GUJARAT

Salt supply likely to be hit as railways restricts rakes in Gujarat

Salt supply across India is likely to be hit following the railway board’s decision to drastically reduce the number of rakes to Gujarat from 150 a month to just 90.
Gujarat produces 2.6 crore tonnes of salt per year of which 80-90% is exported while 50 lakh tonnes is used in industries and remaining for edible purposes.

Salt makers said that the shortage could even result in artificial hike in prices as it has happened in the past too.

The ready salt is already piling in the godowns in these three districts. Sources said that roughly 25,000 tonnes of salt is lying idle because of unavailability of rakes.

Gujarat produces 70% of country’s salt requirement and close to 12,000 salt workers are dependent on this industry for livelihood.

INTERNATIONAL

· China Successfully Launches Remote Sensing Satellites

China successfully launched remote sensing satellites designed to conduct electromagnetic probes and other experiments.
The satellites launched on board of Long March-2C rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan province.

· WHO for first time releases guidelines on child sex abuse

The World Health Organisation (WHO) for first time formulated clinical guidelines on responding to children and adolescents who have been sexually abused.
The guidelines are grounded in human rights standards and ethical principles.
They will assist frontline health care providers general practitioners, gynaecologists, nurses and others who may directly receive victim of sexual abuse or may identify sexual abuse during the course.

NATIONAL

Punjab govt to give Rs. 75,000 aid for SC, inter-caste marriages

The Punjab government will give an assistance of Rs. 75,000 for marriages of couples belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) as well as the inter-caste marriages in the state.

Under the new scheme the non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Trusts and other social welfare institutions arranging more than 10 marriages of SC and inter-caste couples will be given financial assistance to the tune of Rs 75,000 per couple.

A sum of Rs. 60,000 would be given for purchasing household items such as utensils, furniture and gold and Rs 15,000 per couple to the organiser or concerned organisation as consolation prize

Odisha to launch new irrigation scheme

Odisha government has decided to launch a new scheme worth Rs 635 crore to provide irrigation facility to about 55,000 hectare of agricultural land across the state.

The scheme, “Nabakrushna Choudhury Seccha Unnayan Yojana”, has been named after former chief minister and freedom fighter Nabakrushna Choudhury.

The scheme would be implemented with an outlay of Rs 635 crore over a period of three years.

Under the scheme, 46,296 hectare command area of 14 major and medium irrigations and 284 minor irrigation projects will be revived.

· Migratory Birds start Arriving in Chilika Lake

After a long flight of thousands of miles, not often punctuated by breaks, lakhs of migratory birds have made their way to the Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon.
The Major birdcongregations have been spotted in the wetlands of the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary inside Chilika and Mangalajodi, a major village on the banks of the lake.

· MHA Conducted Multi State Mega Mock Tsunami Exercise 2017

The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC)based at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) had conducted “Multi-State Mega Mock Exercise of Tsunami for East Coast of India”.
The Participants in the drill included State Disaster Management Authorities of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The mock drill was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

· DANX-17: Defence of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Exercise concludes

The Defence of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Exercise (DANX-2017) was conducted under the aegis of Andaman & Nicobar Command from 20 to 24 November 2017.
The main objective of the five-day exercise was to practice and validate procedures and drills of all Command forces aimed at defending strategic Andaman and Nicobar Island.
The purpose of the exercise was for adopting planning and precise execution of Command plans by forces in a synergistic manner.

GPSC Notes brings Prelims and Mains programs for GPSC Prelims and GPSC Mains Exam preparation. Various Programs initiated by GPSC Notes are as follows:-

For any doubt, Just leave us a Chat or Fill us a querry––