16 Apr 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Clean and Green Village
2. The UDAN scheme
3. Kashi Vishwanath Temple

1. Clean and Green Village

Syllabus: GS II, Government policies and interventions and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Prelims: SDGs, about the idea of Green villages

Mains: Efforts made by the government for the sustainable development of villages in the country.

Context: The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has organised a National Conference on Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on clean and green villages as a part of the iconic celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Objectives: 

• In order to promote sustainable development goals at the village level with the key intention of cleanliness and hygiene, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has conducted the national level conference. 
• This programme will alse serve the purpose of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan forwarding a sense of responsibility towards nation building. 
• It is based on themes such as Clean & Green Village and Water Sustainable Village. 

An Overview of Green and Clean Villages:

• The entire concept of green and clean village is based on the development of rural areas by addressing ecological, economic and equity issues in the villages. 
• The programme on establishing green and clean villages aims to transform the rural scenario through community level social regulations, cooperation and proactive participation for a green, clean, toxic free, low carbon, self-reliant, eco-resilient rural India. 
• The initial stages of the programme will focus on tree plantation (target of 33% tree cover), organic farming, awareness and rapid appraisals for villagers to improve need-based programmes. 
• Green and Clean villages will also transition towards new and renewable sources of energy. 

Themes specified by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and other stakeholders:

• A village free of poverty and with improved livelihoods
• A healthy village
• A child-friendly village
• A village with enough water 
• A village that is clean and green
• A village with self-sufficient infrastructure
• A village with good governance
• Village development that is engendered

Also read about Panchayati Raj Institution in the linked article

2. The UDAN scheme

Syllabus: GS III, Infrastructure: Airports

Prelims: UDAN scheme

Mains: India’s progress in developing regional connectivity. 

Context: The UDAN (UdeDeshka Aam Nagrik) scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has been selected for the Prime Minister’s Award for excellence in public administration under the category of Innovation (General) – Central.

The Prime Minister’s Award for excellence in public administration:

• This award has been initiated by the Government of India to acknowledge, recognise and reward extraordinary and innovative work done by districts and organizations of the central and the state governments. 
• The award consists of a trophy, scroll and an incentive of Rs 10 lakhs. 
• This award was instituted in the form of a scheme in 2006 and was restructured in 2014 for recognising the performance of district collectors in priority programmes, innovation and aspirational districts. 
• This scheme was again restructured in 2020 to recognise the performance of district collectors in the economic development of a district. 

The UDAN scheme: Progress made

• This scheme, ever since its inception in 2016, has stepped progressively towards the prime vision of enhancing the aviation infrastructure and nurturing air connectivity for the ease of common people in tier II and III cities. 
• In a span of five years, about 415 UDAN routes connect 66 underserved airports along with heliports and water aerodromes helping a considerable number of beneficiaries.
• The UDAN scheme has successfully facilitated several sectors with a pan-India approach including the hilly states, the Northeast region and islands. 
• It also worked towards the development of new greenfield airports such as Pakyong near Gangtok, Sikkim, Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. 
• It has led to a 5% increase in growth in domestic passenger share of non-metro airports. 
• The scheme has offered a remarkable impact on the economy of the country and has received heartening response from the industry stakeholders especially from the airlines operators and state governments. 

UDAN’s futuristic target:

• The Ministry of Civil Aviation intends to expand the ambit of the scheme by setting up a target of constructing 100 new airports by 2024 with 1000 new routes under the UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme by 2026. 

Get a comprehensive understanding about UDAN scheme in the linked article

3. Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Syllabus: GS I, Indian Culture, Salient aspects of architecture from ancient to modern times

Prelims: Temple architecture of India, Kashi Vishwanath Temple (Salient features)

Context: The Vice President of India paid a visit to Kashi Vishwanath Temple. 

About Kashi Vishwanath Temple: 

• It is one of the most famous Hindu temples dedicated to lord Shiva.
• It is located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
• The temple stands on the western bank of the holy river Ganga and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas which depict the holiest Shiva temples. 
• Vishvanatha or Vishveshvara which means ‘Ruler of the Universe’, is the main deity.
• As Varanasi city is also popular as Kashi, the temple is named as Kashi Vishwanath Temple
• The old religious text of Skanda Purana offers a mention of this temple. 

Read more about Kashi Vishwanath Temple in PIB dated 12 Dec, 2021. 

Read previous PIB here.

April 16th, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here