State PCS

• 13 Apr 2022

Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council Election, 2022

Why in News?

• The results of the elections for 36 seats of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council were declared on April 12, 2022.

Key Points

• Out of 36 seats, 33 seats have been won by BJP, 1 by Jansatta Dal Democratic and 2 seats by independent candidates.
• The number/position of major political parties in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council is as follows-
  
  • Bharatiya Janata Party- 66
  • Samajwadi Party- 17
  • BSP-4
• These recently concluded elections pertain to the local authority constituency. It is noteworthy that 1/3rd of the total members of the Legislative Council are elected by the local bodies, such as municipal and district boards, etc.

Baba Kewal Dham State Fair

Why in News?

• Recently, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated the three-day Baba Kewal Dham State Fair in Indrawara village under Morwa block of Samastipur.

Key Points

• Baba Kewal Dham State Fair is the biggest religious fair of Nishad Samaj organized at the national level.
• This fair is organized in Navratri of Chaitra month starting from Saptami Tithi till the tenth.
• Chief Minister Nitish Kumar gave this fair the status of a state fair in 2010.
• Baba Kewal Dham area has been affected by the floods of Noon river, keeping in mind that the left and right banks of the river have been strengthened and uplifted.

'Accenture' to Implement Business Transformation of Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company

Why in News?

• On April 12, 2022, Accenture was selected by Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company for implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for Business Transformation and Digitization.

Key Points

• The ERP project of Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company was started at a function a day ago.
• Accenture is a global management consulting and professional services firm, providing strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations services.
• Accenture is a fortune global company. Accenture, one of the world's leading IT companies, has vast experience in ERP implementation in the power generation sector.

Champions of Change Award

Why in News?

• On April 12, 2022, Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel honored Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and others with the Champions of Change Award at the Kushabhau Thackeray International Convention Center.

Key Points

• Champions of Change is an Indian award, for promoting Gandhian values, (Swachata), community service and social development (in Aspirational district in India). The award is given by Interactive Forum on Indian Economy (IFIE).
• The Interactive Forum on Indian Economy organizes the Champions of Change Awards in India every year at the International, National and State levels. The award is usually presented by the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Governor or a prominent figure of India. Award winners are selected by constitutional jury members headed by K. G. Balakrishnan (Former Chief Justice of India and Former Chairman NHRC).
• Interactive Forum on Indian economy (IFIE) is a Government of India recognized (80G, 12A, 8A compliant), non-profitable company dedicated for the development and welfare of women and children of rural India including 115 Aspirational districts promoting the values of Mahatma Gandhi. The organisation is currently headed by Nandan Jha and it was founded in 2011. IFIE organizes “Champions of Change Awards at International National and State Level.
• The Champions of Change Madhya Pradesh Award is a state award for promoting the values of courage, community service and inclusive social development. The award has been initiated by taking inspiration from the vision of women freedom fighter Rani Lakshmibai. The award winners are selected by the members of the Constitutional Jury headed by Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra (former Judge of the Supreme Court).

Skoch Silver Award for Smart Meter Project

Why in News?

• On April 12, 2022, the Madhya Pradesh West Zone Electricity Distribution Company, which is running the first of its kind and the most modern radio frequency smart meter project in the country, received the country's prestigious Scotch Silver Award.

Key Points

• Various power companies of the country, energy departments of the states, banks, government service providing institutions and technical institutions etc. were involved for this award.
• West Zone Electricity Distribution Company has bagged the Silver Award for best services, best presentation of planning works with scotch team, meeting voting and other parameters.
• It is worth mentioning that Mhow (Indore) is the first city of Madhya Pradesh to have 100% smart meters, while three lakh smart meters have been installed in Indore, Ujjain, Ratlam, Dewas, Khargone etc. so far.
• The SKOCH Award, established in 2003, is given to individuals, projects and institutions that put forth extra effort to make India a better nation.

'Meri Fasal-Mera Byora' Portal

Why in News?

• On April 12, 2022, Haryana's Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister JP Dalal launched 'Meri Fasal-Mera Byora' portal for the convenience of the farmers of the state for redressal of grievances of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

Key Points

• Through this portal, farmers can register their complaints from anywhere.
• Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister JP Dalal said that after registering the complaint, they will be given a ticket number, from which they will also be able to know the latest status of their complaint.
• Haryana is one of the few states in the country in which insurance companies have paid claims more than the total premium (which includes the farmer's share of the state and central government subsidies).
• The concerned department is moving in the direction of collecting data and in this series, the module of settlement of grievances has been started in the 'Meri Fasal-Mera Byora' portal for redressal of farmers' grievances.
• The Agriculture Minister said that the work of adding other modules/columns on the 'Meri Fasal-Mera Byora' portal will be done in future also and efforts will be made to link it with other platforms, so that the farmer can get quick benefits.
• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is being implemented in the state from the year 2016.
• Under this scheme, maize, cotton, paddy and millet in Kharif and wheat, barley, gram, mustard and sunflower crops are being insured in Rabi.

Akhand Bharat Sandesh Yatra

Why in News?

• On April 12, 2022, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar flagged off 'Akhand Bharat Sandesh Yatra, 2022'.

Key Points

• Apart from Haryana, 131 daughters from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar are involved in this journey started by the Indian Media Center.
• On the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Chief Minister Manohar Lal said that under the 'Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat' scheme, the daughters involved in this 'Akhand Bharat Sandesh Yatra', would be successful in giving the message of unity in the society.
• The Chief Minister announced an assistance of Rs. 5 lakh for the daughters involved in the Yatra.

Trikuta Mountain

Why in News?

• On April 12, 2022, Chief Minister Hemant Soren held a high-level meeting regarding the Trikuta Mountain ropeway accident in Deoghar district.

Key Points

• In the meeting, the Chief Minister directed the officers to constitute a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the Trikuta mountain ropeway accident and to include experts related to the ropeway in the committee constituted.
• It is worth mentioning that on April 10, a serious crisis situation arose due to the breakdown of the Trikut Parvat/Mountain ropeway, in which 59 tourists were trapped in the ropeway, so far 4 tourists have died in this incident.
• Trikoot mountain has great religious importance for Hindus as on one side of Trikoot mountain there is a temple of Baba Vaidyanath and on the other side there is a temple of Baba Basukinath.
• This mountain has three peaks, which are known as the crown of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, hence it is known as Trikuta Parvat, along with two smaller mountain peaks located here known as Ganesh and Kartik.

Release of Book 'Aaina-e-Chhattisgarh'

Why in News?

• On April 12, 2022, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel released the book 'Aaina-e-Chhattisgarh' authored by senior journalist Shankar Pandey.

Key Points

• Senior journalist Shankar Pandey told the Chief Minister that his column named 'Aaina-e-Chhattisgarh' has been published regularly, out of which selected columns have now been compiled in the form of a book.
• In these columns, the history, culture, archeology, social events of Chhattisgarh including the day-to-day changing politics of Chhattisgarh, contemporary issues including bureaucracy have been included. This is the fifth book written by Shankar Pandey.