GUJARAT

Polluted rivers: Gujarat ranks 4^th

Sabarmati riverfront is considered a model in giving facelift to an ailing river. However, if figures of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) submitted in Lok Sabha on January 5 are considered, Sabarmati is among Gujarat’s 20 most polluted rivers. Further, Gujarat ranks fourth among top five states with highly polluted rivers.

The MoEF claims Gujarat has 20 polluted rivers and streams, including big rivers like Sabarmati, Narmada and Mahi. Maharashtra is worse off with 49 polluted rivers. Next is Assam with 28 polluted rivers and Madhya Pradesh with 21 such rivers.

According to MoEF data, the Union government has released over Rs 200 crore to curb pollution in Sabarmati and Mindola rivers. Mindola has its origin in Songadh taluka of Tapi district in the state.

Experts believe industrial effluents is the most common reason for pollution of Gujarat’s rivers.

INTERNATIONAL

· Doomsday Clock set to 2 mins to midnight closest since 1953

The Doomsday Clock close the planet is to an apocalypse was set at2 minutes to midnight, the closest since 1953 during the Cold War.
The Clock was moved 30 seconds forward compared to 2017, citing growing nuclear risks and climate dangers.
The Clock is maintained since 1947 by scientists worldwide including 15 Nobel Laureates.

Gk bit – Doomsday Clock

The Doomsday Clock has moved closer to midnight, from two-and-a-half minutes to two minutes.

The Doomsday Clock was created by the board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientistsin 1947 as a response to nuclear The concept is simple – the closer the minute hand is to midnight, the closer the board believes the world is to disaster.

The clock was originally conceived by a group of atomic scientists who had been involved with the Manhattan Project, the scheme responsible for the first nuclear weapons. The scientists regularly produced a bulletin detailing progress and updates in nuclear weaponry and the clock was first designed as an illustration for the cover of the first edition.

Since then, the clock has moved backwards and forwards – from seventeen minutes to midnight in 1991 to two minutes to midnight in 1953.

India offers to create digital villages in ASEAN countries

India has offered to enhance rural connectivity in fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations during the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said, “India offers to undertake a pilot project on rural connectivity, which would create digital villages in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam.”

PM Modi also proposed the ASEAN countries declare 2019 as the ASEAN-India Year of Tourism.

NATIONAL

President of India Receives Asean Heads of State and Government

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, received the ASEAN Heads of State and Government at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 25, 2018 and hosted a lunch in their honour.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that India-ASEAN relations have come a long way since we established our Dialogue Partnership with ASEAN on January 28, 1992.

Today, ASEAN is a Strategic Partner for India.

We have 30 dialogue mechanisms between India and ASEAN, including Annual Summits and 7 Ministerial Meetings in a wide range of sectors.

Ministry of Highways signs MoU with IL&FS for construction of Zojila tunnel

An MoU was signed between National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) under the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, and M/S IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd for construction of the 14.150 km long, 2-lane bi-directional Zojila Tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir .

This would be India’s longest road tunnel and the longest bi-directional tunnel in Asia.

The construction of this tunnel will provide all weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh and will bring about all round economic and socio-cultural integration of these regions.

· Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks to offer Atal Pension Yojana

Payments Banks and Small Finance Banks are a New Model of banks conceptualized by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
11 Payment Banks and 10 Small Finance Banks have received a license from Reserve Bank of India to start banking operations in India.
Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks are new age banks and given the strength of the bank, expertise and it reaches, Small Finance Bank and Payment Bank can play a pivotal role in the outreach of 83 lacs subscribers under Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
APY is a Government’s Old Age Pension Scheme being implemented through all Banks across the country as per the mandate received from the Ministry of Finance and monitored periodically at PMO. PM Narendra Modi had launched the Social Security Scheme on May 9th, 2015 and dedicated the First Ever Guaranteed Pension Product to the people of the country.

· Maharashtra wins best tableau prize in Republic Day parade

New Delhi: A tableau of Maharashtra state on display at Rajpath during the 69th Republic Day Parade, in New Delhi on Friday. PTI Photo by Vijay Verma (PTI1_26_2018_000042B)

The Punjab Regiment has bagged the award for the best marching contingent among the three services and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police among the paramilitary and other auxiliary forces in the Republic Day parade.

Maharashtra got the first prize for the best tableau.

Maharashtra’s tableau was titled Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj coronation.

Assam’s tableau depicting traditional “masks and sastras” bagged the second prize.

The third prize went to Chhattisgarh’s display of Ramgarh’s ancient amphitheatre and artistes performing dance based on Kalidasa’s Meghadootam.

Among the tableaux by Union Ministries and departments, the first prize went to KheloIndia of the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry.

Of the 23 tableaux, 14 were from the States and Union Territories.

The External Affairs Ministry presented two tableau depicting the “long socio-cultural, religious, educational and trade relations” between India and ASEAN countries.

· Govt. to set up apex cybercrime coordination centre

To deal with cybercrimes such as financial frauds, circulation of communal and pornographic contents, the Union Home Ministry is planning to set up an apex coordination centre and has asked States to establish a similar mechanism in every district.
It has also released ₹83 crore for setting up of a cyber forensic training laboratory-cum-training centre for police officials in each State. The funds were given under the Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children Scheme.
The apex centre — Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) — would be set up in Delhi.
It would coordinate with State governments and Union Territories, and closely monitor the cyberspace and social media with due emphasis on vernacular content.
The centre would also block those websites which flout India’s laws and circulate child porn, and communally and racially sensitive content.
State governments have also been asked to set up a State cybercrime coordination cell at the headquarter-level and also establish district cybercrime cells.
The Ministry has already created a new wing — Cyber and Information Security Division — to deal with the new-age challenge.
The cybercrime cases are of varied types. These range from defacement of government websites, online financial frauds, online stalking and harassment, and data thefts. Each requires specialised investigative skill sets and forensic tools.
Phishing, scanning or probing, website intrusions and defacements, virus or malicious code and denial of service attacks are some types of cybercrimes.

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