Current Affairs February 2018

Setting Up of World Class Football Academy in Manipur under Consideration: Col. Rathore

A group of 20 students along with their teachers from Chandel district of Manipur here today called on Minister of State (I/C) of Youth Affairs & sports Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore. The students aged between 11- 16 years are currently on a National Integration Tour organized by Assam Rifles.

During their interaction, it was conveyed to Col. Rathore that for all the students this is the first trip outside their home district and before this tour they never had any experience of journey by train or bus.

Col. Rathore asked the students about their hobbies, studies and their interest in sports. He noted the remarkable presence of 8 players in the Indian Squad from the Manipur state during the FIFA U 17 world cup and asked the students to prepare hard in the sport of their choice so that they can participate in future editions of Khelo India School Games. He said, his ministry is actively considering for setting up a world class Football academy in collaboration with the state government in Manipur.  Wishing well all the students for their future endeavors, he said the exposure during the tour will widen their horizon of thinking and they will realize their full potential to achieve best in their future career.

Union Agriculture Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh launches six new user friendly features of National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Platform

e-NAM integrates Central Farmer Database to increase the efficiency and reduce queue time

The Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh today launched six new features of National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Platform to make it more users friendly.Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of State for Agriculture was also present at the event. e-NAM is one of the major and important flagship schemes of the Government of India which is being implemented by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare with the objective of providing competitive and remunerative price to farmers for their produce through online competitive bidding process.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Singh said that it is the dream of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri NarendraModi to double farmers’ income by 2022 and that farmers should become part of mainstream development. He said that the objective was to bring more transparency and competition and provide remunerative prices to farmers. Keeping in view the need of making marketing of commodities easier for farmers, e-NAM was envisioned and launched in 21 Mandis on 14^th April 2016 which has now reached 479 Mandis across 14 states and 1 Union Territory. e-NAM website is now available in eight different languages (Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Odia) while the live trading facility is available in six different language (Hindi, English, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi & Telugu).

The Minister said that the agriculture ministry is now strengthening e-NAM platform with new and user-friendly features by rolling out MIS Dashboard for better analysis, BHIM payment facility by traders, mobile payment facility by traders, enhanced features on Mobile App such as gate entry and payment through mobile, integration of farmer’s database, eLearning module in e-NAM website etc.

1. e-NAM Mobile App:

Mobile app is being enhanced in multi-dimension so that the entire operation for farmers and traders can be user friendly. Mobile app has been made multilingual. Now the Mandi operators can carry out one of the critical operation of Gate Entry directly from e-NAM Mobile App. This will also facilitate the farmers to do advance Gate Entry on Mobile app which in turn will reduce a lot of time for farmers coming in the Mandi and will bring huge efficiency and facilitate smooth arrival recording at the Gate. A new feature has been introduced for farmers where they can see the progress of their lot being traded and also real time bidding progress of price will be visible to farmers on Mobile App.

During the trade, facility of viewing the assaying certificate is made available to traders on the mobile app. Now, online payment by trader (buyer) can also be done from e-NAM Mobile App through debit card and net banking. This will help buyers to transfer the payment directly through the App and make it easier for traders in online payment to farmers. Also, SMS alert to farmer on receiving payment in their bank account will be sent thereby helping farmers in getting information of payment receipt.

2. BHIM payment facility :

Currently e-NAM portal facilitates direct online payment to farmers through RTGS/NEFT, Debit Card and Internet Banking. Facilitation of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) through BHIM is another milestone in easing out payment to farmers which will also reduce the payment realization time from buyers’ account to the pool account and in turn disbursal to farmers.

3. New and improved Website with eLearning Module:

A new website has been developed with improved and more informative features like live status of markets of e-NAM based on gate entry, latest information on events, dynamic training calendar etc. Also e-Learning module in Hindi language has been designed and incorporated in the website so that various stake holders can learn online about how to operate the system and continuously get trained on the system at their convenience. Currently the module is available in Hindi.

4. MIS Dashboard:

MIS Dashboard based on Business intelligence will provide a greater insight into the performance of each Mandi in terms of arrival and trade. This will help the Mandi Board officials and APMC Secretary to compare the performance of each Mandi on daily, weekly, monthly/quarterly and Year-on-Year Basis. This will also enable officials and Mandi Secretary in doing actual trade analysis from commodity level to State level operation. This will also be beneficial for the Mandi Board and Mandi Secretary in planning and coordinating their operation post historical analysis.

5. Grievance Redressal Management System for Mandi Secretaries:

This system will help Mandi Secretary to raise technology issues related to portal/ software and its operation and also track the status of redressal of their query online.

6. Integration with Farmer Database:

e-NAM has been integrated with Central Farmer Database so that the registration process becomes easier and Identification of farmers can be done easily on arrival at the Mandi Gate which will increase the efficiency and reduce queue time. This will help in managing the load at the Gate more efficiently during peak time in Rabi and Kharif and reduce waiting time for farmers at the entry gate.

Bhatni-Aurnihar Line Doubling with Electrification

CCEA approves 116.95 Km long Bhatni-Aurnihar line doubling with electrification at a completion cost of Rs. 1300.9 crore

Likely to be completed by 2021-22

Doubling project will ensure higher speed, reduce train delays, enhance safety by allowing more time for track/block maintenance, and provide additional capacity for future increase in traffic

Decongestion of Mughalsarai-Allahabad route thereby benefiting passengers traveling to Eastern India especially Bihar, West Bengal and North East

By easing the connectivity in Varanasi district, often referred to as the Spiritual Capital of India it will give a boost to pilgrimage, tourism and the local economy

Electrification will lead to faster trains, reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable environment. Further, it will reduce fuel import dependence, and result in energy costs savings for Railways and forex savings for the country.

Generate direct employment during construction of about 28.07 lakh mandays

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved 116.95 Km long Bhatni-Aurnihar line doubling with electrification at a completion cost of Rs. 1300.9 crore and is likely to be completed by 2021-22. The project will cover the districts of Deoria, Ballia, Mau and Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh.

Aurnihar is junction station of Varanasi division having connectivity towards four sides namely Aurnihar-Chhapra, Aurnihar-Bhatni, Aurnihar-Jaunpur and Aurnihar-Varanasi. Present line capacity utilization of the section is 118% leading to congestion and slower train movement. The doubling project will ensure higher speed, reduce train delays, enhance safety by allowing more time for track/block maintenance, and provide additional capacity for future increase in traffic.

Allahabad-Mughalsarai route of North Central Railway is over saturated and there is heavy congestion at Mughalsarai. Doubling of this route will allow shifting of traffic from Mughalsarai-Allahabad route to this route thereby decongesting it. This will benefit passengers traveling to Eastern India especially Bihar, West Bengal and North East.

Further, by easing the connectivity in Varanasi district, often referred to as the Spiritual Capital of India it will give a boost to pilgrimage, tourism and the local economy

Electrification will lead to faster trains, reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable environment. Further, It will reduce fuel import dependence, and result in energy costs savings for Railways and forex savings for the country.

In addition, the project will generate direct employment during construction of about 28.07 lakh mandays.

Cabinet approves India-Morocco Cooperation Agreement in  Railway Sector

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval to the Cooperation Agreement betweenIndia and the Moroccan National Railways Office (ONCF) to develop long-term cooperation and partnership in different areas of railway sector.  The Cooperation Agreement was signedon 14^th December, 2017.

The Cooperation Agreement will enable technical cooperation in the following areas:-

a. Training and staff development;

b. Expert missions, exchange of experience and personnel; and

c. Mutual technical assistance, including exchanging of experts.

Background:

Ministry of Railways have signed MOUs for technical cooperation in the Rail sector with various foreign Governments and National Railways. The identified areas of cooperation include high-speed corridors, speed raising of existing routes, development of world class stations, heavy haul operations and modernization of rail infrastructure, etc. The cooperation is achieved through exchange of information on developments in areas of railways technology & operations, knowledge sharing, technical visits, training & seminars and workshops in areas of mutual interest.

The MoUs provide a platform for Indian Railways to interact and share the latest developments and knowledge in the railway sector.  The MoUs facilitate exchange  of technical   experts,  reports  and technical   documents,  training  and seminars/workshops focusing on specific technology areas and other interactions for knowledge sharing.

Dr Jitendra Singh invites young Start-Ups to Northeast

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh invited young Start-Ups from all over India to come to Northeast and try their fortune through unexplored potentials of the region.

Addressing a gathering of participants, after going through the various stalls put up at the “Skill India” exhibition at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here today, Dr Jitendra Singh said, while all the avenues of livelihood and new ventures are gradually getting exhausted in other parts of the country and States, the immense unexplored avenues and potentials of North Eastern region are still available and beckoning the young entrepreneurs to come and try their luck.

In addition, Dr Jitendra Singh also referred to the decision taken by the Ministry of Northeast to provide “Venture Fund” to any youngster who wishes to set up an entrepreneurship in the region. He said, this provision will be in addition to the provisions already available in Prime Minister’s “Start-up India, Stand-up India” programme, which includes provision of tax holiday as well as 3-month exit period. He disclosed that over 65 proposals from youngsters all over India are under process to avail of the “Venture Fund” for setting up entrepreneurship in the Northeast. He also informed that the first lot of Venture Fund documents were handed over to the new Start-Ups by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi himself during his visit to Aizawl, Mizoram in December last year.

Launched a few months ago, Dr Jitendra Singh said, “Venture Fund” has already become popular among the youngsters. If we are able to move forward with the plan that we have envisaged for ourselves, he said, the day is not far when Northeast will become a favourite destination for young Start-ups from all over India. With its vast unexplored avenues, he said, those looking for livelihood will soon find a potential enterprise in the Northeast, particularly in fruit, food, handicraft and tourism industry, he added.

Northeast Venture Fund, said Dr Jitendra Singh, is the first dedicated venture capital fund for North-Eastern region and the initiative to set it up began in April last year. He further explained that “North-East Venture Fund” has been set up by North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi), which already has the mandate to encourage entrepreneurship in the region, primarily by offering support to the first-generation entrepreneurs. In addition, the NEDFi also performs the role of hand-holding and capacity building, he said.

Recalling Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s visit to Shillong in May, 2017 when he had stressed the importance of entrepreneurship in the region, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the region has huge potential for young Start-Ups unlike many other parts of the country and hoped that the patronage being provided by the Central government will make up for the constraints faced by a youngster when he sets out to be on his own.

Date – 05/02/2018

US Air Force chief General David L. Goldfein flies Tejas aircraft

– The Chief of US Air Force, General David L Goldfein flew a sortie in indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas at the Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. With this he became first foreign military chief to fly Tejas aircraft. He was accompanied by Air Vice Marshal AP Singh as a co-pilot during the short flight.

– General Goldfein was on an official visit to India to boost defence ties between the two nations. Earlier in November 2017, Defence Minister of Singapore Ng Eng Hen was flown in a Tejas fighter jet.

– The indigenous LCA is a single-seat, single-jet engine, multirole light fighter. It is fourth generation aircraft that can fly at 1,350 km per hour, with a payload capacity of 4,000 kg. It has been indigenously developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency, and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

– It has been pegged as world’s smallest and lightest supersonic fighter. It is tailless and has compound delta wing design. It is mounted with inbuilt MultiMode Radar (MMR), Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) systems.

– The first squadron of LCA Tejas named as ‘Flying Daggers’ based in Sulur, Tamil Nadu was inducted in July 2016.