GUJARAT

Voting in first phase 4.54% lower than in 2012

Voter turnout in the first phase of elections was around 4.54% lower than in 2012. The voting percentage was initially thought to be around 68%. It has finally been calculated to be 66.75%. In 2012, the voting percentage was 71.14.
The tribal district of Tapi had the highest voting percentage of 78.56% while Patidar-dominated Amreli had the lowest at 61.19%.

Interestingly, the Saurashtra region which is a Patidar-quota agitation-affected area, had registered a drop of 5.44% in voting as compared to 2012. In 2017, the voting percentage in Saurashtra was finalized at 64.38%.

In 2017, more women had come out and exercised their franchise. This year, 64.3% women came out and voted against 68.98% men voters — a difference of 4.68%. However, the gap between men and women was 5.7% in 2017. Further, against 73.7% men who voted in 2012, only 68% women had voted in 2017.

INTERNATIONAL

· Saudi Arabia announces lifting of ban on movie theatres after 35 years

Saudi Arabiawill have its first public cinemas in more than 35 years after the government announced the lifting of the ban on movie theatres. Minister of Culture and Information Awwad bin Saleh Alawwad in a statement said that opening cinemas will act as a catalyst for economic growth and diversification.
The government statement said that the licensing process for cinema operators will start within 90 days and the films will be subject to censorship according to media policy standards of the kingdom.

· Mount Hope Becomes UK’s New Highest Mountain

Britain is a new highest mountain after new satellite data revealed the peak was almost 400 metres taller than previously thought. Mount Hope, in the British Atlantic Territory, was recently re-measured and found to be 377 metres taller than previous calculations.
This takes it to 3,239 metres, meaning it knocks Mount Jackson, the current title holder at 3,184 metres, off the top spot.

NATIONAL

India proposed $1 billion credit for connectivity with ASEAN

India has proposed USD 1 billion line of credit to promote sea, air and road connectivity projects with ASEAN, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said.

Apart from this, India has set up a project development fund of USD 77 million for various developments.

He was addressing the ASEAN-India Connectivity Summit jointly organised by CII and ASEAN India Centre.

WB announces life insurance of Rs. 5 lakh each for pilgrims

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced that pilgrims coming to Gangasagar next year will be covered by life insurance amounting to Rs 5 lakh each.

The premium in this regard will be borne entirely by the state government.

Around five to six lakh pilgrims attend the Gangasagar fair on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.

J P Nadda launches new initiatives on Universal Health Coverage Day, 2017

The Union Health Minister J P Nadda has launched “LaQshya – Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative, a Safe Delivery Mobile Application for health workers who manage normal and complicated deliveries in the peripheral areas.

The goal of this initiative is to reduce preventable maternal and new-born mortality.

He also released the Operational Guidelines for Obstetric High Dependency Units (HDUs) and Intensive Care Units (ICUs).

· Electronics and IT Ministry Launched First NIC-CERT

Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched first NIC-CERT, a setup of National Informatics Centre to prevent and predict cyber attacks on government utilities.
They launched in New Delhi.
NIC-CERT has been set up with the objective of creating a comprehensive framework that integrates world-class security components and inbuilt threat intelligence for detection, prevention and incident response.

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