State PCS

• 01 Dec 2021

Rare Coins of Prithviraj Chauhan's Reign Found in Baghpat

Why in News

• Recently, 16 rare coins of the time of Raja Anangpal Dev, Raja Madanpal, Raja Chahra Rajdev, including Delhi overlord King Prithviraj Chauhan, have been found in the archaeological site inspection in the ancient mound of village Katha of Baghpat district.

Key Points

• Historian Dr Amit Rai Jain says that this achievement will open a new dimension for the history of Baghpat and western Uttar Pradesh, because the receipt of a series of coins of the rulers of any dynasty, proves the suzerainty of those kings over that area. This discovery is very important for the researchers doing research on the basis of currency.
• The Archaeological Survey of India carried out excavation work in Baghpat district in 2005 on the proposal of Dr. Amit Rai Jain, Director of Shehzad Rai Research Institute. After that, in the year 2018, the work of excavation of Sinauli was done, rare antiquities obtained from there and wooden war chariots made of copper were received for the first time in India. Since then, district Baghpat has remained the center of exciting discovery and research for archaeologists and historians all over the world.
• In this regard, historian Amit Rai Jain says that this ancient mound has been present for thousands of years. Many times during the site inspection, the remains of Kushan period and later civilizations, pottery etc. have been obtained from here. The receipt of 16 coins in the same series proves that there must have been a large human settlement here, where coins were in circulation in commercial transactions.
• Historian Dr Amit Rai Jain, who discovered the coins, told about the metal of the coins that these are coins of Bilan metal, which were made by mixing silver and copper. Since silver was very rare, copper was also added to it in making coins.
• In the coins obtained from here, some coins have been cleaned by chemical method, due to which the names written on them can be clearly mentioned.
• Prithviraj Chauhan (AD 1178–1192) was a Hindu Kshatriya king of the Chauhan dynasty, who ruled Ajmer and Delhi in the latter half of the 12th century in North India.

Technical Service Commission Amendment Bill, 2021 Passed in the Assembly

Why in News

• On November 30, 2021, the Technical Service Commission Amendment Bill was passed by the Bihar Legislative Assembly, in which the tenure of the chairman of the commission has been changed.

Key Points

• According to the amendment bill, now the tenure of the Chairman of the Technical Services Commission has been reduced to 3 years or till the maximum age of 70 years.
• Presenting the bill in the House, Minister Vijendra Yadav said that according to the provision till now, there was a compulsion of experience for appointment in this commission, which has been abolished in this amendment bill.
• According to the amended Bill, if for any reason the post of the Chairperson in the Commission falls vacant, the senior-most member of the Commission shall be the Chairperson.
• It may be noted that earlier the name of this commission was Bihar Technical Staff Selection Commission, but in the year 2018 under an amendment, it was named as Bihar Technical Service Commission.

Biomass Power Plant

Why in News

• In the Annual General Meeting of Rajasthan State Energy Development Corporation on November 30, 2021, Additional Chief Secretary (Energy) Dr. Subodh Agrawal informed that one new biomass power project would be set up in the state at Malasar in Churu district and Nokha in Bikaner district.

Key Points

• Earlier in the month of October itself, approval has been given to set up one biomass power project each at Fagi in Jaipur and Chhatarpur in Bikaner.
• ACS Energy Dr. Agrawal informed that for regular monitoring of the overall power system in the state, review would be done in the meeting of Energy Efficiency Committee every month, while the Coordination Review Committee would be made active and effective.
• A long-term action plan is being finalized to maintain uninterrupted power supply in the state and to ensure availability of electricity at affordable rates.
• In the meeting of the Board of Directors of Energy Development Corporation held last month, it has been decided to purchase electricity from four wind plants of the state at the rate of Rs. 2 44 paise per unit.

'Back to Work' Plan

Why in News

• On November 30, 2021, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved the state government's 'Back to Work' scheme for women who leave their jobs due to family circumstances.

Key Points

• After marriage, working women have to leave the job many times due to taking care of the family and other reasons. The state government has come up with the 'Back to Work' scheme to provide opportunities to these working women who have left their jobs to get jobs again or work from home with the help of the private sector.
• In this scheme, a target has been fixed to get 15,000 women again in the next 3 years with the help of the private sector. Priority will be given to widows, abandoned, divorced and victims of violence, women who will not be able to go to the workplace, they will be provided with the opportunity of work from home.
• The facility of the single window system will be developed to provide employment opportunities to women willing to join employment through the Directorate of Women's Empowerment and CSR organization. Apart from this, skill training will also be given through RKCL.
• For the implementation of the scheme as a pilot project, applications will be taken from the target category of women on the portal or application software of the partner organization / CSR institution.
• On the basis of a category wise database of registered women on the online portal, the work of linking employment in the private sector will be done by the CSR organization. If needed, training facilities for re-skilling/up-skilling will also be provided to the targeted category women registered on the online portal by the CSR organization, which will be updated on the portal. Monitoring committee will be constituted for effective implementation of the scheme.
• Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had announced the launch of the 'Back to Work' scheme during the discussion on the Finance and Appropriation Bill for the budget 2021-22.

MoU between MSME Department and Walmart and Flipkart

Why in News

• On November 30, 2021, under a well-planned policy to make the state self-reliant, the MSME Department signed MoU with Walmart and Flipkart to make products of international quality and to create a competitive and marketing chain of more than 14 lakh new entrepreneurs of Madhya Pradesh.

Key Points

• The MoU was signed and exchanged between Department Secretary P Narhari and Walmart Director Joseph Julian in the presence of Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Omprakash Sakhlecha. Flipkart Regional Head D.P. Vankani was also present on the occasion.
• The MSME Minister said that the new entrepreneurs will get support from this MoU. This MoU will also train the innovators in retail and wholesale marketing as well as in order to ensure product packaging, competitiveness, quality and cost at a consumer level.
• Commissioner and MSME Secretary P Narhari said that this MoU will open new doors for the products of the entrepreneurs of Madhya Pradesh among the consumers at the country and international level. In this MoU, new modules, development of industries, training, seminars etc. have also been included. The new entrepreneurs of the state will be benefited from this.
• Walmart Vriddhi director Joseph Julian said they would conduct training programs for industries to develop, market and compete.

Haryana's New Chief Secretary and New Financial Commissioner Appointed

Why in News

• On November 30, 2021, senior IAS officer Sanjeev Kaushal was appointed by the Haryana government as the new chief secretary of the state and another senior officer, P.K. Das has been made the new Finance Commissioner.

Key Points

• Sanjeev Kaushal, a 1986 batch senior IAS officer of Haryana, has been made the new Chief Secretary of the state due to the retirement of outgoing Chief Secretary Vijayvardhan.
• Sanjeev Kaushal will be the 35th Chief Secretary of Haryana and fifth Chief Secretary of the government of Manohar Lal Khattar.
• Besides the Chief Secretary, Sanjeev Kaushal has been entrusted with the responsibility of General Administration Department, Parliamentary Affairs Affairs, Vigilance, Administrative Reforms Department and Planning Coordination Departments.
• Besides the Chief Secretary, Sanjeev Kaushal has been entrusted with the responsibility of General Administration Department, Parliamentary Affairs Affairs, Vigilance, Administrative Reforms Department and Planning Coordination Departments.
• PK Das has been given the responsibility of Additional Chief Secretary in the Chakbandi Department.
• Till now, Sanjeev Kaushal was working as Financial Commissioner of the State and Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue and Disaster Management Department and PK Das as Additional Chief Secretary of Electricity Department.

Greentech Environment and Sustainability Award

Why in News

• Recently Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) of Jharkhand has received the 21^st Annual Greentech Environment Award.

Key Points

• The award was presented to BSL during the '21^st Annual Greentech Environment Summit' held at Mahabalipuram.
• Chief General Manager (COBPP) Rakesh Kumar and NP Srivastava received the award on behalf of BSL at Mahabalipuram.
• BSL under the leadership of Director-in-Charge Amarendu Prakash has undertaken a campaign to convert waste into money and has generated revenue of more than Rs. 1,000 crore over the years through proper use and utilization of waste.
• On this occasion N.P. Srivastava also received the Greentech Environmental Leader Award in Mahabalipuram in the individual category for his contribution in the field of environmental protection.
• The Greentech Environment and Sustainability Awards are presented to recognize responsible, innovative practices and initiatives towards achieving sustainable goals.

Sangwari Chhattisgarh

Why in News

• Recently, Chhattisgarh Khadi and Village Industries Board Chairman Rajendra Tiwari inaugurated 'Sangwari Chhattisgarh' center at Santoshi Shopping Complex of New Willingdon Camp of Air Force located at Lok Kalyan Marg (formerly Race Course Road), New Delhi.

Key Points

• This center has been opened with the aim of making the famous products of Chhattisgarh Khadi and Village Industries more easily available to the people in Delhi.
• On this occasion, the Managing Director of Chhattisgarh Khadi and Village Industries Board, Rekha Shukla said that Chhattisgarh Khadi and Village Industries Board would encourage the spirit of self-reliance among the villagers by creating employment opportunities in rural areas as well as encourage the spirit of self-reliance amongst the villagers and the products prepared by the weavers and artisans. Provides a better market In this episode, this sales center named 'Sangwari Chhattisgarh' will make a new identity in the capital of the country.

Devasthanam Management Board Dissolved

Why in News

• On November 30, 2021, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced the dissolution of the Devasthanam Board by repealing the Uttarakhand Chardham Devasthanam Act.

Key Points

• The decision to dissolve the Devasthanam Management Board has been taken on the basis of the report submitted by the High Level Committee and the Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted in this regard on November 29, 2021. This act will be withdrawn in the coming assembly session.
• A total of 51 temples including Chardham — Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamanotri and their associated temples were brought under Devasthanam Management Board. The work of this board was to provide maintenance, income-expenditure generation and management of various works and other facilities of these temples.
• The Chairman of this board was made Chief Minister and Vice-Chairman Dharmastha and Culture Minister. In Garhwal divisional commissioner Ravinath Raman was made the chief executive officer of the board.