1. IAS 'Shanti Kumari' becomes first woman Chief Secretary of Telangana
Tags: Person in news State News
Following the Telangana High Court's order, 1989 batch IAS officer A. Shanti Kumari was appointed as the Chief Secretary of Telangana.
Shanti Kumari has become the first woman to hold the post of Chief Secretary in Telangana.
He has replaced Somesh Kumar, who was the Chief Secretary earlier.
Prior to his appointment as Chief Secretary, IAS officer A.K. Shanti Kumari was holding the post of Special Chief Secretary, Forest.
a. Shanti Kumari is a post graduate in Marine Biology.
During her three decades of service, Shanti Kumari held various positions in education, health, poverty alleviation, skill development and forest departments.
About Telangana -
It was the 29th state (there are now 28 states in India) to be formed on 2 June 2014. It was carved out of Andhra Pradesh.
The Telangana region was a part of Hyderabad State from 17 September 1948 to 1 November 1956, later it was merged with Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh State.
Capital: Hyderabad
District :33
Chief Minister - K. Chandrasekhar Rao
Governor: Dr. Tamilisai Sundarraj
2. 'Year of Enterprises Project'
Tags: Government Schemes State News
Kerala's 'Year of Enterprises' project has been awarded as a best practice model at the 2nd National Conference of Chief Secretaries.
It has been selected under the Throughput on Micro Small and Medium (MSMEs) category.
The project was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on 30 March 2022.
The project was launched with the aim of creating one lakh enterprises in a year, while the state achieved the target in eight months.
The project has successfully created 1,18,509 enterprises and received an investment of Rs 7,261.54 crore.
The 'Year of Enterprises' project has created 2,56,140 jobs so far.
2nd National Conference of Chief Secretaries
The 2nd National Conference of Chief Secretaries was held in New Delhi.
Which was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The conference was attended by representatives of the Central Government and Chief Secretaries of States and Union Territories besides subject experts.
3. Uttarakhand passed the Women's Reservation Bill
Tags: State News
Uttarakhand Governor Gurmeet Singh has given assent to a bill providing for 30% horizontal reservation for domiciled women citizens of the state in public services and posts.
An overview of the news
The bill known as the Uttarakhand Public Services (Horizontal Reservation for Women) Bill 2022 was passed by the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly on November 30 during the winter session.
This decision is considered an important one for ensuring gender equality and social justice in the state government.
Reservation For Women
The Bill provides for 20% horizontal reservation for direct recruitment to public services and posts against vacancies to be filled up to July 24, 2006.
Thereafter, 30% horizontal reservation will be provided in favour of women candidates permanently domiciled in Uttarakhand.
Cabinet Approval
The state cabinet had on October 12 authorised Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to bring an ordinance on the issue of women's reservation in state government jobs.
The move came after a High Court judgement and was aimed at ensuring that 30% reservation for women in state services would be implemented.
4. The 'Soul of Steel' challenge was launched in Uttarakhand
Tags: State News
The 'Soul of Steel' challenge was launched in Uttarakhand on January 14, which aims to test endurance at high altitude.
An overview of the news
It has been started on the lines of 'Ironman Triathlon' long distance triathlon challenge in Europe.
The effort is being led by Claw Global, a venture and supported by the Indian Army.
Soul of Steel aims at pooling skill sets and creating a challenge that will develop the human ability to stabilize, survive in high altitude areas.
Apart from life skill training and youth development, it will promote adventure tourism in Uttarakhand globally.
Initially, there will be 12 Indian participants and six international teams and the age profile to apply is 18 to 30 years.
The locations chosen are generally in the area of Nanda Devi National Park, which has many peaks over 7000 feet.
5. Union Labour and Employment Minister inaugurates Regional Office of EPFO at Alwar, Rajasthan
Tags: State News
Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Forest, Environment and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav inaugurated the Regional Office of Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) at Alwar, Rajasthan on 13th January.
An overview of the news
The opening of the regional office will benefit around 2 lakh workers, 12,000 establishments and 8500 pensioners in Alwar and neighbouring districts of Bharatpur and Dholpur.
The major industrial areas governed by the Regional Office are Bhiwadi, Khushkheda, Tapukara, Karoli, Neemrana, Behror, Gheelot, Khairthal.
This regional office will serve workers employed in industrial and other establishments in Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur districts.
Jaipur is divided into two Regional Offices namely Regional Office Jaipur and Regional Office Alwar for the management of EPFO.
About EPFO
Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is a statutory organisation set up under the Union ministry of Labour and Employment was set up in 1951 by an Ordinance issued by the President.
Later Parliament passed the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, act 1952.
It is the country’s largest social security organisation.
EPFO assists the Central Board of Trustees in the administration of a provident fund scheme, pension scheme and an insurance scheme for the registered establishments in India.
6. India’s First Centre of Excellence in Online Gaming to be set up in Shillong
Tags: State News
Digital India startup hub through software technology parks of India will set up India’s first centre of excellence for online gaming in Shillong by March, said IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on 13 January 2023.
An overview of the news
The Center of Excellence in Shillong is expected to catalyse startups and entrepreneurs from India's Northeast to build the next generation online gaming ecosystem.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) recently released the draft amendments to the IT Rules 2021 with respect to online gaming for public consultation.
MeitY will also set up a state-of-the-art facility under the National Institute of Electronics and IT (NIELIT) in Shillong to impart training on digital skills.
A 10-acre campus will soon be prepared for this.
Government is relaunching Skill India through PMKVY 4.0 which will provide skill training to around 50,000 youth in Meghalaya with industry supported job opportunities.
7. Gangasagar Mela 2023
Tags: Festivals State News
Lakhs of pilgrims have started flocking to Sagar Island on the southernmost tip of West Bengal for the annual Gangasagar Mela, held between January 12 and 14 to celebrate Makar Sankranti.
About Gangasagar Mela
Gangasagar is a place of Hindu pilgrimage. Every year on the day of Makar Sankranti (14 January), hundreds of thousands of Hindus gather to take a holy dip at the confluence of the river Ganges and Bay of Bengal and offer prayers (puja) in the Kapil Muni Temple.
The Gangasagar pilgrimage and fair is the second largest congregation of mankind after the triennial ritual bathing of Kumbha Mela.
Gangasagar is a village in the Kakdwip subdivision of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Sagar Island
Sagar Island is an island in the Ganges delta, located on the continental shelf of the Bay of Bengal, about 100 km (54 nautical miles) south of Kolkata.
The island forms Sagar CD block in Kakdwip subdivision of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Although Sagar Island is a part of the Sundarbans, it does not have tiger habitat or mangrove forests or small river tributaries, as is characteristic of the overall Sundarbans delta.
8. Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board signs MoUs with chapters of eight countries of GOPIO
Tags: State News
Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board signed MoU with eight country chapters of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) at MP Tourism Pavilion, Brilliant Convention Centre, Indore at 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention.
An overview of the news
These MoUs were signed with France Metropole Paris, Mauritius, Reunion Island, Martinique, Sri Lanka, GOPIO International, Malaysia and Mauritius.
The MoU was signed by Principal Secretary Tourism and Culture and Managing Director of Tourism Board Shiv Shekhar Shukla and presidents of eight countries of GOPIO.
The objective of this MoU is to increase cooperation in the development of the tourism sector of the state and to promote tourist places.
Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)
It was founded at the First Global Convention of People of Indian Origin in New York in 1989.
Its primary objective is to fight against the violation of human rights of people of Indian origin.
It currently has 76 chapters that operate in more than 45 countries around the world.
These chapters represent the interests of the Indian diaspora, which numbers over 25 million worldwide.
9. Tripura State Government launches "Saharsh" special education program
Tags: Government Schemes State News
The Tripura state government has launched "Saharsh" special education program to promote social and emotional learning.
An overview of the news
It was started as a pilot program in 40 schools in the state in August 2022, now it will be made available to all government and aided schools in the state.
Its objective is to enable children to study with joy and enthusiasm.
As per the Performance Grading Index, Tripura currently comes under Grade-I group.
The state government has already trained 204 schools for the Saharsh curriculum while 200 more schools will be trained soon.
Thirty assistant principals from different districts of Tripura were also happily selected to act as implementation ambassadors.
About Tripura
Capital - Agartala
Governor - Satyadev Narayan Arya
Chief Minister - Manik Shah
State Bird - Green Imperial Pigeon (Ducula aenia)
State Tree - Agar (Aquilaria malaccensis)
State Flower - Nageshwar (Mesua Feria)
Borders - Bangladesh, Mizoram and Assam.
10. Chhattisgarh CM Celebrated Traditional ‘Cherchera’ Festival in Raipur
Tags: Festivals State News
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel organised the traditional festival 'Chherchera' at Dudhadhari Math in capital Raipur.
An overview of the news
Chherchera festival is celebrated on the full moon night of the Hindu calendar month of 'Paush'. It is meant to celebrate the joy of taking the harvest home after farming.
It is a festival of receiving and giving charity. Giving charity brings generosity in the mind and taking charity ends the ego inside the person.
On this day Lord Shankar begged for alms from Mother Annapurna, so people donate green vegetables along with paddy on this day.
On this occasion people from every class, including Annadata (Farmers), donate food grains.
The amount donated in Chherchera is spent on public welfare. People of every class including farmers donate food grains.
This year, there has been a good production of paddy in the state and 85 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been procured, which has been paid to the farmers immediately.
There are 2500 paddy procurement centres and 2000 committees where the work of weighing and lifting is going on continuously.
About Chhattisgarh
Capital: Raipur
Governor: Anusuiya Uikey
Chief Minister: Bhupesh Baghel
