Tripura Current Affairs & Recent GK ( January – June 2019 )

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Tripura (North-East) Current Affairs, recent GK and important news / events during the period of January 2019 to June 2019 for Civil Service/ other competitive exams

 

Go to Current Affairs Tripura site  |  Current Affairs Assam/ North-East

 

June 19, 2019

Agartala airport to be 3rd international airport in NE

  • After Guwahati and Imphal, the Agartala airport is set to become the third international airport in the northeastern region by the end of this year or by early 2020.
  • The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has informed that their ongoing works to make Agartala’s Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport as an international one would be completed by this year end. If the works are hampered due to the monsoon season or any other factor, then the declaration would be made by early 2020.
  • The AAI had undertaken a Rs 438 crore project to upgrade the Agartala airport to international standards by providing world-class facilities.
  • Following the completion of the project, flights between Agartala and Dhaka, as well as other Bangladeshi cities like Chittagong and Sylhet, will be operated.
  • The state government had already provided 72 acres of land to the AAI for construction of the new terminal building, runway and other necessary infrastructure.
  • The AAI is now implementing Rs 3,400 crore projects for the up-gradation of various airports in the northeastern region. Rs 720 crore project now being implemented for further up-gradation of the Imphal International Airport.

FACTFILE – Agartala airport

  • Agartala airport was built in 1942 by then King Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur.
  • During the World War II, the Agartala airport was used by the 4th Combat Cargo Group of the US Army Air Forces 10 Air Force, flying Curtiss C-46 Commando aircraft over Myanmar.
  • It was used as a supply point from which the unit air-dropped supplies and ammunition to the advancing Allied forces on the ground.
  • The airport in Agartala is the second-busiest in the northeast.
  • The Agartala airport handled on an average nine lakh passengers per year.
  • The Union Civil Aviation Ministry last year renamed the Agartala airport, earlier known as Singerbill Airport, after Tripura’s last ruler Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur.

June 17, 2019

Asian Development Bank (ADB) approves Infrastructure projects of 1,650 crore in Tripura
  • The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a project worth Rs 1,650 crore to develop infrastructure in seven district headquarter towns of Tripura.
  • The ADB will provide Rs 1,650 crore, out of which 80 per cent will be grant-in-aid and the state will have to repay 20 per cent loan in due course of time.
  • The ADB has approved the project submitted by the Urban Development Department amounting to Rs 1,650 crore for infrastructure development such as piped water supply, underground drainage, underground sewage or scientific seepage management, roads with pavement, in the seven district headquarter towns, other than Agartala.
  • The project will be taken up in Khowai, Ambassa, Dharmnagar, Kailashahar, Udaipur, Bishramganj and Belonia.
  • Representatives from the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs had approved the project in its 89th screening committee meeting held in November 15, 2018.
  • The ADB sent a Consultation Mission to Agartala, on December 21, 2018 to seek the feasibility of Project Financing Readiness (PFR) and Technical Assistance (TA) for preparations of DPRs of this project.
  • The Urban Development Department of the Tripura government will start preparing DPRs with the assistance of ADB for speedy execution of the said project.

June 15, 2019

Japan to invest Rs 13,000 crore in various Northeast projects
  • Japan has decided to invest Rs 13,000 crore (205.784 billion Yen) in several ongoing and new projects in different Northeastern states of India.
  • After a meeting between Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh and a Japanese delegation led by Ambassador Kenji Hiramatsuin New Delhi, it was officially disclosed that the Japan Government is to invest Rs 13,000 crore in several ongoing and new projects in different Northeastern states of India.

Some of the important projects in which Japan would collaborate include

  • The Guwahati Water Supply Project and Guwahati Sewage Project in Assam
  • Northeast Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project spread over Assam and Meghalaya
  • Northeast Network Connectivity Improvement Project in Meghalaya
  • Bio-diversity Conservation and Forest Management Project in Sikkim
  • Sustainable Forest Management Project in Tripura
  • Technical Cooperation Project for Sustainable Agriculture and Irrigation in Mizoram

 

June 13, 2019

Tripura Govt gets IIT Kanpur help to monitor education system
  • The Tripura Government has enlisted the help of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, to build a comprehensive data bank to monitor the education system in the State on a real-time basis.
  • The data bank, which will comprise status of teachers, non-teaching staff, information on schools, and progress of various government programmes, is considered a key area to improve the overall education system.
  • The entire system will be in the form of a grid. All offices of the inspectors of schools and district education offices will be connected to the Directorate of Education.
  • Ministers and other high officials will be able to check the status of a particular school within minutes as the data bank will be available online.
Tripura Govt gets IIT Kanpur help to monitor education system
  • The Tripura Government has enlisted the help of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, to build a comprehensive data bank to monitor the education system in the State on a real-time basis.
  • The data bank, which will comprise status of teachers, non-teaching staff, information on schools, and progress of various government programmes, is considered a key area to improve the overall education system.
  • The entire system will be in the form of a grid. All offices of the inspectors of schools and district education offices will be connected to the Directorate of Education.
  • Ministers and other high officials will be able to check the status of a particular school within minutes as the data bank will be available online.

 May 27, 2019

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

 May 25, 2019

Tripura Gramin Bank posts Rs 125-crore profit
  • Posting net profit for seven consecutive years, the Tripura Gramin Bank (TGB) is among India’s top three out of 46 regional rural banks (RRBs) in terms of profit, business and growth.
  • After some of them merger with commercial banks, currently India has 46 RRBs against the earlier 56.
  • The bank has posted a net profit of Rs 125.45 crore in the fiscal 2018-19 against the net profit of Rs 44.14 crore in 2017-18, and of Rs 56 crore in 2016-17.
  • The Central government has a 50 per cent stake in TGB, the United Bank of India (UBI) has 35 per cent, while the 15 per cent is held by the Tripura government.
  • The TGB is the only one among the eight RRBs in the north-eastern region, comprising eight states including Sikkim, that has been making profit successively.
  • Crossing ther Rs 9,000 landmark for the first time, the TGB grew its volume of business in the last financial year to Rs 9,267.45, which is 11.23 per cent more transacted than the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
  • “The deposits of the Gramin Bank increased by 12.57 per cent and crossed Rs 6,691.77 crore as on March 31, from Rs 5,944.55 crore on March 31, 2018.
  • The bank’s Credit Deposit Ratio (CDR) currently stood at 38.49 per cent against the 48 per cent CDR of nationalised banks functioning in the state.
  • The TGB’s Capital to Risk Assets Ratio in the last fiscal (CRAR) was 18.40 per cent. This, however, is much higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) stipulated ratio of 9 per cent CRAR.
  • Covering over 75 per cent of Tripura’s four-million population, mostly in the rural and interior areas, TGB’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) as on March 31 this year stood at Rs 230.41 crore, which is 8.95 per cent of the total advance of the bank, against Rs 254.05 crore NPAs as on March 31 last year.
  • The TGB is the first RRB in India to have been accorded permission by the RBI to start treasury function of the Tripura government and open a currency chest.

 April 30, 2019

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

Oil and Gas Reserves in India

  • In terms of proven oil reserves, India is 24th country in the world. Venezuela and Saudi Arabia are largest countries in terms of proven reserves.
  • India’s major oil producing states / UTs are Assam, Tripura, Manipur, West Bengal, Mumbai, Gujarat, Jammu &Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Coastal Kerala, Andaman & Nicobar.
  • The oil and gas industry in India dates back to 1889 when the first oil deposits in the country were discovered near the town of Digboi in the state of Assam.
  • As on 31 March 2018, India had estimated crude oil reserves of 594.49 million tonnes (MT) and natural gas reserves of 1339.57 billion cubic meters (BCM).
  • India imports 82% of its oil needs and aims to bring that down to 67% by 2022 by replacing it with local exploration, renewable energy and indigenous ethanol fuel.
  • India was the third top net crude oil (including crude oil products) importer of 205.3 Mt in 2018. 
 April 20, 2019
Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura to get DNA testing facilities
  • DNA testing facilities are being set up at forensic science laboratories of 13 States and Union Territories including the three North Eastern States of Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura at a cost of Rs 131.09 crore.
  • Cyber forensic laboratories and cyber forensic training facilities are being set up in these States as part of the Rs 223.19 crore Cyber Crime Prevention Against Women and Children project.
  • Five States – Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand – have already set up cyber forensic training laboratories.
  • A total of 3,664 personnel, including 410 public prosecutors and judicial officers, have been trained for the purpose.
  • The project is being implemented under the Nirbhaya Fund, set up by the Central Government for projects specifically designed to improve the safety and security of women.
  • According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 12,187 cyber crime cases were registered across India in 2016 in comparison to 11,331 cases in 2015. There was a 20.5 per cent increase in the number of cyber crime cases in 2015 over 2014 and 6.3 per cent increase in such cases in 2016 over 2015.

March 19, 2019

RN Bhattacharya literary awards to Assamese poet Anubhav Tulasi and Bengali poet Pijush Kanti Routh
  • The Ramanath Bhattacharya Foundation literary awards for 2017 in the memory of Padmanath Vidyabinod and Ramnath Biswas would be given to Assamese poet Anubhav Tulasi and Bengali poet Pijush Kanti Routh of Tripura respectively.
  • Both the awards comprise a cash prize of Rs 51,000, a citation, a memento and a specially designed Muga scarf.
  • The awards would be presented at a function to be held on March 24 at the Vivekananda Kendra.
  • A souvenir will also be released on the occasion by Nandita Bhattacharjee Goswami.

March 13, 2019

Tripura to appoint ‘Academic Leaders’ to improve quality of education
  • The Tripura government has decided to appoint 800 Academic Leaders to closely supervise teaching in schools and to improve the quality of education in the state. Before postings them in 58 blocks, they would be given good training. During the training, the teachers would be given financial assistance and other required support, including laptops.
  • Besides, special training would be given to the 25,000 government teachers in various schools. Rs 28 crore has been allotted for the new schemes.
  • The state government has also launched a “Natun Disha” (new direction) programme to assess the academic level of students in classes III to VIII.
  • NCERT courses would be introduced in nearly 5,000 government-run schools from the 2019-20 academic session.

March 03, 2019

Agartala among 6 cities to be ‘live laboratories’ for Lighthouse Project
  • Six cities across the country including Agartala have been selected as “live laboratories” for a pilot project under which 1,000 houses will be built using innovative technologies that are low-cost, sustainable and disaster-resistant, according to a senior official of the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.
  • Six cities have been identified to serve as live laboratories for the Lighthouse project. These are Agartala (Tripura), Rajkot (Gujarat), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).

March 01, 2019

India and Bangladesh hold joint exercise ‘Mainamati Maitree Exercise 2019’ to boost confidence on Tripura border
  • A series of joint exercises and exchanges are being held in the Tripura-Bangla frontier since a four-day standoff between the two forces centering 31 Rohingya people who were found crossing the international border into Bangladesh in January month.
  • Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) concluded a three-day ‘Mainamati Maitree Exercise 2019’ as a part of ‘Confidence Building Measures’ between the two border guards.
  • The objective of the Exercise was to plan and conduct anti-smuggling and anti-criminal activity related operations with an aim to achieve better joint operational efficiency and border management in the area.
  • The exercise was held in Comilla district of Bangladesh and is named after a hill range situated 8 km west of Comilla township in Bangladesh, which is home to an ancient Buddhist archaeological site in the region.
January 30, 2019
Padma Shri Award to Assam’s Ilias Ali and Udhab Kumar Bharali
  • Assam surgeon Ilias Ali and social innovator Udhab Kumar Bharali have been hounoured with Padma Shri awards, India’s the fourth highest civilian award.
  • Ilias Ali is known for working on family planning and education of Muslim women, whereas Udhab Kumar Bharali has more than 100 innovations to his credit, mostly at the grassroots level.
  • Two others from North East region, to get the Padma Shri award are archer Bombayla Devi Laishram from Manipur and musician Thanga Darlong from Tripura.

FACTFILE – Padma Shri Award

  • It is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. It is awarded by the Government of India, every year on India’s Republic Day.
  • Padma Awards were instituted in 1954 to be awarded to citizens of India in recognition of their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the arts, education, industry, literature, science, sports, medicine, social service and public affairs. It has also been awarded to some distinguished individuals who were not citizens of India but did contribute in various ways to India.

Go to Current Affairs Tripura site  |  Current Affairs Assam/ North-East