The Uttar Pradesh cabinet led by CMYogi Adityanathgreen flagged setting up of a UPNatural Farming Board– in a move that could help state abate relentless use of chemical fertilizers leading to deterioration of soil quality.

The objective of the board — proposed to be headquartered in Lucknow — will be to enable the spread of natural farming in the state, besides continuous guidance to the farmers on the subject. As a matter of fact, such boards exist in various other states which were studied by the UP government before a proposal was moved for cabinet clearance. The step resonates with the PM Narendra Modis call for promoting natural farming.

The board will be responsible for policy formulation and guidance will be given at the state level by the governing body and the plan will be reviewed. The state level executive committee will be constituted under the chairmanship of the chief secretary to ensure compliance with the instructions of the governing body.

Varanasi has emerged as a hub of Khadi: Union minister Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma

Union minister of State for MSME, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma said that Varanasi has emerged as the hub of Khadi activities in the past few years.

After inaugurating a 15-day exhibition of Khadi products organized by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) at Rudraksh international convention centre, Verma was addressing a convention of artisans from 12 districts of east UP.

Lauding KVIC for organizing the exhibition and holding convention of artisans he said, Varanasi, in the past few years, has emerged as a hub of various Khadi activities. Almost all rural and traditional arts like spinning, weaving, beekeeping and have been promoted on a large scale here.

These initiatives are creating self-EMPLOYMENT for the artisans and making them ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant), said Verma adding, this Khadi exhibition will also provide a big platform to the artisans to market their products and enhance their income.

A range of exquisite Khadi products including the premium high altitude honey from J&K, a wide variety of Kashmiri and Rajasthani woollen shawls, Muslin fabric from West Bengal, a variety of silk fabric from West Bengal and Bihar, Koti Shawls from Punjab, leather products from Kanpur, terracotta pottery from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the widely acclaimed hand-knotted carpets of Mirzapur and Prayagraj are the biggest attractions in the exhibition.

This is the second such exhibition organized by KVIC in Varanasi since the Covid-19 lockdown.

Aiming to promote and encourage the local clay artisans and create maximum employment opportunities in Uttar Pradesh, the Common Facility Centres set up by Mati Kala Board of Khadi Gramodyog department are proving to be an efficient tool to give every facility under one roof.

In this regard, the CFC of Pilibhit, which has become operational now, is an example. The families associated with the local clay artisans committee are producing tea kulhads, lassi/milk glasses, cups for curd , ras malai katori among others in these centres.

Through the Mati Kala Board, the Yogi Adityanath government decided to set up these CFCs in all divisional headquarters of the state. Under this scheme, land was approved in Pilibhit, Rampur, Firozabad, Kannauj and Barabanki for establishing the centres.

The Pilibhit centre has already been made functional while CFCs of Kannauj and Firozabad will also start soon. The Rampur and Barabanki centres are also ready with all the facilities under one roof. The administration has completed the electrical connection work and the work of installation of machine/equipment and construction of the furnace will start soon.

The total cost of each CFC centre comes around Rs 12.5 lakh. Out of this, the UP government will bear Rs 10 lakh and the Remaining 2.5 lakh will be given by the committee of artisans. The land for the centres will be also given by the Society or committee. If the land is not available with the committee, then the government will provide the land. Each CFC will have modern equipment like gas powered kilns, pugmills, electric potter chalks, plungers, jigger -jolly among others for clay preparation and processing.

AI-based cameras to be installed in Prayagraj during Mahakumbh

Indian Railways, in association with Smart City Project, would be keeping a close vigil on the devotees coming to the city forMahakumbhin 2025 through ‘AI-based’ cameras installed at strategic points of the city.

Preparations are being made for quick exchange of information between civil and RAILWAY administration. It was decided to install large-sized LED display boards at various places to inform the devotees about the necessary information, live feed of trains, Mela area and various places of the city. The -based cameras, which would also be installed at all the railway stations of the city, would help in monitoring the movement of crores of devotees following which complete assessment and forecast can be done.

Govt has stepped up efforts to eradicate TB by 2025: Dy CM

eputy Chief Minister BrajeshPathak said the was working aggressively to meet Prime MinisterNarendra Modis target of eradicating TB by 2025.

Both the Union and state governments have stepped up their efforts to combat TB and other Health-related problems. To locate TB patients and give them quick treatment, numerous efforts are being run, he said during his visit to Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre in Kakori.

He said since April 2018, registered TB patients have been receiving a monthly payment of Rs 500 directly into their bank accounts. Till date, a total of Rs 4.20 crore has been distributed to 16.1 lakh patients.
The objective is to provide patients with both treatment and nutritional support, as adequate Nutrition is crucial for eliminating TB, the DyCM said.

According to Pathak, there are roughly 5.2 lakh TB patients inUttar Pradesh, and each year, 8,000 pregnant Women receive a TB diagnosis.

As the country battles the second wave of coronavirus, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has focused on maintaining continuity of employment for people of the state, both in cities and villages. The government has directed the authorities concerned to provide speedy approval to investment proposals to create job avenues for the urban population while offering jobs under MNREGA and other schemes to the rural population to avert large-scale unemployment, which was witnessed last year.

The has decided to set up a number of industrial and IT parks to create job opportunities for the youth on a massive scale. Decks have been cleared for the setting up of industrial parks in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Agra, Moradabad and Azamgarh. Lands have already been identified for the parks in these districts so that willing investors could get land at reasonable rates. Apart from this, the government will start building IT parks in Bareilly, Lucknow, Aligarh and Saharanpur from next month. An IT park will provide EMPLOYMENT for at least 5,000 youths.

Besides, the state government is trying to ensure continuous supply of raw materials to small industries so that their production did not get interrupted and authorities have been directed to ensure smooth functioning of industries to avoid shutting down of units leading to Unemployment.

9k-cr funds lapse in PWD for last fiscal

The public works department (PWD) ended up surrendering close to Rs 9,000 crore back to the government, which is one-third of itsbudgetof Rs 27,140 crore during the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Though returning the unspent amount iscommonfor various government departments every financial year, in PWDs case the lapsed amount has gone up significantly instead of going down.

During the last fiscal year, PWD was able to exhaust Rs 8,914 crore out of Rs 27,140 crore which translates to 33% underutilisation. Before that during 2021-22 fiscal year out of Rs 23,562 crore that had been provisioned for strengthening and improving road Network, building new bridges and constructing important government buildings and structures, the department was unable to spend about Rs 7,000 crore (30% underutilisation). So, while the overall objective was to improve road connectivity to bring down the commute time between towns and cities, several works were delayed.

To provide employment opportunities to youth, the Uttar Pradesh transport department will open 600 automobiles pollution testing centres which will curb the problem of toxic smoke (pollution) being released from vehicles.

Under the scheme high school passed youth will get https://exam.pscnotes.com/EMPLOYMENT“>EMPLOYMENT.

Any person, NGO, trust, firm, company, public company, people related to PARTNERSHIP can apply online on this portal.

The pollution check centres will be opened at the tehsil level in all the 75 districts of the state.

Around 1,000 youths with a high school passed certificate will be directly involved in this project.

Taj Mahotsav 2022

The Taj Mahotsav 2022 is scheduled to happen from March 20 to March 29, 2022.

It is a 10-day cultural festival, held in Agra each year.

It is the most well-known art, craft, gourmet, and culture festival, held at the crossroads of winter and spring.

Earlier it was scheduled to take from February 18 February 27.

Theme of the Taj Mahotsav 2022

The Taj Mahotsav 2022 will be held under the theme- Aazadi ke Amrit Mahotsav sang, Taj ke rang.

HISTORY of the day

The Taj Mahotsav started in 1992.

The Taj Mahotsav is a melting pot of traditions and civilizations, because of a variety of cultural performances by domestic and international artists. It seeks to inspire tourism and also reviving the Nawabi style, which dominated terrain of Uttar Pradesh in the 18th and 19th centuries. It reflects the richness of Indias craftwork, artistry, cuisines and culture. It is also a must-visit for shoppers.

The public distribution system in Uttar Pradesh has undergone complete transformation as in the last six months 1,61,256 new ration cards have been made by the state government under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), taking the total number of ration card holders in the state to 3,60,12,758.

Besides, the has facilitated linking of almost 100 per cent (99.79 per cent) of the ration cards with Aadhaar card to bring transparency into the Public Distribution System, which is a milestone in itself.

This year, the UP government provided free ration to 15 crore people in July and August amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The monthly ration includes three kilograms of wheat and two kilograms of rice to each card holder.

According to the officials of the Food department, providing ration to the poor and needy is one of the priorities of the Yogi government.