Current Affairs Assam – December 2017 eMagazine
December 7
New air routes, inter-regional packages to boost NE tourism
Under the UDAN scheme, 92 new routes will be opened in the Northeast which is expected to give a major fillip to air connectivity in the region, Union Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma said.Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the 6th International Tourism Mart, Verma also said to promote tourism in the Northeast, her ministry is also looking at inter-regional and thematic packages to harness the resources cutting across state boundaries.
“After two rounds of bidding under the UDAN scheme, 92 routes have been selected for connectivity. Many private bidders have come forward. The routes will utilise unused airstrips in the region. We hope many new airports will come up in the region,” she said.
India wins first ever South Asian Regional Badminton Championship
India has won the first ever South Asian Regional Badminton Team Championship by defeating Nepal in Guwahati. India defeated its neighbouring country by 3-0.
The Indian team, which came into the Final without losing a single match, continued their good run with Aryaman Tandon drawing first blood in the boys’ singles competition. He defeated Dipesh Dhami 21-9, 21-15.
Mohammad Al Jounde wins International Children’s Peace Prize
Mohammad Al Jounde from Syria has been awarded with the International Children’s Peace Prize for his efforts to fight for the Syrian refugee children.
The 16 years old Al Jounde, a refugee of the Syrian crisis has established a school in a Lebanese refugee camp that is currently providing education to 200 children.
FACTFILE – The International Children’s Peace Prize
- It is awarded annually to a child who has made a significant contribution to advocating children’s rights and improving the situation of vulnerable children such as orphans, child labourers and children with HIV/AIDS.
December 8
Border protection grid planned to check influx
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked five eastern states sharing boundaries with Bangladesh to be extra vigilant against influx of Rohingyas and illegal immigrants through the porous Indo-Bangla border. At a meeting of Chief Ministers and Home Ministers of West Bengal, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura here, he said a border protection grid on the lines of Unified Command set up in insurgency-hit states will soon come up in these states to check illegal infiltration.
The Home Minister resolved to check illegal immigrants who have links with extremist groups for further anti-national activities with ulterior motive and posing threat to internal security. “Radical elements and terrorists can be checked only with joint action and active cooperation of Central and state governments,” he said.
FACTFILE -India’s border with Bangladesh
- longest land border India have with any country
- 2,217 km falls in West Bengal, 262 km in Assam, 443 km in Meghalaya, 856 km in Tripura and 180 km in Mizoram.
Point2Remeber – Unified Command structures comprising army, paramilitary forces and state police are in place in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland to effectively deal with militants.
Naga framework agreement has no mention of inter-state borders
The framework agreement signed between the Government of India and National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M) only set the mutually agreed parameters under which the final agreement is being worked out for permanent political solution of the Naga political problem.
The framework agreement, which was signed in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 3, 2015, did not deal with any substantive or specific issues and “definitely it did not have anything to inter-state borders.”
Sources asserted that Assam would not be affected in any way by the Naga peace talks. The inter-state boundary dispute between Assam and Nagaland is pending before the Supreme Court and it is not a matter of discussion. Moreover, there is hardly any Naga population in Assam, which is not the case in Manipur, where there is a sizeable Naga population, and the Centre may have to take some steps in consultation with the Manipur government for preservation of the cultural heritage of the Naga people living in the state.
The government wants to go for an inclusive solution involving all the stakeholders and if the NSCN(K) also joins the peace process following pressure from the civil society, it would have a lasting impact on insurgency in the Northeast as the other rebel groups of the region would find it hard to survive in Myanmar without the support of the NSCN(K), sources added.
National Commission for Minorities sets up committee to look into Minority status for Hindus
A 3-member committee has been set up by the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) to consider the matter of giving minority status to Hindus in 8 eight states where their population is less than 50%.
George Kurien, the Vice Chairman of NCM will be the head of the committee.The committee will submit its report in three months.
According to 2011 census, Hindus are in minority in eight states: Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Punjab.
FACTFILE – National Commission for Minorities
- Constitution of India doesn’t define the word ‘Minority’ but has used the word minorities considering two attributes religion or language of a person.
- For minorities Constitution of India has envisaged a number of rights and safeguards.
- To provide enough equality and to dwindled the discrimination, makers have spelt out various things in Fundamental Rights (PartIII); Directive Principles of State policy (Part IV) and also the Fundamental Duties (Part IV-A).
- The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
Six religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been notified in Gazette of India as minority communities by the Union Government all over India.
December 9
Taj Mahal: 2nd best UNESCO world heritage site
In the survey of online travel portal Trip Advisor, TajMahal has been designated as the second best UNESCO world heritage site in the world.
Before Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat has also received this status.
India becomes 42nd member of Wassenaar Arrangement
The Ministry of External Affairs welcomed the decision of the Wassenaar Arrangement to admit India as the 42nd member of the organisation which aims to regulate trade and use of dual use technology.
Officials said that following admission into the club, India will get access to high technology, which will help address the demands of Indian space and defence sectors.It will also boost New Delhi’s chances of joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
Membership in the Arrangement has been part of India’s quest for membership in the export control organisations.
TACTFILE – Wassenaar Arrangement
- The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) with 42 participating states including many former Comecon (Warsaw Pact) countries.
- The Wassenaar Arrangement was established to contribute to regional and international security and stability by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies.
- Participating states seek, through their national policies, to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which undermine these goals, and are not diverted to support such capabilities.
- It is the successor to the Cold War-era Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM), and was established on 12 July 1996, in Wassenaar, the Netherlands, which is near The Hague.
- A Secretariat for administering the agreement is located in Vienna, Austria. Like COCOM, however, it is not a treaty, and therefore is not legally binding.
9th December: International Anti-Corruption Day
With an aim to raise awareness about corruption and the possible ways to fight against it, the International Anti-Corruption Day is observed on 9th December every year across the globe.
The theme for this year is- ‘United against corruption for development, peace and security’.
