Current Affairs Assam August 2017
August 29


Tocklai Tea Research Institute starts overseas consultancy

The Tocklai Tea Research Institute of the Tea Research Association (TRA), which is one of the oldest tea research institutes in the world, has started overseas consultancy services on tea and other beverages, besides domestic consultancy services on tea processing and manufacturing.

Recently, Tocklai has been facing acute fund crunch due to drastic reduction in the flow of funds from the Union Commerce Ministry and the Tea Board of India.

Apart from scaling up the pesticides and other testing services at Tocklai and Kolkata, Tocklai Tea Research Institute has started consultancy services on tea processing and manufacturing called the TMAS. Tocklai has also started providing overseas consultancy services on tea and other beverages.

A company called West Limited dealing in variety of food-related products from Ekaterinburg of Russia sought the help of the scientists of Tocklai.

The Singha Group of Thailand, which is a reputed producer of quality beer and other products in Thailand, has written to Tocklai requesting consultancy on producing tea in northern Thailand.

With more countries starting to produce and upgrade their tea production, inquiries from Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Turkey have come to Tocklai for providing scientific consultancy services. Many African countries, which produce tea, are keen on taking help from Tocklai. These endeavours are expected to open up new revenue generation opportunities for Tocklai.

The scientists of Tocklai are the most sought after for their knowledge on tea. In the FAO Intergovernmental Group on Tea, where all tea producing and consuming countries participate, most of the working groups are coordinated by India and the Indian experts in such cases are mostly from Tocklai.


INCOIS Unveils Ocean Forecasting System

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences here inaugurated the Ocean Forecasting System for Comoros, Madagascar, and Mozambique at the third Ministerial Meeting of Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Asia and Africa (RIMES), held at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

  • The ocean forecast and early warming information on high wave, currents, winds, tides, and sub-surface ocean conditions cater to users like fishermen, coastal population, tourism sector, coastal defence officials, marine police, port authorities, research institutions and offshore industries of these countries.
  • INCOIS is already providing these operational services to Maldives, Sri Lanka and Seychelles.

National Sports Day celebrated on 29 August

National Sports day is celebrated on 29th august every year to mark the birthday of Dhyan Chand.

  • On this occasion, President Ram Nath Kovind will give away the sports Awards. A total of 29 players have been selected to receive the honours from President.
  • The President will confer Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
  • The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is honoured for the players’ spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years at international level. The Arjuna Awards are given to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports while the Dronacharya Award is sports coaching honour.

FACTFILE: Dhyan Chand

Dhyan Chand was an field hockey player, who is considered as one of the greatest field hockey players of all time

He is known for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) in field hockey, during an era where India was the most dominant team in Hockey.

Known as “The Wizard” for his superb ball control, Chand played his final international match in 1948, having scored more than 400 goals during his international career.

The Government of India awarded him the third highest (then second highest) civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1956.

His birthday, i.e. 29 August, is celebrated as National Sports Day in India.


DIPP Releases Next Edition of Consolidated FDI Policy

The Commerce and Industry Ministry released the next edition of its consolidated FDI policy document, incorporating all the changes made over the past year.

  • The Department of industrial policy and promotion, which deals with FDI related matters, compiles all policies related to foreign investment regime into a single document to make it simple and easy for investors to understand.
  • The whole exercise is aimed at providing an investor friendly climate to foreign players and, in turn, attract more FDI to boost economic growth and create jobs.
  • During the last one year, the government has liberalised FDI policy in over a dozen sectors, including defence, civil aviation, construction and development, private security agencies and news broadcasting

August 30


Rise in cattle smuggling to Bangladesh

Cattle smuggling to Bangladesh still remains a major cause of worry and according to records available, more than 1.22 lakh cattle heads were seized by the personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) in the areas under its Guwahati Frontier in the last two and half years. The number of cattle actually smuggled out can turn out to be much more as only some of the cattle sought to be smuggled out of the country can be seized because of the terrain.

As per records available, as many as 39,470 cattle heads were seized by the BSF under Guwahati Frontier in 2015, 58,468 were seized in 2016 and 24,965 were seized up to August 24 this year. Among the three sectors under the Guwahati Frontier, Dhubri sector is still the most vulnerable because of the riverine international border as more than 40 thousand cattle heads were seized in that sector last year, while, so far this year, 12,362 were seized so far this year. Though the smugglers try to smuggle out cattle heads through other areas in Coochbehar and Falakata sectors, the Dhubri sector is still the most vulnerable and it is noticed that in recent times, the Coochbehar sector is also becoming vulnerable.


Farmers would be compensated for crop loss: Union Minister

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala said Assam’s flood survey report is yet to be received by the Centre after which farmers would be compensated for loss of their standing crops under laid norms.

“The Assam government is yet to send a survey report of the flood. After the report is received and verified, the Centre would accordingly compensate the farmers for their crop loss under laid norms,” Rupala said after attending a programme at ICAR, Umiam.

The minister said all farmers are compensated during natural calamities for loss of their standing crops. The process is carried out based on a survey report undertaken by the state government and sent to the Centre.

After due verification of the report, the Central government releases fund for the loss the farmers incurs due to natural calamities such as flood and drought.

Expressing optimism on the potential of farmers in the Northeast, he said much of the potential has not been realized due to various factors. He said that the region could be the driving factor if India was to succeed in organic farming.


99 pc of junked notes returned to bank: RBI

As much as 99 per cent of the junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have returned to the banking system, RBI said today, prompting opposition to question the efficacy of the government’s unprecedented note ban decision to curb black money and corruption.

The Reserve Bank, which has so far shied away from disclosing the actual number of junked currency deposited after November 8 last year, said in its Annual Report for 2016-17 that Rs 15.28 lakh crore of the junked currency had come back into the banking system, leaving only Rs 16,050 crore out.

As on November 8, 2016 there were 1,716.5 crore pieces of Rs 500 and 685.8 crore pieces of Rs 1,000 in circulation, totalling Rs 15.44 lakh crore. Post-demonetisation RBI spent Rs 7,965 crore in 2016-17 on printing new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 and other denomination notes, more than double the Rs 3,421 crore spent in the previous year.

The demonetisation was hailed as a step that would curb black money, corruption and check counterfeit currency but RBI said just 7.1 pieces of Rs 500 note per million in circulation and 19.1 pieces of Rs 1,000 notes per million in circulation were found to be fake in its sample survey.

RBI said just 8.9 crore pieces of Rs 1,000 notes or 1.3 per cent of the scrapped ones have not returned. It, however, did not give a specific number for the old 500 rupee notes.

After the note ban, old notes were allowed to be deposited in banks, with unusual deposits coming under income tax scrutiny.


Gobindobhog Rice Gets Geographical Indication Status

Gobindobhog rice,a speciality from Burdwan district of West Bengal, has got the geographical indication (GI) status.

  • The region of Burdwan (now divided into the districts of east and west Burdwan) is known as the rice bowl of Bengal.
  • As a result of getting the GI tag, as the certification is also called, rice from other regions or rice of other varieties cannot be branded as ‘Gobindobhog’.

FACTFILE: Geographical Indication (GI)

  • GI tag is an insignia on products having a unique geographical origin and evolution over centuries with regards to its special quality or reputation attributes.
  • It is covered as an element of intellectual property rights (IPRs) under Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. At international level, GI is governed by WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
  • Darjeeling tea was the first product to accord with GI tag in India.

August 31


Home Minister Inaugurates YUVA

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the YUVA – a skill development programme and an initiative by Delhi Police under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

  • The ‘YUVA’ initiative by Delhi Police aims to connect with youth by upgrading their skill as per their competencies. It will help them to get a gainful employment under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna under the Ministry of Skill Development.
  • Delhi Police has tied up with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
  • National Skill Development Corporation shall be providing skill training to the youth under ‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna’ (PMKVY) and CII will provide job linked training through its Sector Skill Councils who are connected to industry and thereby provide job guarantee.

India, Germany Sign Pact to Improve Grid Integration of Renewable Energy

India and Germany signed an agreement on technical cooperation under the Indo-German Energy Programme – Green Energy Corridors (IGEN-GEC).

  • This relationship between GIZ and India will result in improved market mechanisms and regulations and help train manpower in India to ensure grid stability to ensure more and more integration of renewable in the country.
  • Based on the Indo-German consultations held in April 2013 in Berlin, both countries confirmed collaboration on the green energy corridors.

Ujjivan SFB receives Scheduled Bank Status from RBI

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd, has been given scheduled bank status by RBI.

  • Ujjivan SFB commenced its operations as a Small Finance Bank with effect from February 1, 2017. Currently, Ujjivan SFB has 65 full-fledged brick and mortar branches in eight states and two Union Territories.
  • This status will enhance the market acceptability of the bank in its effort to garner institutional deposits at a competitive price and participate more actively in the inter-bank market. It also opens the door for issuing Certificates of Deposits (CDs), which will be an important source of funding.

Unicity Launches World’s First Ever Genomeceuticals Range of Products in India

Unicity International, headquartered in Orem, Utah, United States has launched world’s first ever Genomeceutical (gene controlling) range of products to India.

  • Product ‘Genomeceutical is a ground-breaking, patent-pending, technology whereby certain secondary metabolites found in nature can help maintain the gene response whenever needed by the body and help maintain overall metabolic health.
  • Unicity uses advanced Genomecutical technology in its products to support proper gene expression, which helps maintain healthy body function at their most basic levels.

Pharma Jan Samadhan” App to Help Athletes Identify Prohibited Medicines

Drug pricing regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) joined hands with National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) to help athletes understand medicines that could contain prohibited substances in sports through its app ‘Pharma Jan Samadhan’.

  • Through NPPA’s app every consumer can know ingredients in a medicine. This will now have an additional feature, which will make it easy for athletes to keep away from medicines that have prohibited substances.
  • NPPA, drug price regulator has played an immense role in making essential medicines available to common man at affordable rates. It has also taken extraordinary steps in protecting public interest and ensuring that price control is not limited only to medicines but also extends to medical devices.

Current Affairs Assam August 2017