National level

25.01.18 Nagaland(NPSC) Current Affairs

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NORTH-EASTERN STATES

  • Railways to invest Rs 48,000 crore to boost Northeast infrastructure

 

  • The Railways will invest nearly Rs 48,000 crore in the northeast to boost infrastructure and development in the region.

 

  • Tracks up to Imphal will come up by 2020. the Railways could not expedite work in Meghalaya as local councils are unwilling to part with their land. the Railways has acquired land stretching up to 17 km for train connectivity to Kohima in Nagaland.

 

  • Doubling of tracks in Assam has been sanctioned up to Lumding via Goalpara and the NFR is working to complete the task by 2020. 

    INTERNATIONAL

     

    • Japan’s Development Loan Assistance to India for an amount of Yen 45 billion

     

    • The Government of Japan has committed JICA Official Development Assistance loan for an amount of Yen 45 billion (Rs.2587 crore approx.) for the project.

     

    • The Notes in this regard were exchanged between Mr. S. Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and H.E. Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India on Japanese official development assistance loan for Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Project (Phase 3) (I).

     

    • This Project will provide residents of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) area especially in 110 villages with safe and stable water supply and sewerage services by carrying-out construction of water treatment plant and sewage treatment plants thereby improving living conditions of the residents as well as the investment environment in the concerned areas in BBMP in the State of Karnataka.

     

    • India and Japan have had a long and fruitful history of bilateral development cooperation since 1958. In the last few years, the economic cooperation between India and Japan has steadily progressed.

     

    • This further consolidates and strengthens the Strategic and Global Partnership between India and Japan.

     

    NATIONAL

     

    ·        Eighth National Voters Day is observed on 25th January

     

    • The Election Commission of India celebrated the 8th National Voters’ Dayacross the country on 25th January for enhanced participation of citizens in the electoral process.
    • The National level function was held in New Delhi.
    • President Ram Nath Kovind gave away awards for best electoral practices to District Collectors, Superintendents of Police and other functionaries involved in election management.

     

    Gk bit – National Voters Day

     

    • National Voters’ Day or Rashtriya Matdata Diwasis celebrated on January 25 every year. The significance of National Voters’ Day is to encourage more young voters to take part in the political process. It is a day to celebrate the right to vote and vibrant democracy of India.

    • The day was first celebrated in 2011 to mark Election Commission’s Foundation Day. This will be eighth National Voters’ Day (NVD) and will be used to spread awareness among voters regarding effective participation in the electoral process.

     

    • ECI (Election Commission of India) is permanent and independent constitutional body established directly by Constitution of India to ensure fair and fair elections in the country. It is multi-member body and currently has three members including Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

     

    • Bharat Parv to be held at Red Fort on Republic Day

     

    • Cultural extravaganza Bharat Parvwill be held at the Red Fort in Delhi as part of the Republic Day celebrations.
    • The prime objective of the event is to promote rich cultural diversity of the country, generate a patriotic mood and to ensure wider participation of the general public.
    • The Bharat Parv event includes a display of Republic Day Parade Tableaux, Performances by Armed Forces Bands, Cultural Performances from a different region.

     

    ·        Union Government To Infuse Over Rs88 Thousand Crore In 20 PSB

     

    • The Union Government announced 88,139 crore rupees capital infusion in20 public sector banks, PSBs, during the current fiscal ending 31st March to boost lending and revive growth.
    • IDBI Bank will get the most- Rs10,610 crore followed by State Bank of India 8,800 crore rupees.
    • The 20 banks that will receive the capital infusion during this phase include Bank of India, UCO Bank, and Punjab National Bank.
    • In October last year, the government had announced over two lakh crore rupees bank recapitalization plan spread over spread over two financial years  2017-18 and 2018-19.

     

    • India to host 16th International Energy Forum meet

     

    • The 16th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial meeting will be held in New Delhi on April 10 to 12.

     

    • It will be hosted by Government of India in New Delhi and co-hosted by the Government of China and South Korea.

     

    • Representatives from 92 countries will be participating in the conference, including 72 member countries of IEF and 20 guest countries.

     

    • India had last hosted the IEF ministerial conference in 1996.

     

    ·        Union Government to increase number of AMRIT pharmacy stores 4 times

    • The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced to increase the number of AMRIT pharmacy stores by four times by end of 2018 from the existing 111 outlets in a bid to make low-cost medicines more accessible. So far, 52 lakh patients have been benefited by buying discounted drugs (60 to 90% less than market price) from AMRIT (Affordable medicine and reliable implants for treatment) stores and have saved over Rs. 267 crores.
    • The AMRIT (Affordable medicine and reliable implants for treatment) scheme aims to reduce expenditure incurred by patients on the treatment of cancer.
    • Under it, retail outlets in the name of AMRIT pharmacy are opened to sell drugs for cancer and heart diseases at highly discounted rates on market rates.

     

     

    • SARAS PT1N makes its maiden flight

     

    • SARAS PT1N (14 seater) designed and developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL), a frontline aerospace research laboratory, has successfully made its maiden flight.

     

    • Union Minister for Science & Technology, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, has congratulated the scientists of CSIR-NAL and other agencies involved in the successful maiden flight.

     

    • The aircraft took off at about 11 a.m from HAL airport and flew for about 40 minutes at the maximum height of 8500 ft at the speed of 145 knots.

     

    • The aircraft programme is named after Indian crane Saras. It was first conceptualised in the 1990s to establish short-haul civil aviation market. The original design of the plane included maximum take-off weight of 6,100kg and a maximum payload of 1,232kg.

     

    • Rapid Reporting System for the Scheme for Adolescent Girls launched

     

    • Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Shri Rakesh Srivastava launched the Phase -1 i.e. the beneficiary module of the Rapid Reporting System for the Scheme for Adolescent Girls – a web based on line monitoring for the Scheme for Adolescent Girls in New Delhi.

     

    • This Portal has been developed in collaboration with National Informatics Centre (NIC).

     

09.02.18 Nagaland(NPSC) Current Affairs

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NORTH-EASTERN STATES

  • Manipur to set up fast-track court for drug offenders: CM

 

  • Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh  said a fast-track court will be set up by March to try increasing drugs-related cases in the state.

 

  • Manipur had become a conduit for drug trafficking in the northeast since border trade with Myanmar was legalised in 1995.

 

  • Officials are concerned over increasing smugglings of gold, precious stones, narcotics drugs and chemicals used in manufacturing drugs.

 

 

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

·        India Ranks 44th In Global Intellectual Property Index, US Tops

 

  • India increased “substantially”its score in the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index, ranking 44th among 50 nations, according to the US Chambers of Commerce report.
  • Last year, India ranked 43rd out of 45 countries in the Index.
  • The top 3 countries in  the list are-
  1. The USA.
  2. The United Kingdom.
  3. Sweden

 

  • India’s overall score has increased substantially from 25% in the 5th edition of the Index to 30% in the 6th edition, according to the annual report prepared by the Global Innovation Policy Centre (GIPC)of the US Chambers of Commerce.

 

·        Guinness World Record attempted for playing Ice Hockey at highest altitude

 

  • To set a record in the Guinness book for ice hockey on the world’s highest altitude, an international level tournament was organized at Chiba Kargyam in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
  • Five international teams from USA, Germany, Canada, Slovakia and Russia and a local team participated in the tournament.
  • It was jointly organized by the Hockey Foundation, USA, Ladakh Winter Sports Club and Lalok Winter Sports Association.
  • AIR correspondent reports that with a mission to set a record in Guinness World Record, the ice hockey tournament was held at recently built international standards open ice hockey rink at an altitude of 4371 meters above the sea level.

 

  • 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
  • The opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics will take place at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea on February 9, 2018.

 

  • The site of the opening ceremony Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium was built specifically for the games.

 

  • These Games will feature 102 events in fifteen sports disciplines.

 

  • Peace will be the central theme of the games.

 

 

NATIONAL

 

  • 11 states are now open defecation free: Government

 

  • The government informed the Lok Sabha that till date 11 states and union territories (UTs) have been declared open defecation free (ODF) under Swachh Bharat Mission.

 

  • The government is taking various steps under the SBM to make all states in the country ODF, the minister of state in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi, said in a written reply.

 

·        Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on 4-day visit to Palestine, UAE, Oman

 

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the Gulf and West Asian regionfor the fifth time since 2015.
  • In his statement prior to his departure to Palestine, United Arab Emirates, and Oman, the Prime Minister said, this region is a key priority in India’s external engagement and he is looking forward to strengthening India’s growing and important ties with West Asia and the Gulf region through the visit. He said India enjoy vibrant multi-dimensional ties with the countries in West Asia.
  • Expressing his gratitude to the King Abdullah II of Jordan for facilitating the transit, he said he looks forward to meeting him in Amman today.
  • On his first visit to Palestine, he was looking forward to the discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirmed India’s support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine.

 

·        First Ever Chat Based Job Search App ‘Empzilla’ Launched

 

  • The first ever of its kind in the country chat-based job search mobile app ‘Empzilla‘ is being launched that will do away with existing limitations of employers and job seekers making selection process quick and cost-effective.
  • The mobile app gets the conversation between employers and job seekers going in seconds and the latter can chat with the potential employers.

 

 

 

·        Haryana emerges as first champion of Khelo India School Games with 38 gold medals

 

  • Haryana youngsters outclassed others by achieving the highest number of medal tally in the inaugural edition of the Khelo India School Games.
  • The competition concluded in New Delhi.
  • The sports powerhouse won 102 medals including 38 gold medals, 26 silver medals, 38 Bronze medals. Maharashtra (110) finished second overall while Delhi (94) came third.
  • Punjab and Kerala won the boys’ and girls’ gold medals respectively in Basketball competition.
  • On the final day, Haryana emerged with the best haul of five medals, including one gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.
  • Haryana archers showed impressive performance and won one gold medal on the final day. It clinched two silver and two bronze medals from Archery on the same day.

 

 

·        CCEA approves enhancement of target under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

 

  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved to enhance target base of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) from 5 crore to 8 crores.
  • The revised target of PMUY will be achieved by 2020 with an additional allocation of Rs. 4,800 crore.
  • The decision comes in the wake of the huge response to PMUY from the women particularly in rural areas and to cover such households not having LPG connection.
  • This move will address practical difficulty faced in implementation of MUY, namely, targeting genuinely poor households left out of Socio-Economic Cards.