Current Affairs December 2019 - Regional

1 - India and ADB sign $206 million loan to strengthen urban services in 5 Tamil Nadu cities

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $206 million loan to develop water supply and sewerage infrastructure in 5 cities of Tamil Nadu and strengthen capacities of urban local bodies (ULBs) for improved service delivery.

This is the second project loan for the ADB-supported $500 million multi-tranche financing for Tamil Nadu Urban Flagship Investment Programme, approved in September 2018. It will overall develop climate-resilient water supply, sewerage, and drainage infrastructure in 10 cities of Tamil Nadu.

2 - Avantee mega Food Park inaugurated in MP’s Dewas

Union Minister for food processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated Avantee mega Food Park in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. This first food park of central India is spread over 51 acres and has been constructed at a cost of about 150 crore rupees. About 5 thousand local people will get employment from this Mega Food Park Processing of soyabean, gram, wheat and other grains and vegetables will be done in the park. Warehouses will also be opened in Indore, Ujjain, Dhar and Agar in the next phases.

3 - Hornbill festival celebrated in Kohima

The Hornbill Festival is celebrated every year in the first week of December. It is also called as the "Festival of Festivals". The festival is organized by the Government of Nagaland to encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote cultural heritage of Nagaland. The first festival was held in 2000.

The festival is named after the Indian hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state's tribes. It is held at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama. It provides a colourful mixture of dances, performances, crafts, parades, games, sports, food fairs and religious ceremonies.

4 - MP government proposed 5% quota for sportspersons in jobs

The Madhya Pradesh government would introduce a bill in the Legislative Assembly to earmark 5% reservation to sportspersons in State jobs. It has also launched an insurance scheme for the sportspersons and is also planning to establish a career development centre for sportspersons and a world-class sports university.

Sportspersons who excel at national competitions would get encouragement prize of Rs 1 lakh instead of Rs 5,000. While organisations that host state-level sports meets would get Rs 2 lakh instead of Rs 50,000, those holding national-level competitions will get Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 2 lakh given earlier.

5 - UP government announced 25% subsidy & full stamp duty waiver for defence industry

Uttar Pradesh government has decided to provide 25% subsidy and 100% stamp duty waiver for setting up defence industry in the state. State will also provide all facilities including power, road and fencing of land to the companies that will set up defence industries.

The state cabinet has also given relief to the home buyers in Noida and Greater Noida region by giving exemption to the builders from penal interest and other dues for the period their project is stalled due to litigation.

6 - Mission Indradhanush 2.0 to be conducted in four phases in Chhattisgarh

Intensified Mission Indradhanush-2.0 was launched in Chhattisgarh. This immunization drive will be conducted in four phases across the state. The programme will be completed by March 2020.

The Mission Indradhanush is being carried out in seven districts of the Chhattisgarh including five districts of tribal Bastar division: Narayanpur, Kondagaon, Sukma, Dantewada and Bastar to vaccinate hard-to-reach and tribal populations. During the next four months, a target has been set to vaccinate 90% children under the age of 2 years.

7 - Odisha launched ‘Madhu’ app to help school students

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched 'Madhu' app, an e-learning mobile phone application for school students in learning their lessons through videos and tutorials. Madhu app developed by Ganjam district administration is named after ‘UtkalGourab’ Madhusudan Das.

Students can study through video lectures and exercises in Odia language by leading subject experts and educationists. Mathematics and Science tutorials for students of classes V to VIII is launched in first phase.

8 - Gujarat to have India’s first maritime museum

The Government of India has planned to establish a National Maritime Heritage Museum at Lothal in Gujarat. Lothal is the site of one of the oldest ports in India dating to the Bronze Age. The museum will act as an independent research center for archaeology of boat building, reconstruction of maritime history and materials. The museum is being set up with technical help from the Portuguese Maritime Heritage Museum.

The central government has appointed the first Director General for the museum which will be attached to the Maritime Board of the Gujarat government.

9 - Odisha to set up 45 new fast track courts

The Odisha government plans to set up 45 new fast track courts. Of these, 21 courts would be dedicated for cases of rape and sexual harassment of women. The remaining 24 fast track courts will specifically deal with Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases.

These special courts will be part of total 1023 fast track courts proposed by the central government for speedy trail and disposal of rape and other sexual assault cases. Odisha has seen low conviction rate in rape cases.

10 - UP government to set up 218 fast-track courts for crimes against women and children

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved a proposal to set up 218 fast track courts (FTCs) for speedy disposal of rape and child sexual abuse cases. 144 courts will hear rape cases and 74 will hear cases of crime against children.

The state cabinet also cleared the proposal to create 218 posts of additional session judges and staff of the courts. The state government will spend Rs 75 lakh on the operation of each fast track court. Additionally, Rs 63 lakh will be spent per annum on the salary of the staff.

11 - UP Police to deploy women police personnel in Police Response Vehicle of dial 112 emergency services

The Uttar Pradesh Police have decided to deploy women police personnel in Police Response Vehicle of Dial 112 Emergency Services and women can also take the help of the service to reach their homes safely.

Police Response Vehicles will drop women travelling alone late at night to their destination to ensure their safety. The PRV will also escort women driving scooters, if need arises. The women police personnel will be deployed on 10% of the regular Police Response Vehicles. This service will be available from 10 P.M. to 6 A.M.

12 - West Bengal topped in a 100-day work programme for promoting livelihoods

West Bengal has been selected for the 1^st prize in 100-Day Work Programme for Promoting Livelihoods. The Rural Development Ministry has selected Bankura and Cooch Behar Districts of the state for 1^st and 2^nd positions among districts in the country in implementation of rural job scheme.

Baburmahal Gram Panchayat of Kulpi in South 24 Parganas District has also bagged best performance award from the Centre. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) guarantees 100 days of employment in a financial year to any rural household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual work.

13 - Andhra Pradesh government decided to bring new laws to protect women & children

The Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to bring new laws to protect women and children. The state Cabinet has approved to enact the new law, Andhra Pradesh Disha Act, Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2019 and Andhra Pradesh Special Court for Specified Offences against Women and Children Act- 2019.

Draft DISHA ACT provides for harsh punishments, including death sentence, to those guilty of heinous crimes against women. The Act would cover sexual offences against women and children, acid attacks and harassment of women. It also provides for completion of the judgement process in 21 working days.

14 - National Tribal Dance Festival held in Raipur

A three-day National Tribal Dance Festival was held in Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur from December 27 to 29. International folk artists from 23 states and six other countries took part in the festival and portrayed their respective tribal folk culture.

The festival is used to mark the dances of Adivasi and tribal people in India and their indigenous tribal dance culture.

15 - Puducherry government unveiled start-up policy

The Puducherry government has unveiled a start-up policy. It aims to create a corpus fund of ₹10 crore to support the setting up of start-up incubators and to develop co-working spaces. The department plans to provide a grant of ₹3 lakh to projects recommended by incubators established by the government/private sector/academic institutions as a start-up grant.

A monthly allowance of ₹10,000 will be given to individuals up to a maximum of five years. The Puducherry Start-up Cell will be the nodal agency for implementing the policy.

16 - Virtual Police Station at Andhra University

The first Virtual Police Station (VPS) in the state of Andhra Pradesh has been established at Andhra University. Students will be able to report violence or any other crime online. After a complaint is filed, the police station concerned will take up the issue and initiate probe.

The facility will initially be open only to the students. The AU facility is being looked at as a pilot project, and this will later be replicated at other educational institutions.

17 - Congress released 'Vision Document 2020-25' in Madhya Pradesh

In Madhya Pradesh, former Prime Minister DrManmohan Singh released 'Vision Document 2020-25' to mark the completion of one year of the Congress government in the state.

The document aimed to make the state a prosperous one. Industrial growth, agriculture and allied sectors, education, public health and nutrition, inclusive growth, culture, heritage and tourism, youth welfare and sports, irrigation, energy and environment, urban development, rural development and good governance are focus areas.

18 - Five-day music festival ‘TansenSamaroh’ held in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh

In Madhya Pradesh, popular classical music festival ‘TansenSamaroh’ began with traditional style inGwalior with the recitations of Harikatha and Milad. The five-day festival is celebrated every year in the memory of one of the most eminent singers of Indian history, ‘MianTansen’.

TansenSamaroh, the oldest and esteemed classical music festival in India was organised by Ustad Alauddin Khan Kala Evam Sangeet Academy, under the Madhya Pradesh culture department. Artistes from Greece, USA, Iran and Belgium performed in different sessions of Tansen festival.

Noted vocalist Pandit Vidyadhar Vyas was presented the National Tansen Award for 2019.

19 - 7-Day International Film Festival held in Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Kamal Nath inaugurated the 7-Day International Film Festival in Shilpkala village of Khajuraho. Films from the country and abroad including Bundelkhandi were screened at the festival. The eminent personalities like KailashKher, Smt. Poonam Dhillo, Smt. PadminiKolhapure and Smt. AlkaYagnik attended the festival.

The International Khajuraho Film Festival is being organized by the Prayas Sanstha in collaboration with the State Government. Events like film making workshop, mobile film making workshop, plays, programmes for promoting local art and culture, herbal forest fair, animal fair etc. were organized during the Film Festival.

20 - Three-day state-level orange festival held in Manipur

Three-day State-level Orange Festival was held in Manipur. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh inaugurated the festival at district headquarters Tamenglong. Tamenglong district is largest producer of orange fruit in Manipur. The state government under the sponsorship of North Eastern Council organise the festival annually to promote the fruit and encourage its growers.

Orange growers' competition was held and prizes were distributed to top position holders. Cultural shows, traditional games, orange queen competition, seminar for growers were held in the festival.

21 - Haryana Police became the first to introduce ‘Trakea’ software in FSL

In order to ensure foolproof security of the samples collected from the scene of crime, and the forensic analysis reports, Haryana introduced a unique barcoding software “Trakea” to enable foolproof security of the samples collected in Forensic reports. Haryana became India’s first police force to have introduced this unique barcoding for forensic reports.

A prisoner (software engineer) of Bhondsi jail designed the software. Trakea is aimed at tracking casewise forensic reports electronically through barcodes. It includes two-stage barcoding to maintain the secrecy of the samples.

22 - Gujarat police became 7^th state police to get ‘President’s Colours’

Gujarat became the seventh state to receive the prestigious President's Colours for its services and courage. President's Colours is also called as 'Nishaan', an emblem which all police officers of Gujarat would wear on the left-hand sleeve of their uniform. It is the highest honour given to the Armed Forces, Para Military Forces and State Police Forces by the President.

Past recipient states of this award include Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura and Assam.

23 - Chennai Corporation launched India’s first waste exchange platform

Chennai Corporation, Tamil Nadu launched India's first waste exchange platform namely "Madras Waste Exchange". Madras Waste Exchange (www.madraswasteexchange.com) will be used to buy and sell of waste and recycled products online, on a pilot basis for the first three months.

Madras Waste Exchange is India’s first waste exchange programme. Vendors and buyers of waste will connect and perform transactions involving municipal solid waste. Web portal has been built to support Madras Smart City Mission and achieving target of generating zero waste.

24 - ADB, India signed $490 Million loan for PPP to upgrade Madhya Pradesh roads

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $490 million loan for public-private partnership (PPP) project to upgrade about 1,600 km of state highways and major district roads (MDRs) in Madhya Pradesh. An additional $286 million investment will be mobilised through private sector participation under the PPP modality.

The project will upgrade 750 km of state highways and 850 km of MDRs to two-lane and all-weather standards with road safety features. Since 2002, ADB has provided the state government with five loans to develop its road network, improving about 7,300 km of roads.

25 - QCI Conclave in Uttarakhand

Quality Council of India (QCI) along with PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) organized its 11^th Regional Quality Conclave (RQC) at Rudrapur, district Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. The theme of the RudrapurRQC was “Advance Manufacturing with Quality, Innovation & Technology Interventions.”

The objective of the Conclave is to create awareness about significance of quality culture in businesses, deliberate on how organizations could continuously improve and innovate and share the technological advancement like Industry 4.0 and predictive maintenance.

26 - Tripura gets its first SEZ

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has notified the setting up of the first ever Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tripura at PaschimJalefa, Sabroom, South Tripura District. It will be a Sector Specific Economic Zone for Agro-Based Food Processing.

The estimated investment in the project will be around Rs 1550 Crore. The developer of the SEZ will be Tripura Industrial Development Corporation (TIDC) Ltd. The SEZ is estimated to generate 12,000 skilled jobs. Rubber based industries, textile and Apparel Industries, bamboo and Agri-food Processing Industries will be set-up in the SEZ.

27 - Uddhav Thackeray announced loan waiver up to Rs 2 lakh for farmers

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced waiver of farm loans up to 2 lakh rupees sanctioned till 30 September 2019. The Chief Minister announced the Mahatma PhuleShetkariKarjaMuktiYojana (Mahatma Phule Farmer Loan Waiver Scheme).

Mr. Thackeray also announced starting of Shiv Bhojan scheme which offers meal worth 10 Rupees on experimental basis in 50 centers across the state. He also announced Special package worth 253 crores rupees for suicide prone districts of Yavatmal.

28 - Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched 'Jalsathi' programme

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched the 'Jalsathi' programme to ensure supply of safe drinking water to all households in the state. Patnaik also distributed water quality testing kits and POS (point of sale) machines to the women volunteers - 'Jalasathis'.

Under the 'Jalsathi' programme, about 5,000 women will be engaged for supplying safe drinking water. The programme will be implemented in as many as eight wards of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation under the 5T initiative of the Housing and Urban Development.

29 - Meghalaya Assembly passed resolution to bring state under ILP

The Meghalaya Assembly passed a resolution to urge the Centre to implement the inner-line permit(ILP) in the state under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, to safeguard the interests of the citizens of the state. All members of the House supported through a voice vote.

Section 2 of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 provides for power to prescribe by notification “The Inner Line” prohibiting all citizens of India or any class of such citizens or any persons residing in or passing through such states from going beyond such a line without a pass.

30 - Rajasthan government started its first Janta Clinic

In order to provide free primary health care to people living in slums, Rajasthan Chief Minister inaugurated its first “Janta clinic” in Jaipur. It will provide free primary health care to people living in slums. Under first phase, 12 Janta Clinics will be opened in Jaipur where people would get free medicines and free medical examination in some cases.

The state government will rope in doctors on contractual basis and NGOs for paperless registration of patients as doctors will prescribe medicines on computer applications.

31 - Andhra Pradesh launched ‘Netanna Nestham’ welfare scheme for weavers

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy launched YSR Netanna Nestham welfare scheme for weavers at Dharmavaram in Anantapur district. The scheme will benefit nearly 85,000 families who depend on handloom weaving for livelihood.

Under this scheme, an annual incentive of Rs 24,000 will be provided to handloom weavers in the state. Over five years, each weaver family will be givenRs 1.2 lakh in total. The NetannaNestham scheme was also launched in Krishna district's Pedana town.

32 - Delhi cabinet approves new policy on pollution

Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal introduced a new policy to make Delhi the capital of Electric vehicles. With an aim to reduce air pollution in the city, government is targeting 35,000 electric vehicles (2/3/4 wheelers and buses), 1,000 EVs, and 250 public charging or swapping stations in Delhi.

Policy features:

To provide subsidies to electric vehicles.
Rs 36 crore approved for carrying out mass awareness campaigns.
The policy will be valid for three years from the date of the notification.
100% subsidy for the purchase of charging equipment up to ₹6,000

33 - Hemant Soren took oath as Jharkhand CM

Jharkhand MukthiMorcha chief Hemant Soren took oath as the 11^th Chief Minister of Jharkhand. It was the second time that Mr Soren was sworn in as the chief minister. Soren succeeds BJP leader Raghubar Das and was administered the oath of secrecy by Governor DroupadiMurmu.

In the election results, the JMM won 30 seats while its alliance partners, Congress and RJD, grabbed 16 and one, each. The BJP with 25 seats is in the opposition.

34 - National Tribal Dance Festival celebrated in Raipur

National Tribal Dance Festival celebrated in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. More than 1300 participants from 25 states & UTs of the country and six countries participated in three-day dance fest. Various folk dance teams presented their respective folk art cultures. Around 29 tribal troupes presented more than 43 styles of four different dance forms.

The National Tribal Dance Festival is an annual festival celebrated by the aborigines and tribal of India. It is organized by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India in collaboration with IGRMS, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

35 - CSMT received ‘Eat Right’ station certificate

Iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station in Mumbai was conferred with 'Eat Right Station' certification with the five-star rating by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for food safety and hygiene. CSMT became first station on the Central Railway to get this certification.

CSMT was judged on the basis of compliance of food safety and hygiene, availability of healthy diet, food handling at preparation, food waste management, promotion of local and seasonal food and creating awareness on food safety and healthy diet.

36 - Mandu Festival celebrated at Mandu, Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh, the 5-day Mandu festival, was celebrated in Mandu, a world-famous picturesque tourist destination located in Dhar district of the state. The event was organized by Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board. 5 day long ‘Mandu Utsav’ involved adventure activities and cultural performances. Adventure activities like ATV bike, Paragliding, rifle shooting, parasailing etcwere arranged at event.

The festival was based on the idea of “Khojne Me Kho Jao”. The Mandu festival offered workshops, art installations, nature trails, walks, food, architecture and music to the visitors during the festival.

37 - India’s first Transgender University to come up in Uttar Pradesh

India’s first university for transgender community will be opened in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district. The university will offer transgender community members to study from class one to Post Graduate degree and even do research and get PhD degree.

The University will be built by the Akhil Bhartiya Kinnar Siksha Seva Trust (All-India Transgender Education Service Trust). It is the first of its kind in the country where transgender community members will get education.