State PCS

• 12 Apr 2022

Uttar Pradesh included in the State Energy and Climate Index Round-1

Why In News?

Recently, Uttar Pradesh has been included in the category of achievers in the report related to State Energy and Climate Index Round-1 released by NITI Aayog.

Key Points

• Uttar Pradesh ranks 13th in the State Energy and Climate Index, while the score is 41.0.
• This index has been prepared by NITI Aayog on the basis of 2019-20 data.
• Significantly, this index tracks the efforts made by states and union territories in the climate and energy sector based on 6 parameters - performance of discoms, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, clean energy initiatives, new initiatives and access, affordability and reliability.
• The scores of Uttar Pradesh with respect to various parameters are as follows-
  
  • performance of discoms- 59.9
  • Energy Efficiency- 42
  • Accessibility, Affordability and Reliability- 37.8
  • Environmental Sustainability- 30.9
  • Clean energy initiative- 12.6
  • New Initiative- 27.4

Bihar included in the State Energy and Climate Index Round-1

Why In News?

Recently, Bihar has been included in the category of achievers in the report related to State Energy and Climate Index Round-1 released by NITI Aayog.

Key Points

• Bihar ranks 15th in the State Energy and Climate Index, while the score is 38.3.
• This index has been prepared by NITI Aayog on the basis of 2019-20 data.
• Significantly, this index tracks the efforts made by states and union territories in the climate and energy sector based on 6 parameters - performance of discoms, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, clean energy initiatives, new initiatives and access, affordability and reliability.
• The scores of Bihar with respect to various parameters are as follows-
  
  • performance of discoms- 61.3
  • Accessibility, Affordability and Reliability- 45
  • Environmental Sustainability- 33.7
  • Energy Efficiency- 22.8
  • Clean energy initiative- 4.9
  • New Initiative- 7.6

Chief Minister Rajasthan Economic Transformation Advisory Council

Why In News?

On April 11, 2022, the Government of Rajasthan extended the tenure of Chief Minister Rajasthan Economic Transformation Advisory Council (CMRETAC) till December 2023 by issuing an order.

Key Points

• It is noteworthy that this council was constituted on March 7, 2020 and its tenure was fixed till March 2022.
• According to this order issued by the Planning (Group-I) department, the Chief Minister is the chairman of this advisory council and Dr. Arvind Mayaram is the vice-president and the government secretary is the member-secretary of the planning council.
• Similarly, Dr. Govind Sharma Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary to Government, Finance and Principal Secretary to Chief Minister are also included in the council as members.
• Other members for the extended tenure of the Council include Dr. Rathin Roy, Dr. Ashok Gulati, Anil Agarwal, Laxmi Niwas Mittal, Naina Lal Kidwai, Dr. Devi Shetty, Vikram Mehta, Naved Khan, Dr. Shiv Kumar Sareen, Ms. Faith Singh. , Nandita Das, Dr. Jyotindra Jain, Kavita Singh, Amit Kapoor, Vijay Kumar, Rajeev Gowda, Mangu Singh, Pradeep S. Mehta, Dr. Dinesh Singh, Arun Myra, Dr. Naresh Trehan, Mahesh Vyas, Dr. Pranav Sen and Yamini Abayer.

Knowledge exchange program launched

Why In News?

On April 11, 2022, Madhya Pradesh's Medical Education Minister Vishwas Kailash Sarang launched the Medical Knowledge Exchange Program, as well as released a brochure, from the auditorium of Gandhi Medical College.

Key Points

• On this occasion, the Medical Education Minister announced that the auditorium of GMC would be air-conditioned. Re-creation centers will be set up in all medical colleges for the convenience of the students. The emergency department of Hamidia will be made number one.
• Through this knowledge exchange program, the intellectual potential of each other will be exchanged. Through this, MoU is also being done with the expert doctors including the institute, who will share the knowledge through their disciplines.
• The Medical Education Minister appealed to the young doctors to connect more and more through MPGov and knowledge sharing portal.
• Commissioner Medical Education Nishant Varwade informed that a knowledge sharing mission cell based on 13 points has been established. Work is being done in this direction so that the entire country should benefit from the innovations of Madhya Pradesh.
• Medical Incubation Center will be started with IIT Indore. Madhya Pradesh will be the first state in the country to start this centre.

Rural transport policy pilot project to be launched soon

Why In News?

On April 11, 2022, Madhya Pradesh Transport Commissioner Mukesh Jain, during a discussion with the officials on the implementation of rural transport policy, said that under the proposed new transport policy, the Rural Transport Credit (RTC) model will be implemented as a pilot project from May 1, 2022, for the next 6 months. Instructions have been given by the state government to implement this project in Vidisha district.

Key Points

• It is worth mentioning that in order to provide easy and cheap public transport service in rural areas, a new rural transport policy has been proposed by the Transport Department in collaboration with Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis, Bhopal. If this pilot project is successful, it is planned to be rolled out in the entire state.
• It is noteworthy that the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had given instructions to bring a transport policy for the smooth functioning of the transport system in rural areas.
• A total of 76 rural roads have been identified in Vidisha district for rural transport, whose total length is 1513 km.
• 546 villages are located in and around these rural roads, which will benefit 4 lakh 70 thousand rural population from the proposed policy.
• Under the proposed rural transport policy, vehicles of 7+1 to 20+1 seating capacity will be allowed to operate on the route.
• Vehicles operated for this rural transport service will be fully exempted from the monthly motor vehicle tax payable under the Madhya Pradesh Motor Vehicles Act, 1991.
• Apart from this, against the rural transport credit earned by the operators of the vehicles operated continuously for 6 months as a transport service, the incentive amount will be provided to the vehicle operator in the next 6 months.
• Under this scheme interested vehicle operators can apply for a permit to operate a vehicle on any one of the 76 rural roads or on more than one interconnected route by coming to the District Transport Office or visiting the website of the Transport Department on having a valid form.

Jal Abhishek Abhiyan started

Why In News?

On April 11, 2022, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the Jal Abhishek Abhiyan at the Jal Sansad organized in Kahula village of Garatganj tehsil of Raisen district.

Key Points

• On this occasion, the Chief Minister also launched the virtual launch of 5000 Amrit Sarovar in 52 districts of the state and 10,000 works under Pushkar Dharohar Samridhi Abhiyan.
• The Chief Minister also released the plan of Jal Shakti Abhiyan. He honored three water-warriors out of 551 water-warriors who built ponds in their fields for water harvesting.
• It is noteworthy that this year more than 5000 Amrit Sarovar will be built in the state. Their work will be completed by the month of June or by the month of March next year. For the sake of water conservation, the work of conserving a large number of small water structures will also be done.

195th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule

Why In News?

On April 11, 2022, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made various announcements at the 195th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, the Jannayak of Backward Classes Welfare in Damoh.

Key Points

• On this occasion, the Chief Minister announced that every year on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, there will be a voluntary holiday for the government employees.
• Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and his wife Savitri Bai Phule did important work for the upliftment of the poor, downtrodden and girl child, including backward classes, so keeping their views in view, the Madhya Pradesh government will include their biography in the educational curriculum.
• One CM approved for Damoh district. Rise School will be named after Mahatma Jyotiba Phule. The Chief Minister announced that now every year the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule will be celebrated with great pomp at different places. He also announced to give the form of Nagar Panchayat to Batiyagarh Gram Panchayat of Damoh district.
• The entire life of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was spent in the struggle for women, poor and farmers. She created a new revolution in the field of women's education and campaigned for widow marriage. This was the reason that he was given the title of 'Mahatma' in the Kisan Sabha held in Mumbai in the year 1888.
• On this occasion, the Chief Minister distributed the Madhya Pradesh Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Backward Classes Service State Awards for the last three years. Dr. Hukum Singh Kushwaha of Dabra for the year 2017-18, B.R. of Umaria for the year 2018-19; Satpute and RN of Rewa for the year 2019-20; Patil was presented with a cheque and a citation worth Rs 2 lakh each.

Museum dedicated to Sikh Gurus to be built in Haryana

Why In News?

Recently, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has announced to set up a museum dedicated to Sikh Gurus in the state.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister said that the life and teachings of Sikh Gurus would be displayed in this museum.
• It is worth noting that the state government has also started Sant Mahapurush Vichar Prasar Yojana in Haryana, under which the tradition of celebrating the birth anniversary of great men and gurus has started.
• Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya also announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to Guru Ravidas Vishwa Mahapeeth, while Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar announced an assistance of Rs 5 lakh.
• On this occasion, the Governor of Haryana also inaugurated the 'Samajik Samarsata Bhawan' of the Mahapeeth.
• Guru Ravidas was forgiving, prudent and a true teacher of the society. He was one of those great souls whose thoughts, behavior, qualities and teachings have been guiding people for ages.

Jharkhand included in the State Energy and Climate Index Round-1

Why In News?

Recently, Jharkhand has been included in the category of achievers in the report related to State Energy and Climate Index Round-1 released by NITI Aayog.

Key Points

• Jharkhand ranks 18th in the State Energy and Climate Index, while the score is 35.2.
• This index has been prepared by NITI Aayog on the basis of 2019-20 data.
• Significantly, this index tracks the efforts made by states and union territories in the climate and energy sector based on 6 parameters - performance of discoms, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, clean energy initiatives, new initiatives and access, affordability and reliability.
• The scores of Jharkhand with respect to various parameters are as follows-
  
  • performance of discoms- 58.3
  • Energy Efficiency- 17.2
  • Environmental Sustainability- 19
  • Clean energy initiative- 2.9
  • New Initiative- 9.3
  • Accessibility, Affordability and Reliability- 46.5

Chhattisgarh won national awards again

Why In News?

• On April 11, 2022, for the Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Panchayat Empowerment Award, 2022, along with Zila Panchayat Kabirdham, other panchayats have been selected at the national level.

Key Points

• The award will be presented by the Prime Minister on the occasion of National Panchayat Day on 24th April.
• On the basis of various notable works done during the financial year 2020-21, the district has been selected for the National Panchayat Award.
• It is noteworthy that in Kabirdham district, mainly under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, a large amount of employment was given to the villagers. While women were linked with livelihood promotion, better work was done in all areas like infrastructure development in the gram panchayat area.
• Similarly, Gram Panchayat Kejedah will be respected at the national level for providing maximum employment to the villagers, expansion of basic facilities and documentation and transparency.
• Panchayats of Chhattisgarh have also been selected in these categories-
• Patan and Surajpur have been selected for Block category along with District Panchayat Kabirdham in district category for Deendayal Upadhyay Panchayat Empowerment Award. On the other hand, in the Gram Panchayat category, the prizes will be given to the villages of Dhamtari district, Chhipli and Hardibhata, Chirmi of Koriya district, Parry of Balod district, Basdai of Surajpur district and Kejedah of Kabirdham district.
• Here, Bancharoda will be rewarded under the Arang block of Raipur district in the Child Friendly Gram Panchayat Award category.
• Jevra of Durg district will be honored in the Gram Panchayat Development Plan Award category. On the other hand, Sarora has been selected for Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Puraskar under Tilda block of Raipur district.

Old Pension Scheme implemented in chhattisgarh

Why In News?

On April 11, 2022, on the initiative of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, the old pension scheme for state government employees was implemented in Chhattisgarh.

Key Points

• With this decision, the officers and employees of the new contributory pension scheme will also start getting the benefit of the old pension scheme from this financial year. About three lakh officers and employees will benefit from this decision.
• It is noteworthy that for a long time, various employees' organizations of the state government had been demanding to implement the old pension scheme in place of the new contributory pension scheme on the employees appointed on and after November 1, 2004. After which Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had announced the implementation of an old pension scheme for state government employees in the budget session of the Vidhan Sabha.
• According to the instructions issued by the Finance Department regarding the old pension scheme, instructions have been issued to deduct 12 percent from the basic pay in the provident fund from April 1, 2022.
• Similarly, 10 percent monthly deduction for the new contributory pension scheme from the salary of state government employees appointed in the year 2004 and after has been abolished from April 1, 2022.
• It has also been mentioned in the issued instructions that the details of deduction of the General Provident Fund will be kept separately at the Directorate, Treasury Account and Pension level and this amount will be shown in the new General Provident Fund account number allotted to the concerned employees.

Uttarakhand included in the State Energy and Climate Index Round-1

Why In News?

Recently, Uttarakhand has been included in the category of achievers in the report related to State Energy and Climate Index Round-1 released by NITI Aayog.

Key Points

• Uttarakhand ranks 5th in the State Energy and Climate Index, while the score is 46.5.
• This index has been prepared by NITI Aayog on the basis of 2019-20 data.
• Significantly, this index tracks the efforts made by states and union territories in the climate and energy sector based on 6 parameters - performance of discoms, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, clean energy initiatives, new initiatives and access, affordability and reliability.
• The scores of Uttarakhand with respect to various parameters are as follows-
  
  • performance of discoms- 61.9
  • Energy Efficiency- 50.5
  • Environmental Sustainability- 48.7
  • New Initiative- 14.7
  • Clean energy initiative- 18.5
  • Accessibility, Affordability and Reliability- 55.3