• 30 Sep 2023

Uttar Pradesh Achieves 100% ODF Plus Coverage under Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin

Why In News?

On September 28, 2023, Uttar Pradesh achieved 100% ODF Plus coverage under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) Phase II.

Key Points:

• All the 95,767 villages in Uttar Pradesh, i.e. 100% villages under Phase II of the Mission have achieved ODF Plus status. ODF Plus Village is one that has maintained its Open Defecation Free (ODF) status along with implementing solid or liquid waste management systems.
• So far, 4.4 lakh (75%) villages across the country have declared themselves ODF Plus, a significant step towards achieving the goals of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) Phase II by 2024-25.
• In the current financial year as on January 1, 2023, there were only 15,088 villages in Uttar Pradesh that were declared ODF plus. In a short span of just 9 months, the state made efforts to achieve ODF Plus in mission mode.
• In the last 9 months, more than 80,000 villages achieved ODF plus status and this accelerated pace resulted in the time-bound achievement of ODF Plus.
• Capacity building at panchayat level and on-site support were key factors for faster implementation.
• Out of 95,767 ODF plus villages, 81,744 villages are ODF plus aspirational villages with provision of solid waste management or liquid waste management, 10,217 villages are ODF plus emerging villages with both solid waste management and liquid waste management and 3,806 villages are ODF.
• The ODF Plus Model Village is one which is maintaining its ODF status and has both solid waste management and liquid waste management and inspects visual hygiene, i.e., minimum waste, minimum stagnant waste water, no plastic waste dumping in public places and where ODF plus information, Education and Communication (IEC) messages are displayed.

Second Badminton Talent Search Competition Started in Bhagalpur

Why In News?

On September 28, 2023, the 2nd Badminton Talent Search Competition was started by the Bihar State Sports Authority at the Indoor Stadium located in Bhagalpur.

Key Points:

• The programme will continue till September 30. More than 240 players from different districts of the state are participating in it.
• The second badminton talent program Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 boys and girls' competitions will be organized at The Indoor Stadium in Bhagalpur.
• District Sports Officer Jainarayan Kumar said that the selected players will be trained at the Gopichand Badminton Academy run by the Bihar State Sports Authority in Hyderabad.
• Anshika Arya of Samastipur became the winner in the Under-15 girls category in the match played on the first day. Yashika Anand of Lakhisarai was the runner-up. In the Under-17 girls category, Shivangi Kumari of Khagaria was the winner and Riya Kumari of Madhubani was the runner-up.

Governor Inaugurated Hanumanji Ropeway

Why In News?

On September 28, 2023, Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra inaugurated the ropeway at Hanuman Ji Temple in Khole, Jaipur.

Key Points:

• This ropeway is built from Annapurna Mata Temple located in Hanuman Ji Temple to Vaishno Devi Mata Temple. With its construction, religious tourism will get a boost here.
• It is known that this place of Hanuman ji of Khole is Tapobhoomi. Sant Nirmal Das Ji Maharaj had done penance at this site and the temple construction work was done here by Pandit Radheshyam Choubey.
• In 1961, Pandit Radhelal Choubey established the Narwar Ashram Seva Samiti for the development of the temple.
• About the history of the temple:
• In the 60s, due to the fear of wild animals in the deserted place between the rainy drains and mountains flowing in the valley of the eastern hills of the city, the city dwellers could not even move here, then a courageous Brahmin turned to this deserted place and discovered a huge statue of Hanumanji lying on the mountain here.
• Seeing God in this deserted forest, the Brahmin started serving and worshiping Maruti Nandan Shri Hanuman ji here and he did not leave the place until he died.
• When this place was uninhabited, rainwater used to flow here from the depths of the mountains, that is why the temple was named Khole Ke Hanumanji.

The Public Health Engineering Minister inaugurated and Laid the Foundation Stone of 6 Development and Beautification Works in Hawa Mahal Zone.

Why In News?

On September 28, 2023, Rajasthan Public Health Engineering Minister Dr. Mahesh Joshi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 6 development and beauty works being done by Jaipur Smart City Limited at a cost of Rs 61.40 crore in Hawa Mahal zone.

Key Points:

• These development and beauty work include degree colleges, hospitals, fire stations, Chowgan Stadium and decorative lights.
• The Public Health Engineering Minister inaugurated the newly constructed Government Degree College by Jaipur Smart City Limited at a cost of Rs 13.86 crore at Santosh Colony, Kanwar Nagar, Brahmapuri and dedicated it to the public. With the opening of the degree college, now all the students and their parents in this area will be comfortable.
• The land area of this college is a minimum of 13580 square meters, in which a new college building, auditorium building, and sports facilities have been constructed.
• The work of installing smart decorative poles on the main roads of Hawa Mahal assembly constituency will be done at a cost of Rs 2.57 crore, in which double arm poles of 9 meters and 5 meters height are being installed. These poles have been constructed according to the heritage of Jaipur, which will also reduce the cost of electricity.
• Under the project, these smart decorative poles will be installed at places like Zorawar Singh Gate to Jal Mahal, Jhulelal Temple to Rajmal Ka Talab, Tourism Police Station to Kale Hanuman Ji Road, Karbala Dargah to Old Bus Stand etc.
• The 300-bed Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Government Hospital is being constructed at Gangauri Bazar in an area of 6000 square meters at a cost of Rs. 44.61 crore. A fire station has been inaugurated in this hospital building complex.
• With the presence of the said hospital, the common people will get the benefit of women's diseases, cardiology, orthopedics, neurology, surgery, urology, dentistry as well as eye, nose, throat and other specialist medical services.

Kurukshetra University's Network will be Strengthened at International Level, MoU signed with Seven Universities

Why In News?

Kurukshetra University (KU) in Kurukshetra district of Haryana signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with seven reputed international universities during the 29th IMT-GT meeting held in blended mode in Batam city of Indonesia on September 27, 2023.

Key Points:

• The agreement was signed by Prof. Somnath Sachdeva, Vice Chancellor of Kurukshetra University (KU).
• The agreement includes six Indonesian universities- Syiah Kuala University, Universitas Lampung, Maritime University of Raja Ali Haji, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Universitas Jambi, and Universitas Riau.
• Apart from this, a University of Technology, Mara of Malaysia has also become part of this agreement.
• Kurukshetra University (KU) will establish a strong network of academic partnerships with these seven prestigious international universities, enabling students and faculty members to exchange.
• The MoU will establish an important academic partnership with Kurukshetra University's Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle University Network (IMT-GT Unit). The IMT UNINET network comprises 27 universities from three countries.
• “Through these MoUs, KU has become the first university in the country to expedite the implementation of projects and programmes of cooperation between IMT-GT and India.
• Speaking on the occasion, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Somnath Sachdeva said that a new era has been ushered in for academic excellence and international cooperation for the University. These MoUs will provide new avenues, which will provide many opportunities for our students to be actively involved in the internationalization of higher education in line with the National Education Policy 2020.
• During this agreement, the country's High Commissioner to Malaysia B.N. Prof. R.K. Reddy, Prof. T.S., Dr. Haja Rozia Mohammed, Janor and Vice Chancellors of seven participating universities from Indonesia and Malaysia participated.

Sarabjot of Ambala won Gold Medal in Asian Games

Why In News?

On September 28, 2023, Sarabjot Singh, a resident of village Dhin in Ambala district of Haryana, won the gold medal in shooting on the 5th day of the 19th Asian Games being held in Hangzhou, China.

Key Points:

• In the Asian Games, the trio of Sarabjot Singh and his two other teammates Arjun Cheema and Shiv Narwal won gold in the 10m pistol men's event with a score of 1734.
• In the men's 10m air pistol event, Pham Kwang Hui of Vietnam won gold, Wonho Lee of Republic of Korea won silver and Vladimir Svechnikov of Uzbekistan won bronze.
• Sarabjot finished fourth with a score of 199.0, while Arjun Cheema finished eighth with a score of 113.3.
• It is known that Sarabjot is training at Abhishek Rana's shooting academy at Phoenix Club in Cantonment. Sarabjot has so far won around 21 medals.
• Sarabjot's achievements:
• Sarabjot Singh has set many records in shooting at the age of 20. He has also won the gold medal in the ISSF World Cup Shooting Junior Championships in Doha, Taipei, Germany.
• He won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol team shooting event at the ISSF Junior World Cup held in Germany in May 2022.
• In the 65th National Shooting Championship held in Bhopal, he won gold in the single 10m air pistol and team event.
• In the 10m air pistol, he has won about 20 medals at the national and international level.

Retired Roadways Employees will get Cashless Treatment Facility through Golden Card.

Why In News?

On September 27, 2023, Dr. Anand Srivastava, Managing Director of Uttarakhand Transport Corporation, issued an order regarding the facility of unlimited cashless treatment under the health scheme to retired employees and their dependents.

Key Points:

• According to the order issued on the instructions of the Managing Director, salary level 1-5 employees, pensioners and family pensioners will have to contribute Rs 250 per month, salary level 6 employees will have to contribute Rs 450 per month, salary level 7-11 employees will have to contribute Rs 650 per month and salary level 12 employees will have to contribute Rs 1000 per month.
• Retired personnel from the Corporation can get the Golden Card by paying an annual contribution (12 months) on retirement after a minimum of 10 years of service.
• Those who deposit a one-time contribution of 10 years can avail themselves of the golden card facility for life.
• In this regard, instructions have been given to all divisional managers to ensure that the contribution of retired personnel and dependents who fill in the Golden Card form is deposited in the Corporation Fund.

International Road Show: Uttarakhand signs MoU on investment of Rs 9000 Crore

Why In News?

On September 26-27, 2023, the Uttarakhand government signed MoUs with investors for an investment of Rs 9,000 crore during two-day roadshows in London and Birmingham as part of the international roadshow for the proposed Global Investors Summit in December.

Key Points:

• On the second day of the international roadshow on September 27, an MoU was signed on investment of Rs 7000 crore under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, while on the first day an MoU of Rs 2000 crore was signed.
• As many as 80 industry houses from education, tourism, IT and health sectors participated in the meeting.
• Two separate MoUs with industry conglomerate Cayenne Jet include Rs 4,500 crore with Jet and Rs 1,000 crore with Usha Breco and Rs 1,500 crore with different companies in Birmingham.
• Kayan will invest in the jet cable car project, and it has also been agreed to develop ski resorts in Auli, Dayara Bugyal and Munsiyari. Usha Breco Limited will invest in ropeways in Haridwar and other districts.
• On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that the government is constantly working towards making Uttarakhand a global tourism destination. There are many possibilities in wellness and rural tourism in the state.
• Rishikesh is known as the global capital of yoga and spirituality. Tourists from Europe and other countries come to the state every year in large numbers for yoga spirituality. The government is in talks with investors to set up a world-class convention centre.