State PCS

• 04 Jul 2022

Uttar Pradesh Plastic Waste Management Conclave, 2022

Why in News?

• Uttar Pradesh Plastic Waste Management Conclave, 2022 was organized at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan on International Plastic Carry Bag Free Day in Lucknow on 3rd July 2022.

Key Points

• The theme of this conclave is '3R' (Reuse, Recycle and Reduce).
• Agra Municipal Commissioner Nikhil Tikaram was felicitated by the State Urban Development and Energy Minister on the occasion.
• The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of notified single-use plastics, including polystyrene and extended polystyrene, have been banned with effect from July 1, 2022.

Under-19 Badminton Tournament

Why in News?

• Noida's Neer Nehwal and Noida's Chirag Sethi became the champions in the men's singles category in the Under-19 of the Vijay Sharma Memorial UP East Zone Selection Badminton Tournament in Agra on July 3, 2022.

Key Points

• In the under-19 final match at the Eklavya Sports Stadium, Noida's Neer Nehwal defeated Harshit Tomar of Noida 21-19, 21-10 to clinch the championship.
• Chirag Sethi of Noida won the final match of men's singles by defeating Prateek Srivastava of Prayagraj 21-11, 21-08. In the men's doubles final match, the pair of Siddharth Salar and Siddharth Mishra won the title by defeating the pair of Chandra Bhushan Tripathi and Kapil Chaudhary of Saharanpur.
• It may be recalled that the Vijay Sharma Memorial East Zone Selection, the biggest tournament in Uttar Pradesh, was organized by the Badminton Association Agra from June 30 to July 3 at the Eklavya Sports Stadium .
• In the girls' U-19 doubles, Shivangi Singh and Tanisha Singh of Basti defeated the duo of Aditya Yadav and Nehal Neeru Mittal of Gorakhpur and Lucknow 21-17, 21-13 to clinch the title.
• In Women's Open category, Samridhi Singh of Lucknow and Sonali Singh of Noida defeated Mahi Naresh and Mayuri Yadav of Ghaziabad and Prayagraj 21-13, 21-15 to claim the trophy.
• A prize of one lakh rupees was distributed among the winning players in this tournament.
• In the Under-19 doubles competition of the tournament, Daksh Gautam of Agra and Ujjwal of Meerut defeated the pair of Shashank of Muzaffarnagar and Ujjwal Tomar of Bareilly by 21-17, 21-18 to win the tournament.
• In the Mix Doubles Under-19 final, Daksh Gautam of Agra and Shivangi Singh of Basti defeated the pair of Shivam Srivastava and Aditya Yadav of Gorakhpur 21-19, 21-17.

Increasing Outbreak of Lightning in Bihar

Why in News?

• Recently, the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority informed that lightning is becoming the deadliest among the natural calamities, due to which about 2000 people have lost their lives in the last six years.

Key Points

• Jamui, Bhagalpur, Purnia, Banka, Aurangabad, Gaya, Katihar, Patna, Nawada and Rohtas districts are the most sensitive in terms of thundershowers.
• However, this time, three districts - Patna, Gaya and Aurangabad - have been put on high alert.
• According to the authority, the geography of the state is responsible for thunderstorms and deaths in the state, that is, due to the monsoon climate of Bihar, it is susceptible to heat and moisture, due to which thunderstorms occur in the state with intense thunder and heavy rainfall.
• Awareness programs are being run by the state government to prevent lightning. Along with this, an app called Indravajra has also been launched, which alerts people through alarm tones and messages about 40 minutes before the thunderstorm.

Madhya Pradesh State Election Commission

Why in News?

• On July 3, 2022, the Madhya Pradesh State Election Commission has issued detailed instructions regarding the maintenance of EVMs to be used for elections.

Key Points

• Secretary, State Election Commission, Rakesh Singh has given instructions regarding the delivery of EVMs to the Collector and the District Election Officer, and how to maintain them after counting, it has been clarified that fair, fearless, transparent and reliable elections. What should be the arrangement of EVM machines till the District Election Officer, Returning Officer and polling station, counting place and strong room for the process.
• The Secretary of the State Election Commission has also said that all the trucks of EVMs allotted for the election by the Returning Officer will have to be stored in the selected temporary EVM strong room in the presence of the representatives of recognized political parties in the prescribed manner. For the purpose of training and public awareness, the supplied EVMs will be reserved and maintained in a separate room from the strong room, which is in the same building.
• The polling station allotted in RO Randomization and Ward Reserve cum Commissioning Reserve, while removing the EVMs for commissioning, will be called in the prescribed manner in the presence of the candidates and their agents.
• After commissioning, the EVMs prepared for the polling station and ward-wise reserve will be kept in the temporary strong room as prescribed and the strong room will be sealed in the prescribed manner.
• EVMs found to be non-working during commissioning and the remaining Commissioning Reserve EVMs with the Returning Officer, which are not being used for voting, are kept in a separate room from the strong room, in which the EVMs allotted for training and public awareness will also be kept, will be maintained in.
• On the day of material distribution, the strong room will be opened in the presence of the candidates and their agents in the presence of the candidates and their agents to supply the EVMs belonging to their polling stations to the polling parties and ward wise reserve EVMs of their respective sectors to the Sector/Zonal Magistrates.

Salary Hike for Mid-day Meal Cooks

Why in News?

• Recently, the Haryana Directorate of Education has decided to increase the monthly salary of cooks who prepare mid-day meal for children in government schools in the state of Haryana.

Key Points

• The monthly salary of the cooks who make mid-day meals on behalf of the Education Department will now be doubled, that is, from the month of July, they will get a salary of Rs.7,000 per month.
• It is worth mentioning that till now, mid-day meal cooks used to get a salary of Rs 3500 per month.
• It is known that 1,697 cooks cook lunch for 76,679 children studying in government schools in the state.

Farmers of Haryana will Get Benefit

Why in News?

• On July 3, 2022, the Haryana government launched a special scheme for 7 districts of south Haryana. Farmers who adopt this scheme will be provided financial assistance at the rate of Rs 4,000 per acre.

Key Points

• This new scheme has been launched by the Government to promote pulses and oilseeds crops under crop diversification.
• The scheme has been launched for seven districts of south Haryana, namely, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Hisar and Nuh, including Jhajjar.
• The farmers of the state will be given this benefit for cultivation of pulses and oilseeds crops. The Government has decided to give a grant of Rs.4,000 per acre to the farmers growing these crops.
• Giving details of the scheme, an official spokesperson said that the Haryana government has taken this step to increase the income of farmers by reducing their cost.
• A target has been set to promote pulses and oilseeds crops in one lakh acres during Kharif Crop 2022 in the state .
• Under the scheme, pulses crops (Moong and Arhar) will be promoted to an area of 70,000 acres and oilseeds crops (Castor and Groundnut) to 30,000 acres. A farmer growing pulses and oilseeds will be provided financial assistance of Rs 4,000 per acre.
• The farmer availing the benefit of this scheme is required to register on the 'My Crop My Details' portal. The financial assistance will be transferred to the accounts of the farmers after verification of the crop.

Chief Minister Inaugurated 'Jhumka Island'

Why in News?

• On July 3, 2022, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated the newly constructed 'Jhumka Island' in the middle of Jhumka reservoir of Korea district.

Key Points

• On the occasion, the Chief Minister also inaugurated the website of Korea Tourism and the 'I Love Korea selfie point.
• It is worth mentioning that Jhumka Reservoir is located in Baikunthpur town of Korea District.
• The picturesque island surrounded by water on all sides in Jhumka Reservoir was in a desolate condition earlier. It has been given an attractive look after one and a half months of hard work and it has been made a new tourism destination of Korea District.

Jashpur Monsoon Influencers Meet

Why in News?

• According to the information given by the Chhattisgarh Public Relations Department on July 3, 2022, a three-day Jashpur Monsoon Influencers Meet will be organized by the Jashpur district administration from July 22 to 24, 2022 to promote tourism in the district.

Key Points

• As per the information received, 20 content creators and social media influencers will be selected to visit various tourist spots of the district and participate in other activities.
• These Creators and Influencers get to explore various tourist places of the district, trekking, photography, videography, village tour, glimpse of tribal culture, craft making and complete exploration of Jashpur district in the field of ethnic tourism, cultural tourism, adventure tourism, culinary tourism and there will be a chance to get involved in activities like eco-tourism.
• The event is supported by Chhattisgarh Tourism Board, Trippy Hills, Madhyamik and local tourism self-help groups.

VRS of Differently-abled and Disabled teachers

Why in News?

• Recently, the Education Minister of Uttarakhand, Dr.Dhan Singh Rawat has directed the officials to constitute a high-level committee to provide VRS to differently-abled and disabled teachers during the conclusion of the two-day Chintan Shivir organized by the education department at Rajawala.

Key Points

• The education minister also said that every official of the education department will adopt a school in his area.
• The Education Minister said that teachers should follow the conduct rules. First put your point in the appropriate forum in front of the department. If the problem is not resolved even after this, the teachers can have their say at the governance level. The court may be the last option for a problem.
• The Education Minister said that for qualitative improvement in education, it is first of all necessary to be disciplined. In order to create discipline in the department, all the officers and employees of the department will have to follow the Service and Conduct Rules. Many personnel go straight to the court without putting their point in the proper forum, which creates problems in departmental work.
• The minister said that there should be at least 220 days of compulsory classes in schools. Seven percent of the people in the state are still illiterate.
• It is worth mentioning that for the first time a Chintan Shivir has been organized in the education department.