• 30 Oct 2023

Uttar Pradesh Taps the Country in Providing Tap Connections under 'Har Ghar Jal Yojana'

Why In News?

According to the information received from the media on October 27, 2023, Uttar Pradesh is at the top position in the country in providing tap connections under the 'Har Ghar Jal Yojana' of Jal Jeevan Mission. Till now, the Uttar Pradesh government has provided pure tap water to 1 crore, 60 lakh, 57 thousand, and 65 rural families.

Key Points:

• On behalf of Namami Gange and Rural Water Supply Department, a mega campaign to provide clean drinking water to the rural population in the state has been started to provide clean water to rural areas through the Har Ghar Jal Yojana of Jal Jeevan Mission.
• Uttar Pradesh has become the state providing the most tap connections. Under the scheme, work is being done to provide tap connections to more than 40 thousand villagers every day in the state.
• In Uttar Pradesh, just 5 lakh 16 thousand 221 families had tap connections prior to 2019. In contrast, over 1 crore 60 lakh rural families in the state have received clean drinking water at their homes over the past three and a half years.
• Har Ghar Jal Yojana-
• It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2019. By 2024, the mission aims to provide every rural household with access to 55 litres of water per person per day via the Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC).
• It comes under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• The mission aims to ensure the functionality of existing water supply systems and water connections, water quality monitoring and testing as well as sustainable agriculture.
• This guarantees that water is conserved jointly. Along with this, it also ensures enhancement of the drinking water source, drinking water supply system, grey water treatment, and re-use.

Plan to Install Solar Plates on the Banks of Californias Approved

Why In News?

Chief Minister on October 29, 2023 While approving the plan of installing solar plates on the banks of canals, Nitish Kumar gave instructions to implement it at a rapid pace.

Key Points:

• This scheme is to be implemented by the electricity company through BREDA. The plan to install grid-connected solar panels along the canals is a priority of the government.
• For the plan of installing a large number of solar plates in a row along the canals, the Water Resources Department has provided its No Objection Certificate to the power company for all the canals of the state.
• Now the power company will not need to take any separate permission for the work of installing solar panels on the banks of different canals.
• The power company had planned to launch its scheme of installing grid-connected solar plates along the canals in the Bikram area of Patna Canal. This was meant as a pilot project.
• It took seven to eight months to obtain inter-departmental approval for this project. After this, the Water Resources Department has given approval to the power company with the condition that it should leave the path of vehicles going to clean the canals and carry out its work. After this permission, the work on the pilot project proceeded.
• The power company has gotten a DPR from a Gujarat company on the feasibility of this project. This model has been quite successful in Gujarat. The problem of land for installation of solar panels has been solved due to availability of straight land on the banks of the canal.

Bhagalpur Tops the Entire State in Providing Employment to Youth

Why In News?

On October 29, 2023, the Planning Department of Bihar released the ranking of all the districts on the progress of the month of September, in which Bhagalpur is at the top of the entire state in providing employment to the youth of Bihar.

Key Points:

• Bhagalpur got 100 percent marks out of the total score of 100, while the other five districts of the state, Kaimur, Nalanda, Saharsa, Samastipur, and Vaishali, also got 100 percent marks, but Bhagalpur had the highest target and was successful in achieving the target. Has been ranked number one when it happens.
• Assistant Director (Planning) Bharat Ji Ram said that the department has assessed the performance of the districts in four categories. 30 marks were fixed for completing the target in registration of job seekers on the National Career Service Portal, 20 marks for career and vocational guidance, 30 marks for organising job camps, 10 marks for inspection, and 10 marks for submitting inspection report.
• In this, Bhagalpur got 1011 registrations done, against the target of one thousand registrations. The target was to organise four camps for vocational guidance; five were organised. In career and participation, 255 came against the target of 200. Against the target of 4 job camps, 9 were organised to provide employment. In this case, 105 out of 105 were given jobs. Apart from this, 100% marks were obtained in both components of inspection.
• Sequential ranking of 38 districts: Bhagalpur, Kaimur, Nalanda, Saharsa, Samastipur, Vaishali, Saran, Buxar, Gopalganj, Patna, Begusarai, Motihari, Lakhisarai, Darbhanga, Kishanganj, Jamui, Nawada, Munger, Bhojpur, Sheikhpura, Siwan, Supaul Katihar, Khagaria, Rohtas, Madhepura, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Bettiah, Purnia, Arwal, Muzaffarpur, Jehanabad, Gaya, Shivhar, Banka, Araria, and Aurangabad.

State Government will Provide Accommodation to 5 lakh Teachers of Bihar

Why In News?

On October 29, 2023, the Bihar government decided to provide accommodation to 5 lakh teachers in the state. Recently, the result of 1 lakh 22 thousand teachers was released by Bihar Public Service Commission.

Key Points:

• Apart from those teachers, the state government has decided to provide accommodation to about 5 lakh teachers already working. Arrangements will be made to stay near the school so that there is no delay in reaching school.
• Houses will be rented by the Bihar government for teachers' residence up to the villages of the district, sub-division, block, and panchayat. Along with this, even if the real estate company builds a house and provides it, the government will also take it.
• The Education Department has asked interested landlords and real estate companies how many flats and houses can be made available immediately, as well as how many additional ones can be built in the next one or two years. Instructions have been given to make its list available on the website.
• The Education Department spends approximately Rs 33 thousand crores on teachers' salaries every year. Of this, 8 percent, i.e., approximately Rs 2500 crore, is spent on housing.
• According to the Education Department, after deducting the housing allowance, this money will be given to the houses taken on lease and to the real estate companies.
• The Education Department is working on two models to provide housing facilities to teachers in remote areas. Firstly, proposals have been sought from the owners of houses and multi-story buildings as to how many houses they can provide in which district, block, and gram panchayat, which are already made. The education department can hire him immediately.
• Second - Proposals have been sought from real estate companies or other interested land owners for constructing multi-storey buildings and buildings in the district, sub-division and block headquarters. Only teachers of the department will remain here. Private companies will build these buildings at their own expense. The education department will take them on long-term lease and pay rent every month.

Chief Minister Announced the launch of his 5 Big Guarantees for the Assembly Elections

Why In News?

On October 27, 2023, State Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced the launch of his 5 big guarantees for the Rajasthan Assembly elections 2023 by holding a press conference in the Congress War Room.

Key Points:

• The first guarantee in this list of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will be the Old Pension Scheme. It may be noted that in 2022, Gehlot had implemented the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) in place of New Pension Scheme in Rajasthan. Rajasthan was the first state in the country to do so. Now Chief Minister Gehlot will guarantee that if his government comes to power, OPS will continue.
• The second guarantee is a free laptop. Although the announcement of free laptops was part of the budget of this term of the Gehlot government, the scheme did not go beyond paper. Now Chief Minister Gehlot will guarantee that if the government comes, he will give free laptops to the students of government colleges.
• The third one is Go Dhan Pashu Guarantee. This guarantee has been launched by the Congress government of Chhattisgarh. Now the Gehlot government will also guarantee purchase of animal dung and cow urine in villages.
• The fourth is the guarantee of an English medium school. It is noteworthy that Gehlot government had launched the scheme to open English medium schools across the state. Now Chief Minister Gehlot will guarantee to take it forward and implement it at the Panchayat level.
• Fifth Chiranjeevi is a guarantee of disaster relief. The Gehlot government had launched Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme during this tenure. In this, each family is given health insurance of Rs 25 lakh. Now Gehlot will take this scheme forward and extend it to disaster relief.

Chief Minister launched 'Prana Vayu Devta Pension Scheme'

Why In News?

On October 26, 2023, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal formally inaugurated the pension scheme for 3,810 trees under the 'Prana Vayu Devta Pension Scheme'. Under the scheme, all these trees will be given a pension of Rs 2750 annually.

Key Points:

• The Chief Minister launched the Prana Vayu Devta Pension Scheme during a press conference organized to commemorate the completion of 9 years of the state government.
• It is noteworthy that Haryana is the first state in the country to implement such a scheme, the objective of which is to conserve healthy trees older than 75 years.
• On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that if there is a tree of 75 years or more in the courtyard of someone's house, then he can apply for pension by going to the forest department office of his respective district. The application will be evaluated by a committee and pension will be given to the beneficiary after verification of all the conditions.
• Under this scheme, 3,810 eligible trees of 75 years of age or more were identified by the district level conservation committees in the state. The annual pension amount of these Prana Vayu Devta Pension trees is Rs 2750. This amount will be deposited in the account of the tree protector for the maintenance and care of the tree. There will also be an annual increase in this pension amount in line with the old age respect allowance.
• The selected Prana Vayu Devta trees include about 40 species, of which Peepal, Banyan, Neem, Mango, Jaal, Gular, Krishna Kadamba, Pilkhan etc. are prominent. All these trees are Indian and have immense ecological importance.
• These old trees stand on various lands, such as private, panchayat, institutional and government properties. Trees standing on forest land are not included in this scheme.

Amendment in ' Deployment of Contract Personnel

Why In News?

On October 26, 2023, Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal issued a notification regarding important amendments made by the Haryana Government in the 'Deployment of Contract Personnel Policy, 2022'. These amendments in the selection criteria are aimed at making the recruitment process more inclusive and efficient.

Key Points:

• The notification said that the merit list of the candidates will now be prepared on the basis of scoring parameters like annual family income, age and socio-economic criteria of the candidate, skill qualification, common eligibility test, prior state experience etc.
• Maximum 40 marks will be based on the annual family income of the candidate as verified by Haryana Family Identification Authority, which includes 40 marks up to Rs 1,00,000, 30 marks between Rs 1,00,001 to 1,80,000, 20 marks between Rs 1,80,001 to Rs 3,00,000. Points, there will be scoring of 10 points from Rs 3,00,001 to Rs 6,00,000.
• Based on the age of the candidate at the time of job recommendation  A benefit of 10 marks will be given in the age group of 24 to 36 years and 5 marks in the age group of 36 to 42 years.
• Candidates will get maximum of 5 marks if they have a skill certificate from NCVT, SCVT, SVSU University recognized ITI relevant to the job. If the qualification is higher than the basic qualification in the same field, additional 5 marks will be given, in which minimum 8th pass will be mandatory.      
• Candidates will be given weightage of 10 marks based on socio-economic criteria, including 10 marks in case of orphan status,  5 marks are given in case of widow and 5 marks are also given for those candidates who do not have a father.
• Candidates who successfully qualify the Common Eligibility Test will receive 10 marks.
• Candidates who are residents of the same Block Municipal Corporation will get 10 marks and 5 marks will be given to those who are residents of adjacent Block, Municipal Corporation for which the job is notified, each Municipal Corporation will be treated as a separate block and Municipalities, Municipal councils will be considered part of the block.
• Additional 10 marks will be given to candidates having prior experience of working in any Department, Board, University, Public Sector Undertaking, Mission or Authority under the control of Haryana Government. Candidates will get 1 mark for each year of experience.
• The purpose of these amendments is to create a more comprehensive and fair selection process for contracts in Haryana. These changes are effective immediately and will be implemented for all future recruitments under this policy.
• Haryana Government offices in Chandigarh will be treated at par with District Panchkula. Haryana Government offices in New Delhi will be treated at par with districts Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar.
• The Board of Directors of Haryana Skill Employment Corporation Limited (HKRN) has been authorized to make changes in the scoring criteria in Clause 8.8 of the Contract Persons Deployment Policy, 2023.
• Under the revised policy, contract workers will be entitled to various types of leave, including casual and medical leave. Specifically, these employees will be entitled to avail one day of casual leave and one day of medical leave during each calendar month on a proportionate basis.
• This entitlement is valid up to a maximum of 10 days of casual leave and 10 days of medical leave during a calendar year. Additionally, women contract workers are eligible for maternity leave as per the provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
• There is age relaxation up to 42 years for contract employees and 5 years relaxation in upper age limit for reserved category candidates. Candidates with prior experience in Haryana Government organizations can avail age relaxation up to a maximum of 5 years.

Chief Minister Announced C losure of Six Toll Plazas in the State

Why In News?

Taking an important decision, on October 26, 2023, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal announced the closure of six toll plazas located on the state highways. Due to closure of these toll plazas, the public will save Rs 13.50 crore annually.

Key Points:

• Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, The Chief Minister said that three toll plazas - Village Bashirpur (Narnaul-Nizampur Road) near Rajasthan Border on State Highway-17, Village Tatiana (Kaithal-Patiala Road) near Punjab Border on State Highway-11, Village Gujjarwas (Subana-Kosli-Nahar-Kanina Road) on State Highway-22 will be closed from November 1, 2023.
• Similarly, the toll plaza on Punjab Border State Highway-8 near village Sangatpura on Kaithal-Khanauri road will be closed on November 10. The toll plaza located on Himachal Pradesh Border State Highway-4 near village Ashgarpur on Kala Amb-Sadhara-Shahabad road and Delhi Border State Highway-18 near village Ferozepur on Rohtak-Kharkhoda-Delhi road border will be closed on December 1, 2023.
• The chief minister said the decision to close these toll plazas was taken in view of the demands of the people living in the surrounding areas. The government has recognized the financial burden and inconvenience caused to the public by these toll plazas and has taken this step to provide relief to the public.

Chief Minister Announced Regularization of 190 Colonies in 10 Districts

Why In News?

On October 26, 2023, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal made a big announcement to regularize 190 colonies of 10 districts, moving towards institutional urban development in Haryana.

Key Points:

• The purpose of this decision of Chief Minister Manohar Lal is to give legal status to these colonies and ensure comprehensive infrastructure development.
• Addressing the press conference, the Chief Minister said that the state government will allocate approximately Rs 1400 crore for the overall development of these colonies.
• He said that out of 190 colonies being regularized, 100 colonies come under the jurisdiction of the Town and Country Planning Department, while the remaining 90 are under the purview of urban local bodies.
• With the announcement of regularization of these colonies, a total of 594 colonies have been successfully regularized this year.
• He said that the development works within the colonies managed by the Town and Country Planning Department will be supervised by the Haryana Urban Development Authority.
• Manohar Lal said that a total of 1673 colonies have been successfully regularized since 2014, whereas only 874 colonies were regularized during the tenure of the previous government.

Digi Locker of Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) online from November

Why In News?

On October 29, 2023, Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) Secretary SD Tigga informed that the Digi-Locker has been prepared. It will be made online for students from November.

Key Points:

• Secretary SD Tigga said that marksheets and certificates of all the examinations till 2023 have been uploaded in Digi-Locker. In this, migration certificate of students going from one board to another has also been uploaded. If students lose the original certificate and mark sheet, they will be able to obtain duplicate certificate and mark sheet online.
• Jack has also developed a verification system. This was announced on Jack's foundation day. It will be kept in the public domain.
• In this, any student will be able to get information by entering his/her name, parents' name, date of birth and year of passing. This system will also provide maximum marksheet and certificate verification.
• In other places, institutions will be able to easily get certificate verification from enrollment to appointment. For this, there will be no need to send a copy of the certificate and wait for its investigation report.
• Jack will correct the mistake in the admit card, mark sheet and certificate online. After the improvement, students will be able to get it online.
• You will be able to apply online with the prescribed fee and certificate. After the online application, the headmaster of the concerned school will forward it online. Jack will correct it in a certain time frame.

Government will Give Awards of Rs 5 to 10 lakh to Colleges

Why In News?

On October 28, 2023, the Uttarakhand state government issued an order regarding giving awards ranging from Rs 5 to 10 lakh to the government colleges of the state.

Key Points:

• This amount will be given according to grading done by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) to encourage assessment and positive competition among colleges.
• It has been said in the order that this amount received by the colleges as a reward can be spent only as per the arrangements given in the Uttarakhand Government College Student Fund Rules 2020.
• The award amount will be given to the colleges which got NAAC assessment done last year and the colleges which get NAAC assessment in future. Arrangements for the award will be made in the budget as per rules.
• According to the government order, this amount will be given to the colleges through the corpus fund constituted under the department. Colleges with B grade will be given an amount of Rs 5 lakh and colleges with A double plus will be given Rs 10 lakh as award.
• Apart from this, Rs 9 lakh will be given on A Plus grade, Rs 8 lakh on A grade, Rs 7 lakh on B Double Plus and Rs 6 lakh on B Plus.
• According to officials of the Higher Education Department, till now 27 colleges of the state have undergone NAAC evaluation. In the year 2022-23, 19 colleges have got NAAC evaluation done.
• Out of the 27 government colleges of the state which have undergone NAAC evaluation, none of the colleges have got A or A+ grade.
• Colleges which have undergone NAAC assessment include Government Post Graduate College Doiwala, College Chaubattakhal, Tanakpur, Lohaghat, Ranikhet, Dwarahat, Agastyamuni, Haldwani, Ramnagar, Pithoragarh, Kashipur, Uttarkashi, Berinag, Women's College Haldwani, Narendranagar, Kotdwar Bhabar, Raipur, Chakrata, Talwadi. , Kotdwar, Purola, Tuni, Chandrabadni, Haldu Chaud, Barkot and Government Post Graduate College, Karnaprayag.
• It is noteworthy that Education Minister Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat had given instructions for mandatory NAAC evaluation of all colleges in the department meeting held last year. The minister said that recognition of non-government colleges that do not do so by March 2023 will be terminated, while departmental action will be taken against the principals of government colleges.

Dr. Godiyal becomes acting chairman of Uttarakhand Public Service Commission

Why In News?

On October 28, 2023, the Personnel Department of Uttarakhand has issued a notification regarding the appointment of Dr. Ravidutt Godiyal, a senior member of the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, as the acting chairman.

Key Points:

• It may be noted that the post of Uttarakhand Public Service Commission Chairman Jagmohan Rana had become vacant after the completion of his tenure. After the approval of the Governor, the Personnel Department has made senior member of the Commission, Dr. Ravidutt Godiyal, the acting chairman.
• Dr. Jagmohan Singh Rana has been a member of the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission and was given the responsibility as acting chairman. However, after the completion of his tenure, the acting Chairman has now been appointed as the Chairman.
• It is noteworthy that retired IAS Rakesh Kumar had resigned from the post of Chairman of Uttarakhand Public Service Commission on June 11, 2023, after which he could not be appointed as the permanent Chairman in Uttarakhand Public Service Commission.

Concrete Wall will be Built Between the Longest Tunnel of Uttarakhand

Why In News?

On October 28, 2023, General Manager of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) Colonel Deepak Patil said that for the first time in the country, a concrete wall is being built in the middle of the longest tunnel of Uttarakhand under construction on Yamunotri Highway.

Key Points:

• General Manager of NHIDCL, Colonel Deepak Patil said that this will be the first tunnel in the country, in the middle of which a strong concrete wall is being built. With this, vehicles will run in their respective lanes and the possibility of accidents will be zero. However, in case of emergency, air tight doors will be made in the wall to go from one tunnel to another.
• Under the Chardham Road Project, 4.5 km stretch from Silkyara to Pol village on Yamunotri Highway at a cost of Rs 850 crore. A long tunnel is being built, of which only 500 meters is left to be constructed.
• State-of-the-art technologies like fire suppression system and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) will also be used in this tunnel.
• To prevent road accidents, a 400 mm strong concrete wall is being built inside the tunnel, due to which the traffic on the right and left sides will pass through their respective lanes. Due to this wall, the possibility of vehicles colliding with each other inside the tunnel will be reduced to zero.
• If any vehicle faces any fault inside the tunnel, it will get the facility of lay-by (a place to park the vehicle for some time on the roadside). Every 500 km. But a lay-by facility will be available. A total of seven lay-bys will be built on both the right and left sides of the tunnel, out of which construction of four has been completed.