Assam Current Affairs & GK – June 29 – 30, 2020
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of June 29 – 30, 2020 )
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June 29, 2020
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Forms Committee to investigate Assam Gas Leak
- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered for a high-level committee to look into the recent blowout at an Oil India Ltd (OIL) well in Baghjan, Assam.
- NGT also asked the public sector company to deposit Rs 25 crore for damages caused.
- The committee will have the mandate to examine the cause and damage from the blowout that occurred on May 27, 2020. The oil-and-gas well, owned by OIL, at Upper Assam’s Baghjan village subsequently caught fire on June 9, after leaking for about a fortnight.
- An eight-member committee headed by Justice BP Katakey, a former Gauhati High Court judge, was formed to probe the incident. The committee headed by Justice Katakey will submit its report within 30 days after looking into 13 points listed by the NGT order.
- Cause of gas and oil leak
- Extent of loss and damage caused to human life, wildlife and environment
- Damage and health hazards to the public
- Possible contamination caused to water, air and soil around the oil well
- Extent of contamination of the Dibru river due to the oil spill
- Air quality monitoring, along with collecting soil and groundwater samples of the area and testing water from the Dibru
- Impact on the eco-sensitive Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Maguri-Motapung wetland zone
- Impact on agriculture, fishery and domestic animals in the area
- Any mitigation measures put in place by OIL to offset incidents such as this one
- Individuals responsible for the fire incidents and the cause of failure to prevent the incident
- Assessment of compensation for victims and cost of restitution of damage caused to property and environment
- Preventive and remedial measures
- Any other incidental or allied issues
UP Governor Anandiben Patel given additional charge of MP
- President Ram Nath Kovind has given Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel additional charge of Madhya Pradesh, in view of MP Governor Lalji Tandon’s poor health condition.
- Patel has been given the additional duty of Madhya Pradesh, keeping in mind the current medical condition of Tandon.
PGIMER to conduct clinical trial for rapid antigen detection
- The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has initiated a programme of clinical trials for rapid antigen detection for COVID-19 patients.
- The procedure will not only help keep a track on the increasing number of COVID-19 patients but also enable easy access to detect the affected COVID-19 patients on a larger scale within a short span of time.
- The ICMR has identified seven tertiary-care hospitals across the country to initiate trials and the PGIMER has been selected as one of the sites to be part of this programme for critically-ill COVID-19 patients.
Centre allocate 231 crore to Arunachal Pradesh to implement Jal Jeevan Mission
- Under Jal Jeevan Mission the state will get Rs 231 crore under the 15th Finance Commission Grants to PRIs during 2020-21; 50 per cent of this amount has to be mandatorily to be spent on water and sanitation.
- Arunachal Pradesh Government is also asked to expedite implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission, a flagship programme that aims to improve the lives of rural people by providing safe drinking water to every rural household through household tap connections by 2024.
- Under Jal Jeevan Mission, water quality testing laboratories at district and state levels are given priority. Community is being involved for surveillance of water quality.
- Arunachal Pradesh plans to provide cent per cent tap connections to all the households of the state by March, 2023 and accordingly the Centre has allocated an amount of Rs 255 crore for the state under the mission in 2020-21.
- The state would be given additional funds in form of performance grants based on the achievement in terms of tangible outputs – the household tap connections and commensurate financial progress.
- Of the 2.18 lakh total rural households in Arunachal Pradesh, 37,000 households have been already provided with tap connections.
June 30, 2020
Kharchi Puja begins in Tripura
- The week-long tradition Kharchi festival began at Khayerpur in West Tripura district amid COVID-19 pandemic. Kharchi Puja is one of the most important festivals of Tripura during which 14 deities are worshipped.
- The formal inauguration programme was cancelled due to the pandemic. Raj Chantai opened the Chaturdash Devata temple after a ceremonial procession and offered prayers marking the beginning of the puja.
- Additional security forces have been deployed in and around the temple to strictly enforce the COVID-19 guidelines like social distancing and wearing of masks.
Tushar Mehta and K.K. Venugopal reappointed as Solicitor General and Attorney General for India, respectively
- The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet has approved the re-appointment of senior advocate Tushar Mehta as Solicitor General for a period of three years.
- Senior advocate K.K. Venugopal has also been reappointed to the post of Attorney General for India for a period of one year.
- The Centre has re-appointed Vikramjit Banerjee, Aman Lekhi, Madhavi Divan, K.M. Nataraj and Sanjay Jain as Additional Solicitors Generals for the Supreme Court for three years.
India bans 59 Chinese apps over national security concerns
- Indian government banned nearly 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser and Xiaomi’s Mi Community over national security concerns. In this regard, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a list of 59 Chinese apps that are now banned in the country.
- These measures have been undertaken since there is credible information that these apps are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.
- The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures.
- The recommendations of the intelligence agencies have backing of the National Security Council Secretariat which determined that certain China-linked applications could be detrimental to the country’s security.
World’s largest Plasma Therapy trial centre launched in Maharashtra
- Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated ”Project PLATINA” – India’s first and the world’s largest Plasma Therapy Trial Centre in Nagpur.
- This centre will help formulate definite treatment guidelines for the entire country in managing critical Covid-19 patients.
- State sanctioned Rs 16.65 crore for Project Platina and clinical trials from the CM’s Relief Fund, and the project has been completed in barely three weeks.
- With this project, the government hopes to save around 500 seriously ill Covid-19 patients in the state free of cost, amidst recent apprehensions of prohibitively high costs for this form of treatment expressed in some circles.
- Each critical patient would receive 2 doses of 200 ml of convalescent plasma from recovered patients which contains antibodies against coronavirus that will fight the infection and help the serious patients recover.
- Four other facilities were inaugurated Plasma Donation, Plasma Bank, Plasma Trial and Emergency Authorisation centres.
Karnataka unveils ‘Skill Connect’ portal for jobs in Karnataka
- Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has unveiled ‘Skill Connect’ portal, which is a meeting point for job seekers and job givers in the state.
- The portal offers a choice of industries for job seekers to choose and apply, such as automotive, banking and finance, hospitality, IT-enables services (ITeS), manufacturing, banking and others.
- Upon registering on the website and uploading the skills and educational qualifications, an employer looking for such a prospective candidate will match up to directly contact without the role of an intermediary.
India, Bhutan sign pact on Kholongchhu hydel project
- A concession agreement for the 600-MW Kholongchhu hydroelectric project between the Royal Government of Bhutan and Kholongchhu Hydro Energy Limited was signed in Thimphu in the virtual presence of India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Bhutan Foreign Minister Lyonpo (Dr) Tandi Dorji.
- The 600-MW run-of-the-river project is located on the lower course of the Kholongchhu river in Trashiyangtse district in eastern Bhutan.
- The project envisages an underground powerhouse of four 150-MW turbines with water impounded by a concrete gravity dam of 95 metres height. It will be implemented by Kholongchhu Hydro Energy Limited, a joint venture company formed between Druk Green Power Corporation of Bhutan and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited of India.
- this agreement will lead to commencement of construction and other works of this first joint venture hydroelectric project between India and Bhutan. The project is expected to be completed by 2025.
SAP India unveils “Global Bharat” initiative to make MSMEs globally competitive
- SAP launched a new programme called “Global Bharat”, in association with Nasscom Foundation, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Pratham InfoTech Foundation, to enable Indian Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) become globally competitive by equipping them with digital technologies. The programme was launched
- The initiative is aimed at driving greater efficiencies of MSMEs by adopting three initiatives gaining access to global marketplace, digitally skilling workforce and digitally transforming businesses.
- Global Bharat, is an endeavour to enable MSMEs to augment business operations and re-access critical processes that overcome inefficiencies and make them globally competitive.
- MSMEs will have open access to SAP Ariba Discovery where any buyer can post sourcing needs and any of the four million suppliers on Ariba Network can respond with their ability to deliver the goods and services required with no fees through December 31, 2020.
- Business owners will have access to SAP India’s Code Unnati, a coveted “Golden Peacock Award” winning digital skilling initiative.
- MSMEs will be provided accessibility to 240 courses, with more getting added in a few months, on digital financial, soft skills, productivity technologies that will digitally skill the workforce and adapt to the new working environments.
Bharat Biotech Covid vaccine Covaxin gets permission for human clinical trials
- Bharat Biotech has successfully developed Covaxin, India’s first vaccine candidate for Covid-19, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology (NIV), which will begin its human trials next month.
- The Drug Controller General of India – Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare granted permission to initiate Phase I and II human clinical trials after the company submitted results generated from preclinical studies, demonstrating safety and immune response.
- The indigenous, inactivated vaccine was developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) High Containment facility located in Genome Valley, Hyderabad.
Union Minister of Tribal Affairs launches Tribes India products on Gem
- Ministry of Tribal affairs has initiated several immediate initiatives to re-energise the lagging economic activity for sustaining the livelihood development of tribals.
- The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs inaugurated the TRIBES India store on Government eMarketplace which can help in facilitating purchases by Government and then the revamped website (https://trifed.tribal.gov.in/), which has all relevant details about the schemes and initiatives underway to the benefit of tribal communities.
- The Tribes India e-Marketplace, coming on the heels of the Retail Inventory Management System which has automated the sourcing and sale of stocks, is an ambitious initiative to on-board almost 5 lakh Tribal Artisans on the e- market platform to provide them access to national and international markets.
- TRIFED’s VanDhan Integrated Information Network facilitates the pooling of all information pertaining to forest dwellers engaged in Minimum Support Price Operations and its VanDhan Yojana linking them up to Village haats and Warehouses.
Indian Navy inducts indigenously developed Torpedo Decoy System Maareech
- Anti-Submarine Warfare capability of the Indian Navy received a major boost with the induction of Advanced Torpedo Decoy System Maareech capable of being fired from all frontline warships.
- Design and Development of this anti-torpedo decoy system has been undertaken indigenously by DRDO labs-(NSTL and NPOL).
- The Bharat Electronics Limited would undertake the production of this decoy system.
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