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Assam Current Affairs – May 22 – 28, 2019

Posted on October 14, 2019May 16, 2020 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – May 22 - 28, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of May 22 – 28, 2019 )

May 2019 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook

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May 22, 2019

Hemchandra Baruah Literary Award presented to Anuradha Sarmah Pujari

Noted litterateur Anuradha Sarmah Pujari received the Hemchandra Baruah Literary Award presented by Dergaon Sahitya Sabha (DSS).
The noted litterateur said that the award presented to her as a token of honour from the people of Dergaon has increased her responsibility towards Assamese literature.

BIOGRAPHY – Hemchandra Barua

Also known as Hem Barua was a prominent writer, social reformer of Assamese of the 19^thcentury.
He was the compiler of the first exhaustive Assamese dictionary Hemkosh, where spellings based on Sanskrit were first introduced. It was the second dictionary of the Assamese language. It was published in 1900 after his death under the supervision of Capt. P. R. Gordon, ISC and Hemchandra Goswami.
Some of his other works are: ‘Ôxômiya Byakôrôn’ (Assamese grammar) (1859),’Adipath’ (1873), ‘Pathmala’ (1882), ‘Ôxômiya lôrar byakôrôn’ (1886) etc.

Assam Rifles and Coast Guard sign Charter of Affiliation

The Assam Rifles and the Indian Coast Guard signed a ‘Charter of Affiliation’ to utilise each other’s assets for operational training, sports and adventure.
Assam Riffles director general Lt Gen Sukhdeep Sangwanand Indian Coast Guard Director General Rajendra Singh represented their respective forces at the signing ceremony at the AR headquarters
Affiliation has been carried out between 3rd (Naga Hills) Battalion of Assam Rifles and the Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Shaurya’.
The initiative will facilitate greater understanding of operational ethos, sharing of best practices from each other, building camaraderie and utilization of one another’s assets for training, sports and adventure.
The Indian Coast Guard has immense technological advantage in using technology to guard frontiers along the sea while Assam Riffles has got specialization in jungle warfare, mountain warfare and conventional operations.
The Indian Coast Guard DG announced that five personnel of the Assam Riffles will be taken on board for international exposure very soon after the pact was signed.

ISRO flagged off the shipment of India’s largest Liquid Hydrogen Storage tank

Sivan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, flagged off the shipment of India’s largest liquid hydrogen storage tank at VRV Asia Pacific production plant in Sri City.
The storage tank of 120 kilo litre capacity handles liquid hydrogen used as fuel for satellite launch vehicles.
VRV Asia Pacific, a Chart Group company, designs and manufactures cryogenic equipment from its factory located in Sri City.The factory, situated on a 30-acre plot, is among technologically sophisticated manufacturing facilities of cryogenic equipment in the world.
VRV Asia Pacific manufactured the storage tank with a Liquid nitrogen (LIN) shield, in collaboration with SatishDhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, under Make in India initiative.

DBT & DAE Govt of India collaborate for Cancer Research

AnMoU has been signed in between the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) Focusing On Cancer Research Advancements.
The two Govt bodies under this MoU will be supporting joint collaborative Cancer research programs.
This MoU will have quite an impact on the current Cancer research scenario in India.
This collaboration is expected to strengthen further the initiatives taken in the field of cancer research & development.
Under this DBT & DAE Collaboration, Tata Memorial Centre will represent the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) acting as coordination center on behalf of – The National Cancer Grid of India.
This collaboration is expected to strengthen further the initiatives taken in the field of cancer research & development.
Strategizing and prioritizing the development of new technologies to battle cancer& jointly funding clinical trials will be one of its core aims.
Furthermore, the clinicians shall coordinate with the researchers for the development of r&D [programs and public health initiates to educate the mass public.

INDIA successfully launches RISAT-2B

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C46) successfully launched RISAT-2B satellite from SatishDhawan Space Centre(SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.
This was the 72^ndlaunch vehicle mission from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota and 36th launch from the First Launch pad.
PSLV-C46 lifted-off from the First Launch Pad and injected RISAT-2B into a orbit of 556 km.After separation, solar arrays of RISAT-2B were deployed automatically and ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bengaluru assumed control of the satellite.
RISAT-2B is a radar imaging earth observation satellite weighing about 615 kg. The satellite is intended to provide services in the field of Agriculture, Forestry and Disaster Management.

May 23, 2019

China shares Brahmaputra hydrological data with India

China has begun sharing hydrological data with India on the Brahmaputra river for this year’s monsoon season. China is also expected to start sharing data on the Sutlej river from June 1, the start of the monsoon season in the country.
The Brahmaputra originates in China’s Tibet and flows into Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. It later drains into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh. Sutlej, a tributary of the Indus, also originates in Tibet, and flows into India and then enters Pakistan.
China provides data from three hydrological stations – Nugesha, Yangcun and Nuxia – located on the mainstream of the Brahmaputra, also known as Yarlung Zangbo. Data for the Sutlej, also known as the Langqen Zangbo, is provided by the hydrological station at Tsada.
The data is necessary for flood management downstream when the rivers swell due to rains.
Following the Dokalam standoff, China had stopped sharing the data on the Brahmaputra in 2017, claiming that the hydrological data gathering sites were washed away due to floods. However, with relations thawing, the two sides again resumed sharing of data in 2018. They also signed two Memoranda of Understanding for this.

UN forecasts Global economy to grow 2.7% in 2019

The United Nations downgraded its forecast for world economic growth, announcing that it expects overall growth of 2.7 per cent this year and 2.9 per cent in 2020.
In a revision of its earlier economic outlook, the international body modified downward the figures it had published in January.
It expected the world economy to grow by 3.0 per cent both in 2019 and in 2020.
The downward adjustment came as a result of trade tensions and political uncertainty, a complicated confluence of internal and external factors affecting most of the developed and developing economies.
The UN predicts for 2019 that the United States’ economy will grow at 2.3 per cent, while the European Union’s overall economy will expand at 1.5 per cent, Japan at 0.8 per cent and Russia at 1.4 per cent.
The UN projects that world trade will grow in 2019 by 2.7 per cent, significantly below the 3.6 per cent growth achieved in that area last year.
The UN said that the flexibility of monetary policies adopted by some central banks in response to slower growth could produce financial imbalances if they continue for a prolonged period.

ADB to provide USD 750 million loan to India for railway track electrification

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement to provide USD 750 million equivalent in Indian rupee long-term financing to electrify railway tracks in India.
It is the largest single non-sovereign loan ever committed by ADB to Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) to fund the railways track electrification project.
As part of a broad modernisationprogramme that will help India’s railway sector transition to electric power and away from dependence on fossil fuels.
Concurrently, with the loan agreement signing, risk participation agreements were signed with private risk participants for the project.
IRFC will use the proceeds from the loan to install electric traction equipment along about 3,378 kilometres of existing railway lines to enable migration of passenger and freight traffic from diesel to electric traction.
The electrification assets will be leased to Indian Railways, the country’s national railway system, under a long-term lease agreement.

Pakistan successfully test-fires ballistic missile Shaheen-II

Pakistan successfully test-fired surface-to-surface ballistic missile Shaheen-II, capable of hitting targets as far as 1,500 kilometers away.
The Pakistan Army said in a statement that the launch was aimed at ensuring operational readiness of the Army Strategic Forces Command.
Shaheen-II Missile is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads upto a range of 1,500 km.
Shaheen-II is a highly capable missile which fully meets Pakistan’s strategic needs towards maintenance of desired deterrence stability in the region.

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May 24, 2019

International Day for Biological Diversity observed on May 22

With the theme ‘Our Biodiversity, Our Food, Our Health,’ the International Day for Biological Diversity was observed at the District Library Auditorium, Haflong with great enthusiasm.

FACTFILE – The International Day for Biological Diversity (or World Biodiversity Day)

International Day for Biological Diversity is a United Nations–sanctioned international day for the promotion of biodiversity issues.
The International Day for Biological Diversity falls within the scope of the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The critical role of biodiversity in sustainable development was recognized in a Rio+20 outcome document, “The World We Want: A Future for All”.
From its creation by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly in 1993 until 2000, it was held on December 29 to celebrate the day the Convention on Biological Diversity went into effect. On December 20, 2000, the date was shifted to commemorate the adoption of the Convention on May 22, 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit.

Kerala becomes the First State into the Masala Bond market

Kerala became the first state to tap into the Masala Bond market by listing the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board’s (KIIFB’s) Masala Bond worth USD 312 million (Rs 2,150 crore) in London Stock Exchange’s (LSE’s) International Securities Market (ISM).
The Masala Bond has a tenor of 5-year and a 9.723% coupon. Kerala’s state finance minister Thomas Issac executed this move.
The main objective of this initiative was to tap the masala bond market and to rebuild the infrastructure in Kerala from the proceeds of the masala bond.

FACTFILE – Masala bonds

Masala bonds are bonds issued outside India but denominated in Indian Rupees, rather than the local currency.
The term ‘Masala bonds ‘ was used by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to evoke the culture and cuisine of India.
Unlike dollar bonds, where the borrower takes the currency risk, Masala bond makes the investors bear the risk.
The first Masala bond was issued by the World Bank- backed IFC in November 2014 when it raised 1,000 crore bond to fund infrastructure projects in India. Later in August 2015 International Financial Cooperation for the first time issued green masala bonds and raised Rupees 3.15 Billion to be used for private sector investments that address climate change in India.
In July 2016 HDFC raised 3,000 crore rupees from Masala bonds and thereby became the first Indian company to issue masala bonds. In the month of August 2016 public sector unit NTPC issued first corporate green masala bonds worth 2,000 crore rupees.

SpaceX successfully launches 60 internet satellites

SpaceX sent a packed rocket of 60 satellites into space in a key first mission toward building the company’s own high-speed internet network.
The satellites represent the company’s ambitious plan to build an interconnected satellite network to beam high-speed internet to anywhere on the planet.
The Falcon 9 rocket launched from the company’s pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. About an hour after liftoff, SpaceX deployed the 60 Starlink satellites in a “very low Earth orbit” of 440 kilometers above the surface.
The full Starlink network would consist of 11,943 satellites flying close to the planet, closer than the International Space Station.
SpaceX is one of several companies, including Jeff Bezos’ Amazon, which are building these so called “constellations” of interconnected internet satellites.

May 25, 2019

Tripura Gramin Bank posts Rs 125-crore profit

Posting net profit for seven consecutive years, the Tripura Gramin Bank (TGB) is among India’s top three out of 46 regional rural banks (RRBs) in terms of profit, business and growth.
After some of them merger with commercial banks, currently India has 46 RRBs against the earlier 56.
The bank has posted a net profit of Rs 125.45 crore in the fiscal 2018-19 against the net profit of Rs 44.14 crore in 2017-18, and of Rs 56 crore in 2016-17.
The Central government has a 50 per cent stake in TGB, the United Bank of India (UBI) has 35 per cent, while the 15 per cent is held by the Tripura government.
The TGB is the only one among the eight RRBs in the north-eastern region, comprising eight states including Sikkim, that has been making profit successively.
Crossing ther Rs 9,000 landmark for the first time, the TGB grew its volume of business in the last financial year to Rs 9,267.45, which is 11.23 per cent more transacted than the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
“The deposits of the Gramin Bank increased by 12.57 per cent and crossed Rs 6,691.77 crore as on March 31, from Rs 5,944.55 crore on March 31, 2018.
The bank’s Credit Deposit Ratio (CDR) currently stood at 38.49 per cent against the 48 per cent CDR of nationalised banks functioning in the state.
The TGB’s Capital to Risk Assets Ratio in the last fiscal (CRAR) was 18.40 per cent. This, however, is much higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) stipulated ratio of 9 per cent CRAR.
Covering over 75 per cent of Tripura’s four-million population, mostly in the rural and interior areas, TGB’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) as on March 31 this year stood at Rs 230.41 crore, which is 8.95 per cent of the total advance of the bank, against Rs 254.05 crore NPAs as on March 31 last year.
The TGB is the first RRB in India to have been accorded permission by the RBI to start treasury function of the Tripura government and open a currency chest.

DRDO successfully test-fires guided bomb from Sukhoi fighter

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested a 500 kg class Inertial Guided Bomb from the IAF’s frontline Su-30 MKI fighter at the Pokhrantest range in
The guided bomb achieved the desired range and hit the target with high precision.
All the mission objectives have been met and the weapon system is capable of carrying different warheads.
The 2.5 ton supersonic missile air to surface cruise missile with ranges of close to 300 km, was smooth and followed the desired trajectory before directly hitting the land target.

India’s first Tree Ambulance initiated in Chennai

International Day for Biological Diversity tree ambulance was inaugurated in Chennai, Tamil Nadu by Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu.
The initiative was proposed by Green man of India, Dr K Abdul Ghani and it is sponsored by the SASA Group.
The ambulance can be availed through the number 9941006786 and volunteers can register on www.treeambulance.org.
Services provided by Tree Ambulance first-aid treatment are uprooted tree planting, seed bank, seed ball distribution, plant distribution, aiding tree plantation, shifting trees, a survey of trees and removal of dead trees.
The reallocation of trees will be done free of cost.The ambulance has helpers and a plant expert, who carry gardening tools, water, manure, and pesticide with them.

Oman author Jokha Alharthi won the Man Booker International Prize

Jokha Alharthi won “Man Booker International Prize” for her work “Celestial Bodies”. “Celestial Bodies” is the story of three sisters of a desert country confronting its slave-owning past and a complex modern world.
JokhaAlharthi, the first Arabic-language writer to take the prize, will split the 50,000 pounds or 64,000 US dollar purse with her UK-based translator, Marilyn Booth.

FACTFILE – Man Booker International Prize

It is a prize that is presented by the Man Group of United Kingdom.
It is awarded for the “Best book in English translation”.
It carries a reward of £50,000.
The first Man Booker International Prize was awarded in 2005.

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May 26, 2019

BJP won 9 seats and Congress won 3 seats in Assam

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered its highest-ever tally in Assam by winning nine out of 14 Lok Sabha seats.
The ruling party, which fought the election on the issues of development and the face value of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was successful in beating off issues like the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill-2016 as well as charges of non-performance and perceived anti-incumbency.
The BJP this time bagged two seats more than what it had managed to win in 2014, when the party had secured seven parliamentary constituencies riding on the ‘Modi wave’ which was palpably visible at that time.
The final tally in Assam stands at nine seats for the BJP, three for the Congress and one seat each going to the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and to an Independent candidate.
With the BJP registering its best-ever performance both at the national level as well as in Assam, the Lok Sabha poll witnessed some major upsets with heavyweights getting trounced.
The prestigious Guwahati constituency went to the BJP with the ruling party’s Queen Oja winning by a big margin against her nearest Congress rival Bobbeeta Sharma. By this victory, the BJP created history by becoming the first party ever to win from Guwahati constituency for the third consecutive term.
In the final tally, BJP secured Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Tezpur, Autonomous District (Diphu), Karimganj, Silchar, Guwahati and the Mangaldai seats.

President Kovind dissolves 16^thLokSabha

President Ram NathKovinddissolved the 16th LokSabhaon the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.
The Presidential order came a day after Prime Minister NarendraModimet him and informed of the Cabinet recommendation, while also tendering the formal resignation of his Council of Ministers.
The Union Cabinet passed a resolution to dissolve the 16th LokSabhawhich was constituted on May 18, 2014.

Indian Army Lt Gen Shailesh Tinaikar to head UN peacekeeping in South Sudan

Commandant of the Indian Army Infantry School, Lieutenant General ShaileshTinaikar, has been appointed the commander of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the second biggest peacekeeping operation.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that Tinaikar will succeed Lieutenant General Frank Kamanzi of Rwanda who will complete his assignment.
The mission was created in 2011 when South Sudan gained independence from Sudan. Sixty-seven peacekeepers have died while serving in the mission.

NSIL, the commercial arm of ISRO inaugurated in Bengaluru

NewSpace India Limited, that was registered by Department of Space(DoS) as the new commercial arm of ISRO was officially inaugurated in Bengaluru on Thursday by ISRO’s honorary advisor Dr K Kasturirangan along with chairman Dr K Sivan.
NewSpace India Limited, that was registered by Department of Space(DoS) as the new commercial arm of ISRO back in March, was officially inaugurated in Bengaluru on Thursday by ISRO’s honorary advisor Dr K Kasturirangan along with chairman Dr K Sivan.
NSIL will also be at the helm of producing Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to cater to the increasing SSLV market demand, including the supply of various sub-systems for worldwide applications and will.
NSIL would soon conduct a workshop with industry in Bangalore, whose main objective would to build a viable working correlation between ISRO and the industry.

May 27, 2019

Assam’s colleges finds place in nation’s ‘best college’ list by India Today

In a list published recently by India Today, colleges of the state secured ranks in the best college – Sonapur College (89), Silapathar College (95), Barnagar College (107), ADP College (109) in Arts, Jagiroad College in 112^th position and ADP College (115) in Science.
In a list published recently by India Today, out of the 119 best Arts colleges and 120 best Science colleges of the country, Jagiroad College Arts stream emerged at 112th position and the Science stream emerged at the 112th position.
Out of 145 best Commerce colleges, the Commerce stream of Jagiroad College got its 141^st position in the best college list.
In the survey, top three Arts, Science and Commerce colleges of the country are St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi; Miranda House, New Delhi and Sri Ram Commerce College, New Delhi respectively.

Prem Singh Tamang takes oath as the CM of Sikkim

Sikkim KrantikariMorcha (SKM) President Prem Singh Tamang, who is famously known as P.S. Golay, took oath as the Chief Minister of Sikkim.
51 year-old Tamang was administered the oath by Governor Ganga Prasad at Paljor Stadium in Gangtok, Sikkim. He took the oath in Nepali.
SKM won 17 seats in the 32-member assembly, ousting former CM Pawan Kumar Chamling-led Sikkim Democratic Front after over 24 years.
Golay assured the people that his government would work to ensure peace in Sikkim, and for the welfare of all sections.

India-Bangladesh officials discuss border issues

The India-Bangladesh District Magistrate-Deputy Commissioner level meeting to discuss border-related issues including crime as well as terrorism.
The one-day meet would discuss border-related issues including crimes, human trafficking, infiltration and terrorist activities.
Joint patrolling of the Border Security Force and Border Guards Bangladesh and setting up of more “Border Haats” (markets) also be discussed in the meeting.
Apart from District Magistrates of Tripura’s Dhalai, Unakoti and North Tripura districts and Deputy Commissioners of Bangladesh’s Rangamati, Khagrachari and Moulvibazar districts, senior officials of the BSF, the BGB, the Customs, the Geological Survey of India, as well as Superintendents of Police of both the Indian and Bangladeshi districts present at the meet.
Tripura, which is surrounded by Bangladesh from three sides, shares 856-km border with India’s eastern neighbour. All of this, except a nearly 20-km-stretch, is fenced.

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May 28, 2019

Assam launches campaign to control diarrhea

The National Health Mission, Assam launched the Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) campaign and will be targeting at least 34 lakh children across the state.
The fortnight will be observed from May 28 to June 9 this year, the IDCF was launched and observed across the state by district health societies and block level units at all health institutes.
During this fortnight campaign, frontline health workers and other departments stakeholders will be sensitized to prioritize investment in control of diarrhoea, one of the most common childhood illnesses.
It aims to create mass awareness about the most scientific, effective and economic diarrhoea treatment” a combination of Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) solution and zinc tablets.
It may be mentioned here that almost all the deaths due to diarrhoea can be averted by preventing and treating dehydration by use of ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution) and administration of zinc tablets along with adequate nutritional intake by the child.
Diarrhoea can be prevented with safe drinking water, sanitation, proper breastfeeding/appropriate nutrition and hand-washing.

Manipur top among NE States in implementing Ayushman Bharat

Manipur is best among all the North- eastern States in implementing Ayushman Bharat, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and National Health Authority, Government of India, Dr Indu Bhushan said.
AB-PMJAY is a Centrally sponsored health scheme covering free hospitalisation of upto Rs 5 lakh per year per family. The scheme was launched in India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 23, 2018.
Dr Bhushan said, “In the last eight months, about 2,000-3,000 patients in Manipur have benefitted and the State has done very well in terms of reaching out to the beneficiaries.” So far, in the whole country, around 25 lakh families have benefitted from the scheme.

IAF all-woman crew flies Mi-17 chopper for first time

An all-woman crew flew a medium-lift helicopter for the first time in India, The crew, comprising Flight Lieutenant ParulBhardwaj (Captain), Flying Officer AmanNidhi (co-pilot) and Flight Lieutenant HinaJaiswal (flight engineer).
Flew a Mi-17 V5 helicopter for a Battle Inoculation Training Mission, taking off and landing from restricted areas at a forward air base in the South Western Air Command.
Flight Lieutenant Bhardwaj hails from Mukerian in Punjab and is incidentally also the first woman pilot to fly the Mi-17 V5.
Flying Officer Nidhi hails from Ranchi and is also the first woman IAF pilot from Jharkhand while Flying Officer Jaiswal hails from Chandigarh and is the first woman Flight Engineer of the IAF.
The pilots had undergone basic flight training at the Helicopter Training School at Air Force Station, Hakimpet followed by advanced training at Air Force Station, Yelahanka.
The helicopter was certified airworthy by Squadron Leader RichaAdhikari, the unit engineering officer.

US removes India from its currency monitoring list

The Trump administration removed India from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners, citing certain developments and steps being taken by New Delhi which address some of its major concerns.
Switzerland is the other nation that has been removed by the US from its currency monitoring list which among others include China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.
India has been removed from the monitoring list in this report, having met only one out of three criteria a significant bilateral surplus with the US for two consecutive reports.
After purchasing foreign exchange on net in 2017, the central bank steadily sold reserves for most of 2018, with net sales of foreign exchange reaching 1.7 per cent of GDP over the year
In both Switzerland and India, there was a notable decline in 2018 in the scale and frequency of foreign exchange purchases.
Neither Switzerland nor India met the criteria for having engaged in persistent, one-sided intervention in either the October 2018 report
India for the first time was placed by the US in its currency monitoring list of countries with potentially questionable foreign exchange policies in May 2018 along with five other countries – China, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland.

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Assam Current Affairs – May 15 – 21, 2019

Posted on October 14, 2019October 17, 2019 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – May 15 - 21, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of May 15 – 21, 2019 )

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May 15, 2019

India’s smallest Orchids ‘Lecanorchis Taiwaniana‘ discovered in Assam

LecanorchisTaiwaniana (the parasitic bloom), a type of Orchid was accidentally discovered in Assam by Assam’s forest officer named JatindraSarma. He is also the Member Secretary of State Medicinal Plants Board.
The orchid species is already known in Japan, Taiwan and Laos.This is the first time it is discovered in India.
The discovery of LecanorchisTaiwaniana adds to the Orchid wealth of North East India (NEI).
Its discovery was published in the Japanese Journal of Botany with the title as “New record for the flora in India.

FACTFILE – LecanorchisTaiwaniana

LecanorchisTaiwaniana is a mycoheterotroph, which means it is one of the two known types of parasitic plants which have abandoned photosynthesis and derives nutrients and its energy from fungus.
It is a variant of a Japanese orchid.
It is India’s one of smallest botanically recorded Orchids in terms of size and duration of bloom.
India has about 1,300 species of orchids out of which 800 are found in NEI, about 300 species are found in the Western Ghats and 200 in North Western Himalayas.

Indian Navy’s first full-fledged SSB opened at Kolkata

The Indian Navy’s first full-fledged Services Selection Board (SSB) was inaugurated by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil LanbaatDiamond Harbournear Kolkata.
The SSB (Kolkata) is located at a place that was previously occupied by a Naval Coastal Battery.
This is the fifth SSB of the Indian Navy and will cater for selection of both permanent and short service commission (SSC) officers.
The other boards are located in Bhopal, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and
Spread over 27 acres on the banks of Hooghly, the SSB (Kolkata) has the capacity to screen 5,000 officer-candidates annually.
The board can accommodate 160 candidates at a time and has separate facilities and accommodation for men and women candidates.
This SSB will boost the induction of officers, both men and women, into the Indian Navy.
Its location will reduce the travel time and effort for candidates from northern and northeastern parts of the country.

Aarohi Pandit is world’s first woman to fly solo across Atlantic Ocean in Light Sport Aircraft

Aarohi Pandit, 23, has become the world’s first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA).
Pandit completed the feat when she landed at Iqaluit Airport in Canada on 13 May, having flown there from Wick in the UK.
It also made Pandit the first female pilot in the world to successfully complete a solo flight across the Greenland ice cap in an LSA.
Mumbai-based Pandit is flying around the globe as part of the WE! Women Empower Expedition; the expedition is the first all-women team to circumnavigate the world in LSA.
Her aircraft is a single engine Sinus 912 plane, and is the first LSA registered by India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
The aircraft’s cockpit was equipped with a raft, oxygen and other safety gear for the Atlantic crossing.
Pandit embarked on the expedition with fellow pilot KeithairMisquitta in July 2018. They flew across Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat in India, before crossing over Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Serbia, Slovenia, Germany, France and the UK.

May 16, 2019

Manipur drafts solid waste management policy

A policy on solid waste management is at the drafting stage and waiting for approval in Manipur. At the same time, the segregation of municipal solid waste at the household level through urban local bodies (ULBs) is likely to begin in the State from July this year.
Efforts are on to encourage self-help groups (SHGs) to take up roles from the generation point of waste to its disposal in most municipal wards of the State to streamline solid waste management.
The Govt aims to encourage at least one SHG in every ward. This will help in enhancing the solid waste management initiative in the State.

India’s child mortality rate was World’s highest

At 47.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, India in 2015 had more deaths among children under five than any other country, new research has found.
During 2000-2015, the annual mortality among children under five came down from 2.5 million in 2000 to 1.2 million in 2015.
The country had, however, large disparities in the under-five mortality rate between richer and poorer states.
The highest mortality rate, in Assam, was more than seven times that in the western state of Goa.
Although most under five deaths were due to preterm complications, preventable infectious diseases featured prominently as causes of death in higher-mortality states.
For the study, the researchers analysed state-level Indian data on the causes of death among children under five for the years 2000-2015.
In 2017, India’s under-five mortality rate matched the global average (39 deaths per 1,000 live births), according to a report released on September 18, 2018, by the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

CTBTO, the nuclear test ban body offers India ‘observer’ status

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) has offered India an “Observer” status and access to International Monitoring System (IMS) data.
CTBTO runs International Monitoring System (IMS) that constantly monitors the planet for nuclear explosions and shares findings with its member states.
At present, IMS has 337 facilities, located in 89
CTBT is a global treaty with the objective of banning all nuclear explosions across the world. In 1996, it was opened for signature after being adopted by the UN General Assembly. However, the treaty has yet to come into force as it is considered “discriminatory” by several countries including India.
India has not signed the treaty yet as it favours five nuclear weapon states — China, US, Russia, France and UK. India wants the treaty to have a clause on complete nuclear disarmament.

FACTFILE – The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)

CTBTO is an international organization that will be established upon the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, a Convention that outlaws nuclear test explosions.
The organization is tasked with verifying the ban on nuclear tests and will operate therefore a worldwide monitoring system and may conduct on site inspections.
The Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO, and its Provisional Technical Secretariat, were established in 1997 and are headquartered in Vienna, Austria.

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May 17, 2019

Lakhimpur’s Meghashree Borah tops HSLC exam for 2019, Selim Ahmed from Goalpara tops Assam High Madrassa exam

Meghashree Borah of Sankardev Shishu Bidya Niketan (Lakhimpur) and Selim Ahmed of Rakhaldubi High Madrassa (Goalpara) topped the High School Leaving Certificate Examination and the Assam High Madrassa Examination, 2019.
While Meghashree scored 594 out of 600 marks, Selim managed 561 out of 600 marks.
The overall pass percentage of HSLC examination this year was 60.23, an increase from last year’s 56.04 per cent, the success rate for High Madrassa examination this year stood at 58.18 per cent.
Among the districts, Dhemaji once again ruled the roost recording the highest pass percentage of 83.28.
Similarly, in the High Madrassa examination, Baksa recorded the highest pass percentage of 81.01.
A total of 336203 candidates, including 175939 female, appeared in the HSLC examination this year compared to 9127 candidates (including 5446 females) appeared in the High Madrassa examination.

Nagaland gets first Level 2 Food Lab in North East

The Nagaland State Food Laboratory has been upgraded to a Level-2 Laboratory. This is the first state-of-the-art Level-2 food laboratory in the entire North East.
The laboratory has been equipped with three major equipment – liquid chromatography mass spectrometer, gas chromatography mass spectrometer and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer.
For analysing a wide range of food components such as cereals, oils, food products, beverages, spices, sweets, vegetables, additives, etc.,
Besides organic and inorganic parts of food contents like vitamins, proteins, peptides, amino acid hormones, food colours, minerals, etc., and test their purity.
The machinery of the new laboratory, costing Rs 10 crore, was provided as non-recurring grant by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

India supplies two attack helicopters to Afghanistan

As part of its assistance to Afghanistan, India handed over two Mi-24 attack helicopters to Kabul to battle terrorism.
The two helicopter gunships will replace the four supplied in 2015, giving more fire power to the Afghan armed forces.
Indian ambassador to Afghanistan Vinay Kumar, acting Minister of Defense Asadullah Khalid, Air Force Commander Gen. Abdul Rahim Ramin and others attended the handing over ceremony at Kabul air base.
The gunships are being refurbished for Afghanistan by Belarus with financial support from India though Indian Air Force (IAF) is phasing out its own Russian-origin stack helicopters replacing them with Apaches.

May 18, 2019

Arunachal Pradesh holds 35 % of India’s Graphite Reserves

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) in its report said that about 35% of India’s total Graphite reserves are found in Arunachal Pradesh. This is the highest level of Graphite reserves found in the country.
With 35% of India’s Graphite deposits being found in Arunachal Pradesh, the state could now be developed as the leading producer of graphite in the country thus helping in meeting its future needs. At present India imports majority of Graphite from other countries.

FACTFILE – Geological Survey of India (GSI)

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) was set up in 1851 primarily to find coal deposits for the Railways.It is headquartered at Kolkata.
Geological Survey of India (GSI) is one of the oldest of such organisations in the world.
It is the second oldest survey in India after the Survey of India.It conducts geological surveys and studies of India.
The objectives of GSI are achieved through various surveys like the marine, airborne, ground and also by mineral prospecting and investigations.
It also undertakes multi-disciplinary studies like geo-environmental, geoscientific, geotechnical and natural hazards studies, glaciology, seismotectonic study, and carrying out fundamental research.

BSNL Partners with Google to expand Wi-Fi Footprint

On the occasion of World Telecom Day, state-run telecom major BSNL has partnered with Google to increase access to its Wi-Fi footprint in the country.
With the launch of this service, people across the country will be able to enjoy BSNL’s free Wi-Fi services.
This initiative will allow customers use BSNL’s high speed internet services on Wi-Fi.
BSNL is also taking steps to increase the rural Wi-Fi footprint, promoting the government’s ‘Digital India’ initiative.
There are 38,000 BSNL Wi-Fi hotspot locations operational in India.

Meghalaya-Assam CMs to resume talks on border dispute

Chief Ministers of Meghalaya and Assam are slated to resume stalled talks over the disputed boundary between the two States after the LokSabha election results are declared.
Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister, PrestoneTynsong said, the stalled talks over the boundary dispute is likely to be held in early June.
Periodic talks were held between the two States over the decades-old boundary dispute. Following talks between the two Chief Ministers, Chief Secretaries of the two States held bilateral talks a few years back to resolve the issue.
Meghalaya on its part has handed over maps and other documents to the Assam Government staking claim over the disputed area.
Little development has taken place after handing over these documents to Assam by the Meghalaya Government.

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May 19, 2019

Mizoram policy aims to make sports big industry

The ambitious sports policy of the Mizoram Government aims to turn sports into a major industry, State Sports Minister Robert Romawia Royte has said.
Minister Royte said making Mizoram the first State to make sports a revenue-earning subject is one of the basic objectives of the policy which, he said, would be rolled out within 365 days from the day the MNF Government assumed office.
Reorganisation and promotion of those disciplines recognised by the International Olympic Committee as well those indigenously practised and regarded as culturally and intrinsically important by the locals are also among the objectives of the policy.
Restructuring of the sports associations and bodies within the State will also come under the ambit of the sports policy.
The sports policy aims to develop sports into a lucrative profession in Mizoram, and to start with, a centre of excellence would be established at Siaha for young talents who aspire to build a career in boxing.
The Mizoram Government has approved of the Mizoram State Games, an annual event, for which Rs 150 lakh has been allocated this year.

India ranked 117^thin Kids Right Index

India stands in a lowly 117th position out of 181 countries in the KidsRight Index, the annual global index which ranks how countries adhere to and are equipped to improve child rights.
Countries are judged on five indicators: right to life, right to education, right to health, right to protection and enabling environment for child rights.
KidsRights Index is an initiative of Kids Right Foundation in cooperation with Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
They release annual reports every year by pooling data from UNICEF, UNDP and UN Committee on the Rights of the Child by considering individual country reports.
India has a score of 0.64 out of 1 in the overall category. Out of all categories, it performed better in protection and child rights environment and secured 94th rank with a score of 0.8 in the protection category and performed worst in the health indicator being ranked 153 with a score of 0.54.
Around 45 per cent of children in our country are malnourished and India spends only 1.2 per cent of its GDP on health and 3.7 per cent on education, when the international standard on education is 6 per cent.
When it comes to the child rights environment, India has scored 0.57 and ranks 85.93. This indicator considers legislation, budget, non-discrimination and participation of children.
According to the KidsRights Index, some economically developed countries such as the UK and New Zealand have also scored poorly on the basic principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Govt plans to introduce artificial intelligence system in MCA 21 portal

Corporate affairs ministry plans to introduce artificial intelligence system in the MCA 21 portal as it seeks to make compliance process easier as well as ensure routine enforcement activities are done round-the-clock on autopilot basis.
MCA 21 is the electronic backbone for the dissemination of information to all stakeholders, including the regulator, corporates and investors.
All filings under the companies law are submitted to the ministry through this portal.
The ministry would look to “introduce Artificial Intelligence in MCA 21 when version 3 of the portal is rolled out in about a year’s time”.
It will look to rationalise all the forms, follow the principle of a single source of truth so that one is not required to fill in known details and also interlink databases, so that routine enforcement is done 24×7 on autopilot basis.
MCA 21 allows electronic filings of various documents under Companies Act, 2013 and has fully automated all processes related to enforcement and compliance monitoring under the Act.
MCA 21 system was started in 2006. The first phase of the e-governance initiative of the ministry was implemented by Tata Consultancy Services and the second phase is being implemented by Infosys for the period from January 2013-July 2021.

May 20, 2019

Ministry of Environment to create DNA Database of Indian Rhinos

Union Ministry of Environment announced a project to create DNA Database for Indian Rhinos.
This is done in order to curb poaching and collect evidence for wildlife crimes upon Rhinos. The deadline to meet this project is 2021.
The database will be kept in the Wildlife Institute of India(WII) headquartered in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
The proponents of this project include the World Wide Fund for Nature-India(WWF-India) and the Centre-funded Wildlife Institute of India.

FACTFILE – The Wildlife Institute of India(WII)

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of India.
It was established in May 1982.
WII carries out wildlife research in areas of study like Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Wildlife Policy, Wildlife Management, Wildlife Forensics, Spatial Modeling, Ecodevelopment, Ecotoxicology, Habitat Ecology and Climate Change. WII has a research facility which includes Forensics, Remote Sensing and GIS, Laboratory, Herbarium, and an Electronic Library.
The founder director was V. B. Saharia while the first Director was Hemendra Singh Panwar who remained the director from 1985 to 1994.
Vinod B. Mathur is the Director of Wildlife Institute of India

Meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers of SCO

External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj will be attending the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of Shanghai Cooperation Organization to be held in Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic) on 21-22 May 2019.
This will be the second CFM meeting that India will be attending as a full member of SCO. External Affairs Minister had also attended the last CFM meeting in Beijing (China) on 23-24 April 2018.
India actively took part in various SCO dialogue mechanisms under the Chairmanship of the Kyrgyz Republic over the past year.
The CFM meeting in Bishkek will review the preparations for the forthcoming SCO Summit in Bishkek on 13-14 June 2019 and also exchange views on topical issues of international and regional importance.
External Affairs Minister’s programme in Bishkek will include the meeting of Council of SCO Foreign Ministers and a joint call of SCO Foreign Ministers on Kyrgyz President H.E. Mr.Sooranbay Jeenbekov.

Indian Scientist Ankur Patwardhan wins German chemistry prize

In a international competition ‘Elsevier Foundation-ISC3 Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge’, a project idea by Ankur Patwardhan from Pune has bagged the second prize of €25,000.
His project named ‘Butterfly attractant for pollination and ecosystem health’ is about the relation between chemistry and ecosystem.
Patwardhan is currently working as head of the ‘AnnasahebKulkarni Biodiversity Department’ at AbasahebGarware College, Pune.
This competition received 600 applications from around the world. Out of them, 50 were shortlisted and the final five were selected for presentation in the 4th Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference in Germany.
AnkurPatwardhan developed the project idea with the help of TejaswiniPachpor and DattatrayNaik.
Patwardhan serves as a member of the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board. He is also the president of a high-level committee appointed by the Centre on Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani Eco-Sensitive Zone.

World Metrology Day on 20 May

World Metrology Day is an annual celebration of the signature of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875 by representatives of seventeen nations.
The Convention set the framework for global collaboration in the science of measurement and in its industrial, commercial and societal applications.
The original aim of the Metre Convention – the world-wide uniformity of measurement – remains as important today as it was in 1875.
The theme for World Metrology Day 2019 is The International System of Units – Fundamentally better.
This theme was chosen because on 16 November 2018, the General Conference on Weights and Measures agreed perhaps one of the most significant revisions to the International System of Units (the SI) since its inception. Research into new measurement methods, including those using quantum phenomena, underpin the change, which comes into force on 20 May 2019.

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May 21, 2019

Meghalaya Govt to implement Free Drug Policy and promote herbal medicines

In its bid to provide free medicines to every citizen in the State, the Meghalaya Government held a review meeting on Wednesday to gear up for the implementation of the Free Drug Policy.
A total of 72 essential medicines will be made free of cost for the people of the State.
The government will have to spend Rs 100 crore annually for implementation of the Free Drug Policy in the State.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma held a meeting with the State Health and Family Welfare Minister AL Hek and a scientist from IIT Kanpur to discuss the possibilities and way ahead to promote indigenous and herbal medicines. This will pave the way for traditional healers in Meghalaya to improve their economic status and also help preserve the traditional way of healing besides boosting health tourism in the State.
There are more than 500 traditional healers in Meghalaya who are registered with the State.

Shyam Saran to be conferred with Japan’s ‘Order of the Rising Sun’ award

Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran will be conferred with Japan’s second highest national award for his contributions to strengthen the strategic ties and enhancing mutual understanding between India and
The Government of Japan announced that in its 2019 Spring Imperial Decorations, it will confer 72-year-old Saran, ‘the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star’.
Saran, who was India’s Foreign Secretary during 2004-2006, has played an important role to elevate Japan-India relationship to strategic partnership.
During his tenure, the then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited India for the first time in 5 years.
Saran’s contributions in strengthening mutual understanding between Japan and India includes “India Festival”, which was held in Japan in 1988, when he was Deputy Chief of Mission of Embassy of India in Japan.
Since 2017, Saran has been enhancing mutual understanding between the two countries, such as by hosting an “India-Japan Colloquium,”
The Order of the Rising Sun is a Japanese government honour established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji.

Tech Mahindra signed a defence contract with Indian Navy

IT major Tech Mahindra has signed a defence contract worth Rs 300 crore, As part of the ‘Armed Forces Secure Access Card’ (AFSAC) Project, Tech Mahindra will implement RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) based access control system across all naval bases and ships.
The new AFSAC card will replace the existing paper based identity card for all Navy personnel, including dependents and ex-servicemen.
The Mumbai-based company will develop a secure application to manage the access control devices, network devices and the AFSAC card through a data centre.
Scheduled to be implemented over the next two years, the project will ensure smooth issuance, handling, administration, management and life cycle support of AFSAC Cards on turnkey basis.
Tech Mahindra is already working with entities like Coal India, India Ports Association, Kanpur Smart City and others.
The security of Indian Naval establishments against unauthorized access, is a thrust area and the AFSAC Project will be an important step towards achieving this aim.

Anti-terrorism day observed on May 21

May 21, the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is observed as Anti-Terrorism Day in India, to spread the message of peace and humanity and to promote unity among the people. The purpose is to spread the message of global peace and non-violence and stop youngsters from following cult practices and being misguided.
Anti-Terrorism Day also honours the sacrifices made by thousands of soldiers who fought against terrorism. It’s a day to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in terrorist attacks.
Rajiv Gandhi became the youngest prime minister of the country when he was sworn in at the age of 40 as the sixth Prime Minister of India after his mother Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984.

Rafael Nadal Won the Italian Open 2019

Rafael Nadal has won a record 34th ATP Masters 1000 title by defeating Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open final 2019.
In his 9th Rome title, Nadal dominated in a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 win broke a tie with his longtime rival Djokovic. For his victory, Nadal received 1,000 ATP Ranking points and earned ₹7.5 crore.
After three semi-final defeats in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid, Nadal has returned to his best form ahead of Roland Garros and clinched his first title of the season.

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Assam Current Affairs – May 08 – 14, 2019

Posted on October 14, 2019October 17, 2019 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – May 8 - 14, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of May 8 – 14, 2019 )

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May 08, 2019

Tezpur University, Queen’s University Belfast sign pact to tap human resources

In a bid to tap human resources, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Prof. VK Jain, Vice-Chancellor of Tezpur University (TU) and Prof. Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) in the presence of key functionaries from both the universities.
The MoU has a number of provisions for the benefit of the students and faculty members of both the universities. As per the agreement, sponsored scholars will be nominated by Tezpur University for admission to a collaborative research degree programme (CRDP) at Queen’s University.
A CRDP is a formal arrangement of joint supervision at PhD level by an academic each from both the universities. The maximum period of stay at Queen’s University will be two semesters for the scholars under the schools of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) and Management Sciences (MS), and six semesters for scholars of schools of Sciences and Engineering.
The scholars who are registered for a PhD programme at TU will be able to undertake a research internship at Queen’s University. The maximum period of stay at Queen’s University shall be two months for HSS and MS scholars and two semesters for science and engineering scholars.
High achieving scholars from TU who have commenced their studies in certain programmes (M Tech, M Sc, MA, MBA and B Tech) will be able to undertake project work or a research internship at Queen’s University with joint supervision. There will be exchange of visits by TU and QUB staff for collaborative research, teaching and discussion.

World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day celebrated on May 8

World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, an annual celebration of the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, is celebrated on 8 May each year.
This date is the anniversary of the birth of Henry Dunant, who was born on 8 May 1828. He was the founder of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize.
Having considered the principles of the truce and its applicability across different regions of the world, the proposal of an annual International Red Cross Day was adopted and the first Red Cross Day was celebrated on 8 May 1948.
The day is celebrated every year to commemorate the principles of International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Post World War I, Red Cross was introduced in order to call for peace as part of international commission of 14th International Conference of the Red Cross.
The day is celebrated annually to reduce the suffering of people and enabling them to lead a dignified life.
It is celebrated by Red Cross Organisations across the world by helping people with independence, humanity, impartiality, universality, unity and neutrality – the fundamental principles of the organisation.

Microsoft unveils its own Blockchain-based service

Microsoft has unveiled fully-managed Azure Blockchain Service that would simplify the formation, management and governance so that businesses can focus on workflow logic and application development.
Instead of supporting cryptocurrency transactions, Azure Blockchain Service will let businesses develop their applications on its Cloud-based platform.
Microsoft has also announced a partnership with P. Morgan to make “Quorum” the first ledger available in Azure Blockchain Service.
With a few simple clicks, users can create and deploy a permissioned Blockchain network and manage consortium policies using an intuitive interface in the Azure portal.
IBM and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have already started Blockchain-based services.
With Azure Blockchain Service and Ethereumintegrations for tools like VS Code, Microsoft is demonstrating its commitment to open Blockchain development.

FACTFILE – Blockchain

A blockchain, originally block chain, is a growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data.
By design, a blockchain is resistant to modification of the data. It is an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.
For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for inter-node communication and validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without alteration of all subsequent blocks, which requires consensus of the network majority.
Although blockchain records are not unalterable, blockchains may be considered secure by design and exemplify a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance.

Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian appointed Advisory Council Memberof Finance Commission

The Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) to Union Government, Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian is appointed as the 12^thmember of the Advisory Council of the 15th Finance Commission (FC).

FACTFILE – Advisory Council of the 15th Finance Commission (FC)

It now has 12 members, which include noted economists SurjitBhalla, ArvindVirmani, Indira Rajaraman and M GovindaRao among others.
Role and Function of the Advisory Council:
- To advise FC on any relevant matter or subject related to Terms of Reference (ToR) of Commission.
- To assist FC in preparing any research paper or study which would enhance the commission’s understanding on issues contained in its ToR.
- To help expand FC’s understanding in adopting the best national and international practices on matters of fiscal devolution.To help improve quality, reach and enforcement of FC recommendations.

FACTFILE – Finance Commission

It is constituted under Article 280 of the Constitution by the President of India.
It mainly gives its recommendations on tax devolution i.e. distribution of tax revenues between Union and States, and amongst states themselves.
It is appointed for a period of five years and comprise of five member including one chairman and four other members.

FACTFILE – 15^th Finance Commission

It was constituted in November 2017, to give recommendations for tax devolution and other fiscal matter for five fiscal years, 1 April 2020- 31 March 2025.
It is chaired by N. K. Singh, and members Ajay Narayan Jha, Ashok Lahiri and Anoop Singh.
Ramesh Chand is a part-time member in FC.

May 09, 2019

Assam Govt plans to boost inland water transport in State

The State Government is working on a proposal, concerning the Inland Water Transport (IWT) sector, to provide incentives, in the form of subsidies, to the owners of the registered mechanised boats so as to enable them operate on both the Brahmaputra and the Barak rivers, complying with the safety norms.
The proposal includes subsidies on marine engines and free supply of safety gears and insurance covers, among others.
The process to revamp the IWT Directorate of the State is on. The State Government has decided to create four separate bodies out of the IWT Directorate.
These are – the IWT Directorate, the IWT Regulatory Authority, the IWT Vessel Construction Company and the IWT Port Construction Company.
The proposal to provide incentives to the mechanised boat owners is mooted as a component under the US $ 150 million worth Phase-I of a World Bank-assisted scheme.
This proposal titled – Jibandinga’ – is under study and an agreement has been signed with the Indian Registrar of Shipping for the purpose of providing technical guidance to the Assam Inland Water Development Society, formed to implement the World Bank-assisted schemes.
There are 1,383 registered mechanized boats in the State and there are between 1,500 and 2,000 mechanised boats which are yet to be registered with the IWT Directorate of the State.

Engineers at IIT Bombay develop AJIT microprocessor Made in India

Engineers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) have developed a microprocessor called AJIT, the first to be conceptualised, designed, developed and manufactured in India.
The project was funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and IIT Bombay.
Powai Labs, a Mumbai-based company, has invested in the venture, and will own, market and support the product.
Madhav Desai of the electrical engineering department and his team of nine researchers from IIT Bombay designed and developed the processor entirely at the institute.
Desai and his team developed a tool set called AHIR-V2, which can convert an algorithm to hardware to design the microprocessor circuit.
AJIT is a medium-sized processor. It can be used inside a set top box, as a control panel for automation systems, in a traffic light controller or even robotic systems.

Government of India introduces FAME II Scheme

Government of India introduced the FAME II scheme to boost the adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles.

FACTFILE – FAME II scheme

The scheme estimates that India as a country can save 64% of anticipated road-based mobility related energy demand and 37% of carbon emissions in 2030 by pursuing a shared, electric and connected mobility future.
This reduction in energy demand would result in the reduction of 156 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in diesel and petrol consumption for that year and net saving of approximately $60 billion in 2030 at present oil prices.
Further, this would give impetus to India’s vision of reducing oil imports by 10% by 2022.
India needs these schemes as the transport sector in India continues to be the highest oil consuming sector and the use of diesel and petrol grew at 5.9% and 9.9% respectively in the last 10 years. India’s import dependency on oil has increased from 78.3% of total consumption in 2014-15 to settling at a new high of 83.7% in the 10-month period of FY19.

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May 10, 2019

Tirobhav Tithi of Harihar Atoi observed at Madhupur Satra

The Tirobhav Tithi of Harihar Atoi, the principle disciple of Madhabdev was observed with religious fervour at Haripur-Madhupur Satra.
Harihar Atoi established a number of Satras in western Assam and North Bengal and played an important role in spreading Satriya culture in these areas.
Although this saint is credited with immense contribution towards the Vaishnavite way of life, and had established many Satras in this part of the nation, but till date only Haripur-Madhupur Satra and Bhanukumari Satra recall his stellar contributions.

India joins US, Japan, & Philippines for naval drills in South China Sea

Two Indian naval ships joined their counterparts from the US, Japan, and The Philippines for a “Group Sail” exercise through the contested waters of the South China Sea, underlining India’s commitment to working with partners to ensure safe and open sea lanes.
Incidentally, the two ships –INS Kolkata and Shakti — that participated in the “Group Sail” were the same vessels that took part in the International Fleet Review in China’s port city of Qingdao.
The exercise comes at a time when India has been warily looking at increased Chinese activity in the northern Indian Ocean, traditionally seen as India’s backyard.
The Group Sail was aimed at deepening existing partnership and foster mutual understanding among participating navies.

FDA Approves First Vaccine for Dengue

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first vaccine to prevent dengue disease caused by all dengue virus serotypes (1, 2, 3, and 4) for people aged 9 through 16 years who have previously had laboratory-confirmed dengue infection and who live in endemic areas.
In clearing the vaccine, the agency acknowledged the serious public health benefit of slowing a disease that affects hundreds of millions of people around the world.
The decision may also help a struggling product whose use has stalled because of concerns over its possible risks.
Sanofi has sold Dengvaxia overseas since 2015, but the vaccine hit a major roadblock in 2017 after the Philippines, which had widely distributed the product to schoolchildren.
That decision came after Sanofi announced that in rare cases, if people who never had dengue were vaccinated and later became infected, the vaccine might provoke a much more severe form of the illness.
More than one-third of the world’s population lives in areas at risk for infection with the dengue virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

May 11, 2019

Tea Estate managements set to face more heat

Tea garden managements in the State, particularly those violating labour and employment laws, may have to pay the price now. The State labour department has begun inspecting the tea estates to verify if the managements are complying with the labour laws.
The labour department has also taken a stern view of the gardens failing to implement the interim wage hike. Most of such erring gardens are located in Barak valley.
Last year in July, the State government had enhanced daily wages of tea workers by an interim amount of Rs 30 per day, with retrospective effect from March 1 that year.
The workers will get the interim hike till the finalisation of the revised minimum wages, which is likely to be fixed once the committee on minimum wages headed by senior bureaucrat Kumar Sanjay Krishna submits its report.
Some gardens have failed to implement the interim wage hike and pay the arrears. With the interim hike, workers in Brahmaputra valley are entitled to a daily wage of Rs 167, while those of Barak valley get Rs 145 along with an “attendance allowance”.
There are around 12.5 lakh tea workers in some 850 gardens in both the valleys.

National Technology Day 2019 observed on May 11

Observed every year on May 11, National Technology Day acts as a reminder of India’s technological advancements. Notably, on this day, India successfully tested Shakti-I nuclear missile at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan.
The operation was called Operation Shakti or Pokhran-II.Two days later, India successfully test fired two nuclear weapons as part of Operation Shakti.
The initial five tests were conducted on May 11, when three nuclear bombs were exploded while recording an earthquake of 5.3 Richter scale in the nearby seismic stations. Remaining of the two tests were carried out on May 13.
National Technology Day highlights the importance of science in daily life and encourages youngsters to embrace it as a career option.
The day also marks the flight of Hansa-3, India’s first indigenous aircraft, that was flown in Bengaluru when the nuclear tests were being organized in Rajasthan.
May 11, 1998 was also the day the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) accomplished the last test-fire of the Trishul missile, which was then introduced into service by the Indian Air Force and Indian Army.

**Indo-French naval exercise Varuna concludes**

The biggest Indo-French naval exercise yet, Varuna-19, concluded off Goa in with close range manouvers conducted by the carrier task forces of both the navies.
Dignitaries from both navies visited the French carrier task force and were briefed on the conduct of the exercise.
An impressive flypast consisting of four Rafale, five MiG 29-Ks and one Hawkeye was witnessed by Flag Officer Commander in Chief of the Western region and the French Ambassador to India and nine French dignitaries onboard the French Carrier Charles De Gaulle.
The exercise concluded with the Indian Navy and French Navy helicopters carrying out extensive cross deck operations for personnel transfer.
The bilateral naval exercise initiated in 1983 and christened as ‘Varuna’ in 2001, forms a vital part of the Indo-French strategic partnership and has grown in scope and complexity over the years.

UN to hold 2020 Ocean Conference in Lisbon

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) decided to hold its 2020 high-level conference early June in Portugal’s Lisbon to support the sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources.
The UNGA “decides to convene the high-level 2020 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development in Lisbon, from June 2 to 6, 2020.
The UNGA also decided that the conference shall “involve all relevant stakeholders,” bringing together governments, the UN system, intergovernmental organizations and all other actors to assess challenges and opportunities relating to, as well as actions taken toward, the implementation of Goal 14.
The UNGA “decides that the overarching theme of the conference shall be “scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14, stocktaking, partnerships and solutions.

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May 12, 2019

Temperature projected to rise by 1.7°C in Manipur by end of 21^st Century

Temperature is projected to rise by over 1.7°C by the end of the 21st century in Manipur, the scientists of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) centres.
Trend analysis of weather variables in Imphal under National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture revealed that the mean annual maximum temperature (1954–2014) has been increasing by 0.1°C per decade, said the scientists in their research paper published in Current Science journal in 2018-end.
The 20-page report called ‘Climate resilient agriculture in Manipur: status and strategies for sustainable development’ is the result of a year-long work by eleven ICAR scientists who have reviewed more than 40 sources of information.
Precipitation rate in northern parts of Manipur is expected to increase. It is also projected that the extreme rainfall events (100 mm/day) will become more frequent while the southern districts are expected to experience higher temperatures than that of the northern districts.
Interestingly, there are enormous gene pool of rice (more than 269 local varieties), maize, legumes, tuber crops, turmeric, ginger and chillies in Manipur which also houses more than 500 orchid varieties, 1200 species of medicinal plants, 50 species of fleshy fungi, 121 algae and a few moses, 200 plus fish species, 73 different types of birds, 31 endemic mammals, more than 53 species of bamboo, etc.
It may be mentioned that the total food grain production in Manipur during 2014-15 was 594.28 thousand tonnes from the cultivated area of 2,92,950 ha.
Sustainable intensification of climate change action in Manipur requires introduction of climate ready varieties/species/breeds, organic nutrient management, increase in water availability especially during lean period and integrated farming system-based approach with special emphasis on carbon sequestration and waste management.

IAF gets its first Apache attack helicopter

Boeing handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) the first of the 22 Apache attack helicopters that India had contracted to buy in September 2015 for about $3 billion at current prices.
Air Marshal A S Butola traveled to Boeing’s helicopter production facility at Mesa, Arizona, to attend the handing over ceremony, alongside US government officials.
The Apaches are being acquired through a hybrid contract. The helicopter itself has been contracted through a “direct commercial sale” with
The Apache is widely acknowledged to be the world’s most lethal combat helicopter, having flown about a million mission hours in conflicts from the First Gulf War in 1991 to the ongoing fighting in Afghanistan. It can operate by day or night with equal effectiveness, flying just metres above the ground and sheltering behind trees and sand dunes.
Its advanced Longbow radar picks up enemy armoured vehicles and then destroys them with anti-tank missiles, air-to-surface rockets or a chain gun that sends 625 rounds per minute ripping into the targets.

Republic of Ireland declared Climate Emergency

Republic of Ireland has become the second country in the world to declare a climate emergency. Earlier on 1st May 2019, Britain’s parliament became the first in the world to declare a climate emergency.
The climate emergency declaration was passed by both the government and opposition parties of Ireland unanimously. Both agreed to an amendment to ‘Oireachtas report on Climate Action’ (a parliamentary report on climate action).
Targets to be undertaken include becoming carbon-neutral by 2030, introduce electric car hubs or build sustainable homes to try to achieve that goal.
The Oireachtas Climate Action report that started the Irish declaration came from a Citizens’ Assembly report.
The Citizens’ Assembly will next be considering the issue of a biodiversity emergency.

FACTFILE – The Citizens’ Assembly

Ireland’s Citizens’ assembly was established in 2016 for considering several political questions like referendums, abortion, population ageing, fixed term parliaments and climate change etc.
The report produced by it is to be considered by the Oireachtas (Ireland’s Legislature).

Japan tests world’s fastest bullet train

Japan has started testing its fastest-ever bullet train – capable of reaching 400 kilometers per hour (249 mph) – as it continues to develop the revolutionary mode of travel.
The ALFA-X version of the Shinkansen train began three years’ of test runs.Alfa-X is expected to start operations around 2030 and will run at speeds of up to 360 kph, thus earning the title of the world’s fastest bullet train.
Alfa-X train is packed with the latest technological features like – vibration sensors, temperature sensors – and its distinct 72 ft long aerodynamic nose is dramatically elongated to minimise noise and pressure when passing through tunnels.
This bullet train will be even faster than Fuxing train in China, which runs 10 kph slower than Alfa-X.

FACTFILE – ALFA-X

The Class E956, branded “ALFA-X” is a ten-car experimental Shinkansen train operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan to test technology to be incorporated into future shinkansen trains operating in service at speeds of up to 360 km/h (220 mph).
The name is an acronym for “Advanced Labs for Frontline Activity in rail eXperimentation”. The first train was unveiled on May 9, 2019.

May 13, 2019

WTO Ministerial Meeting of Developing Countries began in New Delhi

The two-day meeting is being held at a time when the multilateral rule-based-trading system is facing serious and grave challenges. The meeting will provide an opportunity for the Ministers to discuss various issues and the way forward.
Sixteen developing countries and six Least Developed Countries, LDCs are participating in the meeting.
It includes China, South Africa, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh. The Director-General of WTO Roberto Azevedo is also participating in the meeting.

In two-day meeting following issues are likely to be discussed:

Finding a solution to the ongoing impasse in the Appellate Body on an urgent basis
Issues of importance and priority for developing countries including LDCs in the reform agenda.
How to reinvigorate negotiating agenda on issues of critical importance for developing countries?
How to ensure effective S&D for all developing countries including LDCs?

Contract signed between Konkan Railways and Nepal Railways

India and Nepal have inked a deal on procurement of two diesel operated trains. The contract agreement was signed between India’s Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd and Nepal’s Department of Railways to supply two 1600 HP Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) train sets.
It was signed in Kathmandu in the presence of ManjeevPuri, Indian Ambassador to Nepal and Madhusudan Adhikari, Nepal’s Secretary, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.
According to agreement, Nepal will procure two diesel-operated trains, which will arrive in Nepal within five months.
Each train set will comprise of three trailer cars with one air conditioned, one driving power car and one driving trailer car with standard accessories.
These trains will be used to operationalise the 34 km long railway corridor stretch which links Jayanagar in Bihar, India and Kurtha in Dhanusa district, Nepal.
The 34 kmsJayanagar-Kurtha Railway Link was built by IRCON (Ircon International Limited, a construction and engineering PSU in transport infrastructure) with a financial grant from Indian Government under the India-Nepal Development Partnership programme.
The trains will be manufactured by Integrated Coach Factory (owned and operated by Indian Railways) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Novak Djokovic won Madrid Open 2019 title

Novak Djokovic, the World No. 1 tennis player has won the 2019 Mutua Madrid Open title.
He defeated StefanosTsitsipas, the Greek tennis player and secured 6-3, 6-4.
With the win, he equaled Rafael Nadal’s record of 33 ATP Masters 1000 titles.
It is also Djokovic’s 200^thvictory against a Top 10 opponent.

BIOGRAPHY – Novak Đoković

Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 1 in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Djokovic has won 16 Grand Slam singles titles, five ATP Finals titles, 33 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles, 13 ATP Tour 500 titles, and has held the No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings for over 270 weeks.
In majors, he has won a record seven Australian Open titles, five Wimbledon titles, three US Open titles, and one French Open title.
By winning the 2016 French Open, he became the eighth player in history to achieve the Career Grand Slam and the third man to hold all four major titles at once, the first since Rod Laver in 1969 and the first ever to do so on three different surfaces.
He is the first and only male player to have won all nine of the Masters 1000 tournaments.
Djokovic is the first Serbian player to be ranked No. 1 by the ATP and the first male player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title.
He is a six-time ITF World Champion and a five-time ATP year-end No. 1 ranked player.

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May 14, 2019

Survey of rivers soon to detect encroachments

The Kamrup Metro district administration in collaboration with all departments concerned will carry out a survey of the Bharalu and Pamohi rivers soon to detect encroachments in these two rivers.
Bharalu and Pamohi, two main channels which carry water from various parts of Guwahati during the rainy season, are badly hit by encroachment mainly because of which the city faces tremendous waterlogging.
It is noteworthy that although all departments concerned have been spending crores of rupees to mitigate the menace of waterlogging in Guwahati, there is still a lack of any long-term planning.
Desiltation of the drains in a continuous manner is the one and only solution left for all the departments to pump out excess water from the city during the rainy season.

DRDO successfully conducts flight test of ABHYAS

India successfully conducted the flight test of ABHYAS – High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) from a test range in Odisha.
The trial, carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Balasore, was tracked by various radars and electro-optic systems.
The configuration of ABHYAS is designed on an in-line small gas turbine engine and it uses indigenously developed MEMS based navigation system.
It proved its performance in a fully autonomous way point navigation mode.

FACTFILE – The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

DRDO is an agency of the Government of India, charged with the military’s research and development, headquartered in New Delhi, India.
It was formed in 1958 by the merger of the Technical Development Establishment and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production with the Defence Science Organisation.
It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.

Young Scientist Programme – Yuvika2019

The Young Scientist Programme ‘Yuvika2019’ was inaugurated by Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan.
The two-week residential summer vacation programme spread over four ISRO centres in Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad and Shillong are attended by 110 students.
While inaugurating the programme, ISRO Chairman mentioned that the programme will help in inculcating scientific temper in the students.
He also touched upon how the applications of Space technology is helping in the day to day activities of common man besides ensuring the safety of life and property during disaster situations.
Dr Sivan also said that programmes like this will lead to national integration and nation building.
The participants will be visiting the spaceport of India, SatishDhawan Space Centre in Shriharikota during this programme.

World Migratory Bird Day observed in Manipur

The first-ever World Migratory Bird Day was observed at Azuram, a remote village under Tousem sub-division in Manipur’s Tamenglong district.
Azuram village has been recognised by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals for providing safe passage to Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis) during their annual migration through Manipur.
The event, which was initiated by the Youths Club and the villagers, and was attended by children, church leaders and women.
The members of the Corbett Foundation (TCF) also took part in the event and appealed to the people to save flora and fauna.

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Assam Current Affairs – May 01 – 07, 2019

Posted on October 14, 2019October 17, 2019 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – May 1 - 7, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of May 1 – 7, 2019 )

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May 01, 2019

International Workers’ Day celebrated on May 1

International Workers’ Day, also known as Workers’ Day, Labour Day and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement which occurs every year on May Day (1 May), an ancient European spring festival.
The date was chosen by a pan-national organization of socialist and communist political parties to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago on 4 May 1886.
The 1904 Sixth Conference of the Second International, called on “all Social Democratic Party organisations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on the First of May for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace.
The first May Day celebration in India was organized in Chennai by the LabourKisan Party of Hindustan on 1 May 1923.

India ranks 4^thin biggest military spender

India was the world’s fourth biggest military spender last year behind the United States, China, and Saudi Arabia, according to new data think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
France also figures on the list of top five spenders that together accounted for 60% of the global military spending in 2018.
China was the second-largest military spender last year. Beijing increased its military expenditure by 5% to $250 billion in 2018. It accounted for 14% of global military spending.
India’s military spending went up by 3.1% to $66.5 billion. India accounts for 3.7% of the global defence spending.
With military spending of $11.4 billion, Pakistan was at the 20th place on the list of the leading military spenders.

FACTFILE – Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

SIPRI is an international institute based in Sweden, dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public.
SIPRI is based in Stockholm, Sweden
SIPRI was ranked among the top three non-US world-wide think tanks in 2014 by the University of Pennsylvania Lauder Institute’s Global Go To Think Tanks Report.
In 2016 it ranked SIPRI in the top twenty eight among think tanks globally.

Indian Navy to have 8 anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft

The Defence Ministry has awarded a contract of worth Rs 6,311 crore to Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) to build eight anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft (ASWSWC) for the Indian Navy.
The contract worth Rs 6,311.32 crore was signed today by Joint Secretary and Acquisition Manager (Maritime Systems) Ravi Kant on behalf of Ministry of Defenceand S SDogra, Director (Finance), on behalf of GRSE, in New Delhi.
As per the agreement, the first ship is to be delivered within 42 months from the date of signing of the contract and subsequently, two ships are required to be delivered per year. The project completion time is 84 months.
The vessels are equipped with highly advanced state-of-the-art integrated platform management systems including propulsion machinery, auxiliary machinery, power generation, and distribution machinery and damage control machinery.
The GRSE is currently handling major projects to make three Stealth Frigates for Indian Navy under P17A Project, ASW Corvettes for Indian Navy, LCUs for Indian Navy, four Survey Vessels (Large) for Indian Navy, FPVs for Indian Coast Guard.

Indo-French joint naval exercise Varuna 19.1

The first part of the Indo-French joint naval exercise, Varuna 19.1 is being held off the Goa coast from 1 to 10 May 2019.
The exercise will see the participation of the French Navy’s aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle, two destroyers, FNS Forbin and FNS Provence, the frigate FNS Latouche-Treville, the tanker FNS Marne and a nuclear submarine.
From the Indian side, the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, destroyer INS Mumbai, the Teg-class frigate, INS Tarkash, the Shishumar- class submarine, INS Shankul, and the Deepak- class fleet tanker, INS Deepak, are taking part in the exercise.
The exercise is being conducted in two phases. The harbour phase at Goa would include cross-visits, professional interactions and discussions and sports events.
The sea phase would comprise various exercises across the spectrum of maritime operations.

FACTFILE – Varuna

The bilateral naval exercise which was started in 1983 and christened as ‘Varuna’ in 2001, form a vital part of the Indo-French strategic partnership.
The exercise is in line with the Joint Strategic Vision of India-French Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region signed by President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister NarendraModi during the former’s visit to India in March 2018.

May 02, 2019

Germany to grant €6.5 million for Nagaland forestry project

Germany will provide a grant of up to 6.5 million euros (approximately Rs 50 crore) from 2019 to 2026 to safeguard biodiversity conservation in select community conserved areas (CCAs) and also improve the living conditions and income of the local population in the peripheral areas of protective forests in Nagaland.
The project covers 12 CCAs, around 70 villages and six districts of Nagaland – Wokha, Mokokchung, Zunheboto, Kohima, Peren and Phek.
The project was launched by Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, during the visit of a German delegation headed by the Charge d’Affairs Dr Jasper Wieck to the State, the release added.
The KfW Development Bank is responsible for implementation of the project. The Indian project partners are the Nagaland State Biodiversity Board and the Nagaland Forest Department as well as the Nagaland Environment Protection and Economic Development Agency.
Germany is a global partner of the Indian Government, particularly with regard to implementation of the agreed climate targets of Paris and the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As part of the Indo-German environmental programme, German experts advised those responsible in the North East region to maintain and improve the living conditions of the population despite climate change, prevent rural exodus and create prospects for indigenous population groups.

India Chandrayaan-2 mission to be launched in July

India’s second moon mission Chandrayaan-2 is expected to launch off in July, with an expected landing on the Moon in September.
All the modules are getting ready for Chandrayaan-2 launch during the window of July 9 to July 16, 2019, with an expected Moon landing on September 7, 2019
Chandrayaan-2, has three modules namely Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan).
The Orbiter and Lander modules will be interfaced mechanically and stacked together as an integrated module and accommodated inside the rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV MK-III).
The Rover is housed inside the Lander.

FACTFILE – Mission Chandrayaan-2

It is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after Chandrayaan-1.
The main scientific objective is to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water.

‘Green Nobel’ Goldman Environmental Prize Awarded to Alfred Brownell

Alfred Brownell, an environmental lawyer and activist was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize.
He was awarded the prize for exposing alleged abuse by the palm oil company Golden Veroleum Liberia and helping to prevent it from converting about 50 square kms of forest that is home to elephants, pygmy hippopotamuses and chimpanzees.

FACTFILE – Goldman Environmental Prize

The prize was created in 1989 by philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman.
Winners are selected from nominations made by environmental organisations and others.
The prize carries a $200,000 award.

DCIL inks MOU with WAPCOS

The Dredging Corporation of India Limited has inked anMoU with WAPCOS Limited to jointly identify suitable future projects and carry out geotechnical investigation and engineering consultancy in fields like Water Resources, Power and Infrastructure Port and Harbour
The other areas include shallow water dredging, beach nourishment, lake rehabilitation, flood management, erosion control, river morphology and other related sectors.
The MoU was signed byManagingDirectorof DCIL Rajesh TripathiandChairman and Managing Director of WAPCOSR K Guptaat New Delhi.
The MoU assumes special significance and is expected to be a win-win alliance for DCI and WAPCOS.
WAPCOS Limited is a Miniratna PSU under the Ministry of water resources, river developmentand Ganga rejuvenation.

FACTFILE – Dredging Corporation of India Limited

DCI is unit engaged in the business of dredging. DCI does dredging for Indian seaports exclusively.
It occasionally dredges at foreign seaports in countries such as Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Dubai.
Almost all the maintenance dredging in Indian seaports is carried out by DCI due to government regulations.
DCI is also involved in capital dredging, beach nourishment, and land reclamation.
The main seaports in which DCI does business are Visakhapatnam Port, Haldia, Kandla, Cochin Port and Ennore Port.
DCI is headquartered at Visakhapatnam and has project offices at many seaports in India.

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May 03, 2019

2^nd Ginger Festival starts at Pherzawl in Manipur

The second edition of the State-level Ginger Festival began at the Pherzawl district headquarters, 240 km south of Imphal.
The festival is aimed at encouraging and promoting ginger cultivation by farmers in the district, it also aims to bring in people from all over the world to explore the wild natural beauty of the place and experience the local way of life and culture.
A business session and a farmers’ consultative meeting will be held on the second day.

World press freedom day observer on May 3

World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference. Since then, 3 May, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day.
The 26^thcelebration of World Press Freedom Day is jointly organized by UNESCO, the African Union Commission and the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
This year’s theme “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation” discusses current challenges faced by media in elections, along with the media’s potential in supporting peace and reconciliation processes.
UNESCO marks World Press Freedom Day by conferring the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on a deserving individual, organisation or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger.

BHEL signs MOU with ARAI for e-mobility projects

Bharat Heavy Electricals and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), an autonomous body affiliated to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises have signed anMoU for cooperation on various projects related to e-mobility.
The MoU was signed by RashmiUrdhwareshe, Director, ARAI and Renuka Gera, BHEL.
Electro mobility (e-mobility) is a general term for the development of electric-powered drivetrains designed to shift vehicle design away from the use of fossil fuels and carbon gas emissions.
The term electro mobility includes full electric vehicles, as well as hybrid electric vehicles and those using hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Reducing dirty fuels can help curb air pollution

An India-US joint study has stressed Mitigating the use of household fuels could reduce air pollution-related deaths in India by approximately 13 per cent, which is equivalent to saving about 270,000 lives a year.
Nearly half of the country’s population relies on dirty fuels such as wood, dung, coal and kerosene for cooking and heating, said researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and the India Institute of Technology-Delhi.
Eliminating emissions from these sources — without any changes to industrial or vehicle emissions — would bring the average outdoor air pollution levels below the country’s air quality standard.
A study in the Lancet Planetary Health journal last year found that air quality in India is so poor that 1.2 million deaths in the country in 2018 can be attributed to air pollution.
There are 3,000 chemicals that have been identified in wood smoke, and taken at a macro level, it is very similar to tobacco smoke.
In 2016, India instituted a national programme to distribute clean burning stoves and propane to 80 million impoverished households, or about 500 million people.

May 04, 2019

First brain surgery of south Assam performed successfully

A team of doctors successfully conducted a brain tumour surgery recently in a local hospital in Silchar.
Veteran neurosurgeon Dr Diba Nath Chakraborty along with his team of doctors including Dr PR Bishnu (Surgery) and Dr Abhijit Das (anaesthetist) and support staff operated upon 40-year old Bijuli Nath, a resident of Narsingpur in Cachar district.
The surgery was done at Green Heals Hospital Private Limited at Silchar.

International firefighters’ day observed on May 4

International Firefighters’ Day (IFFD) is observed on May 4. It was instituted after a proposal was emailed out across the world on January 4, 1999 due to the deaths of five firefighters in tragic circumstances in a bushfire in Australia.
International Firefighters’ Day (IFFD) is a time where the world’s community can recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible. It is also a day in which current and past firefighters can be thanked for their contributions.

Defence Ministry clears acquisition of 10 Kamov-31 choppers

The Defence Ministry cleared the acquisition of 10 Kamov-31 choppers from Russia, a proposal by the Indian Navy. The choppers cost around Rs 3,600 crore.
This will strengthen India’s capability against aerial threats to its aircraft carriers and large warships.
The decision was taken by the Defence Ministry at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council led by Defence Minister NirmalaSitharaman.
The Navy already has a fleet of 12 of these Kamov-31 choppers which sanitise the air space around the aircraft carriers and destroyers operating in open seas

FACTFILE – The Kamov Ka-31

Kamov Ka-31 is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy and currently in service in Russia, China and India in the naval airborne early warning and control role.
As with all Kamov helicopters except the Ka-60/-62 family, the Ka-31 has co-axially mounted contra-rotating main rotors. The airframe of the Ka-31 is based on the Kamov Ka-27.
One visually distinctive feature of the Ka-31 is the large antenna of the early-warning radar, which is either rotating or folded and stowed under the fuselage.

INS Ranjit to be decommissioned

After 36 years of glorious service, Indian Navy’s front-line missile destroyer INS Ranjittobe decommissioned. Commissioned September 15, 1983, INS Ranjitwas the third of the five Kashin-class destroyers built by erstwhile USSR.
The ship will now be decommissioned at a solemn ceremony at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam.
The ceremony will be attended by personnel who have served onboard INS Ranjitin the past and will also include officers and sailors from the commissioning crew.
INS Ranjit was constructed in the 61 Communards shipyard in the town of Nikolev, which now falls in
The ship participated in a number of operations include IPKF operations, Operation Talwar during Kargil conflict.
On May 6, the Naval Ensign and the Commissioning pennant will be lowered for the last time onboard INS Ranjit, symbolising the end of the Ranjit era in the Indian Navy.

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May 05, 2019

Manipur is third highest tobacco consumer state in India

Manipur is ranked third in the consumption of tobacco and allied products in India, according to the State Nodal Officer of the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), Dr Somorjit Ningombam.
About 55 per cent adults in the State use tobacco and each adult spends an average of Rs 350 a month on tobacco products.
Tobacco is one of the common risk factors of major non-communicable diseases like cancer, killing six million people every year. About 0.6 million people face premature death due to passive smoking.
In India, tobacco kills 8-9 lakh people every year. About 2,500 Indians die every day due to tobacco-related diseases. Nearly 89 per cent of smokers become addicted to tobacco by the age of 18 years, he pointed out.
Smokers have 20-25 times greater risk of developing lung cancer; 2-3 times greater risk of getting heart attacks; three times greater risk of sudden death and 30-60 times greater risk of getting sick.
The Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, was enacted by the Parliament on the 54th year of the Republic of India to regulate trade and commerce in, and production, supply and distribution of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

E-Governance Services India ties up with IIT-Kanpur

Common Service Centre’s (CSC) e-Governance Services India Limited, a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics & IT, has tied up with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur to upscale ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’.
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is an initiative of the Ministry of HRD. It aims to find solutions to accelerate sustainable growth in rural India.
Under the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, IIT-Kanpur has brought together 15 leading higher education institutions from Uttar Pradesh.
These institutions have agreed to work with CSC for the development of villages under the scheme.
All the participating institutions have been informed about various services being delivered through CSC to citizens and further potential which CSCs offer in empowering communities and overall village development.
As many as 15 affiliated educational institutions under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan will adopt gram panchayats and equip them with all citizen centric services through CSCs.
These institutions will train village level entrepreneurs (VLEs) who run CSCs as part of the village development plan.
The VLEs will also be skilled about the use of solar energy, cleanliness and use of modern technologies through interventions of IIT-Kanpur

Former ISRO chief AS Kiran Kumar conferred France’s highest civilian award

AS Kiran Kumar, the former chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation, was conferred France’s highest civilian award – Chevalier of Order of the Legion of Honour – for his contribution to India-France space cooperation.
France’s highest civilian honour comes in recognition of AS Kiran Kumar’s invaluable contribution to the development of India-France space cooperation
Alexandre Ziegler, the ambassador of France to India, conferred Kumar with the Legion of Honour.
Jean-Yves Le Gall, chairperson of French space agency National Centre for Space Studies, was present at the special investiture ceremony held at the Residence of France in Delhi.
He served as the ISRO chief from 2015 to 2018 and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2014.

FACTFILE – The National Order of the Legion of Honour

The award is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte and retained by all later French governments and régimes.
The order’s motto is Honneur et Patrie (“Honour and Fatherland”), and its seat is the Palais de la Légiond’Honneur next to the Musée d’Orsay, on the left bank of the Seine in Paris.
The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand officier (Grand Officer), and Grand-croix (Grand Cross).

May 06, 2019

ONGC gets green nod for Rs 240 crore oil project in Assam

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has received the green nod to drill six development wells in Assam at an estimated cost of Rs 240 crore.
The Union Environment Ministry has given the environment clearance for six development wells in five mining lease blocks in Jorhat and Golghat districts, according to an official document.
The company had sought permission for drilling 12 development wells but it received clearance for six wells at present.
The clearance, which is subject to compliance of certain conditions, has been given after taking into consideration the recommendation of a green panel.
The total mining lease area of Jorhat and Golaghat districts is 32.116 sq km and 120.5 sq km, respectively. The total project cost is pegged at Rs 240 crore.
The proposed project aims to enhance reliable hydrocarbon supplies, which will bring economic benefits and provide indirect employment opportunities to the local people and also benefit the area by way of improvement in existing infrastructure.

FACTFILE – Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC)

Founded on 14 August 1956, it involved in exploring for and exploiting hydrocarbons in 26 sedimentary basins of India, and owns and operates over 11,000 kilometers of pipelines in the country.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is an Indian Multinational Crude Oil and Gas Corporation. Its registered office is now at New Delhi, India.
It is India’s largest oil and gas exploration and production company. It produces around 70% of India’s crude oil (equivalent to around 30% of the country’s total demand) and around 62% of its natural gas.
It was ranked as the largest profit making PSU in India for fiscal year 2018-19.
It is ranked 11^th among the Top 250 Global Energy Companies by Platts.
Its international subsidiary ONGC Videsh currently has projects in 17 countries.
ONGC has discovered 6 of the 7 commercially producing Indian Basins, in the last 50 years, adding over 7.1 billion tonnes of In-place Oil & Gas volume of hydrocarbons in Indian basins.
On Jan 30th 2018, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation acquired the 51.11% stake of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.

Asian Development Bank launches Healthy Oceans action plan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched the Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies for the Asia and Pacific region at the 52nd Annual Meeting of ADB’s Board of Governors.
The action plan will support the efforts of ADB’s developing member countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 14 Life Below Water.
The Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies will expand financing and technical assistance for ocean health and marine economy projects to $5 billion from 2019 to 2024, including co-financing from partners.
It will focus on four areas: creating inclusive livelihoods and business opportunities in sustainable tourism and fisheries; protecting and restoring coastal and marine ecosystems and key rivers; reducing land-based sources of marine pollution, including plastics, wastewater, and agricultural runoff; and improving sustainability in port and coastal infrastructure development.
Asia and the Pacific are at the epicenter of a major crisis in marine plastic pollution, threatening the productivity of the region’s marine economies, which are crucial to poverty reduction.
As a part of the action plan, ADB will launch the Oceans Financing Initiative to create opportunities for the private sector to invest in bankable projects that will help improve ocean health.
The initiative will provide technical assistance grants and funding from ADB and other donors to reduce the technical and financial risks of projects. This will be done through instruments such as credit risk guarantees and capital market “blue bonds”.
The Oceans Financing Initiative will be piloted in Southeast Asia in collaboration with the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund and the Republic of Korea. The World Wide Fund for Nature, a longtime partner of ADB, will support the design and implementation of the financing initiative.

India, UK in talks to replicate HMS Queen Elizabeth super-carrier

The United Kingdom is in talks with India for building a new state-of-the-art aircraft carrier along the lines of Britain’s HMS Queen Elizabeth as part of the ongoing ‘Make in India’ negotiations.
The Indian Navy is in talks with the British government to buy detailed plans for the 65,000-ton British warship to build a so-called “copycat supercarrier” named INS Vishal in 2022.
If both the countries finalise the deal, the new warship would be built in India and UK companies could supply many of the parts.
This new Naval carrier would serve alongside India’s 45,000-ton carrier INS Vikramaditya bought from Russia in 2004 and the future 40,000-ton INS Vikrant giving India a larger carrier fleet than Britain.

FACTFILE – Aircraft Carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft.Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations.

India’s Aircraft Carriers

INS Vikramaditya– Currently, India has 1 STOBAR carrier – INS Vikramaditya, 45,400 tonnes, modified Kiev class. The carrier was purchased by India on 20 January 2004 after years of negotiations at a final price of $2.35 billion. The ship successfully completed her sea trials in July 2013 and aviation trials in September 2013 and was formally commissioned on 16 November 2013.
INS Vikrant –India started the construction of INS Vikrant, a 40,000-tonne, 260-metre-long (850 ft) aircraft carrier in 2009. The new carrier will operate MiG-29K and naval HAL Tejas aircraft along with the Indian-made helicopter HAL Dhruv. The ship will be powered by four gas-turbine engines and will have a range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 kilometres), carrying 160 officers, 1,400 sailors, and 40 aircraft. The carrier is being constructed by Cochin Shipyard. The ship was launched in August 2013 and is scheduled for commissioning in 2021.
INS Vishal– A second carrier, INS Vishal, with a displacement of over 65,000 tons is planned and likely to be nuclear-powered with CATOBAR system to launch and recover heavier aircraft and unmanned combat aircraft.

FACTFILE – HMS Queen Elizabeth

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the lead ship of the Queen Elizabeth class of aircraft carriers, the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom and capable of carrying up to 70 aircraft.
The ship began sea trials in June 2017, was commissioned on 7 December 2017 and is scheduled to enter service in 2020.
Queen Elizabeth has no catapults or arrestor wires, and is instead designed to operate V/STOL aircraft. The air wing will typically consist of F-35B Lightning II multirole fighters and Merlin helicopters for airborne early warning and anti-submarine warfare. The design emphasises flexibility, with accommodation for 250 Royal Marines and the ability to support them with attack helicopters and large troop transports such as Chinooks.

Assam to establish organic agricultural university

Assam Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal announced establishing of an organic agricultural university in the State soon.
Addressing the 21^stconvocation of the AAU at its Jorhat campus on the Borbheta outskirts said that the Government has initiated the process of setting up an exclusive organic agricultural university in the State.
The detailed project report for the proposed university was prepared by the AAU and submitted to the Government.

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May 07, 2019

International Baul Utsav on May 7-8 at Silchar, Karimganj

International Baul singers from Japan, Bangladesh and also from West Bengal and Assam will attend a two day International Baul Utsav in Silchar and Karimganj towns of Barak Valley in Assam.
Jointly organised by Byatikrom Masdo and Samanway in collaboration with the Asam Sahitya Sabha, the festival will be attended by the president of sabha, Dr Paramananda Rajbongshi, eminent poet Sankhasubhra Deb Barman and chief of Northeast Bharatsevashram Sangha, Swami Sadhananandaji Maharaj as guests.
The programmes will be held at Banga Bhawan in Silchar and district library auditorium at Karimganj. Kanako Shimizu alias Saraswati Maa of Japan, Sadhan Bairagi Guruji, Mahamaya Baul, Tarpan Baul, Madhuryamoyee Baul of Bengal, disciple of Purna Das Baul and famous baul of Barak Valley, Sarbani Baul and eminent baul of Bangladesh will perform in both the places.
Bauls are a group of religious and cultural group of India, best known for their songs and poems to the God who dwells within. Bauls describe themselves as crazy for God. The term Baul means madman or religious ecstatic.
The origin of baul is not known exactly, but the word appeared in Bengal as far back as the 15th century. The word is found in the Chaitanya Bhagavata of Vrindabana Dasa Thakura as well as in the Chaitanya Charitamrita of Krishnadasa Kaviraja.

India, US discuss trade issues discussed

In an India-US bilateral trade meeting held in Delhi, India and the United States discussed various outstanding trade issues.
Both sides agreed to engage regularly at various levels to resolve outstanding trade issues by exploring suitable solutions, which are mutually beneficial and promote economic development and prosperity in both countries.
Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, and Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce, USA, expressed satisfaction over the progress during the year 2018.
The bilateral trade in Goods and Services registered a growth of 12.6 per cent from $ 126 billion in 2017 to $142 billion in 2018.

India Launches 4^thKalvari-Class Attack Submarine

The fourth of the Indian Navy’s Stealth Scorpene class submarines under Project 75 was launched at the KanhojiAngre Wet Basin of the Mazagaon Docks Ltd (MDL).
Like the previous Scorpene class submarines – Kalvary, Khanderi and Karanj – the new submarine ‘Vela’ has been built by the MDL in collaboration with the Naval Group of France.
The submarine was towed to the Mumbai Port Trust for separation from the pontoon and will now undergo rigorous trials and tests, both in harbour and in high seas before being inducted into the Indian Navy.
The deal for construction and transfer of technology for six Scorpene class submarines in this series has Naval Group as the collaborator, with MDL constructing them under the ‘Make In India’ initiative in the defence sector.

FACTFILE – Scorpene class submarines

The Scorpene class submarines can undertake multifarious tasks typically undertaken by any modern submarine, including anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.
Each of these lethal underwater attackers are 67.50 metres long, 12.30 metres in height, have a 6.20-metre beam, and able to attain submerged speeds of around 37 kmph (20 knots) and 20 kmph on surface (11 knots).
They can carry a crew complement of 35 sailors plus eight officers and remain at sea for up to 50 days.

FACTFILE – Project 75I-class submarine

The Project 75I-class submarine is a follow-on of the Project 75 Kalvari-class submarines for the Indian Navy.
Under this project, the Indian Navy intends to acquire six diesel-electric submarines, which will also feature advanced air-independent propulsion systems to enable them to stay submerged for longer duration and substantially increase their operational range.
All six submarines are expected to be constructed in Indian shipyards.

Indian students comes 2^nd at Microsoft Imagine Cup World final

A team of Indian students was declared second runners-up at the Microsoft Imagine Cup world finals. The world championship was organised on the first day of the annual Microsoft Build conference.
The three-member team from Faridabad-based ManavRachna Institute of Research and Studies developed “Caeli” (which means air in Latin) – a smart automated anti-pollution and drug delivery mask specifically designed for asthmatic and chronic respiratory patients.
Caeli implements breakthrough features to improve the quality of life for respiratory patients living in polluted areas.
Bhadana with VasuKaushik and Bharat Sundal developed the product under the guidance of UmeshDutta and team at ManavRachna Research Innovation and Incubation Centre (MRIIC).
The “Olympics of Technology”, Imagine Cup is a global annual competition sponsored and hosted by Microsoft.Over the past 10 years, more than 1.65 million students from over 190 countries have participated in the “Imagine Cup”.

Ministry of Ayush and CSIR ink MoU for promotion of traditional medicine

The Union Ministry of Ayush along with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have joined hands to explore modern scientific methods for integration with traditional medicine.
The MoU was signed recently by Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Ayush Secretary and DrShekhar C Mande, Director General of CSIR in the presence of senior officials from both the organisations.
According to the MoU between the two organisations, emphasis will be on pursuing research and development covering fundamental research; Ayush-specific diagnostic tools; linking micro-biome, gene expression and prakriti; multi-ingredient herbal formulations, including their standardisation and linking disease signatures, among others.
The collaboration in preserving and protecting traditional knowledge related to the Indian system of healthcare will also be strengthened through the existing platforms and development of international standardised terminologies (disease-morbidity codes) in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (ASU), database on medicinal plants, foods, etc.

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Assam Current Affairs – April 29 – 30, 2019

Posted on September 15, 2019May 16, 2020 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – April 29 - 30, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of April 29 – 30, 2019 )

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April 29, 2019

Assam govt done commendable job against measles, rubella

Assam has been able to do a commendable job vis-à-vis Measles Rubella (MR) campaign of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHF). A coverage evaluation by the Government of India has rated Assam’s performance as high – with the State being credited with achieving the highest increase in coverage with 31 per cent points compared to the earlier low percentage of 66.
This turnaround has been possible largely due to the painstaking efforts of grassroots health workers (ASHAs and ANMs), who braved the hostile terrain and weather conditions in remote, hilly and forested areas to ensure that every child was vaccinated. The number of ANM and ASHA workers engaged was 10,854 and 31,955, respectively.
The MR campaign, which concluded recently in the State, achieved a coverage of 98.04 per cent with the figure being of 90,28,321. The total enrolment estimation done by ASHA workers was 92,09,059.
The campaign mandated vaccination of all children between the ages of 9 months to 15. A shot of this vaccine prevents the two diseases, measles and rubella.
Assam also topped the special programme ‘Indradhanush’, which was aimed at ensuring foolproof coverage by the MR campaign.

Indian ships join FTX joint exercise with South Korea

Indian naval ships Kolkata and Shakti arrived at South Korea’s Busan to participate in the ADMM-Plus Maritime Security Field Training Exercise (FTX) as part of deployment of the Eastern Fleet to the South China Sea.
The Indian ships will have professional interaction with ADMM-Plus Navies towards further enhancing co-operation between the navies.
The Indian ships are scheduled to undertake Maritime Security Exercise with the participating navies and, later, to sail to Singapore to participate in the International Maritime Defence Expo IMDEX-19 and the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise, SIMBEX-19.

ADMM-Plus

The ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN and its eight dialogue partners to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability and development in the region.
The ADMM-Plus countries include ten ASEAN Member States and eight other countries, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.

CSIR-CCMB and IPC MOU to facilitate regulatory process for biosimilars

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s constituent laboratory, the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), Hyderabad, and the Indian Pharmacopeia Commission (IPC), Ghaziabad, have joined hands to facilitate the regulatory process for biosimilars and herbal drugs.
The scope of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between CSIR-CCMB and the IPC is the development of biopharmaceutical reference standards and impurities therein, development of monographs for important Monoclonal Antibodies and identification of herbal drugs based on DNA Barcode analysis.
Use of biologics – biological products that function as drugs against diseases – also known as biosimilars, are expanding their presence rapidly in the healthcare sector, including in
The agreement was signed by CSIR-CCMB Director Rakesh Mishra and IPC’s Secretary-cum-Scientific Director G.N. Singh.
This collaboration, which has come into force with immediate effect, is very important in the current scenario owing to the increase in use of therapeutic proteins and herbal drugs for various diseases.
This collaborative project will be executed at par with pharmacopeia standards of other countries.

ISRO plans to launch radar imaging satellite RISAT 2BR1

India is planning to launch its radar imaging satellite RISAT 2BR1 by the end of May 2019 on one of the variants of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket. The rocket that would carry RISAT 2BR1 is designated as PSLV-C46 as per ISRO’s numbering system and will blast off from the first launch pad at the country’s rocket port in Sriharikota.
ISRO will send up a cartography satellite Catosat-3. India will also launch two more defence satellites sometime in July or August with its new rocket Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).

April 30, 2019

ONGC gets environmental nod for drilling at Trishna sanctuary in Tripura

The ONGC to start exploration drive at the Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary in South Tripura district, as the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Central Wildlife Board (CWB) have cleared the long-pending proposal of the oil major.
The Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary has immense potential as far as natural gas reserves are concerned but exploration is not allowed in such a protected area leading to a stalemate for a long time.
The ONGC had taken up the issue with the Ministry and other statutory bodies to get clearance for undertaking exploration drive at Trishna, one of the best managed bison sanctuaries in the country. Finally, the Ministry, CWB and Eco Sensitivity Board cleared the proposal to start drilling at the sanctuary.
Currently, Tripura produces 5 MMSCMD of gas, which is more than what the ONGC has planned for the 2018-19 financial year. ONGC was committed to push industry in Tripura and has made attempts to break the jinx.

Oil and Gas Reserves in India

In terms of proven oil reserves, India is 24th country in the world. Venezuela and Saudi Arabia are largest countries in terms of proven reserves.
India’s major oil producing states / UTs are Assam, Tripura, Manipur, West Bengal, Mumbai, Gujarat, Jammu &Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Coastal Kerala, Andaman & Nicobar.
The oil and gas industry in India dates back to 1889 when the first oil deposits in the country were discovered near the town of Digboi in the state of Assam.
As on 31 March 2018, India had estimated crude oil reserves of 594.49 million tonnes (MT) and natural gas reserves of 1339.57 billion cubic meters (BCM).
India imports 82% of its oil needs and aims to bring that down to 67% by 2022 by replacing it with local exploration, renewable energy and indigenous ethanol fuel.
India was the third top net crude oil (including crude oil products) importer of 205.3 Mt in 2018.

Assamese entrepreneur Pallavi Hazarika awarded the India Business Award

Assamese entrepreneur Pallavi Hazarika has been honoured with the India Business Award for her innovative work on Assamese traditional jewellery.
She was presented the award by Bollywood actress Diya Mirza at a function at Bengaluru.
The title of her award was ‘most creative Assamese jewellery collection in Assam.
Hazarika, who was a government employee earlier, gave up her job to dedicate herself wholeheartedly to her passion of jewellery making.

India, China mark first anniversary of Wuhan summit

India and China are marking the first anniversary of the icebreaking meet between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, by holding a week-long celebration in the central Chinese city.
To commemorate the event “Colors of India” a week-long exposition of Indian culture, together with business and tourism-related events, will be held in Wuhan, Hubei, from April 29 to May 3.
India’s envoy Vikram Misri held consultations with Jiang Chaoliang, Communist Party Secretary of the Hubei province to discuss activities and ideas to take forward India-China relations and further strengthen the role of the province in this endeavor.
It’s being jointly organised by the Indian embassy, Beijing, and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi, in association with the Hubei provincial government and the Wuhan municipal government and supported by the China Arts Association.
A business event to encourage Chinese companies to invest in India is also lined up. A tourism roadshow is also scheduled.

India to Buy Israeli Anti-Tank Missiles, Russian Igla-S VSHORAD

The Indian Army is likely to procure Spike-LR Anti-Tank Missiles from Israel and Igla-S Very Short Range Air Defence Systems (VSHORAD) from Russia through a set of new emergency financial powers sanctioned by the Defence Ministry.
Under the latest emergency financial powers, armed forces have been given a free hand to procure equipment worth up to ₹300 crore on a priority basis.
The Request For Proposal (RFP) for the two deals have been issued and negotiations are ongoing.
Under the emergency route, the Army is looking to procure about 12 launchers and around 250 missiles for each system. Deliveries have to be completed in three months, but extendable to six months.

Spike

Spike is an Israeli anti-tank guided missile and anti-personnel missile with a tandem-charge HEAT warhead, currently in its fourth-generation developed by Israeli firm Rafael.
It is available in man-portable, vehicle-launched, and helicopter-launched variants. It is a fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance.
It has a range of about 4 kilometres. The missile is equipped with an imaging infrared seeker.

Igla-S

The Russian Igla-S man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile is newest variant.
It has an improved variant with longer range, more sensitive seeker, improved resistance to latest countermeasures, and a heavier warhead.

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Assam Current Affairs – April 22 – 28, 2019

Posted on September 15, 2019November 7, 2019 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – April 22 - 28, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of April 22 – 28, 2019 )

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April 22, 2019

Birangana Sadhani Divas observed in Sivasagar

Birangana Sadhani Divas was observed centrally in Sivasagar Boarding Field by the Department of Cultural Affairs in association with the Sivasagar district administration.
Birangana Sadhani was a symbol of sacrifice and patriotism and her act of heroism will continue to inspire not only the Chutias but all others in Assam.
Chutias were one of the oldest warring tribes of NE India who came into the Hindu fold centuries ago. Defeat of Chutia king Bhismak of the scriptures at hands of Lord Krishna and marriage of Bhismak’s daughter Rukmini with Krishna was symbolical of Chutias accepting Aryan culture.
The Chutias got assimilated with broad Assamese culture after the defeat of Nitipal at hands of the Ahoms and they were the first people to use Assamese language in the Brahmaputra valley.

Earth day 2019 observed on 22^nd April

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated globally on April 22, to remind us about the vulnerability of the Earth and the need to wake up to save it for the sake of posterity, was observed by Early Birds, an NGO fighting for protection of Nature.
Worldwide, various events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day now includes events in more than 193 countries which are now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network.
The 2019 theme for Earth Day is to protect threatened and endangered species.
On Earth Day 2016, the landmark Paris Agreement was signed by the United States, China, and some 120 other countries.
This signing satisfied a key requirement for the entry into force of the historic draft climate protection treaty adopted by consensus of the 195 nations present at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activistJohn 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.
This day of nature’s equipoise was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by McConnell and signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations.
A month later a separate Earth Day was founded by United States SenatorGaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970.

Indian, US Navies hold anti-submarine warfare exercise

Indian and the US Navies have held a joint submarine-hunting exercise in the Indian Ocean, aiming to lay the groundwork for coordinating maritime patrol and reconnaissance.
Indian and the US’ P-8 anti-submarine aircraft, along with the USS Spruance, a guided-missile destroyer, participated in the anti-submarine warfare training.
The Indian P-8I Neptune aircraft from the Naval Air Squadron 312 based at Naval Station Rajali in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu, joined the US P-8A Poseidon aircraft from Patrol Squadron VP-8 “Fighting Tigers”, based in Jacksonville, Florida, in the exercise.
The Spruance and VP-8 are operating with the 7th Fleet, which is the largest forward deployed fleet of the US and operates in the Indo-Pacific region.
The exercise was the latest in efforts to develop military coordination between the two countries with an eye on the Indo-Pacific.

April 23, 2019

Khongjom Day observed in Manipur

In remembrance of the brave sons of the soil who fought in the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, the Khongjom Day was today observed at the Khongjom War Memorial Complex at Khebaching.
Manipur Governor Dr Najma Heptulla and Chief Minister N Biren Singh led other ministers, MLAs, government officers, police personnel and the public in laying floral wreaths on the Khongjom War Memorial and the statue of Paona Brajabasi.
The dignitaries also offered tarpan in Khongjom river. A guard of honour, general salute, sounding of last post and two minutes’ silence were also part of the observance.
The Anglo-Manipur War of 1891 is of great historical significance for the people of Manipur as it changed their course of history. From an independent princely State, Manipur became a colony of the British Empire after it lost the war. Historical records amply bear out the fact that a handful of Manipuri soldiers with primitive weapons fought valiantly against an overwhelming number of British soldiers who were equipped with far more superior weapons.
The War of Khongjom is not only a glorious saga of the freedom struggle of Manipur but is truly representative of the spirit of freedom that engulfed the whole country in a later part of history, she said.

India to have 12 more nuclear plants

India will soon have 12 more nuclear plants soon to improve the power situation and ensure there is a free flow of uninterrupted power supply for both industries and residential use.
The Atomic Energy Commission of India’s ChairmanK.N. Vyas, said at the 11th International Forum AtomExpo 2019.
Nuclear technology helps in betterment of lives through varied usages and is an irreplaceable source of clean, pollution-free energy.
The first stage of India’s indigenous nuclear power programme has now attained maturity with 18 operating Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs).
Citing the record run of Kaiga Nuclear Power Station, he said a small unit of indigenously-developed 220-250MW reaction has completed 962 days of uninterrupted run at about 99.3 per cent capacity and the amount of electricity it has generated is “tremendous”.

Ayush Ministry inks MoU with CSIR

The Ministry of AYUSH inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi for cooperation in research and education in areas of traditional systems of medicine and its integration with modern science.
The MoU was signed by AYUSH Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha and CSIR Director General DrShekhar C Mande and Secretary, DSIR in the presence of senior officials from both organisations.
In view of the surge in the usage of herbal medicines and supplements globally, the endeavour of Ministry and CSIR aims to bring the organisations under an umbrella understanding for pursuing focused R&D efforts in the domain.
Under the MoU, both organisations shall jointly pursue R&D covering fundamental research; AYUSH specific diagnostic tools; linking microbiome, gene expression and prakriti; multi-ingredient herbal formulations, including their standardisation; exploring modern scientific methods for integration with traditional Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM) and linking disease signatures.
Furthering the collaboration in preserving and protecting traditional knowledge related to the Indian systems of healthcare, through the existing TKDL platform and development of international standardised terminologies (disease-morbidity codes) in Ayurveda,Siddha and Unani (ASU), Database on Medicinal plants and foods.

India Post partners with TCS to modernize the e-postal network

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has partnered with the Department of Posts (DoP) to modernise a network of more than 1.5 lakh post offices across the country, making it the largest distributed e-postal network in the world.
The multi-year digital core programme will transform the DoP into a multi-service digital hub, modernise the delivery of mail and packages, enhance customer experience and launch innovative services that will drive new revenues.
Objective of the transformation is to use the DoP’s nation-wide reach to drive financial inclusion and accessibility of citizen services in remote areas.
This is being accomplished through over 1.3 lakh DARPAN (Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New lndia) hand-held devices that gramindaksevaks use to provide postal, banking, insurance and cash management services in remote villages, even those without network connectivity.
The web portal has an e-marketplace to help rural artisans, self-help groups and women entrepreneurs reach out to buyers throughout the country.

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April 24, 2019

Devotees throng Charantala Mela in West Garo Hills

The Charantala Mela, devoted to Goddess Kali, saw the convergence of thousands of devotees at Babedpara, Selsella, in West Garo Hills district.
The annual festival is not only the biggest congregation of Hindus in the Garo Hills, but it also witnesses visits by people from other States seeking blessings from the Goddess.
According to folklore, the Charantala Mela began at the site after Goddess Kali appeared in a dream and promised to rid the village of a small pox epidemic that afflicted the people in 1965. The village saw about 20 deaths due to the disease that year.
In the same year, after the epidemic abated, local residents made a makeshift temple from where prayers were offered to the Goddess for her blessings. The word spread far and wide, leading to a huge number of devotees queuing up to offer their prayers.
The number of devotees, according to the latest estimates available to the committee, has been increasing every year.

National Panchayati Raj Day observed on 24^th April

National Panchayati Raj Day (National Local Self-Government day) is the national day of Panchayati Raj System in India celebrated by Ministry of Panchayati Raj on 24 April annually.
Then Prime Minister of IndiaManmohan Singh declared the first National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April 2010.
He mentioned that if Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) functioned properly and locals participated in the development process, the Maoist threat could be countered.
The Constitution of India recognizes Panchayats as ‘Institutions of self government’.
There are 2.51 lakh Panchayats in our country, which include 2.39 lakh Gram Panchayats, 6904 Block Panchayats and 589 District Panchayats.
There are more than 29 lakh Panchayat representatives. Under the 14^th Finance Commission for the period 2015-20, more than 2 lakh crore Rupees is being allocated to Gram Panchayats for 5 years to undertake physical and social infrastructure projects in the villages.

‘RTS,S’ – World’s first malaria vaccine launched in Africa

The world’s first and only malaria vaccine was launched in the African country of Malawi as part of a landmark pilot program hoping to protect, in particular, hundreds of thousands of children under five against one of the world’s leading killers.
Thirty years in the making, RTS,S is the first and to date the only vaccine that has demonstrated it can significantly reduce malaria in children.
In clinical trials, the vaccine was found to prevent about four in ten malaria cases, including three in ten cases of life-threatening severe malaria.
An outcome of public-private partnership under the WHO’s coordination, the pilot vaccine program is designed to generate evidence and experience to inform WHO policy recommendations on the broader use of the vaccine.
It will look at reductions in child deaths; vaccine uptake, including whether parents bring their children on time for the four required doses; and vaccine safety in the context of routine use.

April 25, 2019

Steps taken to preserve 3 heritage police stations in Assam

Assam’s Directorate of Archaeology has taken steps to preserve the century-old, heritage police stations at Chatia, Gohpur and Dhekiajuli and it has by this time completed the restoration work of the Chatia Police Station. Chatia was earlier spelled as Sootea.
Director of Archaeology Dr Deepi Rekha Kouli said conservation of this kind of heritage sites of the British colonial era is a new step taken by the Directorate. All possible standards have been maintained to restore the structure of the Chatia Police Station as per its original layout while conserving the structure.
Restoration work of the Gohpur Police Station is also going on, while that of the Dhekiajuli Police Station is yet to be started, as, Kouli said the Police Station is yet to be handed over to the Directorate by the Department concerned.
Restoration of these structures will continue to inspire the archaeological conservationists in the days to come as far as conservation of the colonial heritage structures of the State is concerned, said Dr Kouli.
It needs mention here that the State’s Directorate of Archaeology has been entrusted with the task of conservation of the heritage police stations at Chatia, Gohpur and Dhekiajuli by the State Government with an announcement in the State Budget for the 2017-’18 fiscal.
Gohpur Police Station, in the present day Biswanath District, was set up in 1901, while the Chatia Police Station in the same district and Dhekiajuli Police Station in Sonitpur District were set up in 1913.
These three police stations also bear the memory of the Quit India Movement against the British Colonialists in the State. When the Quit India Movement was at its peak in 1942, freedom fighters marched to the police stations of the State to hoist the Indian National Flag atop the buildings.
The police stations at Chatia, Gohpur and Dhekiajuli witnessed unprecedented assemblage of the freedom fighters on September 20, 1942. Eight persons, including three women, were shot dead by the British Police on the spot on the Dhekiajuli Police Station compound, when a 5,000-strong group of processionists, led by Kamalakanta Das, entered it to hoist the National flag atop the building of the police station.
Kanaklata Barua, a teenaged member of the Mrityu Bahini (Death Squad) was shot dead by the colonial police on the Gohpur Police Station compound when she was leading a group of freedom fighters to hoist the Indian National Flag atop the building of the police station.
Thus, the above three police stations have become inalienably linked with the socio-political life of the State’s people, said Dr Kouli.

UNICEF, NITI Aayog signs LoI for children empowerment

NITI Aayogs Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and UNICEF India signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to provide an open platform to promote participation, skilling and empowerment among young children across different communities.
The plan will be implemented through Atal Tinkering Lab initiative to orient the burgeoning innovation ecosystem towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on child rights.
The LoI was signed by Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF representative in India, and RamanathanRamanan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission.
Through this collaboration, AIM and UNICEF seek to promote participation, skilling and empowerment of adolescent girls and boys in and out-of-school, via Atal Innovation Mission’s programs.
This strategic partnership will also help effectively build capacities of adolescents, young entrepreneurs, mentors and teachers.

Manipur had the lowest malaria cases among NE States in 2018

Manipur has the lowest number of cases of malaria among the North Eastern States with only 12 malaria cases reported in 2018. Manipur is approaching nearer the ‘Zero Malaria’ status, said a DIPR report released in connection with the World Malaria Day observance in the State.
The national target is to eliminate local malaria by the year 2030.
Manipur has set the target of 2020 for eliminating local malaria, but changed it to 2021 following the 12 malaria cases found positive in 2018. Senapati district had zero malaria cases and deaths in 2018.
In 2017, the WHO estimated 219 million malaria cases and 4,35,000 malaria deaths in 87 countries.
The African region has a high share of global malaria with 92 per cent of malaria cases and 93 per cent deaths in 2017.
India represents 4 per cent of the global malaria burden.
Among Indian States, Odisha contributes 25 per cent followed by Meghalaya, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand.

World Malaria Day observed on 25^th April

World Malaria Day (WMD) is an international observance commemorated every year on 25 April and recognizes global efforts to control malaria. Globally, 3.3 billion people in 106 countries are at risk of malaria.
On World Malaria Day 2019, WHO joins the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, the African Union Commission and other partner organizations in promoting “Zero malaria starts with me,,” a grassroots campaign that aims to keep malaria high on the political agenda, mobilize additional resources, and empower communities to take ownership of malaria prevention and care.
In 2012, malaria caused an estimated 627,000 deaths, mostly among African children. Asia, Latin America, and to a lesser extent the Middle East and parts of Europe are also affected.
WMD is one of eight official global public health campaigns currently marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Immunization Week, World Tuberculosis Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Hepatitis Day and World AIDS Day
According to the most recent World Malaria Report, the global tally of malaria reached 429,000 malaria deaths and 212 million new cases in 2015.
The rate of new malaria cases fell by 21 per cent globally between 2010 and 2015, and malaria death rates fell by 29 per cent in the same period. In sub-Saharan Africa, case incidence and death rates fell by 21 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively.

India Rises to 17^th Spot in Startup Blink’s Startup Ecosystem Ranking

According to data released by Startup Blink, India moved up to 17th position in 2018 from 37th spot last year in the Startup Ecosystem Ranking for 2019.
India ranks 17 globally among 100 countries, based on the strength of its startup ecosystem, according to Startup Blink, which tracks startup ecosystems on a number of parameters.
It used data from startups, accelerators and coworking spaces registered on it platforms as well as data received from global partners such as Crunchbase and SimilarWeb.
The cities with the most vibrant startup ecosystems in India are Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai.
In terms of global rankings, the top three spots remained unchanged with the United States, United Kingdom and Canada taking the first, second and third rank respectively.
The report has taken the startup ecosystems of 1,000 cities and 100 countries into consideration.
According to Inc42 Data Labs, 3800 new startups were launched in India during the last year. Overall, Indian startups received $11 Bn of funding through 743 deals in 2018.
Bengaluru was as the top startup city in India at 11th, while New Delhi followed in the 18th spot. Mumbai stood at 29th rank, while Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune also made it to top 100.
The top three cities in India at the end of 2018 were Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Mumbai which had 11,000, 8500 and 9,000 startups respectively.
Among the leading cities, startups in Bengaluru received $4.7 Bn, while those in Delhi-NCR received a funding of $4.4 Bn, followed by those in Mumbai which received a funding of $914 Mn in 2018.

Tagore Literary Prize 2019 awarded to Rana Dasgupta

The second edition of Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize was awarded to author Rana Dasgupta for his 2010 novel “Solo”, a tale of estrangement and the ultimate failure of material existence.
An amount of $10,000, a Tagore statue and a certificate for contribution to literature was given to Dasgupta.
The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize for social achievement was awarded to YoheiSasakawa, the World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, for “his incredible efforts to uproot leprosy and great contribution to world peace”. The Prize was also awarded to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen as “a beacon of democracy”.

FACTFILE – Tagore Prize

Tagore Prize is founded and launched with a strong vision to be a platform and a vehicle for improving and inspiring World Peace, Literature, Art and Education.
The prizes promote the culture and beauty of literature just as Rabindranath Tagore had taught us to, but also, the culture and society of tolerance, harmony and non-discrimination.

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April 26, 2019

Assam records all-time high of 81.52 per cent voting

The overall Lok Sabha poll turnout in Assam stood at an all-time high of 81.52 per cent. The polling percentage this time is the highest ever recorded in the State in any parliamentary elections so far. It surpassed the previous highest figure of 80.12 per cent which was recorded in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
As per the data released by the Election Commission, the turnout among male voters in the State stood at 81.73 per cent, while the polling percentage among female electorate was 81.30 per cent.
In the first Lok Sabha elections held 1951-52, the voter turnout in Assam was 47.96 per cent, while it stood at 46.14 per cent in the 1957 elections, 52.75 per cent in 1962, 54.99 per cent in 1967, 50.69 per cent in 1971, 54.88 per cent in 1977, 53.37 per cent in 1980, 77.40 per cent in 1985, 75.25 per cent in 1991, 78.50 per cent in 1996, 61.06 per cent in 1998, 71.26 per cent in 1999, 69.11 per cent in 2004 and 69.54 per cent in 2009.

North East agriculture vulnerable to climate change

In the North East region, climate change-induced higher agricultural vulnerability, is observed in its northern parts and the vulnerability declines towards its south, says a research paper ‘Climate change vulnerability profiles for North East India.’
The paper says that additionally, high relative variability and inter-annual variability of rainfall have created increased occurrence of droughts and floods in the recent times, leading to uncertainty in yield and increased agricultural vulnerability.
It has projected the very high vulnerability of the districts of Tirap, West Siang, Nalbari, Changlang and Dibrugarh remain very highly vulnerable. In the future scenario, the vulnerability of West Sikkim, North Sikkim, East Sikkim and Imphal East to decrease from high to moderate levels, while the vulnerability of the districts of Bishnupur and South Tripura are projected to be decreasing from moderate to low levels.
The northern part of the NE region shows a reduction in precipitation varying from 3 per cent in the northwest portion to about 12 per cent in the northeastern portion. In the remaining part of the NE region, there is an increase in precipitation varying from zero per cent to as much as 25 per cent in the central portion. Major parts of the NE region, except for some parts of Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur and Assam, show an increase in the evapotranspiration during the near-term scenario.
State-wise analysis shows that in Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, parts of Meghalaya and Nagaland, the flood magnitude is likely to increase by about 25 per cent in the future compared to the present. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim and parts of Meghalaya are likely to experience floods of lower magnitude (about 5 per cent to 10 per cent less) in future, compared to the present.
The number of drought weeks during monsoon months shows an increasing trend in Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur, to the tune of about 25 per cent increase in future.

Point2beNoted: Evapotranspiration

Evapotranspiration is the process by which water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation from the soil and other surfaces and by transpiration from plants.

World Intellectual Property Day observed on 26 April

World Intellectual Property Day is observed annually on 26 April. The event was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000 to “raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life” and “to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies across the globe”.
This year’s World Intellectual Property Day campaign – Reach for Gold – takes a closer look inside the world of sports. It explores how innovation, creativity and the IP rights that encourage and protect them support the development of sport and its enjoyment around the world.
26 April was chosen as the date for World Intellectual Property Day because it coincides with the date on which the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization entered into force in 1970.
This event has been criticized by a number of activists and scholars as one-sided propaganda in favor of traditional copyright, ignoring alternatives related to copyleft and the free culture movement.
Following a statement made at the Assembly of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in September 1998, the Director General of the National Algerian Institute for Industrial Property (INAPI) proposed on 7 April 1999 the institutionalisation of an international day for intellectual property.

Government decides to put Medicine labels in regional language

In order to counter fake, sub-standard and expired drugs, the Union Health Ministry has said Hindi and regional language will be used in the tendering process.
Drug names and expiry date during tendering will be in Hindi/regional language too for — polio drop and Iron tablets — procured for children under the government programmes.
The Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) recently recommended that government procurement agencies should take necessary steps in the tendering process to include the regional language, along with English, on the label of iron tablets and polio drops in government programmes.
Since last year, the government has been working on ensuring the most stringent quality control for both the products which directly affect almost all the children born in India.
The Board constituted a sub-committee under the chairmanship of Dr. R.N. Tandon, honorary secretary general, IMA, New Delhi to examine and give recommendations to streamline the labelling requirements of drugs so as to provide the requisite information to the consumer.

April 27, 2019

Land survey in Assam to be completed in a year

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said proper land surveys have not been carried out in Assam for a long time and that is why land patta could not be issued to the people.
Sonowal said as the people do not have land patta, they are deprived of various government schemes and those without patta also find it difficult to obtain loans from banks and financial institutions.
The Chief Minister said that to deal with the problem, the government has started a proper land survey covering the entire State and it is expected that it would be completed within a year. After completion of the land survey, all the records would be computerised and the process of issuing land patta to rightful owners would gather momentum.
The process of issuing land patta has started in parts of the State, but once the survey is completed and all records are computerised, the process would gather momentum.

18 young Indian scientists in Google contest

Google selected 18 young scientists from India who will compete in the 2019 Google Science Fair contest for the winning prize of $50,000 and other rewards.
The global science competition inspires teenagers in the age group of 13-18 years to solve real-world problems with science, technology, engineering and maths.
This year’s competition saw thousands of entries from more than 100 countries representing some innovative ideas in science and technology.
From addressing health-related issues to creating more eco-friendly adhesives and fuel to making our water safe to drink, the young students from India presented novel and creative ideas.
The entries were evaluated based on the creativity, scientific merit and potential for impact of each submission to narrow down the entries to 100 finalists globally.

Japan creates first artificial crater on asteroid

Japanese scientists have succeeded in creating what they called the first-ever artificial crater on an asteroid, a step towards shedding light on how the solar system evolved.
They confirmed the crater from images captured by the probe located 1,700 metres (5,500 feet) from the asteroid’s surface.
Creating an artificial crater with an impactor and observing it in detail afterwards is a world-first attempt.
JAXA scientists had previously predicted that the crater could be as large as 10 metres in diameter if the surface was sandy, or three metres if rocky.
The surface is filled with boulders but yet we created a crater this big. This could mean there’s a scientific mechanism we don’t know or something special about Ryugu’s materials.
The aim of blasting the crater on Ryugu is to throw up “fresh” material from under the asteroid’s surface that could shed light on the early stages of the solar system.
The mission, with a price tag of around 30 billion yen ($270 million), was launched in December 2014 and is scheduled to return to Earth with its samples in 2020.

FACTFILE – The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is the Japanese national aerospace and space agency.
Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003.
JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible manned exploration of the Moon.
Its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan is Explore to Realize.

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April 28, 2019

Govt to increase number of Foreigners Tribunals to 1,000

The Assam Government has decided to increase the number of Foreigners Tribunals under the provisions of the Foreigners Act to 1,000 in phased manner to expedite the cases relating to suspected foreign nationals.
At present, one hundred Foreigners Tribunals are functioning in the State, but that is not adequate to deal with the cases and around two lakh cases are pending before the Tribunals.
Moreover, after the publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the persons, whose names will not appear in it, will have the right to appeal before the Tribunals, which will add extra burden. If the number of Tribunals is not increased, it will take years to dispose of the cases.
Keeping these aspects in mind, the Government decided to increase the number of Tribunals to 1,000 so that the cases can be disposed of as quickly as possible. The State Government sought approval of the Centre for increasing the number of Tribunals and recently, the required approval has been received.

SBI launches India’s First Green Car Loan

India’s largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) launched ‘Green Car Loan’ to encourage customers to buy electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.
The interest rates on the loan will be 20 basis points (0.2 per cent) lower than SBI’s existing auto loans.
Thus, the equated monthly instalment (EMI) per Rs 1 lakh will be lower at Rs 1,468 for 96 months (8 years) against Rs 1,622 for 84 months, based on the maximum tenor of existing schemes.
The scheme comes with the longest repayment period of up to 8 years. The loan is offered with zero processing fee for the first 6 months of the launch.
SBI along with Wipro joined the Climate Group’s EV100 initiative for enhancing the launch of electric vehicles worldwide.

World Day for Safety and Health at Work held on 28 April

The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an annual international campaign to promote safe, healthy and decent work. It is held on 28 April and has been observed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) since 2003.
The World Day celebration on 28 April 2019 will be only the beginning of worldwide events and activities to continue throughout the rest of the year.
Inspired by the ILO centenary and discussions on the future of work, the world day this year attempts to take stock of a 100 years of work in improving occupational safety and health and looks to the future for continuing these efforts through major changes such as technology, demographics, sustainable development including climate change and changes in work organization.
In 2003, the International Labour Organization (ILO), began to observe World Day in order to stress the prevention of accidents and diseases at work, capitalizing on the ILO’s traditional strengths of tripartism and social dialogue.
28 April is also the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers organized worldwide by the trade union movement since 1996.
The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. It is an awareness-raising campaign intended to focus international attention on the magnitude of the problem and on how promoting and creating a safety and health culture can help reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.

Indian Army signed MoU with NHPC to build underground tunnels

The Army has roped in the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC), a public sector undertaking, to construct the caves or tunnels. A memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The Indian Army, in order to stock up on ammunition in a sensitive environment, has set about constructing caves and semi-underground tunnels at mountain ranges near the northern border.
The project, which is on a pilot basis currently, envisions caves at four locations, to be built at a total cost of around Rs 15 crore.
There are a total of four proposed tunnels, including one in Tawang sector and one in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Army is also increasing its ammunition stockpile. Last year, it had finalisedaRs 15,000 crore long-term plan to get domestic private sector players to manufacture seven different types of ammo.
It also signed 19 contracts worth Rs 11,740 crore to get Smerch rockets, Konkurs anti-tank guided missiles, 125-mm armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot ammunition for its T-90S and T-72 tanks, and other ammunition.

World Veterinary Day 2019 observed on 27^th April

World Veterinary Day will take place globally on Saturday, April 27th, 2019 as it has been always observed on the last Saturday in April since 2001. This year’s theme is: Value of Vaccination.
In 2000 the World Veterinary Association created the World Veterinary Day in order to promote the veterinary profession all over the world.
There is a different theme for this day every year. With the themes, pet owners are reminded of the importance of animal care and how veterinary technicians can help.
Every year, in order to celebrate the World Veterinary Day, the World Veterinary Association (WVA) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) organize the World Veterinary Day Award.
The goal of this initiative is to reward the most successful contribution of the veterinary profession on the theme which has been chosen for that year.

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Assam Current Affairs – April 15 – 21, 2019

Posted on September 15, 2019May 16, 2020 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – April 15 - 21, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of April 15 – 21, 2019 )

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April 15, 2019

Aizawl records highest temp in 20 years

The capital city of Mizoram on Monday, 15^th April, 2019 experienced its hottest day in 20 years as the mercury soared to 34.2 degrees Celsius.
Temperatures are being recorded in the state since 1999, and the maximum temperature that was recorded before was on a day in April 2015 when it rose to 34.1 degrees Celsius, the Chief Scientific Officer of the Mizoram Directorate of Science and technology, Dr R K Lallianthanga, said.
Temperature over 32 degrees Celsius is regarded almost unbearable in this hilly state where the average temperature is generally between 11 and 21 degrees Celsius during winter and between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius during summer.

India successfully test fired sub-sonic cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully test-fired 1,000 km strike range sub-sonic cruise missile named ‘Nirbhay’ from Odisha coast.
The 1,000-km range missile was fired for a shorter range from a launch pad from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Balasore district
India’s Aeronautical Development Establishment has said the cruise missile is India’s first indigenously designed and developed long-range missile.
Indigenously developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the Nirbhay missile can carry warheads of up to 300 kg.
The successful test of the 1,000 km long range missile will definitely provide a boost to India’s defence power.

Cabinet approves reservations in admission for Economically Weaker Section (EWS)

The Union cabinet approved provision of reservations in admission for economically weaker section students (EWS) in Central Educational Institution (CEIs).
With the cabinet approval, a total of 214,766 additional seats would be created (118,983 additional seats in 2019-20 and 95,783 additional seats during 2020-21).
A sanction of Rs 4315.15 crore has been approved for 158 CEIs for reservation to economically weaker sections.
The move follows Human Resource Development Ministry instructions in January to all CEIs to increase the intake of students in all branches of study in pursuance of the 103rd Constitutional Amendment to provide 10 percent reservation in economically weaker sections without adversely affecting SC/ST and Socially and Economically Backward (SEBC) classes and also not reducing the seats for general category.

Union Cabinet approves continuation of Phase-4 of GSLV

The Union Cabinet approved the ongoing Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) continuation programme’s phase-4 that consists of five GSLV flights during 2021-2024.
The phase-4 programme will enable the launch of 2 tonne class of satellites for geo-imaging, navigation, data relay communication and space sciences.
The total fund requirement for the phase-4 programme is Rs 2,729.13 crore and includes the cost of five GSLV vehicles, essential facility augmentation, programme management and launch campaign along with the additional funds required for meeting the scope of the ongoing programme.
It will meet the launch requirement of satellites for providing critical satellite navigation services, data relay communication for supporting the Indian Human spaceflight programme and the next interplanetary mission to Mars.
The phase-4 GSLV programme will meet the demand for the launch of satellites at a frequency of up to two launches per year with maximal participation by the Indian industry.
The GSLV Continuation Programme was initially sanctioned in 2003 and two phases have been completed. The third phase is in progress and is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2020-21.

3 Indian teams win awards at NASA rover challenge

Three Indian student teams won awards in NASA’s annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge at the US Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville, Alabama.
The team from KIET Group of Institutions in Ghaziabad won the “AIAA Neil Armstrong Best Design Award” in the college/university division.
The Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering from Mumbai won the “Frank Joe Sexton Memorial Pit Crew Award” in the college/university division. The school also won the System Safety Challenge Award at the competition hosted by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville and held at the US Space and Rocket Centre.
Lovely Professional University from Phagwara, Punjab, won the STEM Engagement Award.

April 16, 2019

HDFC Bank tops Forbes Best Indian Banks 2019 list

Indian private lender- HDFC Bank was ranked at the top of the ‘Forbes Best Indian Banks 2019’ list.
Forbes has compiled a first-ever list of the World’s Best Bank 2019 in terms of customer services and technological advancements.
HDFC Bank claims to provide the best of its technological features to its 43 million customers. Another private lender ICICI Bank took the second spot, while DBS was at the third rank in Forbes list of Indian banks.
Kotak Mahindra Bank and IDFC Bank had managed to gain the fourth and fifth spot respectively. Syndicate Bank, PNB, Allahabad Bank, Vijaya Bank and Axis Bank were ranked from sixth to tenth respectively.
The banks were rated on the basis of the following attributes- Trust, Digital Services, Financial Advice and Fees

Cabinet approves creation of sixth deputy CAG post

The Union Cabinet approved creation of an additional post of Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (Coordination, Communication and Information System) in the office of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
The position in pay level 17 was created by abolishing one STS level post,. At present, the country’s top auditor has five posts of deputy CAGs.
The Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General shall oversee the coordination among state audits, audit of telecommunication and to coordinate the various information systems initiatives within the Indian Audit and Accounts Department.
The expenditure on account of creation of this post will be about Rs 21 lakh.

FACTFILE – The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India

CAG is an authority, established by Article 148 of the Constitution of India, which audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government.
The CAG is also the external auditor of Government-owned corporations and conducts supplementary audit of government companies, i.e., any non-banking/ non-insurance company in which Union Government has an equity share of at least 51 per cent or subsidiary companies of existing government companies.
The reports of the CAG are taken into consideration by the Public Accounts Committees (PACs) and Committees on Public Undertakings (COPUs), which are special committees in the Parliament of India and the state legislatures.
The CAG is also the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the affairs of which are managed by officers of Indian Audit and Accounts Service, and has over 58,000 employees across the country.
The current CAG of India is Rajiv Mehrishi. He is the 13^th CAG of India.
The CAG is mentioned in the Constitution of India under Article 148 – 151.
The CAG is ranked 9th and enjoys the same status as a judge of Supreme Court of India in Indian order of precedence.

India, UK renew Defence cooperation pact

India’s defence cooperation with the UK renewing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) amid their keenness to identify mutual capability needs and collaborate in the areas of defence and security.
The Defence Equipment Cooperation MoU renews the one signed on April 1, 1997, which was subsequently renewed on April 2007.
The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding underpins the collaboration between our two nations, building on our defence ties, and ensuring our nations are able to combat emerging threats for generations to come.
By collaborating and exploiting procurement opportunities together, both nations will be able to benefit from technological and manufacturing capabilities and support long-term cooperation between their defence and security industries.
The pact was signed by Air Marshal Richard Knighton on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence and Barun Mitra, Additional Secretary Defence Production in the Ministry of Defence on behalf of the Indian government.
At bilateral defence and security equipment talks in London, the two nations agreed to re-double efforts to identify mutual defence and security capability needs and collaborate on solutions.

UN owes India $38 million for peacekeeping operations

The UN owes India $30 million for its contributions to the peacekeeping operations, face frequent cash constraints that force the organisation to postpone the settlement of its obligations to troop- and police-contributing countries.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report to the General Assembly on UN’s financial situation. He blamed the failure of member nations to pay their budget dues on time, in particular the US, for the arrears to India and other countries that send personnel to the peacekeeping operations.
Earlier, India’s Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin told the Security Council that the arrears were an “enormous burden for a TCC (Troop-Contributing Country) to bear, in addition to what they are doing in terms of providing people and personnel, equipment, etc”.

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April 17, 2019

World Hemophilia Day 2019 observed on April 17

April 17, 2019 is marked as the 29th World Hemophilia Day. This year, the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) is focusing on reaching out and identifying new members of the bleeding disorders community.
For many years, the WFH has supported outreach projects in different countries and conducted educational events for both lay and health care professionals in conjunction with our national member organizations (NMOs).
The WHD2019 campaign will feature examples of WFH outreach initiatives such as organizing regional workshops, raising awareness of bleeding through media coverage or training health professionals and collecting data.
It will combine these examples with submissions from our community about outreach efforts in their own regions or ideas about what would be helpful for future initiatives.
This landmark day also helps to illustrate the importance of the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program—an important endeavour for the WFH that provides a range of integrated care development training programs to ensure the local infrastructure and medical expertise are available to optimize and appropriately use donated products.

India partner with Japan and UAE to set up projects in Africa

India is joining hands with Japan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to implement two projects in Africa as it seeks to extend its footprint on the continent where strategic rival China has made deep inroads.
India will build a cancer hospital in Kenya in collaboration with Japan, it will partner with the UAE to set up an information and communications technology (ICT) centre in Ethiopia.
India and Japan had announced the Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) with four major strands, including capacity building and human resource development in Africa, creating quality infrastructure and institutional connectivity, people-to-people partnership, and development and cooperation projects.
It also envisaged developing capacities to sustain infrastructure, greenfield projects, power grids, agriculture and agro-processing, besides health and pharmaceuticals.

China develops world’s first armed amphibious drone boat

China has successfully tested the world’s first armed amphibious drone boat which could be used in land assault operations and is capable of forming a combat triad with aerial drones and other drone
Having a maximum operation range of 1,200 kms, the Marine Lizard can be remotely controlled via satellites.
The 12-meter-long Marine Lizard is a trimaran propelled by a diesel-powered hydrojet and can reach a maximum speed of 50 knots while maintaining stealth. When approaching land, the amphibious drone ship can release four continuous track units hidden under its belly, and travel at 20 kms an hour on land.
The Marine Lizard’s payloads include an electro-optical system and a radar system. In the weapon department, it is equipped with two machine guns and a vertical launching system for anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.
This amphibious drone boat is suitable for island assault operations as a swarm of such drone ships could lead an attack following a first wave of artillery and air strikes.
Guided by China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, the Marine Lizard can cooperate with other battle units in an integrated command system.

April 18, 2019

Meena Kumari wins Gold in Cologne Boxing World Cup

India finished its campaign at the Cologne Boxing World Cup 2019 with a haul of five medals with Meena Kumari Maisnam winning the only gold medal for India.
Meena Kumari Maisnam (54kg) won the only gold medal for India in the tournament.
It was the only bout of the tournament for the Manipur pugilist Meena Kumari as she had been directly placed in the final due to a smaller draw.
Youth world champion Sakshi (57kg) and India Open gold medallist Pwilao Basumatary (64kg) lost their final bouts and finished with silver medals.
Pinki Rani (51kg) and Parveen (60kg) won bronze medals after losing their semi-final bouts.

FACTFILE – Cologne Boxing World Cup

Cologne Boxing World Cup earlier known as Chemistry Cup witnesses participation from more than 20 nations and 160 boxers in seven women and ten men weight classes.
It is one of the strongest international events in Europe with nearly 50 years of traditions.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs is likely to revamp LLP framework

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs is likely to review and revamp the decade-old Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) framework.
The review of LLPs, considered the lowest compliance hybrid between companies and partnerships, comes following representations against aRs 100 per day penalty for delayed filing and difficulties faced in dissolution of such entities.
The ministry may ask the Registrar of Companies (RoC) to consider revising an office memorandum, which barred LLPs from any manufacturing activity.
The memorandum had anguished some quarters in the industry and hence was withdrawn.
A committee would be set up to review the LLP framework and look into issues regarding its implementation.
The memorandum was implemented without any prior notice to companies which created confusion and the sudden withdrawal also created confusion.

Indian coast gaurd offshore patrol vessel deployed by General Bipin Rawat

Indian Coast Guard vessel Veera has been commissioned by General BipinRawat, Chief of Army Staff, in the presence of Director General of Indian Coast Guard Rajendra Singh, Chief of Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Karambir Singh and other senior dignitaries of the Central and State government in a ceremony organised at Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.
Veera, the third in the series of the new generation Offshore Patrol Vessel is under the administrative and operational command of the coast guard regional headquarters (east).
The 98-meter long, 15-meter wide vessel has a 3.6 m draft and a range of 5,000 nautical miles. It can attain a speed up to 26 knots. The vessel has 12 officers and 94 men. The ship is equipped with an ultra-modern navigation and communication system.

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April 19, 2019

Nagaland lone North-Eastern State to join pan-India helpline number ‘112’

Twenty States and Union Territories, including the lone North Eastern State of Nagaland, have so far joined a pan-India network of a single emergency helpline number, 112, on which immediate assistance can be sought by anyone in distress.
The ‘112’ helpline is an integration of police (100), fire (101) and women (1090) helpline numbers and the project is being implemented under the Central Government’s Nirbhaya Fund.
The 20 States and UTs include Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Jammu and Kashmir.
The Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) envisages a single pan-India emergency number 112, which is an internationally recognised number, to target all types of emergencies.
A panic button is already provided on all mobile phones, which on activation will trigger an emergency call to 112. The Emergency Response Centre (ERCs), being set up by the States and UTs, can receive panic signal via voice call to 112, e-mail requests on the State ERSS website or the ‘112’ mobile app.
Location-based tracking of victim can be done through location-based services of all phones or even more accurately through GPS for smartphones.
The ‘112’ India app provides for ‘shout facility’ designed especially for women, for enlisting support of volunteers who have registered themselves with the State police for emergency response.
To access emergency services, a person can dial ‘112’ on a phone or press the power button of a smartphone three times quickly to send a panic call to the Emergency Response Centre. In case of a normal phone, a long press of the ‘5’ or ‘9’ key will activate the panic call.
People can also log onto the ERSS website for the respective State and send an emergency e-mail or SOS alert to the State Emergency Response Centre. They can use the ‘112’ India mobile app, which is available free on Google Play Store and Apple Store.
The Nirbhaya Fund was set up by the Central Government for projects specifically designed to improve the safety and security of the women.

India’s 1^st Centre for drone development soon at IIT Hyderabad

Japan-based Terra Drone Corporation, Terra Drone India and the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, have signed a pact to establish a first-of-its-kind Centre of Excellence for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in India.
The centre will be set up at IIT Hyderabad.
Terra Drone Corporation is one of the world’s largest providers of industrial drone solutions.
The company is at the forefront of several innovations in the aviation industry, including promoting the application of AI technologies in drones and providing advisory services to the ongoing ‘flying car’ project in Japan.
Terra Drone will support IIT Hyderabad to organise workshops, seminars, lectures and joint projects that leverage cutting-edge unmanned technologies and drone LiDAR systems.
Terra Drone India would also offer internship programmes to talented students and prepare them for the real-world technology applications.

Saudi Arabia to host G20 summit in 2020

Saudi Arabia announced it will host the G20 summit in November next year in the capital Riyadh, The first G20 meeting in the Arab world will be held in November 2020.
G20 world leaders met for the first time in 2008 with focus on rescuing the global economy from the worst financial crisis in more than 70 years.
According to the final communique of the G20 summit last year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which confirmed that the summit will be held in Japan in 2019, and in Saudi Arabia in 2020
Saudi Arabia confirmed that it looks forward to hosting the event.

April 20 2019

3 North Eastern States to get DNA testing facilities

DNA testing facilities are being set up at forensic science laboratories of 13 States and Union Territories including the three North Eastern States of Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura at a cost of Rs 131.09 crore.
Cyber forensic laboratories and cyber forensic training facilities are being set up in these States as part of the Rs 223.19 crore Cyber Crime Prevention Against Women and Children project.
Five States – Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand – have already set up cyber forensic training laboratories.
A total of 3,664 personnel, including 410 public prosecutors and judicial officers, have been trained for the purpose.
The project is being implemented under the Nirbhaya Fund, set up by the Central Government for projects specifically designed to improve the safety and security of women.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 12,187 cyber crime cases were registered across India in 2016 in comparison to 11,331 cases in 2015. There was a 20.5 per cent increase in the number of cyber crime cases in 2015 over 2014 and 6.3 per cent increase in such cases in 2016 over 2015.

Japan-US welcomes growing ties with India

The US-Japan 2+2 ministerial meeting has welcomed the growing ties between their countries and India in the Indo-Pacific region that is of vital strategic interest to them.
The defence and diplomatic cabinet officials of the two countries expressed satisfaction with the trilateral meeting with India and noted significance of joint military exercises.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan met with Japan’s Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya for their high-level strategic meeting focused on building a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The Ministers also noted with satisfaction the first Japan-US-India trilateral summit meeting in 2018 and highlighted significant joint exercises, such as Malabar 2018 and Cope India 2018.
Building upon these various trilateral efforts, the Ministers welcomed the regularization of quadrilateral engagement among Japan, the Us, Australia, and India.
Ministers called for full respect for freedoms of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea, and reiterated the importance of activities that support those principles.

India suspends LOC trade with Pakistan

The Home Ministry issued orders to suspend the Line of Control (LoC) trade between Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Jammu and Kashmir effective from April 19.
The government has taken this step after receiving reports of cross LoC trade routes being misused by Pakistan-based elements.
It may be recalled that the LoC trade is meant to facilitate the exchange of goods of common use between local populations across the LoC in Jammu & Kashmir.
During ongoing probe of certain cases by NIA, it has been brought out that a significant number of trading concerns engaged in LoC trade are operated by persons closely associated with banned terror organisations involved in fueling terrorism/separatism.
So it’s decided to suspend LoC trade at Salamabad & Chakkan-da-Bagh in J&K. Meanwhile, a stricter regulatory and enforcement mechanism is being worked out & will be put in place in consultation with various agencies.

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April 21, 2019

Indian Navy launched guided missile destroyer Imphal

Indigenously-designed and constructed guided missile destroyer ‘Imphal’ was launched at the Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. Yard.
As per maritime traditions, Reena Lanba, wife of Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba named the ship and broke a coconut on the 3,037 tonnes ship’s bow prior to the launch amidst invocations from the Atharvaveda.
Enhanced stealth features have been achieved through the shaping of hull and use of radar transparent deck fittings which make the ships difficult to detect.
The ship is the third in the Project 15B vessels – the earlier ones launched are ‘Vishakhapatnam’ (2015) and ‘Murmagoa’ in 2016 – which feature cutting edge advanced technology and are comparable to ships of similar class anywhere globally.
Designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design, each ship spans 163 metres long and 17.4 metres at beam and displaced 7,300 tonnes.

Ebaku Bishu celebrated across Lakhimpur

Ebaku Bishu or the Bohagiyo Bisu of the Deori community was celebrated with traditional fervour and gaiety across Lakhimpur district.
Observed on the first Wednesday of the Assamese month of Bohag, the EbakuBishu this time got under way on the same day.
The festivities began with offerings at various thaans of the Deori communities across the district and ceremonial bathing in the morning of the day.
The “Suwasani Puja” was also observed on that occasion in Deori households for the welfare of the members of the family.
In villages elaborate arrangements were made for ChhajeKhula, places which are situated either isolated from the village or middle of the village where husori were performed by the youth which began with a declaration by DeoriBharali following offerings at thaans.
The women of the community organised egg fights during the Bihu. Youngsters also revelled in smearing mud on each other.

NASA spots universe’s 1^st molecule

NASA’s airborne observatory has detected the first type of molecule ever formed in the universe. This is the first time helium hydride has been found in the modern universe.
Scientists discovered the molecule in our own galaxy using NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), as the aircraft flew high above the Earth’s surface and pointed its sensitive instruments out into the cosmos.
SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 106-inch diameter telescope. It found modern helium hydride in a planetary nebula, a remnant of what was once a Sun-like star.
Located 3,000 light-years away near the constellation Cygnus, this planetary nebula, called NGC 7027, has conditions that allow this mystery molecule to form.
The discovery serves as proof that helium hydride can, in fact, exist in space.
Scientists believe that around 100,000 years after the big bang, helium and hydrogen combined to make a molecule called helium hydride for the first time.
Helium itself is a noble gas making it very unlikely to combine with any other kind of atom.

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Assam Current Affairs – April 08 – 14, 2019

Posted on September 15, 2019November 7, 2019 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – April 8 - 14, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of April 8 – 14, 2019 )

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April 08, 2019

Nagaland observes 75^th Anniversary of the “Battle of Kohima”

Nagaland Observes 75th Anniversary of “Battle of Kohima”. The event was attended by the representatives from the UK and Japan who spoke on the theme of ‘Remembrance, Reconciliation and Rebirth’.
The dignitaries from the UK and Japan sought reconciliation and forgiveness for the sufferings and pain caused against each other at the Battle of Kohima, that was fought in three stages during the Second World War in 1944.

FACTFILE – The Battle of Kohima

Battle of Kohima is considered as the turning point of the Japanese U Go offensive, or Operation C mission launched in India in 1944 during the Second World War.
The Battle of Kohima was fought in three stages from 3 April to 22 June 1944 around the town of Kohima in Nagaland in northeast India.
The battle ended on 22 June when British and Indian troops from Kohima and Imphal met at Milestone 109, ending the Siege of Imphal.
The battle is often referred to as the “Stalingrad of the East”.
Kohima was a theatre of the War in 1944 and the Nagas were drawn into it on both sides some with the British and some with the Japanese.

South Korea Becomes First Country to Launch 5G Network

Three top telecom providers SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus of South Korea launched the world’s first nationwide 5G mobile network on 3^rd April, 2019.
South Korea launched the 5G services two days ahead of the schedule as there were speculations that US mobile carrier Verizon might start its 5G services early. Verizon began rolling out its 5G services in Chicago and Minneapolis on April 3rd, a week ahead of schedule.

Benefits of 5G Network

5G will provide smartphones with near-instantaneous connectivity, 20 times faster than 4G.
5G will deliver vastly increased capacity, lower latency, and faster speeds.
5G networks will operate in a high-frequency band between 28 GHz and 60 GHz, which is known as the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum and the sub-6 GHz range that LTE calls home will also be used. Thus, a lot of bandwidth will be available to users.
The new 5G networks will have a dense, distributed network of base stations in the small cell infrastructure.
The 5G technology is crucial for the future development of devices such as self-driving vehicles and is expected to bring about $565 billion in global economic benefits by 2034.

Indian Navy signs MOU with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

The Indian Navy and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to undertake joint research and development of advanced technologies for the Indian Navy.
This will be a collaborative arrangement between labs of CSIR, the Indian Navy and Indian industry.
The MoU was signed by Vice Admiral GS Pabby PVSM, AVSM, VSM Chief of Materiel of Indian Navy and Shri Shekhar C Mande, Secretary DSIR and Director General, CSIR.
The MoU provides a formal framework for interaction between Indian Navy and CSIR. It would facilitate joint R&D activities in diverse fields of Mechanical, Electronics, Communication, Computer Science, Propulsion systems, Metallurgy and Nanotechnology.
Some of the immediate projects to be progressed under this MoU include development of alternative desalination technologies, installation of wireless MEMS based sensors for remote operation, Residual Life Assessment studies of Gas Turbine Generator blades to improve reliability.

FACTFILE – Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)

CSIR is known for its cutting edge R&D knowledgebase in diverse S&T areas, is a contemporary R&D organization.
It has a dynamic network of 38 national laboratories, 39 outreach centres, 3 Innovation Complexes and 5 units.
CSIR covers a wide spectrum of science and technology – from radio and space physics, oceanography, geophysics, chemicals, drugs, genomics, biotechnology and nanotechnology to mining, aeronautics, instrumentation, environmental engineering and information technology.
It provides significant technological intervention in many areas with regard to societal efforts which include environment, health, drinking water, food, housing, energy, farm and non-farm sectors.

April 09, 2019

Manipuris celebrate New Year ‘Sajibu Nongma Panba’

Sajibu Nongma Panba Cheiraoba, the New Year of the Manipuri community, was celebrated across the State on Saturday, 6^TH April 2019. The festival is celebrated on the first day of the Manipuri month Sajibu, which usually falls in March-end or early-April.
It is the lunar New Year festival of the people who follow the sanamahism religion of the Indian state of Manipur.
People pray to Gods by offering flowers, fruits and various dishes, while special dishes are prepared from vegetables to be offered to deities along with seasonal endemic items for a grand feast for families.
The food is offered by the elders of the house to three deities for protection of the family. Married women give gifts to their parents and brothers on the occasion.
With the advent of the New Year, people pray that the festival ushers in peace, progress and prosperity, and enhances the spirit of unity, cohesiveness and brotherhood among the communities of Manipur.

India retained top spot in remittances in 2018: WB Report

India has retained its spot as the world’s top remittance recipient with its diaspora sending $79 billion back home in 2018.
India was followed by China ($67 billion), Mexico ($36 billion), the Philippines ($34 billion) and Egypt ($29 billion), according to the latest edition of the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief.
Remittances grew by more than 14 per cent in India. In 2016, India received $62.7 billion in remittances and in 2017 it was $65.3 billion.
Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, reached $689 billion in 2018, up from $633 billion in 2017.
Regionally, growth in remittance inflows ranged from almost 7 per cent in East Asia and the Pacific to 12 per cent in South Asia.
The overall increase was driven by a stronger economy and employment situation in the US and a rebound in outward flows from some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) and the Russian Federation.

FACTFILE – The World Bank

WB is an international financial institution that provides loans to countries of the world for capital projects.
It comprises two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the International Development Association (IDA).
The World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group.
The World Bank’s most recent stated goal is the reduction of poverty.
As of end of 2018, the largest recipients of World Bank loans were India ($859 million in 2018) and China ($370 million in 2018), through loans from IBRD

Praful Patel becomes first Indian to be elected as a FIFA Council Member

All India Football Federation President Praful Patel is elected as a FIFA Council member.
The AIFF chief was one of the eight candidates vying for the spot in the election which was held during the 29^th AFC (Asian Football Confederations) Congress in the Malaysian capital.
A total of five candidates, including Patel, was elected in addition to the AFC president, and one female member for the term 2019-2013.
Under Patel’s leadership, AIFF has been awarded with the AFC’s President Recognition award for grassroots at the AFC Annual Awards in 2014 in Manila, and was given an award for the AFC Best Developing Member Association in 2016.
The successful hosting of the FIFA U-17 World Cup drew lavish praise from all quarters, and India have also won the bid to host the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2020.
The Indian Club Licensing system has also been dubbed as one of the best in Asia.

London becomes first city to use pollution charge zone

London is the first city in the world to implement a 24-hour, seven day a week Ultra Low Emission Zone, inside which vehicles will have to meet tough emissions standards or face a charge.
Introduction of the zone, known as the ULEZ, aims to reduce toxic air pollution and protect public health, according to a press release from the office of Sadiq Khan, mayor of London.
Vehicles are responsible for around half of harmful nitrogen oxide air emissions in the British capital, contributing to a toxic air health crisis that increases the risk of asthma, cancer and dementia as well as causing thousands of premature deaths every year.
Under new rules polluting vehicles will be discouraged from entering the ULEZ thanks to a daily charge of £12.50 (around $16) for some cars, vans and motorbikes and £100 ($130) for trucks, buses and coaches.
Drivers can check whether their vehicle meets ULEZ emission standards using an online tool provided by travel authority Transport for London.

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April 10, 2019

Indo-Bangla VCs Convention agree for academic collaboration

With the goal of improving mutual understanding between the people of the Northeastern region of India and Bangladesh by setting up a platform for bilateral communication, cooperation and collaboration in education, the International Convention of Vice Chancellors (ICVC-2019) of Universities of Bangladesh and North East India was organised by Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet under the patronage of University Grant Commission, Bangladesh and in association with University of Science & Technology Meghalaya(USTM) at Sylhet.
It was attended by more than 30 Vice Chancellors of universities, apart from Directors of institutions and top researchers from both countries and was graced by Dr Dipu Moni, Education Minister of Bangladesh and Prof A Mannan, Chairman, UGC Bangladesh apart from others.
The Convention has decided to form an international education corridor and work collaboratively towards promotion of higher education, culture, brotherhood and peace.
It was decided that the meet will be a regular affair to be held in different countries on rotational basis and that the Gauhati University will be hosting the next ICVC while the other universities in the North East would be co-organisers.
From North East India, 16 Vice Chancellors of Central, State and private universities participated in the Convention along with their Bangladeshi counterparts. The heads of institutions made presentations on their respective universities and engaged in a brainstorming to decide the road ahead.

IMF lowers India’s GDP growth forecast

India is projected to grow at 7.3 per cent in 2019 and 7.5 per cent in 2020, supported by the continued recovery of investment and robust consumption, thus remaining the fastest growing major economy of the world.
Growth forecast has been revised downward compared with the October 2018 WEO by 0.1 percentage point for 2019 and 0.2 percentage point for 2020.
Growth in India is expected to stabilise at just under 7 per cent over the medium term, based on the continued implementation of structural reforms and easing of infrastructure bottlenecks.
Important steps have been taken to strengthen financial sector balance sheets, including through accelerated resolution of non-performing assets under a simplified bankruptcy framework. These efforts should be reinforced by enhancing governance of public sector banks.
Reforms to hiring and dismissal regulations would help incentivise job creation and absorb the country’s large demographic dividend; efforts should also be enhanced on land reform to facilitate and expedite infrastructure development, the report said.

David Malpass takes office as World Bank president

David Malpass took office as the 13^thPresident of the World Bank Group. Malpass, former undersecretary for international affairs at the US Treasury Department, was chosen by President Donald Trump in early February as the US candidate for the post, following the abrupt resignation of former World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim.
The World Bank President is Chair of the Boards of Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA).
The President is also ex officio Chair of the Boards of Directors of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Malpass previously served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs for the United States.

April 11, 2019

Konyak women set Guinness record in dance

The Konyak Union set the Guinness World Records for the largest traditional Konyak dance consisting of 4,687 women participants.
The official attempt to make the record was made during the Konyak Aoleang-cum-Mini Hornbill Festival in Mon town on April 5. The 4,687 women from over 115 villages in the district sang and danced in full Konyak Naga traditional attire for five minutes and two seconds.
The dance is an old traditional Konyak dance which is usually performed during the festival.

Kohli Named Wisden’s Leading Cricketer in World

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack has named Virat Kohli as the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2018 as well as one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year.
Indian Skipper Virat Kohli is joined by Tammy Beaumont, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Rory Burns in Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year list.
Indian player Smriti Mandhana bagged the Women’s Leading Cricketer of the Year.
Rashid Khan of Afghanistan bagged the Leading T20 Cricketer of the Year.

FACTFILE – Wisden or Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack (or simply Wisden) is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom.
Wisden was founded in 1864 by the English cricketer John Wisden (1826–84). Its annual publication has continued uninterrupted to the present day, making it the longest running sports annual in history.
Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year represent a tradition that dates back in Wisden to 1889. This makes Wisden’s oldest individual award in cricket.
In 1998, an Australian edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack was launched. It ran for eight editions. In 2012, an Indian edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack was launched.

Astronomers unveil first ever image of black hole

An international scientific team announced a milestone in astrophysics – the first-ever photo of a black hole – using a global network of telescopes to gain insight into celestial objects with gravitational fields so strong no matter or light can escape.
The research was conducted by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project, an international collaboration begun in 2012 to try to directly observe the immediate environment of a black hole using a global network of Earth-based telescopes.
The image reveals the black hole at the center of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth.
Black holes, phenomenally dense celestial entities, are extraordinarily difficult to observe despite their great mass.
A black hole’s event horizon is the point of no return beyond which anything – stars, planets, gas, dust and all forms of electromagnetic radiation – gets swallowed into oblivion.
The project’s researchers obtained the first data in April 2017 using telescopes in the US states of Arizona and Hawaii as well as in Mexico, Chile, Spain and Antarctica. Since then, telescopes in France and Greenland have been added to the global network. The global network of telescopes has essentially created a planet-sized observational dish.

Government clears procurement of 464 T-90 tanks

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) gave the go-ahead for procuring 464 more tanks for almost Rs 13,448 crore ($1.93 billion). The T-90MS is the latest version of the tank with the Russian Army and the Indian Army’s armoured regiments already have the T-90S.
Russia is prepared for prolonging the license and building up the production of T-90 tanks in India in connection with the Indian government’s decision to purchase more tanks for its armed forces.
The tanks will be assembled Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) in Avadi, Chennai from semi-knocked-down (SKD) kits from Uralvagonzavod, the Russian tank manufacturer. The tanks will arm 10 armoured regiments of the Army.
The HVF had in 2006-07 signed a contract to produce 1,000 T-90S tanks under licence from Russia by 2020. But the HVF has been able to supply only 350-400 T-90S till date.
The T-90MS also has a guided missile system to annihilate armoured targets, including those equipped with explosive reactive armour (ERA), at ranges up to 5 kilometres. The tank comes equipped with a protection system to insulate and help its crew operate in a Nuclear-Biological-Chemical attack environment.

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April 12, 2019

Meghalaya records 2nd best voting in history

Women voters in Meghalaya were more enthusiastic than males in this Lok Sabha election which has seen one of the best polling percentages recorded in the Lok Sabha elections – a healthy 71.41 per cent.
According to the Election department, the best ever voting percentage recorded was in the 1998 Lok Sabha election when 74.38 per cent voters turned out. However, during that election the Assembly elections were also held simultaneously.
This is the best standalone voting percentage in the State’s history. The voting percentage is the second highest in the State’s history. This year’s percentage was way ahead compared to 2014 (68 per cent) and 2009 (63 per cent).
In both the seats of Shillong and Tura, women voters came out in large numbers.

Russian award ‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle’ for Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been honoured with Russia’s highest state decoration, the Order of St Andrew the Apostle, for his role in promoting close ties between the two countries.
The Russian government said Modi is given the highest state decoration of Russia for “exceptional services” in promoting special and privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India and friendly relations between the Russian and Indian peoples.
Order of St Andrew the Apostle is awarded to prominent statesmen, public figures and those working in the fields of science, culture and arts in recognition of their exceptional services in promoting prosperity and glory of Russia.
The Order of St Andrew the Apostle is the highest order of the Russian Federation.

Indian and Australian Navies maritime exercise AUSINDEX

Several Indian Naval Ships participated in AUSINDEX – the ongoing joint maritime exercise between India and Australia – in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam.
The Indian Navy was represented by INS Sahyadri, INS Ranvijay, INS Kora, INS Kiltan and submarines INS Sindhukirti.
BridgesofFriendship AUSINDEX19 As a part of Sea Phase of ongoing Australia – India Bilateral Maritime Exercise AUSINDEX-19, IN Ships Sahyadri, Ranvijay, Kora, Kiltan and Her Majesty’s Australian Ships Canberra, Newcastle, Parramatta, Success conducted exercises with submarines INS Sindhukirti and HMAS Collins along with P-8I and P8A long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft of respective navies.
Australian Navy Ship (HMAS) Canberra, a landing helicopter dock, Newcastle and Paramatta, both frigates, a Durance-class multi-product replenishment oiler along with HMAS Collins, a conventional submarine, also participated in the maritime exercise.
The bilateral maritime exercise is aimed to strengthen mutual cooperation and enhance interoperability between the Royal Australia Navy (RAN) and Indian Navy by providing opportunities for interaction and exchange of professional views between the personnel of the two navies.

Bill introduced in US congress to provide India ‘NATO ally’ status

A bipartisan group of half a dozen influential American lawmakers has reintroduced an important legislation in the House of Representatives which seeks to advance the US-India strategic relationship.
If enacted, the legislation would ensure that the US State Department treats India as a NATO ally for the purposes of the Arms Export Control Act.
It would send a powerful signal that defence sales to India should be prioritised according to US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, which had worked on this important legislation.
This adjustment to US law will further allow the US-India partnership to flourish in line with our security commitment to the Indo-Pacific region.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2017 included special language recognising the unique US-India defence relationship that designated India as a “Major Defence Partner” of the United States.
The legislation bolsters national security and helps ensure full alignment between the Department of Defense and the Department of State.
This legislation would be a major breakthrough for the US-India defense relationship.

FACTFILE – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 29 North American and European countries.
The organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.
NATO constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
NATO’s Headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons, Belgium.
Since its founding, the admission of new member states has increased the alliance from the original 12 countries to 29. The most recent member state to be added to NATO is Montenegro on 5 June 2017.
The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total. Members have committed to reach or maintain defense spending of at least 2% of GDP by 2024.

April 13, 2019

Assam Higher Secondary Education Council goes digital

The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC)’s new drive to go digital with its information delivery system is helping the Council make a huge monthly savings of Rs 2,04,000 apart from bridging the information gap with its affiliated institutions.
By stepping up digitalization in its examination branch and replacing the postal mails with e-mails and bulk messaging.
The step was conceptualized to eliminate the lengthy and expensive process of bulk posting of letters, notifications and other directions to our 1,500 affiliated institutions across the State.
The team has created a digital database of all the 1,500 affiliated institutions, including HS schools, colleges and universities. With the help of this any information related to examinations is circulated through mails and bulk messaging under the two step verification system.
The Council has also started digitizing the tabulation register (TR), which contains the HS final year marks obtained by the students since the year 1986. On completion of the digitized TR, the marks verification, which used to take minimum 15 days, would take only two minutes.
The Controller of Examination has to issue minimum four official letters every month to all the affiliated institutions, with a single letter costing Rs 34. Thus, in one year, the minimum cost incurred in sending such letters to each of the institutions is approximately Rs 24, 48,000, which we are being able to save now.
For the first time, the HS first year students also availed the online for fill up facility this year.

Deepa Malik named recipient of Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship

Rio Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik was named as the recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019 in recognition of her inspiring achievements.
The citation states that the Deepa Malik exemplifies two values that make a great sportsperson: courage and a can-do attitude.
Deepa Malik will be undertaking a series of visits to Paralympic sporting organisations, and engage with Kiwi athletes, students and the media as well as New Zealand’s significant Indian Diaspora community.
Deepa Malik will promote cultural as well the people-to-people relationship between India and New Zealand.
The Fellowship Program which is running since 2008 aims to strengthen the relationship between India and New Zealand by showcasing the different aspects of the warm friendship between the two countries. The fellowship aims to strengthen the ties between India and New Zealand.

NatGeo to set up weather stations on Mt. Everest

The National Geographic Society will set up automatic weather stations on Mount Everest as part of its multi-year, partnered initiative to increase understanding of extreme environmental conditions.
NatGeo has been permitted to install five automatic weather stations at different elevations along the climbing route and on the “roof of the world”.
The NatGeo team had already left for the Everest expedition to carry out research on weather, atmospheric conditions and changing climate by placing weather stations in the high altitude areas to gather data for the improvement of large-scale climate and weather models.
As per their plan, satellite-link technology will share near-real-time information about conditions on the mountain with scientists, regional managers and climbers.
It is going to carry out a broad scientific assessment of – and expedition to – Mt Everest and the Solukhumbu region, working closely with Nepali partners.
The expedition will collect samples for scientific research on current and historical climate patterns. It will use remotely sensed images to improve mapping of the glacial extent to better understand changing environmental conditions.
NatGeo has also partnered with the Department of Geology and the Department of Botany of Tribhuvan University to study the aspects of extremophiles and biology.

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April 14, 2019

Telugu Poet K Siva Reddy selected for prestigious Saraswati Samman 2018

Telugu poet K Siva Reddy is selected for the prestigious Saraswati Samman 2018 for his collection of poetry titled Pakkaki Ottigilite.

FACTFILE – The Saraswati Samman 2018 Awards

The Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any 22 Indian languages listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India.
It is considered to be among the highest literary awards in India.
It is named after the Goddess of learning and carries a cash prize of 15 lakh rupees, a citation and a plaque.
It was instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation.
The inaugural award was given to Harivanshrai ‘Bachchan’ for his four volume autobiography, Kya Bhooloon Kya Yaad Karoon, Needa Ka Nirman Phir, Basere Se Door and Dashdwar se Sopan Tak.

World’s largest plane successfully completes maiden flight

The world’s largest aircraft, developed by aerospace venture Stratolaunch, completed its first flight test. With a dual fuselage design and wingspan greater than the length of an American football field, the airplane took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in
Achieving a maximum speed of 189 miles (302.4 km) per hour, the plane flew for 2.5 hours over the Mojave Desert at altitudes up to 17,000 feet.
As part of the initial flight, the pilots evaluated aircraft performance and handling qualities before landing successfully back at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
The test team performed a variety of flight control maneuvers to calibrate speed and test flight control systems, including roll doublets, yawing maneuvers, pushovers and pull-ups, and steady heading side slips.
Moreover, it conducted simulated landing approach exercises at a max altitude of 15,000 feet mean sea level.
The aircraft has a world-record wingspan of 385 feet, and is 238 feet long. It is wider than any airplane on the planet. It weighs half a million pounds.

Airtel, FICCI Ladies Organisation launch app for women’s safety

Bharti Airtel in collaboration with FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) on Sunday launched a mobile app, My Circle, to help women in case they face any problem or a panic situation.
The application is carrier agnostic which would work on phones with any telecom service network, both Airtel and non-Airtel.
My Circle app enables women to send SOS alerts to any five of their family or friends in 13 languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Bangla, Urdu, Assamese, Oriya, and Gujarati.
A woman in distress can send an SOS alert by pressing the SOS prompt on the app. It can also be activated by voice command through Siri on iOS, the voice activation through Google Assistant will soon be available on Android devices also.
The app would instantly send the SOS alert along with the user’s location over SMS to the five contacts selected by the user and advise them to immediately reach out or respond to the emergency situation.
The app operates by estimating the accurate location of the user which their family or friends can track real time on a link that is sent as part of the alert SMS.
The free-to-download app is available on Google Play store (Android) and will be available on App Store (iOS) soon.

USTM signs MOU with UGC Bangladesh

University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh at Sylhet.
UGC Bangladesh will facilitate and coordinate the interaction of the universities of Bangladesh with USTM to pursue cooperation in exchange visits by students, faculty and administrators for study and research, teaching and discussions in accordance with regulations of both governments and universities.
The pact will help in exchange of materials in education and research, publications, academic information, instruction and cultural programmes, and institution of fellowships.
Both the sides agreed for joint research projects and programmes related to global education in areas of peace and conflict transformation; water resource and solid waste management; women empowerment; micro finance and issues related to the overall spread and promotion of education and for all round development of both the countries in specified areas.
This non-binding Agreement will be effective for a period of five years but will be automatically renewed by mutual agreement for an additional five years, unless the UGC and USTM provide written notification of a decision of non-renewal prior to the expiration date.

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Assam Current Affairs – April 01 – 07, 2019

Posted on September 15, 2019November 7, 2019 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – April 1 - 7, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of April 1 – 7, 2019 )

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April 01, 2019

Reserve Bank of India to issue guidelines for setting up of a Regulatory Sandbox

The RBI will be issuing guidelines for the fintech companies to test their new products on a small group of users before scaling up. This Regulatory Sandbox will help fintech companies to launch innovative products at a lower cost and in less time and enable fintech companies to conduct live or virtual testing of their new products and services.
The RBI’s working group on FinTech and digital banking in 2017 had recommended that a regulatory sandbox be introduced to experiment with FinTech solutions, where the consequences of failure can be contained and reasons for failure analysed.
A Sandbox is a framework set up by a regulator that allows FinTech start-ups to conduct live experiments in a controlled environment under supervision.

Advantage of the Regulatory Sandbox

Regulatory Sandbox will provide a well-defined space for the companies to develop new products.
Regulatory Sandbox allows for experimenting with their products and fintech solutions. In case of failure, the consequences would be contained and the reasons will be analysed for betterment.
Regulatory Sandbox would benefit FinTech companies by way of reduced time to launch innovative products at a lower cost.

**Indian rocket lifts off with Emisat satellite for DRDO**

A new variant of the India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket carrying the electronic intelligence satellite, Emisat for the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and 28 other third party satellites lifted off from the second launch pad.
The PSLV has successfully injected the ISRO-made Emisat satellite and 28 customer satellites at a 504 km altitude. With this launch, India has successfully put into orbit 297 foreign satellites till date.
This space mission used a new variant of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), switching off and on the fourth stage engine couple of times and the use of the fourth stage as an orbital platform carrying three experimental payloads.

FACTFILE – Satellite Launch Vehicle development in India

The Satellite Launch Vehicle or SLV was a project started in the early 1970s by the Indian Space Research Organisation to develop the technology needed to launch satellites.
SLV was intended to reach a height of 400 kilometres and carry a payload of 40 kg.
The first experimental flight of SLV-3, in August 1979, was a failure.
The first successful launch took place on 18 July, 1980, which was a four-stage rocket with all solid-propellant motors.
The PSLV is a four-stage engine expendable rocket with alternating solid and liquid fuel. ISRO also has two more PSLV variants – Core Alone and the larger PSLV-XL.

Singapore to introduce new law to prevent spread of Fake News

Singapore is planning to introduce a law to halt the spread of “fake news,” asking websites to correct erroneous information or even remove articles in extreme cases.
The bill will give more power to the government to hold online outlets more accountable if they’re deemed to have deliberately delivered false news.
The measures will include requiring them to show corrections or display warnings about online falsehoods so that readers can see all sides and come to their own conclusions.
Singapore lashed out at social media giant Facebook Inc. last year, calling the company unreliable after it declined a request to remove an alleged post. The government said then that Facebook’s decision to not remove malicious information on the country shows the need for legislation.

Vijaya Bank, Dena Bank and Bank of Baroda Merged

The amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank into the Bank of Baroda (BoB) will come into effect from April 1 and all branches of the former two will function as branches of Bank of Baroda (BoB).
Customers, including depositors of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will be treated as customers of Bank of Baroda with effect from April 1, 2019.
Union cabinet in January 2019, approved the merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with BoB. Post the merger, Bank of Baroda with a combined business of Rs 14.82 lakh crore, would be the third largest bank in the country, after State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank.
The merged entity would also receive Rs 5,042 crore fund infusion from the government. The infusion will be by way of preferential allotment of equity shares of the bank.

FACTFILE – Bank of Baroda (BOB)

BoB is the second largest public sector bank in India with a business mix of close to US$225 Billions.
Based on 2019 data, it is ranked 1145 on Forbes Global 2000 list. BoB has total assets in excess of ₹ 3.58 trillion (making it India’s 2nd biggest bank by assets), a network of 9583 branches in India and abroad, and 10441 ATMs as of July, 2017.
The Maharaja of Baroda, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, founded the bank on 20 July 1908 in the Princely State of Baroda, in Gujarat.
As many as 10 banks have been merged with Bank of Baroda to date.

April 02, 2019

Assam district develops App for first-time voters

The district administration of Bongaigaon has developed a ‘Sankalp’ mobile phone application to especially reach out to the first-time voters.
The NIC team has developed the app and it will be launched soon,” Khan, who is also the district election officer for Bongaigaon which falls under Barpeta Parliamentary constituency.
Messages will be sent to the first-time voters on their mobile phones, requesting them to download the ‘Sankalp’ app.
They will have to input a few details, like name and age, and the app will track their polling station and other details. They will also be able to sign a digital ‘sankalppatra’, promising to cast their votes on the day of polling.

Turing Award 2018 Awarded to Geoffrey Hinton, Yann LeCun and Yoshua Bengio

The Turing Award 2018 has been awarded to Geoffrey Hinton, Yann LeCun and Yoshua Bengio who have kickstarted an AI revolution by studying the learning abilities of large artificial neural networks.
The deep neural network uses layers of artificial neurons which mimics the structure of animal brains. Such AI is increasingly used in products that people use every day – from smart speakers to Facebook. This forms the backbone of Deep Learning.

FACTFILE – Deep Learning

Deep learning involves building computer programs which mimics the structure of animal brains, with many layers of artificial neurons used for processing the data.
When the network of neurons digests data, each neuron has individual responses within each layer.
These outputs are passed to the next layer until the network finally forms a decision or judgment about the input.
This deep learning technology can be used to transcribe human speech or recognise a person’s face in different photographs.

FACTFILE – The Turing Award

Turing Award is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for individuals who have contributed a lasting and major technical importance to the computer field.
The Turing award is accompanied by a prize of US $1 million, with financial support provided by Google.
Turing Award is recognized as the highest distinction in computer science and is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of computing”.

ISRO opens 1^st visitors gallery to watch rocket launches

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), for the first time, opening its launch complex at Sriharikota to common people to view rocket launches live. People can now enjoy watching with their naked eyes the lift-off of the 44-metre-tall and 320-tonne heavy PSLV rocket into the sky from the coast of the Bay of Bengal at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is, for the first time, opening its launch complex at Sriharikota to common people to come and view rocket launches live.
A new stadium with a capacity to accommodate 5,000 people has been created on the island of Sriharikota inside Satish Dhawan Space Centre and a website where visitors can register has been opened.
The only requirement is a government-recognised photo identification document. Only Indians will be allowed to enter and the facility will soon be expanded to accommodate up to 10,000 people.
This is part of the space theme park being made at the space centre, which will include a space museum and large display of Indian rockets.

Indian Navy inducts sixth indigenous transport ship LCU L56

The sixth indigenously designed and built transport ship has been inducted into the Indian Navy. LCU L56 is the sixth ship of Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV class to be inducted into the Indian Navy.
Amphibious operations capability including transport of troops, tanks and equipment will get enhanced with the addition of this LCU which will be based at Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The ship is commanded by Lt CdrGopinath Narayan and has a complement of five officers and 50 sailors.

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April 03, 2019

North East People’s Conference 2019 held in Manipur

In an effort to create a common political platform for the Northeastern region to fight the challenges, a day-long North East People’s Conference 2019 was held at the City Convention Centre.
Hosted by Manipur People against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (MANPAC), the conference was jointly organised by the civil society organisations of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
Representatives of many civil society organisations such as Joint Committee on Prevention of Illegal Immigrants (JCPI) of Nagaland, Coordination Committee of Tribal Organisations of Assam, Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations and North East Indigenous Peoples’ Parliament, social activists, intellectuals and others participated in the conference.
The representatives of other bodies such as CCTOA of Assam and CoMSO of Meghalaya also dwelt on CAB and others issues that threaten the existence of the indigenous population of the region.
The Conference is likely to come up with a declaration and formation of a common political platform for NE people to face the challenges in future.

Wipro partners with IIT-Kharagpur for Advanced 5G Research

IT services major Wipro and IIT Kharagpur will jointly take up applied research projects on industry challenges related to the design, planning and operations of 5G networks and cognitive information processing for the automation of these processes and 5G use cases.
The research will focus on AI research applicable in the healthcare, education and retail sectors as well as in domains such as climate change and cybersecurity.
Research outcomes from this partnership will be leveraged by Wipro to develop solutions for its customers, across industry verticals. And IIT Kharagpur will benefit from the commercialisation of the joint research insights and Wipro’s industry expertise.
Subject matter experts from Wipro and IIT-Kharagpur will promote knowledge sharing through guest lectures, workshops and seminars on 5G and AI.

Centre pays sovereign guarantees to ADB

Central government has paid up on sovereign guarantees to Asian Development Bank (ADB) and KfW, a state-run bank of Germany.
Payment of around $2 million or Rs 13.84 crore has been made to ADB at the least in the last couple of months and around Rs 5 crore has been paid to KfW.
In 2009, the government of India had issued a sovereign guarantee on behalf of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS).

FACTFILE – ADB

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines.
The company also maintains 31 field offices around the world to promote social and economic development in Asia.
Japan and United States hold the largest proportion of shares at 15.607%. China holds 6.444%, India holds 6.331%, and Australia holds 5.786%.
The bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East or ECAFE) and non-regional developed countries.
Membership – 68 countries
President – Takehiko Nakao

US approves sale of submarine-hunting copters to India

The US has approved the sale of 24 submarine-hunting MH-60R Seahawk Multi-Mission helicopters to India in a $2.6 billion deal aimed at strengthening their strategic relationship.
The DSCA said that it received the approval from the State Department for the sale and it has notified the Congress about it.
The helicopters, nicknamed “Romeo”, will give India the capability to perform anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions and also perform peacetime operations like search and rescue.
The approval for the sale comes as India and the US strengthen their strategic cooperation, with President Donald Trump raising India to the status of a major defence partner in his administration’s vision for a secure Indo-Pacific region buttressed by the two major democracies at either end.

FACTFILE – Defense Security Cooperation Agency

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), as part of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), provides financial and technical assistance, transfer of defense materiel, training and services to allies, and promotes military-to-military contacts.
Security Cooperation (SC) is founded on a tradition of cooperation between the United States and other sovereign nations with similar values and interests in order to meet common defense goals.
It consists of a group of programs authorized by the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, and the Arms Export Control Act, as amended, and related statutes by which the DoD or commercial contractor provide defense articles and services in furtherance of national policies and objectives.

April 04, 2019

Guwahati is fast becoming a favourite healthcare destination for Myanmar patients

According to Dr Gitartha Roymedhi, a healthcare management specialist and chief operating officer at the North East Cancer Hospital and Research Institute (NECHRI), Jorabat, patients from Myanmar, particularly cancer patients, nowadays prefer the hospitals of Guwahati for quality healthcare.
Last month a number of cancer patients had travelled to the city from Mandalay, Myanmar searching for better and upgraded cancer care. Many other patients from the neighbouring country are trying to contact NECHRI through email and social media.
The Myanmarese Gorkha community prefer North East India as their healthcare destination. They can easily travel to Moreh in Manipur. They can acquire the medical visa in a short time from the Indian Embassy in Mandalay after submitting all the required documents along with the invitation letter issued by the hospital.
Many Myanmarese patients travel to countries like Malaysia and Singapore for better and quality treatment. But for the middle-class Myanmarese citizens Guwahati is turning into the best choice as they can have quality treatment and services at cheaper rates.
Myanmar has a large Gorkha population who have been living in that country for centuries. During the British rule in Myanmar (then Burma) and World War II, a large number of Gorkhas migrated to that country.

Odisha’s Kandhamal Haldi gets GI Tag

Southern Odisha’s Kandhamal Haldi gets Geographical indication (GI) tag.
Kandhamal in Odisha’s southern hinterland is famous for its turmeric cultivation, a spice that enjoys its pride of place in an array of cuisines.
Kandhamal Haldi has more oleoresin and volatile oil contents compared to other turmeric varieties. It gives a strong aroma and has a high medicinal value.

FACTFILE – Geographical Indication (GI) Tag

Geographical Indication defines the goods as originating in the territory of a country or a region or locality in that territory, provided a given quality reputation or other characteristics of the product are attributable to its geographical origin.
The product to acquire GI tag has to indicate that the product is of a particular origin has a certain quality or reputation or some other characteristics, which is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
The GI tag in India is governed by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection Act), 1999.

UAE conferred its highest civilian honour on PM Narendra Modi

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has conferred its highest civilian honour, the Zayed Medal, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PM Modi was honoured by President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in appreciation of the Indian leader’s role in consolidating the long-standing friendship and joint strategic cooperation between the two countries.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said Modi had played a pivotal role in enhancing bilateral ties to the level of comprehensive strategic relations.
He expressed “his pride at the strong friendship and cooperation between the UAE and India, and wished the country and its people continued progress, prosperity, security and stability”
The Order of Zayed is the United Arab Emirates’ highest civil decoration named after Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

ADB projects India’s GDP growth to rise to 7.2

Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2019, the ADB projects India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to rise to 7.2 per cent in 2019 and reach 7.3 per cent in fiscal 2020, reversing two years of declining growth as reforms to improve the business and investment climate take effect.
India will remain one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world this year given strong household spending and corporate fundamentals.
India has a golden opportunity to cement recent economic gains by becoming more integrated in global value chains.
The country’s young workforce, an improving business climate, and a renewed focus on export expansion all support this.
The report said that the income support to farmers, hikes in procurement prices for food grains, and tax relief to tax payers earning less than Rs 500,000 ($7,212) will boost household income.
Consumer price inflation is expected to rise to 4.3 per cent in finacial year 2019, and 4.6 per cent in the following one, as food costs increase slightly and domestic demand strengthens. Inflation is expected to average around 4 per cent in the first half of fiscal 2019.

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April 05, 2019

Guwahati Railway Station first to get ISO 14001: 2015 certification

Guwahati Railway Station has become the first station in India to obtain the ISO 14001: 2015 certification for implementation of environment management system.
The certification has been issued for “providing passenger amenities in clean and green environment throughout the entire railway station premises with high class reserve (VIP) lounge, waiting rooms, AC and non-AC retiring rooms, refreshing area, food courts and sanitation.”
As per direction of the National Green Tribunal, NF Railway had given consultancy contract for environment management system to M/s Caliber Management Solutions in February this year.
M/s Caliber Management Solution is a consultancy firm based in Delhi and Guwahati which is the authorised associate of TNV Certification.
TNV Certification is the authorised certification body of the International Accreditation Services (IAS) of United States of America, which is a member of International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
While ISO makes standard and policy, IAF regulates and authorises certification bodies to issue certificates after assessment to meet compliance as per related standard.
M/s Caliber Management Solution had started auditing the facilities at the Guwahati Railway Station on February 22 and completed the work on March 22 March.
The certification will be reviewed in 2020 and so stricter environment norms regarding waste disposal, etc., have to be adhered to by NF Railway in the Guwahati station area. Provision of mechanised cleaning, anti-rodent treatment, use of standard cleaning chemicals, etc., which are already in place, will be monitored and audited by the certifying agencies.

RBI sets limits for Ways and Means Advances at Rs 75000 crore

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with the Government of India has set the limits for “Ways and Means Advances (WMA)” for the first half of the financial year 2019-20 (April 2019 to September 2019) at Rs 75000 crore.

FACTFILE – “Ways and Means Advances (WMA)”

Ways and Means Advances is the temporary loan facility provided by the RBI to the Centre and State Governments.
The WMA scheme was introduced in 1997 to meet any temporary mismatches in the receipts and payments of the Government.
The WMA needs to be vacated after 90 days. The interest rate for WMA is currently charged at the repo rate.
The limits for WMA are decided by the RBI and in consultation with the Government of India. Further, the RBI provides an overdraft facility when the WMA limit is breached.
For the State Governments, there are two types of WMA – Special and Normal WMA.
Special WMA is provided against the collateral of the government securities held by the State Government.
After the exhaustion of the special WMA limit, the State Government are provided with a normal WMA which is based on a three-year average of actual revenue and capital expenditure of the state.

Railways to provide quality healthcare facilities via Microsoft Kaizala

The Indian Railways will use Microsoft Kaizala to connect its employees across the country with quality healthcare facilities.
Microsoft Kaizala is a mobile-only product that makes it simple for organisations to seamlessly communicate, collaborate and complete tasks, bringing together desktop users and mobile-only users.
The Kaizala app will enable serving and retired railway employees to avail healthcare services of 125 railway and 133 private recognised hospitals.
On registering for the healthcare services, Indian Railway employees will be able to search on Microsoft Kaizala, the nearest hospitals and doctors and the list of empanelled diagnostic centres and health units.
Employees can book doctor appointments, share diagnostic lab reports directly with their doctors and save digital records in ‘Me Chat’ of Microsoft Kaizala.
They will also be able to access key announcements and share their feedback to improve the quality of medical services with built in action cards.

Russia launches cargo ship to space station

Russia successfully launched a Progress MS-11 unpiloted cargo resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS).
The launch of the spacecraft by the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket was carried out.
The spacecraft, will deliver over 2.5 tonnes of fuel, condensed air and oxygen, water, food and other cargoes necessary for the operation of the station in manned mode.

April 06, 2019

Phayenga village in Manipur is the first carbon-positive tag in India

Phayenga village in Manipur has been tagged as India’s first carbon-positive settlement.
The village in Imphal West district is surrounded by three densely forested hillocks with fruit trees at centre and a stream flowing through it.
The residents transformed the village with funding under National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC), a central scheme to support adaptation to climate change impact in various states.
Phayeng is the first Indian village which has been developed on the carbon-positive model.
A village is given the tag of carbon-positive settlement if it sequesters more carbon than it emits, slowing the accumulation of greenhouse gases and mitigating the effects of climate change.

India’s first ‘Cold Spray’ SMART lab to be set up at IIT Madras

The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) announced its collaboration with American conglomerate General Electric (GE) to set up a lab that will develop advanced services technology for aircraft engine components.
The ‘Cold Spray’ SMART (Surface Modification and Additive Research Technologies) Laboratory is the first-of-its-kind being installed in any academic institute in India.
It is an emerging technology for advanced manufacturing and services and will be utilised to co-develop processes for aero-engine applications.
Cold spray technology is different from other widely used thermal spray processes in that there is no melting and oxidation of powders. Thus, high quality coatings can be produced.
Moreover, the deposition rates are very high, leading to less powder wastage and it can be used for additive manufacturing and repair of components.

GRSE Becomes “First Indian Shipyard” to Build 100 Warships

State-owned Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd. has become the first Indian shipyard to build and deliver 100 warships.
GRSE had handed over its 100th warship ‘IN LCU L-56’ to the Indian Navy and 99th warship, ‘ICGS Priyadarshini’, an advanced ‘Fast Patrol Vessel’ to the Indian Coast Guard.

FACTFILE – Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Limited

Based in Kolkata, Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) is a shipbuilding company in India under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence.
GRSE primarily caters to the shipbuilding requirements of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. In addition to its ship and warship building capabilities, GRSE is also engaged in engine production and other engineering activities.
In 1934, GRSE was incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and was later acquired by the Government of India from Macneill & Barry Limited on May 19, 1960.
In 2006, GRSE was conferred upon the status of Mini Ratna.

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April 07, 2019

Assam witnessed very few woman candidates for LS polls

Voters of the State have never elected more than two woman candidates to the Lok Sabha in any single parliamentary election. Although most political parties swear by the agenda of amending the Constitution to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in legislature, it is noteworthy that very few woman candidates have contested the Lok Sabha polls from Assam in past years.
During the first Lok Sabha polls held in 1951-52, only two woman candidates contested the first Lok Sabha polls from Assam, out of total 12 seats. One of them, Bonily Khongmen of the Indian National Congress (INC), got elected from the Autonomous District constituency.
In the second Lok Sabha election held in 1957, two number of woman contestants in the State and both had won.
In the 1962 LS polls, three woman candidates contested in Assam and two of them emerged victorious, viz. Jyotsna Chanda from Cachar constituency and Renuka Devi Barkataki from Barpeta.
In the fourth Lok Sabha elections, the number of constituencies in Assam increased to 14 but the number of woman contestants in Assam again fell to two, and one of them, Jyotsna Chanda from Cachar was elected.
Jyotsna Chanda of INC from Cachar was once again the lone woman MP in the 1971 General Elections from the State.
In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, a total of three woman candidates were among those in the fray and two emerged victorious. The winners were Rashida Haque Choudhury from Silchar and Renuka Devi Barkataki from Guwahati constituency.
The seventh Lok Sabha polls in 1980 were not held in the constituencies of the Brahmaputra Valley. However, elections took place for the two seats in the Barak Valley and two woman contestants were in the fray from those constituencies and both lost.
No woman MP was elected to the Lok Sabha from Assam during the 1980 General Elections and the trend continued till 1998.
Polls to the parliamentary constituencies of Assam and Punjab were held only in 1985, four woman candidates contested from the seats in Assam but none was elected.
Elections to the Lok Sabha constituencies of Assam were not held in 1989. In the General Elections to the tenth Lok Sabha in 1991, eight woman contestants were in the fray from the constituencies of Assam and all were defeated.
In the 1996 Lok Sabha polls, nine woman candidates contested in the state but none was elected.
In the 1998 Lok Sabha polls, three women contested and Ranee Narah got elected from Lakhimpur constituency.
There were nine woman candidates in the state in 1999 polls for the 13th Lok Sabha and two of them won.
In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, all six woman candidates faced defeat.
In the General Elections to the 15th Lok Sabha held in 2009, the 11 number of woman contestanted but only two got elected, Ranee Narah from Lakhimpur constituency and Bijoya Chakravarty from Guwahati.
The 16th General Elections held in 2014 witnessed the highest number of woman candidates, a total of 16 women, contested in the state but only two of them, Bijoya Chakravarty from Guwahati and Sushmita Dev from Silchar, emerged winners.

India inks MOU to set up agriculture, rural development institute in Malawi

India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Consultancy Service (NABCONS) for setting up the India-Africa Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development (IAIARD) in Malawi.
Ministry of External Affairs signed with NABCONS for setting up IAIARD, an attempt to complement the efforts of the Government of India to enhance capacity in the areas of agro-financing and entrepreneurship development for African countries.
IAIARD will be a pan-African institute wherein trainees not only from Malawi but also from other African countries, will receive training to develop their human resources and build their capacity.
IAIARD will develop training programmes in the areas of micro-financing and agro-financing, among others.
This institute will be the first of its kind developed in an African country by India. This will further strengthen bilateral relations with Malawi and India’s relations with the African Union.

FACTFILE – Malawi

Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland.
Malawi spans over 118,484 km2 and has an estimated population of 18,091,575.
Its capital is Lilongwe, which is also Malawi’s largest city; the second largest is Blantyre, the third largest is Mzuzu and the fourth largest is its old capital Zomba.
The country is also nicknamed “The Warm Heart of Africa” because of the friendliness of the people.
Malawi has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality. There is a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, which is a drain on the labour force and government expenditures.

IIT Delhi and BIS sign MOU for setting up a Centre of Excellence

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) have signed an MoU for collaboration in standardization and conformity assessment.
As per the MoU, they will be setting up a centre of excellence in testing and conformity assessment and standardization.
It will have the branding of BIS at IIT Delhi campus.
There has also been an agreement for the appointment of a Chair in the same fields.
The MoU was signed by director general (DG) BIS, SurinaRajan and IIT Delhi Director, V Ramgopal Rao.
IIT Delhi will also develop the required infrastructure support for research projects with respect to standardization and will also offer financial support to IIT-Delhi for the same.
The MoU will be for five years initially and it can be extended later. BIS and IIT have also planned other initiatives such as the exchange of information on educational programmes and research related to standardization and conformity assessment.

April 2019 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook PDF

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Hemchandra Baruah Literary Award presented to Anuradha Sarmah Pujari

Assam Rifles and Coast Guard sign Charter of Affiliation

ISRO flagged off the shipment of India’s largest Liquid Hydrogen Storage tank

DBT & DAE Govt of India collaborate for Cancer Research

INDIA successfully launches RISAT-2B

China shares Brahmaputra hydrological data with India

UN forecasts Global economy to grow 2.7% in 2019

ADB to provide USD 750 million loan to India for railway track electrification

Pakistan successfully test-fires ballistic missile Shaheen-II

International Day for Biological Diversity observed on May 22

Kerala becomes the First State into the Masala Bond market

SpaceX successfully launches 60 internet satellites

Tripura Gramin Bank posts Rs 125-crore profit

DRDO successfully test-fires guided bomb from Sukhoi fighter

India’s first Tree Ambulance initiated in Chennai

Oman author Jokha Alharthi won the Man Booker International Prize

BJP won 9 seats and Congress won 3 seats in Assam

President Kovind dissolves 16th LokSabha

Indian Army Lt Gen Shailesh Tinaikar to head UN peacekeeping in South Sudan

NSIL, the commercial arm of ISRO inaugurated in Bengaluru

Assam’s colleges finds place in nation’s ‘best college’ list by India Today

Prem Singh Tamang takes oath as the CM of Sikkim

India-Bangladesh officials discuss border issues

Assam launches campaign to control diarrhea

Manipur top among NE States in implementing Ayushman Bharat

IAF all-woman crew flies Mi-17 chopper for first time

US removes India from its currency monitoring list

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India’s smallest Orchids ‘Lecanorchis Taiwaniana‘ discovered in Assam

Indian Navy’s first full-fledged SSB opened at Kolkata

Aarohi Pandit is world’s first woman to fly solo across Atlantic Ocean in Light Sport Aircraft

Manipur drafts solid waste management policy

India’s child mortality rate was World’s highest

CTBTO, the nuclear test ban body offers India ‘observer’ status

Lakhimpur’s Meghashree Borah tops HSLC exam for 2019, Selim Ahmed from Goalpara tops Assam High Madrassa exam

Nagaland gets first Level 2 Food Lab in North East

India supplies two attack helicopters to Afghanistan

Arunachal Pradesh holds 35 % of India’s Graphite Reserves

BSNL Partners with Google to expand Wi-Fi Footprint

Meghalaya-Assam CMs to resume talks on border dispute

Mizoram policy aims to make sports big industry

India ranked 117th in Kids Right Index

Govt plans to introduce artificial intelligence system in MCA 21 portal

Ministry of Environment to create DNA Database of Indian Rhinos

Meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers of SCO

Indian Scientist Ankur Patwardhan wins German chemistry prize

World Metrology Day on 20 May

Meghalaya Govt to implement Free Drug Policy and promote herbal medicines

Shyam Saran to be conferred with Japan’s ‘Order of the Rising Sun’ award

Tech Mahindra signed a defence contract with Indian Navy

Anti-terrorism day observed on May 21

Rafael Nadal Won the Italian Open 2019

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Tezpur University, Queen’s University Belfast sign pact to tap human resources

World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day celebrated on May 8

Microsoft unveils its own Blockchain-based service

Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian appointed Advisory Council Memberof Finance Commission

Assam Govt plans to boost inland water transport in State

Engineers at IIT Bombay develop AJIT microprocessor Made in India

Government of India introduces FAME II Scheme

Tirobhav Tithi of Harihar Atoi observed at Madhupur Satra

India joins US, Japan, & Philippines for naval drills in South China Sea

FDA Approves First Vaccine for Dengue

Tea Estate managements set to face more heat

National Technology Day 2019 observed on May 11

Indo-French naval exercise Varuna concludes

UN to hold 2020 Ocean Conference in Lisbon

Temperature projected to rise by 1.7°C in Manipur by end of 21st Century

IAF gets its first Apache attack helicopter

Republic of Ireland declared Climate Emergency

Japan tests world’s fastest bullet train

WTO Ministerial Meeting of Developing Countries began in New Delhi

Contract signed between Konkan Railways and Nepal Railways

Novak Djokovic won Madrid Open 2019 title

Survey of rivers soon to detect encroachments

DRDO successfully conducts flight test of ABHYAS

Young Scientist Programme – Yuvika2019

World Migratory Bird Day observed in Manipur

President Kovind dissolves 16^thLokSabha

India ranked 117^thin Kids Right Index

**Indo-French naval exercise Varuna concludes**

Temperature projected to rise by 1.7°C in Manipur by end of 21^st Century

India ranks 4^thin biggest military spender

2^nd Ginger Festival starts at Pherzawl in Manipur

India Launches 4^thKalvari-Class Attack Submarine

Indian students comes 2^nd at Microsoft Imagine Cup World final

Earth day 2019 observed on 22^nd April

National Panchayati Raj Day observed on 24^th April

World Malaria Day observed on 25^th April

India Rises to 17^th Spot in Startup Blink’s Startup Ecosystem Ranking