Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday(18th June 2022) launched ‘'Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojna' a nutrition scheme for pregnant and lactating mothers- in Gujarat’s Vadodara ahead of the state assembly polls.

 

Addressing a rally in Vadodara, PM Modi said, "For development in 21st century, development of women is very important. From the armed forces to mines, my government has opened all doors for women to join the career of their liking," he said.

 

“Making the lives of women easier, reducing their troubles and giving them opportunities to move ahead - these are some of the top priorities of our government," the prime minister added.

 

* The Rs 800-crore Mukhya Mantri Matrushakti Yojana aims to provide nutritional food to pregnant and lactating women.

 

* The MMY scheme applies to women who are conceiving for the first time and mothers who have given birth to their first child enrolled at AWCs along with pregnant and lactating mothers (up to 2 years) who are enrolled in the Health department software.

 

* Every month, all the identified beneficiaries will receive Poshan Kits (2 kg Chana, 1 kg Tuver Dal, and 1 litre oil) along with other ICDS services.

 

* For the current financial year, a budget provision of Rs 811 crores has been approved by the government. The prime minister added that provision of Rs 4000 crores has also been made and approved for the next five years.

 

* Meanwhile, Poshan Sudha Yojana, aiming to meet the nutritional needs of pregnant women, has also been expanded to all tribal-dominated areas of Gujarat..

Source : India Today

Senior diplomat Ruchira Kamboj was on Tuesday(22nd June 2022) appointed India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

 

Kamboj, a 1987-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, is presently serving as India's envoy to Bhutan. Ruchira Kamboj is the first female Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Bhutan.

 

She was the All India women's topper of the 1987 Civil Services batch and the topper of the 1987 Foreign Service batch.

 

She will succeed T S Tirumurti as the Indian ambassador to the UN.

 

Ruchira Kamboj was posted as Counsellor at India's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York from 2002-2005, where she dealt with a wide range of political issues, including UN Peacekeeping, UN Security Council reform, the Middle East crisis etc..

Source : Mint

The overall microfinance industry has a total GLP of ₹2,85,441 crore as of March 31, 2022.

 

Tamil Nadu has displaced West Bengal to emerge as the largest State in terms of the outstanding portfolio of microfinance loans. According to MFIN Micrometer Q4 FY21-22, a quarterly report published by Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), the gross loan portfolio (GLP) of Tamil Nadu as of March 31, 2022 stood at ₹36,806 crore. It was followed by Bihar (₹35,941 crore) and West Bengal (₹34,016 crore).

 

At the end of Q3FY22, West Bengal topped the chart with the highest outstanding portfolio of loans at ₹32,880 crore, followed by Tamil Nadu (₹32,359 crore)..

Source : The Hindu Businessline

With abundant rainfall all year round, rainforests host some of the most diverse and rich flora and fauna of the world. Despite covering just 6 per cent of the Earth’s surface, rainforests are home to around 50 per cent of all terrestrial biodiversity found on Earth.

 

In order to highlight the importance of rainforests and raise awareness on the need of its conservation, World Rainforest Day is celebrated on June 22.

 

World Rainforest Day 2022 Theme : This year the theme for the World Rainforests Day has been decided as ‘The Time is Now’. The theme aims to sensitise people on how crucial rainforests are for survival of life on Earth. With rapid urbanisation and overexploitation by humans, forest cover is depleting every year. The theme underlines that adequate measures and initiatives must be taken to save the forest and the diverse life it harbours.

 

HISTORY : The World Rainforests Day was first celebrated in 2017 by a non-profit named Rainforest Partnership that works towards conserving rainforests through effective collaboration of groups. The day recognises rainforests as a tool that can help fight climate change in the most powerful and cost-effective way. The day was also marked to trigger a global movement in saving the rainforests and restoring them..

Source : News18

Afghanistan earthquake: A powerful earthquake struck a rural, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border early Wednesday(22nd June 2022), killing 1,000 and injuring over 1,500 people, authorities said. Officials warned the death toll would likely rise.

 

Information remained scarce on the magnitude 6.1 temblor that damaged buildings in Khost and Paktika provinces. Rescue efforts are likely to be complicated since many international aid agencies left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country last year and the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. military from the longest war in its history.

 

Neighboring Pakistan's Meteorological Department said the quake's epicenter was in Afghanistan's Paktika province, just near the border and some 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the city of Khost. Such temblors can cause severe damage, particularly in an area like this one where homes and other buildings are poorly constructed and landslides are common.

 

* The earthquake in Afghanistan was confirmed by Taliban government's deputy spokesperson

 

* Pakistani media put the earthquake's intensity at 6.1

 

* The epicentre was 44km southwest of Khost in Afghanistan at a depth of 50.8 km, Pak media said..

Source : Indiatvnews

Assam has finally operationalised the ration card portability service and with this, the Centre's 'One Nation, One Ration Card' programme is implemented across the country, the food ministry said on Tuesday(21st June 2022).

 

Under the ONORC (One Nation, One Ration Card), beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) can get their quota of subsidised foodgrains from any electronic point of sale device (ePoS)-enabled fair price shops of their choice by using their existing ration cards with biometric authentication.

 

"Assam has become the 36th state/UT to implement ONORC," the ministry said in a statement.

 

With this, the ONORC programme has been successfully implemented in all states and Union Territories, making food security portable throughout the country, it said.

 

The implementation of ONORC was initiated in August 2019..

Source : Business Standard

* India ranked third in renewable energy installations in 2021, after China and Russia, according to a global status report released on Wednesday, June 15. India installed 15.4 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy projects in 2021, the report titled Renewable Energy 2022: Global Status Report published by REN21 (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century) said.

 

* It ranked fourth in total solar installations (60.4 GW) for the year – overtaking Germany (59.2 GW) for the first time.

 

* The world, overall, added around 3,146 GW of total installed renewable power capacity in 2021 – a spike of 11% from the previous year. Despite this, the share of renewables in global energy use stagnated in 2021.

 

* The largest energy crisis in modern history started in the second half of 2021, and it was made worse by the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and an unprecedented global commodities shock.

 

* The research states that India increased its hydroelectric capacity by 843 MW in 2021, bringing the total to 45.3 GW.

 

* India was the third-largest market globally and the second-largest market in Asia for new solar PV capacity (13 GW of additions in 2021).

 

* India was in third place overall for installed wind power (40.1 GW), trailing only China, the US, and Germany.

 

* In the energy industry, historic increases in generation (7,793 terawatt hours) and capacity (314.5 gigawatts, up 17% from 2020) were unable to keep up with the six percent growth in global electricity demand..

Source : Thewire

Droupadi Murmu, former Jharkhand Governor, is set to be elected as the next President, the first tribal woman to occupy the highest post in the country.

 

From the Santhal community in Odisha, 64-year-old Murmu was named the Presidential nominee of the BJP-led NDA Tuesday night(21st June 2022), hours after former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha was declared the joint nominee of major Opposition parties including the Congress, TMC and NCP.

 

Murmu’s election is almost certain given that the numbers are heavily stacked in favour of the ruling NDA. Her candidature, announced by BJP president J P Nadda following a meeting of the party’s parliamentary board, appeared to have put some of the Opposition parties in a spot, especially the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) which draws its electoral strength from tribal votes.

 

* If elected, Murmu will become the second woman to hold the office of President following UPA supporter Pratibha Patil (2007–12).

 

* Murmu is the front-runner to succeed incumbent Ramnath Kovind, a Dalit from UP, in Rashtrapati Bhavan after the July 18 elections, as the BJP-led NDA is confident in making up the shortfall with the help of regional players like BJD’s Naveen Patnaik and YSRCP’s Jagan Mohan Reddy — the chief ministers of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, respectively.

 

 

* Additionally, BJP officials are hoping to win over the AIADMK. Given the tense relations with senior JD(U) leader and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Nadda’s claim that all NDA allies had been contacted over Murmu’s candidacy is crucial.

* Murmu checks many political boxes for the BJP as a candidate. The party’s message regarding the PM’s sympathy for tribals, Dalits, and women is expected to be amplified by her candidacy and the likely promotion.

* In addition, the party has been eager to expand on its successes in Odisha and the tribal areas of West Bengal..

Source : Indianexpress

Skalzang Rigzin, the first Indian Mountaineer to climb Mount Annapurna peak without supplemental Oxygen, received a warm welcome in Leh. Fellow mountaineers received him at the Leh Airport on arrival after the successful summit of two mountains Annapurna and Lhotse, in Nepal. 

 

AIR Correspondent reports, 'with 16 days of gap between climb of Mt Annapurna on April 28 and Mt Lhotse on May 14, Skalzang Rigzin has set a record to summit two peaks without oxygen supplements. The 41 year old Skalzang Rigzin has 23 years of experience in guiding adventure tourists in mountaineering in Ladakh.

 

Mt Annapurna is one of the most difficult among the 8000 meters height peaks in the world and is also known as the Killer Mountain due to its fatality to summit rate.

 

Skalzang Rigzin said, a fellow Mountaineer and Founder of Boots and Crampons Bharath Thammineni supported the expedition of Mt Annapurna, while Nepal-based Peak Promotion Company helped in climbing the Mt. Lhotse, which is close to Mt Everest.

 

He said, LMGA members have the caliber and endurance to climb without facing Accute Mountain Sickness, AMS, as the Sherpas do. He said that his adventure would inspire the local climbers. Mr. Skalzang Rigzin said he aimed to summit all the nine mountains of 8,000 to 14,000 metre high peaks in the future..

Source : Newsonair

Minister of State for Tribal Affairs and Jal Shakti, "Shri Bishweswar Tudu" 20th June 2022 inaugurated the 20th Folk Fair (National tribal/folk song & dance festival) and 13th Krishi Fair 2022 at Saradhabali in Puri, Odisha. The two fairs which aimed at preserving tribal culture and promoting innovation in agriculture respectively will continue for five days and conclude on 24th June.

 

Addressing the gathering, Shri Ranendra Pratap Swain, Odisha Agriculture Minister said, Odisha is enriched with tribal culture and their contribution to the state economy is significant. He further said that Odisha is also a leading state in agriculture and it is a surplus state in production of rice and other crops.

 

The objective of the 20th Folk Fair 2022 is to emphasize the importance of tribal culture and establish its originality and uniqueness. Through the fair, attempts are being made to help the groups and individuals from the tribal communities to showcase their talents in the preserve their culture.

 

The 13th Krishi Fair in the meantime is a platform for all organisations and companies with innovations, products, solutions and services related to agriculture. The exhibition has representatives from the entire spectrum of agriculture and allied industry, manufacturers, dealers, traders, exporters and consultants in agriculture, floriculture, aquaculture, sericulture and more..

Source : PIB