Current Affairs July 2019 - Regional
1 - West Bengal Government announced 10% reservation to economically backward section
The West Bengal Cabinet has announced to provide 10% reservation in Education and Employment to the economically backward section general category people of the state. However people getting reservations under caste system will not get the benefit. With this, West Bengal became fourth state to cross the 50% quota cap fixed by the Supreme Court after Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Telangana.
Economically Weaker Section in India is a subcategory of people belonging to the General Category having an annual family income less than ₹8 lakhs.
2 - Assam CM flagged off first international flight connecting Guwahati and Dhaka
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off the first international flight connecting Guwahati and Dhaka at Borjahr airport in Guwahati. The state government aims to have direct air connectivity of Assam with all the capitals of South East Asian countries. The Assam Government has committed 100 crore rupees per year for three years under viability gap funding.
Another flight connecting Guwahati-Bangkok is also likely to be started in the next few months along with flights to Kathmandu, Yangon, Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur.
3 - Parliament approved resolution to extend President’s Rule in J&K
The Parliament has given its nod to the resolution seeking extension of President rule in Jammu and Kashmir for further period of six months with effect from 3rd July 2019. Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was also passed by Parliament. The reservation bill proposes to give 3% reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to people living within 10 km of the International Border in Jammu.
J-K Governor Satypal Malik had on November 21, 2018 dissolved the 87-member assembly. On December 20, 2018 President’s rule was imposed.
4 - West Bengal introduced legislation for ensuring journalists' job security
The West Bengal government has decided to bring legislation in the Assembly for ensuring the job security of Journalists in the State. The legislation aims at social security of Journalist and deal with the issues of retrenchment of Journalists and closure of TV channels and Newspapers publication houses.
Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee announced sanctioning of land for housing complex of Journalists besides 2nd campus of the Press club in the city. The Chief Minister handed over pension papers to the Journalists instituted by the State government and felicitated senior workers of the club.
5 - UP Government launched campaign to eradicate AES and JE
The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a large scale campaign called "DASTAK" to eradicate deadly Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) disease. The campaign rran from 1st to 31st July. This campaign is part of a comprehensive Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) strategy embraced by state government.
Under this state-wide campaign teams will go door to door in every village of the 75 districts of the state to create awareness about the communicable diseases as well as JE and AES.
6 - Assam state to develop over three hundred tourist spots
Assam government has taken a step to develop 316 tourists spots in the state so as to generate employment opportunities in the tourism sector. The government will spend Rs 150 crore to develop these locations under Axom Darshan. Various other facilities such as toilet, waste management, drinking water and waiting shades to be built or developed across the state in important locations.
River tourism is one of the sought after sectors in Assam and the state government will utilise the mighty Brahmaputra to develop the sector.
7 - J&K state government approved Aadhaar-linked payment mode for disbursal of pension
State Administrative Council (SAC) of Jammu and Kashmir government approved Aadhaar-linked payment mode for disbursal of pension to beneficiaries under various central and state-sponsored schemes in order to ensure transparency and avoid delays in disbursement of pension to eligible old-aged, widows and physically challenged persons.
The SAC directed Deputy Commissioners (DC) to undertake rigorous re-scrutinisation of all the pending pension cases in their respective districts. All eligible cases duly supported by Aadhaar numbers will be forwarded by the DCs to the respective directorates of social welfare.
8 - UP government launched toll-free CM helpline 1076
The Uttar Pradesh State government has launched a toll-free Chief Minister helpline 1076 that will enable people from across the state to register their complaints and will ensure a time-bound action on the complaints. Chief Minister will review the complaints every month and if a department gets more than 100 complaints in a month, action will be taken against the concerned officials.
When the complainant calls the helpline, he/she will get an SMS informing that the complaint has been sent to the department concerned.
9 - Jagannath Rath Yatra festival began
The world famous nine-day long Jagannath Rath Yatra festival began in the temple town of Puri in Odisha.The festival is also celebrated in other parts of India and abroad. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off Rath Yatra of ISKCON in Kolkata. Rath Yatra festival is also celebrated in Bangladesh with religious fervour and gaiety.
Lakhs of people gathered for a glimpse of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra as they travelled from Jagannath temple to Shree Gundicha temple.
10 - Delhi Police inked pact with SECI for rooftop solar energy systems
Delhi Police has signed an agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to implement rooftop solar energy systems. Under the project, grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic systems will be optimally implemented in the 200 buildings and complexes available with Delhi Police across the city.
The environment friendly initiative will help to reduce the electricity bill payments of the Delhi Police. Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. is a company of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to facilitate the implementation of the National Solar Mission.
11 - Centre sanctions Rs 358 crore to Tripura for road projects
The Union Government has sanctioned an additional amount of Rs 358 crore for construction of new roads in rural areas of Tripura. The funds were allocated as a special assistance to Tripura.
The government also approved World Bank taking up Rs 299.96 crore worth of the state government's projects aimed at construction of 42 roads spanning over 307.23 kilometres. The state government would contribute Rs 33.32 crore.
12 - Hong Kong approved over $9 million relief fund for cyclone-hit Odisha
The Hong Kong government has approved over $900,000 for relief and rehabilitation work in cyclone-hit Odisha. The relief fund will benefit around 45,100 cyclone victims and will be used to provide hygiene kits, kitchen kits, water, education, household items and shelter kits.
In order to monitor disbursal of funds for designated purpose, agencies will be asked to submit evaluation reports and audited accounts on the use of the grants after the relief projects have been completed.
13 - Centre announced to support Rs 358 crore hospital in Sikkim
The Centre will support the construction of 300-bed hospital in Sikkim at a cost of Rs. 358.29 crore. A clearance has already been given by the NITI Aayog and the Union Ministry of Health for the hospital proposed to be built at Namchi, the district headquarter of South Sikkim district.
There has been proposal for 100 bed hospital at Mangan, North Sikkim, another 100 bed hospital at Simgtem in East Sikkim and the upgradation of Pakyong Primary Health Centre.
14 - Madhya Pradesh announced to produce its own seeds soon
The Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Seed Federation plans to produce seeds along with distribution and marketing of certified and high quality seeds to farmers. The brand name of seeds will be ‘Sah-Beej’. A large number of seed committees are present in the state which will be linked to the seed federation and these committees will help in the marketing of seeds.
The federation has planned to produce seeds from the next Rabi season. Seed quality plays an important role in the production of agronomic and horticultural crops.
15 - Meghalaya fined Rs 100 cr by Supreme Court for illegal coal mining
The Supreme Court has directed the Meghalaya government to deposit the fine of Rs 100 crore imposed by the NGT for having failed to curb illegal coal mining. The court has asked to deposit the funds with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
The court also asked to hand over the illegally extracted coal to Coal India Limited (CIL) which will auction it and deposit the funds with the state government. National Green Tribunal had earlier banned four mining plants of Meghalaya after a flooding in a mine led to several deaths.
16 - Bonalu festival kicked off at Golconda Fort in Telangana
The annually celebrated Sri Ujjaini Mahankali Bonalu festival kicked off at the Jagadamba temple in historic Golconda Fort, Telangana. It is celebrated to express thanksgiving to Goddess for fulfilment of vows. The term ‘Bonalu’ refers to decorated pots containing food that is carried to the temples for offering them to the Goddess.
Bonalu is an annual festival of Telangana celebrated in Twin CitiesHyderabad, Secunderabad and other parts of Telangana. It is celebrated in the month of Ashada Masam, in July/August. Special poojas are performed for Yellamma on the first and last day of the festival.
17 - Odisha announced Rs 10,000 monthly allowance for Padma Shri Awardees
The Odisha government decided to provide Rs 10,000 per month to Padma award winners of the state facing financial problem and belonging to economically weaker section (EWS). Four Padma Shri winners of the state - Haladhar Nag, Daitari Naik, Kamala Pujari and Jitendra Haripal - were in the news for their poor financial conditions.
Daitari Naik was felicitated with the Padma Shri for single-handedly carving out a 3-km-long canal from a mountain stream with a hoe and a crowbar to irrigate agricultural land in his village.
18 - Agri-Business Incubation Centre started in Chhattisgarh
The Union Agriculture Ministry has set up an Agri Business Incubation Centre in Indira Gandhi Agriculture University of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. It is set up under the National Agriculture Development Scheme-RAFTAAR. Under the scheme, guidance, technology and infrastructure will be provided to youth and entrepreneurs for start-ups in different areas of agriculture.
The Agri Business Incubation Centre in Raipur with focus on innovations, skill building and entrepreneurs’ development in agriculture and allied sectors will act as catalyst for developing an ecosystem conducive for growth of agripreneurship in the state and foster a “start-up” culture.
19 - Meghalaya becomes first state to come up with Water Policy to ensure Water Conservation
Meghalaya has become the first Indian state to ensure water conservation, having its own water conservation policy after the state cabinet approved the draft State Water Policy.
The state will constitute a 'Water Sanitation Village Council' at the village level for smooth implementation of the policy. Meghalaya Water Policy aims to provide safe and hygienic water for various purposes like drinking, domestic, sanitation and livelihood development. It also aims at ensuring protection and conservation of catchment areas of all water sources to prevent degradation of the quantity and quality of water sources.
20 - IT Dept announced to honour old, first time tax-payers of MP & Chhattisgarh
In Madhya Pradesh, the Income Tax Department will honour old and first time tax-payers of the Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring Chhattisgarh. These two states have more than 45 lakh tax payers. Principal Chief Income Tax Commissioner (MP and CG) Ajay Kumar Chouhan informed that as part of 159th Income Tax Day, cleanliness and plantation drives was carried out in all districts in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
The department has asked students to give written declarations that they would ensure their parents deposit Income Tax Returns honestly and around 35,000 students have filled the declaration.
21 - West Bengal to construct 8.3 Lakh houses under Bangla Abas Yojana
The West Bengal Government has decided to construct 8 lakh 30 thousand houses under Bangla Abas Yojana for the people belonging to economically weaker sections during the current financial year.
Under the scheme, the Rural Development Department has constructed more than 14 lakh houses at different places in the last three years. Over Rs 17000 crore have been spent for this purpose so far. The centre is giving 60% of the fund while the State Government is bearing 40%. As per the Socio-Economic Census, 38 lakhs houses will be built under the scheme for eligible beneficiaries.
22 - Madhya Pradesh state budget announced
MP State Finance Minister Tarun Bhanot presented a Budget of over Rs 2.33 lakh crore in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly with an expected fiscal deficit of 3.34% and revenue surplus of Rs 732 crore. The budget also raised the allocation for farmer welfare and agri-development sector by 6%. An amount of Rs 1,000 ha been allotted for Right to Water.
The Budget proposed to allocate Rs 132 crore for the welfare of bovines, while hiked grant to the state Waqf Board and Haj committee. The state also proposed budgetary allocation of Rs 8,000 crore to waive off remaining loans of around 20 lakh farmers in the state.
23 - Google India's 'Internet Saathi' programme expands to Punjab and Odisha
Internet Saathi programme, a digital literacy initiative of Google India and Tata Trusts, aimed at empowering women in rural India, will expand to cover two new states: Punjab & Odisha. While it will cover around 5,000 villages in Punjab, it will cover 16,000-plus villages in Odisha.
The programme has reached 2.6 lakh villages across the country. It was launched as a pilot in Rajasthan in July 2015. The programme has contributed towards bridging the digital gender divide in rural India (female to male ratio from 1 in 10 in 2015 to 4 in 10 in 2018).
24 - IFFI will celebrate its Golden Jubilee Year at Goa
The Golden Jubilee Edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held from 20-28 November 2019 in Panaji, Goa. John Bailey, the President of Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has confirmed his participation for this year’s IFFI.
This year’s Festival will pay tribute to Ex Chief Minister of Goa Shri Manohar Parrikar, who was instrumental in making Goa the permanent venue for IFFI. Russia will be IFFI’s partner this year.
25 - World Bank to offer $250 million to Kerala for disaster management
The first tranche of $250 million of the $500 million fund set aside by the World Bank for the Resilient Kerala Programme (RKP). The project is aimed at enhancing the state’s resilience against the impacts of natural disasters and climate change in the wake of last year’s floods.
Kerala has become the first Indian state to get this fund. The fund will be utilized for specific programmes, like improving the Ariver basin planning, sustainable agriculture besides improving resilience of the core road network.
26 - Cabinet approved 2880 MW Dibang Multipurpose Project in Arunachal Pradesh
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the expenditure on pre-investment activities and various clearances for Dibang Multipurpose Project (MPP) in Arunachal Pradesh for an amount of Rs. 1600 crore.
The estimated total cost of Project is Rs. 28080.35 including IDC & FC of Rs 3974.95 crore at Jun'18 price level. The estimated completion period for the project shall be nine years from receipt of Government sanction. The project shall generate 2880MW (12x240MW) power to produce 11223MU of energy in a 90% dependable year. This is the largest ever Hydro Electric Projects to be constructed in India.
27 - WEF Centre and Telangana govt announced to send medical supplies via drones
Telangana Government and the World Economic Forum's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network announced that they are set to launch an innovative project to deliver emergency medical supplies such as blood and vaccines via drones. The pilot project, called Medicine from the Sky, will run in partnership with the State Government and HealthNet Global Limited.
It will help facilitate decision-making in healthcare supply chains, focus on last-mile deliveries and address issues that affect the medical distribution system.
28 - West Bengal signed MoU with British Council to brush up spoken English skills of polytechnic students
The West Bengal government signed an MOU with the British Council for brushing up the English Speaking skills of the students studying in Polytechnic Colleges in the state. The move is aimed to improve English speaking capacity for job seekers students.
An enquiry to assess job readiness of students was conducted recently and communication in English was found as a major hurdle. At present, there are 148 Polytechnic Colleges across the state.
29 - Maharashtra increased financial aid to kin of Martyred Jawans
In order to provide financial support to families of jawans martyred in war or war-like situations or conflict related to national security, Maharashtra state government increased financial aid from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore. The financial aid will be provided depending on the severity of their injury.
Previously, jawans were granted ₹5 lakh for 1% to 25% injuries, ₹8.50 lakh for 26% to 50% injuries and ₹15 lakh for 51% to 100% injuries. This same has now increased to ₹20 lakh, ₹34 lakh and ₹60 lakh respectively.
30 - First ever Himalayan states conclave to be organized in Uttarakhand
The first ever Himalayan states conclave will be hosted by Uttarakhand. The Chief Ministers of the Himalayan states such as Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Nagaland will be part of the conclave.
The main aim of conclave is to focus on sustainable goals, environmental protection, Himalayan culture, solving Himalayan state issues and economic development. Since NITI Aayog will also be part of this conclave, the key points adopted at the Himalayan conclave would be presented as a draft to the NITI Aayog for formation of policies for the region's development.
31 - New e-challan system, e-payment gateway launched for use of Delhi Traffic Police
Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik launched the new e-challan system and the e-payment gateway for the use of Delhi Traffic Police. The E-challan devices are enabled with active GPS where the challan officer and the violator, both can be logged and tracked to a particular geo-location. This is an important tool for evidence to establish the credibility of the prosecution.
The payment gateway will help the citizens with the flexibility to login securely at their convenience and settle the pending violation notices with proof of payment.
32 - Virtual court for online payment of traffic challan launched in Delhi
Delhi’s first ‘virtual court’ has been launched at Tiz Hazari courts in order to facilitate online payments of traffic challans. The Delhi District Courts under the aegis of the E-Committee, Supreme Court of India launched the virtual court’s web portal for online payment of traffic challans.
The portal will cater to traffic challans digitally generated by the Delhi Traffic Police via the E-Challan application developed by the NIC. Ruchi Aggarwal Asrani, Metropolitan Magistrate, will preside over the virtual court.
33 - Nearly 9,725 houses will be built by the end of 2019 under PMAY-U in Manipur
The Manipur state government has kept a target to obtain approval for 46,360 numbers of beneficiaries for construction of houses in 27 towns of the state under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban(PMAY-U). The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has, till now, approved 26,348 beneficiaries for 24 towns.
The state government plans to build nearly 9725 houses by the end of 2019 under the scheme. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is an initiative by Government of India in which 20 million affordable housing will be provided to the urban poor by 2022.
34 - Defence Minister inaugurated Ujh and Basantar Bridges in J&K
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the One-kilometre-long Ujh bridge in Kathua district and 617.40 Metre long Basantar bridge in Samba district of Jammu & Kashmir. Ujh bridge is the longest bridge constructed by BRO and is constructed at a cost of approxRs 50 crore.
Basantar bridge has been constructed at a total cost of approxRs 41.7 crore. Both the bridges are vital for the Army for deployment on border areas and have been constructed under 69 RCC/13 BRTF of Project Sampark.
35 - 7th Economic Census began from Tripura
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) kicked off 7th Economic Census from Tripura. The data will be collected through door to door survey of each household and commercial establishment under the provisions of Collection of Statistics Act 2008. The fieldwork is expected to be completed by December 2019 and the results to be available by March 2020.
The economic census is the only source of information on the significantly large unorganized sector in the country. As per the last Economic Census conducted in 2013, there were 58.5 million establishments employing around 131 million workers.
36 - J&K: District Administration Udhampur launched helpline “Jeene Do”
Jammu and Kashmir, District Administration Udhampur launched a helpline, “Jeene Do”. The objective is to improve sex ratio and deal with defaulters of Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques or PCPNDT Act under the Centrally sponsored Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme.
People can lodge complaints regarding illegal sex detection. A Mobile Number ― 9469793363 ― has been dedicated to the Public to register complaints regarding sex determination during pre-natal checkups.
37 - Himachal signed MoUs for 228 projects with investment of over Rs 27, 515 cr
Himachal Pradesh signed memorandum of understanding (MoUs) for 228 projects with investment of over Rs. 27, 515 crores for various developmental projects. This is for the first time in the history of Himachal Pradesh that entrepreneurs have come forward in such a big number to invest in the state.
The government has launched special campaign to attract investors and it is expected that the state would be able to achieve the target of attracting investment of Rs. 85 thousand crores after the forthcoming global investors meet.
38 - ADB sanctioned about Rs 2000 Cr for power projects in Tripura
Asian Development Bank has sanctioned 1,925 crore rupees project for upgradation of power generation and distribution in Tripura. The project has been sanctioned for upgrading capacity of 63 MW Rokhia Project to 120 MW at an estimated cost of Rs 699 crore and modernising Gumti Hydro Electric Project at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 1225 crore.
Rokhia project is located at West Tripura district whereas Gumti project is in Gomati district.
39 - Arunachal CM launched statewide tree plantation programme
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu launched the statewide tree plantation programme ‘Clean-Green Arunachal Campaign 2019’ in Itanagar.
The campaign is being held as a part of Van Mahotsav celebration and has set the target of planting 1 crore tree within the next five years. Under this campaign, the forest department has come up with a vision to preserve this intricate link and to enable the tribal people to reap economic benefit from the forest in a sustainable way. Arunachal is known globally for its huge forest cover and is considered one of the eighteen 'biodiversity hotspots' in the world.
40 - Jammu & Kashmir to transform Anganwadi Centres into Model Community facilities
Jammu and Kashmir Government rolled out a plan to transform the Anganwadi Centres into state-of-the-art Model Community Facilities for children and mothers in the State. As a part of this programme in the first phase, 50 existing Anganwadi Centres in each district would be transformed through convergence with MGNREGA into Model Anganwadi Centres.
They will be equipped with upgraded infrastructure and improved amenities like toilets, drinking water and hygiene. It will be then replicated at other Anganwadi Centres in the State for efficient delivery of Integrated Child Development Scheme, ICDS.
