• 05 Dec 2022

Padma Shri Irshad Mirza

Why In News?

• On December 4, 2022, Padma Shri Irshad Mirza, who brought international recognition to red tape, leather exporter and chairman of Mirza International, passed away due to illness. He was 87 years old.

Key Points

• Irshad Mirza started the company in 1979, which works for leather making and tanning and finishing. The leather made in the company is also exported abroad. His name has come in forbes magazine's list of influential industrialists.
• Irshad Mirza started his career as an exporter of leather goods (saddle products) in the year 1973. Over a period of 32 years, he set up an export business with a turnover of about Rs 350 crore. In this, 11000 people are directly and indirectly associated with employment. In the year 1975, he developed a contemporary saddlery internationally and took it to Australia, where it was well-liked.
• Irshad Mirza has also served as the chairman of the State Minorities Commission in the Rajnath Singh-led Uttar Pradesh government.
• Irshad Mirza has established an educational institution, a Sahitya Prachar Akademi and many other institutions. He has also been the president of the Kanpur chapter of the Rotary Club.
• With mirza foundation, he has also built a 100-bed hospital near his factories to provide high-quality medical facilities to the workers and villagers of rural areas.
• He has held the responsibilities of Chairman of Leather Export Council, President of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Uttar Pradesh, Managing Committee Member of Federation of Indian Export Organizations and Director of Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Corporation.

Pollution Reaches Dangerous Level in Patna, Purnia and Darbhanga

Why In News?

• According to the data released on December 4, 2022, air pollution has reached dangerous levels in Purnia, Darbhanga and the capital Patna of Bihar. The air quality index in Purnia and Darbhanga has crossed 400. At the same time, the AQI in the capital Patna is 378.

Key Points

• According to the data till 4 pm on December 4, the air quality index in Purnia had reached 423 and in Darbhanga 422. This dangerous level of air pollution is considered very harmful to human health.
• Pm 2.5 is the cause of pollution in almost all cities of Bihar. PM2.5 is a dust particle present in the air whose size is less than 2.5 microns. It can enter the body through breath and harm our health.
• Along with this, the pollution situation in all other major cities of Bihar is very bad. According to the data, Aurangabad has a very poor air quality of 342, Bettiah 354, Bhagalpur 335, Bihar Sharif 368, Gaya 313, Katihar 391, Munger 301, Rajgir 360, Saharsa 362, Samastipur 345. Sasaram's AQI was 329.

Rajasthan IT Cricket League

Why In News?

• On December 3, 2022, the third edition of Rajasthan IT Cricket League was inaugurated at Bhavani Niketan Cricket Grounds by Ashish Gupta, Commissioner, Department of Information Technology and Communications, Rajasthan.

Key Points

• The chief organizer of the cricket league, Ritesh Kumar Sharma said that this time 400 players, including 26 district teams of officers and personnel posted in different districts of the department are participating in the league.
• It is noteworthy that the first edition of Rajasthan IT Cricket League was organized in 2019 and the second edition in 2021.

Alwar District Collector got Best District Award

Why In News?

• On December 3, 2022, President Draupadi Murmu addressed a function organized at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Jitendra Kumar Soni was awarded the Best District Award for outstanding work for the empowerment of persons with disabilities for the year 2022.

Key Points

• Ias officer and Alwar district collector, who is often known for his innovations in the Rajasthan cadre. Jitendra Kumar Soni was given this award for the work done towards the empowerment of persons with disabilities by connecting them with various public welfare schemes run by the state government for the welfare of the disabled people in the district and innovating for their welfare.
• It is worth mentioning that this award is given annually by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India to only one district of the country that has done the best work for the disabled.
• Before Dr. Jitendra Kumar Soni, in the year 2022, 6 more IAS officers of Rajasthan have also received awards at the national level. At present, there are about 248 IAS officers in the Rajasthan cadre, out of which about 10 officers have received awards from the President or the Prime Minister.
• Ias officer Gaurav Goel, who is currently posted as secretary of government in Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's office (CMO), received the award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016. This award was given in the name of 'Scroll of Honor'. He was given this award for promoting cashless payments during demonetization.
• PK Goyal, Additional Chief Secretary of the Education Department, received the award in November-2022 from the World Book of Records for his success in enrolling about 90 percent of the children who had dropped out of government schools in Corona back to schools.
• Churu District Collector Siddharth Sihag has been given the 'National Excellence Award' at the Prime Minister's level for making the Khelo India scheme a success in the district and for the stupendous performance of Churu district. This scheme is the flagship scheme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Under this, work is being done to promote sports in the whole country.
• Sandeep Verma, Additional Chief Secretary in the Information and Technology Department, received the National Award in June-2022 from the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management of the Central Government for making the public procurement process transparent in government departments.
• Rukmani Riar, currently the Collector of Hanumangarh district, was awarded the best work in e-governance by the Union Ministry of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievance Redressal in November 2022.
• Apart from these, the present collector of Karauli, Ankit Kumar Singh, has received the National Award twice this year. He has been given the National Award by the Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on behalf of the Ministry of Jal Shakti for water conservation in March-2022 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for promoting small scale industries in the district in July-2022.

State's First Collectorate to Implement e-Filing

Why In News?

• On December 3, 2022, Jaipur Collector Prakash Rajpurohit informed that the e-filing system has been implemented in the Jaipur Collectorate. Jaipur has become the first collectorate in Rajasthan to implement e-filing.

Key Points

• Jaipur Collector Prakash Rajpurohit has implemented the e-filing system at the Jaipur Collectorate as part of an innovation. The e-filing system has been introduced from the installation branch and general branch of the Collectorate. Soon the e-filing system will be implemented in the entire collectorate.
• Additional District Collector (First) Dinesh Kumar Sharma said that the e-filing system will prove to be a milestone in making Jaipur district collectorate paperless. This decision will not only save paper but will also make it possible to monitor files online.
• Till now, the administrative work in the District Collectorate was being done through paper files, which not only consumed a large amount of paper, but also made it difficult to ensure safe maintenance of these files and files. Now all the government work will be done through the e-filing system with the government software prepared by the Information and Technology Department of the Government of Rajasthan.
• Under this, the correspondence will be in online format instead of physical. The file will be prepared on Raj-Kaj software only and will be forwarded to the concerned officer online. Officers will be able to login with their SSO ID and make office comments on the file or can approve the file through digital sign. Along with this, orders can also be issued online.
• With the implementation of the e-filing system, the entire process from office comments to correspondence approvals in the Jaipur Collectorate will be paper-equipped and online monitoring of files can be ensured.
• Due to no physical movement of files, paper, time and man-labour will be saved, as well as the concept of work from home and work anywhere, any time will also be possible. There will be simplicity and transparency in government work, as well as the operation and maintenance of files will be easier than before. e-filing system has also been implemented in the district offices of Information Technology and Communications Department.

Fourth Edition of 'Anugunj'

Why In News?

• On December 4, 2022, Minister of State for School Education (Independent Charge) Inder Singh Parmar inaugurated the fourth edition of 'Anugunj' at Government Subhash Uttam Vidyalaya, Bhopal.

Key Points

• School Education Department will organize cultural program 'Anugunj' for the students of government schools in Madhya Pradesh every year under 'Art-enriched Education' till December 5.
• 'Anugunj' is an innovative program of 'Arts-enriched Education' in the direction of the global education system STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) of School Education Department of Madhya Pradesh. Now the programs of Anugunj are being organized in other divisions also. Some attractive presentations of these divisions are also included in the state level program of the capital Bhopal.
• Chief Secretary School Education Rashmi Arun Shami said that students of Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Ujjain divisions of the state are participating in the fourth edition of the state level 'Anugunj' organized in Bhopal. 'Anugunj' is being edited under three main sections Rangkar, Dhanak and Srijan.
• Anugunj provides an opportunity to students to learn the nuances of the arts with great enthusiasm in terms of 'Education with Art'.
• Madhya Pradesh has been grouped with the North Eastern states, Manipur and Nagaland for cultural exchange in the 'Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat' program envisaged by the Central Government, which will provide an opportunity to know the interstate culture, arts and styles. In this sequence, cultural glimpses of these states will also be seen in 'Anugunj' 2022.

Wild Buffalo in Kanha Tiger Reserve

Why In News?

• On December 4, 2022, Madhya Pradesh's PCCF Wildlife, JS Chauhan said that preparations are on to settle wild buffaloes in Kanha National Park. The forest department will write a letter to the Assam government demanding wild buffaloes.

Key Points

• It is worth mentioning that wild buffaloes were found in Kanha National Park 40 years ago. Gradually they became extinct. Now the state government is once again trying to populate the forest of the state with wild buffaloes.
• The number of Asian wild buffaloes is currently less than four thousand. Wild buffaloes, which were found in large numbers throughout Southeast Asia until a century ago, are today found only in India, Nepal, Burma and Thailand.
• They are found in the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, India. In central India, they are found in the Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve in Gariaband district in Chhattisgarh and the Indravati National Park in Kutru, Bijapur district.
• A species of wild buffalo, with a white mark on its head, was earlier also found in the forests of Madhya Pradesh, but is now extinct.
• The female wild buffalo gives birth to five children in its lifetime. Their life span is nine years. Generally, female wild buffaloes and their offspring remain in flocks and live separately from the male herd. But if a female of the herd is ready to conceive, then the most powerful male does not allow any other male to come to her. This male usually lives around the herd.
• Male children leave the herd at the age of two. Wild buffalo is often born at the end of the rainy season. If a child's mother dies, other females adopt it.
• The biggest threat to wild buffaloes is from infected diseases of domesticated cattle, the major disease being foot and mouth. A disease called Redampest had at one time greatly reduced their number.

For the First Time, a Woman became President of the Administrative Services Association

Why In News?

• On December 4, 2022, Ranjita Hembram was unanimously elected president of the Jharkhand Administrative Service Association in the general body-election process of Ranchi College at Aryabhatta Auditorium, Ranchi University, Morabadi, capital Ranchi. For the first time in Jharkhand's 22-year history, a woman has been elected president of the Administrative Services Association.

Key Points

• Apart from Ranjita Hembram, Seraikela-Kharsawan's DDC Praveen Gagarai had also nominated for the post. Later Praveen withdrew his name and Ranjit Hembram was unanimously elected as the President of the Jharkhand Administrative Services Association. Ram Kumar Sinha was the president of this association before Ranjita Hembram was elected as the president.
• Ranjita Hembram joined the administrative service after passing the Bihar Administrative Service Commission (BPSC) examination. She was a female topper in the examination held in United Bihar. He was ranked seventh overall in the whole of Bihar. Ranjita Hembram, a 41st BPSC 1998 batch officer, has been the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Ratu block of Ranchi district.
• Ranjita Hembram is currently joint secretary of Jharkhand Joint Entrance Examination Council. She is also the Deputy Controller of Examinations of Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (JCECEB).

Training for Natural Farming To Farmers of 9 Districts Including Sahibganj

Why In News?

• On December 3, 2022, Dr. Amrit Kumar Jha, Chief Scientist of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, in a national workshop organized for natural farming at Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Agricultural University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, told that soon farmers will be given natural farming in nine districts including Sahibganj of Jharkhand. Farming training will be given.

Key Points

• It is noteworthy that a program is being organized for natural farming in 425 districts across the country. In this, nine districts including Sahibganj of Jharkhand have also been selected.
• Under this, the farmers will be told the methods of natural farming. Farmers will be made aware about promoting natural farming instead of using chemical fertilizers.
• Farmers will be made aware by training them to do natural farming, so that the fertility of the soil remains. Farmers should do natural farming by not using chemical fertilizers in the fields, by using more and more cow dung, manure and cow urine in the fields, so that the number of earthworms in the fields can increase. The use of chemical fertilizers is reducing the number of earthworms in the field, due to which the fertility of the fields is decreasing.

Revenue Book Circular Book

Why In News?

• On December 4, 2022, the State's Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Jaisingh Agarwal released the Revenue Book Circular Book written by senior advocate Vijay Kumar Dubey at his Korba residence.

Key Points

• In this book of about 1100 pages, after the formation of the state of Chhattisgarh, amendments have been made in the Land Revenue Code in the public interest and the guidelines issued by the state government through official circulars for the enforcement of these amendments. All have been included.
• On the occasion of the launch of the Revenue Book Circular Book, Revenue Minister Jaisingh Agarwal said that due to the inclusion of all references related to revenue in this book, this book will prove to be very useful while playing the role of a guide in relation to revenue matters. This book will be of great help to the revenue courts and advocates.
• Vijay Kumar Dubey, the author of the book Revenue Book Circular, said that in the context of revenue related matters, even the latest circulars issued by the Chhattisgarh government have been included in the book. He said that this book would prove to be very useful for all concerned as a reference book in dealing with revenue related matters.
• Vijay Kumar Dubey told that this is the fourth book out of many written by him, which has been released by the Revenue Minister. Prior to this, three other books have been released by the Revenue Minister in the past years.

Helpline Facility For Elderly, Disabled and Third Gender Community

Why In News?

• Women and Child Development Minister Anila Bhendiya and Urban Administration Minister Dr. Shivkumar Dahria, in a program organized on the occasion of International Day of Disabled on December 3, 2022, started to provide necessary facilities to the elderly, differently-abled and people of the third gender community in case of emergency. The new helpline facility done was duly launched.

Key Points

• Through this facility, along with medical aid, pension, problems being faced in various schemes will be resolved quickly. This new helpline facility is being operated by the Social Welfare Department.
• It is worth mentioning that Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had announced to start the facility of helpline number 155326 and toll free number- 1800-233-8989 for the elderly, disabled and third gender community from the State Foundation Day. This facility was being operated on an experimental basis by the Social Welfare Department. It has been duly launched on the occasion of International Day of Disabled.
• Mahtari Express-102, Medical Helpline 104 and number 112 issued for emergency services have also been linked with this new facility. This will provide better facilities to the elderly, differently-abled and people belonging to the third gender community.
• It is worth mentioning that there was no effective arrangement in the state for helping such elderly people who are alone at home and whose children are working outside the state. In view of this, on October 1, on the occasion of International Old Age Day, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had announced to start Cyan helpline for the elderly in Chhattisgarh from November 1 (State Formation Day).
• Several schemes and programs are being run by the Social Welfare Department for the welfare and rehabilitation of senior citizens, Divyangjan and transgender persons. Through helpline and toll free number, along with information about departmental schemes, help can be taken for many tasks related to emergency services, counseling, complaints, redressal of pension payments.
• On this occasion, Women Child Development and Social Welfare Minister Anila Bhendiya said that on the approval of the Chief Minister, rehabilitation equipment including motorized tricycles will be distributed to about 10,000 Divyangjan’s every year. Similarly, skill upgradation training will be given to 15,000 Divyangjan’s to connect them with employment according to their interest. In this, an action plan has been chalked out to provide skill-upgrading training to 5,000 bone-challenged, visually-challenged and deaf-mute disabled people.

Yogesh Bhatt Became State Information Commissioner

Why In News?

• On December 4, 2022, the Dhami government of Uttarakhand has entrusted state agitator and senior journalist Yogesh Bhatt with the responsibility of information commissioner. His tenure will last for the next three years from the day he assumes office.

Key Points

• Orders have been issued in this regard by in-charge secretary Surendra Narayan Pandey.
• It is worth mentioning that the selection committee formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister has selected them on the basis of applications received by the government. The committee includes Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya and Cabinet Minister Chandanram Das.
• During the Uttarakhand State Movement, Yogesh Bhatt played the role of an active agitator while still a student. Bhatt, who was involved in the operations of the Students and Youth Alliance (Saya), was also imposed under the Gangster Act during the 'No State, No Election' movement. Even after the formation of the state, Yogesh's outspokenness remained constant on the questions related to Uttarakhand on all forums.
• Yogesh Bhatt, who started journalism in the 90s, has also been recognized as an intense journalist. He made a distinct identity while working in several newspapers. Yogesh has always been vocal on the issue of journalistic interests. He has also served as General Secretary and President of Uttaranchal Press Club.

Mahasu Devta and Jageshwar Temple will be Master Plan on the Lines of Kedarnath

Why In News?

• On December 4, 2022, Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said that on the lines of Kedarnath and Badrinath Dham, a master plan will now be prepared for the development of Mahasu Devta in Hanol and Jageshwar Temple in Almora.

Key Points

• Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said in a statement that work is underway on the reconstruction of Kedarnath Dham and Badrinath Dham Master Plan. The number of pilgrims coming to Kedarnath and Badrinath is increasing every year.
• It is worth mentioning that people have unwavering faith in Mahasu Devta located in Hanol in Dehradun district and Jageshwar Temple in Almora. People from many states of the country also come here for darshan.
• The Tourism Minister said that the services of INI agency were used in the master plan of Kedarnath and Badrinath Dham. The process of granting permission to INI through single source is underway to prepare the master plan of Mahasu and Jageshwar temples. As soon as the permission is received, the development work of these two temples will be done according to the master plan.
• With the preparation of the master plan, the passenger facilities in both the historical temples will be developed in a planned manner.

12 Places Fixed for Tunnel Parking in the Mountains of Uttarakhand

Why In News?

• On December 4, 2022, P.C. Dumka, Joint Chief Administrator of Uttarakhand Housing and Urban Development Authority of Uttarakhand, informed that Chief Secretary Dr. On the instructions of SS Sandhu, a total of 12 mountains in four districts have been selected for tunnel parking. Their DPR is being prepared.

Key Points

• It is known that lakhs of tourists visit Uttarakhand every year, but the problem of parking in hilly districts is huge. To solve the problem of parking, work on tunnel parking was started on the instructions of Chief Secretary Dr. SS Sandhu.
• RVNL, UJVNL, THDC and NHIDCL have been made functional entities for parking.
• A total of 12 tunnel parking spaces have been earmarked for tunnel parking, including two in Pauri, Six in Tehri, two in Uttarkashi and two in Nainital.
• In hilly districts where large ground is not available for parking, the work of parking will be done through tunnels within the mountains. These parking will be made in such a way that the vehicle will enter for parking from one side and will exit on the other road.
• It may be noted that the state government has set a target of constructing 50 large parking lots in the state by the year 2025. By 2030, their number will increase to 100. Provisions are being made for special exemption for private participation in this. For this, the process of parking policy is going on at the government level, which will be brought in the cabinet soon.