Current Affairs January 2018 - Regional

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1 - AAI allocates Rs 3400 crore for airports in North East region

The Airports Authority of India, AAI, has allocated nearly Rs 3400 crore for the upgradation of airports in the North East region.

An amount of Rs 1720 crore for Assam, Rs 525 crore for Tripura, Rs 800 crore for Manipur, Rs 42 crore for Nagaland, Rs 211 crore for Arunachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore for Mizoram has been allocated. Airports in the NE region recorded a total passenger movement of 68.04 lakh in 2016-17 and registered a growth of 27.02% over the previous year.

2 - Maharashtra issued notification for implementation of National Food Security Act, 2013

Maharashtra government issued a notification for creating an administrative framework for the implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013.

The notification provides for setting up of the State Food Commission, creating the post of District Grievance Redressal Officer and a Targeted Public Distribution System whereby essential commodities will be made available to ration card holders through Fair Price Shops.

3 - Uttar Pradesh to have India's second-largest rooftop solar plant

GAIL India has responsibility to commission India's second largest rooftop solar plant at Pata in Uttar Pradesh. The solar power plant has capacity 5.76 MWp (Mega Watt peak), covering warehouses over rooftop on a total area of 65,000 square meters. It is part of target of India to have 40 GW of rooftop photovoltaics (PV) by 2022. Gail Limited is the largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company in India.

4 - Karnataka state to host largest B2B travel event of India

Karnataka announced to host largest" B2B travel event ‘'Karnataka International Travel Expo' (KITE) in India, so as to project Karnataka globally and attract tourist footfall. Travel expo will display attractive wild life, luxury and adventure destinations, historical monuments and UNESCO world heritage sites.

Around 100 international buyers and 250 domestic or national buyers will witness the show. Karnataka will witness the first blogathon which will be attended by international travel bloggers.

5 - Tamil Nadu hosted 171^st Araadhanai music festival

Sri Thyagabrahma Mahotsava Sabha organized 171^st Araadhanai Music Festival in Thiruvaiyaru, Tamil Nadu to celebrate the Trinities of Carnatic Music Telegu Saint Thyagaraja. Thyagaraja brought attractions of classical music to the common man.

He is considered as one of the principal composers for artistes and practitioners of the most complicated genre of music. Around 1,000 musicians from all over the world paid tribute to Saint Thygaraja on 5 day festival. The Aradhana festival is observed on Pushya Bahula Panchami day when the saint attained samadhi.

6 - Arunachal Pradesh declared ODF

In an initiative to achieve milestone of Swatch Bharat Mission, Arunachal Pradesh was declared as ODF, well before its target of October 2, 2019. It could be completed due to reward of Rs 8,000 in addition to the Rs 12,000-grant provided by the Centre for building toilets.

Around 21 districts of Arunachal Pradesh were declared as Open Defecation Free. Other states that have been already declared as ODF in October 2017 are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Haryana.

7 - National Register of Citizens’ first draft released in Assam

The first draft of National Register of Citizens was released by the Registrar General of India, Sailesh, in Assam, with first batch of 19 million names out of the 32.9 million applicants from within the state as legal Indian citizens.

Citizens have the facility to check their names on website or through automatic receipt of SMS by sending an SMS on a number or through the printed version of the list at the NRC Seva Kendras. This will help in identification of illegal immigrants in Assam that borders Bangladesh.

8 - Haryana introduced integrated solar based micro irrigation

Integrated solar-based micro irrigation scheme will be implemented in all districts of state Haryana. Scheme will be implemented under the supervision of committee under the Chairmanship of Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA) chairman. The project will cost Rs 24.65 crore for implementation in different canal outlets spread over 13 districts of Haryana.

The scheme will help farmers to utilize surplus water from 50 overflowing ponds in villages, save electricity, save water and will be economical for farmers.

9 - Odisha received financial assistance of Rs 372.51 crore from NABARD

NABARD sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 372.51 crore loan to Odisha under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund for 17322 lift irrigation projects. These 17322 lift irrigation projects include bore wells, shallow tube wells, digging wells, micro river lifts and rural bridge construction.

With this financial assistance, around 40,000 farmers will get assured irrigation for about 36,440 hectares of agricultural land. Prior to this loan, NABARD had previously sanctioned Rs 242.34 crore for 14 Rural Bridge Projects and Rs 10,000 crore in third quarter of the current financial year.

10 - Himachal CM launched "Shakti" app for women's safety

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister launched the ‘Shakti’ app. the app has a panic button. It was developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) of the Himachal Pradesh government.

The app would be available in Hindi and English languages and would not require internet connectivity. Shaking the device would trigger the app to send its location through GPS. A message would then be automatically sent to the nearest police control room.

11 - West Bengal state’s official emblem unveiled by state

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee unveiled the official emblem ‘Ashoka emblem’ of the state, based on theme "Biswa Bangla". The emblem showed "Biswa Bangla" at the center and Ashoka pillar on top. The emblem is designed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The emblem will be used in all the official documents and work of the State government. The state’s name will be named as ‘Bangla’ in all the official documents of state.

12 - 18^th All India Whips’ Conference held at Udaipur, Rajasthan

The 18^th All India Whips’ Conference was held in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The two-day conference hosted around 90 Delegates belonging to 19 States and Centre.

The purpose of the conference is to strengthen the parliamentary democracy, its institutions and ultimately serve the people at large. Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje released a coffee table book ‘New India – We Resolve to make’, on the occasion showcasing exhibitions held at 39 destinations across the country on India’s freedom movement from 1857 to 1947.

13 - Delhi became first city to launch common mobility card for bus and metro rides

Delhi became the first city in the country to have a common mobility card for rides on public buses and the metro. The card can be presently used on 200 DTC and 50 cluster buses, apart from metro trains.

The card will function like a debit card. It will be operational in all DTC and cluster buses from April 1.

14 - 7^th edition of ‘Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav-2018’ held in Karnataka

The 7^th edition of the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat matrix was held in Karnataka from 14^th to 20^th January, 2018 to celebrate the idea of unity in diversity.

The Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme was launched by the Prime Minister on 31^st October, 2016 to promote engagement amongst the people of different states/UTs so as to enhance mutual understanding and bonding between people of diverse cultures, thereby securing stronger unity and integrity of India. The State paired with Karnataka is Uttarakhand.

15 - Johnson & Johnson partnered with Maharashtra government on health interventions

The Maharashtra state government has formalized a partnership with Johnson & Johnson. As a part of the partnership, J&J India will organize skill development programs for nurses, along with activities including training to provide care to infants in nine districts in Maharashtra with maximum rate of infant mortality.

Maharashtra’s mine workers who face an increased risk of tuberculosis will be part of awareness programs on the illness. The collaboration would also look at infection prevention, diabetes, obesity and menstrual hygiene and support healthcare professionals.

16 - Punjab signed MoU with IOC to set up Biogas, Bio-CNG Plants

The Punjab government inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Oil Corporation to set up bio-gas and bio-CNG plants in the state.

The plants will be set up at a total investment of Rs 5,000 crore and will generate employment for around 4,000 people. The project will be initiated with 42 plants becoming operational in 2018. Over 400 plants will become operational in the next 3-4 years. 400 units will produce about 1,400 million kg per annum CNG and 6,000 million kg per annum manure.

17 - Odisha CM launched Mukhya Mantri Kalakar Sahayata Yojana For Artistes’ Welfare

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the Mukhya Mantri Kalakar Sahayata Yojana (Chief Minister Artistes Aid Scheme) for the welfare of the artistes in Odisha.

Under the scheme, the government has enhanced the monthly pension from Rs 1000 Rs 1200 to the artists. The government also reduced the minimum age to 50 years for male artists and 40 years of age for female artists. The responsibility to identify the beneficiaries has been entrusted to the District Cultural Councils.

18 - Maharashtra government launched 'Balasaheb Thackeray Shaheed Sanmaan' scheme

The Maharashtra government has launched `Balasaheb Thackeray Shaheed Sanmaan' scheme, under which family members of martyrs would be provided jobs with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).

Apart from jobs, wives of martyrs would also be provided with lifetime free bus passes. MSRTC also launched 'Sleeper Shiv-shahi' buses. The MSRTC also launched a scheme for the youth in the Naxal-affected areas, under which driving training schools would be started for them.

19 - Maharashtra became first state to unveil public cloud policies

The Maharashtra state government became the first state to unveil public cloud policy and instructed all state departments to migrate data storage onto the cloud platform. It will create $2 billion opportunity for the industry.

The Maharashtra state government has also announced its State Innovation and Start-up Policy with an aim to generate five lakh jobs in the next five years. The objectives of the policy are to attract ?5,000 crore investments in the development of incubation and start-ups.

20 - The GoI, Uttarakhand and the World Bank sign $120 million Loan Agreement to improve access to Water Supply Services

The Government of India, the Government of Uttarakhand and the World Bank Board signed a $120 million Loan Agreement which will help increase access to improved water supply services in peri-urban areas in the State of Uttarakhand.

The Uttarakhand Water Supply Program for Peri-Urban Areas will help the State increase water supply coverage as well as ensure sustainable water supply service delivery in peri-urban areas. The $120 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a 5-year grace period, and a maturity of 17 years.

21 - Telangana signed MoU with Clean Authority of Tokyo

The Telangana government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Clean Authority of Tokyo for municipal solid waste incineration facilities.

The two parties will exchange knowledge in municipal solid waste incineration facilities and make an effort to realize human resource exchanges in view of technical cooperation in the future. The Telangana state government also signed a letter of intent with ISE Foods of Japan to set up a solar park to support egg production facility including the development of storage devices.

22 - Garbage Fest or Kachra Mahotsav held in Raipur

Raipur became the first city in the country to host Garbage Fest or Kachra Mahotsav. The Raipur Municipal Corporation organised the garbage fest from January 19 – January 22 with an aim to guide people on waste management.

During the 3-day festival, talks, competitions and cultural performances were organized. In addition, different types of workshops were held to educate people on how effectively they can start managing their waste. In this fest, there were different stalls of utility items made out of waste.

23 - Japan’s Official 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 Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Project (Phase 3).

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.

24 - Andhra Pradesh-Zurich ink Sister State Agreement

The Andhra Pradesh Government and the Canton of Zurich signed a sister-state agreement. The two parties signed a letter of intent to promote mutual prosperity and development.

The agreement will promote collaborations between the two governments in the areas such as Information and Communication Technology, Environmental Technology, Life Sciences and Urban and Regional Development. The agreement will promote collaborations through exchange of experience and information. as well as regular expert-level consultations.

25 - Punjab Government launched Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana

Punjab Chief Minister launched the release of benefits under 'Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana' aimed at the inclusive growth of the distressed sections of the society.

The programme's objective was to give the distressed sections the help they need, socially or economically or psychologically. It will identify poor and distressed households which have been deprived of the benefits of the various welfare schemes launched by state government.