State PCS

• 24 Sep 2021

Pratihara Ruler Mihira Bhoj

Why in News

• Recently, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath unveiled the statue of Mihir Bhoj at Mihirbhoj College located in Dadri, Gautam Budh Nagar.

Key Points

• There is a dispute between the Gurjar and Rajput society regarding Raja Mihir Bhoj, considering him as their ancestor. The travelogue of the Arab traveler Suleiman is important among the historical sources available in the context of Mihir Bhoj being a Gurjar or Rajput. In this, Mihir Bhoj has been described as Jujra i.e. Gurjar.
• Mihir Bhoj was the ruler of the Gurjara Pratihara dynasty in the 9^th century, whose empire extended from Multan to Bengal and from Kashmir to northern Maharashtra.
• Mihir Bhoj had made Kannauj his capital. He was a devotee of Vishnu, so in honor of Vishnu, he had assumed titles like Varaha and Prabhas.
• The achievements of Mihir Bhoj have been described in his Gwalior Prashasti inscription.

'Eat Right Campus'

Why in News

• Recently, the Food Safety Commissioner of Bihar and Patna Smart City Limited jointly started the hygiene audit of the kitchens of all the jails and hospitals of Patna.

Key Points

• The Eat Smart Challenge was launched by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri in April 2021.
• 141 cities across the country including Patna have participated in this challenge being jointly organized by Smart City Mission and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
• Under the challenge, at least four campuses (educational, office, jail, hospital) where there is a provision for making and feeding food items, their hygiene audit will be done on the basis of 115 parameters.
• 85% marks are mandatory in the audit. On the basis of these marks, the campus is declared as 'Eat Right Campus' by FSSAI.
• The objective of this challenge is to help the urban population make the right food choices and build a healthy and happy nation.

INVC International Awards, 2020

Why in News

• On September 23, 2021, four eminent personalities of the country were honored with the INVC International Award, 2020, including Pawan Jain, a senior IPS officer posted in Madhya Pradesh, at an online international award ceremony.

Key Points

• In this ceremony, IPS Pawan Jain has been given this award for his distinguished work in public service and commendable work in the field of social service.
• Pawan Jain chose the Hindi language as well as public service as his national campaign during government service as a project of service.
• Many celebrities from America, Europe and Asian countries participated online in this international award ceremony.
• Pawan Kumar Jain was awarded, in 1997, for the remarkable work done in the field of social service, T.P. Jhunjhunwala Social Service Award, in 2003, President's Medal for Meritorious Services and in 2013, President's Police Medal for Distinguished Services.
• Pawan Kumar Jain is the first officer of the Indian Police Service (1987 batch) to be selected in the Civil Services by writing a pure science subject like Physics in Hindi medium.
• On September 6, 2021, Pawan Kumar Jain took over as the Director General, Home Guard Civil Defence and Disaster Management, Madhya Pradesh.

Haryana Beekeeping Policy-2021 and Action Plan 2021-2030

Why in News

• On September 23, 2021, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched the Haryana Beekeeping Policy-2021 and Action Plan 2021-2030 with an aim to promote beekeeping in the state.

Key Points

• During this, the Chief Minister directed the officers to set a target to increase the production of honey by 10 times by 2030. Along with this, he also directed the officials to motivate the farmers to start beekeeping and motivate 5000 new farmers to take this initiative.
• Along with this, he also directed the officials to ensure to focus on small farmers to help them increase their income through beekeeping.
• The Chief Minister said that various initiatives like Honey Trade Centre, Village of Excellence, Testing Lab etc. would be set up by the department to promote beekeeping. He said that the income of farmers would increase manifold by selling honey and its by-products such as royal jelly, beeswax, propolis, bee pollen and bee venom.
• He said that private entrepreneurs should be encouraged to start business for manufacturing bee boxes and the department should be encouraged to monitor the quality of boxes.
• Dr. Arjun Singh Saini, Director General, Department of Horticulture informed that Haryana ranks seventh in the production of honey in the country. Haryana produces 4800 metric tonnes of honey. The country produced about 1 lakh metric tonnes of honey in 2019-2020.

Sona-Sobran Dhoti-Saree Scheme

Why in News

• Recently, Chief Minister Hemant Soren started the 'Sona-Sobran Dhoti-Sari Scheme' from Dumka.

Key Points

• Under this scheme, one sari and lungi or dhoti will be distributed twice a year to the beneficiaries from public distribution system shops for Rs.10.
• The benefit of this scheme will be available to the ration card holders covered under the National Food Security Act. The people included in the scheme can also take advantage of the scheme by showing the government-issued identity card, such as Aadhar card, voter ID, driving license, permission letter by the head or ward councillor.
• This scheme was first started in the year 2014, whose implementation was stopped in the year 2015.
• After suspending the implementation of the Jharkhand State Food Security Scheme in 2020, a new scheme 'Sona-Sobran Dhoti-Sari Yojana' was announced in its place.

In-principle Consent to the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme in the State

Why in News

• On September 23, 2021, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel gave in-principle consent to implement the Revamped Distribution Sector (RDS) Scheme in the state.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister gave this consent while attending the meeting held by Rajkumar Singh, Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy, Government of India through video conferencing from his residence office.
• During the discussion, the Chief Minister, while giving in-principle consent to the scheme, supported the demand for giving additional time limit for payment of electricity subsidy by other states.
• Energy Ministers from Bihar, Gujarat, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa and Daman and Diu also attended this meeting.
• Under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, along with increasing the power infrastructure in the state, action will be taken to modernize and strengthen them.
• Under this scheme, all 53 lakh 50 thousand consumers, except agricultural consumers, will have smart meters installed.
• The Central government has set December 31, 2021 as the deadline for submission of a detailed project report.
• The estimated cost of the scheme is Rs 9,600 crores, which is targeted to be completed by March 2025.

Chhattisgarh Got Four National Awards for Ayushman

Why in News

• On September 23, 2021, Chhattisgarh received four national awards for best performance in Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and Dr. Khubchand Baghel Health Assistance Scheme.

Key Points

• Union Health Minister Mansukh Bhai Mandaviya presented these awards to the state in the online 'Arogya Manthan 3.0' organized by the National Health Authority in New Delhi.
• The awards were distributed in six categories by the National Health Authority, out of which Chhattisgarh was awarded in four categories.
• Chhattisgarh has got the first place for registration of maximum number of Ayushman cards across the country through Choice Centres.
• Chhattisgarh secured the top slot in the country in the registration of at least one member of each family in the state.
• Sunil Kumar Kushwaha, Choice Centre Director of Kusmusa village of Bhaiyathan block of Surajpur district, came second in the country in terms of Ayushman card registration.
• Chhattisgarh ranks third in the country in terms of providing treatment to women through the scheme, giving priority to gender equality. Treatment has been provided to 3,20,661 women of the state through the scheme.

Uttarakhand Waives Fee on ABY, AAUY Cards

Why in News

• Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced a fee waiver for making Ayushman cards in the state on the third anniversary of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (Ayushman Bharat Yojana-ABY) (September 23, 2021).
  
  • Till now 30 rupees were charged for making the card.

Key Points

• Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami made this announcement in the 'Arogya Manthan-3.0' organized to commemorate the completion of three years of the world's largest health scheme 'Ayushman Bharat Yojana'.
• He also fixed a time limit of seven days for settlement of claims of hospitals under the scheme. He said that the Uttarakhand government has covered all the families of the state under the Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana (AAUY).
• The Chief Minister said that so far 3.5 lakh people have been treated under the scheme and Rs 460 crore has been spent on it.
• Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that a total of 102 government and 113 private hospitals are empanelled under the scheme. He directed that display boards regarding the scheme should be installed in each empanelled hospital.
• He said that the state government is working on a scheme which will make it mandatory for all private hospitals to be empanelled for these schemes. He said that camps would be organized at the block level to bring all the missing families under the scheme.

Eye Collection Center in Dehradun

Why in News

• Recently, the Union Health Ministry has permitted Gandhi Shatabdi Eye Hospital (GCEH), Dehradun to start an eye collection center under the National Program for Control of Blindness.

Key Points

• State Health Services Director General (DG) Dr. Tripti Bahuguna has directed the hospital authorities to start the center before November 1 this year.
• Gandhi Shatabdi Eye Hospital (GCEH) will be the first center in the state to provide this facility.
• Dr. Saroj Naithani, Director, National Health Mission in the state said that necessary infrastructure and facilities would be developed for the center in GCEH. People living in the surrounding areas of Dehradun, especially in the Garhwal division will get the benefit of eye transplant.
• The GCEH would act only as an eye collection center and the collected eyeballs would be kept in the eye banks of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh or Himalayan Hospital Jollygrant, Dehradun.