, so that a chain can be formed by distributing the work to different groups. Under this, it will also be easier for the groups to take bank loans.
• Efforts will be made under the scheme for the state's products to get market at national and international level also. E-commerce websites like Amazon, Flipkart, Mantra, PayTM Mall and Government e-Market Place (GeM) are also being tied up to get fair market for women's products belonging to Self Help Groups.
• Additional Chief Executive Officer of Aajeevika Mission Pradeep Pandey informed that at present two state level Uttara outlets have been established in the state. One of them is established in Ranipokhari and one in Raipur. Their number will be increased in the coming days.
• Apart from this, 13 district level outlets (Saras Centres), 9 cluster outlets at block level, 33 nano packaging units and 24 growth centres have been established. An outlet has also been made at Jolly Grant airport. Apart from this, 17 temporary outlets have been set up on Chardham Yatra routes. Where finished products are sold on behalf of SHGs.