Current Affairs Assam – November 8 - 14, 2019
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of November 8 – 14, 2019 )
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November 08, 2019
Assam State Child Scientist Award for class VIII student Raj Sharma
- A project on an alternative source of fibre, developed from the snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata) by Hiranya Raj Sharma, a class VIII student of Dhekiajuli town of Sonitpur district, was awarded the Khagendra Nath Brahma State Child Scientist Award in the lower age group at the 27th State-level National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) 2019.
- Hiranya Raj, a student of Polestar Academy of Singri area in Dhekiajuli town conducted research under the guidance of an assistant teacher of Dhekiajuli High School, Sailendra Sharma to understand that the plant which is locally popular as ‘khoru gumoni gos’ has enough utility.
- The snake plant is a wild evergreen perennial plant locally available and spreads by way of its creeping rhizomes. It is a common weed of the roadsides, abandoned gardens and waste areas. Its leaves are thick and the mature leaves are dark green in colour, usually ranging from 60-160 centimetres in length and 6-10 centimetres in width.
- The student undertook the project to study the snake plant and to explore its potential to be used as a substitute/supplement to the conventional fibres and also to protect and preserve the traditional knowledge and to scientifically test these ideas.
- The lack of proper knowledge on possible benefits from the snake plant, has led to a situation where it is uprooted from fields.
- A survey was conducted about the plant among the farmers where it was found that nearly 97.64 % had no knowledge about its usefulness. But if awareness is created, the snake plant could be used for producing an eco-friendly fibre from which goods of daily use can be made.
Highlights of the India Justice Report 2019
- Tata Trusts in collaboration with the Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has prepared the India Justice Report (2019).
- This is the first-ever ranking of Indian states on justice delivery.
- The India Justice Report 2019 is based on publicly available data of different government entities on the four pillars of justice delivery — police, judiciary, prisons, and legal aid.
- The report has divided states on the basis of the population into two parts: (1) The large-medium states (Population 1 crore and above) and (2) The small states and Union Territories (Population less than 1 crore)
- Maharashtra has topped the list among large-medium States in delivering justice to people followed by Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Haryana. In this category, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are at the bottom.
- Among the small states (where the population is less than one crore each), Goa has topped the list followed by Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh.
- On average, the police have a vacancy of 23% (2017), and the judiciary between 20%-40% across the high courts and lower judiciary.
- No State/ UT is able to meet all its diversity quotas (ST, SC, and OBC). Karnataka comes closest to achieve diversity quotas (missed its SC reservation target by 4%).
- Women are poorly represented across the Justice system. They account for 7% of the Police, 10 % of Prison staff and about 26.5 % of all judges in the High Court and subordinate courts.
India expresses commitment to fully implement FATF standards
- India expressed its commitment to fully implement the standards of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and establish Anti-Money Laundering as well as Countering Financing of Terrorism regimes to dismantle the terror financing networks.
- Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy Presenting India”s concern over terror financing issues on the second day of the second ”No Money For Terror” conference being attended by 65 countries.
- FATF is an inter-governmental “policy-making body” which works to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
- The FATF has developed a series of recommendations that are recognised as the international standard for combating of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
- The FATF recommendations form the basis for a co-ordinated response to these threats to the integrity of the financial system and help ensure a level playing field.
- A First issued in 1990, the FATF recommendations were revised in 1996, 2001, 2003 and most recently in 2012 to ensure that they remain up to date and relevant, and they are intended to be of universal application.
FACTFILE – The Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering) (FATF)
- The Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering) (FATF) is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.
- In 2001 its mandate expanded to include terrorism financing. It monitors progress in implementing the FATF Recommendations through “peer reviews” of member countries.
- The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
- Since 2000, to fight money laundering and terror financing the FATF maintains the current list of nations: FATF blacklist (formally called the “Call for action”) and the “FATF greylist”.
- As of 2019 FATF consists of thirty-seven member jurisdictions and two regional organisations.
- Regional organizations: European Commission & Gulf Cooperation Council
- Member Nations:
-
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hong Kong, China
- Iceland
- India
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- South Korea
- Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Portugal
- Russian Federation
- Saudi Arabia[25]
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
November 09, 2019
Akil Kureshi appointed as Chief Justice of Tripura High Court
- Centre has appointed Justice Akil Kureshi, the judge of Bombay High Court, as the Chief Justice of Tripura High Court.
- The Centre’s counsel had told the Supreme Court that nearly all administrative formalities in connection with the appointment had been completed, except the last signature.
- A senior judge from the Gujarat High Court, Justice Akil Kureshi is serving as a judge of the Bombay High Court at present following a transfer.
FACTFILE – Tripura High Court
- The Tripura High Court is the High Court of the state of Tripura, established on 23 March 2013, after making suitable amendments in the Constitution of India and North-Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act, 1971.
- The seat of the High Court is at Agartala, the capital of Tripura. The first Chief Justice is Justice Deepak Gupta.
- Earlier, the state of Tripura along with the other six states of the North – East of India was under the Gauhati High Court, a permanent bench of the Gauhati High Court was established in Agartala in the year 1992 having territorial jurisdiction of the state of Tripura.
India-Indonesia joint naval exercise Samudra Shakti
- Anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kamorta is jointly exercising with Indonesian warship KRI Usman Harun, a multi-role corvette, in the Bay of Bengal as part of an ongoing bilateral exercise ’Samudra Shakti’.
- The joint exercises include, manoeuvres, surface warfare exercises, air defence exercises, weapon firing drills, helicopter operations and boarding operations..
- KRI Usman Harun arrived at Visakhapatnam to participate in the second edition of Ex ‘’Samudra Shakti’’.
- The harbour phase concluded with professional interactions in the form of subject matter expert exchanges (SMEE), cross deck visits, simulator drills, planning conferences, sports fixtures and social interactions.
FACTFILE – Samudra Shakti Exercise
- Samudra Shakti is a bilateral maritime exercise between India and Indonesia.
- IT’s objective is to strengthen bilateral relations, expand maritime co-operation, enhance interoperability and exchange best practices between the Navies of India and Indonesia.
- Garuda Shakti is the joint military exercise between India and Indonesia.
India, UAE discuss boosting trade & investment ties
- Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan held talks with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh on further enhancing the countries” trade, investment and tourism ties.
- Muraleedharan is in Abu Dhabi to attend the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) ministerial meeting.
- The UAE takes over from South Africa as IORA Chairman for a two year period to 2021.
- The theme of the meeting is “Promoting a Shared Destiny and Path to Prosperity in the Indian Ocean”.
- Founded in 1997, the Association, whose headquarters are in Mauritius, is an inter-governmental organisation with 22 member states as well as nine dialogue partners.
- These partners are countries situated outside the region but who have interests within it. It seeks to promote sustained growth and balanced development within the Indian Ocean region.
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November 10, 2019
World Bank’s $110 million deal for river transport in Assam
- A loan negotiation for an amount of $110 million was successfully concluded for the Assam Inland Water Transport Project (AIWTP) to be executed by the Government of Assam and the World Bank.
- The negotiation was carried out in the presence of the Director, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India at the Country Head office of World Bank in New Delhi.
- The Indian delegation on behalf of the Government of Assam was represented by Virendra Mittal, State Project Director, AIWTDS; Dhrubajyoti Das, Additional Secretary, Transport Department and Director, IWT, Assam, and Rahul Chandra Das, Deputy State Project Director, AIWTDS.
- The team representing the Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance was led by Bandana Preyashi, Director, DEA. The World Bank team was led by Atul Agarwal, Team Leader, World Bank.
- The objective of the project is to develop an efficient river transport system which would be safe, secure and comfortable for the large volume of passengers and cargo carried by vessels.
India, France begin counterterrorism Exercise ‘Shakti 2019’
- Shakti 2019, a 14-day joint military exercise involving India and France, started at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Bikaner. The joint exercise will facilitate both armies to know each other better, share their operational experience and enhance awareness through information exchange.
- This will help them in undertaking joint operations at platoon level for countering terrorist threats under the mandate of the United Nations.
- The ceremony saw the unfurling of the national flags of both countries amidst playing of their respective national anthems.
- The ceremony also witnessed synchronised marching of troops to martial tunes.
- This was followed by evocative speeches by the Reviewing Officers of both countries.
New Zealand passes zero carbon bill to combat climate change
- New Zealand passed a bill to reduce its carbon emissions to zero by 2050 and meet its commitments under the Paris climate accord.
- The law commits New Zealand to keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as stipulated by the Paris Agreement and marks an important step in the fight against the climate emergency looming over the world according to more than 11,000 scientists worldwide.
- The zero emissions target excludes methane emissions but the law pledges to reduce them gradually.
- The law includes the establishment of a green investment fund worth NZ$100 million ($64 million), a carbon trading scheme and inclusion of agriculture in emissions pricing by 2025, and the plantation of one billion trees by 2028.
- The law also stipulates suspending the release of new permits for hydrocarbon explorations at sea and supports the production of cheaper electric vehicles apart from setting a goal of 100 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2035.
- The legislation aims to cut biological methane emissions from agriculture by 10 per cent until 2030, and targets 24-47 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050.
November 11, 2019
Brahmaputra Valley Samaj Hitoishi Award to DN Chakravarty
- The Dayal Krishna Bora memorial Brahmaputra Valley Samaj Hitoishi Award-2019, under the auspices of Sahai, a socio-cultural organisation, was formally conferred on veteran journalist Dhirendra Nath.
- The Finance and PWD Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma formally handed over the award to the 93-year-old journalist.
- DN chakravarty always advocated for the unity and integrity of Bharat and its Sanatani civilisation. Vaishnavite scholar Dayal Krishna Bora was a worthy son of Morigaon district, who sacrificed his whole life for the cause of the society.
- Speaking on the occasion, DN Chakravarty said that he is still writing for the society and is a senior working journalist of entire Asia by now. Presenting the socio-economic history of Assam and India, Chakravarty said that we have a golden history right from Mahabharat days and we must uphold the century-old historical tradition.
Sanjay Karol is the new Chief Justice of Patna High Court
- Justice Sanjay Karol took oath as the new Chief Justice of Patna High Court. He was sworn-in by Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan at a ceremony organised at the Raj Bhawan.
- The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, senior judges and other dignitaries.
- Justice Karol was the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court. His predessor at the Patna High Court has been transferred to the Madras High Court.
FACTFILE – Patna High Court
- The Patna High Court is the High Court of the state of Bihar.
- It was established on 3 February 1916 and later affiliated under the Government of India Act 1915. The court is headquartered in Patna, the administrative capital of the state.
- In 1948, Patna High Court exercised jurisdiction over the territories of the Province of Bihar & Orissa till 26 July 1948, when a separate High Court was constituted for Orissa.
- In 1972, Patna High Court opened a Circuit Bench at Ranchi and in 1976, the Circuit Bench of Patna High Court at Ranchi became Permanent Bench and in 2000 it became Jharkhand High Court on November 2000, under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000.
- Patna High Court celebrated Centenary Celebrations in 2015.
Environment Ministry nod to Indian Oil Corporation’s Panipat ethanol plant
- The Union Environment Ministry has given its clearance to Indian Oil Corporation for setting up a 2G ethanol plant in Panipat.
- The ethanol project at the Panipat refinery is being set up a cost of Rs 909 crore.
- The benefit of the plant is that blending of ethanol with motor spirit leads to reduction of import of crude oil with corresponding savings in foreign exchange.
- This project envisages production of 100 kl ethanol a day from multi-feedstock lignocelluloses using indigenous technology.
CJI office falls within ambit of RTI Act, says SC
- Observing that judicial independence and accountability go hand in hand, the Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is a public authority and falls within the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
- Pronouncing a landmark verdict, the apex court at the same time said transparency cannot be allowed to run to its absolute and that RTI Act should not be used as a surveillance tool. It also observed there should be a balance between right to privacy and right to information and they have to be treated as “co-equals”
- A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi unanimously upheld the 2010 Delhi High Court judgement and dismissed three appeals filed by Secretary General of the Supreme Court and the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the top court.
- The high court on January 10, 2010 held that the CJI office comes within the ambit of the RTI law, saying judicial independence was not a judge’s privilege, but a responsibility cast upon him.
- Hailing the apex court verdict, RTI activists said “no one is above the law” and it is a great step towards transparency and building the trust of people in the justice system.
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November 12, 2019
Assam signs pact with Malaysia trade body
- The Industries and Commerce Department, Assam, signed an MoU with Malaysia India Business Council (MIBC) in the presence of Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary and MIBC president Tan Sri Ir Kuna Sittampalam.
- Both the parties agreed to explore and improve two-way trade and investment between India and Malaysia in sectors like education, tourism, primary industries, etc.
- Assistance will be accorded to business or trade missions from India visiting Malaysia and vice versa in seminars, conferences, exhibitions, economic and technical fairs, information bureau, symposia, or similar events taking place in both the countries.
- It was also decided to accelerate engagement, trade and cultural exchange to unlock the potential sectors between Assam and Malaysia.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hands over Rs 3 crore to two defence start-ups
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh handed over Rs 3 crore to two start-ups in the defence sector, to help them build upon their innovative ideas, during the inaugural session of DefConnect 2019, an initiative to showcase innovations in defence excellence.
- The start-up firms, North Street Cooling Towers and Chipspirit Technologies were handed over cheques of around Rs 1.5 crore each by Singh.
- The initiative Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) had been launched by the central government in April 2018 to create an ecosystem that will foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace.
- Under the initiative, the government is also committed to provide grants, funding and other support to carry out research and development that has the potential to cater to the needs of the Indian defence sector.
- More than 350 start-ups selected by the iDEX, partner incubators, Defence Innovation Organization (DIO), nodal agencies including the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, apart from DRDO, Defence PSUs and Ordnance Factories were part of DefConnect 2019.
Environment Ministry’s launches beach cleanliness drive
- The Environment Ministry is launching a mass cleanliness drive at 50 beaches under the “Swachh – Nirmal Tat Abhiyaan”.
- The government”s effort is to clean up the beaches and create awareness among citizens about the importance of coastal ecosystems.
- Will clean the beaches in 10 coastal states/Union Territories (UTs), namely Gujarat, Daman & Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
- The beaches have been identified after consultations with the states/UTs.
- The cleaning drive will involve school/college students who are part of eco-clubs, district administration, institutions, volunteers, local communities and other stakeholders.
- State nodal agencies for the eco-clubs will be facilitating the week long cleanliness drive.
- The beach cleaning drive will be of two hours” duration daily, and a minimum of a one kilometre stretch of the beach will be identified.
- Sand cleaning machines will be deployed at about 15 beaches. The collected waste will be processed as per Waste Management Rules, 2016.
- The Environment Education Division of the Ministry and the Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) will be responsible for the overall coordination for the drive.
Himachal Pradesh Govt & Dutch companies sign 14 MoUs
- The Himachal Pradesh government and Dutch companies have signed 14 memorandum of understanding of Rs 200 crore.
- The pacts mainly in agriculture, horticulture, sports, water management, waste to energy and ecotourism were signed at Global Investment Summit held in Dharamsala.
- The Netherlands had the largest overseas delegation led by Vikas Chaturvedi, CEO of Valucent Group and founder Chairman of ASSOCHAM Europe.
Samsung Innovation Award at IIT Indore
- Samsung India conducted the 9th edition of the ”Samsung Innovation Award” at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indore to recognise and reward innovations that have the potential to revolutionise everyday living.
- This year, the theme was ”Systems that learn” and students were encouraged to think creatively and propose practical ideas around multi-modal sensing, applications of learning systems, VR, XR, 3D imaging, distributed AI and more.
- Prizes worth Rs 3.5 lakhs were awarded to the top three winners, while the other three finalists received award of merit from Samsung.
- The first prize went to Ram S. Mohril for the project ”AR/VR Enhanced Textbook reading and learning experience”.
- The second Prize was grabbed by Chaitanya Mehta forhis project ”Tree Climbing Quadraped Robot”.
- The third prize was awarded to Nemath Ahmed, Suraj Polamaina and Shavez Malick for their project ”Immersive Acoustic Spatial Awareness for Visually Impaired”.
November 13, 2019
Union Govt approves Assam Police’s intelligence sharing project
- The Centre has approved Assam Police’s plan to create a seamless intelligence sharing online platform among the police forces of all the eight northeastern states that might prove to be a game changer in destabilising the inter-state criminal network.
- Equipped with geo-tagging, the project, is one of its kind in the country where, for the first time, police forces of eight states would share inputs and facilitate each other’s investigation on request, under an organised technological set-up.
- The application-based platform would encompass police officers from the rank of the officer-in-charge of a police station to the entire chain of top hierarchy of the respective state police of the region.
- The much-awaited project envisages creating a proactive network among the neighbouring states when it comes to handling organised crimes with cross-border ramification, including abduction, smuggling of precious items and vehicle theft, among others. There are also plans to share database of criminals among the state police forces.
Justice Rafiq took charge as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court
- Justice Mohammed Rafiq sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court Governor Tathagata Roy administer the oath of office and secrecy to him at Raj Bhavan.
- Rafiq, 59, succeeds Ajay Kumar Mittal who is now the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
- He will be the 8th Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court.
- Rafiq started his law practice in 1984. He practiced exclusively in the Rajasthan High Court in almost all branches of law. He served as an advocate from 1999 to 2006.
- In 2008, he was appointed as Justice at the Rajasthan High Court. Rafiq also served as acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court twice.
FACTFILE – Meghalaya High Court
- The Meghalaya High Court is the High Court of the state of Meghalaya.
- It was established in March 2013, after making suitable amendments in the Constitution of India and North-Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act of 1971. Earlier, a bench of the Gauhati High Court had jurisdiction over the state of Meghalaya.
- The seat of the High Court is at Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya.
- The strength of judges as for this High Court is 3 permanent judges including the Hon’ble Chief Justice and 2 Hon’ble Judges.
India has successfully conducted the night trial of Agni-II
- India has successfully conducted the night trial of Agni-II, its versatile surface-to-surface medium-range nuclear-capable missile from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.
- Agni-II, an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), has already been inducted into the armed forces.
- This was the first time that the sophisticated missile was testfired at night.
- The entire trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and two naval ships located near the impact point in the down-range area of Bay of Bengal.
- The test was carried out by the specially formed Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Army with logistic support from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
- The two-stage ballistic missile can carry a payload of 1000 kg over a distance of 2000 km.
India, US tri-services exercise ‘Tiger Triumph’
- A nine-day tri-services exercise between India and the US on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief will began with the aim of strengthening the bilateral relationship and defence cooperation.
- In the exercise, named Tiger Triumph, Indian Naval ships Jalashwa, Airavat and Sandhayak, Indian Army troops from 19 Madras and 7 Guards, and Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopters and Rapid Action Medical Team would be participating.
- The US would be represented by US Navy Ship Germantown with troops from US third marine division. The exercise is aimed at developing inter-operability for conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
- The Harbour Phase is scheduled at Visakhapatnam. The opening ceremony along with a joint flag parade would be held onboard INS Jalashwa.
- Personnel from both the navies would also participate in training visits, subject matter expert exchanges, sports events and social interactions.
- On completion of the Harbour Phase, the ships, with troops embarked, would sail for the sea phase and undertake maritime, amphibious and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
- On reaching the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief area at Kakinada, the landing of relief forces would be undertaken to the exercise scenario.
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November 14, 2019
IIT Guwahati researchers develop sensor to assess milk freshness
- The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G) said its researchers have developed a paper-based sensor that can make assessment of the freshness of milk by a simple method and instantaneous.
- Bacteria and other microbes that can grow in milk can not only affect the taste and freshness, but can also result in health issues.
- Pasteurisation is commonly used to kill the microbes in milk and various tests are used to ensure the effectiveness of pasteurisation.
- Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) is a metalloprotein found naturally in raw milk samples and is considered an important biomarker in quality control of milk. It is found in raw milk and is destroyed during pasteurisation.
- Detection of ALP in milk can thus point to inadequate pasteurisation and perhaps contamination.
- The researchers have used simple filter paper, chemically modified it, and loaded it with a recognition element anti-ALP, which captures the ALP present in the milk.
- Upon treatment of the colour forming compound BCIP to the captured complex of ALP forms a blue-green coloured precipitate, that otherwise does not gives any colour in the absence of ALP.
- The intensity of the colour indicates the amount of ALP present. The team used a smartphone to capture the image of the colour and used the RGB (Red Green Blue) filter in the phone to profile the colour obtained, which could be co-related to the concentration of ALP present in the test sample.
- The researchers successfully tested milk obtained from villages and commercially available milk samples using their paper-based sensor kit, and found that they could detect down to 0.87 units of ALP per millilitre of milk to about 91-100 per cent accuracy.
- This detection limit and accuracy make it possible to discriminate raw milk (often contains as high as 191U/mL ALP) from boiled milk which contains ALP in ultra-trace amount.
Indo-France joint military ‘Exercise Shakti-2019’
- The closing ceremony of the joint military exercise between Indian and French Army, ”Exercise SHAKTI-2019” concluded at Mahajan Field Firing Range, Rajasthan.
- The ceremony was reviewed by Brigadier General Jean Christophe Bechon, Commandant 6th Light Armoured Brigade, French Army and Major General Inderjit Singh, General Officer Commanding, Gandiv Division of Sapta Shakti Command.
- An infantry platoon group of The Sikh Regiment part of Sapta Shakti Command and a platoon group of the 21st Marine Infantry Regiment, part of 6th Armoured Brigade, represented India and France respectively in the exercise.
- Exercise SHAKTI-2019 was a two-phased exercise. In the inter-operability phase, the contingents underwent rigorous combat conditioning and tactical training.
- The training received by both the armies in inter-operability phase was put into practice in the validation phase.
- The contingents jointly took part in the validation exercise which included establishment of observation posts, cordon and search operation and house clearing drills.
Defence Exercises between India and France:
- Varuna – Naval exercise
- Garuda – Air exercise
- Shakti – Army exercise
Punjab signs pact for promotion of products of MSMEs
- A memorandum of understanding was signed by state-run Invest Punjab with startup Pumpkart for e-commerce promotion and selling of products of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
- Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) Managing Director Sibin C. signed the pact on behalf of the state government with Pumpkart Co-Founder and CEO K.S. Bhatia.
- Additional Chief Secretary (Investment Promotions and Industry and Commerce) Vini Mahajan said the government is committed to promote the MSMEs at a time when there is economic recession in the country.
- She also said industry in the state attracted more than 50,000 crore investments and these are under implementation stage.
- Keeping in line with the Make in India programme, state govt have formulated the Make in Punjab policy.
Nilam Sawhney appointed as Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh
- Senior IAS officer Nilam Sawhney was appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, order was issued by the General Administration Department appointing Sawhney, a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, to the top post.
- Sawhney is the first woman chief secretary of the truncated state of Andhra Pradesh.
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved repatriation of Sawhney, who was serving as Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment.
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