State PCS

• 08 Feb 2022

Rajasthan Yuva Pakhwada

Why in News

• On February 7, 2022, the birth anniversary of the famous Gandhian Subbarao, the Directorate of Peace and Non-Violence, Rajasthan in collaboration with various departments in the state launched the 'Rajasthan Yuva Pakhwada', which will run till February 20, 2022.

Key Points

• Director of the Directorate of Peace and Non-Violence Manish Kumar Sharma informed that various programs will be organized across the state under Yuva Pakhwada. On the first day, state level conferences of district level non-violence cells were organized.
• The website of the Directorate of Peace and Non-Violence will be inaugurated and certificates will be distributed to the participants on 20th February at the conclusion of the Rajasthan Yuva Pakhwada program.
• Member Secretary of Rajasthan Youth Board informed that Rajasthan Yuva Pakhwada is to be celebrated at all district and subdivision level of the state under the joint aegis of District Youth Board and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan and District Non-violence Cell.
• Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Rajasthan Bharat Scouts and Guides, volunteers of NCC and NSS, National Youth Award recipients of the respective district will be organized keeping in mind the guidelines of Covid-19, Yuva Pakhwada will be organized.
• It is proposed to organize an online quiz and competition through Jan Kalyan Mobile App in all the programs to be organized during this Pakhwada.

Lokayukta Presented 33rd Consolidated Report to Governor Kalraj Mishra

Why in News

• On February 7, 2022, the Lokayukta of Rajasthan, Justice P.K. Lohra presented the 33rd Consolidated Report (from March 1, 2018 to December 31, 2021) to Governor Kalraj Mishra.

Key Points

• Harsh Kumar Mishra, Deputy Secretary, Lokayukta Secretariat informed that a total of 9,810 complaints were pending at the time Lokayukta Lohra assumed office on March 9, 2021.
• Despite the adverse circumstances at the time of the Covid epidemic, Lohra has disposed of a total of 5 thousand 43 complaints till December 2021 without any leave keeping in view the grievances of the aggrieved persons.
• The Deputy Secretary said that this is the highest disposal of grievances since the establishment of the Lokayukta institution in 1973.

Intensive Mission Indradhanush 4.0 Vaccination Campaign Launched

Why in News

• On February 7, 2022, the Medical and Health Department of Rajasthan launched the 'Intensive Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0' vaccination campaign in Jaipur to protect children in the age group of zero to 2 years from nine diseases.

Key Points

• The Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 vaccination campaign covers only those children who have been deprived of routine vaccination due to any reason. Under the campaign, a target has been set to vaccinate about 487 children and 114 pregnant women of the district.
• The first phase of Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 vaccination campaign will be operational till February 13. The second phase of the campaign will be conducted from March 7 to March 13 and the third phase from April 4 to April 10.
• During this campaign, BCG, Polio, Hepatitis B, Pentavalent, FIPV, RVV, PCV and MR vaccines will be administered to protect children in the age group of 0 to 2 years from nine diseases. Similarly, td-1, td-2 and booster td vaccines will be given to pregnant women who are not vaccinated regularly.
• It is noteworthy that the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya launched Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0 through virtual medium in the presence of health officials of the States and Union Territories.
• Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 will have three rounds and will be conducted in 416 districts (including 75 districts identified for the Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav) in 33 States/UTs of the country. In its first round (February-April 2022), 11 States/UTs will operate IMI 4.0. These states/union territories are- Assam, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura and Chhattisgarh.
• At the same time, other 22 states will conduct the round from April to May 2022. These States/UTs include Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Puducherry, Delhi, Punjab, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Telangana, Jharkhand, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands are included.

'Har Ghar Jal' Connection to all Families in 1001 Villages of the State

Why in News

• As of February 7, 2022, under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), all households in 1001 villages of Rajasthan have been provided with 'Har Ghar Jal' connection. Clean drinking water is being supplied to all the people in these villages through tap connections at their homes.

Key Points

• It is noteworthy that by the year 2024, a target has been set to provide water connections to all the rural households of the state.
• Drinking water is being supplied to more than 90 percent of the 617 villages, more than 80 percent in 705 villages and more than 70 percent of the households in 772 villages through 'Har Ghar Jal' connection. At present, about 3 thousand new rural families are being given water connections every day in the state.
• In the 192 villages of Sri Ganganagar among the districts of the state, all the families have been covered in the 'Har Ghar Jal' connection. The coverage of 'Har Ghar Jal' connection has been completed in 161 villages of Nagaur, 92 of Rajsamand, 81 of Churu, 71 of Jaipur, 62 of Hanumangarh, 40 of Bhilwara, 39 of Sikar, 34 of Jodhpur and 27 villages of Bikaner. .
• It is noteworthy that under JJM, so far, approvals for 86 lakh 21 thousand 450 'Har Ghar Jal' connections have been issued in 9316 rural drinking water projects including 128 major drinking water projects in 35 thousand 776 villages and 9188 multi and single village projects.
• Against this, so far technical approvals of 8673 rural drinking water projects in 25 thousand 937 villages (62 lakh 51 thousand 516 for 'Har Ghar Jal' connection), 8148 schemes in 25 thousand 641 villages (62 lakh 3 thousand 603 'Har Ghar Jal') Tenders for connection) and work orders have been issued for 32 lakh 29 thousand 482 'Har Ghar Jal' connection in 5440 schemes in 13 thousand 20 villages.

Music Academy and Museum named after Swar Kokila Lata Mangeshkar

Why in News

• On February 7, 2022, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the setting up of a Sangeet Academy and museum in the name of Swar Kokila Lata Mangeshkar along with her statue in Indore.

Key Points

• Music education will be provided to the children in this academy, while all their songs will be stored in the museum. At the same time, the Lata Mangeshkar Award will also be given on his birth anniversary.
• Significantly, Lata Mangeshkar was born on 28 September 1929 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He died on 6 February 2022 at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai of complications related to Covid.
• In view of his achievements in the field of music, he was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1969, Padma Vibhushan in 1999 and Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award in 2001.

Amendment Bill to Change the List of SC-ST

Why in News

• On February 7, 2022, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda introduced an amendment bill to change the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of Jharkhand in the Rajya Sabha.

Key Points

• According to the bill, along with the Bhogta community of Jharkhand, Tamaria/Tamdia, Purana, Deshwari, Ganjhu, Daulatbandi (Dwalbandi), Patbandi, Raut, Majhiya, Khairi (Kheri) will also be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST).
• Coming from SC to ST, including Bhogta, they will get the benefit of being included in the purview of larger reservations. There is currently 10% reservation for SC and 26% for ST in the state. Due to this, they will be able to benefit from additional reservation.
• The Tribal Research Institute (TRI) had recommended in the year 2002 to list Tamaria/Tamad in the category of Munda. At the same time, the recommendation to include Puran in ST was made by the Tribal Research Institute in 1993.
• It is noteworthy that during the tenure of the UPA government, in the year 2014, the then Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Dr. Rameshwar Oraon had recommended the inclusion of Bhogta caste in the Scheduled Tribes by removing it from the category of Scheduled Castes.

Previous Record of Paddy Purchase Broken in Chhattisgarh

Why in News

• In the paddy procurement campaign that was concluded in Chhattisgarh on February 7, 2022, the state government set a new record this year by buying 97 lakh 97 thousand 122 metric tonnes of paddy from farmers in the state at support price, breaking its previous year's record.

Key Points

• This year, paddy procurement in the state was scheduled from December 1, 2021 to January 31, 2022. In order to give opportunity to the farmers who could not sell paddy due to unseasonal rains, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had extended the stipulated period of paddy procurement from January 31 to February 7.
• This year, 21,77,283 farmers have sold their paddy on support price, which is 1,23,683 more than the 20,53,600 farmers sold last year.
• It is worth noting that due to the farmer-friendly policies of the Chhattisgarh government, there has been a significant increase in the number and production of paddy producing farmers in the state in the last three years, due to which the record of buying paddy on support price is breaking year after year.
• For the convenience of the farmers, the number of paddy procurement centers was also increased from 2311 to 2484, which made it easier for the farmers to sell paddy. The price of gunny bags of farmers was also increased from Rs 18 to Rs 25.
• A new record has been set for purchasing 97.97 lakh metric tonnes of paddy this year. 92 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was procured in the year 2021, 83.94 lakh metric tonnes in the year 2020 and 80.37 lakh metric tonnes in 2019.
• This year, a total of 24,06,560 farmers had registered for selling paddy in the Kharif marketing year 2021-22, the area of paddy sown by them is 30 lakh 10 thousand 880 hectares, while the area of paddy registered last year is 27 lakh 92 thousand 827.
• It is worth mentioning that along with giving a fair price to the farmers for their crops, the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana is being run by the Chhattisgarh government to promote crop productivity and crop diversification. Due to this, people who have turned away from farming have also started returning to farming, due to which the number of farmers, area under cultivation and crop productivity are increasing continuously in the state.
• According to the information received from the Food Department, Rajnandgaon district has been the leader in the procurement of paddy on support price in the state. Out of 149 procurement centers of Rajnandgaon district, maximum 8 lakh 25 thousand 127 metric tonnes of paddy was procured. Janjgir-Champa district stood second by procuring 8 lakh 24 thousand 552 metric tonnes of paddy and Mahasamund district stood third by purchasing 7 lakh 74 thousand 136 metric tonnes of paddy.
• So far 64.43 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been lifted. By custom milling, 9.47 lakh metric tonnes of rice has been deposited in the Food Corporation of India and 7.66 lakh metric tonnes in Civil Supplies Corporation. This year, 19 thousand 83 crore 97 lakhs have been paid to them in lieu of paddy purchased from farmers.

National Winter Skiing Sports Competition Begins in Auli

Why in News

• On February 7, 2022, Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand, SS Sandhu inaugurated the three-day National Winter Games (National Skiing Championship) at Auli, a famous snow sports site located in Joshimath, Chamoli district. The competition will run till February 9.

Key Points

• 250 participants from 17 states including Uttarakhand, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir are participating in this sports competition being organized in collaboration with Tourism Department, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, District Administration, ITBP, Skiing and SnowBoard Association of Uttarakhand.
• Uttarakhand, Army, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir won gold medals on the first day. On the first day, four competitions were held in the men's and women's categories, which included players from Uttarakhand, Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Bihar.
• The Giant Salaam Competition was held under Alpine Skiing at the start of the competition. A total of 55 players participated in the men's section of the Giant Salaam Race, in which Sena won all three medals.
• In the second competition Alpine Skiing Women's category, Giant Salam was dominated by Himachal's team. Himachal players won all three medals in this.
• In the Alpine Giant Salaam Under-21 women's race, Uttarakhand won the gold, Jammu and Kashmir won the silver and Delhi won the bronze. In the men's Under-21 category, Jammu and Kashmir won gold, Bihar silver and Himachal Pradesh bronze.
• Salaam and Giant Salaam competitions are being organized under alpine skiing. In these, competition is being organized between men and women in senior category, junior under 21 age group, junior under 18 age group, sub junior under 16 age group and sub junior under 14 age group.
• Under snowboard, there will be men's and women's salaam competitions in the senior category, while there will be competitions between the under 19 age group and 17 age group.