This article is written by Team LawSikho.

POLITY

1. Gau Cabinet formed in Madhya Pradesh

• CM of MP, Shivraj Singh Chauhan has established a “Gau Cabinet” in the state for the protection of cattle. 
• 6 departments(Animal husbandry, Forest, Panchayat and Rural development, Revenue, Home and Farmers’ welfare) of the state will be part of  the “Gau Cabinet”. 
• The first meeting of the “Gau Cabinet” was held virtually at Kamdhenu gau abhayaranya in Agar-malwa district which is also the first cow sanctuary in India. 
• A resolution to start 2000 gaushalas was passed in the meeting.

2. Dharma Swantatrya (Religious Freedom) Bill, 2020 approved by MP Cabinet

• MP Cabinet approved Dharma Swatantrya (Religious Freedom) Bill, 2020 which aims to outlaw the inter religious marriages which take place with the only motive of religious conversion. 
• Any Conversion of a minor or woman or a person belonging to SC/ST category against their will, will attract a fine of Rs. 50,000 and jail term extending to 2-10 years.
• Mass forced conversions will attract a fine of up to Rs. 1 lakh and a jail term of 5-10 years. 
• The Act will replace the existing law under Freedom of Religion Act, 1968.

3. ‘PANKH Abhiyan’

• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the ‘PANKH Abhiyan’ under the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme in order to aid in empowerment and growth of the girl child on the occasion of National Girl Child Day (24th January). 
• PANKH: ‘P’ stands for protection, ‘A’ for awareness of their rights, ‘N’ for nutrition, ‘K’ for knowledge and ‘H’ for health. The abhiyan will go on for a year.

4. M.P. government and IIM Indore signed a MoU to build a roadmap for “Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh.”

• Under the MoU IIM Indore will help the MP government to develop a new industrial policy as well as help in improving the ease of doing business ranking of the state. 
• Strategic campaigns will be framed by IIM Indore for “Brand Madhya Pradesh” as “Atma Nirbhar evam samriddh Pradesh”.

5. First paperless budget of Madhya Pradesh

The Finance Minister of Madhya Pradesh Mr. Jagdish Devda had presented the Budget for Madhya Pradesh for the financial year 2021-22. The 2021-22 budget amount is Rs 2.41 lakh crore with no extra tax burden. The central government will provide special aid of Rs. 19,353 crore to the Madhya Pradesh government. 

It is the first paperless Budget in the history of Madhya Pradesh.

SOCIETY, GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENT

1. Honey FPO by NAFED, in Morena, MP

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare virtually inaugurated the Honey Farmer Producer Organizations program of NAFED across 5 states. 

• Morena district in Madhya Pradesh has been chosen to develop one out of 5 FPO under the scheme. 
• The other areas which are chosen across the country under the scheme are Sundarban in West Bengal, East Champaran in Bihar, Mathura in UP and Bharatpur in Rajasthan. 
• National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) has been chosen as the implementing agency for the scheme.

2. Forest produce based Food-park will be developed in Umaria district

• It will be a first ever Food-park established in Shahdol sub-division of Umaria, Madhya Pradesh. All forest villages will be transformed into Revenue villages.

3. TRIFOOD Parks in Madhya Pradesh 

• Tribal Cooperative Marketing Federation of India and Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram have signed an MoU to set up 5 TRIFOOD Parks in the state of Madhya Pradesh. 
• The TRIFOOD is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of food processing industry and TRIFED.
• It was launched under Van Dhan Yojana in August 2020.
• The TRIFOOD Parks are food processing centres. They aim to promote value addition to the minor forest produce.
• Non-timber forest products [NTFPs] are also known as minor forest produce (MFP) or non-wood forest produce (NWFP). The NTFP can be further categorized into medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP), oil seeds, fiber & floss, resins, edible plants, bamboo, reeds and grasses.

4. World’s largest floating Power Plant in MP

• The world’s largest floating power plant with capacity to generate 600 MW of power is being built at Omkareshwar dam on Narmada river in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. 

5. First Fossil of “Dickinsonia” found in Bhimbetka

• Geological Survey of India has found 3 fossils of the world’s oldest animal, Dickensonia (dated 570 million years ago) in the roof of Auditorium cave at Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh. 
• The cave is a UNESCO World Heritage site for Paleolithic and Mesolithic cave art.

  Figure 5.1- A recent picture of Diskinsonia found at Bhimbetka 

6. Hoshangbad to be renamed as “Narmadapuram”

• Chief Minister of MP Shivraj Singh Chauhan has announced that the city of Hoshangabad will be renamed as Narmadapuram to pay tribute to the river Narmada.

7. Jal Abhishekam Project 

• In a first of a kind initiative, Defense Minister Rajnath singh inaugurated 57,000 Water structures in the state of Madhya Pradesh in the presence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan.

EVENTS

1. First virtual Aadi Mahotsava launched in Madhya Pradesh by Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda

• Festival is organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED).

2. Madhya Pradesh: India’s 1st tiger reserve hot air balloon wildlife safari launched

• India’s first hot air balloon wildlife safari in a tiger reserve was launched in the world famous Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. 
• The state was planning to introduce this service in Pench, Kanha and Panna tiger reserves as well.

3. MP has signed MoU with Kerala to replicate responsible tourism

• The responsible tourism concept was started by the Kerala government in 2017 to make sure that tourism brought economic well-being, stability to the society and to ensure environment protection.

4. WIPRO Group to act as knowledge partner to MP government

• WIPRO will act as a knowledge partner to Madhya Pradesh in reference to the New Education Policy at the implementation level. WIPRO will establish a university in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

5. Madhya Pradesh launches ‘SAANS’ campaign to reduce infant mortality

• The health department in Madhya Pradesh has launched the Social Awareness and Action to Neutralise Pneumonia Successfully (SAANS) campaign with the aim of reducing infant mortality due to pneumonia. 
• About SAANS campaign: It was launched by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in 2019 to reduce child mortality due to pneumonia. 

RANKINGS, PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS

1. Madhya Pradesh becomes the first state to release a roadmap to make the state self-reliant

• The CM virtually released a 3-year roadmap- “AtmaNirbhar Madhya Pradesh 2023” to make the state self-reliant. 
• The roadmap focusses on Transparent governance, farmers’ welfare, job creation and boosts to the industry and healthcare.

2. Best District Award at 2nd National Water Awards 2019

• Under the aspirational district category, Khandwa of Madhya Pradesh and Vizianagaram of Andhra Pradesh, won the prize for Water conservation at the 2nd National Water Awards, 2019. 

3. Madhya Pradesh among top 5 in MSME employment generation amid COVID-19

• According to a report of RBI Madhya Pradesh is among the top 5 states which have generated highest MSME Employment during the COVID-19. 
• The other states in top 5 are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

4. WWF report on water risk

• According to Water Risk Filter, an online tool developed by WWF (World Wildlife Fund), 30 Indian cities are going to face increased water risk by 2050. 
• Indore in Madhya Pradesh was placed 2nd in the list which was topped by Jaipur, Thane was placed at the 3rd position. 

5. UNESCO allots Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh ‘Biosphere Reserve’ status

• This is 12th Biosphere Reserve from India and after Pachmarhi and Amarkantak, this is 3rd from Madhya Pradesh which is a part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. 
• The Panna ‘National Park’ was initially set up in 1981. It received the status of a tiger reserve in the early 1990s under “Project Tiger.” 
• There are currently 714 biosphere reserves across the world, located in 129 countries, which form the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

6. “Elements of Quantitative Genetics: A Conceptual Approach” book released by CM Shivraj Singh Chahuhan

• The co-author of the book is Manoranjan Biswal. 
• The book is based on plant breeding genetics which will present the subject with ease to the students of B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. and also to the students preparing for competitive examinations. 

7. MP has the highest number of leopards according to the report “Status of Leopards in India”

• Union Minister of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar has released the report. 
• According to this, MP has the highest number of Leopards, followed by Karnataka and Maharashtra.

8. Mallakhamb is one of the four indigenous sports chosen for 4th Edition of Khelo India Youth Games. 

• Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has decided to include four indigenous sports in the 4th Khelo India Youth Games.
• The other games are: Kalaripayattu, Gatka, Thang-ta.
• Khelo India Youth Games, formerly Khelo India School Games, held annually in January or February, are the national level multidisciplinary grassroot games in India held for two categories, namely under-17 years school students and under-21 college students.

9. Madhya Pradesh won the award for the “Best State Promoting Sports” in the FICCI Indian Sports Awards 2020.

10. Gwalior and Orchha included in UNESCO’s world heritage cities list

• These cities have been included in the list of UNESCO’s world heritage cities under its urban landscape city programme.
• UNESCO’s approach to managing historic urban landscapes is holistic by integrating the goals of urban heritage conservation and those of social and economic development. This method sees urban heritage as a social, cultural and economic asset for the development of cities.

11. Madhya Pradesh became the first state to provide electricity subsidy through DBT

• MP in the month of January 2021 became the first state to provide the electricity subsidy through Direct Benefit Transfer, hence successfully implementing one of the three aimed reforms in the Power sector.
• Direct Benefit Transfer or DBT is an attempt to change the mechanism of transferring subsidies launched by the Government of India on 1st January 2013. This program aims to transfer subsidies directly to the people through their bank accounts. 
• DBT ensures that the benefits reach the targeted beneficiaries and middlemen can be eliminated.

12. Sanchi Stupa selected in the 4th phase of Swachh Iconic Places

• Ministry of Jal Shakti has identified 12 sites across India, which are to be transformed into “Swachh Tourist Destinations” under the the 4th phase of “Swachh Iconic Places” Initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin).
• SIP Initiative was launched in 2016 by PM Narendra Modi to achieve cleanliness at 100 sites across India. 
• Until Now 30 sites have already been selected in the previous phases. From Madhya Pradesh, in the 4th phase Sanchi Stupa has been selected for the mission.

                   

                                       Figure 12.1 Sanchi Stupa

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