1. “Aibawk cluster” in Mizoram becomes the first cluster to be completed under the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission
Tags: place in news Government Schemes
According to the Government of India, Aibawk cluster in the Aizawl district of Mizoram has become the first cluster to be completed under the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM).
SPMRM was launched by the Government of India with a vision to provide amenities to rural areas which are perceived to be urban and have the potential to stimulate local economic development.
300 clusters has been selected under the mission for well-planned and holistic development.
Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM)
The Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) scheme was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Kurubhat, in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh on February 21, 2016. The mission is of five years duration.
The mission follows a cluster based approach for rural development instead of focusing on a single village unit.
Aim of the Scheme
The Aim of the Mission are:
- Bridging the rural-urban divide in the economic, technological and those related to facilities and services.
- Stimulating local economic development with emphasis on reduction of poverty and unemployment in rural areas.
- Spreading development in the region.
- Attracting investment in rural areas.
What is a Rurban Cluster?
A ‘Rurban cluster’ is a cluster of geographically contiguous villages with a population of about 25000 to 50000 in plain and coastal areas and with a population of 5000 to 15000 in desert, hilly or tribal areas.
Under the Mission, presently, out of 300 selected clusters spread across the country, 109 are tribal clusters and 191 non-tribal clusters.
Nodal ministry for the SPMRM scheme
The Union Ministry of Rural Development is the nodal ministry for the implementation of the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission.
Who identify the Rurban Clusters?
The Union Rural Development Ministry proposes a suggestive list of sub districts to the State. The State Governments then select the clusters following a set of indicated principles included in the Framework for Implementation of the scheme.
Funding pattern of the scheme
Various rural development schemes of the Central and the State government are converged in the clusters. The funding meant for those schemes are spent into the cluster.
The SPMRM also provides an additional funding support of upto 30 percent of the project cost per cluster as Critical Gap Funding (CGF) as Central Share to enable development of such Rurban clusters.
Union Minister for Rural Development: Giriraj Singh
2. President Murmu inaugurates the permanent Northeast Campus of IIMC in Aizawl
Tags: place in news State News
President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) North East campus located at Aizawl in Mizoram University in virtual mode on 3 November 2022.
The IIMC North East Campus began functioning in 2011 from a temporary building made available by Mizoram University. The construction work for the campus began in 2015 and was completed in 2019.
Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC)
The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) is a premiere Journalism Institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
It was inaugurated in 1965 to cater the training needs of media professionals in the country and other developing countries.
It has set up five regional center in India to cater the need of five regions of India
The Regional centers of IIMC are;
Eastern Regional Center : IIMC Dhenkanal near Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Western Regional Center: Amravati, Maharashtra
Northern Regional Center: Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir
Northeastern Regional Center: Aizawl, Mizoram
Southern Regional Center: Kottayam, Kerala
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairman of IIMC: Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
State of Mizoram
It was created as a Union Territory on 21st January 1972 by bifurcating Assam.
It was granted statehood on 20 February 1987.
Chief Minister of Mizoram: PU Zoramthanga
Governor of Mizoram: Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati
Capital: Aizawl
3. Legislative Assembly’s can impose a tax on other States’ lotteries
Tags: State News
The Supreme Court of India held that a State legislature has the right to impose tax on lotteries conducted by other States within its jurisdiction
The apex court observed that ‘lotteries’ is a “species of gambling activity” and ‘betting and gambling’ is part of the State List as per Entry 34 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
Court clearly mentioned that lotteries, irrespective of whether it is conducted or organised by the Government of India or the Government of State is ‘betting and gambling.
So, the power to tax is on all activities which are in the nature of ‘betting and gambling,’ including lotteries, as per Entry 62 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution under State List.
The judgment came on appeals filed by the Karnataka and Kerala governments against the decisions of their respective High Courts to quash laws enacted by their legislatures to tax lotteries organized and promoted by other States.
Important Note for Exam-
Kerala High Court is a common High Court established in 1948 and located at Kochi. It is the highest court both for the state of Kerala and also the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
Common High Courts can be formed by Parliament as per provisions of 7th Amendment Act, 1956
List of other common High-Courts-
Estd | High Court | Territorial Jurisdiction | Location |
1862 | Bombay | Maharashtra Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Goa | Seat: Mumbai Bench: Panaji, Aurangabad, and Nagpur |
1862 | Kolkata | West Bengal Andaman & Nicobar islands | Seat: Kolkata Bench: Port Blair |
1862 | Madras | Tamil Nadu Pondicherry | Seat: Chennai Bench: Madurai |
1948 | Guwahati | Assam Nagaland Mizoram Arunachal Pradesh | Seat: Guwahati Bench: Kohima, Aizawl, and Itanagar |
1975 | Punjab | Punjab, Haryana & Chandigarh | Chandigarh |
2019 | Jammu and Kashmir | Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh | Srinagar - Summer Jammu - Winter |
4. Bangladesh will be connected to North-East by 2024
Tags:
While virtually addressing the delegates at a function organised by the Indian Chambers of Commerce, Union Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperations Amit Shah said that the government will connect capitals of all the eight States by air, seven of the eight state capitals will be connected through rail, and a network of roads is operational.
He said the northeast states will be linked by road and railway to Bangladesh in a year or two, creating many opportunities in the region.
Key Points:
- The connectivity problem in the North East is being resolved by signing a land border agreement with Bangladesh. The North East will be connected to the ports of Bangladesh in two years and this will open up a huge avenue for setting up industry in the North East and for connectivity to the rest of the world.
- In a year or two, the North East region will be connected with Bangladesh by rail and road and after that, there will be immense possibilities to go East. The trade with Bangladesh will get a boost with the start of the Agartala-Akhaura railway link.
- Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) signed with Bangladesh in 2014 ensured proper connectivity in the region.
North East States and Capitals:
States Capital
- Arunachal Pradesh Itanagar
- Assam Dispur
- Manipur Imphal
- Meghalaya Shillong
- Mizoram Aizawl
- Nagaland Kohima
- Tripura Agartala
- Sikkim Gangtok
- The capitals of all the eight States will be connected by air.
- The capitals of Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh are already connected by rail, work to extend similar connectivity in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya are underway.
