Current Affairs Jan 2016 - Regional

News 1 - The much talked about Odd-Even Scheme of Delhi Government kicks off.

01-Jan − The much awaited Odd-Even Scheme of the Delhi Government was launched on a decent note with volume of cars on the roads coming down significantly. It was the first such intervention in the country to combat spiraling air pollution. This ambitious vehicular restriction pilot plan was in force till January 15. Under this scheme, private cars having odd registration numbers will be allowed to ply on odd dates and those with even numbers on even dates. Violation of the Scheme will attract a penalty of Rs 2,000 under relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act. Under the experiment, 25 categories of people are being given exemptions including the VIPs.

News 2 - Telangana becomes first state to agree to take e-motor insurance policies.

02-Jan − Telangana became the first state to implement e-Vahan Bima Scheme with the aim to dematerialize motor insurance documents. It is an electronic motor insurance policy issued in a digital form with Quick Response (QR) code to scan for verification of policy details. An SMS-based verification was also installed. The initiative was a joint effort by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) of India, Department of Information Technology, police and transport departments of the state.

News 3 - Ganga Gram Yojana launched in Uttar Pradesh.

05-Jan − Union Minister Uma Bharti launched Ganga Gram Yojana at Village Puth in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP). There are 1600 villages of Uttar Pradesh alongside the banks of river Ganga, which will be developed under this scheme, where sewage treatment and construction of toilets in every household will be done. About 200 villages have been selected in the first stage. The budget is Rs 1 crore for every village. These villages will be developed under the Sichewal model, where cooperation of the villagers has been implored for the water management and waste disposal.

News 4 - Gender education made compulsory at graduate level in Telangana, becomes the first state to do so.

10-Jan − Telangana became the first Indian State to implement compulsory gender education at the graduate level. This state introduced a bilingual textbook titled, Towards a World of Equals on a pilot basis. Quite a few Indian writers have also contributed their share in this book, which will be taught over the period of 14 weeks in a semester at the rate of two classes per week.

News 5 - BHEL announced 520 MW Vizag thermal power plant in Andhra Pradesh.

11-Jan − Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) announced that it has commissioned the first unit of the 2x520 MW Vizag thermal power project. The project is owned by Hinduja National Power Company Limited (HNPCL). The project was severely affected by cyclone Hudhud in 2014 while it was under construction. Restoration work was carried out by BHEL and the first unit has been commissioned successfully.

News 6 - Kerala becomes the first State to achieve 100% primary education.

12-Jan − Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari on 12^th January 2016 declared that Kerala becomes the first state in the country to achieve 100% primary education. Kerala’s success is a result of various initiatives undertaken by the Kerala Literacy Mission. Key programs like Athulyam Scheme (address educational needs of illiterate adults) and Mission 676 (address education to school drop outs between 15 to 50 years) contributed significantly.

News 7 - World Bank praises Aadhar, which helps save 1 billion dollars annually for India.

14-Jan − The World Bank heaped praise on India. As according to the World Bank Chief Economist, Kaushik Basu, the usage of Aadhar card has helped in saving 1 billion US dollars annually. It was published in the bank’s publication, World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends. The World Bank emphasized that digital technologies can promote inclusion, efficiency and innovation.

News 8 - Government of India and World Bank sign a loan agreement for Neeranchal National Watershed Project.

14-Jan − The Government of India signed a loan agreement with World Bank in New Delhi for the Neeranchal National Watershed Project. This project is to be implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development over a six-year period (2016-21) will support the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana in hydrology and water management, agricultural production systems, capacity building and monitoring and evaluation. The Neeranchal project was approved by the cabinet in October 2015 with a total budget outlay of Rs.2142 crores with the Government share of Rs.1071 crores and the rest 50% by the World Bank. Out of all the 28 states, nine states including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana will benefit more from the project due to implementation of large number of watershed schemes in these states.

News 9 - The Centre approves 791 crore rupees to drought affected Telangana under NDRF.

14-Jan − The decision to provide Rs. 791 crores as drought assistance for Telangana from the Central Government was taken at the meeting of the High Level Committee (HLC) of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) chaired by the Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh. The committee approved the assistance after examining the proposal based on the report of the Central Team that visited the state. The Government of Telangana on 25^th November 2015 had declared 231 mandals as drought hit.

News 10 - Madhya Pradesh and Singapore inked four MoUs.

14-Jan − The Government of Madhya Pradesh inked four MOUs with Singapore during the four day Singapore visit of Chief Minister, Shivraj Chouhan. MOU on Clean Energy for setting up a 1000MW wind energy plant in the western part of the state.

The three MOUs signed were:

• MOU on Urban Planning.
• MOU on capacity building and skill training.
• MoU on food processing.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was awarded with Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship for his contribution in development and international harmony making him the fourth Indian to receive this fellowship.

News 11 - Sikkim Becomes India's First Organic State.

14-Jan − Sikkim has become India’s first fully organic state by executing organic practices on around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land. The proud feat was not an overnight result but a gradual process when in 2003, the state government decided to make Sikkim an organic farming state through a declaration in the legislative assembly. The entry and sale of chemical inputs for farmland was banned that made the farmer leaving with no option but to go organic. Then the agricultural land was gradually converted to certified organic land by applying organic practices and principles as per the guidelines laid down in National Program for Organic Production. This has thus helped in building the soil health and sustainable increased crop production. It has also given a boost to the tourism industry.

News 12 - ReNew Power started 40 MW wind power project in Karnataka.

18-Jan − ReNew Power Ventures declared the commissioning of 40MW wind power project in Karnataka increasing the wind capacity commissioned by ReNew Power to 693MW till date. The Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power Ventures is Sumant Sinha. The company has 20 operational wind projects located in 5 States.

News 13 - Commission for Backward Classes reconstituted by the AP Government.

18-Jan − AP Government reconstituted the Commission for Backward Classes, which will be a two-member commission with Justice KL Manjunath, (Retd.) as its chairman for a term of three years and Member Secretary, APCBC as the other member. Since 24^th September, 2011, this Commission was not constituted.

News 14 - Bihar Cabinet permitted 35% reservation for women in government jobs.

19-Jan − The Bihar Cabinet gave a green signal to 35% reservation for women in state government jobs including reserved and unreserved category. It will help boost women empowerment in the impoverished region.

News 15 - Central Government sanctioned 50000 crore rupees for infrastructure projects in Tamil Nadu.

19-Jan − The Central Government sanctioned Rs. 33,000 crores for infrastructure projects including construction of Rail-Over-Bridges (ROB), upgradation of state highways into National Highways and major bridges in Tamil Nadu. An additional amount of Rs 17000 crores would be sanctioned after consulting with the state government.

News 16 - Maharashtra Government inks MOU with Tata Trust for skill training of youth.

19-Jan − The Maharashtra State Government and Tata Trust inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) related to skill training program for the youth in the state under the Kushal Maharashtra, Rojgaryukt Maharashtra initiative. This program will help set up skill development and vocational training centers in 10 districts of the state. It will further help improve the infrastructure in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), since virtual classrooms would also be set up in 100 such ITIs.

News 17 - MoU between India and UK in the field of Public Administration and Governance Reforms.

20-Jan − The Union Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in November, 2015 between India, and United Kingdom for Cooperation in Public Administration and Governance Reforms. The form of co-operation under the MoU will be in areas like sharing good governance practices in public administration, User led service design, reducing bureaucracy in service delivery, Public Grievance Redress Mechanism, Local Government Reforms, Reforms towards strengthening of social security, Collaboration between Government and Industry on staff management, Mechanisms for public engagement, Crisis and Disaster Management and Digital transformation of Government.

News 18 - Nai Manzil Scheme launched in Jammu and Kashmir.

20-Jan − The ‘Nai Manzil’ scheme has been launched, for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir. This scheme was launched for girls in Srinagar in three institutions. The institutions are Skill Development Centre, University of Kashmir and two Madarsas (Madarsa Shahi-i-Hamdan in Pampore and Madarsa Imam Sadique in Shadipur, Bandipora). Under this scheme, girls from minority communities will be imparted a three-month skill development training in seven identified sectors relevant to the region. These include training in saffron processing, food processing, embroidery, computers IT (both software and hardware), Tourism/hospitality, electronics and plumbing. Trainees will also be given stipend of Rs.4500/-for the course.

News 19 - DMRC signed interim agreement for light metro projects with KRTL.

21-Jan − The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) inked an interim consultancy pact with Kerala Rapid Transit Ltd (KRTL), a SPV set up to execute the mass rapid transport system, for the Rs. 6,728-crore 'light metro' in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. Under the agreement, DMRC will prepare the tender documents for procurement of rolling stock, land acquisition survey, estimates for the flyovers, identification of major utilities and utility shifting plans.

News 20 - Giriputrika Kalyana Pathakam Scheme for tribal people launched by the AP Government.

22-Jan − The Andhra Pradesh Government announced the launch of Giriputrika Kalyana Pathakam Scheme to support the tribal women in their quest for livelihood. This scheme is designed to provide a one-time financial assistance of Rs. 50,000 to each tribal woman who gets married. The amount will be disbursed through District Tribal Welfare Office directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

News 21 - Google and Railtel launched free public Wi-Fi service at Mumbai Central Station.

22-Jan − Google India and RailTel (the telecom arm of Indian Railways) launched free Public Wi-Fi service, called RailWire WiFi, for passengers at the Mumbai Central Station. Mumbai Central has thus become the first railway station in India to have free high-speed Wi-Fi Internet facility. Passengers can avail this facility after successful authentication by entering a four digit OTP (One Time Password) sent to their smart phone via SMS. The government aims to provide free WiFi at 100 of the busiest railway stations in the initial phase and further extend to 400 stations across the country.

News 22 - PM Narendra Modi declassifies 100 secret Netaji files.

23-Jan − Prime Minister Narendra Modi declassified 100 secret files relating to Subhas Chandra Bose on his 119th birth anniversary. Digital copies of these files were made and put on digital display at the National Archives of India (NAI). The NAI plans to release digital copies of 25 declassified files on Bose in the public domain every month.

News 23 - Ranchi − India’s largest flag with the tallest flagpole hoisted.

23-Jan − The largest Indian national flag on the tallest mast was hoisted at the historical Pahari Mandir in Ranchi, Jharkhand by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. The flag is 66 feet in height, 99 feet in width and hoisted on a 293 feet-tall pole. The earliest tallest flag pole was in Faridabad.

News 24 - First in Maharashtra, Solar Power operated Mini-Water Supply Plant commissioned.

24-Jan − Maharashtra’s first Solar Power operated Mini-Water Supply Plant was commissioned in Hingna village of Mouda Taluka in Nagpur district. Rite Water Solutions has installed the unit on an experimental basis under the supervision of the Zilla Parishad authorities. The main objective of the plant is to facilitate villagers to get pure water supply for a very low cost,which can easily be borne by the Gram Panchayat. The unit runs on solar power of 1800 Watt panels and produces 10000 Litres of purified water every day.

News 25 - Government rolls out National Job Portal for Persons with Disabilities.

27-Jan − The Government has launched an exclusive job portal for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). The PwDs can avail the different facilities such as self-employment loan, education loan, skill training link to scholarships and information about jobs in a single window platform through this National Job Portal. The Government has a target for skilling five lakh persons in next 3 years. The skill training will be provided by a network of 200 clusters of Training Partners with financial assistance of government. The portal was developed by the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC).

News 26 - Madhya Pradesh imposes ban on polythene from January 2017.

27-Jan − The Madhya Pradesh government will enforce a ban on polythene across the state from January 2017. As per the decision, the ban on polythene will be strictly enforced at tourist destinations and holy cities Ujjain, Amarkantak, Pachmarhi, Maheshwar, Khajuraho, Omkareshwar and Orchha from September 2016. The government has also asked the officials to draw out a plan in order to develop a new green field city between Bhopal and Indore.

News 27 - MITRA app launched by Puducherry Government for women, child and elderly safety.

28-Jan − A mobile application, coined as Mitra (Mobile Initiated Tracking and Rescue application), for protection of women, children and elderly at the time of distress was launched by Lt Governor of Puducherry AK Singh in the presence of the Chief Minister N Rangasamy. This Mitra facility has been developed by Puducherry Police department in association with National Informatics Centre.