• 22 Mar 2022

Registration and Stamp Duty of Industrial Land Completely Waived

Why in News?

• Recently, the Bihar government, taking a big decision to reduce the cost of land in the state, issued a notification to completely waive the registration and stamp duty for industrial land. This notification will be effective till March 31, 2025.

Key Points

• This decision has been taken by the state government in view of providing cheap land for industries in the state.
• According to the notification issued by the Prohibition of Excise and Registration Department, Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) will not have to pay stamp and registration fee in respect of the land allotted by the government.
• Similarly, any land inside or outside the Industrial Area Development Authority, which will be used by private investors for setting up industries, will be waived off stamp duty on the basis of its documents.
• Only new units will get the benefit of this decision of the government, as well as private investors will get the benefit of 100% exemption in registry and stamp fee only if their investment proposal gets clearance from the State Investment Promotion Council (SIPB) Stage-1.
• Private investors will get the benefit of exemption only on the documents of lease, sale or transfer in the first transaction. Apart from this, if the investor does not take full care of the rules set by the state government, then the Industries Department will recover the amount of exemption given from the investor.

Padma Awards to Five Personalities of Rajasthan

Why in News?

• On March 21, 2022, President Ram Nath Kovind presented Padma Bhushan to Rajasthan's Para-athlete Javelin Thrower Devendra Jhajharia and former Civil Servant Rajiv Mehrishi, and Para Sports Shooter Avani Lakhera, Film Producer and Director Chandraprakash Dwivedi and Awarded Padma Shri to Ram Dayal Sharma, a renowned personality of music and nautanki art.

Key Points

• The President honored 54 personalities including the country's first Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, former Gita Press chairman Radheshyam Khemka and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad for the year 2022 at the Civil Endowment Ceremony-I held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Civil Endowment Ceremony-II will be organized on March 28, in which the remaining personalities will be awarded.
• Rajasthan's javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia, who won three medals in Paralympic Games, is the first para sportsperson in the country to receive the Padma Bhushan award for his remarkable achievements in the field of sports. Devendra Jhajharia won the silver medal in the Tokyo Paralympic Games- 2020.
• Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978 batch retired IAS officer of the Indian Administrative Service and the 13th Controller and Auditor General of India, was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his remarkable services as an outstanding civil servant.
• Avani Lakhera set a record by winning the first gold medal for the country in the Women's 10m Air Rifle Standing event at the Tokyo Paralympic Games-2020. In the Tokyo Paralympics itself, Lakhera also won the bronze medal as the second medal and became the first Indian woman player to win two Paralympic medals.
• Born in Dodua, Sirohi district of Rajasthan, film producer, director, screenplay writer Chandraprakash Dwivedi has done outstanding work in the field of art and cinema including the direction of television serial 'Chanakya' as well as the best of Bollywood films, such as Pinjar, Mohalla Assi, Z Plus, Prithviraj, Upanishad Ganga and Television series 'Mrityunjay.
• Famous nautanki artist of Bharatpur, known as 'Braj Kokila' and 'Braj Papiha' in Rajasthan, Ram Dayal Sharma belongs to the Ras-dhari Gharana (Samai Kheda). Sharma has also received the National Award from the Sangeet Natak Akademi earlier. Ramdayal Sharma holds an important place in the field of art related to Nautanki, Swang, Bhagat, Rasleela and Rasiya.

Obaidullah Khan Heritage Cup Hockey Tournament

Why in News?

• On March 21, 2022, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the Obaidullah Khan Heritage Cup Hockey Tournament 2022, held at Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium, Bhopal. Along with this, the Chief Minister also unveiled the trophy of the Obaidullah Khan Heritage Cup.

Key Points

• This tournament in Bhopal will run from March 21 to 27. It is noteworthy that the Obaidullah Khan Cup hockey tournament was established in 1931. It got closed in the middle, it was also interrupted due to Corona.
• On this occasion, Chief Minister Pragya Singh and bronze medalist Aryan Sen, silver medalist in EP event in Asian Fencing Championship held at Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Aman Singh Bisht, bronze medalist in Asian Youth Boxing Championship held in Jordan and silver medalist Anand Yadav and Gold medalist Ritika Dangi and bronze medalist Neha Thakur were felicitated in the 4.7 laser event of the Asian Sailing Championships held in Abu Dhabi.
• The Chief Minister honored badminton player Gauranshi Sharma and tennis player Dhananjay Dubey of Madhya Pradesh selected for Daphlympics, Brazil 2022 by presenting a symbolic check of Rs.1 lakh each.

Jharkhand: First State in the Country to Approve the Plans of AMRUT 2.0

Why in News?

• Recently, the Central Government has approved 100 percent schemes of the Jharkhand Government for Atal Mission (AMRUT) 2.0 for renewal and urban transformation. With this, Jharkhand has become the first state in the country to approve the schemes under AMRUT 2.0.

Key Points

• In the first phase, 6 states had sent the proposal, out of which Jharkhand is the first state, whose plans have been approved first.
• With this, the water supply system of 16 municipal bodies of the state – Ramgarh, Simdega, Lohardaga, Gumla, Jamtara, Barharwa, Barkisaria, Bachra, Chhatarpur, Hariharganj, Vanshidhar, Dhanwar, Mahagama, Domchanch, Kapali and Bishrampur will be improved. Apart from this, work will also be accelerated in the area of waste water management in Amrit City.
• The goals set under AMRUT 2.0 in Jharkhand are to provide free drinking water to every household in the urban area, waste water management in seven major cities of the state, rejuvenation of water bodies in all bodies and to develop greenery by 2025-26.
• It is worth mentioning that the meter connection to every household in the state has already been made free of cost and free water supply has been announced to the households using controlled quantities of water, irrespective of the scheme.
• There is a plan to provide free water in the form of tap water to 190000 houses in 16 municipal bodies of the state. More than 900,000 people will benefit from these schemes. In the plans, new technology, such as SCADA, GIS and sensors will be used.
• The state has received Rs 1178 crore as the contribution amount of the Center under AMRUT 2.0. The schemes for which approval has been received in the first phase will cost a total of Rs 1122 crore, in which the contribution of the central as well as the state government is there.
• It is noteworthy that Atal Mission for Renewal and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), the country's first focused National Water Mission, was launched in June 2015 in 500 cities of the country to bring ease of living to citizens by providing tap connections and sewer connections. went.

Tribal Women Honored for Excellent Work in the Field of Food Processing

Why in News?

• Recently, tribal women of Kondagaon district of Chhattisgarh were honored in New Delhi by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India for their excellent work in the field of food processing.

Key Points

• The award was presented by Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Minister of State for MSME, for the manufacture of agricultural food products and promotion of women entrepreneurship.
• The award was received by Siddharth Pandey, Consultant on behalf of the Women's Group, at the $5 trillion Economy- Investment and Business Summit cum Awards program organized by the Ministry of MSME in New Delhi.
• The women of tribal-dominated Kondagaon district have formed Udaan Mahila Kisan Producer Company. The company manufactures and sells agricultural food products under the brand name Kondanar.
• There are 10 Board of Directors in this company. More than 30 women self-help groups are involved in this, which work in making more than 30 food items including pickles, chutneys, milkshakes, cookies, tikhurs, coconut oil.
• This company has ensured regular employment to more than 200 tribal women. The women working here get a minimum salary of Rs 7500 per month.
• Kondanar is becoming a brand in the country as well as in the world. The products of Kondagaon Udan were also placed on the virtual platform at the Dubai Expo. People from many countries inquired about the products.

Padma Vibhushan Award to Late Bipin Rawat

Why in News?

• On March 21, 2022, President Ram Nath Kovind posthumously presented the Padma Vibhushan to the country's first Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat at a civilian decoration ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. General Rawat's daughters Kirtika and Tarini received the award.

Key Points

• The President honored 54 personalities including the country's first Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, former Gita Press chairman Radheshyam Khemka and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad for the year 2022 at the Civil Endowment Ceremony-I held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Civil Endowment Ceremony-II will be organized on March 28, in which the remaining personalities will be awarded.
• It is noteworthy that General Rawat died in a helicopter crash in December last year.
• A total of 128 Padma Awards are being given this year, including two Yogya Awards (Yoga Awards are counted as single awards). The list of awardees includes four Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri. Among the awardees, 34 are women. The list includes 10 people from the foreign/NRI/PIO/OCI category.
• These awards are given in three categories – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. Awards are given for various subjects/fields, such as art, social work, public work, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service etc.
• 'Padma Vibhushan' is given for outstanding and distinguished service; 'Padma Bhushan' is given for distinguished service of high level and 'Padma Shri' is given for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day.