Kalanamak Rice Festival to be Held in Uttar Pradesh:
In the Uttar Pradesh town of Siddharth Nagar, the state government will host a three-day "Kalanamak Rice Festival." On March 13, 2021, the festival will begin. After the success of the "Jansi Strawberry Festival" and "Lucknow Jaggery Festival," the music festival was organised.
Highlights:
♦ Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stressed the importance of encouraging localised production and creating a market for it in order to create new income opportunities for farmers. This year`s festival began on March 13th.
♦ A rice festival was held as part of the "Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan" and "Local for Vocal" activities to encourage, sell, and brand the selected products as "One District One Product" (ODOP).
♦ This region grows Kala Namak rice, which is a result of some areas in eastern Uttar Pradesh. As a result, festival attendees will be able to sample dishes made with Kalanamak rice.
♦ These stalls sell Kala Namak rice seeds as well as rice. Visitors can learn about the origin, nutritional and scientific importance, and cultivation of Kala Namak rice during the festival. Throughout the festival, Kala Namak`s dishes were on display at various stalls. Prao, kel, lentils, cumin rice, poha, tomatoes, chickpeas, khichdi, idli, and fara are some of the dishes available.
♦ The festival will also feature a vibrant cultural programme that will highlight the talents of local artists and students. Progressive growers, FPOs, and self-help organisations may obtain information on commodity production and processing as part of the initiative.
Lakhs of Visitors Visited Statue of Unity:
After its unveiling in 2018, Kevadia`s "Statue of Unity" in Gujarat`s Narmada area has attracted over 5 million visitors.
Highlights:
♦ On October 31, 2020, India`s first seaplane service launched from Gujarat. This path links Ahmedabad`s Sabarmati Riverfront with Kaivadia`s Statue of Unity.
♦ Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is commemorated by the Unity Statue. Before India`s independence, Sardar Patel owned 560 princely states, so the statue was called the "statue of unity." It opened on October 31, 2018, to commemorate Sardar Patel`s 143rd birthday.
♦ The Unity Statue is the world`s tallest statue. It stands 182 metres tall, 23 metres higher than the Buddha Statue in China`s Spring Temple and nearly twice as tall as the United States Statue of Liberty (93 metres).
♦ It was added to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization`s "Eight Wonders" in January 2020. (SCO).
♦ It is situated on Sadhu Bet Island, which is part of the Narmada River, which flows between the Satpura and Vindhya mountains.
♦ The intricate bronze siding work was done by the Chinese foundry Jiangxi Toqin Company, and the statue of Unity was modelled by Padma Bhushan`s sculptor Ram V Sutar (JTQ).
###Appointment Of State Election Commissioners - SC:
The Supreme Court ruled that State Election Commissioners should be appointed by independents rather than bureaucrats.
Highlights:
Case:
♦ The Goa government has filed an appeal against a Mumbai High Court order suspending the Goa State Electoral Commission`s municipal election notices.
♦ The Supreme Court (SC) has now upheld the High Court`s decision on municipal reservations, ordering the state government to inform the municipalities of Mormugao, Margao, Mapusa, Quepem, and Sanguem of reservations within 10 days.
♦ It also gave the State Election Commission until April 30 to complete the election process.
♦ State Election Commissioners should be appointed by independents rather than bureaucrats. This is important because giving government workers the extra expense of the State Election Commissions is "a constitutional mockery."
♦ Across the country, states can nominate independent persons to serve as Election Commissioners.
About the State Election Commission:
♦ The State Election Commission, which is responsible for supervising, directing, and monitoring the preparation of the electoral roll and the conduct of all elections to Panchayats and Municipalities in India, owns the Indian Constitution (Article 243K, 243ZA).
♦ The Governor of each state appoints the State Election Commissioner.
♦ The Governor shall, upon the State Election Commission`s request, provide the State Election Commission with the required staff to perform the functions assigned to the SEC provision, according to Article 243. (1).
♦ The states, according to the Constitution, are responsible for creating local self-government institutions (entry 5, List II, Schedule 7).
###Appropriation Bill Gets The Nod Of Lok Sabha:
The Appropriation Bill has been authorised by the Lok Sabha, enabling the central government to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India for its business needs and programme implementation. Speaker Om Birla signed the bill by using the guillotine, a legislative instrument that allows for the swift approval of pending grant requests without debate.
About Appropriation Bill:
♦ The Appropriation Bill is a bill that authorises the government to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India to cover its expenditures during a fiscal year.
♦ The government can only remove funds from the pooled fund if Parliament supports it, according to Article 114 of the Constitution.
♦ Simply put, the "Finance Bill" specifies the amount and intent of withdrawals, while the "Appropriation Bill" specifies the amount and purpose of withdrawals.
Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project National Project Status:
Rajasthan`s Chief Minister has asked that the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) be designated as a national project. The primary benefit of a project that has been designated as a national project is that the federal government will fund 90 percent of the project`s costs. The cost of ERCP is expected to be around Rs. 40 billion.
About the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project:
♦ Its goal is to collect excess water from rivers in southern Rajasthan during the rainy season, such as the Chambal River and its tributaries (including Kunnu, Parvati, and Kalishinde), and use it in the southeastern part of the state, where water is scarce for drinking and irrigation.
♦ By 2051, ERCP expects to be able to meet the demand for drinking water as well as industrial water for humans and livestock in southern and southeastern Rajasthan.
♦ It is suggested that 26 large and medium-sized projects provide drinking water to 13 districts in Rajasthan, as well as irrigation water for 280,000 hectares of land.
♦ The 13 districts are Kota, Baran, Tonk, Jaipur, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Jhalawar, Karauli, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dausa, and Dholpur.