Current Affairs Assam – October 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of October 2018 )
October 2018 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook
Go To Assam Current Affairs Go To Assam Current Affairs Quiz
October 5
JEET launched in Assam to triumph over TB
- With a vision of making Assam tuberculosis (TB)-free by the year 2025, the Joint Effort for Elimination of Tuberculosis (JEET) programme has been launched in the State, under which the private sector will be engaged to intensify TB case notification and ensure quality care.
- At a function held here recently, JVN Subramanyam, Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM), Assam, requested the private sector to come forward to notify TB cases and join hands with the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) to get benefits from government schemes like NikshayPoshanYojana.
- The JEET programme will boost the activities of TB control from private doctors and envision the TB elimination goal by 2025.
- JEET will be implemented in the districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Nagaon, Golaghat, Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Goalpara and Kamrup Metro.
FACTFILE – Tuberculosis (TB)
- TB is an infectious disease usually caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB).
- Most infections do not have symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis.
- The classic symptoms of active TB are a chronic cough with blood-containing sputum, fever, night sweats, and weight loss.
- Tuberculosis is spread through the air when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak, or sneeze.
- Treatment requires the use of multiple antibiotics over a long period of time. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem with increasing rates of multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).
Assam imports Rs 1,650 crore worth eggs, meat, milk annually
- Assam imports around Rs 1,650 crore worth eggs, meat and milk every year, which shows the scarcity of production of dairy products and meat in the state.
- Availability of milk in the State in just 70 ml per day, against the requirement of 300 ml and national average of 167 ml.
- Annual milk production growth is only 1.8 per cent compared to the national average of over 6 per cent and more than 90 per cent of the milk produced is in the informal sector.
- The Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department has now undertaken a five-plank strategy in collaboration with AAU to bridge the shortfall by about 30 per cent in the next five years.
- A tie-up is being done with NABARD for credit linkage to farmers in a bid to increase productivity. Focus would on breeding hybrid cows whose productivity is much higher than the indigenous ones.
India’s first dolphin research centre to come up soon in Patna
- National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC), India’s and Asia’s first, would be a reality soon with October 5 being hinted at as the date for the groundbreaking ceremony. The NDRC is likely to be set up next month on the banks of the Ganga River in the Patna University premises.
- It will play an important role in strengthening conservation efforts and research to save the endangered mammal.
- The process to set up the NDRC started after the Patna University agreed nearly two months ago to provide the land. The university’s Syndicate had earlier stalled the proposal for over three years.
- Bihar is home to around half of the country’s estimated 3,000 dolphin population. The state government has decided to conduct a study-cum-survey of the Gangetic dolphin in 2018 in the 525-km stretch of the Ganga river between Chausa (Buxar) in the west and Manihari (Katihar) in the east.
FACTFILE – Gangetic river dolphins or Susu
- Gangetic river dolphins fall under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and have been declared an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- The Gangetic river dolphin is one of the four freshwater dolphin species in the world. The other three are found in the Yangtze river, the Indus river in Pakistan and the Amazon river.
- It mainly inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.
- One of the main threats to the species is loss of habitat due in large part to the creation of dams and irrigation projects.
Point2Remember –
- The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, India’s only dolphin sanctuary, is located in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district.
- The Ganges river dolphin is India’s National Aquatic Animal
- It is the official animal of Guwahati city.
- The Indus river dolphin has been named as the National Mammal of Pakistan.
President Kovind inaugurates science festival in Lucknow
- President Ram NathKovind would inaugurate the fourth edition of the ‘India International Science Festival-2018’ (IISF) in Lucknow.
- The four-day festival will be dedicated to the memory of late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, said it was the effort of the state government to present the festival as a unique event.
- The event will provide a great platform to the youth, students and budding scientists to know what is happening around the world
- At the meet, 600 students will work on DNA isolation while 3,000 school children will be trained in first-aid.
- The theme of the event this year is ‘Science for Transformation’. Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari would be presiding over the closing ceremony on 8th October.
India signs pact with ADB for multiple projects
India and Asian Development Bank (ADB)signed a $240 million loan agreement to provide safe drinking water to about 1.65 million people in three districts of West Bengal.
- The project aims to provide safe and sustainable drinking water to people in Bankura, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur affected by arsenic, fluoride and salinity.
- Heavy reliance on groundwater puts most of the rural population in West Bengal at risk from arsenic and fluoride contamination that can lead to health problems including cancer and bone diseases
- The project aims to mitigate these risks through provision of continuous potable water through metered connections to about 390,000 individual households in the three districts
$150 million loan agreement to establish India’s first multi-skills park in Madhya Pradesh to create a more skilled workforce
- The Global Skills Park (GSP) to be set up in Bhopal will help enhance the quality of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system in the state.
- The campus will consist of core Advanced Training Institutes including the Center for Occupational Skills Acquisition and the Center for Advanced Agricultural Training as well as other support services focusing on entrepreneurship training of trainers and skill-related research.
- The campus will have training facilities focusing on skills for manufacturing service and advanced agricultural jobs benefitting about 20 000 trainees and trainers.
- The campus will have training facilities focusing on skills for manufacturing service and advanced agricultural jobs benefitting about 20 000 trainees and trainers.
A $100 million loan agreement to strengthen capacity of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) for resilient urban services.
- The $100 million loan is the third and final tranche under the $400 million Kolkata Environmental Improvement Investment Program and is aimed at expanding sewerage and drainage coverage and providing sewage treatment in Kolkata.
- It will target expansion of sewerage and drainage services in selected peripheral areas of KMC to at least 3,000 additional households and provide sewage treatment for at least 1,00,000 households
October 6
Assam Assembly passed the Inland Water Transport Bill
- Assam Legislative Assembly passed the Assam Inland Water Transport Regulatory Authority Bill 2018.
- The new Act will be applicable to all mechanically-propelled boats irrespective of whether they run for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
- Some legislator like Bhuban Pegu and Prasanta Phukan objected in making two engines mandatory for boats and justifies that this is impractical and ensuring one good quality engine was enough.
- The Bill was aimed at creating a regulatory authority only for streamlining the hazardous inland water transport.
Birubala Rabha honoured with Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) 2018 Award
- Social activist and anti-witch hunting crusader from Assam, Birubala Rabha has been chosen for the Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) 2018 Award for women’s creativity in rural life.
- The WWSF annually awards ten personality with the prize to acknowledge their contributions and creative efforts to improve the quality of life by sharing knowledge, protecting the environment, rising up for women’s rights, and participating in the realisation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) UN Agenda 2030.
- Birubala Rabha is among the ten laureates chosen by the international prize jury among the nominations received this year.
India, Russia ink action plan to set up 6 more Nuclear reactors in India
- India and Russia on 5th October signed a document for cooperation on a new nuclear power project in India with the latest VVER-1200 type reactors powered by advanced fuel.
- The Action Plan for Prioritisation and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field was signed on the sidelines of the 19th India-Russia annual bilateral summit here between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Russian Preesident Vladimir Putin for setting up six reactors at a yet-to-be designated site in parallel to the ongoing 6,000 MW Kudankulam project in Tamil Nadu.
- Both countries have agreed on a second nuclear power project to follow Kudankulam, which envisages the construction of six reactors of the earlier generation VVER type of 1,000 MW capacity each.
- The VVER-1200 has 20 per cent more capacity than the VVER-1000.
- The action plan document was signed by India’s Department of Atomic Energy Secretary Kamlesh Vyas and Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev.
- India is also collaborating with Russia in setting up Bangladesh’s first nuclear plant at Rooppur.
- Under a trilateral agreement, Indian companies can be involved in construction and installation works, the supply of material and equipment of a non-critical category, as well as in the training of personnel.
India, Russia ink deal on S-400 missile system
- India and Russia on 5th October concluded a deal for supply of S-400 Triumf long-range surface-to-air missile system giving a substantial boost to air defence capabilities of the Indian Air Force.
- The $5.4 billion (around Rs 40,000 crore) deal was concluded during the 19th India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- Both the leaders made no mention of it in their statement to the media, apparently in view of the sensitivities involving the United States that has been pressing India not to go ahead with the deal.
- The missile contract part of the signing ceremony for eight deals inked by the two sides in the presence of the two leaders covering areas of space cooperation, railways, nuclear cooperation, fertilisers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
- The two leaders reviewed the progress on the achievement of the goal to increase two-way investment to USD 30 billion by the year 2025 and noted with satisfaction that both countries were on the way to achieving this target.
Delhi signs twin-city agreement with Moscow
- The Delhi government on 5th Oct signed a twin-city agreement with the government of Moscow for cooperation in various fields, including environment, culture and education, for the next three years.
- The agreement was signed by Minister of the Moscow City government and head of its international relations Sergey Cheremin and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
- The two governments have mutually agreed to extend the Twining Agreement for the period of three years, starting from November 1, in environmental protection and air pollution control, cultural and tourism, healthcare, education, sports, transport management and e-governance.
- The agreement will help in establishing friendship and cooperation between the two cities and will also help in maintaining regular contacts between the two governments.
- Delhi has Sister cities arrangement with New York City, United States, London, United Kingdom, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Chicago, United States, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tokyo, Japan, Seoul, South Korea, Fukuoka, Japan etc.
India’s forex reserves down by $1.3 billion
- India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined $1.26 billion during the week ended September 28. The overall forex reserves decreased to $400.52 billion from $401.79 billion reported for the week ended September 21.
- India’s forex reserves comprise foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and the RBI’s position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- The value of the country’s gold reserves decreased. It went down by $70.7 million to $20.34 billion.
- The SDRs’ value fell by $10.4 million to $1.47 billion, while the country’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decreased by $14.6 million to $2.46 billion.
October 2018 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook
Go To Assam Current Affairs Go To Assam Current Affairs Quiz
