News in Shorts:

• The Government of India and WOAH organised a workshop to Strengthen One Health Approach for Pandemic Preparedness.
• The workshop was organised at the Radisson Hyderabad Hitec City, Hyderabad.

Focus areas:

• Enhancing stakeholder knowledge about wildlife-origin disease risk analysis
• Conducting a thorough gap analysis of India’s risk assessment and management
• Simulating disease spillover scenarios
• Fostering communication and awareness among relevant stakeholders.

About World Organization for Animal Health(WOAH): 

• It is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1924, coordinating, supporting and promoting animal disease control.
• Headquarters: Paris

• The government approved the expansion of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in order to add 75 lakh poor households to the scheme’s beneficiary base over three years.

About PMUY:

• Under the scheme, cooking gas connections are issued to women members of poor households.
• The connection, stove, and the first cylinder are given free of charge. 

• A joint venture between Vedanta and Foxconn announced plans to set up the country’s first fab plant in Dholera SIR.

About Dholera Special Investment Region(SIR):

• It is the first greenfield smart city project in the country.
• It is located about 100 kilometers south-west of Ahmedabad and 130 km away from Gandhinagar.

Plug-and-Play Infrastructure:

• All land parcels will be fully ICT-enabled and with built-up infrastructure in place. 
• A command centre will control and monitor and provide emergency response in the industrial city.
• The water and wastewater system aims to achieve zero waste discharge by treating 100 percent of the wastewater for non-potable and industrial use.

• The government has planned to discuss the Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) and Other Election Commissioners(EC) (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 in a special session of Parliament. 

About the bill: 

• As per the bill, a search committee, headed by the cabinet secretary and comprising two other secretaries to the government, will shortlist five names for appointment as the CEC and ECs. 

About special session of Parliament: 

• The Constitution gives the government the power to convene a special session of Parliament.
• The decision to call a session is taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs 
• The Members of Parliament (MPs) are summoned in the name of the President.
• The Indian Constitution doesn’t mention the term “special session” of Parliament.
• A special session will be summoned as per provisions of Article 85(1), under which all sessions are held.