Assam Current Affairs – May 15 – 21, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs & GK – May 15 – 21, 2020

( Covers all important Assam & North-East Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of May 15 – 21, 2020 )

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May 15, 2020

Assam likely to shift academic year to April-March
  • The Government of Assam is contemplating changing the academic year of the State’s school and colleges from January-December to April-March every year, as per suggestions of a task force constituted for the purpose. If is happens, then the current academic year is also likely to be extended till March 31, 2021.
  • The measure has been suggested to compensate the loss of academic days due to the prevailing lockdown crisis.
  • The change if implemented will also be in conformity with the academic year of CBSE and education boards of most of the other states.
  • To minimise the damage of COVID lockdown, the government has urged the teacher community to encourage and motivate the students for optimum utilisation of the e-initiatives like Diksha App, Biswa Bidya Assam App and classes broadcast through Doordarshan and All India Radio.
ELISA kits produced by ZydusCadila has 98% sensitivity
  • The ICMR said that the first batch of the ELISA kits produced by ZydusCadila has similar sensitivity and specificity of 98.7 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively.
  • The National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, has validated the first batch of ELISA kits produced by ZydusCadila and found similar sensitivity and specificity of 98.7 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively.
  • According to the ICMR, the ELISA kit is cost-effective, sensitive, rapid and a large number of samples can be tested at any level of clinical setting, including public health centres and hospitals.
  • After the development at the ICMR-NIV, the technology has been transferred for mass production to ZydusCadila, which is an innovation driven global healthcare company.
  • This test kit has the advantage of testing 90 samples together in a single run of 2.5 hours, so that healthcare professionals can proceed quickly with the necessary next steps on their patients” triage paths.
India’s Infant Mortality at 32 per 1,000 live births
  • India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) has improved very marginally from 33 per 1,000 live births in 2017 to 32 in 2018, according to data released by the Registrar General of India. India’s IMR was it was 129 in 1971.
  • Nagaland has the best IMR at 4 while Madhya Pradesh continues to have the worst IMR in the country at 48.
  • The urban rural differential in MP is huge with the rural IMR at 51, while the urban IMR at 32.
  • Among large states, Kerala is the best performer being the only state with an IMR in single digits at 7. It is also the only state which has now achieved the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal in this regard.
  • The largest decline in IMR has been registered by Mizoram with a decline from 15 to 5.
  • The registrar also released data for death and birth rates. While India’s birth rate stood at 20, the death rate was 6.2. In 1971, India’s birth rate was 36 and death rate was 14.9.
  • Delhi has the lowest at 3 while Chhattisgarh has the highest death rate in the country at 8.
Govt announces Rs 5,000 crore Special Credit facility for street vendors
  • The Centre announced Rs 5,000- crore special credit facility to benefit nearly 50 lakh such vendors. The scheme will be launched within one month.
  • Rs 10,000 loan will be given to the needy vendors, but this is not a fixed amount, and will be decided after consultation with banks.
  • Digital payments will be incentivized through monetary rewards and enhanced working capital credit would be made available for good repayment behaviour.
  • Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the scheme will support nearly 50 lakh street vendors and will provide liquidity of Rs 5,000 crore.
Union Govt allocates Rs 40,000 crore more for MGNREGS
  • The government announced an additional Rs 40,000 crore allocation for the rural employment guarantee scheme to help provide jobs to migrant workers returning home. This is over and above the Rs 61,000 crore budgeted earlier.
  • Also, public expenditure on health will be increased, Investments in grassroot health institutions to be ramped up. Programme for multi-mode access to digital or online education to be launched immediately.
NDMA developed National Migrant Info System (NIMS), a central database for migrant workers
  • The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has come forward and developed a National Migrant Info System (NIMS) a central online repository to facilitate their seamless movement across states amid the Covid-19 induced lockdown.
  • The Union Home Ministry has also asked the states to upload data on the NIMS dashboard for better coordination, movement monitoring and contact tracing. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to all the chief secretaries in this regard.
  • The portal will maintain a central repository and help the sending as well as receiving state/district to ask for and give their acceptance in an online format seamlessly.
  • This system will help in speedy communication between states without creating additional work at the level of the field officers.
  • Some of the key features of this system will be a unique ID generated for each migrant, which can be used for all transactions and help any state can visualise how many people are going out from where and how many are reaching their destination states.
One nation, one ration card for migrants
  • Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the second tranche of fiscal stimulus, emphasizing ”one nation, one ration card”. Technology systems will be used to enable migrants to access Public Distribution System from any fair price shop in India by March 2021 one nation, one ration card.
  • This scheme will enable a migrant beneficiary to access the PDS from any fair price shop in the country.
  • As many as 67 crore beneficiaries in 23 states covering 83 per cent of the PDS population will be covered by national portability by August 2020.
  • One-hundred per cent national portability will be achieved by March 2021. All states and UTs will complete full FPS automation by March 2021.

                                                May 16, 2020

Assam incurring Rs 1,000 crore loss daily
  • Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the State is incurring a daily loss of Rs 1,000 crore during the lockdown period, even as he expressed optimism that the economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore announced by the Central government would help the state’s economy.
  • As per a survey done by the Confederation of Indian Industry, which pegged the daily loss of the State at Rs 1,000 crore.
  • The stimulus announced by the Centre would bail the State out of the current crisis and also largely benefit the MSME sector, which forms the backbone of the industrial sector of the State.
  • The Centre, in its economic package, has allocated Rs 3 lakh crore for the MSME sector of the country.
  • The MSMEs form 99.9 per cent of the industries in Assam and the industrial sector contributes 39 per cent of the State’s GDP. There are over one lakh MSMEs in the State, providing direct and indirect employment to 40 lakh people.
Meghalaya Cabinet nod to agricultural reforms
  • The Meghalaya Cabinet approved of a Bill to introduce reforms in the agricultural sector by amending a 20-year-old legislation.
  • Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the Cabinet discussed the 1980 Act on agriculture and felt that vital aspects were left out from its purview that need to be amended.
  • The Meghalaya State Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 will include livestock and aquaculture and facilitate their marketing.
  • State Assembly would take up the Bill for consideration and passage, when it reconvene on May 20.
COVID-19 could cost global economy $8.8 trillion, says ADB report
  • The global economy could suffer between $5.8 trillion and %8.8 trillion in losses — equivalent to 6.4 per cent to 9.7 per cent of the global GDP due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The Asian Development Bank (ADB) report ‘Updated Assessment of the Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19’ found that economic losses in Asia and the Pacific could range from $1.7 trillion under a short containment scenario of 3 months to $2.5 trillion under a long containment scenario of six months, with the region accounting for about 30 per cent of the overall decline in global output.
  • Governments around the world have been quick in responding to the impacts of the pandemic, implementing measures such as fiscal and monetary easing, increased health spending, and direct support to cover losses in incomes and revenues.
  • Sustained efforts from governments focused on these measures could soften COVID-19”s economic impact by as much as 30 percent to 40 per cent, it said, adding this could reduce global economic losses due to the pandemic to between $4.1 trillion and $5.4 trillion.
  • The analysis, which uses a Global Trade Analysis Project-computable general equilibrium model, covers 96 affected economies with over 4 million COVID-19 cases.
  • This new analysis presents a broad picture of the very significant potential economic impact of COVID-19.
  • These findings can provide governments with a relevant policy guide as they develop and implement measures to contain and suppress the pandemic, and lessen its impacts on their economies and people.
Rs 3,500 crore allocated for free food grain supply to migrants for 2 months
  • Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced free food grain supply to migrants for 2 months, this is the second tranche of measures of the government’s self-reliant campaign
  • Migrants who neither come under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) nor are they state card beneficiaries in states where they are stationed will be provided 5 kg of grains per person and 1 kg of ”chana” per family for two months.
  • About 8 crore migrants are expected to benefit and Rs 3,500 crore will be spent on this intervention for 2 months.
  • The cost will be fully borne by the government of India. State governments would be responsible for the implementation and identification of migrants through guidelines
  • under MNREGA support for migrants, 14.62 crore person-days of work generated till May 13 and actual expenditure to date is around Rs 10,000 crore.
Union Govt announces structural reforms for the ‘self-reliant India’ programme
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced deep structural reforms under the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package for the ”self-reliant India” programme. Minister detailed makeover initiatives for eight key sectors, to be supported and promoted via structural reforms.
  • The biggest reform measure, ending one the last great central monopolies, announced was for the coal sector, where mining has been deregulated. Nearly 50 blocks would be offered for auction immediately, and in a departure from the tradition, there will no eligibility conditions, only upfront payment with a ceiling.
  • The Rs 50,000 crore infrastructure development will be instituted for evacuation of coal to help Coal India’s (CIL) achieve the 1 billion tonnes output target by 2023-24, plus the coal produced from private blocks.
  • The coal-based methane gas reserves will also be auctioned and incentives be provided for conversion of coal into gas.
  • A new regime for seamless composite exploration-cum-mining-cum-production will be introduced, and joint auction of bauxite and coal blocks for the aluminium industry will be conducted. The foreign direct investment (FDI) limit for the industry will be raised from 49 per cent to 74 per cent under the automatic route.
  • The Centre will also go for corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board to improve autonomy, accountability and efficiency in ordnance supplies.
  • Six more airports have been identified for the second round of bidding for operation and maintenance on the public-private partnership (PPP) basis. The air space availability will also be eased to allow airlines save cost and passengers, flying time.
  • DISCOMS in the Union Territories would be privatised. ARs 8,100 crore revamped-up viability gap funding scheme was also announced for social infrastructure projects.
  • The government will encourage the private sector’s participation in the space sector through collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and a liberal geo-spatial data policy.
Centre to take up affordable rental housing for migrants, urban poor
  • The Centre will launch a scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for migrant labour and the urban poor to build affordable rental housing facilities for them.
  • Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that under the scheme, government-funded housing in different cities will be converted into affordable rental housing complexes under the public-private partnership mode.
  • Further, the government will also incentivise manufacturing units, industries, institutions, associations to develop affordable rental housing complexes on their private land and operate them.
  • The Centre will also incentivise state agencies and central government organisations on the similar lines to develop affordable rental housing complexes and operate them.
States allowed to use disaster funds for migrants’ shelter, food
  • The Centre said it has permitted state governments to utilise the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for setting up shelter for migrants and providing them food, water etc,
  • The Central government also released Rs 11,002 crore of its contribution in advance to all state governments on April 3, to augment funds in their SDRF.
  • The disbursal of revolving fund to SHGs was on-boarded on PAISA portal in April 2020 on a pilot basis in Gujarat and it is under process of being rolled out across all the states in May 2020. 7,200 new SHGs of urban poor have been formed during the period starting March 15.
  • The Centre said to promote formalisation of labour, it is emphasizing on appointment letters for all workers along with annual health check-up for employees.

 

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May 17, 2020

Assam CM Sonowal asks agri-scientists to evolve triple cropping system
  • As part of activities chalked out to strengthen the agro-based economy, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited the Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Kahikuchi campus of Krishi Vigyan Kendra and asked the agricultural scientists to develop ways and means for a triple cropping system in the State.
  • CM urged the agri-scientists to empower the farming community as well as increase fertility of the crop area to sustainably practise triple cropping in the State throughout the year, to infuse a fresh lease of life into the rural economy.
TRIFED & Art of Living Foundation collaboration to provide free ration kits to needy tribes India artisans
  • TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Art of Living Foundation (AOL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in respective programmes of each organisation for promoting Tribal Enterprises.
  • The Art of Living Foundation has agreed to provide free ration kits to needy tribes India artisans.
  • TRIFED Regional Offices have compiled the list of needy tribal artisans and have identified 9,409 needy tribal artisans located across the country for distribution of ration kits under #iStandWithHumanity campaign of Art Of Living.
Madhya Pradesh launches country’s first ever ‘FIR AapkeDwar’ Yojana
  • Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra launched country’s first ever ‘FIR AapkeDwarYojana’ in Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh is the first state in the country to implement such an innovative scheme.
  • Launching the scheme at the new Police Control Room, Dr Narottam Mishra said that now people would not be required to visit police station to lodge an FIR.
  • FIR AapkeDwar scheme has been started as a pilot project in 23 Police Stations including one urban and one rural Police Station at 11 Divisional Headquarters.
  • Dial 100 vehicle would have trained Head Constables to lodge FIR. FIRs in complaints of general nature will be lodged on the spot. In case of serious complaints, guidance will be sought from senior officers.
  • The Minister also launched helpline ‘Dial 112’ on the occasion, to facilitate immediate availability of ambulance, police and fire fighting services wherever needed.
Central Govt allows direct listing by Indian companies abroad
  • The government has thrown open the doors for Indian public companies to directly list their shares abroad and access a larger pool of capital. It has also allowed private companies that list NCDs on stock exchanges not to be regarded as listed companies.
  • Necessary regulations allowing direct overseas listing by the Indian entity is expected soon after amendments to the Company Act and FEMA regulations are passed.
  • At present direct listing by the Indian companies on foreign stock exchanges is not permitted. Likewise, foreign companies are also not allowed to directly list their equity shares on the Indian stock exchanges.
  • Indian companies are allowed to raise capital abroad through the depository receipts (ADR and GDR). Unlike direct listing, depository receipts are securities listed overseas against shares of listed domestic companies.
  • But with this window increasingly becoming unpopular, Centre and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) are exploring other ways to mobilise capital for the corporate and provide larger play for overseas investors in the country.
  • At least 15 Indian companies have tapped the ADR and GDR route, including the Infosys, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries.
FDI limit for defence manufacturing to be raised to 74%
  • The Union government has decided to raise the limit for foreign direct investment (FDI) for defence manufacturing from 49 to 74 per cent under the automatic route.
  • Time-bound defence procurement process and faster decision-making will take place under the new policy. And a will set up a project management unit to support contract management. Further, realistic setting of general staff qualitative requirements of weapons or platforms will be taken up.
  • Under the new regime, the government will also overhaul the trial and testing procedures.
  • In a bid to enhance self-reliance in defence production, the government will notify a list of weapons and platforms for a ban on import with year-wise timelines. Indigenisation of imported spares will also be taken up.
  • Further, the government will take up separate budget provisioning for domestic capital procurement.
  • The government has also decided to corporatize Ordnance Factory Board to improve autonomy, accountability and efficiency in ordnance supplies.

May 18, 2020

Digendra Nath Barua, North-East’s first chemical engineer passes away
  • Digendra Nath Barua, the first chemical engineer of the northeastern region, former MD of the Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) died at the Apollo Hospital at the age of 98.
  • Barua started his career with the Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation at Namrup and shifted to the AIDC from he retired from AIDC in 1976-77.
  • Barua was instrumental in rapid industrialisation of the State.
  • He played a major role in setting up the Federation of Industries of North Eastern Region (FINER) and NEDFi.
  • He also initiated establishment of the Assam Petrochemicals Limited and the Cachar Sugar Mill.
  • After his retirement, Barua was instrumental in setting up the Guwahati Stock Exchange and was its working president. As president of the Guwahati Management Association (GMA) for long 12 years.
Govt to launch ‘PM eVIDYA’ for access to digital education
  • Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that ”PM eVIDYA” programme for multi-mode access to digital education will be launched immediately.
  • PM eVIDYA programme will consist of ”Diksha” involving e-content and QR coded energized textbooks for all grades and will be called as ”one nation, one digital platform.
  • One earmarked TV channel per class from 1 to 12, also named as ”one class, one channel”, will also be rolled out. It will also envisage extensive use of radio, community radio and podcasts and special e-content for visually and hearing impaired.
  • Under the ”PM eVIDYA” programme, the Finance Ministry said that top 100 universities will be permitted to automatically start online courses by May 30, 2020.
  • Besides this, Manodarpan, an initiative for psychosocial support of students, teachers and families for mental health and emotional wellbeing, will also be launched immediately.
  • National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission for ensuring that every child attains learning levels and outcomes in grade five by 2025 will be set afloat by December, this year.
  • Top-100 universities will be permitted to automatically start online courses by May 30, 2020.
  • Special e-content for visually impaired and hearing impaired children, developed on a digitally accessible information system and learning material for disabled children in sign language has been made available on the NIOS website and YouTube.
  • This platform integrates all efforts related to digital, online, on-air education, so that 33 crore students can have multi-mode access to quality education.
Union Govt launches ‘Mission Sagar’ for assistance to Indian Ocean nations
  • Government of India launched Mission Sagar to provide assistance to Indian Ocean Region Nations amid the coronavirus crisis.
  • As part of the Government of India outreach amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Indian Naval Ship Kesari has departed for Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, to provide Food Items, COVID related Medicines including HCQ Tablets and Special Ayurvedic Medicines with Medical Assistance Teams.
  • The Ship will deliver consignments of Covid related essential medicines to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles and about 600 tonnes of food items to Maldives.
  • In addition, in the case of Mauritius, a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines is also being sent.
  • The consignments meant for Madagascar and Comoros also includes Hydroxychloroquine tablets, which have already been sent earlier to Mauritius, Maldives and Seychelles.
IIT-Madras startup developing wearable tracker
  • An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras-incubated startup Muse Wearables is developing a wrist-based tracker with skin temperature, heart rate and SpO2 (blood oxygen saturation) sensing which can continuously track these body vitals remotely that will help in early diagnosis of COVID-19 symptoms.
  • The tracker is Bluetooth-enabled and can be connected to the mobile phone via an app called the ”Muse Health App”.
  • The user vitals and activity data are stored on the phone as well as a remote server.
  • Priced at around Rs 3,500, the new wearable product will soon be deployed in the market for consumers across all the 70 countries that the startup currently sells in.
  • The tracker can get notifications from the AarogyaSetu App and raise an alert to the user when he enters a COVID containment zone. Muse Wearables has already completed product design for the tracker and are now working on finalizing and fabricating the product.
  • The wearable tracker’s major objective is to enable remote detection of COVID-19 and Monitoring of COVID-19 patients by providing a low-cost solution that is accessible to everyone.
  • The unique features of the product include remote monitoring of patient vitals by doctors and experts, automatic alerts and emergency response system if a user’s vitals are out of range.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman providesbreak-up of Economic package of Rs 20,97,053crore
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman listed all the measures and allocations made under the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package for the ”self-reliant India” programme, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • She listed measures worth Rs 20,97,053 crore including RBI measures and steps announced under Pradhan MantriGaribKalyana Package (PMGKP).
  • Under the break-up, on the first day announcements with allocations worth Rs 5,94,550 crore were made, while on the second day steps on agriculture, housing, rural sectors worth Rs 3,10,000 crore were made.
  • Besides, Rs 1,50,000 crore were allocated for several schemes to revive agriculture and allied sectors amongst others on the third day.
  • On the fourth and the fifth day, the FM gave a mega push to boost mining, defence, civil aviation and power distribution sectors via structural reforms and stimulus worth Rs 48,100 crore.
  • The package also include earlier announcements under PMGKP worth Rs 1,92,800 crore and RBI measures including Rs 8,01,603 crore which come to Rs 9,94,403 crore.

 

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May 19, 2020

Assam to get Rs 300 crore from World Bank to deal with Covid-19
  • The Assam government expects to get Rs 300 crore from the World Bank to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic management effectively. Of the Rs 300 crore World Bank aid, 80 per cent is a grant and remaining 20 per cent a loan.
  • The negotiation with the World Bank through the central government’s Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) is now in advance stage.
  • Assam government has launched a new scheme “Ruthless Quarantine With Big Heart”. “Under this mandatory quarantine protocol, each suspected person must be in 14 days quarantine.”
  • The Assam government on May 7 launched an ambitious community-based surveillance (ACSP) for Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) across the state to contain the possible spread of Covid-19. Under the ACSP, health workers including doctors would go to all 30,000 villages to identify the ILI and SARI cases in the villages. ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) and MPW (Multi-Purpose Workers) along with other health staff would be the front line workers to undertake this.
Governor’s rule in Tripura autonomous tribal body
  • Governor’s rule was imposed in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) as the polls have been postponed indefinitely due to the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of novel coronavirus.
  • K. Rao, former Tripura Chief Secretary and a retired IAS officer, has been appointed as the Administrator of the autonomous body.
  • Tripura Governor Ramesh Bais appointed Rao, who of late was the member of the Tripura Police Accountability Commission, to run the politically important tribal autonomous body on his behalf.
  • Mukhi on April 27 appointed Rajesh Prasad, a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, as the administrator of the BTC following the promulgation of Governor’s Rule.
  • The politically important BTC, which started functioning in December 2003, comprises four districts of western Assam Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri and is home to over 31,00,000 people, the majority of whom are tribals.
Indian Navy’s breathable PPE kit ‘NavRakshak’
  • The Indian Navy”s indigenously-made PPE kit, ”NavRakshak”, made for enhancing comforts of the health workers under Indian conditions.
  • The ”NavRakshak” with an innovative ”breathable” fabric material, has brought new hopes to the medical world and healthcare professionals from whose perspective it has been designed.
  • It has two distinctive factors; optimal protectiveness and optimal breathability. Breathability is the ability of the fabric to permit water vapour to pass through and to prevent the entry of water. The comfort properties of a fabric depend on its ability to transmit water and vapor from the body to prevent accumulation of liquid on the skin. In this way, thermal energy generated by the body will be transmitted, and vapour moisture will be diffused, resulting in a comfortable condition.
  • NavRakshak uses a non-woven advanced quality fabric of specific GSM with a certain stitching technique. The unique character of the fabric used is its strong uniform structure which can act as an excellent barrier for liquids, particles, blood and body fluids.
  • The new technology has already been tested by INMAS (Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences) Delhi, a DRDO organization tasked with the testing and certification of PPE.
  • The PPE passed with 6/6 Synthetic blood penetration resistance test pressure (Government of India mandates minimum 3/6 and above level as per ISO 16603 standard).
Union Govt decriminalises minor violations under Companies Act
  • Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said minor technical and procedural defaults under the Companies Act will be decriminalised. The decriminalised violations include shortcomings in CSR reporting, inadequacies in board report, filing defaults, delay in holding of annual general meetings.
  • The majority of the compoundable offences sections will be shifted to internal adjudication mechanism (IAM) and power of regional directors for compounding have been enhanced.
  • The government will drop seven compoundable offences and five offences will be dealt with under alternative framework. Amendments will de-clog the criminal courts and National Company Law Tribunals (NCLT).
  • No fresh insolvency case will be admitted for the next one year in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The government will also set up a special insolvency framework for MSMEs under Section 240A of the Insolvency of Bankruptcy Code. This has been a long pending demand of the industry and economists.
  • The threshold for insolvency will also be raised to Rs 1 crore from the current Rs 1 lakh which will be supportive for the MSME sector.

May 20, 2020

17,000 stranded people reach North-East by 13 special trains
  • A total of 13 Shramik Special trains have arrived in the NE region so far bringing over 17,000 stranded persons from other parts of the country.
  • As of now, 13 have arrived in various north-eastern states like Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Assam with about 17,000 stranded people. Some more trains, bringing stranded people, will be arriving in the NE states within th days.
  • While 93 trains have arrived at various places of Bihar falling under the NFR, one train has arrived at New Jalpaiguri and three at New Cooch Behar stations in West Bengal till date.
  • NFR has jurisdiction over the entire NE region, including Sikkim, besides parts of West Bengal and Bihar.
  • The passengers of Shramik Special trains are mainly students, patients, and migrant labourers with their families.
  • Passengers are been given free meals, water and necessary medical help by Railways as and when required during journey.
  • Indian Railways has already operated more than 1,565 Shramik Special trains and transported more than 20 lakh passengers across the country.
India’s Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to be the chairman of the WHO’s Executive Board
  • India’s Health Minister Harsh Vardhan is set to be the chairman of the WHO”s Executive Board. He has been elected to the post and will take charge succeeding Japan’s Dr Hiroki Nakatani.
  • This all important Executive Board has 34 members who are technically qualified and represent their nations. All of the 34 are designated by their respective states in the World Health Assembly.
  • Since last year itself WHO’s South East Asia group had decided that India would be elected to the Executive Board for three years from 2020. The proposal was signed by the 194-nation World Health Assembly.
India to miss global nutrition targets by 2025
  • India is among 88 countries that are likely to miss global nutrition targets by 2025, according to the Global Nutrition Report 2020. India as one with the highest rates of domestic inequalities in malnutrition.
  • In 2012, the World Health Assembly identified six nutrition targets for maternal, infant and young child nutrition to be met by 2025.
  • These require governments to reduce stunting by 40% in children under 5 and prevalence of anaemia by 50% among women in the age group of 19-49 years, ensure 30% reduction in low-birth weight and no increase in childhood overweight, increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months up to at least 50% and reduce and maintain childhood wasting to less than 5%.
  • According to the Global Nutrition Report 2020, India will miss targets for all four nutritional indicators for which there is data available, i.e. stunting among under-5 children, anaemia among women of reproductive age, childhood overweight and exclusive breastfeeding.
  • The report emphasises on the link between malnutrition and different forms of inequity, such as those based on geographic location, age, gender, ethnicity, education and wealth malnutrition in all its forms.
  • India is identified as among the three worst countries, along with Nigeria and Indonesia, for steep within-country disparities on stunting, where the levels varied four-fold across communities.
  • Stunting level in Uttar Pradesh is over 40% and their rate among individuals in the lowest income group is more than double those in the highest income group at 22.0% and 50.7%, respectively.
  • In addition, stunting prevalence is 10.1% higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. There are nearly double as many obese adult females as there are males (5.1% compared to 2.7%).
WWF India to host First digital Model Conference of Parties
  • The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India in association with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will host the first digital Model Conference of Parties (MCOP) on May 22-23 with an aim to put the power of decision making in the hands of children.
  • The MCOP 2020 aims to provide an opportunity to the future leaders to gain knowledge and experience in environmental problem solving.
  • The WWF’s partners United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme and National Biodiversity Authority will also be associated with the event.
DoPT exempts pregnant women employees from attending office
  • The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has exempted pregnant women officials and staff members from attending office.
  • Union Personnel Minister Jitendra Singh said that pregnant women employees, who are not already on maternity leave, will also be exempted from attending office. Persons with disabilities will also to be given similar exemption from attendance.
  • Government servants who have underlying co-morbidities and were undergoing treatment for these ailments before the lockdown, may, as far as possible, be exempted upon production of medical prescription.
  • While officers of the level of Deputy Secretary and above are expected to attend office on all working days, the officers and staff below the level of Deputy Secretary will attend office with 50 per cent attendance every alternative day and those not attending the office should work from home and remain available on telephone and electronically.

 

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                                                May 21, 2020

India up at 74th place on WEF’s global Energy Transition Index
  • India has moved up two positions to rank 74th on a global ‘Energy Transition Index’ with improvements on all key parameters of economic growth, energy security and environmental sustainability, the World Economic Forum (WEF).
  • Releasing the annual rankings, the Geneva-based international organisation for public-private cooperation said Covid-19 will compromise the transition to clean energy without an urgent stakeholder action as unprecedented disruptions due to the pandemic threaten this transition.
  • The WEF study measuring readiness for clean energy transition in 115 economies showed that 94 have made progress since 2015, but environmental sustainability continues to lag.
  • Sweden has topped the Energy Transition Index (ETI) for the third consecutive year and is followed by Switzerland and Finland in the top three.
  • The WEF said the “emerging centres of demand” such as India (74th) and China (78th) have made consistent efforts to improve the enabling environment, which refers to political commitments, consumer engagement and investment, innovation and infrastructure, among others.
  • For India, gains have come from a government-mandated renewable energy expansion programme, now extended to 275 GW by 2027.
  • India has also made significant strides in energy efficiency through bulk procurement of LED bulbs, smart meters, and programs for labelling of appliances. Similar measures are being experimented to drive down the costs of electric vehicles.
  • India is one of the few countries in the world to have made consistent year-on-year progress since 2015. India’s improvements have come across all three dimensions of the energy triangle — economic development and growth, energy access and security, and environmental sustainability. It indicates a strong positive trajectory, driven by strong political commitment and an enabling policy environment.
  • The index benchmarks 115 economies on the current performance of their energy systems across economic development and growth, environmental sustainability, and energy security and access indicators- and their readiness for transition to secure, sustainable, affordable, and inclusive energy systems.
IIT Guwahati finds new ways to prevent memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease
  • Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) researchers have discovered new ways that can help prevent or reduce short-term memory losses associated with the Alzheimers disease.
  • The research team explored new ways to prevent the accumulation of neurotoxic molecules in the brain that are associated with short-term memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease.
  • They reported some methods such as the application of low-voltage electric field and the use of ‘trojan peptides’ to arrest aggregation of neurotoxic molecules in the brain.
  • The idea of using ‘Trojan peptide’ comes from mythological “Trojan Horse” used as subterfuge by the Greeks in the battle of ‘Troy’.
  • A defining hallmark of Alzheimer’s is the accumulation of Amyloid beta peptides in the brain. The research team seeks methods to reduce the accumulation of these peptides, in order to arrest the progression of Alzheimer’s.
  • The IIT-G researchers found that application of a low-voltage, the safe electrical field can reduce the formation and accumulation of toxic neurodegenerative molecules that cause short-term memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease.
US student builds website to track COVID-19 in India
  • A computer science student from the US, has created a website to help India keep track of COVID-19 infection rates. Jeremy Philemon has applied his skills in the creation and updating of covid19india.org, a website that aggregates data from every part of the country of 1.35 billion people.
  • The covid19india.org website presents a “tracker” based on that database of up-to-date numbers entered by hundreds of volunteers.
  • Philemon started the website in early March 2020 when India saw a sudden jump in positive COVID-19 cases. He realised there was no central place for residents and officials to find data on infection rates.
  • He also open-sourced the website on the software development platform GitHub, which helped to patch bugs and to introduce new features and improvements.
  • Designing covid19india.org also has taught him more about tailoring website design with users in mind.
Centre releases Rs 46000 crore from tax pool for states
  • The Centre released the May 2020 month instalment of states” share in Central taxes amounting to over Rs 46,000 crore.
  • The sanction for May instalment follows release of April instalment last month ahead of schedule as a special dispensation to meet immediate funding needs of the state governments looking to restore economic activity and minimise losses to its citizens due to disruptions caused by lockdowns.
  • The highest share of central taxes for May has gone to Uttar Pradesh with a net transfer of Rs 8,255.19 crore. This is followed by Bihar at Rs 4,631.96 crore. West Bengal has got Rs 3,461.65 crore while Madhya Pradesh has got Rs 3,630.60.
  • Maharashtra share has been lower at Rs 2,824.47 crore. Goa and Sikkim have got the least from central pool of taxes at Rs 177.72 crore and Rs 178.64 crore, respectively.
  • In its interim report for FY21, the 15th Finance Commission has reduced the share of states in the divisible pool of central taxes by one percentage point to 41 per cent, factoring in the conversion of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories.
  • It assigned 15 per cent weight to the population of a state, down from the 17.5 per cent allocated by the 14th Finance Commission, but raised the weight under demographic performance from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent.

 

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