Rajasthan Monsoon 2019: Report
- The state has received 34.7% more rainfall this year.
- Average Rainfall – 675.96 mm (2018 – 493.47 mm).
- Pratapgarh district received 1136.88mm rainfall, the highest in the state this year.
- Sriganganagar with 112.99mm was at the lowest position.
- Katli river that passes through Sikar and Jhunjhunu got water after almost 25 years.
- District-wise Rainfall Distribution:
- Abnormal Rainfall: Ajmer, Bundi, Rajsamand.
- Excess Rainfall: Baran, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Chury, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Jhunjhunu Jodhpur, Kota, Nagaur, Pall, Pratapgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Sikar, Tonk and Udaipur
- Normal Rainfall: Banswara, Barmer, Bikaner, Dausa, Dholpur, Jaisalmer, Jalore and Sirohi
- Deficient Rainfall: Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Alwar, Bharatpur and Karauli.
Agri Centres of Excellence in NEWS
Recently, the Agricultural Centers of Excellence opened by last government have been news for questions pertaining their misplacement. For RAS Examination, it is important to note the locations-
- Centre for Citrus Fruits | Kota
- Centre for Pomegranate | Bassi, Jaipur
- Centre for Dates | Jaisalmer
- Centre for Guavas | Tonk
- Centre for Oranges | Jhalawar
- Centre for Mangoes | Dholpur
- Centre for Vegetables | Bundi
- Centre for Custard Apple | Chittorgarh
- Centre for Flowers | Sawai Madhopur
These centers were established after an agreement between the government of Israel and that of Rajasthan, the former decided to help the latter establish nine Centres of Excellence in the dessert state. These centres were meant for agricultural produce — fruits and vegetables — and money was invested for research, development and cold storage. The centres were meant to be opened in places where the particular crop is grown on priority, to help the farmers excel.
New Mini-Secretariat to come up at Alwar
The state government has sanctioned an interest free loan of Rs 10 crore for the construction of a mini-secretariat at Alwar. The mini secretariat at Alwar was announced in the 2010-11 budget but has been delayed due to shortage of money.
Raj Cooperatives to offer e-mitra services
At present 1,851 village cooperative societies are providing services of e-mitra centres. Now by October 2nd, all the 6,500 village cooperative societies would be offering e-mitra services. On October 2, on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a special general body meeting of village cooperative societies will be held at all 6,500 village service committees in the state.
NCERT books to be part of State curriculum
To arrest the trend of school curriculum being tweaked whenever there is a change in the government, the state government has decided to introduce the NCERT system in government schools in a phased manner from the next academic session. Hindi and English medium books of the NCERT would be introduced in classes IX and XI from the next academic year.
But in classes X and XII, the present curriculum will continue for the next academic session (2020-21) and the NCERT curriculum will be introduced only from the academic year 2021-2022.
New SOG office to be setup
The Rajasthan police have decided to set up a dedicated office of the Special Operations Group (SOG) on the Jaipur-Delhi National Highway 8 to keep a check on gangs operating on the border of New Delhi and Haryana.
Former Chief Ministers to vacate official residences
A division bench of Rajasthan High Court struck down the Rajasthan Ministers’ Salaries (Amendment) Act 2017 which provided “extra facilities” to former chief ministers including lifelong government accommodation. The judgment, on the petition filed by senior journalists Milap Chand Dandiaya and Vijay Bhandari, was pronounced by the bench headed by Chief Justice S Ravindra Bhat.
As per the provisions of The Rajasthan Ministers Salaries (amendment) Act,2017, chief ministers of the state, who serve a full tenure, were eligible for a government accommodation in Jaipur or any of the district headquarters, even after they vacate office. They were also eligible for a car and a driver, a telephone and a staff of 10. In case facility is not availed by ex-CM, government was to reimburse a fixed monthly amount.
The court held that above clauses ere “arbitrary” and “contrary to Article 14” (the right to equality) of the Constitution. Accordingly, the provisions of the impugned law is “unconstitutional”, the bench ruled.
Jodhpur railway station cleanest in the country
In the awards given by the Union ministry of drinking water and sanitation, Jodhpur bagged the first prize, while Jaipur came second for its measures for safe drinking water and sanitation. Last year too, both the stations, that come under the category of A1, had secured the top two spots in the railway station cleanliness survey conducted by the Quality Council of India (QCI) for Indian railways.
Rajasthan first state in India to provide E-sign services
The Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) of the Centre has declared RajComp Info Services Limited (RISL) under the Rajasthan government as the certification authority (CA) for providing E-sign services/facilities to other states of the country and its citizens.
Through E-sign facility, public can avail government services/schemes by signing the applications, documents or certificates online, instead of signing the papers manually by taking a print out. E-sign facility was earlier used in the state at the government’s department-to-department level.
This will also help in promoting paperless system in state departments, ensuring transparency and saving time and state government’s money. Currently 3 to 5 lakh documents are e-signed in the state daily. Now, this number is estimated to increase to about 10 lakh.
