1. Second Phase of Sari Festival “VIRAASAT”- Celebrating 75 handwoven Saris of India begins in New Delhi
Tags: place in news National Government Schemes
The second phase of the Sari Festival “VIRAASAT”- Celebrating 75 handwoven Saris of India will begin from 3- 17 January 2023 in New Delhi . The Union Ministry of Textile is organising the festival.
Over 90 participants from different parts of India the will display a wide variety of sarees like handloom Saris of Jamdani, Ikat, Pochampally, Banaras Brocade, Tussar Silk (Champa), Baluchari, Bhagalpuri Silk, Tangail, Chanderi, Lalitpuri, Patola, Paithani etc
The first phase of “VIRAASAT”- Celebrating 75 handwoven Saris of India started on 16th December 2022 and concluded on 30th December 2022. The event was inaugurated by Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 16th December 2022, along with Hon’ble Minister of State Smt. Darshana Jardosh and other women parliamentarians.
The event is likely to bring renewed focus on the age-old tradition of Sari weaving and thereby improve earnings of the handloom community.
Union Textile minister: Piyush Goel
2. Himachal Pradesh government launches CM’s Sukhashray Sahayata Kosh
Tags: Government Schemes Person in news State News
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu launched CM’s Sukhashray Sahayata Kosh with an outlay of Rs 101 crore on 1 January 2023.
All the Ministers and Congress MLA will contribute their first salary to the fund. The Congress party has 40 MLA in the 68 member Himachal Legislative Assembly. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government was sworn in on 11 December 2022.
Aim of the CM’s Sukhashray Sahayata Kosh
The scheme will aim to provide the facility of higher education to needy children and destitute women.
The state government will bear the expenditure on skill development education, higher education, and vocational training of such children. They will also be given financial assistance as per their requirement so that they can lead a respectable life.
There will be no requirement for any income certificate for availing these facilities.
The Chief Minister said that children living in childcare institutions, all children being benefited under foster care, destitute women living in Nari Seva Sadan, Shakti Sadan and residents of old age homes would be benefited under this scheme.
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh became a Union Territory on 1 November 1956. It became the 18th state of India on 25 January 1971.
The State is bordered by Jammu & Kashmir on North, Punjab on West and South-West, Haryana on South, Uttarakhand on South-East and China on the East.
District in State: 12
State Governor: Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar
Capital: Shimla
State Icons
State Animal: Snow Leopard
State Bird: Western Tragopan
State Flower: Pink Rhododendron
3. Tamil Nadu Launches Project to protect Nilgiri Tahr
Tags: Government Schemes State News
In a first of its kind initiative in India, the Government of Tamil Nadu announced the 'Nilgiri Tahr Project' on 28 December.
Important facts
The aim is to restore the original habitat of this state animal and stabilize its population.
With a budget of Rs 25.14 crore, this five-year initiative will constitute a dedicated team headed by a project director to deal with the conservation of the species.
The project will explore the possibility of captive breeding of the animal in forested areas where it has become locally extinct.
The state forest department will conduct a simultaneous survey in the Tahr range, which includes the Nilgiri hills and the Assambu highlands.
Under the project, radio-telemetry studies of some tahrs will be carried out to understand the pattern, habitat use and behaviour of this animal.
About Nilgiri Tahr
It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu.
This endemic species of the Western Ghats is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972.
The Nilgiri tahr faces several threats such as habitat loss due to large-scale deforestation, competition with domestic animals, hydroelectric projects and monoculture plantations.
October 7 will be celebrated as 'Nilgiri Tahr Day' in honour of ERC Davidar. He did the first study on Nilgiri Tahr in 1975.
4. Union Minister Dr; Jitendra Singh launches revamped Probity Portal, e-HRMS 2.0 Portal
Tags: National Government Schemes Person in news
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh has launched a revamped Probity Portal, e-HRMS 2.0 Portal and e-Books on major Initiatives/Achievements of Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions on 25 December 2022 on the occasion of the Good Governance Day in New Delhi.
The week-long ‘Governance Week’ (19-25 December 2022) celebrations with a nationwide launch of “PrashasanGaon Ki Ore” campaign also concluded on this day.
Revamped e-HRMS 2.0 Portal
The Revamped Probity Portal was launched for the central government employees in 2017. It provided limited HR related services to the employees .To add more services and interlink it with other government apps the government has launched the Revamped e-HRMS 2.0 Portal.
The Revamped e-HRMS 2.0 Portal will provide the following services in a digital mode to the employees - Transfers (Rotation/Mutual), Deputation, APAR, IPR, iGOT Trainings, Vigilance Status, Deputation Opportunities, Service Book and other basic HR Services like Leave, Tour, Reimbursements etc
The revamped e-HRMS 2.0 is the first digital system in Government of India to provide end-to-end HR Services.
Mobile Application of iGoTKarmayogi Portal by Karmayogi Bharat (SPV)
The Minister also launched Mobile Application of iGoTKarmayogi Portal by Karmayogi Bharat (SPV) with an aim to create professional, well trained and future ready civil service for India, The app and the platform will allow all government servants, at multiple levels, to undergo continuous training, depending on their domain areas. The app and the platform will provide anytime-anywhere-any-device learning to train about 2 crores users.
5. Railways plans to modernise 1,000 small stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
Tags: National Economy/Finance Government Schemes
The Indian Railway will launch the “Amrit Bharat Station Scheme” under which 1000 small but important stations will be modernized. This scheme is different from the ongoing plan to revamp 200 railway stations.
According to the Indian Railways the stations will be selected not only on the passenger traffic but also on the cites they cater to. These stations will be redeveloped under what is called the ''Khurda model of redevelopment''.
Khurda station in Odisha was modernized for Rs 4 crore with all contemporary amenities for passengers. The main structure was renovated, the facade was redone and the number of railway tracks was also increased.
Under the “Amrit Bharat Station Scheme” the Divisional Railway Managers will be responsible for the redevelopment of the railway station. The DRMs have been instructed to review existing buildings in the station premises and release space for passengers near the entrances and enable relocation of rail offices to other places.
Modernisation of these stations would include improved station approaches to ensure smooth access by widening roads, removal of unwanted structures, properly designed signages, dedicated pedestrian pathways, well-planned parking areas, and improved lighting among others.
The station should also have a second entry station building and high-level platforms with a length of 600m.
Union Railway Minister: Ashwini Vaishnaw
6. 81 crore people to get free foodgrains for one year under NFSA
Tags: Government Schemes National News
The government on 23 December decided to provide free foodgrains to 81.35 crore people for one year under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) at an estimated cost of Rs 2 lakh crore. It will be implemented from 1 January 2023.
Important facts
- As per the cabinet decision, beneficiaries under NFSA will get free food grains for one year till December 2023.
- The decision comes a few days before the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) expires on December 31, 2022.
- The beneficiaries will not have to pay a single rupee to get foodgrains.
About PMGKAY
- It is a food security welfare scheme announced by the Central Government in March 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- It is a part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) to help the poor in the fight against COVID-19.
- The program is run by the Department of Food and Public Distribution under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
- Under the programme more than 80 crore beneficiaries are provided 5 kg free wheat/rice per person per month.
- It is the largest food security program in the world.
Objective of the scheme
- To provide food security to all priority households (ration card holders and those identified by the Antyodaya Anna Yojana scheme), to provide food grains to India's poorest citizens through the Public Distribution System.
National Food Security (NFS) Act, 2013
- It aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two-thirds of India’s 1.2 billion people.
- This includes Re 3 per kg of rice, Re 2 per kg of wheat and Re 1 per kg of coarse grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).
- It converts the existing food security programs of the Government of India into a legal mandate.
- The existing food security programs include the mid-day meal scheme, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme and the Public Distribution System (PDS).
7. CM Naveen Patnaik launches 24×7 ‘Drink from Tap’ project in 19 cities of Odisha
Tags: Government Schemes Person in news State News
The Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched a 24×7 piped drinking water project — ‘Drink from Tap’ — in 19 cities of the state on 21 December 2022. About 5.5 lakh people in these cities will be benefited from the project.
Addressing the event, the chief minister said providing safe drinking water to every family has been his dream for a long time and it has always been the priority of his government.
He said that households in these cities will get drinking water directly from the tap adhering to the quality parameters of the Bureau of Indian Standards.
The state government scheme is different from the central government scheme of Jal Jeevan Mission which was launched on 15 August 2019. Under the Jal
Within the Jal Jeevan Mission, Har Ghar Nal se Jal scheme, aims to provide potable, quality drinking water to every rural household by 2024.
Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu became the first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ certified State and Union Territory in the country respectively,
Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh is the first certified ‘Har Ghar Jal’ district in India.
8. Gaya and Nalanda of Bihar selected by Union Government for development under Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme
Tags: place in news Government Schemes State News
Gaya and Nalanda in Bihar has been included by the Government of India under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme. Punaura Dham in Sitamarhi District of Bihar has been selected for development under the PRASHAD Scheme of the Government of India.
This information was given by the Union Tourism Minister G. KIshan Reddy in the Lok Sabha on 19 December 2022.
Swadesh Darshan 2.0
Government of India launched Swadesh Darshan scheme in 2014-15 for integrated development of theme based tourist circuits for eg Buddhist circuit, Ramayana circuit, desert circuit etc. It was later revamped and re-launched as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 with the focus on developing sustainable and responsible tourism destinations.
The Central government provides assistance to the State /Union Territories government to develop the tourism Infrastructure.
Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)
The Government of India launched the PRASAD scheme in the year 2014-2015 under the Ministry of Tourism. This scheme focuses on developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India for enriching the religious tourism experience. Under this scheme the Central government provides assistance to the state government.
9. PM launches Grih Pravesh programme for over 2 lakh beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
Tags: Government Schemes Sports News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 18 December inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several development projects worth over 6,800 crore rupees in Tripura and Meghalaya.
Important facts
The projects include 'Grih Pravesh' programme for beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Rural.
These houses, developed at a cost of over Rs 3400 crores, will cover over 2 lakh beneficiaries.
Other projects include connectivity projects for widening of Agartala Bypass (Khairpur-Amtali) NH-08 under PMGSY III, foundation laying of 32 roads with a length of over 230 km and improvement projects of 112 roads with a length of over 540 km.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the State Institute of Hotel Management at Anandnagar and Agartala Government Dental College.
About Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana rural in 2016.
The scheme was initiated with the objective of ‘Housing for All by 2022’.
The scheme has 2 Components - Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural).
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin was earlier called Indira Awas Yojana which was renamed in March 2016.
10. Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK)
Tags: Government Schemes National News
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Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Zubin Irani in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 15 December said that the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) is being implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs with the objective of infrastructure development.
About Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK)
It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).
It aims to develop infrastructure projects in identified areas for socio-economic development.
Under this the priority areas are education, health, skill development, women centric projects etc.
It has been implemented in 1300 identified Minority Concentration Areas (MCAs) of the country.
Projects under PMJVK are implemented and managed by the concerned State/ UT Government.
- In the North Eastern Region (NER), the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura come under PMJVK.
The scheme is now implemented in all Districts of the country including all the Aspirational Districts.
Beneficiaries under PMJVK
Communities notified as minority communities under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 will be taken as minority communities.
Currently, 6 Minorities communities have been notified as Minority Communities. These are - Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains.
