State PCS

• 26 Mar 2022

Yogi Adityanath: Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh For The Second Time In a Row

Why in News?

• On March 25, 2022, Yogi Adityanath took oath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the second time at the 'Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium' in Lucknow. Governor Anandiben Patel administered him the oath of office and secrecy.

Key Points

• A total of 52 people took oath as ministers, including 16 cabinet ministers, 14 ministers of state (independent charge), 20 ministers of state and 2 deputy chief ministers. Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya took oath as Deputy Chief Ministers.
• 38 MLAs have been made ministers in Yogi's new cabinet. At the same time, 9 MLCs have also been made ministers. While there are 5 names which are neither MLAs nor MLCs. They will have to take membership of the House in the next 6 months.
• It is noteworthy that Yogi Adityanath is the first Chief Minister to be re-elected after completing one term in Uttar Pradesh in the last 37 years.
• It is to be noted that in the election results declared on March 10, 2022, the Bharatiya Janata Party along with its allies had won an absolute majority by winning 273 seats.

Tourism and Hospitality Sector Will Get Electricity at Industrial Rate

Why in News?

• On March 25, 2022, the Energy Department of Rajasthan issued orders to the tourism and hospitality sector to provide electricity at industrial rate instead of commercial category.

Key Points

• It is noteworthy that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had announced to give industry status to this sector in the budget this year, fulfilling the long-standing demand of the tourism and hospitality sector. These orders have been issued in pursuance of this announcement.
• This will give a big relief to lakhs of entrepreneurs associated with this sector in the state and further expansion of tourism activities will be possible in the state.
• It is worth mentioning that since 1989 till now, several announcements were made to give industry status to tourism, but it could not be implemented properly.
• Rajasthan has an important place in the world from the point of view of tourism and there is immense potential for expansion of tourism activities. Also, it can create huge employment opportunities directly and indirectly.

Indore Administrative Division Tops in Jal Jeevan Mission

Why in News?

• Indore Administrative Division has become the topper in the state by supplying drinking water through household tap connections to the entire rural population of the state under the Jal Jeevan Mission by March 25, 2022.

Key Points

• So far 9 lakh 67 thousand rural families have been provided water through tap connections in Indore division through the mission.
• The mission includes 387 water bodies in Indore district, 412 in Dhar district, 425 in Jhabua district, 265 in Barwani district, 114 in Alirajpur district, 380 in Khargone district, 313 in Khandwa district and 83 in Burhanpur district.
• So far 2379 water supply schemes costing Rs 2671 crore 69 lakh 32 thousand have been approved by the Public Health Engineering Department in eight districts of Indore division.
• The work of all the water supply schemes approved by the department in the form of new and retrofitting for these districts is going on continuously as per the parameters of the mission.

State Level Steering Committee Constituted Under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary

Why in News?

• On March 25, 2022, the state government constituted a state-level high-powered steering committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for the Atal Renewal and Urban Transformation Mission scheme in the state.

Key Points

• Principal Secretary Finance, Urban Development and Housing, Forest and Environment, Public Health Engineering, Panchayat and Rural Development, Government of India will have nominated representative members from the Ministry of Urban Development.
• The committee will have commissioner-cum-secretary, urban administration and development member secretary and mission director.
• The State Level High Powered Steering Committee will be responsible for the overall implementation of the Mission. The committee will approve the City Water Balance Plan, State Water Action Plan based on the City Water Action Plan and administratively approve the Detailed Project Report.

Vijay Vardhan: Chief Information Commissioner of Haryana

Why in News?

• On March 25, 2022, former Chief Secretary of Haryana and retired IAS Vijay Vardhan became the new Chief Information Commissioner of the state. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar administered the oath of office and secrecy to him at his Haryana residence in Chandigarh.

Key Points

• Along with this, the Chief Minister administered the oath of office and allegiance to retired IAS Satyaveer Singh Phulia as State Information Commissioner. Both the retired IAS officers took oath in Hindi.
• The Governor has made these appointments on the recommendation of the Search and Statutory Committee constituted under sub-section 3 of Section 15 of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
• It is worth mentioning that the State Government had constituted this committee this month to fill the vacant posts of Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioner. After sorting out the applications for both the posts, the committee had stamped the names of Vardhan and Phulia.
• The post of Chief Information Commissioner fell vacant after the completion of the tenure of retired DGP Yashpal Singhal on March 23. He was appointed to this post on April 27, 2017.

New astroturf of Hockey at Gurugram's Nehru Stadium

Why in News?

• On March 24, 2022, Haryana's Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Sardar Sandeep Singh said that a new hockey astroturf would be installed at the Nehru Stadium in Gurugram.

Key Points

• The State Government has fixed an estimated cost of Rs 9.40 crore for Hockey Astroturf in Gurugram. This work will be started in the financial year 2022-23.
• In addition to Hockey Astroturf in Gurugram, new grounds with modern facilities for multi-games will be built on the land provided by panchayats or institutions in district Mewat, so that players can practice on them.
• Sardar Sandeep Singh informed that the government is contemplating to build new multi-game tracks if there is availability of land in Hodal and Palwal also. A plan is also being prepared for the maintenance of Maharaja Janmejay Stadium in Safidon of Jind district.
• The Sports Minister said that the government would provide similar facilities in the area where the youth would be interested in sports.
• It is worth mentioning that Haryana is the first state in the country to have the highest sports budget.

Indian Women's Team Won the SAFF Under-18 Football Championship

Why in News?

• In the SAIF Under-18 Women's Football Championship held in Jamshedpur on March 25, 2022, the host Indian women's team won the title on the basis of better goal average.

Key Points

• Bangladesh beat India 1-0 in the last match of the championship played between India and Bangladesh at the JRD Sports Complex Stadium, but the Indian team was declared the winner on the basis of the most points in the points table.
• In this match between India and Bangladesh, the score of the first half of the match was 0-0. Bangladesh took a 1-0 lead in the second half of the match, which lasted till the end. However, Bangladesh needed a 2-0 win to win this championship.
• India's Linda Kam Sturto got the honor of scoring the most goals. Linda Kam also received the award for Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
• It is noteworthy that 22 years after the formation of Jharkhand, this was the first time that an international football tournament was organized in Jharkhand.

Educational Scholarship Campaign

Why in News?

• On March 25, 2022, Chhattisgarh's Urban Administration and Labor Minister Dr. Shiv Kumar Dahria launched the educational scholarship campaign under the educational scholarship scheme of the Chhattisgarh Labor Welfare Board.

Key Points

• Minister Dahria distributed scholarships worth Rs 42,33,500 through cheque and RTGS to the children of 1,682 laborers of different districts of the state for the year 2021-22.
• The Minister said that under the Educational Scholarship Scheme, the officials of the Labor Department will ensure that every school and college going child of the registered workers reaches its benefits.
• The Labor Welfare Board said that children of laborers studying in classes I to VIII will get Rs 1,500 annually, while students of classes IX to XII will get Rs 3,000 per year.
• An additional Rs 5,000 per year will be given to students at the undergraduate level, while engineering, medical and other students at the undergraduate level will be given Rs 8,000 per year and post graduate students Rs 10,000.

ICH Virus

Why in News?

• Recently, three bears died of Infectious Canine Hepatitis (ICH) virus at Kanan Pendari Zoological Park in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh, threatening 632 other zoo animals with ICH.

Key Points

• Zoo management said that two male bears and one female bear Kavita have died in the last 26 days due to ICH infection. Kavita was in contact with two dead bears who had died earlier.
• Vishnu Nair, DFO of Kanan Pendari, said that it cannot be said from where the ICH infection spread among the bears. It spreads only in canine species. Virus infection has not been shown in other organisms.
• Ilairaja, a wildlife expert and Bear Rescue Center based in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, told that these can be symptoms of Infectious Canine Hepatitis. It is a viral disease. Once this infection occurs, there is no cure for it. Bears can be saved only by keeping them in isolation like corona.