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By admin: April 25, 2022

Palli in Jammu becomes India’s first carbon-neutral panchayat

Tags: State News

Palli village in Jammu's Samba district has become the first panchayat in the country to become carbon neutral, which is completely solar powered.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated this 500 kW solar plant to the nation on 24 April, which has been installed in a record time of about three weeks.

• The plant has been set up by Central Electronics Limited (CEL), a Government of India Enterprise under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology.

• All 1,500 solar panels, installed over a total area of 6,408 square metres, will provide clean electricity to 340 houses of the model panchayat under the Centre's 'Gram Urja Swaraj' programme.

• This village has been recorded as the first carbon-neutral solar village in the history of India.

• The village is located 17 km away from Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The project has been completed at a cost of Rs 2.75 crore.

• This is a major step towards achieving the Glasgow goal.

• What is carbon neutrality?

• Carbon neutrality refers to the idea that the more carbon dioxide released, the more carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere.

• To achieve this goal, every major economic sector must be environmentally friendly.

• All countries should boost their economy by replacing coal and gas with renewable energy sources such as wind or solar power plants.

India has suspended tourist visas issued to Chinese nationals

Tags: International News

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) India has suspended tourist visas issued to Chinese nationals.

• India has been raising with China the problems of about 22,000 Indian students registered in Chinese universities, these students are unable to go there and take classes.

• China has not yet allowed these students to come to the country.

• In the year 2020, due to the Kovid-19 epidemic, these students had to leave their studies midway and return to India.

• In a circular issued on April 20 about India, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said, Tourist visas issued to citizens of China are no longer valid.

• Nationals of Bhutan, India, Maldives and Nepal, passengers with a residence permit issued by India, passengers with visa or an e-visa issued by India, passengers with an overseas citizen of India (OCI) card or booklet, passengers with a persons of Indian origin (PIO) card and passengers with a diplomatic passport can enter into india.

• Tourist visas with a validity of ten years are no longer valid.

• What is Tourist visa 

• A tourist visa is an official document or stamp authorising a person to enter a foreign country for the purpose of leisure and tourism.

• It may also be called “travel visas”, “visitor visas”, or “temporary stay visas”.

• This allows the holder to stay in the host country for a short period of time. This can range from several months to several days.

• During the stay, holders of tourist visas are not allowed to work or engage in non-tourist activities.

PM Modi receives first Lata Mangeshkar Award

Tags: Awards Person in news

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the first Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar Award for his selfless service to the nation and society at the 80th Annual Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award ceremony in Mumbai.

• Addressing the award ceremony, Modi said that he dedicates this award to all the citizens of the country.

• The award has been Established in the memory of Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar.

• The Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award aims to honour stalwarts in the fields of music, drama, art, medicine and social work.

• Every year this award will be given to a person who has made outstanding, brilliant and extraordinary achievements for the country, its citizens and society.

• This award will be given in the memory of Master Dinanathji who was a singer, composer and theatre artist, his significant contribution in the field of music has been a source of inspiration for the people of India.

• The Dinanath Mangeshkar Memorial Award was organised in his honour by the Mangeshkar family.

PM Modi inaugurated 7th edition of Raisina Dialogue

Tags: Summits

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the seventh edition of Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi today.

• President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen was the chief guest of Raisina Dialogue.

• The dialogue will be held over three days from April 25 to April 27.

• Several former Prime Ministers of different countries and other dignitaries also participated in the event.

• Several former Prime Ministers and other dignitaries from different countries will also participate in the event.

• The Raisina Dialogue 2022 will see around 100 sessions with over 210 speakers from 90 countries.

• What is Raisina Dialogue?

• It is India's major foreign policy conference.

• It is an annual Geo-political event organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with Observer Research Foundation.

• It was organised along the lines of the Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore.

• It takes its name from the Raisina Hills, where India’s seat of power resides.

• The first Raisina Dialogue was held in march 2016 and the theme was “Asia” Regional and Global Connectivity”. 

• It is designed to be a multi-representative, discussion forum, which includes a wide range of global policy makers, including cabinet ministers, heads of state, private corporation officials, etc.

• Raisina Dialogue 2022 theme

• The theme of 2022 is based on "Terranova- Impassioned, Impatient, Imperilled".

• This time 6 topics will be discussed which are like this.

1. Rethinking Democracy - trade, technology and ideology

2. End of Multilateralism: a networked global order

3. Unrest in the Indian Pacific

4. water body

5. Realising Environmental Change : Its Needs and Facts

6. Persistent technology wars

World Malaria Day

Tags: Important Days

Every year, World Malaria Day is observed on 25 April by the World Health Organisation and many other international organisations.

• World Malaria Day is one of 11 official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organisation.

• The purpose of this day is to take immediate action in the control of deadly diseases like malaria.

• The theme of World Malaria Day 2022  -  "Harness innovation to reduce the malaria disease burden and save lives."

• History of the day-

• The idea of World Malaria Day was developed from Africa Malaria Day.

• Africa Malaria Day was originally celebrated by African governments since 2001.

• A meeting sponsored by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the 60th session of the World Health Assembly in 2007 proposed that Africa Malaria Day be changed to World Malaria Day.

• World Malaria Day was first organised in 2008.

• About Malaria disease 

• Malaria is a deadly disease, which is transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes.

• Female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit the Plasmodium parasite, which causes malaria, through their saliva.

• According to the World Health Organisation, India represents 3% of global malaria.

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently announced that, in 2020, 116 Indian districts reported zero malaria cases.

'Kisan Bhagidari, Prathmikta Hamari’ campaign

Tags: National

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is organising the 'Kisan Bhagidari, Prathmikta Hamari’ campaign from 25th april, 2022. 

• This campaign, which will run till 30th of this month, is being organised under the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' in collaboration with various ministries and departments.

• Agriculture Research and Education Department will organise Krishi Mela and Regional Exhibition on Natural Farming at each Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

• Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will launch a nationwide workshop on crop insurance organised by Common Service Centre (CSC).

• A National Atma Nirbhar Bharat Conclave of 75 selected farmers and entrepreneurs will be under the campaign.

Vice President inaugurates Khelo India University Games

Tags: National

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the second edition of Khelo India University Games (KIUG) on 24 April 2022 at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka capital.

• The event will be hosted by Jain University, Bangalore from 24 April to 3 May 2022.

• In this, 3878 players from 189 universities will participate.

• Along with Mallakhamb and Yogasan, 18 other sports will also be included in this event.

• The official mascot of these games is 'Veera', an elephant.

• It is an initiative of the Central Government with an aim to identify young talent at the university level and then help them convert into professional athletes.

• The state of Karnataka has ensured an environment-friendly system to make these sports a 'Green Sports' under which 'Zero Waste' and 'Zero Plastic' sports will be there.

• Other information

• The first edition of Khelo India University Games was held in Odisha in 2020.

• In which 3182 players from 158 universities and colleges participated.

• Punjab were the champions with a total of 46 medals, of which 17 were gold medals.

All-India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey

Tags: National

The All India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey, which is usually conducted every five years by the National Statistical Office (NSO), is set to resume this year after a long gap.

• What is the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)?

• CES is traditionally a five-year survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) of the government.

• It is designed to collect information about consumer spending patterns of households across the country at the urban and rural levels.

• This survey is usually conducted between July and June and this year the survey is expected to be completed by June 2023.

• Usefulness of Survey

• The data collected in this survey reveals the average expenditure on goods (food and non-food) and services.

• It helps in estimating the household monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) as well as the distribution of households and individuals on the MPCE classes.

• It is used to estimate poverty levels in different parts of the country and to review economic indicators such as GDP since 2011-12.

• There is no official estimate of India's per capita household expenditure.

• It provides separate data sets for rural and urban parts, and different spending patterns for each state and union territory as well as for different socio-economic groups.

• This survey was last conducted in 2017-2018.

National Panchayati Raj Day

Tags: Important Days

Every year, 24 April is celebrated by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj as National Panchayati Raj Day, which is celebrated to give constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj system in the country.

• The objective of celebrating National Panchayati Raj Day is to raise awareness about Panchayats and Gram Sabhas.

• Panchayats and Gram Sabhas are the institutions of the local self-governments for the rural areas mandated by the Constitution.

• Significance of the day

• This annual festival is done to commemorate the historic day on which the Constitution Act (73rd Amendment) was passed in 1992.

• However, the 73rd Constitutional Amendment came into force on April 24, 1993, and hence led to the formation of the Panchayati Raj system in India.

• Therefore, this day is celebrated to celebrate the establishment of decentralised power.

• Former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh declared April 24, 2010 as the first National Panchayati Raj Day.

• History of the day

• In 1957, a committee was formed which focused on the development of Panchayati Raj in India.

• The committee was headed by Balwantrai Mehta.

• The committee proposed a decentralised village panchayat system consisting of a gram panchayat at the village level, a block panchayat or panchayat samiti at the intermediate level, and a district panchayat at the district level.

• The Indian Constitution recognizes Panchayats as a system of self-government, in which the Panchayats are responsible for delivering justice and ensuring the development of their villages.

• Important facts

• In 1959, Rajasthan was the first state in India to introduce Panchayati Raj while Andhra Pradesh became the second state to introduce this system.

• Panchayati Raj was inaugurated by India's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru in Nagpur in October 1959.

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 completes four years

Tags: National

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 completes four years today.

• Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 was launched with the aim of bringing about a transformational change in rural development processes.

• About Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0

• The government launched Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 in 2018, an improved version of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 1.0.

• It is a flagship program of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). 

• IIT, Delhi is the National Coordinating Institute for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0.

• Unnat Bharat Abhiyan

• Formal launch in the year 2014 by the Ministry of Education

• Aims - To link higher education institutions with a cluster of five villages, so that these institutions can contribute to the economic and social betterment of these rural communities on the basis of their knowledge.

• In this, two major domains for the overall development of villages - human development and objective (economic) development.

Macron is reelected as French president

Tags: Popular Person in news

Republican on the move candidate Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected as the President of France.

• In the presidential election, Emmanuel Macron defeated his right-wing rival Marin Lopen with 58.2% of the vote.

• Emmanuel Macron is the first president to be elected for a second consecutive term in twenty years.

• Twenty years ago Mr. Ziak Chirac was elected to a second term.

• The term of the President is five years. No leader can hold this post for more than two terms.

• Presidential election process in France

• In France, the President is elected by direct voting system and ballots are used.

• Every Frenchman over the age of 18 is entitled to vote. Whether he lives in France or in some other country.

• There can be a maximum of two phases of election. The first stage is compulsory while the second stage depends on the result of the first. In the first phase, the person who gets more than 50 percent of the votes is declared the winner.

• In the first phase, if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the total votes, then the second and final phase is held between the two top candidates who get the maximum votes.

• To become a candidate, it is necessary to have the support of at least 500 elected representatives (mayor etc.).

• Powers of the President of France

• Most of the powers of the President of France are vested in the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers and the Parliament.

• The President can dissolve the Parliament, suspend any law with a power of prohibition.

• All three are the heads of the armies and they also have control of nuclear weapons.