• 18 Mar 2023

Mega Textile Park proposal in Hardoi got authorised

Why in News?

• On 17th March 2023, the Government of India announced sites for setting up 7 PM Mega Integrated Textile Region & Apparel (PM MITRA) parks for the textile industry, including Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points

• With the construction of Mega Textile Park on 1000 acres in Hardoi district of the state at a cost of 1200 crores, all the works and facilities related to the textile industry will be available in a single complex. With this, an investment of Rs 10,000 crore and the employment of lakhs of people are expected in the state.
• Sant Kabir PM Mitra Textile and Apparel Park will be the name of the park that will be constructed in the Hardoi region of Uttar Pradesh under PM Mitra. The state will receive five billion rupees as compensation.
• It is noteworthy that the Central Government has approved the setting up of PM Mitra (Prime Minister's Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel) Park in seven states of the country namely Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• Out of 18 proposals for PM Mitra Parks that were submitted from 13 states, these 7 sites were chosen. For this, the evaluation of eligible states and locations was carried out by a transparent selection system, based on various factors such as connectivity, existing ecosystems, clothing/industrial policies, infrastructure, utility services, etc., taking into account objective standards.
• For this purpose, model connectivity was also used for the verification of the PM Speed Power-Multi-National Master Plan.
• A special pavement wheel (SPV) owned by the central and state government will be established for each park, with 51 percent of the Northern Territory government and 49 percent of the Government of India. SPV will monitor the implementation of the project.
• The Ministry of Textiles will provide financial assistance of up to Rs 500 crore per park as capital assistance for the development of the park SPV.
• Competitive incentive support (CIS) of up to 300 crores per park will also be provided to encourage the rapid implementation of units in PM MITRA Park. The Master Developer and Investor Units will also be facilitated by mixing with other plans of the Government of India to ensure additional incentives.
• The textile park in the province will be developed in PPP mode. The free-of-charge land has been granted to the Handloom and Textiles Department for this. The Additional Chief Secretary, Handloom and Textiles Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh will be appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SPV.
• About 1 lakh direct and 2 lakhs of lateral employment is expected to be generated from this park.

5 Bus Stands of the State will be Developed on the Lines of the Airport

Why in news?

• According to information received from the media on March 16, 2023, the Uttar Pradesh government will develop the state's bus stands on the lines of airports. For this purpose, the selection process for five bus stands under the PPP model has been facilitated by private developers in the first phase under the development plan of 23 bus stands.

Key Points

• The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has received an investment proposal of Rs 1000 crore to upgrade these five bus stands on the lines of airports.
• Through this investment, more than 2000 direct and lateral employment opportunities are likely to be generated at these five locations.
• The department has received several investment proposals through the bid process that ended in February, including those from investors who submitted proposals in UPGIS.
• Work will start on this after the approval of the Committee of Secretaries headed by the Chief Secretary and the Cabinet. It is estimated that by the end of this month, they will be issued a letter of permission (LOI).
• The five bus stands which have been selected to be developed on the lines of the airport by the developers are- Kaushambi Bus Station, Lucknow's Vibhuti Khand Bus Station, Prayagraj's Civil Lines Bus Station, Ghaziabad's Old Bus Station and Agra Fort Bus Station.
• For the modernization of these bus stations, the bids of many other builders including Omaxe and SPG builders have been included. According to the investment proposals received through them, Rs 245 crore will be invested in Kaushambi bus station, 307 crores in Vibhuti Khand of Lucknow, 276 crores in Civil Lines of Prayagraj, 114 crores in Old Ghaziabad Bus Station and Rs 22 crore in Agra Fort bus station.
• The bus station in the state will no longer be addressed as Bus Adda. Now it will be addressed as Bus Port just like the airport. Transport Corporation has also started using this word in its departmental functioning.
• It will also have arrangements for public announcement, while facilities like a VIP lounge, cafeteria, food court, shopping malls, waiting area, escalator, and lift will also be developed in it.
• The developers will operate it in a multistorey building on 30 percent of the department's land. The remaining 70 percent will remain on bus traffic and parking spaces. The maintenance work of these bus ports will be with these developers only.
• Apart from the modernization of bus stations, the Transport Corporation has also received investment proposals in another category. This category belongs to IT.
• Roadways GM (IT) Yajuvendra Kumar told that among the companies which have shown interest in this category is Paytm which wants to launch an NCMC card. This card will be like a monthly metro card, so there will be no need to buy tickets again and again.

19 New Districts, 3 New Divisions will be Formed in Rajasthan

Why in News? 

• On 17 March 2023, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced the creation of 19 new districts and 3 new divisions in the state during his course of the discussion on the Finance and Appropriation Bill in the Legislative Assembly. 

Key Points  

• After the announcement of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, there are 50 districts and 10 divisions in the state now.  
• An announcement was made by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to make Anupgarh, Balotra, Beawar, Deeg, Didwana-Kuchaman, Dudu, Gangapur City, Jaipur North, Jaipur South, Jodhpur East, Jodhpur West, Kekri, Kotputli-Behror, Khairthal, Neem Ka Thana, Phalodi, Salumbar, Sanchor and Shahpura districts. Along with this, he announced to make Banswara, Pali and Sikar divisions. 
• Jaipur North, Jaipur South, Dudu and Phalodi districts have been carved out of Jaipur district.   
• Jodhpur East, Jodhpur West and Kotputli-Behror districts have been carved out of Jodhpur district.  
• In the same way- Shri Ganganagar to Anupgarh, Barmer to Balotra, Ajmer to Beawar and Kekri, Bharatpur to Deeg, Nagaur to Didwana-Kuchaman City, Sawai Madhopur to Gangapur City, Alwar to Khairthal, Sikar to Neem Ka Thana, Udaipur to Salumbar, Jalore to Sanchore and Shahpura has been carved out of Bhilwara as a new district. 
• Significantly, the new districts have been announced after 15 years. Earlier, on January 26, 2008, Pratapgarh became the 33rd district of Rajasthan. And the last announcement of the divisional headquarters was made 18 years back in 2005. On June 4, 2005 Bharatpur was created as the 7th division of Rajasthan.

Important Announcements Made by The Chief Minister

Why in News?

• On March 17, 2023, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot made several important announcements including giving free smartphones to 40 lakh women from Raksha Bandhan festival in the first phase under the Chief Minister's Digital Seva Yojana during the reply to the discussion on the Finance and Appropriation Bill.

Key Points

• Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced the creation of 19 new districts and 3 new divisions in the state.
• Other important announcements made by the Chief Minister-
• Govind Dev Ji Temple, Jaipur at a cost of Rs 100 crore will be developed on the lines of Mahakal Ujjain.
• Pushkar Development Authority will be formed for the overall development of Tirtharaj Pushkar.
• Development works worth Rs 100 crore will be done in Beneshwar Dham, Dungarpur next year.
• After the completion of the Centre's Saubhagya Yojana, domestic connections will be made available to 2 lakh families who have been deprived of domestic electricity connections at a cost of Rs 1000 crore.
• Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, 3 lakh families in 8 towns and 1473 villages of Udaipur, Pratapgarh, Chittorgarh and Rajsamand districts will be provided water connections to every household at a cost of Rs 4674 crore.
• Villages with more than 250 populations in tribal and desert areas of the state will be connected with asphalt roads in a phased manner.
• In the coming year, bridge courses will be conducted for students up to class 8th at a cost of Rs 75 crore, so that the academic losses incurred during the Corona period can be compensated. This will benefit 70 lakh children.
• In order to facilitate school education, it was announced to upgrade of 500 primary schools to upper primary schools and 500 upper primary schools to higher secondary schools. Science, commerce and agriculture faculty/subjects will be started in 400 higher secondary schools.
• On the lines of the Education Department, 2 sets of free uniforms will be made available to the children studying in madrassas and also, 6843 Education Instructors (Madrassa Parateachers) will be recruited.
• Approval of all pension benefits will be issued to the personnel from May 2023 only on the day of retirement. Pensioners above the age of 75 years will be given an additional allowance of 10 percent on the basic pay in the pension amount.

The Governor Presented the Pandit Uddhav Das Mehta Awards

Why In News?

• On 17 March 2023, Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel presented awards for a total of five years (from the year 2017 to the year 2021) at the Pandit Uddhav Das Mehta Vaidya Shastri Ayurveda Seva Samman Award distribution ceremony.

Key Points

• The Pandit Uddhavdas Mehta Vaidya Shastri Ayurved Seva Samman Award for the year 2017 was given to Late Madhav Singh Baghel of Jaipur, which was received by his son Aniket Baghel.
• For the year 2018, this award was given to the Government Autonomous Ayurveda College, Ujjain, which was received by the principal of the institute, J.P. Chaurasia.
• The award for the year 2019 was given to Dr. Ramvilas Sohgaura.
• The award for the year 2020 was given to Rani Dullaiya Ayurveda P.G. college and hospital, Bhopal, which was received by Hemant Chauhan (Chairman of the D. Memorial Group of Institutions).
• The award for the year 2021 was given to Arogya Bharti, Public Trust Bhopal which was received by National Secretary Sunil Joshi.
• The award consists of a number of one lakh rupees and a citation.
• It is worth mentioning that every year in the state, this honour is given to those individuals or organizations of Madhya Pradesh, who have done excellent work, research and innovation in the field of Ayurveda.

PM Mitra Mega Integrated Textile Park to Be Set Up in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh

Why in News?

• On 17 March 2023, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion Minister of Madhya Pradesh Rajvardhan Singh said that the Central Government has approved PM Mitra Mega Textile Park in 7 states of the country, out of which one has been decided to establish in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

Key Points

• To promote Make in India, the Central Government has approved PM Mitra Mega Textile Parks in 7 states of the country. CM Mitra Mega Textile Parks are going to be set up in Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tweeted about this and said that PM Mitra Mega Textile Park will give a boost to the 5F (Farm to Fiber to Factory to Fashion to Foreign) vision.
• PM Modi said that PM Mitra Mega Textile Park will attract huge investment and generate jobs.
• Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion Minister Rajvardhan Singh has said that with the 5F vision, we can expand our textile industry to foreign countries. earlier, in the entire process, the expenditure was increasing and time was also being wasted, but now this problem will be solved if there is a textile park in one place.
• Under the PM Mitra Mega Textile Park, the entire work (i.e. from cloth making to its export) will be done at one place. There will be an investment of about Rs 4425 crore in this.
• This decision will promote investment in the textile sector and create many employment opportunities. This will create 14 lakh employment opportunities.

Formation of Powerlifting Association in Palamu

Why in News?

• According to the information received from the media on March 15, 2023 the sports lovers of Palamu have together formed an association in Palamu district of the state for powerlifting, as one of the oldest sports of India

Key Points

• The association has been named as Palamu District Powerlifting Association and Sanjay Ranjan Singh (IPS officer) has been appointed as chairman of Palamu District Powerlifting Association, while Anand Kumar Singh Buchun has been appointed as Vice chairman, Rathin Bhadra as General Secretary, Deepak Chatterjee Bui as Joint Secretary and Raja Bagchi was appointed as Treasurer.
• After the formation of Palamu District Powerlifting Association, Jharkhand Power Lifting Association has given its recognition. Now this organization will be able to do other corrective work independently from organizing tournaments for the players under it.
• General Secretary Rathin Bhadra of Palamu District Powerlifting Association said that with the coming into existence of this association today's youth, who give importance to physical discussions and want to do something in this field, will get an organized platform.
• Chairman of the Association (Sanjay Ranjan Singh) said that very soon Palamu District Powerlifting Competition will be organized under the aegis of the association. After this, national junior and sub-junior category tournaments will also be organized in collaboration with Jharkhand Power Lifting Association.

The Chief Minister Inaugurated the 'Jharniyojan Portal'

Why in News?

• According to information received from the media on March 17, 2023, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren inaugurated the 'Jharniyojan Portal' in the Chief Minister's office, located in the state assembly.

Key Points

• Through this portal (developed by the Department of Labour Planning, Training and Skill Development) the government will try to provide a platform to employers and candidates looking for employment.
• Employers can share information about their business and manpower on the portal.
• During this occasion, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that the recruitment in the private sector would be monitored through the planning portal. Its plan was already implemented but there was a lack of a web portal. Now it can be done in a better way.
• Jharkhand State Employment of Local Candidates in Private Sector Act, 2021 has been passed by the Government of Jharkhand with the aim of providing employment opportunities at the local level to the unemployed youths of the state.
• Apart from this, after the notification of rules related to the implementation of the Act, this Act is effective from September 12, 2022 in the entire state of Jharkhand.
• This Act applies to all such establishments, which are in the private sector and where 10 or more than 10 workers are working. All such establishments have to register themselves on this portal.
• From the date of coming into effect of the Act, if any vacancy is released by all the establishments to which this Act applies, 75% of the locals will have to be appointed in the appointment of posts up to Rs.40,000 salary. The youth of Jharkhand who want to take advantage of this act will have to register on the employment portal.
• If the local companies are informed about the shortage of manpower with the required skills at the local level, then the provision has been made under the Act to enable the local youth to be trained by the government in accordance with the required skills.

Sports Authority of India Approves 10 New Khelo India Centers in Chhattisgarh

Why in News? 

• According to the information given by the Chhattisgarh Public Relations Department on March 17, 2023, on the proposal of the Sports and Youth Welfare Department of Chhattisgarh, the Sports Authority of India has approved the establishment of ten new Khelo India mini-centres under the Khelo India scheme in Chhattisgarh. 

Key Points  

• According to the information, these centres will be opened for one game each in different districts. Now the total number of centres under the Khelo India scheme has gone up to 24 in Chhattisgarh. 
• Khelo India Mini Center has been approved by the Sports Authority of India for Hockey, Wrestling, Football, Kabaddi and Archery. Sports Authority of India will also provide financial assistance for the establishment of these centres. 
• It is known that the Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare Department of Chhattisgarh had sent a proposal to the Sports Authority of India to start the Khelo India Center for various sports in which new Khelo India mini centres were approved for hockey in Bastar, wrestling in Dhamtari, hockey in Janjgir Champa, football in Korba, football in Balrampur, kabaddi in Bemetara, archery in Dantewada, archery in Mahasamund, football in Mungeli and football in Surajpur.  
• Before this, the process of opening Khelo India mini centres of hockey is in progress in Malkhamb in district Narayanpur, archery in Bijapur, archery in Shivtarai Bilaspur, volleyball in Gariaband,  football in Surguja,  hockey in Jashpur and Rajnandgaon   
• So far, Rs 7 lakh each has been released to each of the 7 districts of the first phase for small centres. In the other 7 sanctioned districts, funds for small centres for weightlifting in Balod, football in Balodabazar, kabaddi in Durg, kho-kho in Kanker, weightlifting in Raipur, badminton in Raigarh and football in Sukma are under the process of being realised by the Sports Authority of India. 
• In this way, players will get direct benefits through 24 Khelo India Mini Centers in 24 districts of the states. Local senior players of each sport will be attached to the centre, they will also be given honorarium for working as coaches. 
• Equal representation of boys and girls players will also be ensured in all Khelo India centres. These centres will be registered in the portal of Sports Authority of India.

Important Decisions Taken in the Meeting of the Council of Ministers

Why in News?

• Important decisions were taken in the meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 17, 2023, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in the committee room located in the assembly premises.

Key Points

• The draft of the Chhattisgarh Media Personnel Security Bill-2023 was approved.
• The draft of the Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code-1959 (Amendment) Bill 2023 was approved.
• The draft of the Leasehold Rights Bill-2023 was approved for the homeless people of Chhattisgarh urban areas.
• The draft of the Chhattisgarh Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill-2023 was approved.
• Chhattisgarh Naxalism eradication policy was approved.
• The draft of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly Member Salary, Allowances and Pension (Amendment) Bill-2023 was approved.
• To enhance the quality of education in Chhattisgarh, the Education Department has been authorised to implement the World Bank Project- Chaak worth about Rs 2500 crore and the Finance Department has been authorised to give final approval to the loan.
• It has been decided that MS. Akarshi Kashyap (Durg), The Silver Medalist of Commonwealth Games-2022 (held in Birmingham) will be appointed as Deputy Superintendent of Police (Class II Gazetted).
• It was decided to create a new post of Officer on Special Duty at Police Headquarters, Chhattisgarh, Nava Raipur on a temporary basis for a period of one year.

Uttarakhand's New Tourism Policy Approved

Why in News?

• According to information received from the media on March 17, 2023, the government has approved a new tourism policy to increase tourism investment in Uttarakhand. In this, to take advantage of investment promotion in the tourism sector the minimum limit of the project cost has been made five crore rupees.

Key News

• With the new tourism policy of the state, new tourist places will be developed to promote investment. Under the policy made for tourism investment, the cities of the state have been separated into three categories. In these, up to 50 percent subsidy will be given by the government for investing in unexplored places from the point of view of tourism.
• Apart from this, 100 percent subsidy will be given on investment in Heli tourism, Caravan tourism, Adventure, Cab operator (electric vehicle). With this promoting tourism activities, new employment opportunities will also be created.
• These are the three categories of cities -
• Category-A: Haridwar, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar, Dehradun, Ranikhet, Almora Tehsils.
• Category-B: Remaining area of district Almora, Kalsi, Chakrata and Tuni tehsils of Dehradun district, Garud of Bageshwar, Kotdwar, Lansdowne, Yamkeshwar and Dhumakot tehsils of Pauri district, Dhanaulti and Narendranagar tehsils of Tehri Garhwal.
• Category-C: Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Champawat, Rudraprayag, Pithoragarh, remaining areas of Bageshwar district, Pauri and remaining areas of Tehri district which are not included in Category-B.
• Under the new policy, the government will give subsidies on capital investment on the basis of category. इIn this, 25 percent subsidy will be given in category-A areas, 35 percent in selected areas in category-B and up to 50 percent subsidy will be given for investment in the tourism sector of category-C areas.
• 100% exemption in stamp duty will be given on investment in the tourism sector. Apart from this, an incentive amount will be given for marketing promotion, skill training and waste management. In order to attract foreign tourists, a provision was made to give attractive incentives for Heli tourism.
• Financial incentive will be given for investment in Helium, Hot Air Balloon, Billips, Cab Operator, Helicopter, Water Plane, Caravan, Motor House, Cruise Boat, House Boat, Yacht, Adventure Trekking, Rock Climbing, Water Sports, Vote Race, Skating, Fishing, Aero Sports, Ropeway, Hotel and Resort with at least 15 rooms, Floating resort, Heritage hotel, Hotel and Motel, Spa health resort, Wellness resort, Tourist resort, Art gallery, Amusement park, etc.