13.04.23 Daily [Uttarakhand] UKPSC Current Affairs

The prisoner occupancy ratio in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh jails is the worst in the country’, according to the India Report (IJR)-2022, released a few days ago by Tata Trusts. While Uttarakhand has a prison occupancy of 185% against capacity in its 11 jails, UP’s is at 184.8% and Madhya Pradesh at 164.1%, the report points out.
As per the report, which surveyed prisons in 18 large and mid-sized states of the country, southern states fare much better in terms of prison occupancy. Tamil Nadu is ranked best among all the states surveyed, with a prison occupancy of 76.4%, followed by Kerala (89.8%) and Andhra Pradesh (90.7%).

Uttarakhand, ranked at the bottom of the list, has a capacity of 3,741 in its 11 jails including the central jail, with 6,921 inmates lodged in them, as of December 2021, when the data was collected. The state’s prison occupancy was categorised as severe (150-185%) along with other states/UTs like MP, UP and Delhi.

Similarly, there were six states mentioned in the category of very high prison occupancy (120-150%) that include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Jharkhand. Of the total 1,314 jails in India, 391 jails –30% — had a prison occupancy of over 150%, the report said.
In terms of the number of jails with over 150% occupancy, UP topped the list with 57 out of 74 jails, followed by MP with 40 (out of 131 jails) and West Bengal 36 (out of 60 jails).

The report also ranked Uttarakhand as ‘last’ in the category of availability of medical officers in jails. The Himalayan state has only one doctor for 6,921 inmates against the sanctioned positions of 10 doctors. Andhra Pradesh fared as ‘best’ in this regard with one doctor for every 418 inmates. Uttarakhand also had maximum vacancies (77.1%) for prison officers among all the 18 states. Kerala had the least vacancies with 6.9%.

On April 13, 1919, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in Amritsar, Punjab, which is remembered as a tragic event and a symbol of the atrocities committed against the Indian people during the British colonial era. The massacre played a significant role in Indias fight for independence, as it increased the nations determination to achieve self-rule and break free from British subjugation

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Day 2023 marks 104 years since the tragic incident that is seen as a turning point in Indian HISTORY. It was this that led to Gandhis full commitment to the cause of Indian nationalism and independence from Britain

The Urja Ganga pipeline project has taken the benefit of lower natural gas prices to the hinterland, a move that will help expand adoption of the cleaner fuel and help upcountry small towns and cities breathe easy.
The reduction in CNG (compressed natural gas) and PNG (piped natural gas) prices by state-run GAIL has brought benefit of Rs 5-7 to consumers in 20 towns and cities in the hinterland that now have access to the cleaner fuel because of the flagship project envisaging laying 3,384 km of pipeline to connect Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam to national gas grid.

The project has two components. The first is laying a 2,655 km pipeline connectingJagdishpurin UP, Haldia in West Bengal, Bokaro in Jharkhand andDhamrain Odisha. The second element is a 729km pipeline linking Bihars Barauni and Guwahati. The project has been commissioned till Barauni.

Over 38,000 km of national highway (NH) stretches are under construction across states with an of nearly Rs 8. 24 lakh crore, official data show. Around one-third of these projects fall inMaharashtra,Uttar Pradesh,BiharandKarnataka.

According to highway ministrys data, Maharashtra has the maximum of 6,026 km under construction entailing total investment of around Rs 1 lakh crore, followed by UP (2,527 km), Bihar (2,361 km) and Karnataka (2,318 km) Sources said with so many projects under the implementation stage, the governments focus will be on completion of the ongoing projects during the current financial year, just before the Model Code Of Conduct kicks in for the 2024 general election. They added that a lot of the emphasis will be on completing delayed works.

The railways is also focusing on rolling out more modern trains and taking up station redevelopment and upgradation projects. Works done in roads and railways are the most visible projects.

The Asian (ADB) has announced its plans to invest in non-convertible Debentures valued at Rs 150 crore in Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL). The Investment aims to improve Delhis power distribution through grid enhancements. Additionally, ADB has also approved a grant of USD 2 million to assist in the acquisition and integration of a pilot battery energy storage system (BESS). The Manila-based funding institution issued a statement confirming the developments

The proceeds from the senior secured financing will be utilized to establish a new 66/11-kilovolt grid, expand transformers, substations, feeder lines, and switching stations, install smart meters, and replace outdated electrical equipment and meters. In addition, the funding will also contribute to the development of a groundbreaking 10-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS), which will be the first of its kind in South Asia when it comes to the distribution transformer level