GUJARAT

· Gujarat government approved CNG terminal in Bhavnagar

The Gujarat government gave its approval for a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) terminal in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. The proposed investment for the CNG terminal project is Rs.1,900 crore. The approval for the facility was given by the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board headed by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. It is expected that it would be the world’s first CNG port terminal.

The terminal will be developed jointly by Mumbai-based Padmanabh Mafatlal Group and the UK-headquartered Foresight Group. The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) signed an MOU with Foresight Group for the setting up of the port terminal at Bhavnagar in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. The summit was held in January 2019.

The investors also plan to develop a Ro-Ro terminal, liquid cargo terminal, and container terminal at Bhavnagar port. The proposed CNG port terminal will have a capacity to handle 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA). The existing port at Bhavnagar has the capacity to handle three MMTPA cargo, and the new terminals will have the overall capacity to handle nine MMTPA.

INTERNATIONAL

· Exercise Indra 2019 to be held in December

Exercise Indra 2019, ajoint tri-service exercisebetween India and Russia, has been scheduled to be held in December 2019. In the exercise, the mechanized contingents, fighter and transport aircraft and ships of the armed forces of India and Russia will be participating.

Exercise Indra 2019 is aimed to enhance interoperability between both the national armed forces to jointly undertake operations under the UN flag. It is expected that the theme of the exercise will be relevant as it will focus on combatting the threat of global terrorism nations and by countries around the world.

NATIONAL

· Centre approves to set up four medical device parks

The government has approved setting upfour medical device parksin the country. It aims to support the Make in India initiative. It will also provide world-class products at affordable prices for treatment.

The four parks will be set up in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.The states Uttarakhand and Gujarat have also approached the Centre for a go-ahead for such parks. These parks will provide the necessary infrastructure, where companies can easily plug and play. This will not only cut import bills but will also help in easy access to standard testing facilities and reduce the cost of production.

· Mahendra Nath Pandey conferred the 2019 National Entrepreneurship Awards

The Union Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandeypresented the National Entrepreneurship Awards 2019 to Enterprises and Ecosystem builders on 9 November 2019. A total of 36 entrepreneurs and Ecosystem builders received the award. The fourth edition of the award ceremony was organized by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The day marks the completion of 5 years of setting up of the Ministry in 2014.

The National Entrepreneurship Awards aimed to honour the outstanding young First-Generation Entrepreneurs, and Ecosystem builders. The award recognized their outstanding contribution to entrepreneurship development and provided support to the entrepreneurs.

· Defence innovations conference to showcase accomplishments of iDEX

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is organizingDef-Connect on 11 November 2019. Def-Connect aims to showcase the accomplishments of the Innovations forDefence Excellence (iDEX) initiative. It also aims to construct a strong outreach towards the potential future entrepreneurs of the defence sector. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be the Chief Guest of the event.

Def-Connect is aimed to lead better interaction and bridging the gap between the stakeholders. The one day conference will support the Startup showcase during the forthcoming DefExpo 2020, which has been scheduled to be held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, from5-8 February

· RBI increases household income limits for borrowers of NBFCs and MFIs

Reserve Bank of India increased the household income limits for borrowers of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)and microfinance institutions (MFIs) from 1 lakh to 1.25 lakh rupees.

The move is aimed at strengthening credit to those at the bottom of the economic pyramid in rural areas.

The limit is increased from 1.6 lakh for urban or semi-urban areas to 2 lakh rupees. The limit has been increased after taking into consideration the important role played by microfinance institutions in delivering credit to those at the bottom of the economic pyramid and to enable them to play their assigned role in a growing economy.

National Mission ‘NISHTHA’ launched in J&K

National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) was launched in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
‘NISHTHA’ is a pioneering scheme being launched across the country, with a total of 86000 Elementary teachers of Government Schools being trained in J&K under the programme.

NISHTHA is a capacity building programme for “Improving Quality of School Education through Integrated Teacher Training”.

It aims to build competencies among all the teachers and school principals at the elementary stage.

NISHTHA is the world’s largest teachers’ training programme of its kind.

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