Bihar

• 24 May 2023

Patna becomes the 1st municipal corporation to use CBDC

Why in News?

According to the information received from the media on 23 May 2023, the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Municipal Commissioner of Patna Municipal Corporation of Bihar launched the digital currency E-Rupee generated by the Reserve Bank of India due to which now this digital currency will be used in the entire Patna Municipal Corporation area.

Key Points:

• This payment system will be completely adopted in the municipal headquarter, Mauryalok complex. Along with this, it will also be used at all zonal and payment counters of Patna Municipal Corporation.
• Significantly, Patna Municipal Corporation is the first Municipal Corporation in India to use CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency). During this, a workshop was also organized for the corporators, where they were given information about the benefits and uses of digital e-Rupee.
• During this, Sanjeev Dayal, Regional Head, Reserve Bank of India said that this is a better and safer system, where the amount is credited immediately as soon as the payment is made. Common citizens will get convenience if it is digitally trendy. Easy payments will be done in one click.
• Municipal Commissioner Animesh Kumar Parashar said that continuous efforts are being made to make the works of Patna Municipal Corporation accessible to the public and to ease the process of payment. Apart from increasing the income of Patna Municipal Corporation through online payment system under no cost process, facilities are being provided to common people sitting at home.
• He said that at present online payment is being done in Patna Municipal Corporation at 30%, the target is to make it 90 to 95%.
• It is worth mentioning that CBDC is a digital currency, but this currency is different from private currency. The cryptocurrency market has grown rapidly in the last decade. Private digital currencies do not represent liabilities of any individual, as they do not have an issuer.

Food Processing Units will be Set up in Every Panchayat of Bihar

Why in News?

On 22 May 2023, Pankaj Dixit, director of Bihar Industries Department, said that work has started on the plan to set up food processing industries in all 8387 panchayats of the state under the 'Pradhan Mantri Micro Food Industry Upgradation Scheme'. The Industries Department has entrusted the responsibility to the General Manager of the District Industries Center.

Key points

• The state government will provide all kinds of assistance to entrepreneurs setting up food processing industries. They will be provided facilities ranging from subsidy to loans. For this, the District Industries Center will select entrepreneurs and verify their projects.
• With this, agro-based products will be used extensively in the food processing industry in the state, as well as, inspired by self-employment, unemployed youth will be made employment-givers. With the promotion of food processing industries, migration to the surrounding areas will be stopped.
• According to official sources of the department, the program will also invite applications for loans to start new jobs under PM-FME, so that interested applicants can be helped to start new industries by providing financial assistance through the bank.
• Also, eligible people can avail credit-linked capital subsidy at 35 percent of the project cost with a maximum of Rs 10 lakh per unit for upgrading existing units.
• Through this scheme, the central government will provide financial assistance to all those people who want to start their new work in the food industry.

Sameer Pandey of Bihar became the 1st Indian to hold the post of Mayor in Australia

Why in News?

On 22 May 2023, The City of Parramatta Council elected Indian-origin (Bihar) Councilor Sameer Pandey as the Lord Mayor of the City of Parramatta, in Sydney, Australia. Sameer is the first person of Indian origin to hold this position.

Key Points:

• Sameer Pandey's election coincided with the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Australia. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the election of Sameer Pandey as the first Indian-origin mayor.
• Parramatta is an important city in New South Wales adjacent to Sydney. Parramatta has a significant population of Indian origin and is growing rapidly. In this city with a population of more than two and a half million, more than 11% of the people are of Indian origin.
• Sameer Pandey, who arrived in Australia about twenty years ago, is an IT specialist as well as an industrialist, who came to Australia as an engineer. He is a member of the Labor Party and has also contested elections to the Legislative Assembly, in which he was defeated by a very narrow margin.
• In 2017, he won the election of corporator for the first time and in 2022 he became corporator for the second time. In 2022 itself, Sameer was elected the deputy mayor of the council.