Amit Shah Announces ST Status for Paharis in Jammu and Kashmir

Amit Shah Announces ST Status for Paharis in Jammu and Kashmir

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah announces that Pahari Community in Jammu and Kashmir will get a Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and political reservations before Assembly elections. 
• The abolition of Articles 370 and 35A in August 2019 paved the way for providing reservations to deprived sections of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The ST quota in J&K carries 7% spots in government jobs and educational institutions.
• The Paharis were given a 4 percent quota in the OBC category from January 2020.

Actor Pankaj Tripathi declared ‘National Icon’ by Election Commission of India

• Election Commission of India (ECI) in creating awareness amongst voters, Actor Pankaj Tripathi has been declared as the ‘National Icon’ of ECI. 
• The actor was chosen for the honour by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar for keeping in view his commitment to the cause and wide appeal across the country. 
• An event on the ‘Voter Awareness Program’, CEC Rajiv Kumar complimented ECI state icon, Pankaj Tripathi, for his association with ECI in creating voting awareness across citizens, and henceforth declared him as the National Icon for ECI.

Kerala’s Pullampara named first fully digital literate panchayat

• The Pullumpara village panchayat in the Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala achieved the distinction of becoming the first totally digitally literate panchayat in the country. The announcement was made by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan at a public event. 
• The mission to achieve total digital literacy was aimed at empowering the residents to get access to over 800 government services available through the online mode. 
• The residents were also trained to use social media platforms and basic banking services during the training. Around 250 engineering college students and members of Kudumbashree trained the residents while the process was monitored by the Kerala Technological University (KTU).

National Mission for Clean Ganga approved 14 projects worth Rs 1145 crore

• The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved 14 projects worth Rs 1,145 crore. The projects include the following aspects sewerage management, curbing industrial pollution, and biodiversity conservation among others. 
• The project was approved at the 45th meeting of the executive committee under the championship of G Ashok Kumar, Director General, NMCG.

Telangana government launched ‘Aasara’ pension for poor

• The Telangana government has introduced ‘Aasara’ pensions as a part of the state’s welfare measures and social safety net strategy. The ‘Aasara’ pensions aim to secure life for all the poor. 
• It is a welfare scheme for the older section of the state, widows, physically disabled, and beedi workers to avail pension facilities. 
• The Aasara pension scheme was launched on 8th November 2014 by the Government of Telangana.
• On 7th March 2022, the Finance Minister of Telangana allocated Rs. 11,728 crores to the Aasara Pension scheme.