State PCS

• 13 Jan 2024

5 Airfields to be Built in Uttarakhand

Why in News?

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is set to develop five airfields in Uttarakhand, including Gunji, Kalsi, Tanakpur, Tanakpur, Ghansali, and Navidhang.

Key Points

• This initiative is necessary for enhancing the management of resources near the border with China.
• The meeting also discussed the widening and strengthening work of the 10.9 km stretch,the strategic Auli-Joshimath route in Chamoli district.
• The construction of the 15km alternative route from Bargaon in Joshimath to Auli is also proposed to be entrusted to the BRO.
• Lt Gen Srinivasan shared details of the ongoing BRO projects, including roads from Baluwakote to Tawaghat and Lipulekh to Jolingkong in Pithoragarh district.

Border Roads Organisation (BRO)

• BRO was conceived and raised in 1960 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for coordinating the speedy development of a network of roads in the North and the North Eastern border regions of the country.
• It works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence.
• It has diversified into a large spectrum of construction and development works comprising airfields, building projects, defence works and tunneling and has endeared itself to the people.

Uttar Pradesh to have 5 more Airports

Why in News?

According to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, five new airports will be inaugurated in Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points

• The airports at Azamgarh, Aligarh, Moradabad, Chitrakoot and Shravasti will come up in the State that will take the total number of airports in the state to 19.
• Ayodhya airport will be expanded and the runway will be extended to allow landing of bigger aircraft and operation of international flights.
  • Its second phase expansion will start soon and more flights will be connecting the city.
  • The Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30, 2023.

Indore: Cleanest City for Seventh Consecutive Time

Why in News?

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav received the award from President of India Droupadi Murmu at the Swachh Survekshan Award 2023 ceremony held in New Delhi.

• Indore became the cleanest city of the country for the seventh consecutive time.

Key Points

• Indore has shared the title of cleanest city with Surat.
• Like every year in the Swachh Survekshan-2022 conducted by the Government of India, Madhya Pradesh once again set records of cleanliness.
• Achievements of the State in Swachh Bharat Mission:
  • Garbage collection is being done in 100% urban areas of the state. For this, motorized vehicles have been provided to the urban bodies. Global Positioning System (GPS) systems have been installed in these vehicles.
  • Home composting is being encouraged for processing and execution of wet waste. Compost of wet waste stored in centralized composting units of bodies is made. This compost is used as manure in rural areas adjoining urban areas.

Swachh Survekshan 2023

• Swachh Survekshan was introduced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in 2016 as a competitive framework to encourage cities to improve the status of urban sanitation while encouraging large scale citizen participation.
• Over the years, Swachh Survekshan has emerged as the largest Urban sanitation survey in the world.

Jamshedpur: Cleanest City in Jharkhand

Why in News?

Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), the civic utility for Jamshedpur town area, continues to be the best in Jharkhand in terms of cleanliness.

• Jamshedpur bagged the top spot for the fifth time in succession (since 2019), as well as 43^rd position in the population category of 1-10 lakh nationwide in the pan-India survey and over-all it has been ranked 78th among 4500+ cities in India.

Key Points

• JNAC bagged the top spot in the cities under population category of 1-10 lakh in Jharkhand in the Swachh Survekshan 2023.
• In Swachh Survekshan 2023, JNAC has received a total of 7042.4 marks out of 9500. Besides, Jamshedpur city also has Open Defecation Free (ODF++) and 3 Star certification.
• JNAC also claimed to host regularly “Indian Swachhta League 2.0”, “Recycle Reduce and Reuse (RRR) Campaign”, “Home Composting”, Swachhta Hi Seva, Swachhta Ke Do Rang, “Kabaad Se Jugaad” to spread awareness for better waste management apart from workshops on topics like plastic ban.
• Awareness was also spread through “wall painting”, cleanliness ranking among schools, hotels, hospitals, residential apartments, cleanliness related messages and hoardings.

Rise of Child Marriages

Why in News?

A recent Lancet study on child marriage in India highlighted an overall decrease in child marriage across the country. However, it emphasized that certain states, specifically Bihar (16.7%), West Bengal (15.2%), Uttar Pradesh (12.5%), and Maharashtra (8.2%), collectively contributed to over half of the total headcount burden of child marriages in girls.

Key Points

• According to the National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS 2015-16), 39.1% of women within 20-24 years are married before 18 years.
  • This means 2 out of 5 adolescent girls are married off before they complete their higher secondary education.
• As per the District Level Household Survey (DLHS-4, 2015-16), child marriage in the intervention areas of CRY-supported projects in Bihar, Supaul had the highest percentage of child marriage, followed by Begusarai, Jamui, Samastipur and Gaya districts.
• As the latest Census (2011) data reveals, there are over 13 million adolescent girls who are married between 10 to 19 years of age.
  • A startling 3.8 million adolescent girls in India have children, of which 1.4 million had two or more children, even before completing adolescence.
  • A brief analysis of their education profile reveals that 39% of girls who were illiterate had begun child bearing, compared to 26% who were literate, proving that even a little education goes a long way in empowering girls.
• To address the issue of child marriage on a sustainable basis, the need of the hour is to ensure inter-departmental convergence where schools, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), and panchayati-raj institutions need to play a pivotal role.
• Following the mandate of Integrated Child Protection Scheme, formation and strengthening of Child Protection Committees at the Gram Panchayat and block level needs immediate attention, and these units would have to be accountable to address issues related to child marriage.

NFHS-4

• In addition to the 29 states, NFHS-4 included all six union territories for the first time and provided estimates of most indicators at the district level for all 640 districts in the country as per the 2011 census.
• The survey covered a range of health-related issues, including fertility, infant and child mortality, maternal and child health, perinatal mortality, adolescent reproductive health, high-risk sexual behaviour, safe injections, tuberculosis, and malaria, non-communicable diseases, domestic violence, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) knowledge, and attitudes toward people living with HIV.