January 25, 2020

 

Topic:- Award

 

News:-President of India Sh. Ram Nath Kovind conferred coveted National Award ‘Best CEO for Accessible Elections’ upon the Chief Electoral Officer Punjab Dr S Karuna Raju today during National Voter’s Day function held at Zoravar Auditorium, Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi.

 

Why?

• The Election Commission of India has awarded the Chief Electoral Officer Punjab for making elaborate arrangements to facilitate the Persons With Disabilities (Divyang) voters, old and Infirm, Pregnant women voters etc during General Elections to the parliament 2019.

(Source:- Government)

 

 

Topic:- Scheme

 

News:-Tech glitch delays cellphone scheme.

 

Reason:-

• The state government has deferred its plan to start distribution of free smartphones on the Republic Day. The government is awaiting certification of mobile apps, including Punjab mSewa, a unified mobile application, that are to be uploaded on the smartphones before distribution

 

About Captain Smart Connect Scheme:-

• Free Smartphone Distribution Scheme in Punjab 2019 for Youths
• Distribution of free smartphones, including Punjab mSewa, a unified mobile application, that are to be uploaded on the smartphones.
• In the first phase of “Captain Smart Connect Scheme,” the government will distribute 1.6 lakh free smartphones among girls, studying in senior secondary classes in government schools.

 

 

Key features of the scheme:-

1. Better communication facilities– Till date, many people don’t have smartphones. With the implementation of this scheme, eligible applicants will attain free smartphones from the Punjab government.
2. Implementation in phases – The scheme was originally announced in 2016. It took the state around two years to finally implement the scheme. To ensure that eligible applicants get the benefits, the scheme will be rolled out in separate phases.
3. Talk time – The free smartphone also comes with free talk time. Any beneficiary will be able to talk on any other local number for 600 minutes. Once they finish this talk time, they must recharge to get more talk time.
4. Internet package – All selected applicants will be able to attain an internet data pack of 12 GB. This will come in handy when they desire to search the internet to attain any information.
5. The validity of the connection – As per the details, highlighted in the draft, all the connection, offered under this project, will remain active for one year. After this, applicants will have to pay a certain sum to keep the connection active.
6. Targeted towards the youngsters – The main aspect of this project is that it targets the needs and betterment of the youngsters. If the state government succeeds in offer better facilities to the youngsters, then they will play an important role in the development of the overall society.
7. The total number of beneficiaries– It has been estimated that with this project, the Punjab government will be able to offer free smartphones to as many as 50 lakh young people of the area.
8. Inviting tenders – The state authority, with the assistance of the Punjab Information & Communication Technology Corporation, has also released tender invitations. The officials are hopeful that competent telecom companies will associate themselves with this project within two months.

 

Eligibility and documents are necessary for registration:-

• Residents of Punjab only – As the entire scheme will be monitored and funded by Punjab government, it is only open for the legal residents of the state. If an applicant does not possess his/her residential certificate, his/her registration form will be dismissed.
• Educational qualification – The scheme is only for school and college students. As per the 1st phase instruction, an only government school and college students can apply for this phone. Apart from this, pupils, studying in technical academies will also get this free smartphone. Thus, school and college admission papers and final examination mark sheets will be required for checking the authenticity.
• Personal ID proof – Applicants will also have to submit their personal identification papers. It will help the state officials to ensure that the right candidate is getting the smartphone. Copies of Aadhar or voter card will be considered by the registration offices.

( Source:-Government and The Tribune)

 

 

Topic:- Wildlife

 

News:-Leopards sighted in Hoshiarpur sanctuary.

 

Punjab is now an official leopard habitat with the Wildlife Department frequently sighting this natural predator in and around the Takhni Rehmapur Wildlife Sanctuary, Hoshiarpur. Wildlife officials have over the last few years sighted wild cats at different locations in the lower Shivaliks while pug marks have also been noticed in the Kandi belt.

 

Now, leopards do not go back to Himachal Pradesh in summers and live in the Shivalik belt only.

 

Reason:-

• One of the prime reasons is that they get easy prey in the form of wild boars, cattle, dogs, deers and rabbits. They do not attack humans, except in odd cases of close encounters.

(Source:- The Tribune)

 

 

Topic:- Safety

 

News:-Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has covered 422 Police Stations and 18 Higher Offices of Police in the State under the Crime Control Tracking Network System (CCTNS). All the FIRs are now being registered digitally on this network. This enables downloading of FIR copy free of cost.

(Source:- Government)

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