• 28 Apr 2022

Darbhanga : Makhana Hub

Why in News?

• On April 27, 2022, Darbhanga MP Dr. Gopal G. Thakur inaugurated the one-day workshop at Makhana Research Centre, Darbhanga under the 'Formation and Promotion of 10,000 New FPO Scheme' scheme of the Central Government by lighting a lamp.

Key Point

• The objective of the workshop is to consider measures to establish Darbhanga on the world stage as a makhana hub by forming a cooperative farmers producers' association of makhana growing farmers in the district.
• It may be recalled that darbhanga district has been awarded by the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister at the State level for outstanding work in the field of production and development of Makhana under 'One District One Product'.
• Speaking on the occasion, Mp Dr. Thakur said that the construction of cargo complex at Darbhanga airport will give a boost to the global business of makhana and other local products.
• It may be mentioned that the scheme was launched in February 2020 at Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh with a budgetary provision of Rs 6,865 crore.
• Under this, more than 2200 FPOs generation clusters have been allocated for formation of FPOs in the year 2020-21.
• The financial assistance provided under it is as under:
• 18.00 lakh per FPO for a period of 3 years.
• Each farmer member of the FPO will be provided an equity grant of Rs 2,000 (maximum of Rs 15 lakh per FPO).
• In order to ensure institutional credit access to FPOs, a provision has been made for credit guarantee facility up to Rs.2 crore per FPO from eligible lending institution.

Advance version of Akash missile successfully test-fired

Why In News?

• On April 27, 2022, akash prime, the advance version of akash missile, was successfully test-fired at pokhran field firing range in the border district of jaisalmer.

Key Point

• It is worth mentioning that The Akash missile is a ground-to-air missile made in India. It can be fired from any vehicle or permanent place on the ground.
• There were a total of 2 missiles in the Akash missile family so far, now Akash Prime has become the third important missile of this class. These missiles are capable of destroying any kind of aircraft in the air.
• The range of this missile is up to 30 kilometers in the sky and it can carry a payload of up to 60 kg at a time. This missile can also be controlled in the air and can also target from drons to fighter jets through sensors themselves.
• Akash Prime is also able to easily penetrate from fighter jets flying at high altitudes to drons, cruise missiles, air-to-surface missiles and ballistic missiles. It can scan about 10 times more area than the basic Akash missile.
• The special thing about the missile is that it is capable of detecting enemy planes and destroying them in the sky. This missile is 30 km to the aircraft. It can aim far away and up to 18,000 meters high.
• Akash missiles have been developed by DRDO and are produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited. The responsibility of creating its surveillance, radar, command centre and launcher is with Bharat Electronics (BEL), Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division and Larsen & Toubro.

Action will be taken on leaving cattle open in public place in Madhya Pradesh

Why In News?

• On April 26, 2022, the draft Of The Madhya Pradesh Municipal Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2022 was approved by the Cabinet.

Key Point

• Under this Ordinance, if any cattle or other animal is deliberately or negligently released or tied on the road or in a public place in the urban areas of Madhya Pradesh, a fine of one thousand rupees will be levied from the person concerned.
• The fine amount proposed by the Urban Development and Housing Department was Rs.5,000, but on the suggestion of the Ministers, it was reduced to Rs.1,000.
• It may be recalled that a number of petitions were filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court on the growing problem of leaving animals open in public places in the urban areas of the state, on which the court, while hearing the court had directed the state government to take regular action in respect of stray animals and fix the amount of torture.

Haryana government honours 18 patwaris/kanungos

Why In News?

• On April 27, 2022, a total of 18 Patwaris/Kanungos from across the state were felicitated by the Chakbandi Department of The Government of Haryana at the Red Bishop Tourism Centre in Panchkula.

Key Point

• Amna Tasneem, Director, Chakbandi Department, said that the 18 Patwaris/Kanoongos who were honoured had done a commendable job during COVID-19.
• Out of these, 7 Patwaris/Kanoongo were honoured with motorcycles and citations from Hero MotoCorp and 11 Patwaris/Kanungo with commendation cards.
• Minister of State for Revenue and Disaster Management Department Anoop Dhanak said that Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala had earlier felicitated patwaris who have done excellent work in Jind.

Jharkhand Agriculture Loan Waiver Scheme

Why In News?

• Recently, Jharkhand Agriculture Director Nisha Oraon informed that the state government is waiving loans worth Rs 3.34 crore benefiting 906 farmers per day under the 'Jharkhand Agricultural Loan Waiver Scheme'.

Key Point

• The objective of the scheme is to relieve the farmers of the State of short-term agricultural credit from the debt burden, improve the credit worthiness of the crop loan holder, ensure credit for the new crop, prevent migration of the farming community and strengthen the agricultural economy.
• Under the scheme, loans worth Rs 1,529.01 crore have been waived off to 3,83,102 farmers till March 31, 2022, of which a total of Rs 494.96 crore was disbursed to 1,22,238 people in the financial year 2020-21. In the financial year 2021-22, 2,60,864 farmers have been paid Rs 1,034.05 crore.
• The following are the required entitlements for the beneficiary of the loan waiver scheme:
  • The ryot farmers who do their own farming on their land.
  • Non-ryot farmers who do agricultural work on the land of other ryots.
  • The applicant should be a short-term crop loan holder and the crop loan should be issued from a qualified bank located in Jharkhand.
  • A farmer from the State of Jharkhand, who is above the age of 18 years and the farmer should have a valid Aadhaar number, Kisan Credit Card holder and a valid ration card holder.
  • Members holding the same crop loan from one family will be eligible. The applicant should have a standard crop loan account.

Three-day Khairagarh Festival inaugurated

Why In News?

• On April 27, 2022, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated the three-day Khairagarh Festival at The Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh in Rajnandgaon district.

Key Point

• During this period, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of development works worth Rs 6.51 crore and refunded an amount of Rs.1.57 crore to 17,127 investors of Rajnandgaon district who were victims of cheating by the chit fund company.
• Chief Minister Baghel also inaugurated 9 Swami Atmanand Excellent English Medium Schools set up at a cost of Rs.14.74 crore in Rajnandgaon district.
• Khairagarh Festival is being organized by Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya Khairagarh from April 27 to 30, 2022.
• The Chief Minister saluted the founder of Khairagarh Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, King Virendra Bahadur Singh and Rani Padmavati Devi and Princess Indira of Khairagarh.
• Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya is the first university in Asia dedicated to the visual and performing arts. It is the only university of music and fine arts in India.
• In 1956, the then king of Khairagarh princely state, Virendra Bahadur Singh and Rani Padmavati Devi, had donated their palace to open a university of music and fine arts and named it after their daughter 'Indira'.

Akshaya Tritiya will be celebrated in Chhattisgarh as 'Mati Pujan Diwas'

Why In News?

• On April 27, 2022, instructions were issued by the state government following chief minister Bhupesh Baghel's announcement regarding the observance of Akshaya Tritiya as 'Mati Pujan Diwas' in the state.

Key Point

• It may be mentioned that the State Government is taking several initiatives to promote organic farming. In this link, work is being done to promote the use of cow urine and other organic substances in a big way along with the use of vermi-compost in place of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for the revival of soil fertility.
• Taking this aim forward, a mega campaign to celebrate 'Mati Pujan Diwas' is being launched in the state on Akshaya Tritiya on May 3 this year.
• As per the instructions issued regarding the event, a state level programme will be organized in the capital Raipur on the occasion. At the same time, mati pujan will be performed traditionally by organizing programmes at all gram panchayat, janpad panchayat and district panchayat level.
• In the Mati Pujan programme, an oath will be taken to protect mother earth and the chief minister's message will be read out.
• The programmes will be attended by the ministers in-charge of the districts, MLAs, representatives of three tier panchayats and farmers and citizens. Active participation of social organisations and school and college students will also be ensured in this important event related to environment.
• It is worth mentioning that Akshaya Tritiya is also known as 'Akti' in Chhattisgarh.

Increasing forest fire outbreak in Uttarakhand

Why In News?

• As per the data released by the Chief Conservator of Forests, Vanagni and Disaster Management Office of Uttarakhand on April 27, 2022, the highest number of incidents of vanagni have been reported in both Garhwal and Kumaon divisions of the state.

Key Point

• A total of 227 forest fires have taken place at 227 places in the state, in which a total of 561 hectares of forest area has been affected and an economic loss of more than Rs.11 lakh has been assessed.
• In the fire season that began on February 15, a total of 1443 incidents of forest have been reported so far this year, including 642 in Garhwal, 724 in Kumaon and 77 in protected wildlife zones. These have affected 2432.62 hectares of forest area and an assessment of economic loss of over Rs 60 lakh.
• Vanagni has polluted the air in Uttarakhand. Due to the incidence of forest, the amount of black carbon here has increased by 12 to 13 times. An ethelometer has been installed in association with Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in the Department of Physics of Central Garhwal University for the calculation of this black carbon in the atmosphere.
• It may be recalled that the National Action Plan on Forest Fires (NAPFF) was launched in 2018 to reduce forest fires by informing, empowering and empowering forest marginal communities and encouraging them to work with state forest departments .