November 2019: Rajasthan Current Affairs Summary

Water Security and Climate Adaptation in Rural India (WASCA) project

Jodhpur and Dungarpur have been identified as pilot districts for the Water Security and Climate Adaptation in Rural India (WASCA) project. The agreement was signed between the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Ministry of External Affairs, India. The bilateral project between government of India and GIZ, Germany, will have ministry of rural development and Jal Shakti ministry as the executing agencies.

State government declares 1,388 villages drought affected

The state government has issued notification declaring 1,388 villages under 13 tehsils of Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Hanumangarh as drought affected. Under the notification:

• 131 villages of Barmer district have been declared as ‘severe drought’ affected and 92 villages are ‘moderately drought’ affected.
• In Jaisalmer, 632 villages have been declared as ‘severe’ and 40 villages are ‘moderately’ drought affected.
• In Jodhpur, 13 villages have been declared as ‘severe’ and 297 villages as ‘moderately drought-prone’.
• In Hanumangarh, 182 villages have been declared as severely drought affected and 1 village as moderately drought affected.

Rajasthan Government establishes Jawahar Lal Nehru Bal Sahitya Academy

To mark the 130th birth anniversary of first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, the Rajasthan Chief Minister announced that the government will establish JawaharLal Nehru Bal Sahitya Academy to promote a sense of service towards nation and society among our children. It will also distribute children’s literature to the them.

Rajasthan Government notifies CSR authority

In November 2019, the State Government has notified Rajasthan CSR Authority to guide, monitor, and partner companies for achieving scale and improving efficiency in implementing social welfare projects. The authority will create a mechanism for the government and the companies to come together to take up welfare projects jointly for achieving scale and impact.

Also Read: CSR in Rajasthan

The three-tier authority will be represented by the chief minister, chief secretary, additional chief secretary of industries, and commissioner of industries besides senior officials from various departments.

Family courts to come up in six districts

In November 2019, the Rajasthan government has issued a notification to establish family courts in six districts of the state. The courts will be setup in Bharatpur, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur Ajmer and Alwar. These courts will hear cases referred by the Rajasthan High Court.

According to another notification, the state government has also notified to establish senior civil judge and additional chief judicial magistrate courts in Barmer and Jhalawar. Both the courts will have powers to hear civil cases of the districts.

6-member advisory panel for peace cell set-up

In November 2019, the state government has set up a six-member advisory committee for the peace and non-violence cell, which was formally launched at the Rajasthan Khadi and Village Industries Board on October 2 to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. 

The members of the committee include four experts:

• Former chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) D R Mehta,
• Former advocate general (AG) of Rajasthan G S Bafna,
• Health activist Dharamveer Katewa &
• Gandhian Manish Sharma.

Retired IAS officer S S Bissa is the cell’s coordinator and Lalit Bhagat has been appointed deputy secretary of the peace and non-violence cell.

Toll tax on private vehicles reinstalled

In November 2019, the public works department (PWD) issued a notification reintroducing toll tax on private four-wheelers on the state highways. The previous state government had exempted 55 state highways from collecting toll from April 1, 2018, which had resulted in a loss of nearly Rs 172 crore.

Prior to the exemption, the state highways were collecting Rs 851 crore yearly, which was utilised in the maintenance and construction work of roads. The revenue earned from the toll tax would help strengthen the roads network and also contribute towards the upkeep of the state highways. (TOI)

Shakti-2019

Shakti 2019 will be conducted from October 31 till November 13 at the Mahajan Field Firing Range. Shakti is a biennial exercise, conducted alternately in India and France by Armies of both countries.

Person In NEWS:

Justice Mohammad Rafiq

• Justice Mohammad Rafiq, senior judge of Rajasthan High Court will now be the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court.
• Justice Rafiq would be the third high court judge from Rajasthan to become a chief justice. As at present,
  • Justice Govind Mathur is Chief Justice at Allahabad High Court,
  • Justice RS Chauhan is Chief Justice at Telangana High Court,

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