Assam Current Affairs – November 8-14, 2018

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Current Affairs Assam – November  2018

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of November 2018 )

November 2018 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook

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November 10

Tea company from Assam signed agreement with Chinese company to export CTC (crush, tear and curl) tea
  • The agreement was signed between Guizhou Lingfeng Technology Industrial Park Company Limited, Guizhou province, with Aideobarie Tea Estates Private Limited, Jorhat, at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.
  • To start with, Aideobarie Tea Estates Private Limited will be exporting 100 tonnes CTC black tea to the Chinese company will buy CTC black tea from Aideobarie and the latter will buy green tea from the Chinese company.
  • Both the companies will promote partner products in their respective home countries which include new packaging products, blending and making new products and others.
  • In 2017, India exported about eight million kg of tea valued at $25 million. This growth is mainly because of the rising demand for Assam CTC black tea, known for its strong colour and flavour, which goes well with milk-based tea. CTC teas are in huge demand in China and they are ready to import a large quantity.
  • The embassy of India in Beijing, in partnership with China Tea Marketing Association (CTMA) and Tea Board of India, had organised business interaction and tea appreciation events in Beijing.
India, Singapore to mark 25 years of SIMBEX with grand military drills
  • India and Singapore have planned “unprecedented” military drills during SIMBEX (Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise) to be undertaken between November 10-21 off Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal as the joint drill completes 25 years.
  • The initial harbour phase will be held at Port Blair from November 10 to 12 followed by Sea Phase in the Andaman Sea.
  • The second harbour phase from November 16 to 19 will be held at Visakhapatnam.
  • The final sea phase would be held in the Bay of Bengal from November 19 to 21. High-level delegations, including respective Defence Ministries, are also scheduled to observe the exercises including advanced weapon firings, marking a new high in the series.
  • The 25th edition will witness a diverse range of exercises at sea ranging from live weapon drills including multiple missile firings, Heavy Weight Torpedo (HWT) and medium range gun/ anti-submarine rocket firings; advanced anti-submarine warfare exercises, submarine rescue demonstrations; integrated surface and anti-air warfare (AAW); Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations and cross deck helicopter flying among others.

FACTFILE – Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX)

  • SIMBEX is an annual bilateral naval exercise conducted by the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).
  • The exercise has been held annually since 1994. Over the years, SIMBEX has progressed beyond its original emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to include elements of maritime security, anti-air and anti-surface warfare.
Odisha cabinet approves green cover along major rivers
  • Odisha will create a green belt along the banks of major rivers such as the Mahanadi, Brahmani, Baitarini and Rusikulya, the state cabinet decided.
  • The main objective of the scheme is to rejuvenate the rivers.
  • The green cover will lie within one km width from the river bank along both sides of rivers. The plantation work will be taken up along sides of rivers Baitarani, Brahmani, Rushikulya and their tributaries and distributaries for in 2019-20.
  • The leftover area of Mahanadi, Tel and lb will also be taken up during 2019-20. The scheme is proposed to be implemented in 5 years (2018-19 to 2022-23).
  • The total outlay of the new scheme has been estimated at Rs 448 crore. Out of the projected requirement, Rs 415 crore is meant for plantation activities and Rs 33 crore for non-plantation activities.
  • At the state level, the progress of implementation of the green mission will be monitored by a 12-member committee headed by the chief secretary. Similarly, regular monitoring will be taken up at district and block levels.
  • The cabinet also approved a proposal for replacement of existing conventional streetlights with energy efficient smart LED streetlights in urban local bodies of Odisha on Project Management Consultant (PMC) model.
CIMAP signs pact with RIFM to standardize fragrant oils
  • The Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) signed an agreement with US-based Research Institute for Fragrant Materials (RIFM) for improving the quality of fragrant oils.
  • The pact was signed by Anil Kumar Tripathi, Director CSIR-CIMAP and Jim Romane, President of the RIFM at the conclusion of the two-day annual conference of the International Fragrance Association in Paris.
  • To increase the acceptability and demand of Indian fragrances on a global level, a team of the RIFM had visited the Lucknow headquarter of CIMAP earlier in 2018.

FACTFILE – Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP)

  • Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) is a research institute of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) established in 1959, with its headquarter in Lucknow.
  • It is engaged in the field of science and business of medicinal and aromatic plants
  • CIMAP has four research centers situated in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pantnagar and Purara

November 11

Tripura Govt to buy 26 per cent share in Palatana power plant
  • Tripura Government has decided to opt for buying 26 per cent stake in the profit-making ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC)-run Palatana power project in Gomati district.
  • The move has been initiated following a communication of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas about IL&FS’s plan to off-load its 26 per cent share in the profit making power generation company.
  • Oil giant ONGC has highest stake with 50 pc share while IL&FS has 26 pc share and IDFC has 23.5 pc share in the 727 MW power gas-based combined cycle plant. Interestingly, Tripura Government has only 0.05 pc share in the mega power plant.
  • The State Government would soon initiate talks with IL&FS to buy 26 pc share at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore.

FACTFILE – ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC)

  • OTPC also known as Palatana Power Plant, is a thermal power plant station in Palatana, Udaipur in the Gomoti district of Tripura.
  • It is ONGC’s first power plant in India & also known as the biggest Plant in Northeast India.
  • OTPC can produce more than 700 MW power at Palatana power plant if adequate quantity of gas is ensured by the ONGC.
  • Recently, OTPC authority has demanded more gas to generate more power at Palatana.
  • Five NE States including Assam and Meghalaya are receiving power from Palatana power plant.
India overtakes US to become 2nd largest smartphone market
  • According to research firm Canalys, India has overtaken US to become second largest smartphone market in the July-September 2018 quarter.
  • India saw a shipment of 40.4 million units during third quarter and was second to China where 100.6 million smartphones were shipped. Smartphone shipment in US was at 40 million units.
  • Worldwide smartphone shipments fell by 7.2% year-on-year to 348.9 million units during July-September 2018, a fourth consecutive quarter of decline. This was also worst third quarter performance since 2015.
  • Seven of the top ten markets recorded year-on-year (y-o-y) declines, mainly caused by lengthening smartphone replacement cycles, worsening international trading conditions and competition from major Chinese vendors.
  • The three markets (among top 10) that registered growth were Indonesia (13.2% increase y-o-y to 8.9 million units), Russia (11.5% jump y-o-y to 8.8 million units) and Germany (2.4% rise y-o-y to 5.5 million units).
  • China’s smartphone shipment declined 15.2% y-o-y, India by 1.1% and US by 0.4% in September 2018 quarter.
  • Samsung led vendor tally with 20.4% share in said quarter, followed by Huawei (14.9%), Apple (13.4%), Xiaomi (9.6%), and Oppo (8.9%).
  • The worldwide smartphone market faces unprecedented challenge, while its dynamics are changing rapidly at both vendor and country level.
NASA to send Organs-on-chips to space
  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is planning to send small devices containing human cells in a 3D matrix, known as tissue chips or organs-on-chips, to the International Space Station (ISS) to test how they respond to stress, drugs and genetic changes.
  • Made of flexible plastic, tissue chips have ports and channels to provide nutrients and oxygen to the cells inside them.
  • The “Tissue Chips in Space” initiative seeks to better understand the role of microgravity on human health and disease and to translate that understanding to improved human health on Earth
  • The US space agency is planning the investigations in collaboration with CASIS and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes for Health (NIH).

FACTFILE – Organ-on-a-chip (OOC)

  • An organ-on-a-chip (OOC) is a multi-channel 3-D microfluidic cell culture chip that simulates the activities, mechanics and physiological response of entire organs and organ systems, a type of artificial organ.
  • It constitutes the subject matter of significant biomedical engineering research, more precisely in bio-MEMS.
  • Organs that have been simulated by microfluidic devices include the heart, the lung, kidney, artery, bone, cartilage, skin and more.
  • A common concern with organs-on-chips lies in the isolation of organs during testing.
PM Modi to dedicate various infrastructure projects in Varanasi
  • Modi will dedicate to the nation two important national highways in Varanasi, having a total length of 34 km built at a cost of Rs 1571.95 crore.
  • The 16.55 km Varanasi Ring Road Phase-I has been completed at a cost of Rs 759.36 crore, while the work of four-laning and construction of 17.25 km Babatput-Varanasi road on NH-56 has cost Rs 812.59 crore.
  • The Babatpur Airport highway will link Varanasi to the airport and extend to Jaunpur, Sultanpur and Lucknow.
  • The Ring Road, with two ROBs and a flyover, will provide a way for traffic on NH 56 (Lucknow-Varanasi), NH 233 (Azamgarh-Varanasi), NH 29 (Gorakhpur-Varanasi) and Ayodhya-Varanasi highways to bypass Varanasi city, thereby reducing traffic congestion in the city.
  • Currently there are 2,833 km of National Highway projects costing Rs 63,885 crore underway to link Varanasi to other places in Eastern Uttar Pradesh.
  • PM will also dedicate the newly constructed Multi-Modal Terminal on River Ganga to the nation and will also receive India’s first container vessel that sailed from Kolkata.
Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das and Ratan Tata lay foundation stone for cancer hospital in Ranchi
  • Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Tata Trust Chairman Ratan Tata on Saturday laid the foundation stone for a 302-bed cancer hospital in Ranchi.
  • The hospital will be developed on 23.5 acres of land, jointly by the state government and Tata Trust.
  • Of the 302 beds, 50 will be reserved for Jharkhand. It will have 14 operation theatres, a 28-bed Intensive Care Unit and a blood bank.

November 2018 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook

Go To Assam Current Affairs                                                                                                Go To Assam Current Affairs Quiz

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