International Day of Non-Violence 2020: October 2

The United Nations(UN) International Day of Non-Violence is observed annually on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. The day is observed to spread the message of non-violence, including  through education and public awareness.

In India, to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated. This year(2020) marks the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Background

i.Shirin Ebadi, Iranian Nobel laureate, put forward the proposal to celebrate the day in January 2004.

ii.After this, the Satyagraha Conference resolution was passed in New Delhi in January 2007 to adopt the idea of celebrating the day.

iii.On June 15, 2007 The General assembly adopted a resolution  A/RES/61/271 to designate October 2 as International Day of Non-Violence.

iv.The resolution reaffirms the global relevance of the principle of non-violence and the desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence.

Key Info

i.October 2 marks the birthday of Late Lal Bahadur Shastri, the second Prime Minister of India .

ii.In 2014 on the same day Swachh Bharat Mission was launched by Prime MInister Narendra Modi from Rajghat, New Delhi,. It aims to achieve the vision of a ‘Clean India’ by 2nd October 2019.

2020 Events

Webinar titled ‘Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal’ Organised

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) organized a webinar titled ‘Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal’ to celebrate the 6th  anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).

The webinar was chaired by Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C), MoHUA with Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA and Kamran Rizvi, Additional Secretary, MoHUA.

Compendium & dynamic GIS portal Released 

Hardeep Singh Puri also released a compendium and a dynamic GIS portal displaying innovative practices for effective Solid Waste Management (SWM) practices from across India

Other documents released by Ministry

• The ministry released, A document on ‘Response of Indian Cities Towards COVID-19: A Sanitation Perspective’, prepared by The National Institute of Urban Affairs(NIUA) and
• ‘Frontline Stories of Resilience: India’s Sanitation Champions’, a collection of inspirational stories of sanitation workers compiled by the National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (NFSSM) Alliance and a Toolkit for Safety of Sanitation Workers prepared by Urban Management Centre (UMC).

Govt launched 100-day campaign under Jal Jeevan Mission to ensure potable water supply in schools

i.In Order to ensure piped safe water in schools and anganwadi centres across the country, the Ministry of Jal Shakti launched a 100-day campaign under the Jal Jeevan Mission(JJM).

ii.The Public Health Engineering Department of States will spearhead the campaign as a nodal department. This department will involve the Gram Panchayats and/ or its sub-committees, other line departments namely Education, Women & Child Welfare, etc., in the campaign.

4 states in Gujarat have 100% household tap water connections coverage.

The campaign was launched in an event organized by Gujarat government at  Porbander, where Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister of Gujarat declared 4 districts of the State namely, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Porbandar, and Anand as having 100% household tap water connections coverage.

This event was joined virtually by  Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Jal Shakti through video conference from Delhi.

Note– Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) aims at the universal coverage of tap water connection to every rural home by 2024.

In a first, Indian Embassy in Madagascar gets its Solar Power Plant

Indian Embassy in Madagascar gets its 8 KW(KiloWatt) solar power plant  as part of the grand finale of 151st birth anniversary celebrations. With this installation, the Indian embassy in madagascar became the 1st Indian mission globally to become clean and green Embassy with the installation of 8 KW of solar power plant on its rooftop which has been implemented by a Malagasy company Vision Madagascar highlighting the India-Madagascar partnership.

Inauguration

The plant was inaugurated by Christian Ntsay, Prime Minister of Madagascar,Raharinirina Baomiavotse Vahinala, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Madagascar and Indian Ambassador Abhay Kumar.

Event Streamed online

The event was streamed on social media platforms, was attended by Marie Dimond-  Resident Representative of UN Development Programme (UNDP), Volatiana Rakotondrazafy- United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Country Representative, Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana- Country Director of World Wide Fund (WWF) and Moumini Ouédraogo- Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Madagascar.

India gifted Nepal over 41 ambulances and 6 school buses 

Indian Embassy gifted Nepal over 41 ambulances and 6 school buses to various governmental and non-governmental, non- profit organizations working in the field of health and education across 30 districts of Nepal.

1st time gifted 3 different categories of ambulances

• Indian embassy for the 1st time has gifted 3 different categories of ambulances, namely,
• Advance Life Support category, Basic Life Support and Common Life Support ambulances.
• All three categories of ambulances are built as per the guidelines of Government of Nepal.

Note–  Indian embassy every year gifts ambulances and school buses to the government and not for profit institutions to support grassroots medical access.

Data

Indian embassy since 1994 has gifted nearly 823 ambulances including this year’s gift.

Till date, it has gifted 160 school buses across Nepal including this year’s gift.

Swachh Bharat Awards 2020

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Jal Shakti Minister and Rattan Lal Kataria,  Minister of State for Jal Shakti conferred the Swachh Bharat (2020) Awards to the best performing States/UTs, districts, blocks, GPs and others in various categories in a virtual ceremony.

Awardees

Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shauchalaya (SSSS) campaign

Under the Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shauchalaya (SSSS) campaign organized from 1st Nov 2019 to 30th April 2020, the awardees are:

Gujarat bagged the first position at state level, Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu got the Award for cleanliness at District Level.

The block namely, Khachrod, Ujjain, in  Madhya Pradesh was awarded as the best block.

Chinnanur Village in Tamil Nadu bagged the top slot at Gram Panchayat level.

Samudayik Shouchalaya Abhiyan

Under Samudayik Shauchalaya Abhiyan (SSA) held from 15th June to 15th Sep 2020, the awardees are:

Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh were awarded as the best performing states.

Prayagraj and Bareilly in district category. Borigaon, Bongaigaon, Assam received the best GP award.

Gandagi Mukth Bharat Mission

Haryana and Telangana were awarded the top slot under the Gandagi Mukth Bharat Mission.

Swachh Bharat Diwas 2020 short film screened & e-book launched

On the same occasion, Swachh Bharat Diwas 2020 short film was screened and an e-book on Samudayik Shauchalaya Abhiyan (SSA) & Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shauchalaya (SSSS) campaign were launched.

Note– Over the last one year, more than 50,000 Community Toilet Complexes (CSCs) were constructed under these campaigns