• 19 Nov 2021

First Air Pollution Control Tower in Noida

Why in News

• Recently, the Air Pollution Control Tower (APCT) developed by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) at Haridwar was inaugurated by Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Heavy Industries in Noida.

Key Points

• This tower has been set up in the green belt of DND Expressway.
• To tackle the growing air pollution problem in urban areas, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has indigenously designed and developed a prototype Air Pollution Control Tower (APCT).
• This APCT draws polluted air through its surface level. Filters installed in the tower absorb the pollutants of the air. After this, clean air comes out from the upper part of the tower.
• The adsorbed pollutants are collected in a hopper at the bottom of the APCT for timely disposal.
• APCT will help in reducing air pollution. BHEL Haridwar is building other such towers to tackle the problem of increasing air pollution in urban areas.
• It is designed and developed by the Corporate R&D Division of BHEL. BHEL, Haridwar-based Pollution Control Research Institute will also study the performance of APCT for one year.

Bihar Athletics Meet

Why in News

• The team of Rohtas has won the title of Bihar Athletics Meet held from 15 to 17 November 2021.

Key Points

• The team of Rohtas has won the overall title of the 87^th Bihar Junior and Senior Athletics Meet held at LS College, Muzaffarpur. On the other hand, the team of Muzaffarpur has won the overall runner-up title.
• In the men's section, the team of Muzaffarpur with 15 points became the winner, while the team of Bhagalpur was runner-up with 10 points.
• In the women's section, the team of Patna became the winner with 13 points, and the team of Nawada was the runner-up with 6 points.
• In the boys' U-14 group, Rohtas' team emerged as the winner, while Jamui's team was the runner-up.

Jaipur Arts Festival

Why in News

• On November 18, 2021, under the joint aegis of Fine Art Department of Rajasthan University and Pratibha Educational Development Research Society of Jaipur, Jaipur Kala Mahotsav started to bring various forms and styles of art together on one platform.

Key Points

• This art festival will continue till November 22 at Shilpgram, Jawahar Kala Kendra. This is the fifth edition of the Jaipur Arts Festival.
• In the direction of keeping the art alive, artists from many provinces of the country including Rajasthan will show their skills here.
• Textile, photography, paper mache, jewellery, metal craft, architecture, wood craft and installation arts are attracting the attention of art lovers along with various specimens of art by renowned senior and young artists of realistic, contemporary and modern painting and sculpture of visual arts.
• Rajat Pandel, Head of Fine Art Department of Rajasthan University said that the students of Fine Art Department of the University have also been motivated to exhibit their art in this festival, so that the people who come here can come here with the creations of famous artists of the country. To enjoy the skill of artistic expression of the younger generation.
• More than 100 stalls have been set up in the Kala Mahotsav which have artworks of 232 artists, 8 Art Institutions.
• Child art competition, live portrait painting, greeting card making and face painting competition will be organized during the festival.

Madhya Pradesh Ranks First in PM Svanidhi Yojana

Why in News

• On November 18, 2021, Urban Development and Housing Minister Bhupendra Singh informed that Madhya Pradesh has secured first place in the country by achieving 101.60 percent achievement under Pradhan Mantri Svanidhi Yojana.

Key Points

• In this scheme by the Union Housing and Urban Ministry, Madhya Pradesh was given a target to benefit 4 lakh 5 thousand street vendors for the year 2021-22. Against the target, 4 lakh 11 thousand 481 street vendors in Madhya Pradesh have been disbursed 10 thousand rupees interest free loan.
• It is noteworthy that in this scheme, there is a provision to sanction a loan of 20 thousand and then 50 thousand rupees to the street vendors who repay the loan of 10 thousand rupees on time.
• Commissioner, Urban Administration and Development Nikunj Kumar Srivastava informed that Telangana is second, Uttar Pradesh third, Andhra Pradesh fourth, Karnataka fifth and Chhattisgarh sixth in the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Svanidhi Yojana.
• The second phase of the scheme started from August 18, 2021. Under the scheme, the urban street vendors of the first phase, who fully repay the loan of Rs 10 thousand, become eligible for a loan of Rs 20 thousand.
• In this phase, a loan of Rs 20,000 has been distributed to 600 street vendors in the state, whereas loans have been distributed to only 1200 beneficiaries across the country. In this way, Madhya Pradesh ranks first in the country in the implementation of PM Svanidhi Phase II.
• It is to be known that the decision to start the Svanidhi scheme was taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the meeting of the Union Cabinet on June 1, 2020. Under this scheme, a loan of up to Rs 10000 is being provided by the central government to the street vendors (small street vendors) of the country to start their own work afresh. This Svanidhi scheme is also known as 'Prime Minister's Street Vendors Self-Reliant Fund'

Odd-Even System for Vehicles in Haryana

Why in News

• On November 18, 2021, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said in Palwal that Delhi and its adjoining National Capital Region (NCR) would introduce an odd-even system for vehicles to tackle the menace of air pollution.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister said that to check the rising level of air pollution in Delhi-NCR, the state government has decided to implement an odd-even rule in four districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar from next week.
• Under the odd-even scheme, alternate days are marked for vehicles whose number plates end in odd and even numbers respectively. Vehicles with registration numbers ending in odd numbers are allowed on the roads on odd days and vehicles with even numbers on even days.
• Khattar said that pollution is caused by industries, vehicles and other reasons. In Haryana this time the incidents of stubble burning have reduced rapidly.
• On the steps taken to deal with the problem of air pollution, the Chief Minister said that an Engineer Committee has been constituted in Gurugram to suggest ways to deal with this problem.

Model Village Sui

Why in News

• On November 17, 2021, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated Sui, a model village developed under the self-inspired Adarsh ​​Gram Yojana, in Bhiwani district of Haryana.
• On this occasion, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that many development works have been done in Sui village under the Adarsh ​​Gram Yojana and with these development works the main objective of the self-inspired Adarsh ​​Gram Yojana of the government is also being fulfilled.
• He said that Sui village has got a modern look with a new lake, park, auditorium, library, roads, streets and government school. A cluster of small industries will be set up in Sui and adjoining villages on 50 acres under 'One Product-One Block', which will create new employment opportunities.
• Industrialist SK Jindal, a native of Sui village, has set an example for others by completing many development works in the village. Similarly, 205 people of Haryana living abroad have expressed their desire to get development work done in their native villages.
• According to the demand of the villagers, a road will be built on 5 Karam Path from Sui to Dang village through a marketing board, a project will be made to ensure clean drinking water supply in the village.
• The Chief Minister said that a water treatment plant would also be built to prevent the dirty water of Bhiwani city from entering the village.

ASER Report 2021

Why in News

• Recently, the 16^th Annual Status of Education ASER 2021 was released by NGO Pratham, which shows an increase in the inclination of students towards government schools in Jharkhand.

Key Points

• According to the report, the number of children in the age group of 6-14 years studying in government schools of Jharkhand has increased by 6.5 percent as compared to the previous year.
• The number of children (6-14 years) enrolled in government schools in Jharkhand was 72.1% in 2020, which has increased to 78.6% in 2021.
• 57.6 percent of children in Jharkhand have to take tuitions, compared to the national average of only 39.2 percent.
• In the year 2021, the number of enrolled students in the state, who have a smartphone in their homes, has increased to 60.2 percent, from only 20.6 percent in the year 2018.
• 89.8 percent of the state's enrolled children have books for their grades, compared to the national average of 91.9 percent.
• 2.7 percent children in the 6-14 year age group of the state are still enrolled in schools, including 3.1 percent boys and 2.3 percent girls.
• Only 15.3 percent of the enrolled students in the state are able to study online from home, while in Kerala it is 91 percent, while the national average is also much higher than Jharkhand (24.2 percent).
• It may be noted that this report presents data on the schooling status and basic reading and math abilities of children in rural India.
• The ASER 2021 report has been prepared on the basis of a phone-based survey due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Garhwali Film 'Sunpat' Selected in International Film Festival of India

Why in News

• Recently, the Garhwali short film 'Sunpat', depicting Uttarakhand's especially mountain culture, problems, migration, food, has been selected for the International Film Festival of India to be held in Goa.

Key Points

• The film was shot last year in the Birkhal area of ​​Pauri Garhwal.
• It is noteworthy that the International Film Festival of India will be organized in Goa from November 20 to 28. For this, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has selected 44 feature and non feature films to be screened at the film festival, including the Garhwali short film Sunpat from Uttarakhand.
• Originally from Dang village Birkhal and currently resident of Jawahar Colony Faridabad, Rahul Rawat has written the story of the film with direction.
• Director Rahul said that the Garhwali word Sunpat means 'silence'. Sunpat is the story of a society based in the villages of Uttarakhand, whose past is lost and the future looks hazy.
• The film's main characters Anuj and Bharatu are school friends. The film gives a glimpse of the rural setting of Uttarakhand, the struggle of life in the mountains and its uncertainties.