Test: Current Affairs (Government Policies and Schemes) - Software Development MCQ

The correct answer is Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Ujjwala 2.0 (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana - PMUY) by handing over LPG connections, at Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh on 10th August 2021.

Important Points

• Ujjwala 1.0 was launched in 2016 and the target was set to provide LPG connections to five crore women members of BPL households.
• Subsequently, the scheme was expanded in April 2018 to include women beneficiaries from seven more categories: SC/ST, PMAY, AAY, Most backward classes, tea garden, forest dwellers, Islands.
• In the Union budget for FY 21-22, provision for an additional one crore LPG connection under the PMUY scheme was announced.
• These one crore additional PMUY connections (under Ujjwala 2.0) aim to provide deposit-free LPG connections to those low-income families who could not be covered under the earlier phase of PMUY.
• Along with a deposit free LPG connection, Ujjwala 2.0 will provide the first refill and hotplate free of cost to the beneficiaries. Also, the enrollment procedure will require minimal paperwork.

The correct answer is Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.

Key Points

• Union Minister of MSME Narayan Rane launched “SAMBHAV”, a National Level Awareness Programme-2021 in New Delhi on 27 October 2021.
• It is being organized by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.
• During the campaign, the college students will be made aware of the various schemes being implemented by the Ministry of MSME through audio/video film presentations.

Important Points

• The mass outreach program will be a one-month-long initiative in which students from different colleges/ITIs will be encouraged by 130 field offices of the Ministry to take up entrepreneurship. 
• Awareness programs will be conducted in more than 1,300 colleges across the country in which 1,50,000 students will participate.

Additional Information

• Important Schemes under Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises:
  • A Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry & Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE)
  • Coir Vikas Yojana (CVY)
  • Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme
  • Micro & Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP)
  • Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS)
  • Revamped Scheme of Fund for Regeneration Of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) 

The correct answer is September 2022.

Key Points

• The Centre has extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which aims to provide free foodgrain to poor citizens, till September 2022.
• Under the Yojana, the Centre is providing five-kilogram food grains per person per month free of cost to all beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act.
• The government will be incurring an expenditure of nearly two lakh 60 thousand crore rupees on the scheme.

Additional Information

• The scheme is a food security welfare scheme that was envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide assistance and help mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19.
• Phase 1 and 2 of this scheme were operational from April to June 2020 and July to November 2020, respectively. Phase 3 was operational from May to June 2021 while Phase 4 was operational for July-November 2021.

The correct answer is Jharkhand.

Key Points

• Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren launched a scheme aimed at nurturing young sporting talents in Maoist-hit districts, in December 2021.
• The scheme is called Sports Action toward Harnessing Aspiration of Youth (SAHAY).
• Boys and girls in the 14-19 age group from villages to ward level will be registered under the scheme and given opportunities to display their skills in basketball, volleyball, etc.

Important Points

• In the first phase, a target of enrolling 72,000 youths has been set up by the sports department in the age group of 14 to 19 years in the Maoist-hit areas of West Singhbhum, Seraikela, Kharsawan, Khunti, Gumla, and Simdega.
• Based on the feedback of the first phase, the scheme would be rolled out in other districts of Jharkhand.
• A Skill University will also come up.

Additional Information

• Jharkhand:
  • Governor:  C. P. Radhakrishnan
  • Chief Minister: Hemant Soren 
  • Lok Sabha seats - 14.
  • Rajya Sabha seats - 6.
  • Number of Districts - 24.
  • Registered GI - Sohrai-Khovar Painting.
  • National Parks - Hazaribagh National Park, Palamau National Park and Betla National Park.

The correct answer is Tripura.

Key Points

• Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat program:
  • The Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat program aims to actively enhance interaction between people of diverse cultures living in different States and UTs in India, with the objective of promoting greater mutual understanding amongst them.
  • All India Radio has undertaken a countrywide Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat campaign, which highlights the age-old tradition of our country - unity in diversity.
  • Under this Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat campaign, each state is paired with another state.
  • Here is a report from our Agartala correspondent on the campaign for which the state of Tripura has been paired with Bihar.
  • The North-Eastern state of Tripura is well known for its scenic beauty, rich natural resources, and rich art and cultural heritage.
  • Many people from Bihar visit Tripura either for traveling purposes or many have come and settled down or live for a job.
  • Some People from Bihar living in the state expressed their love for the festive way the Durga Puja and Diwali festival is celebrated here.
  • They expressed love for Unakoti shiva archaeology.
  • Many have said that before coming, they had hesitations because of differences as they heard over but after seeing the existence of social harmony, vanishes their negative perceptions.

The correct answer is Jammu and Kashmir.

Key Points

• The J&K government has established a special initiative for the first time for the youth of the union territory.
• The initiative called ''Mission Youth'' will benefit more than 50,000 youngsters in different streams.
• Female students wanting to pursue post-graduate courses will be helped with around INR 100,000 worth of scholarships and many skill development courses have also been introduced.
• Jammu and Kashmir:
  • Lieutenant Governor - Manoj Sinha.
  • Dams - Baglihar Dam (Chenab River), Dulhasti Dam (Chenab River), Uri-II Dam (Jhelum River).
  • National Parks - Dachigam National Park, Salim Ali National Park, Kazinag National Park, Kishtwar High Altitude National Park.

The correct answer is Digital Education.

In News

• Keeping in view the availability of digital infrastructure PRAGYATA Guidelines on Digital Education had been issued to all State governments as well as Schools directly under Central Government as advice.

Key Points

• The guidelines brief on various modes of digital education including an online mode that depends more on the availability of internet, partially online mode that utilizes the blended approach of digital technology and other offline activities, and offline mode that utilizes television and radio as a major medium of instruction of education.
• This information was given by the Union Minister of Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The correct answer is Ram Nath Kovind.

Key Points

• President Ram Nath Kovind initiated the Swa Prerit Adarsh Gram Yojana from Haryana on 17 November 2021.
• He presided over the inauguration ceremony of Sui-a model village in Bhiwani that is developed under the Swa-Perit Adarsh Gram Yojana.
• It has been developed as an 'Adarsh Gram' by Mahadevi Parameshwaridas Jindal Charitable Trust.

Important Points

• With a new lake, parks, auditorium, library, roads, streets and government school, Sui village has got a modernised look under the Swa-Prerit Adarsh Gram Yojana.
• The government has started Mukhyamantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthan Yojana so that the benefits of all schemes can be taken to eligible families.
• A cluster of small industries will be formed in 50 acres under the ‘One-Block-One-Product Scheme’ in Sui village and surrounding area, which will create new employment opportunities.
• A project will be made for ensuring clean drinking water supply in the village.
• A water treatment plant will be built to prevent the dirty water of Bhiwani city from entering the village so that the water can be treated and used for irrigation purpose.

The correct answer is West Bengal.

Key Points

• West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee launched the ‘Duare Ration’ (ration at doorstep) scheme on 16 November 2021.
• It will benefit around 10 crore people of the state.
• She also inaugurated a WhatsApp chatbot for the Food and Supplies Department of the state government and a mobile application, ‘Khadya Sathi: Amar Ration Mobile App’ to help people apply for ration cards.

Important Points

• ​CM Banerjee said that the government has decided to increase the commission for ration dealers from Rs 75 to Rs 150 per quintal of foodgrain.
• The scheme was announced before the West Bengal Assembly Elections held in March-April 2021.
• She said that the government would provide around 21,000 ration dealers with the financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh each to purchase vehicles for delivering ration to people.
• Vehicles carrying foodgrain will be delivering ration at the doorsteps of the beneficiaries once the scheme is implemented.
• The government had started the project on a pilot basis with as many as 3,000 ration dealers in the state from September 2021.

Additional Information

• ​West Bengal:
  • Chief Minister - Mamata Banerjee.
  • Governor - La Ganesan
  • Lok Sabha seats - 42.
  • Rajya Sabha seats - 16.
  • State Animal - Fishing cat.
  • State Bird - White-throated kingfisher.
  • National Parks - Buxa Tiger Reserve, Gorumara National Park, Jaldapara National Park, Neora Valley National Park, Singalila National Park, Sundarbans National Park.

The correct answer is Ministry of Education.

Key Points

• The Ministry of Education has launched NIPUN (National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy) Bharat Scheme.
  • It aims to cover the learning needs of children in the age group of 3 to 9 years.
• Union Minister for Education, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’  virtually launched a National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat), for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27. 
• National Mission was launched in the presence of Minister of State, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Smt. Anita Karwal, Secretary (SE&L), senior officers from the Ministry, all States and UTs, Senior Policy Makers, and Heads of Institutions.

Additional Information

• ​This initiative is being launched as a part of NEP (National Education Policy) 2020.
  • This policy aims to pave the way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems in the country.
    • This policy replaced the 34-year-old National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986.
  • It will focus on providing access and retaining children in foundational years of schooling; teacher capacity building; development of high quality and diversified Student and Teacher Resources/Learning Materials; and tracking the progress of each child in achieving learning outcomes.