State PCS

• 12 Mar 2022

Door-to-Door Delivery of Digital Land Records

Why in News

• On March 11, 2022, Bihar's Revenue and Land Reforms Minister Ramsurat Kumar told the assembly that the Bihar government would soon deliver the digital documents of land including Khatian and Map from door-to-door in the state.

Key Points

• Bihar will be the first state in the country where people will get the facility of doorstep delivery of digital land documents.
• The revenue maps of villages, towns and cities of the state can now be ordered online. Speed post facility will be provided by the Department of Posts for the distribution of digital revenue/land records.
• Now the people of Bihar will not have to visit the government office for any document related to the land including Khatian (a document of identification of land for determining possession).
• The Revenue and Land Reforms Department has decided to launch an intensive campaign in April to remove encroachments in both commercial and residential areas. The campaign will start from constituency Aurai (Muzaffarpur) and will be extended to other parts of the state.

Rural Local Bodies Grant Amount

Why in News

• On March 11, 2022, the Department of Expenditure of the Union Finance Ministry released an amount of Rs 1,112.7 crore to Bihar for providing grants to rural local bodies. This grant-in-aid is the second installment of a conditional grant to the state of Bihar in the year 2021-22.

Key Points

• Along with this, the Department of Expenditure has released Rs 473.9 crore to Karnataka and Rs 634.6 crore to West Bengal for providing grants to rural local bodies. This grant-in-aid is the second installment of the unconditional grant to the states of Karnataka and West Bengal in the year 2021-22.
• The conditional grant as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission is based on the recommendations of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation for two important services, namely sanitation and maintaining Open Defecation Free (ODF) status and improving drinking water supply, rainwater harvesting and water recycling. Local Bodies (RLBs) are issued.
• Unconditional grants are released to Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) on the recommendations of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj after fulfilling the conditions laid down by the 15th Finance Commission.
• Of the total grant-in-aid for Panchayati Raj Institutions, 60 percent is earmarked for national priorities, such as drinking water supply, rainwater harvesting and sanitation (referred to as conditional grants), while 40 percent of the grant-in-aid is unconditional. And it is used at the discretion of the Panchayati Raj Institutions to meet the needs of the particular place.
• The local body grant is meant to ensure additional funds to rural local bodies in addition to the funds allocated by the Center and the state for sanitation and drinking water under centrally sponsored schemes.

Siddharth Joshi Got Second Place in the Third National Youth Parliament

Why in News

• On March 11, 2022, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla presented awards to the winners of the third edition of the National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF). Siddharth Joshi of Dungarpur, Rajasthan got the second position in this session of NYPF.

Key Points

• Addressing the participants, the Speaker said that the National Youth Parliament is an innovative program to acquaint the youth with parliamentary procedures and democratic processes.
• In the National Youth Parliament Festival- 2022 competition, Raageshwari Anjana of Bhopal got first, Siddharth Joshi of Vagad village of Dungarpur, Rajasthan got second and Amarpreet Kaur of Bathinda got third place.
• This festival is organized to elicit the views of the youth who will be involved in various careers including public services in the coming years.
• The first edition of NYPF was conducted from January 12 to February 27, 2019 and the second edition from December 23, 2020 to January 12, 2022.
• The third edition of NYPF was launched on 14th February, 2022 through virtual medium at the district level. From 23rd to 27th February, 2022, more than 2.44 lakh youth from across the country participated in the State Youth Parliaments followed by the District Youth Parliaments through virtual medium.
• Certificates and prizes (Rs. 2,00,000, Rs. 150,000 and Rs. 100,000 respectively) were given to the top three national winners and consolation prizes of Rs. 50,000 were given to the 2 participants.

1652 Wild Animals in Van Vihar National Park

Why in News

• On March 11, 2022, the director of Van Vihar National Park Zoo, Bhopal, H.C. Gupta said that the number of herbivorous wild animals living freely in the Van Vihar National Park Zoo and kept in the enclosures is 1652.

Key Points

• The Director said that in the census conducted on February 24, 25 and 26 this year, 1516 wild animals were found to move freely. These include 522 chital, 362 sambar, 81 nilgai, 90 wild boar, 257 peacock, 51 jackal, 60 langur, 71 black deer, 3 chausingha, 3 sehi, 11 reindeer, 3 wild cat and one chinkara and pegolin each.
• In the last 3 years, there has been an increase in the number of chital, wild boar, peacock, langur, reindeer, gharial and mountain tortoise etc. So far this year 38 chitals have been shifted to Gandhi Sagar, Mandsaur and Seoni sanctuaries.
• 3 lions, 13 tigers, 1 white tiger, 10 leopards, 20 bears, 1 hyena, 13 crocodiles, 2 gaur, 28 mountain tortoises, 33 aquatic tortoises and 6 alligators have been found in the park. 6 wildlife have gone to the Quarantine Center. These include 1 leopard and 5 African tortoises (court case).

Raageshwari Anjana of Bhopal Got First Place in National Youth Parliament

Why in News

• On March 11, 2022, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla presented awards to the winners of the third edition of the National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF). Among them, Raageshwari Anjana of Bhopal got the first position.

Key Points

• Addressing the participants, the Speaker said that the National Youth Parliament is an innovative program to acquaint the youth with parliamentary procedures and democratic processes.
• In the National Youth Parliament Festival 2022, Siddharth Joshi of Dungarpur, Rajasthan got the second position and Amarpreet Kaur of Bathinda got the third position.
• In the National Youth Parliament, Rageshwari spoke on the topic 'Importance of patriotism in nation building'. Rageshwari is a student of BUIT, Bhopal, she is also a member of NSS Cadet Corps.
• NYPF is organized to elicit the views of the youth who will be involved in various careers including public services in the coming years.
• The first edition of NYPF was conducted from January 12 to February 27, 2019 and the second edition from December 23, 2020 to January 12, 2022.
• The third edition of NYPF was launched on 14th February, 2022 through virtual medium at the district level. From 23rd to 27th February, 2022, more than 2.44 lakh youth from across the country participated in the State Youth Parliaments followed by the District Youth Parliaments through virtual medium.
• Certificates and prizes (Rs. 2,00,000, Rs. 150,000 and Rs. 100,000 respectively) were given to the top three national winners and consolation prizes of Rs. 50,000 were given to the 2 participants.

Three-day Art Exhibition Organized by Sadhna Kala Sansthan

Why in News

• On March 11, 2022, Governor Anusuiya Uikey inaugurated a three-day art-cum-photograph exhibition organized by Sadhna Kala Sansthan at the Town Hall, Collectorate Complex.

Key Points

• The Governor visited and appreciated the artefacts of Sadhna Dhand installed in the Town Hall.
• She said that Sadhna Dhandh has made her name a reality by practicing art with her tireless hard work. She did not let his disability become his weakness. For the last 40 years, not only did she make a name for herself in the art world by using her creative potential, but she has also become an inspiration to thousands of art lovers and is also teaching them art.
• She is constantly refining her art through creative disciplines such as sculpture, bonsai and photography.
• The Governor said that Sadhna Dhand's contribution in the field of art would encourage the people of the state and the country. She will always remain an inspiration for the handicapped.
• At the end of the program, Sadhna Dhandh presented a photo of Lord Ganesha based on Tanjore art to the Governor. The Governor also honored Sadhna Dhandh with a memento.

Criminal Cases Against 27 Percent of 70 Candidates Who Won Elections

Why in News

• A recent report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an electoral reform advocacy group, states that 19 (27 per cent) of all 70 candidates who won the 2022 Uttarakhand assembly elections have criminal cases against them.

Key Points

• The ADR in its report said that with Uttarakhand Election Watch, self-declared affidavits by all 70 candidates who won the Uttarakhand assembly elections in 2022 have been analyzed. Out of the 70 winning candidates, 19 (27 per cent) have given information about criminal cases registered against them in their affidavits.
• In the 2017 Uttarakhand assembly elections, 22 out of 70 MLAs (31 per cent) had declared criminal cases against them.
• Out of 47 winning candidates of the BJP in the 2022 Uttarakhand assembly elections, 8 (17 percent) candidates have criminal background.
• Of the 19 winning Congress candidates, 8 (42) per cent have given information about criminal cases against them in their affidavits.
• Of the two winning BSP candidates (50 per cent) and two independents, both have declared criminal cases.
• The ADR in its analysis found that five out of 47 BJP candidates (11 per cent), Congress four out of 19 winning candidates (21 per cent) and one out of two independents have declared serious criminal cases against them.
• According to the ADR report, out of 70 winning candidates, 58 (83 per cent) candidates are millionaires. In the 2017 assembly elections, 51 (73 percent) candidates were millionaires.