1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands declared India’s first Swachh Sujal Pradesh
Tags: National State News National News
The Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has declared Andaman and Nicobar Islands as India's first Swachh Sujal Pradesh, by handing over the certificate to the Lieutenant Governor Admiral DK Joshi.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- All villages of Andaman and Nicobar Island have been certified as Har Ghar Jal and also verified as open defecation free - ODF plus.
In order to be certified as a Swachh Sujal Pradesh, the State or the Union Territory has to be certified Har Ghar Jal as well shall be open defecation free.
Certified Har Ghar Jal means that the Gram sabha of every village in the state or the Union Territory has to pass a resolution certifying that all households in the villages have access to safe drinking water through taps.
The villages also have to confirm through a resolution of the Gram Sabha, that every household is getting regular supply of water of prescribed quality and not a single household is left out.
They have to also confirm that all schools, anganwadi centres and other public institutions are also getting tap water.
Open Defecation Free (ODF) :
'Open Defecation Free' (ODF) is a term used to describe communities that are using toilets instead of open defecation.
A village that maintains Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, ensures solid and liquid waste management and is visually clean is called "ODF Plus Village".
Toilet facilities should be ensured in all households, primary schools, panchayat houses and Anganwadi centres in these villages.
At least 80% of households should manage their solid and liquid waste effectively and have minimum litter and minimum stagnant water.
ODF Plus villages have been divided into three categories -Aspiring, Rising and Model.
Note :
Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh is the first certified Har Ghar Jal District in India.
Goa is the first state to be certified as Har Ghar Jal state.
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu are the first Har Ghar Jal certified Union Territory(UT) in the country.
2. 22 September State legislature proceedings to be dedicated to female legislators: CM Yogi
Tags: State News
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that 23 September 2022 proceedings of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council will be dedicated to the women members of both the houses.
This is for the first time that a day’s proceedings has been solely dedicated to the women members of the state legislature.
According to the speaker of the legislative assembly Satish Mahana only the women members of the house will be allowed to speak after the question hour.
Currently the Uttar Pradesh legislative Assembly has 47 women members and the Legislative Council has 6 members.
The Monsoon session of the Uttar Pradesh legislature will be from 19 -23 September 2022.
No reason has been given by the chief minister why this day has been chosen for the occasion.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Uttar Pradesh legislature :
- Uttar Pradesh has a bicameral legislature. The upper house is called the Legislative Council and the Lower House is called Legislative Assembly.
- The Legislative council consists of 100 members and Kunwar Manvendra Singh is the chairman of the legislative council.
- Total women member in the present Legislative council is 6.
Legislative Assembly :
- The first legislative Assembly was constituted on 8th March, 1952.
- The present assembly is the Eighteenth Legislative Assembly, which was constituted on 11th March, 2022.
- The total members in the house is 404, highest in the country. The total number of women members in the current house is 47.
- Shri Satish Mahana is the Speaker of Legislative Assembly.
3. Vice President asks media to be extra careful while reporting about judiciary
Tags: National State News National News
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, in his address as the Chief Guest at the first 'Justice JS Verma Memorial Lecture' held in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh on September 18, urged the media to be extra careful while reporting about the judiciary.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- He said that we must uphold the dignity of the judges and respect for the judiciary, as these are the fundamental principles of the rule of law and constitutionalism.
He said that a strong, fair and independent justice system is the guarantee of democratic values to flourish and be effective.
In the first 'Justice JS Verma Memorial Lecture', the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul delivered the keynote address.
After the memorial lecture, the Vice President paid homage by garlanding the statues of Raja Shankar Shah and Kunwar Raghunath Shah.
Justice J S Verma :
Justice Jagdish Sharan Verma was the Chief Justice of India from 25 March 1997 to 18 January 1998.
He was appointed Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court on 14 June 1986.
He was transferred to the Rajasthan High Court as its Chief Justice on 1 September 1986.
He was appointed Acting Governor of Rajasthan twice.
In 2013, the Justice JS Verma committee recommended sweeping changes to the laws relating to sexual harassment at the workplace.
The panel was formed in 2012 after the December 16 Nirbhaya gangrape, which submitted its report in 2013.
4. Niti Aayog-like body to be set up in Maharashtra
Tags: State News
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on September 18 announced that an institute on the lines of NITI Aayog would be set up in the state for comprehensive data analysis and decision making after in-depth study in various areas.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- A delegation led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met the Chief Executive Officer and other officials of NITI Aayog on 18 September.
It was proposed that an institute on the lines of NITI Aayog will be set up in the State for comprehensive data analysis and decision making after in-depth study in various fields.
Monetization of assets, technology in agriculture, transportation for alternative fuels or EV policy, non-conventional energy, health care, etc., were discussed during the meeting between NITI Aayog officials.
NITI Aayog has also conducted a comprehensive study on similar issues and developed a tool where a comprehensive analysis of data of various departments is done for better decision making process.
Maharashtra is aiming to become a trillion dollar economy in the coming years.
The state government had also prepared a five-point agenda while presenting the budget for 2022-23 in March.
NITI Aayog :
It is the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India and responsible for bringing ideas and focus to key areas through policy formulation.
It is also responsible for promoting cooperative federalism in the country through the participation of state governments in the economic policy-making process.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
About Maharashtra :
Establishment - 1st May 1960
Official Language - Marathi
Neighbouring States - Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Dadra And Nagar Haveli, Chhattisgarh
Members of Parliament - Lok Sabaha 48 (Rajya Sabha seats 19)
Legislature - Bicameral ( Assembly 289 and council 78 seats)
Literacy - 82.91%
Districts - 36
Major Rivers - Tributaries of Tapti, Bhima, Godavari and Krishna
Capital - Mumbai
Population - 11.23 crore (2011 census)
5. Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur inaugurates National Conference of tourism ministers
Tags: place in news National State News
The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur inaugurated a three-day (18-20 September) national conference of tourism ministers from various states and Union territories at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh on 18 September 2022.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy was the Chief Guest.
- The conference in Dharamshala is being attended by tourism ministers from various states and Union Territories and other officials related to the tourism sectors.
- With India assuming the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023, Tourism-related aspects of the G20 leaders' summit will be discussed at the event.
- India is expected to host over 200 G20 meetings during its year-long Presidency of the influential group, which will culminate with an annual summit on September 9 and 10 next year.
6. Amidst controversy Amit shah inaugurates Hyderabad Liberation Day celebration
Tags: place in news National State News
Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the year-long celebrations of Hyderabad Liberation Day at the parade grounds in Hyderabad, Telangana on 17 September 2022. However the celebration has become controversial after the Telangana Chief Minister announced to observe the day as Telangana National Integration Day. The center move has also been criticized by the Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.
Both the Chief Minister and Owaisi considers Centre’s move as communal.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Speaking on the occasion, Amit Shah said for the first time liberation day is being held officially on the land of Telangana after 75 years. He said some political parties feel ashamed to call September 17 Hyderabad Liberation Day as they still have fear of Razakars (Nizam’s para military force) in their mind.
- Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Karnataka Transport Minister Sriramulu and Union Culture minister Kishan Reddy participated in the event while Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao stayed away from the event.
- Telangana Liberation Day is observed on 17 September to mark the popular rebellion against the ruler of Hyderabad, Nizam after Independence. It subsequently led to the Police action by India, code named ‘operation polo in 1948 and the Hyderabad princely state was merged with India.
7. Sudarsan Patnaik creates Modi sand sculpture with Kulhar on PM's birthday
Tags: place in news Person in news State News
Famous sand artist and Padam Shri awardee, Sudarsan Patnaik of Odisha has paid tribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 72 birthday in his own unique way.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- He made a 5 feet sand statue of the PM with the message ‘Happy Birthday Modi ji’ by placing 1,213 Kulhar (clay tea cups) at Puri beach on 17 September 2022. He used 5 tonnes of sand for the purpose.
- Sudarsan Patnaik has participated in more than 60 international sand art championships and festivals around the world and has won many awards.
8. World’s largest blood donation drive launched in Gujarat
Tags: State News Important Days
The Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel launched the world’s largest blood donation drive on 17 September 2022 on the occasion of the 72nd birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Ahmedabad.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- The ‘Mega Blood Donation Drive’ has been organized by Akhil Bharatiya Terapanth Yuva Parishad Ahmedabad. According to the organizers “the target is to get more than 1, 50,000 units of blood donation by organizing around 2,000 Blood Donation Camps”
- Meanwhile in New Delhi the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya launched Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav, a countrywide mega drive for voluntary blood donation from 17th September to 1st October this year.
- 1st October is observed as the National Voluntary Blood Donation Day.
9. PM Narendra Modi releases 8 Cheetahs in MP's Kuno National Park
Tags: National State News International News
The first batch of cheetahs, translocated from Namibia to India, has been released into the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Cheetahs (5 females and 3 males) have been brought from Namibia in Africa as part of 'Project Cheetah'.
Eight cheetahs were brought in a cargo plane to Gwalior as part of an intercontinental cheetah translocation project.
Later, helicopters from the Indian Air Force transported the cheetahs from Gwalior Air Force Station to Kuno National Park.
This is the first time in the world that a large carnivore has been transferred from one continent to another.
The cheetahs have been brought under a memorandum of understanding signed earlier this year.
Reintroduction Action Plan :
Reintroduction of a species means releasing it in an area where it is capable of surviving.
Under the scheme, 50 cheetahs will be released in various national parks of the country over a period of 5 years.
Extinction of cheetahs :
The last cheetah of the country was found dead in the year 1947 in Chhattisgarh and in the year 1952 it was declared extinct in the country.
Habitat loss, conflict with humans, poaching and high susceptibility to diseases are the major causes of their extinction.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
About ‘Project Cheetah’ :
This is a one of its kind project in which a species is being brought out of the country (from South Africa / Namibia) and restored to the country.
The subspecies of the extinct cheetah in India was the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) and the subspecies of the cheetah being brought back to the country is the African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus).
Research has shown that the genes of both these subspecies are similar.
10. 8 Tribal militant group in Assam to join the national mainstream
Tags: State News
In a significant breakthrough to the peace process in Assam 8 tribal /Adivasi militant organisations signed a peace agreement with the Assam Government and the Central government on 15 September 2022 in Guwahati.
The Agreement was signed in the presence of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The leaders of the 8 group including the All Adivasi National Liberation Army, the Adivasi Cobra Militant of Assam, the Birsa Commando Force, the Santhal Tiger Force, and the Adivasi People’s Army, Tiwa Liberation Army ,Gorkha People's Organisations , Kuki Tribal Union .
The groups have been in ceasefire since 2012 and living in designated camps.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Active militant groups in Assam :
- Except the hardline faction of the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), led by Paresh Baruah, and the Kamatapur Liberation Organisation, all other rebel groups active in the state have entered into peace agreements with the government.
Mainstreaming the militants :
- With the formal signing of the peace pact the Central government and the state government will take steps for the rehabilitation of these militants so as to assimilate them in the national mainstream.
- The Centre also announced a Rs 1,000-crore development package. Both the Center and the state government will contribute Rs 500 crore each. The package will be used for infrastructure development in the villages and areas where the adivasi population live.
