• 08 May 2023

Khelo India University Games 2022 Logo, Mascot, Flambeau, Anthem & Jersey launched in Lucknow

Why in News?

On 5 May 2023 Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports Anurag Singh Thakur and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath launched the official Logo, Mascot, Flambeau, Anthem & Jersey of Khelo India University Games Uttar Pradesh-2022 on the auspicious occasion of Buddha Purnima in Lucknow.

Key Points:

• Significantly, this is the third edition of the Khelo India University Games.
• The games will start on 25 May and run till 3 June 2023.
• The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also flagged off four torch relays that would pass through the West, East, Central and Bundelkhand regions of India's largest state during the next 20 days.
• The logo of the University Games was launched by the Chief Minister.
• Union Minister Anurag Thakur released the anthem of the Games titled 'Khelo India - Har Dil Mein Desh' composed and sung by renowned singer Palash Sen.
• He then launched the official jersey of the University Games, which was worn by prominent players from Uttar Pradesh like Lalit Upadhyay, Sudha Singh and Divya Kakran and displayed it confidently on stage.
• The mascot of the University Games, Jitu Barasingha, an exotic live state animal and a symbol of 'Pride of Pride', was unveiled on the occasion.
• The final unveiling was the University Games torch which was brought on stage one by one by stalwarts of Uttar Pradesh - Lalit Upadhyay, Vandana Kataria, Sudha Singh, Vijay Yadav, Danish Mujtaba.
• It is worth mentioning that the official logo of Khelo India University Games 2022 Uttar Pradesh represents the rich heritage of India's largest state Uttar Pradesh. The insignia represents the rich traditional and historical heritage of the state, which has been the basis of its development in all aspects such as education, infrastructure and sports.
• Mascot Jeetu represents Barasingha. It is an amazing mammal, with a powerful physique and remarkable speed. It displays skill, ethics and grit in its nature and is the epitome of grace and finesse, which truly represents the spirit of Khelo India University Games, Uttar Pradesh. It showcases the power and richness of the cultural heritage of Uttar Pradesh.
• 'Shakti', the official torch of Khelo India University Games, Uttar Pradesh, is not only a symbol of its heritage and spirit but also a living entity that is full of energy. In order to motivate each athlete to move forward towards their ultimate goal, the river Ganga is engraved with 'Shakti' and inscribed on it is an upward-pointing, future-looking arrow depicting the glorious past and future of Uttar Pradesh Celebrates.
• The light-giving core of Shakti is also inscribed with peacock feathers and lotus petals, indicating her calm energy that can move mountains and is a powerful source of inspiration and willpower.
• This 12-day KIUG UP 2022 will be organized in the state capital Lucknow apart from Varanasi, Noida and Gorakhpur.
• The shooting competition will be held at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi. The Kabaddi competition will start on 23 May 2023 in Noida while some other events will also start on 24, May 2023 at different places.
• Inspired by the ideology of skill, ethics and grit, the Khelo India University Games will officially be held from May 25 to June 03, 2023, in various cities of Uttar Pradesh, in which more than 4000 athletes from 200 Indian universities will compete in 21 sporting events.

The train will run soon from Bathnaha to NCY between India & Nepal

Why in News?

On 7 May 2023, Railway Board's Executive Director Traffic Transport Pradeep Kumar Ojha told that operations will be started soon on the rail line constructed from Bathnaha to Jogbani Nepal Custom Yard between India-Nepal, under the Jogbani-Viratnagar cross-border rail link of Bihar's Araria district.

Key Points:

• It is worth mentioning that the meeting of the Eighth Project Steering Committee (PSC) and the Sixth Joint Working Group of the Ministry of External Affairs was held in Kathmandu, Nepal, in which it was decided to start the cargo train between Bathnaha and Nepal Custom Yard from May 2023.
• Under Jogbani-Biratnagar Cross Border Rail Link Project, an important rail project connecting India and Nepal, the work of construction of the rail line from Bathnaha to Biratnagar was done by IRCON Company.
• The work from Bathnaha to Nepal Custom Yard has been completed by IRCON, which is engaged in the construction of the rail line.

Patna's Ganga Maha Aarti is listed in the world record

Why in News?

According to information received from the media on 7 May 2023, the 11-day Gangotsav program organized by IDPTS at the Collectorate Ghat in Patna concluded with a wonderful performance of Ganga Maha Aarti. This program was a world record.

Key Points:

• The music composition and direction of this historical Ganga Aarti were done by Kathak Guru Bakshi Vikas of Lal Murar village of Buxar.
• It is known that the program started on 27 April 2023 at Collectorate Ganga Ghat. In this, 501 women performed Ganga Maha Aarti through dance.
• The music of this Aarti was composed in Awadhi, Hindi, Sanskrit and Russian languages. At the same time, the divine darshan of the mythological, spiritual and geographical aspects of the seven rivers of India was easily conveyed to the audience through Aarti.
• In Gangotsav, Kathak dancer co-guru Adityaa Srivastava along with her group expressed the anguish of Ganga by presenting a Kathak-style drama Ganga Ek Sankalp. In this play, Kathak dancer Amit Kumar enlivened the scene of holding Ganga in her hair with Shiva Tandav with his expressions.
• Kathak dancer Raja Kumar performed well enacting the fictional character 'Kalima'. The play ends with Bhagirath's message of hope to Ganga.
• Sapta Tarangini dance composition based on the spiritual, geographical and mythological stories of the rivers was presented on the occasion. In this presentation, Ravi Shankar, Shalini Maharaj, Khushi Gupta, Harshita Vikram, Sanjana, Sneha, Muskaan, Saloni, Roopa, Vandita and Tanu depicted the flow of rivers with expressions.
• On this occasion, Sanjeev Kapoor, Tejpal Singh Dhillon, Sarvesh Rai, Saroj Mishra, Amresh Pandey and Anjani Kumar honoured eminent personalities of art, medical education and other fields by giving mementoes and clothes.

A permanent bench of the Rajasthan Civil Service Appellate Tribunal will open in Jodhpur

Why in News?

On 5 May 2023, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot approved the proposal to open a permanent bench of 'Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribunal' in Jodhpur.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister has taken this decision considering the convenience of the state personnel. This bench will be operated in court number-19 of the old heritage building of Jodhpur High Court.
• The Chief Minister has also approved the creation of a total of 13 posts including 2 posts of Member, 1 of Assistant Registrar, 2 of Information Assistant, 2 of Senior Assistant, 3 of Junior Assistant and 3 posts of Personal Assistant Grade-2 in this permanent bench. A financial provision of Rs 25 lakh has been made for necessary equipment and furniture for the office.
• With this decision of the Chief Minister, cases related to the service of state personnel like pension, salary fixation, promotion etc. will be resolved quickly.
• It is worth mentioning that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had announced this in the budget for the year 2023-24.

Nursing colleges will be opened in Masuda, Rawatbhata and Nawan

Why in News?

On 5 May 2023, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot approved the opening of new Government Nursing Colleges at Masuda in Ajmer, Rawatbhata in Chittorgarh and Nawan in Nagaur.

Key Points

• A financial provision of Rs 17.70 crore has also been approved for the operation of these new colleges.
• Along with this, approval has also been given for the creation of 24 new posts for each college. Of these posts, one post each of Principal, Vice-Principal, Professor, 2 posts of Associate Professor, 3 posts of Assistant Professor, 8 posts of Tutor, 7 posts of Executive Assistant, and 1 post of Assistant Librarian are included in each college.
• For each college, services will be taken through the agency on 10 posts of multi-tasking staff and 10 posts of security guards through Rajasthan Ex-Servicemen Corporation Ltd. (REXCO).
• It is worth mentioning that in the budget of the year 2023-24, the Chief Minister had announced the opening of a new Government Nursing College.

Awards received during the closing ceremony of National Cooperative Masala Fair-2023 & Organic Food Festival

Why in News?

In the closing ceremony of the 10-day National Cooperative Masala Fair-2023 and the 3-day Organic, Food Festival organized on 7 May 2023 at the Rajasthan Jawahar Kala Kendra premises, various committees have been awarded in terms of business & display in the Cooperative Fair.

Key Points

• Based on best display, IFFCO, and KRIBHCO among national level institutions & Rajfed, CONFED, Tilam Sangh, Jaipur Dairy and Apex Bank were honoured among top cooperative institutions.
• Cooperative organizations of Markfed Kerala, Punjab, and TANfed Tamil Nadu were honoured for the sale & display of state-specific products and spices.
• Based on the layout, Udaipur, Bharatpur and Bhilwara stood first, second & third respectively in the category of district consumer stores.
• Among other states, Kerala State Cooperative Marketing Federation, Confed first and Tilam Sangh stood second for maximum sales at Sahakar Masala Mela.
• Mathania stood first, Nagaur second and Kishangarh third in the purchase and sale co-operative societies. Similarly, Kota, Udaipur and Jodhpur stood first, second & third respectively in the category of district consumer stores.
• The people of Jaipur bought spices worth more than Rs 2.10 crore at this fair.
• It is worth mentioning that on April 28, 2023, the National Cooperative Spices Fair-2023 was inaugurated.
• In the closing ceremony, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies Meghraj Singh Ratnu honored the best stalls by giving them certificates and mementoes.
• For the first time, organic cookies have started to be made available to the general public through CONFED.

Hindi feature film 'The Kerala Story' tax-free in Madhya Pradesh

Why in News?

On 6 May 2023, the Madhya Pradesh Commercial Taxes Department issued an order to make the Hindi feature film 'The Kerala Story' directed by Mr. Sudipto Sen, tax-free for its exhibition period from 6 May to 5 June 2023 in the state.

Key Points

• Because of the script and other special social utility qualities of the film, it has been exempted from tax.
• As per the issued order, the movie tickets will be sold to the audience by the concerned cinema halls/multiplexes after deducting the amount of SGST for the screening of the film.
• There will be no increase in the prevailing general entry fee of the respective cinema halls for the film screening. An amount equal to the share of SGST will be reimbursed by the State Government.
• It is worth mentioning that this film exposes the conspiracy of love jihad, proselytization and terrorism.
• This film shows how the daughters who get entangled in the trap of love jihad in the trap of momentary sentimentality, are ruined. The film also exposes the design of terrorism.

the e-Fard system implemented in the state

Why in News?

On 6 May 2023, moving in the direction of good governance from e-governance, the Haryana State Government started the digital signature Jamabandi i.e. e-Fard system in the state to provide great relief to the people.

Key Points

• With the implementation of the e-fard system, people will no longer have to visit the Patwari's offices to get their jamabandi's signed fards, rather people will be able to obtain digitally signed fards i.e. copies through the www.jamabandi.nic.in portal.
• It is known that earlier to get fard one had to go round the Patwaris, even though it used to take months but now this work is done in minutes sitting at home.
• It is worth mentioning that the state government launched the www.jamabandi.nic.in portal on 25 December 2022. The service charge for one Fard is Rs.100 only and Rs.10 for the first Khewat & Rs.5 for each subsequent Khewat.
• The Jamabandi portal acts as a single window for land record-related information. Apart from e-fard, all information related to land data such as Khasra, Khatauni land map, property registration, stamp duty calculator, etc. services is being made available on this portal itself.
• In all the 143 tehsils/sub-tehsils of the state, land records management works have been computerized using the web-halris system and all revenue record rooms have also been computerized.
• Digital revenue record rooms were established at all the district headquarters and state headquarters of the state. Under this new initiative, important revenue records & documents have been scanned and indexed & kept in digital boxes in modern record rooms. For this, 18 crores 50 lakh documents have been scanned. With the help of I.T., it is now easy to maintain records and find them when required.

'Mukhyamantri Dudh Uphaar Yojana' selected for Scotch Gold Award

Why in News?

On 5 May 2023, Haryana's Women & Child Development Minister Kamlesh Dhanda said that to improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age group of 6 months to 6 years, pregnant women, lactating mothers in the state, the 'Mukhyamantri Doodh Uphaar Yojana', which is being run by the Women & Child Development Department, has been selected for the Scotch Gold Award.

Key Points

• It is worth mentioning that given the increasing danger of malnutrition among women and children in the state, under the guidance of the Chief Minister, the 'Mukhyamantri Doodh Uphaar Yojana' was started on 5 August 2020 during the Corona period.
• Under the 'Mukhyamantri Doodh Uphaar Yojana', a target was set to make skimmed milk available for 300 days a year at Anganwadi centres to remove the deficiency of vitamins A and D3 in identified children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
• With the supervision of the department's headquarters, district-level officers, and the cooperation of the workers and assistants working at the Anganwadi centres, continuous improvement was seen in the health of the beneficiaries, especially in their nutritional status.
• In the state, 9 lacks 23 thousand children from 6 months to 6 years, 2 lakh 88 thousand pregnant women and lactating mothers have been provided milk in Rose, Cardamom, Chocolate, Vanilla, Butterscotch and Plain Milk flavours six days a week.
• Through this milk, the beneficiaries have got an abundant amount of protein, calories, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B12, vitamin A and D3, due to which there has been an increase of 3.67 per cent in the number of general category children in the state from the point of view of nutrition while there was a decrease of 3.66 per cent in moderately underweight children.
• It is known that the Skoch Institute encourages efforts to bring change through innovative efforts from the socio-administrative point of view at the national level and in the past also various departments of Haryana state were honoured for their innovative efforts.

5 Chitra Bharti Film Festival 2024 poster released

Why in News?

On 7 May 2023, the poster of the Chitra Bharti Film Festival 2024 was inaugurated in Jharkhand by the cooperative organization Chitrapat Jharkhand at Vidya Bharti office located in Hinoo's Shukla Colony.

Key Points

• The entry of films for the film festival will be taken from 1 September 2023 till midnight of 30 November 2023.
• The films for this film festival have been divided into 4 categories, in which the first children's film, documentary film, short film and campus film have been determined.
• Fifth Chitra Bharti Film Festival Panchkula (Haryana) will be held on 23, 24 and 25 February 2024 organized by Bhartiya Chitra Sadhana to promote Indian films and to showcase films made by artists from every corner of the country on art, culture, and civilization, history, dialect, language.
• The main objective of this film festival is to enrich the country's art culture and to show the country's distinct identity on the world stage through art culture through its dialect language and films.
• The main theme of this year's film festival is Women's Empowerment, Employment Generation, Harmony, Environment, Future India, Tribal Society, Rural Development, Vashudhaiv Kutumbakam and Children's films will be the main attraction of this film festival, whose main theme has been kept mighty child, innovation in child education & moral education.
• Films are being invited from all over the country on these main subjects. This year the cash amount of the award has been kept at Rs.1000000.

Kabirdham is the 1st district in the country to get Cataract Blindness Backlog Free status

Why in News?

On 6 May 2023, Chhattisgarh Health Services Director Bhim Singh reviewed the National Blindness and Short Vision Control Program with senior departmental officers. During this, he informed that seven districts have achieved Cataract Blindness Backlog Free Status under National Netra Jyoti Abhiyan in the state, in which Kabirdham is the first district in the country to achieve this status.

Key Points

• Along with Kabirdham, Raipur, Balodabazar-Bhatapara, Raigarh, Dhamtari, Rajnandgaon and Balod have also achieved this status.
• It may be noted that a target has been set to make Chhattisgarh a corneal opacity-free state by the year 2025.
• In the meeting, Director Bhim Singh praised the state nodal officers including nodal officers of all the districts for successful service delivery and 100 percent achievement in the field of eye services in the state by encouraging them to do more operations in the current financial year 2023-24.
• Health department officials informed in the meeting that a total of 1 lakh 35 thousand 113 cataract operations have been performed in the state in the last financial year. This number is the highest among the cataract operations performed in the state in a year.
• The actual target of cataract operation was kept at 1 lakh 7 thousand 800 by the Government of India and 1 lakh 25 thousand at the state level. Along with this, 32 thousand 603 operations for other eye diseases have also been done.
• Raipur district stood first, Surajpur second and Balodabazar-Bhatapara third in maximum cataract operations relative to the expected target. In the meeting, these three districts were honoured by giving symbols.
• In the meeting, the district hospitals which performed the maximum number of cataract operations in government hospitals (District Hospital/Civil Hospital/CHC) in relation to the expected target were also honoured with the symbol. In this, Dhamtari district stood first, Raigad second and Balodabazar-Bhatapara third.
• Dr. Sarita Nirmal of Jagdalpur District Hospital, who has done the maximum number of eye operations in the state, Dr. Meena Patel of Raigad District Hospital, who stood second and Dr. J.S. Khalsa of Dhamtari District Hospital, who stood third, was also honoured in the meeting.
• Dr. Rajesh Suryavanshi, District Hospital Dhamtari, surgeons who perform a large number of eye operations, Dr. R.S. Sengar, Chief Medical & Health Officer Korea, Dr. Teras Kanwar, District Hospital Surajpur, Dr. R. Meshram, District Hospital Raigarh, Dr. R.K. Awasthi, Civil Surgeon cum Hospital Superintendent Balodabazar-Bhatapara, Dr. Prabha Sonwani, Sims Medical College Bilaspur and Dr. Tarun Kanwar, District Hospital Bijapur were honoured by presenting mementoes.
• So far, 244 eye donations have been received in the state against the target of 400 eye donations. There are 6 eye banks and 4 corneal transplant centres registered in the state, which have been allotted to the districts.
• Transplantation of the corneas obtained after testing the patients identified by the concerned centre as suitable is being done. Under the 'Corneal Blindness Free State Scheme', there is a target to make the state Corneal blindness free by the year 2025.
• Chhattisgarh is the first state where government hospitals have made additional arrangements for the transportation of patients suffering from eye diseases from home to hospital and from hospital to home.

For the 1st time in the country, BRO opened a Cafe in Chamoli.

Why in News?

According to information received from media sources on 7 May 2023, on the 64th Foundation Day of Border Roads Organization (BRO), Minister of State for Defense Ajay Bhate virtually inaugurated the first cafe of BRO in the country at Pandukeshwar in Chamoli district on Badrinath Highway in Uttarakhand.

Key Points

• The cafe opened by BRO at Pandukeshwar is the first cafe of the organization. In this, the best food facilities will be provided for the pilgrims visiting Badrinath Dham and Hemkund Sahib.
• With this new initiative of BRO, the pilgrims coming on pilgrimage will get a lot of conveniences.
• Wherever there are BRO roads in the country, cafes will be opened at 75 places along them.

Students will get Bilingual Books in Uttarakhand Schools

Why in News?

According to information received from media sources on 6 May 2023, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, during the review of school education, said that from the next session, students of classes 6 to 12 of state government and non-government schools will be given Science, Mathematics and Civics bilingual books will be made available.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister said that in each such subject book of NCERT, the left page would be in Hindi and the right page would be in English language. This will make it easier for Hindi and English medium children to study.
• On this occasion, the Chief Minister directed the officials to study the reasons for the dropout of students in the districts under school education and make every possible effort to reduce the number of dropout children and to increase the number of students in government schools.
• Under PM Shri, all the necessary facilities will be provided for the selected 142 schools of the state. Along with school education, special attention will also be given to vocational education.
• Courses will be conducted in polytechnic colleges and ITIs based on the demand of time. For this, continuous coordination will be made with industrial institutions, so that after training the students get proper placement.
• Paying special attention to the modernization of polytechnic colleges and ITIs, it should be decided that they should have skilled human resources as well as necessary equipment. Special attention should be given to those trades in which the demand for work has increased. Instructions were also given to upgrade polytechnic colleges and ITIs in a phased manner.
• The Chief Minister said that special attention will be paid to the compliance of the National Education Policy 2020 and work will also be done to promote vocational courses along with higher education.