Current Affairs 21 April 2023

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Cabinet Approvals on April 19, 2023i.The Union Cabinet has approved the National Quantum Mission (NQM) with an outlay of Rs.6003.65 crore for 8  years (from 2023-24 to 2030-31).  With this, India will join the top 6 nations (the United States of America (USA), Canada, China, France, Austria, and Finland who are involved in the R&D in the QT.
ii.It aims to seed, nurture and scale up scientific and industrial Research and Development (R&D), and to make India one of the leading nations in the development of Quantum Technologies & Applications (QTA).
iii.The Union Cabinet also approved the Cinematograph Amendment Bill, 2023 proposed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to amend the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
iv.The Bill aims to improve the procedure for certification of films by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), and categorizations of the certifications of the films, and to address unauthorized recording and exhibition of films and curb the menace of film piracy.
About Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC):
Chairperson– Prasoon Joshi
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
>> Read Full News

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

UNICEF Data Indicates Declining Confidence in Childhood Vaccines During COVID-19 PandemicAccording to the new report titled “State of the World’s Children 2023: For Every Child, Vaccination” published by United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF), the routine vaccination coverage for the children has declined during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• According to the report, around 67 million children missed out on one or more vaccinations over 3 years with vaccination coverage levels decreasing in 112 countries.
• This decline is due to service disruption caused by strained health systems and diversion of scarce resources, conflict and fragility, and decreased confidence.
• According to the 2023 report, India as one of the countries with the highest vaccine confidence in the world.

About United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF):
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was formerly known as United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
Executive Director– Catherine M. Russell
Headquarters– New York, United States of America(USA)
>> Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

SEBI Approved – Emkay Global to Sponsor MF Business & Nexus Select Trust for REIT IPOEmkay Global Financial Services has received in-principle approval from the Investment Management Department of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for sponsoring a Mutual Fund (MF) business and incorporate an Asset Management Company (AMC).
Nexus Select Trust, the retail-focused real estate investment trust, sponsored by private equity firm Blackstone, has received the final observations, and approval from the SEBI for its Real estate investment trust (REIT) initial public offering (IPO) of units.

• The Nexus Select Trust’s Rs 4,000-crore REIT IPO consists of a fresh issue of Rs 1,600 crore while the remaining Rs 2,400 crore is through an offer of sale from its main sponsor Blackstone and other small holders.

About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Chairperson -Madhabi Puri Buch
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment – 12 April 1992
>> Read Full News

IndusInd Bank signs USD100mn agreement with JBIC to provide Credit Facilities to Japanese OEMs in IndiaOn April 19, 2023, IndusInd Bank signed a USD 100 million long-term credit deal with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to assist Indian firms interested in purchasing Japanese construction equipment.

• The loan agreement was signed by GIFT City branch of IndusInd bank, an IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) of the bank.
• This is the first of its kind lending by JBIC through any IFSC Banking unit at GIFT City.
• This facility will also be co-financed by Mizuho Bank of Japan, Shizuoka Bank of Singapore, and Joyo Bank of Japan.

Acronym:
IFSC stands for International Financial Service Center
GIFT city stands for Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City
Aim:
To foster the growth of Japanese construction equipment companies in India  through need-based credit facilities.
Key Points:
i.This pact is also in line with the IFSCA’s (International Financial Services Centres Authority ) objective to make GIFT City as hub for raising long term finance.
ii.The funds will be utilized by the IndusInd Bank to support the growth of Japanese Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India through need-based lending facilities.

• Initially, the program will cater to the financing needs of component suppliers, dealers, and final buyers of construction machinery manufactured by selected Japanese OEMs.

iii.IndusInd Bank’s Commercial Vehicle Finance division is among the leading financiers of Japanese OEMs in India, and it aims to enhance its market share by focusing on the component suppliers and dealers who are part of the upstream and downstream supply chain of these OEMs.
About IndusInd Bank:
Managing Director & CEO– Sumant Kathpalia
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline– We Care Dil Se, We Make You Feel Richer

Fasal Partners with SBI to Support Farmers to Get Easy Financial AccessOn April, 13, 2023, the Agriculture-technology company, Fasal, announced its partnership with State Bank of India (SBI) to provide timely and easy financial access for farmers.

• Objective: To enable farmers to effectively fund and manage urgent and immediate agri-input needs and adopt Fasal’s technology solution to make their farming precise and predictable.
• The partnership will support the farmers to solve cash-flow constraints during key cycles in farming by providing quick, easy, and collateral-free loans at very competitive rates.
• Through the partnership Fasal intends to solve many challenges across the horticulture value chain, thereby paving the way for India’s horticultural transformation.

Financial Offering:
i.The financial solution under the partnership enables the farmers to access collateral-free loans up to 3 lakhs.
ii.The loans will be disbursed under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme, which is most popular for its lowest interest rate within the farmer credit support system.

• If the farmer has already exhausted his/her KCC limit, SBI will enable these financing solutions through other Agriculture schemes.

iii.The financial offering from Fasal will be initially available in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh and later expand to other regions.
Note – In the budget of FY24, the government announced raising the agriculture credit target by 11% to Rs 20 lakh crore for FY24.
Initiatives of Fasal:
i.Fasal works with Indian farmers on over 60,000 acres across more than 20 crops.
ii.Fasal has been making horticulture farming guesswork-free with advanced irrigation alerts, farm-level micro-climatic forecasts, and pest/disease forewarnings through its patented farm-level IoT ( Internet of Things)-driven crop intelligence system.
iii.Recently it launched Fasal Fresh, a national procurement network, to ensure fair pricing, streamlined processes, and access to high-quality produce.
About Fasal:
Founder – Ananda Verma, Shailendra Tiwari
Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka

RBI Granted AD Category-I Licence to AU SFB, Equitas SFB to Deal in Foreign ExchangeOn 19th April 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted an Authorised Dealer(AD) category-I licence to AU Small Finance Bank (SFB) under Section 10 of FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act), 1999 to deal in foreign exchange.

• The permission is subject to compliance with applicable regulations.
• The licence will enable AU Small Finance Bank to open a range of foreign currency-related products to serve the importer-exporter segment and process inward and outward remittances.

Equitas SFB: On April 19, 2023, Equitas Small Finance Bank also received an AD Category-I licence from RBI.
Additional Info:
i.Money changing business can be undertaken by entities authorised by the RBI under Section 10 of the FEMA, 1999. No person shall carry on money changing business without the possession of a valid licence issued by the RBI.
ii.Currently, the conversion of a foreign currency or travellers’ cheques designated in foreign currency into Indian Rupees and vice versa is possible through AD Category-I banks, ADs Category-II and Full Fledged Money Changers (FFMCs).
iii.Further, AD Category-I banks, ADs Category-II and FFMCs may appoint franchisees (also known as agents) to undertake the purchase of foreign currency.
iv.As per the statement of RBI, all scheduled small finance banks (SFBs) will be eligible for an Authorised Dealer (AD) category-I licence after completion of at least two years of operations as AD Category-II.
About Au Small Finance Bank Ltd.
MD & CEO – Sanjay Agarwal
Establishment – 1996
Headquarters – Jaipur, Rajasthan
About Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd:
MD & CEO – Vasudevan Pathangi
Establishment – September 5, 2016
Headquarters – Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Federal Bank inks Banking Correspondent Agreement with Agri fintech KiViIn April 2023, the Federal Bank entered into a Banking Correspondent agreement with Chennai-based Agriculture fintech start-up Kisan Vikas (KiVi), to scale and expand its agriculture lending portfolio in Tamil Nadu.

• Aravind K, Vice-President, Agri-business, Federal Bank, and Joby CO, Founder and CEO (Chief Executive Officer), KiVi, exchanged an agreement on making KiVi, the Federal Bank’s Banking Correspondent.

Backdrop:
In September 2022, the Federal Bank launched the instant KCC (Kisan Credit Card) platform, the first of its kind in agriculture lending, which offers farmers convenience and turnaround time.
It intends to provide small-value loans to small and marginal farmers and is designed to facilitate efficient credit flow to underserved rural populations.
Bank-fintech collaboration
i.Under the agreement, KiVi will acquire, service and augment Federal Bank’s underwriting capability.
ii.In the initial phase of this partnership, KiVi aims to serve 10,000 farmers in Tamil Nadu.
iii.The KiVi will employ a phygital model that combines features of the lending technology platform and the last-mile channel to serve farmer households and MSMEs such as input retailers, output aggregators or other village entrepreneurs.

• It provides a frictionless customer experience through seamless API integrations with bureaus and other service providers.

About KiVi:
i.It is the first of its kind technology platform designed for farming as a business enterprise, founded Joby CO.
ii.It is operated by Agrosperity Tech Solutions, and it is an incubator of IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology) Madras Incubation Cell, the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub and Indigram Labs.
iii.It provides digital solutions and a phygital platform for the farmer to procure input, access credit, implement agronomy practices, process, and market output.
About Federal Bank Ltd.
Establishment – April 23, 1931
Headquarters – Aluva, Kerala
MD&CEO-Shyam Srinivasan
Tagline – Your Perfect Banking Partner

RBI accepts Rs 5,500 crore Bids at Switch and Conversion Auction of Government Bonds

On 17th April 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) accepted bids worth Rs 5,500 crore at an auction for the switching and conversion of 5 Government of India (GoI) bonds against the notified amount of Rs 11,000 crore.

• Against the notified amount of Rs 4,000 crore, bids for the floating rate bond (FRB) expiring in 2024, which will be converted into the paper to be redeemed in 2032, were accepted at Rs 2,000 crore.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS     

Harmanpreet Kaur, Tom Blundell, Ben Foakes among the 5 Wisden Cricketers of the Year 2023160th edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2023, the cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom(UK), has announced the Five Wisden Cricketers of the Year 2023.
Tom Blundell(New Zealand), Ben Foakes (England), Harmanpreet Kaur(India), Daryl Mitchell(New Zealand) and Matthew Potts (England) were named the Five Wisden Cricketers of the Year 2023.

• Indian Women’s cricket team Captain Harmanpreet  Kaur becomes the 1st India Women’s cricketer to be named a “Wisden Cricketer of the Year”.

Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World: 
England’s Ben Stokes and Australia’s Beth Mooney have been named the Leading Cricketers in the World.
Wisden Leading T20 Cricketer in the World:
India’s Suryakumar Yadav picked up the Leading Twenty20 (T20) Cricketer in the World title.
>> Read Full News   

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS    

RBI Approves Appointment of Kaizad Bharucha as Dy MD & Bhavesh Zaveri as ED at HDFC Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Kaizad Bharucha as Deputy Managing Director (DMD) and Bhavesh Zaveri as Executive Director (ED) of HDFC Bank Limited, one of India’s largest private sector lender, for a period of 3 years with effect from 19th April 2023.

• On 24 November 2022, HDFC Bank’s Board of Directors made its recommendation to the RBI for redesignation.

Note: Prior to this appointment, Kaizad Bharucha has been serving as the Executive Director of the HDFC Bank and Bhavesh Zaveri was serving as the Group Head – Operations, Cash Management & ATM Products at HDFC Bank.
About Kaizad Bharucha:
i. Kaizad Bharucha has been a banker for over 35 years and is associated with the Bank since 1995.
ii. As an Executive Director, he was responsible for Wholesale Banking covering areas of Corporate Banking, PSUs, Capital & Commodities Markets, Financial Institutions, Custody, Mutual areas of Corporate Banking, Mutual Funds, Global Capability Centre & Financial Sponsors coverage, and Banks coverage.
iii. Prior to joining HDFC Bank, he worked at SBI Commercial and International Bank in various areas including Trade Finance and Corporate Banking.
iv. He has represented HDFC Bank as a member of the working group constituted by the RBI to examine the role of the Credit Information Bureau and the sub-committee with regard to the adoption of the Basel II guidelines.
About Bhavesh Zaveri:
i. Bhavesh Zaveri has been associated with HDFC Bank since 1998.
ii. He has an overall experience of 33 years. He has been a member of various Committees formed by the RBI and the Indian Banks’ Association.
iii. He became the Business Head of Wholesale Banking Operations in 2000 and was appointed as Group Head of Operations in 2009. In 2015, he assumed additional responsibilities in the Information Technology function.
iv. He played a pivotal role in the growth trajectory of the Bank and has ensured the scaling up of the Operations function with the pace of the Bank’s growth.
About the HDFC Bank Limited:
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Sashidhar Jagdishan
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment- 1994
Tagline- We Understand Your World

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel re-elected for second termOn April 19 2023, The National Congress of Cuba re-elected Miguel Diaz-Canel as president for a second term as the country faces one of the biggest social and economic crisis since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.

• Miguel Díaz-Canel,91, leader of the Communist Party, the country’s only recognized political movement, won a landslide vote of 97.66% of the Cuba-aligned National Assembly, all of whose 470 members are aligned with the party.
• The assembly also re-elected Salvador Valdes as Cuba’s vice-president Esteban Lazo as the president of the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP) and Manuel Marrero as prime minister.

About Miguel Díaz-Canel:
i. Miguel Díaz-Canel is the first person born after the 1959 revolution to succeed the brothers Fidel Castro and Raul Castro, making him the first non-Castro leader of Cuba.
ii.Miguel Díaz-Canel was appointed Minister of Higher Education in May 2009.
iii. In March 2012, he became Vice President of the Council of Ministers (deputy prime minister).
iv. In 2013 he additionally became First Vice President of the Council of State, where he acted as deputy to the President, Raúl Castro.
v.In 2018 Miguel Díaz-Canel succeeded Raul Castro as President and First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in 2021. He is the first non-Castro born after the 1959 revolution to hold both of those titles.
Note – Raul Castro still holds the position of Army General and a seat in the National Assembly.
Miguel Díaz-Canel’s first term:
i. His first five years were marked by the worst economic crisis in three decades and a widely criticised response to historic anti-government protests which triggered a tightening of United States (US) sanctions.
ii. In 2021, the largest protests since the 1959 Castro-led revolution was met with a harsh response and more than 300,000 Cubans left the country in 2022.
Note – Under Cuban law, a president cannot serve more than two successive terms.
About Cuba:
Capital – Havana
President – Miguel Díaz-Canel
Currency – Cuban Peso (CUP)   

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS 

Norwegian Government Pension Fund increased its stake in Bajaj Electricals by 1.73% On 19th April 2023, Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global has increased its stake in Bajaj Electricals by 1.73% (20 lakh shares) through bulk deals, bringing its total shareholding in the electrical appliances company up to 3.03%

• As per the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) data, the Government Pension Fund Global already holds a 1.30% stake in Bajaj Electricals.
• Meanwhile, California-based venture capital firm Small Cap World Fund, which holds 5.3% in Bajaj Electricals, has offloaded 22 lakh shares or 1.94% stakes in the company, reducing its holding to 3.36%.

Stocks in Bajaj Electricals:
i. As of Q4 FY23, the total foreign investors holding in Bajaj Electrical is at 11.21%, while mutual funds own 11.53%.
ii. It has delivered Stocks, which cost less and yield exponential returns in value over a course of time to its investors, rising over 200% in the last three years.
iii. As per Trendlyne data, the average target price of the stock is Rs 1,296, which shows an upside of 20% from the current market price of Rs 1,076.
Note: Trendlyne is a trusted investing engine, which tracks the quality of stocks through its automated system, and provides screener strategies and tools that can potentially maximize your returns.
v. Technically, Bajaj Electricals is trading below 5 out of 8 SMAs.
Note: SMA – Special Mention Accounts are those assets/accounts that show symptoms of bad asset quality in the first 90 days itself.
About Bajaj Electricals Limited:
Chairman – Shekhar Bajaj
Parent organization- Bajaj Group
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra       

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SATHI: Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launches Seed Traceability Portal and Mobile AppOn April 19, 2023, the Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) launched the first phase of SATHI (Seed Traceability, Authentication and Holistic Inventory) portal and mobile application. It is a centralized online system to address seed production challenges, seed quality identification, and certification.

• It has been developed on the theme of Uttam Beej – Samriddh Kisan.

Developers:
It was developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Aim:
To curb the sale of spurious seeds affecting the growth of agriculture and causing loss to the farmers, and ensure quality seeds reach farmers.
Key Points:
i.The portal is a comprehensive platform that comprises seven verticals of the seed chain, namely, Research Organization, Seed Certification, Seed Licensing, Seed Catalogue, Dealer-to-Farmer Sales, Farmer Registration, and Seed DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer).
ii.This platform will provide quality assurance, identify the source of seeds, and offer direct subsidies to the bank accounts of registered farmers.

• Only licensed dealers with valid certification can sell seeds to farmers who are centrally registered.
• The farmers will receive the subsidy through DBT directly into their pre-validated bank accounts.

iii.All states are urged to join this seed traceability system, and efforts will be made to increase awareness so that the farmers get full benefit from it.

• Training should be imparted through Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Krishi Vigyan Kendras and State Governments.

iv.There will be a QR (Quick Response) code under this system, through which the seeds can be traced.
About Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW):
Union Minister– Narendra Singh Tomar (Constituency- Morena, Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of State – Sushri Shobha Karandlaje; Kailash Choudhary

Manohar Lal Khattar announces 3 Services to Digitally Empower Beneficiaries

On 19th April 2023, Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister(CM) of Haryana, announced 3 online services to digitally empower beneficiaries.  The 3 new services are – Pro-active Divyang Pension Service’; ‘Tau se pucho’; and an online room booking facility at Public Works Department (PWD) rest houses.

• ‘Pro-active Divyang Pension Service’ – enable automated pension benefits for Persons with Disabilities(PwDs). The data of PwDs with more than 60% disability is available with the Parivar Informatics Data Repository which will be certified by the Haryana Parivar Pehchan Authority every month.
• ‘Tau se pucho’ – a bilingual WhatsApp bot, developed by the Haryana Parivar Pehchan Authority (PPP) along with a web-based Chatbot Solution. It is designed to give quick responses to queries raised by people.

Note: All rest houses can be booked online by government officials and people for personal use at the portal for room booking at PWD (B&R) rest houses.

SPORTS

Zimbabwe Cricketer Gary Ballance retires from All Forms of Cricket

Gary Ballance, a 33-year-old Zimbabwean cricketer, who also represented England internationally from 2014-2017, and represented Zimbabwe in 2022-2023, has announced his retirement from all forms of professional cricket with immediate effect.

• He made his debut at the 2006 Under-19 World Cup for Zimbabwe held in Sri Lanka, in which Zimbabwe won over England.
• He has featured in 23 test matches scoring 1498 runs at an average of 37.45, including four 100s and seven 50s.
• Gary Ballance had played 42 times for England across all 3 formats, averaging 37.45 in his 23 Test appearances for them between 2014 and 2017. In 2015, he became the 3 fastest England Test cricketer to reach 1,000 runs after Herbert Sutcliffe and Len Hutton.
• He signed a 2-year deal with Zimbabwe Cricket in late 2022, and since his comeback, he has played in 5 ODIs, 1 T20I, and 1 Test.

He had become the 2nd player after Kepler Wessels to make Test centuries for two different countries. He scored his only Test hundred for Zimbabwe in February 2023.

OBITUARY

Virginia Tower Norwood, the Mother of LandSat, Passed Away

Virginia Tower Norwood, a founding figure in the field of satellite land imaging, fondly known as “The Mother of Landsat”, an American aerospace engineer, inventor, and physicist, passed away in Topanga, California, United States of America (USA), on 26th March 2023, at the age of 96.

• Virginia Norwood started her career working on weather radar at the U.S. Army Signal Corps Laboratories in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.
• Later, she served at Hughes Aircraft Company for 36 years on a range of projects that included antenna design, communications links, optics, and Landsat scanners.
• She invented the scanner which has been used to map and study the Earth from space for more than 50 years. She oversaw the development of Landsat 2, 3, 4 and 5
• A biographical article published by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2020 referred to Virginia Norwood as “The Mother of Landsat“.

In 1979, Norwood received the William T. Pecora Award. In 2021, Norwood was given an Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.

IMPORTANT DAYS

UN Chinese Language Day 2023 – April 20United Nations (UN) Chinese Language Day is annually observed across the globe on April 20 to celebrate the Chinese language as well as to promote equal use of all 6 official languages throughout the Organization.
UN Chinese Language Day 2023 was observed on 20th April 2023 under the theme “Chinese Wisdom for a Green World”.

• UN celebrated the 13th annual Chinese Language Day.

i. In 2010, the United Nations Department of Public Information (now the Department of Global Communications) announced the launch of the United Nations Language Day.

• This initiative aims to celebrate the use of multiple languages ​​and cultural diversity and to promote the equal use of the six official languages ​​in the United Nations.

ii. The 1st ever UN Chinese Language Day was observed on 12th November 2010, and since 2011, it is now observed on April 20.
About the United Nations (UN):
Secretary-General- António Guterres
Headquarters- New York, United States of America (USA)
Establishment- 1945
>> Read Full News

STATE NEWS

Himachal Pradesh becomes India’s 1st state to have DNA database of Unidentified Bodies  Himachal Pradesh (HP) has become the first Indian state to develop a DNA database for unidentified bodies. The process of creating this database started in April 2022. So far, the records of 150 DNA samples of unidentified bodies had been stored in the database.
Background:
i. The Directorate of Forensics Services, Junga, in Shimla (HP), had procured DNA profile databasing and matching technology, Smallpond TM software from the United States(US) at a cost of Rs 55 lakh in 2022.

• It was the first lab to acquire this technology and the facility is at par with international standards.
• The database would be useful in the identification of bodies. To identify, the DNA samples of the relatives would be matched with the data/samples stored in the DNA profiling database and accurate details would be available within seconds.

ii. A database is being prepared and it will have the capacity to store 20,000 DNA profiles, which can be scaled further.
iii. More than 100 bodies are recovered in different parts of the state every year and these remain unidentified. Thus the DNA database would be beneficial in bringing transparency, eliminating data inconsistency and catching the criminal in cases where crime led to death.
iv. Private, local database of DNA profile information enables efficient matching of new DNA profiles with the existing ones.
Note – Earlier, Acharya Institute of Management and Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), had started a pilot project called UMID (Unidentified Bodies and Missing Persons identification and DNA database) and created a database of over 400 unidentified/missing persons.
About Himachal Pradesh:
Capital – Shimla – Summer Capital; Dharamshala – Winter Capital
Chief Minister– Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
Governor – Shiv Pratap Shukla
Wildlife Sanctuary- Daranghati Sanctuary, Kanwar Sanctuary.

Kerala Government launches ‘One Panchayat, One Playground’ to Revive Sports Culture

On 19th April 2023, the Government of Kerala launched the “One Panchayat, One Playground” project for reviving the sports culture in Kerala by opening quality playgrounds in every panchayat of Kerala.
The project was inaugurated by Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister(CM) of Kerala, at Kallikkad, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

• The playgrounds would act as a hub for local gatherings and social interactions.
• The project will address the lack of quality playgrounds in around 450 local bodies in Kerala.
• The playgrounds will be built in 3 years, and a list of 113 panchayats has been prepared for the project’s initial phase.

Each playground would cost around Rs 1 crore, of which the Sports Department would cover half and the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and local body money, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), public-private partnerships(PPP), etc., would cover the remaining costs.

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