GUJARAT

Sex ratio at birth falls by 6 points

The existence of girls in Gujarat — which attained national infamy for its skewed child sex ratio (CSR) of 886 girls per 1,000 boys in Census 2001 — continues to be under threat. The 2017 figures reveal that the sex ratio at birth (SRB) has further declined and is now 842, from 848 in 2016.

The eight municipal corporations — Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Bhavnagar — in the state are worse off in terms of SRB. At these corporation areas, there are only 788 girls born for every 1,000 boys born. This number was 794 according to the Sample Registration System data from 2013-2015.

After a marginal recovery in sex ratio at birth (SRB) between 2007 and 2014, where the number of girls rose above 900 per 1,000 boys born, Gujarat has again come under the scanner for its alarming fall of 69 points in the SRB between years 2011 and 2017. This is the highest fall in average SRB recorded for any state in the country.

INTERNATIONAL

· Washington Becomes First State to Enact Its Own Net Neutrality Rules

Washington became the first state to pass a new law — House Bill 2282— that restores and protects certain net neutrality rules, after the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 in favor of repealing net neutrality nationwide late last year.
Washington state’s new rules were signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee, and prevent internet service providers from blocking and slowing down content online.
This will become nationwide law itself by April 23, 2018.

· International Womens Day 2018 Theme

Every year, March 8is celebrated as International Women’s Day.
2018 Theme is: “Press for Progress“
2018 UN Theme of “International Women’s Day” is: – “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives“
Celebrated since:- 1913
This day was recognised by the United Nations in:- 1975

NATIONAL

Centre sanctions Rs 1,000 crore for research and innovation

The Union Government has announced a grant of Rs 1,000 crore for the second phase of the Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) India programme.

Under the IMPRINT-II, a fund is being created by the Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Human Resource Development together, in which participation will come from industry and other interested Ministries.

Under the IMPRINT-I Programme, 142 projects at a cost of Rs. 318.71 crore are already under implementation.

Cabinet approves MoU between UPSC and Public Service Commission of Mauritius

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Public Service Commission of Mauritius.

The MoU will strengthen the existing relationship between UPSC and Public Service Commission of Mauritius.

It will facilitate sharing of experience and expertise of both the parties in the area of recruitment.

The MoU will develop institutionalized linkage between the Public Service Commissions of two countries.

RK Singh launches National E-Mobility Programme

Shri R K Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) Power and New & Renewable Energy, launched the National E-Mobility Programme.

The Programme aims to provide an impetus to the entire e-mobility ecosystem including vehicle manufacturers, charging infrastructure companies, fleet operators, service providers, etc.

The Programme will be implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) which will aggregate demand by procuring electric vehicles in bulk to get economies of scale.

Biplab Deb to be the new Tripura Chief Minister

Tripura BJP president and newly-elected MLA Biplab Kumar Deb was unanimously elected leader of the BJP legislature party in the state, Union minister Nitin Gadkari announced.
Deb, whose name was proposed by party MLA Sudip Roy Burman in the meeting, will be the new chief minister of Tripura, Gadkari said.

BJP MLA Jishnu Debbarma will be the deputy chief minister.

Deb will stake claim to form government in the state before Governor Tathagata Roy.

· Architect BV Doshi becomes first Indian to win 2018 Pritzker Prize

Indian architect, urban planner, and educator Balkrishna Vithaldas (BV) Doshi has won the 2018 Pritzker Prize for ‘deeply personal, responsive, and meaningful’ architecture.
Born in Pune in 1927, Doshi is the oldest ever recipient of the prize, which is regarded as the highest accolade in international architecture and is worth $100,000 (£72,000). He is also the first winner from India.

· NHAI launches new mobile app named Sukhad Yatra App to empower highway users

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways headed by Nitin Gadkarihas launched a new mobile app called ‘Sukhad Yatra‘ which is aimed to empower frequent highway users.
Sukhad yatra mobile application has been developed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and offers a number of convenient features including real-time data waiting-time at toll-plazas.

op-featuresof Sukhad Yatra Mobile App launched by Ministry of Road Transport and NHAI:

Complain about FastTag facility/Lane
Complain against Toll Plaza management
Potholes and other maintenance issues
Safety hazard during road construction along highways across India
Poor workman ship of construction
Online recharge FastTag cards

· Ministry to introduce new biofuel policy soon: Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas

Minister of Petroleum & Natural GasDharmendra Pradhan ministry will soon introduce a new biofuel policy 2018 and cabinet will give nod for its implementation.
Inaugurating a two-day bilateral conference on advanced biofuels jointly organized by European Union and India in New Delhi today, he said, in the policy-making, generation of 2G ethanol from non-sugar resource will be the key factor.
The government is committed towards green energy and has stressed on Govardhan Yojna, for generation of Bio-CNG, in this year’s budget.
The country will witness a new economy of waste to wealth worth one lakh crore in coming years.
He will give incentives to the companies which are converting agri-waste into energy in the NCR- Region.
The conference aims at facilitating the deployment of advanced renewable fuels in the European Union and India and providing a common platform to technology developers, industry representatives and investors in value chains producing low carbon fuels for the decarbonization of transport in European countries and India.

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