• 25 Mar 2023

PM Inaugurates One World TB Summit-2023 in Varanasi

Why in News?

On 24 March 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the One World TB Summit - 2023 at the Rudraksha Convention Center in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points

• The One World TB Summit - 2023 was attended online by several state governors, several state health secretaries and managing directors of the National Health Mission.
• The event, also attended by representatives from companies, industries, civil society, NGOs and TB champions, who reiterated India's commitment to eliminate the highly infectious disease by 2025, five years ahead of the global target of 2030.
• The Prime Minister released the 'Annual India TB Report 2023', a compilation of the country's efforts towards making India TB free by 2025.
• A training module on Pulmonary Tuberculosis was also launched at the event. This module has been developed to train health workers at the secondary and tertiary levels in the public and private sector in India.
• The Prime Minister also launched the TB-Free Panchayat Initiative to leverage the support of over 2.5 lakh gram panchayats to raise awareness about TB, to eliminate the stigma associated with the disease, and to help monitor and improve services. Preventive therapy has also been introduced as a new treatment to prevent TB infection so that the spread of the disease can be stopped.
• Apart from this, a family-centred care model was also announced to ensure the welfare of families affected by TB.
• Narendra Modi also laid the foundation stone of the National Center for Disease Control and High Control Laboratory in Varanasi and inaugurated the site for the Metropolitan Public Health Surveillance Unit.
• On the occasion, the Prime Minister also felicitated the states and districts for making significant progress on key program indicators to eliminate TB. Karnataka and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir were honored in the States/UTs category and Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu), Pulwama (Jammu and Kashmir) and Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir) were given district level awards.
• At the event, Narendra Modi pointed out that the ICMR institutes like National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) have completed the world's largest national TB infection survey, which helped in understanding the TB burden at the state level for targeted programmatic activities.
• India is the only country in the world to implement the Sub-National Certification (SNC) function. It is an innovative scientific method through which districts are verified for their TB eradication progress.
• The Prime Minister also informed that under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for TB patients, an amount of more than Rs 2,000 crore has been transferred to the accounts of more than 75 lakh TB patients.
• Significantly, in March 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed to eliminate TB from India by 2025, while the rest of the world aims to achieve the TB-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Rajasthan Sahitya Academy Announced the Awards for the Year 2022-23

Why in News?

On 24 March 2023, in the meeting of the Board of Directors, chaired by Dr. Dularam Saharan, President of Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi, annual awards for the year 2022-23 were announced to express commitment towards the upliftment, promotion, encouragement and honour of resident and migrant writers of Rajasthan province.

Key Points

• Academy Secretary Dr. Basant Singh Solanki told in the meeting that the Meera Award for the year 2022-23 will be given to Rati Saxena, a native of Jaipur and a resident of Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), for the poetry book 'Hansi Ek Prarthana'.
• It is noteworthy that this is the highest award of the Academy with an amount of seventy-five thousand rupees.
• The Janardan Rai Nagar Samman of one lakh rupees, courtesy of the Government of Rajasthan, will be given to Ajmer resident Dr. Chandra Prakash Deval for the year 2022-23. This decision was taken in the meeting of Samman Samiti held in Jaipur recently.
• Under the annual awards for the year 2022-23, the Rangeya Raghav Award, given in the fiction and novel genre, will be given to Bharat Chandra Sharma, a resident of Banswara, for the novel 'Pir Parbat-Si'.
• Sudhindra Award for poetry has been announced for Jaipur's poet Mayamrig for his collection of poems 'Mujhme Meetha Tu Hain' and Devi Lal Samar Award for one-act play has been announced for Jaipur resident Ajay Anuragi for his play 'Wrong Number'.
• The prestigious Devraj Upadhyay Award in the field of criticism will be given to Bharatpur-based Rajaram Bhadu's critic's work 'Dimensions of Poetry' and the Kanhaiyalal Sahal Award under various genres will be given to Jaipur's satirist Yash Goyal for his work 'Namumkin Neta'.
• The Shambhudayal Saxena Award in the field of children's literature will be given to Kusum Agarwal of Kankroli for the children's one-act book 'Hum Sab Ek Hain'.
• All the above awards are of twenty-one thousand rupees.
• According to Secretary Dr. Basant Singh Solanki, the Sumnesh Joshi Award for the first published work amounting to twenty-one thousand rupees will be given to Udaipur resident story writer Tarana Parveen for her story collection 'Ek Sau Aath'.
• In the meeting, school and college level awards started by the academy keeping in mind the campaign to prepare young writers were announced after approval from the directorate.
• School Level Pardeshi Award for Poetry to Prachi Sharma of Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls School, Jaipur for 'Sagar Moti and other poems'; Pardeshi Story Award to Divya Vintaman Sanap of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Pallu-Hanumangarh for the story 'Khushi ke Aansoo'; Foreign Essay Award to Harshita Meena of Raumavi Amarpura-Udaipur for the essay 'Emergence of Innovations' and the Foreigner Short Story Award will be given for the short story 'Asli Takt' by Armaan Nadeem of Rajkiya Sardul Umavi Bikaner.
• College-level Chandradev Sharma Poetry Award to Himanshu Bhardwaj of Government Lohia College, Churu for 'Spriha and other poems'; Chandradev Sharma Story Award to Nirmala Sharma of Twenty One College Gopalyan-Lunkaransar for the story 'Koi Chara Nahi'; Chandradev Sharma One Act Award for Maa Jalpa Devi Government College Taranagar's Tanishka Padihar's one act 'Jago Pyare, Jaago' and Chandradev Sharma Essay Award will be given to Maina Kanwar of Sonadevi Sethia Girls College, Sujangarh for the essay 'Past and Prospects'.
• Sudha Gupta College Level Poetry Award will be given to Suraj Kumari of Women's Post Graduate College, Jodhpur for 'Voice of Nature and other poems'.
• It is noteworthy that under all the above awards, five thousand rupees are given per award.
• Special literary honors to be given by the Academy were also announced in the meeting of the Director.
• Distinguished Writer Award for the year 2022-23 will be given to Ajanta Dev-Jaipur, Atul Chaturvedi-Kota, Dr. Anita Verma-Kota, Kusum Meghwal-Udaipur, Kailash Manhar-Manoharpura, Gopal Mathur-Ajmer, Gordhan Singh Shekhawat-Sikar, Javarimalla Parakh-Jodhpur, Jeevan Singh Manvi-Alwar, Farooq Afridi-Jaipur, Bakshish Singh-Ajmer, Dr. Mahendra Bhanawat-Udaipur, Malchand Tiwari-Bikaner, Rajan Nirmohi Java-Jodhpur, Dr. Ramkumar Ghotad-Sadulpur, Ramswaroop Kisan-Parlika, Rajendra Kaswan-Jhunjhunu, Revathiraman Sharma-Alwar, Shivraj Chhangani-Bikaner, Vidya Paliwal-Udaipur, Dr. Satyanarayan-Jodhpur, Savitri Chowdhary-Jaipur, Habib Kaifi-Jodhpur, Hariram Meena-Bamanwas, Hasan Jamal-Jodhpur.
• Under this honour, an amount of fifty-one thousand rupees will be given to each.
• Many other decisions taken in the executive meeting-
• Many books will be published under the Academy's 'Rajasthan Sahityakar Prastuti Yojana' and 'Purodha Shrinkhla', while all pending books will also be published.
• There will be publication of independent books focused on poetry, story, essay, woman-discussion, Dalit-discussion, tribal-discussion, youth literature, children's literature, drama. The Gandhi special issue and Nehru special issue of Academy's magazine Madhumati will also be published in book form.
• It was also decided to publish the award and release of various schemes for the coming year.

Cattle Feed Plants will be Built in Udaipur and Rajsamand

Why in News?

On 24 March 2023, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved the proposal to set up Cattle Feed Plants in Udaipur and Nathdwara in Rajasmand.

Key Points

• With this decision of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, more quantity of cattle feed will be produced in the state and quality feed will be easily available for the animals.
• The amount for the establishment will be spent through the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT).
• It is noteworthy that the Chief Minister had announced in the budget of 2023-24 regarding the establishment of Cattle Feed Plant.

11 Districts of the State Awarded for Reducing TB Cases

Why in News?

According to the information given by Madhya Pradesh Public Relations Department on 24 March 2023, 11 districts of the state got awarded at One World T.B. summit in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh due to reduction in cases of T.B.

Key Points

• In these 11 districts of the state, Dhar, Mandsaur and Neemuch districts were awarded gold medals for achieving the target of reducing TB by more than 60 percent, Shajapur, Betul, Indore and Dewas districts were awarded, T.B. Silver medals were awarded for reducing cases by 40 percent and Narsinghpur, Morena, Hoshangabad and Mandla districts were awarded bronze medals for reducing cases by 20 percent.
• It is noteworthy that for the year 2022-23, 30 districts from the state were nominated.
• It is known that the Central Government has set a target of eradicating tuberculosis by the year 2025 and considering the year 2015 as the base year, T.B. the process of certification has been started to reward the States and Union Territories with certificates, medals and incentives in various categories, which have brought about a commendable reduction in the number of cases.

Haryana's Dynamic Ground Water Resource Potential Report

Why in News?

On 22 March 2023, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal released the Dynamic Ground Water Resource Potential Report of Haryana, which was prepared jointly by Ground Water Cell of Central Ground Water Board, Northwest Region Chandigarh, Irrigation and Water Resources Department of Haryana till March 31, 2022.

Key Points

• The State's Dynamic Ground Water Resource Potential Report has assessed 141 blocks and two urban areas of Gurugram and Faridabad with a population of more than 1 million.
• According to the Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2022, the level of ground water development has improved due to the efforts of the Haryana government. During the year 2020, the average groundwater exploitation level in the state was 134.56 percent, which has reduced to 134.14 percent by 2022.
• This report has been prepared with the help of In-GRES software developed by the Central Ground Water Board.

Union Road Transport and Highway Minister Gifts 21 Road Projects to Jharkhand

Why in News?

On 23 March 2023, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari gifted Jharkhand 21 road projects built and constructed at a cost of more than Rs 11,400 crore, of which the foundation stone of 18 projects was laid in Ranchi.

Key Points

• The inauguration-foundation stone of these projects was-
• Four lane road from Kudu to Udaipura of Varanasi-Ranchi Economic Corridor, 39 km in length, cost Rs 1423 crore.
• Four lane road from Udaipur to Bhogu of Varanasi-Ranchi Economic Corridor, 50 km in length, cost Rs 1437 crore.
• Four lane road from Bhogu to Sankha of Varanasi-Ranchi Economic Corridor, 49 km in length, cost Rs 1391 crore.
• Four lane road from Khajuri to Bidhamganj of Varanasi-Ranchi Economic Corridor,41 km in length, cost Rs 1232 crore.
• Four lane road from Bokaro Jaina to Gola of Raipur-Dhanbad Economic Corridor, 32 km in length, cost Rs 1127 crore.
• Four lane road up to Gola-Ormanjhi of Raipur-Dhanbad Economic Corridor, 28 km in length, cost Rs 1330 crore.
• Bypass construction of Lohardaga road, 20 km in length, cost Rs 459 crore.
• Bypass construction of Chatra city 14 km in length, cost Rs 235 crore.
• Construction of a two-lane paved shoulder from Lamta to Gonia, 18 km in length, cost Rs 98 crore.
• Construction of the road from Duari to Roll, 26 km in length, cost Rs 85 crore.
• Construction of railway overbridge between Daltonganj to Rajhara, cost Rs 84 crore.
• Construction of headwater from Kuti Mod (Chainpur) to Hutar via Ramgarh block, 24 km in length, cost Rs 81 crore.
• Construction of Banaso to Burkatta road, 28 km in length, cost Rs 69 crore.
• Mohammadganj to Haidarnagar (Mohammadganj to Dangwar road) via Pansa Aghori road, 17 km in length, cost Rs 62 crore.
• Construction of a two-lane road from Chainpur to Mahuadand Marg (to Dumri), 12 km in length, cost Rs 59 crore.
• Construction of Gumla to Kolebira road, 47 km in length, cost Rs 57 crore.
• Construction of railway overbridge at Kamta on Gola-Charu Road, cost Rs.35 crore.
• Construction of road connecting NH-33 to Lord Adityanath Temple at Devaltand, 2 km in length, cost Rs 2 crore.

Chief Minister Inaugurated the State's First Full Height Four Lane Railway Underbridge

Why in News?

On 24 March 2023, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated the state's first full height four-lane railway under a bridge built on the level crossing located on the Raipur-Vizianagaram branch railway route from Raipur to Bilaspur.

Key Points

• Inaugurated on Raipur-Bilaspur highway, it is the first full height four lane railway underbridge of the state, which has been prepared by the Chhattisgarh Public Works Department at a cost of Rs 28.11 crore.
• With the construction of this full height four lane railway under the bridge, the population of about 5 lakhs of Raipur urban area will get the benefit of smooth traffic.
• Raipur to Bilaspur route Raipur-Vizianagaram branch railway level crossing on Raipur-Vizianagaram branch railway gate was repeatedly closed due to passing of train and traffic was blocked. Keeping in mind the public aspiration, the approval of this important project of the state government was given in the year 2017. The total length of this bridge is 336.96 metres.

Uttarakhand Khel Ratna, Dronacharya and Lifetime Achievement Award

Why in News?

On 24 March 2023, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami honoured the sports talents of the state with Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Khel Ratna, Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Dronacharya Award and and awarded LifeTime Achievement Award for the years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 at the Sports Awards ceremony held in Dehradun.

Key Points

• Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami honoured six sports personalities including Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen with Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Khel Ratna, Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Dronacharya Award and LifeTime Achievement Award.
• Apart from this, 168 medal winning players and 42 coaches at the national level for the years 2021 and 2022 were honoured with cash prizes of more than two crores.
• On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that every possible effort is being made to promote sports in the state. For this, the government has decided to reintroduce the sports quota in government jobs.
• State Sports Minister Rekha Arya said that the state government is committed to give out-of-turn appointments and four percent reservation to medal-winning sportspersons. Due to the order of out-of-turn appointment, medal winning players in Olympics will be able to become DSP and Assistant Director directly.
• Prize money has been increased from 30 to 100 per cent for winning medals in international sports.
• A new sports policy has been formulated in the state, in which traditional sports have also been included.
• Awards received by -
• Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Khel Ratna Award - Badminton player Lakshya Sen for the year 2019-20, Athlete Chandan Singh for the year 2020-21.
• Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Dronacharya Award - Badminton coach Dhirendra Kumar Sen for the year 2019-20, Taekwondo coach Kamlesh Kumar Tiwari for the year 2020-21, Archery coach Sandeep Kumar Duklan for the year 2021-22.
• Lifetime Achievement Award- Lifetime Achievement Award for the year 2021-22 was given to Suresh Chandra Pandey for his remarkable contribution in athletics.