• 24 Feb 2022

Rajasthan Budget 2022-23

Why in News

• On February 23, 2022, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot presented the Rajasthan budget for the year 2022-23 in the Legislative Assembly.

Key Points

• Following are the salient features of the Budget Estimates for the year 2022-23-
  
  • The budget estimates for the year 2022-23 have revenue receipts of Rs 2 lakh 14 thousand 977 crore 23 lakh.
  • In the budget estimates for the year 2022-23, there is a revenue expenditure of Rs 2 lakh 38 thousand 465 crore 79 lakh.
  • The revenue deficit in the budget estimates for the year 2022-23 is Rs 23,488 crore 56 lakh.
  • The fiscal deficit for the year 2022-23 is Rs 58,211 crore 55 lakh, which is 4.36 percent of the GSDP.
• Other salient features of Rajasthan budget 2022-23 are-
  
  • Announcement to implement Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme for employment in urban areas.
  • Free 50 units of electricity to all 118 lakh domestic consumers on consumption of up to 100 units per month.
  • Under 'Chiranjeevi Yojana', the medical insurance amount per family per annum has been increased from Rs.5 lakhs to Rs.10 lakhs.
  • Announcement was made to implement 'Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Accident Insurance Scheme'. Under this scheme there will be accident cover up to Rs.5 lakh.
  • The Road Safety Act will be brought and the formation of Rajasthan Public Transport Authority is proposed. Along with this, the State Road Safety Institute will be established in Jaipur.
  • Under the Agriculture Budget, for 2022-23, a total amount of Rs 78 thousand 938 crore 68 lakh including the consolidated fund, state's own resources of autonomous, cooperative and other institutions has been made for agricultural development and welfare of farmers.
  • Under the agriculture budget, the amount of Mukhyamantri Krishak Sathi Yojana has been increased from Rs. 2 thousand crores to Rs. 5 thousand crores. There are 11 missions under this scheme.

Establishment of Digital and Skill University in the state

Why in News

• On February 23, 2022, the Higher Education Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Dr. Mohan Yadav announced the establishment of Digital and Skill University in the state to provide quality education to the youth.

Key Points

• The Higher Education Minister said that there is a proposal to set up Digital University in Ujjain and Skill University in Bhopal.
• The minister has directed the professor and departmental officer of Ujjain University to visit Kerala University and prepare and present the concept paper. It is noteworthy that the country's first digital university is established in Kerala.
• Youth have become familiar with digital education in the Corona Period. Door to door education will be accessible through Digital University. Students will also be able to get education in different regional languages.

'PADMA': A Unique Program

Why in News

• Recently, the Haryana Government launched the ambitious 'Program to Accelerate Development for MSME Advancement (Padma)' initiative.

Key Points

• The main objective of Padma is to design and implement developmental interventions focused on micro and small enterprises at the block level by leveraging the cluster approach to promote balanced regional development with emphasis on sustainable employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.
• Under this program, special emphasis will be given to promote locally relevant products and the farmers of the state will be provided an opportunity to turn from producers to processors. Along with this, overall socio-economic development will be encouraged in all over Haryana.
• A product has been identified in each block of 22 districts of the state to form a sustainable and cost-effective cluster based on locally available resources, existing MSME ecosystem, stakeholder consultation, raw material availability, demographic profile and growth potential.
• A new mini-industrial cluster will be developed for each block to develop a vibrant ecosystem for the selected product by the State Government, so as to strengthen the entire value chain of the product.
• It is envisaged that each cluster will set up a number of new MSMEs with Common Facility Center (CFC) and Business Development Service (BDS) hub.
• Training facilities will also be provided to entrepreneurs, artisans and workers in mini-industrial clusters to meet the technical and awareness challenges faced by them.
• The Directorate of MSME is the nodal department for implementation of the PADMA programme. Apart from the Directorate of MSME, other concerned departments like HSIIDC, Industries and Commerce Department, Town and Country Planning Department and Skill Development and Industrial Training Department will cooperate and provide necessary support for smooth execution of the programme.

Digital Technology Sabha-2022 Award

Why in News

• For making educational activities easier through technology in Chhattisgarh, the School Education Department of the state was awarded the Digital Technology Sabha-2022 Award by the National Indian Express Group in a virtual conference.
  
  • This award has been given to N.I.C. Senior Technical Director of A.K. Posted by Somashekar.

Key Points

• The award has been given for the use of Nclear App and Telepractice App developed in collaboration with NIC for academic assessment of school children. Through the above two apps being used by the Education Department, assessment and monitoring of school children can be done easily.
• In Nclear, children are given a QR code card with their ID, whose expenditure on 40 students for a year comes to just Rs 20. Children have to keep this card safe with them.
• The biggest advantage of the Nclear app is that when teachers ask multiple choice questions in the classroom, children have to hold and display the card based on the correct answer in a particular direction. The cards of all the children are scanned remotely by the teacher from one place in the class with his mobile camera. Students are automatically assessed as soon as they are scanned and question wise, student wise reports can be viewed by the teacher and at various levels. In this, the teachers get rid of the hassle of checking the answer of each question and giving marks.
• Similarly, for assessment of students, oral quizzes can be conducted with children through a tele-practice app developed by NIC. For this, by adding students to the Telegram group, through a program called Python, pictures and written questions are sent on the screen by sending voice messages to the children.
• Oral answers to these questions are given by the students. In this program, the responses of the students together in the form of a film can be seen by the individual students, their teachers and parents. Teachers can give marks based on the answer of each question by watching student wise videos.
• Through this program, the time of both teachers and students is saved by having the provision of answering questions to many students at the same time. Teachers also find it easier to check the status of each student and save time.
• The possibility of wrong assessment can also be avoided by having proof of such assessment. Each student has the opportunity to watch their own video with questions and answers based on their answers. All this makes the job of teachers very easy.
• During the Corona Period, the School Education Department of Chhattisgarh State has established its identity in the whole country in terms of innovation and digital technology in education. The nation has appreciated the technique of providing home-based education to school children during the Corona crisis by the School Education Department. 'Padhai Tuhar Duar' has also received awards at the national level for this.

Uttarakhand's Longest Bridge to be Built on River Ganga in Haridwar

Why in News

• The Union Environment Ministry has approved the state's longest bridge to be built on the river Ganga.

Key Points

• NHAI engineer Kapil Joshi said that a 3.5 km long bridge (including approach) will be built on the river Ganga. This bridge will be built to connect Haridwar-Delhi highway with Najibabad-Haridwar. This bridge will be the longest bridge in the state.
• The bridge has been named Major Bridge. Leaving the approach, the length of the bridge will be 2.561 km. This bridge will be the longest vehicular movement in Uttarakhand.
• The Ring Road is to be prepared in two phases. The first phase of Ring Road will start from Bahadrabad bypass and will end at Anjani Chowki NH 74 of Shyampur police station area. With this, vehicles of Haridwar-Delhi highway will be able to move directly for Najibabad-Haridwar highway. These will be constructed and allocated by NHAI.
• IRCON International Limited, an undertaking of the Ministry of Railways, has been selected for the construction of a 15 km 300 meters long four lane in the first phase of the Ring Road. The budget for the first phase of Ring Road was Rs 1566 crore. The budget has now been cut to Rs 1100 crore.