• 30 May 2022

Basti will be Renamed as 'Vashishtha Nagar'

Why in News?

• On May 28, 2022, District Magistrate of Basti, Uttar Pradesh, Soumya Agarwal, informed that the proposal to rename the basti as 'Vashishtha Nagar' after Maharishi Vashishtha has been sent again to the Revenue Council.

Key Points

• DM Soumya Agarwal said that a proposal to change the name of Basti district has been sent to the government after obtaining consent from all the departments of the district.
• He said that the expenses incurred on changing the name of the district will be borne by all the departments together. There will be no additional government expenditure for this. A report to this effect has also been given by the Public Works Department.
• The resolution mentions that due to the ashram of Maharishi Vashishtha (the kulguru of Lord Shrirama) in basti in the Ramayana period, it was named Vashishti. At the Makhaura Dham located here, King Dashrath performed the Putreshti Yajna with the inspiration of Maharishi Vashishtha.
• Earlier, on November 16, 2019, the proposal was sent on behalf of the then District Magistrate Ashutosh Niranjan. When the Council sought information about the expenditure on renaming, a huge expenditure of one crore was stated, due to which the process could not proceed.
• It may be recalled that after renaming the names of Allahabad and Faizabad, in the year 2019, the demand for renaming of Basti district as Vashishtha Nagar started gaining momentum. Meanwhile, chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced to rename the medical college in basti after Maharishi Vashishtha, giving it more strength.
• Basti district has historical, cultural and geographical importance. In ancient times it used to be a part of the Kosala Empire. In 1865, it was separated from Gorakhpur to become a district and in the year 1997 it was made a an Administrative Division (mandal).

Bihar Government Allows Exploration of Country's Largest Gold Reserves in Jamui district

Why in News?

• On May 28, 2022, Bihar Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Mines Commissioner Harjot Kaur Babra said that the Bihar government has decided to give permission for exploration of the country's largest gold reserve in Jamui district.

Key Points

• Harjot Kaur Babra said that the state mines and geology department is in consultation with the agencies engaged in the investigation including GSI and National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) to explore the gold reserves in Jamui.
• He said the consultation process began after analysing the findings of GSI, which indicated the presence of gold in areas like Karmatia, Jhajha and Sono in Jamui district.
• According to the Geological Survey of India (GSI), jamui district has a reserve of about 222.88 million tonnes of gold, including 37.6 tonnes of mineralized ore.
• The state government is likely to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a central agency or agencies for the discovery of the G3 (preliminary) phase within a month. In some areas, G2 (general) exploration can also be carried out.
• Union Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi had told the Lok Sabha last year that Bihar has the largest share in India's gold reserves. In a written reply, he had said that Bihar has 222.885 million tonnes of gold metal, which is 44% of the country's total gold reserves.
• According to the National Mineral Inventory, the total resources of primary gold ore in the country as on 1.4.2015 are estimated to be 501.83 million tonnes with 654.74 tonnes of gold metal and of this 222.885 million tonnes is present in Bihar.

Inaugration and Player Felicitation Ceremony at SMS Stadium

Why in News?

• On May 29, 2022, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot inaugurated the Rajasthan High Performance Sports and Rehabilitation Centre, renovated synthetic hockey astroturf and badminton indoor hall at the Inaugration and Player Felicitation Ceremony at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Key Points

• At the same time, the Chief Minister felicitated the medal winners of Rajasthan in Olympics and Para-Olympics and those who have qualified in Asian Games, 2022 and Commonwealth Games, 2022.
• Apart from this, the Chief Minister launched an online portal to give grants to the medal winning sportspersons.
• The Chief Minister said that about 229 sportspersons of Rajasthan who have excelled, have been given appointments in government services under the out-of-turn policy, along with a provision of 2 per cent reservation for sportspersons.
• He said that the Arjuna and Dronacharya Awardees along with medal winners of Olympics, Para-Olympics, Asian and Commonwealth Games will be given sports person pension.
• The Chief Minister also announced allotment of 25-25 bighas of land (free of cost) to Olympic and Para-Olympic medal winners and to increase the prize money of Guru Vashishtha and Maharana Pratap Awards.

India's First Hybrid Power Plant Started in Jaisalmer

Why in News?

• On May 28, 2022, Vineet S. Jain, MD and CEO of Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), informed that Adani Hybrid Energy Jaisalmer Forest Limited (AHEJOL), a subsidiary of AGEL, has started a 390 MW hybrid power plant in Jaisalmer with a combination of wind and solar energy, the first of its kind hybrid power generation plant in the country.

Key Points

• The new plant has a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), with a tariff of Rs 2.69 per kW, which is significantly lower than the Average Power Purchase Cost (APPC) at the national level.
• With the successful commissioning of the plant, the operational capacity of Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) has gone up to 5.8 GW. This is a milestone towards AGEL's total renewable portfolio of 20.4 GW fulfilling its vision of 45 GW capacity by 2030.
• Vineet S. Jain pointed out that the integrated hybrid power plant through solar and wind power generation harnesses the full potential of renewable energy by resolving the production gap and provides a more reliable solution to meet the growing power demand.
• The project is a part of the first construction facility by international banks in Adani Green.

Campus Ambassadors to Collaborate in Voter Awareness Campaign

Why in News?

• On May 29, 2022, Madhya Pradesh State Election Commissioner Basant Pratap Singh directed the Collector and District Election Officers to launch a 'Voter Awareness Campaign' to make voters aware of voting, appeal for voting and inform them about the innovations made by the Commission for the General Elections to Municipal Bodies and Three Tier Panchayats, 2022.

Key Points

• He asked the officials to motivate/educate the voters under the 'Voter Awareness Campaign' in the local schools/colleges. He also directed some students from universities, who can provide leadership, to appoint Campus Ambassadors .
• The Campus Ambassador will be selected on the basis of the list provided by the Principal, Vice-Chancellor of the colleges/universities by the District Election Officer by marking his fair, clean and non-political image.
• District Election Officer at his level can also make an appointment with the help of N.C.C./N.S.S...
• The Campus Ambassador will be selected for one academic session only. In
  co-educational colleges, 2 Campus Ambassadors (one male student and one female student) will be selected.
• The campus ambassador should not be in affiliation with any political party or should not be involved in any political activity. The family of the campus ambassador also should not be associated with any political party or political activity.
• In the event of any complaint regarding conduct and behavior against the campus ambassador, the head of the institution will immediately investigate and take appropriate action. Police verification of each campus ambassador will be mandatory by the district administration.
• The campus ambassadors will inform the voters about the dates of the voting process and various innovations made by the Commission etc. The Scout-Guide will coordinate with the National Service Scheme (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to seek their cooperation in voter awareness.
• For conducting the activities of Voter Awareness Campaign (SENSE), a team of active members will be made to aware the voters.
• After the appointment of the District Election Officer, the Campus Ambassador will apprise him/her of his/her role, responsibilities, the work to be done by him/her, activities, goals, possible achievements and action plans and provide him/her with brief training. The District Election Officer will provide the necessary materials, guidance, and support to the campus ambassador for the Voter Awareness Campaign Work.
• The District Election Officers will assess the various activities to be carried out from time to time and receive reports. The nodal officers appointed for the activities of SENSE shall send the reports (including photographs) to the Commission from time to time.
• The campus ambassadors who have done outstanding work at the district level will be identified and their names will be recommended and honored with a citation at the function to be held on the occasion of the National Festival.

WHO Award to Jharkhand for Tobacco Control

Why in News?

• On May 29, 2022, Lalit Ranjan Pathak, nodal officer of The National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) of Jharkhand, informed that Jharkhand has been selected by the World Health Organization for the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) Award, 2022 for its efforts to control tobacco consumption.

Key Points

• The State Tobacco Control Cell of the Jharkhand Health Department will receive the award on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day in New Delhi on May 31.
• According to the report of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS)-1, when the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) was launched in Jharkhand in 2012, the tobacco prevalence rate in the state was 51.1 per cent, of which 48 per cent were non-smoking users.
• The report, published in 2018, said the number of tobacco users in the state declined to 38.9 per cent, of which 35.4 per cent were non-smoking users.
• Ranjan Pathak pointed out that Jharkhand initiated several measures between 2018 and 2022. The Union Health Ministry, WHO and dedicated State and District Health Teams have contributed immensely in reducing the tobacco prevalence rate in Jharkhand.

Regional Offices of Directorate General of Mines Safety increased from 29 to 38

Why in News?

• On May 29, 2022, the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS), Dhanbad, issued a notification increasing the number of regional offices from 29 to 38.

Key Points

• After more than a decade, the regional offices of the Directorate General of Mines Safety have been reconstituted and their number has been increased. However, there is no change in the number of zones (currently 8).
• Two regional offices each have been added at Eastern Zone Sitarampur, South-Eastern Zone Ranchi, Southern Zone Bangalore, Western Zone Nagpur and North-Western Zone Udaipur, one each at South Central Zone Hyderabad and Northern Zone Ghaziabad.
• Guwahati Region-2 in Eastern Zone Sitarampur, Bhubaneswar Region-2 in South-Eastern Zone Ranchi, Bellary Region-2 in Southern Zone Bangalore, Parsia Region-2 in Western Zone Nagpur, Ahmedabad Region-2 in North-Western Zone Udaipur, Nellore Region and Hyderabad Region-3 in South Central Zone Hyderabad and Srinagar Region and Ajmer Region-2 in Northern Zone Ghaziabad have been added.
• It may be mentioned that earlier the regional offices of DGMS were restructured in the year 2009, then the existing 6 zones with 6 zones, 21 regional offices and 5 sub-regional offices were brought down to the current level of 29 regional zones with 2 new zones and 3 sub-regional offices.
• 2 new zones - Southern Zone and North-Western Zone and 8 new Regional Offices- Varanasi, Surat, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bellary, Guwahati (Upgradation from Sub-Regional to Regional), Raigarh and Gwalior were formed. At that time, the Ramgarh sub-regional office was transferred to Ranchi and the Southern-Eastern Zone was merged with Ranchi.

Tourist Information Centre Inaugurated at Tatamari

Why in News?

• On May 29, 2022, in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, the sisters of self-help group dedicated the Tourist Information Centre built at Tatamari to provide information about tourism facilities in Kondagaon district.

Key Points

• Lakshmi Sahu, president of the women's group and Jayanti Dhruv, member of the women's group working at Bihan Canteen in Tatamari, inaugurated the centre of Tatamari by cutting the lace.
• The centre has been constructed by the Forest and Climate Change Department at a cost of about Rs 25.36 lakh. A training co-production centre has also been set up in this tourist information centre.
• On the occasion, the Chief Minister released a booklet and logo focused on the Mawa Kondanar tourism circuit.
• The Mawa Kondanar tourism circuit is being developed in Kondagaon district with the objective of harnessing the potential of immense tourism and to provide employment to the local people.
• For this, a 3 day and 2 night tourism package has been prepared, in which tourists will be able to get acquainted with the panoramic valleys, more than 20 waterfalls, archaeological remains, tribal civilization-culture, prehistoric rock paintings, unique culture of Kondagaon in the vicinity of Nature.

Driving License and Registration Certificate with QR coded on Polycarbonate Based Card

Why in News?

• As per the information received from government sources on May 29, 2022, in order to further strengthen and strengthen the facility 'Tuhar Sarkar Tuhar Dwar' being provided by the Transport Department of the State, all the 'Driving Licenses' and 'Registration Certificates' issued in the State will now be on polycarbonate based and QR coded cards.

Key Points

• Significantly, the Integrated Driving License and Registration Certificate is to be issued by the Department of Surface and Transport (MoRTH), Government of India in compliance with the Ordinance issued in the year 2019, under which the Transport Department of Chhattisgarh has recently completed the tendering process and the scheme has been launched at the regional level from May 17, 2022.
• The printing of driving licence and registration certificate will be carried out at 'Centralized Card Printing and Dispatch Unit' Pandri Raipur and will be sent to the house of the applicants through India Post under the proposed scheme of Government of Chhattisgarh.
• Under this new system, polycarbonate driving licenses and registration certificates with 'QR code' will be issued. Polycarbonate cards are of high quality and long lasting, on which printing is done through laser. The cards will be issued meeting the standards set by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, New Delhi (MoRTH).
• The printing of polycarbonate driving licence and registration certificate with 'QR code' of the new format will be carried out by MCT Cards and Technology Pvt. Ltd. This company is an IT company of Manipal Karnataka, which is a pioneer in this field and has been doing similar works in other States.
• The 'Tuhar Sarkar Tuhar Dwar' scheme run by the Transport Department is a very important scheme for the convenience of the people. With the public amenities related to the Transport Department sitting at home so easily, people no longer need to make frequent rounds of the Transport Department. This will save the time and money of the applicants.