UTTARAKHAND
Sanskrit to replace Urdu at Uttarakhand stations
The railway authorities have decided to replace Urdu language on signboards at state platforms with Sanskrit. The signboards which have names of railway stations written in Hindi, English and Urdu will now be written in Hindi, English and Sanskrit.
According to railway officials, the decision has been taken as per provisions of the Railway Manual, which says that names of the railway stations should be written in Hindi, English and in the second language of the state. In 2010, the Uttarakhand government had become the first in the country to give Sanskrit the status of second official language of the Himalayan state.
INTERNATIONAL
India extends LOC to Cuba for financing solar parks
India has extended a line of credit (LOC) of $75 million to Cuba for financing solar parks. The announced was made by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The move comes following the agreement signed between Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and Banco Exterior De Cuba on 16 July 2019 that came into effect from 12 December 2019.
Banco Exterior De Cuba is a nominated agency of the Cuban government. The agreement was signed for the purpose of financing the installation of 75 MW Photovoltaic Solar Parks in the Republic of Cuba.
Under the LOC, the terminal utilization period is 5 years after the scheduled completion date of the project.
According to the agreement, financing of export of eligible goods and services from India would be allowed subject to their being eligible for export under the Foreign Trade Policy.
NATIONAL
Cabinet approved the agreement signed between India and Mongolia for outer space cooperation
The Union Cabinet approved the agreement signed between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Mongolia on 8 January 2020. The agreement aimed at enhancing the cooperation of the countries in the exploration and uses of outer space for peaceful and civilian purposes. The agreement was signed at New Delhi on 20 September 2019.
As per the agreement, the countries shall enable pursuing the potential interest areas of cooperation in field such as space science, technology, and applications including remote sensing of the earth, satellite communication and satellite-based navigation Space science and planetary exploration, use of spacecraft and space systems and ground system, and application of space technology.
ISRO to set up Indian Data Relay Satellite System
ISRO is planning to set a new satellite series called the Indian Data Relay Satellite System. It aims to ring its own era of space-to-space tracking and communication of its space assets in 2020. It was announced by K. Sivan, ISRO Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space.
The Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS) will track and be constantly in touch with Indian satellites, in particular, those in low-earth orbits (LEO) which have limited coverage of earth.
This is necessary as ISRO has planned with advanced LEO missions such as space station, space docking, and distant expeditions to the moon, Mars and Venus.
IMD reported that 2019 is recorded as the seventh warmest year
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the year 2019 was recorded as the seventh warmest year since 1901. It also said that the heating was substantially lower than the highest warming observed in 2016.
The reports stated that 1,562 people died due to extreme weather events including heatwave, avalanches floods, and thunderstorms.
It highlighted that the average temperature over India during the year 2019 was above normal.
The average annual mean surface air temperature in India during 2019 was 0.36 degree Celsius above average recorded between 1981 and 2010 period.
Audit development data of panchayats, Centre tells states
Taken aback by feedback that some top-ranked panchayats lack the amenities and scale of development to deserve their high billing, the rural development ministry has asked all states to ensure community validation of data.
The rankings, at present provisional, are likely to be on hold till the validation of data is completed.
While one on draft survey published names of top panchayats, a ground report on first-ranked Molugampoondi in Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu and third-ranked Bambhaniya in Bhavanagar district in Gujarat revealed that these panchayats lacked the development that had assessed them on the top of the charts under the MA Survey.
Census India-2021 to begin on 1st April
Census India-2021 will begin on 1st of April this year and will end on 30th of September.
Census India-2021 will be conducted through a mobile phone application, moving away from the traditional pen and paper.
Enumerators of the census will seek the information of mobile number of the head of the family, information related to toilets, TV, Internet, vehicles owned, source of drinking water besides asking other questions during the house listing phase of the exercise.