• 13 Dec 2021

Free Ration Distribution Campaign Launched

Why in News

On December 12, 2021, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the free ration distribution campaign under the National Food Security Act. On this occasion, the Chief Minister distributed free ration to 10 beneficiaries.

Key Points

• It is to be known that under this campaign, 15 crore people of the state will be distributed free ration from December 2021 to March 2022 through 80,000 ration shops.
• The Chief Minister said that in the scheme being implemented today, 1 liter edible oil, 1 kg salt, 1 kg pulses and 1 kg sugar are being provided to each Antyodaya card holder free of cost along with permissible food grains.
• Similarly, 1 liter of edible oil, 1 kg of salt and 1 kg of pulses are being provided free of cost to each eligible household card holder along with permissible food grains.
• It is worth noting that in the year 2020, from the month of April to November, 80 crore eligible people of the country including 15 crore needy people of Uttar Pradesh were benefited under the 'Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana'. In the year 2020, the state government had also distributed free food grains for three months from April to June, which benefited 15 crore people of the state.
• In the year 2021, even during the second wave of Corona, the Central Government had implemented the scheme of distribution of free food grains from May, 2021 (Ram Navami) to Deepawali (7 months). Similarly, the state government also distributed free food grains to Antyodaya and eligible household card holders till June, July and August, 2021.
• With a view to ensure that every needy gets ration, work is being done to re-launch this mega food grain distribution scheme and take it forward from Diwali to Holi.

Saryu Canal National Project

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On December 11, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the Saryu Canal National Project to the nation at a cost of Rs 9800 crore in Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points

• It is known that the work of the Saryu Canal National Project was started four decades ago in the Bahraich district during the tenure of Indira Gandhi in the year 1978, then the cost of this project was less than 100 crores. In the year 1982, 9 districts including Balrampur were connected with this project.
• The length of this project is 318 km, while 6623 km long canal systems have been constructed, which are linked to this project. It was declared a national project in the year 2012.
• With this project, more than 30 lakh farmers of 6,227 villages of Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur and Maharajganj districts of Uttar Pradesh will be benefited and about 15 lakh hectares of these 9 districts will get irrigation facility.
• The Chief Minister said that the Saryu Canal National Project fulfills the dream of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 'River Connect Project'. This project connects Ghaghara River with Saryu River, Saryu River with Rapti River, Rapti River with Banganga River and Banganga River with Rohin River respectively.
• With this project, the farmers of this area will be able to do other agricultural work like vegetable and horticulture. The income of farmers will increase due to increase in agricultural production.
• In order to double the income of farmers by the year 2022, about 100 irrigation projects have been targeted in the country and the work of taking forward these irrigation projects in a time bound manner has started. Out of the 18 projects that were selected under this scheme, 17 projects have been completed. With the completion of these 17 irrigation projects, 22 lakh hectares of land is getting irrigation facility

Champions of Change Report

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On December 11, 2021, NITI Aayog released the Delta Ranking of Champions of Change. In this, four districts of Bihar have been ranked among the five best improving districts of the country in the field of education.

Key Points

• In this delta ranking, NITI Aayog has declared these districts as champions of change, ranking Muzaffarpur, Aurangabad, Banka and Sheikhpura districts of Bihar at the second, third, fourth and fifth positions respectively in the country after Dumka in Jharkhand.
• NITI Aayog has declared five districts Dumka, Muzaffarpur, Aurangabad, Banka and Sheikhpura as aspirational districts for October 2021 respectively.
• Sanjay Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Education Department said that this recognition of NITI Aayog is important. This is the result of the work being done on quality education under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and on his guidelines.
• It may be noted that NITI Aayog releases the Delta Ranking by considering some of the best districts out of the districts across the country on several parameters. In October 2021, the parameters on which the four districts of Bihar have been rated the best are the report of the National Achievement Survey, library facilities, infrastructure, toilets, drinking water facilities etc.

State's First 'Drone Fair'

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On December 11, 2021, the first drone fair of the state was organized on the initiative of Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia at Madhav Institute of Technology and Science (MITS) in Gwalior city of Madhya Pradesh. Around 20 companies displayed their drones in this fair.

Key Points

• On this occasion, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while addressing the youth and farmers present at 'Drone Mela' in Gwalior, said that Madhya Pradesh will be made a leading state by using drone technology in the field of development and welfare. Drones are such a revolutionary technology, which can be used for public welfare and good governance.
• Drone technology can be used to spray fertilizers and pesticides in the fields. With this, farmers can avoid the ill-effects of harmful chemicals. This technology is less expensive. Drone technology saves up to 25 percent of manure.
• Along with this, he also announced the opening of Drone Excellence Center at MITS, Gwalior. For this an MoU has also been signed with a company. Other companies have also signed MoUs in the drone fair.

E-Vehicles Road Show

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On December 11, 2021, on the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day (December 14), Bhopal Municipal Corporation organized an Electric Vehicle Road-show in Bhopal with a view to create awareness about the utility of electric vehicles and to create awareness among the general public.

Key Points

• The main objective of this road show is to make every citizen aware about energy-conservation management and its use in the energy literacy campaign started by the Madhya Pradesh government. Apart from this, e-vehicle is to be encouraged to prevent environmental pollution and to control the expenditure on petrol and diesel.
• E-mobility mission has been launched by the Government of India with a view to encourage electric vehicles. Apart from this, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Government of India has started 'Go-Electric Campaign' to promote electric vehicles.
• Bhopal Municipal Corporation's Chief Engineer Bhuvnesh Kumar Patel said that 18 percent of the total energy is spent in the transport sector, in which about 94 million tonnes of oil is consumed. Promoting 'Electric Vehicles' will save oil as well as save foreign exchange. The Government of India has also launched FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) to promote electric vehicles.

9th Junior State Volleyball Competition

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On December 12, 2021, in the 9th Junior State Volleyball competition held at the Sports Academy of Badhra region of Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana state, Karnal district won the girls' section and Kurukshetra district won the boys' section.

Key Points

• This competition was organized at Dhup Singh Sports Academy located in village Chandwas of Badra area.
• In the state volleyball competition, in the girls' section, Karnal district team won by defeating Jind district team, while in boys' section, Kurukshetra district team won by defeating Fatehabad district team.
• In this competition, the teams of Charkhi Dadri and Gurugram district jointly stood third.
• State General Secretary of Volleyball Association Khubsingh Arela presented the award to the winning players.

Famous Rajrappa Temple

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On December 12, 2021, Madhavi Mishra, Deputy Commissioner of Ramgarh district of Jharkhand state, announced to generate electricity from sacrificed goats at the famous Rajrappa's Maa Chhinnamastika temple in the district.

Key Points

• A plant will be set up in the temple premises to generate electricity using the waste parts of goats sacrificed in the Maa Chhinnamastika temple of Rajrappa, which will be functional in a year.
• Rajrappa temple situated at the confluence of Bhairavi and Damodar river is famous as a Siddhapeeth in the country and abroad. Here devotees offer goat sacrifice on fulfillment of their vows. About 150 goats are sacrificed daily.
• The government is trying to make the facilities of the temple world class. Under this, preparations are being made to implement a new system regarding the sacrifice of goats and the management of climbing flowers.
• A methanation plant will be set up in the temple premises to generate electricity and a semi-automatic slaughterhouse and Agarbatti processing unit will also be installed. District Mineral Foundation Trust will spend about Rs 72 lakh on these three projects.

‘Aapke Adhikar- Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar’

Why in News

On December 11, 2021, Chief Minister Hemant Soren distributed assets worth Rs 22 billion 30 crore 29 lakh 6 thousand among about 25 lakh beneficiaries in the divisional level mega asset distribution program under the 'Aapke Adhikar-Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar' program organized in Hazaribagh.

Key Points

• In the program, assets were distributed among the beneficiaries of 7 districts- Hazaribagh, Koderma, Ramgarh, Giridih, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Chatra under North Chotanagpur division.
• On this occasion, the Chief Minister also released a booklet related to 'Aapke Adhikar-Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar' scheme in North Chotanagpur division.
• Under the Marang Gomke Pardeshi Shiksha Yojana, 6 tribal students were sent to study abroad. Now all classes will be able to take advantage of this scheme.
• Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that the elderly people above 60 years of age in every village of the state would be linked to the pension scheme. The government will give pensions to every widow, elderly, disabled helpless. For the treatment of serious illness in the state, the government will help in the treatment of every person whose income is less than 8 lakhs.
• The Chief Minister said that the government is working to establish various big industries in the state, so that the people here can get employment opportunities. In this sequence, special care is being taken that 75% of the jobs and tenders up to Rs 1 crore should be received by the local people only, so that the people of the state develop.

Chhattisgarh State Green Council

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In an official communication issued on December 11, 2021, it has been said that Chhattisgarh will soon constitute Chhattisgarh State Green Council to give a new direction to regenerative development and make the state a leader in this field.

Key Points

• Bhupesh Baghel has directed the Chief Secretary to take immediate steps to form a council and start its work in the office of the Minor Forest Produce Association.
• Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will be the chairman of this council. At the same time, Agriculture Minister Ravindra Choubey, Forest Minister Mohammad Akbar and Advisor to the Chief Minister Pradeep Sharma will be the Vice-Chairman of the Council.
• A total of 12 members will be appointed in the council apart from the member secretary and technical advisor. The Chairman will nominate seven members from amongst eminent personalities from the private sector.
• Chhattisgarh Forest Department will be the administrative department for regenerative development work.
• It is known that due to continuous environmental degradation, the temperature of the earth has increased and the effects of climate change are being seen. The only option to counter this is regenerative and sustainable development.

State's Largest Wildlife Rescue Center to be Built in Corbett

Why in News

Recently, Director of Corbett National Park, Rahul said that the wildlife rescue center being developed in a 30 hectare area in Dhela zone of Corbett National Park will be the biggest center of its kind in the state.

Key Points

• A staff of 30 people including veterinary surgeons, physicians and anesthesia experts will work at this center.
• Part of the center built so far is already being used to treat tigers, leopards and elephants, while after completion the center will also be able to treat bears, snakes, birds and other wildlife. Presently this center is being used for the treatment of five leopards and two tigers.
• The director of Corbett National Park said that the plan to set up this wildlife rescue center was announced in 2019 after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The total cost of the project is about Rs 19 crore, out of which about Rs 10 crore has been spent so far.