August 25
Transit treaties between NE, neighbouring countries mooted by NITI
The Three Year Action Agenda unveiled by the Niti Aayog has given top priority in ironing out the transit treaties and the development of physical infrastructure between the northeastern region (NER) and neighbouring countries.
The Three Year Action Agenda was formally unveiled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, along with Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan and NITI Aayog vice chairman Dr Arvind Panagariya. The Action Agenda is an integral part of the 15-year Vision Document of India being drafted by the NITI Aayog.
About the NER, the report said that the region is rich in natural resources like water, petroleum and natural gas. At least 52 per cent of the NER is covered with forests and is endowed with exotic flora, fauna and a rich mineral resource base. However, physical isolation of the region post-1947 and a pause in infrastructure development after the India-Pakistan war of 1965 have hampered the region’s economic growth.
The Action Agenda said that on-going transport connectivity projects, including the East-West Corridor, Special Accelerated Road Development Project (SARDP-NE) and Trans Arunachal Highway should be closely monitored.
The Central government should continue the high level of funding at around Rs 6,000 crore per annum.
The state governments should get involved pro-actively to address local issues like law and order and land acquisition issues among others.
A key project for international connectivity is the rail link from Imphal to Moreh and further from Moreh to Kalay (in Myanmar). This will link the NER to the Trans Asian Railway network. The cost estimate as per a survey done by the Indian Railways is Rs 5,500 crore for the Imphal-Moreh section, while that for the Moreh-Kalay is Rs 3,000 crore.
It further noted that the 4-5 km stretch between the border town of Zokhawthar in Mizoram and Rih in Myanmar is important for connectivity between the two countries up to Mandalay.
The Indo-Bhutan connectivity could be enhanced by entering agreements to construct the 12-km stretch on the Bhutan side that would connect the Himalayan country to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
The report noted that the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers were pivotal river connectivity routes in the region prior to 1947. By 2018, the departments concerned should commission feasibility studies followed with the commencement of dredging and channel stabilisation works for creating around 20 new ports in these rivers, the report advocated, saying such river ports and ancillary facilities would enhance connectivity across the region, besides bringing down the freight costs.
the protocol for inland waterways between Bangladesh and India should be extended for at least 10 years and not from year to year..
A significant improvement in the region’s sea connectivity, within three years, can be achieved by taking follow-up action on the recent agreement for transit through Chittagong and Mongla ports in Bangladesh and executing infrastructure investments at Ashuganj and Akhaura in that country.
Ashwani Lohani: New Railway Board Chairman
Ashwani Lohani will be the new Chairman of Railway Board following the resignation of the incumbent A K Mittal owning moral responsibility for Muzzafarnagar train accident.
The appointment of Mr Lohani was cleared by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. He was serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India.
Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor in Petroleum Ministry, Rajiv Bansal has been given additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director Air India.
Andhra Pradesh First to Implement Bharat QR Digital Payments
Andhra Pradesh’s Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd (EPDCL) and the Southern Power Distribution Corporation of AP Ltd (SPDCL) have become the first state-owned distribution companies in India to accept payments through Bharat QR, the world’s first interoperable quick response code acceptance solution launched by the Reserve Bank of India.
The Vizag Digital Dhan Sankalp project is an initiative spearheaded by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Visa, to develop Visakhapatnam into India’s first “less–cash” city.
Bharat QR is a secure, network-agnostic interface that enables customers to use their smartphones to make payments without divulging information like card numbers and CVV.
FACTFILE: Bhatar QR
- Bharat QR Code will make use of QR codes system for payments across merchant outlets.
- QR code or Quick Response code is a two-dimensional machine-readable code that is made up of black and white squares. It is used to store URLs and other information. These can be read by the camera of a smartphone.
- The Bharat QR Code is the world’s first inter-operable payment acceptance solution. Bharat QR code aims at standardizing the QR code payment method through the country.
- Developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Mastercard, and Visa, BharatQR code would require merchants to only display one QR code instead of multiple ones.
- The Bharat QR is a more streamlined system which will reduce the technological problems and people will not suffer from card loss or card expiry problems
- It is the easiest method of payment for users. Scanning the QR code through your mobile will help in transferring money from one source to another.
- Payments made through QR code will directly get transferred to the bank accounts unlike other digital wallet where payments are received from e-mails.
- This Bharat QR code is expected to be convenient for those who are into mobile banking and who don’t want to use debit or credit cards for small payments.
- The physical Point-of-Sale (PoS) machines involves capital costs and therefore Bharat QR code is seen as a better alternative.
Karnataka Ties up With Microsoft to Develop India’s First Farm Price Forecasting Model
The Agriculture Department of Karnataka government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Microsoft India to develop an unique ‘farm price forecasting model’, in a bid to help farmers, administrators and other stakeholders understand the market behave our in advance.
The proposed initiative is the first-of-its-kind in the country, as it is a ‘multi-variate’ one that takes into consideration various factors beyond the conventional supply-demand equation. It will examine a slew of related factors, including weather, rainfall and external factors, that impact market behaviour.
Microsoft would also develop software for providing sowing advisory services to farmers.
Government to Establish First National Sports Museum in New Delhi
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is going to establish National Sports Museum, first of its kind, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.
The Museum will showcase the India’s achievements in sports and also focus on the traditional sports within the country. The aim of the Museum is to popularise the sports as a way of life within the country.
Museum will have audio-visual display of rules and legacy events pertaining to various sports as part of education for the budding sportspersons, a well-equipped library of sports and physical fitness, painting gallery and amphitheater for screening of legacy matches/ contests/games is also planned.
Nandan Nilekani appointed as Chairman of Infosys
Infosys co-founders led by N R Narayana Murthy had their way as they got their peer Nandan Nilekani appointed the chairman of the IT major in place of R Seshasayee, who quit under their pressure.
FACTFILE: Nandan Nilekani
- Nandan Nilekani, 62, who was CEO of the company between 2002 and 2007.
- He is credited as the architect of the world’s largest biometric ID card programme Aadhaar, will take over as Chairman of Infosys with immediate effect.
FACTFILE: Infosys
- Infosys Limited (formerly Infosys Technologies Limited) is an Indian multinational corporation that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services.
- It has its headquarters in Bengaluru, India.
- Infosys is the second-largest Indian IT firm by 2016 revenues.
- On January 12, 2017, its market capitalisation was $34.38 billion.
August 26
India, China agree to end Doklam standoff
In a breakthrough ahead of the BRICS summit, India and China on Monday agreed to withdraw their troops from the disputed Doklam area, ending a nearly three-month standoff between the armies of the two countries that led to a sharp escalation in bilateral tensions.
The External Affairs Ministry statement said “In recent weeks, India and China have maintained diplomatic communication in respect of the incident at Doklam. During these communications, we were able to express our views and convey our concerns and interests”.
The decision to disengage their troops comes ahead of a crucial BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit being hosted by China on September 3-4, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend.
The standoff began on June 16 when Indian troops stopped a People’s Liberation Army contingent from building a road in Doklam, which is in the tri-junction of China-Bhutan-India. The Chinese side refused to withdraw, and instead accused India of transgressing into its territory.
India has maintained that both sides should withdraw simultaneously for any dialogue on the issue, and asserted that war was not a solution.
Government Sets up Task Force on Artificial Intelligence
Government has constituted a task force on Artificial Intelligence for the country’s Economic Transformation.
- The 18-member panel, headed by Dr. V. Kamakoti of IIT Madras, will comprise of experts, academics, researchers and industry leaders. It will explore the possibilities to leverage Artificial Intelligence for development across various fields.
- The task force will submit concrete and implementable recommendations for government, industry and research institutions.
- Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, with rapid development in the fields of information technology and hardware, the world is about to witness a fourth industrial revolution.
UIDAI Launches Door Step Aadhar Enrolment
UIDAI has joined hands with CSC India for launching door step enrolment facility in the national capital for the elderly, patients and others who cannot travel the Aadhar centres.
- CSC India is in charge of many operations of Aadhaar centres across India. They provide many services, especially in rural areas with about 2.5 lakh operational CSCs across the country.
- The doorstep enrollment will be done via a mobile van.
FACTFILE: Aadhaar
- Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identity number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on behalf of the Government of India to individuals for the purpose of establishing the unique identity of every single person
- It is a digital identity that can be verified using simple methods.
- It also enables secure delivery of payments and access to government services.
- Aadhaar card is required for issuing a death certificate too.
Ronaldo adjudged as the UEFA Player of the Year
Real Madrid’s star forward Cristiano Ronaldo deserves the UEFA Player of the Year Award. He achieved this achievement by overthrowing Lionel Messi and Juventus’s keeper Gianligi Buffon.
- 32-year-old Ronaldo has given Real Madrid the second consecutive Champions League title, as well as the top scorer of the tournament with 12 goals in the previous season.
- This prestigious award is being given from 2011.
- Portuguese veteran Ronaldo was successful in achieving this award for the third time. He left behind Barcelona’s rival, Forward Messi, 30, who has two nominations.
- Earlier, Ronaldo won the award in 2013, 2014 and 2015-16.
August 27
Assam, Arunachal urged to agree for Middle Siang project
In view of the floods in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti has urged the two North-eastern States to agree for the Middle Siang hydel project, which she said, will tackle the calamity as well as solve their water woes.
“The flood situation is being witnessed this year also in States where the calamity was not reported earlier. And States which reported floods in the past, the situation there has deteriorated,” she told.
The Union Minister said such a situation has emerged mainly because of accumulation of silt in huge quantities in rivers. “These rivers need to be desilted. River interlinking is quite important using monsoon water,” she added.
On the Middle Siang, Bharti said she will pursue the two State Governments to agree on realising the project that would be able to produce 9,600 Megawatts of power, besides being helpful in controlling floods caused by mighty river Brahmaputra.
Nungthaang Tampak- North East’s First 100% Computer Literate Village
Manipur’s Nungthaang Tampak village has emerged as the ‘100 percent computer literate’ not only in the state but in the entire North East.
- The computer course, which is affiliated to All India Society for Electronic and Computer Technology (AISECT), was organised by Mangal Rural, an NGO working for rural development as a part of the Digital India program.
- Nungthang Tampak has become India’s second 100 percent computer literate village in India.
Kerala’s Chamravattom village is the country’s first 100 percent computer literate village.
India Wins U-15 SAFF Football Championship
The India football team came from behind to defeat Nepal 2-1 to win the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-15 Championship.
- The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-15 Championship started on August 18, 2017, at Nepal.
Six nations, viz. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka participated in the tournament where each of the sides was divided into two pools comprising three teams each.
- The SAFF Under-15 Championship is a continuity of the earlier SAFF Under-16 Championship. The motive behind the change is to allow teams to be better prepared for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-16 qualifiers to be held later this year.
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August 28
Justice Dipak Misra is new CJI
Justice Dipak Misra, was sworn in as the 45th Chief Justice of India.
At a brief ceremony in the Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhawan, President Ramnath Kovind administered the oath of office to Misra.
Justice Misra will remain in office till October 2, 2018.
FACTFILE: Justice Dipak Misra
- Justice Dipak Misra is a judge of the Supreme Court of India and a former Chief Justice of the Patna and Delhi High Courts.
- He’s the nephew of Justice Ranganath Mishra, who was the 21st CJI during 1990-91.
- He hails from the State of Odisha.
Nitasha Biswas, The Winner of Miss Transqueen India 2017
Nitasha, a trans woman who hails from Kolkata, was named the first Miss Transqueen India in Gurgaon on Sunday.
Nitasha, 26, is currently pursuing Masters in Business Management in Kolkata.
Loiloi from Manipur bagged the first runner-up position and Ragasya from Chennai was crowned the second runner-up.
Sindhu won Silver at World Champion
PV Sindhu’s lost against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the final of World Championship. In the longest match of the tournament, Sindhu lost 19-21 22-20 20-22 after battling hard for one hour and 49 minutes.
- For India, it still is a historic edition since for the first time country’s shuttler are returning with two medals.
- Saina Nehwal won a bronze after losing her semifinal.
- India had one silver and four bronze in the World Championships before this edition.