Current Affairs Assam – December 15-21, 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of December 15-21, 2018 )
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December 15
ICCCBSA Global meet on climate change under way at AAU, Jorhat
- The four-day International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture (ICCCBSA) commenced at the Assam Agricultural University, where 1,038 individual research papers to be presented in the conference would throw up at least 15 integrated researchable projects to mitigate climate change, conserve the earth’s biodiversity and assist in sustainable agriculture.
- Grant Singleton, Principal Scientist at the International Rice Research Institute, (Philippines) and the Guest of honour of the event, said that sustainable development of agriculture was the need of the hour as by 2050 the earth would have to feed a population of seven billion people.
- The conference has been organised as part of the year-long golden jubilee celebrations from April 2018 to March 2019.
FACTFILE – Assam Agricultural University (AAU)
- AAU is an agricultural education state university which was established in 1969 in Jorhat in the state of Assam, India.
- The jurisdiction of the University extends to the entire State of Assam with regard to teaching, research and extension education in the field of agriculture and allied sciences.
- It was established in 1969
- Vice-Chancellor – Kamal Malla Bujarbaruah
- The university has six Regional Agricultural Research Stations in each agricultural zone of Assam at Titabar, North Lakhimpur, Shillongoni, Diphu, Gossaigaon and Karimganj.
- The university also has four Commodity Research Stations at: Citrus Research Station, Tinsukia, Sugarcane Research Station, Buralikson, Horticulture Research Station, Kahikuchi and Goat Research Station, Burnihut.
- The university also has established Krishi Vigyan Kendras for extension purpose in all the districts of Assam.
Nokpante fest in Garo Hills
- The 7th Nokpante Festival, a winter festival of Garo Hills region, was organised by Damas Youth Forum (DYF) in collaboration with the NGH administration, Sports and Youth Affairs and Tourism departments and GHADC.
- The two-day festival included traditional games that are unique to the community like wapong ska, makkre wa’jol malla, matcha matchu, makkre bolgong malla, sa’rong’kol kalla, sompi sompa, among others which test the physical and mental capacity of the contestants as well as their expertise.
- The highlight of the festival was the traditional fashion show for both men and women. Boys dressed themselves as warriors (matgrik) and the girls in traditional dakmanda. The festival concluded with a Rock show that included local Rock bands Riprap, Jethro, Markus.
India Post launches e-commerce portal
- India Post announced the soft launch of its e-commerce portal, the Department of Posts has done only soft launch and full fledge operations of the service will start around or after mid-December.
- The Department facilitates has collected and remitted more than Rs 2,700 crore under cash-on-delivery till January 2018 since its introduction in December 2013.
- The ongoing e-commerce business segment resulted in increase of 13 percent revenue of India Post in the 2017-18 and total revenue the department earned under Speed Post till January 2018 was Rs 1,502.60 crore.
India signed Agreement with Google for better flood management
- The Central Water Commission (CWC) has signed a collaboration agreement with Google for improving the flood prediction system. As per the agreement, the CWC and Google will share technical expertise in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning and geo-spatial mapping.
- The MoU covers analysis of hydrological observation data to collaborate on improving the flood prediction systems, which will help provide location-targeted, actionable flood warnings, a high priority research project utilising the Google Earth engine to help visualise and improve flood management and a cultural project to build online exhibitions on the rivers of India. The term of agreement is for three years.
- According to the CWC, the States affected by floods till October, 2018 include Tripura, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka (extreme flood situation), Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, NCT Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
India, Myanmar committed to combat terror
- The India-Myanmar joint statement signed during the state visit of President Ram NathKovind also noted the need to maintain security and stability along the India-Myanmar border, which is essential for the socio-economic development of the population living in the border areas.
- India and Myanmar have reiterated their commitment to not allow insurgent groups to use their soil for hostile activities.
- Both sides underlined their mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and reaffirmed their shared commitment to fight insurgent activities and the scourge of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
- Both sides reiterated their mutual respect for the already demarcated boundary between the two countries and emphasised the need to resolve amicably outstanding boundary demarcation issues at the earliest, through existing bilateral mechanisms.
- The leaders of the two countries reaffirmed their common aspiration for peace, collective prosperity and development of the region and beyond. The leaders agreed to continue exploring new opportunities to expand bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of the people of both countries.
- Both sides agreed to sign at the earliest the MoU for cooperation on combating timber trafficking and conservation of tigers and other wildlife. Negotiations on the MoU on bilateral cooperation for prevention of trafficking in persons; rescue, recovery, repatriation and reintegration of victims of trafficking are nearing completion.
- With regard to the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project, both sides welcomed the signing of the MoU on appointing a port operator, which would enable the Sittwe Port and Paletwa IWT infrastructure to be used commercially for the development of the surrounding areas.
December 16
Digital CIC opened in Baksa district of Assam
- A digital Community Information Centre (CIC), established under ‘SBI Gram Seva’, a flagship programme of the State Bank of India’s CSR initiative, was inaugurated in Baksa district.
- The project is being implemented in the district across five remote villages by the Assam Centre for Rural Development (ACRD), an NGO working on various developmental issues.
- The CIC, first-of-its kind in the district, is meant for the backward tribal communities to access government schemes, jobs, health, internet and rural banking services.
- Each CIC is digitised and has a computer, wi-fi connectivity, a flat screen TV, drinking water facility, library, books, and information related to government jobs and schemes, among other things.
FACTFILE – ‘SBI Gram Seva’
- The ‘SBI Gram Seva’ project is a flagship programme launched by the State Bank of India Foundation in 2017 across six states of India, including Assam.
- It focuses on integrated development of villages through the gaon panchayats.
India, France reiterate resolve to jointly fight terrorism
- India and France reiterated their resolve to jointly fight the global scourge of terrorism following delegation-level talks headed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian.
- Both India and France were implementing their outlined action in joint strategic vision cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.
- Now the two sides are working towards deepening and expanding these large contacts, especially at the operational and service level.
- Le Drian also called for a joint collaboration between the two countries in the field of cinema.
Nasscom partners IIT-Madras for training workforce in digital skills
- Nasscom has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras for its FutureSkills Platform that is targeted at re-skilling/upskilling four million people on digital skills.
- Under its FutureSkills Platform, Nasscom aims to re-skill/upskill four million people from the IT-ITeS industry, students entering the workforce and employees of other industries/government on digital skills.
- The partnership with IIT-Madras will facilitate the building of an able workforce to support the industry and other stakeholders. This will ensure that there is plenty of trained manpower for the jobs being created in the evolving ecosystem.
- The partnership will be directly with the Sector Skills Council (SSC) which is the education and skill development initiative of Nasscom.
- The SSC and IIT Madras will work towards building a skills academy and establish a program with extensive courses and training programmes to facilitate skill building in the institution
Amazon India signs MoU with FISME to empower MSMEs
- Amazon India on 13th December announced a partnership with the Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises(FISME) to empower Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to leverage growth opportunities in the e-commerce sector.
- As per the MoU, Amazon.in in collaboration with FISME will conduct various events and workshops across the country that will enable and encourage the MSMEs in the country to sell their products to millions of consumers from India and across the globe by leveraging e-commerce marketplace solutions.
- in and FISME aim to educate MSMEs on the nuances of online selling domestically and also B2C exports to enable them to sell across multiple international locations.
- Through the collaboration, MSMEs will get access to experts from Amazon, FISME and various service providers to help them understand the procedures and requirements related to areas such as logistics, cataloging, imaging, taxation and will guide them through the entire process of selling through the e-commerce marketplace route.
- MSMEs will be educated on digital business opportunity, brand building, documentation, listing methodology and services such as fulfillment by Amazon & Sponsored Ads.
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