Current Affairs September 2017 - Regional

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News 1 - CM Naveen Patnaik announced abolition of block grant system in school and colleges

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced abolition of block grant system in school and colleges of the state. After meeting with the agitating teachers’ body in Bhubaneswar, the Chief Minister said that his government has decided to replace the block grant system with grant-in-aid.

The teachers would get an overall benefit following the institutional policy of the state. The scheme will be implemented from first January 2018. The State will bear burden of additional 900 crore rupees annually.

News 2 - Fourth Session of the India-Tanzania Joint Trade Committee

The Fourth Session of the India-Tanzania Joint Trade Committee meeting was held in New Delhi. With an investment of US $ 2.2 billion, Tanzania is among the top 5 investment destinations for India.

The Indian side conveyed to the Tanzanian side that the potential areas for Tanzania in India include Light oils and petroleum or bituminous minerals, motor cars and vehicles, medicaments etc.

The Tanzanian side encouraged co-operation in the field of Fisheries, Industrial Development, Information, Communication and Technology, Labour and Employment, Information, Culture, Arts and Sports.

News 3 - Gobindobhog Rice got Geographical Indication Status

Gobindobhog rice, a speciality from Burdwan district of West Bengal, has got the geographical indication (GI) status. The state government had applied for GI status for Gobindobhog rice on August 24, 2015. The region of Burdwan (now divided into the districts of east and west Burdwan) is known as the rice bowl of Bengal.

As a result of getting the GI certification, rice from other regions or rice of other varieties cannot be branded as ‘Gobindobhog’.

News 4 - Maharashtra CM gave his in-principle approval to construct cycle track in Mumbai

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave his in-principle approval to the proposal of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to construct a cycle track in the city.

The Rs 300 crore-worth project will create the shortest route connect between North-South and East-West Mumbai.

It will have 40 entry/exit points and will connect to 19 railway stations, seven Metro rail stations and four Monorail stations. It will have Bollywood walk, bio-diversity corridor and Mumbai books route.

News 5 - President laid foundation stone for Link-4 of SAUNI Yojna in Gujarat

President Ramnath Kovind laid foundation stone for Link-4 of Saurashtra Narmada Irrigation Scheme- SAUNI Yojna at Jasdan in Rajkot district of Gujarat. The link-4 is a part of ambitious SAUNI project to be completed at the cost of 10,000 crore rupees.

The Scheme aimed to fill up about 115 dams by the overflowing waters of Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada River. The entire project will benefit more than 2 lakh acres of farm land and more than 900 villages of 7 districts of Saurashtra.

News 6 - Punjab to be ‘Corneal Blindness Backlog Free State’ by Dec 31

Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Brahm Mahindra said that Health department has set a target to make Punjab Corneal Blindness Backlog Free State by 31^st December this year.

"Eye Donation Fortnight" is being celebrated in all districts of state and around 1000 persons have pledged to donate their eyes so far. Since March to June 2017, about 341 Corneas procured from the state and 212 corneal Transplant Surgeries have successfully been conducted in registered Keratoplasty Centers.

News 7 - Wellness Centre under CGHS launched in Kohima

In a first of its kind in Nagaland, a Wellness Centre under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) has been officially launched in Kohima.

With this, the total cities covered under the CGHS now are 33. The scheme will cover Kohima city and is expected to function fully from 1^st of October.

The CGHS is the model Health care facility provider for Central Government employees and Pensioners and is unique of its kind due to the large volume of beneficiary base, and open ended generous approach of providing health care.

News 8 - Karnataka Government launched ‘Arogya Bhagya’ to give free healthcare facilities

The Karnataka state government approved a universal health coverage (UHC) scheme called as "Aarogya Bhagya" aimed at providing free medical assistance.

Karnataka has seven different healthcare schemes which would be merged under Aarogya Bhagya. Healthcare facilities will be provided through an Aadhar-linked universal health card. The scheme would cost the state exchequer Rs 869.4 crore.

The facility would be extended to both APL and BPL. Households from APL category in rural areas would need to contribute Rs300 per person and those in urban areas Rs 700 per person.

News 9 - Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani launched Gyankunj project

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched Gyankunj e-class project on the occasion of Teachers day. The entire project will work on pilot basis with Interactive e-class room and smart boards have been provided under this initiative.

1609 government primary schools have been provided laptop, projector, infrared camera, smart board, speaker and WiFi router facilities for 3,173 class rooms of standard 7 and 8. Education for all courses in standard 5 to 8 will be given through e-content and internet.

News 10 - Assam government sets up DBT cell for implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer scheme

The Assam state government has set up a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Cell for implementation of DBT across schemes in the Country and to coordinate efforts at the State Level in taking the DBT initiative forward with immediate effect. It will closely monitor & evaluate the progress of various Departments on DBT related indicators.

Chief Secretary, Assam will be the Chairman and Additional Chief Secretary/ Principal Secretary from Finance Department will be the Convenor. The Cell will Coordinate with Central Ministries & disseminate the directives to the respective Departments in States.

News 11 - India’s first Hyperloop transport system to come up in Andhra Pradesh

India's first hyperloop transport system is going to come up in Andhra Pradesh connecting Vijayawada and the state capital Amaravati.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), an American research firm, has signed with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB), is a first of its kind in India.

Hyperloop, which uses a low pressure tube to transport people at speeds as high as 1,200 km per hour, will cut down the nearly one-hour travel time for the Vijayawada-Amaravati ride to just 5-6 minutes.

News 12 - Centre to give Rs 60000 crore to Maharashtra for river-linking and irrigation projects

The Union Government will provide up to Rs 60,000 crore to Maharashtra in the next two years for river-linking and irrigation projects to tackle the recurring water crisis.

The work on two major river-linking projects woth Rs 20000 in the state, Par-Tapi-Narmada and Damanganga-Pinjal, will begin soon. The state also has proposed four more river-linking projects worth Rs 10,000 crore each, Damanganga-Godavari, Damanganga- Vaitarna-Godavari, Par-Godavari and Nar-Par-Girna rivers.

News 13 - Punjab government and Bharti Foundation to come together for strengthening sanitation initiative

Punjab Government and Bharti Foundation have decided to come together for strengthening the sanitation initiative under Swachh Punjab Mission. An MOU was signed between Water supply & Sanitation Department and Bharti Foundation's ‘Satya Bharti Abhiyan’.

20,000 toilets for rural households will be constructed in Amritsar district. Bharti Foundation will provide financial assistance for construction of toilets in four blocks of district Amritsar with an investment of up to Rs 30 crore. The remaining over 30,000 toilets will be provided by the Department of Water Supply & Sanitation.

News 14 - Haryana Cabinet approved amendment in provisions of Haryana Excise Policy for 2017-18

Haryana Cabinet approved the amendment in provisions of the Haryana Excise Policy for the year 2017-18.

As per the amendment, a licensee who has not established all his allowed vends or sub vends may be allowed to establish vends or sub vends at locations alongside National Highways or State Highways in Municipal areas on payment of additional fee.

The State may get additional revenue of Rs 20 crore on account of license fee, duty and VAT and additional revenue of Rs 25 crore will be received from liquor vends that may get shifted to places along national and state highways.

News 15 - Karnataka becomes first Indian State to approve e-vehicle Policy

The Karnataka state government has approved the Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy 2017 with an aim to become the Electric Vehicle Capital of India. The union government has envisioned to make India an all-electric vehicle market by 2031.

The state government wants to attract investments to the tune of Rs 31,000 crore from companies looking at research and development (R&D), and manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs) in the state. The new policy will help create around 55,000 employment opportunities.

News 16 - Sachin Tendulkar launched Mission 24

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar launched -Mission 24 for Mumbai's M east ward. The project is supported by NGO Apnalaya and Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). The programme aims at improving the quality of life in one of Mumbai’s poorest wards through collaborative efforts in the next 24 months.

The programme aims to provide basic facilities like secondary schools and colleges, aanganwadis, maternity homes, health posts and dispensaries in the ward.

News 17 - ADB to provide grant of Rs 14 crore for traffic, safety management in Kolkata

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a grant of Rs 14 crore for traffic and safety management in Kolkata.

The Kolkata police will be utilising the funds to bring every nook and corner under CCTV surveillance and connected with the central server at the police headquarters in Lalbazar. This will help in curbing untoward incidents and also in enhancing the quality of traffic management in the city.

News 18 - Maharashtra CM Fadnavis launched 'Maharashtra Mission 1 Million' initiative

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched the 'Maharashtra Mission 1 Million' initiative under which over 10 lakh students across the state would play football.

The mission was launched to support the FIFA U17 World Cup scheduled to start in October 2017 for the first time ever in India.

The Maharastra state government also distributed 1 lakh footballs in more than 30000 schools.

News 19 - West Bengal Transport department introduced Yatrik mobile app

The West Bengal Transport department introduced ‘Yatrik’ mobile phone app to help in the easy booking of traditional meter taxis in Kolkata. Government made the announcement at a programme held at Paribahan Bhavan II at Kasba.

Both yellow and blue-and-white taxis can be hailed through the app. The service has been initiated with 300 taxis. Gradually, all taxis would be made available through the app. Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry has developed the app for all taxi drivers.

News 20 - Gujarat to have India’s First Lithium-Ion Battery Unit

Suzuki Motor in union with Toshiba and Denso will set up India's first lithium-ion battery facility in Gujarat. It is part of government's ambitious vehicle electrification and Make in India initiatives.

This union will help in expanding capacity of car manufacturing unit at Hansalpur near Ahmedabad and manufacture rechargeable batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles.

Maruti Suzuki will benefit from this deal as it will become the biggest user, if those components for these technologies are made in India and then exported to increase economic growth.

News 21 - International Yoga Festival started in Kashmir

The second International Yoga Festival and International Yoga Sports Championship 2017 started in Kashmir with close to 300 participants. The festival was organized by the Yoga Society of Kashmir at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre.

Governor N.N. Vohra inaugurated the event. People from various parts of India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Canada, Bulgaria, United States of America and Nepal are participated in the festival. The first International Yoga Festival was held in Uttarakhand.

News 22 - Tripura became first state to set up Family Welfare Committees

Tripura became the first state in the country to set up family welfare district committees. The committee will deal with the issue of fake and biased complaints by women against their husbands, in-laws and husband’s relatives, as per the directives of the Supreme Court.

The committees would examine the complaints of any woman against her husband, in-laws and relatives of the husband and try to find a solution through negotiation.

News 23 - Jharkhand Government launched Shaheed Gram Vikas Yojana

The State Government of Jharkhand has launched Shaheed Gram Vikas Yojana at Ulihatu Village, Khunti district.

Ulihatu Village is the birth place of freedom fighter and Jharkhand’s tribal icon, Birsa Munda.

The scheme aims at developing the villages of freedom fighters in the state. The state government will build 136 pucca houses. The State Planning Committee has approved Rs. 30 crores for the scheme.

News 24 - Andhra Pradesh to be declared ODF by March 2018

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri N Chandrababu Naidu, announced that Andhra Pradesh will be declared ODF by March 2018. This was announced during a Collectors’ Conference in Vijaywada, as a part of the Swachhata Hi Seva Campaign.

Cleanliness Drive was carried out in important and iconic places and Solid and Liquid Resource Management activities were undertaken.

Adding momentum to this drive more than 2 lakhs toilet pits were dug on 17^th September in Madhya Pradesh. These are targeted to be converted into one lakh toilets by 2^nd October.

News 25 - India's first electric bus service launched in Himachal Pradesh

India's first electric bus service was flagged off for travel between Kullu-Manalli-Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh has become the first hill state in the country to run electric buses. Electricity charging points have been installed at Manali and Marhi.

The bus has been developed by Goldstone Infratech Limited popularly known as Goldinfra. The 25+1 seater Goldstone eBuzz K7 zero-emission electric buses completely Made in India and can travel for up to 200 kms in a single charge.

News 26 - Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan unveiled LPG Panchayat in Gujarat

Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayat as a backup to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in Gandhinagar.

The scheme is aimed at providing LPG gas cylinders to village households and replace conventional fuel for domestic purposes.

The Union government plans to conduct one lakh LPG panchayats across the country in the next one and half years.

News 27 - Odisha Government Launched ‘Sampurna Yojana’

The Odisha state government has launched ‘Sampurna (Sishu Abond Matru Mrityuhara Purna Nirakaran Abhijan) Yojna’ scheme for pregnant women of the state.

As a part of the scheme, the state government will provide Rs. 1,000 as transport cost for pregnant women to travel to the hospital.

The main objective of this scheme is to reduce the mortality rates of infants and mothers.

Around 7853 villages will be covered from 30 districts of Odisha, under this scheme.

News 28 - Karnataka Government launched Vision-2025 Project

The Karnataka government has launched 'Vision-2025' project.

It is aimed at evolving a draft policy for development of the state in next seven years by seeking the opinion of the public.

The government has launched the website www.navakarnataka2025.in.

The project will be headed by Executive officer of the project, Renuka Chidambaram who will visit various parts of the state to collect public opinion.

News 29 - Gujarat cabinet clears formation of new commission for unreserved segments

The Gujarat State Government has approved the formation of new commission for unreserved segment of the society.

Patidar community and other unreserved segments of the society will be given low interest loans for education, foreign education, employment, agricultural activities and animal husbandry by the state government.

The state cabinet also decided to appoint a retired High Court Judge to probe into complaints regarding Patidar agitation.

News 30 - Maharashtra inked MoU with South Korea

The Maharashtra state government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the South Korean government to enter into business partnership with the state to push mega-infrastructure projects.

South Korea will also provide assistance to the upcoming 706 km Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway.

The Rs 46,000 crore Nagpur-Mumbai Super-communication Expressway (also called Samruddhi Corridor) aims to bring down the travel time to 6 hours from the current 18 hours and also will prove to bring industrial development in Nagpur.

News 31 - J&K Govt launches scheme for disabled soldiers, dependents

The Jammu and Kashmir government has launched a scheme for disabled soldiers or dependent relatives of such soldiers, who are permanent residents of the state, having disability of 40% and above can avail maximum loan of 25 lakh rupees with 4-7% rate of interest per annum to set up self-employment ventures.

The scheme is being launched in collaboration with the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation.