Uttarakhand
- Govt looks to complete Char Dham project before 2018-end
- The government looks to complete the ‘Char Dham’ road connectivity project in Uttarakhand before 2018-end with 10 proposals related to the ambitious Rs 12,000-crore scheme getting green clearance, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said.
- Environment clearances have been received for 10 of the proposals of Char Dham project, built at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore. We have expedited the work and will complete the project before the end of 2018,” the Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister told.
- The project aims at improving connectivity to Char Dham pilgrimage centres of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri in the Himalayas.
- Uttarakhand government officials present during the meeting had pointed out a notification by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change declaring 40 square km area near river Bhagirathi as eco sensitive zone.
INTERNATIONAL
- IAEA opens world’s first low Enriched Uranium bank in Kazakhstan
- The United Nations (UN) global nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has opened world’s first low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank in Oskemen in Kazakhstan.
- The bank is owned and managed by IAEA. It will be the first of its kind LEU bank not to be under control of any individual country.
- It manages 123 tons of uranium in Angarsk, Russia but it is under the control of Russian Government.
- Prime minister Narendra Modi to Attend 9th BRICS Summit in China
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the 9th Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Summit, Xiamen in China’s Fujian province during 3rd to 5th of September.
- He will pay a State visit to Myanmar from September 5th to 7th.
- It is his first bilateral State visit to Myanmar.
Gk bit – BRICS
- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Originally the first four were grouped as “BRIC” (or “the BRICs”), before the induction of South Africa in 2010.
- As of 2017, the five BRICS countries represent over 3.6 billion people, or about 40% of the world population; all five members are in the top 25 of the world by population, and four are in the top 10.
- Currently, there are two components that make up the financial architecture of BRICS, namely, the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). Both of these components were signed into treaty in 2014 and became active in 2015.
- The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states. The bank’s primary focus of lending will be infrastructure projects.
- The BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) is a framework for providing protection against global liquidity pressures. This includes currency issues where members’ national currencies are being adversely affected by global financial pressures.
NATIONAL
- Gobindobhog Rice Gets Geographical Indication Status
- Gobindobhog rice,a speciality from Burdwan district of West Bengal, has got the geographical indication (GI) status.
- The region of Burdwan (now divided into the districts of east and west Burdwan) is known as the rice bowl of Bengal.
- As a result of getting the GI tag, as the certification is also called, rice from other regions or rice of other varieties cannot be branded as ‘Gobindobhog’.
Gk bit – Geographical Indication (GI)
- GI tag is an insignia on products having a unique geographical origin and evolution over centuries with regards to its special quality or reputation attributes.
- It is covered as an element of intellectual property rights (IPRs) under Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. At international level, GI is governed by WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
- Darjeeling tea was the first product to accord with GI tag in India.
- Jammu and Kashmir gets Rs 200 crore funds under AMRUT mission
- Jammu and Kashmir got Rs 200 crore funds allocated for the winter capital of Jammu under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
- Under AMRUT, Rs 206.15 crore funds have been allocated for Jammu, covering the sectors like urban transport, green spaces, drainage, and sewerage.
- After Kalpana Chawla, Jalseen Kaur Josan becomes 2nd Indian woman to fly for NASA’s Mars Mission
- Jaslin Kaur Josan becomes the first Indian Sikh woman to be selected by NASA for the Mars Expedition happening in 2030.
- After Kalpana Chawla, Jasleen Kaur Josan becomes the 2nd Indian Women and first Sikh women to be selected by NASA for the Mars Expedition happening in 2030.
- The mission called the Orion Mission will be the first man mission to the red planet and candidates were selected from around the world.
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced GST earnings cross target in maiden month Rs 92,283 crore collected in July
- The Goods and Services tax (GST) launched on 1 July got off to a good start with collections exceeding the revenue target for the first month.
- Overall the tax collected is Rs 14,894 crore as Central GST, Rs 22,722 crore as State GST and Rs 47,469 crore as Integrated GST.
- According to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, taxes worth Rs 92,283 crore were collected in July from just 64.42 per cent of the total taxpayer base.
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