Assam Current Affairs – December 29-31, 2018

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Current Affairs Assam – December 29 - 31, 2018

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of December 29-31, 2018 )

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December 29

380th tithi of Bhattadev observed
  • The 380th tithi mahotsav of Bhattadev and the 71st biennial session of Kamrup Damodar Sangha was held with a two-day programme from December 27.
  • the biennial subject committee meeting was held with Jatindra Nath Sarma, president, Kamrup Damodar Sangha in the chair.
  • In the open meeting, a new committee was selected with Jatindra Nath Sarma as president, Kumud Chakrabartty as the working president and Bipin Chandra Das as the general secretary. In a resolution, the meeting demanded the State government to reconstruct the present temple to accommodate a large gathering along with proper sanitation facilities.

FACTFILE – Bhattadeva (1558–1638)

  • Baikunthanatha Bhagavata Bhattacharya is acknowledged as the father of Assamese prose.
  • Though Bhaktiratnakar-katha, the Assamese translation of Sankardev’s Sanskrit composition Bhaktiratnakar by Gopala Charana Dwija preceded the works of Bhattadeva, Bhattadeva’s prose had an influence in the development of a high and dignified style.
  • Bhattadeva’s and Gopala Charana Dvija’s 16th century works are considered to be the earliest examples of prose in Indian languages.
  • Bhattadeva’s erudition in Sanskrit grammar and literature, and his command over the Bhagavata earned him the title of Bhagavata Bhattacharya
Nagaland way behind SDG targets: NITI Report
  • Nagaland, along with Mizoram and Goa, are the three worst performers under industry, innovation and infrastructure category with a zero score in implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets, according to SDG India Index Baseline Report, 2018 released by NITI Aayog.
  • Majority of the States and Union Territories (UTs) have fallen behind on this goal with 26 States and UTs in the “Aspirant” category with index score less than 50.
  • In SDG index score for the goal of industry, innovation and infrastructure, Nagaland is also among the last three worst performers with a score of 40. Manipur ranked the lowest with a score of 33.
  • Under the SDG index score for the goal of good health and well-being, the State again has one of the lowest score (34) under the ‘Aspirant’ category.
  • However, under the SDG index score for the goal of peace, justice and strong, Nagaland is one of the “frontrunners” with a score of 87. Under the goal of zero hunger, the State was accorded 69 points which also falls under the same category. In the goal of clean water and sanitation, it stood at 58.
  • The SDG index score for the goal of reduced inequalities for Nagaland stood at 80 which falls under the “front runner” category while Meghalaya, Mizoram and Telangana were the only three States which were deemed as “achievers”.
  • In general, from among the States, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have come out as the front runners in implementing the 2030 SDG targets.
  • Along with the three States, the UTs of Chandigarh and Puducherry were also among the front runners on the SDG India Index with a score between 65 to 99 on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 signifies that it has achieved the 2030 national targets.

FACTFILE – SDG India Index

  • The NITI Aayog developed the country’s first SDG India Index to document the progress made by the States and UTs towards meeting SDG targets and released a baseline report for 2018.
  • The SDG India Index was constructed spanning across 13 out of 17 SDGs. The index tracks the progress of all the States and UTs on a set of 62 priority indicators, measuring their progress on the outcomes of the interventions and schemes of the Government of India. The SDG India Index is intended to provide a holistic view on the social, economic and environmental status of the country and its States and UTs.
  • Each of the 17 SDGs are mapped with a set of 169 targets to be achieved by 2030. These were used as the foundation for building the SDG India Index.
Cabinet Approves National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCIM) Bill, 2018
  • The cabinet has approved the setting up of the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCIM) Bill, 2018 that provides for conducting overall education of traditional medicine system of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa- commonly known as Tibetan system of medicine.
  • The cabinet has also approved the National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH) Bill, 2018, that proposes setting up a new panel entrusted with conducting overall education of Homoeopathy.
  • The NCIM Bill, seeks to replace the existing regulator Central Council for Indian Medicine (CCIM) with a new body to ensure transparency.
  • The draft Bill provides for the constitution of a National Commission with four autonomous boards entrusted with conducting overall education of Ayurveda, under Board of Ayurveda and Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa under Board of Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa.
Union Cabinet approved listing of seven CPSE through IPO and FPO
  • The seven PSUs are Telecommunication Consultants (India) Ltd, RailTel Corporation India Ltd, National Seed Corporation India Ltd, Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd, Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Ltd, FCI Aravali Gypsum and Minerals (India) Ltd, and Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) are to be listed on stock exchange through initial public offering (IPO) and one Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) to issue follow-on public offer (FPO).

Listing in the Stock Market – Initial Public Offering (IPO) and (FPO) Follow-on Public Offering (FPO).

IPO FPO
Initial Public Offering (IPO) refers to an offer of securities made to the public for subscription, by the company. Follow-on Public Offering (FPO) means an offer of securities for subscription to public, by an publicly traded enterprise.
First public issue Second or third public issue
Issued by Unlisted Company Issues by already listed Company
Objective of raising capital through public investment. Objective of Subsequent public investment.

 

India commits Rs 4,500 crore to Bhutan’s 12th Five-Year Plan
  • India announced that it will contribute Rs 4,500 crore to Bhutan’s 12th Five-Year Plan, following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering.
  • India will provide a transitional trade support facility of Rs 400 crore over a period of five years to strengthen bilateral trade and economic linkages.
  • There are a number of institutional mechanisms between India and Bhutan in areas like security, border management, trade, economy, hydroelectricity, development cooperation and water resources.
  • India has already set up three hydro-power projects in Bhutan with a total capacity of 1,416MW, which are operational. About three-fourths of the power generated is exported to India and the rest is used for domestic consumption.
  • Both leaders reiterated their commitment to jointly develop 10,000MW of hydro-power generating capacity in Bhutan and in this regard discussed the 2,560 Sunkosh hydro-power project.

December 30

Assam CM lays foundation of NDRF’s new campus
  • Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal laid the foundation stone of the new campus of the National Disaster Response Force’s (NDRF) 1st Battalion at Amsing.
  • The Chief Minister said NDRF has always been playing a stellar role during natural calamity in the spheres of disaster management and people of the country depend on their services during such critical times.
  • NDRF and SDRF are both providing services during critical situations which have been instrumental in saving both life and property.
FACTFILE – The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)
  • It is a specialised force constituted “for the purpose of specialist response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster” under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
  • The responsibility for disaster management in India’s federal system is that of the State Government. The ‘nodal Ministry’ in the central government for management of natural disasters is the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
  • When ‘calamities of severe nature’ occur, the Central Government is responsible for providing aid and assistance to the affected state, including deploying, at the State’s request, of Armed Forces, Central Paramilitary Forces, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and such communication, air and other assets, as are available and needed.
  • National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is under the National Disaster Management Authority, the “Apex Body for Disaster Management” in India.
  • The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairperson of the NDMA.
Third Annual ‘Dwijing Festival’ in Chirang district
  • The ongoing third annual ‘Dwijing Festival’ on bank of the Aie river in Chirang district coveys a strong message that we (all communities) were and will live and work together in the State, said Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who participated in the festival.
  • He also said that the nation or the State which has rich water resources can make rapid progress and to make it understand and to present the importance of the rivers ‘Namami Brahmaputra’ and ‘Namami Barak’ river festivals were celebrated in the State.
  • BTC Chief Hagrama Mahilary termed the Dwijing Festival as the reflection of development, amity, unity and solidarity among the communities living in BTC which, according to him, saw better development after the BJP assumed power in the State and at the Centre.
  • Mahilary expressed his desire to upgrade this ‘Dwijing (Dwi-water/river, jing-bank) festival’ to a scale similar to the ‘Hornbill Festival’ of Nagaland next year.
FACTFILE – DWIJING FEST 2018-19
  • The Dwijing Festival is an annual river festival to be celebrated in the BTAD region with various colorful events viz. ethnic trade and food festival, exhibition, games & sports, river campaign & adventure and various culture programs to make it a centre of attraction for the visitors as a New Year Festival.
  • Being a medium/platform of earning for the local and others of the region, the festival put its focus especially to the buisness activities for the better economy generation through rural tourism. However the festival is meant to provide help to the flood victim families through charity generation and distribution.
FACTFILE – River Aie (Mother) River
  • River Aie originates from the Himalayan Mountains of Bhutan and flows through the Chirang and Bongaigaon districts of Assam before joining the river Brahmaputra.
  • The River creates a massive attraction for many tourists (locals/visiting) for picnic and weekend activities during the winter season and in summer the river creates massive damages to both the sideways due to heavy rainfall resulting in loss of properties and lives of many families.
India submits sixth national report to Convention of Biological Diversity
  • India on 29th December submitted its sixth national report (NR6) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) highlighting the progress it has made in achieving the 12 National Biodiversity Targets (NBT) set under the convention process.
  • The report highlights that while India had already exceeded two targets, it was on track to achieve another eight soon. The remaining two would be met by the stipulated time of 2020.
  • As per the NR6 report, India had been investing a huge amount on biodiversity directly or indirectly through several development schemes of the Central and state governments — to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore per annum as against the estimated annual requirement of nearly Rs 1,09,000 crore.
  • India has nearly two-thirds of the population of wild tigers in the world. The population of lion has risen from 177 in 1968 to over 520 in 2015, and elephants from 12,000 in 1970s to 30,000 in 2015.
  • One-horned Indian Rhino which was on the brink of extinction during the early 20th century, now number 2,400.
  • Further, while globally over 0.3 per cent of total recorded species are critically endangered, in India only 0.08 per cent of the species recorded are in this category.
  • India is committed to protecting its rich heritage of biodiversity which are so vital to our economic and social development.

 

December 2018 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook

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