1. PM Modi Inaugurates ‘Smriti Van’ Earthquake Memorial in Kutch, Gujarat
Tags: State News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated India's first earthquake memorial Smriti Van to the nation in Bhuj, Gujarat on 28 August 2022.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Smriti Van is a unique memorial in which the names of more than 12,000 people who lost their lives in the devastating earthquake in January 2001 have been inscribed.
This monument is built on top of Bhujiyo hill which is spread over 470 acres of land.
It is the first such memorial in the country.
An earthquake simulator has been installed in the monument which will provide the real experience of the earthquake to the visitors.
A state-of-the-art Smriti Van Earthquake Museum has also been built in this.
Features of the memorial :
The museum displays Gujarat's topography, reconstruction initiatives and success stories after the 2001 earthquake, and provides information on future preparedness for a variety of disasters.
It has a block to recreate the feel of an earthquake with the help of a 5D simulator and also a block to pay tribute to the lost souls.
The eight-block and 11,500-square-metre museum will showcase the Harappan civilization of the region.
The museum also has 50 audio-visual models, a hologram, interactive projection and virtual reality facilities for visitors.
2. Uttarakhand CM launched Mukhyamantri Udyman Khiladi Unnayan Yojana
Tags: Sports Government Schemes State News
On the occasion of National Sports Day, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami has launched Mukhyamantri Udyman Khiladi Unnayan Yojana in the state.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Under the scheme sports scholarships of Rs 1500 will be provided every month to the players between the age group of 8 to 14 years.
A total of 3900 budding sports persons will benefit from Mukhyamantri Udyman Khiladi Unnayan Yojana, in which 1950 boys and 1950 girls will be included.
Other announcements made by the Chief Minister on this occasion :
The Chief Minister said that a sports development fund would be set up in the state. Under this, eight sports coaches will be appointed in each district.
The Malkhamb game will be included in sports policy.
Along with this, the contract trainers in the Sports Department will be given the same honorarium as the contract trainers of the Sports Authority of India.
He also announced efforts to re-implement four percent reservation for skilled sportspersons in state services.
About Uttarakhand State :
Formation - 09 November 2000
Capital - Dehradun
Number of Divisions - 02 (Garhwal and Kumaon)
State bordering the state - 2 (Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh)
Countries bordering the state - 2 (Nepal, Tibet (China))
State flower - Brahma Kamal (local name - Kaulpadya) (Scientific name - Sosuria ablevets)
State Tree - Buransh (Rhododendron)
State animal - musk deer (Muscus chrysogaster)
State Bird - Monal (Lopoporus impejanus)
state sport - football
Number of Vidhan Sabha Members - 70
Number of Members in Lok Sabha - 5
Seats for Rajya Sabha - 3
Chief Minister - Pushkar Singh Dhami
Governor - Gurmeet Singh
3. Uttar Pradesh govt to construct India’s first education township
Tags: State News
On the lines of countries like America, the first education township in the country will be developed in Uttar Pradesh with the aim of making all types of education and skill development training easily available at one place.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Education township means easy access to all types of education and skill development training at one place.
CM Yogi Adityanath has directed to develop five such townships in the state.
The focus of the township will be on top-class education that will attract students not only from the country but also from African, Latin American and Central Asian countries.
Education township will be open to the government and private sector.
In this education township, prestigious government and private universities of the country and the world will be able to open their campuses.
Primary and secondary schools like Atal Residential Schools will also be included in this.
Universities and colleges will be established for undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
There will also be studies and research of courses related to management, technology, law and medicine.
Several coaching institutes like Abhyudaya will also be started in the education township. Through these preparations will be made for competitive exams like NEET, IIT, Union Public Service Commission.
Housing will also be available in the township.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
About Uttar Pradesh State :
Uttar Pradesh is the largest state (in terms of population) in India and the fourth largest in terms of area.
On 9 November 2000, the Indian Parliament created the state of Uttaranchal (present-day Uttarakhand) from the northwestern (mainly hilly) part of Uttar Pradesh.
The number of districts in Uttar Pradesh is 75 and the division is 18.
State Bird – Stork or Kraunch
State Tree - Ashoka
State flower - Palash or Tensu
State Emblem - 2 fish and arrow command in a circle approved since 1938
Foundation Day - 24 January 1950
Number of Members of Legislative Assembly- 403
Number of Legislative Council members - 100
Number of Lok Sabha Members- 80
Number of Rajya Sabha members- 31
Governor- Anandiben Patel
Chief Minister- Yogi Adityanath
4. Kerala to introduce online monitoring system of medicines in govt hospitals
Tags: State News
Kerala government will soon launch an online monitoring facility to track the availability and distribution of medicines in government medical institutions in the state.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- The facility has been introduced after reports of shortage of medicines, even basic medicines, in government hospitals.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George announced the launch of this surveillance system to ensure the availability and distribution of medicines in hospitals.
This process is developed to balance the demand for medicines keeping in mind the need and potential growth in each hospital along with storage and distribution of medicines.
When all the hospitals will update the data regarding the distribution of medicines on a daily basis then it will be possible to know the stock of medicine in the hospital and medicines can be distributed as per their shortage.
After that if there is a certain percentage shortfall in any medicine, it should be reported to KMSCL so that the medicines can be procured without any delay.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
About Kerala State :
Kerala is located at the south-west end of India. The state of Travancore (Cochin) was formed on 1 July 1949 by merging the princely states of Travancore and Cochin.
The state of Kerala was formed on 1 November 1956 by merging Travancore-Cochin and Malabar under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
Kerala was known as Aranyaka in ancient times.
It is the world's first Baby Friendly State recognized by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Kerala is also known as 'God's own home'.
Kerala accounts for 98% of the country's black pepper production. The rubber sector in Kerala is 83% of the country. There are plantations of tea, coffee, rubber, cardamom and spices here.
Lake - Vembanad, Ashtamudi
Festival - Onam is celebrated at the time of harvesting.
Folk Dance - Kathakali
Major Tribes -Adyan, Irrawalan, Kamar, Kurman
Capital - Thiruvananthapuram
Sex Ratio -1084 (State with Highest Sex Ratio)
Literacy - 93.91% (Most literate state)
5. Punjab, Haryana agree to name Chandigarh airport after Shaheed Bhagat Singh
Tags: State News
Recently Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Haryana Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala have collectively decided to name Chandigarh International Airport after Shaheed Bhagat Singh.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Earlier, the Punjab Assembly had passed a resolution to name the airport as 'Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh International Airport, Mohali' but Haryana opposed it as it was named after Mohali.
Now after the agreement between the two states on the name of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, this proposal will soon be sent to the central government.
The Central Government has announced to name 13 airports of the country, in which some states have also proposed names for the airports of their area and sent them to the Central Government.
Other recently changed airport names :
Hisar Airport- Maharaja Agrasen Airport
Ayodhya Airport - Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram Airport
Kurnool Airport- Freedom Fighter Narasimha Reddy Airport
Agartala Airport- Maharaja Veer Vikram Airport
Gorakhpur Airport- Mahayogi Gorakhnath Airport
Jharsuguda Airport - Veer Surendra Sai Airport
About Bhagat Singh :
Bhagat Singh was born in 1907 in the Punjab province of British India.
His father's name was Sardar Kishan Singh and mother's name was Vidyavati Kaur.
Leaving the National College of Lahore, Bhagat Singh founded the Naujawan Bharat Sabha for the independence of India.
Bhagat Singh and his associate Shivram Rajguru shot John Saunders, a British police officer, in December 1928.
Subsequently, Bhagat Singh (aged 23) was convicted and hanged on March 23, 1931.
6. Centre signs $96.3 mn loan with ADB to improve water supply in Himachal
Tags: State News
The Asian Development Bank and the Indian Government on 22 August signed a 96.3 million dollar (about Rs 769 crore) loan agreement to provide safe drinking water and improve water supply and sanitation services in Himachal Pradesh.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- This project is in line with the objectives of Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide piped water to all rural households by 2024.
This loan has been given by ADB under the Himachal Pradesh Rural Drinking Water Improvement and Livelihood Project.
More than 90 percent of the rural population of the Himachal Pradesh has access to drinking water, but the water supply infrastructure is old and in a dilapidated condition, resulting in poor quality of service.
Under this ADB project, 75,800 households in Himachal Pradesh will be connected to this service and 370,000 residents in ten districts will get uninterrupted supply of clean drinking water.
Under the project, water supply infrastructure will be improved and institutional capacity will be strengthened in Himachal Pradesh.
In this way safe, sustainable and inclusive rural water supply and sanitation services will be ensured.
Aims of the project :
The project aims to build 48 groundwater wells, 80 surface water facilities, 109 water treatment plants, 117 pumping stations and 3,000 km of water distribution pipelines.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) :
It is a regional development bank established on 19th December 1966.
The ADB currently consists of 68 members, 49 of whom are from Asia and the Pacific and 19 from outside.
It envisions a prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable Asia and Pacific region.
It seeks to eradicate extreme poverty in the region.
It assists its members and partners by providing loans, technical assistance, grants and equity investments to promote social and economic development.
Its headquartered in Manila, Philippines.
7. Maharashtra declares ‘Dahi Handi’ an official sport
Tags: State News Sports News
Like Kho-Kho and Kabaddi, Dahi Handi has now been given the status of a sport in Maharashtra. It will be considered as a kind of adventure sport.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told the Vidhan Sabha that Govindas joining Dahi Handi would be given benefits of government schemes, 5 percent reservation in government jobs.
Govinda will now also be given insurance cover. If an accident occurs while playing Dahi Handi and in such a situation a Govinda dies, then an amount of Rs 10 lakh will be given as assistance to the relatives of the concerned Govinda.
In case of serious injury on Govinda's eyes or both legs or both hands or any two important parts of the body, the state government will give him an assistance of Rs.7.5 lakh.
In such a situation, if any Govind's hand, leg or any part of the body is lost, then in such a situation, he will be given an assistance amount of 5 lakh rupees.
What is Dahi Handi ?
Dahi Handi is celebrated on the occasion of Janmashtami, the birth of Lord Krishna.
Dahi Handi is part of the Janmashtami festival, where young participants called 'govindas', dressed in colourful clothes, form and break a human pyramid to reach a pot hung in the air.
Dahi Handi was first started here in 1907 on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami.
The tradition of Dahi Handi, which started in Mumbai in 1907, has been going on for the last 104 years in Ghansoli village near Navi Mumbai.
8. MP’s tribal-dominated Mandla becomes India’s first full functional literate district
Tags: State News
Madhya Pradesh’s city Mandla, which is a tribal-dominated region has become India’s first fully ‘functionally literate’ district. It has been announced by the state government.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- The district administration had launched a campaign in 2020 to make the residents fully literate.
With the aim of making people literate, the administration employed the education, and women and child development departments along with social workers.
The tribals often complained to the authorities about fraudsters withdrawing money from their bank accounts and the root cause was that they were not functionally literate.
To solve this problem, Mandla District Magistrate Harshika Singh started an initiative to make people functionally literate.
District administration launched a major campaign to make them functionally literate from 15 August 2020 by roping in the school education department, women and child development department, anganwadi and social workers to educate women and senior citizens.
Within two years the entire district has become functionally literate.
According to a survey in 2011, the literacy rate in the district was 68 percent.
Another report in 2020 stated that more than 2.25 lakh people in the district were not literate and most of them were tribals living in forest areas.
According to the 2011 census, the literacy rate of Madhya Pradesh is 69.32 percent. In this, male literacy is 78.73 percent while female literacy is 59.24 percent.
What is Functional Literacy ?
It refers to an individual's ability to engage in all those activities that require literacy for the effective functioning of his group and community and also enables him to read, write and calculate for his own sake.
9. Rajnath Singh unveiled the statue of "Veer Durgadas Rathod" in Jodhpur
Tags: State News
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled the statue of "Veer Durgadas Rathod" on his 385th birth anniversary in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Raksha Mantri, while paying a heartfelt tribute to Veer Durgadas Rathod, described him as a symbol of social harmony, honesty, bravery and devotion.
Veer Durgadas Rathod :
Durgadas Rathod was a brave Rathod Rajput warrior who defeated the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in battle.
After the death of Maharaja Jaswant Singh in the 17th century, Veer Durgadas Rathod single-handedly maintained the rule of the Rathore dynasty over Marwar (Jodhpur).
Durga Das's father Askaran Rathod was the minister of Maharaja Jaswant Singh. He was given special military status. Mother's name was Netkanwar Bai. Durgadas was brought up in a village named Lunawa.
On 22 November 1718 at Ujjain on the banks of Shipra, Durgadas died at the age of 81, his mausoleum in red stone still stands at Chakratirtha, Ujjain, a pilgrimage for all freedom fighters and Rajputs.
10. Drone-based healthcare services launched in Arunachal Pradesh
Tags: State News
On August 15, 2022, in Arunachal Pradesh, the “Medicine from the Sky” project was successfully unveiled.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- The first flight of the drone service was conducted from Seppa to Chiang Tajo in East Kameng district.
The project is inspired by the Prime Minister's vision of transforming India into a drone hub of the world.
In Arunachal Pradesh, the pilot project “Medicine from the Sky Project” is being launched in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The “Medicine from the Sky Project” is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
It is being implemented by Redwing Labs, a start-up based in Bengaluru.
The project will provide a clear vision on operational issues, regulatory issues and financial viability. Based on this, the government will formulate a policy and take steps to adopt the emerging technology in a phased manner.
About Arunachal Pradesh :
Capital- Itanagar
Governor- BD Mishra
Chief Minister- Pema Khandu
Legislative Assembly - 60 seats
Rajya Sabha - 1 seat
Lok Sabha - 2 seats
