Rajasthan

• 07 Apr 2023

4 Celebrities of the State Honored with Padma Shri

Why in News?

On 5 April 2023, President Draupadi Murmu honoured 4 personalities from Rajasthan with Padma Shri at the Padma Awards (second edition) held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

Key Points

• In the second edition of the Padma Awards, eminent personalities for their outstanding work in the field of social work, Public Life, Science, Engineering, Business, Industry, Medicine, Literature, Education, Sports, Civil Services and arts were honoured with the country's best civilian awards Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
• It is noteworthy that the names of the winners of these awards were announced on 25 January 2023. Those winners were awarded at the first edition of the Padma Awards ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 22. The remaining awardees are now conferred with the Padma Awards by the President.
• The awardees of the state include Ahmed Hussain & Mohammad Hussain for their excellent work in the field of ghazal singing & classical music, social worker Moolchand Lodha of Dungarpur for social work and Laxman Singh Lapodia of Jaipur for excellent work in the social sector itself.
• Moolchand Lodha, who belongs to the tribal-dominated Bangar area of the Dungarpur district, runs an organization called Jagran Jan Seva Mandal for the upliftment of tribals. Moolchand Lodha has been working continuously for the last 5 decades for the medical, education and welfare of tribals in the tribal and backward areas of this region. He has been given Padma Shri for the year 2023 for his excellent work.
• The first album Guldasta of Ghazal singers Ahmed Hussain and Mohammad Hussain brothers was released in 1980 and till now they have released more than 50 albums. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in the year 2000.
• Hussain brothers have also contributed a lot in social service by giving charity shows of Ghazals and classical music all over the world.
• Laxman Singh Lapodia was also awarded the Padma Shri by the President on March 22 during the first edition of the Padma Awards ceremony.
• He has done excellent work in the field of water conservation in the Jaipur district. For water conservation, 5 lakh square meters of land have been irrigated and made fertile by the traditional Chowka method. He has done remarkable work for water conservation in about 100 villages in the area.

An agreement was signed between the State Government and the French Development Agency

Why in News?

In a meeting held at the Government Secretariat in Jaipur on 5 April 2023, State Chief Secretary Usha Sharma told that an agreement has been reached between the state government and the French Development Agency, in which, the plantation will be done on a large scale under the 'Rajasthan Forestry and Biodiversity Development Project' to be implemented in collaboration with the French Development Agency, which will increase the green area of the state.

Key Points

• On this occasion, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Dr. D.N. Pandey and Bosle Bruno, Country Director of the French Development Agency in India, signed the agreement.  
• The 'Rajasthan Forestry and Biodiversity Development Project' will start a new era in the forestry and biodiversity sector of the state. For this, the French Development Agency was assured that the state government would achieve all the targets in the stipulated time while ensuring the quality of the project.
• Under this ambitious project of the Forest Department, Rs 1693.91 crore will be spent in 13 districts in the next 8 years, of which 70 percent (Rs 1185.28 crore) will be borne by the French Development Agency and 30 percent (Rs 508.62 crore) by the state government.
• Project Director Munish Kumar Garg told that various works will be done under the project in Bharatpur, Kota, and Tonk along with Alwar, Baran, Bhilwara, Bundi, Dausa, Dhaulpur, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Karauli and Sawai Madhopur districts of the state. Along with plantation in a 55000-hectare area, apart from the authorized areas of the Forest Department, 55 lakh saplings will also be distributed in the outer areas.
• Extensive development works will be done in Bharatpur's Kevaladeo National Park, Bisalpur, Tonk and Kota Conservation Reserves, Kota's Bhainsrodgarh Sanctuary, Bundi's Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve to create an environment conducive to uninterrupted life of animals. About 610 kilometres of borders in forest areas will be protected by concrete walls.