Himachal Pradesh Affairs
3 lakh students to be given school bags in Himachal Pradesh
The Cabinet has approved to procure school bags for over three lakh students of government schools across the state under the Atal School Vardi Yojna at Rs 9 crore.
The decision was taken by the Cabinet at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur here today. It gave approval for the procurement, supply and distribution of school bags for classes 1st, 3rd, 6th and 9th. This will be done on the basis of e-tender by HP Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd. for 2020-21 from L-1 bidder Highspirit Commercial Ventures Private Ltd.
The Cabinet also approved the Draft Electric Vehicle Policy to promote the sustainable transport system for making Himachal a global hub for electric mobility development and manufacturing of electric vehicles. The effort will also be made to privatise charging for electric vehicles, besides providing subsidy and incentives to the electric vehicle manufacturing companies.
It gave relief to toll firms for 2020-21 keeping in view the representations received from toll lessees as inward traffic was severely affected due to Covid from June 2020 to September 2020.
It also gave its nod to introduce the Himachal Pradesh (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, 2021, in the Assembly for setting up Sardar Patel University at Mandi. It decided to open a new sub tehsil at Rey in Fatehpur tehsil of Kangra and upgrade the sub tehsil, Junga, to tehsil.
It was decided to implement Swaran Jayanti Paramparagat Beej Suraksha Avam Samvardhan Yojna.
The Cabinet also gave the ex-post facto approval to the Medswan Foundation for operation and maintenance of 108 and 102 ambulances along with the call centre Services for four years.
It also gave its nod to reduce the stamp duty to Rs 10 on the hypothecation agreements for loan sanctioned to street vendors, rehriwala, etc under the PM Seva Nidhi Scheme.
National and International Affairs
WISER Program
The womens Involvement in Science & Engineering Research (WISER) program was Inaugurated on November 26, 2021.
Highlights:
WISER Program, first-of-its-kind, was launched to encourage Women in research and development by lateral entry.
It was started by Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) to support women researchers in R&D projects.
WISER programme will allow gender and the assistance of women in Science & Technology through IGSTCs program.
In accession to the open-ended flagship, the WISER program was launched as a 2+2 program of the IGSTC.
IGSTC’s program is a joint action of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), India, and Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF).
Report On Indias MPI By NITI Aayog
<a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/multidimensional-POVERTY-index”>Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report On India was published by NITI Aayog.
Highlights:
The MPI report was made based on the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) for 2015-16.
As per NITI Aayogs report, in 2015-16, one in every four people in India was multidimensionally poor. It estimated that 25.01 per cent of the Population was multidimensionally poor.
MPI for 2021, Started by UNDP and OPHI, revealed that 27.9 per cent of Indias population were multidimensionally poor.
India was listed at 62nd position out of 109 nations on the index.
The index was developed based on 10 indicators like adequate Nutrition, lack of improved drinking water, or at least six years of schooling.
Kartarpur Sahib, Velankanni Added To Pilgrimage Scheme By Delhi
The Delhi government decided to join Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan and Velankanni Church in Nadu in Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana, the pilgrimage scheme, on 26 November.
Highlights:
As per the statement, the Delhi government will transfer the first batch of senior citizens of the city on free pilgrimage to Kartarpur Sahib on January 5, 2021.
The first batch of pilgrims to Velankanni Church will start on January 7. Delhi government also determined to add two more routes, apart from the current 13 yatra routes.
The two routes are Delhi-Velankanni-Delhi and Delhi-Kartarpur Sahib-Delhi. The devotees will travel on the Delhi-Velankanni-Delhi route in AC-III tier trains, while for Kartarpur Sahib, they will go in air-conditioned buses.
BRICS Science and Technology Meet
Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of Science and Technology, presided at the 9th BRICS Science and Technology Meet on November 26, 2021.
Highlights:
During the discussion, the minister urged the BRICS countries to collaborate to develop cost-effective, sustainable, inexpensive, accessible, and scalable scientific solutions because they confront comparable and distinct difficulties.
He also advocated for the BRICS countries to be given their appropriate place in the Global Innovation Index.
This, he believes, may be accomplished through further enhancing collaboration in the sectors of Science, Technology, and Innovation.
The Global Innovation Index (GII) is an annual rating of countries based on their potential and achievement in innovation.
The World Intellectual Property Organization publishes the index in collaboration with INSEAD, Cornell University, and other organisations and institutions.
It is based on both subjective and objective data gathered from sources such as the International Telecommunication Union, the , and the World Economic Forum.
India-Russia Annual Summit
On December 6 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin will officially visit New Delhi, India.
Highlights:
President Putin is to attend the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This summit will be the leaders’ first meeting, following the BRICS Summit in November 2019 in Brasilia.
India-Russia Annual Summit was last held in September 2019, and PM Modi visited Vladivostok (Russia). The Annual Summit of 2020 was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 2+2 Ministerial dialogue will happen between both countries on December 6, 2021.
It will be operated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov & DEFENCE Minister Sergey Shoigu with their Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.