Current Affairs Assam – November 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of November 2018 )
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November 3
RN Borooah and Protiva Borooah journalism Awards announced
- The prestigious RN Borooah and Protiva Borooah memorial journalism awards for the years 2016/2017 will be awarded to Pankaj Nath, Tezpur correspondent of Dainik Asam and Gagan Kumar Nath, Sipajhar correspondent of Asomiya Khabar respectively.
- The lifetime achievement award will be conferred on DN Bezboruah, senior journalist and former editor of The Sentinel.
- The RN Borooah Award is given for reporting on environment, tourism, conservation of Nature and wildlife, and the Protiva Borooah Award is given for reporting on uplift of the poor and needy.
- The awards, instituted in memory of late RN Borooah, former editor of The Assam Tribune and his wife late Protiva Borooah, carry a cash award of Rs 50,000 each and a citation.
Three Assam districts, including Cachar, chosen for PM’s bid to boost MSME sector
- In sync with the 100-day programme to promote and boost Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cachar district administration along with the United Bank of India, the lead bank here, jointly organised the Support and Outreach initiative of the Department of Financial Services, Union Ministry of Finance at the Banga Bhawan, Silchar.
- Addressing the gathering of entrepreneurs, bankers and business enthusiasts, Samir Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary to the Department of Economic Affairs said, “it is a momentous occasion for the country when the MSME sector would be given a major facelift to help the entrepreneurs”.
- “As many as 80 districts have been chosen for the 100-day programme in which three districts of Assam, including Cachar has been included. This would open new vistas as people can avail better facilities to augment their business in order to achieve better results.”
- Ppeople can avail the contact-less and hastle-free services within 59 minutes by logging on to www.psbloansin59mins.com. There are 6.3 crore MSME platforms catering to around 11 crore people in the country. Special measures to make the youths self reliant are also being taken.
Japan to loan Rs 1,817 cr for Turga pumped storage hydel power project in West Bengal
- India and Japan on 2nd November signed a Rs 1,817 crore loan agreement for the construction of the Turga pumped storage hydel power project at Purulia in West Bengal.
- The project will contribute to the industrial development and living standards in the state.
- The objective of the project is to strengthen the capability to respond to fluctuation in supply and demand of power and to improve stability of the power supply by constructing the pumped storage facilities.
- The Japanese Official Development Assistance loan agreement was signed here between Ministry of Finance Additional Secretary C.S. Mohapatra and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) New Delhi Chief Representative Katsuo Matsumoto.
- This further consolidates and strengthens the strategic and global partnership between India and Japan.
- India and Japan have had a long history of bilateral development cooperation since 1958 and the economic cooperation between India and Japan has steadily progressed in the last few years.
PM Modi announces quick and cheaper credit for MSMEs
- In a major boost for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), the Centre announced measures for easier access to credit and at cheaper rates for the sector.
- Launching the MSME Support and Outreach Programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that working in a cohesive manner through various ministries, the government had taken 12 decisions to support the MSMEs, including women entrepreneurs.
- To ease access to credit for the MSME sector, it has been decided to launch a portal that will permit completing formalities for grant of loan of up to Rs 1 crore in 59 minutes.
- Such a loan facility is also being launched for MSMEs registered under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
- A loan option has been launched for GST registered MSMEs through the GST portal, where MSMEs can apply for loan.
- For making available cheaper credit, 2 per cent cut in interest rates for loans of up to Rs 1 crore for GST-registered MSMEs. The reduction would also apply to “incremental loans” taken by such MSMEs.
- A separate Rs 6,000 crore package for setting up MSME hubs is also announced.
NGMA launches web portal So’Ham for art community
- In a bid to bring together India’s art community digitally, the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) launched a web portal So’Ham.
- The portal is designed to accommodate user-generated content like images of artworks, blog posts, announcements, ratings and reviews.
- Accessible at so-ham.in, the cultural media platform is being deemed as the first of its kind by the institution.
- Aimed at generating a stronger connection between NGMA and artists, critics, scholars, historians and art lovers, the platform will require users to register using basic information.
- It measures engagement through the number of views and ‘likes’ per post.
AAI-ASSAM govt signed MoA on road renovation
- The Airports Authority of India (AAI), North Eastern Region, and the Assam government signed a memorandum of association (MoA) for renovation of the road connecting VIP Chowk near the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport and the Kahikuchi market.
- This road stretch, measuring around 1,100 metres, will be renovated under the AAI’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.
- The cost of Phase-I of the entire project has been estimated at Rs 45 lakh.
- In the second phase, road from VIP Chowk to Azara, where the total length is 2,500metres will be completed. The additional cost of the project will be Rs 47 lakh.
November 4
Assam CM launched the flagship scheme of the State fishery department
- Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal ceremonially launched the flagship scheme of the State fishery department, ‘Ghare Ghare Pukhuri, Ghare Ghare Maach’ at a programme held at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra.
- The scheme is proposed to be implemented with loan assistance from NABARD and financial assistance from Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana (CMSGUY) Mega Mission Society.
- With a financial allocation of Rs 186.13 crore, this scheme will be executed in all districts of the State with a target to benefit ten thousand beneficiaries.
- The scheme aims at digging a 1,811-hectare area of new ponds in a bid to produce 6350 MT fish additionally in Assam.
‘Sonowali Sowarani’ Museum on Dr. Bhupen Hazarika to be opened
- Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will formally inaugurate ‘Sonowali Sowarani’ the museum in the memory of Dr Bhupen Hazarika on November 5, synchronizing with the music maestro’s seventh death anniversary.
- The museum will showcase a host of memorabilia, including rare photographs associated with Dr Hazarika.
- Meanwhile, the State government has made arrangements for purchasing the Tollygunge (Kolkata) residence of Dr Hazarika following the Cabinet approval to the effect. An amount of Rs 1.65 crore has been sanctioned for the purpose of which Rs 25 lakh was released.
BIOGRAPHY – Bhupen Hazarika
- Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from Assam, widely known as Sudhakantha.
- His songs, written and sung mainly in the Assamese language by himself, are marked by humanity and universal brotherhood and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notably in Bengali and Hindi.
- He is also acknowledged to have introduced the culture and folk music of Assam and Northeast India to Hindi cinema at the national level.
- He received the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1975. Recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Padmashri (1977), and Padmabhushan (2001)
- Hazarika was awarded with Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1992), India’s highest award in cinema, by the Government of India and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (2008), the highest award of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
- He was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, in 2012.
Assam Police awarded for citizen services
- The Union government has awarded the Assam Police for “good practices” under the e-governance project Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS)
- The Ministry of Home Affairs has also awarded Anil Kumar Jha, Special Director General (CID) of the force, for his outstanding contribution in implementing the project.
- The award was given for citizen centric service delivery, in which the State police has automated passport verification and permanent residential certificate (PRC) services using the online CCTNS, the release said.
- The award was handed over to the Assam Police during the two-day conference on ‘CCTNS – Good Practices and Success Stories’ organised by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) in New Delhi.
- Assam Police had launched a citizen portal on January 1, 2016 and it offers 10 types of services for the people.
FACTFILE – Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems
- CCTNS is a project, started on 19 June 200, under Indian government for creating a comprehensive and integrated system for effective policing through e-Governance.
- The system includes nationwide online tracking system by integrating more than 14,000 police stations across the country.
- The project is implemented by National Crime Records Bureau.
India ranked 12 globally in web-borne threats
- Globally, India ranks 12th when it comes to the dangers associated with surfing the web, according to a new report from Russia-based global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab.
- About a third of Internet users in the country were attacked by web-borne threats between the July-September period of this year.
- It is known that money is the main motivation behind a cyberattack, and India being one of the largest and developing populations cannot afford to be vulnerable online.
- The Share of malicious incidents caused by malware hosted in India was 0.68 per cent, i.e. 6,450,023 incidents in the period July-September 2018.
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