Current Affairs Assam – January 2019
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of January 2019 )
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January 10, 2019
Italy to adopt Sikkim model of organic farming
- Italy will be transformed into an “organic country” by adopting the farming policy of Sikkim, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling said quoting a communication received from Govt of Italy.
- Sikkim received the prestigious Future Policy Gold Award he had received at the United Nations FAO headquarters in Rome on October 15 2018, for turning Sikkim into a “100% organic state”
- Future Policy Gold Award also called as the ‘Oscar for best policies,’ co-organised with the FAO by The World Future Council (WFC) and IFOAM – Organics International, and recognises “the world’s best laws and policies promoting agroecology.”
India’s longest single lane steel cable suspension bridge opens in Arunachal Pradesh
- Chief Minister Pema Khandu inaugurated India’s longest 300-meter single-lane steel cable suspension bridge over Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district bordering China.
- The suspension bridge,also known as Byorung bridge, was built at a cost of Rs 4,843 crore and funded by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region under Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources scheme.
- It will reduce the distance from Yingkiong to Tuting town by almost 40 km. The earlier road length was 192 km.
FACTFILE – Siang river
- It is the lifeline of Arunachal Pradesh.
- The Tsangpo river originates in the Angsi Glacier in the Himalayas, enters India through Arunachal Pradesh where it is called by name Siang, also called as Dihang in the plain regions.
- It is joined by the rivers Dibang and Lohit, and is called by name Brahmaputra as it enters Assam.
- It enters Bangladesh and finally discharge in Bay of Bengal.
India, Iran discuss bilateral relations
- India and Iran discussed key bilateral issues during a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.
- Iran is a major supplier of oil to India which had been jeopardised after Washington put fresh sanctions on Tehran.
FACTFILE – Chabahar Port
- Chabahar Port is a seaport in Chabahar located on the Gulf of Oman.
- It serves as Iran’s only oceanic port, and consists of two separate ports named Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti, each of which has five berths.
- The India–Iran–Afghanistan three-way memorandum of understanding (MoU) plans have committed at least $21bn to Chabahar–Hajigak corridor, including $85m for Chabahar port development by India, $150m line of credit by India to Iran, $8bn India-Iran MoU for Indian industrial investment in Chabahar Special Economic Zone, $11-billion Hajigak iron and steel mining project awarded to seven Indian companies in central Afghanistan, and India’s $2bn commitment to Afghanistan for developing supporting infrastructure including the Chabahar-Hajigaj railway
- It has potential for several times more trade via connectivity to 7,200-km-long multi-mode North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) connecting to Europe and Turkey, R297 Amur highway and Trans-Siberian Highway across Russia, and planned Herat to Mazar-i-Sharif railway providing access to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
- Chabahar Port also provides direct access to India’s Farkhor Air Base in Tajikistan.
- Chabahar route will result in 60% reduction in shipment costs and 50% reduction in shipment time from India to Central Asia.
Indian Passport 79th Most Powerful in World, Japan Tops List
- The Indian passport has been ranked as the 79th most powerful in the world, as par the ranking by Henley and Partners Passport Index.
- Afghanistan and Iraq were the worst at 104 while Pakistan came close to them at 102.
- The Henley index ranks world’s passports based on how many countries they can get the holder access to without a prior visa. An Indian passport holder can visit 61 countries without a pre-travel visa.
- Pakistan is at the bottom of the list, faring better only than war-torn countries of Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
- Japan tops the list and its passport gives holders access to 190 countries. Singapore and South Korea come second with access to 189 countries each while France and Germany share the third spot with access to 188 countries each.
- China is placed 69th on the list while India’s other neighbours are placed thus: Bhutan (83rd), Sri Lanka (95th), Bangladesh (97th) and Nepal (98th).
January 11, 2019
The Cabinet gave approval to MoU between India and France on bilateral cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy.
- The bilateral MoU on bilateral cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy, was signed on October 3, 2018.
- India and France aim to establish the basis for a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable issues on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity.
- The technical cooperation will cover joint research working groups, pilot projects, capacity building programs, study tour, case studies and the sharing of experience/ expertise.
Union Cabinet approved a $75 billion currency swap deal between India and Japan
- The Union Cabinet authorised the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to sign the deal with the Bank of Japan for a maximum amount of $75 billion.
- The swap arrangement is an agreement between India and Japan to essentially exchange and re-exchange a maximum amount of $75 billion for domestic currency, for the purpose of maintaining an appropriate level of balance of payments for meeting short-term deficiency in foreign exchange.
- The objective of a currency swap is to hedge exposure to exchange rate risks as at the end of the deal the local currencies are again swapped using the same exchange rate. It also helps in saving the cost of borrowing a foreign currency.
- It also granted setting up of an advanced single window to boost bilateral investments.
FACTFILE – Currency Swap
- A currency swap, referred to as a cross-currency swap, involves the exchange of interest and sometimes of principal in one currency for the same in another currency.
- Interest payments are exchanged at fixed dates through the life of the contract.
- It is considered to be a foreign exchange transaction and is not required by law to be shown on a company’s balance sheet.
Govt to providing tax assistance to Swaziland under the Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) programme
- The Union Cabinet has approved the signing of the Terms of Reference (TOR) governing the engagement of the designated Indian expert to provide tax assistance to Swaziland (now known as Eswatini) under the Tax Inspectors Without Borders programme between India and Eswatini.
FACTFILE – Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) programme
- The TIWB programme, jointly launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is intended to support developing countries to strengthen national tax administrations through building audit capacity and to share this knowledge with other countries.
FACTFILE – Eswatini or Swaziland
- As a landlocked country in Southern Africa. And it is one of the smallest countries in Africa.
- The population is primarily ethnic Swazis, whose language is siSwati.
- After the Second Boer War, the kingdom, under the name of Swaziland, was a British protectorate from 1903 until it regained its independence on 6 September 1968.
- On 19 April 2018, by a proclamation issued by king Mswati III, the official name was changed from Kingdom of Swaziland to Kingdom of Eswatini
- The government is an absolute diarchy, ruled jointly by Ngwenyama (“King”) Mswati III and Ndlovukati (“Queen Mother”) Ntfombi Tfwala since 1986. The former is the administrative head of state and appoints the country’s prime ministers and a number of representatives of both chambers (the Senate and House of Assembly) in the country’s parliament, while the latter is the national head of state, serving as keeper of the ritual fetishes of the nation and presiding during the annual Umhlanga rite.
Union Cabinet nod for establishing three new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
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- One each AIIMS for Jammu and Kashmir region and one at Gujarat.
- AIIMS at Vijaynagar, Samba, Jammu at a cost of Rs 1661 Crore; Awantipura, Pulwama, Kashmir at a cost of Rs 1828 Crore and at Rajkot, Gujarat at a cost of Rs 1195 Crore.
- Each new AIIMS will have 100 undergraduate (MBBS) seats and 60 B.Sc. (Nursing) seats and will have 15-20 super specialty Departments.
Union Cabinet approved re-issuance of ordinance making instant triple talaq a criminal offence
- The earlier ordinance, issued in September last year, was to expire on January 22.
- A bill to convert the ordinance into a law is pending in Rajya Sabha where the opposition has been resisting its passage.An ordinance has a life of six months.
- But from the day a session begins, it has to be replaced by a bill which should be passed by Parliament within 42 days (six weeks), else it lapses.
- The government is at liberty to repromulgate the ordinance if the bill fails to get through Parliament.
India, Nepal review new developments in ties
- India-Nepal ties across various sectors came up for discussion during a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Nepalese Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.
- The two ministers reviewed recent developments in bilateral ties across diverse sectors, including progress achieved on the three transformative initiatives launched in 2018 in the areas of agriculture, railways and inland waterways as well as pace of implementation of ongoing bilateral development and connectivity projects.
- They expressed satisfaction at the significant progress made in different sectors of cooperation as a result of intensified bilateral exchanges at all levels in recent months.
- The two leaders reiterated their commitment to maintain the new momentum and to further strengthen the traditionally close and friendly ties between the two countries.
India, US discuss Afghanistan peace process
- India and the US discussed the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan during a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushm Swaraj and US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad.
- Both sides shared their perspectives on peace and reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan.
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