Chhattisgarh State PCS

• 21 Feb 2023

‘Chhattisgarh SDG District Progress Report’ and Online Monitoring Tool 'SDG Dashboard’

Why in News?

On February 20, 2023, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel released the 'Chhattisgarh SDG District Progress Report 2021' prepared by the State Planning Commission for monitoring sustainable development goals and also launched an online monitoring tool 'SDG Dashboard' in a virtual meeting held at his residence.

Key Points

• On this occasion, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that the state of Chhattisgarh is committed to achieve the SDG target in a time-bound manner. The resolution of 'Antyodaya' is also included in the objectives of the 'Public Declaration' as per the SDG target.
• The Chief Minister said that 'Score' and 'Ranking' have been provided to each district in the 'Chhattisgarh SDG District Progress Report 2021' prepared by the State Planning Commission and 'SDG Dashboard' prepared for online monitoring.
• Score and Ranking will act as a guiding light for the districts to achieve the target set by 2030 and will also help all collectors to identify the areas identified as growth bottlenecks and take evidence-based decisions.
• This report and dashboard will enable each district and department to play a decisive role in ensuring multifaceted development of its stakeholders by identifying their local implementation commitment.
• All the District Collectors will ensure effective monitoring of related schemes and data collection and reporting system and ensure every effort to achieve the target set by 2030.
• Ajay Singh, Deputy Chairman of State Planning Commission said that the state government has constituted a 'District Level SDG Implementation and Monitoring Committee' under the chairmanship of the District Collector. The committee consists of convenor, chief executive officer, district panchayat and co-convenor, district planning and statistics officer.
• The report provides 'score' and 'ranking' to the districts based on the progress achieved in a total of 82 indicators related to social, economic, environmental and other aspects.
• Responsible departments and district level officials have been mapped for each SDG indicator, as well as schemes related to each target have also been identified.
• The districts are divided into four categories based on the 'score' earned by them - Achiever (100 points), Front Runner (65-99 points), Performer (50-64 points), Aspirant (less than 50 points) )
• According to the report, as of 2021, eight districts (Dhamtari, Rajnandgaon, Balod, Durg, Bemetara, Gariaband, Mahasamund and Raipur) Runner category and remaining are Performer category. Dhamtari District has secured the first rank by scoring 72 marks.
• Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain said that the development agenda of the state government is mainly intertwined with the SDGs. The reports and dashboards provide data-based evidence for appropriate decision-making by the concerned departments towards achieving the SDG goals.
• The District Collector and the District Planning and Statistics Officer have been informed about how the District Indicator Framework can be used to achieve the SDG goals. SDG related 'Hindi booklet' has also been issued for better dissemination at the district level.

CM Transfers Rs 8.63 crore to Beneficiaries of Godhan Nyay Yojana

Why in News?

On February 20, 2023, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel released an amount of Rs 8.63 crore online to cattle rearing villagers, women groups associated with gauthans and gauthan committees under the Godhan Nyay Yojana through a virtual program held at his residence office .

Key Points

• So far, Rs 412.19 crore has been paid to the beneficiaries of this scheme. With this, a total of 105 lakh 63 thousand quintals of cow dung has been purchased since the launch of this scheme. In lieu of this, an amount of Rs 211.25 crore has been provided so far after payment of Rs 4.76 crore to cow dung sellers .
• Out of the total amount being transferred, Rs 4.76 crore was paid for the purchase of cow dung. Out of this, an amount of Rs 2.06 crore has been paid by the Agriculture Department and an amount of Rs 2.70 crore has been paid by the self-reliant gauthans.
• Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that a total of 10,732 gauthans have been sanctioned in the state, out of which 9,720 have been constructed and are operational , construction of remaining gauthans is going on rapidly.
• The Chief Minister said that in the last one year, the number of cattle farmers benefited from the Godhan Nyay Yojana has increased by 59 percent and the purchase of cow dung has increased by 85 percent. 3 lakh 28 thousand rural cattle rearers have benefited from the scheme.
• So far, 5064 gauthans have become self-relient in the state, who have started purchasing cow dung from their own deposited capital. So far, cow dung worth of Rs 43.19 crore has been purchased and paid by self-sufficient cow shelters.
• The Chief Minister said that 45 units have been approved in 21 districts for making paint from cow dung, out of which 13 units have been started. The remaining 32 units are being constructed at a rapid pace. So far, 30 thousand 218 liters of paint has been produced. Out of these, 14 thousand 358 liters of paint has been sold. This has earned an income of Rs 29,16,300.
• He said that cow urine is being procured in 99 gauthans. So far, 01 lakh 33 thousand 484 liters of cow urine has been procured. Its price is 05 lakh 37 thousand 936 rupees. So far, the income from the manufacture and sale of Brahmastra pest controller and Jivammrit growth enhancers from cow urine has been Rs 28,96,845 .
• It is noteworthy that under the Godhan Nyaya Yojana, the share of self-supporting Gauthans has been 60 to 70 percent in the amount being paid for the purchase of cow dung for the past several fortnights. In today's situation, more than 50 percent Gothans have become self-supporting, who along with the purchase of cow dung and cow urine from their own funds, are spending other expenses of the Gothans from their own capital.

Decisions of the Council of Ministers meeting

Why in News?

Several important decisions were taken in the meeting of the Council of Ministers held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel at his residence office on February 20, 2023.

Key Points

• In the meeting of the Council of Ministers, taking a major decision in the interest of the unemployed, the Government of Chhattisgarh took an important decision to provide unemployment allowance to the unemployed youth of the state.
• The draft of the Chhattisgarh Appropriation Bill-2023 was approved regarding the presentation of the third supplementary estimate year 2022-2023 and the budget estimate year 2023-2024 in the Legislative Assembly.
• The draft Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly Members Salary, Allowances, Pension (Amendment) Bill-2023 was approved.
• Industrial Training Institute Upgradation Scheme was approved in partnership with Tata Technologies Limited. Under this, a total of Rs 1216.80 crore will be spent on the development of 36 ITIs in Chhattisgarh. With this, other short term courses including Mechanic, Electric Vehicle, Basic Designer and Virtual Verifier (Mechanical), Manufacturing Process Control and Automation, Advanced CNC Machining, Industrial Robotics and Digital Manufacturing and Artisan Using Advanced Tools will also be conducted in ITI institutions.
• The twenty-first annual report of the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (for the period from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022) was authorized to be tabled in the Legislative Assembly and the General Administration Department was authorized for further action.
• The proposal for formation of Chhattisgarh State Innovation Commission was approved. The State Innovation Commission will suggest ways to promote innovation in public welfare schemes, increase efficiency in administrative services, suggestions for implementation of the manifesto and other important points given from time to time.
• The Hon'ble Governor's address was approved for the 16th session of Chhattisgarh's fifth Vidhansabha March-2023.
• Under the Godhan Nyaya Yojana, as the percentage of conversion from cow dung to vermi compost per kilogram has increased from 40 to 33, it has been decided to pay the cost of additional cow dung used in the production of vermi compost from the amount of reimbursement cess of one rupee.
• It was decided to exempt the Public Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education Department from the Chhattisgarh Store Purchase Rules in relation to purchase/procurement from a single source.
• It was decided to create the post of Commissioner Medical Education under the Department of Medical Education.
• It was decided to purchase chana under the subsidy scheme of Rs 8000 per tonne from the buffer stock of government of India for distribution of gram to Antyodaya and priority families of Scheduled Area and Mada area under Public Distribution System.
• Under the Industrial Policy 2019-24 , it was decided to implement a special incentive policy for closed and sick industries in Chhattisgarh. This will be applicable to industries that have been closed and sick after November 1, 2019. This policy will be applicable only to manufacturing industries.
• It was decided to implement the Chhattisgarh State Logistics Policy 2022 to develop the state of Chhattisgarh as a logistics and warehousing hub.
• It has been decided to include widows, widowers, abandoned and unmarried men and women in the state-promoted Chief Minister--Prime Minister's Housing Scheme and the date of registration for housing has been extended till March 31, 2024.
• The draft Chhattisgarh Municipal Corporation Act 1956 (Amendment) Bill and Chhattisgarh Municipalities Act 1961 (Amendment) Bill 2023 were approved.

CM inaugurates e-Library

Why in News?

On February 20, 2023, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated the e-library of Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekananda Technical University Bhilai in a virtual program held at his residence office.

Key Points

• Through the e-library, 27,000 students studying in pharmacy, diploma, engineering and management institutes of 33 districts from Surguja to Bastar will be able to get online books facility on their mobile and laptop.
• Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that these books would be available on the mobile and laptop of the students for the next 7 years through the e-library created by Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekananda Technical University Bhilai.
• In the next 4 years, about 60,000 students will be able to take advantage of this facility anytime on their mobile and laptop.
• The Chief Minister said that this effort of the university will help in the studies of the students of the state and motivate them to perform better.