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Assam Current Affairs – September 22 – 28, 2019

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Current Affairs Assam – September 22 - 28, 2019

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

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September 22, 2019

  World Rhino Day observed at Kaziranga
  • Kaziranga National Park in association with various environmental NGOs and people of Kaziranga observed World Rhino Day on September 22.
  • The day-long programme inaugurated by Director of Kaziranga National Park P Siva Kumar and SDO (Civil) of Kaliabor, Bitupan Neog started at 7 am at Koliabor from which two processions with tableaus of rhinos moved for two different destinations, one towards Bokakhat and another towards Biswanath Division of Kaziranga National Park, Biswanath.
  • Agriculture Minister Atul Bora said that the cooperation extended by local people of Kaziranga was a great contribution towards conservation of rhinos in Kaziranga National Park, adding that local people should help in the protection of rhinos and other wildlife in Kaziranga National Park as it has helped in increase the population of rhinos in Kaziranga.

FACTFILE – World Rhino Day

  • The World Wildlife Fund-South Africa in 2010, announced to celebrate World Rhino Day on 22 September every year since then. The annual event took off on a global scale both on online and offline platforms when Lisa Jane Campbell of Chishakwe Ranch in Zimbabwe and founder of Annamitici joined hands with creative director Rhishja Cota in 2011 to create a massive awareness to protect all 5 species of rhinos from extinction.
  • The activities on occasion of Rhino Day vary from one participant to another with activities such as peaceful demonstrations, classroom projects, fundraising dinners, auctions and poster displays are observed globally.
  • World’s Five Rhinoceros Species living in Africa and Asia–
    • Javan Rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus): Critically Endangered (IUCN)
    • Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis): Critically Endangered (IUCN)
    • Black rhinos (Diceros bicornis): Critically Endangered (IUCN)
    • White rhinos (Ceratotherium simum): Near Threatened (IUCN)
    • Greater One-Horned Rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis): Vulnerable (IUCN)
 Bihar inaugurates its first all-women employee Post Office
  • Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated the all-women employee post office on the campus of Bihar Public Services Commission (BPSC). He said these post offices will be a step forward towards strengthening women empowerment.
  • He informed that postal accounts will be linked with Aadhaar for greater transparency. On an average, one thousand Aadhaar cards will be made at this center and other facilities will be also available. Minister Prasad said 114 such Kendra will soon be operational in 53 cities in the country.
 Delhi CM launches ‘champions campaign’ against dengue
  • Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched “champions campaign” in the fight against dengue and urged people to encourage their friends to inspect their homes on Sunday to clean stagnant water.
  • the campaign envisages that citizens should promptly reach out to 10 of their friends or peers and ask them to check their premises for signs of dengue.
  • Lakhs of Delhiites are joining the #10Hafte10Baje10Minute campaign against Dengue.
  • Such a community-driven campaign will ensure the citizens are encouraged to take initiative and responsibility for their fellow citizens.
 DSCI, MeitY and Google India join hands for ‘Digital Payment Abhiyan’
  • Nasscom’s Data Security Council of India (DSCI) collaborated with the electronics and IT ministry (MeitY) and Google India to launch a nationwide awareness campaign ‘Digital Payment Abhiyan’.
  • Communications and Electronics & IT Minister launched the campaign that will educate end-users on the benefits of making digital payments and urge them to adopt security and safety best practices.
  • The campaign was launched at the Google for India event.
  • To drive the campaign objectives and amplify outreach to users across all states, DSCI has onboarded various digital payments, ecosystem partners.
  • These partners include representation from banking, card networks as well as a fin-tech segment.

September 23, 2019

  Assam Tourism eyes 75 lakh domestic tourists
  • Assam, one of the ‘seven sisters’ of North East, is eying over 75 lakh domestic and 50,000 foreign tourists to visit the State following digital promotions and documentaries.
  • Assam received around 41,000 overseas and 60,27,002 domestic visitors in 2018-19.
  • Assam is doing promotional activities through digital medium and a series of documentaries in the National Geographic, thus expect this number to grow to over 50,000 foreign and over 75 lakh Indian travellers in this financial year, said Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) chairman Jayanta Malla Baruah
  • The top source market of the State is the UK followed by Germany, Israel, China and South Asian countries.
  • World Bank has given in-principal allocation of Rs 720 crore for infrastructure development of various destinations.
  • Prime Minister has declared 17 destinations as iconic and Kaziranga National Park is in the list, separate funds will be allocated by the Central government.
  • This year Assam expects to attract over 15 lakh tourists to its annual river festival – Dwijing festival, which is an annual river festival celebrated in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts, he added.
  • Assam has a lot to offer apart from its very own Kaziranga National Park, Bihu and the mighty Brahmaputra. Assam has offerings from religious, spiritual and historical monuments, to tea estate experiences topped with adventure and authentic cuisine.
 Telangana, Andhra CMs agree to Link Rivers
  • Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy decided to interlink Godavari and Krishna rivers with less land acquisition.
  • Both the chief ministers had a lengthy discussion on diverting Godavari waters to Krishna River and other important issues pertaining to both the states at a meeting at PragathiBhavan.
  • Both the CMs discussed about from where Godavari waters can be linked to the Krishna and at what alignment. They agreed that the linkage and utilisation of water should be useful for the both the states.

FACTFILE – Godavari River

  • The Godavari is India’s second longest river after the Ganga. Its source is in Triambakeshwar, Maharashtra.
  • It flows east for 1,465 kilometres, draining the states of Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, ultimately emptying into the Bay of Bengal through its extensive network of tributaries.
  • Measuring up to 312,812 km2, it forms one of the largest river basins in the Indian subcontinent, with only the Ganga and Indus rivers having a larger drainage basin.
  • In terms of length, catchment area and discharge, the Godavari is the largest in peninsular India, and had been dubbed as the Vridha Ganga.

FACTFILE – Krishna River

  • The Krishna River is the third largest river in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Godavari and Brahmaputra.
  • The 1,400 kilometres long river is one of the major sources of irrigation for Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
 PM Modi, Mongolian Prez unveil Buddha statue in Ulaanbaatar
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga jointly unveiled a statue of the Buddha and his two disciples installed at the historic GandanTegchenling Monastery in Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar through video conferencing. The statue symbolises the shared respect of our two countries for the universal message of Lord Buddha.
  • The statue depicts Buddha in a sitting posture along with his two disciples conveying the message of compassion along with peace and coexistence.
  • Prime Minister during his visit to Mongolia in 2015 and had announced to gift a statue of Buddha to the monastery, underlining the common Buddhist heritage and civilisational links between the two countries and peoples.
  • The statue was installed and consecrated at the Gandan Monastery earlier this month during the third edition of “SAMVAAD” dialogue held in Ulaanbaatar from September 6-7.

FACTFILE – Gandan Tegchenling Monastery

  • Gandan Tegchenling Monastery is a prominent centre of Mongolian Buddhists and a treasure house of valuable Buddhist heritage. It hosted the 11th General Assembly of Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP) from 21-23 June 2019 marking the 50th anniversary of the Conference.
  • Over 150 guests from 14 countries including India, South Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, North Korea, LPDR, Thailand, Japan etc. had participated in the event.
 Coast Guard undertakes beach clean-up along coastline
  • The Indian Coast Guard conducted a massive beach clean-up drive along the coastline of the country on the occasion of International Coastal Cleanup Day.
  • The International Coastal Cleanup Day is observed on the third Saturday of every September as per the mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme.
  • In the region of South Asia the drive is coordinated by the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP).
  • India has a coastline of over 7,500 kilometers along nine states and two union territories of the country.
  • Beach cleaning activities were conducted in four states – Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala, that fall under its ambit. The western region also conducted the cleanup drive in two union territories of Daman and Lakshadweep.
  • Around 8,000 volunteers participated in the drive, they cleared approximately 30,000 kgs of trash and non-bio degradable waste apart from a huge quantity of non-degradable marine litter.

           

September 24, 2019

  National Health Mission Assam receives – IT Excellence Award
  • The National Health Mission, Assam recently received the ‘IT Excellence Award’ conferred by the Indian Express Group for the project ‘A Journey from Quantity to Quality’.
  • The quality journey is a multi-pronged strategy approach to create value in public healthcare in Assam as per national standards.
  • Based on the guidelines of Indian Public Health Standard (IPHS), comprehensive gap analysis format was prepared to carry out a gap analysis of each facility.
  • The journey on the quality started with a mobile-based application developed and implemented with support from UNICEF to carry out the gap analysis and get instant and reliable output.
  • Shifting the healthcare system from the quantity of services provided to the quality of services provided yield significant result within one year.
  • Altogether 236 government healthcare bodies have achieved quality benchmarks in 2019-20 after implementation of this strategy.
 NASSCOM signs MoU with Pearson to skill IT workforce
  • NASSCOM FutureSkills has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pearson India, a leading digital learning company, in a bid to provide skill training to current and future working professionals and help improve the quality and quantity of the employable workforce in the IT-BPM industry.
  • With the spread of digitalisation, skilling would become indispensable for professionals across the IT spectrum. The MoU seeks to provide these skill sets to the workforce.
  • The ongoing digitisation of new-age technologies is creating a massive skill gap in the IT, ITES and BPM sectors.
  • Given the current growth trajectory, the demand for digitally skilled professionals will rise to 2.3-2.7 million in fiscal 2023.
  • According to an estimate, out of the 4.5 million professionals employed in the industry today, around 1.5 to 2 million professionals will require reskilling in the coming four to five years.
 CM Kejriwal launches new street light scheme in Delhi
  • In a move to enhance women’s safety in the capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a new scheme for installing street lights at unlit dark spots across the city.
  • To be called ‘Mukhyamantri Street Light Yojana’, the scheme will ensure that 2.1 lakh street lights are installed across the city to light up dark spots from November 1 with a budget of Rs 100 crore.
  • The street lights will be installed at locations on the lines of CCTV installation, unlike the street lights installed by the local bodies.
  • Under the scheme, the people can contact the area MLA to designate the spots where they wish to have street lights installed.
  • These lights will be equipped with sensor technology so that they can sense the ambient light. Any resident of Delhi can give the permission to install street lights by signing a letter. They have to give electricity connections from their houses and a fixed amount will be reduced from their bills.
 China launches two new BeiDou satellites
  • China launched two new satellites of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) into space. The satellites that were launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, Sichuan province, on a Long March-3B carrier rocket.
  • The new satellites and the carrier rocket were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
  • The new satellites will work with the BDS satellites already in orbit to improve the positioning accuracy of the system. They are also equipped with new processors to improve navigation signals.

FACTFILE – The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)

  • The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations.
  • The first BeiDou system, officially called the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System and also known as BeiDou-1, consists of three satellites which since 2000 has offered limited coverage and navigation services, mainly for users in China and neighboring regions. Beidou-1 was decommissioned at the end of 2012.
  • The second generation of the system, officially called the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) and also known as COMPASS or BeiDou-2, became operational in China in December 2011 with 10 satellites in orbit.
  • In 2015, China started the build-up of the third generation BeiDou system (BeiDou-3) for global coverage constellation. As of October 2018, fifteen BDS-3 satellites have been launched. BeiDou-3 will eventually consist of 35 satellites and is expected to provide global services upon completion in 2020.
  • When fully completed, BeiDou will provide an alternative global navigation satellite system to the United States owned Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian GLONASS or European Galileo systems and is expected to be more accurate than these.
  • On 27 December 2018, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System started to provide global services.

September 25, 2019

  Assam launches housing, education loan subsidy scheme ‘Aponar Apon Ghar’
  • Assam Govt launched a housing loan subsidy scheme to provide financial relief on purchase or construction of the first house for a family.
  • Assam Finance minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the scheme titled ‘Aponar Apon Ghar’ and said that subsidy up to Rs 2.5 lakh will be provided for loan amounts from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 40 lakh.
  • Up to loan amount from Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakh one lakh interest subsidy will be provided.
  • While between Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh the subsidy will be Rs 1.50 lakh, from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh Rs 2 lakh subsidy will be given and from Rs 30 to Rs 40 Lakh Rs 2.50 lakh will be provided.
 PM Modi receives Global Goalkeeper Award
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the Global Goalkeeper Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the Swachh Bharat mission.
  • The PM said the honour bestowed on him was for the millions of Indians who participated in the mission. He said though the Swachh Bharat mission was begun by his government, the people took charge of it.
  • When he took over in 2014, less than 40 per cent homes had toilets in the country, and now it is close to 100 percent. He said the Clean India Mission has also helped save thousands of lives, and cited a WHO report that said building toilets in homes helped save 300,000 lives.
  • He cited a UNICEF study that said that every family with a toilet will be able to save Rs 50,000 a year, while a Bill and Melinda Gates report said that increase in sanitation has improved the BMI of women.
 PM Modi announces Coalition for Disaster Management at UN Climate Action Summit
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York.
  • The Prime Minister made the announcement of the coalition at the Climate Action Summit, which was witnessed by global leaders, government functionaries, international delegates and diplomats from across the world.
  • The partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks, financing mechanisms, private sector and knowledge institutions will promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to tackle climate and disaster risks, thereby ensuring sustainable development.
  • Developed through consultations with more than 35 countries, the CDRI envisions to enable measurable reduction in infrastructure losses from disasters, including extreme climate events.
  • Established as a platform for generating and exchanging knowledge, the CDRI will conduct country-specific and global activities.
  • CDRI will provide member countries technical support and capacity development, research and knowledge management, and advocacy and partnerships to facilitate and encourage investment in disaster resilient infrastructure systems.
  • CDRI will focus on developing resilience in ecological infrastructure, social infrastructure with a concerted emphasis on health and education, and economic infrastructure with special attention to transportation, telecommunication, energy and water.
 India’s growing Diplomatic significance at UN
  • The CDRI is the second major coalition launched by India outside of the UN, the first being the International Solar Alliance.
  • Both of them are seen as India’s attempts to obtain a global leadership role in climate change matters, and were termed as part of India’s stronger branding.
  • India and Japan, with their joint experience in disaster management, can use the CDRI to provide a safer alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

FACTFILE – Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)

  • Formed on September 23, 2019
  • Headquarters – New Delhi, India
  • CDRI is an international coalition of countries, United Nations (UN) agencies, multilateral development banks, the private sector, and academic institutions, that aims to promote disaster-resiliant infrastructure.
  • CDRI will provide member countries technical support and capacity development, research and knowledge management, and advocacy and partnerships to facilitate and encourage investment in disaster resilient infrastructure systems.
  • CDRI will focus on developing resilience in ecological infrastructure, social infrastructure with a concerted emphasis on health and education, and economic infrastructure with special attention to transportation, telecommunication, energy and water.
 Delhi to implement Street Vendors Act
  • Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the city government will legalise the street vendors and hawkers and will provide them protection in the national capital.
  • Delhi will become the first state to implement the The Street Vendors Act, 2014. Under it, 28 town vending committees have been set up and a notification has been issued.
  • The committees, each having 30 members, have 12 vendors or hawkers as their team, while rest of the members are officials, town planners, police and traffic police, and RWAs and market association, and officials from the health department.
  • The MCDs and the civic bodies have been asked to conduct a survey of vendors through their respective town vending committees.
  • After the survey is completed, street vendors will be given certificates and thereafter, licences will be issued.
  • The licences will have the name of the owner, address and the place of vending, and this will ensure that they are not harassed by anyone.
  • The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 was passed in February, 2014 to regulate street vendors in public areas and protect their rights. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2012 by then Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja.

September 26, 2019

  India, US, Japan begin trilateral maritime exercise ‘Malabar 2019’
  • India, the US and Japan began the ‘Malabar 2019’ trilateral maritime exercise in the Pacific Ocean. The exercise, in which the Indian Navy has deployed two ships.
  • Two frontline indigenously developed ships – INS Sahyadri, INS Kiltan – have been deployed for the exercise. Sahyadri is a multi-purpose guided missile frigate while the Kiltan is an anti-submarine warfare corvette. A P8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft was also sent to Japan for the exercise.
  • The US Navy is being represented by USS McCampbell, a Los Angeles-class attack submarine and a P8A long range maritime patrol aircraft.
  • The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force has participated with the Izumo class helicopter destroyer JS Kaga, guided missile destroyers JS Samidare and Choukai and a P1 long-range maritime patrol aircraft.
  • The objective of Malabar 2019, which is being conducted for the 33rd time, is to further strengthen naval ties between the three countries.
  • The exercise also aims to enhance cooperation and inter-operability, based on shared values and principles, between the three Navies.
  • Complex maritime operations in the surface, sub-surface and air domains including anti-submarine warfare, anti-air and anti-surface firings, maritime interdiction operations will be conducted during the sea-phase of the exercise.

FACTFILE – Malabar Exercise

  • Exercise Malabar is a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners.
  • Originally begun in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between India and the United States, Japan became a permanent partner in 2015.
  • Past non-permanent participants are Australia and Singapore.
  • The annual Malabar series began in 1992 and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissions Coast Guard ship Varaha
  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Varaha in Chennai. The Varaha is an offshore patrol vehicle developed by the private agency, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), in accordance with a contract signed with the Defence Ministry.
  • It is the fourth among a series of seven ships to be delivered by L&T with features like ultra-advanced navigation and communication sensors.
  • Varaha will operate from the port of New Mangalore on the West Coast covering the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to Kanyakumari.
  • The state-of-the-art ship can operate the indigenously developed Advanced Light Helicopter of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
  • It is expected to add to the Coast Guard”s strength in responding to the threats of maritime terrorism, smuggling and challenges of maritime law enforcement.
  • The ship is also well-equipped with high speed boats, medical facilities and modern surveillance systems.
  • It can help provide search and rescue cover to mariners in distress at sea.
 Gandhi solar park, peace garden inaugurated at UN
  • Leaders from around the world joined hands in the spirit of Gandhian universality to inaugurate a solar facility and roof garden at the UN headquarters and a garden with trees from across the US dedicated to the Mahatma on his 150th birth year.
  • Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Prime Ministers Narendra Modi, Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, Andre Holness of Jamaica, Jacinda Arden of New Zealand and Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore placed their hands on a glass globe to inaugurate them.
  • The Gandhi Solar Park costing $1 million and having an output of 50 kilowatts of electricity is located on the roof of the Conference Building at the headquarters and is a gift from India to the UN to provide it clean energy.
  • India also donated the Gandhi Peace Garden made up of 150 trees located at a university campus in Old Westbury as another environmental gift.
  • Marking the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi, the two gifts symboliseIndia”s commitment to the environment by producing clean power and capturing carbon emissions in the trees.
  • Accepting the gifts, Guterres thanked India for supporting the elimination of single-use plastic at the UN by providing reusable bags and kits, and for installing solar panels and a green roof on top of the Conference Building.
 Bangladesh PM Hasina honoured with ‘Vaccine Hero Award’
  • Bangaldesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was conferred with the Vaccine Hero Award at the UN headquarters. Hasina was applauded for the success in immunisation in Bangladesh, especially for her role in eliminating polio and curtailing diphtheria, hepatitis-B and rubella.
  • Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) Board Chairperson NgoziOkonjo-Iweala delivered a felicitation speech on the occasion.
  • GAVI, a Switzerland-based organisation, works to save the lives of millions of children globally by providing vaccines to them.
  • Dedicated vaccine centres and over 18,000 community clinics and Union Health Centres are providing vaccination services across Bangladesh.
  • The UNICEF will organise an event on honouring Hasina where she will also receive the Champion of skill development for youth” award.

 

September 27, 2019

  Centre to invest Rs 3,500 crore in NE aviation sector
  • The Civil Aviation Ministry will invest Rs 3,500 crore in the aviation sector of the North East region in the next couple of years, said Sanjiv Jindal, Regional Executive Director of the AAI, North East region.
  • An amount of Rs 1,250 crore would be spent on the facelift of the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati, the region’s most busy airport.
  • The new terminal of the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport airport will entail an expenditure of Rs 448 crore and an amount of Rs 650 crore will be spent on infrastructure development of the Imphal airport.
  • The works of the Imphal airport will be completed by the end of this year, while the new terminal of the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport here will be ready for use by March next year.
  • Aviation sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country, Jindal said that three water aerodromes would come up in Assam.
  • Boosting air connectivity to some parts of the North East region was on the AAI’s radar. The potential sites include Silchar, Tezpur, Dimapur, Shillong and Tura. Besides, the Union Aviation Ministry has identified 20 locations in Arunachal Pradesh where helicopter services would be launched soon.
  • The External Affairs Ministry has already approached Dhaka for 52 acres of land to extend the existing runway at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport. “There is a possibility of the airport being used by the two countries, which is operational in Europe. The Asian Development Bank has already carried out a survey and suggested the new concept,” he said.
  • Out of the total 13 operational airports in the North East, only the airport in Guwahati is on the path of making profits.
 NTPC, SECI to set up dispute resolution in clean energy sector
  • The Central government has proposed to set up a dispute resolution mechanism in the renewable energy sector to cater to the growing cases of disputes between stakeholders in the solar and wind sectors.
  • The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued guidelines for establishing a dispute resolution mechanism (DRM) for projects being implemented by government agencies Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and NTPC.
  • As per the guidelines, SECI and NTPC will provide a secretariat for the dispute resolution committee (DRC), with its head being designated as the secretary who will be from either of the two state run entities.
  • All disputes emanating from contracts or from decisions taken by SECI or NTPC will have to be addressed to the DRC secretary.
  • All the applications under the DRM, whether for appeal against the decisions given by SECI or NTPC based on the terms of contract or the requests not covered under the terms of contract, will be addressed to the DRC secretary.

FACTFILE – Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI)

  • SECI is a company of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, established to facilitate the implementation of the National Solar Mission (NSM).
  • It is the only Central Public Sector Undertaking dedicated to the solar energy sector. The company’s mandate has been broadened to cover the entire renewable energy domain and the company will be renamed to Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI).
  • It is responsible for implementation of government schemes, major ones being the VGF schemes for large-scale grid-connected projects under NSM, solar park scheme and grid-connected solar rooftop scheme, and other specialised schemes such as defence scheme, canal-top scheme, and Indo-Pak border scheme.
  • SECI has also ventured into solar project development on turnkey basis for several PSUs. The company also has a power-trading licence and is active in this domain through trading of solar power from projects set up by it.
 DRDO inks pact to set up research centre in J&K
  • The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) entered an MoU with the Central University of Jammu to establish a new centre for science and technology in Jammu and Kashmir.
  • The MoU was signed here in the presence of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the new centre will be set up at the Central University of Jammu.
  • The centre will be named Kalam Centre for Science and Technology after former President late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
  • The primary objective behind signing the MoU is to undertake and facilitate basic and applied research and technology development in the identified research verticals, namely Computational System Security and Sensors.
  • The centre will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment which will help increase the number of research scholars in the region.

September 28, 2019

  The Tea Board of India likely to fix a minimum price for green tea leaves in Assam
  • Assam industry and commerce minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that the Tea Board of India is likely to fix a minimum price for green tea leaves in Assam soon. He said that to avail the minimum price the growers, however, also have to ensure the good quality of the tea leaves.
  • All the stakeholders of the tea industry met during a meeting in Guwahati to discuss ways and means to improve the quality of the Assam tea and increase the export of tea.
  • “While we have requested the Tea Board of India to fix a minimum support price for green tea leaves, the growers have also agreed to resort to good plucking involving the traditional two leafs and a bud to ensure quality of the Assam tea,” the minister said.
  • Assam government asks Tea board to come up with minimum price for green tea leaves. The board is also asked to give direction to the growers to improve the quality of the tea.
  • Assam was a global leader in tea production in 1961 when the export was 37percent. However, the export came down to only 12 percent in recent years, affecting the industry as a whole.
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissions INS Khanderi
  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned India’s second Scorpene-class attack submarine INS Khanderi into the Indian Navy in a ceremony held at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai.
  • The commissioning was marked by the hoisting of the Indian National Flag on the flagpost of the submarine.
  • Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh and a host of other dignitaries including senior naval officials were also present on the occasion.
  • The Defence Minister also commissioned the first of India’s P-17 Shivalik-class frigate Nilgiri and the aircraft carrier drydock into the Indian Navy during the ceremony.
  • The INS Khanderi is the second attack submarine that has been commissioned into the Indian Navy under the P-75 project. In 2017, another submarine INS Kalvari had already been inducted into the Navy.
  • Nilgiri, the Alpha Shivalik-class frigate, a stealth warship, has been built under a programme called P-17. The Nilgiri is a follow-up to the first ever frigate which was built by the Mazgaon Dock Limited way back in the 1970s and has now been decommissioned.
  • The aircraft carrier drydock which was commissioned is the largest drydock of the Indian Navy.

FACTFILE – INS Khanderi (2017)

  • INS Khanderi is the second of the Indian Navy’s six Kalvari-class submarines being built in India.
  • It is a diesel-electric attack submarine which was designed by French naval defence and energy company DCNS and manufactured at Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai.
  • The submarine began its sea trials on 1 June 2017.
 Rajasthan-based Payal Jangid receives Changemaker Award
  • Rajasthan-based activist PayalJangid, 17, has been honoured with prestigious ‘Changemaker Award’ by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at the Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards held in New York.
  • In recognition of her work towards the abolition of child marriage in her village, Hinsla and other neighbouring areas.
  • Jangid, who is one of many torchbearers of Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi”s legacy and who lives in a Child-Friendly Village (Bal Mitra Gram) situated in the desert state of Rajasthan.
  • Jangid, as the President of her village’s Children’s Parliament (Bal Panchayat), has undertaken a slew of field activities in the past to empower women and children of her own village and villages nearby.
  • Jangid’s parents decided to marry her off when she was only 11 years old. She raised her voice against child marriage, as a result, her parents relented and the marriage was prevented.
  • As a child rights advocate, she has been encouraging children to unite and raise their voices against injustices done to them.
  • She has made a significant contribution to her village administration leading to the betterment of the lives of the children of her village.
  • Earlier in 2013, on the basis of Jangid’s extensive work towards protection of the rights of children, she was chosen as a member of the jury for the World’s Children’s Prize.
  • In 2017, she also received the ”Young Achiever Award” by the global sports and fitness brand Reebok.
 TN to buy 2,623 buses with financial assistance from KFW
  • As a part of its plan to modernise the bus fleet of its transport corporations, Tamil Nadu government has decided to buy 2,123 BS-VI emission compliant buses and 500 electric buses with the debt assistance provided by German development bank KFW.
  • The government said a Project Agreement was signed with KFW for financial assistance of Rs 1,580 crore.
  • The Tamil Nadu government had earlier announced that it would acquire 12,000 new buses and 2,000 electric buses with KFW’s debt of Rs 5,890 crore.
  • According to the state government, under the Project Agreement, setting up of charging stations for electric vehicles, acquisition of software and hardware for the upgradation of transport department, setting up of passenger information systems, cashless ticketing and others will be implemented.

September 2019 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook

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