• 12 Sep 2022

Income Limit Ended in the Schemes of SC Finance and Development Corporation

Why In News?

On September 11, 2022, Dr. Lalji Prasad Nirmal, Chairman, Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (Anugum) said that the condition of maximum income limit has been abolished to take advantage of self-employment schemes of Anugum.

Key Points

• Chairman Dr. Lalji Prasad Nirmal said that any person belonging to scheduled castes will be able to take advantage of these schemes, but those with an annual income of up to Rs 2.5 lakh will be given priority.
• Self-employment units will have to be set up in clusters and the limit of the grant has also been increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 per beneficiary. Till now, for eligibility in the schemes of Uttar Pradesh Angam, the annual income limit was Rs 47,080 in rural areas and Rs 56,460 in urban areas.
• In July 2018, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had requested the Government of India to increase the income and grant limit. Under this, the central government has made major changes in the income limit and grant amount for eligibility.
• The Chairman informed that the schemes of Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation will now be known as 'Pradhan Mantri Scheduled Caste Abhyudaya Yojana'. The Central and State Governments have taken this big step for the economic empowerment of Dalits by taking ambitious schemes to the grassroots level to end Dalit oppression.
• Dr. Nirmal said that under this scheme Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana would be implemented in scheduled caste dominated villages. Under this, instead of individual projects, groups of Dalits will be made entrepreneurs. Arrangements have been made to provide training to the beneficiaries for making projects and to monitor their enterprise.
• Arrangements have also been made to provide market to the products of the beneficiaries. It has been planned to develop 6171 scheduled caste dominated villages as model villages in the state.

Special Persons Commissioner 'Mission Tehsil 392' Program at Your Doorstep

Why In News?

On September 10, 2022, Special Qualified Commissioner Umashankar Sharma informed that with the inspiration of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the 'Mission Tehsil 392' program will be started at the tehsil level from September 27.

Key Points

• He said that the program will be started from Nokha tehsil of Bikaner division. The programme will be held in a total of 392 tehsils of 7 divisions of the state.
• This program is being started with the aim of solving their problems and benefiting the specially abled brothers and sisters from various schemes run by the state government under the 'Mission Tehsil 392' by the Special Qualified Commissioner At every tehsil of each district of each division.
• He informed that the specially abled people will be benefited from various schemes run by the state government including Special Qualified Certificate, Equipment Distribution, Chiranjeev Health Insurance Scheme etc. during the hearing program.

Displaced Villages of Kuno Palpur will get the Status of Revenue Village

Why In News?

On September 11, 2022, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while addressing the Cheetah Mitra Sammelan organized at Kuno Palpur National Park, said that such villages displaced from Kuno National Park, which are still Majre Tolas, will be given the status of full revenue village.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister said that 5 skill development centers will be set up in this area. In these, employment will be provided by training the regional youth.
• It is worth mentioning that the Sahariya tribals of two local villages were displaced to settle the Asiatic Lion long ago in Kuno National Park.
• Cheetahs from the African country Namibia are being settled in the Kuno Palpur National Park in Sheopur. Earlier there was a plan to settle Asian cheetahs in Kuno, but in view of their limited numbers in Iran, African cheetahs are now being brought to Kuno.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a visit to Madhya Pradesh on September 17. African cheetahs will be shifted to Kuno National Park on the same day.
• Government sources said that an MoU was signed to bring 8 cheetahs from Namibia to India, but three cheetahs have been rejected by the Indian government, so in the first phase five cheetahs are being shifted to the Kuno National Park.
• According to forest department sources, the project is being run for a long time to bring cheetahs back to the country. In 2019, the Supreme Court gave its approval to the National Tiger Conservation Authority. African cheetahs are being brought to the forests of India for experimentation.
• The initiative to bring cheetahs to India was initiated in 2010 by the then Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh. For the first time on January 28, 2020, the Supreme Court allowed the cheetahs to be brought to India. Also, the court had ordered the National Tiger Conservation Authority to find a suitable place for the cheetahs. After considering several national parks, experts chose Kuno Palpur National Park in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh to return to the country the fastest known animal on earth.
• Cheetahs became extinct in India 70 years ago. The cheetah was last seen in the state of Chhattisgarh in 1950. After this, they were not seen anywhere in the country.
• Kuno Palpur National Park 750 sq.km. It is spread over an area of 6,800 sq. km. It is part of open forest area spread over the area. It is one of the best habitats in the country to resettle cheetahs. It also has good hunting facilities for cheetahs, because deer, chinkara, nilgai, sambar, langur and chital are found in large numbers here.

Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati Passed Away at the Age of 98

Why In News?

On September 11, 2022, Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, the biggest religious leader of Hindus and Shankaracharya of Dwarka-Sharda Peeth, died at the age of 98 at Paramhansi Ganga Ashram in Jhoteshwar, Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh.

Key Points

• Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati was born on September 2, 1924, in a Brahmin family in the village of Dighori near Jabalpur in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh.
• It is known that 'Shankaracharya' is the eldest Mahant of the four Peethas of Hinduism. Jagadguru Shankaracharya Shri Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati ji was the Shankaracharya of two mathas (Dwarka and Jyotirmath). His parents named him Pothiram Upadhyay.
• At the age of nine, he left home and started religious journeys. During this time he reached Kashi and here he took lessons in Vedas, Vedanga and scriptures from Brahmalin Shri Swami Karpatri Maharaj.
• When Gandhiji gave the slogan of Quit India to the British in 1942, he also jumped into the freedom struggle and became famous as a 'revolutionary monk' at the age of 19. During this time, he also spent nine months in varanasi jail and six months in jail in his home state Madhya Pradesh.
• He was also the president of Karpatri Maharaj's political party 'Ram Rajya Parishad'. In 1940, he was made a Dandi Sanyasi and in 1981 he got the title of 'Shankaracharya'. In 1950, he took initiation of dand-sanyas from Sharda Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Brahmanand Saraswati and came to be known as Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati.
• Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati was a freedom fighter, Ram Setu Protector, who declared Ganga a national river and fought for Ram Janmabhoomi, the first Satyagrahi of the cow protection movement, the first president of the RamRajya Parishad, was a strong opponent of hypocrisy.

Haryana's Historical City 'Rakhigarhi' will get International Recognition

Why In News?

On September 10, 2022, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar directed the officials to develop this area as an archaeological site in the museum building under construction in Rakhigarhi.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister directed the officials of the Archaeological Survey of India to complete the excavation work of the protected site at Rakhigarhi at a fast pace. Also, the security of these historical sites should also be ensured, so that no person can harm these sites.
• In order to give international recognition to the historical city of Indus Valley Civilization 'Rakhigarhi', a museum is being constructed by the government in Rakhigarhi, in which the artifacts of about 5000 years old Indus Valley Civilization will be preserved.
• With the development of Rakhigarhi as a tourist destination, on the one hand, tourism will increase, while the revenue of Haryana will also increase and with the arrival of tourists here, employment opportunities will also be created for the youth of the village.
• Photographs labs have been prepared in this museum being built in Rakhigarhi, in which visitors will be able to know the history of Rakhigarhi through pictures. Apart from this, a kids zone has also been created in the museum. For the first time, a kids zone has been constructed in a museum in Haryana, so that children can also be aware of their history in sports.
• Apart from this, open air theater, gallery, library has also been constructed, which will give information about history to the visitors, especially the younger generation.
• It is worth mentioning that the central government had announced Rs 2500 crore to build tourist places and five historical sites in the country, including Rakhigarhi. The state government is also building a state-of-the-art museum here at a cost of Rs 32 crore. Rest houses, hostels and a cafe are being constructed in it.
• Rakhigarhi is located in Narnaund sub-division of Hisar district of Haryana. Apart from Rakhikhas and Rakhishahpur villages, archaeological evidence is spread in the surrounding fields. Rakhigarhi has seven mounds (RGR-1 to RGR-7). Together they form the settlement, which is the largest settlement of the Harappan civilization.
• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) started excavation in this village for the first time in 1963. After this, between 1998-2001, ASI again started excavation under the leadership of Dr. Amarendranath. Later, the Vice Chancellor of Deccan University, Pune, Prof. Under the leadership of Vasant Shinde, excavation work was done in Rakhigarhi from 2013 to 2016 and 2022.
• 56 skeletons have been found in Rakhigarhi since 1998. Of these, 36 were discovered by Prof. Shinde did it. The skeletons of two women found in the excavation of mound number-7 are about 7,000 years old. Khol (shell) bangles, a copper mirror and semi-precious stone beads have also been found in the hands of both the skeletons. The presence of shell bangles suggests that the people of Rakhigarhi had trade links with distant places.
• Prof. According to Shinde, the civilization found in Rakhigarhi was about 5000-5500 AD. East While the time of civilization found in Mohenjodaro is about 4000 AD. East considered. Mohenjodaro has an area of about 300 hectares, while Rakhigarhi is spread over an area of more than 550 hectares.
• Prof. According to Shinde, the evidence found in Rakhigarhi, which contains evidence of ancient civilization, also indicates that the place was richer than Harappa and Mohenjodaro even in terms of business transactions.
• It had trade links with Afghanistan, Balochistan, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Especially for making jewellery, people used to bring raw materials from here, then they used to make and sell their ornaments in these places. The people of this civilization used to melt precious metals like copper, carnelian, agate, gold and make garlands of beads from them. Kilns were used to make jewelry from stones or metals. Such furnaces are found in abundance. DNA testing of the skeletons found here is going on.