State PCS

• 20 May 2022

NeVA Service Centre

Why in News?

• On May 19, 2022, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the renovated picture gallery and NeVA (National e-Vidhan Application) Seva Kendra at Vidhan Bhawan in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana.

Key Points

• Orientation and training will be imparted to the Members of The Legislative Assembly, Assembly Secretariat and various officers of the State Government on e-Vidhan related works at the NeVA (National e-Vidhan Application) Service Centre.
• NeVA NIC Cloud is a workflow system based on 'Meghraj' which embodies the concept of e-Sadan/Paperless House.
• NeVA is a device neutral and member-centric application designed to provide complete information about member contact details, rules of procedure, list of business, notices, bulletins, bills, starred/unstarred questions and answers, papers and to handle diverse house businesses in a smart manner.
• It is worth mentioning that the Nagaland Assembly is the first assembly in the country to implement the NeVA.

e-Sanjeevani Portal

Why in News?

• On May 19, 2022, Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey informed that in 14 months, about 13 lakh people of the state have availed the benefits of health facilities through the e-Sanjeevani portal.

Key Points

• Since the launch of e-Sanjeevani in Bihar was started in February 2021, till April 30, 2022, 12 lakh 89 thousand 602 people in all the 38 districts of the state have undergone medical consultation and treatment through telemedicine through e-Sanjeevani.
• The e-Sanjeevani has two parts - the first is e-Sanjeevani, the second is the e-Sanjeevani OPD. Both of them have been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Mohali.
• E-Sanjeevani, a doctor-to-doctor telemedicine system, is being implemented under the Ayushman Bharat Centre for Health and Wellness (AB-HWCs) programme. It attempts to add all 1,50,000 HWCs using the hub-and-spoke model by December 2022.
• E-Sanjeevani OPD was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to enable patient-to-doctor tele-consultation.

'Rajasthan Model' of Tobacco Control

Why in News?

• On May 18, 2022, the Government of India directed the States/UTs to conduct a special drive on the lines of the Government of Rajasthan for implementation of the provisions of COTPA, 2003 and follow the 'Rajasthan Model' with regard to tobacco control.

Key Points

• Rajasthan Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena informed that on the directions of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, a 100-day special drive was launched in February 2022, which will conclude on World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) on May 31, 2022.
• In this 100-day special campaign, various awareness programmes on tobacco control are being organized from village to state level. Debates, paintings and other competitions were organized in schools in villages across the state. The winners will be felicitated at a state-level event on May 31.
• Also in the drive, over 9.83 lakh people using tobacco products in public places across the state have been penalised under COTPA, 2003 by launching a mega drive from May 1.
• The joint director of the state health department said tobacco consumption in the state has come down by about 8%.
• It may be recalled that in 2003, a comprehensive tobacco control law [The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertising and Regulation of Trade, Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act - COTPA, 2003] was enacted, which aims to provide a smoke-free public space and to ban the advertising and promotion of tobacco.
• According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 (2019-21), the number of men using any type of tobacco (15 years and above) is 42%, while in NFHS-4 (2015-16) it is 46.9%.

Darshan Lal Jain State Environment Protection Award

Why in News?

• The Department of Environment and Climate Change, Haryana has invited nominations for the Darshan Lal Jain State Environment Protection Award for the remarkable work done for environment protection on May 19, 2022.

Key Points

• Organizations/institutions, government departments, individuals, NGOs, schools, colleges and private institutions who have done exemplary work in environment protection will be eligible for these awards.
• After the nomination, two awards will be given to those selected by the Screening Committee and they will be given a citation and a prize money of Rs. 3 lakh and Rs. 1 lakh.
• The awards will be distributed to selected candidates at the World Environment Day celebrations on June 5, 2022.
• It may be recalled that Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has launched a new award in the name of Shri Darshan Lal Jain, a renowned social worker from Haryana for his remarkable efforts to create awareness among the general public in various areas of environment protection and promotion, such as pollution control (water and air), conservation of natural resources, management of various types of waste and environmental issues during the Haryana Assembly session in March 2022.

Bokaro Steel Plant and Dalmia Bharat Foundation sign MoU

Why in News?

• On May 18, 2022 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between SAIL-Bokaro Steel Plant and Dalmia Bharat Foundation for setting up of a Skill Development Centre at Bokaro.

Key Points

• The moU aims to set up a skill training centre to provide short-term, placement-based courses to local youth in nearby villages through the DIKSHA (Dalmia Institute of Knowledge and Skill Harnessing) Centre of Dalmia Bharat Foundation.
• Through this joint initiative, efforts will be made to provide relevant skills to the local youth to ensure better prospects.
• Under this scheme, the beneficiaries can be offered courses with some nominal fee. SAIL-BSL will later explore the possibility of opening similar centres in its mines located in Jharkhand.
• Last year, the BSL management had approved a proposal to set up a skill development centre in Bokaro in collaboration with Dalmia India to strengthen the skill development ecosystem of Bokaro under its CSR scheme.
• The two organizations share a common vision and value system to transform society by leveraging their demographic dividend by providing training to prepare them for the market through empowering the local youth.
• The number of initial batches in each course will be 30. After this, more courses will be added as per demand and future prospects.
• The Centre will primarily focus on providing skill development to the youth living in the peripheral villages of Bokaro. The Centre is likely to start operations within a period of two months.
• While BSL will provide necessary infrastructure support under the agreement, Dalmia India will be responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the Centre, including faculty and placement assistance.

Tripartite Agreement for Setting Up of Minor Forest Produce Based Processing Units in Bastar division

Why in News?

• On 19^th May, 2022, two tripartite agreements were signed by the State Government for setting up of minor forest produce based processing units in Bastar division under the Vananchal Package.

Key Points

• The first agreement was signed with Bastar Botanics Private Limited, Kumhar Para, Bastar for setting up of Mahua Processing Centre in Kondagaon district and the second agreement was signed with M/s Kosar Agro Private Limited, Pune (Maharashtra) for setting up of tamarind processing centre in Bastar district.
• Under the agreement, Mahua Distillation Plant will be set up in Kondagaon district at a cost of Rs 4 crore by Bastar Botnics Private Limited with a capacity of 600 kilolitres per annum.
• Most of the products produced by this plant will be exported to other countries. With the installation of this plant, food grade mahua will be used in Bastar region, which will give additional benefit to the collectors of that area.
• Apart from this, A tamarind processing centre will be set up by M/s Kosar Agro Private Limited at village Chhindgaon in Lohandiguda development block of Bastar district at a cost of Rs.4.30 crore.
• Tamarind paste, tamarind seed powder and tamarind bricks will be prepared in this processing centre. The annual capacity of this unit will be 4500 MT per annum.
• With the establishment of this processing centre, the finished products will also be sold abroad outside the country while processing bastar tamarind and using its seeds.
• With the setting up of these two processing units, while the local people will get employment, the collectors of tamarind and mahua will get a fair price for their produce.
• It may be mentioned that earlier also a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with the private investor for processing of Kodo, Kutki and Ragi in Kanker district.
• All these industrial units will start production soon, which will make it possible for processing of minor forest produce produced in the state within the state, which will directly and indirectly benefit more than 13 lakh tendu leaves and forestry collectors.