National
‘Azadi Se Antyodaya Tak’ Campaign
⇒ Union Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh on 28 April 2022 launched ‘Azadi Se Antyodaya Tak’, a 90-day campaign with a mission to saturate 75 Districts across 28 States/UTs with beneficiary schemes of 09 central ministries.
- Celebrating the spirit of the year- long Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM), the identified districts are aligned with the birth place of 99 Freedom Fighters, who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation during India’s struggle for independence.
Goal:
The goal of the campaign is to take up 17 select schemes with direct assistance to beneficiaries in saturation mode, reaching out to the person at the bottom of the pyramid in rural areas by each of the participating ministries/departments.
- The 75 districts, marginally lagging behind in the development parameters, have been shortlisted through MPCE (Monthly per Capita Indicators) and D5/D7 SECC-2011 (Socio-Economic Caste Census) data.
Azadi Se Antyodaya Tak campaign is a concerted effort of the following Ministries:
- Ministry of Rural Development
- Department of Social Justice & Empowerment-Divyangjan
- Ministry of Women & Child Development
- Department of Financial Services
- Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship
- Department of Agriculture & farmers Welfare
- Department of Health & Family Welfare
- Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying
- Ministry of Labour & Employment
Led by:
The Azadi Se Antyodaya Tak campaign is being led by Ministry of Rural Development with active support from Ministry of Culture and all participating ministries/departments.
Participation:
- The campaign will be implemented in a celebratory mode involving all rural stakeholders including families of identified freedom fighters (FF), Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), women networks, youth groups and students highlighting the achievements of the schemes.
- It will also be participatory in its approach with active support of public servants like local MPs, MLAs, Sarpanch etc.
- The campaign is extended to cover 75 districts across 28 States/UTs namely: – Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes
⇒ BJP leader and former Union minister Vijay Sampla has been appointed as the chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) for a second time.
Sampla had resigned as the NCSC chairman ahead of the Punjab elections and had contested the polls.
- He was the Chairman of Punjab Khadi Board from 2008-2012 and the Chairman of Punjab State Forest Development Corporation in 2014.
Indo-German Global Academy on Agroecology Research and Learning
⇒ The Government of Andhra Pradesh is setting up an Indo-German Global Academy on Agroecology Research and Learning (IGGAARL) with €20 million funded by Germany.
An Indo-German Global Centre for Agro-Ecology Research and Learning will be set up at Pulivendula in Kadapa district.
- The center will provide technical assistance to those practicing natural farming.
27th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF)
⇒ The 27th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) was held from 25 April to 01 May 2022.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the 27th edition of KIFF at Nazrul Manch on 25 April 2022. In the 27th KIFF, 163 movies from 40 countries were screened across 10 state-run venues.
Read More About 27th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF)
International
USCIRF has recommended to designate India as “Country of Particular Concern”
⇒ The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a US Congress-constituted quasi-judicial body, has recommended to designate India as “Country of Particular Concern” in the context of status of religious freedom.
» Other countries recommended for this designation by the USCIRF in its annual report 2022 are Burma, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Vietnam.
- India has in the past said that the American body on international religious freedom has chosen to be guided only by its biases on a matter on which it has no locus standi.
About United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF):
- The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a US federal government commission.
- Established by the US government in 1998 after the inaction of the International Religious Freedom Act, recommendations of USCIRF are non-binding on the state department.
Sports
83rd Senior National Table Tennis Championships
⇒ Sharath Kamal won his 10th men’s singles national title while Sreeja Akula clinched the women’s singles crown at the 83rd Senior National Table Tennis Championships in Shillong on 25 April 2022.
National Table Tennis Championships 2022 winners:
- Men’s singles – Sharath Kamal
- Women’s singles – Sreeja Akula
- Men’s doubles – Sourav Saha and Wesley Do Rosaria
- Women’s doubles – Sreeja Akula and Ayhika Mukherjee
- Mixed doubles – Akash Pal and Prati Sen
