• 08 Jan 2022

Uttar Pradesh Won First Prize in Water Awards

Why in News

• On January 7, 2022, Uttar Pradesh bagged the first prize in the 'Best State Category' of the Union Ministry of Water Affairs' National Water Awards 2020. Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu bagged the second and third prizes respectively in the Best State (General) category.

Key Points

• This is the third edition of the award given for adopting a holistic approach towards water resource management in India.
• A total of 57 awards were announced in 11 categories, including Best State, District, Panchayat and Best Industry.
• This year in the district category North Zone, the award was given to Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, while Balua of Varanasi won the award for 'Best Gram Panchayat-North Zone'.
• To meet the objective of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of rivers, water quality in major rivers including Ganga has improved significantly in Uttar Pradesh. The State Government has set up 104 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) with a capacity of 3,298.84 MLD (Million Liters Daily) in the State.
• Due to this the streams of the rivers have become uninterrupted and pure and the drains found in the rivers have been closed. Under 'Namami Gange', not only the Ganga, but the condition of all the major rivers including Gomti, Saryu, Yamuna, Rapti have improved due to intensive cleanliness drives.
• The Rural Water Supply Department of the State Government has completed preparations to connect more than 18 lakh families with water supply in the first phase of Har Ghar Nal Yojana under the Jal Jeevan Mission and the Namami Gange program of the Central Government.
• In 2018, the National Water Awards were instituted to recognize and encourage the exemplary work and efforts done by states, districts, individuals and organizations in achieving the vision of a water-rich Indian government across the country.

Uttar Pradesh Gets Five Prestigious e-Governance Awards

Why in News

• Recently, in recognition of the achievements of Uttar Pradesh in digitization and e-governance at the national level, the state has received five prestigious awards in various fields of e-governance, out of which two have been received by the Higher Education Department.

Key Points

• These awards will be presented at a function on 23rd January at MNNIT, Prayagraj.
• The UP-DARPAN Dashboard has been selected for the Excellence Award for Chief Minister. It is a portal facilitating quick and efficient redressal of grievances of citizens. It is being widely used by the people and has provided relief to thousands of complainants.
• The Higher Education Department has received the CSI SIG e-Governance Award 2021 in recognition of its commendable work in two efforts - Digital Library Project and Online NOC and Affiliation System for opening a new college/course.
• So far in the academic session 2021-22, 487 undergraduate NOCs, 431 postgraduate NOCs and 138 affiliations have been given online by the online NOC affiliation portal.
• Two other e-governance portals that are recognized at the national level are 'Mine Mitra' and 'Seva Mitra'. Mine Mitra is an online platform to facilitate online mineral management, online transit pass, online citizen and farmer services like online license, permit, lease and registration etc. to prevent illegal mining and encourage legal mining.
• It also facilitates integrated surveillance and enforcement systems such as automatic check gates, RFID handheld machines for m-checks, minetags, etc. These services and facilities are very useful for the general public, farmers, lessee holders, stockists and transporters.
• Seva Mitra is an online platform to act as a bridge between citizens and skilled workers in both rural and urban areas on a geo-location basis.

Nagaur Receives 24th National e-Governance Award

Why in News

• On January 7, 2022 Abhiyaan Silicosis Care of Nagaur district has been awarded the 24th National e-Governance Award in the category of 'Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering for Digital Transformation'.

Key Points

• This award was presented to District Collector Dr. Jitendra Kumar Soni and his team in the 24th National Conference held in Hyderabad.
• Nagaur District Collector Dr Jitendra Kumar Soni and his team were presented with a citation and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh as part of the award given in the Silver category of Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering for Digital Transformation.
• This national level e-governance award is given every year at the national level by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India. This award is given to the best performer on e-governance in all the 748 districts of the country. Under this, the district is selected through a complex process after thorough testing in four stages.
• The campaign 'Silicosis Care' was launched on behalf of Nagaur District Collector Dr. Jitendra Kumar Soni to give the benefits of quick assistance, pension, Palanhar scheme and food security provided by the government to the people suffering from silicosis disease. Under this, in Nagaur district, 2058 living silicosis patients and 360 deceased silicosis patients' families benefited from various schemes provided by the government in a single format on a digital platform.
• Considering this innovation as a model, instructions were also issued by the Additional Chief Secretary, Mines (Group-I) Department to run the campaign in the entire state.
• The fourth Digital Transformation Award-2021, given at the national level in the Digital Transformation in Health Care category by the Governance Now team for Campaign Silicosis Care, was also presented to Nagaur District Collector Dr Jitendra Kumar Soni in November 2021.

Governor Launches New Website of Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission

Why in News

• On January 7, 2022, the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Mangubhai Patel, launched the newly developed website of the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission at the Raj Bhavan. The website is developed with advanced technology as per the norms of GIGW and WCAG 2.0.

Key Points

• Based on this user-friendly interface system, candidates will be able to get information easily. All the information and information related to the commission will be available to the candidates on the new website.
• On the occasion of the launch of the new website, the Governor appreciated the innovations being done in the direction of transparency and promptness as per the dignity of the Commission.
• He expressed hope that through this new website, the participant will get proper information easily and quickly. Along with this, the transparent working system of the commission will be strengthened further.

Employment Fair in Every District on Youth Day

Why in News

• On January 7, 2022, Madhya Pradesh's MSME Secretary P Narhari informed that the state government would provide self-employment to a large number of youth by organizing employment fairs in all the districts of the state on the occasion of Youth Day on January 12.

Key Points

• Secretary P Narhari informed that in view of the immense possibilities of self-employment in Madhya Pradesh, many self-employment schemes are being operated through various departments and banks.
• He informed that major schemes like Pradhan Mantri Svanidhi Yojana, Chief Minister Rural Path Vendor Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Standup India Scheme, Prime Minister's Employment Generation Program, National Rural Livelihood Mission, National Urban Livelihood Mission etc. are being operated.
• The Secretary said that the ambitious 'Mukhya Mantri Udyam Kranti Yojana' has been started by the State Government to encourage self-employment, in which a large number of youth will be linked with self-employment.
• For this purpose, the decision has been taken by the government to celebrate the state-wide self-employment, employment day on January 12, 2022. In this, a district level program and a state level program will be done at all the district headquarters.
• Approval distribution letters will be given to the beneficiaries in the state and district level programs. Self-employed persons will be introduced to the experienced people already established in self-employment, so that the youth can get the benefit of their experiences. In addition, counseling and guidance will be provided to the youth attending the conference through subject-experts regarding self-employment under the self-employment scheme, exhibition of materials produced by successful and established beneficiaries of self-employment schemes.
• Stalls of various departments, banking institutions etc. will be set up in the fair, where the youth will get information about employment schemes, self-employment possibilities, banking facilities etc.

Prize Distribution in Pt. Keylal Dubey National Parliamentary School

Why in News

• On January 7, 2022, prizes were distributed to the participants of the Parliamentary Question Forum competition at Pt. Keylal Dubey National Parliamentary School, Bhopal.

Key Points

• Pratima Yadav, Director of Parliamentary School, said that for the first time in Bhopal, Parliamentary Question-Forum Competition was organized among the students of government and non-government schools by Vidyapeeth.
• Teams from 17 schools participated in the event. Out of these 5 teams were selected. In the competition, questions related to Parliamentary subjects were asked through Rapid Fire, Buzzer Round, Passing Round, Audio-Video Round and Surprise Round.
• The first prize of the question-stage competition was won by the students of Saraswati Bal Mandir Higher Secondary School, second prize by Delhi Public School and third prize by the students of Sant Shri Asharam Ji Bapu Gurukul.

Haryana Leading State in Installing Solar Pumps

Why in News

• On January 6, 2022, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the state is leading in the country in the matter of installation of solar water pumps to promote micro irrigation under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM).

Key Points

• The Chief Minister said this while providing solar pumps to farmers during the digital inauguration program organized through video conferencing.
• On the occasion, Khattar also released a booklet on solar water pumping programs and a utility booklet for farmers.
• The Chief Minister directed to shift the tubewells of less than 50 HP, which are running on electricity and being used for agricultural purposes, to solar energy in the state.
• Khattar also directed the Deputy Commissioners to promote micro-irrigation and launch a special drive to reach every farm under the state government's 'Har Khet Ko Pani' scheme.
• The Chief Minister said that 25897 solar pump sets have been installed in the state in the last seven years and this year the work of installing 13800 pump sets is in progress. Haryana is the second state in the country after Gujarat, which has promoted solar energy.
• He said that the government is giving 75 percent subsidy on these solar pumps.
• He said that under the 'Mhara Gaon Jagmag Gaon' scheme, 24 hours power supply has become possible in 5500 villages of the state, as well as the line loss has come down from 33 to 14 percent.

Unemployment Rate in Haryana 6.1 Percent

Why in News

• On January 7, 2022, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the unemployment rate in the state is 6.1 per cent, in which around 10.59 lakh people in the age group of 18-58 years have declared themselves unemployed.

Key Points

• As per the data collected under the Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) program (which has so far covered 98 per cent of the households in the state) there are 1.73 crore people in the age group of 18-58 years, of whom 1059530 have self-identified. declared unemployed. On the basis of these figures, the unemployment rate of Haryana is just 6.1 percent.
• In the previous report, CMIE had pegged the unemployment rate of Haryana at 35.1 percent. The latest CMIE report states that Haryana recorded the highest unemployment rate in the country at 34.1 per cent in December 2021, while India has registered an unemployment rate of 7.9 per cent.
• The Chief Minister said that so far a total of 6578311 families have been registered under PPP and the registered population figure is 25799000. Of these, about 18 lakh are children.
• The Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) has shown the unemployment rate in India to be 9.4 per cent, while in Haryana it was 10.3 percent during January-March 2021. CMIE showed the unemployment rate in the country at 74 per cent, while Haryana Is 293 per cent in the same period.

Labor Department got Golden Award for e-Shramik Service

Why in News

• On January 7, 2022, for innovation in the field of e-governance, the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India, was awarded the Golden Award for Labor Service to the Labor Department of Chhattisgarh.

Key Points

• The award was received by the Union Minister (Personnel, Public Grievances) Dr Jitendra Singh, Secretary, Labor Department, Chhattisgarh Alex Paul Menon and a team of Labor Department officials at a function held at Hyderabad International Convention Center, Hyderabad.
• The Labor Department of Chhattisgarh has been given the Golden Award for e-Shramik Service in the category Universalizing Access Including E-Services for National Award 2020-21 for e-Governance. An amount of Rs 2 lakh has been given with this award.
• About 36 lakh workers have been registered under e-shramik service by the Labor Department of Chhattisgarh Government. Chhattisgarh ranks 6th in the country in terms of registration of unorganized workers and third on the basis of target.
• The workers registered on the e-shram portal are being benefited from various schemes being run by the central and state governments for the workers.
• The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India, gives awards to various departments and districts of the Central and State Governments every year for innovation in e-governance.
• Excellence in Government Process Re-engineering for Digital Transformation for the year 2020-21, Universalizing Access including e-Services, Excellence in District Level Initiative in e-Governance, Outstanding Research on Citizen Centric Services by Academic/Research Institution, Excellence in Adopting Emerging The award has been given in the categories of Technology and Use of ICT in the Management of COVID-19.