22nd March 2021, Corona, river linking, environment, farmers protest

22 March 2021

• PM to launch new campaign on World Water Day

  Today, on World Water Day Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the campaign for “Jal Shakti Abhiyan : Catch the Rain” which will continue till 30th Nov 2021. This campaign will focus on water conservation. Rainwater harvesting structures will be raised all across the country to meet this objective. The "Catch the Rain" part of the campaign focuses on rainwater as it is the only source of water for most part of the country.

• Uttarakhand government advised on Corona measures in Kumbh

  Central government officials recently visited Hardwar where the Kumbh mela is going on. Due to Corona pandemic a number of precautionary measures were announced by the government. The officials noted how these measures were being followed at the Kumbh and gave some advice to the Uttarakhand state government officials. They advised on testing, self-reporting, emergency measures, periodic testing of frontline workers and treatment facilities.

• River linking will provide water for irrigation

  Ken River is to be linked with Betwa river in the Bundelkhand region which is particularly water starved. This linking will provide water for irrigation of 10.62 Lakh hectares of land along with drinking water to 62 Lakh citizens.

• Palm oil companies going green

  Among the seven products, production of which leads to significant environmental danger, palm oil production is going green. In comparison cocoa, rubber, coffee fared poorly. One of the reasons for this could be the focus of environmentalists on Palm Oil Companies.

• Protest in Bengaluru like in Delhi, says Farmers protest leader

  Speaking at a kisan mahapanchayat, the Farmers protest leader Rakesh Tikait asked the farmers of Karnataka to take their protests to Bengaluru and follow the example of the northern protesters in Delhi.

• 16.5 Lakh beneficiaries have registered under ABRY

  16.5 Lakh beneficiaries have registered under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana scheme. This scheme aims at generating employment, providing social security cover, restoring employment status affected by Corona Pandemic. 13.64 Lakh of these are new beneficiaries who have joined after September 2020.

• India's heavy dependence on Oil imports

  India has been importing 70% of the oil that it used in last 5 years. Government has tried to put more taxes on these imports and encouraged local alternatives. Government has also invested and encouraged on shore and off shore oil exploration activities. However in the short term India will have to rely heavily on these imports.

• More countries to wait for Indian Corona Vaccines

  After shipment of Corona Vaccines to UK were blocked by government due to  rising cases in India, shipments to Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Brazil from the same pharmaceutical company have been blocked. The reason is same, the rising number of cases in India has forced the government to take this action.

• More Punjab Farmers to join the protests in Delhi

  Punjab farmers who are on their way to join their fellow protesters in Delhi, have crossed over to Haryana and there have been some skirmishes with the Haryana Police. However they are expected to join the protests in Delhi soon, where Delhi Police is making every effort to monitor and control the activities of the protesters.