• 17 Aug 2021

'Jan Ashirwad Yatra'

Why in News

• On August 16, 2021, seven newly appointed ministers of Uttar Pradesh started 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' to seek the blessings of the people.

Key Points

• The yatra will continue till August 20, 2021 and passing through three dozen Lok Sabha and 120 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh it will cover a distance of over 3,500 km.
• Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor and Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni reached Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport in three different chariots to seek blessings of the people.
• Union Minister of State for Cooperation B.L. Varma started the Jan Ashirwad Yatra from Vrindavan in Mathura and will end the Yatra at Budaun on 19^th August.
• Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary started the journey from Basti.
• Union Minister of State for Housing, Kaushal Kishore Mohan took out the Yatra from Unnao and the Yatra will be concluded at Sitapur on August 18, 2021.
• Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni, the only Brahmin face of Uttar Pradesh, took out a yatra in Sandila town of Hardoi and this Yatra will end at Ambedkar Nagar on August 19, 2021.
• Union Minister of State for MSME Bhanu Pratap Verma will start the Yatra from Lalitpur on 17^th August and will end it at Fatehpur on 19^th August, 2021.
• Union Minister of State for Law and Justice S.P. Singh Baghel will start the journey from Firozabad on 18^th August and will end at Mathura.

Siliserh Tiraha-Garwaji Road

Why in News

• On August 16, 2021, Rajasthan's Minister of State for Labor, Tikaram Julie, laid the foundation stone for the widening and strengthening work of Siliserh-Garwaji road in Alwar.
• The length of this road to be built at a cost of Rs. 840 lakh will be 14 km.

Key Points

• The Siliserh Lake and Garwaji are major tourist destinations of the district and the construction of a road here would facilitate the movement of people.
• The Minister of State also talked about installing road lights on this road and planting saplings on both sides of the road. This will attract a large number of tourists and the development of the tourism sector will increase employment opportunities for the local people.
• Along with this, he also announced for the convenience of the common man on the demand of the villagers, for the convenience of the common man, to do single pace boring on the Siliserh Tirahe and to connect the remote villages of the Siliserh area with rural bus service.

Draft 'Indira Gandhi Urban Credit Card Scheme'

Why in News

• On August 16, 2021, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot approved the draft of 'Indira Gandhi Urban Credit Card Scheme, 2021' for self-employment and everyday needs of the street vendors of urban areas and the youth and unemployed of the service sector.

Key Points

• Taking a sensitive decision to provide financial resources for employment, self-employment and daily needs in urban areas in view of the global pandemic Covid-19, Chief Minister Gehlot had announced the implementation of 'Indira Gandhi Urban Credit Card Scheme' in this year's budget.
• The goal of the scheme is to connect with street vendors, hairdressers, rickshaw pullers, khatis, potters, cobblers, masons, tailors, washermen, dye-painters, electricians, plumbers, and other people in the unorganized sector, including unemployed youth and provide them financial assistance.
• Under this, beneficiaries will be provided with interest free loans up to Rs 50,000 that is also without any guarantee. Nearly 5 lakh beneficiaries living within the limits of Municipality, Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation will be provided assistance under this scheme.
• The implementation of the scheme will be done through the Department of Autonomous Government. For the beneficiaries belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes of urban areas the scheme will be implemented by the Scheduled Castes Corporation.
• The scheme will be applicable for one year and new loans can be sanctioned till March 31, 2022. The loan moratorium period will be 3 months and loan repayment period will be 12 months.
• The District Collector will be the nodal officer for effective implementation and review of the scheme.

National Handicraft Award

Why in News

• On August 16, 2021, Bilal Khatri, from Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, was selected for the National Handicraft Award for giving new dimensions to stamp printing in traditional garden print handicraft art.

Key Points

• The National Selection Committee constituted by the Handicrafts Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles selected him for the hand block print bamboo mat for the National Award, 2018.
• Bilal Khatri has also been honored with the National Merit Handicraft Award in the year 2011 and the first Vishwakarma Award in the year 2018.
• He presented a bamboo mat for the National Award in Bagh Print Stappa Printing. From this, along with the incorporation of natural colors, samples of the historical heritage Taj Mahal and Red Fort were used.
• Craftsman Bilal Khatri has also exhibited his ancestral garden print stamp in many countries of the world.
• Handicraft Awards name: Shilp Guru Award, National Award and National Certificate of Excellence are one of the highest awards for handicraft artisans in the country. Its objective is to recognize the outstanding artisans to encourage excellence in craftsmanship and to keep our age-old tradition alive.

'Parivartan' Project

Why in News

• On August 16, 2021, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurated project 'Parivartan' in Gurugram under which 600 diesel-run three-wheelers will be replaced by e-three wheelers in the first phase.

Key Points

• Under this initiative, with the joint efforts of Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), Gurugram Regional Traffic Authority and Traffic Police, e-auto rickshaws will replace diesel three wheelers in Gurugram.
• Under the 'Parivartan' project, this drive has been started from Gurugram and a target has been set to run 5,000 e-vehicles. This project would be started not only in Gurugram but also in other metropolitan cities of Haryana.
• The Chief Minister said that the old diesel auto rickshaw would be converted into e-auto rickshaw or e-rickshaw under this project. For this, provision has been made to provide subsidies from MCG and 'Fame India' and loans are also being arranged through banks.

'Waste to Energy' Plant

Why in News

• On August 16, 2021, the Chief Minister digitally inaugurated the 'Waste to Energy' plant set up at Ganaur.

Key Points

• This 'Waste to Energy 'plant, set up at a cost of Rs 176.87 crore, has been built on a public-private partnership basis.
• In this plant, the waste generated from the local bodies of Sonipat and Panipat districts will be disposed of and electricity will also be generated.
• The project will dispose of 750 tonnes of waste per day, as well as generate 8 MW of electricity, which will be given to the grid.
• Its concessionaire is JBM Enviro and the concession period of the project is 22 years. This plant setup in Ganaur will dispose of 750 tonne of waste per day by 2035.

Canoeing-Kayaking Sports Facility in Jagdalpur

Why in News

• On August 15, 2021, on the occasion of Independence Day, Chhattisgarh's Minister of Industry and district in-charge minister Kawasi Lakhma inaugurated the facility of canoeing-kayaking sports at the historic Dalpat Sagar in Jagdalpur.

Key Points

• This new sports facility in the tribal-dominated Bastar region will boost tourism here, while the country will get many national and international players from this game.
• Inaugurating this new sports facility, the Minister of Industry said that there are many sports talents in the tribal area, they will get an opportunity to move forward in this new field of sports. Lakhma also extended his best wishes to the youth training for the sport of canoeing and kayaking.
• He urged the youth to take maximum advantage of the sports facility provided by the initiative of the district administration and appreciated the cleanliness drive of Dalpat Sagar.
• He said that the efforts made for the preservation and beautification of this historical heritage of Dalpat Sagar would also boost tourism in this region. Also, the attraction of Dalpat Sagar will be added to the canoeing-kayaking sport.

Pawandeep Rajan: The winner of 'Indian Idol 12'

Why in News

• Pavandeep Rajan of Uttarakhand emerged as the winner in the grand finale of the singing reality show 'Indian Idol 12' that concluded on August 15, 2021. He received a luxury car and Rs 25 lakh as an award.

Key Points

• Pawandeep, a resident of Champawat in Uttarakhand has inherited music. His father Suresh Rajan and uncle Satish Rajan taught him music.
• His father Suresh Rajan is a famous folk singer from Kumaon and his grandfather, Late Rati Rajan, was also a famous folk singer.
• Pawandeep's maternal grandmother was also a folk singer. Pawandeep's sister Jyotideep is also a singer.
• Pawandeep Rajan is an expert in singing songs as well as playing various musical instruments.

Free Tablets for Class 10th and 12th students

Why in News

• On August 15, 2021, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami made several announcements, including distribution of free tablets to class 10 and 12 students of the state on the occasion of 75^th Independence Day.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister made this announcement while paying homage to the freedom fighters after hoisting the tricolor (Tiranga) at the police lines in Dehradun.
• He also called for setting up of 'Sunderlal Bahuguna Nature Conservation Award' in the name of renowned environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna for his distinguished work in the field of environment and nature conservation and to set up a high level committee to allay the apprehensions about land laws in the state. declare.
• Also, encouraged by the success of Vandana Katariya, who performed brilliantly in women's hockey in Tokyo Olympics, also announced a new sports policy to support and nurture the emerging talent in the field of sports.
• Along with this, he also flagged off the 'Desh ke liye race' (a race in the name of the country) organized by the BJP Yuva Morcha from the pavilion ground.

Prashanta Kumar Agrawal is the new Haryana Director General of Police (DGP)

Why in News

• On August 16, 2021, PK Agrawal, the newly appointed Director General of Police, Haryana Police, took over after a guard of honor at the Panchkula Police Headquarters.

Key Points

• On August 15, 2021, the Haryana government appointed PK Agarwal as the Director General of Police. He has been made DGP in place of Manoj Yadav.
• The Haryana government had sent a panel of names of five IPS officers to the Union People's Service Commission. It also included the names of IPS Shatrujit Kapoor and Deshraj, but both were not included in the last three by the UPSC.
• The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had sent a panel of three names to the Haryana government for the appointment of a new DGP, which included the names of IPS PK Agarwal, Ramesh Chandra Mishra and Mohammad Aqueel, making the seniority parameter.
• Agrawal, a 1988 batch IPS officer, is originally from Bihar. Till now he was working as DG State Vigilance Bureau. He will retire on June 30, 2023.
• PK Agarwal has been awarded the Police Medal in 2004 and the President's Police Medal in 2015.