• 05 Jan 2022

Laying of Foundation Stone of new Unit of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS)

Why in News

• On January 4, 2022, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath laid the foundation stone of the new unit of Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) building 'Commando Training Center' in Deoband of Saharanpur district and the fire stations of different districts of the state. Launched.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister inaugurated and laid the. foundation stone of 112 development projects worth Rs 199 crore in Saharanpur district. These include the inauguration of 61 projects worth Rs 162.98 crore and foundation stone laying of 51 projects worth Rs 45.86 crore. Also, on this occasion, the Chief Minister presented tablets and smartphones to the students.
• On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that free of cost tablets and smartphones are being provided to 1 crore students by the state government for the memory of the country and the state. On the other hand, ATS center is being built for security.
• In view of the global pandemic like Corona, the state government has decided to connect the youth energy with tablets and smartphones for the preparation of online education, online exams and competitions.
• The youth who will get tablets and smartphones will include students from medical, nursing, paramedical, pharmacy, engineering, polytechnic, ITI, universities and colleges.
• ATS 56 commandos will always be stationed in the center for security. This Anti-Terrorist Squad will be effective in stopping terrorist activities in western Uttar Pradesh. Along with this, he will work for the security of the citizens of the country and the state.

Digital Launch and Foundation Stone of Various Projects of Urban Development

Why in News

• On January 4, 2022, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in a program organized at Lok Bhawan, Lucknow, online transfer of more than 500 crore rupees of first, second and third installment in the bank accounts of 58,903 beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). Including digital inauguration and foundation stone of various projects worth Rs 3,800 crore for urban development.

Key Points

• In these projects, about Rs 909 crore projects of Smart City Mission were inaugurated and foundation stone was laid.
• Also, 28 solid waste processing plants costing more than Rs 627 crore, 13 legacy waste remediation, 1 waste to energy plant in Agra district and 1100 public toilets/pink toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission, Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam Urban Under the AMRUT Mission and state sector projects worth more than Rs 926 crore were inaugurated and foundation stone laid.
• Apart from these, the foundation stone of the office building of the Municipal Corporation Ayodhya and Mathura-Vrindavan and the projects worth Rs 506 crore of the Municipal Corporation Ghaziabad were inaugurated and the foundation stone was laid for 1000 pre-wi-fi zone projects in 651 municipal bodies of the state.
• On this occasion, a tripartite MoU was also signed between the State Government, Municipal Corporation Kanpur and German agency GIZ to prevent plastic waste from entering the river system for environmental protection and for organic management of garbage. Additional Chief Secretary Urban Development Dr. Rajneesh Dubey and Project Head, GIZ Ms. Vaishali Nandan exchanged the MoU.
• During the program, short films focusing on Waste Management in Agra Municipal Corporation and innovations of Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation were screened.
• Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the State Government has expanded the limits of 61 municipal bodies in the last five years along with formation of 3 new municipal corporations, 3 new municipalities, 84 new nagar panchayats. At present there are 734 municipal bodies in the state.
• On this occasion electric bus service and electric bus depot facility were started in 7 cities- Meerut, Agra, Mathura-Vrindavan, Aligarh, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur and Moradabad.

Important Decisions of the Council of Ministers Meeting

Why in News

• On January 4, 2022, a meeting of the Council of Ministers was held under the chairmanship of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in which many important decisions were taken.

Key Points

• In the meeting of the Council of Ministers, approval was given to amend the Work (Allotment) Rules to set up 'Anand Department' and change the name of 'Spiritual Department' to 'Religious Trust and Endowment Department'.
• The cabinet gave in-principle approval for the implementation of Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for Status (STARS) programme. STARS is a Government of India program which has been approved in 6 states- Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Kerala.
• The objective of the STARS program is to improve the quality and governance of school education. Such activities and innovations are proposed in the STARS project, which cannot be provided for in the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. STARS project will include education for all, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Sustainable Development Goals and National Education Policy 2020, Sampoorna Vidyalaya Approach.
• Policy/in-principle approval has been given for supercritical technology based thermal power expansion unit at Amarkantak Thermal Power Station, Chachai, which is proposed to be implemented by a joint venture formed between Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company Limited and SECL, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited.
• The estimated cost of the proposed project is Rs 4665 crore 87 lakh. For the project, 15 percent will be given by the state government through share capital.
• A committee will be constituted under the chairmanship of Agriculture Production Commissioner to fix the criteria regarding the loss and compensation of various agencies of the state engaged in the procurement work in the scheme. In this, officers of Food, Co-operative, Agriculture, Panchayat and Rural Development and Finance departments will be involved.
• The cabinet decided to implement the new National Livestock Mission scheme of the Government of India in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying in the state. The National Livestock Mission Scheme was launched in the year 2014-15. The purpose of which is mainly cattle breed development, employment generation, increasing the productivity of animals, doing research and bringing it to the field level and entrepreneurship development.
• Including the above activities in the National Livestock Mission, three sub-missions have been formed. The first is the Sub-Mission on Breed Development of Livestock and Poultry, the second is the Sub-Mission on Feed Development and the third is the Innovation and Extension Sub-Mission.
• With the implementation of the National Livestock Mission, the breed of animals in the state will improve. The productivity of animals will increase. New technology will be developed and reach the ground level. This will increase the income of livestock farmers.

GIS Survey App

Why in News

• On January 4, 2022, 'GIS Survey' mobile app has been prepared by Madhya Pradesh Poorva Kshetra Vidyut Vitran Company Limited, Jabalpur for the preparation of estimates of new infrastructure related works and for the survey work.

Key Points

• This mobile app has been implemented in all the three power distribution companies of the state. With the creation of this app, there will be speed in the disposal of applications related to line extension of the consumers and the estimates and survey works will be made accurate and transparent.
• For carrying out estimates and survey work from the 'GIS Survey' mobile app, information can be entered only by moving the mobile app to the relevant place. The entered information cannot be changed, so the calculation of the work done from this app will be accurate and error-free.
• Company's Chief General Manager (Works) V.K. Jain went to the field and tested the working of the mobile app with the officials and tested the reliability of the app. The 'GIS Survey App' is implemented only after successful completion of all the tests.
• The information entered in the 'GIS Survey App' will be immediately visible to the higher authorities. Due to this, there will be no unnecessary delay in granting approval in related cases.

Helihub to be Built in Gurugram, Haryana

Why in News

• On January 4, 2022, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, presiding over a meeting of senior officers of various departments, said that a helihub would be set up in Gurugram, where many aviation facilities including helicopters for helicopters, their hangars, repairs would be available.

Key Points

• This helihub will be the first of its kind in the country, where all the above facilities will be available for helicopters at one place.
• Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, who is also in charge of the Civil Aviation Department, said that the place where the helihub will be built in Gurugram will be near metro facilities and connectivity to industrial areas like Noida, Bhiwani will be easy.
• He directed the officers to prepare a detailed project regarding the above proposed helihub and start the work by removing the hurdles in taking land and starting other facilities.
• It may be noted that with the efforts of Dushyant Chautala, many important projects have been started by the Civil Aviation Department in the state and already ongoing projects are being expedited.
• Work is being done at a rapid pace to prepare the Maharaja Agrasen Airport in Hisar in detail and start other projects related to defense.
• Removal of shed built around the airport, construction of new hangars and apron in the airport complex, construction of runway on Dhansu road, removal of power poles and lines at construction site, establishment of 33 kW substation, demolition of observation home, Instructions have been given to complete the construction of terminal and other buildings on time.
• Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala also directed the officials of the Civil Aviation Department to find additional land around Bhiwani, Narnaul and Pinjore airstrips so that other aviation related activities could be expanded.

Clean to Green on Wheels Campaign in Jamshedpur

Why in News

• Recently RLG India has started the 'Clean to Green on Wheels campaign' at Mango, Jamshedpur. This latest awareness and collection program will reach out to over 40 lakh citizens covering 110 cities and 300 towns across the country.

Key Points

• Under this initiative, nine collection vehicles will travel across cities and towns across the country and conduct awareness activities for school students, corporate bodies, wholesale consumers, retailers, members of Resident Welfare Association, informal sector and health camps. It will collect 5500 metric tonnes of e-waste from the users.
• Radhika Kalia, Managing Director, RLG India said, “The Clean to Green on Wheels campaign will continue to serve the purpose by expanding the reach of stakeholders and by emphasizing and promoting proper disposal and recycling techniques of e-waste in daily life. It has been started to bring the whole country under its ambit.
• This campaign RLG India will actively work with manufacturers/brands like Microsoft, LG, HP, Oppo, Lenovo, Pioneer, Motorola, Videojet, Veera etc. to promote safe disposal of e-waste.

World Trade Center to be Built in the Capital

Why in News

• Recently, Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (JUIDCO) has issued an expression of interest for the construction of a World Trade Center in the Dhurwa Smart City area of Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand.

Key Points

• A total of Rs 44 crore 22 lakh will be spent on this center to be built on four acres of land. For this the last date for submission of tender has been fixed as January 19.
• On January 20, it will be inaugurated on the fifth floor of Udyog Bhawan located on Ratu Road. The tendering agency will have to complete the construction work of this center within two years.
• All facilities related to international trade will be available in the premises of the World Trade Center. It will also have a regional office of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade and offices attached to the Export Association of India.
• Apart from this, companies related to import-export will be provided space. Facilities ranging from currency exchange to money transfer will also be available here.
• Apart from this, other facilities of air cargo, ship container and export management will also be available. Here companies doing international business will also get a place to display and promote their products.
• Be aware that this World Trade Center is to be built with the cooperation of both the Center and the State. For the establishment of the World Trade Center, the Central Government has given Rs 9.8 crore to the State Government. The total cost of the scheme is Rs. 48 crore.
• It is noteworthy that in 2018 itself, the Central Government had approved the plan to open the World Trade Center in Ranchi.

First meeting of Chhattisgarh Green Council

Why in News

• On January 3, 2022, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, the first meeting of the Chhattisgarh Green Council, constituted to give impetus to regenerative development in the state, was held. In this meeting, the vision and main activities of the council were finalized to solve the environmental issue.

Key Points

• Regenerative development is a more progressive concept than sustainable development, which works to increase the income of the local people through livelihood under the New Age Green Economy along with proper utilization of available resources as well as enhancing the quality of resources. .
• He said that Chhattisgarh is probably the first state in the country where Green Council has been constituted. Efforts will be made to further strengthen the green and sustainable economy in the state through the Green Council.
• The government's initiatives will include capacity building of women SHGs to market sustainable forest, medicinal, herbal and other products, inviting specialist companies to Chhattisgarh and launching an intra-state carbon credit program.
• The Chief Minister said that during the last three years, to strengthen the rural economy in the state, several eco-friendly schemes, such as 'Narva, Garuva, Ghuruwa, Bari Yojna' under 'Suraji Gaon Yojana', 'Godhan Nyay Yojana', have been implemented in Gothans. The work of preparing vermi compost from cow dung, increasing the income of local forest dwellers along with expansion in forest areas, value addition in minor forest produce has been started under 'Chief Minister's Tree Plantation Promotion Scheme'. These schemes are giving impetus to environmental protection and economic empowerment.
• Regarding carbon emissions, he said that Chhattisgarh is moving towards organic farming using vermicompost. Carbon emissions (pollution) are being reduced by not burning stubble and using it as fodder. He said that Chhattisgarh can prove to be the second organic state after Sikkim in the coming time.
• The Chief Minister directed that a nodal officer should be posted in every district to promote regenerative development, after identifying the specialties of the districts, development works should be done there with the help of experts.
• He also directed to make efforts towards branding of Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh will be the first state to take such a progressive step towards the economic empowerment of the local people along with tackling the challenges of climate change.