Current Affairs Assam – August 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of August 2018 )
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August 31
Asian Development Bank approves financing package of USD 245 Million for West Bengal
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) board has approved a financing package of $245 million to provide safe, sustainable, and inclusive drinking water service to about 1.65 million people in three districts of West Bengal, viz. Bankura, North 24 Parganas, and Purba Medinipur, affected by arsenic, fluoride, and salinity.
High arsenic and fluoride levels in drinking water are a threat to public health in India, where West Bengal is by far the worst affected state.
Through efficient use of surface water and a shift to piped water schemes, the ADB project will reduce the burden of disease from arsenic and fluoride while preserving groundwater and enhancing climate resilience.
Water will be provided through bulk water systems, consisting of intakes, water treatment plants, and transmission mains that will be connected to a grid with existing and new systems in the project districts.
The project will use a high-technology based smart water management system to efficiently manage services-a first for large scale rural water schemes in India.
The total project cost is $349 million, for which ADB will provide a loan of $240 million and grant of $3 million from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan. The West Bengal government will provide $106 million in funding. ADB will also administer a $2 million grant from the Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund.
FACTFILE – The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
- ADB is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines.
- It maintains 31 field offices around the world to promote social and economic development in Asia.
- The bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East or ECAFE) and non-regional developed countries.
- From 31 members at its establishment, ADB now has 67 members, of which 48 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
- The ADB was modeled closely on the World Bank, and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with members’ capital subscriptions.
- ADB is an official United Nations
World Bank approves Rs 929.89 crore for Shimla’s water project
The World Bank has approved in principle a financial assistance of Rs 929.89 crore for a water supply and sewerage project for the state capital, Himachal Pradesh. The final negotiation meeting for loan sanction will be held on October 24.
There are six sources of drinking water supply to Shimla town with a total water supply capacity of 54 million litres per day (MLD). These included Gumma and Giri. To ensure regular supply of drinking water, particularly during summer, there is need to augment the Gumma water source from the Sutlej river and construct storage dams on the Giri river.
Another step to meet the water requirement would be to instal filter units in 13 ‘bouries’ or natural water bodies here to ensure water for non-potable uses.
FACTFILE – The World Bank (WB)
- WB is an international financial institution that provides loans to countries of the world for capital projects.
- It comprises two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the International Development Association (IDA).
- The World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group. The World Bank was created at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The president of the World Bank is, traditionally, an American.
- The World Bank and the IMF are both based in Washington, D.C., and work closely with each other.
- The Gold Room at the Mount Washington Hotel where the International Monetary Fund and World Bank were established.
BIMSTEC summit concluded with signing of 18-point Kathmandu Declaration
The fourth summit of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) concluded on 31st Aug.
On the second day of the summit, an 18-point declaration paper was signed. The declaration is expected to enhance the effectiveness of BIMSTEC Secretariat by engaging it in various technical and economic activities in the region.
FACTFILE – The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
- It is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and South East Asia, housing 1.5 billion people and having a combined gross domestic product of $2.5 trillion (2014).
- The BIMSTEC member states—Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal. Fourteen priority sectors of cooperation have been identified and several BIMSTEC centres have been established to focus on those sectors
- On June 6, 1997, a new sub-regional grouping was formed in Bangkok under the name BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation).
- On 22 December 1997, Myanmar became a full member, resulting in the renaming of the grouping to BIMST-EC. In 1998, Nepal became an observer. In February 2004, Nepal and Bhutan became full members.
- On July 31, 2004, in the first Summit the grouping was renamed as BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
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