1. Rajasthan Government to provide LPG cylinder at Rs 500 per cylinder; Ashok Gehlot
Tags: Person in news State News
The Rajasthan Government will provide 12 LPG cylinders per year to the poor families at Rs 500 per cylinder from 1 April 2023. This was announced by the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Alwar on 19 December 2022.
He said the decision was taken to provide relief to the people suffering from unprecedented inflation and unemployment.
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)
‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’ (PMUY) was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 May 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.
Under the scheme a poor household headed by a woman is provided with a free LPG gas stove and free first LPG Cylinder.
However under the scheme the beneficiaries have to buy the subsidized LPG cylinder.
The target of the PMUY was to release 8 crore LPG connections by March 2020 which was achieved on 7 September 2019.
PMUY 2.0
It was launched virtually by PM Modi on 10 August 2021 at Mahoba, Madhya Pradesh.
It aims to provide additional 1.6 crore LPG connections with special focus on migrant households.
Connection is provided to an adult woman belonging to a poor household.
The beneficiaries should belong to any of the following categories:
- Eligible as per Socio Economic Caste Census 2011 list,
- Belongs to SC/ST households, be a beneficiary of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Forest dwellers, Most Backward Classes (MBC), Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Tribes, People residing in river Islands.
2. Tamil Nadu government makes Aadhaar mandatory for all its schemes
Tags: State News
The Tamil Nadu government has announced that all those who are eligible for benefits (other than minor children) under various government schemes will have to submit proof of having an Aadhaar number or get an Aadhaar identification.
Important facts
As per the order, Aadhaar is mandatory for government employees, government pensioners and beneficiaries of various schemes implemented by the state government through various departments through their implementing agencies.
Any person who is willing to avail the benefits but does not have an Aadhaar number or has not yet enrolled for Aadhaar, will need to apply for Aadhaar enrollment before registering for the schemes.
The Treasury and Accounts Department through its implementing agency will provide Aadhaar enrollment facilities for those beneficiaries who are not yet enrolled.
In case there is no Aadhaar Enrollment Centre, the Department will provide enrollment facilities at convenient locations through its implementing agency in coordination with the existing Registrar of UIDAI or by becoming the Registrar of UIDAI itself.
The government has also announced a remedial mechanism in case Aadhaar authentication fails due to bad biometrics or any other reason.
This will be done through Aadhaar One Time Password (OTP) or time-based OTP with limited time validity.
About Tamilnadu
The state was formed on 26 January 1950 but its boundaries were redrawn on 14 January 1969.
Tamil Nadu is located at the mouth of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.
Bharatanatyam is a very popular and famous dance form of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu is the largest producer of bananas and flowers, the second largest producer of mango, rubber, groundnut, coconut and the third largest producer of coffee.
Governor- Ravindra Narayan Ravi
Chief Minister- M.K.Stalin
Assembly seats 235 seats
Rajya Sabha Seats - 18
Lok Sabha seats- 39
3. 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.
4. Geographical Indication tagging for Raktsey Karpo Apricot of Ladakh
Tags: State News
Ladakh has got its first Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Raktsey Carpo apricots.
About Raktsey Karpo Apricot
It is one of the nine items recently registered in the GI tag lists.
Although more than thirty varieties of apricot are grown in Ladakh, the Raktsy Karpo variety is unique to the region.
It is famous in Ladakh for its sweetness, white kernel and colour.
Apricot genotypes native to Ladakh such as Rakaste Karpo apricot have a white seed coat which is not found anywhere in the world except Ladakh.
It is most preferred by the consumers for fresh consumption. In addition, Rakeste karpo contains significantly more sorbitol than brown-coat fruits.
Apricot is the major fruit of Ladakh with large-scale cultivation in both Leh and Kargil Districts among the nine fruits grown in Ladakh.
Apricot is also being promoted under One District One Product for Kargil.
5. Union Finance Minister lays foundation for new office complex Vaigai at Custom House in Chennai
Tags: Economy/Finance State News
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman on 18th December laid the foundation for a nine-story new office complex Vaigai to be built at a cost of Rs 92 Crore at the Custom House in Chennai.
Important facts
She also inaugurated ‘Nandavanam’, the central revenue quarters of the Central Board of Direct Taxes and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBDT & CBIC) at Anna Nagar in Chennai.
The union minister also inaugurated a micro forest named ‘Paimpozhil’ inside the Nandavanam campus.
The new office complex ‘Vaigai’ will have two basements for harbouring government agencies.
It will be built at a cost of Rs 91.64 crore over an expanse of around 1.70 lakh sq.ft.
Sitaraman also informed that a creche will be opened for the benefit of the women employees and the building will be energy efficient.
6. 63rd session of the IHRC inaugurated in Lucknow
Tags: place in news National State News
The Uttar Pradesh Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Transport, Daya Shankar Singh inaugurated the two day (18 and 19 December) 63rd Session of the Indian Historical Records Committee (IHRC) in Lucknow on 18 December 2022.
The two days’ Session will comprise Inaugural and Business Session on the first day and Academic Session on the next day. A total of 24 papers based on the original sources of post 1600 of Indian history will be presented by the Scholars on various aspects of history.
About IHRC
The Indian Historical Records Committee (IHRC) is an all India Forum of creators, custodians and users of records which was set up in 1919 to advice the Government of India on all issues connected with the management of records and their use for historical research.
The National Archives of India, New Delhi is the Secretariat of Indian Historical Records Committee (re-designated Indian Historical Records Committee in 1911). The IHRC is headed by the Union Minister of Culture and comprises 134 members including agencies of the Government of India, nominees of the Government of India, representatives from the State/UT Archives, Universities and Learned Institutions.
Union Minister for Culture: G.Kishan Reddy
7. M P government set up a task force to recommend regulation of online gambling and gaming
Tags: committee Person in news State News
In an order issued on 16 December 2022 the Madhya Pradesh government has constituted a high-level task force, which will make recommendations about regulating online gambling and gaming in the state after examining the technical and legal aspects.
This task force will be headed by the state chief secretary Iqbal Singh Bains.
The task force has been constituted to examine various judicial precedents, legal situations and technical aspects related to prevention and controlling online gambling and gaming and make recommendations to the state government.
The government took this step after a number of incidents were reported in the state where children addicted to online games were committing suicide after being scolded by parents.
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chauhan
8. PM to attend Golden Jubilee Celebrations of North Eastern Council in Shillong
Tags: Summits State News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the golden jubilee celebrations of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Shillong on 18 December 2022.
Important facts
He will address an official meeting of the NEC as well as a public meeting on this occasion.
The official meeting of the Council will be held at the State Convention Centre Auditorium while the public meeting will be organised at the Polo Grounds in Shillong.
Union Home Minister, Minister for Development of North Eastern Region, Governors and Chief Ministers of North Eastern States, Union Ministers dealing with North Eastern Region, local MPs and MLAs and nominated members of NEC will also attend the function.
During this, the Prime Minister will inaugurate various important projects of the North Eastern region including the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong, NEC projects and Meghalaya state projects and lay the foundation stone for some other projects.
The “GOLDEN FOOTPRINTS”, a commemorative volume chronicling NEC’s contribution towards the development of the North Eastern Region over the last fifty years, will also be released during the Golden Jubilee event.
About North Eastern Council
It is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North Eastern Region.
It consists of the eight States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
It was constituted under the North Eastern Council Act in 1971.
The Council comprises Governors and Chief Ministers of constituent States and three members nominated by the President.
The Union Cabinet, in June 2018, approved the proposal of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) to nominate the Union Home Minister as the ex-officio Chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC).
The Cabinet also approved that the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of DoNER will act as the Vice-Chairman of the Council.
It discusses any matter in which some or all the States represented on the Council have a common interest and advises the Central Government and the respective State Governments as to the action to be taken on any such matter.
The headquarters - Shillong
9. UPICON and Jadooz to create 1,000 rural entrepreneurs in Edutainment in Uttar Pradesh
Tags: Economy/Finance State News
U.P. Industrial Consultants Limited (UPICON) and Jadooz Company have joined hands to create 1,000 rural entrepreneurs in Uttar Pradesh through rural edutainment centres called ‘Magic Rooms’.
The Magic room is based on the concept of common infrastructure usage for Education and Cinema’. It will perform the dual function of big-screen-based live interactive education in the day and will double up as a ‘First Day First Show’ cinema in the evening.
Both UPICON and Jadooz will train 1000 entrepreneurs in rural Uttar Pradesh. UPICON expects every Magic Room to create direct and indirect employment to more than 25,000 people and create a new direct and indirect economy of Rs 1,000 Crores annually.
The first two ‘Magic Rooms’ are expected to be inaugurated in rural clusters surrounding Lucknow and Basti.
Jadooz is an entertainment start-up based in NOIDA, is in the business of setting up mini theaters in rural areas with an average seating capacity of 30-50. The mini theaters are normally used for educational purposes in the daytime and for cinema at night time.
UPICON Managing Director: Pravin Singh
10. Amit Shah chairs the Eastern Zonal Council meeting in Kolkata
Tags: Summits State News
Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council in Kolkata on 17th December.
Important facts
In the meeting issues like security along the inter-state borders, smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border, and connectivity were discussed.
It was attended by chief ministers, ministers, chief secretaries, principal secretaries, and senior officers of the member states and senior officers of central government.
The Eastern Zonal Council comprises West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha.
The Central government has been regularly holding meetings of the zonal councils as a part of its strategy to strengthen and promote cooperative and competitive federalism in the country.
Zonal councils provide a forum for discussion on issues affecting one or more states or issues between the Center and the states.
