Chhattisgarh

• 27 Sep 2023

Chief Minister Inaugurated the State's First Sugarcane based Ethanol Plant

Why In News?

On September 26, 2023, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated the state's first sugarcane-based ethanol plant costing Rs 141 crore through video conferencing from his residence office.

Key Points:

• The state government has established the state's largest and first sugarcane-based ethanol plant in Kabirdham district. For the establishment of an ethanol plant, construction has been done on 35 acres of vacant plot of Bhoramdev Cooperative Sugar Factory.
• Ethanol plants based on agriculture is among the priority schemes of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. Regarding the establishment of the country's first ethanol plant established through PPP model, the contract has been signed between Bhoramdev Cooperative Sugar Factory and NKJ Biofuel Limited, a subsidiary of Chhattisgarh Distillery Limited.
• The establishment of the ethanol plant will generate direct and indirect employment opportunities in the area and will strengthen the basis of economic prosperity in the area. Timely payment of sugarcane prices to farmers will be ensured.
• Bhupendra Thakur, MD of Bhoramdev Cooperative Sugar Factory, said that the ethanol plant is built on hybrid technology, in which ethanol will be made directly from sugarcane juice during the sugarcane crushing season and from molasses during the off season.
• Due to diverting of sugarcane juice into ethanol, more juice will be required and to fulfill it, maximum sugarcane will be purchased from farmers. The construction of the ethanol plant will ensure timely payment of sugarcane prices to the farmers.
• Keeping in mind the economic environment, PPP has been implemented to ensure economic and technical participation of the private sector in developing the economy of the state. Model has been selected.
• In compliance with the decision of the State Government, PPP in Bhoramdev Cooperative Sugar Factory is in the first phase. Ethanol plants have been established from the model.
• Being the first example from PPP model in the country for setting up of ethanol plant of minimum 80 kpd capacity at Bhoramdeo Cooperative Sugar Factory Kawardha, the tender at the national level was successfully completed through a transparent process taking into account the subtle aspects of the process for investor selection.

Three Police Officers of Chhattisgarh Honoured with FICCI Award

Why In News?

According to the information given by the Public Relations Department on September 26, 2023, three police officers of Chhattisgarh have been honored with the Smart Policing Award-2022 by the country's prestigious Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) organization.

Key Points:

• It is noteworthy that the country's prestigious Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has been honoring the police officers of the state for their good work and best practices for the last several years.
• In this series, on September 15, 2023, in New Delhi, three police officers of the state IPS Dr. Abhishek Pallav, IPS Mayank Gurjar and IPS Pooja Aggarwal have been honored with this prestigious award.
• In the Community Policing category, Dr. Abhishek Pallav (IPS), the then Superintendent of Police of Dantewada, who is currently the Superintendent of Police of District Kabirdham, was honored for the ‘Lone Varratu’ campaign conducted in District Dantewada.
• ‘Lone Varratu’ campaign means ‘Come back home’. This campaign was launched for those Naxalites who intended to leave the path of red terror and join the mainstream of society. Under this campaign many Naxalites left the path of terrorism.
• In the surveillance and monitoring category, the then City Superintendent of Police, Rajnandgaon and current City Superintendent of Police, Azad Chowk, Raipur Mayank Gurjar (IPS) have been honored for the 'Trinetram' campaign run in Rajnandgaon district.
• ‘Trinetram’ campaign is a surveillance and monitoring campaign, under which CCTV surveillance was increased in Rajnandgaon city. This helped the police to solve many cases and crack down on criminals.
• Pooja Aggarwal, Assistant Inspector General of Police, CID, Police Headquarters, has been honored with the FICCI Smart Policing Award-2022 for the state level ‘Abhivyakti’ Program in the Women Safety category.
• Through Abhivyakti Abhiyaan, an effort to provide security to women through mobile phones was started.

Assembly Deputy Speaker Inaugurated Natural Cow Dung Paint Unit in Adega RIPA

Why In News?

On September 26, 2023, Chhattisgarh Assembly Deputy Speaker Santram Netam inaugurated the natural cow dung paint unit in Mahatma Gandhi Rural Industrial Park of Gram Panchayat Adega under the ambitious scheme of Chhattisgarh Government in Kondagaon district.

Key Points:

• On this occasion, Assembly Vice Speaker Santram Netam also presented a check of Rs. 01 lakh to the women's group manufacturing cow dung paint.
• Addressing the program, the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly said that as per the intention of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, the cow dung paint unit has been started with the aim of making women living in rural areas economically capable and self-reliant.
• He said that the women of the group will get full benefits from the production and sale of cow dung paint, and the income from this will make the women financially strong.

Important Decisions of the Council of Ministers under the Chairmanship of the Chief Minister

Why In News?

Many important decisions were taken in the meeting of the Council of Ministers held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel at his residence office on September 26, 2023.

Key Points:

• In the meeting of the Council of Ministers, the policy for procurement and custom milling of paddy and maize at support price in the Kharif marketing year 2023-24 was decided.
• Under this, paddy and maize will be procured as per the support price declared by the Government of India. Kharif paddy will be purchased from farmers in cash and linking at support price from November 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024.
• Similarly, Kharif maize will be procured from November 1, 2023, to February 28, 2024.
• As per the announcement of the Chief Minister, the purchase of paddy from farmers will be maximum 20 quintals per acre and maize 10 quintals per acre including licking.
• It was decided to extend the validity of the government guarantee (amount of Rs. 14 thousand 700 crore) for paddy procurement to Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Marketing Federation Limited for the Kharif marketing year 2023-24 by one year till October 31, 2024.
• Consent was given to supply Fortified Rice Kernel (FRK) through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) for the fortification of rice obtained from custom milling of paddy procured in the Kharif marketing year 2023-24.
• Approval was given to relax the minimum qualifying service of 5 years by 4 months for promotion from the post of Scientific Officer (Physics Gazetted, Second Class) to Senior Scientific Officer (Physics Gazetted First Class) under State Forensic Science Laboratory, Raipur.
• The draft of amendment in Revenue Book Circular Volume 6 Number 4 was approved.
• It was decided to provide relaxation in the criteria prescribed for making Gram Panchayat Ghumka, District Rajnandgaon a Nagar Panchayat.
• It was decided to provide relaxation in the prescribed criteria for making Gram Panchayat Portha, District-Sakti a Nagar Panchayat.
• It was decided to appoint Sudeep Thakur as Director (Contract) in Chhattisgarh State Hindi Granth Academy.
• It was decided to provide 100 percent grant to Shri Rameshwar Gahira Guru Prachya Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, Shri Kot, District-Balrampur-Ramanujganj under the provision of Chhattisgarh Non-Government Colleges and Institutions (Establishment and Regulation) Act, 2006.