Chhattisgarh Affairs
To cater the need of skilled persons for implementation of the Jal Jeevan mission and to provide water tap connections to rural households, Chhattisgarh on Monday launched a Jal Mitan scheme.
Under the scheme, training has been imparted to around 11,000 youths in the state to prepare them as ‘Jal Mitan’, ‘Yuva Udyami’ and ‘Jal Didi’.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel a significant number of skilled ‘Jal Mitans’ are needed at the grassroots level. The has decided to train 58,000 youths for this, he said.
So far, of 11,000 youths, 540 have got high-quality training. On Monday, Baghel gave away toolkits to them.
This initiative, conducted in collaboration with the Jal Jeevan Mission and UNICEF, focuses on training and deploying skilled ‘Jal Mitans’ in rural regions.
The training includes 21-day residential training to rural youths in water quality testing, plumbing and pipe fitting repairs, RO fitting and repairs, electrical fitting and repairs, solar panel fitting and repairs as well as pump operator Services. PHE Minister Guru Rudra Kumar said the state has achieved 45 per cent of the targeted goal of Jal Jeevan Mission within two years. The state government has set a target to provide individual household tap connections to 50 lakh rural households in Chhattisgarh, he said. Currently, such connections have been provided to 24 lakh households.
National and International Affairs
Need to develop new techniques to audit ‘Blue Economy’: CAG Girish Chandra Murmu
(CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu said that Supreme Audit Institutions should develop new techniques and capabilities to audit marine life or the Blue economy to ensure Sustainable Development.
In order to fulfil their commitment towards sustainability goals in consonance with SDG 14 Life below Water the governments are reorienting policies and regulatory structures to conserve and sustainably use the Oceans, seas and <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/marine-Resources“>Marine Resources for sustainable development.
Government imposes stock limits on wheat to prevent hoarding
In order to manage overall and to prevent hoarding and unscrupulous speculation, the government has decided to impose stock limits on wheat for traders, wholesalers, retailers, big chain retailers and processors. The order will be applicable with immediate effect and will be applicable until March 31, 2024.
In order to manage overall food security and to prevent hoarding and unscrupulous speculation, the government has decided to impose stock limits on wheat for traders, wholesalers, retailers, big chain retailers and processors. The order will be applicable with immediate effect and will be applicable until March 31, 2024.
Stock limits will be applicable for each entity individually such as: traders/wholesalers- 3000 tonne; Retailer- 10 tonne for each of the retail outlets; Big Chain Retailer- 10 tonne for each outlet and 3000 tonne at all their depots and Processors – 75 per cent of annual installed capacity.
Further, the centre has also decided to offload 15 lakh tonnes of wheat in the first phase from central pool stock under Open Market Sale Scheme to control retail prices of wheat.
Wheat will be sold in lot sizes of 10-100 tonnes. Registration for this auction is open on the Fci‘s e-auction platform. It has also been decided to offload rice under the open market scheme in order to moderate the prices.
China could potentially have as many ICBMs as U.S. or Russia by turn of decade: SIPRI
The size of Chinas nuclear arsenal increased from 350 warheads in January 2022 to 410 in January 2023, and it is expected to keep growing, according to estimations by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The key finding in SIPRI Yearbook 2023 is that the number of operational nuclear weapons started to rise as countries long-term force modernisation and expansion plans progressed.
According to SIPRI estimates, the nuclear arsenals of India grew from 160 in 2022 to 164 in 2023 and that of Pakistan from 165 to 170.
The nine nuclear-armed states the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Israelcontinue to modernise their nuclear arsenals and several deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapon systems in 2022
Lower house of Japans Parliament passes bill to promote LGBTQ+ awareness
The powerful lower house of Japan’s parliament on June 13 passed a bill to promote understanding ofLGBTQ+ issuesamid protests by activists that last-minute revisions by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s conservative party favoured opponents of sexual instead of guaranteeing equal rights.
Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations which does not have LGTBQ+ legal protections.