Chhattisgarh

• 25 Sep 2023

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel Inaugurated the Newly Constructed State-of-the-Art Central Library (Granthalaya).

Why In News?

On September 24, 2023, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, during his stay in Kondagaon, inaugurated the newly constructed, state-of-the-art Central Library with all facilities at a cost of Rs 6 crore in the Government Gundadhur College campus.

Key Points:

• This library will prove helpful in increasing the knowledge and skill development of the youth of the district, so that the youth will be able to shape their future.
• It is known that this central library has been started to make Kondagaon district an education hub. This library will be dedicated to children, youth and senior citizens of all age groups.
• For convenience, this library has been divided into a Newspaper Zone, Magazine Zone, Kids Zone, Discussion Zone, Reading Zone so that all aspects of reading and understanding can be covered.
• Along with this library, an e-knowledge portal was also launched. Through this portal, a database of all the books available in 128 government secondary school and high school libraries has been created and is being made available online.
• Through this portal, any student or common citizen of the district, who needs any book, can get any book available in the 128 libraries of the district allotted to him sitting at home and that book can be distributed to him through the Block Source Coordinator. Will be made available within 7 days.
• Along with this, Incubation and Innovation Hub Kondagaon was inaugurated to promote self-employment in the district. Guidance is being given to youth receiving unemployment allowance and those wishing to start startups.
• For this, MoUs were signed today with leading institutes of the state like IIT Bhilai, Triple IT, Naya Raipur and Head Start. These institutes will provide guidance to the founders admitted in the incubator on various essential points in business operations.

Chief Minister Inaugurated the Chief Minister Breakfast Scheme

Why In News?

On September 24, 2023, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel launched the Chief Minister Breakfast Scheme in 681 primary schools of Sukma district at Chhindgarh in Sukma district.

Key Points:

• On this occasion, the Chief Minister distributed tiffin to school children.
• Under this scheme, children from classes 1 to 5 will be given snacks under different menus five days a week. Like poha will be given on Monday, porridge on Tuesday, chana fry on Wednesday, moong dal on Thursday and veg pulao on Friday.
• About 17 thousand children of Sukma district will benefit from this. Under this scheme, an additional incentive amount of Rs 800 will be provided to the school cooks.

Chhattisgarh's CHALK Project gets Approval from World Bank and Government of India

Why In News?

With a view to bring rapid changes keeping in mind the changing scenario of school education in the state of Chhattisgarh, on September 22, 2023, the CHALK project was approved by the World Bank and the Government of India for improving school education. The project documents were officially signed by the World Bank, Government of India and Government of Chhattisgarh.

Key Points:

• With the help of the World Bank, it has been decided to rejuvenate the schools along with improving the quality of education, under this a provision of Rs 400 crore has been made by the Chhattisgarh government in the first phase.
• Through this project, a total assistance of $ 300 million (approximately Rs 2500 crore) will be received by the World Bank in the next 5 years (July 2023 to September 2028).
• Through this project, various works are mainly done towards improving the achievement of children, based on the demand of parents, starting new schools giving excellent results on the lines of Swami Atmanand, to improve the infrastructure of schools running in remote areas of the state. Necessary support etc. work can be done.
• With the arrival of this project, it will be easier to speed up and expand the various reform works started in the last four years in the state of Chhattisgarh and there will be a comprehensive improvement in the quality of school education.
• Under this project, training related to teaching-learning as per class level, opportunity for teachers to choose suitable training for themselves (on-mode training), remedial teaching for every subject and concept for classes from upper primary to higher secondary level. , Arrangement of analysis of children's results using digital technology for effective assessment in schools, availability of high quality test items ICT and science laboratory, smart classrooms, benefit of infrastructure development to selected schools, large number of Scheduled Caste and Tribe settlements. The focus will be on work like the proposal to open schools in the development blocks.
• Apart from this, various capacity development programs will also be organized through CMET to bring changes in school education by training the school principals working in the state on other useful issues besides academic and administrative leadership.

Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) Awarded for the Third Consecutive Time

Why In News?

On September 21, 2023, Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) was awarded the Star Performance Award for the best performance at the national level in the field of energy conservation in a function organized in New Delhi.

Key Points:

• This honor was given by the Society of Energy Engineers and Managers (SEEM) at the 8th National Energy Management Awards ceremony.
• The said award was received by Alok Katiyar, Chief Executive Officer, Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) in the presence of Dr. Ashok Kumar, Deputy Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Government of India.
• It is noteworthy that for 3 consecutive years (2020, 2021 and 2022) CREDA has been awarded the National Award by SEEM like the best performing state nominated agency in the field of energy conservation.
• Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) has made important achievements in the field of energy conservation and energy efficiency in the state in the last 11 years.
• Under the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, in the first and second phase, a total of 44 industrial institutions in the state have reduced carbon emissions of about 6.67 million Tonnes by saving about 2.198 million Tonnes of oil equivalent (MTO) of energy.
• Under this project, the industries of the state have received a total of more than ten lakh energy saving certificates through the Bureau of Energy Efficiency. To promote energy conservation in the commercial building sector, Chhattisgarh Energy Conservation Building Code has been notified by the state government and a total of 15 buildings in the state have been certified as green buildings and a proposal has been made to designate 8 government buildings as star rating. Has been forwarded to the Central Government.
• Continuous work is being done to make the residential projects of the state energy efficient by adopting energy efficient building construction techniques under the Eco NIWAS Samhita in residential buildings. In this sequence, more than 150 awareness programs have been organized by CREDA for engineers and architects.
• With the aim of promoting energy efficient appliances in rural areas, a total of 77 villages have been developed into model energy efficient villages. Similarly, 56 health centers have been developed as model energy efficient health centers and 376 government schools have been developed as model energy efficient government schools.
• With the aim of making school students aware about energy conservation, CREDA has formed Energy Clubs in a total of 603 schools and the target is to form Energy Clubs in more than 1 thousand educational institutions in the coming year.