Assam Current Affairs – May 29 – 31, 2020

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Assam Current Affairs & GK – May 29 – 31, 2020

( Covers all important Assam & North-East Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of May 29 – 31, 2020 )

May 2020 Current Affairs Monthly PDF  |  Assam 2020 Yearbook  | May 2020 Quiz Monthly PDF

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May 29, 2020

Health Ministry includes RMNCAH+N activities in essential services

  • The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare categorised RMNCAH+N activities in the essential services category. These activities are related to pregnancy care management, newborn care and childhood illness management, immunisation services, management of severe acute malnutrition in children, family planning services, comprehensive abortion care services and adolescent health services as essential.
  • The Ministry said that in addition to priority to health facilities and healthcare workers, it is also vital that essential health services for vulnerable population like this segment are continued during the pandemic.
  • Provision of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health Plus Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) services during and post COVID-19 Pandemic.
  • The Ministry said any area exiting in ”containment/buffer zone” can start RMNCAH+N activities as listed in ”areas beyond buffer zone” after a minimum gap of 14 days following delisting.
  • Similarly, an area entering a ”containment and buffer zone” should restrict these activities immediately.
  • Drugs, commodities needed for continuing the RMNCAH+N services, should be treated as essential commodities.
  • Home deliveries of essential medicines like IFA, Calcium, ORS, Zinc, contraceptives etc can be organized in the containment zone.
  • The Health Ministry said the campaign-mode servicing like mass vitamin prophylaxis, Campaigns for Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF), National Deworming Day (NDD) and Test Treat and Talk (T3) camps for anaemia could be provided on an alternative mechanism like through home delivery of essential services and commodities etc based on local situation.
  • The Ministry asserted that critical services for women, children and adolescents should be provided irrespective of their COVID-19 status and under no circumstances should there be a denial of essential services.

Tamil Nadu signs 17 investment MoUs worth Rs 15,128 crore

  • The Tamil Nadu government signed 17 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) involving an investment of Rs 15,128 crore having a potential to generate about 47,150 jobs.
  • The MoUs were signed with companies that are already operating in the state like Daimler India Commercial Vehicles and also with new investors.
  • The investing companies are from Germany, Finland, Taiwan, China, France, South Korea, Japan, USA, Australia, England and Netherlands.

CSIR-IIIM, RIL to develop and scale-up new COVID-19 diagnostic test

  • The Institute of Integrative Medicine in Jammu has tied up with Reliance Industries Ltd to develop and scale-up a new Reverse Transcriptase-Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP)-based COVID-19 diagnostic kit.
  • A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has also been signed between IIIM-Jammu and RIL, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
  • The IIIM is a research institute under the CSIR.
  • COVID-19 RT-LAMP test is a nucleic acid-based test carried out from nasal or throat swab sample from patients.
  • The test has been developed and successfully demonstrated using synthetic templates.
  • It is a rapid (45-60 minutes), cost-effective and accurate test.
  • It has been tested with a small number of samples of patients and validating the kit on more number of patient samples is planned and will be done together with RIL.
  • The advantage of this test is that the RT-LAMP-based COVID-19 kit components are easily available and these can be completely manufactured in India.
  • The current COVID-19 testing is done by real-time PCR and their components are mostly imported.
  • These tests are expensive and require highly trained manpower, costly instruments and a relatively high-end lab and cannot be deployed at remote locations in quarantine centres, airports and railway stations.
  • The RT-LAMP test can be done with minimal expertise in a very basic lab setup like mobile units or kiosks for testing at airports, railway stations, bus stands and other public places.

May 30, 2020

New waterways linking NE India, Bangladesh

  • New waterways between Tripura and Bangladesh would start within three months and it would boost trade and numerous economic activities.
  • State CM Deb said that a temporary jetty would be built at Sonamura in western Tripura within three months before starting the new waterways through Gomati river between Tripura and Bangladesh.
  • After operating the small vessels to carry various goods during the monsoon season, dredging for operating big vessels and ships would start in the Gomati river during the winter season.
  • To operate vessels smoothly between Tripura and Bangladesh, 18 km waterways (15 km in Bangladesh territories and 3 km in Tripura territories) in the Gomati river would require dredging.
  • The Gomati river, one of the eight rivers of Tripura flows to Bangladesh, linked with Meghna, one of the major rivers in the neighbouring country.
  • The Second Addendum to the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade was signed in Dhaka on May 20 by Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das and Bangladesh Shipping Ministry Secretary Mohammed Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury.
  • In the Second Addendum, Sonamura (Tripura)-Daudkhandi (Bangladesh) stretch (93 km) of the Gomti river was included as IBP route number 9 and 10 in the protocol and it would improve connectivity of Tripura and adjoining northeastern states of India with Bangladesh”s economic centres and would help the hinterland of both the countries.

Odisha govt announces Rs 17000 crore livelihood package

  • The Odisha government announced a special package to provide employment opportunities for migrant workers and people affected due to Covid-19 pandemic in the rural areas.
  • The council of ministers” meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, approved the package named Special Livelihood Intervention Plan.
  • The livelihood intervention package will be implemented from June 2020 to March 2021 as the public health crisis has led to an economic crisis in the rural areas.
  • The plan is aimed at generating employment in rural areas through sectors like agriculture, fisheries, animal resources development, MGNREGS, forest and handlooms and handicrafts.
  • Under the package, the government would provide assistance to the farmers for various crop cultivation including flower, mushroom, and plantation of fruit-bearing trees.
  • About 2 lakh farmers would be assisted for plantation of fruit-bearing trees including mangoes in the state while women self-help groups will be provided assistance for mushroom cultivation.
  • The Odisha government also announced two industrial parks of 1,000 acres each at Dhamra in Bhadrak district and another in Dhenkanal district with an investment of about Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 crore each.
  • A textile park will be set up at Dhamra, which will provide employment opportunities for 20,000 people. A medical park will be set up at Dhenkanal, which will create job opportunities for 16,000 people, said the Chief Secretary.

IIT Madras restoration project at Chilika Lake

  • The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) said its researchers undertook a major restoration project at the famous Chilika Lake – the largest brackish water body in Asia located in Odisha to help in tripling the population of the Irrawaddy dolphins while also benefitting over 2 lakh fishermen.
  • According to IIT-M, its intervention in the year 2000 and continuous monitoring since then has benefitted over 200,000 fishermen living in 132 villages as it resulted in a seven-fold increase of fish catch and tourists to co-exist with the lake ecosystem with minimal disturbance to the environment. Due to the successful restoration, the lake was removed from the threatened list (Montreux record) 1st from Asia.
  • Chilika Development Authority also received the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award and Evian special prize 2002 for outstanding achievement.
  • In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, an international treaty for the conservation of wetlands.
  • The Chilika lagoon is over 4,000 years old and spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha.
  • The highly productive ecosystem of the lake supports the livelihood for fishermen and also acts as drainage for Mahanadi river basin.
  • The lake was in a degraded condition and included in the threatened list (Montreux Record) by Ramsar Convention in 1993. This warranted urgent action for restoration of the lake.
  • The hydrodynamic regime of the lagoon was affected due to shifting of the mouth towards the northeast and subsequent reduction of seawater into the lake. Consequently, the ecology, biodiversity and economy of the area were also affected.

May 31, 2020

Assam Govt ties up with UNICEF for students’ career guidance portal

  • The State government in partnership with UNICEF Assam, has launched a career guidance portal to counsel children on their future and choices of professional life.
  • The portal brings more than 500 career options to students from Class IX to Class XII, with specific focus on gender inclusivity.
  • The portal is a result of the vision of the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for secondary and senior secondary students.
  • At present available in English and Hindi, the portal www.assamcareerportal.com, will also be made available in Assamese in the near future.
  • This career guidance portal will help the student community to take appropriate decisions regarding their careers.
  • The principals and teachers of secondary and senior schools will act as focal points for each of 4,373 secondary schools, so that they can orient and guide students on every aspect of the portal and how it can be used.
  • The department, along with UNICEF, plans to orient all district-level officials and teachers via a virtual platform.
  • The objective of the portal is to help students stay informed on various career opportunities, orienting them about the requisite skills and education needed to pursue a career of their choice.
  • With all the career information available to the students with one login, the career guidance portal will also aim to serve them with information regarding numerous scholarship opportunities.
  • UNICEF Assam has been in the lead technical role for this initiative and has supported in development of the career portal for children in secondary and higher secondary classes with partner iDream Career.
  • The portal has been adapted to Assam’s context and it features over 500 careers that are regularly updated and also includes non-traditional career areas such as agriculture and food sciences, hospitality and tourism, virology, animation and graphics and sports and fitness.
  • As of now, the portal has information of about almost 19,000 colleges along with information on 1,150 entrance tests and 1,050 scholarships for students to access. The portal is expected to benefit more than eight lakh students from classes IX to XII.

NHAI plans to develop Model Stretches in every state

  • In order to exhibit the model stretches of National Highways as per norms, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is planning to develop 57 stretches of NH (1,735 km) across the country near each state capital.
  • These Model Stretches will also serve as a platform to educate the highway engineers of the country, including state PWD engineers.
  • These stretches will have all the required safety and aesthetic features like road signs, road markings, road furniture & safety items, proper junctions and entry/exit points, functional drains, pedestrian facilities, street lighting, plantation & landscaping, toll plaza, user facilities & wayside amenities.
  • The stretches will also be equipped with CCTV cameras at all vulnerable locations, no black spots to avoid accidents and eco-friendly measures.
  • The idea is to make the highway stretch look like a perfect textbook version of a model road.
  • Some of the NH sections identified for development as Model Stretches are Dausa to Jaipur, Jalandhar to Amritsar, Srinagar to Banihal, Varanasi Ring Road, Chennai Bypass, MP/MH border to Nagpur including Nagpur Bypass, Brahmaputra Bridge to Guwahati.
  • The NHAI has issued policy guidelines to help its regional officers identify and plan the development of Model Stretches and complete the work in a timely manner.
  • The NHAI HQ will be monitoring the progress through an online e-portal (Data Lake), where pictures/videos of each Model Stretch would be uploaded apart from other related information.

Centre allows movement of persons and goods across borders

  • The Centre, while announcing the guidelines for phased re-opening of the lockdown, said that from June 1, there will be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. The restrictions will be limited to only containment zones up to June 30.
  • There shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/ approval/ e-permit will be required for such movements.
  • The MHA emphasised that no state/UT shall stop the movement of any type of goods/cargo for cross land border under treaties with neighbouring states.
  • However, if a state/ Union Territory based on reasons of public health and its assessment of the situation proposes to regulate movement of persons, it will give wide publicity in advance regarding the restrictions to be placed on such movement, and the related procedures to be followed.
  • Movement by passenger trains and Shramik Special trains; domestic passenger air travel; movement of Indian nationals stranded outside the country and of specified persons to travel abroad; evacuation of foreign nationals; and sign-on and sign-off of Indian seafarers will continue to be regulated as per the SOPs issued.

May 2020 Current Affairs Monthly PDF  |  Assam 2020 Yearbook  | May 2020 Quiz Monthly PDF

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