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Assam & NE Current Affairs & GK – July 15-21, 2021

( Covers all important Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of July 15-21, 2021)

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July 15, 2021

Cachar District received National SKOCH award 

• Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli received the prestigious National Silver SKOCH award under the health category on the project called ‘Pushti Nirbhor’. 
• The ‘Pushti Nirbhor’ is a convergence project with transformation and development along with Panchayat and Rural Development Department in one of the” Axom Adarxo Gram yojna” villages name Dinnathpur Bagicha near Indo-Bangladesh Border under Katigorah, Cachar District of Assam. 
• The main objectives were to train the villagers towards becoming self-reliant especially during the pandemic situation, to explore the household Nutri gardens and earn the marketing value and meet up the nutritional need of the families. 

Tripura’s Famous ‘Gandharaj’ Lemon Flies to Germany

• After gaining popularity in India, the famous ‘Gandharaj’ lemon of Tripura has now been exported to Germany. Notably, 500 ‘Gandharaj’ lemons have been sent to Germany on an experimental basis. 
• The 500 ‘Gandharaj’ lemons are accompanied by paper lemons and 1 metric tonne of jackfruit. Those agricultural products from Tripura will go to Germany via Guwahati. If the demand increases, the fortunes of the farmers of Tripura will be escalated. 
• Earlier, Kazi Nemu,’ the Assamese lemon, which is one of the main food items of every Assamese people, has made its way into the markets of London. This Assamese lemon is exclusively grown and found in Assam.
• As the Kazi Nemu consignment came to light, many people from London are excited to buy the Assamese Kazi Nemu/ Assam lemon to taste. 
• Prior, between December 2020 and January 2021, a massive consignment of ‘Kazi Nemu’ weighing almost 6 MT was exported to the European business sectors. ‘Kazi Nemu’ is utilized for preparing refreshing drinks and pickles as well as garnishing curry and other dishes. 
• In June 2021, ‘Leteku,’ the Burmese grapes, grown in the Darrang district of Assam, were exported to Dubai.

US Aviation Administration approves Blue Origin for Human Space Travel

• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved “Blue Origin license” in order to carry humans on New Shepard launch system into space.
• Former Amazon.com Chief Executive, Jeff Bezos, is to fly to space on July 20, 2021 through Blue Origin’s maiden crewed voyage.
• Blue Origin is authorized to carry humans while FAA license is valid through August. Blue Origin is approved to conduct these missions from its Launch Site One facility in Texas.
• Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, spaceX firm are working to usher in new era of routine commercial civilian space travel. Space travel has been popularized as “billionaire space race.” Proving rocket travel is safe for public is a significant key of developing a space tourism market which is going to be $3 billion market.

FACTFILE – Space Tourism

• Space Tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are different types of space tourism such as orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism. 
• Till date, orbital space tourism has been performed only by Roscosmos. 
• Various agencies like Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic & SpaceX are working to develop suborbital space tourism vehicles.

FACTFILE – Blue Origin

• Blue Origin, LLC is an American privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company headquartered in Kent, Washington.
• It was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Amazon, the company is led by CEO Bob Smith and aims to make access to space cheaper and more reliable through reusable launch vehicles..

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July 16, 2021

Six universities to be set up in Assam under Tejasvi Navadhitamastu Edu-Infra Funds

• Six universities are to be set up in Assam under Tejasvi Navadhitamastu Edu-Infra Funds (TNEIF). This scheme was launched in the 2017-18 budget to re-imagine and re-structure higher education in the state. 
• Each of the six institutions to be established under the Tejasvi Navadhitamastu Edu-Infra Funds (TNEIF) would receive a budget allocation of Rs 8 crore (2021-22), Rs 22 crore (2022-23), and Rs 20 crore (2023-24).
• The six universities that are to be established under this scheme are: 
• 1. Majuli University of Culture 
• 2. Rabindranath Tagore University (Hojai) 
• 3. Bhattadev University (Pathsala) 
• 4. Madhabdev University (Narayanpur) 
• 5. Birangana Sati Sadhini State University (Golaghat) 
• 6. Aniruddhadev Sports University (Chabua) 

Key Highlights of State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 report

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently published its “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 report” which highlights the a grim scenarios of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Food security.
• FAO’s study was conducted in 63 low- and middle-income countries. They covered a population of 3.5 billion on changes in income of people.
• Global Food Policy Report 2021 is published by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). As per report, impacts of rising poverty and reduced livelihoods are reflected in rising food insecurity & decreasing diet quality. This in turn have devastating consequences for health & nutrition in low- and middle-income countries.
  
  

Highlights of the Global Food Policy Report 2021

• As per study, there is a significant decrease in the affordability of healthy food because of loss in income.
• Covid-19 pandemic led to an additional 141 million people being unable to afford healthy diet because of loss of income and rising food price
• As the 2020 ended, global consumer food prices were highest in six years which continued to increase in first four months of 2021.
• Cost of healthy diet was 60 percent more than diet that meets “requirements for essential nutrients”.
• Overall decline in food intake has increased hunger levels in 2020. It thus made primary Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger by 2030 impossible.

Nepal, India sign deal for Lower Arun Hydropower project

• Nepal has inked a USD 1.3 billion deal with Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) of India to develop a 679-megawatt hydropower project in eastern Nepal.
• This will be the second mega venture in Nepal, undertaken by India. It is the single largest foreign investment project.
• To develop the project, a memorandum of understanding was signed by Chief Executive Officer of Investment Board of Nepal Sushil Bhatta and Chairman & Managing Director of SJVN Nand Lal Sharma in Kathmandu.
• The 679-megawatt Hydropower project is the second mega project undertaken by India after USD 1.04 billion 900-MW Arun-3 hydroelectric project in Nepal.

FACTFILE – Arun River

• It is the largest trans-Himalayan River that passes through Nepal. River drains into Sapta Kosi river system.
• In Tibet, it is known as Men Qu in upper reaches and as Peng Qu for most of its course towards north of Himalayan crests.

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July 17, 2021

Govt launched ‘School Innovation Ambassador Training Program’

• Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda jointly launched ‘School Innovation Ambassador Training Program’ on July 16, 2021.
• School Innovation Ambassador Training Programme was designed by the innovation cell of education ministry and All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) for school teachers for first time.

FACTFILE – School Innovation Ambassador Training Program

• This Programme will provide training to teachers from Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)- affiliated schools including Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, Kendriya Vidyalayas, and Eklavya Residential Model Schools in India.
• Teachers will be trained in online mode only for a duration of two months. Training will be provided in five modules to encourage innovation and creativity among school students.
• Five modules include- entrepreneurship, innovation, intellectual property rights, product development, design thinking and idea generation etc.

FACTFILE – All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)

• AICTE is a statutory body and a national-level council for technical education. It was established in November 1945 as an advisory body under the Department of Higher Education. In 1987, it was given statutory status by an Act of Parliament.
• It is involved in proper planning and coordinated development of technical education & management education systems across India.

Bhutan became the second country to adopt BHIM UPI

• Bhutan has become first country to adopt Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standards of India for its quick response (QR) code.
• Bhutan after Singapore has become the second country to have BHIM-UPI acceptance at merchant locations.
• International wing of the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) called NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL) announced partnership with Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan to implement BHIM UPI QR-based payments in Bhutan.
• Bhutan will also become the only country to issue & accept RuPay cards and accept BHIM-UPI.
• BHIM-UPI is a very important achievement of India in area of fintech. During covid-19 induced lockdown, BHIM-UPI became an effective mechanism of payment. In 2020-21, it processed 22 billion financial transactions of worth rupee 41 lakh crore.

FACTFILE – National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) 

• National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) is an umbrella organisation involved in operation of retail payments and settlement systems in India. It was launched by Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks’ Association to create a robust payment and settlement infrastructure.

FACTFILE – Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) App

• It is an Indian mobile payment App developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It is based on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and named after B. R. Ambedkar. It was launched on December 30, 2016. 
• BHIM app facilitates e-payments directly through banks and supports all Indian banks which use UPI.

FACTFILE – Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

• UPI is built over Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) infrastructure that allows user to instantly transfer money in real-time.
• It allows users to transfer money in multiple bank accounts without revealing bank account details to other party.

‘RBI Retail Direct’ scheme – Key Highlights

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced the “RBI Retail Direct facility” scheme on July 12, 2021.
• RBI’s Retail Direct Scheme is a one-stop solution to facilitate investment in Government Securities (G-Sec) by individual investors.
• Under this scheme, retail investors will be provided a facility to open and maintain Retail Direct Gilt Account (RDG Account) with RBI.
• This facility was launched as part of continuing efforts towards increasing retail participation in government securities. It was launched to improve ease of access by retail investors by online access to primary as well as secondary government securities market.

Key Features of the ‘RBI Retail Direct’ scheme

• Under the scheme, Retail investors (individuals) will have the option to open & maintain ‘Retail Direct Gilt Account’ (RDG Account) with RBI.
• RDG Account can be opened using an ‘Online portal’ provided for the purpose of this scheme.

FACTFILE – Government Securities (G-Sec)

• G-secs are debt instruments issued by government to borrow money. These instruments are not tax-free. They are the safest form of investment because they are backed by government. They are however, subject to fluctuations in interest rates. It can be issued in- 
• Short term- such a treasury bills for 91-days, 182-days and 364 days
• Long term- with bonds maturity of one year or more.

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July 18, 2021

Cachar inaugurated ‘Mamoni Bazar’ exclusively for women 

• With a vision to explore the power of women, Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli inaugurated a market shed christened as ‘Mamoni Bazar’ for women at Dinnathpur Bagicha under Katigorah.
•  The market shed was constructed at a cost of Rs 10 lakh under the DMFT (District Mineral Foundation Trust).
• Mentionably, this market shed is the first of its kind in the Barak Valley and it is among the identified ‘Adarsh Villages’ of Cachar District. The scheme has been taken up under a sustainable ‘Convergence’ project that will be carried out under the regular monitoring of the District Heads of Agriculture, Zilla Parishad, Fishery, Handloom & Textile and NRLM among others.

India’s first monk fruit cultivation begins in Kullu, H.P

• Cultivation of China’s  ‘monk fruit’ from has started in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. The fruit was introduced for field trials in Himachal Pradesh by Palampur-based Council of Scientific Research and Industrial Technology-Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (CSIR-IHBT).
• Monk fruit is known for its properties as non-caloric natural sweetener. Field trials have begun three years after CSIR-IHBT imported its seeds from China and grew it in house. Fifty seedlings of fruit were planted in fields of a farmer from Raison village for field trials and a ‘Material Transfer Agreement’ was signed with the farmer.
• Flowering pattern, pollination behaviour and fruit setting time were also documented in order to draw complete life-cycle of monk fruit in agro-climatic conditions of the region.
• Monk fruit is “a perennial crop”. It is having a life span of four to five years. Fruiting on this crop starts eight to nine months after germination.

FACTFILE – Monk Fruit

• Monk Fruit took its name from Buddhist monks who first used it. During the 20th century, Professor G W Groff had also made an unsuccessful attempt to grow Monk plant because flowers did not appear.
• Monk fruit (siraitia grosvenorii), is known for its intensely sweet taste. It is used as a non-caloric natural sweetener. The sweet taste of monk fruit is because of content of group of cucurbitane-type triterpene glycosides called mogrosides.

Integrated Ratings for State Power Distribution Utilities launched

• Union Power Minister, R.K. Singh, released 9th Integrated Ratings for State Power Distribution Utilities on the occasion of on the occasion of 36^th Foundation Day of Power Finance Corporation (PFC).
• While releasing Integrated Ratings for State Power Distribution Utilities, minister underlines that, Annual Integrated Rating exercise for rating period 2019-20 covering 41 State Power Distribution Utilities has been completed with participation of all utilities.
• Indian Power sector will benefit from a fair and accurate assessment of true position of distribution sector. It will also help in assessing & improving its performance.

FACTFILE – Power Finance Corporation Ltd.

• PFC is an Indian financial institution under Ministry of Power. It was established in 1986. PFC works as the financial backbone of Indian Power Sector. It is also India’s largest infrastructure finance company.

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July 19, 2021

Meghalaya Govt clears State PPP policy to facilitate private investment

• The Meghalaya Cabinet cleared the Meghalaya Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Policy 2021 to facilitate more private investment in the state. Meghalaya was one of the three states in the country that don’t have a PPP policy and with this new policy, the state government aims to “promote growth by attracting investments while safeguarding and promoting the interests of the communities.”
• Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said that one unique aspect incorporated in this policy is Community PPP, whereas in most of the other states, PPP policy mostly deals with large infrastructural projects but we have introduced this concept. 
• The Community PPP idea is to enable communities to work with private parties in the field of tourism, agriculture, horticulture, veterinary and others. Under the CPPP, the community shall be actively involved and contribute through the entire process.
• Various aspects like the Land Transfer Act, land ownership and protection of the people have been taken into consideration while formulating this policy. 

Requirement of a PPP Policy in Meghalaya

• Meghalaya has a severe deficit of infrastructure, be it roads, telecom or power. Eg. the road density in the State is only 47.8 Km per 100 square km which is way lower than the national average of 180. The per capita annual consumption of electricity in Meghalaya, at 880 kWh, is also much below the national average of 1,200 kWh.
• To achieve the vision of being among the Top 10 Indian states within the next 10 years, it would be required to not just deficit these gaps, but surpass the national average on many counts.
• All these would require massive investments, estimated at about Rs. 25,000 Cr over the next 10 years. The Government with an annual budget size of approx. 17,000 Cr (of which the development budget is only about Rs. 3,000 Cr) does not have the quantum of resources to undertake all these activities.
• The Public-Private Partnership Policy would help the state leverage investments along with sector-specific expertise from the private sector.

Proposed Institutional Framework: 

• An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGM), headed by the Chief Minister, shall be set up to approve projects greater than Rs. 50 Cr.
• An Empowered Committee on Infrastructure (ECI), headed by the Chief Secretary, shall be set up to approve projects up to Rs. 50 Cr.
• A State PPP Cell, headed by a senior Secretary from the planning department shall be set up as the nodal agency. It would be housed within Meghalaya Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (MIDFC) under the Planning Department.
• Land belonging to Government Departments or taken on lease from communities/individuals shall be used for the project. And all provisions related to the Meghalaya Land Transfer Act, 1971 will be applicable to ensure that the rights of the communities/individuals are protected.

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Tripura to promote commercial cultivation of agar

• The government of Tripura has taken initiatives to promote commercial cultivation of Agar trees and has set a target of achieving Rs 2,000 crore business from this sector in the next three years.
• Tripura has also plans to export 1,500 kg of Agar oil and 75,000 kg of Agar chips in the year 2021-22.
• Tripura government has launched a draft named Tripura Agar Wood Policy 2021 and a target has been set up of doubling the plantation by the year 2025. Presently, there are over 50 lakh agar trees in the state.
• Agar (Aquilaria malaccensis) is an evergreen tree that grows in abundance in the state of Tripura. This species has a huge potential of creating an economic revolution in the state after bamboo, rubber and other major forestry crops. Due to low input cost for its growth and management and its intercropping adaptation could make agar a cash crop.

FACTFILE – Agarwood

• Agarwood (Aquilaria malaccensis) is a fragrant dark resinous wood used in incense, perfume, and small carvings.
• Prior to infection, the heartwood is odourless, relatively light and pale coloured; however, as the infection progresses, the tree produces a dark aromatic resin, called aloes or agar, in response to the attack, which results in a very dense, dark, resin-embedded heartwood.
• The resin-embedded wood is valued in Indian-North Eastern culture for its distinctive fragrance, and thus is used for incense and perfumes.
• The aromatic qualities of agarwood are influenced by the species, geographic location, its branch, trunk and root origin, length of time since infection, and methods of harvesting and processing.

Indian Govt announces launch of National Logistics Excellence Awards

• On July 19, 2021, to turn the spotlight on the logistics sector, the Govt of India announced the launch of a new category of awards named the National Logistics Excellence Awards, to provide due recognition to the various players involved in the logistics supply chain in the country.
• The first category of the awards includes service providers and logistics infrastructure and second category will be awarded for the various user industries.
• The launch of the National Logistics Excellence Awards will highlight best practices which include process standardisation, consolidation, digital transformations, technological upgrade and sustainable practices in the logistics sector.
• Through these awards, the govt aims to turn the spotlight on logistics service providers who have attained adopted digitisation and technology, operational excellence, pursued sustainable practices and improved customer service among the many other achievements.
• For the user industries, these awards will showcase efforts towards supplier ecosystem development, supply chain transformation, automation, skill development and other similar endeavours.

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July 20, 2021

IIM Shillong holds Virtual Workshop for Business Incubators of NE India

• The ‘Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research & Analysis and Incubation and Enterprise Support Centre’ at IIM Shillong hosted a two-day virtual workshop cum roundtable discussion for ‘Business Incubators of North-East India’. 
• The virtual workshop cum roundtable discussion was attended by representatives of various incubators from the North Eastern (NE) States.
• Several topics were covered with such as status of business incubators in NE, managing incubators in Indian context, technology commercialization through incubation, offering specialized services, implementing a mentoring program, raising finance for incubated startups marketing and stakeholder management.

Assam to form ‘Population Army’ to curb Birth Rate

• The Assam government is mulling to form a ‘population army’ to spread awareness especially in the Muslim-dominated areas where the state has witnessed a population explosion.
• Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma said that a team of around 1000 youngsters will be sent to various areas including the char areas, sandbars, to distribute contraceptives and to talk about the benefits of a small family.
• In 2017, Assam had brought in the Population and Women Empowerment Policy or bill in which government employees were asked to strictly follow the two-child norm. The new law may bring loan waiver and other government schemes under this population rule.

India becomes world’s 5th largest Forex reserve holder

• Recently, India has surpassed Japan, China, Russia and Switzerland to become the world’s fifth-largest foreign exchange reserve holder with $608 billion.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Govt of India are actively monitoring the country’s external position and accordingly fine-tuning the various policies and regulations so as to ensure strong macroeconomic growth of India.
• India’s balance of payments has surplused in both the capital and current accounts in the year 2020-21 which largely contributed to the gains in the foreign exchange reserves of the country.
• India’s present foreign exchange reserves are sufficient enough to provide a buffer against unforeseen external shocks and also to cover imports for more than 18 months.
• The RBI regularly undertakes various measures to diversify the currency reserves of the country by increasing operations in the Forex swap and repo markets, exploring new markets or products and purchasing of gold.
• The RBI’s intervention in the foreign exchange market to smooth out valuation changes due to movement of the US dollar against other international currencies in the reserve basket, exchange rate volatility, movement in gold prices, inflow of aid receipts and interest earnings from the deployment of foreign currency assets are the main causes for the variation in the country’s Forex reserves.

FACTFILE – Forex Reserves

• The Forex reserves are assets which are held by the central bank of a country and it mainly comprise of bonds, foreign currencies, gold, bank deposits, financial assets and special drawing rights.

Asian Development Bank has downgraded India’s economic growth forecast

• The Asian Development Bank has downgraded India’s economic growth forecast for the current financial year to 10 % from 11% that it had previously projected in April 2021. This downgrade was done taking into account the adverse impact of the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic.
• In the last quarter of fiscal year which ended in March 2021, India’s GDP growth recovered to 1.6%. A second wave of the pandemic induced many state governments to impose strict containment measures hence, the growth projection for FY2021-2, was downgraded to 10% from the previously predicted 11%.
• For South Asian countries, ADB said that the economic outlook for this sub region is being hit by the new waves of COVID-19 from the months of March to June 2021. The GDP growth forecast for the South Asian region has been downgraded from 9.5% to 8.9 % for the year 2021-22.

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July 21, 2021

Rs 370 Crores Approved for Brahmaputra River Front Project 

• In order to move on with the concept of developing Guwahati into a Smart City, a 1.3-kilometer length of the Brahmaputra Riverfront project has been approved at a cost of Rs. 370 crore.
• The Riverfront is located on the south bank of the Brahmaputra River and is part of Guwahati’s core business district. Between Rajbhawan (Kharghuli Hill) and Kamakhaya Temple is a six-kilometer-long riverfront (Nilachal Hill).
• Visitors and locals of Guwahati will benefit from amenities such as a walkway, a cycle track, and a jogging track, among others. 
• Viewpoints, Waterstairs, Fountains, Interactive Ponds, Ramps, Stairs, Jetty, Ferry Terminals, Kiosks, Bridges across outflow structures, and other infrastructure improvements are proposed for the Brahmaputra Riverfront. 

IOC to build India’s first green hydrogen plant at Mathura

• IOC, India’s largest oil firm will build the country’s first ‘green hydrogen’ plant at its refinery in Mathura. This decision has been undertaken with the view of preparing for a future to cater to the growing demands cleaner forms of energy.
• Earlier, ‘grey hydrogen’ production projects have been announced making use of fossil fuels such as natural gas. Several hydrogen production units are being planned to be set up by IOC.
• Forecasts state that Indian fuel demand will climb to 400-450 million tonnes by 2040 as against 250 million tonnes and hence, it will be important to invest in CNG, LNG, ethanol and biodiesel.
• Hydrogen is is a clean fuel but manufacturing it causes carbon by-products and it is energy-intensive. Through the process of coal gasification brown hydrogen is created while this process throws off carbon waste.
• The ultimate clean hydrogen resource is green hydrogen production and it uses renewable energy to create the hydrogen fuel.

China rolls out high speed 600km/hr Maglev train

• On 20th July, 2021 China rolled out a 600km per hr high-speed  magnetic levitation (maglev) train in Qingdao located in the Shandong Province of East China.
• Currently, maglev train is the fastest available ground vehicle. Shenzhen to Shanghai trip which took 10 hours will now be shortened to only 2.5 hours.
• The new maglev train displays a number of technological advancements which also include a 30% more efficient self-developed brake system.
• This project was started in the year 2016 and a prototype vehicle was developed in the year 2019 which made a trail run in June 2020.
• Shanghai, the financial hub of China, is currently the only Chinese city which operates a high-speed maglev line. This line is operational since 2003 and the Shanghai maglev train connects the Pudong airport to downtown Shanghai.

China’s High-speed railway network

• China has the largest high-speed railway network and covers 95% of its cities. By 2035, China aims to build 4,60,000 kilometres of highways, 25,000 kilometres of high-level sea lanes and 2,00,000 kilometres of railways.
• The Shanghai maglev train or Shanghai Transrapid is a maglev train line that operates in Shanghai. It is the oldest commercial maglev still in operation, and the first commercial high-speed maglev with cruising speed of 431 km/h. It is also the fastest commercial electric train in the world.

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