Current Affairs June 2020 - Regional

1 - J&K Government approved Media Policy

The Union Territory administration of Jammu and Kashmir has approved a Media Policy for the current year. The policy aims to create a sustained narrative on the functioning of the Government in media.

The new Media Policy includes institution of Media awards to be given each year to two outstanding media or communication professionals. It also aims to thwart misinformation, fake news and develop a mechanism that will raise alarms against any attempt to use media to vitiate public peace, sovereignty and integrity of the country.

2 - Centre approved 175 crore rupees towards Jal Jeevan Mission in Meghalaya

Centre has approved Rs. 175 crore for implementation of Jal jeevan mission in Meghalaya during 2020-21. Jal Jeevan Mission was launched by Union Government to provide Functional Household Tap Connection to every rural household by 2024. Meghalaya proposed 100% tap connections to all the households by December, 2022.

The estimated outlay of JJM is Rs. 3.60 Lakh Crore with Central and State share of Rs. 2.08 Lakh Crore and Rs. 1.52 Lakh Crore respectively.

3 - Government approved Rs. 255 crore to AP for Jal Jeevan Mission

The Union Government has approved Rs. 255 crore towards implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in 2020-21 in Arunachal Pradesh. Ministry of Jal Shakti has approved the Annual Action Plan of Arunachal Pradesh to achieve 100% household tap connections in the state by March, 2023.

Out of 2.18 lakh total rural households, the state is planning to provide 77,000 tap connections in 2020-21. Jal Jeevan Mission was announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 to provide tap water connections to 18 Crore rural households of the country by the year 2024.

4 - Centre approved Rs. 812 crore rupees towards Jal Jeevan Mission in Odisha

The Union Government has approved Rs. 812 crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Odisha during 2020-21. Out of 81 lakh rural households in Odisha, State Government has planned to provide over 16 lakh household connections in 2020-21.

The state is planning 100% household tap connections by the year 2024. Jal Jeevan Mission was announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 to provide tap water connections to 18 Crore rural households of the country by the year 2024.

5 - Government approved Rs. 445 crore towards Jal Jeevan Mission to Chhatisgarh

The Union Government has approved Rs. 445 Crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in the state of Chhattisgarh in 2020-21. Chhattisgarh has planned to have 100% Functional Tap Water Connection (FHTC) by 2023-24.

Jal Jeevan Mission is launched under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. It is aimed to provide adequate potable drinking water of prescribed quality on regular and long-term basis to every rural household of the country by the 2024.

6 - Government approved Rs. 572 Cr implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Jharkhand

Union Government approved Rs. 572 Crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Jharkhand in 2020-21. In 2020-21, the State is planning to enable 12 lakh households with tap water connections and 100% household coverage by 2023-24.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti has been working with the States in designing a roadmap to implement Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household of the country by 2024.

7 - Madhya Pradesh started plantation drive named "Thank Mom"

In Madhya Pradesh, a plantation drive named "Thank Mom" has been started on the premises of Social Justice and Disabled Welfare Directorate on World Environment Day. All the plants, which are planted during this period are being fitted with a plaque in the name of the mother of each employee.

Online and offline programs were organised in all the districts on the theme of 'Time for Nature', focused on conservation of biodiversity across the state.

8 - Kerala's free internet project to be commissioned in December

The Kerala government has announced that its ambitious Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) project would be rolled out by December 2020. The project aims to provide internet connections free of cost to 20 lakh poor families and at subsidised rates to others.

The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 1500 crore. Kerala is the only state in India to have declared Internet access as a basic right for every citizen just like food, education and water.

9 - Chhattisgarh government launched ‘Spandan Campaign’

The Chhattisgarh government has launched the Spandan Campaign to contain incidents of suicide and fratricide involving police personnel. A total of 50 police personnel, including personnel of paramilitary forces, committed suicide in Chhattisgarh over the past two years.

Figures released by the Chhattisgarh government in February showed 22 police personnel committed suicide in 2018, while the toll was 26 in 2019. Two personnel have committed suicide till February this year.

10 - Tamil Nadu Government formed Field Support Team against Covid 19

As COVID-19 count in Chennai swells every day to a new high, the Tamil Nadu Government has formed Field Support Team for five cities namely Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Madurai and Salem as part of the precautionary measures against COVID-19.

The team of 5 ministers each is comprised of senior IAS and IPS officials from local bodies and Health and Family Welfare Department. They will oversee the co-ordination and relief works being done by the city civic body. The team will ensure the management of containment zones. The Tamil Nadu state government had already constituted 12 coordination teams and Zonal Special Task Teams.

11 - World Bank granted 1,950 crore loans to West Bengal

The World Bank loaned 1,950 crore rupees to the West Bengal Government for tackling COVID situation and developmental work in the State. The funds of amount 1,100 crore rupees will be used for creating Industrial infrastructures and remaining 850 crore rupeeshave been allocated for spending on various Social-Welfare schemes.

The social welfare schemes such as animal welfare, backward classes schemes, child schemes, disabled scheme etc. The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of poorer countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects.

12 - Manipur CM N. Biren Singh inaugurated “Plant Health Clinic”

With an aim to boost economic growth of Manipur through agriculture and horticulture, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh inaugurated a Plant Health Clinic at the Directorate of Horticulture and Soil Conservation, Imphal. Chief Minister also launched a mobile soil testing laboratory van.

The initiative taken up by the department to set up such a plant clinic will provide plant health diagnostic services to farmers and restrict the usage of chemical fertilisers during the cultivation. Various awareness campaigns will also be conducted to check the availability of such clinic in Manipur among the farmers.

13 - Andhra Pradesh launched online waste exchange website “APEMC”

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched online waste exchange website of Andhra Pradesh Environment Management Corporation (APEMC) on the occasion of World Environment Day 2020. The website seeks to protect environment by covering 100% safe disposal of toxic waste, proper tracking, scrutiny as well as audit of waste.

APEMC website will actively promote 6 ‘R’s – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refurbish, Redesign and Remanufacture. It will make the waste management sector/market more organised. The APEMC works in co-ordination with Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB).

14 - Rajasthan Government launched “Raj Kaushal Portal”

Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot launched “Raj Kaushal Portal” and “Online Shramik Employment Exchange”. The portal will provide employment opportunities to migrated workers and hence, acts as a bridge between industry and labourers. It is a kind of online Rajasthan Labor Employment Exchange.

The portal is developed by the department of Information and Technology (IT) and Rajasthan Skill & Livelihoods Development Corporation (RSLDC). Labors can register for employment through SSO, E-mitra and RajKaushal Portal.

15 - Madhya Pradesh launched urban street vendor welfare programme

Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched Street Vendor Registration Portal http://www.mpurban.gov.in/ and “Mukhyamantri Shahri Path Vyavsayi Utthan Yojana” and transferred Rs. 300 crore to urban local bodies.

Under this schemes, small businessmen or vendors will be given Rs. 10,000 in the form of working capital. It will benefit state's urban businessmen. Prior to this, arounf 1,500 crore rupees were transferred to 22,000 gram panchayats for development purpose.

16 - Maharashtra developed 'Coro-bot' to reduce physical contact with COVID-19 patients

A 23-year old, Instrumentation Engineer named Pratik Tirodkar, from Thane district in Maharashtra, developed 'Coro-bot', a robot which would cut away the requirement of physical contact of nurses and ward boys with the patient. Corobot delivers food, water and medicines to Corona patients and can interact with them by using camera.

Pratik and his team has created a special app to operate this robot from any location in the world based on the idea of Internet of Things (IoT). This is a first anywhere in the world that this technique is being deployed in the medical field.

17 - Punjab launched mobile App- ‘Ghar Ghar Nigrani’

In a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at checking the community spread of Covid-19, Punjab government has launched a mobile based app - ‘Ghar Ghar Nigrani’. The initiative is aimed to undertake house to house surveillance in the state, till the elimination of the pandemic.

The entire rural and urban population of Punjab above 30 years of age shall be surveyed as part of the drive. This would be an ongoing process till the containment of COVID.

18 - Uttar Pradesh government decided to adopt scheme of Flatted Factory Model

The Uttar Pradesh State Government has decided to adopt the scheme of Flatted Factory Model, which will ensure easy availability of land for industries, and in turn, generate employment. Flatted factories means multi-storeyed buildings in which multiple non-polluting units can operate.

The new policy will allow the owner of an industrial land of at least five acres to develop one-fourth of it as flatted factory. The model can be adopted only for non-polluting manufacturing unit permitted by industrial development authority like manufacturing of readymade garments, handicrafts.

19 - Government approved Rs. 1829 Crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Maharashtra

The Union Government has approved funding of Rs. 1,829 crore for the effective implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Maharashtra for 2020-21. Maharashtra plans to provide tap connections to 31.30 lakh households in 2020-21. The state has also planned for retrofitting and augmentation of existing 8,268 piped water supply schemes.

Jal Jeevan Mission is a flagship programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. It aims to provide tap water supply to all rural households by 2024.

20 - One Nation, One Ration Card scheme formally launched in Madhya Pradesh

One Nation, One Ration Card scheme was formally launched in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The scheme has facilitated all the eligible families under the National Food Security Act to get ration from any fair price shop in their vicinity on the basis of biometrics.

This scheme will help the migrant labourers of the state working in other states in getting ration conveniently. The eligible families of Madhya Pradesh will be able to get ration in 21 states including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tripura and Sikkim.

21 - Government approved Rs. 1,280 Crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Madhya Pradesh

The Union Government has approved funding of Rs. 1,280 crore for the effective implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Madhya Pradesh for 2020-21. MP plans to provide tap connections to 26.27 lakh households in 2020-21. Out of 1.21 Crore rural households in the State, 13.52 lakh households are already provided with tap connections.

Jal Jeevan Mission is a flagship programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. It aims to provide tap water supply to all rural households by 2024.

22 - Uttarakhand inaugurated state’s biggest biodiversity park in Haldwani

On the occasion of World Environment Day, Uttarakhand forest department has opened the state’s biggest biodiversity park in Haldwani, to encourage conservation of flora, especially medicinal plants. Based on World Environment day theme ‘Celebrate Biodiversity’, park is divided into ten zones such as 25 species of aquatic plants, 50 species of cactus and 32 species of climbers.

The plant species in the biodiversity park is divided into spiritual & religious, scientific, human health, and aesthetic value sections.

23 - Andhra Pradesh government launched ‘Jagananna Chedodu’ scheme

Andhra Pradesh government launched 'Jagananna Chedodu'- a financial scheme. Under the scheme, beneficiaries of the patients who had lost their livelihood due to COVID-19 pandemic, will be provided with one-time financial assistance of Rs.10,000 each. The beneficiaries include tailors, barbers and washermen under 60 years of age.

Around 2.47 lakh beneficiaries have received Rs. 247 crores (Rs. 10,000 each) directly into their bank accounts. The banks are not allowed to deduct this amount towards EMI of previous loans of the beneficiaries, if any.

24 - Himachal Pradesh launched “Panchvati Yojna”

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur launched “Panchvati Yojana” for the senior citizens of rural areas of the state. Under this scheme, parks and gardens would be developed in every development block with necessary facilities for senior citizens.

These parks and gardens would be developed on levelled land of minimum one bigha with convergence of MGNREGA, Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) and 14^th Finance Commission to provide opportunity to the elderly people to spend their leisure time strolling in these parks and gardens and enhance the life expectancy.

25 - Jammu and Kashmir launched Poultry Policy 2020

The Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir launched J&K Poultry Policy, 2020/Operational Guidelines to promote establishment of poultry units in the region and announced a dedicated UT allocation of Rs. 50 crore as subsidy per annum for establishment of broiler/layer farms and other allied activities.

The Policy will create employment avenues for youth and shall be a big step for making the UT self-sufficient in poultry production besides supplementing income of farmers. It will curtail the annual import bill of approximately 900 crore spent on importing poultry.

26 - Maharashtra launched new portal for job seekers

Maharashtra Government has launched a new portal - Mahaswayam. It is expected to offer many job opportunities to the unemployed youth and work as an online employment exchange. It will also be useful to for those entrepreneurs who are in search of skilled workforce.

The portal - www.mahaswayam.gov.in, has information about vacant posts in government organizations as well as private sector. The job seekers will have to register themselves on the portal with their educational and professional qualification.

27 - MCGM launched 'Air-Venti' App to provide information on ICU beds in Mumbai

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has launched a mobile application “Air-Venti” to help residents in the city to know about the availability of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds and Ventilators in both government and private hospitals.

The app has been developed by Octaware Technologies Limited, in partnership with Probity Soft Pvt Ltd. The app is connected to the dashboard of the city's disaster control room.

28 - UP Government launched Bal Shramik Vidya Yojana

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated ‘Bal Shramik Vidya Yojana’. As a part of the scheme, the government will pay Rs. 1,000 to sons and Rs. 1,200 to daughters of labourers every month to support their families and keep them away from child labour.

Children in the age group of 8-18 years will be eligible for the scheme and to encourage them to focus on studies. The government has also included another incentive of Rs. 6,000 yearly after the child completes each class – that is 8^th, 9^th and 10^th.

29 - Hyderabad City Security Council and Hyderabad City Police launched "STREE" programme

Hyderabad City Security Council (HCSC) along with Hyderabad City Police has launched "STREE" programme. It is aimed to empower and support women victims of domestic violence and abuse. STREE stands for “She Triumphs through Respect, Equality, and Empowerment”.

The local police will engage women from different sections of the society & will set up a STREE group at the police station as part of the programme. A proactive woman will be selected as a volunteer from each group to form as SABALA Shakti.

30 - Odisha became first state to get ISO Certification for Tribal Hostels

Odisha has become the first state in the country to receive ISO certification for hostels meant for tribal students. In the first phase, 44 hostels of Keonjhar and Sambalpur districts have been accorded ISO 9001:2015 Certification.

The ST and SC Welfare Department of the state government had earlier launched the ‘Mission Suvidya’ project. It guarantees to provide all the tribal hostels with state uniform standards of infrastructure, amenities, and human resources.

31 - MoS Home G Kishan Reddy launched 'GermiBAN' in Telangana

Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, launched ‘GermiBAN’ - a robot that carries essentials products to frontline COVID-19 workers. 'GermiBAN' kills surface and air microbes and could be used in isolation wards, quarantine centres, hospitals and public spaces.

The GermiBAN instrument was innovated by NEO Inventronix, Hyderabad in their lab & was incubated at Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of India (ALEAP)-Women Entrepreneurs (WE) Hub with the support of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).

32 - UP becomes top state in country to provide employment to workers under MGNREGA

Uttar Pradesh has become the top state in the country to provide employment to the workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, MGNREGA. UP provided employment to more than 57.13 lakh workers under MGNREGA.

Uttar Pradesh accounted for 18% of the total workers employed under the MGNREGA in the country and has generated 7.93 crore man-days. These 57.13 lakh workers are engaged across 56,981 panchayats out of the total 58,000 panchayats.

33 - Three-day 'Raja Parba' celebrated in Odisha

A three-day unique festival, Raja Parba, was celebrated in Odisha. The festival celebrates the onset of monsoon and the earth’s womanhood. As a mark of respect towards the earth during her menstruation days, all agricultural works, like ploughing, sowing are suspended for the three days.

Raja Sankranti is the first day of the Ashara month. It is celebrated on the day prior to the Sankranti, (Pahili Raja), the day of Sankranti, and the day after, known as Bhu Daha or ‘Basi Raja'. The fourth day is the day of the ‘purification bath’.

34 - Rajasthan to launch Indira Rasoi Yojana

The Rajasthan state government has announced to launch ‘Indira Rasoi Yojana’ to provide meals (twice a day) to the poor at a concessional rate. The State government will spend Rs. 100 crores every year on the scheme.

Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had also launched the ‘Annapurna Rasoi Yojana’, a subsidised meal scheme offering breakfast and lunch for Rs. 5 and Rs. 8 respectively on the lines of Amma Canteens of Tamil Nadu.

35 - Biogas plant inaugurated in Namakkal in Tamil Nadu

Tamil nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami inaugurated a compressed biogas plant at Namakkal . The plant was established by IOC at a total cost of Rs. 25 Crore. The Chief Minister also commissioned CBG retail sales centre at five places including Namakkal, Salem, Puthuchathiram and Rasipuram.

The biogas plant has been producing 2.4mw biogas. However, it can make 15 tonnes of CBG per day and 20 tonnes of bio manure per day. Tamil Nadu stands first in renewable energy sources that includes hydro (2,322mw), wind (8,523mw), solar (4,054mw), biomass (266mw), co-generation (711mw).

36 - Haryana Government inked agreement with Reliance JioTV

Haryana state government inked agreement with Reliance JioTV, that is expected to benefit 5.2 million school children of both government and private schools under the Haryana School Education Board, the CBSE Board and other boards.

Under this initiative, students will be able to watch all four channels of Eduset through television, laptop, desktop, tablet and smartphone. This new MoU is done under the Chief Minister's Distance Education Programme, to expand education in rural areas.

37 - Tripura Government started ‘Play Little, Study Little’ scheme

The state government of Tripura decided to start a scheme for school students named as 'Ektu Khelo, Ektu Padho' which means 'Play little, Study little'. Under this scheme, students would be getting audio and video contents on learning activities, projects alongwith fun, online classes through local TV channels and social media and gaming activities via SMS or WhatsApp services.

The scheme has been launched to let studies continue amidst the pandemic. The state has 4,398 government and its aided schools and 335 private schools.

38 - PM launched 'Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Yojana' for migrant workers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Yojana. The Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Yojana is focused on generating employment for those migrant workers of the state who recently returned from other states.

Under the Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Yojana, a Loan amount of more than 10,600 crores has been distributed to more than 4 Lakh units. The campaign is launched in 31 districts of the state. These districts have more than 25,000 returnee migrant workers.

39 - Centre approved implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission of Rajasthan

The Union Government has approved funds of over Rs. 2,522 Crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Rajasthan in 2020-21. Over 12 Lakh households have already been provided with tap connections in Rajasthan. In 2020-21, the State is planning to enable over 20 lakh households with tap water connections.

The Government’s flagship programme Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide 55 litres of potable water per person per day to every rural household of the country by 2024.

40 - Serological survey to determine spread of coronavirus in Delhi

The Delhi Government and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) started a mammoth task of conducting a serological survey to comprehensively analyse the spread of COVID-19. Part of the revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the survey has to be completed by July 10.

The serological test or ‘sero surveillance’, would help to identify those who have recovered from Covid-19 without being tested because they were asymptomatic, had mild disease, or could not get tested for some reason.

41 - Nagaland notified implementation of PM-SVANidhi in State with immediate effect

Nagaland Government has notified the implementation of the PM Street Vendor's Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PM-SVANidhi) in the State with immediate effect and till March 2022. PM-SVANidhi is a Special Micro-Credit facility for Street Vendors.

The Street Vendors will be eligible to avail a collateral-free working capital loan of up to Rs 10,000 repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of one year. On timely repayment of the loan an interest subsidy at the rate of 7% per annum will be credited to the Bank Accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit on quarterly basis.

42 - Tripura government announced ‘Ektu Khelo Ektu Padho’ activity based learning project

Tripura has announced a special initiative for activity-based learning named ‘Ektu Khelo, Ektu Padho’. The activity is aimed to engage students during COVID-19 crisis. The project has started from June 25.

The activity contains dissemination of audio and video contents focused on hands-on learning activities and messages of simple projects, fun activities and games among the children through WhatsApp or SMS services. Instructions of the day’s lessons and exercises will reach students on their mobile phones every morning.

43 - MPMKVVCL started Nishtha Vidyut Mitra Scheme for women empowerment

The Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Limited in Madhya Pradesh has started the Nishtha Vidyut Mitra Scheme for women empowerment. In this scheme, women Self-Help Groups at Gram Panchayat level will work as Nishtha Vidyut Mitra. This scheme will increase the revenue collection of the company as well as women will also earn extra.

Under the Nishtha Vidyut Mitra scheme, women Self-Help Groups will motivate consumers to pay bills online or through the UPAY App, redress of various complaints of consumers like faulty meters and provide new connections through online processes.

44 - Himachal won e-Panchayat Puraskar 2020

The Himachal Pradesh panchayati raj department has won first prize under the e-Panchayat Puraskars-2020. The department was awarded for effective implementation of the e-application developed by the central government and other applications developed by the state government.

All 3,226 panchayats in the state have been provided with internet facility, with the help of which people can access various services online. Various services such as family register, registration of birth, death and marriages are registered online at panchayats.

45 - Tripura launched “Mukhyamantri Matru Pushti Uphaar” scheme

Tripura State government announced the launch of Mukhyamantri Matru Pushti Uphaar scheme. It aims to provide nutrition kits, each costing Rs. 500, to pregnant and lactating women. Each kit will have food items and grocery supplies, such as peanuts, soya beans, mixed pulses, jaggery, and ghee.

The government has budgeted Rs. 8 crore annually for the implementation of the scheme. MMPU Scheme will be in addition to the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY).

46 - Maharashtra launched Maha Parwana to boost investment

The Maharashtra state government has introduced “Maha Parwana” plan to provide single permission to attract investors in the state. With this initiative, investors do not need to get multiple permissions and clearances, rather start instantly.

Industries ready to invest in the state will get a single ‘mega permission’ to start their operations. Once the industrial unit starts, it can obtain the rest of the permissions over a period of two years. The state government also has plans to create a labour bureau to deal with the shortage of workers.

47 - Gujarat government launched ‘At One Click’ Initiative

Gujarat government launched “At One Click” initiative for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Under this initiative, Gujarat state will provide an online grant of Rs. 1,369 crore to MSMEs and textile industries. Out of total budget of 1,369 crores, 601 crores were provided to bigger industrial units and Rs. 768 crores were provided to 13,000 MSMEs.

“At One Click” initiative will help MSMEs to restart their business affected by Corona pandemic. Under Atmanirbhar scheme, government has disbursed Rs. 4,175 crores to 1.3 lakh units.

48 - Karnataka amended its Industries (Facilitation) Act

Karnataka amended ‘The Karnataka Industries (Facilitation) Act, 2002 for small, medium and large enterprises to facilitate and attract investment in the state. This will also promote Ease of Doing Business, simplify regulations and reduce procedural requirements.

The amendments are as follows:

An industry would not need any statutory permissions for the first three years.
It will ensure the investors are insulated by the delays.
It amended the Factories Act, under which all factories were exempted from provisions of daily and weekly stipulated hours.