Tamil Naidu state government makes Aadhaar a must for all of its schemes

Tamil Naidu state government makes Aadhaar a must for all of its schemes

• The Tamil Nadu government has announced that all those who are eligible for benefits (other than minor children) under various government schemes are required to submit proof of possession of an Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar identification. 
• According to the order, Aadhaar is mandatory for government employees, government pensioners and beneficiaries of various schemes implemented by the State government through various Departments by their implementing agencies.
• Any individual desirous of availing himself of benefits, but does not possess an Aadhaar number or has not yet enrolled for Aadhaar, shall be required to make an application for Aadhaar enrolment before registering for the “Scheme.”

Three more sites added to tentative list of UNESCO

• Three new cultural sites in India, including iconic Sun Temple at Modhera, historic Vadnagar town in Gujarat and rock-cut relief sculptures of Unakoti in Tripura, have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites, the ASI said on Tuesday.
• Vadnagar, an ancient city in Mehsana district of Gujarat is steeped in history and endowed with rich built heritage. It is the hometown of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The Sun Temple, Modhera dedicated to the Sun God, is one of the remarkable gems of temple architecture in India. It impresses not only with its architectural structure and technological achievements as in position of the temple against to Sun; but also, in particular with its sculpture decoration, representing true artistic mastery.
• The third site, Unakoti — the chiselled ‘Angkor Wat of the North-East’ region — contain the series of Shaivite rock sculptures in the northern part of Tripura. Nestled in the Raghunandan hills, about 180 km from Agartala, Unakoti is home to giant bas-relief sculptures of the 8-9th century carved out of a huge hill.
• India has a total of 40 sites which enjoy the UNESCO World Heritage tag. These include 32 cultural sites, such as Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Harappan-era site in Dholavira, Elephanta Caves, Red Fort complex in Delhi, and Mahabodhi Temple complex in Bodh Gaya in Bihar.

Tamil Naidu govt launches ‘Friends of Library’ programme

• The ‘Friends of Library’ programme, under which books would be directly given to those who are unable to access state-run libraries, was introduced by the Tamil Nadu government. 
• The project will be helpful to people with disabilities, seniors, kids, and hospital in-patients, among others, who are unable to visit a library. Volunteers will hand over the books to such people from the libraries.
• Such individuals will receive the books from the libraries from volunteers, he continued. The recipients must register with the relevant library.
• The programme will involve 2,500 libraries in its initial phase, including 31 district libraries. The aim of such an initiative was to promote a knowledge-based society. State Food Minister R Sakkarapani, district collector Dr S Visakan and others participated.

Digital India Awards 2022: India’s Smart Cities Mission wins Platinum Icon

• Under Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has won the Platinum Icon in the Digital India Awards 2022 for their initiative “DataSmart Cities: Empowering Cities through Data”. 
• The award was announced under the ‘Data Sharing and Use for Socio-Economic Development’ category. The DataSmart Cities Initiative is a key step in creating a robust data ecosystem that enables evidence-based decision-making in cities.
• The Digital India awards instituted in 2009 are one of a kind in India for honouring the efforts of different Government entities in the digital realm. These are conducted by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY). The seventh edition of Digital India Awards (DIA) is being held in 2022.