Governance National
Mah lauded for fast-tracking initiative of making buildings ‘accessible’

Maharashtra lauded for fast-tracking initiative of making buildings ‘accessible’
Access audit of a total of 180 Government buildings in four major cities of Maharashtra done
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities was observed on Dec 3. On this day, Maharashtra was recognized for the way it has been implementing Sugamay Bharat Abhiyan. A release by the PIB, says that he state has received the National Award for Institutional Empowerment 2022 under the category ‘Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan Ke Karyanvayan / Badhamukta Vatavaran Ke Srijan Mein Sarvshrestha Rajya’, at a function to celebrate “International Day of Persons with Disabilities”, held in New Delhi on Dec 3.
What constitutes an accessible building?
An accessible government building is one, where persons with disabilities have no barrier in entering it and using all the facilities therein. This covers the built environment – services, steps and ramps, corridors, entry gates, emergency exits, parking – as well as indoor and outdoor facilities including lighting, signages, alarm systems and toilets.
What has Mah done till date?
· Access audit of a total of 180 Government buildings in four major cities of Maharashtra.
· Of these 180, proposals for making 142 buildings accessible have been sent.
· Of the remaining 38 buildings, the building plan and estimate for 15 buildings has been submitted.
· Retrofitting work has completed in 137 buildings
· Out of funds amounting to ₹21.67 crore, utilization certificate for ₹19.30 crore has been sent to the Central Government.
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Governance
Interesting facts you didn’t know about Union Budget | Must Read
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her fifth straight Union Budget when she presented financial statements and tax proposals for fiscal year 2023-24.
Here are some lesser known facts about Union Budget…
The British government presented India’s first ever Union Budget on April 7, 1860.
The first budget of independent India was presented by country’s first Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947.
Even though traditionally, the finance ministers present the budget, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi are the only Prime Ministers to have presented the Union Budget instead of Finance Ministers.
Until 1955, the Union Budget was presented in English. However, the Congress government then decided to print the Budget papers in both Hindi and English.
In 2019, Sitharaman became the second woman to table the budget after Indira Gandhi who presented the budget for the year 1970-71.
Earlier, the government tabled the rail budget separately for 92 years but since 2017, the rail budget was merged with the Union Budget.
Until 1999, the government tabled the Union Budget at 5 pm on the last working day of February as per British era practice but
former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha changed the timing to 11 am. Years after, late Finance Minister Arun Jaitely changed the budget presentation to February 1.
There’s a customary event called the ‘halwa ceremony’ that is held every year ahead of the Union Budget. It is considered as a gesture of appreciation for all people who have worked on the Union Budget.
To ensure the secrecy of the budget document, a lock-in process is followed – in which all the officials involved
in preparing the Budget come out of Parliament’s North Block only after the Finance Minister has presented the budget.
In 2021, Sitharaman became the first to table paperless Union Budget.
Former Prime Minister Moraraji Desai holds the record of presenting 10 budgets as finance minister, which is the maximum so far.
Also read: Not a populist but a fiscal consolidation budget: CAMIT Chief Dr Dipen Agrawal
Watch the full video here:
Governance
PM Modi world’s most popular leader: Survey

PM Modi
A US-based firm Morning Consult released a list of world leaders trending on the basis of their approval ratings among 22 nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the most popular leader in the world with an approval rating of over 75% thus leaving behind US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
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Governance
New Parliament building likely to open from January end; see latest pictures!
The Centre released the layout and latest photos of the newly built Parliament building on Friday that would likely house the second part of the budget session in January this year.
A part of the Central Vista redevelopment project, the new Parliament building is being constructed by Tata Projects Limited and is likely to be inaugurated in March this year. The new building features larger halls, a library, ample parking space, and committee rooms with state-of-the-art facilities.
Here’s the glimpse of the new building…