• 04 Aug 2022

Uttar Pradesh to Join Indian Diplomatic Missions to Boost Exports from the State

Why In News?

• On August 3, 2022, Additional Chief Secretary (MSME and Export Promotion) Navneet Sehgal informed that Uttar Pradesh will join Indian diplomatic missions in the United States and European countries to boost exports from the state.

Key Points

• Additional Chief Secretary (MSME and Export Promotion) Navneet Sehgal said that the UPO has set a target to increase exports from the state to Rs. 3 lakh crore in the next five years.
• Indian Embassies in USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Israel, Singapore etc. will promote Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) products in addition to traditional handicrafts and indigenous products under the state's flagship One District One Product (ODOP) scheme.
• The Indian diplomatic missions will provide much-needed traction and visibility to the traditional products of the state in major export destinations around the world.
• Considering the pandemic situation, the goods exports of Uttar Pradesh grew by 30 percent from Rs. 1.07 lakh crore in 2020-21 to over Rs 1.40 lakh crore in 2021-22, of which the ODOP basket contributed 72 percent.
• Additional Chief Secretary Sehgal said the MSME department has already tied up with leading e-commerce platforms Flipkart and Amazon for marketing the state's merchandise basket and will enter into a similar agreement with e-Bay.
• Uttar Pradesh will also use the Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC) channel to boost trade exports. Promoted by the Centre, ONDC has been made mandatory to promote exchange of goods and services on digital networks. It is based on an open-source and open network protocol, independent of a specific platform, thus providing a wide-ranging sales-buying experience for institutional entities.
• The best-selling UP products include leather goods, carpets, hand-woven garments, brass utensils, glassware, sports goods, etc.
• The ODOP scheme, which was launched during the first foundation day celebrations of Uttar Pradesh in January 2018, is based on promoting traditional products of the state and creating jobs at the local level.
• The state is promoting the concept of 'Flatted Factory' to save space for non-polluting MSME industries. A 'Flatted Factory' is a multi-Storey industrial building that, apart from serving as industrial warehouses, accommodates a number of industrial and assembly units.

Singapore becomes Uttar Pradesh's First Global Partner in GIS-23

Why In News?

• On August 3, 2022, an official spokesperson of the Government of Uttar Pradesh said that Singapore has become the first participant country of Uttar Pradesh in the Uttar Pradesh Global Investor Summit-2023 (GIS-23) to be held in January.

Key Points

• Singapore's High Commissioner to India Simon Wong expressed happiness over his country's alliance with the Uttar Pradesh government, saying Singapore has become the first partner country for the UP Global Investor Summit-2023 to be held in January.
• An official spokesperson of the state government said Singaporean companies have invested more than US$ 250 million. Most of this investment is in the districts of the National Capital Region (NCR) of the state. At the groundbreaking ceremony held recently, Singaporean companies pledged an investment of Rs 1,100 crore.
• Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the officials to prepare a detailed publicity plan for the summit so that the likes of UK, USA, Canada, UAE, Sweden, Singapore, Netherlands, Israel, France, Germany, South Korea, Mauritius, Russia and Australia A global buzz could be created through road-shows in countries.

Prestigious e4m Golden Mikes Award-2022

Why In News?

• On August 3, 2022, Shiv Shekhar Shukla, Principal Secretary (Tourism and Culture) and Managing Director (Tourism Board), Madhya Pradesh, informed that MP Tourism has received the prestigious e4m Golden Mikes Award-2022 for its wellness radio campaign.

Key Points

• The award was received by Deputy Director Deepika Rai Chaudhary on behalf of the Tourism Department at the 10th edition of the award held at Taj Hotel, Mumbai.
• Principal Secretary Shukla informed that Madhya Pradesh Tourism has received the Bronze Award in the creative category of radio campaign 'Khushiyan Tere Paar Chale'.
• The Golden Mike Award is a major radio advertising award given by The Exchange 4 Media Group. It is given in categories including creativity, promotion, innovation, broadcaster, regional language radio.

Indore's Sirpur pond gets Ramsar Site Status

Why In News?

• On August 3, 2022, 10 water sites in five states were given the status of Ramsar site by the Union Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, including Sirpur pond in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh.

Key Points

• With this, there are now three Ramsar sites in Madhya Pradesh. On July 26, 2022, Sankhya Sagar Lake located in Madhav National Park of Shivpuri district got the status of Ramsar site, whereas Badi Lake (Bada Talab/Bhoj Tal) of Bhopal is already declared as Ramsar site.
• The 10 new Ramsar sites designated by the Union Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change include six sites in Tamil Nadu and one each in Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. With these, the number of Ramsar sites of international importance in India has gone up to 64. These wetlands are spread over an area of 12,50,361 hectares in the country.
• Earlier on July 26, 2022, the Union Ministry of Forests, Environment and Climate Change had declared five sites in the country as Ramsar sites. These included three wetland sites in Tamil Nadu, one in Mizoram and one in Madhya Pradesh. With these, the total number of Ramsar sites in the country had increased from 49 to 54.
• It may be mentioned that on the basis of an international treaty signed in 1971 in the city of Ramsar, Iran regarding lake conservation, a list of wetland sites of international importance is maintained. The role of The Ramsar Site in the climate imbalance and change times taking place in the world is very important in the environmental reform of the world.

10 wetlands designated as Ramsar sites
Kingdom	Name of the wetland	Area (hectares)
Tamil Nadu	Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary	72.04
	Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve	52671.88
	Vembannur Wetland Complex	19.75
	Vellode Bird Sanctuary	77.19
	Vedantangal Bird Sanctuary	40.35
	Udayamarthanapuram Bird Sanctuary	43.77
Odisha	Satkosia gorge	98196.72
Karnataka	Ranganathitu BS	517.70
Madhya Pradesh	Sirpur wetland	161
Goa	Nanda Lake	42.01
	10 Total area of wetlands	1,51,842.41
	Total area of 64 Ramsar sites in India (after designation of 10 more sites mentioned above)	12,50,361

More than 2 lakh Children out of Malnutrition in 3 years in the State

Why In News?

• According to the information given by the Chhattisgarh Public Relations Department on August 3, 2022, under the ''Mukhya Mantri Suposhan Abhiyan' started for the eradication of malnutrition in Chhattisgarh, in the last three years, about two lakh 11 thousand children of the state have come out of the cycle of malnutrition. .

Key Points

• It is worth mentioning that at the time of the launch of this campaign in the year 2019, the number of malnourished children in the state was 4 lakh 33 thousand. Thus, a 48 percent reduction in the number of malnourished children is a remarkable achievement.
• Along with this, due to regular hot food and nutritious food under the scheme, about 85 thousand women of the state have also become anemia free.
• It is noteworthy that according to the data of National Family Survey-4 released in the year 2015-16, 37.7 percent children under 5 years of age in the state were suffering from malnutrition and 47 percent women between 15 and 49 years were suffering from anemia. In the year 2018, this figure increased to 40 percent. Thus, from 2016 to 2018, malnutrition increased by 2.3 percent instead of decreasing.
• Most of the malnourished children were from tribal and remote forest areas. Taking this as a challenge, the state government started 'Mukhya Mantri Suposhan Abhiyan' from October 2, 2019. The happy result of Chief Minister's nutrition campaign and determined efforts has been that the rate of malnutrition has come down continuously.
• According to the National Family Health Survey-5's report released in 2020-21, if we look at the data of children's weight up to 5 years in the state, then the rate of malnutrition has come down by 6.4 percent to 31.3 percent. This rate is less than the national rate of malnutrition at 32.1%.
• If we look at the statistics of weight festival, in the year 2019, malnutrition in Chhattisgarh was 23.37 percent, which has come down to only 19.86 percent in the year 2021. Thus the rate of malnutrition has decreased by 3.51 percent in two years.
• Around 22 lakh children were weighed in the weight festival held in July 2021. During this, the level of malnutrition was assessed in a transparent manner. The services of an external agency were taken for data quality testing and data validation. Similarly, in the year 2022 also, the weight festival is being celebrated in the state from August 1 to August 13. Based on its data, the present malnutrition rate in the state will be assessed.
• It is noteworthy that on the initiative of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, a state-wide campaign is being run for the eradication of malnutrition through Mukhya Mantri Suposhan Yojana. Keeping the health and nutrition of women and children in priority order, the Chief Minister has given permission to use the amount of DMF, CSR and other items in the state for this.
• Under the scheme, hot meals are being provided to malnourished women, pregnant and lactating mothers along with children. An attempt has been made to overcome the deficiency of vitamins and minerals in the daily diet of the people by giving iron and vitamin-rich fortified rice and jaggery in the ration. Along with this, arrangements have also been made to provide quality nutritious ready-to-eat and nutritious food based on local availability.
• Women and children are being given fruits, vegetables in the form of soya and groundnut Chikki, nutritious laddus, biscuits of millets with eggs and delicious nutritious food. Due to this, the condition of malnutrition has improved by awakening the interest in food in children.
• Coordinated efforts have been made by integrating schemes with various departments to eradicate malnutrition in the state. Health facilities have been expanded through the establishment of Health and Wellness Centers, Primary and Sub Health Centers in rural areas along with Mukhya Mantri Haat Bazaar Clinic Yojna and Malaria Free Campaign, Dai-Didi Clinic Scheme. This has led to rapid improvement in the level of malnutrition along with the health of women and children.

One Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme

Why In News?

• On August 3, 2022, an official spokesperson of the Haryana government informed that the state government has taken a major decision in the interest of women and launched the One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme to waive off the outstanding interest on the loans of Haryana Mahila Vikas Nigam .

Key Points

• The spokesman said that under this scheme, if the beneficiary repays the entire outstanding amount of the original loan in one lump sum or in 6 installments by December 1, 2022, then all his interest will be waived.
• The scheme will cover those borrowers whose interest is due for payment to the corporation as on March 31, 2019. The scheme will be applicable on the principal amount by default as on March 31, 2019, but will not include the principal amount paid thereafter.
• Borrowers will be allowed to avail the same within 6 months. If the borrower repays the outstanding principal amount in lump sum or in instalments within six months, the beneficiary will be eligible for 100 percent waiver of female interest.
• The benefit of the waiver will be given to the borrower at the time of payment of the last instalment of the outstanding principal. The interest subvention will be given only to those borrowers who will pay the entire outstanding principal amount within 6 months.

Kisan Protsahan Yojana

Why In News?

• Recently, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced the launch of 'Kisan Protsahan Yojana (KPY)' in Uttarakhand on the lines of 'Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana' of the Government of India.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister made the announcement during a programme organized by the Department of Cooperation. Though the chief minister did not give the full details of KPY, he said one of the main priorities of the government is to double the income of the farmers.
• It is worth noting that the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, implemented from February 24, 2019, is one of the important schemes of the Government of India. Under this, the government provides financial assistance to small and marginal farmers who have less than 2 hectares (4.9 acres) of land.
• Under this scheme, an amount of Rs.6,000/- per annum ( Rs.2,000/- in three months) is provided to all the farmers as minimum income support.
• At the event, the Chief Minister inaugurated the computerization of 108 Multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Committees (M PACS) and launched the Charba unit to prepare Total Mix Ration (TMRs) for cattle.
• Speaking on the occasion, Cooperation Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the process of collection and digitization of data of 13 lakh members has been done by the Department of Cooperation. He claimed that Uttarakhand has become the first state to make 108 MPACS online.
• He said the department of cooperation has disbursed over Rs 3700 crore as interest-free loans to 6.41 lakh beneficiaries. The Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of the co-operative banks have come down and they have now come to profit.
• He said that more than three lakh women have benefited from the ambitious 'Mukhya Mantri Ghasyari Kalyan Yojana (MGKY)'. MGKY will be extended to all hill districts of the state from August 15.