Assam Current Affairs – November 22-28, 2018

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Current Affairs Assam – November  22-28, 2018

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of November 22 – 28, 2018 )

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November 22

Assam honoured with India Today’s most improved large State award
  • In recognition to the State Government’s initiatives to ensure development and quality of life for its citizens, Assam has been awarded the most improved large state in the categories of Overall performance, Economy and Health by India Today at the ‘State of the States Conclave’ held in New Delhi.
  • Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal received the award from Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu.
  • He also said that corruption-free Assam has been Govt’s top most agenda and govt has cracked down against corrupt practices in the state.
  • In the tenure of this govt, the state government has detected and cancelled four lakh bogus job cards under MGNREGA, over 36,000 bogus ration cards and over 70 thousand bogus beneficiaries registered under National Old age pension scheme apart from officials held for APSC ‘cash for job scam’.
  • The North East region is fast emerging as a centre of growth. PM Narendra Modi has called the North East as ‘New Engine of New India’ and ‘Ashtalakshmi’. And has laid special emphasis on improving connectivity within the region and with the rest of India, via railways, waterways, roads, air or telecommunication.
  • By plugging leakages, revenue collection of the State increased from Rs. 7011 crore in 2015-16 to 8457 crore in 2017-18, an increase of 21%.
  • Capital expenditure has increased from Rs. 4919 crore in 2015-16 to 12,817 crore in 2017-18, showing our commitment to improve quality of expenditure.
  • Government’s sustained efforts to focus on boosting rural economy through leveraging growth of agriculture and other allied sectors, as a result of which annual production of rice has increased by 2.27 lakh tons, horticulture production has increased by 6.19 lakh tons and fish production by 33 thousand tons in 2017-18 as compared to 2015-16.
  • For the first time direct export of fruits and vegetables from Guwahati to Dubai and other international destinations has started..
  • State Government organized North East India’s first ever Global Investors’ Summit to realise agri-business potential being thrown open by the ‘Act East Policy’. The state has recorded Rs 12,000 crore worth of investments and this has generated direct employment of around 40 thousand and even more indirect employment.
  • Recently many initiatives being implemented in the health sector including schemes like Atal Amrit Yojana, CM’s Free Diagnostic Scheme, wage compensation scheme for tea garden pregnant women and cancer care grid, etc.
  • Chief Minister Sonowal thanked the Prime Minister and the Union Government for their un-stinted support and the cooperation of the government employees and people of the state in scripting a new growth narrative in the state, while highlighting the achievements of the State Government and various innovative measures adopted in economy, health, education and different other sectors.
7th International Tourism Mart started in Agartala
  • The seventh edition of The International Tourism Mart is organized by the Union Ministry of Tourism in association with the Department of Tourism of Tripura and other north-eastern states in Agartala.
  • The event facilitate interaction between buyers, sellers, media, government agencies and other stakeholders.
  • Engagement of business-to-business meetings with sellers from the north-eastern region which will enable the tourism product suppliers from the region to reach out to international and domestic buyers.
  • A total of 41 foreign delegates from 18 countries and 23 tour operators and travel agents along with 18 media representatives, journalists, travel writers and bloggers are participating in the event.

FACTFILE – International Tourism Mart

  • The International Tourism Mart, an annual event organized in the north-eastern region with the objective of highlighting the tourism potential of the region in the domestic and international markets.
  • It provides platform to tourism business fraternity and entrepreneurs from eight North Eastern States.
  • It organized annually in North Eastern States on rotation basis.
  • The earlier editions of this event were held in Guwahati, Tawang, Shillong, Gangtok and Imphal.
Sela Pass tunnel construction started in Arunachal Pradesh
  • Director General Border Roads (DGBR) Lt Gen Harpal Singh informed that the bhoomi puja for starting the construction work of a tunnel through the Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh would be held in January next year.
  • The tunnel located on the vicinity of the border between the Tawang and West Kameng districts at an elevation of 13,700 ft will ensure faster movement of troops in the strategically located parts of the state bordering China.
  • Significant achievement has been made on improving the 317-km-long Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road to two-lane road, which is the lifeline of West Kameng and Tawang districts.
  • The DGBR informed that stretch from 0-50 km road has been completed and stretch from 70-88 km is being carried out on EPC mode.

FACTFILE – The Sela Pass

  • The Sela Pass (Se La) is a high-altitude mountain pass located on the border between the Tawang and West Kameng Districts of Arunachal Pradesh state in India.
  • It has an elevation of 4170 m (13,700 ft) and connects the Tibetan Buddhist town of Tawang to Dirang and Guwahati.
  • The pass carries the main road connecting Tawang with the rest of India.
  • The pass supports scarce amounts of vegetation and is usually snow-covered to some extent throughout the year.
  • Sela Lake, near the summit of the pass, is one of approximately 101 lakes in the area that are sacred in Tibetan Buddhism.
  • While Sela Pass does get heavy snowfall in winters, it is usually open throughout the year.
Union HRD Minister launched Innovation Cell for research
  • Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar launched the Institution’s Innovation Cell (IIC) at the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) to foster an attitude of research among students.
  • So far, more than 1,000 higher education institutes have already established IICs on their campuses to “promote innovation”.
  • After Independence we established research centres separately from the universities. This was a historical mismatch. In all developed countries universities act as research centres. And it can happen only there, he said.
CCEA approved continuation of “Atmosphere & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS)” scheme
  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the continuation of its scheme “Atmosphere & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS)” which will provide improved weather, climate and ocean forecasts and services.
  • The Cabinet has approved the continuation of the nine sub-schemes of the umbrella scheme ‘ACROSS’ during 2017-2020 at an estimated cost of Rs 1,450 crore.
  • It will be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences through its institutes namely India Meteorological Department (IMD), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Service (INCOIS).

November 23

Assam singer Nahid Afrin appointed UNICEF ‘Youth Advocate’
  • Assam singer Nahid Afrin was appointed the first ever ‘Youth Advocate’ of UNICEF, which
  • aims to inspire and gather the support of India’s 253 million adolescents towards the cause of children and young people.
  • UNICEF’s association with Nahid Afrin is part of an initiative to advocate child rights in the northeast. As a youth advocate, she would act as a role model to inspire children and young people to act in making the world a better place and ensuring that their rights are respected.
  • Youth advocates support initiatives of positive change that include access to quality education, basic healthcare, ending violence against children, and addressing the issues of equity and inclusion.

BIOGRAPHY – Nahid Afrin

  • Nahid made her playback debut in the 2016 Bollywood film Akira.
  • She won the best female singer award in 2017 for the song Dhuniya Joon.
  • She also won an award in 2018 at the Assam State Film Awards.
Awards for Nagaland, Tripura at India Today State of State’s Survey
  • Nagaland awarded ‘Best Performing Small State’ in ‘Law & Order’ by the India Today State of State’s Survey 2018. Nagaland Minister for Forest, Environment, Climate Change and Parliamentary Affairs, C M Chang received the award from Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu.
  • Tripura bagged three prizes in inclusive development, infrastructure and overall most improved small state. Somya Gupta, Special Resident Commissioner of Tripura Bhavan at New Delhi, received the award.
Meghalaya gets India Today award for ‘most improved small State’ in agriculture
  • Meghalaya has been adjudged the ‘most improved small State’ in the category of agriculture in the India Today ‘The State of the States’ 2018 Survey.
  • The Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister Thomas A. Sangma received the India Today ‘The State of the States’ award on behalf of the State Government.
  • Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said, the govt have laid adequate thrust on improving agriculture in Meghalaya and such award will further motivate our officials and the farmers to take a quantum leap to ensure innovative and sustainable farming practices.
India and Laos review bilateral ties
  • India and Laos reviewed the entire gamut of their bilateral ties during the Ninth Joint Commission meeting co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Lao counterpart Saleumxay Kommasith.
  • The meeting reviewed the India-Lao PDR relations comprehensively and took note of all that has been achieved and current state of the various cooperation programmes.
  • The meeting also laid out the road map for future cooperation and enhancement in bilateral relations.
  • Laos is member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) regional bloc with which New Delhi has been actively engaging under its Act East Policy.

FACTFILE – Laos

  • Laos, officially the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, is a socialist state and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese peninsula, bordered by Myanmar (Burma) and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southwest, and Thailand to the west and southwest.
  • Laos is a member of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), East Asia Summit and La Francophonie.
  • The capital and largest city is Vientiane.
  • Laos has been referred to as one of East Asia and Pacific’s Fastest Growing Economies by the World Bank, with annual GDP growth averaging 7.8% for the past decade.
India and China to hold border talks
  • India and China will discuss their vexed boundary dispute and try to sort out major issues at the 21st round of two-day border in the Chinese city of Chengdu.
  • The two countries, which fought a war in 1962 and have had several skirmishes since then along their largely undefined 3,488-km border, were locked in a 73-day military stand-off at Doklam, a contested region between China and Bhutan close to India’s arterial highway where the Chinese were building a road.
  • The two Asian giants are in a recovery mode and have seemingly made progress in their relationship, especially after the informal summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in April this year.
  • India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will hold the talks with China’s top diplomat and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Beijing’s new Special Representative on the boundary dispute.

FACTFILE – Sino-Indian border dispute

  • The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the effective border between India and the People’s Republic of China.
  • It traverses 4,057 km along the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • The McMahon Line was part of the 1914 Simla Convention between British India and Tibet, an agreement rejected by China.
  • Areas of Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh are disputedly claimed by China also.
  • The 1962 Sino-Indian War was fought in both of these areas. An agreement to resolve the dispute was concluded in 1996, including “confidence-building measures” and a mutually agreed Line of Actual Control.
  • The 2017 China India border standoff or Doklam standoff refers to the military border standoff between the Indian Armed Forces and the People’s Liberation Army of China over Chinese construction of a road in Doklam near a trijunction border area, known as Donglang.
  • On 16 June 2017 Chinese troops with construction vehicles and road-building equipment began extending an existing road southward in Doklam, a territory which is claimed by both China as well as India’s ally Bhutan. On 18 June 2017, around 270 Indian troops, with weapons and two bulldozers, entered Doklam to stop the Chinese troops from constructing the road. On 28 August, both India and China announced that they had withdrawn all their troops from the face-off site in Doklam.

 

November 2018 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook

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