Madhya Pradesh State PCS

• 20 Oct 2021

Subsidy in Electricity Rates

Why in News

In the virtual meeting of the Council of Ministers held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on October 19, 2021, it was decided to give subsidy of more than Rs 20 thousand crore in electricity rates to domestic and agricultural consumers for the financial year 2021-22.

Key Points

• Along with this, a subsidy of Rs 4981.69 crore has been approved under the Grih Jyoti Yojana.
• A flat rate of Rs. 1500 per horsepower per year will be payable from the consumer of meterless permanent agricultural pump with a capacity of more than 10 horsepower. The remaining amount will be payable by the state government to the distribution companies as a subsidy. For this a subsidy of Rs 644 crore will be provided. This will benefit about 50,000 agricultural pump consumers of the state.
• Energy charges, fuel charges and fixed charges will be waived on metered permanent and temporary agricultural pump connections. The exemption amount will be paid by the state government to the companies in the form of subsidy. An amount of Rs 350 crore will be payable for this and about 2 lakh temporary and 20 thousand meter permanent agricultural pump consumers will be benefitted.
• Free electricity will be provided to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe agricultural consumers up to 5 horsepower having land up to one hectare. The entire amount of the bill will be payable by the state government as subsidy and about 9 lakh 25 thousand agricultural pump consumers will be benefitted. For this, an amount of Rs 4,733 crore will be given by the state government as subsidy to the distribution companies.
• Energy charges and annual minimum charges will be waived off for high pressure lift/group irrigation consumers. The exemption amount will be borne by the state government as subsidy. For this, an amount of Rs 90 crore will be payable as subsidy.
• With the decision taken by the cabinet, the consumers of agriculture sector of the state will get annual relief of Rs 15,722.87 crore in electricity bill.

'Mukhyamantri Ration Aapke Dwar' scheme

Why in News

On October 19, 2021, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the cabinet decided to implement 'Mukhyamantri Ration Aapke Dwar' for the convenience of poor tribal families.

Key Points

• This scheme will be implemented from November, 2021 in the tribal development blocks of the remaining districts except the districts of the election code of conduct. Under the scheme, tribal families of 7,511 villages will be benefited in 74 development blocks of 16 districts.
• Except the village located at the headquarters, the distribution of ration material will be done through the vehicle in other villages attached to the shop.
• The days of each month will be fixed by the District Collector for distribution in the village. On an average, 220 to 440 quintals of food items will be distributed by a vehicle for 22 to 25 days (excluding holidays) in a month.
• An estimated 472 vehicles will be used for food transportation. The annual expenditure of Rs.24 thousand per month on one metric ton vehicle and Rs.31 thousand per month on 2 metric ton vehicle is estimated at Rs.14 crore 7 lakh.
• While loading the food grains in the vehicle, its quality will be tested. There will be all arrangements for keeping electronic weighing fork, mic, speaker, POS machine, seating and keeping food grains safe for weighing the material in the vehicle. For the arrangement of vehicles, a contract will be signed with the transporters at the district level.
• The transporters will be residents of the villages of the same area. Their age will be between 21 to 45 years and they will be from the Scheduled Tribes category. The fixed expenses will be paid to the transporters every month.
• Margin money will be provided to the transporter on the loan amount for the purchase of the vehicle. Margin money of Rs.2 lakh will be paid for vehicles of 1 metric ton capacity and Rs.3 lakh for vehicles of 2 metric ton or more capacity. A lump sum amount of Rs 9 crore 69 lakh of margin money will be paid by the Tribal Affairs Department.
• Under the Public Distribution System, there is a provision to operate a fair price shop at the Gram Panchayat level, except the headquarter village of the shop, due to lack of easy means of transport to the eligible families of the remaining dependent villages, covering a distance of about 5 km per month from 23 to 37 The material weighing kg has to be carried on the head.
• Divyang, old and physically challenged people face difficulty in getting ration material from the shop and poor families also suffer loss of wages. Keeping these facts in view, this decision has been taken by the Council of Ministers.
• The scheme will save the wages and labor of the beneficiary, supply of ration material to the eligible families in the village of residence and distribution of ration material on time.

'Khadi Show'

Why in News

On October 19, 2021, Madhya Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board organized 'Khadi Show', a live display of designer garments of Khadi textiles at Charkha Khadi Utsav at Haat Complex, Bhopal.

Key Points

• A 'Khadi Show' was organized with the aim of increasing the trend towards Khadi clothing among the youth and to create awareness about Khadi. In this, the models presented various apparels of Kabira Khadi brand.
• The show was also organized to encourage the use of Khadi fabrics in daily life as envisioned by the Father of the Nation Gandhiji on the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', the 75^th anniversary of Indian Independence.
• Garments of all age groups and different types of designer dresses were displayed in the Khadi Garment Show. These dresses are designed by the designers affiliated to the board in the latest designs in line with the attractive and current trends.
• Khadi Kurtas, Pajamas, Jackets, Shirts, Sherwanis, Coats, Ladies Kurtas, Trousers, Palazzos, Pants, Jackets, Sarees and Anarkali Kurtas etc. were displayed by various models.
• These designer khadi garments included printed garments of traditional, block, bagh, dabu, boutique and currently in vogue digital prints, flowers and forest based prints of Madhya Pradesh.