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Assam Current Affairs –November 08 – 14, 2019

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

Current Affairs Assam – November 8 - 14, 2019

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

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November 08, 2019

Assam State Child Scientist Award for class VIII student Raj Sharma

A project on an alternative source of fibre, developed from the snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata) by Hiranya Raj Sharma, a class VIII student of Dhekiajuli town of Sonitpur district, was awarded the Khagendra Nath Brahma State Child Scientist Award in the lower age group at the 27^th State-level National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) 2019.
Hiranya Raj, a student of Polestar Academy of Singri area in Dhekiajuli town conducted research under the guidance of an assistant teacher of Dhekiajuli High School, Sailendra Sharma to understand that the plant which is locally popular as ‘khoru gumoni gos’ has enough utility.
The snake plant is a wild evergreen perennial plant locally available and spreads by way of its creeping rhizomes. It is a common weed of the roadsides, abandoned gardens and waste areas. Its leaves are thick and the mature leaves are dark green in colour, usually ranging from 60-160 centimetres in length and 6-10 centimetres in width.
The student undertook the project to study the snake plant and to explore its potential to be used as a substitute/supplement to the conventional fibres and also to protect and preserve the traditional knowledge and to scientifically test these ideas.
The lack of proper knowledge on possible benefits from the snake plant, has led to a situation where it is uprooted from fields.
A survey was conducted about the plant among the farmers where it was found that nearly 97.64 % had no knowledge about its usefulness. But if awareness is created, the snake plant could be used for producing an eco-friendly fibre from which goods of daily use can be made.

Highlights of the India Justice Report 2019

Tata Trusts in collaboration with the Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has prepared the India Justice Report (2019).
This is the first-ever ranking of Indian states on justice delivery.
The India Justice Report 2019 is based on publicly available data of different government entities on the four pillars of justice delivery — police, judiciary, prisons, and legal aid.
The report has divided states on the basis of the population into two parts: (1) The large-medium states (Population 1 crore and above) and (2) The small states and Union Territories (Population less than 1 crore)
Maharashtra has topped the list among large-medium States in delivering justice to people followed by Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Haryana. In this category, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are at the bottom.
Among the small states (where the population is less than one crore each), Goa has topped the list followed by Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh.
On average, the police have a vacancy of 23% (2017), and the judiciary between 20%-40% across the high courts and lower judiciary.
No State/ UT is able to meet all its diversity quotas (ST, SC, and OBC). Karnataka comes closest to achieve diversity quotas (missed its SC reservation target by 4%).
Women are poorly represented across the Justice system. They account for 7% of the Police, 10 % of Prison staff and about 26.5 % of all judges in the High Court and subordinate courts.

India expresses commitment to fully implement FATF standards

India expressed its commitment to fully implement the standards of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and establish Anti-Money Laundering as well as Countering Financing of Terrorism regimes to dismantle the terror financing networks.
Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy Presenting India”s concern over terror financing issues on the second day of the second ”No Money For Terror” conference being attended by 65 countries.
FATF is an inter-governmental “policy-making body” which works to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
The FATF has developed a series of recommendations that are recognised as the international standard for combating of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The FATF recommendations form the basis for a co-ordinated response to these threats to the integrity of the financial system and help ensure a level playing field.
A First issued in 1990, the FATF recommendations were revised in 1996, 2001, 2003 and most recently in 2012 to ensure that they remain up to date and relevant, and they are intended to be of universal application.

FACTFILE – The Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering) (FATF)

The Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering) (FATF) is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.
In 2001 its mandate expanded to include terrorism financing. It monitors progress in implementing the FATF Recommendations through “peer reviews” of member countries.
The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
Since 2000, to fight money laundering and terror financing the FATF maintains the current list of nations: FATF blacklist (formally called the “Call for action”) and the “FATF greylist”.
As of 2019 FATF consists of thirty-seven member jurisdictions and two regional organisations.
Regional organizations: European Commission & Gulf Cooperation Council
Member Nations:

1. Argentina
2. Australia
3. Austria
4. Belgium
5. Brazil
6. Canada
7. China
8. Denmark
9. Finland
10. France
11. Germany
12. Greece
13. Hong Kong, China
14. Iceland
15. India
16. Ireland
17. Israel
18. Italy
19. Japan
20. South Korea
21. Kingdom of the Netherlands
22. Luxembourg
23. Malaysia
24. Mexico
25. New Zealand
26. Norway
27. Portugal
28. Russian Federation
29. Saudi Arabia[25]
30. Singapore
31. South Africa
32. Spain
33. Sweden
34. Switzerland
35. Turkey
36. United Kingdom
37. United States

November 09, 2019

Akil Kureshi appointed as Chief Justice of Tripura High Court

Centre has appointed Justice Akil Kureshi, the judge of Bombay High Court, as the Chief Justice of Tripura High Court.
The Centre’s counsel had told the Supreme Court that nearly all administrative formalities in connection with the appointment had been completed, except the last signature.
A senior judge from the Gujarat High Court, Justice Akil Kureshi is serving as a judge of the Bombay High Court at present following a transfer.

FACTFILE – Tripura High Court

The Tripura High Court is the High Court of the state of Tripura, established on 23 March 2013, after making suitable amendments in the Constitution of India and North-Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act, 1971.
The seat of the High Court is at Agartala, the capital of Tripura. The first Chief Justice is Justice Deepak Gupta.
Earlier, the state of Tripura along with the other six states of the North – East of India was under the Gauhati High Court, a permanent bench of the Gauhati High Court was established in Agartala in the year 1992 having territorial jurisdiction of the state of Tripura.

India-Indonesia joint naval exercise Samudra Shakti

Anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kamorta is jointly exercising with Indonesian warship KRI Usman Harun, a multi-role corvette, in the Bay of Bengal as part of an ongoing bilateral exercise ’Samudra Shakti’.
The joint exercises include, manoeuvres, surface warfare exercises, air defence exercises, weapon firing drills, helicopter operations and boarding operations..
KRI Usman Harun arrived at Visakhapatnam to participate in the second edition of Ex ‘’Samudra Shakti’’.
The harbour phase concluded with professional interactions in the form of subject matter expert exchanges (SMEE), cross deck visits, simulator drills, planning conferences, sports fixtures and social interactions.

FACTFILE – Samudra Shakti Exercise

Samudra Shakti is a bilateral maritime exercise between India and Indonesia.
IT’s objective is to strengthen bilateral relations, expand maritime co-operation, enhance interoperability and exchange best practices between the Navies of India and Indonesia.
Garuda Shakti is the joint military exercise between India and Indonesia.

India, UAE discuss boosting trade & investment ties

Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan held talks with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh on further enhancing the countries” trade, investment and tourism ties.
Muraleedharan is in Abu Dhabi to attend the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) ministerial meeting.
The UAE takes over from South Africa as IORA Chairman for a two year period to 2021.
The theme of the meeting is “Promoting a Shared Destiny and Path to Prosperity in the Indian Ocean”.
Founded in 1997, the Association, whose headquarters are in Mauritius, is an inter-governmental organisation with 22 member states as well as nine dialogue partners.
These partners are countries situated outside the region but who have interests within it. It seeks to promote sustained growth and balanced development within the Indian Ocean region.

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November 10, 2019

World Bank’s $110 million deal for river transport in Assam

A loan negotiation for an amount of $110 million was successfully concluded for the Assam Inland Water Transport Project (AIWTP) to be executed by the Government of Assam and the World Bank.
The negotiation was carried out in the presence of the Director, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India at the Country Head office of World Bank in New Delhi.
The Indian delegation on behalf of the Government of Assam was represented by Virendra Mittal, State Project Director, AIWTDS; Dhrubajyoti Das, Additional Secretary, Transport Department and Director, IWT, Assam, and Rahul Chandra Das, Deputy State Project Director, AIWTDS.
The team representing the Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance was led by Bandana Preyashi, Director, DEA. The World Bank team was led by Atul Agarwal, Team Leader, World Bank.
The objective of the project is to develop an efficient river transport system which would be safe, secure and comfortable for the large volume of passengers and cargo carried by vessels.

India, France begin counterterrorism Exercise ‘Shakti 2019’

Shakti 2019, a 14-day joint military exercise involving India and France, started at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Bikaner. The joint exercise will facilitate both armies to know each other better, share their operational experience and enhance awareness through information exchange.
This will help them in undertaking joint operations at platoon level for countering terrorist threats under the mandate of the United Nations.
The ceremony saw the unfurling of the national flags of both countries amidst playing of their respective national anthems.
The ceremony also witnessed synchronised marching of troops to martial tunes.
This was followed by evocative speeches by the Reviewing Officers of both countries.

New Zealand passes zero carbon bill to combat climate change

New Zealand passed a bill to reduce its carbon emissions to zero by 2050 and meet its commitments under the Paris climate accord.
The law commits New Zealand to keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as stipulated by the Paris Agreement and marks an important step in the fight against the climate emergency looming over the world according to more than 11,000 scientists worldwide.
The zero emissions target excludes methane emissions but the law pledges to reduce them gradually.
The law includes the establishment of a green investment fund worth NZ$100 million ($64 million), a carbon trading scheme and inclusion of agriculture in emissions pricing by 2025, and the plantation of one billion trees by 2028.
The law also stipulates suspending the release of new permits for hydrocarbon explorations at sea and supports the production of cheaper electric vehicles apart from setting a goal of 100 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2035.
The legislation aims to cut biological methane emissions from agriculture by 10 per cent until 2030, and targets 24-47 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050.

November 11, 2019

Brahmaputra Valley Samaj Hitoishi Award to DN Chakravarty

The Dayal Krishna Bora memorial Brahmaputra Valley Samaj Hitoishi Award-2019, under the auspices of Sahai, a socio-cultural organisation, was formally conferred on veteran journalist Dhirendra Nath.
The Finance and PWD Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma formally handed over the award to the 93-year-old journalist.
DN chakravarty always advocated for the unity and integrity of Bharat and its Sanatani civilisation. Vaishnavite scholar Dayal Krishna Bora was a worthy son of Morigaon district, who sacrificed his whole life for the cause of the society.
Speaking on the occasion, DN Chakravarty said that he is still writing for the society and is a senior working journalist of entire Asia by now. Presenting the socio-economic history of Assam and India, Chakravarty said that we have a golden history right from Mahabharat days and we must uphold the century-old historical tradition.

Sanjay Karol is the new Chief Justice of Patna High Court

Justice Sanjay Karol took oath as the new Chief Justice of Patna High Court. He was sworn-in by Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan at a ceremony organised at the Raj Bhawan.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, senior judges and other dignitaries.
Justice Karol was the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court. His predessor at the Patna High Court has been transferred to the Madras High Court.

FACTFILE – Patna High Court

The Patna High Court is the High Court of the state of Bihar.
It was established on 3 February 1916 and later affiliated under the Government of India Act 1915. The court is headquartered in Patna, the administrative capital of the state.
In 1948, Patna High Court exercised jurisdiction over the territories of the Province of Bihar & Orissa till 26 July 1948, when a separate High Court was constituted for Orissa.
In 1972, Patna High Court opened a Circuit Bench at Ranchi and in 1976, the Circuit Bench of Patna High Court at Ranchi became Permanent Bench and in 2000 it became Jharkhand High Court on November 2000, under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000.
Patna High Court celebrated Centenary Celebrations in 2015.

Environment Ministry nod to Indian Oil Corporation’s Panipat ethanol plant

The Union Environment Ministry has given its clearance to Indian Oil Corporation for setting up a 2G ethanol plant in Panipat.
The ethanol project at the Panipat refinery is being set up a cost of Rs 909 crore.
The benefit of the plant is that blending of ethanol with motor spirit leads to reduction of import of crude oil with corresponding savings in foreign exchange.
This project envisages production of 100 kl ethanol a day from multi-feedstock lignocelluloses using indigenous technology.

CJI office falls within ambit of RTI Act, says SC

Observing that judicial independence and accountability go hand in hand, the Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is a public authority and falls within the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Pronouncing a landmark verdict, the apex court at the same time said transparency cannot be allowed to run to its absolute and that RTI Act should not be used as a surveillance tool. It also observed there should be a balance between right to privacy and right to information and they have to be treated as “co-equals”
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi unanimously upheld the 2010 Delhi High Court judgement and dismissed three appeals filed by Secretary General of the Supreme Court and the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the top court.
The high court on January 10, 2010 held that the CJI office comes within the ambit of the RTI law, saying judicial independence was not a judge’s privilege, but a responsibility cast upon him.
Hailing the apex court verdict, RTI activists said “no one is above the law” and it is a great step towards transparency and building the trust of people in the justice system.

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November 12, 2019

Assam signs pact with Malaysia trade body

The Industries and Commerce Department, Assam, signed an MoU with Malaysia India Business Council (MIBC) in the presence of Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary and MIBC president Tan Sri Ir Kuna Sittampalam.
Both the parties agreed to explore and improve two-way trade and investment between India and Malaysia in sectors like education, tourism, primary industries, etc.
Assistance will be accorded to business or trade missions from India visiting Malaysia and vice versa in seminars, conferences, exhibitions, economic and technical fairs, information bureau, symposia, or similar events taking place in both the countries.
It was also decided to accelerate engagement, trade and cultural exchange to unlock the potential sectors between Assam and Malaysia.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hands over Rs 3 crore to two defence start-ups

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh handed over Rs 3 crore to two start-ups in the defence sector, to help them build upon their innovative ideas, during the inaugural session of DefConnect 2019, an initiative to showcase innovations in defence excellence.
The start-up firms, North Street Cooling Towers and Chipspirit Technologies were handed over cheques of around Rs 1.5 crore each by Singh.
The initiative Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) had been launched by the central government in April 2018 to create an ecosystem that will foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace.
Under the initiative, the government is also committed to provide grants, funding and other support to carry out research and development that has the potential to cater to the needs of the Indian defence sector.
More than 350 start-ups selected by the iDEX, partner incubators, Defence Innovation Organization (DIO), nodal agencies including the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, apart from DRDO, Defence PSUs and Ordnance Factories were part of DefConnect 2019.

Environment Ministry’s launches beach cleanliness drive

The Environment Ministry is launching a mass cleanliness drive at 50 beaches under the “Swachh – Nirmal Tat Abhiyaan”.
The government”s effort is to clean up the beaches and create awareness among citizens about the importance of coastal ecosystems.
Will clean the beaches in 10 coastal states/Union Territories (UTs), namely Gujarat, Daman & Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
The beaches have been identified after consultations with the states/UTs.
The cleaning drive will involve school/college students who are part of eco-clubs, district administration, institutions, volunteers, local communities and other stakeholders.
State nodal agencies for the eco-clubs will be facilitating the week long cleanliness drive.
The beach cleaning drive will be of two hours” duration daily, and a minimum of a one kilometre stretch of the beach will be identified.
Sand cleaning machines will be deployed at about 15 beaches. The collected waste will be processed as per Waste Management Rules, 2016.
The Environment Education Division of the Ministry and the Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) will be responsible for the overall coordination for the drive.

Himachal Pradesh Govt & Dutch companies sign 14 MoUs

The Himachal Pradesh government and Dutch companies have signed 14 memorandum of understanding of Rs 200 crore.
The pacts mainly in agriculture, horticulture, sports, water management, waste to energy and ecotourism were signed at Global Investment Summit held in Dharamsala.
The Netherlands had the largest overseas delegation led by Vikas Chaturvedi, CEO of Valucent Group and founder Chairman of ASSOCHAM Europe.

Samsung Innovation Award at IIT Indore

Samsung India conducted the 9th edition of the ”Samsung Innovation Award” at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indore to recognise and reward innovations that have the potential to revolutionise everyday living.
This year, the theme was ”Systems that learn” and students were encouraged to think creatively and propose practical ideas around multi-modal sensing, applications of learning systems, VR, XR, 3D imaging, distributed AI and more.
Prizes worth Rs 3.5 lakhs were awarded to the top three winners, while the other three finalists received award of merit from Samsung.
The first prize went to Ram S. Mohril for the project ”AR/VR Enhanced Textbook reading and learning experience”.
The second Prize was grabbed by Chaitanya Mehta forhis project ”Tree Climbing Quadraped Robot”.
The third prize was awarded to Nemath Ahmed, Suraj Polamaina and Shavez Malick for their project ”Immersive Acoustic Spatial Awareness for Visually Impaired”.

November 13, 2019

Union Govt approves Assam Police’s intelligence sharing project

The Centre has approved Assam Police’s plan to create a seamless intelligence sharing online platform among the police forces of all the eight northeastern states that might prove to be a game changer in destabilising the inter-state criminal network.
Equipped with geo-tagging, the project, is one of its kind in the country where, for the first time, police forces of eight states would share inputs and facilitate each other’s investigation on request, under an organised technological set-up.
The application-based platform would encompass police officers from the rank of the officer-in-charge of a police station to the entire chain of top hierarchy of the respective state police of the region.
The much-awaited project envisages creating a proactive network among the neighbouring states when it comes to handling organised crimes with cross-border ramification, including abduction, smuggling of precious items and vehicle theft, among others. There are also plans to share database of criminals among the state police forces.

Justice Rafiq took charge as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court

Justice Mohammed Rafiq sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court Governor Tathagata Roy administer the oath of office and secrecy to him at Raj Bhavan.
Rafiq, 59, succeeds Ajay Kumar Mittal who is now the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
He will be the 8^th Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court.
Rafiq started his law practice in 1984. He practiced exclusively in the Rajasthan High Court in almost all branches of law. He served as an advocate from 1999 to 2006.
In 2008, he was appointed as Justice at the Rajasthan High Court. Rafiq also served as acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court twice.

FACTFILE – Meghalaya High Court

The Meghalaya High Court is the High Court of the state of Meghalaya.
It was established in March 2013, after making suitable amendments in the Constitution of India and North-Eastern Areas (Re-organisation) Act of 1971. Earlier, a bench of the Gauhati High Court had jurisdiction over the state of Meghalaya.
The seat of the High Court is at Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya.
The strength of judges as for this High Court is 3 permanent judges including the Hon’ble Chief Justice and 2 Hon’ble Judges.

India has successfully conducted the night trial of Agni-II

India has successfully conducted the night trial of Agni-II, its versatile surface-to-surface medium-range nuclear-capable missile from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.
Agni-II, an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), has already been inducted into the armed forces.
This was the first time that the sophisticated missile was testfired at night.
The entire trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and two naval ships located near the impact point in the down-range area of Bay of Bengal.
The test was carried out by the specially formed Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Army with logistic support from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The two-stage ballistic missile can carry a payload of 1000 kg over a distance of 2000 km.

India, US tri-services exercise ‘Tiger Triumph’

A nine-day tri-services exercise between India and the US on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief will began with the aim of strengthening the bilateral relationship and defence cooperation.
In the exercise, named Tiger Triumph, Indian Naval ships Jalashwa, Airavat and Sandhayak, Indian Army troops from 19 Madras and 7 Guards, and Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopters and Rapid Action Medical Team would be participating.
The US would be represented by US Navy Ship Germantown with troops from US third marine division. The exercise is aimed at developing inter-operability for conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
The Harbour Phase is scheduled at Visakhapatnam. The opening ceremony along with a joint flag parade would be held onboard INS Jalashwa.
Personnel from both the navies would also participate in training visits, subject matter expert exchanges, sports events and social interactions.
On completion of the Harbour Phase, the ships, with troops embarked, would sail for the sea phase and undertake maritime, amphibious and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
On reaching the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief area at Kakinada, the landing of relief forces would be undertaken to the exercise scenario.

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November 14, 2019

IIT Guwahati researchers develop sensor to assess milk freshness

The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G) said its researchers have developed a paper-based sensor that can make assessment of the freshness of milk by a simple method and instantaneous.
Bacteria and other microbes that can grow in milk can not only affect the taste and freshness, but can also result in health issues.
Pasteurisation is commonly used to kill the microbes in milk and various tests are used to ensure the effectiveness of pasteurisation.
Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) is a metalloprotein found naturally in raw milk samples and is considered an important biomarker in quality control of milk. It is found in raw milk and is destroyed during pasteurisation.
Detection of ALP in milk can thus point to inadequate pasteurisation and perhaps contamination.
The researchers have used simple filter paper, chemically modified it, and loaded it with a recognition element anti-ALP, which captures the ALP present in the milk.
Upon treatment of the colour forming compound BCIP to the captured complex of ALP forms a blue-green coloured precipitate, that otherwise does not gives any colour in the absence of ALP.
The intensity of the colour indicates the amount of ALP present. The team used a smartphone to capture the image of the colour and used the RGB (Red Green Blue) filter in the phone to profile the colour obtained, which could be co-related to the concentration of ALP present in the test sample.
The researchers successfully tested milk obtained from villages and commercially available milk samples using their paper-based sensor kit, and found that they could detect down to 0.87 units of ALP per millilitre of milk to about 91-100 per cent accuracy.
This detection limit and accuracy make it possible to discriminate raw milk (often contains as high as 191U/mL ALP) from boiled milk which contains ALP in ultra-trace amount.

Indo-France joint military ‘Exercise Shakti-2019’

The closing ceremony of the joint military exercise between Indian and French Army, ”Exercise SHAKTI-2019” concluded at Mahajan Field Firing Range, Rajasthan.
The ceremony was reviewed by Brigadier General Jean Christophe Bechon, Commandant 6th Light Armoured Brigade, French Army and Major General Inderjit Singh, General Officer Commanding, Gandiv Division of Sapta Shakti Command.
An infantry platoon group of The Sikh Regiment part of Sapta Shakti Command and a platoon group of the 21st Marine Infantry Regiment, part of 6th Armoured Brigade, represented India and France respectively in the exercise.
Exercise SHAKTI-2019 was a two-phased exercise. In the inter-operability phase, the contingents underwent rigorous combat conditioning and tactical training.
The training received by both the armies in inter-operability phase was put into practice in the validation phase.
The contingents jointly took part in the validation exercise which included establishment of observation posts, cordon and search operation and house clearing drills.

Defence Exercises between India and France:

Varuna – Naval exercise
Garuda – Air exercise
Shakti – Army exercise

Punjab signs pact for promotion of products of MSMEs

A memorandum of understanding was signed by state-run Invest Punjab with startup Pumpkart for e-commerce promotion and selling of products of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) Managing Director Sibin C. signed the pact on behalf of the state government with Pumpkart Co-Founder and CEO K.S. Bhatia.
Additional Chief Secretary (Investment Promotions and Industry and Commerce) Vini Mahajan said the government is committed to promote the MSMEs at a time when there is economic recession in the country.
She also said industry in the state attracted more than 50,000 crore investments and these are under implementation stage.
Keeping in line with the Make in India programme, state govt have formulated the Make in Punjab policy.

Nilam Sawhney appointed as Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh

Senior IAS officer Nilam Sawhney was appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, order was issued by the General Administration Department appointing Sawhney, a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, to the top post.
Sawhney is the first woman chief secretary of the truncated state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved repatriation of Sawhney, who was serving as Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment.

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Assam Current Affairs –November 01 – 07, 2019

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

Current Affairs Assam – November 1 - 7, 2019

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

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November 01, 2019

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to inaugurate NE Book Fair at Guwahati

Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate the 21^st North East Book Fair, 2019, organised by the All Assam Publishers and Book Sellers Association at the AEI Field in Guwahati.
The book fair, scheduled from November 1 to November 12, has this year attracted a total of 75 publishers and book sellers from all over the country, besides one publishing house from Bangladesh.
More than 150 Assamese books will be released during the fair that will also see a series of cultural and literary activities.
The book fair has been dedicated in the memory of eminent educationist Tabu Ram Taid, who passes in August this year. The main stage of the book fair is dedicated in the memory of social worker GL Agarwala and artist Benu Misra.
The cultural programmes of the book fair have been dedicated in the memory of Vaishnavite scholar Purnabrata Deva Goswami, Natya Samrat Chandra Choudhury and freedom fighter Ramesh Chandra Sarma. The main auditorium of the fair is dedicated in the memory of eminent anthropologist Annada Charan Bhagabati. The sabhaghar of the book fair has been dedicated in the memory of Prof Dilip Kumar Dutta.
Remembering litterateur Purabi Bormudoi, a special women’s day will be observed during the book fair. Similarly, a senior citizens day in the memory of folk scholar and linguist Pramod Chandra Bhattacharya and a children’s day remembering writer Manik Bora.

BIOGRAPHY – Tabu Ram Taid

Tabu Ram Taid was an Indian educationist, linguist, author and administrator.
Hailing from the Mising community, a small indigenous tribe of Assam, India, and from an economically challenged and geographically remote village ‘Ghunasuti Ayengia’, tackling various challenges and obstacles, eventually earned a Post Graduate degree from Delhi University, which was quite uncommon in his community at that time.
Starting his career as a lecturer of English language in Cotton College, Guwahati, he further proceeded to obtain a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics from the University of Reading, UK, and also successfully completed a course in Distance Teaching at University of London Institute of Education, UK.
He served in various senior level posts in various educational arms of the Government of Assam.
He was the founder President of the Mising Agom Kebang (Linguistic Society of the Mising, also known as Mising Sahitya Sabha), the apex body of the Mising community aiming for the preservation and development of the Mising language.
His body of work includes the ‘Mising Gompir Kumsung’ a dictionary of the Mising language with an introduction to Mising grammar), ‘EkuNki nibondho’, a collection of selected articles written in Assamese, ‘Glimpses’, a collection of articles written in English, research work on the Mising and Assamese language, editorial work on traditional Mising literary artifacts like folk songs, along with lexicographical works like dictionary, grammar and phonology of the Mising language.
His work on his mother tongue, Mising, is his invaluable contribution to the Mising community and also to the Assamese people and culture at large.

Punjab CM launches job helpline under ‘Ghar Ghar Rozgar’ programme

In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, the Punjab government launched a job helpline for job-seekers. As part of the state government’s flagship ‘Ghar Ghar Rozgar’ programme, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said it would help connect job-seekers and job providers and open up job opportunities for thousands.
The helpline aims to reach every household in Punjab and is designed to call 75,000 mobile and landline numbers a day through a 110-seat back-end call centre.
The Chief Minister asked the Secretary of the Employment Generation and Training Department, which has come up with the initiative, to popularise it to enable youth, especially in the rural areas, to get the maximum benefit from the helpline.
Singh also asked the department to intensify its efforts to provide job opportunities to youth to tap their massive latent potential.
He stressed synergy among the Department of Employment Generation and Training, the Technical Education and the industries to create job opportunities for youth.

Pavan Kapoor appointed as Ambassador to UAE

Pavan Kapoor, a 1990 batch Indian Foreign Service officer took charge as the new Ambassador to UAE. Ambassador Kapoor replaced Navdeep Singh Suri, who retired last month.
During his diplomatic career Pavan Kapoor has served in different capacities at the Indian Missions in Moscow, Kyiv, London and Geneva.
Mr Kapoor served as the Ambassador to Israel.
He has also served in the Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi.
Pavan Kapoor was India’s High Commissioner to Mozambique and the Kingdom of Swaziland from January 2014 to February 2016.
He has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and also holds a Masters in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.

Odisha govt signs MoU with J-PAL South Asia

The Odisha government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) South Asia to engage in a strategic evidence-based approach to policy making.
The partnership targets to maximise the impact of anti-poverty programmes of the state across a wide range of sectors.
J-PAL is co-founded by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, joint winners of 2019 Nobel Prize in economics for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.
Under this partnership, J-PAL South Asia will provide the Odisha government technical assistance for scaling up evidence backed programmes to improve development outcomes across the state.
This partnership aims at bringing transformation in the lives of people through research based intervention in policy formulation.
The partnership also establishes an overarching collaboration between J-PAL South Asia and the state government under which J-PAL will work with several departments to conduct policy-relevant randomised evaluations of new anti-poverty and development programmes.
Additionally, a diagnostic exercise and subsequent workshops will be conducted to build state capacity in the area of monitoring and evaluation.
The MoU was signed by Odisha Development Commissioner Suresh Mahapatra and Executive Director of J-PAL South Asia Shobhini Mukerji in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
J-PAL and the state government will conduct an annual policy dialogue to identify the government”s top policy priorities, conduct discussions to share evidence, and jointly come up with innovative solutions that can be field-tested through rigorous randomised evaluations.
Topics for the policy dialogues include malnutrition, women”s empowerment, distress migration, health-worker performance, and improving agricultural productivity.

FACTFILE – The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)

J-PAL is a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence.
J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty, and builds partnerships with governments, NGOs, donors, and others to generate new research, share knowledge, and scale up effective programs.
J-PAL was founded in 2003 as the “Poverty Action Lab” by professors Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Sendhil Mullainathan, to support randomized evaluations measuring interventions against poverty on topics ranging from agriculture and health to governance and education.
The Lab was renamed in honor of Sheikh Abdul Latif Jameel when his son, MIT alumnus Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, supported it with three major endowments in 2005.
2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel has been awarded to J-PAL founder Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”.

November 02, 2019

IIT Guwahati, PCBA join hands to tackle air pollution

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati and the Pollution Control Board Assam (PCBA) have joined hands to tackle the problem of air pollution in some major urban centres of the state, including Guwahati.
The two have joined hands under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) launched by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
IIT-G and PCBA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently in this regard.
Under the project, IIT-G and PCBA will work together to deal with air pollution in Guwahati, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivasagar and Silchar.
In these urban centres, the particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) levels exceed the annual average ambient air quality standard of 60 microgram per cubic metre.
PCBA will work to prepare city-specific interventions and action plans with the target of reducing PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations by at least 20 to 30 per cent by 2024. IIT-G will act as the technical partner.
The institute will assist PCBA in carrying out air pollution studies like identifying critical sources, building state-of-the-art air quality monitoring networks, and investigating mitigations in the five identified towns and cities and implementing them with the help of the Board.
NCAP was launched in January as part of the government’s agenda to put in place a time-bound national level strategy for pan India implementation to tackle the increasing air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner.
The approach for NCAP includes collaborative, multi-scale and cross-sectoral coordination between the relevant Central ministries, state governments and local bodies.
NCAP’s objective is to have comprehensive mitigation actions for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution, besides augmenting the air quality monitoring network across the country and strengthening the awareness and capacity building activities.

India-US Economic and Financial Partnership Meeting

At the Seventh Meeting of the India-US Economic and Financial Partnership, India and the US on Friday discussed trade issues and also resolved to boost cooperation in tackling money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
India and the US discussed policies to stimulate economic growth and noted the significant steps India has taken to strengthen the financial sector, including Public Sector Bank recapitalization and plans to merge some of the state-owned banks.
Both sides also discussed capital flows, investment promotion related issues, and the external economic environment.
The Indian delegation was led by Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, and the US delegation was led by Steven Mnuchin, US Secretary of the Treasury.
Both sides had in-depth exchanges of views on a range of issues such as the global, US, and Indian economic outlooks, global debt sustainability, financial sector reforms, leveraging of capital flows and investment, and tackling money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT)
Both sides are committed to greater economic cooperation on global economic issues, both bilaterally and multilaterally in the G20 and other fora.
Both sides are working together to attract more private sector capital to finance India”s infrastructure needs and further raise growth for both countries.
Both sides took note of the importance of having greater attention to transparency and debt sustainability in bilateral development lending.
Both sides appreciated the recent signing of an arrangement that enables automatic exchange of Country-by Country Reports for purposes of high level transfer pricing risk assessment.
Both sides are encouraged with the developments that have taken place since the last meeting of the Economic and Financial Partnership and look forward to continued engagement to strengthen our bilateral relationship, our economies and our economic security.

D.C. Raina appointed as the first Advocate General of J&K UT

Senior advocate D.C. Raina was appointed as the first Advocate General of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The appointment was made by Lt Governor G.C. Murmu a day after the Union Territory came into being.
The UT was carved out of the state of Jammu and Kashmir along with abolition of its special status granted under Article 370 of the Constitution of India.

India, Germany inks pacts in various fields & resolved to jointly combat terrorism

India and Germany inked over 20 agreements, including in the field of Artificial Intelligence, green urban mobility and agriculture, and resolved to jointly combat terrorism.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the 5th Inter Governmental Consultations.
While strengthening Cooperation in the Field of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation formed a major part of the joint statement, there was also a large section on combating terrorism.
Both sides are also focusing on strategic cooperation in the field of new and advanced technology.
The two sides have stressed on cooperation in the fields of new and advanced technology, Artificial Intelligence, skills, education, cyber security.
The two countries have also agreed to explore cooperation in news areas like e-mobility, fuel cell technology, smart cities, inland water ways, coastal management, cleaning of rivers and climate change.
The five Declarations of Intent, were in the field of Consultations for the period 2020-2024, cooperation in strategic projects, in green urban mobility, for joint cooperation in research and development in the field of Artificial and Intelligence and in the field of prevention of marine litter.
The 17 MoUs included for Exchange of Personnel between ISRO and German Aerospace Centre, Cooperation in the Field of Civil Aviation, Cooperation within the International Smart Cities Network, Cooperation in Skills Development and Vocational Education and Training, in the field of Start-ups, in Agricultural Market Development, among others.
The others included cooperation in Inland, Coastal and Maritime Technology, Setting up of Academic Collaboration in Ayurveda, Yoga and Meditation, in Higher Education, between All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Deutscher FuAYball-Bund e.V (DFB), and on Indo-German Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement.

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November 03, 2019

French Development Agency (AFD) to provide Rs 400 crore loan to Assam

The French Development Agency (AFD) will provide a Rs 400-crore loan to Assam to implement a forest and biodiversity conservation project.
The agreement signed in the presence of French ambassador Emmanuel Lenain.
The Rs 251.50-crore Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Phase I was co-funded by AFD and the State government and it covered the entire State in a phase manner.
The Phase I of the project, implemented by 32 territorial divisions, seven wildlife divisions and 13 social forestry divisions, ended in May this year.
The project vision is to enable sustainable forest and biodiversity conservation and management in Assam through multi-scale integrative planning and involvement of forest dependent communities in target areas and giving fillip to their livelihood activities through sustainable use of forest and non-forest resources.
There are three components of the project – conservation of ecosystems, community engagement and institutional strengthening of forest department – to be implemented over a period of five years.
The counterpart funding of Rs 100 crore for the second phase of the project will be done by the State government.

FACTFILE – The French Development Agency

AFD is a public financial institution that implements the policy defined by the French Government. It works to fight poverty and promote sustainable development.
This public institution is active in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean and the French overseas territories, where it finances and supports projects that improve living conditions for populations, promote economic growth and protect the planet.
In 2014, AFD earmarked EUR 8.1bn to finance projects in developing countries and for the French overseas territories, a commitment up by 4% compared to 2013.
Its headquarters is located in Paris. Its teams are based in Paris, Marseille and in a network of 72 agencies and representations abroad and in the French overseas territories.

West Bengal, UNICEF jointly set 5-step agenda to fight malnutrition

The West Bengal government and UNICEF have come together to implement a five-step agenda laying stress on empowering families and building a healthy food environment to fight the triple burden of malnutrition.
The UNICEF”s flagship report – The State of the World’s Children (SOWC) – for this year has focused on food and nutrition, given the importance of healthy diets, especially among children and young people.
The report says that poor diet is damaging children’s health, and that poverty, urbanisation, climate change and poor eating choices are driving unhealthy diets.
The SOWC report calls for a shift in the way the authorities address and respond to malnutrition.
Children across the world are facing a triple burden of malnutrition in the form of undernutrition (stunting and wasting), hidden hunger (deficiencies in micronutrients) and overweight (including obesity).
The topmost priority in the five-step agenda is empowering families, children and young people to demand nutritious food, including by improving nutrition education.
There is also stress on collecting, analysing and using good-quality data and evidence to guide action and track progress.

PM Modi releases commemorative coin on Guru Nanak and thai translation of ‘Tirukkural’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin marking the 550^th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. Besides releasing a Thai translation of the Tamil classic ”Tirukkural” at the ”Sawasdee PM Modi” community event in Bangkok.
Tirukkural is written by poet Thiruvalluvar and has been translated into many languages. The Tamil community in Thailand got it translated into Thai language for the first time.

FACTFILE – The Tirukkural

Tirukkural is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 couplets or Kurals. The text is divided into three books, each with aphoristic teachings on virtue, wealth and love.
It is considered as one of the great works on ethics and morality, is known for its universality and secular nature.
Its authorship is traditionally attributed to Valluvar, also known in full as Thiruvalluvar. The text has been dated variously from 300 BCE to 5th century CE.
The traditional accounts describe it as the last work of the third Sangam, but linguistic analysis suggests a later date of 450 to 500 CE and that it was composed after the Sangam period.
The Kural is traditionally praised with epithets and alternate titles such as “the Tamil Veda” and “the divine book”. It emphasizes non-violence and moral vegetarianism as virtues for an individual.
In addition, it highlights truthfulness, self-restraint, gratitude, hospitality, kindness, goodness of wife, duty, giving, and so forth, besides covering a wide range of social and political topics such as king, ministers, taxes, justice, forts, war, greatness of army and soldier’s honor, death sentence for the wicked, agriculture, education, abstinence from alcohol and intoxicants.
The Kural has been widely admired by scholars and has been translated into at least 40 Indian and non-Indian languages.

China launches high-resolution Earth observation satellite ‘Gaofen-11’

China launched Gaofen-11, an optical remote sensing satellite, as part of its high-resolution Earth observation project.
The Gaofen-11 satellite was launched on a Long March 4B rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in northern Shanxi Province. It was the 282^nd flight mission by a Long March carrier rocket.
The satellite can be used for land survey, urban planning, road network design, agriculture, and disaster relief. Its data will also be used for the Belt and Road Initiative.

India, EU launch call on research on developing local energy system

The European Commission and India”s Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched an 18 million euros joint call on research and innovation to develop integrated local energy systems.
Proposals should develop and demonstrate novel solutions, integrating all energy vectors including possibilities offered by batteries and electric vehicles, interconnect them and optimize joint operation with increased share of renewables and a higher energy efficiency.
Cooperation should take the form of a proposal demonstrating a local energy system (or several) in Europe and/or India.
The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) will range between 5 and 8.
The call text and call deadlines are the same for applicants from Europe and India.
This call targets minimum three participants from India as well as from Europe.
A total budget of euro 18 million is foreseen. The Indian selected participants will be funded by DST and the European partners by the EU Research and Innovation programme ”Horizon 2020”.

November 04, 2019

Union Govt and UNICEF launch ‘YuWaah’ initiative

A national initiative – YuWaah – aimed at imparting skills among the youth and providing employment to more than 300 million young Indians was launched by Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani with an alliance of national and international partners, including UNICEF.
India is one of the first countries to launch the YuWaah national initiative linked to the global Generation Unlimited movement which began in New York in September 2018.
Supported by Unicef, Generation Unlimited brings young people together with the private sector, governments, international and local organisations to tackle the urgent challenge of investing in their learning and training so that they are prepared for the complex and fast-changing world of work and can be active and engaged citizens.
On the occasion, Irani and Fore also launched a special “U-Report” digital survey, aimed at listening to and engaging youth throughout the country to ensure that their voices and solutions shape the actions of YuWaah! Partners.

NASSCOM, SAP India signed an MoU to skill, reskill and upskill workforce across industries

NASSCOM and business software solutions major SAP India signed an MoU to skill, reskill and upskill the workforce across industries.
The “FutureSkills” programme of IT industry”s apex body, launched in February 2018, aims to reskill 2 million professionals, potential employees as well as students in the industry over a period of next five years.
SAP will support NASSCOM”s “FutureSkills” with its skill development initiatives that focus on content, evangelism and industry connects, thus, enabling the skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling imperative for the IT-BPM industry and related stakeholders in the country.
SAP would provide content and enable select SAP experts as mentors for this programme while NASSCOM, through its “FutureSkills” platform, would host these content and expose the SAP mentors as experts on these technology domains which would be made available for the end beneficiaries on a zero-cost subscription model.
The automotive, textile, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), retail and IT-BPM are set be the most disrupted industry with the inclusion of AI, ML and data analytics, etc.
People from the IT, IT-enabled services industry workforce, potential workforce and college-going students are expected to benefit from the programme.

Satya Pal Malik takes oath as Governor of Goa

Satya Pal Malik was on Sunday sworn in as the Governor of Goa.
Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Justice Pradeep Nandrajog administered the oath of office to Malik at Raj Bhavan.
Malik had earlier served as the governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
Malik, 73, replaced Mridula Sinha who was holding the Goa governor’s post since August 2014.

India and Uzbekistan signs 3 MoUs and initiated first-ever joint exercise ‘Dustlik 2019’

India and Uzbekistan inked three Memorandum of Understanding in Tashkent, Uzbekistan during the visit of Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh.
Pacts were inked in the field of Military Medicine and Military Education to further strengthen Defence cooperation between both the countries.
Rajnath Singh also held discussions with Uzbekistan’s Defence Minister Major Gen Nizamovich.
Singh and his Uzbekistan counterpart witnessed the first-ever exchange over a video-link between College of Defence Management in Secunderabad, India and the Armed Forces Academy of Uzbekistan, Tashkent.
The two Defence Ministers also presided over a curtain raiser of the first-ever India-Uzbekistan joint exercise Dustlik 2019.
Both Defence Ministers expressed satisfaction at the enhanced level of engagement between their respective countries in the defence sphere.
The defence ministers agreed that both nations would continue to work together to further raise their level of engagements in the defence sphere in keeping with strategic partnerships.

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November 05, 2019

Assam gets 15 electric buses under ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles’ (FAME-1)

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off 15 electric buses which were introduced under Assam State Transport Corporation in the city.
The new buses procured under ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles’ (FAME-1) and introduced as a pilot project will ply from Panbazar to Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati.
The state government is working to transform Guwahati as the gateway to the South East Asian countries, the Chief Minister said that such a vision to materialise requires great deal of support from all sections of society.
The state government is likely to introduce 100 additional electric buses under FAME-2 for which necessary process have been started. Out of these buses 50 buses will ply in Guwahati, 25 each will be pressed into service at Jorhat and Silchar.

FACTFILE – The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020

The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 is a National Mission document providing the vision and the roadmap for the faster adoption of electric vehicles and their manufacturing in the country.
As part of the NEMMP 2020, Department of Heavy Industry formulated a Scheme viz. Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme in the year 2015 to promote manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicle technology and to ensure sustainable growth of the same.
The Phase-I of this Scheme was initially launched for a period of 2 years, commencing from 1st April 2015, which was subsequently extended from time to time and the last extension was allowed up to 31st March 2019.
The 1st Phase of FAME India Scheme was implemented through four focus areas namely (i) Demand Creation, (ii) Technology Platform, (iii) Pilot Project and (iv) Charging Infrastructure.
Market creation through demand incentives was aimed at incentivizing all vehicle segments i.e. 2-Wheelers, 3-Wheelers Auto, Passenger 4-Wheeler vehicles, Light Commercial Vehicles and Buses.

India to launch National Disaster Management Scheme

Urging all SCO countries towards joint assistance in dealing with earthquakes, Home Minister Amit Shah said India would soon come up with a national scheme which would not only cover the disaster risk renewal Sendai Framework but also the goals of permanent development and climate related agreement.
Shah said India has completed the amendment process in the country’s National Disaster Management Scheme launched in 2016.
Shah said that all 28 states, nine Union Territories and 90 per cent districts have completed their disaster management schemes.
Shah said will come up with a national scheme which not only would cover disaster risk renewal Sendai framework but also the goals of permanent development and climate related agreement.
Sendai Framework is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognizes that the state has the primary role in reducing disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders, including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.
The Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search and Rescue 2019 is a four-day exercise, which would help the SCO countries in a situation when they need the support of others to deal with any disaster-like situation.

Odisha Govt inks pacts for youth skill development

The Odisha government has signed an MoU and two agreements with TATA Strive and Tech Mahindra for skill development and to create employment opportunities for the youth.
The Directorate of Technical Education and Training (DTE&T) and TATA Strive signed an agreement to impart life skills to students in all 49 government ITIs.
The Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) signed an agreement with Tech Mahindra to set up a state-of-the-art facility to start its operations for international BPO for global customers.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Tech Mahindra, Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) and College of Engineering and Technology (CET) to set up a Centre of Excellence in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).
The students will get an opportunity to work on proof of concept on real life business problems to keep up with the market demand and to enhance the employability of engineering students. Every year, 30 students will get training in the field of AI and ML for a period of 12 months.

IBM launch ‘SkillsBuild‘ platform for skilling students in collaboration with MSDE

IBM announced launch of SkillsBuild platform in collaboration with the Directorate General of Training under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
As part of the programme, a two-year advanced diploma in information technology (IT), networking and cloud computing will be offered at the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and the National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).
The platform will also be extended to train ITI and NSTI faculty in artificial intelligence (AI) skills.
SkillsBuild offers digital learning content from IBM and partners, like CodeDoor, Coorpacademy and Skillsoft.
The digital platform will also provide personal assessment for cognitive capabilities and personality via MyInnerGenius to students. They will then learn basics about digital technologies as well as professional skills, like resume writing, problem solving and communication.
Students will also receive recommendations on role-based education for specific jobs, that include technical and professional learning.

November 06, 2019

Assam CM opens Brahmaputra Pushkar Mahotsav

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the Brahmaputra Pushkar Mahotsav, a mega river festival on the bank of the Brahmaputra in Guwahati highlighting the river’s important role in Assam’s sociocultural life.
The Pushkar Mahotsav, to be held for 12 days from November 5 to November 16, is a river festival which is organised on the banks of 12 important rivers in India, including the Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada, Kaveri, etc.
The festival occurs once in every 12 years for each river. As per mythological beliefs, Pushkar is celebrated on the banks of each river according to the zodiac sign of that river.
The Mahotsav has been organised at Sonaram High School Field at Bharalumukh here by the Purva Tirupathi Sri Balaji Samiti, Guwahati in collaboration with the Sri Mahalakshmi Charitable Trust, Chennai.
The State tourism department and a number of other departments are assisting the festival, which is supposed to host approximately two lakh devotees, mostly from South India.

Justice Rajendra Menon appointed AFT Chairperson

Former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Justice (Retired) Rajendra Menon was appointed the new Chairperson of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT).
The tenure of appointment of Justice (Retired) Menon will be for a period of three years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or till he attains the age of 70 years, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest
The tribunal, established by the government of India, has the power provided for adjudication or trial of disputes and complaints with respect to commission, appointments, enrolments and conditions of service in respect of persons subject to the Army Act, 1950, The Navy Act, 1957 and the Air Force Act, 1950.

FACTFILE – Armed Forces Tribunal

Armed Forces Tribunal is a military tribunal in India. It was established under the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007.
In 1999, the Law Commission’s 169^th report stated that disciplinary and service matters required quick resolutions and proposed a special tribunal for the military and paramilitary forces.
Armed forces tribunal bill was steered through Parliament only by the Defence Ministry, leaving paramilitary forces, even the Assam Rifles and Coast Guard, outside the tribunal’s purview.

**IIT Madras launches first indigenously designed standing wheelchair**

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has launched country’s ‘first indigenously’ designed standing wheelchair- ‘Arise’ for assisting the specially-abled person in day to day activities.
These customised wheelchairs enable a differently-abled person to shift from sitting to standing position and vice-versa independently.
Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot was also present at the launch of ‘Arise’.
Lauding the efforts of IIT Madras, Gehlot said, IIT Madras has done a wonderful job, I have never seen such a standing wheelchair even in a foreign country.
He also stated that ministry will be extended the necessary help, if required to extend the benefits of this initiative to more and more specially-able citizens.

P S Sreedharan Pillai sworn-in as the new Governor of Mizoram

P S Sreedharan Pillai was sworn-in as the new Governor of Mizoram at the Raj Bhavan.
The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Justice Ajai Lamba.
Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthangam his cabinet colleagues, legislators, former chief minister Lal Thanhawla and senior officials attended the swearing-in ceremony.

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November 07, 2019

Assam Governor adopts Morigaon as model district for agriculture

To develop agriculture and to use it for the socio-economic development of the people of the State, Governor Jagadish Mukhi has adopted Morigaon district for development of agriculture and allied activities.
Governor Mukhi said that the Morigaon district has enormous potential as most of the people are associated with agriculture, so developing the district in agriculture will lead to capacity building of its people. Moreover, as practising the single-cropping system amounts to inadequate use of land resources, the Governor also advised the farmers to adhere to multi-cropping system.
The Governor also distributed power tillers, rickshaws for carrying agriculture goods and electric water pump sets.
The Department of Fisheries, Assam has already initiated an effort under ‘Morigaon Special intervention of the Governor of Assam Project: 2019-2022’ to develop supporting infrastructure to achieve sustainable development in fisheries.

India, Russia to expand military technical cooperation

India and Russia are working on a programme of military technical cooperation by 2030, Work is underway to agree on a programme of Russian-Indian military-technical cooperation till 2030.
The Russian government said after a meeting between Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Moscow
During the meeting, Borisov noted that despite of external pressure, Russia and India are successfully implementing joint cooperation in the military-technical sphere, particularly the supply of S-400 air defence systems.
The topics of discussion included a wide range of issues related to bilateral military technical cooperation, as well as interaction in the field of science and high-tech.

Nasscom Foundation rewards 7 entities for social impact

The Nasscom Foundation, the Indian IT industry body’s social arm, and software firm Mphasis declared Rs 60 lakh in grants to seven entities for innovatively applying technology for social impact.
The seven entities recognised as part of the National Association of Software and Services Companies” (Nasscom) Social Innovation Forum include Meraki Foundation, Inali Foundation, Padcare Labs, MHS City Lab, Watsan Envirotech, Bombay Bijlee and Anukai Solutions.
Meraki Foundation was awarded for skilling low income parents to act early to unleash a child”s potential, PadCare Labs for sanitary napkin disposal and recycling solution and MHS City Lab for developing digital tools for affordable low-income housing, among others.
In addition to the catalytic grants, all the winners are eligible for industry mentorship worth Rs 20 lakh, offering a 12-month ”support to scale” mentoring from experts
As many as 15,000 entities applied in the categories of education, accessibility, healthcare, financial inclusion, environment and others.

PM Modi inaugurated the 5^th edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the fifth edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF) via video conference.
The theme of the festival – ‘RISEN: Research, Innovation and Science Empowering the Nation’
The function was attended by West Bengal Governor J Dhankar and Union Science and Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardan.
Diplomats from Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, South Korea and the United Kingdom, among others, attended the conclave.

FACTFILE – India International Science Festival (IISF)

India International Science Festival (IISF) launched in 2015 is a celebration to promote Science and Technology and demonstrate how science could lead India towards a developed nation within a short span of time.
The aim is to engage the public with science and celebrate the joy of science and show the ways how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) provide us with the solutions to improve our lives.
Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences in association with Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA), has created a unique platform of India International Science Festival which intends to inspire curiosity and make learning more rewarding.

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Assam Current Affairs – October 22 – 28, 2019

Posted on December 19, 2019December 19, 2019 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – October 22 - 28, 2019

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

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October 22, 2019

Down Town Hospital successfully performed the first liver transplant in NE

Doctors from Down Town Hospital Guwahati teamed up with Yashoda Hospitals of Hyderabad for successfully performing the first ever liver transplant in the north-eastern region.
The transplant team was led by Dr P Balachandran Menon, chief liver transplant surgeon of Yashoda Hospitals, along with Dr Pranjal Deka, liver transplant surgeon of Down Town Hospital.

Indian Army carries out integrated fire power exercise

The Indian Army carried out a fire power exercise in the desert sector showcasing its capabilities, proficiency and operational preparedness.
The tactical exercise involved integrated employment and firing of all arms including artillery guns, rockets, tanks, helicopters and air resources.
The Army aptly demonstrated the ability to hit hard and swiftly with precision, with the accuracy of multiple rocket launch systems and K-9 Vajra 155 mm howitzer.
The effectiveness of combined arms and cohesion was of an exceptional order and all aims and objectives set for the exercise were fully achieved.
Southern Command chief, Lt Gen S.K. Saini, witnessed the exercise and complimented the troops for their high professional standards.

Marconi Society Annual Awards for Apps developed by Indian students

Two digital applications (apps) developed by Indian under-graduate students for women’s safety and to check air pollution in Delhi on smartphones won Marconi Society annual awards for the good of humanity.
The Android application named ”Rakshak” detects speech patterns through an audio microphone of any user’s smartphone.
When the app receives audio clip with speech commands seeking help or saying stop in distressed tones, it triggers an SOS alert, user location and sends an emergency contact.
The app generates the alert after analyzing emotion and distress speech patterns.
The winning team of Piyush Agrawal, Subham Banga, Aniket Sharma and Ujjwal Upadhyay tackled the issue of women’s safety in India, especially in cities and towns across the country, where incidents of women under attack have become common.
The Society’s Celestini programme is a flagship effort to inspire and connect individuals building new technologies in service of a digitally inclusive world.
The winners are awarded under the programme, run for the young scholars the world over.
Named after Nobel laureate (Physics) Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937), who invented the radio in 1908, the Society was set up in 1975 by his daughter Gioia Marconi Baraga through an endowment, which annually gives awards for outstanding contribution in science and the principle of creativity in the service of humanity.

Union Minister for Culture & Tourism launches CCRT’s e-portal

Union Minister for Culture & Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel launched the e-portal of Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) ”Digital Bharat Digital Sanskriti” and CCRT YouTube Channel.
The e-portal aims to explore and understand the unknown aspects of India”s lesser-known places and their rural and semi-urban culture.
The CCRT has also started to publish books from a series ”Untold Tales of India”s Cities.
The CCRT has tied up with Routes 2 Roots, an NGO, for connecting all the CCRT Regional Centres — Guwahati, Udaipur and Hyderabad.
Patel and CCRT chairperson Dr. Hemlata also interacted with the participants of the ongoing training programmes at CCRT Regional Centres and some of the children studying in schools across the country.

FACTFILE – The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT)

The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) is autonomous organisation under Ministry of Culture of Government of India.
Established in May 1979, to support cultural education, with its inception it took over the Scheme-Propagation of Culture among College and School students, which was being implemented by Delhi University since 1970, where a Research and Production Cell was functioning for this purpose.
The CCRT also organises activities such as school tours to museums, monuments and craft centres
It publishes materials to promote understanding of Indian art and culture
It also has a “Cultural Talent Search Scholarship Scheme” for children aged 10–14, to help them develop their abilities in cultural fields especially rarer forms of art.

October 23, 2019

Assam Cabinet decides no Govt jobs for persons having more than 2 children

The Assam Cabinet decided that no government jobs will be given to persons having more than two children after 1 January, 2021.
The important decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting that also adopted a New Land Policy, which will give three bighas of agricultural land to landless indigenous people and half a bigha for constructing a house.
Those having more than two children will not be considered for government jobs with effect from 1 January, 2021 as per the small family norm.
In September 2017, the Assam Assembly had passed the ‘Population and Women Empowerment Policy of Assam’ that specified that job candidates with two children only would be eligible for government employment and the existing government staff were to strictly follow the two children family norm.

NE Region’s contribution to India’s economy meager, says ADB

Despite being rich in natural resources, the contribution of Northeast towards India’s economy is minuscule, says country director of Asian Development Bank Kenichi Yokoyama.
The region has only 0.2 per cent share in India’s total exports and majority of the products exported from the region are low-value products and natural resources based like primary produces from agriculture.
Though India and Bangladesh are major trading partners, but the contribution of Northeast is marginal. India accounts for 16.4% of Bangladesh’s imports, but NER’s share is only 1.2%.
Given Bangladesh’s import basket, Northeast can be a major trading partner, with the 28% ($ 15 billion) of Bangladesh’s import demand being for products which can be manufactured using local resources of the region.
Potential export goods from NE could be industrial goods, like plastic and polymers, paper and paper goods, agro and food processing products, and rubber, and in the service sector in the fields of higher education, tourism and medical tourism.

Indian Air Force test fires Brahmos missiles

Two Brahmos Surface to Surface missiles were test fired by Indian Air Force at Trak Island in the Andaman Nicobar group of islands.
The twin firings were carried out as a part of the routine operational training.
The missile engaged the designated mock targets close to 300km away.
A direct hit on the target was achieved in both the cases.
Firing of the missile has enhanced the IAFs capability to engage the ground targets with pin point accuracy from a mobile platform.

Pankaj Kumar appointed as UIDAI CEO

The government appointed Pankaj Kumar as the new CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Kumar is currently additional secretary in the Ministry Of Electronics And IT.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) said that Pankaj Kumar, IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has been appointed as CEO, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), in the rank and pay of Secretary by temporarily upgrading the post.
The UIDAI is a statutory authority established under the provisions of the Aadhaar on July 12, 2016 by the government under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The UIDAI has the mandate to issue Unique Identification numbers (UID), called Aadhaar, to all residents of India to eliminate duplicate and fake identities.

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October 24, 2019

India-Bangladesh Stakeholders’ Meet at Guwahati

The first India-Bangladesh Stakeholders’ Meet was held in Guwahati, Assam. The meet focused to improve its connectivity with the neighboring country to get the best of the rest under Act East Policy for Assam.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has called for restoration of the Brahmaputra-Barak-Padma-Meghna riverine waterways to take forward the outcome of the India-Bangladesh Stakeholders” Meet.
The Chief Minister conveyed this to a delegation led by Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, which met him at his office in Dispur.
Leaders from both Assam and Bangladesh have vowed to explore relations in areas like garment industry, health tourism, IT and education sector, for the mutual benefit.
Sonowal stressed restoration of trade links between Assam and Bangladesh.
He reiterated modalities to decide the standard operating procedures (SOP) to ensure speedy implementation of agreements, which would ensure access to Chattogram and Mongla Ports of Bangladesh for the northeast, and execution of the BBIN motor vehicle agreement.

Assam Govt expands Atal Amrit Abhiyan health insurance scheme

Assam State Cabinet decided to expand the ambit of the Atal Amrit Abhiyan scheme by bringing six additional critical care disease groups under it.
More than 57,000 persons have availed cashless treatment under the state govt’s Atal Amrit Abhiyan healthcare scheme in the last year and half and the number of beneficiaries is expected to increase further in the coming days.
Minister for Health & Family Welfare Himanta Biswa Sarma said most of the beneficiaries of the scheme so far have availed its facility for treatment of cancer, kidney diseases and cardiology and cardiovascular surgeries during past 18 months.
Around 1.61 crore people have enrolled for the scheme and the government has borne an expenditure of Rs 136.99 crore so far under it.
The scheme covered six specialities – cardiology and cardiovascular surgeries, neurological conditions, burns, cancer, kidney and neo-natal diseases.
During the Budget of 2019-20, the State government announced the expansion of the AAA to cover specialities like ICU packages, trauma, critical care paediatrics and paediatric surgery, and bone marrow transplantation.
The State government provided all treatment facilities for Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrom and aimed at bringing these ailments under AAA. Now the State Cabinet has approved the implementation of the Vistarita Atal Amrit Abhiyan (VAAA) with addition of six expensive critical care disease groups. These are ICU packages, trauma, critical care paediatrics and paediatric surgery, bone marrow transplantation, JE and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome.
The maximum amount of coverage per year would remain unchanged at Rs two lakh per member per year and the existing empanelled hospitals under AAA, including private, public and trust operated, both within and outside the State would automatically be eligible for treating the patients under the VAAA.
A total of 76 hospitals have been empanelled under the scheme. Out of these, 35 hospitals are empanelled outside the State and 41 hospitals are within Assam.

New Department of Registration in J&K

The Jammu and Kashmir State Administrative Council (SAC) approved creation of a new Department of Registration to provide hassle free and speedy service to people for registration of documents pertaining to property, mortgage etc.
The SAC also approved the creation of 464 new posts under various categories in order to make the department of registration functional.
The new Department of Registration is being created under the Registration Act, 1908.
The Department of Registration shall function under the overall administrative control of the Revenue Department.
SAC also approved appointment of Additional Deputy Commissioners and Sub-Divisional Magistrates/Assistant Commissioners Revenue to exercise the powers of Registrars and Sub-Registrars, respectively, within such jurisdiction to be notified by the Revenue Department for purposes of the Registration Act, 1908.

India jumps 14 positions in the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ list

India jumped 14 ranks to 63rd position in the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ list and was also among the top-10 progress-making countries according to the multilateral agency in terms of ease of doing business.
In Doing Business 2020, the 10 top improvers are Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Togo, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, China, India, and Nigeria.
These economies implemented a total of 59 regulatory reforms in 2018-19 – accounting for one-fifth of all the reforms recorded worldwide.
Their efforts focused primarily on the areas of starting a business, dealing with construction permits, and trading across borders.
It noted that starting a business in India has been made easier by abolishing filing fees for the Simplified Proforma for Incorporating a Company Electronically (SPICE), electronic memorandum of association, and articles of association.
India made trading across borders easier by enabling post-clearance audits, integrating trade stakeholders in a single electronic platform, upgrading port infrastructure, and enhancing the electronic submission of documents.
India made resolving insolvency easier by promoting reorganization proceedings in practice. India also made resolving insolvency more difficult by not allowing dissenting creditors to receive as much under reorganization as they would receive in liquidation.

FACTFILE – Doing Business 2020

Doing Business 2020 measures regulations across 190 economies in 12 business regulatory areas to assess the business environment in each economy. Ten of these indicators were used to estimate an ease of doing business score this year, over the 12 months ending April 30, 2019.
This is the 17th edition of a study that has motivated governments worldwide to undertake business reforms with the goal of bolstering sustainable economic growth.
The study looks at rules affecting a business from inception through operation to wind-down: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.

Union Cabinet Approvals revival of BSNL and MTNL

The Cabinet approves the proposal for revival of BSNL and MTNL by administrative allotment of spectrum for 4G services, debt restructuring by raising of bonds with sovereign guarantee, reducing employee costs, monetisation of assets and in-principle approval of merger of BSNL and MTNL.
The Cabinet approved a Rs 70,000 crore relief package for the company and for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). While approving the package for the two financially stressed entities, the Cabinet also drew up a timeline to merge them.
The two firms would be allotted 4G spectrum worth Rs 20,140 crore, Rs 29,937 crore for VRS covering 50 per cent of their employees and Rs 3,674 crore for goods and services tax (GST) that will be levied on allocation of radiowaves.

October 25, 2019

IIT Guwahati bagged 10^th position in the QS India University Rankings 2020

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, has bagged the 10th position in the QS India University Rankings 2020. This is the second time in a row that IIT Guwahati has secured the 10^th position in the rankings.
The list is the second edition of the standalone rankings for India’s higher education institutions. The announcement was made at the 2^nd QS India Summit in Goa on October 21, which was attended by Union Minister for Human Resources Development Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.
The QS India University Rankings are based on a number of parameters including academic reputation, citations per paper, international faculty, staff with PhD, employer reputation, etc.
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore and IIT Delhi secured the top three positions in the QS India University Rankings 2020.
IIT Madras and IIT Kharagpur finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
University of Delhi (DU) and University of Hyderabad placed seventh and eighth on the list. Calcutta University (CU) finished eleventh and was followed by Jadavpur University (JU) at number 12.

Chennai Corporation starts health awareness drive through students

In a novel initiative, about 20,000 students of Chennai Corporation-run schools have turned health ambassadors and appealed to the people to maintain cleanliness in their houses and streets.
The campaign is for preventing the spread of monsoon related diseases.
The Chennai Corporation has also released a video film featuring student ambassadors as part of its awareness campaign “Clean Chennai, Healthy Chennai.”
The student health ambassadors were selected from various educational institutions across the city.
Tamil Nadu Minister for Municipal Administration S.P.Velumani, had met the student ambassadors, congratulated them and gave them their identity cards.
He requested the student ambassadors to create awareness about cleanliness, sanitation and about dengue and other contagious diseases in their neighbourhood.
The Chennai Corporation also plans to run awareness campaigns via auto-rickshaws in fifteen zones during weekends on diseases that occur during the monsoon and the preventive steps that need to be taken.
Rallies are also planned in all the 15 zones, with the participation of 20,000 city school students, to spread awareness about prevention of mosquito-borne diseases during monsoon, stopping open defecation, stopping usage of plastic, preventing stagnation of sewage or clean water and rainwater harvesting.

Himachal Pradesh Cabinet approved a policy to provide cost effective Ayush services

The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet approved a policy to provide cost effective Ayush services by upgrading Ayush hospitals and dispensaries.
The government has come up with Himachal Pradesh State Ayush Policy that envisages attractive incentives to prospective investors in Ayush and wellness sector.
The Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, also gave its nod to make the state a most favoured investment destination for information technology (IT), and IT enabled service companies.
It also gave its nod to the Affordable Housing Policy, 2019 and to revised guidelines for the tourism department for issuance of essentiality certificates under the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Rules in cases where a non-agriculturist wishes to purchase land for setting up tourism units.
The Cabinet gave its consent to establish Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) to regulate and promote real estate sector in the state.
It also gave its consent to create 46 posts of different categories, including its chairman and members.

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October 26, 2019

International meet on nutraceuticals, chronic diseases held at IIT Guwahati

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, in collaboration with the Society for Nutraceuticals and Chronic Diseases, the Society for Translational Cancer Research, the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Guwahati, and the DBT-AIST International Centre for Translational and Environmental Research (DAICENTER), Japan, recently organised the fourth International Conference on Nutraceuticals & Chronic Diseases (INCD).
‘Nutraceutical’ is the combination of the words ‘nutrition’ and ‘pharmaceutical’. A nutraceutical product is a food/fortified food product that not only supplements the diet but also assists in treating or preventing chronic disease and also provides medical benefits.
Specific and targeted artificially created drugs have not been found much effective against multi-genic chronic diseases. Also, their extended uses tend to exhibit severe adverse side effects. Whereas, the nutraceuticals have been found to be multi-targeted, highly effective over long-term and exhibit minimal side effects.

India, Pakistan sign Kartarpur pact

India and Pakistan signed an agreement to operationalise the Kartarpur Corridor The signing ceremony took place at the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Zero Point, International Border, Dera Baba Nanak.
The agreement paves the way for the inauguration of the Corridor next month ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, and will enable devotees to visit throughout the year the holy shrine located 4.5 km from the border in Narowal district of Pakistan”s Punjab province.
With the signing of this agreement, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs S.C.L. Das said a formal framework has been laid down for operationalisation of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.
The travel will be visa free and the pilgrims will have a choice to visit individually or in groups, and also to travel on foot.
Under the agreement, the Indian government will inform Pakistan authorities about the list of the pilgrims 10 days in advance and pilgrims will be notified through mail four days ahead of the travel.
Pilgrims need to carry only a valid passport and Persons of Indian Origin need to carry Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card along with the passport of their country.
The Corridor will be open from dawn to dusk and the pilgrims travelling in the morning will have to return on the same day. The Corridor will be operational throughout the year, except on notified days, which will be informed in advance.

FACTFILE – The Kartarpur Corridor

The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa-free border crossing and secure corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to the border with India.
The crossing allows Sikh devotees from India to visit the gurdwara in Kartarpur, 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the India–Pakistan border without a visa, creating a link which allows pilgrims holding Indian passports to easily visit both the Kartarpur shrine and Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak on the Indian side of the border.
The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, the prime ministers of India and Pakistan respectively, as part of the Delhi–Lahore Bus diplomacy.
On 26 November 2018, the foundation stone was laid down on the Indian side; two days later, on 28 November 2018, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan did the same for the Pakistani side.

IIT Madras team develops simple technique to produce Graphene platelets

The researchers have found that when graphite is suspended in an appropriate fluid and subjected to an intense shearing force of machining, the layers of graphite separate into graphene platelets.
Graphene is considered as one of the strongest materials known and in addition, it conducts electricity thirteen times better than copper.
Dr Sathyan Subbiah, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, who led the research team, said, superior quality graphene is commonly prepared using the peeling off method.
Subbiah pointed out that the graphite is a lubricant because it is made of layers of carbon that slide over one another.

Uttar Pradesh CM launches scheme for girl child

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched ”Sumangla Kanya Yojna”, a scheme for the girl child, in the presence of Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani.
The scheme will provide an amount of Rs 15,000 in a phased manner to every family where a gril child is born.
The ”Sumangla Kanya” scheme has been designed in a way that parents will have to take care of girl child”s health and education to avail its benefits.
Funds will be released in six installments when a girl child completes various stages like vaccination, admission in class 1, 5 and 9 and graduation.
At birth Rs 2,000 will be transferred into account and if a girl has completed all her first-year vaccinations, she will be entitled to another Rs 1,000.
Similarly, if she has taken admission in class 1, she will get Rs 15,000 minus funds that would have been released at birth and completion of first-year vaccinations.

October 27, 2019

Tea Board looking for technology to ensure traceability of tea

The Tea Board is searching for an end-to-end technology to ensure traceability of the entire value chain of tea trade.
It is looking at a combination of latest technology-enabled solution like blockchain technology, for integrating the existing systems which will convert the standalone applications into a ring fenced electronic environment capturing the entire details of supply chain from procurement of raw materials by the manufacturers to the disposal of made teas to the primary buyers through auction.
This integration will help the end consumers in traceability of the Indian origin Tea – GI Teas as the starting point – by virtue of digitisation of the Indian tea marketing channel and bringing the Indian tea industry into the mainstream of digital economy.
The challenges the industry is facing now in terms of oversupply, quality concerns, low price realization, reducing global demand, non-remunerative prices for the small growers, etc.

Govt plans to run Ladakh completely on renewable energy

The Union government plans to make Ladakh the first Indian union territory (UT) to run completely on renewable energy.
The government wants to install solar generation units to meet all its power demand from renewable energy sources.
Aanand Kumar, secretary, ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE), told that UT currently has a demand of around 53 MW.
New solar plants is planned to be added by the end of 2020 to make the area completely run on renewable energy.
While the daily solar power generation potential in most part of the country is in the range of 3-5 units per square metre, the same in Leh-Ladakh can be 6-8 units, due to high ‘irradiance’ factor.

P S Sreedharan Pillai appointed as Mizoram governor

Kerala State BJP president PS Sreedharan Pillai has been appointed as the new Mizoram Governor. The President of India announced the appointment of Pillai as the Governor of the North Eastern state.
After the resignation of former Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Thiruvananthapuram, Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi has been holding the additional charge as the Mizoram Governor.
Pillai is the third person from the South Indian State to be appointed as the Mizoram Governor after Vakkom Purushothaman (2011-2014) and Rajashekharan who held the charge from May 29, 2018 to March 8, 2019.

India and Ecuador ink protocol to start trade negotiations

India and South American nation Ecuador have inked the Protocol for Completion of the Joint Feasibility Study (JFS) between the two countries, in line with the government’s efforts to expand its trade presence in the region.
The Protocol was inked in New Delhi by Shyamal Misra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Héctor Cueva, ambassador of Ecuador in India.
This has now opened the doors for both the countries to initiate trade negotiations for a Partial Scope Agreement (Preferential Trade Agreement).
The two countries have great possibilities to contribute to the competitiveness of productive sectors in each Member country, and improving bilateral trade and enhancing the conditions for business cooperation.
Once the PTA is in place the two trading partners would be in a position to reduce or eliminate customs duties on only a certain number of products traded between them.

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October 28, 2019

Poor infrastructure deterring flow of medical tourists, foreign students to Assam, says ADB report

Medical tourism and higher education are two potential service sector industries for Assam, but due to various gaps – mostly related to infrastructure and connectivity – the State has not been able to tap it so far.
According to an Asian Development Bank report, there is a relative shortage of colleges for professional education and local students travel to other states in pursuit of higher education, while lack of accredited hospitals in the region has lead to outflow of domestic demand and diversion of regional international demand.
Of the 47,427 foreign students enrolled in India in 2018-19, 2,077 (4.4 per cent) were from Bangladesh. The Northeast can capture a major share of this market and Assam has a huge opportunity to tap into India’s share of students enrolled from Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.
18 per cent of the total outflow of students from South Asia enrolled in India in 2016-17. It was 1.3 per cent for Southeast Asia. However, Assam accounts for just 0.4 per cent of total foreign students enrolled India.
India is one of the preferred destination for medical value travel, ranking fifth in the World Medical Tourism Index. Bangladesh is the largest foreign user of India’s medical services, accounting for 50.54 per cent of the total medical tourists in 2016 and the Northeast, particularly Assam, has the opportunity of becoming the natural choice for medical tourism from the neighbouring country.

Uttar Pradesh CM inaugurated projects and laid foundation stones of schemes for forest-dwelling Vantangiya community

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated projects and laid foundation stones for schemes worth Rs 1.32 crore for the forest-dwelling Vantangiya community.
The Chief Minister celebrated Diwali with the Vantangiya community that has remained marginalised for years.
The community comprises people brought from Myanmar during the colonial rule to plant trees for afforestation.

Manohar Lal Khattar takes oath as Haryana CM

Manohar Lal Khattar and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) chief Dushyant Chautala took oath as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, respectively.
The two leaders were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya at Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.
This is the second term of Khattar as Haryana Chief Minister.

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Assam Current Affairs – August 08 – 14, 2019

Posted on November 29, 2019May 16, 2020 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – August 8 - 14, 2019

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

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August 08, 2019

Assam CM lays foundation of one lakh houses under PMAY(G)

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone of more than one lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Grameen) at a function held at the Sarusajai Sports Complex.
The Chief Minister handed over sanction letters for loan to one thousand Self Help Groups (SHGs) under the Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission and three thousand appointment letters to youths under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana`
The Panchayat and Rural Development department has set a target of making two lakh houses under the PMAY.
In the financial year 2019-20, of the total 1,94,338 registered houses, the State government has received sanctions for 1,22,304 houses.

FACTFILE – Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMGAY),

Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMGAY), previously Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), is a social welfare flagship programme, created by the Indian Government, to provide housing for the rural poor in India. A similar scheme for urban poor was launched in 2015 as Housing for All by 2022.
Indira Awaas Yojana was launched in 1985 by Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, as one of the major flagship programs of the Ministry of Rural Development to construct houses for BPL population in the villages.
Modern technology like information communication and space technology are being used to make sure the accurate selection of beneficiaries.
PMGAY combines all of the following schemes together – Aadhaar platform, Skill India and Jan Dhan Yojana, and Make in India. Besides this, the government is also planning to deploy MGNREGA scheme to train and allocate labour
The Swachh Bharat and MGNREGA amongst other institutions funded totilets for the PMGAY scheme.
1 crore pucca houses are to be constructed for the people of the rural areas in the next three years.
Totally, 4 crore households will be constructed under the PMAY-G scheme by the year 2022
The estimated total expenditure of PMAY-G is Rs.60,000 crore.

The New Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 passed in Parliament

The new Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 proposes penalty for celebrities endorsing false or misleading advertisements of a product, along the manufacturers of the products.
The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha and was already approved by the Lok Sabha earlier. It will replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
A Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) will be set up to protect, promote and enforce consumer rights, under the Bill.
The CCPA will have an investigation wing headed by a Director General to inquire into violations of consumer rights and for imposing penalties.
The CCPA can impose a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh on celebrity endorsers and manufacturers for a false or misleading advertisement under Clause 21.
The authority can also order imprisonment of up to two years for false advertising.
In case of a repeat offence, the authority can impose a penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh and a jail term of up to five years.
Endorsers can be barred from promoting advertisements for up to a year, extending up to three years for repeat offenders.
The Bill defines “endorsement”, as any message, verbal statement, demonstration or depiction of the name, signature of an individual.
Endorsement can also be a depiction of the name or seal of any institution or organisation, which makes the consumer to believe that it reflects the opinion, finding or experience of the person making such endorsement.

RBI slashes lending rate by 35 base points to 5.40 %

The Reserve Bank of India reduced its key lending rates by 35 basis points, the RBI’s monetary policy committee (MPC) in its third policy review of the current fiscal reduced the repo, or short term lending rate for commercial banks, by 35 basis points to 5.40 per cent from 5.75 per cent.
The reverse repo rate was revised to 5.15 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate to 5.65 per cent.
On growth, the MPC reduced the growth forecast to 6.9 per cent from 7 per cent in FY2019-20.
The GDP growth for the first quarter of FY2020-21 is projected at 7.4 per cent.
Real GDP growth for 2019-20 is revised downwards from 7 per cent in the June policy to 6.9 per cent — in the range of 5.8-6.6 per cent for H1:2019-20 and 7.3-7.5 per cent for H2 – with risks somewhat tilted to the downside.

Rajasthan launches new higher education model

A new higher education model has been launched in Rajasthan for distribution of faculties and movable assets among the government colleges at the district level to rationalise the availability of resources.
Minister of State for Higher Education Bhanwar Singh Bhati inaugurated the model, titled Resource Assistance for Colleges with Excellence, in the presence of principals of colleges.
The colleges in need will submit their requirement to the nodal college in the district, which will send the teachers on deputation, if needed, and provide the facilities such as projectors, digital libraries, equipment and technicians
The model will help the colleges situated in small towns facing shortage of faculties and infrastructure.
Though the sanctioned posts of teachers in the government colleges are 6,500, the State at present falls short by about 2,000 teachers.
Until the additional posts are created and new appointments made, the RACE is expected to help channelise resources and ensure quality education.

August 09, 2019

Guwahati slips to 81^stspot from 26^th spot in Smart Cities list

The delay in starting the major projects under the Guwahati Smart City Limited (GSCL), has made Guwahati slump from the 26th position to the 81st in the list of smart cities in the last three years.
High officials of GSCL said that at the initial stage they had proposed some major projects like pan city, development of the Borsola Beel, development of the Bharalu river, development of the Deepor Beel, development of the Morabharalu river, development of the Brahmaputra riverfront, installation of smart bio-toilets and water ATMs, refurbishment of the Gandhi Mandap, etc.
But due to various technical reasons and delay caused by dragging official formalities, the GSCL could not start most of these projects except installation of bio-toilets and water ATMs along with refurbishment of the Gandhi Mandap.
Due to some technical reasons, the GSCL has handed over the Deepor Beel Development Project to the forest department. The forest department is yet to take any step to implement the project.
The GSCL is going to start developing the Brahmaputra riverfront and the pan city project soon. They have already obtained ‘no objection certificates’ from most of the line departments for these two projects and the work will start soon.
Under the Brahmaputra riverfront development project the GSCL will prepare a master landscape design for a 6-km stretch of the riverfront for development of a walkway, cycle track, jogging track, smart city pavilions, etc. It will also take bank protection measures along with various infrastructural works like development of viewpoint, water stairs, fountains, interactive pond, ramps, stairs, jetty, ferry terminals, kiosks, bridges over outflow structures, etc.

Delhi Cabinet approves Free wifi Hotspot in the Capital

The Delhi cabinet approved free WiFi hotspots across the national capital, there will be 11,000 hotspots all over the city.
A total of 4,000 hotspots will be installed at bus shelters and 7,000 in various colonies. Each of the 70 Assembly constituency will get 100 hotspots
The project, with an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore, will be on ground in three-four months.
Each user will get 15 gb limit per month.
About 200 users can use the hotspots simultaneously having a speed of 200 mbps in a radius of 50 meters.
The free WiFi will be an addition to what people are already getting from the telecom companies.

Indian firm develops MedGeneome Labs test to detect drug-resistant TB mutation

Genetic diagnostic and drug discovery research firm MedGeneome Labs claimed to have developed the first whole genomic sequencing-based test to detect early drug-resistant mutation in tuberculosis (TB) bacteria.
The breakthrough DNA test will enable a doctor to correctly prescribe the most effective drug to a TB patient without a time-consuming trial and error process.
The test is based on the whole genome sequencing of mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), the TB causing bacteria, to assess the mutations in bacteria”s genome and allows a clinician to determine which drug will work for a patient.
The conventional tests available in the country equip us to identify resistance in a limited fashion. Mtb (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) is slow-growing, taking 6-8 weeks for culture growth, thereby delaying not only TB diagnosis, but also the drug resistance testing.
Spit sequence is a culture-free method to identify Mtb and predict drug resistance in 10 days.

IIT-M, NIOT working on generating power from ocean waves

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) are working towards developing better turbines that can harness the power of ocean waves to generate electricity.
The research is being headed at IIT-M by Dr Abdus Samad, Associate Professor, Department of Ocean Engineering, who works towards extracting energy from the ocean waves.
The recent research by IIT-M and NIOT, is being funded by Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, and focuses on improving the devices and machines used for wave energy harvesting.
The challenges to realising practical wave energy have been that while waves harbour copious energy, they are also unsteady and the ocean has unpredictable forces acting on the energy devices.
Efficient recovery of energy from waves hinges on improving the performance of devices that convert inconsistent wave movement to electricity.
The aerodynamic performance of the turbine plays a major role in the wave-to-wire conversion efficiency.
The turbine is the heart of the wave energy system and a huge amount of research works are done through fluid dynamic analysis, experimental system development, design, and tests.

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August 10, 2019

Indo-Bangla talks on NE connectivity with Chittagong

India and Bangladesh held preliminary discussions on the proposed new connectivity between the North Eastern States and the port city of Chittagong in Bangladesh.
The discussions took place during the delegation-level meeting held between Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and visiting Bangladesh minister Nurul Islam Sujan at the Rail Bhavan.
India and Bangladesh have decided to enhance railway connectivity between the two neighbours.
The Railway Minister announced that the frequency of the Kolkata-Dhaka Moitree Express and the Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express would be increased to meet growing demand of passengers from both countries.
On the proposed connectivity between the North East and Chittagong, the details would be firmed up during the visit of Bangladesh Prime Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the former is expected to visit India in October.
India and Bangladesh are in the process of laying a new railway line connecting Tripura and Bangladesh. Work had already started on the 45-km rail link between Agartala and Akhaura, a sub-district of Chittagong.

Two wildlife reserves near Mumbai declared as ‘Eco-Sensitive Zone’

The Centre has declared two wildlife sanctuaries near Mumbai as ”Eco-Sensitive Zone”(ESZ), according to Union Minister for Environment Prakash Javadekar.
There are 11 more such ESZs in Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh,
The two wildlife sanctuaries in Maharashtra are Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (TWLS) and Tansa Wildlife Santuary (TWS), both lush green areas spread across several hundred square kms in Palghar and Thane districts adjoining Mumbai.
They also serve as the catchment areas for lakes and reservoirs supplying drinking water to the country”s commercial capital.
The total protected area of the TWLS is around 86 sq km and will have the ESZ of 67 sq km.
For the TWS, the total protected area would be around 305 sq kms with the ESZ of around 490 sq km which will also include 150 villages.
Both the TWLS and TWS are ranked as major habitats for several wildlife, including leopards.
Declaring an ESZ, or a buffer zone, around a wildlife reserve would help conserve the ecosystem since only agriculture, a few small scale industries and minor infra-works are permitted within the ESZ.

UP Govt plants 22 crore saplings in a day

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a massive plantation drive by planting a sapling in Jaiti Khera village of Lucknow. The state government plans to create a world record by planting 22 crore saplings in a day.
The Chief Minister said that next year, the state would set a target of planting 25 crore saplings in a day.
He asked the forest officials to identify the trees that are over 100-year-old and take steps to preserve them as heritage trees.
A sum of Rs 100 crore had been provided from the Chief Minister”s Contingency Fund for the plantation drive, under which saplings planted have been geotagged to ensure monitoring of their growth.

August 11, 2019

J&K Re-organisation Act gets President”s approval

President Ram Nath Kovind gave his approval to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which was passed by the Parliament.
Notwithstanding the controversy, the Bill was passed in the Parliament with the Lok Sabha giving its nod after a little over seven hours discussion. The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha earlier.

FACTFILE – Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 is an act of the Parliament of India. It contains provisions to reconstitute the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, a part of the larger region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of dispute among India, Pakistan, and China since 1947, into two Indian-administered union territories, one to be called Jammu and Kashmir, and the other Ladakh, on 31 October 2019.
The introduction of the bill was preceded by a Presidential Order under the Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which superseded the 1954 Presidential Order.
A bill for the act was introduced by the Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah, in the Rajya Sabha, on 5 August 2019. The bill was passed in Rajya Sabha the same day and was passed by the Lok Sabha on 6 August 2019.
The introduction of the bill was preceded by a presidential order under Article 370 of the Indian constitution that revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.

Jharkhand govt launches direct money transfer scheme for small farmers

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu launched the Jharkhand government’s ‘Mukhya Mantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana’ under which money will be directly transferred into the bank accounts of farmers in the state
Under the scheme, beneficiaries having farm land of less than one acre to five acres, will get 5,000 to 25,000 rupees in their bank accounts.
As soon as Mr Naidu launched the scheme, money was transferred into the bank accounts of farmers, and some them showed their mobile phones with the money transfer message to the vice-president.
Mr Naidu said conservation of rainwater should be made people’s movement and hoped that farmers will use traditional method to help conserve ground water.
Praising the Centre and the state government’s efforts in protecting the interests of farmers, Mr Naidu stressed on the importance of developing village and recalled the efforts made by him when he was the Union Rural Development minister.
Under the Mukhya Mantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana, approximately 35 lakh farmers will benefit and by October 3,000 crore rupees will be sent in the accounts of the beneficiaries.

TCIL signs MoUs with Benin, Guinea

Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd, a PSU under Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, has entered into a strategic alliance with the African countries of Benin and the Republic of Guinea, as part of a larger pan-African e-network project on education and medicine.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind during the first ever state visit from India to Benin, Gambia and Guinea.
The MoU is for setting up of the e-VBAB Network as part of a larger pan African e-network project on education and medicine. The e-VBAB is e-vidhyabharti and e-arogyabharti (e-VBAB) network.
TCIL will, initially, extend free tele-education courses to about 15,000 African students and tele-medicine courses to 5,000 doctors and paramedics in Africa, which may be extended more on a self-sustainable model later after looking at its success.
The PAN African e-network project has been now renamed as e-Vidya Bharati and e-Arogya Bharati (e-VBAB) Network Project.
The Ministry of External Affairs has initially proposed to start a pilot project with 14 African countries namely Ghana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, South Sudan, Liberia, Benin, Republic of Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mozambique and Sudan. TCIL has initially signed an MoU with two countries — Benin and The Republic of Guinea – during the President’s recent visit to West Africa.

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August 12, 2019

Government signs peace pact with Tripura terror outfit National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT)

A tripartite Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) was signed in New Delhi between the Central and Tripura governments and National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) facilitating to surrender of 88 terrorists of the banned outfit.
After the signing of the MoS, the NLFT (SD) representatives called on Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
the MoS was signed by Union Home Ministry’s Joint Secretary (North-East) Satyendra Garg, Tripura government’s Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Kumar Alok and Sabir Kumar Debbarma and Kajal Debbarma on behalf of the NLFT (SD faction).
NLFT (SD faction) has agreed to abjure the path of violence, join the mainstream and abide by the Indian Constitution.
It was agreed that the 88 NLFT cadres would surrender soon with their arms and ammunition.
The government also told the NLFT (SD) leaders that surrendered members of the outfit would be given surrender benefits as per the Surrender-cum-Rehabilitation Scheme, 2018 of the Union Home Ministry.

FACTFILE – National Liberation Front of Tripura

The National Liberation Front of Tripura (abbreviated NLFT) is a Tripuri nationalist militant organisation based in Tripura, India. It has an estimated 550 to 850 members.
The NLFT seeks to secede from India and establish an independent Tripuri state, and is an active participant in the Insurgency in Northeast India.
The NLFT is currently designated as a terrorist organisation in India.
T he Baptist Church of Tripura was initially set up by missionaries from New Zealand in the 1940s. Despite their efforts, even until the 1980s, only a few thousand people in Tripura had converted to Christianity. In the aftermath of one of the worst ethnic riots, the NLFT was born in 1989 with the backing of the Baptist Church of Tripura.

FACTIFLE – Tripura Peace Accord

Tripura Peace Accord is the tripartite accord signed-in on 10 August 2019 by the Government of India, Government of Tripura and the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) to end the insurgency.
The tripartite memorandum of understanding was signed by Satyendra Garg, Joint Secretary (Northeast) of Ministry of Home Affairs, Kumar Alok, Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Tripura and Sabir Kumar Debbarma and Kajal Debbarma of NLFT.

Two crore farmers to be enrolled under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan-Dhan Yojana

The CSC e-Governance Services India, which manages over 3.5 lakh common service centres across the country, has set a target of enrolling 2 crore small and marginal farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan-Dhan Yojana by August 15.
The PM-KMY was launched by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh which entitles eligible farmers for monthly pension of Rs 3,000 per month.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has roped in CSC, a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, as exclusive “enrolling agency” for enrollment of subscribers.
Any eligible farmer who wants to join the scheme can visit his nearest CSC along with his Aadhaar card and bank passbook or account details.
Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs), who manage CSCs, will complete online registration process after taking all relevant details of farmers.
After the authentication process is completed, the enrolled farmer will be informed and his PM-KMY Pension Card with a unique Pension Account Number will be generated.
The scheme is being implemented across the country, including Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Farmers holding up to 2 hectare farm land will be eligible for the PM-KMY scheme.

GRSE launches 5^th Fast Patrol Vessel for coast guard

The fifth and last Fast Patrol Vessel for the Indian Coast Guard was launched at the Raja Bagan Dockyard Unit of premier warship maker Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE).
Inspector General Rajan Bargotra, Commander Coast Guard Region (North East) and others senior GRSE and ICG Officials graced the occasion.
The ship – 50M long, 7.5 M wide and with a displacement of around 308 Tons – has a maximum speed of 34 knots with an endurance of more than 1,500 nautical miles.
The FPVs come with an efficient hull form developed in-house and proven after extensive model testing.
The FPV designs, which are exclusive to GRSE are an improvisation on the Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPV) built by the defence PSU for the Indian Coast Guard in 2013.
The fuel- efficient and powerful platforms are well suited for patrolling, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching, and rescue operations.

August 13, 2019

**‘Bulbul Can Sing’ wins Rajat Kamal Award at the National Film Award**

‘Bulbul Can Sing’ by renowned director Rima Das has won the National Film Award and has been declared the best Assamese film. The 66th National Film Awards were announced by chairperson, feature film category Rahul Rawail, chairperson, non-feature film category, AS Kanal, and chairperson, best writing on cinema Utpal Borpujari.
Gujarati film Hellaro was declared the best feature film, while Badhai Ho bagged the award for best popular film providing wholesome entertainment. Hindi movie Padman was declared best film on social issues, while Kannada film Ondalla Eradalla got Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration.
Ayushman Khurana and Vicky Kaushal jointly won the best actor award for their performances in Andhadhun and Uri: The Surgical Strike
Keerthy Suresh was declared winner of the best actress trophy for her performance in Telugu movie Mahanati.
Aditya Dhar won the best director award for Uri: The Surgical Strike.
Marathi movie Naal received the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director.
Rima Das of Village Rockstar fame won the Rajat Kamal Award, which carries a prize money of Rs 1 lakh. Produced by Flying River Films, the film was awarded for capturing the trials, tribulations and aspirations of a group of teenagers in rural Assamese backdrop.
The Land of Poison Women directed by Manju Bora and produced by Aaas Productions also won Rajat Kamal Award for depiction of an individual’s effort to break the myth of “poison women” in a remote part of Arunachal Pradesh.
Bobby Sarma Baruah was awarded the Rajat Kamal for Best Sherdukpan Film for the film Mishing, which was produced by BB Entertainment Trade Private Limited.
Ma’ama directed by Dominic Sangma and produced by Anna Films was adjudged the best Garo film.

FACTFILE – National Film Awards

The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremonies in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government’s Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.
Every year, a national panel appointed by the government selects the winning entry, and the award ceremony is held in New Delhi, where the President of India presents the awards. This is followed by the inauguration of the National Film Festival, where the award-winning films are screened for the public.
Declared for films produced in the previous year across the country, they hold the distinction of awarding merit to the best of Indian cinema overall, as well as presenting awards for the best films in each region and language of the country. Due to the national scale of the National Film Awards, it is considered the Indian equivalent of the American Academy Awards.

Goa CM signs MoU for business ties with Russian province

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant signed and exchanged a memorandum of understanding for business cooperation with Governor of Russian province of Kamchatka, Vladimir Ilyukhin, at Vladivostok, Russia.
Sawant is in Russia, as part of a 150-member-strong Indian delegation led by Union Minister Piyush Goyal, which includes Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Russia, chaired a sectoral session on minerals, metals, rare-earths and fisheries with business representatives of India and Russia.
Goa is one of the favourite beach tourism destinations for Russian tourists, near a lakh of who visit the state every year.

World’s largest water pump house begins operation in Telangana

Lakshmipur pump house, a key component of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) and claimed to be the world’s largest pump house, has successfully commenced operations in Telangana.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) unveiled Laximpur Underground Pumping Station (LUPS), also called as the Package 8 of the mega project across the Godavari river.
Around 3,000 cusecs of water was lifted to a height of 111 meters and flown into Mid-Manair reservoir through the gravity canal.
LUPS would enable live storage of water in reservoirs throughout the year in the Godavari river belt.
MEIL described the pump house as outstanding engineering marvel as it is the world’s largest underground pumping station constructed at 470 feet below the earth’s surface.
Billed as the world’s largest multi-stage lift irrigation project, Kaleshwaram was formally inaugurated in June.
It is designed to irrigate 45 lakh acres for two crops in a year, meet drinking water requirement of 70 per cent of the state and also cater to the needs of industry.

Reliance jio in long-term strategic partnership partners with Microsoft

Reliance Jio has announced a long-term strategic partnership with Microsoft. The two companies working together on a number of solutions comprising connectivity, computing, storage solutions, and other technology services and applications essential for Indian businesses.
Microsoft will be working with Jio to give a push to data analytics, AI (Artificial Intelligence), cognitive services, blockchain, Internet of Things, and edge computing among small and medium enterprises to make them ready to compete and grow, at the same time help in the GDP growth in India.

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August 07, 2019

North East Startup and Craft Fair gets under way

The North East Startup and Craft Fair-2019 organised by NEDFi at the newly constructed NEDFi Haat at Rupnagar, was inaugurated by Dr Inder Jit Singh, Secretary, Ministry of DoNER.
The fair has a total of 54 participants out of which 27 are startups. Seven participating startups have been funded by NEDFi. With varieties of tea stealing the show at national and international exhibitions, the NEDFi event has white tea from Nagaland and white and purple tea from Barpathar in Karbi Anglong on offer.
The state-specific products include sun-dried roselle, non-fermented bamboo shoots, sun-dried Mizo lomba flower, hatkora candy, zinger drink and roasted inca seeds of Mizoram. Sikkim has brought yacon syrup, organic buckwheat, beaten rice and organic pulses.
Assam’s startups and food processing units have brought purple tea, green tea, orthodox tea, passion fruit squash, pickles, king chilli sauce, lemon juice, orange juice, exotic variety rice, mustard oil, etc.
Dried and smoked chicken and pork pickle are on offer for foodies at the Manipuri stalls along with vegetarian and non-vegetarian ground spices, dry fish, black rice, etc.
The Nagaland stalls are offering ginger powder, white tea, dried cardamom, fruit candies of pineapple, wild apple and gooseberry. Meghalaya has brought turmeric latte brand, red sticky rice, lakadong turmeric powder, coffee and black pepper.
The craft section has masks from Majuli, wrap-around dresses from Nagaland, Arunachal, Mizoram and Manipur, tribal jewellery from Arunachal and Nagaland, black pottery and kauna craft from Manipur and other traditional attire and handicraft from the eight NE states.

Government issues scheme for PSBS purchase of pooled assets of NBFCS

The Government has issued a scheme regarding partial credit guarantee, The Scheme would enable the public sector banks (PSBs) to purchase pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs amounting to Rs.One lakh crore.
It is expected that this measure would provide liquidity to the NBFC Sector and, in turn, enable them to continue to play their role in meeting the financing requirements of the productive sectors of economy including MSME, retail and housing.
The scheme has been named as ‘Partial Credit Guarantee offered by Government of India (GoI) to Public Sector Banks (PSBs) for purchasing high-rated pooled assets from financially sound Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)/Housing Finance Companies (HFCs)’.
The aim of the scheme is to address temporary asset liability mismatches of otherwise solvent NBFCs/HFCs without having to resort to distress sale of their assets for meeting their commitments.
The window for one-time partial credit guarantee offered by GoI will open from the date of issuance of the Scheme by the Government for a period of six months, or till such date by which Rupees One lakh crore assets get purchased by banks, whichever is earlier.

All India Radio to train students in English

The All India Radio (AIR) will now help students brush up their English speaking skill. From September 1 “Aao Angrezi Seekhein (Come lets learn English)” will be on air from 11 a.m. onwards on all working days.
The joint project by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Uttar Pradesh government and the UN International Children”s Fund (UNICEF) will include a total of 120 episodes of 15 minutes each that would be broadcast for the 2019-20 academic session.
The pilot project will be launched from the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) where students of Class 5 to 8 of and junior high schools will take their English lessons by listening to the radio programme.
The programme will guide students on how to use English language in daily conversation and also stress on pronunciation of words.
The teachers have been directed to note down the highlights of each episode in a register and revise the lesson with students.
The programme is meant to improve their English speaking skill just by listening. Students will not be required to do any writing work.

FACTFILE – All India Radio (AIR)

All India Radio (AIR), officially known since 1956 as Akashvani, is the national public radio broadcaster of India and is a division of Prasar Bharati.
It was established in 1936 It is the sister service of Prasar Bharati’s Doordarshan, an Indian television broadcaster.
Headquartered in the Akashvani Bhavan building in New Delhi, it houses the Drama Section, the FM Section, the National Service, and is also home to the Indian television station Doordarshan Kendra, (Delhi).
All India Radio is the largest radio network in the world, and one of the largest broadcasting organizations in the world in terms of the number of languages broadcast and the spectrum of socio-economic and cultural diversity it serves.
AIR’s home service comprises 420 stations located across the country, reaching nearly 92% of the country’s area and 99.19% of the total population. AIR originates programming in 23 languages and 179 dialects.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee opens World’s 1^st museum on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Inaugurated the world”s first museum dedicated to the life and teachings of 16th century saint and social reformer Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
The Gaudiya Mission, a spiritual and philanthropic organisation established in 1935, propagates the teachings of Sri Chaitanya and the Vaishnava faith. It has many centres in India and temples in London and New York.
The museum is a three-storey structure built on an area of approximately 1,350 square metres and includes galleries, public utility areas and a library.
Each floor is dedicated to different phases of the saint”s life starting from his birth, his marriage with Vishupria, journey throughout the country up to the period after he attained ”Sanyasa” (sainthood).
Life-size models, 3D films, audio tracks and animatronics will ensure maximum engagement of the visitors.
The museum has been designed by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM).

BIOGRAPHY – Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, was a Bengali Hindu mystic, saint, and the chief proponent of the Achintya Bheda Vedanta school and the Gaudiya Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism.
He also expounded the Vaishnava school of Bhakti yoga, based on Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad Gita.
Of various forms and direct or indirect expansions of Krishna such as Lord Narasimha, Mahavishnu and Garbhodaksayi Vishnu respectively, he is Krishna in the mood of a devotee.
He popularised the chanting of the ‘Hare Krishna mantra’ and composed the Siksastakam (eight devotional prayers) in Sanskrit.
His followers, Gaudiya Vaishnavas, revere him as a Krishna with the mood and complexion of his source of inspiration Radha.
His birthday is celebrated as Gaura-purnima.
Chaitanya is sometimes referred to by the names Gauranga or Gaura due to his fair complexion, and Nimai due to his being born underneath a Neem tree.

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Assam Current Affairs – August 01 – 07, 2019

Posted on November 29, 2019May 16, 2020 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – August 1 - 7, 2019

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

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August 01, 2019

Aminul Laskar elected as the Deputy Speaker of Assam Assembly

BJP legislator from Sonai constituency Aminul Haque Laskar was today elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly.Laskarwas the lone candidate for the post and he was elected unopposed.
Assembly Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami declared Laskar elected during today’s session of the House.
After the announcement, senior leaders, including Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and other ministers as well as MLAs belonging to both the treasury benches and the Opposition, escorted Laskar to his chair, amidst thumping of desk.
Extending his felicitations, Goswami exuded confidence that the newly elected Deputy Speaker will fulfil his role and responsibilities with dedication, and by taking into confidence everyone in the House.
Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia said he and members of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) are happy at Laskar’s elevation to the post of Deputy Speaker and assured all cooperation in the running of the House.

FACTFILE – Assam Legislative Assembly

The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam.
It is housed in Dispur, the capital of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region.
The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Members of Legislative Assembly, directly elected from single-seat constituencies. Its term is five years, unless sooner dissolved.
According to provisions of the Government of India Act 1935, a bicameral legislature of Assam province came into existence in 1937. After the Government of India Act, 1935 was passed, it paved the way for the formation of Assam Legislative Assembly, and became a bicameral legislature.

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 passed in Rajya Saba

The Rajya Sabha passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 to improve road safety, raise penalties for traffic violations, curb RTO (Regional Transport Office) corruption and other measures to transform the transport sector.
Under the amendments, the minimum penalty for driving without licence has been increased to Rs 5,000 from Rs 500 while the fine for driving despite disqualification has been increased to Rs 10,000.
Also, driving without wearing a helmet will attract a penalty of Rs 1,000.
A new provision has been added to the Bill with regard to underage drivers under which the guardians or vehicle owners shall be held guilty in case of an offence by a juvenile.
A fine of Rs 25,000 with three years imprisonment will be imposed and the juvenile will be tried under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act while the registration of the vehicle will be cancelled.
Over speeding will now attract a fine of Rs 1,000 for light motor vehicle and Rs 2,000 for medium passenger vehicle while not wearing seat belt will cost Rs 1,000.
Fine of Rs 10,000 for not providing passage to emergency vehicles.
The Bill also provides for a National Road Safety Board, to be created by the Central government through a notification.
The Board will advise the Central and state governments on all aspects of road safety and traffic management, including standards of motor vehicles, registration and licensing of vehicles, standards for road safety and promotion of new vehicle technology.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, is based on the recommendations of the Group of Transport Ministers (GoM) of states constituted by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to address the issue of road safety and to improve the facilitation of the citizens while dealing with transport departments.

Lok Sabha passes Bill for adjudication of river water rows

Bill to streamline the adjudication of inter-state river water disputes and make the present legal and institutional architecture robust was on Wednesday passed in the Lok Sabha.
The draft legislation proposed to introduce a mechanism to resolve the water disputes amicably by negotiations through a Disputes Resolution Committee (DRC).
The DRC would be established by the Centre consisting of experts from relevant fields before the water dispute was referred to the Tribunal.
The Bill seeks amendment to the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 considering the increase in demand for water by the states and that inter-state river water disputes were on the rise.
The Bill seeks to provide for a single standing Tribunal (with multiple benches) instead of multiple Tribunals, which shall consist of a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson and not more than six members (three judicial and three experts).
The term of office of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall be five years or till they attain the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.
It is proposed that the assessors, who provide technical support to the Tribunal, shall be appointed from amongst experts serving in the Central Water Engineering Service not below the rank of Chief Engineer.
The total time period for adjudication of a water dispute has been fixed at a maximum of four and a half years.
The decision of the Bench of the Tribunal shall be final and binding on the states concerned.

Cabinet approves new subsidy rates for fertilizers

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved subsidy rates for P&K (phosphatic and potassic) fertilizers for the year 2019-20.
The subsidy rates for nitrogen will be Rs 18.90 per kg, Rs 15.21 per kg for phosphorus, Rs 11.12 per kg for potash and Rs 3.56 per kg for sulphur.
The expected expenditure for release of subsidy on P&K fertilizers during 2019-20 will be Rs 22,875.50 crore.
This will enable the manufacturers and importers to formalize supply contracts for fertilizers and fertilizer inputs and make fertilizers available to the farmers.

August 02, 2019

Centre releases Rs 191 crore, State Govt Rs 189 crore to implement Guwahati Smart city

The Central government has till now released Rs 191 crore to implement the Guwahati Smart City Project, while another Rs 189 crore has been released by the State government.
Various projects have been taken up with funds allotted by the Centre and the State government and these include beautification of Gandhi Mandap, setting up of 30 smart bio-toilets and 20 water ATMs and project management consultancy, among other activities.
The West Guwahati Water Supply Project implemented by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), is progressing at a fast pace and over 95 per cent work has been completed.
The South East Guwahati Water Supply Project is targeted for completion by 2023.
The JICA-funded water supply scheme has witnessed progress of 56 per cent so far and steps have been taken to complete it by 2020.
GMDA is also undertaking work on cleaning and dredging of water bodies like Silsako, Bondajan, Pamohi river and Borsola Beel to increase their water retaining capacity.
Work has been completed on clearing and widening of the Pamohi river and the drain along the National Highway 37 from ISBT to ensure passage of excess water of the Basistha and Mora Bharalu rivers to the Deepor Beel.

The Arbitration and Conciliation Amendment Bill passed in Lok Shaba

A Bill seeking to make India a hub of arbitration for settling commercial disputes in a shorter period of time was passed in the Lok Sabha.
The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2019, moved by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for passage, seeks to set up the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC) for creating an independent and autonomous regime for institutionalized arbitration.
The Bill seeks to amend section 11 of the Act relating to “Appointment of Arbitrators” so as to change the present system of appointment of arbitrators by the Supreme Court or the High Court, to a system where the arbitrators shall be appointed by the “arbitral institutions” designated by the Supreme Court or the High Court.
Government’s move to amend the earlier law on the alternative dispute resolution mechanism is aimed at making India a major arbitration centre in the world on the lines of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) among others.
The draft legislation provides for establishing an independent body to lay down standards for timely and cost-effective disposal of cases and eventually improving ease-of-doing business.
The proposed law provides for setting up of an independent Arbitration Council of India (ACI) to frame arbitral institutions and grade arbitrators.

President Kovind gives assent to multiple Bills

President Ram Nath Kovind has given his nod to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 that abolishes the practice of instant Triple Talaq.
The law comes into force retrospectively from 19th September 2018. A Gazette Notification to this effect was issued.
The bill seeks to declare the practice of instant Triple Talaq as void and illegal and makes it a cognizable offence.
It also provides allowance to women victims and their dependent children. The offence is made compoundable with the permission of the Magistrate at the instance of the married Muslim woman upon whom talaq is pronounced
President Ram Nath Kovind has also given his assent to the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The Bill seeks to amend the Companies Act, 2013. It aims to tighten Corporate Social Responsibility-CSR compliance, transfer certain responsibilities to National Company Law Tribunal and recategorise certain offences as civil offences.
President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill 2019. The law comes into force retrospectively from 21st February, 2019.
The bill seeks to provide for a comprehensive mechanism to ban the unregulated deposit schemes other than deposits taken in the ordinary course of businesses and to protect the interest of depositors.
It will work as a crackdown on Ponzi schemes and will help protect the interests of poor people and their hard-earned money. Depositors have been given a top priority in the bill.
The bill also proposes adequate provisions for repayment of deposits in cases where such schemes nonetheless manage to raise deposits illegally.

Scientists create new technique to 3D print heart scaffold

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University used soft and living materials to create a biological scaffold, making a step closer to being able to 3D print a full-sized, adult human heart.
The study reported the first-of-its-kind technique that could print tissue scaffolds out of a major structural protein in the human body.
Human organs like the heart are built from specialised cells that are held together by a scaffold called the extracellular matrix (ECM).
It has not been possible until now to rebuild the complex ECM using traditional methods.
The technique called FRESH can print pieces of the heart out of collagen and cells into truly functional parts like a heart valve or a small beating ventricle.
The collagen is a desirable 3D-printing biomaterial since it makes up literally every single tissue in human body. But it starts out as a fluid and tends to deform during printing.
The FRESH technique allows collagen to be deposited layer-by-layer within a support bath of gel, so that the collagen could solidify in place before being removed from the gel.
Then, the support gel would be melted away by heating from room temperature to body temperature without damaging the printed structure.
The FRESH is a robust and adaptable tissue engineering platform since a wide range of other soft gels including fibrin, alginate, and hyaluronic acid can be used.

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August 03, 2019

North East gets 49 projects worth Rs 1,232 crore

The Centre has sanctioned 49 development projects worth Rs 1,232 crore for the northeastern region in the first 50 days of the Modi government.
The projects include construction and renovation of roads, bridges and upgrading of tourist spots. The Ministry of Development of North-East Region (DoNER) has sanctioned 49 projects worth Rs 1,232 crore in the first 50 days of Narendra Modi government’s second term which began on May 30.
While eight new projects have been sanctioned for Rs 586.3 crore under the North East Road Sector Development Scheme (NERSDS) and the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS), some other projects are upgrade of the AT Road from Tsusangra to Input Junction (26 km) with three bridges, Tenning-Lekie Road (37 km) in Nagaland, and the Dikhow Bridge-Amguri road leading to Nagaland.
Upgrade of the Tuensang- Longleng road in Nagaland, construction of the Mukroh-Umspar road linking Jrikyndeng in Meghalaya, improvement of eco-tourism centre connectivity from Amarpur (Fatiksagar) to Chabimura in Tripura, improvement of Gandacherra-Raishyabari road for easy access for the tourists from Dhalai to Narikel Kunja Island in Tripura are also part of the projects.
In addition, 36 ongoing projects under various schemes like the Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme, special packages and schemes of the North Eastern Council were completed at an approved cost of Rs 529.18 crore.

FACTFILE – Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is a Government of India ministry, established in September 2001, which functions as the nodal Department of the Central Government to deal with matters related to the socio-economic development of the eight States of Northeast India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.
It acts as a facilitator between the Central Ministries/ Departments and the State Governments of the North Eastern Region in the economic development including removal of infrastructural bottlenecks, provision of basic minimum services, creating an environment for private investment and to remove impediments to lasting peace and security in the North Eastern Region.
Jitendra Singh is the current Minister of Development of North Eastern Region (Minister of state, Independent Charge).

Indian, Chinese soldiers mark 92^nd year of PLA

Defence personnel from India and China gathered at Nathu La, Damai, Bumla and other places along the Line of Actual Control to mark the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Special border personnel gathering between India and China, was held at Nathu La (Sikkim), Damai, Bumla (both Arunachal Pradesh) and other places along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to celebrate the 92nd anniversary of PLA foundation day.
The PLA troops interacted with the visiting Indian delegation and presented a cultural programme comprising of several events to celebrate the occasion.
As a gesture of goodwill, the Indian side also reciprocated with traditional cultural performances to mark the occasion.
The LAC with China traverses the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

FACTFILE – Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and of its founding and ruling political party, the Communist Party of China (CPC).
The PLA consists of five professional service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, and the Strategic Support Force. Units around the country are assigned to one of five theater commands by geographical location.
The PLA is the world’s largest military force and constitutes the second largest defence budget in the world. China is one of the fastest modernising military powers in the world and has been termed as a potential military superpower, with significant regional defense and rising global power projection capabilities.
As per Credit Suisse, the PLA is the world’s third-most powerful military.
The PLA is under the command of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the CPC. It is legally obliged to follow the principle of civilian control of the military, although in practical terms this principle has been implemented in such a way as to ensure the PLA is under the absolute control of the Communist Party.
Its commander in chief is the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (usually the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China).

Parliament approves bill to scrap 58 obsolete laws

Parliament passed a bill to repeal 58 old central laws which the government said has been done to achieve maximum governance. The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2019 was passed by the Rajya Sabha through voice vote.
Moving the bill in the Upper House, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said government has decided to get rid of redundant and absolute laws. A committee has identified 1824 old laws.
So far, 1,428 old and archaic central Acts have been repealed and about 75 laws — which the Centre drafted for states in view of the President rule — have also been repealed till date.
The current bill aims to repeal 58 old central laws, which have become “irrelevant”. This is being done to ensure minimum legislation and maximum governance.

Rajya Sabha passes UAPA Bill to tag individuals as terrorists

A Bill amending the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 that allows the government to tag individuals as terrorists was passed by the Rajya Sabha.
The Bill, under which the government can designate individuals as terrorists if they commit or participate in acts of terrorism, prepare for acts of terror, promote terrorism or are otherwise involved in terrorism.

August 04, 2019

Agarwood plantation to help ailing tea industry in Assam

After the accomplishment of the bid to commercialise the traditional Agarwood plantation and Agarwood-related trades in the State with the provision to infuse artificial inoculation of the fungus, locally known as ‘Sanchi Vecur’ (Agarwood fungus), in the immature Agarwood trees, bids are now afoot to join-up the State’s beleaguered tea industry with Agarwood plantation, so as to open up a new vista for the plantation-based economy of the State.
This endeavour would go a long way in providing both the tea industry and the Agarwood-based industry of the State a new direction. The economic prospect of this stitching together of the two traditional industries of the State is tremendous. This can act as a game changer for both the tea and the Agarwood sectors, they asserted.
Jehirul Islam, who was the brain behind the State Government’s latest Cabinet decision to accord commercial activities status to Agarwood-based industry, has been engaged in generating public awareness about the importance of Agarwood plantation and Agarwood-based industry for the past over one decade now.
Legally, tea estates of the State can use five per cent of their unused land for other plantation activities. So, this much of the TE land in the State could be well used for Agarwood plantation.
Resorting to Agarwood plantation on the fallow land, TEs would be highly benefited and since the tea industry is an organised one, its taking to Agarwood plantation is also going to help the Agarwood industry as well.Agarwood trees can also act as shade trees in tea plantations.
This will in the long run help the State’s economy to grow.

ISRO to build centre to protect high value Space assets

The Indian space agency said that the foundation stone for a centre to monitor and protect high value space assets from space debris has been laid.
Sivan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), laid the foundation stone for the Space Situational Awareness Control Centre in Peenya, Bengaluru.
Space Situational Awareness & Management (SSAM) has become an internationally significant area due to the ever growing manmade space debris population and the increased collision threat with operational spacecraft.
ISRO has set up a Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management aiming at protecting high valued space assets from space debris close approaches and collisions.
To carryout systematically all activities related to SSAM, a control centre is being established at Bengaluru.
The control centre would facilitate the intensified activities foreseen for SSAM, in view of the increasing debris population and operational space assets.
The control centre would host a range of activities pertaining to protection of Indian space assets from inactive satellites, pieces of orbiting objects, near earth asteroids and adverse space weather conditions.
It would assimilate the tracking data of inactive satellites from indigenous observation facilities and generate useful information from bare observations through analysis.

Parliament passes Code on Wages bill to ensure minimum wage

Parliament approved a bill to enable introduction of minimum wage for every worker besides addressing issues like delay in payment to employees.
The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 — which seeks to amend and consolidate the laws relating to wages, bonus and matters connected therewith.
The Bill will subsume four labour laws — Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act and Equal Remuneration Act.
As per the bill, the tripartite committee comprising representatives of trade unions, employers and state government would fix a floor wage for workers throughout the country.
At present there are 12 definitions of wages in the different Labour Laws leading to litigation besides difficulty in its implementation.
The definition has been simplified in the Bill and is expected to reduce litigation and also reduce compliance cost for employers.

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August 05, 2019

Madhabilata Literary Award to Sarifa Khatoon Choudhury

Sarifa Khatoon Choudhury, an Assamese poet, president of the Tinsukia Zila Sahitya Sewa Mancha and retired principal of Dangari HS School, has been selected for the Madhabilata Literary Award 2017-18.
Atul Sharma, the managing trustee of the Madhabilata Literary Trust, said that the award will be presented to her at a special programme in October. The award carries a memento, a citation, an anga bastra and Rs 10,000 in cash.
The Madhabilata Literary Trust instituted this award in 2005 and since then it has been presenting the award after every two years to an eminent writer of Tinsukia district for his or her contributions to Assamese literature.
Authors like Robin Choudhury, Horendra Nath Borthakur, Punnya Saikia, Joykanta Gondhiya, Sushil Kumar Gogoi and Parul Sharma have received this award.

BIOGRAPHY – Khatoon Choudhury

Khatoon Choudhury started her poetic career during her school days. Hundreds of her poems have been published in various magazines, periodicals and newspapers of Assam and other places.
Three collections of her poems have also been published. She also participated in the South Asian Literary Festival held in New Delhi in 2018. A few of her poems have been translated into English.

India test-fires Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile

India test-fired a sophisticated all-weather and all-terrain Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) from a test range in Odisha.
The state-of-the-art missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the India Army.
The air defence system, QRSAM, was test-fired from a mobile truck-based launch unit at complex 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur.
The all-weather and all-terrain missile, which can be mounted on a truck and stored in a canister, is equipped with electronic counter measures against jamming by aircraft radars.
QRSAM uses solid-fuel propellant and has a range of 25-30 km.
The test flights had successfully demonstrated their aerodynamics, propulsion, structural performance and high manoeuvring capabilities.

UN team for study on transforming Assam into a skilled economy

Representatives from the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), led by Keshav C Das, Programme Coordinator (Energy and Environment), paid a courtesy call to Dipok Kumar Barthakur, Vice Chairman of the State Innovation and Transformation Aayog (SITA), Assam
During the visit, the representatives made their plans known for an assessment study for transforming Assam into a skilled economy.
They opined that Assam needs a holistic approach to vocational education and skill development by having a defined approach for both short-term and long-term training courses to meet the objectives of the Skill India programme.
The representatives also sought the help of SITA in their future endeavour in organising a State-level workshop or seminar after completion of the study.
Discussions took place on the GIS platform for resource-based planning and computing and networking infrastructure for the State designed to integrate in alignment with the national-level GIS infrastructure.
GIS asset and GIS portal and applications were also discussed during the occasion.

August 06, 2019

Centre to launch Rs 3,000 crore projects in 100 days in North-East region

The Centre has decided to launch 200 projects worth Rs 3,000 crore in the North East in the first 100 days of the new Modi government. Keeping in mind the targeted approach for bringing the rest of India closer to the North East, an action plan has been formulated for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
Among the initiatives the DoNER has taken in the 100 days action plan is to sanction or start or complete or operationalise 200 projects worth about Rs 3,000 crore, which means on an average two projects for Rs 30 crore per day.
The Narendra Modi government has always accorded top priority to the “hitherto neglected” areas of the country – the North Eastern region being one of them. During the first five years of his term as Prime Minister, Modi undertook over 30 visits to the North East and his personal outreach put all the development activities on a fast track.
In the first term of the Modi government, the primary focus was not only to bring the North East closer to the rest of India, but actually to bring the rest of India closer to the North East.
A key project under the action plan is setting up of a bamboo industrial park at Manderdisa in Dima Hasao district in an area of 75 hectares at a cost of Rs 50 crore.
In addition, 36 ongoing projects under various schemes like the Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) Scheme, special packages, schemes of the North Eastern Council (NEC) have been completed with approved cost of Rs 529.18 crore.

Lok Sabha Passes bill to increase number of SC judges to 33

Lok Sabha passed a bill which seeks to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from the present 30 to 33 with a view to reduce pendency of cases.
As of now, the Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 30 judges, plus the chief justice of India – 31 judges.
Once the bill gets parliamentary approval, its sanctioned strength will go up to 33, plus the CJI, according to the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill piloted by Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Lok Sabha passes Bill to define identity of transgenders

A Bill seeking to empower transgenders by defining their identity and prohibition of discrimination against them was passed in the Lok Sabha.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, Minister for State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Rattan Lal Kataria said the draft legislation will benefit transgender persons and bring them into mainstream of society.
The Bill prohibits discrimination against a transgender person, including denial of service or unfair treatment in relation to education, employment, healthcare, enjoyment of goods, facilities, opportunities available to the public, right to movement, right to reside, rent, or otherwise occupy property, opportunity to hold public or private office, access to a government or private establishment in whose care or custody a transgender person is.
It prohibits government as well as private entities from discriminating against transgender persons in employment matters, including recruitment, and promotion and that every establishment is required to designate a person to be a complaint officer to deal with complaints in relation to the Act.
The Bill which also seeks facility to every transgender person to have a right to reside and be included in his household.
It defines a transgender person as one whose gender does not match the gender assigned at birth. A transgender person may make an application to the District Magistrate for a certificate of identity, indicating the gender as ”transgender” as per the Bill.
A revised certificate may be obtained only if the individual undergoes surgery to change their gender either as a male or a female, the Bill defines. It states that the relevant government will take measures to ensure the full inclusion and participation of transgender persons in society.
It recognizes offences against transgender persons like forced or bonded labour (excluding compulsory government service for public purposes), denial of use of public places, removal from household, and village, physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse. Penalties for these offences vary between six months and two years.

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August 07, 2019

IIT Guwahati builds hand-held device to detect bacteria

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati researchers have developed a low-cost, hand-held device for rapid detection of bacteria, bringing portable bacterial detection kits closer to reality.
This novel, low-cost diagnostic device is a biocompatible sensor that can detect bacteria without cell culture and microbiological assays.
The ready-to-use diagnostic tool could facilitate rapid detection and diagnosis at the point of care.
The researchers believe that besides being useful in a healthcare set up, the device could aid anti-bioterrorism measures and environmental monitoring applications.
The Organic Field Effect Transistor (OFET)-based bacterial diagnostic device has been shown to have the ability to distinguish between Gram positive and Gram negative types. The sensor detects the charges on the cell walls of bacteria.
Current diagnostic processes are frustratingly time-consuming, especially when time is of the essence in administering treatment.
While newly developed techniques such as real time qPCR can detect bacteria faster than conventional assay-based methods, they are restricted by the need for expensive apparatuses and trained personnel.
The current device is particularly useful for the detection of bacteria primarily for water-borne diseases. These sensors will also be useful in instantaneous detection of time-critical illnesses such as meningitis.

Parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Re-organisation Bill 2019

Parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019 and approved the resolution to abrogate the Constitution’s Article 370.
The Bill, which was passed by Rajya Sabha, was approved by the Lok Sabha.
The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha with over 350 members voting in its favour.
Home Minister Amit Shah said as Article 370 stops Jammu and Kashmir to associating with India, it should be abolished.
Shah asserted that the decision has been taken for the welfare of the Valley.

President declares abrogation of provisions of Article 370

President Ram Nath Kovind has declared abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The move came after both houses of Parliament passed a resolution in this regard.
In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (3) of Article 370 read with clause (1) of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, the President, on the recommendation of Parliament, is pleased to declare that, as from the 6th August, 2019, all clauses of the said article 370 shall cease to be operative.

FACTFILE – Article 370 of the Indian constitution

Article 370 of the Indian constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir state in India, – conferring it with the power to have a separate constitution, a state flag and autonomy over the internal administration of the state.
The article was drafted in Part XXI of the Constitution: Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions.
The Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, after its establishment, was empowered to recommend the articles of the Indian constitution that should be applied to the state or to abrogate the Article 370 altogether.
After consultation with the state’s Constituent Assembly, the 1954 Presidential Order was issued, specifying the articles of the Indian constitution that applied to the state. Since the Constituent Assembly dissolved itself without recommending the abrogation of Article 370, the article was deemed to have become a permanent feature of the Indian Constitution.
This article, along with Article 35A, defined that the Jammu and Kashmir state’s residents live under a separate set of laws, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights, as compared to residents of other Indian states. As a result of this provision, Indian citizens from other states could not purchase land or property in Jammu & Kashmir.
On 5 August 2019, President Ram Nath Kovind issued a constitutional order superseding the 1954 order, and making all the provisions of the Indian constitution applicable to Jammu and Kashmir based on the resolution passed in both houses of India’s parliament with 2/3 majority.
Following the resolutions passed in both houses of the parliament, he issued a further order on 6 August declaring all the clauses of Article 370 except clause 1 to be inoperative.
In addition, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was passed by the parliament, enacting the division the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories to be called Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh. The reorganisation took place on 31 October 2019.

Rajya Sabha passes bill to evict MPs living in govt houses illegally
Seeking to swiftly evict illegal occupants from government accommodation, the Rajya Sabha passed the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019.
The bill which amends the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, was moved by Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. It has already been passed by the Lok Sabha.
The amendment being brought is very limited one and relates to public premise for residential accommodation. It applies to members of Parliament, government officers and employees.
The bill has proposed to insert a new sub-section (3A) in section 7 of the Act requiring that if the person challenges the eviction order passed by the estate officer in any court, he has to pay the damages for every month for the residential accommodation held by him.
The existing law has lengthy eviction process involving a show-cause notice and appeal provisions. As a result, it takes years at times to evict the unauthorised occupant.
The bill has proposed to apply summary eviction procedure to residential accommodation given on licence basis with a short show-cause notice of three days to the unauthorised occupants.

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Assam Current Affairs – July 22 – 28, 2019

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

Current Affairs Assam – July 22 - 28, 2019

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

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July 22, 2019

Tripura set to scale up white tea production

The successful completion of pilot projects on white tea has paved the way for planters in Tripura to go for full-scale production of the ‘costly and delicate’ variety.
Earlier this year, the 95-year-old Golokpur tea estate in Unakoti district of the State set a record when it sold its white tea for Rs 10,000 a kg to a Banglore-based retailer.
White tea is minimally processed. It is harvested even before the plant leaves unfurl fully with the buds still covered by fine white hairs, hence, the name white tea.
Besides fetching good money, white tea will also earn the tea estate a good name, as people in the industry know that the production process is difficult. We have been getting more orders for this special variety, De said.
Fatikcherra, another 101-year old tea estate in the hill State, has produced 6.8 kg white tea this year, which fetched Rs 5,500 per kg.
Around one quintal of white tea has been produced in the State this year. Tripura annually produces nine million kg of tea in 58 gardens.
The agro-climatic condition is favourable for tea production in Tripura. Now we have got a logo approved for Tripura tea, and even convinced the tribal villagers to grow wild tea near the Tripura-Mizoram boundary.
The Tea Board of India is now trying to convince planters to turn to organic brew, besides encouraging white tea production, he said.
Tripura has always had a problem of auctioning tea as there is no auction centre in the State. The Bangladesh Government has, however, agreed to allow planters from Tripura to auction their produce at Sreemangal subdivision of Moulavibazar district, which is near the Tripura border.

Russia launches manned spacecraft to space station

Russia’s Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft carrying three astronauts successfully took off for the International Space Station (ISS) and entered the planned orbit.
Soyuz MS-13, carrying Roscosmos astronaut Alexander Skvortsov (commander), Luca Parmitano (flight engineer-1) from Italy and Andrew Morgan (flight engineer-2) of the US, will automatically approach the ISS and dock to it.
The new expedition will join Roscosmos astronaut Alexei Ovchinin, and NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch on the ISS.
The space launch was conducted on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing of the US Apollo 11 spacecraft.

Rajasthan government launches ‘police training’ programme for school students

The Rajasthan government has formally launched a training programme for school students, in line with the National Cadet Corps practice, which aims to curb rising adolescent delinquency and make them aware of basic laws and legal procedures.
The training programme initiated jointly by the state education and police departments will be available in selected government schools in the current academic session.
The two-year programme for students of classes 8 and 9 aims to curb rising adolescent delinquency, strengthen the teenagers mentally and physically, and make them aware of basic laws and legal procedures.
On the guidelines of the central government, the SPC training programme has been launched in 930 state government schools and 70 KendriyaVidyalayas.
As many as 15 modules covering all aspects of public and personal life, including personality development, physical and mental growth and social responsibility, have been developed for the SPC training which would be imparted at three levels that include indoor classes, outdoor activities and visits to relevant places and offices.

July 23, 2019

Tiger number in Assam goes up to 190

Assam now has 190 tigers, marking an increase from 167 recorded in the 2014 Tiger Census. The country’s total tiger population is 2,967 tigers and the growth in the fourth cycle of the Tiger Census has seen a 33 per cent increase.
Nine years ago it was decided in St. Petersburg that target of doubling tiger population will be 2022. India completed this target four year early, as per the ‘All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018’.
As per the later tiger census, Madhya Pradesh saw the highest number of tigers at 526, closely followed by Karnataka at 524 and Uttarakhand at number three with 442 tigers.
While Assam witnessed an increase in tiger population, Nameri Tiger Reserve saw a declining trend. Chhattisgarh and Mizoram saw a decline in their tiger numbers while tiger numbers in Odisha remained constant. Loss in North East is due to poor sampling, the Report said, adding that all other states witnessed a positive trend.
The Tiger Census 2014 pegged the total number of big cats in the country at 2226 while the 2010 census put the figure at 1706 and the 2006 version at 1411, indicating that tiger numbers have been increasing continuously.

India successfully launches Chandrayaan-2

India successfully launched its second moon mission Chandrayaan-2 from its most powerful rocket with a plan to land the rover on September 7 in the unexplored lunar south pole.
The most complex and prestigious mission ever undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO), if successful, will also make India the fourth country after Russia, the US and China to pull off a soft landing on the moon.
The Rs 978-crore unmanned mission also brought woman power to the fore as it was helmed by two woman scientists of the ISRO–RituKaridhal and M Vanitha, the Mission and Project directors respectively.
Joined by President Ram NathKovind and leaders across the political spectrum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the scientists.
The ISRO is aiming for a soft landing of the lander in the South Pole region of the moon where no country has gone so far.
Immediately after Chandrayaan-2’s separation from the rocket, the solar array of the spacecraft automatically got deployed and the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network at Bengaluru successfully took control of the spacecraft.
Chandrayaan-2 comes 11 years after ISRO’s successful first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 which scripted history by making more than 3,400 orbits around the Moon and was operational for 312 days till August 29, 2009.

IIT Kharagpur students develop AI App for elderly care

Students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have developed two interconnected android smartphone applications.
The app named ‘CARE4U’, developed by an interdisciplinry team of 2nd year B.Tech students, connects the caregiver to the elderly.
While one of these apps can be installed on the phones of the elderly, the other can be attached to the smartphone of the caregiver.
The neural network-based fall detection algorithm in the app installed on the phone of the elderly can detect whether the elderly has fallen down.
If there is a fall, it automatically calls the caregiver and emergency services with the location of the elderly person.
The other features include detecting emotion by taking a picture and calculating the mood index.
To make this feature more effective the team has developed a cognitive intelligent chatbot for the elderly person to engage with.
Moreover, the app can also do other activities like make a call, send a text, book a cab and so on. It also has a record of medical histories, an account of allergies, an SOS button, real-time location tracking, among others.
The ‘CARE4U’ app includes a ‘Medicine Reminder’ feature to remind both the elderly person as well as the caregiver that it is time for the former to take medicine.

The National Medical Commission Bill, 2019 Introduced in Lok Sabha

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan introduced The National Medical Commission Bill, 2019, to provide for a medical education system that also encourages community health perspective and makes services of medical professionals accessible to all citizens.
The Bill seeks to replace the Medical Council of India and usher in major changes in medical education sector as well as promote national health goals that encourage medical professionals to adopt latest medical research in their work and to contribute to research.
The Bill that seeks to improve access to quality and affordable medical education and ensures availability of adequate and high quality medical professionals all over the country to promote equitable and universal healthcare.

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July 24, 2019

Assam relaxes restrictions on Agar tree cultivation

The Assam government has relaxed the restrictions on cultivation of the scented Agar tree. The Cabinet approved growing and cutting of Agar and Chandan trees on non-forest lands.
The Cabinet also approved setting up of an International Trade Centre for Agar in Golaghat.
The plantation of Agar tree is seen in Assam’s Sibsagar, Sadiya, Nagaon, Darrang, Goalpara and Cachar districts of Assam.
Apart from Assam, the tree is also grown in Khasi Hills and Garo Hills districts of Meghalaya and also found in the forests of Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.
As Agar wood was classified under the wood based industries, cutting of Agar tree was not allowed and there was requirement of registration for sending the same outside.
At present the Hojai district in Assam is the hub of distilling the agar oil.

Assam Govt’s important Cabinet decisions

Procurement and distribution of free sugar to the tea garden beneficiaries under ANNA Scheme at 2 kg per family per month.
Through the Assam Municipal Amendment Act, educational qualifications has been set for Ward Commissioners – Class 12 pass for general category candidates, Class 10 for SC/ST/OBC category.
An international trade centre for Agar Tree will be set up at Golaghat.
3-year exemption on levy of cess on green leaves for big tea gardens.
New syllabus for APSC examination in line with UPSC exam.
Reservation of 80 per cent in managerial and supervisory and 90 per cent in non-managerial cadre in State PSUs and industries availing benefits from State Government.
Under the New Assam State Industrial Policy, 2019, power subsidy at Rs 2 per unit will be given for a period of 5 years subject to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh per annum.
50,000 subsidy to the higher education loans.
The number of wards in Guwahati Municipal Corporation has been increased to 60.
The honorarium for GP Member has been hiked from Rs. 1500 to Rs 2000, AP Member from Rs. 2500 to Rs. 3000 and ZP Member from 3500 to Rs. 4000.
The New Film Policy approved under which Rs. 25 lakh subsidy will be given for films whose production cost is Rs. 1 crore. Films honoured with National Award will get Rs 1 crore and those nominated for Oscar Rs 2 crore. Moreover, a corpus fund will be created collecting Rs. 1 from each ticket sold for the welfare of artistes.

UN calls nations to join clean air initiative

The United Nations, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN Environment and Climate and Clean Air Coalition announced the clean air initiative and urged governments participation.
The announcement was made by Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action Summit.
The climate and the air pollution crisis are driven by the same factors and must be tackled by joint actions.
The governments at all levels have both an urgent need and huge opportunity not only to address the climate crisis, but also to improve the health and save the lives of millions of people around the world, all while making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The clean air initiative calls on national and sub-national governments to commit to achieving air quality that is safe for citizens, and to align climate change and air pollution policies by 2030.
According to the World Bank, air pollution costs the global economy around $5.11 trillion in welfare losses.
Meeting the Paris Agreement on climate change, however, could save over 1 million lives a year by 2050 and yield health benefits worth $54.1 trillion, twice the costs of mitigation, through reduced air pollution alone.
Governments at all levels can join the initiative by committing to specific actions, including implementing air quality and climate change policies that will achieve the WHO ambient air quality guideline values.
The initiative comprises implementing e-mobility and sustainable mobility policies and actions with the aim of making a decisive impact on road transport emissions.

Lok Sabha passes Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill

The Lok Sabha passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks to transform Indian roads with adequate safety measures to reduce road accidents, imposing stiffer penalties for violations and weeding out corruption.
As part of the initiative, the Centre will develop a system for cashless treatment of road accident victims in the so-called golden hour—the period up to an hour after a traumatic injury, during which there is highest likelihood of preventing death by providing medical care.
The bill also seeks to protect good Samaritans, ensuring that people who come forward to help accident victims will not be harassed by the law.
The proposed law has suggested higher penalty for offences such as driving without a licence, speeding, dangerous driving, drunk driving and for vehicles plying without a permit.
There will be strict provisions and suspension of licence for dangerous driving and driving without seat-belts.
The bill proposes a fine of as much as ₹10,000 for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, up from the existing ₹2,000.
Besides, the Govt will have the power to increase the penalty by 10% every year.
Under the bill, the Centre can tell an automobile manufacturer to recall motor vehicles in case of defects that cause damage to the environment.
The bill caps the maximum liability for third-party insurance in case of an accident at ₹5 lakh, compared with ₹50,000 now.
There will also be an eight-time increase in compensation in case of hit-and-runs.

Bills to overhaul labour laws, boost jobs moved in Lok Sabha

Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar, introduced The Code on Wages, 2019, and The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2019.
The Code on Wages seeks to consolidate the laws relating to wages, bonus and connected matters.
The Bill will replace 44 archaic labour laws and aims to set standards of minimum wages across industry, including small businesses, which employ nearly 90 per cent of India”s work force.
It will repeal four existing laws, including one on wage payments passed in 1936 and one on minimum wages dating to 1948.
The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code seeks to consolidate and amend the laws regulating the occupational safety, health and working conditions of the persons employed in an establishment.
It proposes a single-registration, single-licence regime for companies, instead of multiple permissions under 13 labour laws and allows women to work night shifts.

July 25, 2019

Rail link to Gangtok from all NE State capitals by 2022

The Railways is set to link Sikkim’s capital, Gangtok, to capitals of all North Eastern States by March 2022. With this linkage, all the seven North Eastern State capitals will be connected to the national railway network, the Railways official added.
The capitals of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura have already been connected by a broad gauge rail network.
Work on new broad gauge lines has been taken up to connect the other State capitals – Shillong (Meghalaya), Imphal (Manipur), Kohima (Nagaland), Aizawl (Mizoram) – which is expected to be completed by 2020.
In Sikkim, the project has been riddled with land acquisition issues. The project of laying a broad gauge line from Sivok to Rangpo of length 45 km was sanctioned in 2008-09. However, the project has been in limbo since then with just 19 per cent of the work being completed so far, officials said.
Among the most significant of the ongoing projects is the 111-km Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal line, 64 per cent of which has been completed so far will not only put the Manipur capital on the railway map in the next couple of years but also prepare grounds for taking the railways to Moreh on the Myanmar border and beyond to become part of the proposed Trans-Asian Railway.
A 10-km section from Jiribam-Vaingaichungpao has already been completed.
In Aizawl, 58.43 per cent of the 51.38-km Bhairabi-Sairang line has been completed, while in Kohima, the Railways has made a progress of 25.23 per cent in the 82.5-km Dimapur-Zubza line.
In Shillong, the 21.50-km Tetelia-Byrnihat line has seen a 40 per cent progress, while a 10-km section from Tetelia-Kamlajari has been completed. Another line in the State, the 108.40-km Byrnihat-Shillong line has only seen progress of around 5 per cent.

IIT scientists devise robotic hand for Paralytics

The scientists at the IIT-Kanpur have ventured into the world’s first robot hand for the rehabilitation of stroke patients.
The device is a two-finger robotic hand (exoskeleton) that uses a four-bar mechanism and has four degrees of freedom (DOF).
Professor Ashish Dutta and Professors K S Venkatesh have achieved this feat.
The exoskeleton can be used by a patient on the hand.
It uses brain signals, with the help of the brain computer interface (BCI) that is worn on the head, and helps paralysed patients to open and close the movement of their thumb, forefinger and middle fingers for physical practice.
The exoskeleton is operated by an MEGA microcontroller of 300 Mhz and powered by a battery.
The device has sensors that control the pressure of the fingertip applied by the patient.
If the patient can close or move the finger, the device follows the movement passively.
If it does not, then the device actively forces the finger to close, while taking BCI instructions using signals.

HAL delivers Chetak helicopter to Indian Navy

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) delivered a Chetak helicopter to the Indian Navy. The documents were handed over by S Anbuvelan, General Manager of Helicopter Division-HAL to Commodore Vikram Menon, VSM, CSO(Air), HQNA at an event.
HAL entered into a contract with the Indian Navy in August of 2017 for the supply of eight Chetak helicopters with the delivery schedule of the first two in August of 2019 and the rest in August of 2020.
These helicopters are fitted with the latest communication and navigation systems developed by HAL and the company is committed to providing continuous support to the Chetak fleet.
These helicopters are used by the Navy for communication duties (passenger transport), cargo/ material transport, casualty evacuation, search and rescue, areal survey and patrolling, emergency medical services, electronic news gathering, anti hijacking, offshore operation and under-slung operation.
HAL has so far produced more than 350 Chetak helicopters and delivered around 80 to the Indian Navy. Presently, 51 helicopters are flying with the Navy and the serviceability has always remained high.

RS passes Bill including death penalty for child abuse

Rajya Sabha passed the bill for amending the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was moved by Union Women and Child Development Minister SmritiIrani.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 provides for stringent punishment including life imprisonment for using children for pornographic purposes.
The new law is expected to discourage the trend of child sexual abuse by acting as a deterrent due to the strong penal provisions in it.
It intends to protect the interests of vulnerable children in times of distress and ensure their safety and dignity.

The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019

The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019, which would replace the ordinance on the same, seeks to tackle the menace of illicit deposit-taking, being done by exploiting regulatory gaps and due to lack of strict administrative measures.
A Bill to protect depositors from Ponzi schemes and put in place a mechanism by which the investors can be compensated was passed by the Lok Sabha.
The Bill also provides for 1-10 years punishment and Rs 2 lakh to Rs 50 crore fines to deter any such act.
The Bill ensures that no hardship is caused to genuine businesses, or to individuals borrowing money from their relatives or friends for personal reasons or to tide over a crisis.
It contains a clause, which bans deposit-takers from promoting, operating, issuing advertisements or accepting deposits in any unregulated deposit scheme.
The Bill also proposes to create three different types of offences — running of unregulated deposit schemes, fraudulent default in regulated deposit schemes, and wrongful inducement in relation to unregulated deposit schemes.
The proposed law also provides for attachment of properties or assets and subsequent realisation of assets for repayment to depositors.
It will enable creation of an online central database for collection and sharing of information on deposit-taking activities.
The Bill also aims to prevent such unregulated deposit schemes or arrangements at their inception.

Andhra Pradesh passes law to reserve 75% jobs for locals

The Andhra Pradesh government has made it mandatory for existing and upcoming industries in the state to reserve 75 per cent jobs for locals.
This hass been done through the passage of a new law called the Andhra Pradesh Employment of Local candidates in the Industries/Factories Bill, 2019.
Passed by the state legislative assembly the bill asks existing industries to ensure 75 per cent employment to the local candidates within three years from the date of commencement of this Act.
In case there are no qualified/suitable candidates available, the employers will have to train and engage local candidates within three years in close collaboration with government agencies, according to the bill.

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July 26, 2019

Proposal for a new greenfield airport at Silchar, NE airports to get major face-lift

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received a proposal to develop a new greenfield airport at Silchar. The response from the Minister came in reply to an unstarred question (no. 5361) on whether there is any proposal to build new or develop existing airports in Assam and other states in North East raised by Guwahati MP Queen Ojha on July 25.
The Minister mentioned that for the Silchar airport, the AAI has requested the State Government to share the land details for conducting the pre-feasibility study.
Referring to the question on the development of existing airports across North East, the minister informed that the AAI has started work to build new terminal building at the LGBI Airport at Guwahati and also at the Imphal airport, re-carpetting of runway at Leelabari airport, extension of runway and other important allied works at Dibrugarh and Barapani airports, strengthening of runway at the Dimapur airport, construction of hangar and cargo building at Agartala airport and other development work at Rupsi and Teju airports.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has also granted ‘in principle’ approval for setting up of a new greenfield airport at Hollongi in Arunachal Pradesh for which steps for bidding documents are in process.

Clean Green Arunachal campaign launched

The Aalo Forest Division has launched the Clean Green Arunachal Campaign and Vanmahotsav, 2019, under the theme, ‘Plant more trees, make environment pollution free’. As many as 4,900 saplings were planted at various locations on the occasion.
Plastic-free zone: The Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Aalo has been declared a plastic and tobacco-free zone under the Swachhata Challenge. Officers and other staff have been given clear instructions not to bring plastic items like water bottles and single-use plastic items and tobacco products within the premises of the office building.
Regular water supply will be provided by the PHED, Aalo, and an alternative site for dumping of office waste is being identified. Disciplinary action will be taken against the office staff violating the decision under the Arunachal Pradesh Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1997.

IIT Kanpur inks pact with Ericsson to deploy NB-IoT to monitor Delhi’s air pollution

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) entered into a partnership with Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson to deploy Narrow-band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) to monitor air pollution in Delhi.
With support from Ericsson, IIT will develop and deploy India”s first NB-IoT based low cost particulate matter sensors at multiple locations across Delhi.
As part of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), Ericsson will use locally developed air quality sensors that are capable of sharing environmental data including PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 levels at defined time intervals.
This will lead to better monitoring and analysis of data collected from different parts of the capital.
The findings will be shared with local authorities and other key stakeholders on a periodic basis.
The sensors are automated and will relay information on defined time intervals, providing data on pollution levels, sources and locations in a sustainable and cost-efficient way.

Whatsapp teams up with NITI Aayog to promote women entrepreneurs

India’s Niti Aayog entered into a partnership with Facebook-owned WhatsApp to support the growth of a robust ecosystem to promote women entrepreneurs in India.
Under this partnership, WhatsApp, in collaboration with NITI Aayog, will announce an annual calendar of events aimed at capacity building of the women entrepreneurs and evolve specific programmes aimed at addressing challenges being faced by women entrepreneurs.
WhatsApp will also provide support amounting to $100,000 for the winners of NITI Aayog’s Women Transforming India (WTI) Awards 2019.

July 27, 2019

NE police forces join hands to fight human trafficking

With human trafficking becoming a major cause of concern for Assam and other states of the Northeast, the police forces of the region have decided to improve coordination with real time input sharing to deal with the menace.
The heads of the police forces of the northeastern states have also stressed the need for a detailed research on the issue by a reputed organisation.
At least 380 cases of human trafficking were reported in Assam only in the last five years and the actual number can even be higher as in some cases, the families of the affected girls do not come forward to report such incidents to police. As per records of the Assam Police, 82 trafficking cases were reported in 2014, 73 in 2015, 75 in 2016, 79 in 2017 and 70 cases were reported last year.
The Assam Police has already created an anti-human trafficking cell in the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and efforts would be made to make the cell more active.
Most of the girls trafficked from Assam end up in states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, and they are often lured with job offers.

NGT nod for Delhi Government’s water conservation project

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) gave its nod to Delhi Government’s water conservation project on Yamuna floodplains.
The project aims to conserve water on floodplains and build mega reservoir between Pall and Wazirabad to meet water demand.
Under the project, small ponds will be created to catch water from an overflowing Yamuna during this monsoon season.

Cabinet approves merger of National Institute of Miners’ Health with ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health

The Union Cabinet, has approved to dissolve National Institute of Miners’ Health (NIMH), an autonomous Institute under Ministry of Mines (MoM) and merge with ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad.
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) with all assets and liabilities; and absorb all the employees of NIMH in NIOH in the similar post/pay scale as the case may be and their pay be protected.
NIMH, ICMR, NIOH, MoM and Department of Health Research (DHR), MoH&FW to take actions required for effecting dissolution and merger/amalgamation of NIMH with NIOH
The merger of NIMH with NIOH will prove beneficial to both the Institutes in term of enhanced expertise in the field of occupational health besides the efficient management of public money.

Cabinet approves creation of buffer stock of sugar

The Cabinet has approved the creation of buffer stock of 40 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of sugar for one year and to incur estimated maximum expenditure of Rs.1674 crores for this purpose.
However, based on the market price and availability of sugar, this may be reviewed by the Dept. of Food and Public Distribution any time for withdrawal / modification.
The reimbursement under the scheme would be met on quarterly basis to sugar mills which would be directly credited into farmers’ account on behalf of mills against cane price dues and subsequent balance, if any, would be credited to the mill’s account.
Creation of buffer stock of 30 LMT of sugar for one year from 1st July, 2018 to 30th June, 2019 was one of the various interventions which were made by the Government.

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July 28, 2019

Assam Police to induct hi-tech Sillinger boats

Assam Police is all set to induct a fleet of highly-sophisticated Sillinger boats that could be pressed into action for combat and non-combat operations, especially along the Indo-Bangla riverine border.
Sillinger boats, which are used by armed forces across the world, would be deployed with trained operators. Assam shares the riverine border stretch of 110 kilometres with Bangladesh.
As many as 70 Sillinger boats would be procured as part of its upgrading exercise in the first phase. Each boat will come with a payload capacity of 1,100 kilograms.
Sillinger boats are inflatable and would allow fast movement for the armed forces on the riverine areas. Along with that, it could be deployed for a wide range of missions, including rescue and search operations.
Once the boats are procured, a team of technicians would also be developed by the Assam Police.

Assam Legislative Assembly inks pact with UNICEF

The Assam Legislative Assembly signed a Letter of Understanding (LoU) with UNICEF Assam to work together on issues related to children in the State. The letter was signed by the Principal Secretary of State Assembly Mrigendra Kumar Deka and UNICEF Assam officer-in-charge Sweta Patnaik in the presence of Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami.
41 per cent of Assam’s population is children, which is almost the majority. The sustainable development goals which are related to women and children will be the purview for the Committee for the Welfare of Women and Children.
Addressing the need for protecting the rights of children, starting with their right to survival, MLA Dr Numal Momin said Assam has made significant strides in improving under-five mortality rate and stunted growth, but a lot is needed to be done to improve quality and access to nutrition, sanitation, drinking water and health interventions, among others, especially in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.
Assam loses 87 infants and 96 under-five children daily. About 36 per cent children in the State are malnourished, which could be due to several reasons such as mothers not receiving adequate diet during pregnancy and lactation in the first 1,000 days.

CISCO partners with Google to launch free high-speed Wifi in India

Global networking giant Cisco in partnership with Google announced to roll out free high-speed Wi-Fi access globally, starting with India.
The first pilot under the partnership has been rolled out at 35 locations in Bengaluru.
Cisco will work with Google”s “Station Platform” to provide communities around the country access to a free public Wi-Fi.
It will run on https environment — the same environment in which we do online banking transactions.
The service will be supported by advertisements.
By September this year, 200 locations in Bengaluru will be Wi-Fi enabled, followed by another 300 by in the second phase.
The locations include public spaces like bus stops, hospitals and government offices, etc.
According to a TRAI report, globally, there is on Wi-Fi hotspot for every 150 people, and in India, eight million additional hotspots must be installed to achieve the same ratio — creating new market opportunities for infrastructure providers and internet service providers.
India has only 52,000 Wi-Fi hotspots today, necessitating a proactive strategy to make high-speed Wi-Fi hotspots ubiquitous across the country.

Delhi to get country’s most advanced & tallest ATC tower

National capital’s IGI Airport will soon sport the country’s most technologically advanced and highest ATC tower, which is expected to enhance the safety and the efficiency of air transport management services over the city’s sky.
The migration procedures have already commenced from the old ATC to the new tower and the process is expected to be completed before 15 August.
At present, AAI which has been mandated to handle the air traffic management services at the airport is running a parallel operation to test the automation and other systems in the new facility.
The commissioning of the new tower is expected to enhance the efficiency of air traffic management services at the IGIA which is the busiest airport in India.
On an average, Delhi Air Traffic Control handles more than one flight operation every minute throughout the day.
At least 1,200 landings and take-offs happen every day from Delhi airport along with overflying traffic of at least 250 planes.
Besides, the new facility with its physical and technologically advanced equipment is expected to provide a more robust safety systems.
At a height of 102 meters, the tower enables air traffic controllers to have better visibility of all the three runways, apron area and taxiways.

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Assam Current Affairs – July 15 – 21, 2019

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

Current Affairs Assam – July 15 - 21, 2019

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

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July 15, 2019

Meghalaya becomes first state to have water policy

The Meghalaya cabinet became the first state to approve a draft water policy to address water issues, conservation, and protection of water sources in the state.
The policy intends to achieve sustainable development, management and use of water resources with community participation.
This will improve health and livelihood and reduce vulnerability among the people.
This will also assure of good governance for present and future generations through integrated water resources management and environmental sustainability.
Issues such as the protection of catchment areas and river pollution have also been outlined in the policy.
The committees will be formed at village level and the issue of groundwater will also be catered through this policy.
Also, the department will also monitor the quality of the water to check if it has a high content of iron or if it’s acidic.

Motor vehicles Amendment bill introduced for stricter penalty

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari introduced the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to amend the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988. Increasing penalties of traffic violations, address issues on third-party insurance, regulation of cab aggregators, road safety are among the changes proposed in the amendment.
The amendment Bill proposes to omit a clause of the Motor Vehicle Act to decide how to maintain their registers for driving licenses, to centralize vehicle registration data and achieve standardization.
It also proposes a National Transportation Policy for ushering guidelines on the transportation of goods and passengers.
The minister said the bill has been approved by the transport ministers of 18 states and the standing committee as also the Joint select committee have already gone through the bill.

L&T Finance arm get $100 million loan from AIIB

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), has provided a $100-million loan to L&T Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (LTIF), a subsidiary of L&T Finance Holdings Ltd and and a leading non-bank financier of renewable energy in India.
This deal with L&T Finance Holdings embarks as AIIB’s first loan first loan to a non-banking finance company (NBFC).
The loan proceeds worth $100 million will be used to on-lend to wind and solar power infrastructure projects throughout India.
The project named, ‘L&T Green Infrastructure On-Lending Facility’ specifies that the proposed facility will be used by L&T Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (LTIF) to finance mid and large scale solar and wind power projects in India.
The facility promotes environmentally and socially and financially responsible project development.

July 16, 2019

World Bank clears $250 million for Resilient Kerala Programme

The first tranche of $250 million of the $500 million fund set aside by the World Bank for the Resilient Kerala Programme (RKP) to help improve the state”s resilience against natural disasters and climate change has been cleared.
Kerala had become the first Indian state to get this fund, said Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank, India.
Ahmad along with his team was here to take part in the Development Parties Conclave, organised by the Kerala government with participation of top international agencies, like World Bank, Asian Development Bank, JAICA and UNDP, to discuss ways to help the state rebuild after last year”s floods.
Ahmad said they would invest $250 million in the state account for specific programmes, like improving the Ariver basin planning, sustainable agriculture besides improving resilience of the core road network.

India signs 10 MoU’s with Afghanistan

India went ahead with its development partnership with Kabul, inking 10 MoUs for building roads, buildings, schools, markets places across 10 Afghan provinces.
These projects are funded under the High Impact Community Development (HICDP) scheme implemented by India in Afghanistan.
The projects for which MoUs were inked are related to construction of buildings for market places, cultural halls, classrooms, jirga halls, administrative offices, laying of roads and water supply networks.
The projects are to be implemented in the provinces of Daikundi, Panjshir, Ghazni, Uruzgan, Nangahar, Khost, Farah, MaidanWardak, and Takhar.
Since 2001, India has undertaken projects and programmes for over $2 billion.
Since 2005, India has committed over $200 million to support over 550 projects throughout Afghanistan under the HICDP scheme.
In 2016, India pledged an additional $1 billion over the next five years as part of its renewed commitment to assist Afghanistan emerge as a stable, secure, peaceful, united and prosperous and pluralistic nation.

Makemytrip Ltd. signs MoU with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

In a bid to promote India as a heritage tourism destination, online travel company MakeMyTrip Ltd. has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) the with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for convenient and hassle-free online bookings for 116 historical monuments and sites across India.
The agreement, signed, entails listing and offering an online booking gateway to the ASI protected heritage monuments such as Taj Mahal, Red Fort, QutubMinar, Humayun’s Tomb, Khajuraho group of monuments, Charminar, Golconda Fort and so on.
The ASI currently offers online ticketing on Zoonga, CityWalkers and Westland platforms. A similar collaboration with Cleartrip, another travel company, is in the pipeline.
This partnership will help make it convenient for travellers to plan and book their visit to these heritage monuments online.

Researchers develop statistical model to predict floods

Researchers have developed a novel statistical model for prediction of floods and its duration. It also accurately determines the timescale of flooding.
Researchers analysed data from the Missouri river basin from the last 50 years to develop the Bayesian network statistical model.
The research team found that long duration floods first require high flow conditions in rivers created by recurrent high-intensity rainfall events, which is then followed by a large stable long-lived low-pressure system — a storm cell.
These conditions may then result in large-scale devastating floods.
The researchers said that with the help of this statistical model, potential risk imposed by longer duration floods on critical infrastructure systems such as flood control dams, bridges and power plants can be mitigated.
It is also possible to predict how long the duration of flooding and inundation will be.

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July 17, 2019

England won the Title of ICC World Cup 2019

England won the trophy of ICC world cup held in its 12th edition ‎‎2019‎ that held in England, Wales. England became the sixth team to win ICC Cricket World Cup.
Both teams made 241 runs and also ended in a tie in the super over and Britain defeated the New Zealand on boundary rate as scores tied in super over.
All-rounder Ben Stokes was titled Man of the Match and Kane Williamson awarded with the Man of the Tournament.

FACTFILE – ICC Cricket world cup

It is a championship of one-day international cricket (ODI)
First edition of ICC world cup: 1975, England
12th Edition: 2019, Wales, England
Next edition: 2023, India
Australia won the ICC world cup 5 times, India and West Indies 2 times, Pakistan, Srilanka, and England(current champion) one time

CSC partners with Facebook to empower rural women

Common Services Centre (CSC), which serves as access point for the delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, announced a partnership with Facebook to provide digital skill training to women village level entrepreneurs.
Facebook, in collaboration with CSC Academy, plans to provide tools and digital skills training to more than 250,000 people across over 3,000 villages in 10 states in India.
As part of the project CSC will identify and nominate 5,000 women village level entrepreneurs across 10 states – Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Bihar, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
These women entrepreneurs will be given training sessions on leveraging various Facebook tools to not just build and grow their business but also on how to train people on the ground.
These entrepreneurs will further help build awareness to ensure that the community is able to learn from each other.
CSC along with Facebook will co-create a curriculum (online and offline) around digital marketing skills and online safety in over 14 regional languages.

Rajya Sabha passes AERA bill

The Rajya Sabha passed the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Amendment Bill, 2019 that seeks to raise the threshold for an airport to qualify as a major airport and hence reduces the tariff-fixing power of the airport regulator to fewer airports.
Currently, an airport with annual passenger traffic of 15 lakh or more is defined as major airport and tariff at such airports are determined by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India or AERA.
The bill raises the threshold to 35 lakh and as a result, many airports would come out of the purview of the regulator.
Once the bill becomes an Act, many airports for which various fees like landing and parking charges which are currently determined by the AERA will go away.
Tariff at these airports would be determined by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The amendment also empowers the Aviation Ministry to bid out airport projects on the basis of pre-determined tariff.

July 18, 2019

Cinema halls to be categorized as ‘service industry’ as per the Assam State Film Policy Rules, 2019

Cinema halls will be categorised as ‘service industry’ and the industry department should give all benefits to them as per the service industry norms, according to the Assam State Film Policy Rules, 2019.
The new film policy was passed by the State Cabinet last evening to give a boost to the eight-decade-old struggling industry in Assam. The policy also underscores the need for theatres to allot daily and compulsory shows for regional films of Assam.
For this, the Assam Cinema (Regulation) Act, 1953 will be amended so that one prime time show in theatres (as preferred by the producer) is compulsory for regional films of Assam. Additional show will not require guarantee money, but can be arranged after mutual discussion. If the producer demands additional show in prime time subsequently, then he will have to deposit a guarantee money,” the rules state.
The policy proposes penal action against exhibitors refusing to release any regional film.
Regional films which earn 20 per cent (for less than 200-seat theatres) and 15 per cent (for theatres having more than 200 seats) or more of gross houseful collection of the theatre in the first week will be continued compulsorily for the second week.
Subsidy from the government will be granted in three different slabs to the producers in the form of grant-in-aid for high quality films, science fiction, animation films, children films and other genres considering their thrust and focus.
Twenty-five per cent of the total subsidy amount will be earmarked for new directors which will include alumni of the government film institute. The subsidy amount will be 25 per cent of the total eligible cost, subject to a cap of Rs 25 lakh. A maximum of 20 films will be given subsidy every year.
One producer will be eligible for two subsidies during his career. If the film gets a national award, the remaining 75 per cent of the eligible cost will be returned by the government.
The policy also proposes a number of awards. Films from Assam to represent India in Oscars will receive an amount of Rs 2 crore and official award winners in reputed international film festivals will receive an amount of Rs 20 lakh. National award winning films will get a cash award – which will be double the cash amount of the national award. Producers and directors of Swarna Kamal and Rajat Kamal winning films will get a subsidy of Rs 25 lakh each for their next film.

Union Govt approved Rs 1,600 crore for pre-investment activities in Arunachal Pradesh

The Cabinet cleared Rs 1,600 crore for pre-investment activities and granted various clearances for the Dibang Multipurpose Project (MPP) in Arunachal Pradesh.
The estimated total cost of the project is Rs 28,080.35 crore.
The estimated completion period for the project shall be nine years from receipt of government sanction.

Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act

Union Minister Smriti Irani introduced a bill in the Rajya Sabha to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act that aims to make punishments more stringent and even include death penalty for offenders involved in sexual crimes against minors.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 provides for stringent punishment, including life imprisonment, for using children for pornographic purposes.
The new law is expected to discourage the trend of child sexual abuse by acting as a deterrent due to the strong penal provisions in the Act.
It intends to protect the interests of vulnerable children in times of distress and ensures their safety and dignity.

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July 19, 2019

Lok Sabha productivity reaches 20-year high at 128 per cent

The ongoing session of the 17^th Lok Sabha has been the most productive in the last 20 years, with the Lower House registering 128 per cent productivity till Tuesday, according to think tank PRS Legislative Research.
Lok Sabha members discussed the General Budget for 17 hours, demands for grants for Ministry of Railways for 13 hours and for Ministry of Road and Transport for 7.44 hours, Speaker Om Birla informed the House.
The Lok Sabha has been working for more than its scheduled time and has sat till midnight on two occasions to complete its legislative business.
Similarly, the productivity of Rajya Sabha, where the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led dispensation lacks majority, unlike Lok Sabha, is also relatively high. The productivity of the upper house was 98 per.
Productivity means the number of hours the House actually functioned compared to the number of hours officially earmarked for it to work.

Rajya Sabha passed Arbitration & Conciliation Amendment Bill 2019

The Rajya Sabha passed the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2019 that seeks to make India a hub of arbitration for settling commercial disputes in a shorter period of time.
The Upper House also cleared another bill for setting up the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC) for creating an independent and autonomous regime for institutionalised arbitration.
The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill, 2019 declares the NDIAC as an institution of national importance.
The draft legislation provides for establishing an independent body to lay down standards for timely and cost-effective disposal of cases and eventually improving ease-of-doing business.
The proposed law provides for setting up of an independent body Arbitration Council of India (ACI) to frame arbitral institutions and grade arbitrators.
The Chairperson of ACI will be appointed by the government in consultation with Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Its other members would include eminent persons and government nominees.

IRCON International Limited to upgrading Maho-Omanthai rail line in Sri Lanka

India’s IRCON International Limited and the Sri Lankan government have inked a $91.26 million agreement for upgrading the around 130 km-long Maho-Omanthai rail line.
The railway line is being upgraded under Indian concessional financing. This is the first time the track is being upgraded in 100 years.
The contract agreement was signed between IRCON International Limited and the Government of Sri Lanka in Colombo.
IRCON Chairman Sunil Kumar Choudhury and L.P. Jayampathy, Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation of Sri Lanka, signed the agreement in the presence of ArjunaRanatunga, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation of Sri Lanka.
The upgradation will include modification of 12 crossing stations, seven halt stations and 78 level crossings.
The upgradation would help double the speed potential of the railway track from the current 60 km to 120 km per hour, as well as reduce the maintenance costs.
It will also improve the travel comfort of passengers, and further contribute to the modernization Sri Lanka Railways.
India has so far committed Lines of Credit worth around $1.3 billion for development of the railway sector in Sri Lanka.

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July 20, 2019

Nagaland govt sets up committee to compile tribal customary practices

The Nagaland government has set up a four-member committee to compile the customary practices and usages of all the tribes of the state.
There is a need for compilation of the personal customary practices and usages of all the tribes in the state so as to have a better understanding of the same as well as for the purposes of record and references.
The committee will be headed by chief secretary. The other members of the committee are Home commissioner, secretary of Justice and Law departments and the commissioner of Art and Culture department will be the member secretary.

Lok Sabha passes Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019

The Lok Sabha passed an amendment bill that allows a Supreme Court judge besides the Chief Justice of India to be appointed the chairperson of National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) and increases the number of members from two to three.
The Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed with a voice vote.
The government seeks a report if there are allegations of human rights violations against security forces, but care needs to be taken of human rights of terror victims.
The Centre has incorporated suggestions of states in the bill.
The Bill, which amends the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, provides that a person who has been Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or a Judge of the Supreme Court will be the chairperson of the NHRC.
It says that of three members of the commission, at least one will be a woman.
The bill provides that a person who has been Chief Justice or Judge of a High Court will be the chairperson of a State Human Rights Commission.
It seeks to reduce the term of office of chairperson and members of the NHRC and SHRC to three years from five years or till the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier.

Kerala to set up state-of-the-art Space Park

In a bid to become a major manufacturing hub for space-related technology, and attract global start-ups working on research and development in the space sector, the Kerala government to set up the country’s first state-of-the-art Space Systems Park in the state capital
The proposed park will come up at the Technocity campus, the newest destination for IT companies.
It will house the APJ Abdul Kalam Knowledge Centre and Space Museum, developed with investments from ISRO”s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)
The state government will transfer 20.01 acres of land as lease to the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Ltd (KSITIL) to develop the space park.
The KSITIL will hand over the land required for the APJ Abdul Kalam Knowledge Centre and Space Museum to ISRO through a lease agreement.
The entire project will be implemented by the Electronics and IT Department, government of Kerala.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 introduced

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 was introduced by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot.
The Bill intends to benefit transgender persons, mitigate the stigma, discrimination and abuse against the marginalised section and bring them into the mainstream of the society.
This will lead to inclusiveness and will make the transgender persons productive members of the society.
The Bill shall empower the transgender community socially, educationally and economically

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July 21, 2019

‘Chai Sahyog’ App to integrate tea industry

The Tea Board has developed an app with an objective of integrating the small tea growers and bringing about traceability of green leaf, besides circulating advisories, including weather forecast. The technological initiative has been christened as ‘Chai Sahyog’ and the industry feels it will also help in quality control as well.
The App has features that cover the entire supply chain from green leaf to made tea. Another important feature of the app is real time weather forecast, with advisories to small growers and two-way communication between board’s officers and stakeholders.
The app will facilitate trade of green leaf and help growers follow the activities of the Tea Board officials. There will be provisions for uploading information related to training, notifications, awareness programmes, etc.
The app will enable small tea growers to upload quantity and price details of their teas, even as minimum benchmark price will be uploaded every month.
The Tea Board has carried out enumeration of small tea growers and issued identity cards with memory chips. This has been further refined to online data capture and issuance of cards with QR code (quick response code like a matrix barcode) so that the cards can be scanned in the mobile app by small tea growers for accessing the various functionalities of the app.

President of India appoints new Governors for six states, including Tripura and Nagaland

President Ramnath Kovind transferred Anandiben Patel from Madhya Pradesh and appointed her as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh.
Anandiben Patel has been replaced by LaljiTandon in Madhya Pradesh, who was so far the Governor of Bihar.
Fagu Chauhan replaces LaljiTandon as the new Governor of Bihar.
JagdeepDhankar as the Governor of West Bengal
Ramesh Bais as the Governor of Tripura.
N. Ravi has been appointed the Governor of Nagaland.

Microsoft partners with Telangana’s Women Entrepreneurs Hub

Microsoft has announced a partnership with the Women Entrepreneurs Hub, an initiative of the Telangana government aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs and technologists in the region.
The partnership would focus on designing and execution of learning activities and tools that would enable women to innovate and encourage girls to pursue a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
Together, they would also provide a platform for deeper and better networking opportunities for women in various technology fields.
The partnership would provide the WE Hub communities access to the state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure at Microsoft Garage

Indian-origin scientists develop AI system to Curb ‘Deepfake’ Videos

A team of Indian-origin researchers has developed Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven deep neural network that can identify manipulated images at the pixel level with high precision.
Realistic videos that map the facial expressions of one person onto those of another — known as “deepfakes”, present a formidable political weapon in the hands of nation-state bad actors.
Led by Amit Roy-Chowdhury, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Riverside, the team is currently working on still images but this can help them detect “deepfake” videos.
A deep neural network is what AI researchers call computer systems that have been trained to do specific tasks, in this case, recognize altered images.
These networks are organized in connected layers; “architecture” refers to the number of layers and structure of the connections between them.

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Assam Current Affairs – July 08 – 14, 2019

Posted on November 14, 2019November 14, 2019 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – July 08 - 14, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of July 08 – 14, 2019 )

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July 08, 2019

Centre clears Dibang multipurpose project

In a bid to deliver a big boost to power generation in North-East, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has cleared the largest ever Hydro Electric Project to be constructed in India. An expenditure on pre-investment activities and various clearances for Dibang Multipurpose Project (MPP) in Arunachal Pradesh an amount of Rs 1,600 crore has been sanctioned, official sources announced.
The CCEA meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi estimated that total cost of Project is Rs. 28,080.35 including IDC and FC of Rs 3,974.95 crore at June 2018 price level. The estimated completion period for the project shall be nine years from receipt of Government sanction.
Official sources said that the project shall generate 2880MW (12x240MW) power to produce 11223MU of energy in a 90 per cent dependable year. The dam will be the highest dam in India once completed.
The project is located on River Dibang, in Lower Dibang Valley District of Arunachal Pradesh. The project envisages construction of a 278-metre-high Concrete Gravity Dam (above deepest foundation level), 6 horseshoe-shaped Head Race Tunnels of length varying from 300 metre to 600 metre with 9 metre dia, an underground Power House and 6 horseshoe-shaped Tail Race Tunnels of length varying from 320 metre to 470 metre with 9 metre dia.
On completion, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh will get 12 per cent free power from the project i.e. 1346.76 MU. 1 per cent free power will be given in Local Area Development Fund (LADF). The total value of benefit to Arunachal Pradesh from Free power and contribution to LADF will be Rs 26,785 crore over the project life of forty years.
Dibang Multipurpose Project (Dibang MPP) is envisaged as storage based hydro-electric project with flood moderation as the key objective. The construction of Dibang MPP shall prevent the sizeable downstream area from floods.
The project is having all statutory clearances viz. TEC, Environment Clearance, Forest Clearance (Stage-l) and Defence Clearance except Forest Clearance (Stage-II) for seeking Investment Sanction from Govt. of India.

Finance Minister proposed Zero Budget Natural Farming

The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a proposal of Zero Budget Natural Farming in budget 2019 for doubling farmer’s income in the country

FACTFILE – Zero Budget Natural Farming

“Zero budget” stands for no production cost in farming and “Natural Farming” stands for doing farming without any aided chemical fertilizer or external seed and only using natural resources
Aim to pull farmers out of the debt trap, cutting production cost and make small scale farming a viable option
ZBNF involves no use of chemical fertilizers and assures zero credit for agriculture
This type of farming was successfully initiated in Karnataka and was replicated as a role model in other states
It cut down the farming expenditure and ends farmer’s reliance on loans

NIRDPR is working on a new technology to help double the income of Indian farmers

The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) is working on a new technology in aquaculture to help double the income of Indian farmers.
The institute has recently established a ‘Backyard Re-circulatory Aquaculture System’ developed by Cochin University of Science and Technology.
The system, an intensive fish culture pond, enables high density stocking of fish in cages.
This would allow off-setting of the load by stocking different varieties and sizes of fish in smaller cages in a pond.
Since the water requirement for this system is quite low, the high-density stocking of fish in different cages enables flexibility in managing a fishpond.
This system, inaugurated at the Institute’s Rural Technology Park, was established with funding support of the National Fisheries Development Board, a government organisation.
Fish varieties that can be grown in the system include Tilapia, Pangasius, Murrel and Pearlspot.
The aquaculture system can act as a source of additional income for farmers located even in low water availability areas, helping them double their income.
The sludge periodically pumped out of the pond can be utilised to grow agriculture crops without the addition of chemical fertilizers.
The Rural Technology Park at NIRDPR will demonstrate the functioning of the system and provide necessary training to farmers, self-help groups (SHGs) and youth who are keen on undertaking fish culture for enhancing their income.

July 09, 2019

India gets Jaipur as its 38^th UNESCO World Heritage Site

Jaipur city, Rajasthan is inscribed in the list of UNESCO world heritage sites during the 43rd session of the world heritage committee at Baku, Azerbaijan.
With the inclusion of Jaipur city, India has now 38 UNESCO world heritage sites of which 30 are Cultural properties, 7 are Natural properties and 1 is the mixed site.
India gets Jaipur as its 38th UNESCO World Heritage Site.

FACTFILE – Jaipur

Jaipur is the capital city of Rajasthan. Major tourists attraction and has iconic monuments such as Jantar Mantar, City Palace, Hawa Mahal, Govind dev temple etc
The 18^th -century town has city planning that was deliberately planned for trade.maharaja Ram Singh painted the whole city of Jaipur pink to welcome the Prince of Wales and Queen Victoria, visiting India for a tour in 1876. From then it is named as the pink city

FACTFILE – UNESCO World Heritage Sites

A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area which is selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having cultural, historical, scientific or other forms of significance, and is legally protected by international treaties.

1^st Tejas Train between Lucknow-Delhi to be run by private

The first train, operated by private players, to be run between Lucknow and Delhi will be the Tejas Express. The Railway Board is deliberating on a second such route, which too would be within the 500-km range.
The Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express was announced in 2016 and has been recently introduced in the new time table.
The Tejas Express (train number 12585) will depart from Lucknow Junction, On the return journey, (train number 12586) it will leave from New Delhi.
The train is currently parked at Anand Nagar Railway station and will be handed over to private players after an open-bidding process for operating it.
The custody of the trains will be transferred to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which will pay for it, including their lease charges, to the financing arm, IRFC.
The Tejas Express will offer premium services and comforts to the passengers. The train will have aircraft-like personalised LCD entertainment-cum-information screens, on-board Wi- Fi facility, comfortable seats, mobile charging points, personalised reading lights, modular bio-toilets and sensor tap fittings.
The proposal of the Railway Board in its 100-day plan was to offer two trains to operators who would be willing to be part of the bidding process for rights to run private passenger day/overnight train sets connecting important cities.

Govt to launch solar scheme to assure Rs 1 lakh income for farmers

The central government to launch a solar scheme for farmers that will ensure a minimum annual income of Rs 1 lakh.
Power Minister R.K. Singh informed the Lok Sabha that farmers can use their land to install solar panels and the power generated will be bought by the government.
The farmers who don”t have the capital can lease the land to developers to set up the solar panels.
If given to the developers, the farmer will get at least 30-35 paise per unit to ensure an annual income of Rs 1 lakh.
The scheme is part of the government”s target to double the income of farmers by 2022.

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July 10, 2019

Centre to launch anti-pollution programme in 102 cities

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said a programme has been formulated to reduce air pollution in 102 cities across the country.
He said that action plan to implement “Control of Pollution” programme for 80 of these cities was ready and the ministry has earmarked Rs 460 crore for it.
Have taken up 102 cities on the priority basis, where pollutants such as dust, solid waste, vehicular emmission, are causing air pollution.
Maharashtra has the highest number of cities, including Mumbai, in the list, while Delhi, Bangaluru, Bhopal, Lucknow are among the other major cities.
The cities with million plus population would be given Rs 10 crore each under the programme.
The ministry has also come up with a list of 28 cities, where it intends to reduce Particulate Matter (PM) – PM10 and PM 2.5 – by 10 per cent in the next one-two years.

IIT-Madras scientists launch ”AI4Bharat” to boost AI innovation

Scientists from IIT-Madras launched a platform called ”AI4Bharat” that would help build AI solutions to address local problems in agriculture, health care and other sectors.
Founded by Dr. Mitesh M Khapra and Dr. Pratyush Kumar, assistant professors in the department of computer science and engineering, the platform is open to students who would be mentored to solve real-world problems and accelerate AI innovation.
Khapra and Kumar have also co-founded “One Fourth Labs” (incubated at the IIT Madras Research Park) with a mission to design and deliver affordable hands-on courses on AI and related topics.
The “One Fourth Labs” start-up would work closely with AI4Bharat and offer basic and advanced courses in AI at affordable prices – as low as Rs 1,000 for a five-month online course.

Saikh Md Sabah Al-Ahmed has been awarded the Reuel International Prize for Poetry-2019

Guwathi-based poet SaikhMd Sabah Al-Ahmed has been awarded the Reuel International Prize for Poetry-2019 in the ‘Best Upcoming Poet from the North East of India’ category.
The Reuel Prize, instituted in 2014, is an international award for excellence in writing and literature.
The award was conferred on Ahmed at the Press Club of India, New Delhi.
Ahmed, who teaches English at Don Bosco School, Panbazar, was also awarded the ‘Certificate of Excellence’ by the United Nations Association (UNA)-Assam for his achievements in the field of poetry and journalism.

July 11, 2019

Cabinet clears draft law to curb Ponzi schemes

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its approval to the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019.
The proposed law would address the issue of illicit deposit-taking activities, as it provides for strict action against such activities.
The Bill will help tackle the menace of illicit deposit-taking activities in the country which, at present, are exploiting regulatory gaps and lack of strict administrative measures to dupe poor and gullible people of their hard-earned savings.
The new Bill will replace the Ordinance promulgated in February this year which will otherwise cease to operate after six weeks of re-assembling of the Parliament.

Himachal Pradesh Govt signs pact for Rs 1,000-crore investments

The Himachal Pradesh government signed memorandums of understanding of Rs 1,000 crore with three companies for investment in the state.
The pacts were signed during Himachal Pradesh Global Investors Meet in which Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Industries Minister Bikram Singh met 18 industrial houses representative.
The memorandums of understanding has been signed with Ski Himalayas Ropeway for investing Rs 500 crore in ski resorts.
Satya Developers Company for investing Rs 300 crore in housing.
Biotechnology company Puremagics for investing Rs 50 crore on algae farming.
Field Fresh Food Private Ltd expressed interest in setting up food processing units in the state.
Thakur said the state government has set a target of attracting investment of Rs 85,000 crore and so far pacts have been signed for investment of Rs 22,000 crore.

Defence Ministry signed MoU with IPFC and NRDC

Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence and National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), Ministry of Science and Technology, signed an MoU with a vision to bridge the capacity shortfall and provide a major fillip to the ongoing efforts of Ministry of Defence towards promoting a culture of Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights IPR in Indian Defence industry.
The move will be a boost to the Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti. It may be recalled that Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti was launched with the aim to inculcate IP culture in Indian defence manufacturing ecosystem.
Under this mission, an IPFC has been established under the aegis of Directorate General Quality Assurance (DGQA) which has within a short span of a year achieved the challenging target of training more than 12,000 personnel on IPR and facilitating the filing of more than 1000 new IPR applications.

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July 12, 2019

Delhi to convert Rajghat power plant into solar

The Delhi Cabinet approved a proposal to shut down the Rajghat thermal power plant and to convert the area into a solar park with the capacity of 5,000 KW.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the government had closed down the coal-based plant in 2015 as it was a major source of pollution.
The Cabinet approved the proposal to officially close down the Rajghat Coal Plant.
The 45-acre area plant will be converted into a solar park.
Delhi Government has been pushing for solar energy for quite some time now.

India to get it’s first Dolphin Research Centre at Patna

The foundation stone of India’s first dolphin research centre will be laid in Patna on October 5.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would lay the foundation stone of the National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC) on October 5 on the bank of river Ganga in the premises of Patna University.
According to Gopal Sharma, a senior scientist at the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), the population of the endangered Gangetic river dolphins was stable along nearly 1,000 km stretch of the Ganga and its two major tributaries, Gandak and Ghaghra.
Earlier this year, about 1,500 dolphins were spotted by three teams of experts and scientists who counted the species.
The main objective of NDRC is to strengthen conservation efforts and help in research to save the endangered mammal.

Second India-Russia strategic economic dialogue held at New Delhi

The Second India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED) was held in New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and Mr. TimurMaksimov, Deputy Minister of the Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
The Second meeting of the IRSED focussed on six core areas of cooperation, namely, Development of Transport Infrastructure and Technologies; Development of Agriculture and Agro-Processing sector; Small and Medium Business support; Digital Transformation and Frontier Technologies; Cooperation in Trade, Banking, Finance, and Industry; and Tourism & Connectivity.
The Dialogue included parallel round-tables which discussed areas of cooperation and concrete roadmaps for future negotiations across outlined core areas.
The roundtable on Digital transformation and Frontier Transformation focussed on areas of collaboration between India and Russia in the digital space and frontier technologies
Development of Transport Infrastructure and Technologies roundtable discussed areas of cooperation across various modes of transport such as speed upgradation, safety and passenger comfort in railways, creation of twin ports between India and Russia, ship building and river navigation, research and development, and ensuring predictability of cost and movement schedules across transport corridors.
The roundtable on Agriculture and Agro-processing noted the dynamic nature of agriculture, livestock rearing and food processing in both countries and the immense opportunities of cooperation.
The roundtable on Tourism and Connectivity highlighted the need to increase bilateral tourism and exploring natural avenues for economic and commercial partnerships.
The roundtable on Industrial Trade and Cooperation saw participation across industries in energy, finance and industries, which emphasised awareness exchange between the two countries in areas of investment opportunities.
The IRSED was established following a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation during the 19^th edition of the Annual India-Russia Bilateral Summit, which was held on October 5, 2018, in New Delhi.

July 13, 2019

India Russia to strengthen tie-up in space exploration

India and Russia held high-level talks to deepen the strategic connect between both countries to contribute towards Indias priorities such as Make in India programme especially towards space cooperation.
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Director General of Russia’s ROSCOSMOS and former Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin held detailed talks at Hyderabad House on all aspects of India-Russia space cooperation.
Both sides agreed to strategically elevate the bilateral cooperation, and develop a special and privileged partnership focusing at India’s priorities such as Make in India programme to expand its footprint in space exploration.
The possibilities for production of space systems in India were an important part of the discussions.
Cooperation in futuristic technologies, including new space systems, rocket engines, propelants and propulsion systems, spacecraft and launch vehicle technology were also discussed.
Senior representatives of ROSCOSMOS, GLAVCOSMOS, Energia and Energomash represented the Russian side, whereas Secretary, Space Dr. Sivan and the Director of the Human Space Flight Programme were present from the Indian side.
There have been frequent contacts between the two space agencies to finalise the details of the Gaganyaan Mission, which will carry Indian astronaut to space in 2022, to coincide with India’s 75th anniversary of Independence.

Lok Sabha passes Bill for setting of two new Central Universities

The Lok Saba has passed the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by voice vote, The Bill seeks to establish two new universities- the Central University and the Central Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh.
The Universities will be set up with a cost of 1700 crore rupees in four years in Andhra Pradesh.
In the first phase, 450 crore rupees will be provided for the Central University and 420 crore rupees for the Central Tribal University.
The government has accorded high priority to strengthen the education system in the country.
Government has increased the budget of education from 67 thousand crore rupees in 2013-14 to 95 thousand crore rupees this year.

IIT Roorkee signs MoU with POWERGRID to work on energy efficiency

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee signed an MoU with Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (POWERGRID), state-run utility, on energy efficiency and sustainable energy.
The MoU targets to bring together academic and industry/corporate prowess, in building efficient, reliable and low-cost energy systems.
The main objective of this MoU is to have long term association between POWERGRID and IIT Roorkee in the area of Energy Management .
The MoU aims at advancing and implementing energy efficiency and sustainable energy projects at IIT Roorkee campus in the mutually agreed areas of space cooling/heating, lighting and fans, water pumping, power distribution, waste to the energy, etc.
The MoU also aims at carrying out joint Research and Development related to Energy sector.

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July 14, 2019

Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon Final

Novak Djokovic won the Wimbledon final by defeating Roger Federer in a 5-setter. It was the longest Wimbledon men’s singles final and held between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer of Switzerland.
Djokovic won his 16th Grand Slam trophy overall including the Wimbledon triumph.
He won his 5th Wimbledon title giving the tie to Bjorn Borg.
He has won 4 of the last 5 Grand slams titles

BIOGRAPHY – Novak Djokovic

He is a Serbian professional tennis player
He is ranked world No. 1 in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals
He has won 16 Grand slam titles and became first in the open Era to win Wimbledon men’s singles final

Simona Halep wins Wimbledon Women’s Final 2019

Simona Halep beat Serena Williams to win Wimbledon Women’s Final 2019 title. With winning the title, she has now got the membership of All England club. She became the first Romanian to win the singles title at Wimbledon.

BIOGRAPHY – Simona Halep

She is a Romanian Professional tennis player
She has been ranked world number one twice in 2017 and 2019
It was her second slam title – 1st Grand slam title was the 2018 French Open and the second is the 2019 Wimbledon Championship.

SBI MD Anshula Kant appointed as MD, CFO of World Bank Group

Anshula Kant, the managing director of the State Bank of India, has been appointed the managing director and chief financial officer of the World Bank.
President of the international lender David Malpass announced.
Kant has been credited with taking up leadership challenges including risk, treasury, funding, regulatory compliance and operations.
Among other responsibilities, Kant will also be overseeing loopholes in financial reporting and risk management, and will be working alongside World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva.
In her role as the chief financial officer of the State Bank of India, Kant managed $38 billion worth revenue and total assets of $500 billion.
Kant is said to have improved capital base and directed focus on long-term sustainability of State Bank of India under her leadership.
She is a graduate in economics from Lady Shri Ram College for Women in New Delhi and holds a postgraduate in the subject from the Delhi School of Economics.

Prasar Bharati signs MoU with IIT Kanpur

Prasar Bharati and Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur signed a Memorandum of Understanding for research collaboration in newly emerging technologies and broadcasting-related areas in New Delhi.
The move is likely to boost research activities in the broadcasting field.
Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar Vempati and Director, IIT Kanpur Abhay Karandikar were present at this juncture.
Direct to mobile broadcasting, Convergence of 5G, Artificial Intelligence Incubation Centre by Prasar Bharati and student internship for students of IIT, Kanpur at PrasarBharati are among the main areas in the research collaboration.
The MoU will be effective and remain in force for a period of five years. The institutes may extend the term in writing through mutual agreement.

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Assam Current Affairs – July 01 – 07, 2019

Posted on November 14, 2019November 14, 2019 by admin

Current Affairs Assam – July 1 - 7, 2019

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

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July 01, 2019

Flight from Guwahati to Dhaka starts

The maiden flight on the Guwahati-Dhaka route commences from July 1, 2019. The daily flight service will be operated by private airline SpiceJet.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will attend the ceremony along with other senior ministers, including Chandra Mohan Patowary, Siddhartha Bhattacharya and Bhabesh Kalita, when the first flight takes off on July 1, 2019.
This will be the fourth international destination to be directly connected from Guwahati. Currently, Drukair (Royal Bhutan Airlines) operates flights to Paro, Bangkok and Singapore – both two days in a week.
Inspired by the vision of making the Northeast an integral part of the Act East Policy, the Chief Minister had requested the Centre to consider connecting Guwahati to capitals of ASEAN and BBN countries through a scheme similar to the UDAN with VGF (viability gap funding) as may be required.
A proposed Guwahati-Bangkok flight is likely to be launched in August. Kathmandu, Yangon, Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur will also be connected thereafter. The Assam government has committed Rs 100 crore per year for three years under VGF.

Mizo Peace Accord turns 33 years

June 30, 2019 marked the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the historic Mizo Accord which went on to become one of the most enduring peace accords in India.
Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga greet the people on the occasion. “Today marks the 33rd year of the signing of the historic Mizoram Peace Accord. This time tested tranquility we enjoy can only be attributed to God’s grace and the commitment of Mizos to preserve it. Let Mizos count our blessings and ceaselessly pray so that peace and harmony endure,” he said.
The Mizoram Government will observe it in a special function on account of the celebration of the anniversary, known in Mizo parlance as Remna Ni.
Robert Romawia Royte, who is currently the Sports and Youth Services, Tourism and Information and Communication Technology Minister of Mizoram, urged everyone to unite for continued peace and harmony.
June 30 thirty-three years back was a day of euphoria with the return of much-needed peace in the land of the Mizos. On that day, the four-page Mizoram Peace Accord was signed in New Delhi under former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The then Union Home Secretary RD Pradhan, MNF chief Laldenga, who is no more, and the former chief secretary of the Mizoram Government, Lalkhama, put their initials on the document.

FACTFILE – Mizo Peace Accord

The Mizoram Peace Accord, 1986 was an official agreement between the Government of India and the Mizo National Front (MNF) to end insurgency and violence in Mizoram, India.
The Mizo National Front was an organisation of Mizo secessionists led by Laldenga to fight for independence from India. The movement was basically due to lack of support from the government during the great famine (called Mautam) in Mizoram in the late 1950s.
Political insurgency and social unrest ensued in the next decades. After a number of negotiations, the document titled Mizoram Accord, 1986: Memorandum of Settlement was finally signed on 30 June 1986. It was signed by Laldenga for MNF, R.D. Pradhan, Home Secretary, Government of India, and Lalkhama, Chief Secretary, Government of Mizoram.
It is remarked as the most and only successful peace agreement in India after its independence from British Empire in 1947.

K Natarajan takes over as new Chief of Indian Coast Guard

Krishnaswamy Natarajan took charge as the new Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, a 5^th batch officer of the Coast Guard, he joined the service in January 1984.
In August 2016, Natarajan was elevated to the rank of Additional Director General and took over the reins as Coast Guard Commander, Western Seaboard.
During his initial years, Natarajan specialised in select core competencies such as search and rescue as well as maritime safety and port operations, at the US Coast Guard Reserve Training Centre, Yorktown, Virginia.
In his over 35 years of service, he has had the distinction of holding important command and staff appointments, both afloat and ashore and also commanded all classes of Indian Coast Guard ships.

India-Russia sign anti-tank missile deal under emergency provisions

India has signed a 200 crore deal with Russia for the procurement of anti-tank missiles for Mi-35 attack helicopters. This deal has been signed under the emergency provisions given to the defence forces.
India has signed a deal to acquire ‘Strum Ataka’ anti-tank missile from Russia for its fleet of Mi-35 attack helicopters.
The deal for acquiring Strum Ataka anti-tank missile was signed with Russia under the emergency clauses through which the missiles would be supplied within three months of contract signing.
The deal is reportedly worth around Rs 200 crore and would give Mi-32s an improved capability to take out enemy tanks and other armoured vehicles.
Mi-32 are existing attack helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and are set to be replaced by newly purchased Apache gunships which are slated to be commissioned in the coming months.
The Army is in the process of acquiring the Spike anti-tank guided missile from France and Igla-S Air defence missiles from Russia under the emergency provisions
Under the powers given to the three services, they can buy the equipment of their choice within three months at a cost of up to Rs 300 crore per case.

July 02, 2019

Meghalaya to sign MoU with University of California

Meghalaya Government and University of California, Berkeley, would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in September to adopt 100 villages in which the concept of smart village would be introduced.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma made the announcement at the Caux Forum 2019 in Montreux, Switzerland which he is attending. The annual Caux Forum through conferences, training and dialogues aims to inspire, equip and connect people, groups and organisations to build a just, sustainable and peaceful world.
Sangma said that the Government’s effort is to make the rural areas equally attractive as the urban areas of the State. “Our cities are already choking and having smart villages will prevent urban migration and related environmental issues,” he added. Informing about the State’s 6,500 villages, Sangma said there is emphasis on restoration of land in more than 400 villages of the State.
The government has linked all livelihood programmes to natural resources and are encouraging people to protect these natural resources.

Lok Sabha passes Central Educational Institutions Bill

The Lok Sabha passed the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers” Cadre) Bill, 2019, which aims to ensure reservation in teaching positions in central institutions for persons from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Socially and Educationally Backward Classes and the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
It will also allow filling about 7,000-8,000 existing vacancies in 41 central universities.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had cleared the Bill replacing the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers” Cadre) Ordinance, 2019.

Union Govt launches ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ for water conservation

Union Government has launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan to create awareness on the benefits of water conservation and declining sources of water in the country.
Launching the initiative in New Delhi Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said, water conservation is now a national priority and it is time to make water conservation a people’s movement.
He requested the people to associate themselves with Jal Shakti Abhiyan.said, everyone should make efforts to save the country from the threat of water scarcity.
The Jal Shakti Abhiyan has been launched in two phases.
The first phase is 1^st July to 15^th September and is for all participating States and the second phase will be between 1st October to 30th November for States with retreating monsoon.
Under Jal Shakti Abhiyan, focus will be on 256 water stressed districts and 1,592 water stressed blocks.
There are five key intervention areas under the movement including water conservation and rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional and other water bodies, reuse, borewell recharge structures, watershed development and intensive afforestation.

UGC launches new scheme to support socially relevant projects

In a bid to support socially relevant projects, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved the Scheme for Trans-Disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy (STRIDE).
The scheme will provide support to research projects that are socially relevant, locally need-based, nationally important and globally significant.
The UGC has set up an advisory committee under Vice Chairman Bhushan Patwardhan to oversee the entire scheme.
Applications will have to be submitted online. The STRIDE web portal will be open for receiving applications by July 31, 2019.
The award of grant would be based on the merit of the project proposal.
STRIDE scheme proposals will be carefully evaluated with help of peer review and assessment by expert committees. Shortlisted applicants may be invited for presentation.
The scheme takes into consideration the societal impact of knowledge enunciating as what should be the main aim of research.
It creates unity of intellectual frameworks beyond the disciplinary perspectives and solves problems by going beyond the boundaries of disciplines to involve various stakeholders.
Trans-disciplinary research generates knowledge through the use of multi and inter-disciplinary concepts and integrates new theories among science and society.

Kerala partners with Cisco to support farming communities

Cisco signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kerala State IT Mission (KSITM) to bring the benefits of digital technology and data science to farming communities in Kerala, as part of its Country Digitization Acceleration (CDA) programme.
The first phase of this initiative will be rolled out in 15 panchayats across Kannur.
Cisco will build an Agri-Digital Infrastructure (ADI) Platform and set up Village Knowledge Centres (VKCs) for knowledge delivery and provide access to e-learning and advisory services to the farming and fishing communities in Kannur.
The comprehensive ADI Platform will provide access to a datastore with complete farming data of paddy and prawns farms in the region along with land and farmer profile databases.
This datastore will run Cisco”s robust analytics and computer engines to extract insights on crop yields, weather patterns, plant disease patterns, soil quality, moisture content, forecasting and other data, and make it available to farmers and government officials through the VKCs.
This Cisco ADI Platform will be supplemented by a custom-built Smart Agricultural Platform that uses IoT sensors, Non-IoT databases, and satellite/UAV images to gather and relay real-time intelligence on soil content, moisture, weather conditions and other parameters.
This platform will become a centralised knowledge hub which will provide data-based recommendations and insights to improve agriculture planning, reduce the risk of crop mortality and overall operational costs.
Through VKCs, farmers can also access essential information on government policy updates, crop advisory services, market trends, rates and best practice videos.
Farmers will also gain accessibility to government-provisioned financing on a Content Management System through a mobile application and web portal.

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July 03, 2019

Assam most vulnerable for outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis

Assam is now considered to be the most vulnerable state for outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the entire country and the Government of India has started providing assistance to the State Government to control the outbreak of JE.
In the last few years, Assam is considered the most vulnerable state as the disease has spread to all parts of the State, while, in other states, it is confined to a limited pockets. Till a few years back, JE outbreak was confined to the Upper Assam districts, but now the situation has changed and there have been outbreak of the disease in lower Assam and even the Barak valley districts. Children vaccination for JE was completed in all the districts of the State and a decision was taken yesterday to launch a mop up operation to cover if anyone was left out of the programme.
Assam was the only state in the country to start adult vaccination but it has not covered all the districts and the State Government has requested the Centre to provide additional vaccines.
District level task forces have been constituted in the State to identify the vulnerable pockets and fogging operations have been launched, while, a decision was also taken yesterday to intensify the awareness campaign.
The State Government has requested the Centre to provide additional testing kits and the Union Health Ministry is taking steps to provide additional kits as soon as possible.
Ten high endemic districts of Assam – Sivasagar Barpeta, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Darrang, Udalguri, Bongaigaon, Cachar, Morigaon, Nalbari, have been included under the multi-pronged strategy adopted for prevention and control of JE. These districts have also been covered under adult vaccination campaign to prevent the disease.
For rehabilitation of JE disabled patients, Central Government has provided funds for strengthening of two Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) departments at Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh and Guwahati Medical College have been provided.
JE is vector-borne encephalitis transmitted by Culex groups of mosquitoes. These mosquitoes breed mainly in rice fields and large water bodies rich in aquatic vegetations. Migratory birds along with pigs in the community play an important role in the transmission of JE from one area to other areas.

‘Tamil Yeoman’ or ‘Tamil Maravan’ declared as state butterfly

‘Tamil Yeoman’, a kind of butterfly found in the Western Ghats is declared as Tamil Nadu state butterfly. Tamil Nadu is the fifth state in the country to announce its state butterfly.
Maharashtra the first to declare Blue Mormon (Papilio Polgmnestor) as its state butterfly.
It is followed by Uttarakhand (Common Peacock), Karnataka (Southern Bird Wings) and Kerala (Malabar Banded Peacock).

FACTFILE – Tamil Yeoman or Tamil Maravan

Its scientific name is Cirrochroa Thais.
It is endemic to the Western Ghats.
It is found in moist deciduous, evergreen forests and along streams.
It can be found in groups in large numbers at a few places.

Lok Sabha passes Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill

The Lok Sabha passed the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the move aims to ensure transparency, accountability and quality in the governance of medical education in the country.
The Bill also proposes to increase the number of members in the board of Governors to 12 from the existing 7.
This bill provides for supersession of Medical Council of India for a period of two years with effect from September 26, 2018. It will replace an Ordinance promulgated on February 21.
The Board of Governors (BoG) which had replaced the MCI has worked well and taken a series of steps to improve medical education in the country.
The BoG has granted accreditation to more number of medical colleges, increased number of seats and reduced procedural hurdles, adding it is manned by doctors of great repute.
The Indian Medical Council or the Medical Council of India (MCI) was set up under the Medical Council Act 1956, for setting standards for medical professionals, new medical colleges and revision of curriculum, among others.

July 04, 2019

SIAL ties up with Meghalaya Government

One of the world’s largest food exhibitors, Salon International de l’Agroalimentaire (SIAL) has tied up with Meghalaya Government to hold a “Northeast Food Show” here in December at Shillong.
The Food Show will be organised by the Government of Meghalaya with the support of SIAL. This would be SIAL’s second food show in the country after Food India in New Delhi scheduled in September this year.
The three-day event would be held here from December 4 to 6 at the NEHU campus. The State Government has notified an Advisory Council for the event and the first meeting of the Advisory Council was held recently.
Representatives of SIAL, North Eastern States, Central Government, food industries and others attended the meeting to give their inputs for the first of its kind event in the region.
SIAL holds one of the world’s largest food exhibitions in Paris, France each year. 119 countries participated in the last edition. 7,200 exhibitors and suppliers connected with the agri-food industry participated in the SIAL, Paris exhibition.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma visited the Paris exhibition last year and requested the organisers to hold the event in the North East to give boost to the food processing and the agro-based industries of the region.
SIAL holds similar food exhibitions in Jakarta (Indonesia,) Abu Dhabi (UAE), Toronto (Canada) and Shanghai (China). Managing Director, SIAL, Paris, Adeline Vancauwelaert said, the exhibition would provide a unique opportunity for the food products of the NE to be showcased to the world. Food products, food processing and hospitality industry would benefit.

FACTFILE – Salon International de l’Agroalimentaire (SIAL) Paris

The Global Food Marketplace (French: Salon International de l’alimentation, or SIAL) is a trade fair held every two years, which specializes in the food processing industry.
The SIAL was established in 1964 by several groups, including the Confédération Générale de l’Alimentation en détail (General Confederation of the Retail Food Trade), and at the instigation of public authorities.
Twenty-six countries participated in the first fair, which was held at the Center of New Industries and Technologies in La Défense, as part of International Food Week. The second SIAL was held in 1966, also at the CNIT.
The trade show was held at the Versailles Gate Exhibition Centre from 1968 to 1984 and at the North Paris-Villepinte Exposition Park since 1986.
In 2014, SIAL Paris marks a new stage by integrating the Salon International du Process et du Conditionnement Alimentaire, which will be represented within the Equipment, Technology and Services sector.

Centre plans to use Artificial Intelligence to help farmers

The Union Agriculture Ministry signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) with IBM India to provide weather forecasts and soil moisture information to farmers.
Under the project, a pilot study will be undertaken in three districts– Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal, Gujarat’s Rajkot and Maharashtra’s Nanded.
IBM’s Watson Decision Platform will give solution in the field of agriculture through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and weather technology at village level/farm level to provide weather forecast and soil moisture information on pro bono basis to help farmers for taking decisions regarding water and crop management for better production and productivity.

Delhi Police buildings to have rooftop solar power plants

The Delhi Police and the Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI) signed an MoU for setting up rooftop solar energy systems on police establishments in the capital.
Through this MOU, it is estimated that rooftop solar systems of about 3-4 MW capacity will be implemented across various Delhi Police buildings.
Terming the Delhi Police as always in the forefront in adopting new technology and innovative practices in all spheres of its working, Commissioner of Police Amulya Patnaik thanked the New and Renewable Energy Sources Ministry in facilitating this MOU which will go a long way in making Delhi green.
Lauding the initiative of Delhi Police in adopting this green initiative in sync with the vision of Central government, New and Renewable Energy Sources Secretary Anand Kumar said that solar energy is economical as well as environmental friendly.

CCEA approves increase in MSP for kharif crops

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved an increase in the minimum support prices (MSPs) for kharif crops in the 2019-20 season, including paddy by Rs 65 per quintal.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar made the announcement after a meeting of the Union Cabinet
This is an attempt to double the farmers” income by 2022, as announced by the Prime Minister earlier.
The MSP of jowar has been increased by Rs 120 per quintal, ragi by Rs 253 per quintal and bajra by Rs 50.
The MSP of tur, moong and urad pulses has been raised by Rs 125, Rs 75 and Rs 100, respectively.
MSP of groundnut is up by Rs 200 per quintal while it is Rs 311 per quintal for soyabean, sunflower by Rs 262 and sesamum by Rs 236.
Medium Cotton MSP has been raised by Rs 105 per quintal and Long Cotton MSP up by Rs 100 per quintal.

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July 05, 2019

Purnima Pathak Saikia receives Eva Achow memorial award

The Eva Achow Memorial Award, instituted by socio-cultural organisation Anuprerana, was presented to Purnima Pathak Saikia, well-known film and stage actress.
Veteran journalist DN Chakravartty chaired the meeting in which Deepjyoti Saikia, secretary of the organisation, explained the purpose of the function. He said that Anuprerana has, for the last six years, been honouring over 20 prominent artistes and successful persons in different fields from across the North East.
Presenting the award to Purnima Pathak Saikia, eminent writer and cultural activist Ratna Ojah recalled his close association with Eva Achow, a brilliant cinema and stage actress who came into the limelight with her memorable performances in films like Sakuntala, Beula, etc.
Kapil Bora, Chetana Das, Kirti Kamal Bhuyan and former Station Director of AIR, Guwahati, R Rahman, recollected their association with both Eva Achow and Purnima Pathak Saikia.
As a television programme executive, Purnima Pathak Saikia produced over hundred dramas in Assamese, Hindi and English, besides producing 30 documentaries and several live programmes for children and women.

Lok Sabha passes Aadhaar Amendment Bill, 2019

Lok Sabha passed Aadhaar Amendment Bill, 2019 by voice vote. The Bill seeks to amend Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act 2016 and to further amend the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002.
The Bill also proposes giving a child an option to exit from the biometric ID programme on attaining 18 years of age.
This Bill will make the use of Aadhaar for opening bank accounts and procuring mobile phone connections voluntary.
Minister of Law and Justice said more than one hundred 23 crore people of the country have been enrolled in Aadhar and around 70 crore mobile phones are connected to Aadhaar number.
He said around 2 crores 50 lakh Aadhar authentications are done daily in the country.
Ravi Shankar Prasad told the House that Aadhaar is in national interest and it does not violate privacy of any Individual.
He reassured the House that there is no mandatory compliance to have Aadhar card to avail the benefits of government schemes.
The Minister said, the government respects the protection of individual’s Data and the Data Protection law work is in progress and will come out shortly.

CCMB and CDFD sign MOU to maximize potential in genetic disease diagnostics

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) with an aim to enable better ways of diagnosis and treatment of genetic disorders.
The objectives of the MoU also include the provision of quality DNA based diagnostic services to the public at lower costs, to develop newer diagnostic methods and to engage in scientific research to improve understanding of human genetic disorders.
Estimates for genetic disorders show that more than 50 lakh babies are born each year with genetic disease in India.
The burden of these disorders has its effects on the economic and social structure of society.
Most of these disorders are presently untreatable and for those which can be treated, the treatment is very expensive.
The only option to address this problem is the preventive approach which requires prenatal diagnosis and genetic counselling.
The last few years have witnessed tremendous changes in the field of genetics with rapid advancements in technology.
The advent of efficient and affordable DNA sequencing technology has a direct impact in improving our understanding of human diseases, enabling better ways of diagnosis and treatment.

July 06, 2019

Indian Railways commissions longest electrified tunnel

South Central Railway has commissioned the longest electrified tunnel, measuring 6.6 Kms between Cherlopalli and Rapuru stations and is part of the recently completed Obulavaripalli – Venkatachalam new railway line.
Two freight trains have successfully run marking the full-scale Operation of the newly built electrified railway line between the two stations, thereby opening up viable rail connectivity between Krishnapatnam Port and its hinterland for Goods train services, South Central Railway (SCR).
Completion of this tunnel has enabled Railways to start freight operations on this important railway line, which has reduced the distance between Krishnapatnam Port and hinterland areas by 60 kms.
On the newly commissioned line, the travel time gets reduced to about 5 hours, which will result in a saving of travel time by 5 hours.
Length of the tunnel is 6, 660 mts and is in straight alignment.
The height of tunnel (rail level to roof) is 6.5 meters and the minimum height of contact wire is maintained at 5.2 meters.
Two nos. of traction power supply substations are provided near Cherlopalli and near Adurupalli with necessary switching stations in between.
This new line facilitates direct & viable connectivity between South Coast and West Coast and enhances the freight basket of South Central Railway.

AYUSH MoU with MEITY to collaborate for digitisation of AYUSH sector

The Ministries of AYUSH and Electronics and Information Technology signed a Memorandum of Understanding in New Delhi to collaborate on the digitization of the AYUSH sector.
The Ministry aims to digitize the entire AYUSH, leading to transformation in the field of health care delivery at all levels, along with greater research, education, delivery of various health care programmes and better drug regulations.
The Electronics and Information Technology Ministry has agreed to give technical support to the AYUSH Ministry for planning and development of AYUSH GRID Project.

Govt. presented Union Budget 2019

The budget has been presented with a 10-year vision in mind. The startups are being given a whole set of tax benefits.
Fully automated GST Refund module shall be implemented; multiple tax ledgers to be replaced by one; invoice details to be captured in a central system.
Basic customs duty on certain items to be increased to promote the cherished goal of Makein India. Import of defence equipment not manufactured in India are being exempted from basic customs duty.
To provide further impetus to affordable housing, additional deduction of 1.5 lakh rupees on interest paid on loans borrowed upto 31 March 2020 for purchase of house up to ₹45 lakh.
Additional income tax deduction of 1.5 lakh rupees on the interest paid on the loans taken to purchase electric vehicles.
The government proposes to levy TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding ₹1 crore in a year from a bank account.
Public sector banks to be provided 70,000 crore rupees to boost capital and improve credit.
Four new embassies to be opened in 2019-20, to improve footprint of India’s overseas presence and to provide better public services to local Indian communities.
Regulation authority over housing finance sector to be returned from National Housing Bank to RBI.
Women Self Help Group(SHG) Interest Subvention Programme to be expanded to all districts in India.
To popularise sports at all levels, National Sports Education Board for development of sportspersons to be set up under Khelo India.
New National Educational Policy to be brought in to transform Indian educational system; major changes in higher as well as school system to be brought in.
The government to bring out a policy framework for making India a global hub of aircraft financing and leasing activities.
To harness India’s space ability commercially, a public sector enterprise, New Space India Limited (NSIL) has been incorporated to tap the benefits of ISRO
100% FDI will be permitted for insurance intermediaries.
Credit Guarantee Enhancement Corporation will be set up in 2019-20, action plan to deepen markets for long-term bonds with specific focus on infrastructure sector to be put in place.
Pension benefit to be extended to around 3 crore retail traders and shopkeepers with an annual turnover less than ₹5 crore under Pradhan MantriKaram Yogi Man Dhan Scheme.
Comprehensive restructuring of National Highways Programme to be done, to ensure the creation of National Highways Grid of desirable capacity.

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July 07, 2019

Govt hands over housing finance companies to RBI from NHB

The government has taken away the powers of the National Housing Bank (NHB) to regulate housing finance companies (HFCs) and handed them to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act will be amended to give the RBI powers to regulate the HFC sector.
NHB was part of the RBI till April this year when the government decided to take it over.
HFCs, which so far have conducted business with light-touch regulation, will likely face intense scrutiny.
This enables the RBI to directly give liquidity support to the ailing HFC sector.
As soon as the RBI got the regulatory powers, it offered a liquidity window to banks to help support NBFCs and HFCs.

India to train 1800 Bangladeshi Civil Servants

Eighteen hundred Bangladeshi mid-career civil servants will be trained at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) in Mussoorie between 2019-2025.
The first batch of 30 civil servants leaving for a two-week long training programme in Mussoorie paid a visit to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
The Bangladeshi civil servants are being trained at the National Centre for Good Governance based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in February this year in the Fifth meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission (JCC).
Welcoming the participants to the training programme, acting High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh BishwadipDey said that such trainings provide an opportunity to share experiences of administration between civil servants of the two countries.

Indian Army, NeGD signs MoU for revamping management application

The Army and the National eGovernance Division inked a pact for developing a revamped application to maintain the centralised database for personnel, equipment and major stores to provide management-related information to the force.
To meet the organisational requirements and enhanced user aspirations, rather than employing the conventional developmental framework, the DGIS experimented with a new collaborative approach with the MeitY for developing the new MISO application.
To formalise the entire developmental framework, structures and methodology, Lt Gen Anil Kapoor, Director General of Information Systems and M S Rao, President and CEO, National E-governance Division inked a MoU in the presence of Shri TP Singh, Director, BISAG.
This signing of the agreement is first of its kind inter-ministerial initiative between the MoD and the MeitY and is sure to lead to similar joint frameworks for finding innovative solutions in collaborative manner for the Indian Army.

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Assam Current Affairs – July 29 – 31, 2019

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

Current Affairs Assam – July 29 - 31, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of July 29 – 31, 2019 )

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July 29, 2019

7^th Economic Census begun from Tripura

The 7th Economic census has begun from 29th July from Tripura. The census will be conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in partnership with CSC e-governance Services India Ltd. (CSC SPV) after a gap of 5 years.
The officials will collect the data through the door to door household survey under the provision of Collection of Statistics Act 2008.
The economic census gives an idea about the economic activities being carried out across the country, types of ownership and source of finance, their geographical distribution, the number and distribution of workers etc.
It covers all residential and commercial structures across the country but excludes some economic activities such as plantation activities, crop-production, extra-territorial organisation, illegal activities and public administration and defence.
Shelter-less and nomadic population establishments and people living in open are also not covered in this census.

FACTFILE – Indian Economic Census

Indian economic census is the census of the Indian economy through counting all entrepreneurial units in the country which involved in any economic activities of either agricultural or non-agricultural sector which engaged in production and/or distribution of goods and/or services not for the sole purpose of own consumption.
The economic census provides detailed information on operational and other characteristics such as number of establishments, number of persons employed, source of finance, type of ownership etc.
These informations are used for micro level/ decentralized planning and to assess contribution of various sectors of the economy in the gross domestic product (GDP).
In 1976, Government of India launched a plan scheme called Economic Census and Surveys.
In 1977 Central Statistical Organisation conducted First economic census in collaboration with the Directorate of Economics & Statistics (DES) in the States/Union Territories.

Odisha ‘Rasagola’ bagged GI Tag

Odisha bagged the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, for its ‘Rasagola’ with registering it with the name ‘Odisha Rasagola’ on 29th July 2019. The ‘Rasagola’ is a syrup confectionary made of cottage cheese.
Odisha has been embroiled in a battle with West Bengal since 2015, which had secured the GI tag for ‘Banglar Rasogolla’ in 2017.
In Odisha, the ‘Rasagola’ has been a part of century-old rituals performed for Lord Jagannath and is also mentioned in the ancient Odia literature.

FACTFILE – Geographical Indication (GI) tag

A geographical indication (GI) is a sign/identity given to a product belonging to a specific geographical location (a region, town, state, country).
India has enacted GI of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 from 15th September 2003.
The GI tag ensured that only the authorised user is allowed to use the product name. Darjeeling tea was the first product to bag the GI tag in India in 2004-05.

MoC signed for promotion of Chinese acupuncture in India

The Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Dr D.N. Kotnis Health and Education Centre, Punjab, have signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) to enhance collaboration in education and research in acupuncture as well as other academic and cultural areas.
The MoC was signed by Vice-President of Guizhou Acupuncture and Moxibustion Association Yang Xiaofang and Medical Superintendent of the Dr D.N. Kotnis Health and Education Centre Inderjeet Singh Dhingra.
It would pave the way for setting up of an acupuncture institution in Ludhiana where degree courses would be offered.
The MoC was signed on the sidelines of the international advanced workshop-cum-training of acupuncture in Ludhiana.
The first of its kind workshop is being organised with the help of Chinese experts in collaboration with the “World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies, Education (WFAS, Edu)”.
The 10-day training workshop will cover neurological disorders, paralysis, facial paralysis, chronic pain syndromes, cosmetic problems, alopecia, nerve weakness, stress management and many new techniques, like ”catgut embedding therapy”.

July 30, 2019

Meghalaya to hold National Conference on e-Governance

The 22^nd National Conference on e-Governance will be held here in Meghalaya on August 8 and 9, in a first for the north-eastern region to organise the knowledge sharing event.
The theme of the conference is ‘Digital India: Success to Excellence’.
It provides a platform to disseminate knowledge on effective methods of designing and implementing sustainable e-Governance initiatives to provide end-to-end digital services, exchange experiences in solving problems, mitigating risks, resolving issues and planning for success, P S Thangkhiew, the chief secretary of Meghalaya.
The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), in association with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Meghalaya government will organise the 22nd National Conference.
This is the first time the event is being organized in the north-eastern region of the country. The conference at Shillong is part of the DARPG’s 100 days initiatives.

Bill for dam safety introduced in Lok Sabha

The government introduced a Bill to set up a national authority as well as a committee for inspection and maintenance of dams across the country.
The Bill seeks to set up the National Dam Safety Authority for proper surveillance, inspection and maintenance of specified dams as well as to address unresolved issues between states.
Besides the authority, the government has proposed setting up a national committee on dam safety in order to prevent dam failure-related disasters.
According to the Bill, the committee would maintain standards of dam safety and also evolve policies for ensuring safety of dams.

Airtel builds digital network for UP government

Telecom major Bharti Airtel has designed and implemented a “State Wide Area Network” (SWAN) for the Uttar Pradesh government as part of the Centre”s e-governance initiative.
Deputy Chief Minster Dinesh Sharma launched the network “UPSWAN 2.0”
UPSWAN 2.0 comprises of 885 Points of Presence (PoPs) across the state and is designed to provide secure, high-speed connectivity for delivery of government services to citizens over a ”closed user group” network”.
This modern network infrastructure now digitally connects all state headquarters, district headquarters, block headquarters and tehsil headquarters across Uttar Pradesh.

100^th warship built by GRSE commissioned by Indian Navy

A landing craft utility (LCU) – the 100th warship built by the Kolkata-headquartered Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers – was commissioned by the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam.
The sixth of the eight Mark-IV LCUs was commissioned by Eastern Naval Command chief, Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain at a ceremony attended by GRSE Chairman and Managing Director, Rear Admiral V.K. Saxena (retd) and other senior officials of the Indian Navy.
LCU are amphibious ships with the primary role being transportation and deployment of Main Battle Tanks, armoured vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore.
They can be deployed for multirole activities like beaching operations, search and rescue, disaster relief operations, supply and replenishment and evacuation from distant islands.
The LCU is 63 m in length and 11 m wide and has a displacement of 830 T with a low draught of 1.7 m.
The LCU Mark IV class are fitted with close to 90 per cent indigenous content in line with the government”s ”Make in India” initiative.

July 31, 2019

Manohari gold tea breaks record yet again

Setting a new auction record in the country, a speciality tea made by a garden in Dibrugarh fetched Rs 50,000 for a kilogram under the hammer at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) here. This is the highest price any tea has fetched in any auction centre all over the world.
The line of the delicate ‘gold special tea’ of Manohari Tea Estate located at Mohanbari went under the hammer at the pan-India auction this morning.
Gold tea – the tea looks like pieces of gold – is made from the finest tea clones and is very delicate. This hand plucked tea is rich in aroma and is regarded as the world’s finest tea.
Tea expert CK Parashar, under whose supervision it was made, said the tea was made from the P-126/A clone.
Last year, a kilogram of the same tea was sold for Rs 39,001, a record which was soon broken by ‘golden needle’ variety from the Donyi Polo Tea Estate in Arunachal Pradesh which sold for Rs 40,000 a kilogram.

Parliament passes Bill criminalising instant Triple Talaq

The Central government in the Rajya Sabha passed the Triple Talaq Bill. The Bill has already been passed by the Lok Sabha. With the approval of the Rajya Sabha, the Bill is all set to become an Act after the Presidential node.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage), Bill, 2019 criminalises instant triple talaq among Muslims and attracts a jail term of three years for the husband.

LS passes Bill to set up regulator for consumer complaints

A Bill to establish a national level regulator – Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) – to deal with consumer complaints pro-actively was passed in the Lok Sabha.
The Bill, which seeks to replace the Consumer Protection Act 1986, has 109 clauses to establish CCPA as a national level regulator.
The Bill will clear the way for consumers to go to court if they were not satisfied.
The Bill also has provisions to deal with class actions, product liability, misleading advertisements, liability for celebrity endorsements and others.
It also addresses new age developments like e-commerce, direct selling and tele-marketing.
The CCPA will deal with matters relating to violation of rights of consumers, unfair trade practice and false or misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the interests of public and consumers.

CISCO to train 10 lakh Indian students in digital skills

In line with the government”s efforts to train the youth in emerging technologies, networking giant Cisco committed to train 10 lakh students by 2025 by expanding its Networking Academy programme.
The Networking Academy programme in India is one of its largest in the world. Across 583 academies nationwide, more than 350,000 Indian students have been trained since its inception so far.
The Cloud-delivered skills-development programme helps students learn how to design, build, secure and maintain digital infrastructure.
The curriculum include courses on IT essentials, networking, cybersecurity, programming and Internet of Things.
Through the programme, schools, colleges, universities, vocational institutions, government and non-profit organisations are provided a Cisco-developed curriculum that can be integrated with the institution”s own educational offerings.
Cisco also supports government education institutes in providing training on networking and cybersecurity skills aimed at improving the employability of engineering graduates.

July 2019 – Monthly PDF | Monthly Quiz eBook

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Assam State Child Scientist Award for class VIII student Raj Sharma

India expresses commitment to fully implement FATF standards

Akil Kureshi appointed as Chief Justice of Tripura High Court

India-Indonesia joint naval exercise Samudra Shakti

India, UAE discuss boosting trade & investment ties

World Bank’s $110 million deal for river transport in Assam

India, France begin counterterrorism Exercise ‘Shakti 2019’

New Zealand passes zero carbon bill to combat climate change

Brahmaputra Valley Samaj Hitoishi Award to DN Chakravarty

Sanjay Karol is the new Chief Justice of Patna High Court

Environment Ministry nod to Indian Oil Corporation’s Panipat ethanol plant

CJI office falls within ambit of RTI Act, says SC

Assam signs pact with Malaysia trade body

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hands over Rs 3 crore to two defence start-ups

Environment Ministry’s launches beach cleanliness drive

Himachal Pradesh Govt & Dutch companies sign 14 MoUs

Samsung Innovation Award at IIT Indore

Union Govt approves Assam Police’s intelligence sharing project

Justice Rafiq took charge as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court

India has successfully conducted the night trial of Agni-II

India, US tri-services exercise ‘Tiger Triumph’

IIT Guwahati researchers develop sensor to assess milk freshness

Indo-France joint military ‘Exercise Shakti-2019’

Punjab signs pact for promotion of products of MSMEs

Nilam Sawhney appointed as Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh

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Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to inaugurate NE Book Fair at Guwahati

Punjab CM launches job helpline under ‘Ghar Ghar Rozgar’ programme

Pavan Kapoor appointed as Ambassador to UAE

Odisha govt signs MoU with J-PAL South Asia

IIT Guwahati, PCBA join hands to tackle air pollution

India-US Economic and Financial Partnership Meeting

D.C. Raina appointed as the first Advocate General of J&K UT

India, Germany inks pacts in various fields & resolved to jointly combat terrorism

French Development Agency (AFD) to provide Rs 400 crore loan to Assam

West Bengal, UNICEF jointly set 5-step agenda to fight malnutrition

PM Modi releases commemorative coin on Guru Nanak and thai translation of ‘Tirukkural’

China launches high-resolution Earth observation satellite ‘Gaofen-11’

India, EU launch call on research on developing local energy system

Union Govt and UNICEF launch ‘YuWaah’ initiative

NASSCOM, SAP India signed an MoU to skill, reskill and upskill workforce across industries

Satya Pal Malik takes oath as Governor of Goa

India and Uzbekistan signs 3 MoUs and initiated first-ever joint exercise ‘Dustlik 2019’

Assam gets 15 electric buses under ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles’ (FAME-1)

India to launch National Disaster Management Scheme

Odisha Govt inks pacts for youth skill development

IBM launch ‘SkillsBuild‘ platform for skilling students in collaboration with MSDE

Assam CM opens Brahmaputra Pushkar Mahotsav

Justice Rajendra Menon appointed AFT Chairperson

IIT Madras launches first indigenously designed standing wheelchair

P S Sreedharan Pillai sworn-in as the new Governor of Mizoram

Assam Governor adopts Morigaon as model district for agriculture

India, Russia to expand military technical cooperation

Nasscom Foundation rewards 7 entities for social impact

PM Modi inaugurated the 5th edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF)

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Down Town Hospital successfully performed the first liver transplant in NE

Indian Army carries out integrated fire power exercise

Marconi Society Annual Awards for Apps developed by Indian students

Union Minister for Culture & Tourism launches CCRT’s e-portal

Assam Cabinet decides no Govt jobs for persons having more than 2 children

NE Region’s contribution to India’s economy meager, says ADB

Indian Air Force test fires Brahmos missiles

Pankaj Kumar appointed as UIDAI CEO

India-Bangladesh Stakeholders’ Meet at Guwahati

Assam Govt expands Atal Amrit Abhiyan health insurance scheme

New Department of Registration in J&K

India jumps 14 positions in the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ list

Union Cabinet Approvals revival of BSNL and MTNL

IIT Guwahati bagged 10th position in the QS India University Rankings 2020

Chennai Corporation starts health awareness drive through students

Himachal Pradesh Cabinet approved a policy to provide cost effective Ayush services

International meet on nutraceuticals, chronic diseases held at IIT Guwahati

India, Pakistan sign Kartarpur pact

IIT Madras team develops simple technique to produce Graphene platelets

Uttar Pradesh CM launches scheme for girl child

Tea Board looking for technology to ensure traceability of tea

Govt plans to run Ladakh completely on renewable energy

**IIT Madras launches first indigenously designed standing wheelchair**

PM Modi inaugurated the 5^th edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF)

IIT Guwahati bagged 10^th position in the QS India University Rankings 2020

Guwahati slips to 81^stspot from 26^th spot in Smart Cities list

GRSE launches 5^th Fast Patrol Vessel for coast guard

**‘Bulbul Can Sing’ wins Rajat Kamal Award at the National Film Award**

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee opens World’s 1^st museum on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Indian, Chinese soldiers mark 92^nd year of PLA