Uttar Pradesh

• 30 Mar 2022

3rd National Water Award: Uttar Pradesh Best State

Why in News?

On March 29, 2022, President Ram Nath Kovind presented the first prize to Uttar Pradesh in the 'Best State' category for its best performance towards water conservation at the 3^rd National Water Awards distribution ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

Key Points

• President Ram Nath Kovind also launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain Campaign 2022, along with felicitating the third National Water Award winners.
• On this occasion the First Information Brochure of the 7^th edition of India's International Water Resources Program 'India Water Week-2022' (IWW- 2022) was released. It will be organized from November 1-5, 2022 at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida.
• The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, presented 57 awards in 11 different categories to states, organizations, individuals etc.
• These categories include- Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best Media (Print & Electronic), Best School, Best Institution/RWA/Religious Organization for Campus Use, Best Industry, Best NGO, Best Water User in these categories Consortium and best industries for CSR activity.
• Some of these categories also have sub-categories for different regions of the country. The award winners in various categories were given citations, trophies and cash prizes.
• Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu received the second and third prizes respectively in the 'Best State' category.
• It is worth mentioning that the first National Water Award was started in 2018 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Jal Shakti Abhiyan and Jal Jeevan Mission were launched in 2019 to convert the water movement into a mass movement, in which many recharge structures were built and crores of people participated in it.
• Jal Shakti Abhiyan-II: 'Catch the Rain, Where it Falls, When it Falls' was launched by the Prime Minister on March 22, 2021 on the occasion of World Water Day, which was launched in all the districts (rural as well as urban areas) of the country during the pre-monsoon and monsoon period, i.e. from March 2021 to November 30, 2021.
• Some new features have been added in Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain 2022, such as spring shed development, protection of catchment areas, gender mainstreaming in water sector. Gender mainstreaming in the water sector is expected to boost the role of women in water conservation and management.

Satish Mahana: Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly

Why in News?

On March 29, 2022, senior BJP leader Satish Mahana was elected as the Speaker of the Eighteenth Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points

• Pro-tem speaker Ramapati Shastri announced the election in the house.
• Former cabinet minister Satish Mahana, replacing Pandit Hriday Narayan Dixit, is the 23rd Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and 18th person to be elected as the Speaker.
• Satish Mahana has been elected MLA for the eighth consecutive time from Maharajpur (Kanpur). He was first elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1991.
• It is noteworthy that Purushottam Das Tandon was the first Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Kesarinath Tripathi had held the post of president for the maximum 13 years.