Rajasthan’s Annapurna free food packet scheme to benefit 1.10 cr. people (GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- The Annapurna food packet scheme launched by the government in Rajasthan as part of its public welfare measures is set to benefit about 1.10 crore people, including the poor and destitute families covered in a survey during the COVID pandemic.
Details:
- Chief Minister of Rajasthan inaugurated the scheme at a function marking the 77th Independence Day here, while announcing that free food packets would be supplied to the poor families, which had received an assistance of ₹5,500 each during the pandemic, in addition to the NFSA families.
- About 1.05 crore NFSA beneficiaries have got themselves registered for the scheme at the inflation relief camps.
- The State government will spend ₹4,500 crore annually on the scheme’s implementation.
Key Highlights:
- The Annapurna scheme is the latest among a host of public welfare schemes announced in the 2023-24 State budget.
- The eligible beneficiaries will get the Annapurna food packets every month from the fair price shops (FPS) for free, for which the FPS will get a commission of ₹10 per packet.
- Each packet will contain one kg each of gram pulses, sugar, and iodised salt, one litre of soybean refined edible oil, 100 grams each of chilli powder and coriander powder, and 50 grams of turmeric powder.
Food security:
- The scheme is primarily meant for the families covered by the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
PM announces new housing scheme for urban poor
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Prime Minister announced a new scheme to help the urban poor build houses in cities.
Details:
- Under this programme, they will receive relief in interest rates and loans taken from banks to construct their houses.
- It will benefit those families that live in cities but are living in rented houses, or slums, or chawls and unauthorised colonies.
PMAY-U:
- The government already has a scheme to address the housing shortage for the urban poor called the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U), which was launched in 2015.
- The PMAY-U is a flagship mission of the government which is implemented by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.
- The mission aims to address the urban housing shortage among the economically backward sections, including the slum dwellers by ensuring a pucca house to all eligible urban households by 2022.
- The scheme period though now has been extended up to December 2024 to complete all the houses sanctioned without changing the funding pattern and implementation methodology.
275 bird species counted during survey at Corbett Tiger Reserve
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- About 275 bird species, including two critically endangered, four vulnerable ones and two endangered species, were counted during a survey at Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Background:
- The survey, conducted in June by World Wide Fund (WWF) India, Tiger Conservation Foundation and Village Volunteer Protection Force, covering overall 540 km of 135 forest trails provided insights into the diverse bird species inhabiting at Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Key Findings:
- As per the report, two species, namely white-rumped vulture and red-headed vulture, considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list, have been documented in the survey, which covered the vast range of landscape in the reserve, including grassland, dense forest, rivers and hilly terrains.
- Two endangered species; Pallas’s fish-eagle, Egyptian vulture were also counted.
- Four vulnerable bird species; great hornbill, great slaty woodpecker, grey-crowned prinia and river tern have also been counted in the survey.
Near-threatened species:
- About 10 near-threatened bird species; river lapwing, red-breasted parakeet, oriental darter, lesser fish-eagle, Himalayan griffon, great thick-knee, gray-headed fish-eagle, black-necked stork, Asian woolley-necked stork and Alexandrine parakeet have also been found at the reserve.
Least concern:
- About 256 species documented in the survey are considered to be of least concern by the IUCN.
