• 20 Oct 2021

'Khadi Festival and Silk Expo-2021'

Why in News

On October 19, 2021, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the Khadi Festival and Silk Expo-2021 under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav in Lucknow. Organized by Uttar Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board and Silk Department, this exhibition will run till October 30, 2021.

Key Points

• On this occasion, the Chief Minister presented checks, loan approval certificates and state level awards to the beneficiaries of Pandit Deendayal Khadi Marketing Development Assistance Scheme, Mukhyamantri Gramodyog Rozgar Yojana and Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme. Along with this, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay also distributed Sericulture Productivity Awards.
• Earlier, he distributed solar charkha, electric wheel, dona-pattal manufacturing machines and toolkits to the beneficiaries of Mati Kala Board.
• Under Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Khadi Marketing Development Assistance Scheme, claims worth Rs 33 crore 37 lakh 62 thousand of 307 Khadi institutions were paid from financial year 2017-18 to 2021-22. In this, incentive bonus of Rs. 9 crore 52 lakh 92 thousand was paid to 1 lakh 61 thousand 345 workers working in Khadi institutions.
• The Chief Minister said that in the financial year 2021-22, claims worth Rs 4 crore 87 lakh 35 thousand were paid to 136 Khadi institutions. In this, incentive bonus of Rs 1 crore 65 lakh 70 thousand was paid to 25,474 workers.
• Toolkits program is being conducted under Khadi and Village Industries Development and Sustainable Self-Employment Promotion Policy. Under this, free solar charkha has been distributed to Khadi institutions with the aim of increasing Khadi production and increasing the income of Khadi workers.
• The Chief Minister said that in the last three years, 3,803 beneficiaries were given free toolkits and solar charkha, electric pottery wheel, dona-pattal machine and modern furnace-pygmill. The target is to distribute 2,501 toolkits in the financial year 2021-22.
• He said that Khadi and Village Industries Development and Sustainable Self-Employment Promotion Machine (Popcorn Making Machine) and Dona-Pattal making machines have been distributed free of cost to the traditional and other related artisans engaged in Dona-Pattal work.
• In total 57 districts of Uttar Pradesh 3 different types of silk are produced. Mulberry silk is produced in 44 districts of plains, tussar silk in 13 districts of Vindhyachal and Bundelkhand and Eri silk in 8 districts on the banks of Yamuna. The silk consumption of the state is 3 thousand metric tonnes, while the silk production is 300 metric tonnes.
• For plantation, coco production and threading for silk production, 75 percent of the general category beneficiaries and 90 percent of the production grant and free training and technical assistance are given to the beneficiaries of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes by the central and state governments.
• The training program was started by the state government in the year 2018 after completing the construction of Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Government Training Institute located in Mirzapur. Similarly, in the year 2019, threading is being done in the state itself by setting up one reeling machine each in Pilibhit and Bahraich districts. In this financial year 13 more reeling machines have been approved.

Communicable Disease Control Campaign and Dastak Campaign

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On October 19, 2021, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the third special Communicable Disease Control Campaign and Dastak Campaign to be operated in the state in Basti district. On this occasion, he flagged off the promotional vehicles.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister said that the communicable disease control campaign started from the year 2017 was started in 7 districts of Gorakhpur and Basti mandals in the first phase, in 38 districts in the second phase and the third phase in the entire state.
• On this occasion, State Medical and Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh said that this campaign is being conducted by inter-departmental coordination. He said that along with measures to prevent communicable diseases, treatment facilities have been increased at district hospitals and CHCs/PHCs in rural areas.
• Additional Chief Secretary, Health Amit Mohan Prasad informed that from October 19 to November 17, 2021, special communicable disease control campaign and from October 19 to November 1, 2021, Dastak campaign will be conducted in the entire state.

Subsidy in Electricity Rates

Why in News

In the virtual meeting of the Council of Ministers held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on October 19, 2021, it was decided to give subsidy of more than Rs 20 thousand crore in electricity rates to domestic and agricultural consumers for the financial year 2021-22.

Key Points

• Along with this, a subsidy of Rs 4981.69 crore has been approved under the Grih Jyoti Yojana.
• A flat rate of Rs. 1500 per horsepower per year will be payable from the consumer of meterless permanent agricultural pump with a capacity of more than 10 horsepower. The remaining amount will be payable by the state government to the distribution companies as a subsidy. For this a subsidy of Rs 644 crore will be provided. This will benefit about 50,000 agricultural pump consumers of the state.
• Energy charges, fuel charges and fixed charges will be waived on metered permanent and temporary agricultural pump connections. The exemption amount will be paid by the state government to the companies in the form of subsidy. An amount of Rs 350 crore will be payable for this and about 2 lakh temporary and 20 thousand meter permanent agricultural pump consumers will be benefitted.
• Free electricity will be provided to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe agricultural consumers up to 5 horsepower having land up to one hectare. The entire amount of the bill will be payable by the state government as subsidy and about 9 lakh 25 thousand agricultural pump consumers will be benefitted. For this, an amount of Rs 4,733 crore will be given by the state government as subsidy to the distribution companies.
• Energy charges and annual minimum charges will be waived off for high pressure lift/group irrigation consumers. The exemption amount will be borne by the state government as subsidy. For this, an amount of Rs 90 crore will be payable as subsidy.
• With the decision taken by the cabinet, the consumers of agriculture sector of the state will get annual relief of Rs 15,722.87 crore in electricity bill.

'Mukhyamantri Ration Aapke Dwar' scheme

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On October 19, 2021, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the cabinet decided to implement 'Mukhyamantri Ration Aapke Dwar' for the convenience of poor tribal families.

Key Points

• This scheme will be implemented from November, 2021 in the tribal development blocks of the remaining districts except the districts of the election code of conduct. Under the scheme, tribal families of 7,511 villages will be benefited in 74 development blocks of 16 districts.
• Except the village located at the headquarters, the distribution of ration material will be done through the vehicle in other villages attached to the shop.
• The days of each month will be fixed by the District Collector for distribution in the village. On an average, 220 to 440 quintals of food items will be distributed by a vehicle for 22 to 25 days (excluding holidays) in a month.
• An estimated 472 vehicles will be used for food transportation. The annual expenditure of Rs.24 thousand per month on one metric ton vehicle and Rs.31 thousand per month on 2 metric ton vehicle is estimated at Rs.14 crore 7 lakh.
• While loading the food grains in the vehicle, its quality will be tested. There will be all arrangements for keeping electronic weighing fork, mic, speaker, POS machine, seating and keeping food grains safe for weighing the material in the vehicle. For the arrangement of vehicles, a contract will be signed with the transporters at the district level.
• The transporters will be residents of the villages of the same area. Their age will be between 21 to 45 years and they will be from the Scheduled Tribes category. The fixed expenses will be paid to the transporters every month.
• Margin money will be provided to the transporter on the loan amount for the purchase of the vehicle. Margin money of Rs.2 lakh will be paid for vehicles of 1 metric ton capacity and Rs.3 lakh for vehicles of 2 metric ton or more capacity. A lump sum amount of Rs 9 crore 69 lakh of margin money will be paid by the Tribal Affairs Department.
• Under the Public Distribution System, there is a provision to operate a fair price shop at the Gram Panchayat level, except the headquarter village of the shop, due to lack of easy means of transport to the eligible families of the remaining dependent villages, covering a distance of about 5 km per month from 23 to 37 The material weighing kg has to be carried on the head.
• Divyang, old and physically challenged people face difficulty in getting ration material from the shop and poor families also suffer loss of wages. Keeping these facts in view, this decision has been taken by the Council of Ministers.
• The scheme will save the wages and labor of the beneficiary, supply of ration material to the eligible families in the village of residence and distribution of ration material on time.

'Khadi Show'

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On October 19, 2021, Madhya Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board organized 'Khadi Show', a live display of designer garments of Khadi textiles at Charkha Khadi Utsav at Haat Complex, Bhopal.

Key Points

• A 'Khadi Show' was organized with the aim of increasing the trend towards Khadi clothing among the youth and to create awareness about Khadi. In this, the models presented various apparels of Kabira Khadi brand.
• The show was also organized to encourage the use of Khadi fabrics in daily life as envisioned by the Father of the Nation Gandhiji on the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', the 75^th anniversary of Indian Independence.
• Garments of all age groups and different types of designer dresses were displayed in the Khadi Garment Show. These dresses are designed by the designers affiliated to the board in the latest designs in line with the attractive and current trends.
• Khadi Kurtas, Pajamas, Jackets, Shirts, Sherwanis, Coats, Ladies Kurtas, Trousers, Palazzos, Pants, Jackets, Sarees and Anarkali Kurtas etc. were displayed by various models.
• These designer khadi garments included printed garments of traditional, block, bagh, dabu, boutique and currently in vogue digital prints, flowers and forest based prints of Madhya Pradesh.

'Ayushman Bharat' Scheme

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On October 19, 2021, Haryana's Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala announced the benefit of 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme to the numberdar of the state and his family. Under this, cashless treatment can be done up to Rs 5 lakh per year.

Key Points

• Dushyant Chautala said that free Ayushman cards would be given to the number dars and their family members in the state, which would be made in the Common Service Centers and empaneled hospitals in the state.
• 612 hospitals are empaneled under Ayushman Bharat scheme in the state, including 436 private and 176 public hospitals.
• There are about 20 thousand numberdars in the state, whose families will get the benefit of the said scheme of the central government.
• If any member of the numberdar's family has forgotten to carry his Ayushman card with him at the time of admission in the hospital in a hurry, even then the treatment will be started immediately after entering it through biometric.
• Under this scheme, after discharge, a message will come on the patient's mobile number that how much has been spent during his treatment, not only this, feedback will also be taken from the patient about his treatment.

'Swasth Haryana' app

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On October 19, 2021, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij launched the 'Swasth Haryana' mobile app to help people avoid long queues in civil hospitals.

Key Points

• Through this app, any patient can register to get his treatment done in any civil hospital of the state.
• The 'Swasth Haryana' mobile app has been developed by the Haryana State Health Systems Resource Center (HSHRC) in the health institutions.
• Through this mobile app, advance registration of patients, filling of demographic details of patients will be done and patients will be able to view their past registration records.
• Also, patients will be able to choose any health institution and OPD of their choice and patients will also be provided with information about the nearest blood bank.

Pradhanmantri Awas Yojna (Rural) scheme

Why in News

According to the recently released data, in the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin, Awas Plus) in Jharkhand, tribal district Simdega is at the first place with 93.25 percent target achievement, while Ranchi district is second with 91.99 percent target achievement.

Key Points

• According to the data, Ranchi district was given a target of 17,958 houses for 2021-22. Against this target, 16,520 beneficiaries have been approved for the housing scheme.
• Khalari block has become the first block in Ranchi which completed the target five months back. In Khalari block, a target was set to provide housing to 105 beneficiaries for the financial year 2021-22, which has been completed.
• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana was launched in the year 2015. The benefit of this scheme is given to the economically weaker section of the rural area, who do not have their own pucca house. They are given financial assistance for building a house or repairing a kutcha house. Under the scheme, an assistance of Rs 1.30 lakh is given to the people living in rural areas and Rs 1.20 lakh in urban areas.
• The objective of PMAY (Gramin) is to provide a pucca house with basic amenities to all homeless households and families living in kutcha and dilapidated houses.
• The minimum size of the house has been increased from 20 sqm to 25 sqm with clean cooking space. Similarly, the unit assistance has been increased from Rs 70,000 to Rs 1.20 lakh in plain areas and Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.30 lakh in hilly states and difficult areas.
• The cost of the unit assistance is to be shared between the Center and the State Government in the ratio of 60:40 in the plain areas and 90:10 for the North Eastern and Himalayan States.

Kojagra Festival

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On October 19, 2021, Mithila Cultural Council (MSP), Bokaro organized 'Kojagra Utsav' at Mithila Academy Public School Auditorium, Bokaro Steel City to commemorate 'Maa Lakshmi Puja'.

Key Points

• A grand cultural festival was organized on this occasion, in which solo songs and group songs were presented by artists Arun Pathak, Preeti Rai, Sujata Jha, Madhu Jha, Kiran Jha, Neelu Jha, Kiran Mishra, Preeti Priya, Alka Jha in Maithili language.
• MSP general secretary Avinash Kumar Jha said that on this day, people of the society worship Goddess Lakshmi and pray for happiness and prosperity.
• This festival is celebrated in every household on the day of Ashwin Purnima. Especially in the house of newly married youths of the society, it is celebrated as a big festival.
• There is a tradition of eating 'paan' and 'makhan' as prasad on this day.

Bastar Dussehra

Why in News

On October 19, 2021, the longest running (75 days) of the world famous historical Bastar Dussehra came to an end with the heartfelt farewell of Mata Mavli. According to tradition, more than 450 deities from 84 parganas and border states of Bastar division were given a respectful farewell after the family jatra.

Key Points

• This year Bastar Dussehra started with Pat Jatra Vidhan on August 8, 2021.
• Doli of Maa Mavli and Chhatra of Maa Danteshwari were worshiped with full rituals. At the same time, King Kamalchand Bhanjdev of Bastar carried the mother's doli on his shoulder as per the tradition and got the city circumambulated.
• From Danteshwari temple to Pragati Path, the huge crowd gave a heartfelt farewell to Mata Mavli. During the farewell ceremony, the police personnel also fired joyfully.
• Bastar Dussehra is different from Dussehra in the rest of India, because in the rest of India Dussehra is dedicated to the killing of Ravana, while Bastar Dussehra is dedicated to Danteshwari Mata. This festival lasts from Shravan Amavasya to Ashwin Shukla Trayodashi.
• This princely tradition of Bastar is more than 620 years old. It was started by Kakatiya dynasty ruler Purushottamdev (1408 to 1439 AD).