21st, July, 2022
Topic: Technology
Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains
What is the news?
- Chintpurni Temple Trust has decided to set up a museum-cum-interpretation centre for visitors to have a virtual three-dimensional (3-D) experience about the various temples in the district as well as historical facts or legends associated with them.
Deputy Commissioner Raghav Sharma, who is also the Chairman of the Chintpurni Temple Trust, today said:
- The museum would be set up in the Mai Das Sadan, which is part of the multi-purpose tourist-cum-facilitation centre, near the shrine.
- Four contiguous halls would serve as the main part of the centre.
- Visitors will walk through rooms having three-dimensional video animations with audio effects around them. Each room will provide a virtual tour of some of the major shrines in the district with a brief about their history. They will get a feeling of being physically present at these shrines.
- An exercise to create interiors for the right type of audio-visual effects has already begun. A detailed project report for the museum will be prepared by August 20 to be presented at the meeting of the Trustees.
- He added that after the approval of the State Art, Culture and Language Department, the work on the project was expected to begin in September.
- He expressed hope that once functional, the museum would attract tourists and also help in increasing footfall in other shrines of the state. He said continued efforts were being made to increase facilities for devotees at the Chintpurni shrine.
(Source: The Tribune)
Topic: Chief Minister’s Urban Livelihood Guarantee Scheme
Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains
What is the news?
- Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj said that the Chief Minister’s Urban Livelihood Guarantee Scheme, launched on the lines of MGNREGA, would soon be given the form of an Act to provide assured employment in urban areas of the state.
- This would greatly benefit poor people living in urban local bodies.
Purpose:
- The State Government had started the Chief Minister Urban Livelihood Guarantee Scheme to help poor people of urban areas during Covid crisis. The scheme has given assured employment to the beneficiaries. The government is going to make it a law like MGNREGA soon.
Other things shared by the Minister:
- Himachal has topped the Himalayan states in PM SVANidhi Yojana. The Mandi Municipal Corporation figures in the top 75 urban local bodies of the country, which is a big achievement. There is no dearth of money for the development of the Mandi Municipal Corporation.
About Chief Minister’s Urban Livelihood Guarantee Scheme:
- Coronavirus pandemic has posed many challenges for the world. India has also been fighting with this disease.
- The Himachal Pradesh government has been in a continuous attempt to control the spread of COVID-19. State government is encouraging social distancing to control the spread of COVID-19. A lot of people have resorted to their native state in this time of crisis as they have lost employment because of this disease.
- As many as 1.40 lakh people have already come back since 25th April, 2020 to the state and many more are still coming.
- The State Government has decided to tap the potential of these professional people, which will boost the working force of the state. Given the confusion and uncertainty in these times of curfew, the State Government is adding valuable insights in the preparation of sustaining through the crisis by presenting a more beneficial scheme for the people.
- Mukhya Mantri Shahri Ajeevika Guarantee Yojna (MMSAGY) was launched to enhance livelihood security in urban areas by providing 120 days of guaranteed wage employment to every household in this financial year.
- The scheme will be implemented in all the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Cantonment Boards (CBs) in Himachal Pradesh. The State Government is providing this scheme for people as a powerful incentive in the crisis.
- This is a big step to help people with employment opportunities.
- MMSAGY will also facilitate skill enhancement of persons engaged in wages, labor jobs to provide them better livelihood opportunities, to set up their own enterprises by imparting entrepreneurship trainings as well as subsidy linked credit linkages and to strengthen urban infrastructure and provisioning of quality civic amenities in the ULBs.
- All adult members of the household can register and are eligible to work.
- They should be residing within the jurisdiction of the ULB and willing to do unskilled work at projects being executed or in sanitation services provided by the ULBs. The upper age limit for providing work shall be 65 years. The eligible beneficiary skilled under this scheme will be facilitated to apply for loans under Deen Dyal Antodaya-National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY-NULM). Beneficiaries will be issued a job card within seven days of registration. Employment will be given to the eligible beneficiary within 15 days of registration, otherwise an employment allowance of Rs. 75 per day will be paid by the ULBs.
- Equal wages are to be paid to both male and female workers. Wages will be directly deposited in the bank account of eligible beneficiaries by the ULBs on fortnightly basis not later than seven days after completion of 15 days employment. The eligible beneficiary will be provided skill training under DAY-NULM with minimum wage as notified by the government up to a maximum of four weeks after doing wage employment of under MMSAGY. The eligible beneficiary, who was provided skill training will be linked to the banks under the Self Employment Program (SEP) of DAY-NULM.
- The beneficiaries will be employed in any ongoing or new admissible work under any state government and central government scheme for which funds are available with ULB, in any admissible work under 15th Finance Commission or 5th State Finance Commission for which grant-in-aid provided to the ULBs and sanitation works and services as admissible under Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and Swachh Bharat Mission.
- The scheme for loans for working capital requirements with interest subvention for the tourism sector will also be prepared by the Tourism Department.
(Source: The Tribune)
Topic: Market Intervention Scheme (MIS)
Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains
What is the news?
- The state government has given approval for the implementation of the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for the procurement of processing grade mango and citrus fruits such as kinnow, orange and ‘galgal’ this year.
- The Horticulture Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC) and the Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing, and Consumers Federation (HIMFED) will procure 250 MT fruit of seedling, 500 MT of grafted and 500 MT of unripe ‘achari’ varieties of mango at the rate of Rs 10.50 per kg in crates with handling charges of Rs 1.30 per kg, a spokesperson for the Horticulture Department said here today.
- As per the past practice, average sale returns has been assessed at Rs 2,500 per MT for fruit seedling, Rs 2,500 per MT for unripe ‘achari’ and Rs 3,500 per MT for grafted mango varieties, he added.
- He said that the HPMC and HIMFED would coordinate with each other to set up 42 procurement centres on the basis of data of the past three to five years.
- The procurement agencies will set up these centres on need basis. Under the scheme, 2.5 per cent extra fruit will be procured from farmers/orchardists keeping in view evapo-transpiration and respiration losses,” he said. “The fruit will be procured from those farmers/orchardists who possess horticulture cards and have 10 bighas or less land under mango cultivation. As such, no fruit will be procured from contractors.
- The government has also given approval for the implementation of the MIS for citrus fruits such as kinnow, malta, orange and ‘galgal’. Under the scheme, 500 MT of kinnow, malta and orange would be procured at the rate of Rs 9.50 per kg (B grade) and Rs 9 per kg (C grade) while 100 MT of galgal would be procured at the rate of Rs 8 per kg with handling charges of Rs 2.65 per kg for citrus fruits and Rs 1 per kg for ‘galgal’. As many as 52 fruit collection centres would be opened.
About Market Intervention Scheme (MIS):
- The Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) is an ad-hoc scheme under which are included horticultural commodities and other agricultural commodities which are perishable in nature and which are not covered under the minimum price support scheme. In order to protect the growers of these horticultural/agricultural commoditiesfrom making distress sale in the event of bumper crop during the peak arrival period when prices fall to very lowest level, Government implements M.I.S. for a particular commodity on the request of a State Government concerned. Losses suffered are shared with 50:50 basis between Central Government and the State.
- The MIS so far implemented is for commodities like apples, kinnoo/malta, garlic, oranges, galgal, grapes, mushrooms, clove, black pepper, pineapple, ginger, red-chillies, coriander seed, isabgol, chicory, onions,potatoes, cabbage, mustard seed, castor seed, copra, palm oil etc. in the States of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Maharshtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Sikkim,Meghalaya, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar islands, Lakshadweep etc.
(Source: The Tribune)
Some More HP News:
- Prof HK Chaudhary, Vice-Chancellor, HP agriculture university, congratulated University Krishi Doot Kundan Lal for receiving the prestigious Pt Deen Dyal Antodya Krishi Puruskar.
- The award comprising Rs 1 lakh, a certificate and a memento was presented by Narendra Tomar, Union Agriculture Minister, on the ICAR foundation day in Delhi.