• 29 Apr 2023

Agreement Signed Between Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association and World Bank

Why in News?

According to information received from media sources on April 27, 2023, there is an agreement to establish a long-term relationship between the Sugar Mills Association of the state and the World Bank in line with a common vision and priorities on 'micro-irrigation' in a workshop organized in Lucknow for the larger benefit of sugarcane farmers.

Key Points

• The MoU was signed by Ajit Radhakrishnan on behalf of the World Bank and Deepak Guptara, General Secretary, on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association.
• 2030 WRG made a presentation about its pilot project 'Drip Irrigation' under the Uttar Pradesh Project. In the workshop, M/s. Gujarat Green Revolution Company (GGRC), Ahmedabad also presented the 'New Single Window Delivery Model' being developed for the Uttar Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project and shared their experience of working with the sugarcane farmers of Gujarat. A review of the works done revealed that sugarcane farmers in the state of Gujarat were successful in saving about 30 percent of water.
• The World Bank is working closely with its Water Resources Group and UPSMA to implement the 'UP Pragati Agri Water Accelerator'.
• The project synergizes the capabilities of the two organizations to develop a sustainable 'micro-irrigation model' for the overall benefit of the sugarcane farmers of the state. The program aspires to run a large-scale assistance program in more than 38 districts of the state based on the current priority criteria. This is expected to bring down the production cost of sugarcane farmers significantly.
• The project will primarily focus on the following-
  • Promotion of water efficient practices in sugarcane cultivation.
  • Promotion of mechanization of sugarcane cultivation.
  • De-carbonizing the sugar enrichment chain by promoting low carbon ergonomic operations.
• It is known that Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) is a major organization of private sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh. The main objective of UPSMA is to ensure the protection of the functioning and interests of the private sugar mills in the state through favorable and development-oriented policies of the government. UPSMA has been working since 1938 in the interest of sugarcane farmers and industry in the state.
• The 2030 Water Resources Group is a public, private, civil society multi-donor trust fund of the World Bank Group. WRG supports stakeholders in collective decision-making and co-designing out-of-the-box solutions that drive strong socio-economic development in all water-related sectors.

MoU Signed Between IIT Patna and ROI Net Solution

Why in News?

On April 27, 2023, IIT Patna signed an MoU with ROI Net Solution for Research and Development. Under this, IIT Patna will develop indigenous platforms like Zoom, WhatsApp and Google Pay.

Key Points

• Sameer Mathur, Managing Director, ROI Net Solution and T.N. Singh, Director Prof. of IIT Patna signed the MoU.
• Director Prof. T.N. Singh said that its aim is to develop state-of-the-art solutions and do better work in the direction of research.
• ROI Net Solution and IIT Patna will jointly undertake research projects over the next three years in the areas of digital payments, wealth management, cross-border payments, secure audio-video conferencing and application of advanced technologies. In which machine learning, artificial intelligence and data analytics are included.
• IIT Patna will develop indigenous platforms like Patna Zoom, WhatsApp and Google Pay. It will be named Forex Platform. In this, IIT Patna will work at the academic level while Roynet will work on the solution market.
• Dr. LIM Chon-Phung, director of ROI Net Solution, said that we will cooperate with IIT, Patna in every way, academic cooperation will be with IIT. IIT Patna is known for its research and academic excellence. This partnership will enable us to leverage the expertise of IIT Patna.
• It is known that IIT Patna has signed three different MoUs with RailTel, Applied Materials India and Roynet in the last three days. All the MoUs that have been signed will lead society towards new inventions and development.

Madhya Pradesh High Court gets Seven New Judges, Now the Number has Increased to 37

Why in News?

On April 27, 2023, the Law and Judicial Department of the Government of India issued orders regarding the appointment of seven new judges in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Due to this, the number of judges in the High Court of the state has increased to 37, but still 16 of the sanctioned posts are vacant.

Key Points

• Seven new judges have been posted to the Madhya Pradesh High Court. They are: Rupesh Chandra Vasharne, Anuradha Shukla, Sanjeev Sudhakar Kalgaonkar, Prem Narayan Singh, Achal Kumar Paliwal, Hridesh and Arvind Kumar Singh.
• It is noteworthy that the sanctioned strength of judges in the Madhya Pradesh High Court is 53, out of which 30 judges including the Chief Justice are working at present.
• There was a demand for the appointment of judges in the High Court for a long time. After this, the above-mentioned names were recommended to the President. After getting the approval from the President, the Law and Judicial Department has issued orders to appoint the above names as Judges in the High Court.

Constitution of Various Committees in Haryana Vidhan Sabha

Why in News?

On April 26, 2023, Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Gyanchand Gupta constituted various committees in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.

Key Points

• MLA Ghanshyam Das Arora has been nominated as chairperson of the petition committee for the year 2023-24, while the members include MLA Jagbir Singh Malik, Geeta Bhukkal, Shakuntala Khatak, Leela Ram, Laxman Singh Yadav, Sanjay Singh, Ram Niwas and Sombir Sangwan.
• Apart from this, MLA Varun Chaudhary has been appointed as the chairperson in the Public Accounts Committee. MLAs Seema Trikha, Ram Kumar Kashyap, Narendra Gupta, Bhavya Bishnoi, Amit Sihag, Surendra Panwar, Jogi Ram Sihag and Randhir Singh Golan have been included as the members of the committee.
• In the Rules Committee Vidhan Sabha Speaker Gyanchand Gupta has been included as ex-officio chairperson and MLAs Bhupendra Singh Hooda, Kiran Chaudhary, Geeta Bhukkal, Ghanshyam Das Arora, Dr. Abhay Singh Yadav, Naina Singh Chautala and Sudhir Kumar Singla as members.
• Similarly, in the Subordinate Legislation Committee, MLA Ishwar Singh has been included as the chairman and MLAs Jagbir Singh Malik, Abhay Singh Chautala, Jaibir Singh, Dr. Abhay Singh Yadav, Bishamber Singh, Amit Sihag, Induraj have been included as the members. Haryana Advocate General and MLA Laxman Singh Yadav has been inducted as a special invitee.

Decision to Increase DA of State Employees to 42 Percent

Why in News?

In the state cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Hemant Soren it was decided to increase the dearness allowance of state government employees from 34 percent to 42 percent.

Key Points

• Vandana Dadel, Cabinet Secretary for Coordination said that due to the increase, the govt. treasury would be burdened by Rs 441.52 crore per year. The additional installment of dearness allowance to the employees will be effective from January 1, 2023.
• As per information, in the revised pay scale (7th Central Pay Scale) that is effective from 1st January 2016 an increase in the rates of Dearness Allowance has been approved with effect from January 1, 2023.
• State employees whose pay scale or pay structure (seventh pay scale revision) has been revised from January 1, 2016, to January 18, 2017, will start getting the benefit of 42 percent dearness allowance from January 1, 2023.
• In another decision, the cabinet has also approved the proposal for amendment in the standard form of Scheduled Tribe and Caste certificate. Now the prescribed Form Five (Form-5) of the Central Government will also be applicable in Jharkhand.
• Apart from this, the cabinet meeting also approved setting up of the Sub-Divisional Court at Chakradharpur in West Singhbhum district and appointment of administrators in Urban Local Bodies.

MoU Signed Between AIIMS and Pinnacle Company for Air Ambulance Service

Why in News?

On April 27, 2023, an MoU was signed between AIIMS Rishikesh and Pinnacle Company to operate an air ambulance. Air ambulance service will be operated from AIIMS for emergency and trauma services from May.

Key Points

• Air ambulance service will be started for the first time with the cooperation of the Central and State Governments to take serious patients to AIIMS immediately for emergency and trauma services.
• Dr. Meenu Singh, Director of AIIMS Rishikesh, said that Pinnacle Company will provide service for air ambulances, while Pawan Hans will provide helicopter for air ambulance. The service will be started as soon as the helicopters become available.
• For air ambulance service, 50 trips have been fixed in a month. A team of doctors at AIIMS Rishikesh will decide whether a patient needs an air ambulance immediately for emergency and trauma services or not. The patient's condition will be monitored through telemedicine.

President Approves Appointment of Three New Judges in Uttarakhand High Court

Why in News?

On April 27, 2023, the President approved the appointment of three new judges in the Uttarakhand High Court. These include Senior Advocate Rakesh Thapliyal, Advocate Pankaj Purohit and High Court Registrar General Vivek Bharti Sharma. They will be administered the oath by Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi.

Key Points

• It is known that at present five judges including the Chief Justice were working in the Uttarakhand High Court. Now the number of judges will be eight.
• Originally, senior advocate Rakesh Thapliyal, a resident of Khatasayun Shrikot in Pauri Garhwal, was the Assistant Solicitor General of the Central Government in the Uttarakhand High Court. He has got this responsibility thrice since 2014. After the formation of Uttarakhand High Court, he came to Nainital High Court in 2000. Became the Standing Counsel of the Central Government in 2002 and resigned from this post after 11 months.
• Registrar General Vivek Bharti Sharma is a 2005 Uttarakhand batch Higher Judiciary Service judicial officer. He started practicing in the Delhi High Court in 1990 and was appointed Standing Counsel in the Delhi High Court on behalf of the Government of Delhi. Later he became the Standing Counsel of the Government of India. After getting selected in the Higher Judicial Service, he was Additional District Judge Haridwar, Haldwani, Nainital.
• Vivek Bharti Sharma also became Principal District Judge Pithoragarh and Pauri. He has also served as the Law Advisor to the Governor. He has also been the Chairman of Commercial Taxes Tribunal, Director of Ujala Bhowali and District Judge, Haridwar. In April 2022, he was made the Registrar General of the High Court.
• Advocate Pankaj Purohit, a resident of Deval Gwad Chamoli, was registered with the Allahabad Bar Council in 1992. From 1997 he started practicing in Allahabad High Court. After the formation of Uttarakhand state, he started practicing in Uttarakhand High Court. He has been an advocate for Insurance Companies, District Panchayats, Municipalities, State Subordinate Services Selection Commission, Sitapur Eye Hospital etc.
• In May 2017, he became the Deputy Advocate General in the Uttarakhand High Court but left the post after some time.