• 25 Jul 2022

Emphasis on Exports to make Uttar Pradesh a 1 Trillion Dollar Economy

Why In News?

• On July 24, 2022, an official spokesperson of the Uttar Pradesh government said that the emphasis is on increasing exports towards making the state a $1 trillion economy and work has been started by formulating an action plan under it.

Key Points

• The spokesperson said that exports have increased by 30 per cent to Rs 1.56 lakh crore from Rs 1.21 lakh crore last year. The government's target is to increase this figure to Rs 2 lakh crore in the next three years.
• He said that an effort has been made to identify which products have export potential, which are the major products in which district etc. 15 such sectors have been selected at the state level. Apart from the products which have been exported, those products have also been identified which can be made exportable with little more effort.
• District Export Scheme is being worked on in every district. Along with this, District Export Committees have also been constituted under the chairmanship of DM. There will be a meeting every month and the department will be apprised of the problems being faced by the exporters at the local level.
• Dr. Navneet Sehgal, Additional Chief Secretary, MSME Department said that exporters are being directly linked with foreign buyers. Apart from this, information about fairs and exhibitions organized abroad is also being collected. A plan has also been made to send the exporters of the state to the fairs and exhibitions held abroad.
• The MSME department deals with electronic equipment, machinery, vehicle and vehicle equipment, gems and jewellery, organic chemicals, iron and steel articles, apparel (including sarees), furniture, leather and leather products, sports goods, glass and glassware, perfumes, ceramics, carpets and handicrafts sector.
• The spokesman said that the project 'One District One Product (ODOP)' is going to play a major role in exports. ODOP will be branded by the government in embassies of other countries also. ODOP products will also be displayed at Embassies. The products will also be made available on e-commerce platforms to increase exports.
• It is worth noting that the Chief Minister has doubled the budget of 'Uttar Pradesh Export Infrastructure Development Scheme' this year to promote exports. An amount of Rs 7 crore has been allocated for this scheme. Similarly, this year the budget for giving subsidy under the 'Accelerated Export Development Promotion Scheme' has been increased more than double to Rs 25 crore.

31 Ancient Forts to be Developed as Tourist Centers in Bundelkhand

Why In News?

• On July 23, 2022, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the officials to prepare an action plan to develop 31 ancient forts located in the Bundelkhand region as new tourist centres.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister said that the entire region of Bundelkhand is endowed with historical and cultural heritage. The new generation needs to be made aware of its importance. Many forts in this area have huge complexes and these can be transformed into great hotels.
• Referring to Kalinjar Fort, the Chief Minister said that Kalinjar Fort is situated in a vast area of 542 hectares. He asked the officials to arrange light and sound shows, camping, trekking, rock-climbing and facade lighting with private participation.
• He directed the officials to revive the dilapidated forts and plan to take up water sports and adventure tourism activities for the lake located at Talbehat Fort and Barua Sagar Sarovar.
• He asked the officials to adopt a public-private partnership (PPP) funding model for restoration work. He said the corporate social responsibility (CSR) model can also be useful and the state government will also fund the project as per the need.

Historical Chamunda Place of Muzaffarpur as a Tourist Destination

Why In News?

• Recently, The Managing Director of Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation, Kanwal Tanuj has sent a letter to The DM of Muzaffarpur district Pranav Kumar to develop the Chamunda Temple at Katra as a tourist destination by the Department.

Key Points

• Managing Director Kanwal Tanuj said that the land will be transferred to the tourism department for construction of tourist structures. It has been asked to provide information about encroachments, ownership, etc., besides transfer of land.
• It is known that a total of 70 pilgrimage centers of the country have been included in the plan to develop religious and pilgrimage places of historical importance in the form of tourist places.
• These include Chamunda temple among the four temples of Bihar. These are to be developed under the Central Government's Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Enhancement Drive (PRASAD) scheme.
• It is noteworthy that in order to increase tourism, the Central Government has started the Prasad scheme. Apart from creating employment, this will also lead to economic development of the region.
• It is to be noted that Chamunda place is just 100 yards away from Katra block headquarter. This area spread over 80 acres of land is called Katra Garh. On a mound in its northwestern part is a grand temple of Maa Chamunda. The form of the goddess is pind. The temple is looked after by a committee appointed by the Board of Trustees.

18th National Scout Guide Jamboree

Why In News?

• On July 23, 2022, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot released the poster of the 18th National Scout Guide Jamboree. The national jubilee will be held from January 4 to 10, 2023 at Roht in Pali district.

Key Points

• The Rajasthan Scout Guides Organisation has again got to host the National Jubilee after 66 years. Earlier, the organization had hosted the national jubilee in 1956.
• In this 7 day Jamboree many competitions like State Gate, Pioneering Project, Adventure Valley, Global Village Development, Integration Games, March Past, Color Party, Folk Dance, Physical Performance, State Day Exhibition, Band Performance, Rock Climbing, Parasailing and Water Activities. will be organized.
• About 35,000 scouts and guides, including 1,500 foreign participants, will participate in the jury.
• It is noteworthy that in the budget 2022-23, the Chief Minister had announced Rs 25 crore for organizing the Jamboree.

Tendu Leaves Storage

Why In News?

• On July 24, 2022, Pushkar Singh, Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh State Small Forest Produce Association, informed that 110 percent more tendu leaves have been collected against the target this year in the state.

Key Points

• This year the target was 16 lakh 29 thousand standard bags, against which 18 lakh 2 thousand standard bags of tendu leaves were collected. In the year 2021, 16 lakh 60 thousand standard bags of tendu leaves were collected.
• Tendu leaf collection from 80 District Unions and 1071 Primary Forestry Cooperative Societies is being carried out by the State Minor Forest Produce Association in the State. There are 35 lakh collectors connected to it. Out of these, 50 per cent of the collectors belong to ST families and 40 per cent of the collectors are women.
• It may be mentioned that tendu leaf storage in the state is a major source of livelihood in tribal dominated areas.
• Managing Director Pushkar Singh informed that in the conference of forest committees and tendu leaf collectors held on April 22, 2022, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced an increase of Rs 500 in the tendu leaf collection rate by Rs 500, as a result of which the standard bora rate has been fixed at Rs 3,000 per standard. This increase has also increased the remuneration of collectors.
• This year, an amount of about Rs.540 crores has started being disbursed to the tenduleaf collectors directly into their accounts as remuneration, which is more than Rs.100 crores as compared to last year.
• The selling price of Rs. 600 crore in 2020 and Rs. 843 crore in 2021 was achieved from tendu leaf collection.

1142 Water-Supply Schemes more Involved in Jal Jeevan Mission

Why In News?

• On July 24, 2022, Madhya Pradesh Public Health Engineering Department issued approval for single water supply schemes for 1142 villages at a cost of Rs.608 crore 55 lakh 87 thousand for rural tap-water supply under Jal Jeevan Mission.

Key Points

• These single village schemes of water supply also include retrofitting.
• The rural population of Narmadapuram, Raisen, Betul, Ujjain, Shajapur, Ratlam, Dewas, Dhar, Barwani, Gwalior, Guna, Datia, Katni, Chhindwara, Seoni, Mandla, Dindori, Narsinghpur, Umaria and Anuppur will be benefited from the works of these sanctioned water supply schemes.
• On completion of the proposed water supply schemes, rural households residing in these districts will be provided water from tap connection at their home.
• Under this scheme, about 51 lakh 20 thousand rural households of the state have been ensured the availability of water in their homes. Similarly, there are 5,382 villages whose drinking water has been provided to all the households.
• In the Mission, water supply schemes of more than 23 thousand 700 villages have been completed by 70 to 90 per cent and group and single water supply schemes for more than 7 thousand 300 villages are being taken up.

Youth Mahapanchayat

Why In News?

• From 23 to 24 July 2022, the first Youth Mahapanchayat was organized at the Rabindra Bhawan Convention Hall in Bhopal to commemorate the 116th birth anniversary of Amar Shaheed Chandrashekhar Azad.

Key Points

• On July 23, 2022, the state's Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had launched this first Youth Mahapanchayat.
• In this first Youth Mahapanchayat programme, youth from all the districts of the state participated online.
• The State level Youth Mahapanchayat was attended by six youths selected from 52 districts and cadets of NCC, National Service Scheme etc.
• Environment and Youth, Next Gen, in the two-day Youth Mahapanchayat. Sessions were held on Startups, Mera MP-Mera Gaurav, Youth and Social Development, Youth Champions of MP and Youth and Democracy.

World Athletics Championships

Why In News?

• On July 24, 2022, Haryana's golden boy and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra created history by winning a silver medal in the javelin throw final of the World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

Key Points

• Neeraj Chopra won the silver medal in the fourth round of the finals of the championship with a javelin throw of 88.13 meters. While Grenada's Anderson Peters won the gold medal in the second round with a javelin throw of 90.46 meters.
• Neeraj Chopra's first attempt was a foul, while in the second attempt he threw 82.39m. Grenada's Anderson Peters, on the other hand, secured his medal with throws of 90.21 and 90.46 meters in his first and second attempts respectively.
• Neeraj improved his performance in the third attempt with a throw of 86.37m while in the fourth round he finished second with a throw of 88.13m. Neeraj's performance was even better than the Olympics. He won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.58 metres.
• With this Neeraj Chopra has become the first Indian male player to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships. Earlier in the year 2003, Anju Bobby George won a bronze medal in the long jump competition and became the only Indian player to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships.
• It is worth noting that in the recently held Stockholm Diamond League, Neeraj and Anderson had a collision, then Anderson won the gold medal with a throw of 90.31 meters, while Neeraj Chopra made a national record with a throw of 89.94 meters and silver. Won medal.
• In the same year in the Doha Diamond League, Anderson Peters surprised everyone by throwing a javelin to a distance of 93.07 meters. Anderson this time came into the World Athletics Championships as the defending champion. He last won gold in 2019 with a throw of 86.89 meters.
• It is worth mentioning that Haryana gives its sportspersons the highest number of awards and facilities in the country for winning medals in Commonwealth, Asiad and Olympics.
• The Haryana Government has framed the 'Haryana Talented Sportspersons Rules-2018' to ensure safe employment for outstanding sportspersons.
• To promote sports and all round development of sportspersons in Haryana, Sports and Youth Affairs Department has started 10 day boarding and 8 residential academies to train sportspersons.

Jharkhand's New Tourism Policy

Why In News?

• On July 24, 2022, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren launched jharkhand's new tourism policy in New Delhi.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister has talked about providing special packages to the investors under this new tourism policy of Jharkhand, under which the state government will give a special package to the investors on the basis of 'first first serve'. At the same time, investors are also being given a variety of incentives, under which the following benefits will be given:
  • Capital investment is being given 20-25% subsidy up to a limit of Rs 10 crore.
  • A discount of 75% of Net SGST will be given for 5 years.
  • There will be no stamp duty and electricity duty for 5 years.
  • Special provisions have been made in the policy for women, SC, ST and divyangs.
  • A single window system has been created for investments and incentives.
• The Chief Minister said that under the new tourism policy, religious places like Deoghar, Parasnath, Madhuban and Itkhori would be beautified besides providing civic amenities to them.
• To promote eco-tourism, the work of development of Latehar-Netarhat-Betla, Chandil-Dalma-Mirchaiya-Getelsud eco-circuit is in progress, connecting tourism activities with nature. Rest house facilities will be made available at these places for the tourists to stay.
• Experience of the glorious culture of the state The emphasis is being laid on organizing food festivals, inter-state cultural programmes to showcase the vibrant and diverse culture of the state.
• To enhance the potential of rural tourism, the beautification of identified villages, local cuisine and promotion of rural life include promotion of rural life. Village Tourism Committees (VTC) and Rural Tourism Sub-Committee will be constituted in this regard.
• State's tourism policy will showcase the state's mineral wealth and explore possibilities through mining tourism.
• The new tourism policy will include activities like promotion of adventure tourism activities like paragliding, water sports, rock climbing, gliding etc. There are plans to develop dams like Tilaiya, Masanjor, Chandil, Patratu, Getalsud, Kellaghagh, Kanke, Hatia for water sports.

Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

Why In News?

• On July 24, 2022, Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Minister Satpal Maharaj informed that the Central Government has sanctioned Rs 135 crore to Uttarakhand for the year 2022-23 under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA).

Key Points

• He said that the Union Panchayati Raj Minister was requested to sanction funds for the implementation of various schemes in the Panchayats. On this, the Central Government has approved an amount of 135 crores to the state under Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
• With this amount, 9 goals of sustainable development of Gram Panchayat will be fulfilled along with training, capacity development, excursions to three-tier Panchayat officials and employees. This will strengthen the three-tier panchayats.
• Minister Satpal Maharaj said that honorarium will be fixed for the kshetra panchayat members. Apart from this, guidelines will be issued for the expenses of panchayat representatives.
• One compactor each in 95 development blocks of the state, parking in district panchayat, construction of 200 panchayat buildings, computerization of 500 gram panchayats, additional rooms will be constructed in 100 panchayat buildings.
• Approval has also been given for one vacuum based cleaning machine in each district of the state for cleanliness. In the action plan of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, provision has also been made to provide faculty for the already constructed state, district and block level Panchayat Resource Center.