States Current Affairs 30.08.17 - UPSC

States Current Affairs 30.08.17

RAJASTHAN

• Bharatpur to have state’s first cow sanctuary to curb slaughter

• A cow sanctuary will be set up in Bharatpur district -first in Rajasthan -- to shelter stray cattle and curb their smuggling for slaughter

• The Union government proposed a Project Cow in April this year, under which sanctuaries will be set up in every state to save cows from slaughter.

• The animal husbandry department has built a transit camp to keep stray cattle and then shift them to shelters.

• Bharatpur district is a part of the Braj area, famous for cows and banyan trees.

• The country’s first cow sanctuary in Agar district of Madhya Pradesh is yet to become functional despite being ready for a long time.

• Despite police crackdown, many in Mevat area of eastern Rajasthan have been found transporting cows allegedly for slaughter.

• In the name of saving cows, self-proclaimed “cow protectors” unleashed violence in several parts of the country.

GUJARAT

• Google explores tie-up with govt

• Search engine giant Google is likely to tie up with the Gujarat government to train university students in cyber security and for research activity in educational institutions, labour improvement etc. Google will also help develop relevant image libraries and promote tourist destinations in the state.

• Google India has already tied up with Andhra Pradesh government to provide internet services in Telugu. Likewise, Google is looking to expand its services in Gujarati language by joining hands with the Gujarat government.

• Areas for collaboration identified in the first meeting with Google include training university students in cyber-security and other courses, developing virtual tourism content, using Google's technology in agriculture sector, and labour and welfare.

Maharashtra

• PM Modi discusses Mumbai rains with Maharashtra CM

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the situation arising due to incessant rain in Mumbai and surrounding areas. The PM assured CM all possible support from Center to the Government of Maharashtra in mitigating the situation, as per Press Information Bureau.

• Centre assures all possible support to the Government of Maharashtra in mitigating the situation due to heavy rains in parts of the state.

• Urge the people of Mumbai and surrounding areas to stay safe and take all essential precautions in the wake of the heavy rain", Modi added.

Madhya Pradesh

• Madhya Pradesh donates Rs 5 crore to Bihar flood relief fund

• The Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday donated Rs 5 crore in Bihar CM relief fund for providing necessary assistance to flood-marooned families in Bihar.
   
• Madhya Pradesh's cooperative minister Vishwas Sarang called on Bihar CM Nitish Kumar at the latter's residence here today and handed over a cheque of Rs 5 crore on behalf of Shivraj government for the CM relief fund.
   
• Nitish thanked the MP government for making contribution in the CM relief fund and also appreciated its social initiative.

• Earlier on August 24, Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das had announced to provide Rs 5 crore each for helping flood-marooned peoples in Bihar and Assam.

Chhattisgarh

• Raipur Municipal Corporation portal to keep track of affordable house allotments

• An online portal has been launched by the civic body to keep track of home allotments to slum dwellers through the Basic Service for Urban Poor (BSUP) housing scheme.

• This portal will keep track of vacant houses and its allotment process executed by zone commissioners by the central server located at Raipur Municipal Corporation (RMC).

• Civic authorities said that the portal will enable beneficiaries of the scheme as well as civic officials to remain constantly updated on the allotment procedure, bringing in transparency in the process.

Bihar

• Nepal PM calls for joint efforts to fight flood fury

• Nepal prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, on the second day of his two-day-long visit to Bodh Gayavisited the Mahabodhi temple and offered prayers at the seat of Buddha's enlightenment.

• Deuba referred to Buddha's Nepal connections and said the founder of Buddhism was born in a royal family in Lumbini, which is part of present Nepal.

• Deuba also said that like Bihar, Nepal too suffered from flood fury and emphasised on the need for cooperation in the fight against the flood menace. 

Jharkhand

• Malnutrition major problem in Jharkhand: Governor
• Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmutoday said malnutrition was a major problem of the state and lack of proper food to mothers affecting the health of new born children as well.
• Murmu said conducive educational environment, quality and balanced food attract students to attend school.

• Balanced food being supplied in schools were the solution of malnutrition problem being faced by the state, she said adding that many parents were not in a position to afford to provide their ward balanced food.

Uttar Pradesh

• Hindi, social sciences to be must in 16,000 madrassas in UP
• The UP government has set up a 40-member committee to revamp the course curriculum in madrassas.The government will make it mandatory to teach Hindi and English languages along with mathematics, science and social sciences in about 16,000 madrassas across the state.
• The committee includes one member each from NCERT, Aligarh Muslim University and Lucknow University, apart from principals of secondary and higher secondary schools and research scholars from Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Urdu, Arabi-Farsi Uni versity. The government will use Urdu-medium books for teaching maths, social science and science. 
• The government won't interfere with the dinayat (religious) curriculum of madrassas, Official told. The government has earmarked an annual budget of Rs 15 crore for the UP Madarsa Shiksha Parishad to buy education material and conduct exams through its online portal madarsaboard.upsdc.gov .in.

Uttarakhand

• Govt looks to complete Char Dham project before 2018-end
• The government looks to complete the 'Char Dham' road connectivity project in Uttarakhand before 2018-end with 10 proposals related to the ambitious Rs 12,000-crore scheme getting green clearance, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said.
• Environment clearances have been received for 10 of the proposals of Char Dham project, built at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore. We have expedited the work and will complete the project before the end of 2018," the Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister told.
• The project aims at improving connectivity to Char Dham pilgrimage centres of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri in the Himalayas.
• Uttarakhand government officials present during the meeting had pointed out a notification by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change declaring 40 square km area near river Bhagirathi as eco sensitive zone.

Himachal Pradesh

• Himachal Pradesh mulls over pre-primary school classes
• Himachal Pradeshgovernment is mulling starting pre-primary school classes for tiny tots to help them grasp lessons in primary classes. 
• Virbhadra said that such an initiative could be taken in all districts by starting pre-primary classes in schools near the district headquarters. He lauded the efforts for starting 'PRERNA', an initiative to improve quality education during his regime. It aims at improving the learning level of students in reading, writing and numeracy skills of primary schools children from Class I-V.
•  He also appreciated the 'PARYAS', an initiative to improve science and mathematics learning from Classes VI-VIII.

Andhra Pradesh

• Andhra Pradesh to come up with start-up centre for non-IT sectors
• The Andhra Pradesh government is in the process of setting up a National Startup centre in Vijayawada, for non-information technology sectors. The centre will be headed by Kris Gopalakrishnan, one of the founders of Infosys Ltd, and will be set up in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (Andhra Pradesh).
• The National Startup Centre, which will be located in the Medha IT Towers near Gannavaram, will play the role of an incubator to crystallise the business ideas of entrepreneurs, even as it will try and get VC funding for the start-ups.

ASSAM

• Assam government decides to start award in name of Guru Tegh Bahadur
• The Assam government has decided to start an annual award in the name of ninth Sikh Guru Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur and it will be given for exemplary work in the social field. This was decided in a meeting between Assam chief minister Sarbnanda Sonowal and visiting Sikh delegation led by Manjinder Singh Sirsa, general secretary Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC). The delegation had urged the CM to institute the award in the name of the Guru Sahib.
• As the social, economic and political condition of the Sikhs in the state is not good enough, it has been decided to set up Assam Sikh Welfare Trust which will include Sikhs from worldwide who will contribute to ameliorating the condition of the Sikhs in the state of Assam.