Current Affairs Assam – September 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of September 2018 )
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September 19
World Bamboo Day celebrated on 18th September
- On the occasion of 10th World Bamboo Day, Manipur Assembly Speaker Yumnam Khemchand said the Bamboo Mission needs the Centre’s attention as bamboo has more potential in comparison to trees as a construction material. Bamboos have just a three-year growth cycle, while trees mature after many years.
- This year’s World Bamboo Day has the theme, ‘Bamboo: the future plants…a new hope’.
- Bamboo is a versatile group of plants which is capable of providing ecological, economic and livelihood security to the people.
Bamboo in India
- Bamboo covers 13.96 million hectare area with 136 species.
- Till recently, it has remained confined to the forests (12.8% of forest cover); two third of the growing stock located in the North-Eastern States.
- Importance of the crop as a source of raw material for industrial and domestic use with its growing demand all over the country necessitated its cultivation in farm lands as well.
FACTFILE – World Bamboo Day
- The World Bamboo Day was first celebrated on September 18, 2009 at Prachan Buri, Thailand, during the World Bamboo Congress held at Bangkok, Thailand.
- In Manipur, it was held for the first time in 2011.
- The day has since been observed at various locations in the State every year.
FACTFILE – National Bamboo Mission
- With a view to harness the potential of bamboo crop, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare is implementing a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme called Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) in which National Bamboo Mission (NBM) is being implemented as a sub scheme.
- The Mission envisages promoting holistic growth of bamboo sector by adopting area-based, regionally differentiated strategy and to increase the area under bamboo cultivation and marketing.
- The Mission will focus on development of bamboo in limited States where it has social, commercial and economical advantage, particularly in the North Eastern region and States including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
- The Mission is expected to establish about 4000 treatment/ product development units and bring more than 100000 ha area under plantation during the period 2018-19 & 2019-20.
India signs $74 mn loan pact with World Bank for Uttarakhand Project
- India has signed a financing loan agreement with the World Bank for USD 74 million for Uttarakhand Workforce Development Project (UKWDP).
- The project objective is to improve the quality and relevance of training at priority Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and to increase the number of labor-market-relevant workers through short term training in Uttarakhand.
- The project has three components — improving the quality and relevance of ITI training; increasing the number of skilled workers certified under National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQE); and policy and institutional development and project management.
- Twenty-five ITIs have been selected 13 located in District Centers and 12 ITIs that are well-linked to industries. Two out of four women’s ITIs in the state will be included in the list
TB remains the world’s deadliest infection
- According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest Global Tuberculosis Report, which includes data from 205 countries and territories, In 2017, 1.6 million people around the world died of tuberculosis (TB) which persists as the globe’s top infectious disease killer, despite being preventable and curable. In 2016, no. of deaths were at 1.7 million.
- An estimated 10 million people fell ill with TB in 2017. Two thirds of these new cases were found in just eight countries.
- The number of new cases is falling by an average of 2% a year, which is not nearly enough to meet the global target of ending TB by 2030.
FACTFILE – Tuberculosis (TB)
- TB is an infectious disease usually caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB).
- Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body.
- 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.
- Prevention of TB involves screening those at high risk, early detection and treatment of cases, and vaccination with the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine.
- 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).
- More than 95% of deaths occurred in developing countries, and more than 50% in India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
Cabinet approves ordinance on Triple Talaq
- The Union Cabinet took the ordinance route to make the Islamic practice a punishable offence. The ordinance has similar provisions as The Muslim Women Protection of Rights in Marriage Act, also known as triple talaq bill, cleared by the Lok Sabha in December last year.
- The ordinance has been cleared for now, it must still be placed before Parliament and the bill would need to be passed.
- The bill has provisions for imprisonment. In addition, it also imposes fine for anyone invoking it.
- Supreme Court declared the practice of instant triple talaq illegal and unconstitutional in August 2018.
FACTFILE – Ordinances
- Article 123 of the Constitution of India grants the President certain law-making powers to promulgate ordinances when either of the two Houses of Parliament is not in session.
- Ordinances are laws that are promulgated by the President of India on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.
- They can only be issued when Parliament is not in session. They enable the Indian government to take immediate legislative action.
- Ordinances cease to operate either if Parliament does not approve of them within six weeks of reassembly, or if disapproving resolutions are passed by both Houses.
FACTFILE – Union Cabinet of India
- Union cabinet includes the prime minister and his cabinet ministers.
- The cabinet is headed by the prime minister, and is advised by the cabinet secretary, who also acts as the head of the Indian Administrative Service and other civil services.
Water supply schemes under NRDWP launched in Dhemaji
- The Dhemaji and Ghilamara Division of Pubic Health Engineering & Water Supply (PHE &WS) Department launched eight piped water supply schemes in Dhemaji district, including three schemes in Jonai sub-division.
- The schemes were funded under the National Drinking Water Supply Programme to provide safe drinking water to the rural people.
- The department has spent around Rs 9.5 crore in the district against construction of eight schemes, thereby setting a target to cover a population of 8,600 ruralites.
- The department has completed construction of water supply schemes at Lakhinepali, Kamalpur and Hiloipara under Jonai sub-division, while the rest were constructed at Gobindapur-Miri, Lotak, Nagaon, Sonapur-Maji and Morolchuk under Dhemaji sub-division.
FACTFILE – National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP)
- The National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed at providing every person in rural India with adequate safe water for drinking, cooking and other domestic basic needs on a sustainable basis.
- It was launched in April 2009 by the then Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation presently Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, for assisting states in providing drinking water to the rural population of India.
- This programme has been emphasizing on water supply systems which are planned and managed by the community at the village level, for ensuring sustainable drinking water availability, convenient delivery systems and achieving water security at the household level.
September 20
India plans to build 21 nuclear reactors by 2030: DAE
- India plan’s to build 21 nuclear reactors by 2030 by using different technologies, implementation of this programme will be done bybringing foreign partners in different technologies
- Two Russian designed pressurised light water reactors and two pressurised heavy reactors being built with Indian technology under the IAEA safeguards .
- A pact was signed in March between Indian and France to establish six nuclear power reactors of European pressurized reactor (EPR) technology to enhance India’s international cooperation in the field.
FACTFILE – Nuclear power in India
- India’s and Asia’s first nuclear reactor was the Apsara research reactor.
- The domestic uranium reserve in India is small and is dependent on uranium imports to fuel its nuclear power industry. Hence, from 1990s, Russia has been a major supplier of nuclear fuel to India.
- Nuclear power is the fifth-largest source of electricity in India after coal, gas, hydroelectricity and wind power. As of March 2018, India has 22 nuclear reactors in operation in 7 nuclear power plants, having a total installed capacity of 6,780 MW.
- Nuclear power produced a total of 35 TWh and supplied 3.22 per cent of Indian electricity in 2017. 6 more reactors are under construction with a combined generation capacity of 4,300 MW.
- The capacity factor of Indian reactors was at 79% in the year 2011-12 compared to 71% in 2010-11. Nine out of twenty Indian reactors recorded 97% capacity factor during 2011-12.
- India has been making advances in the field of thorium-based fuels, working to design and develop a prototype for an atomic reactor using thorium and low-enriched uranium, a key part of India’s three stage nuclear power programme.
CCEA approves revised cost of Rs 3466 Crore for safety of 198 dams
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the revised cost estimate of Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) at Rs 3,466 crore for 198 dams in the country.
- The project aims to improve safety and operational performance of the dams, along with institutional strengthening with better management approach.
- Rs 2,628 crore will be funded by the World Bank and Rs 747 crore will be funded by DRIP states or the implementing agencies and balance Rs 91 crore will be funded by the Central Water Commission (CWC) .
- The project will improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams and mitigate risks to ensure safety of downstream population and property.
- The scheme plans comprehensive rehabilitation of 198 existing dam projects in seven states – Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand (Damodar Valley Corporation) and Uttarakhand (Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd).
FACTFILE – Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)
- It is an externally-aided project.
- 80% of the total project is provided by the World Bank as loan/credit and remaining 20% is borne by the States / Central Government (for CWC). Govt. of India has not sought funding from any internal agency for this project.
- The objectives of DRIP are to improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams and associated appurtenances in a sustainable manner, and to strengthen the dam safety institutional setup of participating States / Implementing Agencies.
Cabinet approves Rs 1,225 crore for rural health workers
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 19th sep approved a package of Rs 1,224.97 crore for the government scheme ASHA, doubling the incentives given to workers under the National Rural Health Mission.
- Under the NRHM, the government provides villages with a trained female Accredited Social Health Activist or ASHA.
- There will be an increase in the amount of routine and recurring incentives under NRHM for ASHAs from Rs 1,000 per month to Rs 2,000 per month.
- ASHAs and ASHA facilitators meeting the eligibility criteria will be enrolled in government’s social security schemes — Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)
- More than one crore ASHAs and ASHA facilitators will be covered under PMJJBY and more than nine lakh of them will be covered under PMSBY
Over 300 million children not in school, shows UNICEF Report
- According to UNICEF a report titled “A future stolen: young and out-of-school” over 300 million children globally between the age of five and 17 years of age were not in school.
- More than one-third of them, or about 104 million, are in countries affected by conflict or disaster.
- One in five young people between 15-17 years old in countries affected by conflicts and disasters have never even entered any school and two in five have never completed primary school.
- By current trends, the number of 10 to 19 year-olds will rise to more than 1.3 billion by 2030, an increase of 8 per cent.
- With less than 4 per cent of global humanitarian appeals dedicated to education, the report calls for more investment in quality education where children and young people can learn in a safe environment, from pre-primary to upper-secondary, in countries affected by complex humanitarian emergencies and protracted crises.
- Poverty remains the most significant barrier to education globally with the poorest primary school age children four times more likely to be out of school compared to their peers from the richest households.
FACTFILE – United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
- UNICEF, formerly United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, special program of the United Nations (UN) devoted to aiding national efforts to improve the health, nutrition, education, and general welfare of children.
- UNICEF was created in 1946 to provide relief to children in countries devastated by World War II.
- After 1950 the fund directed its efforts toward general programs for the improvement of children’s welfare, particularly in less-developed countries and in various emergency situations.
- The organization’s broader mission was reflected in the name it adopted in 1953, the United Nations Children’s Fund.
- UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1965.
- It is headquartered in New York City.
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