• 06 Oct 2022

International Abhidhamma Day

Why In News?

• On October 5, 2022, the Ministry of Culture of Uttar Pradesh informed about the International Abhidhamma Day event to be held on October 9 at Gautam Buddha University (GBU) in Greater Noida, the state.

Key Points

• According to the information, the International Abhidhamma Day program will be organized by the Ministry of Culture of the state government.
• Representatives and ambassadors from around 20 countries, followers of Buddhism, are expected to attend the event and Gautam Buddha University (GBU) Chancellor and state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also attend the event.
• Delegates from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, China, South Korea, Bhutan, Taiwan, Romania, Korea, Afghanistan, Nepal, Mongolia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and the United States may participate on the occasion of International Abhidhamma Day. Most of the students from these countries come to study in Gautam Buddha University.
• After becoming the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath made his first foreign trip in 2017 to Myanmar (Burma), a follower of Buddhism.
• Significantly, the only university in the country named after Lord Buddha is in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. Along with the state, Buddha studies are taught in various universities of the country, but the most trend of foreign students is about Gautam Buddha University. At present, students from 15 countries visit Gautam Buddha University every year for Buddhist studies.
• Gautam Buddha University is also a center of Buddhist in NCR. The centre of Buddha Studies was earlier in Delhi, but due to various courses conducted at Gautam Buddha University, BA, MA, PhD in Buddhist Studies with Buddha Faculty, Diploma Certificate Course in Buddhist Tourism, Pali Language and Literature, students are more inclined towards it.
• It is known that Abhidhamma day is actually a three-month rain retreat (symbolizing the end of Varsavasa or Vasa) for Buddhist monks, during which they stay in one place and pray. Abhidhamma Day is mostly celebrated in countries where the majority of the population is the followers of Buddhism. According to the belief, on this day Lord Buddha returned from heaven to earth.

Champion of Change Haryana-2021 Award

Why In News?

• According to the information given by the Haryana Public Relations Department on October 5, 2022, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has been awarded the 'Champion of Change Haryana-2021' award in the 'Champion of Change Haryana-2021' program organized in Chandigarh.

Key Points

• Former Chief Justice of Supreme Court and former Chairman of Human Rights Commission Justice K.G. The award has been presented to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on the recommendation of the selection committee headed by Balakrishnan. Manohar Lal is the first Chief Minister of Haryana, who has got this distinction.
• Chief Minister Manohar Lal has been honored with the Champion of Change Haryana-2021 award for his efforts to change the picture of Haryana's functioning and administrative efficiency through good governance in the last eight years.
• The Gandhi-Mandela Foundation, formed in the name of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and former President of South Africa, late Nelson Mandela, known as the world's biggest change motivator, and the Interactive Forum on Indian Economy, a national and state level awarding organization for change Lal was awarded
• It is to be noted that the Interactive Forum on Indian Economy is also going to organize the 'Global Champion of Change' program in Washington DC, USA at the international level by next year .
• It is noteworthy that this was the 5th edition of the organization, in which 25 other personalities, including the Chief Minister, were honored with the Champion of Change Haryana-2021 award, who became an inspiration for change in various fields.
• The first edition was held on 26 December 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi in which the award was presented by the then Vice President Venkaiah Naidu to Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh was given Similarly, in the second edition, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Union Minister Anurag Thakur; In the third edition, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Union Minister of State Shripad Naik and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin was honored in the fourth edition on September 30, 2021, to former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil.
• As part of its process, the selection committee invites applications for the award based on feedback from the people over a period of six months and then the members of the selection committee assess the applications and send the selected names to the institutes.
• The members of the selection committee for the Gandhi-Mandela Award include former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and former Chairman of the Human Rights Commission Justice Dr. K. G. Balakrishnan, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Dipak Misra, former Chief Justice of Nepal Justice Kedarnath Upadhyay, former Chief Justice of Bangladesh Justice Mohammad Tafazzul Islam and former Supreme Court of India Judge Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra.

National Level Saras Fair Organized for the First Time in Gurugram

Why In News?

• On October 4, 2022, a government spokesman of Haryana said that for the first time in Gurugram district of the state, a national level Saras fair would be organized from October 7 to 23, 2022 at Laser Valley Ground, Sector-29.

Key Points

• More than 250 stalls of art and culture products of 27 states of the country will be set up here. For the food lovers, 30 live food stalls of different states will be set up separately. In a way, people coming to this fair will have a vision of Mini India, where apart from popular products of different states, delicious dishes will be available and through cultural programs, there will be a full opportunity to know and understand the culture there.
• The government spokesman said that in this fair, workshops will also be organized on two topics daily for women of self-help groups so that they can earn more profits by developing skills in selling their products and marketing etc.
• It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Rural Development is going to launch its e-commerce platform soon for better and effective marketing of products prepared by women of self-help groups. So far, these products were being delivered to people through e-commerce companies such as Amazon, FlipCart and other online sites.

Three New Awards will be given in the State Decoration Category

Why In News?

• On October 5, 2022, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel took a big decision regarding the honor of folk art seekers in Chhattisgarh and announced three new awards in the state investiture category to be given on the establishment of the state in Chhattisgarh. This award was given by folk artist Late Laxman Masturia and Late. He will be dedicated to Kaushalya, mother of Lord Rama and Sahman Sao.

Key Points

• In this regard, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that Chhattisgarh is famous for its ancient and rich cultural heritage and vibrant culture. The rhythmic music, folk songs and folk dramas here give a feeling of wonderful bliss.
• In order to preserve and promote the great heritage of folk songs and folk music of the state and to inspire new artists working in this field, three new awards will be given by the state government along with other awards in the form of state decorations.
• In this, 'Laxman Masturia Award' will be given in the field of folklore. At the same time, art seekers who have contributed in the field of folk music will be honored with 'Khuman Sao Puraskar'. Similarly, in Chhattisgarh, the maternal home of Mata Kaushalya and the maternal grandmother of Lord Ram, the best Ramayana (Manas) congregation will be decorated with 'Mata Kaushalya Samman'.
• Like the state decoration, the awards of these categories will also be given during the Rajyotsava program to be organized on the occasion of the State Foundation Day.
• The Chief Minister said that by expressing gratitude to the flag bearers of the state's culture and the award being instituted in their name, the contribution of those great artists will also be known to the future generation. Apart from this, interest in folk songs and folk music will also increase.

Lowest Unemployment in Chhattisgarh

Why In News?

• According to the information given by the Chhattisgarh Public Relations Department on October 4, 2022, the unemployment rate in Chhattisgarh state in September is at its lowest level of 0.1 percent so far. Chhattisgarh tops the list with the lowest unemployment rate in the country.

Key Points

• The Public Relations Department said that according to the latest data released by the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), 99.90 percent of the people of the state are getting livelihood by joining some kind of employment.
• According to the latest data released by CMIE, the unemployment rate in Chhattisgarh has been recorded at 0.1 percent in the month of September, while in the month of September this figure of unemployment rate in the country has been 6.43 percent. The figure of unemployment was 7.70 percent in urban areas of the country and 5.84 percent in rural areas in the month of September.
• According to the report on unemployment rate released by CMIE on October 1, 2022, Chhattisgarh tops the states with the lowest unemployment rate in September 2022 with 0.1 percent. In the same period, Assam is second with 0.4 percent and Uttarakhand is third with 0.5 percent unemployment rate. In Madhya Pradesh this figure is 0.9 percent and in Gujarat this figure is 1.6 percent.
• On the other hand, Rajasthan tops the list with the highest unemployment rate in September 2022, recording an unemployment rate of 23.8 percent. Jammu and Kashmir recorded an unemployment rate of 23.2 percent, Haryana 22.9 percent, Tripura 17.0 percent and Jharkhand 12.2 percent.
• The reason behind this achievement of Chhattisgarh state in terms of minimum unemployment rate has been the scheme and policies made to create new employment opportunities under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. In the last four and a half years, many such innovations have taken place in Chhattisgarh, which have given work to every hand from the city to the village.
• In Chhattisgarh, the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel started working with the goal of inclusive development. In line with Mahatma Gandhi's vision of 'Gram Swaraj', innovations were made in the direction of economic strengthening of villages. In this, the 'Narva-Garuva-Ghurva-Bari' program played an important role under the 'Suraji Gaon Yojana', on the other hand, with the 'Godhan Nyay Yojana', the Gauthans were developed as Rural Industrial Parks, from which cow dung was sold to cow dung. Villagers got employment by making products. New employment opportunities were created.
• From 7 to 65 types of minor forest produce were purchased at support price and processing and value addition of these minor forest produce was done. This also provided employment to people in Vananchal.
• 'Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana' made efforts towards economic prosperity of farmers, while after this scheme, the interest of excited farmers increased towards agriculture. Area under cultivation and production increased in the state.
• Under the 'Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Krishi Bhumiheen Mazdoor Yojana', people associated with the 'Pauni-Pasari' system received financial assistance. A new industry policy was implemented in the state, in which provisions for subsidy were made in many sections and different sectors. This accelerated entrepreneurship development.

Information Ministry Honored Nivrutti Yadav

Why In News?

• On October 5, 2022, Nivrutti Yadav of Uttarakhand was honored by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for adopting Sain, the native village of the country's first CDS General Bipin Rawat, and doing better work for the society.

Key Points

• At present, Nivrutti Yadav Dr. Harivansh Rai is also the founder of the Bachchan Foundation. This organization is working to provide better education to the children of the village as well as connecting the villagers with self-employment. For this, sewing centers and many other training institutes have been opened for women in Sain village.
• In view of these works of the organization, Nivrutti Yadav was honored by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Garhwal MP Tirath Singh Rawat have given him the award.
• At the same time, Nivritti Yadav was also given the responsibility as a member of the advisory panel of Mumbai region by Ravindra Bhakar, Chief Executive Officer of the Central Board of Film Certification. Nivritti Yadav is also associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious Adarsh Gram Project-2014.