• 30 Dec 2022

Greenfield Township Will be Set Up in Ayodhya

Why In News?

• According to information received from the media on December 29, 2022, the Uttar Pradesh government is going to set up a green field township in Ayodhya on the lines of Sabarmati in Gujarat. The scheme will cover an area of 1438 acres.

Key Points

• The State Housing Development Council presented it before Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for this scheme. During this, the architects of Gujarat were also called. He gave information about Sabarmati Green Field.
• On the basis of this, the housing development council officials were instructed to prepare the size of the green field township in Ayodhya in such a way that it is completely pollution-free. For this, architects will also be added on the basis of need. Based on the chief minister's directive, the Housing Development Council has started preparations.
• In the first phase, the green field township in Ayodhya is planned to be set up on an area of 583 acres. For the first phase, 487 acres of land has been acquired.
• In the second and third phases, 855 acres of land will be acquired. Apart from this, commercial areas and parks will be arranged around the township, so that people can get facilities on the basis of need.
• It is known that the standard of the Vedic city project will be decided on the basis of Ahmedabad GIFT City. Under the Navya Ayodhya project, many changes are also being made in the proposed Green Field Township Scheme (Vedic City) in Gram Sabha Shahnewajpur and Manjha Barhata located on the side of the highway and standard standards are also being set for this.

Sahitya Akademi Translation Award

Why In News?

• On December 29, 2022, the Sahitya Akademi announced the award for translation of the year 2022 in Hindi, Maithili and Konkani languages. Ratneshwar Mishra will be given the Maithili language award for his Maithili translation of Chaman Nahal's English novel 'Azadi'.

Key Points

• The Sahitya Akademi translators will receive an engraved copper plaque and a sum of Rs 50,000 at a special function next year.
• Former chairman of the PG History Department of Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga. Ratneshwar Mishra is originally a resident of Purnea and currently lives in Patna. One of Mithila's famous historians, 77-year-old Dr. Mishra Akshar also makes serious interventions in the field of spiritual practice.
• Dr. Mishra's works include 'Modern Mithilak Historical Dimension' published in Maithili as well as 'Vinodanand Jha: Biography and Surroundings' in Hindi, 'Incredible Bihar', 'History of Purnia: 1722-1793' in English, 'Ninth Century Mithila: Finuks Survey of a Village'. are prominent.
• Apart from this, Maithili translations of Dr. Mishra's books 'Bhavabhuti', 'History of Tamil' and 'India's History' have also been published. He has also translated Acharya Surendra Jha Suman's Maithili novel ' Ugnak Dayadbad' into English.

10th Zonal Level Tribal Talent Award Ceremony

Why In News?

• On December 29, 2022, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot felicitated many tribal talents at the 10^th Zone Level Tribal Talent Award Ceremony and Sarva Samaj Shikshak Gaurav Ceremony-2022 held at Mohanlal Sukhadia University in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Key Points

• Speaking at the 10^th Zonal Level Tribal Talent Award Ceremony and Sarva Samaj Shikshak Gaurav Ceremony-2022, the Chief Minister said that the state government is committed to the all-round development of the tribal area. For this, schemes are also being prepared by the government keeping in mind the interest of the tribal area.
• Speaking on the occasion, he said that every family has been given health insurance of Rs 10 lakh through Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme in the state, which is the first example in the country. Twenty thousand students are being given coaching work through Anuprati Yojana in the state. Similarly, through the UDAN Scheme, the government is providing 12 sanitary napkins every month to women.
• Ashok Gehlot said that considering the importance of English in the world today, Mahatma Gandhi English Medium Schools have been opened in different places in the state, due to which children of poor families are also getting education in English medium.
• On this occasion, the Chief Minister honored Udaipur Collector Tarachand Meena with 'Shri Mangarh Dham Gaurav Puraskar'. Durgaram Muwal and Mahendra Kumar Meena were awarded the 'Nana Bhai Khant Teacher Gaurav Award'. Adikavi Maharshi Valmiki Gaurav Award to Dr Kiran Meena, Mewar Veer Rana Punja Bhil Pratibha Award to Deepika Meena etc. ', Pawan Putra Free Coaching Institute Director Ranveer Tholiya was given 'Veer Shaheed Nanak Bhai Bhil Social Leadership Award'. Sunil Meena was awarded the 'Veer Balak Eklavya Award', Raj Kalasua was awarded the 'Shaheed Tribe Veer Bala Kalibai Award' and Lalit Meena, who proved his mettle in blind cricket, was awarded the 'Archer Shri Limba ram Award'.

Rahatgarh's State-Of-The-Art Bus Stand will be Prepared on the Lines of Metro’s

Why In News?

• On December 29, 2022, Madhya Pradesh Revenue and Transport Minister Govind Singh Rajput laid the foundation stone of a state-of-the-art bus stand to be constructed at a cost of Rs 9 crore in Rahatgarh development block of Sagar district of the state, which will be developed on the lines of metros. It is being started from the bus stand.

Key Points

• The Revenue and Transport Minister said that a state-of-the-art bus stand is being constructed at a cost of crores of rupees in Rahatgarh development block of Sagar district, in which passenger waiting rooms, business complexes will be constructed for passengers, shopkeepers who will be displaced from the bus stand will be given space in the business complex on priority. A well-equipped rest house will also be constructed elsewhere.
• He said that a road is being constructed from Rahatgarh Vidisha intersection to Rest House Bus Stand, in which state-of-the-art lighting is being done and saplings are also being planted on both sides of the road.
• The Minister told all the residents of Rahatgarh that the name of the bus stand being built in Rahatgarh will be kept with the consent of all.

Home-Stay Scheme in Indore for PBD and GIS

Why In News?

• On December 29, 2022, Principal Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board Shiv Shekhar Shukla said that Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has given a golden opportunity to indore residents to earn additional income by converting their house into a home-stay, under which tourists will also be provided accommodation facilities from home-stay along with guests arriving in Indore for Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan and Global Investor Summit.

Key Points

• Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board Principal Secretary Shiv Shekhar Shukla said that for this, the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board is launching a special campaign for home-stay registration from January 3 to 7, 2023. The application of local residents of Indore who register in the campaign will be registered on fast track mode.
• He told that to provide experience of the rich culture, traditions and cuisine of the state to the overseas Indians reaching Indore for Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan and Global Investor Summit, providing clean and affordable places to stay and employment opportunities at the local level. To make it available, a special campaign for home-stay registration is being run.
• The units registered by the Tourism Department will be publicized. Financial incentives are also provided for completion of guest accommodation, enhancing the facilities available in the unit.
• Apart from this, it provides an opportunity to registered units to participate in digital marketing, pricing, technical support for promotion, capacity building of human resources working in the unit, national and international level travel marts and workshops.

Digital Media Section Got State Level Award

Why In News?

• Recently, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal honored the Digital Media section of the Department of Information, Public Relations and Languages (DIPRL) with a state-level award during a state-level function held in Panchkula on the occasion of Good Governance Day.

Key Points

• The award was given for playing a significant role in the dissemination of government schemes and curbing fake news through fact check accounts. On this occasion, Aditya Chaudhary, In-charge (Information and Public Relations Officer) and Arvind Kumar, Assistant Manager of Digital Media Section received the award from the Chief Minister.
• It is worth mentioning that the Digital Media Section has been created by the Information, Public Relations and Language Department so that the necessary information related to the government, information about the latest schemes and information about notifications reach the people on time through effective and authentic means.
• It is known that the digital media section was led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal and principal secretary of information, public relations and language department Anurag Agarwal and director general of information, public relations and language department Dr. Amit Kumar is working under the able and constant guidance of Agarwal.
• Digital Media Section has an impressive presence on 11 major social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. This section gives quick response by checking fake news and information through its fact check account and is playing an important role in disseminating information related to government schemes.

'Guruji Student Credit Card Scheme'

Why In News?

• According to information received from the media on December 28, 2022, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, in order to expand education in the state, has decided to give 10^th and 12^th pass students from poor families an opportunity for higher education. For this, the state government is starting 'Guruji Student Credit Card Scheme'.

Key Points

• The government will create a corpus fund of Rs 200 crore for the 'Guruji Student Credit Card Scheme'.
• The main objective of this scheme is to provide financial assistance to the children of Jharkhand state to study in good educational institutions. With this scheme of the government, those children who were not able to get higher education due to lack of funds will not be deprived of it now. Through Guruji Credit Card, they will now be able to realize their dream of building their future.
• The Higher and Technical Education Department said that loans will be arranged for students studying 10^th and 12^th class (10^th class pass for diploma students) from recognized educational institutions in the state of Jharkhand. For this purpose, it has been decided to start Guruji Student Credit Card Scheme.
• Students will be given Guruji Student Credit Card, so that they can easily take loans for their studies.
• Under the Guruji Student Credit Card Scheme, students will get a maximum loan of Rs 15 lakh. They will be provided loans through banks. A maximum of 30 per cent of this amount will be available for non-institutional work (including living and food expenses). Students will have to pay only 4 percent interest for this.
• Students will have to pay a simple rate of interest of 4 percent. The rest of the interest will be paid by the state government in the form of interest subvention. That is, the state government will remain in the role of guarantor.
• Students will not need to give any kind of collateral security to take a loan. Students will be able to repay the loan amount in 15 years. The interest on the loan that the children will take will be calculated at the rate of simple interest. It will remain fixed for the entire tenure of the loan.
• Students will not have to pay any processing fee to the bank to take a loan for higher education.
• The Jharkhand government will select the best educational institutions in the country within the state and in other states, which are within the overall 200 rank in the previous NIRF list or in the respective category of the institution, in the top 100 in the LIST of NIRF or have 'A' category or above.

Central Government Will Buy Manduwa of Uttarakhand

Why In News?

• On December 29, 2022, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami informed that the central government will procure coarse grains (Manduwa) produced in the hilly districts of Uttarakhand. The Uttarakhand government had sent a proposal to the Union Food and Public Distribution Department to procure Manduwa for the crop year 2022-23, which has been approved by the central government.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister said that this decision will greatly benefit the farmers of the hill districts of the state. In the first phase , 9600 metric tonnes of Manduwa will be procured. This will cost the government Rs 45 crore.
• The minimum support price of Manduwa in the state is fixed at Rs 3574 per quintal. For this, instructions have been given to the Food Civil Supplies Department, Mandi Council, Cooperative Societies, Women and Child Development Department and Education Department to work in coordination.
• Manduwa is rich in nutrition. Now the central government will be able to buy Manduwa from farmers and provide it to children as well as others through mid-day meal and public distribution system. This will not only increase the income of the farmers of the state, but will also provide nutritious food to school children and the needy.
• He said that in the first phase, Manduwa procurement scheme will be implemented at the fixed minimum support price from the farmers of two districts Almora and Pauri under the pilot scheme in the hilly areas of the state. The Manduwa purchased will be distributed through public distribution system in Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar, Dehradun and Nainital.
• The scheme will be operated as follows-
  • About eight lakh families of the four districts will benefit from the National Food Security Scheme.
  • One kg of Manduwa per card per month will be given free of cost.
  • The purchase will be done at 20 purchase centers operating in Almora district and 11 centers in Pauri.
  • It will be distributed to the beneficiaries through the Public Distribution System.
• It is noteworthy that Manduwa grown in the mountainous region of Uttarakhand is a treasure trove of nutrition. It has an important place in the traditional crops here. Despite 85 per cent of the total cultivable land of the state being unirrigated, it can be easily cultivated here. Manduwa is beneficial for people suffering from heart and diabetes disease. Due to the presence of adequate nutrients in it, it is also helpful in protecting against malnutrition.

State Level Sports Mahakumbh

Why In News?

• On December 29, 2022, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the State Level Sports Mahakumbh at Maharana Pratap Sports College, Dehradun.

Key Points

• In the inaugural program of the State Level Sports Mahakumbh, the winners and participants of international competitions were felicitated. The Chief Minister handed over cheques ranging from Rs 2 crore to Rs 33,000 to the players.
• The objective of the Khel Mahakumbh is to prepare the players for the upcoming 38^th National Games. Uttarakhand will host the 38^th National Games. This will give an opportunity to the youth of the state to showcase their talent.
• On the occasion of Khel Mahakumbh, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also inaugurated the newly constructed shooting range at a cost of Rs 31.18 crore for organizing the Shooting Competition of National Games at Maharana Pratap Sports College campus.
• Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the winning players of Nyaya Panchayat level of the state will also get incentives now. So far, only commendation certificates were given to these players.
• He said that the first prize winner of Nyaya Panchayat level will be given Rs 300, second prize Rs 200 and third prize Rs 150. Apart from this, the incentive amount given to sportspersons at the development block, district and state level has also been increased by 40-50 percent. At the block level, the winning player will now be given Rs 500 instead of Rs 300. At the same time, the second place winner will be given an incentive of Rs 400 instead of 200 and the third place will get Rs 300 instead of Rs 150.
• Similarly, at the district level, the first winner will be given Rs 800 instead of Rs 700, the second will get Rs 600 instead of Rs 500 and the third will get Rs 300 to 400. At the state level, the first player will be given Rs 1,500 instead of Rs 1,000, the second player will get Rs 1,000 instead of Rs 600 and the third player will get Rs 700 instead of Rs 400.
• He informed that so far the amount given to the players for food in sports competitions organized by the Sports and Youth Welfare Department has been increased from Rs 150 to Rs 225.