State PCS

• 14 Oct 2023

Green Area Reserved for Commercial Activities in Cities with Population of More than Five Lakhs in Uttar Pradesh

Why In News?

On October 12, 2023, Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary (Housing) Nitin Ramesh Gokarn said that green areas along with transport cities, economic zones, industries and business activities will be reserved in cities with a population of more than five lakh.

Key Points:

• Transport cities will be arranged in the comprehensive mobility plan for these reserved areas, the width of roads in markets and colonies will be fixed.
• In the economic zone, space will be reserved for small-scale industries and business activities as well as offices of the corporate sector. These facilities will be provided for green infrastructure as well as transit-oriented development.
• The concerned development authority will reserve these places by marking them in the master plan. The central government will give Rs 50-50 crore separately to develop facilities in these cities.
• Additional Chief Secretary Nitin Ramesh Gokarn said that in the existing master plan, space will be reserved by incorporating these facilities and three facilities will have to be given in these four-
  • Facility of 40 buses per one lakh population.
  • Multistory parking as well as EV charging facility.
  • Transport plans of densely populated and old areas.
  • The place of food street will be reserved in the economic zone.
• The Central Government has mandated three of these facilities. Based on this, space is to be reserved for these facilities in the master plan.
• These facilities will be provided in the first 19 cities of Uttar Pradesh, which have a population of more than five lakh, including Lucknow, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Agra, Meerut, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Aligarh, Jhansi, Firozabad-Shikohabad, Rampur, Saharanpur, Mathura-Vrindavan, Hapur-Pilkhuwa and Shahjahanpur.

Barauni Refinery Received the Best Refinery Award

Why In News?

Recently, Center for High Technology (CHT) of the Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas awarded the prestigious Best Refinery Performance Improvement Award under the category of Capacity Less than 09 MMTPA to Barauni Refinery located in Begusarai district of Bihar.

Key Points:

• It is noteworthy that in the 26th Energy Technology Meeting organized by CHT in New Delhi from 9-11 October, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri met Indian Oil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Director (Refineries) Shukla Mistry. And this award was given to R.K. Jha, Executive Director and Refinery Head of Barauni Refinery.
• The theme of the 26th Energy Technology Meeting was 'Emerging Energy Trends and the Future of Refining' and was attended by around 1400 delegates and speakers from across the world.
• The evaluation of the award was based on seven important parameters for the financial year 2022-23.
• Barauni Refinery performed better than all the refineries in the country during 2022-23 on all parameters including crude throughput 6785.40, MBN 71.24, operational availability 99.90%, operating cost $1.92/bbl, specific steam consumption 0.90, energy conservation measures 18807 SRFT/year, specific water consumption 0.83 and carbon emission intensity of less than 1459.50 TMT.
• A state-owned Barauni refinery of Indian Oil was constructed in 1964 with a capacity to refine 1 million metric tonnes per annum at a cost of Rs 49.40 crore with limited participation of Romania in collaboration with the Soviet Union. It was dedicated to the nation by the then Petroleum Minister Dr. Humayun Kabir on January 15, 1965.
• As a new initiative towards energy efficient operations at Barauni refinery in May 2022, India's first and the world's third green cooling tower was commissioned.

Home Voting Facility to Eligible Voters for the First Time in Rajasthan

Why In News?

On October 12, 2023, Rajasthan Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta informed that for the first time in Rajasthan, the Commission will provide home voting facility to eligible voters.

Key Points:

• According to the instructions of the Election Commission of India, the facility of home voting will be available as an option to 18.05 lakh eligible voters in the 2023 assembly general elections in Rajasthan. Under this, booth-level officers will go door-to-door and give information about the facility of home voting.
• This facility will be available to senior citizens above 80 years of age and more than 40% disabled category voters.
• This feature is there as an option. Eligible voters who wish to opt for this facility will have to fill up the 12-D form within 5 days of the issuance of the election notification and submit it to the BLO.
• The list of voters opting for home voting will be made available to the political parties recognized by the returning officer.
• The formed polling team will make these voters vote through postal ballot.
• It may be noted that there are 11,76,085 voters above the age of 80 years and 5,60,876 voters registered as special qualified people in the state.

Sixth State Rally Competition of Bharat Scouts and Guides

Why In News?

On October 12, 2023, the 6th State Rally Competition organized by West Central Railway, Bharat Scouts and Guides concluded at the Sports Ground in Habibganj Railway Colony, Bhopal. The competition started on October 9.

Key Points:

• The competition included competitions like singing, playing, street play, folk dance, rangoli, exhibition, pyramid, marchpast. About 385 participants from Jabalpur, Kota, Bhopal came to participate in this rally.
• In this competition, the State Chief Commissioner Shield was given to Jabalpur, the most sensitive division.
• Kota Railway Division won the overall Champion Shield by winning first place in all 20 competitions. Bhopal division got second place and Jabalpur division got third place.
• The state award certificates were presented to four participants - Ansh Karmarkar, Aastha Karmarkar, Anjali Negi and Sonam Asim.

Chief Minister Awarded Players and Coaches of Jharkhand

Why In News?

On October 12, 2023, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren gave awards to the players and coaches at a felicitation ceremony held at Harivansh Rai Tana Bhagat Indoor Stadium in Khelgaon, Ranchi.

Key Points:

• Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that Sidho-Kanho youth sports club is being started to further strengthen the sports culture at the panchayat level. Each club will be given a grant of Rs 25,000 per year.
• The Chief Minister said that the Sahay Scheme has been started with the aim of motivating the youth towards a positive life by connecting them with sports in those areas which are affected by Naxalism. Last year, about 75,000 players participated in the Sahay competition. This year its scope will be increased from 5 districts to 7 districts.
• The Chief Minister said that for the first time in the country, Hockey India and the state government are organizing the Jharkhand Women's Asian Hockey Champions Trophy- 2023 from October 27 to November 5, 2023. In this, teams from 06 countries of Asia will participate. This is the first time that such a big competition is being organized in Jharkhand.
• The Chief Minister said that the Sports Department has also started the Johar Players Portal. This portal is the first such portal in the country, where data of sports and players will be collected, and all possible help will be provided to them. This portal will have complete details of players and coaches.
• Minister for Tourism, Art, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs Hafizul Hasan said that for the first time after the formation of the new sports policy in the state, the honor money has been distributed among the players and coaches. A sum of about Rs 5 crore has been awarded to 222 players and more than 48 coaches as prizes.

Prime Minister Laid the Foundation Stone of Several Development Projects in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand

Why In News?

On October 12, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation several development projects worth about Rs 4200 crore in rural development, roads, power, irrigation, drinking water, horticulture, education, health and disaster management among other sectors in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.

Key Points:

• The following projects were inaugurated and dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister:
  • 76 rural roads and 25 bridges constructed in rural areas under PMGSY;
  • 15 buildings of BDO offices in 9 districts;
  • Upgradation of three roads constructed under the Central Road Fund – Kausani-Bageshwar Road, Dhari-Dauba-Girichhina Road and Nagla-Kichha Road;
  • Upgradation of two roads on National Highways – Almora Petshal-Panuvanaula-Danya (NH 309B) and Tanakpur-Chalthi (NH 125);
  • Three projects related to drinking water – 38 pumping drinking water schemes, 419 gravity-based water supply schemes and three tube well based water supply schemes;
  • Tharkot artificial lake in Pithoragarh;
  • 132 KV Pithoragarh-Lohaghat (Champawat) Power Transmission Line;
  • 39 bridges in Uttarakhand and the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) building constructed in Dehradun under the World Bank-funded Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project.
• The projects for which foundation stones were laid are:
  • Scheme for construction of 21,398 polyhouses, which will help in increasing the production of flowers and vegetables and improving their quality;
  • A scheme for the cultivation of dense apple orchards at high density;
  • Five projects for upgradation of National Highways (NH);
  • Several steps have been taken for disaster preparedness and strengthening in the state - construction of bridges, upgradation of State Emergency Operation Center located in Dehradun, steps for prevention of landslides in Balinala and Nainital and improvement in other infrastructure related to fire, health and forest;
  • Development of hostels and computer labs in 20 model degree colleges across the state;
  • 100-bed sub-district hospital at Someshwar, Almora;
  • 50-bed hospital block in Champawat;
  • Astroturf hockey field at Haldwani Stadium in Nainital;
  • Velodrome Stadium in Rudrapur;
  • ‘Manaskhand Mandir Mala Mission Scheme’ for development of infrastructure in various temples including Jageshwar Dham (Almora), Haat Kalika (Pithoragarh) and Naina Devi (Nainital) temples.