Current Affairs Assam – January 2018 e-Magazine
January 19
India to Set up $350 million Fund to Finance Solar Projects
India to set up $350 million Fund to Finance Solar Projects, was announced at an event organised by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. India’s installed renewable power capacity is currently about 60 GW, and India plans to complete the bidding process by the end of 2019/20 to add a further 115 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022.
As per the Power Minister RK Singh, India will set up a $350-million fund to finance solar projects as the country steps up efforts to achieve its ambitious target of adding 175 gigawatts (GW) in renewable energy by 2022.
Maharashtra is 1st State to Unveil Public Cloud Policy
Maharashtra has become the first state in the country that has come out with a public cloud policy, virtually mandating its departments to shift their data storage onto the cloud.
This move has created a USD 2- billion opportunity for the industry.
The announcement was made by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the Maharashtra Technology Summit. The policy will result in additional private sector investments as the government is one of the biggest creators and consumers of data.
January 20
Lucknow to host 4th India International Science Festival
The fourth edition of the India International Science Festival will be held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The decision to hold the Festival in Lucknow was taken at the first preparatory meeting for the 4th India International Science Festival (IISF).
The meeting was chaired by Union Minister for Science & Technology, Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
- The 1st IISF was held at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi in December, 2015.
- The 2nd IISF was held at CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi in December, 2016 with a view to improve their scientific understanding, temperament and appreciation for various feats in science & technology by showcasing Indian achievements.
- The 3rd series of IISF was held on 13-16 October 2017, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
2018 to be observed as National Year of Millet
Government has approved 2018 as National Year of Millets to boost production of the nutrient-rich millets and the sunrise agri industry involved in it.
Millet is a common term to categorize small-seeded grasses that are often termed nutri-cereals or dryland-cereals. It mainly includes sorghum, ragi etc.
MeitY launched Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has launched Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative to strengthen cybersecurity ecosystem in India in line Government’s vision for a ‘Digital India’.
It was launched in association with National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and industry partners. : Spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
January 21
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets north-eastern states on Statehood Day
Prime Minister NarendraModi on 21st January wished the people of the northeastern States of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura on their Statehood Day and hoped they continue to achieve heights in all-round development. Under the North-Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act, 1971, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura attained statehood on January 21, 1972.
FACTFILE – History of North-Eastern States formation
- Assam was divided into various states in order to satisfy national aspirations of the tribal populations living within the then borders of then Assam.
- In 1963, Nagaland was formed when Naga Hills district became the 16th state of India. Tuensang part was added to Nagaland. In 1970, the districts consisting the Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, and Garo Hills were converted into an autonomous state within Assam.
- The North Eastern Areas (Reorganization) Act,1971, was passed in the Parliament and assented to by the President on 30 December 1971. In year 1972 a separate state was formed under the name of Meghalaya. Meghalaya was formed due to the demands of the tribal people of the Meghalaya Plateau.
- In 1972, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram were separated from Assam as union territories; In 1986, both of the union territories became states.
- Manipur was merged with the Indian Union in 1949. Manipur was a Union Territory of India from 1962 and achieved full statehood within India in 1972. On January 26, 1950 Tripura was accorded the status of a ‘C’ category state and on November 1, 1956, it was recognized as a Union Territory.
- In Tripura, the North Eastern Areas (Reorganization) Act,1971was given effect to on and from 21 January 1972 under which the State of Tripura attained full Statehood.
Star rating for garbage-free cities launched
Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri launched a star rating protocol for garbage-free cities in the country, where cities will be rated from one star to seven stars on the basis of several parameters identified by the ministry under the Swachh Bharat Mission.“The 7-star rating system will be based on multiple cleanliness indicators for solid waste management, will include door-to-door collection, bulk generator compliance, source segregation, sweeping, scientific processing of waste, scientific land-filling, plastic waste management, construction and demolition management, dump remediation and citizen grievance redressal system, etc.,”.
The cities can be rated as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7-star based on their compliance with the protocol conditions specified for each of the ratings.
“Further the city should be open defecation free before it could be given a rating of 3-star and above. While cities may self-declare through an independent third party to certify cities as 3-star, 5-star or 7-star,” Puri said, adding that aspiring cities will need to get independently re-certified every year to retain their star-status.
“The protocol will involve the participation of all stakeholders and common people to aspire for higher grading and cleanliness. The SwachhSarvekshan survey run by the SBM Urban for the past three years has successfully built up a spirit of healthy competition among cities, vying each other every year to improve their ranking as compared to other cities,” Puri said.
FACTFILE – SwachhSurvekshan 2017
- Every year, cities and towns across India are awarded with the title of ‘Swachh Cities’ on the basis of their cleanliness and sanitation drive as a part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan that was launched in 2014.
- On 4 May 2017, the Centre released a list of cleanest cities, which was finalised by the Quality Council of India.
- Indore, in Madhya Pradesh, was India’s cleanest city and Gonda, in Uttar Pradesh, was the filthiest of the surveyed cities.
- Of 10 cleanest cities, two were are from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh each, while Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Maharashtra each had one.
- Out of 10 dirtiest cities, Uttar Pradesh had five cities, two each were from Bihar and Punjab, and one from Maharashtra.
- Gujarat had 12 cities among the top 50 cleanest, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 11 and Andhra Pradesh with eight.
- 118 out of 500 cities were found to be Open Defecation Free
10 cleanest Indian Cities
(1)Indore
(2)Bhopal
(3)Visakhapatnam
(4)Surat
(5)Mysore
(6)Tiruchirappalli
(7)New Delhi
(8)Navi Mumbai
(9)Tirupati
(10)Vadodara
India’s 1st Garbage Festival in Chhattisgarh
It is India’s first Garbage Festival is organized in Chhattisgarh. It aims to increase awareness, use the waste generated in the city creatively and to showcase multiple techniques for reusing things that are labelled as garbage.
Om Prakash Rawat appointed as Chief Election Commissioner
Election commissioner Om PrakashRawat is appointed as the 22nd CEC of India. He succeeded Achal Kumar Joti.
MrRawat will take over the office from 23rd January 2018 onwards. Rawat is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre of the 1977 batch. Before being appointed as election commissioner, Rawat served as secretary in the ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises.
Former finance secretary Ashok Lavasa was appointed as election commissioner to ensures that the three-member panel of the poll body sees no vacancy after Joti’s retirement. The third member on the top body is election commissioner Sunil Arora.
FACTFILE – Election Commission of India
- The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering election processes in India.
- The Election Commission operates under the authority of Article 324 of Indian Constitution, and Representation of the People Act’ 1951.
- Election Commission is amongst the few institutions which function with both autonomy and freedom, along with the Supreme Court, the Union Public Service Commission and the CAG.
- Chief Election Commissioner of Indiaheads the Commission. The Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners draw salaries and allowances same as salary of a Judge of Supreme Court of India.
- SukumarSenwas the first Chief Election Commissioner of India, serving from 21 March 1950 to 19 December 1958. Under his leadership, the Election Commission successfully administered and oversaw independent India’s first two general elections, in 1951–52 and in 1957. He also served as first Chief Election Commissioner in Sudan.
- James Michael Lyngdoh was the first CEC from North East India.
- H S Brahma was the first person from Assam as well as from Bodo community and second person from the North-East to become an Election Commissioner, after J. M. Lyngdoh.
Functions of EC
- The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
- It issues a Model code of Conduct for political parties and candidates to conduct elections in a free and fair manner.
- It lays down guidelines for the conduct of political parties and candidates during an election period.
- Registration of political parties registered with the Commission.
- Allocate symbols to the political parties.
- It gives recognition to the national parties, state parties and regional parties.
- It set limits on poll expenses.
- The commission prepare electoral rolls and update the voter’s list from time to time. Notifications of dates and schedules of election for filing nominations are issued by the commission.
- The Commission can issue an order for prohibition of publication and disseminating of results of opinion polls or exit polls to prevent influencing the voting trends in the electorate.
- In an attempt to decriminalise politics, the Election Commission has approached the Supreme Court to put a lifetime ban on convicted politicians from contesting elections.
India ranks 62nd in WEF’s Inclusive Development Index
India was ranked 60th among 79 developing economies in last year survey.India was ranked at the 62nd place among emerging economies on an Inclusive Development Index of World Economic Forum (WEF). In the report, China is on 26th position and Pakistan is on 47th.
Norway remains the world’s most inclusive advanced economy, while Lithuania again tops the list of emerging economies, according to the report.
