• 22 Oct 2022

North Central Railway Becomes Fifth Zone in the Country with 100% Electrification

Why in News?

• Recently, The North Central Railway (NCR) has become the fifth zone in the country to have 100 percent electrification. All the broad gauge railways here have now been fully electrified.

Key points

• At present, out of the 18 zonal railways in the country, four zones — East Coast Railway Bhubaneswar, Eastern Railway, West Central Railway and South Eastern Railway — were the only zones that were fully electrified. Now the North Central Railway has also joined it.
• This section covers 76 km between Khajuraho and Lalitpur between Ishanagar-Udaipur. The electrification work, which was left in the last financial year, has been completed by the Central Railway Electrification Organization (CORE) on October 20. Now this route has been ready for the operation of trains with electric engines.
• Now with the electrification of this section, all the broad gauge railway lines of NCR have been electrified. The advantage of this will be that now electric engine trains will start operating from Mahoba-Khajuraho-Udaipura to Lalitpur. Also, MEMU trains will be able to run from Mahoba to Lalitpur via Chhatarpur.
• With the electrification of Ishanagar-Udaipura section, 3222 route km in North Central Railway zone. Broad gauge has been electrified. 110 km on this new route. Trains will be able to run at a speed of 110 km/h from Prayagraj to Lalitpur via Mahoba. This will also save passengers time.
• The North Central Railway in its present form came into existence on April 1, 2003. North Central Railway is spread over a wide area of India including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. It is headquartered in Prayagraj (Allahabad) and consists of three divisions - Prayagraj, Jhansi and Agra.

Chief Minister Inaugurates 24 Schemes worth Rs. 224.19 Crore in the State

Why in News?

• On October 21, 2022, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated 24 schemes in the state from Gyan Bhawan in Patna.

Key points

• Besides inaugurating 24 schemes in the state, the Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of two medical colleges online, out of which a Government Medical College and Hospital in Buxar would be built at a cost of Rs 515 crore. Apart from this, a government medical college and hospital will also be built in Begusarai.
• The Chief Minister also launched the Digital Health Scheme in Bihar and distributed appointment letters to 9469 selected health workers.

Rajasthan Directorate of Economic and Statistics awarded Digital Transformation National Award

Why in News?

• On October 21, 2022, under the Digital India Mission of the Government of India, the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Rajasthan was awarded the National Award for Digital Transformation for the year 2022 at a function organized by CII and Tata Communication Center for Digital Transformation in New Delhi.

Key points

• Director of the State Directorate of Economics and Statistics Dr. OP Bairwa said that this award has been given to the state for the expected progress in birth, death, marriage and MCCD registration through identity web and Android app.
• He said that more than 400 nominations were received for the award, out of which the Identity Android web application of the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Rajasthan was selected for the Digital Transformation Award.

7th National Ayurveda Day Celebrated in State

Why in News?

• On October 21, 2022, the Madhya Pradesh AYUSH Department issued guidelines to the District AYUSH Office regarding the organization of Ayurveda Day and informed that the 7th National Ayurveda Day will be celebrated on October 23 in the state.

Key points

• This year the theme of National Ayurveda Day has been kept as 'Har Din-Har Ghar Ayurveda' and the program has been designed keeping the theme 'Ayurveda/2047'. On this day, there will be many programs focused on the importance of Ayurveda and at the district level, programs of lectures by knowledgeable experts of Ayurveda will also be organized.
• It is noteworthy that from September 23, various competitions focused on the importance of Ayurveda are being held in the Ayurveda colleges of the state, in which health awareness camp activities are prominent besides speech competition. In the camp, information is being given to the general public about Ayurveda for overall health, Ayurveda diet, in which the usefulness of coarse grains, the utility of Ayurveda for seniors along with the usefulness of Ayurveda for mental health and medicinal to the general public. Information is also being given about the importance of plants.
• It is known that Ayurveda Day is being organized continuously since the year 2016 on the occasion of Dhanvantari Jayanti. There are 7 government Ayurveda hospitals, 1773 AYUSH dispensaries and health wellness centers functioning in the state.

Jharkhand Ethanol Production Promotion Policy-2022 approved

Why in News?

• On October 21, 2022, the policy regarding the production of ethanol in Jharkhand was approved by the state cabinet.

Key points

• Under the Ethanol Production Promotion Policy-2022, a provision has been made to give a subsidy of 25 percent or a maximum of Rs 30 crore to the investor according to the total investment on opening a factory related to it in Jharkhand.
• Apart from this, new MSME units will be given interest subsidy at the rate of 6 percent per annum according to the total loan amount. This amount will be up to a maximum of three crore rupees.
• Along with the ethanol production promotion policy, the state cabinet has approved a total of 25 proposals, out of which one state government canceled the departmental state order issued earlier and decided to give land to CCL for the construction of super specialty hospital for Rs 12.82 crore to the land acquired in the name of Rinpas in Kanke, Ranchi. It has been approved to make lease endowment for this land with renewal option in 30 years.

National Tribal Dance Festival to be Held in Chhattisgarh

Why in News?

• During the Tourism Conclave organized in New Delhi on October 21, 2022, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that a National Tribal Dance Festival will be organized in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. This program will be held from November 1 to 3 at Science College Ground.

Key points

• Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel said that more than 1500 artists from 28 states and 8 Union Territories, including tribal artists from nine countries, will participate in the National Tribal Dance Festival.
• Through this festival, not only will their arts be shared among tribal artists at the national and international level, but they will also be able to see each other's food, customs, crafts and style.
• He said that in line with these efforts, an important tradition in the form of National Tribal Dance Festival has been started in Chhattisgarh. This effort of the state is very important not only for Chhattisgarh, but also for the development of tribal communities of the country and the whole world.
• Chief Minister Mr. Baghel said that the state government has used art, culture and tourism as a strong resource in the social and economic empowerment of forest dwellers, tribals, farmers, villagers and deprived people and it has also yielded good results.
• Invitation letters have been sent to nine countries by Chhattisgarh. All these countries will perform in Raipur for the first time. Tribal artists from Mozambique, Mongolia, Togo, Russia, Indonesia, Maldives, Serbia, New Zealand and Egypt will participate in the event.
• The Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Delhi (I.S.) was present at the transportation of foreign guests arriving in Delhi to Chhattisgarh and their hospitality. C. C. R) will be collaborative.
• This time, two themes have been kept in the Tribal Dance Festival. The first theme is 'Tribal dance on harvesting' and the second theme is 'Tribal traditions and customs'.
• Prizes worth Rs 20 lakh will be distributed to the winners. Prizes of Rs 5 lakh will be given for the first position, Rs 3 lakh for the second position and Rs 2 lakh for the third position.

PM Lays Foundation Stone of Various Development Projects worth over Rs 3400 Crore in Uttarakhand

Why in News?

• On October 21, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of various development projects worth more than Rs. 3400 crore for the state at a program organized in Mana village of Uttarakhand located on the border.

Key points

• These projects include two road widening projects from Mana to Mana Pass (NH 07) and Joshi math to Malari (NH107B), including two new ropeway projects at Gaurikund-Kedarnath and Govindghat-Hemkund Sahib.
• The Kedarnath ropeway will be around 9.7 km long, connecting Gaurikund with Kedarnath, reducing the travel time between the two places to about 30 minutes from the current 6-7 hours.
• The Hemkund ropeway will connect Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib, which will be around 12.4 km long and reduce the travel time from one day to just 45 minutes. The ropeway will also connect Ghangharia, which is the gateway to the Valley of Flowers National Park. Both these ropeways will be developed at a cumulative cost of about Rs 2430 crore.
• Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that it will be an eco-friendly mode of transport, which will provide safety and stability to the movement. The development of this critical infrastructure will promote religious tourism, which will accelerate economic development in the region and at the same time create many employment opportunities.
• During the program, he also laid the foundation stone of road widening projects worth about Rs 1000 crore. These include two road widening projects from Mana to Mana Pass and Joshimath to Malari. These will also prove to be strategically beneficial besides providing all-weather road connectivity and boosting connectivity in the border areas.
• Referring to 'Vocal for Local', the Prime Minister urged the countrymen to make a resolution that wherever they go, spend at least 5 percent of what they spend on travel on buying local products there. This will open the way for livelihood in all these areas.
• The Prime Minister, while stamping that Mana was the first village of the country instead of the last village of India by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, said that earlier the areas which were ignored as the end of the borders of the country, we started from there as the beginning of the prosperity of the country.