Q1. Union Ayush Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal laid Foundation Stone of the Regional Research Institute For Homoeopathy at
Shillong
Guwahati
Agartala
Gangtok
Guwahati
Union Ayush Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone of the permanent campus of the Regional Research Institute for Homoeopathy and Integrated Ayush Wellness Centre at Azara, Guwahati.
This Institute was established as a Clinical Research Unit of Homeopathy in 1984 in the rented building at Odalbakra, Guwahati. Presently it is situated at Bhetapara, Guwahati in the old building of Central Ayurveda Research Institute.
Q2. Which among the following cities has been declared as the cleanest city in India in Swachh Survekshan 2023?
Indore and Surat
Bhopal and Ambikapur
Nagpur and Mysore
Navi Mumbai and Chandrapur
Indore and Surat
Surat in Gujarat and Indore in Madhya Pradesh were jointly declared cleanest cities of the country at the annual clean city awards 2023. This was for the seventh year in a row that Indore has been ranked as the cleanest city in India.
Top Performers in Other Categories
Cities with Population under 1 Lakh: Sasvad, Patan, and Lonavala claimed the top three spots.
Cleanest Cantonment Board: Mhow Cantonment Board in Madhya Pradesh emerged as the top performer.
Cleanest Ganga Towns: Varanasi and Prayagraj received recognition as the best and cleanest Ganga towns.
Best Performing States: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh secured the top three awards for their outstanding performance.
Safaimitra Surakshit Sheher: Chandigarh received the award for the Best Safaimitra Surakshit Sheher.
Q3. Who among the following has been elected as the 2nd time Prime Minister of Bhutan?
Tshering Tobgay
William Lai
Chogyal Dago Rigdzin
Lotay Tshering
Tshering Tobgay
Q4. Which bank has launched Green Rupee Term Deposit recently?
Punjab National Bank (PNB)
ICICI Bank
State Bank of India (SBI)
Axis Bank
State Bank of India (SBI)
The State Bank of India (SBI)has launched SBI Green Rupee Term Deposit in an effort to raise cash for funding green activities and projects, as well as to expand the country’s green finance ecosystem.
Q5. Who among the following has been appointed as the Executive Director of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)?
Govindayapalli Ram Mohan Rao
Madhabi Puri Buch
B N Sahoo
Arvind Singh
Govindayapalli Ram Mohan Rao
Q6. Which state transport corporation has recently launched India’s first 100% electric mobility electric bike (e-bike) taxi service, Baayu?
Uttar Pradesh
Bihar
[/bg_collapse]Assam
Odisha
Assam
The government of Assam has launched ‘Baayu’, an app-based electric bike taxi service by the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC).
It is India’s first decentralized, app-based 100% electric bike taxi service that was flagged off by Assam Transport Minister Parimal Suklabaidya in Guwahati.
Q7. India’s first woman to receive the Arjuna Award for Equestrian Sports?
Hussain Khan
Indrajit Lamba
Darya Singh
Divyakriti Singh
Divyakriti Singh
Q8. What is the rank of India in the Henley Passport Index 2024?
56th
93rd
80th
91st
80th
India ranked 80th out of 199 countries in the Henley Passport Index 2024. In 2023, India was ranked 83rd.
The Henley Passport Index ranks countries based on the number of destinations that allow visa-free entry to their passport. India’s passport allows visa-free access to 62 destinations, including Thailand, Indonesia, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, and Maldives.
The most powerful passports in the world in 2024 are Japanese, Singaporean, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Citizens of these countries can travel visa-free to 194 destinations.
Q9. Which initiative was launched by PM Narendra Modi to promote cleanliness at pilgrimage sites?
Swachh Mandir Campaign
Swachh Bharat Campaign
Swachh Nagar Campaign
Clean India Campaign
Swachh Mandir Campaign
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Swachh Mandir’ Campaign, a nationwide initiative focused on cleanliness at pilgrimage sites.
PM Modi has called for a nationwide initiative to make Ayodhya the cleanest city in India.
The campaign is inclusive and aims to involve all elected representatives, such as MPs, MLAs, and panchayat representatives, to work together for the success of the initiative.
Q10. Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated India’s first healthy and clean food street ‘Prasadam’ in
West Bengal
Gujarat
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated India’s first healthy and clean food street ‘Prasadam’ at Neelkanth Van, Mahakal Lok, in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
Q11. Sinomicrurus gorei, recently seen in the news, belongs to which species
Frog
Butterfly
Snake
Lizard
Snake
Researchers from Mizoram University’s zoology department have discovered a new species of coral snake in Mizoram naming it Sinomicrurus gorei after Dr. Gore.
Locally called ‘Rulṭhihna,’ it resembles the traditional Mizo amber necklace ‘Ṭhihna.
Q12. Which country will host UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in July 2024?
India
USA
Canada
Australia
India
India will host the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in New Delhi from July 21 to 31, 2024. This significant announcement was made by Vishal V Sharma, India’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO.
Q13. The government of which state has declared a new Conservation Reserve in the forest land of Sangli district namely Atpadi Conservation Reserve?
Andhra Pradesh
Maharashtra
Tamil Nadu
Haryana
Maharashtra
Q14. Rural Development Ministry signs pact with which bank to facilitate loans for SHGs?
State bank of India (SBI)
Punjab National Bank (PNB)
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB)
Bandhan Bank
State bank of India (SBI)
The Rural Development Ministry signed a MoU with the State Bank of India (SBI) to streamline and facilitate enterprise financing for rural self-help groups (SHGs),
Q15. The International Camel Festival was started in which city?
Bikaner
Jaisalmer
Kutch
Surat
Bikaner
The International Camel Festival in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district started with a vibrant Heritage Walk from Rampuriya Haveli, showing decorated camels, traditional costumes, and local folk artists.
The event featured a warm reception by residents with flowers and rangoli decorations.
Tourists and locals enjoyed folk songs, Rammats’ tunes, and dances, fostering a festive atmosphere in the city park.
Q1. Which state in India has recently implemented an e-cabinet system?
Tripura
Assam
Mizoram
Arunachal Pradesh
Tripura
Tripura has become the fourth state in India to implement an e-cabinet system, after Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh. The e-cabinet system is a paperless system for conducting cabinet meetings. It uses digital tablets and software to distribute cabinet papers, record minutes, and make decisions. The system is designed to improve efficiency and transparency in government decision-making.
Q2. Which state government approved a 1000-km long economic corridor project with an investment of Rs 3000 crore in October 2023?
Uttar Pradesh
Bihar
Assam
Madhya Pradesh
Assam
The Assam cabinet approved a 1000-km long economic corridor project with an investment of Rs 3000 crore in October 2023. The project, known as the Asom Mala, aims to boost regional development and create jobs.
Q3. Which country will take over as Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)?
Pakistan
Thailand
Sri Lanka
Maldives
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is set to take over as Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on October 11, 2023, during the 23rd Council of Ministers Meeting. Sri Lanka will hold the chairmanship for two years.
Q4. In which Indian state was the ‘A-HELP’ (Accredited Agent for Health and Extension of Livestock Production) programme recently unveiled by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Govt of India?
Arunachal Pradesh
Jharkhand
Nagaland
Karnataka
Jharkhand
The A-HELP programme is a women-centric initiative that aims to empower Pashu Sakhis and strengthen the livestock sector in rural areas. Under the programme, Pashu Sakhis will be trained and certified to provide veterinary care and extension services to farmers. This will help to bridge the gap between farmers and veterinary services and improve the overall health and productivity of livestock.
Q5. The Hornbill Festival is organised in which state?
Assam
Sikkim
Nagaland
Arunachal Pradesh
Nagaland
The Hornbill Festival, the most prestigious event in Nagaland, takes place annually at the Heritage Village Kisama, Nagaland, from December 1 to 10. This festival celebrates authentic Naga culture and traditions, drawing visitors from around the world.
Q6. Which country won the gold medal in the men’s cricket T20 competition at the 2023 Asian Games?
Sri Lanka
Pakistan
Bangladesh
India
India
India won the gold medal in the men’s cricket T20 competition at the 2023 Asian Games, despite the final against Afghanistan being postponed due to rain. India was awarded the gold medal based on its higher T20 rankings.
Q7. Which scheme was launched by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment to provide quality education to Scheduled Caste students?
Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme
Ambedkar Scholarship Scheme
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Shreshta Scheme
Shreshta Scheme
The Shreshta Scheme was launched by the government to provide quality education to Scheduled Caste students. The scheme aims to select around 3,000 meritorious SC students every year and provide them with admission to the best private residential schools in the country. The scheme will also provide these students with financial support, mentorship, and other resources to help them succeed in their studies.
Q8. The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed on
October 14th
October 17th
October 19th
October 21st
October 17th
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is celebrated annually on October 17th. This day is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness and addressing the pressing issue of poverty.
Q9. Where was India’s first solar roof cycling track, “Healthway,” inaugurated to promote eco-friendly and active mobility?
New Delhi
Mumbai
Hyderabad
Bangalore
Hyderabad
Hyderabad has taken a significant step towards promoting eco-friendly and active mobility by inaugurating its first solar roof cycling track, Healthway. This innovative track is a pioneering initiative in India.
Q10. When is International Day of the Girl Child celebrated?
October 7
October 9
October 11
October 15
October 11
International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated every year on October 11. It is a global initiative dedicated to raising awareness about gender inequality and advocating for the rights and empowerment of girls.
Cachar district introduces ‘Report Crowd’ web to ensure social distancing
In a first, the Cachar district administration has launched a portal to contain and disperse crowd accumulation and enhance social distancing during the nationwide lockdown period meant to restrict the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
The webportal named ‘Report Crowd’ which would be operational along with the official website of the district administration.
The facility will ensure social distancing and enable the administration to disperse crowd across the district with the help of feed in the form of on-the-spot photographs with Geo tagging.
The facility has been introduced with the technical assistance from software firm Clappia based in Bengaluru. The firm is offering free services during the lockdown phase.
This kind of an portal is being introduced for the first time in Assam to ensure that social distancing is being adhered to at all cost.
Anyone who finds a seemingly large assembly of people at one place can simply click a photo, go to cachar.gov.in and upload the photo at the URL cacharreport.clappia.com with little details about the photograph.
Oxford University vaccine ‘ChAdOX1′ to commence human trials
The UK government announced that the human trial of a potential COVID-19 candidate vaccine being developed by researchers at University of Oxford will begin from April 23.
Earlier, scientists at the University of Oxford promised a super-fast vaccine during a virtual press conference, saying the vaccine will be available by September. According to lead researcher Professor Sarah Gilbert, their ‘ChAdOx1′ vaccine can work against the coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2.
The UK government will provide 20 million pounds to the Oxford research team to help fund their clinical trials, with a further 22.5 million pounds for researchers at Imperial College London.
In normal course of time, a vaccine takes anytime between 12-18 months. What probably separates ChAdOx1 – known as recombinant viral vector vaccine – from the rest is the time it promises to take in order to deliver mass quantities.
The vaccine is an adenovirus vaccine vector and was developed at Oxford’s Jenner Institute. Adenoviral vectors are a very well-studied vaccine type, having been used safely in thousands of participants, from 1 week to 90 years of age, in vaccines targeting over 10 different diseases.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also pitched for the Oxford vaccine, saying ‘ChAdOX1′ is the frontrunner in the race to take on the deadly COVID-19 virus.
UNICEF teams up with Microsoft for remote learning platform “Learning Passport”
Microsoft has partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for expansion of a global learning platform to help children and youth affected by COVID-19 continue their education at home.
The platform, called “Learning Passport”, which has been in development for the past 18 months, was due to start as a pilot programme this year.
Now, all countries with a curriculum capable of being taught online will be able to facilitate online learning for children and youth with devices at home.
The content available to schoolchildren includes online books, videos and additional support for parents of children with learning disabilities.
UNICEF’s Learning Passport is uniquely positioned as a scalable learning solution to bridge the digital learning gap for millions of students to bring their classroom into their home during the pandemic.
Children and young people continuing their education online can do so through a country-specific platform, accessed via their country’s learningpassport.unicef.org page.
DRDO lab developes 10,000 face shields for PGI, Chandigarh
The Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) here is developing 10,000 full face protective shields for examining infected COVID-19 patients for the PGI Hospital.
TBRL is a lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The TBRL is also acting as a facilitator for the procurement of bio-suits developed by another DRDO lab for use by healthcare service providers.
The TBRL is involved in development, production, processing and characterisation of different high explosive compositions, fragmentation studies of warheads, captive flight testing of bombs, missiles and airborne systems and ballistics evaluation of protective system like body armour, vehicle armour and helmets.
APRIL 23, 2020
HRD Ministry’s online platform ‘Shodhganga‘ to help research scholars
In a bid to help research scholars amid the nationwide lockdown, the Human Resource Development Ministry has come up with an online platform Shodhganga for them to access information on these and other study material.
The move comes as scholars pursuing higher studies like PhDs and MPhil etc have been hemmed in by lack of research facilities, guides and lectures due to the lockdown.
The platform would enable researchers confined to their respective homes to access study material and theses in vernacular languages, Hindi and international languages.
As many as 2,69,734 Indian theses and 7,500 synopses have been provided for study and reference on the e-platform.
NBRI develops alcohol-based sanitizer
The National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) in Lucknow has developed an alcohol-based herbal sanitizer.
The product has been developed under Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR – Aroma Mission as per the World Health Organization”s guidelines.
The herbal sanitizer contains Tulsi essential oil as herbal constituent which is strong and natural anti-microbial agent and 60 per cent of isopropyl alcohol for killing germs.
Director of NBRI, Dr S.K. Barik said, the herbal hand sanitizer has been clinically tested and found to be highly-effective against surface microbes.
Its impact lasts for about 25 minutes and it prevents the skin from dehydrating.
The product will be available in the market very soon under the brand name of ”Clean Hand Gel”.
The technology of the herbal hand sanitizer has been transferred to Lucknow based company Sadguru Biologicals Private Limited.
Union Cabinet approved Rs 15,000 crore for ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package’
The Union Cabinet approved Rs 15,000 crore for what it calls ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package’.
The funds will be utilized in 3 phases while for immediate COVID-19 emergency response, provision of an amount of Rs 7,774 crore has been kept.
The rest of the amount will be used for medium-term support for the next 1-4 years, which will be provided under the mission mode approach.
The key objectives of the package include mounting emergency response to slow and limit COVID-19 in India through the development of diagnostics and COVID-dedicated treatment facilities.
Centralized procurement of essential medical equipment and drugs required for treatment of infected patients, strengthen and build resilient National and State health systems to support prevention and preparedness for future disease outbreaks.
Setting up of laboratories and bolster surveillance activities, biosecurity preparedness, pandemic research and proactively engage communities and conduct risk communication activities.
Ordinance to make acts of violence against healthworker a non-bailable offence
The Union Cabinet approved an ordinance making acts of violence and harassment against healthcare personnel deployed in combating COVID-19 a non-bailable offence, meeting a key demand of health professionals in the wake of recent attacks on them while discharging their duty.
The maximum sentence under the new provision is seven years imprisonment and Rs 5 lakh fine. A person can be sentenced to anywhere between three months and five years of jail, besides a fine between Rs 50,000 and two lakhs, for such crimes.
In cases where injuries caused are serious, the punishment will range from six months to seven years, and carry fine between Rs 1 to 5 lakhs.
The ordinance will amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and the amended law will also be invoked if health care personnel face harassment from their landlords or neighbours over suspicion that they may carry the coronavirus infection due to the nature of their work.
The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, assault on health workers across the country has now become a non-bailable offence and the punishment can come within a year.
This decision brings a change in the epidemic law which has been there since 1897.
Union Cabinet approval to relax Aadhaar seeding in Assam, Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh up to March 31, 2021
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to relax the mandatory requirement of Aadhaar seeding of data beneficiaries of Assam, Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh for release of benefits to them under PM-Kisan Scheme up to March 31, 2021.
The government says the decision was taken to ensure the eligible beneficiaries do not fail to get the benefits for want of non-compliance of Aadhaar seeding of data.
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme was launched by Modi on February 24 last year.
The scheme aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land, subject to certain exclusions.
Under the scheme, an amount of Rs 6,000 annually is released in three 4-monthly installments of Rs 2,000 each, directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. The scheme is effective from December 1, 2018.
Karnataka passed law to punish healthcare warrior’s offenders
Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala promulgated an Ordinance to punish offenders of healthcare warriors, fighting the coronavirus pandemic in the southern state.
The Governor passed the Karnataka Epidemic Disease Ordinance, 2020 the state cabinet approved to punish all who attack healthcare warriors in the state, including doctors, nurses, paramedics and Asha women workers treating COVID-19 victims across the state.
The new law empowers the state government to punish the offenders with a 3-year maximum jail term and attachment of their properties for damaging assets.
The cabinet enacted the law a day after unruly mobs attacked doctors, Asha workers and police at Padarayanapura in the city’s south-west suburb when they went to shift secondary contacts of COVID patients to a quarantine centre in the city and similar violent acts on the healthcare warriors in the state.
First instalment for PMGKY beneficiaries released in the state
The State panchayat and rural development department released the first instalment of ex-gratia of Rs 500 to each of 8,51,642 beneficiaries.
Out of these beneficiaries 7,05,022 are old age pensioners, 1,12,040 are widow pensioners and 34,580 beneficiaries are under the disabled pension scheme.
This financial assistance is provided under the special package of the Government of India, rolled out under the Pradhan MantriGaribKalyanYojana (PMGKY) to help the vulnerable section of people in view of the nationwide lockdown.
Under this assistance programme, Rs 1,000 each will be paid in two instalments of Rs 500.
For this, the beneficiaries of old age pension, widow pension and disabled pension under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) will be covered.
Citing an eighty per cent drop in revenue collection in April due to the lockdown, the State Government announced a slew of austerity measures, which included reduction in establishment expenditure, ban on government functions and suspension of industrial exemptions, to “rationalize expenditure and optimize available resources” during the crisis period.
The government, however, did not slash the salaries of employees, but has put on hold new projects and will give priority to complete old ones.
Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the current fiscal situation was a worry for the State government as the revenue collection for the month of April fell to Rs 193 crore (SGST Rs 68 crore, CGST Rs 61 crore, IGST Rs 62 crore and cess Rs 2 crore) as compared to Rs 932 crore (SGST Rs 406 crore, CGST Rs 276 crore, IGST Rs 193 crore and cess Rs 55 crore) in the corresponding month last year.
The revenue collection has dropped by eighty per cent. From tax on foreign liquor, the State got Rs 6 crore in April as compared to Rs 65 crore in March. Similarly, from fuel taxes, the State got Rs 60 crore compared to Rs 360 crore in the previous month.
The committed expenses of the State government – which includes salaries, pension and interest on loan – is around Rs 3,600 crore every month.
Some of the austerity measures taken are
The Administrative Department cannot implement any new SOPD scheme without the approval of the Finance department. Sanctioning power delegated to the Administrative departments relating to the issuance of administrative approval and financial sanction in respect of SOPD Schemes has been withdrawn until further orders.
The Establishment Expenditure for the first quarter of the Financial Year 2020-21 has been capped at 10 per cent of the total budget instead of 20 per cent.
All expenses pertaining to industrial exemptions, subsidies and incentives of various sectors have been suspended until further orders. No reimbursement of GST to industries will be allowed in the first quarter of the current financial year.
Purchase of vehicles has been banned until further orders, except in case of ambulances and vehicles required for police duty. This will, however, be permitted only with the approval of the Chief Minister.
Holding of conferences, workshops, seminars, fairs and functions etc has been totally banned in the first quarter in the physical mode. There will be a ban on holding of meetings and conferences in five star hotels.
No executive class will be allowed except in the case of Governor of Assam, Chief Minister, Chief Justice, other Judges of Gauhati High Court and Chief Secretary.
No officer will be allowed to attend any foreign training course, workshop, seminar outside India for which expenditure has to be borne by the State Government.
Remuneration of Chairman and Vice Chairman of all PSUs/ Corporations/ Boards will be reduced by 25 per cent from May 1.
Release of MLA Area Development Fund will remain suspended in the first four months of the current financial year or until further orders.
MHRD launches academic calendar for upper primary stage
The Union Human Resource Development Ministry launched an alternative academic calendar for upper primary stage which consists of classes 6 to 8. The calendar has been developed by NCERT under MHRD’s guidance.
The calendar contains a week-wise plan consisting of interesting and challenging activities, with reference to theme or chapter taken from syllabus or textbook.
MHRD claims that the calendar would map the themes with the learning outcomes.
The purpose of mapping of themes with learning outcomes is to facilitate teachers and parents to assess the progress in the learning of children and also to go beyond textbooks.
The activities given in the calendar focus on learning outcomes and can thus be achieved through any resource including the textbooks children are using in their state or Union Territories.
The calendar also covers experiential learning activities such as Arts, Education, Physical Exercises, yoga, pre-vocational skills, etc.
It would include activities related to four languages as subject areas, that is Hindi, English, Urdu and Sanskrit along with link for Chapter wise e-content available on the e-pathshala, NROER and DIKSHA portals of government of India.
The calendar however has been designed for four weeks only, but the ministry says it would extend it if needed.
India gifts USD 5 million medical aid to world to combat Covid-19
India has gifted USD 5 million worth of medicines and other Covid-19 related supplies to the world so far as countries continue to combat the global pandemic.
India has sent five million Hydroxycholorquine (HCQ) tablets to countries in the neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean Rim, Africa, Latin America, Central Asia, Eurasia and Western Asia North Africa regions.
The government is also providing 1.32 million paracetamol (PCM) tablets to its neighbouring and other partner countries.
India is also providing a big basket of other medical aid which includes essential drugs and life-saving antibiotics; medical consumable; and other equipment for laboratories and hospitals.
India has approved commercial consignments of around 285 million HCQ tablets to 40 countries and around 500 million PCM tablets for 60 countries have also been cleared.
As part of government’s response to the Covid-19 situation, 11 empowered groups have been set up for an integrated approach.
MEA has been playing a key role in the empowered group that deals with ensuring availability of essential medical equipment and supplies.
APRIL 25, 2020
Rural Development Ministry released Rs 36,000 crore to states in April 2020
The Centre has already released more than Rs 36,000 crore to the states/UTs in the current financial year (FY2020-21) for the development schemes of the villages, said Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar.
Tomar held a meeting with all the rural development ministers and concerned officials of the states and Union Territories via a video conference and urged them to scale up of the works.
Under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan MantriAwaasYojanaGramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), in the light of the relaxations granted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in the non-containment areas w.e.f. April 20.
The ministry has sanctioned Rs 33,300 crore under MGNREGA out of which Rs 20,225 crore has been released to liquidate all the outstanding dues of previous years towards wages and materials.
The said sanctioned amount is sufficient to meet the expenses under MGNREGA till June, 2020.
The minister assured the states and UTs that adequate financial resources are available for the rural development programmes.
Tomar also urged the states and UTs to proactively start rural development schemes relating to employment generation, infrastructure creation and strengthening of rural livelihoods while taking all necessary Covid-19 related precautions.
He emphasised that under MGNREGS, the focus should be on water conservation, water recharge and irrigation work in convergence with the schemes of the Ministry of Jal Shakti and Department of Land Resources.
Under PMGSY, the focus should on quick awarding of tenders in sanctioned road projects and starting pending road projects.
The contractors, suppliers, workers etc. should be galvanised to quick start the works.
IIT Delhi researchers develop dashboard to predict Covid-19 spread
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi have developed a web-based dashboard to predict the spread of deadly Covid-19 in India.
The mobile-friendly dashboard, named as PRACRITI – PRediction and Assessment of CoRona Infections and Transmission in India, gives a detailed state-wise and district-wise predictions of viral cases in the country.
The projections are given for a three-week period, which is updated on a weekly basis.
The researchers believe that such a platform will be highly useful for healthcare bodies, local and central authorities, to efficiently plan for different future scenarios and resource allocation.
A key parameter of interest on Covid-19 is the basic reproduction number R0 and its countrywide variability. R0 refers to the number of people to whom the disease spreads from a single infected person.
If an active Covid-19 patient infects two uninfected persons, the R0 is two. Hence, reduction of R0 is the key in controlling and mitigating Covid-19 in India.
The model also accounts for the effect of different lockdown scenarios, such as the effect of locking down the district boundaries and implementing different levels of lockdown within a district.
These predictions can help the districts and states having higher R0 to take rigorous measures to control the spread of Covid-19, while for those with low R0 they need to sustain measures and remain very vigilant.
The predictions in the dashboard are based on a newly-developed mathematical model that divides the population into four classes i.e. susceptible, exposed, infected, and removed.
WHO, global partners join forces to develop COVID-19 technologies
The World Health Organization (WHO), together with a group of global partners, launched a groundbreaking collaboration to accelerate both the development and equitable access to new essential technologies for COVID-19.
WHO Director-General TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus and other global leaders made an unprecedented commitment to work together to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19.
Participants in conference also include leaders from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), GAVI-the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund, UNITAID, the Wellcome Trust, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (IFRC) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The group will seek to implement innovative diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines at record speed and at record scale in a bid to defeat COVID-19.
UNICEF for normal resumption of immunisation in most Assam districts
UNICEF expressed hope that the immunisation programme resumes soon in a normal way in most districts of Assam, barring areas classified as ‘red and containment zones’.
In many places, children are missing on critical vaccines due to recommendations and requirements around physical distancing and isolation, or due to reduced access to overstretched health services.
These circumstances are putting children, especially the most vulnerable, at a risk of outbreaks of other diseases such as measles. Immunisation is vital now, more than ever.
UNICEF has advised parents to get children vaccinated as soon as the COVID-19 outbreak is brought under control and routine services resume.
While essential doses for institutional deliveries have continued uninterrupted in the State during the lockdown, Assam is among the few states that resumed routine immunisation last week at the sub-centre level.
According to UNICEF, immunisation is one of the most effective public health interventions.
UNICEF has supported the National Health Mission, Department of Health, Government of Assam, with training of 45,000 ASHA and ANM workers on the COVID-19 outbreak.
The training covered issues around safe practices, community surveillance, home quarantine, using a mask, facts and myths, among other aspects.
UNICEF works on-ground closely with partners including the Government of Assam, other UN agencies and civil society organisations, to ensure availability of vaccines and their access to children, especially the most vulnerable.
The Assam government will allow inter-district movement of nearly one lakh people.
The steps have been taken to facilitate the stranded people in 33 distrcts across Assam to return home, join offices or visit hospitals while strictly adhering to the lockdown norms, including social distancing and hygiene.
Around 50,000 people are expected to use their own vehicles for one-way trip and over 40,000 are likely to be provided free-of-cost public transportation through the Assam State Transport Corporation buses by the state government.
The deputy commissioners of respective districts are issuing one-way passes to the people to travel by their vehicles.
Ministry of Home Affairs allows to open standalone shops
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a clarification saying that only standalone shops are allowed to open as per the directive and that the order does not apply to Covid-19 containment zones or liquor stores.
In urban areas, all standalone/neighbourhood shops & shops in residential complexes are allowed to open.
Shops in markets/market complexes & shopping malls are not allowed to open.
The ministry also clarified that sales by ecommerce companies will continue to be restricted to essential goods only.
It also cleared that liquor stores will be shut as the relaxations do not apply to them.
No shops have been allowed to open in multi-brand or single brand malls.
Shops were allowed outside the city limits except those in malls with 50 per cent workforce while wearing of masks has been made compulsory.
Moody’s slashes India growth forecast to 0.2% for 2020
Moody’s Investors Service slashed India’s growth forecast to 0.2 per cent for the 2020 calendar year from the earlier projection of 2.5 per cent released in March.
Stating that the economic costs of shutdown of the global economy are accumulating rapidly, Moody’s in its Global Macro Outlook 2020-21 (April 2020 Update) projected that all G-20 advanced economies would contract by 5.8 per cent in 2020.
Among the emerging economies in G-20, Moody’s projected India to grow at 0.2 per cent in 2020 and 6.2 per cent in 2021. This compares to 5.3 per cent growth clocked in 2019.
Late last month, the government had announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus package comprising free foodgrains and cooking gas to poor and cash dole to poor women and elderly. A second package, aimed at industries, is said to be in works and is likely to be announced shortly.
China is projected to grow by 1 per cent in 2020 and 7.1 per cent in 2021, as against 6.1 per cent in 2019.
Moody’s in the report titled ‘Global recession is deepening rapidly as restrictions exact high economic cost’, said there are significant downside risks to its growth forecasts in the event that coronavirus pandemic is not contained and lockdowns have to be reinstated.
India, China and Indonesia are the only 3 G-20 countries which are projected to grow in 2020, while the others will see a contraction, according to the report.
The US economy is projected to contract by 5.7 per cent, the UK by 7 per cent, Italy by 8.2 per cent, Japan by 6.5 per cent and France by 6.3 per cent.
Moody’s said the economic costs of the coronavirus crisis amid the near shutdown of the global economy are accumulating rapidly. Even with a gradual recovery, 2021 real GDP in most advanced economies is expected to be below pre-coronavirus levels.
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 to support for environmental protection
Earth Day is celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection.
In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be celebrated on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere.
On Earth Day 2016, the landmark Paris Agreement was signed by 195 nations at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
An Earth Anthem penned by Indian poet-diplomat Abhay Kumar, which has been translated into 50 languages is used by many schools and organizations across the world to celebrate Earth Day.
APRIL 27, 2020
Governor’s Rule imposed in Bodoland Territorial Council
Governor’s Rule has been imposed in the Bodoland Territorial Council. Principal Secretary to the State Government Rajesh Prasad was appointed as Administrator of BTC.
The term of the general council of BTC expired on 27th April and elections to the council, which were scheduled for April 4, had earlier been deferred on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“… whereas the election in BTC was deferred indefinitely… and whereas the Governor of Assam is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the administration of the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India. Now, therefore, the Governor of Assam, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph 16 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India, is pleased to assume to himself, with immediate effect, the administration of the said districts and all functions and powers vested in or exercisable by the BTC,” stated a notification issued by the Governor.
It added the order shall take immediate effect “and shall, unless terminatedearlier or extended further, remain in force for a period of six months.”
It was announced that the Governor “may appoint a person or authority to discharge the functions and powers of the BTC, including the functions and power exercised by the Executive Committee, Chief Executive Member, Deputy Chief Executive member, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Executive Members.”
The Governor has appointed Rajesh Prasad, senior IAS officer and Principal Secretary to the Government of Assam, to exercise all the functions and powers exercisable by the BTC and its Executive Committee, Chief Executive Member and other representatives.
University of Hyderabad start-up wins BIRAC funding for Covid-19 project
OncoSeek Bio Pvt Ltd will receive funding support for developing an in vitro Lung Organoid model, from BIRAC which comes under the Union Science and Technology Ministry’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
OncoSeek’s project is one of 16 selected so far from the 500 proposals received for the Covid-19 research consortium.
Under this grant proposal, the company plans to use their novel platform to screen drugs/peptides/molecules/agents/compounds targeted against the virus or the host cell.
It plans to create this capability in the next 6 months.
OncoSeek is a start-up incubated at ASPIRE-BioNEST at UoH since 2019, and works on developing in vitro and in vivo platforms for specific diseases for therapeutics screening.
BioNEST at the University of Hyderabad is a life sciences incubator, set up with the support of the BIRAC, an enterprise under the DBT, to provide a plug-and-play life science ecosystem of incubation.
Tarun Bajaj to be DEA secretary and Rajesh Verma next MCA secretary
The Centre has decided to appoint Tarun Bajaj as the Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), under the Finance Ministry, on AtanuChakrabarty’s retirement on April 30.
Bajaj, a 1988 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, is the Additional Secretary at Prime Minister’s Office.
A Gujarat cadre officer of the 1985 batch, Chakarborty was appointed the DEA Secretary in July 2019 when then Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg was shifted to the Power Ministry.
Rajesh Verma as the next Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). He will take over on retirement of Injeti Srinivas.
Srinivas, a 1983 batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre, will retire on May 31 after over two-year tenure as the Corporate Affairs Secretary.
Verma is the Special Secretary at the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare.
AramaneGiridhar, the Additional Secretary at the Cabinet Secretariat, will take over as the Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as Sanjeev Ranjan will move to the Ministry of Shipping as its new Secretary.
CBSE Chairperson Anita Karwalappointed as Secretary Department of Education
CBSE Chairperson Anita Karwal was appointed as Secretary in the Department of Education and Literacy.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Anita’s appointment.
The committee has also extended, by three months, service of Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan. A 1983-batch IAS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, Sudan was to retire on April 30.
Sudan, who has been working on aligning all departments to execute the Narendra Modi government”s policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19, will continue to function as Secretary in the Department of Health and Family Welfare of MoHFW during the period.
Free zinc, vitamin tablets for Covid-19 field duty officials in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami announced free zinc and multi-vitamin tablets for government officials who are on Covid-19 field duty to boost their immunity.
Palaniswami said masks, personal protective equipment are given to officials of revenue, health, police and others who are on Covid-19 field duty.
In order to improve their immunity, zinc and multi-vitamin tablets will be provided free of cost for 10 days.
Assam starts implementation of State Policy for Transgenders
Assam State Government has started implementation of the Assam State Policy for Transgenders. Officials of the Social Welfare Department said that from now on, a number of welfare schemes will be come into force for the transgender community under the policy. The policy was a long-pending demand of the transgender community.
India hands over HCQ tablets, emergency medical gear to Bangladesh
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Riva Ganguly Das, handed over emergency medical supplies consisting of one lakh Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets and 50,000 sterile surgical gloves to Bangladesh.
The Indian High Commission in Dhaka said that the second tranche of assistance came from the Covid-19 emergency fund which was created at the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his March 15 video conferencing with the leaders of the SAARC countries.
Bangladesh Health Minister Zahid Maleque appreciated the continued support of India in providing medical supplies, protective gear and capacity building in the fight against Covid-19.
The Indian High Commissioner reiterated India”s continued support to Bangladesh in its fight against Covid-19.
The supplies were dispatched to the Central Medical Stores Depot of Bangladesh government.
The Covid-19 emergency fund was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his video conference with SAARC leaders on March 15. It was set up with an initial contribution of $10 million from India.
IIT Madras startup develops smart bin system to prevent COVID-19 spread
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras-incubated Startup Antariksh Waste Ventures has developed an Internet of Things (IoT) enabled smart bin system to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Called AirBin, the system works through waste generated at CVPs (contagion vulnerable points, primarily hospitals, clinics, public bins, quarantine zones).
From waste collection, transport, segregation, disposal to recycling, every process needs to be overhauled quickly and technology will play a vital role in this transformation.
Timely cleaning of bins will be a key priority while faced with a shortage of labour.
The smart bin system can be retrofitted on to existing garbage bins on nearby poles, walls or the bin lids.
The objective is to help rural and urban local bodies clear every bin before it overflows and accelerate sustainability.
The startup aims to clear waste bins before they overflow by digitising waste management processes.
Kerala students win CODE19 hackathon with virtual classroom project
A virtual classroom created by students from Government College of Engineering in Kannur, Kerala, to make learning easier and intuitive in COVID-19 times has won $10,000 (approxRs 7.6 lakh) as winner of the 72-hour online hackathon called CODE19.
The hackathon was organised by California-based MotwaniJadeja Foundation this month to find solutions to India”s challenges against the new coronavirus pandemic and the foundation awarded $34,000 in total to various teams from across the country.
iClassroom has been created by 19-year-old Abhinand C and 20-year-old Shilpa Rajeev.
With iClassroom, students and teachers can interact with each other, clear their doubts, mentor others and conduct online classes.
Code19 was held in collaboration with Bengaluru-based HackerEarth. The Association of Designers in India (ADI) helped in providing mentors through its network.
The second price worth $5,000 went to TeleVital, a solution for contactless health assessment of a patient created by a 6-student team from Manipal Institute of Technology.
The solution records a patient”s heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, etc. without any contact-based measurement tool.
Three teams won $3,000 each at third place. The projects were SoloCoin from a team from various colleges across India, led by project lead ArbobMehmood of UPES University, Dehradun; Covid19 Fact Checker created by a team from AISSMS College of Engineering, Pune; and Grape Community, created by Ranjoy Sen, a 35-year-old software professional from Bengaluru.
10 best innovative solutions were awarded $1,000 each.
IIT-Kanpur’s corona killer box that sanitizes every thing
Scientists at the IIT-K have come up with a corona killer box that will sanitize all essential commodities that are brought into homes from outside.
Vegetables, fruits, sugar, milk, pulses, mobiles, rupees and keys etc. can be sanitized in the box within minutes.
The ultraviolet rays released from this can kill the bacteria and viruses in objects within minutes.
The sensor-based box also has an alarm which can be set for a specified period of time.
This box has several ultraviolet lights, which range between 240 and 260 nanometers. The approximate price of a box is around Rs 5,000.
The IIT is contacting companies for its manufacture and large-scale production will naturally reduce the cost of the box.
A 52-year-old man from Karimganj with hitherto undisclosed travel history has tested positive for coronavirus which is Assam’s first COVID-19 patient.
The patient is undergoing treatment at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital. The sample of the patient was sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune which confirmed the infection.
Assam became the third State in the North East region to report positive coronavirus case after manipur and Mizoram.
BHU women scientists developed corona testing kit
Women researchers at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) have developed a new testing method for COVID-19. The team has already patented the method.
a group of women scientists at the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, have developed a novel test method-based on RT PCR (Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction) for COVID-19 with 100 per cent accuracy.
Geeta Rai, the doctor who leads the research team comprising Doli Das, KhushbuPriya and Hiral Thacker.
This RT PCR (qualitative)-based detection method for coronavirus guarantees accuracy, low cost, rapid detection and no requirement for a probe or high cost machines.
The union government had given a call to startups, incubators and scientists to accelerate their efforts at finding solutions to the Covid-19 crisis that has met with overwhelming response.
Govt hikes MGNREGS Wages by Rs 20
The Department of Rural Development in collaboration with the state governments has increased the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) wages by Rs 20.
The focus of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS may be on individual beneficiary-oriented works which directly benefit SCs, STs and women headed households as well as small and marginal farmers and other poor households.
However, close consultation and guidance of the states as well as district authorities would be necessary to ensure that lockdown conditions are not violated and norms of social distancing are scrupulously followed.
An amount of Rs 4,431 crore has been released this week to various states and Union Territories to liquidate these liabilities of the current fiscal year.
The remaining liabilities along with the first tranche for 2020-21 will be released before April 15, 2020.
Jharkhand CM Soren inaugurates CM kitchen in Ranchi to feed poor
Inaugurating a CM Kitchen in the state capital, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that state government was committed to ensure that no one went without food during the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus scare.
Set up with the help of Roundtable India and Ranchi district administration, the ”MukhyamantriRasoi” aims to feed around 5,000 persons in Ranchi and adjoining areas who have been rendered without work due to the lockdown.
Directions have been issued, including to police stations, to set up similar CM kitchens and community kitchens across the state to feed the needy.
The Chief Minister flagged off mobile vans which will distribute food prepared at the kitchen in MorhabadiMaidan in Ranchi.
April 02, 2020
COVID-19 most challenging global crisis since World War II
According to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Coronavirus pandemic is the most challenging crisis the world has faced since World War II, one that is killing people and will also lead to an economic recession. Thus the current coronavirus pandemic was much more than a health crisis, it is a human crisis.
According to the Johns Hopkins University estimate, there are more than 850,500 confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, and over 41,000 deaths with the US having highest number of cases in the world at 184,183 and more than 4,000 deaths.
The combination of the two facts, on one hand, of a disease that represents a threat to everybody in the world and, second, because it has an economic impact that will bring a recession that probably has no parallel in the recent past, and the risk that it contributes to enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict, makes it the most challenging crisis the world has faced since the Second World War.
Centre to create portal for verifying facts
The Centre announced creation of a web portal where people can verify facts and unverified news promptly, and also advised the states and Union Territories (UTs) to create a similar mechanism.
The states and the UTs were asked to submit an action taken report to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) so it can be informed to the Supreme Court that took on the Centre in a hearing of a plea over the panic created by fake news leading to mass movement of migrant labourers, their plight and untold suffering following lockdown.
The states were also told that the apex court however has expressed satisfaction with the proactive and timely actions taken by the Central government for preventing the spread of novel coronavirus or COVID-19, but had taken serious note of the panic created by fake news leading to mass movement of migrant labourers.
The apex court has also given observations and directions regarding provision of relief camps, shelters for the migrant labourers and the basic amenities such as food and medicines to be provided in line with MHA and National Disaster Management Act directives and other welfare activities to be taken by the state governments.
Australian researchers begin testing COVID-19 vaccines
Researchers from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) announced that they have begun testing vaccines for the novel coronavirus.
The CSIRO said that it has commenced the first stage of testing at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong, 75 km southwest of Melbourne.
The trials are expected to take three months and will be conducted on ferrets to determine if either of the two vaccines were safe and effective.
Beginning vaccine candidate testing at CSIRO is a critical milestone in the fight against COVID-19, made possible by collaboration both within Australia and across the globe.
Even if the vaccines were found to be effective and safe, it could take 12 to 18 months for them to be rolled out around the world.
Arunachal Pradesh on April 1st reported its first novel coronavirus case with a 31-year-old man from Lohit district testing positive for the dreaded COVID-19.
The patient, who had travelled to the national capital last month to participate in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi, has currently been kept in isolation at the Zonal General Hospital, Tezu in Lohit district.
The swab sample of the man was sent for test to the Regional Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory, ICMR-RMRC, at Dibrugarh in Assam and he tested positive on April 1.
FACTFILE – ICMR- Regional Medical Research Centre, NE, Dibrugarh
ICMR- Regional Medical Research Centre, NE, Dibrugarh is one of the 26 permanent institutes of Indian Council of Medical Research.
It was established on 12th day of July in the year 1982.
It covers the most remote and less developed eight states of the north-eastern region of India and is responsible for carrying out Biomedical Research in the region and runs with intramural grant from ICMR and extramural adhoc projects from different funding agencies.
Its primary focus of research are (i) Mosquito borne diseases (ii) HIV and drug abuse (iii) Trematode infection (iv) Haemoglobinopathies.
The secondary focus of research are (i) Cancer nasopharynx, oesophagus, stomach (ii) Cardiovascular diseases (iii) Medicinal plants of NE India (iv) Nutrition.
IIT, AIIMS alumni invents UV robot to disinfect hospitals
As a preventive measure against new coronavirus, a duo from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur and All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has developed a device titled ‘Minus Corona UV Bot’ to disinfect hospitals.
The company PerSapien has developed the device which is an ultraviolet light (UV C-254nm) based robot that will enable sterilization of hospital corridors, wards, Intensive Care Unit (ICUs) and patient rooms without exposing anybody to the contaminated environment.
It comprises a UV-C lamp mounted on a wheeled robotic platform that is operated (front-back, left-right) with a remote control which is also equipped with a camera that gives the perspective from the driver’s seat onto a digital screen to remotely control the UV robot and avoid any obstacles.
Ultraviolet (UV) sterilization technology has been proven to be extremely effective in killing viruses and micro-organisms of any kind which may remain on surfaces even after the minimum number of standard cleaning.
DRDO develops bio suit to keep health professionals safe
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a bio suit to keep the medical, paramedical and other personnel engaged in combating COVID-19 safe from the deadly virus.
Scientists at various DRDO laboratories have prepared the suit with the help of the industry and subjected to rigorous testing for textile parameters as well as protection against synthetic blood.
DRDO used nanotechnology to develop the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) having specific type of fabric with coating.
The DRDO is making all efforts to ensure that these suits are produced in large numbers and serve as robust line of defence for the medics, paramedics and other personnel in the frontline of combating COVID-19.
Kusumgarh Industries is producing the raw material, coating material, with the complete suit being manufactured with the help of another vendor. The current production capacity is 7,000 suits per day.
Another vendor is being brought in with experience in garment technology and efforts are on to ramp up the capacity to 15,000 suits per day.
Swiggy launches new initiative to feed the needy
Swiggy has partnered with various commercial kitchens, NGOs and state governments to provide daily meals to thousands of underprivileged, daily wagers and stranded migrant labourers during the 21-day lockdown period.
Having served over 2,50,000 meals so far, Swiggy said it is in the process of crowdsourcing funds from corporates and individuals in order to scale the initiative to other parts of the country.
Swiggy launched the ”Hope, Not Hunger” initiative launched last week to support the Delhi government”s programme to feed the needy.
It helped organise the preparation and distribution of nutritious meals twice a day across relief camps in Delhi with the support of partners such as Compass Kitchens, Lite Bite Foods and SmartQ.
The relief effort was quickly scaled to Mumbai with the help of NGOs Pratham, HelpAge India and Yuva, and Elior India acting as the food supply partner.
Each meal served for lunch and dinner includes adequate portions of rice, dal and vegetables to ensure the nutritional needs of the individual are met.
Thousands of Swiggy customers have already contributed to the aHope, Not Hunger” initiative through the Swiggy app.
Swiggy has also set up a platform on Milaap for individual donations.
April 04, 2020
Global economy could shrink by almost 1% in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, says UN
the UN has said that the global economy could shrink by up to one per cent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a reversal from the previous forecast of 2.5 per cent growth.
The analysis by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) said the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting global supply chains and international trade.
Millions of workers in these countries are facing the bleak prospect of losing their jobs. Governments are considering and rolling out large stimulus packages to avert a sharp downturn of their economies which could potentially plunge the global economy into a deep recession.
In the worst-case scenario, the world economy could contract by 0.9 per cent in 2020. The world economy had also contracted by 1.7 per cent during the global financial crisis in 2009.
This contraction could be even higher if governments fail to provide income support and help boost consumer spending.
Before the outbreak of the COVID-19, world output was expected to expand at a modest pace of 2.5 per cent in 2020, as reported in the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020.
The severity of the economic impact will largely depend on two factors – the duration of restrictions on the movement of people and economic activities in major economies; and the actual size and efficacy of fiscal responses to the crisis. A well-designed fiscal stimulus package, prioritising health spending to contain the spread of the virus and providing income support to households most affected by the pandemic would help to minimise the effect of the economic recession.
Delhi approves for food grains to non PDS beneficiaries
The Delhi government approved for food grains to the non PDS beneficiaries during the coronavirus lockdown.
The government said the food grains can be distributed from next week to the non-public distribution system (PDS) beneficiaries.
It says the distribution of food grain to the non PDS beneficiaries will be done from distribution centres or schools by the authorised officials.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said the government will be giving ration to about 10 lakh poor in the city who were not having ration cards.
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad-incubated startupAerobiosys Innovations has developed a low-cost, portable, emergency-use ventilator
Jeevan Lite, the device developed by the Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship (CfHE) at the institute offers protection to healthcare providers as well as it is Internet of Things-enabled and can be operated through a phone app.
It can also be battery-operated, enabling its deployment in areas without assured power supply.
Aerobiosys Innovations aims to produce at least 50 to 70 units per day through collaboration with an industrial partner.
Aerobiosys Innovations plans to provide Jeevan Lite at a price of Rs. 1 lakh which is significantly economical compared with existing products in the market.
To cut down the cost and facilitate remote electronic access to the device, Aerobiosys has developed a mobile app that communicates with the unit and seamlessly controls the functional features of the ventilator.
Jeevan Lite can perform both the invasive and non-invasive ventilation across a comprehensive set of modes and settings.
It can be used for pediatric and adult patients and will work on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in an uninterrupted manner for five hours without power supply.
DRDO develops portable backpack for sanitisation equipment
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed portable backpack for area sanitisation equipment. The Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES), Delhi, has developed two configurations of sanitising equipment. These are spinoffs from technologies developed for fire suppression application.
The CFEES, Delhi, with the help of its industry partner has developed portable sanitisation equipment for spraying decontamination solution consisting of one per cent Hypochlorite (HYPO) solution for sanitisation of suspected area.
The portable system can be mounted as a backpack and can be carried by the operations personnel.
This system incorporates low pressure twin fluid, air and disinfectant liquid, technology to generate very fine mist.
The application areas can include hospital reception, doctor chambers, office spaces dealing with general public, corridors, pathways, metro and railway stations and bus stations, etc.
The Centre with the help of its industry partner has also developed a higher capacity which is carried on a trolley.
The system incorporates low pressure single fluid, disinfectant liquid, technology generating very fine mist. It is capable of disinfecting upto 3,000 square metre area.
Two of these systems are being provided to Delhi Police for immediate use. These can be made available to other agencies with the help of industry partners.
32 Coronavirus cases in Northeast, Assam alone has 27
Of the 32 positive cases in five Northeastern states — Assam (27), Manipur (2), Mizoram (1), Arunachal Pradesh (1) and Tripura (1) — 28 took part in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi last month.
Besides, four persons from Assam and eight people from Tripura, who had attended the Jamaat congregation, have tested positive for Covid-19 and are under treatment in hospitals in Delhi.
The 23-year-old Manipur woman who had returned from the UK and became the first positive coronavirus case in the entire northeastern region, was declared completely free of the dreaded virus.
Testing & treatment of corona at private hospitals come under Ayushman ambit
The Centre has decided to make the testing and treatment for COVID-19 available under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB-PM JAY).
The testing and treatment of COVID -19 is already available for free in the public facilities.
Now, more than 50 crore citizens, eligible under the government”s health assurance scheme will be able to avail free testing through private labs and treatment for COVID -19 in empanelled hospitals as well.
These tests would be carried out as per Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines and by private labs either approved or registered by the ICMR.
Treatment of COVID-19 by private hospitals will also be covered under the scheme.
Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB-PM JAY) is the flagship scheme of the Centre that provides cashless and paperless access to medical services.
A team of engineers in Hyderabad has designed a low-cost ventilator system, which can help Covid-19 patients with respiratory assistance.
The developers said this can be helpful in meeting an emergency in the event of shortage of regular ventilators.
Krishna Ganji, Founder and CEO of NextByte Innovations Private Limited, said that the electromechanical device was used to operate manual ”Ambo bag” thus assisting the patient in respiration.
He said as the regular ventilators were available for not even one per cent of the population in the country, the team developed a portable low-cost ventilator system.
This is not equal to regular ventilator, but will be helpful if the situation gets worse.
The device can be made available for Rs 4,000. The regular India-made ventilator costs around Rs six lakh.
IIITM Kerala develops analogue circuit to study coronavirus
State owned Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K), in a joint research project with German institutes, has made a breakthrough in developing Analogue Integrated Circuits for implementing Generative Adversarial Network (GAN).
This can possibly be used to analyse and interpret 2019-nCoV data for a possible solution to the global pandemic.
The research institute said that this has been achieved by joint research conducted in collaboration with Analogue Circuits and Image Sensors Lab, Seigen University and Fraunhofer, Germany, and Centre for Excellence in Artificial General Intelligence and Neuromorphic Systems (neuroAGI), IIITM-K.
GAN are neural networks that can be trained to produce or generate new content. These are popularly used for generating fake images, fake audio, fake text and fake videos.
The experts point out that the GANs have recently succeeded in generating new molecular structures that can bind with the 3C-like protease, which is one of the most important COVID-19 protein targets, and inhibit virus functioning.
In a new study, energy and area-efficient analogue circuit implementation of such GAN architecture was demonstrated to generate realistic looking images.
April 06, 2020
India tightens export ban norms for anti-malarial drug Hydroxycloroquine
The government has tightened the export ban norms on anti-malarial drug hydroxycloroquine by including Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under its prohibition ambit to ensure there is no shortfall during Covid-19 crisis.
The drug is also not allowed to be shipped by export oriented units (EOUs) or under any export promotion scheme.
Under advance authorisation (AA) scheme, firms are allowed to import raw material at zero duty but with the condition of export obligation within a certified time frame.
SEZs are treated as foreign territory in terms of customs laws. Normally export ban or restrictions imposed by the government does not apply on these zones as well as EOUs, which are specially meant to promote outbound shipments from the country.
This step is taken after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating healthcare workers handling suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases and also the asymptomatic household contacts of the lab-confirmed cases.
Recently, India has banned exports of host of medical devices, including sanitiser, all types of ventilators and surgical masks.
Assam may suffer loss of 3,571 MT horticulture items
Assam is likely to suffer a loss of an estimated 3,571 metric tons of fruits and vegetables in 16 districts due to the lockdown. Which is around 0.06 per cent of total horticulture production and includes products such as tomato, brinjal, cabbage, cauliflower, banana and strawberry.
Fake news spreading through social media platforms about transmission of COVID-19 through vegetables has also badly affected the farmers of Assam. Such rumours had developed apprehension among the common people across the State which ultimately was having a worsening impact on the markets.
All agriculture and allied sectors have been suffering a lot during this medical emergency situation. The government today issued directions to start functioning of 14 animal feed mills across Assam.
32 Coronavirus cases in Northeast, Assam alone has 27
Of the 32 positive cases in five Northeastern states — Assam (27), Manipur (2), Mizoram (1), Arunachal Pradesh (1) and Tripura (1) — 28 took part in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi last month.
Besides, four persons from Assam and eight people from Tripura, who had attended the Jamaat congregation, have tested positive for Covid-19 and are under treatment in hospitals in Delhi.
The 23-year-old Manipur woman who had returned from the UK and became the first positive coronavirus case in the entire northeastern region, was declared completely free of the dreaded virus.
Railways PPE kit passes DRDO test
The railways has passed the test conducted by DRDO for the Personal Protection Equipment manufactured by Jagadhari workshop to fight Covid-19.
Deepak Kumar, CPRO Northern Railways, said Northern Railway Jagadhari Workshop becomes the first workshop whose two PPEs/ Coverall sample passed the DRDO test. This will be helpful in fighting the war against Covid-19.
The railways can now contribute to mitigating the shortfall in PPEs to the extent possible by manufacturing it in-house.
There are reports of shortage of PPE and many videos have hone viral where doctors are facing lack of PPE.
The Delhi government has given the nod for procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits by city hospitals from local manufacturers and suppliers at market rate not exceeding Rs 1,087.47, amid an increasing demand.
Telangana to use CMRF money to procure PPEs
The government of Telangana has decided to use the funds donated for the Chief Minister”s Relief Fund (CMRF) for the protective equipment and masks for doctors and other healthcare workers involved in dealing with coronavirus cases.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao directed the officials to utilise the donations to procure Personal Protection Equipments (PPEs), masks and medicines.
At a high-level meeting to review the coronavirus situation, he instructed the officials concerned to take all the protective measures for the medical and health employees.
Health Minister EatalaRajender said that the government has procured five lakh N-95 masks, five lakh viral transmission kits, 500 ventilators, four lakh coronavirus testing kits, 20 lakh surgical masks and 25 lakh hand gloves.
NF Railway ramps up in-house production of masks sanitisers
The Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) has ramped up in-house production of masks and sanitisers as part of its effort to make these items available to all its staff members in the time of the global coronavirus pandemic.
Indian Railways is making all-out efforts to supplement the healthcare initiatives of the Government of India.
In this direction, Indian Railways is producing masks and hand sanitisers in-house in its all zonal railways, production units and PSUs as these items are of great necessity during the current period.
This is in addition to the various other measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Masks are being made by staff who are working from their respective homes due to the lockdown and hand sanitisers are being produced in various depots.
Assam Cabinet to cut the salaries of the ministers and MLAs by 30% for one year
Assam Cabinet also decided to cut the salaries of the ministers and MLAs by 30% for one year to manage the situation arising out of the COVID19 pandemic.
The Assam cabinet also decided that the state government would not pass any directives regarding lockdown and the Centre directives on lockdown would continue in the state
The cabinet also decided to bring employees of all departments engaged in the frontline against coronavirus outbreak under the insurance scheme of Rs 50 lakh.
Earlier decision to dispense Rs 1000 one-time relief to the poor beneficiaries who don’t have cards under National Food Security Act has been slightly modified to allot Rs 1000 to 150 families instead of 100 families in each Village Panchayat inhabited by 5 thousand or fewer people, Rs 1000 to 200 families instead of 150 families in each Village Panchayat inhabited by 5000 to 10000 people, Rs 1000 to 250 families instead of 200 families in each Village Panchayat inhabited by 10000 people or more, Rs 1000 each to 300 families in each Village Panchayat areas inhabited by 10000 to 15000 people, Rs 1000 each to 350 families inhabited by 15000 to 25000 people.
Union Cabinet approves 30% salary cut for MPs, MPLADS suspended for 2 years
The Union Cabinet approved an ordinance amending the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954 to reduce allowances and pension by 30 per cent with effect from April 1, for a year.
The President, Vice President, and Governors have also voluntarily decided to take a pay cut as a social responsibility. The money will go to the Consolidated Fund of India.
The Cabinet has approved a move to suspend the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for two years (2020-21 and 2021-22). That amount will go to the Consolidated Fund of India.
India-Australia ready to share COVID-19 research efforts
India and Australia agreed to share “collaborative research efforts” in the context of the health crisis.
Both the countries agreed on the “importance of bilateral experience sharing” amid the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 crisis in a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.
The two leaders discussed the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the domestic response strategies being adopted by their respective governments.
They agreed on the importance of bilateral experience-sharing in the context of this health crisis, including through collaborative research efforts.
PM Modi conveyed that the government of India stands ready to provide necessary facilitation and support to any Australian citizens stranded in India due to travel restrictions.
Both leaders agreed to remain attentive to the wider significance of the India-Australia partnership, including in the Indo-Pacific region, even as they focus on solving the present health crisis.
ABB India partners NASSCOM to help industry hire IoT professionals
ABB India announced a partnership with Nasscom to develop standardised qualification criterion for two IoT-related job roles — IoT network communications and IoT cybersecurity.
The Qualification Packs (QPs) define the competency standards that will provide a framework for academic institutions to design their course curriculum to better conform to industry hiring standards for these highly-skilled jobs.
The standardised format will help the industry develop a quality pool to help companies across sectors.
The qualification packs for the two job roles have been approved by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), and National Skills Qualifications Committee (NSQC).
The IT industry”s apex body has been at the forefront of an industry-driven effort in India to develop ”Future Skills Competency Standards” that define the skills required to do jobs in technologies like IoT, AI, Big Data Analytics (BDA), Cloud computing and others.
Assam targets 400 MW of solar power within 2 years
The government is planning to harness around 400 MW of grid-connected solar power through developers in about two years’ time.
In Phase I, the power utility is developing five projects totalling 100 MW through private entities under ‘Built, Own, Operate’ mode in five locations of the State.
M/s Azure Power is developing three 25 MW solar projects at Rowta, Boko and LalangkittaLabocpar (Cachar) and another of 16 MW at Samaguri, Nagaon.
A 10 MW solar project is also being developed by M/s Maheswari Mining at Padumoni, Nagaon.
The APDCL will purchase power from them and the rates have been fixed through reverse auction.
The APGCL is developing the 70 MW Amguri solar project, the work order for which has been given.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has sanctioned a 70 MW solar plant in Dima Hasao, while the Solar Energy Corporation of India has allotted a 30 MW project for Assam under the VGF scheme for supply of power to Central PSUs.
MoS Jitendra Singh launches Pension Adalat & NPS Awareness and Grievance Redressal Programme in Jammu
Union Minister of State (independent charge) Jitendra Singh inaugurated the Pension Adalat and National Pension System (NPS) Awareness and Grievance Redressal Programme at the Convention Centre.
The redressal programme is being conducted by the Department of Pension and Pensioners” Welfare, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India.
The minister also launched the “Do You Know” Twitter series on family pension, along with a booklet highlighting case studies with interpretation of pension rules.
The minister said that Pension Adalats will help in on-the-spot redressal of pensioners” grievances which will give the right of “ease of living” to the pensioners.
MOU between Indian Air Force and Savitribai Phule Pune University for academic collaboration
As a unique initiative of Indian Air Force. the IAF and SavitribaiPhule Pune University entered into an academic collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a ‘Chair of Excellence’ at Department of Defence & Strategic Studies.
To pay tribute to the legend and commemorate the centenary birth year of the MIAF, the IAF has named it as “Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Chair of Excellence”.
The Chair will enable IAF officers to pursue Doctoral Research and higher studies in Defence & Strategic Studies and allied fields.
The chair will facilitate research and higher studies in the area of National Defence and allied fields of Air Force officers.
The chair would facilitate inculcating astrategic outlook and building a pool of strategic thinkers.
Centre to skill women for jobs in auto sector at IIT Haryana
A training centre for skilling women to get jobs in the automobile sector was inaugurated at the IIT in Ambala in Haryana.
The centre in the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) has been set up by Hero MotoCorp Ltd in association with the state”s Skill Development and Industrial Training Department and the United Nations Development Programme.
Industrial skilling to women students would be ensured through fully functional technician training labs.
The centre will also train students to drive two-wheelers to ensure their mobility.
With the objective of ”Hunar se kamyabitak”, Hero MotoCorp has so far imparted skilling to over 20,000 people through state-of-the-art skill development centres across the country.
MARCH 02, 2020
PM Modi launches campaign for setting up of 10,000 FPOs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a campaign to set up 10,000 new farmer producer organisations (FPOs) across the country in the next five years.
Modi said a new FPO will be set up to increase the income of the farmers and to empower them. This will enable the farmers to market and process the crops along with producing them. Rs 5,000 crore will be spent on this in the next five years.
Modi also distributed Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to 10 beneficiary farmers of PM-Kisan.
The KCCs are being distributed to farmers from 28,000 branches of banks across the country as part of a special campaign by the government to provide KCC facilities to all beneficiaries of PM-Kisan.
ICAR inks MoU with Patanjali Bio Research Institute, Haridwar
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Patanjali Bio Research Institute (PBRI), Haridwar at the National Agricultural Science Centre Complex, New Delhi.
TrilochanMohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR) and Shri Acharya Balkrishna, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Patanjali& Managing Director, PBRI inked the MoU on the behalf of their respective organizations.
As per the MoU, the specific work plans will be developed to work on the collaborative research programmes in the areas of national interest related to sustainable agriculture development suitable to different agro-ecologies of the country.
Under the MoU, the ICAR and PBRI will collaborate in mutually identified areas of training and education where the Post Graduate students of Deemed Universities & Research Institutes of ICAR may undertake internships in various areas of specialization with PBRI.
The ICAR will support PBRI in technology demonstration, capacity building, seed production for scaling up of the popular varieties developed by the ICAR and transferring them among the farming community of the country.
The MoU aims to foster the close interaction in research, capacity building, seed production, entrepreneurship and skill development.
New explosive detection device, developed by DRDO &IISc Bangalore, unveiled in Pune
RaIDer-X, a new explosive detection device, was unveiled at the National Workshop on Explosive Detection (NWED-2020) in Pune.
RaIDer-X has the capability to detect explosives from a stand-off distance.
The data library can be built in the system to expand its capability to detect a number of explosives in pure form as well as with the contaminants.
Bulk explosive in concealed condition can also be detected by the device.RaIDer-X has been co-developed by High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) Puneand Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
The NWED-2020 was inaugurated by Secretary, Department of Defence Research &Developmentand Chairman Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) Dr G Satheesh Reddy.
The two-day workshop has been organised by HEMRL Puneon its diamond jubilee celebration. HEMRL
It provides a platform to scientists, technocrats and users to share knowledge, experience and updated information on the technological advancements made in the recent past.
The workshop will help in the further development of explosive detection devices and keep abreast on the recent development and advancements in the field of explosive detection.
Bimal Julka appointed Chief Information Commissioner (CIC)
Information Commissioner Bimal Julka was appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Julka as the CIC in the Central Information Commission at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The transparency watchdog has been functioning without a chief after Sudhir Bhargava retired on January 11 and is at a reduced strength of six information commissioners, against the sanctioned strength of 11 (including the CIC).
FACTFILE – Central Information Commission
The Central Information Commission is a statutory body, set up under the Right to Information Act in 2005 under the Government of India to act upon complaints from those individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer due to either the officer not have been appointed, or because the respective Central Assistant Public Information Officer or State Assistant Public Information Officer refused to receive the application for information under the Right to Information Act.
The commission includes one chief information commissioner and not more than ten information commissioners who are appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha; a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister.
Rs 33 crore sanctioned for Kaziranga under Project Tiger scheme
Financial assistance to the tune of Rs 1.51 crore has been sanctioned to Kaziranga National Park during the financial years 2018-19 and 2019-2020 under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo said that Rs 94,46,585 and Rs 51,24,670 were sanctioned to Kaziranga National Park during the financial years 2018-19 and 2019-2020 respectively under CAMPA.
Under the Project Tiger scheme, financial assistance of Rs 10.30 crore and Rs 22.81 crore were also sanctioned during the financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively to Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, which includes Kaziranga National Park.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change provides financial assistance to Assam for management of wildlife in national parks and sanctuaries, including for protection of animals during flood under schemes such as Development of Wildlife Habitats, Project Tiger and CAMPA.
Highlands and platforms have also been constructed in national parks to give shelter to animals during high flood.
Anti-poaching camps in strategic locations have also been constructed with sufficient armed guards, besides deployment of boats during flood and use of modern technologies like ‘electronic eye’ for smart patrolling.
European Investment Bank, UNEP sign pact to enhance climate actions
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) agreed to deepen their cooperation to enhance climate and environmental actions.
The memorandum of understanding was signed in Brussels at a meeting between Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UNEP, Inger Andersen, and EIB Vice President responsible for Climate Action and Environment, Emma Navarro.
The focus of the strategic cooperation will be on climate change, conservation, protection, enhancement and support of nature and natural resources, including biological diversity worldwide and circular economy.
Priority will be identification of a new pipeline of investment projects in the field of environment and climate change.
Science, policy responses and investments need to go hand-in-hand. This strategic partnership between UNEP and EIB comes at a crucial time, when scaling up financing for these transformations is essential.
IIT Mandi to set up farmer producer bodies in Himachal Pradesh
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi and Enabling Women of Kamand (EWOK) Society will collaborate on setting up farmer producer organisations in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs 35 lakhs to IIT Mandi and EWOK Society to promote and set up three farmer producer organisations in three years.
IIT Mandi will provide its expertise in tourism, rural marts run by self-help groups, engineering solutions for farm-friendly equipment, research on the impact of climate change on agriculture incomes, among others.
The EWOK has been working with the women and families in Kamand area in both farm and non-farm sectors to encourage women entrepreneurs at the grassroots.
In the farm-related activities, along with IIT Mandi Medicinal Plant Laboratory, some successful pilot programmes have been run for the past two years.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways launches IRAD System
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has launched Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD) System.
The primary purpose of IRAD is to enhance road safety, and thus endeavors to generate various types of insights through the Analytics Dashboard, Trend Analysis etc. and therefore, decision making by Apex Authorities.
The six states identified for piloting the project are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
PM Modi lays foundation stone for Bundelkhand Expressway in Chitrakoot
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays foundation stone for Bundelkhand Expressway in Chitrakoot, distributes nearly 56,000 assistive aids to Divyang-jans and senior citizens at a Mega Camp in Prayagraj.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in a SamajikAdhikaritaShivir organised by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment at Prayagraj.
PM Modi interacted with divyangajans at the event which turned out as the biggest ever distribution camp being conducted in the country in terms of the number of beneficiaries covered and number of appliances distributed.
PM Modi also distributed 56000 Assistive Aids and Devices of different types to 26000 Senior Citizens and Divyangjans.
The cost of aids and devices is over 19 crore. Assistive Aids and devices will help in enhancing economic development of these beneficiaries.
MARCH 04, 2020
President confers 61st Annual Lalit Kala Akademi Awards
The President of India, Shri Ram NathKovind, conferred the 61st annual Lalit Kala Akademi Awards on 15 meritorious artists at a function held at RashtrapatiBhavan.
Artwork of these artists will be on display till March 22, 2020, at the 61st National Exhibition of Art at the Lalit Kala Akademi galleries in New Delhi.
Lalit Kala Akademi organises art exhibitions and award ceremonies every year to promote art as well as to honour talents.
The exhibition brings together the works of brilliance from across the country and also encourages budding art talents to learn new tendencies and mediums in the world of painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, drawing, installation and multimedia etc.
The National Lalit Kala Akademi awards are conferred to recognize individuals for their outstanding work in the field of art. The awardees are selected by an esteemed panel of judges, nominated by the Akademi.
The awardees were honoured with a shawl, plaque and cash prize worth Rs 1 lakh.
List of winners of 61st annual National Lalit Kala Akademi Awards
S. No.
Award Winner
State
1
Anoop Kumar Manzukhi Gopi
Thrissoor, Kerala
2
David Malakar
Kolkata, West Bengal
3
Devendra Kumar Khare
Vadodara, Gujarat
4
Dinesh Pandya
Mumbai, Maharashtra
5
Faruque Ahmed Halder
Kolkata, West Bengal
6
Hari Ram Kumbhawat
Jaipur, Rajasthan
7
Keshari Nandan Prasad
Jaipur, Rajasthan
8
Mohan Kumar T
Bengaluru, Karnataka
9
Ratan Krishna Saha
Mumbai, Maharashtra
10
Sagar Vasant Kamble
Mumbai, Maharashtra
11
Satwinder Kaur
New Delhi
12
Sunil Thiruvayur
Ernakulam, Kerala
13
Tejaswi Narayan Sonawane
Solapur, Maharashtra
14
Yashpal Singh
Delhi
15
Yashwant Singh
Delhi
FACTFILE – Lalit Kala Akademi
The Lalit Kala Akademi, the National Academy of Artswas set up by the central government as an autonomous body on August 5, 1954.
The Akademi received statutory authority in 1957 under the Societies Registration Act 1860.
The Akademi aims to involve all genres of creativity in its activities and has a vision that takes care of both traditional Indian art as well as contemporary art by helping artists imbibe many contemporary happenings in the international art scene.
Ajay Bhushan Pandey appointed to be the new Finance Secretary
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the designation of Ajay Bhushan Pandey as the new Finance Secretary.
Pandey, currently the Revenue Secretary in the Union Finance Ministry, will replace incumbent Rajiv Kumar.
A 1984 batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, he is known for his work with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and has also served as Chairman of Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).
Pandey had taken charge as the Revenue Secretary in November 2018, replacing Hasmukh Adhia who was to retire at the end of the month.
Shafey Kidwai gets Sahitya Akademi Award
Noted bilingual critic, scholar and columnist, Professor Shafey Kidwai has received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award (2019) for his seminal Urdu work ”Sawanah-e-Sir Syed – EkBazdeed”.
The book seeks to revisit the biographical details and literary accomplishments of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and it supplements what has escaped the attention of many biographers of Sir Syed including Khawaja Altaf Husain Hali.
Prof Kidwai, also Chairman, Department of Mass Communication, has been honoured with Madya Pradesh government”s prestigious award ”Iqbal Samman” in 2016 and Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy”s ”Amir Khusro Award” in 2018.
The SahityaAkademi has published his monograph on R.K. Narayan in 2009.
He has translated several books from English into Urdu including ”Michael Madhusudan Dutt” (1995) and ”Our Constitution” (2009). His book ”Khabar Nigari” (1988) is the first on the art of reporting in Urdu.
Mamata launches new housing scheme “Snehaloy” for poor people
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a new housing scheme “Snehaloy” for poor people, under which the beneficiaries will receive Rs 1.20 lakh each from the state government to build houses.
The scheme is for those economically backward people who don’t qualify for the state government’s present housing scheme Bangle AwasYojana.
The money would be given in two tranches.
TN launches Rs 2,857 crore for TN Health System Reform Programme
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami launched the Rs 2,857 crore Tamil Nadu Health System Reform Programme (TNHSRP).
The five-year programme focusses on three key areas — improved quality of care, management of non-communicable diseases & injuries, and reduced equity gaps in reproductive and child health.
Under the programme, quality certification of the government hospitals will also be undertaken, which will help improve the medical service.
It will focus on diagnosing non-communicalble diseases, like diabetes, cancer, blood pressure, breast cancer and psychological disorders at an early stage.
Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said for the scheme Rs 1,999 crore would be the share of World Bank loan and the rest be provided by the state government.
Bongaigaon Refinery, the ninth refinery of Indian Oil located at Dhaligaon in Chirang district, has been successfully producing BS (Bharat Standard)-VI motor spirit (petrol) since December 2019 and has set a target to produce BS-VI high-speed diesel by April 1, to match the government’s Auto Fuel Quality Vision Policy 2025.
The content of sulphur in BS-IV fuels is 50 parts per million (ppm) while in BS-VI grade fuels, it is 10 ppm.
The production of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) will be increased when the newly installed Indane Maximisation (INDMAX) unit in the refinery becomes fully functional.
Steps are being taken to increase the capacity of machinery units so that high-valued petroleum products can be made considering the demand in the market, this development will definitely bring better industrial prospects in the next 5-6 years in the entire region of lower Assam.
BGR has been maintaining anti-pollution measures strictly while discharging effluent and gaseous substances.
BRICS CCI announces launch of women’s wing
The BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BRICS CCI) has announced the launch of the BRICS CCI Women’s Wing with focus on women empowerment initiatives and policies across geographies.
The objective of the women’s wing is to create an enabling support system for women entrepreneurs and professionals across geographies.
Founded in 2012, BRICS CCI is empanelled with NITI Aayog and recognized by the United Nations.
While the BRICS nations will remain at the centre of all activities, the chamber has taken in its credo to reach out to and enable young entrepreneurs from other friendly nations too and bring stakeholders associated with women entrepreneurship across key countries under one platform.
The BRICS CCI Women’s wing will be led by ShabanaNasim, Governing Body Member, BRICS CCI, Shormishtha Ghosh, Director — Business Advisory, BRIC CCI and Ruby Sinha, Convenor, BRICS CCI Women”s wing and Honourary Advisor BRICS CCI.
One stop knowledge hub for women entrepreneurs globally, shetatwork.com will be the knowledge partner for the BRICS CCI Women”s wing.
An eminent advisory board comprising eminent women professionals from across countries is also being set up.
Govt launches amnesty scheme for late filings by LLPs
The government launched an amnesty scheme for condonation of delays in filings of documents by limited liability partnership (LLPs) firms.
The move is meant to make life easier for businesses who have been facing problems due to non-filing of returns.
It has been decided to give a one-time relaxation in additional fee to the defaulting LLPs to make good their default by filing pending documents and to serve as a compliant LLP in future.
The scheme – ”LLP Settlement Scheme, 2020”, will come into force on March 16 and shall remain in operation till June 13.
During the period, there would be one-time condonation of delay in filing statutorily required documents with the Registrar.
To reduce the burden on LLPs, they would be required to pay only Rs 10 as additional fee for each day delay in filing documents as against the earlier practice of Rs 100 for each day of delay.
The penalty on delayed filing will also be capped to a maximum of Rs 5,000 providing relief to LLPs, some of whom have not filed their documents for years.
LLPs are unique corporate structure that allows the flexibility of a partnership firm and advantages of limited liability of a company at a low compliance cost. Around 1.5 lakh LLPs are registered in India and about 1.3 lakh are active firms.
Union Cabinet approved consolidation of public sector into 4 big banks
The Union Cabinet approved the mega consolidation in public sector banks (PSBs) with effect from April 1, under which 10 state-run banks would be transformed into 4 big banks.
It also approved the scheme of merger submitted by the banks concerned which will be part of the process.
The amalgamations will enable creation of digitally driven consolidated banks with global heft and business synergies.
The amalgamation would result in creation of seven large PSBs with scale and national reach with each amalgamated entity having a business of over Rs 8 lakh crore.
The mega consolidation would help create banks with scale comparable to global banks and capable of competing effectively in India and globally.
Lok Sabha passes Direct Tax ”Vivad se Vishwas” bill
Lok Sabha passed direct tax amnesty scheme Vivad se Vishwas bill. With mounting tax disputes, the government has had in Union budget come up with No Dispute but Trust Scheme (Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme) to settle the direct tax disputes.
Under the proposed amnesty scheme, a taxpayer would be required to pay only the amount of the disputed taxes and will get complete waiver of interest and penalty provided he pays the amount by March 31, 2020.
For disputed penalty, interest and fee not connected with the disputed tax, the taxpayer would be required to pay only 25 per cent of the same for settling the dispute.
A taxpayer shall be required to pay 110 per cent of the disputed tax (the excess 10 per cent shall be limited to the amount of related penalty and interest, if any) and 30 per cent of penalty, interest and fees in case of payment after March 31, 2020.
Those who avail this scheme after March 31, 2020 will have to pay some additional amount. The scheme will remain open till June 30, 2020.
MARCH 06, 2020
NABL accreditation status to State Public Health Laboratory, Assam
Minister of State for Health Piyush Hazarika formally inaugurated the NABL-accreditation status, sophisticated instruments facility of the State Public Health Laboratory, Assam and Food Safety on Wheels of the Commissionerate of Food Safety.
NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) accreditation is the recognition that the laboratory is competent to carry out analysis works as per international standards.
The Bamunimaidam-based state public laboratory is the only state food testing laboratory in the entire North East and sixth in the country to be accredited by NABL.
Section 43 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 makes it mandatory for all food testing laboratories to be accredited.
Three highly sophisticated instruments have been provided by FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) under a Central sector scheme.
The total cost of the instruments is approximately Rs. 8.50 crore.
4th Edition of the Women Transforming India Awards 2019
NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform is organising the Fourth Edition of the Women Transforming India Awards (WTI) on International Women’s Day.
The WTI will recognize 30 finalists and 15 winners will be felicitated. On this occasion, the Women Entrepreneurship Platform also completes two years since its inception.
The Women Transforming India Awards, instituted four years ago, is NITI Aayog’sendeavourto recognise and celebrate stories of exceptional women changemakers from across India.
Since 2018, the Women Transforming India Awards have been hosted under the aegis of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform on the theme of ‘Women and Entrepreneurship’.
The fifteen winners were chosen from a pool of more than 2,300applicants.
The Women Entrepreneurship Platform undertook an elaboratefive-month long process to identify inspiring stories of women entrepreneurs who are breaking the glass ceiling.
This process included a review of applications, jury and super jury roundswith assistance from mentors and partners of Women Entrepreneurship Platform.
The Women Entrepreneurship Platform seeks to transform the entrepreneurial ecosystem for women by bringing together stakeholders to offer information and services that will resolve the existing information asymmetry.
ARCI develops Fuel Cell Technology for Disaster Management
Scientists at International Advanced Research for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad, an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST) have developed Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC).
PEMFC, in its entireness, have an advantage of operational capability at low-temperatures with applications in decentralised power generation systems.
Through intense R&D efforts in the area of fuel cell technologies, ARCI at its Centre for Fuel Cell Technology, Chennai has developed in-house PEMFC systems in the power range of 1 to 20 kiloWatt (kW).
The Government of Tamil Nadu decided to look at the prospect of converting the existing Control Room to EOC backed with 10 kW system along with fuel cell stack, air moving sub systems, power control devices and control and monitoring system.
ARCI demonstrated feasibility of providing power to EOCs. PEMFC stack with capacity of 5kW has been installed on mobile truck and demonstrated at Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TNSDMA).
J. Radhakrishnan, Commissioner, Revenue Administration and Disaster Management witnessed the demo and appreciated the prowess of PEMFC technology.
ARCI is now planning to set up a PEMFC system up to 10 kW capacity at Tamil Nadu State Emergency Operation Centre (TN SEOC) to operate the systems like early warning systems, VHF set, IP phone, BSNL Ethernet and office equipment like scanner, computers, printers, phone, FAX and normal requirements like lighting and fan.
World Bank announces 12billion aid to combat coronavirus outbreak
World Bank has unveiled a 12 billion dollar aid package that will provide fast-track funds to help countries combat the coronavirus outbreak.
The funds, some of which are targeted to the world’s poorest nations, can be used for medical equipment or health services and will include expertise and policy advice.
World Bank President David Malpass said the money will go to countries that request help. The bank has been in contact with many member nations.
Assam Lunches free dedicated bus service ‘BhramanSarathi’ for women, elderly
The State government announced a new scheme named ‘BhramanSarathi’ under which free and dedicated bus services will be provided for women and senior citizens within Guwahati.
Finance Minister HimantaBiswaSarma said the new scheme will not only ensure safe and comfortable travel but will also encourage them to use public transportation instead of private vehicles.
These buses, painted in pink colour, will be on some of the busiest routes through the day and will provide fast, safe and easy mobility to the women and the senior citizens.
The ASTC will provide free ride to unemployed youths for appearing in various examinations and job interviews.
The call letter and the date therein, provided for the interview will be considered as bus ticket for this purpose and the bus conductor will ensure free ride for these youths once a photocopy of the same is handed over to him.
The cost accrued against such free ride will be reimbursed to ASTC so that the financial health of ASTC is not compromised while implementing these schemes.
National Maritime Search and Rescue Workshop and Exercise ‘SAREX-2020’
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was roped into the ongoing National Maritime Search and Rescue Workshop and Exercise (SAREX-2020) organised by the Indian Coast Guard off the coast of Goa.
31 resource agencies, including the armed forces and other civilian agencies participated in the exercise, which was aimed at enhancing maritime search and rescue capabilities.
Utilised the services of ISRO for providing satellite images and other requirements
Maritime search and rescue operations continue to remain a challenge amid increasing maritime and fishing activity, which is further convoluted by frequent cyclones in Indian waters as well as incidents of plane disasters over the seas.
The exercise involved mass rescue operation of 220 personnel with the help of combined assets of multi-agencies including the Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Customs and other state government agencies like the Captain of Ports and Marine Police.
The search and rescue exercise was co-ordinated by the ICG which is India’s nodal agency for maritime search and rescue operations.
Google India launches skill programme designed for women
Google India introduced DigiPivot, a skilling programme designed for women who are looking to return to their corporate careers after a break or simply planning to make mid career shifts to digital marketing.
Developed jointly in association with Avtar, a career portal service for women, and the Indian School of Business, the programme aims to influence the overall gender mix in the digital marketing landscape in India and will provide an opportunity for 200 women professionals to re-skill themselves.
Selected participants will go through a curated 18 week learning programme and engagement (both offline and online) that aims to empower the participants with digital marketing knowledge and tools as well as mentorship on strategic leadership skills.
The programme will culminate in a day long Graduation event at the Google Hyderabad Campus on August 28.
The programme is open to both women professionals who are currently working and those who are keen to return to the workforce with 4-10 years of experience in consulting, analytics, branding and sales and support with passion for digital marketing.
The programme is completely sponsored by Google and does not require participants to contribute to any registration, participation, travel or accommodation fees.
‘Shillong Declaration’ adopted at 22nd National Conference on e-Governance
The 22nd edition of the National Conference on e-Governance held here concluded today. The two-day conference, attended by 535 delegates representing 28 States and all Union Territories, made the ‘Shillong Declaration’ in connection with the e-Governance.
The 10-point declaration is an outcome of the commitment made at the inaugural session on Thursday. It was prepared after two days of deliberations by participants representing States and Union Territories.
The 10-point ‘Shillong Declaration’ said that the Government of India and State governments would collaborate to improve the citizen’s experience with government services by promoting timely implementation of India Enterprise Architecture (IndEA) and implementing a single sign-on for interoperability and integration among e-Government applications throughout the country, to consolidate the successful State-level e-Governance projects and domain-based projects with the focus on replicating them as a common application software with configurable features, to ensure improvement in ease of living and ease of doing business by making a big shift in the role of the Government from service provider to service enabler.
It also agreed to take steps to enhance the activities of the Electronics Sector Skill Council in the North Eastern States and explore the possibility for opening an electronics skill centre in Shillong, to promote use of e-Office and move towards less paper State Secretariats in the North Eastern States and in the district-level offices, to improve the quality of delivery of e-Services in the North East to fulfill the vision of improved citizen experience.
The declaration further agreed to develop India as a global cloud hub and facilitate development of government applications and databases on cloud by default, to adopt emerging technologies for finding e-Governance solutions and to promote the Digital India Projects with focus on Smart Cities and Smart Villages through startups and smart entrepreneurship.
Rail Minister Piyush Goyal inducts first CORAS commandos in railways
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal inducted the Commando for Railway Security (CORAS) and promised to set up a commando training centre in Haryana to modernize and train commandos of the Railway Protection Force (RPF).
These CORAS commandos will be posted in Left extremist wing affected areas, northeastern region and Jammu and Kashmir where providing security to the passengers and the railway network is of utmost priority.
A new state-of-the-art commando training centre for RPF will be started in Jagadhri (in Haryana) which will have access to latest technology and equipment.
The RPF’s crack commando team of 1,200 officers will get the most modern equipment and world-class training. This will help train the other 60,000-65,000 fellow officers of RPF.
A network of CCTV cameras will be set up at every station.The link of these cameras will be given to the local stations, GRP, RPF, divisional office and even to the Minister’s office.
UP government signed a MOU with the Russian region of Zabaykalsky Krai
The Uttar Pradesh government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Russian region of Zabaykalsky Krai for cooperation in the fields of agriculture and food processing.
There are possibilities of development of agriculture and its allied areas in about 8 million hectares of far east Russia. This will open up investment opportunities in the region.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) are top research and development institutions in the field of agriculture and contract farming in India.
Their expertise and guidance will help in preparing the road map for integrated development of agriculture in far east Russia.
IIT Madras develops multimodal robot with human-like grasp
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) researchers have developed a multimodal robotic system with good grasping, manipulation and locomotion abilities for use in industrial and field applications.
Called ‘GraspMan,’ the system comprises a pair of graspers that are capable of holding objects securely and manipulate it much like the human hand.
A prototype of the grasper has been fabricated at the Robotics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Design, IIT Madras, and the experimental results confirm manipulation capabilities of the robot.
Two such graspers, equipped with the robotic platform provides behavioural adaptation, which is the capability to change the locomotion behaviour to adapt to the environment.
The research is being led by Prof Asokan Thondiyath, Robotics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Design, IIT Madras with his student and Research Scholar Mr. Nagamanikandan Govindan.
This new class of robot developed by the IIT Madras team has various industrial applications such as pipe climbing and inspection, which involves climbing, holding and assembling, all of which are possible in their design.
The robotic platform features a multipurpose grasper that is designed to perform complex manipulation and locomotion tasks, without the need for dedicated motors for manipulation, locomotion, and grasping.
August 16, 2019
Centre to fund model tribal villages in Tripura
The Centre will provide financial assistance to the Tripura Government to raise ten tribal model villages covering eight districts of the State, said Tribal Welfare Minister Mever Kumar Jamtia.
The proposed model villages will have all modern facilities – all-weather roads, pucca houses, toilets, electricity, drinking water supply, community halls, market sheds, Internet and mobile telephone network. A sum of Rs 10 crore will be spent on each model village.
Once the project is implemented, all the model villages will be transformed into a mini township with all modern facilities available.
The project will also lay emphasis on socio-economic development of the villagers. Special focus will be given on agriculture, animal resources and vocational training to upgrade skills of the villagers.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has set up a high-powered modality committee to look into aspects of socio-economic and linguistic development of the indigenous people of the State.
The committee is learnt to have recommended establishment of 10 model villages to ensure welfare of the indigenous people.
Odisha Govt announces ”Mo Sarkar” Initiative
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced a new initiative ”Mo Sarkar” based on 5T model of governance which will be implemented from coming Gandhi Jayanti.
The Chief Minister said that the new initiative will be implemented at all police stations and district headquarters hospitals in first phase from Gandhi Jayanti.
In the next phase, all the departments will execute the ”Mo Sarkar” initiative by March 5, 2020.
The state government is implementing the 5T model governance – Teamwork, Transparency, Technology, Time leading to Transformation.
Under ”Mo Sarkar” initiative, the Chief Minister and other Ministers would dial common citizens to seek their feedback on the kind of response they got during their visits to police stations and district headquarters hospitals.
He also announced that electricity connection will be provided to villagers within 48 hours of submission of application at concerned panchayat offices.
BRICS Minister of Environment Meeting
Acknowledging the importance of urban environmental management for improving quality of life in cities, the Environment Ministers of BRICS countries presented at the 5th Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Minister of Environment Meeting held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, agreed to work together to resolve the multifaceted environmental issues faced by the BRICS cities
Speaking on the occasion, Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar highlighted the path breaking work done by India in achieving its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
India is walking the talk on NDC’s and it has achieved reducing energy intensity by 25 percent and already 78 Giga Watts of renewable energy has been made possible.
The forest cover of the country has also increased by nearly 15,000 sqkm and tree cover outside the forest is increasing rapidly.
The Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) saw another record when a lot of 1 kg tea was sold at Rs 75,000. The tea – ‘Golden Butterfly’ – is a speciality tea and was produced by Dikom Tea Estate owned by Rossell Tea Company.
The tea is bought by one of the oldest tea shops in Guwahati – M/s Assam Tea Traders for their customers. They have bought a lot of speciality tea in the past auctions at high prices.
The tea is named Golden Butterfly because only the soft golden tips go into making this exceptionally rare and special tea. In the evenings, these exclusive tea bushes witness a fleet of butterflies and hence the name reflects the meticulous care and attention to crop husbandry in Dikom’s tea fields.
An exotic tea is judged by its aroma, taste and colour, and this tea is characterised by extremely mellow and sweet caramel flavour that matches the exoticness it deserves.
One of the oldest tea buyers in the State, Assam Tea Traders has been providing quality tea to the buyers across India and even abroad.
Last month, the Gold Special tea of Manohari Tea Estate was sold for Rs 50,000 a kg, and a day later, the Maijan Ortodox Golden Tea tips broke the record, fetching Rs 70,501 per kilogram.
IIT-Madras researchers working on power from estuaries
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) are working on ‘Osmotic Power’ or power from estuaries, an alternative source of power.
Osmotic power generation is, based on the osmotic pressure that is generated when a semi-permeable membrane separates salt water from fresh water. This pressure can be converted into electricity.
The first osmotic power plant was built in 2009 in Tofte, Norway, and produced 4 kilowatt of power, which, while sufficient to perhaps run a clothes dryer, is inefficient for any large scale use.
The IIT-M team is trying to first produce membranes in the scale of square centimetres rather than square micrometres that are currently possible, with future plans to increase size further
This is based on the calculation that a single membrane, roughly one square meter wide, would generate enough power to light up 50,000 energy-saving light bulbs.
Indian Army emerges champion in Scout Masters contest
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presented the champions trophy to the Indian Army team which won the 5th Army International Scout Masters Competition held at Jaisalmer Military Station from August 6 to 14 in which teams from Armenia, Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Sudan and Uzbekistan also participated.
The Indian Army team was selected and trained under the aegis of Southern Command.
The closing Ceremony of the Fifth Army International Scout Masters Competition was held in Jaisalmer in which Rajnath Singh was the chief guest.
The ceremony was attended by General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff, Lieutenant General S.K. Saini, Southern Army Commander, delegations of participating countries, members of the International Organising Committee and several civilian and military dignitaries.
The Defence Minister gave away the Champions Trophy to the winning Indian team, Runners Up Trophy to Uzbekistan and the Second Runners Up trophy to Russia.
The International Army Games are organised by the Ministry of Defence of Russia. This year the games have 32 disciplines to be hosted by 10 countries — Russia, India, China, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. India hosted Stage 2 of the games.
August 18, 2019
Meghalaya’s economy to double in 5 years, says state CM Conrad Sangma
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government has clear vision to improve the well-being of every section of the society.
“I want to assure all of you that my government has a clear vision and strategy to improve the well-being of every section of the society including farmers, youth, entrepreneurs, elderly, school-going children, and citizens in rural areas,” Sangma said after unfurling the Indian flag and taking the salute at a parade here on the occasion of 73rd Independence Day.
“We are specifically focussing on Human development, Primary sector rejuvenation, Infrastructure expansion, Entrepreneurship promotion, Environmental protection and Governance reform,” CM Sangma said.
In order to achieve the goals and aspirations of the 3 million Meghalayans, the state’s economy needs to grow more strongly than in the past decade.
The present size of Meghalaya’s economy is about 30,000 Crore or 4.2 billion US dollar, the Indian economy will expand to 5 trillion dollars by 2024-25 in which Meghalaya’s economy also needs to double in the next five years and at least become 10 billion US dollars.
State’s growth rates should be higher than 10 percent in the next few years. To make such growth rates possible, investments by both the Government and Private Sector are necessary.
PM Modi launches several Projects in Bhutan, signs 9 MOUS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Rupay card in Bhutan and signed nine memorandums of understanding (MoUs), including one on the ISRO-built earth station in Thimphu and a power purchase agreement.
One power purchase agreement for the Mangdechhu hydroelectric power plant was also signed between the two countries.
Modi and Bhutan Prime Minister jointly inaugurate the 720 MW Mangdechu Hydroelectricity Project in Bhutan.
One of the MOUs include establishment of SATCOM Network in Thimphu for the utilisation of South Asia Satellite.
Other MoUs include cooperation in aircraft accident and incident investigation, peering agreement, cooperation in judicial education and mutual exchanges, and academic and cultural interchange in the areas of legal education and research.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the ground station built by India’s space agency ISRO to allow Bhutan to use the South Asian Satellite for communication and disaster management.
Modi also announced linking Bhutanese students and researchers to Indian universities.
Royal University of Bhutan and IITs will cooperate under this programme and five Post Graduate scholarships for Bhutanese students will be provided by the Nalanda University in Bihar for five years.
High-level committee for Defense procurement formed
A 12-member high-level committee has been formed by the Union government to revise and align the procedure of Defence procurement with the aim of strengthening the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
The panel headed by the Director-General (Acquisitions) has been tasked to review the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2006 and the Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2009.
The DPP contains policies and procedures for procurement and acquisition from the capital budget of the Defence Ministry in order to modernise the Armed Forces including the Coast Guard.
The DPM contains principles and procedures relating to procurement of goods and services for the Defence Services, organisations and establishments.
The panel will also include provisions in the policies in order to promote Indian start-ups and boost research and development.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the constitution of the panel that has been given six months to submit its report of recommendations.
The panel will examine and incorporate new concepts, such as life cycle costing, life cycle support, performance-based logistics, Information Communication Technology (ICT), lease contracting, codification and standardization.
Bihar signs MOU to set up lightning alert system
The Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) has signed an agreement with Bangaluru-based Earth Networks to set up a lightening forecast system in the state.
Earth Networks monitors and collects data on lightning strikes around the world.
Its system will inform the BSDMA, District Collectors, Municipal Officers and other public representatives about an impending lightening strike 30 minutes before its occurrence.
The authorities will then sends alerts on a mobile application, which will help save lives in the state.
Assam CM launches state’s first CNG station in Dibrugarh
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the first-ever CNG fuelling station of the state in Dibrugarh.
Sonowal said that to make Assam free from air pollution and to promote the use of clean and green fuel, State government is preparing a roadmap for setting up CNG fuelling station in all districts of the state.
The Government is working sincerely to promote the use of compressed natural gas in the state.
Making a pollution free state is one of the primary objectives of the government and therefore, the government, has been taking series of steps to make Assam free from the scourge of pollution and its manifestations.
Prof PJ Handique takes over as VC of Gauhati University
Assam Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi had appointed Prof PJ Handique as the new Vice Chancellor of the Gauhati University. He takes over the charge from the outgoing VC Dr Mridul Hazarika.
A biotechnologist of repute, Prof Handique obtained his PhD degree from Gauhati University in the year 1992. He did post-doctoral research on molecular biotechnology at Leicester University, UK, during 2005-06 in the laboratory of Prof JS Heslop-Horrison.
Dr Handique is one of the pioneers who worked for the development of biotechnology in Assam as well as in North East India. He has been involved in frontline areas of research in biotechnology for the last 30 years.
Currently he was working as a Professor of Biotechnology in GU. He was the Head of the Department of Biotechnology of the University during 2010-13.
During the same period, he was also the Member of Executive Council and Member of the Gauhati University Court; Chairman, DRC-Biotechnology and Chairman, CCS-Biotechnology. Besides, he worked as a ‘Coordinator–Administration and Logistics’ in the GUIST (2009-12).
The newly appointed VC shall hold his office for a period of five years or till he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier, as per provision under the Gauhati University Act-1947.
BIOGRAPHY – Gauhati University
Gauhati University is located in Jalukbari, Guwahati, is the oldest and one of the most renowned universities in North East India.
It was established in 1948 as a teaching-&-affiliating university.
Starting with 18 affiliated colleges and 8 Post Graduate Departments in 1948, Gauhati University, today, has 39 Post Graduate Departments, besides IDOL (Institute of Distance and Open Learning), a constituent Law and Engineering College.
It has 341 affiliated colleges offering undergraduate and post graduate courses in the faculties of Arts, Science, Commerce, Law, and Engineering. Gauhati University is a member of the Association of Indian Universities and the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked Gauhati University 65 overall in India and 42 among universities in 2019.
It is accredited grade “A” by National Assessment and Accreditation Council.
Union Govt notifies amended Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code law
The government has notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2019, under which a deadline of 330 days has been set for completion of corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP), including litigation and other judicial processes.
The new law aims to provide greater clarity on the permissibility of corporate restructuring schemes, rights and duties of authorised representatives of voters, manner of distribution of amounts among financial and operational creditors and the applicability of the resolution plan on all statutory authorities.
The “resolution plan” under the new law, mandates an explanation why the insolvency resolution of a corporate debtor is a growing concern and may include provisions for corporate restructuring — by way of merger, amalgamation or demerger.
It also mandates that votes of all financial creditors covered under Section 21(6A) shall be cast in accordance with the decision approved by the highest voting share (more than 50 per cent) of the financial creditors on present and voting basis.
The new law also makes the resolution plan binding on all stakeholders, including the Central government, any state government or local authority, to whom a debt in respect of payment of dues may be owed.
India and Bhutan agree on close coordination on security and national interests matters
India and Bhutan has agreed to maintain close coordination on matters linked to each other’s security and national interests, and emphasised on the hydro-power development as one of the important areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.
They reiterated their commitment during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Bhutan. Modi and Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering reviewed all aspects of the bilateral ties as well as other regional and international developments. They also reviewed the bilateral discussions on the Sankosh Reservoir hydroelectric project.
PM Modi reiterated India’s commitment to advancing the economic and infrastructural development of Bhutan.
The two Prime Ministers jointly released Bhutanese stamps, commemorating five decades of mutually beneficial Indo-Bhutan cooperation in hydro-power sector.
They also launched the facility for use of Indian RuPay cards in Bhutan, which would facilitate Indians’ travel to Bhutan by reducing the need to carry cash, boost the Bhutanese economy and further integrate the two economies.
The two Prime Ministers inaugurated in Thimpu the Ground Earth Station of the South Asian Satellite, constructed with the support of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
They also agreed to collaborate on the joint development of a small satellite for Bhutan and form a joint working group to implement the project and other related activities, including developing a geo-portal system for Bhutan for natural resources and disaster management, using remote sensing and geo-spatial data.
They also inaugurated the inter-connection between India’s National Knowledge Network and Bhutan’s Research and Education Network.
August 20, 2019
Assam CM Sonowal inaugurates Khagen Mahanta Udyan
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Khagen Mahanta Udyan – the park set up by the State government in memory of cultural doyen Khagen Mahanta at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati.
The programme was organised by Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra Society and the Cultural Directorate, Government of Assam.
Union Minister of State for Food Processing Rameswar Teli, Cultural Minister Naba Kumar Doley and noted singer and Khagen Mahanta’s son Angarag Mahanta also spoke on the occasion.
MP Queen Ojha and Media Adviser to the Chief Minister Hrishikesh Goswami were also present among other dignitaries in the programme.
FACTFILE – Khagen Mahanta Memorial Park
The Khagen Mahanta Smriti Udyan (Khagen Mahanta Memorial Park) is to be constructed at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra.
The Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra Society had submitted a proposal for the construction of the memorial park to the government an amount of Rs 1.5 crores in October 2015.
Finally, in March 2019, the work began at the Kalakshetra. While the structural work will be completed within the stipulated time, the beautification work will take some more time.
BIOGRAPHY – Khagen Mahanta
Khagen Mahanta was a singer and composer of folk and traditional music of Assam. Khagen Mahanta was a notable person in Assamese folk music and known as the “King of Bihu”.
His Bihu songs, Borgeet and other folk songs remain popular in Assam.
The artist, along with his wife Archana Mahanta and son Angaraag Mahanta who is known as Papon, represent one of the most influential families in Assamese music. He died on 12 June 2014.
He was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Academy award for folk and traditional music in 1992.Some of his awards/ recognitions are listed below: 1988 – Film Craft Award, 1992 – Sangeet Natak Academy, 1994 – Shrimoy Award, 1999 – Sangeetacharya
The researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, (IIT-G) have developed two membranes that can separate oil and water.
The research, by Uttam Manna, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT-G, and his team, comprising Avijit Das, Dibyangana Parbat and Arpita Shome.
The membranes – super-water repellent in air, and super oil-repellent in water — could separate complex mixtures of oil and water. The oil-water separation membranes could also be used in oil spill management.
Scientists have studied the surface structures of lotus leaves and fish scales to understand superhydrophobicity (super-water repellence) and superoleophobicity (super-oil repellence), to replicate them for oil-water separation applications.
Manna and his team also developed a system of ‘super liquid-repellent’ materials, by combining the lotus leaf superhydrophobicity and fish scale superoleophobicity.
Layer-by-layer deposition technique was used to obtain alternating layers of ‘chemically reactive polymeric nano-complex’ and ‘amino graphene oxide nanosheets’ on a stretchable and fibrous substrate.
These systems allow continuous, parallel and selective separation of oil-water mixtures, irrespective of surface tension, density, and viscosity of the oil phase and chemical complexity in the water phase.
IIT-Mandi developing technology to convert heat into electricity
Indian Institute of Technology Mandi researchers in Himachal Pradesh are developing thermoelectric materials that can efficiently convert heat into electricity.
Generating power from heat, for example, is attractive as there is a lot of energy that is generated through human activity in industries like power plants, home appliances and automobiles, where most of this heat is lost.
A research team led by Ajay Soni, Associate Professor (Physics) with the School of Basic Sciences, IIT-Mandi, is studying materials that can convert heat into electricity.
The team has been engaged in research on thermoelectric materials and many of its papers have been published in reputed peer-review international journals, including Applied Physics Letters, Physical Review B and Journal of Alloys and Compounds.
About 70 per cent of energy globally is wasted as heat and this heat is released into the environment, becoming one of the key drivers of global warming.
The trapping and conversion of waste heat into electricity can serve the dual purpose of energy self-sufficiency and environmental preservation.
Tripura will soon have an IT hub at the Old Central Jail land to ease the unemployment problem in the State, said the Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb in his speech on the occasion of Independence Day celebrations.
The State has a population of 37 lakh and over 7 lakh registered unemployed youths. He said the tender process for setting up the IT hub has already started and the Government is determined to build the project at the earliest.
“Once the project is completed, youths need not rush to Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Chennai to get jobs in the IT sector. There will a lot of jobs for local IT professionals,” Deb claimed.
The Chief Minister said that the Government has been giving due importance to the development of the transport sector in the State.
President Ram Nath Kovind launches plantation drive
President Ram Nath Kovind planted a sapling of Maulsari in the Rashtrapati Bhavan Estate and launched a plantation drive as part of Van Mahotsav celebrations.
On the occasion, the President met students and urged them to encourage fellow citizens to plant more trees and reaffirm the commitment to a greener and sustainable planet.
As part of ”Van Mahotsav” celebrations, the President”s Secretariat over the next few weeks will be planting 3,252 trees and 2,962 shrubs in the President”s Estate
This will include ornamental and fruit trees such as Peepal, Neem, Maulsari, Champa, Gul Mohur, Mango, Chiko, Anjir and Amrud among others.
The President’s Estate, spread over 330 acres, harbours a rich biodiversity with noted trees of the Estate include Sita Ashok, Bistendu, Shisham, Gab, Gourd Trees, Wild Almond, Lemon-Scented Gum, Doon Siris and more.
DRDO hands over design of mobile metallic ramp to Army
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) handed over the design of Mobile Metallic Ramp (MMR) to the Indian Army at an event held at DRDO Bhawan.
DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy handed over the design of MMR to Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Devraj Anbu.
With a load-bearing capacity of 70 metric ton (MT), MMR has been designed and developed by DRDO’s premier research laboratory -Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES).
Based on requirements projected by Army for reducing mobility time for mobilising armoured vehicles.
The ramp will provide strategic mobility for armoured and mechanized units and formations of the Army.
It is portable, modular in design, which can be easily assembled or disassembled.
Punjab launches health insurance scheme
In a tribute to late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 75th birth anniversary, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh launched his government’s flagship universal health insurance scheme, benefiting nearly 46 lakh families, i.e. 76 per cent of the total population.
E-cards were handed over to the first 11 beneficiaries from Mohali district to kick-off the ”Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana”.
Which would entitle beneficiaries to avail annual cashless treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year, including pre-existing diseases.
The scheme is aimed at ensuring the best possible treatment to the beneficiaries free of cost.
With this scheme, Punjab has become the first state in the country to offer medical insurance cover to the maximum number of its people, the Chief Minister said.
It would cover a total of 20.43 lakh smart ration card holder families, in addition to 14.86 lakh families enrolled as per Socio Economic Caste Census Data, and 46,000 small traders, among others.
The scheme has also been extended to around 4,500 journalists accredited to the state or those holding yellow cards.
