Current Affairs Assam – October 2017
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of October 2017 )
Current Affairs Assam – October 2017 e-Magazine
October 1
Prof Jagdish Mukhi appointed new Assam Governor
Prof Jagdish Mukhi has been appointed as the Governor of Assam in place of Banwarilal Purohit who has been sent to Tamil Nadu as its Governor. Banwarilal Purohit has been sent to Tamil Nadu due to the prevailing political scenario in that State in the wake of the two AIADMK factions locking horns with the rival faction led by TTV Dhinakaran and the jailed Sasikala. Purohit was appointed as the Governor of Assam in August 2016.
Assam, on the other hand, is considered a politically stable State and hence, Purohit’s service was decided to be used in Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, Prof Jagdish Mukhi, who was the Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has been promoted as Governor and sent to Assam. Better known as the BJP’s Delhi strongman, Prof Mukhi had been involved in Delhi State politics for long.
Born on December 1, 1942 at Dajal, Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab (now in Pakistan), Prof Mukhi graduated in Commerce from Raj Rishi College, Alwar (Rajasthan). In 1967, he did his MCom from Sri Ram College of Commerce under the Delhi University. He took his first steps in public life in 1958 when he went through the initial training camp of the RSS. In 1963, he was elected the president of the students’ union of Raj Rishi College, Alwar, as the ABVP candidate.
Prof Mukhi took to active politics on June 25, 1975 when the Emergency was clamped. He represented the Janakpuri constituency continuously since 1980 and won the seat seven times. Prof Mukhi had held the portfolios of Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation and Higher Education in the Delhi Government. He was the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly from 1998-2008. He was awarded as the Best Finance and Planning Minister by the then Planning Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, in 1997. He was also awarded as the best MLA by the then Lok Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi, in 2002.
Ganga Prasad appointed Meghalaya Governor
President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Ganga Prasad as the Governor of Meghalaya. He would take over from Banwarlilal Purohit who was on additional charge of the State apart from Assam. Ganga Prasad was a Member of the Legislative Council of Bihar. He was first elected as a MLC in 1994. He was the leader of the MLC during the previous NDA Government in the State.
Brig BD Mishra (retd) appointed Arunachal Governor Retired Army Brigadier Dr B D Mishra was appointed as the regular Governor of the frontier State of Arunachal Pradesh.The 78-year-old Mishra was appointed to the gubernatorial post by President Ram Nath Kovind. He replaces the Arunachal and Nagaland Governor PB Acharya, who was holding the additional charge of Arunachal since January 28 this year after the then Governor V Shanmuganathan had resigned following charges of sexual harassment.
Dr Mishra retired from the Indian Army on July 31, 1995 as Brigadier after an illustrious career in the forces, beginning as a permanent regular infantry officer, on December 17, 1961. He was the Commander of NSG (Black Cat Commandos) Counter Hijack Task Force that assaulted the hijacked aircraft of Indian Airlines and successfully executed the rescue operation at Raja Sansi Airfield, Amritsar on April 24, 1993. All 124 travellers and crew members were rescued in the operation, after eliminating the hijackers, without any casualty or damage. He received the Prime Minister’s appreciation for his role in ending this hijack crisis.
Dr Mishra was part of the 1962 Sino-Indian war, 1971 Liberation War and the 1965 war with Pakistan. He also played a role in tackling the Naga insurgency movement in Nagaland in 1963-1964 and fought against the LTTE as the Leading Brigade Commander of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Jaffna, Vavunia and Trincomalee in Sri Lanka during the period 1987-1988. He had also volunteered for the Kargil war after retirement. He has received commendation for gallant role in counter terrorist operations.
Dr Mishra holds an MA from Allahabad University, an MSc from Madras University and a PhD from Jiwaji University, Gwalior. He has five years’ post-graduate and graduate level teaching experience in College of Combat at MHOW and in Defence Services Staff College at Wellington. When contacted, a Raj Bhavan official said that the date for swearing-in ceremony of the Governor-designate is yet to
be finalised.
Sankaradeva Janmotsav celebrated
The 569th Janmotsav of Srimanta Sankaradeva, the 15th century Vaishnavite saintreformer, was celebrated across the State. A spiritual atmosphere prevailed in the sattras, namghars and thans as devotees observed the day with traditional prayers and other programmes.
Many sattras and namghars have lined up various programmes extending up to a week.
Cultural renditions, various competitions, cleanliness drives, etc., are being organised to mark the occasion. Religious processions, Bhagawat path, naam prasanga, etc., marked the celebrations. Guwahati namghars witnessed a large number of devotes since early in the morning.
Jeffrey C Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W Young win 2017 Nobel prize in medicine
The Nobel Assembly decided to award the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to the American trio of Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm.
The winners will share a prize of 9m Swedish kronor (£825,000), and each receives a medal engraved with their name. It is the 108th time the prize has been awarded and was announced at the Nobel Forum at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
October 2
Rs 1000 crore revival plan for HPC
The Central government has firmed up a Rs 1,000-crore plan to revive the Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC) through involvement of private sector in certain activities and settlement of dues, official sources said.The go-ahead to the revival plan was given at a meeting of the inter-ministerial group chaired by the Prime Minister earlier this month.
The inter-ministerial group has been tasked with undertaking turnaround of HPC and government think-tank NITI Aayog has been entrusted with overseeing implementation of the revival plan.
“A Cabinet note is being prepared for settlement of the company’s liabilities to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore, including payment of salaries to its 1,500 odd employees (barring Hindustan Newsprint Ltd) and clearance of outstanding statutory bank liabilities,” a senior Heavy Industries Ministry official told.
Due to shortage of working capital, the production in Cachar Paper Mill and Nagaon Paper Mill has been suspended since October 2015 and March 2017, respectively.
HPC group has four paper mills, two of which are units and two are subsidiary companies. HPC is the holding company for Hindustan Newsprint Ltd and Nagaland Pulp & Paper Company.
Nagaon Paper Mill and Cachar Paper Mill function directly under HPC’s control and their performance is reflected in its operating results. Over a period of three decades, HPC has built up a total capacity of about 3.35 lakh tonnes of paper and newsprint.
GIFT City’s IFSC Bags 10th Place in Global Financial Centres Index
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City)’s International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) bagged the 10th spot in the latest edition of Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), London.
GIFT City ranks ahead of Luxembourg, Seoul, Abu Dhabi, Toronto and Beijing in the list of the GFCI report, which has 15 centers that are likely to become more significant in the next few years. GIFT is operational with approximately 10 leading banks, 8 insurance companies, and participating brokers, and 2 International Exchanges (India INX and NSE IFSC) along with around 100 capital market players have established their base at GIFT IFSC.
Union Government launches SECURE Himalaya Project
The Union Government launched SECURE Himalaya, a six-year project to ensure conservation of locally and globally significant biodiversity and land.
The Himalayan ecosystem spread over four states namely Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.
The system was launched by Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
October 3
India to sign $4.5 billion LoC deal with Bangladesh
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley signing the third line of credit (LoC) agreement involving $4.5 billion to be spent on infrastructure and social sector development.
The two agreements for the implementation of the third LoC and the ‘Joint Interpretative Notes on the Agreement between India and Bangladesh for the Promotion and Protection of Investments’ would also be signed in the presence of Mr. Jaitley and his Bangladesh
counterpart A.M.A. Muhith.
Soumya Swaminathan is appointed as New Deputy Director General at WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) appointed Soumya Swaminathan one of two Deputy Directors General. This is the first time such a post has been ever created within the organization. The position is also the highest post held by an Indian in the WHO. She is currently the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
FACTFILE – WHO
- The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health. It is a member of the United Nations Development Group. Its predecessor, the Health Organization, was an agency of the League of Nations.
- It was established on 7 April 1948 headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
- The constitution of the World Health Organization had been signed by 61 countries on 7 April 1948, with the first meeting of the World Health Assembly finishing on 24 July 1948.
- Its current priorities include communicable diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis; the mitigation of the effects of non-communicable diseases; sexual and reproductive health, development, and ageing; nutrition, food security and healthy eating; occupational health; substance abuse; and driving the development of reporting, publications, and networking.
- The WHO is responsible for the World Health Report, the worldwide World Health Survey, and World Health Day.
- The Director-General of WHO is Tedros Adhanom.
