National
Foundation stone of various projects in Rajkot
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated projects worth around Rs 5860 crores in Rajkot, Gujarat on 19 October 2022.
- The Prime Minister also inaugurated the India Urban Housing Conclave 2022.
About Projects:
» During the public function, Prime Minister dedicated over 1100 houses constructed under the Light House Project.
» Other projects being dedicated by the Prime Minister include a water supply project: Morbi-Bulk pipeline project from Brahmani-2 Dam to Narmada Canal Pumping Station, a regional Science Centre, flyover bridges and other projects related to road connectivity.
» The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of six laning of the existing four-lane of Rajkot-Gondal-Jetpur section of NH27 in Gujarat.
» He also laid the foundation stone of GIDC industrial estates worth around Rs 2950 crore at various locations in Morbi, Rajkot, Botad, Jamnagar and Kutch.
» Other projects whose foundation stones were laid include the AMUL-fed dairy plant at Gadhka, the construction of an indoor sports complex in Rajkot, two water supply projects and other projects in the roads and railways sector.
Indian Urban Housing Conclave-2022” (IUHC2022)
⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the three-day event ‘Indian Urban Housing Conclave-2022’ (IUHC2022) organised by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India from 19-21 October 2022 at Rajkot, Gujarat.
The event consisted of following components:
- Inauguration of Light House Project (LHP) Rajkot, Gujarat
- National Exhibition on Innovative construction practices
- Exhibition on best practices adopted by States/UTs under PMAY-U including Gujarat
- Deliberations on Affordable Housing Discourses
- Felicitation of PMAY(U) Awards 2021
Theme:
The India Urban Housing Forum covered multiple aspects related to the theme “future of housing, slums and informal settlements” in cities and towns in India through a series of dialogues, roundtables, and side events.
- The sessions covered prominent themes pertaining to policies and regulations, urban planning and design, and local implementation and financing with inclusion, participation, climate adaptation and resilience, and sustainability as cross-cutting guiding principles.
IUHC 2022 comprised of two major components:
- The first was an exhibition on Swachh Bharat Mission, Urban Transport, Smart Cities Mission, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) and PM SVANIDHI Missions from MoHUA; Gujarat’s State Pavilion showing Urban Landscape and Innovative Indigenous Construction Technologies.
- The Second component included deliberations among national & international domain experts on various issues of affordable housing, paving way for the future housing policies in the country.
» Altogether, two Plenary sessions, three brainstorming sessions and six thematic sessions on Affordable Housing, Slum Redevelopment and Building Technologies were organised.
- UN-HABITAT India, BMTPC, and GIZ India also conducted various sessions. Slum Redevelopment, Climate Smart Buildings, Public-Private-People Partnerships, Inclusive & Sustainable Housing, Use of innovative Technologies by Public and Private Agencies were some of the topics on which the sessions were held.
Key Points:
- The Conclave provided a platform to all stakeholders to demonstrate their technologies as well as deliberate upon various options of technologies, materials and processes for large scale adoption and mainstreaming in different type of housing construction suitable for different Geo-climatic regions of the country.
- It created enabling eco-system for further adoption by Public/Private Agencies, R&D and Technical Institutions, Construction Agencies, Developers, Contractors, Start-ups and other stakeholders.
- It also helped devising strategies, action plan and roadmap for achieving the vision of “Future Ready Urban India” focussed on urban housing during the ‘Amrit Kaal’.
- The India Urban Housing Conclave 2022 saw deliberations covering various facets related to housing in India including planning, design, policy, regulations, implementation, ushering in greater sustainability and inclusivity, among others.
- ‘Indian Urban Housing Conclave’ helped in widening the horizon and bringing technology transition in the construction sector for sustainable development.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) Awards 2021: 150 Days Challenge
⇒ The winners of PMAY-U Awards 2021 were declared at the Indian Urban Housing Conclave-2022” (IUHC2022). The winners were felicitated by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 19th October 2022.
A 150 Days challenge was announced to recognize outstanding performance of states/Union territories (UTs)/Urban local bodies (ULBs) and beneficiaries in implementation of the scheme.
Important Winners of PMAY-U Awards 2021:
Best Performing States:
» Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu held the 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively as Best Performing States under the scheme.
Best State for implementation of CLSS:
» Gujarat was awarded as the Best State for implementation of the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS).
Best Performing State in north-eastern and hilly States category:
» Tripura won the award for Best Performing State under PMAY-U in north-eastern and hilly States category.
Meanwhile, Hon’ble Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri distributed the PMAY-U Awards at Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat level, along with the awards in the Special Category.
- The Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu were felicitated for their performance.
Other winners:
» In the special category award – state level – Tamil Nadu won the special recognition for Faster Mover under Affordable Rental Housing Complex (ARHC) Model-2 and best state for use of Innovative Construction Technologies.
» Under the municipal awards – city level – category, the Madurai Corporation has secured the third position under Best Performing Municipal Corporation under PMAY (U).
» The Periya Negamam Town Panchayat bagged the fifth position under Best Performing Nagar Panchayat under PMAY (U).
» Madhya Pradesh shared the special category award with Gujarat in Best State for Convergence, with Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh in Best State for Conducting Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Activity and with Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat in Best Performing State Level Technical Cell (SLTC).
About PMAY-U award:
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) constituted PMAY-U Awards in 2019.
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India has been implementing Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) Mission since June 2015.
» The specific objectives of the PMAY-U award are as follows:
- To recognize the achievements by States/UTs in the Mission.
- To encourage healthy competition among States/UTs/ULBs for achieving the goal of ‘Housing for All’ within stipulated time.
- To disseminate knowledge on effective methods of design and implementation
- To encourage innovations in successful implementation of projects.
- To promote cross learning in resolving problems, mitigating risks and planning for successful implementation of the Mission.
International
Prime Minister of Sweden
⇒ Sweden’s parliament elected conservative leader Ulf Kristersson as the country’s new prime minister on 17 October 2022.
A total of 176 members of the Riksdag voted in favor of Kristersson, while 173 members voted against him.
» Ulf Kristersson has been serving as the Prime Minister of Sweden since 18 October 2022.
About Ulf Hjalmar Ed Kristersson:
Ulf Hjalmar Ed Kristersson has been the leader of the Moderate Party (M) since October 2017 and a member of the Riksdag (MP) for Södermanland County since 2014 and for Stockholm County from 1991 to 2000.