Himachal Pradesh Weekly Current Affairs

Nicholas Roerich lived in Naggar for 26 years and during this period, he produced more than 7000 paintings which are unique in itself.
The Roerich Art Gallery depicted Indo-Russian culture very beautifully. It depicts the characteristics of the culture of the two countries.
Not only this, Nicholas has made a great effort to cherish the rich cultural heritage of Himalayan culture especially in Kullu, Chamba, and Lahaul-Spiti districts.
His works attract researchers. Every Indian should study the art of Roerich.
Preserving cultural heritage was a feature of Nicholas’s artistic creations.

The cultivation of Saffron and Heeng has been started in the state and to promote this farming the state government has started ‘Krishi Se Sampannta Yojana‘.
The Agriculture Department has prepared a detailed action plan for the successful implementation of this scheme.
Under this scheme a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) Palampur on 6^th June 2020.
High altitude areas of district Mandi, Chamba, Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur were suitable for the cultivation of Heeng and Saffron and the first plant of Heeng has been planted in Koring village of district Lahaul Spiti.
Under this scheme provision of Rs. 10 crore has been made for the cultivation of Heeng and Saffron in the state.
For the cultivation of Heeng Agriculture Department has set a target to cover 302 hectare area in five years and 3.5 hectare area for the cultivation of saffron in three years.
Under this scheme a provision have been made to provide training and comprehensive information regarding the cultivation of Heeng and Saffron to farmers and officials.
Strengthening the irrigation system is also necessary for the cultivation of Heeng and Saffron.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur launched the domestic liquid boronated calcium nitrate fertilizer, a joint venture of HIMFED and Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd. (GSFC) under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’.
The GSFC has introduced five products in Himachal Pradesh including liquid boronated calcium nitrate, calcium nitrate, nutri plus, ammonium sulphate and boronated calcium to facilitate the farmers and horticulturists of the State.
Liquid fertilizer was a new concept which would help the farming community as this fertilizer would be prepared as per the requirements of different areas of the country.

‘Him Suraksha Abhiyan’ was launched in the state to sensitize the people regarding Covid-19 pandemic and to collect information regarding symptoms of diseases like TB, Leprosy, sugar, blood pressure, etc. by the door-to-door campaign in the State.
This campaign is being launched from 25^th November to 27^th December 2020 throughout the State.
8000 teams comprising of Health, Ayurveda, Women and Child Development, Panchayati Raj Departments, District Administration, and NGOs would be involved in this campaign which would ensure door-to-door data collection of health parameters of the people.

Sea Buckthorn and Chilgoza cultivation in tribal districts of Spiti and Kinnaur needs to be promoted and popularised in a big way.
This was emphasised by Chairman-cum-ACS Forest R.D. Dhiman while presiding over the General Body Meeting (GBM) of ”Society for Improvement of Forest Ecosystems Management and Livelihoods”.
The society is the implementing agency of ambitious Rs. 800 crore project for “Improvement of Himachal Pradesh Forest Ecosystems Management and Livelihoods”, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the project is being implemented as part of Indo-Japan cooperation.
It was stressed in the meeting to develop Sea buckthorn nurseries on a large scale in Spiti area, so that the farmers could cultivate and propagate these plants in their fields.
Sea buckthorn based processing units would also be setup in the area.
Similar efforts were afoot for the cultivation of Chilgoza in Kinnaur. The purpose of this entire exercise was to increase the income of tribal farmers manifold.

New Development Bank (NDB) has given approval in principle for the 1^st phase of the proposal of Himachal Pradesh of 80 million USD (Rs. 698 crore).
This project envisages augmentation of water supply schemes in partially covered habitations in the State to provide 70 litres water per day per head.

Himachal Pradesh Weekly Current Affairs – [November 2020]