• 14 Apr 2023

IT, Medicity, Education City and Sports City will come up in the state

Why in News?

According to information received from media sources on 12 April 2023, the state government is going to set up an IT city on the lines of Bangalore and a medical city on the lines of Maharashtra. Education City and Sports City will also be set up for better education.

Key points

• According to the information, its responsibility has been given to the Housing Department. Along with making arrangements in the building development bye-laws, it is going to bring a policy for this. This scheme is expected to provide employment to 50 thousand youths of the state.
• The state government has a plan to develop such a place for renowned pharmaceutical companies of the country and the world, where all facilities are available, for this there is a plan to set up a medical city on the lines of Maharashtra. For this, at least 200 to 300 acres of land will be arranged.
• All major cities will be developed as education hubs, in which big colleges and universities will be invited to open.
• Along with this, a blueprint is being drawn to set up an IT city on the lines of Bangalore. It is known that IT City was established in Lucknow during the Samajwadi Party government, but it is not sufficient as per the requirement. That's why special arrangements will be made for this in the state capital region.
• With the help of Medical City and IT City, a target has been set to provide employment to 50 thousand people every year. At present, the maximum number of jobs in the IT sector in the country are in Bangalore and Pune.
• The state government wants that the youth of Uttar Pradesh should get good education as well as employment resources in the state itself. That is why work is being started in the direction of opening IT City. The doors of employment will open in the medical city in the area related to it.
• It is known that in the year 2016 IT City was started in Lucknow. IT City has been established on 100 acres on Lucknow-Sultanpur road. HCL is working here. About 5000 people have got employment through IT City.
• It may be noted that the country's first medical city is being set up on 300 acres in Indrayani, Maharashtra. It consists of hospitals, research centres, pharmaceutical factories, wellness and physiotherapy centres, etc.

Ajmer Discom Joined the Leading Discoms of the Country

Why in News?

On 12 April 2023, Ajmer Discom jumped 8 places to the 19th position in the 11th Power Utilities Integrated Rating and Ranking for the financial year 2022, released by the Department of Energy, Government of India.

Key Points

• The name of Ajmer Discom has been included in the country's leading discoms only because of the campaign against electricity theft by Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited of Rajasthan and 100% revenue recovery.
• Earlier, Ajmer Discom was at 27th position, which has jumped 8 places to be at 19th position. Ajmer Discom has been leading among all the 3 Discoms of the state. In this ranking, Jaipur Discom has got 29th position and Jodhpur Discom has got 39th position.
• Ajmer Discom has improved its annual score from 21.5 to 62.1. Because of this, Ajmer Discom has also benefited from grading. The earlier grading of Ajmer Discom was 'C', which has now improved to 'B'.
• Significantly, on the basis of reduction in wastage and revenue reforms, the name of Ajmer Discom has now been included in the top discoms of the country. By promoting online payment, Ajmer Discom established new dimensions for electricity distribution companies by collecting almost 101 percent revenue. Along with this, by taking action against many of his innovations and power thieves, the wastage of electricity has been limited to 10.40 percent.
• Discom's loss in the year 2018-19 was Rs 2793.83 crore. The team of Ajmer Discom has earned a profit of more than Rs 550 crore in the fiscal year 2021-22.
• And in the year 2018-19, the discom's wastage was 17.81 percent. Wastage was limited to only 10.40 percent by running a continuous campaign against power thieves.
• To reduce the wastage, many innovations were done by Ajmer Discom which proved to be successful indisputably. These mainly include installation of 4/6 meter boxes in power theft prone areas, installation of mini meter labs in all subdivisions, service line visible campaign, coordinate capturing, Adarsh GSS campaign, Adarsh feeder campaign, confiscation of illegal transformers, covering uncovered meter, including transformer repair lab in each sub-division is the main thing.

Rajasthan's 1st Vande Bharat Train

Why in News?

On 12 April 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi (via video conferencing), Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Governor Kalraj Mishra inaugurated the state's first Vande Bharat Train at Jaipur Railway Station and flagged off the train.

Key Points

• The first train of Vande Bharat Express for Rajasthan will run between Jaipur to Delhi Cantt Railway Station. The regular service of this train will commence from 13th April, 2023 and will run between Ajmer and Delhi Cantt with stoppages at Jaipur, Alwar and Gurgaon.
• The new Vande Bharat Express will cover the distance between Delhi Cantt and Ajmer in 5 hrs 15 mins. The current fastest train on this route is Shatabdi Express with a travel time of 6 hrs 15 mins from Delhi Cantt to Ajmer. Thus, the new Vande Bharat Express will take 60 minutes less time than the existing fastest train running on this route.
• The Ajmer-Delhi Cantt Vande Bharat Express will be the world's first semi-high speed passenger train on high rise overhead electric (OHE) territory. This train will improve the rail connectivity of major tourist places of Rajasthan including Pushkar, Ajmer Sharif Dargah. The increased rail-connectivity will also give a boost to the socio-economic development in the region.
• This is Rajasthan's first semi high speed train, which will reduce the travel time between Jaipur and Delhi. On this occasion, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urged the Railway Minister to connect the headquarters of Banswara, Tonk, Karauli etc. with railway facilities.
• The Chief Minister said that an MoU was signed between the Rajasthan government and the Railway Board for rail service between Dungarpur-Banswara-Ratlam. The foundation stone of the railway line was also laid in Banswara. For the first time, Rs 1250 crore was given by any state government including land for a major rail project. But this work of public interest did not progress further. He urged to give priority to this project.
• The Chief Minister said that in view of the importance of international border and national security, there is a need to construct a new rail line to connect Jaisalmer-Barmer with Mundra and Kandla ports. This new rail line will prove to be very beneficial for the work of the ongoing refinery in Barmer and the development of the western region as per the MoU signed by HPCL, a Central Government undertaking and the State Government.

State Level Implementation Committee constituted

Why in News?

On 12 April 2023, the State Government of Madhya Pradesh constituted the State Level Implementation Committee (SLEC) under the chairmanship of Agriculture Production Commissioner for natural farming as per the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.

Key Points

• In this newly formed committee, Additional Chief Secretary Agriculture, Commissioner Horticulture, Commissioner Panchayati Raj, Commissioner Rural Development, Director Research Services Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University Jabalpur, Director Research Services, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Agricultural University Gwalior, Director Indian Institute of Soil Science Bhopal and the director will be a member of the Madhya Pradesh State Organic Certification Institute.
• In this committee, progressive farmers will be expert members and Director Agriculture will be member secretary.
• The State Level Implementation Committee will approve the annual action plan prepared by the State Nodal Department.
• Along with this, this committee will monitor the implementation of the scheme components by holding regular meetings with the nodal and other concerned departments.

Incentive Scheme Extended till 2024

Why in News?

On 12 April 2023, the period of incentive scheme issued by the Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company for better performing line employees and meter readers in revenue collection in rural distribution centers coming under the company's jurisdiction was extended till 31 March 2024. .

Key Points

• In view of the good results of the incentive scheme implemented by the Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company, its duration has been extended till 31 March 2024.
• This scheme has also resulted in increase in consumer satisfaction along with expansion in electricity bill payment facilities for electricity consumers.
• It is worth noting that in this scheme, the company pays the fixed incentive amount as per the provision of the scheme on collection of revenue of more than 250 bills by the line workers and meter readers of the rural distribution centers.
• In the financial year 2022-23, revenue collection of Rs 91,42,00,000 has been done by the personnel from 5,58,365 consumers. A total of 162 eligible personnel have been given an incentive amount of approx Rs 24,60,000.

Rail Connectivity Proposal between IGI Airport Delhi & Hisar Airport approved

Why in News?

On 12 April 2023, Chief Minister Manohar Lal proposed rail connectivity for freight as well as passengers between IGI Airport, Delhi and Maharaja Agrasen International Airport, Hisar via Bijwasan-Gurugram-Garhi Harsaru-Sultanpur-Farukh Nagar-Jhajjar.

Key Points

• It is known that this report was presented in the meeting of Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HRIDC) held on April 12 under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal.
• Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal, who also heads the HRIDC, said the project would be sent to the Railway Ministry for approval. This project will be completed in two phases.
• Rail connectivity will be developed between Garhi Harsaru-Farukh Nagar-Jhajjar in the first phase, while Maharaja Agrasen International Airport, Hisar will be connected in the second phase. This rail link will spur regional development, improve transport efficiency and promote sustainable mobility for both goods and passengers.
• HRIDC Managing Director Rajesh Agarwal said that the proposed project will develop Garhi Harsaru-Farukhnagar (11 km) existing single line and Farukh Nagar-Jhajjar (24 km) missing link into double line. Rs 1225 crore will be spent on this.
• Jhajjar-Rohtak (37 kms) existing single line, Rohtak- Dobh Bhali-Hansi (68 kms) work is in progress by Northern Railway. The Hansi-Maharaja Agrasen Hisar (25 km) line will be developed in the second phase.
• Rs 1040 crore has been approved from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for rail projects in the state. Agreement for this will be signed soon.
• The Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) was given an amount of Rs 874 crore by the Union Ministry of Finance under the scheme of special assistance to states for capital investment for 2022-23. The Government of India has expanded this scheme, for which a proposal for assistance will be sent soon.

Jal Jeevan Mission: More than 21.20 lakh Families got Domestic Tap Connections

Why in News?

According to the information given by the Public Relations Department of Chhattisgarh on 12 April 2023, 21,20,616 domestic tap connections have been given so far under the campaign for supply of pure drinking water in the houses under 'Jal Jeevan Mission' in the state. .

Key Points

• Along with supply of pure drinking water to homes, arrangements have been made to supply pure drinking water through tap taps in 43,942 schools, 41 thousand 676 Anganwadi centers and 17,286 Gram Panchayat buildings and community sub-health centers of the state.
• Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, pure drinking water is being made available at the rate of 55 liters per person per day in the state, for this action plans are being prepared in all the districts and work is being done at a rapid pace.
• Under this mission, in addition to domestic tap connections, arrangements for running water are also being made in schools, sub-health centers and Anganwadi centers.
• Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the maximum number of 1,83,377 rural families have been given household tap connections in Janjgir-Champa district. The second place is Rajnandgaon district, where so far 1,53,811 rural households have been given household tap connections.
• Under Jal Jeevan Mission, 1,26,655 in Raipur district, 1,20,575 in Raigarh, 1,16,133 in Dhamtari, 1,02,407 in Balodabazar-Bhatapara, 1,00,522 in Kawardha, 97,559 in Mahasamund, 92,634 in Bilaspur, 91,191 in Bemetara, 90,600 in Durg and 83,141 tap connections have been given in Mungeli district.
• Similarly, 82,508 in Balod district, 70,775 in Gariaband, 61, 034 in Jashpur, 60,364 in Kanker, 58,253 in Bastar, 57,482 in Korba, 57,154 in Balrampur, 55, 884 in Surguja , 54,390 in Surajpur, 52,769 in Korea, 51,399 in Kondagaon, 24,672 in Gorela-Pendra-Marwahi, 21,569 in Bijapur, 20,686 in Sukma, 19,779 in Dantewada and Narayanpur district Domestic tap connections have been given to 13,293 rural families.
• It is noteworthy that the 'Jal Jeevan Mission' was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 August 2019, on the occasion of Independence Day. Under the mission, by 2024, a target was set to provide pure drinking water to every house in all the remote villages of the country. Along with making drinking water easily accessible to the common people, this mission works on an action plan for construction of long-term water sources, water conservation, identification of pollution-free water, water management etc.
• It is known that at the time of the announcement of this mission, out of 19.27 crore rural households in the country, only 3.23 crore (17 percent) houses were getting tap water but during the last three and a half years, there has been unprecedented success in the campaign to provide tap water to every household under the Jal Jeevan Mission. The result of this is that now water has started reaching 11 crore houses through taps.
• Five states and three union territories in the country have achieved success in providing 100 percent tap water to every household. These five states include Haryana, Goa, Telangana, Gujarat and Punjab while three union territories include Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Daman Diu & Dadar Nagar Haveli and Puducherry.

District Wise Per Capita Income Figures 2021-22 released

Why in News?

Recently Uttarakhand Directorate of Economics and Statistics has released district wise per capita income figures for the year 2021-22. Earlier, during the budget session of the assembly at Gairsain, the state government had presented the report of the economic survey in the house.

Key Points

• As per the released statistics Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun districts, which have become industrial cities are at the forefront in terms of per capita income.
• Haridwar has become the district with the highest per capita income in the state while Rudraprayag district of Garhwal division has the lowest per capita income among the remaining 12 districts of the state.
• In the report, the per capita income of the year 2022-23 at the prevailing price was estimated to be Rs 2,33,000. In the year 2021-22, the per capita income of the state was estimated at Rs 2,05,840, but the district-wise per capita income figures could not be prepared. The per capita income of the country at prevailing prices is Rs 1,70,620.
• In the last decade, the graph of prosperity has increased faster in the plain districts than in the hill districts.The highest per capita income of Haridwar district is estimated at Rs 3,62,688. Udham Singh Nagar district is in second place with per capita income of Rs.2,69,070 and Dehradun is in third place with per capita income of Rs.2,35,707.
• Chamoli has the highest per capita income of Rs 1,27,330 among hill districts while Rudraprayag district has the lowest per capita income of Rs 93,160 annually. Bageshwar district of Kumaon division has the lowest per capita income of Rs 98,755.

District wise per capita income (in Rs.)
District	2011-12 (Base Year)	2021-22 (Present Year)
Uttarkashi	49584	1,07281
Chamoli	64,327	1,27,330
Rudraprayag	46,881	93,160
Tehri	49,854	1,03,345
Dehradun	1,06,552	2,35,707
Pauri	50,476	1,08,640
Haridwar	1,76,845	3,62,688
Pithoragarh	52,413	18,678
Bageshwar	46,457	98,755
Almora	55,640	1,00844
Champawat	52,463	1,16,136
Nainital	94,142	1,90,627

Consensus on the plan to Run Driverless Pod Taxis in Dehradun on the Lines of Singapore

Why in News?

On April 12, 2023, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary S.S. Sandhu said that after Haridwar district, Dehradun will now be the second city in the state where preparations are on to run pod taxis. Here on the lines of Singapore (under Personal Rapid Transit Transport-PRT), a plan has been agreed to run driverless pod taxis.

Key Points

• In its first phase, as a pilot project, pod taxis will be operated on a six km long route from Panditwari to the railway station. Earlier there was a plan to run a ropeway on this route.
• Uttarakhand Metro Rail Corporation described the use of PRT as useful for such areas of the city where Neo Metro cannot run. PRT system of traffic will be implemented in Doon to get rid of traffic jams and strengthen public transport.
• Under this, pod taxis or vehicles with a capacity of 4-6 passengers will operate on a specially built guideway network.
• It is known that PRT is a type of Automated Guideway Transit (AGT). It is suitable for individual or small group travel. This system is very cheap and its cost is very less as compared to metro, rapid trains.
• It is to be noted that Personal Rapid Transport (PRT) or Pod Taxis are fully automated. It is the size of a car and runs on a steel track. There is no need for a driver to run this taxi. Through this, three to six passengers can be taken at a time.
• The driverless car running under PRT will not run on the road but on the structure built on the column. It will automatically reach the passengers at the push of a button. It is the most modern transport system in the world.
• It is noteworthy that the first pod taxi in the world was run in the year 1970 at the University of Virginia.
• With the implementation of PRT, there will be reduction in the number of vehicles in the city, smart transport service, relief from congestion & reduction in pollution, easy availability and affordable transport service will be available.