Tag: Assam Current Affairs September 2019

Assam Current Affairs – September 29 – 30, 2019

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Current Affairs Assam – September 29 - 30, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of September 29 – 30, 2019 )

September 2019 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook

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September 29, 2019

  ASSAM CM Sonowal launches ‘Amar Alohi’ scheme
  • Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal formally declared open the dwelling units constructed under the first phase of the ambitious ‘Amar Alohi’ scheme at a function held at the SrimantaSankaradevaKalakshetra to mark observance of World Tourism Day.
  • Altogether 28 such dwelling units in different parts of the State were declared open to make tourists enjoy comfortable homestay and Assamese hospitality.
  • At the same programme, Chief Minister Sonowal unveiled a logo to globally promote the Raas festival held at Nalbari and Majuli along with other places of the State.

FACTFILE – ‘Aamaar Aalohi’

  • Rural Homestay Scheme is framed by the Tourism Department, Govt. of Assam, with the objectives of giving a new dimension and thrust to the Rural Homestay Facilities in the State of Assam and creation of self-employment opportunities for educated youths in rural and semi-urban areas of tourism potential and importance.
  • Under this Scheme, Assam Tourism Development Corporation invites two types of application:
    • New Homestays (subsidised projects)
    • Existing Homestays
  • Selection process of units / beneficiaries & criteria: Suitability criteria for selection of the houses and their premises, their locations would be one of the most important criteria. The houses should not only be from a rural/non-urban area, these should be close to important tourists spots and may also be in such locations where some important tourism events like fairs and festivals etc. are held which draw large number of visitors from different places.
 President Kovind presents President’s Colours Award to Corps of Army Air Defence
  • President Ram NathKovind handed over the prestigious President’s Colours Award to the Corps of Army Air Defence at Gopalpur in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
  • The President’s Colours Award is the highest military honour for an armed forces organisation.
  • This award is given in recognition of exceptional service rendered by to the nation, both during peace and hostile.
  • The President was presented the Rashtriya salute at the commencement of an impressive parade led by the contingent.
  • The occasion was attended by senior officers and civil dignitaries. Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included Odisha Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal.
  • The Air Defence has been in existence since 1940 as a part of Corps of Artillery however, as an independent arm, it got recognition in 1994.
  • The Corps of Army Air Defence has been awarded with two Ashok Chakras, two Kirti Chakras, 20 Vir Chakras, nine Shauryas Chakras, 113 Sena Medals and 55 Mention-in-Despatches in addition to four Honour Titles awarded during 1971 Indo-Pak war.
 MSME, AYUSH signs to jointly promote nutraceuticals industry
  • The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and the Ministry of AYUSH have signed an agreement to jointly promote the nutraceuticals industry in India.
  • MSME Minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi who was at an Assocham event in New Delhi announced the joint venture.
  • Nutraceutical is the hybrid of ”nutrition” and ”pharmaceutical”, are food or part of food playing a significant role in modifying and maintaining normal physiological function that maintains healthy human beings.

 

September 30, 2019

 North East festival to be held in Varanasi in November month
  • A four-day ‘Destination North East’ festival will be held in Varanasi in November to familiarise the people with the rich, unexplored potential and opportunities available in the region, Union Minister Jitendra Singh.
  • The festival in Varanasi will be a sequel to the ‘Destination North East’ series begun about three years ago, as part of which, such festivals have already been held in places like Chandigarh and Delhi.
  • The four-day festival on the North East will be held at Varanasi from November 23, Singh, Union Minister for Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER).
  • The concept behind holding such events is to familiarise the people in other parts of India with the rich, unexplored potential, avenues and opportunities that the North East has to offer for the rest of the world, he said.
  • Ancient temple town Varanasi is the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
 India among 20 most improved countries in Ease of doing business, now at 77th position
  • India continues to be on 77th position in terms of ease of doing business. The Doing Business Report 2019, commissioned by the World Bank, also highlights that India is among the top 10 improvers on the list once again.
  • India, along with eastern Africa’s Djibouti, made it the top 10 improvers list last year as well. Other countries on the list with the “most notable improvement” in performance on the Doing Business indicators are China, Azerbaijan, and along with the African nation of Togo, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire and Rwanda. Afghanistan had the biggest improvement in the latest rankings.
  • These economies have implemented total 62 business regulatory reforms across all sectors. China and India alone have implemented 13 reforms to improve the EODB standing, which goes a long way towards influencing investors to pour in funds into the country.
  • The Doing Business report points out that India has implemented norms to simplify the process of starting a business, getting construction permits, electricity supply, credit flow, paying taxes are trading across borders.
  • World Bank report also highlighted the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), making the regulation process “faster” in the country. Replacing multiple taxes with one uniform tax has made tax-paying simpler.
  • Moreover, the country has also made tax payment “less costly” by reducing the corporate income tax rate to 22% for existing domestic companies and 15% for new domestic manufacturing companies.
  • New Zealand has topped the Ease of Doing Business rankings in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

FACTFILE – Ease of Doing Business Index

  • The ease of doing business index is an index created jointly by Simeon Djankov and Gerhard Pohl, two leading economists at the Central and Eastern Europe sector of the World Bank Group.
  • The academic research for the report was done jointly with professors Oliver Hart and Andrei Shleifer.
  • Higher rankings (a low numerical value) indicate better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses and stronger protections of property rights.
  • Empirical research funded by the World Bank to justify their work show that the economic growth impact of improving these regulations is strong.
 India hands over Rs. 2.41 Crore worth school building to Nepal
  • India has handed over a new school building costing Rs. 2.41 crores to the Nepal government that would boost the learning environment of students from the marginalised sections in the Himalayan nation.
  • The new building of KuleshworAwas Secondary School in Kathmandu city was jointly inaugurated by Ajay Kumar, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India in Kathmandu, in the presence of several senior officials from the Nepal government.
  • The new school infrastructure is a three-storey structure comprising 20 class rooms, separate sanitation facilities for boys and girls on each floor, underground water tank and furniture.
  • India recently provided Rs. 233 crores to the Nepal Government for various infrastructure projects, including roads and reconstruction of houses destroyed in the massive earthquake in 2015 which saw the death of over 9,000 people.
  • The decision was taken during the 5th meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission attended by the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

September 2019 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook

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Assam Current Affairs – September 22 – 28, 2019

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Current Affairs Assam – September 22 - 28, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of September 22 – 28, 2019 )

September 2019 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook

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September 22, 2019

  World Rhino Day observed at Kaziranga
  • Kaziranga National Park in association with various environmental NGOs and people of Kaziranga observed World Rhino Day on September 22.
  • The day-long programme inaugurated by Director of Kaziranga National Park P Siva Kumar and SDO (Civil) of Kaliabor, Bitupan Neog started at 7 am at Koliabor from which two processions with tableaus of rhinos moved for two different destinations, one towards Bokakhat and another towards Biswanath Division of Kaziranga National Park, Biswanath.
  • Agriculture Minister Atul Bora said that the cooperation extended by local people of Kaziranga was a great contribution towards conservation of rhinos in Kaziranga National Park, adding that local people should help in the protection of rhinos and other wildlife in Kaziranga National Park as it has helped in increase the population of rhinos in Kaziranga.

FACTFILE – World Rhino Day

  • The World Wildlife Fund-South Africa in 2010, announced to celebrate World Rhino Day on 22 September every year since then. The annual event took off on a global scale both on online and offline platforms when Lisa Jane Campbell of Chishakwe Ranch in Zimbabwe and founder of Annamitici joined hands with creative director Rhishja Cota in 2011 to create a massive awareness to protect all 5 species of rhinos from extinction.
  • The activities on occasion of Rhino Day vary from one participant to another with activities such as peaceful demonstrations, classroom projects, fundraising dinners, auctions and poster displays are observed globally.
  • World’s Five Rhinoceros Species living in Africa and Asia–
    • Javan Rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus): Critically Endangered (IUCN)
    • Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis): Critically Endangered (IUCN)
    • Black rhinos (Diceros bicornis): Critically Endangered (IUCN)
    • White rhinos (Ceratotherium simum): Near Threatened (IUCN)
    • Greater One-Horned Rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis): Vulnerable (IUCN)
 Bihar inaugurates its first all-women employee Post Office
  • Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated the all-women employee post office on the campus of Bihar Public Services Commission (BPSC). He said these post offices will be a step forward towards strengthening women empowerment.
  • He informed that postal accounts will be linked with Aadhaar for greater transparency. On an average, one thousand Aadhaar cards will be made at this center and other facilities will be also available. Minister Prasad said 114 such Kendra will soon be operational in 53 cities in the country.
 Delhi CM launches ‘champions campaign’ against dengue
  • Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched “champions campaign” in the fight against dengue and urged people to encourage their friends to inspect their homes on Sunday to clean stagnant water.
  • the campaign envisages that citizens should promptly reach out to 10 of their friends or peers and ask them to check their premises for signs of dengue.
  • Lakhs of Delhiites are joining the #10Hafte10Baje10Minute campaign against Dengue.
  • Such a community-driven campaign will ensure the citizens are encouraged to take initiative and responsibility for their fellow citizens.
 DSCI, MeitY and Google India join hands for ‘Digital Payment Abhiyan’
  • Nasscom’s Data Security Council of India (DSCI) collaborated with the electronics and IT ministry (MeitY) and Google India to launch a nationwide awareness campaign ‘Digital Payment Abhiyan’.
  • Communications and Electronics & IT Minister launched the campaign that will educate end-users on the benefits of making digital payments and urge them to adopt security and safety best practices.
  • The campaign was launched at the Google for India event.
  • To drive the campaign objectives and amplify outreach to users across all states, DSCI has onboarded various digital payments, ecosystem partners.
  • These partners include representation from banking, card networks as well as a fin-tech segment.

September 23, 2019

  Assam Tourism eyes 75 lakh domestic tourists
  • Assam, one of the ‘seven sisters’ of North East, is eying over 75 lakh domestic and 50,000 foreign tourists to visit the State following digital promotions and documentaries.
  • Assam received around 41,000 overseas and 60,27,002 domestic visitors in 2018-19.
  • Assam is doing promotional activities through digital medium and a series of documentaries in the National Geographic, thus expect this number to grow to over 50,000 foreign and over 75 lakh Indian travellers in this financial year, said Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) chairman Jayanta Malla Baruah
  • The top source market of the State is the UK followed by Germany, Israel, China and South Asian countries.
  • World Bank has given in-principal allocation of Rs 720 crore for infrastructure development of various destinations.
  • Prime Minister has declared 17 destinations as iconic and Kaziranga National Park is in the list, separate funds will be allocated by the Central government.
  • This year Assam expects to attract over 15 lakh tourists to its annual river festival – Dwijing festival, which is an annual river festival celebrated in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts, he added.
  • Assam has a lot to offer apart from its very own Kaziranga National Park, Bihu and the mighty Brahmaputra. Assam has offerings from religious, spiritual and historical monuments, to tea estate experiences topped with adventure and authentic cuisine.
 Telangana, Andhra CMs agree to Link Rivers
  • Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy decided to interlink Godavari and Krishna rivers with less land acquisition.
  • Both the chief ministers had a lengthy discussion on diverting Godavari waters to Krishna River and other important issues pertaining to both the states at a meeting at PragathiBhavan.
  • Both the CMs discussed about from where Godavari waters can be linked to the Krishna and at what alignment. They agreed that the linkage and utilisation of water should be useful for the both the states.

FACTFILE – Godavari River

  • The Godavari is India’s second longest river after the Ganga. Its source is in Triambakeshwar, Maharashtra.
  • It flows east for 1,465 kilometres, draining the states of Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, ultimately emptying into the Bay of Bengal through its extensive network of tributaries.
  • Measuring up to 312,812 km2, it forms one of the largest river basins in the Indian subcontinent, with only the Ganga and Indus rivers having a larger drainage basin.
  • In terms of length, catchment area and discharge, the Godavari is the largest in peninsular India, and had been dubbed as the Vridha Ganga.

FACTFILE – Krishna River

  • The Krishna River is the third largest river in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Godavari and Brahmaputra.
  • The 1,400 kilometres long river is one of the major sources of irrigation for Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
 PM Modi, Mongolian Prez unveil Buddha statue in Ulaanbaatar
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga jointly unveiled a statue of the Buddha and his two disciples installed at the historic GandanTegchenling Monastery in Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar through video conferencing. The statue symbolises the shared respect of our two countries for the universal message of Lord Buddha.
  • The statue depicts Buddha in a sitting posture along with his two disciples conveying the message of compassion along with peace and coexistence.
  • Prime Minister during his visit to Mongolia in 2015 and had announced to gift a statue of Buddha to the monastery, underlining the common Buddhist heritage and civilisational links between the two countries and peoples.
  • The statue was installed and consecrated at the Gandan Monastery earlier this month during the third edition of “SAMVAAD” dialogue held in Ulaanbaatar from September 6-7.

FACTFILE – Gandan Tegchenling Monastery

  • Gandan Tegchenling Monastery is a prominent centre of Mongolian Buddhists and a treasure house of valuable Buddhist heritage. It hosted the 11th General Assembly of Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP) from 21-23 June 2019 marking the 50th anniversary of the Conference.
  • Over 150 guests from 14 countries including India, South Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, North Korea, LPDR, Thailand, Japan etc. had participated in the event.
 Coast Guard undertakes beach clean-up along coastline
  • The Indian Coast Guard conducted a massive beach clean-up drive along the coastline of the country on the occasion of International Coastal Cleanup Day.
  • The International Coastal Cleanup Day is observed on the third Saturday of every September as per the mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme.
  • In the region of South Asia the drive is coordinated by the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP).
  • India has a coastline of over 7,500 kilometers along nine states and two union territories of the country.
  • Beach cleaning activities were conducted in four states – Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala, that fall under its ambit. The western region also conducted the cleanup drive in two union territories of Daman and Lakshadweep.
  • Around 8,000 volunteers participated in the drive, they cleared approximately 30,000 kgs of trash and non-bio degradable waste apart from a huge quantity of non-degradable marine litter.

           

September 24, 2019

  National Health Mission Assam receives – IT Excellence Award
  • The National Health Mission, Assam recently received the ‘IT Excellence Award’ conferred by the Indian Express Group for the project ‘A Journey from Quantity to Quality’.
  • The quality journey is a multi-pronged strategy approach to create value in public healthcare in Assam as per national standards.
  • Based on the guidelines of Indian Public Health Standard (IPHS), comprehensive gap analysis format was prepared to carry out a gap analysis of each facility.
  • The journey on the quality started with a mobile-based application developed and implemented with support from UNICEF to carry out the gap analysis and get instant and reliable output.
  • Shifting the healthcare system from the quantity of services provided to the quality of services provided yield significant result within one year.
  • Altogether 236 government healthcare bodies have achieved quality benchmarks in 2019-20 after implementation of this strategy.
 NASSCOM signs MoU with Pearson to skill IT workforce
  • NASSCOM FutureSkills has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pearson India, a leading digital learning company, in a bid to provide skill training to current and future working professionals and help improve the quality and quantity of the employable workforce in the IT-BPM industry.
  • With the spread of digitalisation, skilling would become indispensable for professionals across the IT spectrum. The MoU seeks to provide these skill sets to the workforce.
  • The ongoing digitisation of new-age technologies is creating a massive skill gap in the IT, ITES and BPM sectors.
  • Given the current growth trajectory, the demand for digitally skilled professionals will rise to 2.3-2.7 million in fiscal 2023.
  • According to an estimate, out of the 4.5 million professionals employed in the industry today, around 1.5 to 2 million professionals will require reskilling in the coming four to five years.
 CM Kejriwal launches new street light scheme in Delhi
  • In a move to enhance women’s safety in the capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a new scheme for installing street lights at unlit dark spots across the city.
  • To be called ‘Mukhyamantri Street Light Yojana’, the scheme will ensure that 2.1 lakh street lights are installed across the city to light up dark spots from November 1 with a budget of Rs 100 crore.
  • The street lights will be installed at locations on the lines of CCTV installation, unlike the street lights installed by the local bodies.
  • Under the scheme, the people can contact the area MLA to designate the spots where they wish to have street lights installed.
  • These lights will be equipped with sensor technology so that they can sense the ambient light. Any resident of Delhi can give the permission to install street lights by signing a letter. They have to give electricity connections from their houses and a fixed amount will be reduced from their bills.
 China launches two new BeiDou satellites
  • China launched two new satellites of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) into space. The satellites that were launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, Sichuan province, on a Long March-3B carrier rocket.
  • The new satellites and the carrier rocket were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
  • The new satellites will work with the BDS satellites already in orbit to improve the positioning accuracy of the system. They are also equipped with new processors to improve navigation signals.

FACTFILE – The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)

  • The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations.
  • The first BeiDou system, officially called the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System and also known as BeiDou-1, consists of three satellites which since 2000 has offered limited coverage and navigation services, mainly for users in China and neighboring regions. Beidou-1 was decommissioned at the end of 2012.
  • The second generation of the system, officially called the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) and also known as COMPASS or BeiDou-2, became operational in China in December 2011 with 10 satellites in orbit.
  • In 2015, China started the build-up of the third generation BeiDou system (BeiDou-3) for global coverage constellation. As of October 2018, fifteen BDS-3 satellites have been launched. BeiDou-3 will eventually consist of 35 satellites and is expected to provide global services upon completion in 2020.
  • When fully completed, BeiDou will provide an alternative global navigation satellite system to the United States owned Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian GLONASS or European Galileo systems and is expected to be more accurate than these.
  • On 27 December 2018, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System started to provide global services.

September 25, 2019

  Assam launches housing, education loan subsidy scheme ‘Aponar Apon Ghar’
  • Assam Govt launched a housing loan subsidy scheme to provide financial relief on purchase or construction of the first house for a family.
  • Assam Finance minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the scheme titled ‘Aponar Apon Ghar’ and said that subsidy up to Rs 2.5 lakh will be provided for loan amounts from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 40 lakh.
  • Up to loan amount from Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakh one lakh interest subsidy will be provided.
  • While between Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh the subsidy will be Rs 1.50 lakh, from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh Rs 2 lakh subsidy will be given and from Rs 30 to Rs 40 Lakh Rs 2.50 lakh will be provided.
 PM Modi receives Global Goalkeeper Award
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the Global Goalkeeper Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the Swachh Bharat mission.
  • The PM said the honour bestowed on him was for the millions of Indians who participated in the mission. He said though the Swachh Bharat mission was begun by his government, the people took charge of it.
  • When he took over in 2014, less than 40 per cent homes had toilets in the country, and now it is close to 100 percent. He said the Clean India Mission has also helped save thousands of lives, and cited a WHO report that said building toilets in homes helped save 300,000 lives.
  • He cited a UNICEF study that said that every family with a toilet will be able to save Rs 50,000 a year, while a Bill and Melinda Gates report said that increase in sanitation has improved the BMI of women.
 PM Modi announces Coalition for Disaster Management at UN Climate Action Summit
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York.
  • The Prime Minister made the announcement of the coalition at the Climate Action Summit, which was witnessed by global leaders, government functionaries, international delegates and diplomats from across the world.
  • The partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks, financing mechanisms, private sector and knowledge institutions will promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to tackle climate and disaster risks, thereby ensuring sustainable development.
  • Developed through consultations with more than 35 countries, the CDRI envisions to enable measurable reduction in infrastructure losses from disasters, including extreme climate events.
  • Established as a platform for generating and exchanging knowledge, the CDRI will conduct country-specific and global activities.
  • CDRI will provide member countries technical support and capacity development, research and knowledge management, and advocacy and partnerships to facilitate and encourage investment in disaster resilient infrastructure systems.
  • CDRI will focus on developing resilience in ecological infrastructure, social infrastructure with a concerted emphasis on health and education, and economic infrastructure with special attention to transportation, telecommunication, energy and water.
 India’s growing Diplomatic significance at UN
  • The CDRI is the second major coalition launched by India outside of the UN, the first being the International Solar Alliance.
  • Both of them are seen as India’s attempts to obtain a global leadership role in climate change matters, and were termed as part of India’s stronger branding.
  • India and Japan, with their joint experience in disaster management, can use the CDRI to provide a safer alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

FACTFILE – Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)

  • Formed on September 23, 2019
  • Headquarters – New Delhi, India
  • CDRI is an international coalition of countries, United Nations (UN) agencies, multilateral development banks, the private sector, and academic institutions, that aims to promote disaster-resiliant infrastructure.
  • CDRI will provide member countries technical support and capacity development, research and knowledge management, and advocacy and partnerships to facilitate and encourage investment in disaster resilient infrastructure systems.
  • CDRI will focus on developing resilience in ecological infrastructure, social infrastructure with a concerted emphasis on health and education, and economic infrastructure with special attention to transportation, telecommunication, energy and water.
 Delhi to implement Street Vendors Act
  • Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the city government will legalise the street vendors and hawkers and will provide them protection in the national capital.
  • Delhi will become the first state to implement the The Street Vendors Act, 2014. Under it, 28 town vending committees have been set up and a notification has been issued.
  • The committees, each having 30 members, have 12 vendors or hawkers as their team, while rest of the members are officials, town planners, police and traffic police, and RWAs and market association, and officials from the health department.
  • The MCDs and the civic bodies have been asked to conduct a survey of vendors through their respective town vending committees.
  • After the survey is completed, street vendors will be given certificates and thereafter, licences will be issued.
  • The licences will have the name of the owner, address and the place of vending, and this will ensure that they are not harassed by anyone.
  • The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 was passed in February, 2014 to regulate street vendors in public areas and protect their rights. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2012 by then Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja.

September 26, 2019

  India, US, Japan begin trilateral maritime exercise ‘Malabar 2019’
  • India, the US and Japan began the ‘Malabar 2019’ trilateral maritime exercise in the Pacific Ocean. The exercise, in which the Indian Navy has deployed two ships.
  • Two frontline indigenously developed ships – INS Sahyadri, INS Kiltan – have been deployed for the exercise. Sahyadri is a multi-purpose guided missile frigate while the Kiltan is an anti-submarine warfare corvette. A P8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft was also sent to Japan for the exercise.
  • The US Navy is being represented by USS McCampbell, a Los Angeles-class attack submarine and a P8A long range maritime patrol aircraft.
  • The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force has participated with the Izumo class helicopter destroyer JS Kaga, guided missile destroyers JS Samidare and Choukai and a P1 long-range maritime patrol aircraft.
  • The objective of Malabar 2019, which is being conducted for the 33rd time, is to further strengthen naval ties between the three countries.
  • The exercise also aims to enhance cooperation and inter-operability, based on shared values and principles, between the three Navies.
  • Complex maritime operations in the surface, sub-surface and air domains including anti-submarine warfare, anti-air and anti-surface firings, maritime interdiction operations will be conducted during the sea-phase of the exercise.

FACTFILE – Malabar Exercise

  • Exercise Malabar is a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners.
  • Originally begun in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between India and the United States, Japan became a permanent partner in 2015.
  • Past non-permanent participants are Australia and Singapore.
  • The annual Malabar series began in 1992 and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissions Coast Guard ship Varaha
  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Varaha in Chennai. The Varaha is an offshore patrol vehicle developed by the private agency, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), in accordance with a contract signed with the Defence Ministry.
  • It is the fourth among a series of seven ships to be delivered by L&T with features like ultra-advanced navigation and communication sensors.
  • Varaha will operate from the port of New Mangalore on the West Coast covering the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to Kanyakumari.
  • The state-of-the-art ship can operate the indigenously developed Advanced Light Helicopter of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
  • It is expected to add to the Coast Guard”s strength in responding to the threats of maritime terrorism, smuggling and challenges of maritime law enforcement.
  • The ship is also well-equipped with high speed boats, medical facilities and modern surveillance systems.
  • It can help provide search and rescue cover to mariners in distress at sea.
 Gandhi solar park, peace garden inaugurated at UN
  • Leaders from around the world joined hands in the spirit of Gandhian universality to inaugurate a solar facility and roof garden at the UN headquarters and a garden with trees from across the US dedicated to the Mahatma on his 150th birth year.
  • Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Prime Ministers Narendra Modi, Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, Andre Holness of Jamaica, Jacinda Arden of New Zealand and Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore placed their hands on a glass globe to inaugurate them.
  • The Gandhi Solar Park costing $1 million and having an output of 50 kilowatts of electricity is located on the roof of the Conference Building at the headquarters and is a gift from India to the UN to provide it clean energy.
  • India also donated the Gandhi Peace Garden made up of 150 trees located at a university campus in Old Westbury as another environmental gift.
  • Marking the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi, the two gifts symboliseIndia”s commitment to the environment by producing clean power and capturing carbon emissions in the trees.
  • Accepting the gifts, Guterres thanked India for supporting the elimination of single-use plastic at the UN by providing reusable bags and kits, and for installing solar panels and a green roof on top of the Conference Building.
 Bangladesh PM Hasina honoured with ‘Vaccine Hero Award’
  • Bangaldesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was conferred with the Vaccine Hero Award at the UN headquarters. Hasina was applauded for the success in immunisation in Bangladesh, especially for her role in eliminating polio and curtailing diphtheria, hepatitis-B and rubella.
  • Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) Board Chairperson NgoziOkonjo-Iweala delivered a felicitation speech on the occasion.
  • GAVI, a Switzerland-based organisation, works to save the lives of millions of children globally by providing vaccines to them.
  • Dedicated vaccine centres and over 18,000 community clinics and Union Health Centres are providing vaccination services across Bangladesh.
  • The UNICEF will organise an event on honouring Hasina where she will also receive the Champion of skill development for youth” award.

 

September 27, 2019

  Centre to invest Rs 3,500 crore in NE aviation sector
  • The Civil Aviation Ministry will invest Rs 3,500 crore in the aviation sector of the North East region in the next couple of years, said Sanjiv Jindal, Regional Executive Director of the AAI, North East region.
  • An amount of Rs 1,250 crore would be spent on the facelift of the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati, the region’s most busy airport.
  • The new terminal of the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport airport will entail an expenditure of Rs 448 crore and an amount of Rs 650 crore will be spent on infrastructure development of the Imphal airport.
  • The works of the Imphal airport will be completed by the end of this year, while the new terminal of the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport here will be ready for use by March next year.
  • Aviation sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country, Jindal said that three water aerodromes would come up in Assam.
  • Boosting air connectivity to some parts of the North East region was on the AAI’s radar. The potential sites include Silchar, Tezpur, Dimapur, Shillong and Tura. Besides, the Union Aviation Ministry has identified 20 locations in Arunachal Pradesh where helicopter services would be launched soon.
  • The External Affairs Ministry has already approached Dhaka for 52 acres of land to extend the existing runway at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport. “There is a possibility of the airport being used by the two countries, which is operational in Europe. The Asian Development Bank has already carried out a survey and suggested the new concept,” he said.
  • Out of the total 13 operational airports in the North East, only the airport in Guwahati is on the path of making profits.
 NTPC, SECI to set up dispute resolution in clean energy sector
  • The Central government has proposed to set up a dispute resolution mechanism in the renewable energy sector to cater to the growing cases of disputes between stakeholders in the solar and wind sectors.
  • The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued guidelines for establishing a dispute resolution mechanism (DRM) for projects being implemented by government agencies Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and NTPC.
  • As per the guidelines, SECI and NTPC will provide a secretariat for the dispute resolution committee (DRC), with its head being designated as the secretary who will be from either of the two state run entities.
  • All disputes emanating from contracts or from decisions taken by SECI or NTPC will have to be addressed to the DRC secretary.
  • All the applications under the DRM, whether for appeal against the decisions given by SECI or NTPC based on the terms of contract or the requests not covered under the terms of contract, will be addressed to the DRC secretary.

FACTFILE – Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI)

  • SECI is a company of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, established to facilitate the implementation of the National Solar Mission (NSM).
  • It is the only Central Public Sector Undertaking dedicated to the solar energy sector. The company’s mandate has been broadened to cover the entire renewable energy domain and the company will be renamed to Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI).
  • It is responsible for implementation of government schemes, major ones being the VGF schemes for large-scale grid-connected projects under NSM, solar park scheme and grid-connected solar rooftop scheme, and other specialised schemes such as defence scheme, canal-top scheme, and Indo-Pak border scheme.
  • SECI has also ventured into solar project development on turnkey basis for several PSUs. The company also has a power-trading licence and is active in this domain through trading of solar power from projects set up by it.
 DRDO inks pact to set up research centre in J&K
  • The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) entered an MoU with the Central University of Jammu to establish a new centre for science and technology in Jammu and Kashmir.
  • The MoU was signed here in the presence of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the new centre will be set up at the Central University of Jammu.
  • The centre will be named Kalam Centre for Science and Technology after former President late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
  • The primary objective behind signing the MoU is to undertake and facilitate basic and applied research and technology development in the identified research verticals, namely Computational System Security and Sensors.
  • The centre will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment which will help increase the number of research scholars in the region.

September 28, 2019

  The Tea Board of India likely to fix a minimum price for green tea leaves in Assam
  • Assam industry and commerce minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that the Tea Board of India is likely to fix a minimum price for green tea leaves in Assam soon. He said that to avail the minimum price the growers, however, also have to ensure the good quality of the tea leaves.
  • All the stakeholders of the tea industry met during a meeting in Guwahati to discuss ways and means to improve the quality of the Assam tea and increase the export of tea.
  • “While we have requested the Tea Board of India to fix a minimum support price for green tea leaves, the growers have also agreed to resort to good plucking involving the traditional two leafs and a bud to ensure quality of the Assam tea,” the minister said.
  • Assam government asks Tea board to come up with minimum price for green tea leaves. The board is also asked to give direction to the growers to improve the quality of the tea.
  • Assam was a global leader in tea production in 1961 when the export was 37percent. However, the export came down to only 12 percent in recent years, affecting the industry as a whole.
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissions INS Khanderi
  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned India’s second Scorpene-class attack submarine INS Khanderi into the Indian Navy in a ceremony held at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai.
  • The commissioning was marked by the hoisting of the Indian National Flag on the flagpost of the submarine.
  • Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh and a host of other dignitaries including senior naval officials were also present on the occasion.
  • The Defence Minister also commissioned the first of India’s P-17 Shivalik-class frigate Nilgiri and the aircraft carrier drydock into the Indian Navy during the ceremony.
  • The INS Khanderi is the second attack submarine that has been commissioned into the Indian Navy under the P-75 project. In 2017, another submarine INS Kalvari had already been inducted into the Navy.
  • Nilgiri, the Alpha Shivalik-class frigate, a stealth warship, has been built under a programme called P-17. The Nilgiri is a follow-up to the first ever frigate which was built by the Mazgaon Dock Limited way back in the 1970s and has now been decommissioned.
  • The aircraft carrier drydock which was commissioned is the largest drydock of the Indian Navy.

FACTFILE – INS Khanderi (2017)

  • INS Khanderi is the second of the Indian Navy’s six Kalvari-class submarines being built in India.
  • It is a diesel-electric attack submarine which was designed by French naval defence and energy company DCNS and manufactured at Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai.
  • The submarine began its sea trials on 1 June 2017.
 Rajasthan-based Payal Jangid receives Changemaker Award
  • Rajasthan-based activist PayalJangid, 17, has been honoured with prestigious ‘Changemaker Award’ by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at the Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards held in New York.
  • In recognition of her work towards the abolition of child marriage in her village, Hinsla and other neighbouring areas.
  • Jangid, who is one of many torchbearers of Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi”s legacy and who lives in a Child-Friendly Village (Bal Mitra Gram) situated in the desert state of Rajasthan.
  • Jangid, as the President of her village’s Children’s Parliament (Bal Panchayat), has undertaken a slew of field activities in the past to empower women and children of her own village and villages nearby.
  • Jangid’s parents decided to marry her off when she was only 11 years old. She raised her voice against child marriage, as a result, her parents relented and the marriage was prevented.
  • As a child rights advocate, she has been encouraging children to unite and raise their voices against injustices done to them.
  • She has made a significant contribution to her village administration leading to the betterment of the lives of the children of her village.
  • Earlier in 2013, on the basis of Jangid’s extensive work towards protection of the rights of children, she was chosen as a member of the jury for the World’s Children’s Prize.
  • In 2017, she also received the ”Young Achiever Award” by the global sports and fitness brand Reebok.
 TN to buy 2,623 buses with financial assistance from KFW
  • As a part of its plan to modernise the bus fleet of its transport corporations, Tamil Nadu government has decided to buy 2,123 BS-VI emission compliant buses and 500 electric buses with the debt assistance provided by German development bank KFW.
  • The government said a Project Agreement was signed with KFW for financial assistance of Rs 1,580 crore.
  • The Tamil Nadu government had earlier announced that it would acquire 12,000 new buses and 2,000 electric buses with KFW’s debt of Rs 5,890 crore.
  • According to the state government, under the Project Agreement, setting up of charging stations for electric vehicles, acquisition of software and hardware for the upgradation of transport department, setting up of passenger information systems, cashless ticketing and others will be implemented.

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Assam Current Affairs – September 15 – 21, 2019

Posted on by admin 
Current Affairs Assam – September 15 - 21, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of September 15 – 21, 2019 )

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September 15, 2019

  Union IT Minister launches maritime communication services in India
  • Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad launched maritime communication services.
  • He also launched a web portal for reporting stolen mobiles to help trace them.
  • Maritime connectivity will enable high-end support to those travelling on sailing vessels, cruise liners and ships in India by use of satellite technology and provide access to voice, data and video services.
  • Nelco India’s leading VSAT solutions provider, will now provide quality broadband services to the maritime sector.
  • Nelco, through global partnerships, infrastructure including transponder capacity on the satellite of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) and a comprehensive service portfolio, will help energy, cargo and cruise vessels by enabling customer services.
  • A project called Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) system has been undertaken by the Department of Telecom for addressing security, theft and other concerns including reprogramming of mobile handsets.
  • The major objectives of the project include blocking of lost/stolen mobile phones across mobile networks, prevention of mobile devices with duplicate and fake IMEIs and curtail the use of counterfeit mobile devices.
 BEL signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence
  • Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in New Delhi to deliver its surface-to-air Akash missile systems to seven more squadrons of the Indian Air Force at a cost of Rs 5,357 crore over the next three years.
  • The missiles are designed and developed by the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and produced by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Ltd for BEL’s radars and control centres across the country.
  • The company supplied the medium-range missile defence system to six Air Force squadrons in 2015-16 against an earlier order by the MoD.
  • An Akash system comprises a 3D passive electronically scanned array radar and four launchers with three missiles each, interlinked.

FACTFILE – Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)

  • BEL is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company with about nine factories, and several regional offices in India. It is owned by the Indian Government and primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces.
  • BEL is one of nine PSUs under the Ministry of Defence of India.
  • It has been granted Navratna status by the Government of India.
 India signs contract with Russia for enhancing Air Defence capability
  • The Defence Ministry signed contract with Russia for enhancing air defence capability of Delhi class warships of Indian Navy.
  • The contract for modernisation of “Air Defence Complex Kashmir and Radar Fregat MAE” on P-15 (Delhi Class) of ships was signed between the Ministry of Defence and JSC Rosoboronexport, Russian Federation.
  • The modernisation of Radar and Missile systems would enhance the air defence capability of the P-15 Ships.
  • As per the agreement reached between New Delhi and Moscow, modernisation, major overhaul and refurbishment of sub systems would be undertaken in India.
  • The manufacturing of critical hardware would also be undertaken in partnership with the Indian industry.
  • There are 3 Delhi class destroyers in Indian Navy – INS Delhi, INS Mysore, INS Mumbai.
  • The Delhi-class destroyers are guided-missile destroyers and three ships of this class are in active service.

September 16, 2019

 IAF receives Spice-2000 ‘building blaster’ buster bombs
  • The Indian Air Force (IAF) has started receiving the ‘building blaster’ version of the Balakot airstrike-fame Spice-2000 bombs at the Gwalior airbase.
  • The Israeli firm has started the delivery of the Spice-2000 bombs to India and the first batch of these bombs was received.
  • The weapons have been delivered to Gwalior as it is the home base of the Indian Air Force’s Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft fleet and they are the only fleet which can fire the Israeli bombs.
  • The Indian Air Force has signed an over Rs 250 crore contract with Israel for Mark 84 warhead and bombs, which can destroy buildings completely.
  • The IAF had signed a contract with Israel in June this year for acquiring more than 100 Spice-2000 bombs under the emergency procurement powers of the services.
  • The contract was signed as the Indian Air Force wanted to acquire the bombs after their successful usage in the Balakot airstrikes against a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorist camp in Pakistan.
 India, Malaysia undertake joint naval exercise
  • India and Malaysia are conducting a joint naval military exercise to test inter-operability of their navies in South East Asia and Western Pacific regions.
  • Two warships, INS Sahyadri and INS Kiltan, have been despatched by the Indian Navy to Malaysia for the bilateral exercise.
  • The sea phase of the exercise, which is named ‘SamudraLaksamana’, is at present underway off the Malaysian port of Kota Kinabalu.
  • In the harbour phase of the exercise there were professional interactions between naval crew of the two countries.
  • INS Sahyadri and INS Kiltan are under command of Rear Admiral Suraj Berry, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, based at Visakhapatnam.
  • The warships are equipped with a versatile array of weapons and sensors and have the capability to carry multi-role helicopters.
 IFC signs MOU with FIDC for training NBFCs
  • The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC), a representative body of asset and loan Financing NBFCs, to collaborate on training of NBFCs in the country.
  • As per the agreed terms, training programs for NBFCs would be conducted on “Commercial Credit Reporting” aimed at building capacity of NBFCs to enhanced reporting and enquiring on Commercial Credit Information Data from the Credit Bureaus.
  • These training programs would be conducted at various centers across the country under the guidance of leading consultants from the World Bank Group.

FACTFILE – International Finance Corporation (IFC)

  • The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries.
  • The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States.
  • It was established in 1956, as the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, to advance economic development by investing in for-profit and commercial projects for poverty reduction and promoting development.

 

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September 17, 2019

 Rs 52,000 crore investments post ‘Advantage Assam’
  • Assam has been able to draw investments to the tune of Rs 52,000 crore so far as part of the various MoUs signed with investors during the ‘Advantage Assam’ Global Investors Summit held last year, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
  • Addressing a press conference, Sonowal said the Centre’s recent decision to cut corporate tax will turn out to be a game changer resulting in major boost in investments, creation of industries and employment opportunities in the country, including the northeastern region.
  • The Chief Minister said 240 MoUs, worth over Rs 80,000 crore, were signed during the Advantage Assam summit. He said Rs 42,000 crore worth investments in the oil and gas sector and another Rs 10,000 crore worth of investments in the ‘private sector’ have been grounded so far.
  • Sonowal said that 117 new manufacturing units have come up in the State as per agreements entered into during the summit.
  • Sonowal said Assam and the Northeast, being located in close proximity to the ASEAN countries, will also benefit from the Central government’s decision to slash corporate tax rates. He said the northeastern region has gained a lot on the economic front since the Narendra Modi-led NDA regime took office.
  • He said that direct flights between Guwahati and Dhaka, and Guwahati and Singapore have already started and in coming days more destinations in Southeast Asia will be covered.
 R&D centre for clean coal unveiled in IISc Bengalore
  • Union Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan opened the national centre for clean coal research and development at the Indian Institute of Science’s (IISc) campus.
  • The minister also dedicated to the nation the inter-disciplinary centre for energy research in the sprawling campus to conduct wide spectrum of research in the field by a knowledge network of eminent researchers.
  • Assuring academia of the government’s help in providing knowhow and finances for the research centres, the minister said results in research, development and demonstration of tools products and processes are critical for the country’s energy security.
  • The clean coal research centre will extend its activities in energy-related areas with an emphasis on process and material development in collaboration with the manufacturing industry.
  • To achieve international targets on climate change by minimising anthropogenic emissions and address the country’s energy demand, development of clean coal technologies to reduce carbon emissions from coal-based power plants has become a necessity.
 DRDO hands over new war-gaming software to Indian Navy
  • A war-gaming software, developed by a laboratory of the Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO), was handed over to the Indian Navy.
  • The software has versatile and user-friendly features enabling globally playable war-gaming scenarios between multiple forces.
  • It further enables exercises to be conducted between geographically dispersed locations over a wide area network.
  • The software has been developed by the Institute for Systems Studies and Analysis of the DRDO in collaboration with the Maritime Warfare Centre at Vishakhapatnam.
  • The objective of designing the software is to meet contemporary operational and tactical-level war-gaming requirements of the Indian Navy.
  • DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy handed over the software to Navy Vice Chief, Vice Admiral G. Ashok Kumar.
  • The key focus of building the software is to create a war-gaming environment which enables Maritime Warfare Centres to train using the latest technological and computing tools.
  • The architecture is forward compatible and new functional and equipment modules can be developed and easily plugged into it.
 Kerala, Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) inks MoU with Maldives for cancer care
  • Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the state and the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) with Maldives for better cancer care treatment.
  • The RCC, located in the state capital, is the premier cancer care facility in Kerela and already numerous Maldivian nationals have arrived for cancer treatment.
  • Through this new MoU, there will be close coordination between the RCC and the Maldivian health department, which will see new cancer care treatment centres being set up there.
  • Under the agreement, health professionals from the Maldives will be provided training at the RCC, besides top health professionals from centre will also visit the atoll nation regularly.

 Himachal Pradesh government to buy back single-use plastic

  • The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet gave its approval to the draft policy to buy-back non-recyclable plastic wastes and single-use plastics at a minimum support price of Rs 75 per kg.
  • The plastic wastes will be purchased from the ragpickers, individuals collecting waste from households and urban local bodies.
  • The Cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, also approved the draft of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Policy 2019, aimed at holistic development of tourism with special focus on ecotourism, agro-organic, snow and adventure.
  • It approved a capital investment subsidy for tourism projects in underdeveloped areas and grant to tourism units for access to roads and water supply.

September 18, 2019

 India successfully test-fires Astra BVR Air-to-Air missile
  • Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter successfully test-fired the indigenous Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Astra missile with a range of over 70 kilometers off Odisha coast.
  • The Astra missile, which can fly towards its target at a speed of over 5,555 kilometres per housr (4.5 Mach) with a 15 kilogramme high-explosive pre-fragmented warhead.
  • The Missile was test-fired under the guidance of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Su-30MKI combat aircraft that took off from an airbase in West Bengal.
  • The mission profile was executed in a text book manner. Various Radars, Electro-Optical Tracking System (EOTS) and Sensors tracked the missile and confirmed its engagement with target.
  • The indigenously-developed Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) Astra missile has been developed by DRDO and integrated on Su-30MKI and other air platforms.

FACTFILE – Astra missile

  • Astra is an all weather beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
  • It is the first air-to-air missile developed by India.
  • It features mid-course inertial guidance with terminal active radar homing.
  • Astra is designed to be capable of engaging targets at varying range and altitudes allowing for engagement of both short-range targets at a distance of 20 km and long-range targets up to a distance of 80–110 km.
  • Astra has been integrated with Indian Air Force’s Sukhoi Su-30MKI and will be integrated with Dassault Mirage 2000, HAL Tejas and Mikoyan MiG-29 in the future.
 Wipro engineering arm entered into a strategic partnership with BEML
  • Wipro’s Infrastructure Engineering arm entered into a strategic partnership with the state-run Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) to jointly bid for defence projects in areas, like aerospace, industrial automation, 3D printing, artificial intelligence and hydraulic system.
  • The first of its kind partnership between a state-run enterprise and a leading private firm will help them to contribute towards indigenisation and ”make in India” initiatives in the manufacturing sector.
  • The tie-up will enable the partners to work on projects, products, systems, services in defence, state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Labs, defence public sector undertaking and other state-run entities.
  • The focus area will be aerospace components and parts through the special economic zone (SEZ), metal additive manufacturing and design optimisation for critical aggregates, legacy components and spares and process automation.
 Microsoft to mentor Startups in Tier-2 cities in India
  • Microsoft launched a new initiative called “Highway to a Hundred Unicorns” to mentor and support startups in tier 2 cities in India.
  • Microsoft said it will engage with innovators and entrepreneurs through a series of outreach programs across tier 2 cities and work closely with state governments to strengthen the startup ecosystem.
  • Startups will receive guidance and mentorship through technology workshops on subjects like Azure, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.
  • The Microsoft “ScaleUp” programme supports Seed or Series A funded B2B and select B2C tech-enabled startups to co-sell with Microsoft sales teams, get access to top tech VCs globally and receive mentorship from the startup ecosystem.

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September 19, 2019

 Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Amitabh Bachchan
  • Distinguished actor Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
  • The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest honour given in the field of cinematic art.

FACTFILE – The Dadasaheb Phalke Award

  • The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest award in cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
  • The recipient is honoured for their “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema” and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry.
  • The award comprises a Swarna Kamal medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹1,000,000.
  • Presented first in 1969, the award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke’s contribution to Indian cinema.
  • Phalke (1870–1944), who is popularly known as and often regarded as “the father of Indian cinema”, was an Indian filmmaker who directed India’s first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra.
  • The first recipient of the award was actress Devika Rani, who was honoured at the 17th National Film Awards. As of 2018, there have been 50 awardees. Among those, actor Prithviraj Kapoor (1971) and actor Vinod Khanna (2017) are the only posthumous recipients.
 Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry & IBM join hands for Train-the-Trainer programme
  • To train the trainers in AI, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and IBM have joined hands with the aim to train 10,000 faculty members from ITIs across India.
  • The Directorate General of Training (DGT) division of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has signed an agreement with Global IT major IBM where the latter will carry out a nationwide Train-the-Trainer programme in basic Artificial Intelligence skills.
  • The programme will involve 14 trainers across seven locations with over 200 workshops during a one-year period. ITI trainers will be trained in basic Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills to use the technology in their day-to-day training activities.
  • This programme aims at enabling the trainers with basic approach, workflow and application of Artificial Intelligence that they can apply in their training modules.
  • IBM will provide the necessary training at seven centres including six National Skills Training Institutes (NSTI) and one Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Pune.
  • On completion of the programme, participants will go through a post assessment, to further gauge their skill set and the level they have achieved. Individuals that complete the course will be awarded certification of participation and will be badged by IBM.
 ISRO, DRDO ink MoUs to provide technologies for Human Space Mission
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) joined hands with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for development of human-centric systems for the Human Space Mission to demonstrate its human space flight capabilities.
  • A delegation of ISRO scientists, led by Human Space Flight Centre’s Director, S Unnikrishnan Nair, signed a set of MoUs with various DRDO labs in this regard
  • The purpose behind the development is to provide technologies for human-centric systems and technologies specific to the Human Space Mission.
  • The technological capabilities existing in DRDO laboratories for defence applications will be customised to meet the requirements of the human space mission of ISRO.
  • Some of the critical technologies to be provided by DRDO to ISRO include space food, space crew health monitoring and emergency survival kit, radiation measurement and protection, parachutes for the safe recovery of the crew module and others.
 IIT Kharagpur researchers generate power from wet Textiles
  • Researchers from IIT Kharagpur have developed a unique approach of generating electricity from clothes drying in natural ambience, which is otherwise a part and parcel of daily life.
  • The researchers have utilised tiny channels, so-called nanochannels, in the cellulose-based fabric network traditionally woven, to generate electrical power through guided movement of saline water amidst continuous evaporation.
  • The process is very much analogous to water transport across the parts of a living plant.
  • The regular cellulose-based wearable textile, in this case, acts as a medium for the motion of salt ions through the interlace fibrous nano-scale network by capillary action, inducing an electric potential in the process.

September 20, 2019

 Assam Govt ties up with Instagram to promote tourism in the State
  • The Assam Tourism Development Corporation has tied up with Instagram to promote tourism in the State with unveiling of the hashtag #AwesomeAssam by Instagram.
  • An exhibition was held showing photographs of Assam already posted in Instagram along with a workshop for stakeholders for making best use of Instagram’s power of visual storytelling.
  • Assam is one of the most beautiful states of India and government is investing significantly to attract tourists to the State. Assam Tourism has in the past few years launched a massive publicity and promotion campaign under the name and tag of ‘Awesome Assam’.
  • Tara Bedi, Public Policy and Community Outreach Manager, Instagram, said, “Instagram is an integral part of tourism in today’s digital age. When people travel, they post their adventures on Instagram and those stories inspire others. Instagram’s power of visual storytelling enables businesses to drive awareness with highly engaged communities and to reach the right audience. We are glad to partner with ATDC and help promote Assam as an incredible Indian travel destination.”
 India gifts Gandhi Solar Park to power UN
  • The UN headquarters will be powered with green electricity when the Gandhi Solar Park gifted by India comes online on September 24 symbolising New Delhi’s commitment to fighting climate change.
  • The installation costing about $1 million will generate 50 kilowatts of electricity from the 193 solar panels, each representing a UN member nation.
  • India is also donating a Gandhi Peace Garden made up of 150 trees, which will be located at a university campus in Old Westbury as another environmental gift.
  • The two gifts that come in the year of the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth showcase two elements in the fight against climate change.
  • The UN will release a special stamp to commemorate Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
 IIT-Madras hosts Space Technology Cells meet
  • The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) had hosted the first meeting of Space Technology Cells (STCs) established by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Space in these premier institutions.
  • The objective was to share information about the research underway in various institutions, the salient findings, and to understand the utilisation of output by ISRO.
  • The ISRO and the Central government’s Department of Space have established and operated the Space Technology Cells for over three decades in IIT’s to carry out focused research in space-related technologies.
  • IIT-M Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi highlighted the importance of collaborative research and suggested mechanisms for the faculty to spend 3-4 weeks in ISRO centres to interact with the scientists and understand ways to make joint proposals.
 India, Mongolia sign MoUs in areas including space, disaster management & culture
  • India and Mongolia have exchanged documents in areas including space, disaster management and culture.
  • Two MoUs were signed in the fields of disaster management and space cooperation in the presence of President Ram NathKovind and visiting Mongolian President BattulgaKhaltma in New Delhi.
  • Other documents which were exchanged include Cultural Exchange Protocol and a Comprehensive Work Plan between Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, India and Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry of Mongolia.
  • Reciprocating India’s gesture of exploring the e-visa scheme for Mongolian short-term travellers, Mongolia announced a visa-on-arrival scheme for short-term travellers from India.
  • On Mongolian request, India announced an additional 236 million dollars Line of Credit for the ongoing Petrochemical Refinery Project in Mongolia.

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September 21, 2019

 IIT Guwahati and Cotton university inks MoU for academic, administrative collaboration
  • The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cotton University for academic and administrative collaboration, in addition to the joint organisation of symposiums and workshops.
  • The MoU was signed between Prof TG Sitharam, Director of IIT Guwahati, and Prof BC Goswami, Vice Chancellor of Cotton University, recently. The announcement regarding the MoU was made today.
  • Besides academic and administrative collaboration and joint symposiums and workshops, the MoU will also facilitate the provision of joint guidance and academic counselling for undergraduate and postgraduate students of the University.
  • As per the MoU signed, IIT Guwahati will support Cotton University in achieving its objective of academic promotion by extending guidance to different departments and centres at Cotton University on various academic matters and identified courses of studies.
  • IIT Guwahati and Cotton University will jointly submit collaborative projects to different funding agencies for funding.
  • IIT Guwahati will also offer career counselling and opportunities for higher studies in India and abroad to students of Cotton University.
  • IIT Guwahati is the only academic institute in India that has occupied a place among the top 100 world universities of less than 50 years of age, in world ranking. It is one of the most dynamic institutions in India, with one of the most beautiful educational campuses in the country that provides an ideal setting for learning and research.
  • Cotton University is one of the oldest in the region “that was elevated to the status of a full-fledged university recently and their immediate focus is to enhance their research capabilities by interacting closely with faculty members of IIT Guwahati.”
 Union Home Ministry announces Sardar Patel Award for national integration
  • The Union Home Ministry announced the Sardar Patel National Unity Award, a new honour on the pattern of Padma awards for individuals or institutions for notable contributions towards the cause of national unity and integrity.
  • The ministry said the decoration shall be conferred by the President by a ”Sanad” (certificate) “under his hand and seal”.
  • The decoration shall be in the form of a lotus leaf — six centimetres in length, six and two centimetres at its breadth and four millimetres in thickness. It will be made of fine silver and gold.
  • On its obverse shall be embossed replica of the lotus and with petals of lotus spreading out from sixteen petals.
  • A portrait of Sardar Patel shall be embossed upon a circular shaped gold medal with diameter of two centimetres and on the reverse shall be embossed the state emblem and motto.
  • The decoration shall be awarded for notable and inspiring contributions to promote the cause of nationality and integrity and to reinforce the value of a strong and united India.
  • The names of the persons, upon whom the decoration is conferred, shall be published in the Gazette of India and a register of all such recipients shall be maintained under the direction of the President.
 Sony India partners with NSDC to provide employment
  • Sony India joined hands with National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) and Kedman Skilling Private Ltd to provide job opportunities to candidates from their future talent pool.
  • The tech major will provide product training to the candidates and impart behavioural skills which will include specialised customer handling.
  • Sony also aims to hire resources from NSDC as associates across 150+ tier I, II and III cities across the country.

FACTFILE – National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)

  • NSDC is a not-for-profit public limited company incorporated on July 31, 2008 under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. NSDC was set up by Ministry of Finance as Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
  • NSDC aims to promote skill development by catalyzing creation of large, quality and for-profit vocational institutions.
  • It provides funding to build scalable and profitable vocational training initiatives. Its mandate is also to enable support system which focuses on quality assurance, information systems and train the trainer academies either directly or through partnerships.
  • NSDC acts as a catalyst in skill development by providing funding to enterprises, companies and organizations that provide skill training. It also develops appropriate models to enhance, support and coordinate private sector initiatives.
 IAF received the first multi-role combat aircraft Rafale
  • The Indian Air Force (IAF) received the first multi-role combat aircraft Rafale from its manufacturer Dassault Aviation in France.
  • The jet will be formally handed over to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for induction into the IAF when he visits France on the occasion of Dussehra on October 8.
  • The Rafale jet was accepted by a team of IAF officials at the aircraft’s manufacturing facility in Bordeaux after completion of certain testing formalities.
  • The first jet was test-flown by IAF’s Deputy Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal V.R. Chaudhary who is also leading the team that is in France.

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Assam Current Affairs – September 08 – 14, 2019

Posted on by admin 
Current Affairs Assam – September 08 - 14, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of September 08 – 14, 2019 )

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September 08, 2019

 Assam’s first IoT solution in mini piped water scheme launched at Amingaon
  • The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) Assam and Piramal Water Pvt Ltd (PiramalSarvajal), launched a project on deployment of the first Internet of Things (IoT) solution in single village mini piped water supply scheme at Colony Pahar, Amingaon.
  • The Internet of Things, or IoT, is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.
  • The solution is a maiden pilot project not only in Assam but all over India.
  • This is derived using state-of-the art sensors for accurate measurement, micro-controller based control unit and remote monitoring dashboard.
  • The control unit converts signal from sensors to digital data and sends it to a centralised server.
  • A remotely managed dashboard helps Government and local administration in tracking the scheme’s geo-location with its functional status for monitoring various parameters graphically, such as volume of water extracted from the ground, volume of water distributed to the village, water quality and ground water level.
  • This integrated solution will help the PHED in taking necessary corrective or preventive action and thereby help in good governance.
 India’s first water-grid to come up in Maharashtra
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that The country’s first-ever ‘water-grid’ costing Rs 3,50,000 crore will come in the parched Marathwada region of Maharashtra in the next five years as part of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JMM)
  • The Marathwada region will benefit in a big way from this as it will increase water availability for the people. It will free women from the hassles of having to toil hard to fetch water.
  • To be implemented over the next five years the JJM involves saving water and delivering it to the people”s doorsteps to resolve their water problems.
  • The state government cleared a Rs 4,802 crore water-grid project for Beed district and is working on a Rs 15,000 crore water-grid project for the region, along with the ongoing Jal YuktShivarAbhiyan.
  • Modi also dedicated the nation the state-of-the-art Aurangabad Industrial City (AURIC) Shendra Project, India’s first ‘Walk-to-Work’ Smart City, which targets an investment of Rs 600-Rs 700 billion from global investors.
 India Business Summit in Singapore
  • The High Commission of India in Singapore is organising a two-day business summit in Singapore.
  • The objective of the business summit “India-Singapore: The Next Phase”, being organised at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore is aimed at setting the agenda and momentum for the next five years.
  • The summit also aimed at expanding modernisation, access and inclusion.
  • It will be a platform to project the government”s strategic outlook and economic agenda; provide opportunities for investors, companies and startups in and operating out of Singapore to interact with policy makers as well as corporate and tech leaders from India.
  • Singapore is a key economic partner for India, the leading source of foreign investment, a major financial market for Indian companies, and a partner in areas of India”s development priorities like urban development, skills and infrastructure.
  • Singapore is also emerging as a major startup and innovation hub with growing links to India.
  • The summit will focus on core sectors, including financial, infrastructure, urban development, real estate, logistics, regional trade, water, agro-tech and food processing, and skills development.
 President Kovind inaugurates the First World Youth Conference on Kindness
  • President Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the first World Youth Conference on Kindness in New Delhi.
  • The President said that Mahatma Gandhi was not just a great leader and visionary, he was one who personified certain timeless ideals and values.
  • He said we could place Gandhiji in a time machine and transport him to any period of human existence and we would find him to be relevant and his is also true of the times we live in.
  • President said Gandhiji remains extremely relevant to our present day concerns such as need for peace and tolerance, terrorism and climate change.
  • The first World Youth Conference on Kindness is being organised by the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Human Resource Development with the aim to impart critical competencies (i.e. empathy, compassion, mindfulness and critical inquiry) in global youth to inspire, empower and enable them to transform themselves and build long-lasting peace in their communities.
  • Youth leaders, representing over 27 countries, are participating in this Conference.

September 09, 2019

 ISRO spots Chandrayaan 2 Lander on Lunar Surface
  • The Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram module has been located on the lunar surface and it must have been a hard-landing, ISRO Chairman K Sivan said, in an admission that the planned soft-landing wasn’t successful.
  • The image of the lander rover ‘Pragyan’ is housed inside it was captured by on-board camera of Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which is healthy, safe and functioning normally in the intended orbit around the Moon.
  PM Modi launches first greenfield smart industrial city ‘AURIC’
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the country’s first greenfield industrial smart city, Auric City, at Shendra in Aurangabad, which is projected to attract around Rs 70,000 crore in investments on completion.
  • The mega project in the parched region of Marathawada region of Maharashtra is part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and is expected to boost the overall development of this region.
  • Auric City is India’s first ‘walk-to-work’ smart industrial city which will encourage housing options, workplaces, and shopping centres, to be developed in the vicinity of each other.
  • Inaugurating the administrative headquarters of the smart city – Auric Hall -from where the entire industrial city and its facilities will be operated.
  • Auric City is expected to attract Rs 60,000-70,000 crore investments from global players, which will generate lakhs of jobs.
  • The city is expected to earn $11.6 billion in exports on an output of over USD 46 billion. Maharashtra has already approved a Rs 7,947- crore infrastructure package to help Auric offer high-value, sustainable infrastructure.
 ADB to provide $200 million to upgrade rural roads of Maharashtra
  • The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $ 200 million (about Rs 1,400 crore) to upgrade rural roads to all-weather standards in 34 districts of Maharashtra with an aim to improve road safety and better connectivity with markets.
  • An agreement in this regard was signed between the government and the ADB.
  • The project will improve the condition of about 2,100 kilometer of rural roads to all-weather standards, with climate resilience and safety features, connecting rural communities with productive agricultural areas and socio-economic centers.
  • Provision of contractual maintenance for five years following construction has also been provided under the project.
 Tamilisai Soundararajan sworn-in as Governor of Telangana
  • Tamilisai Soundararajan sworn-in as the second Governor of Telangana. Chief Justice of Telangana High Court Raghavendra Singh Chouhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Tamilisai during a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad.
  • With this, she has become the first lady Governor appointed from Tamil Nadu.
  • A physician-turned-politician, Soundararajan entered politics in the year 1999.
  • She started her political career as South Chennai District Medical Wing Secretary in the same year and held various positions in the BJP.

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September 10, 2019

 India Post Payments Bank unveils Aadhaar-linked service
  • India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has announced launch of the Aadhaar-enabled payment services (AePS) for unbanked and under-banked people.
  • Said it has made 1 crore customers within one year of operations.
  • Around 34 crore bank accounts have been opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana. Of this, 22 crore belong to the rural people.
  • With the IPPB”s AePS, now they have the ability to provide inter-operable doorstep banking services to account holders of ”any bank”.

FACTFILE – India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)

  • India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is a 100% government owned payments bank operating under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, which aims to utilize all of India’s 155,015 post offices as access points and 3 lakh postal postmen and Grameen Dak Sewaks to provide house to house banking services.
  • MD & CEO – Suresh Sethi
 India to host first SCO conference on military medicine
  • India will host the first conference on military medicine for member nations of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) in New Delhi.
  • It will be the first military co-operation event to be organised in India under the SCO after it joined the organisation in 2017.
  • The two-day conference on military medicine will be held on September 12 and 13 in accordance with the SCO Defence Co-operation Plan 2019-20.
  • The meeting will be conducted by the Indian armed forces under the aegis of the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff.
  • The primary objectives of the conference are to share best practices in the field of military medicine, build capacities and overcome common challenges.
  • The delegations will also discuss issues including rendering of combat medical support, humanitarian assistance during disasters and measures to improve patient safety.
  • India”sneighbours Nepal and Sri Lanka will also participate in the conference as dialogue partners. The two nations will be sending their delegations of experts to the conference.

FACTFILE – The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

  • The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasianpolitical, economic, and security alliance, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter, formally establishing the organisation, was signed in June 2002 and entered into force on 19 September 2003.
  • The original five nations, with the exclusion of Uzbekistan, were previously members of the Shanghai Five group, founded on 26 April 1996.
  • Since then, the organization has expanded its membership to eight countries when India and Pakistan joined SCO as full members on 9 June 2017 at a summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
 UP Govt offers 3,000-acre land bank for defence firms
  • Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath offered a land bank of 3,000 acres for defence industries to set up manufacturing units in Uttar Pradesh, during a review meeting for the Defence Expo preparations.
  • Defence minister Rajnath Singh chaired the review meeting that was held in New Delhi with apex committee members for DefExpo 2020.
  • An MoU was signed between the Defence Ministry and the state government, outlining roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders responsible for organising the event next year.
  • The review meeting was attended by the three service chiefs. Senior Defence Ministry officials, including Secretary (Defence) Dr Ajay Kumar, also attended the meeting along with senior officials including those from Defence Research Development Organisation and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

September 11, 2019

 Assam’s Sanjib Pol Deka among the 23 young Indian writers conferred the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar
  • The Sahitya Akademi conferred the Yuva Puraskar on 23 youths for their outstanding literary works in one of the 24 major Indian languages.
  • The Yuva Puraskar containing an engraved copper plaque and a cheque of Rs 50,000 was given away to each of the recipients during a small but glittering function at LalchandKanoi Memorial Auditorium of DHSK College.
  • The awards were presented to the recipients by Chandrashekar Kambar, president of Sahitya Akademi.
  • As prelude all the awardees were garlanded and felicitated with Assamese traditional gamosas by Madhav Kaushik, vice president, Sahitya Akademi. Eminent English writer and author Professor Emeritus Amaresh Datta attended the function as the chief guest.
  • Sanjib Pol Deka is awarder the honour for his work ‘Ei Pine Ki Ase?’ in Assamese language and Moumita is conferred the award for ‘Kuntal Fire Ase’ in Bengali language.

FACTFILE – Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar

  • Yuva Puraskar is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters, annually confers on young writers of outstanding works in one of the twenty-four major Indian languages.
  • Instituted in 2011, the Yuva Puraskar recognises young writers under the age of 35 years, with the aim to encourage and promote young writers.
  • The award comprises a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and an engraved copper plaque.
 India, Sri Lanka begin joint naval military drill
  • India and Sri Lanka began joint naval military exercises in the Bay of Bengal off the Vizag port in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Four naval ships from both countries which are participating in the exercise began co-ordinated maritime operations in the ‘sea phase’ of the exercise.
  • Prior to the sea phase, the Navies had engaged in professional interactions, training activities, cultural events and sporting exchanges, in a ‘harbour phase’, for three days at the Vizag port.
  • The six-day joint exercise SLINEX 2019 had formally commenced on September 7 at the Vizag port.
  • The four ships and their crew will participate in drills including aircraft tracking, cross-deck flying, gun firing, visit board search and seizure procedures, underway replenishment and navigational manoeuvres in the sea.
  • Sri Lanka has sent SLNS Sindhurala, an advanced offshore patrol vessel which had been constructed by India’s state-run defence firm Goa Shipyards, and SLNS Suranimala.
  • The Indian Navy is being represented by the missile corvette INS Khukri and the Naval offshore patrol vessel INS Sumedha.
  • India has also deputed integral helicopters in addition to shore-based maritime patrol aircraft in the event.

FACTFILE – SLINEX (Sri Lanka India Naval Exercise)

  • The SLINEX Exercise enhance co-operation and to further strengthen mutual trust and interoperability between two navies.
  • The bilateral maritime exercise enables Indian Navy and Sri Lankan navies to rehearse and improve own capabilities and enhance operational effectiveness required to maintain maritime security in Indian Ocean region (IOR).
  • First edition of the SLINEX exercise took place in 2005.
 PM Modi inaugurates Indo-Nepal petro pipeline
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Motihari-Amlekhganj (Nepal) petroleum pipe line through video conferencing. It is the first ever cross border petroleum pipeline in South Asia.
  • PM Modi reiterated that it will help to enhance security of the region and “substantially cut down on transit costs”.
  • He also reaffirmed India’s commitment to help Nepal for developmental works according to its own priorities.

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September 12, 2019

  PM Modi launches National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP)
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ambitious National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) in Uttar Pradesh”s Mathura, among a slew of government schemes for farmers.
  • With 100 per cent funding from the Centre of Rs 12,652 crore for a period of five years till 2024, NADCP aims at vaccinating over 500 Million livestock including cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and pigs against foot and mouth disease.
  • The programme also aims at vaccinating 36 million female bovine calves annually in its fight against Brucellosis disease.
  • The programme has two components – to control the diseases by 2025 and eradication by 2030.
  • This is part of the government’s effort to double farmers” income.
  • The Prime Minister also launched nationwide workshops in KrishiVigyanKendras in all 687 districts of the country with artificial insemination of livestock as one of the goals.

 FACTFILE – National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP)

  • The project will be fully funded by the Central Government.
  • The livestock that will be covered under the programme includes cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and pigs against the FMD.

NADCP program’s main aims are

  • To vaccinate over 600 million cattle in the country in an effort to mitigate the two diseases namely, the Foot & Mouth Disease, & brucellosis.
  • To vaccinate 36 million female bovine calves annually in its fight against the brucellosis disease.
  • To control the livestock diseases by 2025, and eradicate them by 2030.
 DRDO successfully test-fires indigenous Anti-Tank Missile for Army
  • In a major boost to the indigenous missile development programme, India successfully test-fired the Man Portable Anti Tank Guided Missile (MP-ATGM) from a firing range in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool.
  • This was the third successful test-firing of the 100 percent indigenous ATGM, which is being developed for the infantry battalions of the Indian Army, who would use them for taking out the enemy tank and other armoured vehicles during war times.
  • Currently, the Indian Army uses the imported Milan 2T and Konkurs Russian anti-tank missile in the infantry but they are vintage missiles and the force is looking for a third-generation ATGM.

FACTFILE – The MPATGM (Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile)

  • MPATGM is an Indian third-generation fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile.
  • It is currently under development by the DRDO in partnership with Indian defence contractor VEM Technologies Private Limited. The missile is derived from India’s Nag ATGM.
  • The MPATGM will be manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited at a facility located in Bhanoor, Telengana.
 DRDO hands over second ‘Netra’ to IAF
  • The Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) handed over the second airborne warning plane, Netra, to the Indian Air Force.
  • The indigenously-built aircraft was handed over to Western Air Command chief, Air Marshal RaghunathNambiar, at the Bathinda Air Base in Punjab.
  • The Netra, an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEWC) aircraft, had played a stellar role during the Balakot air strikes that had been carried out by the IAF in February this year.
  • It provided surveillance and radar coverage to the five Mirage jets that bombed terror launch pads in Balakot in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.
  • Designed and developed by scientists of the DRDO, with assistance from the Bengaluru-based Centre for Airborne Systems, the Netra is fitted with indigenously developed electronics and hardware.
  • It is useful for surveillance, tracking, identification and classification of airborne and sea surface targets and is useful in detecting incoming ballistic missile threats.
 2 Indians in UAE develop app to help visually impaired
  • Two UAE-based Indian nationals developed a smartphone app that can help visually impaired people.
  • The app developed by Nandujit Prathap and Visakh G.S is called Ioptyc.
  • It uses distance sensors and visual recognition technology to assist people with visual impairments.
  • The project which has two parts, the smartphone app and a special glove, was one of the winning projects in the Ma’an Social Incubator programme of Abu Dhabi, that aims to support people of determination.
  • Ioptyc utilises the power of Google Tensorflow Lite for visual recognition of objects in front of the user, who may be visually impaired.
  • Once the object in front of the person is detected, the app sends an alert and announces the name of the object over the user’s headphone, with the help of Google natural languages package.
  • The glove’s sensors are capable of detecting objects as far as two metres away, and the intensity of vibrations varies depending on how far the object is from the user.

September 13, 2019

 Mary Kom becomes the first female athlete to be recommended for Padma Vibhushan
  • Six-time World Champion and 2012 Olympic medalist MC Mary Kom has been recommended by the sports ministry for country’s second-highest civilian award – the Padma Vibushan.
  • The 36-year-old pugilist becomes the first woman athlete to have been recommended for the award. She has been already honoured with Padma Bhushan and Padma Shree in 2013 and 2006 respectively.
  • Only three sportspersons – Vishwanathan Anand (2007), Sachin Tendulkar (2008) and Sir Edmund Hillary (2008) have received the Padma Vibhushan, so far.
  • Badminton world champion PV Sindhu has been nominated for Padma Bhushan, which is the country’s third highest civilian award. Sindhu recently clinched the World badminton championships title, beating Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7, becoming the only Indian to win the title. Vinesh Phogat (boxing), Harmanpreet Kaur (cricket), Rani Rampal (hockey), Suma Shirur (shooting), Manika Batra (table tennis), Tashi and Nungshi Malik (mountaineering) have been recommended for Padma Shri awards.
  • Archer Tarundeep Rai and hockey Olympian MP Ganesh were recommended for the Padma Shri alongside seven women sportspersons by the Sports Ministry.
  • The final list of the awardees will be released on 25 January 2020 by the Padma awards committee.
 PM launches ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana’ pension scheme for farmers & small traders
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana from Jharkhand. The Prime Minister also launched the National Pension Scheme for traders and self-employed people.
  • He inaugurated the new building of the state Assembly and also inaugurated the Multi-Modal Transport Terminal at Sahibganj and referred to plans to construct 462 Eklavya model residential schools in tribal areas.
  • He also laid the foundation stone of the new building of the state secretariat.
  • The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana shall secure the lives of 5 crore small and marginal farmers by providing a minimum pension of Rs 3000 per month to those who attain 60 years of age.
  • The National Pension Scheme for the traders and the self-employed aims at providing a minimum assured pension of Rs 3000 to small traders and self – employed after attaining age of 60 years.
 India joins global antimicrobial resistance research hub
  • India has joined the Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research and Development (R & D) hub as a new member.
  • Department of Biotechnology said that this would expand the global partnership working to address challenges and improve coordination and collaboration in global AMR research and development to 16 countries, the European Commission, two philanthropic foundations and four international organisations as observers.
  • AMR is the ability of a microbe to resist the effects of medication that once could successfully treat the microbe.
  • India will be a member of the board of members of the hub from this year.
  • By partnering with the hub, India looks forward to working with all partners to leverage their existing capabilities, resources and collectively focus on new research to address drug-resistant infections.
  • The hub supports global priority setting and evidence-based decision-making on the allocation of resources for AMR research and development through identification of gaps, overlaps and potential for cross-sectoral collaboration and leveraging.

FACTFILE – Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research and Development (R & D) hub

  • a collaboration of 16 countries, the European Commission, two philanthropic foundations and four international organizations (as observers).
  • It was launched in 2018 during the 71st session of the World Health Assembly, following a call from G20 Leaders in 2017.
  • It is supported through a Secretariat, established in Berlin, Germany.
  • It aims to further improve the coordination of international efforts and initiatives to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance while further increasing investments into R&D for AMR.
  • It’s works will be aligned to the priorities set by
    • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
    • World Health Organization (WHO)
    • World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
 UAE confers honour on outgoing Indian Ambassador Navdeep Singh Suri
  • Navdeep Singh Suri, the outgoing Indian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was conferred with the First Class Order of Zayed II honour in recognition of his efforts and contribution to the development and strengthening of bilateral ties between the two countries.
  • UAE President Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan presented the highest civilian honour in the country to Suri. Sheikh Abdullah lauded the envoy’s role in bolstering the UAE-Indian ties.
  • Navdeep Singh Suri has been heading the Indian mission in the UAE since October 2016.

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September 14, 2019

 ONGC to invest Rs 13,000 crore in Assam in next five years
  • State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will invest over Rs 13,000 crore in Assam over the next five years.
  • The oil and gas company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Assam government for boosting its exploration and production activities in the state.
  • The company will make investment for drilling more than 220 oil and gas wells across the state.
  • ONGC is giving impetus to its activities in alignment with the reducing import by 10 per cent by 2022 and Northeast Hydrocarbon Vision 2030.
  • ONGC, in a new vision document for 2040, has set a target to double oil and gas output from its domestic and overseas fields and expand its refining capacity threefold apart from diversification into renewables. India’s top oil and gas producer plans to invest $15-16 billion to achieve this target.
  • The ONGC Board recently approved the business roadmap for the company and its other group entities. Titled ‘ONGC Energy Strategy 2040’, the blueprint envisioned ONGC as “a diversified energy company with a strong contribution from non E&P business; 3x revenues and about 5-6x market capitalisation”.
  • The firm produced 24.23 million tonnes of crude oil in the 2018-19 fiscal year and 25.81 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas from its domestic fields. Another 10.1 million tonnes of oil and 4.736 bcm of gas were produced from its overseas assets.
 India, Thailand joint military exercise – MAITREE
  • MAITREE, the joint military exercise between India and Thailand, will be conducted at Foreign Training Node, Umroi, in Meghalaya.
  • Indian and Royal Thailand Army (RTA) contingents comprising 50 soldiers each will participate in the exercise with an aim to share experience gained during various counter-terrorism operations.
  • Joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence cooperation between Indian Army (IA) and Royal Thailand Army (RTA) which will further foster defence cooperation and bilateral relations between the two nations.
  • The scope of this exercise covers company-level joint training on counter-terrorism operations in jungle and urban scenario.

FACTFILE – MAITREE Exercise

  • MAITREE is an annual training event which is being conducted alternatively in Thailand and India since 2006.
  • Exercise MAITREE with Thailand is significant in terms of the security challenges faced by both the nations in the backdrop of changing facets of global terrorism.
  • It will improve the level of defence co-operation between the Indian Army (IA) and Royal Thailand Army (RTA) which in turn will further foster defence cooperation and bilateral relations between the two nations.
 BHEL commissions 1,320 MW Thermal Plant in Odisha
  • State-run engineering firm BHEL announced commissioning of 1,320 MW IB thermal power station in Jharsuguda district of Odisha.
  • The power project is owned by Odisha Power Generation Corporation Limited (OPGC), a joint venture company of the Odisha Government and US-based energy company AES.
  • A substantial portion of power generated from the project will be supplied to the Grid Corporation of Odisha (GRIDCO).

FACTFILE – Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)

  • BHEL is owned and founded by the Government of India, is an engineering and manufacturing company based in New Delhi, India.
  • Established in 1964, BHEL is India’s largest power generation equipment manufacturer.
 CISF’s Delhi airport unit wins best aviation security award
  • The CISF’s Delhi airport unit has won the top award in an inter-unit competition of the Aviation Security Group (ASG) organised between the months of April and July.
  • For the competition, the CISF had divided 61 Indian airports into two categories.
  • The first category included seven joint venture airports – Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Nagpur and Chandigarh, while the second category had 52 airports run by the Airports Authority of Indias and Shirdi Airport.
  • Among the airports run as joint ventures, Delhi airport”s CISF unit won the first prize, and Hyderabad airport unit was named runner-up. In the second category, the Kolkata airport unit won the first prize.

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Assam Current Affairs – September 01 – 07, 2019

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Current Affairs Assam – September 1 - 7, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of September 1 – 7, 2019 )

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September 01, 2019

  Final NRC published, 19 lakh excluded
  • The final National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published on Saturday excluding names of 19,06,657 persons who had applied for inclusion of names in the citizenship document.
  • Any person not satisfied with the outcome of the verdicts on claims and objections would be able to approach the foreigners tribunals.
  • The process of NRC update in Assam differs from the rest of the country and is governed by Rule 4A and the corresponding Schedule of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. These rules have been framed as per the cut-off date of March 24 (midnight), 1971 decided as per the Assam Accord.
  • A total of 3,30,27,661 members applied through 68,37,660 applications. The particulars submitted by the applicants were taken up for scrutiny to determine.
  • The NRC update is a mammoth exercise involving around 52,000 State government officials working for a prolonged period. The entire process of NRC update has been meticulously carried out in an objective and transparent manner, the release said, adding, adequate opportunity of being heard has been given to all persons at every stage of the process.
 Ministry of Electronics and IT partners with Google to roll out “Build for Digital India”
  • The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) entered into a partnership with Google with the aim of rolling out “Build for Digital India”
  • A programme that will give engineering students a platform to develop market-ready, technology-based solutions that address key social problems.
  • The programme will invite ideas from students to focus on areas of healthcare, agriculture, education, smart cities and infrastructure, women safety, smart mobility and transportation, environment, accessibility and disability and digital literacy.
  • As part of the programme, engineering students across the country will be invited to apply and join in a learning journey that will help them transform their bright ideas into real-world solutions.
  • Applicants will take part in online and offline learning opportunities on key technologies such as Machine Learning, Cloud and Android.
  • These will be offered through Google’s Developer Student Club network and other Google Developer networks.
  • Google will also offer mentorship sessions in product design, strategy and technology to the most promising products and prototypes.
IIT Kharagpur and Amazon Web Services (AWS) join hands to develop AI portal
  • To promote learning and development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur announced a collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop a National Artificial Intelligence Resource Portal (NAIRP) platform.
  • NAIRP was launched with initial funding from the Ministry of Human Resources Development, as part of the National Digital Library of India (NDLI) platform.
  • It builds upon and expands NDLI to AI by indexing a wide variety of AI-specific resources such as learning materials, courses, workbooks, datasets, codes, tools and platforms.The upcoming portal will provide search, browse, learning and computation services.
  • Hands-on AI training will be facilitated to all AI learners, practitioners, and researchers in India through workbooks and the cloud.
  • The system will start off using AWS Cloud, and will also be connected in the future with the in-house cloud developed at IIT Kharagpur.

FACTFILE – Amazon Web Services (AWS)

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and API, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis.
  • These cloud computing web services provide a set of primitive abstract technical infrastructure and distributed computing building blocks and tools.
  • AWS’s version of virtual computers emulate most of the attributes of a real computer including, hardware central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) for processing, local/RAM memory, hard-disk/SSD storage; a choice of operating systems; networking; and pre-loaded application software such as web servers, databases, customer relationship management (CRM), etc.
  • The AWS technology is implemented at server farms throughout the world, and maintained by the Amazon subsidiary.
  • AWS operates from many global geographical regions including 6 in North America.
  • AWS comprised various services spanning a wide range including computing, storage, networking, database, analytics, application services, deployment, management, mobile, developer tools, and tools for the Internet of Things. The most popular include Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3).
  • As of 2017, AWS owns a dominant 34% of all cloud (IaaS, PaaS) while the next three competitors Microsoft, Google, and IBM have 11%, 8%, 6%.

September 02, 2019

 Sivasagar becomes first district in Assam to launch e-office
  • The Upper Assam Divisional Commissioner Julie Sonowal launched e-office (e-file management system) at the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Sivasagar. With this initiative, Sivasagar has attained the status of being the first district in the State to launch ‘e-office’.
  • With the office of the Deputy Commissioner trasitioning towards a complete electronic file management system, four more offices of the district, namely, office of the Superintendent of Police, office of the District Transport Officer, Agriculture office and Zila Parishad will also come under the e-office system.
  • Attending the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner Dr S Lakshmanan elaborated upon the advantages of e-office. With the benefit of having zero maintenance cost, the system will not only provide full confidentiality of the office files, but will also save us from the worries of space management.
  • The success of the system will depend largely on the quality, dedication and involvement of the manpower working with the system.
  • The Deputy Commissioner highlighted the importance of e-office and the facilities available in the system for better service delivery to the citizens.
  • The e-office is a Mission Mode Project developed and designed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) which was first implemented by the Government of Assam at the Assam Secretariat in 2017.
  • Later, it was extended to the Directorate, Commissionerate, attached offices and districts levels. The Secretariat Administration Department (SAD) is the Nodal Department of the project in Government of Assam.
5 new governors appointed is various states
  • President of India, Ram Nath Kovind announced new governors for five states in the country.
  • Kalraj Mishra has been transferred from Himachal Pradesh to Rajasthan, where he replaces Kalyan Singh as the new Governor.
  • BandaruDattatreya replaces Mishra in Himachal Pradesh.
  • Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been appointed the new Governor of Maharashtra shunting out Vidyasagar Rao.
  • In Kerala, Arif Mohammed Khan replaces P. Sathasivam as the new Governor.
  • DrTamilisaiSoundararajan has been made the new governor of Telangana replacing E.S.L. Narasimhan.
Himachal Pradesh signs pacts to tap 250 MW solar power
  • Himachal Pradesh signed two pacts for setting up solar power plants with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore.
  • One pact for Rs 600 crore was signed with Renew Energy Private Ltd for setting up a 150 MW solar plant, which is proposed to commission by 2021.
  • While the second was signed with CSE Development (India) Private Ltd for setting up a 100 MW plant.
  • On behalf of the state government, the pacts were signed here by Principal Secretary PrabodhSaxena where Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur was also present.
  • The solar plants would be set up in Una and Kangra districts.
Pune-based agritech startup Agrostar is helping boost crop yields for farmers
  • Nearly 70 per cent of small farmers — those cultivating fewer than three acres — in India often find their crops damaged by unforeseen weather and pests. An even higher number, 74 per cent, lack access to farming-related information.
  • To bridge this knowledge gap, Pune-based agritech startup AgroStar has a multi-lingual mobile app on Google Cloud Platform that is helping boost crop yields and encourage sustainable practices for small farmers in the country.
  • Launched as an on-premise, e-commerce platform selling farm tools in 2008, the firm turned to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to expand its offerings.
  • The firm now uses Cloud-based analytics and is deploying machine learning (ML) models to provide timely advice in five languages — from seed optimization, crop rotation and soil nutrition to pest control and commodity price forecasting to small farmers.

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September 03, 2019

 IAF inducted Eight Apache choppers at Pathankot
  • The Indian Air Force (IAF) inducted eight Apache helicopters at the Pathankot Air Base in Punjab.
  • The variant of the helicopter, Apache A64E, is the most advanced version and has been designed by the US-based manufacturer Boeing to meet the IAF”s requirements.
  • Boeing formally handed over the aircraft keys to Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa at the function in Pathankot.
  • The eight helicopters were brought to India in two separate batches. They were delivered at the Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad over July and August in two equal batches of four choppers each.
  • India had signed a multi-billion contract with Boeing in September 2015 for purchasing 22 Apache helicopters. The entire fleet is scheduled to be delivered to the IAF by the year 2020.

FACTFILE – Apache helicopter

  • The Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter is an advanced multi-mission helicopter being operated worldwide by the US, UK, Israel and many numbers of countries. The helicopter has proved itself as an operational success across the world. It is one of the most fierce attack helicopters in the world.
  • It is a twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems.
  • The U.S. Army is the primary operator of the AH-64. It has also become the primary attack helicopter of multiple nations, including Greece, Japan, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. It has been built under license in the United Kingdom as the AgustaWestland Apache.
Haryana CM launches UDAN regional connectivity scheme
  • Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched the UDAN regional connectivity scheme that will allow tourists to fly from Hisar to Chandigarh for just Rs 1,674 in 45 minutes.
  • The launch of the flight was part of the Centre”s UDAN, or ”UdeDeshkaHarNagarik” scheme, building efficient regional air connectivity.
  • The Air Shuttle Services and Flying Training Organisation is also being set up at TheHisar airport by SpiceJet for the training of at least 100 cadet pilots per year initially.
  • Four meritorious girls with state domicile will get 50 per cent fee concession for the entire training and 10 per cent students with domicile will get 50 per cent waiver on tuition fee.
  • SpiceJet has also committed to ensuring absorption as well as placement of 70 per cent pilot trainees.

FACTIFLE – UDAN (UdeDeshkaAamNaagrik)

  • UDAN is a regional airport development and “Regional Connectivity Scheme”(RCS) of Government of India, with the objective of “letting the common citizen of the country fly”, aimed at making air travel affordable and widespread, to boost inclusive national economic development, job growth and air transport infrastructure development of all regions and states of India.
  • At the beginning of the scheme, out of total 486 airports, 406 were participating unserved airports, 27 were well served airports out of 97 non-RCS airports and 12 were operational airports out of 18 participating underserved regional operational airports with regular fixed-wing scheduled flights.
  • The scheme has two components. The first component is to develop new airports and enhance the existing regional airports to increase the number of operational airports for scheduled civilian flights from 70 (in May 2016, total 98 operational including army airports) to at least 150 airports (by December 2018) with regular scheduled flights. Initially more than 100 underserved (no more than 7 scheduled flights per week) and unserved regional airports will be developed by December 2018, for which the initial funding of ₹45,000 million(equivalent to ₹47 billion, US$680 million or €610 million in 2018) for the enhancement of 50 regional airports was approved in May 2017.
  • The second component is to add several hundred financially-viable, capped-airfare, new regional flight routes to connect more than 100 underserved and unserved airports in smaller towns with each other as well as with well served airports in bigger cities by using “Viability Gap Funding” (VGF) where needed.
  • Union government share of “Viability Gap Funding” is from the cess applied to flights to popular routes to main cities and respective state governments have also offered additional benefits to the flight operators to make UDAN-RCS viable.
  • UDAN-RCS Round-Iconcluded in April 2017, 5 airlines companies were awarded 128 fixed-wing flight routes to 70 airports (including 36 newly made operational airports, taking the number of total number of operational airports with civilian scheduled flights to 106 and total 131 airports operational with civilian and army operation including dual-use airports), several of which have already become operational by November 2017 and most of remaining routes will become operational by 15 December 2017.
  • UDAN-RCS Round-IIresults will be awarded in late December 2017, from among the 141 proposals received for 502 new regional routes from 17 airlines and helicopter companies to operate flight services.
  • Number of aircraft jumped 38% to 548 in December 2017 from 395 in 2014 and 50 aircraft are being added every year. Subsequent phases with inclusion of seaplanes will boost the number of potential landing sites from nearly 500 airports to over five lakh (500,000) waterbodies as well as more locations along India’s 7,000 km coastline.
  • UDAN-RCS is both enabler and beneficiary of other key Government of India schemes, such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Dedicated Freight Corridors, Industrial corridor, BharatNet, Digital India and Make in India, National e-Governance Plan, Startup India and Standup India.
 Cabinet clears hike in ethanol prices for 2019-20
  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved an increase in prices of ethanol for the upcoming sugar season 2019-20 (October-September).
  • The CCEA decided to increase prices of ethanol derived from “C heavy” molasses to Rs 43.75 per litre from the 43.36 per litre.
  • The prices of ethanol derived from “B heavy” molasses would also be increased from Rs 52.43 to Rs 54.27 per litre.
  • The CCEA also decided that the price of ethanol from the sugarcane juice, sugar and sugar syrup route would be fixed at Rs 59.48 per litre.
  • The government has been implementing EBP Programme wherein OMCs sell petrol blended with ethanol up to 10 per cent.
  • This programme has been extended to whole of India except the Union Territories of Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands with effect from April 1 this year to promote the use of alternative and environment-friendly fuels.
  • The government intervention also seeks to reduce import dependence for energy requirements and give a boost to the agriculture sector.

September 04, 2019

 IIT Guwahati develops AI chatbot to support EEE students
  • A team of postgraduate students from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, along with their faculty members are developing an Artificial Intelligence-enabled chatbot named “ALBELA” to teach and support first year students of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE).
  • The chatbot would help students find their class schedule, tutorial schedule, and examination queries via a AI-based chat window.
  • Students at times may hesitate to approach an instructor regarding their queries, but with this chat-based system students can clear their doubts, both technical and non-technical, according to the institution.
  • The team is developing the analytical problem solving skill. It will be helpful for the students to learn how to solve analytical problems related to the course.
 Union Cabinet approved infusion of Rs 9,300 crore in IDBI Bank
  • The Union Cabinet approved infusion of over Rs 9,000 crore capital in the IDBI Bank to meet the regulatory capital requirements by raising the capital adequacy ratio (CAR).
  • The government and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India — will infuse Rs 9,300 crore in the bank. Of this, the government will infuse RS 4,557 crore and the LIC Rs 4,743 crore.
  • The IDBI Bank”s capital base has got eroded with the CAR at 8.1 per cent. The government and the LIC own 49 per cent and 51 per cent stake in the bank.
  • The move is aimed at supporting the credit growth and the regulatory compliance by lenders.
  • IDBI Bank has been a poor performer on many metrics. Its non-performing asset (NPA) is at 29 per cent and has reported loss in the 11 straight quarters.
  • The bank is under the Reserve Bank of India”s prompt corrective action (PCA) framework.

FACTFILE – Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI Bank Limited)

  • IDBI Bank was established in 1964 by an Act to provide credit and other financial facilities for the development of the fledgling Indian industry. Initially it operated as a subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India RBI transferred it to GOI . Many institutes of national importance finds their roots in IDBI like Sidbi, Exim bank, NSE and NSDL.
  • It currently has 3,702 ATMs, 1892 branches, including one overseas branch in Dubai, 58 e-lounges and 1407 centers.
  • The bank has an aggregate balance sheet size of INR 3.74 trillion as on 31 March 2016.
  • On June 29, 2018 Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has got a technical go-ahead from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to increase stake in IDBI Bank up to 51%. LIC of India completed acquisition of 51% controlling stake in IDBI Bank on January 21, 2019 making it the majority shareholder of the bank. Subsequent to enhancement of equity stake by LIC of India on January 21, 2019, IDBI Bank stands re-categorized as a Private Sector Bank.
 BRICS countries are stepping up technology transfer and transformation
  • BRICS countries are stepping up technology transfer and transformation, said a conference organised by the BRICS Technology Transfer Center in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
  • Representatives from enterprises, universities and research institutes in 11 countries and regions, including the BRICS members (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) held discussions on seeking closer international technology cooperation.
  • A display and trading system for international technology transfer was launched on the occasion.
  • Eighteen per cent of global GDP and 17 per cent of R&D spendings come from BRICS countries, which account for 42 per cent of the world’s population.
  • The BRICS Technology Transfer Center was set up in Kunming in 2018 to promote industrial transformation of advanced innovations.
 

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September 05, 2019

 Assam Governor launches Poshan Maah
  • Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi today launched the ceremonial beginning of Poshan Maah (Poshan Month) at a function held at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakhshetra.
  • It may be noted that the entire month of September is being celebrated as RashtriyaPoshanMaah and this year the theme is ‘Complementary feeding’ with the vision to address malnutrition with a targeted approach by 2022.
  • Governor Mukhi said the PoshanAbhiyaan has been launched to emphasise the need for healthy nutrition and it should be the one-liner objective to generate awareness about this mission to involve more and more people so that no targeted group is left behind.
  • At the same time, he observed that special emphasis should be given in the tea garden areas to make up for the nutritional deficiency and reduce low birth weight in those areas.
  • He said that though the programme strives to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight among babies, without unified efforts it would be very difficult to achieve the target.
  • He therefore called for inter-departmental convergence for the success of the objective.
  • The Governor also emphasised the need for coordination, convergence and cordiality among all the stakeholders for making the PoshanMaah a huge success.
  • As part of the programme a pledge was also administered to make a malnutrition-free India by 2022.

FACTFILE – POSHAN Maah

  • Month of September 2018 was celebrated as Rashtriya POSHAN Maah. The activities in POSHAN Maahfocussed on Social Behavioural Change and Communication (SBCC).
  • The broad themes were: antenatal care, optimal breastfeeding (early and exclusive), complementary feeding, anaemia, growth monitoring, girls’ – education, diet, right age of marriage, hygiene and sanitation, eating healthy – food fortification.
  • More than 12.2 Crore women, 6.2 Crore men and over 13 Crore children (male and female) were reached through the various activities undertaken during POSHAN Maah. It is worth mentioning that 30.6 Crore people were reached in 30 days. POSHAN Maah has given a major impetus to the Abhiyaan.
 15 MoUs exchanged during PM Modi’s visit to Russia
  • A total of 15 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) or agreements were exchanged during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vladivostok in Russia.
  • Joint Statement “Reaching New Heights of Cooperation through Trust and Partnership”.
  • Joint Strategy for the Enhancement of India-Russia Trade and Investments.
  • Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and Government of the Russian Federation and on the cooperation in the production of spare parts for Russian/Soviet military equipment.
  • Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Russian Federation on Cooperation in Audiovisual Co-production.
  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation on bilateral cooperation in the road transport and road industry.
  • Memorandum of Intent between the Ministry of Shipping of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation on the Development of Maritime Communications between the Port of Chennai, Republic of India and the Port of Vladivostok, Russian Federation.
  • Plan for cooperation between the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Ministry of Finance, Republic of India and the Federal Customs Service (Russian Federation), for combating customs violations in 2019-2022.
  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the Republic of India on the use of Natural Gas for Transportation.
  • Programme between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation on expansion of cooperation in oil and gas sector.
  • Memorandum of Understanding between Coal India Limited and Far East Investment and Export Agency to cooperate in coking coal mining projects implementation in the Russian Far East.
  • Cooperation Agreement between Invest India and the Russian Direct Investment Fund for Investment Collaboration.
  • Cooperation agreement between the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry the Roscongress Foundation.
  • Memorandum of Understanding between the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Autonomous Non-profit Organization Agency for Strategic Initiatives to promote New Projects.
  • Memorandum of understanding between the Joint Stock Company NOVATEK and PETRONET LNG Limited on cooperation with respect to the joint development of downstream LNG Business and LNG supplies.
  • Agreement on Cooperation between Joint-Stock Company Rosgeologia and Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited.
 Bihar Govt signs pact with Skymet Weather Services for weather forecasts
  • Bihar government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Skymet Weather Services, India”s largest private weather monitoring and agri-risk solutions company, to facilitate weather forecast services.
  • The MoU intends to support the Bihar Water Resource Department in disaster preparedness from the data shared by Skymet Weather on rainfall forecast and inclement weather alerts.
  • Bihar is one of India”s most flood prone areas.
  • Skymet will be supporting with information on weather forecast, which will help to incorporate measures to share timely information with the people at large.

September 06, 2019

 Bhagat Singh Koshyari takes oath as Maharashtra Governor
  • Former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Bhagat Singh Koshyari, sworn-in as the 19th Governor of Maharashtra.
  • Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog of the Bombay High Court administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new Governor at the sprawling Raj Bhavan facing the Arabian Sea.
  • After taking oath, Koshyari, who had served as a college teacher in Uttar Pradesh”sEtah, also greeted all teachers on the occasion of Teachers Day.
  • Koshyari, 77 takes over from C.V. Rao, whose term ended earlier this week.

FACTFILE – The Governors and Lieutenant Governors/Administrators of Indian States/UTs

  • The Governors and Lieutenant Governors/Administrators of the states and union territories of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as that of the President of India at Union level.
  • Governors exist in the states while Lieutenant Governors exist in Union Territories and in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
  • The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the Chief ministers of the states and his/her councils of ministers.
  • In India, a lieutenant governor is in charge of a union territory. However, the rank is present only in the union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Puducherry (the other territories have an administrator appointed).
  • The governor of Punjab acts as the administrator of Chandigarh.
  • The governors and lieutenant governors are appointed by the President for a term of five years.
 India inks two defence MoUs with South Korea
  • India and South Korea signed two MoUs pertaining to defence co-operation during Defence Minister RajnathSingh”s visit to the East Asian nation.
  • The MoUs are aimed at furthering defence educational exchanges and extension of mutual logistical support for the navies of both countries.
  • Singh met his South Korean counterpart JeongKyeongdoo during his three-day visit to the country.
  • The two leaders had a comprehensive review of bilateral defence co-operation and noted that defence co-operation lies at the heart of the Special Strategic Partnership between India and South Korea.
  • India and Korea were also discussed apart from exchange of views on regional and international developments of mutual interest.
  • Singh paid homage at the National Cemetery of Korea and also visited the War Memorial where he presented a copy of the citation received by the Indian 60th Para Field Hospital for its exceptional contributions during the Korean War.
 President Kovind confers awards to 46 teachers on Teachers’ Day
  • President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the National Awards to 46 teachers at Vigyan Bhawan on the occasion of Teachers” Day.
  • Teachers from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Rajasthan and Jharkhand received the prestigious awards for their innovation and making their classes interesting.
  • For the first time that a teacher from an army school, which is governed by the Defence Ministry, has also been included to the list of the award winners.
  • The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry had invited nominations for the prestigious awards between May 6 and June 25, from which the teachers were selected on the basis of a three-tier process.
  • The teachers were first required to nominate themselves online, following which the district, state and the national level committees selected them.
  • The nominated teachers gave a presentation before the independent Jury comprising a senior educationist.
  • The prestigious award carries a silver medal, certificate and Rs 50,000 as award money.

 

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September 07, 2019

 President felicitates 27 women for role in Swachh Mission
  • President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Swachh Bharat Awards on 27 women champions from each state for their outstanding contribution to the Swachh Bharat Mission.
  • These women worked at the grassroots level to provide better sanitation access to their families.
  • The President said the biggest achievement of the Swachh Bharat Mission was that it had become a campaign of every Indian and was not just a government campaign.
  • While referring to the UN sustainable development goals to be achieved by 2030, the President said India was set to achieve the cleanliness target in 2019 itself, 11 years ahead of schedule.
  • The goals for the next phase should be achieved by strengthening the first phase’s success.
  • The culture of cleanliness should be imbibed and the attention should be paid towards maintenance of facilities set up during the first phase.
  • The Swachhta Pakhwada Award was given to the Department of Defence. Power Grid Corporation received the award in the category of public sector undertakings. Gujarat and Sikkim were given Open Defecation Free (ODF) and Behaviour Change awards.
 CII Telangana to train 5,000 teachers in IT skills
  • The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Telangana, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Telangana Department of School Education to train 5,000 government teachers in basic IT skills.
  • The project would be implemented in collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and CII member companies.
  • About 500 corporate volunteers would be involved in implementing the project, which will be launched in Hyderabad and will later be expanded to Warangal, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and other districts.
  • Vijay Kumar, Director, Department of Education, and V. Rajanna, past Chairman of CII Telangana and Senior Vice-President & Global Head – Technology Business Unit, Tata Consultancy Services, signed the MoU.
 Indo-US joint military exercise begins in Washington
  • A joint military exercise between India and the US began in Washington as part of the ongoing defence co-operation between the two nations.
  • It is being conducted at the Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington.
  • Named YudhAbhyas, the exercise is one of the largest joint-running military training and defence co-operation endeavours between India and the US.
  • Armies of India and the US will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well-developed operations for neutralization of threats of varied nature during the exercise.
  • At the end, a joint exercise will be undertaken by both countries in an operational setting under a UN mandate. Experts from both sides will hold academic and military discussions to share each other”s experiences on varied topics for mutual benefit.
  • The exercise will provide an opportunity to the armed forces of both countries to train in an integrated manner at the Battalion level, with joint planning at Brigade level, whereby multiple scenarios will be rehearsed to understand each other”sorganisation structure.
 Arif Mohammed Khan sworn in as Kerala Governor
  • Arif Mohammed Khan took oath as the new Governor of Kerala. Chief Justice of Kerala High Court Hrishikesh Roy administered the oath of office to Khan in presence of state Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan.
  • Khan was appointed as the Governor of Kerala on September 1 and he replaces Justice (Retd) PalanisamySathasivam who was appointed as governor of the state in September 2014.
  • Khan was appointed as the Governor of Kerala on September 1 and he replaces Justice (Retd) PalanisamySathasivam who was appointed as governor of the state in September 2014.

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