News Crux
Civil Services Chronicle Online, March, 2020 :
H.P Becomes First State To Have 100% LPG Gas Coverage
- Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country to have 100% LPG gas coverage.
- After the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (launched in 2016) to provide clean fuel to women below the poverty line, a similar scheme of State Govt. - “Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana” (launched in 2018) helped in covering the remaining households of PM Ujjwala Yojana.
Ashraf Ghani
- President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani won Afghanistan’s presidential election for the second term. He defeated Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.
- The election results were announced by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) five months after the voting took place amid the threat of violence and concerns over electoral fraud.
Kerala Bans CFL And Filament Bulbs
- Kerala government will impose a ban on the sale of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and incandescent (filament) bulbs starting November 2020 as part of sustainable energy policy. The streetlights and bulbs in government offices across the state will be converted to light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs.
- The announcement is in line with the government project of ‘Filament-free Kerala’ envisaged in 2018 as part of the state’s Urja Kerala mission.
- LED bulbs are energy-efficient than filament or CFL bulbs and will, therefore, generate less waste. Also, filament bulbs contain the mercury element which, when broken, is polluting in nature.
MP Radio-tags Pangolins
- On the eve of the ninth World Pangolin Day (Observed on 3rd Saturday of February), the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department carried out first-ever Radio-tagging of the Indian pangolin released in the Satpura Tiger Reserve six months ago.
- The fieldwork is supported by the YES Bank under its CSR initiative.
- Pangolins are the most trafficked wildlife species in the world and are ‘Endangered’ according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- Out of the eight species of Pangolin, the Indian Pangolin and the Chinese Pangolin are found in India. The Chinese pangolin is found in North-East India while the Indian Pangolin is distributed across India, except the extreme arid zones, Himalayas and the North-East.
Rajasthan Government To Issue Transgender Identity Card
- To connect transgender community with the mainstream society, the Rajasthan Government has now decided to issue separate identity cards for transgenders in the state, so that the people of the community can get the benefit of government jobs as well as all government schemes.
Titabor- First Zero Waste Town Of Assam
- Titabar town under Jorhat District has become Assam’s first ‘zero waste town’ by revolutionizing management of solid waste.
- The Jorhat town has also set up the state’s first bio-mining project to completely recover the dumpsite and work towards 100 percent waste processing.
Mandya
- The Researchers from Atomic Minerals Directorate have estimated lithium reserves of 14,100 tonnes in a patch of land surveyed in Mandya, Bengaluru.
- Lithium is a rare metal and is critical for manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles.
MPIDSA
- The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) has been renamed as Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MPIDSA) to honour the commitment and legacy of late Defence Minister of India Manohar Parrikar.
AJNIFM
- National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad has been renamed as Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM) to honour the former Finance Minister of India.
SSIFS
- Foreign Service Institute of India has been renamed as Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service to honour the former External Affairs Minister of India.
