Current Affairs Assam – December 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of December 2018 )
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December 26
PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Bogibeel Bridge in Assam
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bogibeel bridge in Assam on the birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
- The Bogibeel bridge will connect the south bank of the Brahmaputra river in Assam’s Dibrugarh to Silapathar in Dhemaji bordering Arunachal Pradesh.
- The 4.9 km-long bridge on the Brahmaputra river boasts of being Asia’s second longest rail-cum-road bridge.
- The Bogibeel bridge is constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 5,900 crore. The bridge, has a serviceable period of around 120 years. The bridge has a two-line railway track on the lower deck and a three-lane road on the top deck.
- It is the 4th longest bridge in India after Bhupen Hazarika Setu, Mahatma Gandhi Setu and Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
- Bogibeel bridge to boost economic potential of region and will also bring good fortune to many in this region of limited economic opportunities with the movement of goods and other commodities with road and rail transport.
China launches telecommunication technology test satellite
- China successfully launched the number 3 telecommunication technology test satellite. The satellite was launched by a Long March-3C carrier rocket from the XichangSatellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
- The satellite was developed and produced by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
- There have been 296 Long March rocket missions.
Assam’s 14 plant and animal species declared threatened
- As per the recommendations made by the Assam State Biodiversity Board, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has notified 14 species of plants and animals of the State, which are on the verge of extinction, as threatened species under section 38 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 of the country.
- The Union Government has also prohibited and regulated their collection without the approval of the Assam State Biodiversity Board. The species thus notified could be collected with the approval of the Assam State Biodiversity Board only for the purposes of scientific research, herbarium and museum of scientific and investigation.
- The list includes the species that have been facing a threat as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) Red list of Threatened Species, but are not protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
- The list of the plant species notified as threatened ones include – Sopa (Magnolia cathcartii), Kola Sopa (Magnolia griffthii), Sopa (Magnolia manni), SiyaNahar (Mesuaassamica), KonpouPhul (Paphiopedilumspicerianum), Morhal (Vaticalanceaefolia) and Nagphana (CycaspectinataBuch-Ham), while the fauna species notified by the MoEFCC include – Raja Shagun (Sarcogypscalvus), Asomidibajethi (Cnemaspisassamensis), Keko sap (Gekko gecko), BarmuiraKaso (Nilssonianigricans), BaghiyaKaso (Chitraindica), HalodhiyaKaso (Indotestudoelongata) and the Pahari Kaso (Manouriaemys).
- It needs mention here that once such species are brought under the ambit of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, by declaring them as the threatened ones, their protection against illegal access and trade becomes possible and enables the members of the Biodiversity Management Committees, Range Forest Officers and the State Biodiversity Board to initiate actions against the offenders.
FACTFILE – The Biological Diversity Act, 2002
- The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of India for preservation of biological diversity in India, and provides mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of traditional biological resources and knowledge.
- The Act was enacted to meet the obligations under Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which India is a party.
FACTFILE – The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)
- The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA)is a statutory autonomous body, headquartered in Chennai, under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India established in 2003 to implement the provisions under the Act.
- State Biodiversity Boards (SBB) has been created in 29 States along with 31,574 Biological management committees (for each local body) across India.
FACTFILE – ASSAM STATE BIODIVERSITY BOARD (ASBB)
- In exercise of powers conferred under Section 22 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the Government of Assam constituted the “Assam Biodiversity Board” on 29th September 2010 to promote biodiversity conservation in the State of Assam, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources of the state and traditional knowledge associated with these resources and matters incidental thereto or connected therewith.
- The headquarter of the Board is located at Guwahati.
- The state biodiversity rules were formed in 2010.
December 27
Aikya Samannay Award to Dr. Hakasam
- Noted educationist and researcher Dr. Upen Rabha Hakasam was awarded the ‘Aikya Samannay Award’ by Aoikyo, a Sivasagar-based sociocultural organisation at a function held at the Vivekananda Kendra.
- The award, which carries a citation and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh, has been instituted commemorating the silver jubilee celebrations of Aoikya. The award will be given in every two years.
- Hakasam, who is also the Professor in the Department of Assamese, Gauhati University, was conferred the award for his contributions in the field of literature and language.
- The award was handed over to him by former Asam Sahitya Sabha president Kanak Sen Deka and All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) chief advisor Dr. Samujjal Bhattacharya.
- Hakasam is also known for his work on ‘Rabhamese’ and contrastive studies of Assamese and Tibeto-Burman language.
- Kamrup (Metro) Deputy Commissioner Virendra Mittal and president of the silver jubilee celebration committee of Aoikya, Dr. Saumar JyotiMahanta were also present on the occasion.
Organic agri products of Assam bagged the best prize at the World Agro Food & Beverage Processing Expo -2018
- Organic agri-products of Assam bagged the best prize at the World Agro Food & Beverage Processing Expo -2018 which has been organised at the Bombay Exhibition Centre at Goregaon in Mumbai from December 18 to 20.
- The expo was organised under ParamporagataKrishiVikashYojana (PKVY) of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
- The stall was sponsored by the Directorate of Agriculture, Assam and facilitated by Regional Council RS Eventtech in the category of Agri-Business Opportunity and displayed organic local agri products like king chilly (bhotjolokia), Assam lemon, black rice, magic rice (komalchawl) and ‘joha’ rice, among others.
- DhrubajyotiSaikia, a young progressive farmer of Ramgaon village of Darrang who was among the eight ideal farmers representing the State along with their organic farm produce.
- The other members of the farmers’ group which reaped laurels for the State are KamaleswarBoro and Abdul Mannan, both from Udalguri, Pankaj Hazarika from Sonitpur, BijitRajkhowa from Nagaon, PrahladBaishnav Hazarika from Golaghat, Anjal Limbu from Golaghat and Madan Basumatary from Chirang.
Manipur’s ‘Go to Village’ to focus on education
- Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh announced that the popular ‘Go to Village’ (GTV) mission of the government would focus on education from the next year.
- Under the GTV mission which was launched on May 1, 2018, the BJP-led coalition government in Manipur has been trying to identify eligible and deserving beneficiaries living under 2,515 Census villages in the State and deliver government services at their doorsteps. Initially, the GTV mission was conceptualised to help farmers in increasing crop productivity by integrating government schemes.
Centre tightens e-commerce norms to protect offline stores
- The government tightened e-commerce norms and barred online retail firms like Amazon and Flipkart from selling products of companies in which they have stakes.
- The online retail firms are also prohibited from mandating any company to sell its products exclusively on its platform only, as per the revised policy on FDI in e-commerce which comes into effect from February 1, 2019.
- An entity having equity participation by e-commerce marketplace entity or group companies, or having control on its inventory by e-commerce marketplace entity or its group companies, will not be permitted to sell its products on the platform run by such marketplace entity.
- The online retail firms will not directly or indirectly influence sale price of goods and services and will maintain level playing field.
- Services should be provided by e-commerce marketplace entity or other entities in which e-commerce marketplace entity has direct or indirect equity participation or common control, to vendors on the platform at arm’s length and in a fair and non-discriminatory manner.
- Such services include fulfilment, logistics, warehousing, advertisement, marketing, payments and financing, among others. Cash back provided by group companies of marketplace entity to buyers shall be fair and non-discriminatory.
- The online retailers will have to file a certificate along with a report of statutory auditor to Reserve Bank of India, confirming compliance of guidelines by September 30 of every year for the preceding financial year.
- The decision comes in the backdrop of several complaints by traditional retail stores alleging heavy discounts by online retailers to consumers are hurting their businesses.
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