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Assam Current Affairs – May 29 – 31, 2020

Posted on June 7, 2020June 10, 2020 by admin

Assam Current Affairs & GK – May 29 – 31, 2020

( Covers all important Assam & North-East Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of May 29 – 31, 2020 )

May 2020 Current Affairs Monthly PDF | Assam 2020 Yearbook | May 2020 Quiz Monthly PDF

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May 29, 2020

Health Ministry includes RMNCAH+N activities in essential services

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare categorised RMNCAH+N activities in the essential services category. These activities are related to pregnancy care management, newborn care and childhood illness management, immunisation services, management of severe acute malnutrition in children, family planning services, comprehensive abortion care services and adolescent health services as essential.
The Ministry said that in addition to priority to health facilities and healthcare workers, it is also vital that essential health services for vulnerable population like this segment are continued during the pandemic.
Provision of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health Plus Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) services during and post COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Ministry said any area exiting in ”containment/buffer zone” can start RMNCAH+N activities as listed in ”areas beyond buffer zone” after a minimum gap of 14 days following delisting.
Similarly, an area entering a ”containment and buffer zone” should restrict these activities immediately.
Drugs, commodities needed for continuing the RMNCAH+N services, should be treated as essential commodities.
Home deliveries of essential medicines like IFA, Calcium, ORS, Zinc, contraceptives etc can be organized in the containment zone.
The Health Ministry said the campaign-mode servicing like mass vitamin prophylaxis, Campaigns for Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF), National Deworming Day (NDD) and Test Treat and Talk (T3) camps for anaemia could be provided on an alternative mechanism like through home delivery of essential services and commodities etc based on local situation.
The Ministry asserted that critical services for women, children and adolescents should be provided irrespective of their COVID-19 status and under no circumstances should there be a denial of essential services.

Tamil Nadu signs 17 investment MoUs worth Rs 15,128 crore

The Tamil Nadu government signed 17 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) involving an investment of Rs 15,128 crore having a potential to generate about 47,150 jobs.
The MoUs were signed with companies that are already operating in the state like Daimler India Commercial Vehicles and also with new investors.
The investing companies are from Germany, Finland, Taiwan, China, France, South Korea, Japan, USA, Australia, England and Netherlands.

CSIR-IIIM, RIL to develop and scale-up new COVID-19 diagnostic test

The Institute of Integrative Medicine in Jammu has tied up with Reliance Industries Ltd to develop and scale-up a new Reverse Transcriptase-Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP)-based COVID-19 diagnostic kit.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has also been signed between IIIM-Jammu and RIL, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The IIIM is a research institute under the CSIR.
COVID-19 RT-LAMP test is a nucleic acid-based test carried out from nasal or throat swab sample from patients.
The test has been developed and successfully demonstrated using synthetic templates.
It is a rapid (45-60 minutes), cost-effective and accurate test.
It has been tested with a small number of samples of patients and validating the kit on more number of patient samples is planned and will be done together with RIL.
The advantage of this test is that the RT-LAMP-based COVID-19 kit components are easily available and these can be completely manufactured in India.
The current COVID-19 testing is done by real-time PCR and their components are mostly imported.
These tests are expensive and require highly trained manpower, costly instruments and a relatively high-end lab and cannot be deployed at remote locations in quarantine centres, airports and railway stations.
The RT-LAMP test can be done with minimal expertise in a very basic lab setup like mobile units or kiosks for testing at airports, railway stations, bus stands and other public places.

May 30, 2020

New waterways linking NE India, Bangladesh

New waterways between Tripura and Bangladesh would start within three months and it would boost trade and numerous economic activities.
State CM Deb said that a temporary jetty would be built at Sonamura in western Tripura within three months before starting the new waterways through Gomati river between Tripura and Bangladesh.
After operating the small vessels to carry various goods during the monsoon season, dredging for operating big vessels and ships would start in the Gomati river during the winter season.
To operate vessels smoothly between Tripura and Bangladesh, 18 km waterways (15 km in Bangladesh territories and 3 km in Tripura territories) in the Gomati river would require dredging.
The Gomati river, one of the eight rivers of Tripura flows to Bangladesh, linked with Meghna, one of the major rivers in the neighbouring country.
The Second Addendum to the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade was signed in Dhaka on May 20 by Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das and Bangladesh Shipping Ministry Secretary Mohammed Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury.
In the Second Addendum, Sonamura (Tripura)-Daudkhandi (Bangladesh) stretch (93 km) of the Gomti river was included as IBP route number 9 and 10 in the protocol and it would improve connectivity of Tripura and adjoining northeastern states of India with Bangladesh”s economic centres and would help the hinterland of both the countries.

Odisha govt announces Rs 17000 crore livelihood package

The Odisha government announced a special package to provide employment opportunities for migrant workers and people affected due to Covid-19 pandemic in the rural areas.
The council of ministers” meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, approved the package named Special Livelihood Intervention Plan.
The livelihood intervention package will be implemented from June 2020 to March 2021 as the public health crisis has led to an economic crisis in the rural areas.
The plan is aimed at generating employment in rural areas through sectors like agriculture, fisheries, animal resources development, MGNREGS, forest and handlooms and handicrafts.
Under the package, the government would provide assistance to the farmers for various crop cultivation including flower, mushroom, and plantation of fruit-bearing trees.
About 2 lakh farmers would be assisted for plantation of fruit-bearing trees including mangoes in the state while women self-help groups will be provided assistance for mushroom cultivation.
The Odisha government also announced two industrial parks of 1,000 acres each at Dhamra in Bhadrak district and another in Dhenkanal district with an investment of about Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 crore each.
A textile park will be set up at Dhamra, which will provide employment opportunities for 20,000 people. A medical park will be set up at Dhenkanal, which will create job opportunities for 16,000 people, said the Chief Secretary.

IIT Madras restoration project at Chilika Lake

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) said its researchers undertook a major restoration project at the famous Chilika Lake – the largest brackish water body in Asia located in Odisha to help in tripling the population of the Irrawaddy dolphins while also benefitting over 2 lakh fishermen.
According to IIT-M, its intervention in the year 2000 and continuous monitoring since then has benefitted over 200,000 fishermen living in 132 villages as it resulted in a seven-fold increase of fish catch and tourists to co-exist with the lake ecosystem with minimal disturbance to the environment. Due to the successful restoration, the lake was removed from the threatened list (Montreux record) 1st from Asia.
Chilika Development Authority also received the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award and Evian special prize 2002 for outstanding achievement.
In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, an international treaty for the conservation of wetlands.
The Chilika lagoon is over 4,000 years old and spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha.
The highly productive ecosystem of the lake supports the livelihood for fishermen and also acts as drainage for Mahanadi river basin.
The lake was in a degraded condition and included in the threatened list (Montreux Record) by Ramsar Convention in 1993. This warranted urgent action for restoration of the lake.
The hydrodynamic regime of the lagoon was affected due to shifting of the mouth towards the northeast and subsequent reduction of seawater into the lake. Consequently, the ecology, biodiversity and economy of the area were also affected.

May 31, 2020

Assam Govt ties up with UNICEF for students’ career guidance portal

The State government in partnership with UNICEF Assam, has launched a career guidance portal to counsel children on their future and choices of professional life.
The portal brings more than 500 career options to students from Class IX to Class XII, with specific focus on gender inclusivity.
The portal is a result of the vision of the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for secondary and senior secondary students.
At present available in English and Hindi, the portal www.assamcareerportal.com, will also be made available in Assamese in the near future.
This career guidance portal will help the student community to take appropriate decisions regarding their careers.
The principals and teachers of secondary and senior schools will act as focal points for each of 4,373 secondary schools, so that they can orient and guide students on every aspect of the portal and how it can be used.
The department, along with UNICEF, plans to orient all district-level officials and teachers via a virtual platform.
The objective of the portal is to help students stay informed on various career opportunities, orienting them about the requisite skills and education needed to pursue a career of their choice.
With all the career information available to the students with one login, the career guidance portal will also aim to serve them with information regarding numerous scholarship opportunities.
UNICEF Assam has been in the lead technical role for this initiative and has supported in development of the career portal for children in secondary and higher secondary classes with partner iDream Career.
The portal has been adapted to Assam’s context and it features over 500 careers that are regularly updated and also includes non-traditional career areas such as agriculture and food sciences, hospitality and tourism, virology, animation and graphics and sports and fitness.
As of now, the portal has information of about almost 19,000 colleges along with information on 1,150 entrance tests and 1,050 scholarships for students to access. The portal is expected to benefit more than eight lakh students from classes IX to XII.

NHAI plans to develop Model Stretches in every state

In order to exhibit the model stretches of National Highways as per norms, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is planning to develop 57 stretches of NH (1,735 km) across the country near each state capital.
These Model Stretches will also serve as a platform to educate the highway engineers of the country, including state PWD engineers.
These stretches will have all the required safety and aesthetic features like road signs, road markings, road furniture & safety items, proper junctions and entry/exit points, functional drains, pedestrian facilities, street lighting, plantation & landscaping, toll plaza, user facilities & wayside amenities.
The stretches will also be equipped with CCTV cameras at all vulnerable locations, no black spots to avoid accidents and eco-friendly measures.
The idea is to make the highway stretch look like a perfect textbook version of a model road.
Some of the NH sections identified for development as Model Stretches are Dausa to Jaipur, Jalandhar to Amritsar, Srinagar to Banihal, Varanasi Ring Road, Chennai Bypass, MP/MH border to Nagpur including Nagpur Bypass, Brahmaputra Bridge to Guwahati.
The NHAI has issued policy guidelines to help its regional officers identify and plan the development of Model Stretches and complete the work in a timely manner.
The NHAI HQ will be monitoring the progress through an online e-portal (Data Lake), where pictures/videos of each Model Stretch would be uploaded apart from other related information.

Centre allows movement of persons and goods across borders

The Centre, while announcing the guidelines for phased re-opening of the lockdown, said that from June 1, there will be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. The restrictions will be limited to only containment zones up to June 30.
There shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/ approval/ e-permit will be required for such movements.
The MHA emphasised that no state/UT shall stop the movement of any type of goods/cargo for cross land border under treaties with neighbouring states.
However, if a state/ Union Territory based on reasons of public health and its assessment of the situation proposes to regulate movement of persons, it will give wide publicity in advance regarding the restrictions to be placed on such movement, and the related procedures to be followed.
Movement by passenger trains and Shramik Special trains; domestic passenger air travel; movement of Indian nationals stranded outside the country and of specified persons to travel abroad; evacuation of foreign nationals; and sign-on and sign-off of Indian seafarers will continue to be regulated as per the SOPs issued.

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Assam Current Affairs – May 22 – 28, 2020

Posted on June 7, 2020June 10, 2020 by admin

Assam Current Affairs & GK – May 22 – 28, 2020

( Covers all important Assam & North-East Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of May 22 – 28, 2020 )

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May 22, 2020

First International Tea Day celebrated on 21^st May

The tea industry marked its first International Tea Day on 21 May, 2020, as an effort to raise awareness of the long history and the deep cultural and economic significance of tea around the world.
The goal of the day is to promote and foster collective actions to implement activities in favour of the sustainable production and consumption of tea and raise awareness of its importance in fighting hunger and poverty.
International Tea Day is observed annually on May 21, according to the United Nations. The concerning resolution was adopted on December 21, 2019 and calls on the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to lead the observance of the Day.
An International Tea Day has been celebrated on December 15, since 2005, in tea producing countries like India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Uganda and Tanzania.
In Assam, Dikom Tea Estate, celebrated International Tea Day by honouring the souls, who have engraved the deep roots of Dikom tea estate centuries ago by lighting candles and thanking each and everyone.
The estate on this auspicious day inaugurated its Information Centre and also launched its e-learning portal in YouTube.

Odisha govt raises kharif loan target to Rs 9,000 crore

The Odisha government has raised the cooperative kharif loan target to Rs 9,000 crore from Rs 7,500 crore.
Cooperation Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain said small and marginal farmers, migrants, joint liability groups and women self-help groups had been given priority.
Proper planning had been made to provide short-term credit for fisheries, animal husbandry, dairy and poultry sectors.
The government has set the target of providing Rs 5,000 crore crop loan by the quarter ended June and Rs 4,000 crore by quarter ended September.

India and Bangladesh adds five more ‘ports of call’

To boost trade, economic activity and connectivity, India and Bangladesh have added five more “ports of call” on either side and increased the protocol (water) routes from 8 to 10.
These additions to the protocol will facilitate bilateral trade with improved reliability and cost effectiveness for the business community and the people of both the countries.
The Second Addendum was signed by Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das and Bangladesh Shipping Ministry Secretary Mohammed Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury.
There are six “ports of call” each in India and Bangladesh. The new five “ports of call” on the Indian side are Dhulian, Maia, Kolaghat, Sonamura and Jogigopha and on the Bangladesh side Rajshahi, Sultanganj, Chilmari, Daudkandi and Bahadurabad.
Two more extended ”ports of call” Tribeli (Bandel) and Badarpur in India and Ghorasal and Muktarpur in Bangladesh have been added.
The Indian transit cargo is mainly coal, fly-ash, POL and heavy machineries for power projects in the northeast. The other likely cargo is fertilizers, cement, grain, farm products and containers.
Both the countries have also agreed to introduce trade between Chilmari (Bangladesh) and Dhubri (Assam, India) through the use of shallow draft mechanised vessels.
The new “ports of call” will enable loading and unloading of cargo transported on the India-Bangladesh Protocol Route and stimulate economic development of new locations and their hinterland.
This protocol, first signed in 1972 soon after independence of Bangladesh, is a reflection of shared history, trusted friendship and mutually beneficial partnership.
It was last renewed in 2015 for five years with a provision of automatic renewal for the next five years, giving long-term assurance to stakeholders.

ICMR comes up with fully indigenous diagnostic platform for COVID-19

The Indian Council of Medical research said that it has validated a completely indigenous diagnostic platform for COVID-19 diagnosis. The apex medical research body in the country said the platform offers a reliable and affordable option to augment the SARS-CoV-2 testing capacity in India.
This fully indigenous diagnostic platform offers a reliable and affordable option to augment the SARS-CoV-2 testing capacity in India.
The platform comprises a TrueNat machine, inbuilt RNA extraction system, RT-PCR chips, collection swabs and viral lysis medium (VLM).
Single assay has a turnaround time of 35-50 minutes for 1-4 samples with a total of 12-48 samples being tested per day, depending upon the type of machine.
It also added that the biosafety and biosecurity requirements are minimal in view of the sample being collected in viral lysis medium (VLM), which inactivates the virus.
ICMR has now recommended the TrueNat COVID-19 test as a two-step test: step one i.e. E gene screening assay for all COVID-19 suspect samples to be followed by step two for the RdRp based confirmatory test in all E gene positives.

UN launches global initiative to combat COVID-19 misinformation

The UN launched an initiative called “Verified” to counter COVID-19 misinformation by increasing the volume and reach of trusted, accurate information.
Verified, led by the UN Department for Global Communications (DGC), will provide information around three themes: science, solidarity and solutions.
It will also promote recovery packages that tackle the climate crisis and address the root causes of poverty, inequality and hunger.
The initiative is calling on people around the world to sign up to become “information volunteers” to share trusted content to keep their families and communities safe and connected.
The DGC will partner with UN agencies and UN country teams, influencers, civil society, business and media organizations to distribute trusted, accurate content and work with social media platforms to root out hate and harmful assertions about COVID-19.

May 23, 2020

Sikkim’s first viral research and diagnostic lab inaugurated

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang inaugurated the State’s first viral research and diagnostic laboratory (VRDL) at the STNM Hospital at Sochaygang, which is certified by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
With the establishment of the laboratory, Sikkim will no longer have to depend on other States for COVID-19 and other medical tests. Samples from Sikkim are being sent to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri for RTPCR testing for COVID-19.
The laboratory has a capacity to conduct 90 tests at a time. It will take three-and-a -half hours to deliver test results of a batch of 90 samples.
It may be mentioned here that 75 per cent of the cost of construction and establishment of the laboratory was borne by the ICMR, while 25 per cent of the funds were provided by a private firm from its CSR fund.

Beekeeping will help achieve goal of doubling farmers’ income

Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday beekeeping will be an important factor in achieving the goal of doubling farmer’s income.
Addressing a webinar organised by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), Union Minister said the government has allocated Rs 500 crore towards beekeeping under the Atmanirbhar Abhiyan.
India is among the world’s top five honey producers. Compared to 2005-06, honey production has risen by 242 per cent and exports up by 265 per cent.
The National Bee Board has created four modules to impart training as part of the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) and 30 lakh farmers have been trained in beekeeping. They are also being financially supported by the government.
Indian government is implementing the recommendations of the committee to promote beekeeping and has launched ”Honey Mission” as part of ”Sweet Revolution” which has four components. Even small and marginal farmers can adopt beekeeping since investment is low and returns high.

Centre released Rs 19,100 crore released under PM-KISAN during lockdown period

The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said, the Centre has released an amount of Rs 19,100.77 crore under the Pradhan MantriKisanSamman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme during the lockdown period after March 24 till date and around 9.55 crore farmer families have been benefitted under this scheme.
As per the latest data, around 34.87 lakh hectares area coverage under summer rice as compared to 25.29 lakh ha during the corresponding period of last year.
About 12.82 lakh ha area coverage under pulses as compared to 9.67 lakh ha during the corresponding period of last year.
As far as course cereals are concerned, around 10.28 lakh ha area is under coverage as compared to 7.30 lakh hectares during the corresponding period of last year.
About 9.28 lakh ha area is under coverage under oilseeds as compared to 7.34 lakh ha during the corresponding period of last year.
As per the latest data of the procurement, a quantity of 5.89 lakh MT gram (chana), 4.97 lakh MT mustard and 4.99 lakh MT toor has been procured by NAFED during the lockdown period.
In Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2020-21, a total of 337.48 lakh MT wheat arrived in FCI out of which 326.96 lakh MT was purchased.

UN’s The State of the World’s Forests released

The latest edition of UN’s The State of the World’s Forests released stated Urgent action is needed to safeguard the biodiversity of the world’s forests amid alarming rates of deforestation and degradation,.
The report shows that the conservation of the world’s biodiversity is dependent on the way in which we interact with and use the world’s forests.
The report was produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership, for the first time, with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and technical inputs from the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).
It highlights that some 420 million hectares of forest have been lost through conversion to other land uses since 1990, although the rate of deforestation has decreased over the past three decades.
The COVID-19 crisis has thrown into sharp focus the importance of conserving and sustainably using nature, recognizing that people’s health is linked to ecosystem health. Protecting forests is key to this, as they harbour most of the earth’s terrestrial biodiversity.
This report shows that forests contain 60,000 different tree species, 80 per cent of amphibian species, 75 per cent of bird species, and 68 per cent of the earth”s mammal species.
Despite slowing of the rate of deforestation in the last decade, some 10 million hectares are still being lost each year through conversion to agriculture and other land uses.
The report presents a comprehensive overview of forest biodiversity, including world maps revealing where forests still hold rich communities of fauna and flora, such as the northern Andes and parts of the Congo Basin, and where they have been lost.
The Aichi Biodiversity Target to protect at least 17 per cent of the earth’s terrestrial areas by 2020 has been achieved for forests, although progress is still required to ensure the representativeness and effectiveness of such protection.
The largest increase in protected forest areas occurred in broadleaved evergreen forests such as those typically found in the tropics. Over 30 per cent of all tropical rainforests, subtropical dry forests and temperate oceanic forests are now located within protected areas.

Union Cabinet approved Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for small business borrowers

Union Cabinet approved the Rs 3 lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for MSMEs and MUDRA borrowers.
Under the Scheme, 100 per cent guarantee coverage would be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) for the additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore in the form of a ECLGS facility. A amounts of Rs 41,600 crore shall be provided by the Centre, spread over the current and the next three financial years.
The scheme would be applicable to all loans sanctioned under ECLGS during the period from the date of announcement of the scheme to October 31, 2020, or till an amount of Rs 3 lakh crore is sanctioned under the ECLGS, whichever is earlier.
The main objective of the scheme is to provide an incentive to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), including banks, financial institutions, and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to increase access to and enable availability of additional funding facility to MSME borrowers, in view of the economic distress caused by the COVID-19 crisis, by providing them 100 per cent guarantee for any losses suffered due to non-repayment of the ECLGS funding by borrowers.
All MSME borrower accounts with outstanding credit of up to Rs 25 crore as on February 2020, which were less than or equal to 60 days past due as on that date and with an annual turnover of up to Rs 100 crore, would be eligible for collateral-free loan under the scheme.
The amount of ECLGS funding to eligible MSME borrowers will either be in the form of additional working capital term loans in case of banks or additional term loans in case of NBFCs and it would be up to 20 per cent of their entire outstanding credit up to Rs 25 crore as on February 29, 2020.

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May 24, 2020

Academic TV channel launched in Assam

The State Education Minister HimantaBiswaSarma launched a new academic television channel, GyanVriksha, to compensate for the academic losses induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The academic channel, started under Assam government’s SamagraShikshaAbhiyan, would contain study material from Class I to Class XII, apart from various co-curricular and skill development activities.
The channel, initially to be operated through cable network, would be gradually broadcast through the DTH operators in a phased manner.
Initially, the channel will be available only in Assamese and gradually contents would be developed in other languages.
The minister also advised all the students to learn from BiswaVidya, Assam YouTube channel, which has also been developed as a mobile application.

Mizoram cabinet grants industry status to sports

To give a boost to the sports sector in Mizoram, the Mizoram state Cabinet granted industry status to sports.
State Sports minister Robert Romawia Royte said the cabinet has cleared the proposal of the Sports and Youth Service department to grant sports an industry status.
This significant move will help to take forwards the segment in a more systematic and sustainable manner. It will usher in rapid as well as large scale development in various fields of sports.
Mizoram was the first state to grant industry status to sports. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and other big industrial bodies have been demanding industry status to sports since a long time.

Bangladesh produces 1^st generic version of remdesivir

Bangladesh-based Beximco Pharmaceuticals has become the worlds first company to produce a generic version of the antiviral drug remdesivir, originally developed by US-based Gilead Sciences.
Remdesivir was originally designed as an Ebola treatment, It works by attacking an enzyme that a virus needs in order to replicate inside our cells.
Beximco’s production of the generic version will ensure quick supply of the drug to many countries in the South Asia.
A recent clinical trial in the US showed the drug helped shorten the recovery time for people who were seriously ill. However, it did not significantly improve survival rates. Experts have warned that the drug should not be seen as a magic bullet for coronavirus. But in the absence of any clear treatment for COVID-19, many countries are willing to try remdesivir.

HUL, UNICEF extend tie-up for delivery of hygiene products in tea gardens in Assam

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has stated that it has extended its collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support delivery of essential hygiene products to tea plantation workers based in Assam for use during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The collaboration will benefit families residing in the tea estates of the region and will facilitate the reach of key communication assets and availability of essentials such as soaps and toilet cleaners for tea plantation workers.
The initiative focuses on enhancing awareness related to COVID-19 amongst the tea plantation workers and local communities and on helping them take necessary precautions to stay safe during the pandemic.
UNICEF has been playing a key role in the tea plantations since 2010 through various interventions and the primary focus has been on the well-being of children and women.
In April 2020, HUL committed Rs 100 crore towards helping India fight the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of this effort, HUL has rolled out many initiatives to ensure that citizens of India across all walks of life have access to essential products such as soaps, sanitizers and toilet cleaners, and understand the causes and implications of the virus through simple and direct communication.

May 25, 2020

Tripura gets first international waterway

In a major development, the 93-km Sonamura-Daudkhandi stretch of the Gomati river has been approved of, as an India-Bangladesh protocol route. It is expected to strengthen the bilateral trade between the two countries, besides boosting Tripura’s economy and helping it emerge as the gateway to the North East.
Within six days of the Chief Minister’s appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the landmark decision has come as the second addendum to the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade, which was signed in Dhaka.
Under the current protocol, there are six ports of call each in India and Bangladesh. These are Kolkata, Haldia, Karimganj, Pandu, Silghat and Dhubri on the Indian side and Narayanganj, Khulna, Mongla, Sirajganj, Ashuganj and Pangaon on the Bangladesh side.
As per the protocol, inland vessels of both the countries can operate on the designated protocol route and dock at the ports of call in each country, notified for loading and unloading of cargo. There has been significant improvement in the movement of cargo vessels in an organised manner on the protocol route.
The inbound cargo to India mainly comprises coal, fly ash, POL and ODC for power projects in the North East, while around 30 lakh MT of fly ash is exported by cargo from India to Bangladesh per annum. Around 638 inland vessels take up approximately 4,000 loaded voyages annually.

IIT Guwahati researchers develops material that can separate oil and water

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) has successfully developed a graphene-based super-hydrophobic material which can separate oil and water.
Dr. Uttam Manna, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, IIT Guwahati and his team have developed the material and it can separate oil and water from both oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions.
Hydrophobic materials are known as non-polar materials with a low affinity to water. This characteristic makes such materials water repelling. These materials are largely governed by the physical architecture and the chemical composition, thus, such materials can be rationally created by combining low-surface-energy materials with hierarchical roughness.
The research group manipulated graphene, which is a form of carbon, to have super-hydrophobic properties suitable for separation of oil from water in emulsions.
The team developed a simplistic method to produce graphene oxide-polymer composites with hierarchical topography and low surface energy chemistry in the confined space.
Materials with extreme water repellence capacity are considered best for removing oil from water, and they are being extensively studied for applications such as water purification and self-cleaning surfaces.

India becomes 2^nd largest PPE kits producer in the world

From zero, India is now the second largest Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) manufacturing country in the world. It was made possible within a span of 60 days and now more than a hundred units spread all across India are manufacturing such kits.
Before the Covid-19 crisis starts, India did not manufacture PPE kits and the requirements were met through imports. But now the country is manufacturing at least 3.5 lakh to four lakh PPE kits every day.
Government of India encouraged textile manufacturing units to produce PPE kits. In the first phase, five such units came forward to manufacture PPE kits. Now the number of such units supplying kits to the Government has increased to more than a hundred, while, around 500 other units are certified to manufacture it.
Most of the units manufacturing PPE kits are originally textile industries and there were some initial hiccups in encouraging such companies to shift to manufacturing PPE kits.
Though the production of PPE kits increased, the Government is not allowing exports as of now as the country has heavy demand for the item. Once the situation improves, the Government may decide to allow exports, but no such decision has yet been taken.

Union Cabinet nod to Rs 20,050 crore Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)

The Union Cabinet gave its nod to the implementation of Rs 20,050- crore Pradhan MantriMatsyaSampadaYojana (PMMSY), a scheme to promote ”Blue Revolution” in the country through sustainable development.
The scheme will be implemented in the next 5 years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25.
Out of the Rs 20050 crore, the share of the Central government will be Rs 9,408 crore and the state governments” Rs 4,880 crore while the share of beneficiaries will be Rs 5,763.
The PMMSY will address the critical gaps in the fisheries sector and aid it in realizing its potential.
The scheme is expected to create direct gainful employment opportunities to about 15 lakh fishers, fish farmers, workers, vendors and other rural/urban populations in fishing and allied activities. Besides, it promises to offer indirect employment opportunities, including enhancement of incomes.
It will help in augmenting fish production and productivity at a sustained average annual growth rate of about 9 per cent to achieve a target of 22 million metric tons by 2024-25 through sustainable and responsible fishing practices.
The scheme also aims to improve availability of certified quality fish seed and feed, traceability in fish and including effective aquatic health management and help in creation of critical infrastructure, including modernisation and strengthening of value chain.
The PMMSY, a 5-year scheme, will be implemented as an umbrella scheme with two separate components as a Central sector scheme (CS) and (b) Centrally-Sponsored Scheme (CSS).

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May 26, 2020

UN lists Manipur’s “Khudol” among top global initiatives to fight COVID-19 pandemic

Manipur’s “Khudol” has been listed among the top 10 global initiatives for an inclusive fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The listing of the initiative among the top 10 global initiatives was done by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth.
The “Khudol” initiative was launched by an Imphal-based NGO “Ya_All”, aims to ensure food supplies and health services for the people living with HIV, daily-wage earners, LGBTQI+ community, children, and adolescents.

FACTFILE – Khudol

Khudol is a crowdfunded initiative of Ya_All, .
The initiative aims to ensure food supplies and health services for the people living with HIV, daily-wage earners, LGBTQI+ community, children, and adolescents.
Under the initiative network of 100 volunteers has been mobilized.
The volunteers have, so far, provided around 2,000 families and individuals with over 1,000 health kits, 6,500 sanitary pads, and 1,500 condoms.

FACTFILE – Ya_All

Ya_All, means Revolution in Manipuri, is an Imphal-based NGO which was founded in 2017 to organise mental health workshops.
Founder of Ya_All: Sadam Hanjabam.
It was founded in 2017. The initiative aims to organize mental health workshops and work mostly on the health and well-being of adolescents, youths, LGBTI community.

India developed Intelligent Testing Strategy for being ”ahead of virus”

The Indian Council of Medical Research said that India developed an Intelligent Testing Strategy to remain ”ahead of the virus” by developing testing infrastructure that is laboratories and other means of testing.
The country now has capacity of testing 2 lakh samples per day, in 610 total labs (432 public, 178 private) and is currently testing 1.1 lakh samples in a day and has the capacity to test 1.4 lakh samples per day, which is being raised to 2 lakh samples per day.
Most states have been working with the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP) to deploy TrueNAT machines for COVID-19 testing.
Through this machine, testing is done in such areas or districts where modern virological laboratories in private or public sectors don”t exist.
More labs are being set up and additional machines are deployed in states like UP, Bihar, West Bengal as well as rest of the country to meet possible higher requirements.

Indian Army Major gets UN award for anti-sexual violence campaign

An Indian Army Major, Major Suman Gawani, who has been selected for the 2019 UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for her role in the organisation”s anti-sexual violence campaign, has been called a “powerful role model” by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Major Suman Gawani is with the Army Signal Corps, through her “support, mentoring, guidance and leadership, she helped to create enabling environment for UN Peacekeepers” by combating sexual violence in conflict situations.
While deployed as a military observer with the UN Mission in South Sudan, Gawani ‘mentored over 230 UN Military Observers on conflict-related sexual violence and ensured the presence of women military observers in each of the Mission’s team sites”.
She also trained South Sudanese government forces and helped them to launch their action plan on conflict-related sexual violence.
Gawani shares the award with Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo, a Brazilian Naval officer working in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic,

Indian-American scientist Rajiv Joshi wins inventor of the year award

Indian-American inventor Rajiv Joshi has bagged the prestigious Inventor of the Year award in recognition of his pioneering work in advancing the electronic industry and improving artificial intelligence capabilities.
Dr Joshi, who is a master inventor with more than 250 patented inventions in the US, works at the IBM Thomson Watson Research Center in New York.
He was presented with the prestigious annual award by the New York Intellectual Property Law Association early this month during a virtual awards ceremony.
An IIT Mumbai alumnus, Joshi has an MS degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a PhD in mechanical/electrical engineering from Columbia University, New York.
His invention span from novel interconnect structures and processes for more scaling, machine learning techniques for predictive failure analytics, high bandwidth, high performance and low power integrated circuits and memories and their usage in hardware accelerators, meant for artificial intelligence applications.
Many of these structures exist in processors, supercomputers, laptops, smartphones, handheld and variable gadgets and many other electronic items. His innovations have advanced day-to-day life, global communication, health sciences and medical fields impacting the world.

May 27, 2020

Arunachal Pradesh and AAU sign a MoU for GI Registration of Khamti Lahi Rice, Tawang Maize and Adi Ginger

Govt of Arunachal Pradesh and AAU Jorhat have agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for GI Registration of Khamti Lahi Rice, Tawang Maize and Adi Ginger (Kekir) and for other agro-technology practices, processing, packaging and marketing of agricultural produces.
Khamti Lahi Rice is known for its uniqueness in terms of its taste, aroma, size, shape, colour and cooking method and sought the technical support and cooperation from the Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat for its cultivation, processing, packaging and marketing and also for its Intellectual Proprietary Right protection like – GI Tag Registration in a proper scientific way for generating employment and as an income source for the people/farmers of the State.

Arunachal Pradesh Govt sought the help of AAU, Jorhat for GI Registration of Tawang Maize and local Adi Ginger (Kekir) along with Khamti Lahi Rice which are pending for last many years.
AAU, Jorhat, the premier Institute for Agriculture in North East region is also sought to come up with ideas and suggestions for market opportunity and accessibility.

IIT-M researchers develop engineered magnesium alloy for automobiles

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) said its researchers have developed a high-performance magnesium alloy that can replace steel and aluminium in automobiles.
IIT-M said its researchers working with University of North Texas and US Army Research Laboratory Teams have developed an engineered magnesium alloy.
The engineered magnesium alloy with significantly improved properties can replace steel and aluminium alloys in automotive and aerospace components.
The current industrial application of wrought magnesium alloys in structural components is very limited due to their poor moderate/low strength, poor ductility, yield strength asymmetry and lack of high strain rate super plasticity despite their density being two-third of aluminium and one-quarter of steel.
Light-weight vehicles consume less fuel to run and are therefore one of the strategies to increase vehicle’s energy-efficiency.
The new engineered alloy is strong, highly ductile and its superplasticity is achieved at higher strain-rates which reduces overall manufacturing time, effort and costs.
It is also lightweight, which helps lower the carbon footprint of vehicles. Lightweight vehicles need lesser fuel to run and are therefore more fuel-efficient.
Being one of the lightest and energy-efficient structural materials, magnesium alloys are potential candidates to replace steel and aluminium alloys in automotive and aerospace components since their density is two-thirds of aluminium and one-quarter of steel.

AMRIT app developed to track corona suspects

The Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT) at Prayagraj, has developed a new mobile application which will help the administration and the corona control room to track suspected patients.
The mobile app named ”AMRIT” (Assessment, Monitoring, Reporting and Intelligent Tracking), will help chemist shops, medical practitioners and other organisations to submit information about suspected corona patients.
The app will also track people who are taking over the counter medicines for suppressing symptoms like cough/cold/fever and unknowingly spreading the infection to those who are coming in their contact.
The admin panel of the app will keep record and information about all the registered patients or customers, chemist shops, medical practitioners and other organizations like government offices, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.
The app also has ASHA workers registration feature and has been designed to help the ASHA workers/anganwadi workers in easily submitting the information to the control room.
The app has also been designed to facilitate door to door survey by health workers/ social workers where they can easily send information about the suspected corona patients in a family without any delay.

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May 28, 2020

Jahnabi Phookan appointed as National President of FICCI FLO

Jahnabi Phookan has been appointed as National President of FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO), the oldest women-led and -focused business chamber of Southeast Asia and the women’s wing of the apex chamber Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
She took over from outgoing National President Harjinder Kaur Talwar at the 36th FLO ANNUAL SESSION- Rising Above Covid Challenges.
FICCI FLO represents over 8000 women entrepreneurs and professionals across 17 chapters nationally and works aggressively towards promoting economic empowerment and equal opportunities for women.
In her role as the National President, she will focus on empowering women with entrepreneurship capabilities and professional excellence, enabling them to take up new challenges and maximise opportunities in the new normal post Covid.
Jahnabi is an entrepreneur, a co-founder of two National Tourism Award-winning companies: Jungle Travels India and Assam Bengal Navigation Company under JTI Group. Her companies are encompassed in travel & hospitality – boutique river cruising, small group specialised tours, tea and textiles – all of which empower young people’s livelihoods, especially women and their communities.

UP Govt sets up disaster relief team for locust attack

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has set up a Disaster Relief Team, headed by the Deputy Director, Agriculture Directorate, to deal with locust attacks in various parts of the state.
The team will survey various districts where locust presence has been found and will take remedial measures for the same. The state government has also set up a control room to coordinate with various districts on the issue.
District level committees are also being set up for the purpose under the chairmanship of the Chief Development Officer (CDO).
Farmers have been asked to spray pesticides in their farmlands and also play loud music since locusts are said to turn away if they hear loud music.

Karnataka to install 15 Covid screening smart kiosks

The Karnataka government will install 15 Covid screening smart kiosks across the state for random population screening. The kiosks will address the need for higher and quicker community testing for the virus.
The kiosks will ensure the safety of both the healthcare worker and the Covid test taker.
Looking like two conjoined telephone booths, the kiosk provides separate enclosures for the Covid tester and the test taker, separated by a transparent airtight partition.
Both the enclosures have separate entries, lighting and ventilation arrangements, including a mic and speaker for communication.
Replaceable gloves and hand sanitizer are made available in the kiosk.
An attendant wearing a PPE will first collect basic information about people coming for tests: vitals (weight, age, any existing health condition), persons” travel history, if they have come in contact with any known Covid patients, and check their temperature using an IR temperature gun.
The information is then stored in an app.
Later, the test taker will be given a kit to collect his swab sample for testing and move into the kiosk enclosure for the healthcare worker to collect his sample.
On completion, the worker will return the swab sample for the test taker to put it in a vial and drop it in an ice box. After every sample collection, the kiosk is disinfected.

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Assam Current Affairs – May 15 – 21, 2020

Posted on May 29, 2020May 29, 2020 by admin

Assam Current Affairs & GK – May 15 – 21, 2020

( Covers all important Assam & North-East Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of May 15 – 21, 2020 )

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May 15, 2020

Assam likely to shift academic year to April-March

The Government of Assam is contemplating changing the academic year of the State’s school and colleges from January-December to April-March every year, as per suggestions of a task force constituted for the purpose. If is happens, then the current academic year is also likely to be extended till March 31, 2021.
The measure has been suggested to compensate the loss of academic days due to the prevailing lockdown crisis.
The change if implemented will also be in conformity with the academic year of CBSE and education boards of most of the other states.
To minimise the damage of COVID lockdown, the government has urged the teacher community to encourage and motivate the students for optimum utilisation of the e-initiatives like Diksha App, Biswa Bidya Assam App and classes broadcast through Doordarshan and All India Radio.

ELISA kits produced by ZydusCadila has 98% sensitivity

The ICMR said that the first batch of the ELISA kits produced by ZydusCadila has similar sensitivity and specificity of 98.7 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively.
The National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, has validated the first batch of ELISA kits produced by ZydusCadila and found similar sensitivity and specificity of 98.7 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively.
According to the ICMR, the ELISA kit is cost-effective, sensitive, rapid and a large number of samples can be tested at any level of clinical setting, including public health centres and hospitals.
After the development at the ICMR-NIV, the technology has been transferred for mass production to ZydusCadila, which is an innovation driven global healthcare company.
This test kit has the advantage of testing 90 samples together in a single run of 2.5 hours, so that healthcare professionals can proceed quickly with the necessary next steps on their patients” triage paths.

India’s Infant Mortality at 32 per 1,000 live births

India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) has improved very marginally from 33 per 1,000 live births in 2017 to 32 in 2018, according to data released by the Registrar General of India. India’s IMR was it was 129 in 1971.
Nagaland has the best IMR at 4 while Madhya Pradesh continues to have the worst IMR in the country at 48.
The urban rural differential in MP is huge with the rural IMR at 51, while the urban IMR at 32.
Among large states, Kerala is the best performer being the only state with an IMR in single digits at 7. It is also the only state which has now achieved the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal in this regard.
The largest decline in IMR has been registered by Mizoram with a decline from 15 to 5.
The registrar also released data for death and birth rates. While India’s birth rate stood at 20, the death rate was 6.2. In 1971, India’s birth rate was 36 and death rate was 14.9.
Delhi has the lowest at 3 while Chhattisgarh has the highest death rate in the country at 8.

Govt announces Rs 5,000 crore Special Credit facility for street vendors

The Centre announced Rs 5,000- crore special credit facility to benefit nearly 50 lakh such vendors. The scheme will be launched within one month.
Rs 10,000 loan will be given to the needy vendors, but this is not a fixed amount, and will be decided after consultation with banks.
Digital payments will be incentivized through monetary rewards and enhanced working capital credit would be made available for good repayment behaviour.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the scheme will support nearly 50 lakh street vendors and will provide liquidity of Rs 5,000 crore.

Union Govt allocates Rs 40,000 crore more for MGNREGS

The government announced an additional Rs 40,000 crore allocation for the rural employment guarantee scheme to help provide jobs to migrant workers returning home. This is over and above the Rs 61,000 crore budgeted earlier.
Also, public expenditure on health will be increased, Investments in grassroot health institutions to be ramped up. Programme for multi-mode access to digital or online education to be launched immediately.

NDMA developed National Migrant Info System (NIMS), a central database for migrant workers

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has come forward and developed a National Migrant Info System (NIMS) a central online repository to facilitate their seamless movement across states amid the Covid-19 induced lockdown.
The Union Home Ministry has also asked the states to upload data on the NIMS dashboard for better coordination, movement monitoring and contact tracing. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to all the chief secretaries in this regard.
The portal will maintain a central repository and help the sending as well as receiving state/district to ask for and give their acceptance in an online format seamlessly.
This system will help in speedy communication between states without creating additional work at the level of the field officers.
Some of the key features of this system will be a unique ID generated for each migrant, which can be used for all transactions and help any state can visualise how many people are going out from where and how many are reaching their destination states.

One nation, one ration card for migrants

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the second tranche of fiscal stimulus, emphasizing ”one nation, one ration card”. Technology systems will be used to enable migrants to access Public Distribution System from any fair price shop in India by March 2021 one nation, one ration card.
This scheme will enable a migrant beneficiary to access the PDS from any fair price shop in the country.
As many as 67 crore beneficiaries in 23 states covering 83 per cent of the PDS population will be covered by national portability by August 2020.
One-hundred per cent national portability will be achieved by March 2021. All states and UTs will complete full FPS automation by March 2021.

May 16, 2020

Assam incurring Rs 1,000 crore loss daily

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the State is incurring a daily loss of Rs 1,000 crore during the lockdown period, even as he expressed optimism that the economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore announced by the Central government would help the state’s economy.
As per a survey done by the Confederation of Indian Industry, which pegged the daily loss of the State at Rs 1,000 crore.
The stimulus announced by the Centre would bail the State out of the current crisis and also largely benefit the MSME sector, which forms the backbone of the industrial sector of the State.
The Centre, in its economic package, has allocated Rs 3 lakh crore for the MSME sector of the country.
The MSMEs form 99.9 per cent of the industries in Assam and the industrial sector contributes 39 per cent of the State’s GDP. There are over one lakh MSMEs in the State, providing direct and indirect employment to 40 lakh people.

Meghalaya Cabinet nod to agricultural reforms

The Meghalaya Cabinet approved of a Bill to introduce reforms in the agricultural sector by amending a 20-year-old legislation.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the Cabinet discussed the 1980 Act on agriculture and felt that vital aspects were left out from its purview that need to be amended.
The Meghalaya State Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 will include livestock and aquaculture and facilitate their marketing.
State Assembly would take up the Bill for consideration and passage, when it reconvene on May 20.

COVID-19 could cost global economy $8.8 trillion, says ADB report

The global economy could suffer between $5.8 trillion and %8.8 trillion in losses — equivalent to 6.4 per cent to 9.7 per cent of the global GDP due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) report ‘Updated Assessment of the Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19’ found that economic losses in Asia and the Pacific could range from $1.7 trillion under a short containment scenario of 3 months to $2.5 trillion under a long containment scenario of six months, with the region accounting for about 30 per cent of the overall decline in global output.
Governments around the world have been quick in responding to the impacts of the pandemic, implementing measures such as fiscal and monetary easing, increased health spending, and direct support to cover losses in incomes and revenues.
Sustained efforts from governments focused on these measures could soften COVID-19”s economic impact by as much as 30 percent to 40 per cent, it said, adding this could reduce global economic losses due to the pandemic to between $4.1 trillion and $5.4 trillion.
The analysis, which uses a Global Trade Analysis Project-computable general equilibrium model, covers 96 affected economies with over 4 million COVID-19 cases.
This new analysis presents a broad picture of the very significant potential economic impact of COVID-19.
These findings can provide governments with a relevant policy guide as they develop and implement measures to contain and suppress the pandemic, and lessen its impacts on their economies and people.

Rs 3,500 crore allocated for free food grain supply to migrants for 2 months

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced free food grain supply to migrants for 2 months, this is the second tranche of measures of the government’s self-reliant campaign
Migrants who neither come under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) nor are they state card beneficiaries in states where they are stationed will be provided 5 kg of grains per person and 1 kg of ”chana” per family for two months.
About 8 crore migrants are expected to benefit and Rs 3,500 crore will be spent on this intervention for 2 months.
The cost will be fully borne by the government of India. State governments would be responsible for the implementation and identification of migrants through guidelines
under MNREGA support for migrants, 14.62 crore person-days of work generated till May 13 and actual expenditure to date is around Rs 10,000 crore.

Union Govt announces structural reforms for the ‘self-reliant India’ programme

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced deep structural reforms under the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package for the ”self-reliant India” programme. Minister detailed makeover initiatives for eight key sectors, to be supported and promoted via structural reforms.
The biggest reform measure, ending one the last great central monopolies, announced was for the coal sector, where mining has been deregulated. Nearly 50 blocks would be offered for auction immediately, and in a departure from the tradition, there will no eligibility conditions, only upfront payment with a ceiling.
The Rs 50,000 crore infrastructure development will be instituted for evacuation of coal to help Coal India’s (CIL) achieve the 1 billion tonnes output target by 2023-24, plus the coal produced from private blocks.
The coal-based methane gas reserves will also be auctioned and incentives be provided for conversion of coal into gas.
A new regime for seamless composite exploration-cum-mining-cum-production will be introduced, and joint auction of bauxite and coal blocks for the aluminium industry will be conducted. The foreign direct investment (FDI) limit for the industry will be raised from 49 per cent to 74 per cent under the automatic route.
The Centre will also go for corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board to improve autonomy, accountability and efficiency in ordnance supplies.
Six more airports have been identified for the second round of bidding for operation and maintenance on the public-private partnership (PPP) basis. The air space availability will also be eased to allow airlines save cost and passengers, flying time.
DISCOMS in the Union Territories would be privatised. ARs 8,100 crore revamped-up viability gap funding scheme was also announced for social infrastructure projects.
The government will encourage the private sector’s participation in the space sector through collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and a liberal geo-spatial data policy.

Centre to take up affordable rental housing for migrants, urban poor

The Centre will launch a scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for migrant labour and the urban poor to build affordable rental housing facilities for them.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that under the scheme, government-funded housing in different cities will be converted into affordable rental housing complexes under the public-private partnership mode.
Further, the government will also incentivise manufacturing units, industries, institutions, associations to develop affordable rental housing complexes on their private land and operate them.
The Centre will also incentivise state agencies and central government organisations on the similar lines to develop affordable rental housing complexes and operate them.

States allowed to use disaster funds for migrants’ shelter, food

The Centre said it has permitted state governments to utilise the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for setting up shelter for migrants and providing them food, water etc,
The Central government also released Rs 11,002 crore of its contribution in advance to all state governments on April 3, to augment funds in their SDRF.
The disbursal of revolving fund to SHGs was on-boarded on PAISA portal in April 2020 on a pilot basis in Gujarat and it is under process of being rolled out across all the states in May 2020. 7,200 new SHGs of urban poor have been formed during the period starting March 15.
The Centre said to promote formalisation of labour, it is emphasizing on appointment letters for all workers along with annual health check-up for employees.

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May 17, 2020

Assam CM Sonowal asks agri-scientists to evolve triple cropping system

As part of activities chalked out to strengthen the agro-based economy, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited the Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Kahikuchi campus of Krishi Vigyan Kendra and asked the agricultural scientists to develop ways and means for a triple cropping system in the State.
CM urged the agri-scientists to empower the farming community as well as increase fertility of the crop area to sustainably practise triple cropping in the State throughout the year, to infuse a fresh lease of life into the rural economy.

TRIFED & Art of Living Foundation collaboration to provide free ration kits to needy tribes India artisans

TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Art of Living Foundation (AOL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in respective programmes of each organisation for promoting Tribal Enterprises.
The Art of Living Foundation has agreed to provide free ration kits to needy tribes India artisans.
TRIFED Regional Offices have compiled the list of needy tribal artisans and have identified 9,409 needy tribal artisans located across the country for distribution of ration kits under #iStandWithHumanity campaign of Art Of Living.

Madhya Pradesh launches country’s first ever ‘FIR AapkeDwar’ Yojana

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra launched country’s first ever ‘FIR AapkeDwarYojana’ in Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh is the first state in the country to implement such an innovative scheme.
Launching the scheme at the new Police Control Room, Dr Narottam Mishra said that now people would not be required to visit police station to lodge an FIR.
FIR AapkeDwar scheme has been started as a pilot project in 23 Police Stations including one urban and one rural Police Station at 11 Divisional Headquarters.
Dial 100 vehicle would have trained Head Constables to lodge FIR. FIRs in complaints of general nature will be lodged on the spot. In case of serious complaints, guidance will be sought from senior officers.
The Minister also launched helpline ‘Dial 112’ on the occasion, to facilitate immediate availability of ambulance, police and fire fighting services wherever needed.

Central Govt allows direct listing by Indian companies abroad

The government has thrown open the doors for Indian public companies to directly list their shares abroad and access a larger pool of capital. It has also allowed private companies that list NCDs on stock exchanges not to be regarded as listed companies.
Necessary regulations allowing direct overseas listing by the Indian entity is expected soon after amendments to the Company Act and FEMA regulations are passed.
At present direct listing by the Indian companies on foreign stock exchanges is not permitted. Likewise, foreign companies are also not allowed to directly list their equity shares on the Indian stock exchanges.
Indian companies are allowed to raise capital abroad through the depository receipts (ADR and GDR). Unlike direct listing, depository receipts are securities listed overseas against shares of listed domestic companies.
But with this window increasingly becoming unpopular, Centre and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) are exploring other ways to mobilise capital for the corporate and provide larger play for overseas investors in the country.
At least 15 Indian companies have tapped the ADR and GDR route, including the Infosys, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries.

FDI limit for defence manufacturing to be raised to 74%

The Union government has decided to raise the limit for foreign direct investment (FDI) for defence manufacturing from 49 to 74 per cent under the automatic route.
Time-bound defence procurement process and faster decision-making will take place under the new policy. And a will set up a project management unit to support contract management. Further, realistic setting of general staff qualitative requirements of weapons or platforms will be taken up.
Under the new regime, the government will also overhaul the trial and testing procedures.
In a bid to enhance self-reliance in defence production, the government will notify a list of weapons and platforms for a ban on import with year-wise timelines. Indigenisation of imported spares will also be taken up.
Further, the government will take up separate budget provisioning for domestic capital procurement.
The government has also decided to corporatize Ordnance Factory Board to improve autonomy, accountability and efficiency in ordnance supplies.

May 18, 2020

Digendra Nath Barua, North-East’s first chemical engineer passes away

Digendra Nath Barua, the first chemical engineer of the northeastern region, former MD of the Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) died at the Apollo Hospital at the age of 98.
Barua started his career with the Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation at Namrup and shifted to the AIDC from he retired from AIDC in 1976-77.
Barua was instrumental in rapid industrialisation of the State.
He played a major role in setting up the Federation of Industries of North Eastern Region (FINER) and NEDFi.
He also initiated establishment of the Assam Petrochemicals Limited and the Cachar Sugar Mill.
After his retirement, Barua was instrumental in setting up the Guwahati Stock Exchange and was its working president. As president of the Guwahati Management Association (GMA) for long 12 years.

Govt to launch ‘PM eVIDYA’ for access to digital education

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that ”PM eVIDYA” programme for multi-mode access to digital education will be launched immediately.
PM eVIDYA programme will consist of ”Diksha” involving e-content and QR coded energized textbooks for all grades and will be called as ”one nation, one digital platform.
One earmarked TV channel per class from 1 to 12, also named as ”one class, one channel”, will also be rolled out. It will also envisage extensive use of radio, community radio and podcasts and special e-content for visually and hearing impaired.
Under the ”PM eVIDYA” programme, the Finance Ministry said that top 100 universities will be permitted to automatically start online courses by May 30, 2020.
Besides this, Manodarpan, an initiative for psychosocial support of students, teachers and families for mental health and emotional wellbeing, will also be launched immediately.
National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission for ensuring that every child attains learning levels and outcomes in grade five by 2025 will be set afloat by December, this year.
Top-100 universities will be permitted to automatically start online courses by May 30, 2020.
Special e-content for visually impaired and hearing impaired children, developed on a digitally accessible information system and learning material for disabled children in sign language has been made available on the NIOS website and YouTube.
This platform integrates all efforts related to digital, online, on-air education, so that 33 crore students can have multi-mode access to quality education.

Union Govt launches ‘Mission Sagar’ for assistance to Indian Ocean nations

Government of India launched Mission Sagar to provide assistance to Indian Ocean Region Nations amid the coronavirus crisis.
As part of the Government of India outreach amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Indian Naval Ship Kesari has departed for Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, to provide Food Items, COVID related Medicines including HCQ Tablets and Special Ayurvedic Medicines with Medical Assistance Teams.
The Ship will deliver consignments of Covid related essential medicines to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles and about 600 tonnes of food items to Maldives.
In addition, in the case of Mauritius, a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines is also being sent.
The consignments meant for Madagascar and Comoros also includes Hydroxychloroquine tablets, which have already been sent earlier to Mauritius, Maldives and Seychelles.

IIT-Madras startup developing wearable tracker

An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras-incubated startup Muse Wearables is developing a wrist-based tracker with skin temperature, heart rate and SpO2 (blood oxygen saturation) sensing which can continuously track these body vitals remotely that will help in early diagnosis of COVID-19 symptoms.
The tracker is Bluetooth-enabled and can be connected to the mobile phone via an app called the ”Muse Health App”.
The user vitals and activity data are stored on the phone as well as a remote server.
Priced at around Rs 3,500, the new wearable product will soon be deployed in the market for consumers across all the 70 countries that the startup currently sells in.
The tracker can get notifications from the AarogyaSetu App and raise an alert to the user when he enters a COVID containment zone. Muse Wearables has already completed product design for the tracker and are now working on finalizing and fabricating the product.
The wearable tracker’s major objective is to enable remote detection of COVID-19 and Monitoring of COVID-19 patients by providing a low-cost solution that is accessible to everyone.
The unique features of the product include remote monitoring of patient vitals by doctors and experts, automatic alerts and emergency response system if a user’s vitals are out of range.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman providesbreak-up of Economic package of Rs 20,97,053crore

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman listed all the measures and allocations made under the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package for the ”self-reliant India” programme, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She listed measures worth Rs 20,97,053 crore including RBI measures and steps announced under Pradhan MantriGaribKalyana Package (PMGKP).
Under the break-up, on the first day announcements with allocations worth Rs 5,94,550 crore were made, while on the second day steps on agriculture, housing, rural sectors worth Rs 3,10,000 crore were made.
Besides, Rs 1,50,000 crore were allocated for several schemes to revive agriculture and allied sectors amongst others on the third day.
On the fourth and the fifth day, the FM gave a mega push to boost mining, defence, civil aviation and power distribution sectors via structural reforms and stimulus worth Rs 48,100 crore.
The package also include earlier announcements under PMGKP worth Rs 1,92,800 crore and RBI measures including Rs 8,01,603 crore which come to Rs 9,94,403 crore.

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May 19, 2020

Assam to get Rs 300 crore from World Bank to deal with Covid-19

The Assam government expects to get Rs 300 crore from the World Bank to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic management effectively. Of the Rs 300 crore World Bank aid, 80 per cent is a grant and remaining 20 per cent a loan.
The negotiation with the World Bank through the central government’s Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) is now in advance stage.
Assam government has launched a new scheme “Ruthless Quarantine With Big Heart”. “Under this mandatory quarantine protocol, each suspected person must be in 14 days quarantine.”
The Assam government on May 7 launched an ambitious community-based surveillance (ACSP) for Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) across the state to contain the possible spread of Covid-19. Under the ACSP, health workers including doctors would go to all 30,000 villages to identify the ILI and SARI cases in the villages. ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) and MPW (Multi-Purpose Workers) along with other health staff would be the front line workers to undertake this.

Governor’s rule in Tripura autonomous tribal body

Governor’s rule was imposed in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) as the polls have been postponed indefinitely due to the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of novel coronavirus.
K. Rao, former Tripura Chief Secretary and a retired IAS officer, has been appointed as the Administrator of the autonomous body.
Tripura Governor Ramesh Bais appointed Rao, who of late was the member of the Tripura Police Accountability Commission, to run the politically important tribal autonomous body on his behalf.
Mukhi on April 27 appointed Rajesh Prasad, a 1995-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, as the administrator of the BTC following the promulgation of Governor’s Rule.
The politically important BTC, which started functioning in December 2003, comprises four districts of western Assam Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri and is home to over 31,00,000 people, the majority of whom are tribals.

Indian Navy’s breathable PPE kit ‘NavRakshak’

The Indian Navy”s indigenously-made PPE kit, ”NavRakshak”, made for enhancing comforts of the health workers under Indian conditions.
The ”NavRakshak” with an innovative ”breathable” fabric material, has brought new hopes to the medical world and healthcare professionals from whose perspective it has been designed.
It has two distinctive factors; optimal protectiveness and optimal breathability. Breathability is the ability of the fabric to permit water vapour to pass through and to prevent the entry of water. The comfort properties of a fabric depend on its ability to transmit water and vapor from the body to prevent accumulation of liquid on the skin. In this way, thermal energy generated by the body will be transmitted, and vapour moisture will be diffused, resulting in a comfortable condition.
NavRakshak uses a non-woven advanced quality fabric of specific GSM with a certain stitching technique. The unique character of the fabric used is its strong uniform structure which can act as an excellent barrier for liquids, particles, blood and body fluids.
The new technology has already been tested by INMAS (Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences) Delhi, a DRDO organization tasked with the testing and certification of PPE.
The PPE passed with 6/6 Synthetic blood penetration resistance test pressure (Government of India mandates minimum 3/6 and above level as per ISO 16603 standard).

Union Govt decriminalises minor violations under Companies Act

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said minor technical and procedural defaults under the Companies Act will be decriminalised. The decriminalised violations include shortcomings in CSR reporting, inadequacies in board report, filing defaults, delay in holding of annual general meetings.
The majority of the compoundable offences sections will be shifted to internal adjudication mechanism (IAM) and power of regional directors for compounding have been enhanced.
The government will drop seven compoundable offences and five offences will be dealt with under alternative framework. Amendments will de-clog the criminal courts and National Company Law Tribunals (NCLT).
No fresh insolvency case will be admitted for the next one year in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The government will also set up a special insolvency framework for MSMEs under Section 240A of the Insolvency of Bankruptcy Code. This has been a long pending demand of the industry and economists.
The threshold for insolvency will also be raised to Rs 1 crore from the current Rs 1 lakh which will be supportive for the MSME sector.

May 20, 2020

17,000 stranded people reach North-East by 13 special trains

A total of 13 Shramik Special trains have arrived in the NE region so far bringing over 17,000 stranded persons from other parts of the country.
As of now, 13 have arrived in various north-eastern states like Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Assam with about 17,000 stranded people. Some more trains, bringing stranded people, will be arriving in the NE states within th days.
While 93 trains have arrived at various places of Bihar falling under the NFR, one train has arrived at New Jalpaiguri and three at New Cooch Behar stations in West Bengal till date.
NFR has jurisdiction over the entire NE region, including Sikkim, besides parts of West Bengal and Bihar.
The passengers of Shramik Special trains are mainly students, patients, and migrant labourers with their families.
Passengers are been given free meals, water and necessary medical help by Railways as and when required during journey.
Indian Railways has already operated more than 1,565 Shramik Special trains and transported more than 20 lakh passengers across the country.

India’s Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to be the chairman of the WHO’s Executive Board

India’s Health Minister Harsh Vardhan is set to be the chairman of the WHO”s Executive Board. He has been elected to the post and will take charge succeeding Japan’s Dr Hiroki Nakatani.
This all important Executive Board has 34 members who are technically qualified and represent their nations. All of the 34 are designated by their respective states in the World Health Assembly.
Since last year itself WHO’s South East Asia group had decided that India would be elected to the Executive Board for three years from 2020. The proposal was signed by the 194-nation World Health Assembly.

India to miss global nutrition targets by 2025

India is among 88 countries that are likely to miss global nutrition targets by 2025, according to the Global Nutrition Report 2020. India as one with the highest rates of domestic inequalities in malnutrition.
In 2012, the World Health Assembly identified six nutrition targets for maternal, infant and young child nutrition to be met by 2025.
These require governments to reduce stunting by 40% in children under 5 and prevalence of anaemia by 50% among women in the age group of 19-49 years, ensure 30% reduction in low-birth weight and no increase in childhood overweight, increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months up to at least 50% and reduce and maintain childhood wasting to less than 5%.
According to the Global Nutrition Report 2020, India will miss targets for all four nutritional indicators for which there is data available, i.e. stunting among under-5 children, anaemia among women of reproductive age, childhood overweight and exclusive breastfeeding.
The report emphasises on the link between malnutrition and different forms of inequity, such as those based on geographic location, age, gender, ethnicity, education and wealth malnutrition in all its forms.
India is identified as among the three worst countries, along with Nigeria and Indonesia, for steep within-country disparities on stunting, where the levels varied four-fold across communities.
Stunting level in Uttar Pradesh is over 40% and their rate among individuals in the lowest income group is more than double those in the highest income group at 22.0% and 50.7%, respectively.
In addition, stunting prevalence is 10.1% higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. There are nearly double as many obese adult females as there are males (5.1% compared to 2.7%).

WWF India to host First digital Model Conference of Parties

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India in association with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will host the first digital Model Conference of Parties (MCOP) on May 22-23 with an aim to put the power of decision making in the hands of children.
The MCOP 2020 aims to provide an opportunity to the future leaders to gain knowledge and experience in environmental problem solving.
The WWF’s partners United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme and National Biodiversity Authority will also be associated with the event.

DoPT exempts pregnant women employees from attending office

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has exempted pregnant women officials and staff members from attending office.
Union Personnel Minister Jitendra Singh said that pregnant women employees, who are not already on maternity leave, will also be exempted from attending office. Persons with disabilities will also to be given similar exemption from attendance.
Government servants who have underlying co-morbidities and were undergoing treatment for these ailments before the lockdown, may, as far as possible, be exempted upon production of medical prescription.
While officers of the level of Deputy Secretary and above are expected to attend office on all working days, the officers and staff below the level of Deputy Secretary will attend office with 50 per cent attendance every alternative day and those not attending the office should work from home and remain available on telephone and electronically.

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May 21, 2020

India up at 74^th place on WEF’s global Energy Transition Index

India has moved up two positions to rank 74th on a global ‘Energy Transition Index’ with improvements on all key parameters of economic growth, energy security and environmental sustainability, the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Releasing the annual rankings, the Geneva-based international organisation for public-private cooperation said Covid-19 will compromise the transition to clean energy without an urgent stakeholder action as unprecedented disruptions due to the pandemic threaten this transition.
The WEF study measuring readiness for clean energy transition in 115 economies showed that 94 have made progress since 2015, but environmental sustainability continues to lag.
Sweden has topped the Energy Transition Index (ETI) for the third consecutive year and is followed by Switzerland and Finland in the top three.
The WEF said the “emerging centres of demand” such as India (74th) and China (78th) have made consistent efforts to improve the enabling environment, which refers to political commitments, consumer engagement and investment, innovation and infrastructure, among others.
For India, gains have come from a government-mandated renewable energy expansion programme, now extended to 275 GW by 2027.
India has also made significant strides in energy efficiency through bulk procurement of LED bulbs, smart meters, and programs for labelling of appliances. Similar measures are being experimented to drive down the costs of electric vehicles.
India is one of the few countries in the world to have made consistent year-on-year progress since 2015. India’s improvements have come across all three dimensions of the energy triangle — economic development and growth, energy access and security, and environmental sustainability. It indicates a strong positive trajectory, driven by strong political commitment and an enabling policy environment.
The index benchmarks 115 economies on the current performance of their energy systems across economic development and growth, environmental sustainability, and energy security and access indicators- and their readiness for transition to secure, sustainable, affordable, and inclusive energy systems.

IIT Guwahati finds new ways to prevent memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) researchers have discovered new ways that can help prevent or reduce short-term memory losses associated with the Alzheimers disease.
The research team explored new ways to prevent the accumulation of neurotoxic molecules in the brain that are associated with short-term memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease.
They reported some methods such as the application of low-voltage electric field and the use of ‘trojan peptides’ to arrest aggregation of neurotoxic molecules in the brain.
The idea of using ‘Trojan peptide’ comes from mythological “Trojan Horse” used as subterfuge by the Greeks in the battle of ‘Troy’.
A defining hallmark of Alzheimer’s is the accumulation of Amyloid beta peptides in the brain. The research team seeks methods to reduce the accumulation of these peptides, in order to arrest the progression of Alzheimer’s.
The IIT-G researchers found that application of a low-voltage, the safe electrical field can reduce the formation and accumulation of toxic neurodegenerative molecules that cause short-term memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease.

US student builds website to track COVID-19 in India

A computer science student from the US, has created a website to help India keep track of COVID-19 infection rates. Jeremy Philemon has applied his skills in the creation and updating of covid19india.org, a website that aggregates data from every part of the country of 1.35 billion people.
The covid19india.org website presents a “tracker” based on that database of up-to-date numbers entered by hundreds of volunteers.
Philemon started the website in early March 2020 when India saw a sudden jump in positive COVID-19 cases. He realised there was no central place for residents and officials to find data on infection rates.
He also open-sourced the website on the software development platform GitHub, which helped to patch bugs and to introduce new features and improvements.
Designing covid19india.org also has taught him more about tailoring website design with users in mind.

Centre releases Rs 46000 crore from tax pool for states

The Centre released the May 2020 month instalment of states” share in Central taxes amounting to over Rs 46,000 crore.
The sanction for May instalment follows release of April instalment last month ahead of schedule as a special dispensation to meet immediate funding needs of the state governments looking to restore economic activity and minimise losses to its citizens due to disruptions caused by lockdowns.
The highest share of central taxes for May has gone to Uttar Pradesh with a net transfer of Rs 8,255.19 crore. This is followed by Bihar at Rs 4,631.96 crore. West Bengal has got Rs 3,461.65 crore while Madhya Pradesh has got Rs 3,630.60.
Maharashtra share has been lower at Rs 2,824.47 crore. Goa and Sikkim have got the least from central pool of taxes at Rs 177.72 crore and Rs 178.64 crore, respectively.
In its interim report for FY21, the 15th Finance Commission has reduced the share of states in the divisible pool of central taxes by one percentage point to 41 per cent, factoring in the conversion of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories.
It assigned 15 per cent weight to the population of a state, down from the 17.5 per cent allocated by the 14th Finance Commission, but raised the weight under demographic performance from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent.

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Assam Current Affairs – May 08 – 14, 2020

Posted on May 15, 2020June 10, 2020 by admin

Assam Current Affairs & GK – May 8 – 14, 2020

( Covers all important Assam & North-East Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of May 8 – 14, 2020 )

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May 08, 2020

Assam starts community surveillance for SARI, ILI to curb Covid-19

The Assam government started community-based surveillance for Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) across the state to contain the possible spread of Covid-19.
Under the Assam Community Surveillance Plan (ACSP), health workers including doctors would go to the 25,000 villages to identify the ILI and SARI cases in the villages and as and when required, samples would be collected for testing.
The ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) and MPW (Multi-Purpose Workers) along with other health staffers will be involved in this task.
A State Level Task Force headed by the Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare and a State Level Coordination Committee led by Commissioner and Secretary of the Department have been formed.
The ACSP would ensure that all SARI and ILI cases are tested for Covid-19, and then map and link the places and accordingly, plan for adequate beds and ICU facilities.

India ranks 53^rd in Budget Transparency and Accountability survey

India has been placed at 53rd position among 117 nations in terms of budget transparency and accountability, according to the Open Budget conducted by International Budget Partnership (IBP).
It has provided India’s Union Budget process a transparency score of 49 out of 100, which is higher than the global average of 45.
New Zealand tops the chart with a score 87. South Africa (87), Mexico (82) and Brazil (81) are among the top countries providing extensive information to public for scrutiny.
India performs well in publishing timely and relevant information in the audit reports and in-year reports and has scored well and above many other countries. But the absence of a published Pre-Budget Statement and not bringing out a Mid-Year Review pulled down the transparency score for the Union Budget of India.
The survey, covering 117 countries, rates the level of budget transparency across countries on a scale of 0-100, based on several normative, internationally comparable indicators.
It evaluates for each country, the availability of eight key budget documents of the Central or Federal Government, and assesses whether these are made public, in a timely manner, and provide comprehensive information.
The Open Budget Survey is part of the International Budget Partnership’s Open Budget Initiative, a global research and advocacy program to promote public access to budget information and the adoption of accountable budget systems.

Air India operated its first evacuation flights under Vande Bharat Mission

National passenger carrier Air India operated its first evacuation flights under India’s “Vande Bharat Mission” from New Delhi to Singapore, to ferry 14 passengers to Singapore.
Besides Air India, its subsidiary Air India Express operated two flights from Kerala to Gulf. Air India Express operated the Cochin-Abu Dhabi-Cochin and Kozhikode-Dubai-Kozhikode service.
Besides the one-way ferry service, Air India has also invited passengers, who qualify under the government’s new international travel norms to apply for passage from India to various destinations the airline will send its aircraft to conduct evacuation flights.
As per plans, these two airlines will operate 64 flights in seven days to bring back 14,800 stranded Indians from 12 countries. Overall, more than 190,000 Indian nationals, who would have to pay a one-way ferry service charge, are expected to be brought back in the airlift operation.

Major labour laws suspended in Uttar Pradesh for 3 years

The Uttar Pradeshgovernment has finalised an ordinance suspending a majority of labour laws in the state for three years. This is an attempt to help both existing and new industrial units in the state.
The recommendations regarding the labour laws were finalised by a group of ministers comprising labour minister Swami Prasad Maurya and MSME Minister Sidharth Nath Singh.
The state cabinet has cleared the Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Labour Laws Ordinance, suspending more than 30 labour laws in the state.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had said recently that Uttar Pradesh would amend labour laws to attract new investments, especially from China.
About eight of them are being retained under the ordinance.There are more than 40 labour laws, some of which are now redundant.
These include the Bonded Labour Act of 1976, Employee Compensation Act of 1923 and Building and Other Construction Workers’ Act of 1996, Provisions of laws pertaining to women and children, like the Maternity Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Child Labour Act and section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act which states that wages of a person earning less than Rs 15,000 a month cannot be deducted are also being retained.
Other labour laws like those related to settling industrial disputes, health and working conditions of workers and trade unions, contract workers and migrant workers will be frozen for three years. Factory Owners have been given more powers to hire and fire without attracting punitive measures from the labour department up to a certain limit.

May 09, 2020

Bamboo Conclave for North-East held via Video Conferencing

A Bamboo Conclave was held through Video Conference and featured the participation of representatives of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), the Union Ministry of Agriculture and various other stakeholders from different sectors.
The conclave was addressed by Union Minister of State (I/C) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh. The minister emphasized on the importance of Bamboo to India’s Post- COVID economy.
He stated that Bamboo will provide India an opportunity to evolve as an economic power with the support of its Bamboo resources.
Bamboo is vital to India’s Post- COVID economy and will provide an opportunity for India to emerge as an economic power with the support of its Bamboo resources.
The amendment in the Indian Forest Act brought about by the govt in 2017, as a result of which, home grown bamboo has been exempted from it in order to enhance livelihood opportunities through bamboo.
The total requirement of “Agarbatti” in India is about 2,30,000 per annum and the market value of it is up to Rs 5000 crore. But India has been importing a large bulk of it from countries like China and Vietnam.
It is an opportunity for the North Eastern region to help India become world competitive and self-sufficient in the changed scenario, as Northeast consists 60% of India’s reserve of Bamboo.
In future, Ministry of North East will try to work out a time bound plan for promotion of bamboo manufacturing and trade, and also work out feasibility of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in this sector.
Bamboo can be processed into multiple products, including bio-diesel and green fuel, wooden lumbers and plywood, which can change the entire face of the economy and create employment opportunities in multiple sectors.

Assam CM invites companies to set up ventures in State

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal made an open invitation to companies to set up their business ventures in Assam as the State has a power surplus of 350 MW to cater to their electricity need.
CM Sonowal said that though the State has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, the unrelenting endeavour of the government’s power companies has yielded into a power surplus of 350 MW.
The Chief Minister invited companies to invest in Assam and set up their units to explore the business-friendly ambience including availability of energy.
Chief Minister also hailed the role of every personnel of power department and the power companies in maintaining their high standard of professionalism and providing uninterrupted supply to the State.

PM Modi, Italy PM discuss health, economic impact of COVID-19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the measures required to address the health and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte over a phone call.
PM Modi also conveyed his condolences for the loss of lives in Italy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He commended the fortitude shown by citizens of Italy during the crisis.
Both the leaders expressed solidarity with each other and appreciated the mutual cooperation extended towards each other’s stranded nationals.
The leaders agreed to continue active consultation and cooperation between India and Italy, to further strengthen bilateral relations.
PM also assured Conte of India’s unstinted support to Italy in provision of essential medicines and other items.

Defence Ministry and Tata Power ink to modernise 37 airfields

Union Ministry of Defence inked a deal with Tata Power SED worth Rs 1,200 crore to modernise the infrastructure of 37 airfields for the Indian Air Force (IAF), Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
Modernisation of 37 airfield infrastructure is happening under Phase II of the programme. Under Phase I, 30 airfields were upgraded.
The project is a turnkey project that includes installation and commissioning of modern airfield equipment’s like Cat-II Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Cat II Air Field Lightning System (AFLS) etc.
The modern equipment around the airfield will also be directly connected to Air Traffic Control (ATC), thereby providing excellent control of the airfield systems to the air traffic controllers.
The up-gradation of navigational aids and infrastructure under this project would enhance the operational capability by facilitating air operations of military and civil aircraft even in poor visibility and adverse weather conditions while enhancing aerospace safety.

UP CM Yogi launches ‘Pravasi Raahat Mitra’ App

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, launched the ‘Pravasi Rahat Mitra’ App that is aimed at aiding migrant citizens coming to Uttar Pradesh from other states so that they can take advantage of government schemes. It will also help to monitor their health besides providing jobs and livelihood information, suitable to their skills.
The data collection of these migrant citizens will be done through the app that has been developed by the state revenue department in collaboration with United Nation Development Program.
The app will have full details of the persons staying in the shelter center and the migrants who have reached their homes directly from other states. The status of distribution of ration kits to migrant citizens will also be recorded in the app.
The data collected through the app will be installed on the state-based Integrated Information Management System.

AIIB extends $500 million loan for India’s Covid fight

Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) has approved a loan of $500 million to support India’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic by strengthening health care system.
It will be co-financed by the World Bank and would support India in addressing significant challenges posed to the public health system.
The financing will enable the Government of India to scale up efforts to limit the transmission of cases, strengthen the health system to expand its response capacity and enhance preparedness to manage future outbreaks.
The project also supports the purchase of medical equipment, enhanced disease detection capabilities and strengthened research and is expected to address the needs of infected people, at-risk populations, medical and emergency personnel and service providers at medical and testing facilities as well as national and animal health agencies.

FACTFILE – Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) loans to India

India is the top borrower from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
Next to India, Indonesia has emerged as the second largest borrower with about USD 600 million loans.
Significantly in the pipeline for lending for India by the 84-member bank this year included any projects worth billions of dollars.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has an authorised capital of USD 100 billion.
China is the largest shareholder with 26.06 per cent voting shares in the bank. India is the second largest shareholder with 7.5 per cent followed by Russia 5.93 per cent and Germany with 4.5 per cent.
Borrowing from AIIB is preferred by a number of countries as it charges about one to 1.5 per cent interest with long term repayment including five-year grace period.
The AIIB board viewed Indian projects favourably due to India’s economic credentials as well as well-prepared project reports.

Rice research station recommended 10 new varieties for Assam farmers

Gerua-based Regional Rainfed Lowland Rice Research Station (RRLRRS) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Rice Research Institute (ICAR-NRRI) has recommended 10 new rice varieties for farmers of Assam.
These varieties have been found suitable for lowland rice ecology and for the climatic condition of Assam after tests and field trials.
High protein varieties – CR Dhan 310, CR Dhan 309, CR Dhan 311
Climate smart varieties – CR Dhan 801, CR Dhan 802
Aromatic high yielding variety – CR Dhan 909
Four high yielding varieties suitable for lowland situation – CR Dhan 307, CR Dhan 506, CR Dhan 601 and Chandrama
While CR Dhan 601 and Chandrama are suitable for cultivation in all seasons, the other eight varieties are basically for planting only in the kharif season.

FACTFILE – ICAR-NRRI-Regional Rainfed Lowland Rice Research Station (RRLRRS) Gerua, Assam

The Regional Rain-fed Lowland Rice Research Station (RRLRRS) as a sub-station under ICAR-NRRI was established on September 15, 1997 at Gerua in the Hajo circle of the Kamrup district of Assam, upon request of the Assma Govt to consider establishing a sub-station of National Rice Research Institute (NRRI) in the state to assist it’s efforts on rice research, as NRRI plays a pivotal role in rice research of the country.

Main mandates of the ICAR-RRLRRS are

To conduct basic, strategic, applied and adaptive research on crop improvement, production and protection for increasing and stabilizing rice productivity in rainfed lowland ecosystem.
To explore, evaluate, conserve and exchange rice germplasm.
To develop high yielding and input responsive rice varieties resistant/tolerant to different biotic and abiotic stresses under rainfed lowland ecosystem.
To generate appropriate agronomic and protection technologies for increasing and sustaining the productivity of rice-based production systems under rainfed lowland ecosystem.
To import training to the farmers, field functionaries, extension specialists and research workers on improved rice production cropping and farming systems.

Trust Area of Research

Strengthening the breeding strategy to evolve suitable Sali varieties with tolerant to flood.
Development of short duration varieties with blast resistance and cold tolerance for Boro season.
Development of flood resistant rice varieties for lowland, semi-deep and deep water conditions.
Development of appropriate integrated insect pest and disease management strategies.

Salient Achievements

Released rice variety ‘Chandrama’ as Boro and Sali for Assam.
Released aromatic high yielding rice variety ‘CR Dhan 909’ as Sali crop for Assam, Bihar, Maharashtra and UP for irrigated and rainfed lowland ecology.
Rice varieties ‘Naveen’ have been identified suitable as pre-flood Ahu crop and ‘Abhishek’ as post-flood Sali rice crop.
Continual maintenance of over 830 Eastern Indian rice germplasm.
Use of pheromone traps @ 20/ha recorded the lowest incidence of dead heart (3.45%) and white ear head (2.01%).

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May 10, 2020

NIAB Hyderabad develops portable device ‘eCovSens’ to detect Covid

Researchers from Hyderabad-based National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) have developed a portable device ‘eCovSens’ that could possibly be used as a diagnostic tool for detection of COVID-19 antigens from saliva samples of suspected coronavirus patients within 30 seconds.
Developed by a group of scientists, led by Sonu Gandhi from NIAB, Department of Biotechnology, the device is named as ‘eCovSens’ and is at present in validation stage.
The biosensor device has the potential to directly detect a specific protein of the SARS-CoV-2, even when the proteins are present in low concentrations in the human saliva.

FACTFILE – The National Institute of Animal Biotechnology

National Institute of Animal Biotechnology is an Indian autonomous research establishment of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
The state of the art Animal Biotechnology and Transgenics institute is housed in the Aryabhata Block of the sprawling University of Hyderabad in Gachibowli.
The primary mandate of NIAB is towards the development of sustainability and globally competitive livestock (farm animals) for public and industry through innovative and cutting edge technology.

CAIT to launch national e-commerce marketplace ‘Bharatmarket’

Traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has announced to launch a national e-commerce marketplace ‘Bharatmarket’ soon for all retail traders in collaboration with several technology partners.
The marketplace will integrate capabilities of various technology companies to provide end-to-end services in the logistics and supply chains from manufacturers to end consumers, including deliveries at home.
The e-commerce portal will include a nationwide participation by retailers and aims to bring 95 per cent of retail traders onboard the platform, who would exclusively run the portal.
The traders body is looking to enrol about one crore retailers on this e-marketplace in 2020 and make it the world’s largest and most-unique e-marketplace ever.

ICMR partners with Bharat Biotech to develop Covid-19 vaccine

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) partnered with Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) to develop a fully indigenous vaccine for coronavirus.
The team will use the virus strain isolated at ICMR”s National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.
The strain has been successfully transferred from NIV to Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL).
Work on vaccine development has been initiated between the two partners.
ICMR-NIV will provide continuous support to BBIL for vaccine development.
ICMR and BBIL will seek fast-track approvals to expedite vaccine development, subsequent animal studies and clinical evaluation of the candidate vaccine.

Ex-RBI Governor Rangarajan heads panel to tackle Tamil Nadu’s fiscal challenges

The Tamil Nadu government has set up a high-level committee comprising of economists, industrialists, vice chancellors, bankers, government officials, headed by former RBI Governor C. Rangarajan to look at the fiscal challenges being faced by the state and the way forward in the context of Covid-19.
The committee’s terms of references are
- To assess the overall immediate and medium-term impact of Covid-19 on different sectors of the Tamil Nadu economy, including impact of the lockdown, additional costs and implications due to social distancing and other precautionary measures;
- Assess opportunities and threats in the short and medium term.
- Measures required to help important sectors of the economy to overcome Covid-19 pandemic.
- Identify specific reform measures to be taken by the state government to support the growth of important sectors of the economy.
- Asses the Covid-19 impact on TN’s fiscal situation, the way forward to improve it, including increasing the tax: Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), diversifying revenue source and repriotising expenditure.

Over 60 per cent of styrene vapour leaked from LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam

Over 60 per cent of the styrene vapours that leaked from a tank in LG Polymers near Visakhapatnam, killing at least 11 people.
Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney issued an order appointing a high-level to probe into the causes behind the gas leak and suggest measures to improve the protocol for industrial safety of similar types of plants.

What is styrene?

It is a flammable liquid that is used in the manufacturing of polystyrene plastics, fiberglass, rubber, and latex.
Styrene is also found in vehicle exhaust, cigarette smoke, and in natural foods like fruits and vegetables.

Effect on Human

Short-term exposure to the substance can result in respiratory problems, irritation in the eyes, irritation in the mucous membrane, and gastrointestinal issues.
Long-term exposure could drastically affect the central nervous system and lead to other related problems like peripheral neuropathy. It could also lead to cancer and depression in some cases.

May 11, 2020

USFDA approves emergency use of investigational vaccine, Remdesivir

The US food and drug regulatory body has allowed the emergency use of an investigational anti-viral vaccine to treat COVID-19 patients after some researches, found that the drug helped recover some of the infected cases faster.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the use of investigational anti-viral Remdesivir in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
The EUA allows for Remdesivir to be distributed in the US and administered intravenously by health care providers, as appropriate, to treat suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in adults and children hospitalised with severe condition.
Remdesivir is authorised for the treatment of hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19 disease, the optimal duration of treatment is still being studied in ongoing clinical trials.
Indian-American Subramanian, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine is one of the lead investigators of the study.

National Institute of Virology develops ‘COVID Kavach’ that tests 90 samples together

The National Institute of Virology in Pune has successfully developed the first indigenous anti-SARS-CoV-2A (Covid-19) human IgG ELISA test kit for antibody detection of the deadly virus.
This kit was validated at two sites in Mumbai and has high sensitivity & accuracy. Additionally, it also has the advantage of testing 90 samples together in a single run of 2.5 hours.
The ICMR technology has been transferred to ZydusCadila for mass-scale production and the Drug Controller General has granted commercial production & marketing permission to Zydus.

FACTFILE – National Institute of Virology, Pune

The National Institute of Virology, Pune is an Indian virology research institute, and one of the translational science cells part of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
It was founded in 1952 in collaboration of the ICMR and the Rockefeller Foundation as a part of the global programme of investigations on the arthropod-borne group of viruses.
It was originally known as ‘Virus Research Center’. To expanded scope and activities, it was re-designated as the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in 1978
It has been designated as a WHO H5 reference laboratory for SE Asia region. It is identified as the WHO Collaborating Center for arboviruses reference and hemorrhagic fever reference and research.
NIV is also the National Monitoring Centre for Influenza, Japanese encephalitis, Rota, Measles, Hepatitis and Coronavirus.

DRDO develops devices to sanitise phones, currency notes

The RCI, a premier laboratory of DRDO based at Hyderabad, has developed an automated contactless UVC sanitising cabinet to sanitise mobile phones, iPads, laptops, currency notes, cheque leafs, challans, passbooks, and paper.
Research Centre Imarat (RCI), a part of Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), developed the Defence Research Ultraviolet Sanitiser (DRUVS).
The proximity sensor switches clubbed with drawer opening and closing mechanism makes its operation automatic and contactless. It provides 360 degree exposure of UVC to the objects placed inside the cabinet.

NASSCOM creates end-to-end covid-19 platform for Telangana

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) successful delivered of an end-to-end ‘COVID’ platform to Telangana government.
The platform brings together solutions from multiple technology leaders and delivers more than 100 dashboards, from over 30 government and public datasets, with hundreds of thousands of data points, which will help the state combat the pandemic.
The NASSCOM taskforce has developed a covid-19 India Vulnerability Map, which will provide real time streaming of data about the coronavirus, across regions and states in the country.
The platform will source data from public sources that includes select social channels, websites, blogs, forums and public data sets to create actionable reporting dashboards and will allow the got to project insights sourced from the information with public datasets display.

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May 12, 2020

Centre releases Rs 6000 crore to assist 14 states including 6 NE states

The Centre released the second instalment of states’ share of revenue deficit grant amounting to over Rs 6,000 crore, to assist states effectively address the situation arising out of Covid-19.
The grant had been released for 14 states including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Sikkim and six North Eastern states excluding Arunachal Pradesh.
The money has been released ahead of schedule and as a special dispensation to meet immediate funding needs of the state governments looking to restore economic activity and minimise losses to its citizens due to disruptions caused by the lockdown.
Much of this money is expected to be used by states towards paying the salaries to their staff as sharp fall in tax collections in April.

Assam CM interacts with PSUs, industry bodies

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal interacted with representatives of Central and State Government PSUs, industry and tea associations at the Assam Administrative Staff College and solicited their suggestions to arrest the economic slowdown.
He also talked to several industry leaders through video conference who joined the interaction from different parts of the State and the country.
Industries in Assam contribute 39 per cent to the State GDP and provide direct employment to approximately 4 lakh people and indirect employment to around 20 lakh people and this sector has been severely affected by the lockdown.
Stating that due to lockdown big and small tea gardens incurred loss to the tune of around Rs. 500 crores, Sonowal assured the industry leaders that continuous efforts to revive the economy were underway.
The State government has taken up steps to facilitate return of migrant workers of the State who are stranded at different places of the country, CM Sonowal stressed on making best use of their skills to boost the industrial sector.

Kashmir Saffron receives Geographical Indication (GI) Tag

Kashmir saffron has been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry.
The spice is cultivated and harvested in the Karewa highlands and some regions of Kashmir, including Pulwama, Budgam, Kishtwar and Srinagar.
The application was filed by the Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, and facilitated by the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, and Saffron Research Station, Dussu.
Iran is the largest producer of saffron and India is a close competitor. With the GI tag, Kashmir saffron would gain more prominence in the export market.
Kashmir saffron is renowned globally as a spice and is a very precious and costly product. It rejuvenates health and is used in cosmetics and for medicinal purposes.
The unique characteristics of Kashmir saffron are its longer and thicker stigmas, natural deep-red colour, high aroma, bitter flavour, chemical-free processing, and high quantity of crocin , safranal and picrocrocin.
The saffron available in Kashmir is of three types — Lachha Saffron, Mongra Saffron, and Guchhi Saffron.

TS Tirumurti appointed new Permanent Representative of India to UN

T. S. Tirumurti, an IFS officer of 1985 batch, has been appointed as the next Ambassador or Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations.
At present, he is holding the position of Secretary, Economic Relations, at the MEA headquarters in Delhi.
Tirumurti succeeds Syed Akbaruddin who is credited with effectively presenting India’s position on a range of crucial issues at the UN’s headquarters in New York for last several years.

May 13, 2020

African Swine fever outbreak in Assam

With the outbreak of the African swine fever, animals especially the pig’s health issue, have become a serious concern for the State as piggery is a lucrative way of livelihood for a large section of Assamese youths.
More than 14,000 pigs died of swine fever and new cases have been reported from Nagaon district.
According to the Assam Pig Breeding Policy, 2019, the pig farmers of Assam are facing six major challenges including the pig health issue.
The policy stated that there is a big gap between the requirement and availability of feed and feed crops in Assam. This is because cultivation of maize, which is an important feed ingredient for pigs, is not popular in Assam. Because of this its cost is very high in the State and availability is not adequate.
Indigenous varieties of pig are very poor performers in terms of body weight and prolificacy and it makes them unsuitable for profitable commercial ventures.
Citing the issue of climate change and global warming, the policy stated that both the factors may have serious implications on the pig sector.
Most of the pig producers of the State are small and marginal farmers who have limited capacity to adopt the latest technological advancements.

GI Tag to Manipur Black Rice, Gorakhpur Terracotta

Chak-Hao, the black rice of Manipur and the Gorakhpur terracotta have bagged the Geogrphical Indication (GI) tag.
The application for Chak-Hao was filed by the Consortium of Producers of Chak-Hao (Black Rice), Manipur and was facilitated by the Department of Agriculture, Government of Manipur and the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC).
Chak-Hao, a scented glutinous rice which has been in cultivation in Manipur over centuries, is characterised by its special aroma. It is normally eaten during community feasts and is served as Chak-Hao kheer.
Chak-Hao has also been used by traditional medical practitioners as part of traditional medicine. This rice takes the longest cooking time of 40-45 minutes due to the presence of a fibrous bran layer and higher crude fibre content.
The terracotta work of Gorakhpur is a centuries-old traditional art form, where the potters make various animal figures like, horses, elephants, camel, goat, ox, etc. with hand-applied ornamentation.

Prime Minister announced package of Rs 20 lakh crore to boost economy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a massive financial package to revive, reform and make the country self-reliant, while at the same time welcoming foreign capital and strengthening of supply chains.
Prime Minister announced stimulus measures which will take the total amount announced by the Ministry of Finance and the RBI to a total of Rs 20 lakh crore which is about 10 per cent of India’s GDP.
According to the Prime Minister, it is now the time to make India self-sufficient in every way and every Indian should buy and promote local goods.
The package will give emphasis on land, labour, liquidity and laws. The package will also focus on the farmers and the labourers.
The package will give rise to a rational tax system, strong financial system besides encouraging businesses and bringing in investments into India. As new infrastructure and rational tax systems are the focus area for a quantum leap of growth.

Tamil Nadu’s Arumbavur wood carvings get GI tag

The unique Arumbavur wood carving was awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. Arumbavur is a Town Panchayat in Perambalur district in the state of Tamil Nadu.
The application for GI was made by the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation Limited (Poompuhar), Arumbavur Wood Carvers’ Handicrafts lndustrial Cooperative Society Ltd, and the Arumbavur Temple Car and Woodcarving Artisans Welfare Society.
The Arumbavur wood carvings are primarily making sculptures on the wooden logs of Indian siris (Poo Vaagai, Albizialebbeck), Mango (Mangiferaindica), Lingam tree (Mavilangam), Indian Ash fiee (Othiyan – Odinawodier), Rosewood, Neem tree (Vembu – Azadirachtaindica).
The unique aspect of the Arambavur wood carvings is that it is often inspired by architectural details on temple sculptures and carvings indigenous to the region.
The art form also draws inspiration from mythology and mythical deities.
The Arumbavur wood carvings revolve around idols and deities, temple chariots and temple cars, door panels of houses, pooja rooms and temples, decorative figures, poojamandapam.
The artisans used to go to the particular place where the temple car has to be made and stay in that temple for a period of upto four years and complete the work.
Sculptures of Lord Vinayaka, Goddess Saraswati, Lord Krishna, Lord Siva and Goddess Parvathi can be seen in Arumbavur Wood Carvings, along with motifs such as hamsa/mythical swans, poomakhumbhal cornucopia, kaamadhenu, Temple chariots and temple cars and other floral motifs.

Uttar Pradesh transfers Rs 225 crore to MGNREGA beneficiaries

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath transferred Rs 225.39 crores to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) beneficiaries through direct bank transfer.
State govt has raised the honorarium of the ‘gram sewaks’ who are beneficiaries under MGNREGA, to Rs 6,000 per month from the earlier Rs 3,630 per month.
CM Govt also appealed to the MGNREGA workers to help in generating more employment in their villages and districts and ensure that the needy get employment.

Microsoft launches ‘Back2Business’ solutions for SMBs in India

Microsoft announced the launch of new solutions designed to help Indian small and medium businesses (SMBs) maintain business continuity and embark on their Cloud adoption journeys amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Curated for specific scenarios in different organisation sizes, these “Back2Business” solution boxes bring together offerings across Azure and Modern Workplace.
There are solution packages designed to accelerate the Cloud adoption journeys of SMBs. These are curated to help ramp up legacy systems, migrate workloads to Azure or modernise apps and websites.
The Back2Business Solution Boxes offer speed in deployment and usage and flexibility with pay-as-you-go pricing, along with our commitment to privacy and security.

US commit $3.6 Million aid to India for COVID-19 Battle

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has committed $3.6 million to assist India’s efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The initial tranche of funding will seek to further strengthen and support the Central government’s efforts to increase laboratory capacity for SARS-COV-2 testing, including molecular diagnostics and serology.
The funds will also support the development of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) centers that can improve the ability of hospital networks to detect Covid-19 cases and strengthen local health systems through enhanced surveillance and monitoring systems.
The CDC will work with local partners to assist in the development of a strong public health workforce to support India’s capacity to respond not only to this pandemic but also to future threats as well.
It will also include planning for health emergency operation centres. The CDC India programme will provide technical assistance for the ongoing crisis emergency and risk communication efforts of the government.

Central relief package of Rs 1.70 lakh crore for poor

The Union government recently announced a relief package of Rs 1.70 lakh crore under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) for the poor to help them fight the battle against coronavirus.
The Centre proposes to pay 24 per cent of the monthly wages into the EPF account for the three months – March, April and May.
The benefits will be available to establishments having up to 100 employees with 90 per cent or more such employees earning monthly wages up to Rs 15,000.
The entire employees’ EPF contribution and employer’s EPF and EPS contributions of the monthly wages for the three months shall be paid directly by the Central government in the EPF account of the employees.
The employer in relation to any eligible establishment shall disburse wages for the month to all employees of the establishment and file ECR to avail the benefit under the scheme.

Researchers of IIT Guwahati, Singapore institute use data science models

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati and the Duke-NUS Medical School of Singapore have used data science models to analyse and carry out a state-wise assessment of the COVID-19 situation in India.
The data-driven assessment was carried out by Dr Palash Ghosh, Assistant Professor of IIT Guwahati, in collaboration with Dr Bibhas Chakraborty, Associate Professor at the Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.
The assessment can predict the total number of infected people for different states in India in the next 30 days, based on the growth of active cases in recent times, along with the daily infection-rate (DIR) values for each state.
The researchers label a state as severe if a non-decreasing trend in DIR values is observed over the last two weeks along with a near exponential growth in active infected cases.

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May 14, 2020

Assam to introduce new inter-district tourism scheme

The Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) has decided to introduce an inter-district tourism plan in the State in a bid to encourage the local youths.
The ongoing lockdown has made a huge impact on the tourism sector, and, therefore, the ATDC has come forward with a new move of helping the unemployed youths.
The chairman of the ATDC, Jayanta Malla Baruah informed that the ‘PunyaDham’ scheme would be implemented within the state this year, which is likely to attract more tourists.
It is to be noted that the State Tourism department has incurred a huge loss due to the impact of novel corona virus.

Finance Ministry’s 15 measures to revive economy

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced 15 new and some enhanced measures to revive businesses, and support workers via fiscal incentives and regulatory easing, consist of slew of fiscal and regulatory measures for MSMEs, real estate, NBFCs, power distribution and general businesses.
As a major reform measure for the MSME sector, the Centre has decided to give a new definition to MSMEs. Specifications wise, the investment limit for defining MSMEs has been revised upwards. Additional criteria such as turnover have been considered for defining MSMEs.
Rs 3 lakh crore “collateral-free automatic loans” for businesses, including MSMEs, will be provided to meet operational liabilities built up, buy raw material and restart business.
A Rs 50,000 crore ”Fund of Funds” for MEMEs, which face severe shortage of equity, was also announced. Another scheme worth Rs 20,000 crore for “subordinate debt for stressed MSMEs.
The Centre will not to go in for global bidding for government procurement for tenders up to Rs 200 crore, thereby, promoting the participation of MSMEs.
e-market linkage for MSMEs will be provided and the CPSEs will pay all receivables to MSMEs within 45 days.
Rs 30,000 crore special liquidity scheme for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), housing finance companies (HFCs) and micro-finance institutions (MFIs) was also announced.
A Rs 45,000 crore partial credit guarantee scheme for NBFCs. Under this measure, first 20 per cent loss will be borne by the Centre, and even unrated papers will be eligible for investment, enabling NBFCs to reach out even to MSMEs in far-flung areas.
A Rs 90,000 crore liquidity injection plan was announced for the financially stressed power distribution companies, which will allow these entities to clear their dues towards power generation companies.
The Union Ministry for Housing and Urban Affairs will issue advisory to states and Union Territories to declare the Covid-19 situation as a ”force majeure” under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act.
Centre to reduce the TDS (tax deduction at source) rates for non-salaried specified payments made to residents, and the TCS (tax collection at source) rates by 25 per cent for the specified receipts. This will be applicable to the payment for contract, professional fees, interest, rent, dividend, commission and brokerage.

Tamil Nadu’s Kovilpatti kadalaimittai gets GI tag

The famous Kovilpattikadalaimittai has been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. It is manufactured in Kovilpatti and adjacent towns and villages in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu
The application was filed by the Kovilpatti Regional Kadalaimittai Manufacturers.
Kovilpatti kadalaimittai is a candy made of peanuts held together with glistening syrup, and topped with wisps of grated coconut dyed pink, green and yellow.
It is made using all natural ingredients such as the traditional and special ‘vellam’ (jaggery) and groundnuts and water from the river Thamirabarani is used in the production, which enhances the taste naturally.

Govt to use Rs 3,100 crore from PM-CARES for ventilators, migrants’ welfare

The Centre allocated Rs 3,100 crore from the PM CARES (Prime Minister”s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations) Fund to fight against COVID-19.
The bulk of it, Rs 2,000 crore, will be spent to buy ventilators, while a significant Rs 1,000 crore is being earmarked for the migrant labourers. As much as Rs 100 crore is kept for supporting vaccine development.
As much as 50,000 ‘Made in India’ ventilators will be purchased from PM CARES Fund at a cost of about Rs 2,000 crore. These ventilators will be provided to government-run COVID hospitals in all states and UTs for better treatment of critical COVID-19 cases.
A lump-sum assistance of total Rs 1,000 crore from the Fund is earmarked for the welfare of the migrant labourers. The money will be distributed to states and UTs.
The money is meant to strengthen districts’ efforts in providing accommodation facilities, making food arrangements, providing medical treatment and making transportation arrangements of the migrants.
State/UT-wise funds will be released on the weightage of (a) population of the state/UT as per 2011 Census – 50% weightage (b) Number of positive COVID-19 cases as on date – 40% weightage and (c) equal share (10% weightage) for all states/UTs to ensure basic minimum sum for all states.
Meanwhile, Rs 100 crore is kept for developing a vaccine for COVID-19. Indian academia, start-ups and industry have come together in cutting-edge vaccine design and development on the money is meant to support their research and development.

UN slashes India’s growth rate to 1.2% for 2020-21

United Nations has slashed India’s economic growth projection for the current fiscal year to 1.2 per cent, which would still be the second-highest growth rate among major economies trailing China.
The mid-year World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) update expects India’s rate of gross domestic growth to increase to 5.5 per cent in the next fiscal year.
The growth rate for the world ravaged by Covid-19 is projected to shrink by 3.2 per cent this year, with the developed countries bearing the brunt with their economic growth dropping by 5 per cent.
China is expected to grow by 1.7 per cent this year and increase its rate to 7.6 per cent next year. South Asia’s economies overall to shrink by 0.6 per cent during the current year.

Gilead inks pact with 3 Indian drugmakers to produce, sell Remdesivir

US drug-maker Gilead Sciences has signed non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements with three Indian pharmaceutical companies Cipla, Hetero Labs and Jubilant Life Sciences, to manufacture and sell the anti-viral drug to treat severe COVID-19 patients. Gilead would provide technology transfers to the drug manufacturers to facilitate the production.
Gilead’s Remdesivir has received emergency use authorisation (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms.
Hetero which has been working with the ICMR for necessary approvals, said Remdesivir would be manufactured at its formulation facility in Hyderabad.
Cipla will be permitted to manufacture the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and finished product, and market it in 127 countries, including India and South Africa under Cipla’s own brand name.
Remdesivir is given to patients intraveinous one time each day for up to 10 days depending on recommendations of healthcare providers, according to the FDA. The drug may help decrease the amount of the coronavirus in bodies and help patients get better faster.
Possible side effects of Remdesivir include infusion-related reactions and increases in levels of liver enzymes. It’s all of the risks are not known yet.

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Assam Current Affairs – May 01 – 07, 2020

Posted on May 12, 2020June 10, 2020 by admin

Assam Current Affairs & GK – May 1 - 7, 2020

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of May 1 – 7, 2020 )

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May 01, 2020

IIT Guwahati students develop low-cost intubation box

A team of students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has designed and developed a low-cost intubation box, which can prove useful in treating patients undergoing treatment for COVID-19.
The device that functions as an aerosol obstruction box placed atop the patient’s bed on the head-side, limits the flow of virus-laden droplets from the patient to the doctor, especially during the process of intubation.
The device, inspired by the design of Taiwanese anaesthesiologist Dr Hsien Yung Lai, has been developed and designed by a student venture for medical innovation named ‘Mitochondrial’, which is mentored by Dr S Kanagaraj and Dr Sajan Kapil of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of IIT Guwahati.
It is a low-cost alternative to intubation boxes and is easier to manufacture and deliver amid the lockdown.
The team has received assistance from DRDO, New Delhi for prototyping and testing the product at the Solid State Physics Laboratory, New Delhi, and is consulting Dr Johann Christopher of Care Hospitals, Hyderabad and Dr Abhijeet Bhatia of NEIGRIHMS, Shillong to ensure efficacy of the design.The projected cost per box is Rs 2,000, which is significantly lower than prices of existing alternatives.
The team has received assistance from DRDO, New Delhi for prototyping and testing the product at the Solid State Physics Laboratory, New Delhi, and is consulting Dr Johann Christopher of Care Hospitals, Hyderabad and Dr Abhijeet Bhatia of NEIGRIHMS, Shillong to ensure efficacy of the design.
The transparent material allows visual access to the head of the patient inside and the armholes on the box allow for the care provider to perform any necessary tasks, including intubation and extubation, which are cough-inducing processes.
The team has started a crowd-funding campaign to manufacture these boxes and provide them to government hospitals free of cost.

Arunachal Pradesh gets first COVID-19 testing lab

Arunachal Pradesh’s first COVID-19 qRT-PCR laboratory opened today at the Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS) Hospital at Naharlagun.
The COVID-19 testing laboratory will start collecting samples for suspected coronavirus from May 1 onwards.
The State Government has initiated the work to establish two more COVID-19 testing laboratories – one at Pasighat and the other at C-Sector, Naharlagun.
With the establishment of the COVID-19 qRT-PCR laboratory at the TRIHMS, samples of around 100 people can be tested on a single day. This will increase to another 200 samples a day once the laboratory at C-Sector, Naharlagun.

PM Modi directs India should reduce dependence on defence imports

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed that India should reduce dependence on imports and take forward “Make in India” to build its domestic capabilities in defence equipment. He also stressed on the reforms to ensure a self reliant defence industry.

The Prime Minister held a meeting to discuss ways to boost defence and aerospace sector, in which he emphasised strengthening the domestic capacity for designing, developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art defence equipment.
Modi held a detailed meeting to deliberate the potential reforms to ensure a robust and self-reliant defence industry in India that caters to short and long term needs of the armed forces and initiatives to give a boost to the economy in the backdrop of COVID-19.
The discussions involved reforming of the functioning of the ordnance factories, streamlining procurement procedures, focused resource allocation, encouraging R&D innovation, attracting investment in critical defence technologies and promotion of exports.
The Prime Minister laid emphasis on positioning India among the top countries of the world in defence and aerospace sectors, from design to production, with active participation of public and private sector fulfilling the twin objectives of self-reliance and exports.
He reviewed the proposed reforms for attracting domestic and foreign investment in defence sector.

Tamil Nadu sets up portal for people wanting to return from abroad

The Tamil Nadu government announced a dedicated portal for people of the state living overseas and wanting to return after lifting of lockdown and resumption of flights.
The state government said owing to cancellation of international flights many students, workers and others from Tamil Nadu were unable to return.
Those wanting to return are requested to register in portal www.nonresidenttamil.org, which would enable the government to know the number of people looking forward to return and prepare the quarantine facilities.

IIT-BHU‘s MCIIE develops low-cost UVGI system to fight coronavirus

The Malviya Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (MCIIE) at the IIT-BHU has developed an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) system, which has been installed at the Covid-19 lab of the BHU Hospital for sanitisation.
As per the latest research, UVC light-based sterilizer can kill a range of micro-organisms, like viruses (including SARS syndrome, coronavirus and Nipah virus) and bacteria in a short time.
The system has a series of UV lamps (depending upon size of place of installation), each having 22 watts capacity.
This system can produce UVGI dose of more than 2,400 microwatt sec/cm square to ensure complete inactivation of coronavirus.
It also works on auto timer and its visual red/green indicator ensures safety of the user against the UV dose.
The system can be used in hospitals, operation theatres, ICUs and IVF labs, microbiological labs, special wards, dental facilities, laboratories, pharmaceutical units and patient care wards.

May 2, 2020

Assam museums to go virtual

The State Museum authorities have formulated a schedule to bring all the museums of Assam closer to the audience through virtual platforms available on the internet.
The programme headed by YS Wunglengton, Director of Museums, Assam, comprising a series of video talks, presentations, interactive sessions has been designed by the museum professionals for the benefit of the audience of all categories which will be available on the Facebook page of Assam State Museum, initially, and likely to be expanded on all other social media platforms.
The museum authority has already published the first video by YS Wunglengton giving a glimpse of the Assam State Museum describing vividly the masterpieces housed in the museum.
The upcoming presentations shall be advertised regularly on the Facebook page of the Assam State Museum.
Also, a live question and answer session will be conducted on alternate days, for two weeks by the end of May, where students and general public can directly ask questions related to museums and its collections.
The entire programme is planned to utilise the digital platform available and make the museum objects accessible to the general public virtually.

Arvind Kumar Sharma appointed Secretary, MSME

Arvind Kumar Sharma (IAS) assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Sharma has emphasised that MSME sector is very crucial for the society and the economy.
Prior to this appointment, Sharma was serving as Additional Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). He is 1988 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.
Sharma has also worked in the government of Gujarat at various positions, including at field and policy level, and has extensive experience of handling the portfolios of regulatory and developmental administration, disaster management, corporate management, industrial/investment promotion and infrastructure development.

Kovilpatti groundnut candy gets GI tag

The tasty Kovilpatti Kadalai Mittai or groundnut candy has finally got the unique GI tag from the Geographical Indications Registry.
Part of Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, Kovilpatti groundnut candy has a unique taste and is famed for it and the application for the GI tag was made in 2014 by the Kovilpatti Kadalai Mittai manufacturers.
The groundnut candy made with jaggery syrup and topped with wisps of grated coconut dyed in pink, green and yellow.
There are about 150 groundnut candy manufacturers in Kovilpatti employing about 6,000 workers now
Within India the Kovipatti groundnut candy is sold in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai and other places and is also exported to Sri Lanka, Dubai.

Researchers develop fast antibody blood test for Covid-19

A team of researchers has developed a quick, sensitive test of antibodies against coronavirus in human blood, which could help doctors track a person”s exposure to the disease, as well as confirm suspected Covid-19 cases which have been tested negative by other methods.
The study revealed that researchers from China wanted to develop a fast, sensitive antibody test to help identify people with current or past exposure to novel coronavirus.
The researchers based their test on a technique called lateral flow immunoassay (LFA); a home pregnancy test is an example of this kind of assay.
They attached a viral coat protein to a specific region on a strip of nitrocellulose — a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to nitric acid – and then added human serum.
The serum flowed from one end of the strip to the other, and any antibody against the viral protein bound to that region on the strip. Then, the team detected the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with a fluorescently labelled antibody.
This fluorescence-based detection is much more sensitive than some other LFAs, such as pregnancy tests, that can be read by the naked eye.
The researchers tested the new assay on seven serum samples from Covid-19 patients and 12 samples from people who had tested negative for the disease by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a common diagnostic test that occasionally fails to detect positive cases.

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May 3, 2020

Black rice of Manipur gets GI Tag recognition

Chakhao, the black rice of Manipur, has bagged the Geogrphical Indication (GI) tag. The Geographical Indications Registry has confirmed it on their website – http://ipindiaservices.gov.in/GirPublic/Application/Details/602).
The registration process took more than a year, which included documentation by a team of the State Agriculture Department.
Chakhao, a scented glutinous rice variety, is being cultivated in Manipur for many centuries. It is grown in the plains and hills of Manipur where the soil quality is rich. It is characterised by its special aroma. People usually have it during community feasts and is used to prepare ‘kheer’.
Chakhao is also used by traditional medical practitioners as part of traditional medicine, as it is said to be anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, beneficial for heart and to prevent onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
In black rice cultivation, farmers neither apply agro-chemicals nor use any motorised implements. Only human labour is used for farming.
GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
Earlier, Kachai lemon of Manipur, grows at Kachai village in Manipur’s Ukhrul district, had got the GI tag. This lemon contains 45-51 mg ascorbic acid per 100 ml, which is the highest among citrus fruits. GI tag application for a local pea variety called Hawaitharak-makhayat-mubi is also under process.

Assam to open borders with NE States for stranded people

The State government opened a helpline for stranded people in other States wanting to return and has also decided to allow those in NE States to enter Assam from tomorrow onwards.
However, the State government has made a fervent appeal to all such people residing outside to avoid the massive evacuation arrangement and the elaborate screening and quarantine measures being put in place, if they can defer their return to the State for some time.
People stranded in other NE States, except Sikkim, can enter the State but will have to follow the strict screening protocol at the border checkposts.
After the mandatory screening, medical officers at the gate will take a call on whether to put them in home quarantine facility or admitted to hospital.
Night curfew will be imposed in Assam, so all such people will have to travel during day hours.
For those people stranded in other States, the State government has opened a helpline – 7428159966.
Those wanting to return will have to give a missed call in the number, following which a link will be send for filling up an application.

CSIR-IICT develops RT-PCR kit for COVID-19 testing

Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research-India Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) announced that it has developed indigenous RT-PCR kits for COVID-19 testing in partnership with Genomix Biotech
CSIR-IICT developed an affordable reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) kit indigenously using recombinant technology for production of several enzymes used in the kit and optimized the reagent conditions to match the regulatory requirements.
Genomix Biotech will optimize the kit for COVID-19 diagnosis by adding the Taqman probes. CSIR-IICT and Genomix Biotech plan to approach Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) or its recognized laboratory for validation to launch the product.
The availability of RT-PCR kits in the market has serious limitations as most of them are currently imported.
The RT-PCR kit developed by CSIR-IICT can also be used in various other disease diagnostics of humans, animals and plants.
This technology is also expected to bring down the overall cost of RT-PCR based diagnosis in the country.

KGMU, CDRI collaborate for corona vaccine

The King George’s Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow is now collaborating with the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) for three major research projects, including development of a vaccine for the coronavirus.
The university, which is conducting highest number of corona tests in the state, has also been approached for the use of natural herbal products in the treatment of the disease by the Central AYUSH ministry.
There are at least seven research projects initiated simultaneously by the KGMU in collaboration with other scientific institutes.
Three research projects – one is a molecular research to know the reasons for disease causation, second one is for finding treatment methodologies and a third project is to develop a vaccine for the virus.

IFCN launches WhatsApp bot to fight COVID-19 misinformation

Poynter Institutes International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) launched its chatbot on WhatsApp to help two billion users of the Facebook-owned instant messaging platform to check veracity of information related to COVID-19.
The IFCN’s bot connects people with independent fact-checkers in more than 70 countries and also with the largest database of debunked falsehoods related to the new coronavirus.
By using the IFCN’s bot on WhatsApp, citizens from all over the world will be able to easily check whether a piece of content about COVID-19 has already been rated as false by professional fact-checkers.
Since January, more than 80 fact-checking organisations from 74 countries have identified more than 4,000 hoaxes related to the novel coronavirus.
All this information now forms the CoronaVirusFacts database and is updated daily by the IFCN so chatbot users can navigate and easily access its content.
The IFCN”s bot also provides users with a global directory of fact-checking organisations.
The system is capable of identifying the user”s country via the person”s mobile country code and then providing them with their closest fact-checking organisations.
The person can then submit a piece of information for review directly to its local fact-checker or visit its website to learn more about what has been circulating in the region.

May 4, 2020

Three new species of little horned frogs discovered in Northeast India

Three new species of horned frogs have been discovered in Northeast India and named using local lingo, by a team of Irish and Indian biologists from the University College Dublin, the Natural History Museum, UK and University of Delhi.
Two of the new species have been named using words adapted from local tribal languages at their sites of discovery.
Naga Hills Horned Frog (Megophrys awuh), where the word ‘awuh’ means ‘frog’ in the Pochury language, the primary native tribe from the Melluri district of Nagaland state.
Tamenglong Horned Frog (Megophrys numhbumaeng), where the name is derived from ‘nwmbwmaeng’ meaning ‘forest spirit’ from the Rongmei (Ruangmei) language, the primary native tribe from the Tamenglong district of Manipur state.
The third new species, the Dzükou Valley Horned Frog (Megophrys dzukou), was named after the only place that this potentially endangered new species was found, which lies on the border of Nagaland and Manipur states.
The discoveries have concluded the eleventh new species of horned frog to be named from Northeast India following research by the same core team published in 2011, 2013, and 2018 (which included the 11 cm Giant Himalayan Horned Frog).

Assam CM constitutes economic advisory panel

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal constituted an economic advisory committee as a measure to revive the economy of the State and break the stagnation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The eight-member committee led by retired IAS officer Subhash Das would study various aspects of the State’s economy and provide recommendations to bring back economic buoyancy through systematic interventions.
Retired vice chancellor of Assam Agricultural University Dr KM Bujarbarua, professor of Gauhati University Dr Madhurjya Bezbarua, associate professor at Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development Dr Joydeep Barua, managing director of Rashtriya Gramin Vikash Nidhi Dr Amiya Sarma, ARIAS Society’s agribusiness consultant Gautam Goswami, State organising secretary of Bharatiya Kishan Sangha Krishnakanta Bora and journalist Adip Kumar Phukan are the other members of the committee.

PM Modi participates in NAM Summit

A summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in the format of a contact group was held through videoconference in a bid to boost coordination among member states in fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The summit, themed “United against COVID-19,” was initiated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the current chairman of the NAM.
This was the first time that Prime Minister Modi attended the NAM summit after assuming office in his first term in 2014.
Modi at the NAM summit said that the coronavirus pandemic had demonstrated the limitations of the existing international system.
Prime Minister said we need a new template of globalisation based on fairness, equality and humanity. We need international institutions that are more representative of today”s world.
Briefing the NAM summit about India’s efforts in combating the pandemic, Modi said, despite our own needs, we have ensured medical supplies to our 123 partner countries including 59 members of Non-Aligned Movement. We are active in global efforts to develop remedies and vaccines.

FACTFILE – Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 developing world states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.
After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
Drawing on the principles agreed at the Bandung Conference in 1955, the NAM was established in 1961 in Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia through an initiative of the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito.
This led to the first Conference of Heads of State or Governments of Non-Aligned Countries. The term non-aligned movement first appears in the fifth conference in 1976, where participating countries are denoted as “members of the movement”.
The purpose of the organization was enumerated by Fidel Castro in his Havana Declaration of 1979 as to ensure “the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries” in their “struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics.”
The countries of the Non-Aligned Movement represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations’ members and contain 55% of the world population.

IIT-Madras startup creating nanoparticle coating material to tackle corona

An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras-incubated startup Muse Wearables is developing novel and scalable methods for coating textiles with nanoparticles-based antimicrobial agents that can inactivate the human coronavirus on contact.
These coatings are expected to be effective up to 60 wash cycles, thereby making the textiles re-usable.
The coated textiles can be primarily used to manufacture N95 masks, surgical masks, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and food packaging bags, among others, with inherent properties of inactivating the virus.
Some highlights of these nano-particles coated textiles include, anti-microbial properties – it continuously captures and destroys viruses and other microbes upon contact. Other viruses are as small as 30 nanometres can also be inactivated permanently.
It does not leach while washing in water and is environment-friendly. At present, the particles can be coated on materials like cotton, polyester and cotton polyester.
It is non-toxic and therefore can be safely used for making masks and other PPEs.
Currently, the startup is assembling the coating machine and will shortly commence coating various textiles with different nanoparticle solutions.
The start-up is also partnering with a mask manufacturing company to launch five-layered Antiviral N95 Masks at an estimated price of Rs 300 per piece.

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May 5, 2020

Italian researchers claim world’s first Covid-19 vaccine

Italian researchers have claimed that they have successfully developed a vaccine to contain coronavirus (Covid-19) which is likely to work on humans.
Luigi Aurisicchio, CEO of Takis, the firm developing the medication, said that a coronavirus candidate vaccine has neutralised the virus in human cells for the first time.
The researchers experimented with the vaccine on mice that had successfully developed antibodies that blocked the virus from infecting the cells.
All of the vaccine candidates currently being developed are based on the genetic material of DNA protein “spike”, the molecular tip used by the coronavirus to enter human cells. They are injected with the so-called “electroporation” technique, which consists of an intramuscular injection followed by a brief electrical impulse, helping the vaccine break into the cells and activating the immune system.

Assam Govt to resume public transportation through ASTC

The State transport department has taken initiatives to resume public transportation through the Assam State Public Transport Corporation (ASTC).
The department has ensured strict compliance of all the safety guidelines like social distancing to safeguard public health along with use of masks and disinfecting of the buses after each trip.
It has also deployed joint enforcement teams to monitor movement of buses and to ensure that more than 50 per cent of the seats are not occupied and that small passenger vehicles do not carry more than two passengers.
The department will also make arrangements to ensure that the people of Assam stranded in various Northeastern states can safely return to their homes.
It is coordinating with the governments of all NE states in this regard.

CCMB joins hands with Eyestem for Covid-19 research

The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Eyestem Research Private Ltd, Bengaluru, announced a public private collaboration in the fight against Covid-19
Hyderabad-based CCMB will use Eyestem”s human lung epithelial cell culture system provided as part of its Anti-Covid screening (ACS) platform to understand the molecular and pathological characteristics of the Covid-19 virus with a view to establishing a rational basis for testing potential drugs in vitro.
Eyestem Research is working to democratize access to cell therapy as well as disease modeling platforms.
CCMB, a premier research organization in frontier areas of modern biology, is an autonomous laboratory under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
It responded to the current crisis and was the first academic laboratory outside the ICMR to initiate Covid-19 testing and kit validation. In addition, CCMB has initiated a variety of research projects on SARS-CoV2.

22 MPs elected as member of the Committee on Public Undertakings

22 MPs from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been elected to serve on the Committee on Public Undertakings. The Committee will serve with effect from May 1 for the term of 2020-2021 ending on April 30, 2021.
Of the 22 members in the Committee, 15 are from the Lok Sabha and seven from the Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has appointed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Delhi Meenakshi Lekhi as Chairperson of the Committee.
Heena Vijay Kumar Gavit, Chandra Prakash Joshi, K. Kanimozhi, Raghu Ramakrishna Raju Kanumuru, Poonamben Hematbhai Maadam, Ajjunlal Meena, Janardan Mishra, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Saugata Roy, Arvind Kumar Sharma, Ravneet Singh, Sushil Kumar Singh, Uday Pratap Singh and Ramdas Chandrabhanji Tadas are the members from the Lok Sabha and Prasanna Acharya, Birendra Prasad Baishya, Anil Desai, Joginipally Santosh Kumar, Om Prakash Mathur, Surendra Singh Nagar and M. Shanmugam from the Rajya Sabha.

FACTFILE – Committee on Public Undertakings

The Committee on Public Undertakings is a committee of selected members of parliament, constituted by the Parliament of India, for the purpose of examining the reports and accounts of the public sector undertakings (PSUs) as specified in the schedule IV of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.
This committee along with the Public Accounts committee (PAC) and the Estimates committee (EC) are the three financial standing committees of the Parliament of India.
The committee consists of twenty-two (21) members, fifteen elected by Lok Sabha, and not more than seven members of Rajya Sabha.
The members are elected every year from amongst its members of respective houses according to the principle of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
The chairperson is appointed by the Lok Sabha speaker.
The term of office of the members is one year.
A minister is not eligible to become a member of the committee.

ICMR deploys IBM Watson assistant to empower frontline testing facilities

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has collaborated with tech giant IBM to bring its Artificial intelligence-powered Watson virtual assistant on its portal to respond to queries from front-line staff and data entry operators across the country on COVID-19.
The virtual agent has been deployed on protected pages of the ICMR website that can be accessed only by authorized personnel who are involved with sample collection and testing in hospitals and diagnostic labs.
The queries could be related to nature and process of data to be captured by test labs, how to record inventory of test kits and reagents, process of reporting to various Government agencies and references to the latest guidance, in addition to responding to queries on COVID-19 in general.
The Watson virtual agent is able to understand and respond to common queries in English and Hindi from approved testing facilities for COVID-19 across India at scale, around the clock in a uniform and timely manner.
The virtual agent is also expected to help in on-boarding new data entry operators and staff of diagnostic centres, as the COVID-19 test network expands across the country.
The deployment of IBM”s chatbot AI platform is aimed to help ICMR effectively manage the process of capturing data relating to COVID-19.

May 6, 2020

Assam tea industry to incur loss of Rs 600 crore

Assam’s tea industry has incurred a loss of nearly Rs 600 crore during the lockdown, with the decline in production estimated at 32 million kilograms.
The state government has already announced the waiver of the minimum fixed charge of supply of natural gas to the tea gardens which were closed during the lockdown period.
Tea industry is the biggest industry in the State and being seasonal, the lockdown coincided with start of the new season. The tea industry has been hit hard as their major production period has been affected.
The tea industries in Assam contribute 39 per cent to the State GDP and provide direct employment to approximately 24 lakh people.
All the 15 gardens and factories of Assam Tea Corporation Limited (ATCL) have been allowed to function in full capacity and that the State government has also ensured the payment of full wages to all 16,720 workers and employees during the lockdown period.
Tea production in Assam in 2019 was 715.49 million kg, i.e., 51.51 per cent of the total tea production of1,389.70 million kg in India.

Assam CM directs proper screening of people entering State

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal directed the Kokrajhar and Dhubri district administrations to ensure proper screening of people entering the State through Srirampur and Chagolia-Boxirhat gates along the border with West Bengal to check the spread of COVID-19.
The Chief Minister visited a screening camp adjacent to Srirampur gate at Gossaigaon Sub-Division in Kokrajhar to review the measures taken to screen the movement of people from across the inter-state boundary.
The Chief Minister also asked the police to keep a strict surveillance on some reported vulnerable points to thwart any design of unauthorised movement from the neighbouring state.
The district administration has set up a quarantine centre at an area adjacent to Chagolia Gate with all facilities to quarantine around one thousand people.
He also said that adequate arrangements have been made to screen the health status of drivers, handymen and others coming to the State through Srirampur Gate and maintained that strict instruction has been given to ensure that nobody can enter the State without going through mandatory screening.

Israel Institute for Biological Research develops coronavirus antibody

The Israel Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has said that Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) has developed an antibody which can neutralise the virus responsible for COVID-19 within the bodies of those infected.
The antibody that attacks the virus in a monoclonal way and can neutralise it within the bodies of those ill.
Located in Ness Ziona, the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) is a secretive unit that works under the country” Prime Minister”s Office.
After completing the development phase of the antibody, the researchers are now in the process of patenting the find and in the next stage, researchers will approach international companies to produce the antibody on a commercial scale.

Engineering student from Varanasi has designed an ‘anti-COVID-19 robot

An engineering student from Varanasi has designed an ”anti-COVID-19 robot” which will help the security forces shock lockdown violators.
Vishal Patel, a third year student of mechanical engineering at the Ashoka Institute in Varanasi, has developed this robot that can not only run on shallow water but can also operate comfortably on smooth and bumpy surfaces.
Patel, who built the robot under the supervision of his senior Shyam Chaurasia, claims that the device is also a security shield for police personnel.
It will also help the police to crack down on those flouting the lockdown rules. The police who are at a risk from coronavirus infection can maintain social distancing by operating through the robots who will monitor the situation.
With a moving camera, remote and through the Internet, this device can be followed by two-way calling while sitting at a police checkpoint.

UP govt launches portal jansunwai.up.nic.in for stranded migrants

The UP government has launched a public hearing portal – jansunwai.up.nic.in. Where people form Uttar Pradesh who are stranded in other states can register themselves if they wish to return.
The government will then prepare a plan for their return. However, registration on the website should not be considered as permission to travel.
The applicants will have to agree to be quarantined on their return. The applicant will have to provide an undertaking because if the information is found to be incorrect, action can be taken against the applicant under the Epidemics Act and Disaster Management Act.
Applicants will have to provide information like their name, age, mobile number, email, identification card details, who they will be travelling with, date of travel, medical details of family members and those they will be travelling with, whether they were quarantined for 14 days before date of travel, current address, address in UP, among other details.
Applicants will also have to declare whether they have stayed in any containment zone in the past two months.

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May 7, 2020

CSIR-NEIST launces special website on COVID-19 launched in Assam

A special website on COVID-19 – www.neist.res.in/covid19 – was launched by CSIR-NEIST. The portal has been designed and developed by CSIR-NEIST with a goal to disseminate wide array of information about the current COVID-19 pandemic.

IIT Guwahati steps up e-learning activities

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has stepped up activities of its online educational facilities.
The institute is continuing its online classes for all the theory courses, numbering more than 350, and aims to complete them by May 15.
The annual progress seminars, synopsis and viva-voce examinations of PhD students are also being conducted on an online mode to continuously monitor their progress as well as ensure that this unexpected lockdown does not delay their career growth.
The existing e-classroom facilities at IIT-G’s Centre for Educational Technology (CET) are being used for recording lectures on various subjects, besides holding student-teacher interactions, and interactions with remote students through video conferencing.

Meteorological Centre to come up in Ladakh

The Central government has decided to establish a Meteorological Centre in Ladakh to meet the meteorological services of the newly-carved Union Territory.
The decision came in pursuance to the approval accorded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
The Meteorological Centre will cater to all the operational meteorological services of Ladakh and issue weather forecast and adverse weather warnings as per the mandate of India Meteorological Department.
It will also keep close liaison with Srinagar’s Meteorological Centre, Delhi’s Regional Meteorological Centre and the state authorities.
All matters relating to establishment, general administration, financial and technical matters for the Meteorological Centre will be dealt with by Delhi”s Regional Meteorological Centre.

Uttar Pradesh Govt launches tele-medicine facility in all districts

The Uttar Pradesh government has started tele-consultancy facility in all districts to enable non-Covid-19 patients to get medical consultation from their homes.
The Chief Minister said that the telephone numbers of doctors who are offering their services should be publicised through newspapers and asked officials to take steps on a war footing to improve emergency health services.
The state government has set up 23,000 beds and deployed 2,481 doctors in government hospitals in 75 districts.
Adityanath said that special training was being given to health workers to protect themselves from getting infected.

IIT Delhi startup launches reusable antimicrobial mask

An IIT-Delhi startup named Nanosafe Solutions has launched an antimicrobial and washable face mask that can be reused upto 50 launderings. Named “NSafe”, which the team claims can reduce cost of using mask effectively.
The mask is a highly engineered triple-layered product consisting of – inner hydrophilic layer for comfort, middle layer having antimicrobial activity and outer most layer having water and oil repellent behaviour.
The team that developed the mask consists of Dr Anasuya Roy, an IIT Delhi alumnus, Founder and CEO of Nanosafe Solutions and Professor Mangala Joshi, Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering, IIT Delhi.
The mask enhances protection to the wearer through three different mechanisms: mechanical filtration, antimicrobial decontamination and repulsion of aerosol droplets.

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Assam Current Affairs – February 22 – 29, 2020

Posted on March 12, 2020March 12, 2020 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – February 22 - 29, 2020

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of February 22 – 29, 2020 )

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FEBRUARY 22, 2020

Assam CM lays foundation of 32 schemes in Majuli

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stones of 32 schemes and projects and inaugurated 21 other projects in Majuli island that included the blood bank at the Shree Shree Pitmambar Devagoswami Sub-divisional Civil Hospital at Garmur.
The Rs 25.92-crore Majuli District Science Centre and Planetarium under Assam Technology and Environment Council of the State Science and Technology department, 28 pure drinking water supply schemes under the State Public Health Engineering department that will cost Rs 104.9 crore
Construction of the building to house District Transport Officer’s office that will cost Rs 2.03 crore.
Zonal office complex of the Brahmaputra Board at a cost of Rs 9.46 crore, a Rs-75-lakh project to check erosion by drone surveillance.
The Chief Minister in the same function launched 20 hybrid solar-powered and electricity irrigation schemes for Majuli the total cost which was Rs 37.53 lakh
Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated the blood bank at the Shree Shree Pitambar Devagoswami Sub-divisional Civil Hospital at Garmur.

18 percent growth in the collection of State GST (SGST) in Assam

Speaking at the 3^rd edition of ‘Emerging Northeast 2020’ – organized by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in Guwahati, Assam Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal said there is 18 percent growth in the collection of State GST (SGST) in the state and refunds have been made on time.
CM Sonowal urged the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman to release the Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) refunds so that business community here gets encouragement to increase business activity.
Assam Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary invited investors to take advantage of Assam’s strategic location and rich resources in the state and said the Government is aiming to turn Assam as the investment destination.
During the round table meet, discussions were held on government initiatives and schemes for development of North Eastern region; opportunities for investment in various sectors like energy, services and infrastructure, food processing based on locally available resources, etc.

India, Maldives discuss expansion of bilateral cooperation

India and Maldives discussed expanding their bilateral cooperation and mutual interests in areas of security and law enforcement cooperation.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his Maldivian counterpart Sheikh Imran Abdulla discussed these issues among other specific points related to both the countries in day long meet in presence of delegation from both sides.
It was Shah’s first meeting with Abdulla, who is on a four-day visit to India beginning.
The two sides discussed issues of mutual interest in the area of security and law enforcement cooperation.
Both the Ministers welcomed the expansion of bilateral cooperation between their counties in diverse fields including policing and law enforcement, counter-terrorism, counter-radicalisation, against organised crime and drug trafficking and in capacity building.
The meeting was also attended by the Maldives” Minister of State for Home, the Union Home Secretary and other senior officers from both sides.
The Maldivian delegation also met the Director General, National Investigation Agency (NIA), Director, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the Director General, Central Bureau of Investigation, and Director, Enforcement Directorate.

Kerala IT startup launches social digital assistance platform

Kerala based IT startup launched a ”social digital assistance platform” – Bitdle.
This brings together the features of hybrid social networking, search engine, social shopping, sharing economy, online reputation building, CRM, data analytics, social service, entertainment, and above all, ”empowerment of society”.
Its Acore competency will be its social commitment as it will not end up making its users just consumers, killing time and other resources along.
Bitdle will deliver a wise concoction of hybrid virtual community platform, smart devices, virtual med pad, AI and VR (Intelligent Personal Assistance – IPA) and Facial and Object Identification System (FOIS).
Bitdle targets people in the age group of 18 to 35 while it”s ideal for businesses of any size – from startups to big corporates.
Connecting with peers, monitoring real-time situations and events, offer entertainment, collaborating ideas and events, educating masses, mobilizing public opinion and instant messaging/video chatting are some of the add-ons, besides people can spot trends, follow brands, share great finds and make purchases.
For businesses, the application can be used for optimization of costs, targeted marketing of products, targeted sourcing and human resources development.

FEBRUARY 23, 2020

Dr Amiya Rajbongshi receives NCSTC National Award

Eminent science writer and retired vice-Principal of North Lakhimpur College Dr Amiya Rajbongshi received the National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science and Technology Communication through Print Media for the year 2019 from President Ram Nath Kovind at New Delhi.
Instituted by the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), the award was presented to Dr Rajbongshi at a glittering function held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on the occasion of National Science Day– the day which commemorates the discovery of Raman Effect by Nobel laureate physicist Dr CV Raman.
Dr Amiya Rajbongshi was presented a plaque, a citation and a of cash Rs 2 lakh.
Dr Rajbongshi was shortlisted for the prestigious award for her “science communication efforts are extended for dissemination of science to masses through print media and popular talks”.

Assam to remove “Maktab” from names of govt schools

The Assam government has decided to delete the Arabic word ”maktab” – traditional islamic elementary school – from the nomenclature of 63 state and state-aided primary schools immediately.
The state government has passed an order directing these schools to drop the word ”maktab” from their names”.
However, these schools would be allowed to retain the remaining part of their names.
The classical definition of Maktab refers to the traditional Islamic elementary school primarily teaching literacy and the Quran.

Scientists from BSI Shillong Centre discover new Balsam plant species

Botanical Survey of India (BSI) scientists have discovered a new species of Balsam plant in the North East region, again pointing to the rich plant biodiversity of the vast area.
Balsam plants are known as Demdeuka in Assamese, Gulmehendi in Hindi and Dushparijat in Sanskrit.
They have immense potential in the horticultural sector as beautiful flowers and as pot plants.
A few of them are used as wild leafy vegetables by different ethnic communities in states like Arunachal Pradesh.
A team of scientists comprising Dr M Murugesan, LR Meitei and C Lyngwa of the BSI Eastern Regional Centre, Shillong, collected a few interesting species of Balsam plants from various parts of Nokrek Biosphere Reserve of Garo Hills in Meghalaya.
They collected the Balsam plant species as a part of live plants collection for ex-situ conservation in the Barapani Experimental Botanical Garden.
Out of those samples, one species emerged to be a species unknown to science so far and it is distinctly different from all known species of the group due to the presence of smaller habit, pink and white bi-colour flowers and true bucciniform lower sepal with curved spur.
The species has been named in honour of a renowned botanist Professor Shasin Kumar Barthakur of the Gauhati University (GU) Botany Department for his contribution towards better understanding of the flora of North East India, along with his outstanding contribution to ethnobotany of the region.
This striking bi-coloured new species grows at an altitude ranging between 1,200 metres and 1,600 metres at the Nokrek peak.

PM Modi opens Khelo India University Games in Cuttack

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first Khelo India University Games in Cuttack.
Modi inaugurated the Games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack through video link from Delhi.
The Khelo India campaign had played an important role in attracting youth towards sports and recognising young talents in every corner of the country.
When it started in 2018, 3,500 players took part in it. But just in three years, the players” number had crossed over 6,000.
The event was attended by several dignitaries and sportspersons, including Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
As many as 3,400 athletes from 159 universities will take part in 17 disciplines, including rugby that”s among the six team events.
The disciplines include archery, athletics, boxing, fencing, judo, swimming, weightlifting, wrestling, badminton, basketball, football, hockey, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and kabaddi.

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FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Punjab CM conferred with ”Adarsh Mukhya Mantri Puraskar”

The Bhartiya Chhatra Sansad (BCS) conferred the prestigious ”Adarsh Mukhya Mantri Puraskar” (Ideal Chief Minister Award) on Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for his initiatives to ensure good governance and holistic development in the state.
The award was presented to Amarinder by former President Pranab Mukherjee at Vigyan Bhawan during the valedictory function of 10th edition of four-day national conclave of BCS.
The BCS also acknowledged Amarinder”s vast experience and the values he had practised, which had earned him recognition and eminence in society.
Ex-Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had received this award in 2015, followed by former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in 2016 and ex-Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar in 2017.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik won the award in 2018 and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in 2019.

IIMs, IITs Form Consortium to Promote Entrepreneurship

The IIMs and IITs have formed a consortium to promote entrepreneurship ecosystem through research and collaboration around innovation.
IIMs in Bengaluru, Kolkata and Kozhikode and IITs in Bombay and Madras have formed the Innovation-Venturing and Entrepreneurship in India Network (iVEIN) to leverage their strengths and work with incubators, investors and the government for disseminating knowledge.
The iVEIN network will facilitate research in the field among the academic fraternity and create avenues for disseminating knowledge through conferences and journal publications.
The network will also create a strategic bridge between stakeholders, strengthen the ecosystem and synthesise the knowledge that is in silos among different groups.
The network will also document Indian experiences in entrepreneurship and innovation and create a data-based knowledge for all stakeholders.
The initiative will give a fillip to entrepreneurship in the country by aiding policy formulation, implementing innovation and helping managerial practice.

Himachal Pradesh sets up two waste-to-energy plants

Himachal Pradesh has set up two waste-to-energy plants in the state, one of them is of 1.75 MW with an outlay of Rs 42 crore in Shimla, while another is of 1 MW in Manali.
Also, 5,633 individual households, 1,198 public and 370 community toilets have been set up.
They all have been commissioned under Swachh Bharat Mission in two years to ensure hygiene, waste management and sanitation.
The main objective of the mission is to eliminate the practice of open defecation by providing toilet facilities to the citizens of the state, converting dry toilets into flash toilets, ending the practice of manual scavenging and ensuring management of solid waste in modern and scientific manner.
The state government is also organising various awareness activities for behaviour change and public participation in the state.
Plants for waste manure are being set up in 40 urban bodies. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with cement companies to use waste collected from urban bodies as fuel.

Jagaddhatri-Harmohan Das Literary Award presented to Bhupendra Raichoudhury

The 17th Jagaddhatri-Harmohan Das Literary Award was presented to litterateur Dr Bhupendra Raichoudhury at a function organised at the Pandit Tirthanath Sarma Conference Hall.

Dr Raichoudhury, a former professor at Gauhati University, received the award for his book Jugo Sandhikshyanar Guwahati, a brief write-up about the history of the city from 1851 to 1950.
The award, instituted in 1985, has completed its 35 years. During the period, several noted personalities in the fields of philosophy, literature, religion, art and culture have been honoured with this award.
The biennial award, instituted in the name of educationist Harmohan Das and his wife Jagaddhatri Das, carries a citation, a memento and also a cash amount.

FEBRUARY 25, 2020

CM Sonowal launches Asom Darshan scheme

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched the Rs 710 crore Asom Darshan scheme, calling it a fulfilment of the promise to preserve and promote the state”s spiritual and historical heritage.
The comprehensive scheme seeks to develop religious places of all faiths, including 915 institutions.
He said the scheme would protect, conserve and develop Assam”s religious sites and tourism spots, which are not only mesmerising for their scenic beauty and historic importance, but are also icons of the state.
The scheme has four components — annuity grant to Devalayas; improving basic infrastructure of places of natural beauty and historical significance; improving key infrastructure in religious places; improved connectivity for visitors.
The 915 religious institutions include 459 temples, 186 ”satras” (Vaishnav monasteries), 123 namghars (prayer and community halls), 47 mosques and 27 churches.
To make the experience of tourists pleasant and seamless, a budget of Rs 10 lakh will be given to each tourist destination under the Asom Darshan scheme.
A budget of Rs 150 crore has been allocated under the Asom Darshan scheme to improve the infrastructure of 316 listed destinations.
A fixed amount would be provided to each place for construction of restrooms and providing clean drinking water and garbage disposal facilities.
The project has raised the annuity given to each religious and charitable institution of public nature by Rs 2 lakh and also promises one-time grant of Rs 1 lakh for CCTV set up.

Google launched 4^th batch of ”Startups Accelerator India”

Google announced that it is inviting applications for the fourth batch of Google for Startups Accelerator India programme.
The programme mentors early-stage startups on various aspects of their business, across the areas of technology, product strategy, marketing, UX/UI and leadership.
According to the company, startups that use technology like AI/ML to solve systemic problems in India can submit their application by visiting ”Google for Startups Accelerator India” by 15th March 2020.
Successful applicants will be notified in early April. The batch will commence with a week”s mentorship-bootcamp in April 2020, in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
At Google for Startups Accelerator India programme, a batch consisting of 10 startups receive (for three months) intense mentorship bootcamps, tech workshops, design sprints, and marketing growth labs along with the opportunities to forge crucial connections to tech teams within Google and experts in the industry.

Microsoft, SBI partner to help youth with disabilities

Microsoft announced a collaboration with the SBI Foundation to create opportunities for youth living with disabilities across India.
Through this collaboration, Microsoft and the SBI Foundation will equip youth living with disabilities with the technology and training needed to better prepare them for integration into the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) workforce.
In its first year, the programme aims to upskill 500 youth for the BFSI jobs across five major geographies, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and the National Capital Region.
The programme will be driven in collaboration with various government organisations, industry skilling bodies and non-profits.
The goal of the programme is to build a sustainable and scalable programme that not only empowers youth with the skills they need to find employment in the financial services industry, but also advances cross-industry advocacy efforts to drive inclusion for and hiring of people living with disabilities.
As part of this joint effort, Microsoft and the SBI Foundation will also develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered marketplace that will enable the BFSI industry to more easily connect to people living with disabilities for upskilling and employment opportunities.

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FEBRUARY 26, 2020

North East states’ CMs reiterated for 90% central funding for all schemes, projects

Chief Ministers of north-eastern states have reiterated to maintain the funding pattern to 90:10 ratio in all central government sponsored schemes and projects including Smart City projects.
The demand to revise the funding pattern for all schemes and projects from 50:50 ratio to 90:10 ratio was raised by the chief ministers of northeastern states in the ongoing three-day Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Conclave 2020 in Guwahati.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has demanded revision of existing 50:50 fund sharing pattern to 90:10 for various schemes and projects like Smart City for the northeastern states.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, his Mizoram counterpart Zoramthanga, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang also supported the Tripura Chief Minister”s demand for 90:10 funding pattern.
NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing the adoption and monitoring of SDGs at the national and sub-national level.
The Guwahati conclave is part of NITI Aayog”s continuous efforts towards fostering partnerships at the sub-national level. In terms of SDG localisation, the states in the region have taken major strides in integrating the “Agenda 2030”.

India to launch Geo Imaging Satellite

India will launch its Geo Imaging Satellite (GISAT-1) with its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV- F10).
According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), its GSLV-F10 rocket carrying the GISAT-1 is expected to lift off on March 5.
The launch is subject to the weather conditions.
Weighing about 2,275 kg, GISAT-1 is a state-of-the-art agile Earth observation satellite which will be placed in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) by GSLV-F10.
A four metre diameter Ogive shaped payload fairing (heat shield) is being flown for the first time in this GSLV flight. This is the fourteenth flight of the GSLV.
Operating from geostationary orbit, GISAT-1 will facilitate near real time observation of the Indian sub-continent, under cloud free condition, at frequent intervals.

3 Bilateral pacts inked during Trump visit to India

India, US have concluded three bilateral agreements in the health and energy sectors during Trump visit to India.
Two of the agreements finalised during the US President’s visit include a memorandum of understanding on mental health, and one that deals with the safety of medical products.
The MoU on safety of medical products was signed between the USFDA and India”s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.
The MoU on mental health is between India”s Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Department of Health and Human Services of the US.
A Letter of Cooperation was also signed by Indian Oil Corporation and ExxonMobil India LNG Limited, with Chart Industries of the US.

Joint Ministerial Commission between India and Australia

The 16^th Session of the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) between India and Australia was convened in New Delhi.
The Session was co-chaired by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Government of India and Senator Simon Birmingham, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Government of Australia.
India and Australia agree to enhancing bilateral trade and investment through revival of the bilateral CECA negotiations, and harmonise standards and regulations on important products.
Work on market access issues in both directions to increase trade.
Work on mutual recognition of educational qualifications of the two countries .
Continue collaboration to encourage increased direct flights between Australia and India.
The two sides acknowledged the considerable growth in the India-Australia economic relationship in strategic, trade and people-to-people links since the last Joint Ministerial Commission in June 2018.
Both sides welcomed efforts to elevate the bilateral economic relationship. They agreed to consider reviving the negotiations on the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
Both sides noted the visits by three delegations of Australian superannuation funds over the previous year. They agreed to continue to work together to foster awareness of the opportunities in India among Australian investors.
Both sides reflected on the important role the private sector played in building the bilateral economic relationship.
India raised the issue of taxing of off-shore income of Indian firms through the use of India-Australia Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and sought early resolution of the issue.

FEBRUARY 27, 2020

PepsiCo to invest Rs 400 crore in Assam to set up manufacturing plant

Assam’s Industry Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said PepsiCo India has proposed to invest Rs 400 crore in the state to set up a greenfield project for manufacturing snacking products.
A delegation from PepsiCo India comprising Viraj Chouhan, Chief of Government Affairs and Communications Officer for India, Rahul Sharma, Public Policy and Government Affairs Officer, and Nitin Jindal, Associate Director- Business Planning, met Patowary in Guwahati to discuss the proposal.
The team informed the minister that PepsiCo India has submitted a proposal to set up a greenfield project for manufacturing Lays and Kurkure in Assam worth Rs 400 crore.
The company would engage in contract farming, whereby it would provide seeds to farmers and buy back the matured potatoes from them. The company would also provide handholding support to the farmers.
Minister assured the team of the State Government’s support and said that the Industries and Commerce Department would take up an initiative with the State’s Agriculture Department so that PepsiCo can directly train farmers.
Minister Patowary also requested Feiner to open a German business chapter in Guwahati which would exclusively work with the state’s Industries and Commerce Department to take forward and expand the initiatives at the next level.

Guwahati resident Kapil Jain awarded with Digital Marketer of the Year Award

Kapil Jain, a resident of Guwahati and founder CEO of Graphitto Labs, a new-age Mumbai-based communication company, has been honoured with the ‘Digital Marketer of the Year Award’ at the World Digital Marketing Congress held in Mumbai .
The award has been instituted in association with CMO Asia & The World Federation of Digital Marketing Professionals as Knowledge Partner.
Dr RL Bhatia, global chairman and patron of the World Marketing Congress, presented the award to Jain at the awards function attended by over 350 industry leaders from various nationalities.

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved setting up National Technical Textiles Mission

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved setting up of a National Technical Textiles Mission with an outlay of Rs 1,480 crore for four year implementation period in line with the announcement made in Budget 2020 presented earlier this month.
Textile Minister Smriti Irani said the idea behind the mission is to integrate technology and manufacturing.
The Mission will aim at increasing the size of the domestic market to $40 billion which would require an average growth of at least 10 per cent per annum.
The Mission will also promote technical education at higher engineering and technology levels related to technical textiles and its application areas covering engineering, medical, agriculture, aquaculture and dairy segments. Skill development will be promoted and adequate pool of highly skilled manpower resources will be created for meeting the need of relatively sophisticated technical textiles manufacturing units.
Another component of the mission aims at export promotion of technical textiles enhancing from the current annual value of approximately Rs 14,000 Crore to Rs 20,000 crore by 2021-22 and ensuring 10 per cent average growth in exports per year upto 2023-24.
An Export Promotion Council for Technical Textiles will be set up for effective coordination and promotion activities in the segment.

Early Warning Dissemination System for natural disaster alerts launched for coastal Andhra Pradesh

An Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) to send alerts about natural disasters to coastal Andhra Pradesh was launched
Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharitha inaugurated the system in the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).
The EWDS has been enabled in 76 ”mandals” or blocks, 16 fish landing centres and eight tourism destinations in all nine coastal districts of the state.
Andhra Pradesh is the second state in the country to be equipped with an advanced mechanism of the early warning system.
During natural calamities like floods, cyclones and lightning strikes, the early warning system will help in shifting people to safer places and minimizing loss of human lives.

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FEBRUARY 28, 2020

Swami Vivekananda Karmayogi Award for Jadav Payeng

Environmental activist and forestry worker from Assam Jadav Payeng, who is known as the Forest Man of India, will be conferred the prestigious Swami Vivekananda Karmayogi Award instituted by My Home India for his consistent efforts in creating a real man-made forest through massive reforestation.
The award would be given to him at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, in the presence of General VK Singh, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, and Sunil Deodhar, national secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party.
wami Vivekananda Karmayogi Award is an annual award function organised by My Home India, a voluntary national organisation having its reach across the country.
Every year, this award is bestowed to an individual from North East India, who dedicates his/her life to promote and preserve the art, culture, sports, environment, education, industry, science and technology, etc.
The award is composed of a trophy, a recitation and a reward of Rs 1 lakh.

Indian Coast Guard’s 6^th off-shore patrol vessel launched

The sixth OPV of Coast Guard was launched by Geeta Mandaviya, the Minister”s wife at the L&T Shipbuilding, Kattupalli.
The asset needs of Indian Coast Guard are on a rapid expansion path requiring ships and aircraft to strengthen the maritime security mechanism in the prevailing security scenario, Union Minister of State for Shipping, Chemicals and Fertiliser Mansukh Mandaviya said.
The 6th OPV launched is likely to be inducted into the Indian Coast Guard in October 2020 after completion of extensive trials and testing for the equipment and machinery fitted onboard.
The OPV with a gross tonnage of 2,100 ton has a length of 98 metres and a breadth of 15 metres.
The endurance of the vessel is 5,000 nautical miles and powered by two diesel engines, it can touch a maximum speed of 26 knots.
The ship will be fitted with one CRN -91 and two 12.7 mm guns and will be capable of carrying an Integral Twin Engine Helicopter which will enhance its operational, surveillance and search and rescue capability.
The OPV will be used for day and night patrol/surveillance, anti-terrorist/smuggling operations in the Exclusive Economic Zone and also for coastal security.
It will have two navigation radars with ultra-modern technology, sophisticated navigational and latest communication systems.

MP government, Tatas sign MoU for healthcare

The Madhya Pradesh government signed an MoU with Dorabji Tata Trust to provide better healthcare services in the state.
Primary health services will be improved through Arogyam Health and Wellness Centres in the state under the MoU.
Chief Secretary S.R. Mohanty, on behalf of the state government, and former state chief secretary and Vice President of the Dorabji Tata Trust, Vijay Singh signed the MoU.
A committee comprising representatives of National Health Mission and Tata Trust will be formed to monitor the implementation of the project.
The Health Department and Tata Trust will initially work in five centres each in 23 high priority districts.
Thus, the 115 identified health and wellness centres will provide technical and managerial support to the programme.
In the fourth year, Tata Trust will expand the programme to 500 health and wellness centres.
Each of these districts will have an electronic record saved in an urban primary health centre.
Tata Trust will also provide healthcare support by creating data for referrals and follow up about cases of pregnancy, hypertension, diabetes and cancer.

HAL offers new multirole chopper to Indian military

- State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) offered an indigenous multirole helicopter to the Indian military for replacing its medium lift choppers such as MI-17s, Kamovs and Seakings.
- The city-based defence behemoth displayed a mockup of the multirole helicopter to Rajnath Singh at its helicopter production facility in the city’s eastern suburb.
- The aerospace major has submitted to the Defence Ministry a project report for sanctioning funds by the Cabinet committee on security to develop the new helicopter
- The HAL Chairman also told the Defence Minister that it was waiting for the ministry’s order to roll out its Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) for the IAF and the Army.
- The public sector enterprise has submitted a techno commercial proposal to the ministry for rolling out 15 combat choppers under the limited series production.
- The indigenous 5.5-tonne LCH is powered by two Shakti engines and has many features of the company”s Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).
- LCH is the first attack helicopter to land in forward bases at Siachen, 4,700m above sea level, with 500kg load.

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FEBRUARY 29, 2020

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal presented with Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee award

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was presented the prestigious Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee award 2020 for Politics at the 6th India Ideas Conclave in Gujarat.
The award, instituted by India Foundation, was presented to Chief Minister Sonowal by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Speaker of People’s Majlis of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed, which carries a citation, a specially designed trophy and a cheque worth Rs. one lakh.
While receiving the award Sonowal said that the award is an inspiration to work for national integration and to take Dr. SP Mukherjee’s vision and philosophy forward. He also dedicated the award to the people of Assam, who have been the source of inspiration and guidance during his public life.

India, Myanmar stress on boosting connectivity

India and Myanmar emphasised the centrality of connectivity between the two countries and reaffirmed their commitments to expedite the completion of the various India-funded projects presently under way in Myanmar, with the neighbouring country’s continued support towards their execution.
From April 7 the people of the Northeast will be able to travel all the way to Mandalay in Myanmar by bus when a coordinated bus service will be launched from Imphal.
India also welcomed the decision by Myanmar to extend tourist visa on arrival for Indian citizens in the neighbouring country till December 2020.
A 29-point joint statement signed between the two countries on the occasion of the visit by Myanmar President U Win Myint covers a whole gamut of issues ranging from connectivity to use of digital payment to facilitation of trade and commerce.
At least 10 memoranda of understanding were exchanged during the visit.
The both sides noted the need to further facilitate easy movement of passenger and cargo traffic by streamlining procedures and expeditiously developing infrastructure.
They also agreed to commence establishment of border haats with a priority to carry out a pilot project, which was previously agreed by the both countries in accordance with the MoU signed in 2012.
The two sides look forward to setting up of border haats after finalising the mutually agreed mode of operation.
The two countries also took note of the positive developments related to Sittwe port and the Kaladan transit transport project.
They hailed the appointment of a port operator to operate and maintain the Sittwe port and Paletwa inland water transport terminal and associated facilities from February 1.
Both the countries also reaffirmed their commitment to early completion of the Paletwa-Zorinpui road – the final leg of the Kaladan transit transport project.
India also expressed its support for the bilateral pacts signed between Myanmar and Bangladesh for the repatriation of the displaced persons from Rakhine state and hoped that Myanmar and Bangladesh would continue to work together for voluntary, sustainable and speedy repatriation of displaced people currently in the Cox’s Bazar area of Bangladesh to Myanmar in accordance with their bilateral agreements.
Both sides agreed to work together to enable the launch of India’s RuPay card in Myanmar at the earliest, noting that the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) needs to adhere to Myanmar laws and regulations, and that the launch of RuPay card would stimulate the economy of Myanmar and facilitate tourism and business from India.

PM Modi to launch 10,000 farmer producer organisations (FPO) across India

On the occasion of completion of one year of PM Kisan Scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch 10,000 farmer producer organisations (FPO) across the country from Chitrakoot.
The Prime Minister has also talked about laying the foundation stone of the Bundelkhand Expressway from Chitrakoot.
The Prime Minister will launch a campaign for the distribution of Kisan Credit Card to all the beneficiaries under the PM Kisan Scheme.
The number of small and marginal farmers is around 86 per cent, with an average cultivation of less than 1.1 hectare in the country.
These small marginal and landless farmers face enormous challenges during agricultural production.
The FPO will help in the grouping of small, marginal and landless farmers, so that the collective power of farmers can be increased in dealing with these issues.
Members of the FPO will be able to manage their activities under the organisation, so that they can have better access to technology, investment, finance and markets, and their livelihood can grow rapidly.
The government had launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM Kisan Scheme as an income support for farmers, to help farmers bear the expenses of agriculture, related activities and household needs.
Every eligible beneficiary is given a sum of Rs 6,000 per year under the scheme. This amount is given as two thousand rupees thrice in four months instalments.
The payment is sent online directly to the bank accounts of the eligible beneficiaries under the direct benefit transfer system.

14th Meeting of India-France Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism

India and France held the 14th Meeting of Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism in New Delhi.
An inter-agency Indian delegation was led by Mr. Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary for Counter Terrorism, Ministry of External Affairs, while the French delegation was led by Mr. David Bertolotti, Assistant Secretary of State for Strategic, Security and Disarmament Affairs of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
Both sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed the need for strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism in a comprehensive and sustained manner.
They exchanged views on current counter-terrorism challenges including countering radicalization, combating financing of terrorism, preventing use of internet for terrorist purposes, threats posed by internationally designated terrorist entities as well as cross-border terrorism in South Asian region.
Both sides stressed upon the need to deny safe havens and sources of financing to terrorists.
Both sides agreed to further strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation, as a cornerstone of the strategic partnership between India and France, interalia, through regular exchange of information, joint capacity building efforts, mutual legal assistance, sharing best practices for countering terrorism and radicalisation and cooperating in multilateral fora such as Untied Nations and FATF.

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Assam Current Affairs – February 15 – 21, 2020

Posted on March 12, 2020March 12, 2020 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – February 15 - 21, 2020

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of February 15 – 21, 2020 )

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FEBRUARY 15, 2020

Rail projects in Northeast to be completed by 2023

Railway projects of “national importance” in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast that have been pending for over a decade will be completed by 2023, Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav.
Yadav said the priority of the railways in the next five years is to complete its 50 remaining super critical projects, augmenting capacity in order to introduce 1,500 new trains and wrap up its projects of national importance.
A project of national importance, the 51.38-km Bhairabi-Sairang project in Mizoram, was sanctioned in 2008-2009, but is yet to be completed. The new deadline for the project is 2023 and a cost of Rs 5,021 crore has been proposed for it.
The Railway Budget 2020-21 has proposed an outlay of Rs 400 crore for the new broad gauge railway line for the year.
The railways has also set a deadline of March 2023 for the BG line connectivity from Dimapur (Dhansiri) to Zubza (Kohima) (82.50 km) in Nagaland, which was sanctioned in 2006-07. The Railway Budget 2020-21 has earmarked Rs 300 crore for this project. The total cost of the project is Rs 4,600 crore.
In Sikkim, the Sivok-Rangpo new BG line (44.39 km) which was sanctioned in 2008-2009 but suffered due to delay in handing over of encumbrance free forest land by the West Bengal government is now scheduled to be completed by 2023. This project has been allocated Rs 607 crore in the 2020-21 Union Budget.
Another long-pending project in Manipur connects Jiribam to Imphal (110.62 km), which was sanctioned in 2003-2004. It now has a deadline of 2022. The project has been given a layout of Rs 800 crore in the 2020-21 Railway Budget while its total cost is estimated to be around Rs 12,524 crore.
Seven of the 58 super critical projects that are under way in congested routes have been completed in 2019, while one has been wrapped up in 2018. He said that the remaining 50 will be completed by March 2022.
The completion of these projects would bring in opportunities for greater economic growth for the regions and increase their geopolitical importance.

ICRISAT launches new facility to accelerate plant life-cycle

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) launched new facility, which is projected to significantly lower time and cost of crop varietal development.
Called RapidGen, this facility has in it the technology that can make plants zoom through their lifecycle to quickly reproduce and bear seeds.
Where it normally takes about a decade to develop new varieties, RapidGen can help cut that down by about 40 per cent.
The state-of-the-art facility, a first for any public sector agricultural research institution, will accelerate plant lifecycle in light, temperature and humidity-controlled conditions.
Presently, breeding a new crop variety takes about a decade or more, with six or seven years spent in seasonal generational advancements to arrive at the elite lines that go for testing and release as varieties.
RapidGen will shorten the six-seven year window significantly.
ICRISAT is collaborating with several agricultural research institutes under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), State Agriculture Universities and industry partners to mainstream rapid cycling of the crops for which protocols have already been standardised.

FACTFILE – International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is an international organization which conducts agricultural research for rural development, headquartered in Patancheru (Hyderabad, Telangana, India) with several regional centers (Bamako (Mali), Nairobi (Kenya)) and research stations (Niamey (Niger), Kano (Nigeria), Lilongwe (Malawi), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Bulawayo (Zimbabwe)).
It was founded in 1972 by a consortium of organisations convened by the Ford and the Rockefeller foundations. Its charter was signed by the FAO and the UNDP.
Since its inception, host country India has granted a special status to ICRISAT as a UN Organization operating in the Indian territory making it eligible for special immunities and tax privileges.
ICRISAT is managed by a full-time Director General functioning under the overall guidance of an international Governing Board.
The current Director General is Dr. Peter Carberry who took the post in 2018.
The current chair of the Board is Dr Paco Sereme.

Tamil Nadu to install CCTV in buses with funds from Nirbhaya Fund

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in all the buses to enhance women safety.
Presenting the 2020-21 budget for the state in the Assembly Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said in order to enhance the safety of women in buses, CCTV cameras are to be fitted in all buses at an estimated cost of Rs 75.02 crore allotted under the Nirbhaya Fund.
Action will be taken to introduce electronic ticketing in all transport buses to enable cashless transactions.
In the Budget Estimates for 2020-21, Rs 2,716.26 crore has been allotted for the Transport Department.

FACTFILE – Nirbhaya Fund

Nirbhaya Fund is an Indian rupee 10 billion corpus announced by Government of India in its 2013 Union Budget.
According to the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, this fund is expected to support initiatives by the government and NGOs working towards protecting the dignity and ensuring safety of women in India. Nirbhaya (fearless) was the pseudonym given to the 2012 Delhi gang rape victim to hide her actual identity.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development, along with several other concerned ministries, will work out details of the structure, scope and the application of this fund.

OIL organises month-long fuel-conservation awareness drive

As per the directive of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) in association with Oil India Ltd and other petroleum companies is observing SAKSHAM-2020.
This is a month-long mass awareness drive with an objective of involving the citizens to actively participate in fuel conservation for health and environmental protection and simultaneously help in reducing India’s dependency on import of crude oil.
This year the theme for SAKSHAM-2020 is ‘Indhan Adhik Na Khapayein, Aao Paryavaran Bachayein’.
During the observance of SAKSHAM-2020, various programmes such as cycle rally, walkathon, and emission checking of vehicles and equipment, etc., were organised in and around Duliajan.
A ‘Free Emission Testing of Vehicles’ was organised at Bihutoli, Duliajan. Around 250 commercial and private vehicles were checked during the campaign.

FEBRUARY 16, 2020

India set to host UN’s first Biodiversity Summit

India is set to host the UN biodiversity summit that will bring together more than 1,200 delegates from over 110 countries to deliberate on the alarming decline of migratory species in Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
The agenda of the talks include new proposals to mitigate effects of infrastructure on migratory mammals and joining the Gobi bear, the only bear living in the desert, the Persian leopard and the urial, a wild sheep, in the Central Asian mammal species for their protection.
Besides, Indian species like the Asian elephant, the great Indian bustard and the Ganges river dolphin are likely to get more priority in biodiversity conservation.
Delegates at the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS COP13) will consider the need for guidance and implementation tools to mitigate the impacts of linear infrastructure on migratory species.
CMS is the only United Nations treaty that addresses migratory species and their habitats.
CMS Guidelines have advised countries on how to avert linear infrastructure threats to large mammals in Central Asia through the Convention’s Central Asian Mammals Initiative.
In the future, guidance and implementation tools will be developed for other regions and CMS-listed species not included in the initiative.
Parties will also discuss the adoption of dedicated concerted actions for 12 different species, including the giraffe, the Ganges river dolphin, the common guitarfish and the antipodean Albatross.

Assam NGO launches library initiative for deprived kids

Gyan Vardhini, a social organisation of Assam, launched a library initiative with the title “Project Educate All – Leave None Behind” .
Under the initiative, the organisation has set up its first library at an orphanage, Ananda Ashram, here which aims to make reading books and story books accessible to deprived children and those residing in slums, orphanages and communities in remote locations.
Volunteers of the organisation will conduct reading classes for children under the initiative. It also aims to set up 10 libraries across Guwahati within this year.

Portuguese President arrives in India for two-day visit

A visiting Portuguese delegation led by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa signed a series of MoUs with state and central government agencies at a formal ceremony in the fields of defence, industry, water and sewage management, education, knowledge sharing, science and technology, heritage, shipping and technology.
The signing of agreements followed a series of negotiations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa which began during a visit by the latter to India in 2017.
Among the agreements signed are an MoU between Goa-based Defence Ministry shipyard Goa Shipyard Limited and Portugal”s Estaleiros Navais De Peniche in the field of design, construction and supply of ships in Africa and Latin American countries.
Five MoUs and letters of intent between the Portuguese Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC-TEC) and India”s IIT-Goa, National Institute of Oceanography, National Centre for Polar and Oceanic Research.
The Energy and Resources Institute and the Goa Shipyard Ltd were also signed under the cooperation for excellence in marine exploration and navigation technologies initiative.
The initiative is aimed at generating innovative projects in the field of technological co-operation for marine engineering, shipbuilding technology, blue economy, ocean resources and technology.
An MoU for co-operation between IIT-Madras and INESC-TEC in the area of ports and waterways management was also signed.
Other MoUs which were signed include a co-operation agreement between the Goa-based VM Salgaoncar Institute of International Hospitality Education and Turismo de Portugal and between the Govind Ramnath Kare College and Portugal”s University of Coimbra to establish academic, scientific and cultural cooperation in the field of law.
A strategic tripartite agreement for research and exchange between three institutions, Portugal”s INESC-TEC, Faculty of Engineering of the University Porto and IIT-Madras focussing on marine exploration and energy technologies .

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FEBRUARY 17, 2020

NRL research centre at IIT Guwahati to develop bioplastics

NRL has provided an initial research grant of Rs 4 crore to its Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Materials set up at IIT Guwahati.
The centre was inaugurated by Union HRD Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal in the presence of Prof TG Sitharam, Director of IIT Guwahati and SK Barua, Managing Director, NRL.
The centre is a first of its kind academic-industrial collaborative venture with the broad objective of developing sustainable materials from various waste and by-products sourced from multiple sectors like petroleum industries, bio-refineries and agro-industries.
It will serve as an umbrella for many such upcoming collaborative research projects on the development of sustainable materials like bioplastics and other value-added chemicals under one platform to serve the industries like NRL in combating environmental pollution.
The first project of the centre is ‘Development of biodegradable plastics from refinery and bio-refinery streams’ and officials associated with it say it is in an advanced stage with prototypes which could be commercially viable having been already developed.

Lui-Ngai-Ni festival celebrated at Ukhrul

Lui-Ngai-Ni, a seed-sowing festival of the Nagas of Manipur, was celebrated under the theme, ‘oneness through culture’, at Ukhrul.
The two-day festival was organised by the State-level organising committee under the aegis of the United Naga Council and hosted by Tangkhul Naga Long, the apex body of the Tangkhul community.
Lui-Ngai-Ni is one of the biggest festivals of the Naga community. It is a cultural festival marked by a plethora of cultural events.
The main highlights of the Lui-Ngai-Ni celebrations were lighting of the sacred fire, consecration of the seeds to be sown for the season, beating of the traditional log drum, traditional dances and songs.
The festival heralds the season of seed sowing and marks the start of the year for the Nagas and the festival was declared a state holiday since 1988

India-Bangladesh’s 14-day joint exercise ‘Sampriti-IX’ concludes

The two-week India-Bangladesh military training exercise Sampriti-IX that focused on counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism and disaster management concluded at Umroi, Meghalaya.
The joint military exercise was aimed at strengthening the military relations between the two countries and it allowed the two armies to understand each other’s tactical drills and operating techniques.
In all 150 troops from each side took part in the ninth edition of Sampriti.
The head of observer delegations from both sides conveyed their appreciation for the participating contingents for achieving the objectives of exercise.
The Sampriti series is an important military and diplomatic initiative between the two nations and strengthening the edifice of trust and friendship, which has been nurtured with the sweat and toil of officers and soldiers of contingents participating in each edition.
Besides training, both contingents also participated in a number of activities, including sports events and played volleyball and basketball games.
A magnificent parade and the customary exchange of mementos marked the completion of the joint exercise.

Norway sees India as important player against climate change

Norway said that it saw India as an important player against climate change and that both countries could play leading role in tackling the global issues of environment and climate change.
Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar and Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment Sveinung Rotevatn met at the Mahatma Mandir to discuss bilateral and global issues on climate and environment.
A Conference Of Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species will be held at the venue.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the event via videoconferencing. It is for the first time that the triennial event would be held in the country.
Both countries stressed the need to strengthen bilateral cooperation on environment and climate change, particularly marine pollution.
The Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that India had initiated an ocean dialogue with Norway to address marine plastic litter.
Both the countries have formed joint working groups on blue economy with sustainable development.
Both the countries agreed on the importance of delivering concrete, scalable solutions for ocean health and wealth at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in June 2020.

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

46^th Karbi Youth Festival started in Karbi Anglong district

The 46^th Karbi Youth Festival (KYF) organised by the Karbi Cultural Society (KCS) got off at Taralangso village, just seven kilometres from Diphu with Rong Ketong, a traditional procession at Karbi People’s Hall.
Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council’s Chief Executive Member Tuliram Ronghang officially inaugurated the festival. Addressing a gathering of participants and artistes at the festival ground, Ronghang called for unity among Karbi groups.
The inaugural programme was attended by Hill Areas Development minister Sum Ronghang, Karbi traditional king Ramsing Ronghang and Dumra Karbi traditional king Holi Sing Ronghang, former Asam Sahitya Sabha president Rongbong Terang and other dignitaries.
Around 5,000 delegates from 29 KCZ zones from Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao, Biswanath Chariali, Kamrup have joined the festival. Cultural troupes in their traditional dresses took part in the procession ‘Rong Ketong’ led by drums under the standard of Karbi totem pole Jambili.
Thousands of Karbi youths from several parts of the North East are taking part in a series of traditional games and sports, including sling, stilt race, hambi kapathu- ghela khel, folk dances and songs like romance ballads, cradle songs and mourning songs. The festival will conclude on February 19. That day has been kept aside for concerts and prize distribution ceremonies.

Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the 13^th CMS COP13

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13) with the presence of over 2,500 delegates from 111 countries in Gandhinagar.
Modi opened it through video conference, the first time the head of government hosting the CMS conference has opened a CMS COP, marking the importance of migratory species in India.
The conference kicks off ”the super year” for nature, which will include a UN Summit in September and culminate in the UN Biodiversity Conference at the end of 2020.
The concept of ”ecological connectivity” is the top CMS priority for the Post-2020 Framework, which calls for the protection and restoration of important geographical areas that together support migratory species during the different phases of their natural lifecycles, such as breeding and feeding.
CMS COP13 will add new species for protection under CMS and also address emerging issues and threats.

PM Modi unveils tallest Deendayal Upadhyaya statue in Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the 63-ft tall statue of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya while inaugurating the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Memorial Centre in Padao on the Varanasi-Chandauli border.
The ”pancha loha” statue is the tallest statue of the BJP ideologue in the country. Over 200 artisans have worked for almost a year in order to complete the structure.
The Memorial Centre, spread over nine acres, will also have the engravings of the life and times of Deendayal Upadhyaya.
About 30 Odisha craftsmen and artists have worked on the project during the last year.
The Prime Minister also launched projects worth Rs 1,200 crore for his constituency.
The projects include a 430-bed superspecialty government hospital, and a 74-bed psychiatry hospital at Banaras Hindu University.

Indian Navy chief in Myanmar to bolster maritime relationship

To strengthen relation between India and Myanmar, Indian Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh is on four-day trip to Naypyitaw and other parts of the neighbouring country to bolster the bilateral maritime relationship.
The visit is intended to consolidate and enhance the bilateral maritime relations between India and Myanmar.
During his visit, Admiral Karambir Singh will hold bilateral discussions with Admiral Tin Aung San, Commander-in-Chief Myanmar Navy and also call on Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief Defence Services, and other senior government officials.
He will also interact with the trainees of the National Defence College in Naypyitaw, and will visit the Naval Dockyard and Training Command of the Myanmar Navy in Yangon.
Myanmar Navy is a member of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium and participates in the activities conducted under the symposium.
Both the Navies also interact during maritime activities such as Admiral”s Cup, Goa Maritime Conclave and Exercise Milan.

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FEBRUARY 19, 2020

Titabor becomes Assam’s first zero waste town

Setting high standards in effective integrated waste management, Titabor has become Assam’s first ‘zero waste town’. No other town in Assam has been able to revolutionise municipal solid waste management the way Titabor has done.
As per the general standard, if any town succeeds in processing up to 80 per cent of waste, it can claim to be a zero waste town. Titabor, as part its consistent campaign, has set up a material recovery facility where all organic waste is managed through aerobic composting.
This move of door-to-door collection, some primary and some tertiary segregation, has resulted in reduction in foul odour and greenhouse gas emission from the dumpsite.
Not just that, Titabor is also credited to have started Assam’s first bio-mining project to completely recover the dumpsite and move toward 100 per cent processing of waste, which is an exceptional case in Assam.

First India- Bangladesh tourism festival in Agartala

The first ever two-day India-Bangladesh tourism festival would be held in Agartala, ministers, members of Parliament, top officials, experts, artists, singers, performers, tour operators of Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal and various northeastern states would participate in the festival, planned to boost tourism in the region.
Seminars, discussions, cultural functions, visit to the important tourism spots, historical and archaeological sites are part of the two day India-Bangladesh tourism festivals.
Freedom fighters, leading politicians, writers and poets would also participate in the mega event

EESL, BSNL to erect EV charging stations across India

The state-run Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for installation of public charging stations to boost e-mobility adoption across India.
Under the partnership, the EESL will set up public charging stations in 1,000 BSNL sites in a phased manner on a pan India basis.
EESL will make the entire upfront investment on the services pertaining to the MoU, along with the operation and maintenance of the charging infrastructure by using qualified personnel.
BSNL would be responsible for providing the requisite space and power connections for installing the charging infrastructure.
At present, EESL has commissioned 300 AC and 170 DC chargers across India.

NTPC, RSDCL to develop solar park in Jaisalmer

Public sector major NTPC and Rajasthan Solarpark Development Company Ltd (RSDCL), a subsidiary of Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd (RRECL), signed an ‘Implementation Support’ agreement to develop a 925 megawatt (MW) capacity Nokh Solar Park at Nokh in Jaisalmer.
As per the agreement, the RSDCL will develop infrastructure in the solar park and NTPC will develop the solar projects. The agreement is likely to bring investment of more than Rs 4,000 crore in the state.
The RSDCL will invest about Rs 450 crore in infrastructural development in the project and NTPC is expected to invest more than Rs 3,500 crores in solar projects development.

FEBRUARY 20, 2020

65th Filmfare Awards organised at Guwahati, Winners List

Winners of the 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards were announced at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati, Assam on 15th February 2020.

Award Winners

BEST FILM – GULLY BOY

CRITICS BEST FILM – ARTICLE 15 (ANUBHAV SINHA)

CRITICS BEST FILM – SONCHIRIYA (ABHISHEK CHAUBEY)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (MALE) – RANVEER SINGH

CRITICS BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (MALE) – AYUSHMANN KHURRANA

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (FEMALE) – ALIA BHATT

CRITICS BEST ACTOR IN LEADING ROLE (FEMALE) – BHUMI PEDNEKAR

CRITICS BEST ACTOR IN LEADING ROLE (FEMALE) – TAAPSEE PANNU

BEST DIRECTOR – ZOYA AKHTAR

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE) – SIDDHANT CHATURVEDI

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (FEMALE) – AMRUTA SUBHASH

India, Myanmar sign MoU for bus service

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between two agencies in the presence of authorities of both India and Myanmar for commencement of a bus service between the two countries.
The MoU was signed between Shwe Mandalar Express Company Limited, Yangoon and Seven Sisters Holiday, Imphal on February 14 for commencement of the bus service from April this year.
The process of selection of the operator for the sector through bidding is likely to be finalised by March.
Under the Act East Policy, an integrated check post was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 4, 2019 in Moreh town, which is now fully operational.
Both India and Myanmar have agreed to open nine border haats to facilitate free exchange of locally available commodities and services.
Two border haats in Manipur will be set up at Khin Man Behiang (Churachandpur district) and Khampat New Saomtal (Chandel district).
In addition, two border haats are also proposed to be opened at New Tusom, Ukhrul district, and Hume Thana/Konkanthana at Kamjong district.

Union Cabinet approved setting up of the 22^nd Law Commission

Union Cabinet approved the setting up of the 22nd Law Commission for a period of three years.
The Law Commission will consist of a full-time Chairperson, four full-time Members (including the Member-Secretary) and the Secretaries, Legal Affairs and the Legislative Departments as ex-officio Members, and not more than five part-time Members.
The Law Commission is a non-statutory body constituted by the government from time to time. Originally constituted in 1955, it is re-constituted every three years. The tenure of the 21st Law Commission was up to August 31, 2018.
The various Law Commissions have been able to make an important contribution towards the progressive development and codification of law of the country and have so far submitted 277 reports.

FACTFILE – Law Commission of India

Law Commission of India is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India.
Its major function is to work for legal reform. Its membership primarily comprises legal experts, who are entrusted a mandate by the Government.
The Commission is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice
The first Law Commission was established during the British Raj era in 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833. It was presided by Lord Macaulay. After that, three more Commissions were established in pre-independent India.
The first Law Commission of independent India was established in 1955 for a three-year term. Since then, twenty one more Commissions have been established.
The 21st Law Commission under Justice B.S. Chauhan(retd.) was established in 2015, and had tenure to August 31st 2018.
The terms of reference of the Law Commission include the review and repeal of obsolete laws, the examination of existing laws & the revision of central Acts of general importance.
Membership: Chairman, 1 Permanent Member, 1 Member Secretary, 2 Part-time Members, 2 ex-officio members.

Indian Navy to get purchase of 24 American Seahawk helicopters

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared the purchase of 24 American helicopters for the Indian Navy. The deal to procure MH-60R Seahawk helicopters is worth Rs $2.6 billion.
The 24 helicopters would be a big boost to the Navy. The multi-role helicopters will be equipped with Hellfire missiles and torpedoes, and are meant to help the Indian Navy track submarines in the Indian Ocean, where China is expanding its presence.
Currently, P8i aircraft are being used to keep vigil on enemy submarines.
The US State Department had approved the sale of the choppers to India last year along with radars, torpedoes and 10 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.

FACTFILE – Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family.
The most significant modifications are the folding main rotor and a hinged tail to reduce its footprint aboard ships.
Able to deploy aboard any air-capable frigate, destroyer, cruiser, fast combat support ship, amphibious assault ship, or aircraft carrier, the Seahawk can handle anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), naval special warfare (NSW) insertion, search and rescue (SAR), combat search and rescue (CSAR), vertical replenishment (VERTREP), and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC).

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FEBRUARY 21, 2020

IIT Guwahati organises National Seminar on Sub-Regional Cooperation

The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) in association with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Kolkata Chapter, organised a national seminar titled ‘Sub-Regional Cooperation: BIMSTEC and North East India in Perspective’, at IIT-G.
The speakers discussed the possible bottlenecks that need to be identified to mitigate the challenges of development through sub-regional cooperation in the NE region.
The session on food, technology and livelihoods also discussed techniques of plant tissue culture to improve food production.
A book titled India Myanmar borderlands: Ethnicity, Security and Connectivity authored and edited by Dr Pahi Saikia and Dr Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury, was released at the seminar.

COW nod to India plea on GIB, Asian elephant, Bengal Florican

The central government’s proposal for inclusion of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), Asian elephant and Bengal Florican in the appendix I of the 13th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention for Migratory Species of Animals (CMS) was unanimously accepted by the Committee of the Whole (COW).
Wildlife species facing extinction threat are included in the appendix I. It leads to push for greater habitat protection, prohibition against poaching and facilitation of their movement in the regions and countries that are part of these species ranges.
The GIB, found only in the Indian subcontinent, is considered close to extinction as its population has dropped drastically, are largely concentrated in the Desert National Park in Rajasthan.
India had submitted that there was seasonal movement of the GIB between India and Pakistan.
Urging the COW to include the Asian elephant in the appendix I, the government said it would help in their greater protection. Found in India, this sub-specie migrates into Bangladesh and Nepal. According to India’s proposal, 93 elephants also move across Indo-Bangla border.
India, the home of 60 per cent of the Asian elephant’s global population, has a primary duty and responsibility for ensuring their survival. The number of wild elephants is estimated to be 29,964 in India.
In case of Bengal Florican, the government said it was on the verge of extinction and its population is declining mainly due to habitat loss and degradation, and hunting.

Railways partners with University of Birmingham for joint PG plan

The Indian Railways announced its partnership with the University of Birmingham for the Joint Master’s programme in Railway Systems Engineering and Integration in academic year 2020-2021 by the National Rail Transportation Institute (NRTI).
The programme that has been launched leads to dual M.Sc. that would see NRTI students obtaining two postgraduate degrees from both institutions, after spending a year studying at each institution.
It will also provide flexibility for some modules of the programme to be delivered online in the form of a Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) and support for undergraduate teaching by University of Birmingham faculty at NRTI.
The initiative has been taken under the Centre of Excellence for Next Generation Transportation Systems that had been set up through a Memorandum of Understanding between the NRTI with the University of Birmingham.

Tamil Nadu to set up Protected Special Agriculture Zone

Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a Bill declaring the Cauvery delta region, comprising Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, some portions of Cuddalore and Pudukottai districts, as the Protected Special Agriculture Zone (PSAZ).
The Bill, introduced by Chief Minister K. Palaniswami, excluded the Trichy, Ariyyalur and Karur districts — also the part of the Cauvery delta region, and existing industrial projects.
As per the new law, zinc/copper/aluminium smelter, iron ore processing plants, tannery, hydrocarbon exploration and other industries would not be permitted in the PSAZ.
The law excludes infrastructure projects, like building of harbour, laying of roads, pipelines, telecommunications, and water and power supply lines.
It also provides for setting up of Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Zone Authority, headed by the Chief Minister. The Authority will have 30 members.

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Assam Current Affairs – November 29 – 30, 2019

Posted on December 25, 2019May 16, 2020 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – November 29 - 30, 2019

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

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November 29, 2019

Manoj Kumar takes over as new Tripura Chief Secretary

The Tripura government appointed senior IAS officer Manoj Kumar as the new Chief Secretary.
A 1990 batch Tripura cadre IAS officer, and currently Additional Chief Secretary, Electricity, Finance and Forest Departments, Manoj Kumar would succeed Usurupati Venkateswarlu, who is retiring from service on November 30.
Manoj Kumar would look after the General Administration (Confidential and Cabinet, Personnel and training), Finance and Home (excluding Jail and Fire Service) Departments.

FACTFILE – Chief Secretary in States/UTs

The post of Chief Secretary is the senior-most position held in the civil services of the states and union territories of India. The position is a cadre post for the Indian Administrative Service.
Chief Secretaries are members of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) who are the administrative head of state governments. A Chief Secretary functions as the central point of interdepartmental coordination at the departmental level and is classified as being in the Apex Grade.
Chief Secretary is considered to be the Chief Executive of the state government and considered to be ‘a linchpin’ in the administration.
Chief Secretary of the state also acts as the ex-officio Chairman of the State Civil Service Board, which recommends transfer/postings of officers of All India Services and State Civil Services in the state.
Chief Secretaries are chosen by the state’s Chief Minister.
State Chief Secretaries are IAS officers generally equivalent in rank to a Secretary to Government of India and are placed 23^rd on Indian Order of Precedence.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan introduced the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan introduced the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Bill, 2019 in the Rajya Sabha.
The Bill, which will replace the ordinance promulgated in September, has already received the Lok Sabha”s approval.
Moving the the Health Minister said it would also ban online sales and advertising of e-cigarettes.
The Bill is about prohibiting all commercial operations for the trade of e-cigarettes, which includes manufacturing, production, import, export, distribution, sale and advertising including online sales and advertising.

Uddhav Thackeray sworn-in as the CM of Maharashtra

Shiv Sena President Uddhav B. Thackeray sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra at a function held in Shivaji Park. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath of office and secrecy to Thackeray.
Thackeray is the third from the Shiv Sena to be Chief Minister after Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane in the late 1990s.

Bill to regularise unauthorized colonies in Delhi passed in LS

A Bill to regularize Delhi’s 1,731 unauthorised colonies was passed in the Lok Sabha with voice vote to benefit over 40 lakh residents who have been residing in such colonies for years.
The Bill will provide special provision for the national capital by recognising the property rights of ownership or transfer or mortgage in favour of residents of such colonies who are possessing properties on the basis of power of attorney, agreement to sale, will, possession letter, or any other documents, including documents evidencing payment of consideration.
The Bill seeks to levy stamp duty and registration charges on the amount mentioned in the conveyance deed or authorisation slip issued by the Delhi Development Authority and non-payment of any stamp duty and registration charges on any previous sale transactions made prior to the last transaction.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019

The Rajya Sabha passed the Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by voice vote. Besides raising the monetary limit in collections, the Bill also provides for increasing commission for the person managing the fund to 7 per cent from 5 per cent.
As per the bill, the collection limit for individuals has been raised to Rs 3 lakh, up from the present Rs 1 lakh. For firms, the limit would be 18 lakhs from Rs 6 lakh now.
Introducing the bill Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said that the collection limit has been raised in view of inflation rate since 2001.
The Chit Fund Act, 1982 was enacted to provide for regulation of chit funds which have conventionally satisfied the financial needs of the low income households.

Industrial Relations Code bill introduced in LS

The Central government introduced the Industrial Relations Code Bill 2019 in the Lok Sabha. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier had approved the Industrial Relations Code Bill, which is the third code under labour reforms.
The Bill provides for setting up of a two-member tribunal (in place of one-member), thus introducing a concept that some of the important cases will be adjudicated jointly and the rest by a single-member resulting in speedier disposal of cases.
It also provides for imparting flexibility to the exit provisions relating to retrenchment and others, for which the threshold for prior approval of appropriate government has been kept unchanged at 100 employees, but added a provision for changing such number of employees through notification.
The Bill also provides for definition of Fixed Term Employment and that it would not lead to any notice period and payment of compensation on retrenchment excluded.
It also provides for vesting of powers with the government officers for adjudication of disputes involving penalty as fines thereby lessening the burden on tribunals.

November 30, 2019

Water conservation projects commissioned in Hailakandi

Under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, water conservation projects will be set up in several schools in Hailakandi district of Barak Valley.
Deputy Commissioner, Keerthi Jalli commissioned such projects in two educational institutions under the Katlicherra education block.
Inaugurating the first water conservation project at Sahabad ME Madrassa, Deputy Commissioner Jalli called upon the students to conserve water and make judicious use of the precious resource at school and at home.

Biren Singha gets Guruji Adya Sarma award

The Guruji Adya Sarma Award 2019 was presented to renowned sculptor Biren Singha at a function held at the Nalbari Harimandir premises.
The award comprising Rs 25,000 in cash, a memento, citation, sarai, cheleng sador, japi, etc.was presented by Nalbari Deputy Commissioner Bharat Bhusan Dev Choudhury.
Mobile theatre group Brindaban Theatre in collaboration with Nalbari Harimandir Committee presents the award every year.

The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019 moved in Lok Sabha

The government in the Lok Sabha moved a Bill for rationalising and facilitating the licensing procedures for use of firearms by individuals as well as to curb crimes committed by using illegal firearms and provide effective deterrence against violation of law.
The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks amendment to the Arms Act, 1959, provides for enhancement of period of arms licence from three years to five years and also to issue arms licence in electronic form.
Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy, while introducing the Bill, said the move is to deal with the future issues as the fire power and sophistication of illegal firearms have increased over the years.
The trans-border dimensions of illegal arms trafficking are causing threat to internal security.
To prevent the usage of illicit firearms so trafficked has also become a prime concern.
To effectively curb crimes related to or committed by using illegal firearms and to provide effective deterrence against violation of law, there is an urgent need to strengthen the existing legislative framework by making appropriate amendments in the Arms Act, 1959.
The Bill seeks to enhance punishment for existing offences such as illegal manufacture, sale, transfer; illegal acquiring, possessing or carrying prohibited arms or prohibited ammunition; and illegal manufacture, sale, transfer, conversion, import, export, of firearms.
The Arms Act, 1959, which was enacted to consolidate and amend the law relating to arms and ammunition, and the rules made thereunder regulate the acquisition, possession, use, manufacture, transfer, sale, transport, export and import of arms and ammunition and punishment for contravention in order to curb illegal weapons and violence stemming from them.

Indian-Origin Researcher turns banana plant into packaging material

An Indian-origin researcher-led team at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) announced it has discovered a novel way to turn banana plantation waste into packaging material that is not only biodegradable but also recyclable.
Associate Professor Jayashree Arcot and Professor Martina Stenzel looked at ways to convert agricultural waste into something that could value-add to the industry it came from, while potentially solving problems for another.
Using a reliable supply of pseudostem material from banana plants grown at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, the duo set to work in extracting cellulose to test its suitability as a packaging alternative.
The team brought the pseudostem into the lab and chopped it into pieces, dried it at very low temperatures in a drying oven, and then milled it into a very fine powder.
The team then took this powder and washed it with a very soft chemical treatment.
When processed, the material has a consistency similar to baking paper.
Depending on the intended thickness, the material could be used in a number of different formats in food packaging.
The material is also recyclable. Tests with food have proved that it poses no contamination risks.

Toshiba ink EoI with Kerala Govt for making lithium-ion batteries

The Toshiba Group signed an Expression of Interest with the Kerala government for technology transfer and manufacturing lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for electric vehicles.
The agreement is an outcome of the Japan visit by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the head of a high-level state delegation and was signed in Tokyo at the investment seminar organised in the Japanese capital.
Vijayan addressed the Kerala State Investment Promotion Seminar organised with the participation of 150 major Japanese investors at the Indian Embassy, Tokyo.

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Assam Current Affairs –November 22 – 28, 2019

Posted on December 25, 2019May 16, 2020 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – November 22 - 28, 2019

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

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November 22, 2019

Assam CM inaugurated several infrastructure projects in Goalpara

CM Sonowal laid foundation stones of community radio station at Goalpara College to be set up by the district administration and also a project under City Infra Development Fund (CIDF). It includes schemes like development of Bihutoli field, construction of approach road of KV, Bhalukdubi and widening and improvement of the road from ASTC Point to Boro Bazar.
Construction of swimming pool and multipurpose indoor stadium at the DN Singha Stadium,Golapara and renovation of the Community Centre at Bapujinagar. Inaugurated the new police station at Agia under the Mission for Overall Improvement of Thana for Responsive Image (MOITRI).
Angwadi Model Centre at Budhipara which will have all the composite facilities and the first in the state. Smart Class and Hanging Library at Baladmari High School, solarisation of all the health and wellness centres in the district and that of the plastic shredder machine under Goalpara Municipal Board,GOAL-MART.
E-commerce website of the district administration, project under RIDF for construction of RCC bridge at 13 locations and then one-stop centre to support women in distress. A guest house for ASHA workers at Lakhipur, and ceremonial distribution of power tillers under Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI).

Bolo App launched in Hailakandi

Bolo App, an effective tool for enhancing learning, has been installed and activated on the smart phones of more than 100 teachers in Hailakandi district.
Cluster Resource Centre Coordinators (CRCCs) of Mohanpur, West Mohanpur and Mohanpur Burnie Brase 1 launched the campaign ‘Bolo App on every smart phone’ and invited the teachers with smart phones to attend the programme held at Premlochan HS School at Mohanpur.
Bolo is speech-based app designed to help elementary grade kids learn to read – anytime, anywhere – just using their voice.
Designed for primary and upper primary grade children, Bolo helps to improve their reading skills, by encouraging them to read aloud and giving them instant feedback – even when completely offline.
Bolo listens to what your children read, encourages them when they read well and helps them when they get stuck – just like a real reading tutor.
Children can also play interesting word games and earn in-app awards, helping reading become both fun and a daily habit.
Multiple children can use the same app, and track their progress separately. Over time the difficulty level of recommended stories will adjust to their reading skills.

Odisha signs MoUs to improve urban service delivery system

The Odisha government signed three Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) to transform urban service delivery system in the state.
The Housing and Urban Development department signed MoUs with e-gov Foundation, Janagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, and Indian Heritage Cities Network Foundation.
The E-gov foundation of Nandan Nilekani and Srikanth Nadhamuni will provide a full stack of municipal services applications.
These include a feature-rich dashboard portal for all urban local bodies (ULBs), public grievance management system, finance and accounting, property tax management, water and sewerage system, trade licence system, and online building plan approval system.
Janagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy of Ramesh and Swathi Ramanathan will undertake a transformative reform of property taxation in ULBs resulting in growth in revenue of ULBs and investment in better service and infrastructure.
The Indian Heritage Cities Network foundation entered into an MoU with the Housing and Urban Development and Tourism departments for promotion of heritage-based sustainable development.

Andhra Pradesh Govt has roped in IIM Ahmedabad to work with the ACB

Andhra Pradesh has roped in Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) to work with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
IIM (A) professor Sundaravalli Narayana Swamy and ACB chief Viswajit on Thursday signed an agreement to work in coordination to identify corruption in high places.
After a detailed study, they will submit a report to the government by February third week next year.
The panel will frame guidelines to curb corruption right from the village level to all the government departments. A detailed study of the functioning of government departments, the income and expenditure needed for the governance would be taken up. The lacunae in the present governance would be identified and corrective measures suggested.
Similarly, a study would be conducted for the proper utilization of the existing resources, increasing the quality of governance and to achieve positive results.

November 23, 2019

4^th India International Cherry Blossom Festival 2019 at Shillong

The 4th edition of India International Cherry Blossom Festival, 2019 was celebrated in Shillong, Meghalaya from 13 to 16 November 2019. The festival is a great example of how natural resources and sustainable tourism can be utilised in an effective manner and create value of something which already exists.
The festival celebrates the unique autumn flowering of Himalayan Cherry Blossoms with several cultural events. With the annual festival the state government seeks to focus on Meghalaya’s natural strength such environment and beautiful landscape to enhance the experience of tourists.
It was organized to celebrate the mass flowering of autumn Himalayan Cherry Blossoms with several cultural events in Shillong.
This year the Republic of Korea was the partner country in the festival. The festival was thus visited by ambassador of South Korea and also showcased stalls with state’s food, wine and crafts alongside several Korean Cultural events, including K-Pop concert and stalls featuring Korean Cuisine and Educational Opportunities at South Korea.
Dinabandhu Sahoo, the brain behind Cherry Blossom Festival however highlighted that with every edition of the festival, the footfall of tourists visiting it has increased.

Central Govt plans rail link with NE state capitals

The Centre said it has firmed up plans to connect the capitals of the northeastern states (except Sikkim) with the Indian Railway network.
The capitals of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura have been connected by Broad Gauge (BG) network. Emphasis has been laid by the Centre during the last five years on quick execution of rail infrastructure projects.
The average annual expenditure in New Line, Gauge Conversion and Doubling infrastructure projects during 2014-19 was Rs 26,022 crore per year as against Rs 11,527 crore per year during 2009-14, which is around 126 per cent more than during 2009-14.
Similarly, the average budget allotment per year for NE States was Rs 2,122 crore per year during 2009-14. However, it increased by 161 per cent to Rs 5,531 crore per year for this region during 2014-19.
In Arunachal Pradesh, a BG railway line was commissioned in February 2015 up to Naharlagun and the first Broad Gauge train was started on February 20, 2015, from Naharlagun (Itanagar) to New Delhi.
The work of the Bogibeel Bridge on the Brahmaputra river was completed in 2018 leading to further reduction of rail travel distance from Dibrugarh to Naharlagun by 705 km.
In some states, the progress of new line projects of capital connectivity has been affected mainly due to delay in land acquisition and law and order issues. All these capital connectivity projects being in hilly terrain of the Himalayas involve a large number of tunnels and major bridges in a very challenging geological environment.
Works on new BG lines have been taken up by the Railways through the Government of India fund to connect the remaining capitals of NE states including Meghalaya (Shillong), Manipur (Imphal), Nagaland (Kohima) and Mizoram (Aizawl).

Prabhat Jha moved Bill to make cleanliness a fundamental duty

Prabhat Jha moved the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2017 (amendment of article 51A) in the Upper House seeking to make cleanliness a fundamental duty and called for a mass movement to propagate the message of Clean India.
Jha demanded that cleanliness be made a fundamental duty under Article 51A of the Constitution. Swachh Bharat mission should be a part of the fundamental duties and for that there is a need to amend the Constitution. It should be made a national campaign.

Defence Ministry plans product testing facilities for MSMEs

The Ministry of Defence plans to set up 6-8 product testing facilities to enable the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to test their products for defence supplies.
The government has allocated about Rs 400 crore for this scheme whereby it would provide a grant-in-aid of up to 75 per cent of the cost of equipment for the product testing facility.
The balance 25 per cent has to be brought in by a consortium of private investors. The product test facility will be a special purpose vehicle (SPV).
The test facilities are to come up in the two defence corridors planned in the country, one facility outside the defence corridor may come up early in order the meet the demand.

Scientists developed new material that turns toxic air pollutant into industrial chemical

An international team of scientists has developed a new material that can capture a toxic pollutant produced by burning fossil fuels and convert it into useful industrial chemicals using only water and air.
The technology could lead to air pollution control and help remedy the negative impact nitrogen dioxide has on the environment.
The metal-organic framework (MOF) material provides a selective, fully reversible and repeatable capability to capture nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a toxic air pollutant produced particularly by diesel and bio-fuel use.
The NO2 can then be easily converted into nitric acid, a multi-billion dollar industry with uses including, agricultural fertiliser for crops; rocket propellant and nylon.
MOFs are tiny three-dimensional structures which are porous and can trap gasses inside, acting like cages.
The material, named MFM-520, can capture nitrogen dioxide at ambient pressures and temperatures even at low concentrations and during flow in the presence of moisture, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide.
The team also used the National Service for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy at Manchester to study the mechanism of adsorption of nitrogen dioxide in MFM-520.

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November 24, 2019

Union Cabinet approveds strategic disinvestment in five PSUs

Union Cabinet approved strategic disinvestment in five PSUs, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), THDC India Ltd and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO). The government will also give up the management control in these companies.
Two of the PSUs under the strategic disinvestment plan, THDC and NEEPCO, will be taken over by another state-run power major, NTPC.
The government would lower its stake below 51 per cent in select PSUs while retaining their management control. The decision to bring down Centre”s stake will be taken on a case-to-case basis.

FACTFILE – Disinvestment in PSUs

Disinvestment in Public sector units in India, is process of public asset sales by President of India on behalf of Govt of India.
There were 331 CPSEs in 2017-18, out of which 257 were in operation. Rest (74) of the CPSEs were under construction.
As in need of Economic Liberalism and Infrastructure development, in Union Budget of India Total Expenditure of Government of India increased from ₹ 1,13,422 crore (1991-92) to ₹ 21,46,735 Crore(2017-18). To raise the funds partially for these Expenditures and also to minimize fiscal deficits in union budgets, Indian Government started divestment in public sector undertakings. Conceding to demands of privatization and with tough resistance from labour unions, government of India is slowly divesting from PSUs.
Major divestment steps were taken in past by the government when they made four strategic disinvestment’s – in Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) and Hindustan Zinc, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited and VSNL.
In budgetary announcement of financial year 2017-18 The Finance Minister noted that the government initiated strategic disinvestment in 24 PSUs, including Air India, this fiscal.
Since financial year 1991-92 to 2017-18 government led by political parties sold total public assets of ₹ 3,47,439 Crore. In past recent years Public sector undertaking units performed well as compared to other private competitors and paid huge dividends to government.

G20 foreign ministers commit to WTO reforms

G20 foreign ministers have pledged to push for reforms in the World Trade Organization (WTO) during a meeting in the Japanese city of Nagoya.
The announcement was made by Japan”s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on the agreements reached at the event.
The G20 shared the view that the WTO needed to be reformed to be able to address current problems.
WTO reforms being contemplated included the possibility of improving mechanisms for resolving trade disputes.
Motegi also reflected on the need to conclude negotiations for establishing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership for Asia and Oceania with the agreement of 16 countries that have promoted the initiative since its inception.
Motegi said the RCEP was one of the initiatives that should be defended to strengthen global free trade.
The G20, a forum initially promoted by finance and central bank officials, brings together the richest countries and the world”s major emerging economies in a common platform.

AIIA has inked a MoU with Western Sydney University

The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Western Sydney University, Australia aimed at promoting collaboration in research and developing guidelines for integrating Ayurveda principles with modern medicine.
All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) signed the MoU on Friday during the visit of the delegation led by Dan Tehan, Minister for Education, Australian government.
The memorandum was agreed and exchanged on the occasion of the event ”India- Australia International Education and Research Workshop” held at the Ambedkar International Centre.
Complementing the traditional Ayurveda medicine with conventional concepts of modern medicine is expected in generating scientific evidences that further help in contributing to the global healthcare.
Both institutions are committed to take the collaboration to the next higher level by identifying specific areas for collaboration in education, research and practices of traditional medicine while ensuring the quality standards and also by encouraging investment in traditional medicine related infrastructure.

President of India awarded the President’s Colour to Naval Academy

President Ram Nath Kovind awarded the President’s Colour, the highest honour that is bestowed upon a military unit, to the Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala, Kannur in Kerala.
The President mentioned that our Armed forces are completely equipped to face any kind of challenges be it in conventional or in the asymmetric domain.
He urged the Naval officers to fully utilize the training and be prepared to deliver in all situations for the country.
He complimented the commandants, instructors and officers involved in training for producing multi-faceted officers for Indian Navy.
President received the Guard of honour from the Academy Cadets.
Kerala Governor Arif Muhammed Khan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, and State Minister, Kadamkampally Surendran graced the occasion.

Karnataka Govt felicitates 7 Bengaluru-founded Unicorns

The Karnataka government awarded seven city-founded Unicorns as part of Bengaluru Impact Awards at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2019.
Bengaluru Impact Award winning Unicorns include Ola, MuSigma, Big Basket, Swiggy, InMobi, Quikr and Flipkart.
The awards were presented by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, Additional Chief Secretary, department of IT, BT and S& T E.V. Ramana Reddy and Director of the same department of IT, BT and S& T Prasanth Kumar Mishra.

November 25, 2019

Assam is the Most Improved state in Economy and Overall category in the India Today State of the States Conclave 2019

The annual ‘India Today State of the States Conclave and Awards – 2019’ has adjudged Assam in the ‘Most Improved Big State – Overall’ and ‘Most Improved Big State for Economy’ categories.
Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary received both the awards from Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Information and Broadcasting in New Delhi.
The India Today ‘State of the States’ study is an attempt to find out which of India’s States offers its citizens the best opportunities, both at work and outside.
The categories based on which the States are judged include economy, agriculture, education, healthcare, infrastructure, inclusive development, law and order, governance, entrepreneurship, environment and cleanliness.

India, Afghanistan exchanges treaty over Extradition

India and Afghanistan exchanged the instruments of ratification of their bilateral extradition treaty.
The instrument of ratification of Extradition Treaty between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Republic of India, approved and ratified by the relevant authorities of the two governments.
The agreement was signed by the authorized representatives of the two countries in New Delhi in September 2019.

50^th conference of Governors

Five groups of Governors submitted their reports to President Ram Nath Kovind on issues related to tribal welfare, water, agriculture, higher education and ease of living, and identified actionable points in which they can play a facilitating role.
These reports were submitted during the 50th conference of Governors which concluded at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The conference took keen interest in tribal welfare issue and pointed out that policies for tribal uplift had to be tailored in accordance with local requirements.
Kovind said that the discussions held by Governors and Lt. Governors proved to be a fruitful exercise. On observing November 26 as the 70th anniversary of Indian Constitution, he said a campaign will be launched to create awareness about fundamental duties on the occasion.
It is the fundamental duty of every citizen to protect the natural environment including water resources like forests, lakes and rivers. It is also a constitutional duty to continuously strive for excellence in all areas for the progress of the country.
Individual and collective efforts for excellence in the areas of higher education, agriculture, inclusive growth and governance will give impetus to public welfare.

India ranked 44^th in Nomura’s Food Vulnerability Index

According to a new report by Nomura Global Market Research, India is ranked 44 out of 110 countries in Nomura’s Food Vulnerability Index (NFVI). India has been ranked 44 out of 110 countries.
Nomura’s Food Vulnerability Index (NFVI) ranks countries on the basis of their exposure to large swings in food prices.
NFVI has three components:

1. country’s GDP per person,
2. the share of food in household consumption and
3. the net food imports.

Lower per capita GDP, higher share of food in household consumption and high net food imports would make a country more vulnerable to spikes in food prices.
The 50 countries most vulnerable to food price surges in the coming months largely belong to the Emerging Market group. The top 50 together account for almost 60 per cent of the global population.
Nomura is an Asia-headquartered financial services group with an integrated global network spanning over 30 countries.

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November 26, 2019

Seng Kut Snem Festival celebrated in Meghalaya

The annual festival of the Khasi community, Seng Kut Snem, was celebrated at Shillong with traditional gaiety and fervour.
The yearend festival marks the Seng Khasi movement, in which the local people of the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region launched a stir against British atrocities on the indigenous way of life. As part of the movement, 16 young men formed an organisation called the Khasi Young Men’s Association on November 23, 1899 to preserve and safeguard the indigenous way of life, also known as ‘Niam Trai Niam Tre’.
To commemorate the first anniversary of the movement in 1900, the Seng Kut Snem was celebrated and this has continued till date to remind the people of the movement and its objectives.
The festival is also a form of community prayer for protection of the distinct identity of the Khasi race.

Commonwealth sign pact to reduce violence against women

The Commonwealth has announced a new partnership designed to reduce domestic violence in member countries, including India.
Secretary-General Patricia Scotland signed a memorandum of understanding with the NO MORE Foundation, a global movement of 1,400 allied organisations and 40 international chapters working together to stop and prevent domestic violence and sexual assault.
The two parties have agreed to work together to implement initiatives that work on the prevention of domestic violence and sexual abuse as part of wider efforts to achieve the 2030 sustainable development goals.
The partnership is designed to help member countries record accurate data on the prevalence of violence, deliver grassroots projects, train community leaders, educate bystanders” responses and provide awareness resources.
The partnership was announced at an event hosted at Commonwealth headquarters in London, to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Andhra Pradesh launches helpline for complaints against corruption

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, launched the Citizens’ Help Centre to register complaints of bribery in government offices and also launched a citizens’ helpline number 14400. Any citizen can call on this toll-free number to make complaints about corruption in government offices.
The help centre has been launched in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. It will register complaints and complete the investigation in 15-30 days.
The IIM and the ACB signed an agreement to work in coordination to identify corruption in high places. After a detailed study, they will submit a report to the government by February third week.

70^th Constitution Day celebrated on 26 November

To commemorate the 70^th Constitution Day, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated a digital exhibition through videoconferencing from the Central Hall of Parliament.
The function, organised to commemorate the Constitution Day, attended by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and other dignitaries.
The Constitution Day is also celebrated as National Law Day (Samvidhan Diwas) in India. It is celebrated on November 26 every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India.
On November 26, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution of India. It came into force on January 26, 1950.
The Government of India declared 26 November as Constitution Day on 19 November 2015 by a gazette notification. PM Narendra Modi made the declaration on 11 October 2015 while laying the foundation stone of the B. R. Ambedkar’s Statue of Equality memorial in Mumbai.

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry signs MoAs with 6 states on Light House Projects

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri signed the memoranda of agreement (MoAs) for Light House Projects (LHPs) with Gujarat, Jharkhand, MP, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and UP government.
Puri also launched a web portal for the CLSS (credit-linked subsidy scheme) Awas Portal (CLAP), saying it would help stakeholders to work in synergy for on-time release of subsidy to beneficiaries.
To meet the demand for over 10 million houses by 2022, the central government had launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban in June 2015.
For LHPs, the Ministry has introduced a Rs 2 lakh per house technology innovation grant, which is over and above the existing Rs 1.5 lakh per house under PMAY(U).
The Ministry developed a web-based real-time monitoring system called CLAP in which all stakeholders, like MoHUA, CNAs, PLIs and beneficiaries, had been integrated.

Special Protection Group (SPG) Amendment Bill introduced in Lok Sabha

The Centre introduced the Special Protection Group (SPG) Bill, 2019, in Lok Sabha to change the law that will entitle only the Prime Minister to security services from the elite SPG personnel and former Prime Minister only for a year after he demits office.
Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy introduced the Bill which seeks amendment to the Special Protection Group Act, 1988 which provides for the constitution and regulation of an armed force of the Union for providing “proximate security” to the Prime Minister and former Prime Ministers and members of their immediate families and for matters connected therewith.
At present, the law allows the SPG to protect former Prime Ministers and their families for a period of 10 years after the end of term. Additionally, it leaves the scope for an extension of the cover beyond ten years in case the perceived threats justify it.

FACTFILE – Special Protection Group (SPG)

The Indian Special Protection Group (SPG) is a special force for providing proximate security to the Prime Minister of India and members of their immediate families wherever in the world they are.
The SPG was set up in 1985 after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, on the recommendation of the Birbal Nath Committee for raising a Special Protection Unit (SPU).
Parliament passed the SPG Act in 1988, dedicating the group to protecting the Prime Minister. At the time, the Act did not include former Prime Ministers. This Act was earlier amended in 1991, 1994 and 1999.
Arun Kumar Sinha, IPS is the Director of SPG.
3000 active personnel are active in SPG.

November 27, 2019

Guwahati to host 65^th Filmfare Awards show

The Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) inked a memorandum of understanding with the Times Group for organising the 65^th Filmfare Awards.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Bennett Coleman and Company Limited managing director Vineet Jain.
Fifty per cent of the proceeds from sale of tickets for the awards show would be given to the Chief Minister’s relief fund.
The awards show is being organised to promote Assam tourism in the world encashing the popularity of Bollywood and a huge global reach of the Filmfare award show to nearly two billion people. This is the first time the main Filmfare awards show is being held outside Mumbai.

India’s PSLV-C47 successfully launched Cartosat-3

India’s PSLV-C47 successfully launched Cartosat-3 and 13 commercial nanosatellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.
PSLV-C46 was the 74^th launch vehicle mission from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota. This is the 21st flight of PSLV in ‘XL’ configuration.
Cartosat-3 satellite is a third generation agile advanced satellite having high resolution imaging capability.
13 3U cubesats including twelve SuperDoves by Planet Labs and one Meshbed by Analytical Space of United States from USA were also successfully injected into designated orbit. These satellites were launched under commercial arrangement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
India successfully placed into orbit its own earth observation satellite Cartosat-3 and 13 American nano satellites in a text book style.
India crossed the milestone of putting into orbit 300 foreign satellites. By putting the 13 American nano satellites into orbit.

IIT-K partners TalentSprint for cybersecurity course

IIT-Kanpur has partnered TalentSprint, a Hyderabad-based Ed-Tech firm to undertake an advanced certification programme in cybersecurity and cyber defence.
The collaboration has been designed for aspiring professionals who are keen to explore the latest trends in cybersecurity technologies.
The IIT-Kanpur(IIT-K) has already taken a lead in cybersecurity by setting up the Interdisciplinary Centre for Cyber Security and Cyber Defence of Critical Infrastructures (C3i).
The mission and vision of C3i is to do research, education, training, and to spawn startups to create technological safeguards and to protect critical infrastructure.
The centre, which is headed by Prof Sandeep Shukla and Prof Manindra Agarwal, will engage with international partners from Israel and the USA in developing research and technology exchange, student training, as well as hosting conferences, workshops, and cyber security competitions to create awareness.

LS passes bill to declare four NIDs in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, MP and Haryana as Institutions of National Importance

The Lok Sabha unanimously passed the National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which declares the four National Institutes of Design (NID) in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Haryana as institutions of national importance.
These institutes are currently registered as Societies under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and do not have the power to grant degrees or diplomas. On being declared institutions of national importance, they will be able to grant degrees and diplomas.
The Bill, which seeks amendment in the National Institute of Design Act, 2014, will help these four NID institutes to become socially inclusive and address the needs of design in various sectors including agriculture, health care, and transportation.

FACTFILE – The National Institute of Design (NID)

NID is a design schools located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Gandhinagar. It has 3 active campuses, Main Campus-Ahmedabad, Post Graduate Campus – Gandhinagar and the third one is R&D Campus – Bengaluru.
NID is recognised by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research under Ministry of Science and Technology, government of India, as a scientific and industrial design research organisation.
NID is accorded as “Institute of National Importance” by Act of Parliament, under the National Institute of Design Act, 2014.
Other NIDs are established by Government of India from 2015 onward at Vijayawada, Jorhat, Kurukshetra and Bhopal.

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November 28, 2019

Assam’s Dr Prerana Keshan awarded ‘Wonder Fogsian’ award

Dr Prerana Keshan, a gynaecologist of Tinsukia was awarded with the ‘Wonder Fogsian’ award in recognition of her exemplary efforts towards uplift of women’s health in India.
She received the award from former Miss World Diana Heyden at the World Conference on Conception to Delivery held at the St Regis Hotel and Resorts Mumbai.
FOGSI is the biggest professional body for gynaecologists in India with Dr Nandita Palshetkar as the president.

Indian Army successfully test fires Spike anti-tank missiles

The Indian Army has successfully test fired two Spike long-range anti-tank missiles at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.
Spike is a fourth generation missile which can engage any target with precision at ranges up to 4 km.
The Spike missile was the only one to qualify after going through a complex procurement process.
To overcome the critical capability void, the Indian Army procured a limited quantity of Spike LR missiles to meet the urgent operational requirement.

Union Cabinet extended term of 15^th Finance Commission

Its term was scheduled to end on November 30.
Post the extension, the Commission will submit two reports, the first for financial year 2020-21 as well as the final report for financial years 2021-22 to 2025-26.
The extension of the term will enable the Commission to examine various comparable estimates for financial projections in view of reforms and the new realities, to finalise its recommendations for the period 2020-2026.

FACTFILE – The Fifteenth Finance Commission

The Fifteenth Finance Commission is an Indian Finance Commission constituted in November 2017 and is to give recommendations for devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters for five fiscal years, commencing 1 April 2020.
The commission’s chairman is N. K. Singh, with its full-time members being Ajay Narayan Jha, Ashok Lahiri and Anoop Singh.
In addition, the commission also has Ramesh Chand as part-time member.

Union Cabinet nod to increase authorised capital of FCI to Rs.10,000 crore

The Cabinet approved the proposal to increase the authorised capital of Food Corporation of India (FCI) to Rs.10,000 crore from it’s current authorised capital of FCI is Rs 3,500 crore.
With the increase of authorised capital, additional equity capital can be infused in FCI through the Union Budget to fund the foodgrains stock perpetually held by FCI.
This will reduce the borrowings of the FCI, save its interest cost and reduce food subsidy in consequence.
FCI operations require maintaining perpetual stock of foodgrains which needs to be funded by the Centre through equity or long term loans.

FACTFILE – The Food Corporation of India

Food Corporation of India is an organization created and run by the Government of India and also run by state Governments. It is a statutory body under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Govt. of India.
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) was set up on 14 January 1965 having its first District Office at Thanjavur – rice bowl of Tamil Nadu – and headquarters at Chennai, later this was moved to New Delhi. It also has regional centers in the capitals of the states.

IIT-Mandi develops device to screen cervical cancer

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi, have developed an artificial intelligence-powered point-of-care device to screen with high accuracy cervical cancer cases by analysing microscopy images.
The project has been taken up in collaboration with Aindra Systems, Bengaluru.
The research team comprised Anil Sao and Arnav Bhavsar, Associate Professors, School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, and Srishti Gautam and Krati Gupta.
Cervical cancer is among the deadliest forms of cancer, and early detection and treatment are vital for the patient.
They have applied for international patent for the device and algorithm in 2016.
The prototype of device is undergoing clinical trial at Kidwai Memorial Hospital, Bengaluru; Manipal Hospital, Karnataka; and Raja Rajeswari Medical College and Hospital, Bengaluru.
The accuracy of the prototypes has been around 88 per cent.

Scientists develop bacteria which ‘eat’ Carbon Dioxide

Israeli researchers have developed bacteria fed only with carbon dioxide, these bacteria, which build the entire biomass of their body from the carbon in the air, may help develop future technologies that reduce greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere and fight global warming.
These bacteria were completely weaned off sugar, after a nearly decade-long process.
The Israeli scientists have been able to “reprogram” E.coli bacteria, which consume sugars and release carbon dioxide, so they use carbon dioxide from the environment and produce the sugars they need to build their body.
The researchers mapped the genes that are essential to this process and added some of them to the bacteria genome in their lab. The researchers believe that the “healthy” habits of these bacteria may prove to be mostly healthy for Earth.

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Assam Current Affairs –November 15 – 21, 2019

Posted on December 25, 2019December 25, 2019 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – November 15 - 21, 2019

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

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November 15, 2019

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal Sonowal launches app ‘Shishu Suraksha’ for securing child rights

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched a mobile app ”Shishu Suraksha” of the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, which is expected to help securing the rights of children.
Remembering the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on his birth anniversary, which is also observed as Children”s Day across the country.
Sonowal urged the society to put emphasis on the holistic development of children, who will carry forward the society.
Calling on the people to sustain the qualities of humanity, empathy and respect in the society, Sonowal underlined the importance of keeping the children away from superstitions and dogmas by instilling a scientific temperament in them.

Children design postage stamps on child rights

Two postage stamps touching of the theme of child rights, designed by Indian children as part of a UNICEF competition, were released on the occasion of Children’s Day in India.
The top two winners, who will receive Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively, were selected out of over 14,000 entries and were announced by the Department of Posts and UNICEF.
Nidhi Rahul Mhatre, 15, from Maharashtra and Vibhushi Agarwal, 12, from Uttar Pradesh. The winners, along with other runners-up, will be awarded at a national event on November 20, World Children’s Day.

MHA appoints 2 advisors to assist J&K Lt Governor

The Ministry of Home Affairs has appointed two advisors to assist the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The two are retired IAS officer K.K. Sharma and former IPS officer Farooq Khan.
An IAS officer of 1983 batch, Sharma retired as the Secretary Higher Education in the Union ministry of Human Resources Development in February last year.
Farooq Ahmad Khan, an IPS officer of 1994 batch, was appointed as advisor to then J& K Governor Satya Pal Malik after being shifted from Lakshawdeep, where he served as administrator.
He was instrumental in creation of the Special Task Force, J& K police”s anti-militancy wing, in 1994-95 when the erstwhile State was under President”s rule.

Andhra Pradesh launches new scheme to upgrade government schools

Andhra Pradesh state government launched a new programme to revamp Government schools by providing better infrastructure and amenities at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore.
Under the scheme ”Mana Badi Nadu Nedu” (our school then and now), 45,000 government-run schools will undergo a complete makeover in the next three years, bringing them on par with or even better than the ones in private and corporate sectors.
The programme, launched by Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy at Ongole on Children”s Day, gives a pictorial view of schools showing how they look now and how they will look after implementing the scheme.
Taking nine parameters into consideration – provision of lights, fans, blackboards, furniture and compound wall, construction of toilets, repairs and painting of classrooms, providing safe drinking water and provision for English labs.
The first phase will cover 15,715 government schools for a period of one year, at a cost of Rs 3,500 crores.
This programme in addition to upgrading teaching and learning skills, introducing English as the medium of instruction from class 1 to 6 with Telugu or Urdu as a compulsory subject
Improving quality of mid-day meals, supply of textbooks, uniforms and shoes to the students on time and maintaining teacher-student ratio is expected to transform the education sector.
The government has also formed a committee to monitor the functioning of private schools.

November 16, 2019

Union Govt plans to set up NE Industrial Corridor

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the Government is planning to set up a North East Industrial Corridor that will create numerous job opportunities for the people of the region.
Singh said the Arunachal corridor would act as a land bridge between India and South East Asia, that will provide employment opportunities and give a fillip to trade and tourism.
The Union Defence Minister was speaking at the 11th Maitree Diwas celebrations at Tawang bordering China.
The two-day socio-military cultural extravaganza is being jointly organised by the Indian Army, Tawang civil administration and volunteers at the Gyalwa Tsangyang Gyatso High Altitude Stadium, Tawang.

Odisha takes conservative measures for protection of Olive Ridley turtles

The Odisha government has geared up the efforts for the protection and conservation of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles during the mass nesting.
The government directed the departments of Fishery, Forest and Marine police to operate in close coordination and ensure strict enforcement of the conservation rules.
Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy chaired a meeting of the high power committee for protection and conservation of Olive Ridley turtle.
The Coast Guard was requested to have realtime intelligence sharing with the departments about any illegal fishing.
The state government has already imposed a seven-month ban on fishing from November 1 to March 31 next year.
It has decided to pay a compensation amount of Rs 7,500 to around 8,000 fishermen families who will bear a loss for fishing ban.
The conservation and protection activities will be carried on in coordination with coast guard, naval wing, Integrated Test Range (ITR), Fisheries and Animal Resource department, police, various port authorities, community based organisations and forest and environment department.

FACTFILE – Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), also known as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, are the second smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world; this species of sea turtle is found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They can also be found in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
These turtles, along with the related Kemps ridley turtle, are best known for their unique mass nesting called arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
Olive ridley turtles are best known for their behavior of synchronized nesting in mass numbers, termed arribadas. Females return to the same beach from where they hatched, to lay their eggs.
In the Indian Ocean, the majority of olive ridleys nest in two or three large groups near Gahirmatha in Odisha. The coast of Odisha in India is the largest mass nesting site for the olive ridley, followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica.
The Gahirmatha Beach in Kendrapara district of Odisha (India), which is now a part of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, is the largest breeding ground for these turtles.
Bhitarkanika mangroves were designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2002. It is the world’s largest known rookery of olive ridley sea turtles. Apart from Gahirmatha rookery, two other mass nesting beaches have been located, which are on the mouth of rivers Rushikulya and Devi.

TiE Women raises $70,000 during New Delhi summit

TiE Women, an initiative launched by not-for-profit organisation TiE Global to promote women entrepreneurs across its 61 chapters globally, raised $70,000 during two days of its global summit.
The initiative aims to empower women entrepreneurs globally through sustainable and easy-to-adopt programmes that will track the entire entrepreneurial journey with measurable metrics.
Hemalatha Annamalai, Founder, Ampere Vehicles Ltd., and President TiE Coimbatore, will be the Chair for TiE Women.
The programme will culminate in an annual mega event where these women will showcase their successes and get access to funds, scholarships, accelerators and more.
Hosted by TiE Delhi-NCR, the fourth edition of TiE Global Summit witnessed power-packed conversations by eminent ecosystem stakeholders.

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November 17, 2019

Mizoram accounts for 14% of bamboo cultivation in India

With 32.07 per cent of its total geographical area under bamboo cover (estimated at 6,760.71 square km), Mizoram accounts for 14 per cent of the bamboo cultivation in India.
This was highlighted during a seminar ‘Bamboo Composite Materials for Structural Applications’ held in Aizawl. The seminar was co-organised by the Mizoram Science, Technology & Innovation Council (MISTIC), Directorate of Science and Technology and Bhopal-based Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (CSIR-AMPRI).
Mizoram is said to have 36 species of bamboo, of which 24 are indigenous and 12 have been introduced.
The dominant species Melocanna baccifera – locally referred to as ‘Mautak’ – constitutes almost 95 per cent of the state’s bamboo forests.
Bamboo forests are found mainly along the river banks and abandoned jhumland as a dominant secondary vegetation.

Dr Jiten Gohain Memorial Green Awarded to Nagaon Govt Boys’ HS School

Nagaon Govt Boys’ HS School was presented the ‘Dr Jiten Gohain Memorial Green Award’ for taking up cleanliness drive.
The award has been introduced for the first time and will be conferred to a Government-run educational institute every year to encourage for a green and healthy environment.
Noted innovator, Dr Uddhab Bharali presented the award to Dipika Laskar, Principal of Nagaon Govt Boys’ HS School. Dr Bharali.

Amit Shah launched winter grade diesel for Ladakh region

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched winter grade diesel for the entire Ladakh region. The Indian Oil Corp”s (IOC) Panipat refinery has come up with a kind of diesel that can withstand the harsh winter conditions.
The winter grade diesel produced by Panipat Refinery for the first time has a pour point of – 33 degree C and does not lose its fluidity function even in the extreme winter weather of the region, unlike the normal grade of diesel which becomes exceedingly difficult to utilize.
Amit Shah launched the supply of this special grade diesel in Ladakh via video conferencing from the national capital. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP MP from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, were present on the occasion.
The first tank truck containing winter grade HSD has been flagged off from IOC”s Panipat marketing complex.
Subsequent supplies of such diesel would be sent from the Jalandhar Terminal to the Leh and Kargil depots to meet demands of customers in the Leh-Ladakh region during peak winters.

WWF-India’s ‘Ek Prithvi’ programme

The WWF-India witnessed coming together of 700 students, principals, teachers and dignitaries at the Panda Fest organised by WWF Assam State Office at Pobitora.
WWF-India conceived the ‘Ek Prithvi’ programme in 2016 to build conservation leadership among students through experiential learning.
The programme aims to embed the approach of environment education into the schools’ education system through innovative teaching methodologies, which ultimately facilitate awareness generation, skill building and action competence in students for pro-conservation attitudes and sustainable lifestyle choices.
Over 2,400 students from eight Government schools in Morigaon district are enrolled in the ‘EK Prithvi’ programme.

November 18, 2019

Justice SA Bobde takes oath as 47^th Chief Justice of India

Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde took oath as the 47th Chief Justice of India. President Ram Nath Kovind administered him the oath of office at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Justice Bobde succeeds Justice Ranjan Gogoi. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP Veteran L K Advani were present on the occasion among others.
Justice Bobde will have a tenure of around 18 months till his retirement on April 23, 2021.
Justice Bobde was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on April 12, 2013.

FACTFILE – The chief justice of India (CJI)

CJI is the head of the judiciary of India and the Supreme Court of India. The CJI also heads their administrative functions.
As head of the Supreme Court, the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law.
As per Article 145 of the Constitution of India and the Supreme Court Rules of Procedure of 1966, the Chief Justice allocates all work to the other judges.
The Chief Justice also carries out the following functions: maintenance of the roster; appointment of court officials and general and miscellaneous matters relating to the supervision and functioning of the Supreme Court.
Once appointed, the chief justice remains in the office until the age of 65 years.
He can be removed only through a process of impeachment by Parliament.

Assam Cabinet approved Assam Bamboo and Cane Policy

Assam Cabinet also approved the Assam Bamboo and Cane Policy that aims at sustainable development and utilisation of bamboo and cane resources in the state through scientific management and stakeholders participation.
Incentives will be provided for establishment of various bamboo-based industries, processing units and development of traditional sectors like handicraft and furniture making.
Among other incentives are 50 per cent capital investment subsidy on eligible plant and machinery and internal electrical installations subject to a ceiling limit of Rs 5 crore and for startups in bamboo & cane sector a grant of up to Rs 5 lakh for innovative ideas.
The Cabinet made it compulsory for industries and factories to keep sanitary napkins for women employees. The Cabinet also approved the policy for financial autonomy to veterinary farms, pig breeding policy and goat farming policy.

Unio Govt working to set up new tech training centres

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the government was working to set up new technology training centres for quality production.
The Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and MSME said this while addressing an event to inaugurate the 39th India International Trade Fair (IITF).
The theme for the 2019 edition of IITF was revealed as “Ease of Doing Business inspired by the unique achievement of India of rising up to the 63rd rank on the World Bank”s Ease of Doing Business index from 142nd rank in 2014.”
Several countries, including Australia, Iran, the UK, Vietnam, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Egypt, Hong Kong and Indonesia are participating in the 14-day trade fair.
This year, the status of partner country has been accorded to Afghanistan, while Bihar and Jharkhand are the focus states.

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November 19, 2019

Meghalaya to ink with Korean tech firm for waste management

The Meghalaya government would be seeking the expertise of a South Korean company for solid waste management and an agreement is likely to be inked during Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s visit to Seoul.
Ambassador of South Korea to India Shin Bong-Kil said that the Meghalaya government has expressed interest in a Korean company’s expertise in solid waste management.
The Meghalaya government gave a presentation on mining highlighting the pollution caused by it over the years.
The State government sought access to Korean technology to find ways to purify the rivers and streams.
Bong-Kil was the chief guest at the closing ceremony of Cherry Blossom Festival, which was held at the Polo Grounds yesterday. South Korea was the partner country of the festival this year.

Bengaluru-based environment think-tank Ashoka Trust to receive UNESCO prize for eco-conservation

Bengaluru-based environment think-tank Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) will be awarded the 2019 UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for environmental conservation.
The award is being given in recognition of ATREE”s socially-just environment conservation and sustainable development activities in Sikkim and Darjeeling regions.
The prize also recognises its contributions towards the discovery of new species in the Western Ghats, outreach to raise awareness about India”s biodiversity and training environmental leaders.
The prize consists of $100,000, a diploma and a medal. The award ceremony will be held in Budapest, Hungary, during the upcoming World Science Forum.

FACTFILE – Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) is a research institution founded by Kamaljit S. Bawa based in Bangalore, India focusing in the areas of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
The trust works to generate rigorous interdisciplinary knowledge for achieving environmental conservation and sustainable development in a socially just manner, to enable the use of this knowledge by policy makers and society, and to train the next generation of scholars and leaders.
ATREE contributes to the conservation of diverse environments throughout India, including the Eastern Himalayas, the UNESCO Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and the Western Ghats world heritage site, Vembanad lake, Kaziranga and Manas National Parks, the grasslands of Kutch, the wetlands of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and the urban landscapes of Karnataka.

National Green Tribunal (NGT) fine Rs 10 crore penatly on UP Govt

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 crore on the Uttar Pradesh government for failing to check sewage discharge containing toxic chromium into river Ganga at Rania and Rakhi Mandi in Kanpur. Besides, the NGT has also slapped a fine of Rs 280 crore on 22 tanneries for causing pollution.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said the problem has not been tackled for the last 43 years and this has resulted in contamination of groundwater affecting the health and life of the inhabitants.
The environment compensation of Rs 280.01 crore was also assessed by the state pollution control board.
The NGT also held UPPCB liable and directed it to pay Rs 1 crore for ignoring illegal discharge of sewage and other effluent containing toxic chromium directly into Ganga.

FACTFILE – National Green Tribunal Act, 2010

National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of India which enables creation of a special tribunal to handle the expeditious disposal of the cases pertaining to environmental issues.
It draws inspiration from the India’s constitutional provision of Article 48A which assures the citizens of India the right to a healthy environment.
On 18 October 2010, Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta became its first Chairman. Retired justice Adarsh Kumar Goel is the incumbent chairman of national green tribunal.
The Principal Bench of the NGT is in New Delhi and has regional benches in Pune (West), Bhopal (Central), Chennai (South) and Kolkata (East).

India and Singapore exchanges Letter of Intent in defence sector

India and Singapore exchanged a Letter of Intent (LoI) for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) whereby the latter’s defence establishment could use the Chandipur Integrated Test Range in Odisha.
The exchange of the Letter of Intent took place in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a two-day trip to the Southeast Asian nation, and his Singaporean counterpart Dr Ng Eng.
The Integrated Test Range, a missile testing facility of the Defence Research & Development Organisation, is located on Dr Abdul Kalam Island, formerly known as Wheeler Island, off the eastern coast of India in the Bay of Bengal.
Singh co-chaired the 4th Singapore-India Defence Ministers Dialogue. Singh also offered setting up of Joint Test Facilities under the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme of India following which Dr Ng agreed to explore opportunities for a joint collaboration.
The Ministers also agreed to explore cooperation in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Geo-Spatial Data Sharing and Cyber Security.
It was also agreed to hold the 5th Defence Ministers Dialogue in India next year on mutually convenient dates.

November 20, 2019

Arunachal Pradesh gets ‘Best Emerging Green Tourist Destination Award’

Arunachal Pradesh has been awarded the ‘Best Emerging Green Tourist Destination Award’ by Travel & Leisure magazine.
Arunachal Pradesh is one of the last ‘Truly Unexplored’ destinations in the world which offers an awe-inspiring experience to the discerning tourist.
The award is a boost to the efforts of the Tourism department in bringing Arunachal Pradesh prosperity through sustainable tourism.
The awards were given to Tourism departments and stakeholders in recognition of their efforts towards promoting green tourism.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met Deputy PM of Singapore

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Heng Swee Keat. Singh is on a two-day visit to Singapore to co-chair the 4th India-Singapore Defence Ministers” Dialogue.
The Defence Minister referred to India’s stand on the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific region and stressed that the Indo-Pacific for India meant an open, inclusive and stable region, connected through secure seas, integrated by trade and anchored by the unity and centrality of Asean.
He said India’s stand on implementation of international laws and norms, freedom of navigation, unimpeded lawful commerce and peaceful settlement of disputes was the only way to ensure a rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.
Singh conveyed to Keat that India”s vision of a comprehensive agenda of regional cooperation was rooted in ”SAGAR”, that”s ”Security and Growth for All in the Region”.
During the meeting, they also agreed upon furthering bilateral defence cooperation.
Singh also took a sortie in the Super Puma Helicopter of the Singapore Air Force at the Sembawang Air Base and visited Singapore naval ship RSS Stalwart.
He paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at his Marker in Singapore and also to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Indian National Army martyrs at their memorial.

Facebook partners with WCD Ministry to boost digital literacy

In a bid to make social networking secure and safe for women and children, Facebook made partnership with the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) at Facebook”s “South Asia Safety Summit”.
Formation of an ideal “Internet Consortium” to propose recommendations for online child safety and launch of ”We Think Digital”, the company”s global digital literacy programme.
The summit was joined by over 100 organisations from Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and India.
Facebook is set to launch another campaign called “Thumbstoppers” next year, which will be a series of short creative mobile videos under 10 seconds from India”s advertising community, focusing on empowering and educating people on issues like gender equality, domestic violence and education for the girl child.
Facebook said it is committed to support economic growth and social good in India and is working with partners to train more than five million people by 2021.

ISRO to launch Cartosat-3, 13 commercial nano satellites

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C47 will launch Cartosat-3 and 13 commercial nanosatellites into Sun Synchronous orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.
PSLV-C47 is the 21st flight of PSLV in ‘XL’ configuration, that is with 6 solid strap-on motors.
This will be the 74th launch vehicle mission from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.
Cartosat-3 satellite is a third-generation agile advanced satellite having high-resolution imaging capability.
PSLV-C47 will also carry 13 commercial nanosatellites from the United States of America as part of commercial arrangement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), Department of Space.

FACTFILE – Cartosat-3 satellite

Cartosat-3 is an advanced Indian Earth Observation satellite built and developed by ISRO, which will replace the IRS series.
It has a panchromatic resolution of 0.25 metres making it the imaging satellite with highest resolution in the world and Mx of 1 metre with a high quality resolution which is a major improvement from the previous payloads in the Cartosat series.
Potential uses include weather mapping, cartography or army defence, and strategic applications
ISRO launched additional satellites in the Cartosat-2 series through 2016, 2017 and 2018.

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November 21, 2019

Assam State Cabinet approved the Assam Excise (Amendment) Bill 2019

The State Cabinet approved the Assam Excise (Amendment) Bill 2019 that seeks to bring molasses in the list of excisable items.
The Bill seeks to amend section 2(h) and section 84(2)(d) of the Assam Excise Act, 2000 such that the list of excisable articles will be expanded to include molasses as an excisable item.
It also seeks to regulate import, export, transport or possession of molasses. A new section will be inserted to define the term molasses for the purpose of the Assam Excise Act.
The amendments in the Excise Act will facilitate the introduction of necessary rules to control and regulate the production, storage, distribution, possession and sale of molasses in the State to deal effectively with the challenges posed by the rampant production, trade and consumption of the spurious liquor.

India, Uzbekistan sign security cooperation agreement

India and the central Asian country of Uzbekistan inked an agreement on security cooperation including in the field of counter-terrorism, organized crime and human trafficking.
The agreement was signed during a meeting between a delegation from Uzbekistan, led by Minister of Internal Affairs, Pulat Bobojonov, with an Indian delegation, led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
The two sides discussed areas of mutual interest, including counter-terrorism cooperation and training for Uzbek security personnel in Indian institutions, capacity building, border guarding and disaster management.
The Agreement on Security Cooperation, signed by the two ministers, will further strengthen cooperation between India-Uzbekistan in the diverse fields including counter-terrorism, organized crime and human trafficking.
The Indian delegation included Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai along with other senior officers from the Ministry.

LS passes Bill for transparency in Chit Fund schemes

The Lok Sabha passed a Bill that aims at putting in place a mechanism to ensure transparency in chit fund schemes, protect subscribers and regulate the industry.
To facilitate orderly growth of the chit fund sector, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur said through the Chit Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2019 the government was making changes in the rules for starting a chit fund.
The Minister had moved the Bill, which seeks to amend the Chit Funds Act, 1982.
With the amendments, the prescribed ceiling of aggregate chit fund amount for individuals would be raised to Rs 3 lakh from Rs 1 lakh, and Rs 18 lakh from Rs 6 lakh for firms.
Besides, words ”gross chit amount”, ”share of discount” and ”net chit amount” would be substituted with ”chit amount”, ”dividend” and ”prize amount”, respectively.
The amended Act would confer powers upon the state governments to specify the amount up to which any chit fund shall be exempted under the Act.

India successfully test-fires nuke-capable Prithvi-II

India successfully testfired its indigenously developed nuclear capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-2 missile as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range off Odisha coast.
The trial of the missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the ITR.
The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activity was carried out by Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the Army and monitored by scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of the training exercise.

FACTFILE – Prithvi-II missile

Prithvi-2 is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kg of warheads and is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines.
The state-of-the-art missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with maneuvering trajectory to hit its target.
Inducted into the armory of Indian defence forces in 2003, nine-metre tall ‘Prithvi’ was the first missile to have been developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds bilateral meets on ADMM-Plus

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand in Bangkok where they have come to attend the 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers” Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). He reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral defence relations with his various counterparts and discussed ways to further improve the ties.
Rajnath Singh and US Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper expressed satisfaction over the increasing defence engagements between the two countries. The two will be meeting again for the 2+2 meeting in Washington DC later next month.
He had a detailed discussion on adding further momentum to India-Japan defence cooperation with Japanese counterpart Taro Konowas.
He also met his counterparts from Australia – Linda Reynolds – and New Zealand – Ron Mark – and discussed ongoing defence cooperation and potential areas for enhanced engagement.

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May 15, 2020

Assam likely to shift academic year to April-March

ELISA kits produced by ZydusCadila has 98% sensitivity

India’s Infant Mortality at 32 per 1,000 live births

Govt announces Rs 5,000 crore Special Credit facility for street vendors

Union Govt allocates Rs 40,000 crore more for MGNREGS

NDMA developed National Migrant Info System (NIMS), a central database for migrant workers

One nation, one ration card for migrants

May 16, 2020

Assam incurring Rs 1,000 crore loss daily

Meghalaya Cabinet nod to agricultural reforms

COVID-19 could cost global economy $8.8 trillion, says ADB report

Rs 3,500 crore allocated for free food grain supply to migrants for 2 months

Union Govt announces structural reforms for the ‘self-reliant India’ programme

Centre to take up affordable rental housing for migrants, urban poor

States allowed to use disaster funds for migrants’ shelter, food

May 17, 2020

Assam CM Sonowal asks agri-scientists to evolve triple cropping system

TRIFED & Art of Living Foundation collaboration to provide free ration kits to needy tribes India artisans

Madhya Pradesh launches country’s first ever ‘FIR AapkeDwar’ Yojana

Central Govt allows direct listing by Indian companies abroad

FDI limit for defence manufacturing to be raised to 74%

May 18, 2020

Digendra Nath Barua, North-East’s first chemical engineer passes away

Govt to launch ‘PM eVIDYA’ for access to digital education

Union Govt launches ‘Mission Sagar’ for assistance to Indian Ocean nations

IIT-Madras startup developing wearable tracker

FM Nirmala Sitharaman providesbreak-up of Economic package of Rs 20,97,053crore

May 19, 2020

Assam to get Rs 300 crore from World Bank to deal with Covid-19

Governor’s rule in Tripura autonomous tribal body

Indian Navy’s breathable PPE kit ‘NavRakshak’

Union Govt decriminalises minor violations under Companies Act

May 20, 2020

17,000 stranded people reach North-East by 13 special trains

India’s Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to be the chairman of the WHO’s Executive Board

India to miss global nutrition targets by 2025

WWF India to host First digital Model Conference of Parties

DoPT exempts pregnant women employees from attending office

May 21, 2020

India up at 74th place on WEF’s global Energy Transition Index

IIT Guwahati finds new ways to prevent memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease

US student builds website to track COVID-19 in India

Centre releases Rs 46000 crore from tax pool for states

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