Rajasthan State PCS

• 20 Dec 2022

Rajasthan Wins National Award for Digital Innovations

Why in discussion?

On December 19, 2022, digital innovations and public welfare schemes led by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot received the SKOCH Award at the National Level.

Key Points

• The State Government's Public Welfare Portal and e-Mitra have been given the SKOCH Gold Award for the year 2022 in the e-governance category. Through the Public Welfare Portal, the websites of all departments and districts are created by the state government, so that all the information related to the state government can be available to the common people on a single platform.
• Apart from this, more than 600 services of the state government are being made available online to the general public through e-Mitra.
• In the e-governance category, RajKaj, a digital platform created for state government employees, has been given the SKOCH Silver Award.
• The SKOCH Gold Award has been given to The Rajasthan Housing Board for outstanding work in the housing category. At the same time, Indira Gandhi Matritva Poshan Yojana has been given the SKOCH Silver Award in the Women and Child Development category.
• It is noteworthy that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is constantly working towards giving a transparent and accountable good governance to the state through IT.
• On behalf of the state government, IT Commissioner Ashish Gupta, Officer in charge of the Chief Minister's Office (IT) Rajesh Kumar Saini and Project Officer Neha Chaudhary received the award.

National-Level 'SKOCH Award' to Indira Gandhi Matritva Poshan Yojana

Why in discussion?

On December 19, 2022, 'Indira Gandhi Matritva Poshan Yojana', aimed at meeting the nutritional needs of pregnant women in Rajasthan, was awarded the SKOCH Award at the National Level at a function held at The India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

Key Points

• The second prize (silver medal) was given to this scheme at the prize distribution ceremony. Director of Integrated Child Development Services Ramavatar Meena and Divya Santhanam, representative of IPE Global, which is providing technical support to the scheme, received the award.
• It is noteworthy that in 2020-21, this scheme was started by the state government in 5 tribal districts baran, Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh and Udaipur, which has been implemented in all 33 districts of the state in the year 2022-23.
• Under this scheme, an amount of six thousand rupees is provided to the pregnant woman on the birth of the second child.
• Indira Gandhi Matritva Poshan Yojana is a completely paperless scheme in which the beneficiary does not have to apply in any way, he is paid online on the basis of data recorded in the Health Department. The scheme aims to benefit about 3.30 lakh women.

Additional Budget for Nirbhaya Fund

Why in discussion?

On December 19, 2022, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot approved a provision for additional budget of Rs 60 crore in the Nirbhaya Fund for 45 POCSO courts running in the state for the safety of women.

Key Points

• The state government is very sensitive about the safety of women in the state and necessary steps are being taken continuously in the state regarding women's safety. In this sequence, additional budget provision has been approved in the Nirbhaya Fund.
• It is noteworthy that under the National Mission (Fast Track Special Courts) Nirbhaya Fund, there are 45 POCSO courts operating in the state, out of which 40 percent is funded by the state government.
• For this fund, the Gehlot government has approved an additional budget provision of Rs 40.27 crore in state fund and Rs 19.73 crore in central share, so that the employees/officers posted in these POCSO courts will get uninterrupted withdrawal of the next month's salary.