Current Affairs Assam – October 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of October 2018 )
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October 26
India, Bangladesh sign agreements to boost waterways connectivity
- India and Bangladesh signed three agreements, including one to use Chattogram and Mongla Ports in Bangladesh for goods movement, for enhancing inland and coastal waterways connectivity between the two countries.
- The two countries also signed a standard operating procedure (SOP) for movement of passenger and cruise services.
- They also signed an addendum to Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) between for inclusion of Dhubri in India and Pangaon in Bangladesh as new ports of call.
- During the secretary level talks, the two sides also finalised the SOP for movement of passengers and cruise vessels on inland protocol route and coastal shipping routes which would enable river cruise services between Kolkata-Dhaka-Guwahati-Jorhat and back.
- The two sides also agreed to include Rupnarayan river (National Waterway-86) from Geonkhali to Kolaghat in the protocol route and to declare Kolaghat in West Bengal and Chilmari in Bangladesh as new ports of call.
Union Govt to set up specific agriculture export zones
- Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said specific agriculture export zones, which are well-connected to ports and airports, will be set up in the country to boost exports of farm products.
- The government had drafted a new national agriculture export policy to support the export of organic products. The policy has been jointly prepared by the Ministries of Commerce, Agriculture, and Food Processing.
- The commerce ministry will also set up a series of centres in states to help organic farmers to brand and sell products to international market, where demand for such products is high.
- India produces about 600 million tonnes of agriculture and horticulture products annually.
- The policy will also help in checking food and vegetable wastage which is about 30 per cent at present by increasing exports and increasing food processing
- The agriculture export policy has pitched for greater involvement of states, improvement in infrastructure and logistics, and promotion of R&D activities for new product development for the upcoming markets.
India’s 4Tune Factory gets UN award for women in business
- Kerala-based 4Tunes Factory has been given a special recogntion award by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for enabling women and girls to develop skills.
- Chandra Vadhana, the CEO of the company, received the “Empretec Women in Business: Special Recognition Social Award” on 25th October in Geneva at the World Investment Forum.
- The 4Tunes Factory “worked toward activating and enabling women and girls by developing their skills”.
FACTFILE – The Empretec awards
- The Empretec awards are given to women-owned businesses that have benefited from the business from UNCTAD’s Empretec entrepreneurship programme.
- It seeks to develop entrepreneurship and micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) with the aim of promoting sustainable development and inclusive growth.
Kerala IT administrator K. Anvar Sadath is the first Indian to get AECT Award
- Anvar Sadath, Vice Chairman and Executive Director of Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), has become the first Indian to receive AECT’s International Contributions Award.
- The award was handed over by Phillip Harris, Executive Director of Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) at a ceremony held at Kansas City on 25th
- Sadath heads the implementation of Kerala Hi-tech School project which has converted almost 45,000 classrooms of Classes 8 to 12 to hi-tech ones, besides empowering all teachers to handle the pedagogy-based classroom transactions that connect 15,000 schools.
FACTFILE – The Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)
- The AECT is the premier professional academic and professional association for instructional design and educational technology.
- It works to provide international leadership by promoting scholarships and best practices in the creation, use and management of technologies for effective teaching and learning.
October 27
Central Govt approves BVFCL’s Namrup IV plant
- The Union government has approved setting up of the Namrup IV project at the Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL) site.
- The proposal is for setting up of Namrup IV project at BVFCL site on nomination basis proposing equity partnership of 52 per cent to RCF, 26 per cent to OIL, 11 per cent to Government of Assam and 11 per cent to BVFCL”.
- The demand for the fourth unit of BVFCL was raised by several organisations, including the Namrup Fertilizer Shramik Union, in the past. The demand for the fourth unit came about after the survival of the industry was at stake due to the apathy of the Union government as the ageing plants (Namrup I, II and III) had outlived their life span and their production capacity declined drastically.
FACTFILE – Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL)
- The BVFCL, established in 1969, as the Namrup Fertilizer Complex and was renamed as Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited after bi-furcation from Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited from 01/04/02.
- It is the first factory in India to use natural gas as basic raw material for producing nitrogenous fertilizer.
- It is the only fertilizer manufacturing plant in the North East to produce urea for supply to farmers and tea gardens at a subsidized rate.
- It also exports urea to foreign nations like Bangladesh and Nepal.
- It is located on the bank of dilli river in the south-western border of Dibrugarh District in Assam.
Entrepreneurs Associates Innovation Fund (EAIF) Award for three Naga youths
- Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio conferred the first Entrepreneurs Associates Innovation Fund (EAIF) Award to three Naga youths for innovation.
- The award carries cash of Rs 2 lakh each with citation and three years of free mentorship by Entrepreneurs Associates, an oganisation working to nurture the entrepreneurial aspirations of individuals and communities since 2000.
- Peihauding Zeliang was conferred the award for inventing Organic Healing Paste and Bio-enhancer. Zenwang Konyak, for his innovation of Umbrella Harvest, also known as U-Harvest to address water scarcity during dry seasons. And Tsenshithung Yanthan, a young government employee, was the third awardee for inventing Band Saw or a portable sawmill.
- The awards were conferred during the launching of EAIF at the Regional Centre of Excellence for Music & Performing Arts (RCEMPA), Jotsoma on Friday.
India contributes $300K to UN programme to train commanders
- India has donated $300,000 to a programme to train commanders for UN peacekeeping. Known as the “Pipeline to Peacekeeping Command Programme,” it will “over a period of three years, help develop the capacity of future commanders and managers to lead by example and raise awareness of UN standards of conduct among their personnel,”
- This programme will be the first of its kind with a focus on issues of conduct and sexual exploitation and abuse, and we are grateful for the lead of India on such a significant new initiative
- The Department of Field Services described the programme as helping equip commanders and managers “to respond to allegations of misconduct including through collaborating with the various stakeholders in mission settings during the investigation and disciplinary process.”
Imphal-Mandalay bus service to start soon
- Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari discussed the progress of India-Myanmar transport connectivity with the Myanmar Minister for Communication and Transport U Thant Sin Maung.
- The two sides discussed the status of the project for upgrading the Kalewa-Yagyi stretch of the India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway, starting Imphal-Mandalay bus service, and a bilateral Motor Vehicles Agreement between the two countries.
- The upgrade of the Kalewa-Yagyi stretch of IMT is being executed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
- The two sides, also expressed willingness to start the Imphal-Mandalay bus service.
- India and Myanmar had operationalized the Land Border Crossing Agreement earlier this year. The agreement allows nationals from the two countries holding valid passport and visa to cross over without requiring special permission.
- Now both countries have to select bus operators to run the service.
- Once the service starts, a bus from India will take passengers to the Myanmar border where they will be transferred to the bus run by a Myanmar operator for travelling further into Myanmar.
- Likewise, India-bound Myanmar nationals will transfer into bus run by an Indian operator for further travel into India.
- The draft agreement is under discussion and the two sides are keen to finalize it soon.
- The 1,360-kilometer-long IMT Trilateral Highway is a regional highway being constructed under India’s Act East policy to boost connectivity in the region.
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