• 28 Sep 2021

Ethanol Production from Sugarcane in Uttar Pradesh

Why in News

• On September 27, 2021, Uttar Pradesh Sugar Industry Minister Suresh Rana said in a press conference that Uttar Pradesh will start ethanol production directly from sugarcane from the next sugarcane crushing season starting from October 2021.
  
  • Ethanol to be used for blending with petrol will be produced at PSU Pipraich Chini Mill, Gorakhpur and Balrampur Chini Mill.

Key Points

• It is worth mentioning that the state government decided to make ethanol directly from sugarcane in October 2020 and for this a pilot project was started at Pipraich sugar mill.
• Uttar Pradesh is the top producer of ethanol in India.
  
  • It has 53 ethanol producing distilleries and has an annual installed capacity of 158.44 crore liters.
• Uttar Pradesh produced 42.70 crore liters of ethanol in the financial year 2016-17, which increased to 99.31 crore liters in 2020-21.
  
  • There are 72 distilleries in Uttar Pradesh, of which 25 are standalone and 47 are attached to sugar mills.
• He said that due to an increase in the State Advisory Price of sugarcane for the next crushing season 2021-22, farmers would get an additional benefit of more than Rs 4,000 crore.
• Minister Rana said that against the demand of Rs 33,014 crore, sugar mills have so far paid Rs 28,015 crore to farmers for the 2020-21 season. From 2017 to 2021 (September 21), Rs 1.44 lakh crore has been paid to farmers.
• He further said that till 2016-17, three varieties of sugarcane were cultivated, where the share of early high yielding varieties was only 52%, which has now increased to 98%. Sugarcane productivity in the state was 66 MT per hectare in 2016-17, which increased to 81.05 MT per hectare in 2020-21.
• He also said that during the pandemic, the operations of sugar mills were not disrupted and Uttar Pradesh remained on top in the field of sugarcane, sugar production and ethanol production.

Educational Tourism

Why in News

• Recently, the University Grants Commission has identified 100 places across the country for the purpose of educational tourism for the students, out of which 5 sites are related to Bihar.

Key Points

• Educational tourism can be defined as a form of tourism in which tourism is used as an important tool of educational learning.
• The aim of educational tourism is to make the learning process more practical and interactive as well as introduce the students to different cultures.
• It is noteworthy that under the National Education Policy-2020, educational tourism has been included under Activity Education with the aim of strengthening the spirit of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat', under which 5 destinations from Bihar- Sasaram, Rajgir, Bodh Gaya, Nalanda and Vaishali have been included.
• The details of these tourist places are as follows-
  
  • Nalanda: Nalanda was a famous monastery and center of Buddhist learning that developed under the patronage of the Gupta Empire in the 5^th and 6^th centuries.
  • Bodhgaya: Lord Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya.
  • Vaishali: Vaishali was a large and powerful kingdom in the 6^th century BCE, where Kattagarasala was built in Mahavana by the Lichchavi rulers for the abode of Buddha.
  • Rajgir: Rajgir is one of the important sites of the Eight Mahasthalas in Buddhism.
  • Sasaram: A small inscription from Chandan Shaheed near Sasaram in Rohtas district confirms the Mauryan victory in this area.

'Ab Koi Na Chhoote' Vaccination Mega Drive

Why in News

• On September 27, 2021, 'Ab Koi Na Chhoote' (Now no one should be left out) Vaccination Mega Drive-4 was launched in Madhya Pradesh to administer the first dose of vaccine to all eligible persons of 18 years of age.

Key Points

• Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that a vaccination campaign has been launched to give protection to the people of the state from corona. The government's target is that every eligible person in the state should get the first dose of the vaccine. Organizing 'Ab Koi Na Chhoote Vaccination Mega Drive-4' is an important step taken in this direction.
• In all the districts of Madhya Pradesh, the people who were deprived of the first dose of vaccine were given vaccine doses by conducting a door-to-door survey in Mahabhiyan-4. For this, the duty of 57,360 commentators and 5,000 supervisors was imposed.
• Vaccination was done by 1378 mobile teams for such persons, who were unable to reach the vaccination center due to physical incapacity or other similar reasons. Continuous help to the people was also provided through toll-free numbers 104 and 1075.
• Members of District, Block and Village and Ward level Crisis Management Committees also played an active role in the campaign. The members of the committee, while doing public awareness work in urban and rural areas, also discharged the role of motivator at the vaccination centers.
• So far 86% of the eligible population of the state has received the first dose of the vaccine. Madhya Pradesh ranks first in the country in administering the first dose. Till September 26, 6 crore 11 lakh 23 thousand 864 corona vaccines have been administered in Madhya Pradesh.

Lessons in Tribal Languages for Primary School Students

Why in News

• Recently, the Jharkhand Department of School Education and Literacy has identified more than 5600 Government-run primary schools for introducing a new model of imparting lessons to students of Class 1 to Class 5 in tribal languages the next academic session onwards.

Key Points

• According to the Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC), only those schools have been selected for this project, where a large number of students have used tribal languages as their first language.
• State Coordinator of Quality Education Abhinav Kumar said that the state has already introduced textbooks in tribal languages ​​(Santhali, Mundari, Kuduk) for such students and the new model of education will ensure effective use of these books. He said that once students understand the basics in the language in which they feel more comfortable, the medium of instruction will gradually be changed to Hindi or English.
• He said that the new model of educating a group of students in tribal languages would help the students develop interest in studies and help them understand their subjects better.
• According to the census 2011, the tribal community constitutes at least 26.3% of Jharkhand's total population of 3.29 crore.
• Under the new model of education, the most commonly used tribal language in a particular area will be used as the medium of instruction in schools in that area. For example, the Santhali language is commonly used in the Santhal Parganas region of Jharkhand, while Mundari is commonly spoken in Kolhan, which includes West Singhbhum and East Singhbhum districts.
• A JEPC spokesperson said that the entire syllabus will be taught in the local language to the students of Class I, so that they can understand the subjects. However in class 2 only 60% of the syllabus will be covered in the local language and the remaining 40% in English or Hindi.

Workshop on ‘Responsible Tourism’

Why in News

• The Uttarakhand Space Application Centre (USAC) along with the Himalayan Knowledge Network (HKN) conducted a one-day workshop on Responsible Tourism on the occasion of World Tourism Day on September 27, 2021.

Key Points

• The officials from various departments like tourism and forest along with Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Garhwal and Kumaon Universities, among others, participated in the workshop.
• While addressing the participants in the workshop, director of USAC MPS Bisht said Uttarakhand has so much potential in tourism. There is a need to bring responsible tourism across the State and develop Bugyals and spiritual circuits among others. Such initiatives will also generate employment opportunities for locals.
• HKN Nodal Officer Gajendra Singh said that there are over 145 universities, 2,000 professors and 500 scientists involved in research in the Himalayan region. The information sharing in most of the organisations is quite limited and HKN has been founded to tackle this matter.
• It is worth mentioning that Uttarakhand Space Applications Center (USAC) is the nodal agency in the state of Uttarakhand for space-technology related activities and has the right to employ space-technology for the benefit of the state and its people. It was formed in 2005 as an autonomous organization under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Uttarakhand.

'Uttarakhand Adventure Fest'

Why in News

• With the aim of promoting adventure sports, a two-day 'Uttarakhand Adventure Fest' was organized in Uttarakhand on 26-27 September, 2021.

Key Points

• Inaugurating this fest on 26 September, Forest and Environment Minister Harak Singh Rawat also launched the 'Single Window System' for mountaineering related services in Uttarakhand.
  
  • This portal will ensure ease of access for the tourists visiting the state.
• This adventure fest was organized by Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) in association with FICCI FLO.
• The Chief Minister made various announcements on the occasion. He said that all the proposals regarding tourism industries would be taken up especially by the tourism department instead of the industries department.
• The project will be taken up by the Urban Development Department and the Housing Department to establish a multi-level car-lift space especially for the tourist places of Uttarakhand.
• He announced the formation of Tourism Facilitation and Investment Cell in the state and a dedicated Eco-tourism wing under the Ministry of Tourism to explore ways to develop the tourism industry of Uttarakhand as a sustainable, eco-friendly industry.
• Along with this, he announced to hand over the Pandit Nain Singh Surveyor Mountaineering Training Institute to the tourism department. At present, the Sports Department runs the Nain Singh Surveyor Mountaineering Training Institute.
• The Forest Minister said that Uttarakhand has immense potential for thrill-seeking 'adventure tourism', which can create immense excitement among tourists in India and globally. He said that in November this year an Investment Conference on Adventure Action would also be organized at Ramnagar in Kumaon.
• Various stalls of local cuisine along with workshops on rafting, paragliding, mountain biking, hot air balloon, camping, ice-skating, kayaking were the center of attraction in this fest.