• 23 Dec 2023

On the request of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai, Goverment of India gave immediate permission: FCI will take 15 lakh Metric Tons of Parboiled Rice from Chhattisgarh in the Central Pool.

Why In News?

On December 21, 2023, the Government of India immediately accepted the request of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai and gave permission to take 15 lakh metric tons of parboiled rice from Chhattisgarh to the Central Pool.

Key Points

• It may be noted that permission to procure parboiled rice from Chhattisgarh was pending for a long time. Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai had written a letter on December 21, drawing the attention of Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal towards the situation of paddy procurement at support price and custom milling in the state.
• Accepting the request of the Chief Minister, on the instructions of the Union Food Minister, the Food Department of the Government of India has issued a letter of approval for the procurement of 15 lakh metric tonnes of parboiled rice from Chhattisgarh.
• In his letter, the Chief Minister has requested to increase the quota of rice procurement in the Central Pool from 61 lakh metric tonnes to 74 lakh metric tonnes and also to procure 59 lakh metric tonnes of Arwa and 15 lakh metric tonnes of Unna rice from the state.
• The Chief Minister said that in the Kharif marketing year 2023-24 in Chhattisgarh, as of December 20, 39.63 lakh metric tons of paddy has been procured from 8.68 lakh farmers at support price and more than 3 lakh metric tons of paddy is arriving every day.
• This year, about 130 lakh metric tonnes of paddy is expected to be procured from farmers at support price, custom milling of which will produce 88 lakh metric tonnes of rice. Out of this, about 74 lakh metric tonnes of rice will be procured in the central pool (58 lakh metric tonnes in the Food Corporation of India and 16 lakh tonnes in the Civil Supplies Corporation) and 14 lakh tonnes in the state pool.
• The Chief Minister has also mentioned in the letter that a target has been set to procure 61 lakh tonnes of rice in the central pool for Chhattisgarh state. In the state, due to excessive breakage of some varieties of paddy in milling, Arwa rice is not produced of the prescribed quality and there are difficulties in Arwa milling. Custom milling of such paddy will speed up custom milling.

Kidney Transplant OPD will Start in BHU

Why In News?

According to the information received from the media on December 21, 2023, OPD for kidney transplant will be started in IMS BHU.

Key Points

• OPD arrangements are being made in Shatabdi Super Specialty Block.
• BHU Hospital, Deendayal Hospital, Divisional Hospital have dialysis facility for kidney patients, but there is no special OPD arrangement.
• Professor of Nephrology Department, Shivendra Singh said that on an average there are 30 to 40 patients in a month for whom kidney transplant is necessary.
• Director of IMS BHU, Prof. S.N. Sankhwar said that a transplant clinic is running in the Urology department, now preparations are going on to run a special OPD for it. For this, the work will be taken forward by talking to the doctors of Urology and Nephrology department.
• A fresh schedule of OPD and Super Specialty Clinic has been released by the Department of Urology.

IVSS, Court Room Live Audio Visual Straming System (CLASS), OTT Platform launched in MP High Court

Why In News?

On December 21, 2023, Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh Justice Ravi Malimath launched the Integrated Video Surveillance System (IVSS), Court Room Live Audio Visual Streaming System (CLASS) and OTT platform in the Madhya Pradesh High Court for the convenience of common citizens.

Key Points

• Video Surveillance System and Court Room Live Audio Visual Streaming System-class projects have been started in High Court Jabalpur.
• This is the first time in the country that live streaming of proceedings has been arranged by a High Court of a State for all the District and Tehsil Courts in the State.
• This in itself is a pioneering project in the country which adopts the principles of transparency and accountability. Madhya Pradesh High Court has set an example for other courts by demonstrating responsible leadership.
• This is a pioneering technology project in the history of the Indian judicial system that will make the court premises administered by the High Court secure and transparent. Adoption of new technologies and their integration will prepare Madhya Pradesh Judiciary for the digital age.
• In the current situation, virtual court rooms are a real need and this project is a step in that direction. Live streaming as well as audio and video recording of cases will be a powerful tool in law education and could benefit millions of law students in the coming decades, with any courtroom being able to be viewed live over the Internet.
• Under the pilot phase, a centralized command and control center (CCC) has been set up at Jabalpur & disaster recovery site at Indore. Integrated Video Surveillance System (IVSS) has been commissioned in the District Court of Jabalpur and Tehsil Courts of Patan & Sihora. Similarly, implementation of Court Room Live Audio Visual Streaming System (CLASS) in one court room of Jabalpur District Court and one court room each of Tehsil Court of Patan and Sihora has been completed.
• The subsequent phases of statewide implementation of the project are expected to be completed by December 2024. The implementation of IVSS and CLASS project will strengthen the security of the courts.
• IVSS and Class-
  • Integrated video management system.
  • Courtroom Audio-Visual Recording System.
  • Archive and live as well as on-demand streaming set-up.
  • Establishment of data center & command and control center in Jabalpur.
  • Disaster recovery set-up in Indore.
  • Facility management services and operations and maintenance.
  • The total cost of the project for a period of 5 years will be Rs. 189.25 crore.

Five Thousand Mini Anganwadi Centers will be Upgraded

Why In News?

Recently, Women Empowerment and Child Development Minister of Uttarakhand, Rekha Arya, said in a review meeting with departmental officials in the assembly auditorium that five thousand mini Anganwadi centers of the state will be upgraded. This will provide employment to five thousand women.

Key Points

• Minister Rekha Arya said that under the Ekal Mahila Yojana, a proposal of 75 percent subsidy for self-employment to widows, destitute, unmarried, divorced, abandoned, disaster and acid attack affected women will be brought in the cabinet.
• He said that under the announcement of the Chief Minister, single women have to be linked to self-employment to make them self-reliant. Its proposal has been sent to the Finance Department.
• The departmental minister said that the government will provide roofs to needy women. Work will be done on a scheme to provide roofs to disaster affected and roofless women.
• All the meritorious girls of the state will be honored on National Girl Child Day on January 24, 2024. In this regard, instructions have been given to the officials of the department to prepare the list of girls.

13 New Projects worth Rs 75 crore Approved under Rural Promotion Rural Water Supply Program

Why In News??

It has been decided by the Haryana Government to implement 13 new projects worth more than Rs 75 crore with the aim of bringing transformational change in the lives of the rural population of Haryana on 20 December 2023.

Key Points

• These projects will be implemented in 6 districts of the state namely Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Jhajjar, Hisar, Kaithal and Sirsa.
• These projects will be implemented by the Public Health Engineering Department.
• Under the Rural Promotion Rural Water Supply Programme, new works will be completed in Bhiwani district at a cost of about Rs 24 crore, in Charkhi Dadri district at a cost of Rs 8.73 crore and in Jhajjar district at a cost of Rs 6.10 crore.
• Along with this, projects will be completed in Hisar district at a cost of Rs 16 crore, in Kaithal district at a cost of about Rs 7 crore and in Sirsa district at a cost of Rs 12.77 crore under the Rural Promotion Rural Water Supply Programme.

Vice Chancellor Dr. Raj Nehru will Receive National Award

Why In News?

On December 18, 2023, Dr. Raj Nehru, Vice Chancellor of Shri Vishwakarma Skill University, Dudhola (Palwal), has been selected for the 'National Skill Based Training and Research Award-2023'.

Key Points

• This award will be presented to Vice Chancellor Dr. Raj Nehru at the 20th annual celebration of the Confederation of Indian Universities (CIU) on December 29, 2023 at the India International Centre, Delhi.
• Vice Chancellor Dr. Raj Nehru is the founder Vice Chancellor of the country's first Government Skills University.
• By establishing the country's first Innovative Skill School, he has achieved an ambitious achievement in realizing the vision of KG to PG model.
• The credit for starting the Earn While Learn model also goes to Vice Chancellor Dr. Raj Nehru. They have provided opportunities to students to earn while studying through on-the-job training.

Chief Minister inaugurates Bihar Diary and Cattle Expo-2023

Why In News??

On December 21, 2023 Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Inaugurated the three-day Bihar Dairy and Cattle Expo- 2023 .

Key Points

• Chief Minister Nitish Kumar In this programme, five dairy plants of COMFED, Patna established at a cost of Rs 239.96 crore and other equipment of COMFED, Patna established at a cost of Rs 72.76 crore were inaugurated.
• Chief Minister by Nitish Kumar Veterinary and Animal Husbandry College, Kishanganj was inaugurated .
• Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched five new products of COMFED, Patna - sweets , namkeen , cookies, bread and drinking water (Sudha Salil).
• Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Cheques related to dividend distribution of Rs 10.50 crore were provided to the state government and milk unions, in which Rs 5.76 crore will be distributed to the state government and Rs 4.74 crore to the milk unions.
• Chief Minister Nitish Kumar New office building and Fisheries Research and Training Center to be constructed in the office premises of COMFED at a cost of Rs 4.31 crore in the premises located near Bihar Veterinary College, Patna and Laid the foundation stone of Matsya Vikas Bhawan in Patna to be constructed at a cost of Rs 54.35 crore.
• Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launches animal nutrition app of Bihar Animal Science University, Patna.