UPSC Prelims Bits: October 21, 2022

Table of Contents

PM to launch Rozgar Mela

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will launch Rozgar Mela on 22nd October at 11 AM via video conferencing.
During the Rozgar Mela ceremony, appointment letters will be handed over to 75,000 newly inducted appointees.
- Prime Minister will also address these appointees on the occasion.

About: Rozgar Mela is the recruitment drive for 10 lakh personnel in India. 75,000 new appointees to be appointed in first tranche.
Objective: This will be a significant step forward towards fulfilling the continuous commitment of the Prime Minister to providing job opportunities for the youth and ensuring welfare of citizens.
Participation: As per the directions of the Prime Minister, all Ministries and Departments are working towards filling up existing vacancies against sanctioned posts in Mission Mode.
Services Targeted: The new recruits, selected from across the country, will join 38 Ministries/Departments of Government of India.
- The appointees will join the government at various levels viz. Group – A, Group – B (Gazetted), Group – B (Non-Gazetted) and Group – C.
- The posts on which appointments are being made include Central Armed Force Personnel, Sub Inspector, Constable, LDC, Steno, PA, Income Tax Inspectors, MTS, among others.
Recruitment Method: These recruitments are being done in Mission Mode by Ministries and Departments either by themselves or through Recruiting agencies such as UPSC, SSC, Railway Recruitment Board.
- For expeditious recruitment, selection processes have been simplified and made tech enabled.

Election Commission of India invites entries from Media Houses for the National Media Award for best campaign on Voter’s Education and Awareness during the year 2022.

About Awards: There shall be four awards, one each for-
- Print media,
- Television (Electronic),
- Radio (Electronic) and
- Online (Internet)/Social media.
Objective: The awards are to recognise the outstanding contribution by Media Houses to promote electoral participation by-
- Creating awareness about accessible elections,
- Educating people about the electoral process and
- Raising awareness among the general public about the relevance and importance of voting and registration.
Award: The awards will be in the form of a citation, plaque and cash prize and will be presented on the National Voter’s Day (25^thJanuary, 2023).
Criteria: The Jury will base their assessment on the following criteria:
- Quality of Voter awareness campaign
- Extent of coverage/quantity
- Evidence of impact on the public
- Coverage on awareness about Accessible Elections
- Any other relevant factor(s)

CPCB started a special drive from October 17, 2022, and more than 50 teams have been deployed for conducting inspections for restricting usage of SUP items by the flower sellers, street vendors, sabzi mandis, fish market, whole sale markets, etc.
A total of 20036 inspections including 6448 inspections by CPCB teams have been carried out during October 17-19, 2022.
- Over 4000 violations were observed and 2900 challans have been issued to the defaulters.
- Approximately 46 tonnes of SUP items have been seized and a fine of Rs. 41 lakhs imposed by the concerned Authorities.

Background: The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) issued Notification on August 12, 2022 banning production, sale, stocking & distribution, import and usage of identified Single Use Plastic (SUP) items including cutlery items, thin packaging films, candy & ice-cream sticks w.e.f. July 01, 2022.
Implementation: In order to ensure its implementation Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had earlier issued comprehensive Directions to State Pollution Control Board (SPCBs), Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) and other stakeholders.
- Directions were issued to manufacturers to stop raw material supply to the SUP producers and E-commerce companies to stop sale & usage of SUP items on their platform.
Enabling Measures: Several enabling measures such as training of MSMEs for switching over to alternatives to plastics have also been taken up by CPCB during this period.
- Digital interventions including development of SUP Compliance Monitoring Portal & SUP Public Grievance App were taken up to facilitate effective monitoring of activities related to enforcement of ban.
- CPCB along with SPCBs/PCCs also conducted inspections of major commercial establishments during July-August 2022.

Under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sammrudhi Kendras (PMKSK), 600 existing district level retail shops are remodelled and provided more facilities to the farmers in terms of agri inputs and services.

Background: PM Kisan Sammrudhi kendras were inaugurated by Prime Minister on the occasion of PM Kisan Sammelan.
About: All these centres have become excellent examples of swachhata Campaign 2 initiatives with clean premise and enhanced facilities for farmers.
The launch of the 600 Pradan Mantri Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PMKSK) across the country is one of the best practices adopted as part of the Special Campaign 2.0 initiatives by the Department of Fertilizers.
This is in addition to the other initiatives undertaken on Special Campaign 2.0 by the Department of Fertilizers that includes identification of 13 Sites from its Headquarter and its PSUs.
- These are under the administrative control of the Department of Fertilizers to carry out weeding out of old files both physical and e files as per the Record Retention Schedule, digitization of records, reduce paper work, disposal of the e waste, scrap material etc so that they can improve efficiency and space.