Assam Current Affairs – May 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of May 2018 )
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May 3
Protest against heritage site adoption scheme in Assam
The Central government’s ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme that saw the Dalmia Bharat Group adopt the Red Fort in New Delhi has triggered protests in Assam where four sites have been chosen to be handed over to the corporate sector as part of the plan.
The scheme is collaboration among the Tourism and Culture Ministers, the Archaeological Survey of India and the State government.
The four sites chosen in Assam include the Kaziranga National Park, Rangghar, Asia’s oldest amphitheatre, Kareng Ghar, a palace and Shiva Dol, a temple – all in Sivasagar district built during the 600-year reign of theAhom dynasty before the British took control of the Northeast in 1826.
Members of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU),Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and other organisations on Wednesday protested against the’Adopt a Heritage’ scheme, a collaboration among the Tourism and Culture Ministers, the Archaeological Survey of India and the State government.
“There is a misconception that the four heritage sites are being privatised. Private parties will, under corporate social responsibility, develop and maintain tourist facilities such as toilets, parking and cafeteria on the periphery of the area covered by the historic monuments,” said Jayanta Malla Barua, chairman, Assam Tourism Development Corporation Limited (ATDCL).
Subhash Chandra Khuntia appointed as Chairman of IRDAI
Subhash Chandra Khuntia, a 1981-batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer who was a former Karnataka Chief Secretary appointed as Chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved Khuntia’s appointment for a period of three years. The post was vacant for more than two months after TS Vijayan’s tenure came to an end.
FACTFILE – Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)
- IRDAI is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in India.
- It was constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, an Act of Parliament passed by the Government of India.
- The agency’s headquarters are in Hyderabad, Telangana.
- IRDAI is a 10-member body including the chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India
Maharashtra Becomes first state to provide Digitally-signed land record Documents
Maharashtra became the first state to provide digitally-signed land record receipts (also known as 7/12 receipts), which Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed would check irregularities and bring in transparency.
“From now on, people won’t need to go to the collectors or tehsil offices to get the 7/12 extract. These records can be accessed from anywhere. It will reduce human interference, which will help us curb corruption and keep a check on fraudulent cases,” chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said while unveiling the project.
The project is part of the Centre’s Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), launched in August 2008, to improve transparency and reduce frauds in property deals. The project is expected to make the digital database available with the land records department, sub-registrar offices and tehsil offices across the state.
The 7/12 receipt is the most important document which establishes the ownership of the land and is primarily used by farmers while applying for loans. Itis a part of the land ownership register maintained by the state’s revenue department which includes the plot’s survey number, the name of the owner, its cultivator, the type of cultivation, transfer of ownership and other details. An essential document, it establishes clear title and ownership and is used widely for all rural and semi-rural land deals. It is also used by the government during crop surveys and to extend various facilities.
FACTFILE – Digital India Land Record Modernisation Programme
- Government of India launched the National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP) was in 2008 by merging two erstwhile programmes of Computerization of Land Records (CLR) & Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records (SRA & ULR).
- The main aims of DILRMP are to usher in a system of updated land records, automated and automatic mutation, integration between textual and spatial records, inter-connectivity between revenue and registration, to replace the present deeds registration and presumptive title system with that of conclusive titling with title guarantee.
- The DILRMP has 3 major components – (1) Computerization of land record (2) Survey/re-survey and (3) Computerization of Registration.
- However, this programme suffered due to many implementation issues. Firstly,high cost of setting up the framework hindered its implementation. Secondly, it was very difficult to ensure that a person actually owned the land before making any changes in the land records. Thus, ascertaining conclusive ownership was an issue. Thirdly, the programme could not handle the fraudulent sales and acquisition of land. Fourthly, since Land is a state subject, many states were reluctant to disturb the status quo. Further, there was lack of coordination among the multiple agencies that were responsible for the implementation.
World Press Freedom Day is celebrated on 3rd May
World Press Freedom Day is observed worldwide on May 3 to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, protect the media from attacks and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives while being on duty.
The theme of 2018 World Press Freedom Day is ‘Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law’.
FACTFILE – World Press Freedom Day
- The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- It also marks the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in Windhoek in 1991.
- This year UNESCO will lead the 25thcelebration of World Press Freedom Day.
- The main event, organized by UNESCO and Government of the Republic of Ghana, will take place in Accra, Ghana.
May 4
‘Go to Village’ mission launched in Manipur
Manipur CM N. Biren Singh launched ‘Go to Village’ mission throughout the state of Manipur. This mission was launched in 60 villages of all the 60 Assembly constituencies.
The main purpose of this mission is to identify the eligible and deserving beneficiaries in every corner of the state.
Biren Singh said “human-oriented politics” is the foremost principle of the present government and it is committed to deliver good governance and bring inclusive development in the state.
‘Vibrant North East 2018’ held in Guwahati
‘Vibrant North East 2018′ was held in Guwahati, Assam. Delhi-based NGO, Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), organized this event. The event is supported by North- Eastern Council, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and All India Farmers Alliance.
The main aim of this event is to spread information about the schemes, grants and projects of the Central Government. The event comprising of Development Expo 2018, Agri and Rural Expo, industrial Expo and North East Development Meet provides an opportunity for the region to showcase its potential and opportunities for the rest of the country to offer what it has to for partnering and engaging to explore the opportunities and participating in the growth and development of the region.
The three day meet brings a large number of the national and international stake-holders from the industry, institutions, Government and the development sectors to showcase the programs and schemes, products, technologies and services; and deliberate upon the issues and opportunities and the way forward.
The event, comprised of the technical conferences, investment and business meets, partnership events, entrepreneurs’ seminars, farmer’s workshops and large exhibition, would serve as a significant step towards addressing the objectives.
Ashok Lahiri appointed as full-time member of 15th Finance Commission
Former chief economic adviser Ashok Lahiri has been appointed as full-time member of the 15th Finance Commission. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Lahiri’s appointment as the full-time member. He is at present the part-time member of the commission, headed by N.K. Singh. Now, he will be accorded the status of the minister of state.
The Fifteenth Finance Commission of India is a finance commission constituted in November 2017. The commission’s chairman is N. K. Singh, with its full-time members being Shaktikanta Das, Anoop Singh and Ashok Lahiri. In addition, the commission also has Ramesh Chand as part-time members.
FACTFILE – Finance Commission of India
- The first Finance Commission was established by the President of India in 1951 under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution.
- It was formed to define the financial relations between the central government of India and the individual state governments.
- The Finance Commission (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1951 additionally defines the terms of qualification, appointment and disqualification, the term, eligibility and powers of the finance commission.
- As per the Constitution, the Commission is appointed every five years and consists of a chairman and four other members.
- There have been fifteen commissions to date. The most recent was constituted in 2017 and is chaired by N. K.Singh, a former member of the Planning Commission.
Ayushman Bharat to spread its roots with an aim to set up 150000 health care centers
In order to establish 1,50,000 Health and Wellness Centres (HWC) by 2022, share and give a common understanding of the multiple components to enable HWC to deliver comprehensive primary health care, a two-day conference was organized under Ayushman Bharat. The conference was organized by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with technical support from the National Health Systems Resource Centre, recently.
It emphasized the critical importance of selecting motivated candidates as Mid-Level Health Providers and strengthening the Primary Health Care team including the Multi-Purpose Workers (male and female) and ASHA. The importance of the shift from selective to comprehensive primary health care, the uninterrupted availability of medicines for chronic diseases, and the criticality in establishing a seamless continuum of care, to build trust and confidence in the public health system and in reducing out of pocket expenditure were highlighted.
FACTFILE – Ayushman Bharat
- It is National Health Protection Scheme, which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage upto 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
- Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored schemes – Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).
- Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country.
- Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission will be an entitlement based scheme with entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database.
- One of the core principles of Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission is to co-operative federalism and flexibility to states.
- For giving policy directions and fostering coordination between Centre and States, it is proposed to set up Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Council (AB-NHPMC) at apex level Chaired by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister. States would need to have State Health Agency (SHA) to implement the scheme.
- To ensure that the funds reach SHA on time, the transfer of funds from Central Government through Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission to State Health Agencies may be done through an escrow account directly.
- It will have major impact on reduction of Out of Pocket (OOP) expenditure.
India rises to 5th spot in World’s Top Five Defense spenders
India surpassed France to become one of the world’s five largest military spenders; Swedish arms watchdog Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Report. India spent $63.9 billion on its military in 2017, an increase of 5.5% compared with 2016.
Highlights of the SIPRI Report
- India was in the fifth spot, after the US, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia, and they together accounted for 60% of global military spending. Total global military expenditure rose to $1,739 billion in 2017, a marginal increase of 1.1% in real terms from 2016.
- India’s defence spending has grown in the past decade for several reasons, including a mounting salary bill for about 1.4 million serving personnel and pensions for more than 2 million veterans, projects worth billions of dollars to induct new combat jets, helicopters, warships, artillery guns and infantry weapons, and to enhance capabilities.
- China, the second-largest spender globally, increased its defence spending by 5.6% to an estimated $228 billion in 2017. China’s spending as a share of global military expenditure rose from 5.8% in 2008 to 13% in 2017. It’s spending also accounted for 48% of the Asian total and was 3.6 times that of India.
- SIPRI noted that India was among six countries in the top 15 military spenders – the others being China, Turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Australia – that made large increases of more than 30% in their military spending between 2008 and 2017.
- India was the world’s largest weapons importer in the last five years and that arms exported by the US to India during 2013-17 registered a 557% jump when compared to 2008-12.
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